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.
Having just aided the Rangers in busting a criminal and made a new friend along the way, Shalin needed a break. With the predicted temperature being so unusually warm, this would be her only chance for an aquatic adventure until Spring came around. Four months would be far too long to wait The water would be a little bit cool, but Levy could keep her dry if he had to. She and Caprice made their way to the westernmost Pokémon Center in Bass, only to find there to be a long line at the self-service station. "I wonder why this Pokémon Center is so busy this morning?" she thought. "There are at least two other ones I passed by on my way over here yesterday." She spent roughly a half hour in line waiting to access her account. "Prance, I'll come get you once the rest of us cross the sea. I promise." A couple of people in line gave her a quizzical look as she tapped the top of her Stantler's Poké Ball before arranging for it to be electronically swapped with that of her Buizel. Unbeknownst to her, the reason the lines were so long is swaths of trainers were swapping out their Water-types, and for good reason.
Having experienced an unexpected delay, Shalin rode westward to the pier in that direction, westbound traffic growing the more she progressed. She swallowed as she saw the swath of eastbound traffic. Something wasn't right. Still, this was the only chance she was getting to make it to the island on her own until Spring. When she arrived at the pier, the place was rather quiet. There was not a soul playing in the water, and only a few people in line at the ticket counter. The girl dismounted, walked up to the dock's edge, and swapped Caprice for Levy. Just as she was about to encourage her Pokémon and jump into the water, a wicked blast of wind came out of nowhere, nearly blowing her light frame into the water. Black clouds raced eastward. As she recovered her balance, Levy let out a loud yelp, being buffeted against the pier. Turning back toward the wind, she recalled her Pokémon. "Arceus dammit," she thought. Dejected, she walked toward the ticket booth. The line had emptied out. "Hello," she greeted the attendant. "One for Plum City, please?"
"Most of our ferries for the day have been cancelled due to inclement weather," the young male answered. "The only ferry I could get you on is the last one for today, at 1 PM. Will that work for you?"
This is not how she wanted to be spending the day. She wanted to put her skills to the test in the bay of northwest Arciel, not be cooped up on some commercial vessel. However, if she didn't go today, she wouldn't get another opportunity for a long time. "...Yes," she slowly answered. Taking her ticket, she found a long bench shielded from the biting gale, occupied by a single person. She sat down and started reorganizing the contents of her bag.
Freya had been enjoying the city that was around her, but she knew that she had to move on. There wasn't really much for her in Bass City. There was very little plant life, no contest halls, and not really much for her to do while she was there. If she tried to do what she did in Cedar, she probably would be booed out. After all, Bass City was full of street performers. Ones that had spent their whole life practicing their craft. Maybe Freya could come back another time when she had improved her skills more, but for now, it seemed like she would have to move on. Though, she did have a fun time allowing her pokemon to experience music. Some liked it more than others, but overall they enjoyed their time there.
So, Freya was now standing on the port. The storm was as strong as ever, and although she would usually allow her pokemon to play around in the rain, this was a bit much for anyone. So, the best she could do now, was put her jacket above herself before she could actually get some cover from the boat. Looking around, that's what the common theme was for the people boarding the boat. Freya was a long way from being one of the people who were actually getting on board. So, she turned around and tried to make conversation with one of the people behind her.
She smiled at her, and said, "Wow, the storm's getting pretty bad, huh? It sort of sucks that this was the day I decided to go off to Plum, wouldn't you say?" With that, Freya awkwardly giggled, realizing how awkward the situation actually was, including what she was saying. She usually tried her best to be outgoing, but once she put herself into these situations, it was as though she tried to shrivel up into a ball. She sort of saw herself as a flower in a way. Whenever it was put into situations that it's not used to, it would shrivel up and die. Except, Freya never actually died, but that's besides the point. All she could do now, was hope that the person would respond and not ignore her.
