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[PKMN FULL] Z: A Kalos Journey [M] [IC]

Sephear

Believe in the you that believes in cheese
1,319
Posts
12
Years





















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Laurent Hessel's Debut


The bathroom door of one of Santalune PokéCenter's many guest rooms burst open to allow a lithe, muscular form to stride gracefully out amongst a wave of steam, wearing only shorts and a towel around his shoulder. The figure whipped its hair back and forth to send what little moisture remained scattering, then smiled widely at the bed even as its bangs covered its eyes. The bundle of clothes prepared far in advance for just this occasion made Laurent's heart flutter with anticipation, after another moment of daydreaming his gaze turned the Bulbasaur sharing the bed with said clothes, who was also admiring them, though with more curiosity than excitement. "This may be a bit much, but one can't simply present themselves for a contest as they would on any other day, now can they? And this is our debut! Let's go, Bernard, it's showtime!"


"Wow folks! such fantastic displays of style, and passion already! Can you believe these guys are beginners?!" Lisia presented to her audience to be immediately met with rabid applause. "If you enjoyed the performances so far as much as I have, then let's keep the streak going with our next contestant! Please welcome to the stage: Laurent Hessel!"

At the Contest Queen's behest, an ivory-clad figure strode proudly onto the stage to stand at the center, back to the audience for a few tantalizing seconds before pivoting in an instant to face his fans.
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The young man stood there in apparent ignorance of the audience, daintily sniffing a Golden Rose as if he were the only one there, then slowly opening his eyes, stopping half way to smile sleepily at the audience over the rose. "Why hello there~" His words were met with stunned silence, though it was impossible to decipher whether from awe or confusion. Seemingly done with the flower, he flung it haphazardly off the stage, he had a spare in his lapel anyways. His gaze grew slightly sharper and more confident when a few people actually grabbed for it. Once he saw a cute young lady lifting the rose triumphantly into the air, Laurent winked at her and pulled a pokéball off of his belt.

The ball was tossed straight up into the air with a dramatic flourish. At the crest of its arc, the ball snapped open and released Bernard, who fell straight down into Laurent's outstretched hand where he was twirled gracefully before being set down next to his trainer. Bernard felt slightly disoriented at his ad-libbed entrance, but quickly regained his senses and stretched out his front-left leg and back-right leg in an impromptu pose, smiling while a Golden Rose matching Laurent's popped out of his bulb.

"This is my adorable partner Bernard!" Laurent shouted out to his 'fans' in his most charismatic voice. "Who comes here today to dazzle all you lovely people just like you deserve! Starting with Poison Powder!" Many gasps spread through the audience. Was this trainer insane? Who would scatter Poison Powder all over a contest hall?" The plucky Bulbasaur, however, had complete faith in his trainer and did as he asked with no hesitation. Purple Powder launched out of Bernard's bulb like a cannon, then all the gasps of fear were replaced by those of awe when the flow of air from the powder carried some sort of luminescent pollen or other from the Golden Rose. The purple and gold particles whisked around in the air whimsically, sparkling as they descended upon the stage.

Laurent stood stock-still underneath the onslaught of gold-laced Poison Powder, glad he'd coated all of his roses, as well as bits of his outfit in powdered Antidote. The purple and gold cloud grew so thick that it hid the contestant from sight, leaving the audience to ponder his goals once again until they heard from within the cloud, "Now let's see a Vine Whip!" What the audience saw first, however, was another Golden Rose flying out over their heads, this one much more forcefully than the first. Before the new flower could fall to be caught a single vine shot out from the cloud and snapped upon it so forcefully that it burst, scattering glistening golden petals all over the Contest Hall. The rain of gilt foliage brought with it an extremely sweet, relaxing aroma, a mixture of the Gold Roses' natural scent, and the extremely alluring nectar contained within Bernard's bulb.

While the audience took in the dazzling sight and irresistible smell, their hearing was graced next. A pleasant melody began to spread through the hall, emanating from within the powdercloud. The song lilted lazily along, bringing to mind images of babbling brooks in serene forests, and nights relaxing by fireplaces in cozy wood cabins, then it was joined by a second song. This new song was the slightest bit clumsy by comparison but in an almost charming way. It brought a bit of melancholy to the song, then both parts rose up, though not much, showing off the passion behind them. The Poison Powder and it's golden counteragent finally cleared to show Laurent sitting casually on the floor, his relaxed pose in complete contrast to his complex, showy outfit. Bernard sat happily in his lap, playing on his Grass Whistle, while Laurent did his best to match his partner with a freshly-picked leaf whistle.

The song continued a few precious moments longer until the powder completely settled, then Bernard hopped off of Laurent's lap and the pair stood up straight, the slightest flush on the trainer's face as he wondered how the only part of his performance he didn't have complete confidence in would go. He hadn't had much time to practice the leaf whistle, but it felt right that he learn something to match Bernard's unique move. Laurent bowed low, then almost lost his balance as a vine slithered under his feet and lifted him up into the air as high as the Bulbasaur could manage. He just barely managed to keep his footing, then bowed again with his stage smile replaced by a completely genuine one at his pokémon's delightful improvisation.

It took a moment of stillness before anybody was sure it was really over, but after a brief pause Lisia took the stage once again, standing just under the vine holding Laurent's weight. "And there we have it everybody, another breathtaking performance! Let's hear it for Laurent!" The applause exploded the instant everybody had Lisia's approval, and in no time Laurent found his eyes shining with moisture at the joy that admiration brought him. After a moment he decided he'd been humble long enough and winked at Bernard, who then slanted his vine and allowed his trainer to slide gracefully down it to plop down next to the contest's host. "Well, I could never match your cuteness and style, my dear Lisia, but I'm glad you enjoyed the show. I absolutely can't wait to see you, or any of these lovely people again!" With his final word said he threw his third and final rose into the audience much like the first and this time nearly everybody with any hope of getting the flower reached for it frantically, even many of the men.

Without waiting for a reply from Lisia, Laurent saved her the bother of trying to sidestep his flirting and scooped Bernard into his arms, marching happily off the stage and trying not to let his bliss at the recognition show.


 
Last edited:
25,439
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11
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Kade Andrews
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Kade awoke to sunlight shining into the tiny Pokemon Centre room he'd booked through half-shut curtains. He'd arrived in Santalune the night before, in an uncharacteristic hurry on account of the injured Hoothoot he'd obtained in the forest, the newly named Noctilucent (Nocs for short). He'd immediately headed for the Pokemon Centre where he'd left the young bird in a nurse's care along with both Stratus and Contrail.

Kade stretched, climbing out of the surprisingly comfortable bed and beginning to prepare himself for the day. He dressed in typical Kade attire; jeans, white undershirt and a black shirt over that and hung his bag over his shoulders. Normally he wouldn't have been in such a hurry, but he was eager to find out how Nocs was doing and to be reunited with Stratus and Contrail. It wasn't long before Kade had eaten breakfast and was standing at the counter in the main lobby of the Pokemon Centre.

"Kade wasn't it? You brought in that poor Hoothoot." the nurser at the desk asked, her tone surprisingly cheerful considering her work environment. Kade was surprised to find the same person manning the front, figuring she must have had a double shift or something and unsure how she was still so bright and cheery if that was the case. Even as positive as he was, Kade wasn't much of a morning person. He figured she was just extremely well practiced.

"Yeah, that was me." he replied "I also left my Starly and Fletchling here."

"Only training Flying types?" the woman asked curiously.

"I am. Flying Pokemon are amazing! They're really majestic and beautiful and have such surprising versatility. You wouldn't think it but Flying can be paired with literally every other type of Pokemon and even within each subset there's so much varia-" the nurse cut him off with a giggle.

"So I've been told. It's good you're enthusiastic. Now about your specific birds, you can take your Starly and your Fletchling back right away but we want to keep your Hoothoot for the rest of the day just to be sure. It's making a full recovery, but it's better to be safe than sorry."

"I see. Well it can't be helped. At least I can have Stratus and Contrail back right away." Kade said, disappointed that he couldn't see Nocs yet but pleased he was recovering without any major worries. The nurse disappeared into the back of the building briefly, returning with Kade's Pokeballs. "It's still a bit early for gym battling. Is there anything else interesting I should look into?"

"Actually, after that awful fire a lot of wild Pokemon have taken up residence on people's properties. Maybe you could go and offer to lend a hand at the Rangers Guild?"

Happy to pass the time, Kade bought a couple of new potions and headed out to find the guild.


Half an hour later, Kade found himself standing in front of yet another counter. This time talking to a clerk at the Santalune Rangers guild.

"The area we're sending you too isn't very far from here actually, it's circled on the map though. There's about three houses in the general area making complaints so clear them out without causing a ruckus and we'll give you 100poke for each."

Soon thereafter, Kade was exiting the building with a map on hand and heading back in the direction of the route leading down from the forest. Kade found where he was going easily enough thanks to the clerk's help with the map… and the enormous cluster of Burmy hanging from a trio of houses backing onto a flowery meadow. The Bug Pokemon were practically covering the buildings, so thick in some places that you couldn't actually see the structure behind them.

"How did this many even get here so quickly?" Kade found himself saying, his mouth wide with surprise. He didn't even have a net or anything. "This is less 'taking up residence' and more 'invasion and annexation'.

Kade looked over the houses for several minutes, scratching his head as he looked for a solution. It took him a little while, but eventually he settled on a simple but hopefully effective course of action.

Kade walked up to the first house and knocked on the door, only to get no response. He'd have tried with the second but the door was one of the parts of the building completely obscured by Burmy. Thankfully, at the third house, the door was opened by a frazzled-looking, portly woman who seemed to be about to head out for work.

"Can I help you?" the woman asked, looking quite perturbed to have a stranger show up on her doorstep.

"Actually, I'm here to help y-" the woman let a groan before Kade could finish speaking.

"Whatever you're selling, I really don't have time for it and I'm not in the mood to listen." she quipped irritably "As you can see, I'm having something of a Burmy problem and on top of that, my boss is firing people left, right and centre so I really can't afford to be late and give them a reason to make me next."

"That's why I'm here though." Kade said, looking at the woman quizzically, completely surprised by the sudden outburst. That had been the last thing he'd been expected.

"Oh good, another 'miracle' product" the woman replied her voice not so much tinged with, but drowned in sarcasm.

"Um… no? I'm really not selling you anything." Kade said, struggling to interact with the stressed out lady "I'm here to get rid of the Burmy but I need to borrow a sheet or something." The homeowner's face immediately changed, first from an expression contorted to rage, then to a blank stare of surprise mirroring Kade's and finally to one flushed with embarrassment.

"Oh." she said "I'm so sorry. It's been a hell of a week. I'll just grab you something. Thank you for the assistance." She disappeared back into her house, reappearing a few moments later with an enormous square of fabric. "I'm not liable to need this again in a hurry, so feel free to keep it." She then excused herself and hurriedly made her way off to work leaving Kade with two empty houses and one which he hoped was empty for the denizens sake. Releasing Stratus and Contrail, he set to work.

"Okay, there's quite a few -" Kade was interrupted by a squawk from Contrail "Okay, there's a veritable swarm of Burmy covering these houses and we need to move them somewhere out of the way without hurting them. Help me pull all the ones that don't seem injured off of the building. Then we can scoop a bunch at a time up in the fabric and take them away from the houses.

Along with the help of his bird's, Kade set about yanking Burmy off of the houses. The Pokemon didn't look tough, but they had quite the grip it seemed which made it a laborious task. Not to mention he occasionally annoyed one enough to receive a Razor Leaf or something. All in all, it wasn't an easy task. Once enough Burmy were removed, Kade would take two ends of the fabric whilst each of the birds grabbed an end and they'd transport the bugs to a location full of trees or shrubbery.

It was painstaking, slow work but eventually Kade and his Pokemon were onto the last group - the few who seemed to be suffering from burns or other injury. Instead of taking them to locations heavy on foliage, they were carted back to the Pokemon Centre. Kade used the opportunity to check in on Nocs again briefly before returning outside with Stratus and Contrail in tow.

"Alright, first let's go collect our money. Then we can have a rest before we take on the gym."



Spoiler: Kade's Inventory
- 1 Pokédex
- 800Poké
- 1 Potions
- 3 Poké Balls

 

Dragon

lover of milotics
11,151
Posts
10
Years


Case 3: The Questions of Justice


Current Team - Emma:
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EPISODE ONE: SANTALUNE CITY/MIDDAY - "Ramblings of the rich?"
Santalune City. Located in the central part of the Kalos region, it's widely known for its brick pathways interwoven between European-style homes and buildings. Many gardens and buildings in the city are decorated with colorful flowers, and the central plaza features a large, Roselia-shaped stone fountain. The budding detective Emma arrived here with her partner pokemon not too long ago, continuing her case around dealing with The Emerald Dragons, and now, Team Cipher. However, many other mysteries continue to pop up in this world, ready for her to solve. This became especially apparent, when a call came in a little while ago, about a case of disorderly conduct.

"The Monoke?" Emma apparently repeated, upon arriving at the distressed caller's home. It seemed to be a fairly large home, filled with many nice carpets and expensive displays. The home owner, Mr. Houto, cried up a storm. He seemed big and jolly, wearing a sharp red suit with jewelry worn all over his fingers. "Are they just an independent group of thugs?"

"Aye, i-it seems so, ma'am..." replied the distressed Mr. Houto. He continuously wiped non-existent tears from his eyes using a handkerchief. Was it simply for drama effect? "Those mean ol' gangsters keep messing with my boys who work in construction, you see... Our new project is working on the new victory road, you know? And our deadline is approaching! If we fail then... then... we'll be a laughing stock, the trainers will get mad at poor me and worst of all, I'll get NO MONEY!"

Emma blinked. "That's... unfortunate to hear," Emma said, trying to be sympathetic as she could. "When do these thugs make their move, exactly?"

"All the time, m'dear. Whenever possible," Mr. Houto explained. "These thugs are menaces to society... MENACES TO MY POCKET, I TELL YOU!"

You said society...

"Whenever a worker gets sick because his lunch was swapped by a week old egg and cheese sandwich, it's The Monoke. Whenever our barrels filled with cement is replaced by barrels filled of balloons, The Monoke. Whenever there is spray paints of 'Monoke waz here, Houto is a loser... The Monoke!"

Are they thugs or juvenile pranksters? Emma could only think. "Right then, I don't think they're dangerous at all, so I'll make sure these guys at least leave you all alone then."

"You have my eternal blessings, Miss Detective!" excited Mr. Houto, grabbing Emma's hand to give her continuous, vigorous handshakes. "Ah, but do be careful, I hear they might be training to fight in the Pokemon League! They might be strong miscreants!"

Only one way to find out.


EPISODE TWO: SANTALUNE CITY/NIGHTFALL - "Big Sister"

Emma knew that the best time to look for these gang of thugs was to wait until nightfall. After all, they couldn't of gotten away with committing so many... mischief without much witnesses seeing who they actually were and where they came from. She questioned some of the people around the city. Sometimes they saw suspicious individuals near the cafe, sometimes near the gym. But there was one place in particular Emma had her eye on: the back alleys. No one really dared ventured to this part of town when it was dark, and for good reason, you'd never know what kinds of characters are lurking this part of the city. Still, if there was a place where this gang would plan from, this would be it. Right now, it all seemed barren. There was wild pokemon poking at garbage, only to flee at the sight of Emma passing through.

Soon Emma could hear the sound of whispering nearby. She crept near the walls near the next corner of the alley, to see what it looked like... two young teenagers? She couldn't hear what they were saying, but it was suspicious enough. The two teens crept away from where they stood. Emma swiftly, but silently followed. Perhaps if these two were members of the group, it could potentially lead her to their hideout. She felt confident that the two hadn't noticed her tailing them, until she came at a certain pathway, with three other paths to choose from. She crept closer, trying to see where the pathways led to - but the darkness made it hard to tell, even with the street light dimly on.

Unfortunately for her, she let her guard down. She didn't sense someone creeping up from behind, greeting her with a bear-hug. "Ah...!" Emma shrieked, trying to escape the hold, but to no avail no matter how hard she tried. She couldn't identify the individual, but they seemed to be taller than her, with a larger build. That was the beginning's of Emma's troubles when she was soon met with many other individuals, who seemed to all have a ranged from raggy to baggy clothing. Definitely not usual wear you would see in a rich city such as this. Even the two that Emma was following appeared. It looked like Emma was lead to a trap - the result being, she was trapped and surrounded.

But then another individual appeared, this time... it seemed to be a young woman around Emma's age. Her jet black hair was coupled with curious red markings on her face. She gazed upon Emma with serious, stern black eyes. "Who the hell are you?" she quickly asked. "What do you think you're doing here, little girl?"

To be continued...
 

Oddball_

Magical Senpai and god of the closet.
866
Posts
9
Years


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-- Profile --
Name: Chris Rodriguez

Pokémon :
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Location: Santalune Forest

Inventory:
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- 1 Pokédex
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- 500 Poké
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- 2 Potions
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- 5 Poké Balls
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- 1x Dawn Stone
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- 3x Rawst Berry



Chris looked at the several Pokémon running around before him. The pink haired nurse had brought him to a small room with.

"…all these little guys are orphans?" Chris asked sadly as he rustled the hair of a Ralts.

"Indeed. Its quite sad, but the fire in Santalune left many a Pokémon trainer less. We're keeping tabs on the trainer ID numbers attached to the Poke balls, if the trainer is seen at any Pokémon in Kalos we'll be notified so that the Pokémon can be returned. However… some Pokémon's trainers have already been confirmed to be… unable to return for their partners. So we're trying our best to find new homes for some of these poor Pokemon.

"Muy triste." Chris mumbled. "Which uh… Which Pokémon need a home?"

"Well, A young lass took Mudbray, so right now only the solitary little Tyrogue over there… and… hmm? Where did the other…" The pink haired nurse pondered as she glanced around the room.

"Hm? What are you looking- MIERDA SANTA EL DIABLO!" Chris screamed as two glowing red eyes formed inches in front of his face causing him to jump backwards and trip over the roggenrola that was lying on the ground behind him.

"Oh there he is." Nurse Joy sighed as the black shadowy form of the Pokemon slowly appeared beside Chris, laughing and shaking its golden mask up and down.

"Sneaky little guy." Chris grumbled as he climbed up to his feet.

"This here is Yamask. He's a bit of a prankster but he's a really good Pokémon despite his mischievous nature. Sadly most people don't want to take him due to the story behind his Pokémon types origins.

"Mhm… I've already got a ghost type Pokémon in Honedge, I'm used to the shadowy terror that they can cause. This one just… was unexpected." Chris responded with a smile.

"Oh! Then perhaps you should get acquainted with Yamask?" The nurse said with a smile.

"Maybe… actually y'know what. Yeah!" Chris said with a wide grin as the ghost Pokémon made a cheering motion next to him.

"Alright! Please come with me and we'll register him on your account." The Nurse said with a smile.


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Toxic Spikes | Protect | Disable | Astonish​

~
 
865
Posts
13
Years
  • Age 38
  • Seen Feb 24, 2024
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Avril Morris
Santalune City
Chapter 3-4 | Santalune Showdown!











Current Party:
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Inventory:
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- x1 Pokédex
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- x3 Pokéballs
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- x1 Leaf Stone
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- 500 Poké Dollars
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- x3 Pecha Berries


With the threat of the putrid sludge known as Muk taken care of, Avril returned her team to the Pokémon Center to be properly treated. The battle against the wild Muk had proven to be a bit more difficult than she would have liked, but at the very least it made for an interesting addition to her progressing story. The would-be author spent her time writing down the event while waiting for her team to be treated, as well as doing a bit of planning for the battle ahead. Avril really had no idea what sort of battle awaited her inside of the Santalune City gym or what the battlefield inside would be like. The only thing she knew about Viola was that she was a trainer who specialized in Bug-types, and the only reason the blonde girl knew that much about the gym leader was because she had overheard some idle conversation about the woman while visiting her photography gallery. While Avril really wasn't able to determine a major strategy, she did manage to come towards one solution in regards to her team.

