Individual RP: Nitro [Enigma Ruins]

NBP #1

There was a brief lull in new trainers going on runs. Aleria appreciated that dearly. She was able to use the free time to relax a bit and have a decent meal for the first time in Arceus knew how long. She was actually able to eat something more than snacks and whatever she could eat on the go. It was so nice to be able to sit in a restaurant and eat food. The person who served her that day probably thought she was crazy, but she didn't really care.

And then a run came in, and of course, she was the first (and only) person they bothered to contact. It was a bit silly, to be honest, but apparently even the Head Ranger had disappeared for a bit. Aleria groaned when she found that out. Of course. At least someone was here to take these runs though. Better her than no one at all. This place had to turn a profit somehow, and she had to make her money.

She made her way out to the Enigma Ruins. Her bag was already packed after she got back from her last run. She had expected to go on one right after getting back, but she had been surprised to find out there was no one waiting for a ranger. Now she had another run to go on. When she arrived at the ruins, she slowly leaned back on the gate, careful to not lean too hard on it lest it give out on her.

-----

Trainer: @Nitro; - Kevin
Items: Apricorn Box, Digital Camera, Hyper Ball x3, Park Ball x3, Pokeplayer, Staryu Voice Disk, Super Ball, Charizardite X @ Charizard/Mega Ring
Encounters: 0/15
→ N/A
Captured: N/A
MCR: 0/0
~~~

Scrafty {Rotom-Wash} || lolwut || Levitate || Jolly || EMs: TM Charge Beam, TM Endure, TM Hidden Power (Fire), TM Light Screen, TM Protect, TM Psych Up, TM Rain Dance, TM Reflect, TM Snatch, TM Thunder, TM Thunderbolt, TM Toxic, TM Volt Switch, TM Will-O-Wisp, MT Electroweb, MT Foul Play, MT Pain Split, MT Signal Beam, MT Sucker Punch || 100%


Shinx {Charizard} || Female || Blaze || Gentle || EMs: TM Counter, HM Defog, TM Dragon Pulse, TM Dragon Tail, TM Earthquake, TM Fire Blast, TM Fire Punch, TM Flame Charge, TM Overheat, TM Power-Up Punch, TM Protect, TM Rock Tomb, TM Roost, TM Solar Beam, TM Substitute, TM Swords Dance, TM WIll-O-Wisp, BM Belly Drum, SM Block, BM Dragon Dance, BM Outrage, SM Quick Attack, MT Tailwind || 100%

 

The Enigma Ruins: a fascinating place in the National Park, where any Pokemon was liable to appear, and one which reflected the fabric of life; that is, unbridled chaos and the potential of anything. This wasn't like any of the other Park locations, which on one hand were perfect biomes that sheltered specific types of Pokemon, but on the other hand offered this constructed choice where life would be more natural, more pure without it. To me, that's preposterous. Ecosystems, things of that nature. I'd have all of those shits lumped together, coexisting properly as things just always do, because the privilege of choice doesn't belong to everyone equally. Unfortunately, of course.

Take for example, my Scrafty. It was actually a Wash Form Rotom, hopping gleefully and without a damn care in the world at my side. The Scrafty thing was a stupid nickname, of course, but did Rotom have any choice in the matter? Nope. But it made do, damnit. We should all aspire to be such optimists in the struggle. The struggle, wherein you have what you have – the chaos – and are left with just one question – how to move on – is where character is found and further formed. We all try to do our best.

I chewed my Slim Jim. Nineteen years on this planet, and nobody ever told me about a Slim Jim. Humans didn't need to invent any other food.

"We got Slim Jims, Scrafty. We'll be fine," I said. It buzzed and danced.

Up ahead, the path sloped down and a rusty gate barred the entrance to the Enigma Ruins, a sprawling underground laboratory long ago abandoned by those who had used it for whatever arcane purposes such a facility might've been used for. Fascinating place in the National Park, where any Pokemon was liable to appear. Kind of dumb, but the Outer Heavens weren't around anymore.

Somebody – my Ranger? – leaned against the gate. "Hey there!" I called.

@Felly

 

NBP #2

She looked up when she heard someone calling out to her. "Hello," she said.

Aleria turned to open the gate. "I'm Aleria," she said as she unlocked the gate and pushed it open. "I'll be your Ranger for today's run into the park."

Boy, was that getting old. At least the run would be interesting. The Enigma Ruins were a fascinating place that Aleria just didn't come to enough. If there was ever a place in the park she genuinely enjoyed coming to, it was the Enigma Ruins. She'd heard about a place called the Outer Heavens that existed before the ruins did, but it had been abandoned long before she took up rangering. A shame. It would've been nice to experience that. It sounded so fascinating.

She closed the gate once her trainer and his Rotom-Wash were in. Aleria had never seen a Rotom-Wash before... then again, there were a lot of Pokemon she hadn't seen before. However, she did know that Rotom-Wash was a popular Pokemon. It was no surprise that her trainer had one today. She personally preferred Rotom-Heat, but that was probably because of its Fire typing.

Aleria led her trainer into the ruins. The last time someone had been in the ruins, there were glitches. Thankfully, the trainer had been with the Head Ranger at the time and all was well in their run and now, but Aleria still wanted to exercise some sort of caution. They walked down a dimly lit path until they reached a T intersection. There was a door that could be opened with the press of a button, though they could also go to the left or right. She looked to her trainer. "Any preference on where we go?"

-----

Trainer: @Nitro; - Kevin
Items: Apricorn Box, Digital Camera, Hyper Ball x3, Park Ball x3, Pokeplayer, Staryu Voice Disk, Super Ball, Charizardite X @ Charizard/Mega Ring
Encounters: 0/15
→ N/A
Captured: N/A
MCR: 1862/0
~~~

Scrafty {Rotom-Wash} || lolwut || Levitate || Jolly || EMs: TM Charge Beam, TM Endure, TM Hidden Power (Fire), TM Light Screen, TM Protect, TM Psych Up, TM Rain Dance, TM Reflect, TM Snatch, TM Thunder, TM Thunderbolt, TM Toxic, TM Volt Switch, TM Will-O-Wisp, MT Electroweb, MT Foul Play, MT Pain Split, MT Signal Beam, MT Sucker Punch || 100%


Shinx {Charizard} || Female || Blaze || Gentle || EMs: TM Counter, HM Defog, TM Dragon Pulse, TM Dragon Tail, TM Earthquake, TM Fire Blast, TM Fire Punch, TM Flame Charge, TM Overheat, TM Power-Up Punch, TM Protect, TM Rock Tomb, TM Roost, TM Solar Beam, TM Substitute, TM Swords Dance, TM WIll-O-Wisp, BM Belly Drum, SM Block, BM Dragon Dance, BM Outrage, SM Quick Attack, MT Tailwind || 100%

 

"Any preference on where we go?" asked my Ranger, Aleria.

Could go left, right or forward, not that there was any discernible difference. Nothing informed me of what waited ahead – beyond the Ruins' dank, dimly lit corridors – and in effect, it was all the same: Pokemon, of any sort, of all sort, as bargained. Preference was the last thing I wanted to deal with here, in the Enigma Ruins, where I came to specifically to be free of limitations like preference. Preference cut from the pool of possibility.