Shalin at first ignored the female, but tilted her head back upward when she was finished with the section she was working on. Ah, all her specialty Poké Balls, finally in their place. She zipped her bag back up and greeted the pink-haired girl. "You're not the only one. Shalin Nariya, wildest rider this side of Arciel," she introduced herself, "but I doubt I'll be doing much of that today." She took Levy's Poké Ball off her belt and held it in her right hand. "To be fair, it is winter, even though it felt like spring a couple hours ago. It's got to be cold on the other side of this storm, though."
Rain started to pound against the building shielding the two from wind, necessitating she raise her voice a bit in her idle conversation. After another twenty minutes of organizing her gear, other passengers started to crowd around the bench, looking for relief from the weather. Shalin stood up and peeked around the corner, catching a glimpse of a good-sized vessel coming to port. Her seat was taken seconds later by a young boy. "I think it's here," she reported back, her hair already wet. There were passengers crowding around the inside of the windows near the doors of the ship, ready to disembark the moment anchor was weighed. She patiently waited for her boarding group to be called. Given how late she bought her ticket, she was probably in the final group. She looked down at her ticket and walked to the side of the bench. "I thought so," she resumed her conversation with the coordinator. "Last boarding group. Hopefully the wind doesn't shift..."
Freya had felt nerves get the best of her as the blond haired woman ignored her, but was able to recuperate once she had finally gotten back to talking to her. In response, Freya said, "My name's Freya Callum. I'm a botanist who's also a coordinator." She then paused a few moments, and started up again saying, "I have no doubts that its colder over there. Like you said, its winter. Though, I doubt its too cold. Arciel doesn't get too much snow around here. It'd be nice to see some though. I don't think I've ever actually been able to experience any. My parents travel the world a lot, so I have no doubts that they've seen some. I wish they'd taken me with them..." Freya then frowned for a moment, realizing that was a bit too much for either of them. So, she shut herself up for a few moments and blushed a bright red as she waited for her group number to be called.
Luckily enough, Freya was called on board right as she finished up. This meant that she would have to leave the blond woman for a tiny bit. She hoped that the awkwardness that she had set would be settled down by then. If not, she would at least have her pokemon to talk to. Most of them were dying to be on a fairy for the first time ever. After all, it's not like she had really found any of them near the sea. Three of her pokemon, she hatched herself. Bounsweet was her starter pokemon, and she was practically raised in a lab. Gorebyss had spent most of her life near the sea, but there weren't many boats around there. Well, at least she didn't think there were. Either way, all of them were revved up to spend their time on a boat, and it wasn't like Freya was going to deprive them of it. She just hoped that she could have them spend time with other pokemon.
At last, Shalin's boarding group had been called. Apparently Freya had booked her travels farther in advance, because they were in different groups. She crab-walked toward her place in line to try to keep as much of the biting rain as possible out of her face. It was a futile effort, though, as the wind's periodic, subtle shifts drove the cold rain into her head. It was even mildly painful on particularly strong wind gusts. She barely got to see the size of the vessel - it was big and there was plenty to do aboard the ship. A few large vessels came to the port of Olivine from time to time, but you had to have a lot of money to get aboard those.
Once everyone was aboard, she had to track down the teen. She smiled when she saw the two of them would be able to sit together. The low occupancy rate was expected in conditions like these. The vessel rocked a bit even while anchored due to the high winds whipping through the port. "Aha, found you!" Shalin waved toward Freya before sitting down next to her. "Where are you from?" she asked as a conversation starter. "I came here from Ecruteak in Johto--very small but historical town. My goal here is to chart and uncover as many secrets of Arciel as I can - with the right Pokémon, there's no unknown I can resist diving into!"
While others were getting seated, Shalin loosened the belt containing her Pokémon so it would be easier to show them to her friend. "Since I am a rider, most of my Pokémon are far too big to have out in these quarters. I've heard some big ships have places where even big Pokémon can stretch, though." She gestured toward Caprice's Poké Ball, the enormous Ninetales smiling back at her trainer. "Caprice here is my main ride on land. She could probably carry both of us if we had to--"
A loud and piercing beep echoed all over the passengers' cabin, and presumably everywhere on the ship. "Good afternoon, this is your captain speaking," a low, male voice sounded over the ship's intercom system. "This is voyage 492 of the SS Brine. We will be experiencing moderate to heavy turbulence for the first half of the journey, and the red caution lights inside the cabins will be on. Until they are turned off, we ask that you remain seated for your own safety. We will be departing shortly. Thank you for your cooperation."
