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

[Skaia 626]

As the youngster had gone off in a huff, Jacklyn said, "yeah and I'll take you on any time you want!" Sticking her tongue out and pulling down her eyelid as he retreated, she then went to standing back upright and normal before looking to Anneliese. As the girl had praised her and called her "not gross," she stammered out a, "huh?" Looking away, seemingly not sure how to take the compliment, she stammered out a, "w-well yeah! I'm the leader so it only makes sense that I'm this good! And uh, not gross..." Clearing her throat, she looked around and said, "where did Anima get off to? Hmm. Alright Anneliese, next stop, let's go find her!" 

With that Jacklyn had made her way through town hunting for their teammate who had reserved them a night at a nearby inn. Once there, and once having gotten her pokemon fully rested, Jacklyn was ready to turn in for the night. However, before she did, she remembered something from earlier. "Oh yeah," sending out her Buneary she said, "you did great today. And guess what, I got something that I think will go great with you."

"Bu?"

"Yep!" Jacklyn reached into her bag and pulled out the bell that she had received from the professor earlier. After a moment of fitting, the girl managed to tie the bell onto Cherry before saying, "alright, that looks perfect! Now we're really ready to take on whatever comes our way." 

"Bu bu!" 

With a smile on her face, Jacklyn called back Cherry into her pokeball, before looking down at Rus's. Something had been up with her starter today, more so than usual, but she couldn't quite place what it was. Deciding not to dwell on it any longer, though, the girl eventually put it away and retired for the night.

---

With the new day having rolled around, now outside Jacklyn took a deep breath in. "Ahhh the smell of the sea," she had repeated from the day before. The girl's nose twitched and her eyes watered as the overwhelmingly pungent smell of fish assailing, yet she kept her smile on as she let out a pained, "smells like adventure."

As the group began to make their way to the fishing competition, she heard Anneliese comment on it and say, "oooh, I didn't know that they came in that color. You think they come in others too?" The young adventurer began to imagine a whole rainbow of Magikarp. Knowing that there was to be some degree of pokemon battling involved, as the contest required catching, and given that Jacklyn believed that fish were typically all water types, she sent out Cherry to be her assistant for the day. 

With her fishing rod in hand, the girl pumped her fist into the air and said, "alright gang, let's fish the heck out of this competition!" Cherry hopped excitedly, before Jacklyn found a spot to sit down at, sending her rod into the sea and began waiting - a very active and impatient kind of waiting - for the fish to come to her hook. 

[radio414 951]

Quinn understood the concept of fishing, but it did take a few tries before he really understood it in practice. It caught on quickly, though Cassiopeia going out with the bobber and poking at it led to more than a few false positives. “I think fish might just be scared of ghosts,” Quinn said after having to reel in Cassiopeia for tangling her arms with the line one too many times. “And I do not just mean you, dear Cassiopeia. Would a hat with such a statement on it tell an untruth?”

She took the hat off and examined it. “Women Love Me. Fish Fear Me,” Quinn read aloud again. It seemed reasonable enough. Bridget was a woman. She had complimented the hat, and several women wandering the docks had had similar reactions while Quinn practiced faer casts, which meant it was the other half of the phrase that was more ominous. Quinn had explained their ethereal nature to the shopkeep, of course. Perhaps that was what had given them the idea -- the knowledge of aquatic Pokémon in the area and their preferences for companions was important information. Perhaps that should have discouraged Quinn from participation, but instead, it invigorated xem. Quinn was already used to changing people’s minds about ghosts, why not a Pokémon’s?

Still, Quinn did recall Cassiopeia back to her Poké Ball until such a time came to make a proper introduction. The rules in place did specify they only had one shot to make a first impression, and Quinn was ready to make it count.

As the dock continued to fill up with contest entrants, the one-catch-per-person rule started to make more and more sense. It was a logistical issue, surely. There was a limited amount of proper dock space for all the hopefuls to get their proper turn. Of course, that was not all there was to absorb and understand. Quinn thought the discussions of what the catches could even be would probably be of interest to Nathaniel, he who insisted on finding every rare Pokémon he could. Would he stubbornly remain at the dock until he had found an elusive Feebas? A Barboach? Would they miss their ferry waiting for him?

What was more of interest to Quinn, meanwhile, was the prize. If it were just for a special berry or one of those Technical Machines, Quinn would have been more interested in the experience of the competition than the actual placement, but some kind of artifact? That could be anything! Quinn did not even want to go check what the thing even was. Even if it was “just a piece of junk,” it was that unknowable nature that gave Quinn the drive to succeed. An adventure should be full of unknowns like that, e thought.

It seemed like the contest was starting soon. Quinn pressed to the end of the dock and stared out into the open water. Somewhere at the other end of this was the Korova Region proper. But one step at a time -- Quinn took aim and cast hir hook into the sea.

[yui 602]

Usually, Bridget went fishing in small ponds, or the occasional river, and even then, it was rare for her to go fishing at all. But she knew the motions, and much like riding a bike, that wasn't something you went around forgetting once you had it figured out. At least, that's what she'd heard about bikes. Was it really that simple?

Hold up, I don't got time to fuss over bikes. Fishing! I think, therefore I am, and I think I'm gonna win this thing, therefore I am! ...not really what it means, but that's the vibe I need!

The power of suggestion! Bridget was a big fan of that. The idea that your reality was shaped by your thoughts. It made sense, right? When her thoughts sucked, everything around her seemed to suck. When her thoughts were great, everything was awesome. And she was going to channel all that thinking power to try and shape her reality into the one where she walked out of here with the grand prize. It was some sort of artifact, or so some people said. Others believed it was just a piece of junk fished out of the water. Bridget wasn't really concerned with if it was actually something special or not, though. The prize could have just been a singular poké ball for all she cared; what she was most interested in was the win itself.

...or rather, the experience of trying to win. The experience just would have been a fair bit sweeter if she actually did win was all.

Once the announcement that the contest was now starting was made, Bridget hurried over to the docks. Here, in the beautiful blue waters, the ticket to her prize awaited! If nothing else, she didn't want for enthusiasm, and it showed in how she opted to go long, casting her bait as far as her strength would allow. Likewise, it showed in how as soon as she saw the signs of a bite, she immediately began pulling and reeling, in a struggle to bring in whatever unknown pokemon had taken the bait. A struggle she was clearly winning, mind, but still a struggle all the same. Once her line was closer to her spot on the dock, her right hand pulled back, to a pocket where she'd stashed away her net ball for this contest. Then, in one fluid motion, she did something she'd seen some anglers in Galar do.

With one fluid, all-or-nothing quick-draw motion, Bridget yanked the fishing rod back with her left arm, putting her whole body behind the yank and forcing her catch to emerge from the surface. At the same time, with her right hand, Bridget un-pocketed the net ball, and threw it directly ahead, sending it hurtling straight into her catch. It wasn't until her net ball was already in the air that she registered the flash of red emerging from the water, and all she could do was watch the events unfold. Her catch was a Magikarp. A pretty small one, at that.

Bridget's lips curled inward at the sight, as the net ball clicked shut, feeling rather embarrassed as the most important lesson of fishing resurfaced in her mind. She was so busy getting herself hyped up for the competition that she'd forgotten the greatest tool and ally of any angler worth their salt. Patience. Shuffling away from the docks, Bridget looked down at her rather disappointing net ball. Well, foolish mistake or no, Bridget did try her best. That was what she wanted most.

