Individual RP: Lewis Allen (Princess Crow) [Botanical Gardens]

Individual RP — Lewis Allen — Non-Battle Post #1

A Ranger named Tella paced back and forth amidst beautiful sunlight and the smell of flowers, her absentminded steps already starting to wear a slight furrow into the thick grass underfoot. The Botanical Gardens set her teeth on edge— the place was pleasant, eminently so... but over the years, pleasant places had come to feel like traps to her. Behind her, a Venomoth with a four-foot wingspan was perched precariously along the back of a weathered, nearly-rotten bench, beating his wings every once in a while to remain balanced. The deadly dust that scattered from the poisonous moth's wings with every flutter could have been highly dangerous to the Ranger, but every wingbeat was perfectly calculated to send the floating toxins directly away from where Tella was pacing: the gentle, flower-scented breezes of the Botanical Gardens carried the puffs of silvery death away, to be dispersed harmlessly before the poison could kill so much as a blade of grass.

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

Tella's clothing was as understated and hyper-practical— almost combat-ready— as the belt that held her Pokémon partners. She wore a thin, long-sleeved black windbreaker jacket over a white shirt with what looked like a bulletproof vest in between. A pair of heavy-duty black polyester pants with perfectly fitted patches of Kevlar sewn onto them matched her black Tauros-leather boots, which were also strengthened with circular heavy-plastic reinforcing bands.

The sun shone brightly overhead of the Ranger, but its warmth was pleasant, not sweltering. The Botanical Gardens had been placed in the temperate and lush region near the centre of the Park's immense landmass: The rich man who had, many years ago, founded the resort that would fall into disrepair and form the basis of the National Park had commissioned this place to become a garden the size of a small country. The balmy climate of the Botanical Gardens made them into a place where the orderly mazes of hedges, carefully arranged meadows, orchards with rows of flowering and fruit-bearing trees, and terraces upon terraces of exotic flowers survived and thrived despite their now wild growth. By now, most of the plants were leaving behind their carefully manicured shapes, but nature had created beauty from the growing chaos: only here could laurel hedges do battle with rosebushes in five colours; only here could meadows full of rare orchids or saffron crocuses be found growing in the wild!

Perfumes from the flowers wafted through the air— the scents of roses and bouganvillea flowering from bushes, cherry and orange blossoms on their trees, and allotments full of tulips, peonies, lilies, and even wild-growing orchids— and the silhouettes of Pokémon could be seen everywhere, scurrying in the shadows amongst the trees and tall grasses of the meadows. Everything seemed calculated to be perfectly relaxing and inviting, partly out of human ingenuity and partly from the genius of nature. A hundreds-of-miles-long hedge maze formed the outer border of all this, and Tella herself was waiting just outside of one of the maze's many entrances.

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

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

All this thought almost distracted her enough that she missed the faint, distant sound of an approaching vehicle... almost. Tella was always alert enough to notice her surroundings. This must be Lewis, the Trainer that Ranger Dispatch had told her would be in her care today. Tella was suspicious that something was off about this Trainer: the dispatcher had sounded like he was holding back laughter while he transmitted the co-ordinates at which she was to meet her charge.

Tella stopped pacing and turned to watch as a vehicle appeared on the horizon, bearing the mysterious Trainer named Lewis. It would be here soon, and she would get to the bottom of why exactly Dispatch was so amused to be giving her this run.

To Tella, until the reality of the situation was confirmed beyond all doubt, this was life or death. If it was one of the Dispatch crew's aggravating (albeit infrequent) jokes at her expense, she might finally lodge a formal complaint just to watch them squirm; but if they had sent some form of real danger her way— perhaps at the behest of a foe from a past that she had hoped to forget— there would be no place in the entire Park secure enough to shelter them from her wrath.


