"Look out!" Vivian yells as the latch on the cage pops open and the skuntank immediately bursts the door open with a tackle. The two fluffy blobs that were her children remained behind, and without her smothering them the girls could see clearly that they didn't look to well.
"She's not gonna relax, you have to beat her for her own good!" Vivian calls from a distance."You can do it together, I know you can!"
(Skuntank battle! -lvl 10 )
Chapter One: Broken flowers
Poachers have attacked the Vaud's botanical flower garden, following tire tracks from the scene of the crime has led to an angry mother Skuntank, a battle is now on!.
Azerus grit his teeth, there were four pawniard's surrounding them and the bisharp over watching. Azerus knew his Pokemon were getting stronger but they were still fatigued and injured from previous battles. This didn't look good.
A pawniard lunged at Azerus from behind. Trying to blindsight him. He would have been hit too if it were not for roggenrola intercepting the attack with his hard body. As Azerus turned around to see what he had unwearyingly avoided, two more took the advantage and jumped at him. Rhyhorn let out a roar as he head butted one and put his body in the way of another. It clung to scratching up his side. Zubat didn't wait or hesitate, he saw what was going on and quickly swooped the remaining pawniard as it further circled Azerus. All the attacks were aimed at Azerus. Wide eyed he realised this and turned to eye the bisharp.
Ella backed away just in time as the Skuntank nearly barrelled into her. "It's ok, it's ok!" she tried to reassure the enraged Pokemon, but the Skuntank wouldn't calm down, and now that Ella had a clear view of the two blobs of fluff, she knew exactly why. Both of them were in a bad way, curled up and shuddering, letting out weak cries.
Vivian was right. There was only one thing to do. "Treasure! This is the only way to help her!" she cried, sending out the rubbish bag Pokemon. "Use Take Down!"
Treasure flung herself at the Skuntank, slamming into her. All the attack seemed to do was infuriate her further. Growling, the skunk Pokemon lashed out with her claws. With a cry, the Trubbish stumbled back. Fluff and sludge leaked from a gash under her ear.
Ella stared, ribs clenching, at the scene unfolding before her. "Hang in there!" she yelled. Her worried gaze darted towards Leisy. She was the one with the most Pokemon, she'd be able to help... she had to be able to help...
There was one more thing Ella could do. No, no, she couldn't. Her hand rested against a Pokeball in a pocket on her dress, but she couldn't bring herself to send her newest Pokemon into a fight, not in his current state. Not unless she had to.
There was no doubt about it now. The shadow was definitely approaching, and fast. “Run, Turris!” Shanae shouted, preparing to take off herself before hastily retrieving the steel-type’s Pokeball and returning him. She spat a curse just as a Sharpedo’s gaping jaw snapped forth from the water before which Shanae had previously been crouching in front of.
“Oh my—” Shanae said, taking off across the ice. Her snowboots did as advertised—paid damn good money for them, so they’d better work—allowing her to make her way across the ice back towards the rock-based cavern from which she’d emerged.
However, Shanae had failed to account for the fact that Sharpedo were multitudes faster underwater than a human over ice, and she found herself reeling to a stop as heavy thuds cut her off from the mainland. Ice cracked beneath Shanae’s feet, causing her to sprawl backwards in an effort not to fall off as the chunk of ice she was on split from the rest and drifted towards the middle of small lake. Small, but infinitely deep, Shanae reminded herself, eyes darting around as she took everything into account. The Sharpedo, the freezing water, her Pokemon, her distance from the coast—
Oh my god, she thought, heart clenching in fear for a moment, am I going to die?
"It was my decision to interfere, they shouldn't have to suffer for my choices." Azerus angrily yelled at the bisharp who continued to stare coldly at him. Fear caused his arm to tremble but Azerus knew what he had to do. He raised his pokeballs as he looked around. His Pokemon were putting up a good fight but they couldn't hold out much longer. The pawniard's were only playing with them as they kept cutting away, slowly torturing their prey. "Thankyou." he whispers as he zaps them back into their pokeball one by one. "You did good but we can't win this..."
Now with no Pokemon to protect him Azerus stood before the pawniard's on his own as he locked his gaze with the bisharp and awaited his punishment. Then something strange happened, the pokeballs on his belt began furiously wobble about. With a bright red flash all four of his Pokemon appeared before him, with spheal leading the group. Beaten and battered they stared down their opponent refusing to give up. Spheal spoke for some time, the cavern echoing the emotion and determination in its voice.
Finally the bisharp turned and walked out of the cavern disappearing into the darkness beyond the pokedex light. Three of the four pawniards followed. One remained. It knelt before spheal and the others as it touched its head to the floor.
Azerus was still reeling from the abundance of emotion their display had riled within him. Shaken he pulls out a pokeball before looking to the brave spheal and asking. "Does he want to come with us? Is that what this is? Should I..?" he says while gesturing towards the sharp blade pokemon with the pokeball. Spheal nodded and pawniard looked up, Azerus tapped the ball to his awaiting outstretched blade and the pokemon vanished in a flash.
Azerus thanked his Pokemon, they refused to leave his side until he had exited the cavern. Once they were safe in their pokeballs he let out the tears he was hiding. It had been a long overwhelming day and he just looked forward to finding a rest stop.
Leisy let out a short, high-pitched shriek as the Skuntank came hurtling out of the cage, heading straight for Ella. “Watch out!” she called to her friend, relieved to see her friend whip out her Pokeball.
