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.
Having stopped in Fuji Town after an unsuccessful hunt, Josh had heard about the "silent caves" of the Grumble Mountains. He had been to many odd locations in his home region, particularly the Ruins of Alph, but he had never heard of a cave complex that completely suppressed sound. Before that, though, he would have to pass through a ruin dedicated to the goddess of the moon. While not motivated by money (that's what his job as a racer was for), finding some treasure in buried ruins certainly wouldn't hurt. Plus, there had to be rare and unusual Pokémon in such a remote corner of the continent.
Early that evening, while he was playing an online card game in his hotel room on the northwest side of Fuji, Josh received a phone call, which he immediately recognized as that of the breeding service he had called several weeks ago. Answering it, he listened to an automated message that indicated his invoice had been received and his ordered Egg was deposited into his Pokémon storage. He quickly pulled up his account to verify, and indeed, there it was - a Dratini egg, just as ordered. And it was a big one, too!
The big question was, who to bench? With him being so far inland, he at first thought Illumina would be the one to stay behind. Then again, the ruins could be very dark on the inside, and having an extra light source would prove valuable. It was a difficult decision, but he ultimately decided to bench Nitro for this trip. The Skiddo needed wide open stretches to run on, and there would be very little of that in the middle of the mountains. When he thought about it, the ruins were also dedicated to a moon goddess. Perhaps the moonlight out there was bright enough that night exploration would work out. He hadn't seen too many of Arciel's nocturnal Pokémon!
His team all set, the racer stocked up on chrome vials used to attract Steel-type Pokémon, as well as general medical supplies before heading out around noon. Once he was past the town gate, Josh secured the dragon-type egg on Twilight, making sure that she knew not run to fast enough to risk jostling her extra cargo too much.
---
Steel Incense used. Encounters remaining: 5/5
NAME SPECIES LV EP Saber Manectric 29 5 Aslan Litleo 22 5 Illumina Chinchou 16 5 Blitz Luxio 19 5 Twilight Absol 21 5 EGG Dratini 1/15
The trail across Mount Grumble was longer than Josh remembered. It was so long that he was forced to rotate Saber and Twilight every hour. The electric-type seemed to forget there was also a large Pokémon egg on his back, his trainer having to remind him to slow down and avoid sudden movements more than seemed necessary. Had he known this was going to be an issue, he would have brought an extra harness to secure the egg to his other Pokémon...but not so.
A burrowing Pokémon had been tunneling around the trails as well, delaying Josh and Saber even farther. As a precaution, he switched mounts to the more cautious and more sure-footed Twilight before proceeding. If she weren't carrying fragile cargo, jumping over all of these holes would be easy, especially compared to some of the jumps on more advanced race courses. Instead, she had to trot and even simply walk around some of them.
Once they had crested a peak, he saw the source of it all: an excited Drilbur tearing up the trail. Twilight eventually caught up to the Drilbur at the next trough of the trail, paying the wild no heed. It trailed them for a while, even sounding a cry to try getting their attention. The two simply ignored the ground-type, who teared up for a bit before returning to upending the mountain trail and making life difficult for future travelers...and perhaps even Josh's return trip.
---
Steel Incense: 4/5 posts remaining.
NAME SPECIES LV EP Saber Manectric 29 5 Aslan Litleo 22 5 Illumina Chinchou 16 5 Blitz Luxio 19 5 Twilight Absol 21 5 EGG Dratini 2/15 {WC: 248} {PC: 2}
It was mid-afternoon by the time the two had cleared the western end of the Grumble Trail. At its final peak, he and his Pokémon caught a great view of the ruins hidden away in the mountain range. It was getting difficult to see - the sun was going to set beneath the mountain range to the west. Good thing he had brought Illumina - her feelers would solve most of her trainer's lighting problems!
The ruins themselves were beautiful - this must have been quite the breathtaking locale in Arciel's ancient past. Josh leaned over the Egg he and Twilight were warming - even in its ruined state, he could tell the architects were masters of using aquatic features. It was as if the ruins were floating on the rivers running through them.
