Individual RP: Ataro

NBP16

Ataro placed a Pokédoll for Delcatty, but asked "... is Gardevoir really staying here with the Delcatty?"

"I don't see why not. She can handle herself if anything happens, and I'd find out almost immediately if something did. And she seems to enjoy spending time with it." I turned to Sela. "Have fun, and be careful. And don't take too long out here, alright?"

Sela nodded in affirmation. She didn't like making me worry; she'd probably end up not staying much longer so she could catch up, but I could tell she wanted to spend at least a little more time with the Delcatty. It wasn't every day that she saw one.

We continued down the path once more. Honestly, it felt repetitive, being unable to find something Ataro wanted to capture, but I figured it's a lot easier when you don't have a lot of Pokémon. Someone more experienced would have to be more scrutinizing to get what they want, and Ataro certainly was more experienced than I was.

We came across a clearing; it almost appeared to be an arena. It wasn't hard to find out why it was designed as such, at least. A Breloom stood in the way of the opposite exit, wanting to display its power and warming up by punching the shrubbery next to it.

"Want this little tough guy?" (Breloom screeched at the comment, even though I was just referring to its size relative to us. It could probably take us out, and it probably wasn't the smartest idea to say that, but it carried over as an endearing nickname for my freshly caught Shroomish, and...)

---
Name: Ataro
Area: Botanic Gardens
Encounters Remaining: 4
Items: Park Ball x3, Super Ball x5, Hyper Ball x5, Supreme Park Ball, Family Repellent x5, Max Potion x2, Full Heal x2, Ranger's Delight (3 time uses), Status Bomb, PokePlayer, Honey x2, Squirt Bottle, Blank Voice Disc, Intermediate Voice Disk (Tauros), Intermediate Voice Disk (Bouffalant), Pokedoll x2

Battle Statistics:
Area Effects:
Character Count:

Current Battling Pokémon:

Encounters Finished: Kangaskhan, Furret, Girafarig, Accelgor, Jumpluff, Linoone, Mew, Delcatty

Pokemon Caught: Bold M Tauros, Bashful M Deerling

Pokemon: Aipom
Nickname: N/A
Gender: Female
Ability: Pickup
Nature: Sassy
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: Aerial Ace, Attract, Brick Break, Cut, Detect, Facade, Fire Punch, Focus Punch, Hidden Power, Ice Punch, Rest, Return, Rock Smash, Shadow Ball, Shadow Claw, Snatch, Strength, Substitute, Taunt, Thunder, Thunderbolt, Thunderpunch, Thunder Wave, U-Turn, Water Pulse, Counter (BM), Fake Out (BM)
Stats: 100%

Pokemon: Miltank
Nickname: N/A
Gender: Female
Ability: Thick Fat
Nature: Careful
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: Attract, Brick Break, Curse, Double Team, Dynamicpunch, Earthquake, Facade, Fire Punch, Fling, Focus Punch, Giga Impact, Ice Punch, Icy Wind, Iron Tail, Protect, Psych Up, Rain Dance, Rest, Return, Rock Slide, Rock Smash, Rock Tomb, Sandstorm, Shadow Ball, Sleep Talk, Stealth Rock, Strength, Substitute, Sunny Day, Surf, Swagger, Thunderpunch, Thunder Wave, Toxic, Whirlpool, Counter (MT), Double Edge (BM), Hammer Arm (BM), Iron Head (MT), Seismic Toss (BM)

Pokemon: Kangaskhan
Nickname: N/A
Gender: Female
Ability: Early Bird
Nature: Gentle
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: Aerial Ace, Attract, Avalanche, Body Slam, Brick Break, Counter, Curse, Cut, Double Edge, Double Team, Drain Punch, Earthquake, Facade, Fire Blast, Fire Punch, Flamethrower, Fling, Focus Punch, Giga Impact, Ice Beam, Ice Punch, Icy Wind, Iron Tail, Mega Kick, Protect, Rain Dance, Rest, Return, Roar, Rock Climb, Rock Slide, Rock Smash, Rock Tomb, Safeguard, Seismic Toss, Shadow Claw, Sleep Talk, Snore, Solarbeam, Strength, Submission, Substitute, Sunny Day, Surf, Swagger, Thunder, Thunderpunch, Toxic, Whirlpool, Endeavor (BM), Hammer Arm (BM), Wish (SM), Yawn (SM)

 

OOC: Male please.

"I don't see why not. She can handle herself if anything happens, and I'd find out almost immediately if something did. And she seems to enjoy spending time with it." Siless replied, while assuring me that it's alright at the same time. He turned to his Gardevoir and reminded it, "Have fun, and be careful. And don't take too long out here, alright?"

It was a little bizarre for me, since I found the idea of leaving a Pokemon out alone in the wild a little discomforting. It was probably just me though. Siless showed me that he and his Pokemon were quite independent individuals, and they were not afraid to do whatever they wanted. Then, the Gardevoir nodded its head in affirmation to its trainer's words, before returning its attention back to the Delcatty. She seemed particularly interested in taking care, or at least hanging out with the Delcatty. In fact, it was even weird. Everything strikes me as weird, to which I just realized. I started to think about how the Gardevoir might have had a past experience with the Delcatty species, which would explain the special empathy that she can feel with one. Either that, or that Delcatty was a male Pokemon and the Delcatty posed an interest to Gardevoir.

Regardless, we continued down the path like just now, strolling down the graveled walkway paved along the lined up trees and bushes. Everything was green in sight - there were dark green- and olive-colored leaves that broadened out from the earth-brown tree trunks, as well as different shades of green plants and bushes that were lined up along the pathway. Occasionally, we would even see a couple of trees of different variety, such as the rose pink cherry blossom trees, which were a particularly beautiful sight. In fact, we only had a chance to see it since the trees were blooming, because it was summer.