~~Park Run Statistics~~

• Trainer Name: Lewis Stanley Allen
  
• Location: Botanical Gardens
  
• Remaining Encounters: 15
• Active Effects: None
• Pokémon Stats:

Doggo the Arcanine
HP: 100%
Gender: Female
Ability: Intimidate
Nature: Bold
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: TM Solar Beam, TM Substitute, TM Flame Charge, TM Curse, TM Sunny Day, TM Hidden Power (Rock), TM Will-o-wisp, TM Wild Charge, TM Bulldoze, HM Strength, BM Howl, BM Close Combat, BM Morning Sun, SM Charm

Tommy the Charizard
HP: 100%
Gender: Male
Ability: Blaze
Nature: Calm
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: TM Brick Break, TM Counter, TM Dragon Tail, TM Earthquake, TM Flame Charge, TM Hidden Power: Grass, TM Iron Tail, TM Overheat, TM Fire Punch, TM Power-up Punch, TM Protect, TM Reflect, TM Roar, TM Roost, TM Solar Beam, TM Focus Blast, TM Substitute, TM Swords Dance, TM Will-o-Wisp, TM Fire Punch, TM Dragon Tail, HM Defog, HM Strength, HM Fly, BM Dragon Dance, MT Thunder Punch, SM Acrobatics

Sponge-y the Greninja
HP: 100%
Gender: Female
Ability: Protean
Nature: Quirky
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: TM Toxic, TM Hidden Power (Electric), TM Ice Beam, TM Taunt, TM Protect, TM Rock Tomb, TM Acrobatics, TM Grass Knot, TM U-Turn, TM Power-up Punch, TM Dark Pulse, TM Scald, TM Rest, TM Sleep Talk, TM Confide, HM Strength, HM Surf, HM Waterfall, BM Toxic Spikes

• Items:
  2x Park Ball
  2x Super Ball
  4x Hyper Ball
  2x Poke Doll
  1x Digital Camera
  1x Apricorn Box
  1x Poképlayer
  1x Uncommon Voice Disk (Minccino)
  1x Borderline Voice Disk (Staryu)
  1x Honey
  
  
• Total Captured Pokémon:
  None yet!

 

It had been a long, tiring three days since Lewis had embarked on his journey. His hair was disheveled, his clothes were dirty, and he had a smear of peanut butter that had been on his right cheek since before he left - all of which were common occurrences for an eight year old, though their persistence throughout the trip, without his mother to fix them, was becoming a sore reminder of his absence.

“How about now? Are we almost there?" Lewis pestered the ranger once more, having asked the same question less than two minutes ago. He had desperately wanted to fly into the park on his Charizard’s back rather than riding in the backseat of yet another ranger’s all-terrain Jeep, but the great red dragon had downright refused to let Lewis atop him. Tommy was far too protective of Lewis to risk him falling from the skies.

“Take a look for yourself, kid," came the ranger’s weary voice from the front seat. Lewis groggily rubbed his eyes, batting away his sleepiness, until he stretched up from his seatbelt far enough that he could see outside the ranger’s Jeep window. After his eyes widened upon the beauty of the Botanical Gardens, any hesitation about his journey instantly vanished.

The gardens were astounding beyond belief. Lewis had never seen such a multitude of greens in his entire life. Meadow after meadow, pasture after pasture, life seemed abundant as far as the eye could see. Massive green hedges in straight lines stretched all the way out to the horizon, and patches of white, pink, purple, and yellow flower fields rested between them. Pokemon that Lewis had never seen before were fluttering in and out of the seas of tall green grass.

Lewis let out a shrill cry of laughter. His three day adventure halfway around the world was really about to begin! He stomped his feet rapidly on the ground out of sheer excitement, his light-up sneakers flashing a flurry of blue and red. He quickly turned around in his chair, reached into his backpack, and pulled out his father’s old belt (and a cookie). Fastening the worn leather around his shoulder since it’d fall right past his waist, Lewis took a bite of his cookie and whispered to the three Pokeballs that rested along his chest.

“Are you guys ready?” he asked with a gleeful smile, stale cookie crumbs falling from between his teeth. “We’re going to catch so many Pokemon. We’ll make Dad so proud.” He shoved the rest of the cookie in his mouth as the car rattled to a stop.

“Ride’s over, buddy,” the ranger said as he unbuckled his seatbelt and stepped out. Lewis quickly followed suit. He tugged at the rear door, but it refused to budge. Lewis let out a deep sigh. Child-locked doors, one of his greatest enemies.

“Hey Mister, need some help over here!” Lewis shouted impatiently. He decided to tie his shoes while he waited. The gardens were so close, yet so far away. Lewis stretched once more, peering outside the window to see a grown woman, older than any of his sisters but younger than his mother, staring cautiously at the now resting car. A faded purple moth lingered in the air behind the woman, a trail of shimmering dust drifting in the breeze away from its trainer. Lewis flashed a smile, delighted by the sight of another unknown Pokemon, and threw a quick wave at the woman, unsure if she had seen him or not, before resuming to tug at the door.

