Things were going great, two creative ideas somehow working, and the fight already coming down to a 3 on 1 fight. There was still Hoppip, a reminder that this wasn't quite over yet. That one had no offense and could only get by on jumping into every shot and healing the pain away. The short answer was Hoppip, was quickly becoming less and less of a threat. What remained was Natu, and everything was teaming up to take it down. Nincada was all too happy to be back again at his original target. With a cold stare, he was waiting for the next order. Martin picked up on the banter Dawkin was going on about. If it worked this far, no sense to doubt his ideas now.

Martin only had to give what he was expecting to be one of the last commands before this was done. "Nincada, it's time to take Natu down. Get to the side and close off it's escape. Use Scratch when you see the shot." Nincada nodded, skittering to the side of Natu, trying to limit it's choices. While a great idea, the bird could fly. You work with what you got, and this was his best right now. Nincada was more trying to cut off any escapes or scratch the bird if it came for him. Nincada was weak to Natu, the trap was in place. All he needed was for the Natu to take the bait and get hit hard. Nincada continued to take a sort of pride fighting against a stronger opponent, an odd reaction to bad match ups.

---

'Good. At least someone took the bait...'

Ren hoped that the older boy would be their other opponent. Something about him felt different to the others, and Ren couldn't quite explain. To be fair, she was always more familiar with older or younger individuals than those of her own age. She knew how to treat kids like kids and adults like adults, but in-between was like a total mystery to her, hence the misunderstanding between Ren, Erika and Claire earlier in the day. However, Ren had little time to concern herself with such matters. She had a fight to win.

"Shyn, you ready?"

Ren was surprised when the little electric type jumped in front of her and began sparking with energy. Though it was hardly powerful, just enough to generate a bit of light and some sparks. When his little light show faded, Ren snapped her attention back to the pair before them; the type match-up wasn't too good, be it long-term or short. But alas, she had a strategy in mind already.

That was when Lucian said his piece. "Would you deal with the horsea? Houndour isn't the most effective against water types.." Ren already knew Houndour wouldn't be particularly effective against either party, however he knew as well as she that Shyn at least held some merit over Horsea. She nodded in understanding. "You heard him, Shyn. Let's take down the Horsea." Shyn acknowledged this order and took a defensive stance, leaning back on his hind legs, ready to pounce at any moment. Their opponent would likely seize a chance to pounce at her comrade should she not be an optimal distraction, and thus she opted to make the second move for her team.

"Shyn, close the gap. Flash 'em right in the eyes."

"Shyn, Shyn!" The Shinx replied with another small spark, before sprinting directly at Horsea. From their earlier mini-training, Ren guesstimated that Shyn's greatest attributes was his speed and strength. That said, she didn't want the enemy to start landing hits on the little guy, and would prioritize avoidance of blows as much as possible. If she could completely blind one of the two opposing Pokemon, she could turn the battle into two separate two-on-one battles, therefore easing the pressure on Houndour and Shyn.

Shyn took to the order immediately and bolted right for Horsea with a speed that may seem surprising to the other trainers, though as Ren had just seen Shyn's capabilities, she had an idea of when to call his moves. "Now!" The aqua-haired teen ordered, and quickly Shyn began building up electricity as he ran from the contraction of muscles, before releasing the discharge when he was close enough to Horsea. Even if it didn't blind the Pokemon, it would give them a few brief seconds to strike them from the blinding light of the flash.

@Rune_Alchemist

Sven pursued Ralia, now guided by the smell which would make dodging considerably harder, but Claire's strategy had proved fruitful, as Sven was definitely more damaged than Ralia. Ralia focused her psychic powers and directed her attacks at the incoming pig Pokémon, and the attack hit the charging Swinub.

'S-swi...!' Sven recoiled a little, but kept dashing forward towards Ralia, but... it's trail curved, the Pokémon's charge becoming something likable to the swirling of a drunken madman. 'Sw-swiiiii~!'

Sven became confused!

'SWINUB!' Sven jumped a fair bit into the air, apparently with the intention of crashing down upon his opponent after a fair bit of curving his attack-path. However, upon the brown Pokémon had jumped into the air, a fact became undeniably clear. Despite Odor Sleuth, this attack was only going to hit pavement.

'Sven.' Ewan stated his Pokémon's name when he was still mid-air, and the Swinub suddenly slightly shook his head. 'Swinub?' Sven asked, as if just waking up from what was happening right before it planted its face with an audible impact into the asphalt, Ewan's expression twitching a little from imagining the pain his Pokémon had just suffered. The Swinub stayed there for a couple of moments, like a Swinub statue rooted into the ground by his face, rear legs into the air...

It hurt itself in its confusion!

'… Swi...' Finally, Sven fell over from the position onto his back, and couldn't continue the battle. Sven had fainted. Ewan raised a lonely hand along with his blank face as if trying to help his Pokémon out, but the hand then dropped helplessly back to retrieve the Pokéball to return Sven to his Pokéball.

