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.
It had been a while since Gabe had taken down cycling road. Now that he had had a chance to check out Hickory Town and all the side routes that entailed, he really preferred it, though. It was fast, a straightforward shot to Maple, and right then, that was what he was aiming for. He had some work to do there... and also wanted to check out the local gym a bit since it seemed to be taking challengers in earnest at the moment.
Walking his bike to the start of the road, Gabe flashed a smile at the gate keeper who looked briefly in his basket at the small Delibird that sat there before giving a thumbs up in response to safety. Gabe allowed his smile to soften and then waved before kicking off and starting down the road. And of course, there was another reason he liked cycling road, after all. There were a lot of ambitious trainers that he could shake down for battle cash, and Gabe intended to stock up while he could, heh.
The soft click of peddles and chain began, and Gabe and Frosty were moving on down the road. ‘Keep an eye out for anything interesting, Frost….’ Gabe’s thoughts reminded the Delibird who rather quickly turned to look at him before giving a small salute. People on the road often dropped things here and there, and it was part of his “job” to clean them up as it were.
Turning back around again, Frosty scanned the area before actually catching sight of something. Flying up off the bike, he circled over to find… some berries! Rather quickly opening his bag tail, he loaded them in before flying back to catch up with Gabe who had continued onwards unfazed. ‘Find something good?’ Gabe asked. Frosty gave a side eye and shrugged his wings. Gabe felt his lips quirked ever so slightly. Well, they were just berries, apparently. No harm in letting him keep them.
The weather was good. The pavement was smooth. They were making good time even while searching out anything extra along the way. As he was fluttering over to inspect something, however, Frosty was stopped by a— Hmph. Halting in mid-flight to fold his wings at the small Rufflet that was in his way, he gave a cry that it better not take his treasure. The Rufflet fired back something sassy, and soon enough they were arguing in the air, loudly.
Gabe mentally groaned and sped up to just below the birds only to find another trainer there as well. The latter, bird keeper Lian was scowling at him. “Hey! Learn to control your Pokemon!” Lian was snapping.
Gabe felt his features fidget but manaed to force a smile right then. “I think perhaps your Rufflet started it… why don’t we let them duke it out instead, hm?” he asked.
The bird keeper huffed and looked upwards. “Fine by me, Rufflet, use Crush Claw!” The small bird formed a powerful claw and went slashing up at Frosty. The Delibird immediately backed up flying one way and then the next to avoid the sharp talons.
Gabe pressed his lips together and mentally reached out. ‘Frosty, use Ice Punch to counter it, break his knuckles’was the psychic order back. The Delibird continued to dodge and maneuver around the claw just long enough to form the Ice Punch. In one wing. Flinging it forward then to smash into the talons of the crush claw bird, he took some damage from their sharpness— but the Rufflet took more from the cold.
A cry broke from the Rufflet, and he nearly stopped flapping his wings for a moment. Lian looked alarmed for a moment before dropping his gaze to Gabe. He was thinking loudly, confusedly, wondering how if Gabe had trusted his Pokemon enough to handle it or what exactly. Gabe lowered his eyes and flashed a smile. “What’s wrong? Your bird a little weak to the cold?” Gabe couldn’t help but taunt then. The trainer only grew more irritated, and Gabe saw through the weakness therein.
“Tail Wind! Speed up and crush it!” the trainer called. The Rufflet shined with energy and sped up just like that. Swiping around Frosty, he slashed his claw right into the Delibird hitting his tail of all things. Frosty yelped falling sideways but managing to catch himself (and the things stored in his tail) right after.
Gabe winced. Don’t get cocky just yet, right, right. ‘Fly above it and drop a Present…’Gabe ordered. Frosty took higher to the sky, the Rufflet right on his tail. Twisting around once he felt high enough, the Delibird reached into his bag of tricks and sure enough dropped a bomb down on the Rufflet. It exploded right on point, and the pained cry of the Rufflet was enough to assure both Gabe and the trainer that that had been a damaging bomb.
