Pokemon: Aschen Adventures (IC)

[Gorgondantess]

It's mid-spring, and the happy little town of Heartsome in southwestern Aschen is sunny as always. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUTXj6p4V8I&feature=watch_response) Today is particularly balmy, delightfully warm but not so hot or humid that it saps the strength: rather, it's quite invigorating. Sunbathers can be found littering the beach, and children splash in the crystal clear waters.
Heartshome is a wannabe resort town. It has its tourist district, for sure, but it's small and hardly turns a profit: lacking anything but the smallest of ports and far away from the nearest port, only the most determined tourist manages to reach Heartshome. Those that do, however, are rewarded with lovely, clean beaches and, best of all, a place away from the hustle and bustle of other resort cities.
At its core, Heartshome is truly a suburb, a place for people to settle down and raise some kids. It's clean, it's happy, it's traditional, it's safe.

The only thing suggesting anything beyond the town's sleepy borders, anything more grand, is the Pokemon Center located at the center of the town: gleaming, high-tech and metropolitan, with automatic sliding glass doors and chrome finishings, it's sticks out like a sore thumb, luring prospective trainers to the glory of the Pokemon Championships.
To each of you, in your homes or newly arrived at the town, will you answer its call and go down the path that so many have tread, and so few walked to its finish? Or will you tread your own path, and make your own distinct mark on the world?

[Bad Situation]

A young man of about seventeen years of age stomped through the sandy beaches, leaving the ferry behind him. Dark hair, dark eyes, and a face filled with something not dissimilar to annoyance.
In an attempt to forget his admittedly bad mood, he made the effort of plastering a large grin onto his face.

It didn't work.

The uniform was perhaps his most prominent feature. He seemed to wear it perfectly, almost like a second skin. With his tie impeccably tied in a full windsor knot, everything seemed so prim and proper, even as his lips turned downward into his trademark frown.

The only thing defining his role as a Pokemon trainer was the buzzing ball of steel that hovered around his ear.

"Let's go Ender, we'll be cutting straight across the desert to save time."

A horrible idea really, but if Ender had any objections he didn't voice them. Because in a matter of hours his trainer would complain of the sand and heat and demand they take an alternate route.

Ender knew his trainer a little too well.

[Ajadea]

Adela scarfs down another bite of food. Oatmeal, she thought, though she really wasn't paying attention at the moment. It was filling, anyways, and that was the priority. Around her, she was aware of the rest of her family getting ready to start another semi-normal day. The chief difference being that she wouldn't be around to make a mess of things any more. She scrapes the bowl again huh, so it was oatmeal and, finding it quite empty, shoves it away.

"Vichi, we're going," she calls, standing up and grabbing her clanking backpack. The Riolu gives her a dark look, but nods, grabbing another poffin off the table and following her, bouncing up and down in seeming excitement.

Adela glances at Vichi, but says nothing as they head out the door, towards Route 423. The trainer, Vichi knew, was hard to live with. He didn't like her. But she wasn't an idiot. Not that much.

[OrchestraHc]

T.J. zipped around his room, bursting with energy from the goodbye breakfast his parents made for him. He had every little thing he needed from Antidote to toothbrush lining a circle around his room. He packed every single thing into his backpack and when he was done he went over everything in a mental checklist. A Slowpoke sitting on the bed let out a long yawn. "Sorry if this bores you, Dancho. I'm just being a worry-wort. I'm done, so we can go now." He returned his partner to his pokeball and placed it on his belt.

With a final goodbye to his family, he took first step out the door and onward toward his journey. Walking down the street, his mind couldn't help but wander back to his list. I could stand to buy a few more pokeballs, but I do want to get to Route 423 soon. What the heck, Sandberg has a pokemon center. If I need more, I can just buy them there. He picked up speed as he headed for Route 423, almost skipping with excitement.

[BluesEclipse]

As he steps off of the boat and onto the docks of Heartshome, Gavin mutters to himself. "If any of what I've heard is true, the Garin Desert is a very inhospitable place... and far too dangerous for me to simply go traipsing about. One would think they'd have given me some help for this... but then, I suppose they don't have anyone else who'd even understand the importance of this mission." Looking around, he notes where everything is, and then pulls out his Pokedex for a moment, looking at the request again. "I suppose I'll need to work towards gathering other Pokemon, if I'm going to trek into the desert. And if I can find a couple of lackeys to handle the menial tasks while I go, so much the better..."

[Gorgondantess]

As Gavin pulls out his pokedex- and each of the others, respectively, are just about to head out- the light on it begins flashing, and the thing begins wailing noisily. On the display, in large flashing letters, reads:
"Calling all Pokemon Trainers- Crisis at Heartshome Pokemon Center", and an option to either accept or dismiss the call.
Of course, you have no obligation in particular to respond, especially as (for the most part) novice trainers, but doing so will result in both experience and exposure- the ultimate goal of many pokemon trainers.
Accepting results in a GPS feed giving the fastest route to the Pokemon Center.
Refusing shuts the damn thing up and lets you go about your business as normal.

[BluesEclipse]

Sighing, Gavin looks at the Pokedex. "Hmmm... I suppose it may be worthwhile to look into this. These kinds of situations always attract naive fools - I might find someone capable enough to actually work for me on this... Hitting the "Accept" button on the Pokedex, and looking at the map that comes up, his lips curl upward into a smug smirk. "Besides, having the favor of the League officials and law enforcement here can only help my goals..." Following the directions given on the Pokedex, Gavin strides off towards the Pokemon Center, his hand moving to his Pokeball.

[Ajadea]

Adela flips her Pokedex open with one hand, hits 'refuse' with her thumb, then wheels around and heads for the Pokemon center, moving with only the most minor consideration for traffic laws. She'd lived here her whole life, the last thing she needed was directions to the only landmark in town! Well, besides the waterfront. Behind her, Vichi swiftly catches up, then tries to run past her. "Slow, Vichi. Now follow."

Reluctantly, the Riolu slows down to match his trainer's pace as they cross the streets and head for the Pokemon Center. He could have gotten there before her, he knows it. But it probably wasn't a good idea to argue right now.

[Bad Situation]

There was not an ounce of hesitation as Nathan pressed the 'Accept' button. Inwardly he smirked, this was a good chance for him to make a name for himself as an up and coming trainer. With hardly another thought, he kicked wildly through the sand, following the directions as described by the Pokedex.

"Looks like we're making a slight detour Ender."

...and cursed as the sand entered his shoes.

[OrchestraHc]

The sound of a police siren and a strong vibration in his back pocket caused T.J. to stumble forward. He pulled out the little red device making the racket to see what was the matter. "Huh!? Crisis at the Pokemon Center?" He had been made aware that the pokedex had this feature, but was at least under the assumption he'd have more Pokemon before the first alarm. "I've only got one pokemon and we aren't particularly strong," he said as he hovered his finger over the Decline button. "Dancho doesn't even know Water Gun." T.J. laughed to himself half-heartedly. "There's probably someone way more qualified to handle this. I'd just make things worse." He gave a sad sigh and brought his finger down on the button.

"GPS DIRECTIONS TO THE POKEMON CEN-" T.J. flipped the pokedex closed mid-directions and stuffed it into his back pocket.

"I know the way." T.J. started running for the pokemon center at top speed. If people and Pokemon are in danger, I can't just assume it's someone else's problem. This would either be the perfect start to his adventure or an absolutely disastrous one. The entire run T.J. was praying it was the former.

[Gorgondantess]

As you near the pokemon center, you see a small group arranged before it. By one building is a few people tending to a quivering, blood-spattered nurse. Aside from that, there are a few onlookers milling about (and keeping their distance), and a couple trainers rushing towards it, ahead of you, with pokemon at the ready (an aron and pidgeotto, respectively). At the Pokemon center itself, it's filled with smoke, and nothing can be seen inside except for brief orange flashes through the smoke. Metallic thuds can be heard coming from it.
The first trainer with the pidgeotto shouts, "Get 'em! Aerial Ace!"
Nothing can be heard nor seen for a few moments after that, and silence fills the air. It's dispersed, however, as the pidgeotto is sent hurtling through one of the two windows, shattering the glass and falling to the ground outside. There's pieces of the window stuck in its flesh, and it leaves a smear of blood across the ground.
"No!" The trainer shouts, and runs over to the pidgeotto, pulling out a potion and administering it, but it seems to be of no use: the thing isn't breathing. The trainer is blubbering, sobbing. He pulls out another potion, but again, to no avail.
A tall man who was tending to the nurse- a cop, judging by the badge (and bulletproof vest, and riot helmet, and shotgun) runs over to the trainer, laying a hand on his shoulder.
"Do you have any other pokemon?"
The trainer shakes his head.
"Then get out of here before you're killed too."
He gently pushes the trainer off, who runs away.
The trainer with the aron shakes his head, backing off. "Screw this! I'm out of here." He withdraws his aron, and follows the other trainer.
The cop shakes his head, muttering an expletive, then shouting to the rest of the people there.
"Any of you others with pokemon, get over here and listen up."
He pulls a Pokedex MP (Military-Police) from his belt, reading. "Dexter here says we've got... a normal type, probably something big like a granbull... one from the charmander line, that's making the flashes and smoke, not a charizard judging from the height, though... and whatever used Circle Throw on the pidgeotto."
With that, he puts the pokedex away.
"And I say there are three members of Team Eclectia in there. And at least one of them has a gun."
He kneels down, looking over all of you and speaking in a more hushed voice.
"So. I'm going to get under one of the windows there. As soon as the smokescreen clears, I'll take down one of them, and that'll give you a chance to run in with your pokemon through the front doors. Sound good?"

[Ajadea]

Adela's eyes widen in shock at the scene, and when the Pidgeotto falls to the ground dead when it hit the ground a cooler part of her mind notes, it is all she can do to keep Vichi from charging in there and smashing things to pieces. "Normal, Charmander, Cirle Throw," she mutters, piecing basic information together. "Vichi, you need to listen to me, got that? This is our first big battle, and it's my job to make sure you don't end up like that bird on the ground." It is only after the words leave her mouth that she realizes exactly what she said. Nice going, idiot. That's not going to demoralize him at all, she thinks to herself scathingly.

"Good enough," she calls back to the officer when the other calls of agreement begin. Let's hope no one screws this up more...

[BluesEclipse]

Looking at the few trainers assembled here, even as he listens to the officer's briefing, Gavin nods to himself. The Normal type would be an ideal target... I'd have a disadvantage against whatever it is that has Circle Throw. Pulling his Pokeball into his hand, Gavin nods, saying, "Garan and I can deal with the Normal-type... it's the most advantageous match I can see, given the moves that Garan knows." Watching the building, and glancing at the other trainers, he thinks, Team Eclectia... they're nothing more than a bunch of thugs, according to what I was told, but still... I'll want to keep myself at as little risk as possible.

[Bad Situation]

Nathan winces as the bloodied bird skids against the ground. It reminded him vaguely of the accidents that were ever so common in the city. His sensibilities told him (reasonably so) that he should be afraid, something capable of taking down an evolved Pokemon was definitely dangerous. But it certainly was intriguing. Danger most certainly colored the lives of any trainer, the sooner he adapted the sooner he would be able to brush it off.

Quickly schooling his expression he flipped open his Pokedex to scan the dead bird, "Waste not, want not..."

Face an expressionless mask, he stepped forward, motioning for Ender to follow from behind. "Keep up high Ender, I'd hate for something to happen to you simply because I was careless."

A faint buzzing was all he would receive in return.

[OrchestraHc]

When the pidgeotto hit the ground T.J.'s hand flew over his heart. It felt like it was going to burst out of his chest. He fell in when the police officer called the trainers in and listened intently. "If whatever has Circle Throw is fighting type, I might have a chance," telling those around him as much as he was telling himself. He drew his pokeball, took a deep breath and got set to run into the building.

While preparing to go in, he noticed one of the trainers, an older boy, had stopped to scan the dead pidgeotto. "Morbid." The words slipped past his lips before he could stop himself. He covered his mouth, turned his head and hoped the trainer hadn't noticed.

[Bad Situation]

Nathan had noticed, and the surprised that had momentarily registered on the boy's face wasn't too unexpected. Still, it did sting to be labeled so easily. "Listen kid, I want to get down to the bottom of this as much as you do, but squirming at the first sight of blood definitely isn't the right way to go."

He was surprised at how easily the words were coming out of his mouth, but he didn't plan on stopping there, "Pokemon training is, and always has been a dangerous business. If you plan on 'being the best there ever was' you're going to see plenty of these scenes in the future. If you're going to let something like this squick you out, just go home and save your parents the grief. Everybody has a story to tell, don't be ashamed if your story doesn't involve Pokemon training."

It was hypocritical, he knew. And at some point in his speech, Nathan wasn't sure if he was trying to convince the himself or the kid. Regardless, he kept his expression level, face impassive throughout. Though, ending with a slight smirk near the end.

"The name's Nathaniel Frost," he finished, extending his hand.

[Ajadea]

At the trainer's words, Adela turns to examine him. He looked like a bit of a wimp, and too pale to have lived around Aschen for long. He looked a bit younger than her-a year, maybe two. Probably just the one year-she herself was a bit young to be here, and a thirteen year old kid wandering around with a dex would have raised eyebrows and questions about abuse. The pages on Circle Throw finished loading, and she grinned at it.

"Pretty limited move, Circle Throw. Whismur line, Poliwrath, Buneary line, Riolu line-no it's an egg move, Vichi, you're not throwing anyone anywhere," she snaps at the Riolu looking up at her with a wistful expression on its face. "Kangaskan, Throh. That's it. Half of those are Normal, half Fighting." She says the last sentence much louder, so that people could hear her. Nothing people couldn't look up on their dexs, but most wouldn't. "Bet you wish you had a good Fighting type like Vichi here now; we might have two Normals on our hands-oh, and Lucario is weak to Fighting as well."

When the second boy speaks, Adela glances to him. He looked near as skinny as the other kid, though a good bit taller. More ready for school than a battle, though the floating...whatever...behind him would correct your mistake in any case. "Adela," she says curtly.

[OrchestraHc]

"I'm sorry! That slipped out. That was wrong to say." T.J. had turned back to the the trainer when called out. His hands still covered his mouth, but his fingers were lifted so he could at least be heard. "It's not the blood, he replied, never looking him in the eye, "but to scan a pokemon that just died feels so..." He searched for a word that fit. "Insensitive? Disrespectful?" His hand slapped his mouth again and he gave a sigh. His hands fell to his side and his head drooped. "Sorry."

He was surprised to also hear a reaction to what he had said earlier. "Fifty-Fifty is good enough odds for me to try a Psychic type." He had noticed he was the only of them not to have introduced himself. "Also, sorry, I'm Timothy , b-but I like T.J. better." T.J. took the outstretched hand and tried to shake it firmly, though he probably fell short and apologized afterward.

[Ajadea]

"No one's going to take you seriously if you keep apologizing and stuttering," Adela says sharply after two rather bone-crushing handshakes that you'd expect from a Machoke rather more than a lean teenage girl no taller than T.J. who apparently felt a need to dye her hair dark blue. "So, who feels like kicking the ass of a bunch of psychos?"

[Bad Situation]

"Stop apologizing over nothing, it's starting to annoy me," Nathan intoned.

What was up with this kid he wondered. He hadn't been half as spineless at that age. Or respectful. Or talkative. Or friendly. Okay, so the kid was a lot of things he wasn't. He kept this in mind as he continued.

"Confidence is a virtue," smirking to himself he added, "and I just so happen to be a saint."

[Ajadea]

Adela slaps Nathan with her free hand, using her other hand to control Vichi. "That arrogance is at least as annoying as his lack of a backbone. Except pride's more likely to get you killed than a crushing inability to do anything without feeling sorry about it first. And here I thought you were the decent sort."

[Bad Situation]

Nathan reels from the stinging slap, but bites down a retort. "I am the decent sort, I'm the decent sort who understands and recognizes when a nervous kid needs a little reassurance."

[OrchestraHc]

"Sorr-" T.J. Smacked himself on the forehead to prevent further annoyance. "Stop apologizing. Got it." He expected he'd come off as a wimp. Just not so quickly. "Also, thank you both for your concern, but it isn't a crushing inability. I just tend to say or do things and then immediately worry if I've offended somone or hurt their feelings and then I end up regretting everything." He thought about that for a moment. "Okay, that is pretty crushing. S-" He hit himself on the forehead again. "Can I go back to apologizing, please? I'm going to hurt my self like this."

[Bad Situation]

"No. That pain is good. It means you're making some sort of effort."

Going to sleep.

[Ajadea]

Adela shrugs with one shoulder. It wasn't very easy to shrug with the other, given that Vichi was basically hanging off it and trying to either make his trainer let go of him or drag her with him into the Pokemon Center. To her credit, Adela doesn't even seem to be that annoyed with the overexcited, passionate, young Pokemon.

"It's not my problem if you look like an idiot or a wimp," she points out. "Just...don't waste your breath on apologizing to the nutcases in there. You'll have enough problems breathing at all, with that smoke."

[BluesEclipse]

Watching the three young trainers banter, Gavin shakes his head slightly. That Nathan boy... he doesn't seem too nervous. The girl, as well... perhaps they could be useful. Stepping forward as he releases Garan from his Pokeball, he says, "Gavin Walker. I'm a researcher, but I've had my share of battles." Looking them over, his eyes rest on each of them briefly before he continues, "Since we're going to be battling together... please try not to do anything stupid?" Turning his gaze back towards the building, Gavin sighs, thinking, We'll see if any of them are actually capable...

[OrchestraHc]

In an attempt to seem competent to this new face, a futile one due to the pink mark that had formed on his forehead, T.J. stood up straight and tried his best to look Gavin in the eye. How short the man was surprised him. It was rare that T.J. had someone his own age or older than him that he could actually look down on.

Surpressing an urge to apologize for being taller, T.J. introduced himself. "Hello, I'm Timothy, o-or T.J. if you prefer something simpler," he said making very sure to avoid the word "shorter". "Or have you already heard my name? I'm sorr- I'm mean, I'm sort of new at pokemon training, so I hope I don't get in your way." He began to smile cautiousy as he nervously twiddled his fingers over Dancho's pokeball.

[BluesEclipse]

As the young trainer finishes speaking, Gavin replies, "Fine, fine... just don't get in the way." Turning to the others, he says, "We'll want to be cautious... from everything I've heard about Team Eclectia, they're all to willing to attack both trainers and Pokemon that go against them." That said, maybe I should find a weapon of some sort for my own use... Gavin looks around, to see if there's anything nearby that might serve as a weapon.

Gavin will look for a Pole Weapon, Thrown Weapon, or Blunt Weapon, in order of preference, if one is nearby.

[Bad Situation]

Nathan didn't make it a habit of talking to strange older men, and he didn't intend on making an exception today. Especially older men considerably shorter than himself. He made a noncommittal grunt and turned back to the smoking door.

[Gorgondantess]

Nearly the instant you're all done talking- as you've been far too distracted to be actually paying attention to what's going on- you notice that what's beyond the smoke has finally become quite distinct. In fact...
The cop lunges up and drops his shotgun down on the broken window, breaking what glass is there, and with a loud thud fires and resumes his cover.
"****!"
Rushing forward, you can see inside the pokemon center.
Just inside the door and to the right is a feral looking charmeleon, and opposite him is a man in colourful clothing writhing on the ground. His arm is barely attached at the shoulder, and he's currently bleeding copiously. There is a rifle that's fallen to the floor next to him.
To the far right and closest to the door is a dead chansey, riddled with burns, slashes and bullet wounds. The pool of blood around it is beginning to dry.
In the other right corner of the room is where the nurse would usually be, behind her the instant restorative unit. Instead, however, there's a man in a jester costume and holding a pistol, with an ursaring behind him. It seems that it was the ursaring that was making the thudding, as it's panting and foaming at the mouth, standing by a heavy metal door that's been punched in quite a bit. A few more minutes and it would've likely broken through.
Above all this is a sortof balcony: the room is separated into two stories, and the second story overlooks the first. Atop it is a man in an eclectic set of clothing: he wears jackboots, neatly pressed black slacks, a dark gray anorak with hood pulled up, a long-nosed venetian mask (http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.halloweenmart.com/media/core/GOLD_SILVER_VENETIAN_MASK.jpg&imgrefurl=http://jn10.co.uk/fancy-dress-costumes/fancy-dress.php%3Fid%3D462661189%26p%3DVenetian-Mask%26c%3DFancy-Dress-Costume-Accessories&usg=__1GDIw9u9ZXmETZB3Ob3UWQ8YKSQ=&h=800&w=482&sz=68&hl=en&start=36&sig2=qlRB7u0_VxAEYlAuSNhjog&zoom=1&tbnid=mIh2tX1RM2GhDM:&tbnh=169&tbnw=102&ei=u_XZTcLPG4_6swPvltyEDA&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dvenetian%2Bmask%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D128 0%26bih%3D929%26gbv%3D2%26tbm%3Disch0%2C600&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=817&vpy=421&dur=6104&hovh=289&hovw=174&tx=97&ty=185&sqi=2&page=2&ndsp=35&ved=1t:429,r:11,s:36&biw=1280&bih=929), a surgical mask and heavy, dark leather gloves so no bit of his body can be seen. More particularly, he has a brace over one leg (which he is nursing) and a cane.
On the ground below him is a lucario, leaning against the wall and brooding.
Between both of them is a woman. Between, because she has been suspended in midair. She's hanging by a rope around her torso, and as most of her clothes have been stripped off, the rope, blindfold and gag are some of the little decency she has left. That and the blood-spatters. Finally, in some sortof sadistic joke it seems they've duct-taped a gun between her hands, though obviously she can't fire it.
Map. (https://spreadsheets0.google.com/ccc?authkey=CJWSlpUH&hl=en_US&key=tABKR_swOTN_v8DxTtIj61w&hl=en_US&authkey=CJWSlpUH#gid=0) You- and your pokemon- can be positioned G-J 9 & H-I 8 inside the pokemon center, or anywhere from F-K & 10-13 outside.
Finally, a note: this is not going to be the norm. This is going to be as grimdark as it gets. It will get this grimdark again, I assure you, but you may go long stretches without anyone (or anymon) being murdered, or maimed, or violated, or whatever. Intentionally, that is. Sh*t still happens in pokemon battles, and wild pokemon can still seriously injure and even kill people. Anyways, primarily it depends on how long you'll go without seeing Eclectia, or other criminals. I just want you all to know what you're getting into.:smallbiggrin:

[Ajadea]

Adela's grip slackens for a moment when she sees the carnage. Those sick bastards, she thinks, trying without success to look somewhere that isn't bloody or broken. In a flash, Vichi is gone, barreling into the center without a thought. "Dammit, Vichi," she exclaims, dashing in behind him. Her feet slip on the ground, but she ignores that.

Adela skids straight past the Charmeleon and Vichi and puts a foot out to stop herself, ignoring its appearance. Whirling around, she lashes out with an arm, chopping at it as she'd practiced before in training. Only now, her target was a real, live, and probably angry Pokemon. Oh well. One couldn't have everything.

"Vichi, Quick Attack!"


Vichi is sensing Aura and is in I8.

Adela Shifts from G11 to I6, trainer action to Attack with Karate Chop [roll0] HIT! (crit on 17-20) [roll1]

Command: Once the Pokemon turns roll around, Vichi Quick Attacks [roll2] HIT! [roll3] to Interrupt the Charmeleon, and then moves toward whichever individual has the most malevolent Aura. Yeah, Adela didn't command that part, but Vichi isn't completely obedient.

Tell me if I did something wrong, okay?

[BluesEclipse]

Grimacing at the carnage, Gavin mutters to himself, "Need to stay away from that Lucario..." As he sees the girl rush in, attacking the Charmeleon herself while commanding her own Pokemon to do the same, he nods, and says, "Garan, Tackle the Charmeleon." Slipping into the room, he quickly ducks down by the counter.

Starting with Gavin in J10, Garan in I10.

Gavin Shifts to L7, ducking behind the counter.

Once Pokemon Actions roll around, Garan shifts to J8 and uses Tackle.
Accuracy Check: [roll0], Damage: [roll1] + [roll2] STAB + 11. The attack adds 1d10 per Weight Class Garan is under the Charmeleon, and Garan is WC 5, meaning I can get up to +4d10. I don't have access to the book ATM, so I'll just put the dice rolls here, and you can take the first however many are appropriate: [roll3].

[Bad Situation]

"Grisly," was the only word to describe the scene. There was perhaps a, more suitable term, but at that that very moment vocabulary was the last thing on Nathan's mind. He was scared yes, but it was times like this that reaffirmed his dream of becoming Champion.

