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"Um, well," Rachel begins, nervous shame and winner's pride duking it out on her face. "I went to the gym, did a few battles with the third-in-command. Managed to beat him, too. Oh, Simony evolved, too! He's at the center now, though. Uh...what were you doing?"
"Oh, thanks," she replies, somewhat surprised by the lack of hostility. "So, where've you been? Doesn't seem like there's a whole lot to do around here."
Diana, somewhat jealous that the pokemon that wasn't even present was getting all the attention, decided to make herself known by perching in the nest that is Jack's hair. The butterfree seems to regret her decision the second she does it, flying away and hiding behind Anna.
"Oh yeah...I trained with Sherry, the second-in-command at the gym. She managed to get Diana to evolve so quickly! I mean...bug types do grow fast, but still!"
Seeing the newly evolved Butterfree reminded Perry of his training difficulties. "Congratulations on your new Butterfree, Anna," he tried to sound happy for her, because he was. After all, he was partly responsible for the Caterpie joining Anna. "Maybe I'll try that too. Obviously I've got to try something different: I just did some training with my gang at the Pokemon Center, and... it didn't turn out so well. They've hit a plateau or something."
The next morning, Perry picked up his Pokeballs from the nurse and walked over to the gym. There were a couple of other people in line to see the receptionist, and it took Perry a few minutes before he could be served. The receptionist greeted him with a yawn and a half-smile. "How can I help you, sir?"
Perry was getting that familiar pit in his stomach. "Yes, uhh, hello. I was hoping to speak to Morty, and perhaps have a battle with one of the gym trainers."
The receptionist nodded. "Certainly, sir. There's a service elevator to the far left. Morty's office is located on the second floor. I'll let him know you're on the way. As for the gym trainers, you'll find them wandering about the gym. If you're planning on challenging Morty, it's a good idea to practice on a trainer or two first. Many find it difficult to adjust to the particular challenges of fighting Ghost-types."
"I see. I will keep that in mind. Thank you." With that, he walked away, and climbed up the large stairway as the receptionist began speaking with the next trainer in line.
The way to Morty's office was a single long hallway. Perry walked down the hall, feeling slightly on edge. He got the nervous feeling that he was being watched. Which, he reasoned, being in a ghost gym, was a likely scenario.
[8] Perry can't tell if he's just hearing things. Maybe not, but he can't be sure. When he got to the door, he noticed the label marked: Mortimer Sagebrush: Ecruteak City Pokemon League Gym Leader. "And they say Professor Peregrine Poplar is a long title." He knocked on the door.
It creaked open, but Perry couldn't see anything to have opened it as he walked in. "Hello? The receptionist said she'd say I was on my way up. My name is Professor Poplar."
A series of lanterns formed an octagon surrounding the gym leader, who was seated with his legs crossed in the middle of the room. Save for the lanterns, there was no other light in the room. Said lanterns burned an eerie blue light, and Perry detected the sound of snickering. "Hm. If you like, you can sit, Perry."
Perry remained surprisingly nonplussed. "Well, I wish I could say this defied my expectations."
Morty looked up and off to the side, mild displeasure on his face. "Knock it off." In response, a Gengar emerged from the shadows, its trademark toothy grin smaller than normal. Perry looked around, but saw nothing to sit on. Still rather nervous, he sat where he was on the floor.
"Oh, right." Morty clapped three times, loudly, and the ceiling lights came on. "What brings you here, Perry?"
"Yes, well, umm..." Perry remained flustered. "Well, there were two things. At some point, I was going to challenge your gym. But I don't think I'm ready yet." He paused for a few seconds. "The other thing was... I'm concerned about my Abra, Virgil."
"Hrm. Nothing wrong with a bit of caution. And as for your Abra...well, I can understand being concerned. Their species is rather frail, and often difficult to raise without expert breeding or Move-teaching services. What is it in particular?"
Perry didn't know if Morty was psychic, but most of these gym leaders that used ghosts and psychics were. And he hadn't given Morty his first name. "Well, you can probably tell, but I'm not psychic or anything. I really have trouble communicating with him. And yeah, I'm not sure if the way I'm raising Virgil is any good." He swallowed: he didn't like admitting that he might not be any good at raising his Pokemon. With my other Pokemon, it's pretty easy for me to figure out if I'm doing things right, but Virgil's completely silent. I probably should have named him Tacitus." Perry couldn't resist attempting a joke, trying to lighten the mood, but either it wasn't very funny or Morty didn't understand it, because he remained silent.
Morty rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "It's not impossible to circumvent the absence of your own supernatural abilities, even with regard to communication. Virgil, as you call him, can still dip into your mind and read it. And you may want to try and procure TMs or Move-teaching services to give him the tools to fight. Teleporting out of harm's way will not suffice in some situations, and certainly not when attackers can simply choose other targets."
Perry sighed. "Well, that's the thing. I have a TM, but I'm not sure if he wants me to use it. I'm never one to take the easy path, and if he would rather go at his own pace, that's what I'd like him to do."
"Have you even talked to him about it?"
"I can't."
"He can read your mind, you realize. That should simplify the task of communication. Besides, Abra are intelligent. He'll catch on, I expect."
"But how can he indicate his choice to me if I can't understand him? I wanted to raise an Abra so that I could study the unique bond the psychic type can form with their trainer, but I'm worried if perhaps my lack of latent psychic ability will be detrimental to his growth."
"There are many Trainers without their own psychic skills who have successfully raised Psychic-type Pokemon. I wouldn't worry about you getting in his way. Perhaps you should try teaching him some sort of code? Sign language, perhaps?"
"I... well, not only do I not know sign language, but I don't think I've ever seen him move his hands. He's always asleep." Perry began to feel aware of just how silly this conversation was, which added to his embarrassment.
"Not that you need to be fluent, but perhaps you can develop your own set of codes and gestures that you two understand. Besides, Virgil IS psychic. He should be able to sense and appreciate your concerns."
"I guess... umm..." Perry picked up Virgil's Pokeball and let him out. "Virgil, I know your training has been kind of slow. I could teach you a new move, if you'd like. But if you don't want to learn it, I'm not going to force you."
Virgil shrugged, then nodded slowly. He appeared to have no objection.
"See, that's what I mean. He doesn't care either way. And I'm not some professional trainer. What if I make the wrong decision? It'll be my fault for making the wrong choice."
"Indecision can be the wrong decision, too. Would you rather Virgil fail you because of his weakness - not to mention yours?"
Perry thought for a moment. "I would rather Virgil fail me than I fail Virgil."
"As a Pokemon Trainer, you have to be a leader. And leaders have to make hard decisions. They have to struggle with doubt, with fear and ignorance. They have to make choices despite not knowing all the outcomes. So would you rather your fear paralyze you, shield you and your friends from the pain of a hard choice, or would you rather it hurt you far more dearly down the line? Besides, I doubt Virgil would fail to appreciate having more fallbacks than simply fleeing a battle." Perry felt a strange buzzing in his head. "Right?" Morty waved at Virgil and gave him a thumbs-up.
The Abra seemed to understand the emotions that the gesture represented, and he waved at Virgil, using both psychic and physical gestures to catch his attention. "What were you wanting to tell me, Virgil?" Perry asked. Virgil frowned a bit, then sat very still for a few moments, concentrating with visible effort. Perry felt something prodding at his mind slightly. Virgil then telekinetically pried Perry's bag open and lifted the Hidden Power TM, pointing it towards himself and floating it in the air.
Perry smiled. "Okay, I got it. When we get back to the Pokemon Center, I'll ask a nurse to administer the TM." Virgil gave Perry one last lazy thumbs-up before nodding off again.
"See?" Morty asked. "Just remember that sometimes, it's okay to make the wrong decision rather than be paralyzed by fear."
Perry thought for a minute. "I guess... I guess that makes sense. I'm not just a professor, I'm a trainer too. And as a trainer, I may have to face a problem with no 'right' answer."
Morty sighed. "The decisions you will have to make as a Professor will not be any easier, I expect. You will have to struggle with your own ignorance and misgivings, and you will have to guide others down their paths to knowledge."
Perry shook his head. "I'm afraid I must respectfully disagree with you, Mr. Sagebrush. When I'm really a professor, I won't be wrong. A real professor is never wrong."
Morty paused for a moment before he burst out laughing. His Gengar appeared equally amused. Perry, who had not thought his comment to be funny at all, was left feeling quite awkward. "Okay then. I guess I'll be going now. Perhaps I'll see you soon?"
"I'll leave you with a word of advice, Perry. The famous scholars of our realms are not omniscient as you aspire to be. Not Professor Oak, not Elm, nor Birch, nor Rowan, nor Juniper. Perfection is beyond the reach of man. Instead, aspire simply for the courage to press forward when you do not know all the answers, and to learn all that you are able to. Perhaps I will see you soon. That's your choice, Professor."
"So long." Perry returned Virgil and departed.
Perry wandered around for a few minutes, looking for a gym trainer, before accidentally bumping into one as he rounded a sharp corner. This man was quite large, with lengthy bleached-blonde hair and sunglasses worn indoors. He greeted the professor with a boistrous welcome. "Hello there, you lookin' for a gym trainer battle?"
"Yes, that's right," Perry said, fairly confidently. After all, he'd handled the Goldenrod Gym without too much trouble. He might not be ready to battle Morty yet, but at least he could probably handle one of these lower-ranked trainers. "I'm Professor Poplar, by the way. Is there a room we can battle?"
"Tom." The large man towered over Perry, who was average height himself. The trainer led them both across the gym to a training room. It smelled faintly of cannibis. Perry gave a sniff of disapproval.
The man turned around. "Well then, how many Pokemon were you planning on using?"
"Is a three on three okay by you?"
"That's fine," the man agreed. As if on cue, a bizarre creature floated up through the floor. "Hold on, Jellybro, I'll have you finish things up."
Perry was completely dumbfounded. He'd never seen any Pokemon like that before. In fact, he didn't recognize it at all. Instinctively, he brought up his Pokedex. It looked like an octopus, but obviously ethereal enough to be a ghost-type as well.
It beeped oddly, and Perry looked down at it. "Huh, that's odd, it's only getting partial information." The data was incomplete, and mostly in some foreign language.
"Pururiru... water and ghost type? Interesting..." Perry read through the data. "I'll definitely be looking forward to seeing that in action!"
"Well then, let's get this battle underway!" The large man shouted, pulling out a Pokeball.
"I couldn't agree more!" Perry replied. "Go, Little Green!"
"Shepard, you're up!"
With the sound of two opening Pokeballs, the combatants were on the field. The Grotle gave a bit of a snort as it saw the Sableye and pawed the ground a bit.
"Okay, Green! Razor Leaf!"
"Shepard, show our guest how we start things off here."
Little Green went first, hurling a barrage of leaves that dealt the creature a fierce blow. In response, the Sableye unleashed a curious blue flame that set a branch of the bush on Grotle's back aflame, inducing a burn. Perry winced. The clock was already ticking on this battle, but the Razor Leaf had been pretty brutal. If he kept it up, he could probably beat him before it became too much of a problem. The next Razor Leaf did substantially less damage, but the Sableye tried to use its Fury Swipes, to little effect on the Grotle's tough hide. The battle raged back and forth, and it became clear that the Razor Leaf damage was a fluke. Finally, just as it appeared that Little Green had worn the ghost down, Perry heard one of the most terrifying commands a trainer can hear.
"Shepard, use Recover!" Despite another Razor Leaf boosted by Little Green's desperation, it was clear to Perry that Green was done for now.
"Okay, Little Green, take a break! Feathers, give it a try!"
Feathers launched into battle, but was immediately Taunted by the Sableye. Just as the angered bird was about to slam down with a Wing Attack, Tom called out a retreat.
"End of this road, Shepard. Let's go to Missy D." The Sableye disppeared, replaced by a Misdreavus who found herself with a wing in the face.
Feathers tried to maintain her Wing Attack, but was hit with a Spite, causing Feathers to hesitate. The Misdreavus followed up the Spite with a Confuse Ray, causing Feathers to squawk and smash into the ground. It then unleashed an absolutely brutal Psywave that nearly brought Feathers to the ground.
"Feathers, return! Tesla! I'm counting on you!" Perry was getting pretty desperate, and he was getting worried that it might affect his Pokemon. The Misdreavus made a Psybeam attack that did heavy damage. Tesla got flinched, but managed to land a Thunder Wave the next turn. It took several more turns, but despite taking heavy damage Tesla managed to hold out until the paralysis took complete hold over Missy D, forcing Tom to forfeit her.
Tom sighed. "You're done, D. Give Jellybro a go."
In response, Perry decided to forfeit Tesla as well. "Little Green, back to work!"
Perry would have considered conceding completely, but he really wanted to see that bizarre unknown Pokemon in action. He gave Green a Fresh Water, bringing him back to nearly-full health. That action ended up saving Green's life.
Tom looked a little angry at Perry for using an item. "Fine then. Jellybro, show him your Hidden power." Little Green tried to Razor Leaf, but the jellyfish Pokemon unleashed a pulse of orange and red. Striking Green, it set its legs and tree alight, causing the Grotle immense agony and nearly killing it straightaway.
Perry dashed forward. "Green!" Tom cringed, and even the jellyfish didn't like what it saw.
Tom swore. "Aw, put that fire out, man." His Pururiru obliged, spraying Green with water until the flames died down. "Sorry about that. It's been a while since we tried that one. Didn't expect it to be that bad..."
Perry was both terrified and infuriated. This man had nearly killed his longest friend. "Green, return. Feathers, go." When he spoke, it was with the voice of an automaton. The fight had left him in that moment. He just wanted to hurt the strange Pokemon as much as possible before he gave up.
Feathers used a Double Team, buying herself some time, while Jellybro popped one of the copies with a Night Shade. Unfortunately, Perry knew that Feathers was still afflicted by the Spite attack from the Misdreavus, which meant she could only damage the ghost every other turn. She swooped in for a Wing Attack, but missed, and not before Jellybro burst another of the mirages.
Perry did an analysis of the battle. If he stayed any longer, Feathers would just get knocked out too, and she wouldn't be able to faint the creature first. "There's no point in continuing this battle. I surrender. Feathers, return." The final copy faded away as the Pokeball picked the right Staravia and made it disappear.
Tom looked at him oddly. "Really? Jellybro doesn't take hits to the face so well, you had a chance."
"No, I didn't," he replied, his self confidence almost completely shattered after the last day's events. "Well, at least I got to see an interesting Pokemon. Thank you for the battle."
Tom shrugged. "Eh, your choice. I'm cool either way. And you're welcome." As Perry turned to leave, Tom spoke again. "By the way, if you like, I can give you a tip on the Gym Leader Challenge here."
Perry sighed. "I wouldn't waste my breath. It's obviously going to be a long... long time before I can beat this place."
"Not really, no. They've preserved the basic concept of this Gym's Challenge for decades, and only little details get changed. I can't say too much, but I can tell you what the most important thing you need to bring is."
Perry answered sarcastically. "Well, the logical answer is something with Dark-type attacks."
"I wasn't talking about the fight proper, although that helps a bit. Care to, y'know, listen?"
"Fine. What do I need to bring?"
Tom made air quotes. "'Courage and trust in your instincts'. Or at least that's all Morty will tell me, since I haven't been involved in the challenge. Ecruteak is one of those 'gimmick' Gyms in that you don't just walk in and fight the Leader, but you have to do a little something-something beforehand. Morty tells me most of these northern Johto Gyms are like that, especially since all the mountains makes it a bit annoying to travel to them. Maybe that's why the Kanto League sees more challengers..."
"Thanks, but like I said, I don't think I'm good enough for this place yet. I'll keep it in mind though. Anyway, I'll see you around I guess."
"I'll be here most days, if you need somethin' a Gym Trainer can help ya with." Tom waved, and turned to pat his Jellybro on the...head? maybe?...as Perry left.
