Pokemon: Mind and Soul [IC / PG / Not Accepting / Co-Hosted by Skaia]

[yui 573]

With the biting trapinch gone, Kanon was able to stop, regain her composure (most of it, anyway), and look at the wound on her arm properly. Definitely one of the uglier injuries she'd been met with in her life. Between this and an instance where she broke her leg falling out of a tree, complete with the bone sticking out of her leg, Kanon was feeling pretty confident that while certainly less severe, this was the uglier of the two wounds. However, from within the swirling sands came a young man. With a Trapinch in tow. Kanon could still see tiny bits of her blood on its mouth.

"Excuse me, you should get that covered quickly. The sand will get in otherwise. I don't mean to intrude. My name is Tavares...do you mind if I... And, um, please don't be mad at him. I believe he thought you were trying to invade his home."

"Here, let me help too. We need to make sure it's properly cleaned out."

As Kanon held her arm out for it to be cleaned and bandaged, she thought about the way this Tavares person put it. Thinking about it that way, it did make sense. To blame it for something like that would be like shoving your hand in a beehive then complaining that you got stung. Still, that didn't exactly make her keen to bring this little critter along either. She wanted to just move on, have him forget her, and have herself forget him.

"Thank you Tavares, your help is greatly appreciated. I'm Milla, and this is Kanon and Nomi. What brings you out this way?"

"Not here just to stalk people hoping they get bitten, I hope," Kanon commented, pulling her arm back once the bandages were applied. Certainly a step in the right direction. It did hurt  some to move her arm though, so for now, she set the arm down across her lap as she got comfortable sitting somewhere safe from the sandstorm sweeping up the desert. Even if she wanted to (she didn't), climbing these monoliths would be out of the question now.

[LordCowCow 839]

As it turned out Kanon did not want marshmallows to help with her injury. That was fine, they were probably all melty and gooey by now anyway. Would be a pain having to get it off of her fingers if she tried to hand some to her now.

The stranger that had come up seemed to know what they were doing though. So she stayed where she was, head drooping occasionally, and kept an eye on the Trapinch. It was strange how it looked exactly like Bug but she could tell the difference. She wondered what that was.

"Thank you Tavares, your help is greatly appreciated. I'm Milla, and this is Kanon and Nomi. What brings you out this way?"

Naomi only barely caught that and realized that they both kept calling her by a different name. No use correcting them now though.

In any case the boy didn't respond right away. Focusing on wrapping the, now cleaned, wound on Kanon's arm. He was gentle but firm and seemed to be just as talented at medicine as a Pokecenter worker. "I'm always out here." Tavares responded at last. "Mostly. I come out here and explore the desert. These pillars. And elsewhere often. Making sure there's no problems. Especially nowadays, with the champion gone..." The boy paused and a sad expression crossed his face. "Things are a bit more dangerous these days." He finished off the wrapping and nodded at his work.

He looked at the two girls, then Naomi drifting off to the side, and said "Were you heading to the city? I can take you there, if you want. It's...not far." As he spoke his gaze seemed to lower just slightly. Not quite looking them in the eyes. And his voice seemed just a bit softer than when he was focused on wrapping Kanon's arm.

[Skaia 578]

Jacklyn had still felt the sting of defeat, and was upset at her opponent's taunting of the comparison between their skills. As Dinah seemed to mull over something else, Jacklyn looked over to the girl as she said her comment about being prepared for when they were to battle next. At this, Jacklyn simply stared at the girl, seemingly at a loss for words. However, this didn't last long, as she her sullen attitude was replaced by a bright smile. "You bet! Next time I'll have three! Maybe four pokemon! And then we'll show you who's better!" The girl smiled a bit softer as she looked away saying, "yeah. Next time." 

As Dinah asked about her friends, the girl thought about it for a moment. "I'm sure one of them is raring to go and battle." She couldn't imagine that one being Belle, though. After a bit of waiting around, the girl looked over to see that the others returned - no doubt from their own perilous journey. Giving a wave to them, as Dinah mentioned wanting to have her Tepig battle one of them, Jacklyn did an overdramatic bow to her two companions. "Please, avenge me!" 

[Doggo 218]

Milla was able to relax some with Kanon's injury properly cleaned and wrapped. Properly so far as a few inexperienced teenagers in the desert could manage anyway. Though this Tavares seemed rather experienced when it came to this sort of thing. Kanon seemed alright though and that was what really mattered. The boy spoke of his frequent visits to the desert and the things he explored. There were many questions the ever curious Milla would have liked to ask him almost immediately. Things about the pillars and the missing champion which seemed to sour his mood. But more importantly was the immediate offer of an escort to the nearby city, the group's next destination in their journey.

"That would be lovely. Time out of the sun would do us all good I should think."  Milla spoke for the group, assuming there would be few objections to getting out of the heat sooner rather than later. Though exhaustion was setting in, the girl gathered her things together and readied herself both mentally and physically to continue the journey. But ultimately her curiosity couldn't contain itself. "When we have a moment I'd love to ask you about the pillars." She said to Tavares, her face betraying the eagerness she had to learn more of the strange structures. While her brief examination had yielded more than simple observations, surely someone who was always out and around them would have something more to add.

[yui 573]

Apparently, Tavares was no stranger to this desert. Especially not lately, with things getting dangerous what with the champion missing and all. That's what he'd said, anyway. It seemed like this region was facing some tough times. Just being here had also not exactly been a walk in the park either. So this was the proper adventure experience. While she didn't approve of the scenery here, Kanon had to admit that it wasn't too shabby. Aside from the getting bitten part.

"Were you heading to the city? I can take you there, if you want. It's...not far."

