Adventures in Helnith: Assault on the Town of Ash (RPG)

[essCee]

Pinklady:



“That’s fair, that’s fair, hang on a sec…” There’s some quick discussion between the three, in which you can hear occasional snippets - “…want to battle too!” “…test out new…” “…Trainer Hill…” - before the trainer in red and black finally turns back to you.

“Right, so, here’s our proposal: a one-on-one fight, with each of us” he points to himself then both of his friends “so three total, and then you’ll still be able to make it to the Shatterhigh Pokémon Center afterwards, even if you lose all three. It’s just a few miles back the way we came.” He gestures in the direction of he mountains. “That fair?”

"Yeah, you're all on!" Pinklady accepts and immediately reaches for Sport's Pokéball. Wait, Shatterhigh? I hope I didn't somehow end up going the wrong way... Pinklady internally muses, having not heard them be referred to by name and not having noticed their name on the map earlier.

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Less:

"How long does that take to set in, and can it be reverted? . . . And if it was to start effecting me, would I have any warning signs?"

“How long does it take to lose your temper?

As for being reverted, we haven’t had enough humans be affected and then returned to Helnith to be certain. The last incident we have meaningful records of was a paleontological expedition around the time of the last greater dimensional convergence, and the affected individuals in that case didn’t make it back. There have been rumors during the war, of course, but those are anecdotal and generally incomplete.

And as far as warning signs, most who have traveled to the Spectral Dimension reported erratic emotional swings reaching unusual highs. Some of the women noted that it felt like a bad bout of PMS - things that bother you bother you more than usual. In theory, this would continue to escalate until you lost control. But if you encountered the corpse of your loved one - or something equally upsetting? Then there wouldn’t need to be much escalation.

Conventional wisdom from the Skybreak Gym is to maintain internal serenity and emotional stability to avoid the effects, I believe they have a meditation garden to that effect.”

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

Mark and Mina:

((Left a note in the OoC.))

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

Pinklady:

“Awright!” The boy in red pumps his fist victoriously. “Who goes first?”

“Me first!” The girl of the trio - dressed mostly in tans and grays, with dangling agate earrings - volunteers.

“Let our new friend with the wagon pick,” suggests the other boy. (He’s dressed similarly to the girl, but leaning more into the grays, and wearing one of those magnetized hematite bracelets.) “It’s her time we’re wasting.”

[essCee]

Pinklady:

“Awright!” The boy in red pumps his fist victoriously. “Who goes first?”

“Me first!” The girl of the trio - dressed mostly in tans and grays, with dangling agate earrings - volunteers.

“Let our new friend with the wagon pick,” suggests the other boy. (He’s dressed similarly to the girl, but leaning more into the grays, and wearing one of those magnetized hematite bracelets.) “It’s her time we’re wasting.”

"Hardly a waste of time! My choice or not, I couldn't deny the most eager first pick!" Pinklady smiles and points to the girl, striking a bit of a pose. "You're on!" She announces as she throws Sport's Pokéball in the air, catches it, and then sends him out.

[Lord Ruby34]

"Only an instant." Less answered, voice grim. If Emilia had been in there a month . . . well, best to get her to safety first and then figure out how to help. Bringing her to the gym might be part of that. "I appreciate you answering my questions. I just have a few more. If I need to get in or out of the spectral dimension, is there a better way to do that then just stumbling on a portal?"

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Mark and Mina:

Mark got the same readout Mina did: the species name was Miznomer, it evolved from Nomernall (no mention of how), and a short little blurb:

“It was discovered in the Spectral Dimension. It lives in the ruins of ancient cities, twisting its surroundings to suit itself.”

Any requests for further information just bring back:

“UNKNOWN POKEMON DATA.

PLEASE CONSULT THE WIRELESS POKEMON NETWORK FOR MORE INFORMATION.”

It didn’t even actually have the type listed, though as it wasn’t Shadowed Mina was inclined to agree with Mark that it was a Spectral type, unless it had been here for a while.

