Field Exercise I: Wednesday End
- Pronouns
- She/Her
"Pretty exciting—" Miss Leaf munches "—day for you kids, huh?" After finding Mr. Watterson, your group went back to Cortondo to escort him and his Pokemon to the local Deux Association headquarters. Where he is currently getting chewed out by his superior/wife, Leila Watterson.
"Shouldn't you be getting back to Group 2?" says Theodora, who seems to have finally given up trying to eavesdrop on the Wattersons. You and your friends are sitting on a coach a short distance away from the office the married couple were in. So Theodora's been stretching her head back to try and listen.
"They're done with their tasks. Finished up before your group, even. I think Atticus and Nemona have already rushed off to go and prepare for their Gym battles." Which brings you to the current source of your anxiety. You have less than an hour before your Gym Trainer battle.
While intellectually you know that you could probably win, there's that nagging feeling of doubt. If you can't even beat Nemona, how are you gonna beat an actual professional? Someone whose job it is to battle.
Elise gives you a look before talking. "Speaking of, when's your Gym Trainer appointment? Mine's not till 6 PM."
"It's at uh…5 PM…" You say sheepishly to incredulous looks from Theodora and Leaf.
"Kid, what are you still doing here? Go! In fact, Group 1, you're officially dismissed for the day. I'll deliver the payment and reward for the task to Pirotin Inn later. Still gonna be staying here for a bit, gotta talk to Leila." With permission granted, Group 1 disperses.
You head to the Gym building where your appointment is going to be held, while Theodora and Elise take Ostia to watch some Gym battles in anticipation for the fights of the other members of Class VII. You'll meet back up with them once your Gym battle is done.
You make it to the venue with around twenty minutes to spare. The Gym buildings dedicated to battling are divided into two. There's obviously the main building built into the old fort where Katie's battles are held. But there's a modern office building right next to it where most of the administrative busywork of the Gym is conducted, including the Gym Trainer battles.
You head to the front desk to present yourself, where you're given a number and are directed to a waiting area with a few other trainers. It sort of reminds you of your time during the Entrance Exam. While you aren't as nervous here as you were back then, it's still not a great feeling. Not helped by the stares you keep getting while wearing your Mesagoza uniform.
With some time before your appointment, you head to the women's bathroom for a pep talk with your team.
Waiting to make sure no one else enters the washroom, you release your entire team at once. Probably the first time you've done so since you caught Drilbur.
You look over your assembled team, there's Roland who seems to have a sixth sense for when you're about to ask him to battle. He's back to his usual energetic self, looking up at you and crooning in anticipation. Renne stares at you with that usual blank face of hers, though she does blink her eyes a little, likely having just woken up. You give your best apologetic smile before finally turning to the newest member of your team.
Drilbur once out of her ball immediately clutches her nose and begins looking around. You kneel to ask them if they're okay.
'It seems her nose is rather sensitive.' Renne provides. And you just released her in the middle of a public bathroom. You immediately apologize to Drilbur and move to return her to her Pokeball. Only the shaking of her head stops you.
'She says that bringing out the entire team must mean you're about to say something important.' Huh, you look Drilbur in the eyes, trying to confirm what Renne just said to you, to which the Ground-Type vigorously nodded their head. Alright, you'll have to make this quick, then.
"You and Roland will be battling a trainer later, when we win we'll be allowed to battle a Gym Leader tomorrow." You say, putting more confidence in your words than you actually feel. "They're the strongest trainers in settlements like these and they help trainers like me and the local wild Pokemon get stronger."
From what you remember from your lessons, a lot of the Pokemon employed by a Gym are either recruited from local Wild Pokemon populations or are under the direct ownership of the League. In some Gyms, rosters are filled out by the offspring of the Gym Leader's Pokemon. That of course doesn't include any Pokemon owned by the Gym Trainers or a Leader's personal team.
"Afterwards we're gonna you two are gonna do some last minute training later tonight with Erika and her new Pokemon." You say while pointing to Roland and Drilbur. You got the message from your friend earlier. She wants to introduce her new Pokemon to you and it'll be a good opportunity to train up and catch up with Erika.
"I know you said you didn't wanna participate in any Trainer battles, Renne, but it's still important for you to be a part of these little team sessions." You preempt what you think the Espurr was going to say, causing the Pokemon to look away. You scold the other two for snickering, at least Roland stopped when he noticed that he was doing it alongside Drilbur.
You're picking up a little tension between the two of them. You look at how Roland hisses and argues with Drilbur who just laughs at him more. You're slightly reminded of how Timothee was with the other kids a while back. Reacting way too hard to light teasing and jokes, especially about him and Tamara. It'll be something you'll have to work on later.
You check your ARCUS for the time and notice that you only have a few minutes left. You wrap up your pep talk and recall your team back to their balls. Making your way over to where the appointment will be held, you stamp down on the trepidation you feel in your heart.
You can do this. If you want to have any chance of catching Nemona and doing your family proud, you have to do this. To be the very best you can be.
You're led by a staff member into a large hall with multiple Gym Trainer battles already ongoing. There were a handful of arenas and judging from a glance, seemed to be slightly smaller than the ones you're used to. The arenas themselves were the familiar flat grasslands with a large pond that you remember from your entrance examination. Though this had a decent number of trees and shrubs and bushes scattered about.
At a corner of the hall, next to a table were a number of Gym Trainers in discussion with one another. Next to them were a number of papers and Pokeballs and seated right beside them was a Kadabra, eyes aglow, likely maintaining the barriers used in the arenas. There's also a terribly bored looking Sawsbuck.
You wonder what they were doing when the Pokemon's horns began to glow, both of them pointed at one of the arenas. On the field were the tattered remnants of destroyed grass, foliage and trees. Right before your eyes, all of them began to regrow and repair. The broken top half of the tree even extends itself and crawls its way towards one of the tree trunks.
"...Ganzorig?" You're snapped out of observing the Sawsbuck in action by the sound of your last name. You reply affirmatively and are told to prepare you and your Pokemon for your battle by an exhausted looking Gym Trainer. They've probably been at this the whole day, huh?
Now focusing, you get a better look at your opponent. He's a stocky man around your father's age. He's wearing the uniform you've come to associate with the Cortondo Gym, a light green shirt and pants with white highlights. It's also obvious that from the look on his face and the energy drink on the table next to him that he's exhausted.
"Greetings Challenger, this battle is meant to test and see if you pass the minimum baseline of challenging the Cortondo Gym." The trainer says in a tired tone, like they're reading off of a script. "It'll be a 2v2, no fatalities allowed, no switching and the challenger must send their Pokemon out first. Are you ready?"
You nod and immediately send out Roland, the least you could do is get through this as fast as possible. The Gym Trainers must be overworked with how the Circuits just opened up. Roland floats on down to the middle of the arena, little chest held up high, eager for battle.
The Gym Trainer sent out a Venonat, right into one of the trees in the arena. You briefly see the Pokemon poke its head out of the canopy, making a cute little noise at Roland. You take deep breaths to steady yourself as your opponent counts down to the beginning of the battle.
At the sound of zero, you immediately order Roland to sink into the shadows so he can close the distance. Back in the tree Venonat's eyes glow blue, reminding you of your Entrance Exam when Psyduck used Confusion. By the time Venonat had gotten their attack off, Roland was already halfway to the tree, having jumped from shadow to shadow. He briefly locks up, before shaking it off and continuing on his way to Venonat's position.
With their attack failing, Venonat is ordered by their trainer to begin setting up a Poison Powder for when Roland gets close. You click your tongue, trying to remember what scrap of details and knowledge you know about Venonats.
Remembering that Venonats are attracted to lights, you shout at Roland to start building up Infestations and a Will-o-Wisp in his mouth as a distraction when he gets close. Roland jumps into the shadow of the tree Venonat was on, his mouth filled with flames and bright sickly green lights.
The Venonat was clinging atop one of the tree's branches, eyes darting left and right waiting for Roland to strike. Their fuzzy exterior glistened with purple poisonous dust.
Just then, a handful of Infestations flew off from Roland's mouth as he peeked his head up from the ground. The bright lights distract Venonat and it tears its eyes away from Roland for a few seconds. They only snap back into attention by their trainer's call, but that's all Roland needs. He floats as close as he can get and unleashes Will-o-Wisp point blank, burning away the layer of poisonous dust and knocking the Pokemon out of the tree.
You capitalize on this by having Roland refuse to let up, following up his attack with a Crunch, biting into the Pokemon until they fainted. Roland turns to you and croons in delight as the Gym Trainer recalls their Pokemon.
The next Pokemon, a Pineco, goes just as smoothly as the first. That was surprisingly easy. Roland barely even got scratched.
"Congratulations, please return to the lobby to receive the appointment for your Gym Test…"A look of disdain flashed in the Gym Trainer's face, as their eyes flicker down to a tablet in his hand, the look vanishing just as quick. "Apologies, I meant Gym Battle. Have a nice day."
You call back Roland to you, congratulating him on the battle, your starter melting into your hands in delight. You scratch the grooves connecting his horns to his head the way he likes as you make your way to the lobby.
Your appointment is tomorrow night, which means you'll be able to leave Roland and Drilbur at the Pokemon Center overnight after the battle without issue. Afterwards you head out of the office building, making your way to the Gym proper.
It's time to see a Gym battle.
"Katie! You're up in five minutes." Oh, she needs to wrap this call up fast.
"Gotta go, Leila. Thanks again for doing this, I'll transfer the payment over by tonight." Katie says in a hushed voice. She'd expected some people in the Trainer Association to be working for the Count, but someone as high-ranking as Bragg being one of them is beyond worrying.
"Don't worry it's on the house, Bragg made it personal. Call you later if anything new comes up." With that, Leila hangs up and leaves her mind a whirl with new information.
Multiple Trainer Associates in the Count's pocket, entire Pokemon populations up and vanishing, and whatever the weird machines are. She can feel a headache coming. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she readies up for her next battle. Hopefully that'll take her mind off of it.
Adjusting her iconic chef's hat to make sure her mic is good, she also double checks the Pokemon she's gonna be using for the next challenger. A number of 0-badges to open the battle, a few 1-badge and 2-badge Pokemon to serve as aces and one or two 3-badges (contained in Great Balls) just in case. A standard 1st Badge challenge line-up. She even has little stickers on all of them to denote which Pokeball contains what Pokemon.
"Katie!" Yells one of her Gym Trainers, causing her to hurry up her pace.
Making her way to the stage, she looks around at the audience. Live attendees peak around dusk and start to decrease as the night goes on. The clamor and ambient noise of a crowd in anticipation fill the air. She lets it wash over her as she puts on her best and most comforting smile.
Now on the elevated platform above the field, she examines the young man standing across from her. Wearing an unfamiliar red Mesagoza uniform, the young man had short silver hair and a calm placid expression hiding their nerves. So this is the Class VII. She puts a little more effort into her smile to try and soothe the young man's nerves. Some of the tension bleeding off of his shoulders shows that it had some effect, at least.
While she lists off the rules of the battle, she looks around at the audience, a little habit of hers back from when she was just a challenger going through the Gyms. It lets her see the mood of the crowd as a battle begins. Her eyes looks over the people in the stands, seeing their faces and—
Alice?
There, sitting right next to some other students wearing the same uniform as the challenger is—was one of her closest friends. They grew distant after she went to Mesagoza and Alice went on her journey. This is the first time she's seen her in the Gym. She looks away, focusing back on her opponent. That's in the past now, little use reminiscing, she has a job to do.
The announcer bids the challenger—Atticus Hanzo—to release his first Pokemon. A red beam of light reveals a Spinarak, on the larger side for its species. Coloration and the patterns on the Pokemon hint that it's likely a breed from one of the northern forests in Paldea. Tagtree, probably.
Atticus had directly released his Pokemon onto one of the trees in the arena. Good, a lot of first time trainers forget to make use of the Pokeball's mechanism as a way to position their Pokemon. A common mistake is them releasing their Pokemon right in the middle of the field and being forced to scramble to cover during the battle proper.
