Beginner RP: Johnbdm [Woods]

@Johnbdm; Let me know if you have any questions! Also if you could mention me in posts, that'll let me see them quicker!

NBP#1

Ranger Ivy Frost

---

Ivy was looking at the Woods map in that area's outpost when the notice for a new run came in. Haji, her Espeon, was in the rolling chair pulled up to the desk while she leaned over the surface, making marks in red pen where she'd hit on her next patrol.

Ever since the Outer Heavens collapsed, they'd had to relocate a lot of Flying-types into other areas of the Park. Many of the birds ended up going to the Woods. It wasn't really much of a problem—despite birds preying on Bug-types sometimes, they had mostly cohabited fine. But sometimes some of the more fiercer bugs, like Ariados, Galvantula, or Scizor, got a little aggressive. They had to make sure the fliers were doing okay in route checks, like she had planned today. Until the notice, that was.

Looking down at her phone, she saw it was a young man applying for a Beginner run in, of all places, the Woods. Convenient.

Since she was in the location already, she hit accept on the device and quickly scanned through his details. Beginner run meant it was his first time to the Park. She also saw that he had a couple of basic Pokemon—a Snivy and Piplup. He was likely a new Trainer, but that didn't matter. A Beginner run was a good start. He'd get some practical experience working with his Pokemon that might help him on the professional circuit if he was that type.

Ivy folded up the map and stuck it into one of the inside pockets on her long, red canvas vest hanging off the chair. She knew the place by heart, but it never hurt to keep a record updated. Often, they marked off dangerous areas on the main outpost map and each Ranger updated their own records. They had digital GPS too, of course, but Ivy liked having something solid. Technology could malfunction.

She picked her vest off the chair and slid it over her black cargos and turtleneck—it was almost too hot for that now—and pulled out her long red hair from being caught in the collar. At her movement, Haji sat up and waited patiently for her to gather her supplies.

“Change in plans,” she said as she clipped her rope to her belt and made sure she had a couple Pokedolls in her zippered pockets. “We're taking a Trainer through the Woods. We can check the birds along the way.”

Saying it all out loud was redundant naturally, since Haji was privy to her inner thoughts due to his psychic prowess and the mental communication link they shared. Still, it was nice to verbalize things sometimes.

The two trailed out of the workroom and into the open part of the outpost. These smaller ones weren't as busy as the main outpost near the docks, but it was good to have other people stationed in these farther locations just in case. Scientists, researchers, and some Rangers or security were often stationed out here. A secretary and one other Ranger were doing some paperwork as she exited.

Outside, the sun was gently coming down. Spring was thankfully not too hot yet. That meant the Woods were going to be pretty nice.

Taking a seat on the bench along the side of the building, she waited for the Trainer to arrive. Haji jumped up next to her and sat, staring where she was, at the start of the path into the Woods—only he was probably using more of his mental might to scope out the area.

The beginning was lined with tall, mostly-straight trees that made a thick canopy. The entrance was shadowed as a result, which creeped some people out, but Ivy knew that the further in people went, the more the foliage started to vary. There were all different sorts of trees and sections within, housing all sorts of Pokemon.

Not a bad way to start her day, really.

---

Current Encounter Stats: N/A

---

Trainer Stats

Name: John
Place: Woods
Encounters Remaining: 5
Area Effects: It's sunny.
Pokemon Encountered: None
Pokemon Captured: None
MCR: 0

Items: Park Ball x3, Energy Powder x1, Lava Cookie x1, Pokedoll x1

Pokemon Stats

Calm M Snivy
Ability: Contrary
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: Protect.

Bold M Piplup
Ability: Torrent
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: None

 

All right, here we go. @WinterVines (Ready)

---

I am not, in any shape or form, ready.

