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 Posted: Thu May 30, 2013 2:16 pm
"Magnemite, get out of the way!" Adam yelled, taking up strumming on his guitar to set the mood for the likely final encounter between the two Pokemon. Marshall spat another, smaller blob of mud at the Magnet Pokemon, which was promptly dodged when it veered to the right. "Solid! Use Sonic Boom!" He picked up the pace of the music just as his Pokemon launched the shock wave that slammed right into an unexpecting Marshall. The Wooper tumbled back, letting out a low wooooop before struggling to get back up, which was considerably harder considering he had no arms.
"Oh, no," Amy murmured, frowning. Habitually, she adjusted her glasses, which had slipped down pretty far in the excitement of the battle earlier. Marshall had begun to move again, his intentions toward the Magnemite clear: he seemed to plan on using another Slam attack to get back at the Electric/Steel-type. "Marshall, wait!" the bespectacled girl called out, testing to see whether or not he would listen. Luckily for her, he did, pausing in his tracks. "Mud Bomb!" Well, at least that was a good attack to pick. Marshall again launched a large ball of mud that, even when striking a glancing blow on the evasive little magnet, was powerful enough to send it careening into the ground. After a solid beat, the Magnemite remained down. Amy and Marshall had won.
"That was my only Pokemon," Adam admitted as he recalled it. "I have to say, that was pretty hardcore. You think you're ready for Lt. Surge?" Amy paused, glancing at her Wooper, who had taken to dancing all about in celebration of his own victory. Between him, Castamere, Lee, and Flora, she had a pretty formidable group of Pokemon. Or at least, she thought so.
"I think we're ready to try," Amy said, smiling as she knelt down to meet Marshall. The two exchanged grins before she recalled him into his Pokeball, attaching it back to her belt. Adam nodded, appearing satisfied with this answer.
"Then go ahead, search through these trashcans. Maybe you'll find a switch here."
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Misty couldn't help but feel a little satisfied at Train's reaction; at least now she had a taste of what the redheaded gym leader experienced on a daily basis. Even without items, trainers would find ways to replenish their Pokemon's health all the time. Speaking of which, her blonde challenger was ordering for another Mega Drain. It must not have many attacks, Misty concluded. Or, any good ones, at this rate. She called for her Starmie to dodge.
And, surprisingly, her Starmie did. Although moving much slower than before, the Mysterious Pokemon moved through the water in order to avoid the Grass-type attack. It hadn't recovered just to let its health be sapped away, now had it? "Use Ice Beam," Misty said with a tiny smirk, wanting to see how Train would react to that. The paralysis did not prevail this time; instead, the core of Starmie's body glowed and then it fired the blue beam right at Gloom. "Don't count us out yet, Train!"
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Posted: Thu May 30, 2013 8:23 pm
It was about this time when Kasiya realized that Alphonse was not responding well to her commands, and if she had to judge by the way he was having difficulty moving, she'd wager he'd been paralyzed. Ooh, maybe the Snivy did something while we were distracted with our PokeDexes, the blonde thought, but there was no time to dwell on that as an eager Hayley was already giving her next command. Not a whole lot could be done as she helplessly watched her poor Piplup rise off the ground, beady little eyes wide with fear. "Alphonse...!" she cried, but that was all she could say as the penguin was then sent for a ride. Luckily for him that Ivy wasn't that strong yet, otherwise he could have been punted to the other side of Pewter City, but both Pokemon were still quite young and the Water-type went about twenty or so feet up and back before coming down and crashing hard to the ground, shrieking with terror the entire time.
Admittedly, Kasiya was a little surprised to see the Piplup pull himself to his feet and glare defiantly at Ivy, but she smiled anyway, knowing the little penguin wasn't quite ready to give up just yet. "That's my boy, Al! Hit 'em with another Ice Beam!" she said, as it was by far the best move the Piplup had to counter a Grass-type. Unfortunately for Alphonse, however, luck was not on his side his whole little body seized up and he found himself unable to move.
=-=-=-=-=
Even though Jade hadn't asked for his help, Jaeshan put his PokeDex to use a second time and identified Cirrus' opponent as a Stunky - a dual Poison and Dark-type Pokemon. The Croagunk that Sigilyph was currently having a stare-down with was a Poison/Fighting-type - the Avianoid Pokemon easily held the advantage here. Why do all the bad guys seem to use Poison-types? Jaeshan thought, looking on as the little Shinx delivered a strong-looking, electrified tackle to the skunk Pokemon, only to receive a face-full of poisoned gas as a reward. For a moment he considered intervening, as they did work well together as a team, but he decided to let his ebony-haired companion have her fun. Jade's fine, I've got to focus on this frog-thing, he thought, a bit of a smirk creeping into his features as he gave the nod to his newest and strangest Pokemon partner.
"What is that... thing?" the greasy-haired woman laughed, prompting her fellow bikers to join her. "That has got to be the ugliest Pokemon I've ever seen!" The gang's roaring laughter only made Jaeshan roll his eyes - it seemed that his opponents calling Sigilyph 'thing' and 'ugly' was going to be a recurring theme from now until probably forever. Still chortling, she pointed at Jaeshan's Pokemon. "Croagunk, let's see if that stupid, ugly thing looks any better covered in muck! Mud-slap, now!" The frog-like Pokemon gave a shrill cry, spitting a good deal of gunk onto the ground before spinning and lobbing two handfuls of it at Sigilyph.
