[PKMN FULL] Hoenn: Square One [IC]

Aquacorde · Dec 1, 2022

Marie Rachelle Mocinno

Knuckle, Dell

₽33,000

Monday Oct 12, Morning

Mauville

Chapter 6 #9 - You Were Warned

Life goes on, and someone has to pay for it.

Alton had offered, of course, but Marie is stubbornly determined to prove her ability to support herself. So another job she must get, for the next leg of her journey will take significant funds to prepare for. She's been looking at the maps again, but with a plan this time. The most efficient way to hit the rest of western Hoenn's gyms is to trek out to Lavaridge, cut through Forina to Fallarbor, hike down to Rustboro, and then straight east through Verdanturf and back into Mauville. That sounds so simple!

Unfortunately, this is Hoenn. There is a significant amount of nature in the way. And so. To buy food and supplies: a job.

Though for this particular job, her payment will not come entirely in cash- not this first day, anyway. Half her shift is paid for by admittance to the Hoenn Fanclub, of which this SkyPark facility is a part of. Even more enticing is the current member perk: some famous chef's seal on her new membership card will apparently save her money on berries in the future. A great bonus for a financially independent person, isn't it? Even if baking is very much not a skill she has ever possessed.

That's a problem for later, though, as her problem for the next few hours is to check on, tidy, and spot clean every room in the facility. Well, as many as she is able to get to during her shift, at least. The corners and alcoves of the main spaces are unending, so Marie took the seemingly easier route: opening every door to every secluded and climate-controlled room. It's amazing, the variety of spaces here- the boiling steam baths that frizzed her braided hair, the pitch-black cave room where she bruised every inch of her shins, the mud pits that she'd declined to step into, the freezing snowfall that she'd immediately shut the door on- "a habitat for every Pokémon," her boss-for-the-day had said, and they hadn't been exaggerating.

As interesting as it is, Marie and her little utility cart return to the main areas. The greenery and water features and open spaces are much easier to identify issues with. Or find railings and windows to halfheartedly wipe down. Whichever. The only downside is that these areas are more populated, and while people stopping to chat is occasionally pleasant-

"Hey- hey girl! You! With the bandana and the bucket, yeah, hey-"

-it is also sometimes not.

Marie bristles at the demanding interruption of her window-washing by a lounging patron with an ugly smirk rolling across his wide mouth. "May I help you?"

"C'mere, c'mere. Look," he stage-whispers as she reluctantly makes her way over. "I know you."

"Oh. Do you really."

"Yes!" Marie's flat tone does nothing to deter this person. "I do some scouting, you know, on the side. Trainer scouting. Saw you crash and burn at the Winstrates' this weekend." Marie's hackles raise higher, teeth clenching behind pressed lips. "I wondered something else, though, because I'm an estimator by trade. I wondered what the heiress to the Mocinno Corporation was out playing trainer for. And I'm still wondering, now that I see her washing windows. Doesn't she have daddy's fortune to pull from?"

The man's slimy smirk only heightens the cold sweat breaking out along her spine. What does she even say to that? Nothing, nothing, she owes this guy nothing, she doesn't have to say a thing. "I am allowed to pursue what I wish."

"Oh, you're allowed. That's interesting, Miss Mocinno. I wonder how far you're allowed to fall before daddy brings you back home?"

Maybe yesterday, those words would be ice dumped down her back, leaving her shaking and helpless with shock. But today it's burning anger flaring up her right arm as it comes to her necklace, the man's grating laughter mistaking the motion for shock. But it's not her that's shocked- it's him, yelping and screeching and falling off the bench with his hands cupped protectively over where Stunnie's bolt of lightning had delivered a precise shock. Marie kneels down to grab the man's chin in a pinching grip. "You speak to or about me or my 'daddy' again and I'll make sure there's no possibility of you ever being one. Is. That. Clear?"

"Clear, clear!" the nasty man squeaks. She releases him and scoops up her wonderful little Stunfisk, dragging her utility cart away toward a less secluded part of the facility.

She's not sure she'll be able to clean much while she's shaking like this.

So instead she curls up on a padded chair and hugs Stunnie tightly. He smells like fried cables and dust and a little bit fishy but that's not really that bad, and he's tolerating the cuddling. Perhaps even enjoying it. He's a good Pokémon. A good partner, a good protector.

She really has to be a better trainer to him.

Spoiler: Team

Spoiler: Inventory

Spoiler: Contacts

Juno · Dec 11, 2022

6-2: Botany

🌱 Verdanturf Parkway 🕙 Wed. Oct. 7th, Noon

"But Pudding is weak to Grass-types, I know that. I want a real battle."

"I mean, he's still going to be quite a challenge for y—you know what, nevermind." Avery quickly beckons his Azumarill back to his side. In his place materializes a ball of fluff that Marcella recognizes only as 'Meringue', but knows little else about battle-wise. She consults the Dex again through her phone for more information before they begin. She's a Whimsicott. Grass-type like Jade, but also part Fairy.

"Alright." Marcella breathes out. Her brother had given her a few tips on the quickest ways to identify a new Pokémon's skillset, and it's time to put some of that to the test. Her eyes scan the movepool on her phone, calling out the first one she sees that might be viable.

"Okay, Jade—how about a Mega Drain?"

The leaves on the Petilil's head twitch in response, and she quickly launches into action. Yes! Marcella grins as the green flecks of light emanating from her find their way to their target. They hit the Whimsicott—or do they? They just seem to disappear into her great, fluffy mane, and she can't even tell if it's doing anything. At most, it seems to be a mild irritant.

Despite demanding a "real battle", she knows no other opponent would stand by idly while she checks her PokeDex, but Avery and Meringue wait patiently as Marcella goes through her list.

"Do we know... Stun Spore?"

Jade tilts her head to the side. No.