And I have preferences, of course. Everyone does. I would love to go to the strip club. Saw somebody on Facebook find a Pidgey in one. Fierce. But I didn't go to the strip club to look for Pidgey. The best anyone can do is to understand where they lie on the spectrum of opinion and correct course from there. I'm not about to be the guy who listens to rap but can't appreciate a good Radiohead album. (All of them. Even Pablo Honey.) So I decided to come to the Ruins. Instead of finding Pidgey here, I can find all of anything to appreciate, some of which might be better than Pidgey. Also, Pokemon Go still isn't out in Canada, so Pidgeys aren't really even popping with the shawties yet.

"No preference," I said. And now the choice was out of my hands. What a win.

@Felly

 

NBP
Ranger Makina Auran



OOC: Time to get back into things!

*~~~~~~~~~*

Today was definitely not going as expected.



Makina had to admit, upon arrival she was expected to be handed a heavy load of overdue paperwork along with notification of her termination. It had been well over a year since she had been on the island, due to a combination of family emergencies and other bumps in the road. While she did receive a few glares from the secretaries that recognized her, their reaction was closer to relief.



“Thank Arceus someone finally arrived.” Sharon, one of the greeters, gave a sigh of relief. “We've been severely understaffed, with Aleria and Ivy running everywhere to make sure Trainers can go on their Runs.”


“Wait, where is everyone else?” Makina headed over to the billboard, looking at the posted expeditions. Sure enough, they had all been taken by a grand total of two Rangers. People were going to catch hell later... except not from her. Her letter announcing her demotion had been sent long ago. “There should be a skeleton crew of at least five Rangers, where did everyone go?”



Sharon shook her head. “There were a lot of cutbacks while you were gone, and some left to find more profitable jobs elsewhere. Honestly, that's the only reason you still have a job,” she stated with a pointed glare. “While we don't have any Trainers waiting currently, Aleria did just leave on a Run if you wish to help.”



“I'll take it. I owe her one from a while back, anyway,” Makina said, jumping at the opportunity. It would be good to work again, and she did owe her one actually. The Park had received multiple angry letters from a particular unruly Trainer with a Gengar, and she had been the original Ranger for that expedition. “Toss me the info on my PDA?”



~*~



Thankfully, Aleria was was still near the entrance along with her Trainer, deciding on where to go first in the Ruins. Even though Makina was hardly the best person at figuring out people, it was easy to tell that the Ranger was exhausted. “Hey, I'm here to take things over. Go get some rest, okay?”



Apparently it had been the best news the young woman had heard all day. Giving a relieved grin, Aleria swiftly relinquished the pack she had been carrying before heading back towards the gate. Judging from the tired expression on the Ranger's face, she was going to hit the closest bed and pass out.



After seeing Aleria off, Makina headed over to the Trainer-- Kevin, if the info she had been tossed was correct. “Hi there, sorry for the sudden change. My name's Makina, and I'll be taking you through the rest of the Ruins,” she said, waving at the Trainer. “I overheard that you have no preference on where to go first, right?”



Well, when in doubt always go left.



As they headed down the path, the air seemed to shimmer as the environment changed around them. That was the thing about the Ruins; things were never the same twice, no matter hoe many times you went. It made them a royal pain to navigate, but also exciting for others. For this area, they appeared to be walking along a bridge across a small pond. While the water lay still at first, a few moments later a koi-colored fish surfaced to observe them.



“Looks like a Goldeen,” Makina noted, “Did you want to take a closer look, or continue on?”


*~~~~~~~~~*

Trainer Stats:

Name: @Nitro; Kevin
Location: Enigma Ruins
Area Effects: 15 Encounters Remaining
Pokemon Encountered: Goldeen
Pokemon Captured:
CC since last Encounter: 1279

Pokemon Statistics:

Scrafty {Rotom-Wash} || lolwut || Levitate || Jolly || EMs: TM Charge Beam, TM Endure, TM Hidden Power (Fire), TM Light Screen, TM Protect, TM Psych Up, TM Rain Dance, TM Reflect, TM Snatch, TM Thunder, TM Thunderbolt, TM Toxic, TM Volt Switch, TM Will-O-Wisp, MT Electroweb, MT Foul Play, MT Pain Split, MT Signal Beam, MT Sucker Punch || 100%

Shinx {Charizard} || Female || Blaze || Gentle || EMs: TM Counter, HM Defog, TM Dragon Pulse, TM Dragon Tail, TM Earthquake, TM Fire Blast, TM Fire Punch, TM Flame Charge, TM Overheat, TM Power-Up Punch, TM Protect, TM Rock Tomb, TM Roost, TM Solar Beam, TM Substitute, TM Swords Dance, TM WIll-O-Wisp, BM Belly Drum, SM Block, BM Dragon Dance, BM Outrage, SM Quick Attack, MT Tailwind || 100%


Items: Apricorn Box, Digital Camera, Hyper Ball x3, Park Ball x3, Pokeplayer, Staryu Voice Disk, Super Ball, Charizardite X @ Charizard/Mega Ring




*~~~~~~~~~*

 

(OOC: Sorry, went traveling all last week. @Akinai)

My Ranger tagged out, replaced by another who introduced herself as Makina. "I overheard that you have no preference on where to go first, right?"

Left it was, and as we continued on, the corridor morphed into a bridge over still water. That, I guess, was part of the Ruins' properties, to be able to adapt itself to house any Pokemon. I liked that characteristic of optionality; I was less a fan of the Goldeen staring back from the water.

"Looks like a Goldeen. Did you want to take a closer look, or continue on?" asked Makina.

Most Pokemon are worth a closer look. Some are very good at a few things and others – my preference – are just good at a bunch of things. Optionality. An open mind can find some degree of it in most Pokemon. Seaking is no good at anything and has no optionality.

"Can't say I'm interested. Let's move on."

 

NBP2

Ranger Makina Auran


OOC: Welp, the dice must love you. Let me borrow them >.>


*~~~~~~~~~*

Unsurprisingly, Kevin barely gave the Goldeen a passing glance. “Can't say I'm interested. Let's move on.”


Perhaps Goldeen has understood the tone in Kevin's words, or perhaps it was not interested in battling at all; it barely gave the two humans any attention at all before heading off to swim further away from the bridge. With the wild Pokemon out of the picture, the room shimmered back into the drab normal look of the Ruins.


“That never fails to surprise me,” Makina muttered, slightly thrown off by the scene change. “Let's see what else lies ahead, then?”


The path winded on a bit, giving sudden twists and turns as if the original creator had no idea on just where to go. As they traveled on, the stone walls around them began to gradually shift into plated steel. Oddly enough though, the floor remained as the same grey stone they had been walking upon all this time.


Either someone is having fun with the architecture, or the Ruins are bugging out again, Makina silently noted. It was a serious pain whenever this area decided to malfunction, and it seemed to happen more often than not. Granted, what could one do with technology no one knew much about?


The path eventually opened up into a fairly large dead-end room, roughly several yards wide. Inside lay multiple hunks of machinery, each looking more broken than the rest. Most looked familiar; there were several assorted kitchen appliances, but Makina could have sworn she saw an old video gaming console in the pile as well.


A large plate lay missing on the wall, revealing bare wires that seemed to give off a large amount of sparks. Surprisingly, the sparks began to gather and float away from the wall, revealing a small electrical creature. The Pokemon looked the two humans over, curious to see they had found it.