Making his way up to the entrance, there were five Slowpoke, all of which were fishing with their tails...and blocking the way to the entrance. Saber and Twilight slowed to a trot, coming to a stop in front of the five fishers. "Excuse us - we're trying to pass. Would you mind moving out of our way?" Josh asked.
One, two, three, four, five. It was a well-known fact that Slowpoke took five seconds to respond to any stimulus. They were probably intelligent enough to get a rudimentary idea of what Josh was saying to them. No response - not even a tilt of the head. "We need to get past you - please move to one side," he repeated his request. One, two, three, four, five. Still nothing. He didn't dare to touch one of them himself, though - though they were slow and dopey, Slowpoke were still psychic-types.
Twilight stepped behind Saber at Josh's request. "Looks like they're not moving. I really hate to do this to wild Pokémon, but you're going to have to fry them all." The racer sighed. "Saber, Discharge your static all over them." Getting a running start, the electric-type leaped above the row of Slowpoke, loosing an electric shockwave at his apex.
The powerful electric blast engulfed all five Slowpoke, Saber landing squarely on the backs of the two in the back. One, two, three, four, five. The electrocuted Pokémon gasped for air in unison, the shockwave ravaging them all. All five turned to face Saber afterward, firing last-second Water Pulses at him before three of them collapsed entirely. Saber dodged out of the way of them easily, but all of them turned around and gained a lot of speed, as if they were heat-seeking. Even putting a pillar between him and the blasts didn't help. All five converged on the electric Pokémon, Josh forced to recall him before the Manectric drowned.
Five seconds later, the Slowpoke turned back to Josh - plenty of time for him to call on Blitz's help. The black and yellow Pokémon knew what to do - ram into the offending wilds with a headlong Spark attack. Five seconds was more than enough time for him to dispatch the second with a follow-up electric tackle, but not before the two Slowpoke left a parting gift for him - a latent telekinetic force from the psychic-type lifted the Luxio from the bridge and over the water. When the one Slowpoke gave out, the other picked up where the first had left off, submerging Blitz under the bridge they were standing on.
Good thing Josh had brought his Chinchou - otherwise, Blitz was going to suffocate down there. "Illumina, let's go! Hurry!" he shouted in the moment, releasing the aquatic Pokémon into the ruins' aqueduct. "Find Blitz and make sure he can get out!" Josh's heart pounded as more and more bubbles came to the surface - a sign that Blitz was having trouble holding his breath. The two Pokémon surfaced after what seemed like an eternity, Blitz hyperventilating. Josh recalled all of his Pokémon except Twilight, his mount, the two stopping to take stock of exactly what had happened in the short battle.
---
Saber's level is now 33! Blitz's level is now 21!
NAME SPECIES LV EP Saber Manectric 33 0 Aslan Litleo 22 5 Illumina Chinchou 20 5 Blitz Luxio 21 3 Twilight Absol 21 5 EGG Dratini 3/15
The Absol carried Josh across the bridge full of electrocuted, passed-out Slowpoke, somewhere between walking and trotting toward what appeared to be the ruins' main entrance - the husk of what had to be a grand facility - perhaps a palace, an archive, or some other facility central to the old city. "Wow," Josh gasped - it had to be several stories tall. He wondered what kind of rare Pokémon, treasure, or knowledge could be contained within.
Josh wouldn't be able to ride Twilight, or any of his Pokémon for that matter, inside - the stone door frame was far too short for him to fit while mounted, unless he crouched on the Absol like he was racing. Even then, maintaining his balance would be too hard - the main purpose of crouching while racing was to shift his weight forward on the dashing Pokémon for better balance. Content to dismount, the two entered the grand hall.
