Fandom To Be an Explorer (Pokemon Mystery Dungeon)

[Kylesar1]

Luca
GFHQ Conference Hall
"That is either moxie or a lack of self-control, Soren.........."​

Luca froze and turned back to Soren. "It is a weekend, Soren, and I called all of you in earlier than I would if it were a weekday. The least I could do was relax a bit........." As a leader, he had to be as fair as he was strict. For this one, as long as they looked good from a quick glance, they were fine. However, when he took a full Luca look at them at his strictest, the only ones looking completely flawless was Tourmaline and Mao. Zero's nervousness showed in his movements. His eyes were flittering side to side. Avery was scratched up, dirty, and was wincing as he walked. Avery was in bad shape overall, and they already talked about that. However, he willing to waive critiquing those minutia since he called them in on an off day earlier than usual. He thought it would be cruel to expect them to look perfect at a time like this, and they ALL had better things to do right now than to deal with his critiques. The mission was more important than these critiques, but..........he had to be as strict as he was fair. "but if you would like stricter critiques, I can give them to you."

He stalked towards the vulpix and stood back in front of him, towering over him. The Arcanine took a close look at Soren. "First of all, speaking out of turn and yelping like an undisciplined welp is a no-go. A big sarcastic mouth may be the death of you. Learn to control your tongue...... Stop shaking!" Luca growled, "Stand up straight, eyes up. If you realize you've made a mistake, you better own it." Luca leaned in. Accountability for actions was a big thing in Green Forest. "There is dirt on the darker fur on your upper part of your legs. What have you been doing? Kicking up dirt? Running here? You should have planned for that so you didn't have to run. There is dirt too near to the base of your tail and on the fur tufts in your ears. If I didn't know better, I would think that you ran through a dust bowl and thought that just shaking your fur off would be enough." Well Soren spent more time taking care of his siblings than his own self (aka, Soren's introductory post didn't mention Soren cleaning himself) so he may have overlooked a few areas if he paid any attention at all.

"I heard what you said the first time Soren, and a Pokemon who doesn't own their words aren't worth respect. If you have to amend your words that quick after saying them, you should have thought before you said them."

Avery
GFHQ Conference Hall
"Geez, Soren..........."​

Just like that, the tension was through the roof and Avery was on his guard now. Luca was a former member of Battery and that's where the almost drill instructor side of Luca shined through. That's why it was best to not get on the business side of his fangs. In fact, it was better to keep those fangs bared at a hostile Pokemon.

Avery said nothing. Just kept his look straight and eyes forward as Luca laid into Soren. Avery didn't see the dust, but know Luca had a better eye than he did. Soren's fur was still sleek and he still looked great to him. It made him wince to hear the critiques and even more to hear language from Luca that suggested that Soren was relenting or regretting it. Luca hadn't scolded the shrew, but he knew that if he did in the strictest Luca fashion, they would be there all day. Of all the Pokemon here, Avery looked by far the worst. A part of him wanted to defend Soren, but there was really nothing he could say. All any of them could do was wait until it was over and the embers dissolved.






Luca stepped back. "Now Soren, now that you know your deficiencies, I want you to go take a bath and remove that dirt and dust. Dry yourself off and you will return here when you look freshly groomed. You will return here looking like a dignified Vulpix ready to go on mission, not like you slept in the middle of a desert. Dismissed, Soren." There was a bath at the HQ, so Soren wasn't going all the way back home.
Lost



When Soren had left the room, Luca sighed. "The reason I called you all in was because we have a dire situation, a situation that needs to be dealt with ASAP and not spent wasting time taking baths to rid oneself of dirt that shouldn't have been there in the first place........you can all relax and get comfortable. You're all in a mission brief now. A mission worthy of a member of Green Forest. Not some training cell mission picking berries for Old Ms. Meganium." The leader sat down and Avery's eyes widened. They were going on an ACTUAL mission now, and a very important one from the things he was saying.
Gravitational Force dae mec Ace Cream

 

[Lost]

Soren
Green Forest Conference Hall<---------->Green Forest Bathhouse
​

Soren's maw opened instinctually, another quip on his tongue, but he clamped it shut before any sound came out. You've been fool enough for one day. His wit couldn't fill the hole he'd dug himself into, but it could certainly dig it deeper. With a stiff nod and a muttered, "Yes sir," the young Vulpix padded out the door. He'd been to the HQ bath a few times beforehand, so it didn't take him too long to pick his way through the halls. Early as it was the room was empty, and Soren was glad for it. He slipped into the water with a tired sigh.

