Fandom &nbsp; Pokemon: Vera Valle

Phayne

A hearty laugh could be heard from the front seat, the buff professor..

"It's good to hear you youngsters getting along. I miss my youth sometimes. But it is good to have you all along. I truly appreciate the help. And, haha, Vera Valle will belong to you lot before long!"

As the jeep continued along the trail, merging into Route 8 as they approached Nacreousville. The sudden shift in temperature was the first clue they were getting close. In the distance the volcanic ash from the Ring of Fire faded from gray to white snow all around. The wild pokemon around changed, from Torkoal to Avalugg. Machamp's driving didn't change though, even as the roads did. Fast and furious as he could, the group were fishtailing through the ice as often as going straight.

"Beautiful isn't it? We're still trying to figure out the source of Nacreousville's coldness. Some think its the very legendaries that live here. But personally, I don't think so. I've met Articuno and Kyurem, and their temperaments aren't right for it. Beautiful girls, both of them. But Articuno prefers to play the big sister role to Kyurem, and Kyurem's too shy to attract attention. That, and they are recent additions, 18 years ago. It seems Kyurem is from further north, of the mountains north of Vera Valle, probably where it split from. I would kill to see its original form, but it seems that the original dragon always splits into the three. Yin, Yang, and Wuji, fascinating topic, but far too deep for this short car trip." It had been 3 hours. "But, regardless, the three dragons made it to Vera Valle, and Kyurem tried to hide in the Glacier Chasm. The only problem was that Articuno had already claimed it. Most legendaries are extraordinarily territorial. They don't like to share.

A fight broke out, and Kyurem lost.... but the most fascinating thing happened, rather than kill Kyurem, or injure it until it left, Articuno took it under its wings, and the two have had an symbiotic relationship since. Kyurem provides mist to obscure the two, and Articuno scouts and drives out any intruders.

So, back to topic, what is it that makes it so cold here? I don't know! And that's why being a pokemon professor is fascinating. But enough of passions, what I need you three to do. Smash Blackleaf's Weather Machine. Its blowing away the mist inside. In any case, I have my own business I need to do. I need to settle a pokemon match from 15 years ago... Machamp, rest for a bit."

As Machamp was driving, the red light enveloped it, and the car swirved, before hte professor jumped into the driver's seat, and switched gears, increasing in speed.

"Akira, get DZ to the weather machine... and try to coax him to be helpful.

Lilinoe, there are bound to be Blackleaf members in the way, beat them back.

Jay, help Lilinoe, and see if your chimchar can't scout a bit.

I'll try and get something ready for you three in the lab afterwards as thanks. I maaaay have a few research pokemon I can lend out after this to such helpful trainers as you lot. If you like DZ Akira, see if you can't take him with you. Certainly more help to you than us back in the lab. Any requests from you two?"

The professor continued to talk absentmindedly as they approached a chasm.... he wasn't slowing down.

"Oh, and don't worry, the jeep has good shocks. Maria insisted. I know the way!"

The lot were suddenly airborn, a full 3 seconds air time, before landing with a massive crash onto the otherside of the chasm, the jeep bouncing violently as they started down an icy path into the cliff. Pulling on the breaks, they finally stopped, halfway down a descending outreach of the cliff, a small road that led to the bottom.

"And here is where we part! Follow the wind, its the weather machine blowing away the fog. Good luck you young trainers, Kyurem's fate is in your hands!"

A salamence roaring in the distance caught the professor's attention, who gripped his pokeball with Machamp tighter.

"You want to continue the match that badly, do you Mansel....?"

He turned and gave a friendly wave to the bunch.

"Take luck!"

Phayne · Nov 16, 2019

Turning to face Akira, Jay's face remained contorted in an expression of pure frustration; a frustration born from the current bout of chaos chucked directly at him. After everything that had just happened, Jay couldn't even comprehend the snarkyness of the girl; the fact that she had the audacity to give him lip despite their current situation being the fault of a 3rd party, rather than himself. Jay didn't exactly asked to be snatched off the road and tossed into the back of the jeep.

"Sorry Princess" replied Jay through gritted teeth as he forced a smile in her direction; a vein twitching on the side of his forehead. "I didn't exactly plan to get abducted off the road and tossed into the back of a Jeep today. I was saving that little bit of fun for another day" his forced smile still prevalent across his face as he spoke; whilst at the same time maneuvering himself so that he was sat upright between the two girls. It was only at this point that he had really noticed the other occupant on the back seat. "Sorry about that.." uttered Jay, glancing over towards Lilinoe who was sat on his other side; the girl remaining quiet thus far throughout his sudden entrance. The stark contrast between Akira and Lilinoe's personalities was clear to see. With the awkwardness of the situation hopefully dying down now, Jay had taken the opportunity to try and calm himself down, his arms folded across his chest as he silently stared forward, through the space between the driver and the passenger sides seat.

Any attempts to calm down however where quickly cut short as the hearty laugh of Professor Joshua reverberated through the whole jeep; his laugh drawing the attention of Jay as well as his ire; the boy's scowl visible to anyone looking at the rear-view mirror. "We're not getting along" mumbled Jay in reponse, though he was mostly ignored. Whether that be due to the professor continuing to ramble or the sudden drop in temperature as their surroundings changed to icy white snow; Jay couldn't be sure. Nor could he really care at this point as his body hinted towards more pressing concerns.

Within the first five minutes of entering this icy domain, Jay had begun to shiver, The visible breath cloud as he exhaled a testament to just how cold it had gotten inside the jeep. If only the jeep weren't as crowded as it was now; he could call on Flint to warm up the place. Alas, Jay did the only thing he could do at this moment and zipped up his jacket; the boy rubbing both hands together to generate heat as he finished 'shoring up his defences' to the cold temperature. All the while, Professor Joshua had been explaining the situation to the trio, the story surrounding the Bird of Legend Articuno as well as the mythical Dragon Kyuurem a story he had heard from his parents long ago.

As the bright red light briefly illuminated the jeep, Jay ready for what was to come had already leaned forward and placed a hand on either head rest of the two front seats, bracing himself as the Jeep swerved to the side as the Wheel went freestyle momentarily. Another sigh escaped Jay's lips as he rolled his eyes at Professor Joshua's antics. Last thing he needed now was more animosity from his current 'seat buddies'.

Their death ride steadied once more as the professor took the wheels, he began to explain their individual task's; Jay's brow raising ever so slightl as he heard everyone elses task's, his curiosity peaked as he wondered just what pokemon they owned. At the mention of Chimchar, Jay instinctively reached down to his right side and grabbed his pokeball, holding the red and white sphere in one hand.

"If that's what you want" replied Jay, glancing down at Flint's pokeball as he held it firmly in his right hand. "Either way, Both myself and Flint plan to make this trip worthwhile" a genuine smile spreading across his face as the idea of getting in some training entered his mind. Aside from a forest full of grass types and bugs; an icy haven was the next best thing for his fire type companion and he was sure going to make the most of it.. though he was doubtful about Hendrix being up to the task. A frozen tundra didn't exactly seem like the right motivating factor for the Lax pokemon; though you never know.

Looking up once more and returning Flint to his side, Jay had just enough time to see the gaping chasm in front of them before the Jeep itself took to the air; the vehicle's 3 second flight lasting an eternity as glimpses of Jay's life flashed before his very eyes; reality only brought back into contention as the jeep crash landed on the opposite side; spinning a few times before coming to a halt.

The professors relaxed demeanour didn't help calm the racing heart beat of Jay, nor did the echoing roar; later identified to be that of a Salamence. Though, it appeared that the Professor had already been expecting that Dragon to be here as well. It wasn't long before they parted ways, Jay alongside Akira and Lilinoe given their own task as the Professor remained silent towards his own goals.

"Flint, Come out buddy" shouted Jay, his voice still almost drowned out by the rushing wind. In a flash of red, the Chimchar had somersaulted out of its ball, only to be flung somewhat backwards by the wind. Thankfully, Jay had managed to grab him by his hand, before anything serious had happened; the boy quickly placing Chimchar atop both of his own shoulders. With the warmth of Chimchars body radiating through his own; Jay began to walk against the oncoming wind, eager to get on with the mission. The faster this machine was taken down, the quicker him and Flint would get to go wild on the mountain.

Silvaine · Nov 21, 2019

LILINOE MOORE

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Location: Nacreous Chasm
Interacting:

Phayne | Mentions:

Ganryu
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As the jeep continued its death race toward Nacreousville, Lilinoe was holding for her dear life, her hands gripped her seat so tightly she might left imprint on them. She barely notice what their new addition did, aside from his rough landing. Sure, the guy crashed on them, but that's not his fault to be thrown. The other girl's cranky comment drew a frown from her. Still, she chose to stay silent as she was more interested in paying attention to the road. Despite knowing that it was terrifying to witness each near crash and sharp turn, her gaze was glued to the sight. Even when addressed, her reply was brief, "It's alright," she said absentmindedly. She sorely missed having access to ride pokemon where she at least had control of where she was going and not be in the mercy of her driver.

She stayed that way throughout the ride. The lowering temperature made her rub her hands together, she wished she had brought a pair of gloves. The air was biting her exposed skin, it made her uncomfortable, unused she is to this. Alola was a tropical region that stayed warm throughout the year except in certain high altitudes area.

