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.
“You really think I can bike? With my vision?” was still probably the best (and worst) excuse Atticus had ever come up with for taking his sweet time getting over to Maple. “If you really want to see me that badly, zip down cycling road yourselves and come to Ash instead.” He’d won that argument several times and was a little too proud of that fact. “Come on, I don’t want to take the long way around; just come see me instead.” But not this time.
Atticus took a slow breath in and let a slower breath out. One hand was fiddling with his cigar. The other was braced on the harness that Topaz the Dusk Lycanroc wore to give him a little more balance when walking. His cane was technically folded up in another compartment of the harness’s bag system, but for now it was a bit more comfortable to just walk like this. Topaz saw where they were going, after all.
Sitting across the Lycanroc’s back was Sherona the Larvesta who was just looking around for the next thing to pester. She would have been in her Pokeball if not for Atty believing there just needed to be another set of eyes around at the moment. Topaz vaguely wished that hadn’t been the case, but whatever.
A noise caught Atticus’s ears before it did even his Pokemon’s, and his head immediately turned towards the sound.
Over a week had passed since Shalin's excursion inside Mount Grumble, having come back with a new companion and an experience she wouldn't soon forget. She had left Caprice, Prance, and Levy with a private Trainer said to be one of the best in Arciel - one she had paid a small fortune to. Of course, having come across a rather large fortune during her spelunking trip, it didn't feel like it was quite that much. It was certainly the most money she had ever spent all at once before.
The trainer she had hired was the same one that had raised the team she had carried with her inland toward the badlands she would be crossing today - Flit, Kiku, Prower, and Serena. Sol's Poké Ball was at Shalin's belt as well. Unlike Caprice and Prance, who were similar enough in shape and size that they could share riding gear, she had to have some uniquely fitted for her Skuntank and for her Persian. She in particular pampered the Normal-type, the harness looking especially comfortable on the Pokémon.
The green-dressed girl strapped Kiku's riding gear into place and headed toward the east gate. An officer stopped her and her Pokémon from heading out the gate, stating that only biking was permitted on the bridge across the ravine. This was going to be one long trip to Maple City.
As Shalin and Kiku headed down the main southeastern thoroughfare to the gate there, she had to pull on Kiku's reins multiple times to get him away from a scent that otherwise would have led the two down an alley having nothing to do with their destination. She felt a bit guilty about using them this way; for the rest of her team, she controlled them with the bridle of trust instead of a physical one. The Skuntank's keen and curious nose distracted him far too often for his trainer's tastes, the reins serving more as blinders than a method of control.
As the girl passed the gate, the terrain slowly dropped off into an arid ravine, vegetation hard to come by. "Yah!" Shalin cried, squeezing the poison-type's sides and coaxing a bouncy run out of him, his bushy tail brushing her face at times. "Wahoo! This is so fun!"
Kiku didn't get more than a mile out before slowing to a trot, lowering his nose and approaching a middle-aged, black-haired man that had turned his head toward the two. "Kiku, stop." Even after stopping at her command, the Pokémon took a few steps forward toward the man. Shalin gently tugged on her mount. "No." After her Pokémon finally stood still, his tail and her rider's hair both flapping in the breeze, she raised her head toward the man. "Hello there!" she waved.
Topaz turned just after Atty and immediately straightened at the sight of the Skuntank and the human riding it. The Lycanroc was tall for her species and solid as a rock, but this fluffy cat before her was bigger than her and she didn’t like it. A low growl reverberated in her throat even as she felt Atty’s hand shift from her harness to scratch her ears gently.
Atticus wasn’t sure what he was ‘looking at’, but the deep thumping had been rhythmic enough. A quadruped. And there was a particular scent in the air he couldn’t place. As the big creatures’ sniffing echoed in his ears, Atty was aware he was being inspected. “Top—“ Atty’s voice dropped off as another name was spoken instead. That voice sounded young, and with the orders that came after, Atty could guess trainer was probably a fair category to tack on.
Shifting his hand off Topaz, Atty reached forward aiming to stretch out to whatever was sniffing him and offer that smell. His other hand had dropped, but the smell of tobacco whaffed from it all the same. “Well now, hello there,” he greeted back. He had enough sense to look ‘up’ but not enough to gauge just how much higher the rider was compared her strange mount. The shades over his eyes obscured his gaze some either way, though. “Out for a run?”
