Easter Capture Contest: Gliscorman

Post #1

(OOC: You can ask me questions through VM or AIM if you'd like, and remember you can attempt an escape if you don't want to battle something. I advise catching at least one Pokemon, though. This first post will not have a battle in it so I can gauge your roleplaying skill and act accordingly. Remember, the quality of your posts is what matters, not length, although very few short posts are high quality.)

~~~~~

Your Zebstrika is by your side as you walk through the ruins, guided by a Ranger. The holographic simulation room is up ahead. The wonder of technology had been unearthed after the Outer Heavens collapsed, and it could successfully mimic other areas of the Park. It was still unknown how Pokemon were drawn into the simulation. Unlike normal expeditions, no Ranger would be accompanying you this time, but you had been told that they would be watching through an inbuilt camera system. The Ranger leads to two open pods - one is coloured green and the other one is coloured brown. Which one will you choose?

~~~~~

Trainer Stats:

Trainer: @GliscorMan;
Items: 3 Park Balls; 2 Super Balls; 1 Hyper Ball; 2 Lava Cookies, 2 Energy Powders, 1 PokeDoll
Pokémon Encountered: N/A
Pokemon Captured: N/A

Brave Male Zebstrika
HM/TM: Thunderbolt, Overheat, Substitute, Charge Beam, Hidden Power (Rock), Double Team, Rest, Toxic, Volt Switch, Light Screen
BM/SM/MT: N/A

~~~~~

 

(( @ChainReaction01)

As I stared at the two pods, I couldn't help but think how crazy the situation I had gotten myself into was. Once again, I had no clue what I had signed up for. Maybe I should've read the fine print.

- - - - - - - -

It had started as a normal day at the Ranger's Outpost. And by normal, I mean alternating between flying around outside and sitting at the desk playing Solitaire and MineCraft on the work computer. Mostly MineCraft, because I couldn't handle the sheer amount of thinking involved in Solitaire. I mean, really. Who has enough time and patience to play that game, anyways?

So as I was saying, the day was completely normal for my job as a Ranger. Then, the intercom activated. This startled me, quiet a lot. I had no clue that the intercom was still in working order, let alone that we even had one.

"ATTENTION RANGERS, ATTENTION RANGERS," It blared. "REPORT TO THE CONFERENCE ROOM."

I said a few muffled curses while I picked myself up from the floor. I must've been so startled, I fell out of my chair. Hopefully, nobody had seen that. I saved and quit MineCraft, then headed down to the main lobby in order to figure out what all the fuss was about.

When I got there, the room was nearly filled with Rangers, some of whom I hadn't seen in a very, very long time. The long table in the middle of the room was completely filled, people sitting down at the many chairs which lined the conference table. Others were standing around, leaning against the walls. I didn't even know we had this many people working here.

Jess, the head Ranger and my boss, was sitting at the head of the table. There were all sorts of papers strewn about in front of her: maps, diagrams, forms and a few other papers which looked suspiciously like battle plans or killer robot blueprints. I wasn't going to question the latter few. She is the boss, you know.

My boss pointed and gestured, and said a bunch of things. I didn't catch most of it, but it seemed like the Park was hosting yet another Capture Contest. That made me kind of excited. I could get paid some serious overtime, depending on how many Trainers I took through the park. As Jess gestured, a few of the Rangers closer to her, the Elites, nodded. Once Jess had finished her (possibly) motivational speech, the Elites pointed at some of the people in the room and handed them forms. Those Rangers who were given assignments nodded, and elbowed their way out the room.

I tried to get one of the Elite Rangers' attention, but I was mostly ignored. Eventually, all the regular Rangers, save me, had left the conference room. I was alone with the Elites and the Boss. I don't usually catch on the fastest, but even I could figure out that something wasn't right.

"Your mission, should you choose to accept it," the Boss told me, a characteristically almost-but-not-quite malicious grin on her face, "is to be our baseline for the Trainers competing. You up for it?"

"Uh, yeah," I replied, unsure of exactly what that meant.

Jess grinned again, and one of the Elites walked up to me and handed me a form on a clipboard. It was bigger, thicker than any form I had seen. It was even bigger than the paperwork I had to sign after the incident over at Mt Deckbi a year ago. And that was for an explosion that registered on the Richter scale.

"Sign the bottom of pages 5, 14 and 21. Initial the blanks on pages 5 and 23. Check the box that says 'yes' on the last page," the Elite instructed me.

I skimmed through the first few pages. Most of it was standard stuff that all Trainers have to sign before they can go through the park, specifically the Enigma Ruins, which require the extra 4th page due to the nature of the terrain. However, the regular stuff was only up to page five. The other 20 pages were a series of legal disclaimers that even the Rangers didn't have to read. I glanced over them, and became a little more apprehensive. I had no idea that there could be a risk of "fireballs, meteorites, or other space debris" in the Park, let alone anywhere else. Another full page and a half was devoted to the conditions for film footage release. I wasn't sure what that meant, but at least it seemed less dangerous than falling satellites, so I checked "yes" and handed back the paperwork.

