[PKMN FULL] Unific: The Challengers' Journey [M][IC]

[Juno]

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Rowlet Art Cred

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3-1: TRY YOUR LUCK!

Edwin drifted in and out of sleep that night; he was too excited for the challenge ahead, so he mostly lay awake and listened to the soft snores of his Rowlet. As long as Theodore got to sleep, he thought, as sunlight streamed through the zipper of the tent. More important for him to be rested and ready for battle... I'm gonna look like hell on camera, though. I hope they do our makeup before putting us out there.

The Diaz's were early risers, too. As soon as Edwin saw their silhouettes outside, he left the tent to help pack up and say goodbye.

"Thank you all so much for everything!" he smiled and waved at the family, as Rosa helped him wrangle Pyrite out of the pond. "Especially you. Although... I found out what 'pyrite' means, by the way."

The girl shrugged, trying to hide her smirk as she handed the golden Magikarp back to Edwin, who had his Poke Ball ready. "I think it's a fittin' name."

"Whatever, jerk." He tousled her hair. "You guys'll tune in to the Dolce Challenge today, right?"

"Wouldn't miss it!"

✿ ✿ ✿ ✿ ✿​

Edwin made it to Dolce City with an hour and a half to spare. The city was beautiful—it had a certain rustic feel to it also, but nowhere near as dingy and unimpressive as his own hometown. It looked a bit like it belonged on the cover of a fantasy novel.

I'll have time to go sightseeing later. Better find out where this stadium is first...

"Oof—!" His thoughts were interrupted as something hard crashed into him from behind, nearly bowling him over. He caught Theodore in his arms as he flew off his shoulder.

Picrew Maker Credit​

"Watch out," a voice called out lazily, several moments too late. Edwin turned around to see a wooden display cart with rickety wheels that were painted pink. In the same color, the words "TABITHA'S TREASURES" were painted boldly on the front of the cart. It was being pushed by a tall, blonde girl with freckles and a light tan. A thin, denim jacket was draped over her shoulders, and fresh flowers were woven into her long, dirty-blonde hair.

"My bad, didn't see you there," she added, when Edwin didn't move out of her way.

"Oh, it's okay," Edwin was too distracted by the strange cart she was pushing to get mad at the girl. "You must be Tabitha."

"How did you know?!" she asked, incredulous. "Have we met before?"

"No, it's painted—" Edwin shook his head. "You know what, nevermind. Uh, so what's all this?"

"Oh, a customer!" she exclaimed cheerfully. She tapped a kickstand out from the bottom of the cart with her foot to lock it in place, before launching into what sounded like a well-rehearsed spiel. "My name is Tabitha and these are my treasures. I procure all sorts of interesting items in my travels around the region, and share them with my fellow man. For a price, of course. Do let me know if anything catches your eye, and I'll tell you what I'm willing to part with it for!"

"Will do," Edwin said as he started browsing, but the girl had already started humming to herself and stopped paying attention to him. She opened a small sliding-door on her side of the cart and pulled out a folding chair to sit down. As she did this, a Skitty slunk out from the same compartment and hopped up on the counter, mewing.

A lot of her wares looked fairly... illegal. That was the first word that came to mind as Edwin surveyed the items. She had a small rack of keys on display labeled "Mystery Keys - try your luck around the city!", which looked like they would actually open someone's home. Several torn cloths bearing Gym Leader Bruna's signature hung under her "Dolce City Souvenirs" sign. She did have some TM instructional videos for sale, but some of the discs looked dirty or scuffed, and Edwin certainly didn't want to 'try his luck' with those. There were a couple of "Evolution Stones" too; some of them might be real, but an "Earth Stone" among them that just looked like a regular rock made him doubt the legitimacy of all the other stones.

All in all, none of her wares were very impressive, but a wicker basket under a warming lamp caught Edwin's attention. It held three Pokemon eggs of varying sizes. He reached out to touch them, but the Skitty hissed. "Shh, Ruby, shh," Tabitha said softly as she pet the Pokemon. "It's alright."

Edwin reached out again as the Skitty sat back down. The eggs were warm—maybe just from the lamp it was under, but there was also a distinct pulse he could feel through the thick, smooth shell. He could tell they were definitely real.

"Where did you find these?"

"Oh, you know... around," she responded airily, as she continued to pet Ruby. Edwin waited a few moments for her to elaborate. She didn't.

"Well... Do you know what hatches from them?"

She smiled and pushed a folded shawl out of the way to reveal a small, paper sign next to the basket. "Mystery Eggs - try your luck!" Edwin read out loud. Of course, he thought to himself. "Not knowing is part of the fun," she winked. "It could be a Skitty. Or a Wailmer. It could even be an Exeggcute!"

"...Right. So how much are you selling them for?" That part you have to know, right?

"₱10,000."

"₱10,000! I could buy a new phone with that kind of money!"

"Is a new phone going to hatch into a Pokemon for you?"

"No. Well... look," He said hesitantly. Edwin appraised the rest of the miserable wares on her cart and took out his wallet, pulling out roughly half the bills in his possession. "I have ₱3,000 on me right now. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and hazard a guess—you're not making this much money on a regular basis selling the rest of your... treasures. How about I take the smaller one here for ₱3,000? It's half the size of the big one."

She studied his face, then her eyes flicked to his wallet. "Half the size for half the price, then. ₱5,000."

"Done!" Edwin pulled out another chunk of money from his wallet and handed it over, before carefully picking up the egg. He was quite pleased with his bargaining skills, until he saw a smug smirk on Tabitha's face as she counted the bills that indicated she had no intention of selling the egg for as much as ₱10,000 in the first place.

