Erika was quite surprised to find that the Treetop battle was quite a big deal with one of the largest buildings in town being used to house the event. She just kind of expected it to be an outdoor field but in hindsight, this scale totally made sense. Anyway, Erika got introduced to the rules by a nice lady but when it came to berries, she had no idea there were so many different types! So when it came to filling out her card, she just selected random, hoping they'd give her good berries she guessed.
Anyway onto the battling and Erika immediately knew which three of her team she wanted to use. Sno, Chic, and Gibs. They were the strongest she had and they covered a wide enough range but Erika was kind of expecting a lot of grass types since it seemed like trainers from the area, for the most part.
With the first battle, Erika couldn't help but gush at the little trainer, even if he had a scary threat (probably not true) of winning five hundreds. "Awww... I'm sure you've really trained hard to be that good."
The first Pokemon out had at least initially confirmed Erika's theory. Grass-type. So Erika decided to use Chic and by extension use Ember to play it her advantage. Erika anticipated she should win but did her best to keep offering encouraging words to her opponent. Next came Seedot and while Chic would work here, Erika withdrew and gave Gibs a chance. Sand attack was used twice before Dragon Rage was used to try and finish the opponent off. Finally, Metapod was a good time to use Sno, Erika thought. Double Team was used once before Erika realized that Metapod might just harden a lot so she switched to Powder Snow which was a special based attack. Erika made sure to offer her compliments to the little trainer after the battle and encourage him!
For the next battle, Erika gushed again finding another young trainer but privately she worried that all she'll be doing is facing off against preschoolers! "Oh nice work! I haven't been to the Valley yet but let's see what you caught."
A Spearow, huh. Again typing advantage was useful and Sno had her Ice moves. Powder Snow was used since Erika believed that Spearow was more physical and less special defensive. Faced with a Shroomish second, Erika decided to switch to (surprise!) Chic and use Ember right from the get go. Seeing as how her opponent was trying to get some lasting effects, Erika planned on using Ember to quickly finish off the fight before it got out of hand. Deerling gave Erika a chance to use Gibs who would mirror his strategy as last time. Sand-Attack twice to lower the accuracy before Dragon Rage, which should be unaffected by stat changes.
Yet another child was Erika's next opponent but with him all dressed up in a Pikachu outfit, Erika couldn't help smile. "Aww.. A big fan of picture or maybe you are a Pikachu... I can't tell the difference."
Pikachu was, perhaps, the easiest to counter as Gibs completely nullified electric attacks with his Ground typing. So he was in the battle, ideally for all three Pikachus. Dragon Rage was used throughout all the whole battle.
Erika had to appreciate her next opponent as it was finally a good time to gauge herself before the gym. "Yep! I plan on taking on Archie after this." Erika replied before finding herself quite stricken with the Lady's sudden tough words. "Oh, I don't think Stillwood Trainers are weak!"
Onto the battle, Lombre seemed to indeed be quite the challenge. No typing advantage this time, in fact, Erika felt like she was at a disadvantage. Thankfully Gibs's dual typing meant that he wouldn't have an awful time in this battle so that was Erika's plan. Sand-Attack was used three times initially to try and make extra sure Lombre couldn't hit before Erika would try to Dragon Rage Lombre down. Vivillion offered Erika a choice but she decided to run with Sno, who Erika mistakenly thought (though to her advantage anyway) had a double advantage for Ice being effective against bug and flying types. Icy Shard was Erika's only choice as she believed it would make quick work in the battle. Whimsicott looked pretty intimidating but Erika hoped Chic was up to the challenge. Once it was revealed that Stun Spore was their plan, Erika resorted to Ember only to try and knock out her opponent quickly!
Background: Living the life of royalty was always filled with pleasures and luxuries that so few could experience. The "silver spoon" that Reina had when growing up as the daughter of the Emperor of Grado meant that there was nary a moment where she experienced hardship. Still, it was either due to the monster's, tradition, or maybe just her father's whim but Reina was exposed to a rougher education in her teenage years. Riding, tactics, combat skills and many other subjects became the core the royal daughter's instruction. It was a drastic change from Reina's earlier life that for first years, she complained and held silent protests against her father's mandated practice (with her greatest record of not talking to her father lasting six months!). She hated the hardship that it brought on and couldn't understand why she had to. In fact, it wasn't until the very day Jehanna ambitiously came knocking that Reina understood and she hated the thought of where this situation was leading.