"When I'm Champion things like this will never happen again..."

Instead he focused on the Charmeleon, the Lucario, the Ursaring, and the man with the gun. Namely, the more obvious dangers present in the room. Seeing the Charmeleon well in hand, Nathan decided to risk the gunman's attention.

"Ender, blast him down," he calmly ordered.

Drawing the steel baton from his waist, he brandished in defensively in case the Lucario decided to enter the fray.

Ender:
Shift to K8 and use Signal Beam.
[roll0] - Accuracy Check
[roll1] - Damage

Nathan:
Stand guard in H9.

[OrchestraHc]

"Oh my God!" T.J. was standing just outside the pokemon center, trying not to get in the way. He was still in a perfect spot to see everything. The dead pidgeotto didn't frighten him. The scene inside certainly did. Helping the woman hanging from the upper level was the first thing he wanted to do, but the Lucario was sure to stop him. T.J. would have to wait until it was distracted to get up there. He ran in toward the right and released Dancho to attack the Charmeleon. "As soon as you can, Zen Headbutt!"

[OrchestraHc]

Sorry dice roller kicking my ass

T.J. Starts at I10 moves to K9 and releases Dancho at K8
Dancho uses Zen Headbutt
Accuracy Check: [roll0] Minimum Check 4. Enemy Flinches if 15-20.
Damage Check: [roll1] + [roll2] (STAB) + 6

[Gorgondantess]

Adela skims behind the Charmeleon and karate chops it as Vichi leaps through the air, landing feet first on the Charmeleon and sending it flailing back. As the Charmeleon is distracted with the riolu on its face, Dancho charges forwards, headbutting it and sweeping its legs out from under it, bringing both the Charmeleon and Riolu down on it. And, as if in slow motion, the fat, heavy Munchlax ambles forwards, standing above the dogpile, and (somewhat unnecessarily) slams its whole girth into it.
The Charmeleon is quite still.
Ender manages to hit the gunman with a signal beam, sending him reeling and shaking his head. He's still standing, though, and fires off a few shots at Ender- two of them hitting with a loud, metallic "thunk".
Ender spins through the air, but manages to stay afloat. He shakes his head, and decides to go for an easier target- the dogpile. He doesn't care much who he hits, so long as he hits something, and fires off another 3 shots at it. Two hit Garan, and one manages to hit Vichi!
11 damage to Garan, 2 damage to Ender, 4 damage to Vichi.
The man with the cane atop the balcony gestures. "Ursaring... protect your trainer."
The Ursaring turns back, groaning, and lumbers over in front of the man with the gun. Up closer, you can see that the beast is emaciated, malnourished, and exhausted, with bloodshot eyes and a foaming mouth... but still a powerful monster in its own right.
"And Lucario- ready yourself."
The Lucario steps up and assumes a fighting position, eyes closed.
Move order:
Nathan
Adela
Ender
Vichi
Ursaring
T.J.
Dancho
Gavin
Garan

So, the top two go ahead and post your actions, and your pokemon's orders.
Map's updated, too.

[Ajadea]

Adela lets out a hissing breath when a bullet strikes Vichi, but no time to think about that now. She nimbly steps around the dogpile and vaults over the counter, then lunges forward and strikes at the newly released Ursaring. A flash of pity sparks within her when she sees and feels how abused the Ursaring must be, but she quashes it firmly. "Vichi, disengage and Quick Attack!" she yells, sweeping her arm to indicate what she wanted him to target. She was going to save his powerful moves for that Lucario standing smugly in the corner-and Quick Attack was a highly distracting sort of move.

[Bad Situation]

Nathan watched with grim satisfaction, as the gunman stumbled. It was a victory short lived though, as the gunman stood his ground and fired a few shots of his own. He had to make sure he went down, and fast. Risking a glance at the fallen Charmeleon, Nathan dashed across the ruined center waving his baton threateningly, with the intention of drawing the bear and the gunman away from the others. They managed to take down the lizard, maybe he would get lucky with the bear.

The giant brown bear.

Nathan hated his life sometimes.

"Ender, Make sure the gunman goes down this time," came his cool command. Fear was a weapon, one just as dangerous as the gun that threatened to take his life.

Ender:
Shift to P9 and shoot a Gust.
[roll0] - Accuracy Check
[roll1] - Damage (Gust)

Nathan:
Move to M8.

[Gorgondantess]

The Ursaring takes two excellent blows from both Adela and Vichi, and seems almost down... but seems to be through sheer force of will alone still standing. And ready to risk it all in one last attack.
Its trainer- the man atop the balcony, holding the cane- knows this, and directs it accordingly.
"Ursaring- Double Edge!"
The Ursaring spins around, and slamming into Adela with its shoulder, it lunges forwards and up, lifting her into the air and running. As soon as it reaches the counter it slams her down on it, its full weight dropping on her. Her head snaps back to strike the counter's surface, and everything goes dark for her.
The miserable beast, its job done, slumps to the ground.
Ender blasts the gunman with a magnetically-charged gust of air, and sends him falling to the ground.
T.J. & Dancho are up.

[OrchestraHc]

"Dancho! Get out of there now! That Lucario is next so be ready! If that thing gets close, Yawn." As Dancho obeyed, T.J. looked around for anything he could do. Anyway at all to be useful. Spotting the rifle on the floor, he flexed his mind and the gun slid across the floor between Nathaniel and Mr. Walker. "Don't dwell on it," he said to avoid a mid-battle explanation. With nothing else coming to mind, he ran over to the counter and clumsily climbed over it to check Adela's pulse. Biting his lip, he placed his hand on Adela's neck.

Dancho moves to J6
T.J. moves the rifle to L8
He moves to L5

[Gorgondantess]

You can't actually move to L5, but other than that, okay.
Gavin?

[BluesEclipse]

Gavin grabs the rifle, muttering to himself, "Well, I suppose it will do." Looking quickly over the room, he says, just loudly enough to be heard, "Garan, move up and use Curse. Be ready to Counter when that Lucario gets close, as well." Looking at him for a moment, the Munchlax nods, striding in front of the Slowpoke.

Trainer Action: Pick up Rifle - I don't have the Arms feature for firearms, but I can club people with it.

Pokemon Action: Move to I6, use Curse(+1 Attack CS, +1 Defense CS, -1 Speed CS - even though he has 1 Speed to begin with.

Should he be attacked in melee by the Lucario, Garan will use Counter.

[Gorgondantess]

Alrighty then.
The man atop the balcony gestures with his cane. His voice is wispy and silent, barely above a whisper. However, it's still set hard.
"Well then... It seems that it is time for me to leave."
He lifts a pokeball out from coat, and bringing it down, releases an abra.
"I leave the rest to you, Lucario."
And with another gesture, he and the abra are gone.
The Lucario steps forward, raising its arms and readying itself. Even without trainer, it's not going to go out without a fight.
Nathan & Ender are up, then.

[Bad Situation]

Nathan visibly winced as the young girl was quite literally slammed down against the counter. Well, when the going got tough, the tough got going. Unfortunately, in this particular case the 'tough' had a tendency of being slammed into counters.

Nathan did not like where this was going.

"Ender, stay behind me and attack when able. We wouldn't want your coating to get all scuffed would we?"

Nathan charged through the mess that was the Pokemon center and landed short of the man currently bleeding away his life. The young trainer made sure not to get any of the blood on his shoes. Ick.

Ender:
Shift to J9, Signal Beam should the Lucario get within range.
[roll0] - Accuracy Check
[roll1] - Damage (Signal Beam)

Nathan:
Shift to G8.

[Gorgondantess]

T.J. & Dancho?
EDIT: You're not sure whether Adela will make it or not. Her pulse is erratic, and her breathing halting. There is a large pool of blood forming under her head, and it's even starting to drip over the side of the counter.
Also, the huge bear collapsed on top of her can't be helping any.

[Ajadea]

Vichi jumps out of the way when the ugly Ursaring slams down on the trainer, body tensed and waiting for her to get up and yell at him again. Of course he didn't need her. She just had good ideas. But when she didn't move, didn't wake up and scold him for standing around with his mouth open like a dead fish, he felt odd. Not scared of course. He was a Riolu, he never got scared. But the trainer was supposed to get up, get up and yell and hit things. He told her so. Loudly.

The trainer didn't even move. She was usually listening. She should have woken up and yelled at him for daring to talk back. Though she didn't do much of that now, actually. But she didn't move. That was wrong. It was the Ursaring's fault! If it got off the trainer, she could go and fight again. So he hit it with a paw and told it to get off the trainer.

It didn't move either. Why weren't they moving, he asked loudly. He wasn't shrieking of course. Only really young Riolu would shriek. He was big. Get up, trainer. Time to move, time to yell and hit things. Stupid trainer, not time to sleep yet! You told me that I couldn't go to sleep after training! You said I couldn't rest when I was wet, and you have juice all over your head! You can't go to sleep now either!

Why aren't you getting up?

[OrchestraHc]

"Oh God, oh God, oh God," T.J. kept muttering as he kept he pulled his hand back. The fingers he used to check her pulse had a bit of blood on them. Adela was bleeding. At least she has a pulse, so she could get better if we act fast. He needed a plan but he could barely hear himself think over the sound of her Riolu crying and swatting at the Ursaring in vain. Maybe the cop outside could do something. No, not with the Lucario around. The Lucario! He pulled out his pokedex and looked up the Lucario. "Fighting Steel. Aura. Super Rare. Strong. Fast." T.J. might have had something.

"Dancho! Use Curse, and prepare for the worst!" He turned his attention to the Lucario. "No idiot just leaves a Lucario behind," he yelled to the pokemon, "so you probably have some place to be. If you do, then go. We probably can't catch you." He gestures at Dancho and Garan. He stares at the Lucario for some sort of answer, a bit afraid of what will happen next.

Trainer Action-Pokedex check
Dancho-Curse - Normal
EOT – None
Self - No Damage
Effect: No Target
The user’s Speed is lowered 1 Combat Stage. The user’s Attack is raised 1 Combat Stage and the user’s Defense is raised 1 Combat Stage.

[Gorgondantess]

The makes no response to T.J., simply stepping forwards again. It seems resolved to take this to the very end.
Gavin?

[BluesEclipse]

I'm surprised that boy hasn't run yet... Gavin thinks, as he watches the Lucario approach. Quietly, he commands, "Garan, use Curse again. When it attacks you, Counter it." The Munchlax nods, drawing ever more power into itself. Thinking for a moment, Gavin steps forward and pulls out a Super Potion, spraying the medicine over Garan's wounds. As the Pokemon's wounds close, he thinks to himself, This is probably the worst matchup I could've found... but it doesn't matter. As long as Garan withstands the first attack, he'll be fine.

Gavin's Action: Move to I7, use Super Potion on Garan (Garan only needed 11 points of healing, so no need to roll).
Garan's action: Curse (+1 Attack, Defense Combat Stage, -1 Speed Combat Stage). If Lucario attacks him next turn, he will use Counter.

[Gorgondantess]

As Garan is utilizing his curse, and Gavin turns to get his super potion, the Lucario speeds forwards and slams its fist into Garan's face with a sickening crunch. The pokemon is sent toppling onto its back, its face bleeding and disfigured. It feebly gets to its feet, ready to counter... then topples back to the ground, unconscious.
Meanwhile, Ender sends a signal beam at the Lucario; it brushes the effects off with a shake of the head, and readies itself for more battle.
43 damage to Munchlax, accounting for 5 defense. Note that the move used was an interrupt.
Ender's signal beam: [roll0]
[roll1]
Nathan/Ender?

[Bad Situation]

Just his luck. A fighting type. And he was the only trainer with a fresh Pokemon at the ready. He briefly considered Dancho's help, but discarded the notion. The boy, T.J. seemed more concerned over the girl's well being. Not that he could blame her. The Ursaring had slammed her into the table pretty damn hard. More than that, blood was beginning to bother him.

Only a little.

So it was up to him. A new trainer with a similarly new Pokemon up against a powerful opponent. Nathan didn't like these odds. But neither could he deny the desire to prove himself. All he had to do was avoid tripping over his own feet. A fear that was intensely worrying.

"Stay out of it's range Ender, you saw what it did to that Munchlax."

Ender:
Shift to M6 and use Gust.
[roll0] - Accuracy Check
[roll1] - Gust

Nathan:
Shift to I6 and attack with Steel Baton.
[roll2] - Accuracy Check
[roll3] - Steel Baton

[Gorgondantess]

Nathan's rod just bounces off of its shoulder, but Ender's gust manages to give the Lucario a good buffeting. However, it shakes it off, ready for more.
Aaaaaand, T.J. and Dancho are up!

[Bad Situation]

"Form a wall around it. Don't let it get far enough to cause any further damage to her." Nathan barked uncharacteristically.

This was bad, they were already down three combatants and his attacks had hardly even begun to scratch at the Lucario. Ender wouldn't last a single blow, and as far he was concerned the magnemite was the best shot they had at pulling through. Nathan considered Dancho's potential to knock out the dog Pokemon, but there were too many 'ifs'. What if the move missed? What if the move was too shallow? What if the Lucario lashed out in desperation? How long could TJ's slowpoke really last in close range combat with a fully evolved Pokemon?

Nathan scowled as the Lucario nimbly dodged Ender's gust of wind. Where was that damn police officer...

[OrchestraHc]

"Dancho, Zen Headbutt!" That was the best he had. It would be a lot better if Lucario wasn't a Steel-type, but it was still a powerful move, so T.J could settle for nuetral strength. Lucario was fighting three on one, and it could not be said how impressed he was by trainers who could enter the fray like that, so it was a matter of time. Or so he hoped.

He took T.J. pulled off his backpack and yanked out a white muscle shirt. His plan was to start exercising on his journey, but now he at least had an excuse not to. He folded the shirt to a manageable size , lifted Adela's head slightly, and pressed his hand to the general area of the wound. Hopefully the pressure would stop the bleeding, because this was about all the first aid he knew.

Dancho shifts to I7
Zen Headbutt
Accuracy: [roll0] Minimum Check: 4 Flinch on 15-20
Damage: [roll1]+[roll2](STAB)+7

T.J. uses a wisdom check to stabilize Adela
[roll3]

[Gorgondantess]

The Lucario, at this point, is already pretty much beat. While it hasn't suffered too much actual abuse, it seems like its stamina isn't too good: it's shaking and quivering, and its eyes are bloodshot. That doesn't mean, however, that it can't still put up a fight.
Dancho leaps forwards, psychic energy glowing on his brow, charging towards the Lucario. He leaps through the air towards it... and the Lucario puts its palms forwards and catches Dancho by the face, taking all the brunt of the psychic energy. It skids backwards, and using Dancho's momentum, grabs him by a leg and hurls him into the wall! He slams into it, causing a slowpoke-shaped crater on the plaster and collapses onto the ground, quite unconscious.
50 damage to Dancho.
As the Lucario hurls Dancho, however, the fierceness of his attack causes it to lose its balance as it spins around, coming off the ground and falling to the floor with a thud. It tries to get up, eyes rolling back... then falls back down, out of the fight.
KO!!!!!
You have each passed the trial by fire without dying, and so the rewards shall, as fitting, be quite tremendous.
Vichi gets 1377 xp.
Garan gets 1502 xp.
Ender and Dancho get 1727 xp.
These xp rewards are calculated using both concrete and arbitrary modifiers.:smalltongue:

[BluesEclipse]

Gavin recalls his unconscious Pokemon, his grip on the rifle's barrel relaxing. Looking at the three young trainers, he thinks, I'm surprised... I would've expected them to run. Still... Looking around, he takes stock of their situation: the girl lying unconscious, blood pooled from a head wound. That nervous boy, kneeling by her and attempting to tend to her... and the other boy, Nathan, still tensed as though expecting the Lucario to stand up again. Nodding to himself, he moved around the counter, thinking to himself, Unfortunately, I don't have the option of simply leaving. Too many people around... I need to at least make a token effort to help her. Though, it's her own fault for charging into battle herself... Kneeling down by her, he looked up, and said, "You... Nathan, wasn't it? Go see if you can find someone to help her. I'm no doctor, but I can try to keep her stable." Turning to the other boy, he commanded, "You. Look around and see if you can find some medical supplies here. Now." The orders given, he turns to the girl, muttering, "At the very least, please make an effort to not die... it'll make things much harder on me if this doesn't work."

Wisdom check to make sure Adela is stabilized: [roll0]

[Bad Situation]

Nathan had never liked being bossed around, but understood the severity of the task at hand. Someone's life was on the line, but first the man in the labcoat had to learn that this would only be a one time affair. "Understood," he mock saluted, "just make sure she's alright."

Before leaving he turned to acknowledge TJ. "Good going there kid, I don't think we would have made it without your Slowpoke's help. Maybe you aren't as useless as you seem to think you are."

And without another word Nathan dashed out into the town proper, demanding the aid and attention of the mass that had grouped around the Pokemon Center previously.

[OrchestraHc]

As the Lucario finally fell, T.J. finally felt a moment of ease. He recalled his unconcious Slowpoke back to its ball to take a well earned rest.

The moment was over quickly as Mr. Walker had ordered T.J. to search for supplies while he handled Adela. T.J backed off to give short man room to work. "Medical Supplies? Right. Maybe the in back?" He turned his head to the dented metal door the Ursaring had run itself ragged to try and open. That's probably why they were trying to bust it down. It's probably locked, but I've got no better ideas.

As he made his way to the door, Nathaniel's compliments reached his ears. He was glad he was facing the door, because he had a hard time restraining a smile. I really helped save the day, he thought, as he gave the door a try.

[Gorgondantess]

Outside the pokemon center, the crowds have dispersed and it's quite deserted. This is likely due to the dead cop, who is laying slumped under the window. There's a hole in his neck, and a larger hole in the back of his head, and the wall of the pokemon center and especially his chest are drenched in blood. He must've died not long ago, as his nose is still dribbling blood.

Inside the pokemon center, the busted in metal door is unlatched and opened, and a few people come out- a couple nurses, a burly man in scrubs who looks like he couldn't decide whether to be a boxer or a male nurse and went for both, and a professor in a labcoat, not exactly old but with an ageless look- she could've passed for 25 or 45. The nurses seem shaken, and the man crosses his arms and looks at the destruction, eyes wide. The professor, however, simply sighs and shakes her head as if this were just some irksome ordeal that she wanted to be over with as quickly as possible.
Behind them, a scrawny little ambipom slinks out, looking around warily. It sees the nurse hanging up above- who is currently making muffled shouts and screams- and shrieks, crawling up to the balcony above her and caterwauling violently.
The doctor begins curtly issuing orders. "Dan, get up there and untie her. And for the love of god, when the rope is untied keep hold of it and pull her up gently. The girl's suffered enough today."
The man in scrubs nods and runs to the door on the side of the building, reappearing atop the balcony several seconds later and begins to get to work, ambipom still crying out.
"You two," gestures to T.J. and Gavin, "Help me get this ursaring off this girl. Don't slide it off her, lift it off her. You as well," gesturing back to the nurses.
"Now, I'll push, Rose and Leila will take him by his shoulders, and you two get in position behind the counter to take him by the right side of his stomach. My right. Once we have him lifted, you two push him over and off the girl. Get in position, but wait for my word."
As soon as you're all where you're needed, she gives the signal and you lift off the ursaring. It's heavy- damn, it's heavy! But you manage to lift it off of Adela without a hitch and send it toppling to the ground under the counter.
Underneath, Adela looks a mess. There's blood running from her nose and down her chin, and her neck is at a horrible angle. The doctor checks her pulse.
"Rose, go in back and get a stretcher. Leila, tend to the trainers and their pokemon for now."
She does so, as the professor scans over Adela. As soon as Rose is back, they lift Adela onto the stretcher and rush her into the back room.
The other nurse turns to address the rest of you. "Um, why don't you give me your pokemon, so I can take care of them... And, uh, we have facilities upstairs, if you want to clean up..."

[BluesEclipse]

Nodding curtly at the nurse, Gavin hands over the Pokeball with his unconscious Munchlax and turns towards the stairs. As he climbs, his gaze turns towards the back room, and he sighs. His gaze then shifts to the young boy - who, despite his own nerves, performed far better than Gavin had ever expected. His cold gaze remains locked onto the boy, as he speaks, "You... TJ, was it? If you ever expect to be taken seriously as a trainer, then you need to stop acting like a snivelling child. The world is a dangerous place, and some of us have enough to do without having to babysit children that can't take care of themselves." He allows himself a small smirk, and as he turns to continue climbing the stairs he says in an almost amused tone, "Besides, you've seen here some of the worst life can possibly hold, and faced it. Surely, anything less than this you can handle?" Without waiting for a response, he continues off, seeking out a room where he can get cleaned up.

[Ajadea]

Vichi fidgets when the nurse tries to clean his bullet wound and attempts, rather futilely, to follow the trainer where the big people were taking her. What was happening? The Ursaring was off the trainer though. That was good. It looked like big-no it was bigger than big. And ugly too. Fat and ugly.

But soon the young Riolu calmed down and began searching for food in the nurse's pockets. Fighting made him hungry.

[OrchestraHc]

"Sniveling?" T.J. said to himself as Mr. Walker made for the stairs. T.J. didn't think that was what he did. Unless sniveling was a word for awkwardly apologizing, which he was fairly certain it wasn't. T.J. let it go, because he had finally been referred to as something other than "Kid" or "You". There was also the matter of his wounded partner. He handed off his pokeball to the nurse with a "Thank you." Dancho would be back on his feet in minutes and he could get on with his journey.
A bit of regret crept into his mind as he thought about leaving as soon as possible. Maybe he could wait until he was sure Adela was okay. He wouldn't be able to check on Adela until later, so for now a place to wash his hands and sit down would be enough.
Before he could forget, he also asked if someone could take the gun out of the unconcious man's hand. He didn't want him waking up with a weapon in hand.
"H-Hey, Nathaniel!" he called outside as he crossed the front door, "Umm... Sorry, but you can come back inside and get Ender treated. I'm headed upstairs for a bit." With that he went to the side door and ascended the stairs.

[Bad Situation]

Nathan reentered the ruined Pokemon Center in a lousy mood. Had he known how pathetic the townspeople were he wouldn't have even bothered going for help. Weren't 'small towns' like Heartshome supposed to be close knit? Had all that nonsense his aunt spewed to him about her hometown a lie? Back in the city it was easy to drop your head and let life pass you buy, but it looked like it wasn't going to be any different anywhere else in the world.

It was frustrating, but he would deal. Suffices to say, trainers were expected to handle any of the business that happened to crop up nearby. It wasn't an ideal life to say the least, but he'd already chosen his path. There was no going back.

"I'll be champion soon enough..." he muttered underneath his breath.

With considerable effort he asked a recently released staff member to point him toward the others. With only a murmur of thanks in response, he made his way upstairs. Ender trailed close behind, dinged up but looking no worse for wear.

[Gorgondantess]

The nurse, who has dealt with many, many pokemon over the years, almost unconsciously hands the Riolu a poffin out of her apron to distract it, then goes to fetch its pokeball and returns it to put on the restorative machine behind her.

The man atop the stairs, with the help of the ambipom, gets the nurse down and ushers her into the back room. He then drags the two unconscious thugs back there as well. They all seem content to ignore all of you, for now at least.

In the side door is a narrow stairway, leading to the balcony up top. Beyond it is a cozy lobby, with couches and chairs and various forms of entertainment- a rubix cube, some magazines, a television. There are double doors at the end of this room leading to a motel-like corridor, with 3 small rooms on either side- 6 in total. Each has a small double bed, bedside table, closet, and utilitarian bathroom. Essentially your average hotel stuff. At the very end is another set of double doors leading to a small cafeteria with 2 sizable tables, some microwaves, trashcans, utensils, etc. There's a counter at one side that would presumably normally be selling foodstuffs, but it's currently barren. A similar steel door to the one behind the front counter can be seen behind this one.

At some point that door opens, and one of the nurses comes out. "Well, the girl's in good condition and should be awake in a matter of hours. Your pokemon, too. Once she's awake, the professor would like to reward each of you. In the meantime, would any of you like anything to eat, or drink?"

[BluesEclipse]

Picking up the rubik's cube, and idly shifting it around, Gavin replies, "That would be great, thanks." Turning his attention to the puzzle cube in his hands, he thinks, I do wonder what those thugs were hoping to accomplish here. Regardless of your goals, there's no real purpose for attacking a Pokemon Center...

