Ryik

MHA: Bot Ten Heroes!

Kaison
You woke up at the break of dawn with what felt like pure espresso running through your veins. You felt jittery all throughout your morning routine, as if you were in a race against time and didn't just wake up two whole fucking hours before school starts. You don’t typically wake up quite this early, but you couldn’t go back to sleep if you tried. You wouldn't describe yourself as excited, nor nervous, but both are pretty accurate descriptors when you get right down to it. It's like they've cancelled each other out and left you with just a looming amorphous anticipation of things to come. When you leave extremely early for school, the explanation to yourself you settle on is that you're merely doing so on a whim. Whim or not, The crisp morning air does a lot to help clear your head, so you certainly don't regret it.

You eventually come to sit on a bench in front of New Heights. Even now, there's still an hour before school starts, so you decide to whip out your sketchbook and go over the drawings you prepared. You've thought about this for a long time, and it’s going to be difficult to have your sketchbook on you at all times, so perhaps you should start carrying some drawings around with you. Maybe it's not going to be relevant during school life, but it'll probably be good to get in the habit of keeping them on your person. Like every prepared student, you brought in some basic school supplies, and your dad understandably went a bit overboard with paper. Because of this, you have plenty of materials to transfer drawings onto and subsequently stow away within your clothing. You prepared several drawings in advance, some of animals, some of fictional characters, some of real people, and some of helpful everyday objects, such as explosives or limb-sized sentient chinese finger traps. You spend quite a while moving them onto loose paper before carefully folding them up and placing them into your various pockets. It takes quite a while, though you suppose the time-consuming part is animating them one by one. Still, putting a bunch of paper in your pockets isn’t exactly an elegant solution. You’ll have to think of a better way to carry them around in your hero outfit when you eventually get around to designing one. Or, at worst, you’ll have to design an outfit with a ton of pockets.

As you take stock of your drawings, you occasionally feel lacking for a particular obvious application of your quirk and stop to do a quick sketch. By the time you’re finally satisfied with your repertoire, you realize that other students have long since shown up and have recently started making their way towards class. You check the time and find that you should really get going already.

A quick trek through the forest behind the academy and you come to the East Track Field where you were told to meet. There are several students waiting here already, but when you realize there isn’t a teacher to be found anywhere, you can’t help but let out a quiet sigh. An hour early and yet the teacher seems to be running late. Not much to do then, you suppose. Expecting the teacher to show up momentarily, you begin staring absently at the clouds in the sky, wondering if you should try looking for your educators. Before long though, some of your classmates break you out of your reverie with a series of loud and unnecessary proclamations and/or roars. Well, as long as the teachers aren't here, you don't see why you shouldn't try to meet your classmates.

You walk up to the girl dressed in green, figuring you at least have something in common. "Excited to become a Hero? I can relate. What do you think your hero name would be? I've been having trouble coming up with mine."

@ShwiggityShwah

MHA: Bot Ten Heroes!

#33 - Kaison Locke

Name: Kaison Locke
Age: 14
Nationality: Canadian
Rank: 33
Appearance:
Personality: Adventurous, light-hearted and nonchalant, Kaison tends to not take things seriously, to the point of appearing distant or insensitive in serious situations. He has a flawless poker face in the form of an unfaltering smile and a stoic disposition hiding any troubles he may or may not have. Although he leans towards idealistic, he has a strong sense of responsibility, even if he otherwise seems frustratingly apathetic. Loves various forms of escapism.
Quirk: Animation
Type: Emitter
Effect: Kaison is capable of animating any drawing created using his blood. Even if drawn as two-dimensional, it will use whatever material it was drawn on to form the basis of a three-dimensional body with Kaison's specifications. Although it doesn't damage the material it originated from, If the material is not malleable enough, they will be unable to take shape properly, and the animation will fail, stopping partway. The sturdiest material Kaison can reliably animate on is Layered Card Stock. (Used in business cards or postcards) He's successfully animated cardboard before, but it tends to take a couple of tries, and the stiffer the material, the stiffer his creation, so the practicality is limited.

His creations are autonomous, though the nature of their behavior is decided entirely by Kaison during creation. This includes any personality, motivations, or potential for growth they have, should Kaison see fit to assign them. Once created, they cannot be altered, though they are able to revert back into a drawing if they are on identical material, and can be forced to do so by Kaison. Kaison is unable to alter the nature of pre-existing creations, only able to redraw missing parts and then reanimate them.

Kaison's creations are able to visually animate themselves regardless of how they were originally drawn, letting them physically move in ways Kaison did not explicitly design. However, they are not able to change the makeup of their body, meaning they can't shape-shift into paper planes and back, grow a tail, or do things their material isn't capable of. If a paper drawing was given wings, it could use those wings to fly. However, the same drawing on a thicker material like cardboard would fail to keep itself aloft. If a paper drawing tried to lift something too heavy for it to support, it would rip before it succeeds.

