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.
The cover of nightfall was always pleasant, with or without the endless of expanse of ocean at her side. Senara had opted to travel solo to Cherry while her friend was stuck getting "test" run on him at the hospital--turns out, people don't usually faint without some sort of medical problem, and for some reason the doctors had been more worried after they'd gotten his full name from her. Hm, maybe there was some kind of medical history she didn't know of. Not that she really knew a whole lot, all things considered.
Why did I even say those things...?
Chanceux was moving as evenly as he could tonight, his serpentine body making quick work of the path from Plum City to Cherry Town. It was nice because Senara wasn't in the right head-space to do a lot of steering, or handle a lot of disruptions.
She'd blown up. When it looked like Arietta was about to leave, she'd turned around and tried to start something instead. That...bothered her so much, and she knew exactly why. Girls like her were the reason she hated home. Catty, petty, drama-starved little girls who liked to throw vile rumors around just to see what happens. People who drove their victims into dropping out of school or needing to move or...worse. Senara had been the victim once. She'd also been the perpetrator before then. Arceus forgive her, she had been just as bad before she'd stopped playing the "game". Was it hypocritical to get angry at another person doing the same she'd done half a decade ago? Or was it just plain old self-loathing and an attempt at atonement? The latter felt a lot nicer, honestly.
But it probably wasn't the right answer.
All the same the mask broke. Senara could have started crying to make Arietta leave, probably. Or played the part of the all-loving girl who just wanted people to forgive each other! But Arceus hadn't made her very patient, especially not when she was on minimal hours of sleep and had only one cup of coffee and just started getting an awful migraine. Thanks aura-sight, you're a real blessing. But she could have stopped after the first few lines about how she knew what had happened. Ended it before she really went off. But she hadn't. She'd just added more and more fuel until things hit a melting point.
So, so mature.
But she'd started it, her shreds of self-worth pipped up, Arietta is the one who came over in the first place, after her and Gabe blew up. Twice, now, if she was being honest about the boat thing--
--I should have waited for Gabe to tell me what she was talking about--
--and she kept digging at him! Asking me if he was alright when he was standing right there, getting all green-eyed and snippy when we were "flirting"...it wasn't her business to tell me about that incident. And if Gabe really did only try to apologize, I doubt he's the one who brought me up. I bet she tried to dig into him for more on me, while she thought I was "away". So much for keeping your end of the bargain, you slimy little...
Senara leaned her head against the cool metal of Chanceux's skin and groaned, her arms clinging still tightly to the little "handles" his body naturally grew. If she thought any more about this she was going to start having flashbacks to her own high school days.
And she would like to be without those for as long as she lived.
Post by Senara Spargo on Feb 10, 2020 19:31:04 GMT
Senara rubbed her cheek into the back of Chanceux's head. Right now she wished she was the psychic or telepath or whatever, just so she'd be able to talk to and understand her Pokemon. Maybe they'd have some kind of advice. She could kind of imagine it, though, and it wasn't great. Sphorb and Neigeux were too young or too dumb to be of any help one way or another. Raye, well, was smart, but would probably chastise her for getting into the fight in the first place. Surprisingly mellow, that Galarian Meowth. The ever shameless Polochon would laugh about this--ask "why should you even care, it's none of your business"--and in a way he'd be right and she'd hate it. Chanceux...hmm, he was honestly the one she least could imagine a response from. He was calm but he was also kind, something that balanced of his, uh...friend, Polochon. He might be more concerned about everyone's emotional states than the fight itself.
And Baby Girl hated people like Arietta almost as much as Senara did, so, hey, at least she knew that her precious baby would be in her corner, even if nobody else would be.
Why should I even care?
I mean, I care about Gabe. He's my first real human friend, and that situation was the worst. He was hurt and exhausted and his ex was being...well...an ex, I assume?
Are all exes so bad?
Ehh, I've got no personal experiences so...let's go with "maybe".
A lone Pidove must have gotten awoken from it's slumber by the passing noisy Steelix, because it burst out from the treeline and took off in the opposite direction. Senara jolted a little. Urgh. She was also exhausted and hurt--her head was sore as hell--but at least she wasn't locked up in a hospital until the doctors determined she wasn't dying.
I'll text him once I've gotten to Cherry. He should be out by then, right?
