Ask to Join Pokémon: Role Play Thread

[Godjacob]

Adrianne Silvers (Unranked)
Valencia Island, Orange Archipelago (June 1st)

"Alright, come out Azurill!"​

Adrianne had left the lab of Professor Ivy, her new partner and a new transport Pokemon along the items of her bag as she began the march towards the Pokemon Center further inland. However, along the way she found a nice clearing and decided this was as good a spot as any for something she figured she needed to get done first. Azurill was released and of course seemed usually timid as Adrianne had come to expect, though it looked upon its trainer with a curious gaze. Adrianne smiled and pulled her Pokedex out as it scanned Azurill and gave her its first reading.

"Azurill: The Polka Dot Pokemon. Azurill's tail is large and bouncy. It is packed full of the nutrients this Pokémon needs to grow. Azurill can be seen bouncing and playing on its big, rubbery tail."​

"Wow, this thing is informative. According to this it also says you are female and ability is...Thick Fat. That's all so cool~" Adrianne said with a smile, as one thing she wanted to get across was she found her partner fascinating and talked it up, which the sheepish Azurill seemed to be surprised by as it looked on with innocent eyes.

"So a girl huh, let's see....I was thinking Aqua might be a cute name. What do you think about it?" Adrianne asked, as she seemed to have considered a nick name for her Azurill as the unconventional starter mon rolled on its little ball, however, it seemed to sense an earnest attempt to form a connection with this trainer and slowly worked to try to communicate an answer.

"A...azurill." The shy Azurill said, nodding a bit which seemed to suggest she liked the name along with a small smile. Oh god that was just too cute~! Those thoughts raised though Adrianne's mind as she smiled bright and seemed pleased this went over well enough.

"Alright then, Aqua it is. So, ready to head to the Pokemon Center?" Adrianne asked, and as Azur...no, Aqua now, listened her affection for this trainer already showed the first seed as she nodded along before Adrianne retuned her to her Pokeball and continued her way towards the Valencia Island Pokemon Center.

 

[Quantum Lila]

July 19, Tuesday - Yellow Rock Isle, Johto, Eveline

Eveline saw Esther throw the rope to Conquest, and they immediately bit down on it. As soon as Esther had set foot on the wakeboard, Eveline gave a "HUP!" and Conquest zoomed off at full speed, tearing through the water at a high speed. To say the least it was a very... intense ride.

"I warned you before, Sharpedo are dangerous... and not just because their teeth are had enough to shatter rock. Sharpedo swim at 75 miles per hour, making it the preferred choice for overseas travel if you just need to get somewhere quickly."

They would soon come to a stop when Eveline saw the ship under the water. After seeing Esther go down for the first time, Eveline waited for a minute as she sat on top of Conquest. This was sooooo boring... she didn't want to go underwater, it would probably ruin her clothes, and her makeup. Buuuuut... there was treasure down there... and she needed money, badly. So reluctantly, she sent out Ruination and swapped between her 2 Pokémon, signaling Conquest to stay put. She would then take a deep dive with Ruination, checking out the destroyed ship below. After taking a quick scan of the place, something would catch her eye in the distance, a flash of refractive light, and the source of it would soon rush into the ship... wasn't that the Feebas that was being attacked that Esther saved? Eveline groaned, dismounting from Ruination, pantomiming for him with some very amusing gestures to go get Esther. They nodded, then swam upward to Esther's location, offering her to get on, and they would take her to their desired location once she mounted them.

July 19, Tuesday - Yellow Rock Isle, Johto, Genevieve

After a couple of rotations of the tide coming in and out, Gene would wash back up on the shore. She would try going back into the water again, only for this same thing to happen around a minute later. Sticky Fingers really couldn't help Gene swim, especially since she didn't know how to. It went like this: Gene stands up, Gene faceplants into ocean, Sticky Fingers gets about 20 feet out, Sticky Fingers gets tired, Gene washes back up on shore. This cycle would continue until everyone got back.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Nakano Saito​

Date: July 19 (26yo)
Location: Ogi City, Yellow Rock Isle, Whirl Archipelago, Johto
Pokemon Team: Chu the Pichu, Mudster the Swampert, Iwa the Wishiwashi, Ludwig the Ludicolo, Aero the Aerodactyl, Brute Tooth the Barraskewda

Interactions: Desmond and Politoed (Godjacob)
Mentions: Esther, Shellos, and Feebas (kyuukestu), Gene and Sticky Fingers the Octillery, Eveline and Conquest the Sharpedo (GQuasch), Reina and Peque the Swampert (Hecotoro), Aldon and Skol the Slowpoke (ThAtGuY101)

Naka watched Desmond fighting something to take a picture of the adorable Wishiwashi, who grinned wide and tried blowing fishy kisses towards the lens, little bubbles escaping her mouth. Naka grinned at Desmond, nodding. "Sure thing." As the Politoed came back and waved at the little fish, Iwa also blew fishy kisses at him, then swam in a tight circle excitedly.

Looking around, Naka noticed a shadow near the shore that was likely Gene going off and on the shore. That was... Sad, but also really hilarious. A shadow with a Sharpedo's silhouette was above them, so it was likely Eveline. Reina and her Swampert were still inside, with Aldon and Skol also still in the ship. Esther was... Throwing a tantrum? Swimming chaotically? Then the Huntail-

Oh... It's not there anymore. In fact, there were dark wisps of blood in that area now. Brute Tooth swam back slowly to Naka, her hand immediately grabbing a hold of his reins as she felt a chill go down her spine.

Maybe... Maybe they should leave.

A flash of iridescent light caught her attention and she saw a Feebas swim into the ship, and she looked up to see Esther and her Shellos swimming after it. "Hey, Des. You alright if we help Esther catch her runaway Feebas? There might be some pretty cool shots in the ship and I'll make sure to stay close so nothing happens to you." Considering Desmond's fearful state and being near the very thing he was terrified of (of which Naka realized he was just phobic of Pokemon in general), she felt an overwhelming urge to stick with him and keep him safe so as to ease him. Kind of reminded her of a more reserved kid she took care of and taught during her adventure in Kanto. Back to the topic of Esther's runaway fish, she didn't know if anybody else was going to help and honestly... Catching a fish or just getting near enough to fire off a return beam from the PokeBall was likely a feat in and of itself.

Iwa, sensing Naka's concern and tasting the blood in the water, frowned and swam close to Desmond, brushing against his arm if he was still enough to allow it. Barraskewda - being able to smell fear (mwahahah) - tried to keep a wide berth from Desmond so as to not scare him too much. He also felt bad for making the Huntail bleed because he knew a tough predator would be nearby.

"Oh, and if something were to happen, I'll give you Brute Tooth's reins. Hold on tight so he can swim you back up to safety to the shore." She held up the reins, giving him an essential Escape Rope to get him out of here as fast as possible. Brute Tooth looked back at Desmond and he grinned, his lips curling up but hiding the teeth that weren't already sticking out to the best of his ability.

Nakano Saito​

Date: 1 Month Ago (26 years old); June 16
Location: Eterna City Pokemon Center Battlefield -> Eterna City Pokemon Center, Sinnoh
Pokemon Team: Chu the Pichu, Fluffy the Flareon, Hanu the Infernape, Yuki the Froslass, Aero the Aerodactyl, Orochi the Zweilous

Interactions: Gwen Tucker (IDKWhatUserNameToDo)
Mentions: Ron Towers (Hecotoro)

Naka watched the sweet girl think on what she wanted to say. She can just feel the determination emanating from this little girl. Smiling upon hearing the girl's seriousness, she gently held Cobalt's ball and covering Gwen's hand with her own. Kneeling down to her level, she gave the girl a sweet smile and patted her on the shoulder with her other hand. "And a strong one you will become. You have to keep working on not only training your Pokemon, but caring for them, work on their trust and respect towards you, and work on yourself and your creativity when in a battle. That Typhlosion is exceptionally strong - stronger than both my Infernape and Aerodactyl. But my Infernape lasted longer because of tactics. If you work on strategy and tactics, it won't matter how strong your opponent is compared to you. If you fail, don't worry. Use that to learn from your mistakes and do better next time."

She patted her shoulder as she stood up, giving Gwen her hand and PokeBall back. "You have a lot to learn, Gwen. While my advice might be a bit much right now, you'll soon realize what I mean. You're not the type to just give up it seems, but I'm just going to let you know now. Never give up, even if it seems hard. Your Pokemon will appreciate it, even if they are being difficult. This also includes never giving up on them if they fight you." Naka sighed, pulling out the PokeBall where her Infernape laid, eyes looking through the ball, reminiscing. "My Infernape was a prideful, playful Chimchar back then, and he was very similar to Cobalt. He constantly ran from the lab and he's been sent back from trainers numerous times because he wouldn't listen to them. It was hard to get him to listen to me at first, and every time I thought I had it, he'd always prove me wrong and we were back at square one. But he's now a loyal Infernape I can depend on and I'll never ask of him to be any different from who he was then or is now. Because otherwise, he wouldn't be my silly, impatient, creative Hanu." She looked back at Gwen, eyes glossy with emotion. "So, I'm glad you haven't given up on your Piplup. Most people would've been fed up already and would have sent him back to the professor. Cobalt doesn't realize it yet, but he's lucky to have you." She patted Gwen's head, chuckling a little.

She then approached the nurse, setting down Hanu and Aero's PokeBalls on the tray on the counter. "Alright, set your Pokemon on here, and let's work on that Rotom phone. Unless there's anything else you'd like to say."