“Stay away from it! Use Air Slash!” the trainer encouraged, and the Rufflet just barely managed to whip up some air to send crashing Frosty’s way again.
Gabe, however, was ready and raring to go with a plan now. ‘Fly right through it and Ice Punch it in the wing’ he mentally ordered. The Delibird cried and then went cascading downwards in a flash taking the damage all while forming some ice in his fist.
“Get out of the way!” Lian called. But it was too late as Frosty’s fist met its mark freezing the Rufflet’s wing and causing him to fall right out of the sky and hit the ground… hard. The bird keeper yelped and scrambled over to check on his Pokemon. Gabe remained where he was without a word. “Oh thank goodness…” the trainer sighed and returned his Pokemon before coming back over to Gabe again. “I underestimated you… how about a regular battle?” Was the offer.
Gabe considered before smirking. “Only if you're prepared to lose all the more… Frosty, you hanging on?” The Delibird called and gave a salute. He was just fine! A little scratched up, but all fine! “Good…”
In a flash, the next Pokemon from bird keeper Lian was released, and for a moment, Gabe froze. The Sigilyph was staring at him, not Frosty, and seemed to gauging him for something. Its trainer was speaking, ordering it to use Tail Wind to speed up as the last had. It did not seem to be listening, however, and remained staring at Gabe.
The hairs on the back of Gabe’s neck stood on end. “Frosty, Ice Punch,” he said aloud refusing to let this thing become remotely aware of whatever it was searching for. The Delibird twitched on receiving a vocalized order but just as quickly summoned up some ice on his wing and dove down to smash into the giant orb creature. The Sigilyph seemed to snap from whatever trance it had been in and looked at the Delibird instead as if realizing then that he existed at all. Gabe let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding.
“Come on, use Tailwind!” Lian was ordering, and finally the Pokemon he commanded paid attention. Shining bright with Flying type power, the Sigilyph sped up and gave a cry of reassurance now. Whatever had been bothering it was now passed.
Gabe bit the inside of his mouth, unwilling to use telepathy again all the same. “Frosty, Drill Run,” he ordered unexpectedly even to himself. The Delibird passed in mid-flight looking at him with a bit of uncertainty before shaking his head and flying forth strengthening his beak and pecking viciously at the Siglyph.
“P-Psychic!” the bird keeper shouted back. The Siglyph shined a bright purple color and released the blast, and Frosty just barely took it as he focused on stabbing the thing all the same. The Siglyph cried out taking heavy damage, but even Frosty needed to rest now. Hs thoughts practically screamed it even against Gabe’s lack of communication. Gabe winced and was quick to return him for now (somewhat to the surprise of the bird keeper who had thought it was going more pooly on his end).
Gabe didn’t fish out a Pokeball but rather extended a hand. “Gum, handle this…” was the order. The Ditto sprang from his finger and took the form of the strange Siglyph in front of him. And this time, sure enough, Gabe was aware of it. Gum had attained thoughts… to one degree or another, Gabe could hear them clearly now. So this thing was capable of psychic communication… to one degree or another… and it had probably singled him out. They’d have to be careful.
‘Gum, it knows Psychic and Tailwind…’ And who knew what else, but they’d worry about that after. ‘Start off with that…’ The Ditto said nothing but sped up with the Tailwind and went forth releasing Psychic power. It was returned with a blast from the other Siglyph. This would not be easy. They clashed a couple of times, but Gum had not already been weakened. The Siglyph received one too many psychic attacks in return and finally succumbed. The bird keeper huffed and returned it.
As another flash of light came and so did the Fighting Farfetch’d, Gabe breathed a little easier. He called back Gum and was quick to grab a Pokeball. He had just the bird to handle this bird. Tossing up the Pokeball, he released Toothless the Pidgeot. The large bird beat his wings in the air and flew up a bit higher just to keep from shaking the air below too much. The bird keeper stared up in awe for a moment before shaking his head and saying something about it being ‘kind of impressive’ or something of the like.