That strategy being to rely heavily on the usage of Shino and Anise. While she knew that in terms of brute strength Benjamin was definitely was her strongest Pokémon, Avril also was quick to realize that her Mudbray was not exactly the most obedient member of her team. At the very least, using Anise would give her a type advantage at whatever Viola might toss her way. As for Shino, the Froakie was her most experienced Pokémon at this point. So, the blonde figured that letting those two do the bulk of the fighting would probably be for the best. With a plan sort of formed and her team prepared for battle, Avril took a deep breath and stepped inside the gym proper, where her opponent awaited. Avril's heart was racing with excitement as she made her way down the hallway, slowly coming towards a large set of doors at the end. The girl could barely contain herself as she pressed the doors open, taking yet another breath and stepping inside.

"This is it, Avril... Everything we've been working towards finally starts here," the blonde trainer thought, her grip on her trainer bag tightening as stepped out onto the battlefield. "Your first real battle as a contestant of the Kalos League... your first gym battle. It's time to show the world just what kind of trainer you really are!"

Avril took in the scene around her as she stepped out onto the battlefield proper. It was more or less a large, rectangular pit, with randomly placed rocks and the like being suspended by webbing. There were lots of holes in the webbing as well, more or less creating an aerial battlefield for Pokémon to battle on. Sure, there were some places for Pokémon who couldn't fly to fight on... but clearly this was going to be a battle where those gifted in speed and aerial grace shone through the most, something that made her glad her team consisted of both a Froakie and a Hoothoot.

"Hello, trainer! Welcome to my gym!" Avril was soon snapped out of her thoughts by the sound of a voice shouting out to gain her attention. She glanced up at the source of the voice, her eyes locking with those of a slightly older blonde woman. She was clad in a pair of green cargo pants and a white tank top, with a pair of black sneakers worn on her feet. Around the woman's neck dangled a rather large and obviously well-cared for camera. "My name's Viola! I guess you're here to try and take my Bug Badge from me, yeah?!"

Avril could only stare at the woman for a moment, that excitement she felt back in the hallway being replaced with a sense of nervousness. "Um... Y-Yeah, I am!"

The gym leader smiled at the rookie trainer. "Well then, give me your name! It's not going to be much of a challenge if I don't know who you are!"

"N-Name...? Oh, right! Name!" the teenager replied. "My name is Avril Morris!"

"It's nice to meet you, Avril," Viola replied, offering the girl a smile. "Well then, here are the rules. This battle is going to play out just like a standard Pokémon battle. My Pokémon against yours until only side is left standing. If you manage to take out all my bug Pokémon, then the badge will be yours, understood?" Avril gave Viola a quick nod. "Then, let's have a fantastic battle!"


"Ninjask, I choose you!"

"Shino, let's go!"

Both trainers sent out their Pokémon. Avril decided to send out Shino first to test the waters, the Froakie landing on one of the suspended rocks with a look of absolute determination on his face. Meanwhile, Viola sent out a strange bug Pokémon that Avril had never actually seen before. It seemed to be quite the speedy little creature as it darted out from its Pokéball. She kind of wanted to give the creature a quick scan with her Pokédex, but at the same time Avril was sure that Viola was not going to be so patient as to give her a chance to do some studying.

"Alright, Shino! Let's get things started off with Bubble!" Avril shouted.

Viola grinned. "Ninjask, counter with Fury Cutter!"

Shino hopped up into the air and took a deep breath before launching a stream of bubbles in the direction of the Ninjask. In a flash, the bug Pokémon quickly disappeared, easily dodging the water attack being shot out by the Froakie. It hastily appeared behind Shino and quickly slashed at the Froakie with its blade-like appendages. Shino luckily managed to catch his balance and quickly hopped away, landing on another rock that was suspended on the web. Viola's grin grew all the while, the gym leader managing to snap a picture during the attack exchange.

"Fantastic! The way your Froakie managed to catch itself like that... what a shot!" Viola exclaimed. "Still, I hope you're not gonna just use raw power to try to beat my bugs. It's going to take more than that!"

"Don't you worry about that," Avril replied, a grin of her own coming to her lips. "We've got more than brute strength on our side! Shino, use Quick Attack!"

"Ninjask, use Double Team!" Viola shouted to her Pokémon.

The Ninjask began to what appeared to be vibrate in place while Shino quickly dashed forward. Much like at the speed that the Ninjask had attacked with earlier, the Froakie managed to get the upper hand with his attack this time. Shino quickly appeared right above the Ninjask, slamming his body into the bug with ease. The Ninjask and Viola both appeared to be surprised at the speed of which Shino managed to attack with. Clearly neither one had been expecting an equally speedy Pokémon to be participating in the battle. Still, Viola didn't seem to be too worried about it.

"Ninjask, Double Team again!" the gym leader ordered.

"Quick Attack, Shino!" Avril commanded.

Once more Shino began to dash towards the Ninjask at rapid speed, all the while the Ninjask began to vibrate in place once more. Avril smiled with confidence as Shino suddenly appeared to the right of the bug Pokémon this time, his hand moving down to slug the Ninjask across its head with ease. However, the Froakie's attack was met only by the air as the Ninjask managed to easily spin around and land behind Shino instead. Avril gasped in surprise as Viola quickly ordered her Pokémon to attack with Fury Cutter, the blades sending Froakie to the ground with ease. Shino croaked in pain at the blades cutting into him, but managed to pick himself off the ground and regain his composure.

"Shino, hang in there! It just got lucky, that's all!" Avril cried to her Pokémon. "One more Quick Attack, you can do it!"

"Ninjask, Fury Cutter!" Viola ordered, the gym leader seeming perfectly calm.

Once again, Shino began to rapidly charge towards the Ninjask. At that same exact moment, the Ninjask dashed towards Shino. Avril watched with intensity as the two Pokémon seemed to be charging right for each other, however it was once again the Ninjask who managed to easily dodge Shino's attack. Once again, the bug type was able to get behind him, sending both of his blade-like appendages across Shino's back. Shino grunted, staggering forward with pain as Ninjask merely buzzed about, before stopping and starting to vibrate in place once more.

"N-No way... How is that thing moving so fast?" Avril questioned, staring in disbelief at the speed that Ninjask was now displaying. It was as if with every passing moment, it was surpassing Shino easily with its raw speed. "There's no way that that thing could out-move Shino like that!"

"Oh, but there is!" Viola replied happily. "My Ninjask's ability is Speed Boost! In other words, for every attack exchanged between these two, its gonna get faster and faster!"

Avril bit her lip at the thought. At this rate, her Froakie was eventually going to be easily out-sped and out-damaged by Viola's bug. She glanced over at the frog Pokémon, who was breathing heavily and struggling to keep his balance at this point. It was clear the damage dealt by the Ninjask was starting to show. To make matters worse, she was certain that if Shino was having trouble keeping up with the bug Pokémon at this point, that chances were that Anise would not fair much better...

"We need to do something... if we can't out-speed it, we need to try and outlast it..." Avril thought. "Shino could use a break to catch his breath, but..."

She paused her thought as she glanced down at one of the Pokéballs resting on her make-shift bracelet. It was going to be a long shot, but... just maybe, this would work in tiring out the Ninjask as well. Taking Shino's Pokéball, Avril quickly recalled the Froakie. This action seemed to surprise Viola, who curiously raised an eyebrow at the trainer's decision.

"How odd... The last trainer I battled kept forcing his Pokémon to battle until none of them could stand... well, at least he did during our first battle," Viola mused. "It's nice to see someone who doesn't push her Pokémon as hard as that boy did."

"Well... let's not say I'm that innocent..." Avril muttered, immediately feeling bad for what she was about to do. Replacing the Froakie's Pokéball onto her bracelet, she quickly pulled another off before tossing it forward. "Alright... Benjamin, you're up!"
 

GanguEevee

~Calamity Trigger~
296
Posts
12
Years

~Swordsman of the Roses~

"Yo, guess what? I actually beat Viola. Of course, you were right about training and try again and blah, blah, blah...Anyways, it's possible that after you've read this, I'm probably already in Lumiose City...and passed out in the Pokémon Center. I'm already feeling tired from even writing this, I still can't believe that I was able to battle in this state...never let me train at night again, Dahlia. Anyways, because I'm so nice, I decided to buy some stuff for you to make some cool clothes for the contest, including some neat shoes and a few accessories. I even made a fancier version of that collar you wear. Blown out almost my entire money for it all, so you better like it. Ah man, I'm so tired…...I better stop writing this now. See ya soon."
~Your cool friend, Fondre/Fondue
_______________________________
In the Pokémon Center…
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Dahlia reads the letter out loud while sewing out the clothing for the contest. He sighed after he'd finished reading it. "Of course she would leave as soon as she'd beaten the gym…" "Squawk! Leave ya so soon! Squawk!" <But I'll still have to thank her for all of this when I get to Lumiose…> At the very least, he was thankful to bring his sewing kit from home before leaving. "Min...!" "Oh come on! You need to look cute in the contest!" He looked at his sister and saw her struggling to put on a simple white cape around Shiny's neck. He sighed and just kept sewing the clothing.

"There! Don't you look cute with that cape?" After she finished putting it around her neck, Shiny immediately got herself out of Caroline's grasp and jumped to the same place Dahlia was doing his business. "Hey, Shiny! I'm not done yet!" "Squawk! Oh dear!" "Hmm? What is it--OW, ****ING HELL!" Shiny ran on the table and didn't bother going around Dahlia's hands. Due to that, one of his thumbs got punctured a little by the needle he was using. He immediately stopped sewing, turned around and grasped the punctured thumb with his other hand. "Oh no! Are you okay?!" "Gah…" He glared at Shiny and growled. "Damn rodent…!" She stuck out her tongue in response. Cue a String Shot aimed towards her from Dolores, who was wearing a neat little white dress made from her own silk. "Scatter!" "I'm fine...Really, I am. Just need something to patch this up." Dolores decided to shoot a little silk at Dahlia's injured thumb, which wrapped around it quite nicely. "...I guess that will work. Thank you, Dolores." She just smiled pridefully in response.

He sighed and glared at Caroline. "You better not have her acting like this during your performance. The judges will not tolerate behavior like this whatsoever." "Don't worry! I'll try to make sure she's ready to do our performance. I already have a good idea of what I want to do in my head!" "Litwick!" Shiny just scowled while in her bounded state. Caroline came to her side and had a serious face. "Please, Shiny! This is really important! I really want you to cooperate with me during the performance! Pretty please?" Shiny was glaring at her for a few minutes until she sighed. "Min…." "Yay! Thank you!" She hugged the Minccino tightly, while she was still bounded by the silk. "Minccino…!" Her hug actually got her out of her trapped state. Shiny got out of Caroline's grasp again and...cleaned up the dirt that got on the unfinished clothing.

"Oh, that's actually nice of you, Shiny." Dahlia giggled a little, while Shiny looked at him and scowled. "Squawk! Shiny, that's actually nice! Squawk!" "Just try to clean it a bit faster, okay? I need to finish this before the contest~" Shiny just had a mischievous smile on her face, obviously accepting the challenge. "Min, Min." Caroline just got back to choosing which accessories she and her Pokémon were going to wear. "Hmm...Should she wear this red mask or this white mask?" "Litwick…" Shiny came back to Caroline's side and looked at the two items. She snatched the red mask from Caroline's hand and put it on. "Min!" "...Oh! I think I know what you're doing, Shiny! I should be the amazingly evil swordsman with the white mask and red cape, while you're the very cool and nice one with the red mask and white cape!" "Litwick!" They both giggled at Shiny's amazing idea. She just smugly grinned at her own amazing dress-up skills.

"Unico, put this on for me, please. I'm hoping for it to fit you." 'Squawk! Okay!" Unico puts on the amazing white and gold tuxedo Dahlia made for him. "Squawk! Nice! Squawk!" He has happily flown around in it, showing his love for it. "But I still have to make sure these clothes fit with what I should do with my performance…" He looked at Dolores while thinking about it. <Thanks to you showing me your trick while I was cleaning up that tree, I now have one possible thing to show off during our turn...But what about the rest?> He closed his eyes now. He has been thinking of a few things to do in his performance...but he's going to have to execute them perfectly. And what if those things are not good enough? So many things to think about...and there's so little time.

"Squawk! Clothes! Unfinished clothes! Contest!" He snapped back to reality after Unico tapped him a few times. "Ah yes! I still need to finish my own clothes!" He immediately got the things needed to make the design and started sewing. He started yelling at Caroline while sewing. "Caroline! Remember, we're competing against each other in the contest! I won't be able to help you out, ya know?! Just make sure you do your best during your performance and hope that the clothes don't get dirty!" Caroline was the one who sighed this time. "Alright, Dahlia!" He looked at the clock. Yes, he can probably get this done before the contest will begin...but he really doesn't want Caroline to wait for him to finish!

"Caroline, just put on your contest clothes right now! Go to the contest area without me! I'll be there a few minutes before they begin!" "Eh?! Right now?! Really?!" "Do you really want to possibly miss the contest because of me?!" "...Okay! I guess I'm gonna go now! See you over there!" And with that, Caroline left almost immediately. She was already done putting the white mask and red cape on, anyway.

He stopped sewing for a bit when she left. He looked back at the basket full of the many things Fondue gave him for the big day. He noticed something…white and red inside of it. He didn't even notice it until now. Were they all beneath the other things? He peered inside...And saw a bouquet of red and white roses, with a note attached to them. "...Oh, my..." He smiled at the lovely bunch, took out the note and read its contents.

P.S. I heard ya love roses. These were really expensive, so I hope ya enjoy them.
_______________________________
~CONTEST TIME~
Fondre/Fondue
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This was it. The day has finally arrived...and she's only here to watch it just because of her friend.

"Those two better do some damn good performances...Because this whole entire thing is still dumb." She heard the entire crowd cheering after the old dude did his introduction. Of course, she couldn't bother to cheer for this kind of bull. She wasn't really fond of the cute stuff. Well, she was before...Until certain things happened in her life. But here she was, in the crowd cheering for a thing that she really didn't give two nuts about. She looked more closely at the many people who were in the crowd to see if there were any recognizable faces...and spotted two distinctly different people. "...Oh, it's the professor…And…" Her eyes blinked at the young girl, probably around or a bit more older than Caroline. In fact, she sorta reminded her of Caroline. <Wait, hold on a moment. That could not be her….Could it?> She was suddenly reminded of her conversation with Dahlia yesterday.

"Really? Jackson Crane is going to participate in the contest?" "Uh-huh. The professor basically forced him to, apparently." "I see...I can think of a few more reasons as to why he's bothering with it in the first place…." "Let me guess...his sister?" "And the fact that he was born in Sinnoh. But yes, it's mostly his sister. He probably thinks that she'll be watching the contest, and he'll want to impress her in any way he can."

Suddenly, she had a very evil grin on her face and looked back at the stage with mischievous glee. "...Make that three damn good performances…" Suddenly, she was thinking of all the horrible ways Jackson can screw his performance up.

<Good luck out there, Jackson. I can't wait to see ya fail…> Little did she know though, that his performance was anything but.
_______________________________
~CONTEST TIME~
Caroline
_______________________________
She was so nervous. No. She was probably something beyond nervous. Scared? Perhaps. Maybe even both? Possibly.

She has just seen Jackson Crane's performance...And now she believes that her performance is going to fall flat beyond belief. <How are we going to top cool guitar playing and his Pokémon evolving during it?!> Her brother wasn't here to save her this time. She has to do this all on her own. In fact, he still wasn't here yet! But, then again, this was her brother. It's quite clear that he wants to do some sort of big entrance or something. The point is, though, he wasn't here. And that made her a lot more nervous than before.

She looked at the crowd and saw someone waving for her to look. It was Fondue! She was actually happy that she was even here! Caroline noticed that her mouth was moving, trying to say something to her. She looked at her lips and tried to translate what she was saying. "Have you've seen Dahlia yet?" Caroline shook her head. "What?! Where the heck is he?!" Caroline had to do the same thing Fondue was doing after that. "I don't know! He might make some big entrance or something!" "Ugh! Look, don't be scared about all of this. The Professor's here, too, and he's just as happy to at least see what you'll do too. Don't get intimidated by Jackson's performance. Just go out there, do your thing, and have fun!" <Have...fun...That's right. The contest is where I can have fun. Even if I still wanted to impress the judges...even if I still wanted to win the ribbons...> She looked back at Shiny. She nodded at her, signaling that she's ready whenever Caroline was ready.

<...I was also still doing this for one other reason…!> "And now, here's Caroline Adoración!" Suddenly, she had a big smile on her face as her name was called. "Okay, Shiny! Let's have fun~!"
_______________________________
Caroline slowly walked to the stage with a seemingly menacing aura, while looking down. Fondue was a little confused about all of this...until she noticed that she was holding something in one of her hands that were around her back…

<...You know, I have completely forgotten that I put those inside the basket.>

Lisia also noticed Caroline's odd behavior as well. "Hmm? Hey, Caroline, what seems to be the problem?" "Yes, I am Caroline...Or am I really?!" Without even looking back up, she throws the smoke bomb that she was holding immediately down to the ground of the stage. Of course, a bunch of smoke came out of it. "I am not the one called Caroline Adoración..." After the smoke cleared up, the crowd saw a girl who looked exactly like Caroline...The only real difference was that she was wearing a white mask and a red cape alongside the white tuxedo, white socks and red boots that Caroline was wearing before the smoke bomb. She was also wielding a sword that was just as big as her. It looked real, but in actuality, it was just a pretend sword. Meanwhile, someone seems to have turned on some accompanying music without permission to go alongside the entire act and the grand reveal...


"I am the notorious outlaw…The one and only Cappa Mask! I have fooled you all! Kya ha ha!"

The girl who called herself Cappa Mask held up a brown bag to the sky. She kept shaking it up and down, in order to emphasize the sound of coins inside the bag. "I have stolen all of your money and precious items while you were all so focused on the festivities!" Almost immediately, everyone checked their pockets and bags...except for Fondue, who just scowled at them all. "Come on, guys! This girl's just a joke. All of your belongings are safe and sound...unless those things were replaced with some fake ones or something. The point is, that dinky little sword's not gonna do even a scratch to you all!" Cappa Mask just slyly smirked at her response and put the bag inside one of her pockets. "Is that a challenge?! Only one person has ever defeated me in battle...multiple times, but still! This sword has cut the sharpest of knives, the coldest of winds, the softest of four-leaf clovers...I'm a force to be reckoned with!"

"Min, min, min!" Somewhere, there was a small shadowy figure overlooking the entire event. It jumped up to the stage, turning out to be a Minccino wearing a red mask and white cape. She was holding a sword similar to Cappa Mask's own sword, but it was obviously smaller than her's. Speaking of Cappa Mask, she gasped at the Minccino's sudden appearance. "Min With Cape!"

"Min! Minccino!" "No! I will absolutely not give back everything I stole from the audience!" At this point, the crowd has been giggling and laughing at the entire act. "Hah! It seems they're laughing at your small stature. While I know quite well that you are strong, I still believe that you're going to get a bit soft from all this laughing." Min With Cape just growled at Cappa Mask, who smirked in response.

"Just as feisty as usual, aren't you? Well, you know the drill by now: The only way to settle all this is with a sword fight! En garde!" "Min!" And thus, the sword fight began. Both ran to each other, clashing swords in the process. After the clash of metal to metal, they started to swing them with grace. Min With Cape was obviously quite skilled with the sword despite her small structure, while Cappa Mask was not too shabby herself, even if at times she was obviously struggling with the big sword.