"Pleasure doing business with you!" As quick as she plopped down her stand, she packed her Skitty and chair away once she finished counting the money, and carted off down an alley before Edwin could even ask her if she knew where the stadium was.

Edwin has received an Egg!

Party

Rowlet // Theodore

Tackle
Growl
Leafage
Peck
Shadow Sneak

Magikarp // Pyrite

Splash
Tackle
Flail
Bounce

Egg // ???

This Egg still looks like it's a quite a while away from hatching.​

Journal

1-1: "Edwin"
1-2: Networking
JP: Unwelcome Reunion
ft. Janice Carter
1-3: Dark Horse

2-1: Theodore Bugsbane
2-2: All That Glitters
2-3: Something Fishy
2-4: The Prodigy's Protege
2-5: Fool's Gold

3-1: Try Your Luck!
​

Trainer Card



OOC Post​

 

[gimmepie]

Elleni Vargas

Chapter Three - Part One

Elleni woke up to find the early morning sun shining into her yes, forcing a deep squint onto her face. Pressure on her left arm and abdomen indicated to her that Perdito and the newly christened Ladrona were still sleeping on top of her several minutes before her eyes attuned and she noticed the curled up Nickit slumbering on top of her. Additional discomfort on her left side suggested Perdito's bone was jammed into her ribs.

"Well at least you two are comfortable," she grumbled, allowing them a few more minutes of rest before sitting up, causing Ladrona to roll off her onto the ground, waking the Dark type who emitted a surprised yelp. She pulled Perdito into a sitting position, freeing her arm and waking him also. "Sorry guys, but today's our first Gym battle - I hope - and we haven't even reached the city it's taking place in yet.

Both Pokemon began to emit whiny noises until Elleni silenced them with a hand gesture. Evidently, she had managed to pick up a second team member who didn't enjoy waking up early in the morning. Not, Elleni noticed, that it was that early judging by the sun.

She reached into her bag and withdrew her pokegear, pleased to see that the battered old device still had a decent amount of charge left. She was less pleased when she realised it was nearing 8am and she had only a little more than two hours left to not only reach Dolce City but to get a quick checkup done on her teammates at a Pokemon Centre and find her way to the Gym Stadium.

"A quick breakfast this morning and then we need to get a move on," Elleni said to her pair of Pokemon, "We overslept and if we don't hurry then we'll miss the appointment time for Bruna's challenge and will have to wait if we want to challenge her again."

Elleni herself gnawed on some Fire Punch toasted bread as her Pokemon ate their fill, pacing around their makeshift campsite until she judged that they'd had enough for the time being. She returned both the Cubone and Nickit to their pokeballs before making a B-Line for the city visible in the distance.
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[Stinging Bea]

Janice Carter

Dolce City

Chapter 3-1: Preperations

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Current Party:

A yawn escaped Janice's lips as she sat on a couch within the Pokémon Center. A lukewarm cup of coffee in her hand, the blonde absentmindedly sat stirring it as she stared off into space while waiting to be called back up to the counter to collect her team. The blonde had spent a good chunk of the previous day and essentially all the previous night traveling across the fields of the northern wild area. Even though that strange girl had pointed Janice in the right direction, reaching the city without being able to make use of that town map proved to be a rather cumbersome task. It was practically daybreak by the time she had somehow managed to stumble across the city gates of Dolce. The blonde was exhausted, using all of the energy she could muster at that point to make it to the Pokémon Center. Needless to say, she knew her team had to be as well. The struggle of a battle that her Rookidee had to face in catching that Nidoran had taken its toll on the bird, especially since he really wasn't up to full health to begin with. That, along with having to fight off a few wild Pokémon along the way had left the girl's team feeling pretty ragged as well. She was honestly surprised that they didn't all manage to end up collapsing of exhaustion before reaching the city.

"Miss Carter? Miss Carter, your Pokémon are fully healed and ready to go!" the nurse called out.

Janice jumped slightly at the sound of her name, but managed to collect herself as she hopped off the couch. The blonde took one moment, chugging down the remainder of the coffee that was in her paper cup, before chucking it in the trash and making her way to the counter. The nurse frowned as she took in the sight of the girl. Dark circles were under the blonde's eyes, clearly a sign that she hadn't had a proper rest in quite few hours. A deep grimace graced the girl's lips, and she was fairly certain that the girl's attire could use a good soaking.

"Alright... how much do I owe ya," Janice replied, reaching into her back pocket to pull out a rather empty wallet.

"...It's free? All Pokémon Centers are," the nurse replied, raising an eyebrow over the fact that the teenager even had to ask. She shook her head, handing the balls containing Janice's team over to the trainer. "That said, you need to take better care of your Pokémon. The poor little dears were absolutely exhausted by the time you brought them in. You're lucky they didn't manage to take any major injuries with the shape you brought them in. You could at the very least buy a potion or two."

Janice's eyes narrowed. It wasn't like she was swimming in cash at the moment. "...I'll keep that in mind."

The blonde made her way away from the counter and towards the couch where she had been sitting just a few moments before. She tossed the balls holding her team all up into the air, causing them all to snap open and unleash the Pokémon inside. Kain stretched his wings and stared up at the trainer with a rather disinterested look. Iris, as per usual, skittered her way up to the blonde's shoulder. Franky, her Nidoran, however quickly bounded his way towards Janice and smiled brightly at the girl. He wasted no time in nuzzling up to the blonde's leg, looking at her and practically begging for attention. Janice could feel the heat rising to her cheeks from the sight, but a quick shake of the head and small, albeit forced, cough was enough to get the attention of the three Pokémon.

