Set in the original region of Arciel, Legends Rising is a route-inspired, but not strictly route-based, Pokemon roleplay. Pick a faction, pick a class, and strike out into the wild to take on the League, master Contest coordination, research the mysteries of Pokemon and Arciel, and much, much more. Will you be a classic trainer? A criminal? A farmer? Choose your destiny on Legends Rising.
Post by Lynnette Aria on Apr 24, 2020 21:22:35 GMT
Lynn and Wolfram’s relationship would never recover.
“Oi! You ate the last Milky Way you cheeky little - “
A half-hearted swipe flew through the air and purposefully missed the little Rookidee that was perched atop an open messenger bag. Lynn had turned away for a second – a split second – to consolidate her victory over another trainer, and Wolfram had taken the opportunity to do this.
“Dee!” The Rookidee chirped cheerfully.
“You didn’t need it, Wolfie. You didn’t need it. I can’t believe you’ve done this to me - do you know how difficult it is to find Milky Way chocolate bars in Arciel?” Lynn closed her eyes and shook her head as if ashamed at him, but she was baring her teeth in a grin.
She’d just won a match, and even though Wolfram had skirted her rule of ‘no eating my food unnecessarily after you’ve just used Roost to heal yourself’, she couldn’t feel upset. A, because she’d just crushed someone else in a real battle and she’d be mad not to be in a good mood, and B, she found it hard to be upset at her childhood Pokemon for any reason whatsoever.
Even if it was a good reason.
Crouching down next to Wolfram’s perch, the girl stared up at the rolling clouds above. It was a gorgeous and clear day, and she was finding it hard to accept that it was so late in the afternoon. She’d just rolled in off a ship from Galar, toured through Birch City as quickly as humanly possible, and now the day would be gone in a few hours.
She shrugged. No big deal. Trainers travelled whether it was day or night.
“Roo?” A confused coo came from the relatively tiny bird Pokemon. He was peering at Lynn, as if trying to see inside her brain and discover why she was acting so strangely.
Lynn was pulled from her thoughts. “Ah, nothing. Just wondering if Arciel has any more axe murderers than Galar does,” she said.
In truth, it’d been disconcerting to suddenly find herself in a whole new region. Lynn was not usually one to drift off, but the surrealness of the experience was getting to her. The buildings were different, the people were different, even the atmosphere just had a different experience to it than Galar.
She wasn’t even sure that the Pokemon might turn out to have different accents or something.
Speaking of…
“Wouldn’t it be great to catch ourselves one of the locals?” Lynn said to Wolfram. “Huh. That came out wrong.”
Pretending that she hadn’t just said something slightly inappropriate while talking to her own Pokemon, Lynn went to stand and brush herself off. Wolfram flew to her shoulder and she donned her messenger bag. It was time to begin her epic journey to Power.
As a Pokemon trainer, of course.
Lynn brushed her hand against the duo of empty PokeBalls in her pockets. Being a Pokemon trainer generally meant having more than one Pokemon on the team. She eyed the swaying grasses that cropped the hidden estuaries from the side of the route.
A good a place as any.
“Ready to get mugged by a random Pokemon?” She asked her companion.
“Dee!”
With that, she strayed from the path and wandered into the tall grass.
Last Edit: Apr 24, 2020 21:23:12 GMT by Lynnette Aria: spacing issue
Post by Elliot Sunderland on Apr 24, 2020 21:51:44 GMT
Normally, one would expect to find Pokemon in the wild grass, right? Yet it seemed for her first route in the Arciel region, Lynnette would find things getting off to a bit different of a start. There was indeed another Pokemon here, but it wasn't a wild one. After all, wild Pokemon weren't always so easily won over by cat toys. And they certainly weren't usually wearing miniature hoodies, tailored just to their size!
Yet that would be what Lynnette would see as she took her first steps into the tall grass surrounding Route 1. A Ralts, swaddled up in a hoodie of her own, rolled around in the grass and batted merrily at a cat toy. She didn't seem like she could've been much older than a few months, with how absolutely enraptured she was by the toy being dangled in front of her face. Her trainer, or at least the human that could have most apparently been her trainer, was the one holding the toy, giggling merrily as he teased her with it. "Jeez, Echo! I didn't think you'd be having this much fun," he said between laughs. "If I knew, I would've brought enough for the whole team!" He looked and sounded to be about Lynn's age, maybe give or take a few months, and whatever his own hoodie didn't cover up his mop of unruly brown hair did its best to obscure. Yet from the warmth in his voice to the gentle smile on his face, he seemed quite at peace with himself.
He was also so wrapped up in his game that he didn't even seem to notice Lynnette yet. Even the Ralts, normally quite a perceptive Pokemon, was too busy merrily batting away at her toy. That meant the ball for kicking off this chat was firmly in her court.
Post by Lynnette Aria on Apr 25, 2020 11:52:28 GMT
"Jeez, Echo! I didn't think you'd be having this much fun," were the first sounds Lynn heard upon wading through the tall grass. Not the cry of a startled or aggressive Pokemon ready for a fight. Just another kid, playing with a... no, it wasn't some kind of weird Arciel Form Ralts, but a literal Ralts in a hoody. A baby one, at that. And playing like a Skitty with its trainer's cat toy, no less.
Lynn stifled a sudden laugh. Not because the scene was particularly funny in any way (though she had to admit the Ralts wearing clothing was oddly adorable). Trainers would play with their Pokemon like this in Galar all the time, heck, even Lynn did with Wolfram sometimes.
No - it was because she had found who she assumed would be her next victim.
She shared a glance with Wolfram, who was still perched on her shoulder. He puffed out his chest pridefully in response, as if to say 'I can take them, bruv.'
Of course, the words 'the whole team' that came out of the trainer's mouth after the fact may have flown right over her scheming head. After living in Hammerlocke for so long without anyone in the same strength range that wanted to train against her, the thought that she could be hopelessly outmatched by someone that looked to be the same age as her never occurred to her.
Before she could figure out the best way to make an entrance, her Rookidee flew up into the air and went to land squarely on the other trainer's Ralts' head. Which was odd: he never seemed interested in other Pokemon, but she brushed it off as Wolfram being as equally eager as her for a fight.
With as much flourish as she could muster, Lynn strode onto the scene, the epitome of grace and confidence. The way she held herself commanded attention, even if she otherwise had done nothing to deserve it. Even the wind seemed to be on her side, as it rustled her overcoat so that it flowed in the breeze, making her seem just that much more imposing.
"Good evening," she said assuredly. Normally she might've wanted to open with a joke or even a sarcastic remark, but the evening really was just that good, and scaring away the competition with a biting remark would've been counter-intuitive. "Name's Lynnette, but call me Lynn." She spared a nod to her Rookidee. "That's Wolfie. I see that you're also a trainer. Willing to test your mettle against me?"
Post by Elliot Sunderland on Apr 25, 2020 16:45:41 GMT
Echo tried to look up, confused, as she suddenly felt a large weight settling down on her head. Unfortunately, it was very hard to look up and see something on top of your own head, even if that something was a bird nearly as tall as she was! The more she tried to look up, the more her lean lead to a weight imbalance, until the Ralts promptly toppled over. It didn't matter how much she flailed her arms to try and right herself, because it was far too late! She was going down! It was only after landing right on her booty that Echo noticed the identity of the mysterious head-percher. She looked up at it, laughing a little before going to boop it on the beak.
That was when the bird's trainer came striding out, her long hair and overcoat billowing behind her like a pair of dramatic capes. Her voice was as graceful and confident as she was, the girl looking down her glasses at Elliot as she spoke. Frankly, with how her voice commanded attention, it was hard for Elliot not to turn and look up at her as soon as she approached. It was a good thing he did, too. If he missed it, he would've missed the fact that she was calling him out for a battle!
