Summer Camp at Goldenrod

[CateranEnforcer]

In contrast to the rest of your time here, this is the most peaceful the Park has been all day. The last of the campers must have been finishing their scavenger hunt while you all relax by the water. The sun moves ever closer to the horizon playing on the gentle ripples of water emanating from your fishing lines. A cool breeze wafts through the air, taking away the heat that permeated the air earlier. A crescent moon sits high in the sky as the night's brightest stars show in the slowly reddening sky. Spearow and other birds fly to their nests, and a few Zubat are starting to emerge in their place.

After a some time, Constance finally gets a bite. She pulls at her rod as the fish pokemon fights strongly to escape the hook. After a tough minute or so, she finally is able to real in a small but plump Magikarp. It struggles weakly against you when it is raised out of the water.

Ajax on the other hand, is bit more strategic. Her fishing line is cast to a different location where there is more places for water pokemon to hide. She sees signs of something in the water and tires a few ties to coax out whatever it is. Several minutes after Constance reels in her catch, Ajax gets the attention of the long, slender pokemon and it bites at her lure. Reeling it in a bit further you can make it out a struggling shape, but it's far stronger than the last one.

Spoiler: Pokemon edu 10

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It's a Barboach!

Spoiler: OoC

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This one's a fighter! You may to have to work a little bit harder to get it out. A good skill check or weakening it in battle or maybe even charming it somehow.

[CosmicOccurence]

Margret quickly backed away from the water as the pokemon began splashing her. You've got this Ajax! she called, Don't let that slimy thing get the best of you!

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

Ajax stands up and pulls from side to side as she gradually reels the monster in, but dares not risk breaking her mom's rod. She catches a glimpse of the catfish-eel thingy as it splashes the surface of the pond. It looks slimy, so just grabbing it probably won't work...

Remembering a trick her mom taught her, she grips the middle of her rod with one hand and reaches out to snap off a few nearby reeds with the other. She shakes off the cattails and blows into the grass tubes one by one until she finds a good one and plays it like a strangely soothing kazoo as she slowly pulls her rod from side to side.

The song is one of Iggy's favorites. It sounds just right for the relaxing sunset.

Spoiler

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Ajax used Grass Whistle! We're still forest-adjacent, but a marsh reed feels like it makes more sense here anyway.

(1d20)[14]

Grass Whistle is AC 6, but I don't know what other modifiers are in play.

[CateranEnforcer]

The calming melody of Ajax's music seems to have a noticeable effect on the struggling pokemon. As it becomes overcome with drowsiness, reeling it in is much easier. A few seconds later, the Barboach is lifted from the water sound asleep, for the moment anyway.

Spoiler: OoC

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The Barboach is primed for capture! It can be caught with no roll. The Magikarp is as well, if that suits your fancy.

---

As time goes on, you eventually are approached by Mia from behind. "Whew I heard you were out here, enjoying your free time. That's absolutely fine, but it's about time for the opening ceremony at the Mess Hall. Whitney and the other camp administrators are going to welcome you all in and let you know what camp will be like. And they'll feed you of course!"

[CosmicOccurence]

Oh good! I don't really think freshly caught fish is my thing ... Margret said. She had a hard time imagining killing a pokemon then eating it. Things were different when you just got a burger, but this felt so ... immediate.

Let's just hope that we don't run into any trouble at the ceremonies. If possible, I'd love to avoid a certain wartortle trainer, she whispered to her companions as they walked back.

She was nervous for the opening ceremony, but excited. Her journey was finally starting!

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

Ajax reels in her hard-won barboach and pauses. "...uh. Anyone have a pokéball I can borrow?"

She'll also help Constance throw her non-viable Magikarp back.

-

She just nods when Mia comes around. "Okay."

[CosmicOccurence]

Sure! Nessa said, tossing the ball to her companion. It's the basic model, nothing fancy, but it'll do the job with that thing sound asleep.

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

"Thanks. Owe you one."

Ajax snaps a quick picture of her catch and loads the barboach into the ball.

