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[Merciless Medic]

Nakano Saito​

Date: July 22 (26yo)
Location: Tornare Coliseum - Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle, Whirl Archipelago, Johto
Pokemon Team: Mudster the Swampert, Iwa the Wishiwashi, Ludwig the Ludicolo

Battling: Esther and Feebas (kyuukestu) vs Iwa the Wishiwashi

Naka watched as the Feebas rode the wave and jumped out, only to... Attack the air? There were no more Stealth Rocks. So why would she do that? Was this a cheat to get faster with Swift Swim for a brief moment, or were those raindrops from Brine supposed to damage?

Not wanting to take chances with that, she grinned and called out. "Scale Shot!" Five fish-shaped "scales" were launched towards the airborne Feebas. Naka figured the Feebas would just smack them back with Flail or something. Though, she almost felt bad for having her Wishiwashi attack it.

That was a rather beautiful Feebas though. She wasn't going to be beautiful when she evolved, she was beautiful. Here and now.

 

[kyuukestu]

Esther

Friday, July 22

Tornare Coliseum – Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle – Whirl Archipelago

Johto Region​

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

There was nothing Esther or Feebas could do to avoid the Scale Shot and frankly, she didn’t want to. The scales pelted Feebas, but that was okay, Feebas was a hardy pokémon and more importantly—“Gotcha!”

It was a lesson every grade schooler had learned, a simple quip that explained gravity. What goes up must come down. The spray of Brine fell back down and, of course, landed directly onto Feebas. The Scale Shot had been more than enough to drop Feebas to less than half health and thus as brine landed its secondary effect took hold and its power was doubled, just in time for—“«Mirror Coat»!”

Doubled once more, the blast that went flying towards Iwa was four times stronger than anything Feebas could’ve dished out otherwise, and furthermore because they’d used mirror coat, the attack wouldn’t be resisted. Feebas wasn’t likely to survive long against Naka’s Wishiwahi, so they’d risked it all on a single glass cannon attack!

Now they just needed to roll nat-20 for a critical hit.

Spoiler: Esther’s Inventory

$5330

Pokéflute

PokéToy

Practice Ball

Seal Case

Spoiler: Working Towards

Everstone x 1 – $15,000.00

 

[Merciless Medic]

Nakano Saito​

Date: July 22 (26yo)
Location: Tornare Coliseum - Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle, Whirl Archipelago, Johto
Pokemon Team: Mudster the Swampert, Iwa the Wishiwashi, Ludwig the Ludicolo

Battling: Esther and L' Basseau the Surskit (kyuukestu) vs Ludwig the Ludicolo

Naka watched as the Feebas had actually survived the Scale Shot, and the ensuing Brine boosted the power of Mirror Coat to attack Iwa. Wow, that was rather impressive. Iwa tried diving for cover, but the Mirror Coat's redirected attack had smashed right into her before she even got a chance to run for cover. Iwa was actually shoved further into the water and she let out a gurgling cry at the attack.

In that burst of light, Iwa had actually shifted. She came out, but not as the amalgamate. As her solo form.

To put it frankly, Naka was amazed.

"Able to go toe to toe with me like this? Damn, I wonder what it would be like if we fought without type restrictions." Naka was absolutely excited. The fun of the fight helped her ignore the crowd and better focus on something else, like what Esther was going to throw out next. "To weave together the biological components and move mechanics of your Pokemon... That takes a skill most don't have. If my Pokemon weren't as strong as they were now, you'd have given me a run for my money and actually win."

With that compliment out of the way, she returned her Wishiwashi. Now, her last one.

She learned that she needed a quicker Pokemon to deal with Surskit, and what better way to do that than her dancing partner? She threw out the ball and caught it as it flew back from letting go of the dancing kappa. He let out a trill as he spun in his dive towards the water. The air trapped on his sombrero had actually bounced him back out of the water and onto a platform, twirling in his flying arc until he landed in which he bowed.

His feet kicked up again, and he was doing some sort of tap dance as he began looking around at all these pillars. Now time to put them to good use.

 

[kyuukestu]

Esther

Friday, July 22

Tornare Coliseum – Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle – Whirl Archipelago

Johto Region​

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

Feebas was a bit of a one-trick pony as the damage from Brine and Scale Shot was enough to knock it out. It smarted that she couldn’t think of anything else to do with Feebas but when its only other moves were tackle and splash well...even Esther couldn’t pull miracles out of her ass.

That left Esther with only one pokémon. No problem, the match had gone swimmingly thus far, she was sure she could still show off a final hurrah. The bubbly pokéball came out once more. “Let’s wrap this up Susu! Prepare the concoction!”

Spoiler: Esther’s Inventory

$5330

Pokéflute

PokéToy

Practice Ball

Seal Case

Spoiler: Working Towards

Everstone x 1 – $15,000.00

 

[Merciless Medic]

Nakano Saito​

Date: July 22 (26yo)
Location: Tornare Coliseum - Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle, Whirl Archipelago, Johto
Pokemon Team: Mudster the Swampert, Iwa the Wishiwashi, Ludwig the Ludicolo

Battling: Esther and L' Basseau the Surskit (kyuukestu) vs Ludwig the Ludicolo

Prepare the concoction?

Naka didn't like the sound of that. It must have something to do with that honey sweet, sticky film stuff the Surskit made at the top of his head. Naka looked at the pillars and hummed.

"First, Bubble Beam! Then, Ice Beam!"

Ludwig bowed before jumping and twirling, landing on foot as he spun around slowly to create a large swath of bubbles that flew out to the pillars. Before they had a chance to pop, Ludwig froze them with a beam of ice, creating bridges of slippery ice between the pillars and the water below.

He looked at the opposing side, then smirked. He jumped back and into the water, sending out a flurry of bubbles as he swam backwards, laying traps down.

 

[kyuukestu]

Esther

Friday, July 22

Tornare Coliseum – Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle – Whirl Archipelago

Johto Region​

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

Esther scoffed. “Ahhh? You think Bubblebeam is your ally? You merely adopted Bubblebeam. I was born in it, molded by it.”

Who did Naka think she was, using her Bubblebeam strats against her. The nerve of some people.

“I’ll also have you know my strategies are copyright protected. You’ll be hearing from my lawyer.”

“Show ‘em how it’s done Susu, Bubblebomb!”

Susu’s antennae and leg were a blur, swiping quickly over a single bubble as it was blown to life. At first, it was only twice the size of a normal bubble, then thrice the size, bigger than Susu herself and growing larger still. Bubbles were usually fragile things, quick to pop at the slightest touch. Blowing bubbles underwater wasn’t all Esther had prepared. There was a way to make bubbles stronger, last longer and that was to add things like oils and sugars—like corn starch. Luckily, Surskit happened to naturally produce two substitutes—the oil on its legs allowed it to walk on water and she secreted a sugary substance from her antennae. The result was the mother of all bubbles. Big, firm, dangerous. Formed like a Rasengan, held aloft like a spirit bomb—the pinnacle of bubbleology.

Esther raised her head and regarded Naka smugly.

“Watch closely padawan. Toss it Susu!”

With two spindly legs, the Bubblebomb was tossed forward. “Just like we practiced, Water Gun half power!”

