2024-04-12: On the Road to Saffron City
- Log: 2024-04-12 On the Road to Saffron City
- Cast: Claude C. Kenny, Ethius Hesiod, Dias Flac, Elhaym van Houten
- Where: Central Kanto Plains
- Date: April 12, 2024 (506 PC)
- Summary: We're on the road to... Saffron City? Wait, that's not how the song goes.
===========================<* Central Kanto Plains *>=========================== The Central Kanto Plains, as befits its name, is the floodplain that rests at the heart of the Kanto Region. The land here is lush and vibrant, with blossoming ranges of flowers and greenery, adjacent to many rivers. The plains are divided into various routes, which serve both as arterial routes for travellers and cargo between the cities; several underground tunnels also lead from one end of the plain to another, with both capacity for on-foot traffic, bikers, and public transit. A famous daycare centre sits near the heart of the plains, and many Trainers leave their Pokemon to their care and are surprised to find -- an Egg! No one on Nede knows how Pokemon Eggs are created, but Trainers certainly welcome the discovery. BGM: Pokemon: Let's Go, Eevee & Pikachu! - Route 11 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ctN2IVy0Pw DG: A party led by Claude C. Kenny is now entering Kanto Plains Route. DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
============================<* Kanto Plains Route *>============================
===================<* CHALLENGE - Preparing for a Journey *>====================
| Type: Entry | Dungeon Ability: Wits | Challenge Rating: 1 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
You've just set out on the road!
If you're used to Filgaia or Lunar, this feels... different. At first
glance, the plains of Energy Nede are familiar. Verdant and green, dotted
with trees, and with hills -- and sometimes tall rocks -- that need to be
overcome. Bubbling streams are nearby, with bridges over them. However,
there are signs of it being well-maintained all throughout. Sometimes, a
rock has a weather sensor cleverly hidden in it. In the distance, you see
fences that keep people out of areas with electrical equipment.
A mag-lev train soars by, on railing overhead.
Nonetheless, you need to make sure -- do you have everything you need?
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Reckless:_Wits_Down!_Brute_Up! and Wonder:_Exhaustion_Down! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.
Claude can't say he's gotten used to Energy Nede exactly. After all, it has a barrier in the sky, and the world is flat-ish. But he has been here enough that it's not any stranger than anyplace else he's been... and indeed, the trains are familiar.
Claude leads his companions through the paths as they approach the central plains from where they'd gotten off a train earlier. "I know we could've just gone the rest of the way on the train," Claude says, "But I want to stretch my legs a little. ...Besides, we might run into useful Pokemon or evidence of Ten Wise Men minion activity."
As it happens, what do they run into? Well, Claude happens to turn around an outcropping towards a small lake! There may be SOMEONE THERE on this beautiful afternoon.
But he thinks, "Oh, right. Do we need anything? I guess it's too late to decide we do now, but I've got my soldering iron if we're out of grenades..."
DG: Claude C. Kenny has used his Tool Soldering Iron toward his party's challenge, Preparing for a Journey. Cleanse! All negative effects will be cleared at the end of the round! Sacrifice! The party will take slightly more Exhaustion this round!
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
Ethius tends to go about the general area on foot when left to his devices. Being Ethius, which is a concise and descriptive thing when one has had the experience to know him ('honor' or 'pleasure' is highly subjective), the fact he's dressed as a relatively normal-ish person might be the best outright disguise he could put up.
He's just a guy in a maroon hoodie, who only stands out if because he lacks Nedian ears. He's not far from this lake today, throwing stones across the lake. They skip several times. At one point a Magikarp leaps up.
"Pery!" A tiny bird coos as they fly through the Magikarp, somehow swatting aside the larger and heavier Pokemon as they swoop and pick up the stone, returning back towards the stone skipping (suspicious... kind of) man.
Ethius holds out an arm for the bird Pokemon to perch, holding out the opposite hand for her to relinquish the rock.
The bird does not.
5t...
"Oh, you're here," Ethius looks up to Claude, setting down his arm as his fifth friend - a Peryton - flies off towards a nearby rocky outcrop to roost and preen. A hand goes up to his forehead. "Did I lose track of the passage of time...?"
He seems a little too occupied to contribute to the final check for supplies and other necessities, but it does appear looking from the outside in that Ethius has adjusted to the rhythms of Energy Nede about as well as anyone can.
DG: Ethius Hesiod has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Preparing for a Journey.
<Pose Tracker> Dias Flac has posed.
Dias actually agrees with Claude in regards to Energy Nede. A little strange to him, considering he grew up on an 'underdeveloped' planet and Claude grew up on a 'developed' one, but apparently Energy Nede is to Earth as Earth is to Filgaia. (Hopefully a little less destroyed, for Claude's sake.)
He walks alongside Claude, red eyes alert as they head out from the Armslock train station into the central plains. "There's a good number of Honedge in this area. They're good to practice against," he remarks to his companion in terms of useful Pokemon. "Just don't try to grab them by the hilt."%T
As they approach a beautiful lake on this beautiful afternoon whose beauty has been carefully sculpted like usual, Dias's gaze flicks to the shore where Ethius is skipping stones for a Peryton to catch and, apparently, not return. "Hm. So that's where he went off to."
Claude pulls his attention back. "We can forage if we need to. This is a world that tends to its people's needs." That doesn't mean Dias will drop his guard, but he does anticipate that they can just find items if they need to.
(In fairness, it's not like Filgaia's *not* that kind of world too.)
DG: Dias Flac has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Preparing for a Journey.
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
Elly isn't exactly used to this place, either. At least finding this new world was less traumatic than the last one. The memory still wounds her at times - facing 'herself' in the shadow of her own imagination, and injuring herself in the course of escape. A pain that lingers in her head. Sometimes she wonders how bad it actually is, but there have been no warnings or remarks from Regulus, so at least her brain is alright - right?
But what she did, to center herself, and to bring her attention back in steady balance, was...
Fish.
Right now Elly is standing on the shore of the lake and is in the process of reeling in SOMETHING. Something with a lot of fight to it! The rod she has is bent quite dramatically -- it's actually a local rod, although to look at Elly's ears you can tell she isn't local herself. (Elly was pleased that they had -carbon glass- fishing equipment, even if they knew it as 'fiberglass.' Ah, the joy of linguistic diversity!)
"Oh! Hello! Are you moving along? -- Ah," Elly says, even as she says, "Just a moment --" Reel reel reel reel reel HOIST!
"Wooper!" declares the freshly landed WOOPER who lands on the shore next to Elly. Elly, it seems, was not fishing with a hook, because the Wooper just woobles back and forth a little.
Elly takes a battered book out of her bag along with something else which she holds in the palm of her hand... approaches the Wooper... and then!
The treat is held high! (It's a piece of stinky dried fish.)
