Individual RP: White Knight

NBP-14

Ranger John Shay

"Have any more of those dolls? I'll take one, if you don't mind," Ryan said, handing me a wad of cash. I pulled out a Pokedoll from my bag, and tossed it gently at Mantyke. The Pokemon leaped out of the water and caught it before diving back underneath the water's surface.

"Well, that's that," I said, leading Ryan along the shore again.

Our next Pokemon encounter appeared very quickly. A Politoed was sitting on the shore, gazing out quietly into the distance. The green toad, hearing us, turned to face us.

"Politoed?" it murmured, clearly interested by us.

"Are you interested in battling this Politoed?" I asked Ryan, having an idea of what the answer would be.

Trainer Information
Name: Ryan Chambers
Location: Great Lakes
Pokemon Encountered: Gyarados, Shellos, Lugia, Feraligatr, Poliwag, Horsea, Slowpoke, Shellos, Mantyke, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???
Pokemon Captured: Gyarados, Shellos, Poliwag, Horsea
Character Count Since Last Encounter: 534
Park Items:
2x Hyper Ball
2x Energy Powder

Pokemon Information

Pokemon: Venusaur (70%)
Nickname: Vienna
Gender: Female
Ability: Overgrow
Nature: Docile
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: Hidden Power Steel

Pokemon: Luxray (62%)
Nickname: Erik
Gender: Male
Ability: Intimidate
Nature: Hardy
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: Hidden Power Dark

 

I watched as John pulled a Clefairy-shaped doll out of his rather large pack, tossing it at the Mantyke. The water Pokemon jumped from the water, grabbing its new toy as it returned to waters deeper within. My ranger and I kept moving, walking at a leisurely pace around the shore.

It was not much longer before we encountered our next Pokemon. A green toad with a single strand of hair was sitting on the shoreline, not making a sound as it stared into the vast lakes. Based on what I knew, it was a Politoed; the evolved form of the Poliwag that I had captured earlier. Although it would seem like a bit of a waste, I kind of liked the guy; it was a good battler because of its ability. Apparently if these Pokemon were trained correctly they could summon a rainstorm just by popping out of their Pokeballs; that would be a major help for some of my Pokemon. I decided that I would capture it; hell, why not?

"Are you interested in battling this Politoed?" John asked, and I nodded before choosing which Pokemon I would use. I felt like Erik had deserved a longer rest; Vienna was more than enough to handle this. Grabbing the Grass-type's Pokeball, I turned back to the Politoed. It seemed fairly happy, and the look in its eyes said that it wanted to battle. I threw the red and white sphere into the air, releasing a green Pokemon with a huge pink flower on its back. Vienna roared at her opponent, obviously not looking too happy. I decided that starting with Razor Leaf would be smart, but I had done that for all of her battles; maybe it was time to shake things up.

"Vienna, go for a Leech Seed! Then use Petal Dance!" I called out, hoping that my new strategy would work. This was a little different because she had really not used these moves in the past; after she perfected them we moved on quickly. Vienna didn't seem to mind; her flower bulged as a parade of tiny seeds burst out of it, headed straight for the Politoed. This was probably going to be good for a long battle; it would sap energy from the frog and give it to Vienna. She then followed it with a Petal Dance, one of our more risky moves; it would cause a lot of damage, but she would become so enraged that when the attack ended it would confuse her.

"Venusaur!" she cried as thousands of razor sharp petals flew from her body, compacted in a tight stream. They were headed straight for Politoed, and I was quite content; this battle was going to be the pinnacle of my adventure.

 

BP-1: Venusaur VS Politoed

Ranger John Shay

OOC: Gender? Also, don't worry about the 45k character limit in relation to the damage you've already done to Politoed, because I've got things in mind to help handle it. I promise to only KO Politoed as a result of poor post quality (bar stuff like Solarbeam on 1% HP Politoed). As I said, there are methods I can use to help extend the battle and give you more opportunities to put in 45k characters (i.e. health recovery for Politoed, scaled down damage, etc). Any questions, come at me. It's my first time Rangering a Special mon, so we'll have to work through this together.

To my surprise, Ryan nodded. This confused me a little. He had already captured four Pokemon, one of which was Politoed's pre-evolution Poliwag. I supposed Ryan had his own reasons, however, and stepped back for Ryan to battle.

Ryan tossed a Pokeball. Vienna popped out, roaring louder than ever. She seemed to be annoyed about something, but whatever that was was beyond me.

"Vienna, go for a Leech Seed! Then use Petal Dance!" Ryan commanded. This was a change of pace. I was accustomed to seeing Vienna lead off with Razor Leaf. Leech Seed was an entirely new move I had yet to see Vienna perform, and the same was true for Petal Dance.

Vienna launched multiple seeds at Politoed. Politoed, seeming rather clumsy on land, scrambled to avoid the seeds. However, it failed miserably, slipping in the sand and falling flat on its face. The Leech Seeds slammed into it - Politoed was now seeded. That meant over the course of this battle, Politoed's health would be sapped over to Vienna.

