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.
After exhausting most of his job options in Birch City, Jedah found himself setting his sights on other cities. If he paced himself properly, travelling between the cities would be an easy feat, probably a day's time (or more) if he kept his speed about the same. Less so if he managed to catch a pokemon he could ride in-between, but he wasn't holding his breath too much. Brutus would get there in time; he just had to be patient.
It's snowing when he's stepped out of the city limits and onto the uneven terrain of Route 6. In the distance he can see mountains, though he's not entirely sure if his path will take him that far out, and closer he can see rolling, grassy hills dusted with white and scattered with a few rivers here and there. He's grateful that he's thought to dress warmer this time around, a heavy overcoat and scarf wrapping up the majority of his bulk while Brutus perched alert and vigilant on his shoulder, the bird sporting his own tiny scarf fashioned from an older strip of cloth Jedah had torn off some time ago.
After getting his bearings and making sure the Rookidee's well enough to travel, he sets off, set on getting to Pine Town before the snow gets too bad.
Brutus - Lv5 Rookidee (5/5 Energy)
Last Edit: Feb 19, 2020 0:01:59 GMT by Jedah Legend
The snow wasn't falling too heavily, so his field of vision wasn't too affected. There was still a good amount of grass peeking out in between the slowly gathering mounds of white, and a few pokemon scampering here and there amongst the hills.
It was when they were passing by a small scattering of trees that Brutus pecked at his cheek to get his attention and then flew off, fluttering down to land by something small and pink sticking out from behind a tree. As Jedah meandered over the bird pecked at it, tugging, and strutted back and forth before hopping onto the object and jumping up and down like he were trying to get its attention. When it moved Jedah saw it for what it was - a tail - and saw a Slowpoke sluggishly lift its head and look back at them with its mouth open wide in a big, doofy smile.
Brutus squinted suspiciously at it and hopped onto its tail again to give it a light peck. The Slowpoke wailed like it were dying and slowly laid its head back down. Apparently it didn't feel like being bothered today.
"Come on, you big lug," Jedah was already turning away from the Slowpoke and motioning for Brutus to come along. "Let it sleep. You wouldn't want me jumping on your feathers during a nap, would you?"
Point made. Brutus squinted at the now snoring Slowpoke and gave a low squawk, then flapped his wings to alight himself back on Jedah's shoulder as they continued their walk.
They'd barely gotten more than a few feet when Brutus was pecking at his cheek again and flapping his wings to get Jedah to look off to his right. He'd gotten used enough to the sensation that these repeat peckings weren't really hurting him - if Brutus had gotten serious and actually performed a Peck attack on him, that might be a different story - so he took his sweet time in looking over to see what had gotten the bird's attention. Off to the side there was another small, secluded copse, their branches just now starting to collect small piles of snow. And there was a pokemon peeking out at them from behind the trunk, slowly emerging until it was able to stand directly beside the path they were walking.
Jedah felt an appreciative grin tug at his face. Brave little thing, that. Unfortunately for the little guy, just being beside the path was enough to ruffle Brutus' feathers and he let it be known with a series of warning squawks and hoots, strutting from one end of Jedah's shoulder to the other and flapping his wings in intimidation. From this distance they looked roughly the same height, so when the "Helioptile" (he discovered the name via his phone app) didn't immediately run away in fright, that was about as much as he expected. Brutus seemed to take offense to this and fluttered down from Jedah's shoulder to land before the pokemon, scarf fluttering in the wind. Like before he raised his wings and squawked, only this time he puffed himself up so he resembled a big, fluffy ball of a bird, his beady little eyes glaring out over the roundness of his puffed out body.
The Helioptile paused, considering - and then reached out and patted Brutus condescendingly on the head. Another indignant squawk sounded from the bird and he puffed himself out even larger. At this point his eyes were all but completely obscured but remained glaring out at the Helioptile threateningly - or as threatening as a puffy bird could be.
