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.
Among Agate's Pokemons, the level gap is like this... The highest is at lv 21, probably higher... and the lowest is around 4. The level distribution is rather uneven, and it's... quite unfortunate in a sense? He's not quite happy with how lagging some are... it's not their fault obviously, it's his. That's why... this time around he decided to focus on the weaker Pokemons!
"Alright, as you know-- Churio, please stop nibbling on my arm."
It was supposed to be quite the serious training, but... already, one among the six did not take it seriously enough. Churio the Tyrunt is happily nibbling on Agate's arm. It's her first time training for real with Agate! She's happy! The Tyrunt tail wagged as she keep nibbling on. It doesn't hurt thankfully, but even so, Agate wonder if this will be a rocky start. Should he try to show a bit of a sternness?
"Churio, I know you're excited, but we're supposed to be tr--- pahahaha!" before Agate could finish his sentence, the Tyrunt immediately licked his cheek and nuzzled his side. Ragnard who saw that pouted and also approached the duo. He immediately licked Agate on the other side after climbing up to him, as if saying that he won't lose in term of affection! Rutile yawned, wondering what's even going on right now. She's here for training, not for this... affection pile! But well, if everyone is insisting on it, then she... won't mind to join in? Like a tsundere, she would approach the trio and licked Agate too, adding more to the affection pile.
"Hey, hey, c'mon, you guys!"
The trainer's (weak) protest was unheard. Churio immediately pushed her trainer down. It's time to play, time to play! The Tyrunt was excited and she wags her tail, snorting playfully at the sight of the affection pile, then return to flop beside her trainer, scooping up his hand to put it on top of her head! Ragnard, not willing to lose, immediately did the same by putting Agate's free hand on top of his head too! Rutile, seeing the two reptiles does not seem to be pleased. She instead licked Agate's cheek like saying "sure you guys want to be spoiled rotten, but haven't you heard that loving is better than being loved!?" Not even a second later, even the gentle Kagari and Flamel soon joined them too! The Fennekin nuzzled the top of his trainer's head, while the Torchic calmly sat on Agate's chest, cheeping happily. Oh well, looks like he should start with this sort of mood, doesn't he!
"Alright alright, just fifteen minutes, alright? After that we all train, alright?"
The start of their training ended up being an affection pile. Agate decided that each of them get three minutes each before training. First come Churio, who requesting pats and scrubbing, then Ragnard who just want to be patted and hugged. Rutile requested three minutes easy grooming, looking proud and happy. Then, both Flamel and Kagari both requested him to just sit still as both of them lay relaxed beside him. With that, the allotted fifteen minutes passed. Time to train for real. WC: 526 Party: Churio the Tyrunt Ragnard the Charmander Flamel the Fennekin Kagari the Torchic Rutile the Rockruff Egg (Carvanha) 1/2 (Incubator)
"Right, let's get this training out of the way first and foremost! As you guys know you guys are... I wouldn't say that you guys are weak per se, but..." Agate scratched his cheek. "You guys are a bit lagging behind. I know you guys are bothered about this too, right?" The Pokemon cried in agreement. "Looks like I wasn't wrong, thank goodness... Plus I don't think i have spent enough time with you all. That's why I want us to train... As for the menu, let's see...
Kagari and Flamel, both of you aren't interested in Pokemon Battle, right? Oh wait I mean not as interested... Then, I'm thinking of teaching you two some new tricks. We could just enter contest together like that. Granted, I'm not sure if I'm any good at contest, ahaha! Hmmm, anyway... for you guys... eeto..."
He looked at the notes that he prepared just in case. For Kagari and for Flamel... There's Flame Pledge and Heat Wave, huh. Heat Waves are not bad definitely, neither does Flame Pledge. But all thing considered, a Flame Pledge is the best to be used when there is Grass Pledge or Water Pledge... All thing considered, Agate only have Bulbasaur, Rhodonite the oddly colored Bulbasaur. She probably can use Grass Pledge by herself, but.. hmmm... as he thought, he prefer to teach them Heat Wave instead. What heat wave could do in Pokemon contest, you ask? A lot of thing actually... for example, fatamorgana. For another, perhaps illusion or sort? He need to study more, but that's about it.
"I'll be training you both heat waves. Next..."
He looked at Churio who's snorting happily, like trying to get herself fired up to what sort of training that Agate would give him. The red haired youth chuckled. "Alright, alright, I love your enthusiasm, Churio. I'll be tying some tires on you, you're to run with that on, alright? And then... Teaching wise I'd like to teach you stomping tantrum."
Stomping Tantrum, it's a move used after a move failed to land. It's... it's strangely not a move that was on the Tyrunt's moveset list by leveling. Strange? It's actually strange considering how... short tempered are the Tyrunts. He thought that they would get it naturally, and probably by evolution later down the route, but... no? The first time Agate heard about this, he scratched his head, confused. But either way, this training is well suited for the hyper Churio.
"...Now, as for Rutile..."
The Rockruff looked ready. "Hmmm, as for you, I think I know what should I do... We'll race I guess, around the field! Rutile, were you excited when you saw Josh riding his Pokemons like that? Do you want to race too?"
The Rockruff tilted her head, but immediately barked in agreement! She want to race, yep! But then again, she understand that Rock type like her aren't well known for their speeds anyway... But even so, she want to! She want to race, she want to feel the wind on her face, she want to howl when she win! To convey this to Agate, she approached him and barked spiritedly! Come on, Trainer! Notice his desires already! She's here and ready to answer any expectation, because she is Rutile, the wolfly princess!
"Ahahaha, I don't quite get what you're saying, but looks like you really want to compete in that way, huh? Fang might want to do that too. When you're strong enough, I'll be imposing on two of you, alright?"