She runs a finger through the Pokeballs in her belt. Something easy to get in the mood of things should work. Settling on a Pokeball, she releases her first Pokemon right onto the field's pond. A young Surskit, one of the children of a Gym Trainer's Masquerain.
A standoff between Spinarak in the trees and Surskit in the water, both a decent amount of distance from one another. It was broken by the sound of the announcer's voice, as both Pokemon made their moves.
"Hattori, just like we practiced!" Atticus shouted at his Pokemon prompting them to vanish into the tree's thicket. Webs and strings begin to shoot out of the tree and onto its surroundings.
"Water Gun," says Katie, as Surskit draws water from the surrounding pond to send at where she last saw the Spinarak. The attacks fail to garner a response, either having been resisted by the Spinarak or missing entirely.
She tells Surskit to close the distance with Aqua Jet, to which the Pokemon complies. This way, she and Surskit can play into the challenger's hand and probe at whatever he's planning. It would do no good to shut him down this early, a half-formed plan in her head to flood the area around the tree, abandoned.
Sinking down into the pond, Surskit readies themself and after a brief moment, a burst of water erupts from the surface. Launching themself onto the tree the Spinarak was in, behind them was a water bubble the size of Surskit's head. At that moment, the Spinarak chose to make their move.
Webs began to shoot at the Surskit, who intercepted them with short streams of Water Gun from their bubble, sometimes using the force of their attacks to dodge webs it couldn't hit in time. As it neared the tree, needle thin strings shot out from Surskit, right onto a branch. Using their momentum, Surskit swung their way to land onto another branch. With their spindly legs, they skittered closer to the trunk of the tree to face their opponent.
However Atticus uses that moment of Surskit repositioning to attack. "Now, Hattori!" He yells as Spinarak emerges from hiding in the canopy, carrying a ball of web in their mandibles the size of their own body. Spinarak flings it at the intruding Surskit who uses their bubble to react with a Bubblebeam to break the web ball.
The Bubblebeam punches through the center of the web ball, reaching the target, sending Spinarak almost flying before they caught themself with a String Shot to the trunk of the tree, swinging their way back to grab onto it. But inside that web ball was a glob of purple liquid hitting Surskit and the branch, the mix of webs tying them both together. The sizzling Acid blinds Surskit and melts parts of the bench they were standing on.
Hm, a mix of Acid and Sticky Web is impressive for a first timer. The fact that the web ball hadn't dissolved from the Acid means a decent amount of control in Poison TE.
The attack had trapped Surskit onto a now dissolving branch, causing both to fall down onto the mess of webs and string below. The Spinarak had already crawled their way over to face Surskit just as they were about to fall.
"Electroweb, Hattori!"
Katie's eyes slightly widen as Spinarak shoots a single electrified strand at the threads of the web below. The web lights up just as her Pokemon falls onto it and it crackles as her Surskit is electrocuted. The Surskit convulses in its bid to escape, shooting Water moves at Spinarak to no avail. The Spinarak dodges each attempt, all the while maintaining that singular thread connecting them to their trap, before the Surskit finally passes out.
Impressive, a surprisingly versatile moveset. Judging from afar, the makeshift electroweb isn't as powerful as something a Joltik at a similar level could make but it's effective enough especially with the much longer lasting webs of the Ariados line.
As she runs a finger atop the Pokeballs, feeling the worn surfaces and stickers, she contemplates on who to send out next. Venipede would be able to contest the Spinarak in terms of poison and wouldn't be hindered by the webs as much. Might even force them to terastallize. Dwebble meanwhile would be a much simpler opponent, they'd cut through the webs decently well and would just test the challenger's capability to deal pure damage.
Sighing, she decides to go easy on the challenger, sending Dwebble out onto the field near the tree Spinarak has holed up in. Atticus would still have a single Pokemon left, assuming they're as well-trained as Spinarak then he should have no problem.
A red beam releases Dwebble, who emerges from their shell eager for battle. One of the kids of Cake, her own personal Crustle. A feisty little guy that often gets into squabbles with his older siblings even if they're stronger. Which reminds her, she should probably move one of them to the 5-Badge lineup once they evolve.
As always, Dwebble opens with a Fury Cutter on their own shell, a little trick she picked up when she was still early in her career. It lets her Pokemon squeeze just a little bit more power onto their attacks from the get go.
"Cut right through, Dwebble!" With that, Dwebble skitters into action and slashes through the now no longer electrified webs. The strings and webbings were almost as thick as a finger from how many of them were barring the way from the tree.
It's when one of Dwebble's claws gets stuck that Spinarak strikes again. "A focused Electroweb, then use Agility back into the canopy!" Spinarak shoots a singular thick string right at the webs Dwebble was stuck in. The string hits and the surroundings erupt into a small field of electricity, much stronger than the one used against Surskit. But curiously, it's much more contained as well, only up to a small circle surrounding Dwebble. And it doesn't last as long either.
Dwebble emerged slightly singed, their defenses having resisted the attack, though they remained still trapped in the web. "Rock Blast, Dwebble!" Katie shouts as with their free claw, Dwebble first stabs then cuts into the ground around them. Rocks and stones almost as big as them, jut out from the earth across the web field, tearing and breaking, freeing Dwebble. Ruffling in the canopy alerts her to the challenger's response.
Two more of those web balls fly towards Dwebble, forcing Katie to respond. "Break them with Rock Blast, then retreat into your shell." Stones as big as her hand fly from the ground impaling the web balls, breaking them. As expected they contained more of the same Acid used earlier. Said acid splashing onto Dwebble's rocky shell, only causing minor damage in the form of some chipping.
She looks over to the challenger Atticus, to see how he's reacting and to her surprise he seems worried. His brows are furrowed, his mouth pressed into a thin line and he's scratching at his right wrist. Did she misjudge? If he doesn't have any Pokemon that can punch through Dwebble's defenses then he's in trouble.
With a word from her, Dwebble jabs both his claws into the ground, pulling out a rock in the shape of a discus. A modified Smack Down. And now to wait for the opportune moment.
Another batch of web balls are thrown from the canopy. At a glance, they seem smaller than the prior ones, so it seems the Spinarak is tiring out. In the seconds before their attack hits Dwebble, Katie weighs her options.
If she tells Dwebble to Withdraw again to negate the attack, Spinarak will have the opportunity to reposition away from their spot and thus away from a Smack Down counterattack. It'll just prolong the battle and Spinarak will tire out first without a change of strategy on the challenger's end and their options are already limited on that front. But if she tells Dwebble to take the hit in order to get Smack Down off…
It'll force the challenger into their second Pokemon and Dwebble would be in a worse position than if she hadn't ordered Smack Down. It should be fine as long as his second Pokemon is as well-trained as his first.
She gives the order and the expected occurs. Dwebble throws the stone and gets hit with both web balls, which explode into acid on contact. The smoke dissipates, revealing Dwebble covered in webs hindering their movement and their shell sizzling from the acid.
Meanwhile the thrown stone smacks Spinarak with a crunch, knocking them off the tree and onto the ground below. The legs on the left side of their body are broken and with the damage from Surskit's Bubblebeam from earlier, the Spinarak is on their last legs. The next Rock Blast concludes the challenger's first Pokemon.
She looks back at her challenger, who has his Pokeball in his hands, his fingers drumming the top in deep thought. In an official League Battle such as this, trainers on both sides have thirty seconds to decide on which Pokemon to send out next if their Pokemon on the field had been switched out or had fainted. It's also used as a moment to gather one's thoughts and consider one's next options.
And from the look on Atticus' face, whatever Pokemon is in that ball doesn't present them with much. At the twenty-eight second mark, he finally releases Croagunk, his last Pokemon. Curiously he hadn't released this one in the pond, which might mean it doesn't have Dry Skin. Of course, she could be mistaken and it does have that ability and—
Ugh, it's just a First Badge battle, Katie! Don't overthink it, she's supposed to relax with this!
The Croagunk leaps into action with Fake-Out, disappearing in a blur before returning in front of Dwebble with their right arm. Dwebble flinches back, giving the Croagunk the opportunity to puke liters of dark purple ooze onto her Pokemon. Despite the onslaught, Dwebble emerges from it not as badly hurt as they could've been.
She orders Dwebble to retaliate with Fury Cutter, which cuts a deep gash on Croagunk's chest. Causing the Pokemon to leap away and fall back, clutching their chest. Looking at both Pokemon, she's able to put it together.
The challenger might lose this.
The Croagunk is nowhere near strong enough to hurt Dwebble and is already winded from their initial attack. Yet Dwebble is still eager to fight; they haven't retreated into their shell, nor do their legs jitter.
"Dwebble, close in and don't let them get away." She says while holding back a sigh. This might give the challenger the best chance of winning or at least ekeing out a draw. Even slowed down by webs, Dwebble crosses the distance between the two Pokemon decently quick. Croagunk turns and croaks at their trainer for instructions, said Trainer however is clearly panicking now.
If she recalls correctly he's the first of the students to challenge the Gym for this year's circuit. She feels sorry for him. She loves her alma mater but it can be a pretty cutthroat place.
A melee of cuts, slashes, chops and jabs occurs as both Pokemon throw caution to the wind. Dwebble's enjoying himself while Croagunk is trying to do as much damage as they can. Occasionally going for the puking attack from earlier. Poisonous puke melting the already upturned earth and stone surrounding the brawl.
Finally both Pokemon begin to slow their movements, growing lethargic before eventually stopping. The Croagunk cuts and bruises all over its body slumps to the floor while Dwebble's shell has been broken, cracks covering it. Both Pokemon had fainted the exact same time.
A draw.
The audio barrier separating her and the challenger from the rest of the audience goes down as the cheers and sounds reach her ear. As per League rules, battles below the 6th Badge Level that end in a draw are considered a victory for the challenger. Stepping down from the raised platform she makes her way over to the challenger, making a brief stop to the announcer's stand to pick up a copy of the Gym's TM, a handheld cash transfer terminal and of course, the Bug Badge.
Having reached Atticus, she looks him over one last time, the most enthusiastic smile she can muster on her face. Like most trainers who just won their first badge, who looks torn between relief and exhaustion. Surprisingly he lacks the sheer joy some people have after a battle. Well, that's none of her business.
"Congratulations, challenger. May I have your Trainer Card, please?" Atticus hands it over, which she takes to transfer over the ten thousand cash prize as well as digitally marking it with Bug Badge's code, signifying that they've won their first badge at her gym.
As she hands Atticus the TM and his Trainer Card, she decides to give him a little tip. "Speaking as one Mesagozan Student to another, you're a very creative young man. It's rare to see such strategies so early in a trainer's career. But do work on your fundamentals, Croagunk is a Poison and Fighting Pokemon after all."
"Ah, thank you for your advice!" Atticus gives her shallow bow before saying farewell and running off to wave at his classmates at the stands.
Which brings her attention back to…
Alice.
This time, Alice catches her staring. She awkwardly waves hello at her old friend who briefly returns it before going back to speaking with the Mesagoza students. She sighs and goes to take her ten minute break before her next battle.
They used to be friends when they were younger, close ones too. The two of them and sometimes Peter used to talk about wanting to go on their Journey together.
But her mom got her that scholarship in Mesagoza and the rest was history. She doesn't regret her time there, but it's hard not to think about what ifs.
She hands over the Pokeballs of the Pokemon she used to a Gym Trainer to get them healed and rested up. Checking the Pokemon shifts, none of the Pokemon currently on her are due for a break for another hour. Gym Pokemon operate in shifts, with Pokemon off-duty being let out of their Pokeballs and allowed to rest and roam the Gym facilities. Between the two Gym buildings, there's probably about a little over a hundred Pokemon of various species out at any time.
She checks her phone, finding no new messages from Leila. The poaching problem has been driving her up a wall for months now. Typically most poachers are from impoverished backgrounds and it's a dirty little secret in the poorer provinces that most families know someone who's moonlighted as a poacher once or twice.