[Tiamat's Circus 136]

To be completely honest, Anima had been a bit disappointed in the Smouth Inn. Not in that it was small, or rundown, but that it was so run down that she could hardly find a reason or argument to be had for why they should try and spend time there. Of course, that isn’t to say that she wanted to stay there, but she also wasn’t sure how she felt about staying at the Pokémon Center. In the past, having actual… Well, room to yourself had been hard to come by in the center, and as much as she was beginning to get used to Jacklyn and Anneliese, she was still having her doubts…

But in the end, this time, there had been nothing for it; and so with an opportunity to sleep in a potentially haunted location passed up, Anima found herself rising with the others at the crack of dawn… Or at least, as close to it as any of them really woke up. In truth, as the others got ready for and were excited for the fishing competition, Anima herself was… Honestly looking more like a ghost-type herself, for most of the morning. Barely replying, eyes half-open, and given how she practically hissed when she stepped into the sunlight for the first time that morning…

Well, it was a miracle she had made her way out to the waterfront in the first place, even as Confi toddled around her, chirruping loudly and proudly. For that reason, then, perhaps, she hadn’t even processed the fishing competition… At all, even as she sat down, half awake, and flicked her rod out into the water. Her body seemed to mostly be working on auto-pilot as she listened and nodded to the others as well, as if a particularly strong gust or tug on her rod might pull her under, even as she spoke.

“Y-Yeah… Fish… Th’heckouttait…” 

[LordCowCow 888]

Team JAA/AJA/AAJ

Anneliese was smiling wide as she sat herself down at the edge of the dock, not caring about the wetness of it nor the water splashing right under her. Eleanora, who was standing nearby, seemed more worried about it than the girl and looked ready to grab her with her beak and pull her back every time that the girl leaned forward excitedly to point out what other people were doing. "Goodness, that's quite the large Magikarp! Do you think it's the head of the family? Oh, my, what is that Pokemon? It...oh, no, that's just some seaweed....Goodness, that Wingull is trying to take that man's fishing rod."

It wasn't until Eleanora let out a loud chirp that Anneliese realized that something had been tugging at the rod. She scrambled to her feet and gave the rod a sharp yank and something came out of the water with a large splash. At first Anneliese didn't notice what it was due to the column of water that came with it but then she noticed it on the edge. It was a Shellder. And, while hard to tell, she was almost certain that it was the same Shellder from the other day. "Oh my, we meet again! Oh, right, come Eleanora let us catch it properly this time, use, um, Leer!"

The bird gave the shell the stink eye which, while lowering its defenses, seemed to frighten the Pokemon as well and it began to try and jump back into the water. "Oh no, hurry Eleanora, stop it, use Peck!" The bird flew above the Shellder and made its way towards its front, to stop its escape, before darting forward and hitting it between the eyes with a sharp Peck attack.

The Shellder rolled end over end and then launched a Water Gun at Eleanora. The force of it nearly knocking the bird into the water.

Seemingly annoyed at this Eleanora went in for another Peck without orders. The emotion driven attack was dodged as the Shellder began hopping as fast as it could towards the water again.

"Oh my what do I do...if it escapes again...but if the ball breaks...Eleanora once more, Peck from above!"

This time the Rookidee flew above the Shellder where it couldn't see and dove down to deliver a Peck straight to the shell itself. The attack glanced right off but it stopped the Shellder in its tracks.

For a moment. And then it was on the retreat once more and was just about to jump into the water when Anneliese ran forward, ball in her outstretched hand, and dove at the Pokemon. She landed hard but managed to touch the ball to the back of the Shellder right as it was mid-jump. After a few tense shakes the Pokemon was caught and Anneliese let out a cheer. "Another friend, what a wonderful day!"

---

Team BQN

Bridget would find that she was among the first to have finished their catching. In fact she may have been the very first. As she looked around she'd see plenty of people of various level of patience waiting and waiting. The few that had already finished looked about as embarrassed about it as she had and when they made eye contact they'd give awkward smiles of comradery at their shared experience.

Of all the fishers Nate seemed to be the most focused. Perhaps because he had a specific goal in mind but he hadn't said much of anything up to this point.

Despite that there were rules against disturbing or interrupting the others it seemed that those who had already finished either gathered together or moved over to where their friends were and quietly cheered them on.

---

OOC for all

Spoiler

Debated doing a bit more but decided that wouldn't be necessary. This round I'd like for people to get their catches in so that my next post can be the "prize awarding" part and so on. Feel free to interact with others though as well if you'd like. And if there's anything else you want to do just ask.

 

[Skaia 626]

"Hmmmm....hmmmmm...hm?" The adventurous girl mumbled to herself as she attempted to catch a fish, of course the biggest fish, that she could get to win the competition. However, she was met with a problem. The same problem that she had had when she was fishing a day before. This was that nothing was biting on her line, and no matter how much she moved her fishing rod around or tried to manifest the idea of a fish being caught by her, it did not seem to work. If anything she was finding herself not only repelling the fish but the other fishers as well. It had seemed that no one had wanted to fish near a girl who was so animated about moving her line. This hardly bothered Jacklyn, however, or at the very it bothered her much less than her inability to catch a fish. 

Giving a resigned sigh the girl sat down and put her fishing rod down next to her, line still cast in the water. The girl looked to her pokemon companion and said, "what do you think I'm doing wrong here Cherry? You're supposed to catch the fish right? But how am I supposed to do that if they get on the line in the first place?" The Buneary had no idea how to fish and thus had no words of advice for her trainer, only confusion. "Maybe I could dive into the water and catch them with my hands? But I don't think I could beat a water type in water, well not yet at least I'm sure if I trained enough in swimming it'd be no problem." The girl felt the need to assure her audience, which was the easily impressed one, of her capability. "But it's also probably against the rules. Oh, what if I just put a pokeball on the fishing rod? Then maybe you think - " 

As she was coming with some kind of hair brained scheme, Jacklyn realized she had a bite on her line as her fishing rod was starting to slide off the dock. Hastily grabbing it, the girl quickly sprung to her feet and started pulling on the line as she attempted to hoist it out of the sea. With one great yank, she managed to pull a blue blob out from the water and onto the dock, which revealed itself to be a helplessly splashing Finneon. "Alright Cherry, let's get to work!" 

The Buneary leaped into action, swiftly delivering a kick into the wing fish pokemon and knocking it back while it was still trying to get its bearings. Eventually managing to flip itself upright onto the dock, the shocked water type immediately let out a stream of water from its mouth in an attempt to dissuade its attacker. However, neither Jacklyn nor Cherry relented as Jacklyn called out, "alright hop up and go for another Pound Cherry!" And as the Buneary complied, striking the pokemon yet again the girl said, "and here we go!" Sending out the ball, the Finneon was envoloped in its light before being placed in the ball proper. And with three shakes it was successfully caught. "Woohoo! Way to go Cherry!" Picking the ball up the girl said, "I don't know if it was particularly big but I don't think I've ever seen one of these before, so I think we're sure to win!" 

[Tiamat's Circus 136]

When the competition began, one might have thunk that the girl from the fishing town would have forced herself awake, to stand up and ready, so that she might have more of a chance at actually winning the competition. They might have thought she would have had her Net Ball ready, rather than simply hanging from a strap around her wrist, and that she would have narrowed her eyes, waiting for the smallest of ripples. They might have even thought that she’d have diligently had her Pokemon at the ready, ready to use Astonish, to try and catch a Fish off guard as it tried to steal her bait…

And they would have all been wrong, every single one of them.