Let 'em laugh, the best revenge will be stunning them all into silence when Sigilyph mops the floor with her Croagunk, the tall blond thought, still smiling and looking completely unfazed by the fact that his Pokemon was being attacked. Sigilyph, however, simply drifted up and out of the reach of the mud, completely unaffected. The gang's laughter ceased almost immediately, which was music to Jae's ears. A light droning from the dual Psychic/Flying-type reached his ears and he chuckled a bit - it seemed that Sigilyph was picking up on his thoughts and was in full agreement with him. "Sigilyph, Tailwind," was all he said, leaning back on a heel as he folded his arms across his chest. Sigilyph's wings began to flap and soon a powerful wind was blustering at the backs of both he and Cirrus, giving the pair a very useful boost to their speed.
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Posted: Fri May 31, 2013 1:00 pm
'Koffing definitely needs to learn some new moves,' Jasper thought with a slight frown, as he wasn't sure all this toxic gas was good for the environment. That, and the poison type could possibly benefit from being a little more versatile with her available moves in battle. He raised an eyebrow when he heard Ben call for a Tackle, wondering just how well the little bird was faring within the highly poisonous cloud. "Koffing, dodge it, and spew out some more Smog," he called. Every second the Pidgey spent within the fumes increased the chances of it becoming poisoned (or so Jasper hoped, at least) and he quickly checked up on the bird in his Pokedex.
Koffing, meanwhile, was more than in her element at the moment and was quite pleased to be allowed to pollute the clean air to her liking. Her own gases and fumes weren't bothering her in the slightest and she let out a hearty chortle as the bird dived toward her. Still wearing an impossibly wide grin, she hovered there, just above the ground, as Pidgey drew nearer and nearer, waiting for the absolute last second to rocket upward, leaving another lovely gift of acrid, toxic gas in her wake. Let the bird crash into the ground for all she cared; she was having a blast!
* * * * * * * * * *
Hayley winced as Alphonse crashed into the ground, admittedly starting to feel a bit bad for the Piplup. A small voice in the back of her mind told her that this was no time to get all mushy-feely-sad and that she had to focus on the battle. Ivy, on the other hand, stood tall and proud, nose pointed toward the sky in a hoity-toity manner. Obviously, she didn't feel the least bit remorseful and why should she; she clearly had the upper hand! The Snivy looked back at her trainer, eager for her next order.
The brunette bit her lower lip, quickly realizing the inevitable. She tried her best to look determined as she pointed at the penguin. "Ivy, I think we can, um, end this! Tackle attack!" The Snivy gave a quick nod and narrowed her eyes before breaking into a run. The speedy little grass type gave a cry as she neared her target, preparing to slam her shoulder into the paralyzed Piplup with all the strength she could muster.
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Posted: Fri May 31, 2013 1:34 pm
Glad to return to her search, Amy knelt down and immediately checked the nearest bin. After some digging around and checking the papers (an expired coupon for a Vermilion restaurant, a receipt from the PokeMart -- did Surge just have his trainers empty their pockets every once and a while?), she found that there was nothing of note. There were still two other trainers she might have to battle to find this switch, and while Marshall and Lee would not be opposed to fighting again so soon, Amy wasn't too keen on the idea. She was actually excited to battle Surge himself, bordering on impatient. The fact surprised her, but it was a pleasant surprise. Battling isn't too bad, the girl thought to herself as she checked the next can, finding nothing yet again.
"Hm," Amy huffed, looking around at the trashcans surrounding her. Picking one she was pretty sure she hadn't checked before at random, she leaned forward and plunged her hand into the trash, aiming to skim the bottom. It was there that her fingers brushed the last switch -- yes! She had done it! "Yay!" the bespectacled girl cheered as she switched off the second electric current, opening up the second part of the gym where Lt. Surge should be waiting. As she made to go toward the area, Winston cleared his throat.
"Lt. Surge hasn't returned yet," he said, almost apologetically. "You're free to wait for him, but... there is no guarantee as to when he'll be back." Again, Amy was dumbfounded. That had been the problem in the first place, granted, but the gym leader hadn't snuck in during her battles? Or come in through a back door? She felt a bit foolish then, but masked both her chagrin and her disappointment with a polite smile.
"That's all right; I have to do something before I challenge him, anyway. But thank you for the battle -- I'll be right back!" She made her way out of the gym, welcomed by the warm, summer air of a Vermilion City afternoon. After letting the sunlight warm her face, Amy began walking with purpose back toward the Pokecenter.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Although she gave no indication of her appreciation, Jade was glad to hear Jake's Pokedex in the background, identifying her opponent's Pokemon. A Poison/Dark-type, huh? That was as much as she'd guessed. The raven-haired girl crossed her arms, watching her own Pokemon stumble back, already feeling the effects of the Poison Gas. Although poison wasn't necessarily a good thing, at least they didn't have to worry about avoiding it anymore. Cirrus could just go all out and get as close to that disgusting-smelling Stunky as he pleased. Jade was a firm believer in making the best of things in situations like these.