Right, Leisy thought, letting out a quick breath of air and reaching into her bag for her own Pokemon, time to battle. But… Leisy blanched, hand wavering over the three Pokeballs still in her bag as Ella led Treasure through the battle with the skunk Pokemon, who do I call out? Bidein was the first choice as he was already out and ready for battle, but the tiny robin looked like no match for the raging Skuntank, fur fluffed and maw gaping with readied snarls.
As Leisy worried, Treasure was losing the battle against the Skuntank — a realization that shocked Leisy out of her thoughts. “Treasure!” Leisy shouted, eyes wide as she saw the Trubbish go down, a gash running along one side that — while not life-threatening — seemed like a close brush with death to Leisy. Her hands quivered as she withdrew Devinco’s Pokeball, popping it open.
“Go, Devi!” Leisy shouted, but her voice fell oddly flat. Glancing at his trainer, the Larvitar scowled at his trainer. Get your act together! he seemed to be saying as he whirled back around to his opponent. With a leer, Devinco captured the agitated Skuntank’s attention and proceeded to distract it as Leisy scanned the Poke with her Pokedex, her terror quelched down by sense and urgency.
Skuntank, Poison- Dark-dual type, female, level ten, Leisy read to herself, stumbling over the Pokemon’s level.
Poke Corp had reclassified levels a while ago as part of its simplification campaign that aimed to make the process and act of being a trainer easier to understand. As consumables had become more effective and cheap, they decided to lessen the numbers so that a single digit was now half or even a third of what it used to stand for. Levels, health points — they all decreased and became simplified as a result of this campaign. And no one really protested. After all, the essential facts were still there: train hard, catch Pokemon, become great.
Though Leisy had never really read up on the history of the Poke Corp, she knew that a Pokemon in its basic stage would evolve once it reached level ten. That the Skuntank was already level ten meant that it had evolved naturally — that it had somehow scavenged enough experience in the wild to evolve all on its own. That, Leisy knew, was no easy task, and it meant that the Dark Pokemon was strong — much stronger than any of her Pokemon.
“Larrr,” Devinco growled to his trainer, dancing out of the Skuntank’s reach after barely grazing the beast with a well-timed bite. He continued to assualt the enemy Pokemon with Chip Away, attempting to wear down the Pokemon. Meeting the Larvitar’s eyes, Leisy set aside her doubts and made up her mind.
“Devinco! Distract it with a Screech!” Leisy called to her Pokemon as she sprinted to Vivian’s side. Bidein dropped down from his perch on a nearby branch, settling onto his trainer’s shoulder with an agitated chirp. “I’ll put you in in a moment,” Leisy told the Fletchling, barely sparing a second to stroke his head before she turned to her friend. “Vivian, your Flabebe is a Fairy-type, right?” Leisy asked, mind skipping to the Pokedex entry she’d read the previous day. “Fairy-types are effective against Dark-types. Your Flabebe is probably our best bet against the Skuntank right now. Plant-types have a weakness to Poison, so I’ll use Naunet and Bidein to distract the Skuntank as your Pokemon prepares to attack.”
Looking back to the battle, Leisy realized that Devinco was losing steam fast against the Skuntank’s large, raking arcs. “Bidein, Agility over and try to land a Quick Attack, okay?” Leisy asked her Pokemon, but the Fletchling was off her shoulder and zooming over before she could finish. A small grin on her face, Leisy glanced toward Vivian quickly, checking to see if she was fine with the plan before shouting further instructions to her Pokemon.
Shanae stumbled into the local village, dazed. The innkeeper and her son dashed over, concern etched all over their faces as they helped the woman to a stool near the roaring fireplace. “You okay, dear?” the lady asked, frowning as she waved her boy off to get the stranger a towel. “They shouldn’ let just anyone go up there, ‘specially alone. Dunno what you were thinkin’ goin’ up all alone at night.”
“Actually, I started up in the morning,” Shanae said, sighing gratefully when the boy returned with a warm mug of tea and a towel. Waving off the innkeeper’s fussing, Shanae realized that — despite everything that had happened — all she wanted was some peace and quiet.
“Ma’am, if you don’t mind me asking,” the boy started, eyes wide as he looked at the strange lady that had made it down the tallest peak alone after dark, “what happened?”
Shanae looked up at the boy, a faint smile on her face as she briefly squeezed the mug wrapped within her hands. “What happened… Well, where to begin?”
Azerus finally found one of the Atana mountain ranges pit stops. It was no poke'center but it was good enough. The people were kind and generous. There was a fireplace and a warm meal. Azerus had never been so please with such simplicities before.
He had aided in tending to his pokemons injuries, they were all still out of their pokeballs when he fell into that much needed sleep. In his dream he had visions of dragons soaring through the sky. This put a smile on his face as he rested.
()
TP:
25 +1 (post) +0 (league) TP=26
INVENTORY:
pokeball x1
broken electric guitar and case
one set of dirty clothes
one set of rags
POKEMON:
Roggenrola-4, injured/tired
Rhyhorn-3, hurt/tired
Zubat-2, injured/tired
Spheal-1, hurt/energetic
Pawniard-1 bruised/normal
empty
Vivian
Feyhollow
22
It took Vivian a moment to register what Leisy had told her, she watched the battle, wrought with worry and lost of any thought. "Oh ok, right! Flabebe." The startled Vivian replies as she eyes the pokeball in her hand nervously. "Alright Flabebe let's do this." she says gathering her wits and confidence. A moment later, with a tap of the pokeball the little flabebe comes out on its flower. "Flabebe, we gotta knock this angry stinker out, use a fairy attack!" Vivian urgently explains to her pokemon. The Flabebe was slow to react, scrunching up its face, distressed by the smell, it examined the battle field for itself. Hovering in the air it called a breeze to grow around it ruffling the petals of its flower. With s little squeak a glittery gush of glowing pink air slashed at the skuntank just as it was about to attack one of the others.