The professor made a beeline for the Center, dropping off his team and asking the nurse to administer the Hidden Power TM to Virgil. The injection process went without much fuss or pain. Virgil didn't reach much to the needle, and appeared to be asleep for the several minutes it took for the TM to take effect. A bit later, he waved his hands, shooing everyone away so he could test his new trick. Virgil unleashed a shockwave that darkened the room, glowing black, a stark contrast to the light, soothing colors of the Pokemon Center's floor and walls. Then he gave Perry a thumbs-up.
Perry returned with a halfhearted smile. He was happy for Virgil but still quite worried about Little Green, and doubting his ability to ever defeat Morty. As he sat and waited for his Pokemon to be healed, he got out paper and pencil, and began his plotting. He had a sample of how tough the Ghost Gym was... now he had to figure out a way to beat it.
[Feathers and Tesla gained 575 EXP each! Feathers reached level 18! Learned Endeavor!]
[Virgil learned Hidden Power (Dark, 4d6)!]
After dinner, Rachel returns to the center and decides to call it a night. Somehow, she’s able to get to sleep, despite everything that’s happened today. And then something heavy hits the floor with a loud THWUMP.
“mwuhhhhhhhhhhhh?”
Rachel opens one eye, blearily. Across the room, Anna lets out a sigh and picks up a sizable stack of magazines from the floor. “Sorry, was trying to pack up. I can’t sleep, so I thought I’d go look for Tsubaki.”
“Oh, I’ve got her phone number- do you need it?”
"Really? That'd be incredibly helpful!"
Rachel hands her pokegear over to Anna, who copies the number into her own phone without mentioning the horrifically incorrect spelling of the exorcist’s name. It’s really not that important. Finally, she calls Tsubaki. Rachel, unable to get back to sleep, flips the TV on and mutes it. It probably increases the show’s quality overall.
"Hey, this is Anna? I got your number from Rachel...I was the one asleep most of the bus ride."
Rachel flips the channel. Click. Oh lord. It’s that movie with the kids walking along railroad tracks again. Why is that thing always on?
"Urgh, dinner did take longer than I expected. I'm just curious where looking for ghosts in ecruteak at night rates between suicidal and a valuable training experience...considering the kind of supernatural terror I'll have to deal with soon. Got energy to burn and well...*now* I can't sleep."
Anna paces a little bit back and forth. "Ugh, maybe I can find some sleeping pills or something. Anything else?"
Click. Music videos. Click. Foreign news. Click. Click. CliCliCliCli…
"Well alright then, see you tomorrow." Call ended, Anna flops down on her bed again and starts looking through her pokegear. She glances over at Rachel. “Oh, am I keeping you awake?”
“Nah, I’m not really sleepy,” Rachel replies, tossing her pillow end over end in the air. Regulus, now also awake, follows it with a bemused interest.
"Hey Rachel, you think any shops are open now?"
Rachel scratches her head. "Well, if we were in goldenrod...but this place feels a bit more..." she pauses. "quaint?"
"We should go check it out! You ready, or do you need some time packing?"
Rachel is happy to take her mind off of more serious matters. "Sure, I'm good." She looks over at Regulus. "You up for a late-night stroll?"
It bobs up and down in its imitation of a nod.
"Okay!"
One stop for tea and taiyaki later, the junior ranger and self-proclaimed scientist find themselves on the edge of the city, near the landmark known as the burnt tower.Even from so far away, the fire damage is extensive, and much of what remains of the walls and roof is charred black.
"Look at that...” Anna remarks, sipping her drink. “do you really think it's that dangerous to go at night?"
"I doubt it. It's a freaking landmark. If it was just some random building, maybe. But people are gonna be keeping a close eye on this place. God forbid it should burn down TWICE." Rachel would come to regret this answer.
"Huh, I never thought of it that way...well, do you wanna take a look? Supposedly there’s a few interesting pokemon types there, although some of them are poisonous.”
Rachel shrugs. “Hey, why not?”
After polishing off their snacks, the two trainers head down the path to the tower… when suddenly a strange, human-like creature emerges from the bushes. Its legs and head are a pinkish-purple, with the rest of its body a non-descript grey. Its waist is adorned with a strange black sash. It eyes the two carefully for a few seconds, then, content with its analysis, relaxes visibly.
"Huh...are you protecting the tower?" Anna hazards a question at the fleeing pokemon. The Medicham eyes Anna for a few seconds, then shakes it head. It gives the two one last look, something like an invitation - or a dare - to follow it. It begins to retreat into the forest...
Rachel looks at Anna. "What was that, exactly?"
"It's some kind of psychic...and fighting type pokemon...I think it wants us to follow it."
"Couldn't a psychic have been more clear about- ah, whatever." she follows Anna. After all, it didn't look like something too likely to try and eat them.
The two follow the Medicham into a large, open clearing. Many stumps and ditches litter the area, and the nearby trees that still stand bear noticeable 'scars', the mark of a Fighting-type Pokemon that takes honing its combat skills very seriously. Anna notices a few imprints that could be places where stumps were torn out of the ground…Nearby, another Pokemon strikes a nearby tree that is thick and sturdy enough to take the beating. This one is shorter and stockier, with black hands and a protrusion on top of its head that resembles a bow tie. Pokemon of several other kinds are also present, each also practicing or sparring.
After a few seconds, the Makuhita that was hitting a tree notices the outsiders, and walks over to the Medicham, who is now seated in the middle of the clearing.The Makuhita and Medicham go back and forth for a few seconds, and something the latter says to the smaller of the two causes it to approach Anna and Rachel.
The Makuhita nods at the Medicham, and points at Diana. It goes into a sumo-wrestler-like stance at the end of a small clearing.
Anna furrows her brow. “Does it want to fight…?”
Rachel looks around the makeshift fight club/ dojo with interest. “Kinda looks like it, huh?”
Diana seems unusually confident, and flies into the cleared arena excitedly. "Okay, she's recently evolved, but Diana looks up for it."
Regulus floats off, taking position directly above the makeshift arena. Best view.
"Okay then,” Anna nods. “Diana, it's a fighting-type! Try your new technique!" [Diana uses Confusion!]
With swiftness that belies its size, the Makuhita rushes forward and swipes at Diana with a swift punch. [Diana takes 22 damage!]
Diana clambers away from the impact, seeking to get out of the plump creature's surprising reach.
"Knew it was coming, couldn't do anything about it." Anna mutters, then shouts "Evade the best you can, your psychic powers should give you the advantage! Confusion!"
Diana taps into her new psychic powers and telekinetically trips the Pokemon head-first into a nearby ditch. [Makuhita takes 28 damage!] It rises from the dirt clump, caught off-guard by the strange trick, and displeased with the outcome. But it catches itself first, and stands still, taking a stance as it reaches into itself to achieve a strange calm, turning its anger into something more useful. [Makuhita's getting pumped!]
"It's trying to intimidate you, don't let it! Confusion, YEAH!"
Diana reaches forth with her mind again, but feels a foreign presence blocking her power as she tosses Makuhita into a nearby tree with rather unimpressive force. [Makuhita took 23 damage!]
The Medicham stands, giving the Makuhita an "I told you so" look. It walks over, and the two Fighting-types seem to discuss something that pleases the Medicham and intrigues the Makuhita.
Diana winces in worry at the incoming retaliation before noticing the medicham's gesture, calming down somewhat as she picks up what's going on. Eventually, the fighting-types come to some kind of agreement. The Medicham walks over to Anna, and reaches to pluck one of the Poke Balls on her person.
Anna freezes up in shock of a pokemon doing that, and Diana flutters over the the Medicham somewhat worried as to what it's doing.
Rachel cringes in empathy awkwardness.
The Medicham stands still for a bit, sizing up those Poke Balls that it can see. Eventually, it somehow deciphers which ones are empty, grabs one, and rolls it in the Makuhita's direction.
"Do you want to travel with a trainer?" Anna asks the Makuhita, still visibly confused. Of course, this isn’t exactly standard procedure for trainers…
The Makuhita manages to gather itself enough to slap its hands together and nod.
Anna thinks about it for a second. "I haven't really heard much about Makuhita, but I don't have a fighting type at the moment. Let's see what you can do then, there's a steel-type gym fairly close...though we have other challenges in the mean time."
Rachel is less impressed by the chubby pokemon’s drive. "You sure you wanna take this guy along? We're not exactly on the relaxed trainer journey most people follow."
[He will face whatever comes without flinching. It is his nature.]The interjection materializes within the minds of Anna and Rachel. The Medicham has returned to its meditation spot, and appears to be concentrating intensely, causing a thin blue aura frames its body.
[Like many of us Fighting Pokemon, he seeks to improve his skills through trial and tribulation. This is why I have instructed him to travel with you.]
Anna nods. "Thanks, I'll do my best to ensure that he gets that experience."The Makuhita reaches over and bops the button on the Ball, sucking it in. The Medicham nods one last time, and the other pokemon around go back to sparring and working out. Their part apparently done, Rachel and Anna depart for their original destination, the tower. Within a few more minutes, they’ve reached the steps. Anna brings Peaches out to lead the small party.
The moon hits the wrecked tower in such a way that most of the building's innards are cloaked in shadows. The smells from inside that the breeze brings are foul and disconcerting.
"Gah, what is that?” Rachel wrinkles her nose. “Smells like wet Sentret or something."
"Probably koffing, koffing everywhere." Anna winces.
"Agh. Yeah, that sounds more accurate. Uh...still up for this?" Rachel pauses just outside the door. Something in her is screaming to just turn around and run.
"Can't be worse than what we're going to have to face..." In the dark, Anna suddenly grins for no apparent reason. Rachel nods and steps forward…
…Be it the concrete and gravel outside, or the aging wooden floor of the Tower itself, their steps are not quiet at all. There's nothing to greet them as they walk into the front door save for a pair of signs, one identifying the tower as a national landmark, and a second warning tourists to not travel alone or without adequate protection.
"Well, we're traveling together, right?" Anna smiles and continues to walk, though the shakiness of her legs betray that she's more scared than she lets on.
"Shouldn't be a problem," Rachel replies, a little uncertainly. Just another abondoned building, right? Not a big deal. she peers into the darkness, looking for any potential attackers... or stairs. Or pits in the floor. She notices a shadow move rather slowly along the far wall.
Whatever it was, Rachel gets the feeling it's not moving across the ground. It was either flying or floating...
Rachel halts, then whispers to Anna. "Hey, did you see that?"
"Where was it?" Anna tries to shine her flashlight where indicated… and lands on a purple ball-like creature floating in the air. Its numerous pores exude a foul-smelling compound at odds with its dopey grin.
The flashlight's beam seems to displease it greatly, and its dopey grin vanishes as it responds with a vile discharge of gas. [Anna was poisoned!]
"Oh ch-,” Anna coughs. “We'd best defend ourselves...Peaches, thunder wave!" Anna reaches into her pokemart plastic bag to grab one of the two new antidotes, injecting herself before the poison can have any effect. "If that thing can spread smog we probably want to spread out!"
Rachel is totally unsurprised by this shocking turn of events. "Reg, water gun!" she says, darting away from Anna with a nod. Next, she lets loose with the styler once more, spinning around the purple windbag and disorienting it. [Koffing was confused!]
Regulus takes aim and hits it with a spray as well.. [Koffing takes 16 damage!]
Before the Koffing can recover from the one-two punch, Peaches concentrates and unleashes a wave of electrical power that stuns the Koffing. [Paralyzed!]
The Koffing seems to stall in midair, its movement slowing. Its expression has gone from angry to downright furious. It huffs and puffs, and the gases begin to smell ever fouler and more acidic...until...
“Oh, fu-“
...BANG
With a loud crack, the floor disappears beneath the explosive onslaught of the improperly-mixed gases of the Koffing. The blast flings the victims away with tremendous force, and enormous splinters fly in every direction. The rest of the floor begins to shake, and the entire section of the first floor gives way, tumbling several meters, into the underground. Ears ringing, Rachel can only hear the faintest whisper of an annoying, high-pitched shriek as she falls.
She has a vague suspicion that it’s coming from herself.
And then she hits bottom. The scream cuts off as she hits the ground, meaning that she has a chance to hear the snap of a bone breaking-with unnerving clarity, despite the continuous ringing in her ears.
…and yet…
… despite the poisons, the dust, and the incredible pain, Rachel spies a sliver of light seeping through the darkness that is calling her name. She hangs on to consciousness just long enough to see something, a purple creature with wide, pointy ears, slowly walk up to her. And as she passes out, the last thing she sees are a few other, similar beings clustering nearby, each glittering with a strange power...
All XP gains from battles, training sessions and other similar events are doubled
One round of combat is considered to take place over 15 seconds (up from 10). Pokedex scans done during combat return their results after two rounds (down from three)
Encountering a new Pokemon automatically grants a credit to the count that grants a level for every 25 'counts'. You must still scan (or possess the relevant Feats) to identify them, but scanning is no longer required for the 'one-level-per-25' count
Evasion is no longer granted by Defense or Special Defense
For every 10 points in Speed a Pokemon has, any attack/Move that targets it must roll +1 higher to hit
For every 10 points in Attack that the user of a physical (Melee or Ranged*) Move has, it gains a +1 to hit for those Moves
For every 10 points in Special Attack that the user of a special (Ranged or Melee*) Move has, it gains a +1 to hit for those Moves
These accuracy bonuses may not reduce a Move's AC past 2 - in other words, a natural 1 (i.e. crit failure) will always miss
notsoy on
Soul Silver FC: 1978 3200 2285
GT: HitoriLionheart or dailydro
Several hours later, Perry looked down at the notes he had made. Well, it was no thesis, but it was perhaps the beginning of a cohesive plan. But the first step required a withdrawal. He walked over to the computer, accessed his bank account, and emptied it. He was going to need most of this.
First stop was the local Pokemart. As he expected, they were equipped with TMs and such specifically for those battling the ghost gym. Unfortunately, their stock was low; they got their weekly resupply the next day. Even worse, most of the few remaining could be learned only by Virgil. Instead, he picked up a Safeguard TM before leaving. It wasn't perfect, but it might help.
He returned to the center, where his Pokemon were all rested up and waiting for him. He approached the nurse, and handed her the TM. "Could you please administer this to my Grotle?" A few minutes later, Little Green was able to consistently release a cloud of leaves that blocked any sort of incoming status effect moves.
Second step: Perry wandered over near the gym. He had spied some listless-looking trainer-types near the place the last time he'd come there, and sure enough, the Tutors were still out in full force. Perry approached one with a Tyranitar.
"Hello, I hear you're the guy to talk to about teaching my Staravia to use Pursuit?" The man nodded silently. "Oh, good. How much do you charge?"
"Three thousand, paid in full after services are completed."
Perry nearly choked. "That's... awfully steep. I don't suppose you're flexible on the price?" He had expected to pay quite a bit, but P$3000 would almost completely bankrupt him. No more potions, or Burn Heals, or any sort of healing item to prepare him for an actual ghost-type encounter.
The man shook his head. "No."
Perry did his best to try and talk him down. "That's a bit more than I was willing to pay. I could do... P$2500 perhaps?"
He laughed. "No, I can definitely get three thousand for my afternoon here. I don't care if it's you or somebody else."
Perry sighed, mentally scratching off several 'steps' from his plan that he would no longer be able to afford. "Very well, P$3000 it is." He selected Feathers's Pokeball. "When I get back, she'd better be able to Pursuit in her sleep."
The man picked a Pokeball from his belt and a Murkrow appeared. "Don't you worry, I guarantee you'll be satisfied."
Perry said goodbye to Feathers and watched her fly away with the trainer. He grumbled slightly. He'd come pick her up later, give all his team a rest, and then reassess himself and his team to decide what to do that night.
He walked into the gym, talked to the receptionist, and asked to see the gym's number two. He didn't much want to bother Morty again, but if anyone knew the best ways to handle ghost-types, it would be the gym leader or his second.
The good doctor was directed to a fairly large athletic training room located within the Ecruteak Gym. Weights, treadmills, punching bags, a basketball/tennis court - this space had everything one would expect of a fitness center. A woman with ebony hair and skin emerged from the mess of weight-lifting contraptions, dressed in gym clothes and toweling herself off. "Man, an awful lot of Trainers lookin' for me. Are 2nd-rankers getting popular all of a sudden or something?" she asked Perry.
