Beginner RP: Randy (GrayMagicΓ)

Beginner RP — Randy — Non-Battle Post #1

A Ranger named Tella paced back and forth amidst beautiful sunlight and the smell of flowers, her absentminded steps already starting to wear a slight furrow into the thick grass underfoot. The Botanical Gardens set her teeth on edge— the place was pleasant, eminently so... but over the years, pleasant places had come to feel like traps to her. Off to one side, watching her every move with a mixture of self-assurance and concern for Tella's well-being, was a massive four-armed humanoid Pokémon: Champ, Tella's Machamp and one of five close partners who had been with her through trials that would have killed most young Trainers.

Perhaps twenty years of age, Tella was a young Kanto native with almond-shaped, dull blue eyes; as she paced, her movements showed an effortless grace that could fool an ignorant onlooker into believing that she was a dancer... but which would tell a warrior that here was a dangerous foe in her own right, even had she not had a full complement of Poké Balls at her waist. There were six of them: one full-sized and awaiting Champ, 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 at the press of a button, if an emergency were to arise.

Tella's clothing was as understated and hyper-practical— almost combat-ready— as the belt that held her Pokémon partners. She wore a thin, long-sleeved black windbreaker 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 reinforcing bands.

The sun shone brightly overhead of the Ranger, but its warmth was pleasant, not sweltering. The rich man who had years ago founded the resort that would fall into disrepair and form the basis of the National Park had commissioned this place to become a garden the size of a small country: placed in the most temperate and lovely part of the Park's landmass, the balmy climate of the region made it into a place where 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 despite now growing wild and mostly leaving behind their carefully manicured shapes.

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 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 hundreds-of-miles-long hedge maze formed the outer border of all this, and Tella herself was waiting just outside of one of the maze's many entrances.

She was, of course, waiting for a Trainer. As a Park Ranger, it was her job to take tourists— Trainers from all over the world who paid good money and travelled long distances to help the Park with its overpopulation problem— through the Park to do what Trainers did best: battle and capture Pokémon.

Tella had some issues with the premise of grabbing Pokémon out of the wild, but this job gave her what few others could: solitude in addition to good pay. Besides, the Pokémon here had never seen humans before, and battling was a pretty common way to say "hello" in the wild: Park regulations stated that if a Trainer could earn the respect of a Pokémon by battling or some other means, it was fair game to be tamed via a Park Ball.

All this thought almost distracted her enough that she missed the sound of an approaching vehicle... Almost. This must be Randy, the Trainer they'd told her would be in her care today.

Tella stopped pacing and turned to watch as her charge approached, ready to size him up— and, if he seemed like the rowdy or domineering sort, to put him in his place. She wouldn't brook a nasty attitude or disregard for the Park's rules...


~~Park Run Statistics~~

• Trainer Name: Randy
  
  
• Location: Botanical Gardens
  
  
• Remaining Encounters: 5
  
  
• Characters Written by Trainer (since last encounter): 0
  
  
• Active Effects: None
  
  
• Pokemon Stats:
  Alice the Dragonite
  HP: 100%
  Gender: Female
  Ability: Multiscale
  Nature: Jolly
  TMs: Earthquake, Protect, Stone Edge, Roar, Substitute, Ice Beam, Dragon Claw
  HMs: Waterfall, Surf
  BMs: Extreme Speed, Haze, Aqua Jet
  SMs: Heal Bell
  
  Sans the Gengar
  HP: 100%
  Gender: Male
  Ability: Levitate
  Nature: Bold
  TMs: Sludge Bomb, Rest, Attract, Trick Room, Energy Ball, Skill Swap, Focus Blast, Will-O-Wisp, Protect, Taunt
  SMs: Sludge Wave
  
  
• Total Items:
  Park Ball x3
  Energy Powder x1
  Lava Cookie x1
  Poké Doll x1
  
  
• Total Captured Pokémon:
  None yet!

 

The vehicle slowed down, and before it could come to a complete stop, its passenger door had swung violently open. The trainer that Tella awaited leapt out energetically and turned to slam the door closed behind him. Randy turned around to face Tella with an arrogant smirk on his face. He stood tall and proud, ready to face anything the garden could throw at him.

Randy appeared to be no more than a couple years younger than Tella, but was at least a foot taller. He was dressed lightly, wearing a pair of blue jean shorts and a bright red t-shirt. His shining blonde hair mixed with his attire stood out like a sore thumb among what were mostly greens and browns of the botanical gardens. While nothing would blend in with the more exotic plants of the garden, Randy didn’t even try to disguise himself from the threats of the National Park. He came with only two Pokeballs attached to his belt, but he appeared confident nonetheless. On Randy’s back was a drawstring bag holding his park supplies; three park balls ready to hold any Pokemon he encountered, energy powder to restore health to his Pokemon, a lava cookie laden with medicine to cure various ailments for his Pokemon, and a Pokedoll to distract any wild Pokemon he wanted to escape from.

