Lenore Region

[The Scientist]

Chapter III: Advancing Wildfire! Part 1

Bug-type Pokémon:
Resist: Fighting, Grass, Ground
Are weak to: Fire, Flying, Rock
Have immunity to: None

Neiteio only needed to see the information once to remember it. "That's good to know... now lets see what attacks they can learn..." After a few moments of processing, Pinsir's potential movelist was displayed on the tiny LCD screen. The first thing Neiteio noticed was that Pinsir learn many fighting-type moves. This in mind, he ran a quick search for statistics on Fighting-type moves:

Fighting-type moves:
Are effective against: Dark, Ice, Normal, Rock, Steel
Are not very effective against: Bug, Flying, Poison, Psychic
Have no effect against: Ghost

"Well, I shouldn't be fighting any ghosts anytime soon... This is some good stuff." Even on vacation, Neiteio couldn't keep from studying something... a fact that he both acknowledged and accepted. It had been half an hour, and his name hadn't been called yet... upon noticing this he suddenly imagined that Goliath had suffered some severe internal trauma and was in the ICU. After rationalizing his paranoid thoughts away, he had to laugh. "I guess it's hereditary..."

He suddenly remembered home, and decided that he would call Professor Leef to update him on his progress. He headed over to the computer terminal in the Trainer's Corner and inserted his PokeDex into the slot. Professor Leef's name appeared on the touch screen, and when it was selected, a video window opened on the monitor.

Ring...

Ring...

Ring...

Ring...

"HELLO?!" Professor Leef was clearly in a panic, his hair flying everywhere, and papers scattered in the background.

"Professor Leef? It's Neiteio... what's going on?"

"Neiteio?! Where are you?!"

"Um... I'm at the Route 1 Pokemon Cen-"

"You need to warn everyone in the building to evacuate! A group of migrating Slugma are headed right in your direction! The Center phone isn't working... Oh no... oh no oh no oh no..." Professor Leef clawed at his hair in anxiety. "Run boy, run!" The video window closed.

As instructed, Neiteio ran to the front desk and rang the bell. Nurse Joy and Chansey appeared, the prior holding out Goliath's PokeBall.

"Oh there you are, what perfect timing! Here's your-"

Neiteio snatched the ball from her hand and began to relay Professor Leef's message to the Nurse, trying to avoid causing a panic.

"Listen, I just got off the phone with Professor Leef, and he said that everyone here is in danger... something about a bunch of Slugma. He was pretty panicked about it, and said that we needed to evacuate-"

Right on cue, a shrill scream filled the Center. "FIRE! EVERYBODY RUN!"

Being at the front desk, Neiteio was the first one outside. To his right, a wall of fire was slowly advancing toward the Center, and the cause appeared to be a line of small blobs of magma. "Those must be the Slugma..."

Nurse Joy and the Trainers spilled out of the Center and onto the grass. Joy was clearly as panicked as everyone else, but her concern for the injured Pokemon that couldn't be evacuated motivated her to take charge of the situation.

"You're trainers, aren't you?" she shouted at the mob. "Then get moving! Work together! Put out the fire! Come on, stop dawdling and get to work!"

Most of the Trainers just gathered their things and ran for the river, but Neiteio saw a few of them who stood their ground and sent out their Pokemon. Unfortunately, most of them seemed to be of the grass- and bug-types, types that he remembered reading were horribly weak to fire. But then again, Goliath was able to beat that Staravia...

"Well Neiteio, you did say that wanted to face some challenges," he thought, mentally kicking himself.

Deciding that he would try to help defend the Center, he opened Goliath's PokeBall, and the beetle's deep blue shell glittered in the slowly increasing orange light. Seeing Goliath's clearly negative reaction to the flames, Neiteio quickly grabbed his attention. "Listen, there are Pokemon in the Center that can't be evacuated in time. We have to stop or divert those Slugma." Goliath seemingly understood and spontaneously used Focus Energy, possibly to steel his nerves against the danger. While Goliath was easily moved by his Trainer's words, Neiteio himself was having some doubts. "All of Goliath's moves are close range... If he gets near those things, he'll be burned..." But upon seeing the other Trainers shouting and advancing, he forgot his concerns and charged alongside them.

As they closed in on the source of the fire, Neiteio could see that there were not as many Slugma as he originally thought, but he still hadn't figured out a way for Goliath to attack them without being burned. He suddenly thought about trenches- "No, that's for water... and there's no time." One of the trainers was already fighting a Slugma, cleverly using her Hoppip's psychokinetic attack to hurl rocks from a safe distance. On seeing their ingenuity, he remembered how he had beaten the Bellsprout in the woods. "What around here can I use... Fires are put out by water or earth, and fire Pokemon are probably no different... He one canteen filled with water from the river. At most, he could douse one Slugma, but that wouldn't do much... He had a flint fire starter, but no way to create a controlled fire... The water purification tablets didn't contain enough chlorine to create chlorine gas... He would just have to risk it and try fighting the little beasts.

When they were in range, Neiteio scanned one of the Slugma with his PokeDex, hoping to obtain some useful information.

"Slugma, the Lava Pokemon

Slugma are fiery Pokémon that appear to consist entirely out of magma. The magma inside its body acts as a circulatory system, transferring vital nutrients and oxygen throughout their bodies. These Pokémon have to constantly keep moving to keep the magma in a liquid state - if it cooled the magma would harden and turn to rock."​

"So I need to stop them from moving... great. How do you stop a bunch of lava slugs?"

"Pin! Pin! Pin!" Neiteio was snapped out of his trance by Goliath's frantic shouts. He was clearly becoming increasingly agitated with the advancing fires.

Neiteio pulled to collar of his shirt up to protect against the smoke and unscrewed the top of his canteen. "Come on," he shouted. "Goliath, let's go!" The two advanced, dodging patches of burning grass and stopping only when they reached the foremost Slugma. It stopped and gazed up at Neiteio, apparently oblivious to the destruction it was causing. Neiteio, in turn, pointed his canteen at it and squeezed, spraying the slug with an improvized Water Gun, making sure to not use more than half the bottle. The Slugma squealed when the water hit, and its body immediately started to cool and solidify. "Alright, Goliath, it should be safe to handle. Get rid of it with a Bind attack!" Goliath crawled toward the petrified Slugma and picked it up with his horns. However, the pressure from the pincers was too much and the Slugma's brittle body immediately shattered into a fine gray dust.

"Alright, we're nowhere near done yet. Keep moving!" They headed to the left, away from the rest of the Trainers, and found another two Slugma. Neiteio and Goliath were able to shatter another one, but the second, upon seeing the destruction of its comrade, turned to fight. Without warning, it spewed a few small darts of flame at Goliath. Not expecting an attack, Goliath only barely avoided damage. With the success of his canteen attack, Neiteio decided that the best way to deal with the Slugma was to cool them off... With no water available, he would have to smother the fire with dirt. After the first handful, the Slugma did something Neiteio didn't expect: it started shooting Embers at him! With the sudden increase in danger, there was no time to give verbal instructions; he would have to command Goliath by example.

Neiteio continued scooping up handfuls of dirt and tossing them on the Slugma, all the while ducking and twirling to avoid the Embers it was shooting at him. Goliath caught on quickly, and began tearing up the ground with his horns, tossing fresh soil on the flaming slug. With their combined efforts, the Slugma was buried under a nicely-sized pile of dirt fairly quickly. One of the Embers had hit Neiteio in the chest, and although he had patted out the flames fairly quickly, his chest stung fiercely.

"Damn... I was so worried about Goliath and I'm the one who ends up with the burn..."

The wind changed, now blowing the thick gray smoke toward the Pokemon Center. Blinded, they wouldn't see the next wave of Slugma that were heading toward them. Despite the now-obvious danger involved in burying Slugma, he and Goliath were able to bury four more of the little arsonists with relatively few injuries, namely Neiteio suffering a burned left arm and Goliath being grazed by a few Embers. The stinging invigorated both of them, and they advanced along the edge of the fire.

 

[Wolfwhispers]

Tristin the Xatu: Great start, but I want you to edit the battle into this post. In the future, look at the number of posts you need to do. For this, you need 2, one for the battle against the normal Slugma and then one against the boss. So just edit it together and I'm looking forward to it! Great detail!

 

[Kay11190]

Chapter 2: Part 3

"Oh well, that's too bad" remarked the blue haired girl at the failed capture, face filled with disappointment. "Don't worry I'm sure you'll have better luck next time. You should get better pokeball when you get the chance. The help at increasing your chances at catching higher level pokemon as well as specific types."

"Really?" asked Sakai a rather quizzical expression on his face. "That would explain why you had no problem catching that Cacnea at all then.