"You know, this isn't so bad," Soren muttered as he soaked. "Maybe I should run my mouth more often." It was a joke, of course; he knew couldn't afford to lose his guild membership - figuratively and literally - and though he'd heard no stories of Green Forest exiles, he wasn't keen on seeing if he could become the first. Still, the rules were difficult for him. Soren wasn't a fan of strict protocol, of guidelines that existed for seemingly no purpose. He didn't need spotless fur and a shiny badge to complete a mission, nor did he think wild Pokemon would particularly mind his sass.

As that last thought floated through his head, his mind flashed back to Blaze's naivety this morning - "I don't need nice fur to beat up bad guys!" - and he grimaced. Maybe he shouldn't be so quick to judge something just because he didn't yet understand it...

After a few more minutes of bathing, Soren finally willed himself out of the warm water. He shook out his fur before he left the bathhouse, and by the time he reached the Conference Hall, it was mostly dry. With as little noise as possible, he slipped into the room and retook his place among his teammates.

Kylesar1

 

[Kylesar1]

Luca
GFHQ Conference Hall
"I need to get on this ASAP. Hope Terrus has as much faith in them as I do..........."​

Luca began his mission brief. "The situation is that a group of young Pokemon have come up missing after playing out near Casim Beach. The only Pokemon still here? Ashlynn (Shinx). She said they were caught in some palace and taken away by that palace whose doors moved on its own and moved back into the ocean on its own." Luca sighed and shook his head. "It sounds loony and I'll be honest when I say I didn't believe her myself. It is a big regret of mine to not take the word of one of my pupils, especially since she was ganged up on by the parents of the missing Pokemon. When she needed me the most, I let my own worldview cloud my judgement........" The leader's tail drooped and his head hung a little low, a sign of genuine regret. He wasn't perfect and he was more than willing to admit that.

The leader brandished a book from the satchel he had on. "........So I took her back in and asked her to describe the area to me and the Sunae Twins and they believe that it's a location called the Sea Temple. Corroborations with Xatu about Ashlynn's past memory confirmed this. Those Pokemon are trapped in the Sea Temple and probably drifting along the ocean floor as we speak. According to the book, they should be safe as in they're not drowning." That of course meant they were in danger in other ways.

Luca paced the room. "Your mission: Infiltrate the Sea Temple and save them. The Sea Temple is a secretive place and we're willing to bet that is lots of guardians. You all need to track it down, get onboard, and get them off of it. This mission is CLASSIFIED. Tell no one. Any questions?" Luca passed them the book. It was on them to read up on it. Just don't mark in it because the Sunae Twins would curse them for damaging the book.

Avery
GFHQ Conference Hall
"So many questions, Luca. So so many............"
​

The Sandshrew was confused. Very much so. He didn't even know what a Sea Temple was, let alone how to track it to get in to save some lives. They were about to thrown to the Mightyenas. There were a lot of implications to be made about this mission though. "Well I've never heard of this Sea Temple before and since you got this book, you didn't either........" Avery thought about it. "In fact, it seems like only the Sunae Twins know about the Sea Temple." It was a testament to how shrouded in mystery the place actually was. "How are we supposed to know how to track it?"
"Good question, Avery..........yet one I can't answer because I don't know. The Sunae Twins know. Maybe some of the Seascapers know about the Sea Temple."
"Wait, why didn't we just send some Seascapers out." Avery wanted to do this mission initially, but was having second thoughts knowing that he would be submerged in water and potentially having to set sail. Sealegs weren't in his vocabulary. He was a GROUND type and he wanted to keep it that way.
Luca shook his head. "Because.........because the only team left to run this mission is the Training Cell. We've had a major surge in emergencies and disasters lately and all our teams have their hands full. Even the Night Infiltrators are out running missions. The only part of them left is their Strike Team and we can't send a Strike Team to a place like the Sea Temple. We must respect the legacy of such a place and they would destroy it as soon as look at it." It explained why Casim felt so empty these past few days. They had only the remnants of teams left at Casim, to the point where they would have to sew together a team with the remaining members of teams not on mission if something else big came up. Strike Teams were very intimidating. Quincy looked different than any other Greninja he'd ever seen, must like Terrus looked different than other Sceptiles, and he brimmed with as much lethality as he did mystery.
"Who's leading the mission?"
"I will let you all decide who will be leader. How you all do that is up to you. Play Fire Water Grass, Battle it out, Choose numbers, I don't know but all of you here and now are a Mission Team." So one of them were to be leading this mission. Whoever they ultimately decided on, Avery would support to the fullest and if he was chosen..........he would fight for them with his life.


