Alright so first off: The "Really not a fan of Chasing the Sun" rant:
I kinda want to crash and burn as fast as possible with regards to Nemona.
Like I want to crash out at badge 2. This badge if at all possible and the foreshadowing vibes I'm getting are anything to go by
Look, Mariannes thoughts regarding this have been very not fun to read. And whilst I'm all for some internal self loathing trying to chase an impossible goal, there's a couple of things that make this particularly unengaging to me compared to dealing with the aftermath.
First, I don't really feel like we have a connection with Nemona. I know that the character sheet says we're at bond rank 1, nearly 2, but like... I don't feel that at all. And a big part of that is Nemona basically having no interest outside of battling, but Battling is the entire problem. So it doesn't really feel like us burning out and becoming bitter about the whole thing (because I really don't see Marianne coming out of it with a more positive outlook without intervention) is going to lead to some kind of broken relationship that we have to then explore the fallout of.
Then there's the AP cost of futilely continuing to chase after her when we could be looking at all of the other plot lines, like interacting more with the rest of our group, doing Class Rep duties, potenitally investigating who tried to experiment on Renee, figuring out we have Chimecho Repressed Trauma, ect. There's a lot of interesting stuff that we can be doing... but we're inclined to try to push towards the chasing the sun quest to try to outrun Mariannes self-loathing issues.
And those things kinda end up combining. In order to make the most use of our AP, we need to battle Nemona, which is consistently somehting that leaves Marianne feeling like she just can't keep up, whilst we're also unable to actually really connect to Nemona. So it ends up feeling like whilst we're making a lot of progress in terms of our growth, we never really get to enjoy those because of the current issue.
In the end, I guess a part of me is actually just hoping to lose this battle here and be forced to give up on this trait almost immediately? Don't get me wrong, I'd like to win, but I'd also like to just... skip past the months of updates where we keep in this pattern until we suffer an emotional breakdown anyway? I genuinely look forwards to seeing Marianne pull herself together slowly after the inevitable fallout - Honestly, I expect Leaf to play a pretty big role given that she's had personal experience of having to be around Prodigies, even if there's a lot of differences between Red and Nemona.
That being said, if we do succeed here, there is a chance things can maybe shift. We are at almost bond level 2 with Nemona, and even if that doesn't result in a lot, it could lead to maybe something more than the very plain connection at present. It's also clear that Erika is cottoning on to how Marianne doesn't really like Battling at the moment, so some of our friends might try to stage an intervention. Who knows.
I promise to be more normal about this in future, I more or less binged this quest in a day.
Anyway, liking the setting so far. I've never been much of a trails fan (All I know is "Time for Ultraviolence~"), but seeing this kind of fusion setting is always fun. Stuff like Elise using Rin as an actual sword kinda helps to give it that feeling of being... well, an actual JRPG. Likewise, I'm really liking the pokemons personalities. Drilbur is already a really good addition to the team with her energy, and I like Renne's general cynicysm/snarkiness.
Which isn't to say that the rest of the cast isn't great. Erika's been a great mix of complete lesbian disaster and smart but chronically foot-in-mouth, Ostia is precious baby who must be protected, and Elise didn't stand out to me a bunch at first, but she's increasingly showing some of that protagonist energy.
As far as worldbuilding goes, I've probably mostly enjoyed a lot of the social implications, like Mariannes people eating Pokemon and how that informs both their perception by the outside world and how Marianne interacts with Mesagoza, like being unused to working with chicken sized eggs. Then plotwise, the Implications of whatever happened with the Mightyena way back when is really holding my interest, as well as trying to find out more about who the people who experimented on Renne were. Finding and trying to stop whatever group is doing this will be really good motivation for Marianne - she's not a battle freak, but she is really empathetic and I can see a level of outrage at their actions driving her to push herself. And if my vague memories of wikiposts on the Pokemon Adventures Manga are correct, I think there would be some parralels to Leaf that could be interesting to explore.
*Sigh*... I dunno. I'm going to wait for the gym battle. If by the end of it, I think that Mariana hasn't felt some kind of validation beyond a sense of relief at barely keeping pace, I am going to vote to deliberately crash this plotline. Pivot hard into a Prowess growth spurt and take lessons from Elise, focus on being able to fight directly alongside our pokemon, focus on the conspiracy stuff. Feels like a way to put a lot of distance between us and battling whilst engaging with the stuff thats most engaging so far..
"The character I'm reading has negative emotions! I'm going to throw and tantrum and crash the plot over this"
If you didn't notice, Mariana's internal lack of self-worth and and fear of consequences was a constant theme before we voted to rival Nemona. If you look at the other chargen options, they almost all had some kind of crushing outside source of pressure. Arvis obviously wants to write a story with a protagonist who is constantly worrying about something, and if you think that Mariana suddenly becomes a self-confident character with a single vote option you've been ignoring the character Arvis is actually writing.
If you didn't notice, Mariana's internal lack of self-worth and and fear of consequences was a constant theme before we voted to rival Nemona. If you look at the other chargen options, they almost all had some kind of crushing outside source of pressure. Arvis obviously wants to write a story with a protagonist who is constantly worrying about something, and if you think that Mariana suddenly becomes a self-confident character with a single vote option you've been ignoring the character Arvis is actually writing.
...no, i'm saying that we decided to give the character with incredible self worht issues literally impossible standards on top of that instead of giving them room to breathe.
But.
Yeah if this is getting to me that much, I think regardless of anything ele, this quest just isn't for me. I'll take that post down and put the quest on ignore, I'm sorry for making it a problem for everyone.
...no, i'm saying that we decided to give the character with incredible self worht issues literally impossible standards on top of that instead of giving them room to breathe.
But.
Yeah if this is getting to me that much, I think regardless of anything ele, this quest just isn't for me. I'll take that post down and put the quest on ignore, I'm sorry for making it a problem for everyone.
You really aren't, your post perfectly encapsulates my issues with that story line as well. One person complaining is not everyone. No matter how many straw men arguments he dismantles.
I'm curious to see how the gym battle will go, on one hand we're going into a 2v3 where the Gym Leader thinks we have more going on than we actually do, on the other we're not that much less skilled than Nemona and our two pokemon are tough and with a plan in mind.
Wonder how much xp we'll get, win or lose. Do what we have to do to chase that sun.
"...the barrier will filter out any sounds from the crowd. It's meant to help challengers focus." the gym trainer explains as she gives out a list of last minute guidelines before your battle. The brief break after Elise's match is about to end, which means it's your turn up there soon.
You're not sure how you feel about that.
You idly fiddle with the mic they gave you, resisting the urge to count the seconds before your battle.
"Please stop that, it's Gym equipment." Embarrassed, you let go of the mic as the Gym Trainer fixes it again right around your neck. "Everyone gets first Gym nerves, but you still have to be mindful, you know?"
You nod as the Gym Trainer smiles at you before talking to someone on their walkie-talkie. "Yeah yeah, they're ready." She turns to you, while covering the receiver of their walkie-talkie. "Well, that's your cue then, challenger. You have a minute before you head up, so do any rituals you wanna do now. Good Luck, Challenger!" With that, the Gym Trainer heads out of the little waiting room you're in, leaving you alone.
You take a couple of deep breaths, inhaling and exhaling.
The staff led you, Elise and Jacinto here as a batch in preparation for your battles. It's a pretty barebones room, with just some couches for trainers to sit in, a water dispenser- which you're pretty sure Jacinto nearly emptied in the short time he was here- and a small coffee table in the middle, with some old magazines in a compartment beneath it.
Two exits, one leading out to a bunch of hallways that the gym staff use to move throughout the building. And the other leading upstairs to the arena and to your Gym Battle. Above it is a light indicating when you're supposed to head out.
Inhale and exhale.
Focus. This is your first Gym Battle, one of many steps that Trainers throughout all Paldea undertake. The first step to making your family proud, to show that their and your hard work wasn't a waste. The first step to catching up to Nemona.
But in the end, none of that matters right now. Nothing matters outside of the next half an hour, outside of this battle. There is only you, your Pokemon and your opponent.
As the light turns green, you head up with confidence you don't really feel and a cocktail of other feelings you've yet to unravel.
