Dual Pokemon Quest

[Blacksheep]

Jaden reached out to the psychic net slowly. He started with Oliver and Sam of course. He knows them, they're familiar. Sam is a warm presence guarding in his mind, happy to be so close with his human and willing to follow wherever he leads. Oliver isn't handling the mental contact as well. There's a lot of confusion, and his mind's more disorganized. It's obvious that he's not really meant for this kind of contact like Jaden and Sam are. He's doing his best of course, and seems comforted by the fact that it's Jaden and Sam, but it feels similar to watching a zigzagoon swim out in a lake. Doable, and sometimes fun, but mostly the zigzagoon is confused to how it got out there in the water in the first place.

Once the pokemon were settled with Jaden, Oliver taking comfort curled in the back of the connection and Sam ready to help blaze the way forward, Jaden reached towards the unfamiliar parts. He just brushed the edges first. Something that felt wise reached back, gentle in welcoming the young psychic. They were happy to meet Jaden and his team. This place was safe. All of the pokemon here would work to keep from overwhelming Jaden as he learned. They took care of each other. Jaden could be part of that.

[ ]Follow the wise one's lead and learn from them
[ ]Use the safety offered to explore independently
[ ]Focus on looking for an abra
[ ]Write-in

 

[Tascion]

[X]Follow the wise one's lead and learn from them
-[x]"This must be what experienced trainers mean about learning from Pokemon!"
-[x] maybe this wise one is a giant Abra, and this is both an opportunity to find an Abra and start learning more from one already

 

[Blacksheep]

Jaden is out there having a completely abnormal experience and has no clue XD

 

[Space Jawa]

What Crunchbite could do was pretty good, apparently. It was an impressive display, all things considered, and Lee considered himself fortunate that the Trapinch had been off his game or something when he'd first encountered the pokemon.

He was almost inclined to let Crunchbite keep doing what he was doing, but he suspected that Crunchbite was prepared to keep doing the same thing in repeat, and that Discord would likely figure it out and adapt to counter sooner rather than later.

[X][Crunchbite] Use Astonish when Absol moves in to try to make it flinch.
-[X] After that happens: Follow up with Sand Attack to try to temporarily block its vision.
--[X] After that happens: While it's busy trying to see again, try to hide underground to hit with an ambush from below.

 

[Blacksheep]

The wise presence guides Jaden through sensing the other presences nearby and picking up their identities. It's like a unique feel, or coloration, or sound. Perhaps a bit of all of them mixed together, but Jaden knows he'll be able to recognize mental identities now. He's taught how to knock politely to start a conversation, and has a strange experience of sharing his perspective on how his day has gone with a natu. It's a bit much, and the wiser presence that's guarding Jaden steps in. Another presence steps up to work on the foretelling the natu was doing and help sort through it while the original presence with Jaden helps smooth out the fragments of possibilities that Jaden had caught sight of.

He's introduced to a kadabra that's contemplating the weight of the world and how to shift it, their mind racing with mathematics far too advanced for Jaden to grasp. He has a feeling that his guide is not, in fact, an abra like he thought. It feels more similar to the natu, but he isn't being overwhelmed with the glimpses of possibilities the natu had accidentally spilled as it had shared how it had gone about its day. Jaden asks about that and receives amusement as she reveals herself as a xatu.

She does a lot of divining, but the psychic gems here help provide a clarity and protection to keep her rooted in the present. She can scry farther abroad when she's able to move laterally instead of simply through time. Jaden drinks it in intently. He can feel how the psychic net helps to amplify abilities and gives them direction. When one of them reaches the others subconsciously boost and guard. He can even feel a small part of himself smoothing out ripples in the net now that he's looking at it.

It's like another layer of reality that he wasn't quite able to access before. His guide explains that it's easy for him to do here because of the gems and the psychic net. Away from other psychic pokemon or items that boost psychic abilities it will be much more difficult for Jaden to achieve what he's doing here and now. He's more than welcome to stay and learn of course. The basics of how to communicate, how to view what's there, and the grasp of what's possible, is the least of what he will carry away.

[ ]Agree to stay and learn more
[ ]Ask how to scry
[ ]Ask about divining possibilities
[ ]Ask about abras
[ ]Ask about the math
[ ]Ask about enhancing abilities
[ ]Ask about the connection with Sam
[ ]Write-in

 

[Blacksheep]

Ash was impressed with the gumption of the young trapinch. He was really trying to get in there and take on Discord, despite the absol clearly being way stronger and experienced. Crunchbite was focusing on holding a defensive drive as well, at least until Lee stepped up and suggested a more aggressive direction. Crunchbite did indeed use astonish, and Discord politely stepped back at the move. Discord was a lot less happy with the sand attack that followed up, leaving Discord to snort and shake his head in distress.

