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Posted by: Living Arrow Apr 20 2014, 03:57 PM

Travelling back to Port Barley after the events at the Petropolis Grand Invitational had been a long and gruelling affair for Lori. Well, it had involved public transport which inevitably meant sharing elbow room with all manner of undesirable and social reprobates. If she was not worrying about her bag being stolen from off of her shoulder, the young Trainer was replaying the events of the tournament again and again to find the moment that had made her act so foolishly.

*Who really thinks they can play the hero and go down some stupid hole to save random people they’ve never even met before!?* She demanded of herself for the fiftieth time as the stench of body odour from her latest ravel companion drifted her way. Holding back a gag, she politely turned her head the other way and cried inwardly. *At least Cesc smelled good!*

*Hey! Stop thinking about him, dammit!* Lori blushed in spite of herself, heat rising in her cheeks to decorate her skin with blotches of ruby embarrassment.

The coach pulled up to a stop at the edge of the town in the later hours of the sunny morning, a couple of miles from her final destination, and freedom announced itself as the coach doors clunked open.

*Close enough!* Lori told herself, springing up from her seat without a backward glance for the stinking hobo next to the window. Cuddling her bag close to her chest with one hand while squeezing the length of her intensely red hair in the other, she hurried to the front of the vehicle.

“Thanks!” She smiled and bowed her head politely to the driver (a sweet old man who she doubted spoke any English) and skipped down the steps to the sidewalk. The coach pulled away with the hiss of its brakes releasing to leave her drinking in the fresh air of the coast. It had been a while since she had been in Barley, and the town hadn’t changed a bit, but she felt like a different person to the rookie that had picked fights with bullies on her first day in the town.

*Never again, Lor.* She reminded herself of the boys that had threatened to cut off her hair when she’d defended another beginner trainer at the bus station. She shuddered at the memory, pushing those thoughts down to her toes where they couldn’t plague her thoughts anymore.

“Pipster,” Lori clicked open the green-capped Pokeball of her Piplup and grinned as he materialised in front of her, “we’re back in Barley.”

“Lup, Piplup!” His cheery reply was a welcome change to the dismal mutterings of the ‘people’ on the coach.

“And you know what that means, right?” She prompted him. A blank expression was her response. She rolled her eyes and pumped her fists energetically, the infectious enthusiasm of her naturally bold demeanour finding its way back to the front of her otherwise woolly teenage brain. “It means we get back on a ferry and go to Fidona! That Gym badge won’t win itself, y’know?!”

“Lup!”

“So, let’s go!” Lori cheered, breaking into a run down the final slope into the town with her Penguin Pokemon close on her heels.

Posted by: Kamaitachi Apr 20 2014, 04:55 PM

To Taggarty Lee, Port Barley had been nothing more than a point to pass through when he'd arrived in Furoh. Yet, upon stepping off the coach, and freeing himself of the reek of one of the more odorous passangers, he found that something about the air here felt different.

Port Barley was typically the starting point for Trainers in Furoh, and Tag had never experienced it. Passing it off as the fact that he had been a veteran trainer upon arrival in the new land, he hadn't taken the time to rightly experience the city.

The air smelled a little saltier, and little brinier. The people seemed friendlier than those in Petropolis, and even those in Arasam or Gigarte. The very place was welcoming. Tag took a moment to chastise himself for eschewing his enjoyment of the new place in favour of setting out to get Gym Badges.

He already had two out of the four, and after his loss while attempting to acquire the third, he figured he could slow down a little and enjoy himself. Maxi Z of Fidona could wait a little bit. Surely the Amazon King had other matters to attend to at the time.

He watched as a young red-headed trainer summoned a Piplup, and mentioned something about a ferry to Fidona and a Gym Badge. It seemed he wasn't the only one passing through Port Barley to Fidona. Her enthusiasm caught with him as she broke off into a run with the Piplup.

First order of business: Buy a ticket for the ferry. Preferably not one until later in the day, while he had time to relax (finally) and enjoy his time.

With his ever-stoic face hiding his actual enjoyment, Tag pulled out a pokeball.

For a moment, a wave of panic washed over him, as he found himself praying to whatever deities existed that the Pokemon appearing was in fact-

"Yan!"

-Suzu. The Ledian floated up into the air in front of him, breathing in the lovely fresh air before turning to him, smiling in her kindly way. Relief filled him once again, replacing the minor panic attack as he reached out to her. She touched one of her hands to his, tilting her head to one side in the gentle manner Tag knew, but this seemed tinted with the message: I won't leave you. Not ever again.

Allowing himself a smile, he nodded to her, and moved to stroll down to the docks to purchase a ticket.

* * *

Upon arrival, Tag placed an order for a ticket...only to realize that his money was woefully low. He had barely enough for lunch, let alone a ferry ticket to Fidona. He hadn't gotten any monetary compensation from the Grand Invitational, seeing as there wasn't actually a winner.

At least he had time to make some money to purchase a ticket.

With that, he moved over to a clear spot on the docks, and summoned the rest of his Pokemon. If he engaged them in training exercises, perhaps some foolhardy young trainer would come along to challenge him.

"Everyone out."

Five Pokeballs hit the ground, and five Pokemon appeared as the light faded. He had picked out a team that would be most likely effective against the Amazon King's Water and Fighting types.

"Bellossom!"
"Flaafy!"
"Slooow."
"Froslass."
"Foo!"

Suzu floated down to greet her brothers and sisters. Tag crossed his arms, smiling as they all breathed in the sea-air.

"Kyoko. Enka. Tonbo. Orin. Razo. Suzu." Tag roll-called, smiling down at his team of surprisingly small Pokemon. They were all quite cute, meaning they were quite the opposite of what one would expect of a thug-looking, tattoo-faced, long-coat wearing trainer.

"We've got a gym match coming up, so it's time to prepare. Suzu, Kyoko. Over here. Tonbo, Razo, you're a pair. Orin, Enka, pair up. I want Kyoko using Magical Leaf; Suzu, you dodge them as best you can with Agility, Light Screen, and Swift. Tonbo, can you use your water gun and water pulse on Razo? Razo, dodge them and try to hit back with Swift. Enka, Orin. Thundershock and Ice Shard. Focus on hitting while dodging, so as not to waste any movement."

They all nodded at their assignments, looking up at their trainer a heartwarming determination. With a nod, Tag stepped back, leaning against the railing to watch his Pokemon work.

Posted by: A Kitty Cat Apr 20 2014, 09:06 PM

Marwan had just stepped foot off his boat a few minutes ago and had already come to enjoy the new sense of adventure that he was feeling now that he was in Furoh. The journey from Kalos to Furoh was a long one, a couple of stops off at other ports made the trip longer than it had to be and the boats "no Pokemon" policy made Marwan all the happier to finally be on solid ground.

I bet they're antsy to get out too

Marwan released his Pokemon without any thought, two of the young Pokemon instantly flocked to their trainer as if they hadn't seen him in ages. Growlith nuzzled against his leg while Flabebe floated gracefully close. Natu on the other hand simply stood where he was released and started at Marwan, this behavior was nothing new for the small bird.

"Well everyone, we're finally here in...uh..."

Marwan pulled out the town map he had grabbed while on the boat and gave it a quick review.

"Port Barley, sounds interesting! I guess there's nothing to do but explore, Flabebe get back in your ball, we don't want you getting hurt."

Marwan had Flabebe return to her poke ball and slid it into the proper pouch in his pack. He gently picked up Xatu and placed it on his shoulder, and set off exploring with his Growlith on his heels, happy to finally be out and about with its trainer. Port Barley reminded Marwan of Slateport City in Hoenn, between the bustling docks, lively shops, and the large number of trainers from all around the globe. It was a sort of relaxing feeling for Marwan, having been to Slateport a number of times in his adventures but at the same time he was excited. The smell of the salty air coming off the ocean, the loud noises of the bustling port city, the crowds, the performers, and the various shops instantly started pulling Marwan into the flow of the city. He was excited, thirsty for adventure, ready to get out and explore this new land.

Marwan stopped and watched a number of performers on the streets of Port Barley. A lively dance number between a pair of Roselias, a friendly fight between a Sokh and Throh, and even a few Pokemon battles between what appeared to be newly arrived trainers. The corner vendors selling their various cheap pictures and chachkies calling out for customers to spend a few poke at their tables, and the various busy restaurants lining the streets and filling with the crowds were overwhelming to Marwan. Occasionally stepping into a store to look around, talking to other trainers about their Pokemon or receiving a compliment about his Xatu. It was a good first impression of Furoh though the occasional sketchy looking character or homeless person on the side of the street drew his eye and surly Marwan drew more than a few strange glances as he waded though the crowds. The six foot tall teenager with shaggy black hair, tan skin, a large pack on his back, and a Xatu staring down anyone who came near perching on his shoulder was sure to draw some attention to himself.

After spending a few hours exploring the port it was time for Marwan to figure out where exactly he was going to head now. Heading out into the wilds sounded like a decent idea but without knowing where to go or what the landscape was really like Marwan didn't want to get himself into a bad situation so early without an idea of where to go for supplies.

Perhaps sticking to the main routes and cities would be the best place to start

Heading back towards the docks the young trainer kept an eye out for anything that may give him somewhere to go. Some gossip about a city on the other side of the nation, a group of trainers heading out somewhere who Marwan could attempt to join up with, or even something as simple as a group of tourists heading to the next town over. It wasn't until Marwan sat himself down on a bench near the docks that he finally found somewhere to go.

"Visit beautiful Fidona!" read the vibrant poster sitting in the window of a shop across the way, Its bright colors, bold lettering, and picture of a pristine beach against a thick green forest drew Marwans eyes straight to it as if it was made specifically for him to see.

"Fidona?" Marwan said out loud as he went back to the map, attempting to figure out just where this Fidona was, "Another island huh? I don't really want to get back on a boat this soon...but that does sound like fun..."

A couple of passer-by's giving Marwan a side glance as he spoke to himself, whispering something under their breath as they walked away.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to look..."

Marwan returned his two Pokemon into their balls and made his way back into the crowd, looking for the nearest boat to Fidona.

Posted by: Huntress Wizard Apr 27 2014, 08:21 AM

In Roxxy's humble opinion, the sun got too much praise.

Oh, sure, it was responsible for all life on this Arceus-forsaken planet, but did it have to be so bright? When she stepped out of her cabin on the ferry after trying, unsuccessfully, to make Mutt sit for treats - small pieces of the sweet berries she had in her pouch - the full force of the sun hit her like a punch in the nose. She stumbled back, deploying some of her favorite swear words as she clutched at her head. It felt like a very energetic Hitmonlee/Hitmonchan duo were trying to kick and punch their way out of her skull, and had just redoubled their efforts. Mutt yipped and ran circled around her legs. Zeta fluttered in concern on her shoulder, opening and closing her mouth.

"No Supersonics!" Roxxy snapped at her Zubat, who closed her mouth and kept it closed. She still clicked, however, once every couple of seconds or so. Roxxy gently nudged Mutt to get him to stop freaking out over her reaction to the sun. He came to a screeching halt and stared up at her, panting but otherwise still enamored. "Sit," she told him firmly.

"Pooch?"

"Sit."

"Pooch, yen pooch!" Mutt happily replied, tilting his head for maximum cuteness factor. She shook her head. Maybe he was just a little too young to be trained right now. Roxxy crouched and dropped her bag to the floor, yanking it open. A few seconds of digging later had produced what she was looking for: an old leather pouch that cleverly concealed an airtight capsule half-filled with Pecha and Nanab berries. She broke off a piece from one of the Nanab berries, and then broke it into two smaller pieces.

"Now sit," Roxxy said, holding the piece just above Mutt's head. He licked his lips and whined, but his rear went to the floor.

"Good boy." She dropped the piece and he caught it mid-air, eagerly slurping up the sweetness while Zeta quietly munched on hers. Roxxy replaced the capsule in the pouch and pulled on the strings, closing it tight. Placing it back in her bag, her hand knocked against the old pair of GoGoggles. She pulled them out. The lenses were tinted dark yellow and, although scratched, probably still see-through.

Roxxy cracked the door of the cabin open just a crack, just enough to see whether the GoGoggles would do their job or whether she would go flailing back into the room again. It appeared to be the former, and she breathed a sigh of relief. Her post-binge headache was still around, but at least she could leave and explore this city a bit now. Opening the door just wide enough, Roxxy slipped through the gap and closed it firmly behind her. Then opened it again when it appeared Mutt hadn't gotten the message they were leaving. Once both her pokemon were accounted for - Zeta now perched on top of her head like some weird tourist-y hat, Mutt nearly causing her to trip as he remained perpetually underfoot - she followed the remaining few across the boat and down to the city.

It was, as far as port cities went, fairly nice. Large and bustling with all sorts of activities; she counted at least five different performances on this street alone. A few people eyed Roxxy strangely, her eyes covered as they were with the banged-up goggles, but most elected to ignore her. Mutt sniffed the air, crying out at any unusually tasty sounding ones, but reluctant to leave Roxxy's side. Zeta amped up the frequency of her clicks, attempting to work out the nature of her surroundings. Roxxy looked around; in her experience, port cities that saw a lot of tourist traffic usually had maps of the region. Yep, there they were, in a little stand not far from where the ferry had docked. She picked one up and unfolded it, doing her best to read the little blurbs next to each city.

While squinting at the map and vaguely cursing the small text distracted her, Mutt made a very important decision. He had been debating investigating some of the more interesting smells, but that had conflicted with his undying loyalty to the amazing woman that gave him sweet berries and a bath and didn't yell at him too much. But his curiosity won out and he took off at a trot, pleased when his trainer decided she'd better come along as well. He went in random directions, first wanting to investigate one smell, then another, until he crashed right into something blue and about his size. Undeterred, Mutt shook it off and, seeing it was another pokemon, danced around it, inviting it to play. Roxxy finally caught up to him, Zeta barely hanging on to her short hair.

"I am so sorry about Mutt," she said to the Piplup's trainer, a young woman with shockingly long, red hair in a short black dress. "Usually he hangs around me, but I guess being in a new city made him excited."

Zeta, while Roxxy was talking, had inched lower and lower until she was hanging off the back of her head. The timid Zubat was still unsure of what to make of all this noise and all these people, and she wished she could go back in her Pokeball.

Posted by: Living Arrow Apr 27 2014, 01:03 PM

“Luuup!” Pipster’s strangled squawk snatched Lori’s attention away from the map on her Poketch and back to her partner Pokemon. He sat on the sidewalk, rubbing his head with one flipper-like wing while gesturing angrily at a small grey Pokemon who was prancing around him.

“Oh, Pipster! What happened?” Lori sighed, trotting to him quickly while he dusted himself off. The puppy Pokemon, Lori recognised it as a Poochyena, danced around Pipster happily, a lolling tongue of happiness hanging out of the side of his mouth. Lor couldn’t help but grin. “KAWAIIIII! C’mere!” The Poochyena complied immediately, rushing to Lori for her to fondle his ears while he licked manically at her hands.

“Oooh! I want one!” Lori laughed, scratching the puppy’s ears while Pipster watched on incredulously.

*But Poochyena isn’t a Unova species so it’s off the list...* Lori added for herself darkly. *Damn it!*

"I am so sorry about Mutt." Lori looked up to find another Trainer wearing bizarre sunglasses that looked more like goggles coming toward her with a Zubat stuck to the back of her head. Lori found it hard not to stare since the older girl had such a bizarre appearance (rake thin, no breasts, no hips, dyed hair, hardly ladylike piercings, crazy eyewear and a bat for a hair accessory) but tried her best all the same. "Usually he hangs around me, but I guess being in a new city made him excited."

“No worries!” Lori smiled, sparing a quick glance for Pipster who had stopped fussing over the light bump and rejoined his trainer’s ankles to check out who else had nabbed her attention. “Pipster’s fine – it’s nothing to worry about.”

“Lup...” Pipster didn’t appear so sure.

“Your Poochyena is really cute, by the way.” Lori was rewarded with a lick to the leg for that. Pipster shooed the puppy away quickly, stepping between Mutt and Lori protectively. Lori rolled her eyes at him. “And I guess your Zubat would be, too, if I could see it...” She said for politeness, knowing full well how much she thought of bat Pokemon – they were almost as creepy as Bug-types and would probably suck your blood given half a chance.

Lori’s eyes fell upon a leaflet in the girl’s hands. Although she couldn’t see what was on it, it stood to reason that it could be a daily timetable of boats leaving the port so she took a punt: “Hey, I don’t suppose you know if there is a ferry leaving for Fidona anytime soon?”

Posted by: Kamaitachi Apr 28 2014, 12:57 AM

Much to Tag's chagrin, no trainers had stepped up to challenge him, despite his open display of combat training. Perhaps he'd done too well? His Pokemon moved with sharpness, grace, and the utmost coordination. Their techniques exploded with ferocity, precision, and power. Combined with Tag's occasionally terrifying countenance, it appeared that the overall effect had intimidated challengers away from him.

It appeared that there were no self-proclaimed "Ace Trainers" running around in Port Barley.

Which...made all the more sense. Port Barley was the spot where beginning trainers stepped off on to begin their journeys. Tag, evidently, appeared to be promising the end of them.

He watched closely, as his Ledian flitted easily between the magical leaf barrage, despite their homing capabilities. As they got too close, a well timed Light Screen would appear, stalling them before Suzu flashed away.

"Suzu, Kyoko. Melee attacks. Close Quarters."

With determined cries, the Ledian and Bellossom threw themselves at one another. Electricity danced along Suzu's gloved hands, as she used them not offensively, but in defense as she parried Kyoko's incoming Leaf Blade attacks.

Nearby, Orin and Enka were still engaged in their long range exchange. His Froslass gracefully weaved through the air, spinning out of the way of incoming Electro Balls, Thundershocks, and even the super effective Power Gems, all the while retaliating with Ice Shard attacks and the occasional blast of an Icy Wind. Those two were more suited for the long-distance fighting, so it didn't make sense to switch into Close Quarters Combat with those two, but Tag figured they needed to be prepared too.

"Enka, Orin, switch to Take Down and Ice Fang, respectively." Tag ordered, watching as the two nodded wordlessly before charging in at one another.

Tonbo, meanwhile, was far too slow to be a melee fighter. The Slowpoke seemed quite unfazed at the oncoming Swift stars, while Razo, one of the newer members to his team, made no delay in showing off his acrobatic prowess in dodging the incoming water guns and water pulses.

As Tag prepared to issue the command, he noticed how close to the edge Tonbo was. Perhaps the Swift attacks had been pushing him slowly back, towards the water's edge. As he began to issue an order for Tonbo to move in, he noticed the Slowpoke lifting his tail.

Attached at the end appeared to be a Shellder, that had somehow managed to propel itself up and out of the water, to latch on to the Slowpoke tail dangling over the edge of the boardwalk.

"Slow?"

How long had it been attached, given that Tonbo had only now recognized the offending bivalve on his tail. Tag, about to ask his Slowpoke companion to rid himself of the passenger stopped when he realized precisely what was happening.

The jolt rang out, gathering the attention of a few more passers by. The few that had stopped to watch the training rose in anticipation as the confused Pokemon's blank eyes settled on the Shellder. It appeared that they, too, knew what happened.

Slowly, a white light formed from the point of contact, growing and expanding across both Pokemons' bodies. Even the other Pokemon on Tag's team stopped to watch, eying their comrade with amazement. Within the light, the faintest hint of shapes within appeared to be growing, expanding, as if Tonbo were sitting back on his hind legs.

Sure enough, when the light subsided, there sat Tonbo, looking confused as ever, with a rather large spiral conch attached firmly to his rear.

"Bro." He stated simply, looking over at Tag, the eyes still blank, as if it had not yet registered his change in physical form, or his newfound change in vocabulary.

Tag walked over, taking a knee before pulling his friend into a tight hug. The Pokemon he'd rescued from a cage had now taken the opportunity to evolve.

"Congratulations, Tonbo." He smiled, pulling back and examining the still adorable face before him. "I must say...you look magnificent."

"Slow." The Dopey Pokemon tilted his head slowly to the side.

"Slowbro."

Tag had grown accustomed to the thought-speak. And he'd heard tell of psychics who could communicate with their pokemon via telepathy. It appeared, now, that his Slowbro was capable of thought speak...but perhaps it was Tag's lack of experience or talent with anything remotely psychic that prevented full on communication. He only heard the words "Slow" and "Poke" before. Now, he imagined "Slow" and "Bro" would be the only words now.

Perhaps it was his perception that Pokemon only ever knew how to say their names? Was it this prejudice that kept him from fully understanding his Pokemon on this new and wholly intimate level?

Those were ponderings for another time.