"Ah! I see you have improved your swordsmanship after our last battle! So you haven't gotten soft after all!" "Min, Min!" "Of course, I have trained as well, so this will not be an easy fight for you!" They were both swinging their swords and timing their movements at the beat of the music. The outlaw did some tricky maneuvers that would be considered dirty in a normal sword fight, while the Minccino dodged her many moves with somersaults and dodge rolls. The audience looked at the sword-fight in awe. Suddenly, Cappa Mask tried to kick Min With Cape, but she was able to dodge in time...only for her to get a sword swing to the face, sliding down on the stage floor. "Ha ha! Checkmate!" Cappa Mask aggressively ran towards Min With Cape, sword in hand, ready to strike the final blow.


Suddenly, as soon as Cappa Mask swung the sword down Min With Cape's head, the sword suddenly clashed with metal...but it wasn't a sword. Cappa Mask and the entire crowd was in shock as they saw the Minccino protecting herself from the sword with her now metallic tail. "Ha...hah…"

Caroline was legitimately not expecting this. She completely forgot that Shiny even had Iron Tail! Although, she didn't really rehearse this that much, and has been reading lines she made up from her head as the performance gone on. But she decided to still go along with it. "...Ah! So you finally bothered to use your actual sword after all this time! I have heard legends of it, but that doesn't mean I'm afraid of it--" Almost immediately, Min With Cape swung her tail sword at Cappa Mask's sword, breaking it like a twig. "Uwah!! Is this the amazing power of your true sword?! I can't believe this!" Min With Cape jumped and kicked Cappa Mask down to the floor.

She landed on top of Cappa Mask's body and glared at her. "Min, min, min! Minccino!" "Grr...It's in my left pocket." Min With Cape looked inside the left pocket and picked up the brown bag. She held it up with pride and a smile. "Minccino~!" After the Minccino got off of her belly, Cappa Mask got up and glared at Min With Cape and the audience. "Don't think this is the last time you've heard of me, Min With Cape! I'll be back...with more cooler ways to swipe all of Kalos' precious belongings! I mean it!" And with that, she ran backstage, marking the end of the performance. Shiny bowed to the audience, and they cheered in response. Before she left, she noticed a girl. She didn't look so good...She actually felt a little sorry for her. She opened the brown bag and thrown 100 of the 800 Poké Caroline had in this bag to the girl. It was caught by a stylish man in a white coat who was next to her. Shiny pointed at him, and then pointed to the girl a few seconds later, indicating that she wanted him to give it to her. Shiny left after that.

"...Well, that was quite a treat, now was it? Give it up for Caroline Adoración!"

Caroline hugged Shiny very tightly when she came backstage. She was in tears. "I...We did it. I still can't believe we did it. We actually did our performance and people seemed to have liked it! Now I can't wait to see Dahlia's--" She gasped. <Dahlia...He's still not here! Where the heck is he?!> "Okay! So next up, we have...huh?"

Suddenly, before Lisia could finish her introduction for the next participant, red and white rose petals started falling from the sky. The audience looked at them all with a curious look on their face. Both Fondre and Caroline's eyes widened and blinked in surprise. Fondre was actually thinking that Dahlia couldn't make it during all of this. But it turns out, for the second time today, she was wrong. Meanwhile, Caroline was looking at the falling petals in awe.
_______________________________
~CONTEST TIME~
Dahlia
_______________________________
He was able to make it, and he's starting off with a very flashy entrance. "My name is Dahlia Dimentrio Adoración..."

The audience was so dazzled by the rose petals that they didn't notice that a beautiful woman was now on the stage, holding and looking at a red rose in one hand close to her nose as her twin ponytails floated in the air. Around her neck was a ruby-red collar with white jewels on the front, one gold jewel in the middle and two other gold jewels on the sides. She wore a white coat, which had a big gold zipper in the middle of its exterior, and a black/white striped design in its interior. On its sides were gold shoulder-pads that shine brightly. Beneath the coat was a white button-down shirt. She had black and white checkered socks with shoes colored white and gold in a patched-up pattern. Truly, she was currently the embodiment of the word 'regal'.

"Truly, the rose is the most beautiful flower of them all, is it not?" Everyone in the crowd with three obvious exceptions basically froze in silence as they realized that the woman who was standing there all this time was the mysterious man who called himself Dahlia Adoración. "Always being used to symbolize many different things...Religions, socialism, and even wars." As he was speaking, the area was starting to get a lot windier than usual, with more rose petals flying within the wind. "Do you know why I am wearing clothes that mostly consists of white and gold, and yet I am talking about roses? Simple...they both were a way to symbolize The Wars of the Roses." A few red and white rose petals started to move in a different direction from the rest in the air. Suddenly, they were all shot with a string of silk, forming a symbol that looked quite familiar behind him.

"A very long time ago, possibly before certain other events, there were many wars between two cadet branches of the great royal House of Plantage: The House of Lancast, and The House of Bronx. Lancast was represented by the white rose, while Bronx was represented by the red rose. Both branches were rivals even before the wars begun." A Scatterbug in a small, silky red and white dress came on the stage.

Caroline recognized that dress. It was the same dress Dolores made for herself. Dahlia must have made alterations to make it a bit red. "Rich, Duke of Bronx challenged the current king's right to the throne. Said King was Hen The 4th, a member of the House of Lancast, who usurped the throne from his own cousin Rich the 2nd." A Chatot with a white and gold tuxedo fly on to the stage and walked towards the Scatterbug. He was wearing a pretty big red crown on him. Caroline noticed that both of them had small rapier holsters around them. She looked at her brother and saw that he had the same holster around him as well. It was much bigger than the Pokémon's holsters, obviously. "Hen was not truly the best ruler around. He'd had many strong monarchs, yes, but he had many mental problems, almost to the point where you'd think that he was insane." "Scatter!" "The Duke argued that Hen had no right to the throne because he'd usurped the throne unlawfully. In the end, Bronx won this fight, which leads to Ed the 4th becoming king, and Hen IV fleeing the country." "Squawk! I'm outta here!" Hen fled backstage after that, leaving the big crown on the floor. Dahlia picked it up and put it on the Scatterbug's head, as a way of symbolizing that she is now Ed the 4th.

"Ed IV ruled for a total of nine years, with mostly nothing in particular happening. Besides, if I said the full tale, we would be here for much more longer." The symbol that was there the entire time was suddenly slashed away with a seemingly metal object. "Squawk! I wanted to be King again, Ed IV!" "Scatter!" "Hen came back with an army, and was able to regain to briefly regain the throne, but Ed kept on fighting." Ed IV took out her rapier with her mouth and started attacking Dahlia, probably due to the fact that he was dressed like a Lancast. He was able to dodge the attacks with ease, and then just kicked Ed without even a scratch on his socks. He sighed as the Scatterbug pretended to lay dead, the crown rolling out of her head. "Unfortunately, poor Ed IV died in his valiant efforts to regain the throne. However…" Dahlia took out a crown that was just as big as the red one, only it was blue. "...There was still his son, Ed the 5th. He was quite young, however, so his uncle Richie the 3rd decided to be temporary ruler until he'd reached adulthood." The Scatterbug suddenly stood up and Dahlia put the blue crown on her, making her now Richie III. "Scat!" 'Squawk! That's not fair!"

"Nothing's fair in love and war, dear Hen. Oh, and by this point, I and many others have betrayed you. You should probably leave now unless you want to die." "Squawk?! I better leave now!" Dahlia then hit poor Hen with his rapier holster, knocking him out of the sky before he even had a chance to get away. "...Did I mention that Ed IV was able to kill you before he died, which is why you couldn't get the throne again?" "Squawk…" Dahlia picked him up and thrown him backstage. "Anyways…" At this point, the Scatterbug was spitting silk at the same location the symbol was once at, changing it into many pictures in order to possibly illustrate certain events. "Richie III, in order to make sure Ed V was protected from the wrath of the remaining forces of Lancast, he put him and his younger brother in a certain Tower, with the most powerful Pokémon protecting them within it. Unfortunately, they suddenly vanished without a trace, with many people presuming that they were murdered by Lancast. All of this basically meant that Richie was the next Bronx heir in line to the throne. He was Ed IV's brother, and all of his offspring were dead. However, Lancast still kept the pressure on, battling Bronx to seemingly no end. A few of Richie's supporters also rebelled against him, due to the fact that it was possible that Richie himself killed Ed's offspring in order to keep the throne. It seemed like blood will keep being shed by the two rival branches for years on end…"

Suddenly, the Chatot came back, only now his tuxedo was gold and red. "Squawk! I am Hen Tador! I'm going to stop this madness once and for all!" "Scat?! Scatterbug!" "Hen Tador was a cousin to the House of Lancast and due to all major Bronx and Lancast candidates being dead thanks to trying to kill each other all this time, that meant he was the only one left." Richie took out her rapier...only for Dahlia to kick her again, which led to Richie losing the crown atop her head. "Oh, and I guess a few Lancast members who rebelled against Hen VI during that time came back to defend for Tador's side." "Scat…." Tador took the blue crown that fallen off of Richie's head and put it on his own. He performed a happy dance after that. "And thus, Tador won the battle, earning the right to the throne, which marked an end to the Wars of the Roses. Tador made sure to defeat any possible claimants to the throne." Scatterbug got up again, and went to Tador's side, with a very happy look on her face. "After that, he would marry Eli, Ed IV's daughter, which meant that she was part of the House of Bronx. Their marriage led to the true end of the rivalry between Lancast and Bronx." Eli kissed Tador as a symbol of their love. Tador blushed after that. "The Tudor rose symbolizes the rivalry's end, by combining both roses to become one. I understand that you might be confused about my entire tale, or why the entire performance was a bit...lackluster." Yet again, he was holding a rose to his nose, but now it was white. "I assure you, it's possible that this might be the possible path we're going towards...Especially after that incident in the forest." He said this in a darker tone.

Throughout this performance, the audience was quiet because they were so interested in the story they were telling. Now, they were quiet because of the man reminding them of the recent event. Dahlia just smirked sinisterly at the sight of it all. "Yes, it's possible that this Team Cinder might do something that might be eerily similar to something from this story...Or maybe they might cause just as much bloodshed as the Wars of the Roses...Yes, bloodshed that will be as bright as a rose. Regardless, what I've told you was just nothing more than just an abridged version of the story. I encourage you all to read it." He actually took out the rapier replica from its holster and sliced the silk making up the pictures used for the performance into sparkles and ribbons. He puts the rapier replica back into its holster after that. "And with that...I bid you farewell." He walked backstage, alongside with his Pokémon.

Fondre didn't know what to say. There were a few minutes of silence before Lisia broke the silence.

"Err...S-so that was Dahlia Adoración...Heh heh…!" Fondre just clapped, with an awkward smile on her face. Then a few people in the audience clapped as well. Then a few more. Everyone was clapping now.

But Dahlia was not sure if he truly did it. He won't know until he hears it from the judges themselves.
_______________________________
~Aftermath~
_______________________________
"Dahlia…" Both of them ran up to each other backstage and hugged. "All of that...was just stuff me and the others had to think of on the fly…." He was panting a lot. Caroline just tightened her hug. "Caroline...I saw your performance. You were amazing back there." "...Really?!" Dahlia nodded. "Yes, I honestly believe that it was very good. And it seems as though the audience thought that too." Caroline's eyes started to tear up. Her brother was here the entire time...He saw her performance...And he actually liked it. "Uwahh!!!! That makes me so happy!!" The tears were flowing like a river. The hug didn't break at all during this. Dahlia's clothes were getting sullied by the tears, but he didn't care. He smiled. "You can cry all you want. I'm sorry for not truly being here during your performance. I promise, next time...we'll go together." Caroline was still crying. Dahlia just closed his eyes, and still kept the hug going.

Of course, that meant he also saw a certain someone's performance as well...And just the thought of remembering that softened his smile. "Jackson Crane…" He muttered under his breath. <The man was able to put on an amazing performance...He evolved his Pokémon during it and he was able to scare the wits out of my sister while capturing the hearts of the audience in the process...Truly, he is an interesting man…> His eyes started to twitch a little.

<...Envy is a strong word to describe jealousy and hatred...but that's all I feel about that man right now...Envy. And yet, I still feel excited for what else you have in store...>

TWIN INVENTORY/POKÉMON:
Spoiler:
 
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jombii

[FONT=Franklin Gothic Medium][SIZE=4][COLOR=#00b05
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latest

Coul Remson​

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"Now, let's get over our strategy, okay?" Coul said to his team as he sat cross-legged on another Pokemon Center-given room. Sandy, Catherine, and Snoop are all in front of him, all tensely looking at their trainer. Sandy seemed more focused than usual, Catherine still refuses to be washed, and Snoop. Well, we'll see about what Snoop wants or not. "Viola uses Bug-types. Now, obviously Snoop will be part of the team since he is strong against Bug-types. However, I need both of your help," Coul said while motioning to Sandy and Catherine. "Moreso with you, Catherine. Viola has a Surskit which resists Houndour's Fire-type attacks and can hit back with a Water-type attack, and is also super-effective against Sandy. So, sadly, Sandy won't be playing as much part as we want to in this gym." Coul said. Sandy just stared at his trainer listlessly. "Since Surskit is a very energetic Pokemon, we need to get a Hypnosis going to try send the Surskit to sleep. Once that Pokemon is out, we need to send out as many attacks as possible before it wakes up. If we can faint it, it's better. I'm saving Snoop for the Ninjask which we will bring down by a constant onslaught of Fire-type attacks. Are we all set?" Catherine and Snoop made sounds of affirmation but Sandy stayed silent. It's probably because I'm not setting him out in the battle. Well, he need to croc up. "Now, I have to decided to whom I shall give this Eviolite. All of you are qualified to hold it, but I need to know who it'll benefit the most." From the dex's item database, it is said that Eviolite raises the defense and special defense of a Pokemon, if it is not yet fully evolved. It is usually a good item for Pokemon with already stellar defenses like Chansey. Coul took the stone out from his pocket.

"Now, this is the- Hey!" Coul screamed as Sandy snapped on the rock with blinding speed. Unlike the Pokeball, the rock fits nicely in Sandy's mouth, resting in between his sharp teeth. "Give me that!" Coul shouted as it tried to pry open the mouth of his starter Pokemon to no avail. Catherine and Doug just watched with amusement as their trainer and Sandy played a little tug-o-war. It was obvious that Coul can't do anything. "Dammit, Sandy. Why have you always got to do this?" It seemed like Sandy didn't want to let go of the Eviolite so Coul just gave up and resigned himself to the fact that he's gonna use Sandy, one way or the other.

"Let's go."


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ODETTE RADIUJU
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Grace
Modest / Synchronize
- Moveset
BACK TO THE FOREST // Santalune City

A sigh of frustration escaped her lips as she thought back to the events of the day before. Narrowly escaping the clutches of a Vespiquen's hive, running through a burning forest with only a single weakened Pokémon, stumbling upon a deep forest labyrinth, and quickly being chased from there by a giant Rhyhorn... Each time Odette allowed her thoughts to dwell there, she angered herself over the failure of her first day. Today however, she sought to set the record straight - after an overnight rest in Santalune City, she got up early to make for the forest once again. Today definitely, she would expand her team and take on the first challenge of her journey: the Santalune Gym Leader.

First however, she needed to procure some additional resources for her venture back into the forest. Her target could surely not be captured with the Pokéballs she had on hand... and so she visited the Pokémon Center's market booth first of all.

"Welcome! How may I serve you?"

The voice of the perky attendant rung in Odette's ears. She returned the greeting with a fabricated sweet smile, as was her specialty. Speaking in a slightly softer, higher voice than normal, she finally said:

''Good morning... I was wondering if you could help me find a more powerful type of Pokéball?''

''Of course!'' she responded. ''We have Great Balls, and Ultra Balls for sale, right over here...''

''Oh, an Ultra Ball would be perfect! I intend to catch a very powerful Pokémon, you see. I'm so happy to see that a store in such a small town as this is so well-stocked!''

The clerk was visibly irked by that comment, but Odette simply continued smiling sweetly. He struggled to do the same.

''R-Right, that will be fine. May I see your badge case?''

Odette's expression faltered for a moment. ''E-Excuse me?''

''Your badge case. Balls of a higher catch rate than Pokéballs can only be bought by trainers recognized by the Pokémon League. As such, for an Ultra Ball, you would need three badges.''

Odette's smile now turned to a slight grimace. She needed this Pokémon to defeat the Gym Leader, not the other way around. And three? What kind of a rule was that? Resuming her conversation, she tried her best to garner sympathy, however...

''Oh, I understand... That is such a good idea, to prevent young trainers from taking on threats beyond their level. It takes me back... I'm from Sinnoh, you know? Odette Radiuju, pleased to make your aquaintance. I'm sure that name rings a bell?'' She made the smallest bow as she introduced herself. ''I'm afraid I haven't gotten around to challenging the local league as of yet... but surely for someone of my status, you can make an exception?''

Unfortunately, the clerk was about fed up with her behavior. ''Actually no, that's store regulations... Maybe if you went to the Poké Ball Boutique in Lumiose City, they might be able to help you.''

''I see... Thank you so much.'' Odette finished sarcastically, before turning around and leaving.

A nearby boy had been getting his team healed during this conversation, and couldn't help but overhear. Not one to let opportunity pass him by, he cut Odette off before she could leave the Center.
"Terribly sorry to intrude, but I heard you talking to the clerk over there. Is it true that they restrict your shopping options just because you don't have a badge?"

The girl stopped in her tracks, confronted by a shorter young man who seemed rather... smug.
''Why yes... That is correct. If you intended to buy anything more than a Pokéball or a Potion, I'm afraid you'll have to try your luck at the Gym too. Unless... you already have a badge?''

The boy smiled darkly, waving a hand dismissively. "Soon enough, I assure you. What I do have..." He reached into his jacket, pulling out a pair of specialty Pokeballs. "...is Balls! Lady Radishu, my name is Tim Newton, and I believe the two of us can make a mutually beneficial transaction. How would you like to own either a deluxe Luxury Ball, or this heavy duty Heavy Ball?"

Odette was taken aback, did this child just make her a business offer? ''My, what a surprise. I suppose I shouldn't ask where you procured these... but I could certainly use that Heavy Ball of yours.'' She paused to think, but was tired enough of struggling to get something as simple as a stronger Pokéball. And so...
''Name your price.''

Newt nodded, putting the Luxury Ball away. This girl had tried to barter her way to success with her name and reputation, so she must come from money. If he played his cards right, he could make 500 Poke easy.
"Well, you're certainly right not to ask. After all, I shouldn't reveal my sources. That would cut me out of the transaction. Suffice to say, the ball can be yours, to capture whatever strong, bulky Pokemon you desire, for a mere... shall we say... 1000 Pokedollars?" He smiled slyly, stringing the girl along.

''Oh?'' She chuckled, apparently this kid meant to imply he had an actual business selling these? Children these days were getting craftier every day... But Odette certainly wasn't above taking advantage. ''You realise that is a steep price, boy. But I am done squabbling.'' She pulled out a 1000 yen bill, before folding it and extending her hand.

After that exchange, and making sure her dear Grace was in optimal condition once more, Odette finally returned to the forest. She was fully aware that it was considered off-limits for the time being, what with all the police tape and Rangers scattered about the forest entrance... but surely they couldn't stake out the entire perimeter. She quietly scampered along the edge of the forest, leaving the beaten path as to not be discovered and sent back by any of the authorities policing the area. There were a few close calls, and she had to make sure to kneel behind a bush or two... but eventually she was quite confident she'd gotten deep enough into the forest that they wouldn't be patrolling anymore.

The further she walked, she more she took notice, however... the destruction of the forest was more extensive than she remembered. During her escape she wasn't paying very much attention, but the fire certainly hadn't spread this far yet. Large patches of flora had been reduced to ash, with larger pieces of dry wood still smoldering. Trees had their bark scorched off, and their cores coated in a deep black... and among their roots, occasionally she found empty shells of what had once been living, breathing wildlife.