Silently taking in what the Professor had explained to them and each of their duties. She had looked up Articuno and Kyurem in her pokedex previously, so she at least knew how the looked like and basic summary. Articuno is a bird that is considerate ice incarnate, capable of freely manipulating ice and known to herald blizzard ; while Kyurem, an ice dragon, has much more complicated legend that she wasn't familiar with other than that it was considered a remnants that was left behind when Zekrom and Reshiram were born. She resolved to stay away from them that she found the task of dealing with hostile trainers more appealing. "I will do my best," she replied, a part of her was nervous at the prospect and she didn't know how she measured up compared to the two other trainers with her.. "...I rather we leave that after this task is complete," it didn't feel right to discuss this before she complete the mission and she wasn't here for reward or anything other than doing what she had agreed to do and survive it. "I don't mean to be ungrateful, but I haven't done anything yet right now to warrant it."

She glanced toward whom she assumed to be Jay. Her impression of him was that he has confidence in his capabilities and didn't appear as spooked as she did. The other girl wasn't either. She really felt like a total newbie right then and there. At least, she knew that Kini's fire typing would be useful against any wild ice type they would encounter and they weren't amateur either when it come to pokemon battle.

Her thought had to be cut short at the sight of fast approaching chasm that split the path ahead of them. The professor's reassurance that there was nothing to worry about made her even more worried! Lilinoe ducked as best as she could to make herself small when the jeep launched itself into the air, before coming down with a crash that petrified her, stuck in wanting to dive out to safety yet there was no way out, while the jeep continued to spin with its passenger inside. Lilinoe peered out and it took her a moment to find her voice again, "W-w-we are alive..."

Soon as they stepped out into the frozen terrain and was about to part way with the professor, a loud roar echoed throughout the place. It raised primal fear in her and did not help her when she was just starting to calm down. Her heartbeat was drumming again at prospect of hostile pokemon way out of her league. The only consolation being the professor appeared to know of the source and had hopefully, left to deal with it, leaving her with her teammates.

Lilinoe didn't get any chance to say anything to her teammates when one of them started to walk on his own after releasing his pokemon. it prompted her to release her own without any word. The salandit materialized in a flash of light and proceeded to breathe out a faint smoke that she ignited to warm herself. Odor akin to burned incense accompanied the fire, a sign of its poisonous nature. "Kini, stay with me and be alert," Lilinoe said as she scooped the lizard up onto her arms with a side benefit of warming her freezing hands and chased after her teammates.

"Hey~ Wait up!" she called. "I am Lilinoe and this is Kini, a salandit. What's yours?" she introduced herself.

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Pokemon Out: Kini, the salandit

KageYuuki · Nov 22, 2019

Eric Wolfe Ianthe Kekoa
Eric kept his back turned as the older Wolfe walked away. This was all so wrong, none of it made sense. Like he had managed to piss off Darkrai and this was all a nightmare.

Freja stretched out with a slight wince, the potion had been more than enough to get her back on her feet. But everything still ached from that hit she took. The Riolu gave Ianthe a small bow in thanks before turning back to her approaching trainer. You didn’t need to sense auras to see the confusion, dismay, betrayal, and anger storming in him.

“Hey,” Eric’s voice was surprisingly soft as he knelt by his Pokémon. “You alright?”

She nodded. They'd gotten lucky, she and Eric both knew that. Had the admin decided to use his aura or bring out Fenrir…

Ianthe watched Eric’s Riolu bow to her before she went to hold Cotton in her arms for a moment, studying the young Swablu and making sure there wasn’t anything actually wrong with him. He was breathing quite slowly as if he was tired, but it wasn’t apparent from the whistles Cotton let out at the moment. “I’m so proud of you, Cotton,” Ianthe said earnestly, and the Swablu chirped and whistled a happier song at the recognition.

“And you, Nymph. You did great work today. We’ve got to fight some more, but I can’t believe how great you guys did.” Ianthe’s eyes flickered up to the Bounsweet on her head, who made a pleased noise at Ianthe’s words. She had to let them know they’d done really well; it would help to keep the morale up, at least. They hadn’t had many trainer battles recently, now that she’d thought about it, and a Blackleaf Admin being practically Cotton’s first? It was a lot, and it could have been worse with that other Pokemon Eric’s father had mentioned.

Ianthe then looked up at Eric. “...Hey.” She wasn’t sure how to say this. “So, um. How are you feeling?”

He was quiet for a long moment, carefully checking Freja over. Despite his normally brash approach, Eric’s touch was light. He could tell she was trying to hide her shivering. “I’m fine,” he lied, not looking up from what he was doing. Not even strong enough to be acknowledged.

Freja frowned slightly, “Luu…”

Ianthe finally let go of Cotton, giving the Swablu a chance to roam. Cotton chose to fly around Ianthe’s head. Nymph was snoozing for the moment, enjoying her spot as Ianthe’s hat. “So now that we know the Pokémon your dad has, you can get a Pokémon to counter it. Have you gotten a good look at Vera Valle yet?”

She tilted her head, glancing back to Eric. He was much quieter than his usual. She had a feeling something was off. “We don’t have to talk about that right now unless you want to.”

“I knew about Anda, outside of… whatever that move she used was.” He turned away, looking back down the path. A splitting cry echoed through the chasm from Articuno’s direction, though the legendary hadn’t been the source of the sound. Eric motioned to Freja, letting the Riolu clamber up onto his shoulders. She sighed, resting her chin on the top of his head as he stood back up. “Pretty much grew up in the Valle too.”

Red eyes looked back at Ianthe, “You’re definitely not from here though.”

Ianthe chuckled a bit at that. “Well, nope. I’m not from here in the slightest. Just have covered a lot of ground recently. But I can tell you what kind of move that was your dad performed if you want me to.”

She stood up a moment after the cry came through the chasm, Cotton already flying over to check out what was going on. Ianthe began to walk towards the sound, simultaneously digging through her bag for her Poké Beans...aha! She pulled out one, showing it to Eric.

“That move’s from the same region as these. Alola. Where I’m from.”

“Alola…” Eric repeated, looking down at the odd little bean. That move had a ton of power behind it. Power is respected… His father had made a point of it before leaving. So Ianthe would likely be their key to learning it for themselves. Freja leaned over him, attempting to sniff the offered bean and nearly tumbling over in the process. Eric winced as she grabbed a fistful of his hair while righting herself.

Finally, he shook his head, “Later. We have legendaries that need saving so I guess this is where we split up.”

Ianthe tried not to laugh at Eric’s Riolu, placing the bean on top of Eric’s head for her. “You can keep that as a little treat for all of your help.” She said with a smile. “But you’re right. I’ll see you when I see you, yeah?”

She could hear Cotton whistling as he flew further into the chasm, choosing a clear flight path towards the icy legendary, and she hated to rush a goodbye, but…knowing Cotton, he would get himself into trouble if he was left alone for too long. Ianthe was already backing away towards Cotton, towards the Articuno.

Freja tentatively bit into the treat, before snapping it up altogether with an approving nod. She’d never seen a poke bean in Vera Valle before now, maybe she and Eric could try and find some after this? The Riolu hummed at the thought before resting her chin back on top of his head.

“Yeah,” Eric started down the path towards where Kyurem fought. “I’m sure you can handle whatever goons are down there.” He didn’t bother looking back, “You’re an ‘excellent trainer’ after all.”

Phayne · Nov 25, 2019

Stopping in his tracks, Jay turned to face the direction of the other two; the quieter of the two girls doing her best to catch up with them. With the raging winds around them doing its best to diminish her voice, Jay had only caught the final portions of what she had said, her interest in Jay's pokemon apparent. Like he had done, she too had called out her pokemon; the fire/poison type Salandit. He had seen them on various TV shows as well as read about them during his time at the Poke School, however he hadn't had the opportunity to see one in person before. Whilst a rare pokemon to see, Jay knew quite a fair bit about it considering that several exam questions had pertained to Salandit's unique standing among others of its type. Even among the Fire and Poison types, Salandit were considered to be special due to the mysteries surrounding their evolution as well as their ability to affect the steel type despite the steel resistance to poison. He even recalled his father once referring to his mother as the human equivalent of a Salazzle; her alluring aura enough to encapsulate him.

"Flint here is a Chimchar, a pure fire type" replied Jay, not wasting a second and pointing upwards with his right hand as he introduced his partner first. "You can call me Jay" he added, as he closed his hand into a fist and shook it slightly, Flint reciprocating Jays action by fist bumping it with his own; their strong bond evident to the naked eye as both of them smiled. "Guess we both have an advantage here over the Ice types" added Jay, returning his hand to his jacket pocket. "I've agreed to help destroy this weather machine, but If I am being honest with you; it was really the opportunity to get some battle experience in that convinced me to come here...so... " he paused, looking for the right words. "... if things get too rough.. just let me know..." he glanced down to his right side where his second pokeball hung fixed to his belt. "The three of us are itching for a decent fight" he finished, Chimchar beating away at his chest in agreement; the excitement and anticipation easy to read across his face.

At the mention of three, Jay subconsciously glanced beyond where Lilinoe stood, towards where Akira presently was, the key to their mission. "I guess we better stay next to her... the last thing we need here is to have something happen to our linchpin". With that said, Jay began to walk forwards once more, both of Chimchar's hands clasped around his head as the fire pokemon held firm. "Akira!, Lili!" shouted Jay, over the wind and without thinking if she would appreciate being called as such after having only just met one another. "Keep your eyes on Flint's tail, I'll lead the way" suggested Jay, hoping to use Flint's fiery tail as something akin to a light house during poor visibility.

