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.
Mod note: Thread is solo for now but open to others who want to join, especially Alicia Westfield if she can get there in time!
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Josh, closing in on the west docks of Bass City, was so pleased with the customer service he had gotten aboard the Ivy Town ferry that he intended to cross via ferry. This would be a much longer trip, as well - it would easily be nightfall by the time he arrived at Plum City, where his next Gym challenge would be. Mother Nature was throwing a Mankey Wrench in his plans, though.
It was hot. Disgustingly hot.
It was only a little after ten in the morning, and it was already uncomfortable outside. The racer walked toward a nearby diner and ordered a side dish just so he could change clothes in the restroom. That, and apply waterproof sunscreen - the most important part. While waiting for his snack, he checked the forecast.
Sunny. Record high temperatures expected. High 104F/40C. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph/8 to 16 km/h.
Nope. NopenopenopenopeNOOOOOOOOOOOPE. He couldn't be paid to sail there on a public vessel on such a hot day. It was the perfect day to get wet. After a quick snack, he left the small restaurant and headed to the dock. Yes, it was common knowledge to wait for a half hour to an hour after eating before going swimming, but a little snack wasn't going to make a difference, was it?
The young man was excited, and so was Resheph after he let the giant Dragonair out of her Poké Ball. She lazily hung off the side of the pier, her soft scales gleaming in the scathing sunlight. The docks were fairly crowded, as well - several other swimmers were enjoying the water with their Pokémon, though there weren't any Pokémon quite as exotic as Resheph present. He wasn't playing with the Dragonair, though - at least that wasn't his primary goal. His goal was to cross the sea to Plum City before nightfall, and they would need to hustle.
Resheph's saddle was still a basic one, not the cocoon Josh wanted for the slick dragon-type. It wouldn't be as much of an issue in the water, but it would be if they ever went airborne. "Alright, I'm coming, girl!" Josh warned his Pokémon, sliding down the serpent's sturdy, long tail and into the water.
Resheph was quick to pick him up, though he couldn't hold on to the scales directly for long. He slipped off and began treading water, the Dragonair floating with most of her long body on the sea's surface. Able to clearly see the saddle now, Josh climbed into position aboard his dragon-type partner. He wouldn't be going anywhere unless Resheph made a sudden, drastic move. "Westward ho!" he shouted, pointing in the aforementioned direction. The two cast off from Bass City, a long trip across the waves ahead of them both.
--- NAME SPECIES LV EP STATUS Illumina Lanturn 34 5 Good Bladestorm Skarmory 36 5 Good Snacker Sharpedo 44 5 Good Resheph Dragonair 40 5 Good EMPTY EMPTY
{WC: 449} {PC: 1}
Last Edit: Sept 20, 2020 19:42:31 GMT by Josh Devlin
Post by Alicia Westfield on Sept 3, 2020 0:56:45 GMT
The man and his Dragonair weren’t the only ones of note present at the moment. This team, however, didn’t have any immediate plans to go crossing the watery route at the moment. Alicia had no pokemon large enough to ferry her across, and a quick look at her map strongly suggested that simply swimming across under her own power was very much not happening. Maybe if she was more dedicated to the act of swimming she might’ve been able to handle it. But fresh off the idea as she was? No sir, not even remotely viable. Never mind the fact that she could run afoul of a particularly irate water type. She was sunk in more ways then one if that happened.
So this was more of a beach trip, let the team stretch out their paws and fins, and get a chance to know each other more. Alicia hummed softly, sighing as the smallest of her team, one of her two Eevees she called Fairlee, stubbornly sat beside her and leveled a cautious glance every which way. Such a stark contrast to the much more carefree and larger Sefarr, who was prancing about with mirth. It still surprised her how different they were, seeing as they were paired together when she first found them. The pinkette huffed a small breath of her own and pet Fairlee on the head. The little fox yipped in surprise and shot an annoyed look up at her when she pulled her hand away, before seeming to give in and lean against her.
Little did they know that small distraction was all that was needed for Sefarr to slip from sight. Nothing to do about it now as the two ice foxes were curled against each other, keeping cool in the dreadful heat as best they could. Meanwhile Belrina was happily splashing too and fro in the shallows nearby, barking her joy out now that she was away from everything that was causing her trouble early on.
It was nice to give the pokemon a chance to just unwind a bit. Let them play freely, and be themselves as they do it. Alicia herself was even considering doing a bit of splashing about herself, if only to ward off the sweltering sun for a moment. She knew better though, that was a quick ticket to a potentially nasty sunburn. What to do, though...? She might need to call this trip a bit shorter then she wanted. Sunscreen only did so much after all.
That was when she heard a rustle in her pack. Something that really shouldn’t be happening at all. Immediately the pinkette wheeled around to see what was going on. Nobody there, but the bag was definitely squirming a bit and opened. “Ah, hey, what the heck.”
Now she was annoyed, what could have snuck in on her? Reaching over, she grabbed the bag and pulled it over, planning on yanking whatever she found out as quick as possible. Looking inside... there was a brown furry tail sticking up. Alicia blinked and looked around to where she last saw Sefarr. No sign of her. Well that decided that. So she softly chided the bigger Eevee. “Sefarr, get out already, snacks are later!”