"That would be lovely. Time out of the sun would do us all good I should think." 

"We'd appreciate it. The less time out in this desert, the better." Well, it was still attached at least. Arm still attached and someone who knew the way to a nearby city offering, Kanon got back up to her feet, ready to finish her trek through the desert. Eager, in fact.

[Sethera 290]

Belle didn't wait too long for Ivan to reply before she shrugged and began walking back anyway. As she arrived, she noticed that Jacklyn seemed to have lost...and it was because she didn't have enough Pokémon. Normally she'd have been too far away to catch that, but Jacklyn had a rather loud voice. Oh boy, did she have one.

Still...did that mean that having more Pokémon made one a better trainer? Thinking about it, Sabrina also had a full team of Pokémon, but she didn't often use them all against challengers. So limiting the number of Pokémon you had was limiting your power then? So this meant...Belle needed to get more Pokémon if she wanted to complete this journey, get rich, and go home right? Which meant catching Pokémon, which meant, ugh, she'd have to battle more in this heat. She still wasn't sure if she'd be able to catch a fire Pokémon, though. With her only real usable Pokémon being Moo, a grass type. Her Rattata just wasn't obedient at all.

Jacklyn noticed their approach then, bowing in a really weird, dramatic way. Was she gaining lessons from that waiter or something? Was that why she had been crushing on him? She liked that kind of stuff? Belle filed that away for later, brushing off the girl's plea for revenge. "Nah, too tired and hot," she replied, then glanced at Ivan. "You too tired too?"

Edited March 7, 2020 by Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd

[reparoni 161]

 

---

"I think they're almost..." Belle was already moving towards Jacklyn and the other girl. Ivan simple shrugged. The girl was definitely struggling with the Ratatta, but at least she seemed to be doing better with it now. He let out a sigh, hopefully she could eventually get that Ratatta under control. Ivan shouted towards the duo. "Yeah, I can do a one on one." He called, returning Po back to his Pokeball.

Judging by the way Jacklyn was talking to them, it seemed like she had lost. As expected, Belle turned down the call to battle. Ivan, however, was ready to go. "I'm not tired. In fact..." He stepped up towards Dinah, pulling out another Pokeball. "...I'm just getting started!" He tossed the Pokeball into the air, before catching it and pointing it in front of him. "Don, it's show time!" Out of the ball emerged Don, spreading its wings and letting out a squak, before giving the Tepig a smug grin. "Let's do this!." He said, cracking his knuckles, before pointing at the Tepig. "Don, use Peck!" On his command, the Murkrow jumped into the air, gliding towards the Tepig and attempting to strike it with its beak.

[LordCowCow 839]

Dinah gave Belle a strange look. "How can you be too tired to battle? Did you get all your Pokemon knocked out or something?"

"Let's do this!."

Dinah looked back at Ivan and gave a nod. "That's better. Alright Tepig we've got...Oh, quick, Ember!" The Murkrow's sudden attack seemingly catching Dinah somewhat off guard. Her Tepig was startled by her trainer's response but dug in and shot out several small flames towards Don.

While the flames struck Don it didn't stop him from continuing on and delivering a strong peck to the Fire-type's forehead. "Don't let them get to you Tepig, you're much stronger, just go in for a Tackle!"

The Tepig jumped back and tucked their head down before running at Don, turning slightly to try and slam its shoulder into the bird.

Spoiler

It's fine to have a bit of free range here, try and get my input if you do more than a couple moves, but it's not a super strict battle. Just try and consistently post fast as you can

---

Tavares nodded when the group responded in the positive. He started heading out and, pausing only to pull a hood up, walked beyond the windless area of the pillar.

Naomi shambled along, starting to regret not having Princess come out, but not feeling enough energy to grab the Rhyhorn's Pokeball. She was staring at Kanon as they moved. More specifically at the injury. "D'you think Pokemon think we're tasty?" She asked her. "S'Bug gonna try that too?" While she didn't explain who "Bug" was she did gesture at the Pokeballs on her hip.

"When we have a moment I'd love to ask you about the pillars."

Tavares seemed a bit nervous by the girl's energy. Keeping his hood up over his face, presumably for the sand, and only taking occasional glances at her. But he did respond anyway. "I can tell you whatever you want...They've been here for a long time. Nothing ever happens with them that I've seen. They're kind of...just there."

The group continued on, talking while avoiding getting sand in their mouth, through the dry heat of the desert.

Suddenly Tavares stopped. "We're here." He said.

Though were the group to look around they wouldn't see any signs of a city. When questioned Tavares pointed to what looked like a small stone outpost, something of a shack, sticking out like a sore thumb against the flatness of the desert.

Without explaining Tavares walked off towards it. There was no door, simply an open area on one side, and inside was an adult male with a Krokorok at his side. He smiled when he saw the group. "Ah, back already? I see you've got some strays." He noticed Kanon's arm and frowned. "Ah, hospital isn't far, follow the signs when you get in...Oh, and welcome to Gemupet City."

He gestured them inside where they saw a wide staircase. They moved down, down, down...until the staircase leveled out and opened up into a huge open area. Another set of stairs led down into what looked to be a sprawling city.

A multitude of stone buildings with paved roads filled with people moving along. From their position above the city they could see a bazaar where large groups of people were haggling and trading. Off in the distance, on the other side of the city, looked to be some sort of labyrinth. 

After giving them a few moments Tavares coughed. "So...this is the city...the hospital is this way." He led them down the rest of the stairs and pointed off to the right. Though it didn't look like he was going to go with them. "I have a few other things to take care of...I'll probably see you again though."