Gravitational Force dae mec Ace Cream Lost

 

[Gravitational Force]

Zero:​

Zero's eyes shifted into a confused look. He was ambivalent. Yes, ambivalent was the right word. Zero had read a dictionary all the way through and back when he was younger and remembered most of it. He'd been very hungry and Nobody told him not to eat it. There was so much information here to consider and clearly very little time to consider it.

On the one hand (not that Zero had any hands, instead shaping the gas that made up his body to grasp things) a whole lot of young Pokemon were in trouble. On the other he was finally getting the chance to go on a real mission! On a third hand (Zero wondered if any Pokemon had three hands, it seemed more useful than two but more confusing) it'd likely be very dangerous. On a fourth hand (Zero had seen a Machamp) there'd probably be all kinds of treasure in that temple and he might be able to help himself! It was decided then, since Zero would have his group with him there'd probably not be much to worry about and they'd at the very least get a reputation for this and maybe get rich. It'd be easy to keep this secret, no way was he letting anyone else know of the potential treasure.
Zero's eyes

Upon hearing Luca's command Zero knew right then and there he didn't want to be leader. It meant having to do more work, take more risk, and take all the blame for little extra reward. He'd just get behind whoever wanted to be leader so there'd be no trouble there. He didn't have much weight to throw around (the vast majority of his body being gas), but he could definitely pull it. Zero's body billowed out proudly as he looked up at Luca.
"Don't worry, you can count on us!"
Zero turns to the rest of the group. "So who wants to be leader?"

 

[dae mec]

Turmy​

Turmy's eyes widened in horror when Soren was sent away. Oh, no! The excitement she'd had was replaced with concern for her teammate. Thankfully, he returned just in time for the briefing, so Turmy was able to focus on what Luca said.

Water. They were going... to water. She glanced at her teammates. Turmy, Soren, and Avery were all weak to water. Only Mao was actually comfortable there, though Zero could probably manage. That seemed like a bad idea on multiple levels. Thankfully, Avery asked that question for her, and she tilted her head with concern. Why was there so many emergencies and natural disasters? Was it a random uptick caused by probability, or was it something else? Turmy tucked that thought to the back of her head to mull on later.

Turmy looked at the book, resolving to read it. She knew nothing about water anything, besides how to properly handle groundwater incursions, build channels for rain flow, and other construction-related adjacencies. Turmy wanted to be at least a little prepared... even though the library made her a little wary. (She did not want to damage any book and be cursed. She would have to be very, very gentle, like she was petting something soft.)

"Ask," she said out loud. "The Seascapers. Also the twins." Turmy blinked and elaborated. "Because we don't know anything now."

Then she realized that Zero had asked a completely different question, and she shook her head very fast. "Not me." Leaders had to be good with people and talk well, and Turmy was neither of those. "Who wants?" she asked, echoing Zero.

 

[Ace Cream]

Mao

Mao listened carefully as the leader of the training cell explained the situation. It's considered to be important enough to be a classified mission! She was flared up, this was a great opportunity to rise her rank!

Coincidentally all of her other teammates seems to be refraining from taking the leader role. Not Mao though, the little inkay was quite an ambitious one and would not shy away from such challenge. She was imagining herself leading the team into dangerous situation, only for her wits and strategy to pulverize all the threats! Beware adversaries, for the great leader Mao has come!

"Let me be the leader! I will bring those poor pokemons back safely!"

