Individual RP: ChainReaction01 (Oktori)

@ChainReaction01;

BP#12

Ranger Ivy Frost

---

Jakk didn't have any time to lose with his Pokemon sliding toward the icy pool. If the Beartic got Jugg into it, not only would the fighter being in serious danger of drowning, but the bear could easily out-maneuver him in his own territory, inflicting even more damage.

“Jugg, use an Ice Punch Spike to get some grip, and then hit the Beartic with a Bullet Punch!” the Trainer called through the blizzard. Ivy hoped that the fighter heard enough of it. Vergil was tense next to her, and she was decently confident he would act if need be.

Almost immediately, the fighter raised up an arm, and even through the snow, Ivy could see the spiky ice ball form in his fist. It had jagged points and was that cloudy color, which suggested it was sturdy and not likely to break easily.

Jugg slammed his fist down onto the icy ground, and as the icicle dug in, the Ranger could hear the grinding sound as a deep groove was cut into the earth. The fighter's momentum was working against the stopping power of the cold brake. Jugg had flipped so that his feet were sliding first, hoping to catch a bit of dry earth for him to get traction. He was slowing down, but would he slow in time to prevent falling into the water?

Her Gallade took a step forward as Jugg continued to slide, and Ivy could feel his energy rise. It looked like he would actually help out, after all. Seconds before the other fighter would've teleported to the rescue, there was a brush of dirt. It was all the purchase the Machamp needed.

Using leverage from the Ice Punch technique, Jugg pushed with his legs as soon as he touched the non-icy spot, just feet away from the bone-chilling water. With his other hand, he streaked forward in a lunge that blurred.

He overtook the Beartic, who had been resting and watching the outcome of his attack. As he got up, Jugg was on him in a flurry of silvery punches that were nearly-invisible; they were just that fast. The bear staggered back from the blows as Jugg took a well-earned breather. That had been close.

The peace didn't last long, however. With a mighty bellow, the Beartic raged and stamped his foot down full force. The entire cavern shook as snow dislodged from the ceiling. Then, the more dangerous icicles started to crash down, exploding as the large ice spears hit the ground. Shards of broken ice flew everywhere, and it was Jugg's turn to back up as he tried to avoid getting hit by the icicles.

He managed to sidestep a couple and punch another out of the air, but he wandered onto a slippery patch, and an almost-slip caused him to lose concentration, and a barrage of icicled rained down on him. Ivy saw the last shreds of the substitute covering fall off, leaving the fighter's gray skin bared to the cold once again. Thin slices were exposed as well—it looked like some of the jagged ice had got through the covering thanks to the holes in it.

With another frustrated cry, the Beartic barreled forward into Jugg, flailing his arms wildly as he voiced his anger. The force of it knocked the Machamp into the middle rock, making it shake. Ivy had to grab onto it to avoid sliding around.

The bear wasn't looking too good now. After his exertion, he panted heavily. His whole body seemed to sag, as if it was too heavy to hold up anymore. Ivy knew the Toxic would be taking its toll by now, and with the added damage that Jugg was inflicting, it probably didn't have a lot of fight left into it.

As she watched, it stumbled to the side a little as it tried to back up to be closer to the far wall. It sort of looked like he couldn't focus. That wasn't good. It meant the poison would probably knock the wild Pokemon out sooner rather than later.

“Jakk, if you want to catch this one, you better make it fast. I don't think he can last much longer,” Ivy warned.

---

Current Battle Stats:

??? M Beartic: 21% Tox3 [Used Icicle Crash and Frustration]
Brave M Machamp: 67% LS4 [Used Ice Punch and Bullet Punch]

Area Effects: There is a snowstorm.

---

Trainer Stats

Name: Chainy
Location: Mount Oktori
Encounters Remaining: 6
Area Effects: In a cave after a slide with a pool.
Pokémon Encountered: Gurdurr, Snover, Meditite, Machop, Smoochum, Weavile, Scraggy, Abomasnow, Mienfoo, Machoke, Beartic
Pokémon Captured: Hardy M Scraggy, Mild M Mienfoo
MCR: 21,653/25,000 [Intermediate Rank]

Items: 4x Park Ball; 3x SuperBall; 4x HyperBall; 2x Calming Fragrance Plus; 13x PokeDoll; 5x Honey; Squirtbottle; Pokeplayer; Digital Camera; Blank Disk x2; 7x Lava Cookie; Status Bomb x2; Pax-A-Punch; Oak's Trinket; Digital Camera Zoom Lens; Supreme Park Ball x2; Glossy Lens; Apricorn Box, White Apricorn x1, Yellow Apricorn x1, Red Apricorn x1, Blue Apricorn x2

Picture Value: 1,500

Pokémon Stats

Pokemon: Machamp @ 67%
Nickname: Jugg
Gender: Male
Ability: No Guard
Nature: Brave
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: HM04-Strength, HM08-Rock Smash, HM11-Rock Climb, TM06-Toxic, TM18-Counter, TM26-Earthquake, TM27-Fissure, TM48-Rock Slide, TM50-Substitute, TM64-Protect, TM65-Rain Dance, TM74-Ice Punch, TM75-Swagger, TM80-Thunderpunch, TM85-Fire Punch, TM88-Focus Punch, TM93-Bulk Up, TM96-Light Screen, TM98-Brick Break, TM101-Rock Tomb, TM126-Stone Edge, TM159-Bulldoze, Bullet Punch, Superpower, Encore, Close Combat

Pokemon: Blaziken @ 70%
Nickname: Stresser
Gender: Female
Ability: Speed Boost
Nature: Quiet
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: HM01-Cut, HM04-Strength, HM08-Rock Smash, HM11-Rock Climb, TM03-Swords Dance, TM26-Earthquake, TM48-Rock Slide, TM50-Substitute, TM55-Roar, TM59-Hidden Power[FLYING], TM64-Protect, TM102-Aerial Ace, TM118-Will-o-Wisp, TM121-Shadow Claw, Thunderpunch, Baton Pass, Featherdance, Superpower, Agility, Feint

Pokemon: Electivire @ 68%
Nickname: Kai
Gender: Male
Ability: Motor Drive
Nature: Relaxed Nature
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: HM04-Strength, HM05-Flash, HM08-Rock Smash, HM11-Rock Climb, TM26-Earthquake, TM33-Reflect, TM45-Thunder Wave, TM48-Rock Slide, TM50-Substitute, TM59-Hidden Power[DRAGON], TM64-Protect, TM74-Ice Punch, TM95-Taunt, TM98-Brick Break, TM147-Low Sweep, TM157-Volt Switch, Magnet Rise, Cross Chop, Meditate, Barrier, Low Kick, Feint

 

Immediately after he heard Jakk call out, Jugg raised one of his arms into the air. The falling snow and ice coalesced around his fist, making it look like there was a small tornado in the room. Instead of a large icicle, like Jakk pictured mentally, Jugg created a ball of ice with lots of spikes on it, eerily reminiscent of the end of a medieval mace. Either he thought this would work better to get a grip on the ice, or there wasn't enough time to refine the material into a dagger shape. Either way, luck was on Jugg's side. He slammed the Ice Punch into the ground and a horrendous screeching echoed throughout the cavern and ice bit into ice. It looked for a second like the Fighting-type would slide right into the pool, but just before he did, his feet made contact with a little patch of dirt, and that was all he needed. His momentum slowed for the briefest of seconds, and he clenched his fist, causing the ice ball to shatter. The Machamp became coated in a silver light and he rocketed off towards the Beartic. All four of his hands were drawn back, preparing to strike.

Strike he did. And repeatedly. He crashed into the Beartic and pummeled the bear with blows so fast that I couldn't even see them. The whole flurry was over in less than a second, and the Wild Pokemon slumped back onto the ground. It was actually starting to look a little green in the face, which meant that the Toxic affliction was getting even worse. It wouldn't be long now until the Ice-type was comatose, although that was walking a fine line between being perfect for capture and being uncapturable at all.

Despite being tired from battle and poisoned, the bear summoned the will to retaliate. He got to his feet and roared defiantly, exposing his sharp white fangs. Jugg roared back, and his cry was almost as terrifying. The major difference between the two of them was that Jugg was still recovering from his attack - the Beartic had something prepared. It stomped the ground with its foot and the entire cavern started shaking. Jakk hoped that it wasn't some kind of Fissure-esque technique - he'd already been responsible for destroying part of the mountain, if this battle leveled another section Ivy would probably try her best to get him barred from the Park for life, despite whatever influence James had. Which seemed less and less as more time passed.

Icicles began to fall from the roof. Jakk could have sworn that there weren't as many now as there had been when he first entered the cavern. They seemed to fall at the rate a machine gun fired bullets. Surprisingly, Jugg managed to dodge a few and even punch one out of mid-air, but there were so many and they fell so fast that there wasn't really anything he could do. Jakk was forced to watch as the final shreds of his Substitute shield were ripped away and the last icicles dug into the Fighting-type's skin.

The Beartic still wasn't finished. With the last remaining vestiges of strength, the Ice-type roared once more and barreled into Jugg in the form of a full-contact bodyslam. Impressively, the Beartic managed to pin Jugg against a large rock, the one that Ivy was near. Despite this, it obviously didn't have the energy required to keep Jugg there. It began to slowly back away, wavering from side to side as it did so. The green colour in its face was much more pronounced now, and Jakk could tell that the Beartic couldn't fight any more. As if to confirm this, Ivy chimed in, confirming his suspicion. Still, the way the Beartic was acting gave rise to a much greater fear.

"I'm a little more worried about it trying to escape," Jakk replied to the Ranger. The Wild Pokemon was looking a little shifty and backing away from Jugg, and that's usually what Pokemon did right before they tried to make a run for it. Jakk hated the thought of going through all this effort and having Jugg endure his wounds just for the Beartic to successfully leg it. No, it was finally time for a capture. The Gym Leader pulled a Hyper Ball out of pocket without hesitation. This Pokemon was much bigger than the game he normally went after, so it would require a much higher-quality PokeBall. He ditched the sphere towards the Beartic and crossed his fingers behind his back, hoping that the capture would be successful. Jakk didn't really know why he was battling the Beartic - after all, it was not a Fighting-type Pokemon, and it seemed a little out-of-control for Jathan to try and raise. Hell, it was already fully grown. Maybe sometimes there wasn't an underlying reason behind a capture. Sometimes, when something feels right, you should just go for it.

 

@ChainReaction01; Sorry about taking so long. Painting and such.

NBP#13

Ranger Ivy Frost

---

“I'm a little more worried about it trying to escape,” Jakk said in response.

Ivy saw that the Beartic was exhausted. He was leaning up against the wall and panting heavily. He slouched as if his muscles weighed too much to keep them up. The Ranger thought the wild Pokemon was even turning an unnatural shade from the toxins running through his system.

Despite all that, she didn't think it was going to try and escape. In all her time working here in the Park, she had never seen a Pokemon try to run away. Start extended chase sequences, sure, but never with the intent to really disappear. A lot of times it was just a test for the Trainers, to see if they were willing to put work and effort into capture. It let the wild Pokemon judge how well a Trainer would take care of them, since some of them were essentially shopping for caretakers.

She did hear stories from other Rangers, however. Most of those encompassed a Trainer being unnaturally cruel or harsh or something, though, so she wasn't really too worried. Jakk seemed to be doing alright. Besides, this Ice-type looked like he appreciated a good fight. She thought that would instill more respect than fear into him.

The Gym Leader realized he had to capture now if he was going to, regardless of what he thought the Beartic was going to do. Ivy saw him pull out a Hyper Ball, one of the best capture devices they had available for sale. The only better ones were the area-specific Apricorn balls that required people finding resources to make. There were a few event-only ones too, but those weren't widespread.

Jakk also didn't attack anymore, which was probably a good idea. The Beartic looked ready to collapse at any moment, and Ivy was pretty sure that if Jugg had made a move for it, the bear would've retaliated too, further weakening it and using up precious strength. The Trainer lobbed the ball in the wild Pokemon's direction, and with a resigned sort of outlook, the Beartic didn't strain himself to move.

