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vs. Kricketune BP4

While Kricketune was hacking away at the tree, Jathan decided to power up for a stronger attack.

"Ralts, start charging a shockwave! As powerful as you can!" He commanded his Ralts. Ralts cupped his hand together and started to focus his energy within them. As more energy was released within his hands, they separated further from each other. I watched as the little Pokémon created a psychic blast that was almost as big as himself. It was amazing how such a small creature could produce such strong power.

Kricketune was hacking away at what he thought was Ralts when suddenly Ralts transformed into a tree. He yelled in surprise. What had he been doing all of this time? He looked at the tree. There were marks and scratches where he’d been cutting away at the tree. He decided that he must have been under the confusion effect. He turned around and saw Ralts, who was behind a huge bubble of psychic energy. By now, the attack had grown to almost twice Ralts’s size. Kricketune rushed at Ralts, his hand drawn back and glowing.

I knew that whatever happened next would not be pretty. Ralts continued to charge his shockwave, even though Kricketune was coming at him. He wouldn’t release his attack until his trainer ordered him to do so.
___________________________
Trainer Stats:
Trainer: Jathan Einherjar
Location: The Woods
Area Effects: Only light coming from Luxray, thick growth, Kricketune confused
Encounters Remaining: 6
Items: Park Balls x2, Super Balls x2, Full Heals x2, Max Potions x2
Items Used: Park Ball x1
Pokemon Captured: Quirky Lickilicky - 17%; Hardy Wurmple - 17%

BATTLE STATISTICS:
Kricketune (Gentle, M, Swarm) - 75% [ATK-3]
Currently using - Slash
Rarity/MCR - Uncommon/9,000
MCR remaining until capture - 3,492

Ralts (Jolly, M, Trace) - 88%
Last Move Used - Psychic Shockwave

 

Ralts' arms were slowly being forced apart by the glowing blue ball that was slowly enlarging. I had never seen a shockwave that blue - this was a good thing. The natural colour of a shockwave was bright, deep blue. when it was colourless, like at the start of the battle, damage was minimised. It was more like a gust of wind than a shockwave.

But when the shockwaves glowed blue, they carried serious damage potential. I hadn't yet figured out exactly how they worked, but I had a theory, based on what I'd seen many times before. Ralts created a protective Psychic shell, and then sent bursts of Psychic energy spinning inside the shell. By varying the intensity and direction of the bursts, a truly chaotic typhoon was built up and it couldn't be released because of the protective shell. When Ralts was ready to fire it, he would slacken the part of the shell where he wished to fire the shockwave, and it would escape through the weakened point.

The shockwave itself would tear through the air at high speeds. I theorized that a suitably charged shockwave could touch the sound barrier, but Ralts had never done that before.

When the shockwave reached its intended target, the chaotic movements would assault the target at a molecular level, relying on moderate damage over a large area (even internally) as opposed to focusing the damage in one place. This also had the bonus effect of making the shockwaves hard to avoid entirely.

I looked over at the Kricketune. It was still attacking the tree. It was maybe one quarter of the way through the trunk. It took one last swing, then stopped. It looked around, confused. It didn't take long for the Kricketune to realise that it had been duped. It saw Ralts charging the shockwave, and it ran towards him, its claws glowing white again.

I looked back to Ralts, and was shocked. The glowing blue ball was maybe three times his size. If Ralts was fully grown, that energy ball would have been able to encompass an SUV. It wa so big that Ralts had raised his arms above his head, and it was precariously balanced on top of him.

I wanted to wait for the Kricketune to get closer, but we were treading new ground here. This was easily the biggest shockwave Ralts had ever attempted, and there was plenty of room for things to go wrong.

"Ralts, fire it now!" I yelled.

Ralts tried. He really did. But because the ball was above him, not in between his hands, he couldn't weaken the protective shell. So he did the only thing he could do.

He compressed the ball, squealing with effort. The ball glowed even brighter, and the winds inside doubled their speed. They were raging around so fast I couldn't watch them any more.

As the Kricketune drew closer, Ralts lowered the ball, compressing it. When the Kricketune was maybe five metres away, Ralts cracked the shell in front of him, so that the shockwave was aiming squarely at the incoming Bug Pokemon.

And all hell broke loose.

