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

[Tiamat's Circus 130]

Anima couldn’t help but feel her smile try to falter, for a moment, as she heard about this ‘ghost’. Of course, it was likely that they existed; but the meat of the story was… Something else. It was almost ominous sounding, the way one of their servants offered to ‘show them’ what happened, only to never be seen again. And then, for her parents to have told her she had to let go… Perhaps, then, was the Servant the ghost in the story, and not the grandfather? Or had the parents been responsible for the Servants’ grandfather’s death? Or, perhaps even more... had the servant been planning to kill Anneliese…?!

Only the first concept seemed remotely… Interesting, from a supernatural perspective. The other two aspects, however…

Anima was only taken from this state of mind, as Jacklyn arrived to greet them… And immediately mentioned the man in the mask. She frowned, for a moment; visibly, before nodding. “...Actually, I will… Definitely believe you,” Anima chuckled lightly, rubbing at the side of her neck. “His name was Brady, and he was weird as…” she trailed off, letting the others carry on the conversation for a moment as she set to softening her expression. It was then, of course, that Jacklyn suggested they take a photo of them with the ‘first major landmark’ of their journey…

The weird, half-sunken statue.

“Oh, er... Right, of course, I can take your photos!” Anima almost immediately jumped in, voice a bit more enthusiastic than it should have been, as long as she didn’t have to…

"Oh, I'll take one for you guys if you want too!" 

“Huh?” Anima paused for a moment, before shaking her head slightly. “No, you, um, you don’t have to do that,” she murmured, grip on Confi tightening ever so slightly as she gave an apologetic smile. “I, er… Confi’s camera-shy,” she tried to excuse herself; even if it was a flimsy lie, it was one that couldn’t easily be contested… And if she didn’t want to admit, or didn’t want to voice that she wasn’t comfortable having her photo taken, she didn’t have to. Instead, without waiting for any further prompting, she knelt down and put Confi down. She then rummaged through her backpack for a moment, to pull out her PokeDex.

It was scratched up, been repaired, had buttons replaced and had been bashed several times… All by people who had owned it before Anima, and before she had gotten it, but it was hers; and the camera, at least, functioned well enough to take some pictures of her friends. It stalled for a moment as she opened the camera, but after a second, she saw a reasonably clear picture come onto the screen, and set about lining it up to catch both Anneliese and Jacklyn… Even as their faces scrunched up. “Ah… Right, that thing...” she murmured, before spamming the picture button roughly ten times in quick succession.

It was always best to go for quantity, and then pick out the best one to have printed, she had been told.

After that moment of repeatedly taking photos, she quickly folded the PokeDex back closed, before stuffing it back in her backpack. “Well then--” she began, acutely aware of the pounding headache the statue was likely giving her friends, and hoping to alleviate that pain for them. “We should move on now, we, uh, we don’t want to burn too much daylight on this leg of our, er, adventure, after all!” she explained, already beginning to move on herself. Hopefully, if she was lucky, they’d follow without questioning the strangeness of the statue--

For as long as they didn’t question it, she didn’t have to question it.

[yui 589]

“Does being an aspiring professor mean you know a lot about caring for Pokemon? Is there any advice you could give me with Peat? I make sure to brush and oil his fur every night, and I help him pick his teeth and claws clean too."

"Weeeell..." Not really...

Now that he'd mentioned it, it was probably best to double-check Arthur. He'd just been recovered from a kidnapping, after all, and Bridget wouldn't forgive herself if she was so caught up in having him back that she overlooked some sort of injury on the Trapinch's part. Thus, as the team continued along Route 102, did Bridget pop open Arthur's poke ball and give the creature a good, thorough inspection. And, like the impudent toddler it could very well pass for when not playing, Arthur resisted her every step of the way.

"What kinda stuff do you have to do for Artur?”

"'E's real fussy about 'is care, actually," Bridet answered, as she tried to part-coax Arthur into opening his mouth, part-pry it open herself. "Won't let me do anyfin' for 'im, 'side from feedin' and playin' wiv 'im. C'mon Arfur, open up, I'm makin' sure you're not hurt!" After several defiant chirps and chitters, and no small amount of trying to wriggle out of Bridget's grip, the Trapinch finally relented, and opened his maw of a mouth for Bridget to investigate. As she confirmed there was nothing of concern inside his mouth, and continued checking the rest of his body for anything that could be a possible concern, she remarked "See what I mean? Best I can do is force 'im to take a bath when he's dirty, and that should be its own category of battle."

As if to prove her point, the mere mention of the word "bath" elicited a growl of obvious protest from Arthur, and further attempts to escape Bridget's grasp. The Trapinch only settled down once it seemed to process Bridget was just talking about baths, and not saying it was time to take one.

"Pokemon care isn't really somefin' I know much about though. And I 'aven't seen that species until gettin' to Korova, either. Sorry. Peat looks healfy 'n' happy though. I'm sure anyone who knows more about care stuff would say you're doin' a good job."

The bog up ahead was, as bogs went, certainly a bog. Nate and Quinn went on ahead into the marshy wetness with varying degrees of effectiveness. Bridget followed suit, taking to the marsh with a sense of familiarity gained from some field research back in certain parts of Galar. Which isn't to say she was just at home in a marsh as on dry land, but between having put up with this sort of terrain before, and having the appropriate footwear for the job, it was safe to say Bridget was faring better than her peers right now.

Of bigger concern to her was the statue in the middle of it all. People could be fickle creatures sometimes, but Bridget was always willing to trust a pokemon. And as she eyed the statue's surroundings, she couldn't help but notice almost all of them were avoiding the statue. Peat even refused to follow Nate right up to it, which was an immediate red flag to her. She wasn't an art history major, or a geologist, or anything else that could potentially pertain to identifying a statue, but if all the local wildlife was avoiding that thing, it couldn't be anything but bad news, as far as Bridget was concerned. As much as she wanted to get up close and inspect the statue for herself - really wanted to, more than usual - Bridget made a point to keep her distance, and to keep an eye on the other two in case some sort of timely intervention was needed.

Plus, somebody had to make sure Arthur wouldn't get into trouble. Bridget looked down to Arthur... only to find that while she was keeping a watchful eye on Quinn & Nate, her pokemon had slipped away, and was now proudly trotting about in the bog. Gonna have to give him a bath later. Might as well make something of this! Not keeping her attention away from her teammates for too long at any point, Bridget followed her Trapinch companion through the water and mud, then pointed at the first pokemon to cross Arthur's path. A Solosis that was otherwise minding its own business. "Let's blow off some steam, Arfur! Give it a good Bite!"

Arthur, for one, seemed all too happy to oblige, charging up to the stray Solosis as best it could, jaws wide open and ready to snap shut on its new quarry.

[Skaia 602]

Jacklyn didn't really pay much mind to Anneliese's comment but looked over to Anima and smiled as they got prepared to take a picture. With the deed done the girl walked over and said, "thanks a lot Anima!" It was a shame to her that Anima didn't want to get into the picture as well. After all they were an adventuring team and it wouldn't do well to not have all of their teammates in a photo of cool stuff, but she couldn't do anything about Confi being camera shy and since Confi was as much as part of their group as Anima was so she would've liked for them to both be in it. She also wasn't feeling one hundred percent right now and felt like if she was going to force the issue it would not be at this statue as she wanted to just get a move on from it as fast as possible. However, she would not let this problem just pass by, and as she started to walk down the road she thought about what to do at the next landmark. "Maybe an ambush..." the girl muttered to herself. 