Kaison can impose limitations on a drawing during creation to prohibit them from attempting to exert more force on their body than they can handle, though since they can tell when an object is too heavy for them anyway, there's not much of a point. If one of Kaison's creations loses the majority of its body, it will revert into pieces of paper, and cannot be restored. (Although it can be replicated)

Kaison can only maintain a total of 10 creations. Were he to animate an eleventh before dismissing another, their body would form, but they'd remain an inanimate object. They cannot animate after the fact, but Kaison can return the body to a drawing and then reanimate it from there.
History: Kaison was born to a highly successful businessman and his beautiful wife. When Kaison was only two years old, his mother died giving birth to his younger brother. Consequently, his father developed depression and a drinking problem. Due to his young age, he was never familiar with his mother, and his relationship with his father has always been impersonal. His father threw himself upon his work, only to drink whenever he came home. Even so, his father was a drunkard; not neglectful, and he and his brother were generally raised by a series of babysitters and nannies. Their father never really made more time for them than necessary, so they had a lot of time, growing up, to just sit around and play games with each other. Although they had their fair share of video games, they spent most of their time on roleplaying games. Kaison had the same quirk as his mother, and being able to animate the action went a long way towards making storytelling more compelling. As the years passed and his father transitioned from drinking to dating, eventually just telling stories wasn't enough. Kaison wanted to write his own story, and what better story to write than one of a pro hero? The life of a pro hero is full to the brim of action and suspense, as fantastic a scenario as he could reasonably ask for, worthy of being recorded and proliferated...

Well, perhaps that’s just wishful thinking.

Regardless of what the future holds, he figures there's few better potential paths than New Heights.
Exam Report: Kaison sent out several animations to scout out and collect ribbons from the surrounding areas. He was able to cover a wide area and avoid confrontation with other students and robots this way, though little by little, his drawings would fail to come back, slowing his progress.

His end result is fairly average, though the loss of so many drawings so quickly was devastating. He hadn't made enough in advance, he believes, nor expect them to be taken out so quickly, thinking they could rely on stealth.

Theme

MHA: Bot Ten Heroes!

Kaison

Name: Kaison Locke
Age: 14
Nationality: Canadian
Rank: 33
Appearance:
Personality: Adventurous, light-hearted and nonchalant, Kaison tends to not take things seriously, to the point of appearing distant or insensitive in serious situations. He has a flawless poker face in the form of an unfaltering smile and a stoic disposition hiding any troubles he may or may not have. Although he leans towards idealistic, he has a strong sense of responsibility, even if he otherwise seems frustratingly apathetic. Loves various forms of escapism.
Quirk: Animation
Type: Emitter
Effect: Kaison is capable of animating any drawing created using his blood. Even if drawn as two-dimensional, it will use whatever material it was drawn on to form the basis of a three-dimensional body with Kaison's specifications. Although it doesn't damage the material it originated from, If the material is not malleable enough, they will be unable to take shape properly, and the animation will fail, stopping partway. The sturdiest material Kaison can reliably animate on is Layered Card Stock. (Used in business cards or postcards) He's successfully animated cardboard before, but it tends to take a couple of tries, and the stiffer the material, the stiffer his creation, so the practicality is limited.

His creations are autonomous, though the nature of their behavior is decided entirely by Kaison during creation. This includes any personality, motivations, or potential for growth they have, should Kaison see fit to assign them. Once created, they cannot be altered, though they are able to revert back into a drawing if they are on identical material. Kaison is unable to alter the nature of pre-existing creations, only able to redraw missing parts and then reanimate them.

Kaison's creations are able to visually animate themselves regardless of how they were originally drawn, letting them physically move in ways Kaison did not explicitly design. However, they are not able to change the makeup of their body, meaning they can't shape-shift into paper planes and back, grow a tail, or do things their material isn't capable of. If a paper drawing was given wings, it could use those wings to fly. However, the same drawing on a thicker material like cardboard would fail to keep itself aloft. If a paper drawing tried to lift something too heavy for it to support, it would rip before it succeeds.

Kaison can impose limitations on a drawing during creation to prohibit them from attempting to exert more force on their body than they can handle, though since they can tell when an object is too heavy for them anyway, there's not much of a point. If one of Kaison's creations loses the majority of its body, it will revert into pieces of paper, and cannot be restored. (Although it can be replicated)
History: Kaison was born to a highly successful businessman and his beautiful wife. When Kaison was only two years old, his mother died giving birth to his younger brother. Consequently, his father developed depression and a drinking problem. Due to his young age, he was never familiar with his mother, and his relationship with his father has always been impersonal. His father threw himself upon his work, only to drink whenever he came home. Even so, his father was a drunkard; not neglectful, and he and his brother were generally raised by a series of babysitters and nannies. Their father never really made more time for them than necessary, so they had a lot of time, growing up, to just sit around and play games with each other. Although they had their fair share of video games, they spent most of their time on roleplaying games. Kaison had the same quirk as his mother, and being able to animate the action went a long way towards making storytelling more compelling. As the years passed and his father transitioned from drinking to dating, eventually just telling stories wasn't enough. Kaison wanted to write his own story, and what better story to write than one of a pro hero? The life of a pro hero is full to the brim of action and suspense, as fantastic a scenario as he could reasonably ask for, worthy of being recorded and proliferated...

Well, perhaps that’s just wishful thinking.

Regardless of what the future holds, he figures there's few better potential paths than New Heights.
Exam Report: Kaison sent out several animations to scout out and collect ribbons from the surrounding areas. He was able to cover a wide area and avoid confrontation with other students and robots this way, though little by little, his drawings would fail to come back, slowing his progress.

His end result is fairly average, though the loss of so many drawings so quickly was devastating. He hadn't made enough in advance, he believes, nor expect them to be taken out so quickly, thinking they could rely on stealth.

Theme

MHA: Bot Ten Heroes!

Finally finished.

Ink

Name: Incurro II "Ink" Lysander
Age: 14
Nationality: Italian (Though his ethnicity does not match)
Rank: 43
Appearance:
Personality: Ink is pretty friendly, and for an introvert, he's pretty sociable too. Although he tends to avoid approaching others for no reason, he's the curious type, so he's open to trying new things and attempting to befriend others with similar interests. He's a bit of an idealist, eager to indulge in the hypothetical, but that's not to be confused with naivety, as he is slow to trust others.
Quirk: Cryptopsychology
Type: Emitter
Effect: Ink has a tattoo-like marking of an eye on his body. It can travel along his skin, albeit it's slow and highly sensitive to touch. Damage to the eye is very painful, and can cause Ink to pass out. Cutting the eye will cause anything created by Ink's quirk to melt back into black fluid, but Ink will be unable to move the eye or use his quirk while it is healing.