The pathway ended after a while; stopping short at a clearing. It was a large circle; an appearance that resembled that of an arena. I wasn't too surprised honestly, seeing that trainers might want to do battle and might need a bigger area for that. The surprising thing however, was the creature that stood int he way of the only way out; the exit that was directly opposite of us.

The mushroom Pokemon was about 2 foot shorter than me, but it definitely packed a huge punch. It looked pretty agile and active, while baring slight resemblance to that of a kangeroo or a theropod. It had a mushroom-like "cap", except that it was of a sea-green color, as well as the visible gills underneath it, just like how a mushroom would have looked like. There was a round, somewhat berry-like or oak gall-like portion on one side of its "cap" as well. The mushroom-like "cap" was linked to its mouth, which protruded out like a beak-like shape. Its shoulders had a petal-like arrangement of extensions; probably for the usage of scattering spore-related attacks. It had a mostly beige-tan color for its head, neck, and tail, and a sea-green color as well, for its chest and lower body.

It then punched a nearby shrubbery that was blooming, smashing it into flattened bits, with its red fore claws that extended from its short arms; probably to show off its prowess. I knew that even though its arms might be sort; it was still able to stretch it surprisingly far enough to deliver punches.

"Want this little tough guy?" Siless asked.

The Breloom didn't seem quite happy with the nickname that Siless had given, and gave a deep growl, while stomping its feet that protruded out into two red claws. I watched it as it stood there and stared back at me with its eyes that burned with determination and sheer power. I wouldn't have wanted a Breloom in the first place, however, it was a different case if I was reaching an expedition soon and still have not caught at least three Pokemon. While it isn't compulsory for a trainer to catch all three Pokemon, it is highly suggested, so as to make the best out of an expedition.

In fact, Breloom were pretty powerful creatures. I knew from my experiences that a Breloom was a very useful species. From a Pokemon game that I bought, where you had to capture virtual Pokemon - they made Pokemon console games since they were so popular around humans - and the Pokemon that I would always use as a "capturer" would be Breloom. With access to both Spore and False Swipe, the former which had the ability to put the target to sleep one hundred percent of the time, and the latter had the ability to always leave the target with at least one health point remaining. This made it the perfect role as a "capturer", other than Smeargle.

In real life though, I also had experiences with Breloom. During a battle once, I had my Smeargle used Sketch on my opponent's Breloom during a training battle, so that my Smeargle would be able to learn Spore permanently - a helpful move to use during battle. I still remembered how that Breloom used its Spore attacks - by using the petal-like arrangements on its shoulders. They seemed to have the ability to release and scatter spores at a target at will. Not only that, the Breloom's tail which ends with seed clusters are made up of hardened toxic spores, which might have the ability to harm the target eve more if it decides to strike with its tail.

With Spore and physical strength, I've only learned that like with all other Pokemon, Breloom also gained a few new moves that were only recently discovered, as well as a new ability. I've heard from rumors that Breloom had a hidden ability - Technician - which had the ability to power up moves that have a low base power. This meant that moves like Bullet Seed and Mach Punch would be much stronger than before, making Breloom even more powerful. Even though Breloom might be slow, if played correctly, it can be a very fun Pokemon to use, as well as threatening to the opponent.

Regardless however, catching a Breloom in the Park was no easy feat. From what I knew, Breloom was classified as a rare Pokemon, and thus, is much harder to catch than most Pokemon. Most trainers just try and capture a Shroomish instead, if they want a Breloom, since it's much easier to catch. Though, I wasn't sure if a Shroomish was going to appear later on and besides, I've met up to nearly eleven Pokemon so far, which meant that I only had four more Pokemon to encounter. I decided to take up the challenge, and try to finish it as soon as possible. The gift station is ending soon, and I have to make it back in time before it closes, in order to gift Cameron my Deerling.

I started thinking about which Pokemon I should use, and any possible items which might make this capture easier. Unfortunately, I didn't purchase any perfumes, which had the ability to ease up difficulty for captures. Out of all my items, the only ones that would help are probably the Status Bomb, which would grant the wild Pokemon a status, thus making the capture slightly easier. Then, there are my capture balls. Park Ball. Super Ball. Hyper Ball. And Supreme Park Ball. All four kinds. I wasn't too tempted to use my Supreme Park Ball though, since it was an event-only item and I didn't want to waste it. And to be honest, I don't think there are much differences between a Hyper Ball and a Supreme Park Ball anyway. I decided I would most probably use a Hyper Ball. I didn't think I would need my Status Bomb though, since I could just inflict a status with my Pokemon.

Speaking of Pokemon, I became a little worried. Breloom is a Fighting-type and this one seemed pretty wrong. All of my three Pokemon are Normal-type and they are especially weak to Fighting-type moves; if only I had brought my Togekiss with me. Though, since I was planning to leave right after I capture this Breloom, I had no need to hold back as well, which meant that I could use all three of my Pokemon; even to critically low health if needed. I quickly thought about my Pokemon choices - I could choose from three of my Pokemon.

Aipom is a very agile Pokemon and like the others, she also had a wide variety of moves. Being a sassy Pokemon, she loves to strut and show off her contest-styled battling which meant that she would be able to perform combo moves excellently. With moves like Taunt and Thunder Wave, she would be able to prevent the Breloom from using non-attacking moves and be able to inflict a status condition on the target as well.

On the other hand, despite her size, Miltank was actually quite speedy, even faster than Aipom even if it does not look like it. Being a careful Pokemon, she'd prefer to play it out defensively and utilizing the surroundings to her advantage. She is a master of defensive moves, healing moves, or in fact, any other move that hinders the target's ability to perform. The difference with Miltank was that she had the ability to heal herself instantly with Milk Drink, and Heal Bell for the entire party. Like with Aipom, she also had access to Thunder Wave and Toxic, and Psych Up would be useful if Breloom uses any stat-raising moves that Miltank could take advantage of.

