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.
Post by Marshall Legend on Feb 11, 2020 12:29:16 GMT
Marshall liked to think himself a fairly fit man - well, honestly, the ideal male body would be a more apt descriptor. Although he knew that there were those out there that may not like it, the truth was that this was what peak performance looked like. And because he had such a powerful image to uphold, he had to make sure he was in tip top shape every second of every day. Whether that meant eating an entire watermelon by himself, or simply doing squats whenever he could - which earned him occasional looks from time to time; really, people were so obvious about their admiration - he strived to do his best to keep himself healthy and fit.
It was on this particularly frigid day that he decided to go for a nice jog in between the routes. The way from Birch City to Pine Town wasn't very long, and so he could easily do a few laps here and there - or so he'd like to think. If he ever got tired he could just rest somewhere until he got his energy back. Yeah, that was perfect.
He had his pokemon stowed away in their pokeballs, since he knew they wouldn't be happy being unable to keep up with his speed, and was working on doing a few stretches here to warm up for his jog. He twisted this way and that, stretching his arms high over his head and then throwing them open wide as though he meant to hug the world and -
- SMACK.
Marshall glanced over just in time to see a blonde woman with her hair done up in pigtails duck down, rubbing at where he'd inadvertently hit her in the face. Whoops.
There was a pause, and then:
"-- if you wanted my autograph, you could have just asked!"
Having gotten the idea to head off and walk with a few more eggs in tow, making another adventure of another journey to a new town in Arciel, Liv found herself behind schedule on leaving Birch City. Certainly, it had nothing to do with the fact that the city had so many interesting and gorgeous places to visit that just piqued Liv's curiosity in just the right way. None of that was a factor. At all. Never mind that she wanted to leave and be on her way about... two hours ago.
Because she had some semblance of a schedule she wanted to keep, and because Freesia seemed to be getting a little impatient with her constant distractions after promising the Zangoose another fun walk together, Liv found herself practically running toward Route 6 like a demon possessed. Two eggs safely secured in her shoulder bag, and her four Pokémon partners out of their balls as soon as she was able to get them running without tripping over herself, she was finally well on her way to another amazing—
—fall onto her ass?
Clutching her face as a sudden sharp pain resonated in her nose, she looked at her aggressor with half a mind to sic Freesia on them, only containing herself because no one deserved that. She was in a rush. She had to consider that this was probably her fault. But it stung, and even though she was able to compose herself physically, her voice was another matter. "OooOOooOwwW!" The noise that came out of her mouth was practically on the level of a Pokémon's cry before attacking. Maybe she'll just sit there for a moment, soak in the embarrassment of running face first into someone's hand, and... autograph?
"Marshall?" She called out through the hands covering her face, eyes finally locked on the man she 'bumped' into. Any semblance of sorrow or embarrassment immediately washed away into an immense sea of regret. And boy, she was drowning.
Post by Marshall Legend on Feb 11, 2020 13:05:38 GMT
Route Post 02/15
Because he was such a generous man Marshall already had a few sheets of autograph paper (read: Pokemart receipts) and was pulling out his sharpie when the blonde spoke. The voice was incredibly familiar, and he paused to look around everywhere but at the woman that he had struck, wondering just where it could have come from. When he finally deigned to look down at her he realized that yes, he had seen that particular shade of blonde before, twintails and all, and he squinted first in suspicion and then blinked in realization.
"... Liv? You followed me all the way to Arciel to get back together?" If he sounded dumbfounded, that was because he absolutely was. She'd seemed rather adamant about not getting back together under ANY circumstances, and he'd had no choice but to accept that particularly bad decision. Bad moreso for her, since his fanbase had rioted, he was sure, after hearing that she had broken up with him. He wondered just how bad the damage had got; hopefully not too bad.
Being the gentleman that he was he offered a hand down to her to help her out and hopefully get her back on her feet again. It was the least he could do since he was fairly sure he was about to break her heart with his rejection. He just had to figure out how to let her down gently.