"That must have been fairy wind." Vivian says, quickly thumbing through her pokedex screen. While it was a direct hit, the skuntank showed no signs of resigning from the fight just yet.
(Skuntank battle! -lvl 10 slightly injured)
Chapter One: Broken flowers
Poachers have attacked the Vaud's botanical flower garden, following tire tracks from the scene of the crime has led to an angry mother Skuntank, a battle is now on!.
“Devinco, Scary face and then Chip Away! Bidein, Growl and then follow up with Peck!” Leisy called to her Pokemon, keeping an eye on Vivian’s Flabebe to make sure that the Skuntank was properly preoccupied. The gust of glittery wind that blew past the Skuntank just as it was reeling up to slash at Bidein. “Thanks!” Leisy told Vivian before turning back to the battle at hand.
The Skuntank was panting now, but so were the three Pokemon it was battling. The difference lied between their anger, which the Skuntank easily overshadowed her opponents with. Eyes still blazing, the Dark-type snarled as she launched another round of swipes at the Pokemon around her. Fury Swipes, Leisy realized, looking down at her Pokedex as it listed the Skuntank’s moveset. But, she also has…
Leisy looked up in alarm as the Skuntank stuck its tail up in a foreboding manner. “Vivian, she’s going to launch a Poison gas!” Leisy shouted at her friend. “Devi, Dei, get back!” she shouted as the skunk Pokemon let loose a cloud of heavy purple air.
No! Shanae thought fiercly, eyes blazing as she adjusted her location on the piece of now-drifting ice so that she would not fall off despite the Sharpedo that were nudging her piece of ice every now and then, red eyes glowing as they poked through water to breach air with their jaws of sharp teeth. No, I didn’t come here to get bullied by some silly school of Sharpedo.
A thought shot through Shanae’s mind, causing her to purse her lips briefly. Her hands, however, were already on the correct Pokeball on her belt. Well, she thought, unclipping the ball and releasing the Pokemon inside, here goes nothing.
“Amatorius! Sing!” Shanae ordered. The Jigglypuff — though flabbergasted by his surroundings — complied and started the first few notes of a somehow beautiful, sopranno-pitched lullaby. The Sharpedo that had clamped down on the ice hastily released their hold on the frozen chunk of water, dropping back beneath the waves to tune out the lovely (There’s no other way I can describe it, James. Amatorius can be a vengeful ball of adorableness when he wants to be) singing that demanded sleep. Some of them were, howeve, too late, and their red eyes dimmed soon after they sank beneath the surface of the water, sinking down away from their previous target.
Shanae paused from her tale to take a sip of her tea, amused by the little piece of lemon that had been cut and placed along the rim of the mug as garnish.
“What happened next?” James demanded, eyes wide with curiousity. His mother, the innkeeper, straightened up and walked back to the bar to continue washing dishes as the boy hovered over the trainer, a little too young to become a trainer and challenge the mountains right at his doorstep but still equally eager.
Picking the piece of lemon off the rim, Shanae dropped it into the cup and watched it sink down briefly before bobbing back up like an odd yellow bouy. “What happened next,” she mused, “Well…”
This was all happening so quickly, Ella barely knew what to do. As the three other Pokemon joined in the fight, Ella tried to think what other moves the Pokedex had said her Trubbish had. An idea came to her.
"Treasure, use Stockpile! Then, Swallow!"
While the Skuntank was distracted by the gust of pink glittering wind, Treasure gulped in air. Her body glowed purple. A second later, the glow disappeared. The cut, while still there, was considerably smaller.
"Now, use Acid Spray!" Ella called. Treasure spewed a burst of green fluid at the Skuntank, earning a furious growl. The attack, being Poison type, hadn't done much damage, but if Ella was remembering the information from the Pokedex correctly, the Skuntank would now be weaker against other attacks.
"Good job! Now..." Ella stopped mid-command, pressing her jacket to her face and backing away from the cloud of poison gas. The only one who didn't shrink away was Treasure, unaffected by the fumes.
A ground-type? Or maybe a rock-type? Cillian wondered, creeping around to the cave opening. Now that he was directly facing the cave, Cillian realized that the cave was a lot bigger than she had anticipated. The rim of the cave stretched high off the ground, perhaps twelve or even thirteen feet so. To allow this, the grassy terrain rolled down around the cave entrance, effectively widening it so that its awesome height could be achieved.
Any type could wander into this thing, Cillian realized, approaching the gaping mouth. Anything that’s really, really big.
Placing a hand against the wall, Cillian walked into the cave. His other hand, however, was clenched firmly around his two Pokeballs, ready for anything.
Organization: Helping Hand Guild
TP: 53 +1 = 54
Inventory:
Pokeball x 5
Pokemon:
Hazmat “Haz” ♂ — Charmander (5)
Kelby “Kelb” ♂ — Mudkip (5)
Shanae Eller
— Atana Mountain Range —
Shanae took a moment to watch the Sharpedo disappear into the gloom before snapping her attention back to her Jigglypuff. “Amatorius, I need you to inflate,” Shanae said to the Jigglypuff.
