[Josh Devlin]

After picking up his team from the Pokémon Center mid-morning, Josh started scouting the town's south and west districts. Bass was a large city - not sprawling like Goldenrod, but more the size of Olivine. Olivine was a good parallel for it, both of them being port cities. A lot of the city's attractions were near the coast, including both of his interests - the race tracks and the Gym. He double-checked the schedule on his phone - not only was the season opener here, but there would be an aquatic race in late May. That was coming up fast - he needed to get a water Pokémon ready, and soon.



The Gym itself appeared to double as a shelter for aquatic wildlife - primarily Pokémon, bot there were other aquatic creatures as well. The entire east side wall was built into a giant aquarium, Josh's head tilting to observe three Gyarados seimming in the giant pool. On the opposite side of the main hall was a double door with the symbol of a crashing wave etched into each one.



Opening the double doors, the first thing he saw was a sign labeled "Bass City Gym" and a narrow room filled almost end to end with water to the depth and length of an Olympic-sized pool. He carefully read the directions - "Cross the sea before you, but you and your Pokémon must remain dry!" Even if he had an aquatic Pokémon, riding it across the pool was not an option.



There were, however, a large number of tools on the near side of the pool. The two sets of tools that immediately caught his eye were a row of logs as well as a pair of foot-sized floating disks and very long bamboo poles. He stuck one of the poles in the corner of the pool and slowly let it drop down. It went all the way to the pool's depth plus a few feet - the two would be perfect for crossing. Slipping the buoyant disks under his feet and grabbing the matching pole, Josh descended to the pool's surface as lightly as he could with his first steps onto the water.


kXV6gXjK

---

Number of Pokemon: 3

Format: Singles

Substitutions: No



Pokemon 1: Saber the Lv14 Male Electrike

Ability: LightningRod

Moveset: Electro Ball, Quick Attack, Thunder Wave, Leer; Spark; ---

Stat Boosts: HP (11); Attack (1); Speed (1)



Pokemon 2: Illumina the Lv14 Female Chinchou

Ability: Volt Absorb

Moveset: Water Gun; Supersonic; Thunder Wave; Electro Ball

Stat Boosts: {None}



Pokemon 3: Nitro the Lv13 Male Skiddo

Ability: Sap Sipper

Moveset: Tackle; Growth; Vine Whip; Tail Whip

Stat Boosts: {None}

{WC: 362}
{PC: 1}

[Elayne]

Nothing happened!

All rolls were passed.

Josh Devlin

The poles find the bottom of the pool floor without problem. You're off to a good start, keep it up!

[Josh Devlin]

Phew! The hard part was over. Josh was floating on the surface, his poles aligned and the makeshift water feet doing their job. He took his first few steps onto the water's surface. 50 feet was a long distance to cross, and the bigger each step he made, the more likely one of his poles would slip on the pool's floor. "One step at a time," he mumbled, bringing one pole forward, then the other, almost like an elderly person would walk using a cane. What was the purpose of this trial, anyway? To teach patience? Patience was a four-letter word to him except in very specific circumstances.

He looked around, then tossed Nitro's Poké Ball to one side. "Hey Nitro. I have an idea. The rules prohibit me from riding my Pokémon across the pool, but they don't say anything about you helping me otherwise. If your vines reach and you can find places to anchor them on the other side regularly, you think you could extend them across the width of the pool and move them with me? That way you might be able to help me keep balanced if I slip." While his Pokémon was scanning its surroundings in the long but narrow room, Josh continued navigating across the pool's surface, being deliberate with every step. If he slipped, the pool's current would sweep him all the way back to the beginning in a hurry...

tTItV_|4

{WC: 240}
{PC: 2}

[Elayne]

A random event has occurred!

What will you do?

Josh Devlin

Woops! It seemed that using the vines was a good idea in theory, but caused the poles to slip up and cause you to fall into the water. Try again!