[Bad Situation]

Nathan sat with his arms crossed, head lazily tilted against the wall. Currently he was lost in thought. Though, after a day like that, who wouldn't be? It wasn't everyday that a group of Pokemon terrorists wreaked havoc in such a small town. It certainly made him wonder at any rate. Was there something more to Heartshome, or had they just the criminals simply been flexing their muscles in a display of power?

Regardless of their motives, Nathan wouldn't let something like this stand.

He would leave as soon as he was done speaking to the Professor. It had been a long day but if he intended to get anywhere in his life he wouldn't be able to rest as he pleased. Of course, it would be rude to turn down such a generous offer.

"Anything sweet..." he answered absentmindedly.

[OrchestraHc]

Hearing that Adela was okay was the first bit of good news he had heard all day, especialy considering what the chaos downstairs meant. Team Eclectia was in his hometown now, and he wasn't sure if a quiet, almost isolated place like this could deal with them. If Eclectia was still here when he came back, he was sure he could get rid of them. That was the point, wasn't it, to get strong then come back. Only now he has a serious reason to do so.

Resolved or not, he need to take his mind off of Eclectia for a little while. So after asking for a bit of water from the nurse, he decided to get some sort of conversation started. "So..."he said twiddling his thumbs, unsure of what to say. After fighting Eclectia, he couldn't exactly talk about weather. "What do you plan to do after we leave the Center?" The question was more directed at Nathaniel than Mr. Walker. If either of them were headed down 423 he might have some sort of travelling companion, which would be nice, but if he had to choose, he would definitely prefer one closer to his own age.

[Bad Situation]

"Badge hunting, capture anything that catches my eye." What would catch his eye though? Steel types had always interested him greatly, but Nathan couldn't be sure that there would be any around the town.

"I'm rather picky about my Pokemon," he added.

[BluesEclipse]

Looking up from the puzzle he's working on, Gavin says, "If you'd be interested, I actually could use a few capable assistants... you see, I'm here in Aschen to look into some rumors my employers have heard - that there may be fossils of undiscovered Pokemon species to be found within the desert." He smirks as he finishes the rubik's cube while speaking, and sets it aside as he leans forward a bit. "I was planning on travelling for a bit myself, to see if I could find skilled trainers that would be willing to work on this with me... After all, it would only be the one of the most noteworthy discoveries of our time. Especially if we can find a way to revive the fossilized Pokemon. And you, Nathan... I must admit, you impressed me. You kept a cool head, and fought well. You and that girl, Adela, both proved yourselves to be more than capable. If you're interested in helping me, I can assure you that you'll be paid quite well..." Gavin trails off there, watching the young trainer to see how he reacts to the proposal.

[Gorgondantess]

The nurse returns shortly afterward with a bowl of instant noodles for Gavin, and a can of melon soda for Nathan. "The sink in the kitchen has a faucet for filtered water, and there are cups in the cupboard above. If there's anything else you need, don't hesitate to ask." With that, she bows her head and departs.
Yes, this is supposed to be at least somewhat Japanese in culture. No, I know next to nothing about Japan. At least, I'm no japanophile. So, I might make some mistakes or uninformed stereotypes. Just chalk it up to this being another universe.
Anyways, please do talk amongst yourselves- it helps to build character, and many of you might not get another chance anytime soon. At the same time, keep in mind that Ajadea is probably getting rather bored (though if you want your pokemon to pop out of its pokeball and go off to have Vichi's Great Misadventure in the meantime, go ahead:smalltongue:), so don't take forever... on second thought, though, I'll just cut tell you if it's taking too long.

[Ajadea]

Vichi yelped in surprise when he was sucked back into the Pokeball, poffin and all. He hated being in that thing. At least the trainer didn't make him go in there without warning. It was dark in here. And now he'd have poffin bits in his fur for ages.

Poke. Poke. He jabbed at the inside of the ball as well as he could like this. He was like the blue right now, and that was not solid. He knew that. Not many Pokemon even knew there was a blue though, and no human ever knew. They were silly. It was everywhere there was life. So silly, silly humans. They didn't see that, and they thought he was the stupid one.

Poke. Poke. There was a way out. He had done this before. Poke. Poke. There was a not-smooth bit, and if you pushed it just right, it opened up. Poke. The Pokeball opened and dumped Vichi out on the ground, throwing him head over heels over head again. He spat out a mouthful of fur and crumbs, and got up shaky. His head swiveled around. There! The remains of his poffin lay under a counter. He grabbed it up and took a big bite. Good still.

Now...now to somewhere.

Vichi wasn't quite sure where somewhere was. He'd deal with that later.


The blue, as Vichi sees it, is Aura. Of course, being a really quite immature Pokemon, he doesn't know the terminology.

[OrchestraHc]

"Wow that is... a lot cooler than what I was going to ask," he said a little disheartened. "I was just gonna ask if you wanted to hang out until Sandberg. Sorry." With that he walked to the kitchen to get himself some water.

[Bad Situation]

"Sorry, I don't think I would be interested in group travel." Traveling in a group could prove to be interesteing, but Nathan would still have to decline. Traveling always put him in a bad mood, and besides, other trainers would just slow him down. That said, TJ was new to the whole training thing, it wouldn't hurt to shove him in the right direction.

"Why don't you take TJ along with you Walker. He needs experience and he's shown some promise as a trainer."

[BluesEclipse]

Raising an eyebrow at the younger trainer's response, Gavin replies, "Perhaps. He has potential, but he lacks confidence... and while he was able, to some extent, to prepare for what we faced here, I find it far too likely that he'd freeze up if any unexpected threats come up." Gavin looks towards the kitchen, where TJ had gone. "The issue, really, is one of experience - while you and Adela both seem to understand the reality of the world better, he... well, from what I've seen, he's a capable trainer, but second-guesses himself far too often. I do agree that he'd be more capable once he has that experience in the world, but... at the same time, I need someone that has that experience." Shrugging, he turns his gaze back towards Nathan. "Regardless, my offer will be open to you, at the least until I depart. If you change your mind, let me know." Taking the bowl of noodles that the nurse brought him, Gavin begins eating calmly, and thinks to himself, While I'm sure that the boy would be willing to help, he doesn't seem to understand the most important fact of this world - a trainer must fight. Our world expects no less from anyone with a Pokemon, regardless of what people may claim. He simply isn't prepared for that, from what I've seen. Once the girl wakes, I'll find the time to speak with her... and failing that, I'll head towards Sandberg myself. If this is the best that could be found here in Heartshome, there's no point staying - I wouldn't find any other competent trainers here.

[Ajadea]

Vichi looked around. The room was really messy. And there was too much smelly brownish drying gunk around. And-ooh, was that rope? Vichi loved ropes. It was up high though. He dashed over and tried to jump up and grab it, but it was way too high up.

There were the stairs! Vichi dashed up them, only slipping twice. He used his front paws and his back paws, even though he really really only needed the back paws. He began pulling and trying to untangle it. Maybe he could swing on the rope! Swinging on rope was fun. Vichi slipped one end of the rope through one part of the fence, and put the other end through a different part. It fell to the ground.

Well he couldn't swing on it like that! Vichi dashed and fell down the stairs to pull the rope up again. It was hard to move the rope! Maybe if he wrapped it around his arms? That wasn't easy. Made it hard to walk. That was a bad idea. But...the rope wasn't letting him go! Vichi snapped at the rope like he was a trainer. Bad rope! Let me go!

[OrchestraHc]

T.J. leaned against the kitchen sink. He had taken the opportunity to clean Adela's blood off his fingertips before pouring himself a drink of water. The thoughts from earlier were creeping back into his mind. He wasn't about to let Eclectia make him look over his shoulder this entire journey, he did that enough as it is. He forced himself to think about anything else. Sandberg! he thought. There was Gym in Sandberg and he was going to challenge it with Dancho, and any other pokemon he caught along the way. He wasn't even really in it for the championship, but he could bet good money Nathaniel was. He had said something about being champion and being "the Very Best" earlier. There was definitely a talking point he could use.

Looking down at his glass, he found he had been drinking without really thinking about it, and had already chewed through most of the ice. He was apparently thirstier than he thought. He refilled his drink and walked back to the room.

[Gorgondantess]

One of the nurses finds Vichi tangled in a pile of rope. She sighs, and seeing as the trainer will likely be awake soon, decides to entertain the wayward pokemon until then.

The rest of you while away the time in the trainer's quarters. The male nurse starts cleaning things up, and various out-of-town authorities are called to deal with the corpses and the criminals. They arrive in a few hours, hauling everything away they need to.
Finally, late afternoon, Adela wakes up. She's hurting like hell, and it's agony to breathe (or do anything else, for that matter, including think), but she's conscious.
One of the nurses stands over her. "Easy, now... you've broken a rib, and you have a concussion. You'll likely want to take it easy for the next few days."
She notices, through all the pain, the bandage on her head.
"They took care of the criminals, and the professor will want to reward you all."
Once they make sure Adela can walk, the rest of you are gathered in the back room. It's filled with shelves with various bottles and capsules and cases and computers, and medical equipment of all sorts, as well as equipment that you can't rightly recognize.
The professor regards you all quite businesslike.
"Well then... you four fought off those men, and so you rightly deserve a reward. Here at Heartshome we've always had to depend on trainers like you for protection... now more than ever now that Sheriff Baker is dead."
She gives a grim look, and continues.
"Now, we don't have much money to spare... but we do have supplies, and a couple of trainerless pokemon. And, beyond that..."
Here she gives a wry smile that almost gives you the chills,
"I have an experimental medicine that I've been wanting to find some trainers to test out, and one of you might just be perfect for it."
She produces from her lab coat a container, from which she extracts a yellow, waxy looking ball.
"This compound I've made uses formula similar to that of a TM, combined with a powerful catalyst. However, unlike most TMs, it does not have a set effect- it is, if you will, blank. This, combined with a drug that induces a state susceptible to suggestion, can allow a pokemon to unlock powers they never knew they had... among other things.
We've tested it so far on our aipom- now an ambipom, as you may have seen. Initially, I gave the aipom the medicine, and had a borrowed ambipom before it show off the move "double hit" for the extent of its duration. Several hours later, the aipom spontaneously evolved, as they can only do so once capable of that move.
Later, I re-administered the medicine, and had Janet pet the ambipom for the duration, and say kind things to it. Now the ambipom is inextricably attached to her- in fact, it's currently with her during her recovery.
Of course, it uses several expensive compounds... so I only have two left. Those of you who decide to take this as your reward- which I assure you is unique in all the world- I simply ask that you record what you subject your pokemon to while under its effects, and extensively report back to me the result."
She grins while speaking her, but then returns to a more businesslike posture.
"Beyond that, we currently have both the Ursaring and the Lucario, quite trainerless. However, I must warn you, both were evolved prematurely and may never be quite as powerful as a normal member of their species. At the very least it would require an investment of time and perhaps some high performance vitamins. Speaking of which, we recently received a small shipment of those... so if you'd like, I could simply give you some of those. If you don't want the pokemon, I would certainly be happy to take them myself- we could use some pokemon around here for any future attacks. And since Heartsome has far less trainers than most towns, it happens more often than you might think."

[BluesEclipse]

This experimental medicine... it sounds like something that has potential. Gavin thinks as he listens to the professor's words. And if I sent a sample back... yes, I think that will do nicely. Gavin smiles as the Professor finishes speaking, and says, "I'll take that experimental medicine you spoke of. It sounds quite interesting... even if Pokemon biochemistry isn't my area of expertise, I'd still be happy to aid in this kind of research."

[Ajadea]

Adela stares at the Ambipom, head still reeling. She leans on the wall with her head bent forwards and eyes half-closed. The lights hurt her eyes and she frankly isn't sure that she can walk straight, though the nurses assured her that she was fully capable of exactly that. The bandage itches and feels uncomfortable, but Adela resists the urge to pick at it. Side effect of getting your fool head slammed into a counter by a flea-bitten Ursaring, she thinks wryly, rubbing the back of her neck.

Adela thought for a moment. She didn't need a Lucario when she had a Riolu. The Ursaring needed care, and training. Even if it had slammed her into a counter, she did feel pity for the beast. "I'll adopt the Ur-" Vichi pokes her hard, and looks at her like she is absolutely insane. How could the trainer take that beast into her care? "Okay...I'll take the medicine if you don't mind." Adela's voice is raspy and dry, and the pain she is experiencing is extremely obvious in her tone.

She crouches down next to Vichi, wobbling slightly on her feet. "Vichi, listen. The nurse is going to give me a ball. Like a poffin, but not a poffin exactly. I would like to give this...poffin to you, to teach you something new. So that you can be strong. Do you want to-" Vichi throws his arms around Adela, and nods 'yes' into her shoulder enthusiastically. "Yeah, definitely taking the medicine," she says with a wince. "Vichi, please get off." The Riolu gives her one last painful squeeze and lets go. After a moment of contemplation, Adela decides to remain seated on the floor.

[OrchestraHc]

T.J. smiled a bit at Vichi and Adela's antics. The pokemon was pretty broken up over its trainer's loss, so a bit of affection was cute. Though, as far as T.J. was concerned they could have the medicine. The words "experimental drugs" felt a lttle iffy to him. It also occured to him, that if Adela wasn't going to take it, which was absolutely understandable, he would take the Ursaring off the Centers hands.

"If you're sure it's safe, could... Could I adopt the Ursaring?" He felt insane asking for a monster that minutes ago would have killed him for the off chance he'd get fed, but he would have to appear resolved if they were going to take him seriously. The pokemon needed help and he was sure he could do it. "I'd also need any vitamins that would help it recover," he said rather mater of factly. Out of habit, he immediately attempted to correct himself in his usual stammering manner. "I-If it's not too much to ask, I mean."

[Bad Situation]

He had to admit, the experimental medicine did sound interesting. But after hearing the other two express a similar interest his own curiosity quickly faded. He would rather not deal with a potential dispute at any rate.

"I'm not interested in either, I was just doing my job ma'am." The two trainerless Pokemon would only be a burden. It just meant more work taming them, and vitamins would just be a huge money sink. Ender was all he needed at this point anyway, he could catch Pokemon at his own pace.

But, it would be idiotic not to look into other possible rewards.

"...though. I wouldn't mind those supplies you mentioned earlier."

[Gorgondantess]

The professor nods, and sends a nurse to fetch the vitamins. She produces a second container identical to the first, and hands one each to Gavin and Adela, smiling. "Just record everything with your pokedex and send the results here via the storage system."
The nurse brings the professor a heavy lockbox, and she opens it with a key from a keyring. "You have a magnemite, yes? Normally this is administered intravenously, so it'll have to go through the eye. I'll sedate it if you'd like, though if you'd prefer to save it for later, if you want to use it on the magnemite, I strongly advise you bring it to some sort of pokemon center for the sedation. Now, we can help it develop better in multiple ways... but this compound is a little rough on the system, so just what would you like to see in your pokemon?"
Do be creative. The good professor, as you may have seen, has a lot of time on her hands, and has more than just standard vitamins at her disposal.:smallwink:
Finally, TJ is handed a friend ball containing the ursaring. "We've given it a small vitamin regimen. As it's so weak, and has been through a lot lately, it'll be good to go light on it until it regains its strength.
Level 10 male Ursaring, Hardy nature. All base stats are reduced by 2. Movepool: Scratch, Lick, Endure, Leer, Fury Swipes, Faint Attack, Double Edge.

"...And we'll take the lucario. It should serve well here. Well then, girl, I advise you not stress yourself: you've had a pretty bad concussion. I can't stop you... but I would strongly advise you not head out at all tomorrow.
As for the rest of you, you can use the facilities this evening free of charge."
With that, she nods, and heads into another room.
End day?

[BluesEclipse]

Watching as the professor leaves the room, Gavin pulls out a plastic pouch from his own kit, and places the waxy pill in it. Pocketing it, he nods to himself, before looking towards Adela. "Should you be interested in a job, Adela," he says, offhandedly, "let me know. I'm going to be running an expedition in the desert, to seek out whatever fossils or relics may be there, and can use the assistance of capable trainers such as yourself." As he turns and walks away, he calls to her, "Think about it..." as he heads upstairs.

Heading into one of the rooms there, he closes the door, and pulls out his Pokedex, tapping the display to bring up the phone service. He dials quickly, and as the phone rings, he waits for his contact within Team Rocket to answer.

[Gorgondantess]

Pokedexes are all video chat, by the way, as are most phones in general.
Gavin's contact answers quickly enough. He's a young guy, younger than Gavin even, but quite smart and with a good mind for surreptitious activities. Ambitious, too- far more ambitious than Gavin. One of the reasons he's such a higher rank is because he's far more willing to get his hands dirty. His cover is at a chem lab where they research various compounds that have applications with pokemon, and he takes a little off the top- and all findings, of course- and funnels it to Team Rocket. You've been reporting to him the past few years, ever since your last boss was promoted, and he's a rather laissez-faire boss so long as you produce results, if a little short on patience.
"What do you want, Gavin?"
He looks a little annoyed, obviously assuming that you don't have anything for him after a short time, wondering just why you contacted him.

[BluesEclipse]

Raising an eyebrow, Gavin smiles, amused. "I would think you'd be happy to hear from me, Markus, considering what I have for you. I've arrived in Heartshome... just in time for the Center to be attacked by thugs from Eclectia. I decided to offer my aid - given that I don't plan on running this expedition alone, it seemed like a good way to curry favor. After the attack was handled, I had a chance to speak with the professor here... turns out they're developing a new medicine here, to enhance a Pokemon's potential." Smirking, Gavin pulls out the pouch with the medicine ball, making sure it can be seen by his contact. "And the professor was kind enough to give me one of their last samples, with the understanding that I'd be using my own Pokemon as a test subject. From what was explained, it seems that this effects a Pokemon based on what stimulus they're exposed to at the time - an Aipom that was given the medicine and shown the Double Hit move spontaneously evolved, and when the medicine was given a second time and a trainer showed the Pokemon a bit of affection, it became fiercely loyal. I doubt you need me to tell you what kind of implications this could have." Slipping the medicine back into his pocket, Gavin shifts his expression to a more serious one. "I do intend to send a sample your way, though I'm uncertain as to how much I can take off before it becomes worthless. That would be more your area of expertise than my own - I deal in archaeology and petrology, not biology and chemistry. I'm also open to suggestions as to what I might be able to do with it - if it matters, it's apparently based on the formula used to make TMs."

Coming up with a name for the contact, since none was given. Also, do the Pokedexes have the ability to transmit items, or do I need to use other methods to actually send the sample?

[Gorgondantess]

We'll call him... Job. Rhymes with globe, not glob.
Also, no, only pokemon can be transferred and stored electronically.
As you speak, the corners of Job's lips slowly turn upwards, until he's fully grinning. "Well that's... interesting, to say the least. You'll certainly be receiving a bonus for this.
Now, from what I understand, medicine like that tends to come in very specific doses. Anything less wouldn't do the trick, and anything more would likely do damage. Now, I, personally, would advise sending the whole thing... but in the end it's up to you how much you send."

[BluesEclipse]

"Right. Well, you're the one that knows this stuff... I'll send it along. If they ask, I'll just say I'm holding onto it for the time being, so that I have more options available to test when I do decide to use it. As for my own work here, as I said, I'm trying to gather some competent trainers to assist me - the desert isn't exactly a friendly place, after all. The ones that fought Eclectia with me here in Heartshome are decent, though don't seem that interested in helping me out, so I'll probably head to Sandberg next. If you feel like trying to find out anything about them, I can give you some basic information, but for the most part they're the usual kids who think they can make it big in the League." Gavin frowns as he continues, "One would think they'd have more sense, but it's their choice. At any rate, as I said, I'll send the sample along, and I'll report further as we go. I'll keep you updated with any news of note, as well as Eclectia's movements... Thinking about it, they probably were after the sample themselves, meaning they might wind up coming after me." Closing his eyes and biting off a curse, Gavin mutters, "As if I didn't have enough to deal with on this job..."

[Gorgondantess]

Markus shrugs. "Do whatever you have to. As I understand it, Sandberg has a gym, yes? You'll likely find recruitment easier there than in Heartsholm. More trainers, anyways. Beyond that, I'm aware of a ranger organization based in Sandberg- they should be able to help you out.
And as for Team Eclectia... that may well be true. If any of them decide to go after you, just point them my way." He smirks cockily. Markus is an avid trainer beyond his other duties, and apparently is infamous for his powerful Alakazam.
"In all seriousness, though, if you are attacked," ("and manage to survive it", you can see added in his expression) "Call me and we'll send you aid. We don't know that they even knew it existed. Besides, what would Eclectia do with something like that? They lack the organization to produce it on such a scale to be even worth it."
He sighs and shakes his head.
"Anyways... I'd advise you send it immediately. I'd send a contact your way, but our closest man that I know of is in Platinum Valley, so you'll just have to settle for expedited mail. Do so now, and make sure it's secure. I'll be waiting."
And with that, he shuts off the feed.

[BluesEclipse]

Nodding, Gavin heads slips the Pokedex into his pocket and heads out of the room, and out of the Pokemon Center into Heartshome proper. Pulling the Pokedex back out, he pulls up a map, looking for a post office, as well as a Poke Mart. I'll get the sample sent off to Markus, then see about finding a weapon... maybe a set of throwing knives. I'm certain that Eclectia is up to something, and just as certain that it has something to do with this medicine. Still, the most I can do is be ready.

[Bad Situation]

Watching the older man exit, Nathan laced his fingers together in thought. This was a good opportunity for Ender but the possibilities were disorienting to say the least. His Magnemite had a lot of things going for it, however speed wasn't one of them. Speed of course brought to mind Champion Rodric, one of the more prominent Champions of the decade. "Taking initiative saves lives," the man had said, and Nathan was inclined to agree. Rodric would excite the audience and opponent alike with his dazzlingly quick matches, but while speed was the cornerstone of his particular lineup, even the more balanced Championship teams held a great deal of speedsters.

Nathan hadn't been old enough to enjoy the man in his prime (exhibition matches notwithstanding), but the internet was a valuable resource in that regard.

Snapping out of his reverie, Nathan spoke his piece, "Ender needs speed, especially if he wants to compete in the tourneys." In hindsight that sounded a bit callous, but Ender would understand. Ender always understood, even when he himself didn't. "He's fine the way he is, but the second he's hit by a move he can't resist; he'll be taken out of the match, and I'll have lost my strongest Pokemon."

Not that he had other Pokemon, but he had a feeling Ender would be his ace in the hole so to speak.

[Ajadea]

Adela glances at Gavin as he leaves, then turns back to the overexcited Riolu in her lap. She could make Vichi actually give a damn about her. She could make him loyal and devoted just like that. She took another look at Vichi. His tail thumped against the ground and his paws dug into her legs fiercely. Yeah. Ow. Definitely not getting up right now. He glanced at her pocket constantly, as if he wanted to rush ahead without even thinking and take the experimental medicine. It was adorable. Which was a weird thought. The Riolu had been many things-headstrong, immature, greedy, annoying, and once even quite violent.

Adorable? Not really. Vichi...almost looked like he cared.

Adela scratches his head a bit, just thinking. Right then. I'll find a way to make you like me, no strings or drugs attached. She swallows and licks her lips. Her throat felt as dry as bone, and her mouth tasted like something had rolled over and died in it. Besides her.

"Psychic and Flying are Vichi's two biggest weaknesses. Psychic especially," Adela says after a while. "He has to be able to deal with them." She grabs her Pokedex with her free hand and flicks it open. "So...I'd like to teach Vichi here either a Ghost or Dark-type move then."

[Gorgondantess]

The professor muses for a moment. "Well... I don't really know if it could teach a pokemon a move it couldn't normally learn. I suppose it could... yes, I'm sure it could! ...I'm pretty sure it could.
...But it might have some... Interesting results..."
She's grinning slightly, eyes pointed upwards, thinking.
"Well, anyways, it's only received two tests so far, as I've told you. I doubt the ambipom could handle any more in its system, at least for another few months. Much like TMs, there's a limit to what you can do without the new... forcing out the old.
But, well, your Riolu, while immature, seems, ah, forceful enough that it won't be too long until it evolves, and you'll not have to worry about psychic nor moves anymore. Go ahead and think it over- if you rush into things, it might be somewhat damaging. This medicine has untold potential."
I was so close to adding there, "I'm glad it's in good hands." Go-go heavyhanded dramatic irony!:smallbiggrin:

To Nathan: The Professor nods. "Right, then, I'll see what I can do."
She turns on a machine in the corner, and goes to fetch Ender's pokeball from the restorative machine. She releases it, and as it floats there she picks up a metal rod attached by a long cord to the machine, tapping it against Ender. Ender immediately begins to fall, and she catches it.
"That should keep it unconscious while I administer the compound."
She goes back to the lockbox and pulls out a complex looking syringe, taking fluids from various containers. She then opens Ender's eye, and resting the syringe against it, pulls a trigger. There is a crack, like a gunshot but softer, and taking a cotton swab dressed with alcohol slips away the syringe, sweeps it against where she pressed the syringe, and then returns it to its pokeball.
"That should do it. Don't release it for another 6 hours, and no strenuous battling for at least another 24."
Speed base stat increased by 1, Sky capability increased by 1. These will carry over into evolutions.