OOC: Man, that was fun to write xD

 

(...and even more fun to read. )

vs. Kricketune BP5

Ralts’s shockwave had gotten to about three times his size. It was so big that Ralts had to lift the massive energy above his head because his little hands could no longer contain the attack. The little Pokémon had been waiting for his trainer to command him to release the shockwave that was contained within the psychic shell.

"Ralts, fire it now!" came his trainer’s order.

This was the signal Ralts had been waiting for. He could finally release the heavy burden that the attack brought; only there was one problem. Because the attack had grown so large, Ralts had to hold the energy over his head, and because of this, he couldn’t concentrate his powers enough to burst the shell that contained the power and released the shockwave within it.

The little Pokémon was pretty smart, though. He started to compress the ball. As he compressed the ball, the energy became more concentrated and glowed more brightly. As this happened, Kricketune got closer and closer. When Ralts had lowered the ball enough, he cracked it open. From there, the psychic energy that Ralts had conjured up took control.

The small crack was aimed straight at Kricketune. Upon seeing the ominous beam of destruction heading towards him, Kricketune stopped in his tracks. The front of his body started to shine as the energy rushed towards him. He was frozen in his steps.

Time seemed to stop when the attack hit Kricketune, then it resumed again. The attack completely overtook the Kricketune. Any view of his body was lost within the immense light that the attack had produced. Ralts flew back and hit a tree. The forest lit up from the attack. The trees blew from the wind produced. Dust was lifted into the air. A few Pokémon were caught in the blast. A flock of Hoothoot and Noctowl flew away, leaving their nests behind.

When the attack finally receded, Kricketune was lying on the ground. His body was bruised up. His mustache was missing quite a bit hair. Even though Ralts wasn’t on the receiving side of the attack, he was quite beat up from it himself. The little Pokémon panted. That last attack had taken a lot from him.

Luxray and I watched, speechless. What just happened, I thought. I struggled inside to determine if this was bad for the park, but I later disregarded it. No trees at been knocked over, just blown over. No Pokémon were hurt. I did know, however, that I was glad that attack wasn’t directed at me.

Both Kricketune and Ralts were pooped. I didn’t really expect anyone to attack, but I knew that if Ralts could gather up some strength to keep going, he would have an advantage over the not-so-musical Pokémon.
___________________________
Trainer Stats:
Trainer: Jathan Einherjar
Location: The Woods
Area Effects: Only light coming from Luxray, thick growth, Kricketune is unable to attack
Encounters Remaining: 6
Items: Park Balls x2, Super Balls x2, Full Heals x2, Max Potions x2
Items Used: Park Ball x1
Pokemon Captured: Quirky Lickilicky - 17%; Hardy Wurmple - 17%

BATTLE STATISTICS:
Kricketune (Gentle, M, Swarm) - 30% [ATK-3]
Currently using - Unable to Attack
Rarity/MCR - Uncommon/9,000
MCR remaining until capture - 554

Ralts (Jolly, M, Trace) - 85%
Last Move Used - Psychic Shockwave

 

(OOC: This post counts towards the MCR, right?)

The shockwave that ensued was quite possibly one of the coolest things I had ever seen. I knew for a fact it was the most powerful move Ralts had ever pulled off.

When he had fired the shockwave, the crack had accidentally widened, meaning two things. Firstly, not all of the shockwave's force was aimed at the Kricketune - some of it had raged around the surrounding area. Luckily for me, there had been no serious damage done. Secondly, the shockwave was strong that even though Ralts was bracing himself psychically, he was still thrown into a tree.

Now both Pokemon lay on the ground panting. I could order Ralts to get another attack in, but I risked overtiring him, and that could mean losing the battle. I needed a way to delay the fight from resuming so that Ralts could get his breath back.

That was when I realized that the Kricketune looked just as wiped as Ralts. Maybe I could attempt a capture. Best case scenario, the Kricketune was captured. Worst case, Ralts gets some time to recover.

My hands subconsciously inched towards my bag, and I knew what I was going to do. I pulled out a Park Ball and threw it at the Kricketune.

 

(Yeah, it does.)

vs. Kricketune BP6

Jathan was just as surprised by Ralts’s powerful attack as I was. His excitement, however, was short-lived because he had to think of a way to get Ralts some rest. The little guy was already tuckered out from the big blast he had just produced.

Jathan’s hand started to move towards his bag. He pulled out a Park Ball. He had stated that he wanted a Kricketune, but didn’t want to risk putting too much of a strain on Ralts. Since the Pokémon had insisted on battling, he might as well take advantage of the situation, right? Besides, no matter the outcome, it would benefit Ralts.