Sven fainted!

'You fought well.' Ewan complimented his Pokémon. Claire and Ralia were victorious. If they cheched their Pokédex, they'd find...





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@Pink Madness

Flame used Ember to free herself, which was extremely effective, the vines burning to pieces. However, it did no damage to Flabébé herself and it kept Flame in place for long enough that Flabébé could home in and do another Tackle. Directly after, Flame was able to shoot an Ember into the face of the flower fairy.

'Flaaa~' Flabébé recoiled a bit, but then smiled as happily as ever. Both Pokémon were getting damaged, however, Flame was more damaged than Flabébé. At this rate, the situation was not looking too good.

'It's working. Flabébé, use more Vine Whips! Root her in place for your Tackles. Proceed as you have!' Cathia commanded, and the fairy happily obeyed, shooting out more low-going whips to attempt attaching to Flame's legs, while homing in for another Tackle, intending on continuing the seemingly working strategy.

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@Pyromaniacwolf@Delta44

Oaken frowned as the Pokémon of the enemy were released. During the time when Lucian was encouraging Houndour to fight rather than steal watches and Ren was confirming their readiness with Shyn, the glassed green-haired boy whispered a number of words to Rodger, Champ and Horsea, Rodger smiling as he heard what Oaken was saying.

'Heh, you've got this all figured out...' Rodger commented, looking forward with a confident and maybe slightly intimidating stare.

'Naturally. I know all about their Pokémon, as I researched all Pokémon kinds I could beforehand.' Oaken replied, his eyes gazing at his opposition.

'Aren't you taking a bit of the fun out of exploring for yourself with that? Not complaining, but...' Rodger asked, turning his eyes a little at his current partner.

'Efficiency is key. I don't want to make a habit of being ineffective, ever.' Oaken told, and with that, he took a step forward. 'You know what to do.'

'That's right.' Rodger nodded.

The Horsea and Champ the Tyrogue stood ready and willing to fight. Houndour sent an Ember at Champ, while Shyn dashed forward towards Horsea to protect his comrade and to Flash at Horsea...

'FAKE OUT!' 'Bubble.' The two young men gave their commands at the same time.

'TYROGUE!' With a speed that was essentially impossible to follow with the naked eye, the Tyrogue vanished from the location where he had patiently waited to be fired an Ember at, meaning the Ember would miss its target. With a speed faster than a Quick Attack, Champ flew forward and hit its palms forward at Shyn mid-dash. It was impossible to dodge. The palms did not do much damage, but the sudden shock of their hit meant Shyn would momentarily flinch, unable to do his action, so the intended Flash did not happen this time. That, and Champ was now right next to him, the best place to be a Fighting-type Pokémon.

'Hors...!' At the same time, however, Horsea had floated forward to meet Shyn. The Horsea had inhaled before shooting out a flurry of fast-moving projectile bubbles that due to the flinching would be difficult to avoid. That, and the high special attack of the shooting water-Pokémon meant the bubbles would likely do a considerable amount of damage unless prevented, though not less than would have been done to Houndour in case of a hit. Champ, of course, jumped slightly back to not get hit by the flurry of hard bursting bubbles.

'We can't have our Pokémon be blinded. We'll focus our firepower on the Shinx, and as soon as it is out we'll move on to the Houndour. Fake-Out will have given us the first round to do extra damage, and it should be out within two more rounds. The dog will then not be able to resist us.' Oaken mercilessly declared, his strategy all planned out.

'Righto. For now, you're the boss.' Rodger smiled, excited and focused on the battle. 'It'll be fun overcoming you, later.'

'Hmpf. I dare you to try.' Oaken replied, supreme confidence abour his own victory making itself known. His eyes then looked forward at Lucian and Ren, the glare telling that the move was theirs to try to overcome this situation.

Abigail looked relieved as the Magby finally fainted. Sure, Winston had dodged the Natu so far and at least done a bit of damage, but she figured having the help wouldn't be a bad idea. Still, there were a few downsides to having her teammates' pokemon near Natu - the main one being she couldn't really afford to attack any more. If she missed, she'd risk doing serious damage to someone.

Sure, what Dawkin said made sense about watching it, but it wasn't really that worth the risk. Then again, it wasn't really her thing to sit around and let someone else take all the credit - so maybe she could compromise a little. "I don't want to hit anyone else... Um... H-hey Winston, Tail Whip again! Make sure everyone's attacks count!" she said after a moment of hesitation. While she'd love to knock it out herself, Winston had done enough damage to the bird already - if she could lower its defence again then she figured it wouldn't take many more attacks from the other two.