Making your way into the arena, the noise and sounds of the audience reach your ears. Cheers not for you, but for a challenger in general were intermixed with support for Katie. If you focus you might even be able to hear the voices of your friends and classmates. Resisting the urge to try and look for them in the crowd, you keep your gaze facing forward towards the elevated platform overlooking the field itself.
'Only the battle matters.' you say to yourself as quietly as you can.
As you step onto the elevated platform, you repeat your little mantra over and over under your breath, only stopping when the platform reaches its peak. Standing across you, smiling, is Gym Leader Katie Aracelli.
"Welcome, challenger," Katie's tone seems a lot less monotone than it was in the fights prior to your batch. Did something happen to snap her to attention? "This will be a 3v3 battle with one switch-in allowed. Both combatants are allowed to Terastallize one Pokemon each. I reserve the right to use any Pokemon I have with me that I deem fit." You sneak a glance at the more than a dozen Pokeballs and handful of Great Balls around the Gym Leader's belt.
"Of course, killing any Pokemon will see you disqualified and your Trainer Card revoked. Now please, send out your Pokemon." It's now or never then.
With sweaty palms holding her Pokeball, you send Drilbur out onto the field, who gives a cute little roar as she emerges from her Pokeball. She briefly looks around in awe at the sheer size of the audience, more people in one place than she's ever seen in her entire life.
Regular Pokeball in hand, Katie sends out her own first Pokemon. Teddiursa, with its fuzzy light brown fur and a pale crescent moon mark on its face, might just be the most adorable Pokemon you've ever seen in your life. You wonder if you can get a plushie or—
Focus! Don't get distracted!
The two Pokemon on the field wave at one another before settling into their respective stances. Drilbur is crouching, head leaning forwards, getting ready to Dig just like you discussed. Teddiursa has their paws in front of them in a sort of defensive stance, getting ready for anything you might throw at them.
"Begin!"
"Dig! Take your time with it!" Your plan needs an entire network of tunnels for it to work, and Drilbur will be the one to have to dig them all. Hopefully phrasing it like that will make it seem to Katie that Drilbur is weaker than she actually is. When you told Drilbur about what you were going to say, she was ecstatic, that devious little mole.
Drilbur tears into the soil like a hot knife through butter, sending up dirt, rock and stone behind her. Some of it falls back behind, closing off the entrance to the hole she made. It'll make it difficult for Teddiursa to try and follow her in.
"Move around Teddiursa! Hone Claws while you're at it!" The cute little bear starts waddling around the battlefield, never staying in one spot for two long. All the while, it's grinding their claws together until they are much sharper and much longer than they were before.
So Katie's trying to wait Drilbur out? An issue with Dig is that the move can be exhausting and weaker Pokemon that use it have to surface for air and rest at some point. By having Teddiursa anticipate to dodge, they'd be able to move out of the way of the Dig and strike back while Drilbur is vulnerable. It'd work if Drilbur actually was weaker than she is now.
But just by seeing Teddiursa waddle around the field, watching and waiting for Drilbur, it's clear to you that your Pokemon is much faster, and- as the ground underneath Teddiursa finally starts to shake- likely much stronger too.
Extending to a sizable circle around Teddiursa, the ground shakes and stirs. Stone and rock erupt, sending debris flying everywhere, the earth cracking and forming small trenches and crevices. Teddiursa themself is forced onto their knees from the tremor. A small Bulldoze to clear the way and…
The ground erupts underneath Teddiursa, sending them flying into the air as Drilbur emerges from underground to strike. A look of surprise flashes on Katie's face before she quickly gathers herself and responds. "Dive in and Fury Swipes!"
Teddiursa, pushing themselves off of a rock thrown alongside them, dives in to confront Drilbur head on. Claws glowing white, the bear unleashes a bevy of Fury Swipes onto Drilbur who crosses her arms to defend from the assault. Cuts and gashes begin to form on Drilbur as she pulls back to push the bear away.
Finding an opening, Drilbur slams one of her arms onto Teddiursa's stomach in conjunction with using the rocky debris to force them back. The blow knocks the wind out of the bear's lungs as they wheeze from the strike and are sent tumbling onto the ground, unprepared for the barrage of rock and stones that pelt them and take them out.
As a red beam recalls Teddiursa, Drilbur looks to you, a wide smile on her face, and holds two claws in each hand in mimicry of a peace sign. You smile at the signal, the one you agreed on prior to the battle. It means four tunnel branches for Roland to work with.
"You're doing a great job, keep it up!" You say, causing your Pokemon's smile to get even wider. Drilbur really likes battles, huh? You should probably ask her what nickname she wants at some point. Maybe after the Gym Battle.
Turning your attention back to Katie you squint to take a look at the Pokeball she has in her hand, which is blue with twin red protrusions. Shit, a Great Ball already?!
Katie's 2nd Pokemon reveals itself. Rellor. It's a Pokemon that's pretty common in the more dry and arid parts of the Highlands. Though most of your 'interactions' with them is Doremi stopping mid-flight to swoop down and grab them as a snack. You do know that they have psychic abilities that help them control mud and dirt. Time to see if that extends to rocks.
"Drilbur, pelt them with Rock Throw!" Digging her claws into the ground around, Drilbur pulls out two sharpened stones as large as her head and flings them at Rellor.
"Liquify!" Katie yells as Rellor stands atop its signature mud ball, eyes glowing a menacing pink hue. The incoming stones begin to wobble and shift, portions of them falling away until they are half the size of what Drilbur threw at her opponent. One of them is easily dodged while the other is able to connect, hitting Rellor square in the chest, knocking the Bug-Type back. A nasty welt begins to form on Rellor, but it's nowhere near enough.
You click your tongue in thought. Drilbur can probably keep this up, but pulling stones large enough to bypass Rellor's little trick would undermine the stability of the tunnels she's worked so hard on. And you doubt the same trick you had Drilbur pull earlier will work here.
Maybe you could switch? Though you feel that's committing Roland to early—
"Let's have a peek at what our challenger's cooked up in store for us. Dig."
"Think fast, girlie!" The little bug called Rellor kicks his mud ball towards her, which she easily dodges out of the way of, the ball hitting the ground behind her with a splat. But by the time she turns her focus back to the bug, he's already half way down into the ground, trying to dig into her tunnels!
"Stay out! We need those! I worked hard on them!" Drilbur cries as Mariana tells her to Dig after him. A muffled 'no' is her response from Rellor, that jerk. Well no one digs better than her! Roland's arms are too short and stubby and Renne hates getting dirty to dig like she does. She learned from her mama after all!
Once in the tunnel networks, she could hear the echoes of Rellor messing it up, the vibrations of tunnels collapsing and pathways being covered in sticky mud. That's no good! Drilbur gives chase, tunneling after the Bug Type.
It's dark underground, just like Mariana wanted, but despite that she can navigate easily. How she does it is a little trick mama taught her. If she finds a little stone, she can rub it in her claws and make it all tingle and staticky like she does sometimes with her fur. Once all electrified, she can feel them anywhere as long as she's not too far. It's how mama navigates all the caves and tunnels at home like a pro!
It's also how she's certain that the nasty bug is ruining her work, but she has a little surprise for that jerk once he gets near one. She can feel it, Tunnel Three is getting clogged up with mud and there's something near the sparky stone she left there. She thinks really hard, pulling on the stone near where she thinks Rellor is and yanks. A pained yelp echoing through the tunnels tells Drilbur that she did it.
The bug scurries off as Drilbur nears, and she lets him run. She needs to fix this tunnel up before she leaves. Their little chase continues, as Rellor ruins a tunnel and Drilbur fixes it once she arrives. Sometimes he pops out into the surface to breathe (not her though, she's great at holding her breath!) and sometimes he gets too close to one of the stones and Drilbur pulls on it, hurting the Bug-Type.
"..the pond!"
At some point she starts hearing Mariana's muffled voice in the tunnels. Is she trying to tell her something? Don't worry, Mariana! Drilbur's got this little jerk cornered!
She finally managed to catch up with Rellor who's been scampering all over the tunnels, even digging a new one, that idiot.
..the pond!"
"Stop messing up my tunnels!" Drilbur shouts as she finally corners him, closing in on the digging bug.