The battle that followed, however, was entirely one sided at that point. Even when the Galarian Farfetch’d got off a Swords Dance, it was not enough to break through the Pidgeot’s Type advantage when using Wing Attack, and Gabe was just getting started. Agility strengthened Toothless’s evasiveness, and even when he took a Brick Break to the chest, he was able to dish back a Sky Attack right after. The Farfetch’d hit the ground and dropped the leek it always carried. The bird keeper was done.
“I…. damn you’re really strong….” Lian sighed and grumbled a little looking away for a moment before finally forcing himself to look back in Gabe’s direction. “I … thanks for the battle, I guess…” They were about to exchange some pen when Gabe noticed just how much Lian was carrying… and then proceeded to mention it.
“It was a good battle wasn’t it? It was a fun battle… I still have Pokemon you know…” Was he taunting? Intimidating? It was hard to tell even for Gabe, but the bird keeper huffed it off a couple of times before finally giving in and giving up more pen and even some items that Gabe himself hadn’t even asked for. “… Why thank you…” Gabe grinned but was waved off thereafter as the bird keeper took his bicycle and went on the opposite way. Gabe took in a breath… and checked in on his Pokemon.
Shakedown: You gain double all rewards from NPC trainers, but this doesn't work on Officials like Gym Leaders or in Contests.
Everyone was in mostly good condition. Frosty was still a little tired out from carrying almost two battles, so Gabe opted to keep him in his Pokeball for now. Gum had once more placed itself back on his hand in the form of a ring. Toothless the Pidgeot, however, opted to stay out for now. It was a beautiful day out and getting to spread his wings out over such even terrain was nice. Gabe had other plans to have him search out any missed treasures, but their goals were close enough to be aligned. They oved on down the path.
Just as they came up to a bicycle rest stop, one of many on the way, Gabe caught sight of a rough looking young man eyeing the Pidgeot flying up high. The delinquent didn’t take long to notice him either and returned the look. “That one yours?” the delinquent huffed.
Gabe smiled. “Yep,” he answered. That look in the other trainer’s eyes was familiar enough, and without even needing to, they both spread out ready to battle. The trainer, Abner, had a Pokeball in hand in a split second and the Pokemon itself out a second later. A Toxapex stretched out some, and Gabe grimaced at the poison type. They’d have to be careful. He had a few items that could take care of poison, but he really didn’t want to use them if he didn’t have to.
“Toothless, whip up a Hurricane,” was the order. The Pidgeot summoned up some Flying type power and beat his wings to it drumming up the air into a frenzy and sending it spiraling at the Toxapex. A small ‘tch’ sound escaped from Abner as he gave the order to brace through that stupid wind and retaliate with Liquidation. The Toxapex did just that, swaying a little under the current of air but otherwise keeping his cool.
Springing up right after, it released a spray of harsh water upwards. Gabe had an idea, however, one that he quickly directed to Toothless. ‘Heat Wave’A n almost fiery blast of warmth cascaded downwards crashing into the water and dispelling some of it. Toothless took some damage but much less than he could have. The battle went on like this with the Toxapex’s stamina being its greatest strength in the face of a foe that could fly above it and dodge some of its more menacing attacks.
When a Poison Jab was called for, Gabe and Toothless were briefly surprised that the Toxapex could actually spring so high up into the air, and Toothless was clipped for it much to their chagrin. A the very least he wasn’t poisoned, and they kept higher up and further away thereafter.
Eventually the Toxapex wore down, however, and Abner, on seeing this, opted to recall his Pokemon before it got much worse. “You’re not half bad,” the trainer stated shifting a little and moving to grab a bag that Gabe hadn’t noticed until then. “Here, I have extras…” Wool? Where or why did he even…. I could probably use this in bedding though… and that was enough for Gabe to be squirreling it away.
Shakedown: You gain double all rewards from NPC trainers, but this doesn't work on Officials like Gym Leaders or in Contests.
