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

[LordCowCow 840]

Naomi snorted and woke herself up. When the battle had started she tried to pay attention but it wasn't long before she nodded off. As she looked around she noticed that the two trainers were standing near each other and didn't have any Pokemon out.

"Wha..." she muttered as she tried to work out what was going on. It seemed she didn't have to think much as Tavares spoke up and answered the question.

"You did well...I'd say be careful pushing like that going on, the others are stronger, but you don't need to hear that from someone who lost." He seemed rather awkward as he extended a hand for a handshake. Only to drop his hand partway there. Muttering some apology he dug into his bag and pulled out a couple objects. "You've earned this. The Ruins Badge, and this Bulldoze TM."

The badge was in the shape of a pillar, rectangular but with a bit flared out on top and bottom, with a, intentionally designed, horizontal crack in the middle.

"Oh...if you want, you can use this to heal your Pokemon." He then also brought out a square box that, when opened up, looked like it could hold several Pokeballs. "It's, well, a pocket Pokecenter." He gave a sad smile. "The Champion had them made for us Leaders a while back..."

He glanced over at Naomi and the girl stretched and managed to get herself up. "G'job Mi...Mi...good job." She told her companion before stretching and yawning.

[Cheshire Toon 139]

It didn’t take Nate long to find them. Pokémon battles were a loud and arduous affair, and there weren’t a ton of people who openly had them in the cities. He just followed the cries and combat all the way to an alley, where he saw Milla and her Sneasel, Rondo, facing off against Tavares and his Cubone. Naomi was nearby, seemingly asleep in spite of the ruckus.

Cubone collapsed at that moment. Mimi and Tavares briefly exchanged words, and then the Gym Leader handed her a technical machine disk. “Hey!” Nate shouted, rushing over. “You beat Tavares? Whoa, even I haven’t done that yet. Look at you!” It was then that he realized he had probably shocked everyone by rushing out of nowhere. “Sorry. Uh, came to have my rematch today but you guys beat me to it. Tavern dude kinda told me what the challengers looked like and I figured it was you, so I rushed on over hoping to catch a glimpse of the battle before it was over. Thought maybe I could give you some advice since I had already faced Tavares once but seems like you didn’t even need it.” He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “So… good job, hehe.”

Without missing a beat he turned to Tavares. “You though! You owe me a rematch. I’m way stronger this time!”
 

Edited May 14, 2020 by Cheshire Toon

[Doggo 218]

Milla had even assumed she had won the battle yet. So absorbed in making sure Rondo was okay as she was, it took her a moment to finally recall the Sneasel. It was only Tavares addressing her that snapped her back into the moment. She stood as he said she did well. Surely there was a string attached there. Like there was some other pokemon he had that a weakened Andante and Sonata who only knew Splash would have to somehow defeat. But he continued offering advice in being careful pushing her pokemon and seemed somewhat down on himself. Milla almost attempted to return the attempted handshake only to give up on it as Tavares himself did. The girl finally registered the reality of the situation as the gym leader produced something he called the Ruins Badge, as well as a TM, both of which he handed to her.

"Eh?" Milla started in disbelief as she reached out to accept the things being offered to her. "I won..." she muttered to herself to make it click. Tavares then produced what he called a small pokemon center. A machine capable of healing pokemon on the go. Something the region champion had given to the gym leaders. Milla curiously produced both Rondo and Andante's pokeballs and placed them into the machine and set it into motion to heal her friends. After returning thanks to Nomi for her congratulations Millas was surprised to see Nathan approach. 

"Thank you Nathan... maybe I should have gone and found you before b-but yeah it all worked out!" Milla beamed back. When finally Tavares' portable center finished, the trainer would curiously retrieve her pokeballs and back off a distance to ensure she wasn't in the way of the gym leader taking on either of the others. Then she released Rondo and Andante from their balls to be greeted by two healthy, excited, and conscious pokemon. She showed them the badge they had earned and hugged them both tightly together. Andante returned the affection in kind while Rondo tolerated it even though he was perhaps more proud than any of them.

[LordCowCow 840]

“You though! You owe me a rematch. I’m way stronger this time!”

Tavares seemed a bit taken aback by the boy suddenly turning to him. He had been politely trying to not eavesdrop on the conversation of these two who had apparently known each other. It was odd, though, that they seemed friendly when he could have sworn these weren't the people he had been with the first time.

He realized after a moment he was just staring instead of answering. "Ah, I'm sure. Yes, we should...but first she was here first, sorry." His voice trailed off as he looked towards Naomi who seemed to be in a daze. "Er..."

Naomi shuffled into position after some prodding. Tavares started to speak but paused as she let out a loud yawn. He seemed to be waiting for her to indicate she was done before continuing. “If you’re tired we can do this another time...”

The girl almost took him up on the offer but she felt the Pokeballs at her side shaking. So she shook her head in turn. “No, they wanna battle.” She said.

Tavares nodded in understanding. “Then let’s get started. I’ll send mine out first.” With that the gym leader sent out his first Pokemon. A doll-like creature that looked like some kind of ancient spinning top, a Baltoy.

Instinctively Naomi went for Princess’s ball. Yet before she could grab onto it another ball popped open and Bug landed in front of Naomi. The moment he did he turned towards her and started going for her pant leg. The girl pulled it back, stumbled, and let out a “Nooo.”

Bug turned and saw the trainer and his Pokemon and tilted his head without understanding. “I’ll give you a treat later.” Naomi said, remembering the incident from the other day. Which seemed to get Bug to realize what was going on at last as it wiggled its body into position.

Tavares, who had been watching with curiosity, gave a short nod.

Naomi hesitated for a moment before remembering she had to start giving orders. Thinking about what moves the Trapinch had she decided to try “use Bulldoze.”

Bug squirmed and then moved towards the Baltoy. As he moved, keeping low to the ground, he brought with him a layer of dug up earth that would have slammed into most Pokemon. However with a smile Tavares just nodded at the Baltoy and it lifted itself up and over the Ground-Type Pokemon.

Naomi seemed confused and Tavares explained “Levitate. Makes it hard to hit with Ground attacks.”

The girl’s eyes widened slightly. “Like Knight.” She muttered. Remembering how Bug had struggled to hit the Hoppip even with Sand Attack. “Then...Bite.” She ordered next.

Bug wiggled his backend and dove up towards the Baltoy. Opening its large jaw to clamp down onto it.

Right before the attack landed Tavares gave an order and the Baltoy’s body Hardened. Then, completly calm, Tavares said “Rapid Spin.”