"Oh don't worry. If it's a mess you're worried about, I've got something to wash it all away!" Rellor yells at her with an annoyingly smug face, as with a burst of psychic energy he blows a hole open right in front of him. And—
Water.
So much of it flooding into her tunnels, sweeping her away in a torrent and almost drowning her, that she has to hold her breath and cover her eyes. The force of the tide is almost overwhelming as she's carried away from the little tunnel that jerk made and into the rest of the tunnel network.
Drilbur jabs her claws into the walls and pulls on the earth, collapsing the way to the rest of the network. To cut the water off from flooding all of it. Only two of the tunnels remain and even then one of them is partially flooded.
Her tunnels…ruined…she worked so hard…mrgrgr…
As the torrent slowly subsides, Drilbur digs her way out, back onto the surface. Wet and water-clogged, her entire body aches and she feels awful. She hates baths, because water always gets into the worst places and never leaves.
"Drilbur, are you alright? Do you want to—" Mariana says but Drilbur cuts her off by doing the little signal she taught her, holding up two claws to show that only two tunnels are left to work with. But Drilbur is still in the fight and she never quits a tussle even when Mama gets worried.
"Surprised…huff… you're still standing, runt." She barely dodges out of the way as Rellor nearly runs her over with that mud ball of his. While he's in better shape than her, it's still pretty bad for the bug type. His carapace is cracked, his right arm is limp and his control of his mud ball is all wobbly. He's also just as wet as she is, having swam against the current out of the hole he made and into the pond.
Drilbur doesn't bother to respond to the jerk, instead stabbing her claws into the ground at the same time Rellor gets ready to kick his mud ball at her once more. Both of them can only take a single attack from the other before going down, it's just a matter of who strikes first.
Drilbur pulls out a rock on each hand as Rellor rears his foot back to kick…
As Mary recalls Drilbur, Erika sees her friend's expression scrunch up in thought, traces of panic clear from how much her hand is shaking while holding Drilbur's Pokeball. If she can see it from this far, so can the rest of the audience, and more importantly Katie.
Typically in an official League-run battle, each trainer has thirty seconds after their Pokemon faints to send out their next one. The official reason is to give each battler some room to think and compose themselves before the next part of the battle. Unofficially, it's used by some trainers and even Gym Leaders as a tool to psych their opponent out, but in this case, the only one Mary is psyching out is herself.
Mary's current expression, eyes closed and biting her lower lip, is one she has whenever she's deep in thought, something usually only reserved when she gets asked questions in class.
"I think I know what Mariana's up to," Mendoza suddenly interjects just as Mary sends Roland out into the field. The little wyrm sends out a small guttural roar as they blur from where he was released to right on top of Rellor. The shock of just how fast its new opponent is causes Rellor to flinch back in surprise.
No words from the wyrm, only action.
Wasting no time, Roland bites onto Rellor's leg and flails the bug around the battlefield, slamming them onto the ground again and again before throwing the bug down into one of the entrances to the tunnels. Roland follows soon after.
"You were saying, darling?" Theodora prompts Mendoza to continue. Surprisingly, commentary on a Pokemon battle is difficult if you can't see either fight.
"So basically, I think Mariana wants to use the tunnels Drilbur made as the perfect environment for Roland to harass Katie's Pokemon. Both Infestation and Will-o-Wisp can be directed from afar, no sight needed, and if any Pokemon tries to approach, Shadow Sneak would both let him get away and attack at the same time. It's pretty smart, though I wonder how her Espurr would fit into her strategy. Her third Pokemon is an Espurr, right?" Mendoza finishes explaining as an unconscious Rellor is dragged out of a hole by an unscathed Roland.
Erika bites her tongue to prevent herself from saying anything. She guessed that the tunnels were for Roland but not the specifics. She could've figured it out if she wanted to. She feels like a hypocrite getting on Jacinto's case for constantly bickering with Manuel and here she is, having to restrain herself.
Erika focuses back on Mary and the battle to distract herself. It's Mary's moment to shine and she refuses to ruin it. Her friend will win this, she's sure she will.
Despair briefly flashes on Mary's face as Katie pulls out her second Great Ball of the battle. Parts of the audience are now openly conversing with one another, gossiping about the turn of events. C'mon Mary, not even Mendoza got two Great Balls pulled on her by Katie. Win or lose, that has to count for something!
Katie sends her final Pokemon out into the field and Erika is starting to think that she actually might be capable of jinxing things. "Ooh, that's not great for Mariana," Mendoza commentates as Erika sends a brief glare her way.
Two tiny wings attached to a fuzzy yellow and white body, Cutiefly basically is built to counter Mary's strategy. Fairy typing to counteract Dragon, Aura detection to hunt down Roland irregardless of any tricks and most of all, it's…
Fast.
The fae is fast, nearly as fast as him. He slithers away, dodging the jabs from her proboscis, itself brimming with pink light. Roland is certain that if he gets hit by it once, it'll be over. He smacks the fae's face with his tail before fleeing with Quick Attack. He spares a glance over to his human, the anxiety and panic roil off her like smoke rising in the air, dissipating before it gets far.
He knows there is more to this battle for her beyond the 'badge' she had spoken of. He does not understand but he must try. It hurts to see her like this, to feel her ambition smothered and to taste the brewing malaise in her heart.
"Get back in the tunnels, Roland!" his human orders to which he obeys, not bothering to look at the fae who is certainly chasing after him. As he dives down a hole and into the shadows of the network Drilbur had dug, he can feel a light overtaking him. A purple crystalline sheen covers him. Terastallization.
At an intersection in one of the tunnels, Roland focuses, splitting off three copies of himself. He releases the Infestation and Will-o-Wisp he'd been building in his mouth and stuffs them into his copies, sending down the tunnels as decoys. Something to send the fae down a dead end so he can ambush her from behind.
As for himself, he slinks into the shadows of the intersection to await his enemies' arrival. In the dark and cold tunnels, he waits. They are partially flooded, water having somehow seeped in. He doubts that Drilbur is stupid enough to dig towards the pond, so it must have been that rude little bug he thoroughly trashed. It's a shame, he can tell she worked really hard on it.
The fae's arrival is marked by the sounds of a gust of wind blowing through the tunnels. It brings with it the smell of fresh morning dew, prickling at his scales even though they're defended by the thin crystal covering him.
"Where are you, wyrm?" The fae's shrill little voice echoes, signaling that she's near. The Cutiefly reaches the same intersection he was in. It's small enough that it fits both of them, which is good since he's starting to tire.
The fae looks around in search of him. He wills one of his doubles to make noise and sound for her to chase. Splashing of water, shadows on the wall, even a small glimpse of a tail.
Yet the Cutiefly ignores it, still looking around like an idiot—
The fae snaps her head to gaze at exactly where he was. Before he can even react, she unleashes the wind gathered around her at him, forcing him to flee away from her. The fairy quickly gives chase after him. How!?
"Your aura betrays you, wyrm. Hiding is pointless." The fairy taunts him in that same smug, arrogant, self-satisfied, and ungrateful tone as the cat. The shadows allow him to flee faster than the fae can follow, but not by much. He wills his doubles to close in on the fae as a distraction while he thinks.
Somehow, the entire tunnel is being filled by that fairy's wind. It is weaker the farther away she is, but he does not doubt it will still hurt, or that she could manipulate it even from afar. He cannot gather for Infestations and Will-o-Wisp while forcing himself to hide in the shadows, he is to his chagrin not strong enough for it. He will exhaust himself faster than the fae could fall.
Evading and dodging that proboscis attack will be much easier here in the pitch-black underground than up above, so there is no point in surfacing other than to hear his human's voice. A small pang of loneliness distracts Roland, one he thought he left behindin the weeks he had separated from his Father.
No other choice then.
Roland gathers what ghostly energy he can, focusing on tightening it all around him to supplement the Terastallization. He will need it for what he is about to do.
Immersing himself in ghostly energies, he focuses.
The word at the core of a Ghost Type is Memory. It is to be a remnant of what used to be, real or otherwise. To be an amalgam of thoughts and feelings lingering in the world.
