[PKMN FULL] Airborne: A Hoenn Journey (IC)

doge · Jun 14, 2018

Willie Dong

Luckily, Willie had managed to escape from the pack of hounds, in part due to their naivety and inexperience, when they turned their attention to a pair of two wild Zigzagoon bursting out of a nearby thicket of green. He remembered sliding down the base of the tree, it?s coarse bark scraping against the skin of his leg and thin clothes, and then just running in whatever direction he was facing. Somehow, they hadn?t caught him. With a moment to finally breathe and think, Willie looked himself over, searching for any injuries. His shins were a bright red, thankfully with no visible cuts, but his white undershirt was splashed with brown marks down the length of it.

?The bright side is I?m fine, but this kind of sucks,? he said, patting down his shirt in a vain attempt to get the stains out. ?Not to mention, I?m kind of lost.? Sighing in resignation, Willie turned his attention upwards, trying to figure out where exactly he had run off to. There was no paved route in sight, and as far as he knew, he was the only person anywhere nearby. But in front of him, maybe some hundred yards away, Willie noticed what seemed to be the outer wall and rock formation of what hopefully was Rusturf Tunnel. ?That?s where I need to go, at least I hope so??

Approaching it, the idea came into Willie?s mind to scale it, hoping to find an entrance somewhere at the top. Hand over hand, foot over foot, Willie began his ascent up to the plateaus atop the rocky wall, oblivious to the fact that had he just walked along the outer edge, finding the entrance would have most likely only have been a matter of time. When his hand reached the top of the small cliff, one hand leveraged over the edge, providing a base, Willie maneuvered his backpack into his free hand and then tossed it up and over. He soon followed afterwards, swinging his hips until one of his legs made it over, his foot digging into the rock, and rolled himself up onto the platform.

It was bare, very rocky, but exactly did Willie expect? Looking around, he saw no sign of an entrance or anything remotely similar. ?I guess I?ll just walk around,? he said, swinging his backpack back onto his shoulders. The teen was so focused on finding an entrance, that he hadn?t noticed the odd patch of rock only steps away, the surface differing in texture from the rest. He unknowingly stepped right in the middle of it, and just like that, Willie felt the earth go out from under him.

He fell with a yelp. His hands reached out, hoping to grab hold of something, but the boy felt nothing but air and dust between his fingers. His legs kicked out, but it only threw him further off balance. He felt like he was plummeting until he wasn?t. Ass landing hard on solid rock, the contents of his bag loudly bumped against each other as he felt himself no longer falling but sliding. Willie shouted again, panicking, his feet kicking about as he skidded along the odd tunnel. His hands shout out to the side, albeit momentarily, drawing them back as the rocky surroundings dug in and slid across his palms. In the heat of the moment and the darkness of it all, his actions seemed vain. Willie?s mind raced, his shouts and screams seemingly deaf to his ears as he looked down into engulfing blackness.

At least, until his brain caught up to his body, and the boy realized he was no longer moving at all. It took a few minutes for the teen to calm down, his breathing ragged and his heart still thumping in his ears. Once he had managed that, he flushed, a brief redness coming over him. Even if no one else had been there to see it, it was embarrassing. Flustered, he felt along the walls of the confine with his hands, still tender from before, and his feet, trying to get a sense of where he was. Aside from his own breathing and the scattering of pebbles as he moved, everything was silent. Willie turned around, and behind him, he could see light faintly brightening the upper area of the diagonal tunnel, but at this angle, the hole back to the surface could not be seen.

?Guess the only way?s forwards?? He sighed, staring down into the darkness. Carefully, Willie searched for solid ground with his feet and then using his hands and hips, pushed himself down the path. Sliding along, he realized the palms of his hands weren?t the only things that were tender.

Willie hadn?t a clue how long he had been at this, his steps slow and small, almost aggravatingly so. He wanted to pick up the pace but falling down another pit wasn?t such an attractive idea right at this moment. What was attractive, was the little source of light Willie noticed as he got closer and closer to the tunnel?s end. It was flat surface he saw through the shimmering faintness, and Willie could not have been any happier. He cheered loudly, his echoes joining in on the celebration. The teen flipped himself so that he was facing forward on his stomach now, peering through this new, unexpected entrance to the cave. He saw little of note, just more rocks, but darker. He scooted out some more, eventually falling forward out of the tunnel. His arms reached out to help his fall, and Willie performed a weird sort of somersault onto the cavern?s floor.

The cave, or at least this room, was dimly lit. Some torches hung high along the walls, a few lanterns too, the leftovers of the cave?s expansions Willie assumed. He made out two more tunnels ahead of him, both much larger, in width and height, than the one he had unwillingly traveled through. Perhaps it may have been a trick, or his eyes adjusting to the darkness, but were they? shaking? He felt it first, saw it second, as small rocks and the ground shuddered around him, his vision coming unfocused. Then he heard it, the deep, low rumblings as something, something big, started to approach.

Skystrike · Jun 14, 2018

Trent Marsh

Trent's Pokemon

VS. Alyssa

Without any further interruptions, Trent had finally made it into Rusturf Tunnel. As he walked inside with Dennis beside him, he looked around, taking in the gray, rocky surroundings. The tunnel was a stark contrast to Route 116; it was a lot quieter compared to outdoors. The wild Pokemon seemed to be a lot more timid as well, as a Whismur peeked out from behind some boulders at Trent, and then skittered off into the darkness. Trent and Dennis's appearance seemed to only add to the silence, the pair were both silent as they walked through the cave. The silence unnerved the trainer--frankly, he couldn't stand it. Finally, he decided to break the silence.

"Ummm... Hey Dennis, how are you holding up?" Trent asked, his voice echoing through the cave. The Elekid looked at him briefly, and then went back to staring at the ground. Trent decided to try asking Dennis another question. "So, you know, I've noticed you're a little defiant, and after that battle with the wild Poochyena you've been even more distant... why's that?" His voice once again echoed through the cave alone, not being joined by any sort of response from Dennis.

The beginning trainer let out a sigh. Did he really expect for a Pokemon to tell him what's wrong? Once again the cave became silent. After what seemed to be forever, Trent heard something, a hushed murmuring. Was he imagining it?

"Hey, Dennis. Do you hear voices?"

Dennis looked up at him, shaking his head.

As the two walked, the voices got closer. Trent lead the pair down what seemed to be an endless amount of tunnels until the trainer noticed a tall figure, perhaps a girl, talking with someone else.

"Everything seems to be going smoothly so far." The female voice said quietly, barely above a whisper. Like her words, her face was just barely discernable, as she faced away from the guide lights hanging throughout the tunnel. Another voice spoke, but whatever they were saying was little more than a mumble from where Trent stood.

Whatever the female voice meant by that was lost on Trent, but it was enough to pique his curiosity. He knew eavesdropping on people's conversations might be rude, but no one would notice, would they? He hadn't seen anyone else in the tunnel, so it was just him and those two shrouded figures. Trent started to approach the source of the female voice, trying to be as careful as possible. Part of him wanted to dart out and ask what was going on, and he tried his hardest to not ruin... whatever he was trying to do right now. "Why am I doing this, anyway? I should just mind my business and..."

Suddenly a brilliant flash of yellow sparks briefly illuminated the cave behind him, catching him off guard. He flinched and turned around on the spot to find Dennis trying to attack a Zubat that fluttered around him, firing wildly aimed Thunder Shocks at the bat.