Still, this seemed to be going pretty good. Abigail had a massive grin on her face as Winston listened to her order. Battling really was as cool as she'd expected, this was great! It was like all her birthdays at once except without getting any older! She couldn't help but glance at Mr. Super Special Elite Four while she waited - she'd show him who deserved to get a pokemon!

@PlatinumSkink

As the battle concluded, Claire laughed loudly in excitement. Ralia jumped, throwing a fist into the air, landing on one foot and doing a little twirl. Claire scooped up Ralia in her arms, giving her a hug, which the small Ralts returned before climbing onto the redheads shoulder, deciding it made for a pretty good seat. As they celebrated, a small ding from Claire's pokedex indicated that something had happened. She reached into her pocket, pulling it out and opening it. A level, and some money huh? Well, that'd certainly be useful...not that she particularly needed more money though, heh. More importantly - Claire looked over at Ewan, giving him a bright grin and a thumbs up.

"Wow, that was fun." She had to admit, it was pretty entertaining despite not being a completely accurate judge of everyone's abilities. That would probably come when everyone was at least a little more experienced. "Not that I wasn't gonna lose to begin with, but I think ya did pretty good." She boasted, giving him a friendly wink as she walked over to him, Ralia smiling at him with a bright grin just as Claire was.

She took a look at the other battles, hoping they'd finish soon. Specifically, Erika. If she took too much longer, she had half a mind to just head for the forest herself.

@Eklispe@Pikmin Eye@Lasrever Ellyn's brows twitched at Dawkin's suggestion. It seems she was childish enough not to take that comment too well.

'… The battle continues until all Pokémon on one side has fainted.' Ellyn commented. Then she turned her attention to the battlefield. 'Bird. Peck the water-creature one more time, then fall back to your right and back to the plant.' She commanded. The Natu obeyed the command. It found itself tail-whipped, it's defense lowered further. However, the tail whip likely meant it would be able to get its Peck in unless things took an unexpected turn. With his defense lowered earlier as well as taking multiple pecks, Winston would then find himself considerably damaged and would likely fall from another Peck.

But, if the Natu had attempted to make another Peck, it would also have allowed itself to be boxed in and locked down. Ellyn was too intelligent to let that happen, so after the Peck the bird jumped high to its right, for it is difficult for two slower Pokémon to box in a bird. The Natu yet had the speed-advantage, although its defense was considerably lowered and one of its opponents was an Aron, making victory unlikely indeed, as the victory hung on merely Peck.

'Defend the bird!' Simon commanded, and #2 bounced to meet where the Natu was fleeing.

'Ooooh...' Maple stood with a fairly distressed expression, her hands raised as if trying to do something to help her team, but as Maggy lay fainted, she knew the rules of the game she had participated in.

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@Rune_Alchemist

Ewan silently watched Claire's and Ralia's little celebration, looking a little defeated but also a little more brightened up than he had looked when he had arrived. At the grin and the thumb's up, he nodded with agreement.

'It was. You used some inventive tactics, I'll need to keep such in mind in the future. Well fought.' He confirmed, a hint of a little smile on his face, before he continued. 'I'll hope to challenge you again at some point when my team has been completed.'

'…' He looked over at where Joshua was fighting Reiji, putting his hands on his hips a little. Clearly, now he also had someone which he had to wait for.

Over there where the adults were watching, Kalmia was grinning widely at the two battles which it appeared her trainers had been doing well, and also with more determination at those which had yet to be determined. Jacques stood still, smiling but otherwise nothing betraying his emotional state, as his intrusive gaze inspected each individual for themselves. He did not give any reaction to Abigail's look at him.

She looked as the Flabebe tackles the Flame. The little vulpix was already got lots of damages and was only a matter of time, when she will faint out. Even she did feel a pity toward her little starter pokemon.

Sighing she bitted her bottom lips as the Flabebe attacked her again "Flame us your Ember again" she ordered, knowing that this attack could be the last one and really hoped it could be enought effective to win this almost losed battle.

Flame looked at Flabebe, before used her ember at her again. The tackles was weakened her so that the emebr wasen't not the bestest one anymore.

@PlatinumSkink@Pirouette

With Ralia propped up on her shoulder, Cliare continued to watch the others battle for a little bit. She was honestly a little less than impressed with the results she was seeing. She had finished her fight the fastest, which meant she was obviously the best fighter here. Flawless logic, yep. She looked over to Erika. It looked like her fight was still going full swing, but for the moment it didn't entirely seem like it was going to be over soon. She had to resist telling her new friend to hurry up with it and get a move on, but she refrained and her words turned into an impatient huff.

"Hrm...waiting might take awhile." She said to herself, Ralia chiming in in obvious agreement. She folded her arms, trying to decide what to do. On one hand, she said she'd go with Erika. On the other hand, she was obviously not to keen on going into the forest even though nothing bad could possibly happen since she would be with her. Besides, bug pokemon were cool. Well, some of them. Weedle was adorable. Beedrill was 100% fabulous awesome material.

