Easter Contest: Akinai

(( @Akinai)

The Enigma Ruins. An altogether strange sort of place, a cave said to replicate areas of the park. It could be extremely surreal, at times. I had never been, so I had heard all of what I knew secondhand. I was one of the more superstitious types, and the place gave me the creeps. Just my luck that the Trainer I had chosen wanted to go into that place.

"Go on," I said to her. "I'll be right behind you in case of catastrophic emergency."

She gave me a strange look, then began to walk towards the yawning cave-ruins, which were complete with broken pillars.

Dutifully, I followed the Trainer, who was park veteran, into the mouth of the cave. We walked down the winding steps, and came out into a forest.

It wasn't your average forest, though. The trees had the white bark of birch trees, but there were no leaves. Instead, there was a giant puffball on the top of each tree, each sporting vibrant hues of orange, purple and pink. It looked as if it had come straight out of a children's book.

Scurrying out of the trees, darting to an fro, came a Furret. It stared at the Trainer, almost questioningly.

- - - - -

Trainer: Akinai
Location: Enigma Ruins
Area Effects: Some sort of... Forest?
Items: 3 Park Balls, 2 Super Balls, 1 Hyper Ball, 2 Lava Cookies, 2 Energy Powders, 1 PokeDoll

Encounters Remaining: 4
Pokemon Encountered: None
Pokemon Caught: None

Character Count: 0/9,000

- - - - -

Battle Stats:

(100%)

VS


(100%)
(Keen Eye)​

- - - - -

Gardevoir (Lia) M, Trace (Naive) [100% HP]
EMs: Hidden Power (Electric), Thunder Wave, Focus Blast, Encore, Confuse Ray

 

Well, here I am again

No matter how many times Akinai had entered the National Park, there always seemed to either be a new feature or an area she had yet to visit that kept drawing her back. True, most of her most valuable teammates had been caught here, but it was starting to take a serious drain on her funds. To make things worse, she had been accepted into the Gym Leader position of Ecruteak City; a job she had only applied to halfheartedly thanks to Zen constantly bugging her to choose a profession in life.

“I hope you are happy,” Akinai had grumbled then, tossing the acceptance letter at the Gallade as she sat down in a spare chair. They had stopped by a Pokemon Center in a small town for the night, and it looked like they would have to double back to Ecruteak after all.

Zen, handling the letter carefully to avoid ripping the parchment with his blades, carefully read it over. <Why are you not happy about this? If you're a Gym Leader, we will have a more permanent place to live.>

“Right, and no one one will comment on the fact that most of the Pokemon walking about are types that don't fit the Gym's theme,” Akinai shot back. “I managed to talk them into letting Gaard stay, but I'll likely have to keep the rest of you in storage for the time being.”

Upon hearing this, the Gallade's eagerness lowered dramatically. He had wanted his Trainer to find her way in life, true, but he didn't want to be left behind either. <Perhaps Lia and I could work as bodyguards, or even->

Whatever Zen had about to say over their link had been cut as a new mental voice joined the conversation. Unlike the Trainer and Gallade, this one was tinged with excitement. <I found a paper about a Contest! Can we go, can we?>

Akinai held back a groan while she waited to see what this commotion was all about. While she had promised her team that they would likely enter any festivities as a celebration for getting the position, she still had no idea what her teammate had found... hopefully it wasn't anything for Magikarp scooping or anything similar.

Moments later, her Gardevoir briskly walked over- while most of her species seemed to possess an unnatural elegance, Lia had never grown out of the childish behavior she had as a Kirlia. Lia held out a brightly colored flier towards her Trainer, eagerly waving it about. The most distinct feature about the flier were the large letters “Capture Contest” at the top. <It's at the Park! We can even pick the location we want!>

Taking the paper away from the still-excited Lia, Akina slowly read the flier over. Sure enough, it was at the National Park. She had entered a Contest before there with Zen, and had walked away with a few consolation prizes in the process. Still, the entrance fee was nearly all of their current money, and they had literally just left the Park less than a week ago. “I don't know, Lia. We just got back, and we need to focus on training...”

<Take me, then! I'll work hard, I promise!> the Gardevoir pleaded, her large eyes widened. It was hard to argue with Lia once she had her mind set on something.

Knowing that she was likely going to regret it later, Akinai reluctantly agreed.

Three days later...

“Go on, I'll be right behind you in case of catastrophic emergency.”

Akinai, who had been ready to enter the large ruin directly ahead, looked back to toss her Ranger a surprised look. She had known that not much was known about the Enigma Ruins, hence the name, but this guy's response was going into borderline paranoia. “Is it really that bad in there?” she asked the Ranger, but was rewarded with nothing but a gesture for her to keep on walking ahead. Starting to get a little worried about the young man's insistence, she hurried on into the cave.