Do I ask him if he's alright? Do I ask him about what happened on the boat? If he didn't tell me about it then it isn't any of my business, whatever Arietta thinks. What weird little world does she live in where somebody talks about their ex with their current partner? Fake partner or not, she can't be that--...no, no, she clearly was that dumb. Proved me right, like, five seconds after I even said it aloud. God, if he's able to, I hope Gabe can laugh about that if nothing else...heh, maybe I should crash her blog for a few days.
...come to think of it I haven't checked that in a while. Do I have cell service out here?
She let go of Chanceux with one hand and dug into the pocket of her coat. He made a small annoyed sound--something like "Hey, no texting and steering"--but she ignored it
Oh, wow, this one is from like a day after I met her. Kudos, Arietta, you write fast.
Senara's thumb slowly scrolled through pages of the sickeningly cutsie life blog of Arietta Whatsherdamage, taking in the what stood out to her and skimming the rest. None of this was new to her even if she hadn't read it. Well, mostly. There were more details on what their "final" (read: attempted final) blow-up had been like. Going out to dinner, feelings resurfacing, something-something-trauma--man, she had to remind herself that she was only, what, four years older than these two? It felt like a decade. But maybe that was because they both seemed to be stuck in the mid 2010's still...at least over this.
Ah, and there's me. Not by name but who else could it be. I'm honored.
She kept scrolling. Hah, kind and loving girlfriend. I'm sure that image is wrecked now. I could probably save face if I needed to, but, Arceus, do I want to? Let it fucking die. And what the heck is a PNG because this keeps popping up. Is that her band name? What does it stand for, Preppy Noxious Groupies? Hitting the end of the post she glanced at the comments, snorted again, and clicked to the next one, which was--wow.
So long after? Wait, this was posted only a couple days ago. When did this...
This happened after Bass, but before yesterday?? In such a short amount of time??
Arceus' shiny plates, girly, even if he WAS my boyfriend do you think he maybe would want his own time to process whatever happened before telling me about it...?
Before she could get into the meat of the post, Chanceux came to a sudden short stop and made her bumped her arm into him and her nose into her phone, earning a small sharp Kalosian curse as she rubbed against the back of her hand. Ow. "What'd you--" she started before peering out from around him. In the road, picking at the trashy remains of what appeared to be a camp from another trainer, was a rather large Grimer. Despite its largeness, though, it didn't look...healthy. Well, Grimer weren't really the healthiest Pokemon in and of themselves, but this one looked a little thin for it's size--or as "thin" as a sentient puddle of toxic sludge could look. Hah, speaking of toxic...
Senara gave Chanceux a pat and he lowered enough for her step down, drawing a ball from her bag and bouncing it in her palm. She was doing it a favor catching it before it starved. "Sors, Sphorb. Utilisez piétisol." The ball cracked open with a flash of white light, and when it cleared a short round shape was left in its place. Sphorb the Spheal looked up at his trainer and barked with joy, then up at Chanceux and barked even more. Senara rolled her eye and bent to give him a small pat on the head.
"Oui tu es mignon. Maintenant, allez-y? Je suis de mauvaise humeur ce soir."
Sphorb "nodded"--really his whole body just rocked back and forth like he was nodding--and turned back toward the Grimer. It seemed to notice him, and was already amassing a pile of purple goo from its body to hurl towards them...but Sphorb was no squishy boy.
Well, yes, technically he was. But the point was he knew Bulldoze.
With apparently no exerted effort at all the little ball of chub jumped up and slammed himself into the ground, and it cracked in two from the impact, jutting out rock and ground alike into the completely unsuspecting Grimer. The Ground-type move was very effective against its sticky, Poison-type self. Not to mention it shocked the absolute hell out of it. Senara laughed, taking out a fresh ball and tossing it out at the weakened slime. Chanceux bent down to nuzzle his jaw against Sphorb like a proud parent.
Never underestimate the small round ones.
@mods! WC: 684 SPHORB IS STRONK. Using a Great Ball! (3/8)
Post by Senara Spargo on Feb 12, 2020 19:01:04 GMT
The Grimer was swiftly and excellently caught, and after Senara stepped over the rubble left by Sphorb's attack to collect the ball she scanned it in her 'dex and sent it off to the PC. She'd need to give it a good name, befitting such a large poisonous creature, and also get the poor thing some food. It'd be fine in the PC for now. She turned back around to find Sphorb balancing percariously on Chanceux's nose. Why did every single Pokemon on this good earth want to put him on their nose? Was he really that round? Whatever. It made her snicker as she approached, holding her arms out for Sphorb to jump down into with a happy series of barks. "Tu as bien fait. Voulez-vous revenir ou voulez-vous jouer?" Sphorb looked up at her with little beady eyes, then yawned. Ah.