"Hrrrmmm...alright!" She stomped the ground impatiently, thrusting one fist into the air and giving a confident grin. "Hey Erika, I'ma go on ahead!" She called over to the other trainer. "I'ma drop by my home before I head out and looking on route two for a bit, so if ya catch me before I go to the forest, we can go together!~" Maybe in hindsight, it'd be better to go through route 1, but she had already decided on this course of action. She'd stop at home for a bit, let Ralia rest up - she did take a hit in that fight, plus her dad would want to meet Ralia definitely. With a quick step and a grin, Claire headed back for a brief stop at home before heading to route two.

Lucians smirk disappeared as his opponents moved, dodging Houndours attack and stunning shyn "Okay , attack the Horsea, Houndour use ember on it!" Lucian commanded, knowing full well it would not be the most effective thing to do. Houndor turned it's attention to the water-type, unleashing a stream of fire from it's mouth as it did.
Lucian turned to Ren "I'd suggest you get Shyn away from the Tyrogue before doing anything else, then help me deal with the Horsea" with that; he turned his attention back to the battle, waiting for his opponents next move, his eyes mainly on Tyrogue and where it would strike next.

---

"Now use flash!" Ren commanded with a sadistic-looking grin on her face. The electric-type didn't even hesitate as it quickly contracted and released it's muscles, creating a brilliant light. 'This should mask Houndour's ember and guarantee a hit. It might also give Shyn an edge to avoid that Tyrogue.' She concluded, sound but not without it's faults. A recall would likely be what the enemy was hoping for, but Ren already knew she was in an excellent position to change the tide of battle. She could choose how this played out.

"Type advantage means that Shyn can hold off against Horsea longer than you'd think. Even if we got it out of the way, however, our Pokemon would be knocked senseless from them both, the horse blasting you once you were in prime position and the fighter destroying Shyn's low defence. Therefore the only logical solution is to split this fight up a bit, at least for now. I can deal with a seahorse - if you can burn the punching bag, that'd be great."

Ren's strategy was simple: Shyn could take more hits from Horsea rather than Tyrogue. She predicted that Tyrogue and Horsea were attempting to lure them in to target a single Pokemon, so that the other could annihilate either Shyn or Houndour, depending on who was targeted. Either way, Ren and Lucian would be left at a disadvantage. Therefore, by splitting up the trainers and making the battles more singular, they could both deal more damage based on statistical analysis, typing, and even status affects. Houndour would be given a small advantage against Tyrogue due to Intimidate's effect and burning. Shyn would then have an advantage against Horsea due to type match-up, though would require Houndour for support, as Tyrogue would likely assist Horsea.

And of course, Ren had an idea which could exponentially increase their odds, though it may not be liked by any of the trainers present. Either way, this would be an experienced battle.

@PlatinumSkink

Claire's stop at home took barely ten minutes. In her usual fashion of trying to do everything at once, she barely took the time to say hi when she arrived. She showed Ralia to her dad, said goodbye to his Hawlucha and Medicham one last time and gave Ralia a brief tour of her room and then left. She honestly had hoped Erika would be able to keep up with her, but that was absurd wasn't it? Most people tended not to be able to keep up with her...of course it wouldn't particularly be any different. Well, it was the same old same old then. Claire left the apartment building, making a light jog towards Route 2. Ralia was sitting on her shoulder, arms wrapped lightly around her neck for stability so she wouldn't fall off.

Within minutes, she had arrived at the edge of Pureplain. She stood at the edge of the city and looking over the route. This was it, wasn't it? She was finally going to be able to go on a pokemon journey. Granted, she wasn't all that interested in doing the collection thing the professor wanted - she was more into battles and contests. She'd need some good teammates for both of those though, and she already had one...so catching a few more would be a must. The infested woods would definitely have something she liked...a bug type of some sort perhaps, or a grass type maybe.

"Argh!" She shouted, rather comically throwing her arms to the sky. "Alright, let's go Ralia! I'm not gonna wait around here for those other slowpokes!" With a quick pace, she took her first step out onto Route 2, quickly heading for the infested woods. She wished nothing would get in her way, but she'd just deal with it if it did.

"Huh...maybe I should get a bike."

@Pink Madness Flame sent her ember at the Flabébé, and the fireball impacted, sending the flower fairy spinning with a bit of a noise as little burn-marks appeared over the Pokémon. However, it wasn't enough. While Flabébé was highly damaged now, she wasn't out, and despite the damages she smiled happily and soared in for one more tackle. Unable to avoid it after all she had been through, Flame would be hit, and it became too much for the young Vulpix. Flame fainted.

