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.
Faolan adjusted the eggs - she had two, and it was a wonder they even fit, really - in her pack as she began the long, cold trek to Bass City. She'd had to check and doublecheck the signs as she left to make sure she was heading in the right direction, especially since it seemed like Routes 1 and 2 were pretty similar in terms of layout and geographical makeup. It did seem more lived-in than the previous route, which was probably due to the touristy aesthetic of Cedar Town. She imagined if she liked it enough she'd probably try and live here, too.
Maybe someday, who knew? Returning home wasn't exactly a priority for her.
It wasn't until she'd gotten a little ways out of the city that she remembered Fembra and her as-of-yet-unnamed Torchic, and she let both pokemon out so they could stretch their legs. Torchic immediately ran for the nearest seashell, discovered it was a rock, and still picked it up in his beak to carry it around until he discovered a better subsitute. Fembra stood for a moment trying to decide if she wanted to help him or let him do his thing, then eventually decided that it would be best not to let him choke and hurried along after him. The pair headed off ahead down the path, leaving their trainer to stroll casually behind them. Her breath came out in small puffs of condensation and she adjusted the collar of her jacket, hoping her eggs would be warm enough in the freezing weather.
Would eggs crack if they had too much friction against each other? Or would they just cook a little from heat? Who knew. Either way, she was making sure to check on both eggs regularly to ensure they didn't break or get damaged along the walk, and it was a little while before she caught up with Torchic and Fembra who were both looking at something down by the sands. When she got there she saw there was an odd blue colored pokkemon with a big mouth and what looked like feline ears - but surely this wasn't a feline. Was it? When she got closer she saw it for what it was and debated whether or not to leave it be or to take it along with them. She wasn't entirely sure if she'd be able to keep up with its appetite... Well, there wasn't much harm in trying.
The Munchlax was sitting on the beach throughout all this, munching contently on what looked like long leaves of seaweed. It didn't seem particularly bothered that it had an audience and just went on doing its own thing, clearly not seeing any threat in what was going on at the moment. After some thought, Faolan unslung her pack and began to go through the smaller pockets where she kept the specialty balls she'd acquired.
After going through the contents of one of the smaller pouches, she eventually selected a Nest Ball and enlarged it. The Munchlax seemed too distracted eating to notice the device, and so she was free to cock her arm back and toss it at the eating pokemon.
Attempting to catch it with Nest Ball - 75% chance of catching any Pokémon Lv20 or lower. Fembra - Level 8 Charmander (5/5 Energy) Chingling - Level 3 Chingling (5/5 Energy) Carvanha - Level 10 Carvanha (5/5 Energy) Torchic - Level 6 Torchic (5/5 Energy) Aron Egg - 02/10 Posts Kecleon Egg - 02/03 Posts
She honestly hadn't expected that to work without some kind of breakout attempt and was pleasantly surprised that it did. The Nest Ball laid there for a bit and then was instantly transported in a flash of light to her PC, which she was rather grateful for because she couldn't imagine having to find food for the creature during the walk. She supposed she could just leave it to its own devices but, seeing how Torchic still insisted on having the rock in his mouth, perhaps that wasn't a very good idea.
It felt like one of the eggs in her pack were starting to move about. Was it about to hatch? Faolan made her way to a grassy area so she could sit and take it out, and after discerning which of the eggs was moving she removed it from her bag with great care and sat down upon the nearest rock so it would have room to emerge. Torchic and Fembra both ran over in curiosity, their eyes wide with wonder when they saw the egg shaking in their trainer's grasp.
Eventually the egg hatched and out emerged a rather larger-than-average Kecleon. She honestly had no idea how such a big creature could fit in the egg she had been carrying, but here they were. The Kecleon, upon emerging from the egg, promptly fixed her with a nonplussed look in its beady black eyes and then slowly began to change into the color of her skin, as though that would help it blend in enough to become invisible. It was a valiant attempt, and almost endearing if not for the fact that it was really out of place. Before she could comment on this Fembra was running behind her and Torchic was dropping its rock to start picking up the scattered bits of egg shell on the ground. Faolan turned to look questioningly at Fembra but was cut off by a voice floating to them on the wind.
"Feel up to a battle?" The blonde turned and saw a young girl dressed like she'd just got out of school heading towards them, her skirt ruffling gently in the wind. She was dressed inappropriately for the cold weather, especially with the knee socks and the length of exposed leg, and Faolan almost felt sorry for her - almost, because why the heck would someone leave their house and come all the way here like that? That had to have been done intentionally, not mistakenly. It was a little irritating, to say the least. She was reminded of the girls back home, and by extension her mother, who put beauty and fashion before personal discomfort.
The Kecleon shifted to match the color of the grass as it was set down upon it, and Faolan quickly snatched at Torchic as it ran forward again ready to fight. The girl hadn't even released her first pokemon yet. Faolan nudged the little bird behind her and it let out an indignant squawk, but stood off to the side with Fembra as their trainer stood. The Kecleon had seemed to master the art of invisibility and was detectable only with the strange red stripe pattern on the grass, but Faolan wasn't too concerned with it at the moment. She turned her blue eyes to the girl in front of her and set a hand on her hip.