It was a weird time for "normal" things to be awake, wasn't it. Oh well. She returned him in a beam of bright red light, slid the ball back into her pocket, and climbed back onto her Steelix with minimal issue. She was finally getting used to riding him around.
She also immediately dug her phone back out to pick up where she'd left off. Ooh, there was a video to go with it. She opened it in another tab and kept reading the blog.
Huh. Ivy Town was a big "bad zone", was it? Why? There was the mention of the ferry, too. What did Liz do to her anyway? She hadn't seen any claw marks on her throat, and she doubted Liz would have done less to her than she had her own trainer. Maybe she'd just tried to snap it with brute force. Arceus, charmeleons are scary, aren't they...maybe they gave discounts on Pokemon attitude adjustment courses if your Pokemon's already hurt at least three people. Hah. Or maybe they just take them and lock them up.
Chanceux continued to "glide" over the path, his silver-like skin gleaming in the faint light of the moon reflecting off the snow and sea. Senara ran her fingers over a smoother patch of him while she kept reading. Oh, look, threats against a hacker. How perfectly placed in an article that somebody might want to hack because they were being bad-mouthed. Honestly, if she were Gabe in this situation, she didn't know what she would do. She thrived on her innocent persona. She couldn't take the sort of lashings this girl dished out in her blogs. Not that he seemed to be taking it "well" by any definition of the word, but still, she didn't think she'd be able to keep herself away if this kept up.
I'd have let Liz snap her throat, if it meant never seeing my name being dragged again.
...hah, she'd be so proud of me for thinking that way, wouldn't she...?
Senara felt her stomach suddenly do a happy little twist, and she leaned forward, pressing herself flush against Chanceux's back. He slowed enough to turn and make sure she was okay, and she hoped it was too dark for him to see her skin go ghost white.
...this is why I don't get mixed up in this sort of thing...
The idea of hacking the blog still lingered in her mind. She couldn't do it here, of course, and she didn't have a computer with her. But if she could surf the channel between Cherry and Birch and cut out a lot of time there, she could have plenty of time to go between there and Gabe's farm as needed before they chose to try and rob the bank. She could also try to teach Neigeux how to fly. She doubted Arietta really had the shit she said she did as security for her blog, and if she did, then she could find a work-around. If she thought a warning was all it would take to get a pissed off criminal off her back then she really was an idiot. But...Senara didn't need to get involved. She could stay where she was and just avoid Arietta for the rest of their lives. It'd be better for her and for Gabe if the little bitch stayed away forever. It wasn't worth the trouble anymore.
But what If she decides to post about this morning?
...
...then I'm going to make her wish she never even met me.
@mods! WC: 757 Let me casually place this tempted fate right here... (4/8)
Further on, further on, the path began to feel farther and farther from Plum to the point that the light pollution from the city was nearly gone. Combined with the growing number of clouds in the sky, it was actually getting quite dark out here. Senara frowned and looked up from where she'd rested her head on Chanceux's back. She could still see well enough--years of exploring the mines made her night-vision a bit better than normal, though now she was wondering if it was related to her latent aura seeing thing--and Steelix were made for living in deep dark caves. Still, she began to wonder if she should try to make it all the way to Cherry tonight if it stayed this dark, or stop to camp. It wasn't a long route but she didn't know it as well as she did the mainland...
She was about to say something when a scent hit her nose and she tapped on her ride's head instead. Chanceux came to a slow rolling stop. That smelled like wood smoke. Was there already somebody camping out here nearby?
She really didn't feel like interacting with people tonight.
...but at the same time, she had some steam to blow off. This might be perfect.
"Laissez-moi descendre tranquillement et restez caché." She whispered to Chanceux. He obliged, lowering his head as slowly and quietly as he could manage, and she stepped of lightly. The snow helped to muffle her footsteps as she went farther down the path alone toward the smell of the campfire. It took a little longer on foot but she soon came to a small clearing off the path, similar to the one the Grimer had been rummaging in down the way. Trainers definitely used them regularly. This one was cleaner, and had a slowly dying fire in a pit, next to a comfortable looking tent...besides which was a rather formidable looking Bewear, snoozing away. Senara rolled her eye. A Bewear as a body guard? How brutish. And it wasn't even awake! That made this easy.