Lewis noticed the switch to lower the window and jammed his finger down on it, the window receding at a snail’s pace until his tiny little head popped out from the pane of glass. “Hey lady,” he shouted, “I’m Lewis Stanley. Nice to meet ya!” He grinned once more. “Think you could help me out of this?” he asked, gesturing with his pointer finger to the handle on the door.

 

Individual RP — Lewis Allen — Non-Battle Post #2

Oh. Dear. Lord. It was a kid.

Tella hated dealing with little humans. Children had none of the self-consciousness of their older counterparts— no weak spots in their psyche that she could dig into if they proved aggressive or threatening; no way to shut them down. When she had to be around kids, Tella felt... not in control, and for someone who'd experienced Tella's youth, not in control meant unsafe. Even worse, this one was particularly young, which meant he'd be even more unpredictable and less amenable to reason than most children were... She had to wonder: was this boy even old enough to be out on a Pokémon journey? He looked maybe six years old.

"Hey lady," the kid shouted through the window of the all-terrain vehicle, grinning that eerily self-confident grin that most children seemed to have in common. "I'm Lewis Stanley. Nice to meet ya! Think you could help me out of this?"

Tella's gaze shifted to the Ranger who'd gotten out of the Jeep; he was giving her a shit-eating grin— wait, fuck, she'd have to watch her language around the boy so that should be a smug grin in case her thoughts started slipping out— and obviously enjoying the look of open discomfort on her face. Tella could only assume that her distaste for the company of children was common knowledge, and that at least some of the other Rangers were in on this.... for example, this one, whose name she believed was Jeremy, and who was nonchalantly (but deliberately) holding down the "door lock" button on the key fob he was hiding behind his back. Tella would have known this anyway, because the Park's vehicles didn't have child locks... but she also knew because of other reasons.

"Let me get that for you," Tella said to the little boy in the back seat, schooling her expression as she walked up to the rear passenger-side door of the vehicle. She reached out with her right hand to grip the Jeep's door handle; and with the index finger and thumb of her left hand, hidden from both the little boy's view and from Jeremy's, she made a sharp twisting motion.

The male Ranger's smug grin turned abruptly into a startled wince of pain, and he jerked his hand away from something, perhaps a bug, that felt like it pinched him; incidentally, he also dropped the keys in the process. At the same time, the "unlock" button on the door next to the empty driver's seat depressed completely of its own accord, and Tella pulled the door open as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened— in fact, as if the door really had been held closed by a child lock.

"I'll take it from here," Tella said coolly, not letting on that she'd even noticed Jeremy's discomfort. She was having none of her fellow Rangers' antics. This... this child was already a bad enough situation without their meddling.

With that, she gestured for Lewis to follow her and walked away from the vehicle, introducing herself as she went: "I'm Tella. Tella Marr." Then, bluntly and without any attempt at tact, "How old are you?"


~~Park Run Statistics~~

• Trainer Name: Lewis Stanley Allen
  
• Location: Botanical Gardens
  
• Remaining Encounters: 15
• Active Effects: None
• Characters Written by Trainer (Total): 3,720
• Pokémon Stats:

Doggo the Arcanine
HP: 100%
Gender: Female
Ability: Intimidate
Nature: Bold
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: TM Solar Beam, TM Substitute, TM Flame Charge, TM Curse, TM Sunny Day, TM Hidden Power (Rock), TM Will-o-wisp, TM Wild Charge, TM Bulldoze, HM Strength, BM Howl, BM Close Combat, BM Morning Sun, SM Charm

Tommy the Charizard
HP: 100%
Gender: Male
Ability: Blaze
Nature: Calm
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: TM Brick Break, TM Counter, TM Dragon Tail, TM Earthquake, TM Flame Charge, TM Hidden Power: Grass, TM Iron Tail, TM Overheat, TM Fire Punch, TM Power-up Punch, TM Protect, TM Reflect, TM Roar, TM Roost, TM Solar Beam, TM Focus Blast, TM Substitute, TM Swords Dance, TM Will-o-Wisp, TM Fire Punch, TM Dragon Tail, HM Defog, HM Strength, HM Fly, BM Dragon Dance, MT Thunder Punch, SM Acrobatics