The female trainer smiled "Yup, but I'll tell you what. If you beat 4 of my pokemon with your Venonat I'll give you some of my extras. I'll admit the chances of you winning are pretty slim since I only carry around a few low level pokemon but it is worth a shot."

"You're on!" exclaimed Sakai, face glowing with excitement. His skipped merrily in front of him taking position for the challenge."Vee I'm going to need you to do your best, we only have one potion left so we have to make it count." Venonat let out a small cry and lowered its antennas with anticipation.

Trainer Sally was rummaging around in a bag that was strapped to her Arcanine. The strap was hanging off a light brown, make **** saddle. She pulled out two pokeballs both white and light blue in color and placed them on a nearby rock. She then pulled out the yellow striped ball she used to capture Cacnea and threw it into the air releasing the pokemon in front of her. Again reaching into her bag the girl pulled out another purple spray and applied it to the cactus pokemon.

"Alright I'm all set on this end." She said, her Cacnea took position several paces in front of her. Her Gible and Arcanine sat patiently behind her as if they were statues. Sakai gave an affirming nod and the battle was underway.

"Cacnea use poison sting!" barked the girl. Her Cacnea took a few paces forward and began spinning its arms in a circular motion. The barbs on the end of its arm began to glow white, before they began firing dozens of small needles toward Venonat.

"Venonat try and evade." Said Sakai trying to keep a level head. The bug pokemon somersaulted to the left avoiding many of the needles, but was still hit with from what it looked like seven poisonous darts. To Sakai's surprise his pokemon didn't even look fazed by the attack. In fact it looked as though the needles had done no damage at all.

"It seems that you don't know about the various types of pokemon Sakai. That's a shame." Said the girl her face buried in her hand. "Well let me teach you something that Venonat is a bug and poison type. It's weak against fire, flying, psychic and rock type attacks. Fortunately for you I only have two of those types of pokemon on my person. One of which you have met." Sally said gesturing to the Arcanine sitting quietly behind her. "Now the types of pokemon type moves that yours is resistant to are grass, fighting and of course bug and poison."

Sakai looked at the girl again with a rater puzzled look. He had never given pokemon that much thought before. Obviously there was more to battling and the pokedex than he had thought. Taking out his high scanning device he quickly looked up all the current information on his pokemon. "Thank you for the advice but I'm afraid telling me that was a big mistake. Let's finish this first round shall we, Vee tackle times four!" The Venonat took off in the direction of the small cactus. Jumping into the air the bug slammed its body into the foe, its barbs simply brushing against Venonat's fur. Pressed against the ground Venonat rolled off of Cacnea's body continuing the assault landing four total blows against its opponent. The final blow caused the Cacnea to roll violently into Gible causing it to flinch in pain from the Cacnea's prickly body.

"Well looks like you knocked out one pokemon, good job" Sally said cheerfully recalling her pokemon back to its ball. "Now let's see how you deal with this pokemon" The girl tossed a plain red and white pokeball into the air unveiling her next pokemon. The creature stood at roughly two feet. It had a thin purple body with a head that looked a bit big for its body. It wore what a type of brown shorts and shoes to match. Sakai still having his pokedex out scanned the mysterious creature.

*pokemonelite2000 image removed*
Tyrogue
It is famous for its eagerness to fight and always nurses injuries from challenging larger foes.​

"A fighting type?" Sakai asked himself puzzled as to what the blue haired marvel had planned. "Alright well Venonat use tackle, full force." Venonat hopped into action running across the charred dirt and rammed into the fighting type.

"I'm afraid you're not going to win with force in this battle. Your type advantage doesn't matter here." Sally said coolly, brushing her hair behind her shoulder with her hand. "Tyrogue, use counter attack now!" Tyrogue who had braced itself against Venonat's tackle with its hands launched the bug type in the air with tremendous force. "Now, high jump kick." Commanded the girl, finger outstretched toward her target. The fighting type leapt into the air after its opponent landing what looked like a crushing blow. Venonat spiraled toward the ground taking a significant amount of damage from the impact.

"No, Venonat!" screamed Sakai forcefully preventing himself to run up to the bug. His pokemon slowly stood on its feet and focused on its opponent. "Hang in there if you finish this round I'll give you a potion." The Venonat let out a happy cry and lowered its antennas yet again.

"Tyrogue end it, use high jump kick again." Obediently the Tyrogue sprinted several feet and jumped left foot extended at Venonat. Venonat stared its opponent down not budging an in.

"Venonat counter with supersonic attack." The bug's antennas rose several inches at the command before emmiting a high frequency sound wave. Tyrogue face completely changed after the sound. Its serious expression was replaced with one of complete and utter confusion. Missing its target completely, the Tyrogue crashed into a nearby rock, leaving a small imprint of itself in it. The dazed pokemon stood waddling like a drunken sailor. "Finish this, tackle attack." The Venonat took off ramming the dazed Tyrogue back into the rock crushing it into three pieces. The knocked out Tyrogue laid lifeless by Venonat's feet covered in debris.

"That makes two pokemon. You seem to be learning to battle with your head." declared the Sally, again recalling her pokemon to its respected ball. "Gible, take the stage." The small shark trotted gallantly in front of its trainer, letting out an intimidating screech once it was in battle position. "I see your using your second potion" said the girl slyly, watching the maroon haired boy spray his pokemon in several places. Both trainers now stood staring each other down seeing how would quote draw first.

"Vee use tackle." The bug pokemon headed off with its familiar attack. "Now use foresight so he doesn't get away." The Venonat's eyes began to glow a bright yellow as it ran towards it foe.

"Gible use sand attack!" ordered the girl, her hair and jacket blowing wildly from the small breeze that had past. Her blue shark pokemon kicked up a small patch of dirt which flew into Venonat's eyes causing it to veer of course and trip over a root. "Now, Gible use dragon rage!" The dragon pokemon took a deep breath and exhaled a wave a blue fire at the bug pokemon who was struggling to free its foot from the root. When the attack landed it sent Venonat careening into a tree next to Sakai.

"Venonat are you okay?" Sakai asked his pokemon who was getting on its feet after the ferocious attack. The expression on the bug pokemon's face had changed after that last attack. The normally happy pokemon seemed to be glowing with anger. "Vee try evading a few of its next attack and wait for an opening." The bug bowed as a sign of understanding and began to survey its opponent.

"You know Sakai I feel that your Venonat is pretty smart. We'll see how it fairs when it has to make decisions for itself. "Gible fight freeform, use Sandstorm." The small blue pokemon began to dance, waving its arms in a very strange manner. Shortly after the completion of the dance the dirt around the two pokemon began to spiral. The blades of grass themselves began to uproot and join what was now a tornado of sand, dirt and debris. "Do you know the best thing about this vortex is Sakai? Sally asked coyly "It's that your pokemon can't hear your call, all you can do it wait." As soon as the girl's voice faded large crashing noises could be heard from inside the sandy typhoon. "Looks like the battle started."

Inside the vortex the two pokemon stood, Gible shooting off dragon waves wildly without caution. The shark pokemon's eyes were aloof as if it in some other world. Venonat had confused it. When the spiral was generating it had fired a supersonic at its opponent. Venonat now was busy evading onslaught of blue fire that was headed toward it. After about a minute of dodging the landscape in the vortex was decimated. The tree which by now four pokemon had crashed into lay in pieces each with scorched from the blue flames. The grass which was on the ground was nonexistent leaving it barren and dry. Gible still shooting out waves of fire had just fire one directly below it. The shark looking pokemon lifted several feet from the ground after taking a decent amount of damage. At this opportunity Vee jump up and slammed its opponent with a tackle attack. The Gible flew into the wall of sand before hitting the ground. The two trainers watched from the outside of the tornado patiently for the result of the battle. In a few moments the sand storm began to subside, revealing Venonat as the victor. The ecstatic Sakai ran up to his pokemon and gave it a big hug. Having no words for his emotion he just squeezed the purple fur ball tighter.

"You've come a long way in one battle Sakai. Even your Venonat has gotten better." said the girl, still showing no emotion from the third round loss in a row. "Unfortunately the next low level pokemon I have is Arcanine and she is a little out of your league."

"We can handle it" said Sakai confidently, lifting himself off of the ground. "You said we've grown a lot, so why not see how much."

"Well if you're not going to listen to me then I'll have to end this quickly. Cindy use flame wheel!" The Arcanine still standing behind Sally began to generate a spiral flame around its body. After forming a triangular cone around the dog the flame headed toward the Venonat, who at this time was in fighting position. On impact the flame hit Venonat with a force it had never felt. The bug pokemon was pushed back several feet and laid on the ground, tiny embers still lit on its fur and the path that the flame had taken.