Nevertheless, first she had greeted him, so he flashed her a warm smile. Compared to her self-assured, commanding demeanor, Elliot still had his gentle, relaxed air around him. "Well, my name's Elliot, and this is Echo. Nice to meet you!" he chirped. Yet his features tightened up some as she made her offer. Frankly, it almost sounded less like an offer and more lime a command. Lynn clearly wanted this battle! But first, Elliot had to make sure it was okay with all four people here. He looked down at Echo, extending a hand to help the Ralts up. "What do you think, Echo? Would you be up for getting a little bit of practice in?" he asked. The Ralts took his hand and happily wobbled back to her feet, before looking up at him and nodding shyly. "Alright! We accept your challenge, Lynn!"
Echo turned to face the duo, tilting her head as she looked over at them.
Post by Lynnette Aria on Apr 25, 2020 20:26:11 GMT
When Wolfie had settled happily on Echo's head, it was perhaps one of his special moments when he forgot just how... generously large he'd been bred. Or how the Ralts hadn't seemed that small for a perch. So he'd just peered down at Echo curiously as she slowly toppled backwards.
He let out a short astonished chirp when she fell over and tilted his head in concern. Alas, his worry was unfounded as the baby Ralts reached out and booped, yes, booped, his snoot.
"Dee!" He chirped in surprise at the sudden action, eyes crossing to focus on Echo's teensy white arm. The bird puffed up almost abashedly afterwards.
All of this was only vaguely registered by Lynn, who was inwardly confused by the actions of her own Pokemon towards this mystery boy's.
Elliot, she corrected herself inwardly as he introduced himself. And the sweet baby Ralts was named Echo. She tried not to falter in her conviction as she realised that this time she'd be beating on a youngster using a Pokemon that was technically a lot older. Pokemon were not humans; they were made to battle.
She waited patiently with the slightest of smiles on her face as Elliot assisted Echo up. Though as he reached out to pull the Ralts up, the Rookidee perched on her head screeched at his hand and fluttered away contemptuously, only to circle overhead and flutter back down onto the ground in front of Echo, and noticeably not next to Elliot.
"Ah, sorry about Wolfie. He's not normally so friendly with Pokemon or people. Hates strangers," she said. "Even did that to my mum a few times. And her Pokemon was his sire," she paused, considering the weirdness of it. It was while she was prattling when she noticed that there was something... special, about Elliot.
A look of concern and 'what the heck happened to you' flashed through her eyes. She found herself awkwardly adjusting her glasses. Probably best not to mention it to him. Nor that his height was oddly... stunted? She blinked. Maybe that was just a regional thing. She was sure she heard people tended to be shorter outside Galar or something.
"Alright then," Lynn said, not willing to dwell on peculiarities. She didn't know much about Elliot, but he was probably sick to death of people mentioning or gawking at his leg. Instead, she focused on Wolfram. "Let's have at it then. You ready, Wolfie!?"
Wolfram then turned around and shot Lynn the most 'are you bloody kidding me' expression a bird could ever give. For he, as a Pokemon, had noticed something very important that Lynn hadn't.
Echo was level 25, for Arceus' sake.
And as much as it frustrated the older Pokemon to be so under-levelled, he was not daft. Neither did he, as Lynn hadn't yet figured out, particularly want to fight this Ralts.
Lynn's confidence ever so slightly deflated at seeing Wolfie's unwillingness. "Okay. Now that is odd," she admitted. "He's never done that before." She squinted. That Ralts wasn't magic in some kind of way, was it? It didn't have some kind of Rookidee-nip hidden under that hoodie, did it? "He's never taken to a Pokemon like this."
She fumbled for what to do. If Wolfie didn't want to fight, then she was basically buggered. "Well, I'm not one to force my Pokemon into doing what they don't want to. Guess I can't test you," she said flatly. "Less you want to get into a fist fight or somethin'," she added with a quick smirk.
Post by Elliot Sunderland on Apr 25, 2020 20:50:26 GMT
Elliot smiled apologetically at Wolfie as he screeched at his incoming hand. Honestly, he had expected the bird to fly away from Echo once she toppled over, not to hover protectively over her head! Nevertheless, it was hard for his heart not to be warmed a little by the gesture, even at his own expense. "Hey, that's okay! I'll make sure to keep a comfy distance for him," he assured her. Every Pokemon was different. His were utter cuddle-bugs, and hers clearly was a bit more of a loner. Although as Elliot said that, he realized that the bird did already seem quite taken with Echo. He smiled warmly as he saw how closely the Rookidee perched by her. "Heh. Though it seems when he's in the mood for it, he sure does make friends quickly!"
It also seemed that he and his trainer weren't necessarily on the same page fight-wise. As Wolfram sized his foe up, he seemed to have come to a conclusion that both humans had missed in making this agreement; the strength difference between the two was immense. The Rookidee wasn't about to sign up for a fight that painful, and as a relatively peaceful Pokemon Echo sure wasn't about to press that issue. Instead, she simply shrugged and sat back down in the grass, tilting her head curiously toward Lynnette.
Elliot simply smiled shyly. "I mean, Wolfie already seems quite protective over Echo," Elliot said. "Maybe that's why? It'd probably be hard for him not to feel like he needed to hold back." Elliot seriously didn't realize the level difference between them, did they? He hiked up his shirt a little to reveal the ring of Poke Balls around his belt: were half of those Ultra Balls? Seriously? "Hyah's still a work in progress . . . Viv's way too small . . . Oh! Lord Beerus is always up for a good fight!" Elliot whipped the Ultra Ball off of his belt, tossing it to the ground and letting out his Espeon.
Unlike Elliot, Lord Beerus was all too aware of the level difference between him and Wolfram. The grin the Espeon shot the poor bird was almost Cheshire Cat-like.
Yet, thankfully for Lynn, the cat was all too happy to trot behind Elliot and curl into a sleepy pile, his fur glowing faintly as he basked in his own Morning Sun. Elliot looked down at him, as if to confirm that he still didn't want any pets, then shot him a slight smile and nodded. "Well, if a fight's still a no, then that's all good by me. Honestly, I can't say I'm much of a battler, anyway," Elliot said. Although wait, did the girl just challenge him to a fist fight? That got Elliot blushing a little in surprise, if only from the sheer unexpectedness of the teasing offer. "H-huh? N-no, I think I'm good, sorry," he stammered out.
Post by Lynnette Aria on Apr 26, 2020 21:10:42 GMT
Lynn laughed at Elliot's description of Wolfram. 'When he's in the mood for it. Definitely sounds like him,' she thought with a wry smile as Elliot commented on her partner. His theory on why her partner was acting so out of character also seemed solid enough, so she ran with it. "True. If he likes her, I suppose he likes her. No point forcin' him to battle. And trust me, I used to try. Wolfie is definitely his own Pokemon. Not pretty Princess' animal companion material. Wouldn't have him any other way though."
"Have to wonder what another Pokemon would be like though - "
She trailed off quietly as she saw the absolute hoard of PokeBalls that Elliot was keeping under his shirt. This kid had a full team of SIX. That's right. SIX, with three capital letters, each after the other.
And indeed, as Elliot continued talking, it was the only thing that Lynn could focus on. 'This kid is hanging out on Route One, and he has bloody SIX Pokemon.'
The otherwise amusing reaction that Elliot gave in regards to a proposal of fisticuffs didn't really register to Lynn. She was simply too focused on the fact he had a full, entire, complete team and -
He wasn't even much of a battler!?
"Not much of a battler!?" She repeated with a combination of confusion and outrage. Likewise, her face cycled through an expression of disbelief and utter befuddlement. Then, taking a couple of calming breaths, she couldn't help but let a sly quip slip from her lips. "So. Do you just make friendship bracelets together then?"