“Seriously, now we have to worry about Rotom breaking this place too?” Makina shook her head, clearly annoyed before looking over at Kevin. “Still, quite the find.”

*~~~~~~~~~*

Trainer Stats:

Name: @Nitro; Kevin
Location: Enigma Ruins
Area Effects: 14 Encounters Remaining
Pokemon Encountered: Goldeen, Rotom
Pokemon Captured:
CC since last Encounter: 0

Pokemon Statistics:

Scrafty {Rotom-Wash} || lolwut || Levitate || Jolly || EMs: TM Charge Beam, TM Endure, TM Hidden Power (Fire), TM Light Screen, TM Protect, TM Psych Up, TM Rain Dance, TM Reflect, TM Snatch, TM Thunder, TM Thunderbolt, TM Toxic, TM Volt Switch, TM Will-O-Wisp, MT Electroweb, MT Foul Play, MT Pain Split, MT Signal Beam, MT Sucker Punch || 100%

Shinx {Charizard} || Female || Blaze || Gentle || EMs: TM Counter, HM Defog, TM Dragon Pulse, TM Dragon Tail, TM Earthquake, TM Fire Blast, TM Fire Punch, TM Flame Charge, TM Overheat, TM Power-Up Punch, TM Protect, TM Rock Tomb, TM Roost, TM Solar Beam, TM Substitute, TM Swords Dance, TM WIll-O-Wisp, BM Belly Drum, SM Block, BM Dragon Dance, BM Outrage, SM Quick Attack, MT Tailwind || 100%


Items: Apricorn Box, Digital Camera, Hyper Ball x3, Park Ball x3, Pokeplayer, Staryu Voice Disk, Super Ball, Charizardite X @ Charizard/Mega Ring




*~~~~~~~~~*

 

Hahahahaha. HAHAHAHAHA.

"Quite the find," opined Makina. That, I agreed with – I'm about to catch my second Rotom. As if Scrafty, who I used in every single battle, wasn't already enough. My Rotom hopped out towards the middle of the room, eager to fight another of its species.

The wild Rotom was still watching us from the far wall, tendrils of plasma still tethering its body to the open electrical panel it'd emerged from. That was Rotom's special power, to enter and be transmitted through electronic sources, and it greatly augmented their battle strength right down to raw stats. Scrafty controlled a washing machine in its Wash Form through that power, and I'd noticed that similar appliances littered this room. A Rotom's home indeed. Like with the Goldeen and the pond before, the Ruins had yielded themselves for their tenant's benefit.

So this wasn't Scrafty's battle.

"You're sitting this one out, friend," I said, sending out my other one. As Charizard emerged, wearing a leather choker around its neck, I tapped the ring on my left hand. The stones embedded in the ring and choker both gleamed at once, and Charizard morphed – black and blue now, breathing out cobalt embers from the sides of its mouth. And how convenient the Mega Evolution was in this matchup, with Charizard's weakness to Rotom's Electric-type moves replaced by an elemental resistance to them. Now, we should prevent Rotom from accessing its own power ups, with the exact move that I had chosen Charizard for.

"Let's neutralize the field a bit, and use Rock Tomb to block off those appliances!"

The idea was that with Rock Tomb's ability to summon stone stanchions from the ground, we could keep Rotom away from its appliances – there wasn't enough in there to grant it Ground-, Rock- or Dragon-type moves, were there? – and quarantine the battle to keep it predictable. With Charizard, a much stronger Pokemon to begin with, we can control the battle flow without any unwanted form-changing chaos. Rotom can make the first attack; for now, I was happy to play the board.

OOC: Yeah, the whole Rotom on Rotom thing makes me realize how annoying my dumb nicknames are. Going to change those when I stop being lazy, but for now I'll just stop using them in the RP.

 

BP1

Ranger Makina Auran



*~~~~~~~~~*

To say Kevin looked happy was an understatement; judging from the look on his face, he was struggling to not laugh. Not like this was unexpected, Rotom were rare enough as is. At first it appeared as if this was going to be a fight of Rotom-against-Rotom, but the Trainer had other plans.

"You're sitting this one out, friend," he called out, recalling the Electric-type before sending out a formidable Charizard instead.

Makina watched the Trainer's action with curiosity, wondering just what he was up to. With a Flying dualtype, he now had a type disadvantage to the wild Pokemon. It wasn't until the Charizard was bathed in a shining light that things finally clicked: Kevin had access to Mega evolution! She had read about the stones being allowed in the Park, but this was her first time seeing it in person.

As the light faded away, revealing an obsidian Charizard, it finally clicked in the Ranger's mind. She had heard enough of her older sister's ranting back in Blackthorn to know that one of Charizard's mega evolutions changed into a Dragon-type, along with the woman griping that she wanted one of the elusive stones for that exact purpose. It also helped Kevin out immensely in this case, giving Charizard a resistance instead of a weakness.

"Let's neutralize the field a bit, and use Rock Tomb to block off those appliances!" Kevin commanded.

Charizard immediately went to work, slamming her front claws into the stone floor with a roar. There was a large shudder, then large boulders erupted from the earth in front of the machinery littering the ground. While Rotom could likely slip past with some trouble, it definitely would slow things down for the creature.

On the other hand, Rotom had yet to move from its tether near the wall. It didn't seem too surprised at its opponent's transformation... in fact, it gave a large grin. The tendril still connected to the circuitry pulsed, giving off sparks.

Immediately the room began to shimmer, just like their encounter with Goldeen. Instead of appearing on a bridge, this time they appeared to be on a sandy beach near the ocean. The boulders from Charizard's Rock Tomb sunk slightly into the sand, but stayed upright all the same. While it looked as if they were out in the open outdoors, the circuitboard on the wall was still visible, giving a vision of surreality as it floated in place.

Pleased that it had managed to change the field to its taste, the Rotom looked to the cky and gave a loud cry. Raindrops began falling from the sky, only a light drizzle for the moment but it would turn into a full storm at this rate.


*~~~~~~~~~*


Battle Statistics:

Gentle Female Charizard (Mega X): 100%, (used Rock Tomb)
??? Genderless Rotom: 100%, (used panel to change environment, using Ran Dance)

Current Environment: Beach


*~~~~~~~~~*


Trainer Stats:


Name: @Nitro; Kevin
Location: Enigma Ruins
Area Effects: 14 Encounters Remaining
Pokemon Encountered: Goldeen, Rotom
Pokemon Captured:
CC since last Encounter: 2,065/35,000

Pokemon Statistics:

Scrafty {Rotom-Wash} || lolwut || Levitate || Jolly || EMs: TM Charge Beam, TM Endure, TM Hidden Power (Fire), TM Light Screen, TM Protect, TM Psych Up, TM Rain Dance, TM Reflect, TM Snatch, TM Thunder, TM Thunderbolt, TM Toxic, TM Volt Switch, TM Will-O-Wisp, MT Electroweb, MT Foul Play, MT Pain Split, MT Signal Beam, MT Sucker Punch || 100%

Shinx {Charizard} || Female || Blaze || Gentle || EMs: TM Counter, HM Defog, TM Dragon Pulse, TM Dragon Tail, TM Earthquake, TM Fire Blast, TM Fire Punch, TM Flame Charge, TM Overheat, TM Power-Up Punch, TM Protect, TM Rock Tomb, TM Roost, TM Solar Beam, TM Substitute, TM Swords Dance, TM WIll-O-Wisp, BM Belly Drum, SM Block, BM Dragon Dance, BM Outrage, SM Quick Attack, MT Tailwind || 100%


Items: Apricorn Box, Digital Camera, Hyper Ball x3, Park Ball x3, Pokeplayer, Staryu Voice Disk, Super Ball, Charizardite X @ Charizard/Mega Ring




*~~~~~~~~~*

 

As Charizard's Rock Tomb cordoned off the appliances, Rotom made its own play on the field. I hadn't realized this, but the electrical panel that Rotom was plugged into must've allowed it access to the Ruins' workings; that was, whatever sort of technology allowed the Ruins to morph its inner environment. Effectively, Rotom had control of our battlefield – and it'd decided that a rainy beach, gloomy and windy and seemingly stretching on forever like some Truman Show shit were it not for the sight of Rotom's exposed toybox still visible against the camouflaged wall, would play to its advantage in battle.