A chill ran down my spine as I walked. This was the very first time I'd ever gone to the Park, so I was initially terrified. When I noticed Piplup tripped (again), I helped him up and snapped out of my (now spiraling downward) train of thought. Poor little guy is worse at running than me, surprisingly, but somehow it never breaks his adventurous spirit.

The sunlight was surprisingly pleasant and I felt a cool breeze, so I calmed down a little. Snivy was walking right next to me at the same pace. Since it was sunny, he was taking this opportunity to photosynthesize. He then looked at me with an understanding gaze and nodded. This couldn't be that bad, right?

Eventually, we arrived at a building with a bench near it. A girl with long red hair was sitting there, waiting. There was an Espeon sitting next to her.
It's probably the ranger we're supposed to meet; I went to say hello, but Piplup was already hurtling forward. Me and Snivy watched as he sloppily made his way to the two...

...And tripped.

 

@Johnbdm;

NBP#2

Ranger Ivy Frost

---

It wasn't long before Haji alerted her to people approaching. After a short while, she saw three forms scale the hill and keep coming on the path—a person and two Pokemon.

It took a few minutes before they came into focus clearly, but the first thing she noticed is that the boy was very tall. Young in the face though, with dark hair and pale skin. Paler even than hers, for all her red hair. She spent a lot of time out in the sun and got decently tanned; this guy, apparently, not so much.

He moved with a shuffle that was casual and not rushed. One of his Pokemon didn't share the same sentiment, however.

A little Piplup rushed forward, excitedly coming down the path at a rapid rate. Too fast, ultimately. All it took was a few unsure steps, and the small penguin did a faceplant into the dirt not far from them.

The Trainer suddenly stopped, and there was a pretty strange expression on his face. One of surprise-yet-not mixed with exasperation and a touch of humor. Something only the youth could really pull off expertly. It made Ivy smile. She hadn't been that young in a long time, and it was sort of refreshing.

“Easy there,” Ivy called out to the Piplup, rising off the bench to help the Water-type regain his feet.

When he was standing again, the Ranger rose from her crouch and greeted the Trainer. He was at least dressed for the weather in a green T-shirt and jeans—unlike some other thick-headed gym leaders in Oktori she knew—not that it was very hard on a nice day like today.

“Hey,” she said, holding out a hand to shake. “I'm Ivy Frost, your Ranger for this trip, if you're John.” She motioned to the Espeon beside her, who had jumped down from the bench to inspect the Piplup. Perhaps he was talking mind-to-mind to the Trainer's Pokemon. “This is Haji.”

“Is there anything I can answer before we get going?”

---

Current Encounter Stats: N/A

---

Trainer Stats

Name: John
Place: Woods
Encounters Remaining: 5
Area Effects: It's sunny.
Pokemon Encountered: None
Pokemon Captured: None
MCR: 1,053

Items: Park Ball x3, Energy Powder x1, Lava Cookie x1, Pokedoll x1

Pokemon Stats

Calm M Snivy
Ability: Contrary
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: Protect.

Bold M Piplup
Ability: Torrent
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: None

 

@WinterVines

---

"Easy there", said the ranger while helping Piplup up. Little guy still had a grin on his face, somehow. It's really not uncommon for him to do this; in fact, I think he might've gotten used to it.

After she did so, the ranger got up from crouching and offered a handshake; "Hey". I shook her hand. She had a smile on her face and decently tanned skin, unlike mine, which nearly glowed because of how white it was. "I'm Ivy Frost, your Ranger for this trip, if you're John". She then motioned with her head to the Espeon standing next to her. "This is Haji". The Espeon must've jumped down from the bench while she was talking, because it was now looking at Piplup. Snivy had moved too, and was offering Haji what seemed to be a handshake. Weird.