"I wouldn't know," Perry responded quietly. "Did the receptionist explain why I came?"
"Yeah, somethin' about help with handling Ghost-types? I'm Shirley, nice to meet you."
"Professor Poplar, but you can call me Perry. And that's correct. I battled a gym trainer here this morning named Tom, and to be honest, I was completely outmatched. I've developed a strategy or two that might help me, but I definitely still need some sort of elite practice before I challenge Morty."
She thought for a moment. "Tom, huh? He just laid on the burns and stalled you out, I bet." She sported a knowing grimace. "Well, you're in a bit of luck. You don't need to be a whiz at battling for a strong shot at the Fog Badge - just need a good head on your shoulders and courage to spare. But if it's help learning battle tactics and strategy, I can help you there."
"Thanks. I'm not much of a fighter, really. But I've heard that all the best Professors have at least some history in the League."
"Well, being smart lends itself to being a good Trainer, yeah, but most of those guys were just dudes who got into Pokemon research once they were too old to do all the traveling and other work necessary to be competitive Trainers. Don't think that not being much of a battler is a knock on your academic worth. Anyway, I guess I should start by giving you some tips for dealing with stall tactics. That all right, or did you want some other kind of help?"
Perry nodded. "That works, but I think another battle would be helpful too."
Shirley began. "Well, dealing with stall starts with being able to recognize the particulars of the other guy's team. The typing of their Pokemon, what Moves they are likely to know, their particular strengths and abilities, and so on. For example, Ghost-types are either fast, frail and hard-hitting, or slow and tough. There are no in-betweens, so knowing which one is which will help you figure out how to deal with them."
"Naturally," Perry replied. "That's one advantage I do have, in that, for the most part, I know just about everything there is to know about Pokemon types and moves. And I would assume that stalling is only going to be done by the slow, tough ghosts, so if I know the Pokemon, I can anticipate the combat style."
"For the most part, yes. Some of them have nifty tricks or natural advantages that lend themselves to stall, but focusing on stalling tactics with that kind limits their firepower, allowing you to corner them if you have the right tricks. To beat stall, you either need your own tricks and tactics to shut theirs down, or you have to just smash them."
"I think I'm going to need both. As much as I'd prefer the former, I think I'm going to have to use the latter. I don't have the money for any more TMs or Tutors. By the way, Tom sure must've broken the bank with his team."
She shrugged. "Gym Trainers do get discounts on certain TMs they can requisition in line with their job, but Tom comes from a rich foreign family anyway. He just kinda enjoys the atmosphere out here, with all the lore, spirits and Ghost-types around. He isn't always diligent, but he's dependable and smart - in fact, Morty is grooming him to become part of this Gym's leadership. But enough about Tom... have you considered a new addition to your team? If you don't have a type advantage, having a Pokemon with one can definitely be the difference between win or loss."
Perry sighed. "I considered looking for a new Pokemon to use, but I'm not the kind of person who collects them. I'd rather stick with a single solid team than customize multiple teams to handle specific threats."
Shirley thought. "If you want to brute-force your way through stall, odds are your Pokemon will need to grow into that sort of tactic. So...we should probably start working on that." She produced a Poke Ball and shook it meaningfully.
"Hmm... well if there's any of my Pokemon that would respond most naturally to the concept of brute force, it'd probably be Little Green." He selected his oldest Pokeball.
"Alright, let's get started." She opened the ball, producing a Drifblim. Seeing the Pokemon, Perry winced as he threw the ball, nearly sending it flying the wrong direction. "Tasselar can handle anything you throw at him, and he can bounce back without too many problems. He'll play along while we figure out what you have available for handling Ghost-types."
"I see. Yeah, there's not much Green can do to beat a Drifblim." The Grotle looked back at him sadly. "Sorry, buddy, but nobody's perfect."
"Grotle learns Bite somewhere down the line, right? We'll work him out until he gets it down pat."
Perry looked at her skeptically. "That's pretty far away. I don't want to set an unrealistic goal. But if my information is correct, then he'll learn Curse soon, which might help."
She thought for a second. "True. Guess I'll have to fish up something else...uh, damn." She sauntered over to a nearby PC and exchanged two of her Pokemon. "I think I have a more suitable partner over here," she said, opening one of the new Balls to unveil a Shuppet.
Perry gave it a scan. He had thought it would be something like a Dusklops, a ghost that was big and beefy. "Shuppet huh? Can't say I was expecting that." He noticed that she looked a little hurt. "Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm sure it will do fine. After all, I'm not entirely sure what lesson you're about to show me."
She gave a bit of a smile, and Perry sighed. Man, he really needed to work on being a little more sensitive. "Stall needs two things - a timer on the opponent, and a way to buy time. The timer usually manifests as indirect damage - burns, poisoning, entry hazards, and so on. Countering this component of stall can get very hairy, but fortunately for you, what Ghost-types are capable of in this regard is limited."
Shirley continued. "The other part is Moves and tactics that nullify damage taken and buy time. Protect, Substitute, use of healing Moves and abilities, and other such things. This, you can circumvent a bit more easily. One way to make stall easier to deal with is introducing 'timers' of your own. Using Green there as an example, it can learn Stealth Rock and Leech Seed, which limit the opponent's ability to try to nullify the damage he does. You should try to teach the rest of your team moves like Taunt, Torment, Mirror Coat, things like that."
Perry's heart sank. "Most of my team can't learn those moves, though."
Shirley offered a comforting smile. "Since I just mentioned Leech Seed, I should probably tell you that both Jasmine and Chuck have Pokemon who can help Little Green pick that one up. Tell them Sherry sent you, and they should be willing to help."
"Unfortunately, Green's Absorb isn't very powerful, and since Tackle goes right through Ghosts, his only viable attack move right now is Razor Leaf. Though I suppose that perhaps the small amount of regained HP might help me outstall an opponent."
She nodded. "Let's get started, then."
They practiced for a while, and before too long Little Green began to get the hang of fighting the Shuppet. It also managed to pick up the Curse technique from the ghost, although his was really more of him anchoring himself in the ground than saying anything.
A bit later, Shirley called a stop. "Good, that ought to be a substantial help the next time you have to battle a ghost."
Perry agreed. "Yeah, looks like he got a bit stronger, too." Little Green nodded. "Return!"
Shirley pulled back her Shuppet as well. "Now then, what else would you like to work on?"
Perry thought for a moment. "Well, of my Pokemon, the only one who really can learn any of those so-called 'tricks' is Virgil. I'm a bit worried about actually using him against a ghost-type, but...." his voice trailed off as he plucked the Pokeball from his belt and released the small Abra.
Shirley smiled and nodded. "Of course, an Abra. No wonder you're concerned, that explains a lot." She laughed. "Yes, I've seen Abra here before. The thing you need to remember is that there's not a lot of directly-damaging ghost-type attacks. If the enemy doesn't know any, then it doesn't make a lot of difference if it's an Abra or a...."
"An Absol?" he supplied hopefully.
"Sure. Well, if you're hoping to keep a Pokemon from stalling, what did you have in mind?"
"Well, I know it's a Dark-type move, but I know Tom used Taunt against me. Could you help me teach Virgil that one?"
"It'll be a cinch!" she answered. "The thing here will be to induce it psychically, since Abra aren't so great at the whole 'physical expression' thing." This time, she opened a Pokeball to reveal a Gastly. "This one knows Taunt, so hopefully it can help convey that to your Abra."
Once again, they set to work, and before long Virgil had mastered the psychic Taunt by manipulating the enemy's mind and increasing negative emotions while burying positive ones. Perry smiled as he returned Virgil to his Pokeball.
"Thank you very much for your assistance, Shirley."
She smiled back. "It's what I'm here for. If you decide to challenge Morty, good luck to you. I think you'll do fine."
As he left the gym, he spotted the Pursuit Tutor. He paid up, and watched as Feathers performed her new move repeatedly. Then he headed back to the Center. He'd let the Pokemon rest a bit, and come up with a final game plan. Despite the morning's heavy setbacks, he was feeling much more confident about his chances again. He knew that time was nearly up, and was pretty sure that he was going to challenge Morty that night. Perhaps it was the wrong decision, but he reasoned that, win or lose, it would be an educational experience, and if this insane killer person used ghost-type combat styles, then another ghost encounter might mean survival.
I rubs a sore lump on my forehead, gotta get up...there...look around. Am I...dead? Clothes are rather roughed up…especially the coat…so that was no dream. Ugh. Legs seem to be working…back…well…if there’s a problem there it’s too late now.
Hey! There’s the Burnt tower…to the south. A lot of trees, and time…well it’s dark, but getting brighter…early morning?
Oh god Peaches.
Oh no
Oh no oh no oh nooh – oh he’s on this stump right next to me…thank Arceus…
Well, let the little guy sleep…
“*Yip*” Huh?!
...
So…dex says it’s a jolteon, huh?
Aww, their fur is so much softer than it looks!
"h-hey!" A voice…
Rachel!!!!
"Heya...what's going on?"
She shrugs. "I was about to ask you the same question. Don't feel good enough to be dead. Don't feel charred enough to have been in that explosion.
…Uh, who's your friend?"
"I dunno, this jolteon was staring at me when I woke up. For some reason both myself and peaches are fine." See? Look at him sleep!
…did she smile? Maybe not… "Huh. So... all's well that ends well?"
*bark bark!* Peaches looks at the Jolteon, rubs his eyes and looks at us…seems he doesn’t want to move. Fair enough.
…
…
…
"hey... did you see those purple..." she seems to be thinking really, really hard for the right word…. "...things?"
Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...
"No, I don't really remember anything after the explosion, except waking up here."
"ngggggh." She rubs her eyes again.
"Aside from well...a *lot* of pain, then nothing." I add.
…
…
"Wonder if there's some unnoticed page in the stuff I've read warning against exploring areas with exploding pokemon." I’ve never been good at remembering all that stuff...
"yeah, the whole... not being injured thing is a little off." She pauses. "We're /not/ dead, right?"
"We could very well be, I suppose. My jacket's probably in too bad shape for that to be true, though."
Oh hey, the Jolteon’s back! Look at how fast he is!
...Huh. Is he waiting for someone else to show up?
A pair of purple, vaguely feline-like creatures with red gems on their foreheads…whoa…better get out the dex.
One of them steps forward, the gem on its forehead beginning to glow brightly.
[Hello.]
She’s just as confused as I am. "h...hi?"
"Those creatures *are* purple." Yep, another eeveelution. An Espeon this time, it describes the species as highly intelligent and capable of telekinesis, but not normally capable of telepathy. Apparently, something about this one is different.
The Espeon explains. [That tower was once the roost of a powerful guardian. Even now, long after his departure, these forests bear the mark of his power.]
[Those of us who are attuned to psychic powers may tap into the remnants of his presence, and achieve a shadow of what he was capable of. This is how I am able to speak to your mind.]
Rachel thinks for a second. "Did you have anything to do with the whole... us not dying thing?"
[Yes. We came when we heard the explosion at the Tower, and brought you and your companions here, away from the Tower and the poisonous remnants of your attacker. We then used our powers to restore your health.] To indicate, the Espeon pokes itself, then tilts its head at the other Espeon and the Jolteon.
Oh! Uh, thank you," Rachel replies, in a state of confusion. Protecting them would have been one thing, but she hasn't really heard of pokemon being able to heal humans on the level the explosion would have required.
"Yeah! Thanks!" How does that work? Maybe another boon of the tower?
The Espeon's ear twitches once. [We follow the will of the guardian who has imbued this forest and its denizens, and use his gifts accordingly.]
"Is there anything we can do to repay you? I m-mean," she stammers, "That's... damn."
The Espeon's ear twitches again. [Do not speak of this grove, or of us, to outsiders. That is all we require.]
The Jolteon tilts its head, then walks up to the Espeon who has been 'talking' to them. They exchange meaningful stares.
[Apologies for his interjection. There is a matter you may be able to assist us in, if you are interested...]
Mm! Of course I won’t tell outsiders, who knows what they might do to this place! I nod and wait.
[...are you? Imposing upon you would be against the will of the forest...so you must agree to this not as an obligation, but out of your magnanimity.]
Rachel looks over at me, and nods.
I start. "Of course we'll keep this place a secret, I've met a few too many trainers who would be all too preoccupied with capturing the lot of you if they knew this place existed. And I don't mind helping you out in exchange for saving our lives?" I do wish I knew *what* this task was, though…
The Espeon frowns. [Do not view this as an exchange. We freely give of our strength not to curry favors, but because the spirit of the forest, and the gifts it has given us, drive us so. Do what we ask not because we saved you, but because it would be in your nature to help those in need.]
Huh…would I do so? I think so…uh…
[That said, one of our clan's sacred stones is weakening, despite the gifts of the forest. It is likely because of the acts of humans...but that is not important. We would ask of you to obtain another such stone and bring it to us.]
The Espeon projects a mental image of an object…it’s a leaf stone!
Rachel seems a bit confused. "Do... do you have any idea where we could find one?"
Ok, that's definitely something I would do! "I definitely would help you guys even if you had nothing to offer or have offered." Yeah! "I think I saw one of those as a pokeathlon prize as well..." Yeah, doing the pokeathlon was fun, I can help these guys out by participating some more! …well, after we deal with him…
Rachel seems really excited too! "Yeah!" she says, smacking a fist into a palm. "We can find one of those, then!"
But still, that guy. "How long do you think we have to find one?"
The Espeon continues its mental projections, its mouth disturbingly yet sensibly unmoving. [Its power has not fully diminished, and will not do so in the immediate future. But we must be prudent with the power that keeps the ravages of machines from harming this forest.]
"So... I guess we should probably head back to Ecruteak, right?” Huh, it’s 5 AM. Yeah, early enough to get back. "Yeah, we should probably head back, it'll be easier if we get to the hotel before anyone wakes up."
[Yes, it would be be best to not have to explain your absence,] the Espeon concurs. [Go with the spirit of the forest, and good luck to you.]
Rachel mumbles something…sounds like a thank you and takes off down the road. She seems relaxed and relieved now…we did just potentially die, I can’t blame her.
"I guess we should also keep the leaf stone errand a secret, since neither of us have any grass-types... aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaauuuuun….” The rest of this can wait till we’re caught up on sleep. "The...*aaauuun* jackets...let's figure out something later. Plenty of fire-types in the burned tower and all."
The sun is bright, the skies above are clear, and the mountain air is fresh. The trail itself is void of other life forms, but the nearby forests and lakes, and the looming Mount Mortar, are doubtlessly full of wild Pokemon, perhaps even opponents.
Jack smiles. He loves hiking. Something about mountains makes him feel at home, strange, being how he grew up in a metropolis and was born in a forest, but hey, he thinks, brains are weird.
Gojira's love of peaks, however, is more easily explainable. Little bro's so excited.
The trail eventually leads Jack within eyeshot of a mountain trail leading into Mount Mortar, and a large lake nearby containing runoff from the top of the mountain. Here and there, he sees a Goldeen leap out of the water gracefully, and Magikarp occasionally attempting to mimic the maneuver - to little success. You can hear the flopping from a mile away.
Jack's smile becomes brighter. He likes spelunking even more than hiking, even though he'd never really done it before. who needs preparedness and experience when you have an ocean of Fighting Spirit? The Ginger drops three pokeballs to the ground, releasing Toxie, Exuma, and... "Sp.."Spook.".
Girl really needs a new name.
"Alright, Toxie, Ex, Gozer, keep an eye out while we're in there. I don't think any of us wanna fall into a feild of Graveler." Jack looks at the ghost for a bit, deciding something. "I think your name's gonna be Absu now."
The Sableye seems content to ignore him, checking out the nearby trail for crevices and nooks. A nearby tree still drips with a bit of dew, and Exuma is excited to notice this. He waddles over as fast as he can manage. Gozer and T.H. start to look awkward.
"I've lost control in under a minute. New record. Alla you line up in front of me. Now."
Exuma waits until a second dewdrop hits it on the head before obliging. Spook/Absu is gone - probably hiding somewhere in the rocks.