Sefarr, of course, perked up and more rustling came as she turned around, popping her head out... and holding a Thunderstone in her mouth that was starting to glow. Alicia could only stare in surprise for a second, which was enough for the stone to fully kick into gear. The Eevee squeaked in surprised as it was enveloped in light and began to grow, quickly straining the bag.
A series of loud rips and tearing seams later, the bag gave way and the now prickly electro fox, who seemed to have had a massive growth spurt on top of her evolution, flailed about in surprise. “Jo-jo-joooolt!”
The newly evolved Jolteon’s flailing, of course, sent the rest of Alicia’s stuff flying as well. The pinkette explorer was still in a bit of a daze over the chaos itself... which lead to the ice stones dropping into the cold-cuddle pile of Reeshra and Makaro, startling them to full wakefulness. Not fast enough to see the stones and get away from them though. Fairlee also caught a few items with her face, irritating the stubborn fox. The last one being a Leaf Stone wasn’t realized until it and the ice stones all started glowing.
Belrina’s play time had come to an abrupt end upon noticing the commotion, and she waddled over just as quick as she could with a concerned and confused bark. The end result of what she witnessed had to he seen to be believed. Two Ninetales’ were now trying to disentangle themselves from each other, legs, tails, and all. A Jolteon sat in the midsts of a ruined pack and scattered items, cowed into fright. The newly formed Leafeon looked like she was about to pop a blood vessel from how hard she was glaring at her electrified counterpart.
As for Alicia, she just stared at the scene in shock, wondering how the hell this all happened. Finally processing it, she balled her hands into tight fists and did the only thing she could to vent now that all the damage was done.
She let out quite the scream of frustration, much to the Jolteon’s obvious dismay for having caused this. The other four Pokemon followed up with plenty of confused or irritated chatter, stirring up quite the fuss that would draw attention. Still, what happened has happened, and Alicia set about to try and gather up everything that got knocked around and make some kind of makeshift thing to haul it with out of the wrecked remains of her pack.
Reeshra the Alolan Ninetales: Level 15, 5 Energy Makaro the Alolan Ninetales: Level 5, 5 Energy Fairlee the Leafeon: Level 12, 5 Energy Sefarr the Jolteon: Level 5, 5 Energy Belrina the Popplio: Level 8, 5 Energy
No more than seconds after Josh and Resheph pushed off, the rider caught sight of multiple low-angle shadows in front of him...and dark shadows at that. He pulled Resheph to port to see what was going on, both of them immediately turning their heads the opposite way with how bright the light was. It was at least as bright as sunlight - the same kind of light from a Pokémon undergoing evolution.
A myriad of Pokémon cries from that direction, including that of a Jolteon, got his attention almost immediately. "Blinky!!" Josh cried as he jabbed at Resheph's sides, the dragon-type turning around to chase down the giant yellow quadruped. It wasn't just that, though - there were two Ninetales, both ice-types, surrounding the Jolteon, as well as a Leafeon that couldn't be doing at all well in this heat. Not a bad way to keep cool, considering the weather.
There was also a terrified-looking, pink-haired girl in the center of all this chaos. "You alright?!" Josh shouted toward the young woman before turning his attention directly to the Jolteon. "Blinky, what did I tell you about running off without me?!" he shouted toward the Jolteon as the quick Dragonair headed toward them at a good clip. Poké Ball in hand, he fired its red light beam toward the quilled one the moment he was in range. The light bounced off harmlessly and to no effect.
"I'm sorry!" Josh immediately apologized without so much as giving his name. "I thought that was Blinky, my Jolteon - I didn't know anyone else had one that big!" He tugged on Resheph to back away slowly as soon as he noticed a Leafeon nearby was giving him The Stare. "Are these your Pokémon?"
---
Will interact with the Lapras after greetings are done.
Post by Alicia Westfield on Sept 3, 2020 2:27:29 GMT
Another cry from the side drew Alicia’s attention, and a whirlwind of events once more fell into place before she had much time to process him. Though admittedly that was a very intimidatingly large Dragonair the young man was astride. But at least she didn’t have much to worry about. Seeing as the rider seemed to misunderstand and think she was in trouble.
“Who the heck is Blinky!?” she managed to get out, but he either didn’t hear her or was too focused on her Jolteon. To the point where he actually pulled a Pokeball out. What in blazes? Was he a thief in disguise or something!? She can’t imagine how that would work out though, since the Jolteon was registered to one of her pokeballs specifically. Fortunately, as the beam failed to do more then rebound off Sefarr’s fur, the truth came to light for both sides. A case of mistaken identity was much more innocent then she was expecting from all this nonsense.
Fairlee indeed was staring down the newcomer in palpable annoyance. If it wasn’t for the fact that the Dragonair was obviously much more powerful then her, she might’ve even thrown a few leaves in his general direction to demonstrate what she thought of his antics towards Sefarr. At least the trainer got the hint and backed off some in response. Alicia, meanwhile, just palmed her face and hung her head.
“Yes, these are all mine. I’m sorry myself, I should’ve never let Sefarr out of my sight. Didn’t occur to me she’d go rooting around my pack looking for something, and come out with a Thunderstone in her mouth...” That explained the remains of the backpack to Josh, which would of course need a full replacement. “And something went screwy when she evolved. She was way too small at first to suddenly top out that big… Anyways, the Leafeon giving you the stink eye’s Fairlee. Reeshra there is my first Pokemon, Makaro’s the smaller one. The Popplio over there is Belrina. And I’m Alicia, Alicia Westfield.”