"U-uh, h-hey...!"
Brilliant. You're stuttering again. Calm yourself down.
I took a deep breath, then tried speaking again.
"Hey! I'm John. Nice to meet you."
"Is there anything I can answer before we get going?"
I looked at the start of the path into the Woods for a moment. It seemed to become progressively darker as the trees became denser.
"W-well..."
I guess asking her how not to die of fear isn't a valid question. Also, am I seriously stuttering again? Jeez.
I took another deep breath; I had to let my pokemon know I was all right.
"Nope, I'm all ready and set to go!"
Piplup heard those words and started jumping out of joy; He then started running into the forest, but tripped again. This time, Snivy helped him up with his vines.
"When will he learn..." I accidentally spoke out loud.

 

@Johnbdm;

NBP#3

Ranger Ivy Frost

---

It took the boy a couple tries to speak, but eventually he introduced himself. His cheeks were starting to get a little red. Ivy tried pretty hard not to grin—he reminded her a little of Jathan, Chainy's little brother. For whatever reason, she absolutely terrified him, and it was hilarious to watch him stutter and cower. She'd be nicer to this Trainer, though, naturally.

He looked to have a question for her, but then his attention was snared by the Woods' path as he zoned out for a second. She wasn't sure what he saw, but after a moment, he shook his head and brought his smile back.

“Nope, I'm all ready and set to go!”

His Piplup was overjoyed at this and tottered off toward the path, tripping once more. This time, John's other Pokemon, the Snivy, helped the Water-type up, and they started moving ahead.

“Just make sure they don't get too far ahead,” she warned lightly. “The Woods may look nice, but some of the Pokemon there get agitated easily, and we don't want them to lash out at your Pokemon because they strayed too far.”

On the path, the sun was streaming through the canopy only in freckles of light as the woods became thicker. She was only faintly aware of the rustling of active Pokemon in the distance. There would be more of that as they continued in. Wild Pokemon would watch them from the sidelines, staying mostly out of sight and invisible. They blended in a lot easier than the people did.

“One of our goals is to check up on the birds here,” Ivy explained, “but we'll probably do that on the way. Other than that we can go wherever you like. There's some bamboo mazes, a couple bird colonies, and even some jungle-like areas, among others.”

Then, a sharp snap of a stick sounded. Ivy immediately quieted. “Tell your Pokemon to stop,” she told John.

Everything went eerily quiet—the unnatural kind. The kind that meant something was there and the other creatures in the forest were aware of it. Ahead, near the Piplup, bushes had started to grow thickly alongside the path. Their leaves weren't still.

How would the Trainer react to this? Was his Pokemon about to get jumped?

---

Current Encounter Stats: N/A

Area Effects: There's something lurking.

---

Trainer Stats

Name: John
Place: Woods
Encounters Remaining: 5
Area Effects: It's shadowed but still bright on the path.
Pokemon Encountered: None
Pokemon Captured: None
MCR: 2,599

Items: Park Ball x3, Energy Powder x1, Lava Cookie x1, Pokedoll x1

Pokemon Stats

Calm M Snivy
Ability: Contrary
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: Protect.

Bold M Piplup
Ability: Torrent
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: None

 

@WinterVines

---

As Snivy helped Piplup off the ground with his vines and we started walking (eventually catching up to the two), Ranger Ivy addressed me in a slightly more serious tone. "Just make sure they don't get too far ahead; the Woods may look nice, but some of the Pokemon there get agitated easily, and we don't want them to lash out at your Pokemon because they strayed too far."

They're THAT aggressive? Jeez.

I then started thinking for a second about such a scenario, then immediately grimaced at the possibility of one of them running off, instinctively looking at the Water-type. I then said in the most serious way I could:

"S-snivy, Piplup," both turned to face me in curiosity. "I w-want you guys to be on your very best b-behavior out there. E-especially you, P-piplup." The penguin seemed slightly annoyed at this, but then realised I had some merit in saying this. As a precaution, I went ahead and whispered to the grass snake, "H-Hey. If you could keep an eye out for Piplup so that he doesn't do anything ridiculous, it'd be great." Snivy understood at once why I was asking him to do this and slightly nodded.