The Elite handed it back to Jess, who quickly glanced it over to make sure I had filled the forms out properly. She nodded, and a different Elite showed me out the door. I recognized that particular Elite. He had been the one who convinced me to fill out a job application here. His name was Chainy, if I remembered correctly.

"Come on," he said. "I'm going to escort you to the Ruins."

I shrugged. Guess it was going to be a standard run. We climbed into one of the jeeps out back. I made sure to pick my favorite, the one which had the Jurassic Park logo painted on its hood by some Ranger a long time ago. I pulled my orange-tinted flight goggles over my eyes, and we began the journey.

The drive seemed short and uneventful. While Chainy tried to start a conversation, I ended up brushing it off. I was rather nervous about going to the Enigma Ruins for the first time.

When we arrived, the Elite Ranger lead me towards the famed Ruins. Since the Outer Heavens had collapsed in a catastrophic structural failure, an old laboratory had been revealed under the debris. A path had been cleared to it, and it was explored. The only problem with exploring it was that it had a myriad of different environments, and every single Pokemon was, somehow, running wild inside. On top of that, the terrain was different every time someone went inside.

We climbed over a few pieces of rubble, and walked around the burned-out husk of one of the platforms that used to belong to the Outer Heavens. I thought I saw a tear in Chainy's eye, but I wasn't certain. The path was winding, but we quickly saw what we had come here for.

The cave was hard to miss. The Ranger Outpost from the Outer Heavens had fallen and smashed into a small cliff-face. The force from the blow shattered through a thin layer of rock, revealing a mass of doric columns and a winding staircase. At the bottom of the staircase was a dim light, the door to the technological marvel below.

Before we went in, the Elite Ranger stopped me.

"There's a few rules regarding the Contest," he explained to me. "First, you can take only one Pokemon with you. Second, you can only use the items we provide you. After five encounters, we'll find you and take you out of here."

I gulped and nodded. I reluctantly handed over five of my Pokeballs, even the one containing my Starter, Gliscor. I hoped he'd forgive me later, this seemed to be his kind of thing. I took the backpack that Chainy handed me, and swapped it for my own pack. I quickly rifled through the new pack, taking inventory. The items were minimal, but effective. The Park Balls, however, were all the sort you buy at from PokeMarts, not the regular Park Balls. That meant they would break if they missed, or if the Pokemon broke free.

I released the Pokemon I had chosen, my trusted Zebstrika, named Brontegris, and the three of us walked into the gaping maw of the Enigma Ruins and down the staircase. When we reached the bottom, the Elite Ranger turned back the way we came.

"I've got to head back, now," he told me. "Don't worry, the cameras will be monitoring you in case you get injured."

As he left, I grumbled to myself and my electric zebra, if he was even listening.

"Great, just great."

- - - - - - - -

I looked at the transport pods in front of me. They seemed exactly identical in every way, shape and form. How was I supposed to know what I was picking? What did I even sign up for, anyways?

"Kyuiiiihh!" my Zebstrika chided, referring to my goggles.

"Oh, those," I said.

I pushed the goggles back up on top of my head, and instantly the world snapped out of orange-scale. Now, the pods were clearly different. One was a dark green, and the other a sort of muted brown. I muttered a thank you to my Pokemon, then reached into my pockets for a coin. Chance, after all, is always fair.

Heads. The dark green transport pod, it was. I fiddled around the sides of the device, and managed to find a button. I pressed it, and there was an audible click. Slowly, the door opened and the two of us climbed in.

On the inside, it was a lot bigger than it seemed to be from the outside. Brontegris and I fit in with ease. The interior was also the forest-green color, but there were many silvery-colored panels lining the walls. They were covered in flashing lights and scrolling text. The text was mostly in languages I didn't recognize, but I did catch a phrase or two in French and one in the Russian Cyrillic. However, there was one sentence that I did recognize, and could even understand. There was a piece of masking tape on one panel. In Sharpie, it said: "to main lab" with an arrow that pointed to one of those big red levers you always see in classic Sci-Fi movies.

"Here we go!" I told my Zebstrika, as I pulled the lever down to its lowest setting.

There was a sudden feeling of controlled decent, like being in an elevator going down, and I once again wondered what I was being paid for this. Background music began to play, flooding the transport pod with classical elevator music. I thought it was odd, but Brontegris seemed to enjoy it.

After a couple minutes, there was an audible thud and we stopped moving. The music stopped and the doors to the transport pod opened. I stepped out, Zebstrika close behind, and suddenly we were both in a grassy plain. I looked behind us. The transport pod's doors were still there, but seemed to be unconnected to anything, as if it were a floating picture. The sun was shining brightly.

What a strange place.

 

Post #2