With a nod, the Jigglypuff inhaled a mouthful of air and grew into a round pink ball. Shanae picked the Jigglypuff up off the ice, waiting to be carried into the air.
A few seconds of silence passed before Amatorius exhaled loudly, struggling in his trainer’s tight hold. “Jiggly! Puff, Jigglypuff!” he protested. Releasing the pink Pokemon, Shanae stepped back with a frown on her face.
“I thought Jigglypuff could fly?” she asked the irritated pink ball of fur. Amatorius let loose a string of protests, thoroughly irked by his trainer’s idiocy. “That’s what I saw on TV once,” Shanae complained, but the remaining Sharpedo soon surfaced. Eyes blazing in anger, they renewed their efforts to flip over the piece of ice upon which their prey stood.
While she successfully braved the first round of knocks, Shanae was knocked onto the slick floor by the second, landing with a thump. “Tori, Sing again!” Shanae ordered, but the dual Dark- Water-types that swarmed around her in the water were not so dull as to fall for the same trick twice. When the pink Fairy-type Pokemon opened his mouth to start his song this time, they all ducked beneath the waves — an ominous silence before the storm.
“Oh dear,” Shanae said, eyes wide as the pounding resumed, this time concentrated on one side of the ice as to quickly tip it over.
“Be a dear and go get a room ready for the pretty lady, won’t you?” the innkeeper asked her son. With a grumble on his lips, James scurried off to grab a pair of keys for Shanae as said woman stood up from her cozy seat in front of the fire.
“Thank you,” she told the boy after he returned, glancing between both his mother and him. “Thank both of you.”
The trek up to her room was short and sweet, and Shanae took out her Great Ball as she sat on the bed, mind lolling with exhaustion as she tried to make out the details of the blue-and-red ball in the candlelight.
“Thank you as well,” she said, blowing out the candle on the bedside drawer. She was asleep within minutes.
"Flabebe, aromatherapy!" Vivian says, looking up from her pokedex screen at the purple cloud. This time Flabebe wasted no time, riding her little flower above the gaseous cloud she left a trail of sparking dust that counteracted and slowly dissipated the poison in the air. It also helped cover much of the stench. "wow, that was strong." Vivian said with a proud excitement, now able to move closer to the battle. "Alright, again, fairy wind!"
But the Flabebe was too slow, it gathered a powerful whirling of glittering pink dust behind itself but the skuntank wasn't going to wait for the blow. Hissing it seized the opportunity and launched at the Flabebe with a viscous night slash.
(Skuntank battle! -lvl 10 slightly injured)
Chapter One: Broken flowers
Poachers have attacked the Vaud's botanical flower garden, following tire tracks from the scene of the crime has led to an angry mother Skuntank, a battle is now on!.
Azerus briefly awoke to the sound of someone walking up the stairs, through his wall he heard the soft squeak of a mattress as the fell into their bed. 'maybe a trainer' he thought to himself hopefully. He looked around his small room and noticed his Pokemon splayed about sleeping. Rhyhorn had a soft snore, roggenrola was tucked up against him as well as a rock could. Zubat hung upside down from the roof While the spheal softly tilted from side to side on its ball like body. Pawniard sat in the windowsill, not asleep, just gazing out into the night. Azerus wondered what he was thinking, did he regret joining him?
It was a worry for another day. Tomorrow he would find a new trainer to battle.
"Thanks, Bounsweet, Corphish; you'd better get into your capsules. Don't want you to get hurt..." Juana said, holding out two Poké Balls. Bounsweet liked being out in the open air, but it recognized that fighting that powerful Persian left it in no shape to do any balancing on its skinny legs on Juana's shoulder. So it swallowed its pride and disappeared into the Poké Ball.
Corphish, however, would probably choke on its pride until it turned blue as Dewpider's water bubble. It ranted and raved, and eventually Juana had to restrain it and knock it over the head with the capsule. "Hey. No shape to scuttle about," she chided.
*pinch*
"¡AY, MADRE DE ARCEUS!" Juana yelped, dropping Corphish. "Fine, fine, you can stay out! Just be careful!"
Corphish was turtled, but it quickly righted itself. Juana sighed. Corphish dared any wild 'Mon to come out and punch it in the face. ANYone who messed with Corphish would get a Crabhammer STRAIGHT TO THA DOME.
...as soon as Corphish learned Crabhammer, that is.
Juana scratched her head. "Not one to rattle around in a little ball, are you?" she remarked. Corphish was still waving around its claws aggressively.
She turned towards the river. "Dewpider, keep working on getting that Azurill un-stuck!" she called.
Dewpider, with Sirius's help, continued easing Azurill out of the catch. It made some grumbly-sounding bubbly noises that sounded like something about the overabundance of the Azurill's diet. The spider Pokémon felt a sudden twitch that signaled that the Azurill was slowly becoming un-stuck, and it crawled over the stones, behind the Azurill in between its little body and the big bulbous ball on the end of its tail, and it pushed using its big head, its thin green legs pushing against the stone and silt.
-TP: Post +1, HHG bonus +1; total: 25 -CP: CP +1. Total: 7 -Continued interaction with @Silver Fox's character Tora. -Continued interaction with @SillyPhilly's character Des.
“Bidein! Hit it with a Peck!” Leisy shouted. The Fletchling followed, diving down and momentarily distracting the Skuntank so that its Night Slash went off-course, now aimed at the robin Pokemon rather than Vivian’s Flabebe.