"Flint, buddy" began Jay, glancing upwards to see Flint leaning over and glancing down right back at him. "Keep your eyes peeled for anything suspicious... and no.. that doesn't mean the Icy type pokemon living here. We can fight them later. Right now we need to get to the weather machine. If you see anything, tap my shoulder" commanded Jay, Flint giving the thumbs up.

Misuteeku · Nov 26, 2019

Articuno Capture Team

Kenneth was in a mix of awe and fear. Perched on top of a pillar of ice was Articuno, the legendary Kanto ice type, who stared down at them as if they were Durants. Kenneth couldn’t help but feel his knees quaking under Articuno’s intense stare. Was this the effect of Articuno’s Pressure ability? Gritting his teeth, he managed to muster up the courage to speak.

“Once I release Mandrawl, we’ll run in different directions. That way we both won’t be taken out by Articuno’s attacks.” The last thing they needed was to be both taken out in one attack and turned into a box of ice cream. Unclipping Mandrawl’s Pokeball, he threw it out.

“Mandrawl, use smokescreen!” Kenneth yelled out. The small, pale purple mammal appeared and immediately gushed out smoke once it saw the gigantic bird of ice that was above it.

Maya let out a shaky breath as they approached, clenching her fists to stop her hands from shaking. Articuno was beautiful up close, the sight alone took her breath away. Or was it the sheer cold causing the diamond dust?

Her fingers twitched around a pokeball, “don’t be afraid to retreat if we need to regroup.” The redhead wasted no time in kicking away as Kenneth’s pokeball left his fingers. This was it. A flash of light as the little gremlin was released from her ball. “Get ready to use screech when Articuno comes in view.” The noibat screeched her displeasure and panic. “I’ll buy you your weight in berries if we survive this!”

“Screw this, they don’t pay me enough for this! I quit. Shoulda worked as a repairman, or something.”

A voice sounded behind them, before scurrying away, an approving screech and middle finger given from a mawile as a well cloaked figure began to climb the icy wall to escape. Blackleaf member Jack escaped. ₽4,320 was dropped!

Articuno’s eyes narrowed, at the incoming smokescreen, its wings expanding in a blast of cold. Slowly ascending as the smokescreen hit. Its eyes were carefully following shadows. Its eyes locked on, before a screech made it lose balance, the Articuno falling against the chasm before catching itself, shaking its head from a vicious headache. Its focused changed to Asuka, the noibat, before its eyes closed. An ominous presence filled Asuka’s mind as if it was being invaded.

If words could kill, then Kenneth would yell several nasty profanities at Jack, but now it wasn’t the time. Hyper focused at the situation at hand, he felt Articuno descend from its perch. The temperature must have dropped by a ridiculous amount of degrees due to the fact that it was even colder than before. However, it wasn’t relatively close to him, meaning that it was going for Maya.

Stopping and turning around, he grabbed Milutin’s pokeball. He was unsure if Milutin could even detect the beast, because he didn’t know the biology of a steel type Pokemon, but he had to try something. The Magnet Pokemon manifested right beside him as he released the pokemon from its ball.

Pointing a finger at a general direction, he yelled, “Milutin! Use electric shock towards the North of you!” The Magnemite began to buzz and shot a jolt of electricity at a direction. Hopefully, that was where Aritcuno was. The smoke wasn’t helping at all.

“You son of a bitch,” Maya hissed under her breath as Jack fled. One of these days she was going to have a mission that didn’t involve losing a team member in some fashion. But enough mental bitching, there was a giant ice phoenix determined to ruin her life.

Asuka wilted slightly under Articuno’s presence. She shook her head, trying to chase away the ominous feeling brought on by the legendary. She’d taken out three pokemon without landing a single attack! She could survive this.

...right?

Maya grimaced, there was no way this was going to end well for the little bat. “Flash!”

The bat hesitated, but gave off a blinding flash.

Articuno cried as flash blinded it, and a small zap of electricity caused it to fly into a nearby ice stalagmite, ice raining down below on some other battle. The electricity crackled in its wings, the sheer temperature turning it into a superconductor. Not the best for taking an electric attack. Its eyes closed though, and Asuka would feel its pressure. Articuno opened its eyes, and the crackling of ice could be heard.

chiiink

No attack, no beam, just a suddenly frozen Asuka, seemingly stuck in the sky. The ice was so thick, the air around her crackled, before breaking apart, and causing the bat to fall.

Mind Reader
Sheer Cold

Surprise was the first thing Kenneth felt as he watched Asuka suddenly become encased in ice. How did Articuno manage to do that in a matter of a few moments. His surprise settled down as he had to reassess their current situation. He had underestimated the Kanto Legendary. Sure, he knew that they were powerful, but this? This wasn’t a fair game, not that Kenneth expected to be one.

“Milutin, Electric Shock! Mandrawl, Echoed Voice!” Commands were thrown out. The smoke had mostly dissipated right now, blown away by the flaps of Articuno’s wings. The bird was near Maya’s location, and with Asuka gone, she was defenseless. He needed to buy time for Maya to bring out her next Pokemon.

A loud bellow and another jolt of electricity streamed towards Articuno’s direction, both coming from their respective users. Mandrawl was screaming its lungs out, partly due to fear, and Milutin was as emotionless as before. Without any Pokemon, Articuno would surely see him as the higher priority threat.

Both attacks hit, with unerring accuracy, the Articuno crying from the damage, electricity circling around it multiple times as it flinched. It turned away from Maya, just as Kenneth predicted, and it glared through the smoke… and it waited, its feathers shining majestically as its eyes darting back and forth.

“Cu… cu… cu...no!”

It cried out triumphantly, vibrantly spreading its wings again in a show of diamond dust. It would give Maya time at least.

Maya recalled her Noibat’s frost-covered and crumpled form into her pokeball, a silent apology on her lips. She’d owe the little gremlin if they all made it out of this. The red head grimaced again as Mandrawl’s cry reverberated throughout the cave. While she’d packed earmuffs, grabbing them wasn’t entirely doable in the heat of battle.

Two flashes of light, Kurama and Ren didn’t have long to take in their surroundings before being nearly overwhelmed by Articuno’s presence. Ren teleported onto Maya’s back, clinging to her trainer for dear life. “Kurama, Will-O-Wisp! Ren, Psywave!”

With Maya back on her feet, Kenneth called off Mandrawl’s attack. If he were to have Mandrawl use Echoed Voice again, then Maya and her team would be hit by the attack. Which left him with only Milutin to attack with. However, with Maya back on her feet, the plan was back in the action.

Will-O-Wisp would weaken the already paralyzed Articuno, that meant he needed to play his part as well. “Milutin, use Supersonic!” The Magnet Pokemon levitated up and started to create the jarring noise. Waves of sound traveled towards the legendary, an attempt to make it disoriented and confused.

Articuno continued to shimmer and shine as the attacks fell against it, the shining reflecting back psywave directly back at Ren. The weaker attacks though, fell straight through, burns and sound striking through, grinding heard as Articuno clamped its beak shut in frustration. A miscalculation.

Mirror Coat

Its eyes peered around the area. Three pokemon left… and normal trainers. The burns made it want to land, but its work wasn’t done yet.

To Kenenth and Maya, its flight became slightly erratic, gliding dangerously close to the chasm walls a couple time, the confusion setting in with the other ailments. It didn’t look too damaged, but it did seem very hampered.

A bright flash as Ren fell from Maya’s back with a cry, the small ralts left dazed in the snow. “Shiiiit,” Maya hissed, spinning to scoop up her unconscious pokemon. Articuno hadn’t moved to attack during their last barrage, how could it have knocked Ren out like that? Especially with Kenneth and his pokemon still standing.

The shimmering in the legendary’s feathers had diminished since Ren was attacked. Mirror Coat, it had to be. Maya cursed at herself for not catching it sooner, having passed off the excess of shimmering as more diamond dust kicked up. “Watch when you attack,” she called over, digging through one of her pockets. Maya was thankful for managing to grab a couple revives before they set out into this mess. “It can use mirror coat.”

Again Articuno, with its absurdly overpowered attacks, knocked out another one of Maya’s Pokemon. Kenneth was debating on whether or not to sue Mansel after all of this for endangering their lives. Can he even sue him? That wasn’t important right now as the overgrown ice turkey seemed to be hindered, but not damaged at all.

Just before Kenneth could call out a command, he jumped when he heard a whooshing sound right behind him. Turning around, he looked at the source of the noise.

Mandrawl

Mandrawl was evolving. Evolving at the worst time possible. Evolving when death was literally above their heads. But still evolving. “FUCK.” Kenneth screamed out of the top of his lungs. Just his luck that Mandrawl had to evolve right now.

“Milutin, use electric shock!” Kenneth commanded. It didn’t matter to him if Articuno had mirror coat or not. With Mandrawl deciding it was the perfect time to evolve, he needed to weaken, slow Articuno, so that Mandrawl could evolve without interruption. However no jolt of electricity left Milutin, only sparks. Kenneth’s eyes widened. Was this the effect of Articuno’s pressure ability?

Recovering from his shock, Kenneth ordered Milutin to use another move.

“Milutin, use magnet bomb!”

Articuno turned, ice forming in its beak, an ice beam about to fire straight at Mandrawl, before an ice stalactite got in its way. The ice formed shot back, knocking the bird in the face, and causing it to fall a few feet before catching itself. It seemed annoyed. It was so hearty not even it could hurt it!