Vienna moved on to Petal Dance, showing no hesitation despite the miss. Petals flew off of the flower on her back, and were tossed everywhere. Politoed was thrown into the midst of the petals.

"Politoed..." I heard the Pokemon cry weakly. Petal Dance was a very overwhelming move, I recalled. However, that was not only true for the target. I looked at Venusaur. When a Pokemon used a move like Petal Dance, there was no telling when it would be able to stop. Petal Dance was simply too self-dominating a move for the user to simply to end the move - it would end when the user was unable to keep it any longer, and would result in a temporary state of dizziness for the user. However, it was certainly a very powerful move.

I looked at Politoed. While the Petal Dance was definitely hurting it, I could see that this Politoed was quite a strong Pokemon. It was fighting to hold its ground and withstand the vicious attack, a feat even more impressive with Leech Seed affecting it. Politoed opened its mouth, and I realized it was actually going to use an attack - such impressive willpower!

Politoed pointed its mouth towards the sky. Water was launched into the air, and sprayed down in all directions in similar fashion to a fountain. This was Water Sport, and I quickly realized what Politoed was trying to accomplish with it. Many of the petals were knocked away from Politoed by Water Sport - Water Sport was acting as a makeshift shield of sorts around Politoed. However, Petal Dance, being such a dominant move, was still able to penetrate through Water Sport and deal some damage to Politoed, though a notably lesser amount.

Politoed eyed Vienna. It opened its mouth, and I suspected that it was going to get something going offensively despite the Petal Dance. A Bubblebeam was launched at Vienna. Bubbles floated towards the Venusaur. Many of the bubbles were popped by the Petal Dance, but some still slammed into it. Vienna, using Petal Dance, could not do anything about them. However, I suspected Vienna did not end up losing too much health due to a natural type resistance, a currently overwhelmed Politoed, and Leech Seed recovery on top of everything.

Battle Statistics
Venusaur VS Politoed
Venusaur: 77%, used Leech Seed, using Petal Dance
Politoed: 80%, used Water Sport, used BubbleBeam

Trainer Information
Name: Ryan Chambers
Location: Great Lakes
Pokemon Encountered: Gyarados, Shellos, Lugia, Feraligatr, Poliwag, Horsea, Slowpoke, Shellos, Mantyke, Politoed, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???
Pokemon Captured: Gyarados, Shellos, Poliwag, Horsea
Character Count Since Last Encounter: 2996/45000
Park Items:
2x Hyper Ball
2x Energy Powder

Pokemon Information

Pokemon: Venusaur (70%)
Nickname: Vienna
Gender: Female
Ability: Overgrow
Nature: Docile
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: Hidden Power Steel

Pokemon: Luxray (62%)
Nickname: Erik
Gender: Male
Ability: Intimidate
Nature: Hardy
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: Hidden Power Dark

 

I watched as my attack worked perfectly, but the toad was resourceful. It blanketed the area in a shield of water, blocking some of the petals. I was going to have to step up my game, but I wasn't so sure if I wanted it anymore. To be honest, it seemed like a waste when I already had a Poliwag.

"Hey, John! Is there any way we can escape?" I inquired.

 

BP-2: Venusaur VS Politoed

Ranger John Shay

"Hey, John! Is there any way we can escape?" Ryan asked.

I nodded. "We can definitely try." I motioned for Ryan to follow me, and we tried walking past Politoed, who was still trapped in Vienna's Petal Dance. If we could get past the Pokemon safely, Ryan would have to return Vienna to her Pokeball - in her Petal Dancing state, she could not control herself. However, I was thinking too far ahead - Politoed saw us and balked.

"Poli!" it cried angrily. Clearly, the Pokemon was not going to allow us to leave after we had initiated battle with it - it could get hostile. I explained this to Ryan.

"It doesn't seem as though Politoed will let us leave now that we've started. You're certainly free to buy a PokeDoll, as always."

I looked at Politoed and Vienna. Politoed was still trapped in Vienna's Petal Dance, and while the damage was being reduced, the Pokemon was still taking damage. Not only that, but I remembered that Leech Seed was still in effect. Politoed had to be getting weaker and weaker, fortunately for Ryan.

Vienna suddenly fell to a knee. The petals immediately faded away - Petal Dance was over. Vienna was definitely confused now.

"Poli!" Politoed sprang into the air, glad to have managed through the ordeal. I supposed that this was some of the Pokemon's pent-up energy showing itself - Politoed had to be weakened quite a bit by now. It was certainly a good start for Ryan, but with Vienna confused, things could stall for a bit.

Politoed eyed Vienna. She launched an Ice Beam at the Pokemon immediately, ready to get a hit in and level the playing field. In her confused state, Vienna could only try to stumble out of the attack's path. The beam of ice still slammed into Vienna's flank, and from the looks of things, that would do a nice amount of damage.