[CateranEnforcer]

When you finish up at the lake, Mia takes you on a short walk back to the camp, takes a left towards the Mess Hall. A collection of campers and counselors are making their way inside the long, brick building. You see Nurse Bruce holding open the door directing people inside. He waves at you as you pass by him and flashes a warm smile. He stops Margaret briefly with a gentle touch on her shoulder to hand her a plain folder with her name written on it. As she takes it, she immediately feels the tiny bumps that adorn the outside. It's braille! "There should be a few things in there to help you out. I put some instructions inside in braille that should cover everything."

Inside, there are rows of tables where campers are sitting. Unlike most of the rest of the camp, you notice there is nothing here to indicate where your team should sit. Indeed, you see a few familiar faces mixed in with others you haven't met yet. A tired Henry glowers towards the front middle of the room where there is a small wooden stage. There sits another table with a handful of well dressed and important looking people seated there. One older gentleman bares a clear resemblance to Henry, though with hard features and a purposeful look in his eyes. There's also the two Granbull bodyguard trainers you saw this morning meaning Whitney must be close.

You aren't left waiting long before you are directed to the food lines. Campers are lined up as if at a school cafeteria. The dishes being served are all simply made but look fresh and tasty. There is some corn and carrots, mashed potatoes and gravy, and some sloppy joe. To drink there are pitchers of water and a red liquid people are calling bug juice. To those who try it find that it is a cherry flavored sugary drink not at all like the name suggests.

After you collect your meal, it seems some campers are taking this chance to mingle outside their own group. You can see Justin happily and loudly talking to someone about something he apparently knows a lot about. Charlotte sits alone in a corner. Haukea waves from across the room.

Spoiler: Margaret

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The folder contains a couple of things for you. There is a an upgrade device that can be fitted into your Pokegear. It comes with a pair of earphones and braille instructions on how to activate a new accessibility mode. It will allow you to use a deaf version of the pokegear, which will read and describe menus to you, among other things. To a sighted person, it would seem a great hassle to use, but to you it makes the device usable.

[Lorrel]

Constance enjoyed her time fishing with her new friends. It was nice a peaceful, a stark contrast to the previous events of the day. Cheering for Ajax as she lands her catch, Constance releases her Magikarp back into its watery home.

Following along with the others as they head back, Constance whistles merrily, fully enjoying being at camp. As they make their way through the food lines, Constance grabs a bit of everything and decides to brave the Bug Juice. Spotting Charlotte off on her own, she feels sad that the girl was separated from anyone she knew and left on her own. Constance makes her way over to sit down and say hi.

Is this seat taken? Constance asks Charlotte with a smile on her face.

[CosmicOccurence]

Margret was confused when she was handed the envelope, but was estatic when she felt the braille. I certainly didn't expect that, she thought while Gawain led her to the food line. The sloppy joes smelled delicious, so she grabbed to and found her way to a seat where she could spread out and read.

Reading braille was different than normal reading. It was slow going, as you had to feel out each letter and word, but it felt good that she was doing something nobody else in the room would be able to. As she explored the contents and munched on her food, tears began welling up in her eyes. This was beyond anything she could have expected, and immediately set up the pokegear, using commands to navigate through the pokegear. People didn't normally take things into account for her, let alone go out of her way to feel welcome.

It was all a bit overwhelming, and she had to take a few breaths to calm down. I'll have to go thank him tomorrow, she told Gawain. It seems like this might not be as bad an experience as I thought it would be. She tried to brush the tears away, but they kept coming no matter how bright her smile.

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

Ajax takes pictures of the food trays for her camp album, scoops way too many mashed potatoes onto her plate, and plunks it down near her new bunkmates. "Cheese!" she says, then snaps a picture of the whole table between when they look up and when they realize that she meant for them to say cheese.

She taps in a caption on the touchscreen: Dinner, Day One

[CateranEnforcer]

Charlotte looks over at Constance as she walks up and sighs. "I guess not. I can't get into anymore trouble at this point."

After a most the meal begins to wind down, you almost don't notice Whitney enter the building from the side entrance and make her way up to the stage. Without all the fanfare she had this morning, Goldenrod gym leader looks so much more like an ordinary person. She's only a few years older than many of the campers here and in fact the youngest gyms leader in the region. Held gently in her arms is a small, bouncing Cleffa.