Spending some time checking his Pokemon, Gabe then returned them and cycled onwards down the path. He was making good time and closed in on yet another rest stop relatively quickly. Stopping, parking his bike, and then going to the vending machine, he hummed over what exactly he wanted— only to be raptaptappped on the shoulder. “Hm?”
“Would you like to hear about our lord and savior Giritina?” Gabe froze and then slowly turned to see the very very strange woman staring at him. Her pale skin was in stark contrast to her deep purple outfit. But it was her eyes more than anything that scared him. They were large, wide, and soulless. The smile plastered on her face was equal parts strained and hollow. There was… a strange white noise coming from her mind as well, like the subtle etchings of chalk on a black board.
Gabe stared with a forced blank look back. Why do I always attract the crazies… On another occasion, he would have been kicking himself for using the C word even in his inner most thoughts, but right then and there, he felt pretty spot on either way. “Ah…. no thank you,” he answered forcing a smile and shoving some pen into the machine before pressing a button. The machine creaked as it slowly began to drop the water he’d ordered.
“That’s a shame! He says you are a psychic who looks quite delectable!” the hex manic replied.
Gabe fidgeted. All at once, his pulse shot through the roof and his blood pressure dropped to the floor. If he hadn’t come across a number of psychics in one capacity or another, lately, he would have been running in this moment. “Well….. that’s nice,” Gabe answered slowly. His hand shook a little as he reached down to grab the water from the dispenser. “If you’ll excuse me—“
“He wishes for me to show you his power!” The hex manic jumped up and down clapping her hands wildly. “Allow me! Allow meeee!” And with that, she grasped a Pokeball from her person and tossed it up. A Palossand suddenly spread up and around them nearly pushing Gabe up against the vending machine in turn. He squirmed and side stepped it twisting around to stare at her and her Pokemon.
She was looking to battle? Ugh. He supposed she was, wasn’t she? Gabe forced a smile and slowly grabbed a Pokeball. “Show me what you’ve got, then.” At least he knew how to handle this. In a flash, Frosty was back again having had some time to rest and recoup along the way. The Delibird sputtered and immediately flew up to avoid this massive sand creature before looking at Gabe and then back at the Palossand again. “Yeah,” was the vocalized answer. The Delibird gave a small salute and fished in his bag dropping an immediate present.
Boom. That was the sand spraying outwards getting everywhere in the process. Gabe grimaced. Ugh, great. Sand in his beautiful hair. Wonderful. The hex manic laughed shrilly clapping her hands together. “Marvelous! Marvelous! But Palossand is a disiple of Giritina!” she cried, and with some strange gusto, the Palossand reformed, stretching and uttering a cry of rebuttal. “Palossand! Earth Power!”
Gabe deadpanned. “Fly high, Frosty,” was the roder. As the powerful earth attack raised up and was launched at the Delibird, he flew one way and then the other easily avoiding it with the power of flight. “Present again.” As much as he wanted to go in for an Ice Punch, Palossand were notorious for consumption. The last thing he needed was Frosty to become one with the stupid sand. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. One of those stupid bombs actually healed the Palossand a little, but it wasn’t near enough compared to the damage it was taking still. Boom. Boom. Bang. That one was enough this time to have the sand wobbling and finally falling in on itself.
“Nooooo! Servant of Giritina!!!!!” the hex manic fell to her knees dramatically. “You are truly a worthy foe… I give you offerings from our lord.” Gabe wasn’t exactly sure that he wanted offerings from anything, but she had wool… which was strange considering the last few interactions, but whatever. He…. he supposed he’d take it.
Shakedown: You gain double all rewards from NPC trainers, but this doesn't work on Officials like Gym Leaders or in Contests.
Lucky for Gabe, the hex maniac was content to leave him alone thereafter. Or rather, she kept trying to talk to him, but as he returned Frosty, packed his items, and bicycled off, she did not follow after him. He did check over his shoulder for almost a mile thereafter and stretched his mind a bit out in various directions to make sure she wasn’t there. But it turned out she wasn’t. Good. Riding along now, he was content for a while. A few cyclers passed by with no challenge, and he was vaguely thankful for it. It gave him some time to recoup.