Politoed smiled, satisfied. Suddenly, it dropped to a knee. I noticed it wincing, and remembered that Leech Seed was still in effect. Adrenaline must have fueled it for its last attack, but the damage it had taken was probably settling in now.

I looked at Ryan. He was in an unusual situation with multiple options. He could try running again, purchase a PokeDoll, or continue battling. All had different benefits and repercussions. What would he do?

Battle Statistics
Venusaur VS Politoed
Venusaur: 64% CON, used Petal Dance
Politoed: 59% LEECHSEED, used Ice Beam

Trainer Information
Name: Ryan Chambers
Location: Great Lakes
Pokemon Encountered: Gyarados, Shellos, Lugia, Feraligatr, Poliwag, Horsea, Slowpoke, Shellos, Mantyke, Politoed, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???
Pokemon Captured: Gyarados, Shellos, Poliwag, Horsea
Character Count Since Last Encounter: 3349/45000
Park Items:
2x Hyper Ball
2x Energy Powder

Pokemon Information

Pokemon: Venusaur (70%, in battle)
Nickname: Vienna
Gender: Female
Ability: Overgrow
Nature: Docile
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: Hidden Power Steel

Pokemon: Luxray (62%)
Nickname: Erik
Gender: Male
Ability: Intimidate
Nature: Hardy
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: Hidden Power Dark

 

Although we tried to escape, the reluctant Politoed simply wouldn't let us pass. I groaned as John passed me a look, knowing that we had no way to get out. I simply shrugged, and pulled out another wad of cash; this was taking a bit too long for my liking.

OOC: 5500-500=5000

 

NBP-15

Ranger John Shay

OOC: Your posts have to be at least 500 characters in length. This time, you get a stern warning (you've been a bad boy!). Next time, I'll ask you to fix up your post and I won't post until you do so.

Shrugging, Ryan handed me a couple of dollar bills. I knew what he wanted, and set down a PokeDoll on the ground.

The Politoed's eyes widened in excitement, and it ran over to it happily. As the Pokemon was distracted, I told Ryan to follow. I led him down the beach and away from the distracted Politoed.

"Politoed!" I heard Politoed's distressed cry behind us - it was not happy to see us run. I turned around.

Politoed, caressing the PokeDoll, was still standing where we had left it. It was pointing at us angrily, but I knew it wouldn't be able to catch up to us with the PokeDoll.

"Politoed!" it cried again. I turned around. As upset as the Pokemon was, it wasn't a bother. The PokeDoll should help console the Pokemon.

Then, I realized why Politoed was pointing at us. Crawling out of the water was a Poliwrath. This Pokemon must have been Politoed's sibling. Looking straight at us, Poliwrath stepped in front of us. Politoed must have asked its sibling to fight us instead.

"Do you want to battle this Poliwrath?" I asked Ryan, feeling pretty sure what his answer would be.

Trainer Information
Name: Ryan Chambers
Location: Great Lakes
Pokemon Encountered: Gyarados, Shellos, Lugia, Feraligatr, Poliwag, Horsea, Slowpoke, Shellos, Mantyke, Politoed, Poliwrath, ???, ???, ???, ???
Pokemon Captured: Gyarados, Shellos, Poliwag, Horsea
Character Count Since Last Encounter: 256
Park Items:
2x Hyper Ball
2x Energy Powder

Pokemon Information

Pokemon: Venusaur (64%)
Nickname: Vienna
Gender: Female
Ability: Overgrow
Nature: Docile
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: Hidden Power Steel

Pokemon: Luxray (62%)
Nickname: Erik
Gender: Male
Ability: Intimidate
Nature: Hardy
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: Hidden Power Dark

 

OOC: Sorry, I is teh lazy. I will get better, I swear! ._. 5k-.5k=4.5k

John didn't even need to ask what the money was for as he grabbed another PokeDoll and placed it in front of the green Pokemon, who looked very excited. The Politoed grabbed the doll with glee, obviously paying no attention to us. John beckoned towards me to follow as we tried to leave the now-happy toad alone, but our plan did not work as well as I thought.

"Politoed!" the animal cried as it hugged its toy protectively, still standing in the same spot. It seemed to be pointing from the lakes back to us, and vice versa; what could possibly be going on? Its eyes were furrowed in fear as it made some strange motions, probably looking at its own reflection; with this kind of Pokemon, who knew?

"Polii!" it repeated, but its protests did not stop us. My ranger and I were just about to get away when a blue and white Poliwrath crawled out of the sea, obviously the recipient of Politoed's woe. The scarier-looking newcomer walked straight up towards us, glaring at me as it clenched its fist. Obviously Politoed had told its much more frightening pal to fight for him, and it was honestly creeping me out. John asked me the usual question, but I had an answer in my mind long before.

"I actually got one of these guys in a trade, and I'm not really interested in another. I don't have time to try and escape anyways; can we just go for a doll?" I said, handing him my usual wad of cash. Man, the National Park takes a lot more money than I thought!