<It has been here for a while, this level of distortion doesn’t happen over night. But they never come through the rifts Shadowed. One of my great uncles helped fight the last one with the Dendrologs, it didn’t go well.> This was accompanied by flashes of what looked like tree stumps with legs and leafy cloaks, then lots of Shadowed Pokémon running amok. <Normally it’s just the Nomernall that come through.> The vision that accompanied this was a Pokémon with a face like the Miznomer’s, but with less of the broken clock-mask, and just a spray of tentacles instead of anything resembling a body.

Mina then reminded herself that there was a battle going on and she wasn’t participating yet.

<Let me!>

No.

<I never get to fight!> Visions of the great-uncle accompanied this, and Mina got the distinct impression her Xatu wanted bragging rights.

You’re weak to Spectral moves and I am not having a Shadowed telepath digging through my head if I can help it! No!

“Pidgey, Xatu, stay back,” Mina ordered. (Her starter, who had also been circling eagerly, swooped back with a disappointed coo.) She reflected with some irritation that two thirds of her team right now was weak to Spectral moves, Gyarados only had one attack that could hit it and Riolu was just a baby (and not her baby to risk, on top of that). “Oodramer, you’re up! Try Bubblebeam!” At least he couldn’t be Shadowed.

Miznomer uses Antagonize!
Fisher is antagonized!

Oodramer uses Bubblebeam!

The attack didn’t seem to do much, but then, it was very sunny and Oodramer wasn’t a Water type.

Miznomer’s Speed falls!

Mina facepalmed; of course the Speed drop activated when it wasn’t helpful!

Not that it seemed like it would make a difference. Oodramer was apparently faster than that thing!

Fisher uses Sing!
Attack missed!

Fisher is antagonized!
Fisher’s Shadow Gauge rises 6%!

Fisher’s Shadow Gauge falls 2%!

((Psychic Terrain in effect.
Sunny Day in effect.
Trick Room in effect, 3 rounds remaining.))

Fisher: 139/139 (Shadowed: 4%, Antagonized 1 round)

Oodramer: 91/91

Miznomer: ??/??? (Speed down 1 level)

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

Pinklady:

The girl with the agate earrings cheers while the boy in red grumbles a bit and the one with the hematite bracelet steps back to watch.

Your opponent sends out Larvitar!

(Sunny Day in effect.)

Sport: 63/63

Larvitar: 67/67

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

Less:

“Not that we’ve discovered. Supposedly, it’s possible - a number of the old histories mention dimensional travel between the Spectral Dimension and here - but in practice: no. We do post the forecast for the next week’s worth of rifts in the newspaper, so people in the area know to stay inside. If you’re going to insist on this venture, that will let you know where the next two or three will be opening.”

[essCee]

"Alright, Sport! Start off with a Fake Out!" Pinklady commands, brimming with excitement about having Sport try out his newly taught move next.

[Gnomes2169]

Okay, so the pokedex wasn't going to be useful at all- OKAY SO IT WAS SHADOWING HIS POKEMON?! Nope. None of that. Mark immediately sent out Marick as well and called out, "Fisher, ice shard. Marick, metal claw!" Sure, a steel-type move would be super effective, but this seemed like a tough pokemon... and also he was kinda fine with nuking it before it could damage his team's fighting capabilities. "Mina, if you want to try catching this one, then we'd better be quick with it."

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Pinklady:

Sport uses Fake Out!
It’s not very effective…
Larvitar is hit for 7 damage!
Larvitar flinches!

Larvitar flinched!

Sport uses Drain Punch!
It’s super effective!
Larvitar is hit for 51 damage!

Larvitar uses Thrash!
Sport is hit for 27 damage!

(Sunny Day in effect.)

Sport: 36/63

Larvitar: 9/67 (recalled)

“I yield!” says the girl with the agate earrings. “Who’s next?” Without waiting for a reply she recalls her Pokémon and sits down out of the way.

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

Mark and Mina:

"Mina, if you want to try catching this one, then we'd better be quick with it."

“I thought you wanted it!” Mina replied. She already had two Spectral types, which put her ahead of the rest of the party. “Oodramer, Bubblebeam again!”

<Let me hit it!>

No! Stay back!

Fisher uses Ice Shard!
But it fails!

