Dual Pokemon Quest

[Space Jawa]

Lee couldn't disagree with Kai's statement, a Wurmple and a Slowpoke did not make for a very impressive team. Not that Lee said anything to comment on Kai's team, he didn't want to be rude.

"Let's see...my team, there's Archer, he's my Rowlet that I started with, I have a Vibrava named Crunchbite that recently evolved from a Trapinch I caught north of the desert, a Vulpix named Nova that joined me outside of Lavaridge Town, and then a Magikarp named Fathom that I adopted at the Lavaridge Pokemon Center."

[X] Introduce Kai to Lee's team.

 

[Tascion]

[x]Introduce the Klefki to Sam and Zahra. Get them to show the Klefki the Dragon Dance they use. If Zahra doesn't have enough water or room, see if Uri can hold her up in the air while she shows off.
[x]Compliment the Klefki's jingling metal strips, especially as metal is not common in forests. Ask about if there are any special stories behind them. Tell some stories in return, perhaps about the sableye gem, fighting a pirate on a tropical island, making a mosaic of a dragon on a new island of dragon stone, and most recently about startling a mawile.
[x]Ask about what it wants to do in the future.

 

[Blacksheep]

Kai exclaimed eagerly over Lee's team. "You're building quite a powerful team. Magikarp aren't easy to train up into gyarados. Well, getting one to evolve is relatively easy, the trick is not losing control of it once it does." He laughed. "There's a reason why most people don't bother! Not to mention the slog of having to deal with a magikarp."

"Want to trade tips? My slowpoke is on the slower side too, it might help."

[ ]Write-in

 

[Blacksheep]

Jaden was eager to introduce the klefki to the rest of his team. He'd show it the dragon dance, and he'd tell it about their adventures, and ask about how it got the metal it used on its ring. There was a lot to share!

When he arrived however, it was to several marills laughing at Sam, exhausted and bruised on the ground. Zahra was clearly having a good time swimming around in the stream and giving the occasional challenges to the fairy pokemon. The charmander on the other hand had clearly kept on challenging the fairy pokemon until he couldn't get up anymore, and tried to push even past that.

[ ]Return the pokemon, apologize, and leave to rest at camp
[ ]Immediately check if Sam is alright
[ ]Ask about what happened
[ ]Write-in

 

[Space Jawa]

"I don't think I know anything about Slowpoke or Wurmple, but sure."

[X] Agree (as much as possible)

 

[Tascion]

[x]Hustle over to Sam and take care of him.
-[x]Check him over for injuries
-[x]If Sam is just exhausted, offer to let him rest in his pokeball until the evening.
-[x]If he's hurt, use a potion or other appropriate remedy on him, and insist that he rest in his pokeball.
-[x]If he doesn't want to rest, get him some water and help him get seated more comfortably to watch Zahra meet the Klefki.
[x]Ask Uri to introduce the Klefki to Zahra, and to ask Zahra to show the Klefki her Dragon Dance.

 

[Blacksheep]

Kai was thrilled with the chance to exchange tips. He explained that his slowpoke trained better with others beside him, and building up muscle memory allowed the slowpoke to respond automatically even if he didn't realize what he was doing. It was a bit like working with a sleep walker, only the slowpoke would respond to actual stimuli. He listened to Lee speak about how he'd trained his magikarp and had suggestions on how to push the magikarp by having it hit harder targets or work for its food. Surely that would get Fathom more involved and working harder.

Kai spent some time working with his team. The wurmple was clearly easily trained and followed commands with ease, while the slowpoke did indeed respond slowly.

[ ]Write-in

 

[Blacksheep]

Jaden rushed to his starter's side and checked him over. It was a relief to have it confirmed that Sam was simply exhausted, not hurt. Sam was more than happy to take the offer of his pokeball as an excuse to escape the amused fairy pokemon and hide away. His feelings were hurt by his lack of victories and the fairy pokemon being amused by him tiring himself out in his attempts.

Jaden sat down and asked Uri to introduce the klefki to Zahra in the meantime. The gyarados playfully splashed the pair as soon as they got in range, Uri looking exasperated at his damp fur sticking to his body. He spoke for a time, and Zahra joyfully leaped into the air to do her dragon dance. She still wasn't quite as good as Sam was at it, but it had smoothed out quite a bit, and was being adapted well for her serpentine body. It looked almost hypnotic as she channeled dragon energy around herself.

The klefki spun around, and soon other pokemon began to join in and dance. Zahra quickly found herself moving to coil around Jaden as fairy type energy built in the air. It wasn't oppressive, but it was quick to destroy the dragon type energy she had gathered and encouraged everyone to follow along.