The bubble sped up as a stream of water pushed it from behind. The reduced water gun wasn’t strong enough to pop the bubble outright, but it did give it a little push, and more importantly, water was beginning to slowly fill the bubble and it grew slightly larger. Esther would love to say they’d perfected the means to fill the bubble with water and make it an even more devastating attack, but unfortunately, even Susu couldn’t create a bubble durable enough to hold a significant volume of water.

Spoiler: Esther’s Inventory

$5330

Pokéflute

PokéToy

Practice Ball

Seal Case

Spoiler: Working Towards

Everstone x 1 – $15,000.00

 

[Merciless Medic]

Nakano Saito​

Date: July 22 (26yo)
Location: Tornare Coliseum - Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle, Whirl Archipelago, Johto
Pokemon Team: Mudster the Swampert, Iwa the Wishiwashi, Ludwig the Ludicolo

Battling: Esther and L' Basseau the Surskit (kyuukestu) vs Ludwig the Ludicolo

Naka watched with wider and wider eyes as the bubble Surskit created grew and grew. And then, the Surskit fired it.

Ludwig had peeked his head above the water and saw that monstrosity of a bubble. It was going to generate one huge pop, and he was so astounded, he forgot what he was supposed to be doing. That was when he heard Naka yell. "Frozone it!"

OHH, LIKE IN THAT ONE MOVIE! Mr. Incredibles, right?

He hopped out of the water and froze the water right under his feet. The bubble got closer and was filling up with water now. Having done this before to one of trainers in Hoenn who had Rollout, he faced away from the bubble and built a sloped u-turn pipe, then jumped back into the water. As the bubble came closer, it slid off the ice, and the momentum made by the quickly made pipe should send it back to sender. Hopefully.

If not, he was going to freeze it with a half-power Ice Beam.

 

[kyuukestu]

Esther

Friday, July 22

Tornare Coliseum – Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle – Whirl Archipelago

Johto Region​

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

Esther’s expression was strange. Was Naka building a...oh...she was. A U-turn. Did she really think that was going to work? Ha! The bubblebomb was durable but it wasn’t that durable...Maybe...probably...ehhhh well, if it was then Esther didn’t plan to find out.

“Fill her up Susu!”

The half-powered water gun surged to full power and the bubble waved then—

Spoiler: Esther’s Inventory

$5330

Pokéflute

PokéToy

Practice Ball

Seal Case

Spoiler: Working Towards

Everstone x 1 – $15,000.00

 

[Merciless Medic]

Nakano Saito​

Date: July 22 (26yo)
Location: Tornare Coliseum - Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle, Whirl Archipelago, Johto
Pokemon Team: Mudster the Swampert, Iwa the Wishiwashi, Ludwig the Ludicolo

Battling: Esther and L' Basseau the Surskit (kyuukestu) vs Ludwig the Ludicolo

Naka was trying to think quickly, that bubble was going to pop soon and it was looking more and more unstable. Then, it was like a light bulb went off.

"Ludwig, make a concave wall with Ice Beam!"

Figuring it out, Ludwig spewed the Ice Beam on the u-turn pipe, turning it into a large wall where it was bent in just a way that the sound would go towards Esther. But it was shoddily made, so the wall was likely going to break, and the ice was so cold the bubble touching it could either freeze or burst. Ludwig and Naka then closed their ears, bracing for impact.

 

[kyuukestu]

Esther

Friday, July 22

Tornare Coliseum – Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle – Whirl Archipelago

Johto Region​

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

FalloverandKOLudicoloFalloverandKOLudicoloFalloverand—“Damn it!”

It seemed an easy life wasn’t to be but then again, Esther had never expected it to be easy. Hell, she was further than she thought she’d even be. The bubble burst with a sound like rolling thunder, the crack of ice like crashing lightning! The water that filled the bubble came rushing back towards Esther. The sound had disoriented Susu and Esther saw it get pulled under by the wave. She didn't think it was much of a problem for Surskit, being able to walk on water all anti-sinking-like, she wasn't really at risk of being drowned or anything, but Esther hurriedly kicked off her shoes, and just-in-time, as chilly water came lapping at her toes. The wave, the Tsunami even, had Esther giggling—so she picked up right where she left off against Charlotte.

“I’m sorry if a come on a bit too strong~♪
“That’s how we do things where I’m from!
“And why settle for less than number one?
“I’m taking names!
“Making waves!!
"Hey! Hey!
“Fire, wind, and earth can’t stop me~♪
“I’m a natural disaster—
“TSUNAMI!
“Baby, you’ve already heard about me~♪
"I'mma go!
"I'mma go!
"I'mma go!”

Susu pulled herself back to the surface of the water, having been washed to the far side of the arena by the backlash of the bubble. Naka’s ice wall hadn’t hilariou—cough, ahem—tragically fallen backward and flattened her Ludicolo, it had done what massive chunks of ice tended to do and the sudden drop in temperature had created a thin film of rolling fog on the water. It wasn’t much and Esther didn’t think it’d last long, but when you were as small and as quick as a Surskit? Well, you didn’t need much more than that!

“Quick Attack into the frost! We'll nail 'em at least once before we're through!”

Susu became a streak of white as she darted into the frost-formed mist, all but vanishing from sight.

Spoiler: Esther’s Inventory

$5330
Pokéflute
PokéToy
Practice Ball
Seal Case

Spoiler: Working Towards

Everstone x 1 – $15,000.00

 

[Merciless Medic]

Nakano Saito​

Date: July 22 (26yo)
Location: Tornare Coliseum - Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle, Whirl Archipelago, Johto
Pokemon Team: Mudster the Swampert, Iwa the Wishiwashi, Ludwig the Ludicolo

Battling: Esther and L' Basseau the Surskit (kyuukestu) vs Ludwig the Ludicolo

Naka was correct to assume the bubble popping was going to be loud. They were saved from the good brunt of it, but they still heard it through their hands covering their ears. The fog came rolling in and Ludwig began dancing. He heard the sound of Esther singing and he clapped to the beat, dancing around and trilling.

Due to the song making his body jive, he let his body dance and seemingly looked unaware. His hand however darkened as he readied for a move. It wasn't Sucker Punch, but it was Knock Off and it was likely going to be enough to knock out the Surskit. Was it going to get a hit in? Probably, but that was the point before he swung around with a counter which was Knock Off.

 

[kyuukestu]

Esther

Friday, July 22

Tornare Coliseum – Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle – Whirl Archipelago

Johto Region​

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

Esther knew it would be dangerous to attack Ludicolo directly. One hit and they were done for! She needed to time to think about her next move.

“Keep your distance, circle it!”

Susu was quick and nimble darting around Ludicolo at high speeds, not close enough to be in range and trying to keep well out of their foe’s field of vision. Esther bit her lip before an idea came to her.

“Jump and use Bubblebeam!”

With a great leap, Susu took to the air and began to rain bubblebeams down at Ludicolo.

Spoiler: Esther’s Inventory

$5330

Pokéflute

PokéToy

Practice Ball

Seal Case

Spoiler: Working Towards

Everstone x 1 – $15,000.00

 

[Merciless Medic]

Nakano Saito​

Date: July 22 (26yo)
Location: Tornare Coliseum - Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle, Whirl Archipelago, Johto
Pokemon Team: Mudster the Swampert, Iwa the Wishiwashi, Ludwig the Ludicolo

Battling: Esther and L' Basseau the Surskit (kyuukestu) vs Ludwig the Ludicolo

Naka was looking for the Surskit, trying to find where it was going to be attacking from. Once it had taken to the air, her voice rang out. "Up! Giga Drain!"