Spoiler

Welcome to Gemupet City, the underground wonder of Korova! So yeah now you're in the city so I guess time to put in your plan to abandon us, Yui. Lemme know how long that'll be and how you plan to do it so I can give the okay to the replacement

But yeah from here you can decide what you want to do in the city...I guess that's mostly for Andx.

Gemupet City
Description: A city in the sand. Literally. The only part of it that is above ground is a trio of small outposts that contain staircases that lead to the city itself. These outposts are guarded in order to keep the flow of traffic to a minimum, due to the ruins that are being preserved alongside the city.

Major areas: The Ruins. Right outside of the city itself lays a massive labyrinth of ruins. There are high walls which form a maze and inside are dozens of broken down buildings.
The Oasis. A tavern that specializes in lemonade, soda pop, fresh water, and coffee. The bartender has plenty of obscure information.
Bazaar. The city contains a large market where you can buy clothing, TMs, and various held items.
Gym. ???

Trainers: Various Collectors and Backpackers mostly

 

[Skaia 578]

Belle's response was in line with what Jacklyn had expected. Yet still, she had looked up cheerily at Ivan as he seemed game to go take on Dinah. As the battle started, Jacklyn cheered from the sidelines saying, "yeah go knock 'em fainted Don!" As the girl watched the brief exchange of blows between the pokemon, clearly excited to see where  this would end up going, she then looked over to Belle. Seeing that she was tired, the girl wondered what it was that she had done that exhausted her so much - or if she was just generally walking from having to walk...at all. Interested, but not expecting much the girl asked, "so, what did you get up to? Anything fun? See anything cool?"

[yui 573]

When Kanon was met with what was supposedly the city, she was a bit confused. Just a lousy outpost? That was hardly a city by any definition of the word. It wasn't until Kanon went down the staircase and saw the actual city - one build entirely underground - that she realized the scope of this place. And quite frankly, she was impressed. Living underground hardly sounded like living at all, but this was certainly a place to visit. There were even signs pointing to destinations, such as the hospital. "I should get this checked out. If it's a nasty pokemon bite they'll probably want to keep me for a while, so don't wait up on my account."

Catching up to these two wouldn't be all that tough whenever they let her go. Least of all with Nomi in the group. And with that, Kanon continued the rest of the way down the stairs, following the signs. She couldn't help but for once feel grateful for the desert above. If an underground city had been built somewhere like northern Hoenn, it would end up being an underwater city instead.

[Doggo 218]

As they traveled, Milla was somewhat frustrated that even a local didn't seem to know any deeper design or purpose to the strange pillars that dotted the desert landscape. This left her with few options shy of finding an archaeologist to explain what was happening. Either the ancient inhabitants of the island really had a talent at making mesmerizing pillars, or perhaps a mythical, unknown pokemon was at work. In any case, it was enough for her imagination to run wild with for the moment so Tavares would receive a break from her curiosity. And soon there was more to be curious of as they reached a small stone structure jutting out of the otherwise flat sand wasteland. The man from inside welcomed them to Gemupet City which left Milla to do several double takes while trying to see where the city was hiding. To satisfy her sense of wonder, the group descended underground to see that the entirety of Gemupet was hidden away under the desert.

"It's amazing!" Milla declared as she took in the sight. This sort of thing felt purely out of a fairy tale. How did people figure out how to live underground? There were so many questions to ask. But then, a somber reminder. They were here to be sure Kanon was okay. After bidding farewell to Tavares the group approached the hospital. Kanon went in by herself with the depressing truth that Milla and Nomi had lost a teammate as she urged them to move on without her while she got treated. Milla had only barely gotten to know Kanon and already she was gone. Her posture betrayed her sense of defeat at this her third companion departing from her. Was it her? Was she simply not meant to have undertaken this journey? The universe seemed to be sending a clear message with the various misfortunes encountered so early into things. Again came the thought to find a phone, call her parents and pack it up. But then the girl turned and was remined that at least this time she wasn't entirely alone. Nomi was still there.

"We're down a teammate, aren't we..." Milla trailed off to Nomi. "Do you... want to look around the town at least?" she offered, hoping that moving would get her mind off of things. Nomi seemed much less bothered by everything that had happened as she shrugged in response.

"Ifya wanna. Gimme a mo'" she said as she searched for Princess' pokeball. The Rhyhorn was released and was to serve as her ride as they walked about. And so with a step slowed by contemplation and sadness, Milla led Princess about through Gemupet. Before long they came to the Bazaar. The market was rather large, with many stalls set up with various vendors offering many different goods. All through the crowd were different performers, seeking the tips of the passerby for their craft. It all seemed wonderful and yet Milla could nothing to engage her. Her heart heavy, all she wanted to do for the moment was sit. And find a place to do so she did. Here she let Rondo out of his pokeball who seemed to understand rather quickly what was going on with his trainer. He sat calmly in her lap and the girl gently placed an arm around him as she went through her bag. Eventually she produced a mat that had a piano keyboard printed on the face of it. This she smoothed out in front of her and Rondo before turning the electronic on and beginning to play the melody in her heart. Occasionally, a passerby would pause and listen. Though the instrument was cheap and lacked the refinement of a grand piano, her skill and emotion were still evident. However, the people seemed wary of Princess and so few lingered close.

"I don't know what I was expecting when I set out on this journey." Milla spoke, perhaps to Nomi if she was listening but more to just vocalize her thoughts. "Maybe I didn't understand how any of this was supposed to work. I figured it would be easy. I'd have people at my side and I wouldn't have to worry about anything. I'd just find Rondo some friends and have a good time." she continued softly. "Perhaps it was all a bit naive of me." Milla spoke again, sounding much more defeated. Rondo meanwhile seemed to be looking about. He'd fixed this situation once before, and would do it again if he had to.