Yes, as everyone set to fishing, Anima seemed only to grow drowsier, even as her grip on her fishing rod tightened ever-so-slightly, wedging itself between her clasped fingers. It was almost as if the atmosphere of the fishing tournament was something akin to a home, of sorts, for her, prompting her to get even more comfortable, as she continued to almost doze. Were she left undisturbed, even Confi’s chirrups would fail to stir her, and instead, she’d have simply sat at the dock’s edge, feet lazily kicking back and forth, as her Rod’s bob continued to bob up and down across the waters… Even as others caught various types of Water Pokémon, Anima’s fishing post seemed to almost be serene in it’s… Almost eerie silence, as her eyelids seemed to grow heavier, and heavier…

And as they began to close, those around her would have sworn they saw a small parting of waves, and blue near her fishing rod’s bob, as a light-blue crown seemed to slowly, but surely, raise from the water. Yes, and as it rose, it was followed by a small, blue head, with beady red eyes which stared at Anima as a… Rather strange creature, resembling a jellyfish, continued to rise from the waters. The Pokémon's limbs swayed back and forth on the wind, as if the Pokémon was hanging by the head, as it followed the line towards Anima… And finally began to reach its blue arms towards her, coming to gently grasp at her hands and arms, tentacle-like hands wrapping around as it came to begin to lightly tug, to pull on her hand--

And as her eyes flickered open, with the smallest of pricks upon her left hand, and she was pulled forwards. Her stomach turned as she grit her teeth, as she was pulled into the water, and in an instant, pulled under by the force of the ghostly-Pokémon, as something stabbed into both her left hand and her left leg. She struggled to pull her hand away, arm surging as she fought beneath the water to get up, and yet… She already felt her hand slowing to respond, and her arm would be soon to follow. For a second, Anima’s heart seemed to freeze as she stared beneath the water, into the red eyes of the creature which had pulled her from the dock… Only to have hope re-enter the back of her mind, as a wailing chirrup echoed out, muffled by the waves as she threw her head up, to see Confi paddling down towards her. In a quick fashion, she threw her right arm upwards with all her might, wrapping around Confi-- and began to weakly kick her legs, struggling against the growing numbness in her left arm as it continued to travel through her system--

And her mind continued to race, she squinted as she glanced back down at the water-type which gave pursuit, racking her brain for… Something, anything, until something in the back of her mind clicked. Pieces of one of the papers she had read, coming to mind.

Frillish.

A Curious, Mischievous Ghost Type Pokémon that Dwells Deep Within the Ocean. Those who are stung by this Pokémon's hidden barbs are said to be paralyzed, and once drug beneath the waves, are never seen again.

As they broke through the surface of the waves, Anima did her best to force her head above water for as long as she could, arm still draped over Confi, as the Pokémon paddled over towards the dock. “Th..anks…!” Anima managed to get out through gasping breaths as she hooked her arm, now mostly limp, around one of the wooden support-pillars which held the dock steady… As she then turned her gaze to sweep across the water’s surface.

This, of course, has naturally led to the spreading of similar rumors, and other such sayings; many of which purport their hunting methods to be cruel, and evil by nature. I however, would disagree, as it must be acknowledged as a Scholar, that to impose a moralistic view of things - that they are evil simply for how they hunt, or that they truly understand the cruelty they invoke - is to anthropomorphize the Pokemon’s psyche. While their capacity for intelligence must be acknowledged, of course, it must also be understood that their behaviors differ from those of a human’s, and to apply our laws and nature to them is, of course, unnatural in every sense of the word. A good example of this can be found in the works of…

A shallow breath escaped Anima’s throat, as she spotted those red eyes, lurking beneath the waves. Staring at her, but also at Confi, as the Pokemon tread water in front of her, defensively pacing in front of the trainer. If the Frillish were hunting, they would be looking for any second to dart around Confi - using their higher speed - so as to drag her down with it into the depths below, where she would be helpless to escape this time. Instead, however, the Pokemon was just… Watching her. If Confi had scared them off, of course, they would have left as well, which meant… They had an objective, of some sort.

Of course, of all Ghost-Type Pokémon, it can be said that Frillish are among the more interesting when it comes to studying their behavior, for as Pokémon, Frillish are among the more intelligent of sea-faring creatures. Many scholars have put forth various theories, of course; Professor Ginkgo once put forwards that, given they were first discovered within the ruins of an undersea castle, that the residents of that land may have become the first Frillish. This was backed up by their seemingly faux-regal demeanors, and rather… Opinionated natures, however, many scholars have disagreed with this notion, as such idiosyncrasies are found within most Ghost Type Pokémon. 

Anima’s breathing slowed then, for a moment, as she felt the paralyzing toxin cease to spread-- Even if she had no more control of her left arm and leg than she did moments before. She was lucky to still be conscious, and had she been connected to that creature any longer, she knew very well that she wouldn’t be. Still, as she stared at the creature, swaying back and forth, she couldn’t help but… Feel a little bad for him.

Frillish, however, are somewhat unique as far as even Ghost Type Pokémon go, as they often-times live within their dens as a sort of ‘court’. It has been recorded by many autonomous vehicles that Frillish tend to engage in social obligations with those within the court, all serving to rule over those Pokémon that live within their domain, as minor rulers. They are then, thought to be beholden to that of the Jellicent. So it is that in higher waters, for one to encounter a Frillish, it is likely that they have been - for one reason or another - cast out from their den, and are seeking to create one of their own. For that matter, they require subjects, for to rule over nothing is the loneliest a ruler could be. This would correlate with the reports of Frillish finding people and Pokémon alike, who appear to be dead or dying, with some scholars even supposing that they are dragging them to their dens, so as to bring them to their ‘kingdom’, where they may yet thrive in unlife.

…And so, she slowed her breathing again, and lowered her voice. “...Confi… Come to my side…” she murmured, barely audible as she let her head hang low. He was… Lonely, that much was clear to her, and she… Wanted to help him, even if it meant dragging him upon a tumultuous journey, seeking other misfits.

…And like any Pokémon, when discussing their motives, it is still important to remember that they cannot be held to the same standards as a human being. They are under no obligation to treat you nicely, and in the case of a Frillish, they see your state as a living being as an illness to which they know the cure, and in some regions, it is said that to be caught by their paralyzing venom is to be caught by the hands of death itself.

It was only as Confi stirred lightly underneath her limp arm, that she could tell the Frillish had taken the bait. Anima’s heart thundered in her chest as she let the gentle rock of the waves, and the general hustle and bustle of the docks wash over her as she stayed tangled against the wooden support beam, eyes half closed… And it was only as a gentle, flash of blue came to float just in front of her, red eyes staring into hers, that anything changed. “...Astonish!” her voice came out louder than she intended, as she threw her eyes open, and pulled away from the dock; Confi surged from her side, letting out a piercing, singular wail as a dark aura overtook the Pokemon, and in an instant, as Anima began to fall beneath the waters, she watched the Frillish freeze in fright--

Should one find themselves in the water with a Frillish, worry not. Royalty as they act to be, they’re not used to having others resist them, or staunchly refuse and surprise them. As such, it is well known that they are easiest to catch when flinching from fright! This has also caused them to garnered a reputation among trainers as an opinionated, and mischievous Pokémon most likely to attack when someone is asleep, or has their back turned, as they’ll generally use their coloration to blend in with the water, before striking to drag their prey down to join their court.

And in a singular, concerted motion, she hurled the Net ball from her right hand, directly into the Frillish. A bright red beam cascaded beneath the docks, then, as she continued to sink, heartbeat louder than anything else in her ears as she watched that Ball shake once… Then twice… And then a third, and final time, before growing still; as it came to rest gently atop the waves; the netting which covered the top of the ball automatically began to reel back into the loop around her wrist… As Confi, who had slipped from her sight, began to gently nudge her upwards, towards the surface again. It was only then, as she broke water, gasping for air again, and as she hooked leg around the wooden support beam, that she finally pulled the netball fully into her hand--

And wondered whether it still counted as ‘catching’ a fish, if she had been caught by the ‘fish’ first.

[radio414 951]

Quinn was not discouraged by the squealing sounds of celebration all around them, everyone else reeling in a fish, spending their Net Ball, and then retreating to the middle of the dock to either celebrate or commiserate depending on their result. Even after the third or fourth cast came back empty (two of those even coming up sans bait), Quinn still determinedly went through her progression of checking the rod, then checking his surroundings, then flicking the hook as fae had been shown, waiting for hir opportunity.

