Back to Basics: Monbrey

Moved to BMG on Trainer's request.

Ebail's last post:

---

Ryan seemed pretty happy with the appearance of this Abra. I mean I couldn't blame him to tell you the truth. Even if you ended up owning an Alakazam, this was still a good thing to capture, because it was good trade bait in the very least.

"Yeah actually, Abra is one of the few things I actually still want. I'll start with Empoleon," he said, as he sent out the dual Water/Steel-type, blue colored penguin. Empoleon was the lesser of his two Pokemon, as far as extra moves went, but hey it still had its fair share of moves added on it, and so it more than likely had some useful things to use.

"Alright Empoleon, time to start capturing. Abra is tricky, so you'll need to be quick and on your toes... flippers... feety things. Hit it with a Rock Tomb, I have no idea how it's teleportation works, but hopefully that will stop it, or at least slow it down," Ryan commanded. He obviously didn't want it to teleport away, and would probably try to do anything to keep it from getting away. Couldn't really say I was shocked. I mean I had once remembered hearing a Kirlia use Teleport in a battle in the past to get away, so I wouldn't ever put anything past a Pokemon.

Rock Tomb would work by attacking the foe with boulders, and in the process it would lower the opposing Pokemon's speed by preventing their movement with said boulders. It didn't really trap them though, because they could still usually get around. My guess was it would just hurt their legs bad enough, to the point where they couldn't move around as freely, or fast as they had prior. Being out here there wasn't actually any rocks to use, but I think Empoleon knew this, and decided to instead just make use of its surroundings. It struck the ground with its beak, causing bits of dirt to rise up, which Empoleon then smacked directly at Abra. The Psychic-type tried to motion out of the way, but it was pointless, because the rocks were just coming at it too fast, and so its legs ended up being hit, and it was knocked into the ground. When it got back up, you could see it nursing its legs, and so there was no doubt now that it was considerable slower.

This wasn't the end of things, and I doubt now that Abra would even Teleport away, because Empoleon seemed to have gotten its full attention now. I couldn't tell exactly what it had planned, but in an instant it raced at Empoleon, turning its right hand into a fist, and threw a punch at its midsection. Nothing seemed to really happen, so Empoleon just shrugged it off, as Abra left its fist there. However after a few moments its fist turned red in color, and flames erupted from it, causing Empoleon to jump back, and wince in pain as it rubbed its stomach. Abra had used, a somewhat delayed, Fire Punch. A move where the user punches the foe with a fist of fire, and can cause a burn. While Empoleon was a Water-type, it was also half Steel-type, so this attack did more damage than it would to a regular Water-type. Still though, neither attack from either Pokemon did that much, and things were only just getting underway, so this had a long while to go I felt.

Current Battle Stats
Gentle M Empoleon 94% Used Rock Tomb

? ? Abra 91% Spd-1 Used Fire Punch
CC: 2702/15000

Name: Ryan
Location: Enigma Ruins
Area Effects: None
Pokemon Encountered: Abra
Encounters Left: 19
Pokemon Captured:
CC Since Last Encounter: 1232

Current Encounter: Abra

Items: 3 Hyper Balls, 2 Super Balls, Pokeplayer, Vulpix Voice Disk, Digital Camera, 5 Super Potions, 3 Full Restores

Pokemon:

Charizard

Gender: Male
Ability: Solar Power
Nature: Brave
EMs:
All of them (aka I'm too lazy to list)

Empoleon

Gender: Male
Ability: Torrent
Nature: Gentle
EMs:
TM06 Toxic, TM13 Ice Beam, TM14 Blizzard, TM26 Earthquake, TM48 Rock Slide, TM50 Substitute, TM59 Hidden Power: Ghost, TM64 Protect, TM98 Brick Break, TM101 Rock Tomb, TM121 Shadow Claw, TM129 Stealth Rock, TM135 Grass Knot
HM01 Cut, HM03 Surf, HM07 Waterfall, HM10 Defog
BM Agility, BM Yawn

 

I stood back and watched as Empoleon moved towards the Abra, preparing to carry out my instructions. Looking around, I realised I probably could have come up with something better than Rock Tomb. There weren't any sizable rocks in sight. At all. Luckily, my Empoleon turned out to be a little smarter than I had been. Taking advantage of its part Steel typing, he slammed his beak into the ground, causing large fissures and enough loose debris to work with, slamming them at Abra with his large fins. Empoleon has always had a certain ingenuity that never ceased to impress me.

Abra was fast, but was no match for the speed these rocks were flying towards it. After dodging a couple, one collided directly with its legs, knocking it to the ground. It didn't seem particularly injured overall, but as it struggled back to it's feet I could see that its legs were clearly in pain. I did feel a little sorry for it, but Empoleon had done as I had intended. There would be plenty of time for caring once it was captured.

Abra's attention was now fully focused on Empoleon. Good, I wanted it here, not teleporting away. It quickly charged up and slammed its tiny fist into Empoleon's steel midsection. It was almost a little comical; Empoleon not flinching at all from the impact. I couldn't even see Abra from my position behind Empoleon, who suddenly jumped backwards towards me in a startled fashion. He turned away from Abra, who's fist was glowing red. A scorch mark could be seen on Empoleon's stomach.

"Huh, Fire Punch I guess. Not really what you'd expect from a wild Abra..." This was going to be an interesting fight.

Empoleon shot a couple of small streams of water from his mouth onto the scorched patch, and it faded away pretty quickly. He seemed mostly unharmed.

"Alright Empoleon, time to get a bit more aggressive. I want you to start firing Ice Beams at Abra. If you hit, fantastic. If you don't, you'll at least turn the ground and all those rocks you just threw into Ice, and then you'll be fighting on your own terrain. Hell, build whatever you like out there, shoot and freeze water as you please!"

I knew Empoleon loved fighting on icy terrain - he became much quicker and agile and all around, much more deadly. Plus, I was giving him the freedom to set it up however he wanted. I was no penguin, I trusted him to know how he would fight best. And judging by the current surrounding, this wouldn't be a terrain Abra was familiar with, though who could really tell with Psychic types?

 

@Monbrey; Abra gender?

---

BP#1

Ranger Ivy Frost

---

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Ivy asked Haji, the Espeon walking beside her. They were talking mind-to-mind. This was the purple cat's normal mode of conversation, but she usually spoke out loud when she talked to him – it was habit. Today, however, she wanted to keep the silence because of their company.

The Ranger could feel the unhappy energy coming off of Vergil, her Gallade, as he stalked behind them with his arms crossed. Every once in a while he would huff, annoyed at trailing along after them. It had been Haji's idea to bring him.

“He must learn eventually, and you do not want to go with him alone,” the Psychic-type replied.

Ivy supposed she couldn't argue that much with him, so she didn't try. If Vergil was going to stick around, he should know how to navigate in the Park like her other Pokemon did. A Ranger was usually with at least one of their Pokemon, and Psychic ones were preferred because of the communication and travel aspects. Besides, she practically lived at the National Park with how much she worked.

The problem was that Vergil didn't like her – at all. He was moody and stubborn, and no matter what she did, she couldn't break through to him. They didn't have a connection like she and her other partners, and it was clear that he didn't want anything to do with one. He hardly listened, and that was dangerous. Haji had suggested he start coming along with the two of them so he could get used to guiding Trainers in the Park.

Ivy was skeptical that it would work, but the purple cat hoped that it would at least instill some sort of duty in him, that if he wouldn't listen to her he'd at least do his job. It's not like anything else was working anyway, so she didn't have anything to lose by trying.

They were on their way to the Enigma Ruins now. One of the other Rangers had gotten a call from the mainland, and she was going to take over the run he was on, since he was needed back there as soon as possible. The Ruins sat in what was once the Outer Heavens, which had collapsed. It was a complex network of lab rooms, among other things. It was high-tech and intact, much to everyone's surprise. Nobody had known the advanced facility was there for years.