"Half the trip?!" Shalin let out a dejected sigh. "This is going to be a long afternoon..."
As Freya was sitting down, she heard a familiar voice call out to her. Watching her sit down, Freya had smiled at her. She didn't really expect for someone to talk to Freya again after spilling everything she had spilt, but she was nonetheless happy. After all, it was a stormy day, and she didn't really want her and her pokemon to spend it alone. They loved to meet new people, so Freya should probably try her best at meeting them as well. In response to the question Shalin asked, she said to her, "Well, I'm actually from Birch. Guess it would make sense for someone who was raised to be a botanist. After all, it does have one of the most beautiful botanical gardens in Arciel. I lived in a shack in the woods right next to the city. I would go in it sometimes, but usually for the garden or groceries. It's really cool that you're from somewhere that's that far away. I like your goals as well. I'm exploring not just so I can do the fun things, but I want to experience the beauty of the world. There's beauty in every little thing, and I want to show people that through my contest performances. The weirdest of plants could bloom into something beautiful, and the venoms of poisonous pokemon can give off medicine that cures people." With that, she looked down at the ground and smiled. She was really passionate about her goal, and its what makes her her. It was one of the few things she was confident in.
Once Shalin had started up a new conversation topic, they were interrupted by the loud speaker that was right above them. It was sort of deafening, but it ended soon enough. However, with the announcement, someone on board stood up and yelled out, "This is super dumb. I came here to meet people and train up my pokemon. Now you're telling me we have to sit down. I won't take it." He then started to blab on more and more until the crew settled down his outburst. The second he tried to make out another one, he was instantly sat down by the ship going over a wave. With that, Freya tilted her head and looked over to see what Shalin's reaction was to all of this.
As Shalin listened to Freya, she was particularly fascinated by making her abode in a shack outside Birch. "Maybe it's not so unusual after all to not want to live in the city," she added as she took in Freya's experiences in the region. It sppeared that Arciel was quite large - larger than Johto, even. Maybe even Hoenn - she'd been there journeying a couple years ago.
While Freya was telling her story, a young male in a swimsuit was roaming the back of the cabin, having a heated discussion with a male attendant. Shalin heard something about a battle, then both their voices rose, interrupting the conversation the two ladies were having. She leaned around her seat to get a glimpse of what was going on, but could not see terribly well. Even when the turbulence started, the arguing did not stop. After close to a half hour of arguing and shifting around the cabins, a crew member and a second attendant, both males, cornered the disruptive passenger and led him belowdecks.
Ambient murmurs resumed after the four went downstairs - Shalin's cue. "You can't have a battle in this kind of weather - I know they're designed to have battles on them, but a big attack in this weather might capsize the ship!" She shook her head and continued to listen to Freya. "Contests?" she asked Freya. "Back in my journeys in Hoenn, I entered a Contest once. A Normal Rank one. It was that day I found out they weren't for me. I could tell the audience was being respectful toward newcomers. They probably wanted to boo me off the stage so badly. But I found a different calling. I wonder how well an Orre rancher motif would do in a Contest. Probably not that well."
After another half hour or so, the wind really picked up, accompanied by thunder--occasionally very loud thunder. She caught a glimpse of a handheld device of some kind clacking down the isle as the ferry rocked heavily back and forth. Take away the threat of a lightning strike, and this would be perfect weather to practice advanced maneuvers in. She clenched her fists and pulled one of them back from time to time when the vessel's rocking was particularly strong, miming holding the reins of a water-type Pokémon trying to swim through rough surf. Several passengers across the aisle gave her quizzical stares.