Topaz shifted uneasily and ended up pressing into Atticus’s other side some as if to try and force balance into him. Sherona the Larvesta ‘grinned’ about as much as a bug could grin. She’d found a new play thing.
The smell the Skuntank was following was not that of the other trainer, but of his Lycanroc. "Sorry - Kiku here was just interested in your Lycanroc, it seems," Shalin apologized, pulling back on Kiku again. "That's quite enough!" she reiterated with a scowl on her face before turning back to the traveler. "He's got the mind of a Stunky still," she continued, unable to help letting out a chuckle. "Your Lycanroc is really imprssive-looking - makes me want to try to find one myself."
The next thing she noticed was the Larvesta at the trainer's side. She leaned to her left to see what appeared to be a smiling, very content Larvesta. "I know who else the little one would like! Come on out, Sol!" She reached for one of her Poké Balls, the red-and-white insect emerging on the ground and crawling toward his kind. "Just caught this one a couple weeks ago on the trail to the mountain! There's a view up there you can't miss!"
When prompted, Shalin answered with a quick "Yes." She pat Kiku gently, the purple quadruped perking his head up. "Shalin Nariya, wildest rider in Arciel," she introduced herself. "I have business in Maple City soon, but there's time to at least look around. This is my first time over here - I'm a Johto native." She leaned back over to make sure the two Larvesta were okay.
Another low, more unsettled growl reverberated from Topaz as that thing’s nose came closer to her. Atticus, meanwhile, blinked and slowly lowered his hand again. “Huh, Top, aren’t you the popular one?” he grinned sideways at her. The Lycanroc gave another low note and then sneezed. Atticus smiled and ruffled her rocky fur in reassurance. “She’s a good ol’ girl,” he answered— only to immediately get licked for it. Atticus leaned sideways and rubbed the side of his face. Bleh. Slobber. Even if Topaz didn’t really slobber per say.
Sherona the Larvesta, meanwhile, blinked at being acknowledged and then found herself face to face with a non-shiny counterpart. A particular glow would have the shiny lifting off the back of the Lycanroc and lowering to the ground— or just above the ground, really. Magnet rise did raise after all. Prodding the other Larvesta slowly, she was delighted to find that it was indeed another Bug!
Atty, of course, didn’t see this. “Sol?” he repeated his ears searching around for any sounds of the Pokemon. Up a mountain, huh? He smiled a little at the mention of a view. Hah, he bet it was amazing. The introduction that followed was…interesting. A Johto native making her rounds in Arciel from the sounds of it. Sounds about right with all the advertising going on. Arciel really did try and grab just about anyone and everyone it could, huh?
Well, he guessed he could introduce himself in turn. “Doctor Atticus Evans, nice to meet you,” he answered shifting a little and setting his h— Oh there it was. Topaz had been quick to shift a little to where Atty’s hand was so he could grab her harness again. “Can’t really claim to be the wildest rider in Arciel, but I’ve been around.” He chuckled softly at that. “You got room for one more up there?” he asked with a laugh. Would he really want to ride on the back of whatever this was just to get down faster? Eh, why not.
Topaz immediately scoffed.
Last Edit: Mar 18, 2020 0:34:57 GMT by Atticus Evans
Post by Shalin Nariya on Mar 17, 2020 19:40:50 GMT
Shalin couldn't help but let out a laugh at the Lycanroc's sneeze. "She seems well-behaved--better than this one," the long-haired blonde remarked. When she looked down to see how Sol was doing, she saw him extending a feeler toward his Shiny counterpart, giving off a latent, refreshing heat. It was still winter after all. "Sol is my Larvesta," she introduced the fire-type. "He's right next to yours," she pointed to her Pokémon, who was making more noise than usual. Maybe he was trying to strike up a conversation?
"Doctor Atticus?" Shalin asked. "If you don't mind, what of?" It would be amazing to have a doctor of Pokémon medicine around - the green girl was finding the plateau of Arciel to be far more dangerous than the coast. She had a few medical supplies of her own, but a trained professional might be able to let her stretch her limited stock of medicine to last longer.
When asked if Kiku and Shalin had room for another, she hesitated. "You're a brave one," Shalin answered after a long pause, Sol's chatter loud by comparison to the ambient noise. "I've never seen anyone else riding on a Skuntank before." She moved forward a little to allow the man room to climb aboard. "Hop on! Just gotta warn you that it's a bit bumpier than your more normal Pokémon like a Rapidash. If you can handle it, his bounding is really fun!"
