Individual Run: SLCalamity.

@SLCalamity
NBP#1.
Ranger A. Silverswift.

Argent Silverswift was back in Johto -- at his home in Olivine City, relaxing with his fiancée and their Pokémon. He had taken a break from all of his paperwork at the outposts on that strange island to spend it with his family -- well, his fiancée, that was. He wasn't staying with his own parents or his soon-to-be in-laws. He was kind of glad about that, for some reason he didn't know -- he would have loved to be with his parents, but he guessed that he enjoyed spending alone time with Clara, despite how trying she could be. She was fiery by her nature, as Argent had soon found out, and they'd known each other since they were both fourteen -- they met by the Daycare Centre in this very region, on a chase after a rogue Aipom. It was a very long, and sometimes tiresome, story -- but it was how they met, and Argent was kind of happy because of that. It seemed like they'd been thrown together haphazardly, but those who knew them thought that this was one of the best couplings, although it was definitely a case of opposites attracting.

Argent was more the quiet but more friendly types, hardly ever getting angry and preferring to lay back a little bit more than his fiancée. Clara, by contrast, was hot-tempered and very competitive -- she was so restless that she seemed ADHD, although she could be calmed down when it was necessary... but somehow, the two of them clicked. They were simply sitting on the sofa together, watching the TV, when Argent's mobile phone rang. He groaned, hoping that it wasn't the ranger's offices, calling him back to work -- he'd been working so hard lately. He'd earned this break, and the higher-ups had even approved. He answered the call, despite Clara's protests.

"Hello?" he said in that strangely questioning tone.

"Argent, there's a run that needs to be ta--" said the secretary on the line, but Argent interrupted her.

"Couldn't you get someone else to do it? I'm actually on a small break at the moment... the elites even approved!" Argent interjected.

"Everyone else is out -- break or not, taking a ranger is your job."

"And? Go complain to the elites. I'm not taking it -- that's final." Argent's voice lacked that convincing authority though, and the damn woman was irrefutable.

"Do it now, or I'll have your--"

"Okay, scrap it. I'm coming in. You owe me, though -- if this trainer is in any way crazy or something, I am going to find you and probably decapitate you."

"Lovely, dear. I'm hanging up now."

Argent was somewhat infuriated, but appeared calm to his girlfriend, explaining why he had to go. She wasn't pleased, but Argent left anyway. In a response to Chimey's call, Cassidy had arrived on scene, and gladly teleported the both of them to the National Park -- the outpost where Sally worked. Grabbing the files off of her a little too roughly, he angrily exited. Meteor Valley again -- he took about five minutes to get to the gates, and he waited there.

"Damn this Justine woman," Argent said.

Ahh, Argent -- that's Justin Carter, not Justine. Chimey's tone sounded a little bemused.

"Shut up."

---------------

Trainer Stats.

Spoiler

Username: SLCalamity.
Trainer Name: Justin Carter.
Location: Meteor Valley.
Pokémon Encountered: None.
Remaining Encounters: 15.

Items: Park Ball [x3], Super Ball [x2], Hyper Ball [x1] and Digital Camera [x1].

Weather: GLOOMY.

Pokémon:
Species: Kingdra.
Nickname: Ghost.
Gender: Male.
Ability: Sniper.
Nature: Serious.
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: None.

Species: Haxorus.
Nickname: Ramirez.
Gender: Male.
Ability: Mold Breaker.
Nature: Hardy.
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: None.

 

I rapped my knuckles twice upon the polished mahogany door, before waiting silently for a few moments. And then, a voice – a female. “Come in!” she said in a dull voice when she had heard the firm knocking sound. I grasped the brass handle of the door and twisted it to the left before swinging it open and taking a stride into the clean and tidy room. Making sure to quietly close the door and wiping my feet vigorously on the welcome mat, I approached the secretary. She had an air of intelligence around her, which was supported by her tidy grey suit and plain black rectangular-framed glasses. Her short black hair was tied neatly into a bob with a white hair tie. There was a golden name tag pinned onto her chest – her name was Sally. Her features were relatively soft, and there were no distinguishing features on her face. I was the only person in the room, although there were some wooden benches against the walls and some old magazines scattered on a table. When I was standing at the desk, she asked me for my details.

“Justin Carter,” I said. “I'm booked in for Meteor Valley?”

“Hang on one second,” she replied as she simultaneously swivelled on her spinning chair towards her computer. She tapped a few times on her keyboard (I could see that she had typed the letters 'C', 'A' and 'R') in before confirming my booking. “Yep, I've got you on the system. You're just bringing your Kingdra and Haxorus, correct?”

“Yeah,” I said.

Sally then told me I had to give her the rest of my Pokémon for the duration of my adventure. “Don't worry,” she hastened to add when she saw the shocked look on my face. “I promise you that they'll be safe.”

“Alright then, I suppose.” I was still reluctant to hand them over, but I understood it was necessary. “See you in a bit, Delibird. You too, Cloyster.” I reached into my pockets and proceeded to give the young secretary my balls.