Another excited yip from her. All good! Next... Agate's eyes landed on Ragnard, and he made complicated expression. WC: 605 TWC: 1131 Carvanha: 2/2 (Incubator)
Last Edit: May 30, 2020 19:32:54 GMT by Agate Valyn
Ragnard's circumstances... were not the best. When he was newly born, his parents weren't around, and already he was attacked by Skarmories... In turn it makes him hate fighting with other Pokemons. The sign of this was when one of the Pokemon in Agate's team trying to spar with him, and he refused, every single time. Riku asked him what's going on once, and according to the Riolu, the Charmander hates fighting, because fighting only brings sadness. It brings pain, and he hates pain.
Agate was fine with it, but releasing him was out of question. He cannot trade him either because he was the one who have best idea what's going on with the Pokemon, well, aside himself of course... So he always treated Ragnard as that... mostly pet. The Charmander doesn't mind either. All he wanted was being cuddled by his surrogate, human parent.
There's no doubt in Agate's mind that he could just become a pet Pokemon rather than a fighting Pokemon, or at the very least exploration Pokemon... However, that notion changed one day. That day, Anat approached him as he came back to his secret base. When the other Pokemons happily greeted him, he did not saw Ragnard... and strangely, Schera. Schera was missing. Randgris who growing more and more bigger no longer sticks around as much with her mother, so she's around.
When he was about to point out about it, Anat put her paw on his lips, like telling him to be silent. Then, she guided him past the training ground, where he heard unmistakable sound of metallic screech. A Skarmory... At first, Agate was worried that the two was fighting... Or considering Schera's lax behavior, was attacked by other Skarmory... But to his surprise, Ragnard was facing Schera, who spreads her wings in threatening way while screeching.
Ragnard, understandably, was very scared. How can't he? he was attacked by them after all... Schera definitely knew about it, but why is she doing this? Anat put a gentle paw on his shoulder, then pointed at the two quickly, as if telling him that he should not immediately judge the situation without understanding what's going on. He know that Ragnard always afraid of Schera, even if the Skarmory always acted gentle with him... Trauma cannot be easily healed... but what he's seeing right now... was definitely the Charmander's resolve to fight against his own trauma. Even as he flinched and in verge of tears, and even if Schera tried to stop by trying to take off, he refused to curl into his usual fetal position and grabbed her by her tail. His resolve made Agate cried a bit.
...And that's why Agate decided that he should be giving Ragnard chance this time around. To honor his wish and to train him.
"...Ragnard," he called out the Pokemon, who looked up at him. "The training will be hard. You know this, don't you?" a nod from the Charmander. "...If it's too hard, you shouldn't be afraid to ask for a break. I won't expect you to overcome any sort of trauma in one day... maybe you won't get it if I say it that way, but... um... what I mean is... I won't expect you to be immediately become a fierce fighter in a day, but... I believe... strongly believe, that you can overcome this... If you're resolved to go through this training, you'll surely grow as strong as you wanted. But know this... there's no need for you to train to begin with. I'm not going to demand you to train. All I want is for you to be happy. Even knowing this, you will train, and overcome your own trauma?"
The Charmander nodded vehemently. That's all Agate needed.
"...Alright, I'll train you. Hug?" Agate opened his arms, in an offer to hug the fire lizard. He approached Agate happily and hugged him tight. WC: 650 TWC: 1782
"Alright, listen up, I already told you guys your menu... but as you know there's only one of me, while there are a lot of you. So we'll taking this phase by phase. Kagari, Flamel, Ragnard, I'd like you three to practice doing your Embers. Flamel, you're good at shape making, you'll be teaching the other two about how to shape the flame. Kagari, you're good at output control. I'd like you to teach Ragnard and Flamel how to control their output... finally, Ragnard, you're good at hitting things on bullseye. Give the other two pointers in how to hit their target."
The three fire starters cried spiritedly in unison. Now, for the other... "Rutile, you--" before he could finish his words, suddenly the incubator would shook. Agate quickly ran to it, and... immediately, a Carvanha came out from it. It blinked, and Agate quickly tapped a Pokeball to it before summoning it out again. Whew, that was close...
Churio looked at the new Pokemon curiously. What's going on? What's this? Why is she very sharp and pointy like her? Is she somehow a chomper from the wet thing road somehow mysteriously colored blue and transparent, where everything inside seem to be floating while they're inside? Churio ended up making a chomping noises at it, which the Carvanha returned with her own. For a moment, Agate wondered if they'll truly get along, but... perhaps it's best to let the two of them communicate for the time being?
"Rutile, back to the talk, I'll have you do me a favor... Please dig a pond for us, preferably one that we can connect to the river later, so our new friend could stay there, sounds good?"
A bark from the canine Pokemon. She's not used doing a menial chore like this, but as a proud Pokemon, she will do whatever task her trainer gave her! That's what it meant to be an elite, to flawlessly execute whatever your trainer gives you! Yes, this is not what she's made for exactly, but if she's ordered to, she will do it! I-it's not like she want to do it or anything, alright? It's just an order, an order, yeah! It doesn't mean anything! Just doing what a good Pokemon would do!
Rutile walked away to the sides and begin digging. As for Agate, he looked back at the Carvanha and Churio. The two of them is now making chomping sound at one another, at times happily dancing together... That was quick bonding.
''Ummm, so about your name..." he would begin as he soon faced the Carvanha. It's... it's intimidating, but isn't bad per se! Probably just a bit of a grump? "...How about Lazuli sound?"