"Seriously. You have an Espeon," she said, pointing out the cat that'd just sent poor old Wolfie shooting straight into the branches of a tree and into a screeching frenzy. "If you're not a battler, why don't you fight more and get good? Why hang out on Route 1 preying on unsuspecting - " she stopped as Wolfie refused to calm down. "Wolfie! It's okay!" She reassured her Pokemon, who then gathered his senses and flew back down to perch on Lynn's shoulder once again whilst shooting the dirtiest 'I'll kill it later' look at Beerus.
She supposed it was time to let the Meowth out of the bag. "I just started my journey today here in Arciel," she admitted, albeit in a conversational tone. "And for now, Wolfie's my OTP." OTP, of course, standing for One True Pokemon. "I would kill to have a complete team like yours. It must be blazing. Hmm," she hummed thoughtfully. "When did you start? How are the gyms here in Arciel? Tough?"
As she spoke, Elliot might've noticed that her graceful and powerful facade sort of fell away. In fact, her tone became quiet and subdued, though it was filled with curiosity. Her attention had been caught by this unique trainer with a gammy leg and now she'd decided that she needed to know more.
Post by Elliot Sunderland on Apr 26, 2020 23:23:13 GMT
"Oh, believe me, I know how that is," Elliot said, grinning down at Echo. The Ralts smiled sheepishly in response. "Keeping these guys even moving in the same direction's a journey in of its own right, let alone actually getting them from Point A to Point B. But once you get to know them, and get used to all of their quirks? I know I can depend on them, no matter what.
Though between the two of us, Echo's the pretty princess here." Echo huffed in betrayal, crossing her arms and glowering at Elliot from behind her bangs. However, all he had to do was ruffle her hair before she gave up the act, giggling and nuzzling into his hand.
Lord Beerus simply looked lazily towards the display, rolling his eyes and sighing in disgust. Ugh. Affection. As he turned his focus back towards Wolfie, who was shooting an absolutely filthy look in Lord Beerus' direction. If looks could kill, the sixfold difference in their levels wouldn't have even mattered. He would've been toast. Despite this, Lord Beerus wasn't very threatened. He simply flicked his tail upward, shooting a Swift star high into the air. He watched it spiral away, let his forehead gem glow a bright white, then shot the star right out of the air with his Psybeam. As stardust fell around him he looked back at Wolfie, evaluating the bird's response, then went right back to sleep.
Elliot smiled at Lynn's quip, especially once Echo started tugging on his sleeve and babbling at him. "No. Though now that you mention it, I think Echo'll be bugging me until I make her one," he said, a cheeky smile on his face. "And I dunno. Battling just doesn't appeal much to me, you know? I'll do it if my team's in a pinch, and I need to bail them out of a bad spot. Heck, I haven't even set foot in a gym yet! But to me the real fun is just . . . feeling the open air as we run down the route. Camping out under the stars until we make our way to the next town. Getting to know all the Pokemon and people we encounter on our journey, meeting new friends, making new discoveries. Just. Being here. Being me. Being free. It's kinda directionless so far. But it's been nice.
'Sides, far as I could tell, weren't you the one trying to prey on me?" Was that the slightest bit of a teasing smile on Elliot's face? No, no, the look in his eyes was too innocent for that. Yet he matter-of-factly turned Lynn's wording back on her with way too much precision for it to be an accident. Nevertheless, he didn't linger on the point. Instead he just chuckled warmly. ""You know, you're really spirited for just starting out! When I was on my first day, I would've been too nervous to even look at another trainer, let alone battle them. You must've been waiting for a while to get started, huh?"
'Battling just doesn't appeal much to me, you know?'
Lynnette.exe has stopped responding. At least, that's what would've happened if Lynn had been a member of the Porygon evolutionary line. Instead, she just looked at Elliot as if she'd discovered a Torchic with four legs. Something to simultaneously be fascinated by and pitied for. How could this poor kid not have discovered the thrill of battling?
Sure, he was an otherwise noble person and it was wonderful to see him getting along so well with Echo, and Lynn approved of that and -
AND HE HASN'T EVEN STEPPED FOOT IN A GYM.
She was so gobsmacked by this statement that she didn't even notice the little feud going on between Wolfram and Beerus as the little bird puffed out his chest and looked away from the Espeon in contempt, acting as if he were far too important to be bothered by such a lowly and lazy creature. Even if the display was rather fetching, there was no way that the prideful little bird would show anything but disdain at this point.
Despite the micro-interaction between the Pokemon, Lynn listened to the trainer's story intently. Something about it did resonate with her. Being free. Going on a journey to meet new people and Pokemon, seeing new places and discovering things no one even knew existed. She nodded in understanding as the trainer spoke.
"Some of the reasons why I've started on my journey," she commented once he'd finished, sparing him a serious yet passionate glance, despite the most important reason not being included.
And her? Preying on him? She decided to let it slide. Not only did he seem like the sweet and innocent type, she definitely didn't want to scare away such an interesting catch before she could learn more. Even if it did ruffle her feathers and make her want to chase him up on that.
Plus, he kind of didn't even give her a chance to rebut the statement before moving on. Not that such a thing had any bearing on anything, of course.
"A while? Try an eon. I was worried that Wolfie might turn into a fossil Pokemon if either of us had to wait any longer before my sixteenth." Lynn looked to the little Rookidee on her shoulder, who was now simply relaxing and nuzzling in her hair. "You know, Wolfie's actually old enough to go on his own Pokemon journey. He's like, twelve or something, I think."
"Anyway, you know how it is - worried parents and all that. Won't let you go until you hit the magic number. And since you haven't challenged a Gym yet I'm guessing yours didn't let you go until recently either," she stated, then without thinking nor realising how wrong her assumption was, she quickly moved on. "I'm from Galar, if you haven't guessed. Hammerlocke. City of fire-breathing dragons, badminton and posh tea clubs. So. I'm guessing that you're native here?"
"So... why you were too nervous on your first day?" She asked. "Everyone's here to fight each other. Pretty much. Guess it doesn't matter anymore though, since you seemed pretty happy to fight me. Won't lie, you're out of my league at the moment though." The statement was brutally honest, even if it was to herself. Elliot was way too strong for her. A thought then occurred to her that lit up her eyes. "But when I get stronger... It'll be great to fight you. 'Till then I need to catch myself some Pokemon. Believe it or not, it was what I was initially trying to do."
She then laughed, almost sweetly. Endearingly, even. "But I guess I caught myself a boy instead," she said with a wry smile. Though the statement was playful and humorous, any of Lynn's Galarian friends would've known that she had a hidden agenda, even if it aligned more on the mischievous side of things than the amorous.
Post by Elliot Sunderland on Apr 27, 2020 1:14:03 GMT
Elliot smiled warmly as Lynnette acknowledged all of the reasons they had in common. However, the warm smile wavered some as Lynnette mentioned not even being allowed to begin on her journey until today. "Heh. Yeah, sure is nice that we were finally allowed to, huh?" Elliot admitted, the look on his face a little bit guilty. He was more at peace with his decision, but the fact that he had run away from home to make it happen was still something close and raw to his heart. While Elliot had developed a touch more guile than he had expected to along this journey, he still tended to wear his heart on his sleeve, and a savvy girl like Lynn would likely be able to read him like a book.
Still, while his mind was on home, he might as well clear up the misconception about where he was from! "I'm from Lavaridge," he said. "It's one of the bigger towns in Hoenn, although nice and cozy compared to some of the cities. It was a pretty sleepy life, but I wouldn't have traded it for the world. Then we moved, so I've been living over here instead for a few years now." He didn't need to give the little details like what town he was from! That'd be silly! Lynnette's figure out he had run away from home with ease if he did that!
At the mention of nerves, Elliot shrugged a little. "Well, when I left town I had nothing to my name but an egg and a premier ball," Elliot admitted. "So pretty much any wild Pokemon or trainer encounter could've gone really badly. I was lucky, though. The first Pokemon I encountered was a total sweetheart. Even helped Echo here out of her shell. Literally! Can you believe she's already a month and a half old? Time really flies, doesn't it?" He sighed happily, a nostalgic smile spreading across his face. "Now that I have a few catches under my belt, made some unforgettable friends, and crossed two whole cities? I'm feeling a bit less rattled."