“You're a little bit early,” Sally told me. “But it's cool, there's no one else waiting so you can go ahead to the front gates. It's about a five minute walk if you follow the path. It's out this back door.”

I told her thank you before walking through the door which she indicated. I pulled open the door before seeing one of the most beautiful sights I had ever seen. Lush greens everywhere – the leaves on the trees, the freshly trimmed blades of grass, the bushes lining either side of the walkway. The weather was gorgeous – there were no clouds in the sky, the sun was high and shining brilliantly, and the skyline was an amazing thing to behold – there was the perfect blend of mountains, forests and empty space. It was a picture not unlike on you'd find on any postcard. Growing on the grass were flowers with a vibrant range of colours, each one being bright red, blue or yellow. I began my journey to the front gates, my footsteps ringing out clearly as I trod quickly onto the stone path. Although I had plenty of time to get there, I was so excited that I just swiftly carried on instead of admiring the stunning scenery. As I saw the iron gate in the distance, I began to hear a male voice.

“Damn this Justine woman!”

And then there was a higher voice which I recognised as a Pokémon, although I couldn't understand it. And then, a reply from the man: “Shut up.”

“Uhh, hi?” I said stepping forwards. “Are you... Mr. Argent Silverswift?”

 

NBP#2.
Ranger A. Silverswift.

"Uhh, hi?" the trainer asked, stepping forwards to Argent -- Argent hadn't noticed him arriving there, and so he was given quite a turn. "Are you... Mr. Argent Silverswift?" Argent supposed that this was the trainer he was supposed to take into Meteor Valley -- he sighed, wondering why she couldn't yank someone else to take this guy. He was clearly some kind of wannabe hipster dork -- his bright red superdry hoodie just screamed, "IDIOT." Argent at least wished he could have taken someone who didn't look like a total loser -- at Clara's insistence, Argent had adopted at least some kind of taste in fashion. He wore a black hoodie for warmth, bought from a shop back in Olivine, and was also decked out in a pair of grey three-quarter-lengths and his trademark sandals. Y'know, even though it was still winter. Argent always wore sandals -- but not socks with sandals. That was just too stupid to even consider -- he'd done it once, but only to keep his feet warm. Clara almost stabbed him in the face for this 'crime against fashion'.

At any rate, the child was a hopeless case from the start. It could have been Argent's irritation plaguing his perception, but he didn't care less. As soon as this run was over, he was going straight back home and writing in a complaint against Sally, the secretary who'd coerced him into actually coming to the island on his approved break. He rarely got angry, but this time, Sally was angering him. A lot. He looked towards the boy, suppressing his irritable thoughts, and flashed him a smile. "Yes, I am Argent Silverswift," he replied kindly. "You should drop the mister if you want to live, though. I suppose you must be Justine-- no, Justin, sorry-- anyway, Justin Carter. I suppose you want us to get started, so away we go, I guess." Argent turned from the boy and swung open the gates, leading Justin inside the area. He began walking down the path, Chimey floating by his side obediently. She sensed his irritation, and she still seemed to be bemused by the mixed-up jumble of his angry thoughts -- most of which were directed against both Sally and Justin.

Argent, stop feeling sorry for yourself. You have a job to do, and this kind of thinking is unprofessional, Chimey said, although she was being sarcastic, as usual. She was fond of sarcasm. Besides, you're setting a very bad example for the clouds. If they can't see you being cheerful, then when will we ever see the sun?

That's probably the weirdest... uhm, I'll drop that for now. But anyway, stop being so sarcastic. It's the lowest form of wit, you know. I'd expected you to be a bit more intelligent.

After a good few minutes of solid walking, it began to get a little chilly, although Argent didn't notice -- he looked around at the basalt caves and crevices around the area, and wondered what kind of Pokémon they contained. One of them would be showing themselves soon enough, Argent knew. He just had to wait for them to arrive, he guessed. He began pondering over when they would actually arrive, when, of course, he promptly bumped into some floating thing. He staggered backwards a little, surveying the thing he bumped into.

Damn, that thing was weird. It was a mostly orange, spherical Pokémon. It had eight yellow-colored, rocky spines extending from the sides of its body. Multiple, small, yellow stony portions present on the front and back of its body formed a vertical pattern. On its back were dual rocky mounds, situated to the sides of the ringing pattern. Its eyes are large and stylistic, consisting of thick, semicircular yellow eyelids leaving a black-colored slit in which the red pupil could be seen, with a ring pattern of three black extensions above and below each eye.

Again, weird.

"Well, Justin... do you want this Solrock?" Argent asked.

---------------

Trainer Stats.

Spoiler

Username: SLCalamity.
Trainer Name: Justin Carter.
Location: Meteor Valley.
Pokémon Encountered: Solrock.
Remaining Encounters: 14.

Items: Park Ball [x3], Super Ball [x2], Hyper Ball [x1] and Digital Camera [x1].

Weather: GLOOMY.