"Tonbo, let's see how much more powerful you are now. Show me your water pulse."

With a gentle nod, Tonbo turned back to Razo. Another swirling ball of water formed in front of his mouth, as if Tonbo were using his psychic powers to shape the water gun into a bullet. It seemed smaller than before, but it rotated so much more fiercely, like Tonbo was packing more water into a denser package. Without warning, the shot fired off, bypassing Razo entirely, who had been too fascinated to even attempt to dodge. The attack lanced out towards the street, striking a building. The attack exploded in a wave of water into the air, which came crashing down on the street, dangerously close to a pair of girls with a Piplup, Poochyena, and Zubat.

Tag winced...he'd been looking forward to battling today, not to explaining to young people why he'd haphazardly attacked them.

* * *

Posted by: A Kitty Cat Apr 29 2014, 05:54 PM

Marwan shifted his way through the crowd, Natu perched silently on his shoulder and Growlith leading the way diligently and only occasionally stopping to examine a small Pokémon or an interesting scent on the ground. The party would occasionally stop to watch one of the showcases going on between trainers, nothing exceedingly interesting save for a Pokémon coordinator or two putting on a spectacular performance.
“Well I guess we can take a break for a little bit and watch a performance, what do you think Growlith?”
Growlith responded with a happy bark and waited for his trainer to pick him up to see over the crowd, Natu could care less about what was occurring in front of him, or could he? Marwan was never really sure what the tiny bird was thinking. The performance taking place seemed to be a friendly scrimmage between a trainers own party. Marwan could pretty easily see over everyone around, other trainers slowly filled in around him as the fighting picked up. A rather powerful looking Ledian seemed to be laying into an equally as strong Bellossom; the two were an interesting site to see as the two talented Pokémon fought back and forth. A short ways away a Frosslas and Flaafy were engaged in an equally as intense fight, thunder and ice flying across the battle field towards one another.
“Remind me to never let you go up against this trainer; I think his Pokémon are a little out of our league.”

Growlith gave a little squeak in response and started to shake him, it was his own way of asking to be put down to which Marwan responded to. The two set off through the crowd again. It wasn’t long before Growlith stopped to investigate another smell, this time belonging to a small Poochyena and an equally as small Piplup. Marwan stood idly as the two Pokémon sniffed each other and made their acquaintances. Marwan usually didn’t make it a habit to eavesdrop on others conversations but overheard the two trainers next to him chatting about their Pokémon.
“Hey, I don’t suppose you know if there is a ferry leaving for Fidona anytime soon?” the red headed trainer asked the other while pointing to the brochure in her hand.

“I don’t mean to interrupt but I wanted to know the same thing…” Marwan stammered out to the two female trainers “…Sorry to interrupt…sorry…” his face reddening slightly

Posted by: Huntress Wizard Apr 30 2014, 03:11 PM

"No worries! Pipster's fine - it's nothing to worry about," the trainer told her. She was entirely too peppy; Roxxy decided she didn't like her all that much. And Pipster? Really? At the trainer's compliment, Mutt licked her leg, and was shooed away by the possessive Piplup before Roxxy could scold him herself. He whimpered, but returned to Roxxy's side all the same, embarking on a thorough cleaning of an inch-square patch of her jeans. Roxxy nudged him away, but he just kept returning, so she let him keep licking. Whatever kept him out of trouble.

"Thanks, I guess," Roxxy said at the trainer's compliments to Mutt and Zeta. She moved to scratch the back of her head. Her fingers bumped into Zeta, hanging on from the strap of the goggles. Gently, Roxxy untangled the Zubat from her hair and stuck her back on her shoulder. She hid under her wings, leaving just enough room for her to keep making echolocation clicks.

"Her name's Zeta," Roxxy said, giving Zeta a quick scratch on the head. The Zubat perked up the tiniest bit. "She's harmless, don't look so worried. Her fangs are just coming in, so all she can eat right now are berries. And the occasional baby Ratatta, if I can get my hands on some.”

The trainer gestured to the map in Roxxy’s hand, and asked about a ferry to somewhere called Fidona. “Hell if I know,” Roxxy said, unfolding the brochure and its infuriatingly small print again. Upon closer inspection, it looked like there was a lot more information in the packet than she’d thought. The map that took up most of it, of course, but also various tables and advertisements for different sights around the region, it seemed. The word “ferry” jumped out at her from the top of one of the tables, and she squinted at the black and white page.

“Whoever designed these should be fired,” she muttered, holding the page first an inch from her face, then at arms length. Finally, she found a sweet spot where she could just make out the text. She had been correct; there was a chart that listed – Roxxy assumed – the couple different destinations of the ferry, along with time charts for each. Before, she could speak, something behind her exploded, and water swept up over her shoes. She curled her lip; Zeta managed to fire off a Supersonic or two into the sky before burying her head back in Roxxy’s shoulder; Mutt started splashing in the temporary puddle.

“Oh for Arceus’s sake,” Roxxy said, crouching down and putting a hand on Mutt’s back until he stopped trying to roll around in the water. Once she stood back up, she spotted the guilty party several meters away; a burly man with some very questionable tattoo choices and a Slowbro. Undeterred by the man’s tough-looking appearance, Roxxy raised her hands to her mouth and shouted across the street, “Hey! Tiki-face! Keep your Slowbro under control next time, all right?” She shook her head and turned back to the packet. Great, now she’d lost the sweet spot where everything was legible.

While she was experimenting with holding the page different lengths from her face again, a young man approached them and also asked about a ferry to Fidona. “You sound nervous, kid,” Roxxy said, finally making out the times that the ferry to ‘Fidona’ left. She folded up the brochure and stared the boy down. “First time being in the presence of two attractive girls, I bet. Relax; I don’t want anything to do with you. And try not to apologize so much, it makes you seem…flaky.”

“For all interested parties,” she said at a much louder volume than necessary, drawing a few stares from the passersby, “it says the ferries leave every half hour, starting at 7 in the morning and ending at 10 at night.” Roxxy tossed her head to a departing boat. “That should be one right now. Looks like you guys just missed it.” After a pause, she added, “What’s on Fidona that’s making everyone so anxious to get there, anyway?”

Mutt, after exchanging pleasantries with the boy’s Growlithe, tried again to get the unfamiliar pokemon to play with him, by bowing and allowing his tongue to loll out of his mouth. Zeta slowed her clicks, instead focusing on discerning the tone of the two strangers her own trainer was speaking with. They sounded non-hostile, though one could never be too sure about who was friend and who was foe.

Posted by: Living Arrow May 3 2014, 10:33 AM

Lori gave a deep gulp. If it wasn’t bad enough that she couldn’t disguise her actual distaste for the Zubat, the older girl’s bat ate baby Pokemon. When her fangs finally ‘came in’, what would she eat?! Not only that, what would the girl let her eat?! Golbat mouths were pretty huge...

*What’s wrong with Pokemon food from the store?!* Lori sucked her own canines worriedly. *Ew. That’s just gross.*

The girl opened up her brochure to look for ferry times at Lori’s request and made some comments about how poorly designed the literature was. In Lori’s eyes the thing wasn’t that badly written and certainly wasn’t anything to get worked up over. Clearly this Trainer had a short fuse. Their examination of the tourist guide leaflet was short-lived as a spray of water hit Lori’s bare legs and scattered over her boots. She and the girl looked up quickly, the source of the water immediately apparent as a tattooed bull of a Pokemon Trainer with a Slowbro looking sheepishly their way. Lori’s eyes fell upon the cute Slowbro and her frown over the leaflet turned to an open smile.

*Cutey! And wha-* Her eyes drifted to the Mienfoo stood nearby. *A Unova Pokemon! That weasel thing again... Mienfoo! I want it!!!*

Lori was about to open her mouth when the girl with questionable taste in hair styles yelled something at the tattooed dude harshly. Lori frowned. She had tried not to judge the girl right away but bringing together the gothic looks, ‘alternative’ piercings, colourful language and rustic Pokemon it was difficult not to come to the obvious conclusion.

*She’s definitely not my sort of person.*

That was when another guy asked them about ferries, too. He was tall and thin – kinda lanky – and looked like he’d seen better days. Lori smiled at him and began to explain that they were just about to find out but the other girl was on aggression auto-pilot and didn’t seem to be letting up. Well, until she refered to herself and Lori as attractive. Lori’s eyes widened.

*Oh, so she’s not into guys, huh? Awkward!*

The other girl went on to loudly declare the ferry schedule for the port. Lori wasn’t complaining that the girl had shared the information – actually, it was very good to know that the next ship would be leaving shortly – but there wasn’t any good reason to be so bolshie about it. Then there was a demand to know why Fidona was so popular from the upstart. Lori knew exactly what was on Fidona and just thinking about it created a bubble of excitement in her chest that was difficult to contain.

“The Fidona Gym!” She piped up, grabbing a swathe of long red hair and squeezing it tightly in a power-fist. She grinned down at Pipster who was curling his flippers in a similar fashion; his eyes igniting with a determined inner fire. “We’re going to get the Taminagi Badge, right Pipster?”

“Pip, piplup!”

“And that means any sort of battling is great practice!” Lori took her opportunity to break away from the girl and abandoned the poor lanky guy who had spoken to them, turning back to the massive guy with tattoos and pointed at him challengingly. “You! Your Pokemon look tough and we need to train some more before challenging Maxy Z!. How about a double battle against that Slowbro and Mienfoo before the next ferry arrives?”

*Water and Fighting – just like Maxy Z! Plus, battling a Mienfoo is perfect since he beat me with one last time...*

“I’m Lori Pardare from Littleroot Town, Sinnoh, and sister to the Unova League Champion: Kino Pardare!” She brandished a Pokeball while Pipster jumped ahead of her bravely, sticking out his chest in a challenging pose. “”C’mon!”

Posted by: Kamaitachi May 4 2014, 08:18 PM

Tag and his Pokemon lined up to face the two girls (who had been joined by a tall, skinny boy. Tag raised his arm, then signalled downwards, to which he and his entire team bowed in apology.

The bolder one immediately shouted over to him, referring to him as Tiki-Face. Tag sighed as he stood back up; this had not been the first time he'd been referred to as a Tiki-something of some sort. He concluded that it was a trend among loudmouths and people who thought too highly of themselves.

He stood there, awkwardly, his Pokemon staring up at him as if waiting for his response. Sighing, Tag shrugged, and simply let it pass. As he began to turn back to the training, the red-headed girl ran up to him, issuing a challenge to a double battle.

"Oh, you're going to face Maxy Z! ?" Tag crossed his arms, sizing up the trainer that had approached him with her Piplup. A smile crossed his lips as he eyed his challenger. "What a coincidence; so am I."

Before even responding to her request, Tag took several paces back, signalling to all of his team, except for Tonbo and Razo, to join him. The Slowbro and Mienfoo remained on the field, the former staring vacantly at the red-headed opponent, while the latter immediately began jabbing at the air, as if psyching himself up.

As Tag took his position across their new makeshift battlefield, he blinked as he heard the introduction.

"Kino...Pardare?"

Back in his Dragon Trainer days, he'd faced a red-headed girl, who had been traveling Sinnoh on the first legs of her journey. Despite the overwhelming power of his dragons, he'd lost the match to her. Kino Pardare. It came as no surprise that she was Champion of another continent. Now, years later, he was facing that trainer's younger sister.

"Lori Pardare from Littleroot Town..." Tag repeated back at her, straightening his stance and offering her a respectful bow, "I am Taggarty Lee of Blackthorn City, Johto, and I accept your challenge. Your opponents are Tonbo," he indicated the Slowbro, "and Razo." He gestured to the Mienfoo.

Stepping back into his usual slouch, Tag crossed his arms once more. He wasn't sure as to what Lori's second Pokemon would be, but it would most likely be one with a type advantage to Water or Fighting Pokemon, as she was prepping up to face Maxy Z!, as well as Tonbo and Razo.

This was his first battle outside of training with Razo, and the first battle with Tonbo in his new form. He'd seen the increase in power, and he was curious as to how the Slowbro would adjust to his new evolution.

"Summon your second Pokemon, Lori Pardare. The first move is yours."

It was a bit risky, giving her the first move without knowing what her Pokemon was, but he had the utmost confidence in his Pokemon's ability.

Posted by: A Kitty Cat May 5 2014, 12:31 AM

“Sorry. It's just...” Marwan stumbled over himself a bit “Been a while since I’ve had to really interact with strangers. Sorry. I'll stop apologizing now. Sorry.”

He could feel the warmth of embarrassment slowly start to bubble up in his cheeks and try as he might wasn't quite able to calm it down. Marwan did feel a little at ease with the rather loud trainer who had the map as it was rare to find other people, especially female trainers, who were close to his height though she seemed to be quite older than him by his judgment.

”I should probably ask if I could go over to Fidona with them, well if they're going but I think that redhead is going at least but is it weird if I ask if I can ride over with her I mean I don't really know where to go to get a ticket and if they know this area maybe they can help?” Marwan's brain was working at a thousand words per minute as it tried to sort out the right thing to say.

“E-excuse me miss.” Marwan was now directing his speech towards the young redheaded trainer who had been taking to the taller, louder trainer. She seemed to be around Marwan's age though she was nearly a foot shorter than Marwan. He didn't want to sound too disrespectful or want to make her feel uncomfortable by towering over her but he had to try to talk to her someway. “If it-”

“Oh Lori had already taken off to challenge a trainer. Not just any trainer, the one who Marwan had watched previously with the powerful looking Pokemon. Marwan had a tendency to think his way out of an opportunity.

Turning back to the taller trainer he figured he should at least answer her question about why he was looking to go to Fidona.

“I actually just got here from Unova, I’ve been traveling the world on my own the past couple of years and heard there were some cool areas here in Furoh hoping to explore a bit, maybe do a little research on the culture and history of the continent, and maybe find a Pokemon or two. I didn't really have a plan on where I could go or where I should stop to get supplies so I didn't really want to just set off on foot to the middle of nowhere and strand myself on the top of some mountain so instead I just decided to explore a bit of the port here until I found a group to travel with or maybe get an idea of somewhere to go and it just so happens that Fidona had come up on a store window and sounded like as good of a place to start as any and then I just happened to bump into you.”

Marwan knew he had said far more than he really had to, his cheeks started to glow with embarrassment again.

“Sorry. I didn't mean to tell you my life story. Sorry”

Marwan stood silently for a couple of seconds, his brain trying to crank out something to say.

“W-would you like to battle to pass the time? My Pokemon aren't exactly strong or used to battling but I think it would be good....I mean if you'd like to...I don't think I got your name. I'm Marwan McGuinness. Not that you have to battle me. or give me your name. or. anything.”

”Just stop talking so much”

Posted by: Huntress Wizard May 5 2014, 03:57 PM

“There’s gyms in this region?” Roxxy asked, though not to anyone in particular. Maybe coming here wasn’t a waste of her time and money after all. While the girl – who announced her name as “Lori Pardare” – challenged the man whose Slowbro had nearly Water Pulsed them into a wall, Roxxy took another stab at deciphering the map. So there were gyms here, four of them if she was reading right (always a matter of question, and especially now with a throbbing headache). And there was indeed one on this island that Lori was trying to get to, this “Fidona.”

Lori also found it worth mentioning that the reigning champion of Sinnoh was her sister. Roxxy frowned. “Kino Pardare. Kino Kino Kino...” she muttered, trying to remember if she’d heard that name back in Sinnoh. Nothing was coming to the front of her mind. That might’ve just been the lingering migraine, though. Or the fact that she hadn’t had a chance to challenge any of the gyms in Sinnoh, much less the Elite 4 and the champion. All her time had been spent tracking down and attempting to capture a Shaymin, and ultimately getting her butt kicked by it and its friends. She shook her head, grimacing when it momentarily doubled the pain inside her skull.

The guy with the face tattoo stepped backwards, leaving only his Slowbro and his Mienfoo on the field, and told Lori to send out her second pokemon and make the first move. Now that was a gutsy course of action if ever Roxxy noticed one. The rest of his team responded to his body language, halting their separate training battles and falling back with him. It reminded her of the way Epsilon would seem to know what she wanted him to do, even before she realized it. She slumped, her posture, impossibly, becoming even more horrible. No good dwelling on that, she told herself. Look, the kid’s trying to talk to you. Better respond.

“You’ve traveled all over the world?” Roxxy said, sizing him up. “What are you, like, nineteen? Twenty?” He was only a few inches taller than she was; if she stood on her tip-toes, they would be at eye-level. Messy black hair, green eyes – and a red blush steadily splotching its way over his cheeks. She chuckled.

“Nah,” she decided, “you’re sixteen, seventeen tops. But wow, that was quite the infodump. Gimme a minute to process.” She scratched an itch on her arm while she thought. It sounded like he had much more of a plan while travelling than she did. Her methodology was, when one got right down to it, don’t be stupid and don’t get hurt. He, at least, was having a proper adventure, if she had heard right.

And of course, he had to be from Unova. Another region where one of her old team member had come from, Atlantis to be exact. Though back then he’d just been a scrawny, half-feral Eevee trying to steal some berries from out of her pouch. Roxxy curled her toes inside her shoes and allowed the twinge of guilt and regret now chewing a hole through her stomach to settle down again. When she came back to the current time and space, the boy, Marwan, was just wrapping up a request to battle.

“Sure, I’m game,” she said, rolling her shoulder and neck so that Zeta was forced off. The Zubat tumbled for a moment, then righted herself and hovered at chest-level. Roxxy made a vague gesture away from her. “If you wanna take a few steps that-a-way,” she said, bringing her knapsack around to the front and, once she’d shoved the brochure she’d picked up into it, digging through it, “we can get started.” As an afterthought, she added, “I’m Roxxy. From Lilycove.”

At last, she came upon what she had been looking for: her old Pokedex. She flipped it open and hit the power button. Nothing but a damp-sounding fizzle and a hearty effort by the screen to turn on. “C’mon,” Roxxy said, banging it against her palm a few times. Surely sticking it under the tap in a drunken haze the other day hadn’t been the death of it? “You’re supposed to be waterproof. Able to withstand up to thirty meters of depth and ten percent salinity. Turn on!”

The yelling worked; the ‘dex powered on, albeit with a bit of glitching around the edges of the screen and a burst of static or two. But she could work around those issues. Roxxy pointed it towards Zeta, and it spat out the list of moves she had at her disposal. Supersonic, Astonish, Leech Life, and Gust. Quite a useful application, and a godsend for trainers with poor memories, like her.

“Okay, Zeta, you’re up first.” Roxxy said. The Zubat looked as worried as she could with naught but a mouth for a face, but flapped forward a few feet anyway. Silently thanking Arceus for the large font option on the Pokedex – something the brochure was sorely lacking – Roxxy pondered briefly which move to select. What a silly question: the only starting move Zeta would accept was Supersonic. “Yell when you’re ready,” Roxxy called to Marwen. To Zeta, almost a whisper, she said, “You know which move to start with, Zeta. Use it as soon as he picks a pokemon to send out first.”

Posted by: Living Arrow May 7 2014, 11:47 AM

From the moment tag announced his own intention to go for the Taminagi Badge, Lori began to regret her decision to challenge him to a battle. Not because she was scared of losing (she was quite used to that by now) but because she was scared of losing in front of other people. As usual, her big mouth and happy-go-lucky nature had drawn the attention of onlookers which meant she was going to be surrounded by pitiful eyes if she lost.

*C’mon, Lor! Woman up!*

The brute of a man stepped back, clearing a space for his Slowbro and Mienfoo to get ready for battle while Lori edged backwards to allow Pipster his own space. Her knees wobbled slightly – a combination of excitement and nerves – but the second Pokeball still remained tightly in her grasp as the battlefield was drawn out.
Lori’s initial thoughts (that the tattoo-clad man was a simple thug) were rapidly withdrawn when he spoke, offering her a new perspective on the guy. He was formal and well spoken despite his tiki-appearance which threw the teen for a second, her expectations of the battle dwindling by the second.

*He talks like a proper adult... not like a lowlife... crap!* Lori squeezed her hair in her free hand irritably. *Who knows what other stuff he has up his sleeves?*

That familiar thrum-thrum-thrumming of blood rushing to Lori’s head whenever she took part in a Pokemon battle came back to her as soon as Tag invited her to make a move and by golly did it overwhelm her. A wide grin broke out on her face, in spite of her natural worry that she had already bitten off more than she could chew, and her arm drew back. She kicked off of the ground into a pirouette that she had seen so many times on TV by all of her favourite female Gym Leaders and her green-capped Pokeball was thrown out into the ‘arena’.

“I call, Triss to the field!” She cried, the ball clacking open to reveal her proud Snivy. The Grass Snake lowered her body the instant she was free, calculating eyes taking in her battlefield and opponents swiftly.