 

NBP-16

Ranger John Shay

"I actually got one of these guys in a trade, and I'm not really interested in another. I don't have time to try and escape anyways; can we just go for a doll?" Ryan said, handing me some more money. It really was a shame all this money went straight to the National Park Shop - I would've reeled in quite a bonus off of selling PokeDolls to Ryan had that not been the case.

I lightly tossed a PokeDoll at Poliwrath. The Pokemon's eyes immediately lit up, and like its sibling, Poliwrath lost all interest in us and began playing with the PokeDoll. I laughed a little, and lead Ryan away from the Poliwrath. Now, hopefully we could continue unhindered by any more members of the Poli family.

We continued walking along the shoreline. I checked Ryan's encounter list thus far. He only had so many encounters left. I figured that it would be smart to simply keep going along the shore for the remainder of the trip - it would lead us straight back to the Ranger Outpost, and make things simpler for us.

I was about to explain this to Ryan when water was slapped into my face. I heard the chuckling of a Pokemon.

"Barb, barb!" it guffawed. I heard another splash - had the Pokemon slapped some water into Ryan's face as well?

I wiped my face dry, and looked at the lake. Wading in the water with a mischievous look in its eye was a small Barboach. It returned my glare boldly.

"Are you interested in battling this Pokemon?" I asked Ryan.

Trainer Information
Name: Ryan Chambers
Location: Great Lakes
Pokemon Encountered: Gyarados, Shellos, Lugia, Feraligatr, Poliwag, Horsea, Slowpoke, Shellos, Mantyke, Politoed, Poliwrath, Barboach, ???, ???, ???
Pokemon Captured: Gyarados, Shellos, Poliwag, Horsea
Character Count Since Last Encounter: 256
Park Items:
2x Hyper Ball
2x Energy Powder

Pokemon Information

Pokemon: Venusaur (64%)
Nickname: Vienna
Gender: Female
Ability: Overgrow
Nature: Docile
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: Hidden Power Steel

Pokemon: Luxray (62%)
Nickname: Erik
Gender: Male
Ability: Intimidate
Nature: Hardy
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: Hidden Power Dark

 

Luckily Poliwrath made no attempt to follow us; as John passed the water-type its doll, the blue tadpole began to play. We slowly crept by, but figured out that it wouldn't matter; Poliwrath was clearly transfixed by its new toys. John told me to keep moving, and we kept moving along the shore. I panted a little, getting a bit tired but not willing to say so. We had been walking on the shoreline for quite some time now, and I knew that we would only see a few more Pokemon before the end of my journey. The Ranger Outpost was visible from here; it was only a while off, but hopefully we would see something more interesting before my trip ended. I still needed to figure out which Pokemon to bring back...that was going to be a tough choice, but I thought I could handle it.

"Barb!" a voice was heard from the side as John and I were splashed in the face with a forceful stream of water. Turning around, I saw a Barboach; admittedly not on my list of priorities for this journey.

"Can we keep moving?"

 

NBP-17

Ranger John Shay

"Can we keep moving?" Ryan asked me.

I nodded. "Of course." I led Ryan away from Barboach, watching it carefully. Was it going to let us leave?

No. The moment it saw me take a step away from it, Barboach's brow furrowed in displeasure, and the Pokemon splashed us again, only this time with mud. I knew that Barboach, despite their tiny appearance, were incredibly accurate with their mud attacks. Not only that, but they could launch them powerfully as well. If Barboach lacked a Pokemon to attack, it would likely go for us instead. For our own personal safety, it was probably better to simply battle the thing and get it over with. Barboach were generally weak, so I doubted it would be too much of a drag.

"You'll have to battle it," I said to Ryan. "Things could get ugly if it gets really mad at us."

Trainer Information
Name: Ryan Chambers
Location: Great Lakes
Pokemon Encountered: Gyarados, Shellos, Lugia, Feraligatr, Poliwag, Horsea, Slowpoke, Shellos, Mantyke, Politoed, Poliwrath, Barboach, ???, ???, ???
Pokemon Captured: Gyarados, Shellos, Poliwag, Horsea
Character Count Since Last Encounter: 1264
Park Items:
2x Hyper Ball
2x Energy Powder

Pokemon Information

Pokemon: Venusaur (64%)
Nickname: Vienna
Gender: Female
Ability: Overgrow
Nature: Docile
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: Hidden Power Steel

Pokemon: Luxray (62%)
Nickname: Erik
Gender: Male
Ability: Intimidate
Nature: Hardy
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: Hidden Power Dark

 

Unfortunately for me, the Barboach was obviously not going to let us pass. I shrugged as we stayed put, trying to avoid the mud that it was throwing in the air. Even though it looked small and harmless, something in John's stare told me that this thing was stronger than it looked. I watched as its strange unattached eyebrows flickered as it expressed displeasure at our leaving, obviously not happy with us. John turned to me, obviously ready with his normal speech. However, when he started talking I realized that for once it was something a little different.