While making sure Atty was okay, Shalin noticed Kiku tense up, raising his tail well above her head. "What's up?" she asked, getting her answer when she saw which direction it was pointing. There was a very large swarm of Rufflet as well as a Fletchinder surrounding what appeared to be Dwebble and Shuckle carapaces. "Oh...that's a problem, Atticus. Those Rufflet are right in our way - looks like they found a pretty big meal right in the middle of the road, and they might be a while. I might need a hand with them - none of my Pokémon are good at dealing with Rufflet. What about you?"
Atticus’s head shifted down, and a small nod was given. “Gotcha,” he answered back. “Whatcha think, Shero?” A slow almost chitter sound escaped from the shiny Larvesta. She liked her kind well enough. They were elite and powerful and wonderful creatures so. Clearly being in the presence of each other was a great joy for … everyone around them. Atticus snorted. “You got her fired up ‘bout something….”
As Shalin spoke, Atty turned his head vaguely back to her direction. “Medicine technically, psychology and psychiatry, though only one of those offers an MD,” he answered with a small half smile and a shrug. “Mind helping me, Top?” The Lycanroc gave a low vaguely irritated noise but did, in fact, help Atty over to the Skuntank and did help him find where to climb on. “I’ve ridden a couple Rapidash here and there,” he answered.
“Top, can you keep after Shero?” The Lycanroc hmphed but walked around to slowly snag her trainer’s Larvesta up by the maw and set her back on her back again. She looked down Sol briefly before bending to snatch up that one too and set it even placed right after. Might as well.
The tension that rose in the Skuntank was briefly misinterpreted, and Atticus shifted a little awkwardly in sitting because of it. As Shalin spoke, however, Atty gave a hum back. “Top’s pretty good with handling Flying types,” he answered. “Topaz, if any of them get too close, use Accelerock, aite?” The Lycanroc’s ears twitched, and she stomped her foot loudly and boofed in both acknowledgment and vague annoyance. Atty smirked a little. “I’ve also got a Pikachu on reserve, but having too many Pokemon out makes a mess of things.” Topaz, meanwhile, started walking leading up through the path read and raring to go as the birds moved about. Luckily, it seemed a good deal of them were too interested in what they were eating to really care about anything else.
Farther off in the distance, a Kangaskhan walked along through the brush followed by a strange shadow. Every time she turned around, the shadow would quickly dissipate as its owner dove behind something to remain hidden. The reverberations in the air would reach Atty’s ears, but he wouldn’t recognize them apart from the sounds of the birds, not yet anyways.
Post by Shalin Nariya on Mar 18, 2020 19:16:46 GMT
Topaz seemed willing to carry both of the Larvesta, from what Shalin could see. Their chatter continued as the Lycanroc helped the doctor mount up alongside her. "That's a noble profession. One of my friends from back home, who came to Arciel on a different ship than I did, had to deal with a mental health problem growing up. I don't envy him at all."
When she heard Topaz was able to handle the flock of Rufflet if needed, Shalin felt more comfortable traveling through. "That many, though?" She'd be able to help out a little bit, but not much - Flit was the only one would could reach them reliably, and they'd tear him to shreds. That reminded her - she had other Pokémon, as well. "If we ever need to make a break for it, I have a Persian ready also. She's fast enough to outrun almost anything."
"Alright, hold on tight - here we go!" Kiku's back arched more than a Rapidash or Arcanine mid-run, making the ride a bit bouncier than with typical Pokémon. His fluffy tail brushed against the two on occasion, especially when making a left turn. "Hey, that tickles!" Shalin couldn't help but laugh. The two felt more of his power as he picked up speed going down the mountain trail and into the ravine below.
Kiku slowed to a trot when rounding a sharp corner. As they approached the snacking Rufflet and the six birds fully came into view, two of them turned around. Kiku was quick to retreat back around. "They're not going anywhere peacefully," she said to Atty. "They've been feeding long enough, and I'd rather not look for another way through this wasteland."
"This would be a good time to practice something we've been working on, together. Give me your tail, okay, Kiku?" she addressed her Pokémon. "Atticus, my Skuntank doesn't have a very steady tail - I have to help him in cases like this." The poison-type following orders, he lowered his tail so that the rider could comfortably hold it with both hands. "Now, brace yourself if you can."