At least until he caught sight of one of his favorite targets: a rich kid. A rich kid that seemed to be distracted while on a date. Gabe’s eyes flickered sideways to the boy he was with, a much rougher looking young man who had an electric guitar strapped to his back. That was… a strange pairing, but Gabe was hardly the type to judge. “As I was saying, Tarik, I don’t understand why they couldn’t understand me. I was speaking in very clear terms,” the prim and proper young man was saying just as Gabe got in actual earshot. Stopping mid-sentence to eyeball the stranger, the rich young man looked back at his date and then forward again. “Can I help you?”
My he’s annoying… Gabe smiled a little harder than he normally would have. “Just wondering if you two would like to battle… you seem to be quite the pair,” he answered. The rich boy sputtered looking from Gabe to Tarik and back again.
“M…. we are….Sophocles and I are good for one another,” Tarik answered in a cool matter-of-fact sory of way causing Sophocles to sputter in response.
“He means— H-hey! I… Uh… we uh… Tarik! How about it then! A friendly battle with this stranger!” Sophocles huffed.
Tarik shrugged his shoulders. “Sure.”
“Very well then! It shall be a double duel!” Sophocles stated.
… They’re vaguely embarrassing… Gabe had to fight the urge not to raise his hand and cover his face. Just think of the pen…. And whatever else he could shake them out of, yes. That was the plan. That was most certainly the plan. “Alright then~! Let’s move over there shall we?” he asked. And with that, they could actually get started.
“Well, since it’s two on one, I suppose we’ll show our Pokemon first then, right, Tarik?” Sophocles asked standing up a little straighter (and adjusting the imaginary monocle he had in Gabe’s mind). Tarik shrugged his shoulders. “Exactly. Well then let’s begin!”
Tarik was up first releasing a surprisingly large Emolga up into the air. The small Pokemon chittered happily ready to see whatever they were facing! Sophocles was next releasing an Empoleon right after. Gabe felt his lips press together as he fought the urge to say something about the Pokemon. It was technically powerful. It just looked too powerful to be owned by such a sassy looking person. Heh, well, whatever. It was Gabe’s turn.
He needed to be careful. Gabe already knew this. The Pokemon he had on him were ill suited to match an Emolga even if he was sure they could handle an Empoleon just fine. Still, there was no waiting forever, and Gabe grabbed a Pokeball and then held it out. “Gum, go,” was the order. The Ditto leapt forth. “Take the form of the Emolga.” As the Ditto stretched out and copied the other Pokemon, Gabe tossed the actual Pokeball which contained Toothless the Pidgeot. They were going to have to be careful, but there was a plan in place now, at least.
‘Gum, use whatever Electric move the Emolga has on the Empoleon. Toothless, run interference with Agility,’ Gabe’s thoughts snapped to their Pokemon, and the pseudo-Emolga sparked with power before flying at the Empoleon. The Pidgeot sped up flying quickly trying to distract the Emolga.
Gum sparked with electricity and went barreling off towards the Empoleon ready to deal a devastating Volt Switch. However, a bright light would shimmer on the Empoleon’s side of the field blocking some of the damage as it went. The strum of a chord after the fact would echo in everyone’s ears. “Tarik! Thank you!” Sophocles beamed proudly recognizing that the Emolga on their side of the field had been ordered to reduce the damage with a Light Screen. “Empoleon, use Rock Slide to smash it away!” The Empoleon shined with rocky power and sent it crashing towards both Gum and Toothless.
A small ‘tch’ sound escaped from Gabe. That was… that was annoying— But before the attack could land on Gum, however, it was disappearing back into the Pokeball. Volt switch recalled. That had been a minor blessing— Toothless managed to dodge some of it but was scraped in the wing and cried out in response. Gabe grimaced. They needed to drop that Light Screen down and fast. He could use this to his advantage, however. Grabbing a different Pokeball, he released Frosty.