He chucked the Park Ball at the Kricketune, who was laid out on the ground. The Park Ball hit the bug Pokémon and released a red beam of light that engulfed Kricketune and sucked him in. The Park Ball bounced a bit on the ground before resting there. It shook from side to side as Kricketune, already weak from the last attack, struggled to get out.

After a few seconds of wiggling, the Pokeball stopped and a low chiming sound signaled that the capture was successful. I went over and picked up the Pokeball. I put it into the special sack that I had so that I could register it under Jathan’s name when we left the park.

“Congratulations,” I said to Jathan. “You’ve captured a Kricketune!”
___________________________
Trainer: Jathan Einherjar
Location: The Woods
Area Effects: Only light coming from Luxray, thick growth
Encounters Remaining: 5
Items: Park Balls x1, Super Balls x2, Full Heals x2, Max Potions x2
Items Used: Park Ball x2
Pokemon Captured: Quirky Lickilicky - 17%; Hardy Wurmple - 17%; Gentle Kricketune - 30%

POKEMON STATS
Ralts (Jolly, M, Trace) - 85%

 

The Park Ball shook as the Kricketune fought the capture mechanism. But I had chosen the correct time to attempt a capture. The ball made a deep chime-like sound as the Kricketune was successfully captured.

Dee walked over and picked up the Ball.


“Congratulations, you’ve captured a Kricketune!” Dee said.

I nodded, but I was preoccupied. Ralts was still laying on the ground panting. The shockwave had taken more out of him than I liked. I made a mental note that he should stop charging at about twice his size.

I gingerly picked him up, holding him like I would a baby. I could feel through our empathic link that he was very tired, but he also sent me waves of reassurance. He'd be fine after a quick rest. Even better, that battle had cost him next to no health at all.

"Sleep," I murmured. Ralts nodded, and promptly did so.

I then turned to Dee.

"Where now?" I asked him.

 

NBP8

Jathan’s first order of business was to check up on his Ralts, something that any good trainer would do. He picked the Pokémon up and told him to rest. Ralts promptly fell asleep and took a rest.

“Where now?” He asked, turning towards me.

“Let’s go back in the direction we came,” I replied. It was dark now, and I didn’t want to go any deeper into the forest. We couldn’t afford getting lost, and we were out too late already as it is.

As we continued walking down the path we had come in through, I started to hear all sorts of sounds that signaled that it was way past bedtime. There was a bunch of Noctowl hooting and watching us intently. I could hear some Nincada buzzing from under the ground. There was a lot going on. At night, when most life calms down, new lives are just beginning. The noise of the forest was both unnerving and calming to hear.

We passed by another Wurmple that was making itself a cocoon to evolve in; however, I didn’t bother it because I didn’t want to take away its chance to evolve and I didn’t want to have to be in a battle so soon. I would let Jathan decide when he wanted to battle again.

“Are you up for another battle?” I asked Jathan, who was following behind me.
___________________________
Trainer: Jathan Einherjar
Location: The Woods
Area Effects: Only light coming from Luxray, thick growth
Encounters Remaining: 5
Items: Park Balls x1, Super Balls x2, Full Heals x2, Max Potions x2
Items Used: Park Ball x2
Pokemon Captured: Quirky Lickilicky - 17%; Hardy Wurmple - 17%; Gentle Kricketune - 30%

POKEMON STATS
Ralts (Jolly, M, Trace) - 85%

 

I watched the Wurmple as it busily used its String Shot to make a cocoon. The cocoon didn't have any spikes, but then it was still in the early stages, so I couldn't tell if it was going to be a Silcoon or a Cascoon. And while I would have liked to add to my collection, I already had three Pokemon to take out of the Park. Besides, Ralts was still sleeping quietly and I didn't want to disturb the Wurmple on this very important day.

"Nah, let's just move on," I said. I continued to watch the Wurmple as we moved onwards. It took a surprisingly short amount of time to lose sight of it - the night was very dark, and because the stars and the moon were blocked out by the trees this far in the only light was being emitted by Dee's Luxray. I had a feeling that the light was very powerful and yet somehow short range, as if to disturb as few Pokemon as possible.