Wooper turns and lunges and whaps face-first into the book page! "Woooooooper," comes the snivelling, but then Elly provides the promised snack and holds up the book, which has a... slimy... Wooper-faced indentation.
Elly sprinkles some kind of black powder on it and exhales, slowly, on it, as the dried pigment adheres to the... Wooper... stuff.
"I'd been trying to land one of them for a while," Elly says. "It's honestly kind of a - oh, hello!" Elly says, to both Ethius and Peryton, smiling. She looks at Dias with genial calm. (Dias may be able to sense Elly's concealed destructive power beneath that frankly kind of squinchable face.)
"I'm Elly van Houten," she continues, before:
* Elly has joined the party!
("I have to hold this open for a few minutes to dry," Elly adds apologetically.)
DG: Elhaym van Houten has used her Tool Secondhand Sketchpad of Love toward her party's challenge, Preparing for a Journey. Stalwart! Party shielded from some Exhaustion this round!
============================<* Kanto Plains Route *>============================
===================<* CHALLENGE - Preparing for a Journey *>====================
| Type: Entry | Dungeon Ability: Wits | Challenge Rating: 1 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
You've just set out on the road!
If you're used to Filgaia or Lunar, this feels... different. At first
glance, the plains of Energy Nede are familiar. Verdant and green, dotted
with trees, and with hills -- and sometimes tall rocks -- that need to be
overcome. Bubbling streams are nearby, with bridges over them. However,
there are signs of it being well-maintained all throughout. Sometimes, a
rock has a weather sensor cleverly hidden in it. In the distance, you see
fences that keep people out of areas with electrical equipment.
A mag-lev train soars by, on railing overhead.
Nonetheless, you need to make sure -- do you have everything you need?
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Cleanse:_All_Effects_Removed!, Reckless:_Wits_Down!_Brute_Up!, and |
| Wonder:_Exhaustion_Down! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
============================<* Kanto Plains Route *>============================
===================< Results - Kanto Plains Route - Round 1 >===================
====================< CHALLENGE - Preparing for a Journey >=====================
Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Claude C. Kenny 0 --(0)--> 0 Good
Soldering Iron Min Wits Effects: Cleanse and
Sacrifice
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ethius Hesiod 0 --(0)--> 0 Good
Investigate Bsc Wits Effects: BASIC
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dias Flac 0 --(0)--> 0 Good
Investigate Bsc Wits Effects: BASIC
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Elhaym van Houten 0 --(0)--> 0 Good
Secondhand Sketchpad of Love Min Wits Effects: Stalwart
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Leader: Claude C. Kenny 0 --(20)--> 20 Pass
Conditions: Reckless(2) and Wonder(1)
Effects: Cleanse
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
DG: The party led by Claude C. Kenny has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.
Much less destroyed! Well, as far as Claude knows, anyway. What's happened on Earth in the time he's been away? He has no idea, for the moment.
"Honedge... That's the sword Pokemon you were looking for, right?" Claude remembers, because he pays attention to Dias and what he's up to. "Noted. Won't do that."
Then, he sees Ethius and his bird, the drama that plays out of the stone and... Not giving back the stone.
"Made a friend, I see." He pauses. "Yep, we're here. It looks like! But no big deal, we weren't in a big hurry yet."
And then he spots Elly fishing! Not a local, but friendly enough. "Oh, wow!" A Wooper! Claude watches as Elly handles the Pokemon with TREATS and... a... book? "Oh, is that a fishing record?" he asks. "Those are great, aren't they? There's this girl--you might know her--back in Ignas who pays a lot for records of all kinds of different fish..."
Claude, too, is an angler. Perhaps not of Elly's caliber, though.
A pause, then, and he smiles back. "Claude C. Kenny," he introduces himself. "This is Dias Flac and Ethius Hesiod."
"...Don't worry; we can wait a few minutes for you. But then, we're on the way to Saffron by land!"
(Are you going to keep the Wooper?) he wonders.
DG: Ethius Hesiod has drawn a new Challenge.
============================<* Kanto Plains Route *>============================
===================<* CHALLENGE - The Fate of a Salaryman *>====================
| Type: Exploration | Dungeon Ability: Combat | Challenge Rating: 1 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
Not all Pokemon Trainers are teenagers. Sometimes, an older person decides
to travel as a way of resetting from all of the stress of modern life in
Energy Nede. Thus, it isn't such a huge surprise when you find a man wearing
a business suit and a tie out here. He looks at you -- then pulls out a trio
of Pokeballs.
"I challenge you!"
Someone older, you might expect him to be a challenge... but no, he has a
Caterpie, a Pidgey, and a Vulpix. He isn't that much of a challenge. But the
bags under his eyes... well, the challenge might be seeing what the grind
can do to someone. Poor guy.
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Exhaust:_Exhaustion_Up_On_Failure!, Reckless:_Wits_Down!_Brute_Up!, and |
| Wound:_Combat_Down! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
"That is correct," Ethius says to Claude matter-of-factly. "She's a Pertyon. So, she's Peryton."
Peryton puts the rock down at her own feet. There is no greeting flourish. She may be eyeing the shinier accessories someone might have on, but she does have the sense to take off flying back towards Ethius to sit on top of his head.
"Her talons are sharp." He comments in a measured, even tone of voice.
He watches as Wooper makes their mark on Elly's book, and there's a nod at the general greeting. This is probably not new information, but nonetheless...
They're along the route to Saffron. It's a wonderful day out (Energy Nede's days never really dip below 'great,' as a rule), over yonder one can watch small children journey into tall grass with their Pokemon friends. A few bicyclists pass by. Even with the fate of the known universe at stake with the Ten Wise Men attempting to do something at Phynal with stolen Ley energy, it's just... nice out.
Then, there's a disheveled-looking middle-aged man in a business suit and tie who makes eye contact with the human quartet.
"I challenge you!" He calls, and Ethius makes the operational mistake of locking eyes because the shouting is so sudden.
"All of you! To a Pokemon Battle!" He says, as he shows an impressive grip to hold three Pokeballs at once. "Go! Caterpie! Pidgey! Vulpix!"
They all look young and not too well-trained.
"...These are the customs here," Ethius says to the rest. "Peryton, you're up."
Ethius' Peryton also falls under the 'young, not as thoroughly trained' designation, when the most she does is just flap her wings and create a little tailwind.
It's an interruption that might not last that long.
DG: Ethius Hesiod has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward his party's challenge, The Fate of a Salaryman.
<Pose Tracker> Dias Flac has posed.
"Right," Dias tells Claude. "I've found a few of them by now. They fight well." ...Which neatly explains how that all turned out, especially since Dias looks and even sounds pleased about it.
Meanwhile: fishing is good. Dias fishes from time to time--it's calming, and it's a good way to find food at low energy cost. Elly greets him and Claude as she fights against whatever she's hooked, which turns out... to be a Pokemon. (Did anyone expect anything else?) As Claude reassures Ethius, Dias squints as the redheaded woman offers it a book and a treat and gets a Wooper faceprint for her troubles. There are lots of new things on Energy Nede, but that one is *especially* new.