Heaving a sigh, she gathered her team up close to her, picking Fairlee up to set her on Reeshra’s back, hoping the chill would fend off the heat for her. It was fine when she was an Eevee but now that she was a Leafeon it had to be unbearable. Then she faced Josh with a quirked eyebrow.
“And you are?” she asked pointedly, promptly reminding him he’d yet to give a name in return for all the nonsense.
The moment Alicia calmed down somewhat, Resheph stopped backing up, and even started to approach a bit closer when it was evident the female and her Pokémon meant no harm; in particular, she was trying to chat up a storm with Sefarr as Josh and her trainer exchanged glances. "Oh, my..." he noticed Alicia's backpack was ripped in multiple spots. "Hey Resheph, can you come down and let me off real quick?" After a prompt descent, he slid off his Pokémon's side.
"Let me see if I can make this work long enough for you to get a new one," Josh offered. "A little 200 mile-an-hour tape should at least make it hold your stuff long enough to get a new one." If Alicia allowed him to, he would help her gather her belongings up and repair the main compartment of her bag. Nothing would be organized well until she got a new one, but it would at least do for now.
"Where I'm from, Jolteon like that are astronomically rare. Most people's entire salary for a year wouldn't cover the cost of one," Josh explained as he tinkered with his phone, loading a photo of Blinky after she had been fitted in Cork Town. "I have a Jolteon that's around her size, maybe a little bigger." If Alicia's eyes drifted toward the screen at all, she might notice the saddled Jolteon with claws so thin they were almost useless in battle.
"Reeshra's cold feels pretty good!" Josh remarked. "Smart, considering the weather. About all you can do today is go for a swim - too hot to do anything else." He shook his head rapidly for a couple seconds. "This chatting up a storm without introductions needs to stop," he mumbled to himself, releasing his team into the sea behind him.
"Josh Devlin, semi-professional Pokémon racer and amateur Pokémon trainer in the off-season," the young, dark-haired man introduced himself. Three Pokémon emerged behind him, the Sharpedo and Skarmory particularly excited. The last of them, a Lanturn, was a bit more reserved. Bladestorm had her eyes on a wild Lapras that was patrolling a bit too close to the coast, her jaw clanging against the base of her beak. "These three are Bladestorm, my Skarmory; Illumina, my Lanturn; and Snacker, my Sharpedo. And next to me is Resheph. She's quite the handful, I can tell you."
The Skarmory took off over the sea, gaining altitude, gaze fixated on the Lapras still. "I was going to take the ferry to Plum City, but it's going to be a sauna up there - going to cross the sea myself. Where are you headed, if I may ask?"
Post by Alicia Westfield on Sept 3, 2020 6:27:21 GMT
Sefarr perked up as Resheph seemed to want to talk with her. The Jolteon chattered back excitedly, seeming to quickly forget the whole mess just a few minutes before in favor of making a new friend. While the two humans wouldn’t understand it, the Dragonair would definitely hear quite a bit about the bout of chaos she caused, sparking four stone-based evolutions more or less by accident. If Alicia and Josh could understand her, it would become apparent she was what one would call “absent minded” and such. A ‘mon that likely wouldn’t think things through if she didn’t need to, and just go with her first instinct. Which, once she described a curious sparking feeling, explained why she kicked off these events that led to Josh and Alicia meeting up.
Alicia looked over at Josh’s offer of jury rigging something with duct tape, at least for the moment, and then looked at her pack. “Yeah, just something to make it hold out. Sounds like a good idea to me.”
Then she looked over to Sefarr and chuckled. Briefly, she considered cracking a joke about selling the poor thing for all the commotion today. Fortunately she thought better of it soon after and settled for reaching over to grab the human-sized fox by the shoulder. With a yip of surprise from Sefarr, the pinkette successfully pulled the fox over. “Don’t go rooting again, okay? I still wasn’t sure what I wanted to evolve you and Fairlee into. I was planning to get a better feel of who you two were before picking.” She chastised lightly, smiling. “That said, I can see how you could be mistaken for another Jolteon, especially from a distance. The only real defining trait I can make out between you and Blinky there is the claws.”
Sefarr just blinked in confusion and barked softly. She just followed her heart! What was so wrong with that? Realizing the admonishment has fallen on deaf ears, Alicia sighed to herself and shook her head. By now the pack would be repaired, somewhat, and she’d take it to pack her stuff up again.
“Fairlee, you okay there?” She asked softly. The Leafeon gave back a small yip with her leafy ears and tail spread out. Seemed she was getting a feel for her new body now that she wasn’t literally burning up. “As for the idea, had to come up with it on the spot. These four were a pair of Vulpixes and Eevees until just a few minutes ago. Had to think fast for Fairlee.” She then hummed as she listened to Josh introduce himself and his team at last.
“Racer, huh? I haven’t paid too much attention to the racing scene myself. Been caught up in my tour around the world and all. Still, quite the team you have here.” The pinkette smiled softly, relaxing a bit more. With a small shrug, she answered the latest question.