[Sethera 290]

"How can you be too tired to battle? Did you get all your Pokemon knocked out or something?"

"No, I'm just too tired," Belle replied flatly.

The girl wasn't surprised that Ivan had decided to fight instead of sit it out too. Like Jacklyn, he seemed to have an endless well of stamina and motivation. Where he got that, she wasn't sure. Or why, for that matter. What was the point in getting all worked up in this heat? She purposefully ignored the fact that earlier, she had been getting a little worked up too. This and that were different. She had her own pride as a top couch potato-er and gamer. Losing against people was fine, but losing against her own Pokémon brought with it a special sense of shame.

Jacklyn was cheering Ivan on beside her. Really, Belle just couldn't understand how that girl could be so energetic in this heat. Waving lazily at Ivan, she yawned. That was all the effort she could muster right now.

The purple-haired girl turned to her then, "so, what did you get up to? Anything fun? See anything cool?"

"Ehh, maybe." Belle fluttered her hand in the air in a so-so manner. "Was tryinta house train m'rat. Went al'right, s'pose." She yawned again. "Oh, an' Ivan caught a Vulpix." She paused. "Not the web browser," she clarified. "Actual Vulpix." She preferred using Zebstrika herself, but from what she had heard, Mozilla Vulpix was more popular overseas.

Edited March 7, 2020 by Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd

[Cheshire Toon 139]

Golett knew who it was: number six-one-five-six-five. It knew it was destined to one day join the ranks of the Elite Guard, which was why the Great Ones had forged it of different clay than its brethren, to denote its status and quality.

 What it didn’t know was why it had been put into stasis. Why had it been shut down without a warning? How long had it been deactivated? What had reactivated it? The society of the Great Ones had been the pinnacle of prosperity. This… this foreign world was anything but prosperous. It appeared the station had been abandoned; the walls were cracked, the pillars broken, and an inches thick layer of grime, cobwebs, and dust had been allowed to dirty the once pristine walls. The few humans that it had encountered since awakening were strange as well. Though they looked like the Great Ones, they adorned themselves in all manner of strange clothing, and they gestured and jeered in a brutish language whenever it allowed them to notice it. 

Some of them even attempted to engage it in combat. They would release Pokémon from their spherical containment devices and bark what it could only assume were commands at their domesticated creatures, but compared to the warriors of the past these Pokémon were easily defeated. They would usually retreat once it defeated the Pokémon. That was what it had come to expect… until it met the Loud One. 

The Loud One was a human who had arrived the day before. The Loud One had released his dream-eating tapir and began indiscriminately battling with any Pokémon that approached. Golett had been passing by when it found itself the subject of one such attack, but the dream-eating tapir was no match for its Shadow Punch. It had believed that would be that—until the Loud One had charged at it and attempted to punch it.

Golett subdued the rampaging human with a restrained strike to a critical weak point located just beneath center mass. It proved to be super-effective. The Loud One was silenced, brought to his knees, and the Golett continued on its endless patrol of the station. Or so it should have gone, but the Loud One caught up to it after a time. The dream-eating tapir was on its feet again but the Loud One didn’t send it to fight Golett this time. Instead he stepped forward toward Golett, raising his hands in front of his face in a stance similar to that of a Hitmonchan. It appeared the Loud One wanted to fight.

Golett was created to protect the Great Ones. They built it from clay, forged it for a divine purpose, and now a human wanted to fight. Was that alright? The Loud One wasn’t a Great One. The Great Ones had vanished. It had to find its own purpose now.

Shadows surrounded Golett’s fist as it stepped toward the Loud One. 

The Loud One was different now. Prepared, probably, because he was nimble. He leaned out of Golett’s first swing, then surprised the golem by stepping forward, twisting his hips, and punching it in the face. It wasn’t particularly effective; humans were frail compared to Pokémon, and the Loud One was no exception to this, but it surprised Golett so much that it backpedaled. 

The Loud One shook the fist that he had delivered the punch with. “And Mom said I was hard-headed. Hurt myself more than I did you, huh?” he clenched his fist again and took his stance. “Now I really wanna catch ya. C’mon Tyson!” 

Golett tilted its head. It had no idea what the Loud One was saying but he was grinning now. Behind him, the dream-eating tapir had begun waving its arm around frantically, and a purple aura started to amass around its hands. What was it doing? Was it some kind of Psychic-type attack? The way the energy swirled was hypnotic, and Golett found itself suddenly getting tired. The last thing Golett saw before it collapsed was the Loud One rushing toward it with wide-open arms.

---

 

Nate struggled to gently lower the Golett to the ground. “Man you’re heavy,” he groaned, after finally easing it onto the floor. He leaned back and stretched his arms into the air.  “Good job on the hypnosis Ty! You timed it perfectly buddy.” 

Tyson the Drowzee wiggled his trunk and made a happy-sounding trumpet noise. Nate smiled at him and then flashed a double-thumbs up. “Job’s not done yet though. Remember what we talked about?” Tyson swung his trunk up and down in what Nate had come to know as a ‘yes’. “Good. Show it the same dream that you showed me, okay bud?” Another swing of the trunk. “Awesome. I’ll go wrap my hand up and keep a look out for any more wild Pokémon while ya do.”

 

---

A bright tunnel. An arena filled with cheering humans. Family around it. The details of the picture were hazy and hard to pin down, like smoke, but the emotions behind them were vivid. Happiness. Love. Completion. A sense of accomplishment and belonging. 

 

It was a dream. Golett didn’t, couldn’t, fully understand it, but it knew the dream-eating tapir was responsible. 

Tyson. Nate.

A voice it could understand. How? The language it knew had been lost to time.