"Alright, pay attention ya lot," Janice began. "We got that first gym challenge this mornin', and I ain't lookin' to be made a fool of out there. I ain't exactly sure of what kinda mess we'll be dealin' with there, but I'm sure yer all gonna be able to do just fine. We gotta stay focused an' make no screw ups, got it?"

The blonde wasn't sure if her team actually understood or not. However she did get a cry from each member, so all the blonde could assume was that they were at least paying attention to her speaking. It was a start, if nothing else. She turned her attention away from the creatures, focusing instead on the clock on the wall. Janice recalled that she had to be ready and in the gym by 10:00 AM. Her eyes narrowed as she stared at the clock, her mind racing to try and determine just how long she had left. That said, it didn't take long before the girl grew quite frustrated.

"Yo, nurse! What time ya got?" the blonde called out.

The nurse gave a rather annoyed glare in the direction of the blonde. She was growing quite tired of the rudeness this trainer was displaying as was finding herself to be quite eager to be rid of her. "It's about 9:30... Now if you're done, would you mind leaving? You're disturbing the patients."

"Shit... we're gonna be late!" Janice exclaimed. She quickly recalled Iris and Kain to their balls, hurrying out the door with Franky hot on her heels.

 

[the sloth]

Bennett Myrtle
ft. Magnificent Magilou as Janice Carter

Chapter 3-2: Bug Off

Party:

Current Location: Dolce Stadium, Dolce City

For a minute or so, Bennett wasn't scrambling like everyone else seemed to, but instead stood and observed the bushes and trees all around him. This was a little harder, the audience drowned out the natural buzz of bugs he'd usually hear outside, but still concentrated. Now, if he were a Bug type, what would he do? And just as importantly, what would he do if he tried to pretend being one? He ended up getting so lost in thought trying to follow this philosophy, that a member of the Gym staff approached him to make sure he was alright, and he took that as a sign he maybe shouldn't think about this too hard.

He paced around a small area of the arena, near a few bushes before spotting a couple Weedle. He carefully observes from afar, a couple of them nonchalantly chewing on a couple of the bushes. One Weedle, however, sniffs the same foliage before turning in the opposite direction, and it clicks in the boy's head. Bennett begins to carefully follow the Weedle as it has its back turned to him, believing he's picked out a real from the fakes.

Janice on the other hand, was a little taken aback. When she heard of the gym challenge, the girl had honestly expected it was going to be some kind of competition where the challengers would just… do a bunch of battling of some kind, wherein the winner would go on to face the gym leader afterwards. The last thing the blonde trainer expected was to be crawling around in the bushes, hunting down a bunch of bugs with some kind of oversized net.

"This is just straight up embarrassin'," Janice remarked. Her fatigue was starting to get to her. She desperately needed a smoke. She wouldn't have minded a small snack at this point either. "Alright, alright… Just keep yer shit together, Janice... We got this."

Her eyes narrowed as the sound of some nearby bushes quickly caught her attention. She slowly crept towards the sound, a small smirk gracing her lips as a buzzy little Combee came fluttering out from the bush. Janice wasted no time in hoisting the bugnet overhead, bringing it down with as much speed as she could to trap the little bee-like Pokémon inside.

"Ha, got'cha!" Janice cheered triumphantly. She rose to her feet, a sudden weight shifting over her shoulder in the process. The girl quickly brought the bugnet around, a sigh of disgust escaping her lips at the sight of a pink blob staring back at her. "Damn it… Get lost, ya sorry excuse for a puddin' cup!"

Not too far away, Janice's frustration with her catch makes the Weedle jump in shock, turning around and in for another shock to see Bennett behind them! In a panic, he swings the net down, but due to shoddy handling of the tool narrowly misses the Weedle as it begins to squirm away! A cornered bug could get away faster than you'd think it could, so Bennett stumbles forward and swings the net again...

Swoosh! WHUMP.

The net doesn't hit the ground, as there's something in front of him instead that's blocking the way. The boy breaks from his laser focus to look up, at first thinking the net had hit a tree he neglected to see.

But that wasn't quite the case.

"Arceus damn it," Janice grumbled, rubbing the back of her head in pain.

She quickly spun around, eyes already set into glare-mode, mouth ready to spew a series of words that would most likely make a Team Skull grunt blush, only to stop at the sight of a younger boy before her. While he was definitely younger than her by a few years, he was hardly some small kid as was the case of her younger brother. That said, the girl found quickly found the urge to put him in his place vanish, replacing it instead with a much more… dismissive tone.

"Watch where yer swingin' that damn thing," Janice mutters, quickly looking away from the boy.

The net swings back from where it landed and is clutched tightly in the boy's nervous, clammy hands. A fire burns in her eyes for a brief moment, but it quickly extinguishes once she sees him. It doesn't make him feel any less bad about his callous swinging, and while at first he's frozen solid, he speaks up right after she turns away.

"... A-are you okay? I'm sorry, I didn't m-mean-, mean to hit you." His tone is quiet, but just barely able to be heard over the hullabaloo of the crowd. "Nothing's... bruised, b-bleeding? Sore?" It didn't look like he hit her that hard, but he still aired on the side of caution as his gaze moved to her head, although her hat and hair both covered any wounds he could've inflicted.

Janice rolled her eyes. "Don't ya think I'd be makin' a bigger deal 'bout this if I was bleedin', runt?" She paused, quickly noticing the way he was trying to inspect her for any injuries. She felt a small tightness in her chest. It was something he would do. Janice quickly looked away, readjusting the expression on her face before taking the hat off her head and kneeling down to the boy's level.

He mumbled something in a worried tone, but is surprised once she kneels down and takes off her hat. Bennett glosses over her head a couple times, particularly the back where the net had hit her, and gently tugs on one tuft of hair to see her scalp better. No bumps, bruises, blisters, or bleeding! He gives a sigh of relief, and takes a step back once he's done.