Loneliness defines his species, a hole in them always seeking to be filled. He remembers being the runt of Fathers littler, the newborn to be bullied by his siblings. He remembers his first meeting with his human, the smiles, hugs and caresses she gives him, the patient explanations in both training and learning, and he understands that Mariana is more family to him than even his Father.
He remembers her moments of terror before arriving at that Great Nest of Man, both of their fear at meeting Searching Forbidden Fruit and her swine. He remembers the despair of defeat after that first battle with Sunny's human. He certainly remembers the cat's betrayal of his kindness and the helplessness of struggling against her grasp as she nearly killed his human. And he understands that he will hold that first meeting over the cat forever.
He cannot forget any of it. A Ghost can never forget.
Brimming with spectral energy he moves, slithering back towards the fae. He can feel his doubles dissipate, dispatched by the Cutiefly who had only taken some damage from them. The rest will have to come from him. Emerging from the shadows, the feeling of the fairy's wind is nearly overwhelming but it does not matter.
Roland dodges an attempted jab from his opponent's proboscis, and slams his tail onto her head. He's slammed into a wall with a burst of wind and he retaliates by biting her wing. He rams her into the wall of the tunnel over and over again as the wind gets thicker and thicker. Attack, counterattack, attack and counterattack.
He can feel himself getting slower, exhaustion and injuries accumulating. At the same time he can feel Cutiefly's lethargy, the wind is now entirely concentrated around the two of them. A contest of wills to see who emerges victorious.
He will not break first.
The minutes passed after Roland had escaped into the tunnels Drilbur had prepared for him, his opponent chasing after him. There was no way he could dodge Cutiefly's Draining Kiss forever, so you took a gamble.
As the sounds of battle and wind echoing from below slowly begin to die down, you can't help but feel the worst. A part of you has resigned yourself to it, making peace with the fact that despite your Pokemon's best efforts, you've failed.
Emerging from underground slowly, almost painfully so, is Roland. He's dragging Cutiefly with him back to the surface. Once he's out, he throws the now clearly unconscious Fairy-Type to the ground with a thud and himself faints onto the soft ground below.
You can barely hear the referee announce your victory. It doesn't feel real to you. Your knees feel weak, so much so that you're having to grab onto the railing of the elevated platform to stay standing.
The barrier separating you from the rest of the audience goes down, so any thoughts you might have had are drowned out by the deafening sounds of cheers and clapping.
You…you won? You won! You won? Your team won.
Detaching Roland's Pokeball from your belt to recall him, you hold it and Drilbur's ball up to your forehead. Closing your eyes you whisper, "Thank you."
"Um, Miss Challenger?" You're interrupted by the sound of a Gym Trainer's voice. It's the same girl from earlier. "The Gym Leader wants to see you, you still need to actually receive your badge after all."
Oh, right. Stepping down from the raised platform, you let yourself be led to where Katie is waiting, speaking with the referee.
"Congratulations, Mariana." Holy shit, she knows your name. "I enjoyed our battle, it's rare for a trainer to beat me with an extra Pokemon to spare. You Class VII students sure do love to surprise me. Your trainer card please?" She smiles while presenting you with a small golden badge, bearing a stylized representation of a bug on it.
With shaking hands, you hand over your Trainer Card and take the badge. It's shiny and cold to the touch. You resist the urge to bite into it to see if it's real gold. You've embarrassed yourself enough today. You won. You have a badge.
"And I believe that covers it, I've transferred over twenty thousand Pokedollars to your account. Your new badge should also reflect itself in your Trainer Badge." You numbly nod at Katie's explanation. "And as for your TM," She pulls out a disk in a small container from a case on the referee's table, before handing it to you. "Here, it contains the move Pounce. I believe it'll be something your Dreepy will make great use of."
"Again, I can't thank you enough for the help your Class has done to Cortondo this past week." The smile on Katie's face is much smaller, yet paradoxically more sincere. It's the smile of someone that's utterly exhausted.
"Will you be okay?" you can't help yourself from asking.
"I'll be fine." You really don't believe that. "It seems your classmates are calling for you." You turn to where Katie is staring and see Erika waving at you. You can take the hint.
"Thank you for the battle, take care." You say goodbye to the Gym Leader, still really not processing that you just had a personal conversation with them, and head to the stands where your friends are waiting.
Looking back at the arena as you leave, you feel a lot lighter than when you entered. Winning feels great.
With everyone's battles done for the day, there's still one task left to do; accompanying Poppy back to her hotel. Group 2 decided to join, so for the first in the whole Field Exercise, all of Class VII was in one place.
So after briefly going to the Pokemon Center and leaving the Pokemon that needed medical care there (you can tell Drilbur and Roland of your team's victory tomorrow, and ask the former what nickname they wanted), your class is on its way to Cercle Maeul. Eight teens and two kids, traveling in a single group must make for a sight. Thankfully it's night so there aren't as many people out and about in a rural town like Cortondo.
"So yeah, battles like yours where the two Pokemon fighting are barely visible aren't that uncommon in official League fights." Nemona explains to your right, a finger on her chin, eyes closed, as she tries to think of famous examples.
"Your battle was amazing, Mariana. Very few first badge battles I've seen online can compare," Erika says to your left, her arm wrapped around yours. It's slightly chilly out, and your friend's cold so she wanted to stay close to you. You don't mind, though she does pull you closer to her sometimes, which makes hearing what Nemona's saying difficult.
"I don't know, Dawn's battle with Roark is pretty Iconic for a reason. Both Onix and Cranidos in one battle is nuts. I like Gloria and Leon's first gym badge battles, but they'd be better if they weren't Dynamax battles…" You listen to Nemona with one ear as you keep an eye on Ostia and Poppy walking and chatting in front of you.
The two of them vacillate between getting along and squabbling like, well, kids. One minute the two of them are talking about Pokemon, next minute they're arguing about something random and the two would split up. Ostia goes to you all pouty-like, while Poppy waddles up to complain to Elise and Theodora at the front. Then a few minutes after the two of them go back to talking to one another, rinse and repeat.
"Did I hear Leon's name be mentioned? Frankly I find it absurd that you're forgetting to include Raihan in your examples. His and Leon's romantic rivalry is what's iconic," Theodora interjects into your conversation, almost shouting from the front.
"Romantic? It's just a rivalry, I doubt there's anything romantic about it," Nemona responds, confusion clear on her face. You have to agree. Theodora has really got to stop reading tabloids. You still haven't forgotten her talk about Red Isamu and Blue Oak.
"Thea, we're in public. I mean, I don't disagree with you but still…" Elise pulls on Theodora's sleeve. The latter harrumphs away from Nemona, not wanting to continue the argument.
It's good that Theodora managed to get Elise out of her funk after the battle, at least temporarily. There's something in her expression that worries you, but it's good to hear her talking again. She's been downcast ever since the Class left the Pokemon Center.
Erika showed you the official recording of Elise's battle (which reminds you, you should tell your family that the recording for your battle is up, it's a shame they couldn't watch it in real time) and it was dire.
"Mariana, I can understand. But you of all people, Nemona?" Theodora mumbles in a low voice, so low that you almost weren't able to hear it.
"That's crazy," Jacinto says from a bit behind you, causing Manuel to hum in agreement. Atticus is between the two of them and it's worked to prevent an argument from flaring up so far.
"Starting to think insanity is a prerequisite to becoming part of this Class," Manuel snarks in response. Erika looks behind to glare at the two boys causing them to look away and Atticus to chuckle.
Ostia turns to Poppy and does a cuckoo sign with their right hand, causing the girl to laugh. Her voice echoes in the streets of the settlement.
Finally your class makes it to the hotel where Poppy and her guardian are staying. There's currently an informal bet going in your class to see which Elite Four member is Poppy's guardian. You and Nemona are betting on Rika Cayena, while Theodora and Erika are betting on Hassel de Alfornada. Elise suggested the Champion being their guardian for some reason, but you doubt it.
Entering the hotel's lobby causes a surge of elation in you before the realization that you are about to meet your second Elite Four member settles in. Dark green hair tied in a ponytail, a lazy yet intense look in their eye, Rika Cayena is wearing a more decorated version of that uniform from earlier today. The only difference is that the top half of the vest is slung over her shoulder and she is wearing a gray button-up shirt. The hotel's lobby is empty aside from her, the receptionist who's doing her best to seem busy and the woman you met earlier with Poppy, First-Lieutenant Cassandra.