Closing one eye, she held the tail in front of her, pointing it upward and in the birds' direction. When she was satisfied with her position, she took a deep breath. "Kiku, use Toxic." She could barely hear fluid shooting up the Skuntank's tail for a bit before a loud popping noise boomed around them, the recoil flexing her backward into Atty a little more than she liked. The purple Pokémon had launched a sphere of rancid, black and purple musk into the air, coming on top of the swarm hundreds of feet away. A cacophony of screeches and wingbeats followed, the Rufflet scattering in all directions.
Post by Atticus Evans on Mar 18, 2020 23:51:20 GMT
“You’d be surprised how many birds you can hit with one stone,” Atty answered. Of course he might have had a few reservations if he could actually see just how many there were. For now, though, Topaz didn’t seem to be arguing. She was pretty confident she could hit and run as needed, but that was kind of her specialty. She wasn’t as lithe as a Midday Lycanroc but not near as bulky as a Midnight. Just right.
“Oh fuc—“ Atty slid and shifted as the Skuntank bounced along. A hand reached up immediately to seize the shades over his eyes and adjust them. Welp, he had asked for this he guessed. Might as well force himself to laugh for it! And he did. At least he could hear Topaz’s thundering either alongside or just in front of them. Her tough claws shredded everything in her path regardless rock or bone. As a pup, she could not be confused. As a mature wolf, she could not be taken down.
As they slowed down to the area in question, Atty gave a low hum in response. “Top!” He received an assured bark back. “Keep out of the way but get ready!” He shifted a little awkwardly to give Shalin the room to grab the Skuntank’s tail.
And then the smell hit. The plume of toxic air had Topaz immediately lowering herself to the ground. She had no fear of poison for herself but would not expose the little ones on her back to it if she could help it. Atticus slapped a hand over his nose and mouth in unison even as he found Shalin suddenly pushed up against him from recoil. Whether it was from the nature of the material itself or a particular sensitivity that came with using other senses more, Atty felt briefly nauseous.
At least the birds were flying upwards and away. One that had been disoriented from the poison went flying towards them, but before it could close the distance, a bright orange rose Accelerock ripped itself up from the ground and knocked the bird back and away. Topaz stomped her foot again for good measure, and what birds did fly in the wrong direction (at them) met a face full of rock.
Further along, the smell had caused the Kangakhan to back up and immediately change course— only to finally spot the Umbreon who immediately jolted and went running away from her and off down towards the group. The sound had Topaz immediately straightening and turning.
Even Shalin had to pinch her nose for a bit after the discharge, though her hands were more irritated than her nose was. The force needed to shoot a musk projectile that far caused recoil akin to that of a high-caliber rifle or small cannon. She turned her head to see Topaz had lowered the little ones away from her and Atticus to protect them from the musk residue at the end of its tail. It wasn't too pungent to her, but Atticus didn't look so hot. Perhaps raising Kiku for so long had dulled her sense of smell a bit? As a Stunky, he had a lot less control over his poison-type attacks. After evolution, his highly-developed tail gave him precise control over the size, intensity, and direction his musk could be fired toward.
Kiku stepped back around the corner to survey the damage, his trainer releasing her nose again. The remains of the bug-types in the middle of the road were covered in purple and black goop, the scavengers nowhere to be found. "That certainly did the trick...wait, you okay?" Shalin asked, feeling her mount stumble a bit. The stench around Kiku didn't last for very long, but around the carapaces would be a different story. She did see an alternate path that would take them around the direct point of impact, which would reek for hours. "I didn't think it would be that strong - sorry about that! Maybe Maple will have a shooting range for us to practice at!" The lower path would be a little longer, but if he wasn't good at handling just the shot residue...well, Shalin didn't want to entertain the thought.
The girl heard footfalls of other nearby Pokémon scattering about, including an Umbreon that was headed straight their way. Kiku paid the fellow Dark-type no heed, Sol finally raising his head and breathing normally again.
Post by Atticus Evans on Mar 21, 2020 18:54:14 GMT
Atticus coughed once, twice, and a third time. Finally, some of that nausea and disgust went down again. “Yeah I’ll be alright,” he answered rubbing the back of his mouth with his sleeve. “Just haven’t had many Poison types around in a while.” Or at least those who actively used Poison moves like that. “Top?” he called. The Lycanroc had eased up again and gave a yip. She was fine. A softer sigh escaped from Atty. “Sher?” The Larvesta shook her whole body. She wasn’t injured, but she was a little annoyed.