"O-okay, just... wanted to make sure." Bennett looks the girl in the eyes once she stands back up... he vaguely recalled seeing her during the opening ceremony, but didn't catch her name at any point. "... I'm B-Bennett. Again, sorry about that..." He grips the net awkwardly, giving a nervous laugh probably intended to diffuse the tension of the conversation for him. He loses confidence by the moment, breaking eye contact with her as his eyes drift back to the ground.

"Look… just… be more careful, yeah? Got enough problems goin' on, I don't need my head split open bein' one of 'em," Janice grumbled. She paused, glancing down at the boy again before resuming. "What the hell were ya chasin' after so hard, anyways?"

"N-noted..." Bennett nods as she tells him to watch it, and reaffirmed eye contact with her. He was used to older kids being taller than him, but the height difference was a bit more daunting now than it had before. She wasn't mad, but didn't sound too pleased with him either. "I found a Weedle, it was... well, it was with a couple others, right? The other Weedle were indiscriminately eating some of the leaves, but this Weedle turned them down and went to look for some other ones. I've seen a lot of bugs around Dolce before, and I've learned Weedle are picky eaters, so real ones wouldn't just-" He starts going on a tangent, but sounded more confident as he explained what he knew about the Pokemon, making small gestures with his hands in the process to represent what he was explaining.

Janice raised an eyebrow. The more Bennett rambles on about the Weedle, the more he gradually begins to lose her in his explanations. That said, the blonde finds herself oddly engrossed in the boy's reasoning. While she isn't exactly sure about all of the details, Janice can tell that he clearly knows a lot of what he's talking about.

"How the hell do ya know all that 'bout a bug…? The thing just… crawls and jabs things with that horn, right?" Janice questioned. "At least, that's what I always thought."

He looks up from the small display he was making with his hands as Janice asked, a delighted smile spreading across his face.

"More or less, yeah! The ones I've seen around my house are pretty docile, and only use their stingers in self-defense. Believe it or not, Combee actually seem to be more aggressive, they get really competitive and often gang up on other bugs to get pollen for their hive, especially during the springti-"

He catches himself rambling on this time, picking his net back up, clenching it tightly and meeting Janice's eyes again. "S-sorry, I didn't mean to... talk for so long. Ahem..." Bennett clears his throat, glancing around the immediate area and suddenly remembering they were on a timer. "How much time do we have left? I... I haven't caught anything yet..." His eyes go back to the ground, but rather out of a lack of confidence, he's scanning his footing and seeing if anything was slunking right past their feet. Nothing close by, unfortunately.

Janice glanced up towards the clock on the wall. A frown across her lips as she once again found herself being put on the spot to read something. Without thinking, she blurted out the first thing that came to her mind. "Um… thirty minutes."

His gaze follows hers, finding the same clock she'd just looked at. For a brief moment, he took her answer at face value, before remembering the challenge was only twenty minutes long.

"... No, n-not quite... more like ten." He notes, but doesn't say anything about how off her reading of the clock was. It wasn't right next to him, so he just thought she couldn't quite read it from this far away. "I, um, should get back to looking for bugs... best of luck to you, miss!" Bennett gives her a sportsman-like goodbye, turning in a different direction to continue his hunt. If he was lucky, he could find that Weedle again and save the time he lost. He didn't catch her name, but if she was a trainer in the Amateur League like he was, they were bound to meet up again.

She seemed... nice.
​

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[budube]

Carmen Sylvia
Chapter 3 - Part 1: A Masterpiece​

---

Northern Wild Area Exit, Dolce City​

They didn't sleep that much in the Wild Area. It was too uncomfortable for them, especially for Carmen. They just took a few hour rest and kept walking in the night. That also shortened the travel time by a lot and they ended getting to Dolce City in less than the estimate time… at the cost of losing her balance for every five steps she took.

"Echo, show me the front camera." Carmen suddenly ordered. She wanted to make sure if she was presentable enough for the Gym Challenge, even if she would do that in the changerooms too.

'As you wish, Mrs. Carmen.'

Echo floated in front of her, turning on its screen and showing a tired and disheveled Carmen to herself. Her skin looked good, at least…

"Oh my god!" she grimaced at the camera and tried moving herself away from it, but Echo followed her face as much as she moved making that effort futile "Look at these eye bags! And my hair is… ack!" she breathed out frustrated, moving her hands across her hair, trying to fix at least something. "I look horrible!"

'Well, I can say you don't look quite appealing, Mrs.--'

"Don't agree with me on that!" she interrupted as she tied her hair in a ponytail "Turn it off!"

Presto stood on her right shoulder, he also messed up his fur and he smelled horrible. His mouth was stained with berry juice and he didn't seem to care enough about it to at least lick it off, so Carmen had to wipe it with her hand giving him a look of repugnance.

Gareth, on the other side, insisted on walking behind Carmen. According to Echo he wanted to 'have their backs' in case something happened, and honestly he was very sincere because he knocked out a few Pokémon that tried to approach them. He was a good catch, honestly. Many of the good things Gareth had apart from his strength were that he didn't need any preparation to look good; after all, he didn't have any fur to comb. He also had very good manners compared to Presto. But the sole fact of being a Bug still disgusted Carmen and it probably would be that way as long as she kept him on her team.

Speaking of disgusting, the amount of bugs didn't seem to reduce the closer she got to the city, and the ground was getting steeper the more she walked. But that started to make sense for her the moment she took her first step into Dolce. What she saw in front of her was worth a painting and Carmen later realized that she had indeed seen a painting of Dolce on her aunt's Art Gallery.