"Dennis, what are you doing?!" he shouted at the Elekid, surely sending his voice ringing through the cave. Dennis turned towards him with a scowl, and then fired an intense bolt at the Zubat, shocking it. It seemed to get the point that Dennis was annoyed by its presence and flew off before any more electric attacks were aimed at it.

"Dang it, everyone in a mile radius probably heard that shout..." Trent groaned. "Dennis, that Zubat wasn't doing any harm to you, so why'd you have to do that?"

"Ele!" Dennis spat back defensively.

"What the-?! I'll go deal with whatever that was. Looker, get out of here, if you're compromised this whole thing goes to sh*t." The tall figure closed in on Trent at an alarming speed. Grabbing the trainer by the front of his shirt with one hand and clenching her other into a fist, the woman was all but ready to strike until she noticed who's face she was about to pummell into the cave floor.

"Ah... sorry. You're one of Roxanne's other trainers aren't you?" Sheepishly smiling, the young woman known as Alyssa Hawkins, released her grip and took a few steps back. "You sure surprised me there. Apologies again, I just get a little jumpy sometimes."

One moment, Trent was having an argument with Dennis, and the next moment, the woman that was talking with someone had rushed over to him and lifted him by his shirt. Luckily she realized it was a misunderstanding and let go of him. He panted, regaining his breath. Once he regained his breath, he said, "Jumpy or not, what the hell was that for?!" Dennis went over to Trent's side, and then began giving the same scowl he gave to Trent earlier to Alyssa. "Anyways... what was going on over there?"

"Oh, nothing, just ran into an old friend that's all!" Taking time between each word, as genuine as she usually seemed, there was something more calculated about her demeanor. The smile always on her face, now an artifice for the thoughts rushing through her mind. "I think that's why I got so worked up there, ya know? Emotions running high and all that."

Trent mulled over it for a moment. "Well, I was wondering what 'Everything seems to be going smoothly so far' meant, but.... it's okay." Trent perked up. "It's nice to meet you, even if it was your hand meeting my shirt. I'm Trent Marsh!" he said cheerfully, holding his hand out. "And you are?"

"Alyssa Hawkins! Pleased to meet you!" She took his hand gave it a firm handshake. "It's great to finally meet you in person. Roxanne gave me the run down on all of you guys and I've been dying to get acquanited with everyone!" The slightly taller trainer crouched down to the Elekid standing beside Trent. "This must be Dennis then. Ice Punch is quite the formidable move for him to have. I was pretty taken aback when I saw that on your sheet. Elekid is a strong one... you've got yourself a good starter here."

"Maybe a little bit too strong," Trent remarked. "He's a little bit of a loose cannon right now." Upon hearing Alyssa's compliments, the Elekid stood proud, responding with a prideful "Kid!" to them.

"So, you're going to Verdanturf, right?" Trent asked. "Say... got time to see just how strong Dennis really is?" he said, a grin on his face.

"Of course! I've been itching for a good battle, it feels like it's been ages!" Alyssa grabbed a poke-ball from her bag and tossed it out, releasing Eris in a red flash. The Axew sneered as she appeared, sizing up her competition. "We're ready whenever you are."

"That's an Axew, right?" Trent said, briefly taking out his Pokedex, scanning the Dragon-type and then putting it away. "We should be able to win this for sure, Dennis." Dennis stepped out in front of Trent to face Eris, showing no signs of fear, and returning Eris's sneer.

"Alright, Dennis! Let's open up with a Quick Attack!" Dennis rushed at an amazing speed towards the Axew, leaving a trail of white light behind him.

Alyssa smirked as the strategy in her mind fell into place. "Steady, Eris. Take it like a champ, you know what to do next." Before the Axew could even nod in response, Dennis slammed into her, knocking the dragon-type back. Wincing in pain, Eris paused for moment, letting a dark energy form around her claws.

"Hit him with an Assurance!" In response, she hammered the move into the Elekid, sending him crashing backwards. "Assurance hits twice as hard when you're damaged first. Gotta pay attention more in class, bud."

Dennis was sent flying backwards by the Assurance, slamming into the cave floor and sending a few Pokemon nearby back into hiding. "Crap, we fell into that one... Dennis, get back up!" Trent commanded. The Elekid leapt to its feet, dusting itself off. "We've gotta make up for that... try to get in and use Ice Punch!" Dennis's fist glowed a light blue, and he began dashing towards Eris--though not as fast as before.

"Here it is. Up and Dragon Pulse!" What might sound like nonsense to an outsider's ears triggered the Axew into a maneuever that it had practiced a countless number of times. Sprinting forward a few paces, she unleashed a shockwave of draconic energy down towards the ground, sending her flying through the air. Flipping gracefully over the charging Elekid, she landed nimbly behind him, sending another shockwave straight for him.

Trent gave Alyssa a quizzical look, thinking Eris was going to jump. "Dennis, 'go up' with Alyssa's Axew! ...Er, whatever that means..." Dennis jumped into the air, dodging the Axew's first shock wave. However, much to Trent and Dennis's surprise, Eris flipped right over Dennis's head. The beginning trainer realized what was happening a moment too late as Eris fired another shockwave at the Elekid, knocking the Elekid across the cave floor as he landed from the earlier. Dennis stood back up, struggling a little, his legs wobbling. "That was a pretty neat trick, Alyssa!" he said in awe. "But we're not going to let that finish us off!" He wasn't completely sure of what they could do now, both of his ideas would most likely end up with them losing the match. Then, another solution popped into his head.

"Dennis, use the strongest Thunder Shock you can muster--" he began, but he watched as Dennis began picking up speed again, fueled by pride and anger, going for another Ice Punch. "Wait, Dennis!" Trent called out. "Slow down, you're just going to get hit again if we just charge in...!"

"You gotta get more in touch with your friend there." Alyssa cocked her head to the side, motioning Eris towards the wall. The Axew nodded, waiting for Dennis to close in before Dragon Pulsing towards the wall. The force propelled her out of reach, avoiding the Ice Punch once more. "End it." Regaining her footing, she sent one more Pulse right at the Elekid.

This time, Eris simply propelled herself to the wall using Dragon Pulse. The Elekid stopped charging, only to take the incoming Dragon Pulse face first. This time, once he was sent skidding across the ground, he didn't get back up. "Well... looks like we lost again," Trent said, scratching his head. He took out Dennis's Pokeball and it shot out a red beam, recalling the fainted Elekid back into his Pokeball. "Man, that Axew of yours is really strong... and it listens to you."

"She sure is, isn't she!" Alyssa grinned as she scooped Eris into her arms and rubbed behind her fin. "I've known this little girl since she was first hatched, so we're about as close as it gets." The Axew growled in delight as she was rewarded for her victory. "You might have lost today, but the two of you have a lot of potential. He's a strong pokemon and I think that you're a pretty competent trainer. You guys just need to get on the same wave length, that's all." Letting Eris back down, the trainer gave an encouraging thumbs up to Trent. "You'll get there eventually! Sometimes it just takes a bit of time for these bonds to form."

Trent nodded. "Thanks for the reassuring words. I just hope we aren't like this forever." He held up Dennis's Pokeball, a determined look on his face. "I dunno if I need to prove myself to you or something, but whatever it is that I... no, that we need to do, we'll do it." He turned back to Alyssa. "Alright, I'm going to go to Verdanturf now. Maybe next time we meet it won't have to be in a dark cave tunnel, eh?"

