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.
Spring was very close, much of the snow on rural roads had melted, and warmer weather was coming. It had already come to some degree - the next several days were forecast to only dip below freezing during the early morning hours. Even in the city, the only places large piles of snow were still present were in parking lots where it had been piled up to several times Josh's height during the worst of snowstorms.
When the racer had gone shopping toward the end of last month, he had come across an interesting curiosity - vials full of cologne that allegedly attracted certain types of Pokémon. There was a variety for every recognized Pokémon type. He had been thinking of how to round out his team, given that it would be serving a dual purpose of both the Gym challenge and competing on the race track. Lacking an aerial Pokémon for the flying races, it was decided. He would set his sights on a brutal Pokémon that was not only fast as a tornado, but one that could tear even the hardiest rock Pokémon to shreds. That Pokémon was Skarmory.
Josh and Twilight headed north out of Ash City late that morning, up the mountain trail that led to Mount Grumble. The Absol carried him at a more modest pace than usual, keeping an eye out for danger after Josh sprayed himself with the cologne. It left a metallic residue all over his clothes, which he assumed was part of how the product attracted Steel-type Pokémon. He held Aslan's Poké Ball in one hand and the dark-type's reins in the other, the smoking giant in the distance a looming reminder that many Fire-types made their habitats here, as well.
The search for Skarmory here would serve a purpose beyond the desired capture: many of Josh's Pokémon were in one way or another adept at fighting Steel-types. At some point, he would need to get many of his Pokémon to evolve in case Twilight got hurt during a race - that way, he would only be out of one race instead of several.
It did not take long for the grasses surrounding Ash to completely yield into much rougher terrain, the sharp-clawed Dark-type treading upward with little trouble. Josh was tempted to take his jacket off, but knew the temperature would drop the closer he got to the mountain proper.
In the shade of a large, isolated tree on the west side of the trail was a the red cyclopean eye of a Duskull, cautiously watching the Absol and trainer as they passed. Josh paid the ghost-type no heed, its only reaction a blink when sunlight reflected off the metallic powder from his jacket and into its eye for a split second.
Twilight's pace upward kept the temperature level - just perfect for Josh's fall coat. He would certainly need to put on an extra layer if he planned on roughing it for a day. It would not be necessary, though - Fuji Town was to the east of the mountain. Though it was mostly a farming village, he was certain he could still find lodging if his search took multiple days.
No more than a half mile further up the surface, two wild Lucario stepped out from beyond a narrow pass, their arms crossed. Josh turned Twilight around to look for another way. He got no more than a hundred feet back when three more Lucario, one as tall as he was, stared at Josh with menacing eyes. He had his hand on Aslan's Poké Ball just in case one of them attacked.
Just as he was about to release the fire-type, Twilight's horn-blade began intermittently glowing a deep blue. The alpha of the pack slowly approached Josh, its face glowing an intermittent deep blue as well. Josh noticed that generally, only one of the glows was active at a time. Twilight flinched when she felt one of the small Lucario hold one of its fist-spikes up to her fur, Josh's heart racing when the alpha held his up to the trainer's neck. After several tense minutes and a few nods from Twilight, the five fighting-types yielded passage. His heart still thumping, Josh turned Twilight back to the north, heading closer to the mountain.
The next couple miles of Josh's trip were uneventful, his progression in altitude and the progression of the sun keeping the temperature constantly cool - but not cold. It was just warm enough that he felt it safe for Grass-types to play. His number three Poké Ball began shaking and glowing a faint green. "I guess Nitro wants to play," Josh mumbled. Undoing the snap keeping it in place, he released his anxious Pokémon alongside Twilight, the two taking turns passing one another along the rising trail.
When the trail leveled out for a bit, Nitro ran ahead of Twilight, chasing after a wild Spoink. Josh's first instinct was to call out to him and stop him, then realized the Skiddo hadn't even stretched most of the long winter. One battle wouldn't hurt. His green fur growing to cover most of his side mid-charge, the sound of his hooves grew likewise--enough to alert the Spoink to turn around and fight back.