By focusing on a particular emotion, Ink will be able to see a creature representative of that emotion within the eye's pupil, possessing humanoid traits mixed with animalistic traits depending on the emotion. These traits are arranged somewhat haphazardly, and therefore the end result tends to look bizarre. His quirk is activated by squeezing his eye a bit, causing it to release a viscous black fluid which quickly takes the shape of the creature. Once it has finished taking shape, it will animate, and has complete autonomy. They will behave like wild animals, though their disposition is influenced by whatever emotion was used in their creation. They are also begrudgingly hesitant to harm Ink, as they will know by instinct what happens when his eye is harmed.

After creating one, Ink is unable to create an additional creature for a few hours afterward, though damage to his eye may restrict him further.

Ink has determined that Anger, Disgust, Fear, Joy, and Sadness correspond to Reptilian, Insectoid, Mammalian, Avian, and Floral traits, respectively. No matter what emotion is used in their creation, they possess an identifying eye marking somewhere on their body, though it is not sensitive like Ink's own marking. When the creature is slain, it will dissolve back into black fluid.

Ink has a number of theories of what his quirk should be able to do, but no matter how hard he tries, the creatures he creates never seem to act the way he wants them to.
History: He was named Incurro the second, after his father, and is referred to as Ink or Junior in his household. He was born in the USA, but moved to Italy at a young age. When asked why they moved, his father says it's because it's what his mother wanted, while his mother says it's because the Adriatic sea is haunted, as if that's a good thing. His mother is "The Occult Hero, Esoterica", and his father is a reformed villain who changes occupations frequently. Despite this, they've never failed to provide loving guidance as he grew up. From a young age, Ink thought his family wasn't normal, but it took quite a while for him to think he wasn't normal either.

The first time Ink had used his quirk was in pre-school, though it is also where he first developed a phobia of his quirk. after getting angry at a classmate, he accidentally created a crocodile of sorts, which bit their arm. His classmate broke a bone, but everyone else was unharmed while it was dealt with. He later learned how to dissolve the creatures his quirk created, but the pain involved in doing so certainly didn't help. For a while he thought he'd just learn to live without his quirk, but his mother insisted he should learn how to use his quirk. After the first few training sessions didn't go so well, he started to vehemently deny her, so all she could do was try to get Ink interested in his quirk the way she was. As Ink grew, so too did the creatures he could create. Although he didn't exactly use his quirk often, he did eventually learn how to gain a preview of the creature, and took to doodling them.

As "The Occult Hero", his mother had a fascination with the paranormal, and would constantly ask what Ink could see within his eye marking. She would even ask for a drawing sometimes, some of which are, to this day, framed on their wall, no matter how much Ink asks her to take them down. In spite of the way she went about it, Ink came to feel the same way. As products of the mind, his creatures were always changing, shaped by the nuance of his feelings and what his feelings were caused by. Even if he was scared of using his quirk, his morbid curiosity kept him coming back to look through the eye, earning him a reputation in elementary and middle school as that weird kid who keeps staring at his bizarre tattoo. When the object of your fascination is so close, one will of course want to see it as more than a simple image. As such, Ink eventually continued the training sessions he had with his parents when he was just a kid, and although he still didn't like them much, the caveats of his quirk weren't as big of a deal as they were when he was a kid. In a lot of ways, it was like getting over a fear of needles. He doesn't feel like he's made much progress, since his creations are always out of his control, but he's at least gotten used to the basics of using it.

As Ink started to hit puberty, his eighth-grader syndrome flared up, and he came to keep a collection of drawings in what he calls his Atramentomicon. At least, that's what it's labeled on the first page. If anyone asks, he'll just say it's a journal, which is technically true, since he tends to write about the feelings associated with each creature drawing. He believes it's of vital importance, since he tries (and fails) to use it to determine what specific physical traits correspond to what feelings, though realistically it just has a lot of sentimental value.

Because of his interest in it, his inability to competently use his quirk freely is very depressing to him, so even though he hasn't entirely decided if he wants to be a hero or not, he accepted his mother's suggestion to attend New Heights' hero course. If nothing else, he believes that coming to understand his quirk will make him a better zoologist or veterinarian, his other two favored options.
Exam Report: Ink, at the beginning of his exam, was wildly successful, as the exam didn't measure control at all. He unleashed a large, vicious quadruped with the traits of a bull. It would mow down robots and even attack other students while Ink followed it around at a safe distance, trying to stay out of its way and picking up ribbons in its wake. Unfortunately, keeping his distance from it meant people could sneak up on him and knock him out in one swift blow. Ink didn't catch sight of the person who knocked him out, nor was he sure how they knocked him out, but when he woke up, his eye had a small wound, possibly from falling onto rubble, and all of his ribbons were gone. Also, the exam had ended, putting him in the bottom ten.

Theme

MHA: Bot Ten Heroes!

It's far from complete, as a few details are still pending PMs (and several other aspects are dependent on those details...) but I figure I might as well reserve the number now.

Ink

Name: Incurro II "Ink" Lysander
Hero Name: Pending
Age: 14
Nationality: Italian (Though his ethnicity does not match)
Rank: 41
Appearance:
Costume: Pending
Personality: Pending
Quirk: Pending
History: Pending
Exam Report: Pending

Theme

MHA: Bot Ten Heroes!