[Ajadea]

Evolving? Well, he certainly is forceful, and stubborn as anything I've every seen before. Adela begins to nod then decides against it. "I'll think about it. If Vichi's going to be evolving soon, I'd want to teach him a different move." If it's even possible. Water type would be best to shore up a Lucario's weaknesses...I really need to catch myself one of those.

[Bad Situation]

Nathan nodded absentmindedly and clipped the ball to his belt. The knowledge that he would not be able to use Ender in the coming day was worrisome, but not altogether distressing. It was getting dark anyway, and roaming the streets at night would be foolhardy at best. He would sleep away the requisite 6 hours and try not to fight for the remainder of the day.

"There are rooms available for us I take it? I would rather not set out on the road in the dead of night." Really, the only thing worse than travel, was traveling at night. That's when the thieves and murderers came out to play came out in greater numbers.

"If you will excuse me." With all said and done, Nathan exited the room.

[Ajadea]

Adela remains seated for a minute or so after Nathan leaves, before not-so-gently shoving Vichi off her lap and slowly getting up. She walks back to her room, using the walls to support her. Sleep sounded very good right about now. There was a lot to think about. And a concussion. That too.

[Gorgondantess]

Gavin will be hard pressed to find throwing knives in Heartshome.
And with that said...
Dimensions intermingle. Dialga and Arceus get together and decide to screw around in the lives of four pokemon trainers. Suddenly, timelines start weaving around, warping and twisting. Actual time ceases to exist for these four trainers, taken over by circumstantial time. When things happen, and when they may meet, will not be governed by actual time, but by convenience.
In other words: As you're not all staying together, some of you may be fast-forwarded a week while others will, in the same RL time, pass only a day. But if you both end up in X location at the same RL time- posting-wise, that is- you may in fact meet. Just... try not to think about it too hard. It WILL create plotholes. Just push it under the rug and pretend it doesn't exist, and don't mention to each other how long it's been since you've seen each other IC.
Anyways. Those that so desire may now fastforward to the next day. What you do then is wholly up to you.

[Bad Situation]

Nathan entered his assigned room and locked the door firmly behind. After what had happened only hours hence, he figured he couldn't be too careful.

Sitting on the bed he heaved a heavy sigh. He had said his goodbyes on the pier back home, but only now did it feel as if he was leaving. His head would hit the pillow, and in only a couple of hours he would be out on his own. Truly on his own. There would be no cousins to catch him should he fall, no mothers to kiss his scratches, and no father to impart some words of wisdom. It was scary, knowing that there would not be a safety net.

And yet oddly exhilarating.

Only time would tell if he made something of himself, but luckily Nathaniel Frost never disappointed.

He smirked, as if to laugh at his own joke. Setting his Pokedex's alarm to 5 AM, he rest his head atop the impossibly lumpy pillow the Center had provided him and drifted off into oblivion. Customer service complaints could wait for another day it seemed.

----

The alarm screeched, and in a practiced movement he flicked his fingers at the alarm's off switch. School had prepared him to wake up on schedule, if nothing else.

He rose wearily, shuffling to the the washroom as if half dead and emerged moments later as impeccably dressed as usual. Grabbing his bag from the sauntered through the Center's wide double doors ready to face the day. Onward to Route 423.

[BluesEclipse]

Finding the small post office in Heartshome, Gavin quickly makes arrangements for the most secure shipping possible for the sample, answering any questions simply by saying that he's bound by a confidentiality agreement. After ensuring that the sample is sent off, and failing to find a decent set of throwing knives, he returns to the Pokemon Center, taking a room there himself. Sending a brief email to Markus, simply saying "SAMPLE IS EN ROUTE. DEPARTING FOR SANDBERG." he falls asleep, wondering what the next few days will hold.

---TIME SKIP TO MORNING---

Waking, and checking his Pokedex for any messages, Gavin gathers his things and heads out of the Center, thinking, If the girl wants to take me up on my offer, she'll contact me, I'm sure. Now, to Sandberg... I'll head along Route 423, I suppose. If I could handle exploring the desert alone, this entire endeavor would be much easier... but, there's not much I can do about that. Heading out of Heartshome via the eastern exit, Gavin begins heading off, following the winding route towards Axelo Town, and eventually Sandberg. As he travels, he keeps his eyes open for any potentially useful items, as well as signs that valuable stones might be found nearby.

While travelling, I'll be using my daily uses of both of my item-finding features.
Trainer Feature: Stone Hunting: , Chosen Number: 16, Success Range: 14-18.
Trainer Feature: Rare Item Hunting: [roll.]1d20, Chosen Number: 10, Success Range: 6-14.

[OrchestraHc]

As the alarm clock blared away on the nightstand, a hand reached out from under the blankets to silence it. After a few taps in a familiar place proved futile, a messy head came out to examine it. You aren't my clock. Who are you? An examination of the bottom revealed a label that designated the clock as property of the Heartshome Pokemon Center. Yesterday began to piece itself back together for him. Yesterday he had his first call as a trainer. It was a very mixed experience.

After washing up and getting extra food for his new pokemon, T.J. decided to pick up were he left off yesterday and head to route 423. When T.J. reached the entrance, he stopped and released Dancho. "Dancho," he started, "remember that Ursaring from yesterday. Well, I've agreed to take it on as a team member." Dancho stood up from his sitting position. "No, I don't need you to fight it. It's been caught in a friend ball and fed, so it probably won't be hostile." T.J. picked the friend ball from his belt to show Dancho. "It's just that the ursaring has pretty clearly been abused, so I need your help to show that won't happen with me. It probably won't believe me at my word." Dancho walked to T.J.'s side and sat down, looking up at T.J. "You are the absolute best, partner." He threw the friend ball foward and hoped for the best.

What came out of the ball was a big hulking furry mass curled up on the ground. The terrifying Ursaring from earlier was sleeping. It was probably the first real sleep it's had in a while. Likely woken up from being released, the pokemon lifted its head and surveyed its surroundings. T.J. figured that whatever the Center staff for the Ursaring worked. Its coat was clean, its eyes were clear, it still looks skinny for an ursaring, but that would take time to fix. "Umm. H-hello," T.J. called to the beast much less afraid than he thought he'd be. The ursaring stood up and approached his new trainer, and the fear T.J. thought was missing came rushing in. Even being "skinny for an ursaring," the bear was still humoungus compared to T.J. in height and girth. Putting on a smile to hide his fear he continued his welcome to the Pokemon. "H-hi, I'm- I'm T.J. I'm your new t-trainer," he stammered. "When you n-knocked yourself out, your old trainer abandoned you. So the nurses gave you to m-me." He took a step back so the Ursaring wouldn't seem as big. "Actually, I asked for you," he amended, "I thought I could... No that's wrong. I think I can help you." The fear in T.J.'s voice began to fade, replaced by confidence that only seems to come when pokemon were involved. "I promise, I won't ever overwork you, or abuse you, or abandon you. I just want you to know all of that." Dancho took a step forward towards the Ursaring. The bear leaned in to sniff at the slowpoke, only to be welcomed to the team by Dancho yawning in it's face. Laughing a little bit, T.J. recalled Dancho back to his ball. "That's all Dancho, thank you," he said before turning his attention to the Ursaring. "The professor said to take it easy at first, so I won't ask you to battle today, but will you at least walk with me. It'll be nice to have a pokemon I can walk with, no offense to Dancho." The ursaring turned around and waited for T.J. to walk along side it before moving itself, as the two began to walk the route. "So, what do you think of the name Big Dipper?" T.J. asked to keep the conversation going. The Ursaring replied with a soft grunt. "Umm. One Grunt: Yes; Two Grunts No?"

[Ajadea]

For once in her life, Adela slept late. Her alarm clock, for once, consisted of being body-slammed by a hyper-active Riolu rather than a series of high-pitched beeps. "Yes, we're going today. If you didn't break more of my ribs just then," she groans, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

She stumbles into the shower and turns it on cold, trying to wake herself up and succeeding rather well. Breathing deeply was painful, and a workout sounded like the last thing she wanted, but her head felt better. Still, painkillers sounded like an excellent idea right now. She'd have to get some off one of the nurses. And breakfast. She was starving.

After getting dressed and using liberal amounts of toothpaste and mouthwash to get the dead taste out of her mouth, she searched for a nurse. "I'm heading out later today, so I'd like to know where I could get some food for me and this little one. And painkillers." She frowns and remembers the waxy orb in her pocket. "And before I leave, I'd like to speak with the professor-the one who had the experimental medicine? I want to make sure I know how to use it."

If Vichi was really going to evolve, she'd need a Pokemon to deal with the Ground, Fire, and Fighting types. "And if I could rent a rod from the mart, that'd be great."

[Gorgondantess]

Check out the map. I'll be updating it in real time. It takes about 3 hours to cross one square, under ideal conditions.

Nathan:
Nathan was smart to get up so early, in order to largely beat the aggressive Aschen sun. When he heads out before 6 a.m., it's a nice, balmy temperature, easy going through paved roads. All is quiet, his only company the occasional early morning jogger or early bird taillow. (If you want to try to catch one, hit me up over chat and we'll do that right quick).
As he travels east, though, it starts getting hotter. And hotter. By the time Route 423 turns north and he can smell salt, it gets uncomfortably hot. And he's only been on the road a few hours.
Nevertheless, he presses ever onwards, going north. And it gets hotter. Trees and grass by the road fades to hard dirt and shrubs. And it gets hotter. Soon enough the mirage dances across the road. And it gets hotter. He's far too far in his journey to turn back, though, and he just has to press onwards over flat, empty roads.
And it gets hotter.
Soon enough, though, there's something off in the distance. Very far off are the mountains... but before that, a crossroads. He's on the southern road. To the north the asphalt fades to dirt, and leads into the Garin desert. And to the east it continues, heading up to hug the mountain range and move onwards.
And to the west, no road, but a rest stop. Small, but serviceable. He finds it deserted aside from a long haired boy in simple clothes sitting against the wall in the shade, hat pulled over his face. He's snoring gently, skin slicked with sweat and flies buzzing around him.
On his opposite side, Nathan finds as he approaches an abra, wearing an identical but smaller hat (with holes for the ears, of course) and in an identical position, sleeping. It would almost be cute if it weren't so damn hot.

Gavin:
Gavin could be considered both lucky and unlucky, when he woke up (8:00). Unlucky in that he's beating far less heat than Nathan was. Lucky in that he'll be in the area to do something about it when it gets really bad.
It's already hot when he wakes up, but being a well traveled gentleman, Gavin just takes his time, searching for stones off the side of the road, and bears the heat rather well. After a while, nearing noon and with the ocean in view to the east, he finds a rock he believes is an Oval Stone, used to evolve Happiny into Chansey. Of course, it might just be an oval stone, not an Oval Stone. Without a Happiny around, there's no way to tell.
As he's standing off the side of the road examining it, he hears a car come by and stop. Turning around, he sees a blonde woman in sunglasses looking out of a jeep at him. There's an Eevee in the passenger seat.
"What are you doin' off the side of the road like that, hun'?"

[BluesEclipse]

"Ah..." Gavin says, caught somewhat off guard by the woman's cheerful demeanor. Perhaps I can convince her to give me a ride, if nothing else... it would save quite a bit of time. "I'm on my way to Axelo, and eventually Sandberg. However, I came across this stone, and decided to inspect it. I'm glad I did, since it's the kind of Oval Stone that acts as the catalyst for a Happiny's evolution - or at least a remarkable facsimilie of one." Holding the stone up as he says that, Gavin shrugs, before slipping it into his pocket. "Naturally, one can never be truly certain without the Pokemon in question available to test it." Approaching the woman, and looking at the Pokemon in the passenger seat, Gavin smiles, and says, "That's quite a handsome Eevee, there... I've always been fond of that family. I'm Gavin Walker, by the way... Pokemon researcher and petrologist.

[Gorgondantess]

TJ:
First of all, Ursarings (Ursari?) are bipedal. They don't have the body structure to walk on four legs.
...But if you want your Ursaring to be a freak, I suppose that's cool.
Anyways.

As TJ nears the Ursaring, it reaches out and... pushes him. It's really just brushing against his chest with the back of its hand, but the density of the creature alone knocks the wind out of him and knocks him on his ass.
It makes a deep, contented noise. "Uhrrrr..." It seems kindof tired, all in all, but otherwise happy, and follows along dopily. As TJ begins questioning it, it just makes one single more deep half-growl, but doesn't grunt, per se.

...Do note that most pokemon have animalistic intelligence.

Along the route, you have a similar experience to Gavin: it is hot. Within about 15 minutes the Ursaring's fur is shining with sweat, and it's stumbling across the ground.

Adela:
Do remember that pokemon marts only give very generic stuff. In game terms: the stuff that goes in the medicine pocket, and pokeballs. Everything else, you have to get somewhere else. But this is a resort town, so it shouldn't be too hard to find a fishing store.

The nurse nods. "Of course... we can provide all that. Here, I'll fetch the professor while I get all that."
She heads into the back room, and returns later with some dry food and a couple bottles of water, as well as a bottle of aspirin. She directs you to a fishing store and a good, mild fishing spot for beginners.
"That should be an excellent way for you to relax while you recover."
It takes a few minutes for the professor to come out, and you notice she has blotches under the eyes and is wearing the same shirt under her labcoat as yesterday.
"Yes, what do you need? I'm in the middle of something, so make it quick."

Gavin:
The woman makes a sharp intake of breath. She looks rather impressed "Weeeeell. A smart one. What's an intelligent gentleman such as yourself doing trekking it on foot like that? Come on in, hun' I'm just going to catch some rays myself, but I can take you just south of there."
As you get in on the passenger side, she picks up the Eevee and puts it in the back, and you get a better look at her. She seems about Gavin's age, and is wearing a yellow one-piece bathing suit, her dark hair pulled back in a bun.
The Eevee regards you indifferently, but she's positively glowing. "Why yes, doesn't she have just a luxurious coat? Her name is Ezelle." She turns from gesturing back to the Eevee, and with a fluid motion lays one hand on her chest, bringing the attention back to herself, "And I am Margaret. But you can call me Marge, hun'. So what brings you to sunny little Aschen?"
She begins driving, and takes them off the Route and on to a sandy beach road.
No, Gavin is not in the water, they're just south of the Route.

[Ajadea]

"Just wanted to make sure, if I get some Pokemon to show Vichi the proper move while he's under the effects of that experiment thing, he might learn it? Cause I don't want to waste the medicine, and I don't want it to do anything bad to him." Adela blurts out. She almost immediately feels an urge to smack her hand into her forehead, but it seems like a horrendous idea under the circumstances.

[BluesEclipse]

A small smile crosses Gavin's face as he says, "I'm actually trying to gather assistants for a research expedition... there's rumored to be fossils of undiscovered Pokemon breeds somewhere in the desert, and I've decided to look into it. If it's true... well, I'm sure you would agree that it would be quite the discovery. I need to find other capable individuals, though, before I'd even be prepared to travel into the desert - especially as I'm not all that familiar with Aschen myself. But I certainly don't want to bore you with my life story." Looking at Marge, he asks, "What about yourself? I'm guessing you're from Heartshome?" As he says this, he thinks to himself, This certainly is a lucky break for me... and I can't complain about the company, either. Good looks, good taste in Pokemon, and someone that can respect intelligence... Waiting for Marge's reply, Gavin's smile widens slightly as he reflects on his good fortune.

[OrchestraHc]

Sorry, I was going by regular bears and an overestimation of the number 4. I can fix that post easy, but I think I like T.J. slightly overestimating the intelligence of most pokemon. Makes his interactions a little more funny.

T.J. had been spending the walk in a one sided conversation with his Ursaring. As the walk continued Big Dipper began to pant heavily and stumble as he walked, though still attempting to press on. T.J. was a Heartshome native, so before the heat had seriously begun to affect him, Dipper was an absolute mess. T.J. couldn't have felt worse for causing his pokemon's ragged condition.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! That's enough. We don't have to walk anymore if your tired." T.J. Recalled the Dipper back to his ball. There's a reason he had never seen an Ursaring before, and he rather stupidly forgot it. A steppe isn't going to be healthy for more than a few minutes. He had exaushted the Ursaring simply walking. Placing the ball back onto his belt, he continued on alone like he initially planned. He let out a sigh, as he began kicking the occaisional stone.

[Gorgondantess]

Adela:

The professor muses for a moment. "Well... I don't really know if it could teach a pokemon a move it couldn't normally learn. I suppose it could... yes, I'm sure it could! ...I'm pretty sure it could.
...But it might have some... Interesting results..."
"Frankly, I don't know what damage it could do. It's only been tested twice- perhaps it only works on aipoms! We'll just have to see, won't we?"

Gavin:
"Well- smart AND brave! What a combination!"
She lowers her sunglasses a bit and flashes some perfect white, shining teeth at you, blinking a bit, and you can see that she is wearing copious amounts of makeup- eyeshadow, mascara, deep red lipstick.
She waves a hand at your question, shrugging a bit with a flippant air, though her tone is quite dramatic.
"Why, yes, ever since my late husband passed away back in Kanto oh so many years ago I sold the old estate and moved to Heartshome. I just couldn't bear to be back there with all those memories."
The jeep rolls on through the beach, a sweet, cool breeze blowing by, the smell of salt, the sound of wingull. There is a moment of silence as you enjoy those things, until Marge, somewhat uncomfortably, continues the conversation.
"Well then, Mr. Scientist Man- actually, I don't believe I got your name! How funny! Anyways, have you ever been to Axelo? Oh, of course not, you just said you'd never been to Aschen! Silly old me. I personally don't go through there very much, never had much a reason to, just a quaint little mining town. What are you heading there for? Hoping to check the mines for the next great pokemon breakthrough?"

TJ: Yeah, that's cool. Intelligence 4 means intelligence along the lines of an ape, or pig, or something like that. Smart, very smart for an animal... but still just an animal.

You travel along for a mundane time, nothing much happening. However, as you move along, you see a group of black specks swarming in the air above a telephone pole...
As you move closer, there's an interesting sight: a pidgeot or pidgeotto- you're not sure which, but either way it looks quite strong sitting atop the telephone pole- surrounded by a swarm of murkrow. The murkrow are screeching and cawing, swooping in and darting at the nevertheless unflinching pidge, and soon enough you see why: it's carrying one of the murkrow, dead, in one claw, chomping on it and looking almost defiantly at the other murkrow, as if daring them to try to take it on.
One works up the bravery to do just that. It flies in, and the pidge drops its meal (the corpse landing not ten feet from TJ), flying forwards and snatches the other murkrow out of midair. It lands on another telephone pole, beginning its fresher meal, and the shrieks of the murkrow increase.

[OrchestraHc]

T.J. almost jumped out of his skin when the bird pokemon dropped it's prey. Seeing a predator in motion, nature shows didn't do it justice. A bird swiping another out of the sky is a blink-and-you'll-miss-it opportunity. Grace, power, and ferocity, all represented in a single... Pidgeotto? Pidgeot? Abnormally large and crested Pidgey? What the heck is that thing? The Pidge was an impressive pokemon, and any trainer would want it for his team, but what type it was could decide whether T.J. could catch it.

Finding out which type it was wouldn't be hard, though. T.J. pulled out his pokedex and checked his Seen Pokemon. The pokedex had a passive scanning mode so if the Pidge in question was a Pidgeot, it would have checked it off when it flew by and dropped it's earlier meal.

If it was a Pidgeotto, T.J. was fairly certain Dancho could take it. If it was a Pidgeot, he decided it might be best to let nature take it's course. At most, he could catch a Murkrow after this was all over.

[BluesEclipse]

"Kanto, you say? Hmm... I actually hail from Pewter, myself." Gavin says, offhandedly, as he thinks to himself, ...Perhaps I've given her too much credit, to begin with. One would think she'd have paid attention when I introduced myself... or, failing that, made sure she knew who I was before offering me a ride. Schooling his features, Gavin responds belatedly to her questions, "It's Gavin. And really, I'm just passing through Axelo, as I said... Sandberg is my ultimate destination. I felt it wise not to attempt travelling through the deserts myself, though." After a moment's thought, Gavin asks, "So, I'm curious... How is it that you came upon such a magnificent specimen as Ezelle? My understanding is that female Eevees are quite rare... one would expect the breeders to hold onto them, quite honestly."

[Bad Situation]

Nathan wanted to curse. To scream at anything, anyone but found himself unwilling to give a damn. It was too hot. He simply did not give any damns. Not altogether surprising though, he had never really bothered with emotion. Emotions made him feel uncomfortable, and anything he did feel, he kept to himself. And there lay his salvation, repressing emotions gave way to logic and right now the logical course of action was to reach Sandberg as quickly as possible. Finding himself without a means of self propelled flight (barring Ender carrying him across, an amusing image to say the least), that would mean traversing the Garin Desert. On foot. In this sort of heat. Right.

He could do this. If he kept telling himself that he was capable of this task he would realize how simple it would be to put one foot in front of the other. Any second now, he would stride magnificently through the barren desert, and emerge victorious. A Frost didn't let things like terrain and nature command his fears.

Closing his eyes, he began his desert adventure.

And with some hope he would be able make some distance before giving up and running back onto the Route.

[Ajadea]

"Gotcha. Sorry for bothering you." Adela heads off quickly as she can without making her breathing labored, popping one of the aspirins in her mouth as she walks. She grabs her stuff quickly and heads out to the store. Maybe she'd catch a Magikarp.

[Bad Situation]

About twenty minutes into the desert Nathan realizes that he's made a terrible mistake. He envies past Nathan, who only had to deal with heat. No no, Current Nathan has it much worse. Which is to say, HE has it much worse. Sand in his shoes. Dust in his eyes. The painful realization that he had probably swallowed about a mouthful of sand by now. Yes, past Nathan was beyond stupid, what kind of idiot went into a desert without food and water.

He would like to have a few words with Path Nathan.

...


Good lord, he was getting delirious. It was probably a good time to head back.

PCHOOOOOO

[Bad Situation]

Nathan soon found himself back at the crossroad, and was pleased to see that nothing had changed since his departure.

The Garin Desert was simply not the place to be it seemed, fortunately he had not wasted too much time out in the sands. If he started now, Route 423 would easy enough to conquer but first he needed something to drink. Stupidity made one ever so thirsty.

The rest stop didn't seem to have any employees, but perhaps the boy outside could help. Waking people up was rude though, so he plopped down next to the boy and cleared his throat.

Several times.

And occasionally nudging the boy.

[Gorgondantess]

Adela:
The Fishing shop is a short walk from the pokemon center, located by the beach. It has all sorts of supplies for catching water pokemon: net balls, rods, nets, even items like water stones, king's rocks, mystic water, and a special on Surf & Dive TMs (for the discerning Deep-Sea fisher).
There's also a large tank with a massive Relicanth in it.
The man behind the counter is fiddling with a rod, and he turns around when you walk in. "Morni..."
Then he sees your bandages, and flinches horribly.
"Geez! What happened to you, girl? Are you alright?"

TJ:
Checking the pokedex, it takes about a minute to scan it from this distance, during which time a few murkrow dive bomb it at a time. It fights them all off rather quickly, but manages to accumulate some wounds from it.
It is, in fact, a pidgeotto- though the crest is very long for one.

[Ajadea]

Adela smiles, then abruptly shuts her mouth. Smiling is probably not the reaction the man wanted to see, damn it. "Got my head slammed into the Pokemon Center counter by a flea-bitten Ursaring," she says. No reason to hide or gloss over the truth. "'m fine now. Can I rent a rod? Figured fishing would be better than trying Route 423 with a concussion." It sounds idiotic, and she has to fight to keep another misplaced smile off her face.

[Gorgondantess]

Gavin:
"I bought Ezelle a few years ago, from a breeder. My late husband was quite a talented investor, and he's made sure I'll never want for anything."
She sighs, and lays a hand on her chest.
"Even in death."
She instantly changes from her dramatic tone to a more conversational one.
"Anyways, I figured if I was going to take my Ezelle to spas and stylists, a little boy simply wouldn't do, now, would it?"