 

[Ridge]

Rick
[July 19th] Yellow Rock Beach, Whirl Islands - Johto

Spoiler: Pokémon (In-hand)

Rapidash ♀ [Iris] | Ability: Flash Fire | Condition: Tired | Meteonite Energy: None

Agility​

Flare Blitz​

Heat Wave​

H. Horsepower​

Low Kick​

Protect​

Solar Blade​

Wild Charge​

After testing the majority of Iris's new capabilities on land (or at least not too high) and in a controled environment, it was now time for the real test: the flight test! And not just Rick sitting there while Iris bursted through the skies at top speed. Aerial maneuvers would be included as well. By Chris's advice, they would try not to overfly major settlements to avoid many eyewitnesses. From the surface, they should look nothing more than a fireball. Worst case scenario people would assume it was either Moltres or Ho-Oh hurried for a meeting and wouldn't think much about it. In any case, they complied and sticked mostly to the regions' borders.

They had just crossed Kanto and most of Johto's airspace. They made some barrel-rolls, sharp turns, climbs, and descents, some spirals. And Rick was actualy holding up pretty well. Then again, Iris's body had always been much more rider-friendly than Pearl's sleek body, especialy when it comes to these kinds of maneuvers. For once, he actualy liked flying. Unfortunately, fun doesn't last forever, and theirs was about to run out. As Iris had wasted all the energy she had absorbed, the faint crimson aura that surrounded her body faded. That wouldn't be too bad... except her wings went out with it as well.

Rick turned his head to look left and right with widened eyes. "Eh? Houston! We have a problem!" Iris looked over her shoulder once she felt something was missing. Rick sighed, putting an elbow on Iris and holding his head with a hand. "Ya know... for some reason, I was kinda expecting something like this to happen. Let me guess. We're gonna fall on water, now." He said. Iris looked down and made a grunt in response. Rick peeked down briefly, confirming they were indeed above the sea. "And I bet there are Sharpedos in there as well." He added. Iris nodded with another grunt. "Welp... Mayday, I guess..."

Rick held on tight to Iris's neck as they started losing altitude. Iris pulled her head up and pointed all four hooves down to absorb the impact of the fall. Though, at the speed they were going, she did hope they would land on something soft. Yes, their legs are great shock absorbers to withstand the impact of falls from her high jumps, but this wasn't a natural fall, this was like being shot from a cannon. Despite their predicament, it was undeniable that their fall was a spectacle though, as Iris's flames gave her the beautiful appearance of a comet, trailing an arc of fire on her descent, before inevitably making a big splash on the sea. Fortunately for them, they were going with enough momentum that they didn't crash too far from shore, so less swimming. And because it wasn't a vertical landing, they didn't sink nearly as much either.

Iris gasped as she desperately breached her head above the surface, snorting to expel the water that entered through her nostrils, before she started pedaling to shore, all the while Rick was still holding on to her neck and squeezing with his legs. Fortunately there were no Sharpedos to nab one of her legs. Once Iris got footing, she took a few more heavy steps into the beach, her head drooped with exaustion. Rick dismounted and started pushing her further, until she finaly collapsed on her side. Rick dropped on all fours, panting. "Welp... it was fun while it lasted." He said, before dropping on his side as well. "Next time... we're gonna practice emergency landing."

 

[ThAtGuY101]

~Aldon...~

"Uuuggh... Does anybod- Oh right... Skol, did you see what that was?" Aldon looked around before remembering it was just him and Skol down there before asking if Skol saw anything. Skol grinned and shook its head up and down.

"What is it, boy...? Where are you going?" Aldon asked watching Skol swim forward and disappear into the silt.

As Aldon began swimming forward, before Skol came back out and bumped into Aldon. Skol had something in its mouth.

"A rainbow heartscale...! So coo- no wait! That is not what I saw" Aldon said gently nudging Skol to the side. Once again Aldon saw the glowing red eye.

"Skol get ready..." Aldon said as he began thinking of what to do next.

[Will our heroes find out what this creature is...? Find out next time on dragon ball zzzzz The adventures of Naka and her friends, I guess]

 

[Godjacob]

Desmond Andrews (Unranked)
Yellow Rock Isle, Whirl Islands, Johto (July 19th)​

As Naka seemed to explain that one of their party was missing a Feebas and suggested that they go by the ship to explore it; Desmond seemed to feel conflicted. On one hand, in spite of what Pokemon Politoed had found inside it seemed safe enough and also he had to admit to himself he could get some good interior shots and Naka had offered to be a protective guide of sorts.

On the other hand, this whole thing while he was sure Naka meant well felt a bit patronizing, as if she was speaking to some scared kid and he seemed to scowl a bit behind his diving out. While he had a bit of a jumpiness when it had come to Pokemon, he was still a man at the end of the day and figured he should communicate that.

"Suppose that would be fine. But for the record I have ventured through Johto on my own before I met you guys. I don't need to be looked over constantly from something spooky in the water." Desmond mused a bit, and not a moment passed the moment he said that then suddenly something splashed along the surface of the water like a great ball of fire.

"What the shi...!?" Desmond cried out eyes wide as he glanced up with a bit of a startled surprise. A moment passed as the Wishiwashi cuddled close and hi Politoed looked with a curiou head tilt as a sweat drop rolled and he cleared his throat.

"L-let's just look over this ship." Desmond muttered under his breathe before he and Politoed had began to swim by the ship.

On the surface, the boat specifically, one of Desmond's Pokeballs opened itself as Kricketune released itself. While obviously it could not dive with Desmond and Politoed, which had made it a little sad, it could least enjoy the view of the water from the boat itself. However, as it gazed upon the sea its gaze was drawn to the shoreline; where it seemed Gene and one of her Pokemon struggled to get in the water, and this sudden star of sorts seemed to crash along the water and some guy washed up to it.

Kricketune seemed too curious, and decided to swim over the surface to the shore as it had nothing better to do so it was time to investigate.

 

[DarkHydraT]

Ezio Farello - June 14th - Grand Lake Hotel, Sinnoh

The Confuse Ray hit, but sadly it didn't stop the attack as Kaden called for another Ice Beam. The freezing ray managed to get a direct hit, leaving a nasty injury on the Cradily. However, Ezio didn't seem too worried as the energy balls were absorbed by Envelop, recovering some of her strength. "Recover." The man ordered, causing the Cradily to glow light green as the damage got healed. "Nifty move, huh? Envelop can take a lot of hits before she finally falls, though I don't know if I can say the same about your Starmie. After all, they have a habit of being just a bit more fragile than expected. Let's speed up that timer you're on, Sludge Bomb!"

Envelop's tentacles swayed before shooting out multiple brown projectiles made of poisonous sludge. Ezio was playing with Kaden, and hopefully this battle would inspire the young Contest Star.

------------------

Nicole Newman - 16th of June - North Lake Miloch, Wild Area, Galar

Nicole smiled as she saw Lara show off her sandwiches and reprimand her Mudbray. "Still not used to this little one, huh?" She said, before answering Lara's question. "Swablu search for clean fresh water to clean their wings, as they abhor being filthy. A lake or a river without any pollution should do fine, and I think they will go clean up after passing over Motostoke." The Bird Keeper explained.

"I recommend setting up a spot where we will be hidden from the Pokémon, preparing to film and keep our Pokémon in our Pokéballs." She said, looking at Toast and Rotom as if they already did something wrong. "Swablu can be quite skittish, and I would rather not disturb them because a Pokémon cannot read the situation or tries to prank them. It can take hours for them to get here, and it is not a guarantee that they will migrate today. It could very well be tomorrow or next week, wild Pokémon don't follow a schedule."

 

[| Korutesu |]

Nico Zacharias Flynn
Date: July 1st
Location: Parterre Way, Kalos

Pepper saw the Combee flying towards them, so it was time to attack! Nico saw it too and had Pepper use [Flamethrower]! The Combee dodged the attack, although it was probably disoriented by now. The Combee still went to attack Pepper with [Bug Bite], ending up with Pepper being hit by the attack. Now with Pepper on the ground, he was open to another attack from the Combee, but in a panic, Nico commanded another [Flamethrower] as the Combee was rushing Pepper, hitting it as the Combee faints.

“Oh man, Are you okay Pepper?! Here, have an Oran Berry. You need to heal up, okay?” He said as he sat down beside the hurt Pepper as Pepper ate the Oran Berry, healing it up, not by a lot, but it was enough. Pepper wasn’t fit to battle at all at this moment, since he needed time to heal up, so he needs to be careful not to get attacked by any more Combee. He was about to grab Pepper’s Pokeball until Pepper disagreed. He clearly didn’t want to enter the ball, and wanted to keep fighting.

“I’m not sure about this Pepper, You’re hurt!” Nico protested to Pepper, but it disagreed. Nico was worried for Pepper’s well-being, but this was Pepper’s chance to prove to Nico that he could be stronger. Of course, Nico got what Pepper was trying to tell him, and he reluctantly agreed, getting ready to fight more Combee, with Pepper.

 

[kyuukestu]

Esther

Friday – Morning July 1

Route 4

Kalos Region​

Team On-hand: Pyrrha (Jangmo-o), Pariparisithea (Munna), Tarrah Ta’Ella (Bounsweet), Kasriel Ikaros Svelinka Sō (G-Zigzagoon), Bâquîle Nâva (Goomy)

In Esther’s care: Houndour​

Esther raised an eyebrow with mild surprise as Pepper went down briefly. ‘Eh, that was just one Combee though?’

She suppressed a grimace and hoped Pepper and his apparent fire-typing would see Nico through the tens, if not hundreds, more to come. Until then though, it looked like she and Kasriel would have to take vanguard. It was a daunting prospect since dark types didn’t fare well against bugs, but a supportive howl from Chauff had Kasriel feeling invigorated, and luckily, they had just the move for the job.

“A few more of those and we’ll blow right through them, go Kasriel shoot ‘em down «Pin Missile»!” With a wild grin on her lips the Oblivian jogged forward, right behind her pokémon who fired salvo after salvo of needle-like hairs, a one-raccoon Rambo gunning down anything in his path. Although «Pin Missile» wasn’t the most powerful move in their arsenal, it was fast and had a wide area of effect. Thanks to the buff from Chauff’s howl, Combee fell when no more than needle-like projectiles exploded against their body, and even the ones that manage to take only a hit or two were blown off-course by the impact. Soon enough Kasriel had managed to mow open a narrow passage between the swarm. Esther smelled opportunity!

