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Which route did/are you pick/ing first? Wow, March.

There was a rush, Quinn realized, in having a Pokémon battle in non-treacherous terrain. On top of the lighthouse, he had been concerned with the constraints of the setting, especially after Normandie had fallen over the side. Even before that, Quinn’s battles on the ship had been affected by the possibility of getting swept overboard (not to mention the motion of the boat swaying in the water), and even before that there was the encounter with the Malamar in the swamp that had its own difficulties. But here? With the wind at its back? Everything else but the battle seemed to fade away into the background. Even Quinn’s closest compatriots might not have been able to stir Quinn without considerable effort. Cassiopeia must have been feeling similar, because she leapt into the fray without a second thought. Gust seemed like a natural counter to the Smokescreen that Fuyumi’s Horsea had produced, though even with the already-extant sea breeze, it was only strong enough to keep the black, malevolent smoke from interfering with Quinn and Cassiopiea’s immediate view. It still enveloped the Horsea, making Cassiopeia’s tactic of charging forward and using Astonish, scaring all but the most hardened Pokémon, difficult to execute. Two could play at the evasive tactics, however -- Cassiopeia Minimized her form, condensing her balloon body as she searched for an opening. An opening came in the form of a stream of Bubbles from further to the left than Quinn might have guessed. Cassiopeia had not been expecting it either, even if she still avoided the worst of it by virtue of being a smaller target. Some of them did strike her, though. Perhaps it was because she was so light, but the Bubbles seemed to push against her, and she had to fight to build up speed as she charged ahead into the fog. Another Gust of wind displaced even more of the fog, but Fuyumi’s Horsea had retreated into its Smokescreen again. It was clear that the tactics Quinn and Cassiopeia were operating under were not working. Cassiopeia retreated back to a higher altitude, rotating this way and that, looking for any sign of the enemy. Quinn saw her start to Focus her Energy, and Quinn did the same. Quinn spotted the next Bubble attack first. “There!” Quinn said, extending zir finger in that direction. Not that Cassiopeia needed the indication -- she was already counterattacking. She moved in a high arc this time, moving around the Bubbles instead of through, and even before the attack was finished, she came crashing down on its source, Astonishing all within earshot with the loudest “Drifloon!” she could muster.

The 8th Annual Pokemon Polls are over! It was a pretty unexpected top 4 honestly. In 4th place a favorite of mine, Sandshrew! In 3rd place my actual top favorite, Tapu Lele! In 2nd place, probably the most surprising one of them all to me, Lanturn! And in 1st place cuteness personified, Buneary! (Art by K0T0H1KA)

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Chris looked at the guy that Hector had nodded at, then back at Hector, then back at the guy, then back at Hector. “Anyone else?” he said. He meant it two ways; “Are you sure that’s the only one who responded?” but also, “The families I’ve wronged haven’t come back here yet, right?” After confirming that both were the case (one piece of news was certainly easier to receive than the other), Chris said, “I imagine I’m going to need a drink in a second,” and made his way over to the neurotic mage. “Hector said you’re looking for me,” Chris said. Again, he was trying to speak out of both sides of his mouth. He wanted confirmation, of course, but if this was some sort of prank, he needed to show some measure of strength. Perhaps too much strength, it turned out, because the person looked at Chris, screamed, and fell out of his chair. Chris immediately had to pivot. “Are you okay?” he said, now very conscious of every other eyeball in the tavern (not to mention Hector’s stifled laugh). The worst part was, Chris already knew the answer to his question. “Ah, no, no, no I’m not,” they said. “I’m not okay. I’m terrible. A terrible, terrible, clumsy oaf!” They struggled to get back in their seat, their hooded cloak only barely staying on and looking all the more disheveled for it. Chris opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out. He tried again, “Well,” he said, “regardless, you’re here to help me out?” “Yes,” they said. “Well, I can try. I can't make any promises. I never said that I could for certain help you out so you have no reason to be mad at me if I can't actually help you… right?” Chris looked back at Hector, feeling for the first time in his tenancy that the innkeeper had betrayed him in some way. Either Hector didn’t notice or he pretended not to -- either one wasn’t great. That’s what he got for operating on relatively short notice, Chris thought. Desperation breeds desperation, and you get what you pay for. Well… “In my line of work, people tend to pay based on results,” Chris said. At the very least, that was something he could settle early. “My name is Chris. We’ll be out at the docks tonight. Hopefully it shouldn’t take too long, but be prepared for anything.” Unfortunately, he could already guess what sort of response a phrase like that would bring.