Lastly, there's Kangaskhan. This Pokemon was rather fast too, just a bit slower than Miltank. Being a gentle Pokemon, she loves to attack with a pattern; dodging and attacking consecutively. It is incredible at team playing and performing combos, but prefers move with less than hundred of base power. Like with Miltank, she also had access to two status moves - Yawn and Toxic. Even though she can't heal herself right away like Miltank, she had access to Wish which takes a turn to do its magic. She had Early Bird as well, which is a plus point, since it allows the user to wake up in half the amount of required time. Not only will Kangaskhan wake up one turn right after using Rest, she would also sleep half the amount of original time needed if Breloom decides to use Spore and it lands on Kangaskhan. Then, Endeavor would be a great last resort move since it reduces the target to the same health point that the user has. This move might be even more useful, considering Breloom is a Fighting-type and might deal a lot of damage towards Kangkashan.

After a short while of consideration, I decided to go with Kangaskhan. She would be a great lead to start out with and in terms of status moves, a combination of sleep and toxic is better since it increases the capture rate more than Miltank's combination of paralysis and toxic. I took Kangaskhan's Pokeball and threw it into the air. As it opened in midair, the red light emerged from within the orb and released a kangaroo-like creature's silhouette. As the light cleared, it revealed a brown-colored Pokemon with vaguely theropod-like features. It had accentuation of cream colors on its horn-like ears and belly, as well as black on the helmet-like patch on its head. It had blood-red irises, tiny fangs that protruded out from its upper jaws, epaulette-like patches on its shoulders, as well as square patches of protrusion on its legs. Its skin looked rather rock hard; with various ridges and patches down its back, and two spikes on its tail. Although she didn't look like it, she was actually a very caring Pokemon; only visible to common people by the fact that she was extremely protective of her baby Kangaskhan in her pouch, even though she was also very gentle in her nature, literally and character-wise.

"Alright Kangaskhan, let's try and make this capture as quick as possible. I want you to start out with Attract, then run towards it and ram it with two Ice Punches; one with your left arm, and another one with your right!" I told Kangaskhan calmly.

My plan was to cause my target to be immobilized first. With infatuation, the target would not be able to attack successfully fifty percent of the time usually, which would help to lessen the amount of damage Kangaskhan might have to receive. Once that was done, she would take advantage of the opponent whom was just infatuated, and immediately strike it with Ice Punch. The point of a dual Ice Punch is for convenience and more power. On the first strike, it would already render the target full of pain from the attack and be unable to suddenly do a counterattack. By taking advantage of that, striking the target with a second Ice Punch using the right arm, it becomes a resemblance of Comet Punch, an attack that hits multiple times in less than a few seconds. Not only that, the icy cold temperature released from the first Ice Punch would be able to stack with the second one, increasing the effectiveness. I wasn't too hopeful about Ice Punch's secondary effect of working, but if it did, it would then be a major help since it makes a capture easier, even more than either sleep or toxic status.

I watched as I managed to observe the side view of Kangaskhan - she was winking seductively at the Breloom. With a mesmerizing wink, baby-pink heart shapes started to emerge magically from the direction of Kangaskhan's eyes, as they floated towards Breloom. I continued to observe as Kangaskhan started to carry out the second part of her attack. I wasn't sure if Attract would hit, but Attract was usually quite impossible to dodge from. Usually. Regardless of whether it worked, Kangaskhan was already prepared to charge in within the next few seconds. Her fists emitted an icy blue that had a clear and mystifying aura surrounding it, and bits of frost started to surround her fists. Ice Punch is ready any time now.

 

BP6 (Vs. Breloom Post 1)

I had turned away from Ataro a mere second, making sure Breloom wasn't attacking before he was ready, before I heard his orders to Kangaskhan. I wasn't expecting him to be ready so quickly; he seemed to be deep in thought the moment I turned away.

Ataro's full team had type disadvantages against the Breloom due to his Normal-type specialization. I had half expected him to skip over it, and was a bit surprised when he hadn't. I was glad he managed to find a third Pokémon to leave with, but it wasn't quite his yet. He had to fight it and capture it, first.

Breloom may have had a type advantage, but Ataro had experience; no doubt he fought many opponents as a gym leader, and he knew what a Breloom was capable of. At least, I hoped so; Breloom is strong enough to deal quite a bit of damage if Ataro managed to slip up...

I figured, with the first move by Ataro, that he had a plan, though. He had gone for damage control rather than outright attacking, with Attract hopefully rendering Breloom immobile long enough to weaken it. I wasn't really aware of how a Pokémon could be so immobile from infatuation that it would allow itself to be beaten down to within an inch of consciousness, but I had seen it time and time again, and if this battle resulted in such, I wouldn't be surprised.

Pink hearts swirled from Kangaskhan and enveloped Breloom. He struggled against its effects; he had a fight to win. There was no doubt it was working though, as Breloom stood stunned, even drooling slightly at one point. I wasn't sure exactly what effects a Breloom's spores had on itself, but I was slightly worried about the drool. It was possible, I assumed, that after breathing in so many of its own spores, that there would be such a high concentration in its body that its fluids would carry an amount large enough to stun a target or even put them to sleep.

Kangaskhan charged with fists glowing of ice crystals. Breloom had no chance to avoid it, but it wasn't down for the count yet; it charged with its own fist, striking before Kangaskhan's Ice Punch. The blow knocked Ataro's Pokémon slightly off balance; Kangaskhan's first punch landed a clean blow on Breloom's body, but the second was only a glancing blow, striking the arm for less serious damage. It didn't exactly hurt Ataro's case; Breloom was still attracted from before, but now, Kangaskhan's glancing Ice Punch condensed water vapor around Breloom's arm and froze it. It wasn't a full body freeze, but Breloom wouldn't be able to use its punching attacks as effectively until the arm thawed or it broke out of the freezerhold.