“I don’t have a sea-worthy Pokemon I can ride on yet. And as you said, the ferry is going to be murder on me with how hot it’ll be. That being said, I was planning on doubling back. Hit up Route 6 or 7 once I had and come back here either when Belrina’s more evolved or the temperature is more accommodating. So this looks like it’ll be a short-lived meet up.” Alicia shrugged her shoulders at that, then looked over to Reeshra with a sad smile.
“Looks like your days hanging out in my arms every now and then are over, huh partner?” She mused. Reeshra hung her head sadly, before walking over and nuzzling against a Alicia’s cheek. Of course, she, and Sefarr, were now big enough to carry Alicia in turn, though she’d yet to actually give such an idea thought.
When Alicia mentioned she didn't have a sea-worthy Pokémon, Josh smiled, sweat starting to drop from his sideburns already. "If that's the only thing stopping you, then I'm sure Snacker is willing to help you," he said, gesturing toward the vicious-looking dark-type, who turned around and exchanged glances with the young female. "Once I trounce the Plum City Gym, I'll be headed back to the woods myself," he likewise revealed his next destination. "Snacker can get you there in a real hurry, too. I haven't really had much of a chance to take him out on the open sea, but it--"
A Skarmory screech immediately got Josh's attention, the young man instinctively climbing back aboard his dragon and wheeling around. Bladestorm had her sights on that Lapras close to the shore, a tin-like sound erupting from her wings as they compressed the air around them into blades sharp as a metal sword. Catching the ice-type off guard, she charged through the same flight path as her previous attack, ramming the wild with the physical blades of her wings.
While it was known for many Lapras to retaliate with violence in kind, this one decided to opt for a more peaceful end to the battle, putting on a vocal performance that even drew Josh's attention. "I never imagined Lapras to be such good lead singers..." he remarked as Bladestorm seemed to back down. While it didn't put the bloodthirsty steel-type to sleep completely, it did cause her to become more docile and back away from the wild a bit.
Was Bladestorm going to truly quit, though? No! She was hungry, after all! She might have to ferry Josh--or worse yet, his new friend--over the biggest sea in Arciel! No way would she do that on an empty stomach! After another volley of sound and steel from Bladestorm, the Lapras rolled its eyes before retaliating in violence this time, splashing her with a wave of acidic water than started to melt through her metal body.
The Lapras getting serious seemed to merely drive Bladestorm's rage further, Josh having no choice but to urge Resheph closer. They needed to be in withdrawl range in case the fight escalated further out of control. An unearthly metal shriek came out of Bladestorm's wide-open beak, her eyes turning red. She soared high before coming down on top of the Lapras with great speed, slashing across the exposed skin above its shell. "That's plenty, Bladestorm," Josh chided the steel-type, withdrawing her when it looked like she was actually going to make a meal out of the Lapras. "I thought we shed that habit already?"
Once Resheph and Josh were back on the beach, the dragon partially submerging him on the way to cool him off, he apologized to Alicia. "Sorry you had to see that - I thought she had learned not to do that. Some days she thinks she has to hunt for herself. It's not like I don't feed her! Anyway, have you ever ridden a water Pokémon? If not, I can show you."
Apply EXP . Share to Illumina. Resheph's level is now 35! Bladestorm's level is now 37!
(WC: 510} {PC: 5} NAME SPECIES LV EP STATUS Illumina Lanturn 35 5 Good Bladestorm Skarmory 37 5 Fair Snacker Sharpedo 44 5 Good Resheph Dragonair 40 5 Good EMPTY EMPTY
Last Edit: Sept 4, 2020 2:24:27 GMT by Josh Devlin
Post by Alicia Westfield on Sept 13, 2020 8:52:06 GMT
Alicia, admittedly, eyed the notoriously vicious shark Pokemon with a hint of worry. She didn’t want to judge too quickly, but the Sharpedo lone got it’s reputation for a reason. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? I don’t exactly have much experience with riding the more volatile species.”
Sure, she rode some of Shalin’s choices for mounts, but those were a different type of rough ride. She’d seen enough Sharpedo in action in her stint in Hoenn. She was going to comment further, when Josh’s Skarmory went rogue for a bit, heading out to attack an unfortunate Lapras that picked a terrible time to visit the shore.
It actually left her a bit wide-eyed that the Skarmory was so vicious. Predatory birds they may be but she would’ve thought such out of control aggression limited to the wild examples of the species. Alicia took a moment to try and pick her words carefully. “She’s... certainly an effective hunter, though...”
Shaking her head, she shoved the recent impromptu wildlife demonstration aside. Dwelling on that too long was going to drive her nuts, she feared. “Anyways, no real experience on a water-type’s back, yeah. But I have to question the wisdom of breaking the ice on a Sharpedo...”
Josh was not surprised by Alicia's reluctance one bit. Not only were Sharpedo apex aquatic predators, but they were some of the fastest Pokémon in the seas, period. "It's that or Resheph here, and she can both swim and fly." He still needed to invest in a cocoon saddle for Resheph if he truly wanted to take to the skies, what with the serpentine dragon able to fly in virtually any direction. He knew that from watching her antics as a Dratini.