The Baltoy, as the attack name implied, spun with Bug still holding on. The Trapinch didn’t seem to be able to hold on for long as he was launched off and onto the ground.

He skidded and bounced as he rolled back onto his feet. Deciding that he still had plenty of energy Naomi ordered Bug to do another Bite attack. It had seemed effective despite the Harden and Bug looked to want to have another go at it anyway.

“Mud-Slap, hurry.” Tavares said and the Baltoy spun again, this time slower, and shot out a spray of mud at Bug. The attack didn’t seem to hurt the Trapinch much but it had gotten into his eyes and when he clamped down for his Bite it was off to the side.

“Confusion.” The Baltoy glowed briefly and Bug was hit by a mental attack. His body seized up for a moment as the strange waves passed through it. He tried to shake the mud clear to get another Bite in but he was hit once more by another Mud-Slap.

Naomi slowly blinked as he watched Bug trying to blindly chomp down on the Baltoy before realizing that he was losing HP fast. “Nap time.” She muttered and returned Bug to his ball.

She started to grab for Princess’s ball again but stopped. A thought had wormed its way into her head as she remembered the Mud-Slap and she instead sent out Knight.

The Hoppip bounced midair and trilled happily. It locked eyes with the Baltoy, or at least attempted to, and gave an almost growl-noise which came out more like a squeak.

Tavaras nodded, seemingly approving of the change, but didn’t seem to be phased as he called for a Confusion.

Naomi pointed towards the Baltoy and went to give a command but Knight was already moving. Unintentionally dodging the Confusion as he went in for a Tackle.

Tavares looked surprised for a moment before telling his Baltoy to spin. Knight slammed into the spinning Pokemon and bounced off.

With a sigh Naomi mumbled out a “Y’gotta wait f’me.” Knight seemed to pout but nodded and waited for her command.

Which as it turned out was to try and Tackle again. Knight looked pleased by the turn of events and the chance to pay Baltoy back for the Rapid Spin.

Tavaras narrowed his eyes in suspicion and, instead of Rapid Spin, called for Baltoy to Harden again.

As Knight approached Naomi spoke again. “Stop, Poison Powder.” The Hoppip skidded to a halt right before colliding with the Baltoy and released the poison spores directly on top of the Baltoy.

“Hm. Good plan.” Tavares admitted. Naomi’s lip twitched into what was almost a smile at the praise. Though Knight did a flip as though it was his plan that was being praised. “Still, not worried. Baltoy use Confusion.”

With a flash Knight was struck by the psyhic blow and, immediately after, Tavaras ordered a Rapid Spin and the Baltoy went to ram into Knight while spinning.

“Ah, Tackle.” Naomi said, jumping a bit at having to give the command so quickly. Knight didn’t seemed deterred and rammed right onto the Baltoy. Perhaps because he attacked second or because he was still somewhat above the Baltoy the Tackle managed to knock the Baltoy away.

“New move...um. Fairy Wind.” Naomi said and Knight let loose with the pink breeze that, while not threatening to look at, and rather pleasantly smelling, caused the Baltoy to quiver and fall over.

Naomi paused, thinking it was over, but then Tavaras told Baltoy to use Rapid Spin and it spun around on its side and launched itself into Knight.

The attack knocked the Hoppip away and he struggled to stay above the ground. Though it looked like the poison had run its course and after the attack the Baltoy was knocked unconcious.

Tavares muttered something that Naomi couldn’t pick up towards the Pokeball he returned Baltoy too. Then, looking up at Naomi, he spoke louder. “You did well to get this far. But you won’t be able to overcome my last.”

He then sent out his second Pokemon, Cubone, which came out and gave the ground a firm whack with the bone in its hand. While Cubone is usually known for being lonely and sad this one seemed more determined than anything else.

Naomi cocked a head to the side and let out another yawn. She was starting to grow tired from all this battling and thinking and was hoping for it to end soon. Knight let out a trilling sound and flipped mid-air to indicate it was still ready to fight.

“Mkay.” Naomi said. “Poison Powder again.” With the thought process that if she got it poisoned right off the bat then they could win as long as they held out.

Tavares nodded as though expecting this and gave his command. “Cubone, Bone Club on the ground!” The Cubone slammed his bone with intense force onto the ground in front of it and caused a plume of dirt and sand to fly up in front of it. Obscurring Knight’s view and blocking the powder from reaching the Cubone. “Headbutt over the top.” Upon saying this the Cubone leapt up and through the top of the dirt cloud and rammed into the unsuspecting Knight.

The attack had done major damage and Knight looked to be struggling to stay afloat. “Mm...Synthesis.” Naomi said, wanting Knight to heal off the damage.

Unfortunately the Pokemon had other ideas in mind, clearly not wanting to, in his mind, waste a move healing, he went in for a Tackle.

Which the Cubone countered with a second Headbutt.

As Knight hit the ground and just barely was able to stand, a serious and frustrated look on its face, Naomi nodded lazily. “I gotcha, I gotcha...Fairy Wind then.” Knight seemed much more pleased by this and released the attack towards the Cubone.

With a small grunt Tavares called out to the Cubone “Ancient Power.” And as it got struck with the Fairy Wind several rocks, coated in energy, rose from the ground and were flung at Knight.

The Hoppip couldn’t dodge the attack and was peppered with the unusually intangible rocks which seemed to be too much for the Pokemon as it fainted soon after.

Naomi knew this was the last Pokemon left and probably the strongest. She didn’t hesitate to bring out her own personal ace. Princess came out with a roar and shook her body as she came out of her ball for the first time in a long while.

The girl, in a surprising twist, had given some thought already as to what to do so she started rather quickly with a Scary Face.

Princess glowered at Tavares’s Cubone and gave the Pokemon some pause as the attack took effect. Lowering the Cubone’s Speed stat.

Though Tavaras was nonplussed and told Cubone to use Leer while Princess was busy with its own face. The Cubone countered Princess’s face with a glare of its own that instead ended up lowering Princess’s Defense.

“Bone Club.” Tavares commanded and the Cubone held up his bone and rushed towards Princess.

Naomi didn’t say anything and Princess seemed perfectly fine with that. Moments before the Cubone struck Naomi said “Now.” And Princess, understanding, lowered her horn and struck the Cubone. Due to his lowered speed Cubone couldn’t react in time and was hit first and tossed upwards.

If one would be watching Tavares they’d notice him lean in slightly at this point with eyes locked onto the two Pokemon intently.

His next command to Cubone was from up in the air when he ordered him to use Ancient Power.

Princess winced as the special-based rocks peppered her body. “Keep it up.” Naomi muttered and Princess ran forward towards where Cubone was falling.