Pokémon:
Species: Kingdra.
Nickname: Ghost.
Gender: Male.
Ability: Sniper.
Nature: Serious.
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: None.

Species: Haxorus.
Nickname: Ramirez.
Gender: Male.
Ability: Mold Breaker.
Nature: Hardy.
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: None.

 

I could see the man studying me carefully. His eyes rolled up and down to get a decent impression of me. A smile on his face, I could tell that he thought I looked cool. He on the other hand, was completely out of touch with the fashion world, and had no taste in clothes. The mismatch of his dark hoodie and his grey three-quarter lengths was just about excusable, but sandals looked awful on men, even on a hot day. In the winter, however, it just made him look like an idiot. It was obvious to anyone that he wasn't very well prepared. Why was it that I had to be stuck with such a dork for such a long period of time?

I smiled, hiding away my initial opinions. He seemed somewhat agitated for some reason, almost as if he was forced to come and ranger me, even though it was his job to take anyone through. But as he seemingly realised that there was no heading back now, his expression changed to a look of kindness. "Yes, I am Argent Silverswift," he said in an attempt to be friendly. “You should drop the mister if you want to live, though. I suppose you must be Justine-- no, Justin, sorry-- anyway, Justin Carter. I suppose you want us to get started, so away we go, I guess."

He got my name wrong again, I noted. This mistake was sure to be a regular occurrence – and possibly might not be accidental. Already I was annoyed at his behaviour, it wasn't very official at all. I he kept at it like this, he might be getting a complaint heading his way. But for now, my main interest was capturing Pokémon, and it was apparent that our quest was starting now. Silverswift turned around and unlocked the gate, pushing it open with relative ease. He strode forward, down the sloping gradient. He was talking to his Chimecho, but I couldn't make out what he was saying. He was probably just being a dick. Already I was finding myself to hating this 'Argent' guy.

The temperature began to drop the further that we progressed down this route. I felt the chilly bite, but Argent Sivlerswift (being the badass he is) carried on as if it was a hot summers day. “He's crazy,” I said to myself, wondering how he could bear the bitterness of the air. But before I could continue my thoughts, I noticed that he had stopped to look around the area – this must be Meteor Valley. Stopping myself just before I walked into the cocky ranger, I explored the surroundings. It was rocky, as one would expect, and it was the same colour as the moon. The name was quite fitting in this sense. There were many crevices and caverns dotted around each of the cliff faces that made up the valley. And then, I saw the Pokémon known as Solrock, so named due to it's appearance being similar to the sun. It had eight protruding yellow rocks from its elliptical orange body. It also had a sun pattern around its eyes, which were large and black, with a red iris. A large portion of the eyes were covered by huge yellow eyelids. It wasn't one of the things I was expecting to see, and I didn't particularly want it.

Silverswift hadn't seen the creature emerge from wherever it was living, and I had to stifle a snigger as he almost tripped over the rock, covering my grin with my numb right hand. I wish I had bought gloves with me. Argent had turned around to look at me, and popped me a simple question.

"Well, Justin... do you want this Solrock?" Argent asked.

I glanced at the sun-resembling creature, and decided to decline his offer. “No thanks, I think I can encounter better Pokémon than these to be honest. Let's see what else we can find.”

 

NBP#3.
Ranger A. Silverswift.

"No thanks, I think I can encounter better Pokémon than these to be honest. Let's see what else we can find," Justin told Argent, and Argent grunted -- it was a neutral noise, neither positive nor negative. However, he was thinking at this stage that the boy was quite up himself. The Solrock glared at him - well, as much as a Solrock could glare - and it was quite obvious that the creature was somewhat offended by the dismissal of this human. Argent gave it a somewhat sympathetic look, and Chimey tinkled in amusement, obviously at something the Solrock had remarked on. Argent glanced back at her, his eyes questioning. She simply twirled in the air whimsically, as if she were completely innocent -- Argent had recognised this behaviour in her before. She usually didn't want to tell him about something. He sighed.

It wouldn't translate! she defended, before he had even said anything.

That's a lie and you know it. I'll drop it for now, but you'll have to explain later. Argent looked over at Justin, and beckoned him onwards. "We may as well try to go past," he explained, leading Justin onwards. However, the Solrock spun into their path, and Argent almost crashed into it a second time, merely because it appeared at the last moment, similar to the last time. It didn't matter now -- it seemed that he couldn't escape, and by extension, Justin couldn't. Argent turned, and it seemed obvious the Solrock wasn't going to go down very easily. Perhaps that was maybe what Solrock had said to Chimey? In any case, it wasn't important, and so Argent had whirled around to see Justin's response to this.

"Do you want to try escaping a second time, or do you want to buy a Pokédoll?" Argent questioned, looking imploringly at Justin. This was going to be a very long day, and Argent would just have to keep his best face on it. He wished he could have been back at home with Clara and his other Pokémon. This run sucked so far.