"Alright gang!" The girl shouted, as they made some distance, "Anima was right! The day is still young and our legs are still raring to go! So let's get going!" As the girl wandered further down the road she opened her map up saying, "we've got one more place to hit up on this island before our adventure gets started! Well it already started," the girl thought out loud before correcting herself saying, "but like, for real this time! Well, realer than the real it was already. Something like that at least. So, let's leave this route in the dust before the day's end gang!" 

[LordCowCow 864]

Team BQN

While Bridget was having a relatively normal time in battle with a wild Pokemon the other two were experiencing something truly bizarre.

As Quinn moved around the statue they would find that there wasn't much of a change to how the statue itself felt. However the longer they kept in contact the more the noise in their head grew more insistent. While they couldn't make out the words it almost felt like they were desperately trying to tell Quinn something important.

If Nate were to touch the statue he would experience much the same that Quinn had. With one clear difference. While he, too, would hear whispering in the back of his head the feeling behind it seemed different. It was more demanding. As if trying to order Nate to do something. But what was it the voice wanted? He couldn't quite tell.

Right when the two of them felt they could almost make out what the words were they would hear a "Oooweeeooo" noise coming from outside their head instead of inside.

Distracted as they all were none of them would have noticed where it came from but suddenly a Malamar, on the larger side of things, landed from above near where the statue was.

And it looked like it was ready to attack the duo touching it.

Spoiler

Sorry Hakima, no catching this one.

Also I know Inkay evolves at level 30. This is not level 30. I am cheating. I suppose can think of this as something similar to a Totem Pokemon. A "boss Pokemon" of an area.

I'll give the moves right off the bat to make it easier for you to write it as you want, if you want info or want to talk to each other on what to do you can still.

Hypnosis, Topsy Turvy, Psywave, Tackle

Gonna also make a call about sleep moves in that they don't immediately put to fully asleep in battle because frankly that's unfun for writing purposes. It makes them sleepy and COULD put them to sleep but not an automatic thing.

---

Team JAA/AJA/AAJ

“I, er… Confi’s camera-shy,”

"Oh I know about this! Is it about how cameras steal your soul? I was told that once but my parents said that it was 'nonsense that those who do not understand the technology made up' but I suppose Confi is a Pokemon so of course they would not understand."

After taking the photo Anneliese would insist on looking at it, getting as close as possible to Anima in the process while expressing her glee at seeing them together like that. "It is a shame about Confi, though, it would be nice to have a picture with you as well so that I may show it to my parents when I return so they can see the friends that I have made."

"but like, for real this time! Well, realer than the real it was already. Something like that at least. So, let's leave this route in the dust before the day's end gang!" 

"Oh goodness! I didn't realize there were levels to the realness of things! There is still so much for me to learn about adventurers...."

The group set out again and made it a good way to the end of the route before Anneliese suddenly said, "by the way which one of you was whispering in my ear back by that very odd statue?"

On the way to the next city Anneliese seemed to remember that she intended to let Roland have some battles and, while walking, had him dart into the tall grass nearby to try and attack wild Pokemon that popped up. The Rockruff seemed nervous about this at first but upon its first level, and learning Sand Attack, it seemed a bit more confident. However it also seemed to be very intent on using its new move and their walk turned quite grimy as Roland began sending sand out in every direction.

---

They arrived at the next city, Islebury, sometime in the evening. Immediately they were hit by the strong scent of fish and it was clear to see why. Everywhere they went in the city they would find things related to fishing, competitive, casual, and commercial, all over. Many of the people they met were friendly but much of what they seemed to have to say also revolved around fishing.

The city was decently large though not anywhere near what one might call a "big city" but it also was the only way to get to the mainland easily.

It seemed that Leopold was not a fan of the smell because when Anneliese sent him out he immediately wanted to get back into his ball.

Eleanora, on the other hand, didn't even seem to notice as she perched herself on Anneliese's shoulder and stood stoically unmoving. Though she also continued to avoid eye contact with anyone and anything they passed.

Spoiler

You are now in the next city! If you wanted to do any other training make sure to mention it and let me know. There's a few things to do in the city but will leave it up to y'all.

C. Islesbury
Description: A safe harbor for ships traveling near the Korova Region, due to the storms that sometimes pop up around the outer edges, which has a natural port for ships to dock. Also the one place to find a boat to the mainland. Known mainly for its fishy smell but pleasant people. As well as the fishing competitions.

Major areas: Harbor. The city is at the edge of a cliff and the harbor is an area under the cliff where ships can go. Which has a dock with stairs leading up to the main city. Also where the fishing competition is held.

Encounters: Fishing. Magikarp, 75%. Goldeen, 20%. Remoraid, 4%. Feebass, 1%

 

[radio414 932]

There had been so much to take in. The voice in the back of their head was a constant presence, of course, but there were so many other qualities of the statue that deserved exploration. The touch of the statue, for example, was a special kind of unevenness that Quinn had just gotten used to while on her circumnavigatory journey, and the young ghost could not help but wonder what the stone tasted like. All of that was lost, gone completely from Quinn’s memory, when the Malamar appeared. He had gotten about three-quarters of the way around the statue by that point, and Quinn rushed around the last portion to reunite with Nathaniel. This was on instinct. Fae knew it needed help with this one. That only required one of the six senses to tell.

“Cassiopeia, forgive me,” Quinn whispered to her Pokéball. “You are going to have to bear this for just a moment. Please, come to me in this time of need.”

It was a request Cassiopeia was all too willing to oblige. Even with the ominous aura and incomprehensible static, with her trainer in danger, Cassiopeia came out of her Pokéball charging forward, an Astonish at the ready for the approaching Malamar. “Drif!” the balloon shouted as soon as she was close enough, and a Gust to blow the Malamar back the second the wild Pokémon flinched. Even as Quinn instructed her Pokémon on the specifics of the strategy, she recognized it as Cassiopeia’s tried and true. Next would probably be a Minimize, to take advantage of the ensuing chase, and then-

Whatever further battle strategy either Quinn or Cassiopeia had developed was cut short when the Malamar recovered from its shock quicker than they had anticipated. Instead of giving a direct chase, the Malamar simply stared at the retreating Drifloon, and its eyes glowed. The space around the Malamar distorted and shifted colors, which grew brighter in intensity until the colors shot out as a psychic beam that struck Cassiopeia dead-on. Quinn could not help but call out, “Cassiopeia!” as her Pokémon shuddered against the attack. Quinn could even see her eyes unfocus for a moment there, though thankfully it was just for a moment.

“Well, if that is how you would like to play,” Quinn said. “Cassiopeia, get back here. Go, Normandie!” The swap had the misfortune of placing Normandie right in the middle of another of the Malamar’s Psybeams, but she took the attack much better than Cassiopeia had. In fact, she charged right through it with barely a misstep, that tell-tale ferocity in her eye. Perhaps the purple glow of her Pursuit protected her, an idea that flickered into Quinn’s head even as it dismissed the idea as making no sense -- the planes of interaction simply did not line up.

Normandie’s attack landed, and, taking advantage of her close proximity to the Malamar, the Ratffian started lashing the squid with its tail. Quinn hadn’t told her to do this, but it made sense. Both ey and Normandie wanted her to hit as hard as possible, and Normandie had been brushing off the attacks so far. That changed, though, when the Malamar battered itself into Normandie, an attack that sent her back aways, and it started to glow purple, matching Normandie’s Pursuit from before.