"Sunnova... we lost the ghost. Anyways, you who are still loyal and know how to operate in a team, bear with me while I go all safety guide on your butts." Absu flips jack off so hard he can feel it through three feet of stone. Jack frowns and soldiers on.
"This ain't a tourist cave, or a fun little hike. This is a materials gathering mission in dangerous, uncharted territory. I've heard that there's everything in that cave from Magikarp to Golem, even an unconfirmed report or two of Tyranitar and Charizard. If we're gonna get through there without incident, we're gonna have to work together." jack feels another spectral One-Fingered-Salute burn its way into his back. "Ex, you're on my head. Try and warn me if my blind ass misses something. Tox, you're on point. Goj, you're rear guard. If we do this right, and if we're lucky, we'll be up to our tits in semi-precious gems. Do it wrong, and we'll probably get blown up by a miffed Geodude. That's my piece, thanks for listenin' so well.
You all ready?"
They seem willing to comply, excluding the still-absent Spook. Ex bobs on its heels and quacks at Jack for a lift. Jack picks him up and puts him on his nog.
"That's the spirit. Now fellas, let's move out." Mr. Trainerpants starts to raise his voice. "And Absu, that's totally your name now by the way, you'd better come along."
Spook waits for Jack to walk into the cave before dashing out of its hiding spot and going on ahead. It eventually vanishes, and its footsteps become inaudible as it scopes the place out.
"Sister, if you dig too greedily or too deep I'll be so cross."
Nothing noticeable shows itself as Jack mucks around. It doesn't take very long, however, before Jack and co. get so far in that any light from the entrance is long since gone. And with no Pokemon that can produce light...
Thank god for flashlights.. He bought one before setting out, in a caffeine fueled preparation fury. The only other things he got was a pack of gum and a soda, but still. It's the thought that counts.
Another flashlight beam crosses with his own, and it traces the light to Jack's face. Ex squeaks and falls off... [16] ...but Jack stays composed enough to shine the light back, revealing the source of light to be a man in full hiking gear.
Jack picks up the Seedot, dusts him off, and puts him back in his proper place.
"Hail!", sayeth the Redhead
"Hello there, kid. You shoulda dressed warmer for a hike up here. Not only is it cold, but it's a damp cold, which is even worse."
"I'll tough it out. You haven't seen a Sableye skulkin' around here, have ya?"
"Nope."
A chittering off to Jack's seven-o-clock clues him in on Absu's whereabouts.
"Oh, there she is." Jack shines the flashlight on her, her eyes glowing like hunks of frozen fire. "Get back over here, ya willful demon!"Absu responds by vanishing again. Jack turns his attention back to Mr. Hikerston. "Anything I should look out for in here, man?"
"Depends. What are you lookin' for?"
"Food." Jack gestures to the 'Eye
"It eats rocks?" The hiker seems confused. "Some kinda special rock?"
"Sableye have distinguished palates. Or just like ta be difficult. Not sure which. Just know that they like munchin' on semi-precious gems and the like."
"Awfully finicky, innit? That's why I stay away from the buggers."
"Welp, I'm no prospector, so I don't know of no secret treasure spots. But you'd probably want to start by following the water. The rivers wear away at the soil and rocks, so it's probably your best shot at finding shinies this side of just turning everything over or digging a mine."
"Thank you, sir. Before we part ways, how're the Zubat and Geodude and the like actin' today?"
"They're quiet enough. Don't make too much noise and they won't care too much. But there's always a few of 'em that are just plain hungry or testy. Take care to not to stumble on a Selfdestructing Geodude, youngster." He tilts his head and heads off in another direction.
"Happy trails, sir." Jack tips his 'Doot to the man. He then turns his attention to his fucking ghost. "I'm serious, Sue. I don't wanna go romping through this entire cave system looking for your invisible butt. Stay close." A nearby chitter confirms that Absu remains close-by. "Everybody else, let's go down to the river."
If Jack stands still and listens for a bit, he can hear the sound of flowing water. It seems to be coming from north-northeast...
After a few minutes of mucking through the caves, something large swoops down on Jack's head.
Ex screams and falls off as... [4] something almost as big as Rachel latches firmly onto Jack's face.
He screams like a little girl.
Its long tongue worms around Jack's head, lapping up the blood seeping out of the cuts dealt by its fangs. JACK takes 17 damage!
Jack, thinking quickly, grabs the fuckshit by whatever he can get a grip on and starts pulling.
[7] Jack's hand manages to find purchase on the thing's alarmingly tiny foot. He tries bashing it on the cave walls.
As Jack reels back to swing, the huge flyer flaps hard, prying itself free from Jack's grasp. ??? takes 0 damage!
"Ex! NATURE POWER!"
Exuma summons the powers of nature, which respond by smacking the thing with a glob of darkness. ??? takes 17 damage!
Jack scans the smelly poopchute, his 'Dex identifying it as a Golbat. An angry Golbat. Right around then, it vomits an awful screeching bruit.
COCKBAT used SUPERSONIC! EXUMA is confused! TOXIC HOLOCAUST is confused!
"Ho-Oh above, yer annoying! Gojira, scary face on this shitheel".
[2] Gojira gives it the motherfucking stinkeye. It's kinda lost to the darkness. GOJIRA used SCARY FACE! GOJIRA's attack missed!
"Goddamnit.
Screech at him, then. And loudly, very, very loudly."
With one chomped and two dazed, the Golbat swoops upon the remaining target and chomps Gojira. COCKBAT used BITE! GOJIRA takes 17 damage!
One of its fangs almost gets Gojira in the eye before he scrambles to frantically push the fucker away. GOJIRA flinched!
"Bite."
Jack whips the bat. Jack whips him good. Whips him into shape. Or at least tries to do the aformentioned whipping.
[2, 11] Exuma stumbles into a nearby rock. Toxic is a bit more in control of his wits. Heh, confusion. EXUMA hurts itself in confusion! EXUMA takes 3 damage!
Swooping to the other able-to-retaliate target, the Golbat chomps Jack once more, slurping at his bloodewyne. COCKBAT uses BITE! JACK takes 18 damage!
But being a big fuck, it leaves itself open to Gojira leaping at its legs and biting in the general direction of its crotch.
GOJIRA uses BITE! COCKBAT takes 22 damage!
[5] Jack swings...and misses, as the Golbat is screeching furiously about the chomp and flapping away in a panic. Obviously in over its oversized head, the Golbat flaps off to find something a bit squishier.
"Get outta here ya fuckin' leathery cocksucker!" Jack bloops Ex and Toxie back into their balls and then releases them again, the quick and easy confusion cure.
"You still out there, Su?"
The response is not immediate. Her chittering is from farther away, and sounds a little excited. It seems to be in the same direction as the sound of the water...
"Well, guess we should go find her." With Exuma hatted and everything back in order, the group sets off once more.
When Jack and crew come upon a stream, Absu emerges from the walls, chittering excitedly and pointing at a tunnel-in-progress near the river.
"A-are there shiny things?" Jack follows her directions life the lovable idiot he is.
Gojira catches on, and joins Absu in the dig. He's got a hankering for a chunk of mountain, anyway...
"Toxie, try helping them, if you would." He grunts, and obliges.
Jack looks around to see if he could do something to speed things along. Sans anything that resembles a workable shovel, Jack really isn't in a position to be digging through hard rock.
Realizing he's just being annoying, he steps back, sits down, and tunes in to mother earth, man. After zoning out to the sound of running water for a few minutes, Jack is jogged out of his woolgathering by his three prospectors crying out in unison. Followed by some shuffling. Paydirt?
Jack opens his eyes. "Whoa, man." He step over to his homies to see what they got.
Gojira emerges first, then leans against a nearby wall. Boy, he feels better. GOJIRA regained health!
Absu has a cluster of strange gems in one hand, and is stuffing her face with the other. Further into the burrow, Jack spies a few other strange rocks, not all of which exactly resemble gems.
Jack grabs a couple. Hell, maybe one of 'ems a Moon Stone.
Get!
Water Stone x1
Unidentified Precious Stone x3
Absu has in hand something that gleams a faint gold in the darkness. She eagerly opens wide...
"Waiddaminute... that might be precious, not just semi-precious. What I'm sayin' is hold your horses, silly lady."
She gives him a dirty look, then moves once more to snarf the thing...
Jack, never deft, reaches out to snag it...
[12] ...and Absu shifts backwards to dodge. She gives him another, longer dirty look.
"Jus' wondering if it's a moonstone, is all. Didn't mean to spoil your fun."
Absu seems a bit more agreeable about it. She then eats it, savoring the taste. It's apparently pretty good...by Sableye standards.
"So, Su. How're ya doin' now?"
Her chitter takes on a pleased tone.
"Cool. Hope you realize that havin' a trainer ain't bad. Victory and victuals, man. All you'll find when you travel with us."
She pokes Gojira, and chitters something. Gojira perceives it as gratitude of a sort... Gojira yawns. Saying something about how that lady over there is appreciative, or something. A lazy smile spreads across his face.
Jack perks up, like he's striken by something... profound. "I've got a feelin'. Might be something else for us in these caves, my bredren... and sistren.
Let's head deeper."
Figuring that the river will lead deeper into the cave, Jack follows it upstream as best he can. The trail gets a bit muddy and dirty at times, but he soon reaches a small lake pooling underneath a waterfall.The waters are a bit murky, but he can still see Pokemon swimming in there.
Jack takes a closer look at the lake.Maybe see what kind of fish. Maybe fall in.
[15, 8] Which he almost does, but he catches himself. Can't make out anything about these fish in this pond, though. Too bad he doesn't have a fishing rod. Might've caught dinner.
After messing around at the pond for a little while longer, Jack leads his squad deeper into the cave. There's something here, goddamnit. Time passes, there's a walking montage, complete with scene where Jack trips over a Geodude. When that bit of silliness is over, Jack and co. find themselves in a Brobdingnagian antechamber. Over to the east our motley crew spies a humanoid muscle-thing using large boulders as strength training equipment.
Jack flexes a greeting. It responds with a flex of its own as it sizes Jack up. Jack. Hungh. Flexes. Ugh. MORE.
It laughs heartily and continues the gun show by hefting a pair of boulders the size of Jack's head and pumping them like dumb-bells.
Jack looks around, suddenly filled to the brim with hubris, until his eyes settle on something that will put the Machop to shame. It's a rock, a boulder really, resting about twenty paces away from the Superpoer pokemon. Jack knows what he must do, he knows his destiny. He grabs the massive stone and heaves it over his head, holding there like a crimson-headed Atlas. Angelic light spills out from behind him, turning him into a living baroque sculpture. Goddamn, why are there never any dames around when you want them to be?
The Machop applauds, impressed.
Jack throws down the bolder and dusts off his hands. He doesn't remember being able to do that two weeks ago. A boyish smile illuminates his features. Remembering that he's a trainer, goddamnit, he does what trainers do. Beep. Just like working the register. His duty done, Jack holds out his hand to his abettor. The Machop shakes heartily, squeezing a bit too hard.
"Good, manly, handshake you have there, man. How goes the strength training?"
The Machop smiles and flexes. It then makes a beckoning gesture and holds its chest out, as though to take a hit straight on the pecs. Jack obliges. It feels like hitting a stiff, raw, tough slab of meat. The Machop is not even phased.
"And a manly way to take a punch! Color me impressed!"
It then slaps its chest, and takes a stance, trying to indicate that it wants to see if Jack can take a hit. The Ace hunkers down and presents something that isn't vital. The Machop smacks him stiffly on the chest. It hurts pretty bad. JACK takes 13 damage!
It then offers a hand to help him up, impressed with Jack's not folding over in pain. Jack hisses, grimaces, and generally acts how you would if you got punched by a Machop. Still better than getting stabbed though.
"Damn, good arm you've got there."
The Machop poses and grins, before turning to Toxic and asking why they're all here anyway.
Toxie? Well, Toxie grunts. Toxie grunts like a motherfucker.
"Hey, you wouldn't happen to know where I could find a challenge for my ha- the Seedot on my head, would you?"
It perks up at the word 'challenge' and beats its chest proudly.
"Alright, man if you think you're up for it. Don't underestimate Exuma, though. Alright, Ex, you know the drill, let's battle!"
Jack, Ex, and Machop fan out into a rough circle. The antechamber they're in makes a great impromptu gym.
"Exuma buff your defenses! Harden!"
The Seedot obliges. EXUMA's defense rose!
In response, the Machop cracks its knuckles, flexes firmly, and stares Exuma down, putting an end to that. EXUMA's defense fell!
"Well that makes me feel useful. Growth."
As Exuma taps into his internal powers, the Machop smacks its fists together and bounces on its heels, psyching itself up.EXUMA's special attack rose! MACHOP is getting pumped!
"Now, hit him hard! Nature power!"
[14]Exuma fires a bolt of darkness. EXUMA used NATURE POWER! MACHOP takes 26 damage!
[18, Crit]The Machop takes it on the chest, then responds by thwocking Exuma over the head with a mighty chop! MACHOP used KARATE CHOP! EXUMA takes 34 damage!
The Machop gestures to Exuma to hit him with everything he's got.
"Give him what he wants! Show him your Hidden Power! Full blast!
Something about Exuma's Hidden Power resonates with the Machop, and it grins like a maniac. It asks Exuma where it learned that trick. Exuma responds with: a t-t-t-needle thingy. Machop asks if that's the only thing those 'needle thingies' can teach. Exuma doesn't know. He makes an effort to become very, very small. He says that m-m-m-maybe the m-m-machop should ask his crowsnest.
"Gozer, translation please."
Gojira gives the best translation he can, even though these fighting types always sound like they're talking with a mouth full of marbles.
"Needle thingies? OH, TMs. Yeah, you can learn a bunch of different moves with those things. Expensive as all hell, though"
The Machop says something akin to 'hook me up bro'.
"I don't have any more, but I could probably rustle a couple up. What's in it for us, compadre?"
'I will punch the shit out of anything that needs punching.'
"Like your style, mate. I think we got ourselves a contract here."
Jack offers his hand for another manly FLEXSHAKE. Again, the Machop squeezes a bit too hard. MANLY.
"Well, now that that's settled, let's get the hell outta here."
It takes some doing to find their way back out, but between Toxic and Absu, the group manages. At least, not until Toxic sniffs something that causes him to tense up and growl. Toxic follows the trail, which leads off to the right and into a small alcove. Shining the flashlight inside reveals a dead body. It's been chomped up good - numerous bite marks are scattered across the face, and the skin is already pallid despite the absence of visible open wounds. Suddenly, Jack spies a familiar sight - an arrow sticking out of the victim's chest, with another small scroll tied to it...
"Goddamn, shit, fuck, cunt, whore, damn. This is gettin' a little annoying." Jack picks up the note and gets ready for some melodrama.
The message inside reads: 'Just to make sure you're paying attention. Oh, and I thought I'd showcase another trick of mine. These bats aren't usually that vicious, but when you have the right tools...'
Ponce.
Jack makes a mental note that salt and pepper sideburns allow you to control Zubat. Then he lights the scroll the fuck on fire. Stupid asshole sorcalator, that'll learn him.
After calling the rangers and telling them about the corpse, Jack heads back into town. He still had business to take care of.
“…And for Faint Attack...standard price is 3000. No negotiations, so if that sum gives you cold feet, well...what a shame." a man in his 50s, with salt-and-pepper hair, a dusty and faded black coat, a full, neatly groomed beard waits patiently for Anna’s response.
Anna considers, checks her purse, and replies. “Alright, I can afford that.” She gives the man his money.
"Alright, guess we should start. Show Rad here your Faint Attack, Bub." The old man’s Weavile obliges and proceeds to vanish into thin air.
Anna looks around herself for the weavile after how it had tackled her when they were first introduced, but decides to not preemptively suggest the weavile is going to hurt Rad. Rad can handle herself.
Bub re-emerges to slash at the air mere inches in front of Rad's face, his claws singing a deadly, keen tune.
Rad flinches, trying her hardest to not seem startled but ultimately failing.
This repeats a few times, Rad slowly but surely getting better at following the Weavile. Anna decides it’s about time she finish the rest of the items on her agenda and waves goodbye to Rad as she walks away. She makes a note to thank that gym receptionist again for arranging her to meet the move tutor.
