Beginner RP: Dictator (Luck Gandor)

A Ranger named Tella sat on a bench next to the official entrance to the vast Botanical Gardens, leaning back and watching everything with wary eyes. This place was pleasant, but over the years, pleasant places had come to feel like traps to her. Behind her, equally wary, stood a Blaziken in a calm, balanced stance— relaxed enough to be comfortable, but ready to leap into action at the slightest provocation.

Perhaps twenty years of age, the young Kanto native had almond-shaped, dull blue eyes, and stood with an easy grace that would tell a dancer that here was a dancer... Or a warrior that here was a dangerous foe in her own right, regardless of the Poké Balls at her waist. There were six Poké Balls: one full-sized and awaiting the Blaziken, while the other five were reduced to cherry-sized capsules and clasped securely into an understated but high-tech black belt that would eject them all at once in an emergency.

Tella's clothing was as understated and hyper-practical— almost combat-ready— as the belt that held her Pokémon partners. She wore a long-sleeved black jacket over a white shirt with what looked like a bulletproof vest in between. A pair of heavy-duty black polyester pants with perfectly fitted patches of Kevlar sewn onto them matched her black Tauros-leather boots, which were also strengthened with circular heavy-plastic reinforcements.

The sun shone brightly overhead, but its warmth was pleasant, not sweltering. The rich man who had founded the resort that would come to form the basis of the National Park had commissioned a garden the size of a small country, and although the entire place was now growing wild, the orderly mazes of hedges, carefully arranged meadows, orchards with rows of flowering and fruit-bearing trees, and terraces upon terraces of exotic flowers survived and thrived in the lovely temperate climate of the region.

Perfumes from the flowers— rosebushes, cherry and orange blossoms on trees, and allotments full of tulips, peonies, lilies, and even the odd wild-growing orchid— wafted through the air, and the faint silhouettes of Pokémon could be seen everywhere, scurrying in the shadows amongst the trees and tall grasses of the meadows. Everything seemed calculated to be perfectly relaxing and inviting, partly out of human ingenuity and partly from the genius of nature.

A Trainer was on his way, one whom Tella had been told was named Dictator. She hoped it didn't show through in his personality; she'd had more than enough of those... autocratic sorts in her couple of decades of life.

Movement in the sky, above the horizon to the north, alerted Tella to the approach of one of the flying capsules that transported Pokémon Trainers from the Sky Platform to the various regions of the huge National Park. The capsules were fast, efficient, and safe; but they didn't allow Trainers to do the quintessential Trainer thing: travel the landscape on foot, capturing Pokémon. So they were used to deliver the Trainers to locations where Rangers would monitor them and make sure nothing altogether terrible happened (to the Park or to the Trainer.)

The capsule vehicle arrived about half a kilometre from Tella's location, touching down gently in the middle of a meadow with a quiet firing of thrusters. The Ranger started walking towards it with an attitude of perfect equanimity; as she did so, the door in the side of the vehicle began to open...


~~Park Run Statistics~~

• Trainer Name: Dictator "O'Malley"
  
  
• Location: Botanical Gardens
  
  
• Remaining Encounters: 5
  
  
• Active Effects: None
  
  
• Pokemon Stats:
  Lyra the Sylveon
  
  Gender: Female
  Ability: Cute Charm
  Nature: Hardy
  TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: TM69 Iron Tail
  
  Chance the Charizard
  
  Gender: Male
  Ability: Blaze
  Nature: Adamant
  TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: N/A
  
  
• Total Items:
  Park Ball x3
  Energy Powder x1
  Lava Cookie x1
  Poké Doll x1
  
  
• Total Captured Pokemon:
  None yet!

 

Dictator thought they were going to throw up as they stepped into the flying capsule. Heights and flying were not things that Dictator was good at handling, and they gripped Lyra in their arms as they stepped in. Lyra didn't seem to mind the tight hold, and closed her eyes, happy at being in her trainer's arms. She was equipped with a harness and leash, for her safety.

Lyra was a service Pokemon, which meant that wherever Dictator went, so did she. This was the reason for her being out of her Pokeball, other than the fact that she didn't do well inside of one to begin with. Ever since she was a little Eevee, she hadn't done very well with traveling inside of a Pokeball, so Dictator kept her out of it. They were very in tune with their Pokemon.