Breloom felt itself mentally losing the battle against the Attract (from what I could tell); it started drooling again. Still, it wasn't done fighting, and it launched several seeds to the sky before its clouded mind brought itself to stop. Seed Bomb was a powerful attack; even an indirect strike with the resulting explosions would be powerful.

---
Name: Ataro
Area: Botanic Gardens
Encounters Remaining: 4
Items: Park Ball x3, Super Ball x5, Hyper Ball x5, Supreme Park Ball, Family Repellent x5, Max Potion x2, Full Heal x2, Ranger's Delight (3 time uses), Status Bomb, PokePlayer, Honey x2, Squirt Bottle, Blank Voice Disc, Intermediate Voice Disk (Tauros), Intermediate Voice Disk (Bouffalant), Pokedoll x2

Battle Statistics: Breloom 24.6%, <3, arm frozen (Used Mach Punch, launched Seed Bombs in the air)
Area Effects:
Character Count: 13390/35000

Current Battling Pokémon: Kangaskhan 67.7%

Encounters Finished: Kangaskhan, Furret, Girafarig, Accelgor, Jumpluff, Linoone, Mew, Delcatty

Pokemon Caught: Bold M Tauros, Bashful M Deerling

Pokemon: Aipom
Nickname: N/A
Gender: Female
Ability: Pickup
Nature: Sassy
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: Aerial Ace, Attract, Brick Break, Cut, Detect, Facade, Fire Punch, Focus Punch, Hidden Power, Ice Punch, Rest, Return, Rock Smash, Shadow Ball, Shadow Claw, Snatch, Strength, Substitute, Taunt, Thunder, Thunderbolt, Thunderpunch, Thunder Wave, U-Turn, Water Pulse, Counter (BM), Fake Out (BM)
Stats: 100%

Pokemon: Miltank
Nickname: N/A
Gender: Female
Ability: Thick Fat
Nature: Careful
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: Attract, Brick Break, Curse, Double Team, Dynamicpunch, Earthquake, Facade, Fire Punch, Fling, Focus Punch, Giga Impact, Ice Punch, Icy Wind, Iron Tail, Protect, Psych Up, Rain Dance, Rest, Return, Rock Slide, Rock Smash, Rock Tomb, Sandstorm, Shadow Ball, Sleep Talk, Stealth Rock, Strength, Substitute, Sunny Day, Surf, Swagger, Thunderpunch, Thunder Wave, Toxic, Whirlpool, Counter (MT), Double Edge (BM), Hammer Arm (BM), Iron Head (MT), Seismic Toss (BM)

Pokemon: Kangaskhan
Nickname: N/A
Gender: Female
Ability: Early Bird
Nature: Gentle
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: Aerial Ace, Attract, Avalanche, Body Slam, Brick Break, Counter, Curse, Cut, Double Edge, Double Team, Drain Punch, Earthquake, Facade, Fire Blast, Fire Punch, Flamethrower, Fling, Focus Punch, Giga Impact, Ice Beam, Ice Punch, Icy Wind, Iron Tail, Mega Kick, Protect, Rain Dance, Rest, Return, Roar, Rock Climb, Rock Slide, Rock Smash, Rock Tomb, Safeguard, Seismic Toss, Shadow Claw, Sleep Talk, Snore, Solarbeam, Strength, Submission, Substitute, Sunny Day, Surf, Swagger, Thunder, Thunderpunch, Toxic, Whirlpool, Endeavor (BM), Hammer Arm (BM), Wish (SM), Yawn (SM)

 

The pink hearts struck Breloom as it started to waver around unsteadily. It stood there stunned then; even drooling slightly at one point, while gazing at Kangaskhan with those dreamy eyes. Kangaskhan wasn't about to do the same however, and charged towards the dual-typed Pokemon with its freezing fists. Breloom seemed to have expected that there wasn't enough time to dodge, and decided to charge at Kangaskhan with an attack as well.

The Breloom jumped off the ground and charged towards my Kangaskhan, while raising its right fist which was covered in a white burst of flash. All of a sudden, the Breloom gained a sudden burst of new speed and blasted itself towards Kangaskhan at blinding speed. I had recognized it as an attack called Mach Punch, a Fighting-type attack, which had the ability to almost always strike first. As expected, the blow pummeled onto Kangaskhan's chest. Even though Kangaskhan was extremely bulky and could take the hit quite well, the attack still threw her slightly off balance and she was no longer in the perfect position that she had originally planned. Still, she struck the Breloom clean and hard; landing the first blow on Breloom's body, and managed to at least strike Breloom's arms on the second hit.

In fact, the Ice Punch's chilly temperature was so much that the water vapor that was around Breloom's arm - remaining as a residue of that Ice Punch - had condensed and froze it up. It wasn't considered as a proper freeze status being inflicted, since that would mean that the entire Pokemon would be frozen like an icicle. In this case, it was more like a temporary freeze effect, which would probably render Breloom incapable of using punching attacks as effectively as before, until the arm had thawed out or it had managed to break out of that frozen ice.

The Breloom stood there and it seemed distracted. It started looking dreamily once again, and drooling slightly at the same time. Its determination didn't seemed to have waver however, and it launched multiple glowing white seeds from the seed clusters on its tail. I had recognized it as a Seed Bomb attack; a powerful attack that would explode upon impact. In fact, the move was so strong that even an indirect strike with the resulting explosions might be quite overwhelming.

I didn't have much time to think, but I didn't even need it. With Kangaskhan's nature, and the flow of the battle - the best and most obvious choice would be to use Protect. If I wanted the battle to end soon, I'd have to start using Yawn as well, since it needed a turn to take effect. I could then perhaps capitalize on Breloom's frozen arm and use an Ice-type move to freeze the vapors in the air to make the surroundings even colder.