"You'll have to battle it. Things could get ugly if it gets really mad at us," he said, but I didn't know how to react. I really didn't feel like wasting the health of my Pokemon on something so worthless, and it would probably be faster just to buy myself a doll anyways. Sighing deeply, I whipped my wallet out of my pocket (noting its close-to-emptiness), and shoved a wad of bills into John's hand, mostly singles; I was sure he was going to enjoy counting those.

"That should be enough for a doll. Care to keep moving?"

OOC: 19.5k-.5k=19k

 

NBP-18

Ranger John Shay

Ryan shoved another wad of bills into my hand. "That should be enough for a doll. Care to keep moving?"

I nodded, setting down a Pokedoll. It seemed Ryan was fully content with continuing to buy these. It was a handy shortcut that allowed a quick and easy escape from potential battles, though the cheap cost could at up. At any rate, I took the money and tossed a Pokedoll deeper in to the lake. Barboach immediately lost interest in us, and chased after the doll. I smiled at the always interesting effects of the Pokedoll on Pokemon.

"Alright, let's keep moving," I nodded at Ryan, and we continued along the shore.

We were getting really close to the Ranger Outpost. With three encounters remaining, our timing was pretty good. Given how much space there was left in between us and the Outpost, we should see around three more Pokemon before Ryan's run was over.

I kept my eyes peeled for Pokemon. Though Ryan had caught plenty of interesting Pokemon already, odds were we would find one more that would snag his interest before the run ended. It had been a while since we had seen something interesting, so it was about time to find something else. I heard a splash in the water beside us, and turned.

Grinning at us was a Feraligatr. I doubted Ryan would be interested in this, as we had already battled one earlier. Despite that, I asked, "Interested in capturing the Feraligatr this time around?"

Trainer Information
Name: Ryan Chambers
Location: Great Lakes
Pokemon Encountered: Gyarados, Shellos, Lugia, Feraligatr, Poliwag, Horsea, Slowpoke, Shellos, Mantyke, Politoed, Poliwrath, Barboach, Feraligatr, ???, ???
Pokemon Captured: Gyarados, Shellos, Poliwag, Horsea
Character Count Since Last Encounter: 1090
Park Items:
2x Hyper Ball
2x Energy Powder

Pokemon Information

Pokemon: Venusaur (64%)
Nickname: Vienna
Gender: Female
Ability: Overgrow
Nature: Docile
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: Hidden Power Steel

Pokemon: Luxray (62%)
Nickname: Erik
Gender: Male
Ability: Intimidate
Nature: Hardy
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: Hidden Power Dark

 

John grabbed yet another Pokedoll, chucking it far into the lake that surrounded us. The mudfish swam away furiously, trying to catch up with its new toy as we turned around. Although I knew that the amount of money I had wasted on these dolls was huge, they worked as a guaranteed escape from any Pokemon that wasn't exactly the most desirable thing ever. I decided that it would work in a pinch; although by now I was abusing it. Shrugging, I kept moving. It was obvious that we were reaching the end of our adventure; the Ranger Outpost was practically visible from here.

I sighed as I watched John scout the area, looking for the last couple Pokemon on our way back. It was impossible for me to see anything, but I assumed that with Rangerhood came a sense with nature that allows them to find things. I was not exactly sure how they did it, but as long as I got some exciting battles I could really care less. A splash in the water from the side of the lake revealed a Feraligatr, probably the same one that we had seen before. My ranger asked his normal question, but I just reached for my wallet; it was about to end, so why prolong the return?


OOC: 3k-.4k=2.5k

 

NBP-19

Ranger John Shay

Ryan wasted no time, immediately handing me some money. It seemed to me he was eager to just finish the run off.

I quickly accepted the wad of cash, and set down another Pokedoll. Feraligatr crawled out of the water, entranced by the Pokedoll. I knew the Pokemon would be too distracted to follow us, and I motioned for Ryan to follow as we walked away from Feraligatr.

We continued walking along the shore. Ryan had two encounters left - hopefully, at least one would capture his interest. If both did, well, that'd be an excellent way to cap off an excellent run.

I heard another splash beside us, and turned to see what it was. Crawling out of the water in a similar fashion to Feraligatr was a much larger Seismitoad.

"Seismitoad!" it bellowed in a low voice, eagerly approaching us.

"Interested in this Pokemon?" I asked Ryan.

Trainer Information
Name: Ryan Chambers
Location: Great Lakes
Pokemon Encountered: Gyarados, Shellos, Lugia, Feraligatr, Poliwag, Horsea, Slowpoke, Shellos, Mantyke, Politoed, Poliwrath, Barboach, Feraligatr, Seismitoad, ???
Pokemon Captured: Gyarados, Shellos, Poliwag, Horsea
Character Count Since Last Encounter: 1153
Park Items:
2x Hyper Ball
2x Energy Powder

Pokemon Information

Pokemon: Venusaur (64%)
Nickname: Vienna
Gender: Female
Ability: Overgrow
Nature: Docile
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: Hidden Power Steel

Pokemon: Luxray (62%)
Nickname: Erik
Gender: Male
Ability: Intimidate
Nature: Hardy
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: Hidden Power Dark

 

I was kind of amazed at how easily these dolls grasped the attention of their new owners; there must be some catnip-like stuff in there that just completely makes them ignore what they were fixed on. The Feraligatr thankfully took off, and we kept moving. This run was quickly drawing to a close, but I was still hoping to find something great before I left.

