Individual RP: Ataro

@Ataro;

NBP#11

Ranger Ivy Frost

---

“Yeah, we're left with Zangoose now,” Ataro said, putting in a new voice disk for his Pokeplayer. The sound that screeched from it sounded dangerous. Ivy knew Zangoose to be pretty fierce fighters.

The Ranger then led them on, with Haji trailing in front. His paws barely left tracks in the damp soil, but Ivy's boots made indents as she sunk into it. They managed to travel away from the soggy area, since that wouldn't have been a very fun battleground when both of the Trainer's Ambipom were tired out.

The woods continued their patterned grids for a short while, but eventually they crossed the line where natural forest grew once again. There was a distinct difference. While the growing project had ordered the trees in neat little rows, it left the rest of the area pretty sparse. Here there were downed trees, plenty of foliage, and vines of all types hanging between the trees.

Some of the fallen logs and cracked trees were even obstructing the path, so they had to climb over a couple of logs that were nearly as wide as Ivy was tall. The monkeys had no trouble, of course, and Haji jumped up onto the obstacle with a nimble grace he didn't seem capable of, easily jumping down to the other side without a lot of effort. Ivy was slightly jealous.

Other branches they had to duck under as the traveled, and on one of them that was covered in moss and hanging vines, she stopped. A sound called out above her.

Ivy looked up to see a bug wrapped in a robe of leaves, like it was holding the green-colored cloak closed around it. A tuft of leaves on top gave it a sort of haircut. It didn't look inclined to move much. She wondered if this was where it was living.

“It's a Swadloon,” she said. “Any interest in it?”

---

Current Battle Stats:

??? ??? Swadloon: 100%

Area Effects: Zangoose Voice Disk: 1/5

---

Trainer Stats

Name: Ataro
Location: Woods
Encounters Remaining: 5
Area Effects: It's pleasantly warm.

Pokémon Encountered: Yanma, Surskit, Farfetch'd, Karrablast, Genesect, Joltik, Persian, Nidoking, Illumise, Swadloon
Pokémon Captured: Calm M Farfetch'd, Naive F Illumise
MCR: 2,801/9,000 [Uncommon Rank]

Items: Supreme Park Ball ; Status Bomb Bundle ; Calming Fragrance Plus ; Escape Package (Pokedoll + Poketoy + Fluffy Tail + Slowpoke Tail) ; Pokeplayer ; Borderline Voice Disk – Farfetch’d ; Borderline Voice Disk – Spinda ; Intermediate Voice Disk – Castform ; Intermediate Voice Disk – Zangoose ; Pokedoll x5 ; Park Ball x2 ; Super Ball x2 ; Hyper Ball x2 ; Digital Camera ; Apricorn Box ; Blue Apricorn x1

Picture Value: 3,500

Pokémon Stats

Jolly M Ambipom @ 67%
Ability: Technician
EMs: aerial ace, attract, brick break, captivate, curse, cut, defense curl, dig, double team, dream eater, dynamicpunch, endure, facade, fire punch, focus punch, giga impact, grass knot, headbutt, hidden power [ghost], hone claws, hyper beam, ice punch, iron tail, low sweep, mud-slap, payback, protect, rain dance, rest, retaliate, return, rock smash, secret power, shadow ball, shadow claw, shock wave, sleep talk, snatch, snore, solarbeam, strength, substitute, sunny day, swagger, taunt, thunder, thunderbolt, thunderpunch, thunder wave, toxic, u-turn, water pulse, work up, counter (bm), double edge (mt), fake out (bm), knock off (mt), low kick (mt), pursuit (bm), seed bomb (mt), switcheroo (bm)

Sassy F Ambipom @ 57%
Ability: Pick Up
EMs: aerial ace, attract, brick break, cut, detect, facade, fire punch, focus punch, hidden power [rock], ice punch, rest, return, rock smash, shadow ball, shadow claw, snatch, strength, substitute, taunt, thunder, thunderbolt, thunderpunch, thunder wave, u-turn, water pulse, work up, counter (bm), double-edge (mt), fake out (bm), low kick (mt), seed bomb (mt)

 

Ivy had led me away from the soiled battle ground. We were walking a series of properly lined up trees before we had entered into a new area of natural trees again. It was quite obvious since that was a distinct difference between those two. I honestly don't know which one I would prefer. Although natural trees were definitely good in terms of natural habitat and they were wild in the sense of uneven vines hanging down from randomly sparked trees, the 'unnatural' ones had an unusual good kind of tidiness to them.

We had reached a series of obstacles now. Truthfully, it seemed more or a test to me. Like an endurance test. I shrugged and followed Ivy and the Pokemon as they climbed the obstacles obediently. This is why forest biomes are not my favorite terrains. If I were to choose between a forest biome and a beach, I'd definitely choose the beach. Caves are kind of cool though. As we continued traversing through the terrain, a weird sound came from above Ivy's head. She stopped, and I followed suit.

We both looked up and realized that it was a Swadloon. “It's a Swadloon,” she said. “Any interest in it?”

Oh boy, yet another Bug-type. It's times like these when I really regret not purchasing and bringing along a Bug-type repellent. Then again, I was kind of hoping for a chance to see a Dwebble. Those Pokemon were incredibly cute, and quite highly-wanted among trainers. I could definitely make a good trade for it even if I didn't want to keep it. Swadloon meanwhile, was a definite no.

I shook my head and put up a face. It had better leave us alone or else I was going to throw a Pokedoll in its face. At that thought, I quickly took out another Pokedoll and prepared to dump it in its face.

@WinterVines

 

@Ataro;

NBP#12

Ranger Ivy Frost

---

Ataro didn't take much time to decide on this one. He shook his head and then stuck his tongue out at the Swadloon as he pulled out a Pokedoll, just in case the Bug-type was insistent. In response, the Swadloon also stuck out its tongue, but instead of getting angry, it inched upward along the fallen log and disappeared into the thicker foliage.

“Well, that worked,” Ivy said, shaking her head but smiling. “Let's continue on. We might find that Zangoose yet.”

The Zangoose cry filtered through the trees and other plants, and the Ranger waited for a few minutes for the sound to reach any nearby Pokemon. Nothing came at them right away, so she decided to travel on a little more, hoping the disk would attract the right Pokemon soon.

They stayed down the obstacle-filled path, and it wasn't long before Ivy heard a 'tap', 'tap' in regular intervals as they walked. It sounded like something landing. The senses at the back of her neck tingled, and she thought they were being followed again.

“Is that a Pokemon behind us?” she asked Haji mind-to-mind.

“Indeed. It is curious,” the Psychic-type responded.

That made Ivy stop and look behind them. Immediately there was a whoosh of leaves rustling, and as she looked up to the treetop branches, she couldn't see anything. Where she had though there was a Pokemon, there was only empty space instead.

“It is still there,” the Espeon said.

There was another rustle, and Ivy whipped her head in the same direction. This time she caught traces of blue and red among the leaves—unnatural colors for that high up. Since Haji described it as curious, she thought that maybe it was shy. Or just playing a game.

“I see you up there,” she called to it, and soon after, a bird poked its head out of the bushes.

It called out to them, and the sound was ancient. Its scaly body added to that effect, making it like a reptile-bird. Its wing weathers were blue and yellow, and it had a fluffy red neck ring to match the one at the base of its tail. Its beak was also red and crackly, and smooth blue covered the top of its head. It hopped up and down on the branch it was on and chirped again.

“Hey, an Archen,” she said. “I've seen a couple of these, and most of them have been playful. Any interest?”

---

Current Battle Stats:

??? ??? Archen: 100%

Area Effects: Zangoose Voice Disk: 2/5

---

Trainer Stats

Name: Ataro
Location: Woods
Encounters Remaining: 4
Area Effects: It's pleasantly warm.