The device sucked him up in a beam of red light, enclosing him within the ball. It shook weakly, but that didn't last long. The snow started to slow as the ball went still and lit up in the center. Then the falling flakes stopped entirely.

Ivy let out a sigh of relief, glad he had been captured and not left to struggle out here on his own. Thanks to the technology they had in the Park, the Beartic would take no further damage inside the Hyper Ball. He would be safe until they could bring him back to the outpost, heal him, and align him with Jakk's Trainer code.

The Ranger went over to scoop up the ball, being careful not to slip on the ground. There were still ice patches everywhere. To her amusement, Vergil stayed by her elbow, and she let her imagination think it was to watch in case she fell. She wasn't sure what was with the Gallade today, but she wasn't going to question it. Days he cooperated were rare, and she didn't want to ruin it.

“He'll be okay now,” Ivy said, talking about the Pokemon. “The ball will protect him from taking extra damage until we can heal him for real, so don't worry about the poison or anything.” She pocketed the device with his two other captures.

He was technically at his limit if he wanted to take all of them home, but they didn't have rules about how many a Trainer could capture, since there was no telling what they would encounter on a run. He could just only pick three at the end of the day. They might run into something even more interesting.

Then, she heard a sound. Her eyes narrowed and she turned her head in the direction of the next path they could take, but she couldn't figure out what the sound was. It was faint, as if far away, and she wasn't totally sure it was her ears that were hearing it.

“What was that?” she whispered, but Vergil looked blankly at her. He turned toward the tunnel too with a frown on his face, but he just shook his head and shrugged. Haji, by the path, had tilted his head, but his questions into her mind alerted her that he hadn't heard whatever it was either. That was strange.

Ivy then shook her head to clear it. They were still working, and she had a job to do. “Do you want to take a rest or keep going?” she asked. She wondered if he was going to be a tough guy about his cuts or take the time to take care of them. As it got colder and he stayed prolonged to the cold, the worse they would get.

---

Current Battle Stats: N/A

---

Trainer Stats

Name: Chainy
Location: Mount Oktori
Encounters Remaining: 6
Area Effects: In a cave after a slide with a pool.
Pokémon Encountered: Gurdurr, Snover, Meditite, Machop, Smoochum, Weavile, Scraggy, Abomasnow, Mienfoo, Machoke, Beartic
Pokémon Captured: Hardy M Scraggy, Mild M Mienfoo, Jolly M Beartic
MCR: 0

Items: 4x Park Ball; 3x SuperBall; 3x HyperBall; 2x Calming Fragrance Plus; 13x PokeDoll; 5x Honey; Squirtbottle; Pokeplayer; Digital Camera; Blank Disk x2; 7x Lava Cookie; Status Bomb x2; Pax-A-Punch; Oak's Trinket; Digital Camera Zoom Lens; Supreme Park Ball x2; Glossy Lens; Apricorn Box, White Apricorn x1, Yellow Apricorn x1, Red Apricorn x1, Blue Apricorn x2

Picture Value: 1,500

Pokémon Stats

Pokemon: Machamp @ 67%
Nickname: Jugg
Gender: Male
Ability: No Guard
Nature: Brave
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: HM04-Strength, HM08-Rock Smash, HM11-Rock Climb, TM06-Toxic, TM18-Counter, TM26-Earthquake, TM27-Fissure, TM48-Rock Slide, TM50-Substitute, TM64-Protect, TM65-Rain Dance, TM74-Ice Punch, TM75-Swagger, TM80-Thunderpunch, TM85-Fire Punch, TM88-Focus Punch, TM93-Bulk Up, TM96-Light Screen, TM98-Brick Break, TM101-Rock Tomb, TM126-Stone Edge, TM159-Bulldoze, Bullet Punch, Superpower, Encore, Close Combat

Pokemon: Blaziken @ 70%
Nickname: Stresser
Gender: Female
Ability: Speed Boost
Nature: Quiet
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: HM01-Cut, HM04-Strength, HM08-Rock Smash, HM11-Rock Climb, TM03-Swords Dance, TM26-Earthquake, TM48-Rock Slide, TM50-Substitute, TM55-Roar, TM59-Hidden Power[FLYING], TM64-Protect, TM102-Aerial Ace, TM118-Will-o-Wisp, TM121-Shadow Claw, Thunderpunch, Baton Pass, Featherdance, Superpower, Agility, Feint

Pokemon: Electivire @ 68%
Nickname: Kai
Gender: Male
Ability: Motor Drive
Nature: Relaxed Nature
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: HM04-Strength, HM05-Flash, HM08-Rock Smash, HM11-Rock Climb, TM26-Earthquake, TM33-Reflect, TM45-Thunder Wave, TM48-Rock Slide, TM50-Substitute, TM59-Hidden Power[DRAGON], TM64-Protect, TM74-Ice Punch, TM95-Taunt, TM98-Brick Break, TM147-Low Sweep, TM157-Volt Switch, Magnet Rise, Cross Chop, Meditate, Barrier, Low Kick, Feint

 

The Ice-type Pokemon was sucked into the Hyper Ball, and the capture device began to shake from side to side. Thankfully, the Beartic had been weakened sufficiently so that it couldn't escape. The ball latched shut and almost instantly the snow and ice stopped falling. Ivy and her Gallade walked over and retrieved the device. “He'll be okay now. The ball will protect him from taking extra damage until we can heal him for real, so don't worry about the poison or anything,” the Ranger said.

"That's good," Jakk replied. He shivered, and realised for the first time that his jumper was more than half-way shredded from the slide down the tube. He could almost hear James taunting him - "I told you to take something thicker~"

Underneath the rips were some light cuts. Most of them were probably from the slide, although a few of them had been definitely made by falling ice. Mercifully the cold sapped the pain, but that was also dangerous as pain was important in telling how bad a wound was. Jakk was pretty sure that they were okay, but he was more sure that he shouldn't spend much more time screwing around on the mountain. Something or someone here didn't like giving him an easy time.

Jakk pulled out some bandaging and wrapped it around both of his arms - quick and sloppy but relatively effective. They'd serve well until he could get back and have himself properly looked at. They also accentuated his rippling biceps, which made the Gym Leader grin.

"I'm ready to go whenever you are," he called to Ivy.

 

@ChainReaction01;

NBP#14

Ranger Ivy Frost

---

Jakk took a few minutes to take care of his arms, at least, digging out some medical wraps and securing them. He was grinning to himself about something, although Ivy couldn't tell what and she wasn't going to ask. She was still a little cautious about the sound she heard—or at least thought she heard.

“I'm ready to go whenever you are,” Jakk said after a few minutes.

Ivy shared a look with both Haji and Vergil, and then they continued on down the tunnel. She had to trust that whatever it was that they could handle if it was hostile.

The hall was rocky, with debris all around the floor. Rocks of different sizes and chunk littered the ground and made them all watch their step. Ivy couldn't remember if there had been any cave ins lately, but wild Pokemon often caused small damage like this, so she wasn't too worried. It wasn't until they made it into the next room that the feeling started.

At first it didn't seem like anything was wrong. There were still chunks of rocks littering the ground, but it wasn't ridiculous. There were places safe to step, at least. It was quiet too, until she heard a little whimper.

“Oh no,” she said, as she drew near the form resting against the wall in a shadowed corner.

She was careful not to get too close, especially with such a large group. Some wild Pokemon got aggressive when hurt, even though this one looked tired. She didn't want to aggravate it if unnecessary. Haji stayed right beside her.

The small fighter was a Makuhita. It's yellow body was a bit dirty, like it had been rolled through the caves for a bit, and it looked like it had bruises on its blue-skinned fists. Its head dipped forward a little as it breathed heavily, resting up against the wall. As she looked, the wild Pokemon looked like it had a slightly off-color to its entire body too.

Then, she shivered slightly, and when she exhaled, it was a cloud of white. It had gotten colder. Was the fighter suffering from that as well?

“This isn't quite normal,” she said, mostly to herself, but she tried to include the others in the conversation. “Sure, fights are common, but most are friendly matches. We try to preemptively relocate Pokemon that we feel are going to start dangerous fights. These wounds feel weird. It must be really tired.”

Even as she spoke, the fighter struggled to its feet in a defiant pose. It was looking at the Trainer with a hard set to its jaw, like it was ready to fight. Ivy sighed and shook her head. Some Pokemon just loved to fight.

“Well, it's still got spirit. Jakk, any interest?”

---

Current Battle Stats:

??? ??? Makuhita: 100%

---

Trainer Stats

Name: Chainy
Location: Mount Oktori
Encounters Remaining: 3
Area Effects: In a cave with debris on the floor.
Pokémon Encountered: Gurdurr, Snover, Meditite, Machop, Smoochum, Weavile, Scraggy, Abomasnow, Mienfoo, Machoke, Beartic, Makuhita
Pokémon Captured: Hardy M Scraggy, Mild M Mienfoo, Jolly M Beartic
MCR: 1,521/9,000 [Uncommon Rank]

Items: 4x Park Ball; 3x SuperBall; 3x HyperBall; 2x Calming Fragrance Plus; 13x PokeDoll; 5x Honey; Squirtbottle; Pokeplayer; Digital Camera; Blank Disk x2; 7x Lava Cookie; Status Bomb x2; Pax-A-Punch; Oak's Trinket; Digital Camera Zoom Lens; Supreme Park Ball x2; Glossy Lens; Apricorn Box, White Apricorn x1, Yellow Apricorn x1, Red Apricorn x1, Blue Apricorn x2

Picture Value: 1,500

Pokémon Stats

Pokemon: Machamp @ 67%
Nickname: Jugg
Gender: Male
Ability: No Guard
Nature: Brave
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: HM04-Strength, HM08-Rock Smash, HM11-Rock Climb, TM06-Toxic, TM18-Counter, TM26-Earthquake, TM27-Fissure, TM48-Rock Slide, TM50-Substitute, TM64-Protect, TM65-Rain Dance, TM74-Ice Punch, TM75-Swagger, TM80-Thunderpunch, TM85-Fire Punch, TM88-Focus Punch, TM93-Bulk Up, TM96-Light Screen, TM98-Brick Break, TM101-Rock Tomb, TM126-Stone Edge, TM159-Bulldoze, Bullet Punch, Superpower, Encore, Close Combat

Pokemon: Blaziken @ 70%
Nickname: Stresser
Gender: Female
Ability: Speed Boost
Nature: Quiet
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: HM01-Cut, HM04-Strength, HM08-Rock Smash, HM11-Rock Climb, TM03-Swords Dance, TM26-Earthquake, TM48-Rock Slide, TM50-Substitute, TM55-Roar, TM59-Hidden Power[FLYING], TM64-Protect, TM102-Aerial Ace, TM118-Will-o-Wisp, TM121-Shadow Claw, Thunderpunch, Baton Pass, Featherdance, Superpower, Agility, Feint

Pokemon: Electivire @ 68%
Nickname: Kai
Gender: Male
Ability: Motor Drive
Nature: Relaxed Nature
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: HM04-Strength, HM05-Flash, HM08-Rock Smash, HM11-Rock Climb, TM26-Earthquake, TM33-Reflect, TM45-Thunder Wave, TM48-Rock Slide, TM50-Substitute, TM59-Hidden Power[DRAGON], TM64-Protect, TM74-Ice Punch, TM95-Taunt, TM98-Brick Break, TM147-Low Sweep, TM157-Volt Switch, Magnet Rise, Cross Chop, Meditate, Barrier, Low Kick, Feint

 

OOC: @WinterVines;

The hall that Ivy led the group into had definitely seen better days. Jakk could see how it had once been smoothly carved and taken care of - possibly by Ice-types that used it frequently - but now it had fallen into disrepair. The walls had cracks in them and in places whole sections of ice had fallen to the ground and shattered. Rocks littered the floor and promised a nasty fall to whoever stopped paying attention for even the slightest of seconds. Jakk was so busy watching where he was walking that he didn't notice Ivy gasp quietly and stop until Kai kept him from bumping into her.