"What were you trying to do?" he wonders. He doesn't smile back at her, but there is a certain assurance to her posture and power to the way she reeled in that Wooper that indicates that she's not just some random civilian. At the very least, her ears indicate she's no local.
Claude introduces him and Ethius then. Dias gives a curt nod. A fishing record... Is that really what that was? But it does make sense. Dias fishes for food rather than to get prizes, so it's not something he'd think of first.
He looks at Ethius as his Peryton lands on his head and he remarks deadpan on the sharpness of her talons. With the faintest huff of a laugh, a corner of his mouth quirks up. It fades when he quirks a look at Claude when he says they'll wait for Elly. Still, he doesn't protest. What's the point?
So soon they head onwards on their amble towards Saffron City. Dias continues to keep a weather eye out, which means inevitably he makes eye contact with a disheveled-looking man.
'I challenge you!'
"I don't think you could handle challenging me, old man," Dias says bluntly, and really quite rudely considering they probably aren't that far apart in age. His frown deepens when the middle-aged man follows up with several Pokemon. ...Right. Naturally he means to a Pokemon battle. Dias is hardly above fighting Pokemon, but...
It's just so agonizingly clear that this 'challenge' will be anything but.
He side-eyes Ethius and his Peryton. "They are," he agrees. "I'll leave this one to you three." Three Pokemon, three trainers--it works out.
Assuming Elly is a trainer, and Dias *is* assuming that after watching her fish up a Pokemon. He may end up surprised. If so, that Vulpix will end up with a bonk on the head with a sheathed sword. (Dias seeks battle nigh insatiably, but he's not a cruel man.)
DG: Dias Flac has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward his party's challenge, The Fate of a Salaryman.
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
"Oh, that was my last catch - I'd already packed up just about everything. It's a lovely place to feel out the local wildlife, even if I suppose I don't feel right - well - you know."
Whether or not Elly is keeping the Wooper, the watery Pokemon toddles off after the group as they begin moving along. The day becomes... subtly more cloudy.
"I can tell," Elly says to Ethius, and then, to Peryton: "You're very lovely, you know!" Elly also has time enough to close her book, heedless of the Wooper on her tail. But then a dishevelled middle-aged man appears, giving them all a grim foreshadowing of the future that awaits them if they don't manage to get enough likes and subs to support an independent lifestyle!
Elly, who does not have social media at all -- even in Solaris, her parents thought (perhaps wisely) that it was for idiots and the lower class -- gawks at the man. "Oh I couldn't possibly," Elly says, before Wooper strides forwards.
"Wooper!" says Wooper.
"Oh," Elly tells the Wooper, "are you volunteering to --"
Wooper stares directly at Elly's hip pack.
"... ah, I see. Well, that's fair... this is salmon, do you know what salmon is?" Elly offers the Wooper, as she takes out another sliver of - wow, that stuff is a little pungent - dried fish snack to give to the Wooper.
Wooper hops up to nom it up, and then pivots towards the enemy. "Wooper!"
Wooper then opens their mouth and unleashes an enormous spray of high pressure water.
* Wooper uses Water Gun!
"I just like to take prints of fish even if I'm not really landing them," Elly tells Dias Flac. "I suppose they call that a 'Maniac' around here..."
DG: Elhaym van Houten has used her Tool Extra-Stinky Monster Bribe Bait toward her party's challenge, The Fate of a Salaryman. Cleanse! All negative effects will be cleared at the end of the round!
<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.
Peryton! Claude nods. "All right then. Nice to meet you, Peryton."
A pause. One could imagine an anime sweatdrop on his face, as Ethius makes his next comment. "Uh-huh." Sharp talons...
Well, it's fine. Dias seems happy, so that's good enough for him. "Cool."
And Dias seems to find Ethius's predicament funny, so there's that.
"It's fine," Claude says of waiting for Elly.
"Oh, yeah?" Claude asks. "Hmmm." He thinks about it, as Wooper comes along. Maybe she's keeping it whether she intends to or not. "They grow on you," he says of the Pokemon.
...Even when they take bribery.
"Hey, fishing's great," Claude says, as he looks to the man challenging them. "Sure," he says. "I'll battle with you." It is, as Ethius says, the way around here. So Claude pulls a Pokeball from his belt under his heavy jacket, and extends his arm to show: a shiny Beedrill!
"...Actually," Claude says, "This might be overkill. Barry, you just watch."
Then he pulls out another Pokeball, and Fusetail emerges! "OK, Cap, you're in!" THe yellow lizard with fiery hair hops forward on heavy legs, and then comes to a stop. "Rock Throw!"
He jumps and stomps the ground, and rocks erupt from his feet toward the Pidgey!
DG: Claude C. Kenny has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward his party's challenge, The Fate of a Salaryman.
============================<* Kanto Plains Route *>============================
===================<* CHALLENGE - The Fate of a Salaryman *>====================
| Type: Exploration | Dungeon Ability: Combat | Challenge Rating: 1 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
Not all Pokemon Trainers are teenagers. Sometimes, an older person decides
to travel as a way of resetting from all of the stress of modern life in
Energy Nede. Thus, it isn't such a huge surprise when you find a man wearing
a business suit and a tie out here. He looks at you -- then pulls out a trio
of Pokeballs.
"I challenge you!"
Someone older, you might expect him to be a challenge... but no, he has a
Caterpie, a Pidgey, and a Vulpix. He isn't that much of a challenge. But the
bags under his eyes... well, the challenge might be seeing what the grind
can do to someone. Poor guy.
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Cleanse:_All_Effects_Removed!, Exhaust:_Exhaustion_Up_On_Failure!, |
| Reckless:_Wits_Down!_Brute_Up!, and Wound:_Combat_Down! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
============================<* Kanto Plains Route *>============================
===================< Results - Kanto Plains Route - Round 2 >===================
====================< CHALLENGE - The Fate of a Salaryman >=====================
Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Claude C. Kenny 0 --(5)--> 5 Best
Fight Bsc Combat Effects: BASIC
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ethius Hesiod 0 --(21)--> 21 Bad
Fight Bsc Combat Effects: BASIC
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dias Flac 0 --(5)--> 5 Good
Fight Bsc Combat Effects: BASIC
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Elhaym van Houten 0 --(5)--> 5 Best
Extra-Stinky Monster Bribe Bait Min Combat Effects: Inefficient and
Cleanse
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Leader: Claude C. Kenny 20 --(20)--> 40 Pass
Conditions: Exhaust(1), Reckless(1), and Wound(2)
Effects: Cleanse
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
DG: The party led by Claude C. Kenny has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw. DG: Dias Flac has drawn a new Challenge.