Pokémon Encountered: Yanma, Surskit, Farfetch'd, Karrablast, Genesect, Joltik, Persian, Nidoking, Illumise, Swadloon, Archen
Pokémon Captured: Calm M Farfetch'd, Naive F Illumise
MCR: 0/25,000 [Intermediate Rank]

Items: Supreme Park Ball ; Status Bomb Bundle ; Calming Fragrance Plus ; Escape Package (Pokedoll + Poketoy + Fluffy Tail + Slowpoke Tail) ; Pokeplayer ; Borderline Voice Disk – Farfetch’d ; Borderline Voice Disk – Spinda ; Intermediate Voice Disk – Castform ; Intermediate Voice Disk – Zangoose ; Pokedoll x5 ; Park Ball x2 ; Super Ball x2 ; Hyper Ball x2 ; Digital Camera ; Apricorn Box ; Blue Apricorn x1

Picture Value: 3,500

Pokémon Stats

Jolly M Ambipom @ 67%
Ability: Technician
EMs: aerial ace, attract, brick break, captivate, curse, cut, defense curl, dig, double team, dream eater, dynamicpunch, endure, facade, fire punch, focus punch, giga impact, grass knot, headbutt, hidden power [ghost], hone claws, hyper beam, ice punch, iron tail, low sweep, mud-slap, payback, protect, rain dance, rest, retaliate, return, rock smash, secret power, shadow ball, shadow claw, shock wave, sleep talk, snatch, snore, solarbeam, strength, substitute, sunny day, swagger, taunt, thunder, thunderbolt, thunderpunch, thunder wave, toxic, u-turn, water pulse, work up, counter (bm), double edge (mt), fake out (bm), knock off (mt), low kick (mt), pursuit (bm), seed bomb (mt), switcheroo (bm)

Sassy F Ambipom @ 57%
Ability: Pick Up
EMs: aerial ace, attract, brick break, cut, detect, facade, fire punch, focus punch, hidden power [rock], ice punch, rest, return, rock smash, shadow ball, shadow claw, snatch, strength, substitute, taunt, thunder, thunderbolt, thunderpunch, thunder wave, u-turn, water pulse, work up, counter (bm), double-edge (mt), fake out (bm), low kick (mt), seed bomb (mt)

 

The Swadloon stuck out its stuck back in response. “Well, that worked,” Ivy said, shaking her head but smiling. “Let's continue on. We might find that Zangoose yet.”

We waited a couple of minutes in hope for a Zangoose to pop out suddenly, but that didn't seemed like it was happening any time soon. Ivy decided to travel some more, and we continued on the path. Soon, there was a couple of weird sound behind us. It felt like someone was creeping up on us. I turned back together with Ivy to look behind us, and a bunch of leaves rustled immediately. I doubt it would be a Zangoose. Last time I checked, Zangoose couldn't fly. Ivy's Espeon was focusing very hard as well. She was probably using her Psychic-powers to check out what was going on. There was another series of rustle again.

“I see you up there,” Ivy called to it. I was shaking my head. That wasn't going to work... To my surprise, a bird poked its head out of the bushes instead. Wow, that worked.

The Archen cried out shyly. This species was rather colorful and when it had poked its head out, it was exposed immediately. Unfortunately, I really was not interested in them, and I think I would be able to purchase Archen off from the local PokeMart stores anyway.

“Hey, an Archen,” Ivy said. “I've seen a couple of these, and most of them have been playful. Any interest?”

"Nope, I will pass," I said. Luckily I had kept the PokeDoll from the previous encounter in my hand still, for I probably had to use it this time if Archen was not going to leave me alone like Swadloon did.

@WinterVines

 

@Ataro;

NBP#13

Ranger Ivy Frost

---

Ataro had no interest in this Pokemon either. “Nope, I will pass,” he said, holding out a Pokedoll if he needed it. The Archen looked at the group with its head tilted and stilled for a second. Then it screeched and turned around, flying back the way they had come and out of sight.

“I guess he didn't want to stick around if we weren't gonna play,” she said. “Let's keep going.”

The Zangoose disk rang out again, but the Normal-type didn't appear. There was the chance that it wouldn't come near at all, of course, since one might not hear or be too busy to investigate. Ivy led them on in the hopes that it would eventually work. If she was counting tracks correctly, he had two more attempts with this disk.

Soon they came back to the real path, the one that had been especially carved out for Trainers. “It looks like we took the long way, but we made it back here,” Ivy said. “We can probably continue on this road for a while.”

The forest path was nice if not a little boring. Ivy preferred the rough terrain herself, since it provided a bit of a challenge. It was nice to take a break once in a while though, and gentle sunlight streaming through the canopy was peaceful. Nothing happened for a while, and then they came up to a bamboo-like area.

There was something odd, though. “Hmm,” she said. “Some of the bamboo stalks look broken. Those are pretty tough, so I wonder what was responsible. Let's check it out,” she suggested, leading them on.

The bamboo was grouped like a forest, and they formed a bit of a maze, just like the hedges in the Gardens. Soon, they came to a clearing that was bigger than she last remembered it. A loud stomping caught her attention.

A large blue and yellow Pokemon that looked like it had tailpipes coming off the back of its head was stomping around, yelling in random directions. Ivy flinched at the noise, since it was a lot louder than a normal Pokemon. It then got a serious look and bellowed loudly in front of it. In response, there was a loud cracking noise, and the bamboo shattered in the middle from the blast, falling over just like the broken ones she saw before.

“Yikes, an Exploud,” she said. “Those things have devastating sound attacks. Wanna take a shot at it?”

---

Current Battle Stats:

??? ??? Exploud: 100%

Area Effects: Zangoose Voice Disk: 3/5

---

Trainer Stats

Name: Ataro
Location: Woods
Encounters Remaining: 3
Area Effects: It's pleasantly warm.

Pokémon Encountered: Yanma, Surskit, Farfetch'd, Karrablast, Genesect, Joltik, Persian, Nidoking, Illumise, Swadloon, Archen, Exploud
Pokémon Captured: Calm M Farfetch'd, Naive F Illumise
MCR: 0/35,000 [Rare Rank]

Items: Supreme Park Ball ; Status Bomb Bundle ; Calming Fragrance Plus ; Escape Package (Pokedoll + Poketoy + Fluffy Tail + Slowpoke Tail) ; Pokeplayer ; Borderline Voice Disk – Farfetch’d ; Borderline Voice Disk – Spinda ; Intermediate Voice Disk – Castform ; Intermediate Voice Disk – Zangoose ; Pokedoll x5 ; Park Ball x2 ; Super Ball x2 ; Hyper Ball x2 ; Digital Camera ; Apricorn Box ; Blue Apricorn x1, Red Apricorn x1

Picture Value: 3,500

Pokémon Stats

Jolly M Ambipom @ 67%
Ability: Technician
EMs: aerial ace, attract, brick break, captivate, curse, cut, defense curl, dig, double team, dream eater, dynamicpunch, endure, facade, fire punch, focus punch, giga impact, grass knot, headbutt, hidden power [ghost], hone claws, hyper beam, ice punch, iron tail, low sweep, mud-slap, payback, protect, rain dance, rest, retaliate, return, rock smash, secret power, shadow ball, shadow claw, shock wave, sleep talk, snatch, snore, solarbeam, strength, substitute, sunny day, swagger, taunt, thunder, thunderbolt, thunderpunch, thunder wave, toxic, u-turn, water pulse, work up, counter (bm), double edge (mt), fake out (bm), knock off (mt), low kick (mt), pursuit (bm), seed bomb (mt), switcheroo (bm)

Sassy F Ambipom @ 57%
Ability: Pick Up
EMs: aerial ace, attract, brick break, cut, detect, facade, fire punch, focus punch, hidden power [rock], ice punch, rest, return, rock smash, shadow ball, shadow claw, snatch, strength, substitute, taunt, thunder, thunderbolt, thunderpunch, thunder wave, u-turn, water pulse, work up, counter (bm), double-edge (mt), fake out (bm), low kick (mt), seed bomb (mt)

 

“I guess he didn't want to stick around if we weren't gonna play,” Ivy said. “Let's keep going.”

Although I didn't seem to have much luck with my Voice Disks, that seemed to be the opposite for me escaping from encounters. There was a considerable amount of wild Pokemon that had just left us alone when I appeared to not be interested in them. This saves me a bunch of dolls.

The terrain had changed again. “It looks like we took the long way, but we made it back here,” Ivy said. “We can probably continue on this road for a while.”

I really didn't mind whichever path we took, as long as it leads me to a Zangoose. Chances are mostly slim now. We had tried either two or three times already but Zangoose was still not appearing.

“Hmm,” Ivy made a soubd suddenly. “Some of the bamboo stalks look broken. Those are pretty tough, so I wonder what was responsible. Let's check it out,” she suggested.