Whitney steps up to center of the stage with confidence and she addresses you in a strong clear voice. "Hello again campers. Glad to see everyone found their way here. Now that we are all situated here at Camp Goldenrod I have a chance to speak with you more directly. Before I begin though I'd like to thank our sponsors and administrators for making this camp, a passion project that I started three years ago, a possibility. So thank you to Mr Steele as a representative of Sliph CO for providing your brand new Pokegears, Mr Cal and CAL Inc for providing funding, and the National Park Rangers for giving us the space for the good cause of preparing the next generation of trainers!"

"Now with all that out of the way, let me tell you what we are all about here. This camp is an extension of the Goldenrod Gym, so I'll be present for a lot of your training. As you know, every gym in the region has their own specialty and theme. In Goldenrod, we specialize in training Normal and Fairy type pokemon and theme is about teaching the fundamentals not just of pokemon training, but the other skills you may need to go on your own pokemon journey. You will find a little bit of everything here, and outside of planned classes with the counselors, your time will be your own. There's a quarter master store you can purchase supplies at and you will be given a voucher when you leave here today that's the same as money there."

"At the end of the three month camp, everyone will get a chance to take my Gym Challenge and earn your Plain Badge. I'd like for each of you to be able to earn it, but I tell you now that it will not be handed to you unless you deserve it. It is by no means guaranteed to anyone. I will tell you more about that as camp progresses. Starting tomorrow though, you'll get a little taste of it since we are starting our very own Little Cup featuring your adopted pokemon. The winner will have a chance to battle me and my own new adopted Cleffa. They're only going to be cute and little for so long so we're going to take advantage of that!"

"So that is all I have to say right now. I will leave you to your counselors now. I believe they have set up a little bonfire outside for you all to have a chance to relax and get to know each other. I'll see you there!"

When she finishes, the night's activities start coming to an end with a large bonfire built outside and down the path a short distance and down a slope that surrounds it like a mini stadium. Some campers elect to go to sleep and leave early, but many remain and Whitney is here as she said speaking with the counselors. A few are roasting Jigglypuff marshmallows on the fire.

Spoiler: Gen Edu 2

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CAL (Cinnabar All-purpose Logistics) Inc is a new company that appeared after the war and is based in Cinnabar. In the years after the war Cinnabar was cut off from the mainland for sometime so they existed independently of Silph Co, the leading technology development company in the region.

Spoiler: Gen Edu 6

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Though much of this happened when you were younger, you remember there was a of a struggle as CAL strong armed it's way into the market, offering better prices and a strong focus on pokeball tech and evolution stones. It's rumored this is because it was subject to disasters directly caused by all three of the legendary birds simultaneously, enriching the land with residual energy.

Spoiler: OoC

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More chances to mingle or simply sleep!

[CosmicOccurence]

Gawain bounced towards the bonfire happily, the growlithe darting in and out to warm himself while Margret started roasting one of her marshmallows.

If any of her friends come up to her, she says I've never been to a bonfire before. I hope you'll tell me when this thing is ready! she indicated her smore.

What'd you think of what Whitney said?

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

"Might not know 'til you try a few," says Ajax regarding marshmallows. Of course her hiker mom made sure she knew her way around campfire snacks. "Like mine just a little softened up, but Iggy won't eat one unless it's black and burning."

Her jigglypuff proceeds to demonstrate this by taking a pre-sticked marshmallow and holding it directly in the fire until it goes up in flames. Whether he recognizes that he's basically watching a burning effigy of himself is anybody's guess.

After taking a nice picture of the scene, Ajax makes her own 10-second blob, plops it onto a graham cracker and sets next to Margaret. "One of mine..." She grabs the burning one away from Iggy before he hurts himself, blows it out and scrapes it onto another graham. "...one of Iggy's. Yours should be good now too - a little brown, so right in the middle."

After arranging the silly taste test, Ajax finally remembers that we're also talking about Whitney. "You mean about the Little Cup? I guess it might be fun. Normal-fairy gym sounds like just the place for Iggy to learn a few things, too."

[Lorrel]

Trouble? I hope you didn't take too much flak for Henry's actions. You didn't do anything wrong, and guilt by association isn't fair. Hopefully things will calm down for you, and you can settle in and enjoy camp. I definitely plan to use my time at camp to find my own place in the world; it is time to be my own person instead of always being what someone else wants.