Devinco was at the Fletchling’s side in a flash, leaping up into the air and headbutting the bird out of harm’s way. The Night slash hit the Rock-type dead on, sending him flying. “Devinco!” Leisy cried, dashing to her Pokemon’s side.
She crouched down before her Pokemon, not knowing whether to move the Larvitar or not. Wasn’t it better not to move injured people? Leisy thought, her mind trying to distract her with details. Something about injuring them further or reopening their injuries? And what—
“Lar,” the Larvitar groaned weakly, opening his eyes and flashing a faint smile at his trainer before he closed his eyes again, features tight with pain. Leisy teared up, fearing for the worst as she fumbled for the Larvitar’s Pokeball.
“Oh my god oh my god,” she whispered under her breath, both hyperventilating and trying to rein herself in at the same time. When she finally returned her Pokemon, she shot to her feet and rushed back to Vivian and Ella’s side, eyes filled with renewed vigor. Releasing Naunet, Leisy pointed at the Skuntank. “Naunet, Bubble Beam. Bidein, hang back for a Razor wind,” she said, blinking tears out of her eyes. Now wasn’t the time to waste seconds lamenting her Pokemon’s injuries; now was the time for action.
The Skuntank dodged the Piplup’s Bubblebeam but consequently fell in the path of the Fletchling’s Razor Wind. The arcs of air blew through the Skuntank’s fur, most of them bouncing off harmlessly. Still, the attack did its purpose in distracting the large beast.
“Now!” Leisy called, signalling to her friends that the Pokemon was subdued.
Name: Tefan Village Location Type: Village Pokemon Types: Fairy, Dragon, Psychic, Fire, Fighting, Ghost, Flying, Normal, Ground, Dark
Lore: Far to the South of Both Feyhollow Town and Central City is the mighty volcano known as Mount Jerimus, where it is said Groudon himself rests.
This volcano is home to many different types of Pokemon, most notably Fire and Dragon types who live around the volcano’s crater and near its peak, while Fairy, Dark, and Ground types make their homes in and around various caves found all over. Inside the volcano is where the more gutsy Fire types can be found, mostly living around the inner edge of the crater, but they have been known to venture out of their lava heated home in search of both food and challenging fights.
Also known to live near the crater are a variety of Fighting types, though they live all up and down the dormant volcano, the heat the lava gives off providing an excellent endurance training area for them. Hikers have also claimed to see the legendary cat Entei around the volcano’s crater and even on the island of stone near the lava lake’s center, but there has been no way to confirm it.
Near the village is a graveyard that contains both the passed on of people and Pokemon from Tefan Village, and as such become a home for many different Ghost types, who enjoy coming out at night to pull a prank on passing living people or other Pokemon. If one listens closely durint the late hours of the night, one can hear the cry of Giratina, the Ghost Dragon type. Psychic types were brought in in an attempt to counter the both dangerous and entertaining Ghosts and eventually took to living and breeding locally.
In and around the village is where you will often find a plethora of Flying and Normal type pokemon, who opt to stay away from the Volcano due to all the other types that live there.
Tefan Village Poke Mart
A small, cosy little shop on the northern edge of town closest to the volcano for quick access to busy trainers.
*Poke Ball: 5 points: Beginner Item - Use this item to catch bottom tier Pokemon in your area.
*Rare Candy: 5 points: Beginner Item - Use this item to raise the level of one Pokemon.
*Potion: 5 points: Beginner Battle Item - Use this item to heal 10 HP of one Pokemon.
Tefan Village Mission Board
A large board against a stone wall in the village center, framed by the drawings of the village children. On this board, townspeople in need of assistance from trainers for various reasons leave requests in the form of posters. To accept, trainers are to take these requests from the board to the town hall.
Pokémon Types: Steel, Electric, Ground, Dark, Ghost, Grass, Fighting, Normal
Lore:
The Zephyr Strip lies to the west of Central City; the site is a large town built around a shopping center based in a long-abandoned electric train. The train has been renovated with new lighting, new reinforcements, and newly-refurbished interiors, with the outer paint job left untouched for that rustic feel. As it houses a shopping center, it is a popular tourist destination, not only for the shopping but for some of the folk tales of the potential haunting of the train itself. The train is situated inside of a train station laden with vines, though since the area is inhabited, there is often hedgework done to trim those vines down (courtesy of local services provided by the Zephyr Maintenance Company’s Bisharps and Pawniards). The shopping center houses a shop per car, and they are lined up and well-lit in an easily-organized fashion. From boutiques to restaurants to souvenir shops to bookstores, you’ll probably find it all in the Zephyr Strip.
Around the station is a bit of a ghost town; nothing but expansive plains as far as the eye can see (though if you follow the tracks, you’ll meet a place where they converge with a rail line heading to Central City), with high buttes and mesas extending into the sky. In the northeastern distance, the Atana Mountain Range is barely visible through the haze. There are several windmills set up around the station, most likely to provide an additional source of clean energy. The dry plains house a plethora of Ground, Normal, and Grass type Pokémon. The more inhabited areas, especially those under the roof of the station and the train, will see Steel, Electric, Dark, Fighting, and Normal Pokémon, though in the furthest recesses of the train and the station, there have been reports of ghost Pokémon skulking about.
While refurbishing the station, the workers unearthed an enormous statue of the titanic Regigigas, standing immobile in the deepest recesses of the station. Out of respect, they decided to leave the statue alone, and tourists would sometimes approach it and rub on the moss collecting on its legs for good luck. (Is it truly just a statue, or is it actually Regigigas itself? There's some debate in the town, but there is only one way to find out.)