“Hi, I’m Randy!” he said, reaching his arm out to shake hands with Tella.

As he extended the offer, his gaze seemed to be directed not at Tella herself, but behind her. The sounds and smells of the Pokemon swarming the garden put an unending smile on Randy’s face. He was clearly excited to get started on his first venture into the National Park. Whether his arrogance towards the dangers of the garden was justified or not would be seen shortly.

 

Individual RP — Randy — Non-Battle Post #2

Tella took the offered hand and shook it, her grasp firm and businesslike as she looked the brightly-clad, distracted-looking Trainer up and down: tall, so a high centre of mass; not much muscle; a great deal of latent strength despite the lack of tone; but he moved inefficiently, so no martial arts training. Having taken roughly half a second to assess all of this and determine that he was no threat to her, Tella moved on to analyzing her instincts about his character. The first thing that came to mind was that Randy struck her as more of a boy-like entity than a man, despite being around her age; it was like looking at an unevolved Pokémon and knowing it wasn't yet as mature as it could be. Still, he was capable of some restraint: rather than having tried to absolutely steamroll her in his hurry to get to the Pokémon in the Park— something a few eager youngsters had once attempted, and which had gone poorly for said youngsters— Randy had at least been polite enough to offer a greeting. Even if greetings weren't really Tella's thing. Even if people weren't really Tella's thing...

"Welcome to the National Park. I'm required to remind you of the most important rules, a more complete version of which can be found in your Park Rules and Regulations pamphlet," the young woman said in a deadpan tone that immediately communicated that this was a rehearsed script. In much the same way that the energetic Trainer was staring over Tella's shoulder at the teeming bustle of the Gardens, the Ranger herself was gazing emotionlessly at the empty space next to Randy's right ear. "You're permitted to do whatever's necessary to get around in the park, within reason; however, severe disturbances to the ecosystem will not be tolerated. Please only use one Pokémon at a time in battle unless attacked by more than one opponent; fair play is part of Park policy. Pokémon that do not seem interested in battle are off-limits, however photography is encouraged; all rights to photographs taken in the Park will be shared with the National Park's executive management branch for advertisement purposes. As this is an introductory package, you will be permitted to take only one Pokémon are you listening to the words coming out of my mouth, Randy, because you are expected to comply with any and all directions from your Ranger. Your safety is our number one priority."

Tella altered the direction of her gaze so that she was actually paying attention to Randy's facial expression, and found herself squinting up into the sun's glare as she tried to gauge his reaction to all this. He certainly is tall, she noted with a bit of surprise as the reality of his six-foot-seven frame sunk in, having only briefly included height in her sizing up of the young man. In fact, she was fairly certain she'd seen shorter buildings.


~~Park Run Statistics~~

• Trainer Name: Randy
  
  
• Location: Botanical Gardens
  
  
• Remaining Encounters: 5
  
  
• Characters Written by Trainer (since last encounter): 1,706
  
  
• Active Effects: None
  
  
• Pokemon Stats:
  Alice the Dragonite
  HP: 100%
  Gender: Female
  Ability: Multiscale
  Nature: Jolly
  TMs: Earthquake, Protect, Stone Edge, Roar, Substitute, Ice Beam, Dragon Claw
  HMs: Waterfall, Surf
  BMs: Extreme Speed, Haze, Aqua Jet
  SMs: Heal Bell
  
  Sans the Gengar
  HP: 100%
  Gender: Male
  Ability: Levitate
  Nature: Bold
  TMs: Sludge Bomb, Rest, Attract, Trick Room, Energy Ball, Skill Swap, Focus Blast, Will-O-Wisp, Protect, Taunt
  SMs: Sludge Wave
  
  
• Total Items:
  Park Ball x3
  Energy Powder x1
  Lava Cookie x1
  Poké Doll x1
  
  
• Total Captured Pokémon:
  None yet!

 

“Wha- yeah, of course!” Randy stuttered as his focus returned to Tella. “I’ve already read all this in the pamphlet on the way over. I can only claim one thing I catch, don’t burn the place down, don’t die, yada yada yada. You rangers need us trainers to capture the overpopulations of Pokemon, we need you guys and gals to guide us through the Park. I may be enthusiastic, but I’m not stupid! Or at least… not that stupid! So, where to first? Lead the way!”

