PTU: A Grand Adventure IC

[Aneurin]

Pokemon: A Grand Adventure! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqXlSwBIHFc)

It's a warm spring day in Cerulean City. Attendance for Professor Oak's lecture swelled considerably when it was announced that he would be giving it alongside the Cerulean Gym Leader, and former television star, Misty. So scattered amongst the interested public, members of the scientific community and students who need the extra credit are any number of journalists, hangers-on and assorted weirdos trying to pretend they know what's going on while they drool over Misty.

As we join our heroes, the lecture is just coming to a close.

"...and so, with the discovery of the Sarshin Cave Paintings and the fossil beds near the Orange Islands, I have come to the conclusion that once these temporary 'Mega Evolutions' were, in fact, true evolutions that have been lost to the world, along with an incredible variety of other pokemon species. While we don't yet know what caused this mass extinction, my associate Professor Tracy is currently putting together a research team to investigate the new fossile beds," It's quite incredible, really, how little Professor Oak has changed over the years; certainly, his hair is greyer now than it was twenty years ago, but he still looks almost exactly the same as he did when he won the Pokemon League almost forty years ago. His voice still holds the same enthusiasm as it did back then, too.

"I was supposed to pause for questions here, but it seems I've run over slightly," he adds, to groans of dismay from the other professors. "I'll be happy to answer questions at the bar tonight, though. But for now, Misty has an announcement to make,"

Oak steps aside to make room for the Gym Leader, as a puzzled murmur sweeps through the room.

"Thank you, Professor Oak," Misty says, flashing him a dazzling smile. She's grown up a lot since her days on the television; she's still short, but she's filled out quite impressively and definitely takes after her sisters now. She's wearing a simple white kimono with a staryu-shaped clasp. "I need to get back to the gym, so I'll try to keep this brief. To celebrate the twentieth anniversary of Team Rocket's failed coup and the heroism of the trainers who fought them, the Kanto gyms will be hosting a series of special events. The first will be an open tournament in Vermillian City five days from now. In two weeks' time Cerulean will be hosting a regatta on the river, and a week-long open challenge of the Gym. The gyms of Cinnabar and the Seafoam Islands are coming together to create a grand festival, and I believe Leader Duplika is putting together a grand safari in Fuscia. I'm sorry to say that after last year's problems, Lavender Town will not be hosting it's traditional haunted house," stepping back from the podium, Misty gives the room a brief bow. "Thank you all for attending. I hope the lecture has been of interest to you,"

Professor Oak makes his farewells, before taking Misty's arm and heading off the stage. The audience begins to disperse, buzzing with excitement at not only the new discoveries, but over the celebration too - most of those in attendence were either trainers themselves, or sponsoring them.

If you want to talk to Professor Oak, this is your chance - if you hurry. It's unlikely you'll get a chance to catch up with him at the bar after all this, even if you are old enough to be allowed in.

Okay, so what do you want to do here? You can chase Oak, head off outside and do something else or... uh... stay inside and do something else? There's all manner of famous scientists present here. You could go see what Misty's doing down at the gym - most likely a challenge by someone or other. You could head out onto the road, and start training, hunt for pokemon in a city park, or you could do something I haven't though of - it's a big city, after all.

[RandomWombat]

Seated near the high back of the lecture hall, a tall man sits angling his camera discretely for a photo of the Pokemon Professor. Getting the right angle is important, of course, but he also had to make sure he didn't catch Oak making a stupid face while talking. Timing is also key.

The man wears a dark red sweater and a brown leather jacket (the breeze off the water could get cold) with a pair of sunglasses hanging from the collar. His pants are gray camo cargo pants, and his usual pair of running shoes are ready to beat the crowd to the punch when the time came for questioning the old professor. Under his seat waits his backpack with a few simple supplies inside. The piece of the outfit which most stands out is the falconer's glove on his left hand.

At last Raul figures he's found the right shot and snaps a picture of Oak after he steps aside for Misty to take the mic.

Perception to get a good photo: [roll0]

As the lecture nears its close Raul dons his sunglasses and picks up his backpack, making his way to the same exit Oak is heading for. He had purposefully chosen a seat next to the aisles so that he wouldn't need to push past anyone else to get out of the seated crowd. "Professor? I have a few questions before tonight if you don't mind. The bar will be loud and I'd like to hear everything you have to say in detail."

Athletics to reach the professor before other journalists and inquirers: [roll1]
Charm to convince Oak to answer some questions now: [roll2]

[Esprit15]

Celeste listens to the lecture from the back of the room with rapt attention. She was no scientist nor did she intend to be one, but the old professor had a way with speaking that could keep anyone interested in anything. Her eyes glaze over a little as Misty takes the podium. She was a good gym leader and all, but she didn't capture the same attention from anyone with all the blood still flowing upward that the professor did. Still, big tourneys around the region in celebration, fun for those that can participate.

As things clear out, the girl follows after the professor, trying to catch him while he is stopped by someone else. When you have a moment, sir, she says, trying to politely get the professor's attention without verbally interrupting him. She watches the aura of the elder, nervous as a Skitty that he would laugh in her face at her question.
Pretty much every scene I'll have spent two AP to run Aura Guardian, giving me the Aura Reading and Aura Pulse capabilities.

Charm, should it be necessary: [roll0]

[Arcran]

"Yo, gramps!" Clint shouts, sprinting after Oak as he shoves anybody in his way, intent on making it to the professor. Unfortunately, planning wasn't one of his strongest suits, meaning that are more than a few people in his way.

"Gramps," he says as he finally catches up, leaning over and breathing heavily for a moment before speaking again. "I'm going to be the next Pokemon League Champion, so, like, if you could tell me whatever magic mojo you told Red and Blue that'd be great," Clint says quickly, not realizing until after the fact that it probably hadn't been the best way to ask the premier Pokemon expert of the region for his help. "I mean, if you have time I guess. And please," he adds, the "please" clearly an afterthought.

[Eshkigal]

Marcus had sat near the back, on the topmost rows to watch the lecture, tapping the desk in minor impatience. While the lecture had been surprisingly interesting, and Misty was always a welcome sight, they were not his purpose here. No, the shaggy haired man sat as the lecture went on, observing the crowd around him. Many were trainers looking for an edge, or some hint of fame to wash off the aging professor and mentor of champions, former champion, and biggest name in research, or at least a signature. That'd actually get a good price on r-bay. But that wasn't why he was here, unless he got a chance, then he'd totally get a Pokeball signed so some shmuck bought it for their favorite pokemon or something. No, the trainers were his mark. See, one thing rookies need is a group, someone to fall on when their luck or skills fall flat, and he was an aspiring rookie. That means "knows tauros sh*t about living outdoors, alone". So someone who actually knew how to handle those situations would be awesome, as would a group he could gamble on, win or lose, could use to get about as he tried his own hand at training. Or, failing that, people leave things behind all the time, and sometimes that was good money in a pinch, which judging by the eviction warnings he had gotten that morning would be rather handy soon.
So there he sat, watching trainers and evaluating them, judging them. He needed one who looked like they had earned confidence, someone who looks truly confident in their own skills. A little help, and they could go far, and carry him farther. What's more, they had to be-

"Yo, gramps!"
His eyes widen as random fidgeting Trainer 53, who he had decided to dub Twitchy McFidget in his head during a rare dull part of the lecture, barrels through the crowd and up to Oak, and his thoughts go back to his list as he slowly smiles to himself.
What's more, someone who has the social grace of a drunk waillord rolling downhill would make an excellent distraction when needed...
He smiles as he watches Twitchy, knowing he had found his first companion.

(And because why not, perception to spot other odd trainers. Let's see if we can get the band together early!-[roll0])

[Dragonsage]

Standing towards the rear of the audience, with an exotic string instrument strapped to his back, Vlad listens very carefully to the lecture. He was interested in what Mega evolution was and what possibles it could offer, though he would be lying if he said he wasn't more excited for the upcoming celebrations. Since he had only recently left home, he was very curious on how the outside world celebrated. It would be a great opportunity to learn about people.

When the lecture came to a close and people began dispersing, Vlad stood still for a while and weighed his options as to what to do next. Looking on, he could already see a group of people trying to catch the esteemed professor before he left. He also thought about hitting up the gym to test himself, but given what he knew of the local gym Seath wouldn't have a good time there. So perhaps sometime some pokemon searching in the surrounding wilderness would be fruitful.

So with a plan in mind, he decided to join the group of people gathering around Oak to perhaps gain a gem of wisdom before setting out into the wilds.

Eh i'll have vlad also zerg oak for the sake of bringing the group together early i guess

[RandomWombat]

"Yo, gramps!"

Before Raul can receive any sort of response from Oak, someone charges into him from behind, and he fumbles to catch the camera he'd been carrying in his hands. "Whoa there! Expensive equipment here!" After regaining his balance, he shoots the overeager boy a brief look of annoyance. Putting the camera back around his neck where it would be safer, he turns his attention back to Oak to gauge the professor's response to the sudden gathering. Not that Raul had expected any less than a rapidly converging crowd.

[Aneurin]

The audience proves a tricky task to negotiate, and by the time you break free the Professor and Misty have made their escape through a side door. You catch up with them quickly enough, as they've stopped just inside the doors to talk quietly to one another. At Clint's shout, they both turn to look at you in surprise

"Well, it's certainly been a while since anyone called me that," Oak says with a sigh. "Unfortunately, I'm rather busy at the moment-"

"That can wait," Misty says with a smile, placing a hand on the old man's shoulder. "Helping bright young people is what this summer's about, after all. And it was mostly your idea, anyway..."

"You win as always," Oak says ruefully, rubbing the back of his head. "So, I'm Professor Samuel Oak, which I think you already knew. What can I do for you all? ...Could you be a little more specific than "

There's no trainers of any particular note, other than the ones currently chasing after Professor Oak.

As he's talking, Oak's aura is a bright, lively green - he's obviously very enthusiastic about his work. Misty's is bright, too, although it dims a little when she mentions the anniversary - it's also dominated by a blue tint, but maybe that's because she's the Water Pokemon Master?

The audience, on the other hand, is a dizzying, blinding array of colours that's painful to look at directly. Constantly shifting and swirling as the minds and emotions swirl according to their own mysterious patterns.