There was some light coming from the doorway, but most of the room was unlit. While he had natural light to work with, Josh worked on securing his Pokémon egg to Twilight's saddle. When he was done, he released his Chinchou, Illumina. "Hey, girl - we need some light," he kindly asked the Pokémon, who was happy to oblige by charging her feelers. The first thing he made out was the words "Luna Sanctum" engraved in stone in the back of the room. There were life-sized Pokémon statues in the room as well, one of Clefairy, one of Jigglypuff, and Nidorina and Nidorino as well. In the center was one of a small, spherical, ringed Pokémon he did not recognize. "Heh, all Pokémon that evolve by Moon Stone. No wonder how this place got its name."
As Josh headed toward the back, two slabs of stone slammed together from the main entrance, the echoing boom startling him. He and Illumina turned around to see they were trapped inside. The sound of splashing water also echoed inside, this time from the opposite corner. He also could have sworn he heard the desperate cries of a Magikarp. Looking around, he saw a couple of other door frames, but there were just walls beyond them. He also noticed the water Pokémon the cries were coming from.
"Illumina, use your Electro Ball," Josh commanded, the floating sphere of electricity providing light as it zoomed toward the flailing wild. He and Twilight felt bad for the wild that had done nothing to them. As soon as the cries stopped and it went belly up, the slabs covering the entrance recessed, as well as two more sets on the west and east sides of the room. "...You've got to be kidding me," Josh facepalmed. "This can't be real."
---
Illumina's level is now 21!
NAME SPECIES LV EP Saber Manectric 33 0 Aslan Litleo 22 5 Illumina Chinchou 21 4 Blitz Luxio 21 3 Twilight Absol 21 5 EGG Dratini 4/15
Noticing a faint light coming from the west doorway, Josh headed there first, Twilight still safeguarding the trainer's Egg. With this chamber as large as the last one and only faint light entering from cracks in the west walls, Josh could see next to nothing. He stepped back toward the door and picked Illumina up. "Hey, can you shine your feelers straight forward for me?" he asked, the water-type quick to comply.
The deep-sea Pokémon was a bit heavier than he expected, and the dangling feelers shined brightly into his eyes from time to time, but it provided enough light to see. He slowly turned all the way around three times, scanning the top, middle, and bottom of the room he was in. A pair of Wooper ducked back into a pool in the southwest corner of the room the moment they saw the Chinchou's bright lights.
While large, the room only had a few features, the most notable of which was a large turnstile, a large keyhole in the center of it. Second, there was a large, metallic sphere in the top, far east corner of the room, at rest on some rails that led all the way across the room. It looked like it would move all the way across on those rails if he could get it over a hump, but it looked far too heavy and far too out of reach to operate manually. Shrugging, the young man turned around, his Absol following him to the door on the other side of the grand hall.
---
Steel Incense: 1/5 remaining
NAME SPECIES LV EP Saber Manectric 33 0 Aslan Litleo 22 5 Illumina Chinchou 21 4 Blitz Luxio 21 3 Twilight Absol 21 5 EGG Dratini 5/15
{WC: 260} {PC: 5}
Last Edit: Apr 29, 2020 2:33:23 GMT by Josh Devlin
The main feature of the room to the east of the grand hall was a defunct fountain with a Starmie statue in its center, the fountain's spigot located in the statue's "core". Hollows shaped like Lunatone were inscribed in the fountain's base in each cardinal direction. "Wow, this is really detailed," Josh said in admiration, shining Illumina's feelers toward the center of the room. The sound of gently moving water permeated the room as well, its source a ring-shaped pool of water several feet wide, small stone bridges allowing access to the fountain from all four cardinal directions.
Josh set Illumina down on top of the large, tough Dratini egg before pulling out his phone to take a picture of the fountain. "Hey, Illumina - can you keep your light steady on the fountain?" he asked, Twilight a bit jittery. Usually she was the brave one, but the ancient ruins put even the Absol on edge. Josh took several pictures to account for the unsteady light, but two came out high-quality enough to keep. "Man, if Elliot sees this he'll want to come up here himself!" Josh mused aloud. "Gonna get a closer look at that Starmie..."