The magnet bomb flew towards Articuno, for the ice pokemon to twirl through it like an expert acrobat, seemingly overly proud of itself, before shrieking as all the pellets turned midair to hit it anyways.

Ren blinked up at Maya as the revive began to take effect. The blackleaf member flashed an apologetic smile before her eyes snapped back to the fight in front of them. Maya couldn’t help the quiet “yes,” that slipped from her lips as confusion started taking its toll.

“Kurama, follow up with firespin!”

Kenneth looked back at Mandrawl. The evolution process still hadn’t finished up. Cursing again in his native language, he turned back to Articuno. Thankfully, the bird was doing Arceus knows what and was distracted. Milutin must have recovered from the pressure by now, so another electric shock should be available.

“Now! Milutin, shock it with electric shock!”

Two different attacks hit at once from two different directions, the cry of the pheonix heard once again. However, despite the fire, the temperature dropped, again….

An icy fog erupted around the bird as its eyes glowed blue, the diamond dust sparkling with energy, and pulsing violently. This time, it cried triumphantly, and blew its wings forward. And intense wall of ice, snow, wind, and cold over took everything, hoarfrost coating everything with sheets of ice, and pokemon and trainers being thrown across the path in a tumble.

Blizzard

The brightest side was Articuno wasn’t fully capable when it sent it, the damage varying from foot to foot along the path, some areas getting ravaged, while others virtually untouched.

Articuno sat, panting on an outcropping, before triumphantly spreading its wings.

Seeing articuno preparing a massive attack, Maya reflexively curled around Ren in an attempt to shield the recovering Pokémon. Kurama expelled another blast of flame, though instead of attacking the legendary, he surrounded himself with the fire.

Not that it did much good as all of them were blown away.

Shaking free of the layer of ice and snow, Maya quickly surveyed the damage. Of her team, she and Ren had lucked out. Kurama… less so. The Vulpix lay in a crumpled heap.

“Kenneth, you better have that masterball ready!” Maya called out before looking down at Ren. “Gonna need you to do something kind of crazy here.”

Ren blinked, glancing between Maya and articuno. “Bwah?”

Unclipping the rope from her belt, Maya took a shaky breath. She knew how stupid it was before the words even left her. “Hang onto me… teleport us onto articuno.”

“Bwah!?”

“We just need to distract it for a few seconds. Now let’s go before common sense gets the better of me!” The pair vanished in a flash. The second they reappeared, Maya would attempt to loop the rope around the legendary. Less to try and restrain it, and more to give herself a better hold. “Kenneth!”

When Articuno unleashed its blizzard attack, all Kenneth felt was numbness. It took him a few seconds to recover before weakly getting back up. Looking off to the side, he tried to locate his Pokemon.

“Milutin!” He said to himself as he crawled over to the badly hurt Magnemite. Its steel typing mostly reduced the damage it took, but Articuno was still a very powerful Pokemon. Taking out a potion and began to spray the magnet Pokemon before realizing he had forgotten one Pokemon.

“Mandrawl!” He screamed out. Wildly looking around he found the small, light purplish mammal was no longer in sight. Where was Mandrawl? Was he gone? Was he-

Immediately a few moments after, a figure burst out of the snow and gave a war cry, Kenneth winced at the intensity of noise, but came to realize what the figure was.

It was a Loudred. Pre-evolution to Exploud. Mandrawl’s previously next stage of evolution. Kenneth could feel tears well up in his eyes, mainly out of relief and joy that Mandrawl had finally evolved.

Then Mandrawl started to slam its fist onto the ground. It slammed them down repeatedly with enough force to shake the cavern itself. Kenneth stumbled and took him a little to realize what it was.

Rock Slide.

Looking up, he saw Maya on top of the giant ice bird. “Maya! Above you!” Kenneth yelled. Pushing his hand down into his bag, he brought out the Masterball and expanded it in his hands. He only had one shot.

Articuno gave a ‘bwak?’ and turned to the loud Loudred. It began to form a sphere of ice in its beak before two thuds fell on its back, rope thrown over it and pulled up like reigns, forcing an icebeam across the ceiling, raining down stalactites on the area, some hitting Articuno and shattering against its icy feathers, before Loudred set in. Above, rock and ice broke out it, landing on the head of the Articuno, catching it in an avalanche.

The majestic phoenix seemed much less majestic as it squawked and flapped its wings, head still embedded in the rubble. Every flash of its wings coldened the place, ice and hoarfrost crawling up everyone’s bodies, Maya in particular with Ren. Even Loudred would start to have an icy coat around it as the masterball was brought out.

In a brilliant burst of light, Articuno seemed to fade away, pulled with a massive amount of energy and effort into the ball, still squawking and releasing ice into the cavern. And then, despite its efforts… it was gone. Maya and Ren left outside to fall.

The masterball’s center glowed red and wiggled. Once… twice...thrice..

An explosion of energy would knock everyone back as Articuno shot out, screeching as its body reformed, horrible noise filling the cavern as it shot random beam after random beam into the walls, flailing and trying to break free.

The masterball though… was not famed for nothing. A link of energy still attached to ARticuno’s tail, and soon more beams shot out, wrapping around its wings, its head, its back, its feet. Swirling around it, they began to pull back towards the ball, before in a burst of data, Articuno disappeared once more.

The masterball was ice cold to touch.

Maya thought just being near Articuno was cold, actually being on the legendary’s back was so, so much worse. Or maybe it was the icebeam she’d managed to jerk away from Loudred that was now inches from her. Regardless, Maya wasn’t sure how long she and Ren could hold out in this cold. It was all she could do to just to hang on for dear life against the pokemon’s thrashing.

At Kenneth’s call, the redhead’s gaze snapped up. She didn’t have any time to react before the trio were slammed into the ground. A layer of frost swiftly made its way across Maya and Ren as the legendary thrashed in an attempt to pull free from the pile of rubble.

A flash of light, Maya and Ren collapsed into the snow. Shaking her head, the trainer warily eyed the masterball as she pushed herself to her feet. Only to be knocked away by a shockwave as Articuno erupted from the device.

Shrieking filled the air for several long seconds.

Then silence.

“We… we did it?” Maya was surprised at how small her voice sounded as she lay in the snow.

Kenneth winced as he watched the rocks and ice rain down upon the legendary ice Pokemon. It must of hurt considering its typing and the fact that several tons of rocks piled down onto it. Hopefully, Maya got out of there before the rocks made contact onto Articuno. He was going to talk to her about her reckless tactic after all of this.

Though when the ball made contact with the Kanto legendary, it didn’t seem too keen on being captured. Kenneth was taken off guard as a wave of frost splashed onto everyone as it struggled to get out of the masterball. Though the ball eventually stopped moving, meaning that the masterball did its job.

With a sigh of relief, he looked over to Milutin. Thankfully, it didn’t seem too affected by Articuno’s last bout. “Secure the ball, Milutin.” Kenneth said before turning around, returning Mandrawl back to his ball, and ran over to Maya. The Magnemite only nodded before using its Magnet Pull ability to attract to ball towards it location.

“Maya, are you okay?” He asked, stopping when he got close to her. Right now, he couldn’t care less of the captured ice turkey that Milutin was currently retrieving.

“I’m alive,” Maya muttered, remaining collapsed in the snow for the time being. Frostnip was definitely going to be a problem following all of this. Maybe fullblown frostbite. She was too numb to tell at the moment. Bleary grey eyes looked over at him, “How about you?”

“I’ve had better,” Kenneth chuckled to himself. To think they would be able to defeat Articuno, a legendary, the thought seemed surreal. It was a rather refreshing experience that made him feel slightly content. It still didn’t mean he wasn’t going to sue Mansel. “Milutin is retrieving the ball, I’ll go ahead and call Mansel to inform him of our success.” Kenneth said as he whipped out his phone.

Maya finally pushed herself back up under she was sitting, ice cracking and falling from her jacket. “Was that Mandrawl back there?” She asked, looking over the makeshift cavern they’d fought in. Kurama and Asuka were still unconscious in the snow and ice, she’d need to try and rouse them once she could stand. It took Ren a minute, but she climbed onto her trainer’s lap and snuggled close.

A smile grew on it face. “It sure was! He evolved and kicked the overgrown turkey’s rear!” Kenneth said as he threw a fist up in the air. His excitement settled, but his soft smile remained. “Y’know, if I could I would cry but right now isn’t the time.” It was true, his eyes were a little watery now that they were no longer in danger but he refrained from letting them out. “We should get out before anything else happens.”

“He definitely saved the day,” Maya chuckled softly. Returning Ren to her ball, the redhead stood with a wince. “It’s a little too cold to cry though,” she teased, lightly slapping him on the shoulder as she withdrew a revive and moved over to Kurama.

Kenneth jerked forward from the impact of the slap, but still retained his smile. With nothing more to say, he dialed Mansel’s number. He couldn’t heal Mandrawl since it was mostly exhaustion he was dealing with and he had already healed Milutin. The phone rang as it waited for Mansel to pick up.

Explosions answered.

“This had better be important! Dragalge, sludge bomb straight up. Dragon pulse! Tch. What is it!?”

A faint shaking could be felt. By Mansel’s end though it sounded like a full scale war zone.

“Sorry if I called at a bad time, but we’ve managed to capture Articuno.” Kenneth muttered a ‘somehow’ underneath his breath. “Where do you want me and Maya to go?”

