When the rain replaces the morning sun, Avril is definitely less inclined to wake up. Or rather, does so less enthusiastically. She snuggles her own sleeping bag for a while, sighing a few times as she realizes the downpour isn't getting any milder, and can't help but let out a few yawns too. Even if the previous night has been - understandably - more on the awkward side, she would rather have more time in that tent anyways… but June is set on reaching Slateport soon, and Avril is not meant to slow her down.
"Avril?" Speaking of which, the hesitant voice that could only belong to the same girl she was just thinking about speaks up. "Um, I'd hate to disrupt you, but I think now might be a good time to prepare for the day."
"Y-yes?" The blonde girl mutters, still sounding half asleep. After a few more incoherent sounds, she raises her head and looks towards June. "Alright, here we go… I'm just sad because of the rain…"
"I can relate to some extent." June laments. "I was hoping to make breakfast for the two of us, but in this weather… I'm not so sure how to navigate that…" She reaches into her bag to pull out a plastic bag of a variety of different nuts, oats, seeds, and the like. "Luckily I packed trail mix for an occasion like this. It's just a shame it's not as roma- I mean
presentable!- as I'd like."
"Oh, uhm…" Avril inevitably blushes. "I'm sure it will be fine!"
"Why thank you!" June grabs a handful of trail mix from her bag. Now that the blonde girl can see her better, she notices that she is wearing a different outfit than yesterday, even if Avril can't recall her changing into it. "I certainly hope you'll find it that way."
That happens to be precisely the case, although Avril still isn't sure whether that's because the breakfast is actually good or because she's sharing it with June… actually nevermind, it's both.
Eventually though, it's time to leave the tent and pack everything up… something Avril is not exactly looking forward to. Because of the rain
obviously...
She hesitantly looks outside, now that the zipper is open, unsure of how to tackle the task at hand. "Hmm… we don't have much choice, right? Should we try to wait until the rain gets less intense?" She blushes slightly.
"Well, seeing as how I'm not actually sure when the rain will let up, I'm more inclined to trudge through it." June slides on a bright yellow raincoat. "Who knows how long we might be sitting here if we wait it out? I mean, um, if you'd rather do that of course that's fine, I- I just thought it was worth considering."
Avril sighs. "Hmm… if you think it's going to last a while longer, then even waiting is no use, yeah…" Avril mutters, actually somewhat disappointed with that answer but not willing to let June realize that.
She does wait a few more seconds, but in the end, she shakes her head and takes a deep breath. "Let's do this then!" She declares, before backpedaling right away. "Or rather, wait a second... I have my own raincoat here for myself but what about all the rest of our stuff? That will get soaked!" She groans.
That is Avril's panicked mind speaking, though. Her bag is waterproof, after all! She still wears it under her poncho raincoat for added safety (and looks hideous in the process), but she can't deny that's a quite practical solution. June seems perfectly content with her own protection from the rain, but Einstein on the other hand seems bothered by it enough to the point where he prefers to stay snuggled up inside his trainer's coat. "He hasn't done this since he was a Blipbug!"
"Aw," Avril smiles. Poppy is doing just the same, hiding in her usual spot, although she's obviously much smaller and… manageable, probably. "You two are like… so cute together, hehe…"
June's face burns up, probably the brightest it's been in awhile. She's choked up for words, likely from how direct Avril's comment was, and takes what feels like five minutes for so much as a jittery "Thank you," to come from her lips.
Just like this, the two girls keep walking for a while under the rain, occasionally stopping where the canopy is at its most dense for some short breaks. The weather really doesn't seem to let up, but at this point Avril has simply accepted her fate - and with that "sorted out", there's more space in her mind to fill with June thoughts. Like, for example, how optimistic she seems to be even in the face of this bad weather, and how she's able to keep her head up regardless.
🌳🌳🌳
Lost in thought, Avril barely notices the… creature that has decided to take a bite of her raincoat. It has to happen again before she turns around, noticing the small Pokémon that is now facing her. And really, it looks like a puppy… a grumpy, rowdy puppy. A Poochyena, definitely- Avril doesn't even need her Pokédex for that.
She sighs in resignation: she should be used to random Pokémon getting her in trouble now, be it a trainer's Zigzagoon, a different trainer's Zigzagoon, Poppy herself… and now this. To be fair, she can't even blame any of them entirely, and even in this case, Poochyena seems to be happy with biting anything that moves, but… it's a nuisance. Absolutely.
"Uh, June…" She gives the other girl a pat on the shoulder, hoping she'll turn around quickly.