Crunchbite rapidly began to dig. Or at least, he attempted to. It was very obvious that Crunchbite did not know how to do this efficiently or quickly. He was making a solid little hole, but it was messy around him, and only partly covered the trapinch. It gave Discord plenty of time to walk over and roll the trapinch over onto his back. Crunchbite rocked back and forth trying to get back up as Discord held him down and looked to Ash for instruction.

"Not a bad idea, but practicing a move before trying it out for the first time in a battle is better," Ash advised.

[ ]Give up
[ ]Ask Crunchbite to bite Discord and keep going
[ ]Write-in

 

[Space Jawa]

So long as Crunchbite was willing and able to keep going, Lee wasn't going to betray his Pokemon by just surrendering.

[X] Ask Crunchbite to bite Discord and keep going

 

[Tascion]

[x]Ask about the connection with Sam
-[x]This wasn't as normal as Jaden thought. He'd not heard of something like this, beyond the generalities of psychic pokemon. He was starting to doubt that it applied to trainers in general, and it was possibly unusual even for trainers working with psychic pokemon. He wasn't sure what he wanted from this, but a good trainer prioritized his pokemon. While Oliver seemed fine, Jaden guessed that his relationship with Sam was not as normal as he thought. As such, that was what he'd asked about.

 

[Blacksheep]

Ash raised a brow. Lee was a determined one. A lot of trainers would have given up, but he was believing in his pokemon instead. Crunchbite looked to be doing his best to live up to that as well. He managed to twist himself up and bite onto Discord's paw yet again. The absol yelped in complaint and again started the tedious work of shaking the trapinch off.

This repeated a few more times before Discord finally had enough and backed off. Crunchbite was clearly exhausted, but refusing to budge from the hole he had dug. Discord could get him out, but the absol had decided this was way too much effort after being bitten so many times. Ash snickered. "Alright Discord, you can stop now." The absol retreated to sit by his trainer in relief. "You've certainly got a fighter in that one. Expand his movepool, and he'll be a real threat on the field."

The rangers were happy to talk with Lee about how to best help a pokemon master a move and praise for how well the small team was doing. That night Lee finally decided to reach into the current running through the area.

It was unfamiliar. The current around his hometown had been rocky. This one had a smoother edge to it, and yet, there was a challenge. The current screamed of testing, of challenging that which would claim life here to rise up and prove itself. Around the ranger station there was a softer touch, a promise of temporary rest, but the edges of the current always threatened to wash back over it. The place was safe because they withstood the challenge and proved themselves, and offered it back out. If they fell, the safety would fall with it. And it offered this challenge to Lee. Come and fight, come and prove that he deserved to stand here and be part of the canyons. Prove that he stood equal with the life that lived here.

[ ]Dive further into the details of the current
[ ]Go to seek out the challenge
[ ]Withdraw for now
[ ]Write-in

 

[Blacksheep]

Jaden hesitated for a moment before reaching out to the xatu and drawing her attention to Sam. Sam was special. Sam was his starter, his charmander, the one he was mentally bonded with. And that was part of what concerned him. Jaden had assumed that the bond he had formed with Sam was normal. Everyone talks about how special their first pokemon is after all, and the connection they have. But Jaden was getting the sense that they didn't mean that as literally as how Jaden experienced it. He certainly wasn't connected that way with Oliver.

The xatu studied Sam's presence curiously. Sam mentally puffed up, encircling around Jaden's mind and being as possessive as, well, a dragon. The xatu was gentle in studying how Sam connected to Jaden before pulling back to speak. The bond was unusual, yes, but not unheard of. At times there were pokemon and humans that were meant for each other more than other pokemon and humans were. Ones that would form a connection like this, meant to help each other grow and empower each other. As long as Jaden and Sam looked after each other and did their best for each other, their bond would be a strength that would bring them to new heights.

It could destroy them as well, but the xatu barely brushed over that fact, a mere glimpse of a possibility among the many many positive ones that the xatu saw laid out before them. Jaden and Sam would have to travel very far from who they were to destroy themselves. But Jaden had already seen the benefits, hadn't he? How Sam helped to stabilize Jaden's gifts, and protect him. It allowed Sam a deeper understanding of the world, and to work better with him. It would continue in that way.