Shalin’s words earned a small snort from Atticus thereafter. “You may have more lucky at Outpost Alpha or Hickory Town,” he answered. He didn’t want to come off as too snooty, but there was a reason people emphasized the hick part of Hickory. It would most certainly have an area dedicated to ‘Pokemon sharpshooting’ or something of the like.
It was only after this, however, that a soft panting ‘bri’ sound caught Atticus’s ears. Immediately Atty reached for his pocket checking and finding Eclipse’s Pokeball still there. Topaz too had straightened and was eyeballing the Umbreon coming forth now. He was far shorter than Eclipse and looked significantly wilder. Her bark was enough to have Atty sure of himself. “A wild Umbreon?” It was almost hard to believe. Didn’t Umbreon evolve by close connection with their trainers? “Do you see a trainer around?” he asked.
The Umbreon came to a complete and startled stop upon being nearly nose to nose with the Lycanroc. She was much bigger than him, and he immediately shrunk back almost augmenting the difference. He looked… scared…. But less in a panicked way and more in a long-seeded fear sort of way.
Topaz straightened a little and gave a bark. <What’s wrong? Are you lost?> she asked. Sherona shifted up over Topaz’s shoulder to see what all the fuss was about. Hmph, she had seen an Umbreon before. Why was everyone so interested?
<I….I’m…. scared….> the Umbreon responded vaguely.
Topaz frowned and tilted her head from one side to the other, not entirely believing what she heard. <Of what?> The Umbreon shook his head and then suddenly dropped his maw and screeched at the Lycanroc.
That was enough to have Atticus straightening. “Top, don’t use too much force,” he ordered. The Lycanroc stomped her foot in response summoning up and dishing out an Accelerock that struck the Umbreon. The battle that followed was more of a quick skirmish, and once the Umbreon had taken a few hits, Topaz howled again. Atty shifted a little awkwardly, grabbed a few Pokeball, and dropped it over the side. Luckily Top was used to this, snagged it, and then threw it towards the Umbreon.
Post by Shalin Nariya on Mar 21, 2020 21:30:14 GMT
Shalin was relieved to find out everyone was okay. "I'll try to give more warning next time," she replied to Atticus. "I couldn't think of another way to scatter them without being seen." She peered toward Sol, who seemed to be fine as well, though neither Larvesta looked particularly happy. "I'll be sure to give you two more space next time." Kiku let out only what Shalin could assume was a chuckle. "Hey! That's not funny!"
"Hickory Town, got it," Shalin answered when he remarked on her need to practice Kiku's accuracy. She had always assumed the big cities had a facility for everything. Come to think of it, this part of Arciel was desolate, almost wild-west in nature. It would be thematic for a shooting gallery to be there, at least.
Shalin happened to be looking the other way when Atticus pointed out the wild Umbreon. "What? Where?" she asked, squinting to be able to see the Pokémon in the shadows. "Ah, there." She paused again to look a trainer. None were in sight. "...You're right. I hope it wasn't abandoned by its trainer - you so seldom see them just out in the wild!" If it was truly a trained Pokémon, a Poké Ball wouldn't have worked on it...but this one did. "Nice one!" Shalin said, putting Kiku's reins down long enough to clap a few times.
Post by Atticus Evans on Mar 28, 2020 12:51:00 GMT
The sound of a Pokeball dinging in capture echoed in Atticus’s ears for a little longer than he expected it too— maybe because he’d been so intent on hearing it. Shalin’s words boomed by contrast and had him fidgeting slightly on remembering he was seated behind her. “Heh, thanks Top,” he called. The Lycanroc gave a small bark in response. She was still a little confused by the Umbreon’s presence, but now with it part of the team, there was time to ask questions later. Later, later as that pokeball shined with light and teleported off to Atticus’s PC for now. “I have another Umbreon too, actually,” Atticus mentioned. “Hopefully they’ll get along.”
Topaz’s ears twitched as another sound caught them, but as she turned and saw that it was just a Helioptile scurrying along some rocks, she gave a small snort in response. That was more of what she expected to see out this direction. Her ears flicked back to the Larvesta and found that Sherona was describing some old story about Atticus raising her up and yelling ‘praise the sun’ in absolute public. Topaz had no actual memory of this event but didn’t put it passed her trainer to just be like that sometimes. Refocusing, she started moving again aiming to head in the general direction they had been going.