~~~~~

The sun shines brightly as the grass rustles in the breeze. Suddenly a dark cloud covers the shine, and you feel a dark presence. A gray-coloured Pokemon with a yellow spiky tail and a mischievous grin flies straight over you. It turns and flashes you a look with red, glinting eyes. Your first challenge is here!

~~~~~

Current Battle Statistics:

Zebstrika 100% | Banette 100%

~~~~~

Trainer Stats:

Trainer: @GliscorMan;
Items: 3 Park Balls; 2 Super Balls; 1 Hyper Ball; 2 Lava Cookies, 2 Energy Powders, 1 PokeDoll
Pokémon Encountered: Banette
Pokemon Captured: N/A

Brave Male Zebstrika
HM/TM: Thunderbolt, Overheat, Substitute, Charge Beam, Hidden Power (Rock), Double Team, Rest, Toxic, Volt Switch, Light Screen
BM/SM/MT: N/A

~~~~~

 

( @ChainReaction01)

Even before the ghost showed up, the whole place was loopy.

I had to check to believe my eyes. The pod door was actually floating, mid air. Well sort of. It was a door, but it didn't seem to go anywhere. Unless you opened it, and saw the controls which brought the pod down to where you were, it looked like there was just a random door in the middle of a grassy field. Brontegris didn't seem to care, but I could tell that he was at least watching me probe the strange technology, and with mild interest at that. He was a clever guy, but wouldn't let anyone see it all too often. He focused mainly on doing great things, something to do with his nature I guess.

I walked around the door a few times, surprised that I could. It wasn't just a holographic wall, there was actually stuff behind where the wall should have been. I had a clever idea, and tried to open the door from the opposite direction. Strangely, it didn't go to the transport pod. I could see through it, as if it were just a door frame. However, I nearly gave my poor Zebstrika a heart attack when I stepped through the doorway. By the sound of his yelp, I must have appeared out of thin air as I crossed over the threshold. How incredibly strange. No wonder the higher-ups were still slightly cautious about letting people in here. I'm sure that even they didn't fully understand the technology that made this place work.

I motioned for my Zebstrika to follow me, and we walked around a bit in the fields. I would've gone frolicking in the meadows, but Chainy had said that there were cameras here, somewhere.

There! I spotted one of the cameras. It shouldn't have been so hard for me to spot, it was this big bulky thing with a whirring helicopter blade on top. It looked like someone had welded the top and tail of a toy 'copter to the body of a movie filming camera, like the really big ones that they carry at professional shoots. It was an incredibly unorthodox fit, but it seemed to work. It was either remote controlled or programmed to stay away from me, because whenever I approached it, it flew backwards away from me. Pity, I wanted to say hi to whoever was watching.

That was when I heard a maniacal cackling. I looked at Brontegris, thinking it must've been one of his tricks. My Pokemon like to play tricks on me, they find it terribly funny. But he was giving me the same look (I guess I'll admit that I return the practical jokes, occasionally...). Then, after each of us figured that it probably wasn't the other, we began to search for a Pokemon that could be causing it.

We looked all down the horizons, back to the door and everything. I checked low down to the grass, and Zebstrika ran around in search of it. After a few minutes of searching, Brontegris ran back in front of me. He gave me a questioning look, which I responded to with an exaggerated shrug. He rolled his eyes (something I only learned recently that Pokemon can do).

Then, we heard a second laugh. It was less maniacal, more greatly amused. It came from above us. The both of us looked up sharply, to see what it was. It was grey, slightly wispy and had a spiky tail. It also sported a creepy, yellow zipper-like grin and menacing red eyes.

I'd never seen one before, in all my years of Rangering and Battling. Even with my Gym, I hadn't seen anyone use this kind of Pokemon. So, as dutiful as any explorer, I checked my Pokedex for answers.

"Banette, the Marionette Pokemon," it told me. "It was a doll which came to life out of hatred for being thrown away. It lurks in alleys and dumps, searching for the child who threw it away."

"Because that's not creepy at all," I muttered to myself.

My Zebstrika gave me an almost questioning glare. I don't really know how he pulled that one off.

"What?" I asked. "It's not like I've thrown a doll away recently..."

Brontegris gave a quadrupedal shrug (believe me, you had to have seen it), then let out a loud, high-pitched battle cry. The Banette cackled, and swooped down to begin the battle. If I could catch this Pokemon, it would make quite a standard for the Elites to use. I might even get a better reward, considering that it was an intermediately rare Pokemon and not often sighted, even in its home front, Meteor Valley.

I picked out the camera, which was still filming us, and gave what I thought would be one of those spectacular battle openings. I nodded, then did a little spin move before shouting my order. If people were watching, I at least wanted them to be entertained.

"All right!" I shouted, getting into the battle spirit, even if there was nobody around to impress. "Zebstrika, use Thunder Wave to create to cage that freaky ghost with your arcing electricity!"

Inflicting a status and immobilizing the opponent was always a good first move. It prevents the foe from getting any sort of mobility advantage, something that isn't good when you're intending to catch it. Plus, my Pokedex hadn't exactly been all that helpful as to the Banette's capabilities. I knew from my own personal, not-too-great experiences that many Ghost-type Pokemon could Explode at will. If the Banette could do this, I wanted it as far away and as immobile as possible when it went kablooie.

That being said, I needed to get a little more attacks in, so that I could weaken the foe. But how to do that, when you're still testing the enemy's ability to fight? I needed a ranged attack, something that would hit, but boost my Pokemon at the same time. Then, I had an idea. This wasn't really a grassy plain, we were inside a machine! There's electricity running all over the place!

"Bronte!" I continued to order. "After you do that, gather in as much energy from the building as you can. Then, fire it off in a Charge Beam attack!"

While Zebstrika as a species have generally weak special attack, they have access to a wonderful amount of special moves. One of these moves, Charge Beam, has the user gather up energy and fire it out, using any residual electricity to boost its special attack. Considering that we were surrounded by a massive mechanical and electrical building, I hoped that either the attack would be much more powerful, or that there'd be a lot more electricity left over afterwards. Either way, it would be a brilliant move. Even if Brontegris didn't like the ranged aspect, he would have to admit that it's better than being right up in something new's face. And with the kind of face Banette has, I think that even the Rashest of Pokemon would agree with me.

It was only while Zebstrika began to charge its attack when I realized that, if he sapped much of the electricity in the building, even for an instant, there might be some side effects. All the possibilities flashed through my mind. The power could go out, plunging the underground complex into darkness. The energy from the camera following us could be drained as well, removing my only contact with the outside world. Or both at the same time.

I shifted from one foot to the other, feeling a little bit uncomfortable about being underground. This was the first time I'd felt this way since I'd taken over the Pewter Gym. It was ridiculous, but it could still happen. And that made me nervous.

 

Post #3

~~~~~

The Banette is struck by the Thunder Wave, and it begins to jitter sporadically. However, it begins to glow purple and orbs of the same colour begin to spin around the small Pokemon. When you command Brontregis to use Charge Beam the Zebstrika does nothing. You note the purple circles around its irises - the Ghost-type must have performed some kind of mental attack on the zebra Pokemon!

~~~~~

Current Battle Statistics:

Zebstrika 100% | Banette 100%, PRZ, IMPRISON

~~~~~

Trainer Stats:

Trainer: @GliscorMan;
Items: 3 Park Balls; 2 Super Balls; 1 Hyper Ball; 2 Lava Cookies, 2 Energy Powders, 1 PokeDoll
Pokémon Encountered: Banette
Pokemon Captured: N/A
Character Count: 7197 / 25000