Senara stepped right up to the tent, still silent as she could, and peeked into the open flap that lead inside--it wasn't even zipped! Hah! People had no idea what creeps could be lurking on these paths. It was a large enough tent that she could only make out the shape of the man inside, nestled into his heat source--a large, fluffy Flareon that, too, was fast asleep. Wow. It would take so little effort on her part to rob this man blind, with how little defensive measures he'd set up. Not even the sense to put up a nocturnal Pokemon out to stand guard...he was lucky, really, that it was her that found him here.
A lot of thieves would probably take his Pokemon. A Bewear and a Flareon weren't too bad, honestly, even though one was a hazard and the other fairly slow. But Senara was a thief with standards, dammit. She'd never take a person's Pokemon. That'd be as bad as kidnapping their kid or something, and kidnapping kids or Pokemon...tch, that was just too low. So she'd just be nice, and take something of far lesser value than his precious little Pokemon--like the contents of his satchel, left besides his phone at the base of the mat he was sleeping on. Senara glanced one more time to be sure the Bewear was still very much asleep, and same with the Flareon, before she rushed her hand through the open flap to open the latch on the bag. If she managed it she'd take any money or anything else of value inside. Stones, pokeballs--empty, not full, of course--and money were all fair game. It didn't need to be a lot, just enough.
The thrill of stealing was doing what she wanted it to, in any case; the rush of adrenaline made her forget everything awful that had happened today, or anything bad she had felt, and let her focus just on what was important. Which, right now, was not getting caught.
DIyTgjrTp_ [Crime Roll (+32)] [Trying to steal money or other valuable items]
You manage to steal find quite a good sum of cash in the dude's bag. Unfortunately there's not much else if you're not hungry (and even if you were, those food stuffs are rations, not really good snack food). All the same, you're quite a bit richer. +2 Crime
A wild Kadabra has appeared!
Does this one know Harriet considering they were both from Route 4? Who knows. He's a manelt and she's huge so.
Post by Senara Spargo on Feb 15, 2020 19:11:28 GMT
Alright, nothing in there but some rations and cash, but cash was never not useful in this world, so Senara snatched it, pocketed it, and turned to carefully sneak away before the man or his Pokemon woke up. She made it off the small campsite all together, and was within sight of Chanceux--who was doing his best to blend into the bushes but a twenty-foot Steelix was still a twenty-foot Steelix--when felt a faint chill run down her spine. Was she being watched? Had she been seen? Senara went rigid mid-step and turned to look around her. She didn't see anything or anyone...she didn't hear anything...she ju--
<<What do you think you're doing, human?>>
Senara almost screeched in surprise, but managed just to slap her hands over her mouth before the sound escaped. A voice just went through her head. One that totally was not hers. That would have been concerning in itself, but since yesterday, she had become very, very much aware of telepathy being used by Pokemon and humans alike. She looked around more frantically. Who was talking to her? Where were they?! Was the source of the voice a Pokemon? They called her "human", so that made that a bit clearer, but...that also meant they could be invisible or disguised or who knows what...!
"...it's r-rude to just shove yourself into somebody's brain, you know," she said aloud, reigning in the shock and dread that was thick in her chest, and she kept looking. Still no sign of where the voice had come from, but they couldn't be too far away, right? "And I don't know what you're talking about. How about you show yourself first? Hmm?"
There was no answer, and no more noises, for almost a solid five second. Senara felt a little dumb for talking aloud, but she didn't want anyone poking about in her head. She definitely didn't want a stranger to be doing it. No freaking way! Then the voice spoke up again, this time sounding more amused than before. <<You're not as scared as most humans are. How foolish. You steal from your own kind, then believe yourself able to handle me? I shall have to show you the error of your ways...>>
A rustle came from the woods and Senara backed away from them, hand reaching for Baby Girl's pokeball--she was a Ghost-type/Dark-type mix, perfect for handling any tricky psychic users--but...nothing appeared from the woods. Senara blinked, looking around.
<<Human, I am here.>>
Senara frowned and looked around again. Nothing.
Then she looked down.