She turns north, and stops at the end of a thin rocky road, impassable for a car. "Well, here's where you get off. I'm heading down the beach a bit more yet. Now, to get to Axelo... oh, why don't I just write you the directions!"
She pulls a slip of paper out of a pocket notebook and scribbles on it a bit before handing it to you.
"See you around, Mr. Scientist Man." She bats her eyes coquettishly, and drives off.
On the piece of paper are some very, very simple directions- she probably didn't even need to write them down at all- and her phone number.
The mountains are visible quite close off in the distance, and it's already cooler by a bit. You know that this is due to the natural fog barrier created by the mountains, though, and not actually the time of day. It's about noon by now.
The path is very rocky, but there's some relatively smooth dirt and gravel. As you walk along, it's relatively quiet- a geodude scampers off as you approach, but that's it. Until, as you're walking along, your foot sinks into the ground up to the ankle... and something bites you in the toes! You yank out your foot to find a nasty, grubby little Larvitar clamped down onto the end of your shoe, and it doesn't seem to want to let go. It's already pierced through the leather, and it hurts like hell.
5 damage to Gavin.

Adela:
The guy nods. "Oh yeah... I heard about that. The Pokemon Center here gets hit about once a year- so few trainers in these parts, they all think it's an easy mark. And it sortof is. The fact that the professor there keeps ordering in expensive equipment doesn't help either." He wrinkles his nose in distaste, obviously preferring peace and quiet to scientific pursuits. "Ah, well."
"So you're one of the trainers who helped fight them off, then? Just a sec." He goes in the back room, and takes out a nice looking rod and a tackle box. "Here- it's on me. Just bring 'em back when you're done. You want a ride to a fishing spot, or are you good on your own?"

Nathan:
The sleeping figure shifts a bit, then stretches its arms, yawning widely. The hat falls off, and you see that it's not a boy but a relatively flat-chested, young looking woman.
She looks you in the eye a little blearily, brushing herself off and getting up, putting her hat back on. She puts on a little lazy-eyed smirk, speaking laconically.
"Hello, sir. What can I do for ya?"

[Ajadea]

"A ride. Thank you," Adela adds belatedly. She hangs around the store looking at stuff until she's sure the Pokedex picked up the Relicanth, and then heads out with the man.

[Gorgondantess]

Adela:
The man carries the stuff for you, and leads you to a small pickup. "Hop on in."
And you're off.
"Y'know, I used to be a trainer myself," He says. "When I was 15 I was deep-sea fishing with my dad, and I caught that Relicanth you see there. Well, I already had a Lanturn, thought I could make it. I got myself a Gyarados, a Sharpedo, even a Kingdra..." He sighs, and shakes his head.
"Those were the days. Good times. But, I donno, I suppose I just lost too many times and I kindof just petered out. Didn't have enough money to make ends meet, anyways, so I opened up the fishing shop. Had to sell all my pokemon... all but the Relicanth, that is, but it all worked out in the end."
He nods. "Y'know, regardless of whether or not you succeed, it sure is an experience. And while a lot of it's hard, and painful... That won't be the last of your wounds, I guarantee it- I don't think I'd go back and change anything, even if I could. Then again, I might've just been lucky. So how about you, then? You going to go for the Championships, or what?"

You drive to the end of town, until you come to a bridge that leads to a large pier. "You should be able to find the gamut here- saltwater magickarp, tentacool, chinchou, remoraid, mantyke... nothing too challenging, but still a good variety." He nods. "You need help using that thing, or can you manage on your own?"

[Ajadea]

"I'll manage," Adela says. She isn't quite sure if she is referring to the fishing or the training. The idea of being smacked around to the brink of death again didn't exactly appeal, but really, that was what things like gauze, doctors, and aspirin were for. She sets up on the end of the pier and baits the hook in silence. After a moment, she gets Vichi to sit down and behave, then throws out the hook.

It was a bit hard to believe...well, most of yesterday. The Pokemon Center got damaged and rebuilt a lot, yeah, but things like death, until this time, had always been someone elses problem. Now it wasn't. Which was what she signed up for.

Someone had to do it really. Better her than someone like that kid with the Slowpoke.

[Gorgondantess]

Adela has problems with the rod at first, being an inexperienced fisher, but quickly enough gets everything under control.
And she waits, casting here and there. Vichi fidgets.
Things start getting even hotter, and sweat breaks out on her skin. Vichi is too bored and hot to even fidget anymore.
She continues to cast her rod, to no avail. It's even hotter. Vichi decides to jump in the lagoon to cool of, and of course because he can't swim, Adela has to dive in and rescue him. At least that'd cool her down.
And more nothing.
Until, finally, when she's about to give up... a bite! And a strong one! In fact, Adela almost fell in the water from it. She pulls at the rod, Vichi grabbing her leg and pulling as well for dear life. She pulls... and pulls... the rod bends all the way around, and seems about to snap... until finally it gives! Adela falls on her bottom, and still attached to the rod, she sees a huge magickarp fly into the air. It arcs overhead, above her head... in fact, directly above her head...
And until now, she'd never really thought how much a fish landing on her face could hurt. Now, she knows: a lot. She feels like she has a black eye, and likely a broken nose as well. In fact, she's sure of the latter: blood is dripping down her chin.
She's sent flailing to the ground, and the magickarp is flopping around on the pier, heading back towards the water.
23 damage to Adela.
Effects of concussion: -2 strength and dexterity. You DO have the jump on it.

[BluesEclipse]

Note: the following was played out over instant messaging/GoogleDocs. I've formatted it better, in order to make it fit here in IC. Full transcript will be available in OOC.

Gavin grunts in pain as he looks down at the Larvitar that bit him. Scowling, he kicks viciously at it to knock it back, before pulling out Garan's Pokeball and releasing the Munchlax. "Blasted thing... I may as well use it, though." Gavin mutters, before ordering, "Garan, use Curse!"

Gavin flails his foot about, and through a stroke of luck, at the apex of swinging his foot, he slams the side of the Larvitar's jaw into a rock, dislodging it without further damage to his poor foot. It leaps back onto a rock, letting out a shrill Screech.

The Larvitar is flailing about, practically frothing at the mouth. It seems mad about... something.

Gavin takes a couple of steps back, wincing due to the injuries to his foot, and calls, "Garan, defend me, and use Counter." Garan nods, and shifts his stance, ready to move if the Larvitar tries to attack either him or his trainer.

The Larvitar falls for it, and attacks the nearest thing in sight: Garan. It leaps at him, shrieking at the top of its lungs, and...

As it's flying through the air, Garan raises an arm. It latches onto his arm, biting and kicking at it furiously. Garan barely suffers a scratch, and hurls the Larvitar off of it and against a rock. But the Larvitar is back on its feet in no time, and ready for more!

Nodding to himself, Gavin thinks, Hmm... yes, he can take it. "Garan," he commands, "use Double-Edge!" Garan charges forwards, and clips the Larvitar against a rock. And it's down! Scowling, Gavin thinks, 'I had hoped it would be sturdier than that. Still, I can capture it now.' Pulling out a Poke Ball, Gavin quickly whips it at the unconscious Pokemon. The Pokemon is drawn into the ball in a flash of light, and the ball shakes once, twice, then falls still. Smirking to himself, Gavin uses what little medical knowledge he has to try and tend to his foot, before heading onward to Axelo, and the Pokemon Center there.

At this time, Gavin will be jumping ahead to Axelo.

[Bad Situation]

So the boy wasn't a boy so much as he was a young woman. Or rather, she was a young woman.

"Yes, you can do something for me actually. I was wondering what sort of supplies I might need on the road."

Nathan knew he needed to expand his team some, because loathe as he was to admit it Ender simply wouldn't be enough for the rest of his journey. The thought of the other Heartshome trainers catching Pokemon before boiled his blood. He needed a rock solid team, and what was more solid then steel.

"I'm looking to expand my team, but I happen to be rather particular with my Pokemon; do you know where I could find some accessible steel-types?"

[Ajadea]

Damned fish! You'd better be worth all you've put me through. Relaxing activity, my ass. Adela thinks savagely. She'd been beaten to a pulp yesterday, roasting all day, had to jump in the water and keep Vichi from drowning himself, and now a blacked eye, a broken nose, and another bash on the head from an oversized fish.

She spits out a glob of blood and makes a face at the coppery taste. "Ged id!" she yells, pointing wildly at the fleeing Magikarp. Vichi looks at the trainer like she's talking nonsense, which she is, more or less. Another glob of blood and saliva hits the deck. "Get it!"


Adela's kinda massively pissed off right now, hence why she wants Vichi using such a powerful move.

Anyways. Adela moves back 6 squares, and Commands Vichi to hit the Magikarp-Vichi chooses Force Palm (to show off his new trick).

[roll0] Hit on 2+, Paralyze on 18+, [roll1]

[OrchestraHc]

The pokedex confirmed it, it was simply a Pidgeotto in need of a trim. He and Dancho could definitely take on something like that. With the Murkrows attacking, the battle could get complicated fast, so he had to move as quickly. Moving in closer to ensure the best shot, he released Dancho and pointed up to the predator roosted above on the pole. "Dancho, Water Gun against the Pidgeotto!"

T.J. moves to 10 meters/squares from the pole and releases Dancho.
Water Gun
Accuracy: [roll0] Minimum: 2
Damage: [roll1]+[roll2](STAB)+8

[Gorgondantess]

Adela:
Vichi smacks the Magikarp, and it skids across the pier, flopping around even more wildly than before! In fact, it's flopping pretty high... and higher... and... higher.
It flies massively high in the air. So high that you have time to act while it's up there.

TJ:
Dancho hits the pidgeotto in the wing, causing it to lose its balance and drop its most recent prey.
The murkrow, of which there are 6 left, decide to use this as their chance to all rush the pidgeotto at once. It shrieks, trying to fly off, but it can't stay aloft amidst the battery it's sustaining and falls to the ground with a thud, the murkrow hot on its tail, swarming around where it's fallen.

Nathan:
The woman leans back, putting her hands behind her head. All in all you get the essence of a very phlegmatic, wistful girl. You start to get impatient as she's so slowly speaking, not wanting to spend a second more in this heat than you have to.
"Weeeell.... I should have all the... comestibles you should need on your journey in my shop here. I wouldn't advise going in, though... No ventilation... it's like an oven in there."
She pauses for a moment, and you think she's finished on that strange note, before she continues, gesturing to the abra.
"James here can fetch anything you want for you. He doesn't mind the heat so much."

You instantly regret asking about the steel types, as she's thinking for a full minute before she responds.
"Weeeeeell... steel types... I'd say... that I don't rightly know."
Another long pause.
"At least, not in this area... Platinum valley might have some?..."

[Bad Situation]

Her answer wasn't all what he had hoped to hear, but it was still better than he had expected. She seemed the honest sort...if a bit sluggish. At any rate he was grateful that she had at least pointed him in a general direction. If Platinum Valley was home to as many steel-types as the name seemed to imply he would be alright.

He would need to fill out his team some before he went anywhere important though. Walking around with a single Pokemon on his belt seemed like the perfect way to get his ass beaten into the ground. Or worse. Probably worse.

"A bottle of water should be fine and maybe something to snack on the way there."

He would keep things brief, no sense waiting longer than he had to.

"Still, a sense of misguided curiosity egged him on, "Why isn't the place ventilated? I would imagine a store located on the outskirts of a desert would have some means of air circulation."

[Ajadea]

Was it weak? Hard to tell. It was flying pretty high, at any rate. Adela didn't feel much like getting another face full of fish, and her muscles were starting to ache again, so she stepped a healthy distance back and waited for it to fall. She spit out another blob of blood and gingerly touched her nose with the tip of one finger. Ow... Okay, definitely broken. She inhaled- through her mouth so as to not make her nose hurt more. "If it's nod knoged oud, Quig Addack id." She pulled a Great Ball out, running her bloodied fingers over the familiar little ridges on it. It was a damn strong Magikarp, anyways. Not all bad.

The trainer was really hard to understand, but Vichi nodded. He thought he understood.


Yeah, not feeling like getting a face full of fish again, so just backing out from under it and getting ready to try and capture.

If it looks ready to fight after hitting the deck like that, Quick Attack: [roll0] [roll1]

[OrchestraHc]

It got complicated fast, just like he thought. This wasn't quite the fight he expected this battle to be, but he couldn't exactly ask a vengeful murder of Murkrow to stand aside. He also couldn't turn back. The Pidgeotto probably could have handled them all if he hadn't inerfered. Now the Murkrow had the advantage and they'd kill their predator if T.J. didn't do something, and it'd be his fault. He ran as close as he could and tossed a pokeball.

T.J. shifts 6 meters closer.
Capture roll: [roll0]
Using Pokeball: Adds +5 to capture rate

[Gorgondantess]

Adela:

The magikarp lands just shy of Vichi, hitting one of the boards of the pier with a loud crack and splitting one in two. The thing is big, and heavy. It begins to flop around again, and Vichi attacks it, but not before getting a face full of flailing fish.
Alliteration for 22 damage.

TJ:
You throw the pokeball at the Pidgeotto... and it simply bounces off its hide. Figures, really- the Pidgeotto did seem like it knows what it's doing.
Due to the sheer number of trainers in the world- and the percentage of them who are abusive, or neglectful- often enough a pokemon who is still "marked" by a trainer will be let go or run away without being cleared of the previous trainer's "mark". Empty pokeballs will thus treat such a wild pokemon as owned, and will not captured it (unless modified to do so by a 'snagger).
Pokemon like this are, however, more amicable towards humans, so it's easy enough to take them back to a pokemon center to be cleared.
Taking advantage of the distraction provided by the flying ball, the pidgeotto leaps into the air with a burst of speed, sending the murkrow flying. One it pierces on the end of its beak and flings off doing so, taking it down, the other 5 flying off after it.
You can still give your pokemon an action.

[Gorgondantess]

Nathan:

The girl nods. "You heard the man, James."
The abra sits still for a few moments, leading you to think that this is some kindof farce, before simply blinking out of existence.
"Why doesn't it have ventilation?... Uh, because it wasn't built with any, I suppose?..."
She smiles laconically.
"Yeah... I'd say that's why it doesn't have ventilation... definitely."

The abra is back soon enough with a bottle of water and a bag of pretzels. It stands up, holding them up to you. The water cold, but the bag of pretzels is rather dusty.
"That'll be... um... 50 poke? That's reasonable, right, James?"
The abra looks at her, and nods. Slowly.

Gavin:
It's another hour before you reach Axelo. Contrary to what you see in the movies, it's bloody difficult to tear off a strip of shirt to make a bandage (your foot is pretty deeply bitten, right down to the bone), and you end up pulling off the sock from that foot and tying it around the wound, then cramming it back into your shoe. It's hardly comfortable, and you're limping every step of the way, and there's probably plenty of dust getting in the wound anyways, but there you go.

Axelo is, while far more busy than Heartshome, even more rustic. It's placed at the foot of the mountain range, where there's currently a working copper mine, as well as a couple other mining operations. It's an old town, many of the buildings made out of wood, and the only facilities there's more than one of are fast food places and gas stations. All the buildings are clustered in one suburb. All in all, it's a pretty minimal place.
Nevertheless, it is active. There are constantly trucks going in and out, taking copper and other amenities, and it's the last sizable stop until the port at Heartshome, where much of the wood from Aschen's only forest goes, as well as all the materials mined at Axelo that don't go to Platinum Valley or Volthselm.
It does have a minimal pokemon center, of course (there's one in every city- League policy), and you can likely get treated there. Beyond that, you might want to ask around with the miners to see if they've found anything... interesting... below the mountain.

[Ajadea]

Vichi reeled back, yelping in pain. Adela lunged forward in an instant, throwing the Great Ball in her hand at the blasted Magikarp. She assessed Vichi's condition with a glance. It wasn't pretty. "Retreat!" she yelled. She wasn't entirely sure how Vichi could get away from the Magikarp, given that he was on the wrong end of the pier and couldn't swim, but Vichi wasn't stupid. He could figure this out.


[roll0]

[Gorgondantess]

Vichi retreats, running back towards you... and hides behind your leg.
The great ball captures the magikarp for only a split second, not even giving a single wiggle before bursting open. The magikarp is stupidly flopping up and down more, "Karp, Karp, Karp..." and begins flopping towards you and Vichi, at about 1 mile per hour. It is actually chasing you.

[BluesEclipse]

Making his way to the Pokemon Center, Gavin walks up to the counter, and says, "I could use a bit of help, here... damned Larvitar tried to take my foot off."

[OrchestraHc]

There was no effect from the pokeball. No wonder the Pidgeotto handled itself so well. T.J. owed that bird a potion and an apology. For now, a change of tactics was in order. "Dancho, Attack a Murkrow, now." The pidgeotto was still in a position to handle most of them. The least T.J. could do now was take one out.

Water Gun against nearest Murkrow
Accuracy: [roll0] Minimum 2
Damage [roll1]+[roll2]+8

[Gorgondantess]

Gavin:

It takes about a half hour to find the pokemon center- it's not a planned city, so it's a pain to get around, there's constant traffic with trucks going through, and all the buildings are pretty homogeneous, made out of wood... but the pokemon center should therefore stick out like a sore thumb, right?
Wrong. It's also made of wood (apparently the League skimped on this one), and you passed it several times before noticing the insides were, well, a pokemon center.
The nurse at the counter looks rather young, but bored and worldweary. Despite this, the blouse of her uniform is buttoned up very... casually.
She quirks an eyebrow at your statement, looking rather unamused. "Larvitar? Honey, I've lived here all my life and I've never seen a larvitar." She rolls her eyes. "Well, whatever... let's see what the damage is."
Seeing your foot, she nods and fetches some alcohol, cotton swabs and gauze. As you pull off your shoe, though... you notice that it's strangely not painful anymore. And that you can't move your toes.
The bandage is stained green, and your toes around it are grey. As you peel off the sock, the wound is reeking, and black around the edges, festering. The nurse looks horrified.
Of course. Larvitars were infamous for having disease-ridden mouths, with bites becoming instantly infected. OOC: Think komodo dragon.
The nurse just stares for a moment. "...How long have you had this wound?"

[Gorgondantess]

TJ:
Dancho shoots one of the murkrow out of the air with his water gun. 4 left- they're obviously not very powerful, but they certainly have numbers on their side. With that, though, they decide to turn their attention towards the enemy currently attacking them... you and Dancho. A few break off and fly down towards the two of you, while the last one hovers in the air a few moments, obviously confused. The pidgeotto does a backflip down on top of it, diving down, catching it in its talons and crashing it down on the road. It pins it for a split second, squirming, before it darts in a beak at its neck- there's a jet of blood, and the murkrow writhes under the pidgeotto's foot before dying off.
The pidge, at this point, is quite exhausted, covered in blood (much of it its own) and feathers all in disarray. It sluggishly picks up its most recent kill, flapping over to a log, and sits over it, watching you hunched over and ostensibly only staying awake to make sure the murkrow don't double back to finish it off.
Meanwhile, the Murkrow are diving towards you, claws outstretched.

[Bad Situation]

Talking to the young woman was quite likely going to involve more of his time running down the drain, so Nathan wisely kept his mouth shut. Nodding his head, he withdrew the 50 poke and exchanged the currency for the pretzels and water.

[Ajadea]

Adela swears loudly. The Magikarp moved a lot slower than she did, yeah, but the damned thing was strong enough to break out of the ball in an instant and aggressive enough to give chase...which was actually a good trait, in a Gyarados. If the said Gyarados didn't chomp her much-abused head off, anyways.

Adela backs up a little more, careful to avoid kicking Vichi. We must be a sight for sore eyes, she thinks-or says, she isn't even sure right now...Let's try this again.

She plucks another Great Ball out of her belt with bloody fingers and lobs it at the Magikarp. She isn't about to send Vichi in there again.

[BluesEclipse]

Grimacing, Gavin replies, "It's only been a couple of hours or so. Damned thing got hold of me on my way up from Heartshome." Sighing, he mutters to himself, "Sometimes I wonder why I go through all of this trouble..."

[Gorgondantess]

Adela:
The ball wiggled several times... and...
Argh! Almost had it! The Magikarp bursts forth and continues to flop after you, flopping higher and higher. Each bounce it makes is almost 6 feet in the air, and it lands on the pier each time with a loud slap.

Gavin:
The nurse looks at you strangely, then steels herself with a deep breath.
"Right. I'll have to debride the necrotic tissue. The quickest way to do so is by surgery... and, thankfully, that's covered by the League.
It'll hurt. A lot. You can get nitrous oxide, but that's not covered by the league- at a glance, I'd say it'll be about 1,200 poke, give or take- I'll have to weigh you if you decide to go that route, though. You'll also have to sign a waiver."

[Ajadea]

Adela sighs and rummages in her bag again for a Pokeball. Her hand closes on something else first. A rather more cylindrical something else. She pulled out the Super Potion and took a deep breath (through her mouth, rather than her sensitive and dry-blood-stuffed nose) before spraying it over Vichi's wounds. "Cross Chop it. Now," she said, her tone ironed flat as a board by the scream of frustration that she wanted to emit.

Vichi obeyed in an instant, charging as fast as his paws would carry him. He would show this insolent fish who was better here!


[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

[OrchestraHc]

With four Murkrow diving at him, T.J. opened his mind, mentally reaching out to grab the birds mid-flight. Dancho had managed to knock one out in a single hit, as if T.J.'s opinion of him could be any higher. Dancho was at a type disadvantage so staying on the offensive was key. "Dancho, Hit another! Don't let them get close."

T.J. grabs at the Murkrows with Telekinesis.
Water Gun against nearest Murkrow
Accuracy: [roll0] Minimum 2
Damage [roll1]+[roll2]+8

[BluesEclipse]

Scowling, Gavin says, "Yes, the nitrous will be fine. Just get what I need to sign, and let's get this taken care of."

[Gorgondantess]

Adela: Vichi charges forwards and strikes down on the magikarp. It lets out one final "Karp!" before being slammed into the pier. The karp is quite unconscious. Congratulations! Vichi gained 114 xp!
Hasty nature, level 19, knows bounce, splash & tackle.

TJ:

Dancho's water gun manages to slow the murkrow, but it keeps coming! TJ's telekinesis is much more effective, and he manages to hold it in midair for a few seconds... before one of the murkrow swoops down and goes straight for the eyes, flapping around his head in a could of angry talons and feathers, clawing at his face and arms and gouging them up in several places. This causes him to lose his concentration, and the murkrow he had previously suspended plummets to the ground and follows chase.
The other murkrow attacks Dancho, landing on top of the hapless pokemon and with a needle like beak begins ripping chunks out of his back.
18 damage to Dancho, 11 damage to TJ. This is adjusted for defense.

Gavin:
The nurse takes you in the back room, quickly weighing you and handing you the waiver while she sets up the gas. Soon enough the mask is on your face, and you slowly drift into euphoria. Before you know it, she's working on your foot with a scalpel and gauze, scraping off the dead and severely infected tissue. You look down as if it's a mile away, your foot bleeding profusely- she has a steady hand, but she's obviously not exactly an expert at this kind of thing. It stings a bit, but it's a distant, cold pain- still, you'd hate to wonder what it'd be like without the laughing gas.
You lose track of time, but your watch says the whole procedure takes about a half an hour before she's dressing your wounds. Once finished, she tells you to wait there while she writes it all up for you. Another 5 minutes or so pass, and she finishes, bringing you some fresh socks from the center inventory, as well as a cane. She tells you to walk as little as possible for the rest of the day, and to not walk more than a few miles the next day, and it should all heal up fine (with some extensive scarring, of course). She rings it up to 1,350 for the laughing gas.

[Ajadea]

Adela takes out a third Great Ball and bounces it off the unconscious Magikarp's head, grinning with satisfaction as the massive fish turns into a swirl of energy within a fist-sized ball. She tucks the Pokeball into her belt. "Come on Vichi. We've got to take this back to show all the nice nurses. And a bath for both of us. You have blood all over your face." Vichi put his paws protectively over his face. No bath! No bath! The trainer took one look at him and laughed, not unkindly. "You're just being silly now. Come on."

Vichi followed, muttering darkly about evil baths. The fact that the trainer had been fallen on by a flea-ridden Ursaring was the only reason he wasn't complaining more. Really.