As excited as Quinn was for the spirit of the competition, however, and for crossing off another milestone on its Pokémon journey, Quinn had a small but growing feeling gnawing away at them: Fishing was kind of boring, was it not? Quinn could taste the excitement potential all around xem. E could visualize how xe might react if a hapless Pokémon took the bait. But without a payoff for all that anticipation, Quinn’s mind started to wander. Staring at the water reminded Quinn of the journey ahead. There was yet another boat trip before Quinn and zir companions reached the Korova Region proper. There were so many people to meet! Gymnasium battles to be had! And the alternative, in this very moment, was standing completely still and reeling in empty hooks.

It was entirely possible, Quinn thought, that all the good Pokémon had been taken by this point. Surely there were not that many Pokémon crowding the harbor just waiting to be caught. Some of them would realize what was going on. Pokémon were smart enough for that. But just as the thought formed in Quinn’s head, the bobber at the end of the line dove beneath the surface of the water, and, one quick tug later, Quinn was in a fight.

Quinn whooped. She could not help it! Quinn leaned back, bracing one foot against one of the dock posts as he struggled with the rod. The line darted back and forth across the water, but with Quinn’s slow, methodical winding of the reel, it was also getting closer. When it was close enough, Quinn could even see a shadow forming just under the surface of the water. The fish was huge! It had to be at least two Starly long!

One final yank, and there it was, the telltale horn of a Goldeen peeking over the water. “Pisces!” Quinn cried out, having already named the thing before even engaging it in battle. Engage Quinn did, though. Normandie leapt out of her PokéBall and off of the dock, slamming into the Goldeen with a ferocious Tackle, before jumping back off of the Goldeen’s head to land back on the dock, snarling all the while. The Goldeen responded by giving into the pull from Quinn’s rod and flying into the air, maneuvering itself with its fins and tail to nail Normandie right back with its horn, almost like a Peck.

That got Normandie even more upset, spinning around and slapping the Goldeen with her tail. Regardless of whether it was intentional or an accident from flopping around on the deck, the Goldeen ended up doing the same to Normandie! Normandie yelped as the impact sent her back a ways, but she would not be denied her prey that easily. Quinn understood exactly what was going to happen next. Xe nodded to the Ratffian, and Normandie started to glow purple. The next time the Goldeen flopped into the air, a desperate attempt to return to the water, Quinn loosened the line slightly, and with a “Now!” allowed Normandie to charge in with a Pursuit.

Normandie made impact just as Quinn pulled back on the rod one more time, bringing the Goldeen right into the attack. Quinn’s Net Ball was in their hand as fast as ey could manage, and out of it again just as quickly, enveloping the Goldeen in light and settling on the dock.

“One… Two…” The countdown was no less tense the second time, but the result was thankfully also the same. “Yes!” Quinn rushed forward and picked up the Net Ball, holding it up above her head, a pose the young ghost held even as he retreated from the dock to join the other triumphant fishers.

Despite the individual victory, though, Quinn hoped both Bridget and Nathaniel had gotten just as lucky, and Quinn started to look for them amongst the crowd.

[yui 602]

Well, at least she wasn't the only one who totally blew it.

The sentiment made her feel a bit better, but it didn't change the fact that she rather embarrassingly threw away her one shot in style. But surely it at least looked cool, right!? Bridget had seen an expert angler do that move once in Galar, where he pulled the line out then immediately threw a net ball in the same fluid motion. Next thing she knew, she was caught up in the moment, trying the same thing herself, getting a rather shit catch for her troubles. Well, it was fun, at least. And, for a bit of a generous definition, Bridget did try her best. She was most certainly going to just release this Magikarp back into the wild once her catch had been judged. She'd seen how the patience of raising one of these otherwise-useless fish could be rewarding to a patient trainer, but... if she was being perfectly frank, that wasn't a commitment Bridget was willing to put up with, no matter the payoff.

Plus, she didn't want to catch too many new pokemon too fast. Arthur would get way too jealous, and she now had her Solosis to see to as well. Once she was comfortable with two, she could move up to three.

Bridget watched from the sidelines, trying to keep track of every competitor and their catches. It didn't take long to see people who had still caught just Magikarps, but much nicer specimens than the runt she'd fished up. Oh yeah, she was totally not winning this. As the people stepped away from the water, all manner of expressions on their many faces, Bridget started looking for her new traveling buddies. The human ones, to be a bit more specific. Her vigilance eventually paid off, as she spotted a small, newly-familiar figure moving in her general direction, with the big hat she'd seen it wearing earlier.

"Heyyy!"

Bridget tried her best to wave Quinn down, beckoning her over to her side. She really wanted to see what he caught, but there would be time for that in a bit.

"So, catch anyfin' good? Just tell, don't show; wouldn't want your catch floppin' back into the water, would we?"

[Cheshire Toon 154]

The hot water had washed away the worst of the funk Nate had been stuck in. The tension had melted from his muscles like wax under a flame, leaving him with the fresh feeling that only a shower and a change of clothes could bring. He had made the rare decision to leave his beanie at the Pokémon Center. Now he could—for what felt like the first time since he had stepped foot in the Korova region—feel the salty breeze tousling his still damp hair, and he smiled, breathing in the scent of the sea as deeply as he could. “Wooh! Smells like a good day to be fishing!” he declared.

Nate laced his fingers together behind his head and followed Bridget through the crowd. She seemed to know where she was going, and he was busy day-dreaming. 

Today would be the day; he was going to add a second member to his team.

“Nice outfit!” Nate grinned at Quinn, bringing his hands down to pat his own chest. He had changed into a red multi-pocket fisherman vest, a white undershirt, and loose-fitting black cargo shorts in preparation for the competition. “I brought my own! Fishing was one of the few things my Pops and I agreed about, so he got me this whole outfit for my last birthday. Look at this!” He pulled open the vest to reveal a long, thin interior pocket. “This is where the collapsible Good Rod goes! Well,” Nate laughed. “This is where it would go if I still had it! I tried to use it to train with Peat the first night on the boat, and we totally broke it.” He smiled proudly. “He snapped it clean in half. It was awesome!” 

Nate turned to Bridget. “Figure it kinda goes without saying after all that, but I’ve been fishing a bunch. It isn’t really that hard,” he said. “We won’t have the rods rated for the really big stuff, I checked, so any of the stuff we catch will be pretty low level. Any strong Pokémon would snap our line pretty quick.” 

He quickly ran through the basics of fishing for the two. His explanation was pretty great in his opinion; in reality it included a lot of “bam!” and “pow!” and one “and if they really give you trouble, Dad jumped into the ocean and wrestled them himself a few times!” which was said like it was the most normal thing in the world. Basically, to anyone who didn’t already know what they were doing, Nate was exactly zero help in learning how to fish. 

“Okay, I might not be cut out for teaching this,” Nate said after a minute. “How about we just go off and all get some practice, like Bridget said? That was basically how I learned anyway.”

Nate wandered off and proceeded to not cast his pole a single time after that. He instead spent his time in conversation with anyone who looked local; he quizzed them on all the kinds of Pokémon that lived in the area and could be caught by the quality of rod they were using. Magikarp, Goldeen, Poliwag, a few Staryu, some kid claimed to have seen a Relicanth but followed it up with the assertion that it was “fifty feet long and could fwy!” so Nate added a few question marks beside that one on his notepad. 

Only one story really caught his interest. A local fisherman reported a small, purple creature that had been impossible to hook thus far. Too quick and too clever. Nate underlined and circled that one.

He had found his goal. 

He walked to the spot that he had been told the purple flash had been spotted more often and picked up his fishing rod. The competition was about to start. Nate could feel his heart speeding up; it wasn’t very useful in something like fishing, but he lived for competition.

He grabbed Peat’s ball off his belt and released the bear cub. “Hey bud. Wanna make a new friend today?” He crouched down so that Peat was able to press his cold, wet nose into his neck. 