“You what….?” The line went dead for a full 30 seconds, though it never really quieted down due to the background noise.

“Report to me. Follow the explosions. I’m having whatever admin you are under add ₽500000 to your account as soon as I’m done. Damnit Joshua, Dragalge, Hyper beam! Wait, prote-”

The line went dead completely.

After hearing the amount of money that they would gain Kenneth’s mouth dropped. ₽500000!? “Maya, let’s get going! We’re getting paid ₽500000 if we deliver this!” Kenneth whipped around. If he had that much money maybe he could finally decided what he should do. Looking over he motioned Milutin over to give the ball to him.

His glove instantly froze solid as he held the masterball. The ball was quickly losing its purple color as well. It was still functioning and would be for some time though.

Instant regret came into Kenneth’s system as he touched the ball. He immediately slipped his hand out of his glove as it froze out. “Okay then, maybe the masterball isn’t foolproof after all.” He looked over to the Magnemite. “Please keep it with you until we get it at Mansel.”

Maya looked up from the noibat popsicle she and Kurama were currently trying to thaw out. “500…” It was a lot of money. An obscene amount almost. But it was also a fitting bounty for bringing down Articuno, almost making the risk worthwhile.

Almost.

“Maybe it’s a good thing Jack fled,” Maya scooped up the defrosted noibat and pulled out her last revive. “He never would have shut up about a bonus like that.” Grey eyes narrowed at the heavy coating of frost on the masterball. There was no way they’d be able to handle another fight if it broke free. “We should get a move on, just to be safe.”

KageYuuki

LazyDaze · Nov 26, 2019

TRUTH REXWORD

Feeling it was a bit of a sore subject, evidenced by his short response, Truth simply nodded while looking out toward the town. Pressing the issue was not of particular importance. Besides, they didn't need to know the past of other black leaf members. Surprisingly, his new partner in crime did not object much to being used as bait to lure the attention of anyone who would get in the way of their plan. In fact, he hardly questioned it at all. Obviously, Truth did not mind having things run efficiently for once. The less questions he would have to answer the better, plus hacking in a computer was a lot less stressful than the task he gave to Fliathril.

Truth fixed his glasses when observing the diagram Himiko drew. Truth was beginning to wonder which one was the actual trainer at this point. That aside, he could make educated guesses about some of the symbols. There was the Pokecenter, the top hat representing Fliathri and-

"Why am I just a pair of glasses," Truth groaned under his breath. Thankfully, he wouldn't be kept in the dark for long as the man with a strange dialect translated the plan. He was impressed that he understood it instantly. Truth nodded in agreement with the plan, pushing his glasses up in clichéd fashion. There was no way he was as gung ho as Fliathri, but hacking into such an important system even god Truth's blood flowing. It was almost worth missing out on a legendary pokemon. Before leaving, Truth felt as if he had to impart some words of wisdom to his partner in crime. He could practically envision someone like Mr. Hat getting to engrossed in his role and destroying the town. "Don't get to carried awa-"

"Behold! I have come to besmirch the Conchobhair name! Duel me, Fliathri Conchobhair! Tally-ho, Genghis!"

Truth could only sigh before being hauled off by the Sneasle. The window was quickly unlocked and Truth slid in easily. "Thank you Himiko. We'll take it from here. Omega take point."

Omega eagerly flew to the front in order to scout ahead, but not before being ordered to wait a few minutes to allow any straggler to gravitate toward the crazed individual who just arrived in town. After a few moments Truth quietly, but briskly made his way toward the basement of the Pokecenter. Despite how adept Fliathri appeared to be in battle, Truth did not want to keep him waiting for too long. Truth was surprisingly not winded by the time he arrived in the basement. Running from those ghosts in the abandoned gym did wonders for his health. "So this is the system that could end Black Leaf...if I had more time I would have loved to analyze it more and recreate it. Oh well a job's a job."

Truth took out his laptop and a few cables before booting it up. Of course, he customarily tried to access to system only to be denied immediately. He took out a pokeball and released Auto who immediately began to flex and showboat for an imaginary audience. After wiping itself with a random towel and began to throw punches at Omega who dodged frantically. "Auto, stand guard. I don't have time to concentrate on whether I will get caught or not, so you will have to make sure I don't. Omega...I will need you to help me with this; just like old times. Something tells me...I'll have to work pretty hard." Truth took off his glasses and actually started to smile while Omega curiously watched his actions over his shoulder.

Misuteeku · Nov 29, 2019

Nurse Radost

Her ears perked when she heard commotion over down at the main hall of the center. 'Blackleaf ,' was the first word that came into mind. The word scum soon followed afterwards. No doubt that they heard about the Pokemon Network that was being established. If Pokemon Network were to be destroyed, no more easy Pokemon. Another nasty trick by Blackleaf Scum. Power came from strength, endurance, and teamwork. Those three best winter in all odds. Blackleaf had tricks, deception, and numbers. All bad, no good, winter would easily crush them. Therefore Blackleaf were frauds, cowards, and most of all weak. Nurse Radost cracked her knuckles at the thought of Blackleaf.

Mr Pebbles, her Piloswine, huffed right next to her and she looked over. Blackleaf weakling had finally come to destroy Pokemon Network. Not on her watch. She and Mr Pebbles crush trees as if they were big baby. Blackleaf scum were big baby. Therefore she and Mr Pebbles will crush puny Blackleaf scum and his friend. Luckily, they didn't detect Mr Pebbles and herself. They will pay for taking attacking center. Center for everybody, therefore Blackleaf attack everyone. They must be stopped.

"Mr Pebbles. Ice Shard." The nurse pointed towards the Golett.

With their presence now revealed, the Piloswine let out a loud roar and formed globes of ice. They shot forward at mach speed towards the Golett. If Mr Pebbles shot at the boy and his laptop, then it might damage the Pokemon Network. Though all and all, situation was bad. Piloswine strong, yes, but they have numbers advantage. Low trick could easily do her and Mr Pebbles in, but she will not be taken down so easily. Winter is strength, therefore she is strength. Blackleaf is weak, therefore they aren't strength. She'll crush them like subzero blizzard.

"Blackleaf Scum. Prepare for combat." She said aloud.

LazyDaze

Ganryu · Dec 1, 2019

Phayne (sorry for the delay, was waiting on SOMEONE, but tired of reminding them everytime to post. They don't post coming up, they get dropped.)

The winding paths of the chasm glistened beautifully with snow and surrounding winds. It was unfortunate it was in the middle of a warzone, as the place had real potential to be beautiful. All around Blackleaf and trainers fought, an occasional stream of fire, or bolt of lightning shooting past the group. Many of the paths were heating up and becoming more slippery

The group would feel the winds blowing from the Northeast, and following them would make them stronger and stronger, gales that would threaten to bury them with snow coming from up ahead. A whirling sound began to sound, almost deafeningly. A voice sounded from above.

"Ahoy! Was wondering how long until someone would make it here. The professor sure is thorough when he chooses to be. Sorry, he didn't account for an admin being here, you guys aren't getting past me. Names Klein. Well, its actually Levi, but, well, I'm an admin and we're last name basis, ya dig?"

The hair on everyone's neck would begin to stand on end. Despite the guy's friendly appearance, something seemed off about him. He was smiling, yet the air just felt eerie, like someone was watching them. Someone particularly observant might notice the odd thing about him, his shadow was just a few shades darker than was normal, a purplish stain almost. The man had no pokemon on him, nor any pokeballs, yet was confident in his abilities.

Behind him, the weather machine was blowing full blast, making his jacket ruffle. The weather machine was magnifently built, yellow paint over a large metal box, two rotating fans passing by as they circled above it again and again while a generator powered it to the side.

Several snorunt were peering at it out of holes in the wall, but were trying their best to hide from it, obviously scared. Even a large Glailee looked nervous, the ice behemoth unwilling to help his younger flock.

Below them, dozens of swinub were half burried trying to escape, save for a brave one with a cape on it.

And above, like snowflakes, Cryogonal flew through the air like snowflakes, propelled by the wind.

Phayne · Dec 1, 2019

One arm raised in front of his face, Jay pressed forward, his trusty companion Flint atop his shoulders; simian fingers gripped tightly around the head of his trainer as they battled the cold temperatures. Every so often the chimp pokemon would glance behind, eyes searching for Lilinoe and Akira to ensure that they were following Jay, the boy pressing forward against the frigid temperature; his pitiful attempt to shield his eyes and face with a raised arm doing little to help.

Closer and closer they got to their destination; the sound of battle catching Jay and Flint's attention. At first it had been barely noticeable, the roaring sound of rushing wind had drowned out the chorus of combat, the force of nature aided by machinery doing its best to hamper their movements and dampen their senses. Though even that would have its limitations and it was inevitable that the sound of battle would soon catch their attention; this orchestra of madness quickly accompanied by the dazzling glow of fire and fury. Flashes of orange and yellow exploded amidst the grey mist swirling around them; the light show casting their conductors in a vicious silhouette; like shadow puppets cast against a blank wall.

Whilst unable to speak for the rest of their party; Jay and Flint had reacted in perfect synchronisation; their heart beats as one as their blood began to boil; the tempestuous rush of adrenaline surging forth from sources deep within; the raging torrent of excitement almost gushing forth from both of them as they quickened their pace; eager to sink their teeth in the rush of battle. A hurried pace, soon turned into a jog as they sprinted forward; towards the whirling sound; a hellishly deafening roar; like the deep underlying bass to a rock song.