The very air seemed to solidify around Fisher, preventing him from moving until he finally gave up. The Pokédexes spat out more information: apparently this was a side effect of Psychic Terrain.

Miznomer uses Confusion!
Fisher is hit for 25 damage!

Oodramer uses Bubblebeam!
Miznomer is hit for 16 damage!

Marick uses Metal Claw!
It’s super effective!
Miznomer is hit for 51 damage!

Fisher is antagonized!
Fisher’s Shadow Gauge rises 12%!

Fisher’s Shadow Gauge falls 2%!

“Are we catching this thing or not?” The Miznomer now looked significantly battered.


((Psychic Terrain in effect.
Sunny Day in effect.
Trick Room in effect, 2 rounds remaining.))

Fisher: 114/139 (Shadowed: 14%, Antagonized 2 rounds)
Marick: 100/100

Oodramer: 91/91

Miznomer: ??/??? (Speed down 1 level)

[essCee]

Pinklady gives Sport an excited thumbs up and a "Great job!" before recalling him, and then sends out Tress, already ready to face whoever's next.

[Gnomes2169]

To be honest, he'd forgotten that he'd wanted to come over here due to just being angry with the shadowing. When Mina reminded him, he blinked twice and said, "Right. Fisher, return!" Hopefully that shadowing move wouldn't prevent the recall. "Marick, just wait a second bud." With that, Mark pulled out one of his great balls and threw it at this new spectral type.

[Lord Ruby34]

"It's my daughter." Less whispered. "I have to try." After a moment's pause, Less continued. "Do Pokedex signals work within the dimension itself? Once I was there, could I call her?"

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Pinklady:

The girl with the agate earrings and the boy in red bicker good-naturedly about her loss (you gather from their conversation the Larvitar was a new catch from the mountains) while their friend steps up to battle. The boy with the hemitite bracelet sends out Mawile!

Tress: 52/52

Mawile: 67/67

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

Mark and Mina:

Mark recalls Fisher!

Fortunately the Shadowing effect seems to halt once Fisher is in the safety of the Pokéball.

Mark uses a Great Ball! ((2 remaining.))

The Great Ball engulfs the tentacle monster. It shakes once…twice…thrice…DING! Miznomer was caught!

The Pokédex whirs for what seems like much longer than usual before it finally spits out a stat block.

Spoiler: Miznomer

Show

Pokémon: Miznomer
Type: Spectral/Psychic
Ability: Magic Bounce
Gender: Male
Level: 28
Held Item: Ancient Glyph*
Stats—
HP:108
Attack: 22
Defense: 50
Special Attack: 55
Special Defense: 58
Speed: 38
Moves:
Growl
Antagonize*
Confuse Ray
Trick Room
Psychic Terrain
Confusion

Spoiler: Ancient Glyph

Show

Held Item. Spectral type booster.

Spoiler: Antagonize

Show

Type: Spectral (Status)
Power: —
Accuracy: 85%
PP: 10 (max 16)

Raises target’s Shadow Gauge by 6%, +6% per round until the Pokémon is switched out (so 6% first round, 12% second round, 18% third round). Rate is doubled in the Spectral Dimension (so 12%, 24%, 36%…).

The surrounding area seemed to dim slightly with the removal of the Spectral type, the unnatural colors bleeding slowly away, though the bizarre leaf shapes remained.


((Psychic Terrain in effect.
Sunny Day in effect.
Trick Room in effect, 1 round remaining.))

Fisher: 114/139 (Shadowed: 14%, recalled)
Marick: 100/100

Oodramer: 91/91

Miznomer: ??/??? (Speed down 1 level)

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

Less:

“If she’s in range of the Pokédex itself, bearing in mind there are no satellites in the Spectral Dimension, I don’t see why not.”

Spoiler: OoC

Show

So in other words ‘yes, if she’s within a few miles and nothing is blocking the signal.’

[Gnomes2169]

Huh, seemed like it was a pokemon that would be pretty high in hit points, though he'd have to ask people in the Spectral type gym if it evolved again since its other stats seemed kinda low. Didn't seem likely that there would be much information on it in the pokedex, given how hard it had been for the device to even register the baby Cthulhu (Giratina in this universe?) clock even existed, but he still checked for it anyway, and looked up what Magic Bounce did...