This sort of power play was what I wanted to prevent, but I guess chaos always finds a way. Rotom, ever the poltergeist, played to maximize variance. (In its base form, it wasn't going to win anything any other way.) Screw it, then. We'll hit it hard to set the tone. Rotom's Rain Dance would dampen the effectiveness of Fire moves, but in its X form, Charizard wasn't short of any hard-hitting Dragon moves to attack with.

No more games, then. We could keep up offensive pressure and force Rotom to respond with attacks, which wasn't the sort of style I preferred – playing prankster was always more fun, which I guess was being reflected in my ongoing endeavors to have two Rotoms – but in this battle, a simple set-up and attack strategy would allow us to dictate the pace. Stale, for now, but not all situations allowed for cuteness. Much like as in the modern state of journalism, there goes my creative spirit.

"Let's combine Dragon Dance with Dragon Claw, and keep Rotom on its toes in close combat. Stay aware of where those appliances are at – we don't want it going Wash Form now – and how about we disconnect it from the room we're standing in? Split it up from that wall socket," I said. Should've started with that, honestly, but I'll keep that to myself.

Charizard should already have the speed advantage, but the stat boost will really emphasize that in the close-up battle that we were going to make it. We should be able to follow up attack with attack and keep Rotom backpedaling.

Curling her wings in tight, Charizard spiralled into the air and begun her Dragon Dance. She would fly right into Rotom, striking it full speed with the momentum of the rotation behind her Dragon Claw, if all went right. Rotom doesn't have the defenses to take many hard hits, so if it was going to play ball, it'd have to get clever with some sort of attack combination. And I doubted Rotom could work around this one, Charizard's seamless physical one-two of Dragon moves.

 

BP2

Ranger Makina Auran


*~~~~~~~~~*

Makina had to hand it to this Trainer, he took the scenery change with little to no reaction. Granted, there was a trickster on the field and Rotom were a handful even around normal technology. Kevin did move things quickly to the offensive, though. “Let's combine Dragon Dance with Dragon Claw, and keep Rotom on its toes in close combat.”

Absently, Makina pulled out her PDA to review Rotom's moves. They were rarely seen as is, and unlike some Rangers she hardly had all the native's moves memorized. True, the Electric-type had next to no offensive moves in its arsenal naturally, so this meant things could get dicey for the creature quickly.

“--And how about we disconnect it from the room we're standing in? Split it up from that wall socket,” Kevin called out, finishing his command.

Charizard took the sky immediately, twisting around the air into an intricate pattern that would raise her abilities. Dragon Dance was a popular move among Trainers, mostly due to the fact that it raised two of the most useful stats that helped end battles as quickly as possible. This also meant that more experienced opponents recognized the move easily; as Charizard finished her dance, the Rotom's eyes lowered into a watchful glare. Its body began to blink as if it was holding an electrical attack, but it hold fast for the moment.

As Charizard charged forward at high speed, Rotom acted quickly. It spat out an electrical web at the Fire-type, striking the Pokemon and slowing down her assault. That left no time to dodge though; the two Pokemon collided, with Charizard scoring an impressive slash before landing harmlessly into the sand.

Rotom managed to keep its tether, but only barely. The tendril still attached shook weakly, but the creature seemed determined to hold its post. To prove this, it began to concentrate on another attack. A orange-hued barrier began to surround the Pokemon's form, helping to withstand attacks.

*~~~~~~~~~*


Battle Statistics:

Gentle Female Charizard (Mega X): 92%, ATK+1 (used Dragon Dance, Dragon Claw)
??? Genderless Rotom: 84%, REFLECT-1 (used Electroweb, Reflect)



RAIN-1



Current Environment: Beach



*~~~~~~~~~*


Trainer Stats:


Name: @Nitro; Kevin
Location: Enigma Ruins
Area Effects: 14 Encounters Remaining
Pokemon Encountered: Goldeen, Rotom
Pokemon Captured:
CC since last Encounter: 4,656/35,000

Pokemon Statistics:

Scrafty {Rotom-Wash} || lolwut || Levitate || Jolly || EMs: TM Charge Beam, TM Endure, TM Hidden Power (Fire), TM Light Screen, TM Protect, TM Psych Up, TM Rain Dance, TM Reflect, TM Snatch, TM Thunder, TM Thunderbolt, TM Toxic, TM Volt Switch, TM Will-O-Wisp, MT Electroweb, MT Foul Play, MT Pain Split, MT Signal Beam, MT Sucker Punch || 100%

Shinx {Charizard} || Female || Blaze || Gentle || EMs: TM Counter, HM Defog, TM Dragon Pulse, TM Dragon Tail, TM Earthquake, TM Fire Blast, TM Fire Punch, TM Flame Charge, TM Overheat, TM Power-Up Punch, TM Protect, TM Rock Tomb, TM Roost, TM Solar Beam, TM Substitute, TM Swords Dance, TM WIll-O-Wisp, BM Belly Drum, SM Block, BM Dragon Dance, BM Outrage, SM Quick Attack, MT Tailwind || 100%


Items: Apricorn Box, Digital Camera, Hyper Ball x3, Park Ball x3, Pokeplayer, Staryu Voice Disk, Super Ball, Charizardite X @ Charizard/Mega Ring




*~~~~~~~~~*

 

Charizard swooped from her Dragon Dance into a flying strike, claw outstretched and backed by the momentum of her rotation. Rotom stood its ground – admirable, really – and launched an electrical net in the face of Charizard's frontal assault. This was the Electroweb move, which was a personal favorite of mine. It was like an Electric-type Icy Wind, and complemented the rest of Rotom's moves very well. I couldn't even be mad.

That meant Rotom was going to take the hit, though. Charizard flew through the net, and though it put a damper on her velocity, it did very little actual damage. She completed the Dragon Claw, connecting with a powerful strike to Rotom. Still, the electrical Pokemon stood strong, about as strong as it could. It remained linked to the electrical panel, which wouldn't do, but that was really all heart right there. Men lie, women lie, GRIT DON'T. There's a Rotom after my heart.

The blue plasma around Rotom begin to glow orange around the edges, and initially I thought it was changing form. That could've been problematic, but with no appliances nearby (still blocked off from my Rock Tomb, hey, great move), that wasn't possible. I realized this was actually a defensive move, Reflect, that would neutralize Charizard's physical moves for a spell. Between that and Electroweb, Charizard's Dragon Dance buffs were pretty much eliminated for the next little while. This was quite the defensive set-up – Reflect shut down physical moves, while the rain weakened Fire-type attacks.