"Your last lesson Sakai, learn when to quit, you have what it takes to be a great trainer, but you need to learn not to push your limits too much" Said sally climbing onto the saddle of her Arcanine. The girl held out a pokeball and recalled her Gible, which was still laying on the barren patch of land. "I'm going to head for the next town. You should head to the pokemon center that's on the way there. It's a large log cabin you can't miss it, and by the look of your Venonat you should get there quickly." The female trainer then took off, her hair fluttering behind her from the speed of the dog.

Knowing he would see the trainer again Sakai didn't think twice about saying goodbye. He instead took off his running shoes and put on with roller blades. Securing all of his belongings Sakai held out Venonat's pokeball and recalled it, the red beam absorbing the bug type. With a kick in his step Sakai sped down the path and came up to the log cabin that Sally he mentioned. Without taking off his skates he opened the door and headed inside.

End chapter

 

[Wolfwhispers]

Kay11190: Great post! Venonat grew to level 10 and has learned Toxic Spikes!

 

[Royal]

Post 1 of 2

As I entered the Pokemon Center, I quickly looked around. Pokemon of all shapes and sizes including trainers inhabited the hospital and none of them seemed to be my age – most were younger than me; I was eighteen years old.

Suddenly, a pink-headed lady ran up to me, an oval-shaped Pokemon beside her. The Pokemon too was pink and it held an egg in a little sack on its stomach. "Hello, I'm Nurse Joy!" she said all too brightly. "May I take your Pokemon to be healed? I'll take your Pokemon and you can go wait in the waiting room like most of the other trainers!"

I blinked. Man, the workers here really got straight to the point… and were a little too happy to be working in a hospital that usually ran 24/7… or so it seemed.

Taking Heracross's Pokeball from my belt, I slowly put in Nurse Joy's open hands. "Here; be careful with that Pokemon." I warned her.

"No need to worry!" Nurse Joy said, smiling. Nodding slowly, I walked off to the waiting room and sat down on a large couch that could seat at least three or four people. Crossing my legs, I surveyed the room. Lots of trainers talked about strategies and none of them seemed useful. I quickly turned and zipped open my backpack and took out my sketchpad. Speaking of strategies, I needed to work on some for Heracross.

I worked on my strategies for many twenty minutes, "Jess!" I heard my name called. Looking up, Nurse Joy ran up to me and handed me Heracross's Pokeball. "Your Pokemon is fully healed! And it's quite a stubborn Pokemon too. It wouldn't let me look it over until I said, 'You'll only go back to your trainer when you cooperate.'"

I raised an eyebrow. "Uh, thanks…" I whispered.

I got up as Nurse Joy passed and headed out of the open doors. "Heracross, come out!" I called, tossing my Pokemon's Pokeball into the air. Heracross appeared with a happy, "Hera!"

Running up me, he threw his claws around my waist in a hug and smiled. "Her," Heracross purred.

"Hi Heracross," I said laughing. "Would you like to work on some strategies?"

Heracross looked up me curiously. "Hera?"

---

After an hour of intense practicing, I walked back into the Pokemon Center with Heracross at my side. I brushed my hair back and let the air-conditioning cool down my hot body. I took off my red sweatshirt to reveal a pretty, ashy tank top.

I settled down in an armchair and Heracross sat down at my feet. Looking around, I noticed Kem, but he didn't look my way. There were a few trainers at the video phones and many trainers gathering their Pokeballs from the workers.

Taking out my notepad once more, I started to sketch my grandfather and his Rhydon at his side. Though it took a while, it came out the way I wanted it.

"Hera?" I looked up and Heracross was peeking at the picture. I quickly turned it so he could see.

"This was my grandfather Heracross, and his partner Rhydon." I explained.

"Cross," Heracross said happily, his eyes sparkling. I don't think he knew I could draw. My grandfather taught me how.

"FIRE! SOMEONE HELP! THE GRASSLAND IS ON FIRE!"

Turning my head quickly, someone ran into the Pokemon Center shouting this over and over again. Running out of the Pokemon Center with Heracross at my side, I gasped. The grassland was ablaze and these weird slug Pokemon were crossing the field to where we were standing. My Pokedex rang in my pocket.

"Slugma, the Lava Pokemon. Its body is made of magma. If it doesn't keep moving, it will cool and harden." My Pokedex stated.

"Not good!" I shouted. Looking down at Heracross, I spoke, "Alright Heracross, it's time to test out those new strategies!"

"Hera!" Heracross said nodding. Jumping out into the battle scene, he lowered his claws down in an attack pose. I noticed beside me other trainers sending out their Pokemon. All seemed to be bug or grass types. Maybe they got them from Professor Leef like me.

Pointing a finger out at a passing Slugma, I yelled, "Use Fury Swipes, Heracross!" I commanded.

Quickly, Heracross ran for the Slugma and plowed into it, knocking it out of line with his claws. The Slugma was hit three times before it rolled out of the way. It quickly shot a fireball at Heracross.

"Dodge, and then use Fury Swipes again!" Heracross jumped up as the ember just missed him and flew right down at the Slugma, slashing it with its claws once again – five times. The Slugma let out a painful gurgle before collapsing before Heracross's feet.

"Alright!" I shouted.

But that wasn't the end; a silver Slugma slowly crawled into the scene and shot an Ember at Heracross.

"Dodge!" But it was too late and Heracross was hit by the ball of fire, and it was strong!

[OOC: A bit short, sorry. And a question: how to you hurt lava? o.o]

 

[Wolfwhispers]

Tristin the Xatu: Alright, Pincir grew to level 10 and learned Fury Attack!

Royal: A little short battlewise, but it's alright. Great job! Heracross grew to level 10! And as for magma, well, its a Slugma, so while its outer skin is liquid magma, the main body is hard. In the show Tackle works perfectly well.

 

[Monochrome]

Burning Migration

Damian yawned as the young pink-haired nurse handed him his two Pokemon both of which were now fully healed. "Come back real soon!" The woman smiled and pronounced as Damian walked away. Does she want my Pokemon to get hurt again? He thought to himself as he sat back on a leather couch. He started getting dizzy and his eyes just barely shut when all of a sudden a young man smashed into the Pokemon center.

"There's a fire blazing outside! Quickly everyone come and help!" The boy ran back out the door and Damian shot up from his seat. He along with everyone else in the Center ran out to see gigantic flames coming up from the flowery plain and in the distance Damian could see a small group of Pokemon squirming through. There was a group of individuals who were carrying buckets of water towards the flame stopping them momentarily before they shot back up. The only way to stop the fire would be able to stop the Pokemon in the distance.

He threw his two pokeballs up in the air. "Buzz you bring me a bucket of water and Shroom come with me!" The Mushroom and its trainer ran towards the group of migrating Pokemon and Damian pointed his pokedex into the small group.

Slugma
Its body is made of magma. If it doesn't keep moving, its body will cool and harden.

Buzz returned with a large bucket of water and dropped it in Damian's hands which he caught easily. "Go the other way!" He yelled, " Don't go near the Pokemon Center, you need to stop!" He threw some water at the ground near one of the Slugma and it became enraged as the rest continued onward it stayed behind and began shooting a barrage of red orbs at Shroom.

"Shroom use your absorb attack!" The two attacks collided and as the green orbs struck the red orbs there was an explosion that blasted both Pokemon backwards. Slugma shook its head back and forth clearing its vision once more and send a black smoke billowing into Shrooms face blinding him and causing him to start coughing. Shroom couldn't see a thing in the black smoke so it was completely helpless to the ember attack that he was struck with soon after.

"Shroom, get up!" Damian yelled and his Pokemon slowly and painfully picked its weak and now burned body up from the ground. "Good job! Now get next to that big tree right there." Shroom took a few painful steps next to large tree and began huffing deeply, the burns were taking their affect.

Slugma grinned a dark grin and once again began blasting out its ember attack towards Shroom. "Shroom, quickly to the right!" Using the last of his strength Shroom jumped away from the attack which quickly burned its way through the tree.

The tree wavered and slowly cracked falling down directly on top of Slugma knocking it out completely. "Awesome job Shrooms, you won even though you had the clear disadvanta--" He was interrupted by a boulder that came flying through the air and landed on Shrooms head knocking him out also. Damian looked in the distance to see a second Slugma, this one a different color than the one he had just fought.... It looked pissed.

​

 

[Wolfwhispers]

Summer: Interesting way to battle against the Slugma! Shroom grew to level 8 and learned False Swipe! Yanma grew to level 10! You may now battle the boss!