‘Toothless, Frosty can’t take much more than a hit. Use Hurricane to distract the Emolga and Emploen. Frosty, focus on using Brick Break to shatter the Light Screen,’ Gabe ordered. Frosty wasn’t looking too great, but he would try his hardest! Toothless used another Agility to speed up before batting his massive wings to stir up the hurricane. It went crashing forward capturing both the Emolga and the Empoleon for the moment. With that cover, Frosty went flying forward aiming to shatter the screen.
Boom. That was a wing colliding with the Light Screen on the Empoleon’s side, and that was the Empoleon in general crashing to the ground. “Benedict!” Sophocoles’ voice escaped into the air. “Tarik, avenge Benedict!” he ordered even while returning his Empoleon. Tarik shook his head. “What?”
“I… don’t want to battle without you… I love you…”
“Tarik… you idiot….”
Gabe grimaced watching as the two turned, embraced, and kissed. The gushy gooey thoughts that were finally spewing up from them were nauseating, and Gabe hated them. He hated them so much.
“Well… if the battle is over… that means I won, right?” he asked forcing a smile.
“I… I suppose,” Sophocoles pulled away from the kisses for just long enough to say that. Gabe struggled not to make a face.
As the boyfriends left, Gabe was left rubbing the space between his eyes and muttering softly to himself. That was… vaguely uncomfortable, and Gabe knew exactly why. Some gross, childish part of him wanted to be like that. Ugh. After he had checked over his Pokemon, Gabe rode on again. He was coming towards the end of the cycling road now, and as fun as it had been, he was sort of glad to be off it now. That had been a whirlwind for his Pokemon, and they definitely needed to see a Center—
My you’ve been harassing quite a few people haven’t you— The thought rang out clear as day, and Gabe grasped the brakes on his bike hard enough to jerk himself forward. He was lucky enough not to immediately be flung off of it in turn. Gold eyes flashed sideways, already sure of where he had ‘heard’ it come from.
On the other side of the road, a young man with no shoes stood propped on a bike. Glowing around him were several Pokeballs. “I doth say you’ve done quite a lot of damage on this road. How evil of you to use your psychic powers for personal gain,” the psychic chided. Gabe’s lips parted, and the psychic went on. “Don’t try to defend yourself. I see through your thoughts.”
Heh, well then. “What’s it to you what I do?” Gabe answered with a small smile.
“Those gifted with such power should use their talents to better the world, not bully others into getting more selfish things…” the psychic answered back. “You should be ashamed for your actions and do better.”
Gabe bit the inside of his mouth… and then smiled. He should be ashamed? Ashamed of shaking down some people (including a rich kid) on a road that was clearly well designed for highway robbery? Hardly. “That better be a challenge,” Gabe retorted. “All critique and no show is bad taste.”
The other psychic frowned a bit. “I suppose it is. I, William the Greatest, will take you down a peg for your rampant pride,” was the answer. In a flash, one of the Pokeballs came forth and released an Exeggutor. The Pokemon shined brightly with energy. It had clearly been trained very well to express such qualities.
Gabe bit back a smirk. He almost wanted to have Liz burn them— Fuck it, he was already being insulted. Why not. Grasping a Pokeball, Gabe chucked it with one hand. In a flash, Lizbeth took form and straightened. “I know you don’t get anything out of beating down weaklings, but he’s annoyed me greatly, Liz,” Gabe commented. The Charmeleon glanced back over her shoulder at him and then forward again to the Exeggutor before her. Anyone that had annoyed Gabe enough to cause him to release her on a clear Type advantage was enough for her in the moment. She’d ask what was wrong later. For now, she'd crush what was in their way.