However the Pokemon was more flexible than it would appear and when Tavares told him to Bone Club he twisted and slammed the bone onto Princess’s head. Sending her crashing down on the ground as Cubone landed a short distance away.

“Keep your distance. Another Ancient Power.” Tavares said.

Before he could Princess opened her mouth and shot out a surprisingly fast rock, using Smack Down to hit the Cubone in the head.

“Go, get’m.” Naomi said and Princess charged towards the Cubone and rammed him again with her horn.

Tavares’s eyes darted back and forth a moment as he tried to decide the next move. Which was a contrast to Naomi and Princess. For while Tavares decided his next move Naomi had merely grunted at Princess and the Pokemon started forward again.

The Gym Leader gave a small smile as he told Cubone to Leer again and follow it with a Bone Club.

Princess lowered her horn as she stomped her way towards the Cubone. It got its club ready and rose it up. Just as he brought it down Princess’s horn connected under the Cubone’s chin and threw him backwards.

“Toss it!” Tavares said, taking a step forward. And the Cubone complied. Flining the club at Princess and striking her with it.

The Rhyhorn stumbled back and dropped down as the Cubone landed.

However while they both were grounded it was clear that one of them had been knocked out.

Tavares let out a long sigh and then flushed slightly. “I may have gotten a bit...excited.” He said apologetically. He then returned his Cubone and approached Naomi. “You’re and, ah, unusual trainer. But I can see that you trust your Pokemon. If you keep growing the trust between all of them you could go far.” he glanced away. “If you don’t mind me saying.”

Clearing his throat he pulled a badge from under his scarf and presented it to Naomi. “Congratulations on earning the Ruins Badge...Oh, and don’t forget this TM.”

Naomi took the pillar-shaped badge and the disc and let out a long sigh. “I needa sleep.” She said and collapsed right then and there.

Princess moved over to her but, knowing she was too weak to carry her right then, just laid down next to the girl.

Tavares took a deep breath and turned back. “I’ll heal my Pokemon now...so get ready.”

Spoiler

And Naomi, through Princess’s power, has managed to win! And each Pokemon gained a level in the process. Also at some point she’ll be giving Rhyhorn the Bulldoze TM. And 2200 Pokedollars

Same thing as with Milla's, offer of healing, then can be ready for Nathan battle.

 

[reparoni 161]

 

---

Ivan kept his elbow over his mouth in a vein attempt to keep sand out of it. His teammates weren't fairing much better, Jacklyn basically inviting the sand to attack her. He was ready to get out of this hell as soon as possible, as he kept marching on. He had even elected to wear the leather jacket once more - while it made the sun yet again burning him alive, he preferred the heat to the scorching sand singing his bare arms. As they kept marching on, however, they heard the cries of a Pokemon. The Pokemon sounded like it was in distress, which was enough to convince Ivan to investigate it. At the very least, it would be more interesting than the barren nothing they were experiencing.

When they got closer, he saw a blue bear... fish?... Pokemon he had never seen before cowering under cover as a group of Vullaby were attacking it. Ivan grit his teeth behind his elbow, the sand grating between his teeth. As everyone else sent out their Pokemon, Ivan had a different response. The boy dived right into the fray, jumping into the flock of Vullaby between them and the platybear. "Hey! Scra-ack!" He shouted, a particularly nasty blast of sand flying right into the roof of his mouth, as he swung his arms to try and swat the birds away.

[Skaia 578]

Rus got ready to engage the Vulalby, with Jacklyn shouting, "alright Rus! Go! Use Ember on that dastardly bird!" Rus was all too happy to oblige, letting loose a small burst of flame towards the bird. The bird didn't seem too surprised by this and instead responded with a gust of wind to counter the fire. As the attacks collided, the sandstorm helping snuff out the fire, the Vullaby let out a mocking caw towards the Lepash. Getting annoyed Rus began to fill his mouth with flame again, ready to fire out yet another ember. However, the Lepash was surprised as he suddenly started to rise off the ground. Looking confused to see an annoyed Jacklyn lifting him over her head, the girl shouted, "Rus use ember again! Hiyah!" With that, the girl launched the Lepash towards the Vullaby. The fire bunny crashed into the surprised and flat winged bird, letting out a point blank ember as the both of them crashed to the ground. After tumbling a bit, Rus got back onto his feet, letting out a puff of smoke as the now annoyed Vullaby flapped itself back into the air. 

Meanwhile, the second Vullaby had looked towards Moo. Seeing that it was a grass type, clear mischief was shown in the Vullaby's eyes as it flapped over towards Moo. The bird then let out a small gust of wind to strike the cow, letting out the closest thing to a snicker a bird could. 

As Ivan ran at the bird, it seemed to be clearly indignant at the boy as it let out a caw after caw as he tried to swat it with his arms. Actually landing a hit, the bird dipped in its altitude before letting out one very angry screech. Flying at Ivan, it then began to peck at him. Furiously. Like an attack. 

[Cheshire Toon 139]

Nate snagged a Poké-Ball from his belt and enlarged it with the click of a button. “Alright. Trust me, I am way more than ready this time. I’m getting that badge today.”

“Yes, you’ve said that a few times now.” Tavares said, with a small smile. He quickly wiped it away however as he moved off towards the starting position he had used twice now with the two girls. “I know this is the third in a row but after this you can rest, go Baltoy.” and the Ground Pokemon emerged. Not looking worse for wear despite the battles so far.

“Gotta repeat it for emphasis.” Nate said as he released Cassius. The Automaton let loose a piercing cry and bashed its fists together when it spotted the Baltoy, flexing both its arms in a display of dominance. “I brought some new team members too. Show ‘em how hard we’ve been working Cassius! Mud-Slap!” The Golett stomped the ground, kicking up a cloud of dirt, and then punched forward with enough force to launch it into the Baltoy’s face.

“A familiar move.” Tavares noted. “Baltoy, Rapid Spin, move out of the way.” The Pokemon began to spin and, picking up speed, darted towards the side to dodge the Mud-Slap. From there it let out its own Mud-Slap.

Nate jumped into the air. “Go over it Cassisus!” The Automaton followed suit, leaping to clear the cloud of mud and dust in a manner that would, in another world, cause Isaac Newton to cringe. “Now bring a Shadow Punch down on it!” he shouted, landing on his knees and slamming his own fist onto the street. Cassius once again followed suit, its fist glowing with a ghastly purple energy.

