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.
[attr="class","heart2text"] Maybe this wasn't the best idea, Keone thought as he looked up at the Large and imposing Machamp. The Pokemon must have been at least seven feet tall if not some-odd inches besides, and was as broad as at least two of Keone or more. How was he supposed to help train such a massive Pokemon with Stength of all things, when he was such a noodle? Hhhh. Well, okay... He guessed he'd signed up for this, so he should at least try, right?
"Thanks so much again," the trainer, a middle-aged business-looking woman, said. "Fifi just gets so restless when she doesn't get her workout time." ... Fifi. This Machamp's name was Fifi. Okay. Keone forced a smile, and the woman went on her way.
"Okay, um... How do we do this...?" he wondered aloud. "You just... need someone to instruct you while lifting, right?" Fifi gave Keone a disappointed look, as if she was expecting something more, and the boy grew nervous. "Umm,, sorry, I've never done this." And he was regretting doing it now, but he did need money if he was going to get back to traveling more, and he didn't want to bum off dad forever, so this was... good? experience? ...right?
Looking around the gym, he spotted a tall young man with a Gabite and a Blaziken. Oh, they looked strong. Maybe he could help Keone? "C'mere Fifi." The Machamp followed as they made their way over. Looking up (and up some more, damn he must've been around a whole foot taller than Keone) as he drew closer, Keone called out, "Hey, excuse me. Are you here training Pokemon, too?"
The young man, Koa, cheerfully interacted with the Pokemon and seemed to have an affinity for them. Gabite ran a circle around him due to excess energy while Blaziken simply looked content next to him. As he heard someone address him, he turned around, blue round shades obscuring his eyes. He had to look down slightly, but he offered a friendly smile "Oh, hi! Yes, I am. I figured it would be fun and a good way to get a work out in." He said. He was thin, but definitely had some muscle on his frame like an athlete or swimmer. He extended a hand to him "My name's Koa Leilani! Nice to meet you."
Once introductions were out of the way, he looked between the other trainer and the Machamp, Fifi "Well, Machamps really enjoy having a training partner when they exercise so I don't think watching is going to motivate them at all. Though they're not ruthless. They just want the company, I think! Just look for weights you think you can do some solid reps with and work out with her. It's not a competition so only do as many as you think you're capable of. I'd say...ten of whatever you're doing, then stop to rest. If Machamp keeps going, let them. As long as you're helping motivate them, you're doing what you can. Here, let me help you set up. I was going to do some lifting with Gabite." He said as he walked over to the training equipment. Dumbbells, bars, and plenty of weight options to choose from. He started with arranging some weights for Keone and Fifi. "This should do it..." He muttered as he presented them with their choices of dumbbells and bars, whichever they preferred to work with. "Hey, if you need anything else just let me know, okay? I'll be training for a while."
Next up, he got his weights ready along with Gabite's. He knelt down to instruct the Gabite "Okay, you see this bar? Do what I do with mine." He said as he started to lift his weights, pulling the bar up and towards his chest. "Just lift up, then slowly lower it. Don't lift too fast or it's not as effective." He said as he began to do his reps. Gabite mimicked Koa's motions and fumbled a bit at first, but soon started to copy his pace. After about ten lifts, he set the bar down "See? Simple! Now we take a breather for a few seconds before continuing." He hoped this made sense to everyone.
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Word Count: 430
Last Edit: May 26, 2020 22:11:14 GMT by Koa Leilani
Fifi just ignores you and goes straight into flexing with her dumbbells. You might even suspect that she's trying to show off how much stronger she is than you.
[attr="class","heart2text"] Hm? Oh good, so Keone was right! Nice. When Koa introduced himself, the demiboy replied, "Nice to meet you. My name's Keone Kaimana!" He then opened his mouth to ask if the man could help him, but before he could, the guy immediately started giving technically unsolicited advice? Keone didn't know how to feel about that. On one hand, he was very grateful. On another, it was kind of rude to just assume that was why he came over, but on some mutant third hand? Keone wondered if he was THAT obvious that he had no idea what he was doing, and it was this hand that won out. His face darkened in a blush, and his eye averted, not able to look directly at Koa. Fifi going off to work out on her own only made him all the more humilated...
He watched for a moment as Koa instructed Gabite so effortlessly, and Blaziken watched so patiently. He then offered Koa a weak smile as way of thanks before heading back over to Fifi, who was quickly pumping the iron. "Ah! Fifi slow down, you'll hurt yourself showing out like that." He frowned.