Glancing back towards Akira and Lilinoe, Jay raised his hand; ushering them towards himself in a hurried manner, the boy not wasting any effort in shouting their names; given the ensemble of sound around them already. A close inspection would reveal a fire in the boy's eye, like a smouldering candle reinvigorated by the promise of battle. Did Jay want to get this mission over and one with, or did he simply want the pleasure of testing his wit and mettle against another?, Jay probably could not tell you the answer...

A quick jolt of the head towards the sound of Kleins voice, Jay could already feel the hair on his neck beginning to tingle; the feeling of unease, peppered with anticipation gripping tightly at his core. It seemed that their first obstacle had arrivied, the man standing before them with an air of confidence despite his seemingly open vulnerability had thus far acted like the three of them were no threat, the cocky son of a bitch, thought Jay as he felt Flint reciprocate the thought; his simian fingers digging into the side of Jay's head as the fire on his rear grew fiercer. There was no visible pokeballs on him and no other pokemon aside from the cowering Snorunt or burrowing Swinub; save for the oddly caped individual, could be seen.

Jay had yet to notice the oddity of the mans shadow; the mauve stain that lingered around him emanating an odd, somewhat eerie presence. Flint however, had his eyes focused on it; unaware of what the shadow was; but reacting to that almost instinctual prey like sixth sense. A predator, unseen yet stalking its prey.

Behind Klein, the weather machine stood stoic; the target thrusted upon them by professor Joshua. Past Klein, was their goal.

"So" began Jay, shifting his feet in the snow slightly as he took his stance; Flint leaping of his perch upon Jay's shoulders and landing squarely in front of him; one knee bent and a fiery fist planted firmly in the ground as he did his best 'super hero landing' impression. Almost instantly, the ice around the chimchar had begun to melt; the burning fire raging behind him causing the ice and snow to thaw almost instantly in a perfect sphere around the pokemon.

"Your the reason I was dragged out here then..." finished Jay, eager to get this battle started. Perhaps if he kept Kleins attention long enough, then Akira and Lilinoe could work on the machine.

Jay momentarily glanced down at his second pokeball, wondering just what kind of performance he'd get from Hendrix, should the need arise.

Ganryu · Dec 1, 2019

cinnabuns

As Ianthe continued into the chasm, towards Articuno, two grunts could be seen infront of her, with malicious smirks on their face, a man and a woman who seemed to move in sync.

"Hey Clyde?"

"Yes Bonnie?"

"Know what I see?"

"Is it more innocent trainers to beat up?"

"How'd you know?"

They prowled forward like cats, constantly switching who led and who was on the right and left, tossing a pokeball in the air, and between the two.

"Shouldn't have messed with us."

"The strongest duo in Blackleaf!"

The girl leaned forward with her foot leaning towards the man, while he put his arm on her shoulder. Together it made a 'B'.

"Soon you'll be- what's that sound?"

The area around them started to shake and rumble, the pokeball toss going badly, and a Galarian Meowth appearing to their side looking confused. The rumbling got louder, until an avalanche of snow fell over the two, a large roar sounding next to them.

"ABOMINIMIMIM"

A large Christmas tree, complete with lights fell down in an avalanche of snow, the debris blowing away the strange duo in a slurry of ice, snow and rocks. A second pokeball could be heard, and the cry of a 'Wooooobuffet' from below.

A top the giant Christmas tree, a well dressed man rebuttoned his suit and looked down at Ianthe. He was an older gentleman, his hair just starting to become peppered with grey. He had an air of superiority around him, though his smugness was to a minimum as he gave an honest smile to the girl.

"So, are you one of Joshua's? I do appreciate the help. Well then, climb aboard. These chasms are much easier to navigate if you know how to go up and down them. I've been 'playing' and patrolling these glaciers for the last 20 years. I'm Mayor of Hoarfrost, Caban Conchobhair. Where are we going Miss? I've simply been knocking these blackleaf goons flat on their arses, but I wouldn't mind a real strategy. Tell me what's been going on. I'll heal up your pokemon in the meantime."

He offered a cane for her to climb up with, though the string of lights on his Abomisnow were also very climbable.

"Do forgive Comet here... he does tend to favor this time of year."

"ABOMIMIMI!♪"

The tree shook while the monster started to loudly and violently hum and butcher Jingle Bells in a deep reverberating voice.

cinnabuns · Dec 5, 2019

IANTHE KEKOA

Location: Nacreous Glacier Chasm
Team: It Me, Ianthe,
Interactions:

Ganryu

Ianthe had to admit, she was already quite tired. But she had to push on, for that Articuno. For Professor Joshua.

She came upon a couple of Blackleaf trainers, Cotton still flying around her head while they did a little...dance? While they spoke, Cotton whistled a bit over them, seeing what was coming behind them before Ianthe could. When the two trainers referred to themselves as the "Strongest Duo in Blackleaf", Ianthe had to raise an eyebrow. A couple of grunts? She'd just faced an Admin and they were having an ego trip...weren't they? She had to get by them, regardless. She wasn't sure if her Pokémon could handle another fight, with the upcoming one in their midst...!

Ianthe felt the ground under her rumble and wasn't surprised when Nymph held onto her hair to keep her from falling off. She was surprised, however, when an Abomasnow let out a mighty roar, bringing an avalanche of snow in its wake. It was...dressed as a Christmas tree? Ianthe smiled nervously up at the Abomasnow, ignoring the Blackleaf grunts trapped under the snow, and her eyes caught the older man's who rode the Abomasnow.

"So, are you one of Joshua's? I do appreciate the help. Well then, climb aboard. These chasms are much easier to navigate if you know how to go up and down them. I've been 'playing' and patrolling these glaciers for the last 20 years. I'm Mayor of Hoarfrost, Caban Conchobhair. Where are we going Miss? I've simply been knocking these Blackleaf goons flat on their arses, but I wouldn't mind a real strategy. Tell me what's been going on. I'll heal up your Pokémon in the meantime."

Ianthe had never felt so relieved in a mission from Professor Joshua. She was certain the older man - Mayor Conchobhair - could see it on her face. She gladly took the bottom of his cane and climbed up, muttering a "thank you so much" to his Abomasnow as she came aboard.

"Do forgive Comet here... he does tend to favor this time of year."

As the Abomasnow roared and then began humming Jingle Bells, Ianthe started to giggle.

"Ah, well. First, hello! My name is Ianthe. We're trying to save an Articuno and a Kyurem from Blackleaf. I'm supposed to be helping with the Articuno, actually. I was a little distracted with an Admin earlier, so I might be behind...I think they went that way." Ianthe pointed towards the sound of the cry that echoed throughout the Chasm. "Er, it's nice to meet you, by the way. You too, Comet. I'm so thankful you came to help!"

She felt way more prepared because of the Mayor. Cotton flew around their heads, whistling and waving to the Mayor and to Comet. She might actually be able to handle the next battle, now.

KageYuuki · Dec 6, 2019

Kenneth Vano Maya Kauffman
Maya shivered, trying to shake the rest of the hoarfrost off her clothes from their fight with Articuno. She and Kenneth were working their way down the canyon path towards the sounds of battle. For the most part, it was still relatively quiet where they were. Most of the heavy fighting was closer to the weather machine and Kyurem herself. Her mind was still reeling from the battle just moments ago. They’d faced down not only the legendary phoenix of ice and not only survived, but won.

Despite that, she still gave a hesitant glance towards Milutin with the masterball. The layer of ice over it hadn’t quite completely encased it, but it was still growing at a concerning rate. That device quite literally saved their lives, no way in hell could they have won otherwise. And yet…

It kind of felt...

Wrong?

The Blackleaf member wasn’t sure how to describe the feeling gnawing at the back of her mind. Was it the use of the masterball? Or had it been the fact Kenneth was the one to catch it, that he hadn’t lost any pokemon whereas the legendary wiped the floor with her team.

On the contrary to what Maya felt, Kenneth felt elated. Not because of the fact that he technically caught the first legendary in Vera Valle, he didn’t really care about that at all, but mainly because of the large sum of money that they would get. While he wasn’t the type to value money to a high degree, it sure did feel good to be paid for the hard work he and Maya did.

Though he did throw the occasional glance at Milutin as well. Kenneth had ordered for the floating Pokemon to stay behind him and be wary of any potential attackers along with throwing the ball away if the masterball failed to contain the legendary ice titan.

But for now, they were quietly making their way towards their destination, even if it included the explosions in the backgrounds and the cries of Pokemon that were in the heat of battle.

“Say, Maya. What are you going to spend your money on if we manage to deliver Articuno to Mansel?” Kenneth asked, unaware to Maya’s self-reflection. He was curious about what Maya would buy, she hardly seemed the type to buy girly products from the store. “For me, I think I’ll just wait until I figure out what to do with so much money.”

Maya blinked, snapping herself out of her thoughts for the time being. “The money…?” She hadn’t really given it any thought, to be honest. Sure, the bonus was great, she wasn’t going to have to worry about supplies for a long time now. “Uh, I don’t really know…” Grey hues looked ahead to where Kurama trudged along the ice and snow.

“Maybe it’s about time to look for a fire stone.”