 

NBP9

Jesse also didn’t want to disturb the Wurmple. It seemed so peacefully by itself. Besides, Ralts was still resting. Since he was his only Pokémon, we had to do everything we could to make sure he wasn’t hurt too badly.

As we went back in the direction that we had come from, we started to run into similar sights. As we walked, I saw some pieces of cotton on the ground. Then, there was a little leg made of cloth, followed by a head and more cotton stuffing. It looked like someone had murdered a Raggedy Ann doll. Then, a horrible thought came to me.

“Stop,” I said, motioning with my hand. I could smell a faint odor. I remembered a Pokémon that we had to use a doll on. Could it be that same Pokémon?

As if to confirm my fears, Skuntank stepped from behind the trees again. It must have torn up the doll we gave it earlier. Now, it was back for more. Ralts could not battle this thing at all. All of his attacks would have been useless, not to mention the fact that he was still sleeping. If I needed to, I would use Luxray to stop the Skuntank from following us; however, like all of the other Pokémon encounters that we had made, I was required to ask Jathan if he wanted to battle the Skuntank. I was pretty sure he would say no, however.
___________________________
Trainer: Jathan Einherjar
Location: The Woods
Area Effects: Only light coming from Luxray, thick growth
Encounters Remaining: 5
Items: Park Balls x1, Super Balls x2, Full Heals x2, Max Potions x2
Items Used: Park Ball x2
Pokemon Captured: Quirky Lickilicky - 17%; Hardy Wurmple - 17%; Gentle Kricketune - 30%

POKEMON STATS
Ralts (Jolly, M, Trace) - 85%

 

We passed the Wurmple, and kept on walking through the night. As we walked, Dee seemed to get more and more anxious. He threw glances around, and he was starting to freak me out a little bit.

"Stop," Dee said abruptly, throwing out a hand. I couldn't figure out why, until I noticed something reflecting Luxray's light.

A tiny little piece of fabric, stitched in the shape of an arm.

Even as my mind whirred, a familiar stench pervaded the clearing, and a Skuntank walked out, appearing to sneer at me. I couldn't be sure that it was the same one as before, but I had a feeling that it was.

I clutched Ralts a little tighter. There was absolutely no way he was fighting that monster.

"I'm not fighting it," I said with feeling. I just wanted the big creature to leave us alone.

 

NBP10

(I got tired of sitting around doing nothing.)

Jathan was disgusted at the idea of battling the Skuntank. I mean, who would want it? It smelled repulsive, even worse than Muk. Besides, Ralts be at a huge disadvantage if he faced the Pokémon. It would have been wrong for Jathan to make his Pokémon battle that thing.

We backed up and tried to sneak away, but the Pokémon would not back off. It inched closer and closer to us.

“Go!” I said to the Pokémon, trying to bribe the Pokémon with some Pokémon Food that I had in my bag, but the Pokémon would not accept it.

It edged closer to us, snorting as it walked. I looked at Jathan and his Ralts. He looked terrified as the Pokémon drew closer to us. Normally I wouldn’t get into these fights, I thought to myself. But today, I may make an exception.

“Luxray,” I called out to the Pokémon that had been following me. “Get rid of that Skuntank!”

Luxray looked at me excitedly. Luxray was one to only battle when the need arose, but she hadn’t battled in a while. She walked from my side and in front of me.

“We’ll show this thing who’s boss,” I said. “Right, Luxray?”

Luxray nodded her head to agree with me.

“Now, let’s paralyze it so that we can make a quick escape!” Luxray nodded and growled at the Skuntank, who growled back at Luxray. The thing was too confident for its own good.

The Skuntank charged at Luxray, who quickly jumped out of the way. She slid as she landed on the ground. Skuntank charged at her again. Then, at the last minute, he lunged at her. His hands were glowing purple. This meant that it was using Poison Jab. Luxray hopped backwards about a foot. When Skuntank had landed, the Gleam Eyes Pokémon charged at Skuntank. The attack made the Pokémon do a somersault forward. It landed on the ground on its back.

“Now, use Thunderbolt!” I command.

Luxray lunged at the Pokémon. Her fur glistened as she started to generate electricity. Then, in one big blast, she released the electricity. The forest illuminated. Bug and flying Pokémon flew away from the trees. Skuntank turned back over but couldn’t jump in time to dodge the attack. The electricity struck Skuntank right in the middle of its body. It landed on its belly, weakened.

“Now, gain some distance to gain some momentum, and then use Spark!”