Koa offered him a kind smile "Likewise." There was a slight look of guilt as he realized he started rambling on about proper training conduct without even waiting to be asked about it. He just assumed some help would be appreciated, though his heart sank when he realized it could be taken the wrong way. He rubbed the back of his head nervously and just sighed. "Hey, um...I...man, I'm sorry. I didn't think before rambling on. I didn't think about what that might have seemed like to you." He said, trying his best to apologize.
He felt so awkward now that he made a pretty rough first impression. Still, he managed to keep Gabite interested in the routine, so he tried to focus on that "Excellent job." He said to the Gabite before putting the bar down to take a break. He looked over at Keone and Machamp to see how they were doing. It seemed that Fifi wasn't really pacing herself that well, but Koa would wait if Keone needed any help before butting in.
He turned back to Gabite and picked up his bar again after taking a drink of water. "Okay, now try to lift it a bit higher and hold it for a few seconds before lowering it." He said as he started to do some more curls. He lifted it a little higher off his chest with each curl this time, holding it before bringing it back down as Gabite tried to follow his example.
Fifi wasn't quite happy, but at the very least she understands your concern to her. 'Maybe he thought that Pokemon is as strong as human, so that's why he's concerned,' she thought as she smiled. Finding your gentle chiding to be quite cute, this Pokemon grew slightly more trustful of you. She began to slow down to match your desired pace.
[attr="class","heart2text"] Keone had already started heading back to Fifi when Koa called out. Hm? He turned back over his shoulder to listen. Ah... It seemed he must have noticed Keone's reaction and put two and two together? Well now Keone felt a bit bad that he made Koa feel bad, but he was also kind of relieved to get an apology. "It's fine," he assured him.
Keone got Fifi doing some proper reps for a bit, and kept count as she lifted. He stood ready to spot her if needed, but she didn't seem to need any help just now, probably still warming up more than really pushing herself. She finished a set with her upper arms, then switched to her lower arms to practice with those. When she'd done enough, Keone told her, "Okay, that's good! Let's take a small break before working on a different area," he said. She didn't entirely want to stop, but supposed she'd listen for now.
Deciding to head back over to Koa, Keone smiled toward him and his companions again. "How's Gabite doing?" he asked. But Fifi took a look at Gabite lifting and squinted. Did he have a slightly bigger barbell than she'd had? Was he trying to outshine her?! She'd show him... She left Keone's side and headed over to a bigger barbell. "Huh? ..Fifi, no!"
"Looks like things are going pretty well so far." Koa said with a smile. He took another drink of water and looked over at Keone and Fifi. So far so good. It seemed that Fifi started to listen to Keone for the moment and took things at a better pace. He nodded and gave a thumbs up before going back to his work with Gabite.
Gabite seemed very eager to keep training and that eagerness was absolutely adorable to Koa "Alright, alright, let's do another rep, okay?" He said as they continued. "Up, then back down, there we go." He said between breaths. This was a great workout for himself as well.
However, it seemed that after this current rep, Fifi decided to be competitive and approached the two of them with Keone not far behind "Oh hey, can we...help...you?" He asked as Fifi made a beeline towards a heavier dumbbell. "Uh oh." He knew that while competition could be healthy, it could lead to injury if they weren't careful. Gabite huffed and growled at Fifi's showboating and tried to go for a heavier dumbbell themselves "Wait no no no, hold on a second, we don't want you to hurt yourself!" Koa chased after them to get them back on track. The one they were going for was definitely too much for them to handle and he didn't want them to hurt themselves.
The Gabite huffs a little, but it nods and goes for the dumbell a few pounds lighter. Okay, a few more pounds lighter. Maybe a few more. There. This was more its speed. Congratulations, Koa, you have taught this overly-prideful Pokemon the meaning of temperance! It's doing quite well with this new level of weight, too, sufficiently pushing past its previous work without immediately running to some macho, hyper-massive set.
A shame Fifi saw this not as a lesson but instead an opportunity. She practically dives onto the massive dumbell left behind by the Gabite, doing everything she possibly can to try and heft it up. She's not having a very good time at it, and while she theoretically can lift it up, it's likely she's going to end up hurting herself if she keeps plugging away at it. Quickly, there might be time to stop her!
[attr="class","fadedkeobanner"]But the more I try to move on, the more I feel alone.
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When Gabite took Fifi up on a competitive challenge, Keone made several stuttered half-word noises as he flailed his hands about trying to convey some sort of message to the two Pokemon. Fortunately Koa was better at making the word things happen, and Gabite listened to him. Which meant Keone could go back to focusing on Fifi, who, oh good sweet Arceus, was already straining herself lifting the barbell. "Fifi, stop," he said in his firmest tone. "If you pull a muscle you won't be able to lift anything until you recover. Is that what you want?" Not to mention her owner would be very upset with him for letting her do that.