 

[Pikalover10]

Chapter 3, Pt. I:

Max thanked Nurse Joy, who had just healed his Pokemon. He started rapidly coughing as he began choking on part of a hamburger he had ordered from the cafeteria. He swallowed and suddenly a scream was heard from outside. Max and a few other trainers instantly dashed outside to find out what the problem was.

Max's eyes widened. It was terrible. Horrible to be exact. A fire. A fire was spread totally around the cabin. Max looked back at the Pokecenter, realizing that the cabin would be set on fire if the fire didn't stop. Max squinted his eyes at the fire as a small figure appeared. It looked like a blob of molten lava with eyes. Max took out his Pokedex and scanned it.

Species: Slugma, the lava Pokemon.
Entry: Its body is made of magma. If it doesn't keep moving, its body will cool and harden.

Max gulped. Scyther was weak to fire and he was the only Pokemon he had. Oh well, he would just have to make sure Scyther dodged the fire type attacks. Scyther nodded at Max, who understood it to be something like 'I'll be fine'.

"Ok! Scyther use Quick Attack!" Max shouted.

Scyther placed one of his mantis like feet behind his body, to give him a good push off towards the Slugma. He waited to see if the Slguma would do anything, but it didn't. Instead it just sat there watching Scyther. Scyther finally pushed off with his leg and darted towards Slugma. Slugma kept sitting there as Scyther's feet swiftly moved towards him. Scyther was right on top of him, when he let out a big cloud of purple smoke.

Scyther stopped what he was doing and tried to get out of the smoke. He was uncontrolably coughing, the smoke was choking him. Scyther got out and took in a deep breath of air. Then he jumped back in to the smoke, holding the air in his mouth. Max couldn't see anything going on, but he heard a loud cry of pain from in the smoke and in a few seconds Slugma flew out of the smoke. Scyther quickly flapped his small little wings, which blew the smoke away and that was all Scyther wanted.

"Now use Pursuit!" Max shouted.

Slugma collided with the ground, face first. He landed on his stomach and slowly stood to his feet, winded. He shook his head back and forth and then focused his sight on Scyther. Scyther stood with his legs crossed, sharpening his scythes against eachother. Scyther yawned loudly, which must have pissed the Slugma off. He took in a deep breath of air and then shot out a barage of black, smoldering hot embers.

The embers soared through the air and caught on fire. Scyther looked up, cotinuing to sharpen his scythes, and then disappeared. Max smirked slightly as the Slugma's eyes widened in confusion. Suddenly, Scyther appeared behind him and kicked him away with his foot. Slugma flew forwards and then rolled across the ground. Scyther laughed to himself and began sharpening his scythes again, but without his feet crossed.

"Use Focus Energy and then Pursuit!" Max comanded.

A huge orange force-field like things formed around Scyther. Scyther stopped sharpening his scythes and glew a bright orange color. He then reverted back to his normal shiny colors and then the force-field disappeared. Slugma quickly shot out a barage of smoldering hot, black embers. They soared through the air and caught on fire. Slugma then shot out a cloud of smoke towards Scyther. Scyther quickly flapped his tiny mantis wings, and the smoke disappeared.

He cracked his neck thinking the attack from Slugma was gone, but was then hit with a barage of embers. Scyther flew back and then landed on his feet. He glared at the Slugma evilly and then disappeared.

Slugma quickly turned around and shot out an ember, and continued to do so in different directions. Scyther stood where he was, and waited for Slugma to stop. Finally Slugma stopped and Scyther slashed at him with his scythe. The attack landed and Slugma flew in to a tree.

Slugma rolled across the ground to Max's feet, he was terribly injured. Max considered catching him, but didn't want him as a fire type. He looked away from the Slugma and backed up a few paces from it.

"Scyther use Quick Attack to end this.

Scyther dashed over to where the Slugma was lying and then kicked it in to another tree. The Slguma slammed in to the tree and slid down slowly to the ground knocked out. Max smiled and high-fived one of Scyther's scythes.

Max turned around and looked at the flames again, and suddenly a different colored Slugma crept out towards Max. It was white and grey and looked to be quit a bit stronger then the last Slugma.

END

 

[Wolfwhispers]

Pikalover10: Oooh! Great post! Scyther grew to level 11 and learned Silver Wind!

As soon as you all finish the boss, I'll post the next chapter which will have the first gym badge!

 

[The Scientist]

Chapter III: Advancing Wildfire! Part 2

As Neiteio made his way back to the Pokemon Center, he could see that most of the other Slugma had been defeated, and that the fire had calmed down somewhat. A large dragonfly-Pokemon carrying a bucket of water from the river made a low pass overhead. "So far, so good," Neiteio motivated himself. But the motivation didn't help much- the burn on his arm was more severe than the one on his chest, and he couldn't continue running without treating it. He sat on the ground and tore his left sleeve off, and with the help of his teeth, ripped the tube of fabric down the middle to make a strip of cloth. Goliath didn's seem particularly concerned, but waited patiently. He didn't have any saline to sterilize the wound, so a compress would have to do. He tied the cotton strip around the burned part of his forearm, remembering to maintain the maximum pressure possible without cutting off circulation.

Suddenly, a wave of thick black smoke rolled in, completely obscuring his vision. Already on the ground, he rolled out of the smoke and called, "Goliath! Over here!". When Goliath found his way back to his trainer, the two could immediately tell that something was wrong. The fire from the burning grass was gray-white, not black. The cause of the discrepancy soon became apparent.

"Sluuuug.... ma...."

*pokemonelite2000 image removed*

A gray Slugma emerged from the smoke. It was slightly larger than the normal, red Slugma, and Neiteio figured that it might have been a leader or matriarch of some sort. It looked angry.

"Damn slugs... don't know when to quit..." Neiteio stood up, scooping up a handful of dirt on the ascent. "Alright... Maybe if I take care of you, your ugly-ass kids'll finally get the hint." He getting ready to run over and curb-stomp the little beast, but Goliath ran over and stood between them. Apparently, he decided that Neiteio had suffered enough Embers for the day.

"PIN! PIN! PIN... SIR!" Goliath snapped his horns angrily and clawed at the ground.

"What, you want to handle this one? Fine. You're lucky I'm injured."

On the appearance of an enemy Pokemon, the gray Slugma slammed its hind end on the ground, summoning a spray of rocks to come flying at Goliath. Goliath immediately assumed his attack position, and the rocks glanced off of his forward-facing pincers.

"Rock Throw and Ember... both effective against bug-types... This is bad..."

Goliath stood up on his hind legs again, ready for his turn to attack. Neiteio remembered that the Slugma he had soaked with his canteen had turned gray... perhaps this one was cooler than it's red magma variations.

"Listen Goliath, this thing looks solid. Circle around and attack from 6!"

Neiteio correctly assumed that the Slugma would not be able to turn around quickly. Goliath was able to safely close in, swinging his horns around wildly. He hit the Slugma four times in a row before its defense mechanism activated: a wave of thick purple smoke sprayed from the pores in Slugma's body, and at such close range, Goliath was inevitably caught in the Smog. He immediately backed off, hacking and rolling on the ground like he couldn't breathe. Upon seeing his Pinsir suffering form some unknown ailment, Neiteio double-clicked the SCAN function on his PokeDex, desperate for any sort of advice.

Current Level: 10
Ability: Hyper Cutter (prevents attack reduction)
Moves: Focus Energy, Bind, Seismic Toss, Fury Attack
Status: Poisoned- Treat with Antidote or Pecha Berry

"Pecha Berry?!"

He reached into his bag and pulled out the Pecha Berry he had stashed eariler that morning. "Goliath! Eat this!" He tossed the fruit over the Slugma and it rolled toward his Pinsir. Goliath immediately reached over and picked up the Pecha Berry, finishing it in three bites. Within seconds, Goliath could stand again, the poison seeming to have worn off.

The Slugma seemd surprised that Goliath was still alive after inhaling its Smog, but that only served to increase its anger. It opened its mouth and spewed a thick curtain of the same black smoke it had introduced itself with. Then, six small darts of flame shot out from the smoke: it was using the Smokescreen to mask its movements. With no advance warning, Goliath was hit with the full force of the Ember. He rolled on the ground to put out the flames, and stood up again, waiting for Neiteio's instruction.

"Bind and Fury Attack are continuous moves... using them would mean that he'll get hit by Smog while attacking..."

He checked the PokeDex one more time before calling out, "Goliath! Start circling it!"

Although it was visibly in pain from its burn, Goliath began quickly shuffling around the Slugma, avoiding its Embers. Right as one of the Slugma's Ember attacks was finishing, Neiteio shouted, "Quick Seismic Toss!"

