Set in the original region of Arciel, Legends Rising is a route-inspired, but not strictly route-based, Pokemon roleplay. Pick a faction, pick a class, and strike out into the wild to take on the League, master Contest coordination, research the mysteries of Pokemon and Arciel, and much, much more. Will you be a classic trainer? A criminal? A farmer? Choose your destiny on Legends Rising.
Post by Graeme Rowette on Jul 30, 2020 22:44:19 GMT
Journey Post 01/15
Graeme wasn't lost or anything, he totally knew where the next gym was. He was just walking and stretching out his legs, the few days he'd spent cooped up in the city starting to make him a little stir-crazy. There was enough to do around the city, a lot of sights and sounds to take in to ensure he didn't go too mad, but eventually he'd get tired of strolling through the same gardens or walking up and down the same flights of stairs or even passing by the pokemon lab for the umpth time before he set his sights on other locales.
The route leading southeast out of the city was marked mostly by rolling hills with some rocky paths underfoot here and there. Graeme ensured he had all of his eggs secured - all five of them - before deciding to set out, thinking he'd be able to make it potentially to the next town before dark. If he happened to stop and see a few pokemon along the way, well, that was even better; he doubted there'd be any of his favored types along this trail, but who knew, right? All the same, he wasn't going to hold his breath - the chance of being out of the city was too good to pass up, and especially with the weather being moderately okay the prospect was even more enticing.
And if he happened to hatch a few of the eggs along the way, so be it!
The wind was blowing rather strongly, but he was weighed down enough he didn't think he'd topple over. Years spent working at the port with its occasional gust of sea breeze had trained his body enough he liked to think he'd be able to maintain his balance in gustier climes even without the framework of hard-earned working man's muscles to fall back on.
All in all, it was a rather relaxing walk, and he'd left early enough that the occasional passersby were simply older folks on their morning jog or morning errands. No one he had to worry about too much, and the occasional nods of greeting he'd get from time to time weren't enough to stir his nerves.
Post by Graeme Rowette on Aug 1, 2020 20:05:28 GMT
Journey Post 02/15
With all the eggs he was carrying, it was a wonder he didn't end up chafing himself with the way the sacks were rubbing against him through his clothes. For the weather Graeme had dressed himself comfortably enough to deal with it; a grey patterned scarf that would occasionally flutter when a particularly strong gust of wind rushed by, some jeans and a black knit sweater covered by a thin jacket. The rest of his clothes were stashed around the eggs that he'd carried as a sort of protective insulation, to both keep them warm and also to ensure that any jostling didn't crack them unnecessarily. They were gifts from back home, after all, and he could only imagine what sort of pokemon they contained.
The four that he had tucked into his sides were all rather cold and lifeless, devoid of any growing babies inside. The one around his neck, though, was starting to warm, occasionally twitching as though the pokemon within was getting itself ready in order to greet the world. He wasn't entirely sure just what it might be, but he was excited all the same for it.
As he walked, the path would occasionally give way to clumps of rocky terrain here and there, the path branching away to take one over rolling foothills and trickles of streams that gave way to rivers further downstream. The route wasn't completely devoid of life, though, and from time to time Graeme would see the occasional straggling pokemon group as they went about their daily lives. The city was close enough behind him that he didn't feel too wary about the trail taking him any closer to them, and for the most part the pokemon would skitter away and scatter whenever a human got too close.
Save for one, which ... actually seemed to linger, looking at him with an almost mournful look in its eyes. It was a typing he couldn't place the name of, but a quick swipe of the pokedex app on his phone fixed that. Dewpider. It definitely wasn't his preferred typing, but it was interesting-looking all the same. Kind of like something out of a sci-fi movie.
Adjusting the bags of eggs slung around his body, Graeme stood at the edge of the path, staring down the Dewpider as it stared him down, in turn. It didn't move aggressively, not yet, at least, and as Graeme squatted down the pokemon actually began to inch forward in increments, watching him cautiously but with that mournful look turning into something hopeful. He took the time to really take in the pokemon's helmet, from the little domed bubble covering its head to its spindly little leggies and the wide, big eyes. It was actually rather cute, in a way, and he made to reach out a hand to pet it before spotting the dex entry. Apparently it needed the bubble to breathe on land?