No, that was not quite right. Quinn realized with dawning horror that only parts of the Malamar were glowing purple: the parts Normandie had struck with her tail. And even from her vantage point, Quinn could tell those parts had not only recovered from their thrashing, they had tightened up, and gotten even harder, more resistant. Normandie did not seem to care, launching herself into another attack, and sure enough, a Tackle did not do nearly as much damage as expected. She went for another one, but Quinn put a stop to that. “Normandie, get back here!” she said, “Cassiopeia, let us try not to get hit this time.”

Edited May 8 by radio414

[Skaia 602]

"Ah, the sea!" Jacklyn shouted as they entered the city of Islebury. The briny and fishy scent of the city was among the first things that was noticeable, all the more so as Jacklyn felt a need to take in a deep breath through her nose as they entered the city. This resulted in the girl's nose twitching as she realized just how overpowering it was. While Castelia certainly had its own fish market she had hardly actually spent much time in them, and as such she could only mutter, "this too is a part of adventuring." 

Quickly regaining her composure she looked to her other team members and said, "our stop here is, of course, the boats to get to the mainland so we can start doing gym battles and all that other stuff! But before even that we're here at a city with a lot of fish! And that can mean only one thing." The girl put on a pensive expression as she said, "yeah, every adventure has it. Or rather, to be a true adventure in the modern sense you can't be without it. I'm of course talking about fishing!"  The girl emphatically pointed towards the sea. "I've heard that fishing is a great pastime for adventurers and there's a bunch of cool stuff in the water. Like, imagine fishing out a wailord or an old boot! So, our next stop is to get ourselves a fishing rod!" 

As the girl trailblazed ahead, walking with purpose she started thinking aloud. "I've never actually been fishing before. But I'm sure it's as simple as walking for an adventurer, and I imagine finding a rod is all about picking which one speaks to you right? Oh, I wonder if I'd get a special eleventh one from buying ten." Looking back she asked, "have either of you ever fished?" 

[yui 589]

Type matchups. Bridget had studied them quite a bit. She also knew quite a lot about the different varieties of pokemon that could be found across Galar. Problem was, it wasn't until after she had ordered Arthur to slam his jaws shut on the wild Solosis that she remembered a few important tidbits. Dark-type attacks like Bite were super effective against Psychic-type pokemon like Solosis. Trapinch were a rather strong breed for such small pokemon. And, the biggest concern in the immediate moment. While she never found anything confirming the same about Solosis itself, she knew that the special liquid coating pokemon it would eventually evolve into - Reuniclus - was highly toxic. And given it was the same liquid, it stood to reason the same applied to Solosis.

Which is why once Arthur had faithfully executed his command, Bridget was somewhat relieved to see that while Arthur had definitely caused some serious damage to the pokemon itself, the green bubble encasing it seemed to be more or less unscathed. Best to wrap this up quick. As Solosis responded to this act of sudden aggression with a confusing psychic attack, which had definitely hit its mark, Bridget reached into her pocket, pulling out an empty poke ball. Slow creatures that Solosis were, it wasn't particularly difficult to get a good throw, and wounded specimen that this one in particular was, it didn't take more than one for the ball to click shut after some wiggling and bobbing around on the water's surface. Pleased with a job well done, Bridget waded over to the poke ball's location, wiping it off before tucking it away in her pocket again.

Will figure out a name for you a bit later.

Now then, how were Quinn and Nathan doing...

...

"Bollocks."

The answer was "not well", apparently. In a stark contrast to the relatively smaller pokemon mostly found in this little marsh, the one that they had seemingly drawn the ire of was very much not small, even for its species. "Arfur, we're goin' in!"

Not willing to wait the extra time for Arthur to make its way through the marshy waters itself, Bridget hurriedly scooped up the pokemon, making her way to Nathan and Quinn as quickly as her feet and the terrain would allow before setting him down, despite some protesting from the creature along the way.

"Dunno what you two did to get that here, but it doesn't look like it's 'ere to talk. Arfur, take a Bite out of it!"

[Tiamat's Circus 130]

Anima had smiled a bit while they walked, particularly as the others battled. While Confi was too tuckered out to participate in any of them, the act of battling itself was enough to force Anima’s mind to move, as she thought about what she might have done in their situation. Of course, she didn’t dare comment on or give Anneliese advice as she had Roland battle, but Anima did watch fairly closely; nodding or shaking her head very subtly whenever she may have had a thought to give. In fact, the closest she came to giving advice of any kind, was as Roland began throwing sand… Just about everywhere as they walked. Only, when she had opened her mouth to do so, sand had flown into it; and so, she resolved (after spitting it out), to keep her mouth shut as much as she could for the remainder of their walk. 

So it was, that when they arrived later that evening, Anima had already resolved in her mind to get a room at the local inn (even if she had to sell possessions for the funds to do so), and take a shower. It was only the nostalgic smell of saltwater and fish, which drug her kicking and screaming back home, that seemed to stop her from immediately enacting that plan. “Reminds me a bit of, uh… Hulbury, actually,” Anima smiled towards Jacklyn, as she watched the girl visibly recoil from the smell. It was true-- It was a strong scent, but when you had lived near enough to it for much of your life…

Well, she had gotten used to it, was all.

There was almost a lightness to her step as she followed behind Jacklyn, listening to her ramble on, as she watched the waves; almost absentmindedly following, only to pause as she heard the phrase ‘buy ten’. “Wait-- Uh, No, no, there’s… No one needs ten fishing-rods,” Anima interjected, shaking her head. “Really, you just, um, need one trusty-rod-- Well, someone who fishes more often may use several different kinds, but, uh, for us, we really should only need one that suits our needs…” she trailed off, bringing a hand to her chin, before nodding. “I lived in the port-town of Hulbury in Galar, so… It’d be, uh, a little strange if I hadn’t fished,” she admitted, laughing idly. “I’ve not done it in a bit-- Mom and Dad weren’t particularly keen on letting me go to the water too often after I met Confi, and I didn't exactly want to get too close to it either, but…” she trailed off for a moment. “This ocean-air is making me nostalgic; I could even maybe show you to the ropes,” she remarked with a nod, sounding ever-so-slightly more confident than she normally did.

Of course, if she was going to show them said ropes… They’d need rods. Luckily, it was a port town; so they’d either sell them just about everywhere, or there would be exactly one place to get Fishing Rods easily: either way, someone at the dock would know where she could get one, so… It was that she set out in front of the group for once, in something between a brisk walk and a jog. Luckily for her, the layout of the town was… Sensible enough. Since the city was off a cliff-side, it only took a quick jaunt down some stairs to find the actual docks…

Which were suitably dock-ish. There was everything she expected to see, and then some; something about a fishing competition had even been posted, and while she wasn’t that confident in her abilities… Jacklyn was sure to want to participate, and Anneliese would follow her into that… That would certainly give Anima some time to go over those papers she had been given, at least. 

But, that wasn’t why she was here.

She scanned the docks to see who all was actively fishing. It would be bad form to disturb someone who was currently in the midst of it, after all; and for a moment, she was afraid that there would be no one to ask. She only got lucky when she saw an older-man relaxing on a lawn-chair, with a smattering of fishing equipment beside him. “Ah…! I bet we can ask him,” she murmured, jogging over-- Careful not to slip on any water that had been tossed up onto the docks by stray waves. She had learned that lesson enough times as a child.