"Sleep Powder, then." The Petilil perks up, spinning out excitedly with a flourish as she recognizes another command. She scatters out a beautiful but much less dazzling silver powder, compared to the kind embedded in her skirt.

Marcella claps encouragingly. "Very good, dear. And extra points for style." Rudimentary battle tactics or not, Jade certainly is a natural at delivering with flair.

What they sacrifice for style is apparently accuracy, though—Meringue is surprisingly nimble, weaving and dancing in the air as she effortlessly dodges the falling dust. "She's immune, too, remember?" Avery calls out to her.

"Yeah, yeah, then why's she showing off her sick backflips?" Marcella mutters under her breath as she continues looking through her phone. But on the bright side, it's still another move to add to their arsenal. So we have Magical Leaf, Natural Gift, Mega Drain, Sleep Powder…

Her next few attempts are misses, but she doesn't mind; she eventually just sits down next to Avery, idly scratching Bijou behind the ear, and they all watch as the Whimsicott spars gently and patiently with Jade. The Purrloin's tail flicks as she watches, whining to sit on her lap. "Not now, dear." Marcella responds distractedly.

She reminds herself that she'd learned of Jade's Magical Leaf and Natural Gift through just letting the Petilil do her own thing, so perhaps if they just let her at it and observe her, she'd naturally show them something else she knows.

In the interest of time, they do jump in for some more guided activities after about fifteen minutes of this, but not before discovering Jade can also use Growth, which leaves them with five moves.

"Good. That's okay," Avery tells her. "Wild Pokémon don't always have more than that, but this gives you plenty to work with for now. So! On to ability. Petilil can have—"

"Own Tempo, Chlorophyll or Leaf Guard." Marcella quickly finishes his sentence.

"Alright, look at you go!" Her brother smiles approvingly. "Someone's been studying."

"Mhm!" She beams proudly. "I've been meaning to figure that out myself, the weather just hasn't been good enough for the sun-based ones."

"Well, I can definitely help you with that. But first thing's first—" He lets out a short whistle, and Meringue bounces over to him. "Hurricane."

Marcella hears the briefest yelp from Jade, but the Petilil's scream is cut off as she's whipped into the air, swirling in the violent vortex created by the Whimsicott. She watches in horror. "Avery, what the fuck—!" She grabs his arm, shaking him. He rolls his eyes at her.

"Stop," The Hurricane abruptly ceases, and Meringue drifts up to pluck the disoriented Petilil out of the air, dropping her in Marcella's lap before perching on Avery's head herself.

"Oh, my poor honey," Marcella croons, gently placing Jade back on her feet. She teeters dizzily as she takes a few steps forward, and then she falls right on her face.

"Alright. Well, it's not Own Tempo." Completely unfazed, Avery clinically announces his finding as he roots through his bag. The Whimsicott on his head bobs up and down as he moves, her little hands gripping fistfuls of his hair to keep herself in place.

"I'd be careful about letting her do that, the physical stress on your scalp might make you go bald earlier than expected." Marcella advises her brother as she observes the creature on his head.

He glances up and shrugs. "No more so than the mental stress you give me does."

"Suit yourself."

When he finally finds what he is looking for, he rolls Jade over and puts a pink berry in her mouth. Persim. Marcella notes, mentally reviewing her newly-acquired berry knowledge. Jade takes a small bite of it, sitting up as she chews. She doesn't finish the whole thing and pockets the rest of it, but it seems to be doing its trick. Avery waits until she is standing back up before calling out his next move. "Okay, now—hit us with Sunny Day, Meringue."

Meringue leaps up into the air once again, little puffs of cotton now adorning her trainer's shoulders and hair. She leaves a small, generated sun above them before dropping back to the ground, and it radiates brightly over the field. Pearly is invited out to try and Scald her; she ends up steaming and a bit uncomfortable, but the Petilil does appear to be immune to any lasting effects from it under the concentrated sunlight.

"Alright! So that means—"

"Leaf Guard!" Avery holds up a hand for a high five, and the session is going so well so far that Marcella does not leave him hanging, despite how lame the gesture is.

She picks up Jade and gives her a squeeze. "We're doing so good today! Now, dear, how about we..."

Before she can finish her sentence, a flash of purple enters her periphery.

...Bijou?

The Purrloin suddenly runs out onto the field, crashing into Meringue with a flinch-inducing Fake Out.

What—? Marcella glances over at Avery, who looks back with a shrug; the very out-of-character behaviour elicits a somewhat amused but also confused expression from him. He decides to roll with it, though. "Guess we're doing a double battle now. You wanna do that?"

"Oh! Yeah, sure—it's my contest format, after all. Okay! I-I guess we have a bit of time for this." Granted, she would have preferred if it was Jade and Pearly, since they are the ones competing later, but Bijou has not shown a lot of enthusiasm for battling in the past, so she won't fault her for being proactive. Marcella smiles and cheers encouragingly. "Alright! Let's go, Bijou!"

Party

[PokeCommunity.com] Hoenn: Square One [IC]

BIJOU
Purrloin, F

Ability: Prankster

Sucker Punch
Fake Out
Sand Attack
Play Rough
Torment
Hone Claws

PEARLY
Clamperl, F

Ability: Rattled

Clamp
Water Gun
Whirlpool
Iron Defense
Scald
-----

MIDAS
Meowth, M

Ability: Technician

Pay Day
Scratch
Growl
Feint
Fake Out
-----

JADE
Petilil, F

Ability: Leaf Guard

Magical Leaf
Natural Gift
Sleep Powder
Growth
Mega Drain

Dear Diary

CHAPTER 2: LIVE FOR FUN

2-1: M.I.A.
2-2: Footwear Filchers
2-3: Cut Off
2-4: Bijou Bootcamp
2-5: Beached
2-6: Pearly
2-7: Showtime - ft. Avril, June, Tsu, Robynn, Shuna
2-8: Natsuko vs. Marcella - ft. Tsu
2-9: The Three C's
2-10: In/Dependent
2-11: Connections - ft. Avril, Hikaru