At first, nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary. There were large stone steps ahead, and they had to watch their step to avoid tripping as they led downwards. Up ahead though, there was a bright light billowing forth. As they reached it, a strange feeling seemed to envelop the area and everything suddenly changed.

An open sky loomed above them, with large trees reaching high into the clouds. Everything from the area looked alien, from the unnaturally zebra-striped trees to the bright feather like tufts sticking out from the top. Each appeared to be a different color, ranging from pinks and violets to reds and even a blue.

<What in the world, how can this be?> Lia wondered, looking at the trees. <Such wondrous trees I never did see!>

Akinai, who had been staring at the flora with as much amazement as her partner, froze as she heard Lia's words. Not wanting to speak out loud, she asked silently over their link. Lia, what did you say? Why do you use such wordplay? Upon realizing what order her own words had come out in, she groaned and shook her head. “Lovely, we're not just stuck in some fantasy land. Our speech is even altered, isn't that grand,” she said sarcastically.

To add even more salt into the wound, a striped creature darted out from behind one of the trees to stand in their path. The furred Pokemon looked over them with an amused expression, and it seemed oblivious to the fact that it was living in such a strange world.

“A Furret here of all places? Seems almost fitting, but I'd rather see them in other places,” Akinai said, shaking her head. This lingo was already getting old. “Let us hope we can get away, for I wish not to stay.”

 

( @Akinai)

Suddenly, Akinai began to speak in rhyme. The Ruins were still being studied, and they occasionally caused strange reactions in Trainers, but this was a new one. I jotted down a quick note in a spare journal I had. We'd have to look into this. In the meantime... Oh, the paperwork.

Akinai and her Gardevoir froze as the Furret approached, trying to avoid detection. The Pokemon just went about its business, uncaring about the rhyming group of foreigners.

I stayed quiet to avoid the possibility that I had been forced into lyric speech myself, but followed the Trainer as she walked out of the odd-colored forest. The forest gave way to a normal, grassy plane. However, the normality of the scene was marred by a road which sported every color in the rainbow. Down the road, towards us, a Dodrio ran.

- - - - -

Trainer: Akinai
Location: Enigma Ruins
Area Effects: Some sort of... Road?
Items: 3 Park Balls, 2 Super Balls, 1 Hyper Ball, 2 Lava Cookies, 2 Energy Powders, 1 PokeDoll

Encounters Remaining: 3
Pokemon Encountered: Furret (?), Dodrio (?)
Pokemon Caught: None

Character Count: 5,390/25,000

- - - - -

Battle Stats:

(100%)

VS


(100%)
(Early Bird)​

- - - - -

Gardevoir (Lia) M, Trace (Naive) [100% HP]
EMs: Hidden Power (Electric), Thunder Wave, Focus Blast, Encore, Confuse Ray

 

As Furret continued to stare at the strange group, an amused expression crossed the mammalian creature's face as both the human and Pokemon were beginning to discover the... “unique” rules of this land. After watching them for what felt like forever, perhaps enjoying the fact that they clearly did not wish to battle, the Furret bounded away into the brightly-colored trees.

Seeing that Furret did not wish to battle, Akinai let out a sigh of relief. Sentret were extremely common in the Johto region, which she had discovered firsthand while traveling to Ecruteak and seeing the Pokemon and their evolution everywhere. Apparently the creatures were the Zigzagoon of the region, much like Lillipup had been for the Unova region. Come to think of it, it seemed like every area had a population explosion of at least one family of Normal-types. Either way, if she really wanted a Furret she could just either purchase one at the nearest Mart or simply walk about in the tall grass in Johto for an hour or so. “Glad that's over with,” Akinai grumbled to herself, though couldn't help but add, “now can we leave this place of myth?”

Their Ranger, rather than acting fearful like he had been before they had entered this area, was now looking at Akinai with an expression that looked as if he was trying his best not to laugh. In fact, he now scribbled something down on a small notepad whenever the Trainer opened her mouth, an action that Akinai readily noticed and had to prevent saying what would likely be a rhyming insult. Still, it seemed as if the Ranger was refusing to speak as well. Judging from the fact that the strange epidemic had affected Lia as well, it likely made everyone speak as if they were in a children's story.

Lia, on the other hand, was having the time of her life with this newfound way of speaking. The Gardevoir had a large grin plastered on her face, and was practically skipping as they walked out of the forest. <This forest is so swell! In striped trees striped Pokemon do dwell, with leaves that never fell...>

You forget, 'and always a living hell', Akinai interjected, giving a smug smile. It was good to see that so long as she could find a fragment, she could somewhat control her speech. Still, the Gardevoir's constant singsonging was grating on her nerves. This place truly was a mystery. While she had entered this place once before, their visit had been cut due to disinterest on both her and the Ranger's part. On her first visit, the environment merely changed to fit the climate the nearby wild Pokemon normally dwelled in. This time it felt as if the entire area or perhaps some unknown gods were mocking her. Change a frozen tundra into a volcano? Annoying, but adaptable. Make a sunny area into a wetland in the middle of a monsoon? Extremely irritating, especially if none of her Pokemon could swim, but it could possibly be done. Have an entire area look like a giant acid trip with a limit on speech, even over a mental link? Pure uncanny valley.