[Josh Devlin]

Nitro indeed found places to latch two vines across a short space, enough to give Josh more stability as he moved forward across the pool. A few steps farther, Josh found himself falling behind, with Nitro nicking Josh's rear poles in an effort to move the vine upward. He lost his hold on both poles, sending him into a rushing current that slammed him into the front end of the pool. Thankfully his back was to the wall and not his head - that would have been painful!

Shaking his head, he recalled his grass-type. Perhaps having a Pokémon help him at all was going to cause more trouble that it was worth. The current was so fast that even an Ice-type wasn'g going to freeze this water. Like he had an Ice-type anyway. The long poles, too, had floated to the front of the pool. He slowly pulled them out of the water, then let them fall back in once he had hold of both of them. "Alright, maybe this will go better unaided," he thought, starting the trip across the pool once more. Slow and steady seemed to be the key, especially the first steps onto the sorface. He let his feet and floating discs drop to the surface, ready to try again.

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{WC: 215}
{PC: 3}

[whimsae]

Nothing happened!

All rolls were passed.

Josh Devlin

Slowly and steadily, you continue to creep across the pool's violent currents. Hopefully there won't be too many more slip ups? Keep it up!

[Josh Devlin]

The first steps were much easier the second time around, but with the pool's current having picked up, Josh had to be much more meticulous with every step he took, every advancement of the poles. He would have no support from Nitro this time, but perhaps that was for the best. If he fell, that was on him...but he wasn't sure if his back could take a second hard impact...and facing the south side was just asking for his nose to be smashed.

Josh was gaining ground slowly, catching his balance when the pool floor descended another foot or two at the 20-foot distance mark. Perhaps this was why the poles were far taller than he was, even accounting for the pool's depth. "That complicates things," he said to himself, his arms beginning to tense up. He reached forward, synchronizing his arm and leg motions the best he could. He felt Saber's Poké Ball shake briefly, ignoring it. If he lost focus for even a second, he was in the drink.


|LL8HJ0o
{WC: 173}
{PC: 4}

[whimsae]

Nothing happened!

All rolls were passed.

Josh Devlin

Your synchronizing efforts are paying off! Good job keeping focus! You advance just that much closer freedom.

[Josh Devlin]

Josh's efforts to synchronize his leg and arm motion every step of the way seemed to be working. One step at a time got him well past the halfway point. The last 15 or so feet were the most critical, with high-speed water jets beneath the pool driving the current that even most water Pokémon couldn't swim against. It felt like his hands and arms were doing all the work, able to push forward less and less distance with each step his feet took forward.



As he got to the ten-foot mark, he had to compensate even more, dropping the poles in at an angle to compensate for the wicked current at the bottom. Nerves didn't help, either. There were steps where he even had to pull the poles halfway out of the water and drop them all the way in again just to get them straight. If they were angled too far one way, he would likely fall in the opposite direction. He wondered for a moment if the purpose of the trial was to wear him out and lower his ability to concentrate during the battle itself.

IPD9MAoR

{WC: 190}
{PC: 5}

[Jenesis]

Nothing happened!

All rolls were passed.

Josh Devlin

Good job! You made it to the other end of the pool! Hiro congratulates you and awaits your first Pokemon.

[Josh Devlin]

The arena itself was an enormous hemisphere of water, raised platforms poking above the surface at seemingly random locations and heights. The only consistency Josh noticed was no platform had only one platform within jumping distance - there were always multiple movement options among them. Good thing he had brought Illumina instead of Blitz - the larger Pokémon would have had a lot of trouble here. There weren't too many people watching - what did he expect, many people were working jobs at this time of day - but there were enough to start a "Hi-Ro-To! Hi-Ro-To!" chant. Tough crowd.

There were five judges in black jerseys at various points along the out-of-bounds lines, the Leader directly across from Josh and facing him from the north side. When Josh stepped up to the line on his side, the Head Judge approached him. After the young official pressed the large button on a handheld device, a pedestal with six Poké Ball-sized hollows rose up from just in front of the southern out-of-bounds line. "Please place the Poké Balls containing your registered Pokémon here." He inserted the Pokémon into the top three slots in the following order: Saber, Nitro, Illumina.