Tyson. Nate. Dream.

Psychic tricks. The tapir was trying to communicate; that was the only explanation. Golett had no idea what it meant. Tyson and Nate? 

Names. Tyson. Nate. Us. 

The tapir apparently knew what Golett was thinking. Of course, it was probably feasting on its dreams. 

No. No eat. Share. Our dream. Your dream? Too?

The tapir’s voice came through in a broken manner, but the dream shifted around Golett, changing to a field. It saw the Loud One and the tapir standing beside each other on a hill, punching in unison, and it was beside them too. 

Your dream? Travel? Yes?

It all clicked into place. The tapir was asking it to join them on their travels. No! It had a duty to protect the station, a duty to serve the Great Ones, to protect them and their interests. But the station was abandoned and the Great Ones were gone.

Golett thought of the emotions that had come with the first memory it had been shown. Family… It had lost its brothers. It had been lonely ever since it was reactivated. And the tapir hadn’t eaten its dreams (yet). Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to travel with them. 

Your dream?

. . . . .
. . . . .

Yes. My dream.

Your dream! Our dream! Welcome!

---

 

Nate sighed and looked up at the sun as he made his way through the bazaar. Had he really only been in this town for three days? The first day he had lost to the Gemput City gym leader. Pretty embarrassingly too, Nate thought. I really ran in there with just Tyson and got him all beat up. His group had left him behind after that. Not that I really knew them. Not the type of people I wanna keep around anyways, if they’re so quick to ditch someone after one loss. He had spent the entirety of the second day chasing Cassius around the ruins. Which brought him to the present. He had gotten up at dawn to go for some early training with Cassius and Tyson.

Cassius' right hook was already shaping up to be a lot more snappy, and Tyson had learned a new move from a technical machine that Nate was sure was going to be helpful in their rematch.

Still. He was exhausted, and a little lonely after two days without any meaningful human interaction, which was probably why he immediately approached the girl playing piano on the street when he recognized her. “Hey there! That’s some nice music,” he said. “You probably don’t remember me but my name’s Nathan. We were on the same boat on the way over. You here to challenge the gym leader?”

Edited March 10, 2020 by Cheshire Toon

[reparoni 161]

 

---

The two Pokemon exchanged attacks, Don's Peck and Tepig's Ember both hitting their mark. Don landed in front of Tepig, giving the pig a cocky grin. "Quick, use Astonish!" Ivan commanded, Don nodding as it stood its ground. Tepig made its charge towards the Murkrow; however, as Tepig got close, Don let out an astonishingly loud squawk as it spread its wings in an intimidating fashion. Tepig was caught off-guard by this attack, flinching at the sudden noise and the light tap of its wing on its nose. "Yeah, get 'em Don!" Ivan shouted, pumping his fist as the technique worked. He had seem something similar done back in Alola, although it was with another move that Ivan couldn't quite remember the name of.

Dinah didn't seem too pleased by this. "Tepig, use Ember!" She commanded, as the pig quickly recovered from the astonishing blow. The pig spat hot flames towards Murkrow, the bird bracing himself by bringing his wings up. Ivan growled, before pointing towards Tepig.

"Don't let up, use Peck!" Tossing its wings to the side, Don made a dash towards Tepig, his wings following behind him as he slammed his beak onto Tepig's head. Ivan turned to Dinah, a smirk on his face. "Is that all you got?"

[LordCowCow 839]

Dinah had been leaning in to the battle more as it went on. In fact it looked like she was several steps forward from where she had started. Though she clearly didn't notice how close she was inching. She cast an annoyed look at Ivan. "Don't get so cocky cause you got a few attacks in. There's no way we're losing this one. Come on Tepig, let's take this one home and get another win! Tail Whip!" The Fire-Type jumped around and waved its tail at Don, lowering the Pokemon's defense before... "Now go Tackle!" Without missing a beat the Pokemon spun back around and rammed themselves into the Murkrow. "Don't let up, we have the advantage, keep going!"

Spoiler

I'd say both are close to halfish health atm. Don't forget Tepig is higher level so Don gonna have to be careful not to go blow for blow. Dinah will mostly be using Tackle from here, unless Don gets too far out of range of that.

---

"Maybe I didn't understand how any of this was supposed to work. I figured it would be easy. I'd have people at my side and I wouldn't have to worry about anything. I'd just find Rondo some friends and have a good time. Perhaps it was all a bit naive of me."

"Whatcha worrying bout?" Naomi asked. She had managed to crawl on top of Princess's head and the Pokemon kindly turned its head in Milla's direction to make it easier for Naomi to speak to her. So both Naomi and Princess were now looking at the girl. "D'no what there is t'worry bout. Jus gotta keep goin'n stuff right?" She tilted her head to the side and Princess tilted with her. "An Rondo's right there, innit?"

Soon after someone else had come up. Drawn in by Milla's playing from what it sounded like. Naomi wasn't going to say anything, he was clearly talking to Milla, but his question got her to perk up slightly.

“You here to challenge the gym leader?”

"Oh...that's the thing we're s'posed to be doing, right?" Naomi said. She remembered now. They were here for the league or something like that. "There's a gym here? Whatta coincidence." As she spoke she let out a large yawn. "Guess should do that sometime." She looked back at Milla. "Y'wanted a good time, are gym battles a good time?"

[Skaia 578]

"Ooh, way to go!" Jacklyn gave an enthusiastic thumbs up as her friend seemed to be getting a handle on being a pokemon trainer. Then, as she mentioned Ivan caught a pokemon, she said, "whoa really?" Seeming surprised by this, the girl put her chin in her hand as she went from happy to pensive. Firstly, she hadn't really thought of the web browser when Belle had mentioned it - she was more of a Safari Zone girl herself. Secondly, Ivan had caught another pokemon. Which meant now he had four. Jacklyn still only had two, and she didn't even have a grass type at that! 