Unbeknownst to her, Jake's battle was going much more smoothly, with an obvious advantage to the blonde-haired boy and his Sigilyph. Jade couldn't help but feel a bit jealous that he was capable of using his youngest Pokemon in a battle like this. Something told her that Chloris would not fare well at all. Her companion called for a Tailwind, a move that seemed to effect both Sigilyph and Cirrus. At first, the dark-haired girl was confused and a bit annoyed with this help (she hadn't asked for it, after all), but then she shook her head, figuring that he wouldn't want to sabotage either of them in a battle. "Thanks," Jade said instead, then returned her attentions to her own battle. "Cirrus, use Bite!" And the blue kitten was zipping off, making the effects of the Tail Wind very apparent as he sped toward Stunky. Despite the Skunk Pokemon's half Dark typing, the attack did full damage and it cried out, flinching. Any hoarse commands from its trainer fell on deaf ears and the Shinx leapt back, trying his best to growl intimidatingly.
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Posted: Fri May 31, 2013 1:35 pm
Bugsy was thankful that Jett's Ekans was only just an Ekans. One challenger a few months back thought it would be funny to bring his Arbok in for his challenge. He'd said he missed the gym by accident and decided to just clean house with his horrifying snake. However, even though Naja was just a little'un, she still had spirit. Few young Pokemon would willingly leap at a Scyther like she was. "The last thing we need is to get poisoned." he said to himself, before ordering Scyther to do another Quick Attack.
The Mantis Pokemon was starting to feel the weight of the battle, and not just because his limbs occasionally decided to lock up thanks to his paralysis. He saw Naja lunge at him and summoned as much energy as he could to swat her away with the blunt end of his arm. Bugsy knew that Scyther was going down soon, but he hoped he would at least be able to knock one of Jett's Pokemon out to get the kid sweating.
------
Oh look. It's Giggles. A phantom pointed out, pointing to the skeleton suspended above them. Sure enough, it was a rather large Aerodactyl.
"So it is!" Giggles was of course the ever-so-fitting name of Dante's mother Violet's fossil Pokemon.
Dante's extremely hot mom, you mean.
"I will neither confirm nor deny Violet's level of hotness." Mike said bluntly.
Denial is just affirmation coated in subterfuge~ a young female shadow sang out joyously, twirling in place like a ballerina.
"That's...often quite true." the boy replied, somewhat defeated. "Let's move on." The group finished up their lap of the exhibits, learning quite a bit about the various Pokemon that lived back in the day. Sadly, he didn't learn much of anything new about Omanyte, aside from their diet and that the floated due to regulating gases in the empty chambers of their shell. Mostly the trip served to bring Armaldo to his attention, and now he wanted one oh so badly.
Not so much a total loss.
"No, not entirely." he said, flipping open his Pokedex and taking one more look at the bipedal shrimp Pokemon before snapping it shut. "Let's rejoin with the girls, shall we?" Mike spun his way through the revolving door a few times before exiting the museum. "I wonder how their training session is going?"
Once outside, Mike released Pumpkin, making sure to greet his little Pokemon by blowing a huge ball of smoke in his face. "That's for earlier!" he said with false-sternness in his voice. Still naive, the Litwick took it at face value and let out a shameful whine. After a little damage control, the little ghost was back to happy again, and was playfully spitting embers at his trainer as they walked back to Kasiya and Hayley. Mike of course reminded Pumpkin that he was the only person that he could 'play with' like that, and under no circumstances would he ever burn another human being.
In no time at all Mike began to hear the telltale indignant whine of his girlfriend's Piplup, which brought a smile to his face. "Using Al against Hayley's grass Pokemon? That's mean, love." Soon the battle was in sight, and the boy and his Pokemon sat in a nearby chair and watched the fight unfold. Hayley seemed a bit anxious, so he figured it was a good idea not to distract her.
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Posted: Fri May 31, 2013 3:39 pm
Ben groaned as he saw the purple thing jump up into the air, unscathed. He was starting to get annoyed by this Pokemon. "Pidgey, just keep going after it1 It can't dodge forever!" Pidgey cries out weakly, his body's movement a little labored as he flies upward and tries to pull through another Tackle. It seemed the noxious gasses were finally having an effect. Ben grit his teeth at the sight of his Pokemon, remembering the Antidote he'd bought earlier that week. If things kept up like this, he might have to use it...
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Posted: Fri May 31, 2013 3:46 pm
Naja's lunge was cut abruptly, painfully short when she was swatted away by that annoying, overgrown mantis. For a second time, the serpent found herself tumbling to the ground, not even afforded a soft landing. Jett watched with rapt attention to see whether or not she would get back up; Scyther was obviously the stronger Pokemon, and Naja had taken quite a few hits, but he wasn't willing to give up yet. And neither was his Ekans. The Snake Pokemon slowly rose, obviously fatigued.
"Okay, let's avoid that mistake again," Jett muttered, sensing a relation between Naja getting close to Scyther and Naja being sent flying away. What was that thing Bugsy had said earlier? Something about getting close to Pokemon with swords for arms? Well, there's not much choice in that matter, the dark-haired boy thought, a bit frustrated. But maybe we can make the next attack count all the more. "Leer." Naja's eyes narrowed as she glared up at Scyther, hissing to add to her intimidating factor. If that Scyther wanted to tango again, she would make sure it'd be with a lower defense. That could make all the difference, if she could get her fangs into the paralyzed Mantis Pokemon again.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Luckily enough, the Pokecenter wasn't too far from the Vermilion City Gym, and Amy spent the short walk consumed by her own thoughts. Right now, she was in a state of half worry, half hypervigilance. What if Surge used some new Pokemon she didn't know about? Like, an Electric/Fighting-type, or an Electric/Fire-type (which, she rationalized, Marshall would be perfect for, but still sounded terrifying) or some other formidable combination? What if he had some new Unova Pokemon? As she rushed into the air-conditioned center, she supposed that, if any of the above happened, she would simply have to... battle them. She hadn't gone into a battle with Winston or Adam knowing what Pokemon they had, now did she? And she trusted in her team.