Goliath immediately closed in, picking up the Slugma with his horns. After swinging it around a few times, Goliath violently slammed the Slugma into the ground. Learning his lesson, Goliath hopped back as the Smog was released. Neiteio noticed that the tips of Goliath's horns were scorched from contact with the relatively cool magma. This battle couldn't go on much longer.

"Quick, while it's stunned, bury it!"

Using his horns as a shovel, Goliath quickly tore up the ground and tossed dirt on the fading cloud of purple Smog.

"Sluuug... ma...... Sllluuuuuuuuug.......... maaaaaaa..........."

The Slugma's cries became longer and more drawn out as it solidified. When Neiteio was sure that it had cooled, he ordered Goliath to do one more Bind attack. He reached into the pile of dirt and pulled out a Slugma statuette. This Slugma's rock body was actually quite tough, but Pinsir do specialize in crushing boulders with their horns. The leader Slugma's body slowly cracked and broke. On the defeat of the enemy, Goliath teetered on the tips of his hind claws, and then fell backwards, unconscious.

"Not bad."

Neiteio returned Goliath to his PokeBall and started walking back toward the Pokemon Center, hoping that they had the supplies necessary to treat human wounds as well as Pokemon. There were still a few patches of flame, and he could have sworn he saw another gray Slugma somewhere in the distance, but he had done enough for the day.

"Let someone else handle the rest."


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Neiteio woke up on a white bed. An IV with an attached saline bag was taped to his arm. The burn on his chest had been patched with gauze and tape, just as the wound on his arm. A pair of Chansey waddled around the room, checking the charts on the foot of each bed. Looking around, Neiteio saw a few other humans, but the majority of the beds were occupied by Pokemon.

On noticing that one of their patients was awake, one of the Chansey squealed and ran out of the room, returning with Nurse Joy, who was just as joyful as when she was treating injured Pokemon. "You're a lucky Trainer! Did you know smoke inhalation can kill you?! How many Slugma did you fight? I can't believe that such kind creatures would attack a Trainer!"

"This woman never shuts up..."

"Hey, Nurse, am I cleared to go?"

Nurse Joy looked down at Neiteio. "Well, your burns have been treated... but you're still weak from all that exertion..."

Neiteio swung his legs over the bed and carefully pulled the IV out of his arm. "You don't give saline for exertion, you give glucose." He eyed the Nurse carefully, expecting her to stop him. Although she did seem shocked at the correction, she instead handed him his backpack and a PokeBall.

"You should at least eat before you go. Have you seen our Cafeteria on the opposite side of the Trainer's Corner?!"

She turned on her heel and swiftly left the room, the two Chansey following her. "I hate Pokemon Centers," Neiteio thought. But he hadn't eaten anything all day, save a handful of berries, so he did in fact stop at the Cafeteria on his way out. His black shirt still bore a burn hole on the chest and was missing a sleeve, but it would have to do until he reached the next town. After three "Salisbury steaks" (which Neiteio noticed were just hamburger patties smothered in bland gravy) and assorted side dishes, he dropped two bottles of water into his backpack and quietly left the Center. The next town was in the direction that the Slugma had come from, so he began crossing the scorched field. As he walked, a light drizzle started, suppressing the strong smell of smoke left by the fires. On feeling the sudden regular movement of his Trainer's walking, Goliath's PokeBall spontaneously opened and Goliath himself appeared in the rain. Neiteio looked over at Goliath and nodded to acknowledge his presence.

The flame-hardened warriors marched onward toward their next fight.

 

[Wolfwhispers]

Tristin the Xatu: Great post! Goliath has grown to level 12!

 

[Royal]

Post 2 of 2

Heracross was knocked back by the ember of the large, silver Slugma. "Herrraaa!" my Pokemon cried as it hit the ground, its chest burnt, the purple armor charred completely black. Heracross winced as he got to his feet and then he flexed his claws once more. I could see anger on his face.

"Use Tackle, Heracross!" I shouted.

"Hera!" Heracross nodded and raced for the silver Slugma, his claws ready at his side for my next command. Then the Slugma shot an Ember at Heracross and I smiled. That was what I was waiting for!

"Do a back flip and then use Fury Swipes!" I called.

Heracross jumped up, curling his body backwards, missed by the Ember. He landed firmly on his feet then lunged at the silver Slugma.

"Slur!" it gurgled as it was knocked back by Heracross's claws. This time I wouldn't allow it to use another attack.

"Tackle!" I called. Before the Slugma got to its feet, Heracross rammed into it and sent it sliding in the dirt.

It was getting slower and slower. Turning to look at some of the other trainers, I noticed them tossing dirt on the Slugmas which was causing them to harden. I turned back and decided to do the same.

"Heracross, kick the dirt on the Slugma!" I commanded. Heracross turned to me and nodded. Using his claws and horn, he knocked up all the dirt he could get and piled it on the Slugma. It got slower and slower and finally stopped moving under the dirt.

"Pick it up and throw it!" I shouted out to Heracross. Heracross did as he was told and grabbed the hardened Slugma underneath the pile of dirt and threw it up into the air with his claws. "Now, jump and break it with Horn Attack!"

Heracross opened his bug wings and flew up fast as the statue of the Slugma fell down. Pointing his horn straight, Heracross drove it right through the statue of the Slugma. A crack was heard and the statue crumpled into a million pieces – of course I'm exaggerating.

As Heracross landed on the ground, I noticed that the migrating Slugma were already crawling away. They had probably realized that they did something wrong and were retreating before things got worse. The fire on the grassland was almost out. Maybe I should help, but my job was already done.

Noticing that Heracross was panting, I grabbed his Pokeball and raised it. "Take a rest, Heracross." I said before a red light beam shot from the Pokeball and engulfed Heracross, sealing him inside the ball.

Turning around and walking back into the Pokemon Center, I was all to glad to feel the air-conditioning of the Pokemon Center.

Nurse Joy ran up to me. "Oh, congratulations! I saw that battle!" she said. "But your Pokemon must be injured. Let me tend to it!" Holding out my Pokeball self-consciously, Nurse Joy took it and smiled. "Don't worry; your Heracross will be fine. Just a few burns but that's nothing a few medications couldn't fix!"

Sitting down in an armchair, I flipped open my sketchpad once more and started to draw another picture…

As I finished, Nurse Joy came up to me with Heracross's Pokemon. "He was a good sport this time." She said warmly. I just nodded, raising an eyebrow. Then she skipped back off to her position to tend to other people's Pokemon.

I held out Heracross's Pokeball, but continued to hold it as I call his name, "Heracross, come out." I said. The top half of the Pokeball opened and Heracross appeared after the light cleared. He seemed to look much better than after the battle with the Slugma.

"Hera," Heracross said smiling.

Raising my pad to face him, I joined my Pokemon the picture.

"Cross!" he said, shocked. The picture was of him fighting the Slugmas and I was glad he liked it so much.

(Sorry, still short)

 

[Wolfwhispers]

Royal: Great job! Good emotion and connecting! Heracross grew to level 11 and learned Pursuit!

 

[Monochrome]

Slugma

​

This Slugma had to be at least three times bigger than the one Damian had just fought and he realized that it must be their leader. Damian only had one Pokemon left and it had a double disadvantage, the enemy knew both ember and rock throw. Not only that but the Pokemon's body was made of magma so, direct strikes would be relatively out of question if Damian didn't want Buzz burning to death. "Alright Buzz stay on the defensive, don't let him get even a single hit on you!"

Buzz nodded and braced itself for any oncoming attack. The silver Slugma had grown impacient and began blasting out multiple ember attacks trying to shoot Yanma down. The ember attack were considerably larger than the ones Damian had to face from the grunt Slugma and it was only going to get worse. Once the boss Slugma realized none of its attack were connecting it changed strategies and released thick black smoke out of its mouth and blinded both Buzz and Damian.

Damian started choking down on the black fumes and knew that what was coming next from the Slugma was going to be big. All of a Damian could hear the whooshing sound of a large rock cutting through the air. "Buzz! use your quick attack and strafe towards the right!" Damian yelled before inhaling more black smoke and releasing an audible cough.

The dodge was a success but when the rock missed its original target it almost struck Damian, he could hear the air next to his head whistle as a rock sliced it in half. Close call, he thought to himself I'm going to have to be a lot more careful from now on. The Slugma was starting to get really frustrated it aimed its head upward and used ember attack, a downpour of burning orbs was nearing Damian and his Pokemon.