They had explored some of it, but since the place was almost a mile long underground, they hadn't had time to fully map out the area. Thankfully, they were testing out a new tracking system (thanks in part to her skirmish in the Woods with a handful of poachers), and Gary was one of the testers. She was hopefully going to follow his signal from her phone GPS.

She came to the complex with the other two walking silently and trudging behind her. She didn't have to guess at whose footsteps were whose. The building was sunken into the ground a bit, so there was a dirt slope down to the automated doors that wooshed open when she neared.

The main hallway looked unchanged since the last time she had been here, which was relieving since she had taken a mini break of personal time from work. The tile floors were still that off-white-slightly-gray color, and the place looked spotless, like it hadn't been touched in a while. She knew there were grates almost invisible near the floorboards since she and a Trainer had gotten flooded out before. The large crates had been removed, however, leaving the walkway empty.

Ivy took out her phone and logged into the tracking program, thankfully seeing the signal lead her to parts of the complex that had actually been mapped out. She navigated halls and rooms until the scent of wildflowers hit her nose before putting the device away.

The habitat-inducers were working in this room, which meant it was in use. There was a field of thigh-high grass before her, with lone trees and splashes of brightly colored flowers dotted across the scape. For all intents and purposes, it looked like a nice spring day in a field outside somewhere. The grass even tickled against the palms of her hands, like it was real. The room could imitate real objects by triggering their sensors. The technology was so advanced in this place that it was almost scary.

She heard a noise up ahead and waded through the grass to see who it was. Haji slithered through the underbrush while she heard Vergil stomping down things in his way – probably harder than was necessary. They came over a crest and found that they had reached their target at last.

Ivy stopped to watch a large penguin-like Pokemon rear his head back and then lunge forward as icy light blue spears shot out of his beak, clearly putting a lot of energy into it. She looked out into the field and saw that the Empoleon was firing at a humanoid Pokemon. The light brown skin and fox-like appearance marked it as an Abra.

The icicles shot out speedily, but the Psychic-type was managing to avoid some of them by flashing around the meadow. Ice that missed struck the ground and seemed to melt into it, plastering the brush down and covering the place in a layer of Winter Wonderland. As she watched, an Ice Beam hit one of the lone trees and coated it in frozen water, keeping it still. Since this scenery was fake, she was assuming that the ice would disappear when the rest of it did.

The Abra was fast, but speed wasn't everything. It teleported again to avoid one bolt of ice only to land on an icy piece of ground. Before it could get its bearings and keep upright, another one of the Empoleon's attacks crashed into it, sending the small fox-like Pokemon sprawling across the ground.

It was slightly hurt, but it wasn't out yet. As Ivy watched, she felt Vergil come up on the opposite side of her, staring at the battle. He was intent on the Abra's moves, like he was studying it. Maybe it was a sort of kinship? She knew that he loved to fight, and maybe part of their problem was that she just didn't battle enough. She supposed she might be grumpy too if she never got to do things she liked.

The Abra's eyes flashed red from across the field, and suddenly juts of earth sprang up from the ground, spewing chunks of ice out as small eruptions happened under the frozen grass. The mini-explosions made sharp cracking noises as they moved from the Abra in a bee-line toward Empoleon. The penguin was fast, but panting slightly from his previous exertion in coating the transformed room, he wasn't fast enough to move.

The ground exploded underneath him, sending him flying into the air for a moment before he crashed back down, making a crater in the ice he landed in. The Empoleon got up quickly, though, shaking his body as ice chunks rained off of him. He'd be okay.

With a lull in the battle, Ivy turned to her fellow Ranger and spoke up, getting his attention. “Hey, Gary. I'm here to relieve you. Your other job on the mainland called. They need you to come in if possible. You said that one was priority right?” She couldn't fault him for getting an additional job. There were many days where she considered it, if only she could eliminate the need for sleep.

Gary nodded and took his leave, and Ivy smiled at the Trainer she was now guiding. “Hey, Ryan. It's been a while.”

---

Current Battle Stats:

??? ??? Abra: 72% [Spe-1][Used Hidden Power]
Gentle M Empoleon: 85% [Used Ice Beam]

---

Trainer Stats

Name: Monbrey
Location: Enigma Ruins
19 Encounters Remaining
Area Effects: In a meadow setting.
Pokémon Encountered: Abra
Pokémon Captured: None
MCR: 5,212/15,000 [Uncommon Rank]

Items: 3 Hyper Balls, 2 Super Balls, Pokeplayer, Vulpix Voice Disk, Digital Camera, 5 Super Potions, 3 Full Restores

Pokemon Stats

Charizard @ 100%
Gender: Male
Ability: Solar Power
Nature: Brave
EMs: All of them (aka Ebail was too lazy to list)

Empoleon @ 85%
Gender: Male
Ability: Torrent
Nature: Gentle
EMs:TM06 Toxic, TM13 Ice Beam, TM14 Blizzard, TM26 Earthquake, TM48 Rock Slide, TM50 Substitute, TM59 Hidden Power: Ghost, TM64 Protect, TM98 Brick Break, TM101 Rock Tomb, TM121 Shadow Claw, TM129 Stealth Rock, TM135 Grass Knot
HM01 Cut, HM03 Surf, HM07 Waterfall, HM10 Defog
BM Agility, BM Yawn

 

OOC: Don't care, trading it anyway

---

Empoleon took a deep breath, building up the icy power inside his steel body. After a moment, he rushed forward, shooting the bright blue beams of power out of his beak. Abra was clever, using it's teleportation abilities to dodge the beams, hopping around the battlefield in a blink. But every missed beam turned the terrain in Empoleon's favour, coating the ground and trees in a think layer of ice.

As I stood and watched the battle, I noticed a familiar face approaching. Ivy had come out to the area, a Ranger who had taken me through Mount Deckbi on a previous expedition. She was accompanied by two Psychic types, her friendly Espeon, and a Gallade I didn't recall seeing before. He didn't look too enthusiastic to be out here. "Hmmm, Maybe Empoleon's ice show will liven things up a bit for him. Then again, he's fighting a Psychic type. Lets hope Gallade doesn't take sides." I thought to myself.

The large penguin's focus and speed was impressive, never losing sight of the Abra despite it's constant teleporting. Within a second or two, another Ice Beam was shot at Abra after it reappeared. The fatigue must have gotten to the small Pokemon, as it teleported directly onto a large patch of ice and lost its footing. Empoleon took its mark and fired at the staggering Abra, a powerful icicle crashing into its midsection, send it sliding across the icy ground.

This Abra was tough. Despite the strong hit, it hopped back to its feet, eyes flashing red. Cracks appeared in the icy earth around Abra as chunks flew into the air. The cracks ripped through the ground towards Empoleon, who lept a little too late, as the rupturing ground sent him flying backwards. He seemed alright though, the chunks of soil and ice falling to the ground as he picked himself up.

Ivy walked over and had a few quick words with Gary, who gave a wave to me as he headed off. Ivy turned to me and smiled.

"Hey again. Is everything alright with Gary?" I asked. I wasn't sure how common it was for Rangers to switch like this, but at least this wasn't someone new I had to deal with.

I had forgotten the battle at hand. Turning back around, I saw Empoleon and Abra in a stand-off, glaring at each other and letting out the occasional cry of battle.

"Alright then Empoleon, time to start dealing some damage here. Shadow Claw is your best option here, but listen. Abra might be small, but its fast too. Combine that with its teleporting and it's going to be hard to land a good hit. I want you to use Agility first. With that kind of speed on top of the ice, you should be able to get in there and hit it hard before it has a chance to react, and start dodging or teleport. Got it?"