“Watch our sides and CHARGE!!”

Into the throng they went!

Spoiler: Esther’s Inventory

$3,000

Hand-woven kilt

Spoiler: Working Towards

Everstone x 1 – $15,000.00

 

[| Korutesu |]

Quincy Alex Palmer
Date: July 19th
Location: Yellow Rock Cave, Whirl Islands, Johto

Inside the Cave of Yellow Rock Island, Geologist Quincy Alex Parker and his partner Pokemon Sableye were cave spelunking, looking for possibly precious gems. Quincy held a flashlight, as his partner Pokemon was digging around the cave looking for said gems. Soon enough the Sableye was jumping up and down, which Quincy had noticed. It meant that they hit the jackpot on those gems. Very good. Hitting gems is like hitting diamonds as a miner, so these gems will be good enough to check out later when he gets back to shore. For now, he needed to get back to the surface, back to his camp near the entrace of the cave he entered through. By this point, he and Sableye had collected about ten to twelve gems down in these caves, so it was definitely time to go back up. It's a good thing that Sableye could see in the dark, or else they'd be lost.

Soon enough, he’d arrive at the entrance of the cave, and was about to get ready to leave the Whirl Islands and make it back to the main island of Johto. He returned his parter Pokemon back into it's Pokéball as he started to clean up his camp.

 

[IDKWhatUserNameToDo]

Kaden Miller - June 14th - Grand Lake Hotel, Sinnoh
Once again, Astraea had no chance of dodging the move and the balls of toxic substance landed square on them, toppling the Starmie over with its red core completely dark and dim. Kaden clenched his fists before taking the great ball and returned his fainted pokemon, "You did well, rest now," the coordinator said before taking the next pokeball into his hand. This time it was a duskball. He had to ask Ezio about that seed move later.

"Nyx, come take the stage," Kaden called out, knowing that his ghost pokemon was one for the dramatics. Instead of the usual red energy that released when a pokemon came out of it's pokeball, a black shadow pooled out of the duskball, following the trainer's shadow into the field with a cackle echoing through the battlefield. The Misdrevious then rose up from the pool of darkness on the ground as she held her tassel-sleeve by her mouth and eyes at the Cradily.

"Shoot mystical fire at your opponent!" Kaden ordered and pointed at the Barnacle pokemon. The ghost type pokemon snickered as she extended out her hands with an eerie blue fire gathering before she launched the flame at Envelop.

Lara Brook - 16th of June - North Lake Miloch, Wild Area, Galar
Lara listened to Nicole with Rotom even staying still for once as the bird keeper explained the best course of action, "I see.. I think you may be right," the reporter said and turned to her electric pokemon, "Rotom? Please stay in your pokeball for a while, okay? I promise to share my photos with you afterwards,"

The grin on the ghost pokemon's face stiffened before letting out a deflated 'vrrrzt..' and closed up their camera, "Thank you Rotom, I'll make sure to take great pictures for you," Lara said as she took out her pokeball and returned the Plasma pokemon.

"I'll have Toast help carry my equipment, but return him to his pokeball as well once we've found our spot," the red haired woman then explained as she gave the donkey pokemon a pat to his side, "If the Swablu are going to clean themselves at some water, I think our best bet would be to camp somewhere near lake Miloch or lake Axewell," Lara then suggested and looked up at Nicole again.

Gwen Tucker - 16th of June - Battle field behind the Pokecenter, Eterna City, Sinnoh
Gwen looked at Naka, her determined brow softening a bit as she listened to the older trainer talk. Her words and advice just made Gwen harden her resolve. She remembered when an older trainer, a year before her, tried to take Cobalt with them as their starting pokemon, but only a short while later came to return him as they had a new pokemon they caught. She was going to make sure to love and care for her pokemon equally.

"I'll never give up on you, Cobalt," she whispered quietly after Naka finished her speech, unsure if the water-type was even awake to hear it. The young trainer then followed Naka's lead and placed her two pokeballs onto the tray for the nurse to take care of.

"Oh, right! The phone," Gwen said, digging in her pocket and took the black-cased Rotom phone out and held it in her hand for Naka to observe before she pressed the power button and awakened the little electric pokemon, who looked around nervously.

 

[DarkHydraT]

Ezio Farello - June 14th - Grand Lake Hotel, Sinnoh

"Mismagius, huh? Solid choice, considering your other Pokémon are Roserade and Jolteon." Ezio said, before seeing the Mystical Fire headed towards Envelop. "Ancient Power!" Rocks raised out of the ground near Cradily, surrounded by purple power as they clustered in front of Envelop, blocking the fire as the blue flames spread out past the fossil Pokémon. As the move died down, Cradily sent the rocks flying towards Nyx.

"You're putting up a decent fight, you know? Not bad for someone who doesn't battle much." Ezio complimented Kaden, smiling at the man.

------------

Nicole Newman - June 16th - North Lake Miloch, Wild Area, Galar

"Hmm, fair enough." Nicole said, allowing Toast to be outside of his Pokéball. "Lake Miloch is closer, no? I say we set up camp there and conceal ourselves. Set up our cameras and keep our eyes on the skies, it should be quite obvious when the Swablu come in. This might take a couple hours though, so I recommend making yourself comfortable." The bird keeper said.

"Shall we, then?"

 

[IDKWhatUserNameToDo]

Kaden Miller - June 14th - Grand Lake Hotel, Sinnoh
"Well, you know a trainer can't escape battling. Us coordinators have a third of our contests revolving around it even," Kaden said to Ezio back, glad that their experience in the little battling he did, came through, "My pokemon are doing most of the work though,"

"Shadow Sneak and follow up with a Shadow ball!" the coordinator called out and the Magical pokemon lowered herself into the shadows once more with a snicker. The rocks flew past their intended target with Nyx reappearing right behind Envelope as a ball of strange and dark energy brewed in her hands and launched it at the grass type. The two shadow moves were a handy combo of moves that Kaden tended to utilize with Nyx, one for a stylish dodge and then a sudden reappearance with the next move already on hand.

Lara Brook - 16th of June - North Lake Miloch, Wild Area, Galar
"Mhm, sounds like a good place to start," Lara replied in a peppy tone, "maybe we should try and set up our things by a tree or a bush? For some natural camouflage if these bird pokemon are skittish," the photographer suggested as she started to walk, making sure that Toast was following her.

"I'm ready to wait the whole day if we have to. I have photographed some pokemon before, although just in my free time," Lara explained. While she hadn't really gone out to picture a migration event like the one possibly happening today, she still had plenty of experience snapping pictures of wild pokemon and waiting for hours. She remembered that she reserved a whole day to sit out in the nearby forest to take pictures of wild pokemon at her aunt's berry farm when she was younger, her Rotom even helping out after accidentally angering some Combee. She really should do something like it again. Not the 'Angering Combee' part. Just sitting out and marvell at the natural beauty of Pokemon. Maybe she should try to utilize her next weekend and get herself some camping gear?

 

[ThAtGuY101]

~Aldon...~

"Come on out Wunder...! Use gust! Then one more time" Aldon called out.

"SiiiIIIiiig..." It called out before firing two gusts which rippled waves in the boat, causing silt to move rapidly and flood part of the upper portion of the boat, and clearing an area of the lower boat. Making quite a mess, but clearing out a portion of the lower part of the ship. The flashlight shined on a brown floating rock with a glowing red light. A relicanth! The creature opened its mouth and swam towards Aldon.

"Use water pulse, Skol!" Aldon called out.

Skol managed to come over and user water pulse just barely in time. The fossilized fish began to use call upon ancient powers hurling rocks through the water at Skol, "Use zen headbutt" Aldon called out. The zen headbutt blasted through the ancient power but failed to hit the relicanth.

The relicanth used yawn point blank in Skol's face. Which Skol countered by doing the same.

"What?!" Aldon muttered confused. After a minute or two attempted to headbutt eachother, they both passed out cold. Skol and the relicanth fast asleep. Aldon could just swim over and poke the relicanth with a pokéball. Which is exactly what he did, and it worked! He looked at the pokéball, then at Skol fast asleep.

"Slooooow.... Sloooooow.... Sloooooow.... Sloooooow" Skol snored.

Without saying a word, he rubbed Skol on the top of his head, and returned Wunder to it's pokéball. He scanned the pokéball with his dex.

"A pokémon that was once believed to have been extinct. The species has not changed its form for 100 million years. It walks on the seafloor using its pectoral fins. The reason it hasn’t changed at all in a hundred million years is that it’s apparently already a perfect life-form." The dex read out. Aldon was confused but put the pokédex away, and seventh pokéball on his hip.

 

[~Patriot~]

Montagne Khastil
July 1 - Parterre Way (Route 4), Kalos

Swarm was a fucking understatement!

Monty and Oracle dashed after Nico and Esther, and the Absol's Pressure flared in an attempt to slow the dozens of Combee buzzing angrily around them.

"We'll bring up the rear!" Monty called to his teammates as they charged into the veritable cloud of swarming Combee. Kasriel's Pin Missile was had effectively cleared a path, but the Combee started closing back in just as quickly as they were struck down. Chauffemagne's Ember and Incinerate or Pepper's Flamethrower might catch a couple at a time, but they could use something with a broader range.

"EVERYONE COVER YOUR EARS!" Chauffemagne looked up at Monty as he called the warning to their teammates, and the criminal gave the pup a nod as a grin spread across his face.

"Chauffe, ROAR!" The Houndour's eyes were lit with the fire of battle, stoked by the desire to not be outdone by Kasriel, and he took a deep breath before letting loose a violently loud "BARK!" Soundwaves RUSHED! forward along the path, and any encroaching Combee were pushed back from the force of the energy or were left disoriented by the ear-splitting volume.