Argent was sure their dislike was reciprocal. He could see that when Justin was judging his appearance, he wasn't liking it at all, and Chimey had been notifying him several times so far of his thoughts. She'd caught "unprofessional" and "unprepared", as well as several other words. Argent was practically scowling in his head, but had not let any negativity out so far. However, if Justin pushed him to the limit, he would retaliate -- he didn't really care if there would be a complaint going his way because of it.

---------------

Trainer Stats.

Spoiler

Username: SLCalamity.
Trainer Name: Justin Carter.
Location: Meteor Valley.
Pokémon Encountered: Solrock.
Remaining Encounters: 14.

Items: Park Ball [x3], Super Ball [x2], Hyper Ball [x1] and Digital Camera [x1].

Weather: GLOOMY.

Pokémon:
Species: Kingdra.
Nickname: Ghost.
Gender: Male.
Ability: Sniper.
Nature: Serious.
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: None.

Species: Haxorus.
Nickname: Ramirez.
Gender: Male.
Ability: Mold Breaker.
Nature: Hardy.
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: None.

 

Argent responded to my decision with a grunt. Although Solrock was moderately rare, it wasn't the kind of Pokémon that I liked. It definitely wasn't an occasion I would regret after this little adventure was over. I peered over to the right, trying to look for more Pokémon myself, but to no avail the valley was seemingly empty. Looking back at the Solrock, I could see an intense glare in its eyes towards me. I wondered what I had done to 'anger' it, but couldn't think what I did. It can't have been that bad (and even if it was, I'd probably never see the Solrock again!). I glanced at Argent Silverswift. His eyes were locked into Chimecho's, a gesture which was usually connotated with conversation – even though no words were coming out of either of the pairs mouths.

We began to walk, and I thought I would be on my way to find another Pokémon, but once again Silverswift had almost tripped over the Pokémon which resembled a sun. I resisted the temptation to smugly grin, though the thought of him falling face first lingered in my mind, even though the main focus was escaping this rock creature. Argent spun on the spot to face me. "Do you want to try escaping a second time, or do you want to buy a Pokédoll?" he queried, neither looking happy nor annoyed. I had just wanted to carry on with the quest, so he decided to take the latter option. “Oh for fucks sake, I guess I'll buy one of your stupid dolls!” I said maybe a bit too harshly. I hadn't meant to swear, and I felt almost a bit sorry for the man – he was only trying to help. “Sorry,” I apologised. “I guess I couldn't control myself. How much does one of these Pokédolls cost? $100? $200?

OOC: 14750-500=14250

 

NBP#4.
Ranger A. Silverswift.

"Oh, for fuck's sake, I guess I'll buy one of your stupid dolls!" Justin burst out without any warning. Argent raised an eyebrow coolly, but decided not to comment on it. In fact, that blurt had been rather amusing for him, instead of annoying him like he would have originally taken it. He wasn't sure why, but a rather whimsical frame of mind had set in about the young boy. However, he did say it rather harshly, but Argent was beyond caring at this point. That little tantrum was almost priceless, but he prevented that inevitable smirk from dancing upon his face. However, Argent could see that once the words had been said, Justin was looking just a little bit ashamed of himself. Argent was, after all, only trying to do his job -- he didn't need to be spoken to so harshly. He hadn't even wanted to come out here, but he'd been landed with one of the rudest, disrespecting trainers that Argent had never believed would walk through the park. However, he'd just have to take it on the chin like two short taking-it-on-the-chin things. However, it seemed Justin was trying to rectify his previous comments. "Sorry. I guess I couldn't control myself. How much does one of these Pokédolls cost? 100? 200?"

"500, actually," Argent corrected politely, glancing back at the Solrock. He accepted the money that Justin handed over, and then turned to the creature. He offered the thing to appease the being, but it ungratefully floated away without batting an eyelid. Argent was slightly confused at this. He turned back to Justin, and fished the money that he had previously accepted out of his pocket, pressing it back into Justin's hand. He deposited the Pokédoll back in his pocket. "Well, it seems that the Solrock wasn't all that interested in us anyway. You can have your money back since the Pokédoll technically wasn't used. Let's continue on."

That was nice of you, Chimey commented. Argent glanced at her in acknowledgement, and returned his sights to the path. He smiled slightly, replying with his own thought.

Well, of course it was nice! You don't know me very well if you don't know how nice I always am. Argent wasn't as prone to sarcasm as his companion, but he liked being sarcastic with her from time to time to keep her wits sharp and to keep her on her - nonexistant - toes. He walked onwards down the rocky, grey path. He kept his eyes peeled for any possible encounters, but it seemed that they weren't going to appear any time soon. He trudged onwards, hoping that they'd come across something that Justin deemed 'worthy' of capturing -- the way he had dismissed that Solrock was quite unflattering for the creature, clearly. Justin seemed to be a bit of a snob at this stage, although Argent wasn't going to make this opinion known.