Post by Shalin Nariya on Mar 28, 2020 20:30:12 GMT
"Really?" Shalin asked, hearing Atticus already had an Umbreon. "Are they a couple?" She covered her mouth for a few seconds immediately after the words came out - that was an awfully invasive question to ask. "...Y-y-you don't have to answer that. I'm sorry." She shook her head, feeling a small amount of recoil as Kiku loudly snorted. She wanted to say something to the Skuntank about that but ultimately kept her tongue in her mouth.
Trotting along, Kiku came across a large group of dead trees as the road expanded to more flat, yet still rugged, ground. Good thing she had kept Caprice, her Ninetales, on the bench for this trip - she would have loved to run here. The poison-type started sniffing, following his nose toward one of the dead trees. Shalin was about to pull him away from the tree and back onto the road when a reflection off something shiny blinded her for a split second.
At the base of the tree was a half-eaten shell of a Tamato berry. Around that were two Repeat Balls half-buried in the slightly softer ground surrounding the trees! "Hey Atticus, think we could jump off just long enough for Kiku to dig up these Poké Balls? Look, each of us can have one!" Shalin had already shifted to be sitting side saddle, ready to slide down the moment she got the okay.
Post by Atticus Evans on Mar 28, 2020 21:32:04 GMT
“Eh?” Atticus asked raising his eyebrow. He wasn’t sure if she was implying that he’d like this new Umbreon to couple with Eclipse, the one he had, or if he’d just missed something in translation there. A small snort escaped from him as she immediately apologized. “It’s fine.” Whatever it was.
As they moved along, Atty closed his eyes, listening to the subtle sounds of Topaz’s claws in the dirt mixing with the bigger steps of the Skuntank. The light conversation between the Larvesta was not lost on him, but he had no lens with which to guess what they were talking about now.
It would be the physical shift of the Skuntank that had him blinking back into reality in full again. “Hm?” he asked. Someone had dropped some Pokeballs or something. “Sure…” He easied off the Skuntank— and then seemed to hesitate just a little testing where the ground was before actually landing there. Topaz was quick to come over to him and leaned the harness’s handle into his hand. He took it without question and balanced a little more there.
Sensing the area around him now, Atticus hummed softly. “Smells like there might be berries around too,” he registered. Topaz gave a small bark at that. She’d seen a half-eaten one. Probably dropped from a squirrelly Pokemon or something given the season was still rather cool. Sherona immediately stopped chatting and looked around. Where was this food? Had someone mentioned a berry? Where was it?
As Shalin watched her Skuntank dig up the two Poké Balls, she watched Atty slide off before following. As she walked up to where he was digging, she could also smell it. "It's the shell of a mostly-eaten Tamato," she replied, her Pokémon having some trouble unearthing the two Poké Balls. It took a minute or two, but he was able to dig the first one up. "Ah, a Repeat Ball - specialty Poké Balls are never cheap. Well, since there are two of them, that's one for each of us," she continued, handing it to Atty.
It didn't take quite as long for Kiku to unearth the second Poké Ball. It was likewise a Repeat Ball, but upon further examination, had a broken hinge, making it a worthless piece of trash. She scooped it up anyway - one of the downsides of Poké Ball technology was broken ones not decomposing due to their metallic composition. "...More people need to understand how important recycling is. This broken Poké Ball wasn't going anywhere until someone--"
SMAAAASSH!!
Shalin was so enamored by what her Pokémon was digging up that she failed to notice the Kangaskhan that had approached the tree in relative silence. In what seemed like a split second, the wild roared at Kiku and wound up for a killer barrage of punches that socked Shalin's partner in his sensitive cheek repeatedly. He staggered backward, eyes rolling in all directions.
The wild faced both trainers and their Pokémon, sounding a similar roar - even the baby was getting into it this time. The disoriented Skuntank, swaying like an intoxicated human, fired his musk in completely the wrong direction to chase the Kangaskhan away. Shalin recalled her Pokémon before he suffered any more injuries. "Run!!" she shouted, booking it southeast across the flats. She undid the latch on Serena's Poké Ball, keeping it ready in case things got really ugly. Unfortunately, the feline could only comfortably seat her, and she had no other Pokémon trained to carry a rider. Hopefully Atty would be okay...
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