"Oh. Good thing Fisher's Sing missed." He mumbled, before looking at that moves list as well. What does Psychic terrain actually do-? Oh. "OH! That's going to be super useful if we get into more gang-up fights with Bandra." If they had any super buffed pokemon on their side, that move would prevent them from being hit with chip-damage from priority moves. The fact that it was holding a spectral-boosting item without having any spectral-type damage moves was a bit weird, but could be potentially useful... probably on his Cosmas, who he knew already had one of those moves and would pick up a few stronger ones soon enough.

Once he'd finished going over everything, he handed his pokedex to Mina so she could check it out too and said, "I'd say that this was worth the diversion!" Even if Fisher had gotten a bit shadowed... at least it should clear up pretty quickly. And his loch ness monster couldn't run off like Sengar had, so he should be able to just get that done without needing to use the flute... Oh. That was something.

Pulling out his phone while giving Mina the chance to look over things on his pokedex, Mark sent Pinklady a message. "Wow, hot enough to make me wish for those stormy days again... but hey! If the Shrine people can't spare any medicines, you should check if they've dug up any time flutes, sacred talismans or dusk stones instead." Getting some of those would save the group more money in the long run anyway.

[essCee]

Pinklady:

The girl with the agate earrings and the boy in red bicker good-naturedly about her loss (you gather from their conversation the Larvitar was a new catch from the mountains) while their friend steps up to battle. The boy with the hemitite bracelet sends out Mawile!

Tress: 52/52

Mawile: 67/67

"This is a tough one... Tress, try a Faint Attack!"

Looks like this one wouldn't go down so easily, given its type...

[Lord Ruby34]

Was there a way to boost that signal, Less wondered. He was far from an expert in telecommunications, but there was probably a way, short of the satellite. "We talked about the dangers of the dimension itself, but is there anything else I should be wary of? You mentioned lord Pokemon. Is there anywhere they're known to be, anywhere I can avoid?"

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Mark and Mina:

"OH! That's going to be super useful if we get into more gang-up fights with Bandra."

“We’re going to have to be careful not to mess ourselves up with it though,” Mina pointed out. No Ice Shard for Fisher, no Quick Attack for Pidgey…at least for the enemies on the ground. Which was a lot of them.

"I'd say that this was worth the diversion!"

Mina just nodded with a smile. I hope that helps out your family too.

<It should, at least until the next rift opens.>

When is that? Mina asked, abruptly concerned.

<Nooo idea. Keeping track of that stuff is a human thing.>

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

Pinklady (while in Skybreak loading the wagon):

While you’re loading boxes your Pokédex informs you that you have a text.

Mark sent you a message!
Wow, hot enough to make me wish for those stormy days again... but hey! If the Shrine people can't spare any medicines, you should check if they've dug up any time flutes, sacred talismans or dusk stones instead.

(Battle: )

Mawile’s Intimidate cuts Tress’ Attack!

Mawile uses Iron Defense!
Mawile’s Defense rises sharply!

Tress uses Faint Attack!
It’s not very effective…
Mawile is hit for 1 damage!

Tress’ attack only manages to leave a scuff mark. The Mawile looks annoyed and immediately tries to buff it out.

Tress: 52/52

Mawile: 66/67 (Defense up 2 levels)

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

Less:

“The Lord Pokémon? They rule from seven city-states in the Spectral Dimension, but they are Pokémon and there isn’t anything stopping them from moving around. We’ve also had anecdotal reports that they have some form of long-distance communication allowing their subordinates to call for help…If you want to avoid them entirely your safest course of action would be not to go, but I think you know that. Supposedly the Lord in the southwest is benevolent, or at least not immediately hostile to human visitors.

And of course, keep in mind that there are no Pokémon Centers to fall back on. If you or your Pokémon are injured, you will have to manage it without outside help.”

[Gnomes2169]

“We’re going to have to be careful not to mess ourselves up with it though,” Mina pointed out. No Ice Shard for Fisher, no Quick Attack for Pidgey…at least for the enemies on the ground. Which was a lot of them.