I followed behind Ivy curiously. It was definitely plausible for a Zangoose to cut those bamboo stalks. Then again, the bamboo stalks didn't have a clean slice. It was more of a very rough broken patch, as if someone had punched away the upper half. If it was Zangoose, the cut should have been a much decisive slice, since Zangoose had really sharp claws.

My question was soon answered, as we spotted a rampaging Pokemon after we had came out of a maze-like structure. The Exploud was stomping around and making loud noises.

“Yikes, an Exploud,” Ivy said. “Those things have devastating sound attacks. Wanna take a shot at it?”

I was looking for one of these actually. But I'm not exactly sure if I'm willing to catch an Exploud when I could have just went for a Whismur. If I had recalled correctly though, Exploud was one of the very few Pokemon pictures that collectors had sought after. "I will pass this. But let's take a snapshot," I replied. Then, I took out the camera and took a quick picture of the Exploud.

@WinterVines

 

@Ataro;

NBP#14

Ranger Ivy Frost

---

Ataro looked semi interested in the Exploud, but he decided against battling. “I will pass this. But let's take a snapshot,” he said instead.

He took out his camera and lined up a good shot. It made for a nice sight, seeing the Pokemon framed up against the bamboo like it was. The wall looked similar to one of those fancy backdrops they used in professional studios. Someone at headquarters would definitely pay for the photo. The blue and yellow of the Exploud contrasted nicely with the tan brown.

The flash of the device was bright in the area, and the large Pokemon turned to them in response. Instead of attacking, however, it looked bothered by the light, and it turned and went through a hole it had made in the bamboo wall.

“I guess we're free to move on. I'm glad it didn't bellow in our direction. We might've needed hearing aids after that.”

Ivy led them through the bamboo maze, weaving her way through easily since she knew the layout. She had spent a lot of time in the Woods, especially when the poachers had been around. After the Dwebble incident, she had combed every inch of the forest until she was absolutely sure there were no more traps. Then she did it again.

She turned a few more corners and came upon another clearing like the one they had been in before, only this one wasn't damaged at all. Looked like the Exploud hadn't progressed that far, and she was glad. They weren't really supposed to step in and adjust the habitats of the Pokemon, but if one like that was affecting other Pokemon, they sort of had to do something.

Something wasn't quite right here though. Something odd was sticking out on the left hand wall. When she looked again, eyes appeared, and then two arms reached up from their downward hanging position. What she thought was foliage growing turned out to be grassy lumps on the arms of a tree. She tilted her head at it, and the thing tilted its head the same way. Then she turned it the other way, and the Pokemon followed suit. When she righted herself, the tree shook itself off and waved its busy arms back and forth happily.

“This Sudowoodo looks pretty pleasant. I haven't seen one of them in a while. Care for a battle while you wait to see if a Zangoose appears?”

---

Current Battle Stats:

??? ??? Sudowoodo: 100%

Area Effects: Zangoose Voice Disk: 4/5

---

Trainer Stats

Name: Ataro
Location: Woods
Encounters Remaining: 2
Area Effects: It's pleasantly warm.

Pokémon Encountered: Yanma, Surskit, Farfetch'd, Karrablast, Genesect, Joltik, Persian, Nidoking, Illumise, Swadloon, Archen, Exploud, Sudowoodo
Pokémon Captured: Calm M Farfetch'd, Naive F Illumise
MCR: 0/25,000 [Intermediate Rank]

Items: Supreme Park Ball ; Status Bomb Bundle ; Calming Fragrance Plus ; Escape Package (Pokedoll + Poketoy + Fluffy Tail + Slowpoke Tail) ; Pokeplayer ; Borderline Voice Disk – Farfetch’d ; Borderline Voice Disk – Spinda ; Intermediate Voice Disk – Castform ; Intermediate Voice Disk – Zangoose ; Pokedoll x5 ; Park Ball x2 ; Super Ball x2 ; Hyper Ball x2 ; Digital Camera ; Apricorn Box ; Blue Apricorn x1, Red Apricorn x1

Picture Value: 5,000

Pokémon Stats

Jolly M Ambipom @ 67%
Ability: Technician
EMs: aerial ace, attract, brick break, captivate, curse, cut, defense curl, dig, double team, dream eater, dynamicpunch, endure, facade, fire punch, focus punch, giga impact, grass knot, headbutt, hidden power [ghost], hone claws, hyper beam, ice punch, iron tail, low sweep, mud-slap, payback, protect, rain dance, rest, retaliate, return, rock smash, secret power, shadow ball, shadow claw, shock wave, sleep talk, snatch, snore, solarbeam, strength, substitute, sunny day, swagger, taunt, thunder, thunderbolt, thunderpunch, thunder wave, toxic, u-turn, water pulse, work up, counter (bm), double edge (mt), fake out (bm), knock off (mt), low kick (mt), pursuit (bm), seed bomb (mt), switcheroo (bm)

Sassy F Ambipom @ 57%
Ability: Pick Up
EMs: aerial ace, attract, brick break, cut, detect, facade, fire punch, focus punch, hidden power [rock], ice punch, rest, return, rock smash, shadow ball, shadow claw, snatch, strength, substitute, taunt, thunder, thunderbolt, thunderpunch, thunder wave, u-turn, water pulse, work up, counter (bm), double-edge (mt), fake out (bm), low kick (mt), seed bomb (mt)

 

The Exploud responded to the flash. It wasn't really angry, but had an astonished expression. After the snapshot, it quickly went into the hole that was conceived from the punching of the bamboo wall.

“I guess we're free to move on. I'm glad it didn't bellow in our direction. We might've needed hearing aids after that.”

Ivy was right. Pokemon like Exploud were capable of producing ear-damaging bellows and screams. I have even heard of construction workers employing Explouds by utilizing their power to clear mountains of rock debris. Ivy was leading me through the maze now. It was astounding how well she knew her way around, since all the bamboo had looked exactly the same here. It was a maze after all.

We continued walking while I gradually noticed that a patch on the left wall had looked kind of weird. Although it had looked almost the same as all the bamboo wall, this one had a certain darker tint of green to it. There were very slight shades of brown as well. As Ivy stared into the patch hard, it turned out to be a creature instead! Eyes and arms started to appear from the camouflage and it was mimicking Ivy's every movements.

When Ivy had righted herself, the Sudowoodo brushed off his busy arms and regain his usual composure, showing himself. He was very pleasant, and greeted us with a friendly smile.

“This Sudowoodo looks pretty pleasant. I haven't seen one of them in a while. Care for a battle while you wait to see if a Zangoose appears?”

Sudowoodo was actually incredibly tempting, especially such a jolly spirited one. In fact, one of my favorite characters had a Sudowoodo and it really made me want to have one as well. The only worry I have here is that if I meet Zangoose later on, I would end up having to pick one of my captured Pokemon to leave my party. It was kind of depressing and I really didn't like that.

But on a second thought, with Sudowoodo's spirit being so jolly and happy, I could perhaps have Ataro to befriend him. We're not left with muh encounters anyway, we could perhaps have Sudowoodo to join us for the remaining encounters and I will decide whether I would like to capture him.

"Hey Sudowoodo, would you like to join us on our remaining encounter run? It will be lots of fun! You can play with Ataro and Fataro!" I suggested whilst smiling. Ataro meanwhile, had already ran over to shake the Sudowoodo's hands. He was certainly excited about meeting a new friend.

@WinterVines

 

@Ataro;

NBP#15

Ranger Ivy Frost

---

The Rock-type continued to be joyous even as Ataro debated on battling it. Ivy wondered how many other Trainers had turned it down, simply because it and its prior evolution, Bonsly, were decently common in other places in the world. Still, it kept its high spirits, and she was glad to see it. Part of her job as a Ranger was making sure these Pokemon were taken care of, that sometimes that included their happiness. That's why she liked to guide Trainers here after all.

Instead of voting yes or no right away, Ataro suggested something else. “Hey, Sudowoodo,” he asked the wild Pokemon, “would you like to join us on your remaining encounter run? It will be lots of fun! You can play with Ataro and Fataro!”