As if to help further strengthen the Trainer's current line of thought, the forest eventually thinned away to reveal a flat plain. While this may have been a relief to the group at first- after all, the grass was a normal green hue and no other strange Pokemon were prowling about- the relief quickly turned into dismay as a long road came into sight up ahead. Instead of being a plain dirt path or even paved with cement, the trail was prismatic and shone with every single color possible.

Upon seeing the magical road, Lia's eyes widened with wonder. It was likely taking every ounce of her willpower to not run forward and walk along the path, and she tossed an expectant look at her Trainer for permission. <This road must be magically made! Could it lead to a hidden glade, or maybe a lake hidden in the shade? Perhaps something more, for this shall surely never fade!>

Akinai fought back the urge to respond, choosing instead to look further down the road. As far as the eye could see, the rainbow path stretched on with no end in sight. Surely there had to be one, but there was likely no forks in the trail for a long while. Like it or not, she was stuck in what reminded her of a toddler's board game she had seen long ago. While the name escaped her, it dealt with bright colors and following simple rules to only step on certain colors to reach the end before anyone else.

Before they could continue on, a small speck had appeared in the distance and was rapidly growing larger as it headed their way. Once within sight, the speck was revealed to be a large birdlike creature possessing three heads. While all three heads were arguing with each other as it ran along on two strong legs, they all stopped bickering and looked over at the Gardevoir and Trainer once they were a mere few feet away.

“Seeing creatures like these does not help change my mind; in fact, it strengthens that we'll see ones even stranger than this kind,” Akinai drily remarked. Doduo were yet another type of Pokemon that were easily obtainable these days thanks to a population explosion of them in another region. While they were supposedly rare in the past, nowadays you could purchase a Doduo chick for a fairly low price. Add to the fact that Dodrio never really appealed to her, there seemed to be no real reason to go after this Pokemon either.

Lia, on the other hand, had other plans. She had already approached the strange Flying-type, and was happily conversing with one of the heads. <How do you search for food? Do all of you share the same mood? And how do you decide upon a nest, must all three decide on the best?>

All three of the heads seemed to take the Gardevoir's constant line of questioning differently. One looked happy to see a new face, gladly squawking out responses as fast as it could give them. The middle one simply appeared to be bored, trying its best to stay awake while the others caught their breath. The third one, on the other hand, was growing angrier by the second. Before the right head could land a peck on Lia's head, the left head stopped the attack and started arguing with the aggressor.

Seeing that Lia was now thoroughly confused and had actively irritated the wild Pokemon, Akinai gave in to the fact that they would have a battle on their hands after all. The main problem now was to figure out a way to effectively call out attacks while following the lyrical rules of this land. After mulling over a few phrases in her head, she called out her first command. “Lia, that conversation you cannot save! Jolt them into action with a Thunder Wave.”

Lia, realizing that her Trainer was wanting to fight her way out, immediately backed up to step out of Dodrio's striking distance. Seeing that the three heads were now in full argument and there was no way she could speak to them now, she concentrated on building up an electrical field for Thunder Wave instead.

As the beginnings of Thunder Wave became visible, Akinai decided to tack on a second technique. Both used the same element, so Lia should have no problem doing so. “Once you are done, things may grow dour. If so, strike out with Hidden Power!”

The Gardevoir gave a nod, focusing her concentration on gathering enough electricity for both attacks. While only a small amount was needed for the first move, the second called upon her inner reserves and packed far more of a punch.

 

( @Akinai)

Still speaking in rhyme, Akinai ordered her Gardevoir to attack the angered Dodrio before it could hit them first. A quick jolt of electricity stunned the enemy, and a second damaged it a good amount. The Dodrio, all heads in unison, responded by firing a three-type attack, which slammed into the Gardevoir.

Meanwhile, the terrain suddenly changed, quite noticeably. The scene inverted itself, the road becoming grassy and the background terrain becoming prismatic.

- - - - -

Trainer: Akinai
Location: Enigma Ruins
Area Effects: Some sort of... Road?
Items: 3 Park Balls, 2 Super Balls, 1 Hyper Ball, 2 Lava Cookies, 2 Energy Powders, 1 PokeDoll

Encounters Remaining: 3
Pokemon Encountered: Furret (?), Dodrio (?)
Pokemon Caught: None

Character Count: 12,743/25,000

- - - - -

Battle Stats:

(75%)
[PAR]
[Used Tri Attack]

VS


(85%)
(Early Bird)
[Used Thunder Wave, Hidden Power​

- - - - -

Gardevoir (Lia) M, Trace (Naive) [85% HP]
EMs: Hidden Power (Electric), Thunder Wave, Focus Blast, Encore, Confuse Ray

 

OOC: Make Dodrio Male.