"Okay Kangaskhan, I want you to use Protect to shield yourself from the explosion of the Seed Bomb. Once it's over, immediately Yawn Breloom to sleep, and use Icy Wind to shift the Yawn bubbles, as well as hurting your opponent at the same time. Be sure not to knock out your target however, I want Breloom at the lowest possible health," I said to Kangaskhan.

From what I visualized, Protect would be able to shield Kangaskhan completely from the blast radius of that Seed Bomb attack. There were however times which an attack would be so strong that a shield barrier might not be enough, but that was all I could do for now. After that, Kangaskhan would release the Yawn attack, which was an attack that involves many pink bubbles floating towards the target. If struck, the target would become drowsy and fall asleep the turn after that. Then, an Icy Wind attack would have four times the usual effectiveness than it would normally do. It would blow the bubbles even faster, cause damage to Breloom, lower the air vapor in the surrounding even more, and impair Breloom's speed.

By blowing the bubbles faster, it would quicken the pace of the bubbles, although it wouldn't really change anything. Yawn was an attack that would strike its opponent no matter what usually, since the bubbles were somehow attracted to the target, like a torpedo missile that had locked on onto its target. That was also why people liked to use Yawn against targets that had use evasive moves like Double Team or Minimize. Then, Icy Wind would also lower the air vapor in the surroundings since it was an Ice-type move and a wind-effect one. The chilled air would make it even more uncomfortable for the Breloom; causing both damage and speed impairment, as Icy Wind had the effect to slow down the target's movement. At the same time, the frozen arm's of Breloom would be more likely to remain, or perhaps even worsen, due to the lowered temperature around Breloom.

I took out a small packed item, which was round-shaped and completely black. It was a Status Bomb - an extremely special and valuable item which was only available from events. It had the ability to grant any status on the target; any major status aliments. I held it up so that I could see the buttons better. There was a tiny screen which had an 'On' and 'Off' button, as well as direction buttons. I pressed onto the 'On' button and the screen lighted. It displayed a blinking yellow flash from the light-emitting diode (LED) on the top of the device, and flashed a warning which read, "Warning, Status Bomb will explode upon impact!" I then pressed onto the direction buttons and started to select an option that I was able to change. I scrolled down the list of options: Burn; Poison; Toxic; Paralysis; Sleep; Freeze. I stopped at the last option and selected it. I didn't throw it however. I didn't knew whether if Yawn would still work when I throw it and the freeze takes effect. Thus, I decided to wait till Breloom falls asleep.

I started to think about what I would do after the expedition. The first thing to do obviously, would be to rush to the gift station so that I can gift Cameron my Deerling. I'd most probably then keep Breloom for a short while, or put it up for trade. Even though Breloom were particularly strong, I didn't exactly had the time to raise one now, nor do I have any specific usage for it. If I was able to fetch a good trade, I didn't mind trading my Breloom. Then, I'd keep my Tauros and raise it to be one of my gym Pokemon for Nacrene City gym. I started to remember about the past, where I still had my old Tauros.

It was about two years back, and I had just won the Gym Tournament that was held annually. For my prizes, I was allowed to pick any Normal-type Pokemon that I wanted since I had owned all of my Pokemon in my gym lineup. I decided to go for Munchlax and Tauros. During the time that I had Tauros, there wasn't anything much that was happening, even though I had always wanted a Tauros. I knew that it was incredibly attached to me however. One day, I was offered a tempting trade by a trainer, Stinky, and he offered me a well taught Salamence that knew many special moves. As I needed one back then and they were extremely hyped, I decided to agree with the trade and traded away my Tauros.

Two years had passed, and a completely new region had been discovered, along with tonnes of new Pokemon. Soon, gym leader enrollment started and the city's league organizer was starting signups. I quickly registered for Nacrene Gym and got it; thus retiring from Petalburg Gym at the same time. At that time however, I started to miss my Tauros. Not only did I need it, I started to reflect on what I did. Albeit melodramatic, I started to regret deeply. It was not just only a Pokemon. It was a part of my memory. It reminded me of the trials and hardship that we had to take before we could finally win the Gym Tournament. At that moment, Tauros became part of my memory, and my history. And yet, I traded it away. With a new found determination and love, I set out to look for my Tauros.

I tracked down records, taking advantage of my position as a staff member and used the system for my personal gains. I finally found it after about one day, snooping around records after records of trade and gift transactions being made. From the initial trade of Tauros to Stinky for Salamence, Tauros continued to get traded and traded, through numerous and countless trainers, until it finally ended in the last trainer's hands. I felt ashamed, for I had to reduce Tauros to such a deprived environment. I was glad and touched however, when I had finally managed to track down the current trainer of my Tauros. I looked up the trainer's biography and information.

Trainer Name: Fever
Pokemon On Hand: ... ... ..., Tauros

Tauros
Original Trainer: Ataro
Obtained: Gift Station

Attention: Trainer was last sighted in May 2009. No longer seen after that.

I fell to the ground in desperation. I stuttered and repeated what I had read, "... last sighted in May ... 2009". Crying my heart out, I continued to wallow away in depression. There weren't many cases of disappearance, but there were a few notable one. In some cases, some trainers were too adventurous that they had gone on secret adventures or expeditions that they've realized, but never ever came back from that. These didn't happened too often, but were not quite surprising in fact. However, that meant that my Tauros had disappeared as well, as it was written here that the trainer, Fever, had brought Tauros along, and they were all last seen in May 2009. I couldn't help imagining the worst image of Tauros being trapped in a limbo world, a dimension where one was neither dead nor alive. It took me months to get over it, and I had never really wanted another Tauros because I didn't want to get reminded of that cruel memory.