I noticed the light blue sunny sky that was dotted with clouds had now been replaced with a thick canopy. Although the sun only got through said canopy by means of lone beams of light, the temperature had become much more manageable and pleasant. Indeed, this scenery was gorgeous, and I took a moment to appreciate it all.

Feels good to be alive.

As I observed my surroundings, I noticed some small Pokemon were hiding in the bushes nearby and scattered off once we got near. They were only barely visible for a small moment, and disappeared as soon as I saw them.

The red-haired Ranger, noticing I was looking curiously at the place, took this moment to say something: "One of our goals is to check up on the birds here, but we'll probably do that on the way." I nodded. "Other than that, we can go wherever you like. There's some bamboo mazes, a couple bird colonies, and even some jungle-like areas, among others."

I took this opportunity to consider my options; the bird colonies sounded nice to visit, but if they reacted aggressively, it could spell disaster for my Pokemon. So that wasn't worth taking the risks. On the other hand, I, personally, had no intention of going in a jungle-like area; the heat and humidity in those is known to be unbearable for all but the hardiest Trainers and Rangers, so that excluded me. That left the bamboo mazes; those sounded nice enough.

"W-well, I think we could try and head for the bamboo mazes once we check on these birds you speak of--"

"Tell your Pokemon to stop," the Ranger interrupted, for some reason. Both her and the Espeon were standing still in a careful manner. Did I miss something? At any rate, I told them to settle down, then did so myself.

Everything was strangely quiet.

What's going on? Where'd all the wild Pokemon go?

Suddenly, I noticed some bushes on the side of the road started rustling.

Brilliant. A wild Pokemon was about to jump us, and we haven't even been walking for an hour.

I considered my options once more.

Should I choose to have my own Pokemon attack now, they'd probably miss and take a hit before I knew what was going on. I could also run away, but that'd be cowardly, even for me. Alternatively--

"Pip pip LUUUP!"

I looked at Piplup with a mix of anger and surprise. The penguin had yelled at whatever it is that was hiding, then looked at me obliviously.

Great way to lead, you nutjob. I guess we're gonna have to go with a head-on approach now.

"Fine, then. Let's do it your way," I told the impatient Water-type with an annoyed tone. "Use Bubble on the bushes, but only on the bushes, understand?"

Piplup then looked at me, nodded, then back at the bushes. He started the attack by opening his tiny beak and ejecting a stream of clear bubbles at a surprisingly high speed. How he managed to do so was beyond me, but that was irrelevant at this point. He then proceeded to spread his bubbles along the bushes, taking care not to hit anything else.

Hopefully, this would hit the wild Pokemon and grant us the upper-hand. Regardless, I'd have a very serious talk with Piplup later.

 

@Johnbdm;

NBP#4

Ranger Ivy Frost

---

John did as she immediately asked, coming to a stop and going quiet. Snivy did too. Ivy watched the bushes carefully.

On these runs, Trainers weren't supposed to run into anything super dangerous, but things did slip through sometimes, depending on where they went. It was her job to chase off anything that was outside the beginner's scope, though she hadn't had anything serious to do that for yet. Likely not this time, either, since it wasn't like a Scizor could be hiding in such small bushes.

However, there was one little member of their group that didn't take heed to silence. The Piplup, most active of them all, stood defiantly and yelled at the bushes, getting louder in pitch as he finished. Ivy winced—penguin screeches weren't pleasant. Not only that, but the noise would draw other attention not just from whatever was in the bushes.

The Pokemon looked back at his Trainer, but the Ranger didn't know what it was expecting. Praise maybe? That was sort of doubtful considering John had just warned them to be careful combined with the look on his face. The Trainer sighed.

“Fine then,” he relented, although he didn't sound pleased about it. He told the Piplup to use Bubble on the bushes but not to stray farther than that—probably smart, considering the trees and underbrush were getting thicker. Who knew what else was out here.