Josh was a bit stunned at Alicia's answer to Bladestorm's aggression. It took him a while to think of how to answer, brads of sweat starting to drip from the racer's black hair. "I don't understand it, either - it's not like I don't feed her myself every day," he shrugged. "Perhaps she likes to hunt for sport, too? She's reliable enough for battles and races, and that's what matters to me." Reliable based on what, one shaky run at the practice course?
It was understandable that Alicia would be hesitant, after she admitted she'd never been atop a water Pokémon before. "Tell you what, I'll show you the basics." He landed with Resheph, switching to the large and strong Sharpedo's back. While there wasn't too much skin behind his fin, there was enough to fit a saddle specifically designed for the vicious hunter. "When you first take off, you'll feel a bit of a jolt from his jet - as they have no tail fin like many water Pokémon, they use jet propulsion to swim. Snacker, let's show her."
Josh visibly flinched, more at the noise of the popping sound than the force behind his mount's rear water jet firing up. He had Snacker swim back and forth across the shallows, as close as the two could get to the beach without getting stuck. "Grab onto his fin, and lean in the direction you want to turn - it's as simple as that!" he shouted back toward the shore.
Josh turned the Pokémon toward a small islet with an Apricorn tree growing in its center. Shifting his weight to the left, Snacker started turning in that direction, though there was a delay between the rider's command and the Pokémon's momentum shifting in the desired direction. Once he had reached the island, he shifted his weight the other direction, making a lazy turn around the back and scooping up a loose Apricorn fruit in the shallows. Good save - it could have been bad if his Sharpedo swallowed that!
The two headed back to the shore where Alicia was, Snacker closing his mouth before arriving to stop his propulsion and let momentum carry him the rest of the way. "Riding a Pokémon is pretty simple - whether land, sea, or sky, most of them respond to shifts in your body weight to change direction, and leg pressure for speed. Unlike my land Pokémon, Snacker doesn't like being fully tacked. Wanna try it in the shallows first?"
Post by Alicia Westfield on Sept 16, 2020 13:47:48 GMT
Alicia just hummed with a quick nod at the consideration of the alternative. Part of her actually wanted to try and hitch a ride on Resheph... but a second look at her scales looking honestly rather slick made her reconsider. She did not fancy falling from the serpentine dragon at an inopportune time. Not that she expected Josh to just let her take the spill, but the fact of the matter was there was a fairly high chance that it would happen and he could do nothing about it.
“It might be a psychological thing? Thrill of the hunt keeps her heart alive or something? I don’t know for sure, I’ve got no experience in reading into the behavior of Pokemon. That’s just my knee jerk reaction. Though she did seem... almost angry? I get the feeling that something about today ticked her off and that’s why she went nuts on that poor Lapras.” She paused a bit, then bit her lip. “I’d certainly be more comfortable if I knew something triggered her attacking rather then thinking instability is her baseline...”
Still, she paid close attention as Josh demonstrated for her how to properly ride a Sharpedo. He certainly made it look as simple as it claimed, and her brief experiences with Queen Zing, Flit, and Serena had proven that there was definitely a lot of accuracy there. Still... “Yeah, that’s probably wisest. Though...”
Ruffling gently through the slapdash-repaired pack, she dug through for some gloves she’d had. While not exactly designed to withstand Sharpedo skin, they were the toughest thing she had. And, realistically, if they did get wrecked she was going to be in the area to buy replacements already.
With that said, she recalled her team and went out to mount up on the jet shark. She took it easy at first, or at least as easy as Snacker was going to let her. No need to go charging off somewhere at full speed after all. She nudged the shark into a few turns, got an idea of how readily the Water and Dark type ramped up the speed, and generally just learned what she could about her temporary ride.
Right up until she felt something grab onto her leg, making her shriek in surprise and jump. Which left herself just unseated enough that she fell off of Snacker, the shark hadn’t had a moment to cut the jet when she was startled after all. Fortunate that they practiced in the shallows, getting back above water again wasn’t too much of a hassle once she got her bearings again. What was a hassle was figuring out what the heck had grabbed her.
“L-Let go already you little-!” Finally peeling the thing off her leg, Alicia jerked and brought it above water to see what’d caused her so much distress.
“Ink...?” Arguably, it was the most adorable little squid that was ever looked upon. Alicia blinked at it. The Inkay blinked back, content to just hang around in her arms for the moment.
“... Could’ve been a Tentacool. Poisoning’s not my idea of a fun day. That and... damnit I’ve heard about what you turn into but you’re actually kind of adorable so fine. Let’s see.” Alicia fished out a Nest Ball from her pack and tapped it on the squid’s head gently.
OOC: Attempting to catch Inkay with a Nest Ball (below 20, 75% chance.) If needed, please use a charge of Jack Of All Trades for this month to make a successful catch.
"It wouldn't surprise me; Sharpedo in the wild are feared and avoided for a reason," Josh replied, understanding of Alicia's concerns. "He knows not to buck people off anymore. Riiiiight?" he shifted his gaze to the water-type, who nodded subtly. "Right. The closest you'll feel is a little pop when he fires his jet up. Just keep a tight hold until you feel it."
Resheph floated back toward the shallows and submerged herself, her scales starting to dry out. Though Dragonair were dragon Pokémon, they were also aquatic Pokémon despite not having the Water type. Her scales would become brittle if not regularly hydrated, which is why it was so rare to see that line of Pokémon inland, even among trainers. Josh couldn't help but laugh as she undulated just above and below the surface.