"Maybe a dark room while suffice next time." Alyssa responded with a wink. "Before you go though, these are for you." She handed him a small disc alongside a black and yellow ball. "Dennis may not be able to learn it, but who knows, maybe you'll find a pokemon that can learn Dragon Pulse somewhere along the line, and when you do you're gonna need more firepower than a regular ball to catch it." Returning Eris back to her poke-ball, the young woman gave a genuine smile. "It was nice to meet you Trent, hopefully I'll see you again sometime soon."

"Yeah, same here! Take care, now!" With a smile and a wave, Trent turned back the way he came from. He may have lost this battle, too, but he was sure that he and Dennis would sort out their issues soon enough. He still couldn't help but wonder what Alyssa was doing, but he put that thought in the back of his mind. It was probably nothing that concerned him.

forg · Jun 15, 2018

Varianna "Vivi" Sochi

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"Ah you look so adorable! I can just squeeeeeeze you to death!" Vivi squealed out in glee, yet the comment sent the bug into a slight panic. At this point he'd find her to be capable of such a feat.

The Silk Scarf she received as a gift from the wurmples she saved is now tied around Anorith's neck. Simple research done back in town revealed it to be a normal-type move booster. Seeing as how Weedle had no such moves it was only natural to allow the rock bug to sport it.

Like Anorith, Vivi let Weedle roam out of her pok?ball. She was rather uncomfortable at first, following behind her trainer with a distance of a few feet. But it didn't take long for the bug to close the gap.

The trainer hummed as she strolled through the route. Stretching across the horizon was the cavern that housed Rusturf Tunnel, sharply stabbing the baby blue sky above. Some meandered near while others bravely entered the twisting tunnels.

A lone trainer sat with her sneasel not too far from the entrance with a pair of delicious, scarlet red apples. She watched as the Pok?mon not only devoured its own, but managed to get a hold of its trainer's. It must have quite the appetite.

The whole scene didn't faze Vivi nor her stomach, yet Anorith's guts growled in contrast.

Vivi paused upon the tunnel's entrance. "Hmmmmmm. HMMMMM." Anorith's body mimicked a limp noodle, sliding down her back and on to the rough terrain beneath. "...HMMMMM?" the trainer persisted in her curiosity, knelt down and glaring at her prehistoric bug. "What is that I hear~?" She cups her ears, playfully singing to the creature. "What's that? What's that~?" The bug returned a concerning glance, uncertain of her sanity. Weedle easily grew annoyed. Too soon did Vivi get on her nerves.

Eventually Vivi's hands rummaged through the bag's contents in search of food. Fortunately during her trip back for some silk scarf research Vivi had picked up a bag of bread. "Lookie here. A delicious, soft, fresssssssh loaf of bread," she gingerly placed before Anorith, fingers opening the bag at a sloth's pace.

Suddenly a faint scream pierced the calm atmosphere. It caught Vivi's attention, body jolting up to get a better view of her surroundings. The source seemed to emanate from the general location of the tunnels. Anorith brushed it off, steadily pulling the bread towards himself with steady claws.

Weedle didn't hesitate to curl herself around her ankle, already anticipating her next actions. Anorith however didn't bother at first, hungrily devouring the food temptingly set in front. "Sounds like somebody may need a hero." She stretched. "Welp, gotta go fast." With that said she took off into a jog, taking the rock bug by surprise.

"Nooooooooor! Anoooooor!" he shrieked, claws clinging on to the bread as he chased after his trainer.

Within the cave one can find trainers littered. Some partook in pokedex hunting, whereas others were strolling through. Each were experiencing a unique journey - a new chapter of their life - possibly intertwining with others.

She spent a good ten minutes dashing left and right, at times rudely running right smack in the middle of another's Pok?mon battle. But it appears nobody is in need of rescue. Nobody is in peril or displaying distress. "Awww bummer. Was looking forward to some fun." Anorith at last caught up, bread squished into a mess due to the running. He is exhausted, a panting mess that spread across the cold, inviting floor.

"WOOOooooOOOOOOooooOOO!" A blue blur startled Anorith, stealing the bread for itself.

"Tch, NO NO NOR!" he whined, hunger unsatisfied. Vivi swiveled around and locked eyes with a Woobat. Its fangs dug into the soft snack, the weight preventing it from flying in one spot.

"That thing stole your bread!" Vivi began, slightly chuckling. "Don't tell me you'll let them get away with it, hmmm?" The bug sprawled in defeat, much to Vivi's disappointment. "Nah, we'll brawl it out. It's your bread afterall~!"

"...rith," he blurted out in defiance, never budging. Vivi contemplated the dilemma, eyes flickering from Anorith, to the Woobat, and back.

"Tell me when you're feeling at least 0.I%, mmmkay? Weedle, let's go get his bread back from this adorable thief."

"Wee wee!" she replied in glee, at last seeing the fruition of her patience. To battle is all she can ponder. To be strong... to be capable. She refuses to remain weak and let others overpower her as they have before. Maybe then she'll feel as if she deserves being around wurmple.

"Alrighty, then fight we will! Weedle, posiiiiiiitiiiiiioooon!" she hollered before reverting into mumbled. "I've always wanted to say that... ooooo it feels so good!"

Groc · Jun 16, 2018

Wilfred strolled into Rusturf Tunnel, looking around in wonder. Admittedly, it was a dark cave with very little in the way of interesting sights, but he'd never been in a cave before. Roxbury hadn't been very excited to see more rocks, so he'd decided to let Bella out for a bit so she could look around. As usual, the little mushroom was excited, not just to see something new, but to see if there was anything she could fight. She soon got her answer when Wilfred heard the flapping of wings.

A blue bat swooped down from above, whooshing past Wilf's head. He ducked instinctively, nearly dislodging Bella from his shoulder. The Zubat (as his Pokedex helpfully clarified) came back again, this time hovering in front of Wilfred, bobbing and weaving through the air as it flapped frantically. "Well, hey there, little guy!" Wilfred grinned at the creature. "You seem like quite the bundle of energy, but I don't think I want you playing with my little Bella. So we're just going to leave now, okay?"

Zubat shrieked loudly (Supersonic, said the Pokedex), apparently unwilling to let these intruders escape. More Zubat heard the sound, dropping from the ceiling to join their comrade. "And that's my cue to leave!" Wilfred ran for the nearest tunnel, returning Bella to the safety of her Pokeball. He ran until he couldn't run anymore, and collapsed against the wall gasping for breath.

(He had run for about a minute, and hadn't gotten very far.)

As he caught his breath, he looked around at the area he found himself in. The tunnel here seemed old, like it had been abandoned a while ago. Loose rocks had fallen from the ceiling, and cracked boulders lay scattered throughout the tunnel. Another tunnel led deeper into the cave, partially obscured by fallen rocks. Heaving himself to his feet, Wilfred approached the old tunnel, convinced he had heard something moving in there. "Hello? Anyone there?"

There was a sound of shuffling feet, but no reply. Sending out Roxbury, Wilfred commanded the Geodude to smash the boulders blocking the tunnel with the TM move the workers had given him. Roxbury did as instructed, and soon Wilfred could enter the old tunnel. As he went in, he noticed the tunnel starting to slope down, going deeper underground. He soon came to a small cavern, where a delightfully chubby Pokemon was slamming itself into the walls, leaving behind dents and cracks.