Slightly calmed down, the bespectacled girl handed over said team to an ever-cheerful Nurse Joy, and then began to pace about the lobby. On the walls, there were plenty of posters, many of them advertising traveling, since Vermilion had one of the biggest ports in the region. Unova... Sinnoh... Hoenn... even Johto, Amy counted, looking at what seemed to be a ship schedule. All of the possibilities made her wonder what she wanted to do after this battle, disregarding its results. Karrigan had gone off for adventures of her own, which was understandable, and Riza and Kasiya and the rest must be long gone by now. She could travel alone, of course, and train until the next contest. Or she could challenge more gyms, depending on how this battle turned out. Or maybe take a trip herself. She left the question to be answered for a later time, instead returning to the counter when the nurse called her name. "Thank you," Amy said with a smile, collecting her fully-healed team. She walked back outside, looking over at the gym in the distance.
"Okay," she breathed, "okay, I'm doing this." She began to walk at a brisk pace, clumsily attaching the Pokeballs back to her belt while mumbling to herself. "Okayokayokayokay. Doing this." What if Surge wanted a six-on-six battle? She didn't even have six Pokemon. Would Marshall have to take on three Electric-types at once? These kind of worries kept her very occupied until she walked right into the gym, which startled her a bit, because okay, she was doing this. The fence was still down. Winston looked at her.
"You came back just in time! Lt. Surge is back, and is accepting challengers," he said brightly, thinking that this was good news. Amy just nodded a little, rooted to the spot. She forced herself to take a deep breath, and then another. It was just another battle, and she was doing decently at those so far, wasn't she? Well, ever since she left Cerulean, she had an okay track record. She squeezed her eyes shut, thinking of all of the strong, experienced trainers she'd met on the journey here. She didn't want to be trailing behind her whole life!
Amy opened her eyes, feeling calmer. Not completely zen, but calm enough to form words. She marched herself right into the battlefield, gaze falling upon the impressive gym leader waiting for her. "Lt. Surge!" she yelled, and then winced at her own volume. Toning it down, Amy continued, "Sorry. Um. I'm here to challenge you!"
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Posted: Fri May 31, 2013 7:50 pm
Pangs of guilt over boxing all of Crenu's Pokemon jabbed at Riza's stomach as she walked down the hallway toward the bathroom. Her hands were still shaking slightly and several times she was fairly certain she was going to be sick. Not only that but her shoulder ached and it was hard to lift her arm even halfway up. Once in the bathroom she examined the cut that now graced her right cheek. It wasn't very deep, fortunately and she wouldn't need stitches, but it wasn't exactly flattering, either, and chances were good that it may leave a bit of a scar. 'Oh, that's fantastic,' the raven haired girl thought as she found a clean cloth and soaked it in cold water. Thanks to Akima's handy ice-type abilities she was able to create an ice pack with the cloth for her aching shoulder, and though the cold helped to reduce the swelling it certainly didn't help with the pain, nor did it do anything to mask the grotesquely coloured red and purple bruise that had formed. "And now I'll need to find a different shirt to cover that up," she lamented.
Luckily enough she was already in a big city that was quite suited for shopping, and after getting a light dinner for herself and her Pokemon, she headed out. It wasn't at all difficult to find the Department Store and she found herself stopping at the fountain and staring at it. A chill ran up and down her spine and she shivered, but she absolutely refused to cry anymore. Her determination not to cry made her look quite fierce and as she entered the multi-storey building, people almost seemed to be going out of their way to avoid her. That was just fine with Riza, as one wrong word and she was likely to start throwing punches.
* * * * *
'That Clefairy probably can't take much more,' Katie thought, but the same could be said for Nell as she'd struggled to get back up after being slapped awake by the surprisingly vicious little fairy Pokemon. "Nell, I bet you can knock it out with one more shot," the orange haired girl called, though the move she had in mind was risky. If the Buneary missed, she'd easily KO herself. "Let's show them the power of your Jump Kick attack!"
The Rabbit Pokemon liked the sound of that and she darted forward, leaping up into the air with agility and grace. All the Clefairy could do was watch with wide, frightened eyes as the Buneary's foot suddenly was coming closer and closer, and then there was darkness as Nell's kick was planted firmly between the fairy's eyes, knocking it out cold and possibly into the middle of next week, as well. Autumn frowned as she recalled her Pokemon, looking over at her Miltank. She knew the Buneary was low on stamina and could probably be taken down pretty easily. "Ilta! Squash that Buneary with your Zen Headbutt!" she called. The bovine Pokemon gave a bellowing cry and charged forward, eyes narrowed in what looked like glee as the top of her head began to glow dangerously.
Katie narrowed her eyes. She was not about to let that attack hit. "Miles! Intercept it with Aqua Jet!" she called, making a fist. The speedy Floatzel gave a growl and shot forward, his orange body becoming entirely surrounded by water which seemed to make him move even faster. Nell had been backing away from the oncoming Ilta fearfully, and that gave Miles just enough time to careen into the side of the Miltank, sending water flying in all directions and not to mention that he bowled Ilta over in the process, the two Pokemon becoming a rolling mass of orange, blue, tan, pink and black.