An opportunity was made, and Monty intended to capitalize on it. "Pick 'em off with Ember!" Chauffemagne's nose puffed with smoke as he SHOT! a volley of the small fireballs at the disoriented Combee, shooting a handful of them out of the air as they ran by.

The group quickly reached the first set of hedges and flowers that ran through the center of the route, and from the corner of his eye Monty spotted something bigger mingling with the swarming Combee. It moved more slowly than the Combee, but the criminal couldn't make it out the the throng of yellow and black.

He could tell that it seemed to be making a beeline for the head of their pack, though. The pokémon was headed to intercept Esther and Kasriel from the side!

"ESTHER, HEADS UP!" Monty shouted, but between the buzzing of the Combee and the constant firing of moves from their own pokémon he figured they'd better be safe than sorry. He looked to his partner, and she met his gaze as he said, "Get up there, quick!"

Oracle rolled her red eyes. She already had to run thanks to the girl's quick pace, but now Monty wanted her to reinforce her?! The same girl whose drake gave her so much trouble only an hour or two ago?! Had he forgotten that fast?! She did suppose she wouldn't mind helping that agreeable little Zigzagoon of her's...it did give her the recognition a queen deserved, after all.

Oracle's legs began to crackle with Sucker Punch's black sparks, and she SHOT! forward to catch up to Esther and Kasriel. The larger insect was almost on the lead pair, and if she timed it right she might be able to intercept it.

 

[kyuukestu]

Esther

Tuesday – Afternoon July 19

Ogi City – Beach, Whirl Archipelago

Johto Region​

Team On-hand: Pyrrha (Jangmo-o), Pariparisithea (Munna), Halay-Alae (Houndour), L’ Basseau (Surskit), Unnamed (Shellos) In Esther’s care: Feebas​

“Thanks!” Esther swiftly swung herself onto Eveline’s Sharpedo and held on tight.

Although Conquest provided great speed, in hindsight, the terrified Feebas was hardly likely to stop running now that it had 200 lbs. of shark chasing after it. If anything, the little fish pokémon gathered all its desperation into one final burst of speed and pushed through one of many small cervices in the ship’s walls. Not a moment later came the sound of fracturing wood.

Esther frowned and slid off Conquest to peer through the hole. She caught neither fin nor tail of Feebas, but on the far side of the hall, she spotted a length of seaweed and hiding within were several small Horsea and just across from them floated—what she assumed was—fresh debris. Which meant... “Ugh, of all the places!”

Feebas had wandered into a nest and likely been chased off by the parent. It seemed to have a knack for that.

‘Can you smash this wall open? We’ve gotta hurry!”

Spoiler: Esther’s Inventory

$5330

Seal Case

PokéFlute

Clip-on roller skates

Hand-woven kilt

Spoiler: Working Towards

Everstone x 1 – $15,000.00

Esther

Friday – Morning July 1

Route 4

Kalos Region​

Team On-hand: Pyrrha (Jangmo-o), Pariparisithea (Munna), Tarrah Ta’Ella (Bounsweet), Kasriel Ikaros Svelinka Sō (G-Zigzagoon), Bâquîle Nâva (Goomy)

In Esther’s care: Houndour​

Esther sealed her palms over her ears and even then, she was still shaken by the sheer volume of Chauffmagne’s «Roar»! Lacking the ability to cover his ears as effectively, Kasriel staggered about with tangled feet, looking more than a little disoriented. Though the dark raccoon pokémon recovered quickly, it didn’t stop Esther from giving Monty snark. “Hey! Friendly fire!”

Playful jabs aside, the Oblivian kept pushing. Nothing worse than being trapped in an angry swarm and more concerningly, while «Roar» had certainly done a number on the Combee, what it hadn’t done was send the usually timid creatures fleeing. That was as concerning as it was telling, the only time Combee would fight this fiercely was if...Uh oh.

Monty’s warning came just in time as the mother of all hive-queens burst through the wall of Combee and took a sweep at Esther with its wicked claws. The Oblivian dusted off moves she hadn’t needed since her junior year of high school and dropped into a horizontal split. The near-miss swipe took a few strands of Esther’s hair, but her head remained safely on her neck.

As Esther scrambled forward, she made the call for a counterattack. “Kassy, «Snarl»! Nâva, come on out!”

While the zigzag pokémon released his own raucous soundwaves and Oracle tied down the Queen bee, Esther’s newest capture burst from her pokéball and fearfully attached herself to her trainer’s arm—just where Esther wanted her.

Esther swung her arm around, pointing Nâva like a hand-mounted blaster and—“«Dragon Breath»!”—bathed her surroundings in dragon-fire.

“Vespiquen is here, so we might be close to their nest!”

Spoiler: Esther’s Inventory

$3,000

Hand-woven kilt

Spoiler: Working Towards

Everstone x 1 – $15,000.00

 

[~Patriot~]

Montagne Khastil
July 1 - Parterre Way (Route 4), Kalos

Typical useless Monty. Making Oracle do the fighting herself when Esther clearly had it handled! Whatever. She was here now, and the girl's quick downward manuever gave her the perfect opening against the Vespiqueen. Oracle SLAMMED! into the queen bee's side, knocking it back a few feet with a pained "BZZ!"

The Absol landed a harder than she intended, and both regal pokémon exchanged a loathesome glare. Did this insect dare to Pressure her?! Their weighty auras clashed in a brief tug of war, but it didn't last long.

Black soundwaves CRASHED! into the Vespiqueen's side, prompting another pained "BZZ!" as it whirled around to face Kasriel. The queen bee's jaws lit up with yellowish-green energy, a <<Bug Bite>> primed to sink into the indignant Zigzagoon, and the FWOOSH! of the Goomy's <<Dragon Breath>> couldn't force her hand.

Several of the surrounding Combee rushed to intercept the spout of draconic flames, willingly sacrificing themselves for the sake of their queen, and Vespiqueen dove through the wall of blue-flaming drones to SNAP! her jaws into Kasriel.

SLAM!

How foolish of the Vespiqueen to take her eyes off of Oracle. Propelled by Sucker Punch, the Absol knocked her off course from Kasriel and increased her Pressure as she landed next to the agreeable Zigzagoon. The Vespiqueen floated upwards shakily, until a bunch of tiny drones flew out from her dress-like honeycomb and bathed her in a yellowish light; <<Heal Order>>.

Nâva's draconic flames started spreading as Monty and Chauffemagne reached the group, setting the hedges alight and sending smoke tumbling into the air. Between the flames and the swirling Combee, the criminal couldn't see whatever hive Esther was talking about. Was she still going to try and get at the honey?

The Vespiqueen started flying back toward the hedges as the swirling Combee started congealing, stacking on top of each other in a massive wall behind the burning hedges.

"You think the hive's behind that?" Monty asked.

 

[Grand Master Koop]

July 19, Yellow Rock Isle, Johto
Savannah

Savannah watched as everyone else dove into the vast blue sea one after the other, her excitement rising as they each disappeared beneath the blue water. She quickly ran over to the diving equipment left laying down on the sand, eager to join her travel buddies in the ocean. However, the young woman ran into a new hurdle- how does he put the stuff on? "Hmm, I saw the others do it, but now that it's my turn I still don't really get it." She said to herself. The girl pulled out a wetsuit in the air and began inspecting it, striving to sort this obstacle out on her own.

While his partner tried to figure out the intricate arts of putting on a dive suit, Zap Zap simply laid down on the sandy beach. Since he wasn't a water type, he understood that he had to sit this event out on account of his inability to breathe underwater. Instead, he was now observing the unfortunate escapade of Gene. The electric type found watching the child's situation rather amusing and a good way to kill some time.

 

[kyuukestu]

Esther

Friday – Morning July 1

Route 4

Kalos Region​

Team On-hand: Pyrrha (Jangmo-o), Pariparisithea (Munna), Tarrah Ta’Ella (Bounsweet), Kasriel Ikaros Svelinka Sō (G-Zigzagoon), Bâquîle Nâva (Goomy)

In Esther’s care: Houndour​

“One way to find out!” Esther’s eyes flitted about the wall of Combee, searching for chinks in the tessellated wall, prowling for weakness. It only took a moment for her mind to snap back to the beginning of her journey before she had even left Sophian Island, that first fateful waltz through the Sophian Road, and the last time she’d been under threat by a swarm of bees. The rain always brought the bees flying back home. “They can’t fly well when their wings are wet.”

“Any of you got a water—never mind,” She remembered well enough the pokémon she’d seen at the park. Esther fumbled with her bag and pushed the jars into Monty’s arms. She smiled at him, but her tone was serious as a heart attack. “If they aren’t all full, I’m sending you back in...got it? Good Luck!”

“Come on Nico, we’re giving Monty an opening!”

Esther pointed her hand-mounted dragon at the Combee, “Cool ‘em down Nâva, «Water Gun»!”

The Combee smack in the middle got soaked; it wasn’t easy getting out of that interlocking bee-pile.

“Now, let’s burn ‘em up Nico! Pyrrha, Nâva «Dragon Breath»! Kasriel, «Pin Missile»!”

Out came Esther’s partner and the dual dragons lambasted the wall of Combee while Kasriel peppered them with an explosive barrage. With some assistance from Nico, it should’ve been more than enough to punch through the wall!

Once Monty was in and had snatched the honey, Esther knew the Combee would start going crazy, so she offered a chuckle and some well-natured advice— “Get ready to run!”