"Whoops, my bad." Graeme grinned, drawing back his hand. The Dewpider made a little bouncing motion with its body, but didn't appear too offended. He didn't have much in the way of... food he could offer it, and while it wasn't something he would normally go for/catch, the draw of having a pokemon with him to defend against anything that might attack was appealing in its own right. But... he had limited supplies on him. And also, the egg around his neck would probably hatch soon, right? Right. It wouldn't feel right taking on this lonely Dewpider, especially if he was going to be stuck in a PC box instead. That would probably just exacerbate the loneliness in the end.
He felt bad, but this was the better choice. Surely there would be another trainer that would come along and look after it. Someone that really wanted a Dewpider, that would be overjoyed to see it on this route. Yeah, that sounded good. Graeme straightened, stretching his arms up over his head and giving the tiny spider a lingering look. It gave him a look in return, then turned to scuttled back to one of the nearby rivers to feed. If it seemed at all disappointed at not being captured, it didn't show, and Graame turned to make his way back to the path and continue on to the next city.
Post by Graeme Rowette on Aug 2, 2020 21:01:25 GMT
Journey Post 03/15
After he had split ways with the Dewpider, the path continued on without much interruption for a long while. He couldn't tell how far out he was from the city, but it wasn't much, and after checking his progress along the route so far - in the form of googling how long it would take to walk from Birch to Pine Town and trying to remember what time he left Birch - he deduced that he wasn't even halfway there yet. And, judging from how the path seemed to stretch out for miles yet in front of him, he had quite a ways to go.
Maybe it would be prudent to take a rest. Yeah, rest sounded good, that way he could check on the eggs he had - all heckin' five of them - and see if there was anything that could be done about getting them to hatch maybe a little faster. He didn't think so, but it was a nice thought, at least.
There was a little copse of trees marking a spot with a lot of shade, and a little log to sit on surrounded by bushes save for the side facing the trail. It was there Graeme made his way to now, and when he got close enough she set down all of the eggs, one at a time, and looked them over to see if any of them were making any sound or getting arm or even like.. moving or something. Neither of them were save for the one he had around his neck, the one he'd gotten upon first coming to the region, and he looked over its patterned surface curiously. Who knew what pokemon was inside? There was a good chance it wasn't his favored typing, since ... well, he knew dragons were harder to come by. A lot of people tended to go after them for the prospect of power, and he'd be lying if he said that wasn't one of the appeals for him, as well, but there was a bit more to it than that. At least in his mind, anyway, but telling people you wanted to be a dragon to live out your introvert fantasies probably would look a little weird. Certainly not something he could go telling any ladies, anyway.
Graeme took a seat on the log, stretching out his long legs and taking out his phone. He spent a few moments comparing the patterns on the eggs he'd gotten from home with some he found off a breeder's website for normal-type pokemon, trying to see if there were any similarities at all. That ruled out that specific typing, at least. He moved on down the list, pulling up another breeder that specialized in dog-type pokemon, thinking that that would give him a broader category to search through, but just as he'd started scrolling through it he heard a snuffling noise and saw the bushes beside him shake.
Immediately he paused. If that was a particularly aggressive pokemon, he might have been out of luck. If he didn't move, there was a good chance that he wouldn't be seen?? Was that how it went? He was pretty sure that's how it went. Kind of like... laying down during a bear attack and playing dead. He'd actually debated doing that when the bushes parted and there, standing on its hind legs was a Snubbull. A huge one, judging from its size, practically the size of a small child. And the color...
A quick search of the pokemon's pokedex entry showed that that wasn't any kind of shiny variant. As a matter of fact, it wasn't anything that originated from any other region he could look up, except for specifically Arciel. Huh. That was a little strange, and he slowly lowered his phone to take note of the Snubbull shuffling around nearby. It didn't appear to be too bothered by him, or perhaps it simply hadn't noticed him yet. Graeme's eyes fell on the eggy that was further away from him than the rest and, like a mother hen warming her future babies, he slowly reached out a leg, hooking it around the strap of the sack it was in and dragging it in a little closer to himself. He didn't think that Snubbull feasted on eggs, but all the same... that was a big boy. Someone would could do some potential damage if things went south.