Wild Pokemon sometimes followed Trainers here, either out of stubbornness or something more happy like this, having an opportunity to play. The Trainer's Pokemon were clearly alright with this—or at least Ataro the Ambipom was. He rushed over with his cheery nature to shake hands with the Rock-type. Sudowoodo was just as pleased about this, with the happy curve of its eyes and the smile on its face. It shook its foliage-topped arms back and forth, and a shaking like maracas sound filled the air.

Ivy let them play for a little bit. Eventually Ataro would have to make the decision to fight or try to convince the Sudowoodo to leave, but it didn't have to be quite yet. From the counter on her phone, Ataro only had two Pokemon left on his run anyway. She listened to his Zangoose disk play one last time before the disk clicked off, but no Pokemon came in response to it. Ataro would have to try another time for the two Pokemon he didn't get to catch. She hoped he was still pleased, though, since he had caught two others and had an opportunity to catch one more.

“Okay, let's get going. It's probably mid-afternoon, and I think one of the boats is scheduled to leave for the mainland in an hour or so, if you're going to catch it,” she said.

Before she could lead them on, however, the Sudowoodo rushed up to the front of the line, toward the exit of the bamboo maze. It waved its arms in a 'follow me' motion, the plants or whatever it was making that shaking sound again.

Ivy nodded and followed, since Pokemon tended to lead others to good things, at least as far as her experiences went. Soon, they were out of the maze and into another wooded area. Sudowoodo boldly went through the trees and off the path again, and Ivy shook her head and smiled as they returned to the rough terrain. Eventually they came into a clearing with one tree in the middle.

However, that tree had been cut off at the stump, and it now served as a platform or seat of sorts. There was a Pokemon standing on top of it now too, a Kricketot. The insect looked like it had a robe with a fluffy collar on, and its hooked antennae were dark against its red and yellow coloring.

The Sudowoodo had gone up to it and was motioning. And then the Kricketot began to make sounds like it was known for, a buggy music that usually sounded early morning and late in the evening. The Rock-type joined in and shook its arms, creating a beat to the song.

When they were done, the Kricketot chirped at Ataro, as if asking him if he wanted to battle or something.

“Well?” Ivy asked. “What do you think?”

---

Current Battle Stats:

??? ??? Kricketot: 100%

---

Trainer Stats

Name: Ataro
Location: Woods
Encounters Remaining: 1
Area Effects: It's pleasantly warm.

Pokémon Encountered: Yanma, Surskit, Farfetch'd, Karrablast, Genesect, Joltik, Persian, Nidoking, Illumise, Swadloon, Archen, Exploud, Sudowoodo, Kricketot
Pokémon Captured: Calm M Farfetch'd, Naive F Illumise
MCR: 0/4,000 [Common Rank]

Items: Supreme Park Ball ; Status Bomb Bundle ; Calming Fragrance Plus ; Escape Package (Pokedoll + Poketoy + Fluffy Tail + Slowpoke Tail) ; Pokeplayer ; Borderline Voice Disk – Farfetch’d ; Borderline Voice Disk – Spinda ; Intermediate Voice Disk – Castform ; Intermediate Voice Disk – Zangoose ; Pokedoll x5 ; Park Ball x2 ; Super Ball x2 ; Hyper Ball x2 ; Digital Camera ; Apricorn Box ; Blue Apricorn x1, Red Apricorn x1

Picture Value: 5,000

Pokémon Stats

Jolly M Ambipom @ 67%
Ability: Technician
EMs: aerial ace, attract, brick break, captivate, curse, cut, defense curl, dig, double team, dream eater, dynamicpunch, endure, facade, fire punch, focus punch, giga impact, grass knot, headbutt, hidden power [ghost], hone claws, hyper beam, ice punch, iron tail, low sweep, mud-slap, payback, protect, rain dance, rest, retaliate, return, rock smash, secret power, shadow ball, shadow claw, shock wave, sleep talk, snatch, snore, solarbeam, strength, substitute, sunny day, swagger, taunt, thunder, thunderbolt, thunderpunch, thunder wave, toxic, u-turn, water pulse, work up, counter (bm), double edge (mt), fake out (bm), knock off (mt), low kick (mt), pursuit (bm), seed bomb (mt), switcheroo (bm)

Sassy F Ambipom @ 57%
Ability: Pick Up
EMs: aerial ace, attract, brick break, cut, detect, facade, fire punch, focus punch, hidden power [rock], ice punch, rest, return, rock smash, shadow ball, shadow claw, snatch, strength, substitute, taunt, thunder, thunderbolt, thunderpunch, thunder wave, u-turn, water pulse, work up, counter (bm), double-edge (mt), fake out (bm), low kick (mt), seed bomb (mt)

 

The Sudowoodo nodded happily and shook hands with Ataro. This was the first time I had tried doing something like this. I've read about it in some guidebook before that it was possible, but most trainers chose to either battle or run away immediately. As my Zangoose disk rang one last time, the Pokeplayer had ran out of battery and promptly broke after that. Pokeplayers had a sort of limited duration to be used, and they limited the number of usage you can use a disk with basically. This was to prevent the over-capture of Pokemon in the Park.

“Okay, let's get going. It's probably mid-afternoon, and I think one of the boats is scheduled to leave for the mainland in an hour or so, if you're going to catch it,” Ivy said.

I nodded back in response. If I had brought Kangaskhan along, or just someone who could Surf, I could easily get back to the main land. But in times like these, I could only rely on the boats to bring me back. Suddenly, the Sudowoodo had dashed ahead. Naturally, I was a bit surprised. I thought that right after seemingly making friends, he was going to run away instead. Just at the bend ahead though, he turned back and waved a 'follow me' motion. He was getting more adorable every second, it really tempted me to try and capture him though. I'm sure he would be a great addition to my team.

He had led us out of the bamboo maze and back into some sort of woods. I couldn't really differentiate where we were going now but it was clear that Sudowoodo knew the layout of where we were in very clearly. We soon stopped short of a broken tree and saw a Kricketot right ahead. The Kricketot started to sing and Sudowoodo started to add beats to it. He sure was jolly.

“Well?” Ivy asked. “What do you think?”

"Nah, not really interested in a Kricketot. Let's try to leave it alone. I will give it a Pokedoll if it decides to follow us," I said.

@WinterVines

 

@Ataro; Almost done.

NBP#16

Ranger Ivy Frost

---

The Trainer shook his head. “Nah, not really interested in Kricketot. Let's try to leave it alone. I will give it a Pokedoll if it decides to follow us.”

The Sudowoodo frowned a little as it heard this, and its tree arms sagged downward. The Kricketot chirped too, and it was a long, drawn-out sound. In fact, it looked like it wanted to cry. The Sudowoodo noticed too, and it francically tried to shake its arms like maracas to cheer the little bug up. However, it wasn't really working, and Ivy saw the beginnings of tears form in its eyes.

“Er, I think you better use that doll after all. Some Pokemon really cause quite a fuss when they're upset,” the Ranger said.

Ataro complied and handed a doll over. The bug snatched up the Clefairy-shaped doll immediately, squeezing it close like a child would a Teddiursa Bear. The Bug-type buried its nose in the thing, and then it hopped down off the stump, hopping into the bushes. It squeaked as it went.

In response, there was a small shriek and a rustling in the same bushes. A small insect was chased out of them, seemingly covered in leaves. It had a small curled horn on top of its head, and Ivy could make out little beady eyes hidden on its face.

Seeing this new Pokemon, the Sudowoodo clapped, its bush-topped limbs both shaking like an instrument and making that fluffy leaf sound as the foliage slapped together. It looked happy that another Pokemon had come, even though this one looked a little startled. The Kricketot had probably scared it as it bounded through the underbrush.

“Well, what about this one?” Ivy asked. “This Burmy looks a little frightened, but you could probably calm it down enough with a battle. Interested?”

---

Current Battle Stats:

??? ??? Burmy: 100%

---

Trainer Stats

Name: Ataro
Location: Woods
Encounters Remaining: 0
Area Effects: It's pleasantly warm.