CHAPTER 3: YOUR BRAIN GETS SMART

3-1: Fiancé
3-2: Promise
3-3: Roughing It
3-4: Feline Friends
3-5: For Tuna
3-6: The Bear and the Maiden Fair
3-7: Unruly
3-8: Tough Call
3-9: In Your Shadow
3-10: Renewed Resolve

CHAPTER 4: SO MUCH TO DO, SO MUCH TO SEE

4-1: Ranger's Regret
4-2: Creative Outlet
4-3: Homework
4-4: Ghosts of the Past
4-5: Direction
4-6: A Quiet Day
4-7: Long Road Ahead
4-8: Observations

CHAPTER 5: YOU'LL NEVER KNOW IF YOU DON'T GO

5-1: A Crossroads
5-2: Lurker
5-3: Peace Offering
5-4: Loophole
5-5: Recharge
5-6: A Quick Detour
5-7: Shining, Shimmering, Splendid

CHAPTER 6: SHINE AND GLOW

6-1: Avery
6-2: Botany

Inventory

WALLET: ₽5,950

KEY ITEMS

Fanclub Membership Card (Annual)

Contest Pass

HELD ITEMS

Silk Scarf (

)

Safety Goggles (

)

Bright Powder (

)

Quick Claw

Wave Incense

EVOLUTION ITEMS

"Battery Pack"

TMs/TRs

TM Toxic

CONSUMABLES

Luxury Balls x 3

Quick Balls x 2

Net Balls x 5

Poké Balls x 8

Lum Berry x 2

Razz Berry x 2

Sitrus Berry

Oran Berry x 8

Occa Berry x 6

Yache Berry x 9 (-1)

Honey (¾ of jar left)

MISC. GEAR

Medium-sized leather suitcase of clothes
Rotom Phone (Sky Blue)
Family-sized tent
Inflatable mattress
Inflatable stools x 2
Electric air pump
Binoculars
Small lidded pot
Fabric glue

Trainer Info

Badges

WizardOfOdd · Dec 11, 2022

Arthur Weissmann
Location: Winstrate Stadium, Winstrate Estate
Sunday, October 11th
Late Morning

Chapter 6 - 6
Go Big or Go Home
Part 4

There wasn't that much time for Arthur to raise his spirits enough to forget the stupid meltdown he had after beating Ed soundly, but the show must go on. Leaving that embarrassing moment behind him, he donned his shades and once more put up the facade of Jacques Tannenbaum as he approached his opponent for the next round, Clint Shaw.

"Hi, how're you feeling?" Said Jack, attempting to break the ice between them.

"Still six feet on the right side of the ground," muttered Clint, taking a second of silence before realizing he should probably ask his opponent the same question, not that he cared what the answer was,

"How about you?"

"Me? So-so, I guess," Jack said, feeling from his response that his opponent wasn't the type to be buddy-buddy with the ones they met recently. With that in mind, he decided to cut to the chase. "Wanna do doubles?"

"Doubles aren't my style, how about we stick to singles," Clint replied, once again pressing the single battle issue. What's with these trainers and their double battles?

Jack scratched his neck after hearing his opponent's response. There was no doubt that his team was better tailored for doubles than singles, but it wasn't like he didn't have anything stored up his sleeves in case someone rejected his offer.

"Well, singles aren't my usual style. But sure, I'll bite, but only if it's a 2 vs 2 singles," Jack proposed.

The number of Pokemon didn't matter all that much to Clint, as long as he had enough Pokemon to make it an even fight, so two versus two was more than agreeable. Clint paused for a second, figured out which two Pokemon he was going to use, then answered his opponent,

"I can make two-on-two work."

Clint readied his holster with the two Pokeballs he was going to use in the match with him, he also brushed off some dirt stuck on his boot. He had to get in the zone now, from what he had seen, this Jack kid was quite the trainer.

"Well, that's great to hear–" As Jack was about to say something else, a notification sound rang through the intercom inside the waiting room before an announcement was made.

"Clint Shaw and Jacques Tannenbaum, please enter the field."

"Oops, I guess there isn't much waiting left to do now we're in the final four," Jack adjusted his shades. "Good luck out there."

"You too, Pal." Clint made his way out to his side of the battlefield, as Jack made his way to his respective side. Clint couldn't help but notice the crowds have been growing since Friday's battles. He just had to block them out, no matter how much he didn't like all the people around watching him. The two stood in position, waiting for the referee to call the start of the match. Clint put on his most intense scowl, staring down his sunglasses-wearing opponent.

Jack couldn't help but realize that his opponent was looking at him intensely, but strangely enough, he didn't feel intimidated much even when it was the semis already, most likely because of the pep talk Vincent and the girls gave him before. Yet despite wanting to think about it any further, he knew well that it was time to battle. And it would be discourteous of him to not try his best and put all his concentration against Clint.

Both threw their Pokeball into the field and revealed their starter Pokemon for the battle. Charmeleon for Clint and Braveheart the Metang for Jack.

"Now, Agility!" Jack ordered as soon as the whistle was blown.

"Charmeleon, Fire Fang," Clint called out his first move. Charmeleon quickly started to chase Braveheart, who was using Agility to speed up.

"Poor choice, Zen Headbutt!" Jack ordered.

Before Charmeleon managed to sink his fiery fangs into the Iron Claw Pokemon, Braveheart barely finished using Agility before enveloping itself in psychic energy, pushing the Charmeleon off as it collided with Braveheart's metal body.

Charmeleon bounced off to the side following the impact but was able to land on his own two feet. Charmeleon spun around to face Braveheart once again, this time attacking from a distance using Ember. Charmeleon conjured up a small batch of fire, and shot it at the Metang, scoring a direct hit.