@TruthHurts22 Could you elaborate on the nature of the exam? Were ribbons distributed randomly along the exam grounds, or was there a particular method to where they were placed? Were they equally as important as fighting robots, or worth more/less points? Also, what's a good ball park for the number of points the bottom ten would have gotten? It seems fairly likely multiple people ended up with 0 points, which in turn would tie them for last place.

Also, can students earn negative points, and is causing disruptions in the exam (possibly dangerous, exam-ending ones) an option without necessarily causing the student in question to be expelled?

MHA: Bott-Ten Heroes (Interest Check!)

Color me interested.

Pokemon Chrome: The International League

Estelle
Britannium City → Silumin Reserve

When you step out of the pokemon center, you can't help but wonder where you should go. You could always return to Britannium park, but going back there a third time seems a litte... stagnant? You've seen the sights, you've battled the people, and while there's surely more trainers to be had, "it would be nice if I could find a battle on my way out of town..."

"Oh? You're looking for a battle, are you? I'm on my lunch break, so I'll take you on!"

You turn to find a man in a business suit of sorts, holding a pokeball. You were just talking to yourself, as one tends to do off-screen and never actually on-screen unless it is narratively relevant, but this is quite serendipitous indeed. You suppose it's par for the course, being an international league, for trainers to be all over the place. Well, actually, considering their suit, maybe they're just a native of the region? Well, it doesn't really matter who they are, you're just happy to finally get a chance to battle with an adult for once. Not to say that children can't excel in the art of pokemon battling - there were plenty of famous young champions after all, but most gym leaders and elite four are adults. Maybe there's significance to the pattern, maybe there isn't, but either way, you want to know if it feels different, battling against someone your own age. "Yeah! That'd be-"

Before you can finish your sentence, you're interrupted by a girl stepping between the two of you, wearing similar formal attire to the man. She adjusts her glasses in such a way that her they catch the light, obscuring her eyes with the glare and making her face hard to read. "Mind if I join in?"

"Eh? Jenn? Are you on break too?"

She answers matter-of-factly, "I am now."

"Uhhh..." The man seems uncertain, but this is no problem for you. "I don't mind. In fact, I've been meaning to try double battles for a while now, since I intend to try being a coordinator. What do you guys say? Two against one?"

Jenn responds before the man has a chance to. "I find those terms agreeable." The man seems to want to say something, but Jenn is already sending out her pokemon. "Go Snubbull."

You respond in kind. "Go, Sepher! Demetori!"

The man puts a hand on the back of his neck before relenting. "Go, Houndour." It only occurs to you after he sends out his pokemon that he never actually said whether he's okay with a double battle or not... Oh well, he seems to be rolling with it.

Estelle vs. Colleagues Jenn and Ryan

It’s your first time double battling, so you’re a bit apprehensive, but in moments like these, you like to break the ice immediately, with the basics if nothing else.

“Sepher, Water Pulse the Houndour! Demetori, keep Snubbull busy with Fire Fang!” Sepher is quick on the draw, sniping Houndour and dealing heavy damage right off the bat. Demetori follows, charging right at Snubbull. Snubbull extends its paws and leans its head back in an attempt to protect itself, but Demetori just bites Snubbull’s paw.

“Snubbull, Intimidate it with Scary Face!” Snubbull’s face darkens. Its eyes seem to grow deeper, as if they go on for miles. Its jaw unhinges for a second as it opens its mouth to let out a blood-curdling scream.

Demetori makes no facial expression and instead lifts it off the ground and then slams it back into the ground, back and forth. That’s your fearless little baby. ♥

“Houndour! Smog!” Houndour unleashes a stream of poisonous gas, aimed directly at Sepher.

Not quite the same as passing through Sepher harmlessly, but ghost resists poison all the same. “Sepher, Lick!” He seems to be catching on to your strategies, because he doesn’t turn back this time when he sticks out his tongue, as if he’s specifically taunting Houndour. The smog hits him soon thereafter, but he doesn’t seem particularly phased by it and comes out the other end without any lasting harm. “Alright, now finish it with Water Pulse!” Sepher advances on Houndour, knowing full well how helpless the poor doggo must be. Smog isn’t a particularly strong attack, not even any stronger than Ember, considering Houndour’s typing, so its options must be fairly limited. When the Water Pulse hits, no one is surprised to see Houndour go down.

“Damn. Return, Houndour. Let’s go, Hoothoot.” He sends out his Hoothoot unenthusiastically.

Meanwhile, Snubbull and Demetori are still going at it. “Snubbull! Counter it with Bite!” Snubbull, amidst being tossed around like a ragdoll, pulls itself in against Demetori’s teeth and then bites his hand. Bad idea.

“Demetori! Slash it off!” He proceeds to violently shake Snubbull as its sharp claws mess with the inside of its mouth. It holds pretty steady until Demetori begins slamming it against the ground again. When it finally releases its bite, Demetori immediately kicks it off the ground like a soccer ball, and then slashes it away, sending it flying. Needless to say, it has been knocked out.

“Tsk. Snubbull, return. Go, Jigglypuff! Puff up into the air! Ryan, you do the same.”

“Uh, right, Hoothoot, fly up!”

“We’ve got to fight together. Ryan, you do offense, Jigglypuff, we’ll do defense! Use Bide!” Jigglypuff puffs up even further, blocking out Hoothoot from view with a scrunched up face.

“Hoothoot! Echoed Voice!” Hoothoot flies up and lands on Jigglypuff’s head before letting out a piercing cry. You cover your ears as best you can to drown out the wretched noise. The sound is horrible, but it seems like it’s much worse on Sepher and Demetori, possibly due to hearing frequencies.