Brave Male Zebstrika
HM/TM: Thunderbolt, Overheat, Substitute, Charge Beam, Hidden Power (Rock), Double Team, Rest, Toxic, Volt Switch, Light Screen
BM/SM/MT: N/A

~~~~~

 

((Chainy, you can roll a random gender for this 'mon))

In response to my command, Brontegris leapt into action. He raced around, behind the Banette in order to throw it off guard. The Brave soul, he was separating himself from me in order to make things a little more spectacular. Quickly, and before the Ghost-type that was floating above us could react, he fired a small bolt of electricity.

Now, I'd seen Thunder Wave used many times in regular battles. Normally, the user fires a small bolt of electricity that paralyzes the target and makes it painful, if not impossible, to move a muscle. Never before had I seen anything like this. I guess it must've been due to the nature of this underground facility.

Instead of the normal attack, electricity arced about. A lightning bolt came rushing down from the ceiling, and another arced up through the floor. A third and final bolt came jumping out of Brontegris, where it met the three in the middle. The ball of lightning that was floating below the Ghost-type puppet then spread tentacles of electricity, engulfing the mannequin Pokemon in a sort of electric cage. The cage then closed, like a condenser or compressor or something similar, getting smaller and smaller until the Banette came in direct contact with the cage walls. At that point, there was a flash of light. The cage disappeared, revealing the ghostly puppet. Electrical sparks danced along the skin of the Banette, indicating that it had been successfully paralyzed. This entire sequence of events happened in less than thirty seconds, which made it look mighty cool. I couldn't wait to see the film of that part, once we got back to the Ranger Outpost.

Next, my Zebstrika began to execute it's second move. However, something went wrong. When it tried to start the Charge Beam attack by drawing in nearby electricity, nothing happened. Nothing at all, not even residual spark of electricity. That was odd. After all, we were in the middle of a mechanical and electrical heaven. The circuitry in this place would give anyone who knew anything about electronics either a heart attack or a nerdgasm.

I walked over to the other side of the battlefield, carefully avoiding the shadow of the disabled, demonic puppet Pokemon, to see what was wrong with Brontegris. He was staring ahead, straight forward. It was like he was being hypnotized by something.

I waved my hand in front of his face. Nothing. I tried to see where he was looking. He was looking at the Banette, but there was nothing special about it. The Ghost-type Pokemon wasn't even looking our direction, and it was certainly too paralyzed to successfully attack with Hypnosis, if it even learned that. I tried clapping my hands in front of Zebstrika's face. That didn't work, either. Although, his ear did twitch a little bit, probably out of annoyance.

That was when I noticed the strange purple rings around Brontegris's irises. His pupils were dilated so much, there was hardly any iris left. Around the little bit of iris that was still visible, there was some sort of spooky, purple ring. It was glowing, too, a kind of phosphorescent glow that you don't normally see outside of the chemistry lab. Or even usually in the chemistry lab, for that matter. The Banette had to be the source of the problem, nothing else fit.

I looked up at the Banette. It was still not moving anywhere, and occasionally a spark would dance along the surface of the puppet's spectral skin. I stepped around, so that I was facing the mannequin Pokemon's front, and pulled out a pair of binoculars from my backpack. Using them, I trained in on the Banette's face, specifically it's eyes.

I could see, just barely, a purple glow in the foe's eyes. It was the same kind of glow which I could see in my own Pokemon's eyes. Another thing I noticed was that there were a few golfball-sized balls of smoky, purple energy floating around the ghostly puppet Pokemon's head. Somehow, it was causing my Zebstrika to be completely immobile.

I had to figure out what move the foe was using, and fast. Some moves require the user to remain completely stationary as they immobilize the foe. Others can allow the user to move freely after use. I needed to know which one it was in order to figure out how much danger we were in. I also, if possible, needed to figure out how to snap my Zebstrika out of this mind-controlling mess.

My first thought was to look it up. I whipped out my iPhone, so that I could browse the internet in search of a FAQ or a Wiki or something which would give me a list of symptoms and solutions. However, when I tried to Google it, I discovered that my iPhone didn't have any service here. I was not happy. What sort of sophisticated underground research laboratory doesn't have phone service?

I pocketed my phone and pulled out my PokeDex, hoping that that would at least give me a few answers. Surprisingly, the internet is usually a lot more reliable than a PokeDex, because the Dex is simply meant to record data on species of Pokemon and share it with a Professor. It's certainly not as user-friendly as the internet, and it only records complete information for Pokemon which you've caught already. That makes it completely unhelpful in situations like my own, where you barely even knew the Pokemon you're fighting existed until now.

I panned through my PokeDex, searching for something that might help me. Meanwhile, both Pokemon remained unmoving; my Zebstrika stood still as a tree on the grasslands, while the Banette simply floated in place above us.

After a few minutes of searching, I finally found something helpful. It was under my entry for Bronzong, a Pokemon which I had owned once, albeit briefly because I had traded it for another Pokemon. Apparently, one of the things Bronzong like to do is Imprison foes in a way very similar to my situation here. However, it only works if the opponent uses a move that the user of Imprison knows. Therefore, Banette can somehow learn Charge Beam. Well that's just brilliant.

"Bronte!" I called in his ear, trying to get his attention. "Stop using Charge Beam!"

Suddenly, he was mobile again. He turned his head, and gave me the dirtiest look I've ever seen a Pokemon give. It was a sort of "you're a horrible person, I'll kill you later" sort of look. He twitched his ear, showing the source of the problem. Apparently he doesn't like it when people shout in his ear. Pokemon and people are very similar, sometimes.

"Sorry, buddy," I explained to him. "You were under the effects of an Imprison attack."

He rolled his eyes, but seemed to be listening. That was good, it meant that he wouldn't trample me just yet. He'd come to forgive me later.

Now that the enemy Pokemon was paralyzed, it was time to attack. I needed a battle plan, but what to use? I had no idea what Banettes were even capable of, so how would I know if something I ordered Brontegris to use would trigger the Imprisonment again? I needed to improvise. For the third time in the span of half an hour (a new record, I can assure you), I checked my PokeDex.

This time, I was searching through the Ghost-type Pokemon which I had caught or seen, looking for some sort of idea as to what the Banette was capable of. My entries for Mismagius and Gengar had the most information, so I read through those. Apparently, they have very large Special movepools, so that nixed quite a lot of Zebstrika's moves as possible choices. They also each had access to Toxic, so that completely nullified the possibility of inflicting Poison on the ghostly puppet Pokemon.

So no common Special moves, and no more status inflicters. All right, this would be interesting. But manageable. I hoped.

"Bronte!" I called out, ordering with a sort of stage flourish that would look great on the recorded film. "Use Flame Charge to build up speed and attack the Banette with a flame-cloaked charge!"

Flame Charge was one of Zebstrika's near-signature moves. The sheer speed of the electric zebra Pokemon lets it rush around building up heat from friction and air resistance, as well as energy from the Pokemon, which is then transferred into a fiery, full-body attack against the foe. The speed boost from running around is retained, as well, making it a key strategic move to use. There was also no way any Ghost-type could use that move, they just weren't fast enough.

"Make sure to use your increased speed to dodge whatever the Banette throws at you!" I added.

Dodging the enemy's attack would not only be easier to do with the extra speed from Flame Charge, it would save me the grief of having damage or another status condition slapped onto my Pokemon. I had been assured by the Elites that that was something they took into account while they were judging the caught Pokemon. The healthier your Pokemon was when you ended the run, the more points you got in the judging round.

I just had to hope that Banette couldn't, somehow, learn Flame Charge. Not only did I hate being wrong, it would cause even more problems down the line for me and Zebstrika. I was running out of options, but this was the best one I had.

 

Post #4

~~~~~

Brontregis cloaks himself in flame and gallops towards the immobile Banette. He slams into the Ghost-type and sends it flying backwards. However, as the Wild Pokemon careens through the air it launches its counterattack - a high-pitched scream that causes Brontregis to whinny and paw at the air.

~~~~~

Current Battle Statistics:

Zebstrika 100%, DEF-2, SPD+1 | Banette 81%, PRZ, IMPRISON

~~~~~

Trainer Stats:

Trainer: @GliscorMan;
Items: 3 Park Balls; 2 Super Balls; 1 Hyper Ball; 2 Lava Cookies, 2 Energy Powders, 1 PokeDoll
Pokémon Encountered: Banette
Pokemon Captured: N/A
Character Count: 26024 / 25000