Empoleon nodded to me. It assumed an almost karate-like stance, one fin extended out in front, the other held across his chest. The Abra watched intently, as a dark purple aura began to pulsate around them, the eerie glow fading in and out. At the same time Empoleon crouched, its feet also glowing, but with a light bluish tinge. Agility had been readied too, and Abra hadn't seemed to notice. Its attention was focused entirely on Empoleon's fins, and its battle-ready position.

I looked back over my shoulder at Ivy and her two Psychic Pokemon. Gallade was still watching closely. "Alright Empoleon, lets go! Shadow Claw!"

 

OOC: I rolled F. @Monbrey;

BP#2

Ranger Ivy Frost

---

“Hey again,” Ryan said as he looked away from the battle for a moment. “Is everything alright with Gary?”

Ivy smiled and nodded. “Yeah, his other job called, and that's his priority right now. It's a good thing we're not super busy at the office,” she said.

The Trainer turned back to his Empoleon so they could continue. He was off to a good start, but the small Psychic-type wasn't about to give up yet. Vergil seemed a little more alert as Ryan gave his next set of commands to the penguin, and she knew that he was probably going to watch how the Abra handled it. She really needed to get him battling more – at least enough that he didn't obsess over it.

Ryan opted to use a Shadow Claw and Agility combination that should help the penguin to shoot across the ice at a fast enough rate to hit the Abra. Being part of it's habitat, the Empoleon shouldn't have any trouble gliding across the ice covered plain that the room turned into. The whole place had brightened up from the glass-like surfaces of the grasses and trees.

The large penguin took a battle stance as he readied his technique, and Ivy felt Vergil take notice of the almost martial arts-like way the Empoleon was standing. She could feel his energy prickle and see his muscles tense in curiosity. The Gallade could recognize other warriors, and she hoped that it wouldn't cause him to interfere in this. He liked to test himself.

“Haji, don't let him do anything,” she requested silently, hoping it was unnecessary.

Before she could worry any more, the Empoleon glided off onto the field, his fins glowing a ghastly purple as he prepared to strike the smaller Psychic-type. Easily traversing the ice, the penguin swooped in before the Abra could move, slashing at him with the eerie energy.

The wild Pokemon cried out as she tumbled backward, sliding across the plain. She instantly teleported elsewhere, but the Empoleon followed, changing his direction abruptly by kicking off a tree he was sliding toward. His agility was making his movements a lot easier. He made it look easy.

Empoleon went in to strike again as he arced his fin backward, but when he slashed toward the Abra again, his claw made a screeching sound as it scraped along an invisible screen that gleamed as he came into contact with it. The Empoleon looked a little confused as he turned around, spotting the Abra somewhere else. As he jetted off, he came into contact with another nearly-invisible screen before he could really gather speed.

As she looked, she could see multiple Abra gleaming along planes she hadn't seen before. “Oh wow,” Ivy said. “Looks like the Abra has put up some Reflect screens and is using all the ice to hide her location. Good thing you got in that first hit.”

The specter in the pseudo-mirrors was breathing a little heavier than before, which meant the psychic-type was starting to wear herself out. Unfortunately for Trainers, when wild Pokemon were backed against the wall like that, it usually meant they fought harder.

Empoleon was still gliding around the field, trying to find his way around the screens and to the Abra, but she was staying one step ahead of him, using the glare from the ice and her teleportation to keep out of his reach. Suddenly, the ground began to rumble a bit.

Instead of the earth exploding upward, thick vines began to crawl out from underneath the ice and stretch across the field. Empoleon didn't see them in time, and the foliage shot across his skating path before he could switch directions. With a yell, the penguin tripped over the knots of grass and fell, spinning as he slid across the ice on his stomach.

He didn't look too hurt thankfully, but now Ryan was going to have to deal with the spiderweb tracks of vines across the terrain and the room of mirrors Abra had created.

---

Current Battle Stats:

??? F Abra: 48% [Spe-1][Used Reflect and Grass Knot]
Gentle M Empoleon: 75% [Spe+2][Used Agility and Shadow Claw]

---

Trainer Stats

Name: Monbrey
Location: Enigma Ruins
19 Encounters Remaining
Area Effects: In a meadow setting, but it's frozen.
Pokémon Encountered: Abra
Pokémon Captured: None
MCR: 8,576/15,000 [Uncommon Rank]

Items: 3 Hyper Balls, 2 Super Balls, Pokeplayer, Vulpix Voice Disk, Digital Camera, 5 Super Potions, 3 Full Restores

Pokemon Stats

Charizard @ 100%
Gender: Male
Ability: Solar Power
Nature: Brave
EMs: All of them (aka Ebail was too lazy to list)

Empoleon @ 75%
Gender: Male
Ability: Torrent
Nature: Gentle
EMs:TM06 Toxic, TM13 Ice Beam, TM14 Blizzard, TM26 Earthquake, TM48 Rock Slide, TM50 Substitute, TM59 Hidden Power: Ghost, TM64 Protect, TM98 Brick Break, TM101 Rock Tomb, TM121 Shadow Claw, TM129 Stealth Rock, TM135 Grass Knot
HM01 Cut, HM03 Surf, HM07 Waterfall, HM10 Defog
BM Agility, BM Yawn

 

OOC: I actually posted! @WinterVines;

---

I watched on intently as Empoleon prepared to carry out my orders, his blade-like arms glowing purple as he carefully lined up the Abra in his sights. The ranger's Gallade was also watching on with a keen interest. Gallade were well known for their strong martial arts capabilities - it was reasonably safe bet this one was no exception. He probably enjoyed watching Pokemon battles. Time to put on a show then.

"Go Empoleon! Hit it!"

Empoleon lunged forward, gliding across the ice at great speed. The Abra had no time to react before the glowing fin collided with its torso, sending the Pokemon tumbling backwards. Abra quickly teleported and returned to its feet on the other side of the battle field, however Empoleon, still on its own turf, quickly turned and was flying at it again.

"YEAH! Keep it up Empoleon!" The large penguin brought its fin down for another hit, but this time it appeared to glance off, sending Empoleon off balance. Looking around, he saw Abra in another spot, but encountered was seemed to be an invisible wall. Empoleon stopped and looked around, confused.

At that moment, Ivy spoke up. "“Oh wow, looks like the Abra has put up some Reflect screens and is using all the ice to hide her location. Good thing you got in that first hit.”

"Reflect, I thought that's what it was. Pretty smart defence against Shadow Claw. Nothing Empoleon can't handle though".

It seemed like Abra wasn't done yet though, and Empoleon was still trying to find a way to it; its constant teleporting keeping it safe. It was showing signs of fatigue though - a few more good hits and a capture should be possible.

Suddenly, with very little warning, large thick vines burst through the icy landscape. Shatters of ice went flying, and I dodged to avoid an unwanted haircut. Empoleon let out a loud cry and went tumbling over one, landing with a solid thud again a newly up-turned mound of dirt. With a groan it got back up, ready to fight again.

"Huh, Grass Knot. Completely destroyed Empoleon's advantage. VERY smart. I just want this Abra even more".

Abra didn't seem to be making any more moves for the moment, satisfied that it had caused enough disruption to earn itself some rest. At least this gave me a moment to think of my next move. Empoleon wasn't going to be able get the mobility it needed with those Reflect screens up, or deal much physical damage either, so they had to go first. I did have something in mind for those vines though.

"Alright Empoleon, great work. That Reflect was a surprise, but we're going to deal with that now. I want you to use Brick Break to clear those screens. You'll be able to see them glinting in the sunlight as you move around, they aren't completely invisible. If Abra tries anything, hit it with Brick Break too, but don't concern yourself too much with attacking for the moment - the screens are the priority"

It was a long order, but Empoleon seemed to understand. He gave me a nod and began to move, slowly surveying the battlefield and readying his fins.

 

@Monbrey; I had to dig this out of my inactive runs folder XD

BP#3

Ranger Ivy Frost

---

Ryan encouraged his Pokemon with every move, cheering the Empoleon as he slid around on the ice. He didn't even seem that worried about the Reflect Screens or the vines strung across the field. That meant he had a plan.