 

[Lost]

Soren
Green Forest Conference Hall
​

The Sea Temple, huh? Soren thought with a furrowed brow. For a large, floating fortress, it certainly isn't well known... That puzzled him, to say the least. There was a strange, moving structure in the sea, and all they had to go on was one book and the eccentric Sunae Twins? Something odd was definitely at play here, and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't the least bit curious as to what it was. Luckily for him, it seemed that he and his friends would be the ones tasked with solving the mystery.

He found that almost as odd though; sending the Training Cell seemed like a big leap, even if everyone else was busy. It wasn't like they were seasoned adventurers, with several dungeons under their belt. The only time they did anything close to this scale was when they were shadowing the more experienced Pokemon, and even those missions paled in comparison. Ah well, it's not like you have room to complain. You've been hoping for a mission like this for months.

Soren's thoughts were interrupted by Luca's last statement. He's leaving it to us? That was a little surprising - he had expected Luca to pick for them - but not unwelcome. Unsurprisingly, however, was the fact that Mao volunteered first. Of all of them, she was always the most enthusiastic. Well, unless food was involved - that trophy went to Zero, without a doubt.

"I think you mean we will bring those poor Pokemon to safety," Soren corrected, amused. "We're a team, after all."

"With that said, I'd also like to volunteer to be the leader. I’m quite good at delegating,“ he added with a grin.

Kylesar1 Gravitational Force dae mec Ace Cream

 

[Kylesar1]

Avery
GFHQ Conference Hall
"Dear Arceus, so I guess we're actually doing this............"​

Luca moved towards the door. "If you have any questions, come to my office," he said, "I chose the Training Cell over stitching together another team because I have faith that you all can do it and the mission level is within your grasp. I'm not gonna micromanage anything about this mission. We're treating all of you like Forest Explorers." Luca opened the door. "I don't need a report on every minute detail about your mission. Just get them back." With that, he was gone, leaving the new mission team in the conference. Just like that, they were a Forest Explorer if only for a single mission. It was their chance to prove themselves worthy of the badge.

"So there's Mao and Soren who want to be leader," Avery observed, "As well as myself." Now they had to figure out how to determine which one of them would be the leader over the other. Battling was barbaric since they hadn't even set out yet. "We could do a co-leading situation. If this mission will take long, we will have plenty of time to switch up. Either that or we could lead certain aspects of the mission............Uhhhhh." Avery racked his brain, characterized by his "For example, Mao could take the lead at night or while out at sea since Soren was weak to it and could see in the dark. Soren could take the lead while traversing land or mountains." That way, they could cover for each other's weaknesses as much as possible."

So where'd that leave him? "I want to take over the general mission logistics and the underground. Underground is my realm and since I've been on the most missions, I think I could do logistics quite well." Logistics involved things like mapping, research, supplies, and his incredible hearing could tip him off to potential dangers. Plus..........Avery wanted to be a member of Sunlight Support's Battlefield Team. This was the perfect time to flex those muscles and take an admin route.

"This is all of course a suggestion. If you want one set leader, Mao and Soren could battle it out and I withdraw." Avery wasn't interested in leading an aquatic or sub-aquatic mission. Seasickness would destroy him.

Gravitational Force dae mec Ace Cream Lost

 

[Ace Cream]

Mao

"Hm, I don't fancy multiple leaders in one group. Soren, how about it? Battling it out doesn't sounds that bad. My dream is to enter battery squad anyway so I should start training my muscle too." Mao has a wide grin as she spoke, she wouldn't give up the leader role that easily.

Lost

 

[Lost]

Soren
Green Forest Conference Hall
​

"Need you even ask?" Soren called, sporting a grin to match Mao's own. He hadn't expected a battle today, let alone a sparring match with a teammate, but he certainly wouldn't refuse. Especially not with the stakes being what they are. Leadership over the entire mission, for however long it ended up being? That's too good to pass up!

Within a few seconds, Soren had hopped across the room, pivoting to face Mao. He tensed in preparation for the coming fight, but not before casting a glance towards Avery. "You sure you're okay with this?"