"That is my final decision." As if on cue, black panels on the edge of the Gym's battleground lit up, now displaying live footage of the place, as well as Josh's Pokémon and vital statistics about them. In particular, there were a pink heart icon and a metal sword icon with "+1" superimposed over each. "How in Arceus' name do they come up with these numbers?" Josh asked rhetorically, the Leader's half of the scoreboard blank as of yet.

The question was accompanied by cacophonous booing and hissing. A particularly raucous fan shouted, "Electric-types are cheating here!" Josh ignored him. His heart raced as the water suddenly because choppy. Falling into that drink was not going to be pleasant for most of his Pokémon. Luckily, Saber was so damn quick that it shouldn't be an issue for him. Nitro, on the other hand...

Stepping away from the pedestal, the Head Judge made his announcement. "The challenger, Josh Devlin, has made his decision. His three Pokémon selected for today's challenge are Electrike, Skiddo, and Chinchou." A mechanical apparatus within the pedestal thrust Saber's Poké Ball to the topmost island in the center of the pool. "Leader Hiroto, please select your first Pokémon, and begin!"

---

//-------------------------||-------------------------\\
||CHALLENGER               ||LEADER                   ||
||              Josh Devlin||           Hiroto Kaimana||
||-------------------------/\-------------------------||
||1> Electrike          205||1>                       ||
||LIFE +++++++++++         ||LIFE                     ||
||2> Skiddo             207||2>                       ||
||LIFE ++++++++++          ||LIFE                     ||
||3> Chinchou           227||3>                       ||
||LIFE ++++++++++          ||LIFE                     ||
\\-------------------------/\-------------------------//

{WC: 402}
{PC: 6}

[Jenesis]

Hiro showed no response as one of the audience members cried out and was promptly shushed by a referee. Unsurprising, this was kind of his job after all. "An Electrike, eh? I guess in that case I'll go with..." A Poke Ball was removed from the rack by Hiro's side and thrown out in the direction of the pool, where in a flash of light a Binacle appeared on one of the platforms closest to Hiro. The rocky crustacean waved its hands menacingly as it stared down the electric dog Pokemon.

"The first move is yours, challenger! Let's see what you can do!"

---

Electrike HP 11/11 +1 Atk +1 Spe
VS
Binacle HP 11/11

[Josh Devlin]

Even after the unruly fan had been silenced, the crowd was still generally raucous over seeing Josh's team. It was growing in number, too. Josh breathed a sigh of relief discovering his first battle would remain on land...though he was sure Hiro was just scouting out his battle style. Nonetheless, he couldn't hold a thing back.

"Saber, you have the mobility advantage!" he shouted across the large pool. "Keep your distance from it and use your Thunder Wave!" Sparks flying from his paws already, Saber generated a static pulse that expanded in a hemisphere around him, a low voltage intended to overload the foe's nervous system and leave Binacle barely able to move.

---

//-------------------------||-------------------------\\
||CHALLENGER               ||LEADER                   ||
||              Josh Devlin||           Hiroto Kaimana||
||-------------------------/\-------------------------||
||1> Electrike          205||1> Binacle            210||
||LIFE +++++++++++         ||LIFE +++++++++++         ||
||2> Skiddo             207||2>                       ||
||LIFE ++++++++++          ||LIFE                     ||
||3> Chinchou           227||3>                       ||
||LIFE ++++++++++          ||LIFE                     ||
\\-------------------------/\-------------------------//

4Y5u_6EM

[Thunder Wave]
92% chance to hit (90 base, 2 speed)
Hit: Paralysis

{WC: 114}
{PC: 7}

[Jenesis]

"Oh, no you don't -- get out of there, Binacle!" Hiro's Pokemon dove over the side of the platform into the pool before the wave of static electricity could reach it. "Now, Shell Smash!" It was hard to see what was happening under the water but the sounds of cracking shells could be heard, and when the Binacle resurfaced on a different platform some distance away from the first one, it had a gleaming new (albeit slightly softer) shell - and also some of the rock surrounding its base was chipped away, making it more able to quickly slip around the pool.