"Am I really falling behind as a leader?" The girl muttered to herself. Psyching herself up briefly, the girl seemed to be pumped up as she started to walk away saying, "I need to go train, Belle!" As she began to walk away, she suddenly remembered that she had just lost a battle. With a huff, the girl walked back next to Belle, folding her arms saying, "nevermind." Instead, the girl looked back towards the battle, watching as Don and the Tepig continued to trade blows. 

[reparoni 161]

 

---

Ivan gave a chuckle as Dinah responded to him. "We'll see about that!" He said, as Tepig wagged its tail at Don. "Don, fly up!" He commanded, as Don flew high up above the charging pig, who could not jump high enough to reach Murkrow. "Now, Pursuit!" Ivan commanded, as Don dove back down with a dark aura surrounding him. The bird slammed into the pig, Ivan pumping his fist. 

Dinah was quick to respond, however, as she commanded Tepig to once again Tackle. This time, Don didn't have enough time to fly out of range, getting hit by the tackle. Ivan grumbled, pointing his finger towards Tepig. "Go in for a Peck!" He commanded, Don giving a hesitant nod before striking the pig with a peck. Once again, as the bird struck the pig, Tepig answered back with another Tackle. Ivan was getting worried - sure, he was getting in hits, but it was pretty clear that Tepig was hurting Don more than the other way around. He wasn't sure how long they could trade blows like this. "Don, fly up into the air!" He commanded, Don flying out of range of Tepig once more. While Ivan managed to keep a stoic look, he was starting to panic - it was clear that Tepig was hitting harder than Don could retaliate. He had to find a way to attack Tepig without getting hit in return.

[Doggo 218]

Playing the piano, even on a cheap substitute like this, was always calming to Milla. Her thoughts and feelings were coming into place as she spoke. Nomi had much less on her mind based on the things she said in reply to her ramblings. Maybe it really was that simple. Just keep going, with or without Kanon. Was she always making life more complicated than it needed to be for herself? It was so easy to get lost in thoughts about so many different things that simply stepping out and doing them was difficult. It put a smile on her face to think most of the troubles she'd encountered so far had been self-invented. And once more Nomi was right. She did have Rondo, and Sonata and Andante, with her to. The Sneasel gave her an expression of his own confidence as she looked down at him. He always was looking out for her after all. Why not just trust it and move ahead without all the worry? She continued playing a moment, the thoughts still turning in her mind as a voice interrupted the mental symphony her different feelings were composing. So too did the melody she was actually playing stop.

"Nathan..." she trailed off as the stranger introduced himself. The girl hated to admit that not only did she not remember his name, she hardly recognized him at all. She had been so enthralled with watching the sea that she hadn't taken stock of many of the other trainers on the boat ride over. The boy asked if they were here to challenge the gym which had been one of the last thoughts on Milla's mind. Nomi too seemed to be unaware of its presence and put forth the question of if fighting in a gym was the sort of thing she'd consider a good time. To this Milla paused a moment. But then for once the pause itself troubled her. Frustrated her. Why couldn't she simply decide what she wanted?

"Yes!" she declared with much the usual passivity drained from her voice. "Of course we're here to challenge the gym! We're going to be the next region champions after all." Milla announced, immediately catching herself off guard. Did she have such a wish? Where would a thought like that even come from if not some unrecognized desire she had carried the whole way here? Rondo resonated with the statement, definitely approving the newfound motivation in his partner's eyes. "Though... I don't think I've really prepared enough to do that yet. My team might not be strong enough. So.... I should train them! That's why we're called pokemon trainers after all!" Milla called out. She was more walking herself through the process she had never actively participated in than anything else. Her attention shifted back to Nathan in front of her.

"A-anyway, is there something we can help you with Nathan?" she asked, a bit of nervousness present in her voice, as if unsure what was happening to her and what she might say next.

[Sethera 290]

"Ooh, way to go!" Jacklyn gave an enthusiastic thumbs-up, continuing with a, "whoa really?" Seeming surprised by this, the girl put her chin in her hand as she went from happy to pensive.

"Yeah really," Belle replied. She wasn't sure what was up with the other girl, but she wouldn't let herself worry about it. Worrying was for people who had the energy for such things. And people who weren't outside in weather like this.

"Am I really falling behind as a leader?" Jacklyn muttered to herself. She then started to walk away saying, "I need to go train, Belle!" As she began to walk away, she suddenly stopped, and, with a huff, walked back next to Belle, folding her arms saying, "nevermind." Instead, the girl looked back towards the battle, watching as Don and the Tepig continued to trade blows.

Belle raised an eyebrow. "Okay." She didn't comment on the purple-haired girl's strange, back-and-forth actions. She already knew that the other girl was too energetic for her own good and weird at that. Who worried about falling behind as a leader? What was so important about that anyway? It wasn't as if they were playing an FPS or MMO or anything where they had to cooperate as a group for a single goal. They were traveling together, but each one of them had their own goals. "If y'fall behind, then y'just get back up again. Don't see the issue." She yawned and said nothing more after that for a while.

As the silence stretched out, however, the blue-haired girl glanced back at Jacklyn, narrowing her eyes in confusion. "You not gon' catch a Pokémon, then?" Belle knew why she wasn't going to, but Jacklyn seemed to be the type to catch loads of Pokémon. Then again... She blinked in realization. "Oh. Ye waitin' to catch 'nother rabbit?"