The Carvanha made a chomping sound at him, as if saying 'I don't really care about it, but if that's what my name is then it's my name'. "Alright, I think as for you it's the best to get used to moving for now... ummm... Let's see... Duh, I wonder who to assign you to... If we got seven Pokemons instead of six... well, I guess I can assign someone who's not busy to you, uh... Let's see. Azalea probably can help you, so why don't you try to swim upstream for the meantime? Try to make your body more limber."
The Carvanha seem to agreed on that. Both her and Churio made another chomping sound at one another before leaving.
[WC: 572] [TWC: 2354]
Last Edit: May 31, 2020 13:39:58 GMT by Agate Valyn
Now, ones that left is... "Churio, as for you, we'll train together for the meantime. As agreed, we'll be flipping some tires!"
Tire flippings... those are... heavy as hell. Apparently one can weight around 400 pounds to 600 pounds? To prevent any injuries, Agate wears support belt and gloves. Both of the tires that are available are the 400 pounds one, probably a bit on the lighter side considering that it's a bit... worn out, as in there are holes on it, and not small either! Churio snorted at Agate, seem to be excited to be training with her trainer for the first time! Her tail wagging quite fast. She looked like she wanted to impress her trainer! Give her a go, give her a go! Churio looked at Agate as if saying that.
"Heh, eager aren't you? Alright, in one, two..."
Agate began his lift. First, he took the deadlifting position. Making sure that the weight is all concentrated on the balls of his feet, he started lifting up! Uff, that's heavy! He started to lean forward so his chest is against it, and continue lifting! When it was halfway point, he remembered that he should raise one of his knee to make it easier for him to lift it, and so he does! Immediately after it's around his chest level, Agate switched his grip from lifting up to pushing, and with a grunt immediately pushed it away! The tire hits the ground with a loud "thud". Whew, that was just one. He need to repeat this several more times!
Churio beside him snorted eagerly at the sight of her trainer lifting that weight! 'Cmon, master, you can do it!' or perhaps that was something along that line that the Tyrunt eagerly tried to convey toward the tanned teen. However, she's not going to lag behind either! Churio chomped on the tire, and attempted to flip it! but looks like it was a wrong approach as rather than flipped, it only got dragged instead! Well, quite the challenger aren't you? The Tyrunt snorted once again, and this time attempted to flip it by using her snout! She's moderately successful this time around, but being too fast on the flipping motion, the tire instead ended up being lifted up momentarily before falling once again to the ground without being properly lifted.
Not that either? Such a naughty piece of work you are, Mr. Tire! Churio is not going to lose to you either! If Mr.Tire is being stubborn then he should know that Churio is the most stubborn one here! Once again, the Tyrunt snorted and attempted another flip!
Agate meanwhile at this point already managed to flip the tire thrice. Whew! His arms already straining. Veins bulging, and he's pumped up... but even then, this is not enough. He can still do more! Again, and again, Agate lifted the tire, leaning forward, bring it up to his waist, then straighten his knee while moving it forward. When it goes to his chest, push, push and push! The tire once again fallen with a thud. In total he guess he should aim for about thirty flips!
As Agate get used to the movement, the more he feel like he could do it after all!
The target was more or less thirty, but looks like he's starting to feel the burn. Agate winced as his arms began to shake from the flipping. He guess he should slow down soon. Lift, support, flip, lift, support, flip... he counted he have done about fifteen. Halfway. This was perhaps the closest he have ever been to lifting his limit. But is it enough? Nay, it's not enough. Agate remembered that man who he met on that late night excursion to the Weeping Forest. That man was so strong looking that Agate wondered if that was the peak look of a veteran explorer. Well, if it is, then here he is, he's going to get to that big and strong!
"...Twenty... twenty one..." rather than slowing down, Agate's determination is pushing him through! More and more he lifted and more and more he gets himself pumped. While gritting and supporting his upper body with his lower body, he pushed through. At one point though... his shirt began to rip. Oops... That's right, he's growing up quite a bit huh... Oh well, as much as he likes that shirt, it's better to do without a ripped shirt. Agate simply rips it away and tossed it aside.
"I gotta put it on my reminder that I have to buy some shirt later... Alright, one final fli---"
But before he could do the last flip, suddenly he heard something that sounded like grumbling. Churio hasn't been doing so well it seems. She's unable to flip the tire right, it always goes off route or sometimes only flop weakly... and her anger is building up, and before long, she let out strings of rawring... It reminds Agate of a certain duck mascot somewhere that hops around as he got angry.
And just then, suddenly he felt the ground shake... Uh oh... Don't tell him...
Churio however does not care. She (childishly) let out tirade of annoyed (childish) rant at the tire in her Tyrunt tongue. 'Why aren't you moving like Churio want to, you bad Mr. Tire!' so she said 'Churio is trying hard to please master, but Mr. Tire just have to make Churio looks bad!' she continued. As if to emphasize her point, she stomped the ground angrily, snorting and slamming her tail down the ground. She's really angry! She never been this angry before! Alright, just so this Mr. Tire know, Churio will use all of her strength!
"W-w-wait, Churi---"
WITH ALL HER STRENGTH, CHURIO KICKED THE TIRE! It sailed across the field, far to the other side, before it crashed at a tree and the tree got pulverized. The tire isn't in any better shape either, considering just how far it sailed. Agate sweatdropped. This girl, does she already learned her Stomping Tantrum?
But looks like Churio isn't ready to give up either. She walked back toward the start line,w here another tire is waiting. Rather than pushing it with her snout, seem now she decided that the best way to work on the training is to instead flip it with her foot. Churio is back to her cheerful mode again~
"...Churio, what the hell," her trainer's retort mostly unheard.