The other psychic winced on seeing her size and strength already on display but wasn’t going to back down immediately. Instead, his lips pressed together, and his eyes shined with power. Gabe could practically hear his thoughts vibrating in the air. He may have been contacting the Exeggutor telepathically, but he might as well have been screaming it. Wood Hammer. It was a powerful move and offered a lot of damage followed by recoil. It was clearly an all or nothing event. But even if it was Grass, Gabe would not allow it to touch Lizbeth.
‘It’s coming at you, Smokescreen, Liz’ Gabe ordered. The Charmeleon immediately opened her maw and released the black gas before disappearing into it. As the Wood Hammer came down, she leapt sideways allowing it to crash hard into the ground instead. Unprompted after the fact, Liz called upon a Sunny Day that brightened the area into a nearly clear zone again.
“A lowly tactic!” William called, but Gabe could hear the vague frustration in his words. He was probably used to Psychic on Psychic battles, but Gabe would give him no such luxury today. No, he was at a disadvantage here in every way, and Gabe would not let up for it.
In the bright shine that was now encompassing the area, Gabe had one thought on: “Flamethrower, Liz.” They’d knock this one out in one hit. A bright orange blaze went spewing forth from the smoke and immediately engulphed the Exeggutor in flames. The Exeggutor cried out startled and flailed about before falling backwards. He struggled to get up but could not. William was outclassed, and there was no way he would be able to deny it now.
For a few seconds, William looked from his fainted Pokemon back to Liz and then down again at it. How was… how was a Charmeleon of all things this strong? He could understand a Chaizard, but she was not that. Weren’t they supposed to be finniky questionable Pokemon? From all that he knew of them, that was this case but this one… This one was frighteningly focused at the moment. The look reflected in her eyes… was dangerous.
And still he couldn’t help but open his stupid mouth. “What a shame such a powerful and noble creature would choose to be loyal to someone such as you….” There was a look, no matter how small, that flashed across Gabe’s features therein that assured William he had hit something sensitive. Lizbeth glanced back over her shoulder aware of a small wavering in Gabe’s mind.
And that… that was enough to set her off. A snarl turned into a roar, and she snapped her maw a couple of times in a very blatant threat. William looked alarmed and took a step back. Gabe took in a breath and released it. “I’ll let you in on a little secret… she’s my starter. There isn’t a damn thing you could say to her about me that she doesn’t already know. Go to hell you pompus dipshit.” Who clearly… didn’t know anything. Lizbeth’s eyes met William’s, and as she took in a breath, he squeaked.
Fire ruptured from Lizbeth’s maw. In a flash, an Oricorio stood to take the damage. He screamed, twisted, and twirled about swaying from the pain of it. William looked clearly displeased to have to do that to his poor Pokemon, but better one that could take that kind of damage than himself, right? These thoughts echoed out and earned a low noise from Lizbeth and a soft snort from Gabe. “Your high and noble thoughts betray your Pokemon,” Gabe sneered causing William to blush from embarrassment.
“It… it is our actions that speak louder than intent!” William fired back with.
“Says the one who released a Pokemon solely to take damage for you…” Gabe sneered back all the same. Lizbeth growled low in her throat. The Oricorio was regaining himself or at least trying to. Shaking his head, he managed a Revelation Dance that whipped up some Psychic Energy and sent it crashing towards Lizbeth. The Charmeleon took the damage only to shake it off right after. “Flamethrower…” Gabe ordered. There was no need to even use a Thunder Punch here right then. Taking in a breath, Liz spewed the fires once more, and the Oricorio spun wildly to avoid them!
“G-good work, Oricorio!” William encouraged. “Let us show them the might of our convictions! Teeter Dance!” The Oricorio immediately began to twirl into the dance, but Gabe and Liz had been confused before. Lizbeth didn’t wait for the order but rather formed the smoke in her maw again and released it into the air blocking her and Gabe’s view of the teeter dance just barely managing to avoid it. And there it was again. “Sunny Day.” Once more the sun shine broke through the smoke. “Flamethrower….” And Lizbeth’s fire was more than enough to down the Oricorio. The bird fell back fainted and was quickly recalled.