Ludwig looked up and saw Bubble Beam being fired at him, but considering it did a quarter of the damage on top of the Surskit being not very strong compared to him, he was able to take it like a champ. Canceling Knock Off quickly (as it wasn't even fully charged, just half charged), he held up his hands, completely unfazed by the attack as he sent his own attack. These glowing green orbs blasted through the Bubble Beam to attack the Surskit, hoping it was quick enough to hit it.

 

[kyuukestu]

Esther

Friday, July 22

Tornare Coliseum – Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle – Whirl Archipelago

Johto Region​

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

Oh, she was such a bad person for doing this. The shit-eating grin on Esther’s face said it all. Naka had done made an oopsie. If Naka had taken the time to look at Esther, she would’ve caught the Oblivian making a gesture. A thumbs down? No, she was pointing to the water? Something beneath the water? Ah, the traps Naka had laid. Traps that Ludicolo was roughly above, traps that the Bubblebeam she’d fired downward would trigger. Traps that it seemed Naka had forgotten. Not that Esther blamed her, the majesty of the bubblebomb would stun even the most seasoned veterans.

So it was that even while Ludicolo shrugged off the bubblebeam and went for giga drain, stray bubbles landed in the water and—well, you could read Esther’s lips.

“Boom.”

Esther wasn't sure how densely Ludicolo had laid those traps, but she was hoping the blast would at least knock its Giga Drain way off-course and leave it open to—"Soak it!"

The deluge of water Surskit spat out would overwrite Ludicolo's typing, replacing its dual typing with a single water type and their attack would hit that much harder if they were successful.

Spoiler: Esther’s Inventory

$5330

Pokéflute

PokéToy

Practice Ball

Seal Case

Spoiler: Working Towards

Everstone x 1 – $15,000.00

 

[Merciless Medic]

Nakano Saito​

Date: July 22 (26yo)
Location: Tornare Coliseum - Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle, Whirl Archipelago, Johto
Pokemon Team: Mudster the Swampert, Iwa the Wishiwashi, Ludwig the Ludicolo

Battling: Esther and L' Basseau the Surskit (kyuukestu) vs Ludwig the Ludicolo

As the attack went through the Bubble Beam, the stray bubbles had hit the water around the Ludicolo and-

Well, whatever explosion Esther was hoping for was rather anticlimactic. The bubble traps weren't so densely packed together to make sure Ludwig wouldn't get hit with his own traps. The explosions did nothing in stopping his attack from staying true, Ludwig being uncharacteristically focused in making sure that hit landed.

Seeing the Soak, he swapped moves on a dime, his bill opening and firing off an Ice Beam that froze the water Surskit threw at him, turning it into something he ended up grabbing. He held onto it like a shield, watching the Surskit warily.

 

[kyuukestu]

Esther

Friday, July 22

Tornare Coliseum – Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle – Whirl Archipelago

Johto Region​

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

Esther’s face fell as the blast she’d hoped for proved...underwhelming. Well, whatever, it was still her win~

“Now! Quick Attack!”

The frozen stream of water that went from Ludicolo was many things but in this case, it was a slippery highway perfectly suited for Susu. She rushed down the pillar of ice and came face to face with Ludicolo. Even without Esther’s order, she knew what to do—“Make ‘em sticky!”—harmless but annoying sticky syrup poured from her antennae, a hair-care nightmare for Ludicolo’s fur-covered body.

“Get Oozed! Again!”

It was Esther's final act of defiance as the earlier Giga Drain had done its job and Susu fell unconscious to the waters below.

Spoiler: Esther’s Inventory

$5330

Pokéflute

PokéToy

Practice Ball

Seal Case

Spoiler: Working Towards

Everstone x 1 – $15,000.00

 

[Merciless Medic]

Nakano Saito​

Date: July 22 (26yo)
Location: Tornare Coliseum - Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle, Whirl Archipelago, Johto
Pokemon Team: Mudster the Swampert, Iwa the Wishiwashi, Ludwig the Ludicolo

Interactions: Esther Sophys (kyuukestu)

The Giga Drain had whizzed by the Surskit, and now the Surskit was whizzing towards Ludwig. He was about to go for a Zen Headbutt, but the sticky syrup had actually caused him to stop his attack. He looked down at the horrendous sticky liquid, letting go of the ice block and trying to get the sticky stuff off.

Surskit was knocked out though, so that proved Naka the winner. Ludwig frowned. But at what cost?

Naka returned him, chuckling. "That was a fun battle, Esther! Nice job! Now, I gotta clean up my Pokemon before the finals, you dork." She laughed, retreating back down to the lobby and heading towards the medical bay. Healing her Pokemon, she sent out her Swampert and began trying to clean off the areas needed most, which was around his mouth and around his eye. Her Ludicolo didn't really need urgent cleaning and Swampert's moist skin helped loosen some of the sticky Shellos solution. However, it was still sticky and extremely tacky if not sticky. This was what they called opaline, a stress response in the Shellos line. It was mainly used for blocking the olfactory senses of their predators and getting them stuck on things while the Shellos gets away, among other uses. Considering that the Shellos got hit by Mudster's Liquidation, that meant it had Sticky Hold... Which meant this opaline was probably twice the stickiness.

Naka sighed as she got to work, pouring a little bit of acetone and wiped away at the edges. The acetone stung, it felt like his skin was wrinkling, and he felt his body and mind get sluggish as if he was getting drunk. Smelling the fumes did not help. However, it was working, especially as she got out some charcoal, rubbed it on the towel, and used the charcoal as a safeguard to help make the acetone not hurt as bad. As soon as she got a quarter of the way done with Mudster's face, she rinsed that spot with water, the Swampert gurgling in relief. Only to have to toughen up and go through it three more times until his face was free.

"This is going to be a long day." Naka sighed, hoping she was able to get this done before Reina's match with her.

 

[kyuukestu]

Esther

Friday, July 22

Tornare Coliseum – Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle – Whirl Archipelago

Johto Region​

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

Esther cackled as she walked off the battlefield. What did Naka expect? Snitches got stitches and Smurfettes got...oozettes? Whatever. Esther was one very happy camper as she hop-skipped over to the medical bay to have her pokémon treated. Once that was done it was back to the lounge to watch the rest of the tournament play out. She wondered how Reina was doing?

Once she was back in the lounge Esther reclaimed her seat next to Theo.

“See that? Now that was a good battle.”

Spoiler: Esther’s Inventory

$5330

Pokéflute

PokéToy

Practice Ball

Seal Case

Spoiler: Working Towards

Everstone x 1 – $15,000.00

 

[Sir Krazz]

Friday, July 22
Tornare Coliseum – Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle - Johto
Interactions: Esther (Kyuukestu)
Mentions: Naka (Merciless Medic)

He wasn't sure he had minced words. He had thought it was a good match, however short it had been. He hadn't seen many matches, so it was right up there. “But I...ok” and just like that she was gone, off to the medical bay. He shrugged, returning to the trainer's lounge. His turn was coming up, his matches back to back, so he wanted to get in as much rest as he could before that happened. He knew there was time before the next match, so he wanted to get his next info sheet prepped and ready. The match was to be Esther vs Naka. While doing that he was rejoined by Esther, giving a nod to her answer. “Oh yeah? What got you in to it then?” Was this the time for personal questions like this? Not really. Was he going to ask them anyway? Absolutely. He quickly checked her out top to bottom when she said she was born ready, giving a nod as she walked off to the battlefield, waiting until she was out of earshot. “I really hope that's a saying over here too.”