Luxray dashed away from the Skuntank and made a u-turn. We could hear crackling as electricity surrounded Luxray while she ran straight for the Skuntank. She ran faster and faster until finally, she hit the already fallen Pokémon. It flew half a foot off of the ground and landed again. It was unresponsive, meaning that it had been fainted.

I walked over to the poisonous Pokémon and placed a green Lum Berry by its side. When it came to, it could eat the berry to get better. I just needed it out of the picture while we left the area. I felt kind of bad for the Pokémon. It probably only wanted a trainer. It’ll find one someday, I thought.

I got up and brushed off my clothing. I turned to Jathan as if nothing had happened.

“Well, shall we go on?” I said with a smile.
___________________________
Trainer: Jathan Einherjar
Location: The Woods
Area Effects: Only light coming from Luxray, thick growth
Encounters Remaining: 4
Items: Park Balls x1, Super Balls x2, Full Heals x2, Max Potions x2
Items Used: Park Ball x2
Pokemon Captured: Quirky Lickilicky - 17%; Hardy Wurmple - 17%; Gentle Kricketune - 30%

POKEMON STATS
Ralts (Jolly, M, Trace) - 85%

 

OOC: I know how you feel, my Range has at least one count of awesomeness in each of his runs lol

I watched in silence with my mouth hanging open as Dee's Luxray fought off the Skuntank using nothing but pure badassery. I didn't have much respect for Luxray as a species - their stat spread wasn't great, and their movepool was fairly limited - but I now saw that any Pokemon whatsoever could be unstoppable under the right tutelage. However Dee had trained his Pokemon, he had trained them well.

When the Skuntank had finally blacked out, Dee left a berry of some kind next to it, probably to heal it when it woke up. He also seemed pensive, and almost sad, but I didn't say anything. As far as I was concerned, even if the Skuntank had peaceable intentions, it shouldn't have attacked us in the first place, and it shouldn't be continually stalking us.

“Well, shall we go on?” Dee asked me while smiling. I realised that being a Ranger tended to bring out the toughness in people, and that it took a special breed to successfully navigate the Park.

"Certainly," I said, extending a hand in a motion to indicate that Dee should lead the way.

 

NBP11

Jathan was obviously ready to continue, as was I. You know that story about how a fainted Skuntank leaves behind a horrible odor? That’s not really true, but nonetheless, I wanted to leave there. It was getting later by the minute and I did not want to be out here when the office was closed and locked up.

Jathan extended his arm in a motion that told me to lead the way. I started to walk with Jathan, Ralts and Luxray by my side. The dark forest was unforgiving, but we managed with the help of Luxray’s Flash. It was almost like our own personal spotlight was following us. We didn’t know what was in front or behind us, but we crossed those bridges as we made it to them.

As we walked, I could sense something following us. Luxray felt the same because she turned around to face the direction that we had left the Skuntank in. We stopped and looked. It was pretty dark, but I could make out an outline. It was something about the size of the Skuntank.

“Don’t tell me it’s woken up already,” I said. My stomach dropped at having to smell the thing again. I wanted to see what it was. If I had to battle, I would also need to know what it was behind me.

“Can you make your Flash brighter?” I asked Luxray. She nodded and began to emit more electricity.

The radius that the Flash covered increased. I could make out a purple claw. My stomach dropped again. It couldn’t be that Skuntank. Luxray had taken care of it. The Pokémon came towards us more and I was relieved to see what the Pokémon really was. It was a Nidorino!

“Oh, it’s just a Nidorino!” I said with some enthusiasm. Then, I turned to Jathan. “Jathan, do you want to try and capture a Nidorino?”

Nidorino were poison types. Ralts would have a type advantage over the Poison Pin Pokémon; however, Ralts was just basic Pokémon while Nidorino was a second-stage Pokémon. Still, Ralts had come out on top against bug-type Pokémon like Kricketune and Beedrill. Nidorino wouldn’t be a problem for the little Pokémon. It was only a matter of whether or not Jathan wanted the Pokémon or not.
___________________________
Trainer: Jathan Einherjar
Location: The Woods
Area Effects: Only light coming from Luxray, thick growth
Encounters Remaining: 3
Items: Park Balls x1, Super Balls x2, Full Heals x2, Max Potions x2
Items Used: Park Ball x2
Pokemon Captured: Quirky Lickilicky - 17%; Hardy Wurmple - 17%; Gentle Kricketune - 30%

CURRENT ENCOUNTER: Nidorino (M, Mild, Poison Point)

POKEMON STATS
Ralts (Jolly, M, Trace) - 85%

 

OOC: Sorry for the bad post, I'm not feeling too well

We kept on walking through the darkness. Dee looked like he was just about ready to leave the Woods, and I was beginning to feel the same way. Ralts was a little tired from all the battles, and I already had three Pokemon to take out. But I didn't want to leave until I had to, just in case I missed out on a Pokemon I really wanted, like an Eevee or something.