Just a little more. Odette had to be approaching the labyrinth she'd encountered before by now. The trees had been so densely packed, and interwoven with each other in some areas, that it was impossible to traverse, and in this way a maze had seemingly naturally formed. Somehow, its 'halls' had remained relatively wide however... as if they had been bulldozed every once in a while. But where was this peculiar part of the woods now? Surely the flames couldn't have swallowed such old trees so easily...

Suddenly, Odette found a point of recognition. A large cut off tree trunk, with a thinner tree sprouting from it. It too, was thoroughly charred... but that meant she had already progressed into what had been a maze before. She swiftly looked around for any sign of the Pokémon she had been looking for, a slight panic falling over her, and she hastened her step further in. If the fire had spread this far and destroyed these ancient trees... was the Rhyhorn guardian even still alive?


 
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Drew Tucker
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The Eternal Promise
Santalune City - Santalune Residential District

With Floatzel at his side, Drew stomped through the suburban sector of Santalune's residential district. If he couldn't use Brycen, he'd go for the next best thing. Floatzel did kind of owe him a favour after all. That said, he'd have to find his partner eventually. Giving this gym challenge one more try would require him to actually have a Pokémon, and Floatzel wasn't gonna be sticking around too long. He glanced down at the Sea Weasel. It was clear she hadn't been very comfortable in the man-made environment her son was being kept in. She wanted freedom again, and Drew couldn't help but respect that. She wasn't made for domestication. The more time he spent with her, the more he felt he understood her perspective.

As he glanced up, Drew noticed they'd found themselves far enough from the last spot he'd checked, and decided to try again. He shuffled through his bag for a moment before pulling out his pokedex. The professor had informed him about the 'Ball Locator' feature installed in the device, but it was inconveniently limited in its capabilities. Why only when you're within 200 feet? Drew rolled his eyes as the feedback from the dex was negative once again.

"Worth a sh-AHHH! What the hell was that?" Drew screamed, clutching the side of his head in agony.

Floatzel investigated the item on the floor beside the human's foot that she'd seen collide with his temple. An apricorn? She glanced up, expecting to see the tree it may have fallen from. No trees at all. She couldn't understand these human inhabited spaces, they made absolutely no sense. Apricorns falling from the sky wasn't conventional on the riverside, but at least it could be explained. Her inquisitive peering made her alert to the tomato that followed it, this one splatting across the floor rather than into the humans head. Following the source of the projectile, she noticed a mischievous looking trio standing atop one of the buildings: Pansage, Panpour and Pansear. Behind them, a mess of unsorted items, all of which were small enough to be thrown. Despite being pelted with the apricorn and the tomato though, the monkeys didn't seem to be paying any attention to her or Drew.

The Panpour let out an annoyed screech as it too was the victim of a flying object. This one however, seemed much more direct.

Drew glanced up, following the trajectory of the bottle of deodorant that had collided with the Panpour. Standing on top of the opposing roof, were three aggressive looking Aipom. The two sets of monkey seemed as though they were in some sort of gang war. This mustve been what Newt was talking about. If what Newt said was true, which it more often wasn't, then these were the guys that started the fire. Those Growlithe and Houndour were just getting a bad rep. If they were allowed to continue, they'd probably end up doing the same to the city as they did to the forest. "Hey, assholes, stop throwing stuff!" Drew belted as loud as he could. The monkeys completely ignored him. It was only at this moment, Drew noticed how deserted this street was. Had these guys really caused that much trouble? "If they won't come down, we'll get them down ourselves. I'm not about to let them burn down the city too." Drew sighed, strolling up to the house the Aipom were stood on top of, and knocking on the door.

The door opened, but Drew saw no one in front of him. He looked down, to see an Aipom holding the handle with its tail. The pokemon quickly tried to slam the door in Drew's face, but the human was able slip his foot in the way before the monkey could get it closed. The boy froze as the searing pain shot up through his leg. He was lamenting his decision to stand in the way. It was his insertion that allowed Floatzel to slip through however, tackling the Aipom as she did so.

The yelp the pokemon let out was foreboding however. Seemingly right after, Floatzel knocked out the monkey, three more came swinging into the hallway. One, much bigger than the other two.

"That middle one looks like the leader." Drew notified Floatzel, who responded with a nod. He was right. He flicked open his pokedex, who announced the larger monkey to be Ambipom.

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Ambipom, The Long Tail Pokemon.
They work in large colonies and make rings by linking their tails, apparently in friendship.


The Ambipom smirked menacingly. He unveiled a pokeball from behind him, and twirled it around in his hand, staring at it like a new toy he couldn't wait to play with. He tossed the ball. In a flash of light a Chespin, Brycen, emerged from the ball.

Drew couldn't help but sneer. He'd been led straight to Brycen. These monkeys didn't realise how stupid a move they'd just made. With Floatzel and Brycen at his side, the monkeys would be down and out before they knew it.

Brycen scowled as he noticed Drew. Traitor. His old trainer had disappointed him for the last time. He wasn't about to tolerate it any longer. Losing battles was one thing, but turning his back on him was an unforgivable outrage. Chespin launched a vine whip at Drew, much to the trainer's surprise. Drew's only protection from the attack was the last minute interception from Floatzel. Lucky.

Drew stared in shock at Brycen. How could he…was this it then? Were they officially no more? The trainer hung his head in shame as the 4 opponents now closed in on Floatzel.

The Ambipom was the first to attack, clenching the hand on one of its tails into a fist and swinging for Floatzel, who managed to swiftly dodged. It was then knocked back into one of the Aipom by Floatzel's tail, before being drenched by a water gun.

Brycen and the other Aipom charged into, pummelling the distracted Floatzel with a tackle and fury swipes respectively.

Drew watched helplessly as Floatzel was back into a corner by the barrage of attacks. If he was ever going to prove himself a viable trainer, now was as good a time as any. He thought back to the attacks he'd seen Floatzel use before. Since she wasn't his own pokemon, he couldn't check his pokedex to see what she knew. "Floatzel, Aqua Jet!" He commanded.

Following Drew's order, the water type encased herself in aquatic armour and charged, her aura causing the two pokemon to stumble back in pain. She charged, like a rocket, toward the Ambipom, who managed to get out of the way in time. The Aipom he fell into however, wasn't so lucky, being again crushed, this time by Floatzel and instantly K.O'd by the attack. Just like that, it was now 3v1. The odds were still against them, but that was certainly a welcome equaliser.

The trainer turned his attention to Brycen. "Bry, what's all this about? If it's because I almost left you behind I'm sorry, alright? It was stupid on my part."

Brycen scoffed. He wasn't interested in this phony trainer's sweet nothings. Even if he did go back to him, what was he going back to? Losing? Family troubles? Fluctuating commitment? Brycen had no interest in being a part of that anymore.

"C'mon buddy, we're gonna give it one more shot, as a team. Me, you and Floatzel." He crouch down, sticking out his fist for a fist bump.

At the mention of her name, Floatzel was distracted, giving Ambipom the oppourtunity to strike her with a double hit and Aipom to strike her with another fury swipes. She fell back in pain, wincing as the battle began to take its toll.

Brycen jumped back, to stand alongside the two monkeys.

"Floatzel, you alright?" Drew asked, as the water pokemon staggered to her feet. He turned his attention back to the ever stubborn Chespin. He thought back to what Felicity told him. He had to get Brycen back at all costs. He couldn't let his parents be right again. He stood up and walked across the battlefield to Brycen, ignoring the still ongoing exchanges between Floatzel and the two monkeys. He crouched, again meeting his friend at eye level. "Bry, I promise, I'll never turn my back on you again. I know what it feels like to be left behind. I don't want you to ever have to go through that feeling ever again. Not just by me, but I'm sure you feel that sticking with me is making you fall behind the other starters, huh? Like I said, as long as you're with me, you'll never feel that way again."

Brycen staggered back. Drew had never opened up to him like this. He almost felt compelled to at least end this battle. He still wanted to take on the gym challenge, and Drew was right. He did feel like he was falling behind. Giving up on Drew before they even took the first hurdle wouldn't fix that though. For now, they'd continue as a team. It was the right thing to do. Brycen nodded, sticking out a fist for Drew.

Drew grinned, and eagerly bumped his fist with Brycen's. He stood up, with a new found confidence. "Hey monkeys, I'm guessin I know what you're doin here. Your house burned down and you need somewhere to stay, right? I'll give you guys the benefit of the doubt and say you didn't start the forest fire." He stood and waited for a response, but the monkeys gave him nothing. They returned their attentions back to Floatzel, who Brycen had run to the aid of already. "Bry, looks like we're gonna have to battle, you ready?"

Their opponents attacked again, this time it was Brycen who countered. He curled himself into a ball and charged at the monkeys, knocking them both back in a heap. The attack had significantly weakened the Aipom, but Ambipom had no trouble getting back to his feet.

"Go again Brycen, rollout!" At his reconciled best friend's behest, Brycen carried his momentum, and charged again at the monkeys. Ambipom easily dodged, but with the second much harder hit, Aipom was knocked unconscious.

Drew simpered. He couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of accomplishment after finally getting his long awaited proper win alongside his starter. They'd defeated wild pokemon on route 22, but each felt like a defeat as he watched each one escape the subsequent pokeball he would toss at them. "Ambipom, you sure you still wanna do this? I'm not gonna treat the Pan monkeys any differently from you."

The pokemon, now alone looked around in frustrated panic. He's lost. He still had the boys upstairs, but if they were to leave their post it would be an instant sign of weakness. He'd have to trust this human to deal with the Pan situation.

"C'mon. I know a better place you guys can live anyway."

---​

"Five Aipom, one Ambipom, one Pansage, Panpour and Pansear and one of the Simi forms of each of those." Drew said with a sigh as he lent over the counter of the adoption center. The army of pokemon he'd just mentioned standing behind him, with the Aipom line on one side and the Pan line on the other. Brycen and the Floatzel stood between the two.

"I have to say, the fact someone at your level of experience was able to detain all those pokemon certainly is impressive. You must be an exceptional trainer." The Nurse smiled awkwardly as she tried to scribble down each species that was being listed.

"Well…I did have some help." Drew chuckled nervously. The monkeys were still waiting patiently, but would surely begin to run amuck once they realised the masses of food and riches he promised them wouldn't be coming their way. With a smile, he waved and headed out of the door. As he heard the uproarious ruckus the monkeys made on his departure he urged Brycen and Floatzel to walk faster and get the hell out of there. That was the centre's problem now though. He had a gym to cha…a gym to beat.


Inventory
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ODETTE RADIUJU
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Grace
Modest / Synchronize
- Moveset
CATCH UP // Santalune Forest

She ran through the maze towards what she assumed had to be the center. The forest did seem to thicken, but she wasn't sure that was a good thing. Occasionally she could see holes had been made in the 'walls' of the labyrinth. Large openings because of trees collapsing, or smaller ones because of Pokémon trying to escape the inferno. A desolate sight, considering the state it had been in before.

Eventually, Odette reached a clearning. She hadn't been to this place before, but it was clear that it had been a forest sanctuary before the flames had their way with it. At the center stood a primitive stone gazebo - or rather, what was left of it. The roof had fallen to the side after one of the pillars had given out. It was wrapped in unnaturally thick wood vines, it seemed. The woodland Pokémon must have tried to keep this place intact before the fire rushed through.

Her surroundings were eerily quiet, even more so than when she first entered the forest, but the girl stepped onto the platform to investigate. There was a small rock altar in the middle, and it appeared the collapse of the roof had narrowly missed cracking it to pieces altogether. Atop it lay a small, oval rock, that was carved open on one side. On the inside, a slight, colourful shimmer betrayed its value: a geode filled with brightly colours gems was presented as the treasure of the labyrinth. Odette picked it up to examine it more carefully.

However, as soon as she laid hands on the peculiar stone, a thunderous roar broke the silence.

Odette jumped in fright and nearly dropped the geode in her hands. There it was. She quickly put the geode in her bag, wary that it would provoke the guardian if kept out in the open, and then gingerly stepped down from the platform, looking around to where the sound had come from. Spying around the clearing however, she couldn't discover anything of note. Only charred trees, cracked and collapsed. Her eyes rested on one large trunk resting over a large, whitish boulder. One that struggled to move.

There it was, indeed... but so different from their first encounter. Before, the giant Rhyhorn had shone as a bright blade as it pierced through the forest maze, trampling any intruder in its path. Odette had been lucky to be able to avoid it by going into side paths as it could only really charge forward. But now its pale rock exterior had been blemished by smudges of smoldering ash. Burn wounds scattered across its hide. Not to mention it was trapped under the weight of a massive tree, that broke over its back and crushed it from both sides. Despite not being fazed by fire itself, the inferno that raged through its entrusted forest had severely weakened it.

Odette called out Grace, and slowly walked forward. With every step she took, the Rhyhorn seemed to get more desperate. It struggled to stand, and pushed its legs onto the ground to try and shrug off the massive tree, grunting and roaring as she approached.

She stopped mere metres before the gigantic Rhyhorn, and waited for her partnered Ralts to stand by her side. The size of the beast impressed her more than she anticipated; the Rhyhorn's withers easily exceeded her full height. Taking a deep breath, she commanded in a clear voice:

''Grace, lift his burden.''

Ralts nodded, and spread her arms forward, her eyes glowing a light blue. Slowly, joined with the Rhyhorn's power, she lifted up the cracked tree, and slowly cleaved its tear through the rest of its trunk.

''Be on your guard...'' Odette tensely continued as the guardian was about to be freed. The beast was still enraged, and roared at the pair furiously. The trunk slowly rose further, until finally it snapped in two with a loud crack.

The Rhyhorn's eyes went wide, and it dashed forward. Odette hastily stepped to Grace's side and froze in fear as the Rhyhorn narrowly missed striking her. The Rock-type ran forward in a rage, before turning around and facing the pair, panting.

''Tch. If you still long to fight, we can grant that wish.'' Odette angrily gestured her hand forward. ''Magical Leaf!''

Grace stood in front of her Trainer and lifted her arms once more, summoning green leaves with her psychic energy and shooting them at the Rhyhorn. One by one, they struck into its hide, dealing severe damage to the weakened guardian. It let out another bellow of rage, and charged at them once more. This time they were prepared for its Bulldoze however, and easily ran out of the way.

''Give up your struggle. Disarming Voice!'' Odette commanded once more, and Grace obliged. She let out a loud cry, a plea almost, in an effort to break the Rhyhorn's spirit. It was visibly affected, but in a final desperate attack, it summoned a rock intended to Smack Down its opponent.

Odette quickly retaliated, however. ''Confusion!'' she yelled, and Grace's eyes immediately glowed blue once more, suspending the rock in the air and deflecting it back towards the Rhyhorn. It narrowly dodged, but Odette grinned as it went exactly where she wanted it to. With an unintentional jump, she threw the Heavy Ball she had been holding behind her back. It made contact with the Pokémon's forehead, and the ball opened, containing the giant Rhyhorn inside.

The grey-topped ball fell to the ground, and began shaking. Grace returned to Odette's side, and they waited in suspense... until finally, it stopped.

The reassuring 'click' echoed through the now-fully silent clearing.

Odette had to snap herself out of the trance with which she'd been watching the ball roll about. She rushed over to pick it up and looked at Grace with a grin as she held it in her hands. Her Ralts smiled a little too, and Odette picked her up for a moment to celebrate, dancing around for old time's sake in the ash-covered woods.

Eventually, Grace too was returned to her Pokéball, and with her first self-caught Pokémon in her hands, Odette returned to Santalune City.

 
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RAI CROSS

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Echo Static
Quick Attack - Low Kick - Thundershock - Barrier - Swift

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Garda Flash Fire
Bite - Roar - Ember - Leer - Odor Sleuth - Helping Hand

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Pagan Cloud Nine
Fury Swipes - Confusion - Water Gun - Water Sport


Inventory
800 poké / Pokédex / Pokéballs / Potions
Waterstone / Burn Heal


SANTALUNE CITY - Gratitude of the people
It bothered Rai that she had to wait for her turn when she got back to the pokémon center. She had just battled with her pokémon and they needed healing! Why were people taking so much time?

It wasn't until a boy and what seemed to be his father appeared from a corridor, both crying, that Rai started to grasp that something was out of the ordinary. When she finally reached the front desk and caught the eyes of the tired nurse behind it, she carefully inquired.

"Didn't you see the fire?" the nurse asked, as if Rai was stupid.

"Of course I did, I was right in the middle of it! Fending off some angsty looking Houndour who probably caused the thing, even."

"Well, then you should know. The last survivors seem to have made their way to the city at last... But some aren't in good shape. Neither humans nor pokémon." The poor nurse yawned, and wiped her face with her sleeve. "I've been up all night..."

"Do you think my laundry is done yet, by the way?"

The nurse blinked at her, before shaking her head and giving Rai a short 'yes' while she took the pokéballs out of the girl's hands. In under a minute, they were restored and handed back to her, along with a temporary keycard to the laundry room.

"Thanks!" Rai said, but the nurse had already turned to the next person in the line.

"That fire sure seems to have been a big deal, huh," Rai mumbled to herself as she passed more sad or dirty looking people in the corridors of the pokémon center. "Maybe I was really lucky to take the strange route off the main road... The fire practically missed me, but those who took the main route..."

Trying to will away the dark images that appeared in her mind, she packed her clean and dry favorite clothes down into her bag, deciding to keep wearing the short leggings and purple tunic for now. For extra luck, and since it wasn't hugely warm, she put on her mustard yellow scarf also, though. Putting on a smile to stay positive, she headed for the exit of the center.

But she was stopped by a tall man.

"Excuse me," he said. "I happened to overhear that you fended off some Houndour in the forest?"

"Yep, Houndour quelling squad right here!" Rai responded, keen on not letting her cheerfulness waver.

"Thank you so much! The pokémon rangers have been working to try and calm down the abnormal pokémon seen in the wild during this fire, but we needed help from trainers like yourself."

"Oh... So I did your job?"

"Well, helped us with it!"

"So do you get paid for doing this job?" Rai asked curiously.

"Uh... Well..."

"Do I get some form of compensation for helping out? I'm a poor pokémon trainer traveling around, you know."

"..."

After a moment of not being sure of what to say, the man handed Rai some pokédollars and a Burn Heal. Now even more cheerful, Rai happily put them down in her bag and marched out from the pokémon center, not hearing the very disapproving grunt from the nurse behind the counter.

Finding her way back to the pokémon gym, Rai went over and over the moves of her pokémon and what strategies she could use against bug types. She didn't know what to expect, really, but there was no way she would lose. She had been studying hard at the pokémon trainer school and was not a puny rookie hobby challenger; she was the real deal! And if Kea and Nyo could beat this gym leader - which they both had boasted about doing - then certainly so could she.
 

Jay

[font=Brawler][color=#91a8d4][i]Here comes the boi
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As the last contestant parted the stage the judges conferred for a few precious minutes when suddenly all lights went dark, plunging the arena into total darkness. A hushes silence came across the chattering audience before in subtle flash, a single spotlight pierced through the shadows from above, illuminating Lisia whom stood with eyes closed and a calm smile upon her face. In her hands there was a single envelop sealed with a pokéball symbol and adorned with a golden finish.

"Ladies and Gentleman... the contest tonight has been filled with stunning performances, left right and center..." She paused. "But at the end of the day there can only be one winner... and only three participants will be stepping away today with an esteemed ribbon from our judges." She slowly opened the envelope. "It is time then... to reveal the winners of the Santalune CIty Contest Spectacular!"

The crowd cheered as Lisia reviewed the list with a smile.

"As an honorable mention for his stellar performance, I'd first like to thank Jackson Crane. However as the pokémon used was not the pokémon registered for the performance. We are forced to see him disqualified."

An audible sigh of disappointment spread through certain portions of the audience, however, the reading quickly continued.