Throughout their match Theo took wrote down what pokemon each trainer used and what attacks were called out, not sure how many of them were actual attack names and how many were code names. He didn't think he could do that. That was going to be just one more thing to have to keep up with. Some pokemon he didn't write down their names, but rather quick descriptions of them. There were question marks next to some attacks and even SuSu the Surskit's name, indicating he wasn't sure if that's what the pokemon was called or if that was just a nickname. He made other notes as well, the topmost being get oozed with a big ? Next to it. Below that was Bubblebomb, something he was almost certain wasn't a real thing. Yet here it was, right in front of him on the big screen. Under Naka's page he wrote shiny ?The two were having one hell of a battle, and honestly Theo wasn't able to follow all of what was going on right now.

He scratched the top of his head with his pen once the match was over, looking back over the list. He got to work writing out more detailed information on the attacks each trainer had used, giving a nod to Esther when she returned and asked about seeing her battle. “I did. It was leagues above your last battle. I wanted to ask. The concoction. Is that a Susu only move, can it be used by other Pokemon, or is that an Esther original?” He didn't look up from his notes until his question was asked, seeing Naka in the distance scrubbing her Swampert after the battle. “Do you...think you should help out with that?” he motioned past her to draw her attention to the mess she had caused.

 

[kyuukestu]

Esther

Friday, July 22

Tornare Coliseum – Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle – Whirl Archipelago

Johto Region​

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

Esther smugly regarded Naka’s predicament. Help her? “Of course...not. She tried to cut my baby in half; I hope it stains!”

As it were, Naka would receive no aid by Esther’s hand and besides, Theo had asked about her attack and Esther was all too happy to gush about the process. She flipped her wriest and presented the screen of her pokétch, a few taps later she’d holographically projected the pokédex data for Surskit.

“My pokémon aren’t as strong as most of the others and that also means they don’t have as many moves. I kinda had to double down on the moves I had, currently this is what Susu knows—”

The screen changed to a display of al the moves Surskit could learn, most of them were greyed out.

“The bright ones are what Susu knows.”

• Hydro Pump
• Aqua Jet
• Bubble
• Water Gun
• Quick Attack
• Sweet Scent
• Water Sport
• Soak
• Bubblebeam

“I plan to become a Coordinator, so I’ve been practicing, y’know, using my moves creatively. Bubblebeam is the strongest attack I have access to—Hydro Pump would be stronger, but Susu can’t seem to get that one down, not enough power to it. But anyway, I was thinking of how best to use Bubblebeam and those were the strategies I came up with! The concoction is unique to Surskit, I think. Other pokémon might be able to do something similar, but It’d depend on their biology. Look here—

Surskit skate on the surface of weedy freshwater ponds and lakes. The tips of their feet secrete an oil that allows them to stay on the water’s surface. Sometimes, after heavy falls of rain, Surskit may congregate on large puddles of water on the ground. They attract prey by using Sweet Scent and emitting an alluring smell from the glands on their heads. Then, they quickly dart to catch prey using their two front legs. They feed on small fish and microscopic aquatic organisms, competing against Dewpider. When in danger, Surskit will secrete a thick, sweet, honey-like substance from their head glands.

“The concoction is when Susu mixes the oil and syrup she secretes into her bubbles. Y’know, you can make bubbles stronger by adding corn starch or sugars, I figured whatever Susu secreted would be a good substitute and voila~”

Spoiler: Esther’s Inventory

$5330

Pokéflute

PokéToy

Practice Ball

Seal Case

Spoiler: Working Towards

Everstone x 1 – $15,000.00

 

[Charlotte Pryce]

Charlotte Pryce
Date: July 22
Age: 21 years old
Location: Whirl Archipelago, Johto
Pokémon Team: Splash the Floatzel, Cloyster, and Lanturn.
In the Audience: Fernando (Infernape), Dini (Alakazam), Bolero (Roserade), Hatari (Luxray), and Tiburon (Garchomp).

Splash paced the lobby floor. Charlotte's phone call was taking too long. Still, she hesitated to go out and see what was up. Charlotte could get snippy when she was on the telephone. It was best to be patient, at least for now.

Outside, Charlotte was on the verge of tearing her cell phone in half. She had a feeling this was a scam call. Why else would the number be unlisted? Upon saying hello, she heard nothing but three seconds of static. Now comes the part where an answering machine asks me to type in my trainer card info, Charlotte thought. She prepared to hang up when a voice on the other end of the line spoke.

"See, Pryce? It's not polite to ignore others, now is it."

Charlotte's face turned white faster than the summit of Mt. Coronet.

"Who is this?" This was no automated caller. That was certain.

"That's better. For a moment, I was worried we got the wrong number."

"Who. Is. This." Charlotte's words practically grated against her teeth. She heard laughter.

"My. My. Have you gained no patience since we last met?"

That voice.

"Imagine my surprise, seeing the little girl that tried to ruin my company merely a few months ago."

Charlotte glanced up at the stadium. Distinguishing a face in the crowd of spectators was like picking out a drop of rainwater in an ocean.

"You won't find me," the caller said on the opposite line.

"It doesn't matter," Charlotte replied, "I know who you are."

"Yes, I imagine I left quite an impression the first time we met in person."

Charlotte felt her ears turning red.

"But let's forget the past. As it happens, I am currently on vacation. I only wanted to congratulate you."

"Congratulate me?" On what? Charlotte wondered. The tournament?

"Those Sinnoh gumshoes had an extra look-see at that 'visual evidence' we brought in," the caller said. "They determined that since the footage was altered, you were not required to pay for the damages."

Charlotte blinked. Of all the responses, that was one she did not expect. "Does this mean you'll submit a public apology?"

She heard a snort on the other end of the line. "My, you're cute. No, the lawyers only cleared you of the damages to my building. The rest was considered as compensation for the Garchomp that you stole."

"Stole!?!" That tore it. "Listen you b--"

"Choose your words carefully," the caller warned. "I may change my mind about sending you a reward."

"I don't need anything from you!" Charlotte shouted. With that, she hung up. The nerve! Once her head cooled down, she started to pace. That caller was somewhere in the audience. Charlotte was sure of it. Her Pokémon were also in the audience. Charlotte suddenly felt a cold lump in the pit of her stomach. Vacation or no vacation, if that person saw her Pokémon, they were in trouble. She had to get them. Fast.

 

[Sir Krazz]

Friday, July 22
Tornare Coliseum – Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle - Johto
Interactions: Esther (Kyuukestu), Naka (Merciless Medic)

Well that was....disheartening. How could someone so pretty on the outside be so ugly on the inside? He guessed this too was a constant across two worlds. People who thought they were better than everyone else just because they were them. He said nothing, instead producing his Rotom Phone and quickly snapping a picture of the holographically projected information. He would update his written information later. He did write down the word Coordinator in his notebook under Esther's information with a ? next to it, one more thing he'd have to look up later. If she happened to look at his notes she would see that they were written in a strange language, Theo again snapping a picture of the pokedex app entry like he had the moves her Surskit knew. He also made note of the fact Esther thought the concoction was unique to Surskit, wanting to make sure to look more in to that as well.

