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.
When Faolan was gearing up for another long, arduous walk from city to route to wherever she ended up next, she had deliberated over which pokemon to take with her on the trek through Route 7 and beyond. Although fussy at first - probably from all the walking they'd done recently, if she had to be honest - Reddy begrudgingly let Fembra put on his leash and harness ... and then immediately ran to Faolan to tuck himself back into his pokeball with a peck of his beak. Faolan deliberated over whether or not to swap him out, but in the end decided to keep him in her current roster, which wasn't really as diverse as she would have liked. But she'd had luck with wild pokemon so far, so perhaps this time her luck would hold out?
The road seemed to be more rugged, with rough terrain surrounding the clean-cut path leading to what looked like a dense gathering of trees far off in the distance. The egg she had been hatching broke open to reveal and Axew, and she had stayed in Pine Town for some time before heading back to Birch to explore the other paths that led out of the city. There were a few swarms she had heard of that piqued her interest, especially with the species that people said were gathering. A few she recognized from Galar, either as natives specifically to the region or ones that spanned a couple other areas, like Kanto or Hoenn.
She looked down at Fembra beside her, who actually was starting to look a little weary, though she perked up when she noticed her master's eye on her. The fierce way her brows had evolved made her look meaner than usual, but there was still a shy aversion of her eyes every time she drew attention, a habit she hadn't quite been able to shake. Faolan gave her one of her rare smiles and reached over to gently pat the lizard on the back of her single head-horn, and Fembra trotted along just that more confidently.
It seemed that all around her the vast plains stretched out, far as the eye can see and yet with nary a person or camping tent in sight. In Galar such a thing would have been common; stumbling across trainers and their pokemon making camp and curry, their presence marked by a lazy spiral of smoke curling high into the air. But here it seemed that few, if any, people enjoyed the outdoors as much as the natives of Galar, and that was a little curious. It wasn't as though the weather was particularly bad or anything, and with the recent tourist boom she'd have expected more people to be out and about, especially those that weren't necessarily from this area. But, then again, perhaps the hotels in all the cities were offering such steal-worthy discounts that people could hardly pass up the luxuries of staying in a room to the experience of roughing it outdoors.
Given the chance, she probably would have chosen to stay in a room, every time. She didn't want to imagine what kind of trouble Reddy would get up to outdoors, surrounded by flammable materials and a hyperactive personality. Those things usually tended not to mesh well together.
As they passed a particularly large rock, inviting only the bravest of babies to jump off of it (which she was glad Reddy wasn't around for), she became acutely aware of a low droning hum that seemed to permeate the air from all sides. Fembra immediately started looking this way and that, worry and trepidation etched onto her features, and when she spotted the source of the sound she pointed a clawed fingertip off to the northeast, where something largely green-and-red was zooming at them with remarkable speed.
Fembra immediately came to stand in front of her master, working as a makeshift blockade between Faolan and the pokemon as it approached. She huffed, sending a shower of embers into the open air which quickly evaporated into a smoky warning for the pokemon to stay away. The creature, which Faolan recognized as a Yanma, stopped for a moment to hover in the air a few feet away, flitting this way and that and peering at them whilst rubbing two of his front arms together. It didn't attack right off, which was a relief, but it just... looked at them. Was it out of curiosity? Did it need something? It was hard to tell. Fembra voiced her concerns in a raspy "char, char" whilst staring the Yanma down, and it responded with a sound that was a mixture of a buzz and a vibrating sound wave, the effect a little warped and surreal to Faolan's human ears. Fembra's posture relaxed in increments and she tilted her head in a curious way, then looked from it to Faolan, and then back again.
Slowly, the Yanma approached, and while it hovered around Fembra's head for just a moment it didn't take long for him to approach Faolan to inspect her more curiously. As it did, she noted that there was a ... sad, lonely look in its eyes. As she reached up to touch it it was quick to dart away but then, growing more comfortable, it slowly flitted back and gently alighted on her shoulder. Perhaps it simply wanted a bit of company? Or did it want to be captured? She wasn't too sure, but it wasn't doing any harm so far, so she had no issues with it staying where it was. Eventually, Fembra's own demeanour began to visibly relax, and they continued on with the Yanma for a little while - eventually it jumped up, hovering around Faolan's shoulder and head before zipping forward and then back, constantly moving - before he eventually gave them a little wave and darted off into the skies.