"In fifth place... Miss Brielle Baker! For her exciting and cute performance! Her adorable little Goomy did not fail to impress. However, her tardiness to the event has hurt her position. With a more punctual performance we believe she could go far!" The crowd applauded graciously, pleased with the result and judgment.

"In fourth place!... It's Dahlia D. Adoración! A breathtaking performance with flair, elegance and a telling of an outstanding tale. It was only the long explanation that took away from this one... and unfortunately made it just a tiny bit short of receiving a ribbon this time." The crowd gave an uproar of applause and approval. The sort of well received reaction one would expect for such a theatrical creation.

"Now... It's time for the big three!" With a wave of her arm, a large screen rose up from a pedestal that had been rolled in in the dark, unnoticed until now... it showed three podiums marked 1-3... with empty portrait frames upon each. "In third place..."

Lisia paused, allowing suspense to fill the stage.

"Dylan Graham!" The crowd roared in approval and Lisia flourished as Dylan's performance began to replay in the portrait window, before fading out to an image of his face. "A stunning performance featuring many pokémon, the themes of duality and the perception of beauty... and overall a spectacle that involved the audience! If not for docked points due to the large multitude of pokémon in use, this would have been a 1st place performance. However! It is still more than worth a ribbon in our eyes!"

As the crowd began to cheer and applaud, Lisia waited for the noise to calm before continuing. "In second place!" The crowd quickly hushed once more. "Miss Caroline C. Adoración!" THe crowd once again began to cheer and chuckle as Caroline's performance played out into her portrait. "A stunning performance incorporating the audience, comedy, dramatics and action! With a little more focus on unique move usage this performance would have won the day! However with all things considered, it just fell short of the winner..."

One final time, Lisia allowed the crowd to quiet, before she finally announced the winner.

"In first place..." Lisia trailed off, a drumroll played in the background pre-ordaining her announcement. "Laurent Hessel!" A few confetti popper went off and the lights flared back on as the crowd went wild and laurent's performance played in the number one spot before shifting back to the image of his face, top hat and all. "An exciting and romantic performance focusing heavily on the trainers charm and the pokémon's unique talents and appeal all the while involving the audience and keeping us hooked on the pair's every action, with no points deducted for the number of pokémon, only utilizing one, this performance took one pokémon's abilities and style and capitalized on it fully! Extravagant!"

The crowd was unstoppable as it cheered, clapped and spoke about the results, leaving Lisia to blare her voice through the microphone over the crowd. "With that, thank you everyone so much for attending the second official contest in the Kalosian Grand Festival Qualifiers! We hope to see you at the next one and I'd invite any fans or press to join us in the morning for a quick and informal awards ceremony with our top five coordinators!"

With that Lisia took to her Mega Altaria and flew around the arena, giving a few high fives and stopping once or twice for photo opportunities, before flying upwards and out of the arena into the Kalos moon silhouette.

The first contest for our group of heroes had finally drawn to a close... and for the top three competitors, the first step towards the Kalos Grand Festival had been taken.


 
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LinearAxel

That Dream...Make it Come True!
391
Posts
8
Years
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Sebastian Allender
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Please Take Care of Yourself...


The Pokemon center was quiet, only the occasional shuffling of Nurse Joy's tiny feet, and the door occasionally opening and shutting, with the occasional mumble from a trainer using the PC on the other side of the building. The quiet was welcomed after all the excitement that had been swirling around his existence since graduation day. The teen draws in a deep breath and releases a quiet sigh. A quiet fumbling from under the couch causes him to look down, and the sight causes him to smile weakly.

"You're doing well for yourself."

Koroku, Sebastian's Burmy, was creating a new cloak for itself by collecting bits of trash from around the center, apparently the sofa was quite a treasure trove.

"Burmyyy!" The bug makes a pleased cry as it wriggles out from under the sofa, and then proceeds to clutch onto its trainer's leg.

"Safe and sound, hm?" Since capturing the tiny bug, it had spent the majority of its time outside of its Pokeball latched onto Sebastian, not that anyone could blame him for being timid...he had been through quite the ordeal…

Flashback

"What happened here…?" Sebastian whispers in awe as he stands before the burning forest. This couldn't be an accident, no...it happened too quickly. The forest had been in view as they walked across the river, and it had been completely peaceful, and then there was smoke, and within minutes, the forest was an inferno. Wildfires grew slowly, nothing like this…

"Fen!" Selkie cries, her large ears perking northward. As Sebastian followers her eyes he sees two boys coming from the direction of the forest's entrance, both of whom seem rather distraught.

"Excuse me--" Sebastian calls to the two, moving his arm upward to wave them down, though he can feel his entire frame stiffen as the duo turn to lock eyes on him. "Are you two alright?"

"We're okay…" the slightly taller boy replies. "But...the Pokemon…" He turns to look back to the inferno that was once Santalune forest.

"I'm sure they sensed the incoming danger and escaped when this started." Sebastian speaks as he walks closer to the distraught pair.

"What about the ones that can't?" The shorter boy pipes up. "Like the Metapods...they don't have legs!"

"We saw three Metapods when we went there this morning...they weren't far in but...they still can't get out…"

"How far is not far?" Sebastian asks, his gaze turning from the children to the burning forest.

"The first tree at the first fork…" The younger boy speaks, his eyes suddenly widening, his head snapping up to look at Sebastian's face. "Y-you're a Pokemon trainer, right? Will you go get them?"

"FEN!" Selkie shrieks before Sebastian can muster any type of response. The tiny fox stands on her trainer's foot and begins to viciously shake her head. Sebastian can't go in there!

Those eyes, wide and fearful...they're a perfect match for Alice's eyes the night of the festival, when he told that oversized jerk to stop tugging on her hand, and his mother's eyes when he was child, any time he tried to do anything remotely dangerous: The look that screamed 'YOU can't do this. YOU will break.' Those eyes haunted him, those pitying looks, panicked voices, when were they going to stop?

"I'll get them."

"FEN-NI-KEN!" Selkie shouts. She scurries away from Sebastian, stopping about five feet from him, her tail standing on end: She is making a stand.

"Selkie…" Sebastian sighs as he reaches for her Pokeball. "Return."

"Fe-!" The fox shouts as the little red beam envelopes her being, and back to the ball she goes.

"Wait for me at the Pokemon Center, okay?" Sebastian puts on his best staged smile for the two boys, who both nod.

"Okay!"

"Hurry back!"

Upon reaching the forest, Sebastian had taken a surgical mask from his travel bag; back home in Fuschia, people wore such masks during flu season in hopes of filtering out contaminated air, and it should filter out some of the smoke...if only for a moment.

"Svana, use Defog." He speaks, tossing a Pokeball into the air. A female Ducklett bursts from the ball and takes to the air.

"Lett!" The duckling flaps its wings frantically, creating a strong gust that causes the smoke billowing from the entrance to dissipate...at least for a moment.
This...might just work. Sebastian draws in one last breath of clean air before darting for the forest entrance, Svana flitting right above him.

As the boys said, about five-hundred feet into the forest was a group of trees, and a clear path branched on either side of them. At the trees roots were three Metapods, significantly shinier than usual. Sadly, he doubted any amount of hardening could protect the cocoons once the fire reached them.

"Let's get you out of--" His sentence was cut short by a violent cough. Despite Svana's best defogging efforts, with smoke coming at them from all directions, it was simply wafting back once blown away. Quickly he plucked each Metapod from its own root, and placed it in his emptied bag. One Metapod...two, three Metapod. As Sebastian rises from his crouched position, his body staggers slightly. The heat is beating down on him, and he's beginning to feel a familiar sting in his lungs. He raises his arm and points to the entrance, directing Svana to safety.

Fire crackles and pops around them as they rush back from whence they came, the occasional falling branch being blown away by Svana's Water Gun, they must have been half way towards freedom when the sounds of the burning forest were joined by a faint, terrified cry.

"...myyyYYYY!"

Hovering above, just a few yards away from Sebastian and Ducklett, was a Burmy attached to a burning tree. The branch it clung to was far too high up to simply drop from, and trying to crawl down the burning tree meant certain death. The creature shook with fear as the flames drew closer and closer to the branch where it hung, small embers singeing its leaf cloak.

"LE-" Again his words were cut short by a fit of coughs, which were followed by a choked gasp. His airways were closing, trying to keep out the smoke…

Without a voice to call out to Burmy, or command Svana, Sebastian reached for an empty Pokeball from his belt loop, and threw it towards Burmy. The terrified bug was enveloped in light, and then brought into the Pokeball, which fell back towards Sebastian's hand. The ball gave a weak shake in Sebastian's palm, and then fell still.

The burning in his chest grew stronger and stronger as he darted for the entrance, his muscles began to tense, begging for air that his lungs refused to provide. The horrifying sound of a mouth gasping desperately for air overtook the sounds of flames destroying the forest, a sharp pain shot through his knees as he lost his footing and collided with the dirt…

But he was out…

The mask was ripped from his face and thrown to the side, replaced with the inhaler from his pocket. His lungs reluctantly opened, shoving out the remains of the smoke that had plagued them through another fit of painful, violent coughs. The process repeated several times: Gasp, inhale, cough, breathe...but soon the burning in his chest began to lessen, and shortly after he found he could stand up again.

They did it...they survived.

End flashback

Burmy and the Metapods were given clean bills of health at the Pokemon center, and the two boys were more than happy to find a safe place for the Metapods to live until they evolved. As for Burmy, it was more reluctant to leave the trainer that rescued it.

"Mr. Allender." A soft voice called, bringing Sebastian from the world of his thoughts. "Your Pokemon are ready to be picked up."

Added 11:11 7/12/2017​

"Everyone's feeling much better now." The Pokemon Nurse chimes happily. "We hope to see you again!"

"Thank you. You all look well rested." Sebastian smiles to the three Pokemon sitting on the counter. "Ready to get going?"

"Fen!~"
"Foo!"
"..."

Sebastian's head tilts a bit as he looks to the silent Svana; her gaze is fixated on the wall on the other side of the Pokemon center, and upon following that gaze, the teen can see why: There are performing Pokemon on the center's television. "We've got some time. Let's get a better look." Sebastian tucks the duckling Pokemon against his arm and walks to the other side of the center, Selkie and Hakkai hopping from the counter and following along.

"Lett! Lett!" Svana flaps her wings together as if clapping, her eyes shine with delight as the man dressed in golden roses stepped onto the stage.

"You really like this sort of thing, don't you?"

"Duuuh~"

Hardly a surprise. Sebastian knew from the moment he met Ducklett that she had a passion for the dramatics.

Flashback

"The berry field is this way." Sebastian smiles down to Selkie as she excitedly trots by his side. They would be on their own for awhile, and it wouldn't hurt to have some free healthcare in the form of oran and pecha berries (money might not be the easiest to come by).

Splash.

The soft splash grabbed Selkie's attention, her large ears perking towards the nearby stream.

Splash.

Another one, the curious fox trots closer to find the source.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Splash.
This time Sebastian heard it too. He glances ahead to see a rather cute sight: A group of Ducklett perched on a log, one at a time diving from the log and into the waters below. Three, four, five had jumped, and now only one remained on the log, the others floating in the water and waiting. This last Ducklett spreads her wings and makes a sweeping bow. She lifts one leg into the air and attempts to leap from the log--

Only to lose her footing...and make a painful looking belly flop into the water. Her fellow Duckletts make sounds that seem like laughter, though not mean spirited ones...as the clumsy Ducklett emerges, she gets a soft wing pat from one of her friends, and quickly swims back to the shore, where she waddles her way back to the log.

"Duuuh…" One of the other Duckletts yawns. He gestures with a single wing and begins to swim down the stream.Off to play another game, it seems, but the clumsy one...she isn't giving up yet. This time she tries to stand on her claws and spin her way off the log...only to fall back first into the cool water below.

"DUCK!" The duckling cries in frustration, splashing her wings angrily against the water.

"Fen…" Selkie's ears lower, only to perk up as she trots closer to the disappointed Ducklett. "Fen, fen!" It looks as if she's trying to tell her fellow Pokemon not to give up, though it's hard to tell...considering the water type's reaction.

Ducklett whirls around, her eyes wide at first, and then narrow in anger. "Duckle!" She cries, splashing water at the overly friendly fox.

"Fe…" Selkie lowers her tail, yet she refuses to budge.

"Selkie, she wants to be left alo-"

"Duuuck!" The embarrassed duck shoots a stream of water from its bill straight for Selkie. Fortunately, she manages to leap out of the way, unfortunately...she fires back with a heat wave.

"Selkie, stop!" But it's too late; Ducklett has flown from the water and is beginning an aerial assault on Selkie...and Sebastian, it seems, as her next Water Gun shoots just over his shoulder… not the best with aim, this one. "...Okay, then. Selkie, use scratch!"

The little fox launches herself upward, brandishing her claws and swiping across the angry bird's face. This throws the flying type off balance, and causes her to go into a tailspin, crashing into the hard ground below. She rises to her feet, readying another Water Gun for Selkie.

"Stop it with Heat Wave!"

The stream of water collides with a stream of fire, the area quickly becoming covered in steam.
"Feeen…" Selkie growls in frustration, but within seconds of appearing, the steam is blown away by a powerful gust of wind blown by the little Ducklett, who uses Fennekin's disorientation to prepare a wing attack.

"Quick, Flame Charge!"

A ball of fire surrounds Selkie as she lunges towards her dive-bomber, they collide with a thud, and it's enough to throw Ducklett just a bit off balance once again.

"Heat Wave again!"

Selkie gracefully lands against the grass and pivots on her front paws, blowing another large blast of fire towards the bird.

Ducklett cries, but quickly brushes the fire type attack off and swirls around to face Selkie.

Selkie's fur bristles in frustration: Having little battle experience, she doesn't understand why her most powerful attack is doing so little against the aquatic bird. Ducklett launches towards her with another wing attack as Selkie closes her eyes and lets out an annoyed shout-- which manifests itself into a blast of psychic energy, which hits the incoming Ducklett straight in the chest, and blows her several feet back.

"Fe…" Selkie blinks in surprise, then lets out an excitable yelp.

"That was Psybeam…" Sebastian smiles proudly. "Selkie, do it again!"

Fennekin aims another colorful blast at her disoriented opponent, and this time it's enough to down the duckling for good.

"Wonderful job, Selkie!" Sebastian cheers, only to remember why they were fighting Ducklett in the first place, which causes him to cross his arms. "But you shouldn't have attacked her to begin with."

"Fen…" Selkie bows her head apologetically. Dropping her tail she walks over to check on the fainted Pokemon. "Kin?" She tilts her head towards Sebastian.

"We can't just leave her like this."

Selkie's tail slowly begins to wag as she looks at her trainer expectantly.

"You want to take her with us?"

"Ke!"
A flying type would be useful, especially against the bug type gym leader in the next town...and the overly dramatic duckling did have a charm to her. Sebastian takes a Pokeball from his belt and bends down, delicately tapping the Ducklett with it. Shake...shake...shake...ding.

End Flashback







 
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865
Posts
13
Years
  • Age 38
  • Seen Feb 24, 2024
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Avril Morris
Santalune City
Chapter 3-5 | Shino's Resolve











Current Party:
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Inventory:
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- x1 Pokédex
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- x3 Pokéballs
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- x1 Leaf Stone
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- 500 Poké Dollars
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- x3 Pecha Berries



With a flash of red light, Benjamin the Mudbray emerged from his Pokéball and stepped out onto the battlefield. A look of mild interest was on the donkey Pokémon's face as he took a glance around, gathering his senses about where he was and the situation he currently found himself in. It didn't take long for the Mudbray to realize that he had been called out into a trainer battle, something which would have sparked some interest if his opponent did not happen to be just a Bug-type Pokémon. The sight that it was something as small and unimpressive as a Ninjask caused Benjamin's ears and tail to droop down in disappointment. He even went as far as to let out an annoyed huff before slowly taking a seat on the large rock he had been called out onto.

Viola tilted her head in confusion at the sight. "Um... No offense, but was this part of your strategy? Your Mudbray doesn't exactly look too thrilled to be called out into battle..."

Avril laughed nervously in response. "D-Don't you worry about that. I assure you that Benjamin is more than ready to wipe the floor with your Ninjask! Let's go, Benjamin! Start things off with a Mud-Slap!"

Benjamin merely glanced over his shoulder in response to Avril's command. A rather bored sounding yawn escaped the Mudbray's mouth as he simply sat there, not looking too interested in doing a single thing to help combat Viola's Ninjask. Once more, Viola watched on in curiosity.

"Are you sure you don't wanna call him back?" she questioned. Avril shook her head, that look of determination still not leaving her face. "Have it your way, then... Ninjask, Fury Cutter!"

The Ninjask quickly zipped forward towards Benjamin. Before the Mudbray had even the slightest chance to react, he felt the sharp sting of the bug's two blade-like appendages slash down into him. The Mudbray grunted, glaring at the Ninjask as he almost fell over from the sudden sting of the blow, but somehow just the same he managed to stay up. Viola wasted no time in ordering the Ninjask to repeat its actions. Once more, it delivered a fierce slash in the Mudbray's direction, but once more he managed to easily shrug it off. This began to continue for a bit, but each blow seemed to bother the Mudbray less and less. Each time the Ninjask went in for an attack, Avril ordered Benjamin to counter with some form of attack, be it a Mud-slap or a Bulldoze. However with every command, Benjamin chose to ignore his trainer and merely keep staring down the Ninjask. This continued for a few turns, which finally caused the gym leader to start getting a bit suspicious about the whole situation.

"Some people might start to think this is Pokémon cruelty," Viola mused, crossing her arms over her chest. "Your Mudbray has not obeyed a single command since you sent him out into battle. And your response to the whole situation is to allow my Ninjask to beat on him over and over? There are better ways to train a defiant Pokémon, Miss Morris."

"Yeah...? And there are better ways to fight back against that Ninjask rather than trying to outspeed it," Avril replied, placing her hands on her hips. "Like tire it out! I didn't need Benjamin to attack, because his Stamina ability gave him enough time to let your bug spend up some of that energy!"

"Stamina...? Of course!" Viola exclaimed. "So every hit was just making his resistance stronger!"

"Now you got it," Avril explained, "And now it's time to wrap this battle against your Ninjask up!" Without a moment's delay, Avril called her Mudbray back to its Pokéball. She then quickly sent out her Hoothoot, quite ready for the owl Pokémon to finish the battle up for her. "Anise, quick! Attack with Peck!"

The Hoothoot quickly took to the air and began to fly straight towards Viola's Ninjask. Viola did not seem to be the very least concerned about her Ninjask, however. In fact, a rather confident smirk graced the lips of the gym leader as Anise began to close in on her target. Placing her hand on her hip, Viola sighed and made her next move.

"Ninjask, Baton Pass!" she shouted. Avril watched in surprise as Ninjask suddenly went flying straight back to its Pokéball. The bug managed to return just in time to dodge Anise's attack. In its place, came Viola's Surskit, who seemed to be jittering around almost as fast, if not faster than Viola's Ninjask. "You're not the only one who can play that sort of game. Thanks to Baton Pass, I'm afraid this battle is all but over!"

"Anise, don't listen to her! Go for a Tackle!" Avril shouted.

"Surskit, use Rain Dance!" Viola commanded.

The little Surskit began to dance around, its body spinning with glee all the while. Before long, Anise managed to slam her feathery body right into the Surskit. The blow managed to knock the Surskit back a bit, but it managed to hold its footing all the while. Suddenly, rain began to drop all around the area. For a moment, the rookie trainer began to think that the sprinkler system in the gym must have been set off. It was only a moment later that she realized that the strange change in weather, despite being indoors, had to do with the previous command Viola issued to her Surskit. Avril was quick to follow up her orders. She quickly ordered Anise to attack with another Tackle, but Viola was no slouch either.