[ ]Join the dance
[ ]Resist (roll for willpower)
[ ]Watch and cheer
[ ]Write-in

 

[Tascion]

[x]Jaden feels unsettled about Sam's situation, even if he thinks the klefki is very cool.
-[x]Gather up the team to sit and watch the dance. Don't get separated anymore.
-[x]Watch the dance, and enjoy it, but be careful of getting drawn in.

 

[Space Jawa]

[X] Challenge Kai to a training battle.
-[X] 1v1, 2 Pokemon Each
--[X] Plan to take notes on both your own and Kai's performances, both to learn from the experience and so there's notes that can be offered to Kai after the battle is over.

 

[Blacksheep]

Kai was more than happy to agree to a training battle. They headed to an area by the pokemon center that was set aside for such things. Kai took some time to set up some cameras to record the battle before he took a step back and released his wurmple onto the field. "Ready!"

[ ]Write-in

 

[Blacksheep]

Jaden settled in with his team, assuring himself of his connections with everyone and staying still. The dancing was really beautiful, and he liked the klefki, but Sam worried him. That was his starter, the first pokemon he'd bonded with, and the one that he had to admit to being closest to. Sam had really helped him with his psychic abilities, and was always one of the first to join Jaden in whatever he was doing. He didn't like thinking about Sam exhausted and being mocked.

Even with all of that, his team was slowly pulled into the dance. Everyone stayed close, forming their own small circle, but they danced with Jaden at the center. Jaden kept connected with everyone, reveling in the feeling of being together. When the dance finally came to an end Jaden could only cheer along with everyone else.

[ ]Leave to head back to camp
[ ]Thank the fairy pokemon for the fun
[ ]Talk to the klefki
[ ]Write-in

 

[Space Jawa]

"Huh." Lee thought. It looked like Kai might be doing a lot more with the 'taking notes' thing that Lee could have even considered.

[X] Open with Fathom
-[X] Have Archer, Nova, and Crunchbite on the sidelines to watch
-[X] Focus on hitting from range with Water Gun, use Tackle if Hex presents an opening to get up close and personal

 

[Blacksheep]

"Alright, just like we trained!" Kai called. "Stringshot to slow it down!" The wurmple shot string out at Fathom. The magikarp wriggled about. "Now follow it up with a tackle!"

Fathom cheerfully interrupted this charge with a weak water gun. Kai was startled to see the magikarp do so. The wurmple wavered slightly, clearly thrown off balance but still wanting to keep up fighting. "Alright, try swinging!" The wurmple paused before executing a clearly heavily practiced stringshot that was used to swing across the field. The wurmple couldn't do anything else while swinging. Fathom couldn't quite hit the wurmple while it was moving, but got it with another water gun once it landed.

"Come on Hex! Try to close the distance!" The wurmple did its best charge at the magikarp. Fathom splashed eagerly before meeting the wurmple head to head with his own tackle. The wurmple was more agile, but couldn't hit nearly as hard.

[ ]Write-in

 

[Space Jawa]

"Impressive move with the swinging." Lee said, complimenting Kai and his Wurmple.

"But will it be impressive enough?" He added, not wanting to get too friendly while the battle was happening. It was a training battle, which meant both that winning still had some value - just not nearly as much as it did during a standard battle - and it was important that they both grow from the experience.

On Lee's side, that did mean he had to hold back at least a little, he didn't want to utterly crush Kai and deprive him of any real possibility of growth. But seeing how the Wurmple was performing versus Fathom, Lee was feeling really good about the way the battle was going.

[X] Try to exploit Fathom's ability to hit harder than Hex can
-[X] Aim to force the battle into a more direct conflict which will enable Fathom to overpower Hex and win through brute force
--[X] Be alert for any tricks Hex might try to exploit his use of String Shot and superior agility

 

[Tascion]

[x]Talk to the klefki
-[x]Jaden is interested in the klefki joining the team. He would like to come visit tomorrow and discuss things further
-[x]Excuse themselves, so Jaden and his pokemon can return to camp
[x]Have talk with Sam about what happened, and what Sam wanted out of today

 

[Blacksheep]

"We'll just have to see, won't we?" Kai grinned. "Hex, try and get to the side! Don't meet it head on!" The wurmple did his best to charge forward and keep to Fathom's side. The magikarp struggled to keep up. It let Hex get in more hits, but each hit Fathom managed landed harder. Both pokemon looked tired out when Hex finally managed to take Fathom down. Kai cheered and hoisted his wurmple up. The wurmple gave a tired squeak of happiness before letting out a long spray of string. It quickly began to wrap around the wurmple, and a moment later Kai held a silcoon in his arms.