Fortunately, Fifi actually gave it some thought and realized he was right, huffing indignantly but setting the barbell down all the same. Ugh, thank goodness.
Keone rubbed a hand over his face. "I'm thinking... I might not be the most cut out for this job..." he mumbled. Looking to Koa, then to the Blaziken, and back, he asked, "Do you think maybe we could do this fully together? It feels like I could really use the help with as headstrong as Fifi is... And if you were planning to train Blaziken, too, maybe I could help with that? Two trainers helping three Pokemon might be easier than one helping two... right?"
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[attr="class","fadedkeotag"] Koa Leilani 224 Words
Koa sighed in relief as Gabite took his advice and started to work on weight that was much more appropriate to their current strength level, though he noticed it was a little annoyed at the turn of events. He smiled at Gabite and cheered them on a bit, proud of their efforts and how they paced themselves. "There you go, buddy, that's it!" He beamed happily.
Soon, Keone would speak to Koa about working together to train the Pokemon. He nodded happily "Yeah, of course! If there's anything you need, I'll gladly do what I can." He considered Keone's suggestion to train them all at roughly the same time, and he nodded "Sure, that seems like a solid enough plan! Fifi and Gabite seem to be going at a good pace, so we shouldn't have to worry about them pushing themselves too hard for the time being." He said as he watched the two of them. "Alright everybody, gather around." He called to the Pokemon. "Fifi, Gabite, you two continue what you're doing, but try not to push yourselves too hard or get too competitive with each other, okay?" He said to the two of them. He hoped that would be enough to get them to play nice.
Next up, he looked at Blaziken "Okay, Blaziken, what do you want to do? Treadmills, jump rope, obstacle course? Let's do something you find fun!" He said. He hoped giving the Blaziken the choice would help ease the training process for everyone.
Fifi and Gabite ease up on the pace, lifting similar sized barbells and staring each other down all the while. It's still a rather chaotic scene, but at least now the level of competition's eased down to a simmer.
The Blaziken looks between Koa and Keone, pensively scratches his chin, and then squares up in a fighting stance.
[attr="class","fadedkeobanner"]But the more I try to move on, the more I feel alone.
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Keone sighed in relief as Koa agreed to his little proposition. Thank goodness. This ought to go much more smoothly with the older boy's help. And he could be helpful in turn, of course! It wasn't a one-way street.
With Fifi and Gabite content for the moment, Koa suggested they focus on Blaziken, but Keone wasn't so sure it was a good idea to leave those two unsupervised... Ah, well, as long as they didn't go too far it couldn't hurt to take their eyes off them just a moment, right? So his attention turned toward Blaziken... who seemed to want to fight??? Fight who??? One of the trainers??? "Uh..."
Keone let out an awkward questioning laugh. "You certainly seem enthusiastic," he told the Pokemon. "B-but maybe we ought to uh.. help you warm up before jumping right into a match, yeah? Maybe we can see how fast you can go on the stair master to work on your speed and leg strength for those big Blaziken jumps, huh?" Of course if Koa had any other suggestions Keone was all ears.
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[attr="class","fadedkeotag"] Koa Leilani 181 Words
Koa thought about this for a moment. For a split second he was actually tempted to take the Blaziken up on its offer, but then Keone suggested something that seemed far more sane and rational "Ah, yes that works! We don't want to end up pulling a muscle...have you ever pulled a muscle on the back of your thigh? Not an experience you'll want to revisit." He said as he winced slightly from the memory. He definitely had first hand experience there.
He looked back to check on Fifi and Gabite for a moment before he nodded to himself "Alright, they seem to be behaving for now. Let's see where the stair master is..." He scanned around the room and spotted them in one of the corners of the room near a TV "Perfect, there we go. Fifi, Gabite, you two behave, alright?" He said to the two before he looked at Blaziken "Over here." He said to guide them.
Once they were there, Koa started to do some stretches. He crouched down, leaned heavily on one leg, then the other "You too, Blaziken. Stretch before a big workout." He said and hoped they would be able to follow along. Once everyone was ready, he started to adjust the settings on the stair masters "This should do...let's see how these settings treat you." He said to Blaziken.
Fifi and Gabite are actually behaving themselves for a change, allowing you to give Blaziken your undivided attention. Your deflection seems to do the trick, and now Blaziken is working that stairmaster for all it's worth. Fortunately, Koa's pre-set settings have him distracted. If Blaziken had his own say in it, he'd probably be destroying that poor machine with the sheer force of his thighs.
Everyone's working out intensely, yet nicely! There is peace in the gym!
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