Sometimes the power would flicker, and people who live around the Zephyr Strip attribute it to the mischief of Pokémon like Rotom and Electabuzz, whose interactions with power sources and electrical devices would lead many to conclude that this is so. Notably, this is treated as a sort of routine event for the locals. However, people have been reporting hearing strange noises from the train’s decrepit locomotive. Like… scraping? Some have even seen a dark, rubbery tentacle pass by the window once or twice. There are rumors that it’s a Pokémon not of this world, and that there are actually multiple in there. They insist that Deoxys couldn’t possibly be stuck in a train for that long, but others say that it certainly is not Deoxys.
Zephyr Strip Poké Mart
Just one of the strip’s many stores; it’s a convenience store catering to the needs of passing Trainers.
~Beginner~
-Poké Ball: 5 TP. A capsule device, designed for capturing Pokémon. -Poké Doll: 3 TP. Use it in battle to escape from any wild Pokémon battle without fail. -Potion: 5 TP. A spray-type medicine. Heals a Pokémon by 10 HP. -Heal Ball: 5 TP. Heals the Pokémon captured inside upon capture.
~Skilled~
-Great Ball: 20 TP. A somewhat better capsule with a better catch rate than a Poké Ball. -Super Potion: 10TP. A spray-type medicine. Heals a Pokémon by 20 HP.
Zephyr Strip Mission Board
System Error
Lately, disturbances have been happening in and around our shopping mall. Electronics are failing. Computerised tills are crashing. Due to the increasingly numerous sightings of Ghost-type Pokemon, we believed this to be purely Rotom activity, but recently, our employees have reported the presence of another Pokemon.
A Porygon-Z has been noticed interfering with our machinery. This already corrupted artificial Pokemon appears to have been tampered with further, recognisable by its constantly flickering, distorting body and enhanced strength. It is rarely encountered alone, instead surrounded by hordes of ghosts as if opening rifts in dimensions. Anyone who stops this Pokemon and returns the mall to normal will be rewarded.
- Zephyr Mall Management Team
Requirements: Any rank, but must have at least three Pokemon.
Max number of people: 5
Rewards: 23 TP + free Heal Ball per person
Notes: (Not on the mission board)
As previously mentioned, this is no ordinary Porygon-Z. An attempt was made to fix its glitches, but the errors were accidentally made worse. As a result, the Porygon-Z has increased attacking power and very little control over its actions.
Because of its glitches, the effects of its attacks are nonstandard and unpredictable. Moves that wouldn't normally cause status effects may do so, and some of its usually Normal-type attacks may have completely random typing. Conversion and Conversion 2 may work as usual, or change the Porygon-Z to a random type. (Try not to make this feature too convenient, and remember the Porygon-Z is unlikely to be fought alone - see the last note.)
The Porygon-Z cannot be caught. Its ability to interfere with technology is so great that no type of Pokeball will work on it. However, if subdued and taken to a Poke Corp programmer, capture will be possible by a trainer of high enough rank once the failed enhancements are removed.
It involuntarily creates interdimensional portals that allow Ghost types through, and as such is almost always surrounded by them. These are regular Pokemon that can be caught, although the Porygon-Z may act in a way that makes capture of the ghosts difficult. Any secondary typings will still be limited to what can be found in Zephyr Strip.
In hindsight, leaving the path by which she came hadn't been the wisest choice Olivie could have made. A sprint back to the place she though she'd left it to follow the Nidoran tracks revealed only another stretch of thick forest. A sinking feeling soon set in, and Bernard echoed the realization that, despite losing the enraged but rather slow Nidoqueen and Nidoking, the day's misadventures had only just begin. With their Pokemon serving as extra eyes and ears, Bernard and Olivie steeled themselves to find a way out of the confusing fairy woods. They could not have known, of course, that every panicked step away from the Nido burrow left them deeper and deeper within.
Hours passed. Never did the group come across the same landmark, be it a fallen tree or a Pokemon hive, but the terrain simply would not end. Only the rustle of grass and the crunch of twigs beneath shoes and feet remained the same. Still, the monotonous exercise took a toll on the trainers and their partners. Olivie felt herself steadily growing more dazed as her fatigue and frustration built up, and Bernard didn't seem to be doing any better. The sheer variety of the forest floor through which they navigated demanded constant attention and movement, and in what seemed like no time the brunette's ankles, soles, calves, and spine were killing her. A short while after midday, judging by the bright light streaming through the canopy from directly overhead, the waylaid crew stopped on a grassy knoll near a babbling book. Olivie laid flat on the ground after splashing water over her face, while Bernard produced rations from his backpack to hand out. The Pokemon took care of themselves for the most part. Gespenst rooted himself in the soul with his withered flower beneath the sun, ready to photosynthesize. After finding a patch of mushrooms, Verrine picked and ate them voraciously, ignoring the Lopunny Gretel who nibbled in silence on grass nearby. Buck put his prominent buckteeth to work on the bark of a young aspen tree, tearing away the outer covering to gnaw at the tender, supple fibers beneath. After receiving leave to go, Painkiller vanished into the underbrush without a moment's, and did not return for the duration of the communal meal. Olivie's new Nidoran, meanwhile, lay beside his new trainer on the knoll. Bizarrely, he seemed completely amenable to the idea of having a master, or perhaps being away from his overlarge family. An Oran berry, plucked from a shrub opposite the brook, brought him back to health.