Although in considerably better spirits since the Yanma had darted away, that didn't keep Fembra from peering watchfully around the area every so often as though she were either waiting for the creature to come back, or else she was wary of any other pokemon approaching from a distance. There weren't much areas for any wayward pokemon to hide, save for the occasional rock or copse of trees that they occasionally passed by, but from time to time there was a wandering herd or group of pokemon that came close enough that Fembra tensed up, ready to attack should she need.
Faolan would be lying if she said she didn't find it somewhat admirable. It was a different scene than when she had first gotten her, when Fembra was so shy she wouldn't even look at Faolan, much less other people. While she still retained much of her timidness, the blonde could tell that she was growing in increments.
It was as they were passing through another copse of trees that Fembra took note of a group of Fomantis snoozing peacefully in the branches overhead, soaking up the sun's rays as best they could beneath a canopy of leaves. One or two of them had eyes half open, watching the arrival and departure of Faolan and her pokemon, but the didn't actually move to attack straight away. Which was a good thing, since there were so many of them, but considering Faolan's arsenal of two ready-to-go fire-types, she imagined it wouldn't be quite so much of a challenge.
They cleared the tree relatively quickly and were soon back on the path cut through the grass leading to the mountainous areas, but then all of a sudden they were set upon by a Lopunny springing into view. Although Fembra was immediately in the defensive, she soon relaxed when she saw the pokemon wasn't quite attacking but was just.. dancing. It was an odd little dance, and really looked more like something out of a videogame than something done naturally by any living creature, and both Faolan and Fembra stood staring oddly at it for quite some time as it performed for them.
When it was done it did a hearty little backflip and struck a pose, and then held out both its hands for... money? Was that supposed to be a street performance? Oh dear. As much as she would love to give her hard-earned money to a Lopunny trying to make a quick Pen (which translated to she would very much not like to give her money away on something that lasted all of two seconds) she didn't really have enough on her to afford parting with, and so she met the Lopunny's expectant pan-handling with a shake of her head. "Sorry - I'm actually a little skint myself," She answered, and the pokemon gave an odd look. Realizing that perhaps some slang was lost on the creature, she went on to explain. "I don't have any money. Sorry." Though her apology did sound less genuine that time around, and it showed in the way the Lopunny's eyes narrowed and her - his? - breath came out in a slight huff.
Before either of them could react, the Lopunny charged at them in a high-speed tackling Return attack, smashing into Fembra who had dived to intercept any potential damage to her trainer. As tiny as she was, Fembra was easily knocked back several feet from the impact, but she was quick to dig her claws in the dirt underneath to keep from rolling back any further, the motion causing a few small rocks and gravel to tumble into small piles around her feet. The Lopunny bounced back and took on a different stance, mimicking something a martial artist might do (did this area have any Hitmonlee? Medicham? Who knew) and bouncing from foot to foot as he waited for Fembra to recover. At least there was some honor in that.
By the time Fembra staggered to her feet, Faolan had moved a bit away, giving the pair of them a wide berth to get to it. It was obvious the Lopunny was going to take his payment in battle, and it wasn't long before he was rushing Fembra with another Return attack, albeit the fire-type was ready for it this time. Like before the impact sent her reeling back, but with her feet dug into the ground as leverage she was able to hold her own and swung her Scratch attack wide and far at Faolan's command, aiming to cover as much area as she could on the Lopunny. The Pokemon responded by using Fembra's head as a kick off point and launching itself high into the air before coming down in a hearty Bounce and knocking Fembra into the dirt.
This was bad - the Lopunny had not just size advantage, but also strength advantage, and Fembra could be easily bested if this kept up. There was Reddy as well, who was a little closer to the Lopunny in size, but just as Faolan moved to switch out their pokeballs Fembra let out an aggressive growl that erupted into a roar of Embers the flames spitting far and wide and igniting some of the nearest dry grass on fire. It erupted into a small blaze which caught the Lopunny's attention, enough that Fembra could rush forward and begin a barrage of Outrage attacks that pummeled the Lopunny in front of her violently. The Lopunny at first could deflect it, but with Fembra's persistence and her determination she eventually wore her down, and with a swing of her tail bashed into Lopunny's shin hard enough it had the pokemon crouching down in pain. Not wanting the blaze to extend any more, Faolan released her as-of-yet unnamed Aron and had him use Mud-Slap to smother the fire as Fembra reeled from the sudden onset of dizziness that overexertion had caused her.