============================<* Kanto Plains Route *>============================ =======================<* CHALLENGE - Making a Bridge *>======================== | Type: Exploration | Dungeon Ability: Brute | Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information >---------------------------- You've gotten a little off the beaten path, but that isn't such a big problem on Energy Nede. The plains are easily traversed, without areas that get to be truly tough going. You've found a place where a river cuts through the field. There isn't a bridge anywhere nearby... but you see a tree that has fallen over. It should do. You'll just need to move it -- so it lands on the other side, without falling into the river. ============================= Dungeon Conditions: ============================= | Tire:_Exhaustion_Up! and Weaken:_Brute_Down! | = Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
It's not much of a fight, but it is a fight, and it is a fight engaged in earnest.
"I can!" The salaryman replies to Dias bluntly, and he can, and does, with the aforementioned trio of underwhelming combatants (whom are all nonetheless precious, loving friends).
Elly, the Fishing Maniac, brings forth Wooper, who unleashes a high pressure spray of water against the Caterpie, which is... more than enough! The only thing the Caterpie can do in turn is have their HP bar deplete very slowly and challenge everyone's patience in turn before fainting.
Claude brings forth a Fusetail, and from there, a Rock Throw ensures the Pidgey shares the same fate from that super effective strike!
This leaves the Vulpix, who is able to get in a lick on Peryton with an Ember, before Dias comes in and gives a little bonk with the sheath, sending them down.
"Wh-what? This is A Pokemon Battle--"
"Ah." Ethius makes a side glance. "This is just an example of... regional rules, where we're from. Such as how sometimes you have card games where someone brings in a rule where everyone uses random cards, throwing out any semblance of-- yes."
The Salaryman seems to accept this answer, but he's also out of Pokemon, because they all went down so fast!
"...I should remember this 'regional rule,'" the Salaryman bows his head and leaves behind a decent amount of FOL for the gathered, as he recalls his Pokemon and promptly steps out of the way.
A slightly burnt Peryton, aware of attention and affection, looks up and flaps her wings once with a 'Pery' cooing noise before returning up to Ethius' waiting arm.
"I'll need a moment to check for Potions," Ethius says, but they can keep going.
<Pose Tracker> Dias Flac has posed.
It's less the predicament that Dias finds funny and more Ethius's deadpan remark on it--but the predicament is part of that, so fair's fair.
"Weird," Dias comments to Elly. But even if he finds it weird, he at least says it like it's neutral-value rather than a bad thing, and is content to leave it at that. Whether that means anything to Elly or not is another thing.
He watches as the others defeat the middle-aged trainer with relative ease. It seems like Elly really isn't a trainer, or at least was more willing to bribe the Wooper now following them than field a Pokemon of her own, and Claude almost fields Barry before deciding that's just mean. They each make short work of their respective opponents. Ethius's Peryton fares less well, and after that frankly atrocious wait on the Caterpie to faint, Dias steps in and puts a quick end to the Vulpix, and thus, the battle.
Dias is already opening his mouth to say he doesn't care about it being a Pokemon battle when Ethius cuts in. He shoots him a glance--and then agrees with, "...Yes."
This is not an underdeveloped planet, but Dias respects that smoothing these kinds of culture clashes over is Ethius's job. He waits for the salaryman to leave, then looks at Ethius.
"We'll have better luck finding more Potions off the road," he says. He nods to the others and steps off the path. "Come on."
And so they leave the beaten trail...! Everywhere is quite well-kempt, so they don't need to cut through tall grass, at least. (Dias would prefer it, but he's not going to push it, either.) It isn't long before they reach a relatively shallow but broad river--and this part of the river doesn't have a bridge, or at least not one within sight. It wouldn't be impossible to wade through or even swim, but as it so happens, there's a fallen tree right there that looks to be just long enough to get them across.
"Hmm." Dias walks over to it and kicks the trunk to check if it's rotten. As it turns out: "It's solid. Roll it over and we'll have a way across." Which, after reaching into his travel pack and opening up a kit to retrieve a length of rope to stabilize the tree's rolling and make sure it doesn't just fall into the river, he'll get to work on doing precisely that.
DG: Dias Flac has used his Tool Survival Kit toward his party's challenge, Making a Bridge. Rally!
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
"Wooper!" says Wooper, whose blood-thirst is quenched, for now. Wooper makes a big :D face, because that's how Wooper rolls in this b-word of a Nede.
"Oh - hm. Well, I have some burn ointment," Elly says when the topic of potions comes up, but it seems like Dias has his own plan. Elly trods along, with the Wooper continuing to follow in the hopes of getting more fish chunx.
Elly fiddles with the metal cap on her foreshortened left pinky as they walk, possibly because - other than Ethius - she doesn't know these people a great deal. Things grow a little thicker, though still quite parklike and graceful, before they are faced with: a river.
"Wooper!" declares the Pokemon, who immediately jumps in and begins paddling around. Wooper keeps pace with Elly, though, just in case she thought she was off the hook.
"Oh, hm," Elly says, looking at the tree trunk as Dias begins to roll it and manipulate it. "Well - hm -" Her right hand comes up and she flexes and unflexes her right hand's fingers for a moment. "Just tell me when you think you have it in the right place on the other end."
Once that's indicated, Elly raises her right hand. There is a subtle ethereal feeling...
And then two big chunks of ice slam down from thin air directly into the ground on either side of the log!!
Which, helpfully, should control rollin'.
(Wooper stares at this turn of events.)
DG: Elhaym van Houten has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Making a Bridge.
<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.
It is a Pokemon battle. But Claude laughs anyway at Dias's response when the Vulpix gets too close to him. If it were a harsh strike it'd be mean, but... as it is it's just kind of funny.
"See you later, guy."
"...Regional rules, huh?" Claude says when they're out of earshot or reasonably so of the salaryman. "Heh." He glances to Dias, "Nice save, Ethius."
Off the beaten path, Claude looks over the river. And the tree...
Claude considers it. He thinks about his Phase Gun.
He does not pull the Sword of Light on a dead tree.
Instead, he walks over to help Dias. "Time for a little muscle, right?"
But they get more than muscle. They get--
"Oh, cool!" Claude says. "You're a sorceress? That's some impressive ice work."
DG: Claude C. Kenny has used his Tool Phase Gun toward his party's challenge, Making a Bridge.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
"It's one I'm not that proud of, I will confess," Ethius has almost certainly had to make far less convincing stories on the spot as part of his work, "I might have given him the regionally legal clearance to punch my face." He may be speaking from experience...
"I agree, that might be a good course of action," Ethius remarks as he considers whether or not Pertyon's earlier perching might have drawn blood, but it's not something he's going to dwell on too much.
"The Burn Ward would be appreciated, Miss Elly," Ethius adds as he watches the Wooper just Woop-Woop-Woop around, as you do when you are a Wooper. It's endearing.