The sea bear prodded into him excitedly. Nate smiled. “Thought so. Wanna help me out then? All I need you to do is swim on down to the bottom and hide nearby where this bait lands. Don’t even think about it bud,” he pushed Peat’s nose away from the bait. “I’ll feed you double treats tonight after this. For now, all I need you to do is hide nearby and chase off anything that isn’t really fast and purple. Can you do that?”

Peat slapped his flippers against the dock and rumbled in his cute little way. Somewhere behind him, a whistle blew, indicating the contest had started. A dozen lines hit the water at once with a splash. 

Nate scratched the bear cub behind the ear. “Great. Lets get to it.”

He casually cast his rod into the water. Peat dove in after it, his entrance to the water surprisingly graceful for how clumsy he was on land. Nate sat down on the edge of the dock and made himself comfortable. It was a game of patience. He pulled one leg close to his chest, propping his elbow on it, and supporting his head with the braced hand. He left the other leg dangling off the dock and kicking a few inches above the water. The fishing rod was gripped loosely in his other hand. 

People reeled in all kinds of Pokémon around him. Nate hummed a cartoon theme song to himself. A few times there was a commotion below the water, and then Peat would surface and rumble up at Nate, and Nate would give him a thumbs-up and a smile. 

The competition passed by quickly. The time limit was drawing near. There was no one left fishing in his area of the dock. Nate continued to hum to himself. He could have been mistaken for dozing off. Anyone who thought so would be disproven a moment later.

The fishing line in his rod twitched. Once. Twice. Nate subtly adjusted his grip—and the fishing pole was suddenly bent in half! Nate was on his feet in a flash and yanked it back hard with one hand. Whatever was on the line fought and dove for the area beneath the dock, trying to snare the line around the wooden posts and force it to break.

It was clever. Unfortunately, Peat was hiding there, and was quick to give chase. The Pokémon was forced to lose momentum as it tried to halt course and turn around. 

Nate reeled as quick as he could with one hand and, through sheer brute strength that belied his short height, swung the pole back hard enough that the Pokémon was torn completely from the water. It broke the surface and Nate felt a thrill as he saw bright purple scales a split second before he threw the Net Ball. 

The Pokémon vanished in a flash of light before Nate could even make out what it was. It fell into the water and floated on the surface, rocking once, twice, three times. It clicked.

Nate jumped up and down and whooped. Peat surfaced and nosed the ball across the water, lifting it onto the dock with his flippers and then tackling his trainer to the ground to lick at his face.

“That’s right, bud! We did it!” Nate laughed. He scratched his starter vigorously under the chin. “All thanks to you. You did so good! So many treats for you tonight, bud!”
 

Edited December 30, 2024 by Cheshire Toon

[LordCowCow 888]

Team JAA/AJA/AAJ

Ding Ding Ding Dong

Dong Dong Ding Ding

And so the fishing competition for the day was over and the fishermen and fisherwomen and fisherpeople were asked to return to the shack to have their catches evaluated. The old man from before was there as was the owner of the shack, a middle-aged woman with a sharp gaze but a kind smile.

Anneliese and her two companions could stand proud. While they didn't get the best prizes possible they still all caught something that was a bit more rare than what the majority caught.

"A Shellder eh? They can be tough to pull up, you're stronger than you look."

"It's a bit on the small size though, even still I believe that's worth this prize."

And so Anneliese was awarded with two Great Balls for her effort. "Goodness, I do not believe I need two of them though. Just one would do..." And so the girl approached her companions. "Would either of you like one, after all I would only want to catch one new friend in one of them." She gave Jacklyn a knowing smile, proud of the knowledge that has stuck with her all this time.

"Finneon, ah that brings me back to my days in Sinnoh. They can be surprisingly feisty you know, but they're known to grab onto the same hook twice as well."

"Feisty, yes, that's true....in fact I see this one is trying to sneak away as we speak." For her efforts Jacklyn was awarded with 6 Lum Berries.

"Oh what have we here....I did not even know that Frillish were in these waters! My, what a treat!"

"Seems to be a strong contender indeed, I saw your methods, rather strange rather strange indeed. Still, a  very nice catch." And so Anima was granted one of the higher prizes, a Dusk Stone.

Anneliese beamed at the two of them. "My goodness, I did not think that there were so many Pokemon in the water! I believe I've seen Finneon before but I have no idea what that is, Anima! Are these new friends?"

Spoiler

With that the fishing competition is over. I sorta just by instinct picked out prizes I have no idea how fitting they are. And if would prefer something else of similar value let me know.

And again remember if you're keeping the Pokemon to update the team doc, they're level 6.

Speaking of, Eleanora and Cherry have grown a level!

---

Team BQN

Ding Ding Ding Dong

Dong Dong Ding BANG

Just as the fishing competition was winding down a loud crashing noise could be heard coming from the shack, along with a small explosion. Smoke poured from the side of the wall opposite the water. Some people began to run off immediately while others inched closer to take a look.

Coming out of the the side of the now broken wall were a man and woman. The man resembled the grunt that they had encountered who had tried to steal a Pokemon egg. The woman wore similar clothes but had short red hair instead of the long of her companion.

They both were carrying large sacks over their shoulders. And behind them, carrying a notably much smaller bag, was Alicia. When she saw that they had an audience she scoffed and tossed her hair. "I suppose it's just in my nature to make a scene, yes? Very well then there's no reason to hide is there? Hello, peons! We are Team Phoenix, and we're going to change the world! Let's just call this a donation to the cause!"

"Admin Alicia, I think some of em want to try and stop us, we were supposed to get out quick weren't we?"

"Hmph, no matter let us just dispose of anyone foolish enough to get in our way and then get back to the rest after. It's not like a dinky smelly town like this has any trainers that can match me."

Battle! Team Phoenix

Spoiler

Gasp, Team Phoenix is trying to steal the prizes, and they're led by Alicia!

So yeah very obviously intention here is to battle. You can decide among yourselves who will take on the admin and who the grunts. Since this is basically a "boss fight" I'll probably want to give a bit more input than other battles but I think can trust you to not need 100% play by play necessarily.

 

[Cheshire Toon 154]

Nate swiftly pushed Peat aside and launched to his feet. “What was that? Is everyone alright?” he asked loudly, head whipping from side-to-side. People were starting to panic and push away from whatever had caused the commotion.

Peat plodded forward to stand protectively in front of him. Nate ran forward and scooped him up under one arm, which the Bearble did not appreciate, if the rumbling was anything to go by. “Sorry bud! No time to let you walk right now! I’ll put you down at the first sign of danger, but we have to find Quinn and Bridget!” Peat stopped struggling against him after that. 

Nate sprinted in the direction that everyone else was fleeing from.

It was hard to pick either of his friends out of the panicked crowd. Much easier to identify was the source of the attack; the guy who had stolen Arthur, some chick he didn’t know, and the girl who had thought he was a bodyguard. The three of them stood proudly in the smoking rubble of what used to be a wall.

Nate set Peat on the ground and stepped forward. His fist was clenched so tight that it drained the blood from his knuckles, and his starter seemed to feed off his anger, hackles rising and teeth flashing. “What are you doing here? Trying to steal my friend’s Pokémon wasn’t enough?” He lifted his chin, his eyes flashing. “Or do you wanna try again? Because I promise I’ll do a lot more than tackle you this time if so.” He was outnumbered 3-to-1; probably worse once Pokémon came into play. That fact did nothing to tame his defiance. 

His eyes flicked toward Alicia. “Aren’t you the girl who thought I was a bodyguard?” His face fell. “I was excited to have a rival. Someone else shooting for the championship spot. It’s too bad.” His eyes sharpened into a glare. “No champion-level trainer ever had to resort to hurting other people to get what they want.”

Peat rushed in front of him. Nate swelled with pride. His Pokémon was just like him. “Go ahead and send out your Pokémon so I can send you packing.” 

His focus landed on the bags they all had slung across their shoulders. “And put those bags down. You aren’t leaving with whatever you’re trying to steal.”