But what's been happening in the past few months is too organized, too efficient, too militarized if some of the reports she's getting are true. The Council's breathing down her neck to handle it personally, but she can't be everywhere at once.
"You're up in a few minutes!" The voice of one of her trainers snaps her out of her thoughts. She looks over and it's Julie carrying her Larvesta. Her sister, Cassandra, was one of her better Gym Trainers, one of the few people in the world with a Volcarona. That was before Rika recruited her into her little division for something a year or so ago.
Which just reminds her that she needs to look into training a successor soon. It's standard practice and this job is starting to make her look older than she actually is.
With her break over she makes her way back over to the arena, this time facing a young girl with black hair and a green streak running through it. She's also wearing a Mesagoza uniform while having an almost infectious smile on her face. She smiles right back at the challenger while explaining the rules. Having three Pokemon means she gets to have a single switch.
The challenger—Nemona—nods vigorously as she sends out her first Pokemon, a Cutiefly. Running a finger through the Pokeballs on her belt contemplating her choice. The field's been repaired in the short break she took between challengers. The pond was cleaned, debris and webs removed and even the tree has been replaced.
She settles on Dottler; the Cutiefly line are mostly supportive in nature with the occasional ranged capability. Dottler would be able to contest them at range while healing off any status ailments with Recover. Dottler wouldn't be able to do it for long, but should be long enough that it'd wear down the Fairy-type.
As the announcer begins the battle, the Cutiefly flies all over the battlefield, colored dust and powder trailing in their wake. She tells Dottler to stay in position and to track the fairy's movements, attacking when needed. There's no point in trying to evade and hide against a Cutiefly, they're one of the few Pokemon that can naturally use aura to track enemies.
A back and forth between the two Pokemon begins to play out.
Cutiefly would send gusts of Fairy Wind carrying Stun and Poison Powders at Dottler, who just has to take them. The attacks tear off little bits and pieces from Dottler's carapace allowing for the Powders to sink in and take effect. Dottler retaliates with Struggle Bug, taking the pain of the poison sinking into them and turning it out into attacks that home in on Cutiefly.
The little green lights chase after Cutiefly, and Dottler uses Confusion so that it couldn't evade the attack. The fairy seizes, seemingly allowing some of the Confusion attacks to connect. It seems to prioritize flying across the field and attacking Dottler over using their aura senses to predict its attacks and evade.
This exchange would continue on for another few minutes, broken up by Dottler using Recover to regenerate the damage taken. Cutiefly has no such recourse; their attacks get sloppy, Fairy Winds missing Dottler entirely and sending powders nowhere near where Dottler was. After flying around all over the battlefield, the fairy type finally goes down. She immediately orders Dottler to squeeze in another Recover despite the exhaustion clear in their face.
Katie knows a setup when she sees one. The powders are littered all over the battlefield. From the trees to the bushes and grass, even the odd rock jutting out from the ground is covered in the stuff. Now the question is if the challenger would make good use of—
"You'd be having more fun if you stopped holding back!" Nemona suddenly says as she lifts a Pokeball to send out her next Pokemon. While she couldn't hear the audience, it's obvious from her position how they're murmuring about what the challenger just said. Down one Pokemon and saying something like that. Katie resists the urge to roll her eyes, and politely ignores what she just said.
A red beam reveals Monferno as Nemona's second Pokemon. "C'mon, Sunny! Let's show her how serious we are!" Sunny cheers as they wind their right arm back for a punch before releasing it and vanishing in a blur. Mach Punch.
"Reflect, now!" she orders as Dottler slowly manifests a pink barrier over them. The poison has sapped too much of their strength, as they're unable to get it up in time for Monforno to punch through it, sending illusionary broken pink glass everywhere.
Sunny's fist connects to Dottler's side, sending them back. Dottler's at least recovered enough of their shell to not get sent flying but an indent of a fist is visible on their carapace.
"Send them up, Sunny!" Closing in, the Monferno lifts the weakened Dottler and throws them up into the air, Katie orders them to use Confusion in retaliation but Dottler's too tired for even that. An Incinerate aimed upwards, emerging from Sunny's mouth, cooks and knocks out her first Pokemon.
Hm, maybe she should take her—no, she has a job to do. It's immature to focus and give her full attention in a fight with someone who doesn't even have a badge.
Katie sends out her second Pokemon, a Dewpider, right into the pond. A quick Aqua Ring cleanses the pond of the stray powders that floated their way onto the surface. Before she could do anything else, though, Nemona uses her only switch to recall Monferno.
Third Pokeball in hand, Nemona releases a Wattrel into the skies above the pond. The bird circles up ahead, pumping out its chest to charge electricity for an attack.
Baiting out a Water type by sending her strong Monferno early, at least someone's done their research. Katie drums the top of the Great Ball, one of the two 3-badge Pokemon she brings for situations like these. Usually reserved only for trainers on their second or third year in the circuit, and finally challenging her for their 1st Badge or 2nd Badge. She uses her switch to recall Dewpider before Wattrel could get an attack off.
She looks across the arena towards her opponent. The challenger is looking straight at her, more specifically their gaze is on her Pokeballs. She returns their look with a smile of their own as she grabs a Great Ball.
"Come on out, Shuckle!" Released onto the field was a red and white rock hard shell. There were holes on it and emerging from them were indistinct (and in her experience sticky) yellow appendages. The largest of them had the Pokemon's face on it, two beady eyes, staring up above at the Wattrel.
The look on the challenger's face was beyond ecstatic. "This is what I've been waiting for! Let's go, Mercury, let's have an awesome battle!" Without even a word, Wattrel's wings begin to flap as they circle the battlefield, miniature tornadoes flying from them, accompanied by jolts of electricity coming from their beak.
The tornadoes fly around the battlefield, causing gusts of wind gathering up dust, debris and most of all Powders in the air. So that's what she's aiming for. She orders to prepare for Sticky Rocks, as they flood their surroundings with the natural adhesive excretions of a Shuckle.
In the holes facing down on the ground, two appendages dig in and begin to upturn the ground around Shuckle. This, combined with the excretions, turns two meters of hard soil into a sticky, glue-like slurry. The rocks and stone too big to liquidate are worn down and sharpened into projectiles.
All of that happening underground. To the audience, it's as if the ground slowly melted around Shuckle turning into mud. Flying up above, Mercury begins their attack. Using their Electric-moves to distract Shuckle, Mercury has the gust and tornadoes close in. Most of them were around as tall as a person, but they towered over the two Pokemon. With a flick of an appendage, walls and waves of the adhesive mud act as barriers stopping the wind or drowning some of the smaller tornadoes and pulls the debris and powders into the slurry.
But the control over the winds Wattrel has is surprisingly decent for a Pokemon at that level. Winds turn hard right and left to maneuver around the barriers. Tornadoes break up and reconfigure once waves pass. While some of the attacks failed to get through, from the purple marks on her Pokemon's skin and glittering powder on Shuckle's shell as they're buffeted by wind.
At the same time, Shuckle hurls and flings mud and glue at Wattrel who dodges and weaves out of the way, they have to. Even a single drop getting on the Pokemon's feathers would lock up that part of the wing slowing their reactions. It starts with tiny little droplets landing on Mercury's back, weighing them down. Then tiny droplets on their wings. Nemona orders to burn them off with Shock Waves and it does that, temporarily freeing Wattrel. But not enough.
Just like how Shuckle is poisoned, Mercury's movements are slowed and lethargic, their wings caked in the adhesive mud, both dried from the Shock Waves and wet from new droplets or flung attacks connecting. That's good enough.
"Smack Down, Shuckle." With great effort, Shuckle's appendages dig into the mud field and pulls out one of the two pillars of stone they'd managed to carve out. It was as large as a person and twice as long as one and with a fling, was currently barreling towards a Pokemon a tenth of its size.
"One last Shock Wave, give it your all, Mercury. Make sure they stick." Nemona yells. Wattrel, chest still pumped, inhales then exhales a positively massive wave of electricity. It flash-dries some of the mud around Shuckle and scorches the grass and bushes that it can reach. The pillar connects and knocks Wattrel out of the air and they crash into the now-dried mud below.
Defiant, they send little Thundershocks at Shuckle, who's still poisoned but covered in powder and dried mud. After a few seconds of struggle, Mercury finally faints and it brngs Nemona down to her last Pokemon. From the look on her, Nemona couldn't be more excited. Their smile is almost infectious, a massive grin on their face. Unable to help herself, Katie smiles, it's one that reaches all the way to her cheeks, one that makes her feel like a teen again, her first real smile of the day.
"Well then, Nemona, shall we finish this? Rest, Shuckle," she says with a flourish. She almost wishes to give the kid a badge even if she's gonna lose. But it's out of her hands. The purple discoloration on Shuckle's skin begins to disappear as a comically large snot bubble forms on Shuckle's nostril.
"I always wanted to hear that! Let's make some fireworks, Sunny!" Nemona yells as she sends her Monferno out again, right on top of Shuckle.
"Into the sky, Sunny! Let her rip!" The Monferno emerged from the red beam of the Pokeball, arms up. With a single move, they throw them down, jets of fire coming from their hands. The fire reached Shuckle and…
For a brief moment, Katie was deaf.
The sheer force of the explosion sends a shockwave through the entire battlefield. It sent debris everywhere, burned grass, flash dried the remaining adhesive mud and even emptied up the little pond in the field. Atop the smoke flying through the air, with fire underneath their feet was a slightly singed Monferno.
At the ground zero crater, with a nearly broken shell and scorched appendages was Shuckle, their natural stickiness all dried up and barely clinging to consciousness. She's genuinely stunned.
As Nemona orders Sunny to finish off Shuckle, Katie wracks her mind to figure out how the challenger did it. The only thing that stands out to her was the Powder.
Of course, one of the rarer Bug moves, the Cutiefly and Vivillion lines learn it naturally. It clings to surfaces and is highly flammable. A way for the two species to combat Fire-Type Pokemon. Highly flammable and explosive, it would cause Fire-type attacks to literally blow up in their face. But applied to something else and given the right spark, and well.
She looks over to see Monferno lifting up an unconscious Shuckle like a title belt, the audience utterly stunned. A young girl who'd been goading her the entire battle despite outwardly losing had turned the tide most spectacularly in just a few seconds. It's battles like these that remind her of why she battles in the first place.
As she sends out Dewpider to a foregone conclusion, she commits Nemona's face to memory.
Nemona Mendoza, huh? That'll be a name to remember.
Drilbur jumps into the air to dodge a low kick from Dlanor, Erika's new Scyther, who follows up the attack with a slash from their right scythe. Your Pokemon parries the attack with a Metal Claw of her own. The force of impact sends both Pokemon flying back away from one another. Each using their respective claws to skid on the ground and stop their momentum.
Jabbing both claws into the ground, Drilbur pulls out a rock nearly as big as she was in her hands and hurls it at Scyther. Erika orders Dlanor to dodge but the Scyther ignores her, instead opting to cut the incoming stone in half. A mistake.
The rock was hollow. The moment Scyther cuts it in half, the mud inside splashes onto their face and blinds Dlanor. The Scyther shakes the mud off their face, just in time to see Drilbur fling herself at them with a Spark. Your Pokemon's fur is standing on edge and electricity coursed through their claws. A direct hit that knocks Scyther back sending dust everywhere.
An enraged look crosses Scyther's face but before they could retaliate, a bell rings ending the match. Theodora is over at the stands managing the match point system between you and Erika. Since you got the first good solid hit in, the spar is your victory.
You give a thumbs up to Erika who returns it while sighing as she recalls a still seething Scyther back to their Pokeball. "Let's take a break for a bit while the arena's repaired." Erika says, eyes turning to the field.
It's been in use for an hour or so now, and it shows. Trees and bushes toppled or torn up. Holes and rocks scattered about from Drilbur or occasionally Cornelia.