Unfortunately for the Charmeleon, Metang was one of the Pokemon known for its incredible endurance. Despite being visibly affected by the flames, Braveheart soldiered on creating a back-and-forth that lasted for some time. Clint kept up the pressure, firing more embers at Braveheart, trying to wear down the tough Steel-type Pokemon. Clint had the one-up due to typing, he had to use that advantage if he wanted a win.

"Well, this is certainly annoying," Jack muttered under his breath. While things were going very well according to his plan, he didn't expect Clint's Charmeleon to be a tough one to wear down. While switching sounded like the move considering Braveheart's type disadvantage, he was confident that his Pokemon which had been his longest partner could beat Clint's Charmeleon.

"Braveheart, now! Zen Headbutt," Braveheart charged again towards Charmeleon, but this time its arms are put on its back whirling rapidly which increased its velocity by awfully a lot. Surprising the Charmeleon who was already conditioned on purpose to its initial speed as the powerful impact hit it square on its torso. It was so strong it ended up sending the Charmeleon crashing toward the wall.

The crowd started to erupt in cheers, as the deadlock that lasted for a while seemed to be finally broken. Perhaps the battle was going to end soon in the Metang's favor, they thought. Arthur had the same idea, it would be hard for Charmeleon to come back and win the match, but he and his trainer had other plans.

Charmeleon picked himself up out of the corner, and let out a mean-sounding snarl, while fire simultaneously blew out of his nose. Focusing back on his target, Charmeleon made another move.

"Fire Fang," Clint called out. Charmeleon obliged, a fire brewing in between his jaws as he clamped down on the Metang. Usually biting hard steel would not be advised, but the fire Charmeleon conjured up was so hot that his teeth were able to sink in. Using his jaws, as well as the force of gravity, Charmeleon brought Braveheart down with him, the Metang making a loud screeching noise as it was slammed into the ground.

Jack sighed. "Sorry Pal, but it's enough for now," he retracted Braveheart from the battlefield. While he knew that Braveheart was strong enough to swat off the Charmeleon, the red aura surrounding him was nothing but bad news.

Blaze. An ability that gave the user a boost on fire-type related capability. There was no doubt that even a Pokemon as sturdy as Braveheart wouldn't last very long if it had to deal with a Blaze-powered Fire Fang for much longer, so rather than letting it stay and continue the fight. Changing his Pokemon seemed to be a better answer. Besides, Blaze only activates when the user is near a fainting state. All his next Pokemon needed to do is just to finish him off, and he certainly had prepared the right Pokemon for it.

Under the loud cheers of the crowd who had witnessed the sudden turnaround, Jack grabbed the Pokeball containing his second and last Pokemon.

"Come on in, Kaplan!" The Wingull emerged from inside his Pokeball, letting out wails of excitement as he finally came out to his maiden battle of the tournament.

Wingull? Well s***, there goes the type advantage, Clint thought to himself. No point complaining about it, just have to find a way to win.

"Charmeleon, Smoke Screen," Clint issued his next command, which led to Charmeleon deploying a thick cloud of smoke to hide in.

It was a pesky strategy, Arthur thought. But he already had come into the battle prepared with the knowledge of how to counter it.

"Well, we'll just have to wait then. Kap, raise your altitude, Agility!" Sky-high, the Wingull's body shook slightly as he raised his mobility.

It wasn't the first time Clint found himself in a standoff like this, although he imagined his current opponent might be a little more patient than the last one. So thought to try something else. He had Charmeleon create a ring of thick smoke, and then Charmeleon stood in the clearing in the middle of the cloud, giving Kaplan a nice bullseye to aim at, where the plan was Charmeleon would hide in the ring as Wingull got into range.

"You really gonna stay put like that? Really?" Jack scratched the back of his head, not sure why Clint was stalling considering his Pokemon was stacking up Agility. Yet his opponent didn't let out a single word at his question.

Clint was playing the waiting game, keeping the smoke screen deployed while Kaplan was high in the sky. Not too much he could do while the Wingull was up there, but in order for the Wingull to attack he'd have to bring himself into range as well.

"Well, fine by me! Water Pulse!" Wingull created a water orb that exploded inside the smoke curtain, partially removing it, despite Charmeleon seemingly able to avoid the blast. Having a good chunk of his smoke screen gone, Charmeleon used the move Smoke Screen once more to restore his cover.

"Water Pulse," Jack ordered once more.

What Jack did may seem like a boring and pointless repetition, but everything was still according to plan. After all, he had watched how Clint had beaten his last opponent, all he needed to do was to be patient and adjust accordingly to the knowledge he had about Charmeleon's moveset.

The crowd however didn't share the same patience he did. He noticed that quite a few that had faced his side were not enthused in the slightest as they were forced to watch another deadlock between the two, and as Clint ordered another thickening of the Smoke Screen it seemed that they were trapped watching a borefest of a Semifinals.

That, however, wouldn't last long. As Jack finally uttered a word other than Water Pulse.

"Let's wrap it up, shall we? Icy Wind."

Kaplan lowered himself from the skies to deliver a powerful gust of breeze that not only froze the battlefield floor that was already wet thanks to Water Pulse, and that wasn't the end of the effect. Despite Charmeleon's agility managing to help him to avoid the catastrophic hit from the barrage of Water Pulse, he couldn't completely avoid himself from being doused in water which ended up freezing and caused him to not be able to move freely as the freezing water amplified Icy Wind's slowing qualities.

It was less than ideal for Charmeleon. But thankfully, Charmeleon had a way to melt ice. Knowing that, Clint had Charmeleon use ember around his feet, to melt and dry up the area around his feet. It worked like a charm, as Charmeleon was able to get moving once again. Now that he was free, it was time to focus back on Kaplan.

But little did Charmeleon realize that when he turned his gaze upward to focus back on his opponent, he was greeted by an incoming water orb that exploded on his face, knocking him out of the battle.