The entire city covered in green and the rock cliffs positioned as if they were intentionally organized that way gave the city some kind of magic. The vines covering the buildings were a great detail too. Carmen couldn't dislike this place even knowing that it had too many bugs around, that was the only bad part of it so far. She would've loved taking some time to explore the city, but the clock was still ticking and she had to be at the Gym at 10:00 am. It was 9:00 am.

Carmen considered passing on the first Gym because of her disgust against bugs, but well… it was the first Gym. And if it was the first, it was supposed to be the easiest one and passing on the easiest challenge, for her, meant forfeiting without even beginning. In music, you couldn't play the most complex songs if you didn't go through the easier ones. It was the same here.

---

Carmen's Party:

 

[gimmepie]

Elleni Vargas

Chapter Three - Part Two

Elleni stepped out of the Pokemon Centre into the streets of Dolce City. Ordinarily, this would be a moment of awe as for the second time she took in the picturesque beauty of the city's perfect integration into the landscape around it.

The only thing Elleni was in a hurry to see at that moment though, was the time on her pokegear clock. She was exhausted already, having jogged as much of the distance between her former campsite and the city as she physically could, but the device made it pretty apparent that she wasn't going to get a lot of time to rest. The challenge started at 10:00am, the time was 9:45am.

"Fifteen minutes to get from the start of an unfamiliar city to the centre of it? Sure. Great."

Elleni took off at a jog again, looking back at her pokegear every few moments. That was until she was interrupted by the feeling of something at her feet… something hard… something hard that she tripped over, causing her to smack her face into the back of the girl in front of her before face-planting on the earthen road.

"Ow," Elleni groaned, sitting up to take stock of the situation. Apparently what she had tripped over was a Karrablast. Elleni looked up at the pedestrian she'd thumped into, "Uh, sorry about that. I think I just tripped over your Karrablast."

Gareth quickly turned at her and put himself in a defensive position to protect Carmen. She only stared at Elleni with annoyance for the previous impact. She didn't have time for this. She got to admit that she liked her clothes, though; she wouldn't use them herself, but they looked good on her. But god, her hair! It was the colors, she didn't like them. It certainly looked better than hers in her current state, but that didn't say much to be honest.

"Watch it!" Carmen said in a harsh tone. She couldn't help it, bad for her. Yes, Echo just told her that the Gym was close, and was taking the lead to guide Carmen, but she still was in a hurry and therefore not in the best mood. "It's just a girl, Gareth. Pay her no mind."

"I said I'm sorry, didn't I?" Elleni climbed to her feet, brushing the dust off herself as best she could - admittedly some of it was from the Wild Area beforehand but this rude girl didn't need to know that. "I'm in a hurry, I don't generally make a habit of running into people - or tripping over wandering Bug types for that matter."

Elleni took this moment to size up her unfortunate victim. She seemed close in age to herself, somewhat taller though, with a slender build and a pretty face. She reminded Elleni of the tourists she would sometimes come across back in Vivace. She seemed just about as entitled too, even if she looked like crap at that moment.

Actually… she looked a lot like someone who'd had a rough time getting across the Wild Area on time.

"You wouldn't happen to be heading to the stadium, would you?" Elleni asked, coming to the conclusion that she may have just ran head first into some of her competition.

Carmen raised her eyebrows. On closer look she seemed to be in the same situation as her. "That's right. I'm heading to the Gym Challenge. I'll take it that you too are going there?"

"That's the plan," Elleni responded, "Although, seeing as we have less than fifteen minutes to cross the rest of this city, that might be a tall order. Do you know a quick way to get there or should we both just start running and hope for the best?"

"We are close to the stadium. Isn't that right, Echo?" She asked to her Rotom Phone

'Indeed, Mrs. Carmen. We'll be there in less than ten minutes if we hurry.'

Carmen sighed. 'If we hurry'? That didn't really sound convincing. "Means we have to run."

"Of course you have a Rotom Phone," Elleni sighed. It was just her luck to run into Reach thugs one day and a spoiled rich girl the next. "More running then. Wonderful. I'll be able to do marathons by the end of this journey."

She looked at the rich girl for a moment before gesturing in the general direction of the stadium.

"Lead the way then, Rich Girl. Echo there seems to have a much better idea of where we're going than I do."

Carmen was slightly offended by the way 'Rich Girl' was worded, but she paid her no mind in the end. Echo kept leading the way and Carmen ran behind it after returning Gareth to his PokéBall in case he couldn't keep up. Was the other girl following her? Probably, she didn't pay her attention and if she couldn't keep up, that wasn't her problem.

Keeping up with Carmen, thankfully, wasn't that difficult. Elleni kept pace behind the other girl, forming an odd procession with the Rotom Phone in the lead. She just hoped that Echo gave more reliable directions than some of the people she'd met.

"This thing is good with directions, right?" Elleni called after Carmen, trying to conceal that she was panting for breath as best she could. She was sure that the other girl wasn't a threat, but she'd learned at a young age not to let other people see weakness. Unfortunately, being thoroughly exhausted from her earlier mad dash for Dolce itself, she wasn't having the most success on that front.

"It has a map and a rather advanced AI, does that help?" She said between gasps. Turning corners and running forward wasn't something she was good at. She wasn't sure if the other girl calmed down a bit after her answer (Carmen wouldn't) but just in case she pointed at the big structure a few roads in front of them. "I think that... answers your question." She stopped for a bit, trying to rest at least for five seconds.

'Mrs. Carmen and… friend. There's only five minutes left for the challenge to begin. I suggest we hurry up.'

"This journey thing might actually kill me," Elleni gasped, now abandoning all pretense. "When did we even get up on this tier? I was too busy paying attention to you to not - oh screw it come on."

