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 thundering sounds of paws on snow were the only sounds heard for miles. Across the planes, an Arcanine ran at a steady pace, back paws after front paws. On her back was a young person who had seen better days.
Route 11 was even more barren out here than it had been on Route 10. Gabe understood now why people preferred to use Cycling Road to connect one major city to the next. There was nothing out here, nothing but wilds, and even the wilds were kind of boring. Maybe I’ll back track and take some time to look over Crystal Lake and the Dragon’s Den…. Only once they had actually made it to Hickory Town, though. He was curious and a little stubborn when it came to the idea of at least seeing it— even if he didn’t venture there frequently after. And maybe through route 12. And then thirteen if he was really feeling it. Right then, Gabe wasn’t really feeling it, though.
Looking down at his cellphone, Gabe was aware of the shortage of service this particular area had. They’d need to be careful. If there was a problem, it was on them to fix it. Heh, not really all that different from how things are already… Gabe hummed a little to himself and rubbed his face against the back of the Arcanine’s neck fur. Ruby had turned out to be a sturdy Pokemon much to Gabe’s earnest surprise. Who knew.
The sounds of hooves running along the landscape would catch Gabe’s ears only once they were close enough. Sitting up away from Ruby, Gabe looked around slowly to see what exactly was coming up on them. And what it was was very beautiful— and already owned. Gabe snorted. Now caught up with them, the Galarian Rapidash let out a loud neigh in response. Ruby barked back happily. Both immediately began to speed up, and locks of hair started to ffly backwards now. Against his initial impulse, Gabe threw back his head and let out a “WHOOP!” that earned more noise right after.
A wildness fluttered into Gabe right then. “Run, Ruby!” was the order. The Arcanine barked at that and broke into a full sprint now. The Rapidash sprinted right after never once breaking the formation. They thundered down the icy terrain now with color and objects bleeding passed.
They ran for a while like that, but eventually both of them began to tire some and slowed to a moderate pace now. Gabe sat back finally and found himself eyeballing the Rapidash. Shifting awkwardly on Ruby, he twisted around and leapt— right onto the back of the Rapidash. The latter yelped and stopped suddenly— only to feel a Pokeball tapped on his head. Gabe dropped to the ground as the Rapidash was sucked in.
As the Pokeball dinged in capture, Gabe couldn’t help but grin a little. Too bad he had a full party and that Pokeball in his hand was already teleporting away. He would have liked to run with the Rapidash a little longer. Maybe I’ll have to have all three of them out running sometime…. That would be something, wouldn’t it?
Looking back at Ruby, Gabe walked back over to her and rubbed her furry face a couple of times before walking around and climbing back on her back once more. “Let’s keep going,” he murmured softly. The Arcanine was happy to oblidge, taking off in a swift step once more.
A loud whine from Ruby would be what roused Gabe to focus again. She was slowing down for… some reason? Leaning around her shoulder to squint at what it was, Gabe immediately took a double take. A group of Grumpig were standing around, one walking in front of the others and clearly making conversation with them. That was not what was strange about them, though. No, that so happened to be what they were wearing. Biker… jackets??? Was this? Did they rob some group?? Some were a little big on them, so maybe, but also how? Gabe had so many questions— And actually now that he thought about it. I should be able to talk with them…
He didn’t need to tell Ruby to slow down or stop. She’d already done that of her own accord. Easing off the Arcanine instead, Gabe touched down and found the group was now staring at him. Gabe’s lips quirked a little as he forced a smile. ‘Why hello there—‘ he managed out. The Grumpig group froze all at once before looking at each other and then back at him with a great deal of alarm.
<Weird human! Very weird! What do you want??> They all projected back in various fluctuations and tones. They were… very hostile, and Gabe didn’t need psychic empathy to be aware of that fact.
Gabe fidgeted and stepped a little closer to Ruby. The Arcanine was squinting from one to the next. ‘What are you up to? I haven’t seen Pokemon wear clothes before….’ Three of them seemed to straighten up in pride while the other two looked at one another and flashed equal measures of thumbs up.
<We defeated you humans! Are you challenging us??> One stepped forward and huffed, digging his foot into the ground. He was smaller than them but had the persona of being bigger. Gabe considered it. It would be worthwhile to battle them, especially with a particular Pokemon in training in his pocket.