The battle was quick, but relatively okay. The Stufful the girl sent out seemed to be a lower level than Faolan's own pokemon, and she finally allowed Torchic to have his turn. The flames of Torchic's Ember burned bright and hot, and although the Stufful attempted to Tackle Torchic into submission, bringing the battle to a close end, it was no match for the repeated barrage of Ember the flaming bird dished out. The next battle was along a similar vein, however Torchic's Ember seemed to do significantly more amount of damage against the steel-type. Again like before, Klefki attempted to Tackle the firebird into submission, and when that didn't work the Fairy Wind it summoned buffeted Torchic to dangerous levels of health. But he kept at it with multiple Embers that had to fight hard against Klefki's barrage of wind until it ultimately powered through and billowed at the steel/fairy type so long and so hard that it began to turn the pokemon's coat a faint red with heat. The Lass withdrew it, nursing the pokeball to her chest, and gave Faolan a withering look.
And then it was the Furfrou's turn.
Admittedly, the dyed pink-purple of its fur in strategic places was impressive. That had to have taken a lot of time and care to get right. The big poodle gave Torchic a smug look, and before Faolan could call out to her pokemon it was already running straight ahead, flames starting in his open beak. Before he could get very far the Furfrou simply launched itself forward into an aggressive Headbutt, and the force was actually enough to send Torchic sailing back through the air. All questions of where Kecleon had went disappeared from Faolan's mind when the bird landed with a loud thwumpf and she heard rather than saw two bodies hit the grass. The lass gave a triumphant spin that billowed her skirt out and Faolan felt her irritation only grow.
After making sure that both Torchic and Kecleon were okay - the latter still insisting on remaining invisible via keeping its skin the same green color as the grass - Faolan turned to Fembra. The timid lizard was looking at Furfrou uncertainly, but after glancing back and forth from her trainer to Furfrou a few times she seemed to find some degree of courage deep down and stepped forward, ready for battle.
The battle between both was like a dance; Furfrou leapt around and at Fembra to Headbutt her into defeat, and Fembra did her best to dance expertly around him before laying into a series of Scratch attacks. Having gained some battle experience already, she held her own well enough - until the lass got tired of the dancing around the pokemon were doing to each other and ordered a barrage of Headbutts from her four-legged pokemon. Fembra was battered over and over, but the battle was also wearing down the Furfrou and Faolan took her opportunity to command Fembra into Outrage. All vestiges of the Charmander's timidness evaporated and she began to assail the Furfrou with heavy slams of her tail and arms, beating the dog back and taking back some of the ground she had lost. When Charmander was finished, the momentum of her last swinging attack made her lose her balance and whap herself with her own tail in a clumsy self-attack, but the Furfrou had already lain down in defeat. The lass returned it begrudgingly to the pokeball, and before they parted ways with an amicable handshake Faolan told her to go home before she got sick. The lass gave her a confused look but scampered away back to one of the neighborhoods the blonde had passed through, and after checking to make sure her second egg was okay - still not moving, though - Faolan continued on her way. Torchic and Kecleon she left in their balls, but the newly victorious Fembra was able to roam freely, and she stayed by her master's side most of the time instead of lagging behind as they walked.
They were passing by a smaller, less upscale neighborhood when Fembra tugged at her trainer's leg again and pointed. There was a small pink pokemon digging through one of the nearby waste bins, grumpy expression signifying her underlying frustration with something or other. Fembra, still riding the high of battle victory, hesitated only a moment before puffing out her chest and walking with a swagger over to the Snubbull, which ... actually just went on digging right through the bins, ignoring the approaching Charmander. Clearly it didn't see her as any kind of threat.
When Fembra did make her presence known - after an uncertain look back at her trainer - the Snubbull turned and his expression contorted into such a Scary Face that Fembra immediately cowered in the face of it. Snubbull made a huffing noise and promptly went back to digging in the garbage. The Charmander looked around, then back at Faolan, and the blonde couldn't help the small smile that made its way onto her face. At least Fembra was trying.
"Ember, Fembra." The Charmander nodded, drew in a deep breath, and blasted the Snubbull with flames that licked all along its feet and body. The pink pokemon made a noise that sounded half bark, half chuff, and immediately launched itself forward against Fembra's flames to Bite down on whatever part of her it could reach. The Snubbull's mouth locked on Fembra's tail and she squeaked, then started trying to run and/or detach herself from the pokemon's locked jaw. When it appeared that Snubbull wouldn't let go the Charmander looked to her trainer for help. Faolan adjusted the pack over her shoulder, the egg within starting to grow heavy, and offered a simple "Outrage". Like before, Fembra's timidness evaporated into a sharp focus, and she began beating on the Snubbull with her arms to get the pokemon to relinquish his grip, if only slightly.
Eventually, the Snubbull did let go, and Fembra used the momentum to beat the creature back further past the bin it had been digging through. When the Snubbull looked like it would attack again, Faolan took the opportunity to hurl a pokeball at the attacking pokemon before it could land a hit on her Charmander.