Their other Pokemon -- a Charizard named Chance -- had to stay in his Pokeball no matter how much he disliked it, however. Though he wasn't always as destructive as he could be, he was huge, and it was much harder to travel with him outside of the ball. So inside he stayed, though Dictator didn't like having to restrict him.

Their stomach lurched as the vehicle did, starting its descent. Dictator clung even tighter to Lyra, who gave a squeak of protest when she found she couldn't breathe. Dictator let up a bit, forcing their arms to relax and letting Lyra jump to the ground. The Sylveon shook her head, and then stretched out her legs, giving a few cheerful calls as she did. Dictator smiled. Lyra's little calls always sounded like she was singing.

The vehicle finally touched down. Dictator stumbled, but stayed on their feet as the door opened. Lyra was the first to jump out, pulling the leash and saying "Sylveon!" as she tried to get Dictator to hurry up. Grabbing the leash, Dictator walked out of the vehicle, legs still trembling as they walked over to Tella, assuming her to be the ranger who was going to be accompanying them.

"H-hello," Dictator finally said, flinging their arm out and holding out their hand to shake. "I mean, hello. My name is Dictator."

 

Tella looked the Trainer up and down, searching for weakness... and finding lots of it. The Trainer's moniker had turned out to be one heck of a misnomer: this "Dictator" looked nothing like any sort of dictator she'd ever encountered. They were a little overweight, trembling from something— cold, nervousness, or illness, she wasn't sure— and clinging with one white-knuckled hand to a leash that connected them to a Sylveon. At least the Sylveon looked cheerful enough: Tella was more likely to judge a Trainer by how happy and well-treated their Pokémon were than by any sort of social cue.

Aside from that, her charge seemed... confusing, physically. Soft, almost feminine features were contradicted by a flat chest and a faintly masculine structure to the eyes; or maybe it was the dark circles under those eyes that caused that?

"Tella. I'm Tella." the young woman said in a matter-of-fact tone of voice, rudely ignoring the Trainer's outstretched hand in favour of simply nodding curtly. "I will be your Ranger for this introductory trip into the abandoned power plant. In case you were not informed, I should run through the conditions of your presence here. Do not intentionally cause damage to the Park or its property; do not treat the Pokémon of the park in a malicious way; uhh..."

The Ranger, who had been staring off into space somewhere over Dictator's shoulder and speaking as if reading from a script, only now appeared to register the out-thrust hand of the Trainer. "Oh."

Tella reached out and shook Dictator's hand very briskly, almost as if she were eager to get the chore over with. Then she frowned for a second, looked Dictator up and down one more time, and asked bluntly, in a new tone of voice that implied she was exasperated with herself, "Hang on, this is bothering me, are you a boy or a girl?"

Off behind Tella, distractingly enough, Dictator would be able to see a small round acorn Pokémon trundling along, coming out through a grapevine-choked wooden archway that served as one of many entrances to the Botanical Gardens. The Seedot seemed to be minding its own business, but occasionally it would glance over at the two strange two-legged creatures that had wandered into the Gardens' vicinity.

Beyond the Seedot was the entrance to a maze of hedges; after a few metres in, the hedges were overgrowing their intended structure and crowding into the pathway, and might necessitate some pushing through or another way of clearing them in order to progress.

Possible Encounter: Seedot

(Run/ignore? Or battle?)

~~Park Run Statistics~~

• Trainer Name: Dictator "O'Malley"
  
  
• Location: Botanical Gardens
  
  
• Remaining Encounters: 4
  
  
• Characters Written by Trainer: 2036
  
  
• Active Effects: None
  
  
• Pokemon Stats:
  Lyra the Sylveon — Currently out of ball
  HP: 100%
  Gender: Female
  Ability: Cute Charm
  Nature: Hardy
  TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: TM69 Iron Tail
  
  Chance the Charizard
  HP: 100%
  Gender: Male
  Ability: Blaze
  Nature: Adamant
  TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: N/A
  
  
• Total Items:
  Park Ball x3
  Energy Powder x1
  Lava Cookie x1
  Poké Doll x1
  
  
• Total Captured Pokemon:
  None yet!

 

Dictator tried in vain to stop trembling once they realized Tella was observing them. Looking them up and down, as if she was looking at a Pokemon. Dictator straightened their back in an attempt to look more presentable, trying to relax their grip on Lyra's leash. Lyra walked up to Tella curiously, sniffing the leg of her pants before drawing back as Dictator pulled on her leash.