Brave Male Zebstrika
HM/TM: Thunderbolt, Overheat, Substitute, Charge Beam, Hidden Power (Rock), Double Team, Rest, Toxic, Volt Switch, Light Screen
BM/SM/MT: N/A

~~~~~

 

( @ChainReaction01)

Zebstrika, the Brave soul that he was, didn't even hesitate when he charged up to the Ghost-type. He wasn't as bothered as I was about not knowing what the foe was capable of. In fact, it appeared to me that he enjoyed the battle much more because of that. It made me extremely nervous, he could be reckless sometimes. Often, he did it just for kicks or to show off for some pretty Rapidash who had been watching (that was certainly an interesting battle; talk about being thunderstruck...). Some Pokemon, like some people, are weird.

Brontegris began to run in circles, building up friction with the grass, dirt, and wind of the terrain. He ran faster and faster, building up speed until he was a blinding blur of black, white, and crackling electric yellow. Then, there was an almost indescribable sound.

If you've ever heard the sound of pure methane gas lighting on fire in an enclosed space, you might have some sort of idea what it sounded like. For those of you who haven't, imagine a whoosh of air, like that of swinging a stick really fast in front of you; that sound kids love to make, just because it's different and interesting. Then, stretch it out in your mind to last roughly five seconds. Or, better yet, imagine the sound of a hot air balloon's gas burner activating. That might give you some clue as to what it sounded like when my Zebstrika violently caught fire.

The fire started as a combination of the heat due to friction caused by Zebstrika's hooves against the ground. It quickly spread into a miniature, whirling inferno that cloaked the electric zebra's hooves. It was almost like watching one of those children's cartoons, where a character goes running really fast and creates a trail of fire behind them. Except for one thing. This was real-life.

Almost as soon as the fire had started, Zebstrika leapt up into the air, and slammed its hooves into the paralyzed Banette. Then, my Pokemon did a flip, and landed on the ground, both pairs of hooves firmly on the ground and (thankfully) not on fire. A perfect 10 point landing.

The marionette Pokemon, however, was not so lucky. Having lost the majority of its motor functions due to the paralysis inflected earlier in the battle, it careened uncontrollably through the air. This scared it, and rightfully so. Personally, I think it would've scared anyone or anything in their right mind, even if you had the innate ability to levitate above the ground. The ghostly puppet let out an extremely shrill, loud screech. It was like the clawing of fingers on a chalkboard combined with the screaming of rubber tires on a wet road, multiplied by a factor of ten.

I fell to my knees, in the grass, and covered my ears as best as I could. However, poor Zebstrika had no arms to cover his ears with. He whinnied and neighed like a spooked horse (which he's hardly ever done, considering it isn't in his nature), and pawed at the air with his front legs. It was so bad, I wondered how the people on the other end of the camera would take it. At least they could cut the volume, if needed. The two of us were stuck listening to the Banette's painful racket.

After what seemed like an eternity of raucous screaming on the floating marionette's part, the Screech attack finally stopped. I stomped my foot a couple times, and dropped my backpack on the ground, then picked it up. I could hear the thump every time, which was good. It meant that I didn't have any permanent hearing damage. My Zebstrika had calmed down, and was staring at me. It looked like he was waiting for orders, which was also a good thing. He was probably fine, too, or so I hoped.

I looked up to find out where the Banette had stopped its tumble. With Newton's physics laws, it probably could have gone on floating forever in the same direction. I looked in the direction which I had seen it begin its tumble. It was hard to see that far, but I thought I saw a grayish-purple smudge in the distance. I reached into my backpack and pulled out my pair of binoculars. Using those, I could see that the Banette had stopped moving. It must have used a ton of its energy in order to move its body and stop itself from a potentially endless flight through the facility.

There was one problem, though. The ghostly marionette was quite a distance away from us. If we walked, it would take a long time. It might even be long enough to let the Banette recover some function and run away from battle, which would completely ruin my chances of capturing it. I looked over at Brontegris, and then remembered that he was a lighting fast zebra. And a zebra is very similar to a horse.

With a flair, I leapt onto Zebstrika's back. Being sure to turn and face the floating camera that was still following us, I gave my Pokemon his first set of instructions.

"To battle, Bronte!" I shouted, waving an imaginary general's cutlass in my hand. "Charge that Banette! Pursuit!"

The two of us dashed off, in pursuit of our enemy. The chase was on. It not only cut the battle time significantly, it gave me time to think of a plan, or at least attempt to think of a plan. If I had a plan, it would probably make me feel a little better when I ended up improvising in the end.

First, I went over what I knew. We had a Pokemon, a ghost, which could utilize a number of Special attacks. It was paralyzed, but could still move if it tried, as well as the fact that it could probably use one of its Special attacks without moving, if it needed to. I had an extra fast, but now slightly off-guard, Pokemon which was capable of a variety of attacks, tactics, and stratagems. However, the puppet Pokemon probably still had some sort of psychic hold on the moves I could use, preventing me from using some of them. Which ones, I had no idea. That made most Special moves risky, as they might end up not working. It would be best to use the sudden and lightning-quick speed of my Zebstrika in order to catch the Banette unawares, hit it hard and up close with a physical attack, then leap back to dance circles around it.

Now, I had an idea of what I was doing. And not a moment too soon. We were coming up on our opponent, who was drifting in the air like a derelict sailing ship. As we galloped forward, I told Brontegris my plan. With luck, it would confound the foe enough that Zebstrika would escape damage entirely, even if the foe were able to move enough to attack.

"Bronte, this is what I want you to do," I said in his ear. "I'm going to roll off your back. When I do, you need to Overheat your body temperature, using heat from your running. Make sure the fire spreads until you're fully cloaked in the fire, but be sure to leave your hooves clear until the last second, we don't want to start a brushfire. Then, finish the Pursuit attack. When that's over, and you're back on the ground, launch the combined energy you've gathered with your Overheat attack. Use all the energy and heat you can!"

It would be risky, sure. There was always the possibility that something could go wrong. For example, the Banette could use the time while Zebstrika is building up speed, or right after he's attacked, in order to launch a counterattack. There was also an extreme, inherent risk with using the Overheat technique. On top of the fact that it was a Special attack, which the Banette had a good chance of being able to block with the Psychic energy it had used earlier, the sheer amount of heat generated during Overheat's use was guaranteed to severely drain my thunder zebra's ability to attack with Special energy later on in battle. This has been known to be severely detrimental in the past, which was why I usually reserved the move for last-resort scenarios. However, if the attack landed, it would deal a massive blow to the ghostly marionette. It might even put it within range to make a successful capture, but I wasn't too sure about that. The benefits outweighed the risks. And my partner Pokemon seemed to think so, as well.

We were within few hundred feet when I dismounted my Zebstrika. It was an altogether completely ungraceful dismount, sure, but it got the job done. And it would probably gave the people watching fits of laughter, to boot. Even though I ended up with a face-full of grass, I'm sticking with that conclusion.

I quickly picked myself up, and shouted after my charging Pokemon:

"Be sure not to knock it out!"

That had to be altogether the worst possible scenario, probably near the Pokemon recovering and running away. I was glad that I had thought of it before Zebstrika had attacked. Now, it was just a question of whether or not he had heard me, as well as if the attacks even worked or not.

Out of habit, I reached into my backpack, feeling one of the cheap, plastic Park Balls I had been supplied with. Soon, I would try to catch this ghostly Pokemon. But not yet. I needed to wait, and wait was what I did.

 

Post #5

OOC: My bad about the CC, it's fixed.