‘How about you fight like real Pokemon? One on one?’he asked fishing out a Pokeball. The first Grumpig leapt forward clearly confirming his involvement. Gabe smirked and tossed up the ball. In a flash a particular shy Inky came forth. Gabe smirked. Mesmar hesitated. “Use Hypnosis,” Gabe ordered.
The Grumpig ran forward glowing with a Power Gem, though and crashed right into the Inkay before he could attack. The latter yelped and scrambled to get back up. He was shaking now, and Gabe was quick to change tactics. “Payback.” Mesmer glowed bright and powerful with Dark energy that turned into tendrils around him. Flicking them forward, he slapped the Grumping several times over causing the latter to flinch several times and shake his head. The Grumpig in the rest of the horde jeered aggressively. Pay it back pay it back! The Grumpig responded with a bright blast of psychic energy— that was absorbed easily by the Inkay again. Gabe smirked. “Mesmer, Payback again.” The Inkay retaliated once more, and the Grumpig clattered back and scrambled to get back up.
The Grumpig were restless now. Some wanted to jump in and help while the others were unwilling to. Finally another leapt forward ready to attack! He was large, serious, and unwilling to let his boss go down! A small ‘tch’ sound escaped from Gabe. ‘Ruby?’ The Arcanine that had been watching up to that point stomped her feet a couple of times and came forward. Sure! As the Grumpig glowed with power, though, Gabe fidgeted. Shit shit shit shit— “Howl and Crunch!” Gabe ordered.
Unfortunately, the Grumping would finish the Future Sight before the Arcanine could bite down. The damage was still enough to have the Grumping crying out but not enough to faint, not yet. ‘We have to do this quickly….’His thoughts projected at both Mesmar and Ruby. Mesmer managed to down his target in a few good Payback hits and was then able to help out Ruby— for a good second before another Grumpig jumped in. “Mesmer! Get ready to switch with Ruby!” Gabe ordered right as a particular glow seemed to come up from the sky—
Crashing down with Psychic power, the Future Sight came like an orb of light. Mesmer in all of his strength and stature flung himself upwards and took the attack blast with the prowess afforded to him by the partial Dark typing. Ruby, meanwhile, was able to land a nasty Crunch on another one of the Grumpig. It was a free for all now, and there were no rules, just battle. Gabe dished out more orders and tossed a Pokeball at the Grumpig that had unleashed the Future Sight at least.
Catching Large Grumpig with Future Sight in a Great Ball
Even with a Pokeball dinging in capture, the battling did not stop. They managed to fend off another one with another Howl and Crunch giving Ruby more of an advantage now and Mesmer still acting as a Psychic blocking powerhouse. The more the Inky battled, however, the more confident he became— until suddenly!
Amidst the final battle between the last Grumpig, Mesmer began to glow. Gabe, Ruby, and even the remaining Grumping stopped briefly to watch. Flipping around and growing even more, he broke free from the light immediately after. Breaking free, he released a much more powerful attack that downed the Grumpig finally. Gabe stared. Ruby stared. Mesmer stared back. Slowly, Gabe grinned a little. “Really… nice work there, Mes….” he finally spoke. The Malamar now preened a little proudly.
Slowly but surely the Grumpig group was starting to rouse again and looked weakly at the human and his Pokemon before them. Gabe met one’s gaze, and slowly a nod was given. They had won the battle, but it was time to head on. Returning Mesmer, Gabe climbed on Ruby, and they ran.
Using Honey to attract Hordes: 3/5 Shiny Charm to attract Shiny Pokemon 1/50.
Lucky Egg, EXP Share on Ponyta, second EXP Share (bought prior to the battle) on Meowth
A small whine escaped from Ruby as she started to slow down. “What’s wrong?” escaped from Gabe as soon as he was sure the Grumpig group was far enough away. The Arcanine came to a stop by a tree, and Gabe eased off of her to check up on her. Ah, she was a little more injured than he had expected. Mumbling softly to himself, Gabe fished out a Potion from her saddle bag and began spraying her down. After a bit, Ruby was shaking out her fur and ready to go again. Gabe had been about to climb back on when a motion from the grasses caught his eye.