"No," Dictator told Lyra, then looked back up at Tella. "Oh, u-uh, I was talking to Lyra, not to you." They gave a crooked grin that looked forced, still holding out their hand. Their shoulder was starting to ache, until Tella finally shook their hand. "It's nice to meet you, Tella. And I already know about all of the park rules."

They lifted an eyebrow when Tara asked if they were a boy or a girl, then shifted uncomfortably on their feet. "I'm a God. I have no need for human gender."

 

Tella raised an eyebrow, clearly unsure what to make of a Trainer who called themself a God, or how to interact with such a person. "All right, then," she settled on, "Just don't go performing any particularly destructive miracles while we're in there."

She turned around then, though her Blaziken kept on watching Dictator and Lyra, the Pokémon's gaze neutral and observant: a perfect guardian serving as a sentry for the strange and mistrustful Ranger.

"You'll see all sorts of Pokémon here— mostly Grass- and Normal-types— though we won't be going very deep into the gardens this time, so we're likely to encounter only the most common sorts," Tella says, again starting to sound like she's reciting rehearsed lines from memory. "Like that Seedot, for example," she said, pointing out the little acorn Pokémon, which stared back at her intensely with its little ring-shaped eye spots widened in curiosity. "They're not afraid of humans, and generally will engage in a battle with foreign Pokémon as a way of testing themselves. Please decide whether you'd like to go on past this one, or instigate such a battle."

Possible Encounter: Seedot

(Run/ignore? Or battle?)

~~Park Run Statistics~~

• Trainer Name: Dictator "O'Malley"
  
  
• Location: Botanical Gardens
  
  
• Remaining Encounters: 4
  
  
• Characters Written by Trainer: 2912
  
  
• Active Effects: None
  
  
• Pokemon Stats:
  Lyra the Sylveon — Currently out of ball
  HP: 100%
  Gender: Female
  Ability: Cute Charm
  Nature: Hardy
  TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: TM69 Iron Tail
  
  Chance the Charizard
  HP: 100%
  Gender: Male
  Ability: Blaze
  Nature: Adamant
  TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: N/A
  
  
• Total Items:
  Park Ball x3
  Energy Powder x1
  Lava Cookie x1
  Poké Doll x1
  
  
• Total Captured Pokemon:
  None yet!

 

"Oh, I don't really perform miracles. Don't worry about that." Dictator waved their hand dismissively, then wrapped Lyra's leash around their hand. "C'mere, let's get you off this leash." They leaned down and took the leash off of the Sylveon, allowing her to shake out her fur and run free. Lyra ran in a big circle around Dictator and Tella, before coming back to rest at Dictator's side, giving a few soft calls as she did.

Dictator chuckled softly, and then turned back to Tella once she started speaking again. They nodded slowly in response to her words, looking over at the little Seedot as it approached. They wrung their hands with indecision, looking down at Lyra. "What do you think, Lyra? Should we go after it?"

The Sylveon was quiet for a moment, before sniffing and turning up her nose. "No, eh?" Dictator looked back over at Tella. "I think we'll pass on this one."

 

"All right. This way," Tella said, leading the Trainer and their Sylveon past the Seedot. The acorn Pokémon froze, tense and ready to show its mettle, as the group walked toward it... But when they kept going past, the Pokémon relaxed, and after a brief burst of "Seedot! Dot Seedot!" vocalizations, it trundled off somewhere else.

(Escape: Successful!)

The young woman led Dictator through the old archway and into the hedge maze: three-yard-tall hedges, which had once been carefully trimmed into perfect rectangular walls, were now much more naturally shaped. However, this meant that in several places, the hedges completely blocked the path with a two-yard-tall obstruction of living greenery.

Reaching the first of these barriers, Tella nonchalantly walked right up to it before taking a deep breath and performing what looked like a three-second-long dance step or martial arts kata, setting her stance... Then she leapt, impossibly high, over the six-foot-tall wall of greenery with apparently inhuman strength. Her Blaziken gathered itself and replicated the feat, if anything with more difficulty.

Then Tella's voice came from the other side of the hedge wall. "Oh. You'll probably want to find a way through that, Trainer. I apologize for going on ahead; I'm not used to travelling with others. I'll wait here, so get creative, Dictator!"