---

After the meal Constance makes her way back over to her teammates for the Marshmallow roasting.

(If Charlotte is still putting up with Constance after dinner, Constance will invite her over as well)

I have never done the bonefire thing either. I've read about them.. Constance stops short, realizing just how often she mentions that she has only read about doing things. She must sound like the biggest fool.

I guess I really need to make my own experiences this summer, she thinks to herself. Books will only give you so much. At some point you have to step up yourself to actually live. And now is my time to live.

The little cup tournament sounds interesting. I haven't had much time with my partner yet, so it will be our first time pairing up in battle. Hopefully it goes well. He tends to be rather... lazy... at times.

[CosmicOccurence]

We certainly got an interesting set. Two noisy ones and another that loves to sleep. Certainly a good group for a normal type gym.

[CateranEnforcer]

Charlotte shrugs and rolls her eyes, clearly upset. "Father sees it differently. Henry got his team transfer, just not the way he wanted. It's humiliating for me too, though. He's found a clever way to teach us both a lesson, or so he thinks. Henry is going to have to work harder without me with him, and I take fall for him publicly. I wish I could treat things normally like you can, I have a standard that I need to meet."

---

Surprisingly, Charlotte hangs around with Constance after she is invited. She listens quietly for a while before reluctantly trying out a marshmallow of her own. "I feel like these tournaments are rather silly when we each only enter with one pokemon. One bad matchup and you're out. We need more of a team if we're going to do battle like real trainers. These babies are just going to scratch and tackle each other till they fall over."

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

"Wondering about that," says Ajax between bites of her s'mores, "they do these fights in empty rooms, usually? You don't have a lot of moves, the environment gets more important, right?"

[Lorrel]

Constance frowns slightly when Charlotte mentions standards. She is all to familiar with the need to maintain the family's expectations, and was determined not to do so again. At the same time, she did not know Charlotte well enough to know if she wanted to meet the expections for her own reasons, or for someone else's.

I am surprised that your father is having you take the fall; not only do you not deserve it, but it seems impractical. In my experience if they can't cover it up, families try and shift the blame outside the family. They usually don't pile it on one of their own...

Unless they are the designated failure, Constance continues in her head.

Well, one way or another your father will be right - you may not learn the lesson he intends you too, but I can't imagine a summer here without discovering something about yourself and growing.

As for treating things normally. it is definitely not easy for me. It is a struggle at times to stay true to who I am, or at least who I want to be. It is new, exciting, and in some ways scary. To not have a path laid out before is strange, there is no one who can tell me what to do or how to do it. When I think too much on it, it gets even scarier. If I start to have doubts, I remind myself that in all my life, the people who truly cared for me always supported what I chose to do, rather than what was best for them.
...And here I am rambling on about myself all graceless and improper. How about you Charlotte? What brings you to camp? Judging by your partner earlier, you look to be quite accomplished as a trainer already.

--------------

Yeah the Tackle-Dome doesn't quite bring to mind epics battles, Constance laughs. Terrain can play a factor, and strategy can as well. Most of all type defenses will likely rule the roost. Ghost, Steel or Rock types are going to take a long time to whittle down one swipe at a time.
I don't expect to win, but at least it will be fun to see sleepysaurus over here expend some of the energy he has been saving. Constance absently scratches Tru's ears as she speaks and drops a marshmallow into her bag for him.

[CosmicOccurence]

Well let's hope that there are no ghosties out there or we're all up a creek. Bors can't do anything against them. She just shouts really loud. Really loud. Actually a little too loud. I may need some earplugs.

[CateranEnforcer]

Spoiler: Constance GenEdu

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Now that you think about it, you remember reading about the funny business that came to light once the sea ways were clear once more to Cinnabar ten years ago. You remember that there was once a company ran by Steele Industries, Henry and Charlotte's father apparently. They lost everything to CAL who ended up absorbing their resources.

"We're here to better ourselves, of course. This looks like the best chance to start. We're not here to have fun, like everyone wants to push on us. This is a serious training opportunity for when it comes back." She leans in closer and whispered the next word. "Mewtwo."

---

After a short while, Charlotte puts her roasting stick down and turns to leave. "I guess we'll find out tomorrow. I have to go. See you around camp I suppose."