"Should've used Smokescreen first. But then again, I would've still used Water Pulse and then Icy Wind, you know what, never mind…" Jack stopped himself from telling his advice as he realized how dumb it was while his Wingull soared back into the air while squawking in joy, possibly feeling glee after his first knockout of the tournament. "And your final Pokemon?"

Clint sighed, and returned Charmeleon to his Pokeball, clipping that Pokeball to his holster before quickly drawing the other ball, releasing Grovyle into the fray. Grovyle stood at the ready, sizing up her opponent.

"Not much of a talker, eh? Well fine by me, the battle ain't gonna last longer anyway" Jack declared with a voice full of confidence.

Jack felt that the wind of victory was blowing hard behind his sails, as the advantage seemed to be on his side. After all, he already expected that Grovyle was going to be one of Clint's Pokemon that would be used in the battle, and the fact that she actually was used just made him more elated as he managed to predict his second Pokemon correctly.

Now all Jack needed to do was apply his strategy properly, and victory would be his for the taking.

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

Party

Braveheart (Metang) (-) | Ability: Clear Body | Confusion, ???, ???, Metal Claw, Zen Headbutt, ???

Hunter (Noctowl) (Male) | Ability: Insomnia | Hypnosis, Ally Switch, Air Slash, Confusion, Psycho Shift, Wing Attack

Muchorin (Darumaka) (Male) | Ability: Hustle | Rollout, Incinerate, Taunt, Work Up, ???, Fire Punch

Kaplan (Wingull) (Male) | Ability: Hydration | Quick Attack, Air Cutter, Icy Wind, Supersonic, ???, Water Pulse

Nero (Inkay) (Male) | Ability: Contrary | Topsy-Turvy, ???, Swagger, Night Slash, Destiny Bond, Taunt

Tempest (Seedot) (Male) | Ability: Chlorophyll | Harden, Rollout, Absorb, Payback, Bide, Growth

Egg (Cutiefly) (???) | Ability: ??? | ???

Inventory

Money: ₽14.560

Badges

Knuckle Badge

Balance Badge
Dell Badge

Evo Items

Water Stone x 1

Held Item

Eviolite x 1

Safety Goggles x 1

Silk Scarf x 1

Twisted Spoon x 1

TM/TR

Taunt

Bulk Up

Sand Tomb

Attract

Ally Switch

???

Consumables

Ability Capsule

Other Items

Dome Fossil

Caesar · Dec 11, 2022

Sunday, October 11th - Mauville

Featuring Wizard Of Odd as Arthur Weissmann

"Kaplan, let's dive!" Jack yelled at his airborne Wingull, who nodded after recognizing the signal his trainer gave.

Kaplan dove toward Grovyle without much hesitation, complying with his trainer's order. Grovyle responded by using Bullet Seed, firing three shots directly at Wingull. While the first shot missed, the second shot managed to clip Kaplan's wings allowing the third shot to land perfectly, knocking Wingull out of the sky, and sending him barrelling toward the ground.

Jack's eyebrow twitched in response. This was the first moment that was not planned in the slightest, he expected Grovyle to hit Kaplan with a short-range move but in hindsight, he should've prepared with the chance that someone did use a long-range move like Bullet Seed. Still, the fact that none of his opponents in the last few days ever retaliated with it during his test runs at the gym didn't help with the fact that such a possibility slipped his mind.

Fortunately for Jack, Kaplan pirouetted himself enough mid-air to execute the strategy despite having to improvise, as a wave of nauseating waves passed through the Grovyle, causing her to start stumbling, which combined with the huge part of the battlefield that was slippery after being frozen earlier created quite the trouble for Grovyle. Meanwhile, as Grovyle struggled mightily to balance herself, Kaplan was able to take the opportunity to go airborne once more.

Grovyle then attempted to make her way over to the patch Charmeleon had cleared earlier, but the ice coupled with the confusion led Grovyle to fall flat on her face. She was having a hard time getting upright again after that, which led Grovyle to scamper awkwardly on all floors like a baby Deerling over to the dry patch. Once there, Grovyle was able to get up and turn her attention to the airborne Wingull once again.

Despite the dizziness she had, Grovyle dished out two shots of seeds this time, which both missed, clearly, Grovyle's confusion was affecting her aim. There was a bright spot, however, as the second shot was close enough to hit that Kaplan had to deviate from his flight path to avoid it. Sadly, it wasn't close enough to stop Kaplan from mounting an assault against her.

"Icy Wind."

A wave of chilling cold was whipped up against Grovyle who despite her best efforts to dodge just couldn't get away from the freezing air on time, causing chunks of ice to form slightly on her body, impeding her movement more as if the confused state she was in wasn't enough.

In the same time, Clint couldn't help but notice Kaplan had come a bit closer, with that he came up with a plan quickly,

"Hit 'em with Assurance!"

Grovyle was enveloped by dark energy and thrust toward Kaplan, but her footing was thrown off by the ice on the field, and her trajectory was thrown off, missing the Wingull and crashing down on the battlefield surface.

It was all according to Arthur's plan, the strategy of trading a hit for a Confuse Ray hit worked the most of time he had tested it, limiting the opposing Pokemon's mobility and ability to dodge attacks. And this was no exception, especially after the Icy Wind which had crippled Grovyle's mobility even further.

"Let's end this, Air Cutter!"

Kaplan let out a loud squawk as he flapped his wings, conjuring multiple chainsaw-like blades that rained on the fallen Grovyle. Things were going pretty well for Kaplan as Grovyle struggled to raise her body to avoid the storm of air blades, victory seemed almost assured, but contrary to the situation in hand, Clint didn't seem to waver.

Grovyle shook her head as she turned her attention to the incoming barrage of blades from the sky. Grovyle was able to regain her composition, looking to her trainer for what to do next.

"Grovyle, Detect," Clint commanded.