Plot-Susceptive: Yes
Personality It may be difficult for some to some to find an amount of patience for Reina. There is an air of childishness about her. She is noted as stubborn for getting her way and sometimes insensitive to those around her. Often times, people mistake her for being selfish but truthfully, she tries her best to make conscious attempts at being selfless. It is just that her experiences growing up have distorted her view on reality slightly. In time, she'll understand the importance of service to others and the significance of her comrades (as she will be wholly disapproving of her father's unwillingness to leave the throne room with her, leaving his guards to distract Sion.).
Equipment and Items:
Précieuse (Unique Rapier)
Vulnerary
Ability Assessment: Eyra prefers a fast and light approach in terms of combat. She's small, agile, and even acrobatic capable of performing complex and surprising feats of agility. Her advantage can also be a disadvantage and while her quick moves allow for higher chances of evasion, she can be prone to being knocked off balance or injury if she is not careful in a duel. Speed+, Defense-
Quirks/Talents/Aspirations/Other: Ever since becoming comfortable with the idea of being a combatant in her teenage years, Reina really admires the Paladin Queen of Renais. Although hardened by her training, Reina still wants a Royal Wedding.
R-button Summarization: The princess of Gardo. Appreciates the finer things in life.
Background: Living the life of royalty was always filled with pleasures and luxuries that so few could experience. The "silver spoon" that Reina had when growing up as the daughter of the Emperor of Grado meant that there was nary a moment where she experienced hardship. Still, it was either due to the monster's, tradition, or maybe just her father's whim but Reina was exposed to a rougher education in her teenage years. Riding, tactics, combat skills and many other subjects became the core the royal daughter's instruction. It was a drastic change from Reina's earlier life that for first years, she complained and held silent protests against her father's mandated practice (with her greatest record of not talking to her father lasting six months!). She hated the hardship that it brought on and couldn't understand why she had to. In fact, it wasn't until the very day Jehanna ambitiously came knocking that Reina understood and she hated the thought of where this situation was leading.
Plot-Susceptive: Yes
Personality It may be difficult for some to some to find an amount of patience for Reina. There is an air of childishness about her. She is noted as stubborn for getting her way and sometimes insensitive to those around her. Often times, people mistake her for being selfish but truthfully, she tries her best to make conscious attempts at being selfless. It is just that her experiences growing up have distorted her view on reality slightly. In time, she'll understand the importance of service to others and the significance of her comrades (as she will be wholly disapproving of her father's unwillingness to leave the throne room with her, leaving his guards to distract Sion.).
Equipment and Items:
Précieuse (Unique Rapier)
Vulnerary
Ability Assessment: Eyra prefers a fast and light approach in terms of combat. She's small, agile, and even acrobatic capable of performing complex and surprising feats of agility. Her advantage can also be a disadvantage and while her quick moves allow for higher chances of evasion, she can be prone to being knocked off balance or injury if she is not careful in a duel. Speed+, Defense-
Quirks/Talents/Aspirations/Other: Ever since becoming comfortable with the idea of being a combatant in her teenage years, Reina really admires the Paladin Queen of Renais. Although hardened by her training, Reina still wants a Royal Wedding.
R-button Summarization: The princess of Gardo. Appreciates the finer things in life.
"The Woodland Wanderer." Erika read the gym sign aloud to herself. That meant that grass types could be expected? Erika should have the advantage then. Communicating with some of the nearby locals didn't warrant anything particularly useful so Erika merely nodded and thanked them for their time. It was at this point Erika was surprised by a very energetic guy who seemed to love Pokemon Gyms. He was very informative about the system work.. even though Erika was fairly aware of that. He also kindly provided an analysis of Archie, the Gym Leader, to which Erika appreciated.
Next came her conversation with Professor Kalmia. She was glad to hear Poli was doing okay and being taken care of! It was nice to know how her team evolved, especially considering that Raichu wouldn't learn any new moves making Erika's caution about buying a Thunderstone back in the caves a good move for now. Inkay's evolution was interesting but she'll cross that bridge when Kay is a little more leveled.
Speaking of, it sounded like Erika needed to get her hands on some berries in order to butter Kay up. Wasn't there mention of a battle for berries place or something in town? Maybe that's what Erika would do next while she waited for Claire, who had an interesting text detailing wrestling a Pangoro. Oh my.