“Lup!” Pipster nodded to his partner who gave a curt “Sni!” in response. Lori’s grin widened further and the grip on her fiery hair grew even tighter. A battle was underway!

“Okay, guys! Let’s start this thing off! Water Pledge, Grass Pledge, go!”

As one, Piplup and Snivy lowered to one knee, hanging their heads solemnly while blue and green auras took over their bodies respectively. There was a faint rumbling from the ground for a moment before jets of water and cyclones of leaves burst out from the field towards their opponents.

Posted by: Kamaitachi May 8 2014, 12:41 AM

Piplup. Snivy. Water. Grass. Two mono-typed Pokemon in the first stages of their evolutionary chains. A nostalgic part of Taggarty Lee's mind wanted to scoff at Lori's Pokemon selection. However, that trainer was nothing more than a distant memory. The current Tag knew not to underestimate these opponents.

Grass Pledge. Water Pledge. Tag had not been expecting any sort of combination technique right off the bat. Already, he confirmed that he was right to be cautious.

The words "Fake Out" began to form on his lips, but he stopped himself. Not out of hesitation, but of curiosity. The inner teacher in him begged the warrior instincts to cull themselves; he wanted to see what Lori could do.

"Razo! Detect!"

The gushes of water and whirling tornadoes of leaves cut a path through the ground, reducing the field to a muddy state in their wake. The changing in terrain seemed an interesting choice, as it would limit Razo's mobility. Yet, Tonbo, being an already very slow Pokemon, would not feel the decrease as severely.

He watched calmly as Razo steadied himself, while his larger partner remained stoically staring ahead. With incredible agility, Mienfoo appeared to shift left and right, apparently having studied the intricate pattern of the attacks. Almost effortlessly, he managed to slip around the attack unscathed, standing at the ready in the newly formed mud. Tonbo, however, took the full brunt of both blows. Yet, the newly evolved Slowbro did very little in terms of budging; instead, Tonbo opted to continue staring vacantly at the two enemy Pokemon.

Having weathered the attack, Tag needed to quickly decide whether or not to go on the counteroffensive, or bolster his defenses. He had not used this particular pairing, so he was unsure of their synergy...but, this was a training battle. There was always time to see what they could do together.

Having spent Razo's turn on evasion, he needed something to even the playing field in terms of speed. Of the two, Snivy was most likely the speedier of the two, with a body possibly more adept at traveling through the terrain. Razo would be better suited at close combat, so he needed a way to draw them in. Unless he missed his guess, both Piplup and Snivy were probably more suited for a long-range battle. It made sense, as Maxy Z would use a Fighting and Water Type as well...defensive typing against the long range Water users, and a mud-field to limit the mobility of the close range fighters. Lori had come up with an adequate strategy, and not it was his job to do his best to break it.

"Tonbo, Thunder Wave on Snivy!"

Posted by: Living Arrow May 12 2014, 12:01 PM

Lori hissed through her teeth as the Mienfoo managed to dodge both attacks from her Pokemon, proving that it was just as tricky as she remembered it. Back in her previous Gym match with Maxy Z!, the weasel Pokemon had used a Fake Out strategy to get some early damage in but this one was using Detect…

*Maybe using Detect means it can see how two moves are being used instead of just one… it’s probably a better choice than Fake Out… Right?* Lori wracked her brains but came up with nothing that could get past a Detect technique later in the battle, meaning that the Mienfoo could hold off double jeopardy move easily.

“Thunder Wave on Snivy!”

Lori was caught off guard a second time, her Grass Snake the target of an Electric type move from a Water type. Another unexpected move! Could this Trainer be really so experienced that Lori couldn’t predict an attack? Surely a Confusion or a Water Gun would be the staple of a Pokemon like Slowbro… So this guy was going to battle with more than just straight forward attacks…

“Triss, are you OK?!” Lori called to her Pokemon, crackling static jumping around the small Grass type’s body. The Snivy nodded without turning back, her focus now primarily on the Slowbro. Lori nodded to herself, understanding what Triss’s intention would be next.

*Triss wants us to attack the Slowbro first… but with Detect out of action, surely the Mienfoo should get some attention, too. Last time we focused on one Pokemon, we lost the match but our opportunities wont be as consistent with opponents like these!* Lori’s eyes darted back and forth between the Mienfoo and Slowbro. *Sorry, Triss, but this time you’re wrong!*

“Focus attacks on the Mienfoo! Triss use Flash and Pipster use Peck!”

A look passed between the two small Pokemon and together, they resumed Lori’s orders. The collar on Triss’s neck rose, a brilliant light emitting forth while Pipster threw himself into a flat-out run with his beak growing to double its size with an increase in power.

“C’mon!” Lori cheered her partners on with vigour. “Show ‘em what you’ve got, guys!”

Posted by: A Kitty Cat May 12 2014, 03:13 PM

“If you wanna take a few steps that-a-way we can get started.”

"Oh, of course." Marwan sputtered out, backing up a couple of feet to give adequate room for the fight. "S-so you're from Lilycove? I've actually been there a few times it's really nice...but I guess now isn't the time to talk. Natu, go ahead" Marwan whispered as he put his finger in front of the small bird. Natu hoped from his shoulder perch onto Marwans finger which slowly lowered him down to the ground. The little Pokemon slowly hopped his way forward into the battle area and quietly sat there waiting for the first move.

"Well I guess I'm ready if you're ready..."

Marwan had never really battled before, his mind was racing with what he should do, what attack he should open with, whether Natu was the right Pokemon to start with. In the background he could hear the battle between the other two trainers kicking off, the power of their Pokemon clashing like a stormy sea against a cliff. The power these trainers had was amazing to Marwan and looking back down to his little Natu standing motionless in front of him and ready to fight. Was it really possible that this little thing could hold as much power as the four Pokemon clashing nearby?.

The Zubat opened up with a supersonic, the screeches were barely audible to Marwan and sort of resembled the sound of a fluorescent light buzzing overhead but it was clearly having an effect on Natu. The small bird was clearly put off by the loud screeching as it started to fidget to try and focus.

"Natu try to get away" Marwan commanded, the small Pokemon hopped a bit, sputtering its wings in a futile attempt to escape and slowly was able to make his way into attacking rage.

"Peck Natu, Peck!" shouted Marwan, Natu almost instantly lunged forward as a silvery light covered its small beak. The Zubat was able to flutter around the attack but the attempted strike was able to shut down the supersonic attack. Natu had escaped the supersonic but what would come next was only up to guessing.

"Good start Natu, you can do this."

Maybe I’m not as bad as I thought...

“Natu, use nightshade!”

Posted by: Huntress Wizard May 13 2014, 05:23 AM

“I hated Lilycove,” Roxxy said without emotion. “Got out of there as soon as I could.” She bit at her nails, casting a glance over at Lori and the tattoo guy while Marwan lowered his Natu to the ground. Their pokemon looked much more powerful than her own and Marwan’s. And Lori had coordinating moves, too, turning the battle area into a muddy swamp. That’s going to take a while to clean up, Roxxy thought, chuckling under her breath. At last, Marwan called that he and his pokemon were ready.

“Finally. Zeta, begin.” The Zubat opened up her mouth and emitted a Supersonic. At least, that’s what Roxxy assumed she did; one too many close calls with exploding Electrodes had left her completely unable to detect Zeta’s higher-pitched calls. But Mutt whined and flopped on the ground, covering his ears with his front paws and screwing his eyes shut.

The opposing Natu, too, looked distressed. It hopped around, shaking its head, fluttering its wings, but it was no good. Still though, it managed to close the gap between itself and Zeta and strike at the Zubat with a Peck attack. Zeta squeaked, halting the Supersonic attack to dodge the attack by flapping a few inches to the left. And unfortunately, the Supersonic seemed to have missed; the Natu was as steady on its feet as ever.

The boy told his Natu that it had been a good start, and Roxxy made a face. Coddling seemed like a pointless exercise with pokemon. Still though, it was better than the alternative; more than a few of the younger trainers she’d fought with on her travels pushed their pokemon way too hard. There was one girl in particular, who had made her Zigzagoon rush futilely at Epsilon again and again until it collapsed from exhaustion. Epsilon hadn't even attacked the poor thing, just hovered close to the ground and made concerned noises.

“Zeta,” she called out, shaking herself from her nostalgia-tinged thoughts. After a quick consultation with the displayed list, Roxxy chose a move: “Astonish.” The Zubat rushed at the too-close Natu, screeching like an adorable baby demon as she attempted to slam into the bird, which had begun glowing black and red. Nightshade. But Zeta powered through it, knocking the bird flat with the Astonish while also taking some damage from the Nightshade attack.

Not quite a one-hit KO, but certainly super effective. Roxxy frowned, chewing on the inside of her lip and adjusting the loosening strap on her goggles. If she was remembering correctly, Natu was Flying and Psychic. If it knew any Psychic-type moves, that could spell trouble for Zeta. And that Nightshade attack could also be a problem, depending on how powerful the Natu was.

"Again, Zeta," Roxxy called. "Astonish!" The Zubat revved up her vocal cords again and went after the Natu, albeit slightly slower thanks to the injuries she'd sustained.

Posted by: Kamaitachi May 13 2014, 01:46 PM

Arms crossed and standing passively, Tag calmly watched as Lori ordered her Pokemon to target his Mienfoo. Tonbo, his Slowbro, had taken damage, but was left open. His more agile Pokemon had been targeted, but the the little fighting type's mobility had been limited by the swamp.

"Accept!"

Mienfoo threw up his hands in defense, though the piercing flash still managed to penetrate and momentarily stun him. However, Lori had chosen the close range, Super-Effective Peck. Yet, that would be what robbed her of this clean set of attacks.

"Drain Punch!"

As the peck jammed into him, Razo held his ground steadfast, jabbing upwards with a glowing fist. Despite being blinded, he had an excellent sense as to where Pipster was due to being attacked. The fist flashed forward, and would drain Piplup's energy, restoring his own if it connected.

"Tonbo, Psychic on Snivy."

Tilting his head to one side, still retaining a happy, vacant smile on his face. His inner psychic powers resonanted, glowing through his body before bursting forward in a potent wave of psionic energy.

If both attacks connected, Tag would put Lori at a severe disadvantage. She had spirit, that was for certain. She'd so easily referred to herself as Sister of the Unova League Champion, but Tag had been travelling long enough to know that blood ties did not necessarily translate to skill.

Passively, he waited to see how this round would play out.

Posted by: A Kitty Cat May 13 2014, 10:04 PM

He noticed Roxy make a face when he commended his Natu on its attack but Marwan watched helplessly as the Zubat plowed through the following nightshade attack and struck Natu head on.

“Natu!”

The bird hopped back up to its feet, clearly injured but still able to fight, ready to go head to head with the Zubat another round.

“Hang in there buddy!”

The Zubat was already on course for a follow up attack and quickly closing in on the struggling Natu. Marwan knew Natu wouldn't be able to stay int the fight after this attack and the only thing that he could do was try to score one last hit on the Zubat.

“Natu, peck!”

The bird took off again, the silvery light engulfing his beak, the sudden leap into the air, it was as if time had slowed down for Marwan as he watched the two pokemon glide towards each other, the slow clashing of the two together, and before he could even react he watched as his Natu tumbled to the ground.

“Come on back Natu, you did a good job.”

Marwan pulled the small bird back into his pokeball, giving it a little smile as he slid it back into his pack.

”Growlith could easily defeat this Zubat in its current strength but what if the zubat got an attack in, could he defeat that Poochyena, but that only leaves Flabebe and she's barely able to fight, but she could probably do it....oh man I need to decide soon.”

“Flabebe, it's up to you” Marwan shouted as he released the small pokemon onto the field. Marwans youngest companion materialized from the pokeball grasping onto its small blue flower, giving a small look around before it noticed the Zubat hovering overhead and giving out the strongest squeak its tiny body could muster
“You're okay Flabebe, just do your best” Marwan's reassurance must have worked as the pokemon turned around to face its adversary and readied itself to battle.

Posted by: Living Arrow May 14 2014, 11:49 AM

“Pipster, try to dodge!” Lori urged from the sidelines, bereft of ideas that would counter the moves in their tracks rather than opt for the less likely dodge. Her penguin, although speedier in the mud, still had little to no opportunity to avoid the up-close punishment from the Mienfoo and so fell foul of the incoming fist.

“Pip? PIIIIP!” Pipster was caught square on the jaw beak, the powerful punch throwing him back through the dirt where he tumbled and spluttered weakly before shakily finding his little feet once more.

“Hang in there, Pipster!” Lori cried, worry creeping into her cheers. “You’re doing great!”

“SNIIII!”

The cry of Lori’s Snivy as she was tossed through the air by a Psychic aura pierced her ears, demanding her attention away from her mud-covered Pokemon. The foe’s Slowbro’s gaze followed Triss through the air, his line of sight directing her movement before he looked down at the ground with a glazed-over stare. With a ‘swoosh’, Triss slammed down into the mud alongside her partner.

“Guys, hang on!” Lori urged, a ball of fear rising in her throat.

*Is this it?! Am I going to lose already?! How can I battle Maxy Z! again if I can’t even last two rounds against this guy?!*

“SNI!”
“LUP!”

Lori’s Pokemon called to her fervently, both looking back to their trainer under layers of thick mud. Althought they were a little wobbly, both Pokemon had grim determination plastered on their faces and their eyes… Well, their eyes…

*That’s it!* Lori’s worried frown turned around into the same determination worn by her Pokemon. *Under the mud…*

“Triss, use Mega Drain on Slowbro! Pipster, Bubblebeam the Mienfoo – let’s go!”

Posted by: Huntress Wizard May 14 2014, 02:17 PM

Roxxy sighed in relief. The Natu had gone down in two Astonishes, and hadn't used any Psychic moves. But it did manage to get a Peck in at the very end there, and now Zeta was struggling to keep herself off the ground. The Zubat looked back at her, waiting to be recalled. Just a little longer, daughter of my dearest partner, that was a good job, Roxxy pointedly refrained from saying. Instead, she said, "Stay on the field, Zeta."

"Zu..." Zeta turned her attention back to the front, and flapped her wings a little harder to gain some height lost by the Peck attack. Roxxy tapped her foot impatiently while Marwan shifted through his pack, apparently trying to decide whom to send out next. Honestly, he couldn’t have had more than three pokemon on him, how hard was it to pick one?

When he finally picked a pokemon, her eyebrows shot up. From this distance, it just looked like a floating blue flower. But she remembered seeing something similar when she was in Kalos, usually hiding in the colored flowers. The name of the species was eluding her, though. Flababy? Flebaby? Her pokedex sputtered in her hands, flashing multiple error messages when she tried to scan the blue flower. Stupid thing hadn’t been upgraded for the new regions since Sinnoh. Thanks to the professors cracking down on “freeloaders” like her, the updates were no longer free for experienced trainers; in fact, they were quite expensive.

"You're okay Flabebe, just do your best," Marwan called to his pokemon, and Roxxy snapped her fingers. "That's the name," she said, pointing at him. "Thanks, kid. Zeta, use Gust on the flower thing. The Flabebe.”

Zeta, once she'd found the tiny spot of space that the Flabebe occupied using echolocation, began flapping her wings as instinct demanded. A miniature tornado formed in front of her, gathering strength and speed the longer she held on to it. Small pieces of debris were caught up and swirled around in the column of air. When she judged it to be strong enough, she let go.

And it went wide.

"Zeta!" Roxxy yelled, and the Zubat winced. The move curled around the Flabebe, missing it by at least a foot, and crashed into a store front where it dissipated without harm. She quickly started building another Gust back up, but the Flabebe would have time to attack before it could be released. Roxxy shook her head, biting down on the side of one index finger to keep herself from shouting again. She probably shouldn't have yelled like that, Zeta was so timid and unsure of her wings. But if the Flabebe got even one good attack in, Zeta could be too weak to continue.

Posted by: Kamaitachi May 15 2014, 03:49 PM

Tag let out something that sounded like a satisfied grunt as his team's techniques hit home. Snivy and Piplup were now face down in the mud, Drain Punch had healed Razo somewhat, and Tonbo seemed to show no signs of damage. He had learned, earlier, that the Slow Pokemon was simply slow to recognize the damage, which was something he'd hopefully use to his advantage.

Problematically, Lori was now using the mud to her advantage. From under the field, something that appeared almost like a circle of attacks burst out. Tag watched the green energy of Mega Drain sap out from Tonbo, Super-Effectively, and head back to the hidden Snivy. Meanwhile, the Bubblebeam lanced forward, slamming repeatedly into his blinded Mienfoo.

While Lori hadn't entirely turned the tables, Tag had been effectively caught off guard by the sudden counter-offensive. The attacks slammed home, eliciting a cry of pain from the smaller Mienfoo. His Slowbro, however, continue to stare vacantly, as if unaware of the attack's effect.

The question was...how to proceed with the battle now? If he wanted to, he could really lay on the offensive. On the other hand, drawing out the battle would really help Lori (and Tag himself) train. The latter appeared to be the more viable option.

"Tonbo, Wonder Room!"

To his understanding, Piplup, Snivy, and Mienfoo all possessed fairly similar Defenses and Special Defenses. However, Lori had been attacking with primarily special attacks this round, and this seemed an adequate way to switch Tonbo's massive defense into a physical defense.

A point of light flared up in the air above the field, then shot out, forming a circular, transparent barrier around the battlefield and the trainers. In the room, their defenses and special defenses would switch.

If Tag was lucky, Lori wouldn't even know the effects of the little-used technique. In fact, this was the first time Tag had ordered it in combat, so he was eager to see how it worked.

"Razo, Calm Mind!" Retreating back so that he was even with his Slowbro partner, Razo put his hands together, forming something remarkably similar to a hand-seal like the ninjas of old (and in Fuschia City) used. A brief glow flashed over his body, raising up his physical and special attack parameters.

Normally, Taggarty Lee would not have given his opponent a free turn like this, but he kept his eyes glued to Lori to see how she'd react. Though, at the same time, he still needed money for the ferry, so he really couldn't afford to lose the battle if he was going to get over to Fidona and face Maxy Z.

He'd let loose on the next attack. That seemed like a decent plan.

Posted by: A Kitty Cat May 15 2014, 06:57 PM

Marwan flinched as the whirlwind barreled towards his small Flabebe.

”I knew this was a mistake! I shouldn't have let Flabebe go out there! Oh man this was such bad move!” Marwan's head was buried in his hands by this point, his mental freakout turning into a full blown physical freakout.

"Zeta!"

Marwan looked up just in time to see the aftermath of the failed attack, Flabebe looked just as surprised as Marwan was when it realized it was completely unharmed as it gave out a small happy squeak upon looking up. Without even thinking Marwan called out to his pokemon.

“Tackle! Quick!”

The Flabebe took of, or flew off, Marwan was never really sure how Flabebe stayed afloat, but the small blue flower crashed into the purple body of the Zubat, the sound of the two colliding was the only thing Marwan could seem to hear as he watched. Zeta gave a small cry as it tumbled to the ground, fluttering its wings as it attempted to get back up but unable to do so.

“Oh wow...” Marwan was at a loss for words, he never would've thought such a small Pokemon like Flabebe would have been able to take down a Zubat as strong as this “Zeta”. “...Flabebe that's enough...I think you should return.” Marwan pulled out a pokeball and returned the baby pokemon back to its home. He knew that it was pure luck that kept Flabebe safe, the small thing would never have a chance to survive in a one on one against Mutt.

“I know I should have kept her in but I think we both know your Pooc-uh-Mutt...was it? Well...yeah...um...” Marwan lost his train of thought. “I mean lets just let the dogs battle it out?”

”As if I didn't sound stupid enough already.

Marwan nudged Growlith with his foot, the pup gave a light growl as it stood up and slowly made its way into onto the field and sat itself down in front of Marwan. Either Growlith was unaware of what it was about to do or was just that confident in itself, Marwan suspected a little bit of both. Marwan suspected that Growlith may be a little bit stronger than Mutt but Growlith has never really been in a fight before outside of catching that Natu and maybe occasionally scaring away a Pidgey or Ratatat.

“Just give it your best Growlith.”

Posted by: Living Arrow May 18 2014, 10:17 AM

*Wonder Room!? Calm Mind!?*

Flummoxed by the two techniques that her opponent had just ordered, Lori was at a loss of what to do. One minute her Pokemon had been close to being knocked out, the next they were being given some room to breathe. Was this tattoo-faced-Tiki just playing with her? If he was, that would just make him a jerk and a sadist. Lori pouted, combing her fingers through the hair she gripped in her left hand.