After watching the Gym Battle, the three of you decided to head to one of the local Battle Arenas to train and get used to the new members of your respective teams. You've been sparring with one another for a few hours now, learning how to fight with your new Pokemon.
You've also been using this opportunity to train Roland and get him acquainted with fighting stronger Bug Pokemon. While you doubt that you're gonna fight a Scyther on Katie's team, it's better to be prepared than to be caught unaware.
Currently your little group is rotating between fighting one another to give your Pokemon a chance to rest in between spars. At least both Roland and Drilbur seem to be enjoying it. Though from what you're noticing are for completely different reasons.
As you nod to Erika and call Drilbur back to your side, you ponder on how your two Pokemon have different attitudes to battle and other Pokemon. Roland loves battling, a competitive streak against other Pokemon, friendly or not. Meanwhile Drilbur just likes company, whether in battle or otherwise.
You go to pet and scratch behind Drilbur's ear in the way she likes it, but you pull away at the last moment as there's still some remaining static on her fur. Roland, who's wrapped around your neck whenever he isn't sparring, croons in worry.
"It's fine, it'll probably dissipate sooner or later." Drilbur looks up at you in expectation. It seems she wants you to carry her like you do Renne. "Maybe later, alright? I promise." Drilbur yips in delight and goes to run off to where Erika and Theodora were talking to each other in the stands.
As you approach you hear the tail end of what the two were talking about.
"...multiple species of Pokemon just disappearing sounds like a catastrophe. No wonder Pokemon across the province are agitated. This is the sort of thing that escalates into a…oh shit, Mary control your Drilbur, please!" Erika was panicking as Drilbur was running around their legs and occasionally jumping trying to grab at something. You follow Drilbur's eyes to what they were staring at and see a small gem necklace around Erika's bare neck. It was a deep pink gem cut in the shape of a diamond.
"Sorry! She's a little hyperactive, still trying to figure out what a Drilbur's diet should be." You hurry over and scoop up Drilbur in your hands, ignoring the little jolt of static passing through your body. Drilbur turns around and looks at you with a face that radiates smug satisfaction.
Erika dusts off dirt from her leggings and adjusts her cardigan before responding. "It's fine, they seem kind of young for how strong they are," says Erika as she extends a finger to poke at Drilbur's nose before she pulls it away as Drilbur goes to try and bite her. Luckily your grip is strong enough to keep her in place.
"Well, according to Leo, he is one of the stronger Pokemon in his little battalion." Said Pawniard looks up from where they were polishing their blade-arm with a whetstone. Apparently Theodora bought it for him. Drilbur waves to him, which Leo returns reluctantly. "Nevermind that, though, how about you Erika, you've yet to say how you encountered your feisty new team member?"
"Yea, Erika, you haven't introduced me to them properly yet." You do your best imitation of a pout, though it's hard to cross your arms while still holding onto Drilbur.
"Dlanor's a female Scyther, and it's nothing special honestly. I made a little recipe based on how old Pokeblocks used to be made. I encountered a couple of Scythers through this but Dlanor's the only one that stayed and accepted my offer. Though she did challenge Cornelia to a battle." Erika looks proud at having caught a Pokemon on her own. You put down Drilbur next to Leo, hoping that being next to her friend would distract them and you go and hug Erika.
"See, knew you could do it!" You're so happy for Erika, you really are. Erika sputters in response before surrendering and returning your hug. Eventually the two of you let go, though Erika is more hesitant to do so.
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Mary. I…appreciate…it." Erika says, looking at the end. You only smile at her in response.
"No, I have to thank you for agreeing to help me cram in some last minute training." Nemona's Gym Battle has lit a fire under you. It's the talk of the whole town now, offline and online. If you're to catch up with her, you need all the help you can get.
"If you two are done…" Theodora has an amused look on her face. "Mariana, you mentioned something about a diet for Drilbur? I believe I can help in that regard."
The three of you spend the rest of the night discussing the diets of some of your Pokemon. Erika's Carbink primarily eats stones and rare gems, only occasionally eating berries. Meanwhile Leo and Drilbur are both carnivorous. Meaning you'll likely have to go out of your way to accommodate a diet for them. Apparently both Pokemon occasionally munch and eat raw metals and ores to strengthen their blades for the former and claws for the latter.
Drilbur's evolution into becoming an Excadrill would be reliant on a healthy diet of both meats and metals if what Theodora says is correct.
"You seem really passionate about Pokemon Caretaking, Theodora." You say as the person in question finishes up an explanation of how polishing and sharpening is a necessary part of maintenance for Steel-Type Pokemon.
"I aim for excellence in all fields, darling." Theodora declares with bravado. "It's something I've had interest in since I was younger."
"I can confirm, My Lady was such a precocious child. Don't believe her if she says it all self learned. I taught her everything I know." You and Erika jump out of your skins out of shock at a new person's voice right behind the two of you. You two turn around and it's the familiar face of Virgillia.
"Apologies for shocking you two, it wasn't my intention." From the look Erika gives her, she doesn't believe that and neither do you. You swear you can almost see a miniscule twitch in the ever present smile on Virgillia's face.
"Virgillia! What are you doing here?" Theodora exclaims in shock.
"My Lady, I am always at your side. But in this specific instance it's to remind you and your friends of what time it is." You check the time and it's already nearly an hour to midnight. Your group cleans up for the day and checks out of the Battle Arena because of how late it was.
You say goodbye to Erika as she heads off to Sevaro Inn while you and Theodora go back to Pirotin Inn for the night. Elise and Ostia had already turned in for the night much earlier than the two of you, having decided to go back to the Inn after watching the Gym Battle.
As you and Theodora walk through the moonlit streets of Cortondo, occasionally passing by street lamps and night goers, you stare at the moon in contemplation of the rest of the week to come.
With the battles of the day done, Katie finally gets to rest. Of course her definition of resting for some people is work.
"That's good, eat up." She says prodding a Wimpod belonging to the Gym to eat the meal she's prepared for them. All around her were Gym Pokemon, they were currently in one of the sub-basements of the Gym building, informally a rest area for the Pokemon. Cooking calms her mind and lets her destress for the day. Even if it is cooking for over a hundred people.
Her phone rings, distracting her from her work, excusing herself she takes the call. Only a handful of people know her personal phone-number so it's probably important.
"This is Katie speaking."
"It's Leila, I have bad news. Bragg's flown the coop and he's taken a handful of trainers with him." Damnit their only lead!
"What now?" She asks, a pit growing in her stomach."
"It gets worse." Of course, why wouldn't it.
"Rika's coming." She blinks.
"Well Shit."
No invention has been more representative of the Orbal Revolution than the Airship. While aircraft in a more miniature form had existed prior to their development a scant few decades ago, the Airship had pioneered a new era in travel. From civilian airships like the Viviane-class to the militarized vessels of the Paldean Air Force, these wonders are a ubiquitous part of the modern world.
This vessel is one of them. Sleek, swift, silent and undetectable by radar, the Goa-class is reserved only for the elite of the Imperial Family and Paldean League. Reversed engineered from the Geomantic Church's Nicaea Airship; the Goa's are the primary mode of swift transportation for upper echelons of the Paldean state.
Lacking the long Psychic, and thus mass-Teleportation, traditions of the Shinwan states, many regions like Paldea rely on similar aircraft for swift travel of groups of VIPs.
One of these vessels carries such two VIPs from the Pokemon League Headquarters overlooking the Great Crater towards their destination: Cortondo.
Rika looks down from the side of the airship onto the landscape below, shifting and changing as the Airship continues its flight. It's a calming exercise for her. All sorts of work has been piling up for her the past weeks, years honestly, and it's good to enjoy the little moments. The quiet tender moments with her Pokemon, the rare opportunity where she and Geeta can just enjoy each other's presence and of course…
"Rika, I wanna ride on Skaro! He wants to race the airship!"
Her little bundle of joy. She looks over to Poppy, who's just come out into the passengers deck. She's not wearing her usual silver dress but one of the dresses Geeta picked out for her. It's kind of tacky, but that's Geeta for you..
"C'mon kid, you know that's dangerous." She says walking over to pick the kid up in her arms. "Why don't we watch something, it'll be a bit before we land in Cortondo." They make their way back down to one of the rooms to watch the shows Poppy likes.
It's the little things that keep you grounded.
FIELD EXERCISE 1
THURSDAY VOTE
AVAILABLE AP: 2
Pokedollars: 48,000 on your Person
League Points: 6,000 on your Trainer Card
Vote will be by Plan Voting
[X] Day Two Mandatory Tasks: Schemes, Plots and Plan move all around Class VII, just barely out of sight. But for now, why don't you finish up on what Cortondo has to offer.
[] Day One Optional Task: Herbal Horticulture: Historically berries have been used as makeshift medicine for Pokemon and even sometimes humans. While modern medicinal technology has long surpassed such practices, certain parts of Paldea still regularly use such medicines to heal sickly Pokemon. However what would normally be a routine harvest of berries and herbs has been complicated by the recent agitation and hostility of Wild Pokemon. -1 AP
[X] Yo! Champ in the Makin': One of the big draws and privileges of Academy Students over regular trainers (aside from the connections and resources made available to them), is essentially getting to cut in line for Gyms during Field Exercises. And what a line it is. With Gyms opening up in August, trainers have begun to flock towards the nearest Gyms to register early and get the chance to fight the Gym Leader. (3/3) -1 AP
[] ...Do as the Rimeans do: There's still probably some nooks and crannies of the settlement you haven't seen yet. You find that you enjoy exploring places, especially if it's with friends. -1 AP
[] Cortondo Cart: While you've already most of what you expect you'll need for Field Exercise, it won't hurt to go out and buy some extra. You never know when you'll need it.
[] Dig Deep: With a new member on your team, it seems like a good idea to spend a couple of hours getting to know them. Drilbur is a hyperactive little Pokemon, surpassing even Roland during your first week with him. From how she reacts to everything, she's not used to being on the surface most of the time. Spend some time just the two of you getting used to each others tells and expressions
[] Song of Roland: Even with your new capture, Roland is going to be the star of the show during your Gym battle. Beyond just getting him trained and prepared for Thursday, you should spend some time with him to show just how much you appreciate and care for him. Nothing too extraneous though, he'll need to be rested up for the Gym Battle.
[] Crystalline Cat: You're pretty sure you've yet to spend time alone with Renne, Roland was always with you during your sessions with her. Time to fix that, see the sights of Cortondo with her, taste the locales, feel the grass beneath your feet. Hopefully your arms don't get tired from carrying her all day.
Pokemon Materials Gained:
Teddiursa Fur, Wooloo Wool, Yamask Shards, Skiddo Leaves, Deerling Leaves
Cash and STAT Gains this turn
26000 Pokedollars, 400 Poke XP, 1 MXP, 600 PROW XP and 200 KNOW XP
Thanks to Tempera for helping brainstorm the Atticus and Nemona Gym battles
Moratorium for 14 Hours
Thanks to Nemastrea for proofreading this update
"Shouldn't you be getting back to Group 2?" says Theodora, who seems to have finally given up trying to eavesdrop on the Wattersons. You and your friends are sitting on a coach a short distance away from the office the married couple were in. So Theodora's been stretching her head back to try and listen.
"They're done with their tasks. Finished up before your group, even. I think Atticus and Nemona have already rushed off to go and prepare for their Gym battles." Which brings you to the current source of your anxiety. You have less than an hour before your Gym Trainer battle.
While intellectually you know that you could probably win, there's that nagging feeling of doubt. If you can't even beat Nemona, how are you gonna beat an actual professional? Someone whose job it is to battle.
Elise gives you a look before talking. "Speaking of, when's your Gym Trainer appointment? Mine's not till 6 PM."
"It's at uh…5 PM…" You say sheepishly to incredulous looks from Theodora and Leaf.
"Kid, what are you still doing here? Go! In fact, Group 1, you're officially dismissed for the day. I'll deliver the payment and reward for the task to Pirotin Inn later. Still gonna be staying here for a bit, gotta talk to Leila." With permission granted, Group 1 disperses.