Randy was usually energetic, but after being cooped up in the vehicle on the way to the garden he wanted to take off sprinting. He certainly didn’t want to be rude to the ranger he just met, but his anticipation overwhelmed him. What would he get to face on his run? Foes strong enough to be recruited to his team? A rare Pokemon to show off to his rivals? He couldn’t wait for his first encounter.

 

Beginner RP — Randy — Non-Battle Post #3

Tella's face remained impassive, but inwardly she was sighing. So this one was the impatient sort. She'd have to keep him on a tight leash... or else he'd go running off and get lost in the Gardens.

She'd had to do a search-and-rescue here in the Gardens before: not because a Trainer had come to harm, but because the foolish girl had been distracted by the sweet scent of Grass-type Pokémon and wandered away from an inattentive Ranger, disappearing into the Gardens without a trace. Tella, working with the frantic Ranger who'd lost the girl in the first place, had eventually found her in an underground grotto. The girl had been in a doped trance, rendered senseless by the hallucinogenic spores of a colony of Foongus she had encountered.

"Follow me," she said, again with no trace of her thoughts showing in her voice or her face. Tella was a master of the loner's art of the poker face. "And watch out for the wild Pokémon. Unlike most places, they don't stick to tall grass and caves; anywhere's somewhere you're liable to get a rough greeting. Release one of your Pokémon to defend yourself with, before—"

She cut herself off as her sharp eyes— scanning the green meadows and the skies above them— spotted a quickly approaching shadow that led her gaze to a flying shape. "...Before you get attacked. Champ, intercept!"

A small bird with blue-and-white plumage, and red markings above and below its yellow beak, plummeted out of the sky, its entire weight aimed directly at Randy's head. Having picked him out as the least dangerous-looking of the group, the wild Taillow was keen to prove itself in a battle!

Responding to Tella's shout, her Machamp leaped into action, crossing the six metres between herself and Randy in a single bound and wrapping all four arms around him protectively, nearly knocking him off his feet with the force of her landing. The little bird's sharp beak dug a raw, bleeding hole in Champ's body as its attack landed on the expanse of grey muscle that was the Machamp's back.

Tella winced in sympathy. She wished she could have taken the strike herself, but she had gotten complacent: she'd allowed herself to get too far from Randy, and her Machamp's reactions were still much faster than her own... "Release a Pokémon," she repeated evenly as the little bird yanked its beak out of Champ, who roared in pain and hunkered down over top of Randy.

Taillow pushed off from the Machamp's back to take to the air again, flapping upwards to swing around for another pass. Champ whimpered and stepped aside, nursing the wound in her back.

Current Encounter: Taillow

Taillow: 100.00%
??: 100%


~~Park Run Statistics~~

• Trainer Name: Randy
  
  
• Location: Botanical Gardens
  
  
• Remaining Encounters: 4
  
  
• Characters Written by Trainer (since last encounter): 2,564
  
  
• Active Effects: None
  
  
• Pokemon Stats:
  Alice the Dragonite
  HP: 100%
  Gender: Female
  Ability: Multiscale
  Nature: Jolly
  TMs: Earthquake, Protect, Stone Edge, Roar, Substitute, Ice Beam, Dragon Claw
  HMs: Waterfall, Surf
  BMs: Extreme Speed, Haze, Aqua Jet
  SMs: Heal Bell
  
  Sans the Gengar
  HP: 100%
  Gender: Male
  Ability: Levitate
  Nature: Bold
  TMs: Sludge Bomb, Rest, Attract, Trick Room, Energy Ball, Skill Swap, Focus Blast, Will-O-Wisp, Protect, Taunt
  SMs: Sludge Wave
  
  
• Total Items:
  Park Ball x3
  Energy Powder x1
  Lava Cookie x1
  Poké Doll x1
  
  
• Total Captured Pokémon:
  None yet!

 

"You don't have to ask me twice! Go, Alice!" replied Randy as he quickly reached for one of the Pokeballs on his belt.

Randy leant back as far as he could and threw the Pokeball straight into the air. The Pokeball opened and released a Dragonite. Alice was even taller than Randy, had a massive, round belly, and kept herself floating in the air by rapidly flapping her small, turquoise wings as they made a loud whoosh, whoosh, whoosh sound. Alice sniffed the air with the nostrils on her upper jaw and smelled the scent of Champ’s fresh blood. She arced her oval shaped head towards the Taillow and understood the situation immediately.