*If they’re just going to set up for some sort of mega-defeat, then we’ll use our opportunity to attack!*

“Triss, use-“

“Sniii!” Static electricity danced around the small snake’s body, rendering her completely unable to move. Lori hissed. With Triss still paralysed she’d be slower when she actually managed to attack, too.

“Don’t worry ‘bout it, Triss!” Lori reassured her Pokemon who wore a furious grimace on her serpentine face. “Take a second to get your strength back!” Lori eyes turned to her faithful Piplup who blinked back at her with determination. “Ok, Pipster! While they’re not moving – use Icy Wind on the mud around Mienfoo’s feet!”

“Lup!” With a spring, Pipster shot out of the mud and drew back his head, flinging it forwards with a freezing shout that directed an icy blast upon the ground all around the Fighting type’s feet. The mud began to solidify almost instantly, producing a satisfied grunt from Lori.

*Now, while they’re still slow, we’ll attack again!*

Posted by: Huntress Wizard May 18 2014, 10:35 AM

The Gust flew apart into nothing as the Flabebe crashed into Zeta. The Zubat squealed, thrown off balance as she tumbled ever-closer to the ground. She made a valiant effort to return to the sky and finish off the flower pokemon, but try as she might she simply could not flap her wings hard enough to gain ground. Eventually she just gave up and glided down to the concrete, awaiting Roxxy's command.

"Return, Zeta," Roxxy said, having dug out Zeta's pokeball when things took a turn for the worse. A red flash of light enveloped the Zubat, and Roxxy held the pokeball by her side. Just a bad stroke of luck, Roxxy thought, tightly gripping the ball. But the mental implications of being knocked out by a Flabebe, of all pokemon, might run deep. She'd have to treat Zeta well in the future.

“I know I should have kept her in but I think we both know your Pooc-uh-Mutt...was it?" Marwan called to her. She looked up sharply, brows furrowed. "Well...yeah...um...I mean let's just let the dogs battle it out?” She couldn't quite tell from here, but it looked like that last statement had made him cringe.

Roxxy shrugged. "So you're not sending Flabebe out again? Sounds good, I guess." She crouched down and gave Mutt a scratch behind the ears, and his tongue lolled out of his mouth. "What a silly dog," Roxxy murmured, rubbing one of his ears between her fingers.

Once he was placated - for as soon as the Supersonic had stopped, he had endlessly pawed and whined at her leg, begging to be pet - she pushed him forward a little bit to face the opposition. On the other side, Marwan's Growlithe was looking more than a little confident as it sat, occasionally fidgeting, in front of Marwan. Mutt looked back at her, but she shook her head slightly and he stayed where he was.

"Let's start with Howl, Mutt," Roxxy commanded. Someone or something had, at least, taught the Poochyena how to obey trainer commands, and he stood up a little straighter. Throwing his head back, Mutt emitted a long, almost mournful sound to the sky. For a minute there, Roxxy had forgotten that this little gray ball of fur was related in some way to the proud Mightyena of her home region. When he was finished, he stood a little straighter, tail not as tucked, with lips pulled back in a classic snarl.

Posted by: Kamaitachi May 19 2014, 12:13 AM

Tag watched, somewhat satisfied as Lori mounted a fair counteroffensive. The mud around Mienfoo's feet solidified quickly, trapping the fighting weasel's feet. Nonetheless, the little smug looking grass snake appeared to have been inflicted with a bout of paralysis.

"Combo!" Tag swept his arm over the field in a surprisingly dramatic manner. "Razo, Swift. Tonbo, Psychic on the Swift Attack!"

Razo, still trapped in place, leaned back, then began flashing his arms forward, summoning and throwing swift stars like little glowing shuriken. Meanwhile, his partner's eyes and mouth began to glow a brilliant blue, surrounding the projectiles with blue psychic energy.

Then, to Tag's surprise, Tonbo formed the formation of Swift stars into one giant rotating blue shuriken. He had been expecting each of the homing stars to simply taken on the properties of the psychic attack...this move seemed far more remiscent of the co-ordinators moves that Liz Nadira Shir had mentioned while on his earlier adventure in Baccate.

"That...that's new." Tag tilted his head slightly. He wondered how Lori would handle an attack that he himself hadn't even been expecting.

Posted by: Living Arrow May 20 2014, 02:06 PM

“Th-that’s…” Lori whispered, her gaze transfixed upon the giant rotating star swirling over the battlefield. Equally as paralysed as her Snivy, the redhead could not tear her eyes away from the vision of her anime obsession. Surely it couldn’t be…

“Th-that’s impossible,” Lori licked her lips nervously. Unconsciously she took a step back from her spot at the side of the field. That enormous spinning star of azure blue would tear apart her Pokemon at the cellular level; there was no way to survive an attack like that! “Fuuton: Rasen Shuriken!?”

“LUUUP!” Pipster’s cry snapped Lori out of her stupor as he raced across the field, straight for the incoming projectile.

“What, Pipster?” Lori gasped, her eyes tracing the path that would lead him directly into the line of fire. “What are you doing?! Get out of there!”

“Pip, pipLUUUP!” Pipster planted his feet into the mud, holding up his flippers to brace himself for the impact but not before sparing a look behind him. A meaningful look for the Grass Snake who was just beginning to move again. Lori blinked.

*Huh? Pipster’s protecting Triss?* Lori wondered to herself, noting how her Snivy seemed to pass a knowing look back to her Piplup with a nod. *But he’s so weak now that-*

“PIIIP!” Pipster wailed as the Psycho-Swift-Star thundered into his chest, clubbing him down with its immense power. His tiny body was flung hard into the mud of the Pledge combo, slapping wildly over and over until his unconscious face was all that could be seen poking out of the mire.

“No! Pipster, return!” Lori cried, holding up a shaky arm to recall him quickly. There was no time for her to minimise the ball and put it away as Triss was on the move.

“Sni!” The Grass Snake’s jump permitted her the dodge of the shuriken, nimbly evading the impact that would have surely hit if Pipster had not slowed the thing down. As she rose through the air, clods of thick brown goo dripped free of her body to show scales underneath that began to shine a brilliant white.

*Triss! She’s evolving!* Lori gasped inwardly, her hair squeezed with enough pressure to make diamonds in her fist. *After last time I thought it wouldn’t happen but now… but now…*

No-one saw it coming. Sure, Swift was an attack that didn’t miss but with the psychic power-up there was no way to tell that it had retained its original technique. In a swirling arc, the blue star changed direction to spin up and backwards, straight into Triss’s back.

SPLAT!

Snivy met mud with a heavy collision, the bright white light of her evolution stolen by the impact. Lori froze, unable to compute what had happened… What had happened again. For the second time her proud Snivy had started her evolution and been stopped mid-process. For the second time Lori’s abilities as a Trainer were coming into question. For the second time, she felt tears welling in her eyes with the desperation she felt for her beloved Pokemon.

“Triss…” Lori’s chin quavered erratically. “”Triss!”

The unmoving form of her Snivy lay still, face-down in the mud. That was it. The end of the match. Lori let her hair fall free, a trembling palm wrapping itself around the second green-capped ball. She began to raise it, tears rolling down her porcelain cheeks.

“Triss, re-“

“SNIII!” Triss’s head snapped up with a roar, her vines exploding from the mud behind the Mienfoo; their path through the sodden dirt invisible to every onlooker. Lori held back a shriek, opting instead to drop her Pokeballs and hold both of her hands to her mouth in shock. Somehow, even hurt and robbed of her evolution, Triss had continued to battle, laying still and feigning defeat to hide the hidden strike of her Vine Whip attack.

*What?! WHAT’S HAPPENING!?*

Posted by: Kamaitachi May 21 2014, 03:44 PM

Tag's eyebrow cocked upwards as Lori blurted out the name of his technique. It sounded suspiciously like something he'd like. Though, unless he missed his guess, "Fuuton" was wind magic, and this...

...was distracting him from the point at hand.

The Tattooed man watched passively as the Piplup moved in to intercept the attack. Through the whirling mass of psychic stars, he didn't see the look transpire between the two defending Pokemon, but merely maintained his determined look along with his Pokemon.

The trio watched resolutely as the Piplup bore the brunt of the attack, tumbling into the mud from the earlier Dual-Pledge attacks.

As Tag's attention turned to their remaining, paralyzed opponent, he watched as the little snake prepared to evolve. But, Tag's "Rasen-Shuriken" returned with full power, forcibly cancelling the evolution.

His eyes rose from the literal snake-in-the-mud to the trainer who had commanded it. She was no longer clutching her hair, but was rather crying freely. She prepared to recall her Pokemon, and Tag prepared to shake her hand, as good trainers did...

The sudden cry of the Snivy ripped through the air, startling both trainers and all of Tag's Pokemon, both engaged in the battle and on the sidelines.

Not expecting the attack, Tag's Mienfoo took the full force of the Overgrow Vine Whip. Feet still encased in Piplup's ice, poor Razo received the vicious lashes repeatedly. Even having healed himself with Drain Punch, the fact that his guard had been down opened him up to the critical hit while his guard was down. Razo was lifted clear of the ice encasing his little feet, shattering it as he sailed through the air, landing in the mud near his partner.

Tag calmly recalled his pokemon, finding it difficult to fully regain his composure after thinking the battle had ended. Before the Snivy snatched victory from him, he felt the urge to stop holding back once more.

"Tonbo, Psychic."

The only one apparently unphased by the sudden shift in the battle, Tonbo opened his mouth wide once more, before pointing both of his stubby arms and dopey face at the Snivy. The air before him crackled with psychic energy as another powerful wave was unleashed on Lori's grass snake.

He had to make sure Triss stayed down this time.

Posted by: A Kitty Cat May 22 2014, 10:55 AM

Marwan started to feel a little anxious as he watched Roxy send Mutt out to battle. Something about this Pokemon felt so different than Growlith. Growlith was a little puppy who had never been in a real fight before and Marwan was sure that Growlith only thought of this as playing and Marwan knew Mutt was far more serious and with Roxy at the helm it was surly going to be a tough opponent.

[i]"No no no, this is a bad idea."[i]

Mutt let out loud sorrowful howl and readied itself for the fight, lips curled back to show its sharp teeth. Growlith tilted its head and gave a inquisitive little growl in response, acting as innocent as the little pup ever did.

[i]"He has no idea whats about to happen, does he?"[i]

Growlith gave a little bark at Marwan and snapped him out of his internal freakout, the Poochenya was waiting patiently for Growlith to make a move.

"Oh. Right. uh.... Growlith give them a roar!"

Growlith got down low, bowing its head as if it was charging up the most powerful roar it could possibly imagine before suddenly letting out a little bark. It was underwhelming to say the last but Marwan could tell that Growlith had no idea what he had just did. Growlith turned around to look at its trainer, tongue out of its mouth and panting as if it had just finished a game of fetch expecting a pat on the head and maybe a treat.

"...Good try Growlith... how about Ember?" Marwan felt a little embarrassed about what had just happened but luckily Growlith came through with ember. The little pup opened it's mouth and started to release a barrage of small flames. The heat could be felt around the crowd as some of the observers covered their faces or took a step back but the accuracy of the attack left something to be desired, fire shooting out like a shotgun blast rather than a single unified attack.

Posted by: Huntress Wizard May 22 2014, 03:49 PM

When Marwan told his Growlithe to Roar, Roxxy had a brief moment of panic. Then she relaxed when she remembered that it wouldn't work, since Zeta was fainted. She had no pokemon to switch to; Mutt would merely tumble for a bit before getting back up and throwing himself back into the fight. And when the Growlithe failed to deliver on the supposed intensity of the move, letting out a happy bark instead of the mighty roar, Roxxy managed a huff and a small smile. Mutt looked back at her, ears half-up and head cocked. She stared at him for a moment before realizing he was awaiting another order.

"Uh..." She smacked her pokedex against her palm again and scrutinized it, finally managing to make out the word 'Tackle' amidst the static of the screen. "Tackle, Mutt. On the Growlithe, on the Growlithe!" She had to add this last part in when Mutt decided that a bystander's Pikachu was his target, and began barreling towards it. He changed course on a dime, aiming now for the Growlithe. Good thing too, as the electric rat had nearly zapped Mutt back into place.

Marwan called to his Growlithe for an Ember, and Roxxy dug her nails into the palms of her hands. No time for Mutt to dodge, and the center of the quickly-spreading attack hit him right in the snout. He whined, sharp and piercing, and from here Roxxy could tell that the fur on his nose and ears was singed. But...as far as she could see, he hadn't been burned. And sooner than she'd hoped for, Mutt was nearly on top of the Growlithe.

Here was where it took a turn for the strange. Instead of simply knocking down the Growlithe with his forward momentum, hopefully scraping it up against the floor and causing some damage, Mutt slowed down at the last minute. He opened his mouth, as wide as he could, and latched on to the left shoulder of the Puppy pokemon. The air became charged, and even from here she could smell ozone. What the hell-are those sparks!? It looked like electricity was emanating from where Mutt had grabbed on.

The moment only stretched for a couple of seconds before Mutt released the Growlithe. He whimpered, backing away and swiping at his mouth with every step. But the Growlithe still had static electricity forking up and down its leg; paralysis? What is going on? Roxxy stared down the Pokedex again, and eventually the screen cleared up enough for her to make out Mutt's entire moveset.

"Howl," she said to herself. "Tackle...and Thunder Fang?" A small asterix by the move denoted it as an egg move, inherited probably by whoever Mutt's father was. Well, this changed things; maybe she wouldn't have to lie her way out of handing over some of her money after all. "Mutt!" she called out. "Thunder Fang, again!" When he didn't react, she sighed and added, "Bite the Growlithe again, like you did before!"

Thus instructed, Mutt - albeit somewhat cautiously, as that last bite had startled him quite a bit - advanced on the Growlithe again, teeth and gums bared in as vicious a snarl the little ball of gray fur could muster. If his lovely trainer commanded him to bite his opponent like his father used to do to the Wingulls hanging around the docks, then so be it.

Posted by: A Kitty Cat May 23 2014, 03:01 AM

Marwan could barely react in time as his Growlith was closed in on by the opposing Mutt but he wasn't expecting what had happened. Thunder fang from such a small little Pokemon was the last thing Marwan was expecting to happen during this fight and it seemed that Growlith was taken off guard just as much as its trainer was. Growlith howled in pain and surprise as Mutt dug into its shoulder, the sparks flying as electricity flowed throughout the connected leg.

“Growlith what happened! Are you alright?!” Marwan was clearly shaken up by the attack, it was the first time he ever saw such a vicious attack on his oldest friend and it took a lot of self control for Marwan to stay in his spot and not rush onto the field to retrieve Growlith.

“Hang in there buddy, you're going to be okay.”

Growlith gave a confident growl back to Marwan but it was clear that there was still something wrong with his leg, while the other three were clearly up and supporting the now alert dog the leg that had just been hit by the thunder fang was clearly struggling to function.

”Is this was paralysis looks like?”

It was clear that Growlith at his best was likely an even match with Mutt but with this injured leg there was little hope left in Marwan for a victory. Scratching his head anxiously he tried to feverishly think of what he could possibly do to try and bring this fight to a close without Growlith sustaining too much more injury.

“Growlith go for the tackle.” Marwan tried to put as much confidence into the command that he could but even he knew it was clearly a defeated tone. Growlith still did it's best though, launching into a head first attack on its opponent with as much force as it could manage with three legs, a little wobbly and occasionally coming close to stumbling completely it barreled toward the Poochyena which had done just the same as it came around for another biting attack. Growlith tried its best but Mutt latched onto Growliths body with as much force as it could manage with its jaws. Howling in pain Growlith slid to a stop and struggled as hard as it could but ultimately it was all in vain, Growlith collapsed onto its side.

Choking back the urge to cry Marwan quickly wiped a tear out of his eye and pulled Growlith back into its ball.

“You'll be fine in no time buddy, I’ll be at the Pokemon center as soon as possible.” Marwan whispered to the pokeball, giving it a tight squeeze before placing it into his bag.

“Well that was a good battle I think! I'm not really sure but it sure was memorable for my first time I guess...which way to the nearest Pokemon center?”

Posted by: Huntress Wizard May 23 2014, 04:04 PM

As the Growlithe launched itself in a futile Tackle attempt on Mutt, the Poochyena bit down once more, pumping what was left of his electricity into the Puppy pokemon. The Growlithe howled in pain, echoed by Mutt as he leapt away, again pawing at his mouth in distress and confusion. The Growlithe wobbled on three good legs for a second or two before collapsing, fainted. Roxxy coughed, a bit surprised it had gone down so easily. Perhaps Mutt had gotten a hold of a sensitive point or something.

“Get back here Mutt,” Roxxy called, snapping the pokedex shut. Maybe after it had dried out a bit more, it would be slightly less annoying to use. Mutt trotted back towards Roxxy, jaw hanging open but bright-eyed, with a wagging tail. She dug out his pokeball and recalled him in a flash of red light, then stuck both of her pokeballs back in the bag and looped it again over one shoulder. The crowd around them began to disperse somewhat, either leaving altogether or turning to watch the other battle taking place.

Marwan called to her and asked her where the nearest Pokemon Center was. “Look, kid,” Roxxy said, crossing the few feet of space that had served as the battlefield. “Your guess is as good as mine; I literally just got here today. I’m sure they would know, though; looks like the battle’s almost finished anyway, so let’s just wait for them.”

She waved a hand to indicate Lori and the tattooed man just finishing up their double battle. As she watched, the Snivy managed to take down the Mienfoo with a Vine Whip, launching the little Fighting-type pokemon through the air to land in the mud. Roxxy winced. But the tattooed trainer seemed unperturbed, and, once he had recalled his pokemon, calmly ordered his Slowbro to use Psychic on the Snivy. “Yeah,” Roxxy muttered, crossing her arms. “This is almost done.”

Posted by: Living Arrow May 27 2014, 11:28 AM

“Triss…” Lori whispered to herself as Tag recalled the Mienfoo after the severe lashings her Grass Snake had given it. Just how powerful had that Overgrow Vine Whip been?! Was Triss really that strong? “Woah…”

“Tonbo, Psychic.”

“Wha-!? Tirss, get out of there!” Lori screamed, the futility of her Snivy’s battle ringing clear with the command from her opponent. On her last legs there was simply no way for the Grass Snake to dodge the attack, let alone take it. A strangled cry came from the small snake as a blue aura crashed down around her body, crushing her flat into the mud. Her vines struggled feebly for a couple of moments, the final fight being drain out of her before every last green scale on her body remained still.

“Triss, return!” Lori held up the green-capped Pokeball to bring back her snake Pokemon. She looked down at the Pokeball with a mix of rampaging emotions slamming around her head. Frustration with yet another loss, guilt that her poor judgement of battle had allowed Triss to fail at evolving for a second time and embarrassment for the being defeated in a battle that she instigated. Nevertheless, there were proper ways to behave after a Pokemon battle and getting upset wasn’t in that list – she could cry later.

“Th-thanks for the battle,” Lori managed to croak out while blinking back the unshed tears in her eyes, “your Pokemon were awesome…” She forced a smile, drawing a deep breath to get out the final line of her losing speech: “We should have a rematch someday.”

“Someday, huh?” A lofty tone aired itself over the crowd around the pier that was beginning to disperse. Lori spun her head around, confusion and excitement blooming with the sound of her sister’s voice, to find her long-legged sibling sauntering towards her. Kino’s equally fiery hair was tied up at the front into a pair of perfect victory curls with the rest spilling loosely down her back in lazy crimson waves. Her perfectly toned abs rippled like the muscles of a Luxray with the rolling motion of her hips under the emerald hem of her corseted crop top, a walking vision of a top class model but with absolutely no credentials in that area. Damn, Kino was perfect!

At Kino’s heels a graceful Gardevoir trailed serenely with a head that bowed respectfully to all that she passed with silent acknowledgment of their presence. Lori recognised her as Penelope – a long-term member of Kino’s original Sinnoh line-up and one of her most powerful Pokemon that had seen countless Gym and League battles. Oddly, Penelope was wearing a strange necklace with a glittering bauble that swayed below her chin as she moved.

“Kino!” Lori grinned, the smile falling by the wayside to Kino’s ice cool demeanour.

“Thank you for… teaching my sister not to bite off more than she can chew,” Kino said dryly to Tag as she drew up to Lori’s side, “but holding back just to rub a win in someone’s face isn’t nice.”

“Huh?!” Lori coughed, looking from her sister to Tag and back again. “But he didn’t-“

“Please,” Kino rolled her eyes, “I saw the whole thing.” She looked back to Tag once more. “As I said, thank you. Penelope? The Pokemon Center, please.”

The Gardevoir behind Kino reached out to lay a delicate palm upon one of each of the siblings’ shoulders. Then, with a surge of Psychic energy… POP… the two red-headed sisters were gone.