Thankfully, Lia was able to pull off both of her moves without a hitch. Once she had gathered enough of an electrical charge, the Gardevoir threw both of her wispy arms forward and directed the current towards Dodrio. The avian Pokemon, still heatedly arguing with itself, was caught completely unaware before the Thunder Wave technique sent a large shock through its body.

All three heads immediately swiveled towards Lia, instantly targeting the only likely culprit. Even in this simple expression, Dodrio seemed torn on how to act. While the left head gave the Gardevoir a genuinely surprised look with a shine of admiration in its eyes, the middle head seemed only slightly more awake. As for the third head... the seething anger that it had been expressing towards Lia was nothing like the rage it was going through right now. If only one head could control the body, it was clear that Dodrio would be actively trying to rip the Psychic-type to shreds right this instant. Fortunately for Lia, it looked as if movement had to be a universal agreement between the three or one head had to use an extreme amount of willpower. Either way, the Pokemon was stuck in a deadlock.

Using this opportune moment to its fullest, Lia shifted into her next technique. The blue sparks of electricity that had been surrounding her before were now changing to a more traditional yellow shade, influenced by the Gardevoir's unique aura. After gathering a moderate amount of power from her body, Lia shot another electrical attack at the Dodrio. This one had for more of a charge though, and was strengthened by a fragment of her own life-force. The crackling attack slammed into Dodrio, knocking it to one foot a moment before it managed to right itself once more.

Dodrio's hesitation was not lost on Akinai, who had been carefully watching the wild Pokemon for any sign of reaction. The more heads a Pokemon had, the more time it took for them to get their act together. Before she had traded away Tyri to a friend, the Hydreigon was always constantly arguing with herself. Hydreigon possessed three heads, much like Dodrio, but the Dragon Pokemon had a far more sadistic personality. Akinai had even heard stories where the Pokemon managed to team up and rip off one or more of the heads, but Tyri had thankfully not been one of these rare cases. Regardless, owning a multiheaded creature had been an important learning experience in learning how these type of Pokemon tended to act. On the other end of the spectrum, once the Pokemon had learned to cooperate with the other heads, it became a near unstoppable force.

Once Dodrio had managed to shake off both electrical attacks, it took a moment to converse among itself to decide what to do next. Upon reaching a decision, the three heads moved to create a triangle formation, building up power as it did so. Each head gathered a different color of energy- blue, red, and yellow to be exact. The three colors converged together at the center, and shot towards Lia in a single concentrated attack. The Tri Attack hit the Gardevoir dead-on, but fortunately did not appear to leave any lasting effects.

Lia, are you fine? Give some sort of sign, Akinai silently asked her partner, inwardly wincing at the involuntary rhyme. Some of these were downright terrible, and whoever was causing them to happen should be deeply ashamed of themselves. Oddly enough, there was a strong feeling of agreement coming from somewhere, but the presence felt nothing like Lia.

Lia wobbled a bit unsteadily on her feet, but gave a small nod to Akinai in response. <I am all right, though we may have mistaken Dodrio's might.> She looked over at the wild Pokemon, her normally childish demeanor temporarily replaced with a more serious one. <Can we end this fast? I don't want to place last,> the Gardevoir asked with a slight whine to her tone.

It took a few moments for Akinai to register just what her partner was talking about. She had already forgotten that they were in the middle of a Contest thanks to being distracted by this strange area. As if to help prove the fact that this land was a truly insane place to live, the landscape shifted before them once more. The prismatic road was suddenly replaced with a simple dirt path, perfectly normal in every sense and fashion. The tall grass lining the road, on the other hand, had changed to the rainbow hue the road had previously been. There was no doubt about it- something was definitely treating the area as its own cosmic plaything. Just the mere thought of such thing angered Akinai for some strange reason she could not identify. This strange sensation, doubled with Lia's insistence that they should hurry on, spurred her into action.

“Lia, we cannot weather more attacks of that kind. Bolster your defenses with Calm Mind!” Akinai called out to the Gardevoir, who gave a sense of confirmation over their shared link. “Also, since you wish to end this fast, go with a Focus Blast,” she added. Such a powerful move would likely deal a powerful blow to Dodrio, but with any luck it would still leave the wild Pokemon with plenty of health to spare. Dodrio's partial Flying element would help dampen the blow somewhat, and even with Lia's boosted strength the Gardevoir was not able to use a Fighting-type move at its full power.

Lia closed her eyes and took a deep breath, both attempting to clear her mind and strengthen her endurance for attacks that were more mentally based than physical. Once this was completed, she would snap her eyes open and hold her hands together to create a caramel-hued orb of energy between the two limbs. After this attack was properly charged, she would toss the orb towards the nearby Dodrio.