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thunderbolts_and_sunshine
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Posted: Sat Jun 01, 2013 5:12 pm
Oh, dang, was about all Kasiya could think as she watched her poor little penguin get thumped around like a football, and the way he rolled to a stop after being tackled by Hayley's Snivy didn't help to lessen that imagery. She sighed and knelt down beside her knocked-out Piplup, carefully scooping him up in her arms before placing a gentle kiss on his forehead. Alphonse whimpered and flailed a bit in his sleep and the blonde recalled him into his Pokeball for some well-deserved rest. I need to make it up to him somehow, she thought sadly, as the Piplup never did seem to catch a break. She'd underestimated Ivy's strength and it had cost Alphonse in return. Maybe later she'd take him on a trip to Mount Moon and let him knock around some Geodude, if anything just to help the penguin's confidence.
Clipping the sphere back onto her belt, and looking over as they'd been joined by Shocker and Casimir once more, she smiled, quite pleased to have discovered a talented trainer like Hayley. "I'd say you're more than ready for Brock," she said, giving the brunette a thumbs-up. "Ivy won't have a problem dealing with his Rock and Ground-types. We can keep training if you want to, though," she added. While she wasn't sure the Snivy could get away with a clean sweep of Brock's team, she was certain that Cynder and the others could pick up the slack, especially if Hayley made good use of the Charmeleon's Dragon Rage. She also wouldn't mind seeing the Nidoran's abilities in battle, as if she remembered correctly, both the male and females could learn Double Kick, which would be useful against Rock-types. It was up to Hayley, however, as Kasiya was good either way. She was enjoying spending time with and helping Hayley out, though she hadn't yet noticed that Mike had found his way back to them and had been watching from afar.
=-=-=-=-=
"Croagunk, you idiot!" the biker chick growled, obviously angry that her Pokemon's Mud-slap hadn't been successful. "Can't you do anything right!?" The frog-like Pokemon gave low croaking sound, its shoulders slumping a little. "Try harder! Mud-slap!" Looking quite dejected, the Toxic Mouth Pokemon put its last attack on repeat, though it was easy to see just by looking at Croagunk that even it knew that its attempt would be futile.
Jaeshan felt another rush of anger flood his veins and he clenched a fist to keep himself in check. "Sigilyph is part Flying-type. Ground-type moves like Mud-slap won't affect it," he said, an angry edge audible in his tone despite his efforts to remain calm. As if to prove his point, Sigilyph barely had to do a thing to avoid the Croagunk's Mud-slap. The greasy-haired woman just grumbled angrily, with the only words that could be understood were curse words. "Sigilyph, hang back and use Calm Mind," Jae said, folding his arms over his chest. The Avianoid Pokemon did just that, slowly flapping his wings and putting himself out of the Croagunk's reach while at the same time focusing his mental powers. Croagunk's doubly weak against Psychic-type moves, the blond thought, smirking over at his partner in crime (well, sorta). He could easily see that Jade and Cirrus had things under control as the Shinx was currently taking a nice bite out of the other biker's Stunky,
=-=-=-=-=
Upon returning to the gym, Lt. Surge had been briefed on the situation, as seeing the deactivated electric wall had quickly raised alarms with the gym leader. He took his place at the far end of the gym and waited for his challenger to return, folding his massive arms across his chest and grinning broadly as the relatively small girl entered the gym. It was a little surprising to hear her yell, however, and he chuckled as she stepped forward and issued the challenge. Sure, she was pint-sized all right, but she had guts, that was for sure!
"Okay then, Baby," the large man boomed, taking a thunderous step forward. "I guess I got no choice but to accept yer challenge." He relaxed his stance somewhat as he continued to eye the girl. "We'll battle two on two, got it? If ya can defeat both o' mine, you'll win my Thunder Badge. No time limit, no items, so ya best give 'er everything, got it, Baby?" the large man smirked. After making sure his challenger understood the rules of the battle, the Pokeball he held in his hand looked almost frighteningly tiny before he tossed it, revealing a relatively small, green Pokemon with yellow highlights on its tail and ears. It pawed the ground anxiously, looking eager to begin the battle.
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Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 3:59 am
Oh my lord, Alex. Would you just ask for directions? This is making me sad.
Alexis Albright was growing tired. Tired of stupid Viridian Forest filled with its stupid bugs. Tired of the hours of walking around in circles. Tired of feeling like her heart was going to burst out of her chest at the prospect of asking one of the kids if they knew a way out. But she was most tired of hearing Blues’s unwanted advice sounding louder than her own thoughts. Without a sound, the girl slipped her bag off her shoulders and crouched down in the grass. After a moment of digging, she found what she was looking for. Alex whipped the red and white sphere out and clicked the button on the center with the grace of the league champion himself. The crimson beam darted out and enveloped her Kadabra, drawing him back within his pokeball.
“I’ll let you out when we get out of here,” she said to herself as she got back to her feet and slung her bag back over her shoulder.
If we get out of here.
The sun was already starting to set, and somehow, the dumb forest was getting even darker. In the treetops, she could see wide, bright orange circles starting to pop up. Eyes…? Alexis nervously moved a trembling hand to the side pouch of her bag and retrieved the pokedex her father had gotten from Professor Oak. “D-Don’t be a ghost t-type, d-don’t be a ghost type…”
“Hoothoot, the Owl Pokemon,” the Dex droned in its robotic voice. Each of the black dots in the discs in the treetops redirected their attention to the girl and her device, and even though they belonged to the most adorable chubby little birds in the world, Alex’s heart still skipped a beat. Fortunately, though, they quickly became bored of her. She took a moment to compose herself and continued on her way.