Lynnette did point out that Elliot was happy to battle her, at least. Elliot simply shrugged in response, smiling. "I mean, at least when another trainer challenges you, you know they're up for a fight, right?" Elliot said. "And that it'll be good, clean fun. So far I've mostly encountered wild Pokemon, though, and they haven't always been spoiling for a fight. So usually I just sit there, chat with them, get to know them. You'd be surprised how well it worked, too! I must've befriended four or five Pokemon like that by now. So I guess its less that I don't even want to fight, and more I'd rather talk things out and only fight if everyone wants to, you know? It's not the kind of thing I'm usually trying to seek out. Though, hey! Once you get stronger, I'd love to see what you and Wolfie can do!"
Then Lynne laughed sweetly, making a comment about how she had caught a boy instead. The innuendo flew right over Elliot's head, but her laugh was warm and pleasant enough that he couldn't help but smile instead. "Well, you did!" he admitted. "But this boy's caught quite a few Pokemon before. Want me to help you go looking?"
Post by Lynnette Aria on Apr 27, 2020 15:26:36 GMT
Lynn certainly did notice that something was off with how Elliot responded to her words about leaving home. The change in body language, the slight downwards twitch of the face. Guilt? She wondered. Had she touched a nerve? Was there someone back home that he hadn't said proper goodbyes to? Though she made no comment, she certainly filed this reaction away for later.
If they were going to be friends, which she'd already decided was now happening, she'd need to know about said friend. Whether or not poor Elliot had any say on that.
So Elliot was from Hoenn? If she confessed, she'd have to say she knew little about the region. The name Lavaridge had similarly little bearing on her. Oh, but it seemed that she was right about one thing: Elliot, or at least his family, were currently residing in Arciel. So in her mind, that meant she was right anyway. Though he wouldn't have traded it for the world? Lynn felt a touch of indignation for Elliot at the slightest possibility his parents might've forced a move onto him.
Ah, so that explained why Elliot had so many Pokemon under his belt yet so little fire in his belly. He'd befriended them. Lynn tried not to look down on such a method, though to her it still seemed unfair.
"Don't you think a trainer should prove their might to a potential Pokemon? Sure, you could talk things out I suppose, but there's no better communication of passion and emotion than the unbridled thrill of battle. When you battle a Pokemon, it's like... both you, your Pokemon and the other Pokemon, everyone lays their intentions bare. You can't truly know someone until you've both tested each other's mettle. You can lie through words but you can't really lie in a fight. It'd be too obvious that you're not being yourself."
It was too easy to lie through words and too difficult to lie through action. Elliot's earlier betrayal of body language had proven that in Lynn's mind.
"I'm glad you seem like a good person though. Your Pokemon could've made far worse decisions on who to choose."
Whatever Elliot might've said after that would've been rendered moot, for Lynn went to shush him. Even Wolfram, who'd fallen asleep throughout the whole conversation, perked up into alertness.
"Shshshsh... hang on, do you hear that noise?" Lynn turned her head towards the west, where the sun had yet to touch the horizon. In the distance, hidden by reeds, was a furious cacophony of wet splashing. An estuary or other body of water must've laid behind the grasses, as the wind rustled them and revealed a flash of blue and orange scales.
"A Pokemon!" Lynn whisper-shouted to Elliot. She then grinned at him, albeit a little madly, and ushered him to follow her through the grasses.
What both trainers would see were a Marill and a Huntail, though at first it might've appeared to be a blue sphere stalking a pair of half-submerged eyes. The Marill then struck and thwacked its tail against the Huntail's face. In another flash of blue and orange, the Marill was sent flying into the air.
And straight into the direction of Lynn and Elliot. Before Lynn even had time to cry out, Wolfram flew into the air and caught the Marill by the ears, allowing both of the poor Pokemon to roll into a controlled crash instead of colliding with the two trainers.
Lynn immediately ran to both Pokemon's sides. "Wolfie! And Marill too, are you both OK?"
With neither Pokemon worse for wear, Wolfie brushed off his feathers and chirped affirmatively. Marill likewise looked up at both Lynn and Elliot, unsure of what to make of these two trainers that'd caught it bravely trying to challenge such a powerful opponent.
"Marill, were you trying to challenge that Huntail? 'Cause I think it was a bit too tough for you," Lynn said, completely unaware of the irony.
Wolfram then shot Marill a look that said 'you, too?' Either way, the Rookidee understood that Marill was far more equally matched, and he flew to his feet and screeched a challenge at the spherical blue ball.
"Oh, now you want to fight, Wolfie?" Like that, Lynn's face of concern turned to a grin. "Wanna battle then, Marill? A good ol' trainer versus wild Pokemon fight, where if I can catch you I keep you?"
The Marill then looked at the peppy little Rookidee and its determined trainer and nodded confidently. Though Lynn hadn't realised it, both she and Marill had started this day looking for a fight, and now they'd both found each other. A perfect match.
And even if Lynn wouldn't manage to catch the Pokemon, it'd still be another battle under her belt.
"Right, Wolfie, use Peck!"
"Deedee!" Wolfie then took to the skies, swung overhead and dove at the Marill, his beak shining with power. Marill then dropped to all fours, took aim and shot a torrent of water at Wolfram. Clearly, Marill had either fought flying types before or it'd seen another water type fight them.
Lynn panicked for a brief second, but then she remembered what to do. "Tuck your wings!" She reminded Wolfie, who then did as instructed. Though he'd lost significant momentum, the torrent failed to stop the dropping bird, and he smashed into Marill's body with plenty of power left in the tank.
Though Marill had as much moxie as Wolfram's trainer, it was still only Level 3, and it felt the attack hit hard. It cried out and fell backwards, while Wolfram struggled for air and took to the skies once again. It then huffed in frustration as if Wolfram were cheating, though it was clearly otherwise enjoying the fight.
"Power Trip!"
Wolfram swung back round again just as Marill did something odd. It concentrated and a strange light encompassed it. Then, as if nothing had happened, it shot another burst of water at Wolfram.
It'd practically been a sniper's shot, whether through luck or skill, and Wolfram fell to the earth. Marill then readied a Tackle at the downed bird.
"C'mon Wolfie, get up, get up," Lynn encouraged her Pokemon as he recovered. It was clear that she cared for him, yet also clear that she was enjoying the thrill of the fight.
Then Wolfie used Power Trip. He rolled to the side and stretched out a wing, sending the Marill careening into a tree.
"Dee! Dee!"
"A PokeBall? Right!"
While Marill was still recovering from the impact, Lynn pulled out one of the few PokeBalls she had and hurled it at the Pokemon - her first capture attempt. Would it succeed?
Lynnette tries to capture Marill using a PokeBall!
Last Edit: Apr 27, 2020 15:28:02 GMT by Lynnette Aria
Post by Elliot Sunderland on Apr 27, 2020 22:15:28 GMT
Elliot saw quite a few potential retorts to Lynn's points, but she shushed him down before he had the chance to even open his mouth. The girl pretty much lit up with excitement as she heard the telltale sound of her first Pokemon. Two water types splashed around in a circle, a smaller blue one pursing a larger orange one, before the blue one came tumbling head-over-heels in a beautiful arc. Apparently the other had gotten a little bit fed up with their game, because it sent the smaller Pokemon away with just a sweep of its tail. The level difference between them must have been palpable, as Lynn excitedly commented when she went to check the creature.
Unlike her, the irony was not lost on him.