Pokémon Encountered: Yanma, Surskit, Farfetch'd, Karrablast, Genesect, Joltik, Persian, Nidoking, Illumise, Swadloon, Archen, Exploud, Sudowoodo, Kricketot, Burmy
Pokémon Captured: Calm M Farfetch'd, Naive F Illumise
MCR: 0/4,000 [Common Rank]

Items: Supreme Park Ball ; Status Bomb Bundle ; Calming Fragrance Plus ; Escape Package (Pokedoll + Poketoy + Fluffy Tail + Slowpoke Tail) ; Pokeplayer ; Borderline Voice Disk – Farfetch’d ; Borderline Voice Disk – Spinda ; Intermediate Voice Disk – Castform ; Intermediate Voice Disk – Zangoose ; Pokedoll x4 ; Park Ball x2 ; Super Ball x2 ; Hyper Ball x2 ; Digital Camera ; Apricorn Box ; Blue Apricorn x1, Red Apricorn x1

Picture Value: 5,000

Pokémon Stats

Jolly M Ambipom @ 67%
Ability: Technician
EMs: aerial ace, attract, brick break, captivate, curse, cut, defense curl, dig, double team, dream eater, dynamicpunch, endure, facade, fire punch, focus punch, giga impact, grass knot, headbutt, hidden power [ghost], hone claws, hyper beam, ice punch, iron tail, low sweep, mud-slap, payback, protect, rain dance, rest, retaliate, return, rock smash, secret power, shadow ball, shadow claw, shock wave, sleep talk, snatch, snore, solarbeam, strength, substitute, sunny day, swagger, taunt, thunder, thunderbolt, thunderpunch, thunder wave, toxic, u-turn, water pulse, work up, counter (bm), double edge (mt), fake out (bm), knock off (mt), low kick (mt), pursuit (bm), seed bomb (mt), switcheroo (bm)

Sassy F Ambipom @ 57%
Ability: Pick Up
EMs: aerial ace, attract, brick break, cut, detect, facade, fire punch, focus punch, hidden power [rock], ice punch, rest, return, rock smash, shadow ball, shadow claw, snatch, strength, substitute, taunt, thunder, thunderbolt, thunderpunch, thunder wave, u-turn, water pulse, work up, counter (bm), double-edge (mt), fake out (bm), low kick (mt), seed bomb (mt)

 

Sudowoodo was visibly upset, and his arms sagged downwards a little. Kricketot chirped too, but this Pokemon was clearly angry instead. “Er, I think you better use that doll after all. Some Pokemon really cause quite a fuss when they're upset,” Ivy said.

I agreed, and promptly threw a Pokedoll. Times like these called for a Pokedoll to be used, and there was really no sense in trying to save a doll just to have a wild Pokemon waste your time. After that, another Pokemon had ran out from the bush. This Burmy was definitely more timid than Kricketot though.

“Well, what about this one?” Ivy asked. “This Burmy looks a little frightened, but you could probably calm it down enough with a battle. Interested?”

"Nah, let's try and chase it away. If not, I will just use a Pokedoll," I said. If I was correct, Burmy might very well have been the last encounter in the Park for us, since each trainer only had fifteen encounter chances to run in with wild Pokemon. If that is so, that means I will get to battle Sudowoodo after this. Let's just hope that Sudowoodo would be able to join my team on a happy note.

@WinterVines

 

@Ataro;

NBP#17

Ranger Ivy Frost

---

“Nah, let's try and chase it away,” Ataro said. “If not, I will just use a Pokedoll.”

His Ambipom puffed up his chest and made a screeching noise in order to try and dissuade the Burmy from sticking around, but that just caused it to become scared. It closed its eyes and seemed to shrink in stature as it tensed up and tried to make itself as small as possible. Since it was already tiny, it couldn't really get much closer to the ground.

“Looks like that didn't work,” Ivy said. “Better use that doll before you give it a heart attack.”

The Trainer did so, and the little Grass-type cautiously inspected the toy, eventually deciding to pick it up with its stubby arms and vanish as quickly as possible into the brush. It made off in a sprint, only tripping at the foliage line, where it scrambled into the leaves and disappeared.

“Oh, looks like it dropped something. It's a yellow Apricorn,” Ivy said as she bent down to get it. The shiny corns were used to make custom Park Balls back at the main outpost. It was getting more popular. “You have an Apricorn Box, right? Here, maybe you can make something with it later,” she said as she handed the yellow acorn over.

The Sudowoodo looked sad to see the Burmy go too, but it cheered up a little as the normal-colored Ambipom came over to chatter with it. It waved its maraca-like arms back and forth with its body, putting a smile back on its face.

“Well, it looks like this is your last encounter,” she told the Trainer. “Do you want to battle the Sudowoodo too, or have you had your fill?”

---

Current Battle Stats:

??? ??? Sudowoodo: 100%

---

Trainer Stats

Name: Ataro
Location: Woods
Encounters Remaining: 0
Area Effects: It's pleasantly warm.

Pokémon Encountered: Yanma, Surskit, Farfetch'd, Karrablast, Genesect, Joltik, Persian, Nidoking, Illumise, Swadloon, Archen, Exploud, Sudowoodo, Kricketot, Burmy
Pokémon Captured: Calm M Farfetch'd, Naive F Illumise
MCR: 0/25,000 [Intermediate Rank]

Items: Supreme Park Ball ; Status Bomb Bundle ; Calming Fragrance Plus ; Escape Package (Pokedoll + Poketoy + Fluffy Tail + Slowpoke Tail) ; Pokeplayer ; Borderline Voice Disk – Farfetch’d ; Borderline Voice Disk – Spinda ; Intermediate Voice Disk – Castform ; Intermediate Voice Disk – Zangoose ; Pokedoll x3 ; Park Ball x2 ; Super Ball x2 ; Hyper Ball x2 ; Digital Camera ; Apricorn Box ; Blue Apricorn x1, Red Apricorn x1, Yellow Apricorn x1

Picture Value: 5,000

Pokémon Stats

Jolly M Ambipom @ 67%
Ability: Technician
EMs: aerial ace, attract, brick break, captivate, curse, cut, defense curl, dig, double team, dream eater, dynamicpunch, endure, facade, fire punch, focus punch, giga impact, grass knot, headbutt, hidden power [ghost], hone claws, hyper beam, ice punch, iron tail, low sweep, mud-slap, payback, protect, rain dance, rest, retaliate, return, rock smash, secret power, shadow ball, shadow claw, shock wave, sleep talk, snatch, snore, solarbeam, strength, substitute, sunny day, swagger, taunt, thunder, thunderbolt, thunderpunch, thunder wave, toxic, u-turn, water pulse, work up, counter (bm), double edge (mt), fake out (bm), knock off (mt), low kick (mt), pursuit (bm), seed bomb (mt), switcheroo (bm)

Sassy F Ambipom @ 57%
Ability: Pick Up
EMs: aerial ace, attract, brick break, cut, detect, facade, fire punch, focus punch, hidden power [rock], ice punch, rest, return, rock smash, shadow ball, shadow claw, snatch, strength, substitute, taunt, thunder, thunderbolt, thunderpunch, thunder wave, u-turn, water pulse, work up, counter (bm), double-edge (mt), fake out (bm), low kick (mt), seed bomb (mt)

 

Ataro took a deep breath and made a weird screeching noise in hope of scaring the Burmy away ... which didn't seem to work very well. Instead, the Burmy closed its eyes and started to cower in fear. As pitiful as Burmy had looked, it was amazingly cute. I'd honestly consider getting one in the near future, but I was definitely not evolving it though. Wormadam, compared to Burmy, is not cute at all. And it's not even powerful to say the least.

“Looks like that didn't work,” Ivy said. “Better use that doll before you give it a heart attack.”

I laughed, and gave the Burmy a Pokedoll. The Burmy reached out with its stubby arms and ran back into the bushes with the doll, like a scary-cat it was.

“Oh, looks like it dropped something. It's a yellow Apricorn,” Ivy said as she bent down to get it. “You have an Apricorn Box, right? Here, maybe you can make something with it later,” she said as she handed the yellow acorn over.

I took the yellow acorn that Ivy had gave me and placed it in the small Apricorn Box that I had just bought from the store. These were good investments if you visited the Park often, since you could gather several apricorns to make Apricorn Balls. These were more effective than the usual ones. Meanwhile, the Sudowoodo was clearly sad to see Burmy go. It smiled a bit as Ataro went over to chat with him; obviously I couldn't understand what they were saying.

“Well, it looks like this is your last encounter,” she told the Trainer. “Do you want to battle the Sudowoodo too, or have you had your fill?”