The wild Taillow tipped their flat, yellow beak to point straight at Tella’s Machamp, ignoring the Dragonite. As the Taillow descended to assault Champ once more, Alice dived in front of the bird’s target to soak the blow. The Taillow drove straight into Alice’s large, bouncy stomach. Alice winced a little, but didn’t cry out, stop holding her ground, or even bleed. Dragonite naturally create multiple layers of scales, and are rarely severely injured from a single blow. Taillow fluttered backwards, prying her beak from Alice’s now-pierced hide.

Randy wasn’t upset by his Dragonite’s injury. In fact, his smile was as strong as ever. He was excited by the heat of battle and knew that his Pokemon could take an attack head-on. Not wanting the Taillow to take advantage of the breach in Alice’s armor-like skin, he immediately ordered a counter attack.

“Alice, use Thunder Punch!” Randy called out to his Dragonite eagerly.

Alice drew her flabby right arm back, a single mass of the dragon’s muscle with no elbow or paw, only three sharp claws at the end of it. Yellow bolts of electricity began to pulse up and down her arm as she prepared her attack. As the bolts surrounded her arm and grew more and more plentiful, the Taillow began to fly straight up in fear. Alice’s entire arm became engulfed in thunder, and she took off after the Taillow. The wild Pokemon was fast, but Alice flew after it in pursuit with ease, ready to strike. Randy, Champ, and Tella craned their necks up at Alice as she let out an intimidating roar and swung her body to her left, slugging her arm at the Taillow.

 

Beginner RP — Randy — Battle Post #1

Alice spiraled upwards with a roar, arm crackling with electricity! The little bird wouldn't stand a chance— the blow was too powerful...

Randy's Dragonite, though, grew worried in that split second. If she hit too hard, she might seriously injure the bird, instead of just sending it away! Sure, it'd clearly attacked first; but it wasn't in Alice's nature to use overpowering force! So at the last moment, before the blow slammed into Taillow, Alice pulled the punch.

This wasn't entirely a moment of weakness, though. Alice's mercy took the form of reducing the force of the blow so that she could gently but firmly close her claws around the Taillow's body, sending the last crackles of electricity from her Thunder Punch jolting into the little bird and temporarily paralyzing its wing muscles!

Concerned about crushing the spirited little creature, Alice let go, and Taillow took off, its flaps jerky and unsteady. Still, the bird seemed game to keep fighting— in fact, Alice's overwhelmingly effective attack seemed to have motivated it to show off how well it could do under pressure!

Taillow swung around in midair and approached again, this time more cautiously... Then darted in swiftly, attempting to smash its wings across Alice's eyes and face!


Current Encounter: Taillow

Taillow: 35.91% [PAR] (Used Peck)
Alice: 97.66% (Used Thunder Punch)


~~Park Run Statistics~~

• Trainer Name: Randy
  
  
• Location: Botanical Gardens
  
  
• Remaining Encounters: 4
  
  
• Characters Written by Trainer (since last encounter): 4,805
  
  
• Active Effects: None
  
  
• Pokemon Stats:
  Alice the Dragonite
  HP: 97.66%
  Gender: Female
  Ability: Multiscale
  Nature: Jolly
  TMs: Earthquake, Protect, Stone Edge, Roar, Substitute, Ice Beam, Dragon Claw
  HMs: Waterfall, Surf
  BMs: Extreme Speed, Haze, Aqua Jet
  SMs: Heal Bell
  
  Sans the Gengar
  HP: 100%
  Gender: Male
  Ability: Levitate
  Nature: Bold
  TMs: Sludge Bomb, Rest, Attract, Trick Room, Energy Ball, Skill Swap, Focus Blast, Will-O-Wisp, Protect, Taunt
  SMs: Sludge Wave
  
  
• Total Items:
  Park Ball x3
  Energy Powder x1
  Lava Cookie x1
  Poké Doll x1
  
  
• Total Captured Pokémon:
  None yet!

 

Taillow’s wing swung at Alice and connected. The blow landed between Alice’s eyes, causing her to lose balance. Her eyes became crossed and her wings no longer flapped simultaneously. Her left wing was flapping twice as fast as her right wing, and she quickly became imbalanced. Still dizzy from the blow, she began to lose altitude.

Randy ran to a nearby clump of trees to take cover. Moments later, Alice crashed into the dirt road, back buried in the ground. Alice began to push herself off the ground. She knew she was vulnerable to another attack while she was recovering. She lifted herself onto her hind legs, raised her arms in front of her head, and braced for the next attack. Seeing his Pokemon in distress, Randy knew he had to do something. He quickly grabbed a park ball out of his bag and tossed it at the Taillow. As long as it hit the Taillow, it would have to struggle to get out of the park ball, buying Alice time to regain flight. If the Taillow was too weak to resist, then Randy would successfully catch a new Pokemon.