The Lopunny still had enough fight in him to continue, but just barely, and as Fembra continued to reel from confusion, the pokemon began to slowly get to its feet -
- only to be hit with a Mud-Slap to the face as Aron turned and concentrated its spew of mud on him instead. With a cry the Lopbunny began swiping at his eyes, but just when he got it free Aron would spit out another barrage of Mud-Slap again and again until the pokemon gave a huff and flopped onto his stomach. Not necessarily fainted, but exhausted enough he didn't want to put forth any more effort in trying to clear his vision. This makeshift tantrum eventually turned into a nap, and Faolan company were allowed to pass without much incident... for now. Aron, who had dealt the "finishing blow" so to speak, snorted air on him as they passed by, until Faolan saw fit to return him to his ball.
Although initially concerned that Mudbray hadn't seen fit to jump out of his ball and start spewing up mud everywhere, Faolan was undoubtedly glad this wasn't the case. But she had to wonder how often it needed to run-around-slash-eat-mud in order to be content.
Eventually, out of the kindness of her heart she decided to just let it out of its pokeballs so it could run around, and it did this gladly with a great braying and a kicking of little donkey legs. Faolan watched it buck and thrash about exuberantly from where she was currently seated on a rock, taking a small rest and simply enjoying the peace and solitude the route offered her. It wasn't as noisy as the hustle and bustle of Birch when she'd first arrived, nor was it as busy as Circhester, especially around the tourist season. She had to admit, though, that the hot springs were one particular staple that she missed about her hometown; she remembered hours spent sitting with her feet in the water, chatting with her friends about... really nothing at all.
Perhaps there wasn't much to miss after all. The nostalgia was nice, but the memories associated with it were actually rather lacking. The only good thing that really came out of Circhester was...
Her fingers strayed to the broken capsule device around her neck, a minimized, broken pokeball with scratches all over its surface. Beside her, Fembra gave her a curious look and came over with a soft, but raspy growl of concern, and Faolan reached over to run her fingers softly over the back of her head - as much a comfort as it was providing. Fembra caught her eye and a quiet look appeared on her features, her head tilting towards her master - before there was an aggravated chomping noise and she yelped, turning around to see an oddly colored Zigzagoon with its chompers around her tail.
Fembra immediately swung it wide, pulling it and the Zigzagoon sharply veering to the side, and the creature unlatched and rolled in the dirt until it came up on all four paws again, tongue lolling out as its tail swayed from side to side. Before Fembra could react the creature was bristling - though the fur on its back started to look more hard, more sharp, and eventually it fired off a barrage of Pin Missiles right as Fembra darted to the side. The needles embedded themselves in the dirt right where Fembra had stood, and she let out a huff of breath as she looked from it to the Zigzagoon before her. Faolan recognized the creature, specifically this variant, as being native to the Galar region, though admittedly she'd never seen one with that kind of coloring before. They were rather notorious for fighting, so it was unsurprising that they had been attacked so quickly.
The Zigzagoon immediately began to rush forward, head down to Headbutt Fembra in whatever area he could reach. At Faolan's command Fembra immediately started spewing out a barrage of flames to slow the pokemon's approach with an Ember attack, which worked - for a few moments, at least, until the Zigzagoon powered through and head met body with a resounding slam as his attack hit. Although he had faint scorch marks on his forehead and snout from the flames, that didn't stop him from bristling with another Pin Missile attack as Fembra raked her claws along his torso, Scratching with enough force that the Zigzagoon's attack was halted mid-fire and he leapt back with a growl. Kicking up a pile of dirt and debris, the pokemon scrambled to rush forward into another Headbutt attack just as Faolan hurled a Nest ball at it with all her strength. The pokemon disappeared in a flash of red light, and the ball fell to the ground to beginshaking.
Faolan let out a breath when the pokeball inevitably stopped shaking and moved to check on Fembra. Aside from being a little shaken up, she was fine, and after brushing dirt off of herself with a huff she moved obediently to retrieve the Nest ball from where it lay nestled in the dirt. She brought it back to Faolan who, after taking it, found herself immediately set upon by Mudbray and her mouth full of mud, which she smeared happily on Faolan's pants leg as she approached.