As I was lost in my thoughts, I realised Dee was muttering to himself. He asked Luxray to increase the power of its light, and the renewed power revealed a curious Nidorino.

“Jathan, do you want to try and capture a Nidorino?” Dee asked me.

I thought about it. This was the first Pokemon since Beedrill that Ralts had a type advantage against, but I didn't really have any drive to capture it. I preferred training my Pokemon from the ground up. Besides, Ralts was still asleep.

"No thanks," I replied. The Nidorino was watching us, and I smiled at it, raising my hands to show it that I meant it no harm. I would have liked to pat it, but only suicidal people laid hands on wild Pokemon, let alone Poison types.

 

vs. Nidorino BP1

(Your post was fine. Don't sweat it.)

Jathan really didn’t have a desire to capture a Nidorino. WE decided to leave it behind. I looked at the little guy. He seemed hungry. Being the Pokémon lover that I was, I pulled out a bit of Pokémon food and fed it to the Nidorino. The Poison Pin Pokémon eagerly ate the food. I didn’t want to touch the Pokémon. Nidorino had pins all over their bodies that would poison anyone who made contact with them.

I got up and continued walking with Jathan, who had gone on without me. When I finally caught up to him, I heard an extra pair of feet following us. I turned around to see that the Nidorino was following behind me. Then, it went up to Jathan. It seemed to take a liking to Jathan. Maybe it wanted to battle.

“Sorry,” I said. “The little guy doesn’t seem to want us to leave.”

I couldn’t really battle this Pokémon. I had to let Jathan battle it. Hopefully, Ralts would be up to the challenge. Besides, the Nidorino didn’t seem too harsh. It actually looked quite gentle for its species, which was known was be rough and easy to provoke. Jathan could battle the Pokémon, or he could buy a Pokédoll to lure the Pokémon away from us with.
___________________________
Trainer: Jathan Einherjar
Location: The Woods
Area Effects: Only light coming from Luxray, thick growth
Encounters Remaining: 3
Items: Park Balls x1, Super Balls x2, Full Heals x2, Max Potions x2
Items Used: Park Ball x2
Pokemon Captured: Quirky Lickilicky - 17%; Hardy Wurmple - 17%; Gentle Kricketune - 30%

CURRENT ENCOUNTER: Nidorino (M, Mild, Poison Point)

POKEMON STATS
Ralts (Jolly, M, Trace) - 85%

 

We walked on, but I heard the Nidorino follow us. I turned around and looked at it in exasperation. The Nidorino was following us, and in doing so, probably scaring other Pokemon off.

The Nidorino seemed to have taken a liking to me. Unfortunately for both of us, I didn't want to try and capture it. I already had three Pokemon to take out of the Park, and I wanted those three more than this Nidorino. Furthermore, Ralts was still sleeping, and I didn't want to wake him up. Lastly, even if I did wake Ralts up, I didn't want to hurt the Nidorino in a battle just to scare it off. That left only one option.

I handed Dee $500 and held out the PokeDoll for the Nidorino to take.

 

NBP12

(Only 1 more Pokedoll left.)

Even though the Nidorino sort of insisted in battling, Jathan still was not interested. Ralts was still sleeping and was probably not up to a battle. The trainer turned to me and handed me 500 dollars. That was a bit much for a doll, but when you’re a Pokémon trainer, you can afford it.

I took the money and handed Jathan the Pokédoll that he had just purchased. Jathan held out the Pokédoll for Nidorino to take. The Poison Pin Pokémon walked up to the doll and sniffed it a bit. Then, in a sudden lunge, it took the doll in its mouth, almost grabbing Jathan’s hand along with it. Then, it ran out of sight, happily.