He knew Buzz could dodge the orbs, he was more worried about himself at this point. He looked over to his left and saw the bucket he had used to hold the water, there was still plenty left in it, he had only thrown about a third of the bucket out to frighten them. He picked the bucket up over his head and prepared to put the embers out. As the orbs fell Buzz artfully zipped around them almost dancing as he spun himself through and around the orbs.

As the orbs fell on Damian he held the bucket high above his head. mos of the orbs were doused by the water by several burned his fingertips and jeans, nothing he couldn't handle. When the spout of embers was finished Slugma huffed and puffed, the battle was really taking its toll. Buzz on the other hand was just as filled with energy as he always was flying back and forth to the left and right focused on his enemy.

"Your doing great Buzz, keep up the good work, if we can outlast that should be good enough!" Buzz made a happy little sound and got back into focus. All of a sudden Slugma just relaxed its whole body and let out a nice long yawn. To Damian's amazement Buzz slowed down little by little and the let out a long yawn as well and fell to the ground.

"Buzz? Wake up!" Damian yelled to his sleeping Pokemon but to no avail, Buzz stayed sleeping on the ground. The silver Slugma began to pick up a boulder and aim at Buzz to finish him off but Damian picked up the bucket and ran at the magma slug. He threw the cold water at him and watched as part of its skin solidified and he screamed in pain. Damian held the bucket tight and swung it as hard as he could towards the Slugma hitting it directly on the head and forcing it to drop the boulder it was holding above its head. It slumped to the ground completely unconscious and Damian sighed in relief.

He scooped the sleeping bug Pokemon up in his hand and walked all the way back to the center. He could hear the rain pouring from outside as he received his two pokeballs back once more and received the same "Hope you come back soon" from the nurse. He walked outside and took of his cap to keep it dry. He trudged through the mud and though to himself as he made his way to the next destination, At least the flowers and grass will be able to grow back now.

(Sorry about the terrible quality, I fell asleep multiple times while writing this, Damn sleep problems......)

 

[Wolfwhispers]

I love how everybody used inventive methods in this pokebattle! Very interesting!

Summer: Great post! Yanma 12 and learned Double Team!

Maple City
(2-5 posts)​

Welcome to Maple City, home of the first badge! This place is filled with -you guessed it! - Maple Trees! This town is famous for its maple syrup farming and with the help of their pokemon, they are well known. Be on the look out, though, as you may occasionally see these guys around helping out in the trees.

Name: Ledyba
Level: 8-12
Attacks: Tackle, Supersonic, Comet Punch​

You are certainly free to capture them, or get in some training before the badge. Also, there is a pokemon center and a pokemart. All houses and buildings are a light tan color that fit in perfectly with the many trees and high grasses. This is a rather peaceful city, so don't make any trouble for its inhabitants, or you may find yourself thrown out before you even battle the gym leader!​

The gym leader, much like Professor Leef, is a very young man with bright green hair. In fact, this is his very first year being a gym leader! Despite this, he is incredibly psyched and will give it his all. Good luck trainers!​

Gym Leader: Kent
Badge: The Maple Badge

Name: Bulbasaur
Level: 12
Attacks: Tackle, Growl, Leech Seed, Vine Whip, Leaf Storm​

Name: Chikorita
Level: 12
Attacks: Tackle, Growl, Razor Leaf, Poison Powder, Synthesis​

 

[Royal]

Post 1 of 3

As I looked around on my Pokedex, I noticed that Heracross learned Aerial Ace at level 13 and as I continued to look, I found out that Heracross was level 11. Only two more levels until he learned the Flying move.

I also did my research on the nearby town – which was Maple City. Their gym leader was new and had grass Pokemon. I didn't know what species, but I knew if Heracross learned Aerial Ace, we could take out this Gym Leader quickly. But again, gym leaders aren't that easy to battle.

As I arrived in Maple City with Heracross, I looked around. There were maple trees everywhere – typical for a city like this and many people were harvesting the maple off the trees. Heracross was clapping his claws at my side and was singing very happy squeals. I just laughed. I knew that Heracross loved maple and this was a city just for him!

"Hey kid!" I turned around quickly to notice an adult walking up to me. He had a short, fuzzy beard and he placed his hands on his hips. He wore a light brown zip-up jacket with no sleeves and a dark green long-sleeved shirt underneath. On his shoulder was a Mothim. My Pokedex rang in my pocket.

"Mothim, the Moth Pokemon. It does not need a nest. It flies over fields and mountains in constant search of floral honey." The Pokedex stated.

"You new here? I haven't seen your face around." The man asked.

"Yeah," I said nodding. "I just came across the grassfield with my Heracross to battle for my first gym badge."

"Ah," the man said. "Just like many others. A few of them had strong Pokemon and all seemed to be Bug Pokemon. You all get the Pokemon from the same person?"

"I… think so," I said honestly. "I got my Heracross from Professor Leef in Shirk City."

"From Professor Leef? Well then," he cleared his throat, "You must be the Miss Jess I heard about!"

"Huh?"

"I knew your grandfather."

I just blinked.

"He was a great man – strong. I knew him since he came to this city for his first badge. He was partners with his Rhydon and took down the past gym leader in less time than any of us could! Can I expect the same out of you?"

"Are you the gym leader?" I asked.

The man leaned back and laughed. "Me? No, no Jess. I'm just a trainer here." He looked down at me. "How would you like a challenge? From the looks of it, your Heracross seems pretty strong. You take me on and my Mothim."

"Uh,"

"Come on Jess!" he said, raising an eyebrow. "Can't take a challenge?"

I narrowed my eyes. "Yes! Fine!" I shouted.

The man laughed. "Alright!" he nodded to his Mothim. "Go out there." The Mothim flapped its wings and flew out to look at Heracross.

"Go Heracross," Heracross nodded and ran out to the battlefield, clicking his claws.

"Mothim, use Tackle!" the man commanded.

"Do the same!" I shouted.

The two Pokemon ran out at each other, but then I shouted out Heracross's next command. "Fury Swipes!" Heracross jumped up, raising his claws ready to slash the flying bug.

"Confusion!" Mothim's eyes began to glow and Heracross stopped in the air. I gasped and so did my Pokemon. He seemed paralyzed in the air. "Throw it!"

"Hera!" Heracross cried as an invisible force nodded him backwards against the ground. Heracross steadily got back to his feet and faced the Mothim, determined.

"U-use Horn Attack!" I shouted. Heracross nodded and spread his wings. As he flew for the Mothim, the man grinned.

"Protect," he said. The Mothim's eyes glowed once more, but Heracross didn't stop. Suddenly, Heracross collided with an invisible force field.

"Herrrraaaaaa," he said as he flew backwards a bit and shook his head achingly.

"Tackle!" The Mothim charged for Heracross.

"Fury Swipes!" I cried. Heracross looked up, but it was too late; he was knocked back by the moth.

"Do a flip, then Fury Swipes!" I shouted. Heracross quickly flipped in the air and surprises both the Mothim and his trainer. This time, the man didn't have the time to call out another time and Heracross quickly slashed at the bug. It knocked it backwards in the air.

"Tackle!" I shouted quickly. Heracross flew for the Pokemon and collided with it, only sending it slightly back. The Mothim shook his head to rid of the pain.

"Fury Swipes, once more!" I shouted. Heracross once more slashed at the bug, but it didn't end it.

"Confusion!"

"Fury Swipes!" But the Mothim stopped Heracross before he could get to it, and threw him down with an invisible force.

"H-Heracross?!" I shouted, but he didn't move.

The Mothim turned around and watched as his trainer grinned, but he wasn't ready for what was about to happen: Heracross painfully got to his feet and flew up to the Mothim.

"L-look out!" the trainer cried. But it was too late; the Mothim was struck by Heracross's horn and was sent shooting for the ground. It collided with a loud crash and we both winced. Heracross, both painfully and slowly, flew down to the ground and fell onto his knees.

The man sighed and smiled as he scooped up his Mothim in his hands. "You are strong, Jess," he said. "Stronger than I had thought. Professor Leef had chosen the right girl to carry on your grandfather's legacy. I wish you the luck in that."

I just blinked. What did he say?

"Goodbye," he said and quickly disappeared into a forest of maple trees.

Did he say 'carry on my grandfather's legacy?' Why?

Then I heard Heracross's painful panting and looked down at my partner. He was holding himself up his claws, but he was shaking, looking as if he was ready to collapse. I quickly ran to him and curled my arms around him.

"You were great, buddy." I said. He looked at me with a grin on his face. With one hand, I took Heracross's Pokeball off my belt and raised it. "You need a rest." I said as he was engulfed by the Pokeball's pink light. When he was inside, I got up and placed it on my belt. I turned around and ran off to find the nearby Pokemon center.