Liv couldn't have narrowed her eyes at a man faster than how she did just than, his words echoing through her mind like someone yelling in a cavern. It pained her so much to even feed into whatever delusions he'd had about them just from having a one-word exchange, let alone the fact that she was stuck having a real conversation on account of being two hours behind her own schedule. As if sensing her displeasure with the outcome of this, Liv could swear she felt some kind of 'told you so' aura coming from Freesia, and she was not about to have that.
Lowering her hand to take Marshall's—she could at least rely on him for that, despite her misgivings about him back in Celadon—she took to her feet. Before speaking, she raised a finger to her lip, then her nose. No blood. Good.
With a sigh of relief, she closed her eyes and allowed herself a small smile. At least she wasn't actually hurt too bad, despite how sore the spot on her face was. Right under her nose. It hurt, but it wasn't a real injury. Thank goodness, because she'd never live down having to deal with that fallout with Marshall, for sure. But once that sense of relief passed, she flipped like a switch, annoyance on her face as if she'd worn that expression all her life. "No, you idiot! I came to Arciel for my own reasons, and certainly didn't know you were here!"
Crossing her arms, she stared him down. "Why are you here? And don't give me one of those long-winded answers you like to give. I've got somewhere to go, if that wasn't obvious." She vaguely gestures toward the rest of Route 6.
Post by Marshall Legend on Feb 11, 2020 13:49:35 GMT
Route Post 03/15
Despite the difference in their sizes Liv could still stare a man down when she was really fired up. It was one of the reasons why he'd taken her on as his girlfriend all those years ago... but now she was denying to him that she wanted to get back together? What was she even doing in Arciel then? Her "own reasons" looked a lot like "stalking my ex-boyfriend to make sure that no other female can have him". He'd heard of these sorts of people before in horror movies and the like, but he never thought that Liv would wind up like one of them..!
It was up to him to set her on the right path. To make sure she turned to the side of justice and didn't fall into despair and a life of crime just because they broke up. Who knew that such an ordeal would deal a blow to her psyche, no, the delicate balance of her mind??? He knew he had such an overwhelming effect on people, but even he didn't know just how powerful it was. He'd have to take more caution turning people down in the future lest they become criminals.
Tone noticeably softer, like he was trying to soothe a disruptive animal, Marshall even went so far as to hold up both hands as though trying to calm Liv down. "Easy there, big girl... I'm not going to hurt you. You don't have to rile yourself up, it's okay, shhh...
"I'm sure you're wondering why I'm here, and you can go ahead and let yourself get excited because yes, it's true; I, the great Marshall Legend, have made it to the Arciel region to fight crime and make evil-doers quake in their boots. I've been trying to keep it on the down-low, but I can see you have your ways, you sly minx." He waggled a finger in Liv's direction. "You must have been quite excited."
If Liv could read Marshall's mind, she'd have half a mind of her own to throw him into the sun. But she couldn't, and yet the urge was still building in her gut that she should do something like that if she physically could. Alas.
Marshall's attempts at calming Liv seemed to only worsen her mood, her eyes narrowing again as she frowned deeply. "Are you treating me like I'm some kinda animal right now, Marshall?" Her tone is accusatory, very much so. She'd seen his attempts at becoming and being a Ranger before when they lived in Celadon and, for whatever reason, hung out often. It was enough proof to her that her worsening mood was justified, at least in her eyes.
And somehow, every word out of his mouth kept doing it more and more. He was so self-absorbed, thinking himself the greatest pinnacle of mankind. As if everything and everyone revolved around him. Was he still on the idea that Liv came to Arciel because of him? Her frown somehow deepened more.
"Ah-ah, I said no long-winded answers," she interjected way too late into his explanation. Literally at the end. "You can keep talking to yourself about it if you aren't gonna give me a straight answer. And no! I'm not excited, and I'm telling you I didn't know!" The last part was more yelled than anything else, given that she'd immediately begun walking down the path to leave. She did warn him that she had places to go.