"Hm? What might it be- Oh..." June grimaces while cautiously eyeing the Bite Pokemon. "Poochyena, I see… Well, there's really only two options if you're suggesting we get it off our tail..."
"And that would be…?" Avril asks, as if she really has no clue. But actually, she
does have a clue- either running or fighting. Neither of the two options entice her, as it's typical of her.
"Either we run away or we use our Pokemon to scare him off. I guess we don't necessarily need to do either of those but if it becomes too much of an obstacle what other choice is there?"
I knew it. I knew it I knew it!
Avril doesn't say that out loud, and simply clenches her fists instead, thinking about what could make up for a good third possibility. But when Poochyena moves from the raincoat to the girl's ankle, she has to make a move. Or rather, Poppy has to. A Fairy Wind blows the wild Pokémon away in a puff of sparkly particles, as Avril recovers from that attack. "Why, why, just… is there something in my bag that he wants?" She hastily asks June, her body shaking. June's eyes repeatedly dart left and right, signaling that she doesn't know how to answer or help with Avril's underlying problem, but still tries despite that.
"Um, maybe that was the case, but Poochyena do enjoy chewing on anything they see. Having been around them in my family's conservatory, I've seen them get into trouble with that. But they don't do so out of malice! Think of it is teething, they are still growing-"
"BUT HE BIT MY ANKLE!" Avril screams, without really giving June enough time to finish. She immediately lowers her head in shame after that, and quickly tries to apologize- she's all but proud of that reaction- but her worried look doesn't go away.
"Um, um, s-sorry!! That was quite foolish of me! Do you need any medical attention?" June removes her backpack and kneels to search through it despite the mud, searching for a first aid kit.
"Hm, I don't think this is that serious but…" Avril still speaks with urgency. "Yeah, it's better to wait a bit and let it heal…"
She remains vague, hoping to sound more stoic in June's eyes, but there's only so much she can do against facts, and the fact is, the wound is bleeding. Even if it's not a deep bite and Poochyena was unable to let Avril escape, that still needs some cleaning. And at the very least, some bandages to finish the job.
"There." June lets out a sigh of relief. "But I deeply apologize for not properly responding earlier, I don't have an excuse…"
"It's fine, it's fine… actually no, I'm sorry for shouting like that…" Avril smiles nervously as she leans against a tree, in a more sheltered area. "I know you were trying to be reassuring and all…"
Apparently every occasion is good to blush a little.
"Well, if you're alright I suppose that's all that matters. But for now we might need to rest for a-"
A more menacing growl is heard, coming from behind the two girls, and that's enough to make Avril tremble again. She's almost finished tying up that one layer of bandage that June gave her… but she's not done yet, and that makes it all the more annoying to see a
Mightyena coming after her. Not the puppy from before, then, but his fully grown-up version, capable of way more than inflicting that one wound…
Avril's face looks full of fear, but also resigned and defeated. Thinking about it, starting a battle is already a loss for her. But at least there's June with her, she can count on her. She calls out her name, and hopes she'll have a plan.
"Um, right… It's just a Mightyena, and I've battled Pokemon far stronger." June takes a few deep breaths. "It shouldn't be too much of a problem… I hope." Almost as if she jinxed the two of them, movement is suddenly heard in the nearby bushes right as she's done talking, and one-by-one, more Mightyena start to spill in until a pack of five is formed. On closer examination, the Mightyena that originally confronted them is slightly bigger than the rest, but it doesn't make the others any less intimidating with their harsh barks and snarls. They then aggressively rush forward, and things start to look really bad for a moment, that their journey could end here- fortunately however, Einstein pokes his face out of June's coat at this time and projects a Reflect barrier to bounce the ferocious Pokemon back. An outline of pink aura surrounds each and every one of them as they recover from the shock, but nothing comes of it. June gasps, and even Einstein seems astounded by this! Desperate for an explanation, June reaches for her phone in a panicked frenzy.
"Oh, that's why…" Her expression while glancing at her phone doesn't look like it can bring any good news. "Mightyena is a dark-type Pokemon, and dark-types are
completely immune to psychic-type attacks…"
The pack of Mightyena all throw themselves towards the barrier, but it seems thick enough that it can hold them at bay. It won't last forever though, as cracks can be seen forming in it. They'll need to do something, and fast!
That's just enough time for Avril to fix up her bandage in a way that it won't come off when she takes a step, though. No longer holding onto the tree, she turns around just as the Reflect starts to crack and, in a panic, quickly runs to where June is standing. But again, once she's there, she doesn't know what else to do. What is she
supposed to do anyways?