Nevertheless, Elliot turned to watch the battle. Sure, Lynn, hadn't even finished talking to the Marill yet, but with how both of them made their entrances Elliot just knew it would be a battle. And that was exactly what unfolded as Wolfie piped up a battle cry. Echo teleporting onto his head to watch from a higher vantage point. As she moved, Reverb popped out of his Pokeball, looking at Echo with the biggest, saddest eyes he could muster until she giggled and pulled him onto Elliot's shoulder. Even Lord Beerus turned his head upwards, narrowing his eyes as he focused on the fight.
Once things kicked off, Elliot studied the Rookidee's movements carefully. He wasn't a battler himself, but that didn't mean he was any less invested in figuring out the "how" behind what a Pokemon could bring to the table. It seemed that Wolfie was more of an agile skirmisher, dancing from Peck to Peck to harry the Marill from all sides. Meanwhile, as typical for many younger water types, the Marill preferred to keep to one spot and fire Water Gun after Water Gun until their foe relented. It was a typical bird-fish battle. Or, at least, was typical until the Marril began to glow. Echo and Elliot turned to each other, confused, but Reverb began hopping up and down and pointing excitedly. What sort of attack did the Marill use that could only be noticed by a Pokemon who saw what others couldn't? Elliot wasn't sure, because it never seemed to land. Instead, the Marill took advantage of the unorthodox move to land a point-blank hit on the Rookidee, but get overconfident on the change and tossed into a tree. Ouch.
The Pokeball flew, and Elliot watched as it rocked one, two, three times. Then the locking mechanism sealed, and Lynn's victory was assured. "Whoa! Way to go, Lynn!" he said, walking up to her with a grin on his face. "So that's your first catch. Got a nickname in mind for him?"
Yet it wouldn't be long before Elliot would hear a throaty cough. As he turned he noticed that the Huntail had emerged from the water, looking him up and down. Its eyes settled on his leg, at which pointed they narrowed suspiciously, before it moved its head as if to wave him over. Elliot approached hesitantly, but first crouched down over to where Lord Beerus was half-napping. "Hey, I'm gonna check out this Huntail," he said, to predictably little care. "He seems pretty tough. Maybe even stronger than you!" Oh, now that was the right thing to say! Lord Beerus immediately hopped to his feet, staring daggers at the Huntail, before turning up his nose and smugly trotting forward.
The Huntail looked at them, its grin widening with each footstep, and waited for them to approach its lakeside perch. Once they were close enough it splashed them with a heavy slam of its tail, laughing before swimming away. Lord Beerus flailed as the water hit him, seething as he trailed the Huntail's path with his eyes, while Elliot simply laughed and dug a towel out from his backpack. "Hey, c'mon, I got you," he said, Lord Beerus harumphing in irritation before graciously accepting Elliot's pampering.
Yet before Elliot had known it, the Huntail returned. Upon seeing that it hadn't even been followed it sighed in dismay, and at that moment Elliot perked up in recognition. "Oh, I think I know what you want," he hummed, before reaching for a Net Ball on his hip. As his fingers settled on it, he hesitated. HYAH! was still kind of a work in progress. He didn't really have a lot of respect for boundaries, after all, and could be kind of hard to work with. But who else was supposed to step up to a Huntail in a swimming race? It seemed like HYAH! was about to be getting a field test. Besides, how else was he supposed to get to know the Starmie better? "Come on out, HYAH!" Elliot called, the Starmie's titular exclamation echoing through his and Lynn's heads as it appeared.
Immediately noticing her, HYAH went to zoom over to the newcomer, only for Echo to hold them back with a shimmering Confusion. It was just in time, too. The poor girl would've practically been bowled over by the excitable Starmie if Echo had been any slower. "Easy there," Elliot said, laughing mostly warmly but with a touch of un-ease. "We can do intros in a bit. And maybe give poor Lynn a bit of space to breathe, eh?" The Starmie's gem flashed green a few times in recognition, and it whirled back over to Elliot's size.
As Huntail looked HYAH! up, a wide, content grin spread across his face. Now this one was fitting! He swam a few paces inwards, then lined up to the shore, motioning for HYAH! to take a spot next to him. Elliot turned to Echo and Reverb, grinning. "I've got your crayons in my bag. How fast can you two whip up a racing flag?" Elliot asked, only for Echo to have already dive right into his backpack. She had been waiting for this day to arrive!
While she got to work, Elliot watched as HYAH! spun in place. They were fast enough to pull this off, right?
Post by Lynnette Aria on Apr 27, 2020 23:50:41 GMT
When the PokeBall flew at Marill and swallowed it with a flash of red, Lynn wasn't entirely sure if it'd be a success. Too many times had she seen regular PokeBalls fail their captures, but still, her fingers were crossed and she held her breath.
Shake... Shake... Shake.... Click!
And just like that, Lynn's very first capture attempt was over. "A flawless victory!" Her face was one of pure joy and she practically raced to pick up the newly filled PokeBall. Elliot then strode towards her in congratulations. "Now that's how a professional does it," she said, beaming with pride.
Of course, Elliot had seen it. She'd noticed him, watching intently from the sidelines. "So. Analysing me and Wolfram's battle strategy, were you? Trying to hustle me?" She accused him with faux-outrage, then relented with a smile. "Don't worry, I don't mind. You'll be more fun to fight in future if you force me to switch up tactics. Hell, developing a new counter strategy mid-battle would be thrilling, don't you think?"
Wolfram, who'd now recovered his breath, flew to the top of Lynn's head and screeched to the skies for his victory, not really bothered by Lynn's continuing conversation with Elliot.
"Thanks, Wolfie. And thanks to you too, Marill, for the fight," she said to the PokeBall in her palm. Then Elliot brought up a very good point. "What am I going to name him...? For some reason I don't think he'll appreciate me calling him Trippy, so I have no idea," she replied with a wry smile, referencing how Wolfram had pulled the dirty trick and literally tripped the poor Marill. Still, all was fair in a Pokemon battle, and it was how Wolfram fought.
Then something odd happened. Wolfram was on top of Lynn's head, still puffing out his chest in pride, when a wave of psychic energy slammed into him. It was hardly laser-guided, so it also slammed into poor old Lynn's brain too, and she fell over backwards onto her behind. Thankfully, the shot of energy was weak due to Marill's poor special attack, but it still caught the duo by surprise.
"Ah... nice one. I think I might call you Trippy after all for that," she said jokingly. "Still, what in the world was that? A psychic type move? Took its sweet time to hit, didn't it?"
Lynn could follow up on that later, so she shrugged it off and turned to Elliot, who had both Echo and Reverb hanging on his shoulders. The sight was funny, so she couldn't help but laugh and comment on it. "Am I glad I only have one giant bird Pokemon, otherwise they'd be fighting for space," she said, looking up at the Rookidee who was still reeling on top of her head. It was a miracle and a testament to his grip that he hadn't fallen off.
When Elliot went to see what the Huntail wanted of him, Lynn took the opportunity to move and sit down by the water to watch the debacle unfold. Now that she'd shown Elliot how she caught Pokemon, she was interested to know how he did. To her surprise, Elliot opted to take his Espeon with him. How was he going to befriend a Huntail with a Pokemon like that?
Plus, from what Lynn had gathered of the Espeon's general disinterest, she didn't think the Pokemon would be interested in following Elliot's commands, though she had no idea why. It was like a typical cat in that respect - and Lynn was suddenly glad that her Pokemon was a bird. A rather humorous exchange then occurred between the uptight cat and the mischievous Huntail, and Lynn and Wolfram found themselves laughing at the poor Espeon's expense at being drenched in dirty river-water.
Lynn rather more innocently than Wolfram, for that matter.
The Huntail never left, however. Instead it hung around, and Lynn had to wonder why. Elliot wasn't doing much except screwing around by the shoreline. Then he searched for another PokeBall on his self and released a new Pokemon. He also shouted something that made Lynn wonder if he'd been punched in the guts by an invisible assailant, until she realised that was the name of the Pokemon as it cried out through telepathy.