As they walked onwards, the party had just finished squeezing through a particularly tight gap, when, all of a sudden, a flash of light filled Argent's sight. He averted his eyes for a moment, but when he looked back, the light had died down, and a yellow creature stood at its full, but still rather diminutive, height. Whiskers that rather resembled a long moustache hung down from its face, and it held a singular spoon in its left hand, its fingers curled around it protectively. It had a long, bushy tail, which swept from side to side as its alert eyes surveyed the group that it had just came across.

"Well, Justin, do you want a Kadabra?" Argent inquired.

---------------

Trainer Stats.

Spoiler

Username: SLCalamity.
Trainer Name: Justin Carter.
Location: Meteor Valley.
Pokémon Encountered: Solrock, Kadabra.
Remaining Encounters: 13.

Items: Park Ball [x3], Super Ball [x2], Hyper Ball [x1] and Digital Camera [x1].

Weather: GLOOMY.

Pokémon:
Species: Kingdra.
Nickname: Ghost.
Gender: Male.
Ability: Sniper.
Nature: Serious.
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: None.

Species: Haxorus.
Nickname: Ramirez.
Gender: Male.
Ability: Mold Breaker.
Nature: Hardy.
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: None.

 

"500, actually," the ranger responded, coolly taking the green notes out of my hand and stashing them away in the pockets of his black hoodie. He showed no reaction to my little outburst I had had. He was either very good at concealing his true emotions or was seemingly unoffended by the wording I had used. This made my respect for him rise somewhat (but to be honest, it couldn't go much lower without him doing something entirely unprofessional). Reaching into his trouser pockets, he pulled out a Pokédoll in an attempt to distract the sun-resembling creature. The doll resembled a Pokémon the I had known quite well, having previously owned one – a Clefairy. I had seen one before – even though it usually had a soft, flowery smell, this time it was coated with the smell of Lynx Africa deodorant. Argent Silverswift held the soft toy firmly in his right hand and offered it to the stubborn Pokémon who would not go away. He even shook it to make it seem more appealing, as you would do to a dog. Solrock had glanced at it, unamused by the item. Rolling its eyes, it turned and floated towards one of the many crevices which the valley had along its sides. Silverswift dug his hand back into his pockets, withdrawing the 500 Pokédollars I had previously given him. He thrust them into my hands, wanting to move on to our next encounter. "Well, it seems that the Solrock wasn't all that interested in us anyway. You can have your money back since the Pokédoll technically wasn't used. Let's continue on."

We began to walk along the bumpy stone path. I silently followed the ranger, fishing into my pocket for my mobile phone, a black HTC Desire. I logged on to Facebook and began to update my status. 'omg, just in the park with the most boring man ever!'. I liked using the internet to let my feelings across. The short interludes between encounters gave me enough time to use my phone to escape the boring parts of the National Park. I wished I would find something interesting soon! I could tell by his body language that Argent was hoping the same thing as well – even though like a true ranger should he put up with it. I began tapping at my phone some more, now wanting to play Angry Birds. Just before he touched the small icon, however, there was a bright flash of light all around him. He dropped his phone, but luckily managed to snatch it just before it hit the ground. It was a pretty good catch for someone who couldn't see. The light still blurred his vision although the intensity of it had burned down and he could see the faint outline of a creature. It was a little bit smaller than him, but a little wider. It had a few sharp features – roughly, it looked like its ears and chin were pointy. However, there were many Pokémon that could have fit this description so the species was still the main question.

As my vision slowly returned to normal, I found out to my excitement that the mystery Pokémon was in fact a Kadabra. I smugly grinned and began to strategize – it was one of the Pokémon I had wanted to find on my journey, and I was surprised that I was to find one so soon on the expedition. If I were to capture the psychic-type I would definitely appreciate the dedication my ranger had by sticking with me even while I've been a moaning brat.

The Kadabra was quite odd looking. It was a dirty golden colour and there were pale markings on different places on its body. On its head was a star and on its stomach there was a wave symbol – three parallel wavy lines which were vertical. It took a human-like form, complete with a long moustache that fell down to the pattern on its belly. It had sinister, slanted eyes which were locked into my own, striking a little bit of fear into me. The Psi Pokémon had thin, stick-like arms with three claws on each hand. One of these hands (his right) was clasped around a silver spoon, which although was quite unusual for most Pokémon, seemed to enhance the psychic powers of the creature. Overall, itt was quite a scary look.

“Go Kingdra!” I called, grabbing one of the Pokéballs in my pocket and threw it to the ground. On impact with the rocky floor, the spherical capturing device burst open and a bright light began to take form of the seahorse-like Pokémon. It gave a sharp battle cry which emerged from its long slender snout – it always tried to show its dominance over every other Pokémon as it was the leader of my relatively small band of Pokémon. his was a kind of signature move for the dragon-type, in an attempt to intimidate the opponent. It's blood red eyes were glaring at the Kadabra, scouting out the psychic-type for any weak points it may have had, much like a sniper does when he's looking through the scope of his weapon. It's silky fin located on it's back was lazily blowing in the wind – it didn't really have much use. The elegant Pokémon bounced on it's curved tail as it was not in it's natural habitat in the water. However, it was used to such conditions and as such did not notice anything different.