As he walked toward the fountain, Twilight let out a cry when she heard a faint, stone-on-stone noise from under Josh's feet. "What's up?" he turned around, taking a step toward the white dark-type.
Click. Clack. THUD. Splash.
The same stone slabs Josh had just opened to enter the room closed again, locking Josh in with a Buizel and Azumarill that leaped out of the pool surrounding the fountain. The two stared at Josh and his Pokémon, gritting their teeth at him. "Illumina, keep them busy with your Confuse Ray while I secure the Egg!" She nodded, jumping into the ring-shaped While Josh was loosening Twilight's harness so she could eventually join the fight, but not before the wilds had anything to say about it.
The nimble Buizel ran to the north side of the fountain and turned around, whirling its tails so fast they nearly disappeared from view and caused all of its fur to stand on end. The sonic explosion gave Twilight, Josh, Illumina, and the Azumarill each a splitting headache. "Twilight, turn away!" Josh instructed, both of them facing away and covering their faces the best they could as Illumina blinked her feelers like a strobe light, giving the Buizel a terrible headache as well.
The Azumarill was a bit woozy after two headache-inducing attacks, especially with one agitating her very sensitive hearing. It guarded Josh's two Pokémon from moving too far away, trying to help the Buizel line up another sonic explosion that would catch both of Josh's Pokémon. "No! Twilight, rush it down!" The horned, white Pokémon lunged at Buizel, barely able to catch and chomp down on the back of its leg hard. Once the small water-type was caught, it desperately tried to break free by whirling its tails in Twilight's face. Though the tails were bushy and soft to the touch, it still hurt her when they were smacking her cheek dozens of times per second. Once they started to slow, the wobbly and wounded Absol knew she could let go.
That left the Azumarill, which Illumina was keeping occupied with an Electro Ball to follow up the blinding, blinking light show. The wild inhaled deeply, then exhaled a Bubble Beam toward the Chinchou. She dove into the water to dodge it...leaving Twilight open. The Absol staggered backward before collapsing, her horn leaving a scratch on the Dratini egg. Wait, did it just move?
Illumina followed up with a second Electro Ball, breathing heavily after dispatching the water-type with it. While powerful, particularly with Josh's battle style, it was an exhausting move for the Pokémon to use. "We're taking a few," the trainer reassured the Chinchou.
Just as he went to sit down, the stone slabs covering the west door receded, and he could hear more noise of moving stone coming from the north. Illumina faced that way to shed some light for Josh. A small altar had risen from a recess in the floor, atop it two objects. The first was a red, hexagonal, translucent crystal about the size of his hand; the second, a small, rusted key. He took both of them then rejoined his injured Pokémon.
Josh's hair was a mess after that one, but that was the least of his worries - he had far too many injured Pokémon to continue exploring the ruins right away. Blitz was still hurt from the battle with the Slowpoke, and now two more were badly injured. "I need a light here!" he shouted, the Chinchou slowly turning around while floating atop the ring-pool.
The young man only had a few Potions left. As much as he wanted to ration them, most of his team needed medical attention. Many of the wounds the Buizel inflicted on them were internal, so he wasn't sure how effective Potion would be. Still, it was better than nothing. Procuring three vials of Potion and a vial of Revive, he got to work patching up his team's wounds; first Saber, then Twilight, Illumina, and Blitz, in that order. Though the Luxio and Absol were still hurt even after a single dose, but it would have to do; he would need to save the rest of his stock for dire emergencies.
Potion was not a miracle cure by any stretch - wounds like this would take time to heal. Needing time to rest, Josh recalled all his Pokémon except for Illumina and Blitz. "I need you two to take turns keeping watch, okay?" Both of them nodded. "I know you're not feeling well, but we have to hunker down long enough for the medicine to do its work." The boy moved his backpack against the base of the fountain, stowing the key and the red, crystalline object inside. He propped his back against his bag and closed his eyes...