As the fire winds down, campers begin to file back towards their cabins. It is now full on night and you can see some nocturnal pokemon coming out at night. You can even recognize your Hoothoot friend watching you from the trees.

When you finally head to your own cabin, Mia's Stantler rests outside. A note on the door from indicates that she has a lot to prepare for the little cup starting soon, so she'll be gone this evening.

[CosmicOccurence]

So, bathroom situation, Margret says as she pulls out a tank top. With just the four of us it shouldn't be a huge problem, but I'm a night showerer. Anyone else I need to be aware of other than the usual brushing your teeth and such?

[Lorrel]

Constance eyes widen in shock and confusion but she manages to keep her voice low. Mew...two? Why would he come back? And why would it fall to you and your brother to deal with him. From what I remember from school it was SilphCo and CAL that were into that kind of thing. Constance pauses, like she is putting together some pieces.
Wait, Steele... I know why that name is familiar. They were a company in the islands that got taken over by CAL, right? From what I recall something about the takeover was not on the up and up. That still doesn't explain your direct involvement. I assume it is something more than your brother met Mewtwo once and created a mortal enemy with his attitude? Constance added the last with a small smile, trying to lift the mood and ease any tensions and hoped it would not give offense. She is definitely still surprised at Charlotte's revelation, but wanted to let her new friend know that she believed what she said.




----

Constance waves good-bye to Charlotte as she goes.
I hope we can spend more time together while we are here. I'd love to share notes on training and such.


Back at the cabin, Constance gets ready for bed. She puts a few smuggled veggies from dinner that Tru didn't eat outside for their owl friend and waves goodnight.

In response to Margret's question about routines, Constance replies. No worries from me, I am an early riser. I like to get my training underway when the sun comes up. If I am missing in the morning I am likely outside.

Before heading off to bed, Constance uses her Pokegear to do a bit of research. She reads up on Steele Industries, Mewtwo and CAL's takeover of Steele. She wants to make sure she doesn't say anything stupid that could upset Charlotte. She also does a quick search to see if she can find any other mentions of Pokemon with symptoms like Hitchcock.

Spoiler

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GenEd roll for info on Steele Industries, Steele/CAL take over, and insight into the connection between Steele and Mewtwo (depending on Charlotte's replies above this may not be needed.) (3d6)[6]
PokeEd for anything to do with Mewtwo (4d6)[12]
PokeEd to find anything about other Pokemon like Hitchcock (4d6)[11]

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

Ajax waves to a leaving Charlotte with a quick, "'Kay. Later," and picks up Iggy for the trip back to the cabin. It really is getting pretty late.

She hangs her pack from the corner of the bunk and Iggy dives from there to the bedroll below with a *Puff!*

"...we have showers?"

[CateranEnforcer]

"Father was in an impossible situation. His second betrayed him. He tried to take us away from that island, but something happened. Something I can't remember. And that doesn't sound right, does it? I think something made me forget, and father was very interested in the cloning facilities. I put it together myself. It makes sense that he was there. Team Rocket attacked us, what us would they want from that dump?"

---

You go to bed after Ajax makes the revelation that you do indeed have running water and a shower even. In the morning, you are woken by Mia who enters the cabin near dawn. She's very excited to take you to her planned activity. After you eat, she takes you down the path and you end up at a small ranch. There you see a number of quadruped pokemon like her Stantler. You can smell the stark odor of manure as you pass the stables. There are saddles and riding equipment stacked neatly along the walls.

There is another classroom like building that you finally end up in. A poster on the wall uses pictures to show the three steps to using a pokeball. Another shows a type effectiveness chart. Still another categorizes pokemon into breeding groups. There is a small bookshelf with reference books on the feeding and care of pokemon.

"Welcome to my little slice of paradise out here. This is my little ranch that I can teach about raising pokemon. In preparation for the Little Cup coming up, I'm going to help you to tutor your little ones. They could probably learn a new move or two. We can even extend these techniques to your other pokemon as well. We've even got a good library of Technical Machines that I can show you as well. Depending what you want to try and teach them, it may take a few hours so you can use the grounds outside to practice and train. Any questions before we start?"