"It's something we'll have to keep in mind, but trick room could help with that, too." And around half of Mark's team seemed to be on the slower end of things, anyway, so that move would help him out a bunch. "Don't need to worry about priority if you're hitting first because you're slower." ... It was going to take time to get used to tactics like that.

Putting his phone away, Mark held out his hand towards the road and asked, "But anyway, m'lady, I believe our diversion is at an end. Shall we continue our pleasant forested jaunt, that we may reach or destination before one or both of us wilt away from this day's oppressive heat?" He'd captured a pokemon that was super useful, and his mood was on an upswing at the moment. Unfortunately, this means he'll be a supreme dork.

[essCee]

Pinklady (while in Skybreak loading the wagon):

While you’re loading boxes your Pokédex informs you that you have a text.

Mark sent you a message!
Wow, hot enough to make me wish for those stormy days again... but hey! If the Shrine people can't spare any medicines, you should check if they've dug up any time flutes, sacred talismans or dusk stones instead.

Pinklady nods upon seeing the text - even though Mark is not, in fact, physically there to see such a nod - and then sends a text back of just "Ok!"

(Battle: )

Mawile’s Intimidate cuts Tress’ Attack!

Mawile uses Iron Defense!
Mawile’s Defense rises sharply!

Tress uses Faint Attack!
It’s not very effective…
Mawile is hit for 1 damage!

Tress’ attack only manages to leave a scuff mark. The Mawile looks annoyed and immediately tries to buff it out.

Tress: 52/52

Mawile: 66/67 (Defense up 2 levels)

Oh, that's not good... "Alright, Tress, use Sing!"

Spoiler: OoC

Show

Would it be ok to essentially give a "program" of what commands Pinklady would give to try to win despite the unlikelihood of it, given how excruciatingly long it would take? If so, the idea would be: Use Sing whenever it's awake, then use Haze to remove the Iron Defenses, then Bashes when asleep and bereft of its Iron Defense boosts.

[Feathersnow]

Akio decided to stay in the shade for a siesta. He really is a noble, at heart.

[Lord Ruby34]

So they'd need to come stocked with a pile of medical supplies. That would have been a good idea anyway . . . and passing around the leftovers would be a bad idea considering that exposure to the air would shadow their pokemon. But maybe starting in the south would be a good idea. Could Emilia have gone to friendly territory?

That said, Less was running out of ideas on what to ask. "What else should I know, if I am going to go to the Spectral realm?"

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Mark and Mina:

Mark got Pinklady’s ‘Ok!’ text back almost immediately.

"Don't need to worry about priority if you're hitting first because you're slower."

…Mina felt like she should argue with that, but couldn’t manage to put it into words, so she just kept silent.

"But anyway, m'lady, I believe our diversion is at an end. Shall we continue our pleasant forested jaunt, that we may reach or destination before one or both of us wilt away from this day's oppressive heat?"

Mina tried not to be amused. It wasn’t working. “Yes, let’s.”

About twenty minutes later a bend in the road revealed a nice Berry patch:

Spoiler: Berries

Show

1 Charti
3 Belue
1 Salac
2 Niptir

Is that a - ? It is! Mina poured on some speed and made a beeline for the Salac Berry plant, then called out Houndoom and gave him orders to sniff around the patch and check for signs of other people - surely this belonged to someone???

About the same time, Xatu reappeared in a nearby tree and squawked to get the humans’ attention.

<There’s another patch nearby, but it’s in the Dendrologs’ territory. They aren’t very fond of humans. And it’s off the trail and you can’t fly.>

“Which direction?” Then, for Mark’s benefit, she added, “Xatu says there’s another Berry patch nearby.”

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

Pinklady (Battle):

Spoiler: OoC

Show

Yes you can do that, just keep in mind you have to live with the consequences same as if you were doing a blow-by-blow, and I will pause it if something makes it go off the rails. For example:

Your opponent doesn’t bother with another Iron Defense.

Mawile uses Play Rough!
It’s super effective!
Tress is hit for 150 damage!
Tress faints!