Still, she needed some practice before she challenged the gym; her pokemon need to grow as much as possible, as fast as possible…
Posts
"Um, well," Rachel begins, nervous shame and winner's pride duking it out on her face. "I went to the gym, did a few battles with the third-in-command. Managed to beat him, too. Oh, Simony evolved, too! He's at the center now, though. Uh...what were you doing?"
"Simony evolved, huh? I've always thought Wartortles where really cool."
Steam
"Heh, yeah." Rachel grins weakly. "It's like he's more adorable and more badass looking at the same time. I didn't even think that was possible."
"Congratulations, as a fellow trainer of turtle-based Pokemon who have evolved."
"Oh, thanks," she replies, somewhat surprised by the lack of hostility. "So, where've you been? Doesn't seem like there's a whole lot to do around here."
"I can't wait to see what he looks like!"
Diana, somewhat jealous that the pokemon that wasn't even present was getting all the attention, decided to make herself known by perching in the nest that is Jack's hair. The butterfree seems to regret her decision the second she does it, flying away and hiding behind Anna.
"Oh yeah...I trained with Sherry, the second-in-command at the gym. She managed to get Diana to evolve so quickly! I mean...bug types do grow fast, but still!"
Seeing the newly evolved Butterfree reminded Perry of his training difficulties. "Congratulations on your new Butterfree, Anna," he tried to sound happy for her, because he was. After all, he was partly responsible for the Caterpie joining Anna. "Maybe I'll try that too. Obviously I've got to try something different: I just did some training with my gang at the Pokemon Center, and... it didn't turn out so well. They've hit a plateau or something."
"You have to have an actual battle, man. Raise the stakes, make it mean something to them."
Steam
The night passes without incident, and come morning, they will find the Pokemon that they left at the Center fresh and ready to go.
That is, of course, unless they decided to get into some after-dark shenanigans in the Ancient City of Spirits...
GT: HitoriLionheart or dailydro
The next morning, Perry picked up his Pokeballs from the nurse and walked over to the gym. There were a couple of other people in line to see the receptionist, and it took Perry a few minutes before he could be served. The receptionist greeted him with a yawn and a half-smile. "How can I help you, sir?"
Perry was getting that familiar pit in his stomach. "Yes, uhh, hello. I was hoping to speak to Morty, and perhaps have a battle with one of the gym trainers."
The receptionist nodded. "Certainly, sir. There's a service elevator to the far left. Morty's office is located on the second floor. I'll let him know you're on the way. As for the gym trainers, you'll find them wandering about the gym. If you're planning on challenging Morty, it's a good idea to practice on a trainer or two first. Many find it difficult to adjust to the particular challenges of fighting Ghost-types."
"I see. I will keep that in mind. Thank you." With that, he walked away, and climbed up the large stairway as the receptionist began speaking with the next trainer in line.
The way to Morty's office was a single long hallway. Perry walked down the hall, feeling slightly on edge. He got the nervous feeling that he was being watched. Which, he reasoned, being in a ghost gym, was a likely scenario.
[8] Perry can't tell if he's just hearing things. Maybe not, but he can't be sure. When he got to the door, he noticed the label marked: Mortimer Sagebrush: Ecruteak City Pokemon League Gym Leader. "And they say Professor Peregrine Poplar is a long title." He knocked on the door.
It creaked open, but Perry couldn't see anything to have opened it as he walked in. "Hello? The receptionist said she'd say I was on my way up. My name is Professor Poplar."
A series of lanterns formed an octagon surrounding the gym leader, who was seated with his legs crossed in the middle of the room. Save for the lanterns, there was no other light in the room. Said lanterns burned an eerie blue light, and Perry detected the sound of snickering. "Hm. If you like, you can sit, Perry."
Perry remained surprisingly nonplussed. "Well, I wish I could say this defied my expectations."
Morty looked up and off to the side, mild displeasure on his face. "Knock it off." In response, a Gengar emerged from the shadows, its trademark toothy grin smaller than normal. Perry looked around, but saw nothing to sit on. Still rather nervous, he sat where he was on the floor.
"Oh, right." Morty clapped three times, loudly, and the ceiling lights came on. "What brings you here, Perry?"
"Yes, well, umm..." Perry remained flustered. "Well, there were two things. At some point, I was going to challenge your gym. But I don't think I'm ready yet." He paused for a few seconds. "The other thing was... I'm concerned about my Abra, Virgil."
"Hrm. Nothing wrong with a bit of caution. And as for your Abra...well, I can understand being concerned. Their species is rather frail, and often difficult to raise without expert breeding or Move-teaching services. What is it in particular?"
Perry didn't know if Morty was psychic, but most of these gym leaders that used ghosts and psychics were. And he hadn't given Morty his first name. "Well, you can probably tell, but I'm not psychic or anything. I really have trouble communicating with him. And yeah, I'm not sure if the way I'm raising Virgil is any good." He swallowed: he didn't like admitting that he might not be any good at raising his Pokemon. With my other Pokemon, it's pretty easy for me to figure out if I'm doing things right, but Virgil's completely silent. I probably should have named him Tacitus." Perry couldn't resist attempting a joke, trying to lighten the mood, but either it wasn't very funny or Morty didn't understand it, because he remained silent.
Morty rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "It's not impossible to circumvent the absence of your own supernatural abilities, even with regard to communication. Virgil, as you call him, can still dip into your mind and read it. And you may want to try and procure TMs or Move-teaching services to give him the tools to fight. Teleporting out of harm's way will not suffice in some situations, and certainly not when attackers can simply choose other targets."
Perry sighed. "Well, that's the thing. I have a TM, but I'm not sure if he wants me to use it. I'm never one to take the easy path, and if he would rather go at his own pace, that's what I'd like him to do."
"Have you even talked to him about it?"
"I can't."
"He can read your mind, you realize. That should simplify the task of communication. Besides, Abra are intelligent. He'll catch on, I expect."
"But how can he indicate his choice to me if I can't understand him? I wanted to raise an Abra so that I could study the unique bond the psychic type can form with their trainer, but I'm worried if perhaps my lack of latent psychic ability will be detrimental to his growth."
"There are many Trainers without their own psychic skills who have successfully raised Psychic-type Pokemon. I wouldn't worry about you getting in his way. Perhaps you should try teaching him some sort of code? Sign language, perhaps?"
"I... well, not only do I not know sign language, but I don't think I've ever seen him move his hands. He's always asleep." Perry began to feel aware of just how silly this conversation was, which added to his embarrassment.
"Not that you need to be fluent, but perhaps you can develop your own set of codes and gestures that you two understand. Besides, Virgil IS psychic. He should be able to sense and appreciate your concerns."
"I guess... umm..." Perry picked up Virgil's Pokeball and let him out. "Virgil, I know your training has been kind of slow. I could teach you a new move, if you'd like. But if you don't want to learn it, I'm not going to force you."
Virgil shrugged, then nodded slowly. He appeared to have no objection.
"See, that's what I mean. He doesn't care either way. And I'm not some professional trainer. What if I make the wrong decision? It'll be my fault for making the wrong choice."
"Indecision can be the wrong decision, too. Would you rather Virgil fail you because of his weakness - not to mention yours?"
Perry thought for a moment. "I would rather Virgil fail me than I fail Virgil."
"As a Pokemon Trainer, you have to be a leader. And leaders have to make hard decisions. They have to struggle with doubt, with fear and ignorance. They have to make choices despite not knowing all the outcomes. So would you rather your fear paralyze you, shield you and your friends from the pain of a hard choice, or would you rather it hurt you far more dearly down the line? Besides, I doubt Virgil would fail to appreciate having more fallbacks than simply fleeing a battle." Perry felt a strange buzzing in his head. "Right?" Morty waved at Virgil and gave him a thumbs-up.
The Abra seemed to understand the emotions that the gesture represented, and he waved at Virgil, using both psychic and physical gestures to catch his attention. "What were you wanting to tell me, Virgil?" Perry asked. Virgil frowned a bit, then sat very still for a few moments, concentrating with visible effort. Perry felt something prodding at his mind slightly. Virgil then telekinetically pried Perry's bag open and lifted the Hidden Power TM, pointing it towards himself and floating it in the air.
Perry smiled. "Okay, I got it. When we get back to the Pokemon Center, I'll ask a nurse to administer the TM." Virgil gave Perry one last lazy thumbs-up before nodding off again.
"See?" Morty asked. "Just remember that sometimes, it's okay to make the wrong decision rather than be paralyzed by fear."
Perry thought for a minute. "I guess... I guess that makes sense. I'm not just a professor, I'm a trainer too. And as a trainer, I may have to face a problem with no 'right' answer."
Morty sighed. "The decisions you will have to make as a Professor will not be any easier, I expect. You will have to struggle with your own ignorance and misgivings, and you will have to guide others down their paths to knowledge."
Perry shook his head. "I'm afraid I must respectfully disagree with you, Mr. Sagebrush. When I'm really a professor, I won't be wrong. A real professor is never wrong."
Morty paused for a moment before he burst out laughing. His Gengar appeared equally amused. Perry, who had not thought his comment to be funny at all, was left feeling quite awkward. "Okay then. I guess I'll be going now. Perhaps I'll see you soon?"
"I'll leave you with a word of advice, Perry. The famous scholars of our realms are not omniscient as you aspire to be. Not Professor Oak, not Elm, nor Birch, nor Rowan, nor Juniper. Perfection is beyond the reach of man. Instead, aspire simply for the courage to press forward when you do not know all the answers, and to learn all that you are able to. Perhaps I will see you soon. That's your choice, Professor."
"So long." Perry returned Virgil and departed.
Perry wandered around for a few minutes, looking for a gym trainer, before accidentally bumping into one as he rounded a sharp corner. This man was quite large, with lengthy bleached-blonde hair and sunglasses worn indoors. He greeted the professor with a boistrous welcome. "Hello there, you lookin' for a gym trainer battle?"
"Yes, that's right," Perry said, fairly confidently. After all, he'd handled the Goldenrod Gym without too much trouble. He might not be ready to battle Morty yet, but at least he could probably handle one of these lower-ranked trainers. "I'm Professor Poplar, by the way. Is there a room we can battle?"
"Tom." The large man towered over Perry, who was average height himself. The trainer led them both across the gym to a training room. It smelled faintly of cannibis. Perry gave a sniff of disapproval.
The man turned around. "Well then, how many Pokemon were you planning on using?"
"Is a three on three okay by you?"
"That's fine," the man agreed. As if on cue, a bizarre creature floated up through the floor. "Hold on, Jellybro, I'll have you finish things up."
Perry was completely dumbfounded. He'd never seen any Pokemon like that before. In fact, he didn't recognize it at all. Instinctively, he brought up his Pokedex. It looked like an octopus, but obviously ethereal enough to be a ghost-type as well.
It beeped oddly, and Perry looked down at it. "Huh, that's odd, it's only getting partial information." The data was incomplete, and mostly in some foreign language.
"Pururiru... water and ghost type? Interesting..." Perry read through the data. "I'll definitely be looking forward to seeing that in action!"
"Well then, let's get this battle underway!" The large man shouted, pulling out a Pokeball.
"I couldn't agree more!" Perry replied. "Go, Little Green!"
"Shepard, you're up!"
With the sound of two opening Pokeballs, the combatants were on the field. The Grotle gave a bit of a snort as it saw the Sableye and pawed the ground a bit.
"Okay, Green! Razor Leaf!"
"Shepard, show our guest how we start things off here."
Little Green went first, hurling a barrage of leaves that dealt the creature a fierce blow. In response, the Sableye unleashed a curious blue flame that set a branch of the bush on Grotle's back aflame, inducing a burn. Perry winced. The clock was already ticking on this battle, but the Razor Leaf had been pretty brutal. If he kept it up, he could probably beat him before it became too much of a problem. The next Razor Leaf did substantially less damage, but the Sableye tried to use its Fury Swipes, to little effect on the Grotle's tough hide. The battle raged back and forth, and it became clear that the Razor Leaf damage was a fluke. Finally, just as it appeared that Little Green had worn the ghost down, Perry heard one of the most terrifying commands a trainer can hear.
"Shepard, use Recover!" Despite another Razor Leaf boosted by Little Green's desperation, it was clear to Perry that Green was done for now.
"Okay, Little Green, take a break! Feathers, give it a try!"
Feathers launched into battle, but was immediately Taunted by the Sableye. Just as the angered bird was about to slam down with a Wing Attack, Tom called out a retreat.
"End of this road, Shepard. Let's go to Missy D." The Sableye disppeared, replaced by a Misdreavus who found herself with a wing in the face.
Feathers tried to maintain her Wing Attack, but was hit with a Spite, causing Feathers to hesitate. The Misdreavus followed up the Spite with a Confuse Ray, causing Feathers to squawk and smash into the ground. It then unleashed an absolutely brutal Psywave that nearly brought Feathers to the ground.
"Feathers, return! Tesla! I'm counting on you!" Perry was getting pretty desperate, and he was getting worried that it might affect his Pokemon. The Misdreavus made a Psybeam attack that did heavy damage. Tesla got flinched, but managed to land a Thunder Wave the next turn. It took several more turns, but despite taking heavy damage Tesla managed to hold out until the paralysis took complete hold over Missy D, forcing Tom to forfeit her.
Tom sighed. "You're done, D. Give Jellybro a go."
In response, Perry decided to forfeit Tesla as well. "Little Green, back to work!"
Perry would have considered conceding completely, but he really wanted to see that bizarre unknown Pokemon in action. He gave Green a Fresh Water, bringing him back to nearly-full health. That action ended up saving Green's life.
Tom looked a little angry at Perry for using an item. "Fine then. Jellybro, show him your Hidden power." Little Green tried to Razor Leaf, but the jellyfish Pokemon unleashed a pulse of orange and red. Striking Green, it set its legs and tree alight, causing the Grotle immense agony and nearly killing it straightaway.
Perry dashed forward. "Green!" Tom cringed, and even the jellyfish didn't like what it saw.
Tom swore. "Aw, put that fire out, man." His Pururiru obliged, spraying Green with water until the flames died down. "Sorry about that. It's been a while since we tried that one. Didn't expect it to be that bad..."
Perry was both terrified and infuriated. This man had nearly killed his longest friend. "Green, return. Feathers, go." When he spoke, it was with the voice of an automaton. The fight had left him in that moment. He just wanted to hurt the strange Pokemon as much as possible before he gave up.
Feathers used a Double Team, buying herself some time, while Jellybro popped one of the copies with a Night Shade. Unfortunately, Perry knew that Feathers was still afflicted by the Spite attack from the Misdreavus, which meant she could only damage the ghost every other turn. She swooped in for a Wing Attack, but missed, and not before Jellybro burst another of the mirages.
Perry did an analysis of the battle. If he stayed any longer, Feathers would just get knocked out too, and she wouldn't be able to faint the creature first. "There's no point in continuing this battle. I surrender. Feathers, return." The final copy faded away as the Pokeball picked the right Staravia and made it disappear.
Tom looked at him oddly. "Really? Jellybro doesn't take hits to the face so well, you had a chance."
"No, I didn't," he replied, his self confidence almost completely shattered after the last day's events. "Well, at least I got to see an interesting Pokemon. Thank you for the battle."
Tom shrugged. "Eh, your choice. I'm cool either way. And you're welcome." As Perry turned to leave, Tom spoke again. "By the way, if you like, I can give you a tip on the Gym Leader Challenge here."
Perry sighed. "I wouldn't waste my breath. It's obviously going to be a long... long time before I can beat this place."
"Not really, no. They've preserved the basic concept of this Gym's Challenge for decades, and only little details get changed. I can't say too much, but I can tell you what the most important thing you need to bring is."
Perry answered sarcastically. "Well, the logical answer is something with Dark-type attacks."
"I wasn't talking about the fight proper, although that helps a bit. Care to, y'know, listen?"
"Fine. What do I need to bring?"