 

( @Akinai)

The Gardevoir, cool and collectedly, launched the Focus Blast. It hit the Dodrio in the chest, causing the bird to stagger backwards. In response, the Dodrio launched another Tri Attack. However, the Gardevoir was calm enough to avoid one of the three blasts of energy and thus took less damage.

- - - - -

Trainer: Akinai
Location: Enigma Ruins
Area Effects: Almost but not quite entirely unlike a road.
Items: 3 Park Balls, 2 Super Balls, 1 Hyper Ball, 2 Lava Cookies, 2 Energy Powders, 1 PokeDoll

Encounters Remaining: 3
Pokemon Encountered: Furret (?), Dodrio (?)
Pokemon Caught: None

Character Count: 18,441/25,000

- - - - -

Battle Stats:

(35%)
[PAR]
[Used Tri Attack]

VS


(75%)
[SpA/SpD +1]
(Early Bird)
[Used Calm Mind, Focus Blast]​

- - - - -

Gardevoir (Lia) M, Trace (Naive) [75% HP]
EMs: Hidden Power (Electric), Thunder Wave, Focus Blast, Encore, Confuse Ray

 

While Lia was clearing her mind, an interesting event took place. The Dodrio, instead of taking this moment to attack or even prepare his own stat-boosting technique, simply stood in place and stared curiously over at the Gardevoir. While the Flying-type's unwillingness could be due to paralysis thanks to Lia's Thunder Wave, the Pokemon had not showed the trademark signs of being unable to act. No twitching, no angry glares, or even visible effort to move forward- Dodrio just seemed content to look straight forward.

I don't like this one bit, does Dodrio have half a whit? Akinai silently remarked to Lia, though the only response from the Gardevoir was a slight mental nudge as she attempted to remove all distracting thoughts. It hardly bothered the Trainer, for she had been expecting a similar answer. Still, it was unnerving to see a Pokemon, whether wild or trained, behave in such a fashion. There were some creatures who had abilities to make their mind a blank slate, but she was almost completely certain that Dodrio were not one of those select few Pokemon. Plus, it had shown clear emotion on all three faces earlier, and had even launched an attack at Lia. Why was it stopping now?

Already Lia was charging her Focus Blast. The sphere of pure energy was growing larger between her hands, and was being aimed directly at the nearby wild Pokemon. Even as the charge shot forward, Dodrio barely even blinked. For a moment, the group thought the large bird was merely an illusion, cleverly placed by the original Pokemon while everyone had stared at the constantly shifting scenery. This thought was quickly abolished as the Focus Blast struck home and caused Dodrio to fall backwards as the Flying-type stumbled on its own feet. Judging from the way Dodrio's form shook as he slowly stood back up, the attack had done massive damage.

Finally, Dodrio decided to take action. His three heads moved to the same triangle formation that they had performed earlier, and three familiar colors took form once more. There was no doubt about it- the Pokemon was using Tri Attack for a second time, hoping possibly to take down Lia in a single attack.

“Lia, you've seen this before. Dodge that eyesore,” Akinai called out. Even though the Gardevoir was winded from using an extremely powerful attack like Focus Blast, the boost in power and defenses that she had received from Calm Mind could help to at least weather the assault. She was almost to look up what moves Dodrio could learn. While she was still saving up for a Pokedex, the Trainer owned an ancient guidebook that covered some of the more common Pokemon along with a short summary of what moves they naturally learned in the wild. Even though the book would not be able to tell her what moves the Park Pokemon had learned while watching other Trainers and their Pokemon battle, she was pretty sure it would list at least a few moves.

Lia didn't respond, though she did attempt to nimbly move to the side to avoid the oncoming Tri Attack. While the move was far too large to dodge in such a fashion, the Gardevoir managed to avoid one of the multicolored lights- the red one, by the looks of it. Thankfully she was also unaffected by the possible paralysis and chilling effects that the other two lights could cause. Whether this was due to the fact that all three lights had to hit or Dodrio had not placed enough power in the attack, neither Lia or Akinai had any idea.

I'm not sure if Dodrio is trying to be a martyr, or is just a fish out of water, Akinai remarked, seeing that Lia still had plenty of fight left in her. The same could not be said for their opponent; the wild Pokemon was already panting heavily, and one head looked absolutely exhausted. For being an evolved Pokemon, this one was remarkably docile. Could it be that it was just as confused about this area as she and Lia were, and its hesitation was affecting its battling?

<It is an odd sight to see, but it has yet to flee,> Lia said in agreement. Despite her wounds, the Gardevoir was giving Dodrio a worried expression. <I don't like this game, and I think Dodrio feels the same.> From her relaxed posture and the way her arms were crossed, Lia was obviously trying to solve the puzzle that was standing in front of her so strangely.