~~Park Run Statistics~~

• Trainer Name: Dictator "O'Malley"
  
  
• Location: Botanical Gardens
  
  
• Remaining Encounters: 4
  
  
• Characters Written by Trainer (since last encounter): 0
  
  
• Active Effects: None
  
  
• Pokemon Stats:
  Lyra the Sylveon — Currently out of ball
  HP: 100%
  Gender: Female
  Ability: Cute Charm
  Nature: Hardy
  TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: TM69 Iron Tail
  
  Chance the Charizard
  HP: 100%
  Gender: Male
  Ability: Blaze
  Nature: Adamant
  TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: N/A
  
  
• Total Items:
  Park Ball x3
  Energy Powder x1
  Lava Cookie x1
  Poké Doll x1
  
  
• Total Captured Pokemon:
  None yet!

 

Dictator made a sudden halt when they saw the six foot tall hedge, wondering how they were going to get across it. Tella seemed to provide an answer for them, as she leaped much like a feline might over the huge hedge. Dictator stood there in awe for a few seconds, before shaking their head and studying the hedge.

"Seems like a job Chance might be good for," Dictator murmured. They reached for the miniaturized Pokeball on their belt, pulling it off and tapping on it with their index finger to cause the ball to enlarge. They tossed the ball in the air, and it opened, releasing a red beam of light that quickly morphed to form the massive form of a male Charizard. Chance tossed his head and roared, shooting a column of flames into the air, apparently excited at being let out.

"Alright Chance," Dictator said over the sound of the Pokemon's roars. "Let's get over that hedge! I'm gonna climb on your back, okay?" They picked up Lyra as they spoke, climbing carefully onto Chance's back as they did. They settled in the gap between the two wing blades on the creature's back, and just as soon as they had, Chance took off straight up into the air.

Dictator held on for dear life as Chance flew up, well over the six-foot hedge. Dictator gritted their teeth, curling their hands around Chance's neck. "Chance! Go down, boy, down!" They yelled over the wind whipping past them. Chance looked back at Dictator with one brilliant blue eye, then roared again as he went into a nose-dive towards Tella on the ground.

"Pull up, pull up!" Dictator practically yowled, pushing their heels into Chance's side in an attempt to get him to pull up before they hit the ground. Just before they ran smack-dab into the ground, Chance finally pulled up, flaring his wings out to stop them as he floated down to a stop on his hind legs, then dropping to all fours.

Stumbling off of the Pokemon, Dictator looked over at Tella, hair tussled this way and that, looking quite like they'd just stuck their head in a blow-drier. "Sorry about that," they squeaked, pushing a lock of curly hair out of their eyes. "Shall we continue?"

 

Tella didn't so much as duck when the Charizard named Chance narrowly missed ploughing into her; in fact, her unflinching stare remained fixed on the stubborn Pokémon right up until the last moment before he pulled up.

"Your Charizard is highly competent," Tella said matter-of-factly to Dictator as they stumbled off of Chance's back, "But he isn't particularly in touch with your feelings, nor does he care. He knew you were frightened, and decided to do things his way anyhow. He needs a firmer hand."

Chance made a half-snarl, half-roaring noise of aggression in Tella's direction, but cut himself off with a choking noise a moment later as Tella whipped her gaze around like a lash to meet his. Her eyes, which had previously looked to be a dull, washed-out blue, could now be seen to be an unnatural icy bluish-grey hue, and to meet them was to see an emotion sparking within that was both unnerving and impossible to identify as any normal human feeling. She met the Fire-type Pokémon's eyes for a tense moment, in which was contained a staring contest and a contest of wills at the same time... and in the end, it was Chance, stubborn Chance, who looked away.

Tella turned back to Dictator. "He doesn't realize that his actions have consequences beyond success or failure. Criticize him more often, but only when he deserves it; he'll hate it at first, but he'll thank you later in your partnership."

With that, Tella turned her back on Dictator and Chance, to regard the small round-bodied Sentret that was standing on its tail in the middle of the knee-length grass between the two hedge walls with a silly grin spread across its face. It had spent the last several minutes watching all this drama with uncomprehending, simple-minded amusement.

"And what are you looking at?" the Ranger asked it, putting her hands on her hips in exasperation. "We're not here for your entertainment, you know."

"Sen-tret!"

Possible Encounter: Sentret

(Ignore/flee? Or battle?)