Tom made air quotes. "'Courage and trust in your instincts'. Or at least that's all Morty will tell me, since I haven't been involved in the challenge. Ecruteak is one of those 'gimmick' Gyms in that you don't just walk in and fight the Leader, but you have to do a little something-something beforehand. Morty tells me most of these northern Johto Gyms are like that, especially since all the mountains makes it a bit annoying to travel to them. Maybe that's why the Kanto League sees more challengers..."
"Thanks, but like I said, I don't think I'm good enough for this place yet. I'll keep it in mind though. Anyway, I'll see you around I guess."
"I'll be here most days, if you need somethin' a Gym Trainer can help ya with." Tom waved, and turned to pat his Jellybro on the...head? maybe?...as Perry left.
The professor made a beeline for the Center, dropping off his team and asking the nurse to administer the Hidden Power TM to Virgil. The injection process went without much fuss or pain. Virgil didn't reach much to the needle, and appeared to be asleep for the several minutes it took for the TM to take effect. A bit later, he waved his hands, shooing everyone away so he could test his new trick. Virgil unleashed a shockwave that darkened the room, glowing black, a stark contrast to the light, soothing colors of the Pokemon Center's floor and walls. Then he gave Perry a thumbs-up.
Perry returned with a halfhearted smile. He was happy for Virgil but still quite worried about Little Green, and doubting his ability to ever defeat Morty. As he sat and waited for his Pokemon to be healed, he got out paper and pencil, and began his plotting. He had a sample of how tough the Ghost Gym was... now he had to figure out a way to beat it.
[Feathers and Tesla gained 575 EXP each! Feathers reached level 18! Learned Endeavor!]
[Virgil learned Hidden Power (Dark, 4d6)!]
“mwuhhhhhhhhhhhh?”
Rachel opens one eye, blearily. Across the room, Anna lets out a sigh and picks up a sizable stack of magazines from the floor. “Sorry, was trying to pack up. I can’t sleep, so I thought I’d go look for Tsubaki.”
“Oh, I’ve got her phone number- do you need it?”
"Really? That'd be incredibly helpful!"
Rachel hands her pokegear over to Anna, who copies the number into her own phone without mentioning the horrifically incorrect spelling of the exorcist’s name. It’s really not that important. Finally, she calls Tsubaki. Rachel, unable to get back to sleep, flips the TV on and mutes it. It probably increases the show’s quality overall.
"Hey, this is Anna? I got your number from Rachel...I was the one asleep most of the bus ride."
Rachel flips the channel. Click. Oh lord. It’s that movie with the kids walking along railroad tracks again. Why is that thing always on?
"Urgh, dinner did take longer than I expected. I'm just curious where looking for ghosts in ecruteak at night rates between suicidal and a valuable training experience...considering the kind of supernatural terror I'll have to deal with soon. Got energy to burn and well...*now* I can't sleep."
Click. And…documentaries. Right.
Anna paces a little bit back and forth. "Ugh, maybe I can find some sleeping pills or something. Anything else?"
Click. Music videos. Click. Foreign news. Click. Click. CliCliCliCli…
"Well alright then, see you tomorrow." Call ended, Anna flops down on her bed again and starts looking through her pokegear. She glances over at Rachel. “Oh, am I keeping you awake?”
“Nah, I’m not really sleepy,” Rachel replies, tossing her pillow end over end in the air. Regulus, now also awake, follows it with a bemused interest.
"Hey Rachel, you think any shops are open now?"
Rachel scratches her head. "Well, if we were in goldenrod...but this place feels a bit more..." she pauses. "quaint?"
"We should go check it out! You ready, or do you need some time packing?"
Rachel is happy to take her mind off of more serious matters. "Sure, I'm good." She looks over at Regulus. "You up for a late-night stroll?"
It bobs up and down in its imitation of a nod.
"Okay!"
One stop for tea and taiyaki later, the junior ranger and self-proclaimed scientist find themselves on the edge of the city, near the landmark known as the burnt tower.Even from so far away, the fire damage is extensive, and much of what remains of the walls and roof is charred black.
"Look at that...” Anna remarks, sipping her drink. “do you really think it's that dangerous to go at night?"
"I doubt it. It's a freaking landmark. If it was just some random building, maybe. But people are gonna be keeping a close eye on this place. God forbid it should burn down TWICE." Rachel would come to regret this answer.
"Huh, I never thought of it that way...well, do you wanna take a look? Supposedly there’s a few interesting pokemon types there, although some of them are poisonous.”
Rachel shrugs. “Hey, why not?”
After polishing off their snacks, the two trainers head down the path to the tower… when suddenly a strange, human-like creature emerges from the bushes. Its legs and head are a pinkish-purple, with the rest of its body a non-descript grey. Its waist is adorned with a strange black sash. It eyes the two carefully for a few seconds, then, content with its analysis, relaxes visibly.
"Huh...are you protecting the tower?" Anna hazards a question at the fleeing pokemon. The Medicham eyes Anna for a few seconds, then shakes it head. It gives the two one last look, something like an invitation - or a dare - to follow it. It begins to retreat into the forest...
Rachel looks at Anna. "What was that, exactly?"
"It's some kind of psychic...and fighting type pokemon...I think it wants us to follow it."
"Couldn't a psychic have been more clear about- ah, whatever." she follows Anna. After all, it didn't look like something too likely to try and eat them.
The two follow the Medicham into a large, open clearing. Many stumps and ditches litter the area, and the nearby trees that still stand bear noticeable 'scars', the mark of a Fighting-type Pokemon that takes honing its combat skills very seriously. Anna notices a few imprints that could be places where stumps were torn out of the ground…Nearby, another Pokemon strikes a nearby tree that is thick and sturdy enough to take the beating. This one is shorter and stockier, with black hands and a protrusion on top of its head that resembles a bow tie. Pokemon of several other kinds are also present, each also practicing or sparring.
After a few seconds, the Makuhita that was hitting a tree notices the outsiders, and walks over to the Medicham, who is now seated in the middle of the clearing.The Makuhita and Medicham go back and forth for a few seconds, and something the latter says to the smaller of the two causes it to approach Anna and Rachel.
The Makuhita nods at the Medicham, and points at Diana. It goes into a sumo-wrestler-like stance at the end of a small clearing.
Anna furrows her brow. “Does it want to fight…?”
Rachel looks around the makeshift fight club/ dojo with interest. “Kinda looks like it, huh?”
Diana seems unusually confident, and flies into the cleared arena excitedly. "Okay, she's recently evolved, but Diana looks up for it."
Regulus floats off, taking position directly above the makeshift arena. Best view.
"Okay then,” Anna nods. “Diana, it's a fighting-type! Try your new technique!" [Diana uses Confusion!]
With swiftness that belies its size, the Makuhita rushes forward and swipes at Diana with a swift punch. [Diana takes 22 damage!]
Diana clambers away from the impact, seeking to get out of the plump creature's surprising reach.
"Knew it was coming, couldn't do anything about it." Anna mutters, then shouts "Evade the best you can, your psychic powers should give you the advantage! Confusion!"
Diana taps into her new psychic powers and telekinetically trips the Pokemon head-first into a nearby ditch. [Makuhita takes 28 damage!] It rises from the dirt clump, caught off-guard by the strange trick, and displeased with the outcome. But it catches itself first, and stands still, taking a stance as it reaches into itself to achieve a strange calm, turning its anger into something more useful. [Makuhita's getting pumped!]
"It's trying to intimidate you, don't let it! Confusion, YEAH!"
Diana reaches forth with her mind again, but feels a foreign presence blocking her power as she tosses Makuhita into a nearby tree with rather unimpressive force. [Makuhita took 23 damage!]
The Medicham stands, giving the Makuhita an "I told you so" look. It walks over, and the two Fighting-types seem to discuss something that pleases the Medicham and intrigues the Makuhita.
Diana winces in worry at the incoming retaliation before noticing the medicham's gesture, calming down somewhat as she picks up what's going on. Eventually, the fighting-types come to some kind of agreement. The Medicham walks over to Anna, and reaches to pluck one of the Poke Balls on her person.
Anna freezes up in shock of a pokemon doing that, and Diana flutters over the the Medicham somewhat worried as to what it's doing.
Rachel cringes in empathy awkwardness.
The Medicham stands still for a bit, sizing up those Poke Balls that it can see. Eventually, it somehow deciphers which ones are empty, grabs one, and rolls it in the Makuhita's direction.
"Do you want to travel with a trainer?" Anna asks the Makuhita, still visibly confused. Of course, this isn’t exactly standard procedure for trainers…
The Makuhita manages to gather itself enough to slap its hands together and nod.
Anna thinks about it for a second. "I haven't really heard much about Makuhita, but I don't have a fighting type at the moment. Let's see what you can do then, there's a steel-type gym fairly close...though we have other challenges in the mean time."
Rachel is less impressed by the chubby pokemon’s drive. "You sure you wanna take this guy along? We're not exactly on the relaxed trainer journey most people follow."
[He will face whatever comes without flinching. It is his nature.]The interjection materializes within the minds of Anna and Rachel. The Medicham has returned to its meditation spot, and appears to be concentrating intensely, causing a thin blue aura frames its body.
[Like many of us Fighting Pokemon, he seeks to improve his skills through trial and tribulation. This is why I have instructed him to travel with you.]
Anna nods. "Thanks, I'll do my best to ensure that he gets that experience."The Makuhita reaches over and bops the button on the Ball, sucking it in. The Medicham nods one last time, and the other pokemon around go back to sparring and working out. Their part apparently done, Rachel and Anna depart for their original destination, the tower. Within a few more minutes, they’ve reached the steps. Anna brings Peaches out to lead the small party.
The moon hits the wrecked tower in such a way that most of the building's innards are cloaked in shadows. The smells from inside that the breeze brings are foul and disconcerting.
"Gah, what is that?” Rachel wrinkles her nose. “Smells like wet Sentret or something."
"Probably koffing, koffing everywhere." Anna winces.
"Agh. Yeah, that sounds more accurate. Uh...still up for this?" Rachel pauses just outside the door. Something in her is screaming to just turn around and run.
"Can't be worse than what we're going to have to face..." In the dark, Anna suddenly grins for no apparent reason. Rachel nods and steps forward…
…Be it the concrete and gravel outside, or the aging wooden floor of the Tower itself, their steps are not quiet at all. There's nothing to greet them as they walk into the front door save for a pair of signs, one identifying the tower as a national landmark, and a second warning tourists to not travel alone or without adequate protection.
"Well, we're traveling together, right?" Anna smiles and continues to walk, though the shakiness of her legs betray that she's more scared than she lets on.
"Shouldn't be a problem," Rachel replies, a little uncertainly. Just another abondoned building, right? Not a big deal. she peers into the darkness, looking for any potential attackers... or stairs. Or pits in the floor. She notices a shadow move rather slowly along the far wall.
Whatever it was, Rachel gets the feeling it's not moving across the ground. It was either flying or floating...
Rachel halts, then whispers to Anna. "Hey, did you see that?"
"Where was it?" Anna tries to shine her flashlight where indicated… and lands on a purple ball-like creature floating in the air. Its numerous pores exude a foul-smelling compound at odds with its dopey grin.
The flashlight's beam seems to displease it greatly, and its dopey grin vanishes as it responds with a vile discharge of gas. [Anna was poisoned!]
"Oh ch-,” Anna coughs. “We'd best defend ourselves...Peaches, thunder wave!" Anna reaches into her pokemart plastic bag to grab one of the two new antidotes, injecting herself before the poison can have any effect. "If that thing can spread smog we probably want to spread out!"
Rachel is totally unsurprised by this shocking turn of events. "Reg, water gun!" she says, darting away from Anna with a nod. Next, she lets loose with the styler once more, spinning around the purple windbag and disorienting it. [Koffing was confused!]
Regulus takes aim and hits it with a spray as well.. [Koffing takes 16 damage!]
Before the Koffing can recover from the one-two punch, Peaches concentrates and unleashes a wave of electrical power that stuns the Koffing. [Paralyzed!]
The Koffing seems to stall in midair, its movement slowing. Its expression has gone from angry to downright furious. It huffs and puffs, and the gases begin to smell ever fouler and more acidic...until...
“Oh, fu-“
...BANG
With a loud crack, the floor disappears beneath the explosive onslaught of the improperly-mixed gases of the Koffing. The blast flings the victims away with tremendous force, and enormous splinters fly in every direction. The rest of the floor begins to shake, and the entire section of the first floor gives way, tumbling several meters, into the underground. Ears ringing, Rachel can only hear the faintest whisper of an annoying, high-pitched shriek as she falls.
She has a vague suspicion that it’s coming from herself.
And then she hits bottom. The scream cuts off as she hits the ground, meaning that she has a chance to hear the snap of a bone breaking-with unnerving clarity, despite the continuous ringing in her ears.
…and yet…
… despite the poisons, the dust, and the incredible pain, Rachel spies a sliver of light seeping through the darkness that is calling her name. She hangs on to consciousness just long enough to see something, a purple creature with wide, pointy ears, slowly walk up to her. And as she passes out, the last thing she sees are a few other, similar beings clustering nearby, each glittering with a strange power...
GT: HitoriLionheart or dailydro
Several hours later, Perry looked down at the notes he had made. Well, it was no thesis, but it was perhaps the beginning of a cohesive plan. But the first step required a withdrawal. He walked over to the computer, accessed his bank account, and emptied it. He was going to need most of this.
First stop was the local Pokemart. As he expected, they were equipped with TMs and such specifically for those battling the ghost gym. Unfortunately, their stock was low; they got their weekly resupply the next day. Even worse, most of the few remaining could be learned only by Virgil. Instead, he picked up a Safeguard TM before leaving. It wasn't perfect, but it might help.
He returned to the center, where his Pokemon were all rested up and waiting for him. He approached the nurse, and handed her the TM. "Could you please administer this to my Grotle?" A few minutes later, Little Green was able to consistently release a cloud of leaves that blocked any sort of incoming status effect moves.
Second step: Perry wandered over near the gym. He had spied some listless-looking trainer-types near the place the last time he'd come there, and sure enough, the Tutors were still out in full force. Perry approached one with a Tyranitar.
"Hello, I hear you're the guy to talk to about teaching my Staravia to use Pursuit?" The man nodded silently. "Oh, good. How much do you charge?"
"Three thousand, paid in full after services are completed."
Perry nearly choked. "That's... awfully steep. I don't suppose you're flexible on the price?" He had expected to pay quite a bit, but P$3000 would almost completely bankrupt him. No more potions, or Burn Heals, or any sort of healing item to prepare him for an actual ghost-type encounter.
The man shook his head. "No."
Perry did his best to try and talk him down. "That's a bit more than I was willing to pay. I could do... P$2500 perhaps?"
He laughed. "No, I can definitely get three thousand for my afternoon here. I don't care if it's you or somebody else."
Perry sighed, mentally scratching off several 'steps' from his plan that he would no longer be able to afford. "Very well, P$3000 it is." He selected Feathers's Pokeball. "When I get back, she'd better be able to Pursuit in her sleep."
The man picked a Pokeball from his belt and a Murkrow appeared. "Don't you worry, I guarantee you'll be satisfied."
Perry said goodbye to Feathers and watched her fly away with the trainer. He grumbled slightly. He'd come pick her up later, give all his team a rest, and then reassess himself and his team to decide what to do that night.
He walked into the gym, talked to the receptionist, and asked to see the gym's number two. He didn't much want to bother Morty again, but if anyone knew the best ways to handle ghost-types, it would be the gym leader or his second.
The good doctor was directed to a fairly large athletic training room located within the Ecruteak Gym. Weights, treadmills, punching bags, a basketball/tennis court - this space had everything one would expect of a fitness center. A woman with ebony hair and skin emerged from the mess of weight-lifting contraptions, dressed in gym clothes and toweling herself off. "Man, an awful lot of Trainers lookin' for me. Are 2nd-rankers getting popular all of a sudden or something?" she asked Perry.
"I wouldn't know," Perry responded quietly. "Did the receptionist explain why I came?"
"Yeah, somethin' about help with handling Ghost-types? I'm Shirley, nice to meet you."