Elleni took off again, grabbing Carmen's arm and dragging her with her. Directions wouldn't be quite as important at that point with the stadium towering ahead of them as simply moving and moving quickly.

"I can move on my own!" She said moving her arm away aggressively. She didn't like accepting help from the competition. "Dragging each other will only make us be late! Keep moving."

"I was starting to have doubts," Elleni shot back as they continued their sprint for the building.

It took them another several minutes, but eventually Elleni found herself coming to a halt, doubling over in front of the Stadium's entrance. She panted for breath for several minutes before turning back to the other girl.

"I hope Bruna replaced the old Bug Catching challenge for something less labour intensive. I'm Elleni by the way, I think your fancy Rotom Phone there called you Carmen?"

"Yes. Carmen. And this Noibat here is Presto." She said panting between words. "And me too, at the Bug Catching thing." She laughed.

"Nice to meet you, Presto." Elleni finally managed to straighten herself into a standing position. "We should probably, you know, go inside before we miss the deadline."

"Hopefully it's the last run of the day."

Ft. Cubism as Carmen Sylvia​

 

[Stinging Bea]

Janice Carter

Dolce City Gym

Chapter 3-2: Iris Branches Out

​

Current Party:

After parting ways with Bennett, Janice resumed her hunt of the bug Pokémon. Thankfully, her interactions with the boy proved to help things along quite a bit for the blonde trainer. His vast knowledge on the bug types had made it quite a bit easier for her to locate both a real Weedle and Combee, making it to where all she needed to do now was locate just one more bug. That said, the girl was having quite the time finding a real bug for that final catch.

Perhaps it was the fact that she knew time was running out. Maybe it was the fact that she kept netting Ditto after Ditto. Regardless however, Janice could feel her nerves ratcheting up and her temper was growing shorter all the while. It was a vast reminder to the blonde that this whole challenge was just flat out stupid, and the girl felt a sudden desire to simply say "screw it" and walk away. A desire that she knew she couldn't act upon. After all, she was doing this for Will... What kind of message would that send the boy? Furthermore, what kind of chance was she going to have in this thing if she couldn't even succeed in the first competition.

"Alright, alright... calm the hell down," Janice muttered to herself. "Ain't no point in having a meltdown over this stupid shit... We gotta find a real bug. It doesn't matter what kind. All I have to do is be able to tell the real ones from the fakes."

The blonde stopped dead in her tracks, a sudden urge to kick herself over how stupid she had been during this whole thing. She didn't need to worry about being able to tell the real bug Pokémon apart from the fake ones! She had an ace in the hole to make this easy all the entire time! Glancing around, the blonde quickly took hold of one of the pokéballs hanging off her waist and tossed it forward, unleashing the Joltik that had been resting inside. The petite spider looked around, gurgling happily at the sight of her trainer before her. Janice smirked, kneeling down with her arm extended to let Iris crawl up it.

"Alright, Iris... Yer a bug, so this should be easy for ya," Janice began. She glanced over at her right shoulder as Iris took her usual spot. "All I need ya to do is help me track down a real bug Pokémon. I've had enough run-ins with those stupid pink blobs to last me a lifetime an' I wanna get this over with. Think ya can manage?"

Iris made yet another gurgling noise, a sound that Janice took meant that she was in agreement with the plan. With Iris on board, this was going to be a lot easier. After all, the rules said they couldn't use a Pokédex to help them find the real bug-types. No one said another Pokémon couldn't help.

The blonde trainer began to creep over towards a nearby tree, a branch rustling which clearly meant that something was waiting atop it. "Alright, Iris... Go up there and lure out the real bug. I'll be waitin'."

Iris hopped off of the girl's shoulder and firmly planted herself on the tree. Glancing upwards at the branch for a moment, the small spider Pokémon turned and shot a sticky, thread-like substance up towards the branch. With a small gurgle, the Joltik began to shimmy herself up the thread. Determination in her eyes all the while. Janice was counting on her and if she managed to help her trainer nab that last bug Pokémon, maybe there would be she would be rewarded with a big, fluffy piece of popcorn! Just the thought of the buttery, salty morsel made her tiny fangs water and only helped the Joltik to increase her speed.

Before she knew it, Iris had managed to reach the branch in question. Glancing around, the Joltik's eyes widened as she spotted a nearby Caterpie. Iris carefully skittered forward, taking a moment to study the unsuspecting caterpillar Pokémon. It seemed to be... twitchy. Very twitchy, as if it had some kind of itch that it just couldn't scratch. The bug Pokémon was quick to notice Iris approaching, however. A foul stench began to fill the air, so at the very least the spider was able to tell that quickly that it was the real deal. Curious, the small Joltik crawled her way towards the wild Caterpie. Her fuzzy little head tilted in confusion as she made a small, inquisitive whining noise. The Caterpie suddenly jumped forward, however. Anger in its eyes, it slammed its tiny body into Iris and caused her to fumble back a bit. The Joltik almost fell off the branch from a mixture of surprise and the force of the Caterpie's blow, but she managed to regain her balance and tighten her footing on it.

The wild Caterpie hissed in frustration, shooting the Joltik a rather nasty glare. The stench was getting worse, all signs that this Caterpie happened to be very territorial and wanted Iris gone as soon as possible. The yellow bug seemed hesitant for a moment and before too long began to slowly back away. However, Iris quickly remembered the task that Janice and given to her. She couldn't just back down now! Too much was on the line. The small Joltik shuddered, attempting to muster up as much courage as she could. The Caterpie only hissed more in response, the wild Pokémon leaning forward as if threatening her. Iris remained adamant. With a tiny screech, Iris suddenly lunged herself towards the wild Caterpie, surprising the bug by jabbing her tiny fangs into its backside.