The increased size of Nitro's leafy fur came with an increased aroma that would let Spoink track the speedy Pokémon without being able to see it - great for a Pokémon whose Psywave attack did not depend on the direction it was facing. The psychic Pokémon's Psywave collided with the charger's horns, both of them skidding backward from the impact.
Now in much closer quarters, Nitro's horns would be much less effective. Vine-like appendages grew from his expanded, green fur, Josh's partner building up as much speed as the short distance would allow before swerving and sliding to a stop just past his foe. The short vines slapped the Spoink back to the ground, the second exchange of blows leaving Nitro quite worse for wear. The wild took the opportunity to retreat, Nitro attempting to give chase but tripping and falling instead.
"You okay?" Josh called as Twilight cantered toward the collapsed Pokémon. "I'll need to look at you when we have a moment. For now, just rest," a worried Josh said, recalling his Skiddo. "These young ones, I swear..."
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Nitro's level is now 10! {Steel Incense: 2/5 posts remaining} {WC: 344} {PC: 3}
Last Edit: Mar 4, 2020 18:06:36 GMT by Josh Devlin
After recalling the grass-type, Twilight resumed her northward trek, albeit at a slower pace. The late morning had become early afternoon, the sun almost directly over Josh's head now. He quickly checked his digital map application - at their current pace, he would make it to Fuji Town roughly an hour before sunset.
After crossing a rope bridge, Twilight and Josh ran into a tall, bearded man that seemed to be all too happy to greet him, asking if he had time for a short battle. He agreed, loosing an excited Saber and Illumina. From the word go, the electric-types gave their foes no quarter, the Chinchou floating atop its shallow water pillar and toward Scraggy and the Electrike bounding toward Dwebble with tremendous acceleration. The two loosed almost synchronized Thunder Waves and rendering the bug Pokémon immobile.
The tough dark-type seemed to ignore the wave of static crossing its body, disappearing from sight. Seconds later, it reappeared behind Illumina and started yanking at her feelers. By the time her strobe-like flashing feelers blinded the Scraggy enough to make it let go, their bases were already red and white.
"Pop that Dwebble, Illumina! Bubble!" Josh commanded, the water-type turning toward the stunned Pokémon. Taking a deep breath, she exhaled over the edge of her water pillar, forming bubbles that popped directly on top of her adversary's shell. Saber followed up with a point-blank Electro Ball, Dwebble sounding an agonizing cry before contracting into its shell and letting the shell fall around it. What teamwork!
With the Chinchou distracted from teaming up with Saber to take out Dwebble, it was easy for Scraggy to slink behind Illumina. This time, it lifted her clean off her water pillar, by her feelers no less. All it took was one flinging motion from side to side to prompt Josh to remove her from the battle. He glanced into the number four Poké Ball, finding her fast asleep already.
It was down to one Pokémon per side, Scraggy overcoming its stiffness through sheer force of will. Every time Saber thought he had an opening, the dark-type was suddenly behind him. In a rash move, the electric-type lured the foe behind him, then overcharged an Electro Ball at point-blank range. Both of them were out cold after the exchange of blows, the battle a draw.
After shaking hands with the tall man, the trainer recalled his fallen Electric-type and continued further north. He was down two of his Pokémon that would be good for taking on the so-called Metal Menace, and he was low on supplies. No more battles with those Pokémon if they could be avoided!
Saber's level is now 11! Illumina's level is now 9! Illumina mastered the arte Electro Ball! {Steel Incense: 1/5 posts remaining} {WC: 445} {PC: 4}
Another two miles or so up the mountain, the temperature started to drop again. While Josh didn't gain a great amount of altitude at once, the distance was so great that even a one percent grade meant a rise of around 100 feet. Twilight was starting to gradually slow, as well - she hadn't run up such a long slope like this in a while, and was beginning to show signs of tiring.
Multiple faint lashing noises followed by both the sound of clacking hooves and a mild tremor meant only one thing. Josh briefly looked behind him and immediately turned back around, weaving Twilight back and forth across the trail in an effort to lose what was chasing him. It was a Tauros stampede, its alpha nearly twice Josh's size! Twilight weaved around the trio, letting them pass. The rider was almost blinded by the sheen of the one on the right - it was so bright that it seemingly cast a shadow behind him.