"Ton?" Peryton inquisitively coos as she flies over to another rock, as she watches those big ol' chunks of ice strike into the ground to make it easier to roll.
5t"I'll confer with Gerel here," the odd man of the bunch takes a ball-- he puts it back, no, that's Ghark's. This one is Gerel's, summoning the lurching land barnacle of uncanny aesthetic beauty in a streaming shape of light.
"Gerel, I request you utilize Strength to push the tree."
Gerel ambles up near Claude, giving Dias space to finish setting up the rope, puckering up their face and then leaning against the log to help try and get it into place.
Peryton preens, as is her right.
DG: Ethius Hesiod has used his Tool Illegal Strength toward his party's challenge, Making a Bridge. Resilient! Party shielded from some exhaustion next round!
============================<* Kanto Plains Route *>============================ =======================<* CHALLENGE - Making a Bridge *>======================== | Type: Exploration | Dungeon Ability: Brute | Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information >---------------------------- You've gotten a little off the beaten path, but that isn't such a big problem on Energy Nede. The plains are easily traversed, without areas that get to be truly tough going. You've found a place where a river cuts through the field. There isn't a bridge anywhere nearby... but you see a tree that has fallen over. It should do. You'll just need to move it -- so it lands on the other side, without falling into the river. ============================= Dungeon Conditions: ============================= | Resilient:_Exhaustion_Down!, Tire:_Exhaustion_Up!, and Weaken:_Brute_Down! | = Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
============================<* Kanto Plains Route *>============================ ===================< Results - Kanto Plains Route - Round 3 >=================== ========================< CHALLENGE - Making a Bridge >========================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Claude C. Kenny 5 --(8)--> 13 Good Phase Gun Maj Brute Effects: Efficient -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ethius Hesiod 21 --(8)--> 29 Best Illegal Strength Min Brute Effects: Resilient -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dias Flac 5 --(8)--> 13 Good Survival Kit Maj Brute Effects: Rally -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Elhaym van Houten 5 --(16)--> 21 Bad Force Bsc Brute Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Leader: Claude C. Kenny 40 --(20)--> 60 Pass Conditions: Tire(2) and Weaken(2) Effects: Resilient(1) = Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
DG: The party led by Claude C. Kenny has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw. DG: Elhaym van Houten has drawn a new Challenge.
============================<* Kanto Plains Route *>============================
================<* CHALLENGE - Very Mild Danger from Above!! *>=================
| Type: Exploration | Dungeon Ability: Agility | Challenge Rating: 1 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
You walk through the grass, near some large trees that provide lovely shade.
A stream runs nearby, and it looks like the sort of place that might make
for a nice picnic. But before you can enjoy that -- or move on...
There is a loud SQUAWK and then a blur of brown-and-black feathers swoops
down. A Pidgey is trying to divebomb you!
https://archives.bulbagarden.net/media/upload/0/0c/0016Pidgey.png
You will want to get out of the way. Of course... if your aim is good, you
might also be able to capture one with a Pokeball!
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Injure:_Exhaustion_Up_On_Failure!, Resilient:_Exhaustion_Down!, |
| Tire:_Exhaustion_Up!, and Weaken:_Brute_Down! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
<Pose Tracker> Dias Flac has posed.
There's no harm in using a burn ointment on the go, and indeed Ethius accepts the offer. Dias leaves the two of them to it. The Wooper is *still* following them. (Or more specifically, Elly. But that seems to happen a lot--that's how Claude got Barry. Dias does not want to think about what he'd have to do if a Pokemon decided to start following *him* around. Hopefully, it'll never be an issue.)
"Right," he tells Claude. Ethius summons Gerel and requests they use Strength. Between the three of them, they set the tree trunk across the river with ease. Elly casts some ice on the other end once they're ready--though it ends up a little too close to the water and cracks almost immediately. Still, they all make it across just fine.
"You seemed like a sorceress," he remarks to Elly. The poise of someone with a lot of power, but lacking the muscle of someone whose power is physical. To Ethius, he adds, "Maybe. But it worked out. That's what counts."
%TDias is aware that he's the one who put him in the position of having to come up with a lie on the spot, after all.
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
Elly obliges Ethius. The burn ointment is in a half-used metal foil tube with stampings indicating it was compounded on the Thames and sold through Medical Goods of the Sea, Limited.
"Did I really?" Elly tells Dias, and also Claude, kind of shyly. "I mean, I suppose I am, but I don't like to make a - a production out of it, I heard someone put it, once. It's really not 'who I am,' it's just something I can do."
So who is it, that Elly really is?
Elly's eyes turn down towards the ground for a few moments as the idea crosses her mind, sorrowful and wistful.
She takes a deep breath and lets it out.
Which is when a large brown object smashes downwards and dive-bombs Elly in the small of her back, knocking her onto the ground with a "wagh!" and some pitiful coughing from having landed at the worst possible time in the breathing cycle. The Pidgey immediately advances on the source of vibrant red fibers before it and grasps some of it, raising his head -- and yanking!
"ghhkkhgh"
At this point the Wooper runs up and stands, strangely enough, exactly where Elly had been standing. "Wooper!!" the Pokemon declaims, accusingly. Adorable little feet stomp the ground, and -- the air smells moist -- before some unseasonable raindroplets begin to fall downwards.
"Wooper!" accuses Wooper.
The Pidgey looks upwards with a beak full of bright nesting materials. Several long strands fall out.
"Pi?" says the Pidgey, muffled as the first raindrop hits his body.
DG: Elhaym van Houten has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Very Mild Danger from Above!!.
<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.
"Well, let's hope he doesn't come back and get that idea, right?" Claude says to Ethius. He'd rather not see him get punched in the face. Head injuries are no joke!
Claude nods to Gerel seriously. What a great Pokemon. "Good work,And then he looks to Elly, and nods. "That's fair," he says. "You are who you are, not just what you can do, not who you come from."
He can spot a mage pretty well himself--but he doesn't say that. Instead, he watches a Pidgey knock over Elly. "Hey--"
Wooper... Wooper is helping?
Claude considers for a moment.
"Let him work," Claude says, as Barry hovers behind him, approaching. "But if the Wooper doesn't rescue her... You know what to do."
"Beeeeee!!!!"
For Pidgey's sake, let's all hope Wooper wins.
DG: Claude C. Kenny has used his Tool Barry toward his party's challenge, Very Mild Danger from Above!!. Rally!
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
Ethius makes sure to deposit one (1) reward Berry into Gerel's waiting maw once the log is dealt with, before he is returned back to his tiny spherical dream home with a graceful little wave of their elongated tongue. It's very clinical on his part but also heartfelt, at the same time, as there's talk on Claude's part about Elly's thoughts about defining oneself.