Despite having difficulties, Grovyle rolled out of the way of the incoming saw-blades using all her might, the icy surface actually aiding her for once as she slid out of the way of the blades, the air cutter blades raising up bits of snow as they collided with the icy surface of the arena. As the last of the blades hit the battlefield, Grovyle performed a roll and ended up sitting on one knee, facing Kaplan, and Clint issued another command,

"Bullet Seed!"

Sitting sturdy on one knee, Grovyle was able to fire four Bullet Seeds at Kaplan, the first seed was a direct hit, as was the second and third. The fourth one was a miss but the intended effect still happened, as Kaplan was losing altitude due to the bullets.

"Nice idea, but have you considered that it's a double-edged sword?" Jack exclaimed. Kaplan's lowering of altitude meant that while it was hard to effectively flap his wings to use Air Cutter, it also meant that his distance with the Grovyle also grew shorter.

As Kaplan sent out another chilling wave with a single powerful flap of his wings clad in blue energy, it proved Jack's point as Grovyle's already crippled mobility wasn't enough to avoid the Icy Wind in time, sealing the victory for the bespectacled "Kalosian".

Clint sighed heavily, and tipped his hat down, shielding his face as much as he could. His face turned bright red, feeling like the whole world was closing in on him. All these people just watched him blow the biggest Pokemon battle of his life. He returned Grovyle to her Pokeball in a dejected, lethargic manner. Just after that, the referee took center stage.

"Grovyle is unable to continue, therefore Jacques Tannenbaum is your winner."
Clint wasn't happy with the result, but he had to give credit where credit was due, his opponent was just plain good at battling. Clint walked towards Jack, and stuck out his hand for a handshake, and said,

"Thanks for the battle, we'll have to do it again sometime."

"Anytime, let's have another battle down the line. But for now, take care of yourself." Jack shook Clint's hand with a smile on his face before walking away back to the waiting room.

Clint walked behind Jack, with no smile on his face, head hanging down while contemplating where to go from here.

Team & Inventory:

Spoiler:

Blaze|Brave| Moves: Ember|Dragon Breath|Bite|Smokescreen|Fire Fang|Slash

Overgrow|Sassy| Moves: Leaf-age|Detect|Quick Attack|Double Kick|Assurance|Bullet Seed

Water Absorb|Quiet| Moves: Hypnosis|Water Gun|Pound|Mud Shot

Synchronize|Gentle| Moves: Confusion|Double Team|Teleport|Growl|Draining Kiss
Inventory:

$28,500
2x Potions
1x Pokeballs
5x Iapapa Berries
10x Oran Berries
4x Normal Gem
Sceptilite
Gengarite
Thunder Stone
Water Stone
TM Protect
TM Bullet Seed
TM Rock Smash
TM Low Kick
TM Grass Knot
TR Sludge Bomb

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

Caesar · Dec 11, 2022

Sunday, October 11th - Mauville

Clint stepped out of the arena, agitated about what had just happened inside that arena. He had come so far, only to lose in the semi-finals. He could feel spectators and combatants alike staring at him, the guy who just lost the battle they were watching. Clint wanted nothing more than fresh air, but the outside air didn't even feel fresh with all the people around him, walking in and out of the arena, preparing for the final matchup of the weekend.

Walking up to Clint was his part-time mentor, Sergei who had been watching from the stands.

"Well kid, sometimes you just get beat fair and square."

The two kept walking for a short distance, until they were away from the commotion. Sergei then looked back and forth, before sneakily handing Clint a flask that Sergei had concealed in his jacket. Clint took a swig out of the flask, the contents of the bottle were harsh, and Clint grimaced after he took the drink, but he supposed a little booze to numb the pain wasn't the worst idea in the world.

"Well I told ya kid, they'd run out of schmucks for you to battle and you'd have to battle a real trainer," Sergei began,

"Now that Jack kid is on his way to the finals, with girls waiting for him after his match, while you're stuck talking to me."

"I just got a shitty deal with the type matchup, it is what it is," Clint had already baked up an excuse.

"Bull. I've seen fire types beat water types before, you got outplayed, thinking you could do the same s*** in the semi finals as you did earlier. Did it occur to you that you were being watched? Especially by other trainers in the tournament," Sergei ranted,

"You've done some good with your team kid, you got talent for this stuff but you're not going to be able to just overpower everyone in your path, you need to think out there, your Pokemon are relying on you. Can't have your opponents making you look like the big dumb hick that you are, surprise 'em a little."

Guess Sergei wasn't going to go easy on Clint, who made a motion with his hands hinting that he wanted Sergei to hand him the flask again. Sergei obliged, and Clint took another drink.

"Well what now, I ain't staying to watch the finals."

"If you could swallow your pride it might not be the worst thing in the world, but if you're not in the mood, you could go pack your stuff up, get ready for the road again. It's quite the trek to Lavaridge, and I think you could use some time out of the city," Sergei continued the lecture.

"Some fresh air wouldn't hurt, now that you bring it up," Clint replied, shocked that he's spent almost a week in the nightmarish hell-scape that some people call a major city.

"Exactly, it'll do you some good, clear your head up," Sergei said,

"Also, this isn't the worst thing to happen in the world, you got some good battle experience in, people took notice of your existence, you learned a thing or two, hopefully and you walked out of there $10,000 richer, there's worse ways to spend a weekend kid."

Guess it wasn't all bad for Clint.

"Good point."

"What about the Gym around here? Got busy prepping for the tourney, never got a chance to battle the leader."

"I mean go ahead, but trust me you're not going to like the set-up," Sergei replied.

"I don't like much of any set-up around here," Clint retorted.

"Hah, fair enough kid, well I don't have all the answers, you figure out what you want to do, we'll keep in touch."

"Keep in touch? what you got plans already," Clint asked.

"Yup, on my way to Slateport tomorrow, got a few errands to run down there, but I'll run into you again at some point kid."

"Well then, thanks for everything Sergei, see ya later."