Spoiler

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I forgot to mention, you got $5000 worth of vouchers for the shop.

Now here you have a chance to teach new moves to your pokemon. The process will take a good training session whether it is done with a TM or tutored. TM's used in this way are half cost, a as camp discount.

Spoiler: Constance

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Firstly, you can find a short report about the two Cinnabar companies and how they fit into the history of the islands. Towards the end of the war, Cinnabar volcano erupted and Moltres emerged destroying the labs and the city there. CAL and Steele were competing over recovering the salvage. Team Rocket infiltrated Steele Inc and nearly brought the islands to their knees. Steele himself was kidnapped by Rocket executives. Several accomplished trainers including the daughter of the missing Gym Leader Blaine put an end to their operations and grounded their large zeppelin they used to bring over personal and equipment. Steele Inc could not recover from the Rocket incursion and was soon absorbed into CAL.

Next, Mewtwo's escape was one of the reasons there was a war at all. This dangerous cloning and genetic modification was deemed a crime against nature. In the months following, it was seen worldwide and often resulted in a lot of damage when it was. It went into hiding and evaded detection for decades. It's known to be overwhelmingly powerful with its psychic powers. Since then, some people regard it as an urban legend, with rumored sightings popping up all over. Some people think Team Rocket caught it and plan to unleash as a weapon.

Last, there is not much to go on with regard to the Murkrow. However, there is an increasing number of pokemon with odd behaviors and symptoms. It's been attributed to glitches within the PC storage system when Zapdos brought down the power grid. CAL makes a special pokeball that can capture these glitched pokemon since sometimes regular pokeballs fail. No cure is known.

[Lorrel]

During Dinner:

Wow, that is some pretty serious stuff, and it does sound like something messed with your mind. I never realized Team Rocket was involved with what happened to Steele.
I know you are a far stronger trainer than I am, but if you need help I am here. Not sure what I can do, but I don't let friends face danger alone.
Constance gives Charlotte a smile at the end. Charlotte may have things weighing heavily upon her, but Constance can be optimistic enough for both of them.


In the morning

Constance was happy to see their councilor bright an early as she was an early riser herself.
Quickly grabbing her pack, Constance follows along behind Mia as she leads. The smell of manure was strong, but Constance had become somewhat used to the smell after working at the Daycare. Baby Pokemon may be cute, but boy do they poop.

Constance surveyed the classroom and her face broke out into a huge smile when she saw the books on Pokemon care. She made a note to check it out later and see if there way anything interesting.

This place is so great, Constance remarks to Mia. I love helping raise Pokemon, it is so rewarding. Does this act as Daycare facility, or do you just take care of local wildlife that needs help? Are there any species in particular that are protected here?


Constance browsed through the library of TMs, not quite sure yet which would be right for Tru. Deciding to get some training in while thinking, she put her pack down on the ground and brought out Arabella for some morning work. She removed a few snacks and left them on a nearby table for later. They were sure to work up an appetite.
Looking over at her bag, Constance leans over and says in a mock stern voice Get your naps in now. Once I am done with 'Bella you are next mister!

Before starting her training, Constance asks Mia How close does the local wildlife get? 'Bella and I can get a bit loud so I would hate to scare anything off.

Meanwhile, in the eyes of a Slakoth...

Spoiler

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The ride in the bag was particularly bouncy today. Mygirl must be in a hurry. Why hurry? Plenty of time for things. Should learn to relax more. Burrowing deeper in the bag, Tru found a comfortable spot and let the sound of voices lull him to sleep. There would be time for doing later. Now was the time for not doing.

A solid thud woke the slumbering Tru, and he was no longer moving. With a large yawn, he stretched and peaked out of the bag. The sun was bright. Not too high in the sky. A fine time for a nap. But his bag was sitting in the sun, and starting to get a little bit warm. That just wouldn't do.

Slowly the furry animal made its way out of the opening and looked around for a better place to sleep. There were lots of trees, but also lots of noise. Finding the right spot would be tricky.