The sudden psychic communication surprised her, but not anymore than the ridiculous name. "Hyah?" She repeated in confusion. "Is that why you named it that? Okay, remind me not to let you name my Pokemon in the future," she said with a smile.
It was then that Lynn felt an indescribable feeling wash over her. It was the feeling of somebody about to invade her personal space. And like that, Lynn saw HYAH move towards her at frightening speed, only for Echo to save her with a well-timed Confusion. If a mind-reader were present, they'd probably notice the waves of fear that emanated from Lynn.
There was something that she really, really couldn't stand about a Pokemon that didn't even have eyes, for goodness sake's.
As to why the Starmie was so eager to get up close to her, she figured that it was probably about to consume her soul. That sounded about right. "Yeah," she said, her fear barely evident in her voice. Elliot would have to be paying very close attention to notice it. "Some space would be appreciated."
"Preferably a galaxy's worth," she added so quietly that Elliot wouldn't have heard it, though perhaps some of his more astute Pokemon might've.
Then, to her surprise, HYAH left and parked itself next to the Huntail.
Wait, they were going to make a racing flag? How... charming? Lynn's eyebrows raised up past into her forehead as she realised it. Elliot was going to race his Pokemon. At least it was still some form of competition, Lynn concluded.
"So... a test of speed instead of power? Interesting. Speed is a valuable strength," she stated as the ever-present observer.
Then, to her surprise, Marill's PokeBall, which'd been resting on her lap, released its contents. Marill, who was now also on Lynn's lap, stretched his limbs and looked up at her. "Oh, was it something I said?" Marill then nodded and turned towards Elliot, HYAH and Huntail curiously. "Suppose we might as well all watch together," she said, getting comfortable on the patch of grass she was sitting on. Wolfram: Rookidee, Lv6, Energy 4/5 Marill: Marill, Lv3, Energy 2/5
Last Edit: Apr 28, 2020 0:02:54 GMT by Lynnette Aria
Post by Elliot Sunderland on Apr 28, 2020 1:07:36 GMT
For the most part, Elliot didn't have the chance to respond to Lynn's points. By the time he even had much chance to listen to her, the Huntail had already called him over. Yet Reverb sure was paying attention, especially once the psychic energy pulsed back around poor Wolfie and knocked Lynn flat on her ass. He promptly perked up, pointing at the psychic pulse and hopping up and down again. Echo turned to him, tilting her head curiously, and the two babbled intensely at each other. Were they taking notes on their respective psychic powers? It was adorable! A shame neither of the humans here could understand it, because it would've likely explained "Trippy's" ability quite nicely! "We can do intros in a bit. And maybe give poor Lynn a bit of space to breathe, eh?"
While Echo and Reverb discussed the finer points of their psychic power and scribbled away at construction paper, Elliot turned to Lynn and shot her a somewhat guilty smile. "I know, I know. But I asked what their name was, and, well, they insisted," he said. He didn't really notice the fear in Lynn's eyes and voice, but he already understood how much of a handful HYAH! was. Even Andrew, sweetheart of the century, was nervous around the Starmie. "They're an . . . interesting one. I think humans are still pretty new to them, so they keep trying to get up close and personal to see what we're like. And they keep trying to talk, even if we can't understand it and it can't understand us. But, hey. They're trying their best, right?" It almost sounded like Elliot was trying to assure himself as much as he was trying to assure Lynn.
However, even if he and Reverb missed the girl's distress, Echo didn't. Once Elliot had turned back to the lake's edge, Echo teleported away and popped onto Lynn's shoulders. She landed softly and gently, then wrapped her arms around the girl and cooed at her in a comforting fashion. She even nuzzled her a bit, before giving her two pats on the head to make sure she was okay. The bad news about Ralts being such empathetic creatures was that they were really good at cramping your style.
At the mention of a test, Elliot shrugged. "I mean, isn't every catch a test?" he asked. "Strength. Speed. Smarts. Heart. Heck, sometimes even how good you can cook! Though I guess it's up to you what you value most as a trainer, huh? And then when you meet Pokemon on the same page as you, it's the start of a beautiful partnership." That was a lot of wisdom coming from a kid who named his damn starfish HYAH! Yet, it did ring true to their methods, huh? It only made sense that a battler like Lynn would find Pokemon who prioritized battle in turn, whereas a gentle trainer like Elliot might have found Pokemon more in line with his own mindset.
Reverb popped out of Elliot's backpack, holding up a pair of hand-drawn racing flags. The red one had a crudely-scribbled picture of Huntail's face on it, which looked like he had a giant underbite. The green one had a crudely-drawn picture of HYAH!, each of his points a different length. Yet it was clear Reverb was proud of his work, and Elliot gave him a gentle head-ruffle in response. "Awesome job, Reverb!" Elliot said, releasing one last Pokeball. Now The Dudes were out on the battlefield, an MP3 player nestled between their heads. Surf rock music poured from the music player as Reverb toddled up to the water's edge, flags hoisted high.
Three!
Two!
One!
GO!
In mere seconds, HYAH! had blasted past the Huntail, skimming the surface of the water like the propeller of a speedboat. Huntail coughed and sputtered as water splashed him in the face, and poor Reverb shouted in fear as he ran away from the incoming splash. Echo, who had just returned from giving Lynn some TLC, began dancing around happily in the water with The Dudes, while Lord Beerus shouted to the heavens in despair at his second splashing. Yet the Huntail wasn't out of action yet. He pushed his coils to the limit, clearly struggling to keep up with HYAH!'s current pace, as a devious smile settled on his face. The pace wasn't sustainable, but he didn't need to sustain it. He just needed to get close enough to look it right in the eye. Once he did, the many eyespots along his body took on an eerie glow as he opened his jaws up wide. HYAH! recoiled in fear, and with it their rotation started to slow.
Satisfied, the Huntail took on a more leisurely pace, slowly yet surely pulling ahead of HYAH! Elliot checked his Pokedex, scrolling through a few moves as he tried to figure out what happened. It was only then that he facepalmed. "Scary Face! Of course!" he said. "Losing out on speed's the worst thing that could happen here. But I know you can get a second wind! C'mon, a Rapid Spin!" After giving his command, Elliot tried to run after the duo to see if it held. With his bad leg, but there was no way he'd catch up to the two speedy Pokemon, but fortunately Echo had a plan. She tapped Elliot on the back, reaching for Lynn with her other hand, then teleported them further up the curve to keep tabs on the race.
It was about a third of the way around the bend that Elliot (and Lynn, if Echo tagged her in time!) would appear around the bend. There Elliot would see that HYAH! had indeed taken his advice, and was now back to keeping pace with the Huntail. Yet keeping pace wouldn't be enough, would it? The Huntail had already shown it could catch up to HYAH! if push came to shove, and another burst of speed like that would get him in position to clinch the wind. Fortunately, Elliot had an idea. "Breach out of the water!" Elliot called. "Once you're out of the water, give yourself some Hydro Pump propulsion!" HYAH!'s gem glowed a watery blue in agreement, the Starmie dipping down beneath the waves before launching themselves high into the air. Their gem continued to pulse, then fired a massive jet of water to propel HYAH! like a rocket. Huntail did a visible double take, pushing himself as hard as he could to try and catch up, but any advantage he had was starting to dissipate. "You're on fire! Keep doing that and this race is all ours!" Elliot said, Echo pushing him forward in another teleport.
It looked like HYAH! had taken a commanding lead with their new strategy. In fact, Huntail wasn't even visible anymore! Elliot snapped his fingers, Echo cheering up a storm from on top of his shoulders. If HYAH! breached the water one more time, they would've taken on a near-insurmountable lead, even after their speed penalty. And sure enough, with droplets of water trailing a shimmering rainbow behind them, HYAH! prepared to take that one last leap.