~~Park Run Statistics~~

• Trainer Name: Dictator "O'Malley"
  
  
• Location: Botanical Gardens
  
  
• Remaining Encounters: 3
  
  
• Characters Written by Trainer (since last encounter): 2120
  
  
• Active Effects: None
  
  
• Pokemon Stats:
  Lyra the Sylveon — Currently out of ball
  HP: 100%
  Gender: Female
  Ability: Cute Charm
  Nature: Hardy
  TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: TM69 Iron Tail
  
  Chance the Charizard — Currently out of ball
  HP: 100%
  Gender: Male
  Ability: Blaze
  Nature: Adamant
  TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: N/A
  
  
• Total Items:
  Park Ball x3
  Energy Powder x1
  Lava Cookie x1
  Poké Doll x1
  
  
• Total Captured Pokemon:
  None yet!

 

Dictator looked surprised at Tella's quick analysis of Chance -- almost as surprised as Chance himself looked. Dictator already knew that Chance was stubborn and adamant, set in his ways and always ready to do things his way. They reached out to pet Chance's neck once the Charizard looked like he was becoming uncomfortable, and they felt some of the tense muscles relax under their touch.

When they noticed the Sentret, Chance flared out his wings and roared, apparently ready to take out his frustration at being called out on the tiny creature. Dictator quickly got in front of him and waved their arms. "No, no Chance! That wouldn't be fair," they said sternly. Chance grumbled, then turned his head away, a puff of smoke coming out of his nostrils to show his displeasure.

Dictator turned back to face the Sentret, then looked over at Lyra, who had taken her position back at Dictator's side. "What do you think, Lyra?"

Lyra tilted her head, as if she was thinking, and then said, "Sylveon!" She got into a defensive stance, head down with her front paws spread.

"Alright, then." Dictator looked over at Tella. "I think we're gonna fight this one!"

 

The little Pokémon grinned ridiculously at Tella from across the stretch of tall grass for such a long time that it almost didn't notice the battle-ready Sylveon barrelling towards it! Taken by surprise, the wild Pokémon only had time to bark a tiny, squeaking challenge— "Sen-tret!"— before Lyra was upon it!

Current Encounter: Sentret


~~Battle Statistics~~

Sentret: 100%
Lyra: 100%


~~Park Run Statistics~~

• Trainer Name: Dictator "O'Malley"
  
  
• Location: Botanical Gardens
  
  
• Remaining Encounters: 3
  
  
• Characters Written by Trainer (since last encounter): 3,279
  
  
• Active Effects: None
  
  
• Pokemon Stats:
  Lyra the Sylveon — Currently out of ball; in a battle!
  HP: 100%
  Gender: Female
  Ability: Cute Charm
  Nature: Hardy
  TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: TM69 Iron Tail
  
  Chance the Charizard — Currently out of ball
  HP: 100%
  Gender: Male
  Ability: Blaze
  Nature: Adamant
  TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: N/A
  
  
• Total Items:
  Park Ball x3
  Energy Powder x1
  Lava Cookie x1
  Poké Doll x1
  
  
• Total Captured Pokemon:
  None yet!

 

"Alright, Lyra," Dictator said, flinging out their arm in the direction of their Pokemon. Sylveon gave another cry of excitement, ready to get down to business. "Let's start off with our signature move! Moonblast!"

"Sylveon!" Lyra chirped in response, readying herself for the attack. Spreading out her legs, she planted herself firmly to the ground, then lifted her head as her ribbon-like feelers spread out behind her. Behind her, a shimmering image of a tiny moon in full appeared as she opened her mouth, a pink ball of energy gathering within it. Then, she shot it at her opponent, aiming straight for the little Sentret.

 

The Sentret turned and stared at Lyra as the Moonblast charged, transfixed by the pretty light. Then the blast was unleashed, and the little Pokémon was knocked head over tail!

It blinked the dazzle out of its eyes, teetering back and forth, then steadied, chittering excitedly and acting as though it were unhurt! Its funny little chirps grew louder and louder until they started to become painful to the ears. Everyone present clapped hands or paws over their ears in discomfort as the Sentret's chittering developed fully into a Hyper Voice attack, its sonic reverberations centred squarely on Lyra; for her, the sound was actually painful, a pulsing pressure on her eardrums that stung like a blow!

Fortunately, Dictator would see when they looked more carefully and uncovered their ears, the Moonblast attack seemed to have had an additional effect: the bright light had discombobulated the Sentret enough that its voice had wavered with uncertainty partway through the Hyper Voice attack, weakening the special move.