Then, early this year, when applying for the Nacrene Gym, I started to think about Tauros again. I was reminded of how I received him as a prize for winning a tournament; and how attached he was to me before I traded him away; how he became lost in a limbo world thanks to me, but decided it was time to get over it. It was a mistake made, and the thing that I could do now was not to wallow away in self-pity, but to treasure the moment and learn from that mistake. I decided to enroll a Tauros as one of the Pokemon in my lineup, albeit as a rented gym Pokemon. That was also why I had decided to go on a Park expedition in the Botanic Gardens, in the hope of finding a Tauros and a Bouffalant. Even though I didn't manage to find a Bouffalant, I was quite happy that I managed to find, and capture a Tauros. I then decided I would train my Tauros, make it my closest partner just like the rest of my Pokemon, and never ever make that mistake that I would regret later in life.

I returned my attention to the battle, or rather, I was brought back to it, from the sounds of the explosion. I watched as the Seed Bomb crashed onto the green luminous barrier, that had looked like a semi-circular round globe around Kangaskhan. The seeds exploded upon impact and created resounding blast sounds. I continued to watch in silence; hoping that the Protect would be able to withstand the explosion completely. Regardless, Kangaskhan was ready any time once the Seed Bomb cleared away, to perform its Yawn and Icy Wind combination.

 

BP7 (Vs. Breloom Post 2)

The seeds clashed with Ataro's Kangaskhan's Protect; explosions filled the air as the Seed Bomb attack made contact with both the ground and the shield. Kangaskhan's Protect took quite a bit of damage; if she had to use it again soon, it would probably snap from stress, but it took the explosions and stood strong. With Ataro's strategy, it didn't seem like there'd be a chance for the shielding to break...

Bubbles shot from the dust kicked up by the explosion. Ataro knew he had the battle, all he had to do was force Breloom down under his conditions. It was horribly hurt, but that wasn't enough to ensure a capture; status ailments were necessary as well. The bubbles were from a powerful status move: Yawn. They surrounded the Mushroom Pokémon, and all burst, releasing a feeling of drowsiness. I almost fell asleep at the force; I considered it amazing that Breloom was still standing, though I soon saw it was sleeping. Sleeping while standing.. I couldn't imagine it. Whenever Sela forced me asleep with Hypnosis, I was floored. Still, Breloom managed it, and that probably helped Kangaskhan as her target hadn't changed position at all.

Breloom released several blasts of spores in its sleep, probably as a self-trained defense mechanism. They didn't quite reach Kangaskhan, but they lingered; any close combat or even a stiff breeze could force contact, putting her to sleep. It was something to consider for battle, even though at this point I thought it was practically won; if it did turn out not being captured before it wakes up, it could do a lot of damage to a sleeping opponent (or even an awake one).

An icy mist shot forth, encasing the sleeping Breloom. Crystals formed around its legs and free arm, while the ice encasing its already-frozen arm grew to cover its torso. Ataro seemed to be stuck in introspection, but I was sure he was aware of what was going on in the battle. Even if he was too out of it to respond, Kangaskhan was probably well trained enough to handle any situation that came up... not that I expected anything, with their grass-type opponent not only sleeping but encased in several blocks of ice...

---
Name: Ataro
Area: Botanic Gardens
Encounters Remaining: 4
Items: Park Ball x3, Super Ball x5, Hyper Ball x5, Supreme Park Ball, Family Repellent x5, Max Potion x2, Full Heal x2, Ranger's Delight (3 time uses), Status Bomb, PokePlayer, Honey x2, Squirt Bottle, Blank Voice Disc, Intermediate Voice Disk (Tauros), Intermediate Voice Disk (Bouffalant), Pokedoll x2

Battle Statistics: Breloom/M/??? 9.2%, <3, Sleep, Freeze, -Spd (Used Spore defensively)
Area Effects: Filled with Spores
Character Count: 24535/35000

Current Battling Pokémon: Kangaskhan 67.7%

Encounters Finished: Kangaskhan, Furret, Girafarig, Accelgor, Jumpluff, Linoone, Mew, Delcatty

Pokemon Caught: Bold M Tauros, Bashful M Deerling

Pokemon: Aipom
Nickname: N/A
Gender: Female
Ability: Pickup
Nature: Sassy
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: Aerial Ace, Attract, Brick Break, Cut, Detect, Facade, Fire Punch, Focus Punch, Hidden Power, Ice Punch, Rest, Return, Rock Smash, Shadow Ball, Shadow Claw, Snatch, Strength, Substitute, Taunt, Thunder, Thunderbolt, Thunderpunch, Thunder Wave, U-Turn, Water Pulse, Counter (BM), Fake Out (BM)
Stats: 100%

Pokemon: Miltank
Nickname: N/A
Gender: Female
Ability: Thick Fat
Nature: Careful
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: Attract, Brick Break, Curse, Double Team, Dynamicpunch, Earthquake, Facade, Fire Punch, Fling, Focus Punch, Giga Impact, Ice Punch, Icy Wind, Iron Tail, Protect, Psych Up, Rain Dance, Rest, Return, Rock Slide, Rock Smash, Rock Tomb, Sandstorm, Shadow Ball, Sleep Talk, Stealth Rock, Strength, Substitute, Sunny Day, Surf, Swagger, Thunderpunch, Thunder Wave, Toxic, Whirlpool, Counter (MT), Double Edge (BM), Hammer Arm (BM), Iron Head (MT), Seismic Toss (BM)