“Fascinating. All of it. Truly...fascinating. It's just..um...how do I say this? Ah. At the end of the day, when you're done with all of this” he waved his hand in a circular motion between them to indicate all of her and then to where the battles so far had been held “It's just a competition. Your opponents are human just like you are. Their pokemon matter just as much to them as yours do to you. So maybe...treat them a little nicer? Little more respect? You'd be surprised how much better people treat you if you treat others nicely.” It was just a suggestion. Hell she hadn't even won and she was acting like this. If you asked him that was the most embarrassing part of their entire exchange. Theo closed his notebook as he stood, giving a quick nod and a shake of his notebook. “Thanks for clearing up some of my incomplete information. I'll be sure to review it more thoroughly later. If you change your mind, you're more than welcome to join us.” With that he moved away, heading for the medical bay. As he approached Theo would pantomime rolling up his sleeves, grinning to Naka. “What can I do to help captain?”

 

[Merciless Medic]

Nakano Saito​

Date: July 22 (26yo)
Location: Tornare Coliseum - Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle, Whirl Archipelago, Johto
Pokemon Team: Mudster the Swampert, Iwa the Wishiwashi, Ludwig the Ludicolo

Interactions: Theo Hightower (Sir Krazz)

Naka had finally got most of the sticky, tacky stuff from over Mudster's face, but it did indeed stain his skin purple. There was no removing that. There was more sticky stuff on his chest, but Mudster was starting to fuss from the use of acetone and he repeatedly wanted to smack the bottle (thankfully, it was still closed) off the counter with his tail.

Naka shushed him softly, kissing his nose. "You'll be okay, we're almost done. How's your face?" Mudster grumbled. It was sore and sensitive, and Naka noticed how tender it was when she tapped it softly by his wince. She pulled him into a hug, the mudfish hugging and curling up around her. "It'll be sensitive for a little bit, but it won't be like that forever, okay? I know, amphibian skin doesn't like alcohol..."

She heard someone walk over and saw it was Theo. She smiled graciously, waving at him. Mudster just simply peered over at whoever was there, but upon seeing it was that young man from earlier, he perked up some.

"Mudster's face is sensitive and stained and he doesn't want me using the acetone anymore. I got off all the sticky stuff as much as I can from his face, but the stuff on his chest will have to stay for a bit longer, or at least until he wants me to go through it again. As for Ludwig." She released her Water/Grass-Type, who trilled and skipped about, only to stop mid-dance and pout at his sticky fur. It smelled good, but to the Ludicolo, it was just a facade for its repulsive attribute. "I still need to unstick his hair and if I don't, he'll fight poorly in our next fight." She clicked her tongue and Ludwig waddled up to her, his jovial dancing gone as he waited to be cleaned.

"Maybe you can help clean him? Or keep Mudster company. Whichever you choose." She looked over at the lobby and tilted her head, her voice lowering. "What's up over there? You seem... A bit tense back there."

 

[kyuukestu]

Esther

Friday, July 22

Tornare Coliseum – Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle – Whirl Archipelago

Johto Region​

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

For a few moments, Esther was stunned. Had he just...really? Her rage flashed hot. A thousand snarky remarks were on her tongue but. before she could utter the first syllable he was gone. She burned all the fiercer for his absence, her eyes like knives in his back. Pyrrha’s pokéball shook at her waist, a tickle of warning and concern. Esther breathed deeply. “You’re right, you’re right. We wouldn’t want to get worked up.”

Her good mood was. squandered, so Oblivian picked herself up and headed for the door. After all, with her portion of the tournament done she had little reason to stay. She would’ve stayed to watch the other matches, but she had no more mood for it. Better to remove herself from the situation.

Esther huffed, maybe she could find some battles in the city, and give herself and her other pokémon a workout.

“Self-righteous prick.”

Spoiler: Esther’s Inventory

$5330

Pokéflute

PokéToy

Practice Ball

Seal Case

Spoiler: Working Towards

Everstone x 1 – $15,000.00

 

[Sir Krazz]

Friday, July 22
Tornare Coliseum – Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle - Johto
Interactions: Naka (Merciless Medic)
Mentions: Esther (Kyuukestu)

“I'll take over Ludwig. You should probably focus on performance right now rather than comfortability. Sorry Mudster” he knew the Swampert wasn't enjoying the sticky situation he found himself in, but Theo felt he was in a better fighting shape than Ludwig was at the moment. The stuff did smell sweet, but too much of a good thing was still too much.“Bueno Dias!” he laughed at her question, shaking his head and waving it off. “Lets just say I'm not winning any popularity contests where Esther is judging. I suggested she come help clean this off.” he gestured to the gunk they were working on cleaning off Naka's pokemon “And I might have suggested she treat others with a bit more respect.” He got to work starting with the acetone. “She was ready to gush about her pokemon, which I can understand to an extent, but this was still her doing. I just felt like she should have taken a bit more responsibility for cleaning up the mess she made, and told her as much. Gotta say though. That's the first time I've walked away from a woman leaving her speechless. Usually they're the ones leaving, laughing and making jokes.” He thought for a few seconds, musing “Too bad I didn't try catching that Skarmory yesterday. Could've probably used a steel feather or two to just give Ludwig here a hair cut.” He felt like it would have been easier than cleaning the stuff off, but hey. They had to use what they had on hand.

 

[Godjacob]

Desmond Andrews (Unranked)
Red Rock Isle (Scarlet City), Whirl Islands, Johto (July 22nd)

"Well, things got explosive in a hurry..."​

Desmond muttered to himself as many of the opening round bouts had been quite exciting, granted it was a pain to try and get shots of separate matches that had been going along at once, but he had managed to get some good shots as Esther and Naka seemed to both get a turn with Charlotte as well as then take on each other, while Savannah and Reina seemed locked in an extended bout that the crowd seemed to be captivated by.

Politoed and Kricketune danced and continued to perform, at times cheering for their friends which had been easier against the lesser known Charlotte but when Naka and Esther had taken on each other it had been a bit more conflicted who they'd support among them. Desmond himelf had not been much of a cheerleader even as Kricketune poked it to get him to cheer a bit for Savannah and Reina.

"I already have a hard enough job as it is, I am not gonna do cheers." Desmond said back with some sass as Kricketune seemed disappointed, but Politoed patted its back and assured it, just means they needed to cheer twice as hard which had gotten the bug Pokemon's spirits lifted as they continued to show their support.

 

[Charlotte Pryce]

Charlotte Pryce
Date: July 22
Age: 21 years old
Location: Whirl Archipelago, Johto
Pokémon Team: Splash the Floatzel, Cloyster, and Lanturn.
In the Audience: Fernando (Infernape), Dini (Alakazam), Bolero (Roserade), Hatari (Luxray), and Tiburon (Garchomp). AND NOW CHARLOTTE.

Finding her Pokémon proved to be a more difficult task than Charlotte anticipated. They had done a marvelous job blending in with the crowd. She found Hatari and Bolero sitting together in the front row. Fernando, one of her more Hydrophobic Pokémon, was in the back, and Dini the Alakazam appeared as if from thin air, holding a large bucket of popcorn.