Sponge-y the Greninja
HP: 100%
Gender: Female
Ability: Protean
Nature: Quirky
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: TM Toxic, TM Hidden Power (Electric), TM Ice Beam, TM Taunt, TM Protect, TM Rock Tomb, TM Acrobatics, TM Grass Knot, TM U-Turn, TM Power-up Punch, TM Dark Pulse, TM Scald, TM Rest, TM Sleep Talk, TM Confide, HM Strength, HM Surf, HM Waterfall, BM Toxic Spikes

• Items:
  2x Park Ball
  2x Super Ball
  4x Hyper Ball
  2x Poke Doll
  1x Digital Camera
  1x Apricorn Box
  1x Poképlayer
  1x Uncommon Voice Disk (Minccino)
  1x Borderline Voice Disk (Staryu)
  1x Honey
  
  
• Total Captured Pokémon:
  None yet!

 

Lewis tapped his left shoe impatiently against the floor beneath him as the woman walked towards the door. She bore a forced smile that Lewis had seen thousands of times before. His teacher back home, Ms. Thorpe, would don the exact same face anytime Lewis would raise his hand in class. Lewis had noticed that it usually happened when an adult was bothered by his presence but wasn't in the position to do anything about him. That wasn't about to stop him, however - he would still raise his hand until Ms. Thorpe called on him, just as he would continue tapping his foot and smiling until he was out of the car.

"Let me get that for you," the ranger said and reached for the door handle. A faint smirk flickered into her expression, as if she had done something that Lewis didn't catch. Regardless, the door popped open. Lewis lunged forward to escape the car's confinement, but a sharp pull lurched him backwards, squeezing the air out of his chest and drawing him back to his seat. Bewildered, Lewis looked around several times before he realized what had stopped him. He had forgot to undo his seatbelt. He grumbled in rage, quickly popped the buckle out of the lock, and leaped out of the car.

"Thanks, lady," Lewis said as he stretched, the bottom his pale white belly popping out from under his shirt. The warm glow of the sun's light and a gentle, drifting breeze made for perfect weather conditions for his adventure. He heard the cries of Pokemon in the distance, beckoning for him and his Pokemon to catch them and bring them home.

"I'll take it from here," came the firm, steady voice of the woman standing beside the car. The ranger from before, a mild look of confusion on his face as if he too had been yanked backwards by an unsuspecting seatbelt, gathered himself and returned to the Jeep. "I'm Tella. Tella Marr," she said, turning to face Lewis. "How old are you?" she asked.

The question had caught Lewis somewhat off guard. So far on his trip, only a handful of people had asked the question, and that was mostly out of their own curiosity. Now, Tella had asked so directly and with such intent that Lewis was afraid she might refuse to guide him if he was too young.

"I'm eleven," he bursted out. "Old enough to be on my journey, that's for sure," he added with another smile, but he wasn't convinced that Tella would believe him. In fact, Lewis recognized the face she was now wearing too - Ms. Thorpe would squint her eyes and stare at him the same way when he told her that the family Arcanine, Doggo, had chomped up his homework. "...Okay fine, I'm ten," Lewis said, hoping to at least get away with a smaller lie, but her expression remained unchanged. "Alright, I'm really just eight and a half. I read all of the signs and rules of the Park though, and I think I'm still allowed to be here!" he exclaimed. "Please don't make me go home. I've traveled really far for this," he said with a sigh. He had already resigned to the worst conclusion, that he was to be kicked out of the Park and not allowed to return for two more years, before Tella even had the chance to respond.

 

Individual RP — Lewis Allen — Non-Battle Post #3

Tella kept a straight face— something she was very good at— while the young Trainer's lie fell apart all on its own. She could tell that the boy had settled on the truth at eight years (and a half!) by the way he immediately switched to frantic placating after saying it. She'd have guessed younger, but the kid was clearly a terrible liar, mostly because of second-guessing the reactions of those around him. Even now, she could see him assuming the worst about her attitude.

Tella ruthlessly shoved down a pang of sympathy as the realization came to her that this boy must have a very ingrained opinion of adults as beings who would judge him harshly. Such an opinion could only have come from interaction with adults who fit that description; and although children were a mystery to Tella, harsh and unyielding adult humans were something she was eminently familiar with.

No matter. She'd already decided she wasn't going to kick the boy out of the Park in spite of regulations stating the minimum age of ten; that moment of sympathy had done its damage, and she knew better than to ignore it— she'd be regretting kicking the boy out for years if she did.