So, Maya was in the same position as him. There was simply too much money to spend in one sitting. While he would like to deposit the money into his bank, he’d wonder if it’d look rather suspicious that he had suddenly gained an obscene amount of money in a day. Then again his past paycheques have passed by without suspicion, so he probably shouldn’t be worried about it.

“I see, a fire stone,” Kenneth’s gaze looked towards Kurama. The small mammal seemed to be rather tired out, not that he could really blame him. Fighting a giant ice bird and getting blasted by snow was rather… Exhausting. “I bet he’d do great as a ninetales.”

“He probably would.”

There was a pause as Kenneth didn’t know where to take the conversation. He had slowly started to notice how Maya didn’t seem to be into the conversation. She was fine earlier, she even teased him about crying in the snow. So what was wrong?

Deciding to break the ice, not literally, Kenneth spoke up. “Say, Maya. Why did you join Blackleaf anyways?” He supposed they were close enough as friends and he didn’t have any topic to talk about. He was also quite curious. Maya was around his age, maybe a few months younger than him, and had only had Kurama, like he with Mandrawl.

“You’re quite talented in battling, so why not just become a trainer instead?”

Maya shrugged, “Family forbade it.” She said simply, more focused on the path in front of them. For her time in Blackleaf, she’d never been all that keen on talking about herself any. Most just brushed her off as cold and left it at that. But she and Kenneth had worked together enough… right?

“We’re a long line of breeders, famous for our Ninetales and one of the few families trusted by Kanto to breed starters.” She sighed, idly playing with a few strands of crimson hair. “One of my cousins had made it as a trainer, was pretty famous in the region for awhile, I wanted to be like him. They wanted me to follow in their footsteps.”

A pair of Snorunt peered out at them from at crevice before ducking back into their hiding place. “I was running an errand one night when I saw Moltres fly overhead.” Maya chuckled dryly, “It was… I don’t know, but I wanted to see more pokemon like that. Catch and train them even. So… I took a Vulpix egg and… just ran.”

“Ah.” That was the only stupefied response he had to Maya’s answer. Now he felt bad for bringing it up.

Kenneth could only nod along and go down the path as Maya explained her reasons. It was a little shocking how somewhat similar their backgrounds were. They were both born in a family of Pokemon breeders, had a complicated relationship with their family, and hatched their own Pokemon. The big difference was… Kenneth didn’t want to think about it.

“I see, that’s an admirable goal,” Kenneth said, mustering up his smile. Somewhere in his heart, he felt it clench in slight jealousy. Though it was mostly minor compared to the previous other times he had experienced it. It was also petty to be jealous of someone who had more hardship than he had ever had.

“It’s much better than the one I came up with.” Kenneth said he looked off to the glaciers. He saw a swarm of Frosmoth flew by, their scales glittering as they fell down. “If anything yours completely overshadows mine, I’m a bit envious.”

“I doubt that.” She shrugged, “and there’s nothing enviable about wanting to catch and train a legendary. You could ask just about any other grunt here and you’d get the same answer.” Maya finally stole a glance his way. “You’d mention before your family are breeders too, didn’t you? So you at least get how crazy they can get - don’t get me started on shinies.” Said the trainer with a shiny Ralts nestled in a pokeball. “How’d you end up in Blackleaf then?

“I suppose so,” said Kenneth, who still looking away towards the distance. Still, that small pain in his heart still ached as they continued to walk on. “And I can relate to you about being a family of breeders. Business can be quite hectic at times.” A small chuckle left his lips. “Though there’s one major difference between you and I, Maya.” His smile slowly turned to a frown.

“I had siblings, who could take up my role on the ranch. The one taking up the business is my older brother” He did his best to hide his frown, trying to make sure Maya couldn’t see it. “I mainly joined Blackleaf joined on a whim,” A half truthful exaggerated lie. It was much more than just a whim.

He scratched the back of his head and commanded himself to blush before turning around to look at Maya. “I mainly came to Vera Valle to take pictures of any legendaries I might encounter.” The lie flew out as if it was natural. After all, if he could lie to himself then he could lie to others as well.

“I guess a whim’s better than literally your only option,” the redhead mused. “Guess you’re kinda lucky on the siblings part. Don’t have expectations piled on you.” Or maybe that was just how things went in Kanto, not like she had much of a frame of reference for any other region. “Take photos of legendaries, hm? It’s more unique than just catching one. Shame you missed the chance to get a shot of Articuno, huh?”

“Well, I could get another one if Articuno breaks out.” Kenneth jokes, his smile becoming more genuine than before. The lie became the truth for now. He dropped his arm down and looked towards Milutin. The Magnet Pokemon didn’t seem to be that bothered by anything. Maybe he should ask Maya about it… Then again, you couldn’t really mate Magnemite, so maybe she wasn’t as well versed with Magnemite species in general.

“Though, I guess I’m glad to have had talented siblings to take up responsibility for me.” The pain returned and his smile slightly faded away. “My older brother was strong and compassionate as a Kangkaskhan while my sister had the skill and grace of a Gardevoir.” Once again the pain intensified, but he ignored it. “How about you? While you don’t have any siblings, your cousin seemed to be quite the inspiration. What was he like?”

Maya studied him for a moment, something seemed to be bugging the other trainer. But was now really the time and place to push the issue? Perhaps once they weren’t somewhere a trainer could jump them at any moment. “I’ve only met him a few times,” she admitted, “and the last time was… Arceus, years ago now.”

Maya rustled through her bag for a second, withdrawing her old and worn pokedex. The letters KT had been scratched into the front. “He gave me his old dex last time he was by, was from when he was a kid. Surprised it still works.” A slight shrug, she was getting off-topic, “He cared about his pokemon, always said they were more family than his real family. You couldn’t faze him in a battle, even if he didn’t know when to back down from what I remember hearing. But he’s a strong trainer, strong enough be Kanto’s champion for a few years.”

Kenneth’s eyebrows shifted in surprise. Maya was related to a former champion? Even if he was dethroned, it was still an accomplishment all on its own. ‘Small world,’ Kenneth thought to himself. It did explain why she had the most ancient piece of technology that he had seen in his entire life in her hands.”I see, he must have been an incredible person.”

“I wonder where he is now, he couldn’t have disappeared without reason.” From what Maya was telling him, he seemed like the type to help Maya out of her situation. She did say that he supported her dream of becoming a Pokemon Trainer. Though fate was a cruel world.

“Maybe, I never really got to know him during those visits. He could’ve been a real ass for all I know. But he was nice from what I can remember.” Maya let out a small sigh, “He was never good about keeping in touch with the family. I think I remember hearing he gave up his position because he preferred wandering the world and didn’t want to be stuck in Kanto for the rest of his life. But that was before I was born so,” she shrugged.

“Well, it’d be funny if he’d be wandering in Vera Valle. This place is relatively new and there are still some mysteries waiting to be uncovered after all.” Kenneth chuckled at his own musings.

“Please don’t tempt fate,” not that he’d recognize her anymore. But Maya didn’t want to test that theory.

“Well, you can have my next paycheque in that case.” What were the chances that Maya’s cousin would suddenly appear in Vera Valle?

“Don’t think I won’t hold you to that.”

Kenneth could only laugh out loud at her. “Sure, sure. Regardless, we should hurry. This ticking time bomb of a ball isn’t going to deliver itself.”

Silvaine · Dec 7, 2019

LILINOE MOORE

════════════════════════════════
Location: Nacreous Chasm
Interacting: none | Mentions:

Phayne
════════════════════

Her introduction sparked a conversation with Jay. "Nice to meet you, Jay," she politely greeted, "And you too, Flint." She had never seen one in person before as it wasn't a pokemon found in Alola. Although she recalled it was one of the official starter pokemon, of which region, she couldn't remember. What matters in the end was that it was a pure fire type.

"That we do, might even be why the professor pick us for this," she agreed while her hands started to pet her salandit's head, giving her distraction while she thought further. "Kini is primary poison type and she favors to weaken her opponent with it..." She trailed off and hurried to retrieve an antidote and a lum berry to offer to Jay. "I prepared this in advance just in case a friendly fire happens. Kini uses poison gas and though I am not certain whether it can be used with this wind going on. Well, I still want both of you to have it." She also offered the item to Akira.

Jay then talked of his reason, a better motivation than her own that told her more about him. He even told her that he is willing to help her out if need be made her happy. Smiling widely, she easily accepted his word, "I will and you can ask me for help to. You aren't fighting alone."

Lilinoe didn't mind the nickname, taking it as a friendly gesture and since Jay was also taking point, she obediently followed his lead. She wasn't sure about a lot of things and frankly nervous over hostile presence. It caused her to look around when silence prevaded the group as they made their way further in.

♦

Sounds of battles could be heard over the increasingly powerful wind, blasting particles of snow and ice. Lilinoe didn't need to be told to know that they have arrived in their destination and of course they came face to face with whoever was guarding the weather machine. Only, she didn't expect there to be a single man.

An admin. His rank was all she needed to know that they are in dangerous position. She saw no pokemon with him, but won't delude herself that he won't release his pokemon when the need comes. Either that or they are nearby, the possibilities exist. It would be herself and Jay against Klein while Akira would be trying to get to the weather machine.

The machine behind him could only be their target. She won't mistake it for anything else with it being the source of the brutal wind.

Lilinoe had let Kini to leap down, the moment she spotted him. The salandit hissing a warning, telling her of a threat she sensed. "I know. I want you to support them, Kini," she judged that to be a better course of action to start with, especially with how eager Jay is. She will let him take the spotlight and adjust her own move in accordance.