Thankfully, Vergil hadn't interfered – yet. Ivy was still crossing her fingers that he wouldn't. He still looked plenty interested in the battle, and that was great, since she was sure he'd learn something useful, but she didn't want him barging in to fight the wild Pokemon – or worse, the Trainer's. Haji reassured her through the mind, however, so she decided to leave him to it. There wasn't much she could do to stop the Gallade if he wanted to join in anyway.

“Alright, Empoleon, great work,” Ryan said. “That Reflect was a surprise, but we're going to deal with that now. I want you to use Brick Break to clear those screens.”

That was a good idea, since the barriers both hampered attacks and kept this Psychic-type partially hidden from view. The Trainer also added in to hit the Abra if she came close too, but that was secondary to taking down the screens. There should be five, in theory, so Empoleon would have to work fast before the Abra counter-attacked.

Empoleon studied the field for a minute, using the shining sun to see where he should skate to next. Then, he was shooting off, careful of where he skated this time. He chose a path a little out of the way, but free of some vines. Then, when he had to cross them, he used his fins to push himself over them in a jump, only slowing his sliding a little.

He came rushing up to the first screen and swiped a fin across it. It shattered like glass, causing rainbow speckles of light to burst onto the field before the energy faded away completely. The Abra was still no where to be seen, hiding behind one of her other screens or warping between them. Empoleon destroyed three other screens without trouble when Ivy felt something on the edge of her senses.

“What is that?” she asked Haji, since it was his energy sensing abilities that she was feeling.

“The Abra moves,” he said.

When Empoleon reached the last screen and went to swipe it, the Psychic-type was revealed. She looked to be focusing, and when the penguin was on the back swing, the fox-like Pokemon struck out with her own fist.

Vergil snorted at the 'tink' sound she made as she connected with the steel-like body of Empoleon. He clearly wasn't impressed. Neither was the Water-type. Quickly snapping his fin back in the other direction, he caught the Abra in the motion and flung her across the field with a shout. She hit the ice and spun for several seconds before righting herself and starting to hover just above the ice to keep from slipping. Ivy could see that her body was bobbing a little more than normal, however, which meant she was really tiring out.

“Keep at it. You're almost there,” Ivy told him.

---

Current Battle Stats:

??? F Abra: 40% [Spe-1][Used Focus Punch]
Gentle M Empoleon: 71% [Spe+2][Used Brick Break]

---

Trainer Stats

Name: Monbrey
Location: Enigma Ruins
19 Encounters Remaining
Area Effects: In a meadow setting, but it's frozen.
Pokémon Encountered: Abra
Pokémon Captured: None
MCR: 11,600/15,000 [Uncommon Rank]

Items: 3 Hyper Balls, 2 Super Balls, Pokeplayer, Vulpix Voice Disk, Digital Camera, 5 Super Potions, 3 Full Restores

Pokemon Stats

Charizard @ 100%
Gender: Male
Ability: Solar Power
Nature: Brave
EMs: All of them (aka Ebail was too lazy to list)

Empoleon @ 71%
Gender: Male
Ability: Torrent
Nature: Gentle
EMs:TM06 Toxic, TM13 Ice Beam, TM14 Blizzard, TM26 Earthquake, TM48 Rock Slide, TM50 Substitute, TM59 Hidden Power: Ghost, TM64 Protect, TM98 Brick Break, TM101 Rock Tomb, TM121 Shadow Claw, TM129 Stealth Rock, TM135 Grass Knot
HM01 Cut, HM03 Surf, HM07 Waterfall, HM10 Defog
BM Agility, BM Yawn

 

The Gallade accompanying the Ranger was still watching the fight with keen interest, it's muscles bristling with energy. Concerningly, it looked as if it wanted to join in, but I had my doubts that its priorities would be capturing the Abra if that were to occur. I had to assume that the Pokemon owned by the Rangers were at least somewhat moderately well-trained, and so far the Gallade had kept his distance dutifully. Standing around watching battles all day had to be frustrating though.

Empoleon went straight to work on the five shimmering Reflect screens. I was impressed with his work. He followed my directions perfectly, ducking and dodging around, utilizing the sunlight to find each of the transparent rectangular panels. Then, upon finding each one, brought the screen shattering down to the ground with a swing of his bladed fin. The pieces continued to glimmer in the sunlight as the slowly faded away.

Even the vines that occasionally blocked his path were no issue either, as he casually jumped over any that obstructed him, taking out each panel one by one.

With four Reflect screens down, and still no sign of the elusive Abra, Empoleon darted over to the final, remaining barrier. Empoleon clearly understood the process of elimination; an air of confidence could be felt from him and he sent his fin crashing through the last screen, finally revealing the Abra he had been hunting.

However Abra wasn't ready to be counted out yet - it too was prepared. With a lunge, Abra lashed out, landing a focused punch on Empoleon's steely shell... to litte effect. Empoleon looked down with disdain and swung his fin once more, slamming into the small psychic type and sending it spinning across the ice. It was forced to use its telekinetic powers to stop itself, hovering just above the ice. It was visibly struggling to stay in the air though - a sure sign that it wouldn't have the energy required to continue the fight much longer.

Perfect, now was the time to look for a way to capture the Abra. Unfortunately, the anthropomorphic psychic fox was notoriously wily and difficult to catch, simply because of its intelligence and Teleport ability. Empoleon and I were going to have to lock it down, and I had a good idea how. If it worked, Abra would have laid it.s own trap.

"Awesome work Empoleon, I think it's time to try and finish this up."

While Empoleon was in much better shape than the Abra, I knew he would be relieved to finish the fight. The climate wasn't very well suited to him, it was only through the ice of his own creation that he had been able to continue fighting so long.

"Alright, so capturing it while it can still teleport everywhere will be basically impossible, but I think I know how we can prevent that. We're going to need some cover though. Use Mist first to provide a foggy cover, that should be enough to distract Abra from what we're really doing."

Empoleon immediately took a deep breath and exhaled a large cloud of grey fog from his beak, which dispersed to cover most of the immediate area. It wasn't particularly thick, but it did reduce visibility a fair bit.

"That should work. Now, use your own Grass Knot technique to manipulate these vines that the Abra created and tie it up while its vision is impaired."

Watching from behind Empoleon, I grabbed one of the Hyper Balls, and prepared to attempt the capture.

 

@Monbrey;

NBP#1

Ranger Ivy Frost

---

“Awesome work, Empoleon. I think it's time to try and finish this up,” Ryan said, congratulating his Pokemon on a job well done.

Ryan then pulled out a Hyper Ball, and Ivy thought it was a little odd to be going for a capture so early. Abra was worn down a little, but it still had plenty of energy. Then again, other Trainers had gotten even luckier before.

“Use Mist to provide a foggy cover. That should be enough to distract Abra from what we're really doing,” he said next, and his Pokemon immediately responded.

With a deep breath, the penguin released a thick, milky fog that cloaked the whole field. Ivy could no longer see the Abra, and hopefully, the same was true of the wild Pokemon. Since she was Psychic-type, she'd probably be able to sense the energy of the group anyway, but hopefully Ryan had a plan that went around that.

“That should work,” he said once Empoleon was finished. “Now, use your own Grass Knot technique to manipulate these vines that the Abra created and tie it up while its vision is impaired.”

That was a pretty good idea. Since it was long range, there was less chance of Abra sensing it in time to evade. Even while she watched the penguin act, she could hear an angry sound that marked the Psychic-type being snared in the trap.

Then, Ryan threw the ball. There was quiet for a moment, and Ivy couldn't see what was happening through the fog. She waited until it thinned out and disappeared, and by that time, the flowery field faded away too, leaving just the empty room in the complex. The Hyper Ball was sitting on the floor.