Nevertheless, her day was already going to be difficult, and sympathy was weakness... If she kept her bleeding heart in check— and carefully hidden away— it couldn't be used against her by this little terror... and besides, now she had the upper hand. She knew what Lewis Allen feared. Still straight-faced, Tella cleared her threat in the most imposing way she could, and told the boy...

"I can see you want to be here, kid, badly enough to lie to Park Rangers. Why that is, well, that's no business of mine, but I'm breaking regulations by letting you stay... So, for your own safety in the Park, you're going to listen closely to everything I tell you, answer any question I ask, and you will not lie to me. Am I understood?"

Not waiting for a response— the question had been rhetorical, after all— Tella immediately continued, "Release one of your Pokémon from their Poké Ball. It's their job to stand between you and the wild Pokémon in this park, just like it's mine to make sure other hazards keep their distance."


~~Park Run Statistics~~

• Trainer Name: Lewis Stanley Allen
  
• Location: Botanical Gardens
  
• Remaining Encounters: 15
• Active Effects: None
• Characters Written by Trainer (Total): 6,829
  
• Pokémon Stats:

Doggo the Arcanine
HP: 100%
Gender: Female
Ability: Intimidate
Nature: Bold
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: TM Solar Beam, TM Substitute, TM Flame Charge, TM Curse, TM Sunny Day, TM Hidden Power (Rock), TM Will-o-wisp, TM Wild Charge, TM Bulldoze, HM Strength, BM Howl, BM Close Combat, BM Morning Sun, SM Charm

Tommy the Charizard
HP: 100%
Gender: Male
Ability: Blaze
Nature: Calm
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: TM Brick Break, TM Counter, TM Dragon Tail, TM Earthquake, TM Flame Charge, TM Hidden Power: Grass, TM Iron Tail, TM Overheat, TM Fire Punch, TM Power-up Punch, TM Protect, TM Reflect, TM Roar, TM Roost, TM Solar Beam, TM Focus Blast, TM Substitute, TM Swords Dance, TM Will-o-Wisp, TM Fire Punch, TM Dragon Tail, HM Defog, HM Strength, HM Fly, BM Dragon Dance, MT Thunder Punch, SM Acrobatics

Sponge-y the Greninja
HP: 100%
Gender: Female
Ability: Protean
Nature: Quirky
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: TM Toxic, TM Hidden Power (Electric), TM Ice Beam, TM Taunt, TM Protect, TM Rock Tomb, TM Acrobatics, TM Grass Knot, TM U-Turn, TM Power-up Punch, TM Dark Pulse, TM Scald, TM Rest, TM Sleep Talk, TM Confide, HM Strength, HM Surf, HM Waterfall, BM Toxic Spikes

• Items:
  2x Park Ball
  2x Super Ball
  4x Hyper Ball
  2x Poke Doll
  1x Digital Camera
  1x Apricorn Box
  1x Poképlayer
  1x Uncommon Voice Disk (Minccino)
  1x Borderline Voice Disk (Staryu)
  1x Honey
  
  
• Total Captured Pokémon:
  None yet!

 

The tense moments between Lewis' final plea and Tella's response had the young boy sweating bullets. To make it so far but to be turned away at the entrance, when he could smell the flowers and feel the breeze, would be heartbreaking. Lewis would never be able to explain to his parents why he had been absent for the past few days, especially if he returned back to Johto empty-handed. His heart was pounding before Tella spoke.

"I can see you want to be here, kid, badly enough to lie to Park Rangers," she said in a slightly admonishing tone. Lewis could tell that she wasn't exactly angry with him, but he gulped audibly as he prepared for the worst. "Why that is, well, that's no business of mine, but I'm breaking regulations by letting you stay... So, for your own safety in the Park, you're going to listen closely to everything I tell you, answer any question I ask, and you will not lie to me. Am I understood?"

It took him a while to realize what Tella had said, staring blankly back at her.

She continued regardless. "Release one of your Pokémon from their Poké Ball. It's their job to stand between you and the wild Pokémon in this park, just like it's mine to make sure other hazards keep their distance."

Still taking a moment to comprehend exactly what his ranger had said, Lewis blinked rapidly before his brain finally caught up with his ears. He was in the clear! Her warnings about park safety and never lying to a ranger whizzed by him, and his heart pounded even louder with joy.