Before long, the group set off once again. This time, only two Pokemon remained outside their pokeballs: Verrine and Painkiller. Following the Bisharp's return from parts unknown, Olivie had avoided him, for when he appeared he had a telltale stain of blood near his mouth. The idea of such a terrifying metal monster voraciously hunting and devouring prey unnerved her, but in the end, a forest seemingly without end unnerved her more. The energy regained from the rest melted away, replaced by feelings of hollowness. Olivie began to loathe the Pansear that rejected her ownership, for she could have at least burned down a few of these blasted trees. Time slid by and the group trudged on. Her gait become slower and lazier, matching her rival's, until the two couldn't trudge on any longer. They collapsed against a towering tree. As she slid to the ground, wheezing, Olivie wanted to get mad at herself but couldn't find the energy to. “Jeez...what is wrong with me...? I can run a mile a day no sweat, and I exercise all the time. A little hike in the forest shouldn't be...be any problem.” A yawn forced its way out. The sunlight was hinting at orange. Was the day already nearing its end? It felt like only a few moments...or like forever. The girl couldn't tell.
”I know what you mean. I'm not as good physically, but even still, I'm pooped. Not 'collapse from exhaustion' as much as, um, 'drop asleep', though. What a boring day, after all that action in the morning.”
Something clicked in Olivie's mind. She shouldn't be feeling as poorly as she did. There was no good reason at all. She slept well, ate well, and was in good condition. So why did she feel like a sack of potatoes gone moldy? ”Wait a sec. Wasn't the deal with fairy-type Pokemon that they do all sorts of crap to lure people out into the forest and never let them go?” The thought that she might have been had, all of a sudden, got her worked up. ”I bet there's some kind of fairy foul play goin' on. Any way we can track it down?”
Her out-of-the-blue conviction inspired a little pep in Bernard as well. ”Uh...yeah! Painkiller would be alright, but if anyone can take on a fairy, it's Scylla. She's very good against all kinds of non-physical attacks, and its Poison typing...well, I'll just show you.”
In a flash, the Tentacruel appeared. Bernard relayed his directions immediately, and his Pokemon raised her tentacles into the air as if feeling the breeze. In dead silent, it turned ninety degrees to the left and began to float forward. Olivie charged after her with Verrine tucked beneath her arm like a football, and Bernard followed right behind with Painkiller.
Night fell, turning Feyhollow Forest grim as a fairy tale. Pinpricks of light appeared among the trees, dancing merrily. Olivie ignored them as best she could, focusing on the glowing orbs of the Tentacruel before her. A song drifted to her through the still air, though she couldn't say if it were her imagination or something really out there. Before long, a whole host of lights became visible through the darkness. Olivie gasped in awe at the rhythmically flashing assortment of pinks, purples, and blues. Behind her, a sharp intake of breath signaled that Bernard saw them, too—and that he didn't like what they saw. ”Oh my God. That's more Morelull than I've ever seen. Olive, we've gotta run. If we keep looking, they can put us to sleep. Forever.”
Olivie stirred from her observation to shake her head and point at a shape revealed by the eerie light. ”Look.” Among the Morelull, and brushed by the feelers of a Sylveon, a woman scarcely older than Olivie plodded along mindlessly. From her, the hair-raising song resounded. ”I wasn't imaginin' it. They've hypnotized that chick or something.”
A hand clamped down on her shoulder. When she tore her eyes away from the Morelull to look, the girl found Bernard looking very serious. ”I saw. But fighting them all is impossible. Scylla is trained to fight fairies but we're not. They can hypnotize us just as well, or put us to sleep, unless you wanna get poisoned.”
”Poisoned? Whaddya mean?” A narrow pair of eyes scrutinized Bernard as if they could find that he meant etched in his face.
The bespectacled young man scratched his head. ”Well, the shock of the poison would prevent us from falling asleep. But it could also, I dunno, kill us! I mean, I really do want to help, but we'd be really sticking our necks out for the axe.”
Already, Olivie's fighting gloves were on. She turned to face the group of fairy-types, now drawing too close for comfort, with a look of rage on her face. ”I've made my decision, and I'll bet my life on it! Hit me up!”
From her Pokeball she released her new Nidoran, who shook his head aggressively at the flickering lights close by. Scylla and Painkiller advanced to stand by Olivie's side, and once Bernard reluctantly nodded his approval, the Tentacruel brushed both her trainer and the brunette with her tentacles. Immediately the poison surged through their veins, causing the sensations of burning coldness as well as pins and needles to afflict them. Their hands shook and their heads hurt, but they stood ready to battle to save Cici.
Shanae was at a loss for what to do. She could call out Alci and attempt a Thunder Wave, but the water would conduct the attack everywhere, thus weakening it to the point where it may as well be a slight nudge to the three Sharpedo swarming underwater. Otiosus would be able to guide the piece of ice she was currently on back to shore with a few well-aimed bubble beams, but that would take much too long and the Sharpedo would probably attack any Pokemon that got near the edges of the floating slab of ice.
All in all, Shanae didn’t settle on a single plan. So, she decided to go with all of them.
“Otiosus! Alcedo!” Shanae shouted, popping open the two Pokeballs. Her Pokemon blinked blearily up at her between wary glances at their surroundings. What kind of trouble had their trainer gotten herself into today? “All right, Alci,” Shanae said, serious face on. “Try firing Thunder Waves at the Sharpedo through the water. Amatorius, back her up and distract the Sharpedo for her. If any of them come up, hit them with Disarming Voice,” the woman said. Her Pokemon obeyed, moving towards the outer rim of the ice as Shanae turned to her little blue Pokemon with a green hat. “Otiosus, I need you to to fire Bubble Beams off from the opposite side of the ice to guide us to the shore. Alci and Tori are will keep the Sharpedo at bay as you do,” Shanae explained to the Lotad.