Dragon Pulse was an option, but not a sexy one. Besides, Rotom would probably counter with some other sort of utility move that would disadvantage me for some number of turns. Taunt would be useful here, but Charizard didn't learn that. It'd take something a little more inspired.

"Let's use Rock Tomb again, this time on Rotom to hold it in place, and then hit it with a Fire Spin on top of that," I said.

This combination wouldn't do a whole lot of damage – Rock Tomb would be dulled by Reflect, and Fire Spin by the weather – but it would limit Rotom's mobility and force it into a layered trap. I wasn't totally sure how it'd react (Rotom's defensive versatility makes my heart tingle, is fantastic), but it would at least necessitate a more interesting response than any regular blunt attack. With any luck, the combined attacks would split its already fraying link with the field, but if Rotom had to lash out to break free of this attack combination, then that alone would draw its attention away from playing games for a turn. And if nothing else, we'd stack some turns of residual damage over top of the speed drop from Rock Tomb. Seemed like a good way to scout Rotom, which, at this juncture, felt safer than trying something else that would get stuffed.

 

BP3

Ranger Makina Auran

*~~~~~~~~~*

To say Rotom was persistent about holding their post would be an understatement; holding off a full-on ram from a Charizard was no easy feat, yet it still seemed adamant about that open panel. Thankfully, Kevin didn't look too upset at this-- in fact, he seemed impressed that the Pokemon held on still.

Right, it would probably be wise to inform the front desk about that panel. Sure, Makina knew her way around some hardware, but she wasn't even going to try poking about with something that most people had no idea how it even functioned. After taking a cursory look to make sure that the battle was still going strong, she tossed a quick text out. Moments later, her phone buzzed back with a reply.

“Understood. Try to make sure that panel stays in one piece. Also Aria is heading your way.”

Makina groaned as she read the message. She hadn't had the time to tell her Gardevoir partner that she had returned to the Park before heading out here, and the two normally took Runs on together. That meant she was going to have two jobs; make sure the room didn't get destroyed, and to pacify an annoyed Psychic Pokemon.

At this point, Kevin called out his next move. “"Let's use Rock Tomb again, this time on Rotom to hold it in place, and then hit it with a Fire Spin on top of that," he said.

Charizard gave a loud roar as she readied the move, rocks surrounding her form once more before she directed them towards her target. Seeing the boulders heading its way, Rotom gave a shriek upon realizing just what its opponent was planning. As the wild Pokemon was slammed to the ground, its tendril finally broke free from the panel due to being out of reach.

Dazed and now clearly annoyed, Rotom struck with the first tool it had available. Using its unharmed tendril, it threw a glob of mud directly at Charizard, making the creature growl irritably. The fiery dragon put a claw to her face to clear her vision, though she seemed to be blinking a lot more to keep focus.

The move appeared to tick off Charizard as well, for she immediately launched her next attack. Giving a deep breath, the Fire-type blew out a curtain of azure flames towards Rotom, which then surrounded the Pokemon's form in earnest. The panel, being several feet off the ground, was thankfully untouched.

Now properly trapped, Rotom began to look more worried than annoyed. It charged up a move, then shot an electrical beam towards Charizard, making the Fire-type roar in surprise. Through the flames, Rotom's farm looked like it was brimming with more electricity than before.

“Looks like Charge Beam, since it powered up,” Makina noted to Kevin. “Also, I got word from back at the office about that panel there. We'd like to make sure it doesn't get damaged before the repair team gets here, so try to avoid it.”


*~~~~~~~~~*

Battle Statistics:

Gentle Female Charizard (Mega X): 84%, ATK+1, ACC-1 (used Rock Tomb, Fire Spin)
??? Genderless Rotom: 75%, SPD-1, SATK+1, REFLECT-3, FIRE-1 (used Mud Slap, Charge Beam)

RAIN-3

Current Environment: Beach

*~~~~~~~~~*

Trainer Stats:

Name: @Nitro; Kevin
Location: Enigma Ruins
Area Effects: 14 Encounters Remaining
Pokemon Encountered: Goldeen, Rotom
Pokemon Captured:
CC since last Encounter: 7,439/35,000

Pokemon Statistics:

Scrafty {Rotom-Wash} || lolwut || Levitate || Jolly || EMs: TM Charge Beam, TM Endure, TM Hidden Power (Fire), TM Light Screen, TM Protect, TM Psych Up, TM Rain Dance, TM Reflect, TM Snatch, TM Thunder, TM Thunderbolt, TM Toxic, TM Volt Switch, TM Will-O-Wisp, MT Electroweb, MT Foul Play, MT Pain Split, MT Signal Beam, MT Sucker Punch || 100%

Shinx {Charizard} || Female || Blaze || Gentle || EMs: TM Counter, HM Defog, TM Dragon Pulse, TM Dragon Tail, TM Earthquake, TM Fire Blast, TM Fire Punch, TM Flame Charge, TM Overheat, TM Power-Up Punch, TM Protect, TM Rock Tomb, TM Roost, TM Solar Beam, TM Substitute, TM Swords Dance, TM WIll-O-Wisp, BM Belly Drum, SM Block, BM Dragon Dance, BM Outrage, SM Quick Attack, MT Tailwind || 100%


Items: Apricorn Box, Digital Camera, Hyper Ball x3, Park Ball x3, Pokeplayer, Staryu Voice Disk, Super Ball, Charizardite X @ Charizard/Mega Ring

*~~~~~~~~~*

 

We were successful on all fronts. The Rock Tomb fractured Rotom's tether to the field's ecotechnology, and elicited a weak Mud-Slap from Rotom. The accuracy drop from the mud affecting Charizard's sight would likely factor in at some point, but she could absorb the hits, and we actually had Rotom attempting to deal them out now instead of toying with the field or layering up with Reflect.

Charizard followed up with her Fire Spin, trapping Rotom in a blue-hued tornado of fire that left residual embers flickering around Rotom's form. Stacking damage would keep Rotom hurting, and if that clouded its decision-making at all, we were winning out here. Rotom responded with another weak attack, a slight beam despite the noticeable plasmic charge that the Pokemon had built up before firing it.

“Looks like Charge Beam, since it powered up,” Makina remarked. “Also, I got word from back at the office about that panel there. We'd like to make sure it doesn't get damaged before the repair team gets here, so try to avoid it.”

The Rangers could be rather protective of the Park, but that only made sense. Hey, I'd dabbled as a Ranger a few years ago. I was there, I've been in those shoes, and I knew what PPPP amounted to: be responsible, basically. It was a reasonable ask, and it ate at me that I hadn't thought of the exposed panel as anything more than a disadvantageous battle effect. Pokemon were powerful, Charizard-X especially so, and who knows what could happen when you tinker with even one part of the Park's greater ecosystem. Ecology was not my field of specialty, but I could sum up my respects for the environment as IT WAS BETTER OFF WITHOUT US.