The Sentret bobbed up and down on top of its bushy tail, eager to prove itself to these strange newcomers, and waited for another challenge to its boundless (or it seemed to think) fortitude!


~~Battle Statistics~~

Sentret: 31.75% [Sp.Atk -1][Used Hyper Voice]
Lyra: 91.37% [Used Moonblast]


~~Park Run Statistics~~

• Trainer Name: Dictator "O'Malley"
  
  
• Location: Botanical Gardens
  
  
• Remaining Encounters: 3
  
  
• Characters Written by Trainer (since last encounter): 3,909
  
  
• Active Effects: None
  
  
• Pokemon Stats:
  Lyra the Sylveon — Currently out of ball; in a battle!
  HP: 91.37%
  Gender: Female
  Ability: Cute Charm
  Nature: Hardy
  TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: TM69 Iron Tail
  
  Chance the Charizard — Currently out of ball
  HP: 100%
  Gender: Male
  Ability: Blaze
  Nature: Adamant
  TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: N/A
  
  
• Total Items:
  Park Ball x3
  Energy Powder x1
  Lava Cookie x1
  Poké Doll x1
  
  
• Total Captured Pokemon:
  None yet!

 

Dictator gave a little excited jump when the Moonblast hit its target, and Lyra mimicked her trainer, jumping into the air excitedly. Their happiness was short lived, however, because as soon as the Sentret regained its footing (or perhaps tailing as it seemed to be balancing on its tail), it started to make a strange sound. The strange sounds increased until they were painful, and Dictator put their hands over their ears, squeezing their eyes shut as the sound continued to vibrate through the clearing.

"Ouch -- what was that?" Dictator asked, looking over at Tella once it was over. Lyra had tried to plug up her ears with her feelers, but had removed them once she determined the attack to be over. She shook her head, teetering just a bit as her balance was momentarily offset by the action, before steeling herself and preparing for Dictator to call the next attack. Spreading her legs apart, she rooted herself to the spot and put her head down, what appeared to be a smile stretching across her face.

"Okay, Lyra, let's try an Iron Tail!" Dictator knew Lyra was less experienced with this attack, and pulled one of their park balls off of their belt to prepare to capture the Sentret, whether Lyra missed or not. She needed more experience in the field, after all, and this was a good way to get it.

Lyra nodded, and started to run towards the Sentret, her tail glowing silver as she did. Finally, she turned around at the last second and aimed her tail towards the Sentret, giving a little cry of "Sylveon!" As she did.

 

"That was a sonic reverberation technique, commonly referred to as a Hyper Voice attack," Tella answered the excited young Trainer calmly, watching the next round of the battle unfold.

The Sentret stared right at the onrushing Sylveon, gathering its strength for another attack and grinning. It took the Iron Tail straight to the middle of the circle on its chest, like a boss, turning confidently with the force of the blow and preparing to unleash its next move...

Then it flopped over, out like a light, having exceeded the ability of its body to absorb damage while remaining conscious.

~~Battle Statistics~~ (Battle Over!)

Sentret: 0%
Lyra: 91.37% [Used Iron Tail]

~~

"Aaaand, that's a wrap," Tella said, stepping in between the two Pokémon. "You win, but Park rules state that knocked-out Pokémon aren't fair game for capture."

The young woman knelt down, pulled a small first-aid kit from an inside pocket of her black jacket, and withdrew what looked like a syringe. She administered a shot to the Sentret, and then retrieved a Potion bottle from the kit and sprayed it on the Pokémon's chest where a nasty skinned bit of "road rash" had appeared. The wound closed, and the Pokémon twitched but remained asleep.

Tella stood up, an almost tender look on her face as she looked down at the sleeping Sentret. The look didn't suit the way she'd been acting towards Dictator and Chance so far. Then her face shifted back into that all-business matter-of-fact look, the transformation so complete that Dictator would likely question if they had mis-interpreted her earlier expression.

"The Sentret will stay down for a while, but it'll be good as new once it's had a few hours to rest," she tells them simply. "Let's get going."