Ace Cream Kylesar1

 

[Kylesar1]

Avery
GFHQ Conference Hall
"Guess we're about to find out our leader."​

"I don't care to battle it out for leadership," Avery said with a shake of his head. They did have his seal of approval to battle it out though. "As long as you both go to Belle afterwards, it shouldn't be a problem." The conference hall was humongous to accommodate Pokemon of all sizes, so these two battling it out wouldn't be a problem.

Avery stepped to the middle of the conference room. As the admin of the team, Avery would take a referee role for the battle at hand. "Mao and Soren have both volunteered to become the leader of the mission. Given their similarities in rank and promotion progress, it has been agreed upon that the stronger battler will be appointed leader of the mission. For that reason, the two volunteers are to battle it out to determine who will be the leader of the mission henceforth." Avery declared with an authoritative voice. While he wasn't the leader and not about to become the leader, announcing this and being the sanctioning authority of the battle made him feel exhilarated. He felt strong in ways that a battle or a single mission would never make him feel. Strong in ways that his father's superficial views of strength would never shake. "The loser will be appointed deputy leader, to take standing leadership only when delegated or when the primary leader is determined incapable of leading. The battle ends when one side is unable to battle, or one side surrenders. The rules are as follows:

• Pokemon are allowed to take one item into battle (held item)
• Pokemon are not allowed to take their bag into battle (no using items during battle besides that held item)
• Absolutely no outside interference (no interaction with any Pokemon or any item not brought into battle)

This battle takes place in this room and this room only. 50%+ of a Pokemon's body outside of the boundaries for ANY REASON constitutes a forfeiting of the match." This essentially placed an out of bounds limits on the battle.

The conference hall was now their battlefield. Avery moved to the side. "BATTLE!"
Lost Ace Cream

Conditions

• Sanctioned Battle- Mao and Soren are held to the conditions of the battle set forth by Avery
• Impartial Participation- Those not in battle are not allowed to do anything that would aid in either side winning the battle, nor are they to outwardly express an interest in either side winning the battle. This includes cheering

 

[Ace Cream]

Mao

"I will move first." Mao winked at her opponent immediately after Avery signaled the beginning of the battle. She used camouflage and blended in with the color of the room, making herself hard to spot. Since the room was quite big and she moves around by floating, she was confident that she could manouver in the room with minimal risk of being spotted. That being said, she also made sure not to hover in front of other pokemon since she needs to maintain the similarity of her color and the surrounding, and the color of other pokemon could break her camouflage. Fortunately, there's no one but them in the conference hall right now.

Silently, she attempted to flank Soren's left side by approaching in a curved trajectory and tried to latches herself to the other pokemon by wrapping her sticky tentacles around his body.

Lost

 

[Lost]

Soren
Green Forest Conference Hall
​

"Wow, camouflage, huh? Color me impressed." He wouldn't be outdone so easily, however. With little more than a moment's pause, he pelted across the room. As he reached the wall he pivoted, streaking across the room in yet another direction. He repeated this pattern with practiced ease, each time changing direction, speed, and distance to avoid predictability. All the while he kept an eye scanning the room; if all went well, Mao would have to break stealth in order to land an attack quickly enough. And when she did, he'd be ready.

Ace Cream

 

[Ace Cream]

Mao

Mao tried to keep up with Soren's speed, but found herself unable to, if she force herself she would end up draining her stamina. Frustated, she stopped chasing to think for a solution until she realized she's already doing it, so she stay still and make herself even harder to spot, sticking herself to the wall and wait for the opportunity to strike.

For a brief moment, Mao's memory was sent to the past. A glimpse of almost forgotten memory she never bother to remember. A little inkay and a rather messy malamar was together in a large workshop. The malamar was creating something with a clock, smelly black powder, fuse and intricate cables while the inkay watch with wide eyes even though she didn't know what the malamar was making.

Remember this, Mao. Don't wait for the opportunity to come, make it happens! If you don't find a way in... The malamar had a wide wicked smirk as he showed Mao the finished device on his tentacle. Blast one for yourself! Gyahahahhahahhahahahhahahahahahahahahhaha-cough. Little Mao cheered because it's one of the very few moments where she thinks her father looks really cool and spewed out something decently wise out of his mouth, well, except those exaggerated maniacal laugh at the end.