"Yep! Sudowoodo, would you like to have a battle with Ataro perhaps?" I asked with a smile.

I decided to wait for Sudowoodo's reply to perhaps show my sincerity and respect for him. At the same time, it would probably be wiser to let my opponent start the battle with a leading move. That way, I can adjust my strategy accordingly to take advantage of Sudowoodo's nature. It also allowed me to maneuver my attack and defense commands for Ataro easier.

@WinterVines

 

@Ataro; Gender?

BP#10

Ranger Ivy Frost

---

Ataro put the yellow acorn away into one of the standard orange boxes that the Park shop was selling. Ivy had one herself since when she went on runs, she liked to collect Apricorns to make special Park Balls in her spare time. Then he looked toward his Ambipom, who was still talking to the Sudowoodo.

He thought for a minute about her question and then said, “Yep! Sudowoodo, would you like to have a battle with Ataro, perhaps?” he asked the Rock-type.

Ivy was a little surprised. A lot of Trainers didn't try to capture Pokemon that were fairly easy to get on the mainland, and Bonsly, Sudowoodo's pre-evolution, was a favorite among Breeders. He still wanted to battle the slightly-common Pokemon, though, and it clearly made the Rock-type happy.

The fake tree clapped its branches together, making tufts of leaves fall off as they collided with that brushy noise. It backed up as well as Ataro the Ambipom got closer to his Trainer. When they were facing each other, neither of them made a move at first. The monkey was clearly ready, his tails slightly twitching and his arms bend inward, sort of like a boxer's guard.

It looked like Ataro was going to let his opponent have the first move, which was both good and bad. It was nice because it allowed the Trainer to get a good handle on what the foe was like and let them adjust their battle strategies accordingly. However, it also gave the opponent time to set up their own plans, and sometimes that could be costly, depending on what the Trainer was facing.

The Sudowoodo stared intensely at the purple monkey, locking eyes so that even Ivy could tell it was strange. Ataro didn't look away, however, and when the Rock-type tilted its head to the side, the monkey's followed. It was holding its branch arms out too, and they tilted with it, like a teapot. It then tilted its head back to the left, and the Ambipom's followed the motion the second time too.

The smile had been wiped from the tree's face, and it actually looked pretty serious as it performed. Ivy had seen this once before with some Arbok Trainers. They used intense eye contact to try and control each other, and they ended up mimicking each others movements. It was pretty neat to watch.

Sudowoodo was still bent down toward the left with its monkey doppelganger, posed that way almost like a picture. Neither of them moved. Then, something flashed in the tree's eyes, and it lunged forward, moving its body in a snap to adjust. It swept low with its legs, dropping down to swing by being propped up on one of its branches.

The kick knocked the Ambipom off his feet, and he went tumbling backward. Since it was mostly his legs that got caught and not his body, it didn't look like it hurt too bad. It did make him lose his feet though, and it took him a second to scramble back up. He wasn't moving in tip-top shape since he had already battled today.

The Sudowoodo was already backing up by the time the Ambipom recovered. It made it all the way around to the other side of the sawed-off stump so that it was between it and the rest of them. That's where it stopped, taking a second to look at the place where the Kricketot played. It put one of its arms on the pedastal, and then it slightly turned away from them. Then, its other bushy arm came up to its face, and that's when Ivy heard a sniffling sound.

The Sudowoodo started to cry.

“Uh...” Ivy trailed off as she wasn't sure what to do about that. She hadn't seen many wild Pokemon start crying abruptly. She guessed it was missing its Bug-type friends that Ataro had declined to battle and given a doll when they refused to go. Clearly friendships meant a lot to the fake tree. She would have to see what Ataro would do about this.

---

Current Battle Stats:

??? ??? Sudowoodo: 100% [Used Low Kick]
Jolly M Ambipom: 62%

---

Trainer Stats

Name: Ataro
Location: Woods
Encounters Remaining: 0
Area Effects: It's pleasantly warm.

Pokémon Encountered: Yanma, Surskit, Farfetch'd, Karrablast, Genesect, Joltik, Persian, Nidoking, Illumise, Swadloon, Archen, Exploud, Sudowoodo, Kricketot, Burmy
Pokémon Captured: Calm M Farfetch'd, Naive F Illumise
MCR: 1,995/25,000 [Intermediate Rank]

Items: Supreme Park Ball ; Status Bomb Bundle ; Calming Fragrance Plus ; Escape Package (Pokedoll + Poketoy + Fluffy Tail + Slowpoke Tail) ; Pokeplayer ; Borderline Voice Disk – Farfetch’d ; Borderline Voice Disk – Spinda ; Intermediate Voice Disk – Castform ; Intermediate Voice Disk – Zangoose ; Pokedoll x3 ; Park Ball x2 ; Super Ball x2 ; Hyper Ball x2 ; Digital Camera ; Apricorn Box ; Blue Apricorn x1, Red Apricorn x1, Yellow Apricorn x1

Picture Value: 5,000

Pokémon Stats

Jolly M Ambipom @ 62%
Ability: Technician
EMs: aerial ace, attract, brick break, captivate, curse, cut, defense curl, dig, double team, dream eater, dynamicpunch, endure, facade, fire punch, focus punch, giga impact, grass knot, headbutt, hidden power [ghost], hone claws, hyper beam, ice punch, iron tail, low sweep, mud-slap, payback, protect, rain dance, rest, retaliate, return, rock smash, secret power, shadow ball, shadow claw, shock wave, sleep talk, snatch, snore, solarbeam, strength, substitute, sunny day, swagger, taunt, thunder, thunderbolt, thunderpunch, thunder wave, toxic, u-turn, water pulse, work up, counter (bm), double edge (mt), fake out (bm), knock off (mt), low kick (mt), pursuit (bm), seed bomb (mt), switcheroo (bm)

Sassy F Ambipom @ 57%
Ability: Pick Up
EMs: aerial ace, attract, brick break, cut, detect, facade, fire punch, focus punch, hidden power [rock], ice punch, rest, return, rock smash, shadow ball, shadow claw, snatch, strength, substitute, taunt, thunder, thunderbolt, thunderpunch, thunder wave, u-turn, water pulse, work up, counter (bm), double-edge (mt), fake out (bm), low kick (mt), seed bomb (mt)

 

OOC: Male.

Sudowoodo started to stare intensely into Ataro's eyes. He had started to hold his branch arms out, and titled his head to the left. It was probably confusing Ataro as Ataro seemed to be in a trance. He had started to follow Sudowoodo's actions and was swinging in the exact mirrored image as well. Unlike before though, Sudowoodo was no longer smiling. He was dead serious, and I wasn't about to disappoint him too. We will have a good battle.

Neither of them had moved now. Suddenly, a gleam flashed in Sudowoodo's eyes. With a quick sweep of his legs, he dropped it down to deliver a prompt kick towards Ataro which sent my Pokemon tumbling backwards. It took him a while to get back up.

Meanwhile, the Sudowoodo had already achieved a safe distance from Ataro and made his way to the other side of some chopped-off stump. He then put one of his arms on the pedestal, and turned away from us. One of his bushy arms covered his face and a crying sound started to emerge.

“Uh...” Ivy trailed off as she wasn't sure what to do about that.

He might have been really crying. But judging from the state of seriousness that Sudowoodo suddenly had when the battle had started, I honestly doubted that. Sudowoodo, like their pre-evolutions, were known for Fake Tears attack, which made them looked like they were really crying, when it was all just a ploy. I had better get Ataro to watch out for that. "Ataro, ignore the Sudowoodo. He's probably trying to fool you with a Fake Tears! I want you to make use of your ability and strike him with a Water Pulse. Immediately follow up with a Shock Wave after that. Zap him!"

Hopefully, Ataro would ignore Sudowoodo completely. If I had remembered clearly, Fake Tears was not just a ploy, it also had the ability to lower the foe's Special Defense harshly. Although it didn't really matter here when Sudowoodo's attacks are mainly physical ones, any drops that can be avoided should be. Ataro's ability was Technician and it was a fantastic ability to boost low power moves like Water Pulse and Shock Wave. Sudowoodo was a Rock-type and he was easily weak to Water-type attacks. By zapping a drenched Rock-type with Shock Wave, it usually does double the damage since water conducts electricity. I didn't really want Ataro to get in close with a physical attack anyway. That Sudowoodo seemed to be pretty cunning.