You head to the Gym building where your appointment is going to be held, while Theodora and Elise take Ostia to watch some Gym battles in anticipation for the fights of the other members of Class VII. You'll meet back up with them once your Gym battle is done.
You make it to the venue with around twenty minutes to spare. The Gym buildings dedicated to battling are divided into two. There's obviously the main building built into the old fort where Katie's battles are held. But there's a modern office building right next to it where most of the administrative busywork of the Gym is conducted, including the Gym Trainer battles.
You head to the front desk to present yourself, where you're given a number and are directed to a waiting area with a few other trainers. It sort of reminds you of your time during the Entrance Exam. While you aren't as nervous here as you were back then, it's still not a great feeling. Not helped by the stares you keep getting while wearing your Mesagoza uniform.
With some time before your appointment, you head to the women's bathroom for a pep talk with your team.
Waiting to make sure no one else enters the washroom, you release your entire team at once. Probably the first time you've done so since you caught Drilbur.
You look over your assembled team, there's Roland who seems to have a sixth sense for when you're about to ask him to battle. He's back to his usual energetic self, looking up at you and crooning in anticipation. Renne stares at you with that usual blank face of hers, though she does blink her eyes a little, likely having just woken up. You give your best apologetic smile before finally turning to the newest member of your team.
Drilbur once out of her ball immediately clutches her nose and begins looking around. You kneel to ask them if they're okay.
'It seems her nose is rather sensitive.' Renne provides. And you just released her in the middle of a public bathroom. You immediately apologize to Drilbur and move to return her to her Pokeball. Only the shaking of her head stops you.
'She says that bringing out the entire team must mean you're about to say something important.' Huh, you look Drilbur in the eyes, trying to confirm what Renne just said to you, to which the Ground-Type vigorously nodded their head. Alright, you'll have to make this quick, then.
"You and Roland will be battling a trainer later, when we win we'll be allowed to battle a Gym Leader tomorrow." You say, putting more confidence in your words than you actually feel. "They're the strongest trainers in settlements like these and they help trainers like me and the local wild Pokemon get stronger."
From what you remember from your lessons, a lot of the Pokemon employed by a Gym are either recruited from local Wild Pokemon populations or are under the direct ownership of the League. In some Gyms, rosters are filled out by the offspring of the Gym Leader's Pokemon. That of course doesn't include any Pokemon owned by the Gym Trainers or a Leader's personal team.
"Afterwards we're gonna you two are gonna do some last minute training later tonight with Erika and her new Pokemon." You say while pointing to Roland and Drilbur. You got the message from your friend earlier. She wants to introduce her new Pokemon to you and it'll be a good opportunity to train up and catch up with Erika.
"I know you said you didn't wanna participate in any Trainer battles, Renne, but it's still important for you to be a part of these little team sessions." You preempt what you think the Espurr was going to say, causing the Pokemon to look away. You scold the other two for snickering, at least Roland stopped when he noticed that he was doing it alongside Drilbur.
You're picking up a little tension between the two of them. You look at how Roland hisses and argues with Drilbur who just laughs at him more. You're slightly reminded of how Timothee was with the other kids a while back. Reacting way too hard to light teasing and jokes, especially about him and Tamara. It'll be something you'll have to work on later.
You check your ARCUS for the time and notice that you only have a few minutes left. You wrap up your pep talk and recall your team back to their balls. Making your way over to where the appointment will be held, you stamp down on the trepidation you feel in your heart.
You can do this. If you want to have any chance of catching Nemona and doing your family proud, you have to do this. To be the very best you can be.
You're led by a staff member into a large hall with multiple Gym Trainer battles already ongoing. There were a handful of arenas and judging from a glance, seemed to be slightly smaller than the ones you're used to. The arenas themselves were the familiar flat grasslands with a large pond that you remember from your entrance examination. Though this had a decent number of trees and shrubs and bushes scattered about.
At a corner of the hall, next to a table were a number of Gym Trainers in discussion with one another. Next to them were a number of papers and Pokeballs and seated right beside them was a Kadabra, eyes aglow, likely maintaining the barriers used in the arenas. There's also a terribly bored looking Sawsbuck.
You wonder what they were doing when the Pokemon's horns began to glow, both of them pointed at one of the arenas. On the field were the tattered remnants of destroyed grass, foliage and trees. Right before your eyes, all of them began to regrow and repair. The broken top half of the tree even extends itself and crawls its way towards one of the tree trunks.
"...Ganzorig?" You're snapped out of observing the Sawsbuck in action by the sound of your last name. You reply affirmatively and are told to prepare you and your Pokemon for your battle by an exhausted looking Gym Trainer. They've probably been at this the whole day, huh?
Now focusing, you get a better look at your opponent. He's a stocky man around your father's age. He's wearing the uniform you've come to associate with the Cortondo Gym, a light green shirt and pants with white highlights. It's also obvious that from the look on his face and the energy drink on the table next to him that he's exhausted.
"Greetings Challenger, this battle is meant to test and see if you pass the minimum baseline of challenging the Cortondo Gym." The trainer says in a tired tone, like they're reading off of a script. "It'll be a 2v2, no fatalities allowed, no switching and the challenger must send their Pokemon out first. Are you ready?"
You nod and immediately send out Roland, the least you could do is get through this as fast as possible. The Gym Trainers must be overworked with how the Circuits just opened up. Roland floats on down to the middle of the arena, little chest held up high, eager for battle.
The Gym Trainer sent out a Venonat, right into one of the trees in the arena. You briefly see the Pokemon poke its head out of the canopy, making a cute little noise at Roland. You take deep breaths to steady yourself as your opponent counts down to the beginning of the battle.
At the sound of zero, you immediately order Roland to sink into the shadows so he can close the distance. Back in the tree Venonat's eyes glow blue, reminding you of your Entrance Exam when Psyduck used Confusion. By the time Venonat had gotten their attack off, Roland was already halfway to the tree, having jumped from shadow to shadow. He briefly locks up, before shaking it off and continuing on his way to Venonat's position.
With their attack failing, Venonat is ordered by their trainer to begin setting up a Poison Powder for when Roland gets close. You click your tongue, trying to remember what scrap of details and knowledge you know about Venonats.
Remembering that Venonats are attracted to lights, you shout at Roland to start building up Infestations and a Will-o-Wisp in his mouth as a distraction when he gets close. Roland jumps into the shadow of the tree Venonat was on, his mouth filled with flames and bright sickly green lights.
The Venonat was clinging atop one of the tree's branches, eyes darting left and right waiting for Roland to strike. Their fuzzy exterior glistened with purple poisonous dust.
Just then, a handful of Infestations flew off from Roland's mouth as he peeked his head up from the ground. The bright lights distract Venonat and it tears its eyes away from Roland for a few seconds. They only snap back into attention by their trainer's call, but that's all Roland needs. He floats as close as he can get and unleashes Will-o-Wisp point blank, burning away the layer of poisonous dust and knocking the Pokemon out of the tree.
You capitalize on this by having Roland refuse to let up, following up his attack with a Crunch, biting into the Pokemon until they fainted. Roland turns to you and croons in delight as the Gym Trainer recalls their Pokemon.
The next Pokemon, a Pineco, goes just as smoothly as the first. That was surprisingly easy. Roland barely even got scratched.
"Congratulations, please return to the lobby to receive the appointment for your Gym Test…"A look of disdain flashed in the Gym Trainer's face, as their eyes flicker down to a tablet in his hand, the look vanishing just as quick. "Apologies, I meant Gym Battle. Have a nice day."
You call back Roland to you, congratulating him on the battle, your starter melting into your hands in delight. You scratch the grooves connecting his horns to his head the way he likes as you make your way to the lobby.
Your appointment is tomorrow night, which means you'll be able to leave Roland and Drilbur at the Pokemon Center overnight after the battle without issue. Afterwards you head out of the office building, making your way to the Gym proper.
It's time to see a Gym battle.
"Katie! You're up in five minutes." Oh, she needs to wrap this call up fast.
"Gotta go, Leila. Thanks again for doing this, I'll transfer the payment over by tonight." Katie says in a hushed voice. She'd expected some people in the Trainer Association to be working for the Count, but someone as high-ranking as Bragg being one of them is beyond worrying.
"Don't worry it's on the house, Bragg made it personal. Call you later if anything new comes up." With that, Leila hangs up and leaves her mind a whirl with new information.
Multiple Trainer Associates in the Count's pocket, entire Pokemon populations up and vanishing, and whatever the weird machines are. She can feel a headache coming. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she readies up for her next battle. Hopefully that'll take her mind off of it.
Adjusting her iconic chef's hat to make sure her mic is good, she also double checks the Pokemon she's gonna be using for the next challenger. A number of 0-badges to open the battle, a few 1-badge and 2-badge Pokemon to serve as aces and one or two 3-badges (contained in Great Balls) just in case. A standard 1st Badge challenge line-up. She even has little stickers on all of them to denote which Pokeball contains what Pokemon.
"Katie!" Yells one of her Gym Trainers, causing her to hurry up her pace.
Making her way to the stage, she looks around at the audience. Live attendees peak around dusk and start to decrease as the night goes on. The clamor and ambient noise of a crowd in anticipation fill the air. She lets it wash over her as she puts on her best and most comforting smile.
Now on the elevated platform above the field, she examines the young man standing across from her. Wearing an unfamiliar red Mesagoza uniform, the young man had short silver hair and a calm placid expression hiding their nerves. So this is the Class VII. She puts a little more effort into her smile to try and soothe the young man's nerves. Some of the tension bleeding off of his shoulders shows that it had some effect, at least.
While she lists off the rules of the battle, she looks around at the audience, a little habit of hers back from when she was just a challenger going through the Gyms. It lets her see the mood of the crowd as a battle begins. Her eyes looks over the people in the stands, seeing their faces and—
Alice?
There, sitting right next to some other students wearing the same uniform as the challenger is—was one of her closest friends. They grew distant after she went to Mesagoza and Alice went on her journey. This is the first time she's seen her in the Gym. She looks away, focusing back on her opponent. That's in the past now, little use reminiscing, she has a job to do.
The announcer bids the challenger—Atticus Hanzo—to release his first Pokemon. A red beam of light reveals a Spinarak, on the larger side for its species. Coloration and the patterns on the Pokemon hint that it's likely a breed from one of the northern forests in Paldea. Tagtree, probably.
Atticus had directly released his Pokemon onto one of the trees in the arena. Good, a lot of first time trainers forget to make use of the Pokeball's mechanism as a way to position their Pokemon. A common mistake is them releasing their Pokemon right in the middle of the field and being forced to scramble to cover during the battle proper.
She runs a finger through the Pokeballs in her belt. Something easy to get in the mood of things should work. Settling on a Pokeball, she releases her first Pokemon right onto the field's pond. A young Surskit, one of the children of a Gym Trainer's Masquerain.
A standoff between Spinarak in the trees and Surskit in the water, both a decent amount of distance from one another. It was broken by the sound of the announcer's voice, as both Pokemon made their moves.
"Hattori, just like we practiced!" Atticus shouted at his Pokemon prompting them to vanish into the tree's thicket. Webs and strings begin to shoot out of the tree and onto its surroundings.
"Water Gun," says Katie, as Surskit draws water from the surrounding pond to send at where she last saw the Spinarak. The attacks fail to garner a response, either having been resisted by the Spinarak or missing entirely.
She tells Surskit to close the distance with Aqua Jet, to which the Pokemon complies. This way, she and Surskit can play into the challenger's hand and probe at whatever he's planning. It would do no good to shut him down this early, a half-formed plan in her head to flood the area around the tree, abandoned.
Sinking down into the pond, Surskit readies themself and after a brief moment, a burst of water erupts from the surface. Launching themself onto the tree the Spinarak was in, behind them was a water bubble the size of Surskit's head. At that moment, the Spinarak chose to make their move.