Clint and Sergei went their seperate ways, Clint definitely felt better after talking to Sergei, or maybe that was the booze, most likely a combination of both. Clint figured his next move, that Gym was open late in the night according to Zoe, so Clint hatched his next plan. Time to hit the Pokemon center, Clint had work to do.

F*** feeling sorry for yourself, you're going for that badge tonight.

-Clint won $10,000 from his semi-final appearance in the Winstrate Cup!

Team & Inventory:

Spoiler:

Blaze|Brave| Moves: Ember|Dragon Breath|Bite|Smokescreen|Fire Fang|Slash

Overgrow|Sassy| Moves: Leaf-age|Detect|Quick Attack|Double Kick|Assurance|Bullet Seed

Water Absorb|Quiet| Moves: Hypnosis|Water Gun|Pound|Mud Shot

Synchronize|Gentle| Moves: Confusion|Double Team|Teleport|Growl|Draining Kiss
Inventory:

$38,500
2x Potions
1x Pokeballs
5x Iapapa Berries
10x Oran Berries
4x Normal Gem
Sceptilite
Gengarite
Thunder Stone
Water Stone
TM Protect
TM Bullet Seed
TM Rock Smash
TM Low Kick
TM Grass Knot
TR Sludge Bomb

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

Juno · Dec 12, 2022

6-3: "Friendly" Fire

🌱 Verdanturf Parkway 🕙 Wed. Oct. 7th, Noon

To match her two on the field, Avery tosses out a scratched up and worn Poke Ball that looks like it's practically held together by the fire-shaped stickers adorning it, and his next Pokémon steps out amidst the flashy smoke-and-flame holograms.

Marcella always thought Shortcake was ridiculously named, but Avery argues she was small when she earned the moniker, even though her days as a Torchic were extremely limited under his training. Still, as the Blaziken towers over her team now, she can't help but remember what a menace this thing can be. True to her typing, Shortcake is hotheaded and always ready to fight. Marcella wonders if that's what evolving too quickly does to one's temperament, or if she was just always destined to be an asshole.

"Ready?" Avery asks, pulling her out of her fond memories of the Blaziken. Marcella nods.

And they begin.

"Okay! Jade, let's—" But before she's able to say anything more, she's distracted by Bijou, who draws in close to Meringue for a Sucker Punch. Once. Twice. Marcella can tell she is lunging at her hard, but both attempts fail to surprise her target as the idle Whimsicott deftly dodges her attacks, glancing back at Avery for instructions. "It's okay," He murmurs, letting it play out.

"Bijou! You have to listen to me!" Marcella calls out, but her words fall on deaf ears. Her moves require some tactical timing that she doesn't yet have the experience to pull off on her own. She, too, looks to her brother exasperatedly for advice, and between his own Pokémon and sister, his reaction is a little delayed. "Uh—"

He's able to make a decision a moment later, and it seems he is deliberately giving them an in. As the sunlight fades away, he calls out to Meringue.

"Okay, start charging up for a Solar Beam. It's alright," He tells her gently when she gives him a 'really?' kind of look.

As the Whimsicott closes her eyes and focuses—harder than she would have had to in brighter sunlight—Marcella kneels down next to her Purrloin. "Bijou, you have to wait. Remember? Catch them off guard when they're preparing an attack. Hone your claws first."

Her tail flicks, but she obeys.

"You have to make sure they don't see it coming, right?" She continue patiently, petting her with a smile. She glances back Meringue, still in deep concentration. "Okay, now Sucker Punch."

As the Purrloin bounds forward, though, both Marcella and her brother are suddenly reminded that not everybody got the memo about this training session's purpose, and Shortcake instinctively flings herself at Bijou to protect her vulnerable partner.

"Shorty, don't—" Avery steps forward a second too late, and Bijou goes flying.

"Bijou!" Marcella calls out, but the Purrloin rights herself exceptionally quickly. "Come here," she beckons. Bijou looks back at her briefly, before disobeying and taking a step forward. She hisses at the Blaziken, which seems to invite her to ready another attack.

"No—!" Marcella gasps. She rushes towards her, but Avery grabs her wrist. "Marcie, don't be stupid, you can't take Close Combat. Shortcake, stop!"

And then, amidst the chaos, a pink berry soars through the air. The Persim Berry Jade had pocketed. She'd hurled it at Shortcake, and the bird squawks in surprise as it bursts, entombing her with Ground-type energy.

Marcella breathes out; Jade's stunt stalls her enough to halt the assault, and Avery swiftly lets go of Marcella's wrist, waving his arms in the air to catch his Blaziken's attention. "Shortcake, we're not battling battling—" She hears him say as she drops down by Bijou's side.

"Baby, what's gotten into you lately?" She coos, gently picking her up. "That was very reckless. I'm glad you want to battle, but we're a team—you have to listen to me. I know I'm not the best trainer, but—" Bijou meows softly, almost as if in protest to that. Marcella smiles, hugging her close.

"And you—" She shifts the Pokémon around and picks up Jade too, so that she has one in each arm and they are both on her lap. "That was really great thinking, Jade. Saved the day, and that was so cool. Oh, I can't wait to do more with that Natural Gift thing! Good thing she was around, huh, Bijou?" She beams at the Petilil, but when she turns to Bijou, she's only met with a steely gaze. She holds eye contact for a moment, before turning away from the little green Pokémon on her trainer's lap.

"Oh. Um," The sullen reaction throws Marcella off guard. "Anyway, do we want to take a break, or—?" But the Purrloin leaps off her lap, scampering back onto the field.

"Right, let's keep going, then." Marcella breathes.

When they reunite with Avery and his team, Shortcake is sitting off to the side with her arms crossed, sulking a little and clearly having been reprimanded. Pudding has replaced her on the field; the Azumarill bounces merrily as he regards the Purrloin and Petilil in front of him. "I know what you said, but—you know," Avery smiles apologetically. "But it's two-on-two anyway, so this is more fair, all things considered."