After a few more minutes trying to navigate the dark forest, though, that composition wasn’t holding up terribly well. Long shadows crept across the ground. The encyclopedias said Gengar can hide in shadows so it can steal your life away. The thought came unbidden, and it was most certainly unwelcome. It sent a shudder down her spine. “M-Maybe it won’t be so scary if I have some company…”
Alex almost darted for the nearest tree and put her back against it, so nothing could sneak up on her. Soon, she was sitting on the cool grass-covered forest floor, with her bag resting on her lap. It didn’t take long to retrieve one of her three pokeballs. With a click, her new Drillbur was standing before her, its head darting every which way as she took in her surroundings. After a moment, she turned to Alex, wearing the dopiest grin she’d ever seen. “… You are way too cute, Forte,” she muttered, actually finding herself smiling as Forte the Drillbur waddled over to her.
And for a long while, the two just sat there. But it was cold, and even with Forte there, the rustling leaves and hoots of the oh so cleverly named owl pokemon were a little terrifying. After a moment, Forte’s head jolted up, her nose twitching as her wide-but-beady eyes narrowed. She flexed her long claws, the moonlight lighting up their sharp edges.
“A-Are you okay? What is it…?” Alex did her best to hide her fear from the baby pokemon, who blinked back to her trainer, offering a sympathetic smile. And that’s when a small furry eevee trotted calmly across the path before them, holding a bundle of twigs in its mouth. As it approached, however, it stopped walking, turning toward the blond and her strange partner and offering a muffled bark.
“An Eevee? Just walking alone out here?” She asked, more to herself than anyone else, though the small fox was kindly enough to answer with the shake of its head. It gently dropped the bundle and strolled over to the blond girl, nudging her hand with his head. Alexis quietly petted her new friend while Forte chewed on the tip of her claw, eyeing the new pokemon with great curiousity. The Eevee then got a little closer, gently biting and tugging on Alex’s jacket. Then he trotted toward his stick bundle, scooped it up in his mouth, and stared expectantly at the pair.
Does it want us to follow…?
Unfortunately, Alex didn’t really get to decide whether or not that happened, because Forte waddled over without a moment’s hesitation, curiousity gotten the better of her. So Alex scooped up her bag and walked over to the adorable little fox, who cheerfully trotted down the path again.
---
“Alright, Sledge! Go for another Harden! We’ll teach this arrogant worm why you don’t tackle a rock with a kickass name like Sledge!” Scarlet threw his hand out to his right, glaring across the small grassy clearing at the seven year old boy in the straw hat. Around them, trees stretched high into the air, their crisscrossing branches and massive brushes of leaves forming a sunproof canopy. Beams of light fell in spots on the floor of the Ilex forest, the cool shade giving a relaxing environment where caterpie inched across the ground.
At least, relaxing everywhere except the 15 feet separating Scarlet Pine and Bradley Woods. The glare the two redheads shot each other was filled with enough heated rage to start a forest fire. And the two pokemon battling between them were just as angry. Except maybe Sledge. The Roggenrola rocked from side to side on his tiny feet, and for the third time since the match started, a white glow overtook him. The Mantle Pokemon responded to his trainer’s order with an array of clicks.
“… Wipe that smug grin off that stupid rock’s face, Caterpie!” The frown that creased Bradley’s face as he shoved the brim of his hat upward to get a better look at the battlefield threatened to give him disfiguring wrinkles later in life. His Caterpie, like Sledge, didn’t seem to have that problem. So maybe it was just the trainers whose rage provided a tension so thick it could be cut with a knife.
The Caterpie sat atop the grass for a moment, staring hard at the Roggenrola across from him. Mouths capable of displaying emotion was a foreign concept to Caterpie, but he thought he’d seen enough of them recently to know that a rock was incapable of grinning. But Bradley was so happy, and the boy couldn’t understand his cries anyway, so the worm inched across the field again, building up enough speed to throw its weight against the giant, bipedal, holey boulder. Alas, it somehow seemed even more fruitless than last time. This time, it only tilted back a degree.
“Hah!” the sixteen year old said, his facial expression shifting from an irritated annoyance to a proud grin at the newest addition to his family doing so well in his first battle. “Think that’s enough, buddy?”
Sledge clicked in what Scarlet assumed to be assent.
“ALRIGHT! TACKLE!”
Bradley grimaced at just about the same time Caterpie’s eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. Sledge hopped ahead, throwing his full weight into the unfortunate Caterpie, which rolled back, screaming “Pipipipipi!” in pain, all the way back to his trainer’s corner. But after a moment of deep breaths, it regained its footing and turned toward Sledge, its wide eyes narrowing into angry slits.
“Hah hah! You’ve done it now, you stupid tall jerk!” Bug Catcher Bradley said as he sat himself crosslegged on the ground. He folded his arms and closed his eyes, just as an ear to ear smile formed on his smug little face. The Caterpie’s rear rose up in the air, and from there, it shot a line of silk into the canopy above.
“What…” Scarlet muttered. He could only squint in disbelief as the caterpillar dragged itself into the trees with that String Shot, disappearing amongst the foliage. “Just happened?”
A single ray of light fell from the canopy over Bradley. The shadow cast by his hat left only the most ominous of grins visible on his face. “The beginning of the end.”