The unfortunate thing was, dragging the bag over to himself had him dragging it over a stash of hidden leaves which rustled and crunched and crackled with each movement. Graeme quickly yanked it the rest of the way over to him, along with the rest of the eggs, and sat for a moment just... hoarding them, staring at the Snubbull and waiting to see what it would do.
Snubbull is sniffing the air intently. He points his nose in your direction, then sniffs again. Takes a step forward. Sniff. You see him drool a little, and fire licks the edges of his teeth. Perhaps he's in the mood for some fried eggs... or maybe some blackened fish? Who knows, but he's definitely honing in on your position. More accurately, the position of your backpack. Unless you do something, he'll probably just ignore you and go straight for the food.
Post by Graeme Rowette on Aug 11, 2020 1:44:26 GMT
Journey Post 04/15
If he wasn't sweating before, he was definitely sweating now. He saw the way the flames licked at its little toothies, the way its scrunched up nose seemed to sniff at the air all around him. If he didn't skedaddle on out of here soon, there was a good probability that the pokemon was going to eat one of his precious eggs. Either way, he didn't have anything on him that could stop him from being assaulted by this pokemon and its hunger.
Oh. Oh wait, he actually... Quickly, Graeme unslung his pack, pawing through it for the bit of dried fish he'd picked up to hold him over until he got to the next town. There were two, catfish and an ice pip. He regarded first one, then the other, and looked to the approaching Snubbull with some trepidaton. Catfish he knew he liked, ice pip not so much. He didn't have much time dwell on whether or not the Snubbull would prefer any fish over the other, because it was quickly closing the distance between them and he had no choice but to move to save his eggies.
Blindly, he threw the ice pip off in some random direction, not even checking to see if the Snubbull took the bait before he was hopping to his feet and sprinting as far away from it as possible. It wasn't until he had gotten back to the main road that he felt the main egg in the bag around his neck began to tremble and shake, and the shell started to crack as whatever it was inside began to emerge out into this brand new world.
Post by Graeme Rowette on Aug 11, 2020 8:13:19 GMT
Journey Post 05/15
As the telltale rustling of the bushes fades behind him, Graeme's long legs taking him as far away from the Snubbull as he could get, he felt himself breathe a sigh of relief. It was soon interrupted by the sound of the egg in his bag wriggling and shaking and cracking, and Graeme suddenly found himself staring down at a wedge-like green horn jutting up from the bag where the egg had been. At last it had hatched. At last he had a pokemon he could feasibly protect himself with, in case there were any other pokemon that wanted to try eating his eggs. Also... it was nice to finally see what had been hatched.
There was another boulder nearby, thankfully away from any bushes where more Snubbull could hide. There was a tiny lion-like pokemon napping on it, but as soon as it saw Graeme approaching with the new baby in tow it immediately scampered off to find another spot where it could nap uninterrupted. Before it disappeared behind a tree it gave him a hearty flick of its tail, like it were making a rude gesture instead, and then went on its way.
Now free to set the egg and pokemon down so he could look at it - along with the rest of his eggs, why did he carry so many with him on this trip - Graeme moved to do just that. The newly hatched pokemon looked... tired, as babies did. It allowed him to pluck it out of his bag and set it down on the rock before he rummaged about in his pocket for his phone and the pokedex app within. After pointing it at it, the pokemon hatched was identified as an Axew. Axew... a dragon-type. Graeme let out a low whistle, grinning at the fanged baby who blinked sleepily at him.
"I can't believe my luck. Axew... welcome to the team!" He said, outstretching a hand. The pokemon blinked sleepily at him but then reached out to take with a gurgle of appreciation. Though initially wary, the tusked baby seemed to be warming up, slowly. "Actually... with those chompers of yours? Let's call you Fang." Graeme christened, and though it got another blink of surprise from his newfound partner it was soon followed up with a nod.
Graeme took a moment to read over the dex entry. Apparently the tusks could break... hopefully that wouldn't happen now. He'd have to be extra careful, he decided, looking up to see the Axew actually wiggling at the tusks jutting out of its mouth like one would a loose tooth. "Hey - hey, don't do that!" He quickly interjected, reaching out to try and stop it. The Axew stilled, mercifully, and blinked up at him owlishly. "If you keep doing that they're gonna fall out, and then where would you be? I guess I could always call you Toothless, but..."