"Surskit, attack with Aqua Jet!" the gym leader yelled.

As soon as Anise began to make her way towards the Surskit, the bug launched itself forward while encased in what one could describe as a protective barrier of water. With amazing speed and force, the bug managed to slam itself straight into Anise. A loud, pain-filled hoot echoed throughout the battlefield as Anise quickly began to fall out of the sky. She landed roughly on one of the rocks, but before she had the chance to pick herself off the rocks, Viola ordered her Surskit to attack with another Aqua Jet. Once more, the spider-like creature charged straight for the Hoothoot and slammed its body right into the bird. Anise was sent flying back and right off the rock, before plummeting through the webbing and to the out-of-bounds area before.

"Looks like that's it for your Hoothoot!" Viola cheered, clearly pleased with how quick she managed to dispatch of the Flying-type. "Well let's get your next Pokémon out, yeah?" Avril hesitated for a moment. That bug managed to take down Anise so quickly, and it was moving so fast... How could it be possible for it to do without even using one speed-tactic like the Ninjask did. Viola seemed to be able to pick up on Avril's confusion and nodded. "Baton Pass. It allowed my Ninjask to return safely to its Pokéball and sub with my Surskit. Oh, and all the status buffs that Ninjask performed earlier? They all got passed down to Surskit as well."

"Damn it... Then all that effort I had Benjamin make to try and tire it out..." Avril muttered.

"Was for nothing," Viola confirmed. "And I'm sure I don't need to tell you that with your Mudbray already carrying some damage and being a Ground-type...? Well, it wouldn't be a good idea to send him back out. Especially with Rain Dance making Water-type moves stronger!"

"She's right. Stamina or not, I doubt he could take many more hits... and he probably wouldn't listen to me anyways. That means all I really have left is Shino..." Avril thought as she recalled Anise to her Pokéball. Slowly, she took Shino's ball back into her hands, a feeling of dread starting to creep up in the pit of her stomach. "Well... here goes nothing."

Without further delay, Avril sent Shino back out onto the battlefield. The little Froakie still seemed to be a bit tired from his earlier exchange with Ninjask, but the rest that Benjamin and Anise provided seemed to give him at the very least a bit of his stamina back.

"Alright, Shino! Attack with Quick Attack!" Avril ordered.

Shino croaked in agreement and dashed off quickly in the direction of the Surskit. Viola was quick on the defense, though. She ordered her Surskit to counter with Aqua Jet yet again. The spider-like Pokémon shot off like a rocket in the direction of the Froakie, managing to connect with its attack first and send Shino staggering backwards. Avril tried to fight back by having her frog Pokémon attack with Bubble, but the Surskit easily managed to dodge the attack by jumping over it and then countering with a strong Bug Bite right on Shino's right hand. Avril watched in shock as the bug dug its fangs right into Shino, causing the frog to wallow in pain.

"S-Shino... Just hang in there, I know you can do it!" Avril shouted, trying her best to support the Froakie with encouragement.

Shino managed to slap the Surskit away with a quick Pound attack, but it was clear that the gym leader's Pokémon was not about to let up just like that. Viola quickly ordered the Surskit to attack with Aqua Jet one more time. Avril tried to have Shino counter with a Quick Attack, but much like before Surskit just managed to out maneuver the Froakie. Taking a powerful blow in the left side of his body, Shino was sent toppling off the rock he was standing on. By some strange luck, the Froakie managed to grab hold of the edge of the stone. With a grunt, he managed to pull himself back onto the platform. The Froakie was obviously tired and battered, yet he still continued to try and fight.

"...Shino..." Avril whispered, her heart racing as the frog Pokémon tried to stand up properly.

"This match is finished..." Viola sighed. "Surskit, finish him off with one final Aqua Jet!"

"Shino... I know you can do it! Stay strong!" Avril shouted.

The Surskit took off like a rocket once more, its aim set entirely on Shino. The Froakie was breathing heavily as it watched his opponent zipping closer and closer to him. A look of fierce determination seemed to overtake the normally cautious Shino's features. Suddenly, without warning, the frog Pokémon's little hands shot straight out and grabbed hold of the Surskit right before it landed its attack! Viola and Avril both stared in shock and awe at Shino, his little legs shaking as he struggled to hold back the Surskit from landing its attack. The scene only seemed to intensify as a strange aura began to surround Avril's Froakie, before it began glow with a bright, white light.


"S-Shino!" Avril shouted, the girl clearly worried about her Froakie's sudden change of state.

The scene on the battlefield seemed to slow down for everyone in the gym. Slowly, Shino's form began to change. Avril watched as the frog Pokémon's limbs began to grow longer and much more sturdy. His body began to take on a much more sleek and slender form. His eyes narrowed. His head now coming to more of a point as opposed to its round, more child-like state. His white, bubbly attachment on the back of his neck now seemed to resemble more of a scarf of sorts. Whatever happened... it became abundantly clear that the Pokémon before Avril was no longer Froakie. With a sudden new burst of power, Shino quickly pushed the Surskit back and away from him. Despite the battle in progress, Avril quickly grabbed her Pokédex from her bag and gave the strange creature a quick scan.

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"Frogadier, the Bubble Frog Pokémon. Its swiftness is unparalleled. It can scale a tower of more than 2,000 feet in a minute's time."

"Frogadier... Shino, you evolved!" Avril shouted in celebration.

Shino glanced over at Avril in surprise and then down at himself. Slowly, a small smile crept to the frog Pokémon's mouth. It was easy to tell that Shino suddenly felt a lot stronger and more confident about his situation that he found himself in. The Frogadier hopped forward, taunting Viola's Surskit to try and attack him now. The bug Pokémon in question sent a nasty glare in Shino's direction.

"We can do it, Surskit!" Viola shouted, trying to cheer on her Pokémon. "There's no way he's going to be able to keep up with you, still! We can still finish it with Aqua Jet!"

The Surskit dashed forward, water once more enveloping the bug as it aimed at its opponent. Shino remained perfectly calm as the Surskit approached it, as did Avril. The blonde quickly ordered Shino to attack back with a Quick Attack, and he was more than happy to obey. The evolved Pokémon nimbly jumped over the propelling Surskit, before diving his whole body into the bug with great force. Viola widened her eyes as the Surskit came crashing down into a nearby rock. The Surskit tried to pick itself off the ground, but the heavier weight and stronger force of Shino's attack caused it to faint right on the spot! Viola recalled her Surskit, thanking the Pokémon for a battle well-fought, before sending Ninjask back out onto the battlefield. Without missing a beat, both trainers ordered their Pokémon in unison.

"Ninjask, Double Team now!"

"Shino, use Bubble!"

Shino launched a stream of bubbles right in the direction of the Ninjask. However, the Ninjask was able to easily dodge the attack thanks to it's Double Team. Avril quickly ordered her Pokémon to try and attack with Quick Attack, but once more the Ninjask managed to dodge with ease and attacked back with a Fury Cutter. Shino staggered backwards, his eyes narrowing in on his target.

"This is it, Ninjask! Fury Cutter and end this!" Viola ordered.

The Ninjask took off at lightning speed towards Shino. Both the trainer and her Frogadier remained vigilant as the Ninjask dove in towards its target. Both of its blade-like appendages seemed to gleam in the light as they raised up to strike the frog Pokémon. Avril smiled as the bug Pokémon was right in front of Shino. It was now or never.

"Shino, Water Pulse!" she shouted.

Right as the blades swung down to slash at Shino, the Frogadier managed to jump back and dodge the attack. All the while a blue sphere of energy began to form between his hands. Without warning or delay, Shino launched the sphere forward! It slammed right into the Ninjask, exploding into a wave of water that washed across the bug Pokémon with great force. The Ninjask swirled around in the water helplessly, before it finally cleared... and the Ninjask fell into the web below. The battle was over... Avril had won.

The blonde girl was silent as she stood there, letting it all soak in. "I... I won...? We won...? We did it... We did it!"

Throwing caution to the wind, Avril hopped her way across the various rocks and made her way towards Shino. The Frogadier croaked a tired, yet happy croak as he hopped into Avril's arms, the duo hugging celebration of their victory. Viola smiled softly as she recalled her Ninjask to its Pokéball. Slowly, Viola walked forward and began to applaud the duo.

"Impressive... Very impressive," the gym leader stated. "I have to admit, you have a... very unique way of battling. But still, a victory is a victory. As the gym leader of Santalune City, it is my duty to present you and your Pokémon with this, the Bug Badge! Congratulations, Avril Morris!"

Avril smiled brightly as she happily accepted the badge from Viola. With excitement, she showed off the badge to Shino who croaked in happiness over his accomplishments. The blonde trainer couldn't keep a straight face as she carefully placed the badge into her badge case for safe keeping. She had done it. Her first gym battle was a success... and the first steps towards completing her goal of reaching the Kalos League had finally been completed...
 
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Sephear

Believe in the you that believes in cheese
1,319
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12
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A Competetive Cascade



Laurent stopped in front of the Santalune Gym and stared at the doors for nearly an entire minute. He couldn't fathom why, but for the first time so far on his journey he was genuinely nervous, he had forgotten he could even be nervous. He flipped open the case he hadn't been able to bring himself to put away since the contest finished, and looked down at the sole ribbon inside, largely the same as the other ribbons handed out to the second and third place contestants, but just a tad more ornate. His apprehensive frown softened to a warm smile and he rested two fingers on the ribbon for a few seconds before snatching the case shut again and opening the doors to the gym.

"Welcome!" A voice rang out through the gym shortly after Laurent entered. "Wow, another one already? Today really is a great day to be a gym leader, the Joys up at the center are gonna be sick of me by tomorrow!"

Laurent strode confidently on towards what he assumed to be the edge of the arena, eyeing the platforms suspended above the massive webs. "Viola, I assume?" He smiled warmly at the blonde woman on the other side of the arena, noting she was quite good looking even in her rather robust outfit. "It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Laurent Hessel, and I've come to challenge your Gym!"

Viola smiled at the warm reception from her challenger but didn't miss the fire in his eyes. "Oh really? And here I thought you just wanted a photo op!...Actually..." Viola squinted and tried to take in more of Laurent's appearance from across the gym. "Haven't I seen you somewhere...Oh! You won that last contest! Normally I like to go watch them myself and snap plenty of pictures, but I've had such a steady flow of trainers coming in today I just caught it on TV instead." Before Viola said anything else she lifted her camera up to her face with impressive speed and the flash went off. Laurent was ready, though and had taken on the same pose he had when he first got on stage at the contest. It was a bit less impressive in his normal clothes, but his poise shined through nonetheless.

Viola's mention of a photo op may have been a joke, but that didn't stop her from taking a minute to get a few more pictures of someone so photogenic, neither did it stop Laurent from giving each picture a different pose. The horsing around could only be drawn out for so long, however, and eventually, Viola lowered her camera and smirked at her challenger. "Alright, Laurent, I'd say that's enough playtime. Why don't we get to the real fun?"

"Of course!" He replied exuberantly. "I came for that badge!"

"That's what I like to hear!" Viola continued. "This will be a direct battle. No special rules, first one to have all their pokémon knocked out loses, I hope you're ready!" Without further ado, Viola tossed a pokéball to arc gracefully over the empty air above the arena before bursting open and releasing her Ninjask.

"I make it a point never to disappoint a lady! Showtime, Bernard!" Laurent threw out the ball with the same flourish he'd tossed his roses into the audience with back at the contest, and the happy little Bulbasaur did a vine-assisted handstand upon being released. "It was just an expression, you delightful thing. Looks like someone's gotten a bit of a taste for being a showman."

"Alright, Ninjask, let's open things with a Fury Cutter!" Viola called out. Her pokémon responded by flying at Bernard with a speed that was already hard to keep track of, one of it's sharp-ended legs extended and ready to slice up the Bulbasaur.

"Don't give it the chance, Bernard, Vine Whip!" At his trainer's order both of Bernard's vines shout out from underneath his bulb and began to flail and swing about in intricate, shifting patterns, always starting again from between himself and Viola's Ninjask, leaving little opening to attack.

Viola was ready when one of the vines suddenly changed its trajectory to snap right towards Ninjask. "Alright Ninjask, dodge it, and kick it up a notch with Agility!" Laurent's attack seemed right on target, but just as the vine snapped Ninjask blurred away from it in a flash, leaving the attack to sail through empty air.

Laurent had no intention of letting this drag on. He had read up on many different pokémon, including Ninjask and in his opinion, its ability Speed Boost was one of the most amazing and dangerous abilities a pokémon could possibly have. "Don't let up, Bernard! Show me your new Razor Leaf and keep up with as many Vine Whips as possible!" He was answered with an enthusiastic "Bulba!" And Bernard roughly swung his body from side to side, sending oversized, sharp-edged leaves whirling through the air and curving towards Ninjask. The leaves couldn't hope to keep up with the accelerated bug pokémon and it dodged not only them but even the rapid flurry of vines attacks coming its way.

"Ninjask, use Double Team!" Laurent's heart sank at the words, and only dropped further when he saw the Ninjask begin to fly in a large circle around Bernard, moving so fast now that it was leaving after-images that perfectly imitated its own movements. Bernard kept attacking, but he didn't even know what direction to be striking at anymore, and it was all only wasted energy. "Now hit it with a Fury Cutter!" Quick as a bullet Ninjask darted from the circle of optical illusions and sliced across Bernard's body with one of its legs and disappearing back into its doppelgangers before a counterattack could even be attempted.

Bernard's trainer looked mortified for a moment, but quickly recovered, and even smiled. "Keep attacking, Bernard!"

Viola shook her head. "I expected a bit more creativity after seeing your performance at the hall. Ninjask, do the same! Hit him with another fury cutter!" Another blur cut across from one side of the Ninjask circle to the other, striking Bernard again, this time with double the force. Ninjask didn't light up either, it was only getting faster and faster and now it even darted across the circle multiple times when not attacking while maintaining the Double Team, making it all but impossible to catch or predict.

Bernard was staggered so hard he almost lost his balance and plummeted from the rock he was fighting from, but he kept his ground and Laurent's smile grew wider. "Poison Powder!" Bernard took a deep breath and shoot a puff of purple powder from his bulb which quickly spread into a large cloud.

Viola opened her mouth to bark another order, but before she could say anything or Ninjask could change the flow of its movements it was already shooting back in for another attack at the Bulbasaur. This time Bernard actually managed to dodge thanks to being hidden from sight, and seconds later he leaped out of the cloud to land on a different platform just before Ninjask returned to clear air. The damage was already done, but Viola showed no signs of fear. She ordered another attack, but just as Ninjask was about to hit Bernard again his body was overtaken by a red light and Ninjask simply passed right through. The red light was pulled quickly back to Bernard's pokéball, which was snapped onto his belt so he could toss out the only other occupied pokéball it held.

The shimmering light coalesced into a Growlithe on one of the platforms. Apollo howled out happily and looked back at Laurent with an admiration completely different from the defensive hostility he'd shown back in the forest. Apollo had watched Laurent's contest performance from backstage, and had apparently been dazzled by it.

"Don't get too comfortable! Ninjask, Fury Cutter barrage!" Even faster now, Ninjask became a blur and shot across Apollo, slashing him. Thanks to the last Fury Cutter having missed and Apollo's typing it barely hurt, but before he could even react he was hit by a second attack, then a third.

"Apollo, ignition Ember!" Apollo wasn't capable of thinking on the same wavelength of Laurent like Bernard did yet, but he figured out the meaning quickly enough and dived back into the poison cloud. Ninjask had nothing further to fear from the powder since it was already poisoned and followed him in. An orange glow from within the purple cloud foretold the explosion that spread out, launching the Ninjask back out into the open air, it's body scorched and one of its wings badly burned.

"Baton Pass." Viola called out. Ninjask disappeared back into its pokéball and was replaced by a Surskit, who then immediately began to skate on the webs around the gym with the speed passed on to it by its predecessor.

Laurent's eyes widened at the realization of just what predicament he was in and he frantically tried to think of a plan for victory. "Apollo, use Roar!"

"Aqua Jet!" Viola ordered. Surskit's body was covered in a shell of rapidly-flowing water and it launched at Apollo even faster than it had already been moving. Apollo took a deep breath and let out a terrifying bellow. At the sound of the Growlithe's voice, Surskit's eyes widened with terror, but it was moving far too fast for either of them to stop and it crashed like an aquatic meteor into Apollo. The Growlithe flew straight off the rock and fell to the webs below, completely unconscious, but even as he fell, Surskit's fear forced it back into its pokéball despite its victory.

"No...and this was our first battle together..." Laurent recalled his Growlithe and put his forehead to the pokéball "I'm sorry Apollo." Both trainers were forced to send their original pokémon back out, but Bernard was in significantly better condition than Ninjask.

"Not much time left now, Fury Cutter!" Viola commanded once again.

"I don't think so." Laurent muttered coldly. "Vine Dance Bernard!" Once again Bernard began to swing and undulate his vines about, whipping and snapping with them in intricate circular patterns that always started by curving around his own body, leaving no openings. Ninjask grew faster and faster, but Bernard began to hop around and spin even as he continued his deadly dance, and before Ninjask could find an opening it coughed out a puff of purple smoke, and dropped to the webs below, unconscious.

Viola had seen the result coming, much to her annoyance, and quickly called her Surskit back out. "Okay Surskit, get ready with a rain dance!" Surskit spun around on its platform for a second, then began to hop back and forth on different legs as a cloud formed above the arena.

"Waste no time, Bernard! Vine Whip! Then more Razor Leaf!" The leaves flew towards Surskit, and as it hopped over them, a pair of vines extended out to grab it, but stopped just short. Before Laurent could question why Bernard would possibly stop, he saw a white light radiating out from the core of the Bulbasaur's being, which quickly spread across his whole body, even the vines. The shape within the light changed rapidly, then shattered like glass, flying away from the new body in fragments as quickly as it had appeared. What was left behind was almost a foot taller than the Bernard Laurent was familiar with. His green skin had become a scaly blue, his extra dark markings had grown more numerous, and the green bulb had progressed to a large pink bulb as tall as the pokémon himself, just shy of blooming by the looks of it.

"Ivysaur!" Bernard shouted out proudly, bristling with newfound strength. Laurent practically jumped with Glee, wanting to rush in and hug Bernard right then and there. "Excellent! There was no time to celebrate, however. While Bernard was evolving, the rain had healed Surskit thanks to Rain Dish, and Viola was ready to get back into it.

"Sticky Web!" Laurent gasped and Bernard attempted to dodge, but wasn't fast enough and found himself glued hopelessly to his platform. "Now Aqua Jet!" Laurent had been hoping for a Bug Bite, but apparently Viola new she was at a disadvantage without her hit and run tactics. The attack struck mercilessly before shooting back out of reach.

Laurent squinted and clenched his fists at the sight of his partner being hurt, but he couldn't afford to lose his cool here. "Wait for it...wait for it..."

Viola smirked, ready to close it off now. "Don't feel bad, people often say the first step is the hardest. It was already wounded before you even came out, Surskit! Launch yourself with an Aqua Jet and finish it off with Bug Bite!" Surskit was cloaked in water once again and shot straight towards Bernard but Laurent's next words forced Viola's eyes wide open.

"Grab it!" Bernard's vines spread out in a wide arc, and just as Surskit latched onto him to sink its fangs into him, the vines formed a loop and closed around them both, the constricted and contracted until Surskit was trapped in the strongest grip Bernard's newfound form allowed. "Now hit it with Leech Seed and Poison Powder, then fling it away!" None of Surskit's moves were any good for breaking the Grass-type's powerful grip, and she could only watch in horror as Bernard held the Surskit right above the opening of his bulb for a parasitic seed to latch onto its body, and a point blank blast of poisonous powder right into its face. Bernard still couldn't move, but luckily he didn't need any leverage to wind his vines back, then throw Ninjask as hard as he could into the Gym's wall, where it slid dramatically all the way down to the floor, the combined damage-over-time attacks having sapped what little vitality it had left by the time it reached the bottom.