A pity it wasn't to be. What it lacked in fast speed, the Huntail made up for in pressure resistance. It had dove deep out of sight to lull HYAH! into a false sense of security, then sprang out of the water's surface to catch them in midair with a bite. He glowered at the captured Starmie with another Scary Face, then tossed them over his coils to continue swimming unopposed. This was bad. Yet upon hitting the water, HYAH! continued to swim their heart out, letting out determined cry after determined cry. "Come on, hang in there, HYAH!" Elliot called, the Starmie looking tiredly towards him. "We'll be following you every step of the way. But you can do this! You're the star of this show!"
That classic pun lit a fire in HYAH! It nodded, then forced itself forward with another Rapid Spin to Hydro Pump combo. Deceleration was a killer, but with Hydro Pump more based on propulsion than the Starmie's base speed, this Scary Face wasn't as severe as the last one. True to Elliot's promise, he limped after the Starmie as fast as he could, even as the Starmie started to disappear on the horizon. Only when Elliot physically couldn't keep up, and HYAH! became a purple speck on the horizon, did Echo finally give him another teleport forward to the finish line.
It didn't look good. Huntail had taken the lead, chuckling merrily to itself as it slowly, lazily swam onward. HYAH! was nowhere to be seen. Echo sagged in disappointment, Reverb booed from the sidelines, and The Dudes paused their music to hum a sad dirge. Yet Elliot, remembering what he saw on the previous leg of the race, simply smiled softly. "Come on, HYAH!" he said. "I know you're not out of tricks yet."
Sure enough, a star came bursting out from the water, rushing right past the Huntail's side! It froze up, jaw dropping in disbelief, and watched as Reverb swung the green flag to signal HYAH!'s victory. After all, what else could that star that went shooting by have been? There was only one star-shaped Pokemon here, and that was-
A Swift projectile, which promptly dissolved into stardust. The Huntail's jaw dropped so low that it looked like it would dislocate, and Elliot let out a confused gasp. Then Echo tapped him on the back, pointing towards the waters bubbling behind the unsuspecting Huntail. Out from the water burst HYAH!, using one last Hydro Pump to leap over Huntail's head. The Huntail let out a bark of shock, pushing himself as quickly as he could, but it was too little, too late. HYAH! had passed him by a single prong, Reverb waving the green flag to signal victory. Elliot's team broke into cheers, making their way towards the water's edge to celebrate their ally's victory, while Huntail waited by the edge of the finish line and huffed.
Surprisingly, it wasn't HYAH! that Elliot went to first, but instead the Huntail. "You know, you've got some interesting tricks up your sleeves," Elliot said. "This race may have been anything goes, but you had HYAH! and I on the ropes there! Brush up the fundamentals a bit, and I bet you could've kicked our butts for sure! But, unlike what my friend here thinks-" He nodded over to Lynn, a teasing smile on his face. "-I'm not sticking around Route 1 forever. So we might have to keep you waiting for a while on that rematch."
That was when Elliot produced an Ultra Ball from his belt, smiling softly at the Huntail. "Unless you'd like to train with us and settle the score sooner rather than later?"
Post by Lynnette Aria on Apr 28, 2020 12:50:09 GMT
Oh boy, a Starmie with personal space issues. For the briefest of seconds, Lynn reconsidered whether a friendship with Elliot was actually worth it. He had some... odd Pokemon, to say the least, and Lynn hadn't even seen the entirety of his team, yet!
Then Elliot turned around and Lynn was ambushed by a very concerned Ralts. Thank goodness that Elliot was looking away, because not even Lynn would be hard enough to reject such an adorably small and precious baby Pokemon like Echo. Wolfram and Marill, however, did watch the exchange with mixed reactions. Wolfram seemed quite happy that Echo was with Lynn and also began to nuzzle against her, while Marill just seemed confused.
Marill then appeared to 'catch the drift' and then wrapped his stubby arms around Lynn's waist in an awkward hug. Being smothered by three Pokemon at once was apparently enough for Lynn, because she then carefully pried Echo off from her shoulder. "You too, Marill and Wolfie, not sure why everyone suddenly decided I needed hugs but thanks...?"
Echo's efforts had the desired effect however, as the strangeness of the situation meant that Lynn had forgotten how absolutely terrifying HYAH was.
"Heart and cooking skill? Good grief, let's all join the Love and Friendship Club," Lynn replied in a humorous tone and an accompanying eye roll. Elliot might have been one for deep, heartfelt conversations about feelings, but Lynn certainly wasn't. She then held a fist up to the side of her head and stuck out her pinkie and her thumb. "Yes? Yes? Is this the Pokemon League? We've figured out a new strategy for combating the Ultra-beasts! We will... hug them into submission!"
"If only the Ultra-beasts or Team Rocket could see you, Elliot, I'm sure they'd never bother any of us again. They'd be too busy, shaking with fear," she said dramatically, teasing the poor boy. Though nothing about how she spoke was meant to be taken seriously, perhaps Elliot might realise that Lynn had a decent point. He could treat his Pokemon however he liked, but perhaps he should also consider taking things a little less lightly? If not to protect Arciel, then to protect his Pokemon from the likes of evil such as Team Rocket.
Lynn then watched as the incredible race of Huntail versus HYAH commenced. It was incredible, water Pokemon travelling at speeds that Lynn would've hardly thought possible. She then realised that there was no way she could just sit around and wait to see the results, so she leapt to her feet, scooping up Marill and the rest of her possessions in the process while Wolfram took to the skies overhead, and she paced alongside the shore with Elliot. It wasn't difficult to keep up with him, considering his shorter stride and obvious impairment, but Lynn soon found his personal lack of swiftness to be... limiting.
"We're losing them!" She shouted urgently as the shapes of Huntail and HYAH began to shrink into the distance. Then Echo teleported them both further down the estuary and Lynn almost fell flat onto her face from the surprise. "Friggin' psychic types," she complained breathlessly, but shot a grateful look at Echo anyway.
As they ran, Lynn watched with fascination at Elliot's commanding strategy. Using Hydro-pump for propulsion?
So this kid did have a brain inside of his head after all! Despite all the mushiness, somewhere deep inside Elliot, Lynn thought, was a trainer with great potential. It was then that she realised she had to steer this poor soul away from the dark path of pacifism and cuddles, and into the light of glory and achievement.
"Damn, Huntail's got you bad!" Lynn observed as the over-grown fish breached the water and went snapping at HYAH. "I'm starting to feel bad for that creepy starfish, two Scary Faces?"
She then groaned at the awful pun and watched in horror as it spurred the Starmie to even greater lengths. By Arceus, a Pun Powered Psychic?
She really would need to step up her game if she wanted to challenge Elliot in future.
It seemed that despite Elliot's efforts, HYAH was about to lose. Huntail was simply too quick. Then everything changed when a star went flying through the finish line. "What the heck?" But no, Lynn realised, it wasn't HYAH. It was a projectile! And it'd distracted the poor Huntail for long enough for the real HYAH to take the lead and win the race!
"That..." She said, still catching her breath, "was one of the best bluffs I've ever seen. Darn! I should've recorded it! Do you know how many views on PokeTube you could've gotten from a video like that? Wild Huntail races Starmie! Gets completely bamboozled!"
Lynn then followed Elliot towards the Huntail's side and, surprisingly, kept quiet. This was Elliot's conversation with Huntail, not her's, so instead she held back and watched curiously as he talked to the wild Pokemon. She noticed that the way Elliot tended to talk with both her and now this Huntail was rather... teacher-like? Yet oddly enough, it wasn't in a dishonest 'I'm only here to get paid so I'll say nice things to you' way.
Elliot was genuinely a pretty honest kid that wore his heart on his sleeves. So that meant...
Oh God, he's basically an anime protagonist!
Lynn was definitely going to have to find a way to stop Elliot from giving mushy speeches like this in the future, that was sure. How, though, was still undecided.