The little Dark type goes flying and tumbles to a stop, obviously unconscious. Your opponent looks briefly horrified - plainly not having expected the attack to hit so hard - until his Pokédex assures him no permanent harm has been done this time.

“You, um.” He stares in Tress’ direction in mild horror while he fumbles in his pack. “You might want to give your Cosmas a little more training…work on her stats ((Seriously, EVs are your friends. And if you tried to allocate them and I forgot to put them in, get on my case about it. You don’t get any benefits from them if you don’t use them!))…but in the mean time, here.” ((+3 Roseli Berries.))


(Sunny Day in effect.)

Tress: 0/52

Mawile: 66/67 (Defense up 2 levels)

The boy in red and black is fidgeting, and when his friend clears the field he jumps up immediately to take his place.

Your opponent sends out Ryskimara!

Spoiler: Ryskimara

Show

Rarely seen by people, it defends itself by surrounding its body with fog and steam. Pieces of its fins were highly prized for use in ancient jewelry.

(Sunny Day in effect.)

Ryskimara: 77/77

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

Akio:

It’s mostly quiet - Rieva is tiny even without the heat encouraging everyone to stay out of it. After a while you hear the sounds of folding chairs being set up - it’s the old couple who run the Herb Shop: they’ve put a ‘Closed’ sign on the front door of their shop and are currently lounging out in front with cold drinks (iced tea?). You can also hear the Combee in the background around their hives, buzzing about lazily.

Spoiler: OoC

Show

How long do you want to lounge around? Anything in particular you’re waiting for or want to do?

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

Less:

“You mean other than it’s dangerous for humans and Pokémon, poorly studied, difficult to travel to or from, and you’re probably risking your life to no purpose? I suppose if you’re going to insist on going, you may as well keep an eye out for signs of Professor Hickory. Any research materials, notes, equipment…and it’s been long enough I doubt you’d find a body at this point, but of course any sign of his remains.”

[Gnomes2169]

“Which direction?” Then, for Mark’s benefit, she added, “Xatu says there’s another Berry patch nearby.”

"Then we should go for it." Mark said, looking over the sheer variety of berries here. What if they found more of the poffin berries they were looking for...? It was worth the delay to check.

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Akio:

The heat continues through the day until evening. There’s a spike of activity around lunch time - people going to eat at the inn - but otherwise it’s quiet and calm.

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

Mark and Mina:

“All right, we’ll head there next. But first,” Houndoom had indicated no signs of other humans (which, given how untended the plants were, surprised her more than it should have) so Mina picked the lot. She handed Mark a Belue, put one away for herself, and set the third by one of the now-empty plots. ((+1 Belue Berry Mark, 1 total. +1 Belue Berry Mina, 1 total.)) “Do you want the rest of these? I’ve got at least one of each of them.” And Mark had his own Planters now. “And we’ve got four more empty plots to work with, too.”

[Gnomes2169]

"Sure, I'll take the ones you don't need!" Mark's journey into a plant dad was really getting under way at this point. "And I guess we can plant the health berries that we skipped in the last patches? If you wanted more Oran and Sitrus, that is. Though maybe we should wait until we've gotten the other berries that Natu spotted, so that wild pokemon don't eat them first."

[Lord Ruby34]

"Thank you." Less replied, his voice sincere. "I know you believe what I intend to do is foolish . . . and from a practical standpoint, I find it hard to disagree. But this information has given me at least some chance of success. If I make it back, is there a way I can properly show my gratitude?" Less asked.

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Mark and Mina:

((All for Mark: +1 Belue , 2 total. +1 Charti, 2 total. +1 Salac, +2 Niptir.))

Mina recalls Houndoom. “Sounds good. Let’s go then. And Xatu? Make sure you can get us back to this spot later.”

Xatu leads the way (grumbling mentally to Mina that Mark couldn’t get his species right despite being right in front of him - Mina retorted that the bird in question needed to stay on task). Off the path the undergrowth grows increasingly thick, grasping at limbs and clothing, while the canopy closes off the light from the sun - unfortunately doing little for the blistering heat. Every now and then glowing eyes peer out of the growth - mostly in shades of orange, a few in red - but vanish deeper into the leaves before either Pokédex can get a good scan.