Posted by: A Kitty Cat May 30 2014, 12:55 AM

When she couldn't answer his question Marwan took off into the crowd in a careful jog through the throngs of people watching the nearby fights as he eventually was able to break free of the crowd and back into regular traffic. Looking around he manged to catch a glimpse of the red roof of a Pokemon center just a block or two away, finally being tall had paid off in a practical way.

Continuing on towards the Pokemon center his jog turned into more of a dash and quickly into a full blown run as he managed to come upon the entrance in a surprisingly short time. Whether he just ran fast or it was just a longer distance in his mind was unknown but it wasn't exactly as important as finding triage for his injured friends. Marwan had a small wait until the Nurse was able to take his Pokemon Marwan took a seat in the waiting room of the Pokemon center, he was no stranger to spending hours inside of the Pokemon center waiting rooms as he had often spent the night in them when he was traveling. Even though he preferred the outdoors a trainer can't spend all of their time outside and the Pokemon centers were always open for a trainer looking to spend the night and the uncomfortableness of sleeping on the tiled floor never bothered any more than sleeping in a tent outside did.

In almost no time at all his poke balls were brought out to him by one of the Chancy assistants as good as new. Marwan thanked the Pokemon and placed his friends back into the safety of his bag.

"I guess I should go back. It would be nice to travel with people..." Marwan stared into thin air for a second, that was the first time in a long while that he had a thought like that but then again he was spending his first few days in a new land and he did just have his very first Pokemon battle, and first loss. "I guess it's a day of firsts" Marwan chuckled slightly before picking himself up and slinging his heavy pack onto his shoulders. As he started his way towards the door the red haired girl from before, it took a few seconds before he was able to recall her name, and another red haired girl appeared out of thin air, a Gardevoir with them. Marwan was slightly startled but decided to wait for her and the other girl to finish their business before even attempting to approach them.

Posted by: Huntress Wizard May 31 2014, 03:07 PM

Just as Roxxy had suspected, the little grass snake was no match for the Slowbro's Psychic. This time, when it came to rest face-down in the mud, it stayed down. Lori returned her Snivy back into its pokeball–decorated with a green cap–and shakily tried to thank the tattoo guy for the battle. Roxxy almost snorted, but managed to keep it together at the last minute. The battle had been tipped in the man's favor from the start, if that training display was anything to go by.

Roxxy turned and opened her mouth to talk to Marwan again, but there was only a boy-shaped space next to her. She snapped her mouth shut and grumbled, crossing her arms. As if she didn't have enough problems, now Marwan had run off. Leaving her alone. In a massive, albeit thinning, crowd of people. She shifted from one leg to the other, waiting for Lori to finish her sniveling request for a "rematch" someday so Roxxy could follow her to a Pokemon Center, hopefully.

Another voice entered the conversation. She spared a glance; and then did a double-take. The new trainer with the Gardevoir was, well, stunning. Gorgeous long red hair, perfect skin, and the well-deserved confidence to wear a crop top. Roxxy gaped for a moment, then blinked and looked away. It's not polite to stare, the voice inside Roxxy's head that sounded like an old woman said. Once she could think again, she noted that there was a definite similarity between this new trainer and Lori. Could this be the Kino that the latter had referred to when the battle started?

"Kino!" Lori shouted, confirming Roxxy's suspicions. The alleged Kino then ripped the tattooed trainer apart, chastising him for dangling a win in front of Lori's face then snatching it away. Lori half-heartedly protested, but it was clear that Kino was now the one in charge.

"Well, it's not like she had a huge chance of winning in the first place," Roxxy muttered. What that was supposed to mean, she didn't know: it was just something to say and be annoying about. She tilted her head back to yawn and stretch her arms, and when she looked again, Kino and Lori had disappeared with a loud "POP." She winced and rubbed her left ear. Teleportation, even when she wasn't actually involved in it, always made her poor ears hurt. It was probably to do with the sudden vacuum created by disappearance. Or something like that.

Oh, great. Another glance around the general area, around the crowd that was swiftly dispersing, revealed her worst fear. The only person left who wasn't a complete stranger was Tiki-face, who was standing as one usually does when told by an attractive woman to piss off; awkwardly. Roxxy shook her head like a wet Poochyena; once her ears were popped and feeling somewhat normal again, she walked over to stand next to him, leaving a few feet of space and occasionally casting him a sidelong glance.

"So," she finally said, uncrossing and recrossing her arms. "I hate to ask, but...don't suppose you know where the Pokemon Center in this town is, do you?"

Before he could speak, she noticed something familiar-looking around his neck. "Hey, those are GoGoggles," she said, adjusting her own pair on her face. "You from Hoenn?"

Posted by: Kamaitachi Jun 2 2014, 11:13 PM

Watching as the tear-strained girl approached. Tag bowed towards her as she thanked him for the battle. As he prepared to do the same, his eyes snapped up to meet a new voice floating in the area. They met eyes with a woman whose vibrant hair matched that of his opponent's. The aforementioned Kino Pardare, whose reputation as a Champion preceded her. Brimming with confidence, she looked absolutely stunning as she strode purposefully forward, Gardevoir in tow.

Tag's eye immediately caught a glint of the mysterious bauble hanging around the Gardevoir's neck. The trinket looked eerily similar to the baubles that Omar and Ace had possessed back in Petropolis - a means for Pokemon to Double Evolve? Super Evolve? He remembered the look of the gargantuan, extra-plated Aggron, and the even more Hellish looking evolved Houndoom that he and a few others had faced down underneath the colliseum for the Petropolis Grand Invitational.

As Kino spoke, Tag heard the dry bite in her tone and moved to protest, but she turned and and disappeared with a pop.

He'd have to follow them to the Pokemon Center to protest his case...well, possibly. It didn't seem right to stalk them there. But, his Pokemon had fainted in the fight as well, and he needed to refresh his entire team after their spot of training.

Looking over, the other battle that had broken out nearby appeared to have concluded, and now the strange girl whom he'd accidentally attacked with Tonbo was standing nearby him, giving him strange sidelong looks.

Hate to ask?

"Oh." She mentioned the goggles around his neck. "No. Johto. These were a gift from a friend living in Aridana." He watched Roxxy adjust her own pair, noting that they were really quite similar. Also, goggles weren't exactly a common accessory among the Furoh populace. "I take it you're from Hoenn, then?" he nodded towards her pair of GoGoggles."

Looking around, he noted the direction of the Pokemon Center.

"Uh...it's just down that way." he pointed down one of the roads, which conveniently led to the Pokemon Center. "I'm headed there now, if you'd care to join me."

He wasn't sure if it sounded like a come-on, or any sort of flirtation, so he simply started walking in the direction he'd indicated. It didn't occur to him that he'd potentially cut the conversation short, and that he hadn't even made proper introductions.

Posted by: Living Arrow Jun 3 2014, 01:46 PM

“What was that, Kino?!” Lori rounded on her sister as soon as her boots materialised inside the Pokemon Center. “First you just show up out of nowhere to embarrass me, without even a ‘hello’, by the way, and then you just Teleport us off without even asking if I’m OK with it?! What the hell?!”

“You aren’t OK with it?” Kino’s sarcastic eyebrow rose dangerously high.

“No!”

“Tough.”

“Kino!”

“Oh, shut up, Lori.” Kino tossed her perfect hair and sauntered towards the front desk. “Your Pokemon were injured so you’d be coming over this way, anyway.” She looked back over her shoulder expectantly. “Besides, we need to talk.”

“What?” Lori trotted to keep up, her anger still not completely gone despite the seed of curiosity growing exactly where her sister had planted it.

“One second,” Kino nodded back to her Gardevoir, “Penelope – please see to Lori’s Pokemon.”

The serene Psychic Pokemon spread her arms a little, almost in imitation of a curtsey, before peeling away from the trainers towards the Nurse Joy who had been watching the girls’ conversation patiently. All four of Lori’s green-topped Pokeballs floated free from her belt, wrapped up in a silvery light that matched an odd hue that had illuminated in Penelope’s, and over to the admissions tray before the Nurse. Kino placed a hand on Lori’s back to guide her away from the desk and towards a side room.

“We could do with some privacy, I think.” Kino muttered, giving a lanky kid a dangerous look with narrowed eyes as she pushed the door closed behind them and indicated towards a chair where Lori could sit. Lori made no move to take the offer of a seat and instead folded her arms over her chest petulantly.

“What do you want to talk about?” Lori demand, pursing her lips haughtily. “Clearly I’m not going to get a hug or anything.”

“Hmm,” Kino appraised her sister with calculating dark eyes. Lori knew that stare well – it normally meant Kino was sizing Lori up for something that Lori wouldn’t like. “You’re right – this isn’t a social call.” Kino admitted, crossing the room to briefly look absently out of the window. Her eyes returned to Lori with a fierce intensity.
“As your sponsor, I have decided that some changes need to be made.” Kino went on, those eyes still examining Lori for something unseen. “In recent weeks I have been tracking your progress and have decided to remove that Rufflet from your care.”

“You what?!” Lori’s curiosity reverted to its original anger which instantly escalated to a shout. “You can’t just take my Pokemon!”

“Actually, they’re not your Pokemon – theyre mine.” Kino remained the picture of perfect calm, unblinking and still as a mill pond. “When you signed the contract to accept my sponsorship you also agreed to the selection and removal of any Pokemon caught as and when I choose. And, right now, I’m taking that Rufflet.”

“What! Mom and Dad are gonna-“

“What?” Kino’s red brows shot up. “What do you think our parents will or can do? We made a business arrangement and that’s that.”

“But-“

“But nothing, Lor.” Kino sighed, idly teasing a thin lock of hair across her breasts between her fingertips. “The Rufflet is coming with me – not forever – just until I’m sure you can handle it.”

“But, I can!” Lori protested, finding a swathe of her own hair gripped in her fist. “I won a battle at the Petropolis Invitational with Apache and-“

“Yes you did.” Kino nodded, unphased by Lori’s claim. “But didn’t you stop to wonder why a newly hatched Pokemon was such a proficient fighter, irrespective of the levelling device at the event? No? Wasn’t it strange that a baby Pokemon could battle so well on its very first try?”

“Uh…”

“No. You didn’t.” Kino crossed the room in a few short steps to lay her hands on her smaller sister’s shoulders and look straight into her eyes. “Apache is young but far too powerful and inexperienced for a rookie to start training without looking to get hurt. I’m not doing this to piss you off – I’m doing it to look out for you.”

“So stealing my Pokemon is looking out for me?!” Lori couldn’t believe what she was hearing. How dare Kino do this to her?!

“It’s not stealing.” Kino snapped, her cool finally starting to break. “Rufflet are a dangerous Pokemon to train if you don’t know what you are doing and, from the way you handled yourself earlier and failed at obtaining a Gym Badge before, you are certainly not ready.”

Lori bristled angrily. Every inch of her wanted to slap her sister across the face but somehow something held her back, reminding her that the taller girl was faster than a striking Seviper and twice as slippery when she needed to be. Settling for a disgusted pout, Lori glared daggers at her sister, her voice hissing as she spoke:

“And when will that be?”

“When you have two Gym Badges in your possession.” Kino’s reply was fast and direct. “Get the Tamanagi and the Stonebloom Badges – then I’ll make sure that Rufflet comes right back.”

“Two?!”

“Two.” Kino confirmed, her cool calm returning quickly. “Raising Pokemon like this isn’t a game,” she stopped to turn and lift her emerald top while keeping her eyes on Lori, “anyone can get hurt.”

Lori audibly gasped as Kino exposed her left side to reveal a deep pink scar across her ribs, just an inch from her porcelain breast. The scar was jagged and pitted, clearly the work of a claw or tooth that had turned upon the trainer years ago. Surely a wound like that would have required serious medical attention and yet Lori had never heard of any such accident from her sister’s stories.

“Kino…”

“Only two Badges and it’s your again.” Kino repeated solemnly, tugging her top back down to hide the ugly scar. “Until then, I want you to take a different Pokemon that I just caught and train it as your own. It’s pretty young and will be a challenge to get to grips with but it’ll definitely help you on your journey.”

“What?!” Lori gasped, her anger melting with the flood of expectation and excitement that her sister threw upon her. “What is it?”

“You’ll see.” Kino smiled fondly, reaching out to take her sisters hands in her own. “But first, how about that hug?”

Posted by: Huntress Wizard Jun 4 2014, 05:19 PM

When the tattooed trainer revealed he was from Johto, something clicked in Roxxy’s mind, and she lifted her head the tiniest fraction. A quiet and reserved man, a man with a broken necklace, a man hailing from Johto...of course. The wandering Dragon trainer, the so-called "Scourge of Blackthorn," how could she have been so blind? Though from the looks of it, he didn’t train Dragon-types anymore. Lost in thought, she didn’t even notice that the trainer had started down the street until he was a few feet ahead of her. Quickly, she jogged the distance until she was matching his stride – easily, as they were about the same height, though the man was much wider than her.

“Sorry, got lost in thought for a minute there,” she said to keep up appearances. “Happens sometimes. So Johto, eh? I’ve been there. I'm from Hoenn though, yeah. Lilycove." She trailed off, letting the uneasy conversation lapse into a grateful sort of silence, punctuated by snippets of conversation from passers-by and the occasionally pokemon cry. With nothing to distract her, she shoved her hands into her pockets and slipped backwards into her memories.

When Roxxy first entered Blackthorn, it was unplanned. Some smug Hiker and his Sturdy Graveler had gotten a few lucky hits on Epsilon. Her only other pokemon, Burnout, was still fainted from an earlier episode with an Onix. So, of course, she'd bolted for the exit without dealing out a reward. Thankfully, it wasn't too far, and the Hiker was a bit too large to follow her for long. She jogged out into bright daylight and made a beeline for the red roof of the Pokemon Center.

While she was getting Epsilon and Burnout healed, the nurse gushed about how Roxxy had to go see the Dragon's Den, underneath the city. The entrance was just to the north, across a lake. Once Epsilon was fit for duty again, Roxxy had gone. She had him carry her over the water, had him deal with the trainer waiting near the entrance, had him carry her over the second lake the nurse forgot to mention. But finally, she made it to the shrine, a decrepit old building without a roof. There, once she'd declined to take the quiz, she'd been told the story of a Dragon-trainer.

Supposedly there was a trainer native to the city who had decided to train exclusively Dragon-types (a ridiculous decision in Roxxy’s opinion – monotype teams always had easily-exploited weaknesses – but she listened on anyway). He left the city with his partner, a Dratini, and as he had travelled, he picked up many more dragons. At long last, the trainer had returned with the intent to take the Master’s Test, but had failed because of a deep desire to be superior to all those around him.

This certain trainer went on a rampage, destroying much of the city and the Den itself. He was eventually subdued, his pokemon confiscated and released and his talisman destroyed and thrown to the bottom of the lake. He was then exiled, never to return to the city. The Master ended the tale by urging Roxxy not to become like the trainer, and to care about her pokemon team as friends, not inferiors. She dismissed it as a rumor, a story told to children so they wouldn’t abuse their pokemon.

But now...

“Hey,” she said, “We’re here.” When she hadn't been looking, her feet had followed the tattooed trainer to the Pokemon Center. The redheaded sisters were there as well, and Marwan just behind them looking as out-of-place as ever. Thankfully, other than those three, the building didn’t look too busy; that meant shorter waiting times. She moved towards the door, then stopped and turned halfway around.

“Uh, thanks for showing me here,” she said, focusing her gaze on the man’s right ear. “Name’s Roxxy, by the way.” She tossed her head in the vague direction of the Center. “You’re coming in, right? To heal your Mienfoo? Maybe have a nice chat with that good-looking sister of Lori's?” The corner of Roxxy's mouth quirked up at her last statement.

Posted by: A Kitty Cat Jun 8 2014, 07:38 PM

Marwan stood awkwardly off to the side as the two sisters talked, what ever they were talking about sure got heated fast and Marwan could tell it wasn't exactly his place to be and quickly turned on a heel to head out the door. Roxxy was probably still where he left her, he could always try meeting back up with her and following her around until they found the ferry. Somewhere in his thoughts it suddenly dawned on Marwan that he should probably call home and let his parents know he made it to Furoh in one piece.

Marwan sat himself down In one of the phone booths against the wall which he had made constant use of in recent times. Marwan had owned a old poke gear that he could use to call his parents while out on an adventure but he had lost it on his last journey in Sinnoh, as far as he knew it was now sitting in a million pieces somewhere on Mt. Coronet. As the screen flickered on Marwan was met with the answering machine and the sound of his mothers recorded message. It wasn't rare that Marwan and his parents were on different time schedules, the life of a wandering trainer and a couple of poke professors didn't exactly overlap often. Marwan left a short message to them, just the regular info letting them know how his Pokemon were doing, where he was, what his plans were, he'd probably be able to reach them next time he was in a Pokemon center. It was times like this that Marwan understood why they kept pushing for him to buy a new pokegear or an x-transceiver but he just didn't want to spend the money on one or have one more thing to keep track of when out in the wild.

By the time Marwan had stood back up and started to make his way for the exit he could tell not much had changed, the two sisters were still in a heated conversation and the trainers around them had started to move on with their lives. Suddenly through the door appeared Roxxy and the powerful trainer from before, Marwan was slightly surprised to see the two walk in together but given that everyone did just have a battle that did a number on all involved he guessed it made sense.

”I should probably apologize to her for disappearing like that...” Marwan started to feel a little guilty about running after the battle, he thought of what to say as he walked over to the two.

“Hey...Roxxy sorry about uh...disappearing after our fight and everything,” Marwan rubbed the back of his neck and could feel the heat of embarrassment spreading, “I was just worried about my Pokemon and yours were so strong so I wanted to make sure they weren’t too injured and it was a really good fight and thank you for fighting and I’m sorry for running like that.”

Posted by: Kamaitachi Jun 8 2014, 08:34 PM

"I remember Lilycove being a really nice place." Tag nodded, keeping his eyes forward on the road as he continued to walk towards the Pokemon Center. Roxxy had caught up, easily matching his pace. The odd-looking young woman, with her pixie-like hair and outrageously blue eyes made an odd sort of traveling companion. The two walked in relative silence through the busy streets of Port Barley.

All the better for Tag really; sterling conversation wasn't exactly his forte. Thankfully, before either felt the need to strike up conversation once more, they arrived at the Pokemon Center. Roxxy thanked him for showing her the way, which felt a bit awkward. Tag's response, in turn, was equally awkward, as he nodded with a little polite bow.

"I'm Tag." He felt her eyes on the side of his face, and he turned his head slightly to look over at her. At the mention of Lori's 'good looking sister', Tag felt a gulp well up in his throat. How he had missed the two sets of wildly red hair was beyond him. Turning back to Roxxy, he sighed. "As you may have guessed, chatting isn't exactly my strong suit." He removed the pokeball belt from around his waist, moving to the reception area. After a scan of his trainer ID, a Chansey candystriper appeared with a tray, where he neatly deposited the Pokeballs. With a happy trill, the Chansey disappeared around the desk, and Tag gave a curt nod to the Nurse Joy on duty.

As he turned back, Roxxy had been engaged in conversation by the boy she'd battled earlier. Lori and Kino still were still in a heated discussion over something important, he was sure. Everyone seemed occupied, and it seemed just as well. Tag needed a moment to be alone and on guard anyways; without his Pokemon, even in a Pokemon Center, he was terribly vulnerable, especially considering the enemies he'd made. In all honesty, they had, for all intents and purposes, been allies the first time they'd met. The more recent debacle at the Grand Invitational however had solidified their positions on opposites sides.

Relaxing into the seat, he kept himself alert, but nevertheless could not help eavesdropping a little on the various conversations between Marwan and Roxxy, then Kino and Lori. While he couldn't exactly ascertain any solid information, there was something comforting about the fact that none of them were trying to kill him.

Posted by: Huntress Wizard Jun 9 2014, 04:51 PM

"Hm. Tag," Roxxy said. As in the game? You hear something new every day, I guess. She gave a curt nod to his small bow, and followed him into the center. He tossed out that chatting wasn't his strong suit, and she huffed, but didn't offer any reply. That would have pushed her already limited social skills to the brink. Tag went first, scanning his trainer ID and summoning a Chansey. She took the opportunity to yank her goggles off her face so they hung loosely around her neck. The Chansey took away his pokemon, and he stepped aside to allow Roxxy access to the machine.

She stepped up and, kneeling, yanked out Zeta and Mutt's pokeballs, Suitably armed, Roxxy stood back up and looked over the machine. Scanning one's Trainer ID was largely just to make sure no ones pokemon got mixed up, but it still presented problems for trainers who didn't have one. Like a certain black-haired woman standing in the center right now, for instance. She swallowed her pride and hit the "No Trainer ID" button. The machine beeped twice and spat out a temporary one-use card.