After the incident with Churio, Agate resumed his training. For the meantime, he ordered his Tyrunt to focus on what she have... that is, that stomping tantrum just now. She's doing great with it, but at the same time she need to be more easily... annoyed. He won't go his way to make her annoyed obviously... Perhaps, by tugging that nerves that she felt when she was angry at the unflippable tire, he could make her understand how to use her technique more.
"Alright Churio..." Agate decided that it's better for two of them to take a little break. As for Agate, he's not going to take break fully though. The fourteen years old grabbed some weights and began curling it. "As you know just now, you kicked that tire so hard that it hits a tree and pulverized it... no, Churio, I'm not scolding you so there's no need to look dejected like that..."
The formerly dejected Tyrunt looked happy with that clarification! She's not in trouble, not at all? That's all she could ask! Well, if there's a nice bone to crunch, or jerkies to monch, that would be the most exquisite! Of course she can't communicate it all that well to Agate who just sighed and smiled.
"Right, Churio, what do you feel about when you failed to flip the tire?"
What does she feel? Well that's a strange question! She was really frustrated of course! She tried to convey this with some sounds that vaguely sounds like someone moping and protesting with a little bit hint of childish tantrum... But it all boils down to 'I'm angry, and I'm ready to give up, but I don't want to give up either, so I gave my 110%'. This thankfully seem to be conveyed enough to Agate (who still yet to stop training himself)
"So you're angry, and you want to just... let that anger out, right? Alright, then do you know that you're using Stomping Tantrum back then?"
A shook of head from the Tyrunt.
"Stomping Tantrum is a technique that is more potent if you get angry because your technique failed, or it deals no damage against an opponent. For example, if you attacked a Flying Pokemon with a Ground Type move, it will deal no damage, and well... the next attack will be really damaging... but I guess that's a bad example huh..."
Agate mused for a bit before explaining again. "...If, for example, you give a person something... let's say, a flower..." he remembered that Churio loves to grab flowers and give them around, no idea why. She really just does do it and to Agate, that was really... lovely. He loves the way she just suddenly came up at him, snorts friendly with a mouthful of flower.
"...So if someone reject it, would you feel sad?"
She nods! She definitely would feel sad, but she also understand that not everyone would like flowers, so that's fine in her opinion. If they don't like flower but say that they don't like it, then all is well with her. It's personal taste after all! However...
"...But if they just stare at it, don't do anything, and not even responding to you, what would you feel?"
...She never been in that situation before. She... tilted her head, and thought for a bit before...
"Wouldn't it feels worse to be ignored rather than to be rejected?"
...That's true! She would definitely felt very sad if someone ignored her rather than rejecting her. There's a feeling that someone still acknowledging her if she's rejected, but ignored altogether...?
"That's how Stomping Tantrum Works. Anyway, I'm going to check on the other, alright?" WC: 613 TWC: 4094
The one that he decided to visit next would be Rutile, who is running around the field. "Yo, Ruti!" he greeted the Rockruff who greeted him back, but with a little sass in her tone, as if saying "where are you, huh? How dare you making this princess of all wolves wait! But because this Rutile-sama is very fond of you, you're forgiven! So be thankful!" Agate couldn't quite catch the exact word, but somehow he guessed from her bark, gesture that she's turning her head away haughtily, before looking at him through eyelid half open, and the usual smile. Rutile is another one of his Pokemon with very strong personality it seems.
"Sorry sorry. I was just teaching Churio a new move. I'm going to teach you one too obviously, so there's no need to look like as if you're saying that I'm playing favoritism!"
Indeed, Rutile was looking at Agate like he's just saying 'I'm teaching my favorite kid new tricks, so you should just accept it'... but thankfully he cleared that up, so the Rockruff is in good mood again.
"Before we do that, though, let's do a race. You love that, right? Let's see... the track is the usual. Quarterway point is the river, get back to the rocky area, then make a lap. It should be a nice, short warm up, don't you think?"
'I have been running for a while now, though,' Rutile's expression seemed to say 'but if you care about racing me that much, then I don't mind to race you! You really should give me some treats if I win though!' Yes, that part he caught it easily because Rutile ALWAYS so vocal about wanting her treats whenever she won something...
"Ah, right, treats huh? Sure sure, that's fine with me."
That aside though, it's time for them to train. The idea for the race this time around wasn't stamina increasing, but speed increasing instead. Agate counted the timing just in case. The human and Pokemon are on their mark... the moment Agate called "go", both him and Rutile ran! The first fourty meters are without problems. It's just a straight route. However, from that point on, it's a bit different. First, they're heading toward Agate's specially made floating platforms... yes, complete with floaters. Fall or slip and they will hit the hot spring below. It's like stepping stone, really. Rutile did not have time to hesitate. She was the first to arrive at the floating platform area. Her size, although about twice of a normal Rockruff, more or less still benefits from being compactly sized. The moment she landed on her front paw, she concentrated her whole weight on single spot, dead on the center, and continued. However, that precision sort of cost her more time. Agate was close behind. He stepped on the platform rather easily, having trained with it several times. They passed the first hurdle, but the second hurdle is there... which is a very thin bridge.
Rutile felt that this is a bit hard, considering she's four legged, and it's not exactly made for her. Agate meanwhile? He have different idea. Instead of going at it normally, balancing and all, he instead started doing a handstand, hands gripping on the bridge rather than on top of it. It's both harder and more dangerous, but there are no one who said that they must be on their feet the entire time anyway! Supporting his own weight is an easy thing for Agate. Using his legs to distribute his weight, the boy managed to catch the Rockruff, who, in her surprise that she got caught up, immediately tried to hasten her pace... to no avail. Agate swung his legs back and forth to gain a momentum. The moment he's sufficiently with enough momentum, he would launch himself!