Clint's shouting shifts the Professor's aura - and Misty's, too, to a lesser extent - towards a sad blue and dims slightly. Particularly when Red and Blue are mentioned. It bounces back quickly enough, but the flicker was there.
~~~~~~~~~~~

Quick reminder that poking around in people's heads, and spying on their emotions is not something most people will appreciate - and there are some places where it's actually a crime to do so. I'm cool with you doing it, but letting people know that you're doing it will seldom end well.

You don't *have* to stick together if you don't want to - I just dropped you all here so there was a good chance of you all meeting.

[Esprit15]

Aura doesn't allow for unwanted entry into someone's mind. She wasn't reading his mind, just sending a mental message rather than contributing the the rest of the noise.
Celeste breathes a small sigh of relief. The professor was as kind as people said. "Well... I heard you were going to be in town, and I know that you would sometimes give trainers their first starter... I was wondering if I could borrow one to go to Lavender. Nothing big, just, maybe an Oddish?" she says, calmed slightly by the kind aura of the old man but still clearly nervous. "I'd bring them right back, I promise!" she adds quickly, hands playing with part of her dress. She was normally more confident, but this was the Professor Oak!

[Arcran]

"Sorry," Clint mutters to the man with the camera, almost completely ignoring him.

"I dunno. I mean, you helped all of that group of Trainers, right? You're the one that got them all ready to go and become the very best. Did you like tell them anything? Give them special advice?" Clint asks, straining his brain cells to try to figure out a way to phrase this. When they'd left in the show, all Oak had really done is give them a Pokemon and send them on their way, right? What if the Pokemon Oak gave them were magic or something? Wait, that was dumb. Magic wasn't a real thing. Still, people that got Pokemon from him did seem to do pretty well by themselves...

Wait! He'd given them a mission! Help with the Pokedex or whatever, right? That was what he'd told them they needed to do! But that was done now. What else did Oak need help with? What kind of Pokemon was he still studying? What Pokemon had very little research done into them overall and, at this point, were still fairly misunderstood?

"Oh! I know!' Clint says aloud, answering his own mental conversation.

"When they started a long time ago you had them help you with the Pokedex, right? And that made them strong, right? So, what if I help you with something? I could help you with your Mega Evolution stuff!" Clint says, a huge, dumb grin on his face before it suddenly falls. "But Huge can't Mega Evolve," he adds in a mumble, clearly crestfallen.

"Oh! I know! What if you tell me where there's someplace I can catch something that can Mega Evolve? Then I can bring it back to you, you can check it out, do sciency stuff, the you give it back to me and I make it so it can Mega Evolve all over the place! How does that sound?" Clint says, fairly proud of his plan. Not only would Oak be helping him a bit, but by giving the Pokemon to Oak and then taking it back maybe it would count as a real Professor Oak Pokemon and be super special!

Charm to make Oak think this isn't the dumbest thing he's ever heard.
[roll0]

[Eshkigal]

As Marcus carefully makes his way through the crowd, making it around the two rather sudden requests, he raises an eyebrow. Oh come now, there's plenty of pokemon in the wilds! Marceline was proof all you had to do was go for a walk, and BAM, pokemon! Though heading out of town...hm. that could be useful. Can't afford town much longer, and most of the card sharpedo know his tells by now, and Frankie was in Fuchsia, wasn't he? Still owes Looking the two over, a small idea forms as he comes up through the crowd.
"Well, those make my question rather dull. I was just gonna ask what bar and when so if I found some cash I could buy you a drink, then go on my way."
He gives a grin to them both, and at the group forming. Celeste likely sees a green aura, envy and greed rising to the top over most emotions, but with an inner yellow streak, sign of cowardice, of unreliability.
"Leader Misty, Professor Oak. If you want, though, I could give these two a hand instead since I couldn't help but overhear their goals, and since they could head the same way and I was planning to travel myself. One of the slides was a gastly, right? Far more common near Lavender, and fall under mega evolving pokemon known about. Assuming they don't object, 'course."

[Arcran]

"Woah buddy," Clint says, looking at the older man just offering to escort him around. "I don't need an escort, alright? And there's no way in hell that I'm going anywhere near a city that isn't a part of this big festival, alright? I'm going to Vermillion. If a frickin' Weedle could Mega Evolve I'd take it if I can get it on my way to Vermillion, alright? Actually, Beedrill are kinda cool," Clint says, rambling somewhat before snapping back to attention.

"So thanks, but no thanks. Ghosts are for sissies anyways."

[Aneurin]

Misty and Oak take a moment to stare at the group, and their requests.

"Well, doesn't that remind you of someone?" Misty murmurs after a moment.

"Indeed," Oak nods solemnly before clearing his throat and interrupting. "I'm not quite sure how you think that helping me will help you, young man, but if you would like to assist with our research, you would be quite welcome to do so. As for you, young lady, as much as I would like to help you, I don't carry pokemon suitable for new trainers with me everywhere I go,"

"Actually, I might be able to help with a pokemon. Information, too, since part of the work is mine and Erika's," Misty breaks in with one of her trademark smiles. "But before we get to that, would you mind introducing yourselves? You have us a quite the disadvantage here,"

As they whisper to one another, both their auras are suffused with wispy blue tendrils of sentimentality.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I know, but a lot of the people Celeste will meet won't and will make assumptions if she starts speaking into their minds.

[Arcran]

"I'm Clint!" the Trainer says, puffing out his chest. "Clint Jacks! Well, my real name is Clinton, but that's lame. Sounds like an old man name," he says, somehow not noticing that it could offend Oak since, well, he's kinda old.

"And this," he says, lifting his Pokeball high above his head and spiking it down, "Is Huge, the strongest and coolest Machop in the world!"

In a flash of red light Huge emerges, already flexing and posing for whatever crowd was watching (And yes, they'd practiced doing this. What else do you train your Pokemon to do other than hit things harder?). It seems to have no shame, moving from pose to pose without a second thought.

When Oak says that he'll allow the team to help with research a huge grin breaks out on Clint's face. With a brief gesture he tells Huge to stop, the show stopping with a reluctant sigh from the Machop.

"Seriously? I mean, of course. We're the best. Everybody wants our help,"" Clint says, sticking a hand out to Huge for a high five and, upon the thunderous reply, shakes his hand a few times while making a pained expression. The Machop either seems to be choking or holding back laughter, although for some reason the latter seems far more likely.

[Esprit15]

"I'm Celeste Berger. I live just a little north of here out by the cape." She looks a little downtrodden when Oak mentions that he doesn't carry any starters, but perks up at the mention of Misty possibly being of help. "Thank you, ma'am." Her voice gets a little more confident now, the gym leader being a bit more familiar to her than the professor.

[Eshkigal]

Internally, Marcus shrugs at that. No sense using an idiot who doesn't want you. Too much fighting that way.
"Weedle was on there too, you know. Anyway, suit yourself, though you'll have such fun dealing with psychics."
Then he sends out Marceline, snoozing and coiled up between him and the boisterous one, only to be abruptly woken up by the overly loud nature of the display, giving a grumpy rattle of her tail as she looks about to the group. Then Marc leans down, letting her slither up his arm. As she slithers up, a collar seeming to be made of spinarak silk and carefully carved bug type shell shards is notable around where the yellow band is.
"Anyway, this here's Marceline, and I'm Marcus Bertram. Pleasure meeting you both."
From her perch, Marceline lets her head drift towards trainers and the two VIPs, tongue darting out to taste the air around them.

[Dragonsage]

Vlad catches up with the Gym Leader and Professor after navigating his way through. When he gets there, he just politely sits in the back while some of the more vocal members of the group conversed among themselves. He finally spoke up when Misty requested an introduction. "I am Vladimir Xiao, though Vlad is just fine." He added a slight bow towards everyone, mainly at the Professor and gym leader. "I'm from a village a little north of Mt Moon, called Drangleic. I was just seeing if i could hear some advice before I get to far my traveling."

He looks over towards the older man who had previously offered to help the one called Client. "I wouldn't mind taking you up on that offer, as I'm still trying to find my pace way from the nest. So to speak."

I just realized that I never named the village/town that Vlad's from so i just went ahead and gave it a name

[Eshkigal]

While doing his utmost best to keep it from his face, that yellow streak in Marcus's aura becomes more muted as someone takes his offer. He turns offers a hand to Vlad, smile large and sincere.
"Pleasure to have you, then."
Then, he notices the instrument upon your back, and after looking it over carefully, nods appreciatively.
"Always nice to have another who appreciates music. Mind teaching me that one sometime? Used to have a guitar, myself, but always sang better anyways."
That, and as he found near the end of dating Daisy, you couldn't get a concussion from being brained with your instrument that way. Never knew a gal so defensive of her own cooking...

[RandomWombat]

The man in sunglasses displays a stately silver aura of tenacity, with a core of light blue at the center indicating a soft heart. The blue becomes more metallic in response to Clint's insincere apology.

While the others made their respective pleas of Oak, Misty, and one another, Raul is rifling through his backpack. Emerging with a journal and pen, he opened it up to a blank page and marked it with the date. "My name is Raul Aquez, a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I represent The Choir; my colleagues and I pursue and preach the truths others have forgotten, abandoned, or misplaced." He delivers the group's motto with practiced flow and efficiency. Breaking into a more casual tone he speaks to Oak almost like an aside in a play, "I apologize in advance if any of this sounds a bit out of nowhere. I promise this is going somewhere."

"One of the truths that has thus far eluded us is what really caused the disaster still fresh in the minds of many here in Cerulean: the Monster's rampage. So little concrete information is available about what the Monster was. All the public knows is the destruction it wrought," Raul recites - again it's clear he's gone over this before coming to the lecture. While he speaks he records each word in his journal in a transcript. "As one of the greatest minds of our time, many wonder how the origin of the Monster could stump you - or why someone of your character would keep it secret. With recent developments in the still-new field of Mega Evolution and the more seasoned field of fossil research, our readers wonder: does it hold the secret behind the origin of this tragedy? Could it teach us how to prevent another?" Taking a breath, Raul looks up past the upper frame of his shades and aims for eye contact with the Pokemon Professor. His tone even delivering the practiced lines suggests genuine curiosity on the subject.

Charm: [roll0]
Intuition to gauge the reaction: [roll1]

[Dragonsage]

Vlad looked over his shoulder and glanced at his guqin. "Sure, I wouldn't mind showing you a thing or two." He added a smile when someone took interest in the instrument. "And thank you for having me along."

Vlad fell silent again when other of the group whipped out a pen and pad and started an interview with the gym leader and professor. He had to admit, he was curious about how'd they respond.

[Aneurin]

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you all. I'm sure we can get you sorted with a pokemon without any trouble. In fact, I think I can do something for each of you if you'd like," Misty smiles, as you all introduce yourselves. And then Raul asks his question, and the mood darkens considerably.

"Oh, not this again," Oak begins. "Look, for the last time-"

"-we do not know anything that wasn't in the official statements," Misty breaks in angrily. "And before you start making accusations, I'd like to remind you that it was my town that was destroyed, and a Gym Leader died to stop that thing! Both of us, and just about everyone else has investigated what it was and we just don't know. It appeared, broke a lot of things, then died messily. If you and that crackpot Choir of yours don't believe us, or think you know something we don't, then I suggest you go have a look at the crater it left. It's the lake to the north east of here. Then maybe look at the memorial out there, too, and remember that people died before you start making your accusations!"

"As Misty said, a lot of people died," Oak says, with a hint of apology in his eyes as Misty glares daggers at Raul. "Some of whom we both knew. We've studied as much as we can but we have no idea just what it might have been. Whether it was a pokemon, some man-made creation, or something new is impossible to say. We're not even entirely sure what happened to it - all we know is that Blaine appeared from nowhere just after the destruction and went chasing off after it, and then a few hours later there was an explosion and Cerulean had a new lake," He checks his watch and sighs.

"I do have a meeting I need to go to now, I'm afraid. But if you'd like to go to the gym with Misty, she'll set you up with your new pokemon. I'll meet you down there when I'm done, and explain about what you can do to help us,"

They don't seem to be lying. In fact, they seem to be quite angry. Maybe implying they were covering something up was a bit of a mistake?

[Eshkigal]

At Raul's question, Marcus's eyes narrow as he gives a short glare at the man. Why would coming to a city where the last of the Beast's rampage occurred and bringing that up, practically accusing two of those with the most to learn from the experience of a cover up, and then expecting them to go "well gee, I guess we haven't told you all everything" even remotely sound like a good idea? Not a soul alive in Cerulean (at least, from those that evacuated in time, which were those who made up the majority of survivors) was untouched by it's mad swath of destruction. Not a single one of them had come out unscathed. Everyone had names of kin on that shrine that didn't come here after the devastation.
However, he fought the urge to rant at the man down. He fought the urge to get angry, to yell, to get the man away down. Instead, he settled on a disapproving scowl.
"Some questions are not appropriate for the opportunity you see. We all lost that day, and effects still linger. So try and have some respect, because people still get sore here."
Not even a little satisfying, but it would have to do right now. He scratches Marcie's head as he stands next to Vlad, then the offer is made.
"Seriously? Thank you kindly, both of you."
Hey, a job's a job and a spare pokemon is always a relief.

[RandomWombat]

Raul had intended to provoke an emotional response and it certainly worked. That kind of anger isn't something that can be faked. Of course it wasn't the first time he'd had such a negative response, and he records everything in his notebook despite the tension in the air. "I would be lying if I said I didn't mean to offend, but I apologize for it all the same. Emotion is always more honest than mere words." Raul frowns and looks a bit guilty, but he didn't know these people personally. He had to make sure they were sincere with his own eyes and ears.

"If people stop looking for the truth we can never learn from it. I want to help give those people who lost everything closure, and make sure nothing like this happens anywhere else," with a sigh Raul explains himself. Stowing the notebook back in his pack, he zips it up and slings it over his shoulder. "Thank you for taking the time to answer, and again, I'm sorry for throwing salt on the wound. I'll get out of your hair." A nod of farewell is given to everyone present as Raul exits the building.

Now that a statement had been given by the professor and the gym leader, Raul's next stop is the crater itself. He holds out his arm and a Swablu flutters down from the roof to perch on his gloved hand. Raul prefers to let Yarn get plenty of fresh air instead of staying cooped up in a ball. "Went better than expected, actually. Thought Misty was gonna punch me out for a sec there," he narrates to Yarn while making his way northwest towards the memorial.

[Esprit15]

"Thank you, sir," Celeste says, ignoring the remarks by the reporter. He was curious, but just lacked the tact to ask in a way that was non-confrontational. Something was off about it; that didn't mean there was a cover up, just that people honestly didn't know.

"Thank you, Misty, for the offer."

[Arcran]

"Damn it man, why the hell would you ask that!" Clint asks, wanting to shove the reporter. "Were you born with rocks in your head?"

Behind Clint Huge chuckles at the joke, although it's likely nobody else did.

Clint, of course, had been too young to really remember the tragedies that had happened. Sure, people told him what happened and sure, he had been alive for it but so what? It's not like any of it had actually affected him. As far as Clint knew it was just something you read about in a history book.

"And a Pokemon?" Clint says excitedly, a huge grin on his face. It wouldn't be an Oak Pokemon, but Misty was close enough, right? Maybe if he didn't have a full Oak Pokemon he could claim to be a self-made man or something like that. "Yes please!"

Huge glowers at the comment about another Pokemon; why would Clint need anything more than him? He was the best!

[Aneurin]

Raul

It's a little over under hour's walk up the well travelled path to the lake. As you near it, you can see the rocky monument carved with the names of all those who died during the attack.

The lake itself is a huge, irregularly shaped bowl. The stone sides look as though they melted and ran in an intense heat, forming strange whirls and bubbles. It doesn't look particularly deep by the memorial, where it connects to the river.

It looks like there's someone moving about further along the rim of the lake, but it's otherwise quiet.

Everyone Else

"Oh, it's no problem," Misty says, ignoring Raul. "I was looking for someone to take some, anyway,"

As Misty leads you through the university grounds, Oak vanishes with a polite goodbye in the direction of the admin buildings. It doesn't take long to arrive at the Gym, and when you do Misty lets you in through the backdoor - giving you a glimpse of the dark side of the Gym. Well, kind of.

It's certainly not as showy as the parts open for shows and visitors, but it's hardly shabby either. Everything looks pretty well maintained, even if it is mostly breezeblocks painted a horrific shade of grey and exposed pipes.

"Sorry about the mess," Misty adds, opening a door to a room with a pool. "We don't normally take visitors in this way, but I didn't want to have to deal with all the autograph hunters right now,"

This room, in contrast to the corridors, is warm and comfortable with the wood-panelled walls typical of the gym. The pool itself is reminiscent of the show-pools of the arena and performance area, even if it has been done up to look like something more natural with plants, rocks and even a small waterfall in evidence.

There's also a gyarados in the middle of the pool; the largest gyarados any of you has ever seen, it's covered in old scars and has an evil glint in it's eyes - and it's looking at you.

"Well, come in. The pokemon I mentioned are just in here,"

[RandomWombat]

Slowly walking up to the monument, Raul looks upon it solemnly. His gaze shifts to the 'lake' and he walks up to the edge. "Certainly doesn't look like anything could have survived this... but what exactly did Blaine do, I wonder?" Crouching down he runs a finger from his free hand through the water at the edge of the bowl. Yarn twitters in reply. Looking up, Raul notices another figure wandering around the edge of the lake. Standing again he makes his way towards them.

"You know that raises another question. Oak said that Blaine appeared out of nowhere, and somehow knew exactly how to stop the Monster. I wonder if he already knew this was going to happen? I mean it didn't sound like anybody called him for help," Raul glances aside at Yarn, who just tilts his head quizzically. Raul keeps walking and runs his tongue over his teeth absently in thought. "Maybe we can find more answers in Cinnabar. I don't have any money for a ferry though, we'll need to find some work and save up."

As the two get closer to their unexpected company, Raul strains his eyes to get a better look.

Perception to see the figure better: [roll0]

[Arcran]

"HOLY CRAP!" Clint shouts, pointing for Huge's benefit. The Gyarados was massive! Where could he get a Pokemon like that? Would Misty give them ones like that? Probably not, but that would still be pretty cool.

"How old is that Gyarados?" he asks excitedly, shoving his way to the front of the line. "And what kind of Pokemon are you giving us? Horsea? Weedle? Sandshrew?" he quickly says, just running through a list of Pokemon he thinks are cool more than anything.

[Eshkigal]

Marcus gives a small laugh at Clint's reaction.
"Pretty sure I heard a rumor saying he's the reason for the rest of the lakes. Still the King Serpent of Kanto though!"
Marcie lets that pass, as she knew it would only be a matter of time before she became Queen Serpent. Besides, it is no crime to have pride in the home team. He follows along, giving respectful distance to the giant gyarados.

[Esprit15]

Celeste stays well away from the pool. Hostile or not, that Gyarados was something to give a wide space to. "That is a large, large Gyarados. How did it get so big?"

[Dragonsage]

Vlad stares at the great serpent with admiration in his eyes. Only in his dreams had he ever seen a sea dragon so large. "Truly a dragon worthy of song in the great halls of Drangleic." he offered the gyarados a respectful bow before following everyone else, all while maintaining a healthy distance as to not agitate it.

[Aneurin]

Raul

It's actually quite hard to make out any details - at first, it looks like some sort of shiny, black hunchbacked creature is moving around on the lake shore. It's not until you get closer that you realise it's a woman in SCUBA gear, and she seems to be doing some kind of last minute gear check.

The water here's deeper, but it's a pretty odd place to go for a casual swim.

Gym Buddies

"Ah? Sorry. This is Gy. I've had him for... I don't know, exactly," Misty smiles fondly at the blue giant. "More than twenty years. I captured him when he was just a magikarp. I like to think his size is caused by all the care I've given him; but, honestly, I think it's age as much as anything - gyarados are harder and harder to keep in line as they get older, so most trainers only keep them while they're still young and release them when they get troublesome, so the really big ones all end up far out at sea.

"As for your pokemon..." she walks up to the water's edge, as Gy continues to watch you all with a kind of dull ferocity. The water's surface starts to move, leaping and dancing as a mass of orange and gold bodies rise to the surface and begin to thrash around. "...Gy's mate has just had a successful spawning, and, well, I could really do with someone taking them off my hands," she laughs nervously rubbing the back of her head. "I know they're not everyone's taste, but they are the children of a League winner,"

This is, in fact, Gy - Misty's ace. Or former ace, at least. He hasn't been used in a gym challenge in years. There was some speculation about what had happened to him a few years back, with a few people saying he'd been released and others saying he died.

Misty's aura has taken on a green cast - presumably of pride.

The magikarp are also green, they seem to be quite cheerful. Though there's the occasional glimpse of another sullen orange down there...

Before you all start shouting, these aren't your run-of-the-mill Magikarp. I'm not (quite) so mean as to tempt you with gym leader pokemon and give you normal magikarp :smalltongue:

[RandomWombat]

The woman certainly piques Raul's interest. A trainer looking for Water Types, or someone else interested in what's hidden below the lake? Raul would have been considering going down there himself if he hadn't skipped out on his father's offer of diving lessons when he was younger. The SCUBA gear brings back memories of all the divers back home in Sootopolis.

"Hello there!" Raul waves and sends a friendly greeting over the distance between himself and the new face.

[Arcran]

"BABY GYARADOSES?" Clint almost shouts, the glee on his face almost sickening. "WE GET BABY GYARADOSES?"

"What do they look like?" the young trainer asks, never having seen a baby Gyarados before. Would they be just like that monster, just smaller? They had to be strong, right? Especially since they're the children of a League Champion!

I'm just going to say that Clint doesn't know Magikarp turns into Gyarados. :smalltongue:

[Esprit15]

Celeste watches the young fish swim and thrash about, the happy auras creating a stark contrast with their bodies. The positive auras have a noticeable effect on her, brightening the girl's own mood.

She pays attention to the other orange color for a moment. "His mate. That's the one way down there? Is she another Gyarados, or something else?" Celeste says, pointing past the fish to the orange aura.

[Eshkigal]

"Seriously? We get some of ol' Gy's brood? Thanks, Misty!"
Marcus looks down to the magikarp, smiling at the idea of one day owning his own gyarados. That would be one hell of a day!

[Dragonsage]

Hey don't worry about it... hell i was debating on having a magikarp as a starter if it wasn't for the fact that it doesn't have egg moves...

"It would be an honor to receive one from the brood of a mighty one." Vlad was absolutely giddy at the thought, struggling to maintain composure. "Wonder how well Seath will get along with a new companion." He added while getting a closer look at the spawn.

[Aneurin]

Raul

"Mghmph!" the figure turns and waves to you. "Mg-hmp. Hmp hrg-" she pulls off the mask, and spits a few times. "Ugh. Sorry about that. Hallo. I wasn't execting to see anyone else out there,"

With the mask off, she looks a lot more human and less strange hump-back pokemon. She looks like she's in her late twenties, and has friendly brown eyes. She's also holding a diving mask in one hand, and a flipper in the other. The SCUBA gear is fairly high-quality - the expensive kind that professionals use.

"Nice day, huh?" she says amiably.

Pool Party

In one of those quirks of chance, the magikarp themselves provide an answer to Clint's question. One, propelled by it's own exuberance, and the mad thrashing of it's neighbours, is hurled from the water in a glistening arc to land with an almighty thwap at Clint's feet, where it proceeds to flail madly showering everyone with drops of water. It's a good larger than the ones you can win at fairs.

"They look just like that," Misty says after a moment, with a faint smile. "And, yes, the mother is down there. She's another gyarados too, but I doubt you'll see her. She's much more people-shy. I've already singled out some of the best specimens through there," she adds, pointing out another door. "You can catch one of them each, and I'll replace any pokeballs you use up since you're doing me a favour. Or you could keep that one," she adds fondly, with a nod to the 'karp flopping about at Clint's feet. "It's taken quite a shine to you,"

She pauses, and looks at Celeste. "Though I still need to get you something to help capture one, don't I? They can be quite... resistant to capture. You said you wanted an oddish, right? Well, if you have a look over there..." she points to a part of the room near the edge of the pool that's sealed off by a low wall. "I think you'll find something you might like,"

The magikarp that just jumped at Clint is still pretty cheerful to judge by it's aura, despite the fact that it's now stranded on land.