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Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 10:45 am
She really hadn't meant to yell -- well, she had, really, thinking that it would help her get over her nerves, but she was already regretting it. The girl seemed a bit embarrassed with herself, cheeks reddening as Lt. Surge responded to her challenge, beginning their two-on-two battle. So very much seemed to register to her in that instant: Amy's first gym challenge had begun, which she never thought would happen; the battle was two-on-two, which meant that she had to choose between using Flora and Lee instead of using both of them in combination with Marshall; and Surge sent out his first Pokemon, a green Pokemon that she was unfamiliar with. One problem at a time, Amy thought as she retrieved her Pokedex, aiming it at the Pokemon in order to discern which strategy would be best. As it turned out, the green and yellow Pokemon was an Electrike, which was just Electric-type. There was no dual typing to be concerned about.
Okay, that being settled, she needed to figure out which Pokemon to pick, and fast, lest she stand there and look like an idiot in front of this very large, very intimidating man. There were plenty of arguments to made for using either Pokemon, the main one being just pick this one, hurry up. After what turned out to be only a few moments of deliberation, she snatched a Pokeball from her belt, already preparing a well-thought out apology for the Pokemon she didn't pick. From what she had read in Electrike's Pokedex entry, this Pokemon seemed to be very fast. They would have to be faster.
"Quick Attack!" Amy called as the Pokeball opened, and out landed a brown and blue blur. Kicking up dust as he moved, Lee spun rapidly toward Electrike, sweeping his leg out for a quick hit to the Electric-type's side with an eager cry of "Hitmontop!" Hoping she had made the right decision, Amy bit her bottom lip, watching the results with rapt attention.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
The battle going decidedly not well for him, the old biker (who, Jade gathered from the cheers and shouts of encouragement of his sad little biker family, was named/called/nicknamed/whatever Clay) was quickly losing his patience and his temper. He had sat back and watched his boys take on all of those trainers before, but as soon as it was his turn to battle, he got some big-mouthed, arrogant little brat? Clay didn't think so. "Stunky, use Slash!" he called, and the Skunk Pokemon was oh so glad to oblige. It lashed out with its sharp, ragged claws, raking along the Shinx's face and eliciting an unusual cry of pain. Jade blinked with surprise; Cirrus usually never showed that he was hurting. But as he turned back to look at her, she saw the red marks on his face, which, coupled with the poisoning, must not be a fun combination.
"Gain some distance, use Charge," she commanded coolly, beginning to feel a little bad for her Shinx. Most of the time, he was a pain in the a**, but now she just wanted him to take a big chunk out of that awful skunk. And so they would. Cirrus retreated, biting back a whine as more of his health was sapped away, and electricity began to crackle in the air around him. Soon, his whole body was surrounded by the yellow glow and he snarled, daring the Stunky to come after him again. Clay didn't seem too keen on that idea, so he instead copied his opponent and called for a Focus Energy. The Poison/Dark-type got just as pumped up as its opponent and the two stood there, ready to strike, waiting for the command.
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Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 12:29 pm
“… Where do you think he’s taking us?” Alexis muttered, ignoring the horribly irritating pains in the soles of her feet. She glanced down at the Mole pokemon waddling beside her, who simply shrugged, smiling up at Alex as if to tell her to calm down. Her trainer just sighed nervously, nibbling on her thumb nail and watching the brown and white fox excitedly hop over fallen branches. After a while, the small group reached a clearing, where there was a boy who looked about Kressen’s age, snapping twigs and arranging them in a neat little pile on the forest floor.
The mop of bushy black hair that sat on his head was so long that she couldn’t see his eyes, and freckles dotted half of the part of his face she could see. He was nowhere near as giant as the redheaded boy. In fact, he looked about as scrawny as the ten year old girl did. The eevee cheerfully trotted over to him and dropped the twigs it had gathered. It let out a bark, eliciting a grin from what Alex presumed to be his trainer.
“Why thank you, Evan,” the boy said with a big smile. He scratched the cute little guy behind the ear, then turned to face Alex and Forte. “Oh, and what do we have... here…” The smile seemed to fade, no, invert into a slightly annoyed scowl, one that set Alex back a few steps and earned a glare from Forte that could make a glaceon shiver.
The boy turned that scowl on the Eevee, leaning forward in the most failed attempt at a hushed whisper Alexis had ever seen in her life. “Dude, what happened to bringing a cute girl over!?” Evan’s eyebrows furrowed as a tiny frown played on his face. A few quiet, hurried barks rushed from the Eevee’s lips as he looked back at Alex, then shot an angry glare at his trainer. “Okay, whatever, it’s an argument that can be made, but she’s like seven. You’ve failed me today, buddy.”
It was about this time that Alex decided maybe she’d be better off back in the forest. She’d started inching away, but the Eevee’d just finished rolling his eyes at the melodramatic boy and turned back to the cute girl he’d found as requested. He barked at her a couple of times, then looked at his trainer, barking a short speech.
The boy looked over to Alex, another grin playing across his face. “Uh, you’ll have to excuse him. He thinks I can understand him.” Evan pouted at that and walked back to the stick bundle, staring at it intently. “Uh, my name’s Clyde. You and your… Um…”
“Drillbur,” Forte offered helpfully, still eying Clyde with a semi-suspicious glare.
“… That. Uh, seem to be out in a cold dark forest unreasonably late. I’d be a terrible person if I left a kid out there cold and hungry. If you like, you can join us for dinner.”