Nearly missed the landing, Agate would shook a bit, but he immediately resumed his run across the river, leaving sulking Rutile behind. Hmph, if he taking this seriously, then she will take it seriously too! The Rockruff managed to get oft the thin bridge about three minutes away from Agate. She still got some leeway to catch!
The next ones are sidestepping platform, which, if they failed to cross, would led them falling onto matress below. Speaking of which, it's about three meters deep. If they managed to cross it, they would be rewarded with a shortcut. Fail, and they must take the long way across the river. Neither of the trainer (who is used to the sidestepping platform enough) and the Pokemon (two minutes behind her trainer) would have any issue with this. Agate and Rutile has managed to finish a quarter of their race. The next part is just to run along the line of the river.
Agate noticed Lazuli is indeed training by moving against the stream. Sometimes when she wanted a break, she would simply let the water carries her, but when she's ready again, she would push through the water. Azalea who saw him raised a tentacle, both as a greeting and as a sign that everything is alright over there. Good. For the meantime though he will continue his run. Soon, Rutile is catching up. She's about a minute behind him now. That's quite the fast time to catch up! Now, entering another hurdle. This time there are two challenge... a long tunnel where you must crawl, or to get across a moat or sort by hanging on your arm and get across. Technically going all four on reverse might be easier to some, but not to Agate. He prefer to hang on his arms while moving forward. While bending his legs to make it easier for his arms to support his body, Agate began his trek across the moat. As for Rutile, she picked the crawling part. No other way after all. She don't have the paws and finesse to do the monkey bars thing.
However, she hate having to crawl like this. Her size is too big for this sort of hurdle! Even as she goes across, the echoes of her grumbles could be heard. She's a princess, and this is NOT the way to treat a princess!
The result of this one is rather hard. Rutile is handicapped by her size, while Agate got handicapped by his training with Churio just now... Hanging on wasn't fun when your arm is hurting badly. Well, in that case, he decided that the best way to do this is to quickly getting this over with! Thankfully, even if he's still sore from all the tire flipping, he's still strong enough to support his own weight. Agate moves forward, as quickly as he can to reduce the strain from having to hang for such a long time There are breaks in between both for the monkey bar and the trench... about five meters per breaks that is. There are three breaks, which makes the total length of the hurdle about twenty meters. Agate was thankful that he was allowed to catch a break... he decided that he will take the break on the second rather than immediately on the first.
Rutile seemed to have similar thoughts. When the two of them passed their first break, they both immediately going for the second break platform instead. Agate could feel that his arms and hands are getting sweaty from how much he's exerting... Woop, woop, woop! Time to make haste! Thankfully he wasn't the type that sweats more than enough, and the moment his hands finally slipped, he actually managed to get to the second break! ...Quite at the same time as Rutile, who took a break from all the crawling. She finally felt like she can breathe! But the moment when the two looked at each other again... their competitive spirit reignited. Agate quickly put on some chalk on his hands while Rutile stabilizing her breath before both of them going at it again!
Now that they're neck and neck, Agate felt the need to hasten up. Chalk and adrenaline was thankfully what he needed just now. He managed to finish his monkey bar track about thirty seconds earlier than Rutile! The teen ran to the next hurdle, which is just simply a hurdle run. He just have to jump through it, which is easy, but it's also as easy for Rutile, who simply caught up to him-- no, more like she's ahead once more? Drats! And this is just the halfway point too! Agate finished his little hurdle run about a minute behind Rutile, who smirked at him like saying "the princess is a slow starter, but she'll definitely win sooner or later!"
Heh, he won't get overdone though. And soon, they're at another normal stretch. Rutile would run up ahead, knowing what's in the store. Agate meanwhile kept the normal pace, trying to not tire himself too much. What's next, you ask? The answer is... another two options. The first one would be the easier one for human, vine swinging, except the vines are replaced by ropes. The other one is for Pokemons that cannot swings... trampolines. They must go through three walls, and between the walls are trampolines. To make it harder, of course there will be sizable height to be jumped... For a four legged Pokemons like Rutile, trampolines are hard.
Well, at the very least Rutile won't have to launch herself through the air, hanging from ropes to ropes! She barely have the finesse. Have you seen what's under there? Sure it's mattress, but if she failed, she must restart from the beginning! At the very least when it comes to the trampolines, she wouldn't have as much hard time... although if she messed her landing she also must start away from the beginning. Agate was happy with the change of pace meanwhile. Hanging on rope is different from hanging on monkey bar. He just need to swing from a rope to another. It was easy enough. There was about five ropes on the entire hurdle. Swinging on them is easy enough with his strength and all... if he's not so tired at the moment that is.
From flipping the tire, to weightlifting, then to hang from monkey bar, his arms are SCREAMING for him to stop. Sadly, he still need it for the last stretch... so he really can't stop. But here, thankfully, he finally got his rest. His arms won't be working as hard with his legs supporting him clinging on the ropes. Agate swung from ropes to ropes, using his legs mostly to secure himself. Meanwhile, Rutile is in a bit of trouble, clinging to the wall, before dropping to the next trampoline. The height of her fall makes her able to launch gain higher height immediately, but on the other hand it made her absolutely losing control. She was unable to land on her feet, but on her back instead. Dangit, whoever designed this Greninja tribe styled training ground should be penalized, how dare they make this so demanding? But then again, Rutile knew that she have a hand in making this training track, especially what came after this...
Agate ended up finishing first, his arms sufficiently rested and he can return running once more. Meanwhile, Rutile once again lagging at two minutes behind her trainer! How vexing! But what's next is what she consider the best best part of the training, which is are another two options. The first one is pole vault, (there are about three platforms... while those that can't may opt to instead dig and find three (out of six) buttons to open a shortcut gate! Speaking of which, their position is moved every day. Agate was the one who moves it, and so he's always banned from using this route. Sucks to be him though, because Princess Rutile will win this one!