 

Beginner RP — Randy — Battle Post #2

Taillow was emboldened by the apparently massive success of its attacks, completely unaware that Alice wasn't really hurt, just disoriented. The aggressive little bird swooped in on wings that struggled not to lock, aiming to peck again at Alice's face... but at the exact moment that Randy threw the Park Ball, the paralyzed flight muscles seized.

Instead of easily avoiding the projectile, Taillow flew full tilt into it face-first, the impact of metal on beak sending a ringing shock through the little bird's head for a brief moment before the ball opened and sucked Taillow in in a swirl of red light.

The ball fell to the soft earth of the Gardens and rattled back and forth as the bird within fought to escape... One struggle;

Then a second, weaker;

Finally, with a clear CLICK! noise, the ball sealed itself shut.



Encounter over— Taillow Captured!

Alice settled her weight back on the earth, no longer having to worry about getting airborne again; and after a moment of peace she managed to get her bearings. Randy would be able to see that she had never really been particularly hurt, just a bit scratched up and disoriented.

"Good," Tella said in her usual tone of perfect, detached neutrality, making the word of praise seem somewhat empty. "Collect the Ball and look over there."

In the direction of Tella's gesture, across a beautiful meadow covered in flower patches, was a three-metre-tall hedge of rosebushes alternating with holly and close-growing laurel. It stretched into the distance in both directions, and set into the middle of it was a wooden archway: partly collapsed and covered in overgrown vines, but still passable.

Through the archway was the beginning of the famous Hedge Maze that bounded the deeper regions of the Botanical Gardens. It was a work of wonder, like a living wall of trees that wrapped around the entire outer border of the Gardens, which were the size of a small country all on their own— crossing the Gardens on foot would have taken more than a month.

A few metres past the archway was a blockage: a spot where the pathway was overgrown by a thorny mass of rosebushes covered in pink and white roses that had grown wild in the years since the Hedge Maze had been abandoned by the army of gardeners who had served its original (and very rich) owner.

"You'll need to find a way over, around, or through that," Tella told Randy. "Use your imagination; I should have no trouble meeting you on the other side."

~~Park Run Statistics~~

• Trainer Name: Randy
  
  
• Location: Botanical Gardens
  
  
• Remaining Encounters: 4
  
  
• Characters Written by Trainer (since last encounter): 0
  
  
• Active Effects: None
  
  
• Pokemon Stats:
  Alice the Dragonite — Currently out of Poké Ball
  HP: 92.34%
  Gender: Female
  Ability: Multiscale
  Nature: Jolly
  TMs: Earthquake, Protect, Stone Edge, Roar, Substitute, Ice Beam, Dragon Claw
  HMs: Waterfall, Surf
  BMs: Extreme Speed, Haze, Aqua Jet
  SMs: Heal Bell
  
  Sans the Gengar
  HP: 100%
  Gender: Male
  Ability: Levitate
  Nature: Bold
  TMs: Sludge Bomb, Rest, Attract, Trick Room, Energy Ball, Skill Swap, Focus Blast, Will-O-Wisp, Protect, Taunt
  SMs: Sludge Wave
  
  
• Total Items:
  Park Ball x2
  Energy Powder x1
  Lava Cookie x1
  Poké Doll x1
  
  
• Total Captured Pokémon:
  Taillow (F, Bold nature)

 

Randy picked up his new Pokemon, laughed a quick "heh", and muttered two words just loud enough for Tella to be able to hear him.

"No problem."

Randy turned around to face the mass of plants that made up the hedge maze and thought to himself for a few moments. Digging under it was certainly a possibility, as would be breaking his way in. He didn't want to damage the park, not only to remain on his guide's good side, but because he had no idea what could possibly be hiding in the trees or underground. What if a hive of killer Ribombee lived in the foliage? Could there be an Excadrill sleeping beneath the surface with razor sharp claws at the ready? Randy looked at the only other option: the sky.

The weather was beautiful. The sun was shining brightly and there were only a few thin clouds in the air. Randy observed the heavens, gazing back and forth. The only airborne Pokemon he could see on his side of the hedge maze was a single flock of Pidgey that were both distant and flying away from the maze, not towards it. The maze was far too tall to see whether or not there were any airborne Pokemon on the other side, but that was a risk Randy would have to take.

Randy nodded toward Alice, who instantly recognized the signal from her training. She flapped her wings and hovered in front of Randy, who hopped on her back. Alice lifted up off the ground, careful not to ascend too quickly and give Randy altitude sickness. Randy reached his to the side of Alice's head so she could see him pointing at the top of the hedge maze out of the corner of her eye. Alice understood and flew him over the top of the maze. Randy patted her on the side, and over the course of the next minute, Alice slowly descended to the Earth on the other side of the entrance to the gargantuan hedge maze. Once both of Alice's feet were planted firmly on the ground, Randy hopped off to see what Tella had in store for him next.