I turned as something flailed in the water beside us, a Pokemon coming onto shore in a similar way to how the Feraligatr had. We watched as a huge azure toad crawled onto the shore, staring at us with a strange ferocity. It came to us with a weird kind of happiness, looking like it wanted to battle.

"Interested in this Pokemon?" John asked, but I wasn't particularly interested. I whipped out some cash and went for the doll, knowing that my journey was almost over; why bother prolonging it?

OOC: 4.5k-.5k=4k

 

NBP-20

Ranger John Shay

OOC: I'm going to be going to Portland for a few days (leaving on Christmas morning). If I have time, I'll post while I'm there, but either way, I'll be coming back around the 28th. Just a heads up and Merry Christmas

Once again, Ryan shook his head. Knowing the drill by now, I held my hand out for the wad of money that was sure to be coming. As I had known he would, Ryan handed me some money for a Pokedoll.

I turned and plopped down another doll. The monstrous Seismitoad walked over to it, and I led Ryan away.

We had one encounter left. I could see the Ranger Outpost on the shore - our timing was spot on. However, I was losing faith that Ryan would still see something that would catch his eye before he left. Granted, he had already found a treasure trove of Pokemon to take home, but going out on disappointing encounters like these weren't particularly encouraging, particularly for a first-time Park-goer.

I tripped over something, and fell to the sand. I picked myself up and dusted myself off, a little embarassed. I looked over to what I had tripped on, and my jaw dropped. I had tripped over a piercing red jewel the size of my fist!

"Oh my god..." I muttered, and I dug my hand into the sand to try and rip out the jewel. However, my fingertips were unable to reach around the jewel. As soon as I plunged my finger into the sand, they were met by something hard. The jewel seemed to be embedded into this object.

Suddenly, it moved. I immediately stepped back, and watched as the jewel woke up and climbed out of the sand. No, it wasn't a jewel. It was a Starmie, and I was staring at its core!

"Starmie!" it cried, clearly annoyed.

I looked at Ryan. Starmie were very popular Pokemon. Would he try to capture this Pokemon? He looked at me and I nodded at him. He knew what I was going to ask him.

Trainer Information
Name: Ryan Chambers
Location: Great Lakes
Pokemon Encountered: Gyarados, Shellos, Lugia, Feraligatr, Poliwag, Horsea, Slowpoke, Shellos, Mantyke, Politoed, Poliwrath, Barboach, Feraligatr, Seismitoad, ???
Pokemon Captured: Gyarados, Shellos, Poliwag, Horsea
Character Count Since Last Encounter: 855
Park Items:
2x Hyper Ball
2x Energy Powder

Pokemon Information

Pokemon: Venusaur (64%)
Nickname: Vienna
Gender: Female
Ability: Overgrow
Nature: Docile
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: Hidden Power Steel

Pokemon: Luxray (62%)
Nickname: Erik
Gender: Male
Ability: Intimidate
Nature: Hardy
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: Hidden Power Dark

 

John took the cash with a stifled grin, plopping down another doll for the monstrous toad. It seemed content, grabbing its new toy as it returned in the water. I sighed, walking with a heavy heart as my ranger lead me away from it. Quite frankly, the journey was getting boring; we had not seen anything particularly prize-worthy for quite some time, and I was beginning to suspect that we would not be seeing anything good before I left. Squinting my eyes, I could see the Ranger Outpost, which probably meant that my journey was almost over. At this point I just hoped that something cool would pop up, even if I wasn't considering catching it.

We had gotten just a bit closer when I saw John fall to the ground, evidently tripped by something. Trying to keep in my laughter, I watched as he brushed sand off of his uniform and turned to look for what had tripped him. He muttered something that I couldn't hear, but based on what I saw it was probably something along the lines of "OH MY F**KING LORD OF JESUS SWEET MOTHER OF BUDDHA!" because he had just fell on a giant red jewel! I was about to tackle him for it when he pulled the ground, trying to unearth the treasure. However, what really came out made me gasp in surprise. This was no jewel, it was a Starmie!

John nodded to me as the angered star Pokemon approached me, making me just a bit nervous. I didn't know what Pokemon I was going to use yet, but there was something more important to do first. Walking over to the Starmie, I tackled it with all my might, holding on to one of its fins for dear life as it flailed around, trying to get off. However, before it could release me I managed to balance on top of it face down, snapping a picture with my iPhone and putting it on Twitter. No doubt the people back home would pay big money to see me planking on a Starmie!