That was apparently the wrong thing to say; Fang didn't seem too keen on the prospect of losing all his teeth, and Graeme gave a start as his new pokemon's eyes began to fill with tears. Before he could say anything the baby burst out into a wailing cry that was actually.... quite loud, enough to scatter a few bird pokemon from their roosts nearby. After quickly sorting the bag that had been carrying Fang's egg, he reached out to give the little guy a reassuring pat on the head as awkwardly as he possibly could.
"Hey - hey, your teeth aren't going to fall out..."
Post by Graeme Rowette on Aug 12, 2020 5:40:45 GMT
Journey Post 06/15
It took a bit of reassuring that no, not all of his teeth would fall out before Graeme managed to get Fang calmed down to a considerable degree. The pair were now walking, the little Axew staying close to his new master's heels, Graeme a little more relieved that he didn't have to carry five eggs and had lightened his load a bit - though four was still pushing it; he'd have to make sure not to do something again like that in the future - and mulling over all the data that he could find on Axew. Fang was average height for his species, and if he was raised to his full evolution he'd be just a little over a head shorter than Graeme when all was said and done. Which was good, because the phrase "tusks can be used to slice through steel beams" didn't sound very reassuring.
Fang's continued sniffling was stifled when Graeme stooped to show him what he would turn into. The pokemon blinked, setting his little paws on the phone screen and smudging it with a mixture of prints and snot and tears and stared at the image displayed there. "See that? Your teeth aren't gonna fall out. In fact," Graeme reassured, swiping to the ChuTube app and pulling up a shaky video someone had recorded of a Haxorus actually slicing through steel beams like a knife through butter. "If we get you strong enough, you'll be able to do stuff like that. See how his teeth are still there?" He pointed at the screen as it zoomed in on the dragon-type. Fang seemed to take particular interest, now completely done with crying.
"That'll be you someday."
There was a large Shroomish passing by; Graeme ignored it, though, shifting the eggs he was still carting from side to side as Fang gazed wistfully at the phone. The pokemon looked for a moment like it would wiggle its tusks again, though better of it, and then pointed at the screen and looked to Graeme. That me, but grown up. Graeme grinned, reaching out to pat the little guy on the top of his wedged head. Fang seemed noticeably happier, and as they continued on the Shroomish gradually faded away into the distance, and Graeme pulled his phone back to close the app.
Just as he did, the screen went black, and the familiar symbol of "shutting down" appeared on the screen, along with a flashing battery symbol.
Post by Graeme Rowette on Aug 13, 2020 12:12:04 GMT
Journey Post 07/15
Well, now his phone was dead, and without a suitable charger or maybe even an electric pokemon on him Graeme doubted that he would be able to boot up his battery between now and when he got to the next city. Which meant that if he came across any pokemon he wanted information on he was essentially SOL. That also included making emergency calls to rangers, and while he didn't think he'd run into anything that would attack him on sight he remembered well the look that the Snubble had given the eggs he'd been toting around. They still weren't making any signs of life - all four of them - and for a moment he was wary that perhaps they were duds. But surely the crew back home wouldn't give him faulty eggs, right? Right. Even as a joke that'd be too cruel.
"Well Fang, looks like we're on our own for a bit. I knew I shouldn't have watched all those ChuTube videos last night." He grumbled, and Fang, noticeably more upbeat now that he was certain his teeth weren't going to fall out, simply continued traipsing along in front of him without a care in the world. What use did Fang have for cell phones? None at all. Clearly, this didn't effect him, and the pokemon's mind happily wandered from subject to subject, envisioning himself towering over a mound of metal piled high to the sky and cutting through steel beams with his tusks. Not even as a Haxorus, but as a regular, giant-sized Axew.
Graeme was deliberating over if there were any old science experiments he remembered as a child that might harness a battery charge - something with a potato and water, maybe - when Axew suddenly found itself face to face with a black and white bear standing up on its hind legs; a Pancham. He knew that much, if only because it and Machops were what the people in the shipyard tended to favor along with their evolved forms. And because he knew that, he also knew that it was a fighting type. Perhaps a second too late, because the pokemon was already thrusting its arm out towards Fang, who just narrowly leapt out of the way. But the single attack turned into a barrage, and the next few hits landed on various parts of Fang's body to send the pokemon reeling back with a baby gurgle-growl of displeasure. It looked like they were going to be in a battle whether they wanted to or not. So much for not running into things that would attack him on sight.