You can't see any auras over the wall.

[Esprit15]

"Yes, it's certainly possible to catch your first Pokémon by battling it, but I'd rather not if that can be helped," the girl says, smiling. She starts off toward the direction indicated. "Just over here?"

[Arcran]

"Wait," Clint says, looking at the fish flopping at his feet. "That," he says, pointing at the fish, "Turns into that?" he says, slightly speechless. Pokemon were weird.

Still, Clint couldn't possibly just throw a Pokemon that had been so excited to see him back into the pool. A huge grin on his face, Clint picks up the Magikarp, holding it high above his head.

"Is this one strong Misty?" he asks excitedly, struggling to hold it aloft as it flails.

Behind him, Huge glares at the Magikarp, doing his very best to show the fish who's boss.

[RandomWombat]

"It is, isn't it?" Raul looks up at the bright spring sky. It's certainly nice to feel the sun on his skin. "You should see the crazy weather we get back home. Ain't that right?" He fluffs at Yarn's wings and the cloud bird chirps in the positive. Raul offers a handshake and a smile once he reaches the diver.

"I'm Raul. Sorry about interrupting your swim, I was just taking a look at the memorial and noticed there was someone else about."

[Eshkigal]

Meanwhile, Marc kneels down and takes a breath. Better to try now, under controlled conditions, with so many chances, to grab one, right? He keeps grabbing but fails to get a grip due to the flopping, getting more frustrated with trying to do it the normal way than not. Marcie just shakes her head and slithers down his arm, trying her hand at gripping one of the multitude.

[Aneurin]

Raul

"June," the woman smiles, and looks at her full hands, then shrugs and holds out the flipper for Raul to shake. "I'm a research assistant down at the university. We're supposed to be mapping the lake, but we're a bit behind - which is why I'm here on my day off," she heaves an exaggerated sigh. "It's amazing how much of the old cave system survived, and we think some new parts opened up, too. The whole mess isn't all that stable, either, so when the weather's really bad some parts close off and new parts open up as walls collapse and debris is washed clear. We've found some amazing things down there, though," she adds cheerfully. "Fossils are just the start. The caves weren't really mapped before the disaster, so there's all sorts of things down here,"

June hesistates a moment as if something occurs to her, and then says in a more bashful tone;

"You said you were here to see the memorial, didn't you? I'm sorry. I sometimes get carried away and forget what people lost when it happened," she waves vaguely in the direction of the city. "I only moved here five years ago, so it's hard for me to realise what people must have gone through," she ducks her head in an apologetic bow. "I hope I haven't offended you,"

Celeste

"Yup," Misty nods. As Celeste looks over the wall, she sees a miniature garden with a stream of water flowing through it that seems to be coming from the pool. The water tumbles down several shallow steps, each one a bed of river plants that are tugged thise way and that by the current. All except for one little clump of leaves, that seems to be waving against the current - in fact, the whole thing seems to me moving and making a little trilling sound asit splashes around in the water.

"Can you see her?" Misty calls over, as she watches Clint and Marcus try and wrangle their 'karp.

Appropriately enough, the clump of leaves has a bright, friendly greeny-pink aura.

Should you happen look back, the Magikarp both seem cool with being picked up to judge by their auras. Either that, or they just haven't noticed.

Marcus and Clint

The Magikarp buck and twist and wriggle in the grasp of Clint and Marcie, but don't manage to break free - Marcus does get a face full of water for his troubles, though. It tastes like fish and mud.

"Well, it sure looks like it is," Misty says, as Clint becomes aware of a tingling sensation on his scalp and along arms. The magikarp seems to be dribbling sparks!

The magikarp in Marcie's coil seems to be breathing steam as it flops madly around.

[Esprit15]

"Yep, I can. Though she is an excellent hider," Celeste responds, getting closer to the moving leaves.

"Hey, can you hear me? I see you hiding there," she says to the Oddish.

[Eshkigal]

Marcus makes a face at the taste, before dragging the fish in, talking to it slowly.
"Easy now, easy. Ain't here to hurt you. Marcie ain't gonna hurt you either."
In fact, Marcie had begun nuzzling her new heat source/potential companion, enjoying the ambient heat thrown off by the karp as she reels it in.
"Nah, we wanna be your friends! Help you grow big and strong like your mom and dad, maybe make you family of our own, eh? Just calm down, calm, and come with us, please. We'll watch each other's backs, the three of us."
As he speaks, he pulls out a Pokeball he tries to get the magikarp into, tapping it against the fish.
[roll0]-Charm on the fish!
[roll1]- ball accuracy
[roll2]-attempt to catch a fish

[RandomWombat]

"You said you were here to see the memorial, didn't you? I'm sorry. I sometimes get carried away and forget what people lost when it happened," she waves vaguely in the direction of the city. "I only moved here five years ago, so it's hard for me to realise what people must have gone through," she ducks her head in an apologetic bow. "I hope I haven't offended you,"

Responding with a nervous chuckle, Raul shakes his head and waves his free hand dismissively. "No, no, I'm relatively new in the city too, a journalist with The Choir. I've already stepped on a few toes myself. A tough subject to broach, but I'm trying to find more details about what happened." He looks down at the water in the unnatural earthen bowl, "Isn't it dangerous to go down there alone when things are so unstable? What if you end up trapped?"

[Arcran]

"Fish don't make electricity!" Clint almost shouts in awe, suddenly dropping the fish and grabbing a Pokeball. This little guy was going to be on his team!

"POKEBALL GO!"

AC: [roll0]
Capture: [roll1]

[Dragonsage]

Vlad takes some amusement from Client and Marcus' attempts to man handle the fishes. "Well, here goes nothing." He looked at the one closest to him and reached out to take a hold on it.



AC: [roll0]

Combat skill: [roll1]

[Aneurin]

Raul

June laughs, clearly relieved. She doesn't seem to recognise the word 'Choir', either. "Oh, good. I do hate it when someone gets upset at me for not having gone through what they did. Hang on," she hangs the mask around her neck, and places the newly freed hand on Raul's shoulder as she puts her other flipper on. "Much better! Sorry to use you as a leaning post. Now, about your question; it's true that it's dangerous, which is why I'm not going into the caves. There was a storm up in the moutains a few days ago that moved a lot of debris up there, and I'm just going down to check nothing's gotten blocked off where we're working. I should really have a buddy still, but, hey, where's the fun in a life without risk, right?

As for the disaster, I'm afraid I can't tell you much that you can't already see," she makes an expansive gesture that takes in the lake, and it's once-molten sides, and her voice takes an addressing-my-dissertation-comittee tone. "Whatever happened happened with enough force and heat to make a new crater lake, and melt the surrounding stone - but that heat must have been flash heat, since the layer that ran isn't very thick at all. The blast seems to have followed the flaws within the caves - probably the caves themselves - which is why it's such an irregular shape. Most of the material that used to be the caves is actually here still, down at the bottom, or washed away by the river. A comparatively small amount was thrown away, which could have been done by the "Monster"'s," you can hear the inverted commas click into place, "entry, or something else entirely," she shrugs. "The rest of it gets kind of technical and boring, so... Is that any help?"

Celeste

When Celeste call out, the clump of leaves lets out a delighted squeal and starts splashing towards her.

Do you want to take it over from here, or shall I keep running it? I don't mind either way, but you know what personality you want it to have better than I do.

Clint, Marcus and Vlad

As Vlad fishes his own Magikarp out of the pool, he narrowly avoids the snapping jaws of its friends - it seems they're getting hungry, impatient or angry. Or, possibly, that they're just not all that aware of what's going on and think they're being fed. Vlad successful picks up, and hangs on to, his own little thrashing, slimy lump of affection.

Marcus' Magikarp vanishes from Marcie's coils in a flash of red light as the pokeball swallows it. It rocks a couple of times, and then lets out the faint chime of a successful capture.

Level 8, choose nature, ability and gender.

Knows Splash, and the custom move Fire Tooth. Learns Bite at Level 10, Tackle at 15 and Fire Fang when it evolves. +1 to it's Jump and Swim capabilities.

Fire Tooth
Type: Fire
Frequency: At-Will
AC: 3
Damage Base: 4 (1d8+6)
Class: Physical
Range: Melee, 1 Target
Effect: On a 20 during AC check target suffers a burn.
Contest Type: Beauty
Contest Effect: Steady Performance


Clint, on the other hand, has no such luck. The magikarp catches the ball on the tip of a flailing fin before it can activate, and sends it spinning into the water where it's promptly swallowed by one of the others. Oops.

"Um, I'll replace that for you. You probably don't want it back,"

The Magikarp, seemingly having had enough of this, bounces forward and tries sinks it's fanges into Clint's leg - which comes as something of a shock, since not only do Magikarp generally not have teeth, they're also seldom wreathed in electricity either.

Clint takes 11 Physical Electric damage, before resistance/def.

[RandomWombat]

"Not a problem," Raul shifts his position slightly to help June keep balance. He listens carefully to her explanation of what happened to form the lake, and much of it goes over his head. What he does understand is that whatever Blaine set off in there it hit hard and fast. No regular bomb and far beyond the scale of any Pokemon Move he knew of. "It narrows down whatever Blaine did to stop the rampage from something I know nothing about to something I know was very rapid. Can't say I'm a scientist, but thanks, it's more than I had."

The man clicks his tongue to signal Yarn that the gloved arm is getting tired, and he flutters down next to the water to drink from the lake. Raul rolls his shoulder to get rid of some of the stiffness, then lowers it to a resting position. "Y'know, you have the same name as one of my older sisters. Funny how the world works. She's back in Hoenn doing the Contest League."

[Esprit15]

Celeste kneels down to pet the Oddish, reaching out with her Aura to that of the plant. 'Hi, I'm Celeste.' The Oddish looks around for a moment, confused at the lack of direction for the sound. "Over here," she says as the little Pokémon looks around for a source of the mental voice. 'Misty is giving you to me to raise,' she says, opting for the medium that allows for easier communication of intention. 'But I wanted to first make sure it was okay with you.' The Oddish hops into Celeste's arms. She laughs, 'I'll take that as a yes.'

To an onlooker, the scene may have seemed a bit odd. Celeste says almost nothing, but in no time at all, the Oddish is snuggled up in her arms like a baby. "I don't know, but I think she likes me. Now all I need is a name... I'm sure one will come to me sooner or later." Celeste looks over at the Magikarp. "Are you sure she is up to fighting them, Misty? They look way tougher than normal Magikarp..."

[Eshkigal]

Marcus smiles sincerely, a rare feeling from him, as he lifts the pokeball up and links it to his phone to look at the properties of his new companion.
"Hm...Male, eh? I think I'll call you Rio."
Marcie hisses as her heater is taken away, spooking the fish attacking Clint as venom drips from her fangs onto the ground around her and rattles menacingly, as Marcus winces.
"Calm down Marceline, he's with us for good. They're getting snippy though, so lemme cook something up before you get back to hugging your new buddy."
Marceline gives another agitated hiss, but her tail stops rattling at least. She slithers over to Marcus, coiling her way back up him after a small nip on the ankle, fangs thankfully stowed away as he gives a small wince.
"Right then, Vlad, you gonna talk yours down? And miss, they seem receptive to food and some careful words. Don't gotta fight if you don't wish to."
He looks to Clint with a smirk as he likely tries to shake his magikarp off.
"Well, more than howling loudly, at any rate."

(Using Intimidate on Thundertooth Magikarp because I can.)

[Arcran]

"OUCH!" Clint shouts as the electricity arcs up his leg, numbing it instantly. That had really, really hurt!

"Nobody bites my leg! Huge! Show him who's boss!"

The Machop hardly needed the command. With a shout it runs forward, leaping into the air and landing on the other side of the Magikarp, turning about to slam an awkward blow into the fish. Clint, intent on getting a Pokemon that could hurt him so badly, tries to slam another Pokeball down, not bothering to give the typical cry along with it this time.

Huge uses a Struggle Attack! He shifts behind the Magikarp so it should be Flanked, giving it a -2 to Evasion.

AC 4: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

Clint throws another ball!
AC 6: [roll2]
Capture: [roll3]

[Dragonsage]

"Woo. Close one." Vlad remarked as he barely missed being bitten by the karps. He then reaches for one of his pokeballs whilst holding on to the fish. "Boy, you're a lively one. I think I can already tell we're going to get along..swimmingly." He chuckled at his own musing before tapping the karp with the ball.



I was going to roll a charm/intuition check (mystic sense) but since doesn't seem like the karp is resisting me I won't waste the rolls, but i'll roll them in OOC if needed.
Pokeball check
[roll0]
[roll1]

[Aneurin]

Raul

"Small world, huh?" June nods amiably. "So, um, is there anything else I can help you with? I mean, if you're really interested you'd be better off talking to Misty and her sisters - or Professor Oak, since he's in town for the talk. They know a lot more about it than I do. Or Cinnabar, since a lot of people who come here seem to think Blaine had some big secret or something. They might be right, and even if they're not, Cinnabar's going to be having a beach festival soon," there's a dreamy light in her eyes, all of a sudden.

"I wish I could go. The diving's meant to be great up there, but I have to stay here instead if I like being able to pay my rent, and carry on eating, you know?"

Clint, Marcus and Vlad

Vlad's magikarp quickly succumbs to the lure of the ball, with it's promise of peace, quiet and food, and vanishes inside with barely a wiggle. It's only when Vlad goes to retrieve the ball that he notices his hands have gone numb, as if he'd been holding something very cold.

Level 8, choose nature, ability and gender.

Knows Splash, and the custom move Ice Tooth. Learns Bite at Level 10, Tackle at 15 and Ice Fang when it evolves. +1 to it's Jump and Swim capabilities.

Ice Tooth
Type: Ice
Frequency: At-Will
AC: 3
Damage Base: 4 (1d8+6)
Class: Physical
Range: Melee, 1 Target
Effect: On a 20 during AC check target becomes Frozen.
Contest Type: Beauty
Contest Effect: Steady Performance

Despite Macus' commentary - or, perhaps, because of it - the electric magikarp clings on to Clint's leg with a grim determination that suggests one of it's ancestors was a furret. After Huge treats it to a pile driver, it's thrashing is significantly weaker - but it's still clamped on, and has enough energy to send this pokeball spinning across the room to shatter against a wall a few feet from Misty, who winces and takes a few steps further out of the firing line.

"Do you need any help? The electric ones never know when to stop,"

13 Physical, Electric damage before defenses and weaknesses. Seems like the RNG isn't your friend right now.

Celeste

Misty is unfortunately distracted by the shocking power of the magikarp that's attempting to eat Clint's leg, but the Oddish seems determined to answer for itself. Once lifted high enough to see over the little wall, it's beady eyes fasten of Gy who is still sitting aloof in the middle of the pool and it begins to wiggle determinedly in your arms, trying to jump towards the gyarados.

Misty's aura has the gray clouds of worry, while Gy just looks as sullen as ever as he watches the fight.

[Arcran]

"STUPID SMELLY FISH!" Clint shouts as the fish continues to bite his leg, reaching for his second-to-last Pokeball. This fish was going to be his whether it wanted to or not!

AC: [roll0]
Capture: [roll1]

[RandomWombat]

"I spoke with Misty and the Professor, and I don't think they've got much more information than the other locals," running a hand through his hair, Raul laughs to himself. "Pretty sure I narrowly avoided Misty punching me out too. I'll be leaving that one alone to cool off for... awhile. But I was thinking the same thing about Cinnabar, when I can manage to scrounge together enough cash to get on a ferry out to the island."

"Do you want me to stick around while you do your diving in case something happens down there? Neither Yarn or I is much of a swimmer, but I can call for help on my phone if you're down too long," Raul offers. Yarn perks up at the sound of his name and hops over next to Raul's feet.

[Esprit15]

Celeste tries to tighten her grip on the Oddish, but it is too late; the little grass type was already skipping forward to the great serpent. 'Nope! Nope nope nope! They are not to be played with! Come back!' The girl chases after the Oddish, slipping a little on the wet ground as she tries to catch the skipping weed. With a clumsy leap, she grabs onto the little Pokémon with both hands, holding it still just a few yards from the pool. She looks up from the ground, terrified that they may have angered the blue Pokémon in the middle of the pool.

However, the aura around the Gyarados was rather somber, a surprise to the aura user. Celeste wipes some water off of her dress and steps toward the Gyarados slowly, watching for any hostility or sudden caution. Before addressing it, she makes a light bow. 'Hey,' she says, holding the Oddish even more firmly than before. 'What's wrong? Does it bother you to watch them fight your young like this?'
Intuition to try to get a read on what is bothering the Gyarados: [roll0]
Intuition in place of Charm to get on its good side: [roll1]

At best I can get surface thoughts, not proper communication, and only if the Gyarados lets her in.

[Eshkigal]

As fun as watching someone losing a fight with a magikarp was, Marcus looks to the big gyarados and Misty, before walking to them both.
"I do believe I owe you both, and the one below. Misty, thank you for this gift, whatever task you name is one I shall pursue on my trip."
He turns to Gy next, only respect apparent.
"I wish I knew how to thank you and your mate properly, Gy."

[Dragonsage]

Vlad rubbed his hands together, surprised about how cold his hands had gotten from holding the fish. "That was a little unexpected." He then rubbed his hands together to warm them up again before he approached Misty with Marcus. "I am honored by this gift." He added a bow before turning towards the great serpent. "I promise i'll do what I can to unlock her potential."

[Aneurin]

Raul

"Oof," June winces when Raul mentions Misty nearly punching him out. "That's not a fight I'd like to have. And thanks for the offer, but I'll be fine," she adds, waving away the offer of assistance. "Without diving gear of your own, I don't think you'd be able to help much. I've been diving this lake for years, and I'm not about to take silly risks. It's sweet of you, though," she grins. "Good luck! If you find anything out, come back and let me know. I'd love to hear it,"

Celeste

The little Oddish continues to wriggle in Celeste's arms, letting out an excited trill.

It's hard to tell if the Gyarados let you in or not. His aura hasn't changed, and he hasn't shown any kind of physical reaction to your probe either. You're also not getting much of anything in the way of thoughts or emotions. It's quite likely that sullen resentment is Gy's default state of being.

Clint, Marcus and Vlad

Clint's magikarp at last succumbs to the lure of the ball, and it's promise of a nap and maybe another leg to chew on later. The latest capture attempt succeeds with barely a wiggle.

Level 8, choose nature, ability and gender.

Knows Splash, and the custom move Thunder Tooth. Learns Bite at Level 10, Tackle at 15 and Thunder Fang when it evolves. +1 to it's Jump and Swim capabilities.

Thunder Tooth
Type: Electricity
Frequency: At-Will
AC: 3
Damage Base: 4 (1d8+6)
Class: Physical
Range: Melee, 1 Target
Effect: On a 20 during AC check target becomes Paralyzed.
Contest Type: Beauty
Contest Effect: Steady Performance

"Three for three so far, and just one more to go," Misty says, sounding faintly relieved now that there's no longer a magikarp trying to eat a trainer. Gy continues to glare at the poolside. "I'll sort the replacement pokeballs for you when Celeste's caught hers, okay? Now, you wanted to help with professor oak's research, didn't you?" she asks, with a questioning glance at Marcus and Vlad who hadn't volunteered quite so... ebuliantly as Clint. "I'll explain a little, and you can see if you want to help.

"Now, you might have heard on the news about the fossil beds discovered in the Orange Islands. Professor Tracy has been investigating them with Professor Oak, myself, and the Cerulean University. Actually, I've mostly been providing funding rather than doing the research, but you get the idea. We've come to the conclusion that there were once a great many more pokemon than there are today; and, what's more, that there were more evolutions than there are now, too. We don't know what's caused the loss of these evolutions and species, but we do know that these evolutions can be temporarily recreated by the 'Mega Stones'. The phenomenon is being called Mega Evolution since it's discovery over in Kalos.

"We don't know what makes the Mega Stone so special, and we also don't know if every pokemon can mega evolve. There's lots of theories, but we just don't know. So, what we'd like help with is documenting and recording all of the mega evolutions. They're incredibly rare, and a lot of the trainers who do find mega stones refuse to tell anyone else, since the secret gives them an edge in the League," Misty shrugs.

"I don't know if you'll have any luck, but if you're travelling and battling you're at least more likely to see them. At the moment most of our research is conducted by watching televised gym matches," she gives an embarrassed chuckle. "Which is a bit less than scientific, you know?"

So, yes, you're being asked to take pictures of, and get information about, any mega evolutions you may run across. You'll probably be paid handsomely for any Mega Stones you find, too.

However, chances to do this will be few, far between and generally worthy of an (optional) side quest, so it shouldn't intrude too much. And, again, until you'd be able to use them yourselves, you probably won't run across Megas unless you specifically want to.

@Esprit - you're welcome to have overheard this, or Misty will explain again for Celeste's benefit.

[RandomWombat]

"Gotcha. Good luck with finding what you need to," with a small salute, Raul crouches down to pick Yarn back up, who is done with his drink of water. "I'll see you around."

After exchanging goodbyes with June, the next destination for Raul will be back in the city proper. He needs to find some way to make money for the trip to Cinnabar. Might as well try asking around about opportunities in the area. As a starting point he picks out the Pokemon Center, where trainers tend to gather and the nurses probably overhear some conversations.

Traveling to the Cerulean City Pokemon Center.

[Esprit15]

Celeste decides that bothering giant serpents who seem to generally resent existence is a poor idea, and so turns back to the group, trying to keep ahold of the Oddish. What has gotten into the little thing?

Celeste overhears most of what the job is. It sounded incredible, and quite difficult. Still, it would be quite interesting. There's simply the question of whether her family would allow it... She'll tell them after a while. They think she's on her way to Lavender, so they should expect her to be gone a while.

"Your Gyarados seems more than a little bitter about living in here. Are you sure he's okay?"

[Eshkigal]

"Sounds agreeable to me. Though if we give you a stone, can we ask to borrow it now and then?"
Already, Marcus is considering the options to getting his hands on some. After all, they are likely going to be mostoy owned already, so perhaps a deft hand will afford a better payday than a hard fight...
(Consider this a request for mega fights)

[Arcran]

"Whooo!" Clint shouts as the Pokeball becomes still, looking at it with pride. He'd done it! He'd actually caught a Pokemon! He moves to give Huge a high-five, only to trip a little on his less-than-perfect leg. Looking down, Clint finally notices the extent of the damage to his leg. He was obviously able to walk, but that had really, really hurt. He'd need a Pokemon Center or something to fix him up, that much was certain.

Clint listens to Misty's request with interest, trying to piece it together as he does his best to ignore his leg.

"So, you want us to go out and do Pokemon Trainer stuff?" he says slowly, trying to make sure he understands it. "And, if we see Mega Pokemon we tell you about it?" he says hesitantly, apparently deep in thought.

"That sounds perfect! Just wait, I'll get every Mega Pokemon and show you how good they are!" the Trainer says enthusiastically as he limps over to pick up the Pokeball. "Just you wait, I'll beat all of you!" he says, turning to dash as fast as his leg will allow out of the Gym as soon as he has the Pokeball, Huge struggling to keep up behind him.

"Thanks for the Pokemon Misty! I'll send you Mega Pokemon stuff soon!"

Staying around for hints on where to start? That's just silly!

I'm heading towards the Pokemon Center.

[Aneurin]

Raul

As Raul makes his way back to town, he finds the street he wants to walk down blocked by some sort of crowd.

...or maybe it's not a crowd. More like a mob. As he gets nearer, Raul can see maybe a dozen people waving placards that seem to have a picture to a pokeball crossed out on them, and there's a lot of shouting, which sounds quite angry. The mob seems to be facing inwards, looking at something in the middle of it.

The streets nearby seem quiet, though, so it should be possible to avoid them altogether.

Celeste, Marcus and Vlad

Misty blinks at Celeste's question, as Clint dashes off. "What do you mean, 'bitter'? He's just waiting to be fed," she glances at a clock on the wall. "We've got another ten minutes before starts thinking I've forgotten, and gets grumpy - so, if you'd like one of my magikarp I'd suggest you hurry,"

Turning to the others, she nods happily.

"I don't think lending, or at least trading a stone or two would be too much of a problem," she says, as she walks over to a locked door at the side of the room and opens it - it seems to lead to some sort of kitchenette - and grabs a sack from just inside, before locking the door and walking back over. "Sorry. Here are your pokeballs," she says, handing out a replacement each to Vlad, Marcus and Celeste. "Actually, I hate to ask, but since your friend ran off without collecting his would one of you mind taking them to him?" Misty adds, holding up three shrunk-down pokeballs.

Clint

Clint limps his way to the Center without too much trouble. As he enters, the nurse manning the desk stares at him, clicks her tongue irritably and directs him to the first aid room down a corridor. The nurse on duty in there mutters something under her breath as Clint walks in and tells him to take a seat.

After a few minutes, a teenager about Clint's age with a rough bandage wrapped around one arm and a black eye moves to a seat next to Clint and treats him to a friendly grin.

"So, what are you in for?"

[Eshkigal]

Replacing the one he used quickly, he eyes the door, the kitchen, and the balls.
"Depends on if we can catch him, though at least it's easy to guess where he'll go. He moves fast for a guy with a busted up leg, doesn't he? But anyway, good to know. Anyway, I dabble with cooking a bit, if you need some help feeding these guys too."
Also, it'd be kinda cool to see Misty's full team up close. He could remember sneaking into some of the higher rank fights with his dad, years ago, to watch the few times they actually got to fight, and it had been damnably impressive. If Celeste looks at him, it seems like curiosity overpowering his normal greed and cowardice.

[RandomWombat]