Involuntarily you stand up straighter to make yourself more presentable as you approach. Erika lets go of your arm and stands at attention, almost going into a salute before putting down her arm, her expression in pure panic.
Theodora had an unreadable look on her face, you could almost describe it as calm and placid.
Everyone else has a mix of awe or surprise in their expressions, as the reality of what's happening begins to fully set in for them.
"Rika!" Poppy shouts as she runs up to hug the woman. Rika's expression softens at the sight of the kid as she kneels down to catch Poppy who all but jumps into her arms.
"Oof, you're getting heavier everyday, kiddo." Rika teases, causing Poppy to pout. "Did you have a fun day today?" Rika asks, sparing a glance at your class.
Poppy nods enthusiastically, "I did! I even caught a new Pokemon, I had lots of fun!"
"That's great kiddo, you can tell me all about it later, lemme thank the kind students for the day's work. Say goodnight to them. Don't worry, you can still hang out with them tomorrow." Poppy's turns towards your class as she says farewell.
"Goodnight, new friends! Poppy will see you tomorrow!" Poppy waves at your class as Rika sets them down. That same woman from earlier that morning escorts her from the lobby.
"So, you're Class VII? Some familiar faces among you, but I'm sure all you kiddos know who little ol' me is." Rika says with an easy expression on her face as she looks over your whole class.
"Rika Cayena, member of the Elite Four and Overall Commander of the Railway Military Police. Previously the head of the Aviz Commission investigating the Porto Marinada criminal underground following its integration into the Empire," Theodora suddenly explains with a smile, causing Rika to raise an eyebrow.
"Oh? That last one's a deep pull. You're pretty knowledgeable, aren't you, Lady Medali?" Rika responds. You almost miss it, but you're sure you can barely see Theodora's smile slip.
"I'm so sorry, Lady Rika. Please forgive my friend, she just doesn't know when to shut her mouth—" Rika suddenly laughs as Erika tries to intervene.
"Hahahaha, aw man I needed that. It's fine Erika, we have fun here. It's good to see you've made friends though." Erika's face flushes red in embarrassment.
"Um, you mentioned something about tomorrow? Will we still be assigned to you for tomorrow's tasks?" Elise asks as Rika turns towards her. The latter's gaze seems to linger on her for some inexplicable reason.
"...Yea, I'm still gonna be busy with work tomorrow and I need someone to keep an eye on her. And I don't have anyone to spare so…" Rika shrugs as she finishes answering Elise's question.
"Can I get your autograph?" It's Nemona's turn to ask something of Rika, at this point you're almost expecting the rest of the class to speak up as well. Rika pulls out a pen and signs a page from the notebook Nemona brought out.
"Oh yeah, this reminds me. Jacinto, congrats on your first badge. Your pops is gonna call once he's no longer busy." She says while finishing signing Nemona's notebook.
"...he's always busy." Jacinto mutters under his breath.
With her signing done, Rika claps her hands and speaks.
"It's been a long night, you kids, go get some sleep. I'll have Cass transfer over today's payment. I'll see you tomorrow, Group 1." With that Rika dismisses your class and says farewell. Though as you leave you hear something Rika says under her breath.
"She really does look like her, huh…"
With Poppy back home and the night being late, Class VII says farewell to one another for the night and goes their separate ways. In Group 2, Atticus wanted to train with his Croagunk, and he was joined by Manuel and Nemona. Meanwhile Jacinto and Erika both wanted to turn in early so they went back to the inn they were staying in.
As for Group 1, Ostia is tired from the day and wants to go to bed. It's around three hours till midnight when you and the rest of Group 1 arrive back at Pirotin Inn. Entering a front door, deep in conversation with Miss Ronah is Instructor Leaf, a glass of what looks like cider in her hands.
Missy emerges from Elise's shadow, hissing at her Trainer who raises both their hands in mock surrender. "Hey, the cider is non-alcoholic! Lay off me!" Mismagius turns to Ronah for confirmation who just giggles and nods in response.
"It's fine, dearie. I'm no stranger to making sure youngins drink responsibly," the old woman says, causing Leaf to dejectedly mutter that she's in her mid thirties. "But that's enough about us. You kids seem to have had a rather exciting day haven't you."
"Hehe, yea…" Elise says as your group goes to take a seat. While Ostia heads off to their room to get ready for bed, you and Theodora regale the two adults about the day's events.
"Oh yeah, congrats on your Gym Battles kids. Sorry I couldn't make it. Leila had me run ragged." Leaf explains with a sigh while leaning back on her chair. Missy moves forward and wraps herself around your teacher.
"Oh it's fine Miss Leaf, we wouldn't have wanted to distract you from your work anyways," Elise says, politely ignoring Leaf muttering 'I wish you did though…' under her breath.
"Your insight in regards to the battles would be beneficial. Especially in…some aspects." Theodora's facing your teacher as she says it but her gaze briefly flickers towards Elise at the end. Leaf closed her eyes and hummed in thought.
"...I could probably give you kids some feedback on your Gym Battles by next week." Elise's smile briefly falters before returning to normal. You worry about her.
"Though it's really getting late, you kids have a big day ahead of you tomorrow. It's the last day of your Field Exercise. Shuteye is important!" With that, Leaf tells the three of you to turn in for the night.
It's while you were heading up stairs that Leaf suddenly calls for Elise. "Not you though, Elise. I have something to say to my favorite minion."
Elise has an exasperated look on her face as she turns around to go back down the stairs. You and Theodora say goodnight to her as the two of you return to your group's shared room.
"Hopefully Miss Leaf can help her," you whisper to Theodora. Theodora has a worried expression on her face, and she responds after a short sigh.
"Hopefully."
It's just a little over an hour until midnight. For most the air is surprisingly chilly for how warm Cortondo normally is. For Elise though, it's cold enough to remind her of home.
After that brief talk with Instructor Leaf, Elise wanted to clear her head, so she decided to go on a walk outside for a bit. The moon above is half-filled from her view. It'll be a couple of days until a full moon, she should probably try and prepare a training session with Rin by then. Morning Moon would be a good addition to his repertoire.
She sighs. She's been playing the fight over and over in her head after they left the Gym. She shouldn't have won it by all accounts. She didn't deserve to win it at all. It's her shortcoming as a trainer that caused her horrible performance during it, after all.
Too used to having a direct connection to Rin, her thoughts and plans reaching him instantaneously. According to Miss Leaf it's something that can be worked on and isn't that big of an issue.
It's her relationship with Murkrow that's the problem. Or rather her lack of one.
She asked him to join her on a whim, reminded of her adoptive father's loyal Honchkrow. She needed help during job as a Ranger, for all the good it did. According to Miss Leaf, some trainers get along better with different kinds of Pokemon. Leaf talked about how getting around without a Flying-Type is a pain since she has a tough time with them.
Elise just really doesn't understand Murkrow. There's a lot of times where he's suddenly affectionate and cooperative and the next he's giving her the cold shoulder, it's like spending time with Thea but even worse!
'Have a proper conversation with him on what the two of you want.' was what Miss Leaf said. But does she even know where to start? It doesn't come easy for her like it does for Mariana, who even Rin likes. Her relationship with her Honedge is special, they gravitated towards one another the first time she saw them on her Sensei's hands.
She looks around the area she's wandered to. It's pretty far away from the Inn itself, it'll take a bit for her to get back. It's pretty close to the outer portions of the settlement. All around her, nocturnal Pokemon are going about their routines. Tandemaus scurrying in the alleys looking for food. Shuppets and Gastly going from house to house to feed on the ambient emotions of their inhabitants. A murder of Murkrows perched atop power lines, keeping an eye on other Pokemon in search of potential meals. Beneath her feet, Elise's shadow writhes, a copy of Missy is accompanying her since it's so late at night.
But other than that she's all alone. Not a single person in sight.
There was another reason why she wanted to have Murkrow join her. When she heard from Miss Leaf how Murkrow had been ostracized from his peers, a part of her related with his plight. She didn't have many friends before Mesagoza.