Xatu informs Mina it’s close by and the two humans can see more (mostly red) glows in a particular area in the distance when the brush and tree branches undiscreetly weave together to form a barrier between the area in question and the humans. At least a half-dozen pairs of glowing orange eyes fade in and out of sight much closer, watching.

<Now what? You go any farther and they’re going to attack,> a sentiment Mina conveys to Mark.

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

Less:

Professor Maxwell is abruptly all business. “If you make it back I want a full report of everything you encounter, access to any specimens you retrieve - including Pokémon - and exclusive publishing rights for same.”

[Gnomes2169]

Squinting back at the eyes, Mark pulled out Marick and Jessia's pokeballs and hmmmm'd. "... Could be useful training to fight the pack?" He suggested. Plus, if these were grass types... nodding, he sent his pokemon out. Let's see if Mark can get two new pokemon today!!!

[Lord Ruby34]

It was quite the request, but not unearned. Without the information that Professor Maxwell had provided, Less was sure that he wouldn't have even known where to start. There was still a lot of prep to do, but that was perfectly possible. Besides, Less had no intentions of publishing any of what he found. He was a teacher, but he wasn't a researcher like the good professor. "I can do that. Truly, thank you for your aid. I suppose I had better start preparing."

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Mark and Mina:

Mina looks like she’s going to say something but just ends up calling in her Pidgey and calling out her Houndoom.

The wild Pokémon emerge from the gloom: they only come up to about waist height on the humans, with bodies resembling cloaks of roots and leaves. Their heads are flat on top with rings like tree stumps, they have mossy growths like hair sticking out of the sides, and of course glowing orange eyes. There are also some differences in the facial growth - from the Pokédex scans, it seems to be gender-related.

(Sunny Day in effect.)

Marick: 100/100
Jessia: 115/115

Pidgey: 76/76
Houndoom: 100/100

Dendrolog 1: 51/51
Dendrolog 2: 54/54
Dendrolog 3: 56/56
Dendrolog 4: 62/62
Dendrolog 5: 59/59
Dendrolog 6: 64/64
Dendrolog 7: 70/70
Dendrolog 8: 59/59

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

Less:

“Of course. Good day to you.”

He hangs up without further ado.

[essCee]

Pinklady (Battle):

Spoiler: OoC

Show

Yes you can do that, just keep in mind you have to live with the consequences same as if you were doing a blow-by-blow, and I will pause it if something makes it go off the rails. For example:

Your opponent doesn’t bother with another Iron Defense.

Mawile uses Play Rough!
It’s super effective!
Tress is hit for 150 damage!
Tress faints!

The little Dark type goes flying and tumbles to a stop, obviously unconscious. Your opponent looks briefly horrified - plainly not having expected the attack to hit so hard - until his Pokédex assures him no permanent harm has been done this time.

“You, um.” He stares in Tress’ direction in mild horror while he fumbles in his pack. “You might want to give your Cosmas a little more training…work on her stats ((Seriously, EVs are your friends. And if you tried to allocate them and I forgot to put them in, get on my case about it. You don’t get any benefits from them if you don’t use them!))…but in the mean time, here.” ((+3 Roseli Berries.))


(Sunny Day in effect.)

Tress: 0/52

Mawile: 66/67 (Defense up 2 levels)

The boy in red and black is fidgeting, and when his friend clears the field he jumps up immediately to take his place.

Your opponent sends out Ryskimara!

Spoiler: Ryskimara

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Rarely seen by people, it defends itself by surrounding its body with fog and steam. Pieces of its fins were highly prized for use in ancient jewelry.

(Sunny Day in effect.)

Ryskimara: 77/77

Pinklady immediately heads to Tress as she's knocked out and kneels over her. "Sorry, Tress..." She looks up at her opponent and gratefully accepts the berries. "Thank you... I hadn't exactly battled her like usual before catching her, so I didn't really know how strong she was." Pinklady looks again at Tress, apologises again, and then recalls her.

Not too shaken to not continue the battle, Pinklady then gets back up and sends out her choice of Pokémon for her last opponent - "Go, Croaky! Change things up with a Rain Dance!"