[ ]Agree to stay and learn more
[ ]Ask how to scry
[ ]Ask about divining possibilities
[ ]Ask about abras
[ ]Ask about the math
[ ]Ask about enhancing abilities
[ ]Write-in

 

[Tascion]

[x]Ask about divining possibilities
-[x]Jaden wasn't entirely sure what all of this psychic stuff meant. He had the impression that divining offered the chance to find ways of getting to what he wanted. While asking the nice xatu about an Abra seemed like it could work, he figured that learning how to find stuff on his own might slow down his search for an abra it would help him in the long run. He also wasn't sure about the differences between scrying and divining, but a half-remmebered movie suggested that divining was like fortune telling and so maybe he could eitehr tell himself his fortunes for finding an Abra or Abras seemed like they'd like that kind of thing so while he was learning an Abra might find him and like him all the more for it.

As I work out Jaden's personality, I'm feeling like he's got just enough space in his head for working towards one goal at a time and enough stubbornness to not really change his current goal without more than the average good reason. Even if something new is probably more important than a particular pokemon he thinks is cool, or whatever else his current goal is at the time. More usually new information (or whatever) gets worked into a new plan for an otherwise unchanged goal.

 

[Blacksheep]

Really enjoying how Jaden's developing. He's got good focus and curiosity, and just enough sense to stay alive with enough naivety to plunge ahead anyways

 

[Space Jawa]

"Good job, Crunchbite." Lee said as he gave his Trapinch pats on the head, ensuring the pokemon was congratulated for his battle performance. "You got a really cunning mind in that head of yours. Should make for some good times once we finally get you some real training proper like."

---

Lee Hinsu felt a certain uneasiness as he finally tapped into the local...'current'? That's what it was called, wasn't it. It had been some time since he'd actually stepped back into it in any capacity. There was the subconscious presence that was there at all times, of course, but to really feel it, that was something different.

He'd barely begun to get back into it, he certainly wasn't going to jump off the deep end from the word 'go'.

[X] Dive further into the details of the current

 

[Blacksheep]

The xatu was hesitant at Jaden's response this time. Jaden thought that seeing possible futures would be useful. He could use it to guide towards the fortune! But the future is not straightforward. It is not a river, or a tree, but a tapestry in the midst of being woven, with threads easily inserted or removed, altering the pattern that lays out. Jaden could learn it however, and it was safer to learn here, in this place with others that could help him, then risk him attempting it on his own.

She did her best to leave this impression of how flexible the future was, how it constantly shifted, into the young human's mind. He was eager to learn and use things, and divination could be useful, but he needed to know to not rely on it. Such could be dangerous, especially as he was not naturally inclined towards that particular gift. Once that was gone she began to guide him. It was a touch tricky, as the methods for peering into the future tended to need to be matched to the user. Jaden found that it worked best when

[ ]he gazed into fire
[ ]he gazed into water
[ ]he listened to the wind
[ ]he followed impulses, emotions
[ ]he focused on dreams when he slept
[ ]he used cards and pictures
[ ]he cast runes
[ ]write-in

[ ]Agree to stay and learn more
[ ]Ask how to scry
[ ]Ask about abras
[ ]Ask about the math
[ ]Ask about enhancing abilities
[ ]Write-in

 

[Blacksheep]

The surface of the current was perhaps the easiest part to touch. It revealed the lay of how the land's heart beat. Diving further into the details would start revealing the state of individual things living within. Deeper still, and one could know intimately a living thing's heart. But Lee wasn't going that deep yet. He was being careful as he let himself sink deeper down into what was there. He could sense a small herd of lairon with aron that had recently broken off from a herd. They were leaving behind the home they had grown in, and there was a sense of worry along with anticipation as they sought out their own patch in the mountains to dwell in. There was the deep still calm of fighting pokemon as they trained, and the heightened adrenaline of a tropius being taken down by a group of manectrics. There was the steady determination of the plants that clung to life and the silent battle fought among each other. The steady pass of an ursaring as she foraged for food contrasted against the thrill of a vibrava as he danced through the sky. The vibrava caught against Lee inviting him to join and feel the pulse of his life as one.

[ ]Join the vibrava
[ ]Keep observing from a surface level
[ ]Look for something specific in the current
[ ]Withdraw
[ ]Write-in

 

[Tascion]

[X]write-in
-[X]Looking at reflections
-[X]Reality was what he sensed directly, but looking at things in their reflection resulted in things slowly changing into what they might become or experience in the future.
[X]Ask about abras
-[X]Jaden figured that the whole psionic stuff would be like school. Both never-ending and safely ignored outside of more important things in life. Staying and learning would be boring, he was a pokemon trainer and that meant training pokemon

I'm expecting Jaden will eventually self-actualize beyond "Pokemon are cool", but... he's 11 right now.