“Okay, Ghost!” I exclaimed (calling it by its nickname), preparing to give it its command. “Begin with a Yawn to get off to a great start! Once you've made him tired, follow it up with a Dragon Pulse! And remember, if he tries to attack you at least attempt to put up a Smokescreen to hide yourself temporarily.”

I was hoping that Kingdra would manage to pull of the powerful yawn and put the Kadabra to sleep so that my strategy could begin. He would usually release a powerful bubble, which would float over to the opponent, before bursting and making it too drowsy to battle. This had once been so strong that it had knocked out a Pokémon for several hours before, but this was not what I was intending to do. And once this had been performed, it was pretty easy for the second part of this combo to be performed successfully. This second part was a deadly beam of energy, an attack called Dragon Pulse, which was fired from the thin pipe which extended from the head of the water-type. It was one of its favourite moves and quite rightly – it was immensely powerful. And if it were to attempt to strike my Kingdra, it would emit a filthy, dark gas to conceal itself and confuse the Kadabra, rendering it safe for now. I awaited for it to begin to follow my commands and hopefully get off to a great start.

 

BP#1.
Ranger A. Silverswift.

Justin eyed the Kadabra up and down, which was taken by the creature the completely wrong way. He didn't like being looked at, and he didn't like being examined as this human was examining him. Of course, he wasn't being touched or anything, but it was just awkward beyond measures he could cope with. At any rate, the Kadabra extended his scrawny arm, the one with the spoon held on at the end, and blinked. The gadget that Justin had been fiddling around with earlier - a phone of some sort - floated out of his possession and into the air. He'd teach that stupid human to look at him! Making a sort of crushing gesture with his free hand, the Kadabra's spoon glowed lightly, and the phone began to take some sort of pressure to it. Blue energy surrounded it, and the phone seemed to be taking impact after impact from nowhere, the phone crumpling inwards. Argent was taken aback slightly by this show of disregard, but the Kadabra had not read his more carefully-concealed thoughts, and thus was not aware of Argent's surprise. However, it would, later on, encourage Justin to take in more of the park, rather than sit and be absorbed into technology. The youth of today was really just a bunch of techno-freaks. Whilst Argent did like technology, and found it useful for his job, he just didn't understand the addictions that most people had to their contraptions.

Once the phone had been well and truly crushed, the Kadabra made a negligent tossing motion, and the crumpled gadget was thrown to Justin's feet. However, the trainer seemed not to have noticed this yet. Without telling Argent, he had decided to commence battle. "Go, Kingdra!" Justin picked a Poké Ball easily, the spherical capture device coming into his hand. He flung it towards the ground, which would have made a dent in something else, but Poké Balls were well-manufactured to resist these kinds of impacts. Argent wondered if it had any effect on the Pokémon inside, which was why he tended to throw his Poké Balls upwards when calling out a Pokémon, as that wouldn't take the risk... unless it hit off the sky or something. Which really wasn't possible.

"Okay, Ghost!" Justin began. "Begin with a Yawn to get off to a great start! Once you've made him tired, follow it up with a Dragon Pulse! And remember, if he tries to attack you, at least attempt to put up a Smokescreen to hide yourself temporarily." With that, the Kingdra who had materialised out of the white light of the Poké Ball (which had been returned to Justin) floated through the air, and began to prepare his Yawn move. Energy bubbled in his throat, rising just behind his nozzle-like mouth. Argent could see a pinkish colour lurking behind the opening, and it was clear he was waiting for an opportune moment to unleash it upon the Kadabra. However, the Psi Pokémon wasn't one to co-ordinate with this plan, obviously a great deal smarter than Justin may have given him credit for -- using a status move off the bat was never the best of ideas, unless the opponent was distracted by something else. In any case, the Kingdra could see that the Kadabra was hesitant to move, and so he shot the pink bubbles out in quick succession, and they came towards the Kadabra. The opposing creature was having none of that. Kadabra simply closed his eyes momentarily, and a prismatic light shot forth from the star upon his head. It tore through the Yawn bubbles, but didn't do much else. In fact, the Psybeam had dissipated once it had passed through the last remnants of the move.

While the Kadabra was absorbed in doing this, however, the Kingdra had prepared something else pretty easily. An orb of purple energy had been building up in front of the Kingdra, swelling into a decent size. He continued to charge it so it would become more powerful, but only for so long as the Kadabra was absorbed in getting rid of the Yawn attack -- which really meant very little time. However, that time was enough to get a medium-sized orb prepared, and it glowed a faint violet, radiating with the draconic energy that it was infested with. Once the bubbles had all been gotten rid of, Kingdra launched off the sphere. Kadabra's last attack had left it vunerable, and Ghost capitalised on this with skill. As soon as the light of the Psybeam had faded, Kadabra was congratulated with a Dragon Pulse to the stomach. A notable grunting noise was made, and the Kadabra was forced backwards. However, the creature wasn't going to give up so easily. He closed his eyes once more, and the arena visibly shook, although nothing was felt -- Argent's vision had been distorted for a moment. Future Sight.