The lady he didn’t recognize reached for a ball on her belt. Nate had half a mind to bounce an empty PokéBall off her head before she could release her first Pokémon. A Zubat materialized in a beam of red light in front of her. “What is with you lowlives and giving Zubat a bad name? They’re good Pokémon y’know, but all you lunatics catch them and make them help you break the law, so now everyone thinks they must be evil too.” 

“You talk too much kid!” the Phoenix grunt yelled. “Admin Alicia already gave me the go ahead to dispose of you, so the training wheels are off! Zubat, use Absorb!”

The Zubat flapped its wings desperately and its fangs glowed with energy. A small bit of light was siphoned out of Peat, but the bear cub barely even flinched.

Nate snorted. “Type effectiveness isn’t everything. Absorb isn’t a strong move and the Zubat line doesn’t use it well. Peat, use Bubble!” 

Peat opened his mouth like he was going to roar. A stream of soft bubbles flew out instead, pelting the Zubat and popping on contact. They left tiny welts wherever they hit. A thin, sticky residue clung to its wings, clearly making it harder for it to fly.

The Phoenix grunt gasped. “Lucky shot kid! Zubat, use Supersonic!”

Nate knew that there was no real way to dodge a sound-based attack. He just had to hope that Peat was able to tough the confusion out. “Peat, push through it and use Scratch!” The wave of sonic energy clearly hit Peat judging by the way his ears jerked and his eyes lost focus, but he managed to leap forward and smack the struggling Zubat out of the air with a meaty smack of his flipper. 

“Good job bud!” Nate glared past the grunt at Alicia. “Not so easy to dispose of a real future champ, is it?”
 

[Skaia 626]

Jacklyn was a bit conflicted about the way the competition played out. Naturally, she had wanted to score the best prize she could from the fishing contest and be declared its undisputed winner. It would've also been fine if someone of her team also had, but she was bias towards wanting all of the glory for herself. To add to that, she had one six berries of which she wasn't actually familiar with what they did and also couldn't help but wonder what they tasted like but supposed that that was an adventure left better suited for another time. Though the more she thought about it, the more she had realized that she had caught something pretty unique and though it wasn't first place worthy that itself was a good enough prize right? "The rewards is the friends we made along the way or something," Jacklyn muttered a particularly common adventuring maxim to herself, one that she wasn't particularly sure how much she believed but figured that trying to convince herself of it would help alleviate the sting of losing.

Contrary to this sentiment as well, the girl looked at the Fineon, who had tried to make his great escape during the judging. Jacklyn didn't feel any strong attachment to the pokemon and it certainly didn't seem to have any towards her, so going with the flow of her current mood the girl said, "alright, thanks for your help in getting the berries. But you can go back now." The girl thought about it again, realizing that she was releasing something into the wild that she had caught, meaning that she had a comrade in arms that she had done a competition with somewhere out in the wild now. That in of itself  was something she could find joy in and perhaps something to look forward to more of on the journey. Releasing the Fineon the girl said, "see you on the water!" With a smiling wave she watched it swim away. 

Looking over to Anneliese who had gotten a prize that she found herself envious of as well, the girl's eyes lit up as she had offered the Great Ball to her. After all, as things were Jacklyn only had 9 pokeballs to her name presently and only the money she had one from her two trainer battles thus far, and if she were to follow her own adventuring advice then she'd need to get something else soon. Excitedly, the girl reached out to grab it saying, "thanks a bunch Anneliese, I'll definitely - !" The girl paused for a moment as she thought about her previous encounter catching a pokemon. Looking at Anneliese and her earnest expression she wanted to make sure that she didn't suffer the same fate as her. As such moving her hand back she cleared her throat. "That is, ahem, to say uh, sometimes pokeballs break when you try to catch something, so it's uh always good to have a spare on hand! If you catch something with the first I'll definitely take it though! And good win too!" 

As the talk moved to their respective water types, Jacklyn looked over to Anima and her catch. "Oh, I've seen that before. Well, not in person. But I've heard some stories like, sometimes if you go to the beach at night there'll be these glowing patches of blue or pink in the water, and if you go near them then they take you to their underwater kingdom! And uh...I can't remember if they make you a servant or royalty...maybe the color of the water has something to do with it? Well, it sounds like a super cool place to explore anyway." Jacklyn's excitement and belief of this tale were very obvious, though she ended her story by adding, "but I only ever explored sewers so I never got test it." 

[Tiamat's Circus 136]

As the bell had rung, Anima was at least a little happy that she had been given a little time for sensation to return to her limbs. She was lucky the Frillish was apparently young, she decided, as that meant the poison wasn’t as strong as it could have been. If it had been much older, or even on the verge of becoming a Jellicent, it was very likely that her entire body would have gone numb; or that, at the very least, she would have been lacking sensation in her arms and legs still, rather than drying off with a towel she had packed in her backpack. In fact, since she had dried herself mostly off, and draped the towel over her back…

She had cradled the ball in her hands, staring at it idly, as Confi toddled around her. The ringing bell hadn’t changed that fact; for even if she showed them her catch… She was determined to hold onto it, and keep it. An encounter with a Pokémon like that was rare enough in these parts, and she… Couldn’t help, still, but feel a bit bad for the Pokémon. As she understood it, for a Frillish to be cast out to make their own kingdom, was tantamount to being thrown away from their family, and that… Had to hurt, one way or another.

So it was, that she was barely paying attention as they examined her catch, instead, her attention almost entirely drawn to the Pokémon itself as he seemed to pose for them. Twirling in the air, the Jellyfish-like Pokémon let his ‘leg’ like tendrils flutter about not unlike a dress, or a robe as he showed himself off, clearly enjoying the attention he was getting - and even seeming to perk up when they called him rare. A small smile came to Anima’s face as she chuckled, only to pause as she was then… Given a Dusk Stone?!

“I… Th… Thank you so much!” she spat out, after a moment; with enough force that her Frillish seemed to startle-mid twirl, tumbling down onto the table, as she stared down at the stone. The Dusk Stone, as it was, had a connection to many ghost-type Pokémon, and had been studied by many researchers who had shown interest in the typing. She felt as if she needed to thank them more, somehow, and yet… Before she knew it, she was being shuffled off so the next person’s catch could be evaluated. 

Her smile, only grew, as the Frillish flew through the air to come up in front of her, crossing his arms, as if to get in her way. He let out a loud chirrup, not dissimilar to that of Confi’s, but with an almost annoyed tone… And she laughed a little, as she gently lowered a hand to his head, and began to scratch around the side of his cheek. “Sorry, sorry! I didn’t mean to almost leave you behind, they were just moving me on already,” she laughed a little, seeming a bit more in her element as she interacted with the Pokémon than she did with people. “Still… You’re rather special, you know? I’m going to have to figure out what to call y-”

"My goodness, I did not think that there were so many Pokémon in the water! I believe I've seen Finneon before but I have no idea what that is, Anima! Are these new friends?"

Anima cut herself off as she glanced upwards, from her new Pokémon, to see Anneliese. She paused then, for a moment, before nodding, lightly. “...Yes, this is my newest friend,” she finally replied, voice wavering a little. At this, the Frillish flew upwards, between them; still floating a bit off the ground, as he began to twirl again; determined to be the center of attention in this moment. She felt as if she was unsure what to say, or how to continue, words seizing themselves in her throat as the Frillish began to twirl…

And then Jacklyn spoke up as well, filling that dreadful silence, and giving her time to think. “...Right,” she nodded, a smile coming to her face once more, as she crossed her arms; an almost proud look coming to her face. “You’re not far off from the truth, actually, Jacklyn!” she turned to the girl, with an excited look in her eye. “Frillish - and Jellicent - are thought to be the remnants of nobility and aristocracy who perished long ago, their souls returning to the sea and being reborn as Frillish. As you’ve stated, they make their Kingdoms underwater; though they’re actually way deeper down than that light would have you believe! Instead, Frillish use that light to attract food and those who are nearing the end of their lives, so that they can join their court, and help them establish a new Kingdom…” she trailed off, voice lowering. “As… Well as to keep the souls of the departed from wandering the seas alone, because they’re well aware of how lonely it is to do so themselves. That’s… Why they make Kingdoms, after all, isn’t it?” she mused, or wondered aloud as she stared at her twirling Pokémon--

And for a moment, she felt as if she understood then, why he had come to her.