[LordCowCow 839]

Dinah smirked as she noticed Ivan's reaction. "Do you see now? My Tepig is the strongest around. He's not going to lose to just any Pokemon. You'll have to train a lot harder if you want to stand a chance! This is what a real Ace looks like, now, bring that bird back down Tepig, use Ember!"

The pig Pokemon stopped in its tracks and braced itself. Looking up towards Don he let out a snort. Then with a bark-like noise the Tepig launched more embers out of its snout towards the Murkrow.

Though paying attention one might notice that the Pokemon seemed to be moving a bit slower than before. Having just been put into back to back battles so quickly.

Spoiler

Probably good to one way or another end the battle this posto, reppu. If you wanna back and forth at all to help just message me.

 

[Cheshire Toon 139]

Nathan wasn’t really sure what to think of the two. A slovenly girl sprawled across the back of a Rhyhorn, and a soft-spoken musician with a toy piano, both of whom seemed lost despite implying they did indeed intend to challenge the gym. “Well,” the boxer rubbed the back of his neck. “If that’s the case, why don’t you all do some training? There’s plenty of trainers around here.” He jabbed himself in the chest with his thumb. “Actually I’ve been looking for some training partners myself. Challenged the gym with the group I was travelin’ with, but when I lost they ditched me, so I wouldn’t mind helpin’ you out.” He didn’t really know where he was going with any of that, but he usually just followed his gut and let the rest work itself out later.

Right now his gut was telling him he needed to make some friends. Plus both the girls were cute, and the Rhyhorn that was carrying the laidback one looked fierce. Nate liked that. “You alright with that, or. . . ?” He trailed off. “No hard feelings if you’re busy. Just thought I’d offer to help ya out since you were lookin’ a little lost, and I wouldn’t mind conversin’ with something that didn’t just repeat their name and shout… Not that I don’t love my Pokemon or anything; it’s the opposite actually, love ‘em to death, but they can’t really replace hanging out with other PEOPLE, y’know?” 
 

[Doggo 218]

Milla took in Nathan's words with an unusual attentiveness. She wanted to actively engage in this conversation rather than passively observe and squeak out meek remarks or commentary. The boy seemed to have more of a grasp how things worked with these whole pokemon adventure things. Or at least he felt much more natural to it all. Where Milla had struggled to even think of training, he seemed readily aware of the amount of trainers in the area that would serve as suitable practice. Apparently he had already challenged the gym but had failed to win, resulting in his team disbanding, or at least leaving him behind. Hearing this stung a bit, as it brought up less than pleasant memories of Milla's own first team.

"N-no.. no! It'd be wonderful to have you." she blurted out as Nathan asked if it would be alright for him to tag along with them. She hadn't even consulted Nomi, the now senior member of the group, but somehow she doubted the girl was going to care much one way or the other. She really did take life as it came at her. At this point Milla stood, realizing it might be viewed as impolite to remain sitting given the situation. Her arms instinctively carried Rondo up with her. The Sneasel had been trying to look as serious as he could to impress the newcomer and so he wriggled about a bit in her grip in protest. Cute wasn't the desired look at the moment.

"Right, so... there's trainers all about the city and the desert up top to face wild pokemon we could go back to. What seems like a good first approach?" she asked, this time wanting to not make every single decision without Nomi's input. And with any luck, Nathan would have some surefire plan already in place to get stronger in a hurry.

[Cheshire Toon 139]

The piano girl was sort of awkward. She stumbled over her words and was almost too eager to accept his invitation, but she seemed sweet and her excitement was genuine. Plus the Sneasel she was cradling was adorable in its attempt to look tough.  Maybe she just had a really sheltered childhood or something, Nate thought. Whatever the reason was he decided that he liked her and her stubborn little Sneasel. 

Plus he just preferred to train in groups. Speaking of. . . “I’ve been trainin’ in the ruins outside’a the town. The weather isn’t as bad and you don’t have to worry about sandstorms,” he offered. “Plus I think they’re just a lot more interesting to explore. The locals around here say they were built by some kinda really old civilization to defend against some sort of threat, which is why there’s tons of Golett and stuff down there. Are you guys lookin’ to catch anything or just train?” Regardless of their answer Nate would follow-up his question by explaining, “it’s mostly Ground-types down there. Like a lot of them, plus a pretty good chunk of Spinarak I guess -- but I heard from someone that there’s a Larvesta nest somewhere in there. I’ve not seen one since I got here but maybe worth keeping an eye out for.”

He had been tired when he approached them but talking about training was getting him worked up again. He pumped his shoulders and grinned. “You guys got anythin’ you need to do before we head out? Don’t wanna rush you but I’m getting excited!”
 

[LordCowCow 839]

“No hard feelings if you’re busy. Just thought I’d offer to help ya out since you were lookin’ a little lost, and I wouldn’t mind conversin’ with something that didn’t just repeat their name and shout… Not that I don’t love my Pokemon or anything; it’s the opposite actually, love ‘em to death, but they can’t really replace hanging out with other PEOPLE, y’know?” 

Naomi, slow to the uptake, didn't respond right away to the boy's energetic rambling. She was shocked by how much he spoke compared to the other people she had been traveling with so far. So she didn't really have time to respond before Milla accepted the proposal for him to come along with them.

Not that she really minded. Another person or twelve didn't make much difference to her. As long as she didn't have to do everything on her own she was fine.

Though she was confused by his last question. She didn't realize that it was more likely a statement but the questioning word choice at the end prompted her to answer anyway. "Don't know, ac'tly." She said. So far she wasn't sold on it being better to be with people. She crawled forward and looked down at Princess and shrugged. "S'fine by me."

"Right, so... there's trainers all about the city and the desert up top to face wild pokemon we could go back to. What seems like a good first approach?"