In a shadowed section of the corridor was a small Pokemon. Jakk recognised it as a Makuhita, the unevolved form of Hariyama. This one looked like it was fresh out of a fight: it was panting heavily, shaking, and not quite the right colour. Jakk's trained eyes spotted lots of bruises all over its body - some small, some decidedly not so.

“This isn't quite normal,” Ivy said. “Sure, fights are common, but most are friendly matches. We try to preemptively relocate Pokemon that we feel are going to start dangerous fights. These wounds feel weird. It must be really tired. Well, it's still got spirit. Jakk, any interest?”

"Absolutely not," the Gym Leader replied firmly. "I wouldn't want to fight someone who has obviously been through the wringer, like this little guy. Besides, I already have a Hariyama in my Gym. Is there something we can do for the little dude? It looks kinda like something here has been picking on him. I don't suppose there are any pissed-off Froslass in the area?"

 

@ChainReaction01; The escape failed the roll btw.

NBP#15

Ranger Ivy Frost

---

“Absolutely not,” Jakk replied, obviously not wanting to bother the hurt Pokemon any more than it was. He also already had a Hariyama, the evolved form of this Makuhita, in his gym. She knew a lot of Gym Leaders didn't like to double up on the same Pokemon.

“It kinda looks like something here has been picking on him. I don't suppose there are any pissed-off Froslass in the area?”

“I hope not,” she answered, shaking her head. “One was quite enough.” Her skin twitched on reflex. She could still remember what it was like having the ghost possess her on that midnight run she took through here to investigate some strange events. An angered Froslass had caused a lot of damage to the area and had started possessing other Pokemon.

“Is there something we can do for the little dude?” Jakk asked.

Ivy shook her head again. “Unfortunately, there isn't much we can do directly. As this isn't Trainer caused, since none of my Rangers would've allowed something like this, we're not supposed to really interfere with their natural lives if we can avoid it. We can try to calm him down a bit—maybe with a Pokedoll. He doesn't seem inclined to let us leave,” she added. When she tried to step away, the Makuhita seemed to protest, trying to take a step forward.

Ivy took out her phone and pulled up the map of Oktori she downloaded onto the device. She honed in on their location with the GPS and put a marker on it. If they didn't figure out what was going on today, she wanted to come back and investigate. The marker would also transfer to the database too, so the other Rangers would be alerted and on the lookout.

She did wonder what that whispering was, though. She didn't hear anything now, but that didn't mean anything. “Haji,” she asked silently, “can you feel if something is poking around nearby?”

Her skin prickled as she felt his energy rise, complying with her request. Eventually the waves died down, and he shook his head. “I feel nothing.”

With any luck, the whispering would pick up again, and then Haji would probably be able to feel where it was coming from. Then again, if it was anything like the Froslass encounter, maybe they were better off not finding it.

“Well, what do you want to do?” she asked Jakk.

---

Current Battle Stats:

??? ??? Makuhita: 100%

---

Trainer Stats

Name: Chainy
Location: Mount Oktori
Encounters Remaining: 3
Area Effects: In a cave with debris on the floor.
Pokémon Encountered: Gurdurr, Snover, Meditite, Machop, Smoochum, Weavile, Scraggy, Abomasnow, Mienfoo, Machoke, Beartic, Makuhita
Pokémon Captured: Hardy M Scraggy, Mild M Mienfoo, Jolly M Beartic
MCR: 3,108/9,000 [Uncommon Rank]

Items: 4x Park Ball; 3x SuperBall; 3x HyperBall; 2x Calming Fragrance Plus; 13x PokeDoll; 5x Honey; Squirtbottle; Pokeplayer; Digital Camera; Blank Disk x2; 7x Lava Cookie; Status Bomb x2; Pax-A-Punch; Oak's Trinket; Digital Camera Zoom Lens; Supreme Park Ball x2; Glossy Lens; Apricorn Box, White Apricorn x1, Yellow Apricorn x1, Red Apricorn x1, Blue Apricorn x2

Picture Value: 1,500

Pokémon Stats

Pokemon: Machamp @ 67%
Nickname: Jugg
Gender: Male
Ability: No Guard
Nature: Brave
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: HM04-Strength, HM08-Rock Smash, HM11-Rock Climb, TM06-Toxic, TM18-Counter, TM26-Earthquake, TM27-Fissure, TM48-Rock Slide, TM50-Substitute, TM64-Protect, TM65-Rain Dance, TM74-Ice Punch, TM75-Swagger, TM80-Thunderpunch, TM85-Fire Punch, TM88-Focus Punch, TM93-Bulk Up, TM96-Light Screen, TM98-Brick Break, TM101-Rock Tomb, TM126-Stone Edge, TM159-Bulldoze, Bullet Punch, Superpower, Encore, Close Combat

Pokemon: Blaziken @ 70%
Nickname: Stresser
Gender: Female
Ability: Speed Boost
Nature: Quiet
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: HM01-Cut, HM04-Strength, HM08-Rock Smash, HM11-Rock Climb, TM03-Swords Dance, TM26-Earthquake, TM48-Rock Slide, TM50-Substitute, TM55-Roar, TM59-Hidden Power[FLYING], TM64-Protect, TM102-Aerial Ace, TM118-Will-o-Wisp, TM121-Shadow Claw, Thunderpunch, Baton Pass, Featherdance, Superpower, Agility, Feint

Pokemon: Electivire @ 68%
Nickname: Kai
Gender: Male
Ability: Motor Drive
Nature: Relaxed Nature
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: HM04-Strength, HM05-Flash, HM08-Rock Smash, HM11-Rock Climb, TM26-Earthquake, TM33-Reflect, TM45-Thunder Wave, TM48-Rock Slide, TM50-Substitute, TM59-Hidden Power[DRAGON], TM64-Protect, TM74-Ice Punch, TM95-Taunt, TM98-Brick Break, TM147-Low Sweep, TM157-Volt Switch, Magnet Rise, Cross Chop, Meditate, Barrier, Low Kick, Feint

 

OOC: @WinterVines;

“Unfortunately, there isn't much we can do directly. As this isn't Trainer caused, since none of my Rangers would've allowed something like this, we're not supposed to really interfere with their natural lives if we can avoid it," Ivy explained. "We can try to calm him down a bit—maybe with a Pokedoll. He doesn't seem inclined to let us leave.”

The Ranger fell silent, appearing to contemplate the situation. “Well, what do you want to do?” she finally asked.

"Well I'm certainly not going to try and battle the little dude, he looks a bit messed up. If he wants, he can tag along with us until we find a safe place: I don't like the idea that he's been bullied by something stronger. I'm happy to give him a PokeDoll too, maybe that'll help him feel better."

Jakk pulled a soft toy in the shape of a Rhydon out of his backpack and offered it to the Fighting-type. Whatever was going on it seemed to have put Ivy on edge. He'd bet fifty dollars that Ivy had been communicating psychically with her Espeon: he recognised what people looked like when they were talking mind-to-mind from all the time he had spent with Jathan and Dual. The Ranger didn't look worried, but that was strange. Shouldn't she look worried? It was almost like she was going out of her way to look unconcerned...

 

@ChainReaction01;

NBP#16

Ranger Ivy Frost

---

“Well I'm certainly not going to try and battle the little due,” Jakk said. Ivy was glad; she wasn't sure how much more the fighter could take. “If he wants, he can tag along with us until we find a safe place. I'm happy to give him a Pokedoll too. Maybe that'll help him feel better.”

“I don't think he should be going anywhere,” she said immediately. “He's not in any shape for that. The doll would probably be best.”

Jakk pulled out one of the inflatable toys. This one was shaped like a Rhydon and reminded her that she still mostly had the same type. She tended to deplete one box of them before she stocked up on another model. These ones were in a newer shipment. They tended to stock the shop with the newer ones and use up the older ones themselves, since Trainers rarely bought them prior to the run. It was easier and maybe more cost-effective to just buy them on the fly.

The Makuhita lit up a little at the sight of the doll, and as the Trainer handed it over, she was glad to see that he had settled down a bit. Instead of agitating his wounds further, he was content to settle down where he could rest. With that solved, they could look to figuring out what caused it.

Ivy hadn't heard the whispering again, but that didn't mean the source had disappeared just yet. They only thing they could do was continue on. She waved Jakk on as Haji and Vergil trailed behind her, and they ducked into the next tunnel leading out of the room.

The caves were always weird because they were so quiet. While on the surface, there was usually wind and the cries of Pokemon unless it was a clear sky day. Here in the caves, most of them were secluded and so twisty that the echoing didn't even reach very far. That, combined with the cooler temperature and the darkness, made the concept of being alone very prominent.

The next room opened for them, and Ivy's skin prickled seconds before there was a harsh cry. Something shoved into her from behind, and she went tumbling with the weight on top of her. She skidded across the frozen ground and tried to ignore the sharp pains of rocks digging into her skin. When she finally stopped rolling, she saw Vergil sitting up a few feet away.

Back at the entrance to the room, a small gray fighter was coming out of a Karate Chop pose. It glanced at the duo on the ground, and then narrowed its eyes and swung toward the cave mouth, pointing at Jakk. The Machop clearly wasn't pleased.

“What's its problem?” she asked, rubbing at her temple. A rock had scraped it. “Thanks Vergil.”

The Gallade simply grunted and got up. He didn't offer her a hand, but that was alright. She could get herself standing. He had already done more nice things for her today than he had done ever, so she wasn't going to do that thing with gift-horses.

Haji had placed himself in front of Jakk and hunched down, his legs set and tense for action if he needed to. It was meant to be a defensive pose that would send a message to the Machop since the Espeon used mostly mental attacks and didn't need to move much at all.

Ivy tilted her head to the side. “I guess it's just temperamental today. It doesn't seem like it's being affected by anything—at least nothing I can see. It might calm down with a doll or maybe it just needs to be worn down. Haji, can you check to make sure? This is eeriely like that Froslass incident...”

The purple cat nodded, and she felt his energy rise. While he was doing that, Jakk could figure out their next course of action.

---

Current Battle Stats:

??? ??? Machop: 100%

---

Trainer Stats

Name: Chainy
Location: Mount Oktori
Encounters Remaining: 2
Area Effects: In a cave with debris on the floor.
Pokémon Encountered: Gurdurr, Snover, Meditite, Machop, Smoochum, Weavile, Scraggy, Abomasnow, Mienfoo, Machoke, Beartic, Makuhita, Machop
Pokémon Captured: Hardy M Scraggy, Mild M Mienfoo, Jolly M Beartic
MCR: 1,292/9,000 [Uncommon Rank]

Items: 4x Park Ball; 3x SuperBall; 3x HyperBall; 2x Calming Fragrance Plus; 13x PokeDoll; 5x Honey; Squirtbottle; Pokeplayer; Digital Camera; Blank Disk x2; 7x Lava Cookie; Status Bomb x2; Pax-A-Punch; Oak's Trinket; Digital Camera Zoom Lens; Supreme Park Ball x2; Glossy Lens; Apricorn Box, White Apricorn x1, Yellow Apricorn x1, Red Apricorn x1, Blue Apricorn x2

Picture Value: 1,500

Pokémon Stats

Pokemon: Machamp @ 67%
Nickname: Jugg
Gender: Male
Ability: No Guard
Nature: Brave
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: HM04-Strength, HM08-Rock Smash, HM11-Rock Climb, TM06-Toxic, TM18-Counter, TM26-Earthquake, TM27-Fissure, TM48-Rock Slide, TM50-Substitute, TM64-Protect, TM65-Rain Dance, TM74-Ice Punch, TM75-Swagger, TM80-Thunderpunch, TM85-Fire Punch, TM88-Focus Punch, TM93-Bulk Up, TM96-Light Screen, TM98-Brick Break, TM101-Rock Tomb, TM126-Stone Edge, TM159-Bulldoze, Bullet Punch, Superpower, Encore, Close Combat

Pokemon: Blaziken @ 70%
Nickname: Stresser
Gender: Female
Ability: Speed Boost
Nature: Quiet
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: HM01-Cut, HM04-Strength, HM08-Rock Smash, HM11-Rock Climb, TM03-Swords Dance, TM26-Earthquake, TM48-Rock Slide, TM50-Substitute, TM55-Roar, TM59-Hidden Power[FLYING], TM64-Protect, TM102-Aerial Ace, TM118-Will-o-Wisp, TM121-Shadow Claw, Thunderpunch, Baton Pass, Featherdance, Superpower, Agility, Feint

Pokemon: Electivire @ 68%
Nickname: Kai
Gender: Male
Ability: Motor Drive
Nature: Relaxed Nature
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: HM04-Strength, HM05-Flash, HM08-Rock Smash, HM11-Rock Climb, TM26-Earthquake, TM33-Reflect, TM45-Thunder Wave, TM48-Rock Slide, TM50-Substitute, TM59-Hidden Power[DRAGON], TM64-Protect, TM74-Ice Punch, TM95-Taunt, TM98-Brick Break, TM147-Low Sweep, TM157-Volt Switch, Magnet Rise, Cross Chop, Meditate, Barrier, Low Kick, Feint

 

OOC: @WinterVines;

Ivy was adamant about the Wild Pokemon staying put, which was fine with Jakk. As it turned out, the Makuhita seemed really happy with the doll. A small smile crossed Jakk's face as the Fighting-type squirmed around into a more comfortable position and held the toy tight as it appeared to drift off to sleep. The Elite Ranger seemed pleased as well and she indicated for the group to move onwards. For the first time in a while Jakk wondered how his partner was doing. They had split up earlier and the Gym Leader felt a little bit guilty about having forgotten him for such a long time.