Shoot. What were Fang's moves again? Graeme struggled to remember, hopping from foot to foot, mindful of jostling his eggs too much. Already pulling back its arm for another barrage of attacks, the Pancham wasn't going to give him much more time to dwell on things - and Graeme tried rattling off all the "starting moves" he knew.
"Tackle! Uh - Gust, no - Quick Attack!" Fang furrowed its brows in concentration, this time able to deflect only two of the Arm Thrusts aimed his way. The Pancham was stumbling, and was already gearing up for another assault. "Bide - Scratch!" That seemed to light up the Axew's expression, and he drew his arm back to slash across the Pancham's body with short, sharp little fingertips. It made the pokemon pause for only a moment before it was bounding forward, arms thrusting wildly, pushing Axew back who tried to retaliate with Scratches of his own. Graeme, who seemed to realize that his worked, continued shouting out the spam of attacks hoping that would do something, anything. "Keep scratching it, Fang! You got this!"
A particularly vigorous scratch left the Pancham reeling, clutching at its eye that had been irritated by the attack. It wobbled, and while it didn't quite faint it took the opportunity to flee, nursing its poor, hurt eye and leaving trainer and Axew behind. Victory?
Post by Graeme Rowette on Aug 13, 2020 22:21:15 GMT
Journey Post 08/15
Well that was... different. But no less satisfying, and it counted as a win in Graeme's book. Fang seemed to look a little pleased with himself, too, and really that was all that mattered. Just the first step to becoming a gigantic dragon man with all his teeth in place, right? Right.
He'd also have to try and do some research to figure out exactly what sort of moves the Axew had. Scratch was a lucky guess, but he couldn't keep on spamming it especially if they ran into pokemon that would have more of an advantage against those types of moves. He knew that much, at least.
He'd like to think that the eggs around him were starting to wiggle and shake, but every time he stopped to check he found that that had only been wishful thinking on his part. They were warm to the touch, certainly, and occasionally he thought he could hear a little cry or coo within... but aside from that, nothing. Well, no matter, he still had a long way to go until the next city. Or at least he thought he did, without a phone it was hard to gauge time or distance. The only thing he could do was keep walking and that's what he did, Fang at his side keeping a look out for any pokemon that might jump out in the brush. From time to time his little paw would sort of wander towards his face and then freeze, remembering Graeme's earlier comment that his teeth would fall out, so he didn't wiggle them any more and kept alert and vigilant.
There was a roaming Rhyhorn that gave them a casual lookover before moving to graze on a particularly tasty patch of grass, but nothing beyond that. Perhaps it was a good indication of how the rest of the journey would go.
Post by Graeme Rowette on Aug 14, 2020 23:13:51 GMT
Journey Post 09/15
They hadn't continued for very long before Graeme had to take another rest; the eggs were starting to rub on his body to the point where he thought they'd be chafing him through the fabric of his jeans. There was another little clearing and he and Fang made his way there proper, to take a seat beneath the shade of one of the trees sparsely dotting the landscape.
Graeme checked his phone again, vainly pressing the power button in the hopes that there was some sliver of battery left in it. After holding it down for going on ten seconds with no results, he sighed and resigned himself to accepting his fate. It looked like he'd be out of luck for a little while in that department, at least... maybe there was a wandering trainer that would have a charging station on them or something, but it seemed like the route was bare enough thus far, so he didn't have much hope for coming across anyone. Also... it felt terribly awkward to ask a stranger that, and he keen on the prospect at all. Hopefully the next town wasn't too far off, and he'd be able to get a room and charge all his things then.
The eggs seemed to be warming up; at the very least, he could detect movement from within all four of them, along with the sounds of life stirring. Perhaps they'd hatch by the time he got settled in the next city? That would b-
Graeme was cut off in his thoughts as a small, blue and black and cream-colored bird fluttered down to perch on top of his egg. With the way its markings were around its eyes it looked a little angry, stern, and Graeme took a moment to stare the bird down. It hopped up and down on his egg before squatting down on top of it, still fixing him with that territorial glare... and then began to peck on it, like it were trying to get it to break open.