There's Anna Maria, but she's royalty and the spaces between their meetings are measured in months. She used to have a friend way back, but she barely remembers most of her youth.
Huh, here she is wanting to clear her mind and instead she's getting nostalgic.
She should probably get back soon. She has a gut feeling about tomorrow being just as hectic as today.
As she turns around to head back, a tingling feeling alerts her senses. She turns around, instinctively reaching her Rin (which isn't there, Elise, you idiot), and finds a single Pokemon staring at her.
It's a Charcadet. They're badly hurt, their armor dented and broken in multiple spots. Their flame is weak, so weak a breeze threatens to snuff it out. Did they sneak up on her? No, she just didn't notice, too preoccupied in her own thoughts.
The Pokemon takes one step forward and collapses, falling down face forward where they stand. Above her, the Murkrows caw and jeer, some taking off to circle above her and the now unconscious Pokemon. Shit, she needs to hurry and get them to a Pokemon Center.
Rifling through her bag Elise pulls out a Pokeball. Worst comes to worst, she can just release them after they're healed up.
The sole Charcadet she's seen the whole week. As she puts the Fire-type into the Pokeball, telling the Murkrows to buzz off, her gut tells her- things are about to get even worse.
FIELD EXERCISE 1
THE FRIDAY ITINERARY
Pokedollars: 100,000 on your Person
League Points: 6,000 on your Trainer Card [X] CHAPTER END BUG BUZZ: The first chapter is coming to a close, though Class VII are but minor actors in this part of the play. But all stars need a beginning. This is yours.
Titanium Tykes Two: Something Big is going on, and Rika wants your Group to keep an eye on Poppy during it. But Elise's new rescue changes the equation, forcing Poppy- and thus Class VII- to action.
MAJOR STORY BATTLE. ONE POWERFUL ENEMY VERSUS CLASS VII. DECREASE BOSS HP BY 25% TO WIN. DECREASE IT BY 50% FOR BONUS REWARDS. DEFEAT WILL SUBTRACT 1 AP FROM MONTH 2 WEEK 1 AND PARTICIPATING POKEMON WILL GAIN 2 1 WOUND (EFFECT LOWERED DUE TO BERRY JUICE 1/2)
Rewards: 200/400 SKLL STAT XP, 400/800 POKE XP to all Pokemon. 1/2 MXP to all Pokemon. Greatly Increase Bond with all members of Group 1
What nickname does Mariana think of and Drilbur agrees to once the later wakes up tomorrow?
-[] Write-in subject to medium QM veto
Pokemon Materials Gained:
Applin Seeds, Ninjask Wing, Spidops Web, Flittle Feather
Cash and STAT Gains this turn
32000 Pokedollars, 400 Poke XP, 500 PROW XP, 500 SKLL XP from Gym Battle
Roland and Drilbur gain 1000 POKE XP from Gym Battle. Used Moves gain 3 MXP, Other Moves Gain 1 MXP
Roland and Drilbur Gain 1 Wound due to Gym Battle, will be removed due to Overnight Stay at Pokemon Center
Items Gained:
Berry Juice x2, TM for Pounce (Can be Roland)
Bug Badge Received
Moratorium for 6 Hours
Thanks to Tempera for helping me brainstorm the Gym Battles and for Proofreading
I'll post the Battle Documentation in a bit
Drillbur apparently already has ideas for electric mines. Our area/terrain control plan might get some extra kick from that.
Pounce is a TM instead of a TR. This one is reusable. We'll have to see if that ends up mattering.
If Mary can get the hang of the Arcus' link ability, it may let her give commands to pokemon even when they're out of hearing. With the tunneling plan, this could get pretty strong. Nobody would expect the Digging pokemon to suddenly adopt new, seemingly unordered tactics while underground...
I wonder if Drillbur could learn some Electric moves that would punish enemies putting water in her tunnels by electrifying the water...
"Stay out! We need those! I worked hard on them!" Drilbur cries as Mariana tells her to Dig after him. A muffled 'no' is her response from Rellor, that jerk. Well no one digs better than her! Roland's arms are too short and stubby and Renne hates getting dirty to dig like she does. She learned from her mama after all!
He doubts that Drilbur is stupid enough to dig towards the pond, so it must have been that rude little bug he thoroughly trashed. It's a shame, he can tell she worked really hard on it.
Detaching Roland's Pokeball from your belt to recall him, you hold it and Drilbur's ball up to your forehead. Closing your eyes you whisper, "Thank you."
"I don't know, Dawn's battle with Roark is pretty Iconic for a reason. Both Onix and Cranidos in one battle is nuts. I like Gloria and Leon's first gym badge battles, but they'd be better if they weren't Dynamax battles…" You listen to Nemona
Our girl did it! And what an amazing battle it was! Fucking two great balls being pulled on the first gym battle, 2x3, both Drilbur and Roland fought so fucking well.
"Where are you, wyrm?" The fae's shrill little voice echoes, signaling that she's near. The Cutiefly reaches the same intersection he was in. It's small enough that it fits both of them, which is good since he's starting to tire.
I'll let other people dissect this, but wanted to note that this is a non-Renne pokemon that's also calling Roland "wyrm", so it's probably a more general terminology thing rather than something specific to Renne or Psychic-type pokemon.
You did good, kid. Glad the strat worked even if (like I kinda expected) Katie had a prepared counter for it. Dumping the pond on our poor Ground type gave me a heard attack, not gonna lie.
Oh right, and let's get an OST for good ol' Rika, too...
I'm relatively certain that Nemona is just being autistic and immediately delving into talking about her special interest when given the chance, and not catching the social context that Erika is trying to pump Mary up here.
It's an impressive showing to be sure. I think the thread can probably debate about whether Mary or Nemona had a better showing this battle (I'm on Nemona's side, for the record, as the Nemona simp I am). I'm just not sure it's quite equivalent to facing off against an Onix and a Gym Leader's canonical Ace for your first badge, or the first badge battle of the guy who would sweep like Red and become the Undefeated Champion in a single year.
My notes on the Gym Battle;
- It was a good plan, but unfortunately it got hard countered by Cutiefly. Note that this is something replicable by basically any Fairy-type, including Nemona's Cutiefly; any plans relying on tunnels or confined areas in future are going to have to accommodate that a basic Fairy-type move in Fairy Wind can tear Dreepy to shreds.
- Holy shit Drilbur put in the work. However, something's gonna have to be figured out about that Water weakness at some point; it's too exploitable atm. Probably look into her Electric tera typing to make people more scared about it?
- Drilbur's Dig is a veritable tool of destruction. However, we probably want to look at making sure she's properly trained in her melee fighting in preparation for the upcoming Hone Claws/Swords Dance/Slash combo coming up.
- Roland did really well, soloing a second-badge Pokemon pulled out specifically to counter him. It's looking like a second badge is definitely doable. However, my thoughts are that Mary might not want to treat Dreepy as her ace unless we can get him to evolve before the next gym battle. If she treats Drilbur as her ace, I think she has a better shot coming up.
I'm just not sure it's quite equivalent to facing off against an Onix and a Gym Leader's canonical Ace for your first badge, or the first badge battle of the guy who would sweep like Red and become the Undefeated Champion in a single year.
Well either way I realized that regardless of pushing the gym leader to use 2 great ball Pokémon according to her known metrics… most of the battle was underground and essentially unseen. Which makes it hilarious to me in hindsight.
- It was a good plan, but unfortunately it got hard countered by Cutiefly. Note that this is something replicable by basically any Fairy-type, including Nemona's Cutiefly; any plans relying on tunnels or confined areas in future are going to have to accommodate that a basic Fairy-type move in Fairy Wind can tear Dreepy to shreds.
All I'm gonna say is thank various box art that this is the Terastilization gen, the one point in time where you can just say screw you to one (1) of your type's weaknesses.
EDIT: wait, Roland's third Tera type is Steel. He could have no-sold that even harder, although we weren't given that option while strategizing. Might be worth remembering when we're doing other Gyms, there's not a lot of them that can hit Steel for super-effective STAB.