Tavares slowly nodded. “Going to have to brace yourself, Harden.” he called out and the Baltoy, as the move implied, hardened its body to take the hit. Cassius’s punch landed but instead of being blown back by the Super-Effective move the Baltoy was instead knocked backwards and forced to wobble back into place. Tavares was watching intently and he seemed almost pleased by the attack despite the damage done to his Baltoy.

Nate jumped back to his feet. The excitement rolling off him at having landed the first blow was palpable. “Don’t let up Cassius! Do it again!” Cassius landed with as much grace as a two-hundred-pound Pokémon could, reeling back for another swing with its shadowy fist as soon as it managed to find its footing and acknowledge the command. 

The Baltoy at Tavares’s command Hardened again to better take the hit. This time it was able to counter-attack soon after. Hitting the Golett with a close-range Confusion attack. The wave coursing through Cassius’s mind as the Baltoy spun away.

Cassius warbled in pain; it wasn’t enough to lay the Golett low, but the mental attack managed to stagger it long enough for Baltoy to spin away. “Cassius! You alright?” Nate asked. Cassius shook its head, before squaring its shoulders and flexing its arms defiantly. “That’s the spirit. You aren’t gonna take us down so easily this time. Chase ‘em down and hit ‘em again!” Nate ordered, uppercutting the air for emphasis as he did. The Golett nodded and barreled toward the Baltoy with renewed vigor.

Tavares was silent for a few moments as the Golett came closer, closer, then his eyes widened slightly and he said. “Rapid Spin, through it.” As commanded the Baltoy started to spin and head towards Cassius. The attack would have landed but, given Cassius’s Ghost Type, the Baltoy instead passed through its body. “Confusion.”

Cassius pivoted on Nate’s command. The Confusion had a similar impact as the last time; the Golett didn’t seem to have sustained a major amount of damage, but it was visibly shaken for a moment. “Keep it cool. Try to get at ‘im again bud!” Cassius clenched its fist and the ghastly energy flared back to life, and then it charged forward towards the Baltoy again, more cautiously this time.

Tavares seemed to realize that the same trick likely wouldn’t work again. So this time he attacked with a Mud-Slap first. Hitting the Golett with mud in the face. Then he tried to Spin through Cassius when it got closer while the mud covered him.

“Gotcha! Just barrel on through and punch ‘em before they can get away!” Cassius did as it was told and sprinted through the Mud-Slap. It scattered across the Automaton’s torso and face, seemingly doing very little damage, but it did block out the Pokémon’s vision. That didn’t seem to though. Right when Tavares’ Baltoy attempted to spin through the Golett again, Cassius brought its fist down as hard as it could onto it, almost as if it could sense where the Pokémon was without looking.

The blow knocked the Baltoy to the side and sent it spinning across the ground. Tavares narrowed his eyes and then nodded to himself. “Mud-Slap, quick.” The Pokemon let loose another spray of mud as it crashed into the nearby building. Just a few moments later and both trainers could see the Baltoy was knocked out.

The Gym Leader returned it silently. “It seems you’ve learned how to handle Baltoy with advantage instead of just strength.” He looked down at his other ball. “Cubone, do your best, I know you want to win more now than ever.” He then sent out his final Pokemon for the third time this day.

Nate pumped his fist. “Hehe. Good job Cassius,” he said. The Automaton once again flexed, this time in response to the praise from its trainer. It seemed very pleased with itself.
 

[Doggo 218]

Milla had gazed with her two pokemon, still out and about to celebrate their victories with her, at the Ruins badge. It seemed almost unreal that she had actually acquired one. She held Andante and Rondo close as they cleared out of the way for the other two to battle. As she pondered what to do with the TM and money, the fossil lady from the market the day before came to mind. She now had the funds to buy that cute fossil she'd been interested in. She made a mental note to go back that way after the others finished. It seemed rude to leave them now before they were done after they had waited for her to challenge the gym leader. And so she watched the proceedings with her pokemon.

Nomi was up after her and she made some meager attempts to cheer for the girl during her battle. It ultimate came down to her Rhyhorn having do a lot of the work. But ultimately her friend won as well. Somehow Nomi seemed more tired than any of her pokemon. She really could just sleep anywhere. In fact that's exactly what she did right then and there. Princess joined her but Milla was still a touch worried.

"N-nomi, you shouldn't sleep here." she managed to say through the concern as she moved to the girl's side. Andante and Rondo followed close behind as Milla did her best to try and move the girl somewhere ever so slightly more comfortable. At the very least she needed to be out of the way of Nathan's battle with Tavares.

With one battle over it seemed Nathan was well on the way to joining the two of them in gym battle victory today. Milla hoped he would be successful given he'd already lost once. After all that training there was no way he could fail right? As with Nomi she would attempt to cheer but she lacked the confidence as the sole observer. Had there been something of a crowd maybe she'd have been able to actually shout and cheer.

[Cheshire Toon 139]

Tavares watched Nathan for a few moments before starting. “Cubone, Leer.” And the battle began with the small, yet determined, Cubone giving his opponent a stare down which lowered their defense right from the start.

Nate watched the Cubone intently. “Cassius, Harden.” The Golett braced itself and a few cracks that had appeared throughout its body sealed. “Now use Mud-Slap!” Cassius stomped the ground and once again punched a gust of dirt in its opponent’s direction.

“Hm.” Tavares grunted. “Bone Club.” The Cubone took a few steps forward and swung the bone he was holding down. When it hit the mud it caused it to spray in either direction. The Cubone didn’t stop there, however, and continued on towards Cassius ready to swing the bone again.

“Block it Cassius,” Nate instructed. The Golett raised both arms up defensively, and the club hit it with an impact that wobbled the Automaton. It managed to shove the Cubone away after that but it was showing signs of slowing down. “. . . .” Nate hesitated. He had a lot of experience battling with Tyson, his starter, but very little practice with juggling an actual team. Only one way to learn though. “That’s enough bud. Take a rest. You’ve earned it,” he said, and the Golett vanished in a flash of red light as it was recalled back into its Poké-Ball. “You’re up Tyson!”

His starter. His most trusted Pokémon. Tyson appeared on the battlefield with a trumpeting cry, waving his hands around in hypnotic circular patterns from the start. His expression shifted when he realized he was facing off against the Cubone again. “That’s right bud. Rematch time, right? We’re not gonna let ‘im beat you again. Start it off with a Reflect!”

Drowzee began to more furiously wave his hands. Swirling psychic energy gathered around them, before coalescing into a thick barrier that shimmered for only a moment before seemingly melding into the skin of the Hypnosis Pokémon and fading from sight. 

“Leer. Then get through that defense with a Headbutt.” Tavares said. The Cubone once more assaulted Nate’s Pokemon with a fierce leer before tucking their head down and charging into the Drowzee. The Reflect mitigated the Leer but the hard head of the Cubone still made solid contact.