The racer kept one eye on the practicing Alicia and another on Illumina, who was loaded up with the pack containing most of his gear. He kept a couple of Poké Balls on him in case there was a water-type he really wanted to catch, but he didn't plan on doing too many battles or Pokémon hunts. This was just getting across the sea so he could register for the Gym before it got too late in the season. It seemed like Alicia was handling the shark Pokémon well. Sharpedo were actually one of the easier aquatic Pokémon to ride; without a tail for propulsion, their rider would stay mostly still and let water pressure do the work.
Things were going well until Alicia let out a yelp, falling off her mount and into the shallows. Josh dropped what he was doing and chased the two down. "You okay?!" When the sound and light of a Poké Ball capture enveloped her, he figured she had it under control. When she mentioned it could have been a Tentacool, Josh realized he had forgotten to mention that danger. "That's why I wanted you to practice in the shallows," he continued. "As long as we are going fast, even the most battle-brazen Tentacool shouldn't bother us. After all, what would a wild Pokémon do when Snacker's swimming toward it faster than you can drive on the freeway?"
After one last check on their belongings, it seemed like they were ready to head west. "Snacker, don't go too far ahead!" he instructed the Sharpedo, who seemed eager to get out of the shallows and into open water. Now that his supplies were secure and dry, Resheph felt no qualms about fully submerging Josh for a second or two as they drifted away from the shore. "Whew!" he cried after surfacing, not fully ready for that yet. "That felt good! Oh yeah, to submerge him, you can gently push down against the base of his fin, and to surface, you can pull up against it. That's how you jump him, too!" Resheph was getting increasingly anxious to take off - that wind would feel good once they got going. "She's getting anxious, I think - follow, swim alongside, or go a little in front of us. Whatever you're comfortable with!" At that, the Dragonair and Lanturn broke away from the shallows and into deeper water separating them from Plum City.
Post by Alicia Westfield on Sept 20, 2020 19:39:59 GMT
‘Anymore’ was a bit of a concerning addendum, to be honest. As it implied that Snacker had given Josh more then a few problems. Still, the shark’s response alleviated that source of stress. Other then Surprise Squid there weren’t too many other surprises. There was the pop of the jet of course, but that wasn’t too bad compared to getting rattled by Flit. It was actually… kind of relaxing? Once she got adjusted to how Snacker behaved and responded at least.
At least the Inkay didn’t fight her too hard. Really chill for a squid out of water, in her opinion. Just a quick wobble which she felt was more the squid getting comfy in the new home before the ball chimed. With a shrug of her shoulders, she put the Nest Ball away, now asking herself what the heck she was going to do with an Inkay. “Yeah, something tells me that Inkay didn’t get the memo. Or didn’t care enough to read the memo, it just kinda stared at me. Oh well, I’m sure I’ll be happy to have one around for something at some point now. But I’m good to go now, I think.”
Pretty soon she was re-mounted on the sea hunter and ready to shove off. For a moment Alicia looked over in concern when she saw Resheph diving. Then the dragon resurfaced with her rider and the explorer breathed a quick sigh of relief. Then again, with how bloody hot it was, she was half-tempted to take Josh’s instruction as some advice to get a break from the withering sunlight. Plus it might be nice to intentionally submerge once in a while. So far her only experiences with being fully immersed in water had been accidental and momentarily distressing.
One more pop of the water jet later, she and Snacker were right beside the racer and his other team members. There was a bit of wonder in her eyes as she gazed out over the open ocean. “I definitely need to side-track back to Hoenn at some point. Didn’t really get to enjoy the whole region on my last trip. Only had Reeshra as a Vulpix back then and seeing where I could get on my own two feet.”
As much as she had vocalized that, it was more of a self-note then anything else. Still, she let out a content sigh and gave the Sharpedo an appreciative pet on the head, taking care to try and minimize the damage to her gloves from the ocean-dweller’s skin.
At last, the two were out on the waves, Josh's body dripping with sea water from when Resheph dunked him. Not the worst idea, either - it would keep him cool. Well, as cool as could be on a day where there was record breaking heat forecast. "I haven't had a chance to go out on the open ocean like this," Josh mused as Resheph slithered just below the surface, all but her neck and head submerged. "This is fun!" Resheph's undulating body kept Josh's reaction sharp, occasionally surfacing completely.
Snacker bounced along the waves as the wind picked up a little bit, said increase the only noteworthy event for several miles. Resheph picked up the pace to match. A small islet with a single tree came into view to their north. His jet sputtered a bit as he turned to the northeast, then expelled a giant burst of water out of his his rear, rocketing toward the island in a potent Aqua Jet and creating a wake so large that Resheph leaped out of the water entirely. The two bounced along the surface like a roaring speed boat. "What's gotten into you, Snacker?!" Josh shouted, sliding his heels sharply across her's soft scales. "Agility, Resheph! We have to catch up to her!"
Try as she might, Resheph was not yet fast enough to catch the apex aquatic predator. Around a thousand feet before the islet, Snacker turned to the west to try to slow his momentum to where he would stop right at the beach - they kicked up another huge wake in the process that splashed quite a few small water Pokémon crawling along the beach. "You okay?!" Josh shouted to Alicia, Illumina way off in the distance. It would be a while before she caught up.