In reaction to this, the tenseness which had been all over Cathia's expression drained, and she breathed out. 'I... I won.' She said, her expression and tone signifying relief above all else. 'Would you look at that. I haven't lost yet, maybe I can do this after all...' She looked up at her Pokémon, daring to gain a little smile. 'Thank you, Flabébé, for fighting with me.'

'Flaaa~' The flying fairy-Pokémon clutching her flower, covered in burn-marks, smiled damaged yet still enthusiastic back at her trainer before Cathia directed her Pokéball at her and retrieved her back into the Pokéball. She then looked towards Donna, her expression now blank as she looked a little unsure what to say, but finally settled for giving a little bow. [color=b2dced]'Thank you, for being my opponent.'

Kalmia hurried over, seeing one of her trainers had ended up in a spot of trouble, and then smiled comfortingly at Donna. 'Don't worry about it~ You'll do better in time! Here, let me heal up Flame for you.' She said, and started pulling some items from her backpack to do her work, a revive and some potions.

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@Lasrever@Eklispe@Pikmin Eye The battle continued, Ellyn's bird attempted using #2 as a continued shield to Leer down the defense of the opponents from behind. However, turns out, Hoppips don't make good shields. Assuming Winston would continue to Water Gun, one would hit the almost weight-less Pokémon and send her flying down the street waaaaay out from where the battle was supposed to take place, leaving Simon dashing away after his Pokémon and leaving Ellyn alone with a twitching eyebrow. After that, the Natu would soon be taken down, as it was forced to attempt attacking while dodging Water Guns but its own defense had been lowered by Tail Whips, so it was unable to do damage without considerable damage in return. It couldn't fight three Pokémon at once.

'... Tsk.' Ellyn made an annoyed sound as the Natu finally fainted, and she retrieved her Pokémon to her Pokéball. She looked quite a bit irked. Well, it was likely better than the dispirited atmosphere that she had arrived with.

'Aaah, I'm sorry I wasn't much help...' Maple apologized to her, looking a bit more insecure about herself due to her loss. 'Y-you guys are really good...!' She dared, giving a smile to her opponents.

'DON'T FRET! THE HERO OF THIS BATTLE IS BACK!' Simon announced as he came running back, Hoppip in hand, his expression shining as he was on the way back. 'Eh?' He then made a noise as he saw the current state of the battlefield. 'It's, uh, over?'

'Pip!' #2 made a noise in his hands, though she could not do any further on this battlefield.



_______________

@pyromaniacwolf@Delta44 Shyn flashed again, and this time Fake Out could not stop it. Horsea was caught in the flash, and couldn't maneuver out of the way to avoid being hit by the Ember. However, fire against water, the fireball was not very effective and after the flash Horsea could look forward again with determination, accuracy lowered but still very much in the game, only having been dealt a little bit of damage.

Tyrogue was also subjected to the Flash, but it should be noted that the move affects allied Pokémon as well as opposing, so unless Houndour specifically covered his eyes for some reason, he would be affected as well.

'Horsea.' Oaken commanded. 'Approach the enemy Shinx and then Bubble at Houndour. Keep him on guard.' The Horsea quickly complied, swimming rapidly towards Shyn.

'Champ, use Tackle!' Rodger pointed forward, the older boy smiling in enjoyment of being able to give his own commands like this.

'Tyrogue!' Upon the command, the Tyrogue dashed after Shyn from the other direction. This setup caused Tyrogue, while slightly slower than Shyn, to be in a position where he'd definitely catch up if Shyn attacked Horsea, due to Horsea's sudden notable proximity to Shyn. At the same time, Horsea spun to shoot fast bubbles in the general direction of Houndour, though the flash was causing them to be slightly inaccurate, easier to dodge. Regardless, they were making it more difficult to potentially aim or attack if Houndour didn't want to risk being considerably damaged by the super-effective shots.

_______________

@Rune_Alchemist Before she left, Claire would receive a thumbs-up and a grin from Kalmia, who was happy to see one of her trainers victorious. 'Well done, Claire! One down, a world to go!' She laughed a bit. Jacques inspected her as well, though did not come with a comment.

'Now, before you go, have a few of these!' Kalmia just had to ensure to provide a few of the essentials before Claire was on her way.


... Assuming she, like, didn't reject them or something.

Later moving east from Pureplain City, Claire would find that the amount of houses quickly thinned out as she headed for the less popular direction to exit the town from. The streets lost their polish and the nature lost its shine. Soon, it wasn't apparent that this was a route at all. What remained was a simple yet maintained gravel road for travelers to traverse should they desire this pathway towards Lakewatch Town. Once here, there was a prevalent feature which Route 2 was known for. The sheer moisture.



The nearby lake flowed in on this area, leading to wetness breaking through the ground. The wetness of it would make itself known to any who stepped into the wild plant-life lingering around the traversable road as well to any nearby nose as it rose up into the air. The water bolstered the nearby plants, and many smaller rivers ran under wooden bridges that the road kept going over. These rivers flowed into the nearby woods, fueling them with resources to grow ever tighter and ever larger. Those are the nearby Infested Woods, and venturing to them requires simply stepping off the road in the direction the trees stand the tightest.