Anyway, I felt like we had authority over the battle now – Rotom, irate and charged up, seemed to be compliant with our want for a more direct battle. There was no need to apply extraneous force, at least. We had this where we wanted it, which was Rotom invested emotionally enough to lash back with attacks instead of a more detached style that eyed the big picture with more mischievous moves. Again: Charizard could absorb the hits, a Charge Beam boost for the other side or no. She could return fire (figuratively, I supposed, until the rain ended) at much greater economy.

This was a good time to attack with something simple that hit hard with no frills. Dragon Pulse was a sexier option now than it had been moments ago – a sure sign that we had our thumb on the battle's pace.

"Nothing special now. Hit it with a good Dragon Pulse and let Rotom know what kind of ballgame this is," I said.

Our pool of hard-hitting attacks were still a bit limited with the rain and Reflect in play, and Charizard's moveset didn't lend itself to much for creativity. I had a few things in my back pocket for later, but ultimately, controlling pace was a far more masterful sign of battling flair for me than glitzy combinations. How Rotom responded to a solid hit right now would be a good barometer of where this battle goes next.

 

BP4

Ranger Makina Auran

(OOC: as a heads up, longer posts may be recommended. 2-3k responses mean there's a high chance this guy could get knocked out well before CC is reached.)

*~~~~~~~~~*

Makina couldn't help but feel a little sorry for the wild Pokemon currently. Despite the fact that Rotom were an absolute terror around appliances and electronics in general (more than one intern had refused to work at outposts close to the Plant on the off chance that one of the natives decided to haunt a computer there,) it was actually a defense mechanism for a Pokemon that had sub-par abilities otherwise. Still, this particular one had guts; instead of being scared, Rotom looked angry more than anything else.

It seemed that Kevin believed that the battle was wrapping up as well. “Nothing special now. Hit it with a good Dragon Pulse and let Rotom know what kind of ballgame this is,” he stated.

Both Pokemon had different reactions to hearing those words. Charizard gave a dismissive snort, as if she agreed with her Trainer, while Rotom chittered irritably from its location in the fiery vortex.

<--like you have an angry one there.>

Makina gave a start upon hearing that familiar mental voice, faint as it was. Looked like Aria was finally in the area, but still a ways away. Rotom, and a trapped one at that. Are you having issues getting to us?

<Nice to hear from you too,> the Gardevoir replied back coldly. Yep, she was definitely mad about not being informed. <And yes. Whatever malfunction is happening in there, it's not allowing me to enter. It should dissipate when the room goes back to normal.>

At that point, Charizard began to ready another deep breath. Instead of focusing on fire like before, this time a large multicolored sphere gathered near her maw, charging energy for a much more powerful attack. While Dragon Pulse had no secondary effects, it made up for it in pure power.

Before Charizard could launch her attack, a shadowy blur erupted from the Spin to launch itself towards the Fire Pokemon, landing a smack on the jaw before retreating back. Though surprised from Rotom's surprise attack, Charizard was still able to shoot off her own attack. Judging from the shriek, the attack had indeed landed.

Inside the azure flames, Rotom whimpered as it took additional damage from its prison. The rain was also beginning to lighten, signaling that soon the skies would begin to clear up. Sensing this, the Electric-type began to focus on another barrier- this one likely protecting it from ranged attacks.

“Depending on what you do, and if you act fast, you may be able to break its concentration,” Makina advised.


*~~~~~~~~~*


Battle Statistics:

Gentle Female Charizard (Mega X): 79%, ATK+1, ACC-1 (used Dragon Pulse)
??? Genderless Rotom: 64%, SPD-1, SATK+1, REFLECT-4, FIRE-2 (used Sucker Punch, Using Light Screen)

RAIN-4

Current Environment: Beach

*~~~~~~~~~*

Trainer Stats:

Name: @Nitro; Kevin
Location: Enigma Ruins
Area Effects: 14 Encounters Remaining
Pokemon Encountered: Goldeen, Rotom
Pokemon Captured:
CC since last Encounter: 10,433/35,000

Pokemon Statistics:

Scrafty {Rotom-Wash} || lolwut || Levitate || Jolly || EMs: TM Charge Beam, TM Endure, TM Hidden Power (Fire), TM Light Screen, TM Protect, TM Psych Up, TM Rain Dance, TM Reflect, TM Snatch, TM Thunder, TM Thunderbolt, TM Toxic, TM Volt Switch, TM Will-O-Wisp, MT Electroweb, MT Foul Play, MT Pain Split, MT Signal Beam, MT Sucker Punch || 100%

Shinx {Charizard} || Female || Blaze || Gentle || EMs: TM Counter, HM Defog, TM Dragon Pulse, TM Dragon Tail, TM Earthquake, TM Fire Blast, TM Fire Punch, TM Flame Charge, TM Overheat, TM Power-Up Punch, TM Protect, TM Rock Tomb, TM Roost, TM Solar Beam, TM Substitute, TM Swords Dance, TM WIll-O-Wisp, BM Belly Drum, SM Block, BM Dragon Dance, BM Outrage, SM Quick Attack, MT Tailwind || 100%


Items: Apricorn Box, Digital Camera, Hyper Ball x3, Park Ball x3, Pokeplayer, Staryu Voice Disk, Super Ball, Charizardite X @ Charizard/Mega Ring

*~~~~~~~~~*

 

Charizard built up the Dragon Pulse, and sent it flying towards Rotom. Normally attacking is an insular sequence, but not this time, as Rotom darted forward to strike as Charizard was mid-attack. A priority move, then. Sucker Punch relied upon taking advantage of that fractional moment between the decision to attack and the actual action of attacking, and sneaking in for a relatively high-powered speed move. I was well familiar with it – my Rotom, which won out in most battles by stalling and inflicting residual damage or hits for low-to-medium HP, found Sucker Punch to be the perfect priority finishing move in its moveset.

Still, our Dragon Pulse landed without much problem, and we were able to take chunks off Rotom's health. Taking the hit afterward was usually the problem with Sucker Punch. The Fire Spin continued to eat away at Rotom, and the rain was beginning to lighten up. Things were looking to be in our favor for the moment.

Rotom seemed to notice this, and began to charge up another defensive move. Even with the flames flickering around, obscuring it from sight to a certain degree, there was no mistaking this move. The barrier forming around Rotom's body radiated with a brilliant sheen, and that was at this early, formative stage. This was Light Screen, which would greatly hamper our special moves. That would be less than ideal. But after just having exerted itself to use Sucker Punch and with the effects of Rock Tomb still lingering, Rotom was executing this move slowly enough to offer us a window.

“Depending on what you do, and if you act fast, you may be able to break its concentration,” Makina said.

Right. If we knew an increased priority move of our own, that'd be perfect. Charizard knew Quick Attack, but Rotom was type-immune to Normal. Reflect and the rain were still in play, dulling physical and Fire moves, while a partial Light Screen would probably still affect our special moves. How much would it require to break Rotom's concentration? Would any one move do it? Would something high-powered and accurate, a staple of Charizard's moveset like Dragon Pulse, do enough? Otherwise, I wasn't much eager to overextend with something like Fire Blast, with its 85-base accuracy. Blowing momentum by missing an attack and allowing a free turn was one of the worst ways to lose. It meant you'd put yourself in a situation where you ran out of better, safer options.

With its low base stats, we probably wouldn't have to turn to Fire Blast to divert Rotom's attention. I didn't like running that risk though, in case it truly was a choice of power versus accuracy. Picking the wrong one would mean, sure, inflicting some damage probably, but it'd also mean allowing Rotom to put up the screen. Above all, I didn't like to play the game on Rotom's terms.