Jedah considered this for a long moment. His supplies were limited, and he preferred birds to lizards, if he had to be completely honest. But having an electric type on his side might help matters, especially when catching other flying types should he encounter them, so...
Well, he'll leave it up to fate. Since Brutus had it distracted well enough with his rotund, puffy body, Jedah was able to fish out a pokeball and lob it at the lizard without it noticing.
Capture attempt with a pokeball! Brutus - Lv5 Rookidee (5/5 Energy)
He hadn't been too surprised that the capture attempt hadn't gone well, but it was a little disheartening to watch his pokeball break. Damn, maybe the fates weren't on his side today. There was one good thing that came out of it, as the Helioptile scampered away into a nearby bush, and it was that Brutus looked infinitely pleased with himself. Clearly all his puffing had done good.
Ego boosted considerably by his apparent victory over the Helioptile, the Rookidee smoothed himself down as best he could and kicked his feet, much like how a dog kicks their feet after using the bathroom, and flapped his way back up to perch on his master's shoulder. Brutus hopped first to one end, then the other, and after making sure the Helioptile was gone for good squatted himself down with a confident nod and began preening his feathers flat.
Jedah rolled his eyes at the display but smoothed a finger over the bird's head, readjusted Brutus' scarf, and continued along with one last look at the bushes where the Helioptile had disappeared.
Brutus - Lv5 Rookidee (5/5 Energy)
Last Edit: Feb 19, 2020 1:15:44 GMT by Jedah Legend
Still riding high on his apparent besting of the electric lizard from earlier, Brutus had remained relatively calm and fluttered off by himself without having to peck Jedah's cheek to get his attention first. After all, if he could defeat a Helioptile just by intimidation alone, then clearly he could beat anything! Probably even the legendary Kanto birds, too! Yeah, he'd show them!
So it's in this manner that they continue along through grass, snow-capped hills, Jedah meandering along and catching glimpses of various pokemon darting into their holes, Brutus fluttering back and forth examining suspicious looking twigs and bushes and the like.
It's when Jedah's stopped to examined a rather interesting set of pokemon tracks that Brutus returned with a loud fanfare of chirping, two small, minimized pokeballs clutched in either talon. He hovered over Jedah's face and squawked loud enough it could be considered a bark for his attention, thrusting his feeties out and dropping two Net balls into his owner's outstretched hand. Jedah gave the bird a wry grin. Well, maybe fate was on his side after all.
"Good find, Brutus. If you happen to find any cuties out there while you're at it, I'd sure appreciate it."
The bird rolled his eyes and gave Jedah's hand a peck before flying off again.
It was when Jedah was starting to ascend a grassy knoll that he heard an alarming series of squawks and turned to see Brutus being chased by a Growlithe, the dog snapping and barking as it pursued the bird up the hillside. There were already a few feathers in Brutus' back looking slobbered on and matted, as though it had actually been in the Growlithe's mouth and had narrowly escaped being a meal.
He did have a soft spot for Growlithe, since he'd seen a lot of it on the island before it'd blown up, for lack of a better word - but that just wouldn't do.
"Come on, Brutus," He called, that same lopsided smile making its way onto his face. "You're better than that. Give it a Peck."
The command registered in the Rookidee's mind easily enough, and after spinning out of Growlithe's chomping lunge it swooped back around from overhead and smashed its beak into the dog's snout. The Growlithe let out an 'awoo' and staggered a bit before rearing up on his hind legs to try and bite at Brutus' feathers again. The Rookidee let out a squawk as the dog caught one (1) feather between his teeth and yanked it out, but he swooped back around to smash his beak into the other side of Growlithe's face and sent the dog staggering away again.
"That's my guy," Jedah praised, and Brutus puffed out a little in pride. This didn't last for long though, since the Growlithe was now determined to have himself some roast bird and reared up once more, only this time unleashing a barrage of flames at Brutus still fluttering around his head. Brutus squawked again and flapped himself higher to avoid the far-reaching fire, looking to Jedah as he commanded again, "Now hit it with a Sky Attack."