"Oh. Yeah, that's fine," She responds, head hanging low. It was dumb of her to ask him not to hold back and expect her Pokémon to not get hurt like that. Avery doesn't have a single Pokémon, regardless of typing, that can't flatten her team if they tried.

But she has to pay attention now to prevent that from happening again.

With no instructions from Avery other than to "play nice", Pudding and Meringue are given free reign to train with Marcella as he supervises. They are not as cutthroat and are willing to be patient with her less experienced Pokémon, but even in their lighthearted and self-directed battling, they can be a little tricky. Marcella witnesses the Whimsicott's Switcheroo, where she vaults over Bijou's head and snatches her Safety Goggles off her, replacing it with her own Miracle Seed necklace before sticking out her tongue and sprinkling a handful of Poison Powder her way.

She decides to direct Bijou to attack Pudding, while Jade uses Growth. Marcella had forgotten about Pudding's dual-typing, though—the Azumarill begins to target Bijou with his own Play Rough, which could be quite dangerous for her, but the Purrloin kicks up a Sand Attack into his face and he misses, thankfully.

She's able to get Jade to direct a barrage of Magical Leaves at him after that, but the Fairy-type attack could still be a problem for them, and she wants to do something about that. "Bijou, Torment! And Jade—" She turns to the Petilil to call out a command, only to see her acting on her own, proactively throwing an Occa Berry at Meringue. "That's—that's right! Great job." She's pleasantly surprised by how intuitive Jade is, despite how little 'proper' training she's had.

It's a stark contrast to Bijou, who'd only been staring at Jade since the Occa Berry burst into flames as it made contact with the Whimsicott. She's not listening. "Bijou, what are you doing? I said Torment!"

The lull in action from her gives Pudding an opening, and he's running towards her; even if she uses Torment now it would be too late. They have to do something else. "Jade, Sleep Powder!" Marcella calls out, and the Petilil springs into action, diving between the Azumarill and her partner to throw the dust at him. He slows to a halt just in time, falling over at their feet, fast asleep.

"Yes, Jade—good work!" Marcella sighs with relief as the Petilil runs over to her, holding up a hand. Oh, great. She must have picked that up from watching Avery do that earlier. But she did well, and Marcella obliges, giving her the tiny high-five she wanted.

"Bijou, come on! What's going on?" She shakes her head at the Purrloin. "That's twice she's saved you from your carelessness today. If Jade didn't—"

Her sentiment is cut short as she notices the Dark energy swirling around the Purrloin, much like it does when she uses Torment. But she's looking directly at Jade, skulking over to where the Petilil is standing. It almost looks like she's targeting her.

She can't be, though.

But she is. She's targeting Jade. Consciously, purposely, and seemingly with none of the more lighthearted spirit the rest of their battle had up until this point.

Jade looks confused too, glancing between their trainer and the Purrloin approaching her. Backing away, she's not able to defend herself and she stands, stunned, as Bijou lurches forward and rakes down the small Petilil's face with sharp claws, causing her to stagger back. It all happens so fast, so unexpectedly, that Marcella doesn't know what to do.

It's quiet for a second, then the Petilil's expression crumples. And now Jade is crying on the field. No, she's bawling.

All eyes turn in their direction, and Avery makes his way over to her side. "Hey, is everything okay—oh. Lotta tears today, huh? Okay, back up, back up."

Meringue and Shortcake crowd around her to see what's stopped the battle, and Avery ushers them back, kneeling down to inspect Jade.

"Well it doesn't look like it hurt that much, Pokémon can take a lot." He assesses. "Maybe it's just the shock of being attacked by her teammate, or—"

Still bawling, Jade holds out her hands, and Marcella sees her clutching half of a leaf. She turns her around to find where it came from, and sure enough, she see one of the shiny, green leaves on her head is torn.

If humans take pride in their hair, it would seem this is the closest thing to that for the Petilil. And if there's one thing she knows about Jade, it's that she can be a little vain, too. Marcella can empathize.

"Oh—oh dear. It's okay. The leaf will grow back," She reassures her, picking her up. "We'll snip it off a bit more cleanly at the contest venue—like pruning a plant, right? It will grow back greener and more beautiful, I promise."

The crying tapers off as she gently rocks her in her arms with more quiet reassurances, and when she's settled, Marcella lets her back down. "Okay, go sit with them for a bit, I'm going to check in on Bijou." Jade glances nervously at the Purrloin before fleeing to Meringue and taking her hand.

Taking a deep breath, she waits until everyone else has followed Avery off the field, and sits down next to the Purrloin. "Okay, Bijou, what is going on?" Marcella demands sternly.

She, of course, does not expect her to communicate whatever it is she's feeling to her through words, but what Bijou does is also not what she was expecting. She simply climbs onto Marcella's lap, paws tucked defensively under her body as she stares intently at the ground.

She'd wanted to yell at her, scold her for disobeying, for attacking Jade for no reason. But in this moment, she doesn't see an unruly battle partner, but a pet that just wants to be held. Marcella exhales, and she just sits quietly, petting the Purrloin and unsure of what to do, what to say, or what brought this on.

She supposes it could be jealousy, but why now? What specifically about the newest addition to her team seems to threaten Bijou like this?

It's not not important, but she thinks the complex feelings she might be having about Jade right now demands more time than she has at the moment. And after a few minutes of pondering, she checks her phone. "Oh, honey, I don't have time to figure this out right now, but we will talk about this after the contest, okay? We have to prepare."

Bijou doesn't budge. Marcella picks her up and slings her over her shoulder. "I need to get Pearly out here to practice her and Jade's routine, too." She explains softly as she hauls the Purrloin off the field. "We will talk more after the contest," she promises again.

Occa Berry x1 burnt to a crisp.

Party

BIJOU
Purrloin, F