That attack would be striking soon enough.

---------------

Battle stats:

Spoiler

Kadabra.
88% - Male - ??? - ??? [used Psybeam and Future Sight].


Ghost the Kingdra.
100% - Male - Sniper - Serious [used Yawn and Dragon Pulse].

MCR: 7,966/25,000.​

Trainer Stats.

Spoiler

Username: SLCalamity.
Trainer Name: Justin Carter.
Location: Meteor Valley.
Pokémon Encountered: Solrock, Kadabra.
Remaining Encounters: 13.

Items: Park Ball [x3], Super Ball [x2], Hyper Ball [x1] and Digital Camera [x1].

Weather: GLOOMY.

Pokémon:
Species: Kingdra.
Nickname: Ghost.
Gender: Male.
Ability: Sniper.
Nature: Serious.
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: None.

Species: Haxorus.
Nickname: Ramirez.
Gender: Male.
Ability: Mold Breaker.
Nature: Hardy.
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: None.

 

Almost the second after I had sent my first command, the Kingdra had already begun to charge up energy inside its throat. This was one of the many unique features of the species – it has been said that while asleep, it's yawn was so powerful that it could destroy small ships and ferries. This was hopefully not the case, as I had wanted to capture the mystical Kadabra, and of course, it fainting would not really be able to help me with this goal. I was hoping it would not be taking things too seriously, and would just be able to knock the opposing Pokémon out for a couple of minutes while I could start to whittle down the psychic-types health chunk by chunk.

A pale pink, runny liquid began to slide out of Ghost's snout, beginning to cover the actual hole with a flimsy, liquid layer, much like you would wrap cling film around a bowl to preserve an item of food. An intense look of concentration appeared on the water- and dragon-type, intending to make a decent sized bubble from the unknown liquid. It began to softly puff through the nose pipe as its chest began to rise and fall at a steady rate. It definitely looked calm and collected while using this move, as if it wasn't about to be sent into battle. It instead ignored its target, only focusing on the bubble. The Kingdra glanced up, taking note that Kadabra wasn't rushing to make a move. However, this short distraction was enough to make it lose it's rhythm, and it began to spurt out smaller bubbles alongside the released larger bubble. It was such an uncharacteristic silly mistake that it made, and the only way it could forgive itself was by making sure the Psi Pokémon had at least begun to feel a little drowsy by the weakened move.

Unfortunately for me and Ghost, the Kadabra had finally decided and settled on a move to use. It slowly began to close its eyes, closing off its mind from any outside distractions. Suddenly, a burst of light shot from the bright red star on the forehead of Kadabra, piercing each of the bubbles in quick succession, each one being destroyed with a gentle popping noise. As each one disintegrated, a very light amount of the fluid began to descend to the floor, lining the rocky ground with the sticky moisture. However, this seemed to have no ill-effect on the environment and instead made each rock glisten faintly, which contrasted to the dirty craters and holes dotted around the valley.

Although I was not particularly happy that the status inflicting move I had in mind had been halted so easily, Kingdra was already preparing its second attack while the Kadabra was preoccupied with popping the onslaught of bubbles which had come its way. Once again, the attack had been produced from the nose of Ghost, this time a purple orb which was growing bigger by the second. This energy was pulsing, and a low buzzing noise could be heard protruding from the attack. Kingdra had a somewhat deadly Dragon Pulse, and had brilliant aim thanks to its Sniper ability. My dragon-type began to breath in and out more slowly, calming itself so it could get a better shot at the Kadabra. The ball had stopped growing, and Kingdra was almost ready to fire it. It was at that point that the psychic-type has looked up, only now realising it was in danger of being hit. It attempted to jump out of the way, but it was too late. With surprising force, the Dragon Pulse had struck the enemy sweetly on its stomach, knocking it back a few yards.

The golden beast was not one to give up though, instead closing its eyes to avoid any outside distractions. It had to focus intensely for this next attack to work, but it would be an extremely effective move. Suddenly, the entire valley shook, almost knocking me off my feet. However, Kingdra seemed to feel nothing at all – it only seemed to affect me and Argent. I had no idea what it was planning, but it seemed like it would take place much later in the duel. Hopefully, this battle would be finished by then.

I needed to capitalize on the earlier hit with another powerful attack. I didn't have many options available, but I had begun to formulate a plan in my head.

“Okay Ghost! Hit it with a Bubblebeam before attempting another Yawn!”

Bubblebeam was one of Kingdra's favourite moves. The barrage of bubbles was sure to leave at least a small dent to the health and energy of the opposing Kadabra, and I felt that if I could hit it strongly enough the sleeping attack would work. I wanted to hit it quickly so I could give it little time to recover.

“Attack it, Kingdra!”

@Buoysel.

 

BP#2.
Ranger A. Silverswift.