Caterpie screeched in agony and quickly began to flail and fidget around. Iris hopped off of the wild Pokémon's backside, only to be greeted by another forceful tackle. Iris stumbled as a result of the blow, losing her balance and toppling over the branch in the process. The Joltik quickly shot out another gooey thread at the branch, causing it to splat out and allowing herself to get pulled back up the tree. Once back up, she was greeted with the Caterpie's sharp glare once more. The wild Pokémon charged forward, preparing to slam its body into her once more. However this time, Iris was ready. The tiny Joltik quickly hopped over the attacking Caterpie, before shooting forth a rather shocking web in its direction. The web smacked the Caterpie in the back of the head, causing it to wail in pain as the static-filled surge ran through its body. The Caterpie hissed in annoyance, its temper quickly growing shorter in dealing with this Joltik. It lunged forward, suddenly dashing out towards Iris once more. Iris too lunged forward, the Joltik charging towards the wild Caterpie at the same time. The collision never happened, though. Iris came to a screeching halt as she noticed the speed of the Caterpie slow down. Suddenly, a high-pitched wail escaped from the wild Pokémon. The wild Caterpie suddenly threw its head back, a silky like substance spewing out from its mouth and showering down around it. Iris watched in awe as the Caterpie's body began to glow brightly. The wild bug Pokémon's body began to grow... larger... bulkier. Slowly, the shower began to come to a halt.

Iris gurgled in surprise at the sight before her. The wild Caterpie had evolved into a Metapod! She had never seen an evolution happen before her like that before. Did that mean the wild Pokémon was stronger now? Would she be able to evolve like that too one day? Several questions began to rush through the Joltik's brain, but there was no time for her to dwell on them for the time being. Right now, it was time for her to complete her task! Iris carefully inched forward, before rising up on her tiny hind legs and shoving her body into the Metapod with all the strength she could muster. The cocoon Pokémon began to rock back and forth before suddenly tumbling out of the tree.

Janice raised as she saw the bug come tumbling down from above, quickly moving her net to catch it before it would hit the ground. Not long after, Iris came skittering down the tree, a proud gurgle escaping the spider Pokémon as she approached her trainer.

"Cuttin' it a little close," Janice mused, holding out her hand for Iris to climb onto. She offered the tiny Joltik an appreciative grin nonetheless. "Nice work, Iris. I knew ya had it in ya."

Iris' heart swelled with glee.

 

[the sloth]

Bennett Myrtle

Chapter 3-3: Insect Inspect

Party:

Current Location: Dolce Stadium, Dolce City

On a mission, Bennett returned to his bug hunting with what time he had left, and also occasionally glanced up from where he was looking to make sure he wasn't about to run into or hit any other trainers. He was better than he thought at picking out the real deals from the fakes, using his own methodology to find another Weedle and a Silcoon, which stayed completely still instead of rolling away like the phony cocoon Pokemon. It seemed these Ditto were skiddish and didn't like being approached, and he kept that in mind after he turned in the previous two Pokemon. He just needed one more to qualify for a chance to fight Bruna...

Five minutes left. The pool of trainers had started to wear thin, as a lot of others had already got the required three bugs, and a couple trainers had withdrawn from the challenge for one reason or another. His nerves started getting to him, his grip a tad sweaty, but he couldn't slip now! Bennett took in a deep breath to steel himself, vigilantly surveying the area for... aha!

A Nincada was scuttling across the arena, and there were some small, shallow potholes around it as it had attempted mulitple times to make a burrow in this area, but got frustrating results from the pseudo-terrain. It was quite invested in its work, until another Nincada came from behind a tree, and seemed to be watching the other. The Nincada first notices Bennett and hisses from its mandibles, prompting him to move behind a nearby tree and watch from there. The second Nincada is then noticed, and what ensues is a battle for territory between the two as they start chirping aggressively at each other. Both were distracted by the other, and now would be the perfect opportunity to swoop in for the catch!

There was just one problem... which was the fake? Were they both fake? Both real? The boy hadn't seen Nincada that frequently in his area, so the nuances of their behavior were alien to him. He tries to study each Nincada as they circle each other, eyes locked on one another and not even noticing him as he creeps closer and closer with his net. With no other option and limited time, he has to make a calculated guess, swinging down his net and trapping one of the Nincada! His heart drops as it almost immediately morphs into a purple blob, showing it's true colors in a plea for escape, which he lets it do with a defeated sigh.

The other Nincada, however, throws Bennett for a loop as it first looks up at (to them) a much taller opponent, takes a defensive stance... and then suddenly starts to evolve! Bug Pokemon spontaneously evolving was nothing new to the boy, but right in the middle of the gym challenge? The Nincada morphs into a much more nimble Ninjask, and wastes no time buzzing off into the trees to find some other territory, since digging a burrow was no longer of its concern. Bennett starts glancing around, antsy as it felt like the time limit was creeping up on him fast. He then spots something out of the corner of his eye, and looks back down to see that one Pokemon hadn't abandonned him yet.

The empty husk of the Nincada hovers before him, staring blankly before slowing turning its head towards him. Was... was this a Pokemon? He reaches for a second to pull out his Pokedex before remembering that was against the rules, and quickly pulls his hand back. He kneels to inspect the floating husk, which seemed to be its own seperate entity...? Bennett gently puts his net over the Pokemon, which floats but doesn't move or object as he scoops it up. Upon giving it to one of the gym staff, they confirmed it was indeed a Pokemon, and seemed pretty surprised he caught an evolved Pokemon like this during the challenge.