The blonde let out a sigh, but gave the creature a pat on the head regardless. It looked like there were more than one pokemon she'd have to give a lecture to about staying filthy. Her mind thought back to the Cufant she had encountered on another route and she grimaced. Perhaps she'd better start with her Mudbray, then work her way up to giving the elephant a talking-to about throwing its filth around.
The pokeball that Fembra had picked up immediately disappeared, whisked away to a PC box somewhere where it would be taken care of. For now, she continued on her way. Mudbray seemed content to trot alongside her - for now - occasionally stopping to bury her nose in some particularly delicious-looking mud, but was not too inclined to cause trouble.
Her Mudbray varied her pace as she walked; occasionally she would trot along fast and quick, and then slow down to a gentle crawl as she examined the fauna and occasional pokemon herds that passed them by. Rarely did she run too far out of sight, which was a welcome change from Reddy who Faolan imagined would blast into space if she didn't have a handle on him. She wondered if he would retain the same mannerisms when he evolved.
Fembra remained at a casual gait beside her trainer, and like before she kept an ear and eye out for anything that might approach from out of the blue. The few pokemon groups that wandered past never got close enough to make her too alarmed, however large or small they may be, and at some point she relaxed enough that she stopped whipping her head around at every little sound or scent, and retained a casual stroll beside Faolan.
It was as they were starting to ascend a hill that Mudbray came back, something small and blue clutched in her mouth. She made a gesture with her head to Faolan, encouraging her to hold her hand out, but it was Fembra who did so instead, and found a small Oran berry deposited in her claws. And then another, and then another. She made a grimace but tried to look encouraging as Mudbray brayed loudly in her face, and hurried to clean them off as the big donkey ran off to go kick up grass and mud and whatever else it could get into.
Faolan was grateful that she didn't have any additional eggs to worry about as she tucked the berries away, though she knew there were several more she'd have to look into hatching at some point. While she felt she had lucked out with the Axew - who had done nothing but sleep since she emerged into the world, tiny thing that it was - she didn't expect her luck to much improve if she ended up with additional eggs. Rideable, mountable pokemon and a dragon-type? Her bad luck was bound to kick in at some point, right? But when she really thought about it, there weren't that many pokemon that she actively disliked, and the temptation to try her luck at the town's next Gacha machine was high.
But no, she needed to save her money in the event that something happened that was out of her control. She could only rely on small-time jobs so much, especially with how busy the boat that took her to this region had been, and how much more busier it was bound to get with the flyers and tourism adverts.
She was drawn out of her thoughts when she heard another loud braying, slightly farther than it had ever been. She glanced up to see her still-young Mudbray hopping and skipping back, decreasing its speed until she was trotting along at an easy gait that she kicked out of every few moments. There weren't three bright blue berries in her mouth this time, but she did march right up to Faolan and Fembra - who was already outstretching her claws in preparation - and start making horrendous gagging noises. A bit of mud came up along with a stick or two, and then - two perfectly good Nest Balls, unscratched and unmarked.
Fembra went to work cleaning them and checking to make sure if they had any pokemon in them - a good idea, since Faolan wasn't entirely sure if she could trust the Mudbray not to just outright rob another trainer on the path even though she hadn't seen anyone else walking this way yet - before handing them off to Faolan to tuck away for later use.
They ascended the hill without much incident, and it was there that Faolan decided to take a quick rest. Although Fembra didn't seem too bothered by the walk, Faolan could see it in the way her steps maybe struggled a little as they came up the sloping rocky path, despite how Mudbray seemed content to nudge along at her back as though helping. Fembra was small enough that she could ride the donkey without bothering her too much, but the lizard pokemon was much too shy for that, of course.
There was a small group of struggling trees that provided ample enough shade for them to rest in, and Faolan found a good perch on a rock that she took up while Fembra sat down beside her. The pokemon let out a huff, but looked to her master curiously, a silent question in her eyes that was answered only with a wry smile as Faolan took out her phone to go over how much further they had to go. It looked like they were a little over halfway there, so it wasn't too bad. She found herself wishing, not for the first time, that either the Mudbray or the Ponyta she'd brought with her were large enough to ride, or maybe even that she'd had the foresight to invest in a bicycle when she had the chance to.