It occurs to you Jigglypuff is also affected, but it’s still not moving, simply building up the power of bide. An idea strikes you, one that you’re not entirely sure will work, but may just resolve this combat in short order. When Hoothoot finally relents to breathe, you give the command decisively. “Sepher! Demetori! Smokescreen!” They glance at each other once before nodding and letting loose, positively covering the area with smoke. If Hoothoot’s Echoed Voice wasn’t disruptive enough to passersby already, the large plume of smoke definitely seals the deal.

The best course of action now would be to return your pokemon and pretend Sepher and Demetori are still in there, but not sending a replacement out immediately after returning a pokemon is frowned upon in the battling world as unsporting. You’re not sure if there’s regulations against it in official league battles, but you do know that it’s very anticlimactic for a big attack to be negated by an antsy switch. Sure, taking the attack might hurt, but the damage to your reputation is much worse for a coordinator. When you’re performing live onstage, you have to suck up all of your troubles and deal with them afterwards. You suppose battlers don’t owe spectators anything, but coordinators need to be tough on their pokemon and themselves. Well, you suppose you can only hope they feel the same. “Brace yourselves!”

“Some smoke isn’t going to help you! Hoothoot, Echoed Voice!” True to his word, Hoothoot remained perched on Jigglypuff, comfortable to sit there and cry out even louder than before. It starts to get rather unpleasant, but you know it’s much worse for your pokemon right now. Still, they manage to stay hidden, completely enveloped by the smoke.

“Good job, stay hidden for just a bit longer!”

A few short moments pass as Jigglypuff begins to squirm. This Ryan guy is blissfully oblivious. “Hey, aren’t you even going to fight back?”

Jenn is much more level-headed. “If she doesn’t want to fight back, then so be it. Jigglypuff, unleash your energy on them!”

Jigglypuff’s scrunched-up face seems to get even more uncomfortable as it tilts off-kilter and eventually lands on its side. Hoothoot tries to stay atop it at first before eventually dismounting and coming to land next to Jigglypuff.

Jenn starts to look worried “Jigglypuff, what’s wrong? It’s okay if you miss, just do your best.” It’s probably dawned on her that their strategy has a crucial weakness.

Jigglypuff erupts all at once, yelling loudly and slamming into Hoothoot like a freight train. You didn’t think a Jigglypuff was capable of moving so quickly or exerting such force, but it seems that all the damage it took from Echoed Voice snapped out at once like a rubberband. Hoothoot is completely wrecked, launched down the street like a feathery bullet.

“Hoothoot!” Ryan chases after it, down the street and away from battle. Jigglypuff is still standing though, and Jenn seems beside herself with anguish.

It was just a guess, but you did know the basic principle of how Bide worked. It’s a counterattack with strength directly related to the damage the pokemon receives. You weren’t sure if it could be redirected or not, but without a target in sight thanks to Smokescreen, the worst case scenario was making them waste their stored power and accomplishing little in the process. However, this outcome exceeds your expectations.

Jenn doesn’t seem to feel the same. “You! Do you know how far you’ve just set me back with Ryan in an instant!?”

Honestly? Not your concern in the slightest, but it’s time to put on your customer service voice, which sounds exactly like your regular voice but isn’t sincere. Your cast your eyes to the ground and bring a hand to your cheek in a faux nervous tic, helping to sell an expression of repentant guilt. “I’m so sorry, I had no idea you two were…” dealing with some kind of insipid one-sided love bullshit. “-Well, had I known, I’d have probably-” not “-done things differently.” You start to gain a feeling of real guilt, a byproduct of getting in-character. When you commit to a behavior well enough mentally, you can trick your brain into having feelings you can recognize yourself as illogical. Even if you don’t care at all, telling yourself you do and feeling as if you do makes acting like you do a lot easier. “I wish I could help, but I’m afraid I can’t think of any solution” You can think of plenty actually, but they’re all huge hastles. “The only way to help I can think of is to save Ryan’s pride by winning.”

Jenn seems to have reeled in her wrath a bit thanks to your apology, but she still seems mad. “What, and let me come off as incompetent? And denying me of any revenge? Forget that! It may be one against two, but we’ve still got tricks up our sleeves! Jigglypuff, get rid of that smoke with Icy Wind!”

Jigglypuff unleashes a chilly gale, blowing away the smoke. From beneath the black haze, a striking pair of blue and red pokemon are revealed. Instead of a Froakie and a Charmander standing there, you find a Frogadier and a Charmeleon in their place. You can’t believe it. “Sepher? Demetori?”

They each look back and nod.

You simply cannot believe it. You never got to see your own pokemon evolve. You were excited for this ever since you got them so long ago, and just like that, you missed it. you just can’t believe your luck. MAYBE if you weren’t so busy PACIFYING this GROWN ADULT, you could have actually continued THE BATTLE YOU ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF. Then they wouldn’t have evolved while sitting in the middle of a smokescreen! You would have bust out your phone and streamed it live to your fans! Ugh! This isn’t fair!

You know just who to take it out on, though.

“So they evolved, big whoop, I’m still not giving up! Jigglypuff, Mega Punch!” Jigglypuff goes straight to Demetori, being slightly closer to him.