Except those weren’t actually grasses now that he was looking square at the. A large group of Venusaur were aggregated together, the largest and the smallest facing one another while the others faced them. It was as he was staring at them that they… also took notice of him. Gabe fidgeted and took a step back, hand on a Pokeball. If they were as hostile as the Grumpig group then he’d have to prepare. Luckily for him, they seemed to regard him carefully but did not immediately attack. One even stretched out a vine and pat Ruby on the nose. The Arcanine grinned a puppy grin and barked a couple of times.
Gabe’s lips pressed together. Hesitantly, he felt himself reaching out his thoughts to them again. ‘Ah hello….’ The large flower Pokemon all hummed lowly. A few of them exchanged glances, but for the most part, they were calm, peaceful even.
<Hello human…. And Arcanine….>The largest one greeted. <You are very strange.>
Gabe snorted softly. ‘I’ve been getting that a lot recently….’ But somehow, it felt natural. ‘Sorry to disturb you….’ His eyes trailed to the shiny that immediately perked up on catching his gaze. ‘I hope I wasn’t interrupting anything…’ A small murmur and laugh went through the Venusaur group.
<We were debating when spring would arrive….>The shiny explained with a grin. <When do you think it will?>
Gabe snorted softly. ‘At least a few more months….’ he answered. The large one preened. The smaller one huffed. Gabe chuckled a little more. ‘Winters in Arciel are very long compared to some other places I’ve been….’ That was definitely something he had to get used to.
They talked for a little while after, and Gabe began to bid them farewell— until two seemed to follow after, including the shiny. Gabe hesitated before fishing out two Pokeballs and waited.
Catching the Large and the Shiny: using a Mammoth Ball (70%) and Pixie Ball (70%) in that order.
As each Venusaur allowed themselves to be captured, Gabe clasped their Pokeballs for as long as they would last before fazing out to his PC. That had been… that had been nice. Looking back towards Ruby, Gabe started back over to her and climbed back on once more. And then they were off again down the path towards Hickory Town.
The further he went onwards, the more grassy the area became. It was still frigid, but it seemed the snow had been cleared out in a few places including one he wouldn’t have expected to see there. Slowing Ruby and slowly dismounting, Gabe found himself in awe of the surprising spring meadow that stretched out before him. With all the cold of winter all around, it was stark in contrast. Was he dreaming? Gabe pinched himself and assured that he was not. No, there was something else going on here.
And then he saw it— tiny little Flabebe were floating around intertwined with Floette and— Gabe twitched when a couple of Florgess all seemed to rise up together from the ground. The last were huge by comparison to the others, and Gabe realized he’d actually considered them small bushes up until they moved. “….Pokemon are something….” Gabe murmured under his breath. A particular Floette one clasping a yellow flower, noticed that there was a presence there outside of the colony and went floating up to Gabe’s face to stare at him.
One of the Florgess floated over to the Arcanine and set his hands on his hips, as if daring the large Fire dog to step any further into the meadow and crush their hard work. Ruby whined and took an awkward step back. Gabe glanced at her and returned her quickly. The Florgess turned to him and then made the same motion. He was smaller than the Arcanine, but if he caused any trouble, they’d deal with him too! Gabe chuckled a little at that. ‘I haven’t seen signs of spring in a long time… may I?’ he asked of the Florgess who seemed alarmed at the psychic thought before quickly recapturing himself. A strange almost buzzing sound came from the Pokemon before he decided yes, so long as the human was careful, he could traverse into the meadow.
And so with extra care, Gabe did just that. Walking in slowly, he looked about. It was a blank field for the most part, but that was what he liked in this case. Slowly easing down into the grass, Gabe found it cool but not frozen as other places were. He wouldn’t lay down in it, unfortunately, but he was relatively comfortable as he was. A few of the Flabebe fluttered around and started setting strands of loose flowers and grasses on his shoulders and head. Gabe smirked a little at that. He almost felt like a fairy prince or something.
….Senara would hate them…. Realizing this had Gabe frowning. Like, he got it™. It was a similar frustration to Water Types being anywhere near Lizbeth, but at the same time it wasn’t the same. He had Leo a fucking Blastoise after all and had made no motion to change him in any way. Thinking about Cookie made him… uncomfortable. Gabe sighed and leaned back on his gloved palms. Whatever…. Not my problem.