The route is not empty. While nothing compared to the amount of people running back and forth daily across Route 1, the road of Route 2 still sees traffic. Maybe just people appreciating the calm going for walks, fishermen and other workers of nature, or trainers hunting for Pokémon. A little here and there stood wooden shacks or smaller buildings of those who wanted to live in a little more solitude. In the wet grass beside the road, there appears to be two youngsters engaged in an intense battle, between a Weedle and a Goldeen.

On the left side was wet grass and the lake, along with several huts for fishermen. On the right was the forests, growing tighter the deeper one went. On the front was rivers and bridges over them, as well as the path towards the cliffs housing the Wet Caverns and the passage to Lakewatch Town. To the open eyes, there were multiple Pidgeys to be seen flying around, but to see any less obvious Pokémon, delving into the terrain would become a must.

Chose your actions. Here's a few suggestions.

1. Find Pokémon. Can be specified what kind of Pokémon is being searched for, and how you search.
2. Train Pokémon. With this command, we can jump ahead in time and skip posting about grinding.
3. Seek trainers. There should be some here and there. Note, some may challenge you instead.
4. Hurry along. Avoids further confrontations and try to get safely to the next destination.
5. Specify. If you specify what you want to do, the GM will take it into account and tell the result.
6. Trigger random event. Force the GM to use his imagination to make a scenario for you.
7. Area Specific: Fishermen Huts. See what the fishermen over there's got going.

❄Erika Olson❄

---

Erika watched events unfold with wide-eyed shock, stunned that Vivia was secretly savage underneath that cute little lab assistant routine. It was such a bewildering spectacle that Erika hadn't even noticed that Claire had finished her fight, walked over and said she was moving on. Erika snapped to, just in time to see Claire walking away to which Erika hollered to her friend, "Okay Claire! I'll catch up when I can!", waving briefly before bringing her attention back to Vivia.

Admittingly, Erika felt a bit timid after just watching Vivia punt a Rotom-possessed washing machine across some buildings. "R-right. Oh-okay then!" Erika replied to Vivia's earnest request, feeling a bit shaken still, but she was starting to feel encouraged as she heard her mother's voice instructing her from within her head. First thing mother had always said is immediately pay attention to what Pokemon her opponent is using and the corresponding type. It was paramount to find an exploitable weakness in a fight and thankfully, Pokemon typing had made that search essentially elementary.

Erika's eyes dropped from Vivia to her Venonat. This one was easy, Bug-typing for sure, which meant that Sno had the advantage here. Especially considering... "Alright Sno, let's do this. Powder snow, quick!". An Ice-type is the perfect counter to a Bug-type.

Sno was quick to respond to Erika's command and leapt up, unnecessarily, to release a flurry of snow from it's sort of coat it had.

Dawkin let out a pleased, even somewhat cruel smile, as the battle finished exactly as it should've. Victory without a single loss of their own pokemon. A good start to his journey. "Your compliment is appreciated. Your side also fought respectably given the circumstances." It was certainly impressive that Simon had come to such a quick use for such a useless Pokemon and his team had fought well enough give that, but in the end the handicap and Dawkin's own skill was too much for them to overcome. "Good job to you two as well." Aron said to his team mates and then crouched down to scratch Aron's rocky head. "Nicely done small guy, you certainly pulled your weight." he said, grinning at his own joke. "I can't let you eat Kalmia's computers but I'll make sure to get a treat for you soon, you need a name too don't you? I think Atlas sounds good don't you?"

Aron looked disappointed that he didn't get a treat right away but perked up at the sound of a name. A moment was spent with his head tilted in consideration before he nodded his over-sized head and putted Dawkin's hand to indicate his pleasure. Dawkin revealed a much more friendly smile for half a moment before returning to a more stoic expression. "I thought it seemed appropiate, well we'd be best going then." Dawkin said and returned Aro- Atlas to his pokeball. He then turned to Kalmia "Well that takes care of that, anything else before I get started Professor?"

Her heart almost stopped beating when the Flame finally fainted, even thought she knowed that she could do so, but still it little bit frightened her. The battle was her first anyways. Running to her little Vulpix she crouched over her and taked her into her arms " Flame, don't be sorry, you did just fine " she said to the little pokemon, seeing how she looked at her like saying she was sorry.

As the proffessor Kalmia come over to them, giving some healing potions to Flame. She turned toward the trainer girl and her Flabebe, looking at her little blank at first, but then smilled " You're great trainer...thank you for battling me " she said to Cathia.

Bowing to the girl she glanced back at Kalmia and Flame. Waiting if she could heal her pokemon, so she could continued her journal to Route 2 and get some new pokemons in the way.