The Chansey came and left with her pokemon with no further instance, and with nary a withering glance tossed in her direction. Roxxy flipped the card over in her fingers, bending it slightly. It was just a flimsy sheet of paper, but all the ones she’d received and subsequently thrown away over the years could probably fill a garbage can to the brim. Maybe I ought to save up and just get the damn ID already, Roxxy thought. Not an unfeasible goal, if she laid low for a while and focused on it.

Someone said her name and she jumped, whirling around. Roxxy quickly jammed the card into her back pocket, probably mangling it beyond recognition. Once her heart stopped pounding, she realized it was Marwan, trying to apologize for running off and leaving her in the crowd. She sighed, skating a hand through her hair and noting with disinterest that a shower might be necessary in the near future.

“It’s fine,” she finally said. She kept her eyes trained on the ceiling. “You put up a good fight, too. Didn’t expect Zeta to be knocked out by that...that flower ‘mon you’ve got there.” Dammit, the name had already fled her. Fla-something. She shook her head.

“Doesn’t matter. Anyway, don’t get too worked up over it. I walked over here with Tag," she tossed her head at the trainer, who was sitting and waiting for his pokemon to be healed, "so it's fine."

"Pooch, yen!" Roxxy turned. Mutt was running out from wherever they took pokemon to be healed, with Zeta clinging to his back like a tiny Tauros-fighter. The Nurse jogged out after them, to pass Roxxy her pokeballs, before returning to take care of the next trainer in need of assistance. Roxxy bent down to first scratch Mutt behind his ears, then untangle Zeta from his fur and restore the Zubat to her shoulder.

Her hyper Poochyena did a lap around her ankles then made straight for where Tag was sitting. He yapped and whined, undeterred by the stranger's slightly intimidating appearance, and pawed at Tag's pant leg. He wanted to be pet more, but his trainer appeared to be otherwise occupied with making sure Zeta was okay. So this sitting man would have to do.

"I think the ferry should be coming back now," she said, glancing at her wrist as if a watch would materialize there. Sadly, it remained bare; her internal clock, though, told her that enough time had passed for another ferry to be chugging in any minute now. It looked like Lori was still speaking with her sister, but Marwan and Tag seemed ready to go.

Posted by: Living Arrow Jun 10 2014, 02:36 PM

“Thank you, Penelope.” Kino nodded to her Gardevoir as she returned with Lori’s four green-capped Pokeballs swirling around one of her spindly outstretched arms. The Psychic-type gave a trill of pleasure in satisfying her trainer and extended her palm forward, directing the path of the levitating orbs towards their owner. Lori grinned and held out her hands.

“Yeah, thanks Penelope - hey!” Lori made a grab for the fourth ball to join the three that she had collected but the device was already snatched into the perfectly manicured cage-like fingers of her sister.

“Remember what we talked about.” Kino warned Lori as the younger’s mouth began to spring open into an even louder retort. The Unova League Champion’s eyes silenced Lori’s almost attempt at further protest and only relaxed in intensity when it was clear her smaller sister backed down. “Good.” Kino sucked her teeth, minimising Apache’s Pokeball and swiftly secreting it away somewhere on her person. Another ball was rapidly produced to replace it. “And here is you latest partner to train with.”

Lori visibly brightened, her feelings of anger and resentment evaporating as the new Pokeball was presented to her. She reached out to take it with eager hands.

*Well, I wasn’t that attached to Apache anyway…* Lori mused with fickle delight as a brand new Pokemon entered her grasp. *And I’m sure he and Kino will get along fine!*

“What is it?” Lori demanded, not taking her eyes of the shiny green-and-white sphere.

“Ah,” Kino smiled and held out a hand for Penelope to take in her own, “I think that should be saved as a surprise for later – Penelope?”

“Voir.”

“Charizard Isle, please.” Kino said without taking her gaze from her sister. “And Lori, a word of advice. Learn from that man.” She nodded beyond Lori towards Tag across the Pokemon Center. “Battles are won with strategy – not just speed and power alone – and his career is a long and varied one.”

“Wha? But how do you know that?” Lori demanded look from her sister to the guy and back again.

“I make it my business to know who else my sister will be rivals with while she competes in the Furoh League.” Kino answered cryptically. Her eyes turned towards Lori with an intent stare. “Find a Fairy-type Pokemon and train it well.”

“A Fair-“

“Just do as I say, Lor.” Kino insisted. “I won’t hold your hand the whole way but I’ll help where I can. Find a Fairy-type Pokemon.”

“But why?” Lori whispered with confusion.

“Because that man isn’t who he seems to be.” Kino’s narrowed eyes turned on Tag with suspicion. “Learn from him what you can and win Badges while you grow stronger – I’ll come and find you when you’ve got two, okay?”

“I guess?”

“Good.” Kino gave Penelope’s hand a squeeze. “Charizard Isle.” She repeated and, with a POP, she instantly vanished.

Posted by: Kamaitachi Jun 15 2014, 12:28 AM

Tag relaxed visibly as the Chansey Nurse handed him back his pokeball belt. Clipping it back around his waist, he sank into the chair for a moment, dropping his formerly intimidating posture.

At that point, a poochyena, Roxxy's it seemed, ran up to him, pawing at his pants leg. A gentle smile crossed the former Dragon Trainer's normally stoic face, and he reached down to put the hyper pup. Even if their personalities weren't at all alike, this Poochyena instantly reminded him of Zuki, the Poochyena whom he had released back in Gigarte. Even though it hadn't been his choice to do so, but rather the demands of a terrifying Legendary Pokemon, he still felt a sharp pang of sadness in his chest. Zuki, his own Pokemon, had simply taken the invitation for freedom and bolted at the opportunity, leaving the stunned Tag behind without a chance to even say goodbye.

It stood to sense. He had hatched Suzu from an egg, and she somehow managed to symbolize his own rebirth. Bachi he had caught back in Johto. Kyoko, Tobi, Tonbo, and Razo he'd rescued. Uchi and Kana had come with him willingly. Orin and Enka he'd caught, but they'd remained quite loyal despite it all. Just Zuki had chosen to abandon life with Tag for a life of running the streets in Gigarte. Had he been caught be another trainer? Was he living a happier life? Was he miserable somewhere in some gutter? He had no idea of knowing, and that uncertainty caused the stab of guilt.

Stopping himself from getting to lost in his sadness, Taggarty Lee contented himself with scratching Roxxy's Poochyena on the ear.

He had all but stopped eavesdropping on Kino and Lori, only to look up to see Kino glaring at him. The formidable woman hissed something under he breath to Lori in what sounded like harsh tones, then disappeared with a pop, just as she had earlier.

"Well...it seems we're all ready to go." He looked at the kid who had yet to even approach him, but figured with through his conversation with Roxxy that he was now just part of this new motley crew that had assembled. "I'm sure another ferry should be coming along soon, and I'd rather not miss this one too."

Posted by: A Kitty Cat Jun 15 2014, 06:15 PM

As Marwan wrapped up his short conversation with Roxxy he looked over to the trainer she had entered with, the trainer with the strong Pokemon from earlier. Marwan felt a little intimidated by the stoic trainer but lightened up a bit as he started to play along with Mutt. It was sorta strange to see the tattooed man smile and scratch the puppy’s ears. Everyone started to agree that it was about time to head for the ferries and Marwan figured they were correct, while he didn't have a physical clock to check his internal clock was in agreeing. Which was fairly trustworthy. At least by Marwans standards. Maybe not too many others. Marwan figured he should introduce himself to the trainer at some point as it seemed as if he would be traveling with the small group that seemed to have come together.

Marwan stumbled his way over to the trainer and tried to string together a coherent introduction. “Hey...I saw some of your battle and wanted to say your Pokemon look super strong and I'm happy I didn't choose to battle you.”

”Nailed it.

“I-i'm Marwan and I guess we are head the same way today so I figured I’d introduce myself.”

Marwan could tell he was taller than the man, not by a large margin but could probably still see over his head when he was standing. Other than that though the two seemed to be somewhat similar in complexion, tan, dark hair, his eyes were bright blue though and only added to the intimidation factor of his fearsome face.

”Maybe he is a heavy outdoors man too? Maybe we'll get along.

Though Marwan assumed his tan had to be from being outside as he didn't seem to come from a family with naturally dark complexions like Marwan was. Before Marwan noticed he had zoned out long enough for everyone to start to get ready to leave and shuffled to get ready himself.

Posted by: Huntress Wizard Jun 16 2014, 03:47 PM

Kino disappeared after trading one of Lori’s pokeballs for another and hissing something about Tag to the younger girl. Lori was left standing there with a somewhat dazed expression on her face. Roxxy frowned, but only briefly; she would have liked to talk to that Kino some more, or indeed at all. Had she had a working cellphone, maybe she could’ve asked for her number. Ah, well; she had larger matters to attend to, namely that Zeta hadn’t given a peep since riding out on Mutt, not even for echolocation. Roxxy stroked a few fingers down the Zubat’s head and back, and Zeta huddled closer but was still silent.

Roxxy hummed, continuing her petting. From the moment her Zubat had hatched, not long before – before that incident happened that forced Roxxy out of Hoenn, Zeta was small. Smaller than average for Zubats, as far as she could tell, and even a little smaller than Roxxy remembered Epsilon being at this age. Zeta was timid too, scared of her own wings, and Roxxy did not know how to help her realize her potential. Finally, Zeta let out a tiny squeak and resumed her echolocations, albeit softened to an extraordinary degree.

“You can’t let this get to you,” Roxxy muttered. She shook her head and dropped her hand, sticking both hands back into her pockets. Marwan, once he realized she wasn’t going to say anything else to him, had wandered off to introduce himself to Tag. Tag, who was currently scratching Mutt behind his ears with a strange expression. Somewhere halfway between gentleness and sorrow. Wonder what happened, she thought, then called to her wayward Poochyena.

“Mutt! C’mon, we’re going.” Mutt was in no hurry to leave the nice scratchies given by this intimidating man, and so didn’t move an inch. But when she repeated the command, he obeyed, pulling himself out of Tag’s grasp and trotting mournfully back to Roxxy, where he threw himself down at her feet with a howl. And a yelp, as howling set off the pouches in his mouth and lightly shocked him. He whined, covering his snout with his front paws.

“Such drama,” Roxxy laughed. She bent down to scoop him up behind his front legs, and he quickly forgot his temper tantrum. With the wriggling Poochyena in her hand and the Zubat on her shoulder, she headed out the door, following the others’ example. Roxxy hung at the back of the group, content to mull over Tag’s newly revealed history and try and work out what was fact and what was fiction.

Posted by: Living Arrow Jun 18 2014, 12:03 PM

*Learn what I can. Catch a Fairy-type. Get two Gym Badges.* Lori listed to herself while she fussed over getting her things together. She paused momentarily, rolling her newest Pokeball in her hand. *Wait, Fairy-type? What’s a Fairy-type?*

With all of her gear and Pokemon back in one piece, there was only one more thing left for Lori to do in Port Barley; meaning she’d have to stick with the few Trainers who had also expressed their desire to take the next ferry to Fidona. Of the three, only the man who had defeated her in the Pokemon battle earlier had actually given up his name to her and even then she wasn’t sure if she remembered it properly.

*Weird name, too.* Lori inwardly shrugged, falling into step with her taller contemporary while he led the way back to the dock. *Taggy Bee, indeed!*

The other two were still complete strangers to her really and it felt a little awkward to be asking for their names now. Maybe she could just pick them up in conversation discretely?

Lori walked in awkward silence alongside the giants of the group, feeling particularly out of place when forced to spend more than the minimum time with someone who had creamed her in a battle. Normally she would just make her excuses and get away from them before embarrassment took over but her she would have to accept not only the rest of the afternoon but an entire ferry ride to the nearby island of Fidona.
Tall, broad and formidably tattooed across the face, Lori didn’t feel 100% comfortable around Taggy Bee so it wasn’t any surprise that her normal level of conversation was lacking in his presence. That said, the girl following behind was also not the regular type of company that she’d keep with her alternative style and aggressive demeanour. The lanky kid, however, was more of a viable target for conversation with his quietly brooding appearance so Lori took her opportunity there:

“So,” she addressed Marwan with a big smile as they walked, her short pop dress flouncing and bouncing on her thighs, “I guess you had a battle and lost like me, huh? Don’t worry about it though – I lose a lot but that doesn’t mean we’re not getting stronger! We got to the top sixteen of the Petropolis Grand Invitational, dontcha know?!” She did a little skip of excitement and punched the air. “And now Lori Pardare, that’s me, is going to definitely get the Taminagi Badge from the Fidona gym!” She looked up at Marwan with fire in her eyes. “What are you going to Fidona for?”

Posted by: Kamaitachi Jun 19 2014, 03:01 PM

The aforementioned nameless kid approached him and introduced himself. Tag, not sure how to respond to such an introduction, stared blankly at Marwan for a moment.

"Thank you? Please feel free to challenge me any time."

That seemed like an appropriate-ish response.

"Marwan." Tag tested the name, rolling it around in his mouth "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Tag."

He reached out to shake Marwan's hand, which was a perfectly acceptable way for me to make each other's acquaintances. He wasn't big on bro-hugs, bro-taps, general hugs, or general taps otherwise, so a handshake seemed like the way to go.

At that, however, the Poochyena loving up on him broke off at Roxxy's command, returning to his trainer's side while Tag gave a tiny goodbye wave.

Rising, he and the group moved from the Pokemon Center, headed towards the ferry. Tag walked at the forefront of the group, slowing his long strides down so that everyone in the group could keep pace. It was odd, he noted, that the group had formed so organically. No one had mentioned anything about forming a group...no one had mentioned anything about banding together and forming a war party, yet here they were, walking towards the ferry. Perhaps having the company was nice, but he still wasn't quite sure what to make of how easily the group had coalesced.

He listened as Lori spoke to Marwan (with Roxxy floating at the rear of the group), and smiled when he heard that Lori had made it into the top sixteen at the Grand Invitational. Of course, he had too, but he chose not to chip in.

As the approached the ferries, they found their path onto the docks blocked by an equally small group of men wearing dark suits and sunglasses.

"That's him." One raised a hand, pointed directly at Tag.

Unflinching, the tattooed man's hand dropped to his Pokeball belt, watching the four slowly do the same.

"Mr. Lee. You're to come with us. No questions asked." one stated, full of the confidence and swagger of someone who had a powerful boss, yet possibly lacked true merit of his own.

Tag smiled.

"No questions. Just give my regards to Omar." He turned, looking at the trio of youngsters behind him. Hopefully, they would go straight to the ferry and just leave without him. He had no desire to drag them into this mess. Since the anonymity of the group in front of him wasn't compromised, Tag figured that they would at least let the kids go. "You guys head on over to the ferry. I've got some business to attend to; I'll join you shortly."

"Fat chance." The 'leader' of the group stepped forward, throwing his pokeball. A Charizard now blocked the path for Tag, leaving only an opening to the docks where the other three suited-goons were. They all brandished their own pokeballs, eying each other member of the travelling group menacingly. It looked as if they weren't going to let the others pass by without a scrap. A frown appeared on Tag's face, irritated that they had forced those in his group to participate in his battle.

Though, it seemed off. Tag wasn't sure why he wanted to protect the other three from the immediate scuffle. That felt awful...father-y of him. They were old enough to be trainers, they were old enough to fight their own way.

"On second thought, let'em have it!" Turning to his travelling companions and allowing himself a somewhat wicked looking smile.

"Enka!"

As his Flaafy took the field, the man in the suit reached into his breast pocket, revealing a similar gem to the one Omar had. Upon closer inspection, the Charizard had a matching gem attached to a chain and metal plates around her neck. As Enka materialized on the field, he watched the enemy hold the gem up towards his Charizard.

Tag heard the familiar jolt. He'd heard it all too many times in his career as a trainer, and with the recent experiences with an Aggron that evolved and a Houndoom that had evolved, he already knew what was coming.

"Enka, Thunderbolt!"

He wasn't going to give it a chance to evolve before he struck.

Yet, instead of attacking, Enka merely threw back her head, evidently crying out a loud shout to the heavens that reverberated around the docks. Within moments, ominous, dark clouds had swirled up and into existence, and a brilliant bolt of lightning fell from the sky, striking Enka dead on. The blinding flash stopped both trainers in their tracks, forcing them to shield their eyes or risk being blinded.

When they peered back at the field, there was a terrifying looking Black Charizard on the field, with wicked serrated wings, and spikes on her shoulders. Intense blue fire poured out from her mouth, matching the blaze on her tail.

At the same time, Tag looked at Enka, in front of him, who had copied the evolution and willed herself into her final form, Ampharos.

"Tiamat! Dragon Claw!"

"Enka! Thunderbolt!"

As the terrifying new Charizard came screeching towards Enka, Tag expected the bolt of lighting to burst out, knocking the part flying type Charizard back with electricity. Enka, instead, opened her mouth wide, firing out a move that Tag knew only too well. The multicoloured beam of light struck the thundering Fire Lizard backwards, toppling the terrifying creature for a moment.

Tag stood frozen, wondering just where Enka had learned that attack from. But, she wasn't a dragon; he hadn't violated any of his own rules.

"Enka!" he called out to her, and she turned her neck, looking over to smile at him with her usual cheery demeanor.

"Amph!"

"Dragon Pulse!"

Posted by: A Kitty Cat Jun 20 2014, 11:25 AM

Marwan trudged along side the group in silence, though that seemed to define the group as a whole. Marwan started to zone out a bit as the group of trainers he had found his way into slowly worked their way through the crowds towards the ferries. He was pulled out of his stupor when he was suddenly engaged by the little redheaded Lori.

She started out her sentence with a quick “So” and continued on to tell Marwan about how she had lost her battle too, about how her team was growing stronger, and about how she was planning to beat the gym leader that was on Fidonia. Marwan had no idea who, where, or even what type the gym leader was or even that there was a gym leader on the island. The only thing he really understood was that Lori claimed to have gotten into the top sixteen of the Petropolis Grand Invitational, even Marwan had heard about the invitational.

“That's pretty impressive.” Marwan took a couple of seconds to figure out what to say next. “I...Don't really know anything about the island or even this region to be honest. I've just head things while I was traveling and decided to go somewhere new.” Marwan rubbed the back of his head with a little embarrassment. “I don't even really know why I'm going to Fidonia, I don't really care about battling the gym leaders here. I've been from Snowpoint City to Dewford town. Nimbassa City to Lumiose City. I've been all over but the stories I’ve heard about Furoh were so interesting that I couldn't resist coming to try and experience some of them myself.”

Marwan would have continued on talking aimlessly about traveling if it wasn't for the fact that the group had seemed to reach their destination. At least Marwan thought they did though there seemed to be something off about the dock area. A group of men in sunglasses and dark suits were blocking the way to the ferries and seemed to jump the moment they saw Tag though it wasn't out of intimidation like Marwan would of thought as one instantly pointed directly at him and yelled “That's him.”

Marwan figured these guys were pretty strong and the moment the first one threw out a charizard Marwan's suspicions were realized as fact, at least to Marwan. He knew he shouldn't get involved with the encounter, after all the men seemed to be only interested in Tag and not anyone else in the group but before he could even react the other men seemed to start moving towards Lori, Roxxy, and himself.

“I don't think we're going to be able to walk away from this...” Marwan murmured out loud to the group, not even sure if anyone was listening to him. One of the men stood a short ways away from Marwan and looked him directly in the eye and instantly pulled out a poke ball. Almost like clockwork the fight between Tag and the first man kicked off in a massive way, one of his Pokemon evolved right on the battlefield instantly started its attack on the enemy charizard.

“Do we really have to fight...?” Marwan asked to the suited man who was approaching him. Without a word the man pulled out his poke ball and readied himself to fight. Marwan hesitated for a second before reaching for his own Pokemon, grasping the first one he could and tossing it onto the field.

Posted by: Huntress Wizard Jun 20 2014, 03:30 PM

It took Roxxy a moment to come out of her self-induced meditation (that is to say, she zoned out big-time) and notice the group had stopped dead. As such, she nearly crashed into Lori. Roxxy growled, taking a quick step back, and was about to yell at the redhead when she noticed exactly why they'd stopped. It looked like some friends of Tag's were here to meet them. Big guys, in dark suits. She snickered involuntarily when she remembered the Team Flare goons from Kalos in their safety-cone-orange suits, trying to act tough.