~~~~~

The Zebstrika cloaks himself in flame and barrels towards the Banette, leaving a streak of flame in the air where he passes. The Banette created a screen of pure darkness but Brontregis crashed straight through it. He struck the Ghost-type, launching it into the air, and then seemingly exploded. Both Pokemon hit the ground, although Brontregis landed on his hooves where the Banette crashed onto its back. The battle wasn't over, though - the Banette suddenly faded into darkness and reappeared right under Brontregis' neck before performing a devastating uppercut right into the Zebstrika's neck!

~~~~~

Current Battle Statistics:

Zebstrika 70%, DEF-2, SATK-2, SPD+1 | Banette 27%, PRZ, IMPRISON

~~~~~

Trainer Stats:

Trainer: @GliscorMan;
Items: 3 Park Balls; 2 Super Balls; 1 Hyper Ball; 2 Lava Cookies, 2 Energy Powders, 1 PokeDoll
Pokémon Encountered: Banette
Pokemon Captured: N/A
Character Count: 34897 / 25000

Brave Male Zebstrika
HM/TM: Thunderbolt, Overheat, Substitute, Charge Beam, Hidden Power (Rock), Double Team, Rest, Toxic, Volt Switch, Light Screen
BM/SM/MT: N/A

~~~~~

 

( @ChainReaction01)

This battle had to have been one of the most spectacular I had ever seen. I was incredibly giddy that they were recording it, because it meant that I could watch the sheer awesomeness of me and my Pokemon again and again. Ad nausium, as it were.

After I had rolled off my Zebstrika's back, the lightning zebra continued his gallant charge against the virtually immobile ghost. Just as before, during the Flame Charge attack, Brontegris's body caught fire, and began burning a brilliant red color. He barreled towards the foe, letting out a raucous battle cry.

After he built up enough speed, he leapt as if he were in some sort of Olympic event for Pokemon. He got more air time than many Flying-type Pokemon, and that's really saying something. His form left a trail of fire floating behind him, so that he looked like he was a horse from the legends of old, pulling the sun-chariot across the sky.

The Banette, seeing impending doom fast approaching, quickly erected a mental barrier of sheer darkness. The wall came up between the two Pokemon, last minute. It was just barely up in time to protect the ghostly marionette from harm.

Except Brontegris was too powerful. My Partner Pokemon's massive attack shattered the defensive barrier, causing gouts of flame and shards of mental metal to fly everywhere in a colorful explosion of light and darkness. It was quite an impressive sight. I hoped that the Elites back in the lounge would be saving slow-motion instant replays.

Then, a split second later, there was a fiery explosion, indicating that the two Pokemon had made contact. For a few seconds, I was blinded by the flash of light and deafened by the burst of sound. Then, it was over. The two Pokemon, my Zebstrika and the wild Banette, crashed to the ground.

Brontegris, once again, did a flip and stuck the landing. Perfect 10. Banette, still immobile, crashed to the ground. It made a thudding sound which surprised me, because I didn't know that ghosts were corporeal enough to make that kind of noise. It lay there for a few seconds, which startled me. That might mean it had been knocked out, which would've been horrible for the contest. Then, it disappeared.

Just like that. It sort of dissolved into shadows, right in front of us. You can't expect these Ghost-types to behave normally, but this came as an unexpected shock. They didn't normally do that, did they?

Poof, it reappeared. With a burst of shadow, the demon-puppet came into existence right next to us, below my Zebstrika. A fist made out of darkness followed it, and punched upwards in an uppercut which rivaled even Muhammad Ali's abilities. Brontegris staggered at the blow, falling down on his side. Luckily for me, he picked himself up. Unluckily for Banette, the attack had been particularly draining, and had prevented our foe from moving anymore, at least for a little bit.

Zebstrika was hurt. I could see to that, later. For now, a little bit more damage to the weakened and crippled wild Pokemon, and I would catch it. Nothing to it, but to do it. But first, I made sure that Brontegris was willing to launch one last attack.

"Hey, Bronte," I said, putting my hand on his broad, horse-like shoulders. "You still up for this, or do you need a quick heal?"

"Kyuiiihe," he grumbled.

He was all right, then. Hurt (and quite frankly pissed at the Banette), but all right. It wasn't necessary to heal him now, but I probably would need to before we left this mechanized house of crazy.

"You want revenge?" I asked Bronte. "One last attack, then! Volt Switch, and come back! Get up close, but don't knock it out!"

I thought I saw what could've been a mischievous grin on my Zebstrika's face, but it faded swiftly. Slowly, the thunder zebra began to draw a little bit of surrounding electricity in order to cloak itself in a static sheet. Then, it would charge the wounded Banette, hopefully not doing too much damage, considering that the previous Overheat technique had drained most of his energy. Luckily for me, Volt Switch wasn't all too common a move among non-Electric-type Pokemon, so there was little to no chance of it being effected by the Banette's psychic aura energy stuff. I was glad I had taught it to my partner for this contest.

When I saw that Brontegris had fully charged himself, I quickly reached into my backpack and pulled out a Super Ball. While it was flimsy and fragile compared to the normal version, I was fairly confident in my ability to catch this ghostly menace. As the zebra of lightning began to build up speed for a final charge, I hefted the capture device and prepared to throw it.

 

Post #6

~~~~~

The Super Ball sucks the Banette in, and after a momentary pause the device signals a capture! You barely have a second after pocketing the ball before the begins to change. The landscape wriggles and fades and light leeches out of the air. When everything has finished changing, you're standing in a cave. Small drips of water hit the floor, and amongst them you hear a small stamping sound. You turn around to see a small yellow-and-gray Pokemon looking at you angrily.

~~~~~

Current Battle Statistics:

Zebstrika 70% | Shieldon 100%

~~~~~

Trainer Stats:

Trainer: @GliscorMan;
Items: 3 Park Balls; Super Ball; 1 Hyper Ball; 2 Lava Cookies, 2 Energy Powders, 1 PokeDoll
Pokémon Encountered: Banette
Pokemon Captured: Banette
Character Count: 0

