The Heights of Londo [IC 4: Turnabout Trainers]

[tgva8889]

Alyssa shrugs. "If you wanna train here we can, but it seems a bit muddy to train here. We might wanna find another spot." She looks down at Salandit, smiling.

[Hazuki]

"Okay...where?" Sass asks. "We can't do it in town."

[Comissar]

Leah raises her hand a little, "We could, uh, we could go out to the, uh, to the forest..? The ground will be, uh, will be a bit firmer there..?"

[tgva8889]

Alyssa shrugs. "Anywhere that'd be less muddy. I dunno how helpful it would be training against my Pokemon if it can't stand." She looks over at Leah and nods. "We could try that."

[Hazuki]

"Okay. You go first," Sass says, as she fingers the Misdreavus-containing Pokeball.

[tgva8889]

Alyssa shrugs and heads out towards the less-muddy forest with Salandit in hand.

[Comissar]

Leah pushes herself forward, walking to be alongside Alyssa with a smile, bumping her shoulder gently into her. "I'm kinda looking forward to watching this." She glances over her shoulder to Sass, "It's been a while since, uh, since I last saw you battle!"

[Hazuki]

The group begins to make their way through the forest, their footsteps becoming less leaden with every step and the foliage providing fewer hiding places for would-be predators and battling partners both. It seems they have a little bit of a way to go before they'll reach a clearing suitable for battling, however. Saura, in particular, is able to pad after her trainer with less of a struggle, while Maggie is forced to march without her mount. She occupies herself with chatting to Leah's bulbasaur.

"It still will be," Sass replies with a shrug. "I'm not gonna go all-out on a newbie."

[tgva8889]

Alyssa smiles at Sass, turning a bit red. "Thanks. It's been a while for me, but I hope I can be helpful!" She looks down at Salandit and sort of lifts her up. "What do you think, hmm?"

Athe sits on Alyssa's shoulder, keeping watch of their progress and any potential danger. Once it seems like things are mostly safe, though, he takes to flying around Maggie and Saura, trying to join on their conversation.

[Hazuki]

The Salandit blinks at being addressed, then lets out some kind of non-committal noise.

"You do know what it can do, right?" Sass asks. "'Cause...if you haven't released it since you caught it...you wouldn't have learned."

[tgva8889]

Alyssa looks over at Sass as she speaks, then looks thoughtfully at Salandit. "Well I know it can do fire, 'cause it burned me. But, um, I guess I should find out. You've gotta be able to do some new cool stuff, huh?" She shift a bit to carry Salandit with one arm while she digs in her bag for her Pokedex, trying to hold it, manipulate it with one hand, and get it open to actually look at all of Salandit's moves.

[Comissar]

Leah shrugs in response to Sass' downplaying of the upcoming training, "You can, uh, you can still see improvements, even if someone's holding back. It's, uh, it's possible to learn new things by teaching someone else, too!"

She indulges in a bit of nosiness as Alyssa looks through her pokédex at her Salandit's moves, though she declines to comment.

[Hazuki]

Alyssa successfully finds the list of Salandit's moves as her Pokedex scans the black-scaled lizard.

Sass nods at what Leah says, but whether she takes the words in is another matter.

[tgva8889]

Alyssa scans the moves and nods, getting the Pokedex closed before she puts it back into her bag. "Okay, I think me and Salandit will be ready!" She snuggles the Salandit a bit in her arms and smiles at Leah. "It'll at least be fun."

[Hazuki]

The Salandit seems like it'll be okay if it's put down, though it is grateful for the snuggles.

[tgva8889]

Alyssa smiles and puts Salandit down. She kneels a bit to pat it on the head then smiles at Sass. "Okay! Hope I can be helpful here." She pulls her sketch pad out of her bag and flips through a few of her battle sketches, trying to psych herself up.

[Comissar]

Leah grins, stepping off to one side as the two other trainers set themselves up. Raising a hand, she calls out "We're here today to see the future Champion of the Londo League, Sass, face off a-against the beautiful artist from Vibrost, Alyssa! Trainers at the ready, aaaaand, go!"

On go, she swipes her arm down, giggling at the pantomime of pretending to be a referee.

[Hazuki]

Saura and Maggie both find a comfortable spot on a particularly plump toadstool to sit on and under respectively.

Salandit takes a couple of moments to adjust its footing in the unfamiliar area, stepping back and forth over a couple feet of twig-laden ground until it seems comfortable. Then it turns its gaze on Alysssa, tilting its head.