"Professor Poplar, but you can call me Perry. And that's correct. I battled a gym trainer here this morning named Tom, and to be honest, I was completely outmatched. I've developed a strategy or two that might help me, but I definitely still need some sort of elite practice before I challenge Morty."
She thought for a moment. "Tom, huh? He just laid on the burns and stalled you out, I bet." She sported a knowing grimace. "Well, you're in a bit of luck. You don't need to be a whiz at battling for a strong shot at the Fog Badge - just need a good head on your shoulders and courage to spare. But if it's help learning battle tactics and strategy, I can help you there."
"Thanks. I'm not much of a fighter, really. But I've heard that all the best Professors have at least some history in the League."
"Well, being smart lends itself to being a good Trainer, yeah, but most of those guys were just dudes who got into Pokemon research once they were too old to do all the traveling and other work necessary to be competitive Trainers. Don't think that not being much of a battler is a knock on your academic worth. Anyway, I guess I should start by giving you some tips for dealing with stall tactics. That all right, or did you want some other kind of help?"
Perry nodded. "That works, but I think another battle would be helpful too."
Shirley began. "Well, dealing with stall starts with being able to recognize the particulars of the other guy's team. The typing of their Pokemon, what Moves they are likely to know, their particular strengths and abilities, and so on. For example, Ghost-types are either fast, frail and hard-hitting, or slow and tough. There are no in-betweens, so knowing which one is which will help you figure out how to deal with them."
"Naturally," Perry replied. "That's one advantage I do have, in that, for the most part, I know just about everything there is to know about Pokemon types and moves. And I would assume that stalling is only going to be done by the slow, tough ghosts, so if I know the Pokemon, I can anticipate the combat style."
"For the most part, yes. Some of them have nifty tricks or natural advantages that lend themselves to stall, but focusing on stalling tactics with that kind limits their firepower, allowing you to corner them if you have the right tricks. To beat stall, you either need your own tricks and tactics to shut theirs down, or you have to just smash them."
"I think I'm going to need both. As much as I'd prefer the former, I think I'm going to have to use the latter. I don't have the money for any more TMs or Tutors. By the way, Tom sure must've broken the bank with his team."
She shrugged. "Gym Trainers do get discounts on certain TMs they can requisition in line with their job, but Tom comes from a rich foreign family anyway. He just kinda enjoys the atmosphere out here, with all the lore, spirits and Ghost-types around. He isn't always diligent, but he's dependable and smart - in fact, Morty is grooming him to become part of this Gym's leadership. But enough about Tom... have you considered a new addition to your team? If you don't have a type advantage, having a Pokemon with one can definitely be the difference between win or loss."
Perry sighed. "I considered looking for a new Pokemon to use, but I'm not the kind of person who collects them. I'd rather stick with a single solid team than customize multiple teams to handle specific threats."
Shirley thought. "If you want to brute-force your way through stall, odds are your Pokemon will need to grow into that sort of tactic. So...we should probably start working on that." She produced a Poke Ball and shook it meaningfully.
"Hmm... well if there's any of my Pokemon that would respond most naturally to the concept of brute force, it'd probably be Little Green." He selected his oldest Pokeball.
"Alright, let's get started." She opened the ball, producing a Drifblim. Seeing the Pokemon, Perry winced as he threw the ball, nearly sending it flying the wrong direction. "Tasselar can handle anything you throw at him, and he can bounce back without too many problems. He'll play along while we figure out what you have available for handling Ghost-types."
"I see. Yeah, there's not much Green can do to beat a Drifblim." The Grotle looked back at him sadly. "Sorry, buddy, but nobody's perfect."
"Grotle learns Bite somewhere down the line, right? We'll work him out until he gets it down pat."
Perry looked at her skeptically. "That's pretty far away. I don't want to set an unrealistic goal. But if my information is correct, then he'll learn Curse soon, which might help."
She thought for a second. "True. Guess I'll have to fish up something else...uh, damn." She sauntered over to a nearby PC and exchanged two of her Pokemon. "I think I have a more suitable partner over here," she said, opening one of the new Balls to unveil a Shuppet.
Perry gave it a scan. He had thought it would be something like a Dusklops, a ghost that was big and beefy. "Shuppet huh? Can't say I was expecting that." He noticed that she looked a little hurt. "Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm sure it will do fine. After all, I'm not entirely sure what lesson you're about to show me."
She gave a bit of a smile, and Perry sighed. Man, he really needed to work on being a little more sensitive. "Stall needs two things - a timer on the opponent, and a way to buy time. The timer usually manifests as indirect damage - burns, poisoning, entry hazards, and so on. Countering this component of stall can get very hairy, but fortunately for you, what Ghost-types are capable of in this regard is limited."
Shirley continued. "The other part is Moves and tactics that nullify damage taken and buy time. Protect, Substitute, use of healing Moves and abilities, and other such things. This, you can circumvent a bit more easily. One way to make stall easier to deal with is introducing 'timers' of your own. Using Green there as an example, it can learn Stealth Rock and Leech Seed, which limit the opponent's ability to try to nullify the damage he does. You should try to teach the rest of your team moves like Taunt, Torment, Mirror Coat, things like that."
Perry's heart sank. "Most of my team can't learn those moves, though."
Shirley offered a comforting smile. "Since I just mentioned Leech Seed, I should probably tell you that both Jasmine and Chuck have Pokemon who can help Little Green pick that one up. Tell them Sherry sent you, and they should be willing to help."
"Unfortunately, Green's Absorb isn't very powerful, and since Tackle goes right through Ghosts, his only viable attack move right now is Razor Leaf. Though I suppose that perhaps the small amount of regained HP might help me outstall an opponent."
She nodded. "Let's get started, then."
They practiced for a while, and before too long Little Green began to get the hang of fighting the Shuppet. It also managed to pick up the Curse technique from the ghost, although his was really more of him anchoring himself in the ground than saying anything.
A bit later, Shirley called a stop. "Good, that ought to be a substantial help the next time you have to battle a ghost."
Perry agreed. "Yeah, looks like he got a bit stronger, too." Little Green nodded. "Return!"
Shirley pulled back her Shuppet as well. "Now then, what else would you like to work on?"
Perry thought for a moment. "Well, of my Pokemon, the only one who really can learn any of those so-called 'tricks' is Virgil. I'm a bit worried about actually using him against a ghost-type, but...." his voice trailed off as he plucked the Pokeball from his belt and released the small Abra.
Shirley smiled and nodded. "Of course, an Abra. No wonder you're concerned, that explains a lot." She laughed. "Yes, I've seen Abra here before. The thing you need to remember is that there's not a lot of directly-damaging ghost-type attacks. If the enemy doesn't know any, then it doesn't make a lot of difference if it's an Abra or a...."
"An Absol?" he supplied hopefully.
"Sure. Well, if you're hoping to keep a Pokemon from stalling, what did you have in mind?"
"Well, I know it's a Dark-type move, but I know Tom used Taunt against me. Could you help me teach Virgil that one?"
"It'll be a cinch!" she answered. "The thing here will be to induce it psychically, since Abra aren't so great at the whole 'physical expression' thing." This time, she opened a Pokeball to reveal a Gastly. "This one knows Taunt, so hopefully it can help convey that to your Abra."
Once again, they set to work, and before long Virgil had mastered the psychic Taunt by manipulating the enemy's mind and increasing negative emotions while burying positive ones. Perry smiled as he returned Virgil to his Pokeball.
"Thank you very much for your assistance, Shirley."
She smiled back. "It's what I'm here for. If you decide to challenge Morty, good luck to you. I think you'll do fine."
As he left the gym, he spotted the Pursuit Tutor. He paid up, and watched as Feathers performed her new move repeatedly. Then he headed back to the Center. He'd let the Pokemon rest a bit, and come up with a final game plan. Despite the morning's heavy setbacks, he was feeling much more confident about his chances again. He knew that time was nearly up, and was pretty sure that he was going to challenge Morty that night. Perhaps it was the wrong decision, but he reasoned that, win or lose, it would be an educational experience, and if this insane killer person used ghost-type combat styles, then another ghost encounter might mean survival.
…huh?
I rubs a sore lump on my forehead, gotta get up...there...look around. Am I...dead? Clothes are rather roughed up…especially the coat…so that was no dream. Ugh. Legs seem to be working…back…well…if there’s a problem there it’s too late now.
Hey! There’s the Burnt tower…to the south. A lot of trees, and time…well it’s dark, but getting brighter…early morning?
Oh god Peaches.
Oh no
Oh no oh no oh no oh – oh he’s on this stump right next to me…thank Arceus…
Well, let the little guy sleep…
“*Yip*” Huh?!
...
So…dex says it’s a jolteon, huh?
Aww, their fur is so much softer than it looks!
"h-hey!" A voice…
Rachel!!!!
"Heya...what's going on?"
She shrugs. "I was about to ask you the same question. Don't feel good enough to be dead. Don't feel charred enough to have been in that explosion.
…Uh, who's your friend?"
"I dunno, this jolteon was staring at me when I woke up. For some reason both myself and peaches are fine." See? Look at him sleep!
…did she smile? Maybe not… "Huh. So... all's well that ends well?"
*bark bark!* Peaches looks at the Jolteon, rubs his eyes and looks at us…seems he doesn’t want to move. Fair enough.
…
…
…
"hey... did you see those purple..." she seems to be thinking really, really hard for the right word…. "...things?"
Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...
"No, I don't really remember anything after the explosion, except waking up here."
"ngggggh." She rubs her eyes again.
"Aside from well...a *lot* of pain, then nothing." I add.
…
…
"Wonder if there's some unnoticed page in the stuff I've read warning against exploring areas with exploding pokemon." I’ve never been good at remembering all that stuff...
"yeah, the whole... not being injured thing is a little off." She pauses. "We're /not/ dead, right?"
"We could very well be, I suppose. My jacket's probably in too bad shape for that to be true, though."
Oh hey, the Jolteon’s back! Look at how fast he is!
...Huh. Is he waiting for someone else to show up?
A pair of purple, vaguely feline-like creatures with red gems on their foreheads…whoa…better get out the dex.
One of them steps forward, the gem on its forehead beginning to glow brightly.
[Hello.]
She’s just as confused as I am. "h...hi?"
"Those creatures *are* purple." Yep, another eeveelution. An Espeon this time, it describes the species as highly intelligent and capable of telekinesis, but not normally capable of telepathy. Apparently, something about this one is different.
The Espeon explains. [That tower was once the roost of a powerful guardian. Even now, long after his departure, these forests bear the mark of his power.]
[Those of us who are attuned to psychic powers may tap into the remnants of his presence, and achieve a shadow of what he was capable of. This is how I am able to speak to your mind.]
Rachel thinks for a second. "Did you have anything to do with the whole... us not dying thing?"
[Yes. We came when we heard the explosion at the Tower, and brought you and your companions here, away from the Tower and the poisonous remnants of your attacker. We then used our powers to restore your health.] To indicate, the Espeon pokes itself, then tilts its head at the other Espeon and the Jolteon.
Oh! Uh, thank you," Rachel replies, in a state of confusion. Protecting them would have been one thing, but she hasn't really heard of pokemon being able to heal humans on the level the explosion would have required.
"Yeah! Thanks!" How does that work? Maybe another boon of the tower?
The Espeon's ear twitches once. [We follow the will of the guardian who has imbued this forest and its denizens, and use his gifts accordingly.]
"Is there anything we can do to repay you? I m-mean," she stammers, "That's... damn."
The Espeon's ear twitches again. [Do not speak of this grove, or of us, to outsiders. That is all we require.]
The Jolteon tilts its head, then walks up to the Espeon who has been 'talking' to them. They exchange meaningful stares.
[Apologies for his interjection. There is a matter you may be able to assist us in, if you are interested...]
Mm! Of course I won’t tell outsiders, who knows what they might do to this place! I nod and wait.
[...are you? Imposing upon you would be against the will of the forest...so you must agree to this not as an obligation, but out of your magnanimity.]
Rachel looks over at me, and nods.
I start. "Of course we'll keep this place a secret, I've met a few too many trainers who would be all too preoccupied with capturing the lot of you if they knew this place existed. And I don't mind helping you out in exchange for saving our lives?" I do wish I knew *what* this task was, though…
The Espeon frowns. [Do not view this as an exchange. We freely give of our strength not to curry favors, but because the spirit of the forest, and the gifts it has given us, drive us so. Do what we ask not because we saved you, but because it would be in your nature to help those in need.]
Huh…would I do so? I think so…uh…
[That said, one of our clan's sacred stones is weakening, despite the gifts of the forest. It is likely because of the acts of humans...but that is not important. We would ask of you to obtain another such stone and bring it to us.]
The Espeon projects a mental image of an object…it’s a leaf stone!
Rachel seems a bit confused. "Do... do you have any idea where we could find one?"
Ok, that's definitely something I would do! "I definitely would help you guys even if you had nothing to offer or have offered." Yeah! "I think I saw one of those as a pokeathlon prize as well..." Yeah, doing the pokeathlon was fun, I can help these guys out by participating some more! …well, after we deal with him…
Rachel seems really excited too! "Yeah!" she says, smacking a fist into a palm. "We can find one of those, then!"
But still, that guy. "How long do you think we have to find one?"
The Espeon continues its mental projections, its mouth disturbingly yet sensibly unmoving. [Its power has not fully diminished, and will not do so in the immediate future. But we must be prudent with the power that keeps the ravages of machines from harming this forest.]
"So... I guess we should probably head back to Ecruteak, right?” Huh, it’s 5 AM. Yeah, early enough to get back. "Yeah, we should probably head back, it'll be easier if we get to the hotel before anyone wakes up."
[Yes, it would be be best to not have to explain your absence,] the Espeon concurs. [Go with the spirit of the forest, and good luck to you.]
Rachel mumbles something…sounds like a thank you and takes off down the road. She seems relaxed and relieved now…we did just potentially die, I can’t blame her.
"I guess we should also keep the leaf stone errand a secret, since neither of us have any grass-types... aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaauuuuun….” The rest of this can wait till we’re caught up on sleep. "The...*aaauuun* jackets...let's figure out something later. Plenty of fire-types in the burned tower and all."
The sun is bright, the skies above are clear, and the mountain air is fresh. The trail itself is void of other life forms, but the nearby forests and lakes, and the looming Mount Mortar, are doubtlessly full of wild Pokemon, perhaps even opponents.
Jack smiles. He loves hiking. Something about mountains makes him feel at home, strange, being how he grew up in a metropolis and was born in a forest, but hey, he thinks, brains are weird.
Gojira's love of peaks, however, is more easily explainable. Little bro's so excited.
The trail eventually leads Jack within eyeshot of a mountain trail leading into Mount Mortar, and a large lake nearby containing runoff from the top of the mountain. Here and there, he sees a Goldeen leap out of the water gracefully, and Magikarp occasionally attempting to mimic the maneuver - to little success. You can hear the flopping from a mile away.
Jack's smile becomes brighter. He likes spelunking even more than hiking, even though he'd never really done it before. who needs preparedness and experience when you have an ocean of Fighting Spirit? The Ginger drops three pokeballs to the ground, releasing Toxie, Exuma, and... "Sp.."Spook.".
Girl really needs a new name.
"Alright, Toxie, Ex, Gozer, keep an eye out while we're in there. I don't think any of us wanna fall into a feild of Graveler." Jack looks at the ghost for a bit, deciding something. "I think your name's gonna be Absu now."
The Sableye seems content to ignore him, checking out the nearby trail for crevices and nooks. A nearby tree still drips with a bit of dew, and Exuma is excited to notice this. He waddles over as fast as he can manage. Gozer and T.H. start to look awkward.
"I've lost control in under a minute. New record. Alla you line up in front of me. Now."
Exuma waits until a second dewdrop hits it on the head before obliging. Spook/Absu is gone - probably hiding somewhere in the rocks.
"Sunnova... we lost the ghost. Anyways, you who are still loyal and know how to operate in a team, bear with me while I go all safety guide on your butts." Absu flips jack off so hard he can feel it through three feet of stone. Jack frowns and soldiers on.