At the mention of sticking around on Route 1 forever, Lynn made a quiet sound of indignation. In reality, though, she'd come to like Elliot and his odd ways, and was glad that he wasn't going to limit himself to the 'easy spots'. He deserved to unleash the full potential of himself and his Pokemon, no matter what he thought of the pursuit, and he wouldn't do that on Route 1, that was for sure.
Then, just like that, Elliot's little speech was all he needed to catch the Huntail.
"Wow," Lynn said. "That's amazing. You found a Pokemon willing to listen to that wimpy speech you had," she teased. Still, it couldn't be concealed that Lynn was genuinely impressed with Elliot, but that didn't mean she had to relent in her teasing. "Because if that was me, I would've scrammed after you went all 'brush up on the fundamentals!'" She mimicked Elliot in a goofy voice.
"Dee dee," Wolfram said with an agreeable chirp after having flown back down to land besides Lynn. Meanwhile, Marill, who'd been in Lynn's arms this whole time, simply grinned and flexed both his arms in a cute victory pose. At least he seemed willing to congratulate Elliot.
"Well, I know you've already got a full team of six and more now, but honestly, that was the most fun I've had ever," Lynn said honestly. "Want to go looking for more Pokemon? We've got a few hours until dusk. Oh... and you know what? Let a girl give you her number, because I like to keep in contact with my friends, and I wouldn't want to worry about you if something happened and we got separated."
And so Lynn set down Marill onto the ground and dug through her bag for a notepad and pen. On the first page of the notepad, she wrote down her contacts, ripped out the page and handed it to Elliot without a second thought. "And y'know, if you ever need me, I'm always available. Whether for fun... or more serious things," she said with a demure smile and a sultry tone as she took a step closer to Elliot in a way that very slightly crossed into his personal space.
Then just like that, she stepped back and acted as if she'd done nothing unusual. "Us trainers gotta stick together, after all. We live pretty dangerous lives when you think about it," she said innocently. Wolfram: Rookidee, Lv6, Energy 4/5 Marill: Marill, Lv3, Energy 2/5
Post by Elliot Sunderland on Apr 28, 2020 22:49:08 GMT
Elliot smiled back as Lynn teased him over his speech. "Hey, you saw the same race I did. It was more Mario Kart than an Olympic marathon," he pointed out. "A bit more focus, maybe a bit more conditioning to hold those long sprints, and I don't think Hyah and I could've puleed off the comeback." The look on his face suddenly shifted, grin slyly turning up at one side and brows lowering the tiniest bit. It was one that Lynn would have known time and time again, if only from personal practice. Was he getting ready to tease her? The fiend! "But I figure you'd know more than me. You're the battler here, after all," he said, voice lifting up in a merry fashion that made it all too clear that he was returning fire.
He did realize this meant war, right?
Nevertheless, for a lame little speech, it sure did the trick to win Lynn over. Not only did she want to go run off and catch more Pokemon, but she also gave Elliot her number. It seemed Elliot may have made a friend today, even if the sudden teasing warmth in her tone hinted that he may have gotten more than he had bargained for. He blushed a little in surprise, the number lingering a bit in his hand. Maybe it was a trick of the light. Elliot blinked, and when his eyes opened again Lynn was back in her usual spot. Had Elliot just been hearing things earlier? Surely he was. Now her voice was back to its usual; cocky determination tied up in a Galarian accent.
Nevertheless, her offer made sense. Elliot smiled warmly, albeit with the slighted nervousness wavering beneath it, then pulled out his phone to text her the his own phone number. "You've got that right," he said. "Safety in numbers is always a good motto to live by. Though I think it's illegal if those numbers get higher than six." He couldn't help but give the slightest chuckle at his own incredibly lame joke, punching a few numbers into his phone's PC app. The regular red Poke Ball on his hip disappeared, leaving room for him to place the Huntail's new Ultra Ball. "Still, that doesn't mean we can't find more for you. And besides, you're right. We've got plenty of hours to burn. Let's go explori-"
"Big bro! Look, look, I did it!"
It seemed that once again, a trainer would interrupt Lynn before she could go on the prowl. A boy in green, no older than 13, came bursting out from the water, a Dive Ball clutched in his hand. When did he get here? What was in the ball? How long had he even been down there for? Before Elliot could even ask these questions, a dark skinned teen in a swim cap popped out of the water by his side. He ruffled the boy's hair before putting a cap back on his head, the two grinning ear to ear at each other. "Knew you'd pull it off, Ron!" he said. "And to think, you totally tried to slack off on swim class. Told you it'd save your life someday."
"Yeah, yeah, but can we get back to shore now? I think I'm starting to pr-" Ron turned in mid-sentence, noticing that the shore was currently occupied by quite the large party. "Oh. Hi!" he chirped, waving. Elliot, Echo, and Reverb were quick to wave back, and in that moment Elliot was all too lucky that Hyah was too tuckered out to go zooming over to say hi. Ron waded up to everyone through the water, his brother easily swimming past him to arrive first.
"Hey! Name's Anson!" the swimmer said, bursting up through the water. He folded his arms as he looked Elliot up and down, the swim goggles on his face making his expression unreadable. "You the guy that was getting the water all chopped up? I heard a lot of splashing and thrashing up there."
Elliot smiled guiltily, rubbing the back of his neck. "Heh, yeah," he admitted. "There was a race going on up here and it got a bit intense. Sorry if I interrupted your swim any."
Anson broke into an ear-to-ear grin, shaking Elliot's hand vigorously. "Sorry? You kidding?" he asked. "That whirlpool you whipped up got my little bro's first catch all nice and wrapped up for us! You ever try throwing a Poke Ball underwater? Not. Easy."
"Hey, that's awesome!" Elliot said. "Y'know, my friend here just made her first catch too," he mused, looking over to Lynn and shooting her a cheeky grin. Was he putting her on the spot as a bit of friendly ribbing? Or was he letting her indulge in all the bragging she didn't get the chance to do because of Huntail stealing her show? With the mischievous twinkle in his eyes, it seemed he was keen on letting her draw her own conclusions.
"Sounds like we should all celebrate, yeah?" Anson said. He reached into a belt along his waist, pulling out three Dive Balls and tossing them high into the air. "Come on out for the party, friends!" Anson cheered, the balls popping high in midair as his team dove below the depths. Two were quick to emerge; a Psyduck and a Slowpoke, each tilting their heads curiously as they looked at Lynn and Elliot. It was a cute team theme so far, two of Kanto's most perpetually-confused, psychically capable water types. Would the third be another Starmie? A Lapras, perhaps? Elliot watched the dark shape move under the water cautiously, excited to see who made up the third member of Team Anson.
His smile vanished in an instant as two angry, spike-topped barnacle heads popped out from the water. Okay. This might have just been a coincidence. Binacle were a really angry looking species of Pokemon species, right? Surely this one wasn't specifically pissed at him. Yet as Anson scooped the Binacle into his arms, and it instantly relaxed like a pair of wet noodles, Elliot knew something was up. "Woah, woah there, Goose!" he said, stroking the Binacle's heads as it nuzzled him affectionately. "Sorry, friend! She's not usually like this. But I'm sure she-"
Anson didn't have the chance to finish that thought. Goose interrupted, one head shooting Elliot a death glare while the other began chittering at Anson. "What's that? You want to battle? But we just met this stranger!" Anson said, Goose giving him quite the insistent look. "No talking you out of this one, huh?" Anson turned to Elliot, shrugging as if to say 'well, what're you gonna do?' "You know what they say about a trainer's eyes meeting, right?" he asked, lifting up his goggles to reveal a pair of striking blue eyes.
Elliot nodded, continuing to look warily towards the Binacle. His Pokemon slowly assembled to his side, chattering among each other to determine who would go first. Before they even had the chance to decide, HYAH! came spinning out of the water and settled in front of Elliot. They balanced on their rear prongs, their front prongs spinning as they stared Goose down. Moved by the sudden loyalty from one of his touchier party members, Elliot couldn't help but smile.