On Agate's side, vaulting was quite easy, to be honest. All he needed was to grab a pole, run, goes over the wall, land on mattress, repeat, three times. However, he miscalculated. Rutile is a dog, and and on top of it, a rock dog, who will get the buttons quite easily simply because she knows the subtleties of the material types! She would easily ace it! True enough, just as Agate landed on his third matress, ready to run again, Rutile already dug all three and passed the gate oh so easily! She's again faster than Agate. Dangit! Now they're at the quarter portion of the race.... the hardest of them all!
The quarter stretch, the last one. After running to the near end, the last hurdle... might be pretty simple. For the Pokemons with four legs, it would be the long ladder, and stairs... as for Agate himself? Rock climbing. More like wall scaling actually. Like many other wall scaling, there are rocks attached on the wall side. They're however not natural rocks. The're faux ones, the same that used in any wall scaling indoor sports. The wall are also not made from natural material to prevent any sudden rockfall. Why are they made like this? Easy enough. Basically, this track is often used for race, and if Agate or his Pokemons forced themselves to go too fast and ended up causing a fall, it would be too dangerous. That's why they opted on the fake ones.
This wall, there are three routes on how to reach the top. Agate took the fastest one for this time attack. Now that his arms are no longer shaking from all the burden it gets from the monkey bar, he would be able to hang on just fine. Agate scaled up the walls, practicing moves that he known for years. His finesse ensured him that he did not really need any safety gear to reach the top! However, how goes Rutile? She unfortunately has misjudged her stamina expenditure. She started to tire. If she haste, she would slip and get herself injured by falling off the series of stairs... and if she tried to go slow, she would be too late to win. With no choice, she decided to walk up the steps, trying to recover the energy. Agate was the first to reach the top while Rutile was still halfway. They're currently near the top of Agate's little secret base. Agate would descend spiral stairs heading toward his secret base, while Rutile, after she's done with her trek, would instead choose the other route by riding a wheel to roll downward! The ball route was shorter, but it's too hard to master. Agate is pretty sure he won't be able to balance on it at all. Meanwhile, Rutile is much more sure of her finesse. Agate eventually exited from his secret base, and run toward the finish line, along with Rutile, who barked at him!
'I will not let you win, for my snacks!' that was what Rutile is saying, but even so, Agate is also not going to lose either! The human suddenly run faster, expanding the last bits of his strength to get the the finish line! Rutile too, decided she's not going to lose! She ran toward the finish line, and the result was...
"...A tie?" Agate asked Randgris who is waiting at the finish line. He was completely out of breath! His legs protesting, his arms sore, his core burning, his body felt like it just did some crazy feats... oof.
".....Fuuuh," he exhaled. "Looks like we're tied, Rutile! But whatever, we did great... let's take... thirty minutes break or something... oof..."
She wasn't all that amused about her loss, but even so, decision from judge is absolute. She grumbled, as if saying that she won't lose next time. Agate though.... thought that he will definitely not win if Rutile evolved...
Now on to the promise. Agate was taking a breather under a tree, looking like he's in deep thought... Well, deep thought is right. While both him and Rutile ended up tied, the promise of training her in one tutor move still holds... and that's why Agate is a bit confused. What should he teach her to be honest? Stomping Tantrum... no, that's probably not good at all... Iron Head... nah, that's probably a bit too easy... then if all fail what about something more... heavy? Let's see...
Agate opened his tutoring book before deciding on one move in particular. "...What I'm going to teach you is a move that deals a lot of damage, and only can be used after you use everything in your repertoire. It's called Last Resort. Think it as the big gun or something. Let's see... ummm, how to explain this to you? Basically, let's say you already use all of your moves, and then none of them really worked... so you're like... 'well done coming this far, my rival! I have tossed nearly every single of my technique at you, yet you could tank all of them! But this is not my everything! Prepare for my last resort!" or something like that...
...There's no need to judge me that harshly you know!"
Yeah, from his little monolouging, Rutile looked at him like he's a bit unhinged on the head, but well... he just thought that sort of spice when executing your trump card would be cool! Well, Agate is still young after all. He loves things that he perceived as cool, even if it's a bit cliched. Even though she judged Agate a bit too harshly, at least Rutile seem to get it. So all is well.
"Last resort is like your final move, so... all you have to do is to use all of your other moves at least once, then unleash it! Generally, this means you can shoot it as fast as the fourth blow exchange, but I think if you got a lot of more moves... hmmm... I gotta check with the book again later, but! For the meantime I'll tell you what the book could tell... that is, you just have to concentrate rest of your moves power within you. You just have to feel the power welling after you used everything you have. They said the more tired you are, the more effective is the move!"
Rutile looked at Agate like asking who's making this book anyway. A lot of it sounded like a sham or something! It's sketchy, really sketchy! But even then, just for her trainer she decided to humor him. Alright. Tell her what she should do!
Noticing the fire in the Rockruff's eyes, Agate decided to order it. First Sucker Punch, then Bite, then Sand attack, and finally Howl! With four moves, Rutile has cleared the needed moves to execute it. She's not sure if it's any good to use the attack just by using four moves, felt a bit... anticlimatic? But even so, she concentrated all her energy into one single attack... and executed it!
What came out next was a star shaped comet, a lot of it! Not just one, but multiple! It spiralled toward the target, and finally hits it with explosion! Right, Rutile cleared it! "Looks good! What do you say, Rutile?"
Despite successfully executing the move, Rutile doesn't seem to be all pleased. She looked at Agate like saying 'don't you think this is too weak?'