Otiosus gave his trainer a happy nod and waddled over to the other side of the ice to begin his mission. Shanae watched her Pokemon work from a distance, eyes glancing between them to make sure that neither were in danger. While Alci attracted plenty of attention with her weak but effective and paralyzing sparks, Amatorius' double-damage type-advantage move proved more than enough to distract the Sharpedo, even knocking one out after it surfaced one too many times.
"No, no, no..." All Ella could do at first was watch, frozen to the spot, shaking her head. The Skuntank was winning... What should they do? There was no way Ella was going to send out the Ekans, and her Trubbish, while a pretty good fighter, was no match for a high-level, fully-evolved Pokemon.
Was the best thing to do just get out of there before their Pokemon could get injured any worse? But those baby Stunkys... She couldn't just leave them behind. Why hadn't she thought to buy any potions before heading out? That way, she'd be able to help her Trubbish, Vivian's Flabebe, Leisy's Larvitar, possibly even the two Stunkys...
As a Razor Wind attack from Leisy's Fletchling distracted the Skuntank, though, Ella saw her chance. "Treasure! Stay back and hit with another Acid Spray!" she called. Once again, Treasure spat a jet of green liquid at the Skuntank.
"Vivian!" Ella shouted to her friend. If her Pokemon could get any attacks in, maybe they had a chance of subduing the Skuntank and helping those two babies after all.
The crunch of footsteps through ferns disturbed the peace. Cici turned around, glowing eyes narrowing at the young man and woman intruding on this paradise. Morelulls gathered around her, flaring with light.
"Leave," Cici said, her voice eerily calm. "Leave, as humans do all too often."
The Sylveon gently tugged at her arm, taking a step, gesturing for her to follow. Facing away from the newcomers, Cici wandered towards the spot where her Pokemon slept, picking up the Pokeballs and mumbling for each of them to return before letting the Sylveon lead her deeper into the forest. A shining trail of Morelulls skipped after her, while others stayed behind, surrounding the two trainers.
Three Shiinotics emerged, standing before the pair, pink energy swirling in front of them as they readied an attack.
"Ah, no sweat," Juana replied, as Des walked away.
Dewpider stumbled over to Juana, breathing heavily. Apparently it had seen something that looked like a predator and booked it over to Juana's side.
"You're worn out, huh?" Juana asked. Dewpider wheezed, causing its water bubble to jiggle. Juana picked up Dewpider and put it into its Poké Ball. Dewpider disappeared into the capsule. "We should probably get to town," Juana said to Tora. "Our Pokémon are totally winded after that. I don't know about you but I'd like to minimize the chances of running into more angry kitties." Juana let out a chuckle, before walking back towards the path to Feyhollow. She pulled out a pen light and shone it on the road, before turning back to the city.
Coming from Unova, she knew that the world's scope was wider than she could ever imagine. And given what happened now, new friends, new Pokémon, real adventures outside of tapping her leg in some dinky classroom... Juana was happy.
Though she made sure to text her parents that she was doing all right.
"C'mon, Tora!" Juana said, starting towards the path. "We shouldn't be long."
-TP: Post +1, HHG bonus +1; total: 27 -CP: CP +1. Total: 8 -Continued interaction with @Silver Fox's character Tora.
When Sirius managed to swim back with the strange woman, the starfish shook the water off and Tora gave a smile. "Thank you Sirius, have a little rest now." the tall woman said as she took out the water type's pokeball and returned the Staryu back into the small round device. Looking to Archie to do the same, the Growlithe gave a snort and a bark of dissatisfaction, sticking her nose in the air.
The black haired woman sighed and just returned Sirius' pokeball back to the backpack strap. "Well alright Archie, but don't think I won't return you if you start getting too tired." Tora warned firmly but warm. The puppy Pokemon just happily wagged the fluffy tail, pleased with also staying outside the tiny orb device.
Tora then turned toward the woman who thanked them and nodded in return, giving a friendly polite smile. "It was quite a pleasure mademoiselle. I am just glad you two look alright. Please take care." Tora said, though the woman was already off to the Pokemon Center. Turning toward the sky, it was already dark. Much to her displeasure. Still, she had to get at least some distance from Central City. It wasn't much of a choice even if it risked trekking it in the woods a little.
The mere thought of being caught caused Tora to start walking the opposite direction and heading toward the Feyhollow. Archie of course at her heels. Though she did glance over her shoulder to look at her... Well first what they call 'friend' she supposed. Partner? Aquiantance? Mhm friend. Though the cute girl was a bit younger. Her energy made up for both of them.
To her luck, Juana seemed to agree on traveling as well. "Indeed. Hopefully we won't run into anything too big. As much as Archie and Corphish think they can handle it, it's better safe then sorry right?" she said, with another calm polite smile. Chuckling as Archie gave a bark that was like 'hey I can so handle it!' Before snorting.
"Is there a particular Pokemon you wish to catch Lady Juana?" Tora asked curiously as they walked together along the path.
+1TP +1HHG = 22 +1CP =6
Pokemon:
Archie the ♀Growlithe: Level 2/Winded
Sirius the Staryu: Level 2/Tired and hurt
Inventory:
-Continued interaction with @ToadRopes's character Juana. -Ending interaction with @SillyPhilly's character Des.