"Well well, good work! That was fun!" Viola called out, returning her Surskit to its ball and making her way over to the challenger. "I'd say you earned this." She held out a small case and snapped it open, enjoying the moment of awe most trainers had at this event and Laurent was no different. He reached slowly forward with a hand unsteady from relief and slowly pulled the badge free of the case.

"The Bug Badge....With this, the first major step of my journey has truly been made. Thank you for the honor of this battle, Viola!"

"That's what I'm here for!" Viola encouraged, beaming at his enthusiasm. "Hey, how about one more picture? Let me snap you with your new badge." Laurent couldn't be happier to agree and as the boy left, Viola added another photo to her collection, an image of a young, flamboyant gold and silver-haired boy in a state very few ever have or ever will see him: a proud, supremely happy and content boy with the eyes-closed, mouth-open, toothy grin of a child praised for a job well done.


 
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Jay

[font=Brawler][color=#91a8d4][i]Here comes the boi
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9
Years
Stage 4
Route 4 - Parterre Way​




Time at Stage Start: 10:00 AM​

After a nights rest in Santalune City, the winners of the contest engage in a quick meet and greet with Lisia, paparazzi and a group of brand new adoring fans in order to obtain their rewards, bright and early. As the mid-morning approaches and the ribbons and prizes are received, all budding trainers, now hardened with their first bout of real experience, progress now towards the next stage on their journey. The hedge and garden covered Route 4, Parterre way.

With the sun shining above on another Summer day in Kalos, those used to the usual appearance may find themselves surprised with new renovations. In recent years this area has been changed, reformed and altered to accomodate a new facility in place of the expected fountain and central square. Instead here now stands the renowned Kalosian Ranger School. Pokémon Rangers patrol the area frequently, using friendly wild pokémon rounded up by the school in their practice with the amazing Pokémon Styler, a tool designed to temporarily instill ones feelings into wild pokémon in order to request their aid, enlist them in battle or calm their rage to avoid injury... and witht he arrival of Team Cinder training is more rigorous than ever.

Fledgling trainers may earn honorary memberships with the Ranger Union here, or enlist for full time training. Honorary membership may be earned by helping out rangers with everyday activities... and through continual support may even extend into full time positions and the honor of receiving your own permanent styler and esteemed red jacket. For those not interested in the Ranger Union however, the gardens are full of intriguing wild pokémon, grottos and groves full of opportunities with adventure and, as with everywhere these days, people asking for help.



Pokémon Available (Level 15-16):

Route 4 - Parterre Way:​
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Pokémon available to those in possession of a fishing rod:
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(Solo form only)

Pokémon available to those in possession of a bug net:
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Pokémon available to those on Mission 2:
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Pokémon available to those on Mission 12:
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Missions:​
This stage introduces the first major opportunity for players to interact with the Ranger Union, a global peace force that protects the rights of everyone, humans, captured pokémon and wild pokémon as well. They fight crime, work with the police, patrol the skies for illegal fliers and work closely with the Pokémon League. Rangers can even serve as impromptu judged for official league batles out on the field, be they practice batles using official rules, or impromptu encounters with gym leaders and other individuals of merit.

By working with the rangers and earning the right items and credentials, it may be possible to join their ranks eventually... or if you're not careful you might just get on the wrong side of a very dangerous enemy.

Without further ado, here are the missions.



OPEN ★ Mission:​
The Pokémon Rangers are training in the open field and need help with the following tasks:
- Herding wild Stantler into pens for Styler capture practice.
- Battling wild pokémon enlisted by Styler's in order to help train Rookie Rangers.
- Assisting in the medicinal treatment of wild Santalune Forest pokémon suffering from burns.
Helping the rangers in any of the afformentioned tasks will complete the Mission.

Reward: Honorary Ranger Membership + TM Helping Hand + 250 Poké




OPEN Mission 1:​
Bird watching is super hot right now, isnt it? Many bird watchers have been camped out on the route for the best part of the entire weekend just to get a glimpse of Kalos's legendary pokemon Yyvetal, who is said to fly over Lumiose city on the day before a lunar eclipse. With many scientists citing a lunar eclipse on the coming night, could the Yyvetal stories be true?

Reward: TM Aerial Ace



Mission 2:​
Route 4 is easily the most highly regarded of Kalos' routes. After the recent Santalune fire, residents are very paranoid about the safety of their beloved walkway. Anything that looks like it can set off a spark is quickly policed until it leaves the route. Ranger have taken notice of one Grubbin however, who seems to have no desire to leave. Remove it without hurting it for a hefty reward.

Reward: 1000 Poké + Bug Net



Mission 3:​
A big roller skating race is taking place on route 4, open invitation. It's said that the winner will be gifted a pretty cool looking stone along with the prize money.

Reward: 250 Poke + Scizorite



Multi-Reward Mission 4:​
Rumour has it, the four mazes on Pattere way are each suited to a specific pokemon type. The gardening gatekeepers, who stand at the entrance to each type specific maze, will only allow a trainer through if they have the specific type. Annoying as it may be, those who have managed to find and defeat the 'maze golems' have stated the that it's well worth it.
Golems:
Grass - Tangrowth
Fire - Pyroar
Water - Octillery
Electric - Manectric

Reward:
- Leaf Stone
- Fire Stone
- Water Stone
- Thunderstone
(Stone present at its respective typing maze)


Mission 5:​
With nothing but a guitar and his signature Mime Jr, a dashing young musician has been scamming girls for far too long. Somehow, despite how long he's been doing it, he always find a new victim to sweep off their feet and continues to ger away with it. Surely he cant be allowed to go on.

Reward: x5 Honey + Pearl



OPENMission 6:​
These darn Buneary keep eating away at the gardener's crops and topiary. They need someone to help keep the pests away while they complete their masterpeice.

Reward: 1250 Poké + 1 Leaf Stone



Mission 7:​
Ranger Leader Lunick is instructing his rookie rangers in how to deal with criminal behavior. With great glee he ropes you into his lesson as a 'volunteer', gives you a purse filled with poké and tells you to run as fast as you can. Looks like the recruits are already raring to catch you with their enlisted wild pokémon at the ready, best get a move on and keep away from them for as long as you can. You'll get rewarded afterwards... right?

Reward: 500 Poké + 1 TM Agility



Mission 8:​
Oh no... it looks like a group of Pikipek have mistaken an innocent Comfey for some random shrubbery. They're flying it towards a grove of trees to use in a nest! Battle, persuade or even get help if you need to... but that Comfey needs to be rescued before it ends up as en egg warmer!

Reward: 1 Gracidea Blossom



Mission 9​
Youngster Joey is at it again folks, this time he's gone and taken a training styler from the ranger school... and has used it to try and make an easy pokéball catch out of a rather riled up Lopunny. He didn't even get a chance to use the Styler properly before he got chased up a tree. The kid is crying and begging for help but it doesn't look like many people can hear him. Painful as it may be, you should probably lend him a hand,

Reward: 1 Practice Styler (3 Uses)



OPEN Mission 10:​
The automated training course located in the Ranger Facility is a brutal obstacle course with sliding walls, rotating platforms, tricky jumps and water hazards. It's meant to push trainee's to the limit to make sure they're prepared for the dangers working with the Union can offer. In the spirit of fun with the recent contest in Santalune however, as well as to lift spirits up after the fire, they've opened it to the general public for today only... with a nice cash reward for anyone who can make it to the other side without getting drenched. You can take a single pokémon in with you, that pokémon must not be able to fly or float, good luck.

Reward: 1500 poké + 1 "I survived the Ranger Gauntlet" T-Shirt



Mission 11:​
A local gardener has been inspecting the topiary on the route for a while now and has been unhappy with the Ranger schools impact on the once quiet route. He needs a pokémon to help show those young go-getters the joy of gardening and taking it slow sometimes. He needs a a Flabébé. While once a skilled capturer in his day, his recent back problems have made it difficult to complete this task alone... however if you capture it for him? He would be rather pleased to offer you a recently hatched baby pokémon, the offspring of his battle partner from when he was an ace trainer back in the day.

Reward: Baby Mareep with 2 Egg Moves.



Mission 12:​
A delivery man's bicycle has crashed in the middle of the garden route between Santalune and Lumiose... unfortunately for him, in the midst of his collision with a bench, an important part of his bike was tossed aside and rolled down into a forgotten thicket of shrubbery off the beaten path. Upon further inspection that shrubbery was covering up the entrance to a rather large underground cave. He has no idea where in that dark and damp place the part he's looking for might be... but he's willing to reward any trainer whom can help him out of this mess with money and a piece of the cargo he's carrying. It's worth mentioning, however, he has heard some rather unnerving squeaking coming from the cavern below...

Reward: 750 Poké + 1 Razor Fang OR 1 Metal Coat

 
25,439
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11
Years
Kade Andrews
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Kade stood on one end of the battlefield, on the other was the gym leader; Viola. The young woman was dressed in practical gear; three-quarter cargos, a tank top and a hefty camera hanging around her neck. She looked at Kade across the expanse of the battlefield - a series of flat stones suspended in an enormous web over a dark pit - a confident grin on her face. Of course she was confident, not only was this her home turf but it was specifically tailored to her specialised type and strategies. Thankfully for Kade, the web wasn't going to pose much of a problem to his birds.

"Ready then?" Viola called out as she reached for a Pokeball "Let's go, Ninjask!" a fairly small Pokemon appeared in a flash of white light, a dark coloured insect with a golden, mask-light face and shining red eyes. Kade's own eyes lit up at the Bug/Flying type's appearance.

"Oh wow!" he exclaimed "Ninjask is such a cool Pokemon! They don't come much faster than that to begin with but if it's got Speed Boost, it'll be even more impressive. I am seriously looking forward to this." Viola looked pleased by Kade's appreciation, but quickly intervened before he could keep talking.

"Indeed! If you want to see it in action though, you'll need to choose a Pokemon of your own." Kade pulled out one of his own Pokeballs and released his first Pokemon, Contrail. With an excited cry, the red and blue bird emerged, landing perched on one of the rocks ahead of it.

"Oh I get it." Viola said from across the web "A Flying type aficionado. Well this should be interesting. Ninjask, use Agility!" Even as Contrail took to the air, the Ninjask started flying about rapidly, Kade and Contrail a like having to watch carefully to keep track of it. "Now Fury Cutter!" The tips of the Ninjasks front two legs lit up a vicious-looking red and extended dramatically into sharp blades. The Bug type launched itself towards Contrail.

"Steel Wing to defend!" Kade called to his bird, Contrail rotating to the side as his wings took on a metallic shine. The two attacks collided, Contrail deflecting the insect and then allowing his momentum to carry him back around to a righted position. "Now Tackle!" Contrail streaked towards the Ninjask, Viola's Pokemon had other ideas though, moving up out of the way. Then, at the gym leader's command, it attacked with a second Fury Cutter from above striking Contrail from above and sending him towards the webbing below.

"Dive through the gaps!" Kade called, barely having time to string the thought together. Contrail did as instructed, snapping his wings to his side and nose-diving straight through the space between two strands of web. "Quick Attack!" In a blurry streak, Contrail rocketed through a different gap, colliding with the the Ninjask - moving at a speed even it would struggle to avoid - and sending it flying through the air. The Ninjask stabilised, but Kade could tell the attack had hurt.

"Swords Dance." Viola said, still exuding confidence as her Ninjask begun making sharp movements in the air even as its movement speed got progressively faster. Kade was finding it barely possible to follow the Ninjask at that point. "Fury Cutter!"

"Steel Wing again!" Kade called, Contrail once again swinging a silvery wing around to collide with the blood red claws of the Ninjask. This time however, both Pokemon were sent spiralling back in opposite directions.

"Fury Cutter gets more and more powerful every time it's used in succession." Viola said "Better be careful of that, type advantage or otherwise." then for good measure she added another instruction to her Ninjask "Swords Dance again!" Once more it began making razor sharp, dance-like movements.

"Quick Attack!" Kade instructed, Contrail streaking towards the Ninjask as it danced. Even with the privilege of the extremely fast attack however, the Ninjask was able to narrowly dodge. "Come back around and aim for just below it! Contrail soared around in a wide arc before launching back at the Bug Pokemon. It moved upward to avoid the attack instinctively, but Kade found himself smirking; it was still in Contrail's reach. "Barrel roll with Steel Wing!" Contrail's wings flared open, shining as the bird spun. Surprised by the sudden maneuver, the Ninjask failed to avoid the attack and was hit full force being flung off by the impact.

"Baton Pass!" Viola yelled before it could collide with the wall, this time surprising Kade. The Ninjask was encapsulated in a ball of light and flew back into its ball. Then, there was a second flash as a new Pokemon appeared on the field. This time, a tiny blue Pokemon with four slender legs and a yellow point on its head appeared; a Surskit. A Surskit that was at full health and carrying all the same boosts as the Ninjask had been. "Rain Dance!" Viola instructed, as the Surskit began gracefully hopping about on the web. Clouds formed up by the gym's ceiling and begun a deluge. The move was usually intended to work with Water Pokemon in some way, but it had the unfortunate side effect of making it a little harder to fly.

"Growl!" Kade called. Contrail opened his beak and filled the room with a loud and musical noise that had the added effect of lowering the Surskit's increased attack power.

"Oh that's enough of that!" Viola said enthusiastically from where she stood opposite Kade "Aqua Jet!" Suddenly, a surge of water surrounded the Surskit and it launched up towards Contrail at a ludicrous speed like a missile, colliding with the bird and sending it spiralling. Just barely, Contrail avoided landing on the web and getting tangled or stuck. "Aqua Jet again!"

"Quick Attack!" Kade retaliated, the two Pokemon hurtling towards one another. They collided viciously, but because of the Surskits increased Speed and Attack, as well as the boost the Water move got from Rain Dance, Contrail was overwhelmed and sent hurtling into the wall before falling to the web below.

Kade recalled Contrail, thanking him for his efforts, then released Stratus. The Starly took to the sky immediately, flying in loops above the web with a defiant glare; ready for battle.

"Aqua Jet!" Viola called, not giving Kade much of a chance to think nor giving Stratus much chance of dodging. In a sudden watery surge, the Surskit smashed into Stratus with a great deal of force and sent her reeling. She managed to stay airborne, but Viola was coming in for another shot. "Again!"

"Grab it!" Kade yelled, as the surskit collided once more with Stratus. Taking the hit - and the damage it dealt -, the grey bird latched onto the Surskit with its claws taking the Bug type with it. Just short of the wall, Stratus pulled up and proceeded to fly around with the struggling Surskit in its grip. "Straight through a hole in the web and then let go!" Like Contrail had earlier, Stratus dove down through a gap. Unlike contrail, once she was past the web she dropped a passenger down into the pit below, the returned up through another hole. "Uh… I hope that's a soft landing."

"Cushioned just in case Pokemon or people fall down… although as a general rule it's not my Pokemon that end up down there." Viola said, looking surprised but amused. "Ninjask, your turn again." she continued, returning the gold-faced Bug to the field.

"Wing Attack!" Kade instructed, his Starly's wings glowing with a white aura as she flew for the insect. Viola wasn't going to let this be easy however.

"Agility!" in an instant, the Ninjask wasn't where it had been earlier. Instead, it was flittering about the field at an ever-increasing pace. Stratus wheeled around to try and strike it again, but it was able to move out the way with ease. "Swords Dance and then Fury Cutter!"

The Ninjask performed its dance once more, still easily avoiding Stratus' attempts to smash into it with her wings then, as she closed in again, it lashed out with red-glowing scythes as it had against Contrail. Stratus overpowered it with her super-effective attack, but the evolved Pokemon had more in it than she did it seemed, recovering from the attack despite its ferocity. Then, it went after her again.

"Quick Attack!" Kade called, Stratus becoming a blur of motion once more as she launched back towards the Bug type. Once more the two collided, this time however she took even more damage. Kade was beginning to form a plan, but he needed more time to lower Viola and her Ninjask's guard. "Keep going!"

Again and again, Stratus and the Ninjask collided, every time Stratus being overpowered by a greater margin and taking on more damage as Fury Cutters power increased. It was a fearsome battle, one that would surprise anyone expecting a Bug type to easily lose to a bird. They clashed repeatedly, but time was running out for Stratus. The moment for Kade to make his move had dawned.
"Use Quick Attack to get out the way and land on one of the rocks!" he called, Stratus obeying without hesitation. In a sudden burst of speed she made her way towards the rock platform, the Ninjask pursuing immediately with another Fury Cutter ready. Just as Stratus was about to reach the rock however, Kade gave a new instruction "Straight up!"

Stratus shot up and away from the rock, surprising the Ninjask as it slashed, missing her and instead driving its attack straight into the stone surface. The rock took on several cracks as the attack penetrated deep within, but it didn't break. The Ninjask tried to free itself, but it was completely stuck. No matter how much is struggled, it was too deeply wedged into the platform.

"Stratus!" Kade instructed "Double-edge!" From her higher vantage point, Stratus snapped her wings closed and dove straight for the trapped Ninjask as a brilliant orange light formed around her. The next instant, Stratus collided with the the Ninjask and the platform, destroying the rock and sending shards of stone and a cloud of dust in all directions as that part of the web sagged, leaving a wide gap below. When the dust cleared, only Stratus could be seen, weakly flapping on account of the recoil damage she took. The Ninjask had fainted on impact and tumbled into the pit to join its companion.



Spoiler: Kade's Inventory
- 1 Pokédex
- 500Poké
- 3 Potions
- 3 Poké Balls

 
37,467
Posts
16
Years
  • Age 34
  • Seen Jan 2, 2024

RAI CROSS

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Echo Static
Quick Attack - Low Kick - Thundershock - Barrier - Swift

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Garda Flash Fire
Bite - Roar - Ember - Leer - Odor Sleuth - Helping Hand

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Pagan Cloud Nine
Fury Swipes - Confusion - Water Gun - Water Sport


Inventory
800 poké / Pokédex / Pokéballs / Potions
Waterstone / Burn Heal


SANTALUNE CITY - Whirl of the Ninja
The gym certainly was... Bug typed. Deciding not to recite in mental text what plenty of other trainers had probably already described today, Rai walked out onto the arena, thoughts whirring about how she could make her pokémon not fall down from the platforms. They would have to be swift. That web looked sticky. It was probably very flammable. But the gym leader likely foresaw her using a fire pokémon. Tricky.

Viola stood on the other side of the strange battlefield, a wide smile on her face. "Ready, challenger?"

"Ready!" Rai called back, smiling herself with a fist into the air.

"Ninjask, go!" the leader called out, and sent a flying bug with glowing red eyes out over the field. Flying. That would mean she didn't even have to deal with the web. Clever.

Rai's pokédex told her this pokémon was also annoyingly speedy. What was the best way to deal with speed?

"Echo in!" She sent in her electric type, who took shape on one of the suspended stone platforms and immediately started waving his arms around to build up electric energy.

"Good luck," Viola said with a glint in her eye. "Use Agility!"

The bug glimmered, before it started to move even faster around the platform Echo was standing on.

"Follow up with Fury Cutter!" Viola immediately shouted again, making Rai realize that she wouldn't let them take proper turns attacking; this was full on fighting.

Rai called out as fast as she could: "When it comes close, slow it down with Thunder Wave!"

Ninjask was almost too fast to spot, and managed to get two hits in with its claws, before Echo fired off a weak jolt that struck the bug and made its buzzing slower.

Viola had more tricks up her sleeve though. "Use Double Team!"

The bug seemed to flicker in view for a moment, before there suddenly was two Ninjask buzzing above. Rai had never seen this move in action herself before, but she knew from her studies and from TV that one of them was an illusion.

"That won't help you!" she called out when both bugs moved in and landed another Fury Cutter attack on Echo. "Echo, Swift!"