Poppy seems to have an answer of her own, and isn't afraid to put her plans into practice. But the look on her trainer's face as she readies up a Fairy Wind is more eloquent than a thousand of her commands. "You're going to anger them even more…" Avril says, basically biting her fingernails in the process, but it seems only June is going to hear that… might as well prepare for the fight that's about to ensue.
"I don't think we can afford to
not anger them!" June replies with the utmost urgency. "Einstein, Supersonic!" The soundwaves are successful in targeting the leader, who proceeds to turn on her pack by biting the neck of the closest Mightyena while in her confused state. The rest of them all cower and whimper, not wanting to face the same fate.
"Do you think you can run on that leg?" June faces Avril and gestures towards her ankle. "If so, now would be a good time to flee!"
"Y-yeah, I should…!" Avril looks towards June, unsure of how far her leg (and her stamina) will actually take her. "At least we can steal some more time!"
"Then let's make haste!" June cries, pulling Avril forward by her hand while somehow managing to be gentle with it in the process. The blonde girl doesn't resist, and instead tries her best to keep up the pace. Poppy flies after her too, the rain slowing her down as she floats in the air.
"Hopefully that will keep them occupied for a while." June says between breaths. "If not though… we might need a backup plan…"
Avril's mind, for once, seems cooperative. Maybe it's because danger isn't as close as before. She goes through her Pokémon in random order, first feeling sad that Venus isn't there with her, but then feeling relieved that Venus isn't there with her. She then thinks about Einstein's moves and realizes that Wisteria is not too different from him- another floating Psychic-type with some decent defensive moves like Hypnosis. But then her mind also goes to Angie, and how perfect of a choice she is for this kind of weather. Thistle would be good but she's still recovering, so maybe not.
After all that thinking, though, the outcome is the same. "June," Avril asks once again for help, "what should be the backup plan?"
"If they are as persistent as I fear, we might need to use force..."
"N-no other way?"
"I'm afraid so." June says in a deadpan tone. "It's the most reliable way to take care of them, as much as I know you don't want to..."
That last part of the answer is making Avril feel better, too bad everything else June said isn't! But… maybe she's found the right way to sweeten the pill. If she's been relying on June this whole time, she may as well follow
her plan. She's doing this for her. And so, with an overly serious expression, she nods and gets out two more of her Pokémon. Wisteria, of course, but also Angie. That turned out to be good timing, because soon enough barking and mud being stepped in is heard from a distance, only growing louder as the Mightyena start to catch up.
"It seems I was right!" June shouts while grabbing three Pokeballs that are tossed into the air. Chip and Kit are sent out, as well as a new Pokemon, a Heracross who's eager to brawl. No doubt this is the same one from her story.
"Ooh, nice!" Avril comments at the sight of Heracross, but other than that, remains quiet, looking around warily. She doesn't really have a plan and is once again going by what June thinks will be more effective… but at least she has some basic ideas. If she has to be more defensive, Wisteria can take the lead and use Reflect or Hypnosis. And if it comes down to attacking the Mightyena head on, well… Angie under the rain is probably just as scary as they are. Whatever happens, Avril is ready.
"Thank you! But um, we can introduce him later!" June points to the Mightyena who are approaching dangerously close. She orders a Sand Attack from Chip while Kit creates bubbles from her antenna to ferry the "sand" particles near the faces of the Mightyena, each bubble releasing sand into their eyes and noses upon bursting. Heracross then rushes them down (with a few stumbles along the way) and deals out a flurry of arm thrusts, trying to hit each Pokemon at least once.
"While looking at its Pokedex entry, I noticed it said one of dark-type's weaknesses is fighting, so I'm glad to have Heracross by my side." It's incredible how even when in danger, June still shares her knowledge like it's nothing.
"That's good to have, yes…" Avril nods, before looking at her own Pokémon, who are eager to get involved. Whereas she sent them out with the purpose of being helpful to June, now that she seems to be handling everything by herself, she's considering not to battle at all. But if
her Pokémon want to battle and are now ready to battle… can she really say no?
Eventually she lets Poppy fly forward, adding all the sparkles from Fairy Wind to the already blinding mixture of particles that's being sent towards the Mightyena. Wisteria sets up a Reflect that partially strengthens Einstein's (one can never be too careful), and Angie… well she's just readying her Water Pulse. When Heracross is finished, that's definitely going to seal the deal… or so Avril is hoping.