"Okay, Ghost! Hit it with a BubbleBeam before attempting another Yawn!" Justin commanded of his Kingdra. Argent didn't really think that this was the best of plans -- BubbleBeam, really, was not a very strong attack, and Yawn was highly unreliable, especially considering that the Kadabra would now be able to work out when Kingdra was actually trying to use the move, seeing as he had already seen the Pokémon try to use it before. However, that decision was completely up to Justin and Justin alone -- Argent couldn't help him make that choice, however much he would have liked to (which was, really, not much at all). In any case, Kingdra hovered in front of Justin for a moment, bubbles... well, er, bubbling up in his throat for a moment. They slid into his mouth, dancing around his snout. He was waiting for an appropriate time to release the bubbles at the Kadabra, who was simply staring at Kingdra. Knowing that the bubbles would be coming a little too fast, however, he began to prepare an attack of his own. The singular star on his head began to emanate a green glow, and he swivelled his clawed hands around a particular area in front of him, the green energy beginning to be transmitted through his hands, slowly forming a gloopy sphere.

As Kingdra launched the BubbleBeam, the spheres shot towards Kadabra at a high speed, the velocity at which the bubbles were launched speedy beyond anything. However, in retaliation, Kadabra shoved the Energy Ball that he had been forming over the past few moments underneath the bubbles. The bubbles struck Kadabra in his face, and the liquid stung at his eyes. He closed them, screeching in pain. He didn't seem to be able to open them, and Argent was wondering if it would open them anytime soon at all. That didn't mean that Energy Ball wasn't going to hit -- as a matter of fact, it struck Kingdra's midriff, forcing the Pokémon backwards as well as damaging him. The Kingdra, once he had recovered, simply looked gravely towards the struggling Kadabra with no emotion whatsoever. It was only important to him to do what his trainer wanted -- there was no point in getting excited about battles or anything at all. Excitement did not help get the job done.

He began to produce the pink, globular substance at the tip of his snout -- Yawn, once more. It was a move that, on contact, burst and forced the opponent into a sleeping state. The filmy stuff began to trickle from his snout, almost like he was dribbling.

If you don't mind me saying, that's extremely unattractive, Chimey remarked. Blimey.

The Dragon Pokémon simply blew hard from his snout, the light pink substance being blown outwards like a balloon, that swelled for a moment. He forced the substance from his mouth. Slowly, but surely, the Yawn bubble was making its way towards the Kadabra. Argent realised that Justin was getting himself heavily involved with bubbles in this battle. In fact, it was practically like Bubble City already. Argent was hoping for a more lively battle, but the truthfully camp Justin Carter wanted to play around with bubbles. In a minute, Argent was probably going to find the child prancing through all the bubbles, singing happy songs and skipping like a lamb. In fact, the vision found a way into his head somehow, where it annoyingly stuck, replaying over and over again. It was not, as such, anything pleasant to have stuck in his head. Chimey tinkled with laughter upon seeing this vision imprinted in his brain. Oo-er, she said. If she was a human, Argent would probably have kicked her.

Kadabra was still not able to open his eyes, but he was not defenceless. Using his mind's eye, his thoughts gave him a general guide of his surroundings, and he, of course, noticed the presence of the huge-ass bubble which was floating his way. As a result, he flung his arms wildly into the air, his spoon bending backwards as his desperate thoughts scrambled about, attempting to defend himself. A light blue psychic shield was erected in front of him -- Magic Coat. It deflected the bubble back towards Kingdra at a faster speed, but Kingdra was much faster than some kind of bubble. It dissipated into nothingness once it passed Ghost, and Argent looked a little surprise -- even while blinded, the Kadabra had still fought to stay awake and battle the Kingdra some more.

Doesn't look like he's going to give up easily, Argent commented. If I were Justin, I probably wouldn't try another Yawn until Kadabra's weakened a little bit more. I guess, though, that Kadabra's new blindness could help him out a little.

Argent hadn't forgotten about the Future Sight attack, however -- when exactly was that to strike?

---------------

Battle stats:

Spoiler

Kadabra.
65% - Male - ??? - ??? [used Energy Ball and Magic Coat] [BLINDED].


Ghost the Kingdra.
87% - Male - Sniper - Serious [used BubbleBeam and Yawn].

MCR: 12,494/25,000.​

Trainer Stats.

Spoiler

Username: SLCalamity.
Trainer Name: Justin Carter.
Location: Meteor Valley.
Pokémon Encountered: Solrock, Kadabra.
Remaining Encounters: 13.

Items: Park Ball [x3], Super Ball [x2], Hyper Ball [x1] and Digital Camera [x1].

Weather: GLOOMY.

Pokémon:
Species: Kingdra.
Nickname: Ghost.
Gender: Male.
Ability: Sniper.
Nature: Serious.
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: None.

Species: Haxorus.
Nickname: Ramirez.
Gender: Male.
Ability: Mold Breaker.
Nature: Hardy.
TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: None.