---
Steel Incense is expired. Renewing by using another Steel Incense. 5/5 encounters remaining.
Revive is used on Saber; Potions are used on Illumina, Blitz, and Twilight (3 total); Blitz and Twilight will not be at full health from them.
Illumina's level is now 22! Twilight's level is now 22!
NAME SPECIES LV EP Saber Manectric 33 3 Aslan Litleo 22 5 Illumina Chinchou 22 2 Blitz Luxio 21 3 Twilight Absol 22 3 EGG Dratini 9/15
{WC: 465} {PC: 7}
Last Edit: May 2, 2020 18:17:02 GMT by Josh Devlin
About an hour and a half had passed uneventfully, Josh stretching in almost total darkness now that the sun had gone all the way down. Illumina quickly fixed the light issue, blinking both her feelers on so Josh could see all of his Pokémon. "I feel a lot better," he said with a yawn, his eyes shifting to Illumina and Blitz, who both nodded in approval. "Alright, let's keep going. Twilight, you're up!" He swapped out his Luxio again, harnessing the Egg into place on the Absol's back before picking up Illumina and heading to the ruins' west side.
Remembering there was a keyhole in the large turnstile in the west room, Josh and his team made a beeline for its center. The rusted key fit in the keyhole perfectly! After he turned the key clockwise, a portion of the ceiling directly below the turnstile receded. The turnstile rotated along a threaded pillar beneath, serving as an elevator to the large structure's second level and into a small room with a door-sized opening.
Josh stepped into the next room, which was a little bigger than the last one but still a bit small for his liking. He tilted Illumina's feelers slowly and carefully to survey the room. In the back was a life-sized Clefable statue holding a large, blue gemstone in its hands, as well as a more traditional upward staircase in the east back corner.
Directly in front of him were five pairs of red eyes, metallic glints above them. When he shined Illumina's light on them, Papa Excadrill covered his eyes, as did the four Drilbur behind him. The Excadrill sounded an angry cry, which was more than enough to get Josh to back off. He and his Pokémon dashed back to the turnstile, turned the key, and descended back to the ground floor. To an Electric-type specialist, there were very few things more terrifying than an angry family of wild Ground-type Pokémon.
---
Steel Incense: 4/5 posts remaining
NAME SPECIES LV EP Saber Manectric 33 3 Aslan Litleo 22 5 Illumina Chinchou 22 2 Blitz Luxio 21 3 Twilight Absol 22 3 EGG Dratini 10/15
{WC: 328} {PC: 8}
Last Edit: May 2, 2020 18:17:12 GMT by Josh Devlin
Once Josh was out of the Ground-types' sight, both he and his Absol each let out a deep sigh. "...We're going to have to come back here with a way to handle that." Perhaps with some help, too; for that reason, he decided it would be better to leave the key in the turnstile's keyhole so it could be operated by anyone who went inside. Even the path there was rough, giving Josh the confidence that anyone who could make it all the way to the ruins could either handle any Pokémon in the area, or had the experience to know when to retreat.
In the back of the main hall was a giant statue of a crescent moon-themed Pokémon Josh did not recognize, the Pokémon having no fewer than five crescent-shaped features on its body that seemed to float off the ground. He heavily suspected it was a psychic-type, but not one he had a clue what its capabilities were, or even what color it was.
Taking Illumina there for closer inspection, he found something even more curious behind the statue - there were several bricks that appeared loose. "Twilight, can you tap your horn against this wall a few times real quick?" As the Absol did so with his horn, Josh noticed that when her horn contacted one of the loose bricks, it made a sound distinct from the wall...a hollow-sounding tone. "...As I thought. There's probably another room on the other side." Unfortunately, none of his Pokémon had an attack with enough sheer strength or explosive power to force the wall open. At least he got one treasure to remember his journey by.