Spoiler: Esther’s Inventory

$3,000

Hand-woven kilt

Spoiler: Working Towards

Everstone x 1 – $15,000.00

 

[Merciless Medic]

Nakano Saito​

Date: July 19 (26yo)
Location: Ogi City, Yellow Rock Isle, Whirl Archipelago, Johto
Pokemon Team: Chu the Pichu, Mudster the Swampert, Iwa the Wishiwashi, Ludwig the Ludicolo, Aero the Aerodactyl, Brute Tooth the Barraskewda

Interactions: Desmond and Politoed (Godjacob)
Mentions: Esther, Shellos, and Feebas (kyuukestu), Eveline and Conquest the Sharpedo (GQuasch), Reina and Peque the Swampert (Hecotoro), Aldon and Skol the Slowpoke (ThAtGuY101)

While Aldon and his Slowpoke and Reina and her Swampert were finding all kinds of things within the ship, Naka spotted Esther and her Shellos stopping next to a crack in the ship's wood, and she was requesting Eveline to have her Sharpedo break it. Huh, interesting.

Her attention was pulled back to Desmond when she sensed something was wrong. Did she say something wrong? Was he scowling at her? It was a bit hard to tell. When he told her that he had ventured through Johto before meeting with the group, she pressed her lips around the aqua-breather out of concern. Whoops, did he feel slighted? I guess he didn't see the black wisps of blood behind them.

Then something splashed right above them, but it barely phased Naka. Not because she's been through it, but because Desmond's reaction to it right after he tried saying how he wasn't that big of a scaredy-cat had her amused. She nodded to his muttering, only to realize she should probably explain why she felt compelled to almost smother him. She wasn't about to just let him hate her for some perceived patronizing.

"Look, I figured you weren't that bad, but I get worried for myself and others when there's blood in the water - no matter who I'm with - and I'd rather not have your jumpiness startle a Pokemon into attacking you. Offer with getting a ticket out of here still stands if things go to shit." She let him know as they were swimming around the ship, her mind on high alert as she looked around for any sort of predator. Luckily, she tried to keep her wariness on the down low so as to not creep out Desmond.

Seeing as Esther was asking Eveline to do something destructive, Naka stood on standby just in case something attacked them for destroying the old wood.

Nakano Saito​

Date: 1 Month Ago (26 years old); June 16
Location: Eterna City Pokemon Center, Sinnoh
Pokemon Team: Chu the Pichu, Fluffy the Flareon, Hanu the Infernape, Yuki the Froslass, Aero the Aerodactyl, Orochi the Zweilous

Interactions: Gwen Tucker (IDKWhatUserNameToDo)
Mentions: Ron Towers (Hecotoro)

Seeing Gwen take her advice had Naka smiling. Children were just so precious, so easy to motivate. They just need a bit of a guiding hand. She hoped Cobalt heard her words, too. Naka waved goodbye at the nurse as the nurse took the tray and walked through the doorway behind her, where she worked on healing the four Pokemon.

Meanwhile, Naka looked down at the phone, giving it a quick once-over as Gwen turned it on. "Aww, it's okay little guy." She cooed at the poor Rotom, petting the top of the phone case with her finger. If it tried to zap her, well she was rather used to it, given she had a Pichu that shocked her as an alarm clock almost every morning. "Here, let's go sit down so we aren't in the way." She led the girl to a booth/couch to wait for their Pokemon to get healed. Once Gwen was beside her, she waited for Gwen to attempt to befriend the phone, only speaking when Gwen asked for help.

She hoped the bonding between Furia and Ron were going well.

 

[ThAtGuY101]

~Aldon...~

Aldon managed to push open a door, then made his way into the next room. Some Horsea floated around in the room. they did not react much to Aldon entering the room. A few watched him with suspicious looks, but they continued their own business. Skol floated over to the hole, as it saw Esther getting ready to come through the hole in the ship with the sharpedo.

"Sloooooooo" Skol let out a yawn in their direction. It waved its paw in excitement. Aldon swam over to see what was going on. Aldon could tell he needed to scoot Skol back. He grabbed the pink pokémon and made some room.

 

[| Korutesu |]

Nico Zacharias Flynn
Date: July 1st
Location: Parterre Way, Kalos

Okay! Him and Esther were giving Monty an opening to get that honey! Esther told her Pokémon to attack the bees, but told them to get ready to run. Okay, He and Pepper were ready! Not even giving the order, Pepper already knew what was coming next, so he used [Flamethrower]! to attack the Combee.

"Nice shot, Pepper! Now get that honey, Monty! Faster!" Nico shouted, as Pepper kept going at the bee Pokémon with Flamethrower so that they can grab that honey and run. A Combee dodged the Flamethrower, and came running towards Pepper, so in a panicked state, He threw a Pokéball at the Combee running towards them. The ball bounced on the ground as the Combee went inside. The ball broke immediately, and it still ran towards them right after.

"Damn, what was i thinking? Okay, Pepper, Flamethrower again!" A burst of flame came out of the green head of Pepper, as it hit the Combee, knocking it out.

 

[~Patriot~]

Montagne Khastil
July 1 - Parterre Way (Route 4), Kalos

"Huh?! Why me?!" Monty barked as Esther shoved the jars into his arms. Charging into the belly of the beast was her idea! He didn't know the first thing about milking a fucking beehive!

Then again, it wouldn't be the first time he'd had to just figure it out for a job. Yeah, that's all it was; a job. If the fiery-haired girl thought he was the best suited, who was he to turn her down? She'd just given him the perfect chance to show off.

"Chauffe, Oracle, on me." Monty eyed the Combee-wall warily, not sure how she and Nico would make an opening, but between the goo-creature's <<Water Gun>>, the blazing three-way FWOOSH! of flames, and Kasriel's <<Pin Missile>> on top one presented itself.

A section of the Combee-wall caved inward as a couple dozen of the insects fainted on impact - there! Monty sprinted forward, Oracle and Chauffemagne hot on his heels, and all three LEAPT! over the smoking hedges and through the hole in the wall.

His intrusion into the flower bed didn't go unnoticed. Before he could even whip his head around, Monty was YANKED! to the ground. "Gah!" He felt a RUSH! of air slice the space he was just in, and Chauffemagne's jaws released from his collar as his trainer looked up to see the Vespiqueen floating high above the trio.

Shit, they didn't have time to waste battling the queen bee. The Combee wall was already coming apart, its living bricks readying a counter-assault against Esther and Nico, and he needed to make sure they could all get out of there before the newly-formed group became the source of a sterner warning in the Route 4 gate.

The Vespiqueen hovered above a large tree bearing a freakishly-large, glistening yellow hive; his target! She wouldn't give it up easy, though, and as the Vespiqueen's Pressure flooded the area she released a plume of pinkish mist from her honeycomb-like dress; <<Sweet Scent>>.

"We're putting this thing on a timer. Oracle, make an opening-" The Absol was already crackling with black sparks, her fur ruffled as her own Pressure clashed with Vespiqueen's. "-Chauffe, FIRE SPIN!" Smoke poured from the Houndour's nose, mingling with the wispy fumes of Sweet Scent. He threw his skull-capped head back and SNAPPED! forward, jettisoning a thin column of fire at the menacing queen bee.

Oracle was already in the air. The Vespiqueen's arm glowed white, likely another <<Air Slash>>, but the futile efforts of an insect couldn't keep it from being brought back to where it belonged; groveling in the dirt! The Absol SLAMMED! her scythe into the insect, catching it just under the arm and CRACKING! its carapace. The insect's pained "BZZ!" was satisfying, and the cry it let out as <<Fire Spin>> impacted was like music to Oracle's ears.

Chauffemagne's fiery whip STRUCK! the Vespiqueen's chest, and the blaze blossomed into a fiery vortex that RAGED! around the queen bee. She let out an angry buzz as the vortex swirled around her, and launched a volley of <<Air Slashes>> at each of her opponents.

Monty DOVE! out of the way of one of them, tucking into a roll that brought him face-to-face with the man-sized hive. Now how the hell was he supposed to get the honey? He reached out and tested the suprisingly spongey surface, and honey oozed out at his touch.

Convenient, but it wouldn't be enough. Monty shifted the jars to hold them in his right hand, wound back, and hit the nest with a southpaw PUNCH! that cracked straight through the exterior He grasped a handful of the inner honey comb and ripped it out, the glistening honey dripping in his clutch. This was easier than he thought it'd be!

Monty squeezed the honey into each of the jars as his pokémon kept the queen bee busy, and though the top of the stoppers got covered in the substance he managed to fill each one with another couple fistfuls of honeycomb.

Alright, time to get back to Esther and Nic-

WOOSH!

A <<Gust>> of wind knocked Monty off his feet, unceremoniously dumping him on the ground a few yards away from the hive with a SMACK! He hit the ground hard, the jars tumbling from his grasp. Shit, can't breathe!

The wind was knocked out of him, and in a daze his eyes drifted toward his feet. The Vespiqueen, jaws glowing a fierce yellow and still trapped in Chauffemagne's Fire Spin, was making a beeline straight for him! He perceived Oracle and the black sparks flying off her legs in the background, and an <<Incinerate>> launched by Chauffemagne. Neither would reach him in time.

 

[| Korutesu |]

Quincy Alex Palmer
Date: July 19th
Location: Yellow Rock Beach, Whirl Islands, Johto

He was about to leave when he noticed some guy at the beach, laying down on their side, probably injured. He definitely didn't look okay, along with the Rapidash right beside him. He ran towards him, pretty worried, cause it wasn't everyday you see someone who is injured on Whirl Islands, It just wasn't natural. He looked over at the man with a sigh of relief. He was alive, but he wasn't feeling well from the looks of it.

"Hello? Are you alright?" He asked the man on the ground, looking over him. "My name is Quincy Alex Palmer, I'm a geologist. I was about to head back to Johto's mainland, since we're currently in Yellow Rock Island." He mentioned as he took his arm out, hoping he'd grab it, and then he could leave so he can begin on his research. He hated interacting with other people, but they seemed hurt, and he wouldn't leave someone that's hurt. Plus, he was leaving the island already, why not help him get back to shore? The Rapidash beside him was also pretty beat up, what even happened to them, he wondered. Maybe he’d ask later once the guy is alright.