Tella and her Blaziken led Dictator, Lyra, and Chance through the maze of hedges for a few minutes, until the maze ended and opened up into a lovely meadow, a sunlit expanse of flower-strewn grasses bounded by an irregular but tastefully arranged ring of trees. This part of the Gardens had been designed to resemble a large clearing amidst a forest, and over time saplings had started to grow and make the design a reality. The meadow was full of flowers in shades of yellow, orange, and red; there was a greater proportion of red flowers near the top of the small hill in the centre of the meadow, and more yellow flowers near the edges where the meadow met the trees, giving a walk across the meadow the surreal feeling of striding along a gradient on an art pallette.

The lovely, sweet scent of flowers drifted through the air, mixed occasionally with the even sweeter nectar-smell of Grass-type Pokémon. Dictator and his Pokémon would find themselves growing relaxed, even sleepy; Tella and her Blaziken, completely unaffected by the soporific effect of the Sweet Scent, watched carefully.

If they spent the rest of the allotted time in a stupor or drowsing, Tella reasoned, that was fine by her: she could spend the time training while keeping an eye on them, and wake them up when it was time to head back. But most Trainers were made of sterner stuff than to waste time smelling the flowers when there were Pokémon to be caught; Tella suspected that Dictator and his Pokémon were no different, and would be coming to sooner rather than later.

Nearby, hiding amongst the bed of flowers, a tiny Grass-type Pokémon stirred and emerged slightly from its hiding spot to watch the Trainers with interest: a Budew, one of the hundreds of wild Pokémon partially responsible for the Sweet Scent that filled the meadow.

Possible Encounter: Budew

(Ignore/flee? Or battle?)



~~Park Run Statistics~~

• Trainer Name: Dictator "O'Malley"
  
  
• Location: Botanical Gardens
  
  
• Remaining Encounters: 2
  
  
• Characters Written by Trainer (since last encounter): 0
  
  
• Active Effects: Sweet Scent
  
  
• Pokemon Stats:
  Lyra the Sylveon — Currently out of ball
  HP: 91.37%
  Gender: Female
  Ability: Cute Charm
  Nature: Hardy
  TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: TM69 Iron Tail
  
  Chance the Charizard — Currently out of ball
  HP: 100%
  Gender: Male
  Ability: Blaze
  Nature: Adamant
  TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: N/A
  
  
• Total Items:
  Park Ball x3
  Energy Powder x1
  Lava Cookie x1
  Poké Doll x1
  
  
• Total Captured Pokemon:
  None yet!

 

Dictator bounced with excitement when they realized they had won the battle, and Lyra did too, until they realized that they then could not capture the little Pokemon, and they both deflated a bit. Chance huffed and blew smoke from his nostrils, looking at Lyra smugly. Dictator could only guess at what the two of them were thinking, or telling each other. Chance was probably laughing at Lyra; they had come out with the purpose of capturing the Pokemon, but had ended up knocking it out instead. Lyra looked a little down, and Dictator frowned at Chance.

"Be nice," they said, wagging a finger at Chance. Chance snorted, then turned his head as all three started to walk after Tella, who led them further through the maze. They started to get a little woozy the closer they came to the meadow, feeling their eyelids start to droop. Dictator leaned against Chance for support, who seemed to be less affected by the sweet scents. He growled and grumbled, but ultimately allowed Dictator and Lyra to stick close to him.

When they came to the actual meadow, Dictator seemed to perk up a bit, walking away from Chance and Lyra and coming closer to Tella. They noticed the little grass-type Pokemon come out of hiding, and Lyra raced up to Dictator's side, chirping out "Syl!" excitedly. Dictator smiled, then reached down to pet her.

"I guess we'll try this one, too. But let's go a little easier this time, alright?"

 

~~Battle Statistics~~

Budew: 100% [EVA-2]
Lyra: 91.37% [EVA-1]

~~

The odour of flowers continued to waft over everything, painting the large clearing with a pleasant atmosphere. The sun overhead was warm but not hot; a gentle dew still rose from the flowers of the meadow, keeping the entire scene nicely humid. It seemed like the kind of day for a stroll, not a battle! The Budew trundled casually out of its hiding place to inspect the newcomers, apparently unaware that anything untoward might occur.

Hardy, excitable Lyra, however, was much less affected by the sweet scent of the meadow. She bounced forward to face Budew and yapped a challenge. The Sylveon wasn't about to let a nice day get in the way of a good fight!

Budew paused, and with a slow blink, accepted the challenge. It settled into its position, then languorously opened the bud atop its head, which began to gleam as the wild Pokémon prepared to strike with some kind of energy projectile...