Her giggles abruptly disappeared when one of the grunts blocked their way with a massive, hulking Charizard. Roxxy's mouth went dry, and she swallowed, hard, taking another step back. Steady on, she told herself, balling her hands into fists so they wouldn't shake. This isn't his Buddy you're facing; this is a completely unrelated Charizard. Buddy’s back in Hoenn, probably. That calmed her down a little, but her anxiety immediately went right back through the roof when Tag's Flaafy summoned storm clouds after a very brief six-word pep talk from him.

Now, all her inhibitions dropped, Roxxy pressed her palms to her ears and squeezed her eyes shut against the brilliant lightning and terrifying thunder. It was only one strike, luckily enough, and the clouds cleared as quickly as they had come; her fear, not so much. Her breathing was fast and shallow, her heart a stampede in her chest, and it took all her willpower not to drop to her knees or run in the opposite direction. At least now it was easier to tell the grunt's Charizard was definitely not Buddy.

Somehow it had turned from an orange-and-tan dragon to a black-and-blue monster. How was that even possible? Charizard was a final evolution, there was nothing beyond it as far as Roxxy knew, and she knew a lot about Charizard. And yet, here was an evolved specimen currently fighting with Tag's newly evolved Ampharaos, who sent it flying backwards with a well-aimed Dragon Pulse. A steady stream of four-letter words unmentionable with company around passed through Roxxy's head like ticker tape. She managed to edge to her right enough to see around the battle and spot three more goons waiting for them.

"Lori," she snapped, going straight to strategy mode, "you take the guy on the left. Marwan, the right. I'll deal with the middle." Marwan had moved before she talked, but he had gone for the one she'd assigned him to, by some miracle. Roxxy stepped forward, swinging her pack to her front so she could grab Zeta and Mutt's pokeballs from inside. As soon as they'd left the center, once Mutt started wriggling too much for her to carry him, she'd put both of her partners back into their pokeballs and those back into her satchel. The middle grunt snorted, also stepping forward, and tossed his pokeball to the ground. From it burst a very runty-looking Farfetch'd, its leek wilted and browning at the edges. She eyed it, then the man.

"What, your Pidgeot finally wise up and fly off, Jared?" she spat.

The man looked surprised that she'd recognized him, but she pushed on, "Oh come on, you don't think I'd forget that piece of work, did ya?" She made a slashing motion with her thumb under her left cheekbone, mirroring the nasty scar Epsilon had left on him last time she'd met this son-of-a-gun. Nervous, angry energy surged behind her ribcage and up her throat as she kept speaking: "I think it was back in Kanto, yeah? You were working for Team Rocket. Trying to clone Mew or whatever. And now look at you, ambushing teenagers on the docks for Acreus-knows-who. Oh how the mighty have fallen. If I had Epsilon, I would so beat you to a pulp, but lucky for you, you get to meet his daughter instead. Plus a little something-something I picked up on the docks on the way here."

Roxxy threw down both her pokeballs at once. From the left one, Mutt materialized, all waggling tail and floppy ears. From the right one, Zeta appeared and immediately turned and flew to hide on her shoulder. Jared laughed, and Roxxy's ears went red. She held up a hand to Zeta, signaling it was all right if she stayed there for now. "Mutt, you're up then," she said, struggling immensely to keep her voice level. "Howl, and make it quick."

"Fury Cutter, Farfetch'd!" said Jared. Mutt raised his snout to the sky and let loose a Howl for the second time that day. This, however, left him open to the bird pokemon's slash with a green-tinted stalk. He yipped, stumbling away, but recovered quickly enough. She bit her lip; if the dumb bird knew a Bug-type move, that could make things more difficult. Especially if Zeta continued to cower like this, which Roxxy didn't blame her for of course. Maybe Mutt could paralyze it, stop it from attacking consecutively and increasing the power of the move. It was worth a shot; even now the Farfetch'd was warming up another Fury Cutter.

"Thunder Fang on the Farfetch'd's wings, Mutt!"

Posted by: Living Arrow Jun 21 2014, 05:36 AM

Lori pondered Marwan’s reason for being in Furoh and wondered what sories he had heard of to bring him to the region. She certainly hadn’t been told anything of interest but then again she was neither a history buff or a geography enthusiast – maybe he was more of a geek than he looked? Even though his reasons for being around didn’t match Lori, she didn’t hold it against him – everyone had different goals in life after all – but did spend a second more wondering why he had chosen to follow the small group of Pokemon Trainers to Fidona. She shrugged it off quickly.

*Doesn’t matter! He’s a nice enough guy and now Joey’s off becoming a top Co-Ordinator it’s not like I’ve got a massive list of friends in the Furoh region.* That thought made her think about her recent acquaintance Cesc Rojas and his wonderfully bright smile… *Dammit, Lor!*

“That’s him!” Lori’s gaze flickered quickly to the group of darkly dressed people at the head of the dockfront, aiming their attention towards Taggy Bee. A brief exchange between them confirmed for Lori the dastardly nature of their presence (clearly they were in the mob and Tag owed them money) which made her feel more than a little uncomfortable. What if they extended their vendetta towards her?!
Things escalated quickly – the lead mobster unleashing a Charizard upon Tag which underwent the ultimate transformation to Mega Charizard X (not that Lori knew that, of course). Unlike her proud sister, Lori was not above calling for the police when she was in trouble and her Poketch was in her hand quickly.

*Crap, how do I make a call on this thing?!*

“Lori!” Roxxy’s brazen snap snatched at her attention. “You take the guy on the left.”

“What?” Lori fumbled the Poketch, dropping it her feet were it clacked on the paved promenade between her shoes. Roxxy’s indicated opponent for Lori to battle with edged away from his cohorts to make space for their battle, almost responding to Roxxy’s command himself. Lori gulped. A Pokemon battle with a mobster? That sounded… DANGEROUS!

“You ‘eard ‘er!” The shady guy opposing her snarled, his fist clutching a Pokeball in preparation. “C’mon!”

“Er…” Lori reached back to her waist, fingertips brushing the four Pokeballs positioned there. He hadn’t sent out a Pokemon yet so it didn’t really matter which of her partners she chose because there would be no way to know if she had an advantage or not until he released his own. Then again, Triss was the most powerful Pokemon she had and Pipster worked with her as best he could. Then there was speedy Chico the Minccino in reserve along with the unknown Pokemon she had just been given.

“Well!?” The thug shouted at her, his temper obviously running high with the battles breaking out around them. “Quit stalling! What’s yer big battle plan?!”

*I can’t send a Pokemon I don’t know anything about and Pipster and Triss desrve a rest after their last battle…*

“I choose you, Chico!” Lori turned free the green-capped ball that contained her little grey Chinchilla who struck a very masculine pose upon his exit, beady eyes scanning the area for pretty girls in an instant. The thug smirked.

“Do it, Vigoroth!”

Lori eyed the tall white monkey thing carefully when it made its appearance, trying to judge what sort of Pokemon it could be. Although larger and more intimidating than Chico, Lori doubted it could move as quick as her partner and probably wasn’t as smart, either. She nodded to her little rodent, confirming that he would be staying in for the match and selected her first move.

*Apply a status, just like Tag did before!*

“Ok, Chico!” Lori pumped the air with a fist enthusiastically. “Use Sing!”

The Chinchilla Pokemon calpped his hands together as though praying and tilted his head upwards, emitting a soothing melody of chirps and trills that manifested into glittering musical notes that danced towards their foe. Pink, blue and green icons of music popped on the Vigoroth’s head and Lori clicked her fingers with delight.

“Haha! Try to battle when your Pokemon is asl- hey!”

Lori’s gloat was extremely premature – the Vigoroth stayed standing and, if anything, grew even more menacing without making a move. Its trainer laughed back at Lori spitefully.

“Stupid kid. Don’t you know Vigoroth’s special ability is Vital Spirit?”

“It… it is?” Lori whispered, a swathe of hair somehow finding its way into her hands while fear and worry find their own way into her bones.

“Now, Vigoroth!” The thug chuckled. “Get it with Fury Swipes!”

Posted by: A Kitty Cat Jun 26 2014, 09:18 PM

The man in black that had stepped forward to challenge Marwan tossed his pokeball in front of him and let loose his surprisingly young looking Rattata. The tiny purple mouse pokemon stood firm as it readied itself to fight.

“My Rattata may be new but he'll bury your pokemon in the ground!” shouted the thug. Marwan tried not to frown as he realized he was being forced to fight what was essentially a baby pokemon. Marwan pulled out a ball at random from his pouch and released the pokemon inside. To Marwans surprise he had released his Flabebe.

”Maybe this will be a little more even...”

The small fairy type was floating softly in the wind and trying to hide what it could behind the small flower it clung to. The demeanor between the two pokemon on the field could not have contrasted any differently, the overly aggressive mouse and the shy fairy.

“Rattata use tackle!”

Without even a word from Marwan Flabebe glided upwards on the wind and easily avoided the attack from the Rattata as it slid to a stop underneath.

“Flabebe, respond.” Marwan called out, he knew Flabebe only had few move and Marwan didn't have the heart to try and be aggressive in this fight.

Flabebe stopped its “leaf on the wind” style movements and instantly dropped like a stone. While the rattata tried to dodge out of the way it took the majority of the tackle straight to its hind quarters. The rat was clearly dazed and severely injured by the attack but was more than able to continue the fight.

“C'mon don't make this pokemon suffer anymore. This is wrong!” Pleaded Marwan to the thug but it only managed to strengthen the anger that fueled this fight. Round after round of tackles came from the Rattata and round after round found Flabebe fairly easily floating around her opponent, occasionally she'd move a little to late and receive a bump here or a scratch there but nothing major. Marwan knew that both pokemon would be worn down fairly quickly if this fight continued and didn't want to put the strain on his own pokemon, Marwan knew that the only way to keep his Flabebe safe was to end this fight now.

“Flabebe, lets wrap this up.”

Flabebe quickly closed the gap between her and Rattata, the tired rat was lacking the energy to try and move before two vines flung from Flabebe and made short work of the Rattata. Before one could blink the Rattata was down for the count.

“Damn it.” Cried the man in black, “Get back here!”

Marwan figured that was the end but was surprised as the thug pulled out another pokeball.

“This time is for real!” he cried out as he let loose what Marwan assumed was his strongest pokemon. The flutter of wings from the orange-red body surprised Marwan as the Ledian. After the pitiful performance that was forcing a baby pokemon to try and fight an actual healthy looking pokemon was the last thing that Marwan expected to see.

“Your little Flabebe is no match for Marley!” the thug yelled out.

”Marley? what is he talking about?” and then it hit Marwan like a pile of bricks. This was the thugs personal pokemon. He went from a baby pokemon to one that he clearly had a connection with. Now Marwan felt like a bully try to beat up this mans favorite pokemon.

”It would be like someone beating up Growlith. I can't do that to him under these circumstances. I just can't.”

“We don't need to do this. Don't make your friend fight.” Marwan tried to plead with the thug to end the fight.

“Shut up! Get that stupid flower Marley!”

The Ledian took off straight at Flabebe, its fist glowing a light blue as it charged in. Flabebe had no time to try and react as the Ledian unleashed all its pent up energy out of its fist and straight into the body of the tiny fairy pokemon. Flabebe skidded across the ground to the foot of its trainer.

In that instant, as Marwan watched his baby come crashing down at his feet he lost all regrets about finishing the fight. Anyone who could use such an overpowered attack on such an innocent and weak pokemon clearly couldn't be reasoned with.

“Natu, you know what you need to do.”

Marwan released the small bird as he pulled Flabebe into his arms. The psychic pokemon knew what was going on, it made the rare movement of taking a look at its trainer before focusing in on the Ledian like it normally would. Natu was ready to fight.

Posted by: Living Arrow Jun 29 2014, 01:57 AM

SLASH SLASH SLASH

“Ciiiinoooo!” Chico wailed as he sailed through the air, bearing the red-hot scores of razor-sharp claws on his foeheads and paws which he had raised in an attempt to defend himself. With a skittering roll, the little bundle of fur tumbled end over end before coming to a skidding stop aat his master’s feet.

“Oh no, Chico!” Lori fussed, wringing out her hair worriedly. “Are you alright?!”

“Miiin… cino” Chico groaned, pushing himself back onto his hind paws with a wobble.

“Ha! Like that rat could do anything against my Vigoroth!” The dark-clad goon laughed at Lori, his Pokemon chuckling in perfect imitation. “Just back down, kid.”

*Oh, God! What do I do!? This guy’s probably some sort of crazy cut-your-fingers-off-because-you-crossed-me types!* Lori’s eyes fell upon her dropped Poketch. *Call the police!*

“Min!” Chico startled Lori back to her senses, his tail swishing to and fro expectantly. Lori’s dumbstruck face slowly gained a confident smile.

*If Chico’s not giving up then neither am I! That’s our ‘way of the Trainer’, right Chico?*

“Back down?!” Lori grinned, releasing her scarlet hair from her white-knuckled clutches. “Maybe you should back off!” She shared a look with her chinchilla who nodded determinedly. In unison, both turned to their opponents and raised both hands/paws in front of their chests, crossing their fingers in the classic ninja sign depicted in Lori’s favourite TV show.

“Kage bunshin no jutsu!” Lori cried, her Minccino sxploding into a stream of perfect grey-furred copies that scattered in different directions to encircle the opponent Vigoroth. “Great, now Pound it!”

Posted by: Huntress Wizard Jun 29 2014, 05:29 PM

Mutt lunged, catching the Fury Cutter on his side as he bit down on the wing closest to him. He growled at the pain of being hit with the super-effective move, but did not let go until every last scrap of electricity was pumped into his opponent's flesh and feathers. He finally dislodged his teeth and leapt away, kicking the bird for good measure before pawing at his mouth. Every time he tried to use his new move, the electricity always managed to get loose and hurt him, too.

Roxxy balled her hands into fists. She had named her Poochyena Mutt for his apparently hardy nature - after all, she did find him looking somewhat healthy while living off scraps on a busy port - but if he took another direct hit from the Farfetch'd's leek, it would probably be over for him. And Zeta still didn't seem up for duty. At the thought of her Zubat, Roxxy softened slightly, sparing a moment to scratch Zeta's head fondly.

But where she should have been, Roxxy only encountered her own shoulder and a few stray locks of hair. Her heart jumped from her chest to her throat before making a nosedive right into her stomach. Where was Zeta? She cast a glance to her right to confirm that no, Zeta was not hanging onto her shirt and hiding behind her back. Nor was she on her head; there would have been a familiar tugging at her hair had that been the case. When she turned her attention back to the front, intent on ceasing the battle to have Mutt track Zeta down, she realized where her Zubat had gone.

Zeta had flown straight into the battle to intercept the Farfetch'd's attack.

Mutt jumped back with a yelp to allow Zeta room to fly in and actually snarl at the Farfetch'd. The Fury Cutter bounced off her rapidly beating wings, barely leaving a scratch. Jared shouted something at the Farfetch'd, probably a command, but Roxxy couldn't hear him over the blood rushing through her ears. Maybe she had underestimated Zeta's ability to bounce back.

The Zubat opened her mouth wider, fangs extended in a threat display. Her Poochyena backed up a few steps, then threw himself to the ground and covered his ears with his paws. The Farfetch'd staggered backwards, and even Jared winced and rubbed at one ear. Roxxy, as always, heard nothing of Zeta's Supersonic.

"Farr!" The Farfetch'd cried, lashing out with its leek. But the bird overestimated the force behind its swing, and managed to smack itself in the beak with its leek.

"Enough, Zeta! Switch to Gust!" That was one of her moves, right? Roxxy hadn't thought to get her pokedex out; she was too caught up in the anticipation of the battle. The possibility of adding another scar to that smug dick Jared's face had driven all other thoughts from her mind. Zeta obeyed, flapping her wings as hard as she could to gather the air and debris around her into a swirling tornado.

This time, she would not miss.

Posted by: Kamaitachi Jun 30 2014, 03:35 PM

As the battles broke out around him, Tag kept focus on the terrifying black charizard in front of him. Yet, moreso than the way the Charizard appeared, Tag felt something quite unsettling about Enka's new attack: Dragon Pulse. Seeing his Pokemon use the Dragon-type attack brought back a swarm of memories, but to his knowledge, Enka was purely an electric type.

Yet, the Dragon Pulse seemed devastatingly effective on the Black Charizard. Something seemed wrong. Either Enka was absurdly powerful, or something was wrong with the Dragon Pulse attack. To his knowledge, Charizard was Fire and Flying. With Enka's Electric Type, it didn't make sense as to why it was so powerful. Either that meant that Charizard was a Dragon Type and was taking extra damage...or Enka was a Dragon-Type and had STAB.

Given the situation, and the unknown Charizard breed in front of him, the former made more sense.

"Tiamat! Dragon Claw!"

Not leaving much to strategy and focusing on brute force, the enemy trainer (most likely Team Deception, Team Deception contractor) focused on brute force. It made sense; Enka, even newly evolved, was not a Pokemon focused on defense. Yet, Tag had those options, and he needed a way to buy time. Two back to back Dragon Pulses seemed to have worn out the electric sheep-beast.

"Enka, Cotton Guard!"

With surprising speed, Enka's cotton fluffed up from her body, forming a soft shield. The brutal looking Dragon Claw immediately ripped through the soft shield, tossing Enka back like a rag-doll. However, she popped back up, shaking herself off as if to remove the dizziness she'd gotten from the hit.

"Tiamat! Again!"

"Thunder Wave!"

As the mighty lizard flapped its wings to shoot forward once more, claws glowing wickedly in the light, Enka unleashed what appeared to be a net of electricity, thinly drawn but covering a wide range. As the Charizard flew headlong into the net, Tag watched as the wings tensed up, ceasing their powerful flaps, causing the draconian fire-lizard to crash to the ground.

"Thunder!"

Not waiting for the enemy trainer to call out another attack, Tag immediately ordered what was potentially Enka's most powerful attack in that situation, save perhaps another Dragon Pulse. Enka working with Thunder was more suitable to her current stamina, he was sure.

With the residual storm-clouds still floating around from Enka's evolution, Enka roared skywards once more, causing them to quickly recoalesce. With their clash, a massive bolt of thunder dropped down hitting the downed Charizard.

Tag frowned, shielding his eyes for a moment as the brilliant flash of lightning covered the field. Though, as it cleared, and his sight adjusted, he watched the Black, winged Lizard rise back up, looking angrier than ever.

Definitely a dragon type. Any Charizard would've been taken out by now. Tag frowned. Fire/Dragon type. He'd never encountered that before. He began looking through the other pokemon on his team, realizing that Suzu, Kyoko, and Frosslass would all be weak to this Charizard, Slowbro would only do neutral damage...and Mienfoo's defenses were terrible. Enka was really his only hope for this beast right now, and her super-effective attack was...not effective.

Do I risk another Dragon Pulse, and leave Enka vulnerable to the next attack, or do I try to hit with Power Gem...

"Tiamat. FLARE BLITZ"

Balls.

"Enka! Dragon Pulse!"

Posted by: Living Arrow Jul 5 2014, 08:34 AM

As one, a stream of Chico-clones descended upon the Vigoroth with shining white tails, all swinging forwards with a cry of rage. The Vigoroth, seemingly unperturbed by the incoming offense, braced itself for the impact by crossing its arms over its chest but showed no expression of fear or worry for its own safety as Lori’s Pokemon approached. Its Trainer, too, did not seem to show any indication that he was in the least bit worried about the welfare of his battle partner.

*Huh?! What’s wrong?!* Lori bit her lip, her eyes flicking from the opponent, to his Pokemon, to Chico and back again. *Why isn’t it dodging?!*

“Vigoroth, give it the Fury Swipes!”

*Oh, no!*

Chico’s copies reached their target, all swinging their furry weapons in a mighty arc only to meet the frantically slashing claws of the Vigoroth. PAF PAF PAF PAF! The clones popped with a puff of smoke with each clean hit, leaving only the real Chico to attack on his own.

“Ciiiinoooo!” Chico screamed, deep red lines scored across his chest and sides where the Vigoroth’s claws left their sinister mark. Lori opponent grinned wickedly.

“Go on, Vigoroth,” he taunted, licking his teeth with anticipation, “cut it up again – Fury Swipes!”

“Chico, counterattack with Tail Slap!” Lori urged, her little Chinchilla struggling to rise on shaking legs. “You can do it!”

With a spring, Chico rose to meet his opponent. Shining claws met shining tail in a rapid explosion of one, two, three, four hits. And then, cruelly, Chico’s energy faded but the Vigoroth’s wasn’t done – one more slash was granted to the sloth Pokemon, launching Chico high into the air with a clawed uppercut that made Lori gasp with the impact of its ferocity.

“Chico!”