Webs began to shoot at the Surskit, who intercepted them with short streams of Water Gun from their bubble, sometimes using the force of their attacks to dodge webs it couldn't hit in time. As it neared the tree, needle thin strings shot out from Surskit, right onto a branch. Using their momentum, Surskit swung their way to land onto another branch. With their spindly legs, they skittered closer to the trunk of the tree to face their opponent.
However Atticus uses that moment of Surskit repositioning to attack. "Now, Hattori!" He yells as Spinarak emerges from hiding in the canopy, carrying a ball of web in their mandibles the size of their own body. Spinarak flings it at the intruding Surskit who uses their bubble to react with a Bubblebeam to break the web ball.
The Bubblebeam punches through the center of the web ball, reaching the target, sending Spinarak almost flying before they caught themself with a String Shot to the trunk of the tree, swinging their way back to grab onto it. But inside that web ball was a glob of purple liquid hitting Surskit and the branch, the mix of webs tying them both together. The sizzling Acid blinds Surskit and melts parts of the bench they were standing on.
Hm, a mix of Acid and Sticky Web is impressive for a first timer. The fact that the web ball hadn't dissolved from the Acid means a decent amount of control in Poison TE.
The attack had trapped Surskit onto a now dissolving branch, causing both to fall down onto the mess of webs and string below. The Spinarak had already crawled their way over to face Surskit just as they were about to fall.
"Electroweb, Hattori!"
Katie's eyes slightly widen as Spinarak shoots a single electrified strand at the threads of the web below. The web lights up just as her Pokemon falls onto it and it crackles as her Surskit is electrocuted. The Surskit convulses in its bid to escape, shooting Water moves at Spinarak to no avail. The Spinarak dodges each attempt, all the while maintaining that singular thread connecting them to their trap, before the Surskit finally passes out.
Impressive, a surprisingly versatile moveset. Judging from afar, the makeshift electroweb isn't as powerful as something a Joltik at a similar level could make but it's effective enough especially with the much longer lasting webs of the Ariados line.
As she runs a finger atop the Pokeballs, feeling the worn surfaces and stickers, she contemplates on who to send out next. Venipede would be able to contest the Spinarak in terms of poison and wouldn't be hindered by the webs as much. Might even force them to terastallize. Dwebble meanwhile would be a much simpler opponent, they'd cut through the webs decently well and would just test the challenger's capability to deal pure damage.
Sighing, she decides to go easy on the challenger, sending Dwebble out onto the field near the tree Spinarak has holed up in. Atticus would still have a single Pokemon left, assuming they're as well-trained as Spinarak then he should have no problem.
A red beam releases Dwebble, who emerges from their shell eager for battle. One of the kids of Cake, her own personal Crustle. A feisty little guy that often gets into squabbles with his older siblings even if they're stronger. Which reminds her, she should probably move one of them to the 5-Badge lineup once they evolve.
As always, Dwebble opens with a Fury Cutter on their own shell, a little trick she picked up when she was still early in her career. It lets her Pokemon squeeze just a little bit more power onto their attacks from the get go.
"Cut right through, Dwebble!" With that, Dwebble skitters into action and slashes through the now no longer electrified webs. The strings and webbings were almost as thick as a finger from how many of them were barring the way from the tree.
It's when one of Dwebble's claws gets stuck that Spinarak strikes again. "A focused Electroweb, then use Agility back into the canopy!" Spinarak shoots a singular thick string right at the webs Dwebble was stuck in. The string hits and the surroundings erupt into a small field of electricity, much stronger than the one used against Surskit. But curiously, it's much more contained as well, only up to a small circle surrounding Dwebble. And it doesn't last as long either.
Dwebble emerged slightly singed, their defenses having resisted the attack, though they remained still trapped in the web. "Rock Blast, Dwebble!" Katie shouts as with their free claw, Dwebble first stabs then cuts into the ground around them. Rocks and stones almost as big as them, jut out from the earth across the web field, tearing and breaking, freeing Dwebble. Ruffling in the canopy alerts her to the challenger's response.
Two more of those web balls fly towards Dwebble, forcing Katie to respond. "Break them with Rock Blast, then retreat into your shell." Stones as big as her hand fly from the ground impaling the web balls, breaking them. As expected they contained more of the same Acid used earlier. Said acid splashing onto Dwebble's rocky shell, only causing minor damage in the form of some chipping.
She looks over to the challenger Atticus, to see how he's reacting and to her surprise he seems worried. His brows are furrowed, his mouth pressed into a thin line and he's scratching at his right wrist. Did she misjudge? If he doesn't have any Pokemon that can punch through Dwebble's defenses then he's in trouble.
With a word from her, Dwebble jabs both his claws into the ground, pulling out a rock in the shape of a discus. A modified Smack Down. And now to wait for the opportune moment.
Another batch of web balls are thrown from the canopy. At a glance, they seem smaller than the prior ones, so it seems the Spinarak is tiring out. In the seconds before their attack hits Dwebble, Katie weighs her options.
If she tells Dwebble to Withdraw again to negate the attack, Spinarak will have the opportunity to reposition away from their spot and thus away from a Smack Down counterattack. It'll just prolong the battle and Spinarak will tire out first without a change of strategy on the challenger's end and their options are already limited on that front. But if she tells Dwebble to take the hit in order to get Smack Down off…
It'll force the challenger into their second Pokemon and Dwebble would be in a worse position than if she hadn't ordered Smack Down. It should be fine as long as his second Pokemon is as well-trained as his first.
She gives the order and the expected occurs. Dwebble throws the stone and gets hit with both web balls, which explode into acid on contact. The smoke dissipates, revealing Dwebble covered in webs hindering their movement and their shell sizzling from the acid.
Meanwhile the thrown stone smacks Spinarak with a crunch, knocking them off the tree and onto the ground below. The legs on the left side of their body are broken and with the damage from Surskit's Bubblebeam from earlier, the Spinarak is on their last legs. The next Rock Blast concludes the challenger's first Pokemon.
She looks back at her challenger, who has his Pokeball in his hands, his fingers drumming the top in deep thought. In an official League Battle such as this, trainers on both sides have thirty seconds to decide on which Pokemon to send out next if their Pokemon on the field had been switched out or had fainted. It's also used as a moment to gather one's thoughts and consider one's next options.
And from the look on Atticus' face, whatever Pokemon is in that ball doesn't present them with much. At the twenty-eight second mark, he finally releases Croagunk, his last Pokemon. Curiously he hadn't released this one in the pond, which might mean it doesn't have Dry Skin. Of course, she could be mistaken and it does have that ability and—
Ugh, it's just a First Badge battle, Katie! Don't overthink it, she's supposed to relax with this!
The Croagunk leaps into action with Fake-Out, disappearing in a blur before returning in front of Dwebble with their right arm. Dwebble flinches back, giving the Croagunk the opportunity to puke liters of dark purple ooze onto her Pokemon. Despite the onslaught, Dwebble emerges from it not as badly hurt as they could've been.
She orders Dwebble to retaliate with Fury Cutter, which cuts a deep gash on Croagunk's chest. Causing the Pokemon to leap away and fall back, clutching their chest. Looking at both Pokemon, she's able to put it together.
The challenger might lose this.
The Croagunk is nowhere near strong enough to hurt Dwebble and is already winded from their initial attack. Yet Dwebble is still eager to fight; they haven't retreated into their shell, nor do their legs jitter.
"Dwebble, close in and don't let them get away." She says while holding back a sigh. This might give the challenger the best chance of winning or at least ekeing out a draw. Even slowed down by webs, Dwebble crosses the distance between the two Pokemon decently quick. Croagunk turns and croaks at their trainer for instructions, said Trainer however is clearly panicking now.
If she recalls correctly he's the first of the students to challenge the Gym for this year's circuit. She feels sorry for him. She loves her alma mater but it can be a pretty cutthroat place.
A melee of cuts, slashes, chops and jabs occurs as both Pokemon throw caution to the wind. Dwebble's enjoying himself while Croagunk is trying to do as much damage as they can. Occasionally going for the puking attack from earlier. Poisonous puke melting the already upturned earth and stone surrounding the brawl.
Finally both Pokemon begin to slow their movements, growing lethargic before eventually stopping. The Croagunk cuts and bruises all over its body slumps to the floor while Dwebble's shell has been broken, cracks covering it. Both Pokemon had fainted the exact same time.
A draw.
The audio barrier separating her and the challenger from the rest of the audience goes down as the cheers and sounds reach her ear. As per League rules, battles below the 6th Badge Level that end in a draw are considered a victory for the challenger. Stepping down from the raised platform she makes her way over to the challenger, making a brief stop to the announcer's stand to pick up a copy of the Gym's TM, a handheld cash transfer terminal and of course, the Bug Badge.
Having reached Atticus, she looks him over one last time, the most enthusiastic smile she can muster on her face. Like most trainers who just won their first badge, who looks torn between relief and exhaustion. Surprisingly he lacks the sheer joy some people have after a battle. Well, that's none of her business.
"Congratulations, challenger. May I have your Trainer Card, please?" Atticus hands it over, which she takes to transfer over the ten thousand cash prize as well as digitally marking it with Bug Badge's code, signifying that they've won their first badge at her gym.
As she hands Atticus the TM and his Trainer Card, she decides to give him a little tip. "Speaking as one Mesagozan Student to another, you're a very creative young man. It's rare to see such strategies so early in a trainer's career. But do work on your fundamentals, Croagunk is a Poison and Fighting Pokemon after all."
"Ah, thank you for your advice!" Atticus gives her shallow bow before saying farewell and running off to wave at his classmates at the stands.
Which brings her attention back to…
Alice.
This time, Alice catches her staring. She awkwardly waves hello at her old friend who briefly returns it before going back to speaking with the Mesagoza students. She sighs and goes to take her ten minute break before her next battle.
They used to be friends when they were younger, close ones too. The two of them and sometimes Peter used to talk about wanting to go on their Journey together.
But her mom got her that scholarship in Mesagoza and the rest was history. She doesn't regret her time there, but it's hard not to think about what ifs.
She hands over the Pokeballs of the Pokemon she used to a Gym Trainer to get them healed and rested up. Checking the Pokemon shifts, none of the Pokemon currently on her are due for a break for another hour. Gym Pokemon operate in shifts, with Pokemon off-duty being let out of their Pokeballs and allowed to rest and roam the Gym facilities. Between the two Gym buildings, there's probably about a little over a hundred Pokemon of various species out at any time.
She checks her phone, finding no new messages from Leila. The poaching problem has been driving her up a wall for months now. Typically most poachers are from impoverished backgrounds and it's a dirty little secret in the poorer provinces that most families know someone who's moonlighted as a poacher once or twice.
But what's been happening in the past few months is too organized, too efficient, too militarized if some of the reports she's getting are true. The Council's breathing down her neck to handle it personally, but she can't be everywhere at once.
"You're up in a few minutes!" The voice of one of her trainers snaps her out of her thoughts. She looks over and it's Julie carrying her Larvesta. Her sister, Cassandra, was one of her better Gym Trainers, one of the few people in the world with a Volcarona. That was before Rika recruited her into her little division for something a year or so ago.
Which just reminds her that she needs to look into training a successor soon. It's standard practice and this job is starting to make her look older than she actually is.
With her break over she makes her way back over to the arena, this time facing a young girl with black hair and a green streak running through it. She's also wearing a Mesagoza uniform while having an almost infectious smile on her face. She smiles right back at the challenger while explaining the rules. Having three Pokemon means she gets to have a single switch.
The challenger—Nemona—nods vigorously as she sends out her first Pokemon, a Cutiefly. Running a finger through the Pokeballs on her belt contemplating her choice. The field's been repaired in the short break she took between challengers. The pond was cleaned, debris and webs removed and even the tree has been replaced.
She settles on Dottler; the Cutiefly line are mostly supportive in nature with the occasional ranged capability. Dottler would be able to contest them at range while healing off any status ailments with Recover. Dottler wouldn't be able to do it for long, but should be long enough that it'd wear down the Fairy-type.