Suddenly Tru's nose began to twitch. Something smelled like... food. Food was good. Almost as good as napping. Maybe it was a good idea to have a snack before the next nap. He never knew when Mygirl might need him to do something. Best to have extra energy stored just in case. Searching around Tru found the source of the yummy smell. Mygirl had left the yummy treats far away high up on a table. It was so far away, but smelled so good. Mygirl always had good yummy things. But could he make it all the way there to where the yummy things waited? Maybe he could just wait until later. Mygirl was surely going to give it to him anyway.

With a big stretch, Tru was ready to find a place to nap, when movement caught the corner of his eye. Mygirl was working with LoudRockSnakeGirl doing that Training thing. Tru was not entirely sure what Training was, but it was a lot of work.
Shrugging, Tru was all set to ignore them when he thought of something.
What if the yummy was for LoudRockSnakeGirl and not Tru? Maybe a reward for Training?
Although a nap was quite tempting, Tru could not risk the loss of the yummy. He had to move fast, relatively speaking.

Moving as fast as he had ever done, the world blurred before him as he made his way towards the yummy. He was making good time. Almost half of the enormous 20 feet had been crossed.
This won't be so bad, Tru thought, I can even nap under the table thing. Not bad at.. Tru's thoughts stopped as he did, thudding into a rock that blocked his path. He had been so excited for the yummy that he hadn't checked to make sure the path was clear.

Having gone so far already, Tru was not ready to turn back and find another path. The rock would just have to move.

Move, Tru asked the rock. But nothing happened.
Manners, thought Tru, how rude of me.
Please Move, good rock. There are yummy things past where you are and I would like to eat them
The rock just sat there, as rocks tend to do.
This just won't do, thought Tru. He wanted the yummy, and the rock was not willing to listen.
Tru let out a sigh. It looked like he was going to have to show the rock he was serious. Lifting his arm, Tru unleashed a mighty swing at the boulder, but his sharp claws failed to even scratch it. Once again, Tru gave a swing, again to no effect.
Tru was starting to worry. The longer this took, the bigger the risk that someone else would get the yummy first.
With all of his strength and determination, Tru raised both arms and brought them down with more force than he had ever used before.
Shattered pieces of rock flew past him in a cloud of dust. At first Tru worried that the noise would give him away, but thankfully LoudRockSnakeGirl was making even more noise, so he went unnoticed.
As the dust cleared, Tru was able to check if the rock had learned its lesson. Tru was impressed to see that the rock was no more, and in its place were pebbles that he could easily crawl over.
Except behind the first rock was a second one. Life was not going to make this quest easy for the poor Slakoth.
Raising his arms high again, Tru repeated his strike from before and was once more treated to the dust cloud of success.

With the mean rocks out of the way, Tru continued towards the table. The closer he got, the higher the table got. By the time he was close, Tru realized that the table was too high. He had no way up to the yummy.
Oh cruel world, thought Tru, why do you tease me so. I am just a small Tru, and all I want are the yummy things in life, and the sleepy things. Is that too much to ask?
The cruel world did not respond with words, but rather with a light breeze that brought the scent of yummy things directly into Tru's nose.

Filled with determination, Tru had to find a way to get the yummy to where he could reach it. Tru looked around, hoping to find something that could help. There were no trees to climb or any other way to get up there. He had to find a way to bring it down to him.

Tru slowly scratched his head and tried to think. But thinking was hard due to the noise. LoudRockSnakeGirl was playing with Mygril, throwing large rocks around and creating the most distracting sounds. How was a poor Tru supposed to be able to think with all of that going on.

Slumping down, Tru watched as LoudRockSnakeGirl threw rocks. The Onix was unleashing a barrage of stones against a practice target dressed up like scarecrow with a giant straw hat. Rock after rock fell from the sky until the target was nothing but splinters. The straw hat fell to the ground as the target finally succumbed to the onslaught.

Tru blinked slowly and looked again. The hat... was on the ground. Tru had an idea. Looking around, Tru spotted some rocks nearby. They were not the massive boulders that LoudRockSnakeGirl had been throwing, but for Tru they would be the biggest things he had ever lifted.
With great effort he lifted each one and launched it at the table, taking care not to hit the yummy. Rock after rock was thrown and rock after rock connected with the table. With one final throw Tru hit the table leg square, causing it to break from the pressure.