The Pokedex identified the Pokemon as a Makuhita, and Wilfred was simply overjoyed to see it. "Oh, you are just so cool!" Wilfred gushed, taking the Pokemon by surprise. It stopped its training to stare at the human, taking note of his similar build. "I realize you must be busy, but I would simply love it if you could come with me on my journey. What do you say?"

Makuhita stared in disbelief, not sure what to make of this human. It had never heard of a human just asking a Pokemon to join them. It had always heard that a test of strength was required, a battle to see if Pokemon and human were strong enough, no, worthy enough to become partners. It nodded, a grim frown on its face. The old traditions must be respected.

Wilfred tilted his head in confusion, his smile becoming nervous. "Hey, why so serious?" Makuhita took a stance, squaring its body and making the "come on" gesture with one boxing gloved hand. "Oh, it wants to battle?" Wilfred sighed. "Just like-" Bella leapt from her Pokeball, grinning joyfully. She laughed, bobbing from side to side. Makuhita nodded at her, and the battle began. Wilfred resignedly looked at his Pokedex, ready to give instructions.

"Alright, we'll start with Tackle!" Bella charged forward, being the faster of the two, but Makuhita's hands produced an orange glow. Before Bella could strike, Makuhita slammed his hands together, right in front of Bella, producing a shockwave that knocked Bella back to where she started. "Hey!" Wilfred protested. "That wasn't very fair!" The Pokedex identified the move as "Fake Out", a one-off move that could stop almost any attack in its tracks. Bella hopped back onto her feet, grinning fiercely. This battle was starting to get interesting now. Makuhita resumed his stance.

"Ooh, this looks like a good choice! Use Leech Seed!" Bella leaned forward, launching a trio of seeds at Makuhita. The seeds struck true, one on each arm and one on the head, immediately splitting open and wrapping Makuhita with vines. Makuhita pushed forward, reaching Bella just as she looked up. He slapped her with an open palm, first the left, then the right, then left, then right. Bella wasn't smiling now, instead frowning in annoyance. Globules of red energy seeped from the seeds and floated toward her, being absorbed through her skin and restoring some health.

Wilfred looked nervously at Bella. Those hits hadn't hurt much, but there had been a lot of them. With her healing abilities, she could recover, but she needed to level the playing field. "Hey, try your Stun Spore!" Bella shook back and forth, releasing a stream of yellow spores from her head. The spores washed over Makuhita, causing him to lock up. More red energy seeped into Bella, and Wilfred sighed in relief. "Okay, use Absorb." He said with a smile. His smile dropped when he saw Makuhita smirking.

Bella fired the red beam from her head at Makuhita, draining more of his energy for herself. Makuhita pushed forward, a sphere of white energy forming in his hand. He shoved his palm into Bella, the sphere of ki detonating on impact, blasting Bella back. She struggled to rise, aided by more red energy from the Leech Seeds. Wilfred frantically consulted the Pokedex, seeing that Makuhita had just used Force Palm, and that the paralysis had triggered its Guts ability, boosting its strength. He also noticed that Makuhita was reaching his limits, while Bella was nearly spent. It was time for him to make his move.

"My turn! Goooooo, Pokeball!" He stepped past Bella, winding up his arm and tossing the ball. It slipped from his grip, landing halfway between him and Makuhita. Makuhita looked at the ball, then up to Wilf, then back to the ball. Wilfred hurried forward and kicked the ball into Makuhita, absorbing it inside. Bella stifled a laugh, making Wilfred turn red. The ball clicked, signifying a successful capture.

Wilfred returned Bella to her ball, clipping both hers and Makuhita's to his belt. "I was really excited to see that Pokemon," he thought to himself, "But that was easily the toughest fight I've ever been in! Makuhita is strong, and has a lot of tricks! He needs a name, though... Big sumo wrestler, lots of tricks or components... like Chankonabe! That's a bit of a mouthful, though... I'll call him Chan!"

Spoiler:

Wilfred took the time to replace Chan's Sand Attack with Rock Smash before heading down the tunnel again.

Spoiler:

Skystrike · Jun 16, 2018

Trent Marsh

Trent's Pokemon

Rocking and Rolling in Rusturf Tunnel, Part 1

Trent had parted ways with Alyssa and went back through the series of winding tunnels and hidden paths to go back the way he had came from, and started on his way once again to Verdanturf Town. His pace was slightly faster than when he had first entered Rusturf Tunnel, anxious that a wild Pokemon could appear and attack him. Although he still had Garu on his side, the majority of the cavern's Pokemon were Rock types that would be more than a match for the small flying type. Soon he emerged into a more lighted, busy area, where trainers—mostly Hikers on the prowl for Rock-type Pokemon—prowled the area. Ordinarily he may have stopped and challenged one of the Hikers for a battle, but that would be pretty suicidal—Garu would most likely have to fight a Geodude or something like that, and then what would Trent do if he lost? So he kept his head forward on the path, resisting any tendencies to do anything different.

Soon the murmurs of people's voices became increasingly more distant until they faded, leaving Trent and his thoughts to himself. The boy hated being left to hear himself think, often he couldn't keep up with the conversation happening in his own mind. How can I win Dennis over? Will we ever improve? Will I be able to win this upcoming gym battle? What's waiting for us in Verdanturf? What'll we find beyond Verdanturf?

Trent's mind began moving a mile an hour. To get his mind off of his racing thoughts, he impulsively took out Garu's Pokeball and released the bird Pokemon in a bright flash of light. Maybe he could keep Trent company as he trekked through the cave? Garu blinked a few times, adjusting to the darkness of the cave. Last time he'd been outside of the Pokeball, it had been bright and sunny. Then he flittered around Trent erratically, wondering why he had been called out.

"Starly, what do you think of the nickname 'Garuda'?" Trent inquired. The Starly tilted its head slightly, a little confused by the name's origin, but it sounded good to him. "Hmm... but you're just a Starly right now. How about Garu?" Garu chirped, vocalizing his approval of the nickname. Then he landed on top of Trent's head, settling down in Trent's wild, uncontrolled raven black hair. Trent couldn't help but giggle at the sensation.

The two continued through the dimly-lit tunnel, with Trent sharing his past with the starling Pokemon. Yeah, maybe he couldn't respond, but listening was just as good. Garu ruffled his feathers from time to time, or murmured a "Star..." in response to something. Apparently this human was no stranger to Pokemon, having grown up around them. So then why was Trent having trouble with the Elekid that he fought earlier? Even if that Elekid was a little defiant, Garu hoped that he wouldn't be as much trouble as the Electric type.

The cavern path had been linear for a while, and more narrow as well. Eventually it opened up into a small clearing covered in brown rocks that appeared to be burrowed into the ground. To the left was a a small perch leading to a higher plateau that anyone could climb up. The main attraction, though, was a brown Pokemon wearing a skull on its head frantically moved about the clearing, searching for...something.

"Hey, that's a Cubone, isn't it...?" Trent whispered, carefully taking out his Pokedex. "Oh jeez, these are pretty rare! Imagine if we were to catch one, Garu?"