Jakk was deep in his own thoughts so he wasn't expecting the sound of a small scuffle ahead of him. He looked up to see Ivy on her side and a Machop in an aggressive pose. Thankfully, it didn't look like Ivy had taken the Wild Pokemon's attack directly - even an unevolved Fighting-type could cause serious inner bleeding when it struck an unarmoured human. While Ivy seemed like a bit of a bitch, Jakk wouldn't wish hemorrhaging upon her. The Elite Ranger seemed a bit irritated but managed to hold onto her cool.

“I guess it's just temperamental today. It doesn't seem like it's being affected by anything—at least nothing I can see. It might calm down with a doll or maybe it just needs to be worn down,” Ivy said before muttering something to her Espeon.

"I already have Jugg, I don't need another Machamp," Jakk replied. "I can give it a doll though, if that would calm it down. I have plenty of the damn things."

 

@ChainReaction01;

NBP#17

Ranger Ivy Frost

---

As Haji checked out the wild Machop with his mental abilities, Jakk spoke up. “I already have Jugg. I don't need another Machamp,” he said. “I can give it a doll though, if that would calm it down. I have plenty of the damn things.”

“Yeah, I kinda wonder where our extra stock had went,” she said, offhand. “Chainy said he put them somewhere, and I guess now I know exactly where he left them.” Ivy just had to shake her head at the other Ranger giving out dolls to his brothers. That was a headache for another day.

The Machop suddenly staggered back from the hallway, backing up from where Haji had planted himself in front of the gym leader. It looked around wildly and then took off at a run, down a small tunnel in the wall that they couldn't hope to follow even if they wanted.

“What was that all about?” she asked the purple cat, who calmly walked over to her.

Through their mental bond, she saw what Haji had glimpsed from the fighter's mind. It was foggy and hard to follow, since images came in a blur and sped out of sight before she could really understand what they were.

“That's weird,” she said. “It wasn't being controlled, per se, but something really had it spooked, from what I'm understanding. Haji saw a lot of...reflections? Like maybe off the ice? I'm not entirely sure. Anyway, we should keep on before it gets too late.”

Ivy led them on carefully, now alert for any more Pokemon wanting to jump out at them. Some of the cave walls became smoother, but they were also littered with crystals of different colors, sort of like the caves above. Sleek ice chunks stuck out from the walls in different sizes, all gleaming and giving the room a sort of brightness that the other caves lacked. It was much easier to see, at least.

Then, the Ranger heard that whisper again. She stopped and looked around, but there wasn't anything around. A light tinkling of bells echoed in her ears, like it was close and far away at the same time. It only lasted a second, but she knew she heard something.

“It is close,” Haji told her mind-to-mind, now alert. Whatever had … spoken, for lack of a better word, had left some sort of energy signature. With his psychic powers, he clued her in to the next cave. She couldn't feel it, but the Espeon could.

“There's something strange in the cave ahead,” she told the Trainer. “I'm not exactly sure what it is, but let's check it out.”

Then, a Pokemon stepped out from the cave they were headed toward. It was another Fighting-type with a strength belt and muscly gray skin. Machoke and their evolution line were really common in the caves today.

“Looks like another Machoke has come to investigate. I probably know your answer, but do any of your 'mons feel like stretching their legs before we see what the big-bad is?”

The fighter stepped slightly to the side, so the crystals behind him gave him a slightly colored backdrop, sort of like an aura. It hadn't really gotten out of the way, but it wasn't really in their way either. It watched them with narrowed eyes as Ivy waited for Jakk to make his decision.

---

Current Battle Stats:

??? ??? Machoke: 100%

---

Trainer Stats

Name: Chainy
Location: Mount Oktori
Encounters Remaining: 1
Area Effects: In a cave with debris on the floor.
Pokémon Encountered: Gurdurr, Snover, Meditite, Machop, Smoochum, Weavile, Scraggy, Abomasnow, Mienfoo, Machoke, Beartic, Makuhita, Machop, Machoke
Pokémon Captured: Hardy M Scraggy, Mild M Mienfoo, Jolly M Beartic
MCR: 0/15,000 [Borderline Rank]

Items: 4x Park Ball; 3x SuperBall; 3x HyperBall; 2x Calming Fragrance Plus; 13x PokeDoll; 5x Honey; Squirtbottle; Pokeplayer; Digital Camera; Blank Disk x2; 7x Lava Cookie; Status Bomb x2; Pax-A-Punch; Oak's Trinket; Digital Camera Zoom Lens; Supreme Park Ball x2; Glossy Lens; Apricorn Box, White Apricorn x1, Yellow Apricorn x1, Red Apricorn x1, Blue Apricorn x2

Picture Value: 1,500

Pokémon Stats

Pokemon: Machamp @ 67%
Nickname: Jugg
Gender: Male
Ability: No Guard
Nature: Brave
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: HM04-Strength, HM08-Rock Smash, HM11-Rock Climb, TM06-Toxic, TM18-Counter, TM26-Earthquake, TM27-Fissure, TM48-Rock Slide, TM50-Substitute, TM64-Protect, TM65-Rain Dance, TM74-Ice Punch, TM75-Swagger, TM80-Thunderpunch, TM85-Fire Punch, TM88-Focus Punch, TM93-Bulk Up, TM96-Light Screen, TM98-Brick Break, TM101-Rock Tomb, TM126-Stone Edge, TM159-Bulldoze, Bullet Punch, Superpower, Encore, Close Combat

Pokemon: Blaziken @ 70%
Nickname: Stresser
Gender: Female
Ability: Speed Boost
Nature: Quiet
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: HM01-Cut, HM04-Strength, HM08-Rock Smash, HM11-Rock Climb, TM03-Swords Dance, TM26-Earthquake, TM48-Rock Slide, TM50-Substitute, TM55-Roar, TM59-Hidden Power[FLYING], TM64-Protect, TM102-Aerial Ace, TM118-Will-o-Wisp, TM121-Shadow Claw, Thunderpunch, Baton Pass, Featherdance, Superpower, Agility, Feint

Pokemon: Electivire @ 68%
Nickname: Kai
Gender: Male
Ability: Motor Drive
Nature: Relaxed Nature
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: HM04-Strength, HM05-Flash, HM08-Rock Smash, HM11-Rock Climb, TM26-Earthquake, TM33-Reflect, TM45-Thunder Wave, TM48-Rock Slide, TM50-Substitute, TM59-Hidden Power[DRAGON], TM64-Protect, TM74-Ice Punch, TM95-Taunt, TM98-Brick Break, TM147-Low Sweep, TM157-Volt Switch, Magnet Rise, Cross Chop, Meditate, Barrier, Low Kick, Feint

 

OOC: @WinterVines;

Jakk gave the doll to the Machop as Ivy muttered something under her breath. The Gym Leader ignored her and watched as the Machop held the toy close and sped off down a small tunnel that was maybe waist-height. There was no way anything would be able to follow it unless it was the size of a Swinub. Jakk was content to watch the Machop leave because Ivy seemed to be having a conversation with her Espeon. He recognised the signs from having watched Jathan and Dual talk like that for years during his childhood.

“There's something strange in the cave ahead,” Ivy said suddenly. “I'm not exactly sure what it is, but let's check it out.”

The Gym Leader was about to respond when a hulk appeared out of a shadowed passageway. Jakk immediately recognised it as a Machoke. Perhaps it was related to the Machop from before. Ivy asked if Jakk wanted to battle, but he merely shook his head.

"No thanks. Like I said, I got Jugg for all the Superpower Pokemon action I'll ever need. Let's just move on and see what's putting you on edge."

Jakk wasn't sure what interest a fully-grown Machoke would have in a PokeDoll, but he prepared to hand one over anyway, just in case. No point in having a fight that one side didn't want.

 

@ChainReaction01; Doll used.

NBP#18

Ranger Ivy Frost

---

The Machoke stared them down as Jakk responded. “No, thanks,” he said, already having Jugg, the fully evolved version of the wild Pokemon that was before them.

Unfortunately, as they stepped forward to head through the cave arch into the next room, the muscly Pokemon stepped forward and cracked its knuckles. Ivy looked back at the gym leader, but he was already taking out a doll. He tossed it underhand to fighter, who caught it easily.

The Machoke stared at the Rhydon-shaped toy for a second without moving. Then, it shrugged and lumbered off. Ivy wasn't really sure what was in those dolls that they liked so much. Maybe it had become like a currency, and they had just paid off the bouncer like they would at a club with cash. Ivy shrugged. It left them alone at least.

The hair on the back of the Ranger's neck prickled as they walked into the next room through a semi-narrow tunnel. It was considerably colder, which was strange because the elevation didn't seem to change much. As they walked around the bend in the path, she saw why as the next room became visible.

The entire thing looked like it had been glazed over with ice. As Ivy stepped out onto the floor, she slid a little, and her hand automatically went out to grab the wall. The grips on her boots were okay, but when she looked down, she saw there were more ice patches than dry ones.

The walls were frozen over as well, with that gleaming light blue sheen to them. Crystals that continued from the previous room were still embedded into the walls, shining underneath the ice or sticking out in places where the ice was cracked. It was beautiful in a cold sort of way.

The impressive thing were the icicles hanging from the ceiling, though. Some of them were so large that they dripped to almost touch the floor. Icicles of different sizes were dotted all along the ceiling, and Ivy really hoped they didn't fall. Some of them looked pretty sharp, and a lot of them seemed like they'd break off with the slightest encouragement. What looked like rocky pillars were also strewn around, and those were glazed over with frost as well. The room seemed to be somewhat in an 8 shape, with two rooms that joined in the center by a narrow patch. There was a column in the middle of it.

Then, Ivy heard that bell sound again. Her eyes narrowed as she caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of her eye—a glowing blue color. When she turned, however, there was nothing there, just shining crystals in the walls. She stepped out on to the ice carefully, peering around the room.

Haji chimed in then from beside her. She felt his senses reach out and prickle her skin because she was so close. “It is here,” he simply said, but she knew what he meant. Whatever was giving off that energy and making the wild Pokemon nervous was close.

Suddenly, Vergil whirled and swiped at something. He hit empty hair. The Gallade looked confused and rattled all at once. “Vergil, what's wrong?” she asked, turning to face him and taking a few steps.

When he looked at her, his arms waved in alarm. Haji's energy spiked, and a cold gust of air blew across her. She heard tinkling bells just behind her.

She turned and was met with her own reflection. At least, that's the only thing she saw at first. Then, the details of the form in front of her began to take shape.

The Pokemon looked like a mirror. It was hexagonal in shape, with decorative Vs aligned at the corners. Two tails of rattling ice chunks rang out as they twitched—the source of the bells. What really got her were the creatures eyes. As she looked at them, they mesmerized her, glowing a soft light blue. She felt her skin go cold, and then her breath came out in foggy white puffs. It was so beautiful.