"Hey! Hey, quit that!" Graeme swatted at the bird, who fluttered up for just a moment before moving to land on the other egg and peck it. Maybe he had too many eggs. This was a mistake. He jumped to his feet to try and shoo the Rookidee away from those eggs. "Fang!"
The little Axew leapt into action, running forward and waving his arms while growling and grumbling, though because he was still baby, and because he still had the tusks sticking out of its mouth they sounded more like the gurgling and rumblings of a little infant. Or an airplane, oddly enough. The bird didn't seem to be too fazed by this and, after being chased off the second egg, it fluttered off and landed - this time on Fang's head. The poor Axew didn't know what to do, flailing its arms around this way and that and running around in circles as the bird pecked obnoxiously on his head, fluffing itself up every so often before going right back to pecking.
Graeme, remembering the only move that Fang knew, spam-commanded it over and over again - though with the angle it was obviously hard for Fang to really reach his foe. He scratched valiantly at feet and chest and claw, struggling to get at whatever he could while still batting and swatting at the bird - and eventually ran right into the tree with such force it knocked a few apricorns from above and smacked the bird right on the head. It went wobbling off, and Fang took the chance to first Leer at it before giving the bird one good hard scratch over its beak and eyes. The hit made the Rookidee screech, and with a beat of its wings it pecked Fang on head one last time then turned to flap itself away.
Well... victory? Fang rubbed over his scaled high, then it's mouth, and it's face - and froze when his tusk came loose. Now with one sticking out of the side of his face, he looked absolutely ridiculous, and looked up to Graeme with a distressed, upset look on his face. Not wanting to have the dragon-type crying and sobbing again, Graeme quickly jumped in with - "Steel beams! Steel beams, Fang!" And made the motions that made him look more like a Godzilla stamping through the city. Arms, up, knees up, everything. Fang sniffled audibly, pawing away at his tears, and Graeme considered a moment before outstretching a hand to his little lizard friend.
"Come on... I'll let you ride on my shoulder or something."
It wasn't long until they were back on the road again, Graeme laden down with four eggs and forty-pounds of Axew. Needless to say, his pace was a little slower.
Post by Graeme Rowette on Aug 15, 2020 19:09:19 GMT
Journey Post 10/15
Like before, it didn't take Graeme much walking before he realized that deciding to carry Axew on his shoulder was a decidedly bad idea. It wasn't that forty pounds was particularly heavy, and on any other day he'd probably be able to manage it, but... that plus the four eggs, wiggling and making noise the whole while, plus the occasional buffets of wind slowing him down? Yeah, he was decidedly a lot more worn down than he would have been had he not had all those things factored in. So it shouldn't have come as much surprise when he had to take a break, again, only this time he happened to be able to sit himself at a river leading into a little lake nearby. More like a watering hole, really.
The eggs were sat down gingerly, one at a time, and though it didn't take much urging to get Fang to hop down the little dragon took his time in doing so. As Graeme massaged at his worn shoulder, Fang waddled his way over to take himself a drinky, and his master took a moment to just bask in the ambiance of their surrounding area. The winds were still high, whipping his scarf back and forth, but it wasn't completely unbearable and actually felt quite nice. There were other small clumps of pokemon gathering to take a drink, some still swimming about in the water, others napping in small, protective groups nearby. Truthfully, he could just sit there all day, but he knew if he didn't get to the next city - or was it town? he couldn't remember - he'd be out here traipsing in the wilds while it was dark. Fang was a pokemon, yes, but he was so far the only pokemon Graeme had on him, and he didn't want to overexert the lad too much.
Speaking of Fang... the pokemon was currently shyly cupping his hands in the water, lifting them to his mouth to take a little drink while a Ducklett went hog wild nearby. The single tusk protruding out of his mouth looked a little off, but there weren't many Axew around here, Graeme didn't think, so there wasn't too much familiarity with the species. He could only reassure the baby dragon so much before it would start falling on deaf ears, and then he might start crying again and that would be an ordeal. He didn't mind the tears so much if they didn't make him feel terribly awful and guilty everytime Axew cried. Maybe it would be a good idea to return him to his pokeball for now?
As Fang returned, looking noticeably more refreshed and sated than before, Graeme pitched the offer to him but was met with a shake of the head. Axew didn't climb up onto his shoulder like before, instead choosing to stand on his own two feet while Graeme secured himself with his four eggs and they continued on their way.
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