“How… how can you be so strong….Your….” William was struggling to come up with something else to say, anything else to say. It was clear that the bond between Gabe and Liz was solid, well founded, and connected in ways that was truer to trainer-hood than the things William had been accusing him of. “I won’t… I won’t go down!” William shouted. “Not to you who doesn’t know the meaning of using your powers for the right reasons!”
And in a flash, it appeared: a Metagross. The psychic power in the area grew exponentially, and the density of it was enough to give Gabe goosebumps. Lizbeth hissed viciously back. This thing was on a whole ‘nother level than the previous Pokemon. And for the first time in a selfish moment, Gabe wanted it. He wanted it badly. He wanted to rip it away from this annoying trainer and have it for himself. Because this damn thing was too good for a trainer accusing him of this….. Or because he wanted to indulge in the delusion this trainer had of him. To use his gifts in a different way.
‘GET OUT OF MY HEAD’ The roar from Gabe’s thoughts blasted back and had William falling flat on his ass. The other psychic looked wide eyed with alarm and red in the face from knowing exactly what he did. Gabe was walking fast passed Liz who was looking at him with equal parts alarm and confusion. The Metagross too had frozen as if in shock from whatever had just happened. Gabe’s eyes shined bright yellow with an uncanny light.
<Gabe….> Liz started and stopped as he looked back at her. Instead, her eyes flashed to the Metagross. <Make one move, and I’ll incinerate you to Meltan!> she snarled. The Metagross didn’t move either way.
Side stepping the Metagross entirely, Gabe walked right up on William and seized him up by the collar. “You think you know me? You think you can influence me? You think I don’t know what my own thoughts are like? You think you’ll get some moral high ground for pushing me into wanting to take your stupid Pokemon?” Before the other psychic had a chance to say anything back, Gabe had raised a fist and socked him hard over the face. “Fuck you!”
The psychic went crashing down onto the ground again his eyes wide, face pale. Gabe stood over him, eyes still glowing. “My mind is mine. I do what I want.” Gabe’s hands balled into fists, his eyes shining brightly. “Don’t think you can turn me into the bad guy just because it suits your narrative.” Even if he was. Even if he had shaken down all of cycling road and then some. Even if he had done worse to get by over the years. Even if he had little to no remorse for some of (or even all of) what he had done. “You don't know me at all.”
In the background, the Metagross had started to move again— only to receive a flamethrower to the face from Liz. Turning back around, it formed a Psychic energy blast and sent it crashing at her, and she took it in stride before returning with a far fiercer attack of her own. Using a Flame Charge to get up close and personal with it, Liz raised and slammed down her claw. The Metagross reeled.
“Stop stop stop! Please! Please I’m sorry! I …” William looked afraid. Of course he was afraid. Gabe glared down at him, his hand tightened into a fist again. William raised up his hands as if to block his face. “What… what do you want from me?”
Gabe’s teeth grit. He wanted an apology from everyone who had ever fucked with his head. He wanted to know what it was like without that bullshit in his life. He wanted… A small laugh escaped from Gabe as he realized then what exactly he wanted. Raising a leg, he stomped down hard on William’s ankle. The other psychic yelped and recoiled a little. “I want you to suffer…” Was the answer.
The sounds of rangers in the distance echoed in Gabe’s ears as he got on the bicycle headed towards Maple. Looking back at the severely beaten up William and his burned to a crisp Metagross, Gabe grit his teeth. He almost felt bad, almost, but spite kept him from it. “Don’t cross me again,” was the threat, and with that, Gabe kicked the bicycle peddle into gear and went on down the pathway… with quite a lot of stuff in tow.
06
04
00
Rare Candy x2, 
Wood x1, 
Cotton x1
Razz Berry x2, 
Wool x1, 
Nanab Berry x1, 
Greenery x1
Gold x1, 
PokeBall x2, 
Pecha Berry x1
Iron x2, 
Bamboo x2, 
Aspear Berry x1, 
Sand x2
Lv50 