 

Beginner RP — Randy — Non-Battle Post #4

Randy and Alice hovered over the obstacle at a sedate and casual pace, with Alice keeping a careful eye out for any danger to her Trainer: but even from this vantage point, there was nothing, only the occasional wild Pokémon far away amongst the rows upon rows of hedges. The greenery twisted about in a mind-bendingly complicated pattern that stretched out for what had to be at least a mile in every direction (except, of course, for back the way they'd come.)

Landing amidst knee-high grass that had overgrown the path, Alice stopped to let Randy hop off, and the two stopped to wait for the Ranger. Barely five seconds later, Tella herself appeared over top of the thorny blockage, flying as though fired by a cannon: she soared over Randy's and Alice's heads and landed, falling to one knee and rolling to absorb the impact. Coming to her feet as part of the same fluid motion, Tella turned and spoke at the same time as she released Champ— who must have been recalled before Tella made her jump— from the Machamp's Poké Ball... "Follow me, there are some gardens inside the hedge maze which may be of interest to you."

The Ranger turned, her Pokémon following closely behind, and began to lead the Randy and Alice through the maze. They took a right, two lefts, another right, a left, then three rights... Their path continued to wind deeper into the maze, and unless he was writing this down, Randy would be fairly certain that without the Ranger's direction he'd forget all these turns and need to fly out of here or something. But Tella didn't seem lost; rather, she was taking them toward a very definite goal, one which Randy couldn't be certain of yet.

Eventually, after nearly ten minutes of uneventful walking, during which time the occasional blur of motion at the end of a long maze corridor attested to wild Pokémon inhabiting the maze— Pokémon that fled as soon as Tella, Randy and their Pokémon came around the corner— Tella took a turn that brought them into a wider-than-usual maze corridor. The corridor had two openings in the mazes halfway down that led into different parts of the Hedge Maze, but it also bore, at the other end, a decaying wooden archway wreathed in grapevines.

Taking Randy and Alice through the arch, Tella and Champ stepped aside to let them take in a lovely and very large rock garden with gravel paths leading in a meandering pattern through it. A square of pavement in the very centre of the nearly kilometre-wide garden bore a huge, obelisk-like defunct fountain with some kind of giant yellow orb or decorative item top of it; its basin was full of scummy rainwater and decayed leaf gunk. Throughout the rest of the garden were all sorts of plants that were native to rocky or high-altitude locations, all of them growing over and through piles of artfully arranged rocks (some piles were less-organized scatterings that had been disturbed by wild Pokémon in the years since the gardens had been abandoned to nature.) Many of the plants were flowering, cutting the Gardens' wash of rose-scented air with a fresher aroma like a spring breeze from a mountainside.

There was a loud buzzing noise from somewhere up ahead; Randy would now be able to identify the object perched atop the large fountain at the centre of the garden as a beehive the size of a building! Now that he looked, he could see hundreds (if not thousands) of fist-sized little honeycomb-shaped bees— Combee— crawling all over the rock garden's many flowering plants.

One of them buzzed up to Alice's face, mistaking her reflective yellow scales for flower petals. It clung to her big bulbous nose and stuck a proboscis into her nostril; finding something there that was definitely not nectar, it leapt back into the air, buzzing in disgruntled annoyance and ready to repel whatever intruder had caused the big yellow flower to go sour! Three sets of tiny beady eyes fixed on Randy, still completely unaware that "the big yellow flower" was a very taken-aback, very much larger Pokémon.

Alice, for her part, was completely flabbergasted. She was all for making friends, but... how did the saying go? You can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose... but you're not supposed to pick your friend's nose!!

Current Encounter:

Combee: 100%
Alice: 92.34%

~~Park Run Statistics~~

• Trainer Name: Randy
  
  
• Location: Botanical Gardens
  
  
• Remaining Encounters: 3
  
  
• Characters Written by Trainer (total): 7,767
  
  
• Characters Written by Trainer (since last encounter): 1,920
  
  
• Active Effects: None
  
  
• Pokemon Stats:
  Alice the Dragonite — Currently out of Poké Ball
  HP: 92.34%
  Gender: Female
  Ability: Multiscale
  Nature: Jolly
  TMs: Earthquake, Protect, Stone Edge, Roar, Substitute, Ice Beam, Dragon Claw
  HMs: Waterfall, Surf
  BMs: Extreme Speed, Haze, Aqua Jet
  SMs: Heal Bell
  