Pokemon: Kangaskhan
Nickname: N/A
Gender: Female
Ability: Early Bird
Nature: Gentle
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: Aerial Ace, Attract, Avalanche, Body Slam, Brick Break, Counter, Curse, Cut, Double Edge, Double Team, Drain Punch, Earthquake, Facade, Fire Blast, Fire Punch, Flamethrower, Fling, Focus Punch, Giga Impact, Ice Beam, Ice Punch, Icy Wind, Iron Tail, Mega Kick, Protect, Rain Dance, Rest, Return, Roar, Rock Climb, Rock Slide, Rock Smash, Rock Tomb, Safeguard, Seismic Toss, Shadow Claw, Sleep Talk, Snore, Solarbeam, Strength, Submission, Substitute, Sunny Day, Surf, Swagger, Thunder, Thunderpunch, Toxic, Whirlpool, Endeavor (BM), Hammer Arm (BM), Wish (SM), Yawn (SM)

 

After a while of anticipation and worrying, the Protect seemed to have been enough to bare the full brunt of that Seed Bomb attack. When the last bit of explosion cleared, Kangaskhan immediately wasted no time in firing her Yawn bubbles, even amidst the heavy dust that had camouflaged Kangaskhan completely. I could see her actions clearly, only because I was right behind her. The pink bubbles floated away from Kangaskhan's mouth and surrounded Breloom within seconds, releasing particles in the air to make the target feel drowsy nd sleepy. Though, the Breloom was still standing and in fact, released several blasts of spore powders around it, right before it fell asleep. They were controlled in a manner that made them linger around the user, sort of like a self-trained defense mechanism that ensured no one could get close to it without falling asleep.

Kangaskhan followed up by blowing an icy mist forward from her mouth. Like what I imagined, except better, it seemed to have overwhelmed the Breloom, encasing it with a mist of icy temperature. The harsh conditions had even forced ice crystals to form over its legs and free arm, while the ice that was originally encasing its already-frozen arm grew to cover its entire torso. I was too shocked to respond. I had never exactly expected an Icy Wind to completely freeze the target, and was actually expecting the frozen arm to simply worsen. However, this was the perfect condition, for I didn't need to use my Status Bomb anymore.

My Pokemon waited patiently for my next command of move selection, and I quickly set my Status Bomb to 'Off' and put it back into my bag. I had to think about what to do. Even with the double status and critically low health, I had a feeling that a capture wouldn't be successful at all now. Breloom seemed rather unsettled, and it needed more time to be able to calm down so that a capture should work. I started to regret about not purchasing one of those perfumes that were able to calm down Pokemon. I knew what I had to do right now though - to protect Kangaskhan from that Spore. Regardless of what I was planning to do, the best thing to do now would be to prevent the Spore from working. If Kangaskhan fell to the Spore, that could give chance to the Breloom from that delay, and I didn't want my Pokemon to have a chance to get hurt when they didn't have to.

"Kangaskhan, protect yourself with Safeguard first. But use it to surround your body, so that the protective layer of that barrier can protect you from the effects of the Spore," I said.

By using Safeguard this way, it required less energy instead of the usual globe-like one. The usual one required much more energy since the user needed to focus on creating such a huge barrier, and it also rendered movement to be quite complicated. By shifting the protective layer of Safeguard so that it surrounds Kangaskhan as a skin-like barrier, it allows much more flexibility in movement wise, while still protecting Kangaskhan from the effects of Spore.

I watched as Kangaskhan quickly did what I told her to. She started emanating an emerald green glow that slowly expanded from the core of her heart, to surround her entire body. Soon, the layer of Safeguard covered her body, like a second layer of skin, while she continued to glow amidst the silhouette of the luminous green layer of Safeguard. Now, even if Kangaskhan had to get close to Breloom, or if a sudden breeze blew the spores towards Kangaskhan, Safeguard would be able to protect Kangaskhan from the effects of falling asleep.

I started reminiscing about the past unconsciously. In the past, Normal-type Pokemon weren't even my favorite type. I remembered that I didn't have any particular liking for any particular type. When I became the Sunnyshore Gym leader and later Fortree Gym Leader, I raised many Electric- and Flying-type Pokemon. However, later when I first applied for Petalburg Gym, I started to like Normal-types more and more. I quickly expanded my lineup of Normal-types, but still eventually lost it to Marth, whom was my master back then, in a Master and Apprentice program. By the time I applied for Goldenrod Gym later, I've already had a huge team of Normal-type Pokemon. I managed to win ownership of the gym, and that was when I really started to love Normal-type Pokemon. They were so versatile and I've always liked winning people with Pokemon that were often thought not to be good, or even popular in the sense.

I remembered back then, when pretty much nobody used Ambipom, and I started using it. It became like a signature Pokemon, and we were the best of partners. Later on, together with Miltank, Kangaskhan, Lopunny, and other Normal-types, we defended numerous Goldenrod Gym and Petalburg Gym defends, and experienced all kinds of hardship together. Kangaskhan was probably the second Pokemon to have been with me the longest amount of time - first was Ambipom. And now, we've moved on to defending Nacrene Gym. I remembered I applied for this gym in the new region because I wanted a fresh page to start with, since previous gyms had old gym leaders that had lost some challenges. I wanted to be able to start with a fresh page, and defend the best amount of defends. With Tauros, I would be able to scale higher heights.

I returned my attention to Breloom - my third going-to-be-captured Pokemon in this Park expedition. It still seemed a little unsettled, but I didn't have any options left. I had to try for a capture. I took the Hyper Ball from my bag; a ball that had looked extremely similar to the usual Park Balls, except that it had a higher percentage chance of inducing a successful capture. Even with the critically low health, a sleep condition, a freeze condition, and probably my good performance in the Park so far, I knew the Breloom still had a good chance of not being secured in the ball. Breloom was of the Rare category listed in the Park Pokemon rank list, and would put up much more of a fight, as compared to other Pokemon.