“Excuse me, sir,” she began with a quick bow, violently jostling poor Confi in the process, before rising again. “Me and my friends are, uh, new trainers-- and… Well, I was wondering if you knew where we could get a fishing-rod in town?” she asked, her normal nervous tone wandering off as soon as she reached the topic at hand.

"Sir? Woo boy never been called a 'sir' before how fancy!" He replied with a big smile. "In'tristed in fishin are ya? Notta lotta younguns are these days. Back in my day you could har'ly find a spot ta fish in the whole place!"

“I am!” Anima nodded, smiling. “I used to fish a lot, back when I was younger; and though I had to stop for, er…” she trailed off, glancing down at Confi, and then back up; her composure breaking for but a moment. “Health reasons, as long as I’m able to stay safely on the dock, seeing everyone fishing here, breathing in the saltwater… It’s made me want to fish again,” she explained.

"Younger? Why yer still young arentcha?" He replied. It seemed that he noticed the break in her words but didn't bring mention to it. Instead without changing tone he kept talking. "Well that sure does make my day! Most folks buy fancy new rods over there at the shack but fer a nice girl like you." With a grunt he sat up and reached over to his pile and pulled out a weathered Old Rod that looked to be handmade and handed it to her. "How bout you take this here rod fer free."

Anima would have chuckled, a little, at his initial statement; if her eyes hadn’t practically sparkled when he continued on, offering her the Old-Rod. It was weathered, and handmade… And had been certainly used several-- No, countless times before, and yet… That was what made the gesture so interesting, and so meaningful as she took the Rod in hand. “I-- Thank you, sir--!” she began, bowing once again-- And unceremoniously dumping Confi on the ground; the little coral-Pokemon righting herself with remarkable speed mid-air, as if this was not an uncommon occurrence when Anima was actually excited. “I’ll make you proud!” she announced, Rod in hand, as she turned towards Jacklyn, and Anneliese. “I’ll make master-fishers out of them yet, in your name…!”

He chuckled, coughed a bit, then said, "Well I'll be aren't you a firecracker! Think yer lil friends would want one too?" He seemed almost eager to hand the things out now.

“I’m, er… Not normally this excited,” Anima chuckled, rubbing the back of her head with her free hand. “Guess I just, uh… Got nostalgic?” she wondered, before shrugging. “Either way-- That would be wonderful! It’ll mean they learn by doing, rather than just by watching!” she grinned, glancing over towards the two of them. “C’mon! Jacklyn, Anneliese! We’ve got fish to catch!” she announced, triumphantly.

[LordCowCow 864]

Team JAA/AJA/AAJ

"have either of you ever fished?" 

"Fishing...That is when people put strings in the water and pull up fish yes? I have seen it done from afar before but my parents told me that we had no need to do it ourselves. I thought it was something that poorer people did for food but it sounds like it is recreational as well? How delightful!"

Anneliese decided to follow Anima's lead. She gazed about in wonder as they made their way down the stairs and very nearly fell over a few times as she would often lean off to the side and animatedly point out something she saw that caught her interest.

When Anima was speaking to the old man Anneliese ended up crouching by the water's edge. As she stared into it she thought of her home which was also located near the water. It amazed her to think how different the water here looked than in Sunyshore City. She wondered then if it felt different too and leaned forward to touch the water.

C’mon! Jacklyn, Anneliese! We’ve got fish to catch!”

Anneliese turned partway to look back at Anima and said, "We are to try our hand at this 'fishing' business? That sounds....oops!" As she spoke she slipped and pitched forward towards the water.

Spoiler

It's a short post I know but its more a transition to let y'all do what you want to do next in the city. If someone wants to help Anneliese that's fine but if not its not like her falling into the water is gonna make her melt. Mostly just think it's funny that the moment someone takes their eyes off her she falls into the water.

Also I suppose I'll give some info on how the fishing competition thing works in case want to try it out.

Once a day people can pay a fee, get a Net Ball, and have two hours to capture a Pokemon and depending on how rare, large, etc a Pokemon is you get various prizes that they keep in the shack. It's sorta like the bug catching competition in Johto.

---

Team BQN

The Malamar was about to respond to Cassiopeia by releasing another Psywave but the Bite attack caused it to flinch momentarily and it lost its focus on the newly swapped in Ghost Type.

While Arthur had bitten down on the larger Pokemon it still was able to shake the Trapinch off quickly after. As soon as it did so it lowered its upper half down and shot forward and hit Arthur with a Tackle attack while the Trapinch was midair. Despite the relative weakness of the attack the Pokemon's strength more than made up for it and Arthur was sent flying from the blow.

Instead of following up the attack the Pokemon took notice of Nathan, who hadn't made a move quite yet. Deciding that this was a good time to deal with one of the humans right then the Malamar let out an ominous noise and a ring of psychic energy went from its head towards Nathan himself as the Malamar attempted to use Hypnosis on the boy.

Spoiler

Reminder that Hypnosis isn't necessarily "gg you asleep now" guaranteed, even if it wasn't 60% accuracy. But this gives Nathan a reason for not having reacted yet as he either will get hit by Hypnosis and be sleepy or forced to dodge out of the way.

The Malamar has taken some damage but the +1 Defense it has atm made the Bite not as strong as it could have been.

Remember you have some level of free reign to play around with what the Malamar does but if unsure feel free to ask anything.

Hypnosis, Topsy Turvy, Psywave, Tackle. Contrary.
+1 Defense. Still Green health.

 

[Skaia 602]

Jacklyn had a proud smile on her face as Anima went off to learn more about fishing supplies, and even getting them fishing rods. After all, to go wholly into something like this and get that excited about it was too part of an adventure, so she was glad to see that spirit in her companions. And she would do well to match that spirit. As Anima called to them, Jacklyn shouted back, "of course! We'll become fishing legends in no time!" It was then that Jacklyn heard a splash come from the side to her, looking over to see that Anneliese had vanished from where she was previously. Walking over, bending down to look into the water and see Anneliese surfacing there, the girl smiled saying, "I like your enthusiasm Anneliese, but we got fishing rods to fish with! Maybe we can try using our bare hands later though, I haven't tried that before either." Were Anneliese to need help Jacklyn would either help pull her out or simply go into the water herself to help the girl. 

Finding a spot to go fish, the girl took out her rod and got ready. "Alright, let's see if I got this down. First all you do is take this little thing off and then go," pulling back her rod the girl shouted, "hiyah!" before swinging it as hard as she could, sending the line into the water. Standing there for a few moments the girl said, "alright and now we wait..." Jacklyn continued to stand motionless for a few moments more before saying, "hm...nothing's biting. Maybe if I do a little," the girl started to move her arms about, trying to shift the line's position, which was difficult in of itself due to how far away from her it was, before starting to essentially flail her arms as it trying to find the "perfect position" where fish or pokemon might be. Tiring herself after a bit of movement, the girl stopped for a bit grumbling. Then, after keeping her posture still as she tried to recover her stamina she suddenly felt a tug on her line. 

Excited for her catch the girl immediately pulled back her rod almost immediately, sending it out of the water to show that nothing was on the end of it. Giving a small glare at the hook before it plunged back into the water the girl sighed. "This is a lot harder than I was expecting." 