As the announcer begins the battle, the Cutiefly flies all over the battlefield, colored dust and powder trailing in their wake. She tells Dottler to stay in position and to track the fairy's movements, attacking when needed. There's no point in trying to evade and hide against a Cutiefly, they're one of the few Pokemon that can naturally use aura to track enemies.
A back and forth between the two Pokemon begins to play out.
Cutiefly would send gusts of Fairy Wind carrying Stun and Poison Powders at Dottler, who just has to take them. The attacks tear off little bits and pieces from Dottler's carapace allowing for the Powders to sink in and take effect. Dottler retaliates with Struggle Bug, taking the pain of the poison sinking into them and turning it out into attacks that home in on Cutiefly.
The little green lights chase after Cutiefly, and Dottler uses Confusion so that it couldn't evade the attack. The fairy seizes, seemingly allowing some of the Confusion attacks to connect. It seems to prioritize flying across the field and attacking Dottler over using their aura senses to predict its attacks and evade.
This exchange would continue on for another few minutes, broken up by Dottler using Recover to regenerate the damage taken. Cutiefly has no such recourse; their attacks get sloppy, Fairy Winds missing Dottler entirely and sending powders nowhere near where Dottler was. After flying around all over the battlefield, the fairy type finally goes down. She immediately orders Dottler to squeeze in another Recover despite the exhaustion clear in their face.
Katie knows a setup when she sees one. The powders are littered all over the battlefield. From the trees to the bushes and grass, even the odd rock jutting out from the ground is covered in the stuff. Now the question is if the challenger would make good use of—
"You'd be having more fun if you stopped holding back!" Nemona suddenly says as she lifts a Pokeball to send out her next Pokemon. While she couldn't hear the audience, it's obvious from her position how they're murmuring about what the challenger just said. Down one Pokemon and saying something like that. Katie resists the urge to roll her eyes, and politely ignores what she just said.
A red beam reveals Monferno as Nemona's second Pokemon. "C'mon, Sunny! Let's show her how serious we are!" Sunny cheers as they wind their right arm back for a punch before releasing it and vanishing in a blur. Mach Punch.
"Reflect, now!" she orders as Dottler slowly manifests a pink barrier over them. The poison has sapped too much of their strength, as they're unable to get it up in time for Monforno to punch through it, sending illusionary broken pink glass everywhere.
Sunny's fist connects to Dottler's side, sending them back. Dottler's at least recovered enough of their shell to not get sent flying but an indent of a fist is visible on their carapace.
"Send them up, Sunny!" Closing in, the Monferno lifts the weakened Dottler and throws them up into the air, Katie orders them to use Confusion in retaliation but Dottler's too tired for even that. An Incinerate aimed upwards, emerging from Sunny's mouth, cooks and knocks out her first Pokemon.
Hm, maybe she should take her—no, she has a job to do. It's immature to focus and give her full attention in a fight with someone who doesn't even have a badge.
Katie sends out her second Pokemon, a Dewpider, right into the pond. A quick Aqua Ring cleanses the pond of the stray powders that floated their way onto the surface. Before she could do anything else, though, Nemona uses her only switch to recall Monferno.
Third Pokeball in hand, Nemona releases a Wattrel into the skies above the pond. The bird circles up ahead, pumping out its chest to charge electricity for an attack.
Baiting out a Water type by sending her strong Monferno early, at least someone's done their research. Katie drums the top of the Great Ball, one of the two 3-badge Pokemon she brings for situations like these. Usually reserved only for trainers on their second or third year in the circuit, and finally challenging her for their 1st Badge or 2nd Badge. She uses her switch to recall Dewpider before Wattrel could get an attack off.
She looks across the arena towards her opponent. The challenger is looking straight at her, more specifically their gaze is on her Pokeballs. She returns their look with a smile of their own as she grabs a Great Ball.
"Come on out, Shuckle!" Released onto the field was a red and white rock hard shell. There were holes on it and emerging from them were indistinct (and in her experience sticky) yellow appendages. The largest of them had the Pokemon's face on it, two beady eyes, staring up above at the Wattrel.
The look on the challenger's face was beyond ecstatic. "This is what I've been waiting for! Let's go, Mercury, let's have an awesome battle!" Without even a word, Wattrel's wings begin to flap as they circle the battlefield, miniature tornadoes flying from them, accompanied by jolts of electricity coming from their beak.
The tornadoes fly around the battlefield, causing gusts of wind gathering up dust, debris and most of all Powders in the air. So that's what she's aiming for. She orders to prepare for Sticky Rocks, as they flood their surroundings with the natural adhesive excretions of a Shuckle.
In the holes facing down on the ground, two appendages dig in and begin to upturn the ground around Shuckle. This, combined with the excretions, turns two meters of hard soil into a sticky, glue-like slurry. The rocks and stone too big to liquidate are worn down and sharpened into projectiles.
All of that happening underground. To the audience, it's as if the ground slowly melted around Shuckle turning into mud. Flying up above, Mercury begins their attack. Using their Electric-moves to distract Shuckle, Mercury has the gust and tornadoes close in. Most of them were around as tall as a person, but they towered over the two Pokemon. With a flick of an appendage, walls and waves of the adhesive mud act as barriers stopping the wind or drowning some of the smaller tornadoes and pulls the debris and powders into the slurry.
But the control over the winds Wattrel has is surprisingly decent for a Pokemon at that level. Winds turn hard right and left to maneuver around the barriers. Tornadoes break up and reconfigure once waves pass. While some of the attacks failed to get through, from the purple marks on her Pokemon's skin and glittering powder on Shuckle's shell as they're buffeted by wind.
At the same time, Shuckle hurls and flings mud and glue at Wattrel who dodges and weaves out of the way, they have to. Even a single drop getting on the Pokemon's feathers would lock up that part of the wing slowing their reactions. It starts with tiny little droplets landing on Mercury's back, weighing them down. Then tiny droplets on their wings. Nemona orders to burn them off with Shock Waves and it does that, temporarily freeing Wattrel. But not enough.
Just like how Shuckle is poisoned, Mercury's movements are slowed and lethargic, their wings caked in the adhesive mud, both dried from the Shock Waves and wet from new droplets or flung attacks connecting. That's good enough.
"Smack Down, Shuckle." With great effort, Shuckle's appendages dig into the mud field and pulls out one of the two pillars of stone they'd managed to carve out. It was as large as a person and twice as long as one and with a fling, was currently barreling towards a Pokemon a tenth of its size.
"One last Shock Wave, give it your all, Mercury. Make sure they stick." Nemona yells. Wattrel, chest still pumped, inhales then exhales a positively massive wave of electricity. It flash-dries some of the mud around Shuckle and scorches the grass and bushes that it can reach. The pillar connects and knocks Wattrel out of the air and they crash into the now-dried mud below.
Defiant, they send little Thundershocks at Shuckle, who's still poisoned but covered in powder and dried mud. After a few seconds of struggle, Mercury finally faints and it brngs Nemona down to her last Pokemon. From the look on her, Nemona couldn't be more excited. Their smile is almost infectious, a massive grin on their face. Unable to help herself, Katie smiles, it's one that reaches all the way to her cheeks, one that makes her feel like a teen again, her first real smile of the day.
"Well then, Nemona, shall we finish this? Rest, Shuckle," she says with a flourish. She almost wishes to give the kid a badge even if she's gonna lose. But it's out of her hands. The purple discoloration on Shuckle's skin begins to disappear as a comically large snot bubble forms on Shuckle's nostril.
"I always wanted to hear that! Let's make some fireworks, Sunny!" Nemona yells as she sends her Monferno out again, right on top of Shuckle.
"Into the sky, Sunny! Let her rip!" The Monferno emerged from the red beam of the Pokeball, arms up. With a single move, they throw them down, jets of fire coming from their hands. The fire reached Shuckle and…
For a brief moment, Katie was deaf.
The sheer force of the explosion sends a shockwave through the entire battlefield. It sent debris everywhere, burned grass, flash dried the remaining adhesive mud and even emptied up the little pond in the field. Atop the smoke flying through the air, with fire underneath their feet was a slightly singed Monferno.
At the ground zero crater, with a nearly broken shell and scorched appendages was Shuckle, their natural stickiness all dried up and barely clinging to consciousness. She's genuinely stunned.
As Nemona orders Sunny to finish off Shuckle, Katie wracks her mind to figure out how the challenger did it. The only thing that stands out to her was the Powder.
Of course, one of the rarer Bug moves, the Cutiefly and Vivillion lines learn it naturally. It clings to surfaces and is highly flammable. A way for the two species to combat Fire-Type Pokemon. Highly flammable and explosive, it would cause Fire-type attacks to literally blow up in their face. But applied to something else and given the right spark, and well.
She looks over to see Monferno lifting up an unconscious Shuckle like a title belt, the audience utterly stunned. A young girl who'd been goading her the entire battle despite outwardly losing had turned the tide most spectacularly in just a few seconds. It's battles like these that remind her of why she battles in the first place.
As she sends out Dewpider to a foregone conclusion, she commits Nemona's face to memory.
Nemona Mendoza, huh? That'll be a name to remember.
Drilbur jumps into the air to dodge a low kick from Dlanor, Erika's new Scyther, who follows up the attack with a slash from their right scythe. Your Pokemon parries the attack with a Metal Claw of her own. The force of impact sends both Pokemon flying back away from one another. Each using their respective claws to skid on the ground and stop their momentum.
Jabbing both claws into the ground, Drilbur pulls out a rock nearly as big as she was in her hands and hurls it at Scyther. Erika orders Dlanor to dodge but the Scyther ignores her, instead opting to cut the incoming stone in half. A mistake.
The rock was hollow. The moment Scyther cuts it in half, the mud inside splashes onto their face and blinds Dlanor. The Scyther shakes the mud off their face, just in time to see Drilbur fling herself at them with a Spark. Your Pokemon's fur is standing on edge and electricity coursed through their claws. A direct hit that knocks Scyther back sending dust everywhere.
An enraged look crosses Scyther's face but before they could retaliate, a bell rings ending the match. Theodora is over at the stands managing the match point system between you and Erika. Since you got the first good solid hit in, the spar is your victory.
You give a thumbs up to Erika who returns it while sighing as she recalls a still seething Scyther back to their Pokeball. "Let's take a break for a bit while the arena's repaired." Erika says, eyes turning to the field.
It's been in use for an hour or so now, and it shows. Trees and bushes toppled or torn up. Holes and rocks scattered about from Drilbur or occasionally Cornelia.
After watching the Gym Battle, the three of you decided to head to one of the local Battle Arenas to train and get used to the new members of your respective teams. You've been sparring with one another for a few hours now, learning how to fight with your new Pokemon.
You've also been using this opportunity to train Roland and get him acquainted with fighting stronger Bug Pokemon. While you doubt that you're gonna fight a Scyther on Katie's team, it's better to be prepared than to be caught unaware.
Currently your little group is rotating between fighting one another to give your Pokemon a chance to rest in between spars. At least both Roland and Drilbur seem to be enjoying it. Though from what you're noticing are for completely different reasons.
As you nod to Erika and call Drilbur back to your side, you ponder on how your two Pokemon have different attitudes to battle and other Pokemon. Roland loves battling, a competitive streak against other Pokemon, friendly or not. Meanwhile Drilbur just likes company, whether in battle or otherwise.
You go to pet and scratch behind Drilbur's ear in the way she likes it, but you pull away at the last moment as there's still some remaining static on her fur. Roland, who's wrapped around your neck whenever he isn't sparring, croons in worry.
"It's fine, it'll probably dissipate sooner or later." Drilbur looks up at you in expectation. It seems she wants you to carry her like you do Renne. "Maybe later, alright? I promise." Drilbur yips in delight and goes to run off to where Erika and Theodora were talking to each other in the stands.
As you approach you hear the tail end of what the two were talking about.