Upon noticing the ranged attacks however, the Mightyena decide to split their attention. Two of them turn towards June and Avril, growling to intimidate their Pokemon, while Heracross continues to wrestle the remaining three. June has Chip and Kit bombard them with Struggle Bug and Bubble Beam respectively, and it's at this moment that a familiar look of determination is present in June. Maybe it's because of the threat the dark-types pose, but she went from cautious to stoic in the drop of a hat, and is now extremely focused on taking out the Mightyena.
Of course, with the Pokémon turning their way, even Avril's companions go on the offensive… sort of. Wisteria, now that Reflect is up, tries to dive in for a few Plucks, while Angie fires off Water Pulse and Mud Bomb towards the Mightyena. While on mud, she can easily slide around the place, and that keeps the Dark-types busy as their health is whittled down by the various attacks.
On Avril's request, Poppy sets up a Wish too. Now that she's far into the battle, all she wants is to secure the victory… and leave no weaknesses unchecked. Regardless though, they're definitely in-control of the situation, with the two Mightyena being hit from so many angles making it impossible for them to use their melee attacks. While that sails smoothly though, a pained cry is heard from Heracross, drawing attention to the fact that both of his arms are being chomped by Mightyena fangs while the pack leader continuously rams her large body into his chest. Seeing this, June sprints over to the scuffle without saying a word, kicking up splashes of mud with each step, and orders Chip and Kit to follow. Chip Aqua Jets after while Kit skates across the various puddles, gracefully jumping between them all while changing her bubble trajectory. It's solely up to Avril now to take care of the Mightyena pair.
In-between the barrage of attacks they receive, the Mightyena duo both manage to let out a nasty snarl. Not just any snarl though, but a particular type loud enough to create visible sound waves that are covered in a black energy. The attack spreads outward, hitting all nearby Pokemon and even causing them to shiver. Turns out that move is making Angie and Poppy's attacks less powerful, definitely not a good thing given the situation.
Avril panics as another Snarl is sent her way- the Mightyena must have realized that's working quite well. Luckily, Angie is still dodging hits fairly well, and the Mud Bomb attacks she's using are hindering their view. The problem here is… how is she going to beat those two wild Pokémon now? Does she have to wait until June is no longer busy with the other three?
Her Pokémon, left without any commands, do what they've already been doing for some more time, dodging hits and supporting each other with Reflect or Wish, until something strange happens. As Angie is charging up another attack, Wisteria gets right in front of her and… does some strange movements in the air, turning upside down a couple times. Shellos seems frustrated by this, as her teammate is seemingly toying with her and stealing her time, but…
the Water Pulse she fires off after that knocks one of the Mightyena straight out. Much to Avril's shock, actually.
Still unsure of what to do, the blonde girl watches as her Water-type forces the other Mightyena that was attacking her to run away, and go back into the deepest parts of the forest, in order to avoid the same fate as its companion. That was the outcome she was looking to achieve for not just one of the Mightyena, but
all of them… but maybe they needed a better warning or something. In any case, now she and her Pokémon could go and help out June, and if there was anything she could do for her, she would.
"Everything good over here? The other two Mightyena, well… did you see that, by any chance?" Avril runs over, with her two floating Pokémon following suit and Angie preceding her, sliding on the mud with a proud look in her eyes. June looks a little busy though, ordering Chip and Kit to circle the Mightyena and attack from afar while Heracross stands in the middle of it all, thrusting his palm forward when any of the dark-types moves slightly forward. It's clearly not a flawless strategy though as the wild Pokemon have adapted and get better at dodging with each move thrown out.
The pack leader uses Snarl to weaken the attacks of the two water-types, which becomes especially dangerous when the fangs of the other two Mightyena start to crackle with electricity as they pounce towards Chip and Kit respectively. They both end up being trapped in the jaws of the Bite Pokemon and their small bodies are pumped with electricity, effectively taking them out of the fight. With the projectile attacks no longer being an issue for the Mightyena, the pack leader gives the now worn-down Heracross a menacing glare, her fangs lighting ablaze with flames. Knowing how bug-types have a near crippling weakness to fire-type moves, the outcome seems obvious especially as the large Mightyena mimics her cohorts and pounces forward with her jaw wide open…
which is why she's surprised to see her movement is completely halted by Heracross' arm that he holds up in the air. The Mightyena's teeth do in-fact sink into Heracross' exoskeleton, and some tiny embers are seen, but other than that, Fire Fang doesn't leave a mark. It should make sense, thanks to the pouring rain...