Then, a force knocked into her, and she slid across the floor until she hit the icy wall with an oomph. She turned to she Vergil had swiped her aside, and Haji had taken up position in front of them both. Ivy shivered. If they hadn't intervened, would she have stood there until she froze to death?

“I think we've found what's making the other Pokemon so upset,” she said. “This is a pretty rare Pokemon. In fact, today's the first time I've ever seen a Cryogonal. Are you interested in it, maybe fore Jathan?” she asked, almost numbly.

---

Current Battle Stats:

??? ??? Cryogonal: 100%

---

Trainer Stats

Name: Chainy
Location: Mount Oktori
Encounters Remaining: 0
Area Effects: In a cave covered in ice, with many icicles dripping from the ceiling.
Pokémon Encountered: Gurdurr, Snover, Meditite, Machop, Smoochum, Weavile, Scraggy, Abomasnow, Mienfoo, Machoke, Beartic, Makuhita, Machop, Machoke, Cryogonal
Pokémon Captured: Hardy M Scraggy, Mild M Mienfoo, Jolly M Beartic
MCR: 0/35,000 [Rare Rank]

Items: 4x Park Ball; 3x SuperBall; 3x HyperBall; 2x Calming Fragrance Plus; 12x PokeDoll; 5x Honey; Squirtbottle; Pokeplayer; Digital Camera; Blank Disk x2; 7x Lava Cookie; Status Bomb x2; Pax-A-Punch; Oak's Trinket; Digital Camera Zoom Lens; Supreme Park Ball x2; Glossy Lens; Apricorn Box, White Apricorn x1, Yellow Apricorn x1, Red Apricorn x1, Blue Apricorn x2

Picture Value: 1,500

Pokémon Stats

Pokemon: Machamp @ 67%
Nickname: Jugg
Gender: Male
Ability: No Guard
Nature: Brave
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: HM04-Strength, HM08-Rock Smash, HM11-Rock Climb, TM06-Toxic, TM18-Counter, TM26-Earthquake, TM27-Fissure, TM48-Rock Slide, TM50-Substitute, TM64-Protect, TM65-Rain Dance, TM74-Ice Punch, TM75-Swagger, TM80-Thunderpunch, TM85-Fire Punch, TM88-Focus Punch, TM93-Bulk Up, TM96-Light Screen, TM98-Brick Break, TM101-Rock Tomb, TM126-Stone Edge, TM159-Bulldoze, Bullet Punch, Superpower, Encore, Close Combat

Pokemon: Blaziken @ 70%
Nickname: Stresser
Gender: Female
Ability: Speed Boost
Nature: Quiet
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: HM01-Cut, HM04-Strength, HM08-Rock Smash, HM11-Rock Climb, TM03-Swords Dance, TM26-Earthquake, TM48-Rock Slide, TM50-Substitute, TM55-Roar, TM59-Hidden Power[FLYING], TM64-Protect, TM102-Aerial Ace, TM118-Will-o-Wisp, TM121-Shadow Claw, Thunderpunch, Baton Pass, Featherdance, Superpower, Agility, Feint

Pokemon: Electivire @ 68%
Nickname: Kai
Gender: Male
Ability: Motor Drive
Nature: Relaxed Nature
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: HM04-Strength, HM05-Flash, HM08-Rock Smash, HM11-Rock Climb, TM26-Earthquake, TM33-Reflect, TM45-Thunder Wave, TM48-Rock Slide, TM50-Substitute, TM59-Hidden Power[DRAGON], TM64-Protect, TM74-Ice Punch, TM95-Taunt, TM98-Brick Break, TM147-Low Sweep, TM157-Volt Switch, Magnet Rise, Cross Chop, Meditate, Barrier, Low Kick, Feint

 

OOC @WinterVines;

Unsurprisingly, as the group stepped forwards the Machoke moved into their way to stop them. It cracked its knuckles threateningly in almost the exact same way Jakk did when people were boring him. The Gym Leader was thankful that Jathan had given him lots of PokeDolls-his Pokemon would be almost fainted by now if they'd had to fight every single Pokemon on this Expedition.

The young man threw a doll towards the Fighting-type and it caught the plush toy with ease. It glanced at the toy in a bored manner and then shrugged before lumbering off in the direction Jakk had come. He watched the Pokemon, alert for any tricks, but the Machoke didn't seem interested in them any more. It was almost like the Machoke had known they wouldn't want to battle and just wanted to get the encounter over with. The thought made Jakk feel a little bad, but with the three-Pokemon limit he couldn't take every single Pokemon he found with him.

Ivy shrugged and led the way into the tunnel with a small wave of her hand. Jakk couldn't help but notice that both her Espeon and her Gallade seemed on edge. The Gallade's eyes were narrowed, and despite the fact it was walking naturally, it had its blades partially extended. The Espeon was doing a much better job of hiding its apprehension, but something about the shape of its tail and the ever-so-slightly raised tuft of hair on its neck screamed danger, especially considering it was a cat and cats never ever show fear. Except when faced with balloons.

A gust of cold wind blew as the party stepped out of the corridor. Jakk shivered and clutched his thin coat around him-never again would he travel to an ice-covered mountain without proper snow gear, no matter how much he claimed to like the cold. He surveyed the area as Ivy took a careful step out onto the floor. She seemed to slip a little, and Jakk noticed that the floor was much like the previous caverns' - mostly icy with a few patched of bare dirt. Not a good place for combat, especially when using close-range techniques. This was slightly mitigated by the simply massive stalagmites that dotted the outer rims of the cave: any fighters could use them to control their jumps and bounces and perhaps even use them as projectiles.

Jakk noticed that the room widened out before thinning down to a point and then widening out again. This in addition to the even spacing between the stalagmites hinted that the room wasn't naturally created. James had told him about an run-in with an Articuno, and the Gym Leader started praying he wasn't about to have one. His Fighting-types have enough trouble battling Flying-type Pokemon without them also being Legendary.

Ivy walked further out into the room and a bell chime suddenly rang throughout the arena, reverberating off of the icy walls.

"This is usually where the boss appears and the party weeps over how they hoarded their gold instead of buying more powerful weapons," Jakk joked weakly.

Ivy's Gallade didn't seem to be in a joking mood, because he stepped forwards and swiped at something angrily with his fist. Ivy turned to look and as she did so, something materialised behind her out of tiny floating motes of ice. It appeared to be circular, before it resolved into a slightly shimmering ovular mist. The Gallade started waving his arms wildly and the Espeon emitted a low, almost inaudible hiss. The Ranger turned back and almost did a double-take at what she saw. A reflection of herself was readily visible, even to Jakk from his position. Slowly the reflection faded and a strange-looking Pokemon was revealed. It was pretty much circular, although someone who was artistic might know a more equivalent shape. Two tendrils made up of ice waved gently through the air, occasionally making a short chiming sound. It bobbed ever so slowly in midair, and Jakk wondered what was keeping it afloat. Apparently there wasn't any danger, because Ivy wasn't backing off.

Oops, she was wrong. The Gallade suddenly materialised next to her and smacked her. The Ranger suddenly went hurtling backwards, despite no movement whatsoever from the Pokemon. She fell onto her backside and slid into a wall with a heavy thud. Jakk had to suppress a grin.

“I think we've found what's making the other Pokemon so upset. This is a pretty rare Pokemon. In fact, today's the first time I've ever seen a Cryogonal. Are you interested in it, maybe for Jathan?” she asked.

"I am interested, but not for Jathan," the Gym Leader replied. "Cryogonal is actually the Pokemon I was most-hoping to catch here. You see, my Pokemon are all pretty strong, but mostly on the physical side of things. Only Stresser and my Lucario have any real Special Attack power. I heard about Cryogonal's outstanding Special Defense and I was hoping to catch one so that it could help train my guys. I guess almost any Special tank could have done the job, but anything weaker might have been really hurt during the training. Cryogonal are supposedly so resistant to Special Attacks that I wouldn't have to worry about it being hurt."

The Gym Leader dropped his pack onto the ground and rolled his shoulders, preparing for combat. He had already decided not to use Jugg, because the Machamp's close-and-dirty fighting style would put him at a disadvantage in this arena, especially with the icy floors. Jakk needed to use someone who could hit close but also from long-range. He considered Kai for a few moments but shelved the idea - Kai's long-range attacks were almost exclusively Electric-typed, which had been an issue in the earlier fight with the Mienfoo. That only left Stresser. Jakk grabbed the Blaziken's PokeBall and threw it to the side, away from Ivy's Pokemon but in a place where the Cryogonal could easily see it. The sphere burst open and emitted a blast of red plasma which quickly rearranged itself into the form of a Blaziken. Stresser crowed once and started shivering. She blew some flames from her mouth into her cupped hands and then down her legs, quite literally warming herself up.

"Stresser, we've found what we were looking for." Jakk grinned. "You're going to need to go all-out versus this guy, but just remember: if we're successful, he'll be helping you train, so don't do anything too mean."

Stresser cackled and her eyes narrowed as she appraised the Wild Pokemon opposite her. Jakk wasn't quite sure, but he thought the Ice-type was doing the same. Jakk motioned for Ivy's Pokemon to get out of the way, but as he wasn't their Trainer he had no control over them. Still, they weren't stupid, probably just worried about Ivy. When the Cryogonal got involved in the battle they'd probably realise that the threat was over and back off before they got in the way. Well, Jakk hoped they did. If they got hurt, it wouldn't be his fault.

"Okay Stresser, let's take the lead right from the start!" the Gym Leader called out. "Try a Will-o-Wisp attack. That should weaken it and give us a look at its defensive capabilities."

The Blaziken held her claws together and slightly behind her. Flames built up inside her cupped hands, gradually attaining a spherical shape. When tongues of fire began licking the outside of her hands, she threw the blob of energy towards the Cryogonal in an overhand motion, kind of like how a baseball player would throw. About halfway across the battlefield the sphere of fire burst open into a few dozen smaller embers. Only one of those embers would need to strike the Wild Pokemon in order to cause a burn. The technique reminded Jakk of a ground-to-air missile - lots of little heat-seekers would be fired into the air aboard a single large canister, and then separate when they were on a heading with their target. Only time would tell if the Cryogonal was better at avoiding Will-o-Wisp attacks than an aircraft was better at dodging heat-seekers.

 

@ChainReaction01;

BP#13

Ranger Ivy Frost

---

“I am interested, but not for Jathan,” Jakk replied. “Cryogonal is actually the Pokemon I was most-hoping to catch here.”

Ivy was a little surprised—it wasn't everyday that a Fighting-type specialist went looking for Pokemon on the other end of the spectrum from there. His explanation did make sense, however. Fighters weren't great at special attacks since it used a mental strength instead of physical prowess, and many Fighting-types just didn't have both. The Ranger did feel a little bad for the mirror, though, since it was going to literally be a punching bag for non-physical skills.

Unfortunately, it wasn't any of her business what he did with the Cryogonal unless it was borderline abuse. She'd have to look into it further, once the run was done. It was a good thing she lived in Veilstone. That would make things easier.

The red-haired woman rubbed her temple as she slid her feet under her. Because of the ice, she had hit the cave wall pretty hard, and the frozen rock guaranteed it was a solid wall when she slammed into it. It wasn't Vergil's fault that the floor was slippery, but part of her mind couldn't shake the thought that maybe he had hit her extra hard on purpose, despite how cooperative he had been today. It just wasn't really like him.

Haji was still guarding them, standing fairly close but in front. Ivy could feel his mental energy flowing through the cave, keeping track of things without his eyes. She had witnessed for herself how fast the Cryogonal could move, so sight wouldn't always be reliable.

Vergil got to his own feet and then paused for a minute, looking down at her. Ivy tried not to let any emotion show on her face other than the wince when she pressed a sore spot on her head. After a second, the Gallade reached down to help her up. She decided to stop worrying about his motivation—at least for right now. It would've been nice to hope that he was finally ready to stop being angry at everything, but she knew him too well to put stock in that. On her feet, Ivy concentrated on the battle. Against the wall, they were out of the way already.