"...multiple species of Pokemon just disappearing sounds like a catastrophe. No wonder Pokemon across the province are agitated. This is the sort of thing that escalates into a…oh shit, Mary control your Drilbur, please!" Erika was panicking as Drilbur was running around their legs and occasionally jumping trying to grab at something. You follow Drilbur's eyes to what they were staring at and see a small gem necklace around Erika's bare neck. It was a deep pink gem cut in the shape of a diamond.
"Sorry! She's a little hyperactive, still trying to figure out what a Drilbur's diet should be." You hurry over and scoop up Drilbur in your hands, ignoring the little jolt of static passing through your body. Drilbur turns around and looks at you with a face that radiates smug satisfaction.
Erika dusts off dirt from her leggings and adjusts her cardigan before responding. "It's fine, they seem kind of young for how strong they are," says Erika as she extends a finger to poke at Drilbur's nose before she pulls it away as Drilbur goes to try and bite her. Luckily your grip is strong enough to keep her in place.
"Well, according to Leo, he is one of the stronger Pokemon in his little battalion." Said Pawniard looks up from where they were polishing their blade-arm with a whetstone. Apparently Theodora bought it for him. Drilbur waves to him, which Leo returns reluctantly. "Nevermind that, though, how about you Erika, you've yet to say how you encountered your feisty new team member?"
"Yea, Erika, you haven't introduced me to them properly yet." You do your best imitation of a pout, though it's hard to cross your arms while still holding onto Drilbur.
"Dlanor's a female Scyther, and it's nothing special honestly. I made a little recipe based on how old Pokeblocks used to be made. I encountered a couple of Scythers through this but Dlanor's the only one that stayed and accepted my offer. Though she did challenge Cornelia to a battle." Erika looks proud at having caught a Pokemon on her own. You put down Drilbur next to Leo, hoping that being next to her friend would distract them and you go and hug Erika.
"See, knew you could do it!" You're so happy for Erika, you really are. Erika sputters in response before surrendering and returning your hug. Eventually the two of you let go, though Erika is more hesitant to do so.
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Mary. I…appreciate…it." Erika says, looking at the end. You only smile at her in response.
"No, I have to thank you for agreeing to help me cram in some last minute training." Nemona's Gym Battle has lit a fire under you. It's the talk of the whole town now, offline and online. If you're to catch up with her, you need all the help you can get.
"If you two are done…" Theodora has an amused look on her face. "Mariana, you mentioned something about a diet for Drilbur? I believe I can help in that regard."
The three of you spend the rest of the night discussing the diets of some of your Pokemon. Erika's Carbink primarily eats stones and rare gems, only occasionally eating berries. Meanwhile Leo and Drilbur are both carnivorous. Meaning you'll likely have to go out of your way to accommodate a diet for them. Apparently both Pokemon occasionally munch and eat raw metals and ores to strengthen their blades for the former and claws for the latter.
Drilbur's evolution into becoming an Excadrill would be reliant on a healthy diet of both meats and metals if what Theodora says is correct.
"You seem really passionate about Pokemon Caretaking, Theodora." You say as the person in question finishes up an explanation of how polishing and sharpening is a necessary part of maintenance for Steel-Type Pokemon.
"I aim for excellence in all fields, darling." Theodora declares with bravado. "It's something I've had interest in since I was younger."
"I can confirm, My Lady was such a precocious child. Don't believe her if she says it all self learned. I taught her everything I know." You and Erika jump out of your skins out of shock at a new person's voice right behind the two of you. You two turn around and it's the familiar face of Virgillia.
"Apologies for shocking you two, it wasn't my intention." From the look Erika gives her, she doesn't believe that and neither do you. You swear you can almost see a miniscule twitch in the ever present smile on Virgillia's face.
"Virgillia! What are you doing here?" Theodora exclaims in shock.
"My Lady, I am always at your side. But in this specific instance it's to remind you and your friends of what time it is." You check the time and it's already nearly an hour to midnight. Your group cleans up for the day and checks out of the Battle Arena because of how late it was.
You say goodbye to Erika as she heads off to Sevaro Inn while you and Theodora go back to Pirotin Inn for the night. Elise and Ostia had already turned in for the night much earlier than the two of you, having decided to go back to the Inn after watching the Gym Battle.
As you and Theodora walk through the moonlit streets of Cortondo, occasionally passing by street lamps and night goers, you stare at the moon in contemplation of the rest of the week to come.
With the battles of the day done, Katie finally gets to rest. Of course her definition of resting for some people is work.
"That's good, eat up." She says prodding a Wimpod belonging to the Gym to eat the meal she's prepared for them. All around her were Gym Pokemon, they were currently in one of the sub-basements of the Gym building, informally a rest area for the Pokemon. Cooking calms her mind and lets her destress for the day. Even if it is cooking for over a hundred people.
Her phone rings, distracting her from her work, excusing herself she takes the call. Only a handful of people know her personal phone-number so it's probably important.
"This is Katie speaking."
"It's Leila, I have bad news. Bragg's flown the coop and he's taken a handful of trainers with him." Damnit their only lead!
"What now?" She asks, a pit growing in her stomach."
"It gets worse." Of course, why wouldn't it.
"Rika's coming." She blinks.
"Well Shit."
No invention has been more representative of the Orbal Revolution than the Airship. While aircraft in a more miniature form had existed prior to their development a scant few decades ago, the Airship had pioneered a new era in travel. From civilian airships like the Viviane-class to the militarized vessels of the Paldean Air Force, these wonders are a ubiquitous part of the modern world.
This vessel is one of them. Sleek, swift, silent and undetectable by radar, the Goa-class is reserved only for the elite of the Imperial Family and Paldean League. Reversed engineered from the Geomantic Church's Nicaea Airship; the Goa's are the primary mode of swift transportation for upper echelons of the Paldean state.
Lacking the long Psychic, and thus mass-Teleportation, traditions of the Shinwan states, many regions like Paldea rely on similar aircraft for swift travel of groups of VIPs.
One of these vessels carries such two VIPs from the Pokemon League Headquarters overlooking the Great Crater towards their destination: Cortondo.
Rika looks down from the side of the airship onto the landscape below, shifting and changing as the Airship continues its flight. It's a calming exercise for her. All sorts of work has been piling up for her the past weeks, years honestly, and it's good to enjoy the little moments. The quiet tender moments with her Pokemon, the rare opportunity where she and Geeta can just enjoy each other's presence and of course…
"Rika, I wanna ride on Skaro! He wants to race the airship!"
Her little bundle of joy. She looks over to Poppy, who's just come out into the passengers deck. She's not wearing her usual silver dress but one of the dresses Geeta picked out for her. It's kind of tacky, but that's Geeta for you..
"C'mon kid, you know that's dangerous." She says walking over to pick the kid up in her arms. "Why don't we watch something, it'll be a bit before we land in Cortondo." They make their way back down to one of the rooms to watch the shows Poppy likes.
It's the little things that keep you grounded.
FIELD EXERCISE 1
THURSDAY VOTE
AVAILABLE AP: 2
Pokedollars: 48,000 on your Person
League Points: 6,000 on your Trainer Card
Vote will be by Plan Voting
[X] Day Two Mandatory Tasks: Schemes, Plots and Plan move all around Class VII, just barely out of sight. But for now, why don't you finish up on what Cortondo has to offer.
- Titanium Tykes: Some big shot VIP wants you to babysit their kid while they're in town for the day. Shouldn't be that hard, you're great with kids. Just ask Ostia! It'll be fine as long as the kid doesn't decide to go off and…where'd she go? All of Group 1 will do a 1d20+PROW Roll. DC 24. DC Lowered by Ostia Bond. Reward halved if Rolls is failed.
- Rewards: 20,000 Pokedollars, 500 STAT XP
[] Day One Optional Task: Herbal Horticulture: Historically berries have been used as makeshift medicine for Pokemon and even sometimes humans. While modern medicinal technology has long surpassed such practices, certain parts of Paldea still regularly use such medicines to heal sickly Pokemon. However what would normally be a routine harvest of berries and herbs has been complicated by the recent agitation and hostility of Wild Pokemon. -1 AP
- All of Group 1 will do a 1d20+SKLL Roll. DC 20. Lowered due to Prior Actions. Failing Roll will not apply Wound and will still accomplish Task but no Berry Juice item will be received
- Group 1 will battle multiple Pokemon that have taken over a local Berry grove.
- Rewards: 12,000 Pokedollars, 4 Pokemon Materials, 400 Poke XP, Gain 2 Berry Juice (Heal 1 Wound below 3 Wounds and Status Ailment)
[X] Yo! Champ in the Makin': One of the big draws and privileges of Academy Students over regular trainers (aside from the connections and resources made available to them), is essentially getting to cut in line for Gyms during Field Exercises. And what a line it is. With Gyms opening up in August, trainers have begun to flock towards the nearest Gyms to register early and get the chance to fight the Gym Leader. (3/3) -1 AP
- As a Mesagoza Student, your application to fight a gym will be fast tracked.
- Will occur at the end of the day after every other Vote option, with the exception of Crystalline Cat.
- (3/3) The winner of the 2018 Paldean League Conference: she managed to beat Rika and Old Man Tenma, Poppy's predecessor, and lost to Elite Four member Larry Laureano. She's the second-youngest currently reigning Gym Leader, and a proud supporter of La Primera's reformist agenda. A Bug/Normal dual Type Trainer: Katie Aracelli would like to battle. vs. GYM LEADER KATIE ARACELI. MAJOR BATTLE 3V3. Depending on Outcome, Pokemon may gain Wounds. Greatly Increase Bond with Roland and Drilbur
[] ...Do as the Rimeans do: There's still probably some nooks and crannies of the settlement you haven't seen yet. You find that you enjoy exploring places, especially if it's with friends. -1 AP
- Lowers DC of all Mandatory and Optional Tasks for Thursday and Friday by 2
- Increases Bond with Elise and Ostia
[] Cortondo Cart: While you've already most of what you expect you'll need for Field Exercise, it won't hurt to go out and buy some extra. You never know when you'll need it.
- Current Pokedollars: 48,000
- Allows the purchase of healing items as well as some Simple and Advanced TMs
- Healing Item Cost Range: 3,000 - 10,000
- Simple and Advanced TM Cost Range 15,000 - 40,000
[] Dig Deep: With a new member on your team, it seems like a good idea to spend a couple of hours getting to know them. Drilbur is a hyperactive little Pokemon, surpassing even Roland during your first week with him. From how she reacts to everything, she's not used to being on the surface most of the time. Spend some time just the two of you getting used to each others tells and expressions
- Increase Bond with Drilbur
- Gain 300 Poke XP (Roll 1d20+SKLL. DC 16)
[] Song of Roland: Even with your new capture, Roland is going to be the star of the show during your Gym battle. Beyond just getting him trained and prepared for Thursday, you should spend some time with him to show just how much you appreciate and care for him. Nothing too extraneous though, he'll need to be rested up for the Gym Battle.
- Increase Bond with Roland
- Mutually Exclusive with Dig Deep and Crystalline Cat
[] Crystalline Cat: You're pretty sure you've yet to spend time alone with Renne, Roland was always with you during your sessions with her. Time to fix that, see the sights of Cortondo with her, taste the locales, feel the grass beneath your feet. Hopefully your arms don't get tired from carrying her all day.
- Increase Bond with Renne
- Can become a Greatly Increase under a Hard CHRM Roll (DC 26)
- Mutually Exclusive with Song of Roland
- Will always happen after the Gym Battle
Pokemon Materials Gained:
Teddiursa Fur, Wooloo Wool, Yamask Shards, Skiddo Leaves, Deerling Leaves
Cash and STAT Gains this turn
26000 Pokedollars, 400 Poke XP, 1 MXP, 600 PROW XP and 200 KNOW XP
Thanks to Tempera for helping brainstorm the Atticus and Nemona Gym battles
Moratorium for 14 Hours
Thanks to Nemastrea for proofreading this update
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