"Ah, so you got problem with the power? Well, Last Resort apparently did not get affected by typing at all. So you can still hit ghost with it, everything with it, yeah... but thing is, the problem lies in the fact that it's a normal move, therefore it have no typing advantage. It's a good trump card to have against Pokemons that you have no way to win, or if it resists your attacks... so your only way to win is to use this one move. Its raw firepower is strong, but indeed, it can be easily outpowered by a typed move that your opponent is weak against... So basically it's a jack of all trades and master of none. A good nuke, but not the kind that you want to hit your opponent with unless you have played all your cards."
Rutile understands, but at the moment she doesn't feel like it worth all that much... Oh well! She guess she will train more. After Agate made sure to give the Pokemon more pointers, she ended up trying to learn the moves more. Meanwhile, the young trainer decided to pay visit to the other hardworking trio...
When Agate reached the training range, he found several flames shot at the same time. Flamethrower? Nah, that's not it. It's just three embers fired together. It warms his heart to see that Kagari is giving pointer to Ragnard while Flamel corrects both of them on the best usage, such as shooting in spiral or many more strategical approach.
"Hey you guys! Are you working hard?" Agate asked. The trio looked at and approached him happily. Awww, they're all nice! "Looks like you have been training hard. Alright, what did you learn?"
Ragnard was the first to demonstrate! He breathed out embers at the target. Before, Agate noted, that he's accurate, but not too strong, and at times it's monotonic. This time he... uncharacteristically a bit off from the center? But that's when Agate noticed something... Someone have scorched part of the top of the bullseye, making it looks like eyes. Ahah! Trying to blind the opponent, is it?
"Good job Ragnard! You know better how to use your techniques now! Good boy, good boy~"
Upon being praised, the Charmander's eyes lit up. He hugged Agate, purring in content. He really love being praised like this! Agate just laughed and rubbed the back of the Charmander. He really loves it huh...
"...Right, what about you two then? Flamel, is that you who scorched the top of the bullseye like that?"
Flamel shook his head. Eh? He then pointed at Kagari, who looked shy, but seem to be proud of what she could do. WC: 515 TWC: 7764
Kagari is a gentle soul, that's what Agate believed. She is often unable to fight all that well exactly because she held back too much. Agate wondered if it's better for her to just be a teacher or tutor Pokemon instead, seeing how she really enjoyed talking with the Blaziken from that one job that Agate decided to pick back then... He thought that perhaps he should bench her permanently and give her a role of a contest Pokemon or maybe a tutor for the younger generations. Riku once was quite disappointed at this when he asked his opinion on benching Kagari.
...But then, this happened. It's almost as if the Torchic's own desire to improve. That she don't want to stay stagnant. Seeing this, Agate smiled bitterly. He really need to know his Pokemon better. The little Kagari already grew this strong huh. Agate smiled and strokes her head. "You did great too, Kagari. I have no idea if you could ever go all out against other Pokemons, but... you did well to get stronger. I'll be looking forward to your growth in the future."
As for Flamel, it's seem that his accuracy has improved. He have this bad habit of doing too much of a flashy moves, too much thinking, and too much going by rule of cool. While not to extent of prissy Pokemons, he really have pride in his fireplay. His fire moves in such way that it feels like they're alive. There are also different lights to it too...
For example, Kagari's flames tends to be for training, thus her flame is less bright, more to orange rather than white. Meanwhile, Ragnard, who wishes to protect himself, tend to use the highest heat possible in panic, which cause his flame to be brighter in color. But for Flamel who knows his way with fire? It looked like dance of flame. There are ruby tint to it... aesthetic when that ruby suddenly replaced by orange was mesmerizing... If that's just Ember, think if it's flamethrower, or hell, Mystical Fire! Agate honestly always got mesmerized by it. His style, his beauty, his grace... Pity there weren't much chance to bring him outside with him. He enjoys more of playing flames than actually to fight battle, and that's fine with him.
...However, this ended up having a bad effect on the Fennekin who never actually hit an actual target (bars Gatack). His theatrics makes him slower. Hmmm, perhaps it's best to see if he could improves his speed. His accuracy at the moment is quite good, but his execution speed is as expected... Rather slow. Agate scratched his chin while thinking for a bit...
"......Alright, I think I know how to train you all. You guys indeed has improved, but time to improve it further. Hmmm, as of how, I think first and foremost we should rest a bit. I'm sure you have gone at it for a while now... Yeah, rest sounds good!"
That was a bit sudden, but the trio can't deny that they need a little bit of recharging before going at it again... and plus, it's time for snack and meal! Agate called the rest of the team for a short break just in case. WC: 541 TWC: 8305
Agate always knows that he have to increase his cooking skill one day, especially if he want to survive in the wild... And it's not like he have any issue with cooking to begin with, but... He really just understood what importance in cooking is... He guess he will try to focus on cooking for the meantime, and see how it will goes eventually? First, he diced some potato and carrots. He found that although his cooking is still what some considered to be "manly" as in, "chopped huge", it's not as bad as before. He's getting dexterous in his work.
He ordered the Pokemons to bring him some water. They get... a bit creative with it. Lazuli being a Carvanha would bite the handle of a bucket after floating toward Agate... and that bucket of water is supported by Churio's snout. Rutile would be digging a small fire pit, flattening it and put some stones. The fire starter trio began gathering leftover woods and brought them to the pit. However, it's seem that Agate need three fire pits because the amount of Pokemons. He's a big eater after all!
And before he knew it, the big pot are filled with water, ready to boil. First, he made sure to make the dashi... a little bit of salt, a little bit of pepper, and then on separate pan, he sauteed the julienne onion... it's not too uniform sadly, as he's not used to cook anything this much... On separate pot, he would cook some rice. If he recalled it correctly...