Still, she let her arms fall back down to her side, as she knelt down to Confi - who had been toddling around her legs - and began to give her a bit of attention, seeing as she had been letting out annoyed chirrups the entire time she had been focused on their new ally. “...Ah, that’s it, isn’t it?” she asked; as if anyone would know what she was saying. “Confi, your name is short for Confidante-- Because for the longest time, that’s what you were for me. My trusty Confidant,” she explained, even as Confi let out a satisfied chirping noise, before looking up to her Frillish. “...So, by that logic, since you’re a member of the Aristocracy, who sought some friends... Why don’t we call you Aristo, then?” she asked, as the Frillish finally stopped twirling-- And lowered himself, to meet her gaze…

Before letting out an affirming chirrup, swishing from side to side as he closed his eyes, and looked quite pleased with his nobility being recognized.

[radio414 951]

Bridget managed to find Quinn first. It was only because of the growing, increasingly animated energy of the crowd around them that Quinn did not leap out of its shoes and relinquish zir hold on their fresh catch of the day. “Hi! Hello!” Quinn said. He held up the Net Ball for Bridget’s inspection. “Look! My very first attempt at fishing and I have come away from the experience with a Goldeen! This hat was not an unpropitious omen after all! In fact, I am already very sure that Pisces and I are going to be very good friends.” At this, the Net Ball wriggled in Quinn’s hand. Unlike just prior on the dock, this wriggle felt like it was more of excitement than a struggle, but Quinn still dutifully returned Pisces to his place with Quinn’s other Pokémon. “But what about you? Have you also found some aquatic acquaintance to match with? And where is Nathaniel?”

Before Bridget could answer that question, though, a bell near the fishing hut rang to signal the end of the tournament. The crowd cheered, and it rang a few more times. “I suppose we will find him soon enough,” Quinn said, trying and failing to raise xir voice over the sudden cacophony. Quinn wondered, how much of that did Bridget actually hear? It did not matter, however, because before Bridget would ever get a chance to respond, the ringing bell was interrupted by a bang. A bomb went off! Suddenly, everyone was going this way and that. It was not quite enough energy for screaming and panic, but many understandably wanted to get away from potential smoke and debris, while others hurried closer to aid in the search for injuries. Quinn was trapped between the two instincts, motionless for quite a while until Quinn heard a familiar voice taking credit for the explosion.

“We are Team Phoenix, and we’re going to change the world!” It was Alicia’s voice. Alicia, the woman who Quinn had met earlier and rescued from her hunger. Had Quinn known just who this woman was, well, she still would have done both of those things, because Quinn had not been lying when he said e would not wish starving on anybody, but Quinn would not have also offered kind words of encouragement or even an introduction!

Quinn’s body was moving before hir mind even had the chance to process any more than that, and it was moving directly toward the source of that voice. Quinn even passed by Nathaniel as he started to engage with one of the grunts off to the side. Quinn had no such designs. “YOU!” Quinn shrieked, extending a single accusatory digit Alicia’s way. “After everything we shared together, this is how you repay us?”

Alicia looked confused for a moment, “Shared?” but she covered it up with bravado. “Oh right, that. What, do you think one conversation makes us best friends or something? And what do you mean ‘repay?’ All we’re doing is taking what we need for our goals -- just like everyone else does.

Quinn could not believe his ears. No, to be more precise, she refused to believe it. “It is those sorts of actions that will haunt you for the rest of your days,” Quinn said. “And, if the Guardians of the Boundary Between Worlds permit me, so shall I.”

It was the first time Quinn had threatened to haunt someone since becoming a ghost. It had been assumed before, with some of the other children in Etena City teasing the possibility, but this was Quinn’s first utterance of such a curse. And again, Alicia did not give such a moment its due weight. Instead, she was reduced to babbling nonsense. “We’ll see who’s haunting who when we complete our goal!” she said.

And again, Quinn was moving without thinking. Cassiopeia’s Pokéball was already in the air, and, one flash of light later, there she was, as big and protective as a balloon Pokémon with string for arms could be. Alicia threw out her own ball and out came a Salandit, all crouched over and with a wicked grin on its face. Alicia said, “You know what to do,” and a gleam flashed in the Salandit’s eye.

Quinn had not realized how used they had been to the smell of the sea until it was gone. It was replaced with something sickeningly sweet, like overripe fruit that was just about to rot, made even worse by the contrast of what had just come before. The Sweet Scent seemed to affect Cassiopeia even more. No longer was she the high-flying, skittish balloon she always had been. Her movements were still smooth, but they came out more deliberately, as though she really had to focus on them. “Cassiopeia, if you Minimize yourself, maybe that could wind you back up,” Quinn said. “Just be ready to expand back out to react when-”

By the time Quinn was talking, the breeze shifted. The salty air was back, but it was shifting hue now, to a wretched purple. Even after warning Cassiopeia, Quinn still reacted first. “Poison! Cassiopeia, use Gust!” And thankfully, Cassiopeia did indeed have the mobility required to send her air all over the place, displacing all the poison she could without taking any in, picking up some splinters from the dock and blowing them into the Salandit too for good measure. But the Salandit did not seem to care, rushing forward, with an acidic drool in its mouth that it spat in Cassiopeia’s face.

Cassiopeia was not able to avoid that one. The Venoshock attack struck her right in the face, and the poor Drifloon let out an anguished cry as she tried to recover. “No, do not rub your eyes, Cassiopeia, that will just get the poison further in!” Quinn said. “Try and blow it off with another Gust!” This did work better, though Quinn did have to cover its own eyes from more of the toxic spittle. Cassiopeia also did not wait to ask permission this time, she produced the Oran Berry Quinn had given her and popped it in her mouth.

That was not to say Quinn disapproved, but they did try and offer her Pokémon a little more advice while she chewed. “We were perhaps too reactive,” Quinn said. “Next time, let us get in there and get them to think twice about trying that. We will really Astonish them, how does that sound?”

[yui 602]

“Hi! Hello! Look! My very first attempt at fishing and I have come away from the experience with a Goldeen! This hat was not an unpropitious omen after all! In fact, I am already very sure that Pisces and I are going to be very good friends.”

"Wow! Nice catch!"

Then came the related question Bridget wasn't looking forward to.

“But what about you? Have you also found some aquatic acquaintance to match with? And where is Nathaniel?”

"Uhhh... let's not talk about it." That was, in her mind, a better answer than "all I got was a magikarp, and it's disappointing even for a magikarp." Bridget scanned over the crowd, in search of Nathan. Maybe it was just the general bustle of the fishing contest, compiled with not having known him or Quinn for very long, but she was having trouble picking him out in a crowd. And then the bells rang, signaling the end of the contest. Well, finding him was more of a when than an if at that point. At least there was that.

And then there was an explosion! Someone had set off some sort of bomb, and then a haughty voice made it clear just who it was!

“We are Team Phoenix, and we’re going to change the world!”

Okay, Bridget had heard stories about groups whose names started with "Team." Some better or worse than others. In her own firsthand experience though, they just seemed like more of a mild annoyance at worst, rather than anyone who would even dream of setting off a bomb. Even then, she found herself agreeing with them more often than not. But that was a Galar matter, and this was Korova, and this Team Phoenix was clearly a bunch of bad eggs! And standing front and center was... Alicia!? But she seemed like such a good kid! A bit of a snob, sure, but Bridget wouldn't have marked her down as this type of person at all!