"Well, I guess he was closer to evolving than I thought!" Kai grinned and looked at Lee. "Good battle! How on earth did you get your magikarp to learn water gun?" He carefully returned Hex to his pokeball before sending Gazer out on the field.

[ ]Write-in

 

[Blacksheep]

Jaden turned to the klefki. He told it that he'd had a great time, but he needed to get back to camp. He planned to come back tomorrow though, and he really wanted to see it again! He wanted to talk about it joining his team if it wanted. The klefki seemed quite cheerful and agreed to do so.

Back in camp Jaden let Sam out. The charmander stretched out and leaned into Jaden. "Hey buddy. Feeling better?" Sam yawned. He was clearly fine, couldn't Jaden see that? But the tinge of embarrassment remained. "What happened?"

Sam looked down and away. He'd just wanted to fight. He was so strong, and he'd gotten so good at it. He had thought it would be easy to fight against the marills and prove himself. He was a great dragon! He didn't understand what had gone wrong. And they had laughed at him! He had tried so hard, and it hadn't worked, and he didn't understand.

[ ]Talk to Sam about losing
[ ]Talk to Sam about being a slower growing pokemon
[ ]Talk to Sam about training
[ ]Write-in

 

[Tascion]

[x]Talk to Sam about losing
-[x]You've lost battles before, why were these different?
-[x]Does trying hard guarantee success? Zahra tried really really hard to swim up a waterfall. She tried so hard that she was hurting herself, but she didn't make it.
-[x]The marills wanted to laugh at you. Didn't they get to laugh more when you gave into their goading to keep fighting?
-[x]Being good at fighting takes a long time.
-[x]Hug Sam a lot, for not having good answers.

 

[Space Jawa]

"I didn't." Lee answered, having recalled the defeated Fathom. "He already had it when I adopted him. I have no idea how he learned it."

[X] Send in Crunchbite.
-[X] Don't go all-out, try to get a sense of how powerful and dangerous Gazer is so Crunchbite can do just well enough to make Kai and Gazer work for a potential win without just giving them a win.

 

[Blacksheep]

Jaden wanted to help Sam, he really did. He was a bit at a loss of how, but he was going to try. He asked why this was different when Sam had lost before. Sam firmly replied he'd been younger and not as strong then. But he was stronger now, so he should stop losing. When had Sam started to think he was unstoppable?

Jaden pointed out how Zahra had tried to jump the waterfall, and had gotten farther than a lot of other magikarps, but had still fallen short. She'd tried so hard she hurt herself, just like Sam had tiring himself out. Sam couldn't just will himself to win. Sam puffed up and began to animatedly yap away about how he was a dragon, that he deserved to win and take everything on. He was going to be incredible! Why couldn't it be now?

Jaden hugged Sam tightly. "Being good at fighting isn't quick. I know you want it to be, but it isn't. Pushing yourself beyond your limits, it just let those marills laugh at you. And I bet you didn't like that." No, Sam really hadn't. "There's not any answer better than you just need time." Sam snorted unhappily. He really hated time.

The group went to sleep, Sam still unhappy, but at least assured his trainer was on his side.

[ ]Go back to the fairy ring immediately
[ ]Spend the morning training
[ ]Write-in

 

[Blacksheep]

"Not a catch from a river?" Kai winced as the vibrava brought up a sandstorm. Gazer finally responded and let out a jet of water to turn the ground to mud. Crunchbite ducked down and began to burrow like he was used to, still not entirely used to adapting his new form in battle. Thankfully his vibrava form still allowed him to dig with ease, even if he was more clumsy in the mud than he would have been as a trapinch. "Use confusion!" Kai ordered.

[ ]Write-in

 

[Tascion]

[x]Spend a quiet hour or so this morning as a team
[x]Head back to the fairy ring
-[x]Introduce Sam and Zahra to the klefki
-[x]No battles today, even if taunted about it.

(Took me a while to figure out what I thought Jaden would do)

 

[Space Jawa]

As much as Lee wanted to continue the discussion about Fathom, there were enough signs that the Slowpoke might actually pose more of a threat to Crunchbite than Lee had expected.

[X] Crunchbite use Dig into Astonish

 

[Blacksheep]

Crunchbite dug down. It was more of a flailing into the ground than the smooth movement it used to be, but he still quickly vanished below. Gazer took a long moment before tilting her head in confusion as the absence of her opponent registered. "Gazer, quick! More water!" Gazer slowly turned to do so only to be hit as Crunchbite came up with Astonish. That drew a bellow of shock from the slowpoke, and a slightly faster response. Crunchbite half dug down again as Gazer sent out another wave of confusion.

OOC: thinking finish this fight next post