"Waaahooooooo!" he exclaimed, jumping off the grassy ground and throwing a victory fist in the air. "Thanks lady, I won't let you down!" he beamed. He reached for his father's Pokeball belt, still straddled across his shoulder, and grabbed the first ball he could get his hands on. He pressed the stone-sized sphere in its center, causing the ball to grow rapidly outwards, and pressed it once more to release the Pokemon inside it. After the explosion of bright light faded, standing in front of Lewis was the giant red lizard who had been his closest companion this entire trip. A flicker of orange flames sparked outwards from the beast's tail, and leathery blue wings stretched outwards to an impressive wingspan. The Charizard let out a roar and whipped its wings back and forth, obviously enjoying the wide open field just as much as Lewis was.

"This is my Big Fire Dragon Guy," Lewis said to Tella in a matter-of-fact manner. "I borrowed him from my dad before I left home. He's pretty strong, and he'll keep us safe from any crazy Pokemon we run into. Right, Tommy?" Lewis looked to the Charizard for approval. Tommy let out another roar. The Pokemon's usually calm demeanor had grown quite excited. This was Tommy's first adventure into the open world in a long time too after Mr. Allen had finished his own journey.

"Looks like we're all ready to get started!" Lewis smiled. "Let's do this thing!" He threw his fist in the air again and began marching forward.

 

Individual RP — Lewis Allen — Non-Battle Post #4

Tella did not sigh— she'd long since grown too good at hiding her emotions from a world that had never stopped trying to take advantage of them. Instead, she looked on impassively as the boy and the Charizard led the way forward.

'I borrowed him from my dad before I left home,' echoed Lewis's voice in Tella's mind. She took a deep breath, and said nothing. If 'borrowed' is accurate, I'll eat my backpack.

Only with Lewis's back turned and the Jeep long gone into the horizon did the Ranger now allow her impassive features to show even the slightest traces of the storm inside of her: a slightly furrowed brow, dull greyish-blue eyes narrowing a little in thought. A child of eight, who carelessly releases a Pokémon far too large and powerful for any responsible parent to have intentionally given him. Tella had seen something like this before, and the whole debacle had ended with someone she valued nearly losing his life. It was an experience that still haunted her, and she couldn't deny her trepidation at the thought of repeating the events of that day, no matter how much she told herself that she had grown stronger and more capable since then.

It's all right. My team can handle a Charizard if... well, if the worst happens.

Tella strode forward, quickly catching up with the eager young Trainer and 'his' Fire-type Pokémon. The flowers still filled the air with the sweet floral scents for which the Botanical Gardens were known, but the entire landscape was quiet: the songs of Flying-types and the scuffling sounds of other small Pokémon amidst the plant life were conspicuously absent: 'Tommy's' roar had chased off nearly everything for a fair distance around.

Everything except, as Tella's eminently unsurprised gaze told her, one lone Oddish. There's always at least one, she thought to herself. Some wild Pokémon lived for curiosity, and became skilled fighters by heading straight toward the sound of trouble, 'greeting' anything they came across by way of a battle. Here was one such specimen... but unless Tella was much mistaken, the little Grass-type had bitten off more than it could chew this time.

"Oddish! Od-dish!" chirped the wild Pokémon confidently, trundling toward Lewis and Tommy with its bright green leaves waving above its bluish-purple body. Arriving about ten metres from the two, the little creature stopped and plopped down, staring straight at Tommy in a way that made it clear this was how an Oddish 'squares up.'

Tella cleared her throat, her features utterly impassive once again. "Here's your first battle, Lewis," she told the boy matter-of-factly. "But perhaps don't hurt this Oddish too badly, it's just looking to make friends."

Current Encounter: Oddish

Oddish: 100%
Tommy: 100%


~~Park Run Statistics~~

• Trainer Name: Lewis Stanley Allen
  
• Location: Botanical Gardens
  
• Remaining Encounters: 14
• Active Effects: None
• Characters Written by Trainer: (Total) 9,808
  
• Pokémon Stats:

Doggo the Arcanine
HP: 100%
Gender: Female
Ability: Intimidate
Nature: Bold
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: TM Solar Beam, TM Substitute, TM Flame Charge, TM Curse, TM Sunny Day, TM Hidden Power (Rock), TM Will-o-wisp, TM Wild Charge, TM Bulldoze, HM Strength, BM Howl, BM Close Combat, BM Morning Sun, SM Charm