"We won? We won!"Abigail looked at the field for a moment before her face split into a wide grin and she rushed forward, picking her Wooper up into her arms, and spinning around, looking as much like an excited puppy as it was possible for a person to look. "We did it! Go team! We're the best!" After a little more of that, Abigail realised she was maybe being a bit rude. She couldn't just ignore the other team, that was mean.

"Oh, uh, you guys did good too! Just not as good as us, but still good!" It was quickly becoming apparent that Abigail had all the social delicacy and etiquette of... Well, of something with very little of it to spare. As she let one hand go in order to give them a thumbs up, she lost her balance and basically faceplanted. Winston just looked slightly confused at what was going on. He gave his trainer a look that conveyed a lot of disappointment for something with what seemed like only one facial expression. "...Woop? Woop."

Nodding sagely, Abigail appeared to think for a good few seconds at this. Of course, how hadn't she realised it before? "You're right. We've got a journey to get on with. Professor, can we go now?" Standing up, she brushed the dust off of her clothes, looking at Kalmia. They'd won, so it seemed like it was right for her to get going soon. Heroes didn't get left behind in the dirt! They went ahead, and beat bad guys and did hero-y stuff!

Of course, an observer would notice that Abigail's manner had shifted a huge amount after the battle had finished - it seemed that the girl's intelligence was definitely something very much focused in one area. And that otherwise, the girl could charitably be called a little bit scatterbrained. It wasn't that she was stupid, just that she didn't focus on anything for more than a split second and had no filter between her brain and her mouth.

The fight was finally over, and in the best possible outcome. Not one of his team's Pokemon fainted. It was at this point Martin realized he didn't have the advantage on one single Pokemon in this fight. He got a bit carried away, still it worked out. Nincada was overjoyed at winning, jumping a small distance in the air in celebration. Dawkin was already letting out a small hoot and congratulating both sides on the fight. Martin turned towards Simon, who was dissapointed that it was over despite him still having a Pokemon who could... It probably was for the best to let the fight end before it was a one sided fight. Martin gave a smile and a thumbs up to Simon. "I thought you were trying to be the best, Simon. You'll have to do more work if you want to accomplish that. Not a bad idea being a wall in the fight."

Martin then took a few steps back to talk with the others, "That was the perfect way to start a journey. The combos, the action, the teamwork on both sides. It's a shame team battles aren't that common. I'll take that one for what it's worth, though. Alright Nincada, good work out here." Martin walked over to his Pokemon and patted his head. The hat was a little worn, but that can be replaced. He pulled out his Pokedex to look at it since it gave a notification earlier. 1000 Pokedollars, not bad for a fight. "Hey Kalmia, was there anything else we needed to stick around for, or can I just head off? The Infested Woods are calling out for me to find Nincada a new friend."

It might be a bit rude to want to head out early, but he was ready for this. The woods shouldn't be too much of a problem for someone who hikes often, especially one who came all the way here on foot. He considered calling back Nincada, but the Woods would likely be fine, being overgrown with trees and shade. It sounded like a lot of trainers here wanted to go to the same destination as well. So much for people playing it safe. Route 1 was his backup plan if for some reason he couldn't get through the Infested Woods. Charge forward into the unknown, but always have a back up plan. It took self control to stop Martin from jumping in the air and giving a cheer, he already messed up earlier.

@Pirouette

Vivia focused with determination as she looked at Erika and the opposing Snorunt, taking out her own Pokédex and glancing between it, Venonat and Sno.

‘Oooh, you can do that?’ She asked her Pokémon as she saw Sno jump in order to shoot out her stream of snow.

‘Alright, Venonat! Use Dis… a…’ Vivia suddenly paused, her lips faltering as she just looked and did nothing as Venonat stood and was pelted with snowy attacks.

‘I can’t use Disable! That’s likely her only attack! That’d be so unfair!’ Vivia suddenly announced, frowning, looking completely seriously at Erika.

‘Venonat! Foresight!’ She commanded.

‘Ven!’ The purple bug, somewhat damaged after the stream of snow had impacted but still in the fight, let its large red eyes glow somewhat as it ensured that it had the position of the enemy thoroughly recorded. Vivia went ahead and then pointed forward at Sno with full determination.

‘Now! Supersonic!’ She ordered, full Pokémon-trainer mode and Venonat was already charging.

Given that this was two moves when she likely had time to do one, this gave Erika and Sno time to act before Supersonic would actually come. Though, with Foresight used, one could assume what effect might be on the coming move.

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@Pink Madness

Cathia nodded to Donna, the gratitude of being the other girl’s opponent the last acknowledgement Cathia gave before she entirely intended on leaving the location, wandering off on her own. She was stopped by Jacques, who walked into her way to stop her for a small conversation, too far away for Donna to listen in to.