The Elekid growled and fired off star shaped rays from its antennas. They hit both of the Ninjask, despite them trying to evade the move, and one of them flickered away into nothingness.

"Your pokémon has a good repertoire! But can it handle more hits? Swords Dance!" Viola said.

Ninjask started spinning around in the air, twisting its claws around in intricate movements.

"Uh-oh," Rai muttered. This move, she had seen before. It wasn't a good thing when it wasn't your own pokémon doing it. "Echo, Swift again!"

The Swift hit Ninjask hard, breaking its concentration, but the dance seemed to have taken its effect anyways. Deciding to take a leaf out of the gym leader's book, Rai wasted no time. "Thundershock, Echo!"

The sparks flew and hit the bug, who almost whirred down to touch the net, clearly hurt. But Viola looked nothing like defeated. Her smile was as large as ever as she held up two pokéballs in front of her. "Baton Pass!"

Ninjask started glowing, and disappeared back into its pokéball, but it left a glowing orb of light behind. Another pokémon emerged from the second pokéball, forming in the midst of the light, and seemingly absorbing its energy as it materialized fully and landed on the sticky web. It was a Surskit.

"What was that?" Rai asked and held up her pokédex. "Baton Pass?"

"All that Agility and Swords Dance boost Ninjask had? Surskit has them now," Viola explained with a wink.

"Well shit," Rai said with raised eyebrows.


 
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9
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Drew Tucker
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The First Stepping Stone
Santalune City - Santalune City Gym

The bright light flashed down on the young trainer as he stepped forward for his gym challenge. As his vision adjusted to the lighting, the silhouette of a women lowering a camera from her face faded into colour and clarity. Viola, the Santalune City gym leader. Drew squinted again. The enthusiasm of the women seemed to shine, reflecting from the brightness of the room. He noticed the masses of powerful bug types that worked to build the arena. The whole thing was admittedly impressive to watch, it made Drew tired just looking at it. His attention returned to Viola, the woman had a coy smirk on her face.

"Welcome, to the Santalune City Gym." She exclaimed, spreading her arms flamboyantly. Her resolve faltered as the boy gave her no response. "You could at least pretend to be impressed." She pouted, planting her hand on her hip. "No bother, I know who you are anyway. You're the one my understudy sent to do some job, right? I see you've found your pokemon, and got yourself a haircut." She snickered, glancing down at the Floatzel standing beside him.

Viola's mocking only seemed to motivate Drew however. He slid his hand through his new Ivy League haircut. With his new cut, new clothes and re-ignited bond with Brycen, he was finally ready for the gym challenge. Losing wasn't about to be an option. Not after everything he'd gone through since arriving. He clutched Brycen's pokeball in his hand. This was it. They were here.

"Drew Tucker doesn't lose. At least not anymore." Drew snapped back.

"Well then Mr Tucker, we'll see if you really are worthy of being a trainer, despite your neglect of your pokemon. Go, Ninjask!"

Drew pulled out his pokedex.

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Ninjask, the Ninja Pokemon
Because it moves so quickly, it sometimes becomes unseeable. It congregates around tree sap.


"Floatzel, I guess that means you're up first." Drew, clearing his throat. He was almost certain it was against the rules to use a wild pokemon in a gym battle, yet here he was, cashing in an owed favour from Floatzel. Who knows, maybe when she got a taste of battling she'd warm to the idea of joining his team. For now though, he focused on the battle. "Floatzel, Aqua Jet!" The water pokemon blasted forward, aiming to collide head first with the Ninjask.

Viola was quick on her feet though, commanding her pokemon to perform double team. The numerous after images that appeared before Floatzel confused her, causing her to stop in her tracks. The gym leader grinned. "Now Ninjask, use Fury Cutter!" In heed of its trainer's order, Ninjask slashed at Floatzel's face.

"Dammit." Drew grunted as the Sea otter bounced across the ground a few feet away from him. Thankfully, she was able to flip to her feet and land gracefully enough on a rock. "Those pits could really be a problem if we're not careful." The younger trainer sighed as his partner almost took a dive into the drop beneath the battlefield. "Floatzel, use Whirpool!" Drew commanded. Floatzel followed the order, but once again Ninjask was able to swiftly evade the attack. "What the hell, why is this damn thing so fast." Drew groaned, getting increasingly frustrated as the bug type slipped in for another fury cutter attack. "Another whirlpool!" The disgruntled Floatzel quickly recovered and repeated the attack from before. The same result. They repeated the sequence several times, with Ninjask taking two hits at the most, and Floatzel taking considerable damage.

"Ninjask, finish her off! One more fury cutter!" Viola ordered with a triumphant. There had been a couple small scares, but for the most part this battle had been a simple procedure.

Drew grinned. Before the attack could land, he ordered Floatzel to dive into the pit.

Viola furrowed her brows. "You just sacrificed Floatzel? Disappointing I guess. Do you have another pokemon or are we done al-" Before she could finish her sentence, Floatzel came flying up for the depths of the pit like a spiralling water torpedo, and drilled into Ninjask. The bug type recoiled, looking severely damaged from the attack. "What the? How did you-" Viola's gasped. As she looked down into the pit, she saw it was half filled with water. She couldn't help but grin. "So that's what you were doing. A pretty risky stratergy, but top points of innovation. Ninjask, use baton pass." With the order given, she raised her pokeball for Ninjask to fly back into.

Drew raised a brow. Had she just returned her pokemon? What was this baton pass? With a sigh, he relaxed his shoulders and shrugged. "I'm guess you're not returning you pokemon because I've won already?"

Ignoring the boy's remark, Viola tossed the ball she was holding in her off hand. A small blue spider emerged from the ball. "You've just given my Surskit exactly what he needs to shine. I'll take a few snaps of him skating gracefully across the water." She smirked, clutching her camera.

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Surskit, the Pond Skater Pokemon.
They usually live on ponds, but after an evening shower, they may appear on puddles in towns.


"Floatzel, take a break. You've earned this one." He patted the water type on the back. She glared back at him. Clearly she wasn't too enthusiastic about joining the team on a permanent basis. After what he had put her through, that much was justified. He unhooked Brycen's pokeball. Even though it was that same morning, he couldn't help but feel like it was a long time since he'd done that. He tossed the ball, and out popped the Chespin. His starter. The one he'd made that same promise. They'd finally started.

Brycen's focus was intense. He stared across the field. Since the days in Sycamore's lab, this is where he longed to be. He stared the down the Surskit, making sure the bug knew he meant business. All those times he'd been defeated with Drew meant nothing now. They were a team. For real. The moment he heard Drew order him to gran the enemy with vine whip, he did exactly that, except…the Surskit was gone. Despite being commanded first, Brycen was no match for the superior speed the Ninjask had passed on to the Surskit. He watched helplessly as the bug type danced across the webs, and slammed into him with an Aqua Jet. Brycen was staggered back, but the grass type was easily able to endure the water type move.

"Well that won't do." Viola huffed. "If we cant do that much damage to you, we'll just have to make sure you cant hit us before we finish you. Surskit, give me an agility!" On cue, the bug began to vibrate rapidly, before darting like a flash of light toward Brycen. "Aqua jet, again and again!" Viola almost sang as she began to enjoy the dominance her Surskit was having.

Each attack pressed Brycen back and back. The relentless onslaught continued, but Brycen continued to stand. Each attack stung, but he wouldn't waver. He used his vines to try to block and slap the surskit, but at this point he was just way too fast.

"Bry, keep your vines out, then go for rollout!" Drew ordered. He noticed a moment of hesitation in his pokemon, but reaffirmed him with a nod. The Chespin protruded his vines, and began to spin like a boulder. The extended vines began to spin alongside him, acting as a fan and slapping the incoming Surskit out of his momentum. As he felt the impact, Brycen used his vine to grab tightly onto the bug.

"Surkit, use bug bite!" Viola ordered, panic starting to seep into her voice.

"Don't let him do that, toss him!" Drew responded. The Chespin managed to toss the Suskit, but not fast enough. The bug type managed to get its bite off, doing big damage to Brycen. Surskit wasn't so lucky however. Viola's pokemon quickly fainted after colliding with the wall, but Viola recalled him before he could collapse to the ground.

"I let you down there Surskit. Ninjask, finish this!" Ninjask emerged from the ball, but he was still visibly fatigued from his battle with Floatzel. "Ninjask, Swords Dance!" Before Ninjask could follow her trainer's orders though, he was slapped by a vine, stopping the attack. "Since you're back to you standard speed, we won't have time to keep doing that so carelessly. Just hit him with Fury Cutter!" The attack landed.

Brycen was beginning to really feel the effects of this battle now. With each fury cutter, the Ninjask got faster and stronger, but he refused to give up. Each slash hurt more, but he refused to fall. He was doing this for Drew. This wasn't like before.

"Your Chespin can certainly take a hit, but we're done here. One more Ninjask!" Viola swung her hand, gesturing for a final blow. A final blow that didn't come.

Brycen held the Ninjask back, again using his vines to stop the pokemon in its tracks.

"Bry, how about you go for a dip?" Drew grinned, wiping the sweat from his brow.

The grass type obliged, diving into the water, and dragging the Ninjask with him. The Ninjask visibly struggled, but couldn't flap his wings nearly as fast in the water. The bug was a sitting duck now. Using his vines to hold him up, the Chespin began spinning rapidly for another rollout, before skidding across the surface of the water, and crashing into the Ninjask.

"Ninjask!" Viola cried out, watching helplessly as Drew's strategy left her helplessly watching her Ninjask take the rollout attack. The first didn't knock her out, but the second certainly did. Just like that, the match was over. The gym leader returned her fainted pokemon. She began to walk toward Drew, the trainer readying himself for what she was about to do next. As she walked, the bug types in the walls crawled out, creating a clear path for the experienced trainer to walk across. She stopped as she got a few feet away from Drew, planted her hands on her hips and leaned forward. "You know it's illegal to use a Pokemon that isn't yours in a gym battle, right? I could have you disqualified for this." She stated, very threateningly.

"Wait…I…ummm…it's because…I…how did you…?"Drew rambled in a panic.

Viola sighed at the young trainer's stammered attempts at excuses. It was clear the boy was just doing what he could to get the badge. "I suppose I can make an exception. We did send you on that ordeal beforehand." She shrugged. "Not to mention, the fact you have such a powerful wild pokemon fighting alongside you means you mustve done something really impressive to form such trust. It's rare to see something like that." With that, the older woman eased up a little. "Despite your immaturity, you showed a sophisticated and creative ability to come up with an unconventional strategy to overcome a great type disadvantage. So I'm going to overlook your cheating, Drew Tucker, just this once, and award you with the bug badge." She smiled, taking a badge out of her camera case, and holding it out for Drew.

The boy's pupils dilated like a bubble. He wasn't sure what this feeling was, but it felt good. It felt so familiar, yet so foreign. He snatched the badge from her hand. Staring down at it with a triumphant sense of accomplishment. "Thank you, thank you so much." Drew smiled, barely able to breathe with the sense of triumph weighing on his chest.

Viola was taken aback. She'd dealt with excited young trainers before, but she wasn't really sure how to react to Drew's gleeful outburst. He'd seemed rather cynical before, it was almost like a completely different person. "Oh and Drew…"She began before the teen could skip through the doors. "…make sure to spend more time with your pokemon. From what my understudy said, you were really neglectful of you pokemon before. Also, catch some more too. I'm certain my contemporaries won't be so lenient with your…rule bending."

The boy nodded sheepishly. He would consider what Viola was saying eventually, but for now, he was celebrating his first of many gym badges.


Inventory
Spoiler:


 
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jombii

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3,416
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9
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Sandy the Sandile (w/ Eviolite)​

He felt confident, with the round stone hanging around his neck. Sandy is grateful to his trainer that he chose him over the others to carry the good-looking stone. He knew that Catherine and that dumb Snoop won't be able to appreciate the item. Granted, he don't know what the item is for, but its shape and roundness fascinated the Ground-type. Unlike Pokeballs, it fit very well inside his mouth.

The Gym Leader was speaking something about welcome to the gym circuit and stuff but Sandy was too enamored by the Eviolite. Just wearing it around his neck made his heart pound, as if he's suddenly ready to face anything. Sandy was just standing behind Coul when the Gym Leader threw a Pokeball and her first Pokemon appeared.

Or so it seemed. There was a sudden blur and the whole area was filled with buzzing but without more Pokemon. Sandy looked around and tried to see if he could spot the next Pokemon but there seemed to be nothing there. Coul took one of his Pokeball, probably the Meowth's, but Sandy was too pumped up and slithered across the web with surprising agility and rested on one of the other rocks. Coul was groaning and crying in disbelief and the Gym Leader was laughing, mentioning that it was the rules. Sandy didn't care much about it. He had all this pent-up adrenaline inside him and he needed to let it out. It doesn't matter if he can't see the opponent or he is at a type disadvantage because of his Dark-typing. He needed out.

The battle begun by the Ninjask slashing into the side of the Sandile using one of its claws. It was weak, barely enough to be noticeable, but Sandy was caught by surprise by the attack. The Ninjask floated away in safe distance and buzzed, looking curious at the Sandile. It started vibrating weirdly in place and, soon enough, there were a bunch of Ninjask floating around the Sandile. It was a classic move, designed to confuse the opponent. The Ninjasks started buzzing again and they rushed towards Sandy with a Fury Cutter. Sandy didn't even try to evade the attack. The copies disappeared and the real Ninjask slashed the Sandile again.

The attack was slightly stronger than the first one, but Sandile isn't really feeling the attack yet. For some reason, the attacks weren't doing the damage Sandy was expecting, coming from a fully-evolved Pokemon. The Ninjask retreated away quickly again before Sandy could reach it with an attack. It started doing a complicated series of actions with its claws and started vibrating again to produce duplicate copies of itself.. It then rushed towards the Sandile again, this time faster than before.

The attack landed on the side of Sandile and it started to hurt. Sandy snapped back with a Bite attack but the Ninjask deftly evaded it and buzzed away towards a safe distance. The Ninjask once again did its routine with the weird claw dance and the weird vibrations. Then it hit the Ground-type again, much stronger than before, with Sandile standing motionless, unable to respond because of the sheer agility of the Ninjask.
When the Ninjask went in for another strike, Sandy discovered what he could do. Coul was shouting at him to create an opening with a Fire Fang but that is not what he needed. When the Ninjask tensed to deliver another blow, Sandy spun his tail, creating a huge cloud of dust. The Ninjask went into the cloud, blinded and missed Sandy by a few feet. Sandy then took advantage of the momentary confusion and delivered a Fire Fang towards the Ninjask. It went down, one of its wings badly singed as Sandy managed to scrape it. While it was a severely fast Pokemon with the strength to boot, it is not one to take super-effective hits and shrug it off. The Ninjask was fluttering with one wing.

Viola ordered a Baton Pass. The Ninjask tucked in its claws and wings and went back to its trainer in a flash of light. She threw a Pokeball and a Surskit appeared. It was a funny-looking Bug-type and it landed on one of the rocks. Sandy tensed on the arrival of the new Pokemon. Coul tried to recall Sandy but Sandy growled in response.

The second battle begun but neither Pokemon was making a move. Sandy could hear Coul shouting some orders but he was just watching the Surskit. It was restlessly swaying on place, probably waiting for Sandy to make the first move. The Gym Leader was equally quiet. Sandy, however, could play the waiting game. He was s******ing inside his mind as Coul was groaning because he wasn't following any of his orders. He willed his trainer to trust in him.

It seemed that the inaction lasted for far too long as the Gym Leader shouted an order. The Surskit quickly disappeared, the sudden agility of the Pokemon surprising Sandy. Coul ordered Sandy to stay put and be alert and Sandy s******ed in his mind. There was nothing else he could do. He can only wait until the Surskit was-

BAM! The Bug-type, cloaked in a veil of water, crashed into the Sandile with such force that it almost sent Sandy sliding into the edge of the rock platform. The thread shook from the impact. Sandy's fangs got covered in flames, ready to send a Fire Fang in retaliation but the Surskit was nimbly sliding along the web, connecting Sandy's rock to another rock platform. The Surskit disappeared again in a flash and slammed into Sandy again. Coul was asking for Sandy to send out a Sand Attack around him, in an attempt to hide Sandy but his Pokemon had a different idea.

He let out a growl as another of Surskit's Aqua Jets hit him. Each attack, while strong on its own, was taking a toll on Sandy. It seemed like it was far too strong for a Surskit to be dishing out, even when taking into consideration the type-advantage. Sandy didn't think he could take few more of those Aqua Jets, but his pride and want to impress his trainer got hold of him. He looked at the beautiful stone hanging around his neck again. He took another direct Aqua Jet hit. Sandy's vision was starting to blur.

However, like the Ninjask, Sandy saw the next attack. He intercepted the attack again by using a Sand Attack and biting down on the Surskit. Using his Rage, he slammed the Surskit into the ground.

The Bug-type was frail and was immobile for a few seconds before it got up again. Coul shouted a Sand Attack and Sandy quickly dug into the ground and set a small cloud of dust towards the Surskit before it could even get hold of its bearings. Sandy continued to send out a flurry of dust towards the Surskit, confusing the Bug-type. It was used to utilizing its speed and agility but, when it was disabled and couldn't see its surroundings, Sandy knew it was easy picking for him.

The Surskit tried to counter the sand shower slowly forming around him by using Rain Dance but the slight drizzle only produced mud from the dirt and sand. It dropped onto Sandy, who was mildly annoyed by the water, but it was more detrimental to the Surskit. The mud stuck to its body, weighing it down. Sandy now doesn't need to be agile as it could easily slither towards the stuck Surskit and finished it off with another Bite.

Viola recalled her Pokemon and expressed her admiration for Sandy. She mentioned something about waiting before striking first and using the opponent's strengths against them. She threw a Pokeball and the Ninjask appeared again.

Both Pokemon on the field was on the verge of defeat. Sandy knew that Coul had the win already as, even if Sandy is defeated, Catherine and that dumb Houndour could go in and defeat the Ninjask easily. Coul's fangs erupted in flames, a final attempt to scare the Ninjask from attacking.

Viola knew the hopelessness of the situation and forfeited the match. Sandy slithered back towards Coul. His trainer screamed in joy and carried Sandile into his arms. The sudden rush of being raised higher than knee level made Sandile weak, and the Pokemon passed out. He felt a light tap on his back as he succumbed to the darkness.

latest

Coul Remson​

"That was one heck of a battle," Viola said as he extended her hand towards Coul. In her hand was the first badge for the Kalos region. "Your Sandile's tenacity combined with that amazing Eviolite is certainly a good combination. Plus, that Sand Tomb to incapacitate my Surskit? That's amazing!"

"Thank you, but I think that was just a Sand-Attack," Coul said, accepting the Bug Badge. Viola looked at him in disbelief.

"It's Sand Tomb. Check your Pokedex," Viola advised. "In any way, that was a really good battle. Your Pokemon didn't even cared to move. It just stood there and took the hits. You used my strength and speed to your advantage." Viola smiled. She handed Coul a CD in a case. "This is a TM for Bug Bite. I'm not sure if any of your Pokemon are capable of learning that but maybe it'll help in the future." Coul thanked the Gym Leader. "Try the other gyms. You do have a knack for battling."

"Thank you, but I'll stick to studying for now. I'll see what happens in the future," Coul said, stashing the TM inside his bag. "I'll go now." Viola nodded and the two said their goodbyes.

Coul checked his Pokedex and, as what Viola said, Sandy learned a new move in that battle. He felt his Pokemon's Pokeball in his pocket and smiled.

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Sandy learned SAND TOMB

Inventory
1x Pokedex
4x Pokeballs
2x Potions
440 Pokedollars
2x Old Rod
1x Bug Net
1x Eviolite
1 x TM Bug Bite
Bug Badge

 
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