I looked back on the field and noticed that Ataro had raised his arms up. Shortly, his arms were enshrouded with a deep blue outline and a small orb of similar color started to materialize from between his hands. Gradually, it enlarged into a considerable size before he flung it forward towards Sudowoodo. The sphere of water was charging forward, while sizzling with water pulses within. Ataro didn't miss a beat too. His tail was already highlighted in a yellow hue and with a swing of it, he sent forth a similar looking orb. This time, in yellow instead. It had seemed to be more menacing than the Water Pulse, for it had sizzled with electricity voltage instead.

@WinterVines

 

@Ataro;

BP#11

Ranger Ivy Frost

---

Ataro studied the Rock-type for a moment, but he didn't really seem convinced that the Sudowoodo's tears were real. Fearing a trap, he cautioned his Pokemon. “Ataro, ignore the Sudowoodo. He's probably just trying to fool you with a Fake Tears! I want you to make use of your ability and strike him with a Water Pulse. Immediately follow up with a Shock Wave after that. Zap him!” the Trainer shouted.

Even if he was right, Ivy wasn't sure the Ambipom could just turn a blind eye like that. The Sudowoodo had been friendly toward the monkey, and Ataro was interested in making friends by nature. Still, he couldn't just ignore a direct order. With a strange look on his face, Ataro put his hands up as a glob of water formed between them. As it grew, it formed into solid-looking rings, and when it was probably half the diameter of a hula hoop, the monkey launched it.

Ivy couldn't really tell if the attack had been at a lesser force or not, only that the Ambipom looked a little guilty while doing it. Soon after, he worked his tails back and forth until he got a static current going between them. Then with a flourish, he released the energy. It clawed its way in tiny bolts in intervals, chasing after the Water-type attack in a decent line, which was probably due to one of Ambipom's abilities. Technician masters allowed them to use certain moves with more skill than others.

The Sudowoodo turned and let out a yell at the incoming water attack. He threw his arms up in an attempt to cover his face, and the water rings splashed over him. His leaves caught some of the water, and being behind the stump blocked off the lower portion, but a fair amount rained down on him.

The Rock-type flicked his arms downward in an attempt to shake the water off, and that distracted him a little bit from the next attack. The Shock Wave made it to him and flashed downward, more potent by the water that had gotten on the Sudowoodo. The fake tree cringed a little and stilled, looking almost like a real tree for a moment. Ivy thought that helped absorb the shock, being grounded like that. It would explain his lessened reaction.

The Sudowoodo then jumped up on to the stump that the Kricketot had played on earlier. He shook his maraca-like hands in a rhythm, holding them out in a circle. Then, something strange happened. A ring of water formed between them, flowing just as the Ambipom's had.

Before she could comment on it, the tree made a throwing motion and shot the Water Pulse off. Then, the Sudowoodo did another strange thing. Bolts of lightning came down in a line, just like Ataro's had. The monkey was surprised to see that mirrored action, and the water rushed into him, followed up by the electrical attack. The purple monkey screeched as he was shocked, making it the second time today to get hit by an attack like that.

To her knowledge, Sudowoodo didn't learn either of those techniques. “He must've mimicked the motions,” Ivy said. That was the fake tree's specialty. Ataro was going to have to be careful if every technique could be thrown back at them.

The Rock-type then began to chant and dance on top of the stump in a strange pattern. Ivy wasn't sure what that was either. She hadn't seen such an energetic Pokemon in quite a while. They were going to have to be careful.

---

Current Battle Stats:

??? M Sudowoodo: 81% [Used Mimic and Copycat]
Jolly M Ambipom: 52% [Used Water Pulse and Shock Wave

---

Trainer Stats

Name: Ataro
Location: Woods
Encounters Remaining: 0
Area Effects: It's pleasantly warm.

Pokémon Encountered: Yanma, Surskit, Farfetch'd, Karrablast, Genesect, Joltik, Persian, Nidoking, Illumise, Swadloon, Archen, Exploud, Sudowoodo, Kricketot, Burmy
Pokémon Captured: Calm M Farfetch'd, Naive F Illumise
MCR: 5,023/25,000 [Intermediate Rank]

Items: Supreme Park Ball ; Status Bomb Bundle ; Calming Fragrance Plus ; Escape Package (Pokedoll + Poketoy + Fluffy Tail + Slowpoke Tail) ; Pokeplayer ; Borderline Voice Disk – Farfetch’d ; Borderline Voice Disk – Spinda ; Intermediate Voice Disk – Castform ; Intermediate Voice Disk – Zangoose ; Pokedoll x3 ; Park Ball x2 ; Super Ball x2 ; Hyper Ball x2 ; Digital Camera ; Apricorn Box ; Blue Apricorn x1, Red Apricorn x1, Yellow Apricorn x1

Picture Value: 5,000

Pokémon Stats

Jolly M Ambipom @ 52%
Ability: Technician
EMs: aerial ace, attract, brick break, captivate, curse, cut, defense curl, dig, double team, dream eater, dynamicpunch, endure, facade, fire punch, focus punch, giga impact, grass knot, headbutt, hidden power [ghost], hone claws, hyper beam, ice punch, iron tail, low sweep, mud-slap, payback, protect, rain dance, rest, retaliate, return, rock smash, secret power, shadow ball, shadow claw, shock wave, sleep talk, snatch, snore, solarbeam, strength, substitute, sunny day, swagger, taunt, thunder, thunderbolt, thunderpunch, thunder wave, toxic, u-turn, water pulse, work up, counter (bm), double edge (mt), fake out (bm), knock off (mt), low kick (mt), pursuit (bm), seed bomb (mt), switcheroo (bm)

Sassy F Ambipom @ 57%
Ability: Pick Up
EMs: aerial ace, attract, brick break, cut, detect, facade, fire punch, focus punch, hidden power [rock], ice punch, rest, return, rock smash, shadow ball, shadow claw, snatch, strength, substitute, taunt, thunder, thunderbolt, thunderpunch, thunder wave, u-turn, water pulse, work up, counter (bm), double-edge (mt), fake out (bm), low kick (mt), seed bomb (mt)

 

The Sudowoodo screamed in horror at the oncoming Water-type attacks. Although they had resembled plant species, they really hated water. He quickly put his arms up to try and cover his face, while the rest of the water rings washed over him. The bushy leaves on his arms did a bit to help and reduce the impact of the water, but the damage was definitely done. After the attack, Sudowoodo started to flick his arms in panic, trying to shake the water off. This allowed Ataro's next Shock Wave to hit without fail. Although he was cringing, he managed to stop moving completely and the attack seemed to have been absorbed instead. It was possible he was using his roots or some parts of his body to conduct the electricity to the ground, thus negating some damage.

He then jumped onto the very same stump that Kricketot had palyed on earier, and shook his hands in a weird motion. Soon after, a circle of water had appeared. Exactly like Ataro's. It must have been either Mimic or Copycat. It was too late however, and the Water Pulse had blasted Ataro right back, followed by an onslaught of lighting bolts. Ataro screeched loudly in surprise, to get attacked by the very same moves that he had attacked with.

“He must've mimicked the motions,” Ivy said.

Hmm. We were going to have to stop those moves. Luckily for us, it was Water Pulse and Shock Wave back then. If it was some Fighting-type moves, not only would it have been super effective towards Sudowoodo, it would have been super effective towards Ataro too. Sudowoodo was standing on the stump now, dancing and chanting in a bizarre rhythm. I couldn't tell what attack he was doing next, but I knew Ataro's next move. We had needed to stop the usage of Mimic and Copycat.

"Ataro, go forth and Taunt Sudowoodo. Stop it from using Mimic and Copycat. After that, go in and hard with a Low Sweep, then turn it into a Low Kick immediately," I said. Like used in the previous battles, Taunt had the ability to enrage opponents and in a fit of rage, they are often unable to use non-attacking moves. That works for a majority of Pokemon, but a minority of them were immune still. Let's just hope Sudowoodo's nature wasn't immune to it. If he was immune, and decided to use Copycat back, Ataro would be severely hurt from the two Fighting-type attacks. Low Sweep was another move that was boosted by Technician, but both Low Sweep and Low Kick were extremely easy to maneuver with. Unlike some moves like Focus Punch.

