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.
Josh spent a little more time laying low in Pine Town than he would have liked - it was tedious constantly having to rotate ice packs around Blinky's swollen paws. He wasn't sure who out of the two of them wasn't showing enough restraint, but it was clear after two runs aboard a Quick Attacking Jolteon that it would take a lot of training to control that kind of speed. It might even be simply beyond human capabilities to stay mounted on a Pokémon running that fast.
Either way, the weight of his own hubris seemed to slow Josh down, both mentally and emotionally. He had worked so hard to acquire a racing-bred Jolteon, only for her to be too fast to be controllable on modern courses. When he rode Blinky, it seemed like only one of them was really having fun - either Josh was holding on for dear life, or Blinky had to hold back a lot of her speed for Josh to be able to effectively direct her around.
While not exactly depressed-looking, Josh lacked his normal peppiness at the start of a journey into the unknown. Seated atop the regal, majestic Aslan, an alpha male Pyroar whose mane radiated a refreshing warmth, the fire-type shuffled to the side and let his rider look back toward Pine Town's south gate, away from the rough trail leading into a giant cave mouth. "You coming, Armand?" Josh asked while waving, though his voice was almost monotone. Not quite, but close.
NAME SPECIES LV EP STATUS Aslan Pyroar 39 5 Good Blitz Luxray 37 5 Good Nitro Gogoat 35 5 Good Resheph Dragonair 40 5 Good Yagyu Honedge 24 5 Good Flint Cyndaquil 12 5 Good
Ever since he arrived in Pine Town, he spent some time there to recover from his small accident during his travel from Birch City with Josh. But even if he completed his first job, he was a bit worried about the Pokemon racer. He did leave the town for a while to take on other jobs at the other town, but he returned to check on him once he was done with it.
Right now, he didn't have any job to take for a moment. But he was curious about Josh's destination after their meeting. So after he got a new egg from a strange person and placed his new Lucario and Cloyster in his party, he decided to tag along as he arrived last at the caverns. While he was ready to venture forth, he was still concerned about Josh's current mood lately.
"O-Oh. Yeah, sure," he answered as carefully adjusted his bag, which contained the mentioned egg inside, and walked towards the racer and his Pyroar. "But are you well enough to hike into this cavern? We can just delay for tomorrow if you still want to rest."
Josh flinched when he heard Armand's reply, tensing up at his concerns over whether he was in good enough shape to make it all the way through the caverns. Unbeknownst to Josh, they wouldn't be completely dark like many of the caves back home, but it would still look like dusk at best. "I-I'll be fine," the yellow-clad young man answered, his voice perking up a bit but still far from his normal. "This isn't my first jaunt through a cave - when I was collecting badges in Johto I had to go through one to get to one of the Gyms there."
One of Josh's Poké Balls started shaking. When he glanced down to reach it, he noticed Yagyu's sheath was glowing as well. "Don't worry - you'll get a chance, too," he assured the steel-type. "We'll get a good battle together." He noticed Blitz, his Luxray, scratching at the inside of the top half of his Poké Ball. "You want out, too, is that it? Alright, come on out!"
A tall-looking Luxray emerged from the Poké Ball, not too much shorter than Aslan. Like the rest of his Pokémon, this one was likewise outfitted with tack, though more minimal than Aslan's heavier set. "Armand, this is Blitz," he introduced the electric cat to his friend. "This was one of the first Pokémon I caught after getting here. I haven't been able to take him to an actual race yet, but he's really competitive with Aslan. They're both well-rounded - Aslan is a bit faster, but Blitz takes turns a bit better." The Luxray let out a long purr that was higher-pitched than Aslan's, then walked over to Armand and lifted one of his front paws as if offering a handshake.
Josh pointed toward a cave mouth at the foothills to the southeast. "That's where we'll be heading. On the other side is a trail that leads to Ash City, east of the mountains, but I've heard the trail is so rough that you have to have a Pokémon take you over it."
Despite Josh's reassurance, Armand couldn't help but worry about his companion's true feelings. But he wanted to give him some privacy, so all he could do was to accept his words for now. Besides, he was new when he came to traveling through a cavern, so he couldn't blame for being nervous.
"I see. My father did warn me the dangers when traversing through the cave, so I may need to be careful if we don't get split up and lost."
He did have a bit of hiking experience thanks to his hiking trips with his father, but he didn't get too far into one out of his safety. Regardless, he did stock up a bunch of foods and survival tools along with a variety of Poke Balls and medicine, so he was prepared for any kind of situation he and Josh would face soon.
Cavern worries aside, Armand gasped to see Blitz being introduced by Josh to him. He was starting to get used to seeing Arciel's varied sizes of Pokemon, yet it was still surreal for him to see a Luxray that was a bit bigger than its usual size. Still, he accepted the Electric-type's handshake before he turned to see where Josh was pointing as he explained about their destination.
"I see. If that's true, then we have to limit our battles and have plenty of time to rest in some intervals. Besides, I'm a bit worried that the egg might not hatch before we could get there. Who knows what happened if traverse the next area with this little guy around in here."
Armand looked down at his bag, which he frowned at the thought of the danger that the egg might face if they reach their first destination on time.
"It would be better if we didn't split up at all," Josh suggested, slowly starting to regain his normal cheer. While it wasn't obvious it was forced, he was not his normal self from prior to the incident with his Jolteon. It was as if being pushed beyond his limits and paying the price for it scarred more than his body. Whatever it was, he hoped he could deal with it by the season finale in November. There was no way he could race competitively like this. "You do have a Pokémon that can be a light source, right? Blitz and Aslan both can."
Blitz's smile grew as he and Armand shook hand and paw. "If push comes to shove, I have a couple of Pokémon that could protect your egg. I have Resheph and a Gogoat, Nitro, as well." Though the trail to the cave mouth was a bit rougher than Route 6, it was also short - so short that Armand riding there instead of walking wouldn't make an appreciable difference. It also gave Josh the opportunity to take in the landscape around him - once they went inside that cave, they wouldn't be seeing the sun for hours.
Upon reaching the cave mouth, Josh noticed a couple pieces of discolored stone on a natural shelf just inside the cave mouth. He reached for them, Aslan instinctively shuffling toward the wall due to his rider's weight shifting. Looking at them in the light, he realized they would be useful in crafting something new for his den out east. Maybe he would take Armand there at some point! "Hey Aslan, can you light up your mane for me?" Josh asked. The fire-type nodded, the red and yellows around his face glowing brighter and a bit hot. Josh shifted his hands back on the reins afterward to avoid singing them. "Hey, it appears pretty open at first. I think I'm going to stay on Aslan's back until it gets too narrow for him."
NAME SPECIES LV EP STATUS Aslan Pyroar 39 5 Good Blitz Luxray 37 5 Good Nitro Gogoat 35 5 Good Resheph Dragonair 40 5 Good Yagyu Honedge 24 5 Good Flint Cyndaquil 12 5 Good