Akinai mulled over her partner's words, frowning slightly. Lia was the type of Pokemon who liked to play around, and even treated battling like a giant game. During one memorable battle, she had been chosen to fight an especially annoying Haunter. The two had traded blows according for the first minute or two, and then the Gardevoir had used one of her Confuse Rays as an improvised lure. Rather than being confused by the technique, Haunter had caught on and created a Ray of its own. Lost in their own game and chasing the others Confuse Rays about, both Trainers had to end up calling the match as a draw due to both Pokemon being unwilling to fight. While there had been a rematch later, both of them had made an unspoken agreement to not have Lia and the Haunter face off against each other again.

We can't just walk away. We're almost done, and what would our Ranger say? Akinai said to Lia, tossing her Ranger a sideways glance. The young man had not said a single word since they had entered the Ruins proper- likely to avoid rhyming like an actor on a television show for young children. It was almost surprising that no actor had appeared out of nowhere yet to preach the importance of sharing or how violence was wrong. This area had shown strange enough things already, such a sight would seem almost at home here.

And yet... her partner had a point. This fight felt extremely one-sided, and there were still around three more Pokemon they could encounter here. There could even be one that could be a valuable asset to her team, or at least something she could not just buy at the closest pet store. While catching Dodrio gave them a moderate chance of placing well in this Capture Contest, there was no point in causing the bird any more pain than necessary. One more move, and they could likely capture this Pokemon and be on their way. Plus, there was Lia's own health to consider; their basket for this event did contain a couple healing items, true, but they could be sorely needed if they fought a Dark Pokemon.

“Let's finish this illusion. Lia, go with Confusion,” Akinai called out to Lia. Such a weak attack, even boosted thanks to Calm Mind, would hopefully be weak enough to leave Dodrio still conscious. “Afterwords lay low, for I'll deal the final blow.” The Trainer searched about in the basket, nearly picking up a Parkball until she remembered one of the first lessons she had learned about the Park; Parkballs only worked on Pokemon who had yet to evolve. Instead, she retrieved one of the Superballs and held the capture device while she watched Lia get ready to perform her attack. Hopefully she would manage to capture Dodrio on the first attempt. All Trainers had been warned at the start that the Balls they had been given for this event were notably fragile and would shatter if the Pokemon broke free. This was to make certain that not only would no one be trying multiple capture attempts, but everyone would leave the area within a small amount of time.

Lia directed her gaze fully at Dodrio, her normally dark red eyes glowing a soft blue light. If the technique was successful, the glow would surround the wild Pokemon's form as well before its body was wracked by a psychic assault. Whether the attack was successful or not, Akinai would then toss the Superball at the nearby Dodrio.

 

The Gardevoir held the Dodrio in place, off the ground using psychic energy. It then caused the heads to attack each other with the Tri Attack balls of energy in their confusion. However, one stray ball of energy hit Gardevoir causing minor damage.

Seeing her chance, Akinai threw the Super Ball at the Dodrio. The bird was sucked inside and the ball fell to the ground. It wobbled once, twice, thrice... Captured!

I walked over to the captured Pokemon and put the Super Ball into my backpack for safe keeping.

"You caught that Pokemon just in time! Do you want to leave, or continue to rhyme?" I said, wincing at myself.

- - - - -

Trainer: Akinai
Location: Enigma Ruins
Area Effects: Almost but not quite entirely unlike a road.
Items: 3 Park Balls, 1 Super Balls, 1 Hyper Ball, 2 Lava Cookies, 2 Energy Powders, 1 PokeDoll

Encounters Remaining: 3
Pokemon Encountered: Furret (?), Dodrio (M)
Pokemon Caught: Dodrio (M) (Lax)

Character Count: 26,034/25,000

- - - - -

Battle Stats:
None​

- - - - -

Gardevoir (Lia) M, Trace (Naive) [70% HP]
EMs: Hidden Power (Electric), Thunder Wave, Focus Blast, Encore, Confuse Ray

 

As Lia unleashed her psychic attack, Dodrio had started his own move as well. For a third time, the three heads entered their Tri Attack formation and shot three now extremely familiar beams at the Gardevoir. This time around, Lia was experienced enough about the attack to avoid two of the multicolored beams. In addition, a blue glow was enveloping Dodrio- the Confusion had indeed been pulled off.

Akinai wasted no time, tossing the Superball forward as the glow from Confusion had faded. Dodrio was sucked into the ball, the sphere wobbling about for a moment before stopping entirely. The battle is ended, she thought to herself, letting out a sigh of relief. Lia, do you need to be mended?

<I will be fine, but I may need healing further down the line,> Lia replied in kind after giving herself a quick look-over. <Can we just go further on? Let us leave this rainbow lawn.> The Gardevoir winced from the rhyme, and for good reason- that one had been quite a stretch.