I smiled. It was awesome good to see a happy Pokémon, especially in the Park. It made my job feel important to know that I was helping to protect all of these Pokémon, like Nidorino and even the Skuntank that I had battled earlier. I had to snap out of my little trance, however, and finish taking my trainer through the park. According to my browser, we were not to far from the Outpost that would allow us to teleport back to the main gate.

We continued down the path that we were following. A large blue Pokémon was blocking out path. It stood upright and looked like an older female version of the Nidorino that we had just passed by. It was a Nidoqueen, the female counterpart to the male-only species, Nidoking. I started to wonder if maybe she was the Nidorino’s mother.

The Pokémon growled at us. If she was indeed the Nidorino’s mother, then she was trying to protect the little Pokémon. Maybe she thought that we were trying to harm it. While Nidoqueen were very protective of their children, Nidorino was actually at a stage where he no longer needed his mother around to protect him. If Jathan decided to capture it, then it would not have a negative effect on Nidorino.

“Do you want to try and capture the Nidoqueen?” I asked him.
___________________________
Trainer: Jathan Einherjar
Location: The Woods
Area Effects: Only light coming from Luxray, thick growth
Encounters Remaining: 2
Items: Park Balls x1, Super Balls x2, Full Heals x2, Max Potions x2
Items Used: Park Ball x2
Pokemon Captured: Quirky Lickilicky - 17%; Hardy Wurmple - 17%; Gentle Kricketune - 30%

CURRENT ENCOUNTER: Nidoqueen (F, Brave, Poison Point)

POKEMON STATS
Ralts (Jolly, M, Trace) - 85%

 

The Nidorino took the PokeDoll happily, and ran off into the darkness. I was expecting us to walk in the same direction we had been, but Dee checked some gadget and we started walking in a slightly different direction.

Not long after we left the Nidorino, a Nidoqueen stepped out from behind a tree and growled at us. I took a startled step backwards.

"Do you want to try and capture the Nidoqueen?" Dee asked me.

"With all due respect, no freaking way," I replied fervently. "Even though Ralts has a type advantage, I wouldn't want him taking on something that big. And, you know, poisonous."

I tried edging backwards quietly. I sure hoped the Nidoqueen didn't try to pursue us.

 

NBP13

Jathan was also against battling the Nidoqueen. It was probably best not to disturb a parent who was trying to protect its young. You know the saying of how a mother can lift a truck to save her baby. Now, imagine if that mother was already a strong Pokémon like Nidoqueen. Scary thought, right?

We eased back in an attempt to get away from the angry mother. As a ranger, I had learned that the best way to ensure a Pokémon that you mean no harm is to slowly raise your hands into the air and talk calmly. That is what I did to escape from Nidoqueen. I raised my hands into the arm, showing Nidoqueen that I wasn’t going to try anything stupid, and started to talk in a soothing voice.

“It’s okay, Nidoqueen,” I said. “We were just leaving.” I slowly eased away from the Drill Pokémon. I told Jathan to do the same. The Pokémon watched as we slowly backed away from her. Then, she flared her nostrils and walked away.

“Whew,” I said, letting out a sigh of relief. “That was close.” I signaled Jathan to follow as we continued on our way.
___________________________
Trainer: Jathan Einherjar
Location: The Woods
Area Effects: Only light coming from Luxray, thick growth
Encounters Remaining: 2
Items: Park Balls x1, Super Balls x2, Full Heals x2, Max Potions x2
Items Used: Park Ball x2
Pokemon Captured: Quirky Lickilicky - 17%; Hardy Wurmple - 17%; Gentle Kricketune - 30%

POKEMON STATS
Ralts (Jolly, M, Trace) - 85%

 

My older brother once told me that Pokemon can vaguely sense your intentions, like the more intelligent animals. So I copied Dee's physical movements, like raising my hands and stepping backwards slowly, but I also filled my mind with thoughts of peace and farewell.

She watched us very carefully, then flared her nostrils and huffed loudly. She turned and moved back into the trees, shooting us one glance over her shoulder before disappearing.

"Whew, that was close," Dee said.

"Yeah," I agreed.

We continued walking on, and as we did so Ralts yawned and woke up.

"How are you, buddy?" I asked him.

He chirruped happily.

Suddenly struck by a random thought, I counted out all the Pokemon I had encountered on my run. The total was fourteen. That meant there was only one encounter left. And as we continued walking, and the bright light of the Ranger Outpost became visible in the sky, I somehow knew it would be soon.