  Sans the Gengar
  HP: 100%
  Gender: Male
  Ability: Levitate
  Nature: Bold
  TMs: Sludge Bomb, Rest, Attract, Trick Room, Energy Ball, Skill Swap, Focus Blast, Will-O-Wisp, Protect, Taunt
  SMs: Sludge Wave
  
  
• Total Items:
  Park Ball x2
  Energy Powder x1
  Lava Cookie x1
  Poké Doll x1
  
  
• Total Captured Pokémon:
  Taillow (F, Bold nature)

 

Alice had taken on far more fearsome foes in the past. Usually when facing bugs, she would attack them with her wing to knock them into the ground or dig her feet into the ground while flapping her wings in unison to generate a small hurricane to disorient her foe. She wanted payback for her injured nose and patiently awaited an order from Randy.

"Alice, look at the bottom face."

Alice shifted her gaze to the lowest of the three faces on the bee, but didn't notice anything different.

"It's a male," continued Randy, "so if we catch it we won't be able to evolve it into a Vespiquen later. If it were female it would have a triangle on its forehead. He's worthless to us, so slap him down with a wing attack."

Alice nodded and obeyed. She dashed to the bee, extended her right wing, and twisted her body to her left as she swung her wing at him, intending to knock him to the ground unconscious.

 

Beginner RP — Randy — Battle Post #3

Alice's wing nearly swatted the little bee right out of the air; but as the Dragonite struck, Combee braked hard in midair just before hitting the ground. Alice lost sight of the tiny creature, and started casting about with her eyes to see where it had gone.

Combee's eyes had been opened. Now it was clear that this was no flower! In fact, it was a foe. A threat to the hive! No such thing could be allowed to approach his queen...!

Combee buzzed his way up to Alice's nose, toiling mightily through the eddies of air resulting from the idle flaps of her wings as she continued to search ineffectually for him. Every time he would fly forward, a gust of wind from Alice's wings would push him back almost as far as he'd moved forward, or send him tumbling sideways... And yet, he persevered. This Herculean task was the kind of effort about which epics are written. Finally, he reached Alice's nose once again, and bit her as hard as he could!

...

It wasn't very effective...

Current Encounter:

Combee: 45.45% (Used Bug Bite)
Alice: 90.15% (Used Wing Attack)

~~Park Run Statistics~~

• Trainer Name: Randy
  
  
• Location: Botanical Gardens
  
  
• Remaining Encounters: 3
  
  
• Characters Written by Trainer (total): 8,670
  
  
• Characters Written by Trainer (since last encounter): 2,823
  
  
• Active Effects: None
  
  
• Pokemon Stats:
  Alice the Dragonite — Currently out of Poké Ball
  HP: 92.34%
  Gender: Female
  Ability: Multiscale
  Nature: Jolly
  TMs: Earthquake, Protect, Stone Edge, Roar, Substitute, Ice Beam, Dragon Claw
  HMs: Waterfall, Surf
  BMs: Extreme Speed, Haze, Aqua Jet
  SMs: Heal Bell
  
  Sans the Gengar
  HP: 100%
  Gender: Male
  Ability: Levitate
  Nature: Bold
  TMs: Sludge Bomb, Rest, Attract, Trick Room, Energy Ball, Skill Swap, Focus Blast, Will-O-Wisp, Protect, Taunt
  SMs: Sludge Wave
  
  
• Total Items:
  Park Ball x2
  Energy Powder x1
  Lava Cookie x1
  Poké Doll x1
  
  
• Total Captured Pokémon:
  Taillow (F, Bold nature)

 

Alice was annoyed beyond belief. Before Randy could even give issue a command, Alice chased after the bee with her eyes winced as the bug bite continued to sting. Now knowing that it was too small and agile to beat down with a wing attack, Alice slowly drew back her right arm. Her razor sharp dragon claws extended out of her arm, and she swung ferociously at the bee, ready to skewer it. While she was normally kind hearted, this Combee annoyed her to no end. How could she let this bee go unpunished?

 

Beginner RP — Randy — Battle Post #4

Thus continued the most lopsided Pokémon battle anyone present had ever seen.

Alice, growing truly incensed, began to chase the Combee, who for his part began to dodge and buzz wildly around the bulky dragon.

The size difference was too massive: Alice couldn't seem to hit the little guy, and Combee delivered several stinging bites while Alice grew more and more frustrated and miserable, flailing angrily at the air with her wings, claws, and thrashing tail.

Eventually, after nearly a solid minute of this, Alice turned plaintively to face Randy despite Combee's continuing attempts to dart in and bite her.