"Please tell me you didn't steal that," Charlotte begged.

Dini rolled his eyes and stuffed his face. WON IT IN A GAME OF SCRABBLE, his letters spelled out in the air. Charlotte didn't question it.

"You'll have to take it to go because we're getting out of here."

SOMETHING WRONG?

"Of course not," She lied. "I just would feel more comfortable if you and the others watched the tournament with me in the lobby."

Dini shrugged but followed. Charlotte counted off her Pokémon. Splash in the lobby made five, plus two more inside their Poké Balls.

"Wait," Charlotte looked around, feeling the pit in her stomach acting up again. "Where's Tiburon?"

 

[Merciless Medic]

Nakano Saito​

Date: July 22 (26yo)
Location: Tornare Coliseum - Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle, Whirl Archipelago, Johto
Pokemon Team: Mudster the Swampert, Iwa the Wishiwashi, Ludwig the Ludicolo

Interactions: Theo Hightower (Sir Krazz)

Mudster grumbled, then nodding. He understood, just didn't like the truth of the matter. Ludwig perked up as Theo said he was going to help him, giving him a brush and the bottle of acetone Naka had given to him. Naka tilted her head questioningly at his exclamation. "Hm? Metztlian?" She paused a bit, but decided to let him continue. She snickered at what Theo said, then shook her head, letting out a sigh.

"Theo, she is looking out for her own Pokemon. Yeah, should she have more respect? Probably, but I don't care. She's probably around the same age as you and is just enjoying what she can despite not being able to be as strong as everyone else. That takes a talent most don't have. But, I did call for an attack that used a sharp blade of water." She looked at Mudster, who showed the attack with water surging around his forearms, then a crude water-made katana appeared in one hand, before it vanished into a puddle that landed on the floor.

"That's called Liquidation. You hit your opponent with water so hard it feels like they're hitting concrete, and it can lower their physical defense. I have sixteen gym badges - which yes that is a measurement of strength here - and she probably only has a few gym badges to account for. I don't care if she doesn't give me respect, I have to earn that from her. Just as she has to earn that respect from me. If she doesn't want to help me clean it up because I called for an attack that nearly sliced her Shellos in half, then so be it. I deserved that. Don't be upset with her just because she's looking out for her Pokemon and herself. It can be a cruel world out there and you likely robbed her of the only fun she had today. People, like Esther, take these battles really seriously. They take being a trainer seriously. If they have a strategy that worked in battle, I'm going to celebrate that with them, not condemn them for their later actions for not helping me with cleaning up the mess they made. We agreed to fight, so whatever happens to our Pokemon is our own responsibility, not somebody else's. If they do something to help, that's cool, but they aren't forced to, nor should they be forced to help. Nobody is forced to care for the other side's Pokemon, but most do because we're humans." She chuckled, yet her voice still soft and soothing despite the lesson she was teaching Theo.

"But we're also human in that we don't like it when we feel slighted and won't help someone for some reason or another. As petty as that is, that's just the color and nature of humans, and I won't have it any other way." She looked up at Theo, smirking slightly. "Though, you're lucky she didn't straight up punch you. Good thing you walked away when you did. Would have to treat you for a broken nose or a chipped tooth." She chuckled, petting her Swampert as he relaxed more and more in her hold.

Upon hearing that Theo was going to cut Ludwig's hair, he glared up at Theo and shook his head, even holding up his mitted hand and waggled a webbed finger at him. Naka chuckled. "Not to call Ludwig out, but he's a bit vain. He only trusts that I cut his hair unless you got some hidden barber experience." She chuckled, shaking her head. "The comfort of the Pokemon is just as important as their performance. Don't let battle performance hamper on your view of comfort for them, or else you'll end up treating them as tools instead of sentient - and sometimes sapient - creatures with their own goals and dreams. But don't spoil them too much either." She chuckled, massaging the head fin of her Swampert. "Just the right balance."

 

[Sir Krazz]

Friday, July 22
Tornare Coliseum – Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle - Johto
Interactions: Naka (Merciless Medic)
Mentions: Esther (Kyuukestu)

“Sorry. It was a thing from a movie. Road to..well, anyway.” he shrugged it off. Guess that movie hadn't been made here? That could be a way to make some money. He watched as the Liquidation was made and dispersed, giving a nod. He was about to interrupt, to ask what a gym badge was, when he remembered she had already shown him. She had one that was old and fatigued, and one that was sparkly and shiny and new. And she had 16 of them. He assumed different ones, as having 16 of the same thing like a badge didn't make much sense. The more she talked, the worse he felt about what he had done. He kept forgetting he had to look at this world through its eyes and set of rules, not the one he came from. “Dammit. Now I feel like the asshole. Maybe I should go apologize.” He looked over to where he had left Esther, but she was no where to be found. Had she left? Would he have to go looking for her?

He came back to the here and now when Ludwig waged a finger at him, grinning to the pokemon. “Barber experience, no. But I do know my way around a machete. I've bushwhacked my way through the Amazonian rain forest a time or two....you don't know where that is....Super dense forest. Lotta bugs...lotta snakes. And don't get me started on the jaguars.” Shit she didn't know what those were either. “Jaguars. Imagine Shinx but like...20 times bigger and with claws...and spots” He put a hand on Ludwig's still wagging finger “No worries Ludwig. I don't have a knife on me...right now.” Would that change in the future? Most likely. Pokemon were sounding more and more like people the more she talked about them. And maybe in a way they were. Hers certainly acted human enough. “Balance. Balance is the key to a happy pokemon, which is the key to a successful pokemon, yeah?” If allowed to continue, Theo would continue to help clean the gunk off Ludwig.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Nakano Saito​

Date: July 22 (26yo)
Location: Tornare Coliseum - Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle, Whirl Archipelago, Johto
Pokemon Team: Mudster the Swampert, Iwa the Wishiwashi, Ludwig the Ludicolo

Interactions: Theo Hightower (Sir Krazz)

"Bueno dias just means good day, doesn't it? Oh, wait, Road to El Dorado... Yeah, now I get it." Naka chuckled, shaking her head. "Man, that was a good long while ago, since I was a kid." She reminisced for a moment, then shook her head to get back on track. She raised an eyebrow as Theo expressed his want to apologize. "At least you got a good head on your shoulders. Just expect a punch or get pulled into a battle or something. Otherwise, your word kinda means nothing."

Ludwig didn't feel any better about Theo knowing how to use a machete, his body shivering at the thought. "Maybe don't talk about machete experience when you were just talking about cutting Ludwig's hairs." Naka snorted, finding Ludwig's discomfort a bit funny. But now that she was wanting to get Theo uncomfortable, she looked up information on Pokemon based on snakes. Bugs were a dime a dozen, so she wasn't going to show a huge list of those. But snakes? The had a handful. Jaguars? She wasn't so sure if they had anything similar than a Liepard, she just ended up getting the list of big cats.

Ludwig allowed Theo to continue, though looked slightly miffed. Naka hummed at his words as she looked through her phone to compile pictures in a list. "Yup, just like children. A balance of rewards and discipline. Hot takes for some people to hear that, but oh well." She then found a list and showed a purple rattlesnake, a purple cobra with a spooky symbol, a rocky snake, a metallic snake, a derpy-looking yellow snake with a drill for a tail and small wings, a similarly looking derpy-looking yellow snake with several segments instead, a black snake with yellow spots and a blade for a tail, and the familiar green lizard with tiny legs he saw on the bookmark and its two-stage evolution.