"We'll allow Rotom to put up the screen, Charizard. Let's spend our turn on a moment of set-up, and use Defog," I said.

And it was literally at this moment that I realized Defog also cleared screens from the field. My plan was to use it to lower Rotom's evasiveness, making Fire Blast a safer option to go full-force with against Light Screen, but in wracking my brain (read: doing a Google search), I remembered that Defog didn't only affect the Evasion stat and entry hazards like Stealth Rock, but also defensive screens.

Okay, then I guess we'll allow Rotom to put up the screen only to take it down. This was a nice turn of events. Too bad I didn't figure this out a few turns earlier, but with the rainy conditions soon to depart the field and with Rotom's dual screens also going out the window, our momentum would carry over after all. Nice, Kevin.

 

BP5

Ranger Makina Auran

*~~~~~~~~~*

“Don't allow your opponent to power up.” That had been a rule that Makina had heard her sister repeat multiple times to trainees new to Blackthorn. Even though she was infuriating, it was one of the few words of advice she gave that was actually valid. A Pokemon that has time to lay down multiple stat boosts can become a powerhouse, or an iron wall that can outlast their enemy. Rotom was quickly moving towards the latter, placing up multiple barriers in defense.

That said, it was odd to see Kevin so nonchalant about the charging technique. "We'll allow Rotom to put up the screen, Charizard.”

Even Charizard seemed a bit confused, giving a questioning glance at her Trainer. Still, something in the Pokemon's nature made her look a little relieved; Rotom wasn't going anywhere, so taking a moment to breathe wouldn't hurt.

It looked like there was more to it, though. “Let's spend our turn on a moment of set-up, and use Defog,” the Trainer finished.

Oh. Suddenly it made sense on just why Kevin would hold their turn and let Rotom finish. Letting the Light Screen fully charge would mean that it would be occupied and not move into another attack. In addition, Defog was a rare move to see in the Park, mainly due to the fact that it was an extremely situational move. It was an odd technique, one that normally just lowered the opponent's evasion by a small amount. All in all, mostly useless unless one was setting up for a low-accuracy attack.

It was the secondary ability that would help in this case.

Seeing that its opponent was simply standing there, Rotom smugly finished up placing up an additional barrier. While the previous Reflect had finally powered down, its new Light Screen would still protect from other techniques. The Fire Spin's flames still licked at its form, but the residual damage did little to break concentration.

In that moment, three events happened in succession.

From above, the drizzling rain finally let up, revealing a clear blue sky. While this seemed to worry Rotom for a moment, it soon changed to relief as the Spin began to die down as well. This meant that not only was the wild Pokemon free, but it now had access to its tools once more. Along with the Screen barrier, things were looking up.

Then Charizard gave a massive roar. With a powerful sweep of her wings, she blew away any type of haze that floated about, whether physical or magical. With that wind, any shields were also abolished, including Rotom's Screen.

At first Rotom floated in place, clearly in shock. As it sunk in just what had happened, the Pokemon let out an earsplitting screech, venting out its anger and frustration. Makina reflexively placed her hands over her ears; while it clearly wasn't an actual Screech attack, it was still far too loud for her tastes.

Instead of throwing a tantrum, Rotom reacted at once. It began to float in the air, spitting another electrically-charged web at Charizard before moving to slip between the boulders still lining the field. It headed towards the closest pile, one full of kitchen appliances, clearly trying to find a new form to possess.


*~~~~~~~~~*


Battle Statistics:

Gentle Female Charizard (Mega X): 74%, ATK+1, ACC-1, SPD-1 (used Defog)
??? Genderless Rotom: 62%, SPD-1, SATK+1, EVA-1 (used Light Screen, Electroweb, heading towards appliances)

Current Environment: Beach

*~~~~~~~~~*


Trainer Stats:


Name: @Nitro; Kevin
Location: Enigma Ruins
Area Effects: 14 Encounters Remaining
Pokemon Encountered: Goldeen, Rotom
Pokemon Captured:
CC since last Encounter: 14,097/35,000

Pokemon Statistics:

Scrafty {Rotom-Wash} || lolwut || Levitate || Jolly || EMs: TM Charge Beam, TM Endure, TM Hidden Power (Fire), TM Light Screen, TM Protect, TM Psych Up, TM Rain Dance, TM Reflect, TM Snatch, TM Thunder, TM Thunderbolt, TM Toxic, TM Volt Switch, TM Will-O-Wisp, MT Electroweb, MT Foul Play, MT Pain Split, MT Signal Beam, MT Sucker Punch || 100%

Shinx {Charizard} || Female || Blaze || Gentle || EMs: TM Counter, HM Defog, TM Dragon Pulse, TM Dragon Tail, TM Earthquake, TM Fire Blast, TM Fire Punch, TM Flame Charge, TM Overheat, TM Power-Up Punch, TM Protect, TM Rock Tomb, TM Roost, TM Solar Beam, TM Substitute, TM Swords Dance, TM WIll-O-Wisp, BM Belly Drum, SM Block, BM Dragon Dance, BM Outrage, SM Quick Attack, MT Tailwind || 100%


Items: Apricorn Box, Digital Camera, Hyper Ball x3, Park Ball x3, Pokeplayer, Staryu Voice Disk, Super Ball, Charizardite X @ Charizard/Mega Ring

*~~~~~~~~~*

 

The rain lightened up, and as clear skies shone down on the gleaming Light Screen protecting Rotom's body, that vanished too with a great sweep of Charizard's wings and a great flaunting of Charizard's cojones. She roared all fierce-ish, crowing over Idiot Rotom. The residual embers from Fire Spin also died down, which I had mostly neglected to keep track of. Idiot Rotom decided to take advantage of this.

Another Electroweb was launched at Charizard, and of course, this didn't do much damage before dissipating. But it served the purpse of tangling Charizard up for moments, and slowing her for the next few. In this time, Rotom zoomed towards the side of the battlefield, trying to slip through our Rock Tomb block to find a new form. Normally we would attack to keep its attention focused on us, but the Electroweb was still delaying Charizard's movements, and if it got to the boulders before an attack landed, we'd have a much harder time landing a hit.

Rotom was zipping over to the nearest pile of appliances, and I couldn't quite see what laid there. The most well-known Rotom forms were Wash, Heat, Frost, Mow and Fan. Those would gave it access to the Water, Fire, Ice, Grass and Flying types respectively, none of which Charizard was weak to in its X form, but the Wash form had a strong defensive typing that would resist our Fire moves and was only weak to Grass. The Heat form was similar, although taking an Overheat was of much less concern than Hydro Pump. Neither Frost nor Mow concerned me much – Blizzard and Leaf Storm were strong, but one was low-accuracy while the other included stat drops to the user, and Charizard held a type advantage over both anyway. Fan wasn't much of a concern either, although I'm sure Rotom would love to inflict repeated flinches with Air Slash.

My main concern was if any surprises littered the pile of appliances. Rotom could possess anything, not just limited to a washing machine or an oven or whatever else you see most often. Charizard was weak to Rock, Ground and Dragon. It could be a problem if Rotom found, I dunno, some kind of drill that gave it access to Drill Run or even Rock Slide. There were a whole lot of possibilities there, and I had to admit I was kind of interested to see what could happen, but maybe it'd be less than ideal to deal with in a battle. If we had to scheme on the fly against Rotom going between forms for a long stretch of this battle, that could get real annoying.