Get out of my head, old man. Mao dismissed her thought and reached towards the only item that she brought into the battle, her wide lens. She flung it across the room and it shattered on the floor with a very noticable sound. She hoped that would make Soren looks the other way and have his back on her because whether she's ready or not, she would rush towards the vulpix and attempted to tackle him from behind!

Lost

 

[Gravitational Force]

Zero:​

Zero was Timid. This wasn't the same as being cowardly. It just meant he wouldn't rush into a fight or attack head-on. And he was far more observant than others gave him credit for. So he immediately moved to give the combatants space and watched their every move, trying to understand how they fought. After all it wasn't at all uncommon for teammates to become Confused and attack their teammates or themselves.

Soren and Mao seemed like an unfair matchup. Soren was at a disadvantage in the type matchup, but he could turn that around with the right moves and tactics. Mao didn't know any moves Soren was weak to, or at least Zero didn't think so.

Given the choice Zero was rooting for Soren, Mao was a bit too reckless for this and even if Soren occasionally let his bravery get the better of him he'd learned responsibility from his family. Still, no sense in showing favoritism, it was against the rules after all.

His stomach rumbled. He didn't usually get hungry this quickly, but he seemed to need to snack more in situations like this. Zero's tongue lolled out as he sniffed for more food, there had to be something to eat in the area.

 

[Lost]

Soren
Green Forest Conference Hall
​

Aha, there you are! Soren skidded to a halt in one motion and released an Ember in the next, engulfing the broken Wide Lens in flames. A feeling of triumph flared in his chest - Well that was easy! - though it was quickly replaced by surprise as the fire subsided to reveal charred glasses. It clicked a second later, too late to dodge, and Soren felt a laugh escape his maw just before the thud of Mao's weight slamming into him. Well played, Mao!

As he tumbled across the ground, Soren shot another Ember towards the Inkay, enhancing it with a piece of the charcoal stick hanging around his neck. He didn't wait to see if it hit, instead twisting to land on his feet. His movement wasn't as graceful as he had intended, however: a sharp pain in his side made him stumble into a wince. Rather than feeling disheartened by the wound, though, his grin only widened. That was a good hit; looks like outrunning her isn't an option anymore.

Soren's gaze darted about the room, looking for something to give his wounded self an edge. The room was fairly empty, with the other Pokemon out of the way and no real furniture but the torches on the wall. He grimaced at the lack of, well, anything, before an epiphany struck. Aha, the torches! The closest torch was just to the right of Mao; he'd need to circle around without her catching on. And the best way to ensure that, he surmised, was talking. If there's one thing I'm good at, it's that.

"I've got to admit, I definitely underestimated you," Soren called as he began to slowly move around her. "If that last attack was any indication, you've certainly got the 'Battering' part of 'Battering Squad' down,"

Ace Cream

 

[Ace Cream]

Mao

Mao caught the ember head on and was pushed back, however she used the momentum to spin herself midair and made a small vortex of wind that helps extinguish the flame slightly faster.

"Uraaaaa!!!" The inkay yelled for no reasok other than to express her excitement of the battle. "That is rightt!! I'm going to join the battery squad and squash all evils under my tentacles. I will show you my squid-fu too!" Mao was clearly flattered by Soren's words as indicated by the slight blush on her cheeks. Though she quickly assumed another aggresive stance and propels herself forward, this time she didn't bother to use camouflage and instead randomly manouvered in midair to confuse her opponent. He's right, she should fight like a battery member! Charge and overpower! No need for trickery!

Her tentacle was glowing purple as she charged her strongest move, apparently it would be more effective if the opponent was faster than her so she was more careful to make sure this attack counts. She lunged forward and attempts to smack Soren with her charged payback.

Lost

 

[Lost]

Soren
Green Forest Conference Hall
​

All throughout their little conversation Soren had continued edging toward his goal, though his eyes never left Mao's. Her change in strategy to something more head-on, and more obvious, was the final piece the young Vulpix had been waiting for. With all of the speed he could muster he leaped at the torch, using Quick Attack to carry him the short distance it. A stinging in his tails as he collided with the wall let him know that he hadn't completely dodged Mao's attack, but it had been enough.