"Hehehehehe~." She giggled mischievously. "Look~."

She waited for Theo to look at her phone, waiting oh-so patiently.

 

[Charlotte Pryce]

Charlotte Pryce
Date: July 22
Age: 21 years old
Location: Whirl Archipelago, Johto
Pokémon Team:
On hand: Fernando (Infernape), Dini (Alakazam), Splash (Floatzel), Bolero (Roserade), Hatari (Luxray), Cloyster, and Lanturn
Missing: Splash [currently in the lobby] & Tiburon [whereabouts unknown]

Charlotte's Garchomp was safe and sound. Dini, it turned out, had bribed someone's Gardevior to conceal Tiburon during the tournament. Fortunately, Dini still had her Poké Ball, so it took little effort to get her to return. Charlotte returned to the lobby with everyone safely inside their Poké Balls, except for Dini, who wanted to share his popcorn with Splash.

Splash greeted her as she walked in but was quickly distracted by the bucket of popcorn. For once, Charlotte didn't mind. Dini levitated next to Splash and tossed kernels into her mouth. Charlotte sat down, rigid and white-lipped. She didn't even bother to lecture her Pokémon about being aware of public surroundings. Naka and Theo were talking about animals. She didn't see Esther around, so Charlotte concluded Esther had left. Her mind was still preoccupied with the phone call.

Imagine my surprise, seeing the little girl that tried to ruin my company merely a few months ago.

That's less than you deserve, Charlotte thought, considering you almost ruined my life. Charlotte felt one of her Poké Balls vibrating: the ultra ball. She took it off her belt and twirled it in her hands.

"Trouble just seems to like following us, doesn't it."

The Poké Ball rattled, though not in response to what Charlotte whispered.

"I know you want to come out," she said, "but there's not a lot of room in here."

That was only part of the reason, however. The other part was that Charlotte didn't want to freak everyone out by letting a full-grown Garchomp loose in the lobby, especially a Garchomp with a history of aggression. Before the phone call, she had not wanted the tournament to end. Now, she couldn't wait until they were all out of danger.

 

[Sir Krazz]

Friday, July 22
Tornare Coliseum – Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle - Johto
Interactions: Naka (Merciless Medic)

Aww. So they did have Road to El Dorado. Well hell. “Yeah. I didn't have any friends growing up. It was all archaeology, books, and movies, in that order. What's the language called that uses Bueno Dias? I only knew that from the movie, not gonna lie.” He'd take one punch to the face please. He knew he had to stay positive. He was positive he couldn't win against someone who already had badges, of which he didn't even know how to earn. “How many badges are there in total? If you've got 16, you must be a pretty big deal.” He had his suspicions, this just confirmed them.

“I promise. No more machete talk.” he held up a hand scouts style, then motioned for the Ludicolo to come back over to him. He got back to cleaning Ludwig “Rainforest wasn't all bad though. We were part of the team was sent to investigate Montegrande. It was a civilization of people we didn't even knew existed until...6 years or so ago. They didn't leave any writings. But we know they communicated somehow, we found vilca seeds in their ruins. Vilca doesn't grow in the region where we found them. A lot of their society revolved around snails, most likely because of the hallucinogenic properties of Vilca. It made” he stopped when she told him to look up, looking to the screen for a moment.

“The first one you might've found in the jungle. The second one not so much. All the other ones, well, minus this one” he pointed at the black snake with yellow spots and a blade for a tail “We didn't have anything close to. They're snakes I'm assuming in this world, but on mine....they just didn't exist. Nothing close. The rock one here might've been something someone came up with to use as a garden decoration, buuut that's about it.” Pictures and the actual thing right in front of you were two entirely different things.

 

[Charlotte Pryce]

Charlotte Pryce
Date: July 22
Age: 21 years old
Location: Whirl Archipelago, Johto
Pokémon Team: Fernando (Infernape), Dini (Alakazam), Splash (Floatzel), Bolero (Roserade), Hatari (Luxray), and Tiburon (Garchomp)

Charlotte's phone buzzed in her lap. She had a text message. The caller ID said Unown. Just like that. As in the mysterious symbol Pokémon. Charlotte clicked on it, and it revealed this:

Was it some joke? Or was someone sending her a message in code? She looked at the other people sitting in the lobby. So far, just Naka and Theo. She hesitated to ask them about it. She had a feeling she knew who it was from. On the other hand, if Charlotte didn't translate it, she might regret it later. Hmm... What to do.

 

[kyuukestu]

Esther

Friday, July 22

Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle – Whirl Archipelago

Johto Region​

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

“Fry it, Thunder Fang!”

The charred remains of their latest opponent crumpled into a twitching heap.

“Krabby!”

Esther watched at a simmer as the trainer returned their Krabby and rushed to the pokémon center. Pokémon weren’t invincible, their bled and hurt like everyone else. Sometimes their incredible resilience made people forget that; but match up two pokémon with vastly different levels of power? Damage. Real, damage. Like the scars on Naka’s Swampert at best and much, much worse. That was the risk she ran by participating in the Whirl Cup. If one of her stronger opponents couldn’t pull their punches fast enough then...

And yet...over a stain!? Oh, Esther’s blood boiled in her veins. Not even her battles had quenched her rage, if anything, it burned all the fiercer. She was just so...so...angry. And over something so...so...stupid!

She was angry; too angry even. Wait a minute—too angry...? But Pyrrha wasn’t—"Come out, Pyrrha!”

Esther snatched up the drake before the light of her release had even faded. The Oblivian raised her partner to the sunlight and scrutinized: lifting the drake’s arms, checking her underbelly, sifting her fingers through the feathers of her crest.

“Oh...”

That was bad. That was very bad.

She could see it. The beginnings of new plumage—contour feathers growing where there had only been down—along Pyrrha’s forearms. The faintest tint of new bands of color along the plumage of her crest and tail. There were probably a hundred other details that Esther didn’t have the knowhow to identify, but Esther remembered these. She’d been told about these. Pyrrha was getting close to evolving and that meant...

“Fudge!”

She needed that Everstone.

Spoiler: Esther’s Inventory

$5330

Pokéflute

PokéToy

Practice Ball

Seal Case

Spoiler: Working Towards

Everstone x 1 – $15,000.00

 

[Grand Master Koop]

July 22, Whirl Cup
Savannah

Ducklan regained his stance after the clash with the opposing pokemon. He was about to move into his next move when the words from Ludicolo's trainer reached his ears. Was she actually praising his trainer? The useless dolt who has not given a single useful command this whole battle? Was she dense enough to confuse the Golduck's own achievements as thanks to that brainless girl's commands? Ducklan's building rage was not quelled in the slightest by Savannah's following remarks. "Thanks Rei Rei, I guess my practice paid off."

However, before the Duck pokemon's rage could spike even more, Ludicolo's Mega Drain snapped him out of it. Good, he actually preferred the physical pain compared to the aneurysm he was about to have. With his attention back on the battle at hand, Ducklan reacted quickly.