 

[Space Jawa]

The situation was, in a word, 'overwhelming'. It was like...Lee had seen a vast ocean, and wanted to see more, but in a move of ill-concieved impulsiveness he'd jumped in a small paddle boat to do it and now had nothing more than that small boat to try to cross the entire ocean.

He pulled back, trying not to lose himself.

[X][Current] Withdraw

 

[Blacksheep]

Jaden was very pleased with learning how to peer into the water to see possibilities. The way the reflections shifted was fun, and would definitely be useful in the future. But he was here for a reason. This was all cool, but he was here to be a pokemon trainer, not get sucked into learning. So he asked the xatu about abras.

The xatu was very amused by Jaden's request, and directed his attention towards a cluster of abras that were dreaming together.

Now, everyone knows that abras spend most of their time asleep. What quickly became apparent to Jaden however, was that asleep did not mean aware. This wasn't a soft awareness of what was happening around them, being just awake enough to teleport away from danger or do the bare minimum while they slept. This was a full submersion into a psychic dream realm, sharing with other psychic pokemon and experiencing the world that way. For an abra, this was far more real than the world they experienced while awake. It was the time spent in physical reality that was like a dream.

The abras were curious about the human who approached their cluster, and eagerly pulled Jaden into their shared dream. Sam was quick to follow, keeping Jaden from being plunged into the current game the abra were playing of seeing how deeply they could dive into the physics of the world without breaking anything. Kept on the edge Jaden could just barely catch the meaning of the games. One of the more curious abras poked at Jaden, asking why he was there if he wasn't there to play.

[ ]Talk about wanting a buddy to travel with
[ ]Talk about wanting a psychic partner to learn with
[ ]Talk about wanting a team to battle with
[ ]Write-in

 

[Blacksheep]

Pulling back out of the current took time. When Lee surfaced he was far more tired than it felt like he should be, like he had just finished a good solid workout, or finished stretching a muscle he wasn't used to using a lot. He returned to his room heavily tired and passed out quickly.

Camp Actions
[ ]Look at what pokemon are near the path, open for human interaction
[ ]Ask about Ranger work
[ ]Head into the desert
[ ]Turn back into the mountains
[ ]Take the risk of tapping into the current
[ ]Stargaze
[ ]Write-in

Pokemon Actions
[ ]Train pokemon in battle
-[ ]Train Archer
-[ ]Train Crunchbite
-[ ]Train the team together
-[ ]Write-in specific training (speed, offense, dodging, train a move)
[ ]Play with your pokemon
-[ ]Archer
-[ ]Crunchbite
-[ ]Play with them together
[ ]Write-in

 

[Space Jawa]

As long as the Rangers weren't planning to give Lee Hinsu the boot out the door, he wanted to make the most of what was there. Sure, he certainly didn't want to overstay his welcome, but why waste the opportunity in front of him?

More than anything, Lee was interested in the other trainers in the area. Ash and Cara had been a breath of fresh air, but there were supposedly several other trainers in the area. Having not met any other humans for the whole trip from Fallarbor to the Ranger Station, he was eager to meet some more new people.

[X][Camp] See about locating any of the other trainers supposedly in the area.
-[X] See what Pokemon you might run across while you're at it.

[X][Pokemon] Spend time for Lee and Archer to get to know Cruchbite, and vice versa.

[X][Pokemon] Train Crunchbite
-[X] Crunchbite seems to have made really good progress toward learning Dig already, help him get the rest of the way there.

 

[Tascion]

[ ]Talk about wanting a buddy to travel with
[ ]Talk about wanting a psychic partner to learn with
[ ]Talk about wanting a team to battle with

[X]"I'm here with the Call to Adventure! To explore what's unknown to us! To grow in our abilities! I'm Jaden, a pokemon trainer. I'm exploring the world, and I think I've explored maybe five percent of the whole world already. My teammates and I seek out challenges. So far, that's included things like running through the woods and exploring a mystical realm of fairy Pokemon.
-[X]"Would one of you like to join us? I'm Jaden, I like quiet spaces, computers, running around, and exploring with Sam and Oliver. I also just learned today that I am psychic. That might be important later. A nice Xatu told me about it and taught me how to see the future in water. Sam joined me first, and is from the same city as me. He likes fire and is smart because he's been to a museum. Oliver joined us next, and he's from the part of the world outside of the Safari. He's the best of us at nature stuff. We're exploring right now, and that's not yet included any serious fights. However, we'll need to beat gyms eventually, and there's always a chance of danger. I like Abras, because bending spoons with your minds is cool, and so is teleporting. If one of you would like to join us, that would be really neat.