Oh. That was a question for her right? Naomi slowly turned to look at Milla. She was asking her how they should train but Naomi wasn't sure how she was supposed to answer. "I'unno, they usually come to me and m'Pokemon fight."

Thankfully Nathan was there with the answers. Something about ruins. Where there wouldn't be sand. Which sounded nice. As Nathan asked them if they were planning on catching anything she slid off of Princess's back. "Three's nuffer me." Naomi said, referring to the fact she already had three Pokemon and any more might start to become difficult to juggle. Even two Pokemon she only just got the hang of, if it could be called that.

Instead of walking around Princess Naomi sort of flopped along the Rhyhorn's side. Rolling while standing upright until she reached Princess's head. Grabbing onto her horn for balance Naomi nodded, then shook her head, at Nathan's other question.

“You guys got anythin’ you need to do before we head out? Don’t wanna rush you but I’m getting excited!”

"I don't need...Maybe?" She dug into her bag and noticed no Pokeballs. Though she didn't plan on catching anything anyway. She also saw the remaining marshmallows. She grabbed that and held it out, using as much effort as she could to keep her arm from dropping. "Wan some mallows?" She said. The heat had caused them to melt together but being underground allowed them to cool somewhat more. Making people have to tear chunks out of the bag were they to grab any.

Spoiler

So yeah, feel free to ask for description on the ruins to help with your post if you want to move to there.

 

[Doggo 218]

"Nothing comes to mind." Milla responded almost instinctively while still reviewing what she had on her mentally. Surely there was no pressing need until after their training and exploration of the ruins had concluded. Nomi too didn't seem to be in need of anything from the stores before they moved out but did manage to produce a bag of now partially melted marshmallows which she offered to the group. With a smile sneaking onto her face, Milla happily tore a bit away in a sticky mess before giving a little bit to Rondo who seemed fairly thrilled with the offering. The mess contained, the girl withdrew her Sneasel to his pokeball and the group began heading out explore and train.

What first came into view were several, somewhat run down, stone buildings that looked long since abandoned. Beyond them was a field, and beyond that a large wall which was where the ruins proper actually began. Ever curious, Milla couldn't help but stop in at one or two of the buildings on the way over. Each showed a similar story. Whatever had been there had long since been taken away. There were stools or other stray bits of furniture and common household items, but anything valuable or interesting had long since vanished away. The curious nature of all this the girl pondered silently, not desiring as immediate an explanation as she had of the pillars in the desert. With the pondering concluded for now, the girl rejoined the group as they stepped up to the field that lay between them and the large wall.

"Well then, no reason to linger I sup-" she began as something green stirred and suddenly jumped out at them. A wild Spinarak! The jump itself had startled her more than anything as looking at it Milla couldn't help but find the bug pokemon somewhat cute. Almost instinctively she reached for Rondo's pokeball before pausing, and reaching a little bit further. This was the perfect time to start training and her newer friends had yet to really catch up to Rondo's strength. "I-I'll handle it." she told her teammates, not wanting the opportunity to slip by. Though perhaps she was a bit too unaware of just how many pokemon called the place home.

"Andante!" she called out as the Litleo emerged from her pokeball. Almost immediately she transitioned from content to nervous as she saw the Spinarak ahead of them and so she cowered a bit towards Milla's legs. "Don't worry, I know you can do it. You're gonna get a lot stronger in no time!" she offered to console the newest member of her team. As Milla herself struggled to maintain a bit more confidence in her words and actions, so too Andante now attempted to stand tall and face down the fearsome bug before them. The effort made her trainer's heart melt but it wasn't the time to lose focus.

And so began the fierce battle of lion cub and spider. Flame and claw against string and stingers. Though really it was a lot of string. This bug seemed determined to stop the Litleo dead in her tracks. Milla told the lion to do it's best to dodge but when it seemed less than likely Milla called for an Ember. The string burnt away fairly readily but it still continued through the air as it caught fire, startling the already nervous Andante. At each scare Milla offered encouragement and each time Andante did her best to recompose herself and face her opponent. The call came for a Tackle which the Litleo undertook before veering off course as the bug readied a Poison Sting with the stinger on its head. Eventually Andante tripped over herself off to the side of her opponent as the bug pinned one of her legs down with another String Shot.

Andante was very clearly not having a fun time by this point as she scrambled to free her leg as the Spinarak approached. Milla issued another command, calling for more Ember. The words helped the Litleo decide what to do as she took aim at the approaching bug and found a successful hit. The Spinarak very definitely did not appreciate the fire to its face and it backed off as it took the hit. Another order and again the Litleo fired Ember, her confidence building seeing how the hits impacted her opponent. Very clearly struggling, the Spinarak suddenly charged in, stinger leading the way, looking to poison the impaired Litleo who continued struggling, just barely pulling her stuck leg off the ground in time to move out of the way and this time actually land a solid Tackle. The Spinarak could take no more and so fainted where it stood. Trainer and pokemon alike looked on for a moment to make sure the battle was actually done before Andante took off running toward Milla, jumping into her arms and burying her face in her trainer.

"There there, you did great!" Milla assured her pokemon as she looked her over for injuries while attempting to console her. At the least she needed to get the string shot residue off of her back paw. Another sticky situation this one was but nothing too difficult. Andante seemed on the verge of tears from the experience which only melted Milla's heart further. "There's nothing to worry about, you didn't even get hurt. You're a lot stronger than you think." she said with a soft smile as she pet the Litleo's head a few times to calm her down from her victory. While helping her nervous wreck of a pokemon she looked around to establish where her teammates were and what they'd gotten up to during the battle of the ages.