"Okay, time to battle." I said, dismounting the now-enraged Water Pokemon. It bristled its points at me as I grabbed my Pokeballs, not sure who to use. While Vienna did have her status-inducing moves, battles with Erik usually went just a tad faster. I decided on switching in the grass-type later, just so that my Sleep Powder would be sure to last longer. Throwing Erik's ball high in the air, I prepared myself for the epicly long battle that I knew was about to happen.

"Luxray! Lux lux!" he said as the Electric dog leaped out of his container, sending tiny sparks everywhere as he surveyed his surroundings. Although Erik seemed just a bit dazed, I decided to start my attack. It was combo time; I knew that I wouldn't be able to win this without them.

"Alright Erik! Use Hidden Power, but release it by hitting it with a Thunder Fang! Then slow that thing down with a Scary Face!" I commanded, hoping that he had understood it all. Erik growled once, his black fur standing straight up as he focused. Opening his mouth, the Electric-type began to create a malevolent ball of dark energy, which coursed through his body as it grew. I watched intently as it began to move slowly out of his mouth, and it looked as he was done. The next step of our attack was going to be a little more complicated, and probably involved some harm to Erik; however, that was going to have to do for now, as we only had so much time.

"Lux!" Erik howled as electric energy began to fill his maw, forcing me to cover my eyes. He bit down on the dark energy orb with great ferocity, sending it straight towards his foe. Starmie seemed daunted (if that was even possible for a genderless Pokemon with no face) as my powerful Dark/Electric attack headed closer, seeming to know that this was going to hurt quite a bit. I was quickly informed that Starmie was a Water and Psychic Pokemon, meaning that this was going to hurt more than I had even expected. There was still one more phase to my plan though; make sure that Erik can't get too hurt.

"Show that thing your fearsome face, Erik!" I cried, hoping that he would hear. The Luxray closed his eyes as he focused, and when he opened his eyes he looked different. He had a look on his face that I had never seen before, one of pure anger and rage; it was indeed one of the scariest things I had ever seen. The horrifying image would hopefully intimidate my enemy, as I had to make sure Erik lived for just a while longer; if I wanted to catch this monstrosity, I was going to have to do it as fast and as painlessly as possible.

 

BP-1: Luxray VS Starmie

Ranger John Shay

OOC: Not sure if your picture thing was supposed to be you taking a picture with your digital camera with the intent of making URPG money, or just some storyline thing, but either way I'm going to move on as though it were the latter for two reasons. One, you don't have a camera. ,_, Two, (and from the looks of things, you don't seem to be aware of this so I'm letting you know) you can't take a picture of a Pokemon and proceed to try and capture it. It's either you take a pic of it (if it's a Special-ranked Pokemon, of course), or you battle it. No big deal, though, because I myself had to double check.

Immediately, Ryan ran over to Starmie. There was a mischievous look on his face. He laid face down on the Pokemon, and snapped a picture of himself on the Starmie on his iPhone. I sweatdropped; he was planking on the Pokemon!

"Okay, time to battle." Ryan quickly dismounted, and then got serious. Starmie seemed to be very mad at Ryan after his mischief - the Pokemon spun out of the sand and rotated the two stars that made up its body fiercely. Ryan wasted no time in tossing his first Pokemon into the battle.

"Luxray! Lux lux!" Ryan's Luxray, Erik, appeared in a flash of bright light. He bared his fangs at Starmie threateningly. I remembered about Erik's Intimidate trait - Starmie should be feeling the effects of it now.

From the looks of things, Starmie did seem a little more hesitant than it did a moment ago - despite still being very annoyed by Ryan's planking earlier, it was also studying the situation more carefully to avoid rushing into a trap. I admired this Pokemon's ability to keep a level head even after being insulted the way it had been and then finding itself facing a Pokemon with the Intimidate ability.

"Alright Erik! Use Hidden Power, but release it by hitting it with a Thunder Fang! Then slow that thing down with a Scary Face!" Ryan commanded. I frowned. This was a complex combination of moves. I wondered what it would look like.

A black orb of energy formed in Erik's jaw. I recalled from earlier that Erik's Hidden Power was Dark-type - this should prove to be an effective attack to use on a Psychic-type like Starmie. Not only that, but it was being combined with Thunder Fang, which was also super-effective on Starmie due to it also being part Water-type.

Electricity began coursing through Erik's jaw, surrounding the Hidden Power. This was how Ryan planned to combine the two moves, then. Erik snapped his fangs on the mixed attack, and the Dark/Electric-typed ball of energy was thrown towards Starmie. As Starmie watched the attack zoom towards it, Erik eyed Starmie with a new level of ferocity. As if Intimidate hadn't been enough already, Ryan was augmenting Erik's terrorizing appearance by using Scary Face.

Despite both Intimidate and Scary Face affecting it, Starmie seemed to be able to keep itself together. Both of them should be affecting Starmie's Attack and Speed stat respectively, and yet Starmie was keeping itself calm to figure a way out - impressive.