"This ain't a tourist cave, or a fun little hike. This is a materials gathering mission in dangerous, uncharted territory. I've heard that there's everything in that cave from Magikarp to Golem, even an unconfirmed report or two of Tyranitar and Charizard. If we're gonna get through there without incident, we're gonna have to work together." jack feels another spectral One-Fingered-Salute burn its way into his back. "Ex, you're on my head. Try and warn me if my blind ass misses something. Tox, you're on point. Goj, you're rear guard. If we do this right, and if we're lucky, we'll be up to our tits in semi-precious gems. Do it wrong, and we'll probably get blown up by a miffed Geodude. That's my piece, thanks for listenin' so well.
You all ready?"
They seem willing to comply, excluding the still-absent Spook. Ex bobs on its heels and quacks at Jack for a lift. Jack picks him up and puts him on his nog.
"That's the spirit. Now fellas, let's move out." Mr. Trainerpants starts to raise his voice. "And Absu, that's totally your name now by the way, you'd better come along."
Spook waits for Jack to walk into the cave before dashing out of its hiding spot and going on ahead. It eventually vanishes, and its footsteps become inaudible as it scopes the place out.
"Sister, if you dig too greedily or too deep I'll be so cross."
Nothing noticeable shows itself as Jack mucks around. It doesn't take very long, however, before Jack and co. get so far in that any light from the entrance is long since gone. And with no Pokemon that can produce light...
Thank god for flashlights.. He bought one before setting out, in a caffeine fueled preparation fury. The only other things he got was a pack of gum and a soda, but still. It's the thought that counts.
Another flashlight beam crosses with his own, and it traces the light to Jack's face. Ex squeaks and falls off...
[16] ...but Jack stays composed enough to shine the light back, revealing the source of light to be a man in full hiking gear.
Jack picks up the Seedot, dusts him off, and puts him back in his proper place.
"Hail!", sayeth the Redhead
"Hello there, kid. You shoulda dressed warmer for a hike up here. Not only is it cold, but it's a damp cold, which is even worse."
"I'll tough it out. You haven't seen a Sableye skulkin' around here, have ya?"
"Nope."
A chittering off to Jack's seven-o-clock clues him in on Absu's whereabouts.
"Oh, there she is." Jack shines the flashlight on her, her eyes glowing like hunks of frozen fire. "Get back over here, ya willful demon!"Absu responds by vanishing again. Jack turns his attention back to Mr. Hikerston. "Anything I should look out for in here, man?"
"Depends. What are you lookin' for?"
"Food." Jack gestures to the 'Eye
"It eats rocks?" The hiker seems confused. "Some kinda special rock?"
"Sableye have distinguished palates. Or just like ta be difficult. Not sure which. Just know that they like munchin' on semi-precious gems and the like."
"Awfully finicky, innit? That's why I stay away from the buggers."
"Welp, I'm no prospector, so I don't know of no secret treasure spots. But you'd probably want to start by following the water. The rivers wear away at the soil and rocks, so it's probably your best shot at finding shinies this side of just turning everything over or digging a mine."
"Thank you, sir. Before we part ways, how're the Zubat and Geodude and the like actin' today?"
"They're quiet enough. Don't make too much noise and they won't care too much. But there's always a few of 'em that are just plain hungry or testy. Take care to not to stumble on a Selfdestructing Geodude, youngster." He tilts his head and heads off in another direction.
"Happy trails, sir." Jack tips his 'Doot to the man. He then turns his attention to his fucking ghost. "I'm serious, Sue. I don't wanna go romping through this entire cave system looking for your invisible butt. Stay close." A nearby chitter confirms that Absu remains close-by. "Everybody else, let's go down to the river."
If Jack stands still and listens for a bit, he can hear the sound of flowing water. It seems to be coming from north-northeast...
After a few minutes of mucking through the caves, something large swoops down on Jack's head.
Ex screams and falls off as... [4] something almost as big as Rachel latches firmly onto Jack's face.
He screams like a little girl.
Its long tongue worms around Jack's head, lapping up the blood seeping out of the cuts dealt by its fangs. JACK takes 17 damage!
Jack, thinking quickly, grabs the fuckshit by whatever he can get a grip on and starts pulling.
[7] Jack's hand manages to find purchase on the thing's alarmingly tiny foot. He tries bashing it on the cave walls.
As Jack reels back to swing, the huge flyer flaps hard, prying itself free from Jack's grasp. ??? takes 0 damage!
"Ex! NATURE POWER!"
Exuma summons the powers of nature, which respond by smacking the thing with a glob of darkness. ??? takes 17 damage!
Jack scans the smelly poopchute, his 'Dex identifying it as a Golbat. An angry Golbat. Right around then, it vomits an awful screeching bruit.
COCKBAT used SUPERSONIC! EXUMA is confused! TOXIC HOLOCAUST is confused!
"Ho-Oh above, yer annoying! Gojira, scary face on this shitheel".
[2] Gojira gives it the motherfucking stinkeye. It's kinda lost to the darkness. GOJIRA used SCARY FACE! GOJIRA's attack missed!
"Goddamnit.
Screech at him, then. And loudly, very, very loudly."
With one chomped and two dazed, the Golbat swoops upon the remaining target and chomps Gojira. COCKBAT used BITE! GOJIRA takes 17 damage!
One of its fangs almost gets Gojira in the eye before he scrambles to frantically push the fucker away. GOJIRA flinched!
"Bite."
Jack whips the bat. Jack whips him good. Whips him into shape. Or at least tries to do the aformentioned whipping.
[2, 11] Exuma stumbles into a nearby rock. Toxic is a bit more in control of his wits. Heh, confusion. EXUMA hurts itself in confusion! EXUMA takes 3 damage!
Swooping to the other able-to-retaliate target, the Golbat chomps Jack once more, slurping at his bloodewyne. COCKBAT uses BITE! JACK takes 18 damage!
But being a big fuck, it leaves itself open to Gojira leaping at its legs and biting in the general direction of its crotch.
GOJIRA uses BITE! COCKBAT takes 22 damage!
[5] Jack swings...and misses, as the Golbat is screeching furiously about the chomp and flapping away in a panic. Obviously in over its oversized head, the Golbat flaps off to find something a bit squishier.
"Get outta here ya fuckin' leathery cocksucker!" Jack bloops Ex and Toxie back into their balls and then releases them again, the quick and easy confusion cure.
"You still out there, Su?"
The response is not immediate. Her chittering is from farther away, and sounds a little excited. It seems to be in the same direction as the sound of the water...
"Well, guess we should go find her." With Exuma hatted and everything back in order, the group sets off once more.
When Jack and crew come upon a stream, Absu emerges from the walls, chittering excitedly and pointing at a tunnel-in-progress near the river.
"A-are there shiny things?" Jack follows her directions life the lovable idiot he is.
Gojira catches on, and joins Absu in the dig. He's got a hankering for a chunk of mountain, anyway...
"Toxie, try helping them, if you would." He grunts, and obliges.
Jack looks around to see if he could do something to speed things along. Sans anything that resembles a workable shovel, Jack really isn't in a position to be digging through hard rock.
Realizing he's just being annoying, he steps back, sits down, and tunes in to mother earth, man. After zoning out to the sound of running water for a few minutes, Jack is jogged out of his woolgathering by his three prospectors crying out in unison. Followed by some shuffling. Paydirt?
Jack opens his eyes. "Whoa, man." He step over to his homies to see what they got.
Gojira emerges first, then leans against a nearby wall. Boy, he feels better. GOJIRA regained health!
Absu has a cluster of strange gems in one hand, and is stuffing her face with the other. Further into the burrow, Jack spies a few other strange rocks, not all of which exactly resemble gems.
Jack grabs a couple. Hell, maybe one of 'ems a Moon Stone.
Get!
Absu has in hand something that gleams a faint gold in the darkness. She eagerly opens wide...
"Waiddaminute... that might be precious, not just semi-precious. What I'm sayin' is hold your horses, silly lady."
She gives him a dirty look, then moves once more to snarf the thing...
Jack, never deft, reaches out to snag it...
[12] ...and Absu shifts backwards to dodge. She gives him another, longer dirty look.
"Jus' wondering if it's a moonstone, is all. Didn't mean to spoil your fun."
Absu seems a bit more agreeable about it. She then eats it, savoring the taste. It's apparently pretty good...by Sableye standards.
"So, Su. How're ya doin' now?"
Her chitter takes on a pleased tone.
"Cool. Hope you realize that havin' a trainer ain't bad. Victory and victuals, man. All you'll find when you travel with us."
She pokes Gojira, and chitters something. Gojira perceives it as gratitude of a sort... Gojira yawns. Saying something about how that lady over there is appreciative, or something. A lazy smile spreads across his face.
Jack perks up, like he's striken by something... profound. "I've got a feelin'. Might be something else for us in these caves, my bredren... and sistren.
Let's head deeper."
Figuring that the river will lead deeper into the cave, Jack follows it upstream as best he can. The trail gets a bit muddy and dirty at times, but he soon reaches a small lake pooling underneath a waterfall.The waters are a bit murky, but he can still see Pokemon swimming in there.
Jack takes a closer look at the lake.Maybe see what kind of fish. Maybe fall in.
[15, 8] Which he almost does, but he catches himself. Can't make out anything about these fish in this pond, though. Too bad he doesn't have a fishing rod. Might've caught dinner.
After messing around at the pond for a little while longer, Jack leads his squad deeper into the cave. There's something here, goddamnit. Time passes, there's a walking montage, complete with scene where Jack trips over a Geodude. When that bit of silliness is over, Jack and co. find themselves in a Brobdingnagian antechamber. Over to the east our motley crew spies a humanoid muscle-thing using large boulders as strength training equipment.
Jack flexes a greeting. It responds with a flex of its own as it sizes Jack up. Jack. Hungh. Flexes. Ugh. MORE.
It laughs heartily and continues the gun show by hefting a pair of boulders the size of Jack's head and pumping them like dumb-bells.
Jack looks around, suddenly filled to the brim with hubris, until his eyes settle on something that will put the Machop to shame. It's a rock, a boulder really, resting about twenty paces away from the Superpoer pokemon. Jack knows what he must do, he knows his destiny. He grabs the massive stone and heaves it over his head, holding there like a crimson-headed Atlas. Angelic light spills out from behind him, turning him into a living baroque sculpture. Goddamn, why are there never any dames around when you want them to be?
The Machop applauds, impressed.
Jack throws down the bolder and dusts off his hands. He doesn't remember being able to do that two weeks ago. A boyish smile illuminates his features. Remembering that he's a trainer, goddamnit, he does what trainers do. Beep. Just like working the register. His duty done, Jack holds out his hand to his abettor. The Machop shakes heartily, squeezing a bit too hard.
"Good, manly, handshake you have there, man. How goes the strength training?"
The Machop smiles and flexes. It then makes a beckoning gesture and holds its chest out, as though to take a hit straight on the pecs. Jack obliges. It feels like hitting a stiff, raw, tough slab of meat. The Machop is not even phased.
"And a manly way to take a punch! Color me impressed!"
It then slaps its chest, and takes a stance, trying to indicate that it wants to see if Jack can take a hit. The Ace hunkers down and presents something that isn't vital. The Machop smacks him stiffly on the chest. It hurts pretty bad. JACK takes 13 damage!
It then offers a hand to help him up, impressed with Jack's not folding over in pain. Jack hisses, grimaces, and generally acts how you would if you got punched by a Machop. Still better than getting stabbed though.
"Damn, good arm you've got there."
The Machop poses and grins, before turning to Toxic and asking why they're all here anyway.
Toxie? Well, Toxie grunts. Toxie grunts like a motherfucker.
"Hey, you wouldn't happen to know where I could find a challenge for my ha- the Seedot on my head, would you?"
It perks up at the word 'challenge' and beats its chest proudly.
"Alright, man if you think you're up for it. Don't underestimate Exuma, though. Alright, Ex, you know the drill, let's battle!"
Jack, Ex, and Machop fan out into a rough circle. The antechamber they're in makes a great impromptu gym.
"Exuma buff your defenses! Harden!"
The Seedot obliges. EXUMA's defense rose!
In response, the Machop cracks its knuckles, flexes firmly, and stares Exuma down, putting an end to that. EXUMA's defense fell!
"Well that makes me feel useful. Growth."
As Exuma taps into his internal powers, the Machop smacks its fists together and bounces on its heels, psyching itself up.EXUMA's special attack rose! MACHOP is getting pumped!
"Now, hit him hard! Nature power!"
[14]Exuma fires a bolt of darkness. EXUMA used NATURE POWER! MACHOP takes 26 damage!
[18, Crit]The Machop takes it on the chest, then responds by thwocking Exuma over the head with a mighty chop! MACHOP used KARATE CHOP! EXUMA takes 34 damage!
The Machop gestures to Exuma to hit him with everything he's got.
"Give him what he wants! Show him your Hidden Power! Full blast!
Something about Exuma's Hidden Power resonates with the Machop, and it grins like a maniac. It asks Exuma where it learned that trick. Exuma responds with: a t-t-t-needle thingy. Machop asks if that's the only thing those 'needle thingies' can teach. Exuma doesn't know. He makes an effort to become very, very small. He says that m-m-m-maybe the m-m-machop should ask his crowsnest.
"Gozer, translation please."
Gojira gives the best translation he can, even though these fighting types always sound like they're talking with a mouth full of marbles.
"Needle thingies? OH, TMs. Yeah, you can learn a bunch of different moves with those things. Expensive as all hell, though"
The Machop says something akin to 'hook me up bro'.
"I don't have any more, but I could probably rustle a couple up. What's in it for us, compadre?"
'I will punch the shit out of anything that needs punching.'
"Like your style, mate. I think we got ourselves a contract here."
Jack offers his hand for another manly FLEXSHAKE. Again, the Machop squeezes a bit too hard. MANLY.
"Well, now that that's settled, let's get the hell outta here."
It takes some doing to find their way back out, but between Toxic and Absu, the group manages. At least, not until Toxic sniffs something that causes him to tense up and growl. Toxic follows the trail, which leads off to the right and into a small alcove. Shining the flashlight inside reveals a dead body. It's been chomped up good - numerous bite marks are scattered across the face, and the skin is already pallid despite the absence of visible open wounds. Suddenly, Jack spies a familiar sight - an arrow sticking out of the victim's chest, with another small scroll tied to it...
"Goddamn, shit, fuck, cunt, whore, damn. This is gettin' a little annoying." Jack picks up the note and gets ready for some melodrama.
The message inside reads: 'Just to make sure you're paying attention. Oh, and I thought I'd showcase another trick of mine. These bats aren't usually that vicious, but when you have the right tools...'
Ponce.
Jack makes a mental note that salt and pepper sideburns allow you to control Zubat. Then he lights the scroll the fuck on fire. Stupid asshole sorcalator, that'll learn him.
After calling the rangers and telling them about the corpse, Jack heads back into town. He still had business to take care of.
Steam
There's stuff that needs posting, if memory serves...
Please?
GT: HitoriLionheart or dailydro
“…And for Faint Attack...standard price is 3000. No negotiations, so if that sum gives you cold feet, well...what a shame." a man in his 50s, with salt-and-pepper hair, a dusty and faded black coat, a full, neatly groomed beard waits patiently for Anna’s response.
Anna considers, checks her purse, and replies. “Alright, I can afford that.” She gives the man his money.
"Alright, guess we should start. Show Rad here your Faint Attack, Bub." The old man’s Weavile obliges and proceeds to vanish into thin air.
Anna looks around herself for the weavile after how it had tackled her when they were first introduced, but decides to not preemptively suggest the weavile is going to hurt Rad. Rad can handle herself.
Bub re-emerges to slash at the air mere inches in front of Rad's face, his claws singing a deadly, keen tune.
Rad flinches, trying her hardest to not seem startled but ultimately failing.
This repeats a few times, Rad slowly but surely getting better at following the Weavile. Anna decides it’s about time she finish the rest of the items on her agenda and waves goodbye to Rad as she walks away. She makes a note to thank that gym receptionist again for arranging her to meet the move tutor.
Still, she needed some practice before she challenged the gym; her pokemon need to grow as much as possible, as fast as possible…