“Tyson, Pound!” Nate said. Tyson clenched his hand into a fist and met the Cubone head-on; the Lonely Pokémon was undoubtedly stronger, but even after the Leer the Reflect prevented enough damage for the Drowzee to hold his ground. “Now use Confusion!” With his free hand Tyson began to gesture again, with the same glowing energy, before suddenly shoving his hand out towards the Cubone.

The Cubone stumbled back but looked to still be determined to continue fighting. “You forget that Cubone’s training partner is Baltoy.” Tavares said. “Don’t let him get to you, Bone Club!” The boy seemed to be getting more antsy than before; more into the fight.

Nate smirked. “Tyson has a few tricks that your Baltoy doesn’t. Like this one. Tyson, Hypnosis!” The tapir leapt into action even as the Bone Club was descending towards it. It motioned around, gathering power, and then began to chant and swirl its hands in front of the Cubone.

Tavares narrowed his eyes but gave out an order despite the situation. Cubone then dove into the air and slammed his head into Tyson’s stomach. The Hypnosis still passed over the Pokemon but they looked to still be awake, if more tired than before. “Before it’s too late, Bone Club.” Tavares added.

“Dodge Tyson!” Nate shouted. The Drowzee, reeling from the headbutt, managed to just barely leap out of the way of the Bone Club. “Now use Confusion!” Tyson trumpeted fiercely and once again attacked the Cubone with an onslaught of psychic energy. It was slowly becoming a battle of attrition, and that was a thing Nate knew they could win if they were careful.

Cubone backed away carefully as the Confusion attack washed over him. Shaking it off he followed his trainers command and cast another Leer at Tyson. The Cubone then advanced again with his club raised. Yet he didn’t charge in. Instead the Pokemon scooted in a semi-circle around Tyson and waited before moving in again.

“Keeping your distance isn’t gonna work here. Tyson, Confusion again!” Nate said. Tyson continued to stubbornly bombard Cubone with another blast of Psychic energy, determined to wear the Cubone down.

Tavares seemed to be watching carefully and the moment Nate gave the order he called out. “Headbutt!” The Cubone charged in as Tyson went to use Confusion and slammed into him again with enough force to knock the two of them over and into the sandy ground.

“You’ve got this Tyson!” Nate shouted. “Stick it out. Confusion again!” The tapir was bowled over by the Cubone’s headbutt, and he was obviously starting to slow down, but he managed to scramble back up to his feet and attack the Cubone once again with an onslaught of weak psychic energy.

Cubone didn’t even bother to get to his feet as Tyson attacked. Instead he just lashed out from his position with a Bone Club attack. Smashing the Drowzee in his side. It was only after the attack that the Cubone got back to his own feet.

Even without a command Tyson managed to back away from the Bone Club; he had already made it to his feet, so maneuvering was easier for him than his opponent. “One more time Tyson! Confusion!” Drowzee’s eyes glowed with a faint purple light and he swirled his hands around, amassing power, then unleashed it on the Cubone for what had to be the dozenth time in their short bout.

Tavares had been staring at his Cubone, analyzing, and when the attack was coming he let out a sigh. But instead of giving in he called out for Cubone to do one more Headbutt. Attempting to power through the attack and deal solid damage of his own.

Tyson had no time to dodge the headbutt. He was thrown backwards, barely managing to stay on his feet, but stubbornly powering through. “You alright bud?” Nate asked quietly. His hand was hesitant, resting on his oldest partner’s Poké-Ball, unsure of what his decision was. Tyson narrowed his eyes and surged back onto the flats of his feet, stubbornly waggling his trunk. He was beat-up and breathing heavily, but he was obviously determined to see the fight through until the end. “... Okay. Lets do this. Tyson, Confusion one more time. It’s almost over!”

While Tyson regained his footing Tavares glanced around at the distance between the two. Deciding that the only change they had left was to attack at range, and knowing it was a shot in the dark, he ordered an Ancient Power. As Tyson went to attack he would soon be assaulted by a multitude of energy-based rocks.

The rocks slammed into Tyson right as Cubone was hit by the Confusion. For a moment, both Pokemon wobbled, staring each other down, and then… Cubone collapsed.

Nate had won his first gym badge!

[LordCowCow 840]

"N-nomi, you shouldn't sleep here."

"Mmrr?" Naomi was startled back into consciousness once more by Milla. She heaved herself up into a sitting position and stared blankly at Milla for a moment. "Why not? If I can sleep 'ere n' it means I should."

She looked over to see Tavares handing over the badge to that boy...when did he get here again? She guessed that meant it was over. "S'there something else we gotta do now?" Naomi asked Milla. Raising her arms up towards Milla. Expecting her, like Kanon and Oswald before her, to know that it meant she wanted her to help her get to her feet without saying anything.

Tavares let out a small sigh as he patted Cubone's Pokeball. "Three in a row...sorry." He muttered.

Then he shrugged it off and gave Nathan the same rundown as the others. The Ruins Badge, the Bulldoze TM, as well as the 2200 Pokedollars. "It took some time...but I hope you learned something from this." He didn't sound entirely confident in that. "I'm only an amateur compared to the others. If I helped you grow...I'd be happy." He seemed to grow more awkward after that and backed away. "I should get going...If you want to leave for the next gym in Neo Sonis you'll have to first go to Willowdale. It's a nice place...Um, bye."

He nodded to them and, if uninterrupted, would then leave.

Naomi, whether from sitting or standing position, was looking between Milla and Nathan. She silently mouthed numbers as she did, counting up to three, before grunting. "C'mon. We're a group 'r somethin right? Lezgo...somewhere."

Spoiler

So, now we can decide if we want to do stuff in city, train a bit more, visit ruins another time, or straight up leave. Figuring it out OOCly before posting would probably be for the best.

Also idk if I told you Hakima but after that match Cassius would gain 2 levels and Tyson 1 and Nathan would get 2200 Pokedollars and Bulldoze TM

 

[reparoni 161]

 

---

Ivan had to bring his arms up as the Vullaby Fury Attacked him. It was definitely painful, although not the worst thing he's been hit with. Growling, he swatted at the bird once again, knocking the bird back a bit. Stepping back a bit, he grabbed one of his Pokeballs at random and tossed it into the air. If he had planned things out, he would have sent out Don before jumping in, but that was neither here nor there. Whatever Pokemon he sent out would have to help him.