“That worked out better than I thought,” the Ranger said as she walked over to pocket the device. “Did you want to keep going or take a rest?”

---

Current Battle Stats: N/A

---

Trainer Stats

Name: Monbrey
Location: Enigma Ruins
19 Encounters Remaining
Area Effects: In an empty room.
Pokémon Encountered: Abra
Pokémon Captured: Docile F Abra
MCR: 0

Items: 2x Hyper Balls, 2x Super Balls, Pokeplayer, Vulpix Voice Disk, Digital Camera, 5x Super Potions, 3x Full Restores

Pokemon Stats

Charizard @ 100%
Gender: Male
Ability: Solar Power
Nature: Brave
EMs: All of them (aka Ebail was too lazy to list)

Empoleon @ 71%
Gender: Male
Ability: Torrent
Nature: Gentle
EMs:TM06 Toxic, TM13 Ice Beam, TM14 Blizzard, TM26 Earthquake, TM48 Rock Slide, TM50 Substitute, TM59 Hidden Power: Ghost, TM64 Protect, TM98 Brick Break, TM101 Rock Tomb, TM121 Shadow Claw, TM129 Stealth Rock, TM135 Grass Knot
HM01 Cut, HM03 Surf, HM07 Waterfall, HM10 Defog
BM Agility, BM Yawn

 

OOC: Actually going to post again! I'll try a few more encounters otherwise I'll just bail @WinterVines;

As I heard the sound of Empoleon manipulating the vines, I darted through the fog to where I had last seen the elusive Abra. A yelp from the psychic Pokemon told me that I was both heading in the right direction, and that the Grass Knot had worked.

Closing in, I threw the Pokeball at the emerging silhouette of the Abra, staring intently, unblinking, as the flash of red light pulled the Pokemon inside.

One shake. Two. Three. The flashing red light faded away, no longer illuminating the now clearing mist around it. Abra had been caught!

I jumped up and fist-pumped the air. "Awesome! Man, that felt like it took FOREVER!". Empoleon came over, seemingly quite satisfied with his work, and rightfully so. He had done a fantastic job battling the agile Pokemon in unfamiliar terrain.

"Brilliant work Empoleon. You must be exhausted. Here, this Super Potion should revitalize you a bit." Empoleon winced slightly as the spray from the potion spread over the grazes and scrapes on his metallic exterior. However it worked well, and the lesions quickly disappeared. The strange flesh-metal that his body consisted of was a little strange, but effective anyway. I turned to face the Ranger, who had been waiting patiently during my battle.

"Alright then Ivy, sorry to keep you waiting for such a long time. Shall we continue on with the trek?"

 

@Monbrey; I had almost moved your run to my inactive folder. You better stick around cos there were some cool things on your list.

NBP#2

Ranger Ivy Frost

---

Ryan dug around in his backpack for something. After a second, he pulled out a burnt-orange bottle, indicating it was a medicine. “Brilliant work, Empoleon,” he said. “You must be exhausted. Here, this Super Potion should revitalize you a bit.”

He sprayed it over the steel penguin, and although he winced and had a sour look on his face, the Water-type looked a lot better once the medicine had time to soak into his wounds. It would help in future battles to come, especially since the Trainer had only brought two Pokemon with him to the event.

“Alright then, Ivy, sorry to keep you waiting for such a long time. Shall we continue on with the trek?”

The Ranger nodded. “Sure. It's no problem,” she said as the frozen terrain melted away. Soon they were left in just a blank room. “Let's go back out to the hallway.”

They did, and it was as empty as when she came. The hall seemed to stretch on for days, and she knew that that was highly possible. The entire complex hadn't been explored room for room yet, but their information stated that the place was over a mile long from tip to tip.

Their steps echoed off the walls eerily, and for a long time, nothing moved or jumped out of any of the rooms they passed. Then, Ivy noticed that her steps weren't making a tapping sound anymore. She looked down to see that the floor had converted to a soft, pale green grass that wisped instead.

Then, the walls shimmered, and before her eyes they transformed into tightly-packed foliage, layers and layers of leaves piled together. They loomed in a wall that went up to the very ceiling, only the ceiling wasn't a ceiling anymore. It had been replaced with looming clear blue sky. She recognized the place. They were in a simulation of the Gardens.

It was the maze, actually. The twists and turns in the hall weren't the same paths she was used to in the actual Gardens, since they had to conform to the Ruins' hallways, but she still got that tight feeling. She reached out, and the grassy walls were rough to the touch, just like they were real.

When they came around a corner, a Pokemon was suddenly there on the path in front of them. Ivy had to halt abruptly to avoid running over it—that was always her worry in the real Gardens, since it was impossible to see around curves there too.

A small blue and cream-colored Pokemon looked up at them slowly. It was oddly colored—it looked like it was laying on its back, but it really wasn't. Tiny wings sat close to its head, and an almost snake-like barb topped the tip of its tail. It tilted its head to the side slowly as it considered them.

“Any interest in this Dunsparce? It's lucky we didn't run it over.”

---

Current Battle Stats:

??? ??? Dunsparce: 100%

---

Trainer Stats

Name: Monbrey
Location: Enigma Ruins
18 Encounters Remaining
Area Effects: In an empty room.
Pokémon Encountered: Abra, Dunsparce
Pokémon Captured: Docile F Abra
MCR: 1,346/9,000 [Uncommon Rank]

Items: 2x Hyper Balls, 2x Super Balls, Pokeplayer, Vulpix Voice Disk, Digital Camera, 4x Super Potions, 3x Full Restores

Pokemon Stats

Charizard @ 100%
Gender: Male
Ability: Solar Power
Nature: Brave
EMs: All of them (aka Ebail was too lazy to list)

Empoleon @ 100%
Gender: Male
Ability: Torrent
Nature: Gentle
EMs:TM06 Toxic, TM13 Ice Beam, TM14 Blizzard, TM26 Earthquake, TM48 Rock Slide, TM50 Substitute, TM59 Hidden Power: Ghost, TM64 Protect, TM98 Brick Break, TM101 Rock Tomb, TM121 Shadow Claw, TM129 Stealth Rock, TM135 Grass Knot
HM01 Cut, HM03 Surf, HM07 Waterfall, HM10 Defog
BM Agility, BM Yawn

 

I followed Ivy towards the hallway connecting to the weird room we were in, as the terrain faded away to reveal the blank walls behind it. I had forgotten that I wasn't actually outside - the effect of these ruins was incredibly realistic. Empoleon followed wearily behind.

"Oh, Empoleon, you don't need to walk. Take a rest mate". I pulled his Pokeball off my belt and pressed the button, the Pokemon disappearing in a flash of red light. He had earned a little downtime.

I continued on down the seemingly endless hallway, waiting anxiously for something to happen, or a Pokemon to appear. Nothing much did for some time; each of the connecting rooms was just as pale and lifeless as the eerie hallway we were walking down.

After a lot of walking, the ruins were finally giving us something new, as grass and bushes began to materialize around us in a maze-like fashion. I had never been, but I was familiar with the notorious maze of the Gardens. With any luck it would disappear again before we got too lost. It was surprisingly unsettling, watching an entire environment just appear out of nowhere, without even a sound.

Ivy stopped suddenly in front of me, looking at something on the ground in front of her. It was a small Dunsparce, a strange an unusual Pokemon. Unfortunately, it also wasn't particular useful.

Ivy turned to look at me. "Any interest in this Dunsparce? It's lucky we didn't run it over.”

I couldn't see much use for the funny looking thing, and it seemed pretty relaxed, chilling out in the middle of the path. Empoleon was still tired, and I couldn't imagine Charizard would be too impressed with battling the odd thing in the middle of the forest.

"Nah, lets move on. With any luck we should just be able to keep walking without it bothering us. It doesn't seem to want to fight."