---

Binacle dodged Thunder Wave!
Binacle used Shell Smash! +2 Atk, +2 SpA, +2 Spe, -1 Def, -1 SpD

---

Electrike HP 11/11 +1 Atk +1 Spe
VS
Binacle HP 11/11 +2 Atk +2 SpA +2 Spe -1 Def -1 SpD (Dodge used)

[Josh Devlin]

Clever. Perhaps there was more mobility to this Binacle than Josh initially thought. Saber circled the top platform, searching for where his foe surfaced. He was on a small platform toward Hiro's side of the pool - of course, a location where Josh couldn't see him from the trainer's box. "Once you see him, dive at him with your Spark attack!"

Saber's legs started crackling, sparks flying out of his paws as he surrounded himself with an electric sphere, then recklessly dove off the tall platform. His trajectory was right at the Binacle's arm, attempting to flip the foe onto its vulnerable side.

---

//-------------------------||-------------------------\\
||CHALLENGER               ||LEADER                   ||
||              Josh Devlin||           Hiroto Kaimana||
||-------------------------/\-------------------------||
||1> Electrike          205||1> Binacle            210||
||LIFE +++++++++++         ||LIFE +++++++++++         ||
||2> Skiddo             207||2>                       ||
||LIFE ++++++++++          ||LIFE                     ||
||3> Chinchou           227||3>                       ||
||LIFE ++++++++++          ||LIFE                     ||
\\-------------------------/\-------------------------//

---

Initial roll: xMablAJ_p_

{WC: 102}
{PC: 8}·

[Jenesis]

Az88AtA3p_ = Hard! Because you have Regular Advantage, your word count requirement is 500.

You are challenged by Hiro's Binacle!!

	Binacle Lv14
		5 Energy
	Average	Careful
	Tough Claws
MOVES
Shell Smash, Withdraw, Mud-Slap, Fury Cutter, Scald, Slash
NOTES

[Josh Devlin]

Josh wasted no time in going on the offensive, especially with such an immobile Pokémon like Binacle. "Saber, knock it off the platform with your Spark attack!" he cried, taking Hiro's very generous offer to open the battle. The young and pumped Saber scanned the floating battlefield for an efficient way to get to Binacle's platform, and very quickly found one. A volley of sparks shooting out in all directions from underneath his paws, Josh's Pokémon leaped across several smaller islands to get to the one his foe was on.

A direct hit, and a devastating blow to the Leader's Pokémon got one section of the crowd riled up, another gasping at how fast the Spark attack was. "Nice one!" Hiro clapped as the rock shell holding the two Binacle barnacles together cracked heavily at the point of impact. "Spark is a fantastic move to use on a Water Pokémon, and with such speed! Remarkable!" The outer layer of the Binacle continued to buckle under the stress fracture of the Electrike's charge. "Except maybe you should have done your homework, because a true master of Water Pokémon comes prepared for an onslaught of Electric Pokémon," the Leader continued. "I laid a little trap with that Binacle, and you've been snared in it! Binacle, use Shell Smash!" The impact from the electric attack actually helped the rock-type shed its heavy rock shell, revealing a much softer layer of skin underneath a smaller slab of rock just big enough to keep the twins connected.

Josh peered over to the scoreboard and saw exactly the problem - underneath the image of his foe's Binacle were five icons. There were icons of a red shield and a red cape with "-1" overlaid on top of them, as well as icons of a blue sword, staff, and boots, each with "+2" overlaid. "Now you see the trap you are in!" Hiro continued, riling up his section of the crowd even more. "Binacle, dive in the water!"

"Oh, no you don't!" Josh retorted, Saber snarling and charging toward the fleeing water-type. Without that heavy shell, it was really fast - even faster than Saber! "Keep your Spark charged!" The Electrike maintained a sphere of electricity around himself, scanning his surroundings for a sign of bubbles coming from around the platform he was standing on.