By the time Josh had left the temple, night had fallen, a nearly full moon allowing him to see as though it were dusk. Collapsed outside the ruins entrance was what appeared to be a Skarmory chick. His supply of medicine was dangerously low. Without a way to heal the wild on the spot, there was only one way. He set a Poké Ball next to the Skarmory's beak. "Twilight, back away." The Absol did as instructed, skulking behind one of the entrance pillars. "I'll take you to a place down the mountain where you'll feel better." He lowered his face to where the fallen steel-type could see it easily - and could lash out at him if it so chose. "You have to trust me..." he whispered.
---
Mod note: Befriend catch on the Skarmory.
Steel Incense: 3/5 posts remain.
NAME SPECIES LV EP Saber Manectric 33 3 Aslan Litleo 22 5 Illumina Chinchou 22 2 Blitz Luxio 21 3 Twilight Absol 22 3 EGG Dratini 11/15
{WC: 407} {PC: 9}
Last Edit: May 2, 2020 18:17:24 GMT by Josh Devlin
The sprawled-out Skarmory suddenly stood up. It wouldn't have even made it to Josh's waist if the young man wasn't on the ground with him! Letting out another metallic screech, it pecked toward the Poké Ball sharply, pinching the capture device between itself and the ground and caroming it into Josh's cheek at high speed before taking off. Ouch! That's what the bird had to say before speeding southward. Even from youth, these were tough Pokémon! As if that weren't enough, it had found itself in a scuffle with one of the many Honedge that floated around the ruins after dark. That was Josh's cue to leave.
The big dragon egg provided Illumina with just the right height for her feelers to act as headlights without blinding either Josh or Twilight, though the whited-furred Pokémon couldn't run down the mountain too fast. Scrambling her cargo before arriving back in Fuji Town wouldn't do! Even if she didn't have to babysit the valuable Egg, the Drilbur holes from that afternoon were still there. If she were to trip, her trainer could go flying over her and tumble down the trail for Arceus knows how long. He checked the time as the Absol gently cantered down the trail - by the time he got back to Fuji, it would be nearly midnight. He wondered how long it would take for him to fix his sleep schedule after this one...
---
Steel Incense: 2/5 encounters remain
NAME SPECIES LV EP Saber Manectric 33 3 Aslan Litleo 22 5 Illumina Chinchou 22 2 Blitz Luxio 21 3 Twilight Absol 22 3 EGG Dratini 12/15
{WC: 238} {PC: 10}
Last Edit: May 2, 2020 18:17:33 GMT by Josh Devlin
Josh was already fading, Twilight slowing to a trot as she navigated the field of pits created by Drilbur. A few rains would wash dirt and rock back into them in due time, but it was still a hazard to travelers for the time being. Being slapped by his own Poké Ball thanks to that Skarmory turned out to be more of a blessing than a curse - the irritation from the warm and tender skin was helping him stay awake. Though it was a bit painful to move his jaw, there didn't appear to be any longer-turn injuries that would require a dental visit. Once he got back to Fuji, though, he was putting ice on it.
Once he got off that section of the trail and passed the Mount Grumble split, Josh felt a mild shock. A bit lethargic from being up for so long with only a nap, he turned his head to the north. He could barely make out a well-camouflaged Probopass sleeping just inside one of the cave mouths leading into the Mount Grumble cave complex. Their noses were known to be powerful magnets capable of disrupting electronic devices. Josh pulled out his phone and sighed - Twilight had passed close enough to the steel-type for the rider's phone to short out. Most of the time, replacing the battery would fix it - another errand he would need to run the next morning before departing the small town.
---
Steel Incense: 1/5 remaining
NAME SPECIES LV EP Saber Manectric 33 3 Aslan Litleo 22 5 Illumina Chinchou 22 2 Blitz Luxio 21 3 Twilight Absol 22 3 EGG Dratini 13/15
{WC: 240} {PC: 11}
Last Edit: May 2, 2020 18:17:41 GMT by Josh Devlin
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