“Looks like your rat is beat, kid.” The black-clad goon snorted at Lori, a twist on his lips openly displaying the disdain he felt for the teen facing him. Lori felt sick to her stomach – this guy was clearly not the sort of person who would stop and show mercy simply because a Pokemon was hurt or its Trainer was out of their depth. This guy was…

*A criminal…*

“Y-you…” Lori tried to retort weakly, her concern for Chico and fear of the man facing her rattling her cage more than she would ever have thought was possible. “Y-you just back off… I mean it!”

“Ha! That all ya got?!” He laughed, the twist to his mouth turning to an outright sneer. “Do it, Vigoroth!”

“No!” Lori gasped, her heart going out to the tiny grey rodent struggling to even get back to his knees before the impending clawed creature. “Chico!”

”But that’s cheating, isn’t it?” Lori’s 8-year-old eyes turned down into a frown as her big sister replayed the training video on the TV. Two Pokemon froze in suspended animation as Kino hit the pause button to face her smaller sibling.

“Cheating?” Kino raised an eyebrow. “Hardly. Thing are changing out there, Lori – Pokemon battles are won with more than just hard work nowadays.”

“But healing in a battle with items? Surely whoever has more money will just win every time.” Lori complained.

“That may be true,” Kino nodded sagely, “but that why use of bag items is restricted in official matches. When it comes to items that a Pokemon can hold in battle, however, anything goes.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously.”



“Now, Chico!” Lori cried, clapping her hands together franctically. “You can use it now!”

“Chi?” The Minccino wobbled to his hind paws, shakily staggering from side to side as the vigoroth rushed to meet him. From a spot buried within the fur of his tail, Chico drew forth a small yellow fruit and shoved it into his mouth. The Vigoroth did not slow its approach, claws glimmering again in preparation for another Fury Swipes.

“Dodge it!” Lori cried, her eyes on the hand seals that her Chinchilla flicked through at top speed.

Ram – Boar – Ox – Dog – Snake.

“That’s it!” Recognition of the seals sparked in Lori’s head. She clasp both hands together in the palm-to-palm seal that Chico finished on and screamed: “Kawarimi no jutsu!”

Posted by: Huntress Wizard Jul 7 2014, 06:48 AM

True to her word, Zeta's Gust was on target. The cyclone flew straight at the Farfetch'd, buffeting it with debris and sending it flying backwards into one of the pillars used to keep ships from drifting off. It fell onto the concrete, face down, the leek tumbling from its grasp. It pushed itself onto its wings for a moment before collapsing for good. Zeta crowed in delight, turning back to her trainer. Jared growled something obscene at the fainted bird as he recalled it back into its pokeball.

Roxxy's attention, however, was not on the now-finished battle. The moment that Tag had called out Thunder to his Ampharaos, she had tensed up. The storm clouds reformed, and she squeezed her eyes shut when the lighting struck. A small, barely-noticeable whimper escaped her at the loud boom following the move. Her hands pressed so hard against her ears that it hurt, but nothing kept the noise out. She bit down harder on her lip and tasted metal and salt.

On the precipice of a complete breakdown, a soft nibbling at her leg brought her back to reality. Roxxy looked down, her eyes momentarily refusing to focus. Then she saw; Mutt, with his jaw around her leg, squeezing gently. The storm was gone, she was on the docks, she was okay, everything was fine. Her Poochyena, once he saw that she was somewhat cognizant again, released her leg. She shook her head to clear her thoughts as Zeta returned to her perch on Roxxy's shoulder.

"Ha!" Jared laughed. "What, scared of a little thunder and lighting?" Roxxy wiped the blood off her lip with the back of her hand, then wiped it on her jeans. Jared was only a few steps away, and when she got him with a right hook, he stumbled back to the edge of the docks. He was a tad shorter than her, by enough that Roxxy was able to yank him slightly off the ground by the shirt collar and toss him chest-down onto the docks. When he tried to get up, she pressed him back down with a gentle push of her foot between his shoulders.

"Y'know," she said, her voice low and sharp in his ear as she knelt by his chest, "if I were you, I would not be poking fun at the girl who's lived on the streets since she was ten. That's not very smart of you, I thought you knew better? Disappointing." Roxxy extracted his wallet from his pants. It looked like Jared had been paid handsomely to block the ports for this Tag character; regardless, it would be enough to keep Roxxy afloat for the next few days. She removed every last paper bill from the wallet. Then she stood up and, turning out to sea, chucked the wallet as far off the docks as she could.

"Have fun fishing," she said, spitting blood at him. Then she looked around at the other battlers. Marwan was busy with a Ledian, but he had his Natu and his Growlithe so he was probably fine. Lori and her fluffy mouse...thing that Roxxy didn't know the name of were fighting a Vigoroth. Poorly, in Roxxy's opinion; the mouse thing was already covered in scratch marks and Vigoroth were notoriously vicious. As she watched, Lori called out something that sounded like gibberish to Roxxy, earning the red-haired trainer an eyebrow raise and a scoff.

And Tag was, well, drawing the Charizard monster's attention away from the rest of them. Roxxy licked away a drop of blood from her lip, actively resisting the urge to dig her nails into her forearm. This Tag guy had no particular reason to take on the Charizard from hell; the entire loosely formed group had only formed from a mutual destination. But here he was, defending them out of (she could only assume) the goodness of his heart. She shook her head again, clearing away her thoughts.

With a final kick to Jared's ribs for good measure, Roxxy boarded the ferry, making a Combeeline for below decks. If she was going to be on the water for a while, she'd rather not be reminded of that every time she lifted her head.

Posted by: A Kitty Cat Jul 8 2014, 09:51 PM

Ledian buzzed forward with amazing speed the moment it's trainer commanded it to and instantly set in to tackle Natu head on. Marwan could tell that his little green friend was prepared to dodge before it was even though. Marwan wasn't entirely sure of the myth about Natu and the two eyes seeing into the past and future but if there was ever a way to convince him it would be watching Natu Dodge the tackles that were being thrown at it.
Marwan was aware of the huge difference in power between the two, one bug type attack from the clearly superior Ledian would be more than enough to knock out Natu but defeating the bug wasn't the plan, wearing it down was. It was surprising, to say the least, that the man in black was deciding to only attack with tackles though Marwan knew what to expect when a Comet punch was about to be thrown.

“Natu, now's our chance to try and do some damage, peck!”

Natu took a quick leap forward before flapping its wings with all its might. The familiar silvery sheen covered its beak as it flew towards the Ledian.

“Dodge it Langley!” cried out the man in black and that is exactly what Langley the Ledian did, Natu was able to brush up against the bug but what little damage the small peck did was hardly comparable to what was about to follow.

“Ledian, Comet Punch.”

The Pokemon swung itself around and reached out to the Natu, barely grabbing it by the leg.

“Natu try to get away!” cried out Marwan to little avail. Ledian wound its arm back and with an astounding amount of power unloaded a powerful punch into the body of Natu. The small green ball of a Pokemon crashed into the ground beneath the battle and bounced as if it was made of rubber.

“Again! Finish it off!” the thug cried out. His voice was full of confidence and pride as he watched his Ledian wind up. Marwan panicked and called out to his Natu.

“Natu, Do something!”

The injured bird rolled over to look at its attacker, badly injured and barely able to fight back the small bird was engulfed in a faint purple aura. The glow slowly grew as time seemed to freeze, Ledian was simply fluttering above, arm cocked back and ready to fire, but for whatever reason the attack never came. A black beam shot from Natu into Ledian and connected the two on an unseen level, Natu was stoic as ever but the Ledian started to flutter about in an erratic pattern was was clearly having a hard time processing what ever was being beamed into its head. Both trainers stood in silence as the scene unfolded in front of them.

“Night Shade...” Marwan murmured, unable to think of anything else to say.

The scene came to an end when Natu was unable to keep up the attack, a minute had gone by but the Ledian was still ready to fire off a comet punch when it was finally able to shake the mirage out of its head. The moment the attack ended the punch had come down like a hammer from the sky into Natu, pummeling the Pokemon into the ground. Marwan was helpless in doing anything to stop the attack, he was expecting Natu to faint but not for such a brutal attack to be used.

“Growlith, come out.”

In a flash of light Growlith sprung out of its ball, Marwan reached for Natu's ball as Growlith looked around at its new surroundings. The puppy could tell what had happened, it instantly saw Natu sitting in the crater that was the ground zero of the battle. Marwan couldn't read the minds of his partners but if he knew Growlith as well as he thought he did he knew this would fire the Pokemon up more than anything. The puppy was clearly more determined than usual, certainly more than the fight against Roxxy.

“I'm going to crush your stupid dog. That's what you deserve for standing in our way!” The man in black sputtered with a sneer. His voice only worked to aggravate Marwan even more than his actions already had.

“Growlith we need to give this everything we got. This is serious.” Growlith gave a quick bark and took it's spot in front of the Ledian. Marwan figured Ledian was still more powerful but had all of his faith in Growlith winning.

“Let's take the first attack. Ember!”

Growlith suddenly unloaded a spray of small flaming orbs from his mouth, a shotgun spray of super heated shots filled the air. The Ledian attempted to dodge out of the way but was caught by a couple of the shots. It didn't appear to do a large amount of damage to the bug but clearly had an effect.

“Growlith I know you can do this. Tackle it!”

Growlith took off like a bullet from a gun in a mad dash towards its opponent, Ledian readied itself for the attack and tried to predict the right time to move. The faster Ledian had no problem dodging every attack that Growlith had thrown at it. Every tackle met with an equally quick dodge and any attempts to fly up above Growlith's range was only met with a barrage of embers.

“My Growlith has twice the energy your Ledian is going to have, just call it back and end this.”

“I'm going to win this, stop trying to make me back out!” The man in black responded.

Marwan figured that Growlith's hyperactivity could pay off here, if Ledian couldn't get close without taking a hit than it also couldn't hit Growlith with that comet punch. Marwan was a little confused though, so far Ledian had only use tackle and comet punch but there was no way it only knew two moves. What was this guy planning?

Marwan continued to half focus on his thoughts and half focus on the battle. Except for the fact that the battle was more like a dog chasing around a bug than an actual Pokemon battle, Ledian couldn't get close enough and Growlith showed no signs of tiring down. The injures from the previous ember attack seemed to be taking a toll on the bug as it was clearly having trouble keeping itself flying.

Marwan snapped out of his stupor when he finally realized that if the opponent wasn't going to do anything other than try and punch as Growlith he might as well end the fight here.

“Growlith, calm down.” ordered Marwan and Growlith suddenly came to a stop and simply stared down the bug.

“Tackle him Langley!” The thug took the bait. The moment the Ledian got close to Growlith Marwan shouted out to his Growlith. Ledian had no chance to escape the fiery torrent that flew forth from Growlith's mouth. Ledian dropped like a pile of bricks, its wounds finally overtaking it. Growlith fell over onto its side, clearly worn out from all the action though mostly okay.

“No, that's impossible! She was so much more powerful than you!” cried the thug, sobbing over his injured Ledian.

“Why did you only use two offensive moves? You had to have had more moves up your sleeve.”

“Don't you tell me how to use my Pokemon!”

Marwan was too fed up with the young man to talk any further, he snapped his fingers for Growlith to come to him and went to catch up with the rest of the group.

Posted by: Kamaitachi Jul 10 2014, 02:15 PM

With a powerful flap of her leathery wings, Tiamat once more flew forward towards the Ampharos. Tag watched intently, his hands balled into fists, as Enka began to charge up a retaliatory Dragon Pulse to intercept the attack.

The glowing orb of bright energy appeared in her mouth as she reared back, then simply fizzled out, leaving Enka looking momentarily stunned. Tag's heart froze as the Charizard wreathed herself in flames before slamming into his Pokemon with terrifying force.

Enka lay on the ground, still for the moment, but slowly, she was propping herself back up. She rested on all-fours for the moment, eying the Charizard with a mixture of weariness and fear. It had taken attack after attack from her and still had not fallen. Tiamat, meanwhile, stumbled back, dazed from the force of the hit. Tag watched as little arcs of electricity danced along the black skin of his enemy.

He would have an opening, but Enka didn't have enough steam in her for another Dragon Pulse. He could go with his not-effective STAB attacks, or he could go with Non-stab Super Effective Power Gem...

"Enka. Power Gem."

As if she'd been waiting for the command, Enka sprang up into the air, flipping into an aerial somersault, she slammed her tail into the ground, apparently shattering the 'orb' at the end of her tail. A barrage of brilliant, glittering gems lanced out, laying on an onslaught of rock-type attacks on the Charizard.

"Tiamat, break through it with Flamethrower!"

Tiamat reared back, forming the wicked flames in her toothy maw, but as Tag had hoped, she stopped short of completing her attack. Enka's power gem slammed repeatedly into her, toppling her backwards from the constant blows.

Settling back onto her feet, Enka teetered dangerously backwards. Before he could even form the thought in his mind, Tag had rushed out to the field, catching his tired Pokemon as she fell.

"How cute." The other man sneered, recalling his defeated Charizard from the field. Tag's hand flashed to his belt, ready to summon another Pokemon to meet whatever his opponent brought. "Nah. Tiamat's my strongest by far. If you can beat her, then there's nothing else I think I could do." The man shrugged, clipping the minimized Pokeball back to his belt. "Don't think this is over though."

He turned his attention away from Tag, watching the last battle between his comrade and Lori passively. Tag turned his head as well, watching as Roxxy moved towards the ferry. Marwan, however, was moving to join him and Lori. Well, one of them had listened to him and gone for the ferry as he'd suggested earlier.

Standing, he recalled Enka, placing his hand on the pokeball for Suzu, ready to jump in to Lori's defense.

Posted by: Living Arrow Jul 13 2014, 06:26 AM

“Ha! What's that supposed to do!?” The grunt laughed at Lori, his Vigoroth giving an equally as mocking guttural snort. “Fangirl us to death?!”

Lori’s brow turned down. This guy was starting to get seriously annoying! But, if he didn’t recognise the move that Chico had just used, she still stood a chance at beating this guy…

*Clearly he’s not as smart as he is tough… That Vigoroth only uses head-on attacks so as long aas Chico doesn’t get hit, we can wear it down until we win!*

“Vigoroth, Fury Swipes!”

“Chico, dodge and use Swifft, now!”

The angry monkey leapt in, swiping and slashing for the nimble little rodent as he danced and flipped out of its way expertly. With a final spring, Chico launched himself away from the Vigioroth’s razor-sharp claws and brought his tail around in a neat arc. A flurry of golden stars poured forth, battering the opponent’s face and shoulders like a thousand stinging Combee while he retreated to a safe distance.

“C’mon, Vigoroth! Don’t just take it!” The tough-guy’s voice carried more than a hint of irritation. “Shrug it off and hit it!”

With a roar, the Vigoroth swung his arms to and fro, knocking stars out of his way as he closed in on the little Chinchilla. Bit by bit the white monster closed in on Chico’s position, stimulating a shocked widening of the Minccino’s eyes as realisation hit; there was no way to dodge the next attack!

“Slash!”
Two heavily clawed fists dug down, shattering stars from the Minccino’s tail and impaling themselves straight into the grey mouse’s body. For a moment, all went quiet as the dagger-like nails of the Vigoroth pierced through the rodent’s body, nailing him to the ground.

“Huh. It’s over.” Goon-features muttered with distaste. He noticed Lori’s wry smile all too late.

“Not yet it’s not.” Lori sucked her teeth with anticipation. “Let’s go, Chico!”

PAFF! The impaled body of the Minccino exploded in a puff of white smoke, his form replaced with a block of wood where he lay.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDOtEeI8sOQ
Another PAFF resounded in the air, Chico’s tiny body materialising behind his opponent, and Lori’s focus shifted completely. Trying to set up a status early in the battle had failed and the combination of a Sitrus berry and dodging had only bought her some time: now was the time to attack!

“Tail Slap!”

“What?! No!”

FWAPPFWAPPFWAPPFWAPPFWAPP! Chico’s hardened, glowing tail rained hits directly into the Vigoroth’s back, crushing it into the ground on top of the log that its claws were still stuck in. It grunted heavily, the attack clearly hitting harder than it had expected, and its limbs visibly shook as it rose when the assault ended. With a primal scream, the Vigorth pulled its claws apart and shattered the log into splinters.

“Finish it now, Vigoroth! Fury Swipes!”

“Kage bunshin!” Lori screamed, her fingers crossing in front of her chest quickly. In perfect unison, Chico’s paws mirrored hers and instantly six copies of the grey mouse burst from the same spot to scatter in all different directions before the angered ape. “Now! Swift!”

The circling stream of chinchilla’s threw forth wave after wave of stars into the normal-type opponent, wearing it down even further.

“COME ON, VIGOROTH!”

With a final cry, the ape lunged at the copies of Chico with fervour born of desperation and slashed through the copies one by one until only one panting chinchilla remained. Its eyes narrowed on Chico cruelly before it dove headlong towards the mouse with murder in its eyes. Lori’s hands snapped into a different hand seal.

“Kawarimi no jutsu!”

“It’s using a Substitute!” The goon realised, yelling at his Vigoroth angrily. “It’s in the back, turn around!”

Swiftly, the Vigoroth spun about and slashed at the air, razor-claws tearing at the space where Chico was about to appear…

“Tail Slap!”

Chico’s ‘substitute’ dashed at the Vigoroth’s exposed back and, in rapid succession, rained heavy blows on exactly the same spot he had hit before: FWAPPFWAPPFWAPP! Then, with a final almighty swing, set the finishing hit as a blazing uppercut that catapulted the Vigoroth high into the air to come splashing down into the harbour. A moment later, the unconscious form of the ape came bobbing to the surface.

“WHAT!?” The goon yelled, literally stamping his foot like a child. “But how!?”

Lori’s face twisted into a wicked smile. “Substitute spends HP to create a copy that the opponent attacks instead of the real target.” She supplied with a condescending, lecturing tone. “After you had seen the move once, I knew it wouldn’t work again. So, when I realised that Chico’s HP was too low to use it again, I called it anyway so you’d take the bait and turn your back on the real Chico. Then, all we had to do was attack the same spot that had been weakened earlier in the battle.”

“That’s sick and so… deceptive! What kind of Trainer are you?!” He retorted.

“A Trainer that never gives up or makes the same mistake twice.” Lori snorted. “And soon to be the Furoh League Champion.” She added pompously while looking him up and down with disgust. “Get out of here.”

Her hardened eyes glared at him as he recalled the fallen Pokemon and regrouped with his black-clad ‘friends’. Together they shared meaningful looks before their leader muttered: “You may have won this round, but we’ll be back.” Together, the four men dropped smoke bombs that exploded in a cloud of purple which, when it cleared, showed no trace of the gang’s escape route. With them finally out of the picture, Lori began to breathe again.

“Holy crap…” She muttered holding a hand to her breast to feel the hammering of her heart in her ribcage. “That was close…”

“Chino.” Chioc muttered at her ankle, leaning on her calf for support. She scooped him up and kissed his forehead.

*Good job Chico – thanks to you, I have a new strategy to win at the Fidona Gym!* She mused silently before turning to Tag and Marwan who stood close by. Roxxy was nowhere to be seen.

“I guess this means we can take the ferry now?” She asked, sparing a moment to scan the boardwalk for any more idiots dressed in mobster black. “Right?”

Posted by: Kamaitachi Aug 13 2014, 11:29 PM

As Lori wrapped up the last battle, the group of suited men simply turned and walked away. There were no parting shots, no jeers, or yells as they retreated. Tag shook his head, almost in wonder, at the confidence they had walking away, even in such a lopsided defeat. All four of them had been beaten by the random group, and they still walked away as if they had won.

"Not even slinking away." the tattooed man muttered as he turned to Marwan and Lori.

"Well. Uh. Thank you for sticking it out with me there. Sorry to drag you into that mess." Placing a hand on the back of his neck, he looked at the two expectant faces of the young trainers. "So...shall we head to Fidona now? Can I treat you to some ice cream or something as thanks?"

He stared blankly at them, not really sure how to go about explaining that they were most likely thugs hired by Team Deception to bring him to Omar, who would most likely kill him. Ice Cream hardly seemed like an adequate thanks, but it did seem like a good way to downplay the severity of what had just occurred. The less they knew, the better.

Once response had been received, he headed up to the ferry. Despite the weary glances from the ferry workers, they accepted the groups' tickets and allowed them passage on board their ship. Heading down below decks, Tag spotted Roxxy nearby, and moved to sit a close (but still at a comfortable, Tag-distance). He'd make a beeline for the Pokemon Center in Fidona, but Enka would be resting well in her Pokeball until then.

Not sure how to initiate further conversation, Tag simply rested his back into his seat, letting out a long sigh as he felt the boat start to lurch forward.