Their Ranger retrieved Dodrio's Superball from the ground, storing it in his bag for now. “You caught that Pokemon just in time! Do you want to leave, or continue to rhyme?” he asked, looking slightly annoyed that the rhyming geas of this area had affected him as well.

Akinai mulled over her choice at the moment, trying to decide which was the better option. Capturing Dodrio had given her a possible nice standing in the Contest, since the creature was evolved and would score higher than a Pokemon like Pidgey or Cleffa. Still, there were tougher Pokemon out there and it wouldn't hurt to keep going. “We're not done yet, there's other Pokemon we have yet met,” she replied to her Ranger.

 

The Ranger nodded, and they continued to walk. After reaching a certain point, the road and plains promptly vanished and were replaced by a pastel-colored city of bent and contorted sky scrapers. There was a Gothorita near the houses, watching Akinai and her Gardevoir curiously.

- - - - -

Trainer: Akinai
Location: Enigma Ruins
Area Effects: Almost but not quite entirely unlike a road.
Items: 3 Park Balls, 1 Super Balls, 1 Hyper Ball, 2 Lava Cookies, 2 Energy Powders, 1 PokeDoll

Encounters Remaining: 2
Pokemon Encountered: Furret (?), Dodrio (M), Gothorita (?)
Pokemon Caught: Dodrio (M) (Lax)

Character Count: 1,661/15,000

- - - - -

Battle Stats:
None​

- - - - -

Gardevoir (Lia) M, Trace (Naive) [70% HP]
EMs: Hidden Power (Electric), Thunder Wave, Focus Blast, Encore, Confuse Ray

 

The Ranger didn't respond in turn, choosing to merely nod in response and lead the group further on. In what felt like no time at all, they soon left the strange plain of shifting rainbow grass far behind. The walk, while fairly uneventful despite the madness of this place, was also quiet. No one seemed willing to speak another rhyme unwillingly, and the strange feeling surrounding the area was a constant presence.

Akinai looked about warily, feeling more than a little uneasy. The battle with Dodrio was still fresh in both Lia and her minds, and this combined with the unsettling scenery didn't mix well at all. More than once she was tempted to discuss the matter with either of her travel companions, but never went through with it. Nothing was worth belting out something worthy in a child's book; she could just talk about it after the Enigma Ruins were far, far away.

Eventually, the scenery shifted to something entirely different. While before they had been traveling along fairly natural (for this area) paths, this time the area was littered with bright buildings of every shape and size. Halfway hiding behind one of the buildings, a humanoid Pokemon was watching them intently.

Akinai said nothing, simply deciding that to keep walking was the best bet. She was fairly certain the Pokemon in question was a lower form of Gothitelle- they looked extremely similar, down to the coloration and attitude. Still, she already owned a Gothitelle, and had no desire to go after a lesser Pokemon and one she already had at that.

 

The Gothorita seemed to take little to no notice of the trio walking by. Instead, it busied itself looking through the curved buildings.

We walked for a little bit, and then suddenly the ground disappeared and was replaced with a small rowboat.

"Crap!" I shouted.

Then, I noticed that the rhyming curse was lifted. We weren't in any twisted landscape anymore, so it was over. However, we were in the middle of a bay, on a boat.

And a Kabutops was fast approaching, through the water.

"Look, a Kabutops!" I shouted, pointing.

- - - - -

Trainer: Akinai
Location: Enigma Ruins
Area Effects: And now a lake. So very wet. Cramped boat.
Items: 3 Park Balls, 1 Super Balls, 1 Hyper Ball, 2 Lava Cookies, 2 Energy Powders, 1 PokeDoll

Encounters Remaining: 1
Pokemon Encountered: Furret (?), Dodrio (M), Gothorita (?), Kabutops (?)
Pokemon Caught: Dodrio (M) (Lax)

Character Count: 1,533/35,000

- - - - -

Battle Stats:
None​

- - - - -

Gardevoir (Lia) M, Trace (Naive) [70% HP]
EMs: Hidden Power (Electric), Thunder Wave, Focus Blast, Encore, Confuse Ray

 

Thankfully, the small Gothitelle lookalike didn't appear to be interested in a battle. In fact, save for a passing glance at the group as it walked by, the Psychic-type simply kept looking at the scenery. Apparently it was as interested in the landscape as them, for the creature never moved from the spot.

Akinai was relieved to see that they had been able to pass yet another Pokemon. Lia, being a Psychic-type herself, would have had trouble fighting such an opponent. Even though the Gardevoir had a few added moves in her arsenal, none would have been able to do anything more than neutral damage to such a creature. It would have ended up dragging on longer than necessary, and all to simply continue on.

Without warning the ground beneath them vanished entirely, being replaced by smooth wooden planks. In the confusion, Lia had nearly fallen out of surprise; they were now inside what looked to be a small boat.

“Crap!” their Ranger shouted in his own surprise.