Kalmia did her part healing Donna’s Pokémon, before handing over numerous Pokéballs for her.

Donna obtained 5 Pokéballs!

‘There you go. Yupp, now you’re all set! If you ever have any questions, feel free to call me or any of the other trainers via the Pokédex and we’ll talk about it! If you're feeling lonely, feel free to meet up with any of them, too! Regardless of how you want to go about your journey, good luck!’ Kalmia said, eagerly, rising to her feet and giving Donna a playful salute.

__________________________

@Eklispe @Lasrever @Pikmin Eye

‘Ooooh...’ Maple sounded out at Dawkin’s reply, and then quickly hurried over to tend to Maggy’s injuries. Confirming that it was just regular non-threatening Pokémon fainting after a battle, Maple sighed in a mixture of relief and sadness at losing before returning her Pokémon to her Pokéball.

‘Khk!’ Simon recoiled as Martin said his words. His hands waved in directions and his expression changed to one of gritting frustration. Of course, he couldn’t defend himself. He hadn’t been given the best tools, but the best would still have won...! He eventually settled for pointing towards the sky in a dramatic gesture. ‘You have not heard the last of Simon! For I WILL become the very best, like no-one ever was! A minor setback like this will not hold me back from my future! ONWARDS!’ He spun and ran, leaving his team-members behind.

‘...’ No words had been spoken to Ellyn, as such she kept quiet after the loss, though her eyes were clearly not entirely happy about this. She was avoiding looking at the victors, ESPECIALLY the one that had suggested she surrender upon the loss. Maple eventually approached her, tilting her head while looking at Ellyn curiously.

‘Huh. So you ARE invested, despite what you told me.’ Maple commented in an “I see” kind of tone.

‘...’ Ellyn made no attempt to defend herself, the girl feeling an emotion that she herself felt was new. It hadn’t particularly mattered to her if she won or not, but then a specific someone’s words had agitated her, and then she had become invested, resulting in her current state of emotions…

‘Don’t worry! We’ll bounce right back!’ Maple told Ellyn happily, grinning and locking an arm with the disgruntled girl, looking about ready to pull off unless called out to.

‘Well done!’ Kalmia said, approaching the three of them after their victory. She aimed a look over at Jacques, as the score currently held 4-1 in Kalmia’s trainer’s favor, but Jacques looked as unperturbed as ever and was engaging Cathia in a distant conversation that was currently too far away to hear. Kalmia shrugged and went on to hand over each of the three their own sets of Pokéballs.

Abigail obtained 5 Pokéballs!
Martin obtained 5 Pokéballs!
Dawkin obtained 5 Pokéballs!

‘That’d be all! You’re free to head out, now!’ Kalmia informed happily, answering the questions of all three of them in one go. ‘Infested Woods, huh? That brings back memories. Teh-heh, good luck~!’ Kalmia smirked in Martin’s direction, before turning back to all three. ‘If you have any questions, I’m just a button-press away, and so is any of the other trainers who’ve been given the same Pokédex! Otherwise, that’s all! Good luck with your quests, you have my permission to totally turn the world on its head!’ Kalmia grinned with her statement, looking at the three.

@Rune_Alchemist

Claire made her way along the road, as quickly as her legs could carry her. While the amount of people on the road was fewer than those who’d be on Route 1, there were still a fair amount of new trainers and other boring travelers that she blew past too quickly for any of them to even consider that she was a trainer they could possibly engage in battle with. Completely ignoring the vegetation of the surrounding area, she spun to face the woods, and then descended into them. There, a strange glow could be confirmed as coming from within the woods. And…

Dawkin wondered if he should feel bad. Ellyn seemed rather put off by the lost. But Simon and Maple had taken it well enough so he wrote it off to her being a poor sport. He stashed away the Pokeballs Kalmia gave him and said, "Thank you professor. I'd best get to work on that story." he said with a satisfied smile and turned, striding into the infested woods without so much as a backward glance. It was time to prove himself in the eyes of everyone, one step at a time, and it all started with the Infested Woods. Dawkin looked around the woods as he entered, surprised by how beautiful they were for someplace called the 'infested woods'. Full of bugs, trainers, and wildlife light up various sources of light. Was this supposed to be more difficult then the other route? This seemed like a more friendly route than anything else. It brought a small frown to Dawkin's face. It looked to be hardly a challenge at all. Dawkin looked at the path that led through the woods to the wet caverns. Hmph. Dawkin turned away from the path, going deeper into the woods with a determined expression. "Alright Atlas, let's find out what's so special about these woods." Surely he would find something that merited the warning label the professor had given them. If nothing else there were supposed to be more rare Pokemon here than route 1, perhaps he'd find one of those further in the woods away from the mass of trainers and more common Pokemon.

Actions: Area Specific: Delve Deeper. What might await in the deeper regions of the woods…?