Aromatic Mist
-The user releases a potent, floral aroma into their surroundings, empowering the Special Defense of those who inhale it.
Teaching a Pokemon a new move could sometimes be quite the hurdle, what with having to find out how to get them to understand what you wanted them to do in the first place, sometimes having to coach your words and actions to facilitate this, and then repeating those directions until the switch was flipped, the correct aura was used and the move blossomed into life for the first time.
This process usually took longer than a Pokemon's patience would hold and sometimes there was nothing that could be done but clap your hands, reward your partner for all the hard work they had done and make do with whatever progress had been made for that day. It wasn't completely unheard of for some Trainers (or even Rangers) to take one look at this process and shake their heads, dedicating themselves and their Pokemon to mastering the moves they learned naturally (although it was rare to see such people reaching the upper echelons of their chosen career).
While you personally hadn't delved too deeply into teaching either of your Pokemon new moves, that wasn't to say that the subject had remained completely untouched, as B.B.'s access to moves like Bubble and Disarming Voice could attest to.
It was the latter that was currently coming to the forefront of your mind, as while the lack of friendly-fire inherent to the move was definitely a nice option to have (such as against an angry troop of Vigoroth for example), now that you were officially a trio, there were other Fairy-type options that could simultaneously swing a battle in your favor and potentially stop one of your Pokemon from being hurt.
Thus, you were currently standing a few feet away from B.B. as the Whismur repeatedly took deep breaths before exhaling in an attempt to infuse his breath with Fairy-type aura and blow it towards a waiting Urchin.
You couldn't help but feel like he was right on the threshold, the Whismur's body being shrouded by more and more pink aura with each consecutive breath.
"Mareanie..." Your attention was dragged away from B.B. taking in another deep breath by the sound of a rather impatient gurgle, your eyes quickly taking in the way Urchin was fidgeting and the displeased look on her face. It was clear to see that, while she had been fine with obeying your request at the start of all this, the Mareanie's patience was being sorely tested and you didn't think treats were going to keep her there for much longer.
Your thoughts were proven right a moment later when, after glancing back at B.B. one last time, the Mareanie audibly let out a small, watery huff and began to look around. It didn't take her long to find something in the surrounding park that demanded an inspection, the Mareanie shuffling away from the two of you as she let curiosity take the wheel.
This act apparently wasn't to go unaddressed however as B.B. took one look at the retreating Mareanie and, with brow furrowed in displeasure, let out his held breath in a long, purring hiss, pink mist flowing out of his mouth and quickly catching up to and surrounding the Brutal Star Pokemon. You caught the most relaxing scent of roses as it wafted by you, the very brief inhale causing your stance to relax despite yourself.
"Mareanie?" Urchin turned back towards the two of you as she found herself surrounded by the floral-scented mist, the Mareanie tilting her head as she observed the hanging mist around her before she opened her mouth and took in a deep breath, the Mareanie's usual method of taking in the scent of something.
The Mareanie shuddered for a moment, her entire body going still before she....flopped to the ground?
You blinked, half-tempted to rub your eyes as you witnessed Urchin go limp and fall forward into the grass, the Mareanie's tendrils splaying around her haphazardly.
You were just about to rush forward to make sure she was okay when the Mareanie let out a very prolonged hiss of pleasure, Urchin's eyes half-lidded (were her eyes always that pink?) as she wiggled there in her spot on the grass, the Mareanie letting out a sound like a boiling kettle that you had come to understand was her version of giggling as she rubbed her face up against the grass.
You knew that Aromatic Mist had a bit of a relaxing component due to its floral aroma but it seemed that, due to a Mareanie's unique version of scent-tracking where they gulped in a large amount of air in through their mouths, the move was almost super-effective in turning your usually-energetic Mareanie into a relaxed, giggling lump.
You chanced a glance back towards B.B. who seemed rather
too happy with himself.
...You got the distinct impression you were going to have to train him
not to use that move whenever Urchin's energy got too much for him.
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Follow Me
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The user enshrouds themselves in Normal-type energy, becoming impossible to ignore or avoid and causing all attacks aimed at nearby allies to be redirected towards them
It had been a thought you'd had countless times after welcoming Urchin to the team; how could you best take advantage of the adorable crown-of-thorn's defensive prowess and make that a major issue of any Pokemon that tried to get in the way of your work?
The main hurdle was simply that, while she stood miles high in your heart, the fact of the matter was that Urchin was slow. She wasn't going to be outspeeding anything short of a Slakoth (although you had an idea or two there as well...) so getting herself between a Pokemon committed to attacking you or B.B. after repositioning herself for the first time was going to be an unscalable hurdle without either a lot of training or the right move used at the right moment.
Thankfully, after hours of research, there appeared to be one such move that would allow Urchin to do her job without her low speed becoming an issue and you quickly set both you and your Mareanie partner to the task of learning it.
It had taken much of the day to actually get the technique nailed down but, when you had next found yourself in danger that deemed the walking ball of spikes and poison you called your partner too troublesome to deal with and had fired off a quick ranged attack aimed right at your center-mass?
Well, it wasn't hard to grin with delight when you saw Urchin's eyes tracking the incoming projectile and she began to show that tell-tale glow of Normal-type energy that quickly caused her to become the center of attention.
There had been one slight issue however.
"MA-REA-NIE!" Your beloved Urchin had shouted out like a drill instructor ordering their troops to about-face, the attack aimed your way jittering unnaturally in the air as it curved and started heading for Urchin instead.
The Mareanie had seem so pleased to have the move work in live combat but you wouldn't soon forget the expression on her face when she had belatedly realized that the attack meant for you was now homing in on her face and was approaching quite rapidly.
Urchin had been fine of course, the attack not being anywhere near enough to seriously injure her or put her out of the fight before you and B.B. had wrapped things up but you did have to deal with the comedic look of betrayal that flashed across the Mareanie's face when you went to go and check on her.
Well, that and also feeding her a small mountain's worth of treats before she'd consider the two of you even and would cuddle back up to you.
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Ally Switch
-The user teleports using a strange power, swapping places with one of its allies
...Okay, you'd fully take the blame for this one.
It had seemed so obvious in your head! What better way for B.B. to protect himself from being swarmed than by outright switching places with Urchin? The latter didn't need to be fast if she was effectively teleporting and the former's speed and ability to rapidly reposition himself meant, on paper at least, that the enemy could never be sure if they'd finally corner your bouncy little bunny or if it was a trap just waiting to be sprung!
The thought of yet another way to protect both of your Pokemon with one move had galvanized you and, after having spent an entire day teaching it to B.B., you had walked towards your next mission with a smile on your face and some pep in your step.
You hadn't even flinched when, while you were right in the middle of trying to clear out a collapsed powerline, a swarm of Joltik had descended on you and your team.
The tiny Bug-type Pokemon, though numerous, had made the bad decision of targeting B.B. after all and the command to swap places with Urchin had flown from your lips with a complete lack of hesitation.
Now, here you were, you and B.B. completely silent as you both stared at a rather bemused Urchin, the Mareanie's confusion undoubtedly having something to do with the swarm of Joltik currently unconscious and twitching at her nonexistent feet.
The Joltik, not expecting the swap, had been mid-pounce and, through sheer bad luck (and maybe you not having
fully thought this idea through), had ended up slamming themselves into the bracing form of your poisonous spike-covered Mareanie. The shock of the swap, the piercing spines and the Mareanie's horrendous poison had quickly led to each and every one of them fainting.
...Did this count as a win? Staring down at the still-twitching Bug-types, you couldn't really say for sure.
It was going to be one hell of an experience though, trying to recount this tale to your superiors.