@WinterVines;

 

@Monbrey;

NBP#3

Ranger Ivy Frost

---

Ryan stared at the Normal-type for a few minutes, and the creature just stared back. It was pretty placid, although the species wasn't known for being clueless or derpy at all. The tiny wings flapped on its back, and Ivy wondered if it was actually capable of getting off the ground.

“Nah, let's move on. With any luck we should just be able to keep walking without it bothering us.”

At this, the Pokemon made a noise and bobbed its head, like it was trying to get their attention. It looked excited. She had seen that playful attitude in a lot of other Pokemon, like Lillipup in the Gardens.

“Not today,” she said. “Maybe some other time we can play.” At this, the Dunsparce seemed to get visibly upset. It hopped up and down a little and thumped its tail against the grassy ground, almost like a tantrum. “None of that now,” Ivy told it, waving her finger at it. “We can come back later. Right now we need to keep going, okay?”

The Normal-type looked like it was pouting a little, but eventually it consented. It nodded its head and slunk away around them, disappearing around the corner and out of sight. Ivy sighed in relief. At least it hadn't put up a fuss, even though it looked like it had wanted to play for a bit.

Ivy waved them on, and they kept going. Soon, the walls began to flicker again, smoothing out the scruffy foliage-packed walls back to normal. Eventually, the Ranger decided to duck into a room, mostly because the door was different. Instead of the normal whooshing automatic ones, it was a standard steel door with a knob.

They ducked inside and found themselves in a basement room. It had a small cement platform about six by six feet with a steel rail and stairs leading down into the open room. There wasn't anything in it anymore, since any equipment had been cleared out long before they even discovered the place. Their steps echoed, and the enclosed space made it seem very dark. The floodlights on the top of the walls didn't light up the area very well.

Then, the area here began to change too. The walls grew pale and then bled blue like the endless sky. The ceiling changed to match, making it seem like they were in the open air. Then, the sound of gently ebbing waves were heard, and Ivy saw that the basement floor had been washed over with water. There was sand trailing up to the steps, like the beach settings in the Lakes.

A faint humming sound came from under the water then, and a Pokemon with three light blue bubbles on the top and sides of its head emerged. It sort of looked like a tadpole or frog without arms. It was mostly blue with a cream-colored stomach. It looked at them expectantly.

“There's a Palpitoad there,” she said, pointing to the Water and Ground-type. “Any interest?”

---

Current Battle Stats:

??? ??? Palpitoad: 100%

---

Trainer Stats

Name: Monbrey
Location: Enigma Ruins
17 Encounters Remaining
Area Effects: In a beach room.
Pokémon Encountered: Abra, Dunsparce, Palpitoad
Pokémon Captured: Docile F Abra
MCR: 0/15,000 [Borderline Rank]

Items: 2x Hyper Balls, 2x Super Balls, Pokeplayer, Vulpix Voice Disk, Digital Camera, 4x Super Potions, 3x Full Restores

Pokemon Stats

Charizard @ 100%
Gender: Male
Ability: Solar Power
Nature: Brave
EMs: All of them (aka Ebail was too lazy to list)

Empoleon @ 100%
Gender: Male
Ability: Torrent
Nature: Gentle
EMs:TM06 Toxic, TM13 Ice Beam, TM14 Blizzard, TM26 Earthquake, TM48 Rock Slide, TM50 Substitute, TM59 Hidden Power: Ghost, TM64 Protect, TM98 Brick Break, TM101 Rock Tomb, TM121 Shadow Claw, TM129 Stealth Rock, TM135 Grass Knot
HM01 Cut, HM03 Surf, HM07 Waterfall, HM10 Defog
BM Agility, BM Yawn

 

@WinterVines; OOC: What the hell, I really should try and get through this before Gen VI.

---

The Dunsparce moved to be more excitable than expected, bouncing around a little as we tried to walk past it. I had to admit, it was kinda cute when it wanted to play, but still not what I had come here looking for.

Ivy spoke calmly to the Pokemon, and it seemed to accept that we didn't have time to play. It shuffled off the path in its own odd little way, probably going to find someone else to play with. As we continued walking on down the trail, the walls shimmered and returned to the plain, boring corridors of the Enigma Ruins. Mostly, everything looked the same, until Ivy motioned towards a door that appeared different to the others. It was solid steel and looked fairly old - probably worth taking a look at least.

The lighting inside the room was pretty dull. Although it was hard to tell, the room appeared to be fairly small. Just as I was wondering why we'd bother coming down here, the walls began to change again. The room became brighter almost immediately as the sound of waves rolling into the sand began to faintly echo inside what were concrete walls not too long ago.

Looking down at the water, I saw a pale blue dome breach the surface, rising out of the water. It was a bluish Pokemon, one I was fairly sure had been recently discovered.

I caught on the fact that Ivy was talking mid sentence. "-Palpitoad there. Any interest?"

"Oh right, Water-Ground type native to Unova. Not really what I'm after". I knew that these frog-like creatures could evolve into Seismitoad, a formidable fighter, but not one that tended to fit well with my other Pokemon or my battling style. I watched it as it stared back at us, seeming to be waiting for something. I was probably pushing my luck ignoring Pokemon, but the bulky frog looked like it could take a while to if I ended up engaging it. Not something I intended to do.

"I think I'd rather keep looking, thanks. See what else is around." I turned around and headed back for the door.

 

@Monbrey; Blame Chainy.

NBP#4

Ranger Ivy Frost

---

“Not really what I'm after,” Ryan answered after a moment.

Ivy had to admit that it probably wasn't one of their most popular catches. A lot of Trainers considered them derpy. However, the toad Pokemon it evolved into was a formidable battler. Still, if it wasn't what Ryan wanted, he didn't have to catch it.

“I think I'd rather keep looking, thanks. See what else is around,” he said, and Ivy nodded as he turned to reach for the door.

She shot the Water-type a look to make sure it stayed put. Oftentimes, Trainers tried to leave without making sure the wild Pokemon weren't going to follow or make a fuss. Thankfully, this one did neither and just stared at them as they left through the normal knob door.

Back in the hallway, they kept going, and this time, the change to the room wasn't subtle. Before she knew it, Ivy was no longer stepping on tiles but on a compacted dirt with leaves skirting across the path. Trees had grown up where walls should have been, with branches and vines overhanging. Some she had to brush to the side as they traveled. The walkway had transformed into the Woods.

A sound drew her attention behind them, looking over her shoulder down the path. A blur of tan fur came speeding down the isle, aiming for the Trainer. Almost silently, it launched itself up to grab onto Ryan's pack, digging in one of the loose pockets for a second before bailing, hitting the ground and running past Ivy quicker than she could call out, “Hey!”

The monkey stopped a little ways away, and Ivy saw what it had stolen. It was Ryan's camera. The Mankey looked at the object curiously, holding it up and spinning the device around. Its finger hit a button, and the camera went off, flash and all, startling the creature. It dropped the camera for a second but then picked it back up. Then, curious, it hit another button, and the camera made a loading sound. A woman's voice rose in pitch for a moment, and Ivy smothered a laugh.

Before it could get too racy, the monkey turned it off with a face. Then, it seemed to notice it had an audience. The Mankey looked toward them and waved the camera around. Ivy couldn't really tell what it was thinking, but if Ryan wanted to get his camera back, he had to do something.

“It appears that his Mankey wants to take up photography. Or maybe video editing,” she added with a grin. “What do you want to do about it? I hope that drop didn't damage it.”

---

Current Battle Stats:

??? ??? Mankey: 100%

Note: Mankey has the camera.