The Vulpix he had just caught, the one he named Kyu while they camped for a bit, was now out and about, taking a moment to take in its new surroundings. "Crap... well, you know, into the frying pan or some shit like that." He said, turning to the angry bird. "Kyu, Ember that Vullaby!" He commanded, as Kyu looked up at its new opponent. With a simple flare, the Vulpix launched an Ember towards the Vullably, only angering it more as it fired off a Gust. Not at Kyu, but at Ivan, as the boy crossed its arm, sending him staggering back. Still, he stood his ground. "Don't stop, keep firing!" He shouted, as Vulpix jumped back slightly, firing another burst of flames at the bird, sending the Vullably staggering back. The bird glared at the fox, letting out some sort of battlecry.

[Sethera 290]

Moo took the Gust attack with surprising stoicism for a grass type, but Belle knew that that probably hurt. Moo was just really, really docile. "Okay, Moo, use Vine Whip-pfth on it! Keep-pfth it from flying around!" Belle shouted in-between mouthfuls of sand.

The cow let out a low at that, one which was also interrupted by spitting out sand, but it didn't stop the Pokémon from sending out its vines. The Vullaby managed to avoid it at first, retaliating with a Fury Attack on the vines, but was unable to do so on the second round. "Slam it-pfth to the ground now."

The cow nodded, having learned its lesson from before, and followed her instruction. Unfortunately, the ground being sand, it was a much softer landing than either Belle or Moo had expected, and with a shake, the bird managed to get itself free. However, it was now grounded. Which meant... "Tackle!"

Moo ran forward, but his pace was slowed by the sand, and by the time he reached the Vullaby, it had soared back up into the air. It let out a harsh warble then, Leering down at Moo.

Belle crossed her arms in annoyance. This might be a harder fight than I originally thought. But I won't let a stupid birdbrain beat me. I know just the move to use from that one anime. "Moo, use Vine Whip to propel yourself toward the Vullaby!"

The Poamoo nodded and lifted itself into the air with its vines, standing on an equal level with the Vullaby before slamming himself into the startled bird. However, it quickly retaliated with a Gust that sent the cow flying.

We can't keep this up forever. If only that dumb rat was dependable, then I wouldn't have to use a Pokémon that's weak to flying types!

[Skaia 578]

"Way to go Rus!" The girl pumped her fist into the air  as her attack landed. The Lepash seemed to open its mouth again, but Jacklyn couldn't make out any sound coming from it. So she just assumed it was excited too. The Vullaby was less than thrilled as it began to dive towards Rus, going in for its own attack. "Rus! T-ACK-le" the girl's command was interupted in the middle of being issued from the sand around her, but Rus had seemed to get the idea. Charging forward, the Lepash met the Vullaby head on as it went for its own Fury Attack. Though the Vullaby had managed to get in a few pecks, as Rus was making no effort to avoid it, it couldn't keep up its pressure as the fire bunny had crashed into the bird. 

Tumbling through the sand, the bird let loose a gust of wind as it tried to get its altitude back. Blowing the sand around, Rus closed its eyes to keep the sand  from doing any more then just pelt him. Hearing the muffled, "ember!" from his trainer, the Lepash let loose a burst of flame to strike the Vullaby yet again. The attack had only managed to clip its wing, having had his eyes closed when he made the attack, but still it knocked the Vullaby back to the ground. Opening its eyes yet again, the two pokemon glared at each other as they seemed ready to match each other once again. 

The Vullaby facing Ivan now seemed to have two foes that it was facing down. The Vulpix and the man. The fox and the jacket. As the jacket could not breath fire, the Vullaby figured that if he was going to keep up his bullying he'd need to start with the fox. And so, the bird flapped its wings and sent out a gust of wind and sand towards the Vulpix. 

Feeling emboldened by its clear advantage against Moo the Vullaby let out a chortle once again, seemingly directed at both Belle and her pokemon. Seeing that Moo was knocked down, rather than opt to just keep hitting it with a gust, it went for a more direct method and charged at the cow pokemon. Once close enough it went to Furiously Attack the cow with its beak over and over. 

[Doggo 218]

"Thank you so much Tavares!" Milla managed to call out somewhat cheerfully as the gym leader took his leave of the group. The girl hadn't immediately caught on to Nomi's cue with her raised arms. She thought the girl was making a joke of her fatigue or else just stretching. But the longer it went on, eventually she realized Nomi wanted help standing which Milla offered frantically to get her friend up on her feet. The two would come to Nathan's side from their position out of the way of his battle. Nomi proposed they go somewhere, she clearly didn't have something in mind. But moving out of the alley seemed like a good idea regardless.

"I agree. I think it only right we should stick together. I still can't believe we all did it.." She started in awe of the group's accomplishments. More than anything she was still in disbelief she had herself won. "I couldn't have won without your help with the training Nathan. How can I ever thank you?" Milla said while making a concerted effort to look in the direction of the boy's face rather than off to the side as would have been her norm. Andante and Rondo meanwhile were playing with each other behind the girls, imitating the highlights of their fights at which point Rondo quite unexpectedly produced a small Icy Wind which shocked both Sneasel and Litleo alike.

"Perhaps this is a bit presumptuous as you're both no doubt eager to get to Neo Sonis for the next gym, but I was quite curious about the ruins we trained near. Perhaps we could poke around a bit more there. It might be nice to relax a bit in the area before going back out in that heat." Milla ultimately proposed as a course of action.

[Cheshire Toon 139]

Nate ran forward and hugged Tyson, lifting the Drowzee off the ground and spinning him in circles. “WE DID IT BUD! WE ACTUALLY DID IT!” Tyson trumpeted wildly, every bit as excited as his trainer, both of them oblivious to the world around them as they celebrated. “You were awesome! I knew you would be able to beat that Cubone! It went just like we planned!” He spun them around until both trainer and his Pokémon were dizzy, then stumbled into the wall and laid Tyson on the ground. “I’mma return you now buddy. We’ll get you healed up and then I’ll let all you guys out again tonight to celebrate. You all really earned it.”

Tyson wiggled his trunk and smiled, then vanished in a silhouette of red light as he was returned to his Poké-Ball. Nate clipped the ball back to his belt, smiled, and sighed. “Man…”

Milla pulled him from his revelry. “Stick together and… YES! For sure! You guys are great.” He flushed as he realized he had literally shouted in agreement. “And don’t mention it. I’m sure you would have done it just fine on your own. You’re a great trainer.” He nodded in agreement with himself and flashed her two thumbs-up. “The ruins huh? Sure! No need to rush off to the next gym. I’ve explored them a ton, and I’m sure Cassius would love to visit home one last time before head outta there. Plus I still never even saw a single Larvesta! Plenty of stuff to explore.”
 