The super effective grass move was very damaging, which is why the Water type had to seal it off. Snapping his fingers, Ducklan used Disable to lock away the use of Mega Drain from the opposing pokemon for a while. As the green energy subsided, the Golduck took a moment to recover before noticing the incoming stream of bubbles. He crossed his arms in front of him to shield himself from the attack.

As Ducklan was being pelted by bubbles, he was also building up psychic energy inside him. He waited for the Bubblebeam to subside before suddenly uncrossing his arms and sending out a powerful psychic blast at the Water Grass type pokemon.

 

[Charlotte Pryce]

Charlotte Pryce
Date: July 22
Age: 21 years old
Location: Whirl Archipelago, Johto
Pokémon Team: Fernando (Infernape), Dini (Alakazam), Splash (Floatzel), Bolero (Roserade), Hatari (Luxray), and Tiburon (Garchomp)

While Charlotte debated whether to ask Naka or Theo about translating the Unown message, Tiburon growled in her Ultra Ball. The Garchomp did not like being contained for long periods, the result of being captured and experimented on by the C.E.L.L. For a split second, Charlotte worried that the Garchomp might bust out on her own. She wasn't prepared to handle her if that happened. Fortunately, Tiburon seemed to be settling down. She was probably just miffed about not being able to watch the rest of the match.

Speaking of Pokémon, Dini the Alakazam was now levitating by Naka and Theo, seemingly trying to offer them popcorn by shoving the bucket in their faces.

"Dini, no!" Charlotte stood up and scolded the Alakazam. She then apologized to Naka and Theo. "Sorry, I can recall him if he's bothering you."

Charlotte stepped back. Her foot made contact with something hard. Her cell phone! It must have slipped onto the floor when she stood up. Charlotte bent over to pick it up. There were no scratches, but the screen lit up, revealing her last message. Shoot!

 

[Hecotoro]

Reina Cortez, Whirl Cup, Group B, Round 1.

"Chingados!" Reina called out as the Disable took away Mega Drain.

What the hell was Savannah doing to get her Pokemon to be so smart? She looked completely clueless, was that part of her training? She would have to figure out how her training went after the match, in that moment, Reina needed to win.

"Knock Off!"

Chente's gained the same dark energy glow on his hand as he rushed straight ahead at the Golduck. The idea was simple, use the dark type attack to counter the psychic attack and land another hit on Ducklan.

 

[Godjacob]

Desmond Andrews (Unranked)
Red Rock Isle (Scarlet City), Whirl Islands, Johto (July 22nd)​

Desmond continued to snap various photos as he seemed to get in a rhythm by this point, the crowd naturally going nuts behind these exchange of moves in these bouts but he had managed to tune it out pretty well. Politoed and Kricketune seemed to have the time of their lives as they cheered on their friends, currently Reina and even Savannah at different points.

"Poli Poli!"

"Tuunnnee!"

However, as Desmond snapped shots he had noticed one trend of this bout, which seemed to be Savannah's Pokemon almost seemed to be acting in spite of its trainer rather than the pair working in sync, as with its zoomed in lens it seemed to pick up on the Golduck's irritation in spite of Savannah's efforts. That seemed puzzling, but he merely shrugged and continued to document the action.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Nakano Saito​

Date: July 22 (26yo)
Location: Tornare Coliseum - Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle, Whirl Archipelago, Johto
Pokemon Team: Mudster the Swampert, Iwa the Wishiwashi, Ludwig the Ludicolo

Interactions: Theo Hightower (Sir Krazz), Charlotte (Charlotte Pryce)

Naka had noticed that Charlotte came back into the lobby from across the corridor. Did she leave? Weird.

Either way, Naka listened to Theo speak, her tongue now stilling as she focused her hands to massage the sensitive fin on Swampert's head, then moving to massage his sore forearms. At any question he asked, she gave small answers this time. To the language here, she spoke. "Metztlian, from the Metztli region. I think Reina comes from there." To the badges, she smiled, knowing this might be a long answer.

"Each region has eight badges. Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, Galar, and Paldea. There are a couple other badges in Galar due to two of the gym stadiums there changing leaders every year, so it technically has twelve, and Unova as a couple more. That's sixty-eight, and then you have the stamps in Alola in a sort of passport-like book for their Island Challenge, with each of the four islands having trials and larger, stronger Pokemon to beat and then a Kahuna you have to battle before you can move onto the next island in the circuit. In total, there are four Kahunas and eight trials, so twelve stamps, which comes to a total of eighty. Because I've had more experience simply by being through two regions, my battling Pokemon are all pretty strong. But just because you have sixteen doesn't mean you get any recognition until you start competing and getting far in the League Conferences, which I've never been to. Performance anxiety sucks." She chuckled sheepishly.

Ludwig glared at Theo before finally relenting, allowing the human to clean him off. The sticky substance proved stubborn, but with enough elbow grease and acetone, it was starting to come off. As Theo talked again, Naka hummed almost sleepily. "Montegrande... Sounds like Montenevera... But not the ancient civilization part." She chuckled, listening to him talk about the vilca seeds, only pausing him to look at the snakes she compiled into a list. Of course, his reaction left much to be desired and she sighed in slight disappointment.

"Damn, was hoping to scare you." She chuckled. Hearing that the Onix was practically a rock garden had her snorting. "Well, when they coil up, they do look like an oversized rock garden." She let him get back to it, only to see an Alakazam coming in to offer popcorn. Though, she calmly put the bucket out of her face before sending a hand in. She smiled and nodded. "Oh, thank you, Alakazam. I've seen you use your scrabble words earlier. That's pretty cool." She smiled, taking a handful and giving some to her Swampert, who purred as he ate some, and then she ate the rest. Ludwig waved his hand, wanting some as his eyes lit up.

The owner of the Alakazam - Charlotte - came in a moment later. Hearing her say 'Dini', she assumed that's what Alakazam's name was. She raised an eyebrow at Charlotte's concern, and she laughed, shaking her head. "No need to be so worried. He's not bothering us, just offering popcorn. Chill." As Charlotte realized she dropped her phone, Naka caught sight of the screen lighting up and she saw Unown letters.

She gasped. "Ohhh, Unown letters! I can read that! You want me to read that for ya?" She asked, her subdued, relaxed energy from before being overrun by her excitement and the sparkle of intrigue on her eyes.

 

[Charlotte Pryce]

Charlotte Pryce
Date: July 22
Age: 21 years old
Location: Whirl Archipelago, Johto
Pokémon Team: Fernando (Infernape), Dini (Alakazam), Splash (Floatzel), Bolero (Roserade), Hatari (Luxray), and Tiburon (Garchomp)

Dini the Alakazam rolled his eyes at Charlotte as if to say, See? They don't mind. Everybody likes popcorn.

Charlotte barely acknowledged him, however. She was startled that Naka had seen the text message on her screen. What's more, she sounded...excited? It was hard for Charlotte to describe. She never met anyone who could be relaxed and energized at the same time.

"Um, sure. That would be great, actually," She handed Naka the cell phone. "A friend of mine sent this to me. I'm not familiar with Unown codes."

That wasn't a complete lie. Charlotte used to work at a research facility funded by the C.E.L.L. She even met the company founder, before the whole business of highly addictive X All capsules and rampaging Pokémon test subjects soured their relationship.

"I think the first word is 'who'. I'm not sure about the rest. Do you really think you can translate it?"