---

Trainer Stats

Name: Monbrey
Location: Enigma Ruins
16 Encounters Remaining
Area Effects: In a beach room.
Pokémon Encountered: Abra, Dunsparce, Palpitoad, Mankey
Pokémon Captured: Docile F Abra
MCR: 0/4,000 [Common Rank]

Items: 2x Hyper Balls, 2x Super Balls, Pokeplayer, Vulpix Voice Disk, Digital Camera, 4x Super Potions, 3x Full Restores

Pokemon Stats

Charizard @ 100%
Gender: Male
Ability: Solar Power
Nature: Brave
EMs: All of them (aka Ebail was too lazy to list)

Empoleon @ 100%
Gender: Male
Ability: Torrent
Nature: Gentle
EMs:TM06 Toxic, TM13 Ice Beam, TM14 Blizzard, TM26 Earthquake, TM48 Rock Slide, TM50 Substitute, TM59 Hidden Power: Ghost, TM64 Protect, TM98 Brick Break, TM101 Rock Tomb, TM121 Shadow Claw, TM129 Stealth Rock, TM135 Grass Knot
HM01 Cut, HM03 Surf, HM07 Waterfall, HM10 Defog
BM Agility, BM Yawn

 

OOC: Okay I lol'd

---

The Palpitoad watched us turn and leave the room again. It made no motion to impede us, probably satisfied with the fact we had no intention of entering its home in the Lakes. I heard the sounds of the water as it began to submerge itself once more. We weren't back in the bland hallway for very long. In what felt like less than a minute, branches and trees were stretched out across a dusty path littered with foliage, a faint breeze drifting through the treetops. This wasn't nearly as neat and tidy as the Gardens where the Dunsparce appeared.

"We're in the Woods now right?" Ivy nodded in reply, but was quickly distracted by the sound of a Pokemon nearby. A hairy brown ball barreled down the path, jumping onto my backpack with a heavy jolt. Almost as quickly, it jumped off again, running down the path a little and turning back to us. It was a Mankey, a small monkey-like Pokemon well known for pulling pranks on Pokemon Trainers. This particular one had managed to steal the camera from my backpack, and was clever enough to operate it. The bright flash startled it at first, but it seemed to enjoy playing with it. It hit another button, and the sound of a woman's moan began.

"Aww shit. It's THAT camera..." I turned to look over at Ivy - she probably recognized the camera too. It wasn't the first time I had forgotten to erase it.

“It appears that his Mankey wants to take up photography. Or maybe video editing,” Ivy said with a cheeky grin. “What do you want to do about it? I hope that drop didn't damage it.”

"Camera should be fine, it can take a little rough play. And its waterproof for... science. Yeah. Mankey's don't know how to use the internet right?"

Regardless of the technological prowess of Pokemon, I figured I should probably retrieve my camera. It was expensive after all. Besides, it would give me a change to try and capture the Mankey too.

"Alright Charizard, you're up." I chucked his Pokeball out onto the path, my prized Charizard appearing in a flash of red light, with a somewhat aggressive yawn. "Your turn to battle mate. Two small favours I need though. Don't incinerate the Mankey COMPLETELY, and please try not incinerate my camera. All good?" Charizard nodded in understanding, though I could have sworn a saw a smirk on his dragonlike jaw.

"Mankey's biggest strength is probably its speed. We'll start with Flame Charge to make sure you can keep up with it." Charizard gave a small, approving roar, and began stomping up and down on the path, raising a large cloud of dust around him and the flame on his tail flared large and bright. I could still vaguely make out the shape of Charizard's body as he began to swing his tail flame around, the cloud of dust in the air turning into a bright red and yellow orb surrounding Charizard, ready to launch himself at Mankey.

 

@Monbrey; Gender?

BP#4

Ranger Ivy Frost

---

“Camera should be fine. It can take a little rough play. And it's waterproof for... science. Yeah. Mankeys don't know how to use the internet, right?” Ryan asked.

Ivy grinned again. “I'm sure,” she said. Science was exactly what he was using it for. “I don't know about the internet, though—this one seems pretty tech-savy. Hope you don't have anything embarrassing on there.” She couldn't help but smile. The first time the camera had revealed its contents was on his run to Deckbi when he hit the wrong button. As amusing as it was, Ivy didn't really want to know details.

The brown monkey shook the device a little, trying to see if anything would fall out of it. Because of the voice, it might've thought that something was inside. Ryan didn't wait too long to decide what to do. Getting the camera back was probably priority.

“Alright, Charizard, you're up,” the Trainer called as he released his Pokemon in a flash of bright light. An orange dragon emerged with a massive yawn, the fire on the tip of its tail flickering as it stretched.

With a general warning not to completely destroy his camera, Ryan ordered the attack. “Mankey's biggest strength is probably its speed. We'll start with Flame Charge to make sure you can keep up with it,” he said.

The Fire-type gave a sound of approval as it lumbered forward, the ground rumbling with each step. He began to get faster, and as he did, fire erupted around him, starting to grow. Once the kinetic energy kicked in, usually helped by some sort of attack, the dragon would be able to move a lot faster by using the fire to energize his muscles and their limberness.

The Mankey realized there was a large dragon following it and immediately panicked, running off down the hall-turned-forest path with its hands in the air, still clutching the camera. However, that wasn't going to help it too much. With a burst of speed, the Charizard spread his wings and launched himself at the monkey, barreling at intense speeds.

The wild Pokemon realized it wasn't going to be able to outrun its foe. It skidded to a stop with a cloud of dust seconds before the Fire-type smashed into it, knocking them both even farther down the path. It was a good thing this was a long hallway. They went flying, the monkey flying just inches in front of the Charizard.

Suddenly, the monkey planted its feet and reached forward, grabbing onto the dragon's shoulder and one of his wings. With a powerful grip, the Mankey turned his body and altered their momentum, throwing the Charizard into the ground with all its might.

The ground shook as the Fire-type took a dive, and a cloud of dust bubbled up. The Mankey took that opportunity to jump off and run back toward the group of people and away from its foe. Then it began searching the dirt, picking up rocks and throwing them toward the downed flier. It was a little hard for it with the camera in one hand, but it managed. At first they were small, and the pebbles just bounced off the Charizard. Then the monkey began finding baseball-sized ones, and they were only getting bigger.

“Well, that could get annoying pretty fast,” Ivy said. “I guess its trying to use a form of Rock Slide, though I'm not sure how many bigger rocks are around here.”

---

Current Battle Stats:

??? ??? Mankey: 69% [Used Seismic Toss and Using Rock Slide]
Brave M Charizard: 90% [Spe+1][Used Flame Charge]

Note: Mankey has the camera.

---

Trainer Stats

Name: Monbrey
Location: Enigma Ruins
16 Encounters Remaining
Area Effects: In a forest hallway.
Pokémon Encountered: Abra, Dunsparce, Palpitoad, Mankey
Pokémon Captured: Docile F Abra
MCR: 2,822/4,000 [Common Rank]

Items: 2x Hyper Balls, 2x Super Balls, Pokeplayer, Vulpix Voice Disk, Digital Camera, 4x Super Potions, 3x Full Restores

Pokemon Stats

Charizard @ 90%
Gender: Male
Ability: Solar Power
Nature: Brave
EMs: All of them (aka Ebail was too lazy to list)

Empoleon @ 100%
Gender: Male
Ability: Torrent
Nature: Gentle
EMs:TM06 Toxic, TM13 Ice Beam, TM14 Blizzard, TM26 Earthquake, TM48 Rock Slide, TM50 Substitute, TM59 Hidden Power: Ghost, TM64 Protect, TM98 Brick Break, TM101 Rock Tomb, TM121 Shadow Claw, TM129 Stealth Rock, TM135 Grass Knot
HM01 Cut, HM03 Surf, HM07 Waterfall, HM10 Defog
BM Agility, BM Yawn

 

@WinterVines; It's obviously male, that's why it's so interested in my camera.

---

Charizard stomped down the path at an ever-increasing pace, closing the distance with Mankey. The small round ape quickly realised an attack was incoming, and darted away, the camera strap swinging behind it. However, at the speed Charizard had built up it was too late to run, the dragon diving into the small monkey with his full weight, sending Mankey flying, with Charizard's momentum keeping it not far behind.