[LordCowCow 840]

"I couldn't have won without your help with the training Nathan. How can I ever thank you?"

"Food." Naomi said with a slow nod. "M'be petting?" It was how she thanked Princess so it should be good for....whatever his name was.

Milla then suggested that they go to the ruins. She also said she was sure they were in a hurry to which Naomi just stared at her in disbelief for a few moments without saying anything. Her? A rush? Never in her life was she ever in a rush to do anything.

On the flip side the energetic boy looked to be practically shaking with excitement to get going. Thankfully he wanted to go to the ruins again. She would prefer somewhere in the city but at least the ruins were more comfortable than up above. "I guess I gotta walk." She muttered and looked at Princess's Pokeball. She might be healed but she wanted to give the Pokemon some more time to rest. So with a defeated sigh she slumped and followed along with towards the ruins.

---

The ruins seemed much the same as they did before. There was the veritable labyrinth beyond the nearly barren area they had trained the other day. The scatterings of buildings looked just as untouched as they had before.

The only difference was that close to where the ruins expanded there was what looked to be a half set up encampment. Though they couldn't see anyone nearby.

Naomi sat onto the rolled up sleeping bag without giving it a second thought and looked up towards the other two. "So what're we doin here n'yway?" Her eyes widened a bit as she looked into the distance. "You wanna go in there don'ya?"

Spoiler

Short post but moved ya into the ruins. Yes there is some stuff to do here I'll say but for now leaving it to you what you want to do exactly. Lemme know if you need some stuff.

 

[Sethera 290]

That thing's laughing at us... Belle gritted her teeth, clenching her fists. It reminded her of the people she'd fight on League sometimes. Scum who took any opportunity to taunt their opponents and put them down. They usually shut up quickly though when she beat them. Either that or they started swearing.

Well, she would just do the same thing here. It wasn't League, but she could pretend it was. Moo was obedient enough that she could treat him like a champion. And the Vullaby had gotten overconfident, coming in close for a Fury Attack. Without even needing to be prompted, Moo had retaliated with a Tackle, knocking the bird down to the ground.

"Once more," Belle commanded. She could see that her Pokémon was injured, but he was sturdy enough that she trusted him to manage regardless.

And he did. Just as the Vullaby was starting to get up, the grass type had charged into its side, knocking it down to the ground for good this time.

More and more, Belle was glad that she had chosen the starter that she had. Even facing a type disadvantage, Moo had come through. Returning the Poamoo to his ball, she glanced over at the others. Huh. Maybe I should've waited on returning him. It looks like there are still a couple of Vullaby able to fight.

[reparoni 161]

 

---

The Vullaby launched its Gust attack towards the Vulpix, sending it staggering back. Ivan growled. "Keep firing, Ember!" As he pointed towards the bird, Kyu was already firing off another Ember towards the Vullably. The bird recoiled from the attack, glaring angrily at the jacket and the fox. Even the stoic Kyu was shaken by the Leer that the Vullaby was giving the duo. "Don't stop!" Kyu hesitated for a moment, before letting out another Ember that hit the bird once more. Angrily and suddenly, the Vullably dived in a moment of desperation, going for a Fury Attack towards the fox. While two of pecks managed to hit the Vulpix, Ivan was quick to dive into action, blocking the other three strikes of the peck.

At this point, his jacket was basically torn to pieces. While normally Ivan would be able to get a new jacket, he didn't have that luxury out here now that he was on his own. Angrily, Ivan swatted the bird away and, with one last burst of Ember from Kyu, the bird went down. Ivan scowled as he took a look at his sleeves. "Damn... and I really like this one, too..." He let out a heavy sigh, turning towards Kyu. "Good work out there." He said, giving the fox a thumbs up.

[Doggo 218]

Milla definitely didn't know how to respond to Nathan's compliment. Her, a great trainer? The thought seemed so foreign and yet somehow embarrassing. Andante and Rondo seemed to agree however which led to ultimately not protesting or challenging the idea. The others seemed inclined to want to stick together and agreed to explore the ruins with her which was comforting. And so before setting out Milla recalled her pokemon and left the alleyway with her friends. The walk would prove pleasant enough anyway. The girl made mental notes of shops to revisit with her winnings from Tavares afterwards.

Upon arriving where they had done the bulk of their training, nothing much seemed immediately different. The abandoned buildings hadn't changed, the ruins themselves were as impressive as ever. Though oddly there did seem to be something of an encampment with no one around. Upon getting closer it seemed to have been made very recently and it was rather small. Perhaps only a single person. Milla was ever curious but her attention was shifted to Nomi who presented the one question she wasn't ready to answer. What were they doing here exactly?

"Well..." the girl started, the uncertainty showing plainly. "Yeah I was hoping to see what the inside was like. We spent so much time here yesterday training but we never went in. There must be something wonderful hiding inside. At least if all the stories about desert ruins are anything to go off of." Milla explained her thought process. With nothing else to do but go in, that was exactly what the group did. And what met their view was nothing too out of the ordinary. It seemed like something of a city past the wall. An assortment of buildings with maze-like streets to navigate to them. Pokemon roamed the area, which made sense. Nathan had mentioned this being Cassius' home. It seemed wonderful though and the girl was absorbed in trying to take everything in. But that left her with very little idea of where to start.

"So... you mentioned you're familiar with these, right Nathan? I wonder then if you might take us somewhere you haven't been if there's anything." she asked casually of her newest friend.

[Skaia 578]

As Rus and the Vullaby stared each other down, the small vulture pokemon began to flap its wings as it tried to take to the skies once again. However, with one of its wings having been clipped by fire it couldn't keep air time as well and started to float down to the ground. Taking advantage of this, Jacklyn shouted, "Rus, go in and tackle!" As the bird was getting ready to counter with its own attack, the Lepash had proven to be too fast for the injured Vullaby and was slammed into. As the Vullaby tumbled across the ground and made it clear it wasn't getting back up any time soon, Jacklyn and Rus both cheered. Giving a thumbs up to her pokemon she shouted, "way to go Ru - ack - Rus!" Looking around and seeing that everyone else as well had managed to defeat their foes, the girl gave a thumbs up to them as well. Rus, meanwhile looked to the Bearble and called out to it, as if telling it the coast was clear now. 

[LordCowCow 840]

Bearble poked its head from the fallen shelter and watched as the fight raged on. Wincing whenever one of the attacks or Pokemon got near it. When the first Vullaby fell it started to cheer but one of the others looked its way and it whimpered and hid back farther into the shelter.