[radio414 932]

“Hey!” Quinn called out. This was not how things were done! While it was true that Pokémon could leap out from anywhere and that was why it was necessary to have one of your own when venturing into the wilds -- Quinn was living proof of that, even without the whole “ghost” thing --  a sensible wild Pokémon would have at least focused on the two to three Pokémon who were currently engaged with it in combat. This was just unsporting. Neither Nathaniel nor his Pokémon had done anything to the Malamar yet.

Cassiopeia hardly needed to be told what to do, but her Astonish, attempting to distract the Malamar, was too late to stop the attack. It was only unsuccessful because of that speed, though, the Malamar still had to recover from the surprise of a Ghost balloon crashing past its face screaming with all her might, and its focus was now on Cassiopeia once again. It wheeled around and tried to use the same attack it had just done on Nathaniel, but Cassiopeia was still wheeling around the battlefield, and the Malamar’s Hypnosis aim was not too great.

Quinn made its way through the bog to join Bridget and Arthur. “Apologies for its thicker skin,” Quinn said on Normandie’s behalf. It had not been Normandie’s fault, of course -- how could she have known? -- but Quinn still felt responsible. “I am glad Arthur can still Bite through it even if it is more difficult.” The Malamar was confusing. Would moves that affected their own Pokémon be similarly affected? Xe did not know and was not particularly keen on finding out.

Cassiopeia returned to Quinn’s side just as the Malamar came charging in at the both of them. She looked like she was about to return the favor, but Quinn held out a hand. “Wait a moment,” fae said. “Wait…”

It felt like an eternity, certainly far too long to be holding back an attack, but Quinn waited until the Malamar was right on top of them before releasing Cassiopeia. “Gust! Now!” It was a massive wind, even creating little ripples in the more liquid parts of the bog and buffetting the nearby plant life and clothing. “Apologies for that too,” Quinn said, even though his were much more worse for wear. There was little time to continue, however, as the Malamar came charging back in, its eyes now glowing and making a deep, oscillating sound that grew more intense the closer it got.

[Cheshire Toon 150]

Psychic-type Pokémon had a presence that was distinct from any other type that Nate had met. His reaction time was fast. Trained. He had been slipping punches and returning jabs since he had first learned to walk—with no exaggeration—so it was only natural that his reflexes were as sharp as a Scyther’s arms. Yet something about the presence of a Psychic-type weighed on him. With something like an Abra it was very light, a gentle breeze in his head, but whatever creature he was facing now felt like a barbell crashing into his skull. He had barely registered what it was he was staring at before a battle had started.

Artur and Casseopia charged into battle with the Malamar. That must have meant Bridget and Quinn were nearby.

Nate knew they would need his help. Peat was strong. The three of them together could fend off the Malar. All he had to do was issue a command…but his mouth wasn’t working. In fact, his body felt very heavy. It was a struggle to keep his eyelids open. Must have… done… something… he realized. Psychic-attack… 

The boxer would have fallen asleep if a wet nose hadn’t suddenly pressed into his bare leg, cold and prodding. A sound between a growl and a bark followed it. Once. Twice.

BAM!

Something smacked into Nate. He stumbled and fell, the murky water completely covering his face. A second passed. Two, then three. Peat had just started to worriedly poke around in the bog when Nate exploded out of the water with a gasp. “Blegh! Thanks, bud! Really needed that!” He saw Quinn and Bridget and ran over to them, throwing water haphazardly. “I’m good now! Peat, we gotta pull our weight too! Bubble!”

The little Bearble waddled up to his side and launched a thin barrage of bubbles at the charging Malamar.
 

[yui 589]

To his credit, Arthur had indeed bitten the Malamar. He did as good a job at it as one could do a job at biting something, Bridget liked to think. However, that did not make up for what happened next. Her little orange friend was sent up into the air, and then tackled, sending him flying! Bridget had an idea, though. She took out Arthur's poke ball, and popped it open, causing it to return the creature to its spherical break room. Usually, this would be the part where a trainer sent out some other pokemon. This was not the case today. Instead, Bridget opened the same poke ball again, causing Arthur to once again be immediately in the fray and ready to go.

Followed by some much-welcome moves on the part of Quinn and Nathan.

“Gust! Now! Apologies for that too.”

“Blegh! Thanks, bud! Really needed that! I’m good now! Peat, we gotta pull our weight too! Bubble!”

"Well, let's not get shown up, eh? Keep on Biting!"

Thus did Arthur do as commanded, swinging open his jaws once more and not relenting in the chomps of violent intent against this unusual specimen the team had suddenly been met with.

[Tiamat's Circus 130]

Anima smiled at the others, as they took their rods, and each began to go their own way. A smile, that faded ever-so-slightly when she watched Anneliese fall into the water with a dramatic splash. For an instant, a dreadful instant, Anima wondered if everything would be okay-- Could the girl swim? Could someone help her out? It was a fishing port, right? So someone should be able to help her, after all, but would anyone? Would anyone notice? For one crucial moment, she wondered if everything would be alright--

And then Jacklyn helped her out of the water with ease.

A quiet… Relieved chuckle, left Anima system as she slouched a bit, a lazy smile coming to her face as all at once, it set in that… She had been way too worried about everything so far. Even now, when she had been excited to sit down and fish, she couldn't help but freak out at the first inconvenience. She was well, and truly, in need of a rest-- In need of a moment to relax, and sit down. A moment where she didn't have to worry about whether Anneliese would get herself into trouble with a faux-paus, or if Jacklyn would lose the group.

And so, she found a nice open spot on the pier, and did just that. Carefully, she placed her backpack behind her, and tied it to one of the pier's posts to stabilize it. She then sat down beside it, and flicked the rod out in front of her onto the water, watching as it bobbed up and down idly in a relaxing manner. Her eyes followed it as it stirred ripples in the water with every movement, and a small, peaceful smile came to her face-- As she felt as if she was no longer completely in a foreign land.

The people were different. The landscape was different. The sights and sounds were anything but familiar, and the Pokemon couldn't be any stranger. But… There was still water, that one could approach safely from land. There were still people who loved to fish, and there was still that familiar smell of brine in the air. The water would peacefully ebb and flow, and as Confi toddled forwards from her right, and tipped herself into the water with a loud splash---

She could still watch her friend swim about, happily chirruping as she played in the water, and scared away all chance at something biting, as she always did. But that was no problem. In fact, it was… Encouraged, Anima decided, laughing gently as she nodded. “Having fun down there?” she asked, as Confi chirruped with joy, barely audible over her splashing, and… As she reminded Anima, of all those summers they had spent together to get to this point. Never once wanting truly to catch something, but rather…

Finding a moment, away from it all; near the water for one, the land for another, and… For her to relax, watching that bob go up… And down.

Edited June 16 by Tiamat's Circus

[LordCowCow 864]

Team JAA/AJA/AAJ

"I like your enthusiasm Anneliese, but we got fishing rods to fish with! Maybe we can try using our bare hands later though, I haven't tried that before either."

"Goodness bare hands? Do you mean there are people who cannot even afford to get a fishing rod and must do it with their hands?" She began to imagine someone trying to grapple with an Octillery and began to giggle before being interrupted by a sneeze. "Oh my, it's a bit chilly isn't it?" Anneliese said, paying no mind to the fact that she was currently wet.

She did however wring out her hat before checking to see what the others were doing. The two of them were some distance apart and they couldn't look any different. Anima was relaxed and still while Jacklyn was rather animated.

Neither of them had yet caught anything so Anneliese looked between them and wondered which one might be doing it correctly. She thought to ask Anima but as she started that way she stopped herself.