[OrchestraHc]

"Augh!" T.J. yelled as the Murkrow scratched at him. He turned his head and covered his face with his hand. T.J. tried to recollect his focus. He thought about the bird attacking him and how he wanted it gone. He grabbed at it with his mind and pushed it away as far and hard as he could. One had managed pass him which only meant it was after Dancho. "Dancho! Yawn!" he called to his pokemon.

T.J. uses telekinesis to move the Murkrow away. The Full 12 meters if possible.
Dancho uses Yawn.

[Gorgondantess]

Nathan (finally!):
You continue to travel along the route. It is quite uneventful. There might have been events... but the heat is getting to you, and you simply trudge along, head sunk, staring as your feet as you go, so you miss anything that might be going on around you, from pokemon to trainers to any strange women who might want to give you a ride.
Of course, you do catch anything that might be going on where you're treading... which for the longest time, isn't much but paved road. Until there's a slowly shifting crack in the road.
At first, you pass over it, in something of a daze. But then it hits you that the crack was moving. You go back to confirm what you saw, and find that either you're beginning to hallucinate from the heat... or there is indeed something under the road that's moving a chunk of the pavement.

TJ:
Dancho makes his yawn, effecting both of the murkrow currently attacking the two of you. One of them makes a few final pecks at the slowoke before slumping off his back, asleep. The other you catch with your telekinesis and push away several metres. It flaps against you... but soon enough falls to the ground in slumber itself.
You breathe a sigh of relief. Now would just be... of course, your train of thought is distracted by the other murkrow- the one you pushed back before- which is now back on its wings and attacking your face.
14 damage to you, 11 damage to Dancho.

[Bad Situation]

Roads didn't just move of their own volition. Not usually. Or actually, not ever, but it seemed life took a peculiar interest in proving him wrong, because the road was in fact shifting.

It didn't take an idiot to understand that something was amiss. And despite it all, Nathan was anything but. He unclipped Ender's Pokeball from his training belt and examined the road with a level of scrutiny he hadn't realized he was capable of. He readied the Pokeball, ready to release at a moment's notice.

[Ajadea]

Once the adrenaline wore off, Adela's rib started throbbing again. Groaning, she popped the aspirin bottle open and took two of the little white pills. Three cheers for the genius who made aspirin... she thinks as the pain begins to subside. She walks back to the fishing store slowly, taking the time to 'stop and smell the roses', as the saying went. It wasn't something she did often.

After dropping the rod and tackle off, it was only a short distance to the Pokemon Center. The broken glass was gone, though the open window still sent shivers down her spine. She heads up to the nurse on duty and hands her new Magikarp to the nurse on duty at the restorative unit. "Just caught it today," she says casually.

As soon as she gets the Magikarp back, Adela drags Vichi upstairs and scrubs the blood and dried salt out of his fur. He squirms and whines in her grip, and splashes a copious amount of water everywhere, but eventually she gets him clean. Sending him off with a slightly stale poffin, she quickly scrubs away the blood and salt water, careful to avoid aggravating her nose and rib further.

Feeling marginally more human, Adela collapses in to bed, not even bothering with food. Tomorrow...tomorrow, Route 423.

[Gorgondantess]

Adela:
The nurse on duty takes one look at Adela and opens her mouth, about to tell her off for exerting herself... then just takes the pokemon, muttering something disparaging about trainers.
The next morning Adela is feeling... better. Still a far cry from good... but better.
Halve the ability score penalties, and you're restored 20% (rounded up) of your max HP.

Nathan:
The asphalt continues to shift... but it doesn't seem like anything will emerge. It's just kindof wiggling around.

[Bad Situation]

Against his better judgement, Nathan followed the movement. He wasn't entirely sure what was causing the commotion but anything that could shift the ground like that definitely deserved a spot on his team (or kill him but Nathan tended away from thoughts like that).

And it would give him something to do at any rate. Her would look into some sort of entertainment in the next town. Or perhaps a sort of vehicle.

[OrchestraHc]

Attempting at covering his face with one hand, he reaches for a pokeball and tries to catch the attacking Murkrow. Even with the other Murkrow down T.J. had to keep Danco offensive. Pokemon sleep moves would only last for a minute at most. He shouts to Dancho to continue his attacks.

Catch Roll with Pokeball [roll0]
Dancho attacks sleeping Murkrow that was just on top of him.
Water Gun [roll1] Minimum check 2
Damage: [roll2]+[roll3]+8

[Ajadea]

Waking up...well, it still hurt. But not as much. So...progress. Technically. "Vichi, get up, we're leaving," Adela snaps. After breakfast, she heads out to Route 423, running her hand occasionally over the Great Ball with the Magikarp in it. You are Bane, she decides, her mental words savage in her mind. Fits too. The damn thing is going to kill someone or something sooner or later.

[Bad Situation]

After pinpointing the origin of the rumbling, Nathan slid the baton out of his bag and warily drew toward the epicenter of movement. Reaching down he carefully pried the stone loose so as to determine the exact nature of shifting stone.

[BluesEclipse]

Nodding, Gavin says, "Yeah, I'll just stay here for the day, then..." and hands over the money in his wallet, sighing to himself. I'll see how much I can get for this stone tomorrow... "Where are the rooms?" he asks, wanting to get some rest.

[Gorgondantess]

TJ:
At the epicenter of your throw, the pokeball slips out of your hand, flying straight up into the air. You realize what comes up must come down, and duck out of the way of the wayward ball... just as the murkrow is flying at your face again. The pokeball lands on it, absorbing it into the ball... and it wiggles... and it's caught!
The sleeping murkrow, though, are beginning to stir... and the Pidgeotto is simply staring at you with keen eyes.
You failed so spectacularly your failure reached the very bottom of all failures, and came out the other side somewhere in success.
Level 3 Murkrow, female, modest nature. No special moves.

Adela:
As you're just about to head out of the pokemon center, a young man barges in, tossing a pokeball at the nurse from across the room. You notice that it's a custom ball, with an elegant yellow and white design engraved on a black surface. She nimbly catches it, and with a dry tone, she simply says "Good to see you again, too, Brandon", as she takes it to the machine.
He's about 16 or 17, lean, with a dark shock of red hair. By the way he holds himself he looks rather stuffy, belied by the smirk on his face. "Finally, some new blood! I was starting to go stir crazy here." He looks you up and down, cocking an eyebrow at Vichi. "Well, how about it, trainer? Can that pet Riolu of yours fight?" He nods, holding up what looks like an ultra ball but dark red in place of yellow with one hand in a gesture of challenge.

Nathan:
You lift up the rock, and find underneath it a drillbur, if you could even call it that. You could likely hold it in the palm of your hand- it's obviously an infant. It feebly reaches out a claw, making drillbur-noises, though very high pitched and weak. You have the feeling that if you just leave it there it'll likely die, unless its mother is somewhere around.

Gavin:
This pokemon center is a simple one-story place, and it's less of a motel, like Heartshome, and more of a hostel-style dormitory affair- two rooms of six bunk beds each, one for males and one for females. There's also a small kitchen, and two communal bathrooms, one for each room. It's very compact and efficiently organized- you're surprised they managed to fit all this in this size of building, let alone the whole pokemon center as well.

[Bad Situation]

Damn.

Much as he hated to admit it, he had a weak spot for these sorts of things. Baby* pokemon were incredibly fragile insofar as battle was concerned, but the deceiving frailty spoke of untold reserves of potential.

At this thought he frowned.

Potential was only valuable when one lived long enough to tap into it. Where was the creature's mother? Had they been separated? Would she be coming back though? Was she capable of returning even? Too many questions, and only one answer.

"A sad fate indeed..." he muttered. There was little doubt in his mind that the creature would die if left alone. He had been wrong before of course, but a Frost man never left things up to chance if he could help it.

Reaching into his bag he withdrew a sky blue balled lined with yellow markings and gently tapped it against the creature.

[roll0]

<hr>
*Baby as in infantile Pokemon, not the term for typically reserved for Pichus and such.

[Ajadea]

"Yes," Adela snaps. Punching the guy in his smug little face, while it might relieve some of her stress, seemed like a bad idea at the moment. Vichi looked like he was having similar thoughts. "What do you have?" she asks, glancing at the custom ball. Too late, she realizes the insult in her tone, but it couldn't be helped anymore.

[OrchestraHc]

"Huh?" It was all he could say staring into the pokeball he just picked up. Stunned and embarassed, he turned to see if Dancho noticed. Dancho seemed to be focused on the murkrow, so if he did notice he was polite enough not to say anything. "Dancho, just attack it again, and then we'll work on the last one." He moves next to Dancho and administers a potion to his partner.

Water Gun
Accuracy: [roll0] Minimum check:2
Damage [roll1]+[roll2]+8
T.J. moves back to Dancho.
Potion: [roll3]

[Gorgondantess]

Adela:
The man seems more amused than put off by your tone. "What do I have? Well-"
He's cut off, though, by the professor, who you only now notice has been watching from the balcony above. She glares down at Brandon.
"I will not have you battling, friendly or no, in my pokemon center. If you wanted a fight, you should've been here two days ago when we sent out the distress call. I would've thought you, if anyone, would show up."
His face twitches, but he resumes his confident smile. "Well, I'm sorry, but I wasn't exactly in a position to help at the time. You see, I was-"
Cut off. "I don't care where you were, the fact is you weren't here. Now I believe your pokemon is finished recovering, so take it and get out."
He sighs, smiles at you and shrugs, then fetches the other pokeball, paying the nurse (who is looking like she's torn between feeling apologetic for Brandon and angry at him for setting off the professor) for the service.
The Professor then turns her stern glare towards you.
"And you. I don't care what you did yesterday, and I don't care what you do today, but any further injuries you incur will be on your dollar, not mine."
Brandon turns to you and rolls his eyes. "Well come on, let's do what the good professor says and leave her to her business."

"There's a gym not far from here. Come on."
"Gym" is something of a catchall term for "place to do pokemon battles". Naturally, they're often located near pokemon centers.
"So, you ask me what I have?"
He throws down his pokeball, and releases a sizable magmar. He snaps a finger, and it walks alongside him.
"I'm glad I finally found someone who might be a challenge. I've been battling my sister whenever I have the chance here, but really, clefairy? Hardly a challenge. I miss Kanto- there were far more trainers there, and ones who were really serious about the profession."

Nathan:
The Drillbur is absorbed, and caught without even a wiggle.
Level 2 Drillbur. Male. Naive nature. No special moves.

TJ:
And Dancho takes out another one. The last is still asleep.

[Bad Situation]

Thankfully, the tiny Pokemon was caught without much fuss. Nathan clipped the Quick Ball to his belt and continued on the path. The sooner he was out of the heat, the sooner he could examine his capture in greater detail. Axelo Town couldn't be that much further could it?

[Ajadea]

"Of course, Adela says absently, tugging Vichi out of the center. Really, it wasn't like her plans involved getting another Magikarp to the face or being slammed into a wall by that Magmar. "So, where were you two days ago anyways?"

[OrchestraHc]

"Alright Dancho," he said to his slowpoke, still a little embarassed from the earlier pokeball mishap. "Let's just make sure that last one doesn't follow us." T.J. points to the Murkrow he pushed off. The last thing he needed was the murkrow waking up thirty seconds later with a grudge.

Water Gun
Accuracy: [roll0] Minimum check:2
Damage [roll1]+[roll2]+8

[Gorgondantess]

Nathan:
You reach Axelo town. It's not a planned city, there is constant traffic of pickups and larger trucks going through, and all the buildings are pretty homogenous, made out of wood, so it's a pain to get around or find anything.
Gavin, too:
To the north of the town, at the base of the mountain, is the mines: it's semi-open to the public, as the miners tend to find pokemon related paraphernalia and sell it off at lower prices than the marts in major cities can manage. They also deal in a sort of safari zone: once in a while they come across pokemon infested areas, and allow trainers to go in and hunt at their leisure for free. Initially this made Axelo a popular area for trainers, but now the primary appeal is just the stones and fossils and such- the "safari zones", as it got deeper and deeper, are getting more and more dark and dangerous. After the first dozen or so deaths, only hardcore trainers dare venture into the depths- zubat and clefairy have been replaced by gengar and steelix.

Adela:
Brandon sniffs. "I was out at sea on my father's yacht. We were hours away- frankly, I'm surprised the distress call even reached that far. It would've been a waste of time to bother at all, anyways."
You reach the gym- it's a small affair, this being Heartshome. A bored clerk waits at the front, ushering you in- the place is empty at the moment.
"Make it a clean fight, kids. Just ask me if you need anything. And remember, the League is waived of responsibility for any injuries to your person or pokemon."
Brandon waves a hand. "Yes, yes, I've heard it all before.
Entering the gym proper, you find a utilitarian, rectangular arena, with chairs on the side for bystanders, a small square at either thin end of the rectangle for the trainer to stand in, and a circle before each square as a start area for pokemon.
"Well then, let's get this thing started. Magmar." He enters his square, and the magmar stands in its area.
So, you can do some pre-game back and forth, or send your pokemon in.

[Ajadea]

Adela nods. "Let's do this, Vichi." The Riolu jumped into the field, doing a little flip as it did so. Showoff, Adela thinks, rolling her eyes.

[Bad Situation]

Nathan arrived at Axelo Town's Pokemon Center in shrot order. It was smaller than he wass used to seeing but serviceable enough. After finding a relatively quiet spot in the center, Nathan set down his belongings and released the new addition to his team. New Pokemon were always problematic, but the sooner he addressed the issue the sooner he could start training. If what he remembered was correct, Drilburs evolved into a powerful steel-type.

Gulping nervously, he released the freshly caught Pokemon...

...and was surprised to find the mole Pokemon hugging his leg tightly.

Had the Drilbur mistaken him as some sort maternal figure? He was no mother, but one look into the mole's wide eyes made him reconsider.

Bending down, Nathan gently patted the Pokemon's head. "I think I'll name you Simon. It's a name destined for greatness you know?"

His only response was a happy squeal and a tighter grip on his lag.

"Just you wait Simon, yours is the drill that will pierce the heavens..."

[Gorgondantess]

Adela:
Brandon nods. "Well then, magmar, open up with a smog!"
The magmar inhales deeply, then blasts out of its mouth a thick, dark cloud of acrid smoke. It envelops Vichi fully, and even goes past to Adela a bit. As soon as it hits her her eyes start watering, and her skin tingles, and every orifice burns. She can only imagine what Vichi is enduring.
17 poison special damage. Vichi is poisoned.

Bad Situation & Gavin:
You see each other in the Pokemon Center! Wacky hijinks and unmitigated japery doubtlessly ensue.

TJ:
And the last Murkrow is down. The pidgeotto is still watching, and seems more tense than ever.
240 xp to Dancho.

[OrchestraHc]

With the murkrow taken care of, T.J. recalled Dancho, as he was no longer needed out in the heat. He then turned to the Pidgeotto and pulled out a potion. This would probably be the toughest thing he did all day. It could either end with the friendship of a currently wild bird pokemon, with a chance for partnership down the line, or talons. He had an understandable feeling that bird pokemon would be his least favorite to fight in the wild, especially if they always went for the face. Setting the potion down on thin air and giving it a gentle nudge forward he and the potion moved slowly towards the wounded bird,the bottle always a few feet ahead of him. He held his hands open and forwards in the universal sign for "I'm unarmed, please don't attack my face," and kept them there even after realizing it was pointless to show you were unarmed when you were literaly floating a bottle of medicine with your mind. T.J. stopped a half-way awaiting some sign from the pidgeotto before going any further.

Telekinesis on the Potion bottle.

[Ajadea]

Adela wipes her eyes angrily. She was suddenly being reminded of why she hated onions with a passion. "Cross Chop!" Might as well open up with the stronger sort of move.


[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

[BluesEclipse]

Turning to head in the direction the receptionist indicated the rooms were, Gavin blinks as he sees a familiar individual sitting down, with a mole-like Pokemon clinging to him. Nodding, he makes his way over carefully, wincing as he moves. "Well, this is certainly a surprise. I hadn't expected to see you here, Nathan... for some reason, I had thought you might try trekking straight through the desert to Sandberg." Sighing as he sits down near the younger trainer, and setting the cane to his side, his tone becomes more cynical as he says, "I see you've found another Pokemon for your team... I hope your new addition didn't give you as much trouble as mine did - if such a thing is even possible..."

[Bad Situation]

Nathan regarded Gavin casually. Meeting another trainer wasn't unexpected, but he was surprised that it happened so soon. Still, it wouldn't do to leave the man hanging for so long, "I had planned on the desert route but turned back when I realized that Ender would be no good on his own."

It was a lie, but it certainly wasn't untrue. Ender was powerful, but going up against a ground-type at this point was practically suicide.

"And no, Simon didn't give me any trouble. He's practically a baby."

It seemed as if Gavin had caught a new Pokemon as well. At any rate, it wouldn't hurt to scope out another trainer's team.

"So what exactly gave you so much trouble?"

[Bad Situation]

Edit: Double Post.

[BluesEclipse]

"Nothing much," Gavin says, a bitter tinge lying underneath the calm of his manner, "Just a Larvitar that attempted to take my foot off, and nearly succeeded before I could capture it. And unfortunately, as I mentioned back in Heartshome, my specialties don't lie in the medical field - the bite became rather badly infected." He sighs, before continuing, "I'm fortunate I had the funds to cover my own treatment as it is - I'll be hoping to find a way to make some money tomorrow, so that I can get both my Pokemon tended to before I head onwards to Sandberg. Still," Gavin chuckles a bit, a self-depreciating smirk on his face, "I suppose you see now why I don't want to try a solo expedition. On the other hand, if I can get it to evolve, a Tyranitar would be a very potent Pokemon to possess, wouldn't you agree?"

[Bad Situation]

"A Tyrannitar? Yeah, they're pretty powerful I guess. But if it's power we're talking about I'm more interested in a Metagross."

If Nathan were any less of a trainer he would probably be envious of Gavin's acquisition of such a powerful Pokemon. Fortunately for him, Tyranitar was probably his least favorite Pokemon powerhouse. The armored Pokemon had power in spades, but were one of the riskier choices in Pokemon he'd seen in the televised battles. They were relatively slow and were weak to many common tournament Pokemon but when used properly they could sweep entire teams.

It made him wonder though, where had Gavin obtained such a powerful Pokemon? He would need a powerhouse on his team for any upcoming tournaments, and the sooner he caught one the better.

"So where did you find it? I'll probably be sticking around for a bit to train Simon, and if I see a good Pokemon I probably wouldn't give up the chance to capture one."

[BluesEclipse]

"Oh, it was on a path just off the standard route, along the beachfront. I was fortunate enough to meet someone headed that way - they gave me a lift for part of the trip." Smiling, even as he pulls out his Pokedex to look up the information on Drillbur, Gavin says, "What of Simon, here? Where did you come across him?"

[Bad Situation]

"I found him on the road to Axelo. He was separated from his mother so I took pity and caught him."

Nathan hadn't intended on a long conversation, but if it was going to happen it might as well be of something beneficial.

"Say, do know where I could get a battle around these parts? I was hoping for a light battle to get Simon used to fighting."

[Gorgondantess]

Adela:
Vichi strikes the Magmar, sending it reeling back. It stumbles around for a bit, and Brandon bites his lip, nervous... but then it regains its balance, back in the game.
"Alright! Magmar, use Fire Spin now!"
The Magmar spins its head around, exhaling a thin stream of flame that loops and curls, landing on and around Vichi, trapping him entirely in a ring of fire.
Okay. First of all, that was 17 damage before resistance. Second, you should've taken poison damage that turn, and third, in case you didn't know, poison reduces special defense by 2 steps.
Finally, Vichi takes 21 (before defense) fire damage from fire spin, and is trapped.

TJ:
The pidgeotto stares at you with keen eyes, wary... then sees the potion. It burbles, and hops off its log, staring at it expectantly. It still keeps you at arm's length, but it certainly gets within range of a telekinetically moved potion.

[Ajadea]

Even through the smog and fire, Adela could see that Vichi was quite clearly down. "Return," she snaps, pulling out the Riolu's Pokeball and pulling him back in. No way she was sending out that Magikarp before she taught it anything. If tears shone in her eyes, she'd blame it on that cursed smog.

[Gorgondantess]

Brandon stares through the flames with slitted eyes, watching intently... then hears Adela's return. The crook of his mouth turns up, and he claps. "Excellent battle! Excellent. Quite intense, really. You had me at the edge of my seat.
Good job, Magmar." He pulls a hyper potion out of his belt, giving the Magmar a quick spray and tossing the mostly empty canister in the nearby garbage can. He throws you a Full Restore. "Good show. Your pokemon earned it."
He nods. "So, ah... you know, I don't believe I ever got your name, anyways."

[Ajadea]

Adela snatches the Full Restore out of the air, fingers fumbling for only a moment on the smooth plastic. "Thanks. My name's Adela." She grins. "I thought about sending out my other Pokemon for a bit. Thought better of it though. No matter how violent the Magikarp is, fact remains it's still no good for land battling."

[BluesEclipse]

Thinking for a moment, Gavin replies, "Honestly, I'm not entirely sure what facilities this town would have for that. Were it a stronger and more experienced Pokemon, I'd suggest trekking into the uncleared areas of the mines, but I doubt that would be wise." Shrugging, Gavin says, "Perhaps the receptionist here could give you more information. Either way, I should be going - I intend to see if I can find someone interested in buying an Oval Stone... or, failing that, I'll see if someone here can utilize my knowledge." Standing up, and turning to leave, Gavin stops for a moment, before turning back to the young trainer. "My offer from before still stands, by the way - should you ever change your mind." Walking back to the rooms, Gavin pulls out his Pokedex, using it to post a quick notice that he has an Oval Stone available for sale to any interested buyer. Nodding as he finishes that, he closes his eyes and falls asleep.

[Gorgondantess]

Gavin & Nathan:
The next day dawns. It is quiet, aside from the muffled sounds of mining far off in the distance. What did you really expect to happen overnight anyways?

Adela:
Brandon nods. "Magikarp, eh? Yeah, I've been thinking about getting one of those- a Gyarados would be fantastic. Still, it would involve, well... training a magikarp... and I'm far too impatient to lower myself to that level."
He winks.
"So, you live here in Heartshome?"

[Ajadea]

Adela nods. "Yeah, I do. But I'm going head out on Route 423 later today after I get Vichi here patched up. With this insane Magikarp in tow. It tried to chase me. On land. Where are you off to?"

[OrchestraHc]

T.J. squeezed the trigger of the bottle, spraying the pidgeotto with potion. when the bottle emptied he decided to make his appeal. "I'm sorry I almost got you killed." He stopped and thought about what he said for a minute. "Let me rephrase that. I'm sorry I took advantage of your situation. My plan blew up in your face. Thing is, trainers are going to keep trying to catch you, so chances this might happen again are likely. Sooo..." T.J. turned and pointed down the road. "Want to go with me to Axelo Town, and get you unmarked?" he blurted out.

Potion [roll0]

[Gorgondantess]

Adela:
Brandon narrows his eyes, looking quizzical.
"...Heading down Route 423?... Why, exactly? Going anywhere in particular, or..." He trails off. You can tell this is something of a pointed question.

TJ:
The Pidgeotto chirps, flapping back on its log and hopping back and forth. It seems much more comfortable around you, but, for whatever reason, doesn't seem to understand what you're saying.

[Ajadea]

"I've been wanting to see somewhere other than Heartshome," Adela replies. "Never changes here. Either everything's normal, or the Center's been attacked. Once you've seen this place both ways, you've seen all of it. I've been thinking of going to Moira Town, if I can find a Fire-type or Flying pokemon."

[Gorgondantess]

Brandon narrows his eyes further, cocking his head.
"...You aren't trying to take the Pokemon League Challenge, are you?"
...A forest is the wrong place to look for a fire type. Sunsong mountains is the best place, though Route 56, either of the deserts, or Ritriin mountains could also do the trick.

[Ajadea]

"It's not something I've completely thrown out the window. Not something I'm trying especially hard to do either, though."


Vulpix: grassy areas of Route 423. Numel: Base of mountains by Route 423. Basically, if Adela manages to find one of those on her way to Sandberg, she will consider stopping at Moira Town, to poke around the forest at least, but into a grass & bug pokemon heavy area without a fire type or a flying type seems like a terrible idea.

[OrchestraHc]

"Okay, communications breakdown," T.J. said to himself. Perhaps he was too wordy. "Do you," he said slowly, including a nice point at the pokemon. "Want to come," this time said along with a beconing hand motion. "With me," puntuating it with a few pokes to his chest. "To Axelo?" finishing his question a long point down the road.