- Roland did really well, soloing a second-badge Pokemon pulled out specifically to counter him. It's looking like a second badge is definitely doable. However, my thoughts are that Mary might not want to treat Dreepy as her ace unless we can get him to evolve before the next gym battle. If she treats Drilbur as her ace, I think she has a better shot coming up.
This is a good point in terms of relative strength, but the problem is that Roland doesn't really have the means to set up terrain or other advantages for Drilbur, as opposed to the other way around. I suppose he can trap and DoT, as well as pushing them off-balance, but it's not quite the same as direct manipulation. Depending what our Bond with Renne looks like after the plot boss, it might be more feasible to get her into our next Gym match and go Drilbur -> Roland -> Renne as our planned order.
The staff led you, Elise and Jacinto here as a batch in preparation for your battles. It's a pretty barebones room, with just some couches for trainers to sit in, a water dispenser- which you're pretty sure Jacinto nearly emptied in the short time he was here- and a small coffee table in the middle, with some old magazines in a compartment beneath it.
Focus. This is your first Gym Battle, one of many steps that Trainers throughout all Paldea undertake. The first step to making your family proud, to show that their and your hard work wasn't a waste. The first step to catching up to Nemona.
"Welcome, challenger," Katie's tone seems a lot less monotone than it was in the fights prior to your batch. Did something happen to snap her to attention? "This will be a 3v3 battle with one switch-in allowed. Both combatants are allowed to Terastallize one Pokemon each. I reserve the right to use any Pokemon I have with me that I deem fit." You sneak a glance at the more than a dozen Pokeballs and handful of Great Balls around the Gym Leader's belt.
Might be because tales of exploits are beginning to be known across the land. Or more likely, Nemona shook her up and she was excited to see if any of Class VII could keep that pace going.
The ground erupts underneath Teddiursa, sending them flying into the air as Drilbur emerges from underground to strike. A look of surprise flashes on Katie's face before she quickly gathers herself and responds. "Dive in and Fury Swipes!"
And I'm happy to say we somewhat lived up to those expectations, did better than our other classmates at least. Minimal shade on our ninja boy though, he tried.
Finding an opening, Drilbur slams one of her arms onto Teddiursa's stomach in conjunction with using the rocky debris to force them back. The blow knocks the wind out of the bear's lungs as they wheeze from the strike and are sent tumbling onto the ground, unprepared for the barrage of rock and stones that pelt them and take them out.
As a red beam recalls Teddiursa, Drilbur looks to you, a wide smile on her face, and holds two claws in each hand in mimicry of a peace sign. You smile at the signal, the one you agreed on prior to the battle. It means four tunnel branches for Roland to work with.
Fun fact I missed she was down and out and that this wasn't a switch, and thought Drilbur just roughed her up and Katie swapped. But fuck yeah Drilbur take down opponent number one with minimal issue!
Also, great tactics there, mixing up Drilbur's natural personality and body language with actual tactical information being shared.
Turning your attention back to Katie you squint to take a look at the Pokeball she has in her hand, which is blue with twin red protrusions. Shit, a Great Ball already?!
"Liquify!" Katie yells as Rellor stands atop its signature mud ball, eyes glowing a menacing pink hue. The incoming stones begin to wobble and shift, portions of them falling away until they are half the size of what Drilbur threw at her opponent. One of them is easily dodged while the other is able to connect, hitting Rellor square in the chest, knocking the Bug-Type back. A nasty welt begins to form on Rellor, but it's nowhere near enough.
Fuck yeah, Rellor mentioned. This will be the only fic to treat it with respect. Aside from maybe In This World We Must Defend by Tempera, or I Will Touch The Skies by Soussoni.
"Think fast, girlie!" The little bug called Rellor kicks his mud ball towards her, which she easily dodges out of the way of, the ball hitting the ground behind her with a splat. But by the time she turns her focus back to the bug, he's already half way down into the ground, trying to dig into her tunnels!
"Stay out! We need those! I worked hard on them!" Drilbur cries as Mariana tells her to Dig after him. A muffled 'no' is her response from Rellor, that jerk. Well no one digs better than her! Roland's arms are too short and stubby and Renne hates getting dirty to dig like she does. She learned from her mama after all!
It's dark underground, just like Mariana wanted, but despite that she can navigate easily. How she does it is a little trick mama taught her. If she finds a little stone, she can rub it in her claws and make it all tingle and staticky like she does sometimes with her fur. Once all electrified, she can feel them anywhere as long as she's not too far. It's how mama navigates all the caves and tunnels at home like a pro!
It's also how she's certain that the nasty bug is ruining her work, but she has a little surprise for that jerk once he gets near one. She can feel it, Tunnel Three is getting clogged up with mud and there's something near the sparky stone she left there. She thinks really hard, pulling on the stone near where she thinks Rellor is and yanks. A pained yelp echoing through the tunnels tells Drilbur that she did it.
At some point she starts hearing Mariana's muffled voice in the tunnels. Is she trying to tell her something? Don't worry, Mariana! Drilbur's got this little jerk cornered!
Hm, maybe learn to read tremors? Have a little clicker we can use that flickers, and have Drilbur sense the electrical signal as morse code? Just train her better in battle awareness and strategy?
"Drilbur, are you alright? Do you want to—" Mariana says but Drilbur cuts her off by doing the little signal she taught her, holding up two claws to show that only two tunnels are left to work with. But Drilbur is still in the fight and she never quits a tussle even when Mama gets worried.
Drilbur pulls out a rock on each hand as Rellor rears his foot back to kick…
As Mary recalls Drilbur, Erika sees her friend's expression scrunch up in thought, traces of panic clear from how much her hand is shaking while holding Drilbur's Pokeball. If she can see it from this far, so can the rest of the audience, and more importantly Katie.
Drilbur did great, got Rellor to the red and that meant Roland was 100% for the last opponent, who probably was at the edge of badge 1 and maybe dipping a little up into badge 2 level.
Erika bites her tongue to prevent herself from saying anything. She guessed that the tunnels were for Roland but not the specifics. She could've figured it out if she wanted to. She feels like a hypocrite getting on Jacinto's case for constantly bickering with Manuel and here she is, having to restrain herself.
Despair briefly flashes on Mary's face as Katie pulls out her second Great Ball of the battle. Parts of the audience are now openly conversing with one another, gossiping about the turn of events. C'mon Mary, not even Mendoza got two Great Balls pulled on her by Katie. Win or lose, that has to count for something!
Katie sends her final Pokemon out into the field and Erika is starting to think that she actually might be capable of jinxing things. "Ooh, that's not great for Mariana," Mendoza commentates as Erika sends a brief glare her way.
Two tiny wings attached to a fuzzy yellow and white body, Cutiefly basically is built to counter Mary's strategy. Fairy typing to counteract Dragon, Aura detection to hunt down Roland irregardless of any tricks and most of all, it's…
Fast.
The fae is fast, nearly as fast as him. He slithers away, dodging the jabs from her proboscis, itself brimming with pink light. Roland is certain that if he gets hit by it once, it'll be over. He smacks the fae's face with his tail before fleeing with Quick Attack. He spares a glance over to his human, the anxiety and panic roil off her like smoke rising in the air, dissipating before it gets far.
He knows there is more to this battle for her beyond the 'badge' she had spoken of. He does not understand but he must try. It hurts to see her like this, to feel her ambition smothered and to taste the brewing malaise in her heart.
"Get back in the tunnels, Roland!" his human orders to which he obeys, not bothering to look at the fae who is certainly chasing after him. As he dives down a hole and into the shadows of the network Drilbur had dug, he can feel a light overtaking him. A purple crystalline sheen covers him. Terastallization.
"Your aura betrays you, wyrm. Hiding is pointless." The fairy taunts him in that same smug, arrogant, self-satisfied, and ungrateful tone as the cat. The shadows allow him to flee faster than the fae can follow, but not by much. He wills his doubles to close in on the fae as a distraction while he thinks.
He remembers her moments of terror before arriving at that Great Nest of Man, both of their fear at meeting Searching Forbidden Fruit and her swine. He remembers the despair of defeat after that first battle with Sunny's human. He certainly remembers the cat's betrayal of his kindness and the helplessness of struggling against her grasp as she nearly killed his human. And he understands that he will hold that first meeting over the cat forever.