Mankey recovered from the hit surprisingly fast, and managed to turn the situation around. Grabbing onto Charizard, it firmly planted it's feet and used the heavy dragon's momentum to slam him down in the dirt with a loud thud, dust billowing out around him. Charizard was getting back to its feet as Mankey began to throw rocks at it. At first they, were small, and Charizard didn't seem to notice much - however they were definitely starting to get larger.

Ivy pointed out it was an attempt to use Rock Slide, an attack which would normally cause Charizard some serious problems. However the ground here was fairly flat and bare. Unlike a Rhyperior who could produce its own rocks, Mankey had to make do with its environment.

Charizard was now shielding itself with its wings against some larger projectiles which were still being thrown at it, leaving some significant scratches and grazes behind. He still looked pumped up and ready to move from the earlier Flame Charge, carefully watching Mankey's every move.

"Alright Charizard, use Steel Wing to give yourself some extra protection. Those rocks won't even be able to dent that. And since it's basically the same technique, you could get an Iron Tail ready too, and get some payback on that monkey. Aim for one of the trees at the size of the path, kinda like playing baseball with your tail."

I couldn't see Charizard's face clearly behind his wings, but as the wings and tail began to glow brighter I could tell he had heard my instructions, his glowing tail flicking eagerly behind him in anticipation.

 

@Monbrey; You make an excellent point.

BP#5

Ranger Ivy Frost

---

As the monkey scrambled around to find more rocks to throw, Charizard tried to shield himself with his wings. Rocks left thin scratches on the wing membrane he brought around to cover his body with, and it was easy to see he was getting a little disgruntled and wouldn't mind enthusiastically getting back at the wild Pokemon.

The Mankey kept running around, dangling Ryan's camera from his hands as he did. Ivy winced as it came particularly close to slamming into a tree, but somehow it missed.

Then the Trainer gave some more instruction. “Alright, Charizard, use Steel Wing to give yourself some extra protection. Those rocks won't even be able to dent that. And since it's basically the same technique, you could get an Iron Tail ready too and get some payback on that monkey. Aim for one of the trees at the size of the path, kinda like playing baseball with your tail.”

In response, the Fire-type's wings got a silvery sheen and it looked like they locked in place, appearing like steel. A few of the rocks that bounced off made a light ting noise.

The Mankey wasn't thrilled about that, screeching in annoyance as it ran out with the Trainer's camera. he found even bigger rocks to throw after that as it dug around in the underbrush. The primate got a decent fist-sized one and gave it a hard throw, but this time, Charizard was ready.

His tail flashed, and as soon as the rock came in range, it flicked out rapidly, batting the rock away toward the monkey. It smacked him in the face, and as a result, he stomped around a little. The camera banged along the ground some, and Ivy winced. It was probably durable. Right?

The Mankey then narrowed his eyes and started running for the Fire-type. Ivy saw his fist clench and cackle with sparks of electricity as he prepared an attack. Dust kicked up at the monkey's speed, and soon it lashed out with its arm in a quick jab, aiming for the pseudo-dragon’s wings.

There was a clang as they impacted, but Charizard didn't look too affected. His tail was laying on the ground, still shiny with metallic energy. Because his wings were coated with the same power, it acted as a sort of lightning rod, sending most of the electricity into the ground through his body.

With an annoyed swipe of his tail, Charizard lashed out, knocking into the monkey and sending it flying head over feet. It tumbled and rolled, and Ivy tried not to think of what was happening to the camera as it thudded along behind him. Eventually the primate ran headlong into a tree, and he sat up rubbing his head, the camera dangling in his hand.

He didn't get up right away this time. He must've been more dazed than Ivy thought. She supposed she would be too if she had rolled as much as he did. It would probably be a good idea for Ryan to try and capture or retrieve his camera now, since the wild Pokemon didn't seem like it was putting up much of a fight anymore.

---

Current Battle Stats:

??? M Mankey: 40% [Used Thunder Punch]
Brave M Charizard: 80% [Spe+1][Used Steel Wing and Iron Tail]

Note: Mankey has the camera.

---

Trainer Stats

Name: Monbrey
Location: Enigma Ruins
16 Encounters Remaining
Area Effects: In a forest hallway.
Pokémon Encountered: Abra, Dunsparce, Palpitoad, Mankey
Pokémon Captured: Docile F Abra
MCR: 4,807/4,000 [Common Rank]

Items: 2x Hyper Balls, 2x Super Balls, Pokeplayer, Vulpix Voice Disk, Digital Camera, 4x Super Potions, 3x Full Restores

Pokemon Stats

Charizard @ 80%
Gender: Male
Ability: Solar Power
Nature: Brave
EMs: All of them (aka Ebail was too lazy to list)

Empoleon @ 100%
Gender: Male
Ability: Torrent
Nature: Gentle
EMs:TM06 Toxic, TM13 Ice Beam, TM14 Blizzard, TM26 Earthquake, TM48 Rock Slide, TM50 Substitute, TM59 Hidden Power: Ghost, TM64 Protect, TM98 Brick Break, TM101 Rock Tomb, TM121 Shadow Claw, TM129 Stealth Rock, TM135 Grass Knot
HM01 Cut, HM03 Surf, HM07 Waterfall, HM10 Defog
BM Agility, BM Yawn

 

@WinterVines;

Mankey has already began to notice that the strange glow on Charizard's wings was helping it to defend against the rock pummeling it was attempting. Looking frustrated, it ran around on it's scampering little feet looking for better ammo. Finding one, it pegged it at Charizard with all it's might.

Charizard was prepared this time. With a swing of his charged tail, Charizard sent the rock flying straight back at Mankey, thankfully colliding with the Pokemon and not my camera. However, Mankey's stunned reaction caused the camera to swing and bash on the ground a few times. I could always try and return it, I guess. ...After a thorough memory wipe. Might give that job to Magnezone.

Charizard stretched his wings out and looked around, only to see Mankey charging at it with sparks jumping around one if it's fists. As it leaped up to strike, Charizard quickly brought his armoured wing back in front to block the shot, the two colliding with a loud clang. The charged electricity seemed to have very little effect too, absorbed into the charged power of Charizard's wings and tail, acting as a grounding mechanism.

Charizard seemed to have had enough. Planting his feet firmly, Charizard swung his changed tail directly into the small hairy monkey ball, sending it rolling head over heels back down the path, directly into a tree. Mankey, who had been quite lively and quick on its feet so far, wasn't getting up with its usual vigor.

Mankey looked about ready to capture, but I still needed to get that camera back off it somehow. There was no guarantee after catching it that Mankey would cooperate, or what would even happen to the camera if I threw a Pokeball at it. Charizard was keeping a close eye on the wily ape, the glow now fading from his tail. He glanced over at me, eager for further instruction.

Ideally, a move like Thief would be perfect, but despite Charizard's large movepool, I was fairly certain that wasn't in his repertoire, nor was Trick, Switcheroo or anything similar. I was going to have to get it back through directly attacking it. Unless of course... Mankey only THOUGHT I was attacking.

"Charizard, time to wrap this up. If you can get that camera back, I'm going to go for a capture. Use Quick Attack to get in there fast, before Mankey has time to anticipate your movements. Then, aim straight for it with False Swipe, and get that camera back while it's distracted. With any luck, Mankey will be too concerned with defending itself to notice your real goal. Think you can do that?"

Charizard looked thoughtful for a moment, then gave a nod, flexing his wings and tail back out into a battle-ready position. As I readied one of my Super Balls, I watched Charizard's claws glow as he prepared his strike. Almost immediately he began darting towards Mankey, leaving a glowing white trail in his wake. For such a large, otherwise lumbering dragon, he really could pull off some impressive speed moves when he was in battle. I ran after my Pokemon, ball in hand. If all went well, I could make a celebratory video that night.