The table toppled forward and the snacks slid to the ground. With surprising speed Tru swiped out with his paw, snagging the treats. He paused for just a moment to see if he had been caught, but everyone else was busy.
Thinking he had gotten away unseen, Tru did a small little dance, only to be interrupted by a mocking 'Whooo'
Looking up, Tru realized that he had been spotted. In the branches of a nearby tree was a BigEarNightBird. Normally Tru did not see BigEarNightBird in the day, as they were often sleeping, a characteristic they shared.
Feeling slightly embarrassed that the BigEarNightBird had seen his dance, Tru retreated under the fallen table to enjoy his victory spoils.

Munching slowly on his reward, Tru barely heard the laughing hoots from above. He was tired, but has was fed, and he was ready for that nap. Mygirl needed him for that Training thing later, so he needed to get the naps in now.

Spoiler: Mechanics

Show

Constance purchases 2 TMs
Brick Break - 1200
Rock Tomb - 1400
Tru spends 2 tutor points and learns the moves.
Constance has 2400 in vouchers remaining.
I'll post Tru training later tonight, I got slightly side tracked with this post

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

Ajax goes ahead an uses the shower at some point during the night, but the farm smells make her wonder whether it was worth the trouble. While Iggy rides around on her backpack, watching the tauros-y beasts chew their cud while Ajax is taking pictures. She's already started adding the ranch grounds to her archive by the time Mia starts explaining things.

"Uh. Hang on."

She fishes a pokéball out of her pouch and opens it without thinking; it turns out the be the new one that the soft-spoken girl gave her yesterday. A slimy blue eel splats onto the floor, takes a second to wake up, and flails from side to side trying to figure out its new environment.

"Whoops. 'Morning newbie. Guess you were still sleeping in there."

Barboach looks up, meets Ajax's eyes, and slithers under a chair as a safe place from which to glare at her. "Broooo..."

While she waits for the eel to warm up to everyone, she lets out Anorith. The bug's excitement it immediately apparent; Ajax has to shout to get his attention before he starts charging at his new partner. "Hey! Starting training today, you two. Meet Barboach. Barboach, meet Anorith."

Barboach fountains some water at Anorith, presumably as some sort of passive-aggressive greeting. It joins the slime in a growing puddle on the floor.

Ajax finally reclaims her chance to talk to the other humans. "Usually count on our environment for the moves we need. Throw rocks to bring down spearows, make a grass whistle to calm down geodudes. Obviously can't do that in a prepped arena or indoors. Going to need something besides his claws to fight with."

[CosmicOccurence]

Well this is really something else isn't it? Margret commented. This whole experience was rather serene. So many pokemon she'd never met before, and this was only day 2.

I think the key for Bors here will be learning some moves to deal with Ghost types. Right now he's bpretty helpless against them, Margret said. She may not have a great track record in battle, but she had the type chart memorized.

So Bors, she said as she positioned a scarecrow in front of him. Today we are going to learn how to shoot a ball of energy through this scarecrow. I know it sounds dumb, but it'll be useful, I promise.

And with that they began their work. So how long have you been a trainer for,
Margret asked while getting some advice from their counselor on how best to teach spiritual warfare to a crying baby during one of Bors's many loud tantrums.

Spoiler

Show

Nabbing Shadow Ball for Bors 1,350
3,650 voucher money left over

[CateranEnforcer]

Mia smiles at your enthusiasm while showing you around. "Mainly, I enjoy training these pokemon to be ridden. There are a few trails out there we can take campers on if you are looking for something relaxing. Of course, we do help wild pokemon in the area if we can, but I'm not apart of the Ranger's conservation efforts while I am working here. Mainly we just have to look out for territory disputes int he wild. Electrike for example are not native, but can be very ornery. Some of the less confrontational native pokemon like Girafarig get pushed out of their homes. And then the Spearows and Vullabies fight very violently."

She continues,"I've been a trainer since I was about fifteen. A bit later than you all I'm sure, but we debt have much in the way of daycare centers to get us started. I joined the Rangers at twenty one and have been working with them for about seven years now."

A short while later, you see something has riled up a pack of Tauros near their feeding trough. The large pokemon huff and stomp their hooves with earth shaking force. "Speaking of invasive species, I think the Drilbur are back messing with the food. Would you help me check the other trough across the field? I'm going to have to calm those Tauros back down."