Nico Zacharias Flynn
Date: July 1st
Location: Parterre Way, Kalos

He turned to his side to see Monty being attacked by the Vespiquen. No, that wasn’t good at all, It was very bad. Pepper saw it too, and without warning, shot out a [Flamethrower] from it’s green head, knocking the Vespiquen off of Monty, but now it was directed at Nico and Esther! That wasn’t good either, and the only choice was to run before they got hit by any moves.

“Monty! Grab the honey and run! There isn’t time, we’ve gotta go!” He ran off first, hoping that Monty and Esther would follow suit, since Monty already got the honey, there was no reason for them to still be there, especially with the dangerous Vespiquen still coming for them. They had absolutely no choice left, and running would be their only option.

 

[kyuukestu]

Esther

Friday – Morning July 1

Route 4

Kalos Region​

Team On-hand: Pyrrha (Jangmo-o), Pariparisithea (Munna), Tarrah Ta’Ella (Bounsweet), Kasriel Ikaros Svelinka Sō (G-Zigzagoon), Bâquîle Nâva (Goomy)

In Esther’s care: Houndour​

Well, of course, Monty had to be the one to go. On top of being the fittest of their group and the most likely to succeed, Esther already had a more important task, and that was keeping the Combee at bay!

Chaotic melees were kinda Esther’s thing. One of the first things she had learned on the ranch was how to navigate a maelstrom of her pokémon, partner’s pokémon, pokémon predators, and the ranch’s many, many Wooloo. Right now, the Combee were the predators, Monty was her precious Wooloo, and Nico was the only partner in sight.

Piece o’ cake!

Three of her pokémon were already fielded and now it was time to double that—“Help me out, Houndour! Pari! Tarrah!”

Although Esther didn’t consider herself Houndour’s owner, she liked to think they had come to a mutual understanding, and she wasn’t afraid to request its help when things got dicey. Houndour appeared and pinned Esther with a flat stare, and she responded by clasping her hands into a dramatic plead. Its eyes rolled, and Esther did a little giggle to celebrate! It was go-time!

“Pari «Hypnosis»!”

Psychic energy erupted in unaimed spirals; an undulating whirlpool that put to sleep any Combee unlucky enough to fall in.

First rule fight club: do not talk about fight club low-accuracy, high-efficacy moves were the best option. They were bound to hit something!

“Pyrrha, «Scale Shot»! Nâva «Bubble»! Kassy, keep at it!”

Second rule: when facing a large group of weaker pokémon, spreading the damage was more important than putting down any singular attacker. Pokémon often only attacked for food or survival and the rank and file often ran away from a difficult confrontation. Food that fought back too hard wasn’t worth being injured and then turning into food themselves.

A hailstorm of attacks sieved through the swarm, Esther almost tripped over the prone body of a Combee, one of many; but as many littered the ground, they could barely match the number that filled the air. Either way, Esther was careful not to step on or direct attacks toward the downed Combee. She was greedy, not heartless.

“Tarah «Sweet Scent»!”

Rule 2 came with a caveat of ‘...unless there’s an identifiable leader’, but with Vespiquen well out of Esther’s attack range, she did the next best thing.

A saccharine fragrance wafted from the island-plum pokémon. Esther knew Vespiquen used pheromones to command the Combee, Tarah’s «sweet scent» could mask those pheromones and break Vespiquen’s hold. Without Vespiquen to command them, the Combee should return to the docile creatures they usually were. Of course, this wouldn’t only apply to the Combee closest to Vespiquen.

“Alright, Houndour...go wild!”

Rule 3: don’t micromanage! Sometimes it was better to let your pokémon do what they wanted, in a large battle it was impossible to keep up with everything and you’d be foolhardy to try!

Houndour became a dark specter, flickering to targets with «Sucker Punch» and then zapping everything in a short range with «Thunder Fang». Many of the Combee were wet from the earlier «Water Gun» and «Bubble» attacks and electricity easily chained between them in shocking arcs.

Although Esther’s party tore through the swarm like a hot knife through butter, she knew they would eventually be overwhelmed by the sheer number.

“Make it messy, fighting retreat! Let’s MOVE Monty! I’ll carry the back!”

Spoiler: Esther’s Inventory

$3,000

Hand-woven kilt

Spoiler: Working Towards

Everstone x 1 – $15,000.00

 

[DarkHydraT]

Ezio Farello - June 14th - Grand Lake Hotel, Sinnoh

Envelop got hit by the Shadow Ball, turning her head to face the Mismagius. "Clever, but it won't be enough. Giga Drain!" Ezio called out as his Cradily fired green beams from its tentacles at Nyx, trying to drain the Ghost from energy. Mismagius were wily foes, so Ezio was very much prepared for the possibility that his Cradily would faint.

----------

Nicole Newman - 16th of June - North Lake Miloch, Wild Area, Galar

"Sounds reasonable to me." Nicole said, before following Lara. "Have you now? Like what?" She asked, trying to make some small talk in the meantime as the girls walked towards the lake, unaware of an odd collection of eyes watching them.

 

[IDKWhatUserNameToDo]

Kaden Miller - June 14th - Grand Lake Hotel, Sinnoh
Kaden knew that Nyx could take a couple of hits. Being this short range, it would be difficult for Envelop to both counter or dodge the attack, "Mystiacal fire, again!" the coordinator shouted. The Mismagius whinced a bit from the Giga Drain, but moved to return the attack with her own. She gatherd up more of the mystical blue fire in her hands before shortly firing at the Cradily, trying to hit her.

Lara Brook - 16th of June - North Lake Miloch, Wild Area, Galar
"Some pokemon that can be seen in Nimbasa city and in their surrounding area, plus some other spots. I can show you them later, but for example I have some old pictured of Pidove in the city, Minccino playing in the wild grass, an Emolga frying from a tree to another and a Natu sitting right on a Fungus," Lara said, rambling off some pictures she remembered on the top of her head, "Oh and the Gossifleur's we filmed yesterday of course," the photographer said with a smile as she continued to walk. It wasn't a long way or anything, but a small part of her hoped that the Swablus would arrive soon. They would just look stunning in this morning light.

Gwen Tucker - 16th of June - Battle field behind the Pokecenter, Eterna City, Sinnoh
Gwen gave Naka a small nod, "Yeah let's," and followed the woman to the booth, sitting beside her as the young girl still held the phone in her hand. The Rotom looked really unsure of its surroundings, eyeing its environment skittishly. It let out a little surprised 'Beep' when Naka pet it, but didn't shock the woman.

"It seems really scared.." Gwen said as she inspected the black Rotom-phone, "We won't hurt you. That mean and evil grunt isn't here, I promise," the girl then said and tried to give the pokemon a wide smile to hopefully ease it's nerves. She then looked over to the booth to see if Nurse Joy was already done with their pokemon, but no. Maybe she was a bit impatient, but at least she had this Rotom and Naka to be with while she waited.

 

[Hecotoro]

Ron, Eterna City, June 16th.

"So, we're gonna talk about your situation?" Ron said, leaning back and laying on the ground, only to get a soft snarl from Furia in response. "We can't just go around pretending things are okay." Ron stopped for a moment and chuckled, "Dammit I sound like Azumi."

Furia groaned and stood up, walking away slowly back to the battlefield. Ron sat up and frowned, getting up and dusting himself clean, walking after the Typhlosion.

"Oh you can charge head first into a battle, but you can't talk about how things are? Coward move if you ask me."

Furia stopped, standing on her two legs and looking at Ron over her shoulder, showing her fangs.

"Is that supposed to scare me? So, instead of trying to work things out, you rather just fight? I thought you were better than that, fooled me."

Furia turned completely around, her blue flames igniting as she roared at her trainer, taking a few steps towards him, snarling smoke at his face.

"Please, I've been in bars that have way worse toxins to breath in." Ron said, stepping through the cloud, looking at the overgrown fire Pokemon into the eye. "Me and you Furia, we need to fix this, I don't care how, I just need you to stop being such a bit-"

Ron was tackled to the ground by his Pokemon, causing Luz to jump up from her nap and meowing loudly at them trying to break it up. The two tussled on the ground, Ron biting Furia's ear as he wrapped his arms around her neck while she jumped around, slamming him on the ground trying to make him let go. Luz kept barking orders at them, but they seemed in vein. Furia managed to get on her four legs, Ron still wrapped around her. She broke into a full sprint, running around the field, making sharp turns, trying not to lose her balance and hope that Ron's grip would break.

"We're gonna talk about it!" Ron said as he threw his weight to the side on one of the turns, causing them to roll off to the side several times.

Ron finally let go, getting up and threw himself at Furia, who received him with her arms spread open. The two ended up wrestling on the ground again, this time Furia biting Ron's arm while he tried to push her off. Luz finally lost her patience, blasting both of them with a Shadow Ball. Ron coughed as the dust created from the impact got into his lungs, while getting up. Furia laid on the ground, the attack finishing the rest of her energy she had left.

"Sorry Luz." Ron said, looking down at his Typhlosion, who was just glaring back at him, "Sorry Furia. We'll try this some other time." He held out her Pokeball and returned her. "We cool?" He held up his hands in surrender at the Espeon.

Luz walked over and began rubbing herself against Ron's legs. The trainer smirked and began walking towards the Pokemon center, dusting himself on the way and rubbing the pain from Furia's bite on his forearm. He dusted the dirt from his hair and sighed, he felt a little better, but Furia's look before going back to her Pokeball kept burning in Ron's mind. He shook his head and took a deep breath as he opened the doors to the Pokemon Center.

"Yo, we ready? GYM will close on us if we don't hurry. Gwen, make sure to check the GYM's schedule and make an appointment, people think the leaders just stand there waiting for someone to show up all day, gotta give em a heads up. Just use the League's app."