Alex fidgeted for a moment, and she was still engaged in her perpetual staring contest with the ground. She was supposed to be careful around people she didn’t know, but she hadn’t eaten since Kressen had gotten her and Hayley lunch, and it was pretty cold, and she didn’t want to be alone in this place any longer than she had to be. So she nodded.
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Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 2:25 pm
Jasper exhaled sharply through his nose, which was tingling slightly from the aromatic assault that was Koffing's perfume. He heard Ben's annoyed groan and couldn't stop himself from smirking like an a**. Ticking off his opponent in battle was starting to become his specialty. 'I think it's nearly time to wrap this up,' he thought, glancing over his shoulder in the general direction of Goldenrod City. The call of the department store was strong, and he didn't want to deny it much longer. That, and charging full-steam into the next gym on the list wasn't such a bad idea, either.
"Koffing, counter with your own Tackle," he called quickly. Koffing's cackling continued as she stopped in mid flight and spun around to face the oncoming little bird. With a hearty 'Koff!' she threw her round body down, meeting the Pidgey's Tackle with one of her own in midair. By now, both she and her trainer were hoping that their opponent had finally been poisoned, but Jasper suspected the battle wouldn't last much longer.
* * * * * * * * * *
Ivy gave a soft sigh as the bout with the little penguin came to an end, and she watched with disinterest as he was retrieved by his trainer. The cold ache in her shoulder had yet to subside and she knew that she'd actually been pretty lucky not to get hit full-on by the Piplup's Ice Beam. Regardless, she'd won and she planted her tiny hands on her hips, looking like quite the smug snake. Her trainer, meanwhile, wasn't looking nearly as happy about the win, as she was concerned with Alphonse. She knew Kasiya would take care of him, however, and she looked to her Snivy. Kasiya was saying she was ready for Brock, and deep down, Hayley knew the blonde trainer was likely correct with her assessment.
"Um..." the brunette answered as she returned a still-smug Ivy to her Pokeball and looked to her other Pokemon. Cynder nodded, clearly in agreement with Kasiya. Mya simply nodded along with the Charmeleon while Tiss did her best to just look supportive. Kaylee was the only Pokemon to seem indifferent, but that was likely due to the fact that she was both the newest member to Team Hayley and that she wouldn't be participating in this so-called gym battle. "I think we're going to be okay," Hayley answered, smiling at the blonde trainer. "Even if we don't win the first time, we can always try again, right?" Cynder rolled his eyes, but nodded in agreement regardless. The brunette pursed her lips and studied Kasiya's Pokemon once more. They were all so well-taken care of and oh-so very strong, and she smiled again. That settled it; she'd march over to that gym and demand a challenge, and she knew that win or lose, she'd be better for it. Besides, there was no rule that stated that Pokemon Watchers couldn't also be accomplished trainers; if anything Hayley thought the two professions could easily go hand-in-hand.
She returned her party into their respective Pokeballs, and made her way toward Kasiya. "I think we're... good. Yes! We're good!" she said again, her blinding smile making its return. "I want to thank you, Kassie! Meeting you and Mike and seeing all your amazing Pokemon has been so inspiring for me. I'm going to continue traveling with my Pokemon and we're going to get stronger! Someday I'll be able to battle you guys for real!" She picked up her backpack, and after checking to make sure all of her things were in order, slung it over her shoulder. "I'm going to get Ivy healed, and then I'm going right to the gym! I'll call you when I win, okay! Ooh, and give Mike my best, too!" Feeling somewhat accomplished, she turned and started skipping merrily in the direction of the Pokemon Center, though she'd only gotten about ten steps in before she realized something crucial and she quickly backpedaled. "Oops! I guess that means I need to give you my phone number first," she said, pulling a pen out of the side pocket of her bag before grabbing Kasiya's hand and hastily scribbling her number on the blonde's palm. She allowed for Kassie to do the same before returning the writing utensil to her pocket. "Okay, bye-bye! For real this time!" she giggled before darting off.
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Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 7:35 pm
Train felt her heart sink a little. She was stunned and frustrated to see the shaft of light shoot out from the Starmie's gem, and despite it's paralyses the icy beam was moving as fast as ever. It slammed Gloom back as Train was desperately commanding her to dodge, and she instinctively jumped to the side as the Pokémon was thrown past her. She continued turning as she watched Gloom slide by, immediately running forward as the Weed Pokémon skidded to a stop. Gloom attempted to move weakly before giving in and letting her body fully collapse, and Train simply muttered, "Ah," before unclipping the PokéBall and recalling her final fighter. She stood up and sighed a little, moving her hands behind her back and clasping the PokéBall tightly.
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Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 11:35 pm
Pidgey let out a pained cry as the Koffing surprised it by its sudden attack. Ben's brows furrowed deeply. That Pokemon was definitely stronger than it looked, and he watched with dismay as his Pidgey fell to the ground, his body trembling. Quickly, he waved his arm out. "That's enough! Pidgey can't win!" Running forward, he went and scooped up his weak Pidgey, looking up at Jasper a little sorrowfully. "Thanks, but I have to get him to the PokeCenter right away. He's not doing too good." 'Better save my antidote for when there's no Center around,' Ben thought, knowing that the nurses would be able to take care of Pidgey if he got the bird there fast enough. Barely stopping to wave farewell to the other trainer, Ben ran with his Pokemon all the way into the Center, the nurse calling for a stretcher as soon as she saw him. He'd really fought hard, but now he was paying for it - especially after trying to fight through the poison. His high activity had made the toxin spread fast.
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