“Demetori, take it down!” Demetori does well to obey, meeting Jigglypuff head on and grabbing the Mega Punch. You expected its signature bite, and you can’t imagine Demetori managed that without taking some damage, but it’s hard to argue with his choices when he digs his claws into Jigglypuff’s nubby little hands. “Alright, now that you’ve got her, get rid of her!” Demetori twirls Jigglypuff around like a lasso before tossing it at Sepher. The temptation to yell out ‘DUNK THAT TRASH!’ is overwhelming, but you resist. Truly, your self-control is unparalleled. “Sepher, dunk it with Quick Attack!” Sepher rises up and slams it down with a well-placed kick, immediately showing off the superior speed of a Frogadier. Jigglypuff hits the ground hard and bounces off of it like the balloon that it is. “Now, finish it Demetori! Slash it all the way to Hoothoot!” Demetori does just that, nailing it with a wicked uppercut that sends it blasting off down the road.

“Go to him. I think he’s bummed he didn’t get to do a single battle. If it seems like the result would have been the same, then losing should sting less right?”

Jenn gives you an annoyed look, but doesn’t seem like she’s going to disagree. Yes, that’s right, go forth my minion. Sing my praises to him and become closer through your collective defeat.

Jenn runs off towards him without a word. You call out to her, “Good luck!” She doesn’t look back.

After beating Colleagues Jenn and Ryan, you call back your newly evolved pokemon and return to the pokemon center you just stepped out of. What they say about trainers practically living in them really is true.

As you hand your pokemon off to Nurse Joy, you start to wonder how you should go about approaching the league challenge. You mostly want a wide, open area to train without worrying about others getting in the way. according to the maps-guides you picked up earlier, Route 2 is full of shops and Route 9 is practically a park. You’re sure you’d be able to find places to train on either, but you don’t want to have to do any searching. They’re only candidates because they’re on the way to Arsenic Island, after all. That being said, there are a couple of forests around the place…

As you get your pokemon back, you ask Nurse Joy what she thinks. She recommends to you the Silumin Reserve, since the poison pokemon on Arsenic Island’s forests make it difficult to train for long periods of time, in addition to being easy to get lost in. You’re always up for a challenge, but from the sounds of things, it’s just more tedious to deal with.

You thank Nurse Joy for the advice and finish up your business in Britannium. Besides grabbing a bite at a local restaurant you’ve been meaning to try, you have to do a photo session with your two newly evolved pokemon. It’s only natural for you to show them off to the world, posting dozens of pictures of them online. Sepher seems to get more tired from the photo shoot than an actual battle, while Demetori is aloof throughout the whole thing. Once you’re finally satisfied, you hail a Flying Taxi and head straight to the Silumin Reserve.

Status

Pokemon
→
Name: Sepher
Species: Froakie → Frogadier
Gender: ♂
Ability: Protean
Battle Experience: 7 → 11
Moves: Water Pulse, Lick, Quick Attack, Smokescreen

→
Name: Demetori
Species: Charmander → Charmeleon
Gender: ♂
Ability: Blaze
Battle Experience: 7 → 11
Moves: Fire Fang, Dragon Breath, Slash, Smokescreen


Name: Xi-on
Species: Ponyta (Galarian)
Gender: ♀
Ability: Pastel Veil
Battle Experience: 7
Moves: Confusion, Fairy Wind, Tackle, Agility

Inventory
5 Potions
5 Pokeballs
1 Revive

Pokemon Chrome: The International League

Estelle
Britannium City

As you come to watch the battles around the fountain, you find herself in awe. Sure, they aren't the most spectacular of battles, but you can't blame them for not comparing favorably to professionals, and there are so many battles going on at once that it's hard to find a dull moment. You wonder how difficult it would be to conduct multiple battles at once before dismissing the idea. Let's not get ahead of ourselves here, you can barely hold your own in a normal battle. Still, there is always double battles...

Ah, well, it seems one of the battles has come to a close, giving you an opportunity to join in. It's just what you need to focus on the things in front of you. "Mind taking me on?"

The lass responds in kind. "If you think you can take me!"

Estelle vs. Lass Michele

(replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nation…)

"Go, Skitty!"

"Go, Demetori!" You send out your Charmander and watch as it roars adorably. It's like a tiny godzilla and you love it. You couldn't decide on your starter, so you let your fans pick for you. Although you had your doubts on picking the fire lizard, you can certainly see the appeal now. In any case, it's go-time. "Demetori! Fire Fang!"

Demetori is right on it, practically jumping on Skitty and sinking its flame-wreathed fangs into it, pinning it down. Skitty quivers. "Skitty! Get him off of you with Attract!" The Skitty embraces its helpless position, striking a certain cliché pose. You see Demetori blush, but his bite remains firm. "Now, bring it home with Disarming Voice!" Skitty lets out an embarrassing cry, and suddenly you fear for your pokemon's chastity.

"Demetori! Fire Fang!" Thankfully, it seems that disarming voice wasn't very effective, because Demetori has no issues doing a spin while still biting Skitty, twirling it around before throwing it into the air. Without any commands this time, Demetori follows up, jumping into the air, grabing hold of Skitty with fiery jaws yet again, doing a fucking front-flip, then dunking Skitty into the ground.

Dang. That's impressive.

Lass Michele grimaces before returning Skitty and sending out her next pokemon. "Go, Taillow!"

After seeing the incredible dunking that her Skitty just receives, she seems to think she needs to psych herself up to continue. What better way to get yourself pumped up, though, than to have your pokemon get pumped? "Taillow, focus energy!" Taillow begins to charge up, so to speak, and begins to look much more dangerous.

Well, perhaps you can make use of this momentum to throw them off. "Demetori, use Smokescreen!" Demetori gets to work flooding the vicinity with smoke. Hopefully this isn't meddling with other battles.

Lass Michele is quick to reply. "Taillow! Quick Attack him before you lose sight!" Taillow is indeed very fast, but ultimately not fast enough to pinpoint Demetori through the haze.

"Grab them!" Demetori is good on the follow-through, snatching Taillow out of the air with its fiery fangs. Taillow, restrained, lashes out.