After two waves of storms in rapid succession, the waters started to calm down, and the red lights dimmed. A second loud intercom beep pierced the cabins, followed by a familiar voice. "Good afternoon, this is your captain speaking. The storms causing a great deal of turbulence have passed, and it is expected to be smooth sailing the rest of the way. The caution lights in the cabins have been turned off. You may now wander the public areas of the ship at your leisure. Small and large electronic devices can be used. Use of fishing rods is permitted until we arrive at the Plum City port. We also have a battle facility in the back of the ship, able to serve up to eight trainers in total. We thank you for your cooperation. Please enjoy the rest of your trip."
Shalin stood up, glad she could finally stretch. If it were summer, she would have enjoyed the crazy surf with Levy or one of other other water-types. "I don't get how some people can enjoy winter. It's too cold to do anything fun! Freya, I'm going to take a look around the ship." A moment of silence. "...Freya?" She turned around and noticed her companion was gone. "Well, she did look upset about having to stay put. Better time than ever to wander!"
She spent the next half hour or so wandering the public areas of the ship, as the captain advised she was permitted to do. There were the aforementioned battle facility, already at three-fourths occupancy. One battle in particular had a Blastoise and Kangaskhan squaring off - her cue to step aside. As she descended some stairs to a water-level railing, a Chinchou surfaced from the water and started blinking its yellow feelers on and off as though it wanted some attention. "...Aren't you a cute one?" She remarked, smiling at the wild for a few seconds before continuing onward.
Just as Shalin was about to climb the stairs to the rear of the ship, a very nimble Finneon jumped out of the sea and nearly over the ship's railing, splashing the girl with cold water. Her hair stood on end from being suddenly very cold. She stepped around the corner, rummaging through her supplies for a small towel to dry off. It wouldn't do to catch a cold in the middle of the sea.
When she returned, still shivering, the water-type was still there. She detached Vannifar's Poké Ball, releasing her into the chilly waters outside the ship. "I think it wants a s-s-parring p-p-artner," she stuttered. Vannifar's orbs glowed brightly out of excitement. The Tentacool had a chance to show what she could do!
The navy-colored water-type jumped over Vannifar several times, a veil of mist-like rain dousing the port-side lower deck. Brr! Shalin really would catch a cold if this battle dragged on too long. "F-f-find it and g-g-give it a hug, V-V-Vannif-f-far!" she stuttered. The giant Tentacool submerged, even the light of her bright orbs disappearing beneath the waves. Ten, twenty, even thirty seconds passed with no sign of the two.
Nearly a full minute later, the two Pokémon surfaced, the Finneon belly-up and wrapped inside Vannifar's tentacles. Shalin could tell the two had engaged in quite the back-and-forth battle under the waves, from how much of the fish's skin had been eaten away by the Tentacool's acid, as well as how much her own Pokémon's shape had distorted from what appeared to be...flying-type attacks? She only knew of one Water-type Pokémon that wasn't also a Flying-type but could use Flying-type attacks, and if that Pokémon showed up, she would be running, not fighting. She recalled her bruised and disshapen Tentacool. Nothing a little R&R couldn't fix. She had a thought to invest in diving gear if she was going to raise this many aquatic Pokémon.
{WC: 327} {PC: 6} {Shalin: 127/127} {Vannifar: 73/200} Vannifar's level is now 17!
Shalin took a starboard turn toward the interior of the vessel, looking for a place to warm up. It turned out that two of the four battle facilities were on the lower level, protected from the elements. Given the change in weather, she was not surprised they had both become busy. On a bench outside sat a young boy, a pair of Binacle waving at her as she sat down next to him. "Well hi there!" the boy greeted Shalin.
"...Aren't your folks with you?" were the first words out of Shalin's mouth.
"I am ten, you know!" was the boy's answer. "Everyone in Arciel knows when you're ten, you can go anywhere if you have a Pokémon!"
Shalin covered her face. She hadn't considered that Arciel's laws might be different from Johto's. While raising a Pokémon may have been legal at age ten, going on a Pokémon journey unsupervised was not. Not until age sixteen. "...Right. I'm sorry," she apologized, her voice muffled. "Shalin," she introduced herself, relaxing her arms and exposing her face again.
"I'm Alaric. You're not from here, are you?" the young one continued.
"How did you know?"