"Staaar!" Garu responded. It would be a little difficult to do, but he was willing to help Trent get that Cubone if that's what he wanted. As it turns out, though, that wouldn't be able to happen. A bone appeared from the pitch black darkness of the left side of the clearing. The Cubone noticed it and stomped over to the bone, a gleeful look on its face. That's when Garu noticed something jumped out from the shadows...!

"Staaaarly!" Garu cried out, using its Growl attack. The Cubone swiveled around to face the Starly, leering at it. "Star, Starly!" Garu said, telling the Cubone that something was jumping out at it. The Cubone raised the bone it was holding and then when the threat appeared from the shadows, Cubone clubbed it using its bone squarely on the face. Trent watched as the threat—a shirtless young man wearing a pair of orange pants. The man fell to the ground, a crimson red bone outline now on its face. The Cubone ran off; it had enough human interaction for one day, but not before it gave Garu a wave of its bone.

"I wonder if that guy's okay?" Trent said, going over to him. The whole situation was enough to send Garu tweeted loudly at the man's misfortune. That guy had it coming to him with what he tried!

"Hey, you okay?" Trent asked the man. "You took a pretty large blow to the face there!" He helped the man to his feet, who turned out to be just a few inches shorter than him. Trent looked him up and down, noticing he was shirtless and his pants were torn in a few places, luckily not in any places that could lead to any embarrassment. "Can I ask why are you shirtless in the middle of a cave?" Trent inquired innocently.

The man ignored his question and flew into a rage after being helped up, though. "What the hell! Your frickin' Starly stared off Cubone!" he yelled, the bone mark from earlier discernible now that his entire face was red from rage. Garu grew quiet once he was called out.

"Huh? That was Garu's fault?"

"Yes, that was YOUR Starly's fault! I've been camping out here for a whole damn week waiting for a Cubone to appear! They're stupid rare you know! Dammit, I'm never going to hear the end of it from the other Pokemaniacs... They'll all make fun of me. 'Leo, all that time you spent in Rusturf Tunnel and you still couldn't catch a Cubone!'" the guy, who was apparently named Leo, ranted.

Trent took out his Pokedex, looking at Cubone's Pokedex entry again. Then he looked up, puzzled by Leo's rage. "But my 'Dex says they're relatively common. Maybe you're just camping in the wrong place?"

"Wh-what?" the man said, flustered. "S-Screw your Pokedex! Even if that's true—which it's not, I would know—you still scared off my capture!"

"I guess you'll just have to wait a week again, won't you?" Trent said nonchalantly, with Garu adding in a more condescending "Star!"

The man stomped his feet, stepping on one of the brown rocks lodged into the ground. "Gaaah!" he yelped, holding his food. "This is all your fault!" the man said, taking out a Luxury Ball. "Come on out, Rocksteady! We'll teach this kid about flipping the bird at us!" The ball released a Rhyhorn from a shower of sparkles. Garu winced a little, taking a Rhyhorn on would be asking for trouble, especially if it knew a Rock-type move. Hopefully Trent wouldn't engage?

"A Rhyhorn?" Trent moaned, taking out his Pokedex once again. "Er.... maybe I can compensate you in a different way?" he said, trying to avoid having to fight the Rhyhorn with Garu.

"Like what? Finding me another Cubone?" The man chuckled, perhaps a little delirious. "Nah, it's too late for that now. If you won't fight, then I'll just make you fight! Rocksteady, use Smack Down!"

The Rhyhorn opened its mouth, slowly gathering energy in a brown orb. Then it fired the orb directly at Trent and Garu. "Garu, get outta the way!" he called out, dropping to the floor just as the ball grazed him. Garu took flight, flying left to get out of the way of the orb. Without hitting a target, the orb slammed into the cavern ceiling and deteriorated harmlessly.

"Fine then, so be it!" Trent said, slowly getting more annoyed. "Garu, use Wing Attack!" Garu began flapping his wings faster until they glowed white, and then slammed into the Rhyhorn using his wings. It seemed like a better idea than waiting to get hit until Garu's wings connected with Rhyhorn's hard, rocky body, sending a sharp pain reverberating through the bird's body. The starling Pokemon cried out in pain as it removed its bruised wings from the Rhyhorn.

Already they were losing this fight. There was no way Garu could win on power alone. I have to outsmart it somehow... Rhyhorn's powerful, but the Pokedex said it that it was incredibly one track minded, right? Trent thought as he got back to his feet. I've gotta abuse that somehow!

"Tackle while it's still up close!" The Pokemaniac called out. Rocksteady kicked its legs and began charging head-first at Garu, who was still trying to tend to its wings. "Garu, Quick Attack in the same direction its charging!" Garu looked alive, let out a shrill chirp as it panicked, and then flew rapidly towards a cave wall as the Rhyhorn charged behind him.

"What are you trying to do?!" Leo demanded.

"Garu, at the wall, fly upwards!" Once Garu and Rocksteady reached the wall, Garu flew sharply upwards, leaving the Rhyhorn to slam violently into the cave wall, causing a small quake to occur. The quake caused the brown, grounded boulders to jostle until about twenty of them were ejected from the floor, revealing that they were all...

"Waitaminute, those aren't just ordinary rocks! Those are Pokemon!" Trent took out his Pokedex, revealing that they were Roggenrola. The Roggenrola all landed on the ground, shaken up by the event. Garu's wings waved in the air as he hovered over the Roggenrola.

"Try Tackling it again!" Leo commanded.

"Wait, what if you trigger another quake and..." Trent's voice faltered

By now, Rocksteady was acting on its own. It turned around and began charging at Garu again. The Roggenrola all waddled out of the way of the Tackle attack, while Garu simply performed the same maneuver again, leading Rocksteady into another wall and triggering a larger quake. The ground and ceilings vibrated and rumbled. All the Roggenrola began waddling in different directions, completely confused by what was going on. Then, on both sides of the clearing, rocks came tumbling down, blocking the way Trent came and the path that would normally be used to leave the clearing.

"...cause a rock slide."

To be continued...

forg · Jun 23, 2018

Varianna "Vivi" Sochi

Anorith observed from the sidelines, more preoccupied with the safety of his teammate opposed to his stolen loaf of bread.

Vivi clasped her hands together, getting herself into a better mentality. "You ready~? Letssa go then! Poison Sting!" However, the bat was a step ahead. As soon as Weedle began her charge the bat viciously flaps its wings. The wind generated was enough to push her back despite her best efforts to march forward.

The bread, held close to Woobat's body, began to crumble. It alarmed Anorith, whose hunger was tempting him to walk right into a battlefield.

"You can do it- NO, wait, actuaaaaally, slam your stinger into the ground!" Vivi hollered amidst the gusts, arm shielding her eyes from the specks of dirt. Weedle stared at her stinger before gasping at the logic behind her trainer's idea.

With determination the bug dug her stinger into the earth before her, eyes glaring at the bat. She pulled her weight forward and repeated the maneuver, getting closer by the moment.

"Woo?!" Confused as to why such a lightweight isn't being blown, the bat increased the gust's intensity. Weedle remained in place, refusing to budge. This tenacity made the Woobat grow anxious. But little did anybody, but poor Anorith, take notice of the bread's crumbling state. By this point half had broken into pieces and scattered, never to meet the bug's belly.

"You got this! Woo!" Vivi cheered. Weedle grimaced, blushing despite letting out a grunt of annoyance. In reality she was enjoying the attention and flattery.