There was something about Anima's face that prevented Anneliese from interrupting her. It reminded her of when her mother would sit in the study and listen to music. Anneliese knew that wasn't a face that wanted to be talked to at the moment. So she turned to Jacklyn but stopped as well. She was moving around so much that Anneliese wondered if she wouldn't fall in if distracted.

So after some consideration Anneliese moved somewhere between them and cast a line. Or tried to, anyway, as she ended up getting it caught on the pier at first. Once she managed to actually get it into the water she found herself soon growing antsy. Not quite in the way that Jacklyn was but still she felt like she should be doing something.

Still not wanting to get in the way of the others she sent out her newly caught Rookidee. "Good day to you, do you know how to fish?" She asked it, filling the silence with her own voice. Eleanora looked at Anneliese for a moment then turned their beak away. However soon after she gave a short nod and Annelise clapped her hands together, almost dropping the rod as she forgot it was there, "oh truly? How delightful. Perhaps you can help me catch something then!"

As the trio fished they might eventually start to feel something. As if someone was watching them from a distance.

Spoiler

We be chillin relaxing maxing and so on so forth. Leaving it open for if people want to talk to each other or have something happen while fishing. Also hinted at something that might happen sooner or later depending how y'all feel.

The old man might come up to one of you too if you want.

---

Team BQN

The Malamar was suddenly buffeted from one side and then the other. With wind and water both. The two hits came at different times so as soon as it was about to react to the first the latter struck it.

It let out an angry cry as the bubbles splashed over its body. Something strange happened then. The bubbles seemed to cling to the Malamar despite most having popped which would normally indicate that perhaps its secondary effect was slowing it down but when it moved next it was faster than before.

The Malamar targeted Cassiopeia with another Hypnosis attempt before Arthur managed to bite down and chomp on it.

Much like before Arthur clung onto the Malamar and also much like before it went for a Tackle attack. However this time it went for Peat instead. With or without Arthur still attached the Pokemon flung itself swiftly at the water bear Pokemon.

Spoiler

Hypnosis, Topsy Turvy, Psywave, Tackle. Contrary.
+1 Defense +1 Speed. Yellow health.

 

[Cheshire Toon 150]

Nate spotted the difference in speed instantly. Bubble should have slowed it down. Why did it get faster? Nate wracked his brain for any reason the effect of a move would have been reversed, but he was drawing a blank. His brain was cycling through battle strategies and plans to defeat the Malamar. There was no processing power left to dig through his memories and try to find the answer he was looking for.

“Peat! Dodge to the left!” Just like the battle with the Rattata that had spammed Quick Attack, Nate’s familiarity with motion and movement let him warn Peat a moment before the Malamar was upon him. 

Peat threw himself to the side and the Malamar stumbled past where he had been a moment before. Nate grinned. “Good job bud! Now Tackle him before he can throw Artur off! We gotta keep the pressure up!”

Peat glided through the murky water beneath him like he was on solid land, launching himself at the Malamar with a growl.

Edited June 20 by Cheshire Toon

[Skaia 602]

After moving her fishing rod around for a bit more, Jacklyn grew impatient enough that rather than do anymore she started to look around for a distraction. Seeing Anneliese had parked herself in between her and Anima, the girl looked at her and asked, "hey, have you gotten anything yet?"

Anneliese, for her part, was chatting with her newly acquired Rookidee, the fishing pole not in her hands at all. "Hm? Oh. No, I do not believe so." She grabbed the pole and gave it a couple shakes as if checking.

“Not holding it at all, I didn’t think of that…” The girl thought about the technique for a moment before looking at her Pokémon, an idea becoming an apparent. Bending down she said, “oh yeah, birds like fish right, so do you know what the secret is?” 

Eleanora stared up at Jacklyn for a few moments before turning around completely and trying to ignore her.

“Huh?” With a slightly annoyed and disappointed face the girl sighed, before sitting down and casting her line out again. Then looking to over to Anneliese she asked, “so you’ve never fished before right? So what kind of stuff did you back home?”

"Oh many things. My tutors would teach me many things each day. I learned piano. Watched performances and listened to orchestras in our home theatre. Took part in balls on occasion. Though I could not often speak with the guests as I would have liked..."

“Whoa, sounds fancy…” the girl paused, actually processing what she just heard. She had known Anneliese to say some pretty strange stuff before but she had just chalked it up to her being a little eccentric and from somewhere else. But all of this together started to paint more of a picture to Jacklyn. “When you say an orchestra or something do you mean like the kind you’d find in some kind of concert hall or something?”

"Oh yes, I believe they normally would perform at places like that. I often wondered why they did that when they could just go to people's homes just as easily."

Blank faced as she again tried to process all of this the one question Jacklyn ended up asking was, “did you do like…everything in your home?”

"Why, yes. After all mama and papa were often away for work so I could not very well leave. That is why the theatre was built in the first place."

Becoming more concerned the girl said, "but that's gotta be so - oh!" Her expression shifted to surprised as a tug line appeared on her line, excitement crushing any concern she just had. "Looks like I got something!" As the girl started to pull, a thought crossed her mind as she said, "come on Anneliese, help me pull it up!"

---

From the edges of the dock, a woman with messy black hair in a long gray skirt wearing an equally long sleeved black shirt had her interest caught by the trio. Of course the overexuberant and discordant method of fishing of one of them was noticeable to everyone and was likely distracting and causing issues for other fishers. To her, there was something obvious about them though, something that was only made more apparent by an observation she made. And it made her curious. 

Slowly she walked forward, every step of the way slow and almost labored as she closed the distance between her and the trainer. And eventually she made it to Anima, and asked, "do you mind if I sit here?" Were Anima to look at her they would notice that the woman's red eyes had bags under them, as if she had gotten barely any sleep. Her breath as well was labored and sweat was evident on her pale skinned face, as if she had just ran a marathon to get here. 

[yui 589]

She wasn't sure if it was actually the intended plan from the start, but Bridget approved of it. Use Bubble to slow down the enemy. She was, herself, pretty fond of strategies like that, whenever her classwork had presented her with hypothetical battle situations. Her enthusiasm for the plan soon faded, however, as rather than slowing down, the Malamar that had assailed the team began speeding up instead. She'd read about this one.

"Pokémon wiv Contrary for an ability are able to reverse gains & losses incurred in battle," Bridget recalled under her breath. It was unlikely Nathan or Quinn heard her, but the utterance wasn't necessarily meant to be heard, either. What followed, however, was. "Alright, you two, try not to hinder this guy any furver; 'e'll make us regret it!" Her finger then pointed out, to the brave little Trapinch still attached to the enemy. Even as the enemy Malamar tackled Peat, the mighty jaws of a Trapinch would surely never let go. "An' you! You're doin' great, Arfur! Keep on Bitin' 'til 'e gives in!"

It wasn't easy to stay attached when Peat tackled his quarry, causing the Malamar to rock about, but Arthur did manage to stay attached and biting. With the same energetic vigor as before, Arthur continued chewing and chomping on his prey, prompting something of a change in strategy from Malamar. The wild pokemon once again moved to tackle Peat, only this time, it angled itself to use Arthur as a sort of improvised battering ram.

"Ease off 'im for a bit, Arfur!"