"Lucky guess?" The boy started uncontrollably smiling. The two made small talk for a few minutes before the occupancy light on the right facility went out, a middle-aged male and female emerging from the double doors. "Our turn! We're going to have a battle!"
"With who?" Shalin asked.
"You, of course!" Down a Pokémon, Shalin didn't plan on having another battle so quickly. She was still somewhat cold from the mist. She shrugged and went along with it, entering the now-open battleground alongside Alaric, who had recalled his Binacle. It wasn't like she had anything better to do, what with this mist. At least it wasn't terribly windy.
The battleground was pretty impressive - there was a large, circular pool with a small, floating island in its center for land Pokémon to stand. Added to the room's corners, that left five spots for land Pokémon. With the water around, Caprice was out. Thankfully, she had brought an excess of water-types. Vannifar was in bad shape, but she still had Levy and Prower. Once the two had taken places, Alaric released both of his Pokémon, his first combatant a Binacle on the central island. A Spheal remained at his side.
Shalin wasn't quite her overly enthusiastic self due to being chilly still, but she was in good enough of a mood to oversee a quick battle. "Levy, let's take them down!" The enormous Milotic displaced enough water in the pool that it could easily overflow from the impact of an attack. Moreover, maneuverability would be another issue as it would be almost impossible for him to turn around. "Flood it with your Water Pulse!"
She was right - the waves created by Levy's attack splashed quite a bit of water onto the central island, the two Binacle letting out a hissing noise as their rocky bodies began to crack. The short-range attack did leave him open to a blinding counter-attack, the water softening the dirt into mud - perfect for a Mud Slap to his face.
While it was not a particularly damaging attack, it was debilitating enough, the pink serpent having difficulty seeing where his quarry was. He dove underneath the island to try washing the mud off, but to no avail - that slop wasn't coming off unaided. He surfaced what he thought was behind the Binacle and loosed a second Water Pulse. Close enough! A second hiss and the foe was out cold. A look of dread appeared on Alaric's face as both of them switched Pokémon, a Spheal and the big Buizel staring each other down.
The ice-type's cold body let it effectively water-walk, giving it protection against Prower's attacks from underneath. The confident Buizel had a great mobility advantage, able to attack without warning from virtually any angle. His twin tails hummed like a miniature marine engine, the Pokémon building great speed before making a sharp turn into Spheal, the Quick Attack sending it rolling over the island and crashing into the pool's wall thanks to the now-lowered water level.
"Rollout, Spheal!" As the ice-type's speed built, the boy's frown began turning upside down, feeling he turned the tide of the battle. Shalin, on the other hand, was becoming less and less thrilled. Gym Leader Whitney from her homeland was infamous for sending would-be challengers packing with this attack. As long as the user could control its own momentum, its power built over time. The training required to control the attack at particularly high speeds was immense, but when mastered it was a nearly unbeatable tactic.
Prower was able to outpace the Spheal for a while, crashing into it a couple more times in an effort to use the increasing speed against the ice Pokémon against itself. When even the nimble Buizel could no longer keep up with Spheal's acceleration, Shalin knew she had been beat, withdrawing Prower from the pool. The battle was a tie, with one victory per side. The two trainers exited the battleground, Shalin shaking the young boy's hand before heading back to the passengers' cabin.
{WC: 872} {PC: 7} {Shalin: 145/145} Levy's level is now 19! {Levy: 427/440} {Prower: 59/234}
The battle facility's quality surprised Shalin - it rivaled the ones on the famous cruise ship S.S. Anne that ran between Olivine and Vermilion back in her home region. The coastal cities must have had a hell of a budget to be able to put amenities like that onto low-cost ferries like this one. Still covered in cold mist, she returned directly to her seat in the passenger's cabin to warm up.
She reached into her carry-on for a replacement towel, drying off her arms and hands to check her device for the vessel's travel data. The mist was going to pass soon, and skies would be clear for the remainder of the voyage. Unfortunately for her, the storm did cause a significant delay, and they would not be arriving until well after moonrise - nearly 8 PM. As if on cue, the ship's external lights turned on, and a banging noise echoed from just outside her window. She peeked out, seeing a tiny, blue-shelled crustacean Pokémon she did not recognize. It was banging on the wall next to the window for a solid two or three minutes before crew members assembled outside the cabin, using a long pole to lift it from the ship and toss it overboard. Good riddance.