Post by Marshall Legend on Feb 12, 2020 13:26:36 GMT
Route Post 04/15
Oh, Liv. She was still the same energetic tsundere that he remembered. With another laugh that was more a huff of air than anything, Marshall made to immediately follow her - only to stop when he felt his bag give a determined wiggle. That's right - he'd rescued a few more eggs from a life of crime in one of the gachas in the city, for the low low price of only 25 Pen! What a steal.
Momentarily distracted, he set his bag down and shifted it about some to find the egg with cracks on its surface. A few more wiggles and a black furry snout was poking out, along with a tiny paw as the Poochyena within wriggled to freedom. It landed with a plop on the ground and laid there flat on its tummy for a few seconds before immediately springing up to all fours and letting out a low, guttural boof. Marshall felt a sense of relief wash over him; dark types were prime for committing crime, and a Poochyena especially would have been used for some pretty nefarious purposes.
He pat the dog Pokemon on the head and whispered, low enough that the blonde couldn't hear even though it was pretty obvious she wouldn't be able to hear him anyway, "I'm going to call you Liv. In the hopes that the other Liv will be able to escape villainhood like yourself." The Poochyena, having just come into this world literal seconds earlier, only boofed again in response and licked Marshall on the nose.
The brunet grinned and turned to see where the human Liv had gone - swiping up a few Oran berries from the ground nearby - and saw her about to cross paths with a Pancham coming up the way. Quickly he got to his feet and began to make his way towards the both of them, though even from back here he knew he wouldn't be able to make it in time. Curse Liv and her lack of constant vigilance!
Glancing back toward Marshall for a moment to check if she was being followed, Liv felt a sense of relief wash over herself when he seemed to be busy rummaging through his own bag. She could not only put distance between the two of them, but maybe even outright lose him on the... way to the same destination? It wasn't a solid train of thought, but she wasn't too fussed about it when talking to him seemed to bring on a headache every single time. Bearable, but unwanted.
But her own distraction presented itself, her bag vibrating greatly with a loud buzzing. Instead of throwing her satchel into a bush like the last time, she excitedly threw open the flap to see which of the two eggs seemed to be hatching. Once it was obvious which was hatching, a terrible realization dawned upon her face. It was Combee coming free, but that wasn't really a problem in itself so much as the thought of Marshall seeing the Combee. She almost wanted to slam the flap closed, but she couldn't just do that to a newly hatched Pokémon, right? No... probably not. Definitely not.
As she tried to hide its sudden appearance from the man behind her, she began to speed up her walking as she tried to hug the Combee close to her chest despite its attempts and getting airborne, loudly flapping its wings. "No no, not right now. Trust me, I'll let you float around all you want in a minute," she cooed at the Combee, Liv's other Pokémon staring at her as if she'd gone insane. Terrible memories flooded her mind, reminding her that once upon a time, Marshall filled her entire car with Combees. The final straw.
She can't let him see—
Just as suddenly as she tried to speed up, a quick wild Pokémon burst forth and grabbed Liv's sunglasses, landing in front of her while placing them on her head. This Pancham wore them like a champ, smiling with a leaf in her mouth, almost challenging Liv to try and take it back. It was definitely startling enough that she 'dropped' Combee—who quickly took the air happily—and began to frantically feel around her hair. "You...!" She pointed dramatically at Pancham. Even though it looked pretty amazing, those did not belong to her. "Aster, vine whip! Get those sunglasses back!"
The Chespin, confused as all get out, opted to just follow instructions and charged forward with the attack, striking near the Pancham's head in an attempt to knock the glasses off, but only served to bend the frame a little bit. But the attack hit and staggered the Pokémon. That was a start. However, the fighting-type wasn't set to go down without a fight, seemingly happy about the challenge working. She charged at Aster, thrusting her arm out and striking him in the chest, not once but twice. It seemed like it really hurt the Chespin, but he recovered enough to use a better pinpointed Vine Whip since they were closer together, tripping the two of them up and onto the ground. As the sunglasses fell off of the Pancham, Liv decided to take her anger out by throwing a Pokéball at it.