Sass spends the time preparing and retrieving notebooks taking her Misdreavus out of its ball, doing so in the shade of a tree and hunched over it, hiding it from everyone else's view. She retrieves a couple of things from her pockets, and the girls can hear her muttering some kind of conversation with the ghost, but before long she's standing at her full height. A shadowy blob drifts out from her shadow, given shape by pink-tipped tendrils trailing from its head and the crimson orbs that surround its neck.

Maggie politely claps at Alyssa's introduction, while Sass focuses her gaze on Alyssa.

"I'll let you go first," Sass tells her, as she leans on her back foot and pushes up the visor strapped to her head. "Try not to embarrass your Pokemon."

[tgva8889]

Seeing Salandit looking back at her, Alyssa smiles. "You can do it! I'lll be here to help you, okay? And it's training, so if anything happens I'll be here." She gives Salandit a gesture of support.

Alyssa giggles a bit at Leah's introduction, waving to Saura and Maggie like they're her adoring fans.

Alyssa nods at Sass's offer. Thinking back to what she knows, she looks at Misdreavous and Sass and smiles. "Okay, Salandit, let's go! Let's start with Sweet Scent!" She points towards Misdreavus with determination.

[Hazuki]

The Salandit peers up at the floating Misdreavus and darts towards it, only to turn around at the last second, halting its momentum to spin in place and unleash a puff of purple from its maw. It entwines the Misdreavus, leaving little traces of purple in its ghostly "flesh". It lets out some muttered cry, and Sass' voice calls out.

"Oh no. She made you smell good." Sass smirks and shakes her head. "Let's show 'em what we can do. Hex!" She extends a finger at Salandit and the Misdreavus lets out a little cackle. The orbs around its neck light up, then coalesce into rune that flies through the air and sinks into Salandit, causing it to stumble as its energy is drained by the move.

Maggie shifts uncomfortably on her toadstool.

[tgva8889]

Alyssa clenches her fists as Salandit takes the hit. "Hang in there, Salandit! Now track the scent and go for Poison Gas!" She keep her eye on Salandit, trying to watch for Misdreavus on the battlefield.

[Hazuki]

Salandit runs forward just a little,. then rears up on its hind legs to unleash another purple plume at the Misdreavus, whose attempt at evasion is easily conquered as more of its shadowy flesh is turned a sickly purple.

"Hit it again," Sass orders her Misdreavus, which narrows its eyes on the Saladnit and strikes back with another set of seals that cause the little black lizard to stumble in its attempted evasion. "Y'see, what you're doing, it's not a bad idea," she points out, smirking a little. "Tactics and stuff? But Salandit isn't tough and you haven't got anything to back it up with. You're using a long-term strategy in a short fight, and when it's a fight like this, it's always best to just go for it. Your Pokemon's taken two big hits and my Misdreavus is just gonna be a little bit weaker. If you'd just attacked, she'd have been ten times more hurt right now. But as it is... You've already lost.""

Salandit is still capable of fighting, but is definitely much more hurt than Sass' Misdreavus.

[tgva8889]

Alyssa winces a bit as Salandit takes another hit. "Yeah, you're right. But you wanted practice again Poison-type, yeah? Salandit could use Ember but that's not Poison-type." She smiles. "It's not just about winning, right?" Noting that Salandit can still fight, she says, "How're you feeling, Salandit? You wanna see this to the end? Or you wanna come back?"

[Hazuki]

Salandit peers back at Alyssa, then at the menacingly-hovering Misdreavus, then back at Alyssa and nods in the direction of its Pokeball.

[tgva8889]

Alyssa nods at Salandit, taking out its Pokeball to return it. "Salandit's done for now, but I'd be okay with fighting with another Pokemon if you wanna keep going. Otherwise you win." She looks over at Sass as she pulls Salandit back.

[Comissar]

Seeing Alyssa recall her Salandit, Leah raises an arm in Sass' general direction, "Our future champion has defeated the first o-of Alyssa's pokémon, will she continue on?"

She glances to Alyssa with a goofy smile as she continues her hybrid referee and announcer role.

[Hazuki]

"Wait, which one of us do you mean?" Sass asks, glancing at Leah and puncturing the tension set up by Leah's refereeing.

[tgva8889]

Alyssa smiles at Sass. "Well I don't think I have any chance of beating the League, so I think she means you."

[Comissar]

Leah lets her arm drop, rubbing behind her neck instead as she nods, "Yeah, uh, I wasn't sure if, uh, if you wanted to keep going, Sass. I mean, Alyssa said she's happy to stop there. So it's, uh, it's up to you."

[Hazuki]

"Yeah, but..." Sass frowns. "Whatever. I think that's it. I just wanted to fight a Poison and we did that. Get over here," she says, and the Misdreavus glances at the girls before hovering over to join her side.