Heracross swings his arm forward, hurling the Mightyena with all his might into the two remaining pack members, knocking them into a nearby tree like bowling pins as multiple pained yelps are heard. That move clearly did massive amounts of damage, and after the brunt of it is felt, the pack leader is just barely able to stand, but instead of attacking she barks at the other Mightyena, signaling all of them to flee. They all try to do their best, but it's not easy for most of them as they've been afflicted with a limping ankle- something Heracross takes as a sign of victory as he flexes with pride. June however just sighs, seemingly snapping out of whatever came over her in battle as if nothing happened.
"Thank goodness it's over… Oh, there you are Avril! Are you alright?"
"J-June… yes, I'm alright, like... physically." She replies. "But what about all the Pokémon, are they ok?"
"Um… Oh no!!!" June somehow seems shocked to see Chip and Kit half buried in the mud, despite her previous order leading directly to that outcome. "Chip! Kit! Oh, how terrible… return, both of you! You'll need a nice long rest after this encounter…"
Whereas Avril was concerned about the Mightyena that Angie knocked out, at least at first, now she was only caring about June's teammates. "Will they be ok? Are they hurt badly? Do you need some healing moves?" She asks.
"Hm, I think they just need to rest for now. Heracross though, he could benefit from that probably."
Poppy casts a falling star with Wish as she hears that, before perching herself right on top of Heracross' head. She still hasn't lost her pep, or rather, she already knows that's what Avril needs in these situations. Her trainer is, in fact, still barely keeping her heart inside her chest. "Could we just… leave before that one recovers?" She asks, pointing at the one Mightyena who has been knocked out by Angie, and hasn't had a chance to flee.
"That seems like a good idea, yes."
In the meantime, the comet falls at an angle, clearly following Poppy wherever Heracross takes her. She just springs up at the last second, though, and the Wish collides with the Bug type's horn instead, healing him slightly.
For the next few minutes, Avril remains quiet. She smiles at the sight of Heracross being healed by Poppy, sure, but other than that, she's still rather serious. She's thinking about how she could possibly voice her feelings, but is choosing not to because she's afraid she may end up doing it wrong. In fact, maybe it would be better if she could direct her mind onto less complicated matters.
"So, June, uhm… how should we deal with lunch? Once we get far enough, we might want to think about that…" She says, as she calls back all of her Pokémon but Poppy.
"I haven't given it much thought until now, but I suppose if the rain clears up by then I could grill something. If worse comes to worst, I always have trail mix and other non-perishable snacks for these occasions."
"That's good to know!" Avril nods. "You're always ready for anything, uh?"
"I always try to be, although I think that's being generous." June scratches the back of her head. "But still, thank you!"
"Oh, you're welcome! Even with all that happened, I'm glad I could help. At least a bit."
After that, Avril doesn't speak much. She rather focuses on the report she's left half-finished, working on it when the two girls stop for a pause, and eventually, it's ready to be sent over to Brendan.
I was given the chance to fish near Cottage Grove yesterday (Wednesday 30) at about lunch time, and I reeled in a Wishiwashi! But that encounter left me with more questions than answers, and I had some trouble finding those Pokémon again.
The most important ability that this Pokémon has is to gather a large number of its brethren to create a much stronger version of itself, the Schooling ability. I never saw that in action however. And even if it's said that Wishiwashi can activate that ability when endangered, the one I got on the hook today didn't even bother. What the Pokédex already says points at Wishiwashi's tears as the best way it has to get a School going, and I'm sure I saw them sparkle as I or other fishermen reeled those Pokémon in. They can get pretty bright underwater, almost as much as a Staryu core. And so, that's a check on the list of things Wishiwashi needs.
I suppose that what is missing now is other Wishiwashi. Maybe there's not enough in the water near Cottage Grove, or maybe they're too far from the coast. Or, something that feels a bit more likely is the case here, it takes some time for the School to really form. The fisherman I met has definitely hinted at the fact that even in the School form, Wishiwashi seem to think with one single brain, either a shared one or the one of the Wishiwashi who first called for help. And well, even their body seems to change slightly when they become a part of the School.
Thinking about it, I've seen some fishermen with some Electric types by their side. One had a Chinchou for example, and she'd use it to lure in Pokémon or just stun them once they were hooked in. She never mentioned Wishiwashi when I asked her for more information, but I believe Chinchou could also be used to prevent that Pokémon from calling a whole School - for example, by paralyzing it or stunning it in time. Maybe out there, some could find a Wishiwashi who's strong and experienced enough to call a huge School in the blink of an eye but… until that day comes, this will be more than enough… hehehe...