"Oh, yes I do!" Hiro answered Josh back with a smile that was way bigger than it should be. "And now, the final stage of this part of my master plan! Binacle, use Scald and ram the platform Saber is on!"

"No! Drop your charge--" Too late. The speedy rock-type had already rammed the bottom of the platform, causing Saber to slide into the now-steaming water surrounding the float. Even Josh was sweating from the sauna the Binacle had created, in addition to wincing at the agonizing cry his Pokémon let out upon falling in. "You okay?" Josh cried out to his badly-hurt Pokémon. He got a reply of heavy breaths and a nod. "Alright, Saber, Electro Ball!" The Pokémon being on different platforms gave Saber the sdvantage, being the first to show he had ranged attacks in his bag of tricks. Rather than let his Pokémon be exposed to the heat-seeking sphere of electricity, Hiro recalled his Binacle, the attack absorbed by the large platform he was standing on.

"Binacle has been recalled by the Leader. Electrike is the winner," the match's head judge announced as Binacle's icon on the scoreboard was made dim.

"I know when a battle is lost," Hiro sighed, the still-hyperventilating, barely-standing Electrike staring the Leader down with sheer force of will. Why was he leaving the wounded Pokémon in? "But you, Josh--you are far too harsh on your Pokémon in battle."

---

kyli8xuIp_

CHALLENGER                  LEADER
Josh Devlin                 Hiroto Kaimana

1> Electrike            8   1> Binacle              0
Brn        +1  0  0  0 +1   Nm         +2 -1 +2 -1 +2
2> Skiddo             207   2>
Nm          0  0  0  0  0   Nm          0  0  0  0  0
3> Chinchou           227   3>
Nm          0  0  0  0  0   Nm          0  0  0  0  0

{WC: 637}

[Jenesis]

You won!

Here comes a new challenger

Josh Devlin

Hiro directs his Lotad to finish off the Electrike as quickly as possible, then adopt a defensive posture.

foexrxIep_ = Average! Because you have Neutral Typing, your word count requirement is 400.

You are challenged by Hiro's Lotad!!

	Lotad Lv14
		5 Energy
	Huge!	Timid
	Rain Dish
MOVES
Astonish, Bubble, Mist, Mega Drain
NOTES

[Josh Devlin]

Hiro released his second Pokémon, a Lotad, onto a small platform as far away as possible from Saber. The Electrike stumbled about his own platform, trying to keep his balance long enough to simply face the Lotad. "Come on, Saber, you got one more Electro Ball in you, right?" Stumbling while charging the sphere, the green and yellow Pokémon released it on a trajectory that was far higher than it needed to be.

"Don't think a deluge of lightning will work a second time, boy!" Hiro retorted. "Lotad, deflect it with a Bubble barrage!" The aquatic array covered such a large volume that it was not only able to discharge the sphere somewhat, but many of the bubbles were headed directly at Saber. They didn't matter at all, though - the hyperactive Electric-type passed out well before his foe's ranged attack even struck. The Lotad ducked underneath its lily pad, soaking much of the sphere's discharge and landing only a glancing blow.

"Electrike is unable to battle. Lotad is the winner!" the head judge announced, officially tying the match up. As was declared when he began the match, Josh's next Pokémon choice was Nitro the Skiddo, the challenger tossing the Poké Ball containing him as close to the Lotad as his arm would allow.

---

|nr7sLmFp_

CHALLENGER                  LEADER
Josh Devlin                 Hiroto Kaimana

1> Electrike            0   1> Binacle              0
KO         +1  0  0  0 +1   KO         +2 -1 +2 -1 +2
2> Skiddo             207   2> Lotad               98
Nm          0  0  0  0  0   Nm          0  0  0 +1  0
3> Chinchou           227   3>
Nm          0  0  0  0  0   Nm          0  0  0  0  0

{WC: 216}

[bone]

Josh Devlin

66 - 49 = 17! Average difficulty. As Lotad is neutral against Grass types, and you've already written 216 words, your target's 184 words.7XIMclsr