With the lent burn ointment, Ethius signals Peryton over so he can check and make sure her burns aren't too severe - even a mere Ember can leave one - gingerly and carefully applying it as he contemplates how a lot of his life choices going into young adulthood were spurred on by who he came from. He lowers his head a bit as to wondering what there is to say about it when--
PIDGEY ATTACK
"The situation has gotten serious," Ethius remarks, suddenly running off to the side of the stream as if they were instead under bombardment by a rogue force of invading ships and not... a divebombing Pidgey looking for nesting material. He signals everyone closer. "We may be able to escape across the stream."
...this seems excessive.
"Peryton," Ethius looks to the ointmented bird, who has been sporting about having bizarre Filgaian-made medicine applied to themselves but is now looking up only with partial interest, "there are many things we may ask of you in the days to come that perhaps only you can accomplish on short notice. This moment may be one of them. We have not had much time to train on this front, but nonetheless--"
Ethius draws a Gaudy Earring of his make, taking it in hand, rearing back, and pitching it across the length of the nearby stream which... that's not much of an athletic feat, and this may also count as littering. (Pokemon Rangers are a little more severe about this than you'd think.)
It has Peryton's attention.
"Now, Peryton! Use Fly!" There's actual emotion in Ethius' voice, as he holds out a hand towards others who might or might not buy into both the severity of the situation based on his (unwarranted) reaction as he holds up a hand for Peryton to grab his fingers.
Peryton is tiny. The length in which she's being asked to carry a far larger, heavier human being - and possibly multiple - is stringkly... not proportionate at all.
But there is a gleam in Pertyon's eyes, for over across the stream is a Gaudy Earring, which is just shiny enough that she wants it, and so, the unlicensed out-of-battle Fly is applied in earnest.
...
Such are the desperate times of Energy Nede and those whose fates have ended up intertwined.
DG: Ethius Hesiod has risked with his Tool Forbidden Fly toward his party's challenge, Very Mild Danger from Above!!. Fanfare!
<Pose Tracker> Dias Flac has posed.
"Yes," Dias tells Elly. She'll have to imagine--or more directly ask--why he thought that. For now, he simply nods when she goes into more detail on it on her own. "That's how sorceresses usually are, I suppose."
It's the same for Rena, after all. Claude has a similar take, though his feelings behind what he says may or may not be quite different. (Dias doesn't know all the details of Claude's past, but he's long since noticed his thirst to prove himself--and knowing what he does now, he imagines a lot of that is tied into separating himself from 'who he comes from'.)
Elly seems to have similar troubles, too, if the way she averts her eyes and heaves a sigh is any indication. Even Ethius seems affected by the idea. Dias glances at them both, but doesn't remark. Part of that is because he isn't the type to pry.
Part of that is because PIDGEY ATTACK
It's genuinely startling, and when it divebombs Elly right in her back and onto the ground, Dias reflexively jumps to the side out of the way, one hand going to the hilt of his sword. However, it seems like that Pidgey just... wants some thread?
It's being far too violent about it, in any case. The Wooper runs up--Claude bids Barry to hold back and give the Wooper a chance, but to step (fly) in if it doesn't work out--Ethius seeks an escape, and hurls a gaudy earring to encourage Peryton to grab him by the fingers and carry him across the nearby stream. One can easily imagine the triumphant music that plays as it happens.
"....." Dias stands up straight and removes his hand from his sword with a shake of his head. If it comes to it, he'll shoo that Pidgey away with a flap of his cloak, but he doesn't think it will.
DG: Dias Flac has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Very Mild Danger from Above!!.
============================<* Kanto Plains Route *>============================
================<* CHALLENGE - Very Mild Danger from Above!! *>=================
| Type: Exploration | Dungeon Ability: Agility | Challenge Rating: 1 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
You walk through the grass, near some large trees that provide lovely shade.
A stream runs nearby, and it looks like the sort of place that might make
for a nice picnic. But before you can enjoy that -- or move on...
There is a loud SQUAWK and then a blur of brown-and-black feathers swoops
down. A Pidgey is trying to divebomb you!
https://archives.bulbagarden.net/media/upload/0/0c/0016Pidgey.png
You will want to get out of the way. Of course... if your aim is good, you
might also be able to capture one with a Pokeball!
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Injure:_Exhaustion_Up_On_Failure!, Tire:_Exhaustion_Up!, and |
| Weaken:_Brute_Down! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
============================<* Kanto Plains Route *>============================
===================< Results - Kanto Plains Route - Round 4 >===================
=================< CHALLENGE - Very Mild Danger from Above!! >==================
Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Claude C. Kenny 13 --(0)--> 13 Best
Barry Maj Agility Effects: Rally
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ethius Hesiod 29 --(0)--> 29 Best
Forbidden Fly OLD Agility Effects: Fanfare and
Risky
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dias Flac 13 --(0)--> 13 Good
Rush Bsc Agility Effects: BASIC
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Elhaym van Houten 21 --(0)--> 21 Best
Rush Bsc Agility Effects: BASIC
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Leader: Claude C. Kenny 60 --(20)--> 80 Pass
Conditions: Injure(2), Tire(1), and Weaken(1)
Effects:
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
DG: The party led by Claude C. Kenny has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
Barry the Beedrill takes position and overwatches Wooper and Elly. This gaze gives both of them confidence. Well, it gives Wooper confidence. Elly is probably dead.
OF EMBARRASSMENT.
Peryton is a small bird, but with the proper motivation he is able to bear Ethius upwards. Momentum is what counts - raw momentum - and passion burns as surely as a solid-fuel rocket motor! With a screaming shriek he and Peryton both are free of the threat.
But what of Wooper? Wooper looks momentarily towards Dias Flac, whose simple presence radiates confidence. The Pokemon nods their head once with a little "woo," and then stomp stomp stomp stom stomp stomp stomp
HURL!
* Wooper used Slam!
The body-check from a comparably-sized organism sends the Pidgey flying and fluttering away from Elly, the hair strands he was about to steal left alone. Denied this elvish treasure, the Pidgey flutters back into the canopy, squawking in dismay.
Truly a heartwarming show of...
... Friendship?
Could it be?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a10jMhfmF6E
Elly pushes herself upright, groaning. She doesn't bear to look at anyone until they've caught up with Ethius, although the Wooper continues to trot merrily after her. (Wooper periodically looks at Claude, as if... expecting something. But what? Wooper can't explain. Wooper is some kind of adorable fish thing. Frog? Salamander?)
DG: Claude C. Kenny has drawn a new Challenge.
============================<* Kanto Plains Route *>============================
===============<* CHALLENGE - Ace Trainer Yvette Has Appeared! *>===============
| Type: Final | Dungeon Ability: Combat | Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
You come up over the next hill, and then find someone stands in your way: a
young woman with blonde hair, wearing the tell-tale blue-grey coat of an Ace
Trainer. These Trainers are powerful members of the Pokemon League. She
looks at you, then nods.