It was nice and quiet for a while… At least until two particularly large Floette came drifting over and dispersed the Flabebe in their wake. They stared at Gabe for a moment before each made a low noise to him. Gabe blinked. What did they want? Reaching again for that mental power, he waited right after. He didn’t have to wait long.
<Florgess says you’ve stayed your welcome…>
<Time to go.>
Gabe sighed and leaned forward. He couldn’t say he was surprised, but this place was so nice and peaceful, he kind of wanted to stay as long as he could. Ah, whatever. Gabe nodded and got up again. Walking out the way he came so as to not mess up any of their work, he was about to head back into the cold again when he felt a small body bump his own. Turning back to find the small yellow Floette he had come in with floating there, Gabe read the intention before he read her thoughts. Holding out a pixie ball, he waited to see how brave she was.
The soft ding of the Pokeball was a testament to the Floette’s resolve. A small smile came and went from Gabe’s features as he then turned and started onwards. Only once he was a significant distance from the field did he release Ruby and climb on again. The Arcanine once more sped forward excited and ready to go! What more would they see before they got to Hickory!
9/8 Ride - Route Completed, Finishing up with Honey
Using Honey to attract Hordes: 5/5 Shiny Charm to attract Shiny Pokemon 1/50.
As they ran onwards towards the vaguest hints at Hickory Town in the distance, an unexpected bark from Ruby would tear Gabe from his sights and thoughts. “Huh???” Looking in the direction the Arcanine was looking, Gabe’s eyes would widen with surprise… and endearment. “Oh my GOD???” He squeaked gripping into Ruby to make her stop even though she had been stopped already for a solid second.
A group of Arcanine were coming towards them led by one that was just a bit bigger than the rest (though still by no accounts large or otherwise). She barked a warning, and the others were eyeing Gabe and Ruby carefully. But Gabe…. Didn’t care. “PUPPIES???” They were most certainly adult dogs. “Oh my god look at you all….” How they had managed to find so many Fire Stones and aggregated together was a testament to their nature as pack mates. “You’re so fluffy.” Instead of worrying about potential threats or concerns with approaching a very clear pack unarmed, Gabe was sliding off of Ruby and walking straight for them.
Ruby was… uncertain. The way the clear alpha of the pack was approaching was vaguely unnerving, but they were very much her sisters in a way! She wanted to hop right up to them and be social! But that look in the pack leader’s eye— And oh she hoped Gabe knew what he was doing.
In fact, Gabe did. He went straight up to the leader already reaching for that psychic power again. ‘Hello there, beautiful one…’ he grinned. The Arcanine… was caught off guard at that and leaned her head back and then slowly forward again to squint at him. He waited, and she sniffed over him a couple of times. Ok, well, he smiled of ash and warmth… and she supposed that was not a bad combination. His pack member clearly seemed in good health and spirits. Hm. She approved. A low note escaped from her, and the other Arcanine slowly came forward now, still a little careful but overall friendly.
It didn’t take long before Ruby was one of them. Bouncing and tackling and rolling and playing! They were puppies too deep down if perhaps a little older than her. In a fit of excitement, one of the Arcanine turned around and tackled Gabe rightfully to the ground and started licking his face— and then they all were. And he was laughing and squirming and rolling and laughing so more. One of them bit into and yanked his hair, and suddenly he was crying and laughing and squirming and flailing. Ruby managed to nudge the other Arcanine off and finally helped him back to his feet again, but Gabe was only vaguely wounded and just kind of dizzy. It was… it was so much fun though.
They played for a while longer, but as the sun started to set, Gabe slowly became aware of it. They needed to go and get on to Hickory to try and find a place to stay for the night. As he spoke to Ruby, though, she sniffled and made puppy eyes at the other Arcanine. Gabe stared for a moment before smiling softly and fishing out a few special Pokeballs from his person. Holding them out, he waited.
USING 5 REPEAT BALLS ON FRIENDSHIP CAPTURING THE PUPPERS (75%). PLEASE RNG THE PUPPERS>
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