While going around would no doubt be the wise thing to do, Raul was never the wisest man. Indeed, he was fortunate not to be a cat, or that old idiom would have been the end of him long ago.

Looking for a member of the protest (or whatever it was that was happening) who wasn't too intimidating, Raul carefully approached. "Excuse me. What's happening here?"

[Esprit15]

Celeste shrugs. "Makes sense. He simply looked a little glum, didn't know if you knew or not. Anyways, let's get that Magikarp." The little Oddish, which Celeste had decided to call Rose, cheers at the mention of the fish.

[Dragonsage]

Vlad listened quietly as the gym leader explained about the mega evolution research. "It certainly sounds like a noble pursuit of knowledge. I think it would be worth while in helping in anyway I can." The bard agreed to help with the research.

He then accepts the replacement pokeball while looking at the ones meant for the loud one who rushed out without much warning. Personally, Vlad didn't think that such impatience and rudeness should be rewarded but Misty had already given her word to replace any pokeball used. "Suppose we could give the pokeballs when we see him next."

[Aneurin]

Raul

As Raul approaches, he starts to make out two voices arguing - one, loud, strident and confident and the other young, and angry. The rest of the mob appears to mostly be muttering agreement and support for the louder voice.

"-get away from him, you freaks! I won't let you take her away from him!" the younger voice shouts out.

"Don't be naive. Pokemon shouldn't be enslaved like that. It's filthy and demeaning! Think about that poor pokemon," the older voice sounds smugly self-assured. "How can some kid care for one properly?"

Getting nearer, Raul can also seach the Pokemon Lover's Association badge on a couple of the signs. They've never been battle-friendly, but this is a step above and beyond picketing Gyms and Centers. The man Raul speaks to, turns and gives him a shove back. He's not a big man, though, and the push barely does anything more than be extremely rude.

"Nothing to do with you. Just teaching some brat how to care for pokemon properly,"

Celeste

There is a pool full of magikarp, a happy Oddish in Celeste's arms and an empty pokeball in hand. All she needs to do now is to combine the magikarp and pokeball somehow.

So... yep. How are you going to go about this?

Marcus and Vlad

"Young trainers always get over-excited," Misty replies with a grin. "I remember Red was just like him, once. Anyway, if you want to make some food for them I'd be happy to pay you for your time. I've got their next meal sorted, but there's always a meal after that, and after that, and after that..." she says with a mock-drone in her voice.

[Arcran]

"Did you know Magikarp have big teeth?" Clint says excitedly, looking at the other boy with interest. "Like, really big ones? They look like silly fish but they have like fangs or something," the boy says, mouth working overtime. "They really hurt," he adds, as if that wasn't obvious.

"What about you?" Clint asks as he points at the bandage. "Did you get bit be a fish too?"

Of course getting beat up by a Magikarp isn't embarrassing at all!

[RandomWombat]

Raul

As Raul approaches, he starts to make out two voices arguing - one, loud, strident and confident and the other young, and angry. The rest of the mob appears to mostly be muttering agreement and support for the louder voice.

"-get away from him, you freaks! I won't let you take her away from him!" the younger voice shouts out.

"Don't be naive. Pokemon shouldn't be enslaved like that. It's filthy and demeaning! Think about that poor pokemon," the older voice sounds smugly self-assured. "How can some kid care for one properly?"

Getting nearer, Raul can also seach the Pokemon Lover's Association badge on a couple of the signs. They've never been battle-friendly, but this is a step above and beyond picketing Gyms and Centers. The man Raul speaks to, turns and gives him a shove back. He's not a big man, though, and the push barely does anything more than be extremely rude.

"Nothing to do with you. Just teaching some brat how to care for pokemon properly,"

Gathering together what appears to be happening, Raul concludes that the Pokemon Lover's Association is bullying some kids and trying to take away their Pokemon. He looks indignant even before the protestor pushes him. Backing off a bit from the one that pushed him, Raul clicks his tongue for Yarn to fly up atop a street lamp and looks for a spot where the mob is a bit thinner. There he practices his subtler talents to try and crowd dodge and slip through to wherever the voices originate from. He's got a few choice words for whatever smug bastard is at the head of this.

Stealth check to dodge through the crowd (Escape Artistry) and get to the voices: [roll0]

[Esprit15]

"Hm..." The girl leans down, Oddish still firmly grasped in her arms, looking for an aura she liked among the Karp. Too red, too blue, wrong green... 'Hello! Would you,' she says to a Magikarp with an aura like its father, but more cheery, 'mind coming up to the surface? I'd like very much to meet you!' Her "voice" is cheery and friendly, though to everyone else she just seems to be smiling into the water.
Intuition for Charm: [roll0]

[Eshkigal]

"Bit of cash never hurts, though again, it's dabbling, so it won't be fancy..."
Regardless, he looks to Vlad and to Marcie.
"Since we're exploring Kanto together, care to make a bit more cash? Or you could try and track down the other guy while I make a bit for the road."

(What all do I need to do, and I really hope I don't have to pay for the supplies that I am about to use as I have $100 total)

[Aneurin]

Raul

It's a bit tricky, but by picking a different person and simply pushingpast them without ccalling out, Raul gets close enough to see more.

It's not a happy sight. Pressed against the wall of one of the buildings bordering the street, is a young boy - maybe eight or nine - crying his eyes out, clutching meowth that's crouched between the boy and a much older man, it's back arched, fur up and hissing and spitting like a burst pipe.

A young man is standing protectively over the pair, red in the face and with his fists clenched. Raul can see a bandage on one arm, where his sleeve rides up a little. He has a belt with a some pokeballs on it, dark hair, jeans and a hoodie.

The young man and the pokemon are facing off against an adult, smug and officious in a weird smart-casual-suit-thing. He's got a PLA badge on, too, and seems to be being backed up by the mob who are hemming the young man and the child in.

"Look, just give us the meowth so it can be released safely into the wild," the PLA man says, holding out a hand expectantly.

"NO!" spits the younger man, and goes even redder.

Clint

The boy bursts out laughing as Clint explains his injury. It's not derisive laughter, just... amused.

"Okay, that makes me feel a little less bad about this," he says, holding up the lumpy bandage. "I was walking back from Sable City with my brother and found a little sandshrew by the road side. I thought it was lost, had crawled out of its mother's burrow and couldn't find its way back, so I decided I'd rescue it and take it home. Turns out it's mother was teaching it to be independant, and was in a bush nearby,"

He grins ruefully, goes to stroke his arm and then stops just short.

"Sandslash quills really hurt, y'know? Name's Joe, by the way. If you're wrestling wild magikarp, I'd guess you're a trainer, right?" he asks, eyeing Clint thoughtfully. "When we're done here, you want to battle?"

Celeste

Whether in response to Celeste's empathetic pulse, hunger, boredom, sheer chance or utter stupidity, the magikarp she had set her eyes on comes flying out of the water, showering pool-spray over everyone nearby, much to the oddish's delight. It lands, flopping and gasping, on the edge of the pool. It looks larger, and fiercer than many of it's compatriots somehow.

Sadly, it still looks like it's a magikarp, though.

Marcus and Vlad

"Well, kitchen's just over there," Misty nods to the door she'd just gone through, pulls a key out of her pocket and hands it to Marcus. "You'll have to find everything yourself, I'm afraid. I need to stay out here just in case Gy or Do get upset," she says absently, before noticing this maybe is a scary thing to say, and adds quickly; "It's never happened before, but health and safety, you know?"

Give me an Intuition or Pokemon Education roll, and multiply the result by $20 for how much you earn. If you guys want to work together, add your totals and multiply by $30 split between you however you want. x $35 if Celeste helps, too, because the kitchen's getting a bit crowded.

[Arcran]

Clint joins in the laughter, although he does look at the Trainer with some newfound respect. Weren't Sandslash strong? They looked strong, with all those big spikes and everything.

"Of course I want to battle!" Clint exclaims, a huge grin on his face. "But could I get a chance to warm my Pokemon up a bit? They've been a little cooped up all day," the Trainer states, an apologetic look on his face. He really did want to battle, but not with his team in anything less than top form.

"Oh, and I'm Clint by the way," he says, offering a hand to Joe. "And that's Huge!" he says, the Machop opening one eye before going back to lounging on a chair, taking a not-so-deserved nap.

[RandomWombat]

Pushing through the last of the crowd, Raul approaches the three gathered at the center. His voice is dripping with venom as he walks up to stand beside the red-faced young man, "Well hey, I didn't know Team Rocket was back in town. No... looks like it's just the PLA. Team Rocket doesn't need a mob behind them to bully some random kid on the street." Now beside the previously lone defender, he turns to face the crowd. "Doesn't look like that meowth wants to go with you. So who here decided it was a good idea to all come jump this kid and abduct his friend?"

Charm to shame the crowd: [roll0]

[Esprit15]

Celeste wanted to simply talk the Magikarp into joining her, but it didn't have the same aura that Rose had, and the fish in general seem less responsive than most Pokémon were. "Alright Rose, Acid." The Oddish sprays a caustic liquid at the Magikarp. Waiting until after the Magikarp is hit, she throws a ball.
As fun as a 2 week session of RPing with the Magikarp until it likes Celeste sounds, we need to get this show on the road.

Acid
Poison, Special
AC: [roll0] 2, Lower SpDef on 18-20
Damage: [roll1]
If Crit: +[roll2]

Great Ball
AC: [roll3] 6?
Capture: [roll4]

[Aneurin]

Raul

Rauls gets a number of very unfriendly looks as he tries to compare the mob to Team Rocket - but a few people look quite uncomfortable at the word 'abduction'. That might have hit a nerve. The little boy's defender gives Raul a look that's a mix of relief and stubborn pride, as if he didn't need saving and everything was totally under control. Relief wins out, though, and he shuffles aside a little to let Raul have centre stage.

The man at the focus of the mob's attention just sneers.

"Abduct the pokemon? Don't be naive. We just want to release it. Or are you telling me you think it's right to curb that meowth's natural instincts, and force it to live away from it's own kind? It's own family?" he says, raising his arms in a sweeping gesture to encourage the mob to join in. A ripple of "yeah, well, he's probably right" sweeps through the mob, and the man starts to smirk.

Okay, we'll be handling this with oppose social skill checks (Intimidate, Charm, Guile, etc.), to win control of the mob. I'll add modifiers to your rolls and to Smart Ass Guy's according to your speech - for example, pointing to the crying child when he tries to say that he's doing what's right will hit his rolls fairly heavily. You may also add your current number of successes to your roll each round.

As soon as you have three more successes than him you win, and the mob will slavishly follow you forever disband. Of course, if he wins by three the mob may well beat you up.

Last roll was a tie.

Current Successes:
Raul: 1
Smart Ass Guy: 1

Clint

"That's no problem, I'd kind of like to get the spines removed first anyway," Joe shrugs. "They were treating me, but some kid came in who'd cracked his head open falling out a window or something, so they just bandaged me up while they fixed him,"

As Clint releases his Machop, Joe looks impressed.

"That's a pretty cool Machop! I've got a Bellsprout myself. But you might want to put it away, because..."

"Hey, you!" a nurse bellows as she walks out of one of the side rooms with a tray of instruments, scowling ferociously. She's at least six feet and built like a brick wall. "No pokemon in here. This is a treatment area, and we do not need it contaminated,"

"...of that,"

Celeste

As it's sprayed with corrosive liquid the magikarp thrashes even more madly than before, until Celeste's great ball hits it and swallows it in a flash of red light. The poor thing seems almost grateful to go inside.

Level 8, choose nature, ability and gender.

Knows Splash, and the custom move Hyper Tooth. Learns Bite at Level 10, Tackle at 15 and Hyper Fang when it evolves. +1 to it's Jump and Swim capabilities.

Hyper Tooth
Type: Normal
Frequency: At-Will
AC: 4
Damage Base: 6 (2d6+8)
Class: Physical
Range: Melee, 1 Target
Effect: On a 20 during AC check target Flinches.
Contest Type: Cool
Contest Effect: Desparation

[Esprit15]

Celeste pockets the Magikarp. "My first capture! I caught my first one!" the girl says, stopping herself from running to Misty like a proud daughter when she remembers that the gym leader is not in fact her mother. "But why do they know odd moves? I thought Magikarp were supposed to be weak until they evolved."

[RandomWombat]

Raul

Rauls gets a number of very unfriendly looks as he tries to compare the mob to Team Rocket - but a few people look quite uncomfortable at the word 'abduction'. That might have hit a nerve. The little boy's defender gives Raul a look that's a mix of relief and stubborn pride, as if he didn't need saving and everything was totally under control. Relief wins out, though, and he shuffles aside a little to let Raul have centre stage.

The man at the focus of the mob's attention just sneers.

"Abduct the pokemon? Don't be naive. We just want to release it. Or are you telling me you think it's right to curb that meowth's natural instincts, and force it to live away from it's own kind? It's own family?" he says, raising his arms in a sweeping gesture to encourage the mob to join in. A ripple of "yeah, well, he's probably right" sweeps through the mob, and the man starts to smirk.

Okay, we'll be handling this with oppose social skill checks (Intimidate, Charm, Guile, etc.), to win control of the mob. I'll add modifiers to your rolls and to Smart Ass Guy's according to your speech - for example, pointing to the crying child when he tries to say that he's doing what's right will hit his rolls fairly heavily. You may also add your current number of successes to your roll each round.

As soon as you have three more successes than him you win, and the mob will slavishly follow you forever disband. Of course, if he wins by three the mob may well beat you up.

Last roll was a tie.

Current Successes:
Raul: 1
Smart Ass Guy: 1

"Curb its natural instincts? Do you even know whether this is actually a wild meowth? Plenty of them grow up living around humans in cities. Out in the wild they'd be out of their home habitat; they'd either come back to where they're comfortable or they'd die because they have no natural instincts for that environment. You would be accomplishing nothing to its benefit," Raul shakes his head in disappointment at the man and the crowd. "Did anyone check those facts? See if the meowth would be better or worse off being 'released'?"

Charm: [roll0]
Edu: General to back up his argument with basic facts: [roll1]
Edu: Pokemon if that is more appropriate to the argument: [roll2]

Edit: I actually forgot my Sunglasses bonus to Charm on both of my rolls, which are in fact 17, if that helps.

[Arcran]

"Sorry!" Clint almost shouts, quickly withdrawing his Machop, Huge letting out a startled shout as he's absorbed into the ball.

"I should probably wait until they fix my leg too..." Clint mutters, looking at his torn pants. He wanted to go out and battle things, but waiting around and letting them fix him up was probably a better idea, sadly.

[Dragonsage]

Vlad takes the pokeball that were meant for Clint. "I suppose i'll track down the other guy and takes these too him while you cook. I'll meet you back here if i can find him?" He said before he set out to look for the impatient one, starting with the pokecenter first since he was complaining about being bitten before rushing out.

[Eshkigal]

"How about Center in a couple hours? That'd work, right?"
After Vlad's response, Marcus opens the door to find a moderately sized kitchen, surprisingly spartan for the gym, but it makes sense. After all, wouldn't more of the budget go to the pool and the pokemon? Still, it's better than most of the ones he has seen, and it had a lot of food available. So much they'd hardly notice...
He takes a moment to shake his head, clearing away the thoughts of resupplying for free off of Misty. It is poor form to steal from someone offering such a good deal after all, so taking a minute to find out where things are, he gets to work. Checking around the fridges and the like, he manages to find enough pidgey meat to last a while, and so he begins making it into some simple seasoned pidgey breasts (pepper for the spice lovers, lemon for sour, and so on). Cooking was always a comfort, though, perhaps worth learning to do better at. Marceline, coiled upon a counter while he works, flicks her tongue to taste and approve of the smells around them as he eventually finishes his little hobby here.

[Aneurin]

Raul

The crowd's muttering swells as Raul talks, and a few of thems tart shooting the PLA man dark looks; apparently facts and accuracy, rather than vague hyperbole do help things out. Especially when the teenager besides Raul chimes in.

"We got her from a friend who's persian had a litter, she's not a wild Meowth. She doesn't know how to survive in the wild,"

The smarmy man seems to realise he's in danger of losing his supporters, and makes a rather desperate bid to win them back;

"Ah, but that is my point! By taking these pokemon into homes, raising them far from their natural environment and curbing their natural instincts to survive. How could you ever say it's acceptable to take away that fundamental part of who - of what - they are. How is it acceptable to presume we know enough to give them healthy, reasonable diets and provide them the opportunities they need to stay healthy?"

Raul: 2
Smarmy Guy: 0

Clint

The nurse disappears again, muttering something under her breath about trainers.

Clint's new friend grins. "Yeah, sorry. I know you want out of here, too. Don't worry, we shouldn't be here too much longer. The guy's been in there a while,"

Almost as if on cue, a couple of paramedics with a stretcher walk in and vanish into one of the side-rooms.

"...huh. Guess that kid was hurt worse than I thought," Joe frown.

Would I be right in thinking you left the magikapr to be healed at the front desk?

And do you just want to skip ahead to the battle?

Vlad

Vlad arrives at the pokemon center without any issues - though he does notice an ambulance pulled up outside - and it doesn't take much more than a quick description before he's directed back to the first aid room by the receptionist.

Feel free to pop into Clint's scene when you're ready, or do something else.

Celeste and Marcus

Misty smiles approvignly as Celeste makes her capture, and pulls out a great ball and a pokeball for her.

"Normally you'd be right, gyarados spawn hundreds of magikarp eggs a time to make up for that. Only one or two in a hundred will survive to adulthood. Of course, if a trainer gets involved that number's usually a bit higher. As for why these ones are special..." Misty trails off, biting her lip thoughtfully. "Well, maybe it would be easiest to show you. Are you at a point where you could take a few minutes break?" she calls over to Marcus in the kitchen, which is emitting a salivation-inducing aroma from his culinary efforts.

[Eshkigal]

Marcus slides the chicken onto a grill able to be put on the stove as she calls out.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, first batch's just starting and the others are set to cook. Lemme just wash my hands and Marcie'll keep an eye on things for now."
A quick set of instructions (smoke bad, smoke BAD), setting a timer, and a quick wash of the hands later, and he comes back out.
"What's up?"

Back in the kitchen, Marcie keeps tasting the air, on the counter across from the stove. Soon, she would be able to filch a piece of delicious pidgey. Soon...

[Arcran]

Clint frowns as well as he watches the paramedics carry the kid by, a bit confused. He'd already been in treatment, right? Why would they be carrying him out if he was already getting - oh.

"I guess so," Clint says without emotion, not exactly sure what to say at this point. What were you supposed to say?

Yes on both counts, as long as I get Training in.

[RandomWombat]

Raul

The crowd's muttering swells as Raul talks, and a few of them start shooting the PLA man dark looks; apparently facts and accuracy, rather than vague hyperbole do help things out. Especially when the teenager besides Raul chimes in.

"We got her from a friend who's persian had a litter, she's not a wild Meowth. She doesn't know how to survive in the wild,"

The smarmy man seems to realize he's in danger of losing his supporters, and makes a rather desperate bid to win them back;

"Ah, but that is my point! By taking these pokemon into homes, raising them far from their natural environment and curbing their natural instincts to survive. How could you ever say it's acceptable to take away that fundamental part of who - of what - they are. How is it acceptable to presume we know enough to give them healthy, reasonable diets and provide them the opportunities they need to stay healthy?"

Raul: 2
Smarmy Guy: 0

"How can we presume that every case is the same, and all humans are unfit to give Pokemon good homes?" Raul asks, indicating the meowth, "Does she like she doesn't have a family that loves her and cares for her? Are you going to take her away, kicking and screeching and scratching, from this little boy - because it's somehow not 'right' for Pokemon to live in cities among humans? Why? Do you have a reason why beyond blind fanaticism to a cause you don't even understand? You argued before out of nothing but ignorance that she was being taken from her family, and now you reveal your hypocrisy: she has a family, and you are the one trying to separate them." As he talks, Raul walks up and presses a finger against the man's chest to punctuate it when he says 'you'.

Spending 1 AP for an additional +1 to Charm: [roll0]

[Dragonsage]

Vlad thanks the receptionist before heading around into the first aid room. Upon finding Clint, Vlad waves to him before approaching. "You left in such a haste before Misty was able to give you these." He reached his hand out to complete the delivery of the pokeballs.

After he hands off the pokeballs, Vlad turns towards the other person with Clint and gives a polite wave. "Hello."

[Aneurin]

Raul

The muttering increases once more, and this time it sounds angry - and directed at the former spokesman for the mob. He glances around, but it's obviously over - his hold on them has been well and truly broken by cunning arguments and not-being-a-douchebag-who-picks-on-children.

"You've not heard the last of this," he says, with a glare at Raul before pushing his way through his once-allies. With him gone, the mob starts to look and sound uncertain, as if they're not quite sure what to do now. A few people on the edge start to shuffle away, and there's a noticeable shuffle as they give Raul, the teenager and the crying child some more space.

"Hey..." the teen looks away awkwardly for a moment, then sticks his hand out. "I'm Joe, and that's my brother Bill and Carry's the meowth. Thanks for helping us, back there. I'm not sure what I would have done if you hadn't stepped in,"

Yes... I think I will have to work out a better way of handling social conflicts, given that you completely wiped the floor with him here.

Have 1TXP for not getting beaten up and thrown in the river!

Clint and Vlad

It's not long before the paramedics emerge from the treatment room, with a heavily bandaged boy on the stretcher hooked up to an IV. A nurse walks out with them, talking quietly - but not quietly enough - to the ambulance crew. "...Found him in an alley by the warehouses...we've called the police...internal injuries..."

They're out of hearing before you can pick up any more, and the nurse who had lectured Clint on his Machop reappears once more.

"We apologise for the wait, but we will be able to treat you now," she says, with a sniff. Seems she hasn't forgiven Clint just yet. "You - in room one, you're in room two," she commands Joe and Clint, seizing Joe in an iron grip and propelling him towards a door marked One.

"Meet you behind the Center when we're done?" Joe called out as he's dragged away.

Clint is getting treated in Room Two - unless you particularly want to roleplay a getting-your-leg-bandaged scene, or want to talk to Vlad, feel free to skip ahead and start on your training. Joe's going to be in there a while.

Celeste and Marcus

"Well, alright then," Misty says as Marcus emerges from the kitchen. "Oh, actually, wait a second," she says, disappearing in the kitchen herself and retrieving a rather large tub of... something... from one of the big fridges. She opens the lid, and reveals... well, they're dead, plucked pidgeys, all ready for cooking - just not cooked yet.

As the tub is brought out and opened, Gy's aura changes for the first time. It's suffused with a hungry, hungry red.

"Right, take them and throw them as far as you can - do not hold on to them any longer than you have to," Misty says firmly, as she takes one of the ex-pidgeys herself and throws it just in front of Gy, who just... smashes the water as he grabs it. There's a brief shower of water. "...or Gy might get grabby,"

The magikarp, sensing food is at hand go positively beserk - the water foams and writes with their thrashing. If anything, there are even more of them than there were when you first came in.

With an expert flick of the wrist, Misty sends another formerly feathery delicious dinner winging into a temporarily clear patch of water. It's not there for long, though, as something breaks the water in a sinuous arch, and a glitter of gold scales. Unlike Gy's sledgehammer dining technique, the newcomer barely creates a ripple as she takes her food.

"...that's why this brood is so special," Misty says, as the golden-thing makes it's brief appearance. "A researcher in Johto found her a few years ago - as far as we know, she's the only one of her kind. Her name's Do, and she's a gyarados. But for some reason her scales have a golden colour. She's different in a handful of other ways, too, but we don't really know the full details. This isn't exactly a research lab, and I don't know a research lab that has the facilities to hold a gyarados for any length of time, so she's living here until someone figures something out.

"There's also the fact that Gy was evolved by Team Rocket, which might account for some of the oddities. When I was much, much younger, Gy was stolen from me as a magikarp, and forcibly evolved. We never did quite work out how it was done, but something about it made him crazy - and a lot of the other pokemon they kidnapped, too. It was a really bad time back then," she adds with a frown.

From the way the blue in her aura's pulsing, it's likely that Misty's not telling you everything about Do.

[Esprit15]

"That's horrible that it happened. Is that why he seems so negative? Or is that why for a Gyarados he's still controllable?" She tries to work out mentally what the effects of that would be, but with almost no experience with the species aside from what everyone hears, it's pretty much guessing.

Celeste grabs one of the Pidgey and takes it nearish where Do was, heaving it in quickly in hopes of drawing out the unusual serpent. At the same time, she tries to prod the golden Gyarados's mind with a request to speak to it. 'Hello? Can you understand me?'
Intuition as Charm: [roll0]

[Arcran]

"Oh, thanks!" Clint says to Vlad as he gets his Pokeballs back, mentally kicking himself for forgetting them in the first place. "I can talk later but I need to get my leg fixed," he says before the nurse arrives.

When the nurse finally does arrive, Clint winces as she shoves him towards the door.

"Ouch..." he mutters as he almost trips, making it the rest of the way himself before turning to Joe.

"You have a deal!" he cries before entering the room, waiting to get patched up.