Brutus flapped his wings faster to keep himself aloft as his entire body started to glow in preparation for the attack. Growlithe, sensing the pause in battle, closed his mouth before opening his jaws wide to Howl at the bird flapping high above his head, then blasted another barrage of flames that almost reached the bird... almost, but not quite. Brutus spread his wings wide before divebombing into the Growlithe at top speed, smashing into the dog and sending it rolling down the hill to land at the base of the path. It didn't get up for a moment and, when it eventually did, it simply shook itself and ran off in the opposite direction away from the crazy bird.
A triumphant but tired Brutus returned to his spot on Jedah's shoulder and looked mournfully at his dirty, slobbered on feathers. With one last critical look at the Growlithe he raised his wing and began to preen himself once again. Jedah rubbed over the top of his head with a finger and continued on.
Brutus - Lv5 -> Lv6 Rookidee (4/5 Energy)
Last Edit: Feb 19, 2020 1:58:48 GMT by Jedah Legend
Brutus had managed to reach some semblance of cleanliness by the time they began their descent; not one to be bothered for too long about things, he was soon enough back to his normal self and strutting on Jedah's shoulders again as he kept watch over all the land.
It was when they passed a tiny bush that he gave a squawk to alert his master and flapped away into the leaves. Jedah waited patiently, readjusting the scarf around his neck and watching his breath wisp out in little clouds of steam. He was fairly sure they were a little under halfway through the route, and he would have been more surprised if it weren't for the fact that they hadn't really taken any kind of break. Not that they needed it, since he was still feeling spry enough that the cold didn't bother him all that much, and for that he was grateful.
Brutus was also doing remarkably well despite being a flying-type - especially since they weren't suited for this type of weather - and he made a mental note to check on him in the next pokemon center they got to just in case. He wouldn't put it past the bird to shrug off any kind of discomfort for the sake of looking invincible, honestly.
Soon enough Brutus was returning with what looked like another capture ball clutched in his little talons. If birds could look smug, that was for sure what Brutus was doing now as he alighted on Jedah's shoulder and stuck out his foot for his owner to take. Jedah plucked the Luxury ball from the Rookidee's feeties and examined it with a low whistle.
"Nice find. Maybe I should see about hiring you out to some local treasure hunters, huh?" Brutus made a squawk of indignation and hunched down, puffing himself out to keep warm. Jedah grinned. Probably not.
As he continued on his way he couldn't help but tease, "Try and find me a cute girl or something to keep me warm next time, huh?" and earned a peck to his ear in reply. But Brutus did puff himself out just a little bit more like he were trying to extend his body heat, so that was something.
Brutus - Lv6 Rookidee (4/5 Energy)
Last Edit: Feb 19, 2020 2:20:24 GMT by Jedah Legend
At the base of the hill was a river, and from where he stood Jedah could see a few fish pokemon leaping and weaving through the currents. The snow was falling in thicker layers now, enough that much of the grassy knolls and hillside were starting to become obscured in thick white. Briefly Jedah wondered if that Growlithe and Helioptile were doing all right; he wasn't familiar enough with them to know how they fared in the cold, but he expected the Growlithe would be fine. Reptiles maybe not so much.
And speaking of reptiles, he found his attention diverted to a dark shape spread out amongst the snow slowly accumulating piles of white along its serpentine body. Jedah halted to give the Seviper a good once-over and was met with a blank stare in return. But the tail behind the creature was vibrating against the rocks as though in warning, and he knew better than to press his luck.
Brutus didn't know, though, and he immediately hopped up, looking puffed up and ready to get even bigger if the Seviper didn't immediately skedaddle. Jedah didn't doubt that Brutus would be able to take it on, however a snake in the cold seemed a lot like kicking someone when it was down, and he fingered one of the found pokeballs in his pocket in thought. It still wasn't a bird, so it wasn't his type, but it would probably be best for the creature to get some kind of shelter.