The gusts halted. In its place Woobat let out a small warcry prior to being outlined in a light purple hue. "Awwww how cute~! Wasn't that just adorable, right Weedle?"

"Weeee," the bug smirked, mocking the flying Pokémon. Woobat had fallen for it, instantly closing distance. "Weeee?!"

Vivi panicked, no longer finding the creature endearing. "Use that stinger! Poison sting the thing!" Without hesitation Weedle lifted her tail, but she wasn't quick enough.

The stinger merely grazed the bat's skin before the bug froze midair, unable to move further. At last the confusion took effect, noticeable by the light purple hue engulfing Weedle.

Like a rag doll Weedle was hurled against a nearby rock wall, plopping down on to the ground in a weakened state. A small cough escaped her mouth. "Oooooooh no, oh no no no, that isn't good. Hold on Weedle-chan!"

Anorith picked at the crumbs nearest him. They weren't any bigger than a coin, but it's better than nothing at all. But even then when he reached the fourth crumb, Vivi kicked it on her way to Weedle.

"N-nooooor," he whimpered, backing up to give them space. The last thing he desired was to get mauled on error.

"You know you got energy left in you, go go go! Uh- Here! An apple!" And like that she aimed the fruit right at the Weedle. But all the bug did was stare as it harshly impacted its horn, instantly stuck. Its juices dripped and slowly creeped down her face. From the drips Anorith's baffled facial expression is reflected, unable to believe she had apples stored away this entire time while he starved.

Meanwhile Weedle was regretting joining this human.

"Woooooo!"

The cry reeled Vivi back in, who returned to a fighting mentality. "Okie dokie, let's get back to it. String Shot the bat!" Weedle complied, albeit with a grimace. Unfortunately the flying pokemon was far too quick and far too agile, easily circling around the attack until swooping down for another round of confusion. With both opponents engulfed in a lilac hue, Woobat proceeded to slam Weedle to the ground beneath.

"Okaaaaaay, guess we need to get in a little bit more practice before picking on somebody our own size. Anorith! Sorry to burst your bubble," she apologizes prior to sending him into his pokéball.

A red light engulfed Weedle as she was being trashed about. Once gone the bat let out a confused cry, eyes scanning. Realizing they were all gone save for Vivi, he gained a new target.

"Oooooooh I'd love to play, cutesy batsy, buuuuuut it appears play time is over. How about tomorrow at around the same time, hmmmm~?" Vivi suggested, eyeing the path behind the enemy.

She snatched a pile of dirt as she began her stride. It was hurled as soon as Woobat swooped down for an attack, startling the bat. Fortunately it was enough to get her off his radar, no longer in his line of sight.

For a minute she did nothing but run, at some point stepping on a wild Pokemon before abruptly changing trajectory, hoping to lose the bat and the now awoken creature.

Even though she had successfully tossed them off her track, Vivi was lost. She is[/] lost.

"Aha... hahahaha.... AHAHAHAHA!" Had it not been for a painful cough the trainer would have continued in her crazed laughter, finding joy in being thrown into such a dilemma. "Ooo that hurt. Yep." Despite the temptation to summon her two bugs, they were injured, or hungry in Anorith's case, thus capable of slowing her down.

But they were so cute gosh darn it.

She released Weedle and Anorith into the darkness with only a faint light to guide their way. Anorith climbed up to her shoulder to rest, too famished to continue by foot. Weedle, on the other hand, was puffing and huffing. "You guys did good... real good," she began a feel-good speech before suddenly switching the direction of her message. "...actually that was horrible. Oh jeez, so bad. So so so bad. But! Know what that means? We get to train! Sounds like fun, doesn't it~?"

Despite the sighs she trekked on, moving forward in hopes for an exit to pop out. In reality she was terrified and doubtful of a miracle, but her group needed somebody to keep the atmosphere alive. Not depressing.

As they moved on Vivi began to notice Weedle slowing down overtime. Yet, when she offered a shoulder to lean on, Weedle refused and ignored her hands. However, it didn't take long before the bug began to demand resting stops. It was during the third stop that Vivi at last snatched the bug from the ground and hugged her tight. She squirmed and she whimpered, but soon she calmed and fell asleep, worn out.

Together the trio continued.

Groc · Jun 26, 2018

A JP with doge

It towered over him, this giant, serpentine amalgamation of jagged boulder and stone. Nosily grinding onto the rocks, the giant Pok?mon slowly slithered into the open space of cavern, rocking itself forwards with its lower half. A lump formed in Willie?s throat, the boy straining himself to keep silent. Every muscle in his body tensed as he scrunched himself up against the cavern?s wall, hoping to make himself as small as possible.

Willie studied it intensely. The Pok?mon?s eyes, sharp black beads, were focused above, its wide chin coming up over him. He had an idea of what this Pok?mon was, its name and all other sorts of information about it on the tip of his tongue, but his thoughts were too crowded by fear to recall it. Willie had never thought of Pok?mon as scary, although they were rather dangerous, many being far more powerful than say a fully-grown man, but in this moment, next to this gargantuan snake-like monster, he could hardly keep himself calm. Carefully, Willie lifted a hand, cringing at the slight rustle of pebbles that the motion made ? he was oddly hyperaware of the noises he himself produced, in spite of the constant rumbling and grinding of rocks from the Pok?mon?s movements. Fortunately, it hadn?t seemed to notice.

He slowly reached into his pockets, careful not to make a sound. The boy nearly gasped when he realized, his search coming up empty. His Pok?dex was gone. It came back to him then, his mind rewinding to the moment that Starly had swooped down from the sky, snatched his Pok?dex within its talons, and led him on a wild goose chase. Could he battle something like this despite knowing practically nothing about it? Willie?s Pok?mon were small, even if by generous measurements, Lott was barely even half of his size. Meanwhile, this thing towered over him by leaps and bounds. It would be a ridiculous contest, terribly one-sided.

Wilfred emerged from a tunnel, cradling Bella in his arms. He spotted the giant stone serpent crawling along the tunnel, oblivious to anything else in the area. "Oh, that is amazing!" He whispered in awe, lifting Bella so she could see. He pulled out his Pokedex as well, reading what he could. "Oh, it's called Onix! It's really big!"

To the sound of the voice, the large Pokemon turned sharply, its tail, smaller than the upper half of its lengthy body, although still plently wide, headed straight onto a collision course with Willie?s head. The boy could almost envision the splatter. He ducked, hard.

Wilfred stood still as the Onix loomed over him, lowering its massive head to get a closer look. It didn't seem very impressed, but Wilfred was having the time of his life. This was just like a scene from a movie, with the massive but assuredly gentle creature peering at the much smaller human. Wilf reached out slowly, trying to touch Onix's face.

Willie sprawled out onto the ground, but in doing do, had smacked his chin hard against the rocky floor. It stunned him momentarily, but he was still conscious. The stinging pain plenty proof of that.

What had the voice called it? There was a sense of familiarity with the word, but for the life of him he couldn?t remember it. Willie had definitely heard it, that the boy was certain, but in his head it came out as a slurring noise, something utterly incomprehensible. It made no sense to him whatsoever.

Willie stood up, slowly, staggering for a brief moment. Steadying himself against the wall, Willie called out to the darkness, the direction in which the Onix was now facing, ?What type is it?!?