"I challenge you!"
She throws out two Pokeballs -- and reveals two very powerful ones. A Raichu
and a Dugtrio, which are ready for a fight. Get ready! This one won't be
easy!
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Bad_Luck:_All_Stats_Down!, Injure:_Exhaustion_Up_On_Failure!, and |
| Wound:_Combat_Down! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.
Claude hasn't explained everything to Dias, but his assessment isn't off. It's not an uncommon issue. But...
Ethius and Peryton...
Claude stares after them for a moment. Then another moment.
"Bee," Barry says.
"Yeah," Claude agrees. "Bee."
Poor Elly. Elly keeps her hair at least, but Claude winces. "That was rough," he says, and then looks at Wooper. "Hm?" he says. The Wooper wants something... "Well..."
Claude produces a Berry. "Here you go, little guy. Good work."
Over the next hill all of a sudden, there is--
An Ace Trainer! She's in a blue-gray coat, and has a confident expression. "I challenge you!" she says.
Claude blinks at her. "Oh, you're not kidding," he says, as he watches her powerful Pokemon come out. "Well..."
"Hey, can you guys cover the Raichu?" he asks. "I can take the Dugtrio."
Barry hovers over Claude's shoulder in reserve as he calls out--
A Squirtle. A Squirtle who whirls in place and then gives a V-sign. "Squirtle!"
"C'mon, Hadra. Let's go."
DG: Claude C. Kenny has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Ace Trainer Yvette Has Appeared!.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
Ethius' escape upon a tiny bird is a rousing success, and Peryton helps herself to the Berry of her choice, because she's a bird and birds will do that. One of her feet is now holding the Gaudy Earring, which appears to be the beginnings of a prized possessions he won't let go of under any circumstance.
"It is good that everyone is all right," for the most part, aside from DEATH BY EMBARASSMENT for one party. Nonetheless, Ethius feels ever more confident that in case certain things end up not panning out, they at least have a prospective route to continue along their quest thanks to a very tiny bird.
(...This prospective route is a terrible idea and it is a great thing that they will not be taking it. The original Plan B as regards Psynards worked out. There is no need for a Plan C. That implies this one has a passing grade. It does not.)
At which point... an Ace Trainer arrives, to challenge the lot of them.
"An Ace Trainer," Ethius remarks as he brings a hand up to his forehead. "The name explains itself, I'm afraid."
Claude calls dibs on the Dugtrio, leaving them with the Raichu to deal with. After weeks of trial and error, Ethius understands how tall a task this is. The moment he looks to Peryton, she engages in the natural behavior of just throwing the shiny thing she was seeking at the ground and fleeing.
Ethius calls her back with a Pokeball, and considers...
"Milzia, this one's yours," he calls, as the upright lizard armed in hand-carved wooden arms and armor stands at attention with a raised, shaking tail in alarm.
"Miii!" She eyes Raichu and Diglett alike, and comes to the conclusion she hasn't been called into a battle at type disadvantage yet again. She considers this an improvement! She is contented and is ready and raring to go!
"Perform a Swords Dance," Ethius decides, and Miliza now finds herself in a cold sweat because she notices that the Raichu and Dugtrio both are of far greater level and shudders with the possibility one of them just might be able to strike that much harder while she dances in place, waving about her hand-caved wooden poleaxe.
Should she not get knocked out, if Ethius gets the chance next turn, it will probably hurt. (Dig rounds do not work like that.)
DG: Ethius Hesiod has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Ace Trainer Yvette Has Appeared!.
<Pose Tracker> Dias Flac has posed.
The Wooper looks Dias's way. He gives it a shallow, grave nod, and the Pokemon nods back. It body-checks the Pidgey away from its would-be redhead treasure, and after Claude feeds the Wooper a congratulatory Berry, they're all free to follow after Ethius.
Dias doesn't remark on what just happened. Elly is radiating embarrassment. The kindest thing anyone can do is move on.
'Bee' indeed.
(Maybe one day Claude will tell Dias more about his past. Maybe one day Dias will tell Claude more about his own. But both of them would rather focus on the present, wouldn't they? If, again, for very different reasons.)
On the other side of the stream, Dias gives Ethius' words a nod of agreement. It is solely to the spoken sentiment. He's not going to comment on his chosen mode of transportation, either.
Once they make it past the next hill, though, an Ace Trainer awaits. She approaches and likewise challenges the lot of them. Dias gives her an assessing look. Unlike the salaryman from earlier, he doesn't give her immediate sass. *This* one is clearly competent--something she displays with the Raichu and Dugtrio she sends out.
"I don't think this one will buy the 'regional rules' excuse," he murmurs dryly to Ethius. He takes a step forward, one hand reaching to the hilt of his sword, to lock eyes with the Ace Trainer.
"I fight my battles myself. If you're fine with that, good for you," he states. "If not--you'd better be more careful who you challenge next time."
Claude's taking on the Dugtrio with his Squirtle, so Dias launches himself at the Raichu, sword flashing out of its sheath. A certain ring on one of Dias's gloved fingers likewise flashes. The attack that *would* come doesn't land, though, being a feint to prompt it to dodge in the path of his sheath, which slams around at the Raichu's feet to knock it over.
Hopefully that'll buy Milzia some time to power herself up with a Swords Dance and do some damage in the next moment--and for Elly (or more likely, Wooper) to come in with the coup de grace.
DG: Dias Flac has used his Tool Ring of Lightspeed toward his party's challenge, Ace Trainer Yvette Has Appeared!. Embolden! Party Combat boosted!
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
Wooper takes the Berry in their mouth but -- doesn't swallow it. Wooper's head shakes. However, as they continue forwards, the group is faced with the arrival of an actual trainer. "Wooper!!" declares Wooper, with concern, at the sight of an electric type.
Elly, recovering somewhat, looks upwards. "Um," she tells Yvette. "Hello, I'm not really a -- why are you looking -- oh, are you still --?" Elly looks back at Wooper, who at this point opts to hork down the Berry.
"Wooper!" declares Wooper, hopping into the air in empowered pride! In the air, Wooper's beady little eyes take in Dias Flac's skilled maneuvers.
"Yeah...!" Elly cheers, if hesitantly. Which is when it is time to strike.
For Wooper may be a Water-type...
... but Wooper also knows Ground-type moves. "Per!" Wooper lands and swirls in muddied ground, sending a surprisingly large chunk of it up into a sailing arc to land with a splat on Raichu -- demoralizing at least!
"Oh thank you, that was so talented of you!" Elly tells the Wooper, surrendering another piece of fish.
That's three. Three is an important number.
DG: Elhaym van Houten has risked with her Tool Extra-Stinky Monster Bribe Bait toward her party's challenge, Ace Trainer Yvette Has Appeared!. Cleanse! All negative effects will be cleared at the end of the round!