Starmie began spinning rapidly. I knew this move was Rapid Spin, a common move seen in competitive battling due to its ability to spin away entry hazards such as Spikes and Stealth Rock. However, I wasn't sure what Starmie's intent was here.

Erik's attack collided into the spinning Starmie. I realized what Starmie had been planning as its rotation managed to deflect most of the attack, sending the mixed Dark and Electric energies flying harmlessly to the side. Starmie still took some damage, but it had clearly taken less than it would have had it taken the full brunt of the attack.

Now, it was Starmie's turn to get on the offensive. The gem in the center of the Pokemon began glowing brightly, and bubbles flew out of it, heading straight towards Erik. This was BubbleBeam, a Water-type attack that was neither strong nor weak. I supposed Starmie wanted to get a feel for Erik before using more stronger attacks, and was simply starting off with a moderately-powerful attack. However, given the damage Erik had already taken along the run as well as Starmie's proficiency with Special Attacks (especially Water-type ones), it would be much better for Erik if he could find a way to avoid the BubbleBeam.

Battle Statistics
Luxray VS Starmie
Luxray: 62%, used Hidden Power Dark, used Thunder Fang, used Scary Face
Starmie: 90% ATT-1 SPE-1, used Rapid Spin, using BubbleBeam

Trainer Information
Name: Ryan Chambers
Location: Great Lakes
Pokemon Encountered: Gyarados, Shellos, Lugia, Feraligatr, Poliwag, Horsea, Slowpoke, Shellos, Mantyke, Politoed, Poliwrath, Barboach, Feraligatr, Seismitoad, Starmie
Pokemon Captured: Gyarados, Shellos, Poliwag, Horsea
Character Count Since Last Encounter: 5259/45000
Park Items:
2x Hyper Ball
2x Energy Powder

Pokemon Information

Pokemon: Venusaur (64%)
Nickname: Vienna
Gender: Female
Ability: Overgrow
Nature: Docile
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: Hidden Power Steel

Pokemon: Luxray (62%, in battle)
Nickname: Erik
Gender: Male
Ability: Intimidate
Nature: Hardy
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: Hidden Power Dark

 

Starmie watched the situation with a surprising calm, not seeming to be frightened. Although its Attack and Speed stats were lowered, the strange star creature was relaxed and careless, its plans ingenious but effective at the same time. Its fins began to swirl as the dazzling gem in the middle spun clockwise, moving at enormous speeds when my attack hit. I recognized the attack as a Rapid Spin; it was a very popular tactic back in Pokemon School because it got rid of some painful entry hazards like Stealth Rock and Toxic Spikes. However, I had not put any of these up yet; why was it using this move?The orb exploded into pure energy as it hit the spinning water-type, who did't look very damaged at all. I stared, completely dismayed. How could my ultra-effective attack not even hurt this thing? However, with another glance at my ranger I realized what Starmie had really been trying to accomplish; this Rapid Spin had not been for damaging, it was just to lessen the effects of my attack! I facepalmed, realizing the true intelligence of this beast. I wished I had captured it before my SAT's; this thing would be awesome!

When my attack was gone, the fuschia sea star switched to the offensive. Its gem glowed brightly as bubbles flew out of its unseen gullet, forcing me to think on the fly. I knew it was a Bubblebeam, and I knew it was coming fast. It would be tough for Erik to even try avoiding it, but I knew I had to do something before he bore the full brunt of the attack. Thinking through the moves we had went through, I snapped my fingers and turned to him. My choice was going to be a hard one, but it was going to have to go now if I wanted it to work.

"Okay Erik, sit tight and use Charge to lessen the damage you receive. Then hit that thing with a Wild Charge!" I commanded, cringing at the lack of originality in the names. Really? Just because it's electric "charge" has to be everywhere? Bringing that to the back of my head, I focused on watching Erik and making sure that he did everything I said. The nervous but hopeful dog snarled as his fur filled with electricity, generated from some weird area of his body. His defenses visually increased as sparks flew from his body, making him look even more intimidating than he already did. The bubbles were flying towards him as he cringed slightly, but I could see the excess electricity building up already. He was preparing for his Wild Charge, knowing that his best chance at getting a good hit would be as soon as the attack ended. Starmie seemed as if it was going to be a terrifying opponent, but as long as we played it safe and made sure that no one took too much damage it should be fine. This was going to be a great way to end my journey at the Parks; what better than finding one of the rarest Pokemon here? The boys back home would be blown away when i showed 'em this guy.

The only thing I wasn't sure about was who to bring back. I knew that Horsea and Starmie were rare creatures, ones that couldn't really be obtained anywhere else; I had never seen them in the Pokemart. However, it was the same for Shellos and Gyarados. They seemed to be easier to find, and I was thinking about Poliwag. I had seen cult followers of the cute little tadpole, and it seemed as though people would stop at nothing to add one to their collection. Maybe it would work out, maybe it wouldn't. It all just depended on this one capture...