[Gorgondantess]

Ajadea:
Brandon looks confused. "Then, I have to wonder, why become a trainer at all? Is there some other goal to it here in Aschen? Pokemon beauty contests, perhaps? Or maybe synchronized swimming?" He scoffs. "I suppose that's not really surprising, all things considered."

TJ:
The Pidgeotto ***** its head. It caws, then flies up, taking a corpse with it and lands on its telephone pole. It's still watching you, but less on edge than before.

Gavin:
Come morning, your foot is quite sore, but it's more of a fleshwound sore, and doesn't seem to be infected anymore. The nurse did her job. You're given a utilitarian cane to help you get around town.
You head towards the mines. It's all business there, with carts and trucks and sweating, dirty men bustling about. Various shanty shacks litter the area, and asking about you're pointed in two directions: you can inquire about jobs at the foreman's office, and one of the shacks is something of a merchant who sells off the weird stuff they find in the deeps.

[Bad Situation]

The Pokemon Center wasn't under attack. Taking this as a good sign, Nathan slung his bag over his shoulder and departed from the Center. He'd spent the entirety of yesterday walking, and this struck him as wasteful. A trainer couldn't very well do well in a career without training his Pokemon. The sleepy town looked mostly devoid of trainers, so he would need to take his battling to the outdoors.

He hated the outdoors.

Sighing, he whistled a cheerful tune in an attempt to make the bst of it.

[BluesEclipse]

Thinking for a moment, Gavin heads into the foreman's office, looking around for whoever is in charge. When he finds the foreman, he says, "Good morning... I'm here to offer my services to your mining operations. I happen to be a specialist in petrology and minerology, so I do believe my skills would be of significant value to you..."

[OrchestraHc]

That was as good an answer T.J. felt he was going to get. He started down the road, periodically checking over his shoulder to see if the bird was following. While walking, he touched his hand to his scratched up face, wincing a bit at the pain. He checked his hand for blood.
This Murkrow misadventure had cost him a portion of his supplies, so he'd have to reload a bit earlier than he thought. Not a problem, he thought to himself, Axelo isn't even a walk. Unless of course I get attacked on the way there. T.J.'s thought's froze himself still for a moment. He told himself not to think about it and started walking again, with a noticeable increase in speed to his usual ambling.

[Ajadea]

"To see new things without having to worry about wild Pokemon as much," Adela says with a small shrug. "Getting a Riolu egg for my birthday last year was a big part of it too."

[Gorgondantess]

Nathan:
As Nathan walks, the day, again, grows hotter and hotter. So very hot- it's infuriating, really. He primarily keeps to the road, as walking on the rocky ground off to the side hurt his feet. As he moves on, it starts to become a little more verdant: there's actually green grass, rather than desert shrubberies. In fact, could that be... it is... shade. Shade, provided by trees. It seems that there's something of a small lake at the corner of the mountain, likely the product of runoff. It being high noon, any respite is worth a break in his movement, and he runs over to catch some shade made by a tree at the water's edge. Being out of the sun and the proximity of the water actually make things a rather relaxing temperature. He sits down, closing his eyes a moment to enjoy things.
"Bidoof!"
Looking to the side, he sees a bidoof advancing on him. It seems blissfully happy, and he thinks it's likely coming over to him to cuddle more than anything else.
"Bidoof!"
Except not from the same bidoof. This came to the side, where there's another bidoof advancing on him.
"Bidoof!"
More bidoofs. Two flank him on each side, and several more begin rising out of the water, all advancing on him at once. Nine in total.
"Bidoof, biii!"

Adela:
Brandon shrugs. "Well... alright then, if you say so. I suppose I'll be seeing you around, then, trainer." And with a wink and a nod, he leaves the gym.

TJ:
TJ continues to travel along the road. He does not, in fact, get attacked along the way there. It's quite hot, though, at this point. Uncomfortably so, even for a native, this close to the desert.
Soon enough, there's something off in the distance. Very far off are the mountains... but before that, a crossroads. He's on the southern road. To the north the asphalt fades to dirt, and leads into the Garin desert. And to the east it continues, heading up to hug the mountain range and move onwards towards Axelo.
And to the west, no road, but a rest stop. Small, but serviceable. He finds it deserted aside from a girl wearing a straw hat, throwing stones at a can. Next to her is an abra in an identical hat, sleeping as abras tend to do.
She nods at your approach. "Howdy, stranger. Would you like any of my fine comestibles... to cool you down under the hot, hot Aschen sun?"
She speaks in a slow drawl, slow enough to cause impatience. TJ almost loses track of what she's saying she speaks so slowly.

[Ajadea]

Adela heads out of the gym, stopping at the Pokemon Center to get Vichi patched up before heading out to Route 423. How insane would it be to try and train Bane on land? she wonders. It was a strong Pokemon, just...limited, terrain-wise. I need to get it evolved, one way or another. Off to Axelo Town, and then...perhaps Sandberg, perhaps somewhere else. The world wasn't going anywhere.

[OrchestraHc]

Luck was on T.J.'s side. First he managed to avoid being attacked now he had a cance to rest and restock. All he had to do was interact with another human being without making a fool of himself. "I, um. Hello," he said to the girl. So far so good. "S-something to drink would be great. A-also, Pokemon supplies." He said that last part wrong. "Sorry. I-I mean, do you have any Pokemon supplies?" he stammered to quickly correct himself. He tried to muster the courage to approach the pair, but backed up instead, justifying it to himself as trying to keep a respectful distance. "My name is Timothy, by the way, but I like T.J. better."

[Bad Situation]

He'd read stories, firsthand accounts of the horrors suffered under the large buck teethed Pokemon but he had never believed them. Nathan understood it now. This was the reckoning. The end of all things.

This was the Bidoofpocalypse.

He turned tail and ran.

Nathan: >Abscond

[Gorgondantess]

Nathan:
You spin around a beat feet, fleeing from the mass of bidoofs... but, focused on the bidoofs in the water, you miss one in your path! It lunges forwards, grabbing onto your jeans, and you trip... tumble... and fall to the ground. You groan, getting up only to see eye to eye with a bidoof, resting on your leg.
"Bidoof!"
The other bidoofs are climbing up towards you, but you have gained some distance.

Adela:
You travel along the good route for a time, Vichi following along beside you. It's hot, as always, but Adela toughs it out with no problems. Vichi lags a bit, but he toughs it out too, apparently not wanting to go back in his ball.
Everything seems quiet. Mundane. Nothing out of the usual. Then...
Whap! With a loud whoosh, a blur of feathers and a cloud of dust, Vichi is gone. A massive pidgeotto, coming seemingly out of nowhere snatches him up and is up, up and away. For the longest of moments, all you can do is stand there, stupefied, as it struggles to fly him away, Vichi screaming all the while.

[Gorgondantess]

T.J.
The girl smiles weakly and with heavy lids, nodding at your hello.
"James... why don't you... fetch our guest something to drink?"
The abra blinks out of existence.
She actually grins at T.J., showing her teeth. They're very crooked.
"Then T.J. you shall be called. As for pokemon supplies..."
She reaches into a duffle bag resting beside her, pulling out an worn, faded potion.
"I guess I was saving this for James... but... I suppose I could let you have this and the drink for... 100 poke?"
She shrugs, holding it out for T.J. At that moment, he feels a tug on his pantsleg. Looking down, he finds the abra holding up a dusty can of cola to him.

She stops you before you leave.
"Well now... hold on, son... I can see that you're a trainer... and I can see that I'm a trainer... And you can see that I can see that I'm a trainer... Or..."
She trails off more than usual, seeming to have lost her train of thought.
"...Want to battle?"

[OrchestraHc]

T.J. took the can from the abra and rubbed the top clean with his shirt. The can made a satisfying pop when he opened it up. "Thank you for both" he said paying for the soda and and potion. He turned around taking a deep sip from the soda. It was warm, but in this heat, it was so good. And then she challenged him.

He coughed out his soda, a bit of the drink going up his nose. He wiped his face as clean as he could before sputtering out, "W-well I just got out of it with some Murkrows..." Big Dipper was sidelined for the day and his new Murkow, who he made a mental note to run a name by later, was fresh caught. He contemplated using Dancho anyway. The potion from earlier had put him at just below full steam. It was also his first challenge. His first real challenge. How could he not use his starter? "Hmm. Would- would you be okay with a quick one on one?" he asked.

[Bad Situation]

Scrambling around on the floor Nathan kicked and flailed wildly in an attempt to fling the Bidoof from his person. He needed help, badly at that. Frantically, he reached down to his belt he amd unclipped the first Pokeball that curled into hsi grip and threw it into the air. In his frenzies state of mind, he had accidentally released the wrong Pokemon.

To its credit, the tiny mole Pokemon does its best to look frightening.

[Gorgondantess]

Gavin:
You enter the foreman's office, which seems to be a shack like any other, albeit a bit cleaner. Inside you find... not exactly what you expected. At first you think he's not the foreman: the man is very, very tall, well over 2 metres, and skinny. He wears rugged clothing and a stetson hat, and seems to try to look rugged, with loose-kept hair and a patchy beard, but nevertheless, looks like he'd fall down from a stiff breeze. You can't really tell his age- heavy lines around the eyes belie otherwise smooth features. When you enter, he lopes over to you and grips your palm in a bone-crushing handshake.
"James Watson, foreman, proprietor. How do you like my mines?"
He grins broadly, and listens to your answer, and request. Here, he sits back down, more businesslike.
"Well... there's one thing I can think of off the top of my head. See, we recently came across a kabutops fossil in one of the walls of the mine we were intending to blast through with dynamite. Very rare, very valuable, and in one of the deeper areas; I was waiting for a trainer to come through and clear it before just blasting the damn thing and charging on... but if you could head down and give an appraisal of the area, see if there might be any more, I'd be much obliged.
Now, fair warning: this is in one of the deepest areas of the mine. There's gengar, steelix, and worse down there. We'll be able to send a few guards and trainers, but I can hardly guarantee your safety.
If you're afraid to get your feet wet, I can always use someone to appraise the odds and ends we dig up."

[BluesEclipse]

"A Kabutops, you say... Interesting." Smiling as he pulls out his Pokedex, Gavin says, "I might be able to help... though, of course, I'd have to see what assistance I'd have before agreeing to something so dangerous. Especially since at present I only have one Pokemon that's in a battle-worthy condition..." Gavin shrugs, and nods to himself as he reviews the available information on Kabutops before continuing, "And of course, there's also the matter of how much I'd be paid for my services. I'm sure, though, you'll make it worth the risk...?" As Gavin says this, he moves to put away his Pokedex, but stops and begins looking for something else while waiting for the foreman's answer.

I know you mentioned the Pokedex serving as a phone of sorts... is it possible to look up specific trainers with it? Because if so, Gavin will attempt to look up Nathan's information and try to contact him - better to have at least one trainer he KNOWS is competent helping him, after all.

[Ajadea]

Adela:
You travel along the good route for a time, Vichi following along beside you. It's hot, as always, but Adela toughs it out with no problems. Vichi lags a bit, but he toughs it out too, apparently not wanting to go back in his ball.
Everything seems quiet. Mundane. Nothing out of the usual. Then...
Whap! With a loud whoosh, a blur of feathers and a cloud of dust, Vichi is gone. A massive pidgeotto, coming seemingly out of nowhere snatches him up and is up, up and away. For the longest of moments, all you can do is stand there, stupefied, as it struggles to fly him away, Vichi screaming all the while.

Adela gapes, unable to make her feet move. Damn it. There was about one option that sounded good, and she didn't even like that idea. She flicked her single full Pokeball into her hand and began to run after the Pidgeotto. Midstride, she lobbed the Pokeball and watched it snap open in the air. Time for this insane Magikarp to do its thing. "You!" she snaps, pointing at the oversized fish Pokemon. "Bounce! Attack that Pidgeotto. Hear me? Attack the bird."


[roll0]
[roll1]

[Gorgondantess]

TJ:
The girl giggles.
"Well... sure. I only have James, anyways."
She grins, surprisingly cheery relative to the phlegmatic nature you saw before. It's obviously quite fake.
"Now, how much would you like to ante it's no fun if you're not going to ante." She grins some more, and pulls out a crumpled wad of cash, throwing it on the ground before her.
She's acting strangely. The grin, and her words are wooden. You can't quite put your finger on it, though.

Adela:
The magikarp just misses the pidgeotto, and it flies off into the distance.
Thankfully, though, it's being weighed down: at first it had the advantage of momentum, and Vichi was stunned... but now Vichi is flailing about wildly, and the bird is focused more on keeping the squirming pokemon from damaging it than flying: it's losing altitude, and is flying slower.
By now it's about 100 yards from you, and is heading to a copse of trees.

Gavin:
The man nods. "Prudent. You'll have two of my guards with you. One of 'em will be carrying a shotgun, and the other has an excadrill. That should be able to deal with any swarms of bat pokemon, and any rock pokemon, assuming it doesn't kill you first. Pay's 10,000 poke. The other job, you get 5% commission for each item you identify."

[OrchestraHc]

Ante? Ante! He had heard about this. A wager between trainers. It's generally how they make their money. "Is-is a thousand good?" He wished he sounded a little more confident when he said that. Sounding like he didn't know what he was doing, because he didn't, made him feel foolish. He pulled out a thousand in bills and folded it up neatly before dropping it on the pile with the girl's wager. "Alright..." he had stopped just as he was about to say something. He had forgotten to do something important. Without which that sentence would remain forever unfinished. It was also fairly rude of him. "I'm so sorry! I forgot to ask you your name."

[BluesEclipse]

"Indeed..." Gavin mutters, thinking the situation over. One trainer, albeit with a rather ideal Pokemon for this environment... and one other armed individual. I suppose it should be sufficient, coupled with my own Pokemon. "Very well... I'm willing to head down whenever they're ready, then. Once this is done, I might stay on to help with appraisal for a bit, as well..." Gavin says, "But we'll see."

[Bad Situation]

Nathan blinked back tears as he ran, trying not to think of the crushing defeat at the hands of the wild Pokemon. He knew it was silly, that it was lucky he got away without his own Pokemon dying, but it felt bad to lose. He understood this more than anything now. Losing meant turning heel accepting the fact that you were weak. He hated it.

But not enough to quit.

He hated all the travel he was being forced into, he hated how the dust in the sometimes made him cough, and he hated most of all the fact that the world made him feel so exposed. Back in school, back in the city there was always someone watching. There was always someone out to get you; there was an element of competition that drove him to wall up his thoughts and focus on the goal. The air felt too clean, almost sterile on his lips. The earth felt too natural, as if it hadn't been stepped on for the thousandth time that day. But most of all, it made him think or goof off.

Pokemon. Competition. Success. When he had a goal it was easy to regulate his thoughts. Here he felt flaccid, too unfocused. He yearned for the single minded devotion that had carried him so well in his earlier life.

It wasn't as if he didn't have an over arching ambition. Becoming champion was still his dream, however far off it seemed at the moment. But with it being so far away he could but chase it half-heartedly.

He needed something short term to set his sights on. Some rest would do him good. With his resolve settled, Nathan continued on his way to the Pokemon Center with a renewed fervor.

[Gorgondantess]

TJ:
The girl smiles and nods. "One thousand would be... just fine."
Nodding again, she walks over to her abra and slings him up onto her shoulder. "My name?..."
She steps forwards.
"My name is..."
She reaches down, and sweeps up the pile of cash.
"Teleport."
Blink, and you've missed it: the girl, the abra, the money, are all gone. You've been swindled.

Gavin:
Sorry for not answering you earlier. No, you can't do that, except for notable trainers. Think modern day internet. Can you look up any random person? ...Okay, maybe. >.>
You're handed over to an assistant, who takes you into the mines. Not before you're given a hardhat, though. There's a sign at the entrance stating that those who enter shall hold no liability against Axello Mining Co. for any and all damages or injuries suffered within the mines, blah blah blah, those who enter do so at their own risk, blah blah, don't sue us, blah. You wait a bit to the side for your escorts to arrive: a thin, young looking fellow equipped like a soldier, with lighting gear, torches, body armor, a handgun, shotgun, a pack full of god knows what, the works. Your other escort, the trainer, is a gruff, hairy man, who looks like he likely only has his excadrill for mining purposes.
The armed man approaches you. "Hi there, Malcolm Reynolds here, and the quiet gentleman's name's Jacob. So, you're the brain we're to be escorting on the suicide mission today?"
He grins a manic grin. The other man crosses his arms, and nods. You notice the other man, Jacob is covered in scars.

[BluesEclipse]

Smirking, Gavin replies, "Indeed... Gavin Walker, petrologist, researcher and trainer. As for this being a suicide mission... we'll see. At any rate, I trust you know how to get to the area where the first fossil was located?"

[OrchestraHc]

"Hey... Hey!" He looked around himself to see if he could see where they teleported out in the distance. "If I'm going to lose money, at least let me lose it fair and square!" he shouted to nowhere in particular. "Next time I see you, I'm getting my battle!" He actually had anger in voice this time. "Was that soda even yours!" he yelled out on an odd tangent. It wasn't the money. He had bet nothing he wasn't prepared to lose, but being swindled stung. It also stung because he had the means to prevent it. No. Bad thought. People's thoughts were private. She's a grifter, not an eclectic. He shuddered a bit as he thought back on that center. The one that got away had an abra. Teleporters are cheaters, he thought.

He was about to leave down the road when a thought occurred to him. Was this even her shop? Had she just been robbing an empty convenience store waiting for some idiot to drop his money? The curiosity a little overwhelming, he opened the door to peek in.

[Ajadea]

TJ:
Adela:
The magikarp just misses the pidgeotto, and it flies off into the distance.
Thankfully, though, it's being weighed down: at first it had the advantage of momentum, and Vichi was stunned... but now Vichi is flailing about wildly, and the bird is focused more on keeping the squirming pokemon from damaging it than flying: it's losing altitude, and is flying slower.
By now it's about 100 yards from you, and is heading to a copse of trees.

Adela pops the Magikarp back into its Pokeball and begins to run towards the little copse of trees as fast as her feet will carry her. She doesn't waste her breath on orders to Vichi-the little Riolu was probably too far away and too scared to hear them. With her open hand, she snags a super potion out of her bag. If she needed it, best to have it at the ready.

[Gorgondantess]

Gavin:
Malcolm nods.
"Yep, yep. We can get you there, alright. But can we get you back?"
He grins a wicked grin, waving his fingers, and Jacob slaps him on the back of the head. Hard.
"Malcolm, shut the f*ck up and help me with the lift."
Malcolm looks browbeaten, and they have you follow them into the mine. Soon enough you come to a rusty, gated lift, and Malcolm pulls it open. Jacob pulls a rusty lever, and with a loud, grating groan of metal, he hops in and you descend into the darkness.
The temperature drops immediately. The lift picks up speed, and you fly down and down, surrounded by the groan of metal, sounds of mining... and other sounds. The tiny light in the lift is hardly adequate, and your eyes are constantly darting after shadows of movement. Jacob keeps an eye out for... something... and then finally jerks the lever back. You stop immediately, and it's all you can do to not to land on your ass.
The gate opens, and you step out, Malcolm carrying a heavy lamp.
"Welcome... to the depths!"
Around you is a massive expanse of a cavern. You can see about forty feet up... and then it just goes black. The ceiling must be even higher than that.
A cold, cold wind blows through you. All around is dark and dankness. You can't see beyond forty feet, and anything beyond ten or so is all darkness and shadows.
"Watch your step, my friend. You fall into a pit, the only mercy is that you'll have plenty of time to contemplate your life before landing. This deep we have a policy of those who fall behind, stay behind, by the way. No use losing ten lives to maybe save one, ya know?"
Jacob nudges Malcolm, lifting a finger to his lips.
"What?"
"SHH!"
"...Oh."
Jacob looks around warily, presumably having seen or heard something... then waves you on.
If you want to back out, now's the time. Otherwise, give the word, and yall'll move on.

[BluesEclipse]

Gavin nods silently, reaching into one of his pockets to confirm that his Super Potion is within easy reach. After confirming that he can get to it quickly, Gavin motions for Jacob to lead the way, his own eyes darting about cautiously as his hand closes around Garan's Pokeball.

I don't intend to back out. Onward and downward, then.

[Gorgondantess]

Gavin:
Jacob nods to Malcolm.
"Better get ready that tool of yours there. Your spotlight, too."
Malcolm pulls out his shotgun, which has a large flashlight under the barrel. He's about to light it, then stops.
"Won't that attract attention?"
As if in answer, a long, low cry echoes through the dungeon.
"Too late. Hey, egghead," Jacob says, gesturing to you, "Just how long is this gonna take you?"
As you talk, you all go forward at quite a brisk pace. Jacob seems a natural, and Malcolm makes up for talent with bluster, but it's all Gavin can do to keep up. He's already had to be caught from slipping into a chasm by Jacob's strong arm.

Adela:
Your feet carry you well... but the pidgeotto is still faster. However, it didn't have the same stamina, especially with Vichi flailing. He's regained some moxie, and the pidgeotto is forced to land in the nearest tree to keep a hold on its prey.
As you're approaching, the pidgeotto pins Vichi against a branch with one large clawed foot, lashing downwards with its beak in an attempt to finish it off. Vichi resists, for the most part, managing to squirm out of the way. It then tries to pick up Vichi in its beak, flailing it around like a houndoom with a bidoof... but Vichi seems to be too large for it to handle, and it drops him.
He falls off the tree, and onto the ground with a sickening thud.
The pidgeotto looks down at the both of you with keen eyes. It doesn't seem to like being cheated out of its prey.
23 damage to Vichi. You can take over for him now.

[Gorgondantess]

TJ:
The door's locked. And judging by the amount of dust gathered on everything inside, that he sees through the window, it looks like his guess isn't too far from the mark.

[BluesEclipse]

Gavin glances at Jacob and replies, "An initial survey of the area should be fairly quick. Just be ready to do your job, though, and allow me to do mine."

I'm not sure exactly how you want to handle this, Gorgondantess... just let me know if there are any checks I need to make.

[Ajadea]

Adela:
Your feet carry you well... but the pidgeotto is still faster. However, it didn't have the same stamina, especially with Vichi flailing. He's regained some moxie, and the pidgeotto is forced to land in the nearest tree to keep a hold on its prey.
As you're approaching, the pidgeotto pins Vichi against a branch with one large clawed foot, lashing downwards with its beak in an attempt to finish it off. Vichi resists, for the most part, managing to squirm out of the way. It then tries to pick up Vichi in its beak, flailing it around like a houndoom with a bidoof... but Vichi seems to be too large for it to handle, and it drops him.
He falls off the tree, and onto the ground with a sickening thud.
The pidgeotto looks down at the both of you with keen eyes. It doesn't seem to like being cheated out of its prey.
23 damage to Vichi. You can take over for him now.

Adela winces at the sound of Vichi's impact, but doesn't dwell on it too long, spraying the Super Potion over Vichi's wounds before her brain quite registers how she got there. She could probably take one hit by the Pidgeotto. Vichi couldn't.


http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11696163&postcount=3588: Vichi heals all his damage

[OrchestraHc]

I think I might really dislike that girl. T.J. had spent enough time being angry at the girl and himself. He decided enough was enough and started back down the road to Axelo Town.

[Gorgondantess]

TJ:
Continuing down the road, not half an hour in, you catch a glimpse of a straw hat within a tree off the road. It couldn't be...
It is.
The girl who swindled you, in a shockingly belligerent display of audacity, is hammocked between a few branches of a tree, just above eye level, snoring away with her abra on her chest. She had to have known you were coming down this road... and yet she's right there. Sleeping! It's mind blowing, really. She doesn't seem to even notice you're there, anyways.

Adela:
The pidgeotto continues to glare down at you. As soon as you administer the potion, it squawks, launching itself down to attack. Adela manages to interpose herself between the mad bird and Vichi, suffering only a few scratches on her arms, but quickly enough the pidgeotto flies off, winging around to come at you with another attack.

[Ajadea]

Adela did a quick type matchup in her mind, ignoring the scratches. She'd gotten worse falling off of a jungle gym. The types didn't look good. And for all that it was a Magikarp, Bane wasn't half bad. But...she looked at Vichi, remembered some of his moves. If he could just keep the Pidgeotto occupied..."Vichi, Quick Attack on my mark." She lunged forward as soon as the sentence was out of her mouth, bringing her fist up to meet the bird Pokemon. As soon as the Pidgeotto attempted to attack, she signaled for Vichi to move.


How I love interrupts...pretty much, the idea is to move up to the Pidgeotto, attack it as my Trainer action and command Vichi to interrupt the Pidgeotto with Quick Attack.