Tommy the Charizard — Currently out of Poké Ball
HP: 100%
Gender: Male
Ability: Blaze
Nature: Calm
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: TM Brick Break, TM Counter, TM Dragon Tail, TM Earthquake, TM Flame Charge, TM Hidden Power: Grass, TM Iron Tail, TM Overheat, TM Fire Punch, TM Power-up Punch, TM Protect, TM Reflect, TM Roar, TM Roost, TM Solar Beam, TM Focus Blast, TM Substitute, TM Swords Dance, TM Will-o-Wisp, TM Fire Punch, TM Dragon Tail, HM Defog, HM Strength, HM Fly, BM Dragon Dance, MT Thunder Punch, SM Acrobatics

Sponge-y the Greninja
HP: 100%
Gender: Female
Ability: Protean
Nature: Quirky
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: TM Toxic, TM Hidden Power (Electric), TM Ice Beam, TM Taunt, TM Protect, TM Rock Tomb, TM Acrobatics, TM Grass Knot, TM U-Turn, TM Power-up Punch, TM Dark Pulse, TM Scald, TM Rest, TM Sleep Talk, TM Confide, HM Strength, HM Surf, HM Waterfall, BM Toxic Spikes

• Items:
  2x Park Ball
  2x Super Ball
  4x Hyper Ball
  2x Poke Doll
  1x Digital Camera
  1x Apricorn Box
  1x Poképlayer
  1x Uncommon Voice Disk (Minccino)
  1x Borderline Voice Disk (Staryu)
  1x Honey
  
  
• Total Captured Pokémon:
  None yet!

 

After walking forward several feet, Lewis looked around to see that the surrounding field was almost entirely empty, where moments ago it had been swarming with Pokemon of all shapes and sizes. He spun in a full circle, scanning the horizon for anything that remained that he could attempt to capture, but there were no Pokemon in sight.

Lewis scratched his head, confused. "They were just here a minute ago..." he trailed off. "Maybe we scared them off," Lewis said to his Charizard. He hadn't really considered how imposing his Charizard might actually be. To him, Tommy was but a caring big brother. His fiery tail, razor sharp teeth, and tremor-inducing stomps as he walked alongside his now "trainer by proxy" would be enough to frighten any untrained Pokemon, possibly even enough to frighten another trainer, though Lewis had seen the gentle side of Tommy his entire life.

"Oh well!" Lewis exclaimed. "Just means we scared away the babies! They couldn't stand a chance anyway! Now only the strong ones will stick around, and we'll have no problem catching those guys, right?!" he asked the Charizard.

Tommy had regained his composure and was back to generally ignoring his young trainer's antics, but his reptilian blue eyes had narrowed in on something in the distance. Lewis followed the Charizard's line of sight to see a miniature purple shrub waddling towards them. Dark green leaves sprouting out of its head wiggled back and forth with the breeze, and a faint trail of a shimmering purple powder wafted along its path, similar to the dust behind Tella's massive moth Pokemon. The Oddish's beady red eyes were focused intently on Tommy, and it was obviously preparing for a fight.

"Here's your first battle, Lewis," Tella said. "But perhaps don't hurt this Oddish too badly, it's just looking to make friends."

Lewis bit his lip pensively. He had been so excited, eager to fight whichever Pokemon stumbled his way first, but this was different. A Pokemon like this, despite its confidence in staring down a Charizard so deliberately, was entirely unprepared. Even though Lewis knew that battling and capturing such a Pokemon might be the easiest encounter of his entire expedition, something didn't feel right about it. Unintentionally, his mind wandered back to the first day of second grade at Cherrygrove Hills Elementary. That fateful day was his first encounter with his playground tormentor, 4'10" meatbag and all-around bully, Steven Fowler. There was something in the Oddish's determined glare that reminded Lewis of himself, which meant Lewis and Tommy were the Steve Fowlers in this situation, and nothing disgusted Lewis more than that.

However, Lewis decided to play it cool to his Ranger. "I've seen these guys all over Cherrygrove, and if I bring one to school with me when I get back, my friends will never believe that I actually went to the Park. They'll think I lied and just caught one from my backyard or something. I think it's better if we keep looking," Lewis said definitively. He decided to keep his feelings of sympathy to himself and simply pass off the decision as simple disinterest.

 

Individual RP — Lewis Allen — Battle Post #1

"Very well," Tella said with no inflection. "Let's continue."