Standing hardly up to her knee was the absolutely most teensy tiny Kadabra she'd ever known. It was so very, very short that she'd been looking over it the entire time and hadn't even realized!! A laugh tried to jump out of her throat and she bit her tongue hard to stop it, but it did nothing to stop the grin that spread over her face. "Aww, you're so cute and tiny!" She coo'd in her sweetest baby-voice, placing her hands on her knees and bending down to be closer to its level. The Kadabra stiffened its back and looked absolutely furious at her. "What a sweet little Pokemon! Look at you! You're the littlest, most adorable Abra I've ever seen!~"
The Kadabra growled, its voice pushing to her mind again. <<I am no Abra! I am no small, weak creature! I am a Kadabra!! STOP MOCKING ME, MORTAL!!>>
Senara snorted into her palms. Oh my Arceus, this was great. This was amazing. It was so short and so angry and it made this so much better. Her other hand pulled out Baby Girl's pokeball while the Kadabra was fuming at her words. "I'm sorry, sweetie! I can't help it! Oh, I have GOT to introduce you to Gabe, he will fucking lose it..."
<<HAH! You will show me to no one!>> The Kadabra raised its spoon in a way that may have been threatening were it even a couple feet taller than it was. <<I shall never belong to a human as weak as you! My powers surpass even the most powerful psychics in the known world! Prepare yourself, mortal, as I-->>
A flash of red light, a rush of golden fur--
"Utilisez une attaque de feinte, petite fille!"
--and a rush of black-colored claws filled the vision of the Kadabra, and his boasting went very suddenly and very quickly silent. Senara snorted, standing back up, and pulling out a nice little great ball and tossing it at the now unconscious Kadabra. "You might be strong, honey, but you've still got two glaring weaknesses. N'ai-je pas raison, petite fille?" Baby Girl, standing over her prey, clicked her teeth together and let out a hissing laugh. Senara grinned at her and pet her soft, shiny gold fur. "Mon joli bébé~"
Post by Senara Spargo on Feb 15, 2020 22:56:16 GMT
Senara pouted. Oh, for Pete's sake, it managed to be just awake enough to fight being caught? How annoying. At least the ball didn't break. Senara traded it out for a black one lined with yellow. A bit stronger and a bit more expensive, but it would do to get one cocky little Kadabra in her pocket. The Kadabra swayed its spoon weakly in Baby Girl's direction. <<You....cheated....somehow...>> It grumbled into her brain, which Senara didn't hear. Baby Girl just "rolled" her "eyes" at him and stuck her tongue out through her pointed teeth. It's not cheating if it's just type advantage you stubborn little brat.
Senara knelt down next to the Kadabra and tapped it on the head with the ultra ball. This time it better keep, otherwise she was just going to stuff the tiny thing into her bag.
Post by Senara Spargo on Feb 17, 2020 22:17:15 GMT
What a dumb little narcissist this Kadabra was, but, alas, it was no match for the ultra pokeball and this time stayed inside. She scanned it with her pokedex app before it was sent to her PC, after which she stood up, stretched her arms over her head, and started to walk back towards Chanceux. Baby Girl wasted no time in climbing up her back and onto her shoulders, nuzzling her nose into her trainer's jaw. Senara let out a sounds somewhere between a laugh and a sigh. Baby Girl...she'd seen that whole mess in the hotel. What she wouldn't give to be able to read her thoughts on the matter right now.
Chanceux lowered himself and Senara climbed on board, making sure she was secure as well as Baby Girl. As he rose back up and began to slither his way along the path, she brought her hand up to scratch under Baby Girl's chin. "Suis-je en train de faire la mauvaise chose, en m'impliquant?" She mumbled, fingers slowing as she spoke. "Chaque fois que je m'implique dans ce genre de chose, je me blesse." Baby Girl nibbled on her now still fingers. Senara sighed and drew her hand away. "Je sais je sais. Le drame humain est le pire. Mais c'est mon ami maintenant, alors ne devrais-je pas essayer de le défendre? Cela ne peut pas faire plus de mal à cette idiote qu'elle..."
But she wouldn't get a response. Not in words, at least. Baby Girl only nestled closer, fluffy little ears pressed against Senara's throat like they were listening to her heartbeat. Senara could feel her rumbling very gently against her shoulder--not quite a purr, but definitely something in the same family as one. It was warm and comforting.
It was all she could ask for right now.
Besides, she could make out the faint glow of Cherry Town not too much farther ahead.
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