As far as actually being fixed up, Clint is almost the model patient. He sits quietly, allowing the nurses to do their work without really talking other than the occasional "ouch!" Soon enough Clint is all bandaged up and ready to go and, without a second thought, dashes outside, letting his two Pokemon out without a second thought.

A few minutes later, Clint was out back of the Pokemon Center, Huge and Chomp out of their Pokeballs already. For a brief second Clint simply looks at the two of them, no quite sure what to do. He was good at training one Pokemon, but two? That was a whole lot harder!

"Uh, Huge, just, uh, hit stuff!" Clint says hesitantly, finishing with quite a bit of enthusiasm. The Machop, of course, doesn't need any kind of prodding; with a cry it jumps up before slamming a fist hard into the ground, a little crater appearing at the impact point. The Machop continues to slam its fists down, repeatedly pulverizing the ground.

The Magikarp, on the other hand, is a bit harder for Clint to figure out. It just kinda... sat there? Without really moving?

"JUMP!" Clint shouts, looking at the Magikarp, giving a little hop himself.

The Magikarp just sat there.

"JUMP!" Clint shouts again, leaping up into the air.

Again, nothing.

"Uhhh," Clint mutters, looking around and, eventually, finding a stick. He tosses it to the Magikarp, grinning slightly as it catches the stick in its mouth.

"Chew on this, alright?"

Clint had no idea how much that would help, but it's something, right?

Using Ace Trainer! That's 1 AP Drained. Huge gets +1 Attack, Chomp gets +1 Speed. Both have Brutal Training applied as well as Training Techniques.

Both get 6 EXP from the training.

And I'm ready for a battle if you are!

[RandomWombat]

Raul breathes a sigh of relief as the crowd disperses. Turning to Joe, he shakes the younger boy's hand. "My name's Raul. Just glad I got here in time before that fool whipped the crowd into a real frenzy. I woulda had to initiate Plan B: Put a section of the crowd to sleep and drag you three out of here." He nods up at the swablu perched on the streetlamp across the street. Yarn flies back over and returns to his usual perch on Raul's gloved hand. Twittering in greeting at the others nearby, Yarn begins preening his wings.

"Do you two want us to walk you home? Don't think we've seen the last of that... guy," realizing he's about to curse in front of the two youths, Raul holds his tongue. "He didn't seem like the sort to learn his lesson."

[Eshkigal]

Marcus's eyes go wide at the sight of golden scales. A gold gyarados?
"Holy shi-!"
He mutters to himself as Do broke the surface momentarily, before remembering that they had a job to do. He begins tossing the pidgeys out, some to Gy, some to the swarm, landing in hungry mouths all the same as he listened to Misty.
"Damn shame, that. But...when you say crazy, you mean like how most gyarados are in the wild crazy? Or a different sort? As for Do, well, Oak's here, right? Wouldn't he know people who could possibly rig something up to figure out her specifics, as it were?"
He tries to remember more on his history as he throws, chucking some into calm spots for Do as well, or anything on strange oddities in Gyarados that he may have heard of really, hoping to spot the golden serpent again.

[roll0]-Edu: General
[roll1]-Edu: Pokemon

[Aneurin]

Raul

"No, we're fine," Joe shakes his head as he goes over to comfort his brother, who's staring up at Raul with a mixture of awe and wariness. "If he's only willing to pick a fight with a little kid on their own while he has all his friends behind him," Joe's eyes flash with anger. "He won't start anything with Team Cerulean around, and they're close by. Speaking of..."

He rummages in his pocket for a moment, and pulls out a blue cloth headband with something that looks a little like the Cerulean Gym badge emblazoned on it. "If you ever need a favour, just show this to one of Team Cerulean and we'll help you out. Good trades, whatever. To say thanks, you know? That one's mine, so if you feel like wearing it... uh. You might want to wash it first. I tend to use a lot of hair gel," he shrugs.

Got to admit, I was expecting you to chase after Mister Smarmy there.

Clint

Training's been over a while by the time Joe finally turns up, looking a little mareepish and holding his injured arm stiffly.

"Sorry, man. They took a while to fix it, what with the constant running lecture and all. So, one on one sound okay? My only battler right now's the bellsprout," Joe takes a blue band with the Cerulean gym badge embled on it and wraps it around his head martial artist style.

Let me know what you want to use - the Bellsprout's faster than both Huge and Chomp. If it matters at all, or you want to go somewhere else for the battle, you're in a slightly cluttered alley - fairly narrow with patches of blocking terrain. I'll get a map up with the next post.

Also, loved the magikarp training. It made me laugh.

Celeste and Marcus

The golden gyarados makes a scarce handful more appearances, as Gy and the magikarp feeding frenzy beat her out on most of the catches. She still finds plenty, though, but Misty's earlier comments about her shyness seem to be accurate, as Do sppears for little more than a second or two at a time.

"The professor's working on something, but you have to understand that gyarados are very hard to care for. They hate being cooped up. Normally, you only find them far out at sea. This is one of the few places that's kept an adult gyarados for more than a few years without it breaking free and rampaging through a city," Misty throws another pidgey to Gy who snatches it out of mid-air, to the disappointment of the thrashing magikarp. "When I say Gy was crazy, I mean it was something unnatural. He was destroying everything, tearing up riverbanks and forests. He nearly killed me when I was trying to recapture him. It was really, really bad,"

The contact is successful, and a torrent of emotion comes crashing through the link.

:hunger-for-food-once-eaten:annoyance-at-children-that-should-not-be-eaten:desire-to-swim-the-sandy-shore-and-fly-the-wild-ocean:

The magikarp's auras have all shifted to a hungry, hungry red - Gy's, too, has taken on a very heavy red cast. The red weakens as they eat, though.

Edu: General - People known to keep gyarados as pets are generally considered to be insane, and asked to move outside town. They're no-one's idea of safe, and a gyarados on a rampage in an urban area usually winds up being put to sleep after killing humans.

Edu: Pokemon - Yup, it's pretty much unique. You've never heard of another golden gyarados, though there are persistent rumours of a red gyarados being found in Johto twenty years ago, though no-one knows what happened to it.

As for Do herself, her dorsal fin - from the brief glance you've had - is much longer than usual, and in good condition compared to Gy's ragged sail-like protruberance. Her tail, too, is longer and sleeker. Though you think she seems slower than any gyarados you've seen in a documentary. Of course you're not getting a great opportunity to look. She also seems less... grabby and possessive than her mate or her brood, who are going absolutely beserk for the food.

[Eshkigal]

"Huh...it's a bit like those rumors near...twenty years ago? But each is half of it. One side you have Do, a gyarados of odd coloration but more gentle demeanor than the average gyarados, judging by her dorsal fun length and wholeness. And how she's not in competition...bit longer than Gy, I take it? But on the other hand, there was Gy, enraged far beyond anything any could imagine or stop, save for you. Kinda sounds like the Red Gyarados myth at the lake of...wossname, where was it again..."
He pauses and mutters to himself for a bit, trying to recall before shaking his head.
"But...yeah. Maybe the events were tied together somehow? Can't imagine three special gyarados like Gy, Do, and that Red can be too separate considering the time frame, can you?"
He tosses to Gy and Do more, before aiming back for the magikarp again.

[Arcran]

"No problem!" Clint says eagerly, recalling the Magikarp as Huge moves closer to him. "It's not like a Magikarp would do much anyways," the young Trainer states, not knowing a whole lot about Pokemon but completely understanding how useless most Magikarp are. Besides that, he wanted to win and Huge was more than capable of doing that.

"Nice headband," he states before moving behind Huge, bouncing eagerly on his toes. It was time for a battle!

[Dragonsage]

With the delivery done, Vlad found himself with little to do since he had sometime before the others where done with the gym. For now he decided to get know more about his newest addition to his team.

The young bard left the center to go search for a quiet pond for his magikarp to swim in. Upon finding one, he releases the fish into the water and the scarred charmander by his side. He then sits by the side of the water and fixes his sight into the magikarp before extending his mind out to touch the fish's.

Meanwhile Seath sits by, curiously watching the magikarp.

Vlad is channeling Alsanna the magikarp.

Using channeler and shared senses

[RandomWombat]

"Oh? Is that a group of trainers here in the city?" accepting the offered headband, Raul looks it over. The image of a cascade badge was displayed on the front. "Thanks, Joe. Always good to have more friends in town. Say, do you know where I can find some work? I'm hoping to take a trip to Cinnabar soon, but I have no money for a ferry."

[Esprit15]

Celeste listens to the thoughts, but since it doesn't acknowledge her, she leaves the serpent to eat, tossing more birds above the water.

"They do sound rather connected... Are you sure it is a good idea to keep two Gyarados in here? As good a trainer as you no doubt are... I just feel like there is a tension in the water." She wanted to ask the leader why they didn't set up a study in the gym. It's been several years, and that was after it was sent to her. "Well, you could always set up a lab here," she suggests, changing her question into a suggestion.

[Eshkigal]

"...Y'know, considering where Gy apparently was, here is likely safer for everyone, Gy included, than out there, Celeste. I mean, she snapped him out of a real bad place. Out there...well, I don't think many people could stop Gy out there, strong and great as he is."

[Esprit15]

"But wouldn't his natural habitat of the open ocean be the perfect place, away from humans?"

[Eshkigal]

"Just because it's the ocean doesn't mean he'd be away from us, necessarily. Cruise boats and the like, oil rigs, we get everywhere. Just that there might not be someone to call him back in such a situation like Misty did."
Marcus pauses for a minute, thinking about what the girl nearby has been saying since walking into the gym.
"Y'know, that's probably the fourth time you suggested letting him go. You aren't one of those jerks who keeps trying to take away pokemon from trainers despite feelings on both sides, are you?"
One had tried to take Marceline last month, about three months after Marcus and Marcie met, and ended up going into a bet based on Marcie. They had gone to the woods, set Marcie down, and promptly gotten laughed at by Marcus when she bit the other guy in the ass (only a little bit of fang in, they swear) before slithering back up Marcus's leg and into his hands. Born wild or tamed, a mon knows who family is.

[Esprit15]

"No, I'm one of those locals who has heard the horror stories of what happened to our town years ago from some beast, and thought something capable of similar destruction would best be kept elsewhere," she says suddenly with acid in her voice, her own aura suddenly flicking from a calm green to a deep orange.

[Eshkigal]

"And I'm a local who lived through it, but I wasn't going to toss it in your face."
He gives her a pointed glare at that tone.
"Just because I was two at the time doesn't mean I forgot. I saw parts of this city practically evaporate from where those of us who got out evacuated to, headed towards Saffron, and you never forget a sight so terrifying as that. I also remember Misty and her team helping to clear debris off those who were only trapped in the outskirts of the forming Lakes. Ended up saving my cousin's life, actually. I don't want to use that as a part of an argument, because it's not fitting. It's disgusting watching people argue and hide behind those who died when they think it'll help them to get a bit pissy and parade tragedy around, and disgraceful because everyone thinks that it entitles them to victory to bring up those lost. So drop the damn attitude if you do have to bring it up."
His own aura takes on a dark tone as he talks, but the glare eases away.
"Now, calm down. Could be that you're right, but then again Gy's the Ace of a Leader, the ace of a Champion. People get blinded to risks at the promise of that sort of power possibly in their grasp, it's a tale as old as civilization. So can we at least agree that there may be more than just what is seen in front of us to this situation?"

[Esprit15]

Celeste looks like she's about to start yelling, but restrains herself. "I can certainly agree that there is more than some people see."

[Aneurin]

Raul

Joe nods enthusiastically.

"We're putting together a team for the League. Help each other out, and everything. You know. As for work, uh... I think there's a local shop hiring? What sort of thing are you looking for?"

Clint

The alley (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1gTKibXfcOcB2e7IoqLToLPRBKpxvgh7eA92hW-xrQQc/edit?usp=sharing) is narrow, and quite cluttered. Joe releases his bellsprout close to himself, partially obscured by a stack of crates, then grins as the bellsprout folds it's... er... leaves, and adopts a meditative pose.

Huh, wierd. It seems to be... getting bigger?

"Thanks. It means I'm part of Team Cerulean,"

Right, your map is in the link. Each square represents 1m, and the barrels and crats are (unless you climb up/jump over/destroy them, or are tall enough to see over) blocking terrain. The barrels are 1m high, and the crates are 2m. There's more space behind the two trainers, but the alley walls are, in fact, walls and can't be passed.

Place Huge where you want to release him, and make your move.

Vlad

It takes a while to find a pond that isn't in someone's garden, but Vlad does find a quiet-ish public fountain that seems to be open to pokemon - this is the city of water pokemon, after all.

:Swimming:Hunger:Swimming Hunger:Hungered Swimming:Space:Swimming:Hunger:...

Seems Magikarp are fairly... limited in their emotional range.

"...um, hello...?" a slightly worried sounding voice penetrates Vlad's reverie. "You've been starting at the magikarp for a while now, is everything okay?"

There's a young blonde woman behind Vlad, giving hm a wary look. She has a pidgeot perched on a gloved hand, and is dressed like a falconer.

Celeste and Marcus

After watching the back-and-forth between the pair with a little bit of concern, Misty steps in raising her hands in a pacifying gesture.

"The problem we have is that Gy is... very domesticated. He has no fear of humans, no wariness, and associates us variously with food and pain. If I did let him go... he wouldn't stay gone. He would come looking for humans sooner or later. A lot of raised gyarados do, and it causes a lot of problems. And if it was Gy doing that, he wouldn't be easy to stop at all. People would die," she glances at Celeste a moment. "I understand what you're suggesting with a lab here; the main problem is, again, Gy. There's a handful of people whom he'll be calm around, and I'm one of the few in town. I don't have the time to stay with a research team every time they want to work with Do - and I would have to, or Gy would get... upset,"

She holds up a hand quickly, and continues.

"I know you're going to suggest separating them - but I don't have anywhere else to keep a gyarados. This was built specially for Gy. It's not ideal to keep them penned up together, but there wasn't much choice - after they settled they pair-bonded and they're getting along just fine. The main problem we've had since has been, well..." she gestures to the swarm of magikarp. "I need to find a way to release them, soon, before the parents start trying to eat them. Gyarados aren't very... communally minded. Mass-capturing them is a little impractical, as you may have gathered," she adds, a little ruefully. "I don't know if Do has anything to do with what happened to Gy, or is connected with the red gyarados that was supposed to have turned up back then. It's not impossible, but a seventeen year break between incidents makes me think it's not. It could just be one big coincidence, or it could not be. It's really hard to say, since I don't know what happened to that gyarados, and no-one's really made much progress with studying Do yet,"

[Arcran]

"Team Cerulean?" Clint asks, unsure exactly what that was. "You can tell me about it after our fight! Huge, go!" Clint shouts, the Machop letting out a cry as he leaps forward, a heavy thud resounding throughout the alley as the Machop makes contact with the ground.

"Huge, get ready!" the Trainer commands simply, the Machop already moving. With a practiced, fluid motion the small grey humanoid kisses its biceps before slamming its fists together, leering towards the Bellsprout. It was time for things to get interesting!

Huge uses Focus Energy!

[RandomWombat]

"That sounds worth looking into. I'm just hoping to save up some money. A few antes from trainer battles might help too, but Yarn and I aren't really professional fighters. Is there any kind of amateur competition happening in the area?" truth be told Raul wasn't sure how to make the money he needed quickly. He was never very good at responsible money-handling.

[Esprit15]

Celeste listens calmly. "I understand. I'm sorry if I may have had an outburst there. I simply was responding to what I saw. Do looked unhappy, and Gy seemed bitter, so I brought it up. You would be surprised about how many people can miss seeing the how their Pokémon feel."

[Eshkigal]

"Yeah, plenty we both didn't take into the equation. Sorry that happened here, Misty-"
Marcus looks about to say something more when there are cries of "ek! Ek!" from the kitchen.
"Crap!"
He rushes in, tending to the now somewhat overdone sides of the pidgey after a quick wash of the hands.

[Dragonsage]

Vlad...wasn't sure what he was expecting from the mind of a magikarp, honestly. 'Guess we should feed you soon...' He mentally spoke into Alsanna's mind before the new voice interjected and made the young man's back suddenly straighten. Seath's head pricked up in conjunction with Vlad's reaction to the woman's voice.

"Oh...um..I am fine. Nothing's wrong." He's face started to blush a light shade of red. Slightly embarrassing thing to admit that you were trying to read the mind of magikarp. "I was just..thinking." He added whilst taking note of her bird and outfit.

[Aneurin]

Raul

Joe rubs at his bandaged arm for a moment as he thinks.

"Well... there's the mini league in Vermillian if that's what you're after, and I think Celadon's having some sort of giant market going on - if you like shopping you might be able to find something valuable for cheap and sell it at the auctions? Um..." he looks baffled for a moment, then shrugs. "Other than that, just mooch any free stuff the gyms are giving out I guess. Sorry. But... you said you were going to Cinnabar, right? Maybe the ferry will let you work your passage? I hear they do that sometimes during the busy season, and they might be doing some kind of promo for the celebration,"

I'm willing to let you sell photos, or do some journalist work if that's what you're after. Just depends on what you want to do, really. There'll be a smattering of bounties around the place, too, placed by collectors, the police and the rangers.

Clint (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48S_q42YQkw)

The bellsprout sashays forward as Joe points at Huge, and shouts;

"Crouching Persian, Hidden Dragonite!"

A few yards away, it halts and adopts a dopey looking martial arts pose - it stops looking so daft when it jabs the air with it's... er, leaves... and punches two vines directly towards Huge!

Bellsprout moves to M6 and deals 35 Physical, Grass-type damage to Huge before weakness/resistance/defence.

Vlad

The girl pats Vlad one the shoulder with her free hand.

"Don't worry," she says, encouragingly. "Keep trying and you'll get the hang of it eventually,"

....well, maybe it's not all that encouraging, but she's still smiling.

"So, are you from around here?" she asks, scrating the pidgeotto behind the head.

Marcus

When Marcus gets back to the stove, he can't help but wonder if there weren't more fillets before... and Marcie looks suspiciously full.

Celeste

As Marcus dashes off in the direction of the faint scent of burning food, Misty nods to Celeste.

"While I do appreciate your concern - and you're perfectly right that people don't always see, anyone who's not careful with something like them," she flips a pidgey-bit to Gy who snaps it effortlessly out of the air. "Or any of the really dangerous pokemon out there often don't get very long to regret it. There are also people who take a great deal of pride in their knowledge and expertise who don't take kindly to being told they're wrong, particularly so bluntly and by one so young," she adds, serenely throwing some more disgusting things to the magikarp mass-thrashathon.

[Esprit15]

Celeste nods, slightly shaken by the timing of the words and the tossing of remains at the swarming Magikarp. "I understand. Well, I think I am tredding on overstaying my welcome, and so I should probably take my leave. Thank you again, Misty," she says with a bow, before walking rather quickly out of the gym, holding Pink the Oddish a little more tightly than normal.

Hm... If she wanted to head to Lavender, there were two paths she could take, that she remembered. One l would be to go East and skirt the ocean, heading either into or over Rock Tunnel. The other would be to go south to Saffron and then East, which she guessed was longer but probably a bit safer. She looks at the time. It was a little late to go traveling, but she could always train her new Pokémon and maybe find a battle.
General Education: What are the two paths to Lavender like?
Rock Tunnel path: [roll0]
Saffron path: [roll1]

Train Magikarp for 1/2 hour. Novice Command, level 8 Pokémon (I'll look up what that should be later)

Looking for a 2v2 battle, no wager

[RandomWombat]

Thinking to himself, Raul rubs his chin. He could head south to Vermillion to take part in the little league contest there, then see if the ferry would let him work his way after. And if he got some good pictures of Pokemon in the wild on the way maybe he could sell them. "I think I have a few ideas. You two stay safe now, alright?" Extending a hand for another handshake, this time in farewell, Raul departs.

First he'll make his way to the Cerulean City police station. That guy from earlier needs to be reported before anything else.

[Arcran]

The Machop is caught completely off guard by the vine, the thick coil hitting him across his face and drawing more than a small amount of blood. The Machop leers at the Bellsprout after the hit, already charging.

"Huge! Tackle!" Clint shouts, not completely understand that "Tackle" and "tackle" were different but frankly not caring. After all, no matter what the Bellsprout would be hurting, right? The order proved to be almost completely redundant as Huge was already charging, but at the end of the day all that mattered was that the Bellsprout went down.

Huge moves into range! 31/61 HP. He gains one Injury from that attack.

Clint uses Brutal Training as [Orders]!

Huge uses Struggle!

AC: 4 [roll0], Critical 15-20
Damage: [roll1]

[Eshkigal]

After the most immediate concern is taken care of, Marcus gives a sigh before giving the Look to Marceline. The one a parent gives to children that have been caught with a hand in the cookie jar. Or, in this case, the still lumpy body of the ekans, distended from where she swallowed pieces whole. In turn, she tries to look away from the meat, attempting to be as inconspicuous as possible, her eyes darting back towards Marcus now and then.
Turns out that works a whole lot better when your stomach isn't three times it's normal size and outlined like several cuts of pidgey.
"...Ekans?"
"Don't what me, Marceline. You know the rules, no swiping stuff off someone you actually want to work for. AND no swiping still cooking meat. I mean, seriously? You'll burn yourself, and you don't shed at will!"
She gives a long hiss, but still looks content as Marcus gives a long sigh. After a bit, he takes some off the grill, keeps Marceline from swiping it via nose bops, and once it cools enough lets Rio out near it.
"Well, Marcie's used to my cooking, so let's see if you like it, Rio. Hopefully your family will, if you do."

[Dragonsage]

"No actually." Vlad pulled himself off of the ground and stood tall after dusting himself off. "I'm actually from Drangleic, just over the mountains. I came here since i thought it would be a good place to start my travels."

Seath looked up at the pidgeotto with curiosity, before the bard started to pet the small fire lizard on it's head. "How about you? Are you a traveling trainer as well?"

[Aneurin]

Raul

There's a bit of a wait before anyone is free to see Raul, but sitting on the uncomfrotable plastic chairs in the station's lobby he gets a chance to look over the announcement board. Most of it's dross, or local events, but a couple stand out - there's a missing growlithe, with a reward for it's safe return. There's also an elderly looking notice announcing a bounty in Gringey City; 2000 for each Grimer, and 8000 for every Muk. Finally, there's a notice announcing that there will be a guided tour of the Sable City mines and a clefairy hunt on tonight, starting at 20:00.

Do you want to play out the report, or just hand-wave it and do something else? Feel free to handle it however you want.

If you want any more detail about any of the flyers, let me know, too.

Clint

The the Bellsprout wiggles out of the way of Huge's hearty blows, Joe laughs aloud.

"Ahaha! Now you have fallen into my trap!"

As if on cue - and, frankly, it probably was a cue they trained hard for - the Bellsprout whips out it's vines to wrap Huge in a crushing embrace!

Bellsprout attempts to Grapple Huge. He needs to beat a Combat check of 12 to break free.

On failure, and on every additional round that Huge remains grappled, he loses 1/10 max HP.

Vlad

"Never heard of it, but thats neat," the girl nods, and takes a seat on the pool's edge. She clearly intends to stick around for a while. "I live in Rifure, but I grew up here. I'm planning on doing some travelling with my friends, and since they live here it made sense to come and meet them. Unfortunately, I got here early so now I have to wait for them. I suppose that does fulfill the travelling part, and I certainly train, so... I suppose I'm a travelling trainer," she gives a little shrug and a toss of her hair. "How about you? What brings you to sunny Cerulean from, er, Drong-leek?"

Celeste

Magikarp training goes... well, it goes about as well as could reasonably be expected. People got wet, and a magikarp learned to do something moderately useful. Probably. Maybe. It's quite hard to tell if it actually learnt anything, but it was certainly enthusiastic about the training.

With a little questioning, tact and charm, and a lot of walking Celeste finds an elderly man in a felt hat and a ratty jacket who's willing to battle in a little city park (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1gTKibXfcOcB2e7IoqLToLPRBKpxvgh7eA92hW-xrQQc/edit#gid=321613659). Well, sort of willing. He actually seems to be suffering for some sort of acute apathy, but agreed to battle anyway for some reason. He doesn't seem inclined to get up from his bench.

He lets out a round, green, spiky ball with an equally spiky crown on it's head.

Random guy releases a Cacnea. Let me know what you send out, and it's speed. Choose a start location, too.

Marcus

The Magikarp gulps the proferred food down, and nearly takes a couple of fingers with it. The highest form of magikarp praise.

With the others out of being-eaten-by-a-gyarados range, Misty wanders in and starts washing her hands in the sink. She shoots Marcus a grin as she watches the magikarp gulp down the food.

"They'll stop being so grabby after a while, when they learn that they don't need to find and snatch after everything. I promised you some money for the cooking, right?" she adds, fishing for a purse and pulling out a handful of money. "There, that ought to cover it. Thanks for the help, feeding a pool full of gluttons isn't exactly easy, you know?"

Er... Marcus gets whatever I said before, plus an extra hundred.

Time

Celeste: Day 0, Hour 13
Clint: Day 0, Hour 13
Marcus: Day 0, Hour 12
Raul: Day 0, Hour 14
Vlad: Day 0, Hour 13

Tiredness penalties start at Day 0, Hour 22.

[RandomWombat]