At her command, the Trapinch released its deathgrip on the Malamar. While it hadn't done so soon enough to avoid colliding with Peat entirely, it was at least enough to soften the blow a bit. Malamar, for its own part, seemed to be having none of Arthur's shenanigans any longer. When met with a threatening chitter from the Trapinch, its response was to merely attack with a Psywave, against which Arthur was powerless to avoid. Which, in turn, only prompted a second, angrier chitter from Arthur once it recovered from being hit with a psychic blast.

[radio414 932]

It sounded like Bridget was saying something, but Quinn could not quite tell what that was, even while standing right next to her. It sounded important, but it was not the time or the place to ask for clarifications. The Malamar had reacted to Peat’s bubbles in much the same way it had to Normandie’s Tail Whip, and as much as that made sense, it was still frustrating. It was a three-on-one battle, but now the Malamar had enough speed to make up for it.

Xe had to focus on what it did know. Cassiopeia was raring for another crack at the Pokémon, but Quinn could feel in their pocket that Normandie was just as ready, and with two Psychic attacks to deal with, Quinn opted for the Dark-type Pokémon in his arsenal. She was not sure she could catch the Malamar by surprise a second time with the same bait. They would have to try something else. Ze was starting to think of something, though, and as e stared at Normandie’s Pokéball in their hand, Quinn got the feeling that Normandie was figuring something similar.

Cassiopeia did not return to her Poké Ball, but she did dutifully float to Quinn’s side as fae tossed out Normandie’s. The Ratffian popped out and hit the ground running, a purple glow already about her. She tried to stick to the more solid areas of the marsh, but she was light enough that it did not matter too much. It was not long before Normandie’s Pursuit caught up with the Malamar, and she crashed into the squid Pokémon.

The Malamar wheeled around to face Normandie and directed a Psywave her way that she struggled through but did manage to shrug off, leaping forward and tackling the Malamar to the ground. She made sure to fight around the Malamar’s eyes, always keeping herself in its view.

“Good,” Quinn said under hir breath. “Keep its attention. Draw it out.”

The Malamar’s eyes widened, and it let out the gentle hum that signalled its Hypnosis attack. So close to the Malamar, it seemed like Normandie had to get hit. She ceased her assault on the wild Pokémon and her body went limp, eyes closed. Quinn bit its lip. Hypnosis was Psychic-type, yes, but even Dark Pokémon could be affected. He had known the risk, and he kept Normandie’s Pokéball at the ready to recall her if this did not work.

Whichever the case may have been, the Malamar certainly believed its Hypnosis had finally affected a Pokémon. It chirped with glee, rising high into the air above the Ratffian before falling down, twisting like a drill to Tackle Normandie into the mud. But just before it could make contact, Normandie’s eyes snapped back open, and she rolled out of the way. With a hysteric squeal, she lunged at the Malamar again.

[Tiamat's Circus 130]

The ripples in the waves made by not only the bob, but by Confi as she swam lightly around were… Soothing to watch, Anima would have to admit. There was something so… Simple about it all, that made it relaxing. As if this could soothe any turmoil, as if this could smoothe over any problem that arose, merely by letting the waves crash into it, chipping away her stress bit by bit, until it had eroded completely. That was a thought that, admittedly, was… Comforting to Anima, as she stared at the little lost soul, which swam about in the water chittering quietly herself, occasionally glancing upwards towards Anima to make sure she was still there, before returning back to the waves.

So it was, that she had focused upon Confi so much, that Anima hardly noticed the pale woman as she approached; only really reacting to her a moment later, when the woman spoke to her, though, even then, for a moment… Anima did not reply. Her expression shifted, slightly, as after a moment, she realized that she was even being spoken too, noticing the woman’s shadow first, and then glancing up towards her. She examined the woman for a moment, nerves still softened by the waves, so that she did not scream, panic, or even flinch at the prospect of meeting and talking to someone new--

And instead smiled, and nodded. “It’s, um… No bother at all,” Anima spoke softer now, the bombasticity of getting to fish having worn off by now, as she brought a hand away from her fishing rod to rub idly at her neck. “Are you, um… here to fish too?” she asked; though, she doubted that fact as she did so.

The woman sat down, letting out a sigh of relief as she was no longer standing. Looking at Anima the woman shook her head and said, “I’m here for a break until I have to start walking again.” Then looking down at Confi she asked, “you aren’t from around here, right?”

“Ah, just here to relax then?” Anima nodded. “I’m not much of the outdoorsy-type either, to be honest,” she laughed a little, before nodding. “...But, er… You’d be right. I’m from Galar,” she confirmed. “My partner here, Confi, is a type of Corsola that you can find there.”

The woman nodded slowly, a small flash of pride going across her face for a moment and muttered, “Galar, I thought so…” returning to a more neutral expression she looked back and, rather than answer asked, “are you looking to become champion then?”

Anima’s expression shifted, then, as she contemplated the question she had just been given. The natural answer, would be to say… Yes. that she wanted to become the Champion… And yet the answer didn’t come right away. Perhaps, it was because of the doubts which had set root back from her first battle. Perhaps, it was because she didn’t want to seem conceited. Perhaps… It was simply because she wasn’t sure if she would be capable, and yet… She had to put all of those reasons behind, as she nodded, after a moment, and closed her eyes. “I hope to, one day, yes. I…” her hand shifted then, from her throat, to one of her sleeves, twisting the fabric into a knot as she spoke. “I know it won’t be easy, especially for a trainer as inexperienced and impulsive in battle as I am, but… I’d like to do it, or to at least try. To... prove to myself that I can do it.”

“I see…” the woman faintly smiled as Anima gave her answer. “That’s commendable for an indoorsy type. Or maybe it’s because...” The woman trailed off before looking past her and muttered, “right they come in…” looking back to Anima she asked, “are those your partners?”

“Hm…?” Anima cocked her head to the side at the ‘maybe its because’, before following her gaze at the question that came next, to see… Jacklyn and Anneliese, working together to fight against a tug on their line. “Ah… Yes, I suppose they are,” she nodded, laughing a bit. “They’re a bit of a… Um… Handful, as you can imagine,” she winced slightly. “But so far we’ve been managing alright, I think.”

The woman looked at Jacklyn and said, “my condolences.” Sighing, the woman joked, “but I can barely handle myself on a journey so maybe that too is commendable.”

“It’s… Not easy,” Anima admitted, her tone dropping a little. “We’ve only just begun, and yet I find myself wondering at every junction... If I’ll be able to take care of myself; let alone both of them,” she muttered, hand balling the edge of her sleeve further into a fist as she spoke. “But… They’re good kids. They’ve probably got more of what they’ll need to become champion than I do--” she chuckled a little, her expression softening. “But… I won’t let that stop me from trying. Even if they’re way ahead of me in the actual catching department when it comes to Pokémon-- I’ll work as many times harder as I have to, to keep up, and… Even surpass them, should I have to.”

[LordCowCow 864]

Team BQN

Normandie's surprise tackle had struck true and even managed to land a critical hit on the Malamar. Piercing through its defense boost to deal significant damage to the Psychic Pokemon.

The Malamar seemed more wary now as it jumped backwards a couple times to get some distance from the trio. It's eyes still showed its anger and willingness to fight even if it was taking things more carefully. After a brief moment it suddenly launched into a trio of attacks. One for each of the Pokemon out on the field and each one a different attack.

It sent a Hypnosis at Arthur before turning slightly and attacking Peat with Psywave. As soon as these two attacks were finished it tucked its head down and launched itself forward swiftly in order to Tackle Normandie.