Wilfred and Onix both reacted in surprise to the voice, Onix turning its head sharply to look for the source. Wilfred fumbled for his Pokedex, obliging the mysterious question. "It's a Rock type!" He called out. "And also a Ground type! Isn't it incredible?"

"Thank you!" Willie shouted back, his hands fumbling nervously for the Pokeball. The hit to the chin had knocked most of the fear out of Willie, although the sheer size of the creature still left him uneased. The boy certainly had to admit the Pokemon was incredible as the voice had said. It was an awe-inspiring thing, both in terms of fear and wonder. He wanted to capture it as much as he was scared of it.

Willie threw out his Pokeball, the red beam briefly illuminating the room. In that moment, he could make out the tinted silhouette of the person whom the voice belonged. He was a large man, bigger than Willie in both width and height. The excited, beaming look on his face came as a shock to the boy. It was the total opposite of what had been Willie's reaction. Lott leaped out onto the ground as the room sunk back into a dimly lit darkness and Willie redirected his focus. "Rock... and Ground. One of those has to be weak to Grass, right?" The boy muttered to himself, his head still slightly rattled.

"Vine Whip!" He meant it as a command to Lott, but when Willie peered up at the towering Pokemon, he shrieked the move out in a chokey, puberty-induced fashion. However the mysterious man saw this Pokemon, Willie couldn't, at least not now.

Lott was itching to return to battle, his foray with his now companion Bidoof and the gang of Poochyena not enough to satisfy the Pokemon's well of energy. The vines shot out from the Bulbasaur's budding, stretching high above before striking down in an arch towards the Pokemon's coarse, rocky body. Being so large made it an easy target for Lott. The vines, flexible and quick as they were, would be difficult to dodge. The hits struck true, and the giant rock Pokemon shuddered with a loud, pained roar. Willie could hardly believe it, despite it's overwhelming size and stature, was this Pokemon going to go down that easily?

Wilfred wasn't sure exactly what was happening, but was a little disappointed that a battle had broken out already. He had set Bella down while he checked his Pokedex, and she was bouncing with excitement as Bulbasaur's vines struck the giant Onix. She tugged at Wilf's leg excitedly, but he shook his head. "You can't fight right now, you're still recovering from fighting Chan. Besides, it's already fighting someone else. How would you feel if somebody interrupted one of your fights?" Bella nodded in understanding, letting out a soft sound like "oh..."

"HEY!" Wilfred called out. "My name's Wilfred! I'm here to provide encouragement and information if you want! Also, if needed, rescue. But you definitely won't need that, you're doing great!" He gave a big grin and a thumbs up, not sure how well it would be conveyed in the dim light, but willing to try anyway.

Willie appreciated the thought, but it was wholely unnecessary. It took only a few more lashes for the large Pokemon to submit. Lott grunted as if this were a normal day on the job while Willie hastily threw out a pokeball. Without so much as a struggle, the ball shook three times before the capsule sealed with an echoing click. He scooped it up off the ground, and then approached the man who had helped him with a bright, somewhat proud face.

?Hi, stranger. I?m Willie! Thanks for helping me out!? As he spoke, the adrenaline and excitement of it all wearing off, Willie became accutely aware of a gash along his chin, right in the spot he had fallen. He was smiling like a fool while dripping blood all over the ground. ?Aha... oops.?

"Oh, no problem!" Wilfred replied, reaching into his bag. "I'm always happy to help! Here, hold this on there." He pulled a small handkerchief out of his bag, offering it to Willie. "This will help stop that bleeding." Bella ran over towards Lott, the little Shroomish babbling excitedly, no doubt about the battle she just witnessed. "Aw, look! Our Pokemon are becoming friends!" Wilf grinned at the sight, his optimism and energy at an all time high.

?Play nice!? Willie shouted to his Bulbasaur, now playfully whipping at Bella, renacting the battle that had just taken place. He dabbed the handkerchief at his chin, ?Thanks again.?

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but what brings you all the way down here? It seems a little out of the way, especially since I only saw one way in."

?I, uhh, kinda fell down here...? Willie sheepishly pointed over at the gap of the burrow he had fallen down, although there wasn?t much to look at, the gap barely visible with this lighting and from this distance. ?Any chance you?re going to Verdanturf?? He asked, hoping to change the subject.

Wilfred looked over toward the hole, wincing a little at the distance. "Well, actually, I am headed that way. I just came down here to check out the noise I heard. Guess it was that Onix! Nice job on that capture, by the way."

Bella bounced happily as Lott reenacted the fight, showing off a little by using Absorb at nothing in particular. Even tired as she was, she was considering having a fight with the Bulbasaur, but she knew Wilfred would never go for it, so she settled for pretending instead.

"Hey, I have an idea!" Wilfred said. "Since I'm going the same way as you, and I happen to know the way out, why don't you come with us?"

?I was actually about to ask. I?d like the company too, been by myself just talking to my Pokemon almost all day.? Willie replied, grinning. The handkerchief Wilfred had given him now stuck onto his chin like a bandaid. ?Lott, we?re leaving!? He called out to his Bulbasaur, who was now motioning for Bella to hop onto his back, energy left to expend.

"Great! Follow me, I know the way! Come on, Bella!" Wilfred was happy Willie had agreed, as he too had been by himself all day. Bella hopped onto Lott's back, having never received a ride like this before. It wasn't a battle, but it was still fun and new.

Wilfred led the group back into the tunnel he'd come out of. He started talking as he walked. "Honestly, I'm not terribly excited about caves, but this one looks very nice and it's good to try new things every once in a while. Would you believe that this trip is the first time that I've gone on such a long journey? I used to hate walking all the way to the mailbox!"

?It?s only my first time out on a journey too, but in my opinion you seem like a natural!? Willie was glad to just tag along his new friend?s lead, the day, he felt, having had a bit too much action packed into it.

To Wilf's surprise, the next corner he turned led to a dead end. "Oh, uh... haha, I must have gotten turned around. We actually should have turned left back there, not right. Let's just double back real quick..." He led them back a ways, taking them down a different tunnel. It ended at a fork, which wasn't familiar to Wilfred at all. "Yyyyep, and now we turn right!" He forced himself to be enthusiastic, but was starting to sweat a little. "We'll be out of here in no time!'

?No time like now, huh?? Willie wanted to lighten the mood, he was more than happy to take their time getting out of the tunnels. After a few moments of silence, Willie spoke again. ?You know, mister, I don?t think I caught your name last time. What was it again??

Wilf led the group down the tunnel, walking a little slower since he didn't actually know where to go. "Oh, my name's Wilfred. Wilfred Stanford. It's like having four first names, so feel free to call me whatever you'd like! And that little cutie down there is Bella." He brightened as he noticed signs of construction, like wooden beams supporting the roof, indicating that they were entering the old mine tunnels. "I've also got Chan and Roxbury with me. What about your Pokemon, what are their names?"

?Four? Oh.? Willie chuckled. ?Okay, Stan.? He turned and waved to Bella. ?Hey girl, name?s Willie.? He playfully stuck out an arm to shake. Bella, lacking arms, booped his open hand with the top of her head, grinning and laughing.