They had been left there, just a few hours ago, after being told that its not getting strong fast enough. Since then they had been wandering this desert looking for someone to help them. Which was when they stumbled across these vullaby who seemed to think that they were invading their territory. They tried fleeing to a building they saw but the vullaby continued to attack.

They didn't know who these humans were but they did recognize a couple of the Pokemon they sent out. They cried out to them while the fighting happened, though quietly, but couldn't do anything to help as they froze up whenever thinking about going out of the flimsy defenses of the shelter.

Even after the last Vullaby fell they hesitated. Until Lepash called out to them. Perking their head up the Bearble carefully came out of hiding and winced when the sunlight hit their eyes. They looked around, shaking, at the three humans. Settling on the one with torn up clothes. With a slight whimper Bearble approached him and sat back, gesturing with their flipper-paws at the jacket.

Spoiler

So go ahead and give Rus and Moo a level, and Kyu two.

And now Bearble is out of hiding though still looking scared.
If caught here's some info
Level 6
Moves: Growl, Scratch, Bubble
Nature: Timid

 

[Sethera 290]

It was over. Which was good. Belle didn't think she could take much more of fighting like this under the hot sun. Flopping to the ground, she shot back to her feet at the stinging sensation on her thighs. "Ouch!" she groaned. "Can't even lie down. Sand's too hot..." She grumbled as she brushed some of the sand off.

Turning toward Jacklyn, she asked, "So...what now?" They were in the desert, and had gotten a bit off course trying to help that Bearble. But now that it was helped, they would have to find their way back to the path.

But it seemed as if there were still things they needed to do. Or the Bearble thought so anyway. It looked fine at least, but she could see it was gesturing toward Ivan's jacket. "What's up with that thing?"

[Cheshire Toon 139]

Nate had removed his hoodie and tied it around his waist again. He rarely removed it, but the heat down in the ruins was something else. “Yep! I’ve been training here a few days. If you wanna see something cool, though, Cassius would be better suited for that. Hang on,” he said, reaching for the second Poke-Ball on his belt and enlarging it. “C’mon out bud!” 

The huge and uniquely colored Golett appeared in a flash of bright red light. It let out a shrill and robotic cry when it saw Nate, then flexed its arm proudly. “Hehe. Good to see you too buddy. You did awesome at that gym!” he held his fist out. Cassius (gently) pounded its knuckles into the trainer’s. “We’re gonna celebrate more tonight, but first I got a favor to ask. Our new pal Milla here wants to see something cool inside the ruins. Can ya think of anything like that?”

Cassius looked over at Milla. Up and down her whole body once, then back over at its trainer, before the Automaton finally nodded and took off running. “Uh… HEY WAIT UP!” Nate shouted, springing into a full sprint to catch up to the Golett. “SORRY GUYS! TRY AND KEEP UP!”
 

Edited June 3, 2020 by Cheshire Toon

[Skaia 578]

The girl watched as the small aquatic bear pokemon had made its way out of the shelter. Feeling like they had gotten a job well done, Jacklyn smiled proudly as Belle made her way over to her and questioned what they would be doing next With a hand to her chin, seeing that the pokemon was stilled scared the girl declared, "well, we can't just leave this cute little guy here. So, we'll just have to take them out of the desert. Which is uh..." The girl paused for a moment as she tried to get her bearings, looking around. In one direction there was sand. In another more sand. There sure was a lot of sand here. Trying to trace through the steps she had taken to get here, the girl tried to reorient herself before pointing in a direction. "That way!" 

It was unclear if it was actually the correct direction or not, but Jacklyn didn't dwell on that for long as the Bearble seemed to look over towards Ivan. As Belle as well seemed curious by this, Jacklyn looked towards Ivan. "Maybe they like your jacket?" Looking at his now tattered jacket, the girl raised an eyebrow saying, "are you trying to change your image up and go for the whole, "rough and tattered punk," look?" 

[LordCowCow 840]

Naomi had only barely mentally prepared herself to get up and move to trail behind the other two. She supposed while she was here she might as well see what's in these ruins. It wasn't as exciting as the picture books made them out to be so far but maybe there would be something worth finding farther in.

However what she wasn't prepared for was one of the boy's Pokemon to start running off, granted not at high speed, into the ruins. And to be told to keep up.

"Whyyyy." She said, in a surprising show of emotion, as she slumped forward. "I'unno if've ever ran before." She tried to follow along with where they were going. Moving at a jog for all of twenty seconds before slowing to a walk and relying on the sounds to try and figure out where they were going. She had decided that these ruins were most certainly not worth the energy. But now that she was this deep in she wasn't entirely sure how to get back out anyway. So she trudged along in their wake.

Even if they didn't slow down for her she'd eventually catch up when they stopped. Slumping down onto her knees and letting out an odd noise somewhere between a sob and a groan.

The Golett had led them down multiple twists and turns. Some of them rather sudden. Every now and then they'd catch glimpses of what seemed to be ancient houses in open areas that seemed to serve as some sort of intersection for the maze-like walls.

Eventually the Pokemon would lead them to an area of wall that was a bit higher than all the rest. They would move around the corner and find themselves looking at a large, bronze, door set into the stone. There were no markings on the door nor any sort of handle. Only what seemed to be an indentation to slide something in it. There was some writing at the top of it but it didn't resemble any language that they were familiar with.

A couple minutes passed before a voice came in from the other direction. "Have you ever really thought about doors?"

The voice sounded somewhat muffled and when they turned to look they could see why. It came from a young, dark haired, man wearing a gas mask.

"They keep people out. But also keep people in. Yet really they only do either if the person inside or out decide that it will. They can be forced open. So are they really necessary? Or do we just use them to feel better?"

He walked up to the door and knocked on it. "Anyone home?" He asked. Then he waited a bit for an answer before turning to the group. He stared for a while at Naomi. "I have seen you before." Then to the other two. "But these are different. Are they? Perhaps they aren't. Did you change your faces along with your hair? Customization should only go so far." He shook his head. "No, you're different. But also special. There's something important about you. But what?"

He seemed to be upset for a moment before turning back to the door. Looking up at the writing he said "A crack must not be allowed to grow. Lest it shatter the rest." The way he spoke it sounded as though he was reading the words.

Naomi tried to figure out where she had seen him before and remembered it was back at the statue in the swamp. Like then she thought he was odd but relatively harmless. Yet she couldn't help but feel like there was something more to what he was saying that she just couldn't figure out.

With a sigh she sat down and gestured at the door. "Is this what we're herefer?"

Spoiler

Introducing a mysterious NPC. And a door!

I'll be upfront and let you know the door won't be able to be opened up.