The flames of the torch licked Soren's fur as he fell onto the ground, and yet his fur did not burn. Instead, small, smoldering cinders began floating away from the Vulpix as the fire further danced along his pelt. With a confident smile, interrupted only by another piece of charcoal between his teeth, Soren turned Mao. "Checkmate."

Instantly, a large burst of fire erupted from Soren's maw, flying towards the now-close Inkay.

Conditions:

• Flash Fire - Soren's not-so-graceful dive into the torch triggered this ability, giving all Fire-Type moves a 50% power increase
• Charcoal - With the added use of his charcoal stick, Soren's Fire-Type moves receive an added 20% damage bonus

Ace Cream
Edit: (This by no means has to be the end of the fight if you want to continue; the whole "Checkmate" thing is just Soren being incredibly cocky )

 

[Ace Cream]

Mao

"Fight like a battery, take them down!!!" Mao who was still fired up by her temporary resolve to fight head on took Soren's fire attack directly and delivers her own counter in the form of another payback. Her tentacle split the gushing firestream as the glowing attack launched at the vulpix's head.

Lost

Spoiler: Note

This will be Mao's last attack XD

 

[Lost]

Soren
Green Forest Conference Hall
​

I am... in so much... pain... Soren groaned as he staggered to his feet, his eyes shut tight. He had been in his fair share of battles, but that last blow? He hadn't known it possible to hurt this much.

Bracing himself as much as he could manage, Soren dared to open his eyes. The world spun beneath his feet, blurry, and he stumbled twice before finally righting himself. Dust clouded the arena after that last attack - namely, from Soren's head being driven into the ground - and he couldn't see a thing. Had he won? Or was Mao on the other side, wondering the same thing?

He certainly hoped she wasn't. As much as he hated to admit it, that last move had pretty much done him in. Either she was down, or he would be in a matter of seconds...

Ace Cream

 

[Kylesar1]

Avery
GFHQ Conference Hall
"Twas a good fight, but now I can't see........"​

Avery looked at the battle stoically the entire time, not betraying who he wanted to win it. He honestly didn't care who won. He had a bigger debate in his mind: Did Soren break the rules by utilizing the Torches to activate Flash Fire? On one hand, the rule was not to use anything that wasn't brought in the battle. On the other, lighting on the battlefield was always a grey area as it was very important to a lot of Pokemon, and it is very easily manipulated. He's seen tournament battles where Torches were part of the environment and could be used in multiple ways like activating Will-O-Wisp, to snuff out the light, putting them both in darkness, and to activate things like Flash Fire or abilities that depend on status conditions.

Surely a Pokemon couldn't complain about another's manipulation of the light source. If a Pokemon used Rain Dance and the clouds covered the sun and made it harder for the other to see, that's not really against the rules in ANY aspect. It was something that Avery never had to think about before because no Pokemon ever thought THAT outside the box. It may indicate that Soren could be an unorthodox thinker when it came to leading the mission, while Mao was ready to spearhead the mission, as evidenced by how her strength had Soren about to fall despite his more graceful and thoughtful movements. Who Avery wanted to lead was irrelevant since the other was always on deck to lead if they ever had to split up or if the leader got hurt.

Avery's thoughts were distracted by Zero showing his signature indicators of hunger. Maybe Zero needed to start eating souls like most other Ghost types. He got way too hungry way too quickly when given normal food. Avery tossed Zero another Big Apple. He needed to buy more and maybe a few extras for the mission at hand.
Gravitational Force

Back to the potential rule-breaking, Avery was on a crossroad. Mao definitely wasn't the sore loser type. If she lost a battle, she usually wouldn't complain. Battery believed in a strict no-excuses policy when it came to battling. Still, rules were rules. If Soren lost the battle, it would be a moot point regardless. If he won though, he may have to convene with Zero and Turmy to determine if Soren broke the rules........if someone brought it up.
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[Ace Cream]

Mao

Mao coughed. Taking direct hits like that really didn't do well for her. Her parents, her grandparents and even herself had always been putting emphasize on being smart in a battle. Yet her desire to be an overpowering figure of badassery blinded her. She couldn't muster anymore strength and plopped unconscious in the middle of the hall.