 

[Neiko Star]

Chapter Three: Part II

Hoppip was sent flying. It landed harshly, a few feet away from Renka. The attacker was a Slugma, but this one had silver, bubbly flesh.

Probably a Shiny. Renka gritted her teeth. Hoppip was covered with slashes and burns. It was struggling to stand up, panting hard.

"Hoppip, use Synthesis!" Renka ordered.

The Pokemon obeyed. However, this time, the move could only heal it half as much as it could last time. The new Slugma was a lot stronger than the old one.

"Now, use Confusion!" Renka commanded.

Hoppip nodded, then lifted a few rocks and threw them at the Slugma. The stones melted in its body, leaving wisps of smoke where they hit. Renka gaped. The rocks had been melted!

"All right, then," Renka muttered. "This time, Hoppip, throw that slug!"

Hoppip used Confusion once more. It lifted the Slugma into the air, then threw it with force to the ground, like it did with the previous one. As the silver Slugma crashed, Renka sighed with relief.

"Sluggg..."

Renka was startled to see the blob of silver slowly get up and reform itself. Slugma opened its mouth and fired a series of fire balls, aimed at Hoppip. The latter had no time to defend itself, and was hit directly. It squeaked, then fell to the ground, unconscious. Renka returned it to its Pokeball, growling.

Looks like I have no choice but to use Skorupi. I just hope it'll be able to defeat this guy...

Renka tossed the ball onto the grass. Skorupi popped out of it, ready for battle.

"Skorupi, use Poison Sting!" she ordered it, hoping that the Slugma would be easier to defeat if it was poisoned.

Skorupi shot out poison particles. They hit the Slugma. But when they made contact with the slug Pokemon's skin, they slowly melted down. Renka couldn't believe her eyes. Slugma's skin was so hot it could even desinegrate poison!

"Use Poison Sting again!" she decided. "It'll work if we keep on trying! Come on!"

Skorupi obeyed and shot out the stings again. This time, there were ten times more particles. They all flew into the Slugma's flesh, where they all melted within seconds. By now, Renka was on fire. Skorupi stared at its trainer, deciding whether or not it should blow out the smoke that was coming out of her ears.

"Do it again," Renka ordered through gritted teeth.

Skorupi shook its head, then repeated its attack. However, this time Slugma reacted, throwing large balls of flame, which melted the Poison Sting. The balls continued flying, aimed towards Skorupi.

"Dodge it!" Renka yelled, heart pounding.

Fortunately, Skorupi managed to throw itself down at the very last moment, only being partly scorched by the fire. But it still whimpered from the pain, and looked at its trainer pleadingly, as though asking to run away. Renka shook her head firmly.

"No way," she said sternly. "I will not lose to some stupid slug. Look, if we try hard enough, I'm sure we can beat it!"

Even though she said this, she bit her lip. Skorupi's hardly in any condition to fight. Poison Sting's not working and there's no way Bite will either. And that Slugma's strong. It's hardly even affected by all our attacks! I can only see one way of beating it...

"Jimmy!" she roared. Nearby, she heard someone jump, then fall. Immediately, she heard running, and there he was, panting, looking terribly tired but most of all terrified at Renka's expression.

"W-What?" he asked nervously.

Renka leaned over and whispered in his ears. He widened his eyes and stared at her questioningly, but left without a word. Relieved, Renka turned back to the battle. Now to hold on until then.

"Skorupi, just hang on for a while!" she yelled.

The scorpion nodded, looking exhausted, but still eager to fight. Slugma, now annoyed, opened its mouth wide and shot out not balls of fire, but an entire row of red flames. Skorupi screeched, then ducked to avoid the attack. It burnt the tip of its tail.

Renka closed her eyes. She was not used to being stressed, but she was now. "Just a bit longer," she told Skorupi.

The scorpion winced as it got back up. Burns covered its entire body, and its legs were trembling so much it was difficult for it to stand up.

Jimmy suddenly came running. "I-I got it!" he gasped. He handed something over to Renka. "S-Sorry, we didn't have any more--" Renka glared at him. Flinching, he walked away.

Renka took a deep breath. It was cheating. And she knew it. But she didn't care. She threw the object into the air. It was a bottle of orange juice.

"Skorupi, use Poison Sting on it!" she shouted.

Skorupi fired a single shot. It was too tired to do any more. But one was enough. The sting broke the bottle, splattering the juice everywhere. The Slugma was sprayed with most of it. Screeching in terror at the liquid, Renka watched as the red, lava-like flesh started to cool, and soon began turning to stone.

"Now," she said, her voice tired. "One last one."

Skorupi nodded, then flexed its claws. Instead of firing several shots, this time it charged up for one, powerful attack. Purple light began gathering at the tip of its tail, creating a gigantic stinger.

"Fire," Renka whispered.

It did. The giant Poison Sting flew, piercing its target with a shaking crunch. The stone flesh cracked. The Slugma statue crumbled, leaving only a cloud of dust. Renka stared, then sighed deeply. It was over.

OOC: Sorry if it seems a bit rushed. I really was in a rush. :(

 

[The Scientist]

Chapter IV: Sweet Syrup, Sweeter Victory! Part 1

The air was so heavy with the thick, sweet smell of raw syrup that both Neiteio and Goliath could almost taste it. The former wasn't very pleased with this, as he didn't like sweet food very much, but the sugar in the air had an intoxicating effect on Goliath, who pranced around like a Meowth on PokeNip.

"I guess he likes syrup," observed Neiteio, who was glad to have finally answered a question that had been bothering him since the moment he received the Pinsir. "I'll have to stock up on a few bottles before I leave." The concept of shopping made Neiteio painfully aware of his lack of funds. He left home with

5000 to use in case of emergency; he refused to believe that it was impossible to survive as a traveler without money. "I'll have to start betting on battles... or get a job..."

As Neiteio his pondered his finances, he didn't notice the stares that he was attracting from the sap harvesters. Although his wounds had been treated, his clothes were still scorched in various places, and the accumlation of soot didn't help his appearance much. "I need new clothes... food for Goliath... I can live off Berries if I need to..."

"Hey, you! Stop right there!" A chubby, middle-aged man in a pair of stained gray overalls was running toward Neiteio. "Whaddya think yer doin'?"

Neiteio looked up at the man, and quickly looked around to check if he had stepped on something or knocked something over. He immediately saw the source of the man's concern: Goliath was latched onto a nearby tree, and was sucking the sap out of a spout inserted by the syrup collecters. It took a moment for Neiteio to realize why exactly this was a problem.

"Well, don' jus' stand there, get 'im off!" The sap harvester was becoming increasingly frustrated... but Neiteio figured that he was scared of Goliath horns, hence why he didn't remove the beetle himself.

"Goliath! Come back here!" Neiteio called sharply. Goliath lingered for a moment, took one last draught, and dropped from the tree looking quite satisfied with himself. When he had resumed his place at Neiteio's right side, Neiteio looked at the harvester.

"Sorry about that. He hasn't eaten for a while, and he apparently likes sap."

His beloved tree out of danger, the collector suddenly looked thoughtful. "We dun' see too many Pinsir roun' 'ere," the man thought aloud. "Can that there Pinsir pick out trees that're ready to be tapped?"

"I feel a business proposition coming on..."

The harvester continued. "It's just that you can only tap a tree once, see... tap it too early, it'll get sick'n die..."

Neiteio saw that he had the upper hand here. "Syrup is Maple City's main export," he began. "To have a Pinsir on hand would not only save you some trees, but also increase your rate of production, right?"

The man processed Neiteio's sentence and responded with a non-convincing, "Exactly what I was thinkin'..."

"Good... He wants us. Now to make him desperate." "The only issue is that we're travelers. We can't stay here for long, so..."

"How 'bout this. Tomorrow mornin', the three of us go out markin' trees. We'n cover good ground in one day."

"So far so good. Now for the fun part." "That sounds reasonable, but before we agree, I'll need to know how much to expect in terms of payment."

In every business transaction, hereafter referred to as The Game, the Bluff is inevitable. Seem too cocky, and you'll lose the deal winding up with nothing. Accept their terms too quickly, and they'll think you're a fool, and you'll probably get robbed. The point of this Game is to extract as much money as possible from your Dealer without them really noticing. If they realize that they've been hustled, they won't be very happy.

The harvester plucked his beard for a moment before giving his offer: "

15,000 sounds fair."

This is where the Game gets dangerous. If you don't know much about the line of work you're being pulled into, you don't know the maximum amount you can safely ask for. The first offer is invariably crap, a test to see how smart the employee is- never take the first offer. Neiteio knew that the sap harvest was a ridiculously prosperous business. The magnitude of that prosperity, though... that he didn't know.