"First, wash the rice thrice... change the water each time you wash it, put the rice on the pan, fill it with water... and... make sure that the water level is about as high as tip of your index finger to the closest finger joint. Once it's that level then all is good. Stir a bit, add seasoning if you want"...in this case Agate prefers it to be plain "close the lid, fire on medium."
Back to the onion sautee, which thankfully was only slightly burnt, but the aroma truly came out. Agate added the meats in and sauteed it more. The meat, according to the recipe, does not need to be cooked that much. Just a bit of sign that the exterior is cooked, then after about two minutes, transfer to the... pot, the boiled veggies and all that. Afterward, he just need to pour a packet of curry inside... and hope for the best. May Arceus have mercy on him because this is the first time he tried to cook curry. It's probably one of the hardest dish to make if it's not for the instant curry packet.
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Is it safe? Perhaps, but that's when he noticed something...
"...Um, I think you guys may not like this one, this is... I think it's the spicy curry."
...The six of the Pokemons sighed. Looks like while it's edible, they'll have a hard problem to eat it because it's that hot. WC: 502 TWC: 8807
Oh well, for those who doesn't like the curry, Agate got a little bit of extra things... "Lazuli, do me a favor and hunt for some fishes. Some salted smelts would be good right now."
The Carvanha obeyed... perhaps a bit too spiritedly. Perhaps she love to hunt? That's scary thought, but those who doesn't work won't eat after all. So at any rate, Agate would simmer the curry for a while, hoping that it will not taste that hot... so instead, he poured a little bit of honey to hopefully neutralize it... and a bit of cream. There, should be fine, should be fine... hopefully. At any rate, the rice is cooking, and he remembered that he should gently move the rice a bit so the bottom won't be burnt. He have to do this several times, but not too many times that it would ended up as porridge instead.
The Carvanha returned with several fishes on her mouth, thankfully not damaged all that much. Apparently when it comes to smelt, there's no need to clean their innard, and just like that they just need to stick a stick to it, dash them with good amount of salt, and then put then near the fire. Welp! Now with that's almost ready, the next to do is to check for the rice. Thankfully thirty minutes was all it takes before it's properly cooked and dry enough to eat. Afterward, Agate would dump the content of the rice pot to a wooden pail to cool faster. He poured some salt, some seaweed flakes, and also beef flosses. Afterward, mix it up together while it's still hot, and then once it's sufficiently cooled to touch, combine it together in shape of triangle... done! It's easier to eat now! It's an onigiri, is what it was called?
Next, a little bit more of protein, Agate would cracks some eggs and scrambled it. Season it with salt, pepper, a little bit of minced veggies for color, and a bit of kick from pepper... and finish it all with a dash of sesame oil...
"...Why are you looking at me like that? It's fragrant alright? The aroma, you're eating with your eyes, your nose, and your mouth! If it doesn't appeals your eyes and your nose, then you're doing it wrong!"
...He just want to say that at least once, but eh, whatever. Once that everything is set, Agate divided the plates for his Pokemon and for himself. First put three Onigiris each on seven plates... Pour the curry on the top, with healthy helping of veggies... add the still runny egg for the accompaniment... How does it taste? Well, it's good, but frankly Agate felt that it was a bit underseasoned in some, too salty in another... he really need to fix up his cooking techniques down the line, but at least this is edible... and no, it's not making him got any stomachache, thankfully. The cream and honey helped a dang lot, thank goodness!
Once they're well rested, Agate sighed and let the other three returned to their training, but warned them to not push themselves too much. as for the other three, the fire starters... he sat down and looked at the tutor moves... What the three can do at the moment is Heat Wave eh... For the three of them too... He guess he can't really just teach them once.
"Alright, what I'm going to teach you three... is this move called 'Heat Wave'. It's a move that's a bit different from the fire type moves you're used to use like Ember. How different, you may ask? Heat waves are powerful area of effect attack. The idea is to send a wind so hot toward your opponent... wind, yes, wind. It's not fire. Letting fire out perhaps is easy, but letting hot wind is probably not as easy... I guess the idea is you're heating the wind rather than sending through fire."
Thankfully, the bonfire haven't been turned off yet. Agate called out the three to come closer to the bonfire. "...Right, so... why is bonfire hot? Why is it that the air around fire hot, rather than just fire itself? That's because fire works like this..."
Agate draw a fire... (it's not that good, but he noticed that he got better at doing fast drawing compared to before). And then pointed at it. "Let's assume this is fire. Fire is just a form of visible energy. In this case, heat energy. Fire transfer heat in several way... Conduction is the way heat transfer through an object via direct contact... Convection is what happened after conduction. The heat spreads through the metal, making it more or less equally hot... and finally, radiation is why the air around fire is hot. It's because the heat is spreading, and you can feel the warmth. The idea of Heat Wave is to heat the air and sending it at your opponent. What good is hot air, you might ask?"
Agate then proceeded to point at the fish. "As you know, you can dry things faster in hot air. If a living being get exposed too much to hot air, they might faint because they're losing liquid in their body. It's not as direct, but it's still dangerous. Also if the air is too hot, a combustion could happened. And that's why heat wave could cause burn on your opponent too."
Well, for the meantime it looks like the three understood. "So, the idea of this training is that you three will have to use fire, that instantly spread the wave toward your opponent. It'll give them quite the punch... POW! directly to the face, because how hot it is! And afterward, well, that's a history I guess? You either win from KO or they lose... well at any rate, think you guys can do it? It's pretty easy isn't it? I'll be testing the power of your heat waves through some help, so please wait a bit."