With a gigantic breath of air, the penguin let out a stream of bubbles into the bushes. Many of them popped when they hit the twigs and sharper edges of the leaves, making tiny popping sounds. However, something must've gotten through, since an aggravated sound emerged from the foliage, followed by a tanned, segmented form.

It was a Weedle, and it did not look pleased. Tiny beads of water dripped off its small form, meaning that Piplup's attack had hit it a little bit—or at least the popped bubbles had splashed it. It narrowed its eyes at Piplup and then lowered its head, like it was going to charge.

Of course, for a worm-like bug, that was impossible. Unfortunately, the spike on top of its head did the running for it. For a second, there was a brief flash of purple, and then a cone-shaped arrow of energy blasted off the horn and fired at the Piplup.

Not expecting it, or perhaps just off-balance from his last attack, the Trainer's Pokemon took the attack in the stomach, and thanks to its rounded shape, pitched over backwards.

The Weedle, seeing this as a victory, made squeaking sounds of conquest and began inching its way toward the downed penguin. A sticky web-like substance was gathering under its feet—something that could ensnare John's Pokemon. Weedle evolved into bees and not spiders, but the sentiment was still creepy.

“Well, maybe attacking outright was not the best option here...” Ivy trailed off. “It seems to have agitated the wild one.”

Beside her, Haji was still alert, like he was still searching for something using his mental prowess, despite the Weedle being here. Did he sense something else was close too?

---

Current Encounter Stats:

??? ??? Weedle: 95% [Used Poison Sting]
Bold M Piplup: 95% [Used Bubble]

---

Trainer Stats

Name: John
Place: Woods
Encounters Remaining: 4
Area Effects: It's shadowed but still bright on the path.
Pokemon Encountered: Weedle
Pokemon Captured: None
MCR: 6,813/4,000 [Common Rank*]

Items: Park Ball x3, Energy Powder x1, Lava Cookie x1, Pokedoll x1

Pokemon Stats

Calm M Snivy
Ability: Contrary
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: Protect.

Bold M Piplup @ 95%
Ability: Torrent
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: None

 

@WinterVines ; Sorry to have taken so long to finally do this!

---

Piplup's attack must've been successful, since an annoyed grunt rang out from the bushes. A worm-like form emerged, dripping water. I'd seen one of those before: it was a Weedle. Nothing too rare, and nothing to worry about, if I could handle this battle. It didn't exactly have a wide array of attacks.

Despite this, the bug seemed to charge something: its horn turned purple and something suddenly zoomed at Piplup; I couldn't see exactly what, but he'd taken the full force of that attack to the stomach and fell over backwards.

That looks pretty painful, I thought to myself, but the penguin was obviously tougher than I was. He quickly got up, only for us to see the Weedle was already moving towards us, with something forming under its feet that looked like... a web?

That's probably a String Shot. If Piplup takes that attack, too, we'll be in trouble.

Meanwhile, Ranger Ivy seemed somewhat unsurprised. "Well, maybe attacking outright was not the best option here; it seems to have agitated the wild one." Obviously the wild Pokemon would fight back if I tried attacking, but she seemed to behave like this sort of scenario happened before. It didn't seem uncommon, really.

At any rate, it would probably be hard for me to run away from this Weedle, and it didn't seem like a bad idea to capture it, so I gathered enough energy to talk to Piplup.

"Listen, Piplup. You'll want to watch out for that Weedle's stinger on its head. It's really sharp, so avoid that. Instead, aim for its segmented body, all right?"

The penguin seemed to understand, so I continued talking.

"Now, let's try performing a simple combo. Use Mist, then follow up with Drill Peck."

He nodded, and, once again, the small blue Pokemon opened its tiny beak, but this time, a thick white cloud much bigger than itself came out. It enveloped both him and the Weedle, rendering it impossible to see either one of them.

How do they even do it?