 

[Blacksheep]

The abras listened with some interest to Jaden's pitch for adventure, explaining his plans to seek out all kinds of things and fight gyms. Most of the abras were more interested in staying to explore their dreams further. They were learning so much, and it offered all the adventure that they felt they wanted. One however, did reach out, expressing interest in what could be found in the physical world. It was where most other pokemon and humans lived after all. Checking it out with someone as adventurous as Jaden as his companions sounded interesting.

The abra teleported over to them and settled nearby. Oliver immediately set to sniffing their new companion, who appeared to be sleeping, while Sam poked the abra curiously. This was supposed to be a new friend? How when they were just sleeping?

One abra acquired
brave, persistent, male

What's his name?
[ ]Write-in

[ ]Visit the Water Area
[ ]Visit the Psychic Area
[ ]Visit the Forest Area
[ ]Visit the Fields Area
[ ]Visit the Jungle Area
[ ]Ask to learn from a ranger
[ ]Write-in

Pokemon Actions
[ ]Train your pokemon in battle
-[ ]Write-in specific training (speed, offense, dodging, train a move)
--[ ]Train pokemon team
--[ ]Train Oliver
--[ ]Train Sam
-[ ]Train abra
[ ]Play with your pokemon
-[ ]With all
-[ ]With Oliver
-[ ]With Sam
-[ ]With abra
[ ]Write-in

Travel
[ ]Turn north up Route 120
[ ]Head to the dock to catch a boat towards Mt Pyre
[ ]Head back to Lilycove

 

[Tascion]

[X]Name the Abra Uri
[X]Introduce Sam and Oliver to Uri
[X]Ask to learn from a ranger
-[X]What are some suggestions for training as a group, and working with each pokemon's specific traits as part of a group?
-[X]Can we do a mock 2v2 battle, with Sam and Oliver, so that they can practice and Uri can watch them and see what pokemon battles are like?

 

[Blacksheep]

Crunchbite was still a relatively new addition to the team. It was clear that Lee approved of the trapinch, and Archer was happy to have someone new along, but he wasn't well known. So their human choosing to spend time getting to know the little trapinch was well welcomed. Crunchbite was happy to take in the attention too. Currently his main interests were in observing the world around him and taking his time to investigate things. He didn't like being rushed, and would snap if pushed to go too fast. Once he had settled on something however he moved as quick as he could. The little fellow could be very fast once he had a chance to gain speed.

Training him to use Dig properly was a task Crunchbite took to with a level of unexpected enthusiasm. He had an idea of how it should go about, and actually had to be corrected on that, as he wasn't activating the move properly. Once he got it, he really got it, and was tunneling everywhere. Archer was delighted by this new game of pop up that Crunchbite had come up with, fluttering over the holes to try and guess which one Crunchbite would pop back up from.

It was traveling around on the trail that lead to one of the more interesting encounters. A couple around Lee's age was traveling through the mountains with plans to head into the desert. The girl explained excitedly that she had heard there were ruins in the desert that only appeared when the sun was starting to set, and was supposed to hold all kinds of secrets. Her boyfriend was much less excited about the whole adventure, but was exceedingly doting on the girl. They both had full teams they were training. They had taken their pokemon journeys in Kanto, and were now traveling through other regions.

[ ]Ask for a battle with them
[ ]Ask about what their journeys were like
[ ]Ask about training
[ ]Ask more about the ruins in the desert
[ ]Write-in

 

[Space Jawa]

The encounter with the couple felt a bit like a minor sign. Sure, they were way out of Lee's league, both being full veterans of entirely different regions and with full teams. But Lee had been planning to go to the desert next anyway. Perhaps there was opportunity there!

Battling them may have seemed like little more than an opportunity to get his butt kicked, but perhaps he could still get something out of them anyway. They'd already clued him in to rumors of ruins he'd never heard of before; if they were all going the same direction anyway perhaps they could go the same direction together and some of what the more experienced couple had learned might rub off on Lee.

Assuming they wouldn't think of him as a third wheel or anything like that.

[X] Ask about what their journeys were like
[X] Ask more about the ruins in the desert
[X] Ask about accompanying them, at least for now (seeing as you were all planning to go to the desert anyway...)