A while meant plenty of time to have a quick battle with a trainer on the beach! It was rather hot already, so Josh didn't want to take too long, fielding only Bladestorm against the young, borderline-sunburned man and his Golisopod. Though Josh had a clear advantage, the battle would still be long, what with both Pokémon being adept at repelling physical attacks.
Golisopod braced itself for the Skarmory's diving attack, the air blades easily enough to cut through his armor - exactly what the trainer wanted! While unable to absorb all of the force of the dive himself, the bug-type was able to use the weight of his armor to bring them both to the ground. The two rolled all the way across the islet at high speed, wing blades and sharp claws cutting deep into each other's armor.
Both of them breathing heavily, Bladestorm rammed her beak into Golisopod's claw hard enough to get it to let go. She was in the air a second time, her foe waving the unoccupied claws toward its face as to say, "Bring it on!" The two collided a second time, an explosion of sand obscuring the battle for both trainers. By the time it settled, both Pokémon were in a heap, though Bladestorm was the one to stir first. Her wings were dull, most of her body full of dings and dents. "You okay?!" Josh shouted. Hopefully she didn't suffer a serious injury - her eyes were rolled upward rather high!
---
NPC Trainer Victory - please award 318 Pen. Bladestorm's level is now 38! Apply EXP. Share to Illumina. Illumina's level is now 36!
Alicia Westfield NAME SPECIES LV EP STATUS Illumina Lanturn 36 5 Good Bladestorm Skarmory 38 3 Critical Snacker Sharpedo 44 5 Good Resheph Dragonair 40 5 Good EMPTY EMPTY
{WC: 548} {PC: 8}
Last Edit: Sept 23, 2020 16:11:49 GMT by Josh Devlin
Post by Alicia Westfield on Sept 23, 2020 9:01:13 GMT
Everything seemed to be going well about the trip for the longest time. Alicia heaved a breath of the sea air as they went and actually looked to be getting somewhat comfortable on Snacker. Enough so that she was starting to let down her guard around the shark. Then she felt the shark’s jet sputter, grabbing a tighter hold. “Uh, hey, what gives?”
The shark started turning without her input, and the explorer balked a bit, trying to direct Snacker back on course. It was too no avail, as the predator under her acted like he smelled blood. There was a high wail as Snacker took off, carrying his now rather unwilling passenger along for the ride whether she liked it or not. “HEY! What’s up with your Sharpedo, Josh!?” Alicia yelled backwards. Then she paled as she realized the shark had already put so much distance between them that he might not have heard her.
Once they were fairly close to the island, the girl got off the shark’s back and got herself up to shore, shaking her head. “Fine! Had two years scared off my life from that, but I’m fine.” Alicia answered back as she heard Josh come around to ask if she was okay. Seeing how far out the poor Lanturn was, she sighed. And then heaved another sigh when the kid pestered her for a battle as well. Deciding to run with it, she hummed as she picked out Sefarr to deal with the Tynamo. She was completely immune to the eel’s electrical attacks, if Alicia was remembering correctly, which nullified the majority of the threat the Tynamo posed.
As fast as Jolteon were, Sefarr took the first move despite being less experienced and quickly dashed in to swat the eel with her prickly tail. The Tail Whip being so sudden and disorienting, Sefarr’s opponent was left on the metaphorical back foot for a moment. The order for a Charge Beam went out in return however, which got his eel back in the game and shaking away a loose quill or two. The boy obviously planned to take advantage of the energy raising effects of the move to hit harder later, which was in most scenarios a good lead off. Which is why Alicia felt extremely bad as Kasimir’s expression fell so far. After all, his hopes were dashed upon Sefarr running through the beam like a refreshing breeze to Tackle his Tynamo in response.
Hoping it was a fluke, he called for a Thunder Wave to try and cripple Sefarr. No luck, Sefarr slurped it up just as readily as the Charge Beam and fired a Thundershock back in retaliation. Tynamo didn’t take the return jolt nearly as well, flinching back as the opposing voltage played havoc in its body. It wasn’t even a contest anymore. With three quarters of his pokemon’s moves completely sealed by Sefarr’s ability, the boy surrendered round one to Alicia. Returning his Tynamo before it could be needlessly injured any more, Kasimir pulled another ball out, showing there was still some fight in him. Alicia, in turn, called Sefarr back to give her a break. The pinkette explorer picked out another of her team to send into battle, smiling.
Reeshra the Alolan Ninetales: Level 15, 5 Energy Makaro the Alolan Ninetales: Level 5, 5 Energy Fairlee the Leafeon: Level 12, 5 Energy Sefarr the Jolteon: Level 6, 4 Energy Belrina the Popplio: Level 8, 5 Energy
Josh's expression turned into a scowl the moment Alicia recounted her tale. "...It's not you I'm frustrated with - it's him. If he's too fast for you, there's always Resheph." The Dragonair perked her head up and toward Josh, then Alicia, when she heard her name called. "She can jump out of the water effortlessly, and can swim and fly in any direction - even upside down. She's also really playful, which is one of the other reasons I thought Snacker would be easier on you. If he would...behave..." Josh let out a deep sigh. He left Alicia to an upcoming trainer battle, though Resheph was trying to get her attention by flying around her...that might have even distracted her.