Akinai, who had been helping Lia regain her footing, paused as she waited to hear anything else. When nothing else came, she could have shouted out in joy. Whatever rule that had been put in place before had been lifted- the rhyming geas was gone! “Remind me to just turn around and walk out if we see any unnatural trees,” Akinai said with a hint of sarcasm. There could be rare Pokemon roaming everywhere there or even a legendary item, nothing could ever convince her to go back.

After their initial happiness for leaving that bizarre area lifted, the group looked about. The strange city from before had disappeared as well, leaving an open area and surrounded by water. Land, while visible, seemed far away and not within swimming distance for anyone involved. Fortunately, the waves were calm and merely rocked the boat gently. There was a figure moving swiftly underwater though, and heading straight towards their boat.

“Look, a Kabutops!” the Ranger called out, pointing towards the swimming figure.

I really need to ask his name, Akinai realized suddenly. Still, that was a matter for another time. If she remembered correctly, Kabutops were the evolution of a Pokemon that were revived from fossils. Such a creature would be extremely rare, and most likely dangerous as well. There was just one main problem; Lia couldn't swim. The Gardevoir, along with quite a few members of her team, had never bothered to learn and the only Water member out of all the Pokemon she possessed was not likely to give lessons anytime soon. This, along with the fact that they were on a small boat, meant that getting to land took priority. “Let's try to avoid a fight. I don't want to risk a battle this far out, and we don't exactly have much room to move about.”

 

“Let's try to avoid a fight," Akinai said. "I don't want to risk a battle this far out, and we don't exactly have much room to move about.”

However, the Kabutops didn't seem to hear her. It continued to charge, almost hitting the boat. At the very last second, the scenery changed. The three of us, Akinai, her Gardevoir, and myself, were instead standing on a dirt path, near an icy cave. Inside the cave, a Smoochum peered out, curious about the newcomers.

- - - - -

Trainer: Akinai
Location: Enigma Ruins
Area Effects: Dirt path, ice cave to our left. A little bit chilly.
Items: 3 Park Balls, 1 Super Balls, 1 Hyper Ball, 2 Lava Cookies, 2 Energy Powders, 1 PokeDoll

Encounters Remaining: 0
Pokemon Encountered: Furret (?), Dodrio (M), Gothorita (?), Kabutops (?), Smoochum (?)
Pokemon Caught: Dodrio (M) (Lax)

Character Count: 2,721/4,000

- - - - -

Battle Stats:
None​

- - - - -

Gardevoir (Lia) M, Trace (Naive) [70% HP]
EMs: Hidden Power (Electric), Thunder Wave, Focus Blast, Encore, Confuse Ray

 

Unfortunately, Kabutops appeared to have plans other than just swimming away peacefully and leaving them be. Instead of trying to alter its course, the prehistoric Pokemon made a beeline straight towards the boat. Judging from the way it steadily swam forward, it was definitely looking for a fight.

“Not good,” Akinai groaned, looking about for a possible escape option. Beside her, Lia was none too happy as well; all of the water surrounded them had put both of them on edge. Seeing no way out, the Trainer made a silent request to the Gardevoir. Lia, think you can Teleport all of us-

The statement was never completed. Moments before the Kabutops was ready to slam into their boat, the scenery abruptly changed once more. Instead of being stranded in the middle of a large body of water, the surrounding area shifted to the cave entrance of a winter wonderland.

“Well...this definitely ranks as one of the top strangest days in my book,” Akinai airily remarked, trying to appear nonplussed. In reality, the fact that they were very nearly rammed by a wild Pokemon clearly looking to battle something had shaken her.

<Can we go now?> Lia asked plaintively, her mental request almost uncatchable. While Akinai was doing her best to keep a neutral expression, the Gardevoir was clearly distressed.

As if it had heard Lia, their final encounter slowly stepped forward. It was fairly small, with a violet body and a mess of yellow hair adorning its head. Most importantly, it didn't look to be as aggressive as Kabutops. In fact, the Psychic-type looked merely curious.

Akinai fished out her lone Pokedoll and took a couple of steps, kneeling in front of the Smoochum. “Let's just get out of here. I've seen enough madness for one day,” she said to her Ranger, grabbing an EnergyPowder from her pack before placing the Doll down in front of the baby Pokemon. With that task done, she handed the packet to her Gardevoir.

 

Akinai took the PokeDoll from her backpack, and offered it to the very curious Smoochum. The Smoochum took the toy, then ran off into the caves, waving it around like it was Christmas.

Akinai's Gardevoir took the offered EnergyPowder and, trying her best to ignore the horrendously bitter taste, swallowed the powder. Immediately, the ballroom dancer Pokemon seemed to be feeling a lot better.

Then, I escorted the two out of the Park. This contest run was finished, and the contestant had even bagged a rare Pokemon to show off to the judges.

 

Thanks for taking my run

Would like to submit Dodrio for judging, please.