Scanning over the various posters, Raul takes a closer look at the ones on the missing growlithe and the clefairy hunt, already going over theories in his head about how Mr. Smarmy might be involved in the case of the missing Pokemon. Seeing a clefairy up close might be interesting, though without any Pokeballs there wouldn't be much hope of catching one.

I wouldn't mind RPing through the report.

[Eshkigal]

As Marcus snaps his hand back just in time to keep from being the second person mauled by a magikarp today, he looks up at Misty.
"It was fun. Well, except the argument, but my family and I always did rather like Gy."
He stands up, washing his hands again before taking the money and shaking her hand.
"If I make it, I'm gonna come back and challenge you as my eighth badge. Here's hoping I can put up a fight by then, eh?"
He gives a smile, nodding to her before heading towards the exit, recalling Rio while Marcie digests.
"Anyway, take care, Misty. You and the team."
With that, he departs, to try and find his traveling companion, Shaun. However, due to his normal paths, maybe it's a bit more lively than the others...

(Ooc, looking for an urban wild. Or a missing growlithe by accident. Spending a time point to find a wild while looking for Vlad.)

[Esprit15]

Celeste sends the Oddish forth, the little plant shaking happily at its desert dwelling cousin.
11 Defense
13 Special Defense
3 Speed

[Arcran]

"Traps are for wusses! Huge, squish the plant!" Clint shouts, watching as the Machop flexes his tiny muscles, easily managing to break free of the Bellsprout's leafy embrace. With a cry Huge takes a clumsy punch at the Bellsprout, this time hopefully making contact.

Huge: 31/61 HP, 1 Injury

Clint uses Brutal Training as [Orders]!

Huge uses Struggle!

AC: 4 [roll0], Critical 15-20
Damage: [roll1]

[Aneurin]

Raul

On closer examination of the posters, it turns out the Growlithe has been missing for three days, answers to the name 'Maisy', and is "missed very much". There's also a phone number to call if there's any information. The clefairy hunt is a one-off event, a guided tour by local rangers of some of the upper levels of Mt. Moon - it will still be dangerous, but safer than going alone and there's a vastly increased chance of actually encountering one of the elusive fairies. If the rangers believe it to be safe to do so, it will be possible to attempt captures.

Raul's musings are interrupted, though, as a uniformed officer leans out of a door to call him over. Inside the room is a desk, a lot of empty and half-empty coffee mugs and a harried looking officer sat at the desk with bags under his eyes, and short-cropped grey hair. There's a pad of paper, a pen and a computer on the desk. Most of the wall space of the tiny office is taken up by filing cabinets.

"Good afternoon, Mr Asquez. I apologize for the wait. I understand you have an incident to report?"

Clint

"Right... well. Huh," Joe looks momentarily perplexed by Huge's reversal, as the bellsprout reels under the blow. "Jump back, and Crouching Persian, Hidden Dragonite!" he hesitates, looking faintly embarrassed as the Bellsprout hops it's way away from Clint and lashes out with it's kung fu vines again.

"...it seemed like a really cool name for a move at the time, okay? It only sounds stupid when you keep shouting it,"

34 P, Grass before Def, weakness and resistance.

Bellsprout moves 3m away from Huge to P6.

Celeste

"Off you go, Spike," the old man mumbles to himself, without really looking up. Certainly, without standing up. The rotund little cacnea starts huffing and puffing its way around the edge of the pool. Maybe it's just a trick of the light, but... is it getting bigger?

You don't have to start all the way over there if you don't want.

Cacnea moves to O5

Marcus

Misty smiles andbows as Marcus leaves. "It would be an honour. I hope I see you again soon. Take care!"

As Marcus makes his way through the streets, he's distracted by frantic barking from down a nearby alley. A quick glance reveals three scruffy-looking growlithe scrabbling and snarling at a pile of broken down packing crates stacked haphazardly in a corner of the cul-de-sac. Something in there's definitely got their attention.

:smalltongue:

Time

Celeste: Day 0, Hour 13
Clint: Day 0, Hour 13
Marcus: Day 0, Hour 13
Raul: Day 0, Hour 14
Vlad: Day 0, Hour 13

Tiredness penalties start at Day 0, Hour 22.

[RandomWombat]

Looking up from the posters, he returns them to the notice board and follows the man calling him over.

"Hello, officer," Raul offers a smile along with the greeting as he sits down, figuring the man has had a long day and could use a friendly face. He doesn't bother correcting the mispronunciation of his name; it's Orrean after all. After settling in and getting things straight in his head he explains, "Earlier today I ran into one of those PLA nuts riling up a crowd in the street near the Pokemon Center. They had a couple of kids cornered there, and were trying to take the younger one's Meowth to release it into the wild. I stepped in and got the crowd to back off, but the ringleader fled the scene before I could get a pic of him for you." At that point he indicates the camera hanging around his neck. "I can talk to a sketch artist if you want, though. I've got a good eye."

[Esprit15]

(Retroactively sending Rose out at J5)
"Run forward and spray it with Acid!" The Oddish scampers forward, translucent liquid already forming on its leaves before being sprayed at the Cacnea.
Poison, Special
AC: [roll0] 2, Lower Def (I think that should be SpDef) on 18-20
Damage: [roll1]
If Crit: +[roll2]

[Dragonsage]

"Drangleic." Vlad Corrected before continuing. "And I just felt like I needed to leave home, see what the world had the offer, and hopefully learn a great deal of things along the way." He continued petting Seath as they both started to remember their days back in Drangleic, which caused the little lizard's scar to itch.

"Cerulean just seemed like a great start." He started rubbing down the scar to prevent the charmander from scratching it. "Plus, with the professor being here, i thought i might learn something valuable while here." He then points to the karp splashing around in the water. "I was right too. Get her from Misty at the gym earlier."

[Eshkigal]

Marcus raises his eyebrow a bit at that. Growlithes were good, loyal mon when you won them over, could be useful. Also, that could be something useful in there. So he looks over to Marceline, placing her down while beginning to whistle a small tune.


2 AP spent to activate Bardic Flair, giving himself and Marcie another 1/10 their HP.

Marcus:
HP: 61 (67 with Bardic Flair)
Def: 5
Sp. Def: 5
Speed: 14

Marceline
HP: 44 (48 with bardic flair)
Def: 4
Sp. Def: 9
Speed: 10

[Arcran]

"Wait, you made up names for your Moves?" Clint asks, momentarily distracted. Of course, Huge getting whipped across the face is enough to sober him up significantly. The Machop drops to one knee, barely standing after the vine whip. Clint was about to cry out, worried about losing, when the Machop pushes itself up, glaring at the small vine-Pokemon.

"Alright Huge! Use... Huge Slam!" Clint shouts, hesitating a second before shouting out the command as he tries to come up with a clever name and failing miserably.

Huge complies, diving once again at the Bellsprout as he seeks to end this.

Huge: 2/61 HP, 1 Injury

Huge uses Struggle!

AC 4: [roll0] Crit 15-20
Damage: [roll1]+14 Damage (Crit) = 51 Damage

[Aneurin]

Raul

"The Pokemon Center? On Berl Street, near the Gym?" the officer - whose name tag reads "Sgt. Williams" - asks, showing a brief flicker of interest. "Mm. This might take a little while. Can I offer you a drink?"

With drinks - but not cigarrettes, since there's a big 'no smoking' sign in the foyer - provided, or not, the questioning begins;

"Can you tell me what happened, please? As much as you remember. When did this happen?"

...huh. Sorry, no idea how I messed up Raul's name there. I think I forgot to introduce the officer, too, didn't I?

I didn't give an awful lot of description for Mister Smarmy, so go nuts filling in the gaps if you want to describe him.

Clint

"Well... sure," Joe looks puzzled for a moment. "How else would he know what to do when I start shouting?"

As the bellsprout gets flattened against the drums, Joe winces.

"Okay, I think you win this one," he says, hurrying over to check on his kung fu weed. "Thought I had you there, but I guess you turned it around pretty good. Just as well we're right next to the Center, huh?" Joe smiles weekly as he gathers up the fallen pokemon. "Good fight. You might be Team Cerulean material after all. Care to come with me while I explain?"

Vlad

"Dung-kick, Drangleic, Drunken-lick, Dongle... No, wait, that one's rude," the girl says in a sing-song voice as she rocks on her heels. "What's in a name, anyway? Other than letters, and maybe a little punctuation if it's foreign. No sir," she sighs. "Nothing worth anything in a name, so throw off the shackles of the nomenculaturist oppression and be free, free I tell you!"

She waves her free fist in the air, while the pidgeotto on her gloved hand spreads its wings and shrieks aloud.

"Cute fish, by the way. One of Gy's, right?" she asks, pausing in mid-rave. "You're pretty lucky. Why'd you want to see one of the name-tyrants, though?"

Celeste

The old man taps his cane twice against the side of the bench, and the Cacnea takes an enormous sucking breath - it sucks in everything, twigs, grass, some of Rose's leaves... and then puffs up so hard that some of it's needles fly loose - directly at Rose!

27 Poison, Physical damage before Defenses and Weakness.

Marcus

Much as he tries, Marcus can't see past the growlithe. If there's a decent vantage point into the crates, then it's hidden behind the furry bottom of a growlithe trying to shove it's head through a gap not wide enough to accomodate a growlithe's head. His pidgeot-eyed observation does spot that two of the growlithes have collars - each different from one another - and the third is very well groomed, for all it's de-collared state.

If they've noticed Marcus and Marcie, then they don't care and continue to scrabble and yap at the crates.

[Esprit15]

The Oddish shakes itself, surprised at the strength of the attack, but as a poisonous plant, it had worse inside of its own body. "Hold tight and use Acid again!"
Poison, Special
AC: [roll0] 2, Lower Def (I think that should be SpDef) on 18-20
Damage: [roll1]
If Crit: +[roll2]

[RandomWombat]

"Just a cup of water would be good, thank you sergeant," accepting the offered glass, Raul takes a sip and begins explaining in more detail, "This was just an hour or so ago, now. I was on my way to the Pokemon Center to see what kind of odd jobs were available around here, and on the way I found the street blocked off by a crowd. More of a mob, really, or at least they were getting to that point. I asked what was happening and one of the guys among them said they were teaching some punk how to care for Pokemon. That rang a little weird to me, so I took a look at the signs they were waving - some of those Pokemon Lover's Association signs with the X'd out Pokeballs."

Taking another drink from his glass, Raul sets it down and moves it aside, taking a breath before he continues and letting the officer jot down the details. After a second he keeps going, "I heard a kid - well, a teenager - arguing with someone older near the center of the group. So, I pushed through to see more clearly what was going on. The teen was a trainer protecting his younger brother and their meowth, who were cowering against the wall with the crowd surrounding them. This smug-looking guy leading the mob was trying to get the brothers to hand over their meowth, and it looked like the crowd was going to take her by force if he kept pushing them. I stepped in to confront him and was able to talk them down." Here Raul smirks, "Guess I've got a real silver tongue when I put my mind to it. Anyways, the crowd dispersed and the smarmy guy slipped away among them. I made sure the kids were okay, and they said they were fine, so I came here. As for the ringleader..."

"Let's see... light skin, a little shorter than me, maybe in his thirties or late twenties. Short dark blond hair slicked back with hair gel, no major facial hair. Kind of baby-faced. He had a cheap-looking brown suit and a PLA badge above his left breast. He looked kind of like you'd picture a used car salesman. I didn't catch his name at all."

[Arcran]

"I always just tell Huge to hit things," Clint says in awe, completely amazed that there's more than just hitting things harder before letting out an excited whoop as Huge pummels the Bellsprout.

"Nice work Huge! Way to kick butt!" Clint says excitedly before returning his Pokemon, clipping the Pokeball onto his belt. "And a team?" the naive battler asks, a curious expression on his face. "It's not like Team Rocket, is it?" he asks suspiciously, following in step behind Joe.

[Eshkigal]

(Aw, I was kidding a bit on that part, but c'est la vie.)
Marc frowns a bit when it turns out they're all owned. With a sigh, he carefully grips Marcie's mouth before the fell energies gathering around her snout shoot at one of the dogs.
"Hang on Marcie. Collars mean someone's likely looking for them...blast them if they get nasty. See if you can get in the pile while I work, though."
With a grumpy hiss, Marcie holds off as the dark pulse disperses. Marcus slowly approaches the trio, whistling to them a bit.
"Hey, hey pups! Come here, eh? Come to Marcus!"
He puts on his best fake smile, trying to keep his voice calm as he approaches three growlithes that could easily end in a mauling. Three excited growlithes. Hoo boy...
[roll0] - charm
"Yeah, c'mon you three, I ain't gonna hurt ya. C'mere!"
Please don't bite me please don't bite me c'mon c'mon please don't bite me this's gonna suck-
Meanwhile, Marceline slithers her way into nearby debris, trying to make her way into the crates without being spotted.
[roll1] - stealth, also has Stealth capability.

[Aneurin]

Raul

Sergeant Williams nods to himself as he scribbles notes in a some form of illegible shorthand while Raul talks.

"Mm," he says, staring at the pad when Raul's finished speaking. "What made you think he was likely to try and take that pokemon by force? And why intervene yourself, rather than calling the police? It is our job, after all," he adds in a neutral tone.

Clint

"Team Rocket? Like those guys on the television?" Joe blinks at Clint a few times as they hand their pokemon over to the nurse, who clicks her tongue over the fact she saw the two trainers not five minutes ago. "Nah. We're a team to compete in the League - I know that only one person can win it, but we can cheer for each other when we get knocked out, and support each other and stuff. It's safer to to travel as a group anyways. Oh, and we have these cool head bands," he adds, untying his own blue one and tucking it in a pocket. "There's a couple of us from Cerulean, and we figure we've got a better chance together. 'Sides, we're all friends and it's better to see one of your friends win than some complete stranger, don't you think?"

Celeste

The old man clicks his stick three times, and the cacnea... does a hand-stand? Creepy green tendrils spread across the grass of the park. While a few of them shoot off in random directions, most go after Rose who now seems to be wilting slightly. The acid-scarred cacnea, on the other hand, is looking less beaten up by the second.

31 Special Grass damage

Marcus

The growlithes look up as Marcus calls them, and the tail wagging intensifies. The bigger, collarless one in the middle is almost wagging it's whole back end it's so excited, and breaks off to come bounding over to Marcus and shoulder barges his shins. It's probably an affectionate gesture, but it's a rather large growlithe. The others are either less friendly, or more interested in whatever's inside the crates and turn back to their scrabbles.

Marcie's stealthy approach is... well, it's a little less than successful and she finds herself competing with the growlithe for access to the holes in the crates.

[Esprit15]

Rose takes 4 damage
"Keep at it! He can't hold up forever!"
Poison, Special
AC: [roll0] 2, Lower Def (I think that should be SpDef) on 18-20
Damage: [roll1]
If Crit: +[roll2]

[Arcran]

"Oh!" Clint says excitedly, a huge grin on his face. "Yeah, that's a lot better than some stranger," Clint agrees, looking at the pocket where the headband had gone.

"As long as I get a cool headband like you I'm in!" Clint says with the same dumb grin on his face. "Do we train with each other?" Clint asks, gently bouncing Chomp's Pokeball in his palm. "And do I have to do anything weird? Like initiation and stuff?"

[RandomWombat]

Shaking his head, Raul answers, "I doubt he would have done it himself. But the crowd was already getting aggressive by the time I got there, and I got a growing sense of the 'angry mob mentality' from them. The older boy was getting visibly frustrated and aggressive too, and I didn't want to risk the two kids getting caught in a brawl if one broke out, so I stepped in right away. The boy's name is Joe if you need to ask him any questions. He's part of Team Cerulean, they're putting together a group to work towards the league challenge."

[Eshkigal]

Unfortunately, Marcus is a big old ball of wuss, nearly getting bowled over by the energetic pup as Marceline hisses in agitation, trying to find a way around the other two still. Carefully, he reaches out to pet the stray.
"Yeah, we aren't gonna have problems, are we buddy? Yeah, you're a big guy, and we aren't gonna have problems."
He looks at the box, and the other two, before getting an idea.
"Hey, you guys wanna see what's in the box, right? You wanna see it? Help me past them and we'll see what's in the box."
[roll0]-charm

[Dragonsage]

'Tyrant?' The word echoed in his mind. He thought it best not to contest it right at that moment. Political opinions can be a mine field. "Well I figured with such a gathering of people, i would find some people who would make good traveling companions."

[Aneurin]

Raul

The sergeant sighs, and pinches the bridge of his nose.

"Mister Asquez," he mispronounces again. "The police department is here for a reason, we handle things like this. While your attitude is certainly admirable, and I'm sure you did head off an unpleasant situation, that could have turned out very poorly for you," he says seriously, as he stares Raul down. "Your involvement could have triggered something much worse, and caused those people to turn violent. I hope you understand me, here. I have no desire to belittle your decision to help, but you are not trained in law enforcement. Those people could have claimed you attacked them, and not the other way around. The police are professionals for a reason, Mister Asquez, and we do not endorse or tolerate vigilante justice,"

He rises to his feet, clearly indicating the interview is over and passes a business card to Raul.

"Thank you for your report, Mister Asquez. My contact details, in case you remember any more details or witness a similar event. And..." for the first time, Sergeant Williams' face breaks into a slight smile. "Thank you for caring enough to step in. Just don't let it end badly for you,"

Clint

"Normally, we don't ask for an initiation, but since you mention it..." Joe grins wickedly. "I guess you are an out of towner, so... show some Cerulean spirit! You're going to take on the Vermillian tournament, like everyone else, right? Win one round using nothing but water pokemon and you're in," he pauses for a moment, then shrugs. "Or, y'know, beat one of us. Or win a badge. That's also cool, I guess. But it's way less fun - 'course, I wouldn't be going easy on you a second time," Joe adds with a cocky grin. "Think you're up to it?"

Vlad

The girl stares expectantly at Vlad for a few moments, then shrugs.

"Tch. Well, aren't you boring. No spirit at all," she laments. "Too bad. Welp, good luck finding some friends. I think you'll need it. Maybe being a bit more interesting would help out. Go on," she makes an encouraging motion with her arms, to the displeasure of her pidgeotto. "Give it a try. Do something interesting,"

Celeste

The cacnea topples backsawrds and rocks slightly, before vanishing in a flash of red light as it's recalled. It's barely gone before there's another flash and something lands with a splash in the middle of the pool.

Whatever it is is green and lumpy - sort of a half-moon shape - and appears to be floating rather than swimming.

Your move.

Marcus

That certainly gets their attention, and all three growlithe pause to stare up excitedly at Marcie - tails wagging furiously. It's not much of a window, but Marcie manages to squeeze into a temporarily free gap in the packing crates. From inside, there's a terrified squeak as the giant snake eases her way inside.

Then something strange happens. The two growlithe still by the packing crates - who are distracted from Marcus' distraction by the squeal - stop their scrabbling and shoot bolt upright, quivering and staring down the alley. The big growlithe, that's doing it's best to see if Marcus has something interesting and edible in his pockets, lets out a whimper and flinches.

Then the collared growlithe pair take off running down the street, and canish round the corner while the collar-free one paws at its ears.

To make things a little interesting, Marcie comes backing out of the crates with tooth marks on her nose.

[Eshkigal]

Marcus backs up a bit, looking down at what was going on
"What the-ah dammit!"
He watches the two run off, a bit disappointed in the lack of potential rewards, but then turns back to the growlithe nearby and Marceline, who is pissed.
"Marceline, ventila-no wait not the box t-"
However it's too late as Marceline lets a blast of crackling, brackish energy out at the box.
[roll0]-Dark Pulse, 2+special defense, flinches on 17+
[roll1]
...Well, hopefully no one would come investigate the sound of howling hatred condensed into a beam striking a crate for a bit.

Dark pulse at the crate and it's contents
Marcus:
HP: 61 (67 with Bardic Flair)
Def: 5
Sp. Def: 5
Speed: 14

Marceline
HP: 44 (48 with bardic flair)
Def: 4
Sp. Def: 9
Speed: 10

[Esprit15]

"Hm, so what would you likely be..." Green, so likely Grass, but sitting under the water, so probably Water. Get close enough to use Acid next turn. "Move in and use Absorb." Rose moves forward, hopping into the water, roots spreading out in the water.
Don't think I have enough movement to get close enough this turn for Acid.

Grass, Special
AC: [roll0] 2, Heal half all damage inflicted
Damage: [roll1]
If crit: +[roll2]

[Arcran]

"You were going easy?" Clint mutters, a sad tone in his voice.

"But winning a round of the tournament with only a Water Pokemon? That's not even hard!" Clint says, not quite understand the Vermillion aspect of the battle. Why would using a Water Type be hard? He already had an awesome Magikarp that would totally kick everybody's butt.

"I'm going there anyways, so I'll just do that! I have to win though. If I win, I'll be cool and if I'm cool?" Clint says, trailing off before pointing two thumbs at himself. "Chicks. All over this," Clint says, his expression completely serious.

"Are you heading down there? Want to go with me?" Clint asks excitedly.

[RandomWombat]

Raul quietly nods as the man explains the dangers of what he did. He knew that of course, but doing nothing wouldn't sit right with him. "I understand what you mean, sir. I'll be more careful in the future." He stands along with sergeant Williams and accepts the officer's card. He offers his other hand for a handshake. "Not that I'm planning on running into any more angry mobs in the future. And if you happen to need someone to ID the ringleader just give me a call." He'll write down his number and give it to the police sergeant.

After parting with the interviewer, Raul goes back over to the bulletin board. He takes note of the location and time of the guided Mt. Moon tour and takes a snapshot of the growlithe's picture using his phone, then heads out to search for the lost pet in the meantime. Maisy was the name. Once outside Raul whistles, calling Yarn back to his arm. Raul shows Yarn the picture of the growlithe. "We're gonna look for this lost growlithe. Think you can fly around and try to spot her?" Twittering in affirmation, Yarn takes off to fly ahead and scan through the alleys of the city.

[Dragonsage]

"Something interesting eh?" Vlad looked down at Seath who met his gaze with a hint anticipation. "Very well, since we're both trainers, how about a battle to pass the time? Would that be interesting enough?" He's lips curled into a smile as he removed the instrument from his back.

[Aneurin]

Raul

Maisy finds a growlithe like the one in the photograph of a photocopied photograph in no time. It's on a lead, being walked by its owner. So are the next five. Number six is playing with a little girl, watched over by fond people Raul can only assume are the girl's parents. By this point he's getting some rather strange looks from the various growlithe owners.

Perhaps a different strategy is in order?

Clint

"Not much for tough talk, huh?" Joe rolls his eyes a little. "It's a joke, man. Don't sweat it. But that's a cool ambition - go for it, and good luck," Joe shoots clint an exaggerated wink and a leer.

"We're heading down, but me and Bea aren't planning on getting there 'til the third or fourth day to let the newbie circus clear out so's we get some good competition. So we're not leaving for another day or so. You're welcome to join us if you don't mind the wait, though,"

It's cool if you want to travel with them and time skip - I'm just not introducing any more of Team Cerulean right now, and want to wrap up Vlad's fight before you meet Bea.

Vlad

"And I thought I was going to have to tattoo the idea on your skull," the girl says with some satisfaction. "Awright. What are your terms?"

Celeste

The green thing bobs along the surface with a deceptive lack of speed or, apparently, control. Not that such seemings matter much when it connects with Rose and, with a twist, sends her flying out of the water!

Rose takes 19 Physical Normal damage and is pushed back 2m.

She is healed 8 damage from Absorb. This includes the doubling effect of Big Root.

Marcus

No-one wanted those crates. Well, with any luck they didn't since they're... well, they're not crates any more. Splinters is a more accurate description.

The destruction of the crates results the object of the growlithes attentions - a small rattata is crouched, shivering in the wreckage and transfixed by Marcie's gaze. The remaining growlithe takes a brief interest in the newly uncovered pokemon, before going back to pawing at its ears and whining.

[RandomWombat]

Following Yarn's false leads, Raul comes to understand that finding a lone growlithe in the entire city is going to more difficult than just wandering around and hoping his Swablu is able to recognize one from a very vague image. He also realizes he's going to be drop-dead tired by the time the Mt. Moon guided tour takes place. Whistling to call the bird back to him, Raul sighs and goes to look for somewhere the two of them can take a nap without being jumped or robbed or kicked out. He was, after all, near broke and basically homeless at the moment.

Speaking of which, does the Mt. Moon expedition cost anything?

[Arcran]

"Nah, I want to be there at the very start!" Clint says excitedly, a stupid grin on his face. "That way me and Huge can get in more fights and Huge can get, well, huger!" Clint says, giving an awkward laugh at the end. "Plus Chomp needs a lot of training if I want him to beat up anybody any time soon. Thanks though!" Clint says, somewhat disappointed that traveling with Joe wouldn't be a possibility.

"Any advice before I leave?" Clint quickly adds, not wanting to miss out on any help he could get. "Have you gone through a tournament like this before?"

[Esprit15]

Rose shakes herself, no real net damage happening as the energy regained from the Absorb is lost to the hit. She sprays more acid in the Pokémon's direction.
Acid
Special, Poison
AC: [roll0] 2
Damage: [roll1]
If Crit: +[roll2]

[Eshkigal]

"Fetch, girl. Give it a nip, then drag it back."
Marcus kneels down to look at the growlithe, then around at the other area. Wasn't the rattata, so what got thus pup so stirred up?

[roll0]-perception to spot the thing causing the growlithe to freak out.

Meanwhile, Marcie gives a low hiss for the fangs in her nose before trying to sink her fangs in the rattata. Maybe it would be a post pidgey snack now, as her anger deprives the rattata of any strength it's bite may have.
[roll1]-bite, 2+Def, flinches on 15+
[roll2]
Activating intimidate

[Dragonsage]

"Terms?" Vlad's eyes wondered down to the magikarp for a moment. "Okay, how about two pokemon each, 500 poke wager? Sound good?" He offered.

[Aneurin]

Raul