 

[Gravitational Force]

Zero:​

Zero's body stilled as his eyes followed the combatants. He'd been right about Mao's overconfidence being a weakness. And Soren's tactical use of the torch had obviously been come up on the spot, but even so that just showed his suitability to lead given his ability to come up with a strategy like that. Still, he'd need to keep watching and see if this was just a fluke.

Zero jolted out of his concentration when he sensed a projectile moving towards him, re-positioned himself, and then lassoed the big apple with his tongue before pulling it into his mouth. Crunching down on it appreciatively he was reminded of why this leadership battle was so important. Their team needed a capable leader so they could go into the temple, get the kids trapped inside to safety, and hopefully make a lot of money in the process. Zero was certain once he was eating regularly his appetite would get under control.

Snapping back into focus, Zero saw the fight was over. He decided that congratulating Soren would just bruise Mao's ego after her loss, so he decided to wait and see how this went. Plus there was no telling if what Soren did was within the rules, in times like this the best choice was to let things play out.

 

[dae mec]

Turmy watched the fight carefully. She was fine with either becoming leader, since they both seemed competent. More than her, at least. As the battle continued, Turmy noted that Soren and Mao fought differently than she would've; Turmy wasn't fast at all. Her usual technique was to stay put, take hits, and hit back hard. Mao and Soren's back-and-forth stealth vs. cleverness was so interesting to see!

Mao was so sneaky, blending in and ambushing Soren, and he was equally clever, though, like the part with the torch. Turmy saw nothing wrong with using the torches; in other batles, Pokemon used moves that directly changed the battleground like Grassy Terrain. She did frown towards the end, though. Despite Soren's victory, they both looked pretty beat-up. Turmy hoped that they'd heal quickly... that looked like it'd hurt.

"Good battle," she said out loud. "You are very smart, Soren. And you are still very strong, Mao!" Wait, was she implying that the other wasn't smart or strong? Eyes wide, Turmy quickly added, "Both of you are smart and strong." Er, was Mao still unconscious...? Never mind, she'd repeat her compliment if Mao didn't hear it.

"Get help?" Turmy said to Avery. "For the injuries. Where, who?" This was her first time seeing a full battle in the Guild, so she wasn't really sure of the procedure. "I will help carry them if needed," she added.

 

[Kylesar1]

Avery
GFHQ Conference Hall
"Soren wins..........Nicely done."​

The dust settled and Mao was down. "Mao is unable to battle. Soren wins!" Avery yelled out over the Conference Hall. Soren was the leader of the mission team and Mao the deputy team leader. "Excellent battle," Avery said to him, though he seemed a bit distracted, almost lost in thought. He didn't betray anything that would indicate pleasure or displeasure at Soren winning, though he hoped that his lack of overt joy wasn't indicative of dashed hopes. That sort of stoic act was required when he watched his dad lose. The honey sweet feeling at his dad getting karma in the tournament hall could not be shown to his old man. "As the winner, you must get Mao over to Belle or someone else who can heal you both up." Getting the loser over to healing was an act of good sportsmanship and camaraderie to show no hard feelings. It was almost customary and NOT doing it without a legitimate reason (like being about to fall themselves or physically unable to carry them) was seen as incredibly disrespectful.

No one brought up the grey area with the rules, so he would let it stand for now. It'd be fine. The shrew turned back to the task at hand. With Soren at the lead and Mao right behind him, Avery had the faith that they could lead the group to victory. However, Avery had to go and learn a thing or two about how far Soren would be leading them overall. The Sea Temple sounded tricky and with only that book of knowledge and the Sunae Twins to consult, he was absolutely certain that were to be significant gaps in knowledge about where they were heading and what it would entail. He had faith in Soren's ability. "We should get to packing and researching. I'm not sure when you want to set out, but we should take advantage on everything we can in Casim before we leave." Letting their respective families know, getting whatever Casim Exclusive items they may need, talking to some of the older and more experienced Guild Members and Elderly Casim residents to hear some of their irreplaceable words of wisdom. If they COULD get knowledge and insight in Casim, it was important to get it. "We'll reconvene at your word, Soren."

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