Low Sweep would not only hurt more with Technician, but also had the side effect of lowering the foe's speed by causing pain in the foe's knees. Low Kick meanwhile, was a very similar move, but it had made use of Ataro's legs instead. He would maneuver from a sweep to kick with little difficulty, and deal even more damage by focusing on the same spot that Low Sweep had hit with.

@WinterVines

 

@Ataro;

BP#12

Ranger Ivy Frost

---

The Trainer studied his opponent for a minute. The Sudowoodo was definitely being tricky, although Ivy wasn't really surprised. Sudowoodo had fooled people for years—there were still some who thought it was Grass-type because of the foliage on its arms. A lot of people didn't know it was actually a rock. Its mimicking techniques made it even more crafty.

Ataro was clearly worried about the fake tree's copying abilities, so he said, “Ataro, go forth and Taunt Sudowoodo. Stop it from using Mimic and Copycat. After that, go in hard with a Low Sweep, then turn it into a Low Kick immediately,” he said.

It looked like the Trainer had decided to change from his long-range tactics. That might help the fake tree as much as it would help the monkey. It was a powerful string of attacks too, so he definitely meant business. Rock-types were known for being sturdy though, so he could probably take a few attacks before being worn down.

The purple Ambipom took a large breath to start hits Taunt technique when all of a sudden he let it out in a big whoosh as the Sudowoodo let out a large noise. It sounded halfway between a yell and a roar, and it was loud. The tree then stomped up and down on the stump, shouting as he went and causing an uproar.

Waves of sound peeled off of him in bursts of energy, and the Ambipom flinched as he tried to cover his ears from the racket. The Sudowoodo continued to dance around, flailing his arms as he shouted. When he stopped, the monkey managed to compose himself enough to make a screeching noise and make a face at the tree. He stuck out his tongue and put his hands up to the side of his face like antlers and waved them around.

The tree saw this and got an unamused look in his eyes. First the monkey had tried to attack him after making friends, and now he was taunting him. There wasn't a lot of time for reaction, however, since Ataro the Ambipom rushed off after that to complete the rest of the plan.

The monkey jumped up to the stump in a semi-slide, aiming low to sweep the legs out from under the Rock. It worked, and the Sudowoodo tumbled. Ataro wasn't done, however, and kicked out with his legs. He hit the Rock-type, but before he could pull away, Sudowoodo grabbed his legs and held on tight. In a quick motion, the tree got up, taking the Ambipom with him. The monkey hit the base of the stump hard as the Sudowoodo turned his body, aiming to throw him.

With a powerful toss, the Sudowoodo heaved the purple monkey across the field in an arc. With a heavy thump, the Ambipom hit the ground and rolled several feet before stopping, like a log. There was an indent where he hit, so it must've been really hard. He rolled to a stop a couple feet before his Trainer.

“Ouch,” she said. “That looked like a Counter-attack.”

Then, the fake tree hopped down off the stump, going behind it to put a small wall in between them. It had helped protect against the Water Pulse, so maybe he was planning on using it again.

---

Current Battle Stats:

??? M Sudowoodo: 58% [TNT1][Used Uproar and Counter]
Jolly M Ambipom: 39% [Used Taunt, Low Sweep, and Low Kick]

---

Trainer Stats

Name: Ataro
Location: Woods
Encounters Remaining: 0
Area Effects: It's pleasantly warm.

Pokémon Encountered: Yanma, Surskit, Farfetch'd, Karrablast, Genesect, Joltik, Persian, Nidoking, Illumise, Swadloon, Archen, Exploud, Sudowoodo, Kricketot, Burmy
Pokémon Captured: Calm M Farfetch'd, Naive F Illumise
MCR: 7,880/25,000 [Intermediate Rank]

Items: Supreme Park Ball ; Status Bomb Bundle ; Calming Fragrance Plus ; Escape Package (Pokedoll + Poketoy + Fluffy Tail + Slowpoke Tail) ; Pokeplayer ; Borderline Voice Disk – Farfetch’d ; Borderline Voice Disk – Spinda ; Intermediate Voice Disk – Castform ; Intermediate Voice Disk – Zangoose ; Pokedoll x3 ; Park Ball x2 ; Super Ball x2 ; Hyper Ball x2 ; Digital Camera ; Apricorn Box ; Blue Apricorn x1, Red Apricorn x1, Yellow Apricorn x1

Picture Value: 5,000

Pokémon Stats

Jolly M Ambipom @ 39%
Ability: Technician
EMs: aerial ace, attract, brick break, captivate, curse, cut, defense curl, dig, double team, dream eater, dynamicpunch, endure, facade, fire punch, focus punch, giga impact, grass knot, headbutt, hidden power [ghost], hone claws, hyper beam, ice punch, iron tail, low sweep, mud-slap, payback, protect, rain dance, rest, retaliate, return, rock smash, secret power, shadow ball, shadow claw, shock wave, sleep talk, snatch, snore, solarbeam, strength, substitute, sunny day, swagger, taunt, thunder, thunderbolt, thunderpunch, thunder wave, toxic, u-turn, water pulse, work up, counter (bm), double edge (mt), fake out (bm), knock off (mt), low kick (mt), pursuit (bm), seed bomb (mt), switcheroo (bm)

Sassy F Ambipom @ 57%
Ability: Pick Up
EMs: aerial ace, attract, brick break, cut, detect, facade, fire punch, focus punch, hidden power [rock], ice punch, rest, return, rock smash, shadow ball, shadow claw, snatch, strength, substitute, taunt, thunder, thunderbolt, thunderpunch, thunder wave, u-turn, water pulse, work up, counter (bm), double-edge (mt), fake out (bm), low kick (mt), seed bomb (mt)

 

Ataro started taking in a deep breath before releasing a loud sound, which only clashed with a series of loud noise from the Sudowoodo as well. The two of them, as if engaged in a sound combat, went back and forth with their sound-based moves. Well, Taunt was me exactly a sound-based attack but it was similar. As Ataro continued to hurl insults and finger pointings at his opponent, Sudowoodo was busy rampaging a series of loud noises.

When Sudowoodo finally stopped, he seemed to have been affected by the Taunt finally. He did not look amused however. A thought suddenly stuck me that perhaps the Taunt was a little provocative. First, I had asked Ataro to befriend his opponent and engage it in a friendly combat, and now I was resorting to such tactics. In my defense though, I had really wanted to stop him from using moves like Minic and Copycat.

Regardless, with a swift motion, Ataro bounced forward and aimed for Suwoodp's leg. The Low Sweep worked successfully and Suwoodo cousins help but tumbled helplessly. Quickly maneuvering the Low Sweep into a Low Kick, Ataro shifted the position and angle of his leg and sprang forward again. Striking Sudowoodo in the same spot again, the Sudowoodo manage to recover fast enough to grab Ataro's legs instead.

Oh no, that must be Counter. Try to break loose!

Sudowoodo was holding on very tight however. With a powerful toss motion, Ateo was sent back flying like a discus. He hit the ground hard and bounced several times backwards still, before landing to a halt. Ataro had struggled hard to get up this time, and it was apparent that the previous attack had taken a toll on him.

“Ouch,” she said. “That looked like a Counter-attack," remarked Ivy.

As soon as Ivy had said that, the Sudowoodo hopped off the stump that he was standing on and hid behind it. He had used this similar technique to protect himself from the earlier Water Pulse and he was probably expecting me to use it next. It was highly possibly since I would probably avoid using a physical-offense attack due to Counter.

Looking at Ataro once more, I couldn't help but feel worried about him. He was getting really weak now, and another attack or two might even knock him out. I felt like I had needed to break the stump, and I had the perfect move for executing that. Then again, by doing that, I would miss a turn in attacking Sudowoodo. Or maybe not.

A Brick Break would break the stump, but perhaps I can navigate Ataro to spring a surprise attack before that. We were getting closer to capturing Sudowoodo though, and we definitely needed to inflict a status condition on him to assist the capture.

"Ok Ataro, attack Sudowoodo with Dig. When you emerge from the ground, strike it with a Thunder Wave as well!"

At the last moment, I had decided to not break the stump instead. When comparing it to my current objectives, it had just seemed less important. Furthermore, with Ataro already weakened, I had decided not to impose more stress than needed on him.

@WinterVines