Faolan arched a brow when the Snubbull broke free, but rather than flee into the night the small canine actually put up its fists like it wanted to duke it out. Despite the situation, she found the absurdity of the pokemon's willingness to fight endearing and she couldn't find it in her to be angry. Fembra managed to snap out of whatever confusion she was in retrieved the used pokeball to return to her trainer. As Faolan cradled it in her hand she looked to her Charmander, debating whether or not to switch her out for someone else.
Well, Fembra had been doing well enough. Why stop a good thing?
The two pokemon began to encircle each other slowly, both sizing each other up before they began their attack. Snubbull was making threatening biting motions with its mouth, its little arms held out at its sides as though that would help it whenever it inevitably decided to launch itself at Fembra. Fembra was doing her best to meet the creature's gaze, faltering only slightly but with her tail whipping back and forth behind her all the while.
It was when the Snubbull lunged into a Tackle that round two officially began. A well-timed Ember had Snubbull sputtering and struggling to continue its assault against a wall of flames, and only when Fembra stopped to take a breath did the Snubbull manage to make it through and slam bodily into the Charmander's torso. Although the attack winded Faolan's pokemon, she was able to recover in a decent amount of time and Scratched at Snubbull with her sharp claws any place she could reach. Snubbull reared back at the impact before launching forward again, this time with its teeth bared to Bite at whatever part of Charmander it could reach and latching onto her tail like before. Fembra took the opportunity of close range to turn her head and blow a steady stream of Ember at the Snubbull's head, beating him down until he eventually let go like before. Even with her now freed tail Fembra didn't back down and continuously blew her flames without stopping while the Snubbull flailed about.
Without waiting for the pokemon to react again, Faolan adjusted the weight of the egg on her back so she could throw the returned pokeball at the Snubbull again, hoping she'd catch it for real this time.
Well, at least her pokeball didn't break. Although she appreciated the Snubbull's moxy, she knew there would ienvitably be other pokemon to catch her interest with the same if not more plucky attributes. The Snubbull made another half-growl, half-chuffing noise before it fled off in the direction of the sands and out of sight. Although Fembra had done a good enough job battling it stil gave Faolan an apologetic look and shied away from her trainer as though expecting a right scolding. Faolan was quick to reassure her with a pat on the head and, after retrieving her dropped ball, the pair continued on their way.
Honestly, she almost wanted to keep the device because it seemed to be rather lucky. Two failed captures and it hadn't broken? Maybe the third time would be the charm.
At some point their path took them along by the beach, though she could see that even that was starting to bleed into a few plains scattered with grasslands here and there. It seemed that moving away from Cedar Town lessened the amount of beaches there were, but not by much. Still, she didn't particularly mind since she enjoyed the sound of waves crashing on the shore immensely, and so the walk along the water was comforting and soothing to her ears. It helped her to forget the heavy weight of the egg in her pack and, besides that, Fembra seemed content to pick up and examine the occasional shell they happened to come across.
They'd been walking a little while before Faolan spotted a strange black blob half-buried in the sands. When she got closer she saw it was a Pyukumuku, something she recognized from the Galar region. She recalled spotting a few people stepping on them only to get smacked, and as far as she knew it didn't really evolve into anything.
Fembra stared at the strange creature, then up to her trainer. Was she going to fight again? To the silent question, Faolan shook her head and took out the pokeball that had done pretty well thus far at not breaking. After weighing both it and the option of trying to catch the pokemon in front of her, she took a step forward and chucked the pokeball at the still pokemon.
That went a lot better than she'd thought it would, especially considering the pokemon didn't put up a fight and seemed to go easily into the ball. It was probably true what they said about the third time being the charm. Like before the pokeball disappeared in a flash of light, sent back to her pc to be accessed whenever she got to the next city. While Faolan was pretty sure she wouldn't actively use it, she was sure there were people out there unable to catch their own pokemon that would trade or even pay something nice for it.
But it was also a small reminder of Galar, and a part of her wanted to keep it for herself.
Whatever the case, she could always decide later when she had actual access to a PC. For now, she ushered Fembra away from the spot the Pyukumuku had occupied and the pair continued on their way.
They had just gotten to the edge of the beach when Fembra made a sound to catch her attention and she turned to see the Charmander standing over something half-buried in the sand. The Pokemon crouched down to brush sand away from the object, and for a moment Faolan thought it was another Pyukumuku but was surprised to see it was a weird plant of some kind. Only when Fembra managed to withdraw it out of the sand did she realize that she'd seen it before, in a few of the pokemarts in the city. Big Root, the labels had said, and if she remembered correctly it was a battle item that might prove beneficial to her in the long run.
Fembra held it out to her with a soft "charr" and she took it to stow away in her pack. She rewarded the Charmander with a gentle pat on the head and they both set continued walking - until a movement in Faolan's pack made her give pause and gently unsling it from her shoulders and into the sand. When she opened it she saw the egg within give a mighty wiggle and, after gently extricating it and setting it into the beach so it had enough room, she waited patiently for the pokemon within to hatch.
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