He cannot forget any of it. A Ghost can never forget.
He can feel himself getting slower, exhaustion and injuries accumulating. At the same time he can feel Cutiefly's lethargy, the wind is now entirely concentrated around the two of them. A contest of wills to see who emerges victorious.
"And I believe that covers it, I've transferred over twenty thousand Pokedollars to your account. Your new badge should also reflect itself in your Trainer Badge." You numbly nod at Katie's explanation. "And as for your TM," She pulls out a disk in a small container from a case on the referee's table, before handing it to you. "Here, it contains the move Pounce. I believe it'll be something your Dreepy will make great use of."
"So yeah, battles like yours where the two Pokemon fighting are barely visible aren't that uncommon in official League fights." Nemona explains to your right, a finger on her chin, eyes closed, as she tries to think of famous examples.
"Your battle was amazing, Mariana. Very few first badge battles I've seen online can compare," Erika says to your left, her arm wrapped around yours. It's slightly chilly out, and your friend's cold so she wanted to stay close to you. You don't mind, though she does pull you closer to her sometimes, which makes hearing what Nemona's saying difficult.
"I don't know, Dawn's battle with Roark is pretty Iconic for a reason. Both Onix and Cranidos in one battle is nuts. I like Gloria and Leon's first gym badge battles, but they'd be better if they weren't Dynamax battles…" You listen to Nemona with one ear as you keep an eye on Ostia and Poppy walking and chatting in front of you.
"Romantic? It's just a rivalry, I doubt there's anything romantic about it," Nemona responds, confusion clear on her face. You have to agree. Theodora has really got to stop reading tabloids. You still haven't forgotten her talk about Red Isamu and Blue Oak.
"Thea, we're in public. I mean, I don't disagree with you but still…" Elise pulls on Theodora's sleeve. The latter harrumphs away from Nemona, not wanting to continue the argument.
It's good that Theodora managed to get Elise out of her funk after the battle, at least temporarily. There's something in her expression that worries you, but it's good to hear her talking again. She's been downcast ever since the Class left the Pokemon Center.
Erika showed you the official recording of Elise's battle (which reminds you, you should tell your family that the recording for your battle is up, it's a shame they couldn't watch it in real time) and it was dire.
"Mariana, I can understand. But you of all people, Nemona?" Theodora mumbles in a low voice, so low that you almost weren't able to hear it.
"It's been a long night, you kids, go get some sleep. I'll have Cass transfer over today's payment. I'll see you tomorrow, Group 1." With that Rika dismisses your class and says farewell. Though as you leave you hear something Rika says under her breath.
It's a Charcadet. They're badly hurt, their armor dented and broken in multiple spots. Their flame is weak, so weak a breeze threatens to snuff it out. Did they sneak up on her? No, she just didn't notice, too preoccupied in her own thoughts.
The Pokemon takes one step forward and collapses, falling down face forward where they stand. Above her, the Murkrows caw and jeer, some taking off to circle above her and the now unconscious Pokemon. Shit, she needs to hurry and get them to a Pokemon Center.
Titanium Tykes Two: Something Big is going on, and Rika wants your Group to keep an eye on Poppy during it. But Elise's new rescue changes the equation, forcing Poppy- and thus Class VII- to action.
MAJOR STORY BATTLE. ONE POWERFUL ENEMY VERSUS CLASS VII. DECREASE BOSS HP BY 25% TO WIN. DECREASE IT BY 50% FOR BONUS REWARDS. DEFEAT WILL SUBTRACT 1 AP FROM MONTH 2 WEEK 1 AND PARTICIPATING POKEMON WILL GAIN 2 1 WOUND (EFFECT LOWERED DUE TO BERRY JUICE 1/2)
Rewards: 200/400 SKLL STAT XP, 400/800 POKE XP to all Pokemon. 1/2 MXP to all Pokemon. Greatly Increase Bond with all members of Group 1
Alright so we just gotta kick whoever's ass down to 50% to get Rewards? Easy as pie. Consider it done. What could go wrong? We got this in the bag. We're unstoppable. Titanic in power.
It does! It bodes well for the future, signifies our talent, increases our chance that Nemona might notice us, and could mean potential sponsors will look our way.
Our girl did it! And what an amazing battle it was! Fucking two great balls being pulled on the first gym battle, 2x3, both Drilbur and Roland fought so fucking well.
I'll let other people dissect this, but wanted to note that this is a non-Renne pokemon that's also calling Roland "wyrm", so it's probably a more general terminology thing rather than something specific to Renne or Psychic-type pokemon.
It's an impressive showing to be sure. I think the thread can probably debate about whether Mary or Nemona had a better showing this battle (I'm on Nemona's side, for the record, as the Nemona simp I am). I'm just not sure it's quite equivalent to facing off against an Onix and a Gym Leader's canonical Ace for your first badge, or the first badge battle of the guy who would sweep like Red and become the Undefeated Champion in a single year.
- It was a good plan, but unfortunately it got hard countered by Cutiefly. Note that this is something replicable by basically any Fairy-type, including Nemona's Cutiefly; any plans relying on tunnels or confined areas in future are going to have to accommodate that a basic Fairy-type move in Fairy Wind can tear Dreepy to shreds.
Perhaps some way to control the tunnels or create them in such a way one cave-filling move like Fairy Wind or Pond Drop won't work as well? I'm not really specialized in fluid dynamics or plumbing though so who knows.
- Holy shit Drilbur put in the work. However, something's gonna have to be figured out about that Water weakness at some point; it's too exploitable atm. Probably look into her Electric tera typing to make people more scared about it?
- Drilbur's Dig is a veritable tool of destruction. However, we probably want to look at making sure she's properly trained in her melee fighting in preparation for the upcoming Hone Claws/Swords Dance/Slash combo coming up.
Yeah I didn't expect Dig to fuck her team up that badly. It's great. I can't wait for the hurricane of destruction Drilbur will be in in melee in the future. Especially once she mixes in Electric moves to paralyze her opponent.
- Roland did really well, soloing a second-badge Pokemon pulled out specifically to counter him. It's looking like a second badge is definitely doable. However, my thoughts are that Mary might not want to treat Dreepy as her ace unless we can get him to evolve before the next gym battle. If she treats Drilbur as her ace, I think she has a better shot coming up.
Depending what our Bond with Renne looks like after the plot boss, it might be more feasible to get her into our next Gym match and go Drilbur -> Roland -> Renne as our planned order.
It really depends on what Gym Leader we aim for next really. If we go for Larry next to get him out of the way early for instance we got plenty of advantages over Normal and Flying types and might want Roland to clean up there.
Yeah, this does continue to show that despite what some might think due to her lacking KNOW, Mariana apparently is actually a natural-born tactician. This battle plan was well thought out, effective, and executed smoothly and efficiently. All with maybe a week of preparation and rehearsal.
Armies would pay a lot to have someone who can drill complex battle tactics into ordinary soldiers with this level of speed and efficiency. And she's doing it with hyperactive, moody little killing machines.
She needs to get better and thinking on the fly, but otherwise has the makings of a great group leader someday.
Does this include our Pokémon? Because that could be a useful boost to Renne's bond.
Too bad we can't pick other options for Friday, but I'm excited for the finale! One that I'm pretty sure we're over-leveled for, since we just 2v3'd a two great ball first gym battle with our two weakest Pokémon, so hopefully that and Ostia and Elise being on our team means that we can get the bonus reward for the boss battle.
Oof. Yeah, no optional bond on Friday hurts. Understandable given how pacing tends to accelerate, but at least we'll have our full team to deal with the fuckin Titan Primeape or whatever the boss is.
We know that Mary can't use Espurr in this fight, but Katy doesn't know that. From her perspective, she needs to provide Mary with a challenge, and she's facing down a challenger who has two essentially fresh Pokemon left. She needs to throw out a Pokemon that can deal with the fresh Pokemon currently out on the field and still be able to do something the final Pokemon Mary has in her back pocket.
It's that 2v3 disadvantage. Katy can't operate under the assumption that Mary will forfeit if Dreepy goes down. If she did realize that, she would have gone much easier on Mary, I'm sure.