At any rate, by now, Piplup had to be charging his Drill Peck. I couldn't see it from here, but I remembered it as an attack in which the user spun around really quickly and its beak actually glowed white and seemed to somehow extend to a sharper form. Hopefully, the Weedle would be caught off-guard from this attack.

 

@Johnbdm; Preferred gender of the mon?

BP#1

Ranger Ivy Frost

---

The Trainer watched his Pokemon get hurt with an unhappy look. He seemed to delay for a minute, really absorbing what was happening, but it wasn't too long before he decided he was going to direct his Pokemon and fight back.

The pause wasn't in vain, however, because he had used that time to gather information. He warned Piplup about the stinger on Weedle's head, which was smart considering its poison attack was the thing most people feared about the little insect. Many Pokemon had fallen to poison after a battle was complete, all while trying to rush to a healing center.

Piplup seemed to understand that John wanted his Pokemon to go for the softer, more vulnerable parts of the Weedle and nodded. “Now, let's try performing a simple combo,” the Trainer said. “Use Mist, then follow up with Drill Peck.”

The penguin did, and a thick, milky mist began to surround the two Pokemon. At first, it was nearly transparent, and Ivy could see the Pokemon fine. Then, it thickened to a sickly gray tinged with blue.

The Weedle paused for a second before it rushed forward even quicker than before. But by the time the two would've connected, the Ranger could no longer see the two battlers. It was sort of impressive that much mist could come from the Piplup, but then again, the area was pretty small compared to the size of the battlers. It wouldn't have covered up the humans, but the Pokemon were hidden well enough.

It was a little hard watching a battle yet not being able to see it. It probably had to be worse for a Trainer, who had to trust that their Pokemon would pull through without any on-the-spot instruction.

By habit, Ivy crouched down to be closer to Haji, putting a hand on his back. Using his power, he shared with her what he often saw—energy signatures through his mental prowess. Even with Haji's help though, it wasn't very refined for her. She wasn't really meant to be any sort of Psychic; anything she had was borrowed from the cat, really.

All she could really pick up was that the two Pokemon were still there, judging by the soft glows her eyes now saw. In fact, they were pretty close.

Suddenly, the two clashed. She saw Piplup's aura strike out like a jab. The Weedle was knocked over and rolled about a foot away. However, when the penguin went to back up, it couldn't. She saw it jerk, but it remained firmly in place.

Then, she heard the cackle of electricity. That was strange—who learned Electric-type attacks?

A spark that she could see with her real eyes, through the fog, suddenly lit up underneath the Bug-type, crawling along the ground to surround Piplup's form. Haji's mental powers made the energy much clearer to where she could see it rapidly jump, following the line.

The small Water-type cried out as a lasso of lightning coiled around its body, using what Ivy assumed as the sticky String Shot web as a conduit.

Ivy stood up and turned toward John. “You're gonna have to do something,” she told him. “Piplup is stuck in place.”

Next to her, Haji still seemed uneasy, but he wasn't focusing on the battle. There was something else going on, but he wasn't letting her in on the info. That made her a little nervous—if Haji was too unsure to share with her, how dangerous was this thing that could avoid his prowess?

---

Current Encounter Stats:

??? ??? Weedle: 55% [Used Electroweb]
Bold M Piplup: 75% [Used Mist and Drill Peck]

Area Effects: Mist is obscuring the Pokemon. Piplup is seemingly stuck in place.

---

Trainer Stats

Name: John
Place: Woods
Encounters Remaining: 4
Area Effects: It's shadowed but still bright on the path.
Pokemon Encountered: Weedle
Pokemon Captured: None
MCR: 9,062/4,000 [Common Rank*]

Items: Park Ball x3, Energy Powder x1, Lava Cookie x1, Pokedoll x1

Pokemon Stats

Calm M Snivy
Ability: Contrary
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: Protect.

Bold M Piplup @ 75%
Ability: Torrent
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: None