?Just joking by the way,? he said, turning back to Wilfred. ?I won?t call you Stan. I like Wil, that way you can call me Will and I can call you Wil. And if anyone ever asks for Will, well.? He pretend-shrugged. ?So you know Lott here, but I got a Bidoof named Buck too, although we?re working on revision. She doesn?t really like it. The Onix, I just caught, well I was thinking about Girdth, you know, like the opposite of length, since it?s so long, well, tall.? Willie realized he droning on. ?So, what exactly is a Chan and a Roxbury??

"Well," Wil explained, noticing there were no branching paths on this tunnel. "Chan is a Makuhita that I caught in these very caves. He's a chubby little sumo guy and he's really cool. Roxbury is the Geodude I was given as my starter, but he's not like other Geodudes. He's from someplace foreign, so he's Rock and Electric instead of Rock/Ground. He's also cool, but more laid back. Maybe later you can meet... hello, what's this?"

Wilfred stopped talking as he approached another dead end, noticing something on the ground. It appeared to be another disk, like the TM he'd received from the construction workers outside. "Someone must have dropped this... I'll hold onto for now!" He put the disk in his bag, turning around and heading back down the tunnel. He noticed it starting to slant upward, and was certain they could follow it to the exit. This time for sure!

"Anyway, as I was saying, maybe later we can meet all of our Pokemon. After all, Lott and Bella are getting along so well!" As he said this, Bella was dozing off on top of Lott's bulb, enjoying his warmth and sweet scent.

Up ahead, the group could hear the faint noises of construction work. The exit to Verdanturf wouldn?t be too far off. Willie wanted to get himself looked at soon, a little concerned with the bumps and scratches he accrued from the fall, but primarily hoping to get the gash along his chin looked at.

Soon enough, they saw a construction worker sitting down against the wall, presumably on his break. Willie ran up to the man, excited to finally be able to breathe fresh air again. ?Hey, mister! Do you know the way out of these caves??

"Course I do. I work here, don't I?" The worker seemed almost offended by the implication. "So what you gotta do is take that there tunnel on the left, follow it past two more tunnels, one on the left and another also on the left, then take that third tunnel to the right. From theres, you'll find yourself at a bit of a crossroads after a ways, but you wanna keep going straight. Eventually, you gets to the main tunnel, then you head right, and badda bing, you're at the exit! It's actually very intuitive if you spend enough time here."

Willie almost forgot it all on the spot, fortunately Wilfred had caught up by the time the man started his explanation. After a few more turns in the tunnels the group finally saw light at the end.

Again, Willie ran on ahead. ?Finally out!? He exclaimed, looking around to take in the sight of the town, only there was none.

Wilfred caught up with Wille at the exit, noticing a very familiar shack outside the tunnel. "Huh. Looks like we're back at the Rustboro side. No need to worry, though!" He clapped a hand on Willie's shoulder in encouragement. "At least now we know which way to go! It should just be a straight shot through the tunnel! Or, we could just head back to Rustboro for a quick break. Either one works for me, honestly."

Skystrike · Jun 28, 2018

Trent Marsh

Trent's Pokemon

Rocking and Rolling in Rusturf Tunnel, Part 2

"Rocksteady, ram into the rock slide as hard as you can! Damn, this'd be much easier if we had the technique for smashing rocks!"

Leo's Rhyhorn crashed into the collapsed cavern again for what seemed to be the millionth time to Trent. It seemed to have been a few hours since the rock slide occurred, and Trent had long given up on trying to get out. Instead, he turned his attention to the collective Roggenrola that popped out of the ground. Since the initial rock slide, the Rhyhorn's continued disturbances had caused more Roggenrola to burrow out of the ground. The relatively small group of twenty had doubled, tripled, and quadrupled, until Trent lost count of how many little boulders were roaming the room. Most of them seemed to be upset with Leo's Rhyhorn disrupting their sleep, but they also seemed to be quite bashful, avoiding any contact with the Spikes Pokémon.

Well, except for one.

There was one Roggenrola in particular that dared approach the the Rhyhorn. It was a bit on the larger side when compared to the other Roggenrola. Every so often, it'd try and help Rocksteady excavate through the rock slide, but to no avail.

"Hey, you. Why aren't you trying to help us get outta here?" Leo inquired.

"I don't think Garu would be much help in this case," Trent said, turning his back to the Roggenrola. "And my other Pokémon is in no shape to help right now. I got into a battle with someone earlier and lost."

The large Roggenrola went back over to its Roggenrola friends and started...communicating with them? It was hard to tell if they were saying anything to each other at all, considering none of the Roggenrola made any vocal sounds.

"Y-Your other Pokémon? What species is it? If it's a rare Pokémon, you have to let me see it!" The Pokémaniac seemed to realize how excited he was getting and cleared his throat. "...After we get out of here, of course."

Trent had been thinking of an easier way for them to get out of the cavern for a while. Rhyhorn's Tackle chipping away at it would take a while. Perhaps if they made enough noise... "Hey, what if we made a bunch of noise? Maybe someone might be able to hear us and come rescue us!" Trent wondered aloud.

"Don't be stupid, we're miles underground. That'd never work." Leo paused for a moment, noticing how dazed Rocksteady looked from slamming itself into the fallen boulders for hours. "...It's better than nothing, though. We'll give it a try, I guess."

"Alright! Let's do this right!" Trent turned to Garu who was still standing on his shoulder. "Garu, Growl as loud as you can!" Garu nodded and started fluttering in the air, using its highest pitched chirps. Leo commanded his Rhyhorn to roar as loudly as possible. And then the two trainers began shouting as loud as they could, yelling "HELP US!" and "WE'RE TRAPPED!" The Roggenrola collective just looked on.

And then someone—no, it was multiple someones—came crashing though the north end of the cavern. A herd of Rhyhorn charged directly towards Trent and Leo, towards the rock slide that they had been trying to get through for hours.

The two of them dove out of the way as the steady stream of racing Rhyhorn busted through the rock slide for them.

"Ever gone Rhyhorn riding?!" Trent shouted over the stampede of Rhyhorn.

"What?" Leo shouted back.

"I heard that in other regions, people ride on Rhyhorn for sport 'n stuff! So let's try it ourselves!" Without waiting for another response from Leo, he jumped onto the next Rhyhorn who passed him, Garu quickly landing back on his left shoulder.

The Rhyhorn ride had taken them back to the main tunnels, and soon Trent and Leo were near the exit. The two of them leaped off the Rhyhorn, though Trent plummeted to the ground as if gravity had intensified.

"Well, we made it," Trent said, dusting himself off. "What a wild ride--"

"Shut it! Now I'm even farther from catching a Cubone than I was before!" Leo said, flying into a rage again.

"...Is that what the heck you're angry about after being trapped in some dark, dry cavern for hours?" Trent scratched his head. "Man, I thought you'd be glad that we got out. The Rhyhorn ride was pretty fun too. I'd say that this was better than catching that silly Cubone."

Leo's face was scarlet from anger. "No it wasn't! Listen, next time we're going to have a real fight. You'll pay for scaring off that Cubone!" He stormed out of Rusturf Tunnel and into Verdanturf.

"Well, this wraps up nicely! Although, I feel like it wrapped up a little too nicely..." Trent started walking, but it was more like a stagger. Sometime between the Rhyhorn herd appearing and getting off of them his bag had grown several times more heavier. Oh well, he'd check it when he got to Verdanturf Town.

[PKMN FULL] Airborne: A Hoenn Journey (IC)

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