~~Park Run Statistics~~

• Trainer Name: Dictator "O'Malley"
  
  
• Location: Botanical Gardens
  
  
• Remaining Encounters: 2
  
  
• Characters Written by Trainer (since last encounter): 1,419
  
  
• Active Effects: Sweet Scent
  
  
• Pokemon Stats:
  Lyra the Sylveon — Currently out of ball; active Pokémon
  HP: 91.37%
  Gender: Female
  Ability: Cute Charm
  Nature: Hardy
  TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: TM69 Iron Tail
  
  Chance the Charizard — Currently out of ball
  HP: 100%
  Gender: Male
  Ability: Blaze
  Nature: Adamant
  TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: N/A
  
  
• Total Items:
  Park Ball x3
  Energy Powder x1
  Lava Cookie x1
  Poké Doll x1
  
  
• Total Captured Pokemon:
  None yet!

 

"Okay, Lyra," Dictator started to say, pulling on each of their fingers before starting to flap them with nervous, excited energy. "You're a fairy type, so your fairy-type moves won't do a whole lot of good against a Budew like this... so that means you'll have to use other moves..."

They closed their eyes, running through the moves Lyra had learned in their head for a few moments. Then, their eyes flickered open. "Iron tail!" They called out with certainty.

Dictator knew Chance would probably be better for the job -- after all, he was a fire-type -- but they did not want the poor Pokemon to be blasted to bits by Chance's flamethrower. He had no idea how to control himself. Lyra was much better suited for helping to capture the little Pokemon without roasting it.

Lyra's tail gleamed silver as she rushed forward, spinning around at the last second and aiming her now-silver tail at the little grass Pokemon.

 

~~Battle Statistics~~

Budew: 60% [EVA-2]
Lyra: 85.00% [EVA-1]

~~

Lyra, with singleminded purposefulness that channeled the determination of her Trainer, barreled straight forward and delivered the wild Budew a stinging blow with her silver-glowing tail.

Reacting far too slowly, the Budew backpedaled for two steps and let loose belatedly with a narrow beam of strength-sapping energy; only the first half of the Mega Drain technique even hit Lyra as Budew tripped and fell over backwards mid-attack, unable to fully absorb the impact of Lyra’s Iron Tail move.

Lyra didn’t waste any time giving chase, leaping to stand directly over Budew; but she didn’t strike yet, instead looking back at Dictator and awaiting their command. The Sylveon was on her best behaviour, was itching to prove that she was the Pokémon for this job. And if that meant competing with Chance to see who could be more obedient... well, Lyra loved to compete!


~~Park Run Statistics~~

• Trainer Name: Dictator "O'Malley"
  
  
• Location: Botanical Gardens
  
  
• Remaining Encounters: 2
  
  
• Characters Written by Trainer (since last encounter): 2,340
  
  
• Active Effects: Sweet Scent
  
  
• Pokemon Stats:
  Lyra the Sylveon — Currently out of ball; active Pokémon
  HP: 85.00%
  Gender: Female
  Ability: Cute Charm
  Nature: Hardy
  TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: TM69 Iron Tail
  
  Chance the Charizard — Currently out of ball
  HP: 100%
  Gender: Male
  Ability: Blaze
  Nature: Adamant
  TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: N/A
  
  
• Total Items:
  Park Ball x3
  Energy Powder x1
  Lava Cookie x1
  Poké Doll x1
  
  
• Total Captured Pokemon:
  None yet!

 

Dictator leaned forward on their toes as Lyra caught only half of the Mega Drain attack. They worried momentarily for their Pokemon, but once they realized she was fine, they smiled. Lyra was a tough little thing by nature, they had nothing to worry about. Now they just had to make sure they didn't accidentally knock out the Pokemon they were aiming to capture, just as they had the time before.

Chance was still watching the fight eagerly, grumbling and huffing smoke as his tail twitched. He wanted in badly, that much Dictator could tell, so they put a hand on his neck and whispered "Next time, if you behave." The flame on the Charizard's tail flared with excitement at that.

Now focusing their attention back to Lyra, Dictator called out, "Okay, Lyra, try a tackle!" The Sylveon nodded, taking a moment to prepare herself before stepping back a few paces and rushing at the Budew with incredible speed. She built up power for the tackle in her legs as she ran, tensing her muscles in preparation for what was to come.