Neiteio raised an eyebrow. "You make that much in a day. We're saving you years' worth of work." He stopped and looked down at Goliath for emphasis. "We won't take less than

75,000." 5 times the original offer. Quite the gamble.

The harvester laughed. "Boy, ya mus' be outta yer mind! That's near a hundred grand! What's a wanderer need that kinda cash fer anyway?!"

"He didn't refuse. The offer must be reasonable." "Hey, you're a pretty smart guy. If you could have gotten a Pinsir to help with your work, something tells me you already would have. You need us, don't you?" Neiteio waited before dealing the final blow, disguised as a change of topic: "I was just wondering, are you an independent harvester? Your uniform looks different from those other guys behind us."

The real message: "You wouldn't want to lose us to a competitor!"

The two locked eyes for a while, each party trying to silently convince the other that he didn't really need the transaction, that it was just a convenience.

The harvester stretched out a hand. "My name's Dylan. We start at 5! Hahaha!" They shook.

At the end of the Game, both parties need to think they have won. In reality, one of them gets ripped off. Badly.

In a good mood from finding such help, Dylan turned and escorted the two to his cabin at the edge of the city, where he graciously allowed them to spend the night. Neiteio was more exhausted than he had first thought, and before he knew it, he was laying on a rough cot looking up at the exposed beams of the cabin. Neiteio rolled over to face Goliath, who was standing beside him. He was alert, still intoxicated from the syrupy air. "Goliath," he whispered. "I don't trust this guy. His showing up right when we needed money was a bit too convenient... Keep your guard up."

"Pin!"

 

[Monochrome]

A Bug Misunderstanding.... (Lol pun)

Damian and Buzz had been traveling together down the bath for only a short while and all around the two the trees were going from green to red and orange. Pleasant aromas filled the air and wafted under Damian's nose causing him to smile. Ahead of him Damian saw a big red sign with bold golden text. MAPLE CITY - Home of the best maple syrup in all of Lenore.

As Damian walked into the small city he took a look around, though the trees were a little more space where there wasn't trees there were plenty of tan buildings. In fact everything in this town seemed color coded, even the Pokemon seemed to fit the colors of the town. On almost every tree there seemed to be several small black and red Pokemon sucking sap from the trunk. Damian pulled out his pokedex and aimed it at the Pokemon out of curiosity.

Ledyba
It is so timid, it can't move if it isn't with a swarm of others. It conveys its feelings with scent.

A voice caught Damians attention from behind, "Hey you kid!" The voice said and Damian turned to see a brown haird boy in shorts wearing glasses and carrying two small boxes and a net.

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"So you've got to be a bug Pokemon fanatic am I right? I mean of course you are I'm being an idiot! You not only have that... odd colored Yanma with you but you're also checking out those Ledybas too!" He looked excited and gripped tight to his net. "I mean come on how could you not think bugs are the most powerful Pokemon? What do you think?" He smiled staring at him.

"There alright I guess... I mean I don't think a Pokemon's type defines whether or not its powerful..." Damian said truthfully and the boys smiled dropped into almost a terrified frown.

"Alright? Alright!!? Bug Pokemon are the most majestic creatures on the whole planet! You're no fan of bugs! In fact, your just a poser and there's nothing I hate more than posers! I'll fight you to the last breath for the honor of bugs everywhere or my name isn't Logan Gunnar!" The boy seemed to be fuming with anger and his face was completely red, he pulled out a pokeball and threw it towards the ground releasing his first Pokemon. Damian once again lifted his Pokedex.

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Paras
Mushrooms named tochukaso grow on its back. They grow along with the host PARAS.

"Paras use your slash attack on that Yanma!" The boy yelled and his pokemon pounced at Buzz slashing one of its claws downward creating a wooshing sound has he only grazed Buzz's wing. Buzz was only barely impared from the cut but it still took its affect and his flying was slowed.

"Buzz, use your quick attack to get close and use leech life!" Damian pointed out at Paras and his Pokemon sped towards Paras leaving a white trail behind him as he bit down hard on the Paras' back. As Buzz bit down his wing seemed to heal quickly and Buzz flew backwards and away from Paras.

"Grrr Paras use your stun spore!" Yelled the boy with the net in his hand. His Pokemon opened up its mandables and began releasing a golden powder up into the sky that neared Buzz.

"Buzz flap your wings quickly and send the powder back at towards Paras." Buzz followed he directions with perfection and the dust struck Paras sending his body into slight convulsions and preventing it from moving. "Paras use aromathera-"

"Buzz use quick attack finish it!" Damian interrupted the command and sent the Paras flying off into a nearby maple and falling to the ground unconscious. The bug catchers face was furious.

"Paras return!" He almost yelled, "Your turn Spinarak!" he tossed the ball and out came a small green spider, finally something that stood out besides Damian and Buzz. Once again he pulled out his trusty Pokedex.

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Spinarak
It sets a trap by spinning a web with thin but strong silk. It waits motionlessly for prey to arrive.

"Buzz start it off with quick attack!" The dragonfly zipped quickly at Spinarak striking him and leaving a white streak in his wake. Spinarak quickly recovered and climbed up the tree with incredible dexterity.

"Spinirak use your poison sting." Said the bug catcher and his spider Pokemon sent purple pins towards Buzz striking him to the ground. And causing him to hesitate while fluttering upwards. He slowly redeveloped his average speed and began floating back and fourth.

"Buzz use tackle attack!" Buzz took aim and flew at Spinarak attempting to knock him out of the tree.

"Spinarak scary face and then use spider web!" Spinarak turned and the face on its back glowed brightly and shocked Buzz, while buzz was turning away he was struck with a gigantic spiderweb that trapped him up and forced him down to the ground. "Great job Spinarak, now finish it with your constrict!"

Spinarak jumped onto the webbed dragonfly and began squeezing down on him with his eight arms until Buzz's body went completely limp. "Buzz return!" Damian yelled and he noticed that the bug catcher was still frowning now with a tear in his eye.

"Sigh I really wish it didn't have to come to that, poor innocent Yanma had to faint because you just had to pick a fight with me!" The boy seemed even more angry and Damian sighed, Seriously he thought why do all the wackos want to battle me?

Damian held Shrooms ball tight in his hand and then threw it out on the battle field."Go Shroom, lets start it off with false swipe then continue with a tackle!" Shroom put on his battle face and charged screaming at the spider and quickly stopped short and slammed into it as soon as the Spinarak stopped anticipating an attack. The as Spinirak began to recover he was struck by a tackle. Spinarak fell to the ground and his eyes began swirling.

"Not Spinarak too!!! Alright here comes my ultimate Pokemon! Go Kricketune!" Out of his ball came another Pokemon that was color coded for the environment surrounding the trainers.

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Kricketune
It signals its emotions with its melodies. Scientists are studying these melodic patterns.

"Kay Kricketune, use sing!" The Kricketune began stringing its arms as if it were playing a violin and then began singing a beautiful song. Shroom seemed to slowly become a bit drowsy from the attack and Damian picked up a nearby rock and threw it at the Pokemon bouncing it off its head. Shroom turned and gave Damian a frustrated stare.

"Get back in the game Shroom, use your tackle!" The small mushroom charged up and tackled Kricketune interrupting its beautiful melody. "Good now keep it up, use barrage tackle!"

Shroom continued slammed into Kricketune once more and then its trainer yelled, "Use Bide Kricketune!" The mustached Pokemon's body shimmered for an instant and then he fell into a defensive position an Shroom proceeded to continue hitting it. Kricketune seemed to still have been taking the same amount of damage so Damian assumed the attack must've not worked.

All of a sudden after only two more blows the Kricketune's body shined bright and he shot a gigantic white beam from its body towards Shroom knocking him back into a tree. Shroom picked itself up with only barely enough energy to stand. "Sorry Shroom, I won't make the same mistake twice, use Absorb to heal!" Shroom nodded and started taking in a steady stream of green orbs from Kricketune and recovered to about half health before he returned with a strike.

"Kricktune, use fury cutter!" The Kricketune picked up one of its blade like arms and swung it out at Shroom.

"Shroom jump and then use tackle!" Damian yelled and his now healed mushroom Pokemon jumped onto Kricetune's arm and threw itself in a full out tackle speeding into Kricketune's face knocking his head backwards. The Kricketune wavered for a second and then fell backwards knocked out cold.

The boy just returned his Pokemon silently and stared at Damian with a tear in his eye. He slowly turned around and walked away without another word. The boys reaction made Damian almost feel bad and he walked off towards the nearby Pokemon Center. He pulled out his notebook and in it wrote: What's winning worth if I don't know why I'm even fighting?
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