Jakk let his bag fall to the ground as he limbered up his shoulders. He wasn't participating in the battle personally, but it wasn't a bad idea to be ready. The Cryogonal had already shown it didn't really mind involving Trainers, if it's previously-enchanting technique was anything to gauge by.

With a flash of light, the gym leader released his Blaziken again. The heat of her body made steam hover around her for a second before it dissipated. It was pretty cold in the cave. The bird looked a little chilled too, but that would change once adrenaline and her fire skills were in motion.

“Stresser, we've found what we were looking for,” Jakk told her. “You're going to need to go all-out versus this guy, but just remember: if we're successful, he'll be helping you train, so don't do anything too mean.”

Ivy knew all about that. Just because a Trainer bested a Pokemon in the Park did not mean they would be cooperative once they were out of that setting. Vergil was a prime example—she had caught him on a Park event run and he was still bitter about it, despite attempts to smooth things over. He had also developed a vengeful streak against her Crobat, the Pokemon that had wore him down and captured him.

The Blaziken was staring the Ice-type down quietly, probably planning out how she could move around it safely. The mirror didn't look worried at all, but then again, it was hard to judge based on facial expression. Its chimes tinkled lightly as it swayed, but other than that, it was silent.

“Okay, Stresser, let's take the lead right from the start! Try a Will-o-Wisp attack. That should weaken it and give us a look at its defensive capabilities,” Jakk said.

The Fire-type cradled her hands as fire bloomed in them, rolling into a ball that flickered and danced. When it was a decent size, the Pokemon threw it toward the Cryogonal like a baseball. Before reaching the Ice-type, the single fireball split into several smaller ones and scattered, improving the range of the technique.

Some of them went wild and extinguished against the cave walls, but a few sped straight toward the foe. Then, they impacted. Only not. Three small fires all bounced off of what looked like the front of the Cryogonal, but the mirror didn't react at all. The flames disappeared as a shiny sheet was visible for an instant. There was a cackle, and then the Pokemon was gone, having never been there in the first place.

A light sparkle caught Ivy's attention, and when she next looked onto the field, she saw several more nearly-invisible sheets placed strategically around the room. Some had a clear sheen, while others were lightly tinged with a pinkish color: Reflect and Light Screens.

Movement out of the corner of her eye brought her attention to one of the larger Stalactites hanging from the ceiling. As she watched, a form peeled itself from the surface, tilting its flat side to reflect more light. The Crygonal floated back down with a light chime of bells. It was using the light reflection to hide its location, which was pretty smart. With all the surfaces scattered around the room, the battlefield was going to look like a funhouse hall of mirrors. That was convenient.

The disk wasn't done, however. It's eyes glowed, and then a misty fog began to envelope it, steadily growing thicker in just a few moments. Soon, it cloaked the entire room, making the screens hard to see. The Cryogonal disappeared into the fog.

That would make the battle difficult. There was no telling where the mirror had gone, and the fog was going to make smashing through the screens troublesome if it was hard to see where they were. While the Blaziken could use her fire as a light to see, it would only help so much. When driving, using brights on headlights didn't help in fog since the greater light just reflected back to the driver and made it even harder to see.

Jakk had his work cut out for him. For his sake, Ivy hoped the Cryogonal couldn't read minds. It probably wouldn't like being demoted to punching bag.

---

Current Battle Stats:

??? G Cryogonal: 100% [Used Light Screen, Reflect, and Mist]
Quiet F Blaziken: 70% [Used Will-O-Wisp]

Area Effects: There's a blanket of mist and invisible screens littering the room.

---

Trainer Stats

Name: Chainy
Location: Mount Oktori
Encounters Remaining: 0
Area Effects: In a cave covered in ice, with many icicles dripping from the ceiling.
Pokémon Encountered: Gurdurr, Snover, Meditite, Machop, Smoochum, Weavile, Scraggy, Abomasnow, Mienfoo, Machoke, Beartic, Makuhita, Machop, Machoke, Cryogonal
Pokémon Captured: Hardy M Scraggy, Mild M Mienfoo, Jolly M Beartic
MCR: 7,841/35,000 [Rare Rank]

Items: 4x Park Ball; 3x SuperBall; 3x HyperBall; 2x Calming Fragrance Plus; 12x PokeDoll; 5x Honey; Squirtbottle; Pokeplayer; Digital Camera; Blank Disk x2; 7x Lava Cookie; Status Bomb x2; Pax-A-Punch; Oak's Trinket; Digital Camera Zoom Lens; Supreme Park Ball x2; Glossy Lens; Apricorn Box, White Apricorn x1, Yellow Apricorn x1, Red Apricorn x1, Blue Apricorn x2

Picture Value: 1,500

Pokémon Stats

Pokemon: Machamp @ 67%
Nickname: Jugg
Gender: Male
Ability: No Guard
Nature: Brave
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: HM04-Strength, HM08-Rock Smash, HM11-Rock Climb, TM06-Toxic, TM18-Counter, TM26-Earthquake, TM27-Fissure, TM48-Rock Slide, TM50-Substitute, TM64-Protect, TM65-Rain Dance, TM74-Ice Punch, TM75-Swagger, TM80-Thunderpunch, TM85-Fire Punch, TM88-Focus Punch, TM93-Bulk Up, TM96-Light Screen, TM98-Brick Break, TM101-Rock Tomb, TM126-Stone Edge, TM159-Bulldoze, Bullet Punch, Superpower, Encore, Close Combat

Pokemon: Blaziken @ 70%
Nickname: Stresser
Gender: Female
Ability: Speed Boost
Nature: Quiet
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: HM01-Cut, HM04-Strength, HM08-Rock Smash, HM11-Rock Climb, TM03-Swords Dance, TM26-Earthquake, TM48-Rock Slide, TM50-Substitute, TM55-Roar, TM59-Hidden Power[FLYING], TM64-Protect, TM102-Aerial Ace, TM118-Will-o-Wisp, TM121-Shadow Claw, Thunderpunch, Baton Pass, Featherdance, Superpower, Agility, Feint

Pokemon: Electivire @ 68%
Nickname: Kai
Gender: Male
Ability: Motor Drive
Nature: Relaxed Nature
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: HM04-Strength, HM05-Flash, HM08-Rock Smash, HM11-Rock Climb, TM26-Earthquake, TM33-Reflect, TM45-Thunder Wave, TM48-Rock Slide, TM50-Substitute, TM59-Hidden Power[DRAGON], TM64-Protect, TM74-Ice Punch, TM95-Taunt, TM98-Brick Break, TM147-Low Sweep, TM157-Volt Switch, Magnet Rise, Cross Chop, Meditate, Barrier, Low Kick, Feint

 

Jakk watched as the ember flechettes spread out throughout the cave. As expected, about a third of them peeled off towards the cave walls, but that was actually by design: if the target juked suddenly to the side, there was still a chance that a flame would connect. Besides, very very few Fire-types would have the ability to put all of those flechettes exactly where they wanted to go.

The end-result was not what Jakk had hoped for. When the on-target embers were a bare metre from the Cryogonal, they flashed and disappeared. The brief illumination at the flames guttered and died revealed a secret: the light bounced momentarily off of an invisible screen, and in turn reflected onto other screens hidden throughout the room. Jakk was seriously impressed at what the Ice-type had created-a room of traps hidden literally in midair, all but invisible to the naked eye. And they weren't all screens, either: the Cryogonal cackled and disappeared, obviously never having been there. That meant it had some sort of projection system in place, and neither Stresser nor Jakk had any idea where the damn thing was.

Jakk was at heart a simple man. He enjoyed the thrill of the chase and raw joy a warrior feels in battle, but given a choice, he usually took the simplest option, even if it wasn't the easiest or the smartest. In this situation, the simplest (and first) option that came to mind was having Stresser go loud, probably with a powerful Fire attack or maybe even an Earthquake. However, something about the way that Ivy was standing and eyeing him off gave the Gym Leader pause. He'd already been reprimanded once and he was pretty sure that Ivy was itching to do it again. Jakk had no clue why James had the amount of respect for Ivy that he did: this run she'd done nothing but act like her last name, cold and uncaring as Frost. Not that Jakk really minded, he was sure that James wouldn't approve of some of his friends.

Since detonating a near-nuclear hellstorm inside a mountain wasn't a particularly good idea, Jakk would have to think of another option. On the bright side, he was pretty sure that Cryogonal didn't have many attacking options, which meant that Stresser was relatively safe for now. The Gym Leader was just starting to consider a taunt of some kind to try and lure the Wild Pokemon out when the room started filling with mist, obscuring everything and hiding the screens from sight. The young man groaned out loud: as a warrior, he was already unenthused about having to fight in someone else's home field. Now, he'd learned that said field was littered in traps, and on top of that delicious sandwich was practical invisibility for his opponent to hide in. This final battle would no doubt be his hardest.

Still, as annoying as that mist would no doubt prove to be, there was a silver lining: Jakk now knew exactly what the correct course of action was. Attempting to attack a hiding opponent without knowing where they were would be beyond idiotic, so Stresser would have to fight defensively. Fortunately, Blaziken excelled at defensive and stalling tactics, as the longer they fought the stronger they became. Few battlers are stupid enough to let a Blaziken build up steam, because when they were ready to start swinging, skyscrapers fell. Jakk just had to hope that the Cryogonal recognised the warning signs of a powering-up Pokemon and decided to attack. Assuming it did so, Jakk would be able to get a better read on where it hid and how it projected itself, and in turn get a real foot-hold on this battle.

"Stresser, back up a little bit and use Swords Dance," the young man called out, making sure that his voice could be heard throughout the room. "That Cryogonal will have to show itself sometime, and when it does I want you to be able to wreck it good."

The Blaziken jumped backwards twice until it was almost alongside the Gym Leader. Two large billowing flames erupted from either of Stressers hands, and they slowly resolved into the shape of long, curved scimitars. Stresser began to weave back and forth, spinning the fiery blades and pointing them in tandem. It was an incredibly intimidating sight, and the sheer act of performing her war dance would put the Blaze Pokemon in high spirits. Finally, the light that the swords were putting out was sure to cut through the mist, giving the Croyogonal a very clear look at exactly where the Blaziken was. Hopefully this would goad it into action.

"When the Cryogonal comes in close, watch its actions closely," Jakk said to Stresser in a much quieter tone. "It'll probably have to dodge around its traps, so by watching it you'll get a good idea of where not to go."

Stresser nodded and screeched as she finished her war dance. She clenched her fists and the twin scimitars exploded into gouts of fire which drifted towards the ceiling momentarily before fading into smoke.

 

@ChainReaction01;

BP#14

Ranger Ivy Frost

---

Ivy watched as Jakk calculated what to do. The room had been turned into a trap, and it was going to take some careful footing to get through safely. The near-invisible screens had been scattered around like a maze, and the thick fog made visibility poor. Being walled by a screen might give the wild Pokemon a window to attack.

Just standing around was just as dangerous, however. The Cryogonal was a master of its own space, and the longer they dragged this out, the more time it had to plot and plan and make the gym leader's life a lot worse.

She idly wondered if the Trainer had anything extreme planned like he had with his Electivire. Another drastic action like splitting the room in two would help earn him a one-way ticket out of here. Considering he got worked up pretty easy, she couldn't discard the possibility of him doing something crazy again. Why did she always get stuck with the difficult ones?

Jakk finally came up with something. “Stresser, back up a little bit and use Swords Dance,” he said, opting for a more defensive play. “That Cryogonal will have to show itself sometime, and when it does, I want you to be able to wreck it good.”

Something about his words bothered her. It may have just been the selection of them, but it was hard to ignore. She recalled what he had said when they first encountered this Pokemon, about how he was going to use it to train his other Pokemon because he wouldn't worry about it getting hurt. How much did he know about Ice-types? Being a Fighting-type gym leader, she was willing to bet not much. She wouldn't have been worried if it had been Chainy or Jathan, who were dedicated to helping and taking care of Pokemon, but she didn't know this brother. Gym leaders used their Pokemon primarily for fighting. How could she be sure he had the Cryogonal or even his own partners' best interests in mind?