What to do, then? Maybe Flame Charge, which would give us a Speed boost to offset Electroweb and get us in close before Rotom tried to fly off somewhere. With Reflect and the rain gone from the field, Flame Charge was a sound option. Or we could use Rock Tomb again, and set up even more obstacles on the field. I really wanted to use Defog again (such a funky move!) to re-shuffle the obstacles on the field, but that didn't seem like a certain benefit, and there was probably some risk of property damage if we sent appliances flying across the room.

Ah well, something boring then. Charizard's moveset was awfully dull. Overwhelmingly powerful, but not much fun in the Park.

"Charizard, let's use a Flame Charge for now and close that gap. Make it a close-quarters fight again, and we'll see where it goes," I said.

Charizard smiled, and a cloak of blue flames began to form around her. Close-quarters played to her strengths, her sensibilities, and I guess that would do it for us. I wondered how much more fun this battle would be if it was Rotom versus Rotom.

 

BP6

Ranger Makina Auran

*~~~~~~~~~*

There was a good reason for why Rotom was so sought after by Trainers far and wide. While their ability to integrate into everyday electronics was a major pain in the arse for techies far and wide, it also meant the Pokemon was extremely versatile. Since the Pokemon basically fused into anything it possessed, it also gained brand new typings and even new moves.

So it was hardly any surprise that Kevin wanted to stop this particular Pokemon from reaching a random pile of appliances. “Charizard, let's use a Flame Charge for now and close that gap.”

Charizard readily complied, wreathing her body in flames and rushing towards her target in a full-on charge. Flame Charge was extremely handy, and the fire would also help to burn away the Electroweb that was hindering the Fire-type's movement. Since it wasn't just an ordinary web however, the annoying hindrance likely would not slough off until after the technique was finished.

Perhaps Rotom felt the heat from Charizard's attack (or heard its opponent approaching, giant dragons were far from quiet after all,) for it quickened its pace. The electrical spirit slipped through the boulders, disappearing from sight for the time being.

Moments later, Charizard barreled through to attack her target. There was an impressive CLANG as the fiery dragon rammed into what sounded like a large metal object, and a few stray appliances were tossed upwards before they fell to the side.

“Huh, I recognize that toaster,” Makina remarked offhandedly, looking at one of the objects that landed nearby, before both Pokemon suddenly became visible.

There was an enormous torrent of water, pushing one of the boulders out of the way and slamming Charizard to the ground a couple yards away. While it appeared as if the Electroweb was now fully gone, the dragon's flames were mostly quenched save for the tail-flame. All in all, Charizard looked more like a highly annoyed wet cat than a dragon as she picked herself off from the sand.

With the boulder out of the way, it was clear to see that Rotom had somehow found a washing machine out of that mismatched pile of alliances, and was now looking particularly smug. No one was setting it on fire anytime soon, that was for sure.


*~~~~~~~~~*


Battle Statistics:

Gentle Female Charizard (Mega X): 62%, ATK+1, ACC-1 (used Flame Charge)
??? Genderless Rotom (Wash): 58%, SPD-1, SATK+1, EVA-1 (used Hydro Pump)


Current Environment: Beach



*~~~~~~~~~*


Trainer Stats:


Name: @Nitro; Kevin
Location: Enigma Ruins
Area Effects: 14 Encounters Remaining
Pokemon Encountered: Goldeen, Rotom
Pokemon Captured:
CC since last Encounter: 17,631/35,000

Pokemon Statistics:

Scrafty {Rotom-Wash} || lolwut || Levitate || Jolly || EMs: TM Charge Beam, TM Endure, TM Hidden Power (Fire), TM Light Screen, TM Protect, TM Psych Up, TM Rain Dance, TM Reflect, TM Snatch, TM Thunder, TM Thunderbolt, TM Toxic, TM Volt Switch, TM Will-O-Wisp, MT Electroweb, MT Foul Play, MT Pain Split, MT Signal Beam, MT Sucker Punch || 100%

Shinx {Charizard} || Female || Blaze || Gentle || EMs: TM Counter, HM Defog, TM Dragon Pulse, TM Dragon Tail, TM Earthquake, TM Fire Blast, TM Fire Punch, TM Flame Charge, TM Overheat, TM Power-Up Punch, TM Protect, TM Rock Tomb, TM Roost, TM Solar Beam, TM Substitute, TM Swords Dance, TM WIll-O-Wisp, BM Belly Drum, SM Block, BM Dragon Dance, BM Outrage, SM Quick Attack, MT Tailwind || 100%


Items: Apricorn Box, Digital Camera, Hyper Ball x3, Park Ball x3, Pokeplayer, Staryu Voice Disk, Super Ball, Charizardite X @ Charizard/Mega Ring

*~~~~~~~~~*

 

Wreathed in flame, sparks detaching, quickly accelerating, Charizard barrelled towards Rotom. By some twist of fate, I supposed it was the great grand sight we'd made in our approach, Rotom saw the attack coming and scampered off. It slipped between the boulders from the earlier Rock Tomb, and still under the effects of a lingering albeit quickly dissipating Electroweb, Charizard didn't make it through in time. Even still, she bulldozed through the rock and finally connected. A bitter metallic sound rang out. (Bitter, as in I am bitter about it.)

A forceful blast of water knocked Charizard right back, and as the water died out the source made itself visible. Of course, I was well familiar with it. This washing machine was Rotom's Wash Form, and its Hydro Pump seemed to have snuffed out Charizard's flame somewhat. Disadvantageous. Though I guess sooner or later, the form change was bound to happen. The Wash Form would be mildly tricky to contend with, although not overly so. I contemplated a switch, but switching out against wild Pokemon is a trash move.

We'll try to make this work, although Fire moves were a non-starter for the moment. Charizard was in no condition to harness fire right now, and Rotom had picked an appliance to resist Flame Charge anyway. I wondered if we could game this logic a little bit. If nothing else, it was time for a little chess-match funk.

"Charizard, let's create an opening with Air Slash, and then we'll recoup some of that lost power with your Solar Beam," I said. "You might be vulnerable for a second there, but I want to see what Rotom does. If it really wants to trade attacks, you'll win out that one. But I think we can scare it into doing something else, something even better for us."

We'd be giving up a free turn. Air Slash offered the possibility of a flinch, but even failing that, any precious seconds of reaction time we could cost Rotom would put it behind the eight-ball against a power move like Solar Beam. Any attack that Rotom could get in would be returned in greater force, and that kind of game was home court for Charizard. But I doubted Rotom would return fire. All this time, it'd preferred to play in battle, setting field effects or switching forms.

And in plain sight, there was a toaster oven on the field, thrown astray from the greater pile by the earlier skirmish. It was almost as if it was being specifically pointed out to us now. All we were attempting was to catch Rotom's ear now. Hey, your Wash Form's only weakness is the Grass type, but the Heat Form? That can take Solar Beam like a champ. And we'd take a match-up against the Heat Form with no complaints.

There were other ways to divert Charizard's attack, such as with screens or Protect, but there was only one move that I was particularly concerned about. I doubted Rotom would use that. We'll see what happens, though. I could roll with anything. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.