Yeah. Because she just needed to vent and having a new partner was a good consolation prize, if it worked. That's why. Not because Pancham looked good in sunglasses. And she'd all but forgotten about Marshall at this point.
Post by Marshall Legend on Feb 13, 2020 13:04:40 GMT
Route Post 05/15
Seeing the Pancham burst out of the brush got Marshall's attention - perhaps villains flocked to other villains; obviously Liv needed his help more than he thought - and he quickened his pace to catch up to her, reaching behind his belt to where he kept his pokeballs. The remaining egg in his pack bounced against his leg as he moved but he'd cushioned it enough it didn't disturb the Pokemon within too much.
But then something surprising happened. Perhaps it was because he hadn't seen her in a long while (though really it was probably because he never paid attention) but Liv actually held her own quite well against the Pancham. This surprise had barely had time to register before he was internally preening, crediting Liv's sudden battle prowess to all the helpful "advice" and training he'd given her during their time together. That was definitely it. The worry completely gone, he strode up casually towards her and looked at her with such a smug expression it would have been impossible not to want to hit him.
"You've quite a knack for battling, I see. You're welcome."
Liv the Poochyena chose at that moment to run up and boofed at Marshall's leg before turning to sniff her namesake's own. With a wag of her tail the creature gave another boof that ended in a howl, and immediately scampered after her trainer as he continued on his way with a thrown, "Come along, Liv; there's enemies around every corner!"
Peak Performance she can't shield her eyes anymore
As the Pokéball stopped shaking, Liv let out a very loud sigh of relief, crouching down to see the damage to her sunglasses. Aster, still on the ground and maybe even a little dazed after that scuffle, rolled onto his back and let out his own sigh of relief. The rest of Liv's Pokémon turned to face Marshall, eyeing him curiously as their trainer frowned over the bent frames. As nice as the sunglasses looked on Pancham, maybe she should have been more careful in trying to get them back. Since she got these in Celadon, she wasn't sure if she was going to be able to buy a replacement, so... maybe she'll have to try to fix them later.
And somehow, as if he could hone in on her somber mood and decide to prey on it like some kind of sanity banshee, Marshall's voice drilled into Liv's brain like a jackhammer. Gently placing the sunglasses in her back, next to her other egg, she stood up quietly and turned to face him. The expression on her face said it all. "'You're welcome'? For what exactly, Marshall?"
She knew what he would say in response, and she just had to ask, but she desperately hoped that he would say it. It was definitely what he thought, though.
"I'm not following you. We just happen to be going in the same direction. So if you feel like maybe not holding a conversation, I'd be okay with that too," she called out, frowning with visible annoyance as she offered the Poochyena a warm smile, but only her. Not Marshall. The Pokémon was innocent, and maybe Liv felt a little bad for who... well, Liv's trainer was. Motioning for her own partners to follow, they wandered alongside Liv as she cautiously trailed before her childhood friend, all while trying to consider a name for Combee. And especially without Marshall hearing it..
Post by Marshall Legend on Feb 15, 2020 11:56:55 GMT
Route Post 06/15
"It's obvious that you learned how to battle from watching me!" He declared, even though up till now the only 'battling' he'd done in front of Liv was with his action figures when they were younger. Still, it was just as good as the real thing, wasn't it? Considering the fact that she was still following him, that surely meant that she felt the same way and wanted to see more of his battling skills, and who was he to disappoint a fan? Even if that fan was an ex-girlfriend, and their relationship could be described as complicated at best. He wasn't going to leave Liv high and dry when she needed him the most!