Spoiler

Hypnosis, Topsy Turvy, Psywave, Tackle. Contrary.
+1 Defense +1 Speed. Close to Red health. Potentially final round depending on what you do.

---

Team JAA/AJA/AAJ

Anneliese noticed something odd about Jacklyn's expression. She almost seemed worried. But why could that be? Was something that she said worth worrying about? She thought back to what she had told the girl but couldn't for the life of her figure out what might have been seen as strange.

Still Eleanora, after staring up at them for a bit, started to slowly hop closer to the girl as if to comfort her.

"come on Anneliese, help me pull it up!"

Which was when Jacklyn's attention suddenly shifted and the girl became much more focused on whatever was tugging on her line.

"Oh my! Okay yes, of course!" Anneliese said, completely abandoning her own fishing rod as she jumped up. Knocking Eleanora over in the process as she hurried over to reach out towards Jacklyn's rod. She wasn't sure where to grab so just settled for clasping Jacklyn's hands with her own and helping the girl pull at whatever was fighting against her.

Even with the two of them pulling it took some effort but finally it paid off as, with a splash, something breached the surface of the water. A Goldeen was on the hook and was flailing about rather energetically despite now being in the air.

Anneliese's eyes widened as she let go of the rod and clapped her hands together "My, you really can catch Pokemon like this! Anima, look, look what Jacklyn found!"

She turned over towards their third companion which is when she noticed the woman with her. "Why, you found a new friend I see! How delightful!"

Spoiler

Jacklyn has a Goldeen on the hook! I was informed she doesn't intend to catch anything so I just chose a fish.

Also yeah Keira and Anima can continue talking just at some point Anneliese will call out to them.

 

[yui 589]

The enemy Malamar wasn't looking so great. Probably because of the repeated attacks from three separate pokemon. Now on its last legs, or tentacles as it were, the Malamar was beginning to get a bit more active in the goal of defeating the team that had assembled against it. For Arthur's part, he was not able to avoid the Hypnosis fired at him in the marshy terrain, and Bridget watched him teeter on the brink of falling asleep. This was no condition to have him take battle orders in. She didn't necessarily want to send out the Solosis she'd caught right after beating it up and capturing it out of nowhere... but tough times called for tough measures.

And so, Bridget popped open Arthur's poke ball, calling him out of the fray and into spherical safety. In exchange, she opened the second, newly-occupied pokeball. "Awright, Solosis, no 'ard feelins, please!"

As the very round pokemon emerged from its equally round abode, it glanced around in confusion for a moment, taking in what the situation was. Then it turned and glared at Bridget, clearly unhappy with their first meeting. "I'll get you some nice berries later, as an apology. But right now we need your help, and we need it to the tune of you blastin' the Malamar we've got on our 'ands!"

Although it made a bubbling sound of apparent protest at first, the Solosis seemed to at least be willing to go along with what Bridget was saying for now. It turned, and with another, more distinct bubbling sound, unleashed a psychic blast of Confusion against the Malamar. An attack that did remarkably little damage - practically nothing, really - but it was certainly enough to grab the beast's attention. As it was now moving to tackle the Solosis.

[Cheshire Toon 150]

Peat surged and convulsed from the unseen psychic assault. Nate grit his teeth and his hands balled into fists, a hot and unfamiliar feeling burning in his chest. He loved every Pokémon he had ever met. He thought they all looked awesome. He wanted to know the environment they lived in, the role they played in that environment, the mythology and all the rumors that circulated around their existence. Nate had never met a Pokémon he didn’t like.

Watching his beloved starter seize from a mental attack had him awfully close to not liking this one though.

“Peat! Nate shouted. The Bearble turned his head toward his trainer, tongue hanging out as he struggled for breath. “Hang tough buddy. This is almost over, I promise. Just give it one more good Bubble!” Nate knew that if Bubble slowed again it might be terrible for them, but he had run through the risk assessment already. Malamar was showing signs of pain and they needed to hit it with their strongest attacks, and Peat’s Bubble was far stronger than his Scratch.

Peat sucked in a deep breath and then let out a high-pitched roar in the direction of the Malamar. A loosely packed stream of bubbles flowed from his mouth, moving toward the Malamar at an angle that would intercept it before it hit Normandie.
 

[radio414 932]

Normandie seemed to revel in her victory, however small it may have been. There was a fire in her eyes, even more than there had been when she had leapt from her Pokéball. Quinn recalled Nathaniel’s hesitation when Quinn had introduced Normandie to the group. This had been why, had it not? Normandie had had that same fire when fending off the Rattata trying to steal her hoard of berries. Quinn was starting to understand, it had not just been a survival instinct. Normandie was a Pokémon with something to prove. In a way, Quinn was content to help facilitate that. Their goals were aligned for the most part. Quinn just hoped that would stay after they inevitably ran out of berries.

As Peat’s Bubble attack struck the Malamar, it reacted in much the same way it had the first time, glowing as the bubbles clung to its shell and becoming even more jittery as it darted around evaluating its next move. Quinn almost wanted to say something to Nathaniel about avoiding using that move, but xe did not know the Bearble’s capabilities and would rather assume everybody was doing their best with what they had. In fairness, Normandie was responsible for some of the group’s consternation with that errant Tail Whip.

The Malamar shot forward and slammed into Normandie before Quinn could even warn her of the attack, certainly before Normandie could get out of the way. Quinn calling out her name did nothing to block out the high-pitch squeak she let out on impact. Thankfully, Normandie recovered quickly, pushing off to break contact with the Malamar and ending up near where Quinn and Bridget were standing. Normandie looked at Quinn, and it seemed to the ghost like she gave Quinn a barely perceptible nod. Their understanding of each other had deepened if only a little bit. As the Malamar retreated to the area near the statue, Normandie’s body began to glow.

Quinn did not even need to name the attack. Normandie gave chase to the Malamar, pursuing it with a speed she never showed outside of this specific attack, though Quinn supposed she never needed to. Normandie’s path was a straight line, powering through the wet marshy areas and cleaving through the grasses. When she reached the central area, she leapt into the air, her glow from her Pursuit even brighter as she closed in on her opponent. Even from so far away (though trying to move closer where should), Quinn could see Normandie’s gleaming eyes.

[LordCowCow 864]

Team BQN

By now the Malamar seemed to be thoroughly confused. Not in the sense of the status but just the general mental state. It clearly hadn't expected the Pokemon it had attacked to be hitting it back to back so quickly and it wasn't sure where to turn its attention.

Which is why it tried to temporarily retreat back towards the statue to try and focus on one Pokemon at a time. Unfortunately for it the rat had decided to charge forward and strike it so suddenly that it took considerable damage despite the defense buff. And the Malamar was sent crashing into the statue itself.

Being this close to the statue seemed to bother Normandie somewhat. Even the Dark type couldn't shake off the strange probing feeling in its mind. Malamar didn't seem to have the same problems though as it Tackled Normandie right back and sent the Pokemon flying. Thankfully for them this meant it was shot some distance away from the statue.

However the Malamar then decided that Normandie would be its main target as it tucked itself down again and shot forward to go for a second Tackle.

Spoiler

Hypnosis, Topsy Turvy, Psywave, Tackle. Contrary.
Red Health. Unless people don't attack at all should be able to finish this round. Let me know what you intend to do so we can finish it up cleanly..........and cause otherwise I'd have to write like, one or two lines for BQN instead of just being able to continue on right after.