More importantly, there was her grunts. Bridget recognized that man in the group! That long red hair, that black jacket... that had to be the guy who stole Arthur! While Quinn and Nathan respectively busied themselves with Alicia and her female grunt, Bridget glared daggers at the man of the group, pokeball already in hand. "Oy! We've got a score to settle, Poké-napper!"

"Don't know what you're talking about, I haven't napped any Pokemon yet! Haven't napped with em either!"

"Huh!? You mean you don't recognize this? Go get 'em, Arfur!" Bridget threw the pokeball forth, releasing the orange creature who introduced himself with as menacing a sound as an angry chirping could be. Only to then regard the grunt and then Bridget with a look of confusion.

"Yeah that's one of those Trapinch things from the desert, what's it got to do with me? Oh whatever you're just trying to distract me from the battle, go Zubat!"

"Am not! Oh whatever, you're just tryin' to confuse me, Arfur, bite that zubat!"

The grunt, in turn, ordered his zubat to astonish Arthur. There was a baring of fangs and a clamping of jaws as the two pokemon clashed, before the trainers repeated their previous orders. The zubat, being the faster of the two by far, was easily able to astonish Arthur before he could bite his target a second time. This time, zubat did such a great job of it that Arthur reeled back, going up on his hind legs before falling over onto his back, forcing him to roll back onto his feet before resuming the exchanging of blows.

[LordCowCow 888]

Team JAA/AJA/AAJ

"That is, ahem, to say uh, sometimes pokeballs break when you try to catch something, so it's uh always good to have a spare on hand! If you catch something with the first I'll definitely take it though! And good win too!" 

"Oooh, I was not aware of this. I still have much to learn about adventuring it seems...Then I shall hold onto them both so that I can be sure to catch the next friend that wishes to join my team." She tilted her head and looked towards the water where Jacklyn released the Finneon. "Oh but what about your friend? Did they not want to come with after all?"

When Anima began her speech about Frillish Anneliese nodded along. Clearly not quite getting everything she said but trying her best to listen and remember anyway. "Oh I see, so they are nice Pokemon that want to make a large family then! What a sweet species of Pokemon. I'm sure your Pokemon family will grow very large now that you have him!"

She suddenly gasped. "Oh I almost forgot!" She then brought out her own catch. The Shellder appeared into her arms and she clutched the shell to her chest. "This is Meredith, she was quite a tough one to catch but I am sure she will fit in perfectly with everyone!"

The Shellder, for her part, didn't seem to agree with the tough part and simply shut its shell as the other two looked at it so as to try and hide.

Spoiler

I know didn't give much to do but hoping to figure stuff out as we go

can't leave to next town until other group is done for reasons

---

Team BQN

"Hmph, maybe you got away with some tricks but it doesn't matter if you're outclassed, Salandit my dear, dodge to the side and use Poison Gas again!" The Salandit crouched down and side jumped as Cassiopeia came towards them and opened its mouth to let loose another cloud of gas at the attacking Pokemon.

“Not so easy to dispose of a real future champ, is it?”

"Hah, what's the point of being champion in this place anyway, not like you'll get that far. Maybe you damaged Zubat but guess what, Absorb will regain its health, did ya know that, brat?" The Zubat, still a bit dazed by the surprisingly hard smack from the bear cub attacked once more with Absorb, taking a small amount of health from the Bearble and healing and even smaller amount. Which the Grunt seemed rather proud of.

"Am not! Oh whatever, you're just tryin' to confuse me, Arfur, bite that zubat!"

"Is that all you got? Zubat keep it up, you're hitting that...bug thing twice for every one hit you've got this!" While what the Grunt said was true, Artur's attacks were notably doing much more damage to the Zubat. Still, there was some merit to his confidence as Zubat struck Arthur under its jaw with and Astonish and causing the Pokemon to Flinch.

Spoiler

Just continue the battles, pacing wise might be good to finish off the first Pokemon, or close to it if it seems post getting too long or your Mon goes down first, this round.

 

[Skaia 626]

Jacklyn thought about Anneliese's question for a moment before saying, "we were just acquaintances and I don't think they made a good fit for my team. Besides, I can tell  they had their own adventure to be getting to." Smiling at her own answer, the girl then looked over to the new pokemon that Anneliese had just caught. As it retreated the girl was tempted to poke its shell, looking at the creature curiously, before saying, "hey there Meredith, welcome to the party. Go on Cherry say hi too."

The Buneary walked up, smiling and giving a friendly wave to the Shellder, though looking confused as it wasn't quite sure where the eyes of the pokemon were supposed to be. As such, wondering if it was actually being seen or not, the Buneary hopped to each side of the pokemon, giving a wave from each direction looking curious with each one before it felt at least somewhat satisfied that its message had gotten across. 

Jacklyn didn't pay much mind to her own pokemon's antics before looking at the Shellder again. Then back to Anima and their Frillish. Realizing once again that she only had two pokemon to her team, she commented, "you're both getting a lot of new members to your team." It was unclear from her tone whether this was a concern, a sense of jealousy or just a statement of fact. Jacklyn herself didn't know exactly how she felt about it and was completely oblivious to the fact that this was the first pokemon that Anima had caught since coming here. Though she wondered if she needed to step it up as well, and find another pokemon for her own team, the girl then shook her head and looked curiously once more at her fellow adventuring companions. 

What was more pressing to her was something that Anima had said that had made her curious. Thinking that she was kind of expert on pokemon, and made only more curious about the Frillish tale, the girl looked over to Anima expectantly and excitedly asked, "do you know anything about Shellders? Any cool stories? Do they guard like, super rare gems or stones in their shells?"  

[radio414 951]

“Cassiopeia, keep it windy!” This was the game plan, it seemed. Alicia, the treacherous administrator that she was, wanted to poison Quinn’s dear Cassiopeia, but as long as the winds kept in the Drifloon’s favor, that was going to be a tall task indeed. With each additional Gust, more and more splinters found their way into the Salandit’s body. Quinn felt rather proud of itself. It was one thing to emerge victorious when taking on a child barely older than Quinn, it was another to hold one’s own with so much more on the line. It made Quinn feel better about her chances in the actual league challenge. But such feelings were not to last, as the moment the Gust died back down, the Salandit roared and flames erupted from its mouth, spreading much faster than either Quinn or Cassiopeia could anticipate.

“Oh, you ignorant creature,” Alicia said. It was unclear exactly who she was addressing when she said that. “Haven’t you ever heard the phrase ‘fanning the flames?’ So much for all that hot air you were blowing.”

It was true. When the heat finally died down, Cassiopeia looked so much worse for wear. Her balloon body, normally polished to pristine condition, was covered in scorch marks and ash. And yet, despite this, Cassiopeia looked more determined than ever. “Hot air, of course, is what balloons run on,” Quinn said. Cassiopeia’s Flare Boost ability was something Quinn had discovered accidentally, after discovering a much too radical painting method for his young age involving a blowtorch and a piece of rope. There had been a long series of apologies back then, but Quinn always kept the knowledge in the back of faer mind.

The Salandit tried to lunge forward again, but Cassiopeia was ahead of it this time, moving right as Quinn gave the command. “You can catch it off guard!” Quinn said. Cassiopeia did just that, her Astonish flying right up into the Salandit’s face. What could the Salandit do against such a visage but blink first? “Now blow it away!”

Cassiopeia’s Gusts were indeed more powerful than before. Inch by inch, the Salandit started to lose ground on the dock, fighting a losing battle with its grip against the forces of nature that kept battering it down. It tried another burst of flame, but in the effort, it lost its grip and flew back into the water.

Quinn cheered. “Yes!” But at the same time, they could see Cassiopeia limping back to zir side. “You did so well, Cassiopeia,” e said, returning the Drifloon to her Pokéball. “Take a breather, and we will see what comes next.”