The Blaziken slid back at her Trainer's request and held her hands out. Flames erupted and danced as sword-shaped outlines appeared in the air, twirling rhythmically as the fire bird focused. The practice would help gather her strength to let her hit harder, and Ivy was pretty sure the Cryogonal would realize what the Fire-type was doing. The fire created a glow that probably pierced through the whole cave.

The Trainer murmured something else to his Pokemon, but Ivy didn't catch it. Her eyes had been drawn to the fog and the light tinkling of bells she heard. A sharp, sliding sound was heard, and Ivy shivered slightly on reflex, her hands tightening into fists. She knew that sound.

It was like a blade being sharpened, and her fingernails dug into her palms at the wash of memory that came with it. Sound was one of the key memory triggers, and unfortunately, she had a habit of remembering a lot of the bad things.

She wasn't the only one, however. She felt that instant of flicker in the bond between her and Haji. Sending reassuring thoughts through the link, she tried to calm herself. Although her face was blank, that sound gave her the chills.

“I will admit I am slightly concerned about the fate of this Crygonal,” Haji told her silently as he stared out into the fog.

“Me too,” she returned just as quietly, through their link. Her initial remark about a punching bag might not have been too far off from the reality that waited. That wasn't a good alternative. It border-lined abuse.

They knew all about that. More often than not, Rangers were called in to rescue reports of Pokemon being mistreated by their Trainers. Ivy had seen far too many of those cases. Haji's case hit a little more close to home, and it made her that much less tolerant of any kind of maltreatment. Especially since she had been waylaid long enough to find out exactly what type of abuse Haji had endured, plus some more creative ones.

“I'll find out,” she hold the Psychic-type. “And we'll keep watch from home. Make trips past the gym or something.”

She made to move over toward the Trainer, but a form whizzed out of the fog. Ivy lurched back as Vergil threw up his arms, and she felt the breeze sent her long hair and vest-tails flying as the Crygonal sped by.

It was flat out, like a disk, making an arc through the room and spinning. It glinted in the fire created by the Blaziken, and with a sharp edge, it lashed out like a blade, not stopping as it continued its arc back into the mist and out of sight. The bird called out as she stepped back, the blow stinging but not very harmful. The mirror had probably been worried about getting too close—the flames were likely to singe it.

The Fire-type didn't retaliate, however. Instead, she watched the Ice-type as it disappeared again. Jakk hadn't given her another order, Ivy guessed.

Casually, Ivy walked over, examining the mist carefully, as if the disk would pop out at any moment. She got to a good point where she could see down the middle of the room, although “see” was used lightly. It was all murky fog, but she could faintly see the rocks on the ceiling.

“So,” she began, looking at the gym leader critically. He wasn't shivering anymore, at least. “I'm not following this training. How is Cryogonal going to help your fighters? I don't battle much,” she admitted. She kept her tone neutral, trying to seem curious and not critical. She was going to find out the answer to her question one way or another.

---

Current Battle Stats:

??? G Cryogonal: 97% [Atk+1][Used Sharpen and Rapid Spin]
Quiet F Blaziken: 65% [Atk+2][Used Swords Dance]

Area Effects: There's a blanket of mist and invisible screens littering the room.

---

Trainer Stats

Name: Chainy
Location: Mount Oktori
Encounters Remaining: 0
Area Effects: In a cave covered in ice, with many icicles dripping from the ceiling.
Pokémon Encountered: Gurdurr, Snover, Meditite, Machop, Smoochum, Weavile, Scraggy, Abomasnow, Mienfoo, Machoke, Beartic, Makuhita, Machop, Machoke, Cryogonal
Pokémon Captured: Hardy M Scraggy, Mild M Mienfoo, Jolly M Beartic
MCR: 12,725/35,000 [Rare Rank]

Items: 4x Park Ball; 3x SuperBall; 3x HyperBall; 2x Calming Fragrance Plus; 12x PokeDoll; 5x Honey; Squirtbottle; Pokeplayer; Digital Camera; Blank Disk x2; 7x Lava Cookie; Status Bomb x2; Pax-A-Punch; Oak's Trinket; Digital Camera Zoom Lens; Supreme Park Ball x2; Glossy Lens; Apricorn Box, White Apricorn x1, Yellow Apricorn x1, Red Apricorn x1, Blue Apricorn x2

Picture Value: 1,500

Pokémon Stats

Pokemon: Machamp @ 67%
Nickname: Jugg
Gender: Male
Ability: No Guard
Nature: Brave
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: HM04-Strength, HM08-Rock Smash, HM11-Rock Climb, TM06-Toxic, TM18-Counter, TM26-Earthquake, TM27-Fissure, TM48-Rock Slide, TM50-Substitute, TM64-Protect, TM65-Rain Dance, TM74-Ice Punch, TM75-Swagger, TM80-Thunderpunch, TM85-Fire Punch, TM88-Focus Punch, TM93-Bulk Up, TM96-Light Screen, TM98-Brick Break, TM101-Rock Tomb, TM126-Stone Edge, TM159-Bulldoze, Bullet Punch, Superpower, Encore, Close Combat

Pokemon: Blaziken @ 65%
Nickname: Stresser
Gender: Female
Ability: Speed Boost
Nature: Quiet
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: HM01-Cut, HM04-Strength, HM08-Rock Smash, HM11-Rock Climb, TM03-Swords Dance, TM26-Earthquake, TM48-Rock Slide, TM50-Substitute, TM55-Roar, TM59-Hidden Power[FLYING], TM64-Protect, TM102-Aerial Ace, TM118-Will-o-Wisp, TM121-Shadow Claw, Thunderpunch, Baton Pass, Featherdance, Superpower, Agility, Feint

Pokemon: Electivire @ 68%
Nickname: Kai
Gender: Male
Ability: Motor Drive
Nature: Relaxed Nature
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: HM04-Strength, HM05-Flash, HM08-Rock Smash, HM11-Rock Climb, TM26-Earthquake, TM33-Reflect, TM45-Thunder Wave, TM48-Rock Slide, TM50-Substitute, TM59-Hidden Power[DRAGON], TM64-Protect, TM74-Ice Punch, TM95-Taunt, TM98-Brick Break, TM147-Low Sweep, TM157-Volt Switch, Magnet Rise, Cross Chop, Meditate, Barrier, Low Kick, Feint

 

OOC: @WinterVines; Speed Boost pl0x, unless there's something I'm missing?

As Stresser finished her war dance and extinguished the fiery scimitars, a sound rang throughout the cave. It was eerily similar to the sound a sword made when being sharpened by a rock. It sounded like a response to Stresser's attempted intimidation: You might be powerful, but I'm dangerous too, burnout. It also occurred to Jakk that Cryogonal's sides could probably be quite dangerous if they were sharpened, almost like a blade. Rock could keep quite a keen edge if it was sharpened in exactly the right way.

Jakk heard a quiet thud, almost like a sonic boom but quietened way down. Not many people would have picked up on it but Jakk's honed senses as a warrior just barely managed to pick it up. Stresser's head tilted sideways, which told the Gym Leader that his Pokemon had picked up on it too. Without waiting for a command, the Blaziken took a step backwards and turned defensively right as the Cryogonal came spinning out of the fog. Just like predicted, the Pokemon was side-on and demonstrating a keen edge. It bumped into Stresser's right arm and immediately went careening off into the mist, once again hidden from sight. A few small drops of blood trickled down the Fire-type's arm, but Jakk could see that the cut was thin. Furthermore, Stresser had a neat defensive mechanism when it came to cuts: being a Fighting-type, she was naturally very hardy, and her Fire-typing allowed her to sear her own wounds closed with barely any pain. Even as Jakk watched, a small spark danced over the cut, sealing it off. One last solitary drop of blood began to slowly climb down her arm, and Jakk nodded approvingly. Stresser had certainly come far.

"All right, we need to find out a little bit more about this battlefield and the traps that have been set up," Jakk said to his Pokemon. "What I want you to do is breathe some Flamethrower attacks into the arena. Keep an eye on the screens that you hit: if the flame deflects off of them, it's a Light Screen. If the fire goes straight through, however, it's a Reflect, and they're the screens you'll need to watch out for when this fight goes physical. If you manage to clip the Cryogonal that'd be awesome, but don't worry about it for now. Remember, we're playing this defensive."

Stresser crowed agreement and took a big breath. Jakk stepped back as he knew exactly how hot Stresser could make her flames. The Fighting-type began blowing big streams of fire into the room, but being careful to keep them away from the walls. She didn't want to cause a cave-in any more than Jakk did. The Gym Leader was intending to watch the screens too, but he was distracted by Ivy, who had chosen to walk over.

“So, I'm not following this training. How is Cryogonal going to help your fighters?" she asked. "I don't battle much."

Jakk had to battle to keep his attention on the woman, a problem he didn't have often. "Well, like I said before, most of my newer Pokemon aren't very good with their long-range attacks. Fighting type Pokemon have this reputation of being up and in people's faces, with the Fire Punch and the Sky Uppercut and the Close Combat. But that's not actually true. Lots of my Pokemon have Special-based alternatives, but in order to use those skills they need to be developed. I mean sure, my Fire-types are pretty solid and my Lucario throws a mean Aura Sphere, but my Breloom needs some serious Hidden Power training, and my Medicham has problems using her Psychic attacks."

A particularly large gout of flame reflected off of a screen, sending fire splashing in a huge arc throughout the room, distracting Jakk for a second. He noted it down mentally and then turned back to Ivy. "That's where this Cryogonal comes in," he continued. "I don't like Pokemon being hurt, but that's not the way reality works. Training is tough, whether it's for people or for Pokemon, and that means injury is a possibility. I know for a fact that Cryogonal have stellar Special Defenses, which means any attacks that my guys happen to land on one have a very very minimal chance of doing any real damage. That's the entire reason I chose Cryogonal: it's the strongest defensive Pokemon I could find that fits easily inside my Gym. That said, I don't know if my guys will even be able to hit it at all. After all, look at the fight it's putting up. Stresser is one of the best long-range fighters I have, and she can't even land a blow."

Stresser stopped breathing fire and looked back at Jakk, clearly miffed. She grunted and two small embers shot out of the corners of her mouth. Jakk grinned - he knew his Pokemon well enough to know when they were swearing at him.

 

@ChainReaction01; Bah, you messed up what I wanted to do and then didn't post nearly enough MCR for the other thing I wanted to do. /shakes fist.

BP#15

Ranger Ivy Frost

---

Ivy waited for Jakk to answer her as she crossed her arms. He split his attention between her and the battlefield, keeping a watch for the Ice-type that was playing hard to get. She felt Vergil walk up behind her, an almost-comforting presence at her back. His arms were usually crossed, and the scowl on his face was pretty permanent. If she wasn't used to his grumpiness, he did look pretty intimidating.

The gym leader finally answered after a minute. He explained how a lot of his fighters were physically-based but had special-based potential. Most of his Pokemon were lacking in the latter. Then he stopped as his Blaziken shot a bolt of fire into the mist, burning away some of the haze and reflecting off a screen. Another it passed by with no effect. She had missed the order, but it looked like the Flamethrower was trying to scope out the dangerous area.

Then, Jakk remembered he had been talking to her. “That's where Cryogonal comes in,” he said, adding onto his previous comments. “I don't like Pokemon being hurt, but that's not the way reality works. Training is tough, whether it's for people or for Pokemon, and that means injury is a possibility.”

Ivy's hands subtly turned into fists tucked into her arms. She knew injury to Pokemon all too well, but she wasn't sure if she agreed with all of his statement. It was her job to prevent real injury. She didn't like how this sounded.

Jakk continued, saying that Cryogonal had really good special defense and that attacks his fighters had on it wouldn't do very much damage at all. “That said, I don't know if my guys will even be able to hit it at all. After all, look at the fight it's putting up. Stresser is one of the best long-range fighters I have, and she can't even land a blow.”

The Blaziken didn't look pleased at his comment, turning her eye back with narrowed eyes and a grunt. Fire rolled from her mouth in response, and Jakk grinned. Vergil would've had a similar reaction, although he wouldn't have been as nice about it. Jakk seemed to like to joke around with his a little.