Oddish stood at the ready, bristling in readiness to fight, as its opponent— Tommy— started walking in its direction... but after a few seconds, Oddish realized that the huge red lizard wasn't heading straight toward it. (Oddish had already completely discounted the other, smaller bipedal creatures around the impressive Charizard as some kind of retinue.) Was this a crafty ploy? Oddish's estimation of its foe rose a few notches: a battle against an enemy who didn't just rush in was usually much more challenging!

It took another ten or fifteen seconds of Tommy walking around, and then past Oddish for the little Grass-type to realize what was actually happening. The proud little Pokémon... was being ignored!!

Never in its brief existence had Oddish been so offended. It was one thing for the little Grass-type to suffer injuries, to be defeated after challenging a strong foe— which, it had to admit, the unfamiliar lizard Pokémon looked to be— but to be passed over as... insufficient? unworthy? That was altogether unbearable! Oddish wasn't reckless, but it did seek to prove itself; and for such an interesting opponent to not believe in its abilities would never do. Well, if that's how it was, Oddish would make Tommy notice it!

Oddish dug its little root-like feet into the ground and spread its leaves wide, gathering as much sunlight as it could; its body began to slowly swell with power and a little bit of expanding water and nutrients. Oddish's roots grew ever so slightly to brace it as the Growth technique filled it with power. Then, the spread leaves on Oddish's head began to shine with reflected sunlight, and then to glow with captured light, storing every bit of solar energy that struck them and multiplying it in defiance of the laws of physics using the mysterious power that all Pokémon held within them...

Tommy's head reared back on his long red neck as his fighting senses warned him of some growing danger behind him; he turned to see Oddish just in the first stages of preparing a strange, glowing attack that the experienced Charizard correctly identified as a Solar Beam. The big lizard reached down with his head to nudge Lewis and indicate that, even if they had given up on the fight, their foe had not.

Current Encounter: Oddish

Oddish: 100% [ATK+1][SP.ATK+1] (Used Growth; telegraphed beginning to charge Solar Beam... Move still is not imminent)
Tommy: 100% (Can't escape!)



~~Park Run Statistics~~

• Trainer Name: Lewis Stanley Allen
  
• Location: Botanical Gardens
  
• Remaining Encounters: 14
• Active Effects: None
• Characters Written by Trainer: (Total) 12,939
  
• Pokémon Stats:

Doggo the Arcanine
HP: 100%
Gender: Female
Ability: Intimidate
Nature: Bold
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: TM Solar Beam, TM Substitute, TM Flame Charge, TM Curse, TM Sunny Day, TM Hidden Power (Rock), TM Will-o-wisp, TM Wild Charge, TM Bulldoze, HM Strength, BM Howl, BM Close Combat, BM Morning Sun, SM Charm

Tommy the Charizard — Currently out of Poké Ball
HP: 100%
Gender: Male
Ability: Blaze
Nature: Calm
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: TM Brick Break, TM Counter, TM Dragon Tail, TM Earthquake, TM Flame Charge, TM Hidden Power: Grass, TM Iron Tail, TM Overheat, TM Fire Punch, TM Power-up Punch, TM Protect, TM Reflect, TM Roar, TM Roost, TM Solar Beam, TM Focus Blast, TM Substitute, TM Swords Dance, TM Will-o-Wisp, TM Fire Punch, TM Dragon Tail, HM Defog, HM Strength, HM Fly, BM Dragon Dance, MT Thunder Punch, SM Acrobatics

Sponge-y the Greninja
HP: 100%
Gender: Female
Ability: Protean
Nature: Quirky
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: TM Toxic, TM Hidden Power (Electric), TM Ice Beam, TM Taunt, TM Protect, TM Rock Tomb, TM Acrobatics, TM Grass Knot, TM U-Turn, TM Power-up Punch, TM Dark Pulse, TM Scald, TM Rest, TM Sleep Talk, TM Confide, HM Strength, HM Surf, HM Waterfall, BM Toxic Spikes

• Items:
  2x Park Ball
  2x Super Ball
  4x Hyper Ball
  2x Poke Doll
  1x Digital Camera
  1x Apricorn Box
  1x Poképlayer
  1x Uncommon Voice Disk (Minccino)
  1x Borderline Voice Disk (Staryu)
  1x Honey
  
  
• Total Captured Pokémon:
  None yet!