The sun reappeared behind a passing cloud and Faolan caught the glint of something metallic on the ground. Curious, she stood - just as she caught sight of a round, blue eye whirling around to peer at her, a metallic ringing sounding through the area. Banner fluttering in the breeze, the Honedge reared up to hover just a little bit over her head, peering this way and that as both Mudbray and Fembra stared at it in confusion. A sword... but a pokemon? It was certainly a confusing sight.
Mudbray spoke first, a braying, obnoxious sound that rang through the air, more questioning than anything. The Honedge whirled around to face it and, spinning itself fluidly in the air, it swung wide and then slashed a Fury Cutter at Mudbray, who immediately let out a panicked cry and hurriedly scooted off to be out of range of the attack - but not without it catching it on the leg. Quickly, Faolan returned the injured donkey to its pokeball and was swift to throw out another; not Reddy, but the young Aron, who hit the ground with a heavy sounding thud and blinked up at the Honedge. The pokemon began to twirl itself with an impressive flourish before spinning forward, and although it missed its shadow extended in a fear-inducing display to attack Aron with a Shadow Sneak.
Aron didn't seem too fussed by it, but instead began to kick up a violent Mud-Slap at Faolan's command; although the Honedge was still spinning away, Aron managed to cover both the pokemon's shadow and then the Pokemon itself as it came spinning back. The move covered the Honedge's eye so it couldn't see the rock it was veering towards that Faolan had very quickly vacated at the start of this battle, and with a sharp grating noise of steel on stone it bounced off of the boulder and embedded itself in the tree the group had been resting under. Aron ran as fast as his little legs could carry him, head bowed, and leapt up to Headbutt the sword deeper into the tree, the entire action causing the plant to shake and rain down a shower of leaves.
They left, the Honedge still trying vainly to free itself but to no avail.
With the sounds of the Honedge still trying to free itself behind them, the now-trio descended the sloping hill at a careful pace. Eventually they moved far enough they couldn't hear it, and Aron's wide-awake and alert eyes was enough for Faolan to let him stay out of the pokeball for a little while longer. A little walk wouldn't hurt it, and it would be nice to stretch its little leggies every once in a while. Aron seemed to hear this in some way - or maybe he was just a little excited to be out and about - because he started to pick up his pace, small as he was, and shuffled valiantly down the slightly rocky decline.
They were a little over halfway when they heard an odd sound, like something rolling through gravel; it was a bit like a car driving up a driveway, but rather if it were speeding down a highway just coated in rocks. Glancing back, she was treated to the bizarre sight of a Fomantis standing on a red and white blur as it sped down the hill straight towards them. She hurriedly moved out of the way, Fembra and Aron at their sides, and they watched as the pokemon zoomed past on its makeshift ride, speeding down to the base of the hill before hitting where it flattened out and quickly zooming off in another direction.
They stood staring for a little while, looking from where the Fomantis and the Voltorb? Had gone before looking at where it had come from. Seeing no other pokemon rolling down the hill, they continued on their way.
The path underfoot had gotten a little more even, with less rocks and a more smooth, paved road for her to take. Fembra climbed down from a particularly rocky slope carefully, Aron just tumbling along ahead with nary a care in the world. The immediate path ahead curved over a few more gently rising hills and even more clumps of trees, with the occasionally gathering of flowers a few feet off the path. Although Fembra looked longingly at them, she was more concerned with keeping an eye out for any additional pokemon, of which there seemed to be much of lately. Aron just continued on his way, unbothered, and eventually they all fell into step together, though kept pace with the tiny iron creature.
As they proceeded along the path, Faolan's attention was drawn to the occasional herd of pokemon that would pop up, either milling about around the occasional flowerfields or else napping peacefully under a lone tree. The entire atmosphere was actually rather peaceful, tranquil even, and she found herself not for the first time appreciating the fact she had come out here. If she had a tent she might even try camping, but having never actually been out roughing it she didn't think that would be a very good idea.
A few Roserade emerged from a grouping of flowers not too far off, and Fembra kept her gaze readily on them as they passed through. But the pokemon only waved back, and they were left largely to their own devices, especially when a rather puffy looking Jigglypuff floated by on a passing breeze. The pokemon gave them a wide berth, the challenge of battle barely a possibility, and as they passed by Aron lifted his little head up to watch it float along, a look of longing in his eyes. Someday he would fly. Someday.
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Lv20 