Ah, nice and warm again. Well, relatively speaking - it was still winter on a sea vessel. With most of the passengers up and about, Shalin set her carry-on in the seat next to her, using her table tray and the one next to her to re-organize it and put her towels away. While she was doing so, she noticed something hard inside the towel she had used the first time. Unraveling it, a purple Apricorn bounced on top of the tray a few times, Shalin catching it before it fell. She raised it up to eye level, studying it. Curious - come to think of it, these types of Apricorns were not native to Johto. She would have to find a Poké Ball smith like Kurt of Azalea to see what type of Poké Ball came from them.
Once the mist had stopped, Shalin stowed her carry-on above her seat once more and wandered back onto the ship, this time exploring the starboard side. The sunset was one of the most beautiful she had seen in a long time - all kinds of oranges, reds, pinks, and purples filled the western sky, stars starting to twinkle from the east as the clouds dispersed. The stairs there led to the ship's upper level, a single large room filled with primarily older passengers playing card and board games. There was one particularly loud, older gentleman in the rear corner of the room, letting out a curse or two. Shalin glanced over, noticing a pile of poker chips toppled over and nearly spilling onto the floor. She couldn't help but let out a chuckle.
As it turned out, the man who took a bad beat was an off-duty sailor that was also a skilled Trainer in his own right. Overhearing Shalin's chuckle, the muscled poor-sport turned toward Shalin, two Poké Balls in hand. "I'm sorry--I wasn't laughing at you, I was laughing at the situation!" the short girl explained, her apology only driving the man to greater anger. Her instinct was to run away as quickly as he could before violence broke out in the room. Nearly everyone else in the room couldn't help but watch Shalin flee, the angry sailor now starting to give chase. She ran back down to the vessel's main level, ducking behind a darkened corridor on the starboard side in an effort to slip away from her pursuer almost drunk with anger.
The girl couldn't help but breathe heavily. She tried partially covering her mouth to mask the noise, but it wasn't enough - her pursuer was able to hear the noise and released a Shellder into the narrow corridor. Most of her Pokémon were far too big to defend themselves in such narrow space, Shalin forced to back all the way to the corner and release her Buizel, Prower, in her defense.
Shalin knew that the best way to attack Shellder was from range. Prower took a few steps back from his foe before loosing a barrage of aquatic projectiles toward its shell. Both Pokémon preferred to attack at range, Shellder meeting Buizel's first strike with sharp projectiles of ice launched from the spikes on top of its shell. Neither was an effective means of attack against the other--often, aquatic battles turned into contests of endurance, the girl was quickly discovering.
Shellder's third spike volley struck both sides of the metallic hallway when Prower ducked out of the way of its first wave, though caught by the remaining four waves. The sound of quick yet heavy footfalls filled the area around them. Both of them ignored the noise, the Buizel's and Shellder's attacks crossed each other a fourth time, resulting in a simultaneous knockout.
Just as the tall man was about to send his second Pokémon out, three crew members arrived on the scene. "Hey! If you want to battle, we have a facility for it that's far less dangerous than right here!" Shalin, sitting in the corner, raised both her hands into a vulnerable position, as if ordered by a police officer. The other man was apprehended and dragged away, leaving a single crew to tend to the girl in the corner.
"I'm okay," she answered when asked if she was okay. "This isn't the first looney I've ran into on this ship today, either. This is the last time I'm sailing evenings." A bit winded, she recalled her fallen Buizel, the female crew helping Shalin to her feet and back to the passengers' cabin. Her right arm was numb and red. Upon inspection, she saw some of the ice shards had dug into her skin. Making sure the aisle was clear, she released Caprice and rest her arm inside the fire-type's golden fur, the tiny ice shards slowly melting.
{WC: 485} {PC: 10} {Shalin: 101/145} {Prower: 0/257} Prower's level is now 19!}
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