Fortunately, the chance to show Liv more battling techniques came up sooner rather than later. A strange monkey-like creature that Marshall had not seen before crossed their path, the syllables it uttered denoting its name as Simipour. It was a large creature, but not one without its weaknesses, he was sure. Being blue it was a fair guess to say it was a water type, and Marshall pointed a finger at it commandingly to get its attention.
"You there!" He called out, causing the creature to perk up and lock eyes with them both. The power stance he assumed was performed well enough it could be inferred that he practiced it in the mirror all the time, since there was no room for question in his body at all. Once he was sure the Simipour was looking at him, and that he'd got its complete attention, his fingers immediately went to the zipper of the track suit he was wearing and started to tug it off, revealing the loose blank tank top and smattering of fading scars and scratches over his upper arms. The monkey-like creature gave a little squawk of surprise when he tossed his jacket in the dirt and, horrified, watched as he started working on his pants.
PEAK PERFORMANCE how does he keep getting more and more ridiculous
"You think—" She was at a loss for words. Flabbergasted. Insulted. And yet, somehow not surprised because she absolutely expected this from him. She could feel the onset of a headache, a familiar one that seemed to eek its way into her temples every time she had to deal with this man as of recent. Liv would call these Marshall-aches, but then she would be giving him credit for actually doing something to her for once and that seemed too far out of reach for her. "You honestly think that I learned how to battle from you? When Aster here is my first Pokémon? Absolutely— oh, what's this?"
By the time Marshall had gotten distracted with trying to show off and begin his battle with the wild Pokémon that Liv only noticed in her peripheral for maybe a small moment, Liv found herself distracted by a small glint in the side of the trail. She quickly moved over to it, reaching down to grasp it as her partners gathered around her save for Freesia, who watched Marshall with a glint of curiosity in her eyes.
That curiosity would turn into panic, but not yet.
"Is this a Pokéball...?" Liv muttered to herself, looking at the Premium Ball with a strong smile forming on her lips. She was running low, and it was a really interesting design, so she'd chalk that up to exploring paying off dividends once again. There was almost a smug look to her as Combee hovered by, Liv only snapping out of it to ponder for a moment what to call it. "Can't have you being all nameless, so... Gardenia? Do you like it?"
Before Gardenia could react, Freesia thwapped Liv's leg in a panic, pointing at the rapidly undressing Marshall Legend in their presence. The situation was beginning to sink in as Liv's face went from slight surprise, to incredulous anger. "MARSHALL!" She yelled out, yet not moving in fear of his actually dropping his pants at a moment's notice. "Don't you dare!"
Post by Marshall Legend on Feb 17, 2020 8:14:54 GMT
Route Post 07/15
"Don't worry Liv, I know exactly what I'm doing!" Marshall looked over at his shoulder and grinned at her. Beside him, Liv the Poochyena gave an appreciative boof and wagged her tail excitedly, waiting to see what would happen next. But unfortunately, as soon as his attention was diverted away from the Simipour the pokemon took the opportunity to flee the scene and escape something potentially traumatizing. Marshall blinked when he faced forward again and was greeted with empty space, looking this way and that for the missing blue monkey and scratching his head in confusion.
That confusion instantly turned to triumph, though, when the reality of the situation sunk in and he realized that he was the direct cause of the pokemon running away. "See? Once it realized who I was, it realized the folly of its actions and immediately left to go do some good somewhere, some place in the world." The Poochyena beside him boofed and awoo'd, obviously in agreement with this statement. Beaming down at her, Marshall picked up his jacket and turned to look at the other Liv --
"... where did that come from?" He asked, pointing at the Combee hovering behind her.
Disappointment in Marshall very quickly turned into... greater disappointment? The fact that his ego somehow found the situation a boon instead of shameful said so much to Liv as she already had her face in her hands. It was a defense mechanism—both to hide her frustrations with him and to shield her eyes from having to watch his undress, because she wasn't even sure that he'd stop. With him out of sight, she couldn't have possibly predicted that he'd catch sight of the obvious Combee hovering around her. Quite frankly, she had almost forgotten about Gardenia in the panic of the moment, who was quite happily buzzing around Liv until the noise became too obvious to ignore.