Josh took his water Pokémon aside and mounted up, circling the islet while watching Alicia's battle. He gently pat the predator's head. "You need to be a little bit more respectful of guests. If you would, please?" After Snacker nodded and calmed down, Josh could tell his Pokémon was sorry. Instincts were hard to suppress, given how recently he had become a trained Pokémon; he was still working on it. Unfortunately, his mistake had probably lost Alicia's trust forever. "Alright, let's watch her battle!" The two began circling the large sandbar, Snacker picking up enough speed to bounce atop the waves with Josh.
NAME SPECIES LV EP STATUS Illumina Lanturn 36 5 Good Bladestorm Skarmory 38 3 Critical Snacker Sharpedo 44 5 Good Resheph Dragonair 40 5 Good EMPTY EMPTY
Post by Alicia Westfield on Sept 24, 2020 11:35:40 GMT
Alicia had sighed a bit at the admission. But then the offer of switching it up was given. She then took a quick glance at Resheph, almost at the exact same time the Dragonair had looked at her. By that point, Alicia was only half-listening to Josh explain about how a ride on the serpentine dragon could be like. “I’ll answer that in a bit.” she’d noted, then she was roped into her battle.
And so far it was hilariously in her favor. The first battle was a blow out because of Sefarr’s ability. The next one, Reeshra was staring down a Spheal. With a quick howl, the weather fouled above them as Reeshra’s Warning took effect and rained spheres of ice onto the area. Which might make things a bit tricky for the humans? But at least it was one hell of a break from the otherwise killer heat. It was a bit helpful to her opponent too, as she saw how the Spheal seemed to happily roll over to chunks that fell and pop them into it’s mouth like a refreshing treat. Once more, though, the evolved pokemon had the speed advantage. Alicia had Reeshra lead off with a Confuse Ray, much to the seal’s barking dismay.
The call for a Rollout came shortly after, and Alicia balked a bit in concern. This round might not be so much in her favor if that was coming out! And now she was on the back foot, the Spheal successfully understood what his trainer actually wanted and spun out, building rotational speed to take off. Reeshra leaped to the side to avoid, but the seal was quick on the uptake and corrected enough to take Reeshra’s legs out from under her. The fox, having lost footing, collapsed in a heap and shook her head, growling softly. Fanning her tails out, she got back up. Then each one began to glimmer as the Spheal came back for a second blow. Everyone winced as the Ninetales released a brilliant flash and her target wailed as he went off course, spinning out a bit more destructively.
Reeshra huffed a bit, still getting used to her body’s new power it seemed. As such, the second Rollout walloped her with little issue, sending the fox tumbling once more. Then again, as her rotund opponent was building more and more speed with each pass. But now Reeshra had had enough, and it was time to finish this. Getting back on her feet one more time, the fox let out a howl, before firing a freezing bolt at the Spheal. He whimpered quietly as his Rollout was promptly derailed by painful icicles forming on his body, forcibly acting as brakes. That combined with Freeze-Dry’s natural super effectiveness against water types closed the round out, and the Spheal gave up the fight with spiral eyes.
Once more, both pokemon were recalled, Spheal because it was KO’d of course. Reeshra was called back because Alicia could tell the fox wouldn’t be able to put up much more of a fight after that nonsense. The boy threw his last pokeball into the air. And Alicia responded likewise. She was banking on how well Sefarr did the first round to help her carry the day in the third round. And… perhaps it was a good idea? What appeared was a smaller then normal Milotic to face her and she grimaced. This could be problematic, and force her to call her actual third Pokemon for the battle. The boy also seemed worried that Sefarr had come back out, no surprise there.
The hail was still going on, and this time the pokemon in the battle had to worried about getting pelted. Sefarr started off with a bang, loosing a jolt of electricity into the serpent before her before the Milotic had much of any chance to react. With a soft cry she reeled back, then began a melodic song. Lacing her voice with energy, the beauty serpent struck much like Belrina could, with sound itself, and left Sefarr literally incapable of avoiding it.
Each one took a few lumps from the still falling hail, but Sefarr had had enough and dashed in for a solid tackle. The Milotic was sent sprawling, but used the chance to recover and rapidly coil around her electrified foe. Scales strong enough to avoid being pricked, the serpent Wrapped Sefarr up and squeezed for all she was worth, the Jolteon crying out from the painful squeeze. It seemed bad… but the Milotic was now unable to avoid any electrified shenanigans, something Sefarr readily reminded her with a buzzing ‘zap’. With one more coursing of electricity, the Milotic collapsed, giving up on the battle. Weary, Alicia’s electric fox let out a quick bark, and tried to stand proud. But everyone could see she wasn’t handling the whole thing very well and was unsteady.
The sun began to poke back through Reeshra’s clouds as Alicia recalled Sefarr, smiling. “Well, that was a thing… glad it’s over with now though.” Collecting the spoils of her victory, she turned back towards where Josh was waiting for her. “Alright… Maybe another day I’ll try with Snacker again but...”
Alicia trailed off to give a pointed look to Resheph. “Well, the Dratini line has always held a fanciful place in my heart. So I want to take you up on the switch offer.”