July 19, Tuesday - Yellow Rock Isle, Johto. Reina, current rank, 34,107

Reina went to the darkest part of the ship, trying to find anything on the ground, but nothing. It made sense, she wasn't that lucky. Finding more treasure after finding something she actually needed was too much. She grabbed on to her Swampert, who helped her swim back up the entrance of the boat she had taken. Still feeling like she could find more things, she began swimming towards Aldon's side, hoping to find something he might have missed.

 

[DarkHydraT]

Ezio Farello - June 14th - Grand Lake Hotel, Sinnoh

Cradily couldn't dodge the Mystical Fire in time and took it head on, unable to recover as much damage as desired because of it. Still, Ezio was not really taking this fight all too seriously. "Very smart, and quite a pretty move as well. The green really goes with the fire." The Ruin Maniac said, seemingly more focused on inspiring Kaden than winning.

---------

Nicole Newman - June 16 - North Lake Miloch, Wild Area, Galar

"I should visit Nimbasa City one day. I was always apprehensive about big cities, especially ones as big and loud as Nimbasa, but it sounds fun the way you describe it." Nicole said, softly smiling at Lara, though she couldn't help but feel watched. Turning her head, she saw nothing. Keeping her head turned for a coiple seconds, she deemed it nothing and kept walking, oblivious to the figure hovering in the sky above her.

"Lentimas Town is way quieter than Nimbasa, but it has its own charms. Life is slower, and people feel more in touch with each other." She said, closing her eyes for a second. As she opened them again, she was met with a single, unblinking eye and a pair of seemingly fake eyes in front of her. Instantly releasing her Skarmory, Nicole let out a shout of surprise.

"AAAAAH!"

 

[~Patriot~]

Montagne Khastil
July 1 - Parterre War (Route 4), Kalos

The combo was quick.

FWOOOSH! Pepper's <<Flamethrower>> was dead on. The flames impact knocked the Vespiqueen off-course from her meal, and the roaring flames were sucked into Fire Spin's vortex. With one move, the queen bee burned with twice the intensity.

Chauffemagne's <<Incinerate>> soared above Monty, completely missing the blazing Vespiqueen, but Oracle was right on target.

How fitting that she would be the one to finish the job. Her opponent's Pressure decreased as it took damage, and as the Absol SHOT! forward her own Pressure drowned out that of the insect. In a FLASH! of black light she CLEAVED! a gouge clear across the queen bee's neck; a critical hit from <<Sucker Punch>> into <<Night Slash>>.

The queen bee crumpled into the flower bed, wholly defeated, and Monty shot up with a gasp. Fuck, he needed to be saved?! And by Nico, no less! What was the kid talking about when he said he hadn't battled much? In the middle of that melee, spotting Monty in duress like that showed a solid level of battlefield awareness. The chef hadn't given himself enough credit.

The criminal rose to his feet and swiped the jars of honey off the ground, their glass jars mercifully spared from cracks by the soft flowers, and turned to run back to the group. "Chauffe, Oracle, let's go!"

He wouldn't make the other two trainers wait for him, and Monty jumped back into the 7 v.s. who-knows-how-many melee to lead the charge out of there. He flashed a grin at Esther as he ran by, brandishing the honey jars cockily, and he weaved in-and-out of pokémon moves as his boots pounded the firm dirt path.

Monty's sense of urgency only grew as the seconds of battle ticked by, but he noticed the Combee seemed to be losing heart. The relatively-weak Bug-Types' casualties were mounting exponentially, and an equal number started fluttering back toward the hive. Without their queen calling the shots, and with so many of their own pokémon holding them back, the swarm had been effectively routed.

"Let's not give them time to recover!" Monty shouted back to his companions. Parterre Way was a decently short route, as far as he remembered, but he couldn't imagine the entire swarm would follow them the whole way. With the honey secured and their Vespiqueen out of commission, they should reasonably be able to escape.

 

[Hecotoro]

Azumi Towers, July 1st, Kalos.

"How much longer are we staying here?" Azumi rested her chin on her hand as she leaned forward, sitting next to the famous Kalos fountain in Parterre Way, "Nana, we must go, it's not safe here this time around."

The Gardevoir giggled as it splashed around in the fountain, playing with the Floette that had taken refuge form the angry bugs. Despite being several years old and fully evolved, the psychic fairy couldn't turn down the opportunity to play with other Pokemon or eating cookies. If her trainer interrupted her play time though, she would be upset the entire way until she found something new she liked or forgot why she was upset.

"I swear I can hear Combee buzzing up ahead, we really should get going."

Nana refused to acknowledge her trainers words, dancing around in the water and singing along with the other small fairy Pokemon. Azumi knew this was going to last long, since they left the capital of Kalos, her Pokemon didn't have a chance to play or spend time with others. She didn't mind taking a break, but why had they chosen such a place? Only brave ones would cross it and idiots would get close to the hives of bug Pokemon. Yet, here they were, risking getting attacked by a swarm just as long as Nana could play with her new friends.

Azumi opened up her water bottle and took a drink from it, looking ahead, seeing some sort of battle going on. "Poor fools, they must have bothered the Combee. I'm sure they have strong Pokemon to get them out of there. Only a fool would go into such place without a single badge under their belt."

 

[~Patriot~]

Montagne Khastil
July 1 - Parterre Way (Route 4), Kalos

If there's a job, something will go wrong. Monty had that lesson smashed into him countless times over the years, so in hindsight he shouldn't really have been surprised that getting the honey and defeating the Vespiqueen would have given them an easy escape.

But still, another swarm?! The cloud of Combee had dissipated, thanks to Esther's team's onslaught and the disorganization resulting from the queen bee's defeat, but another storm front was moving in from further down the route. It was big, it was red, and its buzzing was just as loud as the Combee's.

The Ledyba swarm which the gate guard mentioned was on the offensive.

"Bordel de merde," Monty cursed as he glimpsed the incoming swarm. Did they have a defensible position? The Combee swarm was still at their backs, and if they stayed there they'd end up caught in a pincer. Their only path was forward, then.

Between themselves and the incoming Ledyba swarm sat a wide circle with a large fountain in the middle, with two? women milling about. Monty felt his blood start to rise as he called back to his battling teammates. "We've got incoming! Rendezvous at the fountain!"

He and his pokémon took off, and Monty kept his gaze focused on the fast approaching Ledyba swarm as he ran.

 

[Ridge]

Rick
[July 19th] Yellow Rock Beach, Whirl Islands - Johto

Spoiler: Pokémon (In-hand)

Rapidash ♀ [Iris] | Ability: Flash Fire | Condition: Tired | Meteonite Energy: None

Agility​

Flare Blitz​

Heat Wave​

H. Horsepower​

Low Kick​

Protect​

Solar Blade​

Wild Charge​

Rick and Iris were lying on the sand and taking a sunbath to revover from the last crash. While the initial intent was to keep a low profile, it would just be a matter of time until people started showing up. If not for curiosity, maybe for the chance of finding some stardust from that shooting star that had just fell off. Those who hoped for the latter would be disapointed though. A curious Kricketune came up to them to inspect. Iris slightly raised her head, looking at the incoming pokémon with a squinted eye. She made a brief grunt and stretched her tailflame as a warning to stay back. Rick then also raised his head to glance at the bug-type. "Stop. That's someone's pokémon. There are no Kricketune on the beach." He told her.

And soon after, an actual person came in to check on them, with a sableye in tow. He didn't waste time to introduce himself, and even told Rick where they were without him even needing to ask. Now that's efficiency. "Yeah, we're alright. Just a had a little issue with the landing gear." Rick said to Quinn, as he was getting up. "I'm Rick by the way. She's Iris." He introduced, pointing at the mare with a thumb. Iris got up as well, shaking off the water and sand that sticked to her body. "Is that Kricketune also yours?" Rick asked.

 

[kyuukestu]

Esther

Friday – Morning July 1

Route 4

Kalos Region​

Team On-hand: Pyrrha (Jangmo-o), Pariparisithea (Munna), Tarrah Ta’Ella (Bounsweet), Kasriel Ikaros Svelinka Sō (G-Zigzagoon), Bâquîle Nâva (Goomy)

In Esther’s care: Houndour​

Honey get!

Esther salivated; she could almost taste the sweetness on her tongue. Lunch would be something that went well with honey, she’d already decided. Thoughts of fancy Kalosian bread drizzled with honey were temporarily thrown to the back of her mind—'Soon, my sweet darlings...soon!’—and thoughts of how to pull themselves out of this mess took forefront.

It would be pretty bad to get sandwiched between two swarms and while Esther wasn’t particularly concerned (it wasn’t like they were facing mortal peril), they would still be in for a bad time.

“Houndour, cover please! Pyrrha, up front!”

As Houndour moved to blanket their rear with «Smog», Pyrrha—now significantly faster after the series of «Scale Shots»—rushed to the front of the group. With Pyrrha at the front and Nâva at the back, they’d be able to cover the group in a double «Protect» canopy.

Of course, until they reached the fountain it was her job to shake off the Combee swarm, so the ordered her other pokémon to keep up their assault. Esther kept a keen eye out for any Combee that worked up the courage to launch an attack, but occasionally she’d spot things that piqued her interest, like the interaction between Nâva’s «Bubble» and Houndour’s «Smog».

She could do something with that.

Spoiler: Esther’s Inventory

$3,000

Hand-woven kilt

Spoiler: Working Towards

Everstone x 1 – $15,000.00

 

[Hecotoro]

Azumi Towers, July 1st, Kalos.

"What is that red cloud?" Azumi stood up, squinting her eyes, "Oh mon dieu, Nana, we need to go."