[roll0]
[roll1]

[roll2]
[roll3]

[OrchestraHc]

This is a trick. This has to be a trick. She knew I was heading in this direction. I'm going to step up to the tree to confront her and end up in a pit trap or something. T.J. could not believe this was real. This tore at him. On one hand, this was seemed like such an obvious trap that his caution wouldn't let him anywhere near that tree. On the other, simply walking by without even trying to get his money, or battle, would validate this girls grifting. She would get off scot-free because he was too afraid to do anything about it. He could just yell at her from were he was but she could teleport away. What he needed was some sort of leverage. Something she wouldn't run away without. Idea!
T.J. moved in carefully, remaining as far away as his abilities would allow and reached out with his mind to the girl's hat. He quickly yanked the hat off the girls head to bring it flying into his own waiting hands.

[Gorgondantess]

Gavin:
Jacob looks around warily, not replying for a moment...
"Let's keep moving."
The flashlight under Malcolm's gun is a more focused light, illuminating further and brighter but less area than the lamp. Just from a cursory glance at the walls with this aid, you can already tell that there's a good chance of fossils: there's good sedimentary rock formations, and judging by the erosion it should be a decent site. But you'll have to get a better look at the site to be sure.
Finally, after about 5 minutes travel all told, you stop. Malcolm's spotlight illumines a sortof rock bridge, where there's about a metre wide of good walking space before slope suddenly drops down... and down. Beyond it is nothingness, even further than Malcolm's flashlight.
Jacob nods. "It's just ahead here... I'll go first. Here, take this. You'll need it more than me."
He hands you the lamp and strolls across, obviously practiced in such things. You follow behind, and it doesn't seem that bad... but nearing the bridge, that one metre seems mighty small space, especially on such uneven footing. Malcolm bumps into you from behind as you stop, and almost pushes you off the ledge, but manages to catch you from behind.
"Here, this should hold ya." He takes a cord from his belt and hooks it to one of your belt loops, securing you to him on a leash. "Should give you better incentive not to slip- that way, if you fall, you'll not only be dead but also a killer."
He grins, slapping you on the back.
Jacob turns back towards you, already invisible in the darkness.
"Hey, egghead, there's a..."
There's a whoosh, and a grunt, and he's cut off.
"...Jacob?"
Malcolm shines his flashlight off towards the bridge. Jacob is nowhere to be seen.
"Oh, f*ck."

TJ:
The girl continues to snore, straw hair now blowing in the slight breeze. A slight bit of drool runs out of the side of her mouth. If this is a trick, it's obviously a very bad one.
...Or a very good one.

Adela:
You and Vichi both strike in a perfectly coordinate attack. You swat it out of the air as it's flying by, and Vichi slams it into the ground. It's still quite conscious, and likely able to do more... but seems well demoralized. No meal is worth all this. It flies up and back into the tree, staring down at you and chattering angrily.

[Ajadea]

Adela grins evilly up at the Pidgeotto, wheels around, and begins walking again. She could get in a few more miles before the sun began to set. And she really wasn't interested in capturing a pokemon that saw her starter as a meal.

[OrchestraHc]

"E-excuse me! Miss. Miss, um, Teleport?" he called to the girl, backing up ever so slowly. "I'm sorry for waking you, but I have your hat! A-and I won't give it back unless you give me back my money! Or we have that battle. And I want the full pot if I win! My thousand plus whatever it was you threw down!" He kept the girl in sight and really hoped she cared about that hat enough to accept one or the other. Otherwise this was a really roundabout way to buy a strawhat. Wait! What if she really likes this hat? Enough to come down here and beat me up for it! He put his hand on Dancho's pokeball and increased the speed of his backing up slightly.

[BluesEclipse]

Gavin scowls as the other trainer vanishes into the darkness of the mine, but remembers Malcolm's words from before... "This deep we have a policy of those who fall behind, stay behind..." Raising the lamp, Gavin looks back towards the man, and says, "Well, Malcolm... looks like it's just us now. A shame... the extra help would've been nice to have." And it would've been nice to have an Excadrill available, as well... such a waste of resources. Hefting the lamp in one hand, Gavin shifts Garan's Pokeball into his other hand, peering across the thin bridge. "Still, it's more likely that we'll find something here... so let's move onward. Though... if you have something that could be used to anchor the rope, in case one of us does fall, it would be nice... I'll see if I might have something suitable, if you don't have anything. I've no intention of dying today, after all." Looking towards the man, Gavin mentally checks over the contents of his kit, wondering if there's anything that could be used to anchor the rope somewhere. As he waits for Malcolm to find something suitable, he continues, "And if any Pokemon come at us, shoot to kill - while I might take the opportunity to try and capture something, my main concern is getting through here alive." Though, of course, I certainly wouldn't object to acquiring something valuable while I'm here.

The books don't particularly cover the contents of an Explorer's Kit, so I suppose it would be up to you as to whether or not there's something in there that can be used to anchor the rope to more stable ground(the Petrologist description does say that they're good at exploring caves and other underground locations, after all - climbing gear could very well be included).

[Gorgondantess]

TJ:
After your first few words, the girl wakes with a start, falling out of the tree and onto her bottom. She winces in pain, shaking her head and getting up. "Hey! That's..."
Then she sees who it is, and stops. As you speak, she looks frustrated and angry, grimacing menacingly at you. As you step back, she steps forward.
"I..."
Her gaze darts to the side, and she begins to look less confident.
"I..."
Her chin begins to tremble.
"...I'm sorry."
She looks askance, eyes watering up.
"How stupid you must think I am... just sleeping here along the trail... it's just... I get so tired, I'm never able to get a good night's sleep, sleeping out here like this... and, and, I can't afford to stay anywhere for the night... and everything was going so well... and all I wanted was to sleep in a warm bed for once, is that so much to ask?"
She looks back up at you, accusingly, a tear running down her cheek. She takes a breath, and steels herself.
"Fine. You want your battle...? I need this money. Even though James isn't much of a fighter."
The abra makes a noise.
"What? It's true... I mean, when was the last time you won a fight?"
The abra is silent, and steps forward.
"Just... just make it quick, okay?"

[OrchestraHc]

I made somebody cry. I made somebody CRY! T.J. would never imagine in a million years, he would be accussed of being the bad guy. He felt like someone just punched him in his stomach. A fight raged in him between his sympathy and his suspicion, but for now he had to bear it and let his suspicion win. "I... I am so sorry. If you had asked me for help twenty minutes ago, I would have. Really," he said sympathetically. "But right now, after your stunt, I have to assume everything you say is a lie." He released Dancho from his pokeball. "Dancho, Water Gun."

Water Gun
Accuracy: [roll0] Minimum check: 2
Damage: [roll1]+[roll2]+8

[Gorgondantess]

Adela:
As you continue down the road, the pidgeotto follows. At first you think it's still after Vichi... but it doesn't seem to be making any aggressive moves. Rather, it's just annoying- the thing lands on a perch near to you, hopping around and chirping and burbling at you. As soon as you think you've lost it, it flies up, swoops in and lands on a perch near you once again.
Regardless of the bird, soon enough you come to something of a crossroads: the route turns east, while a dirt road continues north into the Garin. At this crossroads is a dusty, rickety convenience store, but it looks closed. The pidgeotto lands atop the store nearest you, lets out a squawk, and begins preening itself.

[Ajadea]

Adela looks up at the mad Pidgeotto. It had followed her all this way, for whatever reason. Slowly, deliberately, she draws one of her Great Balls, holding it where the bird can see. "D'you want to be captured?" she asks somewhat incredulously. She'd like to get the Pidgeotto off her back, and it was a better mobile combatant than she had. It didn't seem interested in eating Vichi anymore. "Cause if you do, I can help with that...."

[Gorgondantess]

TJ:
The abra teleports out of the way of the water gun, and the girl gets a facefull of water gun. It reappears within melee range of Dancho, while the girl coughs and sputters, unable to quite catch her breath.
"James... *cough*- use mega punch! *cough*"
The abra draws a fist back, and swings clumsily, going far wide of Dancho. It stumbles back, falling off balance.

Gavin:
Malcolm shakes his head.
"F*ck, man, I wouldn't be risking my life just so you could come away with a souvenir anyways! Let's just get this job done and get the hell out of here!"
He jogs across the bridge, muttering under his breath all the way. On the other side of the bridge is a better expanse of rock, a shelf going about 10 metres out from the wall of the cave.
"Here it is. Get working. I'll keep lookout."
He extricates you from the leash, using the light on his shotgun to scan about. You get to the wall and set the lantern down, about to get to work, when you're interrupted by a shot, and a screech.
As soon as you turn around, it's on him: a huge aerodactyl has Malcolm pinned down under its talons. It snatches the shotgun out of his grasp with it's jaws, snapping it in half with one powerful flex of its muscles, while Malcolm pulls out his handgun, emptying it out on the beast above him, screaming. The screaming is cut to a gurgle, though, as the aerodactyl leans down and bites down on his neck, tearing out a chunk of flesh. It then turns to you, wincing and shying away, then shrieks and flies off. You're left alone with Malcolm twitching and gurgling in a rapidly expanding pool of blood.
Being a petrologist, you know all about aerodactyl, and how they hunt.
Of course it went for Malcolm over you. At your former workplace, they held an aerodactyl for a time, studying its behavior: the beast became extremely aggressive when introduced to external light sources. This is due to the nature of an aerodactyl's eyes. They are extremely specialized, able to see equally well in total darkness and in broad daylight. They are excellent at distinguishing movement, having a detection rate comparable to a pidgeot. However, they also have extraordinarily sensitive eyes: any distinct or sudden change in light uniformity can blind them, and cause quite a bit of pain. Thus, it went for Malcolm, who caught it in his flashlight's beam. You don't know whether something like smoke or dust would do the trick, but it might be worth a shot.
Of course, it also went for Jacob first of any. Aerodactyl are highly intelligent hunters: powerful, fast, though surprisingly fragile. As such, in environments such as these, they tend to opt for guerrilla tactics, picking off any members of a group and then leaving them to die where they lay so it can fly unburdened. It will leave and come back at almost random intervals, and won't stop until all are dead; only then will it feed.
As such, it will almost assuredly come back.

[BluesEclipse]

Grumbling, Gavin flicks his Pokeball out, releasing Garan. "Curse," he orders, fighting down a momentary flash of panic and considering the situation. Guards dead, and an Aerodactyl hunting me. Still... maybe there's something that can blind him. Their eyes are absurdly sensitive... Motioning the Pokemon forward with him, he moves up towards Malcolm's body, and tries to move it to rummage through his pack, to see what might be available there. Hopefully he has some flares, flashbangs, or something that I can use when that thing comes back to blind it. Still, if needed I can set the Pokemon against it while I get out of here... I'm sure I'll be able to replace them.

[OrchestraHc]

"Sorry!" he yelled to his soggy opponent, "That was an accident, I swear." Even though he missed, the first move at least revealed what the Abra had besides Teleport, so a strategy could be formed. T.J. wasn't willing to press his luck with Mega Punch in the game. "Keep the pressure on, Dancho. Water Gun!"

Water Gun
Accuracy: [roll0] Minimum check: 2
Damage: [roll1]+[roll2]+8

[Gorgondantess]

Adela:
As you extend the pokeball, the pidgeotto becomes even more loud and excited than before... though whether it likes it or is just getting angry, you're not quite sure.

Gavin:
You find inside his pack several fusees- road flares. However, you quickly realize that using them would be moot: they create red light specifically designed to be easy on the eyes.

TJ:
In an impressive show of evasion, the abra teleports out of the way of the incoming water gun once again... and in a somewhat less impressive show of evasion, the girl manages to get struck by the water gun once again, this time closer to her stomach. She's pretty much soaked at this point.
The abra teleported to the other side of Dancho, between you and your pokemon this time.

[Ajadea]

Somewhat perplexed, Adela lobs the Great Ball in her hand at the Pidgeotto. "Cooperate now, you hear? Don't fight it."


[roll0]

[BluesEclipse]

Gavin swears under his breath as he pulls out the flares quickly, lighting them and placing them around the area, to illuminate more of the area. Finishing this, he moves towards the rock face, saying, "Garan, again, Curse." I'll take advantage of as much time as I have available... hopefully he'll at least serve as a better target than me. Moving back by the wall, Gavin looks around, watching carefully for movement, and saying, "Stay near me, Garan. When that Aerodactyl returns, occupy it." Turning back to the wall, he begins pulling out his tools, thinking to himself, I can try to see if there's anything of value here... if I'm lucky, the thing won't come back. If I'm really lucky, I'll be able to capture it without much trouble - it should be fairly valuable. Still... Gavin turns to look around at the darkness once again, before turning back to his task. I see no reason not to at least attempt to finish the job I came here for.

I'm going to assume that I won't be getting away from here without fighting this thing. That said, I'm still going to try and look for fossils until something happens. Garan will be staying close enough to me that he can at least attempt to intercept the Aerodactyl if it comes at me.

Though I'm quite concerned that Gavin's going to meet a rather... unpleasant end here. I suppose it's to be expected, though.

[OrchestraHc]

"Are you okay?" T.J. called out to his opponent, "It's not my fault I swear." Dancho had hit her twice now. Her abra had been dodging Dancho too easily so far. He didn't want to get the same accident as her, so it was time for a change in strategy. "Dancho, Yawn!"

Dancho uses Yawn

[Gorgondantess]

Adela:
You throw the ball at the Pidgeotto... and it simply bounces off its hide, ruffling it a bit. Figures, really. This Pidgeotto, having been owned by a trainer, likely got used to frequent fighting and eating, so it hunts down whatever it sees... but at the same time, is drawn to aggressive trainers such as yourself.
Due to the sheer number of trainers in the world- and the percentage of them who are abusive, or neglectful- often enough a pokemon who is still "marked" by a trainer will be let go or run away without being cleared of the previous trainer's "mark". Empty pokeballs will thus treat such a wild pokemon as owned, and will not capture it (unless modified to do so by a 'snagger).
Pokemon like this are, however, more amicable towards humans, so it's easy enough to take them back to a pokemon center to be cleared. Usually.

Gavin:
As you're finishing looting through Malcolm's pack, an arm leaps up and grabs you by the wrist. Malcolm's arm. He pulls, lifting himself up a bit, and blood gushes from his torn open shoulder.
He looks you in the eyes, frantic, blood gushing from his mouth. He gulps a bit, trying to get out the words, but all that comes out is bloody spittle onto your face. Finally, he manages one word.
"...Please..."
He continues to grasp and gulp.
I'm going to need a little more information: where Garan is, where the lit flare is, where the lantern is, where Gavin is, where Malcolm is, all in relation to each other, etc. Oh, also, the front end of the shotgun, with the flashlight attached, is resting off to the side, still lit.

TJ:

The Abra teleports, obviously anticipating another attack... and ends up on the other side of Dancho, between you and him (probably so that the next water gun would spray you and not her), but still very much within yawn range.
...You're honestly not sure whether it's effective, as the Abra is currently sitting down with its eyes closed. Maybe? Probably. It doesn't seem to be doing anything.
"...James?"

[Ajadea]

Adela rolls her eyes. Figured, really. But she'd never been one to give up halfway. "Now listen here, bird. I know you've had a trainer before. You like to eat and you clearly like to fight. I'm going down the road here, to a Center. If you want that sorta life back, you'll follow me."

She continues down the road to Axelo Town, using her ears, rather than her eyes, to see if the Pidgeotto would take her up on that offer.

[BluesEclipse]

The flashlight is still lit? That... could prove useful. Very useful. Enough to give me a bit of a different plan. I'll assume that I only got the first flare lit and set down before Malcolm grabbed me - that seems like it was your intent as well, by all means, correct me if I'm wrong.
As far as positioning... I'm going to assume that Malcolm was about 3 metres in from the end of the ledge. So...

{table] |A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J
1|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
2| | | | | | | | | |
3| | | | |L| | | | |
4| | | | | | | | | |
5| | | | | | | | | |
6| | | | | | | | | |
7| | | | |G| | | | |
8| | | |P|M|F| | | |
9| | | | | | | | | |
10| | | | | | | | | |
11|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_[/table]

L: Lantern
G: Gavin
M: Malcolm
P: Garan
F: Lit Flare
-: Wall
_: Ledge

Looking at the bleeding man, Gavin sighs, reaching over and grabbing the shotgun barrel - and lit flashlight - from the ground nearby, pulling it over. Looking towards Garan, then down at Malcolm, Gavin says, "Garan, stay alert. If that thing shows up, you'll need to take it on, so be ready to Counter." As he speaks, he looks at the flashlight, then around himself, cautiously. Glancing down at the injured man, Gavin mutters, "I'm no doctor - and even if I tried to help you, with that thing still lurking about, it would probably get us both killed. If you can hang on until I can at least drive it off, maybe we'll both survive this." Unfortunately for you, I consider my survival - and my work, for that matter - to be more important. Looking around for hints of motion within the shadows, and listening intently for the sound of beating wings, Gavin grips the broken barrel tighter as he waits for the ancient Pokemon to return, placing his other hand over the flashlight to block its beam.

I want to keep that as the positioning for Gavin, Garan, and the lit flare in relation to Malcolm - if that puts them somewhere else in relation to the lantern, that's fine. And no, I have no plans of attempting to save Malcolm unless he's still got a reasonable chance of survival after the Aerodactyl is no longer a threat. Though... I thought the Aerodactyl tore open his throat, from the earlier post, so I was assuming he was already dead. Still, dying is almost as good, I suppose.

Now, for questions:
1.) To the best of Gavin's knowledge, can the flashlight's beam still effectively blind the Aerodactyl if it's near the flare(or the lantern)?
2.) What is the light radius of the lantern?
3.) What is the light radius of the flares?

[OrchestraHc]

"Good job, Dancho. Now..." T.J. took a few quick steps to the right to avoid an accident like his opponent had. "Water Gun!"

T.J. moves one square to the right.

Water Gun
Accuracy: [roll0] Minimum check: 2
Damage: [roll1]+[roll2]+8

[Gorgondantess]

TJ:
The water gun blasts the abra- a direct hit! And... it doesn't seem to be doing much. Maybe it's still asleep?
Whatever, the girl is yelling at it. "Come on, James! You can do it! Get the slowpoke with a Mega Punch!"
There's a hint of desperation in her voice- she can tell it's a losing battle, and the abra just sits there. Doing nothing. It's kindof sad, really. You could probably just pick it up and throw it in the bushes at this point.

Gavin:
Malcolm pants heavily, clearly not in much a mood to wait. He continues to grunt, making a scene, and finally manages: "O...okay... just... please... I..."
The rest of what he says is impossible to decipher. You're pretty sure that even if you left now with him, he'd die before he reached the surface. The amount of blood that's gushing out of his chest right now would need medical attention NOW if he was to have ANY chance of survival.
Of course, Gavin's a smart guy, and well educated, so he could probably figure SOMETHING out. At the same time, though, can he really afford to put his whole focus into anything but fending off that Aerodactyl? If he's concentrating on something else, like bandaging up the poor sod, it could easily just swoop down and drop him into the chasm.

Adela:

The pidgeotto follows you a good ways, but after a time it starts lagging behind, and getting distracted. It's likely losing patience with the long walk.

[OrchestraHc]

Guilty. Guilty was a perfect way to describe how T.J. felt at that moment. His little push of righteous bravery had waned with the how this battle was going. The girl was more soaked than her Abra, and the desperation in her voice didn't go unnoticed. One more. I just want to hold on for one more and then I'll ask her to quit.

"Water... Water gun, Dancho." There's no more enthusiasm in his voice, he needs this battle over to actually talk to this girl.

Water Gun
Accuracy: [roll0] Minimum check: 2
Damage: [roll1]+[roll2]+8

[Ajadea]

Adela sighs at the Pidgeotto. "You're worse than Vichi here at paying attention. And that's saying something." Vichi grumbles indignantly at this comment. His paws were sore, and he was just about ready to sleep as well.

"I'd stick you in a Pokeball if I could, but I can't. The sooner we all get on to Axelo Town, the sooner you can get back to your nice cushy life as a battler. And I'm NOT carrying you." Vichi looks up hopefully, widening his eyes in a silent plea. "Nope, not carrying you either. You can get in your Pokeball or walk another hour."

Vichi was torn. On one hand, he didn't like Pokeballs. Everything was weird. No blue. But he was tired. But not quite that tired. He sprinted ahead, pausing a good hundred feet or so down the road and waiting for his trainer to catch up.

Adela gauges the Pidgeotto's exhaustion. She wouldn't tolerate a bratty Pokemon, but if it was really tired, she might stop anyways. It was earlier than she'd prefer to stop, but losing an already trained Pokemon wasn't a good idea.

[BluesEclipse]

Giving one last glance at the downed man, Gavin looks around, peering through the darkness. Holding the flashlight ready, he mutters, "Garan, stay ready to Counter." Stepping back a bit from Malcolm, he moves his eyes over the darkness, hoping to locate the lurking Pokemon before it attacks. As he does, he thinks to himself, You know, Malcolm... had you done your job properly, neither of us would be in this situation. My safety may have been your responsibility, but keeping you alive isn't my problem.

[Gorgondantess]

TJ:
The Water Gun blasts the Abra point blank, and sends it sprawling back.
"James!"
The girl runs over to her abra, kneeling down beside him. She lays a hand on the pokemon. There's a moment of silence, before her eyes widen, and she makes a sharp intake of breath.
"You've killed him!"
She instantly begins sobbing and blubbering, collapsing over the abra.
"Why... Why, James..."
Finally, she looks up at you, glaring through bloodshot eyes. She doesn't say anything- her accusatory stare is all she needs.
Dancho gained 30 xp!

Adela:
It struck her more as that the Pidgeotto was restless as much as tired. Unable to comprehend your words, it wondered why you were just walking along and barking at it from time to time- it doesn't understand that you need to take it to a pokemon center before you can put it in a pokeball. The creature isn't meant for trailblazing, anyways: it's a fighter, not a traveler. Unless you could give it some sort of incentive to continue following you, it would likely go off to its own ends. Not that you couldn't come back to try to find it later- by then, its original pokeball might be destroyed, or catch another pokemon. Or the pidgeotto might also be off to parts unknown. Or taken by another trainer. Or killed, even, considering its attitude.

Gavin:
You step back, and lie in wait. It's not long before you hear Malcolm's death rattle; perhaps your precaution was unnecessary. Still, you console yourself with the fact that you couldn't have known that.
Soon enough, there is a crash from behind you: the aerodactyl is attacking the lantern! It picks it up in its jaw, and with a crunch and the glitter of shattering glass, it goes dark. Then it turns to you.
You have about 2 seconds worth of actions.

[BluesEclipse]

Biting of a curse, Gavin spins to face the Aerodactyl, and moves back, putting Malcolm's body between him and the ancient creature. "Garan..." he says, quietly, "Tackle him!" The Munchlax looks at the Aerodactyl, as if steeling itself for battle, and rushes forward, throwing himself at the winged Pokemon. As Garan moves, Gavin brings the flashlight's beam up at the Aerodactyl, hoping to blind the Rock Pokemon and aid Garan's attack.

Gavin shifts behind Malcolm's body, and aims the flashlight at the Aerodactyl.
Garan: Move towards Aerodactyl(I'm assuming it's within range).
Garan's Attack: Tackle - Accuracy Check: [roll0], Damage: [roll]2d10[roll] + [roll1](For Weight Class) + [roll2](STAB) + 13(Attack).

If the Aerodactyl isn't within Garan's attack range, let me know and I'll adjust my action accoringly.

[Ajadea]

Adela sighs and fishes around in her pockets for a bit of meat or something that the dumb bird might like to eat. "You're a real brat, you know that?" She holds out whatever she finds for the Pidgeotto. "Hungry?"

Vichi waits for a while. The trainer doesn't follow. Grumbling, he drags himself back to where she stands and flops down on her feet very pointedly. He shifts around for a bit, until his head is quite comfortably pillowed on her feet.

Adela looks down and sighs at the drowsing Riolu sitting on her feet. Things were never simple.

[OrchestraHc]

"WHAT!? No! Nonononono!" T.J. starts running towards the two, tears in his eyes. "Oh God, please no!" He drops to his knees as soon as he reaches them, pulling out the potion he bought from the girl. "Please don't die. Please don't die." He uses the spray bottle on the unmoving Abra. "I swear," he says to the girl, "I didn't mean it. I would never do something like this on purpose. Not to someone's partner." He put his hand to the abra's neck, hoping they actually do have a pulse there. PLEASE GOD!

One potion used.