Ivy wasn't totally satisfied with Jakk's answer, however. Even if his Pokemon couldn't really hurt the Crygonal, what was going to happen to it? Would it be punching bag status forever?

Stresser launched another stream of fire into the room, and a couple of the screens made a strange sound as they faded, having their blocking limit reached. Then, there was a sharp screech of bells, like in anger, and Ivy guessed that the Blaziken had nicked the mirror a little.

“There's more than one type of injury,” Ivy finally said, trying to remain calm. She really wanted to take her closed fist and sock him in the jaw, but she'd probably be reprimanded for that without a good reason. “So the Cryogonal will help your Pokemon get stronger. But how are you going to help the Cryogonal? How much do you even know about Ice-types? Will it be more than just a punching bag?” she countered.

Images flashed across her memory of the countless Pokemon she had had to separate from abusive Trainers, the same ones who claimed to be 'helping' them. There had been black eyes, burns, and bruises that covered bodies, and some even had mental scarring. Sometimes abuse wasn't even physical. Neglect had its own power too. She thought of Haji, curled up in a dark corner with marks all over him and had to close her eyes as her fingers tightened painfully. She wasn't going to let anything like that happen ever again.

“Expect drop-ins,” she said flatly, her voice chilling. It went without saying that the surprise visits would probably be by her. “If these Pokemon aren't being taken care of, I will end you,” she said simply. The rush of energy she felt from Haji and even Vergil behind her gave her an extra edge.

“If you think I've been a bitch now, just wait. You cross the line, and you'll never have to worry about Pokemon again. I know places where no amount of muscle will save you,” she said. While she didn't think she could take him in a fair fight, there were other ways, and she wanted him to know she was absolutely serious.

Suddenly, a gust of ice-filled wind came rushing toward them. Ivy threw up an arm and backed up as Vergil tugged on her arm so she'd get out of the way. Stresser wasn't as bothered by it—she simply threw up her arms and increased the temperature of the fire around her. She did wince a little bit at first, however, since the icy shards were probably not very pleasant.

That's when there was an eerie jingle that almost sounded like a laugh. While the Blaziken was melting the Icy Wind, a silver and purple mixed orb came out of the darkness. At first it was just one big orb, but then it split into three pieces. They bobbed and spun until they were around Stresser, and her eyes went spinning as the Confuse Ray took effect.

That could be bad. If the Blaziken got out of control, she could really damage the surroundings and possibly herself, not to mention the group. Ivy felt Vergil tense beside her, obviously thinking the same thing. He probably wouldn't hesitate to strike back at the Fire-type if she struck at him first, and that was another can of worms she didn't want to get into.

---

Current Battle Stats:

??? G Cryogonal: 82% [Atk+1][Used Icy Wind and Confuse Ray]
Quiet F Blaziken: 60% [Atk+2][Used Flamethrower][Confused]

Area Effects: There's a blanket of mist and invisible screens littering the room.

---

Trainer Stats

Name: Chainy
Location: Mount Oktori
Encounters Remaining: 0
Area Effects: In a cave covered in ice, with many icicles dripping from the ceiling.
Pokémon Encountered: Gurdurr, Snover, Meditite, Machop, Smoochum, Weavile, Scraggy, Abomasnow, Mienfoo, Machoke, Beartic, Makuhita, Machop, Machoke, Cryogonal
Pokémon Captured: Hardy M Scraggy, Mild M Mienfoo, Jolly M Beartic
MCR: 17,355/35,000 [Rare Rank]

Items: 4x Park Ball; 3x SuperBall; 3x HyperBall; 2x Calming Fragrance Plus; 12x PokeDoll; 5x Honey; Squirtbottle; Pokeplayer; Digital Camera; Blank Disk x2; 7x Lava Cookie; Status Bomb x2; Pax-A-Punch; Oak's Trinket; Digital Camera Zoom Lens; Supreme Park Ball x2; Glossy Lens; Apricorn Box, White Apricorn x1, Yellow Apricorn x1, Red Apricorn x1, Blue Apricorn x2

Picture Value: 1,500

Pokémon Stats

Pokemon: Machamp @ 67%
Nickname: Jugg
Gender: Male
Ability: No Guard
Nature: Brave
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: HM04-Strength, HM08-Rock Smash, HM11-Rock Climb, TM06-Toxic, TM18-Counter, TM26-Earthquake, TM27-Fissure, TM48-Rock Slide, TM50-Substitute, TM64-Protect, TM65-Rain Dance, TM74-Ice Punch, TM75-Swagger, TM80-Thunderpunch, TM85-Fire Punch, TM88-Focus Punch, TM93-Bulk Up, TM96-Light Screen, TM98-Brick Break, TM101-Rock Tomb, TM126-Stone Edge, TM159-Bulldoze, Bullet Punch, Superpower, Encore, Close Combat

Pokemon: Blaziken @ 60%
Nickname: Stresser
Gender: Female
Ability: Speed Boost
Nature: Quiet
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: HM01-Cut, HM04-Strength, HM08-Rock Smash, HM11-Rock Climb, TM03-Swords Dance, TM26-Earthquake, TM48-Rock Slide, TM50-Substitute, TM55-Roar, TM59-Hidden Power[FLYING], TM64-Protect, TM102-Aerial Ace, TM118-Will-o-Wisp, TM121-Shadow Claw, Thunderpunch, Baton Pass, Featherdance, Superpower, Agility, Feint

Pokemon: Electivire @ 68%
Nickname: Kai
Gender: Male
Ability: Motor Drive
Nature: Relaxed Nature
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: HM04-Strength, HM05-Flash, HM08-Rock Smash, HM11-Rock Climb, TM26-Earthquake, TM33-Reflect, TM45-Thunder Wave, TM48-Rock Slide, TM50-Substitute, TM59-Hidden Power[DRAGON], TM64-Protect, TM74-Ice Punch, TM95-Taunt, TM98-Brick Break, TM147-Low Sweep, TM157-Volt Switch, Magnet Rise, Cross Chop, Meditate, Barrier, Low Kick, Feint

 

OOC: Still pretty sure I'm missing at least one speed raise, @WinterVines;

After Stresser had finished scolding me, she returned to her task of blowing long streams of fire into the cavern. I watched as the billowing flames reflected off of the many almost-invisible screens hidden throughout the room. It was startlingly beautiful, and strangely reminiscent of the auroras that played in the sky over Driftveil during Winter. When Stresser had checked about three quarters of the room, there was an almost metallic screech. Jakk grinned: it appeared that his Blaziken had found the Cryogonal's hiding place. She immediately coated the area in even more fire, but the Wild Pokemon had moved. As expected.

"There's more than one type of injury," the female Ranger said suddenly. "So the Cryogonal will help your Pokemon get stronger. But how are you going to help the Cryogonal? How much do you even know about Ice-types? Will it be more than just a punching bag?"

Jakk fell silent, considering his answer. "I don't know much about Ice-types," he admitted. "There aren't any Ice/Fighting Pokemon that I know of, so it's not an area of knowledge I have. I mean, I guess they're cold and don't like fire? I don't think anyone really needs to know all the ins and outs of caring for every single Pokemon they own. As long as they do their best and try to bond, that's all that really matter. As for the punching bag thing, that sounds so wrong. I guess if you want to look at it closely, the Cryogonal's responsiblities would be similar to that of a punching bag, but it's really not up to such black and white comparison-"

"Expect drop-ins," Ivy interrupted, her eyes just as cold as her name. "If these Pokemon aren't being taken care of, I will end you. If you think I've been a bitch now, just wait. You cross the line, and you'll never have to worry about Pokemon again. I know places where no amount of muscle will save you."

Jakk narrowed his eyes slightly, looking the Ranger over. Despite being noticeably shorter than him, she was putting out an impressive intimidation field. The Gallade behind her looking all kinds of pissed off certainly helped that too. Instead of responding to the threat, Jakk analysed it. He had a reputation for being loud and boisterious and acting without thinking, but one didn't become a Gym Leader without lots of intelligence and at least a minimal amount of social skills. Firstly, he tried to ascertain what Ivy could possibly do to him. In a straight-up fight, he could probably thrash her, with Pokemon or without. However, her words seemed to hint at something that he couldn't barge his way through. Jakk's first thought was some kind of financial black mark, but he discarded that thought because there's no way she'd be able to get him without also pulling James and Jathan into the mess, and if she was any kind of a decent person she wouldn't do that. Another alternative was some kind of civil court case, and that possibility gave him some pause. He wasn't particularly afraid, because in the real world the Pokemon Battle League had much more political pull than the National Park, but Ivy didn't seem like a person to make empty threats. For all Jakk knew, she was blowing the Champion. God knows that James hadn't had any luck trying to get her into bed.

All of this was a purely theoretical exercise though, because Jakk understood why she had made the threat. Not only was it her job as a Ranger to look out for abused Pokemon, Jakk was pretty sure that Ivy had been exposed to some abuse in her life. Whether it was from her childhood or even her time as a Ranger, Ivy had seen it before. Just like Jakk had, with Stresser. The Gym Leader couldn't get angry with her because she was afraid for the Cryogonal. In fact, it was quite the opposite: Jakk could feel a slight stirring of respect. If not for Ivy herself, then for how seriously she took her job. Hell, it took quite a fighter to threaten the muscle-bound and huge-dicked Veilstone Gym Leader!

"Thank you for the warning," Jakk said slowly. "I appreciate the sentiment. Furthermore, I assure you that I mean the Cryogonal no harm. Just because it's not a Fighting-type doesn't mean that I would treasure it any less or treat it any different than any of my other Pokemon. Ask Stresser, or Jugg, or Kai if they think I've been a bad Trainer. Hell, you can ask Dual, he's seen my methods. Yes, I am capturing this Cryogonal to help train my team, and if you want to look at it with a skewed view, it will be enduring a bit of pain. But I will do all I can to minimise the pain. Besides, sharing pain is what strengthens bonds. Do you think that when Pokemon battle they do it because they enjoy getting hurt? No, they do it because it's something that they can share with their Trainer, whether it be pain, triumph or any other emotion you care to name. Besides, you don't need to worry about the Cryogonal being a trainer for the rest of its life: as soon as the majority of my Pokemon learn to control their special attacks, they can help the others. If the Cryogonal has decided that it wishes to stay with me, I will be more than happy to keep it. If it doesn't want to, I promise you that I personally will return it here or take it to stay with Jathan or deliver it wherever it wishes to go. Do you find that acceptable?"

Before Jakk could hear Ivy's response, a large gust of wind started blowing throughout the chamber. It was strong enough that it pretty damn near snuffed out the streams of fire that Stresser was breathing intot he room. The temperature seemed to drop yet again, as if that possible. Ivy threw up an arm and stepped back, but Jakk refused to move. Stresser didn't seem to mind too much, because she simply erupted into flames, warding off the worst of the cold. A couple of ice chunks being carried by the wind hit her on her arms and torso, but she seemed to barely notice them. She did, however, notice what came out of the haze next. A glowing orb that shifted colours from purple to blue to silver and back again began dancing throughout the room. Its tantalising light reflected off of all the screens, multiplying its power. Jakk watched it for a couple of seconds, mesmerised, before his brain kicked back in. This was a Confuse Ray! He looked away and yelled for Stresser to do the same, but the Blaziken was already too far gone. She was watching the orb with wide eyes, swaying lightly on her legs. Jakk imagined it was exactly what a UFO hunter would look like when the alien saucer was descending slowly towards them. There was only one good thing about this turn of events: Jakk had seen where the light had come from. The Cryogonal had revealed itself.

"Stresser, I need to you try and think!" the man called out. "Just focus on one thought. I'm pretty sure that the Cryogonal is at about eleven o'clock. Try and hit it with an Aerial Ace!"

The Blaziken had finally taken her eyes off the orb, but now they were blinking separately and her irises were moving in a weird pattern. She crouched down low, preparing to take off like a bullet from a rifle, but she was equally liable to collapse into a heap. All Jakk could do was watch, wait, and hope that his Pokemon had the mental strength to recover soon.