After a brief bout of shiftless wandering, Raul does indeed find somewhere to put his head down for a brief nap. It's a quiet bench in the park, and practically guaranteed to be casual-theft-free. The other option would be to grab one of the pokemon centers' rooms - either in Cerulean, or Sable City.

I'll be nice - the tour's free. Oh, and if I say 'Slate City' at any point, I actually mean Sable City - I keep trying to call it the wrong thing.

I'm not nixing the idea of going growlithe hunting, I'm just suggesting you may wish to have more of a plan - growlithe tend to look pretty similar, and it's an awfully big city.

Clint

"I haven't done anything big like this one," Joe shakes his head and grins. "But Bea's already got a badge, and she's done a few so I'll give you the advice she gave me last time I asked her. You ready for this? 'Don't lose'. Pretty great advice, huh?" he adds, giving Clint a slap on the back as the nurse calls over that their pokemon are ready.

"You'll like Bea when you meet her. She's pretty cool. I've gotta go check on my brother, and catch up with her, though. My number in case you can't find us in Vermillion," he passes Clint a card, and then flips a wave. "So, see ya!"

Vlad

"Hmm," the girl says, eyeing Vlad. "Hmm... Yes. Yes, I think you have yourself a match. I won't be so cruel as to use my ace first, though. Unless..."

A speculative gleam enters her eye.

"Unless you'd care to try two pokemon against my one,"

Celeste

The old man's tapping picks up sharply, becoming a little syncopated rhythm.

As the green thing is sprayed with acid, strands of silk snap out and latch on to poor Rose - a second later, the silk lines go taught as the creature on the other end of them winches them sharply in. A metapod comes surging out of the pool, and comes hurtling towards the startled oddish, before smacking Rose squarely between the eyes and sending her flying back.

For its part, aquatic assault completed, the little metapod drops back into the water with a faint plop as it bounces backwards.

Rose takes 19 P, Normal damage and is knocked back two meters (marked on map).

Marcus

Strain his senses as he may, Marcus is unable to discern the source of the growlithe's distress - though he does hear distant yapping from the direction the other two growlithe fled in. Sounds like they've found another couple of friends.

The poor rattata squeals in terror as Marcie apparently attempts to eat it, and nips her nose as she tries. Still, it's not looking at all healthy, and backs as far as it can into the corner to get away from her.

Marcie takes 27 P, Normal damage.

[Esprit15]

"Just hang in there. You're tougher than that! Absorb!" The Oddish attempts to drain more energy from the Metapod, bothering little with the water.
Grass, Special
Heal all damage inflicted
AC: [roll0] 2
Damage: [roll1]
If Crit: +[roll2]

[Eshkigal]

"Don't worry buddy, we'll see to you after this."
Then Marcus pulls out a pokeball and wings it at the rattata's face.
"Best chance you get! Marcie, if it doesn't comply, wrap it!"
[roll0]-roll to hit
[roll1]-roll to catch
Meanwhile, Marcie looks PISSED, the temporary boost from Marcus's song fading and her anger growing. Especially if that ball misses.
[roll2]+2-struggle attack to initiate grapple if that ball misses, 4+defense. Pretty sure I don't roll damage for grapple, right? Either way, after comes wrap damage, which is 1/10th hp at the end of each turn grappled.

[RandomWombat]

Not wanting to oversleep here and miss his chance to see a rare Clefairy up close, Raul leaves the park bench alone and decides to travel to Sable City first before resting. There should be a Pokemon Center there he can stay at. It would take him about three hours to walk there, an hour or two to take a power nap before the tour, and he'd still be able to make it in time. He'd let Yarn rest in his ball for the walk to Sable, that way the Swablu could recharge while in transit. While walking he plays with the change in his pocket, considering whether it would be a good idea to blow the last of his funds on a Pokeball just in case he came across a Clefairy during the tour.

[Arcran]

"Later!" Clint says, pocketing the card carefully. The advice, while funny, didn't really teach him anything that he didn't already know. If you lost you didn't win! Who would try to lose?

Clint eagerly darts up to the counter, grabbing his Pokemon from the nurse with a stupid grin.

"Thanks a bunch!" the boy cries before darting out of the Pokemon Center and towards the southern part of town. If he was fast enough he'd be able to get part of the way to Vermillion today! It was time for his Pokemon Journey to truly begin!

Yep. No planning, no group, no buying supplies. Nobody claimed he was smart. :smalltongue:

[Dragonsage]

"Two against one, eh?" Vlad thought about the proposal for a moment, looking down at his two pokemon. Seath looked up for the challenge. Alsanna on the other hand... Vlad was still trying to get a bead on her, even with the channeled connection.

"Know what? Why not? Should be more interesting."

We switching over to 1.05 after this fight right? Just double checking

[Aneurin]

Raul

The walk out of town is fairly quiet. There don't seem to be many people walking your way, and as it gets later the air gets cooler. There aren't even all that many pokemon around - and the usual background hum of twittering birds is almost non-existant.

About two thirds of the way to Sable City, Raul's meandering startles a couple of spearow that were scrounging by the roadside behind a cluster of bushes, and they fly up into the branches of a nearby tree letting out shrill and irate screeches and fix Raul with maleficent glares. One of the scraggy-looking things is smaller and downier than the other two.

You find three Spearow! You can try to fight them, catch them, or just ignore them and walk on. Or do anything else you care to think of.

Clint

With the blistering pace he's set himself, Clint makes excellent time to Leaf Village. It's not even all that late when he gets there.

Leaf Village is a pretty tiny place though, maybe a hundred or so people - most of whom seem to be involved in something tourist-related - in a quaint, traditional-style village. It even has its own traditional apothecary. Actually, a quick look round reveals any number of 'traditional' businesses, like the Traditiona Bed and Breakfast, the Traditional Cafe, the Traditional Warning Signs. Really, it's just a small mercy that everything this 'Ye Olde'.

If he doesn't mind travelling in the dark, Clint could push on to Saffron. Or the pokemon center has some rooms for wandering trainers. If he feels like splashing out, there's always the quaint little Traditional B&B - though it's probably a bit beyond the average impoverished trainer.

Or you can do anything else you can think of; hit up the bulletins in the pokemon center, go see if the gym's still open (it's probably not and Clintcan't challenge it yet anyway, though) or wander around and see what pokemon are active around... dusk?

I'll figure out your travel time in a bit; I just want to get stuff moving again after all this downtime.

Vlad

"Good on you!" the girls says encouragingly. "Straight up fight where the winner gets to win and the loser gets shame and ridicule, or do you want to be crass and gamble on this thing?"

Indeed.

For this fight, I'll let you have two command actions - though they can't both be used on the same pokemon. I'll... also try not to screw you over too much with flying, but your opponent will be playing for keeps on this one.

I'll need to do a map before we get started though, so if you want to hammer out any rules requests let me know. I'll throw it up soon.

Celeste

The tap-tap-taping on the concrete floor changes tempo again, and this time the metapod doesn't bother with any fancy tricks - it just flips itself in the air, and lands heavily on Rose knocking the poor plant critter flying again.

Rose heals 9 damage. Rose takes 25 P, Normal damage and goes flying 2m.

Haven't bothered updating the map since Rose isn't actually moving during this fight, and she's not getting knocked out of range.

Marcus

The capture fails, but before the poor, disoreinted rattata can do anything - like, for example, flee for its life - its worst nightmare grabs it and wraps it in its coils. The rattata flails helplessly and squeals piteously.

Oh, and the growlithe's starting to perk up a bit - but something's clearly still bothering it.

I've always been a bit fuzzy on the grapple rules, but yeah I think that's right.

[Esprit15]

"Just hang in there, Rose! You're tiring him out!" Celeste was surprised. She had not expected the Oddish to be so resilient. "Just use Absorb again!"
Grass, Special, Heal damage inflicted
AC: [roll0] 2
Damage: [roll1]
If Crit: +[roll2]

[Eshkigal]

Marcus frowns at that, annoyed the small mon was still so feisty, and loathe to use precious resources on it. Still...it wouldn't hurt to have more mon on hand. He gives the growlithe a scratch on the head with one hand, pulling out another ball with the other. The growlithe was the prize here, but no idea if it was owned...
"Feeling a bit better? Don't worry, we'll find what is bothering you soon. Let me just get us all a new friend, okay?"
With that, he throws the last chance this rattata has.
[roll0]
[roll1]
Meanwhile, Marcie gives a slow squeeze, fangs dripping venom near it as she constricts further.
[roll2]+2-continuing the Wrap, 4+Def to maintain I guess

[Dragonsage]

"I wouldn't mind a wager if you don't. Lets say 500?" Vlad offered as he flourishly plays a few notes with his instrument.

[RandomWombat]

Raul jumps with a start when the birds start shrieking at him, the sudden break in the silence shattering his train of thought. He looks up at them with equal irritation, briefly pausing to examine them. Two adult spearow and what looks to be a younger one, probably a family of them looking for food. Frankly Raul sees no reason to disrupt them further or attack them for no reason. Knowing their kind to be aggressive he also doesn't want to have his eyes clawed out. So rather than provoke them he cautiously carries on.

[Arcran]

Clint looks around, a confident smirk on his face. It was getting dark but was that really a big deal? Huge was the strongest Pokemon he knew and had easily beaten up that Bellsprout! He could totally handle another fight, no problem. Still, he needed more Pokemon and, as much as he wanted to keep going, traveling to another city at night could be hard. He didn't want to trip or something uncool!

With a flash of red Clint releases Huge, a stupid smirk on his face.

"Let's find another Pokemon!" he says simply, looking off into the night away from the town. He could stop by the Pokemon Center or something smart like that later; for now, he had a handful of Pokeballs and only two Pokemon! He needed to fix that ASAP!

[Aneurin]

Raul - 18.00 (Tiredness penalties begin at 22.00)

The spearow glare at Raul as he passes, then descend back behind the scrubby bushes again as soon as he's a comfortable distance away.

The road rises steadily, and the terrain gets increasingly rocky as Raul approaches Sable City, nestled at the foot of Mount Moon. It's not long before he gets a proper look at the mining town. In all honesty, it's not a terribly impressive sight - the buildings are low, and faintly grubby and there aren't any trees worth speaking of.

The cable car that runs up the mountain, on the other hand, is pretty impressive. The car riding up it is even shiny.

From there, the walk to town is brisk and largely uneventful - though Raul does think he spots an Onix uncurling on a distant hillside as he goes, but it's not close enough to be remotely dangerous.

Finding the pokemon center isn't particularly difficult, since it's just a matter of following the main road which Raul's already on. He soon finds himself stood outside the building, which like everything else seems to have a layer of stone dust from the mines coating it.

Clint - 19.00 (Tiredness penalties at 22.00)

As Clint pushes through the light forest surrounding the village, lots of small squeaky things go bounding away through the under brush and a smattering of feathery things up above squawk and twitter away their disapproval of his actions.

It's starting to get dark out, which means the night things are awakening and the day things are sleeping.

After a little while, Clint comes to a clearing with several nidoran of both genders nibbling at the grass with their ears twitching. Almost the same moment he spots them, there's a sleepy sounding 'woooo' behind him - turning, Clint finds he's almost nose to beak with a sleepy hoothoot which is, frankly, regretting making a noise.

Sorry for the delay!

You can try to catch anything here, but going after any pokemon will probably result in all the others escaping unless you can come up with a plan to stop them.

Or you could ignore them and keep on looking. Whatever.

Vlad (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1gTKibXfcOcB2e7IoqLToLPRBKpxvgh7eA92hW-xrQQc/edit#gid=454589827)

"So predictable and boring," the girl heaves a dramatic sigh, but allows her pidgeotto to take up a station hovering over the water. "Alright. I'm just an old softy, so I'll let you and your slow-coach team go first. Have at it! Avante!" she commands, clapping her hands together sharply.

You have a map, just place your pokemon, write your own entries in the key and declare your actions1

Celeste

The old man cane taps and clatters again, and the metapod comes flying in on yet another ballistic trajectory. To say it doesn't have any apparent methods of locomotion it's quite incredibly mobile. Yet again, Rose goes tumbling.

Rose gains 10hp. Rose takes 26 P, Normal damage and gets knocked back again.

...can't wait for a fight where the participants use more than one move each :smalltongue:

Marcus

The pokeball misses the squirming rattata, and instead hits a very surprised-looking Marcie who was just contemplating eating the wriggling little snackette. It bounces off her nose, and, as she flinches, lands on the rattata swallowing it in a flash of red light. The pokeball barely rocks before the button pulses, indicating a capture. The rattata was probably pretty grateful to be away from the ekans, all things considered.

As she un-knots herself, she disturbs a fragment of the wrecked pallets and a single, shiny new pokeball rolls out. What are the odds?

The growlithe seems mostly recovered now, though it keeps shaking its head irritably, and trots over to sniff at the pokeball containing the new capture.

Screwed up and that first roll should have caught it, so have a pokeball refund!

Level 8, Timid, Female, 1 Injury

[Esprit15]

"Dang, that Metapod is hardy!" It was fortunate that only one side had a draining move, or this battle would truly never end.

Well hey, remember the first battle in all the games? This is that battle! :smallwink:

Same stuff as before
AC: [roll0] 2
Damage: [roll1]
If Crit: +[roll2]

[Eshkigal]

"Huh. Look at that, don't see that often, don't you thin-no wait I'm sorry for the-gyah!"
He gives a small yelp as Marcie bites him in the ankle for smacking her in the face with a pokeball. However, once again she doesn't use the fangs, so she at least acknowledged it was an accident. As he rubs his ankle, scooping the two pokeballs up quickly with the other hand, he looks to the growlithe. He gets a small idea as he holds up the new pokeball.
"Hey, you wanna come with me? I'll get you treats, and see if we can't figure out what's wrong. Here, hold still a minute, I'll see if I can spot something."
He moves towards the growlithe, kneeling on the ground as he puts the pokeball in the growlithe's paw range, and begins checking the small hound over slowly and carefully, see if it was something that could be a medical emergency, or intrusive. A whistle would've gotten reaction from the new rattata-let's call her Julia. Reminded him of a quiet, mousy girl he had dated once with a highly developed fight or flight response-any time she got mad ended with someone getting bite marks in their arm or shin. Or one nose, that poor bastard...
[roll0]-Education (Medicine) to see if there is some sign of irritant in or out of the mon.
[roll1]-charm to see if I can make a new family member. C'mon doggy!

(Any experience for captures? Also, I assume the ability is Run Away?)

[Dragonsage]

"Very well. Seath, lets begin!" Vlad commanded while playing a few a few notes, to which the charmander splat out a ball of ember towards the enemy bird. "Alsanna, ice tooth!" The magikarp jumped from the water and tried to take a bite of the bird.


Okay probably should have asked this first but eh, just ignore my actions if i'm over stepping something. So i'm assuming the Pidgeotto, is only like a meter above the water, since you didn't indicate otherwise. And if not, my question is, could magikarp make attacks mid jumping out of the water?

Seath's ember
[roll0] vs 2 Ember Burns the target on 18+.
[roll1]

Alsanna's ice tooth
[roll2] vs 3 On a 20 during AC check target becomes Frozen.
[roll3]

[Arcran]

Clint looks at the small, purple Pokemon, a stupid grin on his face. They were so pointy! Sure, their ears were a little silly, but the rest of them was so cool looking, and purple was even a cool color. The other Pokemon weren't nearly as interesting to the young Trainer; the Hoothoot, while interesting, was more smart looking than cool, and the girl Nidoran just didn't seem nearly as dangerous for some reason.

Huge shudders in anticipation, ready to leap into battle, but Clint puts a hand up, reaching for Chomp's Pokeball.

"Let's see what he can do, alright?" he says, a twisted smirk on his face. He had a fish from a Pokemon that was scarier than any he had ever seen! It would have to kick a little purple Pokemon's ass, right?

Clint starts to creep forward towards the Nidoran, trying to put himself close enough to release his Magikarp into the mess of young Pokemon. As he creeps forward, Clint tries to spot the biggest, strongest Nidoran, hoping to add the best of this little group to his team. After all, so far he had only taken the best, right? Any thoughts of how this could go horribly wrong seem to escape Clint; after all, his plan was perfect! No way was his Magikarp even getting touched by one of the lame Nidoran!

Sneaky sneak!: [roll0]
Spot the bestest one of them all!: [roll1]

[RandomWombat]

Pausing in his travel, Raul admires the image of the onix rising in the distant hills. He takes the time to snap a quick photo before making his way into town to check if the mart is still open this late. He's decided to get a Pokeball after all. Having another Pokemon increases his chances of making a bit of money that way, so this could be considered a future investment, he supposes. Could always drop by a soup kitchen if he runs out of his own supplies.

Making a Perception check to snap a good scenic Location photo of the area, with the onix as a cool background shot.

[roll0]

I notice now that the Spirit/Body/Mind bonuses no longer apply, unless we've chosen to use them still. If so that increases by +2.

[Aneurin]

Raul

If you keep a running tab of your photos on your sheet with the rolls next to them, we can work out prices if you want to sell them later. The better the accompanying description the better the price :smallwink:

I'm sorry you don't have a post, but... um... what are you going to do?

Clint

Clint makes his way closer to the clearing without spooking the gathered nidoran. A quick glance behind him shows that the hoothoot has made itself scarce, though.

There are six of them; two purple males and four blue-green females, spread out and foraging. While Clint's close scrutiny isn't able to detect any discernable personality differences, he does spot a few physical differences.

The male closest to him seems a little more aggressive than the others, and maybe a touch more muscly; it keeps butting away at the female next to it who gives it a good kicking, before being driven off. The other male is a little further away, and its fuzzy coat seems a little brittle. One of the females is noticeably larger than all of the others, and has spiky ears.

What Clint does take spot, though, is that there are two burrows. One on the near edge of the clearing, and one on the far edge - if they're spooked or attacked, the nidoran will probably run for them.

You didn't roll high enough for me to give you the actual names of the abilities (sorry!), but you can probably guess from the descriptions.

If you want to keep watching them, you'll need another Stealth check but will get a +5 bonus to the Perception roll per round observing them. You'll need to beat a 15 to spot natures. This is probably poor game balance, but... seems more logical. At least to me.

Vlad

[Update tomorrow, sorry. Just realised I forgot to actually stat up the pidgeotto and I don't have the time right now]

Celeste

Once again the Metapod goes catapulting into the air and comes crashing down on top of Rose. This time, though, the little oddish stays down. Not that the metapod looks much better.

Then, in a flash of red light from the direction of the old man, the metapod vanishes. Slowly standing, the old man tips his hat and gives Celeste a brief nod before pottering off down one of the park's paths; likely heading for the pokemon center.

That's... er. 20xp for the metapod, 20xp for the cacnea. Split up as you want, though at least a quarter should go to the magikarp.

That fight was incredibly close; had that Absorb hit, Rose would have won since the Metapod was down to 2hp.

For record keeping, Rose took 26 P, Normal damage - which would knock her out, unless I'm much mistaken. If I am mistaken, shout at me and diregard the above post and I'll get it fixed :smallsmile:

Marcus

The pooch looks just fine as far as Marcus can tell, though it's reaction to the pokeball is to pick it up and wag it's tail enthusiasticly. Apparently it thinks you got it a toy. When Marcus doesn't immediately throw the pokeball for it to chase, the growlithe takes matters into its own, er, paws and with a flick of it's head throws the pokeball down the alley and goes bounding off after it.

It looks like it's having fun, really, as it lands on the pokeball paws first and just sends its new toy careening down the alley again. It vanishes behind a crate and there's the sound of splintering wood, then the growlithe trots back out, tail wagging and pokeball clutched in its mouth. It trots back up to Marcus and drops the somewhat slimey ball at his feet and looks up at him expectantly.

Looks like it likes you!

I'm not sure what else you expected there :smalltongue:

[Eshkigal]

Just getting a feel for how smart mon are in general. Some games, that would work, some games they do just that. Are friendly catches still a thing at least? Meaning friendly nature like this gets a bonus to captures?
With a shrug, Marcus takes the ball, waving it back and forth as Marcie takes her normal spot, curled around his off arm and neck slightly. With a quick flick up, he tosses the ball so that it should stay in sight-and land where the button can catch the growlithe when it goes to catch said ball. Never pass up a good opportunity like this.
[roll0]
[roll1]

[Esprit15]

Celeste picks up the little Oddish, just barely too weak to stand. 'Don't worry. You fought really hard. You almost had them!' she whispers to Rose. 'We're gonna give you a nice rest at the Center, okay?' With that, the girl heads to the Pokémon Center. While she waits for the Oddish to be healed up, she asks around if anyone was heading south to Vermillion soon.

[Arcran]

"Huge, see if you can get over there," Clint says, the idea of blocking off the path of the others barely crossing his mind. "Punch them hard if they get close, alright?"

Clint smirks, lightly bouncing Chomp's Pokeball in his hand. Time to go!

"GO CHOMP!" Clint shouts at the top of his lungs, flinging the Pokeball as far as he can. "JUMP ON THE BIG PURPLE ONE AND PRETEND HE'S A STICK!" he quickly adds, realizing he didn't give the Magikarp actual names for its attacks. Hopefully it would understand the gist of what he needed it to do! Any sort of real plan is stomped out by Clint's plan on making the big purple Pokemon his.

Alright, time for actions all over the place!


Clint
Shift - Release Chomp as close to the big purple one as possible!
Standard - Use Critical Moment Orders on Chomp!


Chomp
Chomp's Training bonuses are tripled due to Critical Moment.
Shift - Use Splash to be next to the purple one that probably has Rivalry! He can move up to 5 meters this way and gains +2 Evasion.
Standard - Use Thunder Tooth!
AC 3: [roll0] Critical Hit and Paralyze on 17+
Damage: [roll1]


Huge
Pretty much just moving towards one of the burrows. If this isn't viable please just have him trip or something.

[RandomWombat]

Noted them down, will make a proper description when he sells them to save clutter on the sheet.

Raul will buy a Pokeball using the last of his money, then drop by the Pokemon Center to take a power nap for an hour before he goes to the Mt. Moon Tour at 20:00.

[Aneurin]

Raul

With a shiny new pokeball in hand, and feeling refreshed from his power nap, Raul makes his way down to the lobby of the pokemon center where the group's meeting.

It's actually surprisingly small gathering, but, then Mt. Moon is awfully dangerous - especially at night - even with the guidance of the local rangers. And most of the people there are young, and head strong. There are a handful of older people, though, mostly with cameras and binoculars - most likely keen spotters and photographers who wouldn't dare risk the slops of the mountain on their own.

One of the older men - a very large chap in a woolen jumper, a backpack, walking poles and big, clumpy boots nudges Raul as they stand waiting for things to kick off.

"Y'know, I was expecting more people to turn up. I guess the Ghost of the Mountain legend's got the locals rattled or something," he rumbles from behind his bushy beard, and then lets out a great big belly laugh. Which is pretty darn big considering the size of his belly.

Just going to stall you here a bit 'til I see if Celeste's coming too. Sorry!

Clint

The nidoran start to scatter as a giant fish falls out of the sky. Who could blame them, really?

Your map (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1gTKibXfcOcB2e7IoqLToLPRBKpxvgh7eA92hW-xrQQc/edit#gid=328494309) - since that was a (deeply) surprising round for the nidos, it is your turn again.

I've no problem with Huge using Shifts and getting AoOs on anything trying to get past him. I've done best-guess positioning of where you want your 'mon, so feel free to move them about a bit if I got it wrong.

Celeste

Celeste's pokemon are seen to fairly quickly and efficiently by the duty nurse at the center, who is looking more than a little haggard at the moment.

There are a couple of trainers hanging around the center at the same time, but none of them have any particular intention of going to Vermillion - at least, not right now. In a day or two, maybe, when they were ready, got their teams properly sorted, and... well, a lot of other fair-to-middlingly lame excuses.

There is, however, a notiec board on one wall. A lot of it's dreck, health advisories and trainer awareness posters about generic travel/pokemon dangers. There are, however, a couple of 'Wanted: Reward For Capture Of...' style posters from some of the local trainers, and something announcing a guided Clefairy Hunt on Mt. Moon that starts in Sable City, tonight, at 10.

Vlad

The pidgetto shrieks as it's savaged and singed, before the girl sticks her fingers in her mouth and lets out an ear-splitting whistle. The pidgeotto rockets away from Alsanna and swoops around behind Seath.

The mystery girl grins like a mad thing, then shouts out;

"Blow 'em away, Margie!"

The pidgeotto obliges with some enthusiasm, and in the torrential winds whipped up by its wings both Alsanna and Seath are picked up and thrown out over the water.

Oof. No damage, but Seath and Alsanna are both thrown back 7m. I've already moved them on the maps, and it's now Vlad's turn again.

Marcus

The growlithe bounds forward delightedly as Marcus throws the pokeball - unfortunately, it only makes it a few yards before it outpaces the pokeball and stops to figure out what happened. The pokeball promptly bounces off its head with a resounding thunk. It doesn't trigger, though, and the growlithe doesn't seem the least put out when it finds the pokeball again and comes trotting back with it, tail wagging merrily.

Either the pokeball's defective, or the growlithe's already owned. Or maybe the growlithe's defective, you never know.

[Esprit15]

Celeste looks at the notice for Clefairy in Mount Moon. That could be interesting, but that's not what she was interested in. Plus, it may have just been the general language, but the term 'hunt' when applied to a more intelligent Pokémon felt odd to her. You would fish for a Magikarp, sure, but not hunt an Abra.

With her Oddish recovered and taking a seat on her head for maximum sun exposure, Celeste decides to head to the Leaf Village, and see how she was doing on time before deciding whether to push on to Saffron.