"Peck him off!" Taillow gets in some very good hits, even going so far as to poke Demetori in the eye. Still, Demetori is unwavering, with admirable endurance.

"Finish it! Fire Fang!" Demetori gets to work yet again in comically rough fashion. He begins slamming Taillow against the ground like a T-Rex trying to subdue its meal. Eventually it succumbs, wherein Demetori tosses it aside like a toy it's bored with. Demetori is certainly looking worse for wear, but it stands strong, as if it's ready to continue. You voice your concerns. "Do you want to keep going?" It responds quickly and briefly in the affirmative, not even looking back at you as if the state it's in is no big deal. Well, alright then.

Lass Michele has a determined look on her face now. Maybe she won't be beating you, but she's sure as hell coming for your Charmander. "Go Silcoon!" A Silcoon pops out.

This is... uh... actually pretty good for you? "Demetori! Fire Fang!" He pounces it, dealing heavy damage immediately.

"Silcoon! Finish him!" Silcoon then does what appears to be a backflip, slamming itself against Demetori, knocking him out. You saw this coming, but it's still surprising for some reason. "Some Silcoon can only sit there and harden, but you can't keep mine out of the fight!"

"Duly noted. Return, Demetori. You did well. Go, Sepher!" You send out your Froakie, who looks as Silcoon apathetically. You understand how it feels. it's just clean-up duty.

"Silcoon! Tackle!" Silcoon, in spite of the huge damage it took from Demetori, seems fit to attack. Well, if it's going to use such a simple attack though...

"Sepher, Lick!" Sepher twitches a bit, but seems to get the idea from last time. Silcoon passes right through him, but is caught as he comes out the other side and given a big nasty lick. You really need to teach Sepher more ghost moves. "Finish it with Water Pulse!" Sepher nods once and then holds Silcoon up and blows out the rings of water. Silcoon is launched out of its hands and falls to the ground, defeated.

After her loss, all she has to say is, "Aw, darn."

You try to comfort her with words of encouragement. You figure it's what you'd like were you in the same position. "It was a good battle. Your Taillow is pretty strong."

Before she can respond though, one of the spectators is quick to step in, taking her place. "If I may cut in~"

Lass Michele doesn't seem to mind and simply nods. "I've been beat. Go ahead." You don't seem to have any say in this, but you suppose going for another battle is par for the course.

Estelle vs. Student Tenson

(replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nation…)

"Go! Charmander!"

You stare at his Charmander. You turn your head to look at your Froakie, still out of his pokeball. He turns to look at you, as well. "Uh, go, Sepher, I guess?"

"Hmph, making use of your type advantage. How shrewd of you." You can't help but raise an eyebrow. "Still, I shall not shy away from your challenge!"

Whatever you say. "Sepher, Water Pulse." Sepher launches rings of water which quickly devastate his Charmander.

"Hah, well done, but can you handle this? Charmander! Dragonbreath!" His Charmander quickly shakes off the water and fires blue flames across the battlefield, nailing Sepher.

Student Tenson pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose with one hand, like some kind of anime character. What does he think this is, Digimon? "Haha! How was that!? Do you see how your own Charmander compares to-"

"Water Pulse." He water pulses. Charmander faints. Student Tenson does not utter a single word, or even move a muscle.

Seconds go by.

You almost feel sorry for interrupting him when he snaps out of it, returning his Charmander to its ball while maintaining a strained version of his previous triumphant smile. "Well done. But now, it's time for my Misdreavus!" He sends out a Misdreavus, which you know to be quite strong in spite of their small size. They're quite cute in fact, maybe you should catch one sometime. "Misdreavus, Psywave!"

Right, focus on the battle. You're familiar with the move Psywave because of its peculiarity. Its damage is based on the strength of the opponent, but its also highly inconsistent, and can do significant or insignificant damage depending mostly on how it hits; mostly a matter of luck.

Psywave devastates Sepher, but a plan hatches in your head. A very risky one, but it could potentially pay dividends. You give a loud command to Sepher, to make sure Student Tenson hears. "Alright, Sepher, remember your Protean ability? Normally Water Pulse is stronger, but as a ghost type, your Lick will be better! Use Lick!" Sepher gives you another strange look. He probably knows. Super-effective Lick is actually exactly the same strength as Water Pulse, if those guides you read on the moves are to be believed. That just leaves it to whether Sepher is better at physical or special attacks better, and as a species, Froakies tend to lean more towards special attacks. If Sepher can intuit this, then it should know something's up, and so you meet its gaze, trying to make it understand your plan nonverbally. You're not confident you got through to him in those few short moments, but whether you did or not, Sepher obeys, closing the gap and giving Misdreavus a long lick. Again, you really need to teach Sepher a new ghost-type move.

"Oh yeah? a ghost type now, huh? Misdreavus! Finish it off with Astonish!"

Not so fast. "Now! Smokescreen!" For the second time, you fill the area with smoke and hope you're not messing with other battles in the process. It's not fast enough though, and Misdreavus nails Sepher with Astonish, coming to a stop right in front of it with wide, thousand-yard stares and horrid screams.

Sepher stares at it, unperturbed. Student Tenson lets out an audible "Huh?" Before you give the command for a counter-attack.

"Sepher! Water Pulse!" Sepher Blasts Misdreavus from close range, knocking it to a distance. It seems your plan worked. You figured that they'd avoid using Psywave if there was a better option, especially if it was to just finish someone off.

Student Tenson seems unshaken. "You think you'll beat Misdreavus that easily? Misdreavus! Psywave!" Misdreavus tries to launch its psychic waves at Sepher, but Sepher evades and disappears into the fog. "What? Misdreavus should be faster than your Froakie! What did you do?"