Brave Male Zebstrika
HM/TM: Thunderbolt, Overheat, Substitute, Charge Beam, Hidden Power (Rock), Double Team, Rest, Toxic, Volt Switch, Light Screen
BM/SM/MT: N/A

~~~~~

 

( @ChainReaction01)

Everything went off without a hitch. The small bolt of electricity and the Super Ball hit the Banette at nearly the same time, causing sparks to jump and crackle around the wobbling capture device. The Pokemon inside, trying to break free, made the Park-supplied Great Ball lurch once, twice... Three times, and captured! The light blinked, signifying that the evil puppet thing was mine to keep.

I ran over to the captured Pokemon, to pick it up and put it into my backpack. With a sudden bolt of lightning, my Zebstrika was beside me. Having completed his attack, he cantered alongside me while I jogged over to the captured Banette. However, before I could get to it, disaster struck.

Behind us, and indeed all around the area, the terrain was beginning to change. The ground shook and began to fade, while walls began to slowly appear around us. It looked sort of like a less benevolent and more natural version of the TARDIS materializing, the way it does in that TV show. Except I knew that, if I didn't get to the Super Ball in time, it could be lost for good. Or worse, the two of us could be caught inside one of the rapidly materializing walls. Now I knew what all the fine print and the signing of papers earlier today was for. This place could be dangerous.

No sooner had I grabbed hold of the flimsy, but apparently effective, capture device when the terrain completely changed. Suddenly, I was inside a massive cavern. Brontegris was right beside me, equally startled at the change of setting. I absentmindedly placed the captured Banette's Super Ball into my backpack for safekeeping, then looked around a bit.

Apparently we weren't the only ones startled by the change in scene. A Shieldon was staring us down, looking quite angry, or possibly startled. A little bit of both, really. Not something you want to see in a wild Pokemon.

I looked at Brongetris, to see what he thought. He seemed to want to attack the Shieldon right away, so I grabbed his spiky mane to hold him back. Then, I began to walk slowly backwards, towards the wall so that I could find an exit. I made sure not to make eye contact with the Shieldon, and to be quiet at the same time. Hopefully, I wouldn't provoke it. And, if I was fast enough at running away, my Zebstrika wouldn't have the chance to show off and cause problems.

 

Post #7

~~~~~

Brontregis must have responded to something in your demeanor because he thankfully did not fight being led away. The Shieldon saw the both of you backing off and snorted derisively, but didn't move until it had lost sight of you. The environment didn't change this time, and you were just beginning to wonder if the device was broken when you see a small black Pokemon hovering in the air in front of you.

~~~~~

Current Battle Statistics:

Zebstrika 70% | Unown 100%

~~~~~

Trainer Stats:

Trainer: @GliscorMan;
Items: 3 Park Balls; Super Ball; 1 Hyper Ball; 2 Lava Cookies, 2 Energy Powders, 1 PokeDoll
Pokémon Encountered: Banette, Shieldon, Unown
Pokemon Captured: Banette
Character Count: 0

Brave Male Zebstrika
HM/TM: Thunderbolt, Overheat, Substitute, Charge Beam, Hidden Power (Rock), Double Team, Rest, Toxic, Volt Switch, Light Screen
BM/SM/MT: N/A

~~~~~

 

( @ChainReaction01)

Luckily for me, the my Zebstrika caught the drift of what I intended to do. He backed up with me, and so did the Shieldon. In fact, the Shieldon completely lost interest and walked away.

When I saw the little guy do that, I immediately turned around sharply. In the movies, there's always some sort of monster scaring the previously mildly threatening Pokemon away from the unsuspecting Trainer. I was convinced there was some sort of crazily powerful and equally as scary Pokemon breathing down my neck behind me.

However, I was surprised to find that there was nothing there. Well, the camera was shining a small flashlight in order to illuminate the cavern, and it was still recording my every action, but other than that there was nothing but a tunnel which seemed to stretch on forever into the distance.

I shrugged, and tested my footing. I looked around, too, in order to check if the terrain was melting away around me again. It didn't appear to be changing, so I took a couple hesitant steps forward. Still nothing. I shrugged, then motioned for Brontegris to follow me down the tunnel, to wherever it went.

The walk seemed to take forever. And it wasn't like the scenery changed, either. It was entirely stone, stone, a few rocks, and more stone. It was all smoothed out, as if it had been slowly worn away by the waters and winds of time. Despite how boring it was, I quite liked caves like these. Something about the old and timely feeling, despite the fact that it was all a clever simulation, was a bit comforting to me. I guess that's what happens when one of the few things you're known for in life is Rock-type Pokemon.

Eventually, we came across an open room. It was small, but the walls were carved into small, ornate symbols. When I bent over to examine them more closely, however, a Pokemon jumped out of one of them!

I had heard rumors of extremely weak Pokemon that looked like letters, but never believed them myself. I would've wanted to catch it, if just for the value of owning one, but I already had a nice Pokemon that I wanted to hand over to the Elites to judge.

I didn't swat at the Pokemon, despite my reflexes, and slowly backed away towards the exit. I tried to lead my Zebstrika with me, at the same time. I just had to hope that, in the bad lighting of the place, my skittish and headstrong Pokemon wouldn't start a battle that would just prolong this whole excursion through an inherently malevolent machine.

 

Post #8

~~~~~

The Unown follows you playfully and makes some happy-sounding noises. It looks like this Pokemon isn't inclined in the least to leave you alone. You're going to have to either battle it away, or use the PokeDoll you were provided with.

~~~~~

Current Battle Statistics:

Zebstrika 70% | Unown 100%

~~~~~

Trainer Stats:

Trainer: @GliscorMan;
Items: 3 Park Balls; Super Ball; 1 Hyper Ball; 2 Lava Cookies, 2 Energy Powders, 1 PokeDoll
Pokémon Encountered: Banette, Shieldon, Unown
Pokemon Captured: Banette
Character Count: 2453 / 4000

Brave Male Zebstrika
HM/TM: Thunderbolt, Overheat, Substitute, Charge Beam, Hidden Power (Rock), Double Team, Rest, Toxic, Volt Switch, Light Screen
BM/SM/MT: N/A

~~~~~

 

( @ChainReaction01)

The small, black Pokemon zipped around above our heads, ricocheting off the engraved walls and making light, happy tinkling noises. It seemed so energetic, so happy. I thought for sure that I could just let it have a fun time on its own.

But no, apparently it wanted companionship. The hieroglyphic-shaped Pokemon hovered around, then smacked me in the back of the head as I tried to walk out the door. It also smacked into Zebstrika, who didn't take it as kindly as I would have hoped.

Brontegris whinnied like he had just been spurred, and reared up like a wild horse. Zebstrika was normally not incredibly rash, but it appeared even he would make an exception every now and then. I had my hands full with this wild Pokemon, which didn't want to leave me alone, but the fact that my own Pokemon wanted to battle this small, frail wild Pokemon was quite irritating to me.

I kept my face relaxed, trying not to show the anger I was feeling to the ever-watching camera, and thought things out. It would look bad if I let this unknown wild Pokemon keep beating on us, but it would also look bad if I let my powerful electric zebra attack this hapless, floating hieroglyphic. That left only one option.

I reached into my backpack, and produced the one emergency-only object I was supplied with. It was a small, pink Pokemon doll. It was shaped like a Clefairy, and they were almost guaranteed to entertain any Pokemon long enough to escape. It was just perfect for my situation, where the wild Pokemon only wanted to play with me, which was something I didn't have time to do. The black hieroglyphic could play with this imitation Clefairy all it wanted, and the little pink doll wouldn't even get bored.

I looked around the room for a place to put the doll, so it could easily be seen. After promising my Zebstrika a nice, juicy apple when we got home, I set the doll down on a sort of carved stone table in the middle of the room. I backed away, and led my thunder zebra out of the room.

 

Post #8