Josh hadn't planned on adding a Tauros to his roster (yet), but at the very least it would be a good backup before the rest of his dream team was ready for evolution. Tauros would also be a good mount for long journeys, possessing great strength and stamina. The tradeoffs were that they did not handle curves well at all, and the species as a whole was infamous for becoming violent at a moment's notice. Riding one was very dangerous without spending extensive time acclimating one to the task.
When he looked back up after the bright light had faded, only two of the Tauros were in front of them; the alpha had stayed behind. Josh and Twilight were boxed in. Again. With Nitro injured from a previous confrontation, Josh had no choice but to let Twilight fight. He slid off his Dark-type after she stopped on the side of the road, letting Josh keep his eyes on both the battles as best as he could. He released Blitz and Aslan to handle the smaller Tauros, Twilight taking on the alpha by herself.
All three Tauros lashed themselves with their forked tails to motivate faster charges. They lowered their horns, ramming and trampling all three of Josh's brave Pokémon. The Absol in particular took a hard hit, but retaliated when the giant Tauros passed over her. She raised her head and cut across its tender underside with her forehead blade.
SLAAAASH!!
Big mistake. Tauros was a Pokémon that performed its best when it was angry - part of the reason it had a bad reputation for its use by criminals. With rage-fueled strength, the wild faked Twilight out before catching her with its left horn. It flung the white Pokémon high above its head, then turned around and loosed a mighty kick that sent Josh's prized mount far up the slope, well past Blitz, Aslan, and the other two Tauros.
"Focus on one of them!" Josh cried as he frantically dug for his phone. The two worked together, despite their wounds from the Tauros' sharp horns, to take one of them down with repeated Spark and Ember attacks. There was still the matter of the large one...and the one Josh set his sights on.
At last finding his phone, along with a Luxury Ball that would help a lot in building trust with such an anger-prone Pokémon, he dialed for Ranger emergency services. Thankfully they were quick to answer. "Hi, I'm trapped between two ranks of a small Tauros stampede near the Ash City side of Route 8, a little less than ten miles north of--"
A stronger tremor shook the ground and knocked the phone out of Josh's hand, Aslan sent flying over his head at speeds far faster than Litleo should be able to follow. By the time he could react, the Litleo was out of range of the Poké Balls. He crawled over to where his phone slid to. "Are you there?" Thankfully, the line hadn't disconnected. "I'm about ten miles north of Ash City, up the mountain, and my Pokémon are--" The edge of Blitz's Spark attack on the enormous Tauros was close enough to him to cause his phone to reboot, disconnecting him.
Whlie the Luxio struggled to keep the Tauros at bay, Josh tossed the Luxury Ball he had dug out of his supplies toward the bright-sheened Tauros, crossing his fingers for both Blitz and his catch...
By the time the three Rangers had arrived on the scene, the great Tauros was circling Josh, who was lying on the ground with his eyes closed.. All three released an Arcanine, each of which immediately loosed Flamethrower attacks upward toward the towering Normal-type. The fur on its neck singed, it made a swift retreat.
A paramedic had come with them just in case.The rangers recovered Josh's supply pack and Poké Balls, recalling the trained and fainted Pokémon scattered about the trail nearby, including his new capture. All of it was loaded into a basket serving as the bottom of a Drifblim-powered balloon.
Upon the medic examining Josh, it seemed he was...unharmed? He opened his eyes and reached for the medic's outstretched hand with his right arm. "What they taught you in Pokémon school saved my life - with most out-of-control wild Pokémon, if you play possum long enough, they'll run away," Josh remarked under heavy breathing, the adrenaline rush wearing off. All of his gear recovered, the team assisted Josh with climbing into the basket of a second Drifblim-powered balloon, which lifted him back to town. The rest of the rescue Pokémon and their trainers followed.
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Mod note: Journey thread being terminated early. {WC: 202} {PC: 6}