The Kalos native turned around, realizing Nana had divided the group of Floette into two groups, arguing amongst themselves while one of the small fairy Pokemon had her face painted blue with white stripes. Nana on the other hand was standing like some sort of queen, with the other Floette protecting her from the opposite team. A lot of questions clouded Azumi's mind, but she didn't have time to ask her Gardevoir what on earth was going on. She waved her arms, getting the attention of the fairy Pokemon, enough for them to see the approaching swarm of red bug Pokemon, causing them to flee instantly.

"Come on Nana, we need to go, now." Azumi held out her hand to help her teammate get out of the fountain, noticing the fear cover the eyes of the playful psychic Pokemon. "We can get you dry once we're safe."

Nana left the fountain, trying to move quickly and get out of there as soon as possible. However, her senses couldn't help but perceive feelings coming from someone else, besides her trainer. She look towards the red swarm and then noticed some humans running towards them. She had to think about it for a second, Azumi would want to help them and that could slow down their escape, but then again, it was the right thing to do. With a heavy heart, she let out a small cry and pointed at the group under the cloud of Ledyba.

"Huh? Are those, people?" Azumi followed Nana's gaze, trying to make out who was running towards them. "Oh, Nana, weren't those two in a battle earlier? Hmmm, I suppose Absol isn't the best choice when it comes to swarms of bugs. We have to help them!" She raised her arms and started waving at the trainers, "As-tu besoin d'aide? Do you need help?" she called out, ready to spring into action.

 

[Godjacob]

Desmond Andrews (Unranked)
Yellow Rock Isle, Whirl Islands, Johto (July 19th)​

"I would...prefer it if you didn't mention the blood. Trying my best not to have that factor into everything else." Desmond replied simply to Naka an acknowledgement that he had been aware it was a thing but given his Pokephobia he tried not to compound the issue by also panicking over the blood as part of him had been tempted to do.

Desmond watched as Esther on a freakin Sharpedo of all things seemed to race to the ship which had not aided in helping him ignore the blood in the water or this general chill. Of all times and all situations, but he tried not to let the panic show as he had this stubborn point to prove and so he continued to swim towards the ship with Politoed in toe.

"All right, you just...lead the way." Desmond said to Politoed who nodded as the pair moved inside, indeed he had been greeted with a Corsola that swam up as the Politoed managed to divert it away and Desmond seemed to catch his breath. Still, mucha s the thought of other Pokemon with them in a confined space had been....eerie to consider, Desmond focused on the pictures as there had been some great interior shots to take.

Snap!

Desmond and Politoed moved through the ship, as Politoed tried to follow the familiar scent of Skol in the water as it figured another friend could aid in making Desmond comfortable as they ventured close to that room Aldon and the Horsea were inside.

-----
Kricketune had somehow paddled its way to the shore and it paused to catch its breath as not being a Water Type combined with it being more a performer than anything else meant it needed some cardio work. Either way, it noticed some other creature, a Shinx it seemed, that had been relaxing on the sand as it watched the child splash and fail to move into the water due to the tide.

It tilted its head at the electric feline before it turned to walk along the water a bit to Gene as it tried to help the child up and just checked to see if she was okay. "Tune?" It asked with concerned not that Gene likely had understood Poke Speak.

Its attention soon turned to another man, who seemed to literally crash into view and likely had some injuries, and another individual who arrived to check on the injuries. Kricketune seemed concerned of course but it least appeared he was getting help from this Sableye trainer individual...not that Kricketune had known either of them.

The man addressed the Kricketune who asked if it belonged to the rescurer, and quickly the Kricketune nodded "no" to the man. Poitning to the sea as if to suggest its trainer was down there.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Nakano Saito​

Date: 1 Month Ago (26 years old); June 16
Location: Eterna City Pokemon Center, Sinnoh
Pokemon Team: Chu the Pichu, Fluffy the Flareon, Hanu the Infernape, Yuki the Froslass, Aero the Aerodactyl, Orochi the Zweilous, Ludwig the Ludicolo, Silenus the Sceptile

Interactions: Gwen Tucker (IDKWhatUserNameToDo), Ron Towers (Hecotoro)

As soon as Gwen spoke, the scared eyes of the Rotom stared at her. If it could breathe, it would be heavily panting right about now. Mean and evil grunt, though? Who was she talking about? OH! His owner!

Well... He wasn't that bad of a guy. The Rotom frowned, buzzing somewhat solemnly and Naka sighed. "I think the Rotom actually liked the guy. You got a name?" The Rotom looked at Naka, those formidable scars had him wishing he had the energy to leave the phone and possess something else. Out of fear, it buzzed and showed a name on its screen.

Percy.

"Oh, Percy, is it? That's pretty cute." Naka complimented, the Rotom buzzing a bit sheepishly, but then grew sad again. It looked up at Gwen, wondering what she was going to say about it. Only to freak out and hide within the phone when Ron spoke to them.

Naka looked up and seen he was rather dirty. Did he wrestle something? She stood up immediately and spotted the red marks on his forearm. "Oh goodness..." She sighed, immediately going to the counter. A Blissey appeared and bowed. "Hey, Blissey, can you get me some disinfectant wipes and gauze please?" The Blissey bowed and trilled, walking away and coming back with a tray with the needed items. While the Blissey was doing that, Naka had pulled out her phone, went to her League App, hit the appropriate categories, and sent in her information to the Eterna City database she'll be battling them later. Grabbing the medical supplies off the tray and slipping her phone back in her pocket, Naka bowed and thanked the Normal-Type before coming back to Ron. "Yeah, I'm gonna challenge Gardenia, as well. Can't let that bite get infected now though." She pointed to the booth. "Sit please." Her voice carried a more firm tone she would normally reserve for her Pokemon, only falling off slightly at her 'please' when she realized she had slipped to her more Pokemon trainer vibe. If he didn't, she'd drag him there herself, showing how strong she was despite the camo coat disguising the bulk on her arms.

 

[~Patriot~]

Montagne Khastil
July 1 - Parterre Way (Route 4), Kalos

A do-gooder! Perfect! And to make matters better, it looked like the "woman" who was splashing around in the fountain wasn't just friggin' looney with green hair; she was a pokémon. Better yet, it looked like the same kind of pokémon he'd seen Diantha, Champion of Kalos Diantha, partnered up with on TV. Maybe do-gooder-girl was as strong as her?

"Si vous offrez!" Monty called back to the waving girl. The criminal slowed his run to a brisk walk when he hit the dirt-path circle ringing the fountain, and when Pyrrha shot by he did a double-take. Did the drake move like that when they battled her earlier?

"Chauffe, follow after her," the Lumiosite commanded his Houndour. "Be ready to Roar once those Ledyba get in range." Chauffemagne gave an affirmative nod and took off, happy to do his duty. Monty glanced down to Oracle, who set an annoyed look on the trail of dust the speed-boosted dragon kicked up.

To think the dragon was holding out on her, HER, during their battle! It wouldn't have mattered if the detestable lizard was that fast in their battle, anyway, but to think the drake was so arrogant as to think she could battle Oracle without use of her full speed!

Hmphf! If the bronze-and-gray lizard was so stupid, so be it. She'd just need to get another chance to teach her a lesson. The mere thought made the Absol's blood boil, and her claws reflexively scratched the ground as she padded beside Monty.

"We're headed to Santalune," Monty started once they got closer to the girl and her...Gardevoir? He was a little more out of breath than could be proud of, but he was a brawler. Cardio was never his strong suit. "But the numbers in these swarms are slowing us down." He glanced back at Esther and Nico, who seemed to be mopping up the Combee pretty well. "I don't think either of them would mind a hand, and I'm not one to turn one down."

"Oh, my name is Montagne by the way. Yeah, like 'mountain'." Better to get introductions out of the way now, and he gave his in what he assumed was both of their native language. "But most people call me Monty. You are?"

 

[Alternate_Mystery]

[Colored]
[Yellow Rock Isle, Beach - Johto]
[July 19th]

It had been... actually, how long? It was a bit rough and hard to remember.

Either way. Colored hadn't been doing much in her unexplained absence, mainly doing her own thing and getting that Togedemaru she had gotten to warm up to her more.

Mostly just research... so why in the name of Lugia was she in the Whirl Islands?!

That... was a mystery and a half. But Colored was mostly here because of, if she really had to guess, training for the sake of improving for a Contest debut.

So if anyone needed an explanation for this girl and her Vaporeon doing some odd looking Water Gun control tests, there you are. Said Vaporeon was probably how she got here - though her showing up was a bit random.

Just a basic, good old solo training montage. Though maybe not for too long.

 

[Hecotoro]

Azumi Towers, July 1st, Kalos.

She looked at the odd group of individuals that had gathered, besides the Absol, it seemed their Pokemon were just getting started and were still on early stages. That would explain why they were struggling with the swarm of bugs and probably why they dared to venture into them in the first place. She could ask questions later, for now, she needed to assist them.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Monty." Azumi bowed her head before looking up with a smile, stepping forward to get a better read of the situation. "I can give you support while we get to safety." She pointed at the hive of Ledyba coming overhead, "But such big numbers will eventually overwhelm us if we stay here too long." She looked back at her Gardevoir, who was giving Monty a death stare. "Nana, Mystical Fire, let's try and keep them away with warning shots."

Nana raised her head and walked past Monty, waving her arms in small circles as two rings of fire began to form in the air. She swung her arms back and than forward as hard as she could, shooting both rings into the air. While moving, the rings united to make one bigger one, spinning rapidly and exploding just in front of the swarm, sending a small rain of flames towards them, causing some to flinch and move out of the way.

"Keep it up!" Azumi called out, before turning to the rest, "Anybody need first aid? I have three hyper potions in my bag and a full heal. Sorry I don't have more, was not expecting to need them. Just please, avoid the cookies." She pointed at a black bag next to the fountain.

Nana murmured angry words under her breath as she kept shooting rings of Mystical Fire at the attackers. Her play date had been ruined, just when she was going to take over the fairy populations and name herself queen.