~~~~~

You place the doll onto a flat rock and the Unown immediately loses interest in you. It flies over and begins poking at the toy with its appendage. As it does so, your surroundings begin to shimmer and fade away as they did when you captured the Banette. The environment resolves into a dark and foreboding forest. It appears to be dusk, although there is no way you're spent that much time in the simulator. A mournful cawing brings your attention skyward, and you see a black bird sitting on a branch, watching you carefully through a single beady eye.

~~~~~

Current Battle Statistics:

Zebstrika 70% | Murkrow 100%

~~~~~

Trainer Stats:

Trainer: @GliscorMan;
Items: 3 Park Balls; Super Ball; 1 Hyper Ball; 2 Lava Cookies, 2 Energy Powders
Pokémon Encountered: Banette, Shieldon, Unown, Murkrow
Pokemon Captured: Banette
Character Count: 0 / 4000

Brave Male Zebstrika
HM/TM: Thunderbolt, Overheat, Substitute, Charge Beam, Hidden Power (Rock), Double Team, Rest, Toxic, Volt Switch, Light Screen
BM/SM/MT: N/A

~~~~~

 

( @ChainReaction01)

When I placed the PokeDoll on the central table, things started happening very fast.

The floating hieroglyphic Pokemon immediately flung itself at the doll, like an iron filing to a high-power magnet. Then, it began to poke, prod, and play with the stuffed Clefairy. It seemed happy enough, so that would give me enough time to make an escape.

No sooner had I motioned for my Zebstrika to follow me, then the terrain began to whoosh in and out of existence. Like the TARDIS leaving behind the characters in the episode Blink, I was rather frightened at not being able to tell what was going on. Even if it had happened once before, this was still nerve-racking. Brontegris didn't seem to like it, either. He bayed and whinnied, and quickly started to act like a spooked horse. Not something you wanted to be standing next to.

Finally, the world finished the cross-fade into another terrain setting. We were no longer in a dark cave. Instead, we were an equally dark (and much more unnerving) forest. It was the kind of forest you only see in movies, where a character cautiously walks in, and is never heard from again. Well, aside from the screaming, that is.

Brontegris and I stayed close, but continued to press forward. There was probably some sort of Pokemon in the area. We weren't wrong.

"Craw!" something shouted.

I looked up, and my Zebstrika did, too. Up there, on one of the most skeletal-looking of trees, was a solitary Murkrow. I breathed a small sigh of relief, then began to lead my companion lightning zebra forward. We needed to get out of here, if at all possible. That Murkrow was looking at us funny.

 

Post #9

~~~~~

The Murkrow shows no interest in battling you, allowing you to walk and trot away unmolested. The scenery changes once more, although the changes are minimal compared to the previous times - the trees grow leafy fronds and a river appears in front of you as the twilight forest turns into a damp, sticky jungle. Vines loop from tree to tree and you can hear an unpleasant buzzing coming from somewhere. Even more unpleasant though is the smell emitting from the rather angry-looking Skuntank right in front of you.

~~~~~

Current Battle Statistics:

Zebstrika 70% | Skuntank 100%

~~~~~

Trainer Stats:

Trainer: @GliscorMan;
Items: 3 Park Balls; Super Ball; 1 Hyper Ball; 2 Lava Cookies, 2 Energy Powders
Pokémon Encountered: Banette, Shieldon, Unown, Murkrow, Skuntank
Pokemon Captured: Banette
Character Count: 0 / 4000

Brave Male Zebstrika
HM/TM: Thunderbolt, Overheat, Substitute, Charge Beam, Hidden Power (Rock), Double Team, Rest, Toxic, Volt Switch, Light Screen
BM/SM/MT: N/A

~~~~~

 

( @ChainReaction01)

Luckily for us, and I suppose for the wild Murkrow as well, the small crow Pokemon seemed to have to intention to battle with me. It seemed to be perfectly content to sit up on a high, stark-white tree and stare at us menacingly. It barely moved a muscle, save for its neck (which turned to follow us), the entire time we walked through that area. Some Pokemon are just plain special, I suppose. Even among gang-Pokemon.

Zebstrika and I continued to walk through the forest, our little hovering camera following close behind. Idly, I wondered what the Elites were thinking, back in their cosy Ranger Outpost. I hoped they were bored. If they were getting bored of me, then maybe they would let me out of this place early.

If not, I couldn't remember how many Pokemon I had run into, so I had no way of knowing how many more were left. Was it one more? Two? I was fairly certain it wasn't any more than three, but I had no way to be sure. After all, I hate to take notes or make a record of just about anything. There couldn't be that many more left, though. I was fairly confident that there were only five encounters per Capture Contest Run.

As we walked, I began to notice something strange about the trees. As we went, the skeletal trunks began to glow a strange brown color. How this was even possible, considering I had no idea that browns could shimmer like that, I had no idea. I blamed it on a trick of the light, or me becoming tired. This kept happening, until the branches and leaves began to shine and pulse a strange green color.

Wait. Hold it right there. Leaves? This was a dead forest; there were no leaves to be found, anywhere. Why were there suddenly leaves on the trees? And why were they glowing? I stopped, then took a look around. Something was up, and I couldn't tell what it was.

As I saw the bark begin to glow more brown, and the branches began to sport more and more green, I realized what I was seeing. The facility was modifying the terrain, like it had when it had swapped to a cavern and back again. Except this time, the terrain shift was more subtle than cave walls semi-randomly appearing out of nowhere.

After paying a little more attention, I could see that there were ferns and moss and leaves, all appearing on the trees and on the ground. This dead, desolate forest was turning into a lush, steaming jungle before my very eyes! I could hardly believe it, but it was more believable than normal. The new, fast appearing jungle biome came complete with the phasing in of annoying, buzzing insects. I slapped at a few, but they were mostly incorporeal, so I couldn't get them.

Eventually, over the course of roughly five minutes, Brontegris and I had been completely transported to the deepest, darkest jungles of Africa. And right in front of us was a rather angry-looking skunk, which was producing a even angrier-smelling, and equally as noxious, gas.

I began to back away slowly. There was no way I wanted to tussle with that thing, especially not with a Zebstrika who had just phased into a new environment, with no time to adjust. In order to get the thunder zebra's attention, I offered him some of the EnergyPowder I had in my backpack. All he had to do was to follow me away from this evil skunk.