============================<* Kanto Plains Route *>============================
===============<* CHALLENGE - Ace Trainer Yvette Has Appeared! *>===============
| Type: Final | Dungeon Ability: Combat | Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
You come up over the next hill, and then find someone stands in your way: a
young woman with blonde hair, wearing the tell-tale blue-grey coat of an Ace
Trainer. These Trainers are powerful members of the Pokemon League. She
looks at you, then nods.
"I challenge you!"
She throws out two Pokeballs -- and reveals two very powerful ones. A Raichu
and a Dugtrio, which are ready for a fight. Get ready! This one won't be
easy!
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Bad_Luck:_All_Stats_Down!, Cleanse:_All_Effects_Removed!, |
| Embolden:_Combat_Up!, Injure:_Exhaustion_Up_On_Failure!, and |
| Wound:_Combat_Down! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
============================<* Kanto Plains Route *>============================
===================< Results - Kanto Plains Route - Round 5 >===================
================< CHALLENGE - Ace Trainer Yvette Has Appeared! >================
Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Claude C. Kenny 13 --(5)--> 18 Best
Fight Bsc Combat Effects: BASIC
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ethius Hesiod 29 --(13)--> 42 Worst
Fight Bsc Combat Effects: BASIC
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dias Flac 13 --(5)--> 18 Best
Ring of Lightspeed Min Combat Effects: Embolden
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Elhaym van Houten 21 --(29)--> 50 Worst
Extra-Stinky Monster Bribe Bait Maj Combat Effects: Inefficient,
Cleanse, and Risky
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Leader: Claude C. Kenny 80 --(35)--> 115 Pass
Conditions: Bad Luck(2), Injure(1), and Wound(2)
Effects: Cleanse and Embolden(1)
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
DG: You have overcome the dungeon's trials! This run is a success! DG: The party led by Claude C. Kenny has successfully explored Kanto Plains Route!
============================<* Kanto Plains Route *>============================
========================<* CHALLENGE - A New Friend! *>=========================
| Type: Discovery | Dungeon Ability: Conclusion | Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
You've reached the next town! As you approach, though, you hear a soft noise
behind you. When you turn, you spot a Pokemon that has been following -- and
seems to want to come with!
If you're interested, type +dice 1d12 and consult the list below. Everyone
in the Dig can do this!
1: Spearow
2: Sandshrew
3: Mankey
4: Oddish
5: Paras
6: Psyduck
7: Poliwag
8: Vulpix
9: Magikarp
10: Arcmene
11: Jubjubunny
12: Eevee
Enjoy your new friend!
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Bad_Luck:_All_Stats_Down!, Cleanse:_All_Effects_Removed!, |
| Embolden:_Combat_Up!, Injure:_Exhaustion_Up_On_Failure!, |
| Wonder:_Exhaustion_Down!, and Wound:_Combat_Down! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.
Oh yeah. Claude isn't going to make Elly dwell on her embarrassment. That would be mean! ...Maybe one day he and Dias will sit down and get into all that they haven't, but...
Thay day's not today, either. The present is enough.
For now--
The Ace Trainer looks at Dias as he steps forward. "...Oh, I see. You're like one of those Karate Kings. All right, if you think you can stand up to my Pokemon, let's see who wins!"
They are Visitors, too. But it seems even some Nedians are willing to fight themselves?
Wooper does its best. Indeed, its mud is demoralizing to the Raichu...
"..You had a rough time this journey, didn't you?" Yvette says to Elly. CRITICAL NOTICE OF DISHEVELMENT!
Dias, meanwhile, smacks the Raichu, and this does put it off balance, such that when it summons forth its Thunder Bolt on the enemy party... Miliza doesn't faint! It's a near thing, but she's up! And her next blow--
Her next blow finishes it, while Squirtle at the Dugtrio is a battle of wills. Dugtrio digs! Squirtle hides in her shell! Dugtrio slashes! Squirtle blasts it with Water!!
Eventually, the battle is over, and and Yvette nods. "Good work," she says. "That was worth the trouble." She hands over a card with some FOL on it, and--"Here. You seem to be low on these." Pokeballs! She gives them to Elly in particular. "...You're a weird one," she says to Dias, "But you fight well. You should check out the Fighting Dojo in Saffron. There's a lot of guys like you there."
She starts to walk off... only to turn to Ethius, "Take care of that Miliza, and it'll take good care of you."
And Pokemon appear!!
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
Elly looks muted at Yvette's attention to how mussed she is. We're talking full shaded-out-eyes, "..." and everything.
But then they're given -- Pokeballs? "Oh, thank you, but I don't know if I can really - I mean -"
"Wooper!" declares the Wooper! Who waddles forwards and jumps up and down.
What motivates a Pokemon to want this sort of a boon? Many Pokemon struggle against it, at least to a certain extent. But Elly, after a little glancing to the side and a careful aiming, hurls the ball even so.
It only wobbles once before clicking.
SOON -
INSERT MUSIC FOR POKECENTER VISIT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhWfpXZa5Uw
"Here's your Wooper, miss! She's all ready to go!"
"Oh! I hadn't known they were a she," Elly admits guilelessly to the Nurse crewing the station.
Who laughs cheerfully! "Of course - I bet you never had to take any exams in Intermediate Phenotyping, huh!"
"You mean 'analyzing the physical representation of an organism's genetic potential'?" Elly answers, without guile.
"Oh, so you did," the Joy replies, nonplussed.
Elly looks down at the Pokeball in her hand. It feels heavier now, but not in a bad way. "Mm," Elly says, smiling. "I guess I can't just call you 'Wooper', can I? Well, I have another friend, a little like a Pokemon... but when I was still in school, I had a great friend in the special quarters."
"Special quarters?" the Joy asks, out of morbid curiosity.
"Oh, we both had control issues," Elly tells her.
The Joy's eyebrow's lift.
"Maybe I'll call you -- that's it! I'll call you Kelvele, since you're even the same color as her hair!" Elly says, in delight.
* Kelvele - Solarian diminuitive form from personal name "Kelvena"
* "Kelvena" - Member of "ELEMENTS" under Kahran Ramses; commonly teamed with "Dominia."
A name choice without possibility of flaw or error!
<Pose Tracker> Dias Flac has posed.
To Dias's slight surprise, the Ace Trainer takes his direct approach in stride. It'd be one thing if she said that based on his round ears, but it seems like there's more people in Nede that fight directly than he'd been lead to believe. Between the four of them, they take out Yvette's Pokemon, and Miliza even gets to get in the final blow on the Raichu.
Dias would be fine with leaving it at that--but Yvette decrees him weird-but-not-in-a-bad-way like he had Elly earlier, and then recommends a place for him to go. While Elly has a Moment with her new Wooper, he gives Yvette an intrigued look. "Hmm. I'll do that," he replies.
Maybe there's more to get used to in this world than he'd thought.