Though, like what I had thought earlier, I had no other choice indeed. I grabbed the Hyper Ball tightly in my palm, and fling it with a sudden swing of my arm. The capture device flew through the field and struck Breloom by its mushroom "cap-like" head. The ball opened up upon impact and revealed the net-like interior of the ball, which had looked like cybernetic fiber lines. A sudden burst of red light emerged from within the orb and surrounded Breloom immediately, surrounding it with an outline trace of crimson red light. The light consumed Breloom and forced it back to the orb with an invisible force of suction. The ball sealed shut and dropped back onto the ground. It then shook left and right profusely, as I stood there motionless, hoping that the ball would seal shut completely and the capture would be successful.

 

NBP17

The Hyper Ball struck hard, and there was no hesitation between the connection and the start of the attempt; the mushroom Pokémon was transferred into an orb of pure light that the ball then encased. Chips of ice sat by the ball; if it didn't capture, the Breloom would surely be thawing out...

The ball shook several times, before coming to a halt. The battle, honestly, felt anticlimactic, Breloom only getting one hit in. It was probably for the best though; an attack best known for its speed over power still took a massive chunk of Kangaskhan's stamina away from it. I briefly considered how to get the Breloom's ball, since the area was still covered in Spore; Kangaskhan could grab it from under Safeguard, but I didn't want to put Ataro's Pokémon near any situation like that myself; that was his order to make. Suddenly, the ball began to glow blue; it raised up into the air and shot into my hand.

Kitty had to go.

"Have fun, Sela?" I turned to my Gardevoir, who apparently just retrieved the ball for us. She nodded in response. It was only a short visit with her new friend, but she seemed much happier for it. Still, we had a bit of business to finish.

"Ataro, are we continuing, or do you need to rush back to that.. Gift station, was it?"

---
Name: Ataro
Area: Botanic Gardens
Encounters Remaining: 3
Items: Park Ball x3, Super Ball x5, Hyper Ball x4, Supreme Park Ball, Family Repellent x5, Max Potion x2, Full Heal x2, Ranger's Delight (3 time uses), Status Bomb, PokePlayer, Honey x2, Squirt Bottle, Blank Voice Disc, Intermediate Voice Disk (Tauros), Intermediate Voice Disk (Bouffalant), Pokedoll x2

Battle Statistics:
Area Effects: Filled with Spores
Character Count:

Current Battling Pokémon: Kangaskhan 67.7%, SAFE

Encounters Finished: Kangaskhan, Furret, Girafarig, Accelgor, Jumpluff, Linoone, Mew, Delcatty

Pokemon Caught: Bold M Tauros, Bashful M Deerling, Brave M Breloom

Pokemon: Aipom
Nickname: N/A
Gender: Female
Ability: Pickup
Nature: Sassy
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: Aerial Ace, Attract, Brick Break, Cut, Detect, Facade, Fire Punch, Focus Punch, Hidden Power, Ice Punch, Rest, Return, Rock Smash, Shadow Ball, Shadow Claw, Snatch, Strength, Substitute, Taunt, Thunder, Thunderbolt, Thunderpunch, Thunder Wave, U-Turn, Water Pulse, Counter (BM), Fake Out (BM)
Stats: 100%

Pokemon: Miltank
Nickname: N/A
Gender: Female
Ability: Thick Fat
Nature: Careful
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: Attract, Brick Break, Curse, Double Team, Dynamicpunch, Earthquake, Facade, Fire Punch, Fling, Focus Punch, Giga Impact, Ice Punch, Icy Wind, Iron Tail, Protect, Psych Up, Rain Dance, Rest, Return, Rock Slide, Rock Smash, Rock Tomb, Sandstorm, Shadow Ball, Sleep Talk, Stealth Rock, Strength, Substitute, Sunny Day, Surf, Swagger, Thunderpunch, Thunder Wave, Toxic, Whirlpool, Counter (MT), Double Edge (BM), Hammer Arm (BM), Iron Head (MT), Seismic Toss (BM)

Pokemon: Kangaskhan
Nickname: N/A
Gender: Female
Ability: Early Bird
Nature: Gentle
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: Aerial Ace, Attract, Avalanche, Body Slam, Brick Break, Counter, Curse, Cut, Double Edge, Double Team, Drain Punch, Earthquake, Facade, Fire Blast, Fire Punch, Flamethrower, Fling, Focus Punch, Giga Impact, Ice Beam, Ice Punch, Icy Wind, Iron Tail, Mega Kick, Protect, Rain Dance, Rest, Return, Roar, Rock Climb, Rock Slide, Rock Smash, Rock Tomb, Safeguard, Seismic Toss, Shadow Claw, Sleep Talk, Snore, Solarbeam, Strength, Submission, Substitute, Sunny Day, Surf, Swagger, Thunder, Thunderpunch, Toxic, Whirlpool, Endeavor (BM), Hammer Arm (BM), Wish (SM), Yawn (SM)

 

The orb continued to shake several times, but after the third shake, it came to a halt. The capture was successful. There was a short moment of awkward silence, as both of seemed to have not knew exactly what to do. I wasn't sure if I should ask Kangaskhan to go ahead and pick up the ball since the area was covered with spores, but was worrying about whether it'd be okay for me to do that. Before I could even spore, the ball was surrounded with a luminous blue glow, and it raised up almost magically into the air and dropped onto Siless's hands.

I turned to my left in shock; to find the creature that was responsible for that power, and found Gardevoir standing there. She had finished playing with the Delcatty. "Have fun, Sela?" Siless asked, to which his Gardevoir responded by nodding her head promptly. Siless then returned his attention to me.

"Ataro, are we continuing, or do you need to rush back to that.. Gift station, was it?"

"Yeah, these three Pokemon look great. I'll end my expedition in advance here. Thanks Siless!" I said, as we strolled back towards the Headquarters.

 

I started followed Ataro back to the outpost; the path was relatively safe, with the most danger being the filled potholes. At this point I saw him off so I could get some records for an actual report, promising to file his claims as soon as I got back.

Run ended by Trainer Request. Get going to that gift station