Jedah hemmed and hawwed as Seviper and Brutus stared each other down, and in the end decided to just kick a bit of snow in the Seviper's direction. The snake let out a telltale hiss, scrunching up as though offended, and with another kick of snow Jedah sent it wriggling away to find a more secluded and, hopefully, warmer spot to nap.
Brutus smoothed himself down and gave a sharp nod. They sure showed him.
At some point after crossing one of the many rivers Jedah noticed that Brutus had gone. And without even pecking on his cheek or squawking to alert him, how odd. Not really one to be alarmed at the disappearance of his pokemon - though by all rights he probably should be, considering what had happened with the Growlithe - Jedah peered languidly around the area as though he expected to see Brutus flapping around harassing another pokemon. When he saw nothing he felt his brows furrow a little in thought - only to immediately relax when he heard a familiar squawk and turned to see the Rookidee hopping around in the snow some feet away.
As Jedah watched, the Rookidee dug first in one spot, then another, upturning the earth and grass underneath before hopping to another patch of grass not hidden by snow and repeating the gesture. Apparently he was looking for more pokeballs.
Jedah turned to continue along - Brutus would come when he was ready - when he saw an odd blur of red and grey and saw a Fletchling flying crookedly in the air carrying a stick that was far too large for it to be holding. He watched it curiously, the bird struggling to keep its balance, and gave a little start when it spotted Brutus hopping in the snow and divebombed straight toward him in a Tackle attack. The stick actually helped add to the weight of it, so by the time it made contact with Brutus it was guaranteed to hurt - but it actually was still flying crookedly, so was therefore attacking crookedly, and the Fletchling ended up flying into a pile of snow in an explosion of white. The stick jammed into the side somewhere and became buried under the snow.
Brutus gave an indignant squawk and took to the air swiftly to hover over where the Fletchling had disappeared. He peered into the hole and quickly scrambled out of the way when the Fletching flung itself back out, quickly and attempted to smack into Brutus again with another Tackle. Both birds were flapping and circling around each other, and although the situation was not ideal Jedah couldn't help but to admire both birds and the powerful beat of their wings. Fletchling was small, but he could still appreciate it. He'd be a little sad if he didn't catch it, so hopefully fate was on his side this time.
"Look at that, Brutus, you found me a pretty girl after all." He hummed and the Rookidee gave another squawk. "Let's show her a good time with a Peck - if you can hit her," He added, causing Brutus' chest to swell with a mixture of pride and haughtiness. With a powerful beat of his wings he launched forward and smashed his beak into Fletchling's breast, the bird kicking out and darting back before darting forward into a Quick Attack. The attack smashed into Brutus well enough and he was sent reeling back, enough he had to work hard to catch himself from smacking into a tree. He huffed and, after a shared look at Jedah, pulled himself forward again as the Fletchling readied for impact, only to swoop under it at the last second and propel himself up so he could smash into her stomach from below. The Fletchling let out a cry of pain and was sent sailing into the air, but not far enough Jedah couldn't hit it with a luxury ball, which he threw at it now, as quickly as he could.
The Luxury ball landed in the snow with a heavy plop, and once it had stopped struggling Brutus flew out to retrieve it. He minimized the ball with one claw so it was easier to carry and made his way back to Jedah to drop it in his hands carefully before perching back on his shoulder and preening his wings. Although he examined the ball with a critical eye, he didn't look too affronted or boasted about his prowess in battle over the creature - maybe because she was a female he toned it down a little.
Jedah hummed contently and tucked the ball into his pocket where he gave it a comforting pat. She was small, but she had a bit of fight to her. A good quality in a bird, and one of the reasons why he and Brutus got on so well. At least, he mused as the bird wiped his snow-covered beak on Jedah's cheek, he thought they got along fairly well.
"Blaze sound like a good name?" He asked the Rookidee, and the bird puffed up in response. He'll take that as a yes. After smoothing down Brutus' feathers some with the tips of his fingers, the pair continued on their way, hopping over a pair of small streams in the process.
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