Traveling to Leaf Village cautiously

[Eshkigal]

Marcus frowns for a second at that, before giving a shrug. it had been a bit of a longshot, admittedly, considering the growlithe's grooming. So he begins chucking the ball and walking away from the scene of the box vandalism (hopefully before anyone bothered checking it out), thinking of a way to get the growlithe to stick with him until they could get to a center. Around the fourth toss, he gets an idea, slipping his belt off (thankfully he had found some pants his size last week), fashioning a makeshift leash for the growlithe before kneeling down.
"Wanna go for a jog boy? Huh? Huh? Wanna go for a jog?"
If the growlithe gets excited, he carefully slips the belt on around his neck, to platitudes of good boys. Then, if it all goes to plan, leads the growlithe off towards the Center-if he can't catch it, maybe they can identify the owner. Hopefully a rich owner missing their beloved growlithe and waiting to pay. Or if not wealthy, at least willing to pay for a sandwich or something.

[Arcran]

"Good job Chomp!" Clint shouts, looking at the Magikarp with pride. "Do it again, but on the blue one this time!" the Trainer shouts excitedly, hoping the Magikarp can piece together the commands well enough to act. As the Magikarp moves, Clint reaches down to his belt, pulling out a Pokeball. With a quick hop step forward he flings it towards the purple Nidoran, hoping that the damage done by Chomp will be enough to make him an easy capture.

Far away, Huge begins to edge closer to the burrow, trying to cut off any means of entrance for the other Nidoran. He had a job and damn if he wasn't going to do it!


Clint
Shift - Move to I2
Standard - Throw Pokeball at Nidoran (M) 1!
AC: [roll0] (Boosting with AP) (Not an actual crit)
Capture Check: [roll1]


Chomp
Shift - Use Splash, doesn't actually move. +2 Evasion.
Standard - Thunder Tooth on Nidoran (F) 3!
AC: [roll2], Critical/Paralyze on 19+
Damage: [roll3]


Huge
I'd like to move him to L10, but up to you if he can.

[RandomWombat]

"Oh? Supposed to be a ghost up on the slopes, is there?" looking over to his partner in waiting, Raul grins and offers a hand to shake, "Raul Aquez, photographer and seeker of stories. So, I wouldn't mind hearing more about that ghost story while we wait!" Yarn has been in his Pokeball resting since leaving Cerulean, so hopefully he's feeling refreshed as well.

[Dragonsage]

"Seath!" Seeing the charmander flung into the water caused Vlad's body to jolt forward, nearly dropping his guqin. "Alsanna, help Seath!" He commanded while sending feeling of urgency though the channeled connection.

The Karp moved proceeded to push the waterlogged fire type back towards the land, or at least as far as she could before tiring out leaving Seath to swim the rest of the way before making it on land.

Vlad sighed some relief as the fire lizard pulled itself onto dry land. "Continue your attack Seath!" The charmander sneered at the bird before taking in a deep breath and exhaling another ball of fire at it.


[roll0] vs 2 burns on 18+ (target should already be burned)
[roll1]

[roll2] if crits

[Aneurin]

Raul - 22.00 (Tiredness begins at 02.00)

"Ah?" The bushy beard - which may of may not conceal a person - wobbles for a moment. "You've not heard? It's a good story,"

Then, remembering himself, the beard adds a little apologetically; "John Baker, professional walker. Well, would be," he lets out a rumbling laugh. "Amazing how many people don't want to pay you to go walking, eh?

"Now, the ghost... Well, it's not actually a ghost, I guess. It's the mountain spirit, that protects all the pokemon who dwell there. And the mountain, too. Used to be the patron spirit of Sable City, too, until all the mining started. When the humans began to carve into the face of the mountain to steal its treasures, she grew angry. In her fury she called down avalanches, floods and rock slides. Pretty much destroyed everything, but the humans were greedy and always returned to steal the riches of the earth - and the more they stole, the weaker she grew.

"Hasn't been any trouble in the city in a few decades, now, but any time something bad happens up there, they say its the spirit. That she's grown too weak to attack the city, but any human foolish to walk to paths to her mountain-peak home does so at their peril," dark eyes glint, as John eyes up Raul to see his reaction. "Bit like we're doing today, really,"

"Excuse me! Excuse me, anyone for the Mt. Moon party over here, please," someone calls from the far side of the room. A glance over reveals taht a group of rangers have arrived, dressed in sturdy walking gear and kitted out with ropes and climbing gear. A few people have drifted over, and are apparently being asked to sign something at a desk.

Clint (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1gTKibXfcOcB2e7IoqLToLPRBKpxvgh7eA92hW-xrQQc/edit#gid=328494309) - 20.00 (Tiredness begins at 22.00)

As the first male nidoran is absorbed into the ball, it's as if a tableau unfreezes - the Nidoran, previously paralysed by shock, burst into life running madly for their burrows. One of the females makes it, and dives in without trouble.

Chomp's dinner-of-choice rakes her claws along his scaly flanks, and then bolts towards the nearest burrow - only to swerve away as she sees Huge standing guard there. Huge, meanwhile, as his own troubles as an enraged male nidoran decides to take out some frustration on him with a sharp nip.

Nid (F) 1 deals 23 P, Normal damage to Chomp. She does not provoke an Attack of Opportunity for fleeing wildly.

Nid (M) 2 deals 23 P, Flying damage to Huge.

Vlad (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1gTKibXfcOcB2e7IoqLToLPRBKpxvgh7eA92hW-xrQQc/edit#gid=454589827) - 13.00 (Tiredness begins at 22.00)

The girl shoots Seath an annoyed look as the little fire lizard hauls itself back out of the the pool, then lets out another - different - ear splitting whistle.

"Right, again!" she shouts as the pidgeotto swoops into a different position, and Seath goes flying once more - this time he clears the pool entirely.

Celeste - 20.00 (Tiredness begins at 22.00)

It's a pleasant walk to Leaf Village in the sunshine, though Celeste does find herself wishing she'd put a little more sunblock on, though the sun's just dipped behind the horizon as she spots the village through the trees. It's been quite uneventful, really - a few distant larger pokemon too far off to pursue or be bothered by, and the traditional hedgerow chorus going off as she walks. There haven't even been that many other walkers around.

As such it's something of a shock when, just outside the village, a voice comes from about two feet behind her.

"Hello, hello! Welcome to Leaf Village! As our lucky Hundredth visitor today, you've earned these free stay-at-our-B&B coupons!"

As Celeste turns, she says a rather sunburnt young man with a somewhat manic grin waving a ticket at her.

Funny, really, it's not been busy, but there must have been more than a hundred people down one of the main roads to Saffron....

Marcus - 13.00 (Tiredness begins at 22.00)

The growlithe does, indeed, want to go for a jog and almost drags Marcus down the street once the make-shift lead in place. It doesn't seem to actually be going anywhere in particular, it just wants to be there fast. Well, it does right up until the pokemon center is in sight - at which point it turns around and starts trying to drag Marcus away from the center..

It takes a fair amount of pushing and pulling to get it through the doors. As its claws, finaly, scrape over the threshold the desk nurse walks over to Marcus and smiles.

"Good afternoon. How may we help you today?"

[Esprit15]

"I... am?" Celeste says, a little confused. "Just 100? Was today a slow day? It's gotta be at least 10 at night." Still, she wasn't one to be rude. The girl accepts the coupon with a smile. Not like she had to use it if there was anything wrong.
Intuition: [roll0]

I think he's in some way being dishonest

[Eshkigal]

"Hello, yeah, I-ack, c'mon dammit, it's not even you getting treated-have a couple reasons. First is-no, stop-getting a couple mon patched up."
Struggling to keep the growlithe from running off, he recalls Marcie and hands her ball and Julia's off to the nurse.
"Second, I found this fella here out and roaming there, and was wondering if he was someone's mon or not-stay, stop, no!-from the grooming and how friendly he is. He also had something that was bugging him and two others before, but I couldn't figure out what. Any way to check?"
After handing Marcie and Julia over, he kneels down to hold the growlithe.
"Please, stop buddy. Nothing bad's gonna happen, alright? Just need my friends helped, so have a spot of patience and some courage, right? We'll be out soon."

[Arcran]

As the Nidoran's claws rake almost harmlessly over Chomp's hide Clint can't help but smile, only to be taken aback by a sudden cry from Huge as the Nidoran buries its horn into the Machop. The boy doesn't even break stride as he instantly sprints towards the Machop, hoping to maybe draw some of the fire that the Nidoran would be sending towards his companion.

"Chomp! Good work, but don't worry about her!" the Trainer shouts, flinging another one of his precious Pokeballs towards the female Nidoran. "Huge! Don't take that hit! Beat him down!" the Trainer roars, angry that a Pokemon would dare to hit Huge when he wasn't even part of the battle. "Break his face!"

The Machop grunts in acknowledgement before clasping both of his hands above his head and attempting to bring them down like a great hammer on the small purple Pokemon.


Clint
Clint delays until after Chomp
4/5 AP
Shift - Move to K10
Standard - Throw Pokeball at Nidoran (F) 3!
AC: [roll0] (Boosting with AP) (3/5 now)
Capture Check: [roll1]


Chomp - 47/61
No command for now.


Huge - 34/61
Shift: Stay!
Standard: Struggle on Nidoran (M) 2!
AC: [roll2]
Damage: [roll3]

[RandomWombat]

Attentively, Raul listens to John's story. While certainly outlandish, it wouldn't be too far-fetched if a Pokemon of some kind took offense at infringement on its territory. Whatever the case it wouldn't deter the journalist any, and he walks over to the signing desk, sticking alongside John. "Sounds like it'd be quite the sight to see. And a nice bit of money if I can snap a good picture of this mysterious spirit, haha!" He waits his turn in line and looks over the sheet, picking up a pen.

[Dragonsage]

"Into the trees Seath." The charmander recovered before running towards the cover of the trees.

Moving Seath to S11, but i can't seem to click on that part of the map to edit.

[Aneurin]

Raul

"Good on you! Glad you're not afraid of a killer spirit!" John roars, giving Raul a hearty slap on the back that's more than strong enough to set him staggering.

The form everyone's being asked to sign seems fairly simple and straight forward, and largely absolves the rangers of any responsibility for your grisly death should you be daft enough not to listen to them. Though it doesn't phrase it in quite that fashion.

When the last of the gathered tourists, trainers, walkers, watchers and general pokemon enthusiasts have signed off, and gathered somewhat hestiantly at the head of the room, one of the rangers climbs on the table and waves her arms for order.

"Hello! Can everyone quiet down a minute, please? We need to get through some formalities here. I'm Senior Ranger Tarra, and these are Rangers Moscra and Ternstin," she adds, indicating the men stood to either side of her. "Tonight we'll be walking the lower slopes Mt. Moon on one of the safer route, and hope to see some of the Clefairy out. It's a clear, full moon tonight so we should be in luck.

"However, before we begin we do have some rules. First of all; you need to do what we say, when we say it or we cannot guarantee your safety. Don't wander off, stay with the group and the rangers. There are dangerous pokemon out there, though we don't expect to be seeing them tonight; do not attempt to make any captures unless we give you the all clear - again, this is for your safety. If you break these rules, the tour will be ended right then for everyone," Tarra adds, her face deadly serious. "This mountain is dangerous and I won't take any unneccessary risks with your safety and my own.

"If you see something, quietly and calmly report it to one of the rangers. If you start shouting and running around, you'll spook anything near us and we won't see anything tonight," she glances to each of her companions in turn and then gives a little shrug. "Well then. Let's go, shall we ladies and gentlemen?"

Hopping down from the table she walks confidently out of the door, while the other two rangers hang back - one will take up station behind all the others to make sure no-one falls behind and gets lost, while the other walks in the middle to make sure no-one wanders off.

Just an opportunity for you to respond to stuff, and ask questions as you walk across town - or run off screaming if you prefer :smalltongue:

Clint

The female nidoran, too, is swallowed up by Clint's thrown pokeball and comes to a rest in a little tussock of grass.

Huge, too, meets with success as he pummels the male nidoran with its ridiculously floppy ears, and funny tufts of spiky fur - unfortunately, his efforts at pummeling don't quite go so well as he may have hoped. The bristley clumps of fur have broken off wherever Huge brushed against them, leaving the machop with red patches of irritation running all up his arms. They look quite unpleasant, too.

Adding injury to even more injury, the plucky males gives Huge another quick peck.

In the background, the last female, busily fleeing, makes it safely to the burrow and vanishes from sight.

Huge is now Poisoned! Nidoran (M) is now Annoyed!

...it's also looking quite injured.

Huge takes 21 P, Flying damage.

Vlad

Another screeching whistle sends the pidgeotto swooping out over the water, hammering its wings at Alsanna as it passes. The breeze does little more than stir the surface of the water, though.

Pidgeotto misses.

Celeste

The open, honest sun-reddened face gazes earnestly at Celeste and says withe very bit of sincerity he can muster;

"Y-yes. Um. Absolutely. Really... uh. Really quiet,"

He gives Celeste a look of quiet hope. Hope that she won't ask any more awkward questions.

He is, indeed lying. Very, very badly.

Marcus

"Well, he's a sweet-heart, isn't..." the nurse pauses as the growlithe scrabbles madly to get back out of the door, then leans back slightly to look between the growlithe's back legs "...she?"

The nurse raises an eyebrow at Marcus and takes the proferred pokeballs in her hand, before vanishing through the back doors, presumably to hand them to someone for healing. When she comes back, she has something in her hand that looks more like a barcode scanner in a shop than anything medical. Her other hand is in her pocket.

"Well, I can certainly check for a microchip for you," she says pleasantly as she rubs a soothing hand over the growlithe's ears. "And we can certainly give her a physical while you're here, to make sure she's healthy. She certainly doesn't like pokemon centers, does she?" she adds in a fond tone of voice, as the growlithe makes yet another lunge for the door and freedom. "Well, we know how to fix that, don't we?"

The nurse fishes a sausage - presumably a healthy, growlithe-friendly sausage - from one pocket and holds it out to the growlithe, who in a fit of whimsy entirely reverses her dislike of the wonderful sausage-giving-lady and jumps up to lick at the nurse's face.

Fending off licks with a laugh, the nurse runs the microchip scanner over the growlithe and takes a look at the display. Then she frowns, and looks up at Marcus.

"That's unusual. Apparently this growlithe's home is in Vermillion City,"

[Arcran]

"Huge!" Clint shouts, concerned for his Pokemon's health after both the second peck and the poison. "Come back buddy, you're alright!" the Trainer shouts before pushing the button on Clint's Pokeball, bringing the Machop back home. As Huge returns Clint can spy a hint of gratitude on the Fighting Pokemon's face; despite his tough demeanor, he wasn't really in the best shape.

"Alright now, if you can beat up Huge you have to be strong! Pokeball go!" Clint shouts, his Magikarp momentarily forgotten as he flings another Pokeball at the final Nidoran.


Clint
3/5 AP
Shift - Return Huge
Standard - Throw Pokeball at Nidoran (M) 2!
AC: [roll0] (Boosting with AP) (2/5 now)
Capture Check: [roll1]


Chomp
47/61 HP
Nothing for now.


Huge
10/61 HP
Poisoned
1 Injury

He's returned now.

[Esprit15]

"Lying to a young lady is very rude," Celeste says, frowning. She raises a finger to the guy as if to scold him. Stay calm, stay in control. Don't be hasty. Settle this with your words. "Now, please tell me why you would do something so impolite as to lie to me." The Oddish in her other arm looks up, slightly confused. Why is trainer talking like that?

[Eshkigal]

Marcus gives a shrug at the first eyebrow raise, nomplussed.
"I was too busy trying to make sure she didn't run off on me. I found her with a couple obvious lost growlithes, but she stuck with me when they ran off for...I really don't know why."
Though that did make sense, all things considered. Apparently the Bertlem charm crosses boundaries like species. Once she says where she was from though, his eyebrows raise.
"Vermillion? Far from home, aren't ya gal?"
He leans down to pet the dog mon as well, thinking.
"Maybe a tourist came through, or a more paranoid trainer? Lost her then? Though there was another thing. When we met, the growlithes with her were after a rattata, right? But then they got...I dunno, called off or back or something. But it didn't bug the rattata, like a dog whistle would've. She stayed, the others ran, but she was notably irritated."
He pauses, nodding to himself and to something she said before.
"Yeah...yeah, I think that checkup would be a good idea. Any way to find out who in Vermillion? Address or such?"

[Dragonsage]

Seath proceeds to leave the cover of the trees when the Pidgeotto goes after Alsanna. "Ice tooth it, Alsanna!" The magikarp swam up to the bird before jumping up at it before trying to bite at it with frost covered teeth.


Ice tooth
[roll0] vs 3 On a 20 during AC check target becomes Frozen.
[roll1]

[RandomWombat]

Of course, no one intends to do anything stupid, so Raul doesn't have a problem signing the form. He listens attentively to the rules of the expedition and eagerly follows along behind the confident Ranger. "What are the Clefairy like? Are they generally aggressive?" Raul asks Tarra as the group makes its way through the town. They're small and pink, but that doesn't mean they're safe, after all.

[Aneurin]

Raul - 22.00 (Tiredness begins at 02.00)

"Not really, though I wouldn't back them into a corner or anything - but then, that's true of every pokemon," Tarra shrugs as the group threads its way through the dark streets of Sable City. John is keeping pace with Raul. "They're very shy, and hard to find. But tonight's good - the moon's full and there's a clear sky so we've got as good a chance as we're going to get on this part of the mountain. We'll be sticking to the footpaths on the lower slopes with a few diversions to spots we know they sometimes gather. We'd be more likely to see them if we headed towards the wilderness near the peak, but the higher you go and the further you get from the paths the more dangerous the pokemon you find are.

"They're more likely to run from people up there, it's true, but it's still dangerous and an onix isn't likely to run from any squishy human who wanders into its territory,"

As the group approaches the start of a footpath up the mountain on the outskirts of town, Tarra waves a halt and the group gathers around.

"Alright, a quick reminder; don't wander off, don't annoy anything, and don't do anything stupid. If you need to ask if it's stupid, then it probably is. Got it? Good. Any questions?"

There's a vague murmur of people trying to indicate that they have no questions without actually drawing attention to themselves. John nudges Raul.

"Bossy, huh?"

Could you roll five 1d100's, please?

And give me a quick list of anything you'd really like to see/catch, that could conceivably be on a mountain?

Clint - 20.00 (Tiredness begins at 22.00)

The nidoran trills is rage as Huge vanishes, and then again, louder, when Clint's pokeball hits it. It's all surpassing rage trumps the pokeball's capture system, though, and it's out again in a flash.

Its beady eyes spot Clint in his hiding spot, and with a squeak of fury charge directly at him! Fortunately, a bush gets in its way and takes the hit instead of Clint's leg.

Vlad - 13.00 (Tiredness begins at 22.00)

The pidgeotto is looking very poorly right now, but at another shrill whistle dive-bombs Alsanna - unfortunately, the water makes things a little too difficult to predict, and once again only water goes flying.

Celeste - 20.00 (Tiredness begins at 22.00)

"Well... you see..." the boy fidgets a bit, then sighs. "Look. I was supposed to give this to the actual hundredth traveller and hand out some fliers, and, well, I sort of fell asleep, okay?" he waves vaguely towards a large rock, as if that explains something. "So now I'm going to be in trouble, but I might be in a bit less trouble if I give it to someone," he hesitates for a moment, then adds pleadinly; "...please don't tell them I said any of that, okay?"

Yeah, he's telling the truth this time.

Marcus - 13.00 (Tiredness begins at 22.00)

"It could be," the nurse nods at the idea of the growlithe belonging to a tourist. "I'll give her a full check-up for you, and get the address. It's very kind of you to try and get her home, but wouldn't it be easier to take her to the pound and have them try and trace the owner?" she adds, taking the makeshift lead and Marcus's occupied pokeballs.

[Arcran]

With a shout Clint spikes his last Pokeball, hoping to whatever is up there that it captures the Nidoran before it impales him in the leg.

Clint uses a Pokeball!
AC: [roll0] Little more AP
Capture: [roll1]

[Eshkigal]

"Eh? I mean, er, that...would make a lot of sense."
He deflates a bit at that. Whoops. Ah, well.
"It seemed like a good idea? I mean, I am probably headed that direction. Couldn't hurt to try the pound next. How long should this take, though? I had some other stuff happening, don't want to leave them hanging without a reason."
He stands up, letting the nurse walk off with his mon.

[Esprit15]

Celeste chuckles, before going into a full on laugh. "Is that all? And here I was paranoid that you were going to lead me into a trap!" Rose sighs. Good, trainer doesn't seem mad now. "Careful, you might get heatstroke if you fall asleep in the sun like that." Looking over the billet, Celeste makes her way toward the town.

[RandomWombat]

Vullaby from my wishlist would probably be rare in Kanto, but mountains are among their habitats. A Cubone would be a neat find, and more region-appropriate. Skarmory is on my wishlist as well, but I don't think I'm quite capable of battling or charming one of those just yet, and I'd get slapped by the Rangers if I tried.

Encounter Rolls:
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]
[roll4]

"I wouldn't take it personally, she's just doing her job," Raul mentions aside to John. He does get in one last question to their mountaineering guide, "Would it provoke the wilds to have any of our Pokemon out with us?"

[Dragonsage]

Vlad continues to strum his instrument while Alsanna jumps up again to take a bite of the attacking bird. Meanwhile Seath moves into the water to get in range before shooting out an Ember at the bird.


Ice tooth
[roll0] freezes on 20
[roll1]

Ember
[roll2] burns on 18+
[roll3]

[Aneurin]

Raul - 22.00 (tiredness begins at 02.00)

John just grins as Tarra acknowledges Raul's question with a nod.

"If you can keep your pokemon under control, then we won't stop you. But we'll be more likely to find clefairy - or anything - if your pokemon stay in their pokeballs," she says loudly, her voice carrying over the milling group - several of whom are clutching pokeballs in a somewhat nervous fashion, and looking like they might be regretting the trip already.

Of course, there are still more who are looking quite excited by the prospect. John is amongst them, as are a few other faces you noted near the front of the crowd during the walk to the trail.

"Are there any more questions?"

We will actually get you doing something next post - I promise!

Clint - 20.00 (tiredness begins at 22.00)

The charging nidoran almost gets Clint. Almost. Fortunately for Clint's much-abused leg, the pokeball successfully captures it this time.

Not that there isn't a tense moment as the pokeball rocks furiously, red light on the button blazing furiously.

Level 8, Adamant, Male (obviously), Poison Point.

24xp for the fight to be split between Chomp and Huge.

Vlad - 13.00 (tiredness begins at 22.00)

The pidgeotto - finally - succumbs to the latest barage, and drops out of the sky - it vanishes in a flash of red light just before it hits the water, though.

The strange girl looks faintly bemused, then gives a shrug.

"That... normally works a lot better. Wasn't expecting you to use your magikarp as a towing service, really," she pauses a moment, before adding, "...or for Margie to, y'know, start smouldering. That one came as a bit of a shock, really. Anyway. Good fight - and your money," she digs through a wallet and hands over a couple of bills.

40xp divided as you see fit, plus your winnings.

Celeste - 20.00 (tiredness begins at 22.00)

The village is appropriately picturesque - there's the B&B, the pokemon center and a couple of little walkers' cafes. On top of that, there are quite a few little local crafts shops, one of which specialises custom pokeballs, a couple that sell touristy knicknacks and a bookshop in a traditional Kantonese style. Unfortunately most of the shops are closed at eight o'clock at night, despite how light it still is, and Celeste probably wouldn't be served in a pub.

The village is almost right next to the forest on one side, and a few hills can be seen rising above the trees in the distance. On the other side, the plains stretch out along the road to Saffron

Marcus - 13.00 (tiredness begins at 22.00)

"I'm not saying you should, I was just asking," the nurse shrugs, and rummages in a pocket for a pen and a pad and jots the address down. "There aren't many people who would make the trip to another city just to return a lost pet, even if they were already going that way. It is a lot of bother, after all. And how long would what take? The check-up? Maybe half an hour, along with the healing you asked for,"

[Esprit15]

Curious, Celeste decides to enter the pub. Not for a drink, but to find other travelers heading to Saffron (or even someone interesting). If she isn't in any luck there though, she'll try the Center before getting a room and going to sleep.

[RandomWombat]

Yarn will just have to do without the mountain view for now, then. Raul didn't want to ruin the trip for anyone by being selfish and keeping his Pokemon out. He's got no more questions and waits quietly for the group to depart.

[Arcran]

"Yes!" Clint shouts, excited to have successfully won his first battle against wild Pokemon. Of course, now he has a handful of Nidoran and no idea what to do with them but that didn't matter! He, Chomp and Huge had won!

Clint scoops up Chomp, a huge grin on his face as he begins to go back to town, loudly praising the Magikarp as he does so.

Can I get stats for the other Nidoran I caught?

[Eshkigal]

Marcus nods at that.
"Right then. I'll see if I can't find my friend then, and if the pound could help."
With that, Marcus gives the growlithe a few pets and a ruffling of her ears.
"Back soon, alright?"
He heads out while she's distracted by treat giving lady, hoping that she behaves while she tries finding Vlad.

[Dragonsage]

Vlad gives a sly smile as he placed his instrument upon his back and accepted his earnings. "Well it was kind of an obvious thing to do." He offered her a bow after he pocketed the winnings. "Your strategy was...interesting," Annoying, "I think it would have worked if I hadn't thought of letting Alsanna ferry Seath."

After a moment Seath dragged himself back on shore again and dried himself off before returning to Vlad's side, standing triumphantly.

Vlad let slip a laugh at the sight before recalling something. "Oh right, I think I should get going now. Need to see if that friend of mine is ready to leave now." He recalled the magikarp before letting Seath climb on his shoulder. "Thank you for the battle, see you around." The Charmander added a yawn as he lazily rested on his trainer's shoulder before the pair departed in search of Marcus


so i'm pretty much done updating my character sheet to 1.05, only one question though. Do we keep the same background skills or do we switch and use the new format that has 1 skill at adapt and 1 at novice at level one?
I'd rather keep the same set up i had before.