Not that you're a very good trainer either, but this guy should at least pay closer attention. "Take a closer look at your own pokemon." Misdreavus is paralyzed, thanks to Lick. It probably would have been too late to get Smokescreen off otherwise, something your plan really didn't take into account. It was an amateur mistake that could have easily cost you the battle, but it seems you lucked out. You'll have to work on thinking things through, but for the time being, your number one priority is making sure he gets no more chances. "Sepher! Water Pulse!"

Sepher dances around Misdreavus, making full use of the smoke screen as it chips away with Water Pulse. Misdreavus even gets confused in the process, dizzied by the ultrasonic nature of water pulse. Even so, as you've said before, Misdreavus are a strong kind, and it shows when it snaps out of confusion at a crucial moment as Sepher reveals its own location. "Misdreavus! Psywave!" Misdreavus predicts Sepher's movement and hits him through the smoke perfectly, leaving you with only one pokemon left. You run to Sepher, and lift his head up. "You've done so well. I'll have to come up with a better plan next time, hmm?" Sepher gives you a cute, froggy smile and you give him a good few pets before returning him to his pokeball.

One pokemon left, and it's at a type disadvantage, no less. Still, you have confidence. It's heavily weakened and even paralyzed. "You can do this, Go! Xi-on!" You send out your Ponyta, who dazzles the spectators with a mane that stands out even amidst the lingering smoke. No more hiding. "Confusion!"

"Misdreavus! Hide in the smoke!" Misdreavus is about to turn tail and run, but is stopped in place by its paralysis, and helpless to your confusion. Misdreavus is picked up by Xi-on, spun around until it's dizzy, and then tossed into the air. "Come on, Misdreavus! Psywave!" Misdreavus somehow manages to right itself on the way down and lets loose a Psywave. Unfortunately, it is not let loose in the right direction. It flies upwards, hits an overhead tree branch, and sends the branch flying straight towards Misdreavus. It tries to avoid it, but its paralysis kicks in at the worst possible moment and the tree branch collides with it, knocking it out. You return Xi-on to its pokeball as Student Tenson runs over to Misdreavus' rescue. It seems it's alright, at least.

Whew. After a long battle, you manage to pull out a victory. You may have won, but it was your first time fighting such a tough opponent, and to be honest, you think it's time to take a breather. You come to realize you might be in a little over your head when a couple try to step in for a third round double battle. As much as you'd like to take them up on their offer, you're down to one pokemon, so you regretfully decline. You thank Tenson for the battle before retreating to the pokemon center and taking stock on your pokemon's condition.

Xi-on is raring to go.
Sepher is feeling more comfortable with your commands.
Demetori hungers for the blood of his enemies.

Now that your pokemon feel better, you do as well. You were thinking of taking a break, but maybe you should keep going. There's still so much to improve on after all, and progress is coming in spades... You could get used to being a trainer.

Pokemon Chrome: The International League

Estelle
Britannium City

"Hey you! Very gorgeous lady!"

You turn to see a young boy offering her a rose. It's quaint, if a bit embarrassing, considering his age.

"Yes, I think so indeed, perfect! Say lady! If I beat you in a Pokemon battle, how would you like to become my girlfriend?"

Ah, what was that? Could it be that you heard the barking of a feral dog passing by?

Nothing angers you like being summarily judged at a glance. In fact, you'd have to say it's your biggest professional weakness. You can handle some overly forward fans; even creeps can be flattering, but when people talk about you without knowing who you are, it really gets to you.

Normally you would have picked a foreign language and tell him what you really think of him with a smile on your face, but not today. Cameras or not, there's always the risk of being overheard by someone who could understand, and you strive to always do better. Now is a perfect opportunity, since, thinking rationally, it's just some child's crush. His definition of a relationship is much different than yours. At worst, he's just some brat lacking in "parental guidance." You don't consider yourself the motherly type, but perhaps you should give him a small lesson...

"Le coup de foudre, n'est-ce pas? Désolé de dire que je ne suis pas croyant."

Translation

"Love at first sight, is it? Sorry to say I'm not a believer."

"Uh... What? Do you speak English, lady?"

"Mais si c'est juste une bataille que vous recherchez, je suis heureux de vous obliger." You wink as you say it and pull out a pokeball.

Translation

"But if it's just a battle you're after, I'm happy to oblige."

"Wait, so you accept then?"

"Allons-y! Xi-on!"

(Estelle vs. Rich Kid Roy)

As Rich Kid Roy is summarily defeated, he drops his rose the ground and you give him a wide smile, as if taunting him. "How can I be your girlfriend when we don't even speak the same language?"

"Well, I guess you're ri-WAIT, HEY!"

You can't help but giggle. "Ah, well, it's too bad you couldn't beat me. I guess I can't be your girlfriend now."

Rich Kid Roy blushes, but his brow lowers in irritation. "Hey, if you say it like that, then I'm going to take it as a promise, alright!?"

Ah, such an innocent kid. "Ah, Well, I think you're a bit too young for me, but maybe if you can show me a battle I can't forget, I'll give it some thought when you grow up. That good enough for you?" You don't want to play with his feelings, but outright denying someone is a big no-no in your profession. After all, where would you be without the love of your fans? That being said, you'd love a rematch after he trains up some more, though you don't expect anything special, even if he manages to win.

He seems upset, but you're not sure if it's because you've hurt his pride or because you turned him down. "I'll be back! I'll beat you yet! You'll be begging to be my girlfriend, you'll see!" With that, he stomps off, cheeks still red.

Haha, fat chance.