She let out a morose roar, as if to say, can we just get out of here??

Current Encounter:

Combee: 45.45% (Used Bug Bite x4)
Alice: 82.00% (Used Wing Attack, Wing Attack, Dragon Claw, Dragon Tail... but missed!)

~~Park Run Statistics~~

• Trainer Name: Randy
  
  
• Location: Botanical Gardens
  
  
• Remaining Encounters: 3
  
  
• Characters Written by Trainer (total): 9,173
  
  
• Characters Written by Trainer (since last encounter): 3,326
  
  
• Active Effects: None
  
  
• Pokemon Stats:
  Alice the Dragonite — Currently out of Poké Ball
  HP: 92.34%
  Gender: Female
  Ability: Multiscale
  Nature: Jolly
  TMs: Earthquake, Protect, Stone Edge, Roar, Substitute, Ice Beam, Dragon Claw
  HMs: Waterfall, Surf
  BMs: Extreme Speed, Haze, Aqua Jet
  SMs: Heal Bell
  
  Sans the Gengar
  HP: 100%
  Gender: Male
  Ability: Levitate
  Nature: Bold
  TMs: Sludge Bomb, Rest, Attract, Trick Room, Energy Ball, Skill Swap, Focus Blast, Will-O-Wisp, Protect, Taunt
  SMs: Sludge Wave
  
  
• Total Items:
  Park Ball x2
  Energy Powder x1
  Lava Cookie x1
  Poké Doll x1
  
  
• Total Captured Pokémon:
  Taillow (F, Bold nature)

 

"Well I did already catch a Pokemon, and the National Park's rules do say I can only bring one home with me..." Randy muttered.

Randy shook his head at the absurdity of the situation. Perhaps bringing a giant dragon and a monstrous ghost into a beginner run wasn't the best idea after all. He turned towards Tella.

"Uhh, hey, I really don't think this thing's worth the trouble, I already caught something, and I think Alice is more suited toward... larger... opponents. Do you think we could wrap things up soon?"

 

Beginner RP — Randy — Non-Battle Post #5

Tella's calm expression betrayed neither judgment nor support— just neutrality— as she said, loudly over the incessant buzzing of Combee, "Then we'll conclude this run. Follow me back..."

She spoke a few more words, but they were drowned out by the increasingly loud buzzing noise. "FOLLOW ME BACK THROUGH THE MAZE," Tella continued, yelling now over the buzzing. "THE VEHICLE YOU ARRIVED IN WILL—"

Then the Ranger abruptly cut herself off, with her gaze locked on to something behind where Randy was standing near his Pokémon. The blood drained from her face as her neutral demeanour finally gave way to something new...

And that "something new" was an expression of absolute terror.

"Return your Pokémon and RUN!!" she screamed, recalling her Machamp before turning and dashing through the archway and back into the maze.

If Randy were to look behind him, he would see the reason for the Ranger's panic. Summoned by the frantic buzzing of the one Combee Alice had been fighting, the entire hive had mobilized to defend their queen and her territory. They were approaching in a humming, sky-darkening swarm that resembled nothing more than a yellow-and-black bank of fog consisting of whirring wings, honeycomb bodies, and outstretched biting mandibles.

Later, Randy himself wouldn't remember the details of his flight from the swarm... but he would forever recall the danger that could sometimes be hidden in seemingly unassuming places like the Botanical Gardens.

~Park Run ended at Trainer's request!~

~~Park Run Final Statistics~~

• Trainer Name: Randy
  
  
• Location: Botanical Gardens
  
  
• Remaining Encounters: 3
  
  
• Characters Written by Trainer (total): 9,689
• Active Effects: None
  
  
• Pokemon Stats:
  Alice the Dragonite — Currently out of Poké Ball
  HP: 80.00%
  Gender: Female
  Ability: Multiscale
  Nature: Jolly
  TMs: Earthquake, Protect, Stone Edge, Roar, Substitute, Ice Beam, Dragon Claw
  HMs: Waterfall, Surf
  BMs: Extreme Speed, Haze, Aqua Jet
  SMs: Heal Bell
  
  Sans the Gengar
  HP: 100%
  Gender: Male
  Ability: Levitate
  Nature: Bold
  TMs: Sludge Bomb, Rest, Attract, Trick Room, Energy Ball, Skill Swap, Focus Blast, Will-O-Wisp, Protect, Taunt
  SMs: Sludge Wave
  
  
• Total Items:
  Park Ball x2
  Energy Powder x1
  Lava Cookie x1
  Poké Doll x1
  
  
• Total Captured Pokémon:
  Taillow (F, Bold nature)