That, plus Marshall had noticed.
"... where did who come from?" As if acknowledging Combee as a who wasn't evidence enough, Liv peeked from between her fingers with something of the shame that Marshall should have felt minutes ago. Dropping her arms with a sigh, she was ready to relent until she saw something in front of her that she hardly expected. Directly in front of her. A mere foot.
A Tyrogue was staring at her.
Liv did not stare back. No, she jumped back with a shriek of surprise that startled all of the Pokémon around her that were far more focused on Marshall's striptease to notice the wild Pokémon approach. Even the Tyrogue was surprised by Liv's outburst, carefully putting her hands up as if to defend herself from Liv's voice like it was an attack. Yeah, Liv was going to focus on catching her breath and sizing up the Tyrogue before acknowledging Marshall any further.
Post by Marshall Legend on Feb 27, 2020 11:38:15 GMT
Route Post 08/15
"Where did that--" He began again, pointing at the Combee behind her with their three happily smiling faces. It was almost like they didn't even know the situation their trainer was in and was simply content just to hover and float around incriminatingly behind her head. But Marshall didn't have much time to pursue the subject, because in the next instant Liv was shrieking, and stumbling back, and he looked over to see a Tyrogue looking like it were ready to grab her.
His heroic instincts kicked in and he instantly rushed forward, hopping from foot to foot and launching himself ahead to occupy the space between Liv and Tyrogue protectively. His arms held out at either side of him, he looked behind to the terrified Liv and called out, reassuringly, "Don't worry, Liv, I'll protect you!"
Were his hands going to his pants? Yes they were. But rather than to pull them off, he was tying his previously discarded jacket around his waist to keep it out of the way, which was probably a good indication that he wasn't going to strip anytime soon. For now, at least. But what he did next was perhaps maybe ten times worse, because once he'd secured the fabric around his waist he raised both hands up, forming them into fists and staring at the hapless pokemon ready to fight. Didn't he have pokemon of his own to do battle with...?
"I know exactly how to deal with these types," He said, probably a lot more confident than was appropriate for the situation. The Tyrogue looked on, bewildered, but squaring up as well, fully ready to fight another human.... before Marshall lifted his arms high over his head, then down, waving it up and down in a weird... dance? But then he took another pose, and began to swing his hips back and forth, weaving his fists with the movement easily and....
Yeah. He's flossing at the pokemon. The newly hatched Poochyena barks, excited at the enthusiastic dance, and prances between his feet and fists, respectively, as Marshall dances at the confused Tyrogue.
Everything was like a whirlwind. Liv went from annoyed at Marshall, to ashamed of her own precious and innocent Combee, to terrified of the sudden appearance of Tyrogue, to... momentarily impressed at Marshall's quick action and selflessness in standing before her like that. Liv didn't have the opportunity to get a grasp of the wild Pokémon's intent, so she was at least glad that Marshall was here to act before something happened to her, or worse, one of her partners. She knew that at least two of them were still young and rather weak, so she didn't want them to get hurt in a battle.
But like any whirlwind, it was chaotic and quick to pass. Almost speechless, Liv reached out to Marshall to try to stop him from doing something he would regret. It looked like he was going to fight, after all! "Marshall, don't—!" Was all that escaped her lips before the scene broke out into its true nature.
The kind that left not only Liv in awe and utter shock, but all of her aforementioned partners as well. They didn't know Marshall the way that Liv did. They didn't know how he thought, what he was capable of, or what kind of unpredictable action he might take at any given moment. But even Liv, who did know him, was still caught off-guard. Not by his actions, no.
By the fact that she thought, for a moment, that he wasn't going to do something as stupid as flossing at a Tyrogue.
"MARSHALL, DON'T," her words came out like a mother scolding her child as she reached out to try and stop his arms from doing what they were doing. Honestly, she didn't want the Tyrogue to associate her with him...
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