Neither of them moved as they stared each other down. Lilinoe certainly didn't want to make it, opting to survey her surrounding and kept Klein within her view.

════════════════════════════════

Pokemon Out: None

Ganryu · Dec 8, 2019

cinnabuns

Toogee

Sitting over the lip of the chasm, a lone woman nervously typed into a computer. She had glasses on that were half frozen, peering over the top of it, in far too much of a rush to take them off, a storm of letters flying off. She wore a research coat, and while cold, refused to put anything else on.

"Kiiiing?"

A pink clawed hand sat on her shoulder, a snowking yawning as the woman kept at it.

"Yeah, I know Tzu. It's not going well, just, just keep at it, and look over these numbers for me. Sounds like that trio is downed from a fight... I gotta get someone to help them." (Trio of NPCs.)

She shoved the laptop at the pokemon, who tilted its head, its eyes aglow.

"Slow."

It nodded it's head.

"Shit, that's what I was afraid of."

A zubat flew from the chasm, screeching at the pair of them. The researcher held up a microphone.

"144 hertz... SHIT!"

She pulled out a cellphone.

"Come on... come on Joshua, pick up

It beeped a few more times, then a voice sounded.

"HELLO! YOU'VE REACHED THE VOICEMAIL OF PROFESSOR DRAKE JOSHUA! SORRY IF I CAN'T ANSWER YOUR CALL! A TAD BIT BUSY! LEAVE A MESSAGE AT THE - OH BOY!" An explosion sounded, follow by a ringtone. She shook her head. Why he had to record a voice mail while being on the run from a swarm of Electrode she'd never know. How he'd managed to outrun them was another question... for a man in his sixties, he still looked like he could straight up wrestle his prized Machamp.

"Professor, Articuno's been taken, it's me, Maria, please pick up. We need you..."

As she clicked the phone off, another zubat appeared, this one green, screeching at her similiarly. She held up the mic.

"460 hertz...? What's an abomasnow got to do with this?"

The zubat flapped its wings, before tossing out glowing orbs of light that almost looked like a christmas tree, then cried out again.

"761, bounsweet... OH! Ianthee and Mayor have joined up! That is good news."

She turned behind her.

"Slowking, run an analysis."

"Kiiing..." It sounded tired.

"Yes, now. I know I'm asking alot. You can sleep for a week straight after this. Look, I'll even buy you pants. Just work a little bit harder. Here, take my coffee."

The pokemon happily took a sip. "King..." It closed its eyes, and the crown it was wearing chomped down against its head, muscles tensing against the teeth. Its expression looked focused.

The keyboard began to be pressed with psychic powers. Maria nodded her head, and flipped a phone open.

"Ianthe, it's Maria. Can you come straight up the chasm with Mayor Conchobhair? I have a new person arriving soon that should be helping out. I'm directly above you. Least that's what Wayne, my zubat here says."

She stroked the zubat behind the ear, and it nuzzled her before flying off back into the chasm.

She quickly dialed another number.

"Hey, is this Jaylyn? This is Maria, the Professor's assistant. Are you almost here? I'm sitting at the lip of the chasm, with all the zubat. I have a favor to ask of you. There's been a few trainers stranded here. Would you mind healing up their pokemon and rescuing them? A big fight like this and there's been tons of injured pokemon and trainers. I'm glad we could have a Nurse on our side..."

Toogee · Dec 9, 2019

Jaylyn was still getting used to working in the frontier of Vera Valle. Ever since her arrival in Cumulus City, work had been non-stop. Traveling north, the nurse had to patch up trainers’ pokemon so they could reach civilization in one piece. Nothing major so far, but Jaylyn imagined need was far greater further out into the wilderness. It wasn’t until the nurse met with Maria Calderon or the Lacuno Observatory that she learned what was going on here.

Vera Valle was the center of a gold rush for powerful pokemon. The two main factions involved were a group of trainers allied with the local professor and another group going by the moniker BlackLeaf. It seemed the latter was causing trouble across the region, damaging fledgling towns in their collection attempts. Jaylyn insisted that she was no fighter, but offered her support as a nurse. The two exchanged numbers and the nurse went on her way.

Jaylyn never expected to get a call back so soon. At the time, the professor’s group was inbound to the Nacreous Glaciers to intercept BlackLeaf. Injuries were expected, so Jaylyn made her way there. And that’s how she found herself hiking up a frozen glacier in the middle of nowhere.

“I will never understand trainers,” Jaylyn said to herself. “Why can’t they settle these fights in League-approved facilities? Someone could end up killed out here!”

It was fortunate that Jaylyn was able to stop by a local ski shop for supplies. She was able to rent a bright pink snowsuit and a ski pole to help travel in the frigid cold. She also grabbed a pack of six flares and a bag of trail mix, just in case she got stuck out here. Her pokemon were safe in their pokeballs. There was no way DeeDee would have traversed the terrain, and the mountain was a bit too steep for a ponyta. She’d have to wait for more solid terrain before letting them out.

Despite her face covered in goggles and a heavy-duty parka hood, Jaylyn somehow managed to hear her phone. The nurse struggled to grab the phone from her pocket. Even then, gloved hands didn’t go well with touchscreens. She pulled her right glove off with her mouth to answer the phone.

“Tons of injured trainers? Funny, the only thing I see out here is a woefully underdressed research assistant. ”

Like a bright pink beacon, Jaylyn had finally come into view against the scenic snowscape. She hobbled her way towards Maria, putting away her phone and wondering if she should have brought extra snowsuits. It was then that Jaylyn caught sight of the gaping maw that stretched endlessly into the earth. Seeing that none of the injured were on the surface, the nurse sighed, knowing full well the answer to the question she asked.

“Tell me they’re not all the way down there,” Jaylyn asked in an exasperated tone.

Of course they were down there. That’s what trainers did. They traveled to treacherous locations to pick fights with massive creatures with reckless abandon. She bet they didn’t have snowsuits on either.

LazyDaze · Dec 11, 2019

TRUTH REXWORD

Truth was just starting to get into it when a strange chill ran down his spine. Strange, getting a sense of foreboding like that out of nowhere. There was no reason to worry after all. His partner was taking care of things on the outside. No one saw him slip in through the window; moreover, anyone who might have caught him would be rushing toward the commotion. Truth shook his head as his code fell apart again; he didn't have time to worry about getting caught since he had to focus his efforts on the virus program. No distractions, no interruptions, no-, what the hell was this killing intent?

"Mr. Pebbles. Ice Shard,"

"Damn," Truth thought to himself as he looked over his shoulder as the earth shattering roar caught his attention. Ice was not exactly something he wanted Auto to contend with, but that aside it was a freaking Piloswine. Plus something was strange about this Nurse. "Omega get him out of there," Truth shouted to which point Beldum charged right at Golett who was busy shadow boxing as if he was prepared to take on all of the ice shards at once. Truth had to admit that training Auto is going to be a pain in the ass. Omega managed to ram into the side of Auto and knock him out of the way; however, some of the ice shards managed to connect with Omega who was a scratched up but ready to go. At this point Truth was typing with one hand as he had his attention split between the fight and the program. A bead of sweat dripped down his face as he realized he would have to use his full intellect to get out of this. "Omega operation Shield and Sword (see what I did there

)go!"

Neither one of them would be able to take them out on their own...but maybe, if they played their cards right he could get Auto within range where he would be able to use his boxing skills to out maneuver the Piloswine. Omega spiraled in with a Takedown while Auto charged in a zig zag pattern behind Omega prepared to use shadow punch when an opening presented itself. "Just buy me a bit of time guys, don't give in to that monster," Truth pleaded with his pokemon though even he wasn't sure which monster he was referring to.

Misuteeku

KageYuuki · Dec 11, 2019

Admin Levi Klein
At Jay's statement, the admin hummed, tapping his finger against his chin. "Now I doubt the good professor sent you all the way out here for little ol' me." Levi's mismatched eyes studied first the chimchar and then the saladint as they made their entrances. "Oh, but very dramatic, someone's raring for a fight I see." His gaze fell on Jay next, "You both are." An exaggerated shrug, that smile never leaving his face. "Well who am I to deny- Hm?"

His shadow twitched for a moment, the discoloration briefly growing more apparent.

"I don't know, Menos, the boss was preeeetty unhappy last time you came out to play. Granted, the souls you stole did belong to a couple of grunts." Levi quickly cleared his throat, "Anyway, why don't we bring out Vex? It's been too long since she last had a good fight."

The shadow twitched and withed for a second as if annoyed before a dark clawed hand emerged. Black ichor oozed and dripped off of it, disappearing back into the now abyssal shadow, but the white premiere ball in its clutches remained pristine. Levi plucked the ball from the hand, tossing it a few times before releasing the pokemon inside. A ghostly, almost serpentine pokemon appeared in a flash of light, circling Levi a couple of times and lightly nuzzling against him. A much smaller, pale green pokemon rested on her head, its eyes bright with excitement.

A Drakloak and her Dreepy.

"Whaddaya say Vex, shall we give the kids a show?"

Drakloak cried again before rearing her head back and unleashing a blast of energy from her mouth, it took the shape of a dragon shortly before striking the ground between the two pokemon. Levi shrugged, not quite what he meant, but he'd let her have her fun. "Let's see a breaking swipe, hm?" The pokemon's tail glowed in response before lashing out at both pokemon.

Phayne