Nevertheless, with only a couple minutes left on the clock, Bennett was in the clear! He sighed in relief, and took a moment to lean against one of the trees and gather his thoughts before the challenge ended.
​

​

​

 

[Juno]

[tab=backtostory5]

[/tab] [tab=pokemon5]

[/tab] [tab=journal5]

[/tab] [tab=id5]

[/tab]

Rowlet Art Cred

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3-2: READY & REFRESHED

Edwin finally found the stadium, which actually did not take much effort at all; he stopped and asked a grumpy-looking man for directions, who simply pointed up at the most prominent building of the tiered city's innermost rung, before walking off and muttering something about an "inobservant idiot".

The biggest challenge from there was climbing all the steps up, but he managed to make it there in good time. He even had time to stop by a little market stall near the stadium, and picked up a small scarf for Theodore. His wallet was feeling a little light, but it was worth it. "Green and white, like the colors of Dolce Gym's uniform. The crowd is going to love you," Edwin cooed as he gently tied the little scarf around Theodore's neck.

​

With how early they set off that morning, even despite the run in with Tabitha and stopping for Theo's "uniform", they arrived at the stadium with about twenty minutes to spare. Much to his relief, they promptly ushered him into hair and makeup after he checked in at the front desk.

Edwin spun around in the chair the attendant plopped him down in and waited for a makeup artist. They had their work cut out for them and Edwin could tell some were getting a little flustered; between all the teenagers in makeup chairs, they had a lot of zits to conceal, and some of the kids were cutting it pretty close with their arrival times. He checked out his own skin in the mirror. Thanks to his meticulous skincare routine, he did not suffer from acne very often, but he did need some under-eye concealer for the bags that had formed due to his lack of sleep.

He looked around the room as he waited, surveying his competition. He recognized the small boy that had the Jangmo-o with him. The boy looked a little confused as someone tried to touch his hair and pat some powder on his nose, and he politely rejected their attempts. With little time to spare, the artist didn't fuss over him, and moved on. The Carter girl also came crashing in shortly after Eddie had sat down. She, too, waved off a young woman trying to put makeup on her, but did so much less politely. Soon, it was Eddie's turn, and as he suspected, all they had to do was apply some concealer under his eyes, and he was looking much more refreshed. Theodore preened his feathers in the mirror as Edwin helped him straighten his new scarf—he made sure to position it so that the Rowlet would be able to stretch his wings fully still while it was on.

Just then, his X-Transceiver buzzed. Edwin pulled it out of his back pocket and smiled, taking the call. Two familiar faces beamed back at him on the tiny screen of his device. "Hi Ma, hey Lily."

"There's my boy! You said you would call me once you settled in! I was so worried, but I didn't want to be pushy." Edwin tried to get a word in, but his mother kept going. "Lily told me to just wait, just wait, but I knew you would forget. You forgot, didn't you? How did you sleep? Are you being good?"

Edwin desperately tried to lower the volume on his device, as a couple of heads turned towards him. "I'm fine, Ma! I'm sorry, it's been a really action-packed couple days, just haven't really had the time to sit down and give you guys a call."

"Well, okay, we just wanted to call and wish you luck. We'll be watching and rooting for you!" When their mother stopped to take a sip from the cup she was holding, his sister Lily chimed in with a quick, "Good luck, Eddie and Teddy!"

He smiled at them again. "Thank you, your guys' support means the world to me." With just minutes left until the opening of the challenge, he watched as two girls rushed in just in time. As they quickly got ready, another event attendant ushered the rest of them towards the stadium. "Oh, I gotta run now. Love you both!"

Party

Rowlet // Theodore

Tackle
Growl
Leafage
Peck
Shadow Sneak

Magikarp // Pyrite

Splash
Tackle
Flail
Bounce

Egg // ???

This Egg still looks like it's a quite a while away from hatching.​

Journal

1-1: "Edwin"
1-2: Networking
JP: Unwelcome Reunion
ft. Janice Carter
1-3: Dark Horse

2-1: Theodore Bugsbane
2-2: All That Glitters
2-3: Something Fishy
2-4: The Prodigy's Protege
2-5: Fool's Gold

3-1: Try Your Luck!
3-2: Ready & Refreshed
​

Trainer Card



OOC Post​

 

[WizardOfOdd]

Matthew "Matt" Callista
Location : Northern Wild Area
Partner Pokemon :

​

​

Chapter 2 - 5
Great Deal​

Matt and two of his Pokemon were cornered at all sides by the Head Honcho Pokemon and its cronies.

"The hunter becomes the hunted eh…" Matt tried to think of a solution at the spot, no matter how he thought of it, the situation was even worse than when he had to run away from Pinsir.

"Krow! Krow!" Multiple Murkrow squawking towards their boss. They wanted a punishment to be enacted against the pesky offender.

Charlotte couldn't stop shaking at this sight which caused Matt to hug her tightly to calm her down. Meanwhile, Sherry was agitated by this sight and was more than ready to attack them when Matt gave his permission.

Their noises, however, were drowned by a single deep cry from their boss, demanding their silence. The Honchkrow used its wing to make a gesture that was very understandable by Matt. It was a gesture for asking for something, and it was enough to understand the intention of the pack leader.

"You want this 'gold nugget'?" Matt's question was met by a slow nod by the Head Honcho Pokemon, giving Matt a faint spark of an idea on how to get out of this situation.

"How about we fought one-on-one for this?" Matt raised the golden ball up to the sky.

All of the birds around laughed loudly at Matt's proposal, they were amused that their cornered prey still dare to utter such words bravely.

The reaction made Matt hesitant to execute his plan, but with a lack of other choices, he had to act brave… At least to ensure his Pokemon would be fine. "Haha… I know you guys are going to react like that. But I'm not going to force you guys… You guys can be a coward all you want."

Matt's words struck the nerve of the hordes, they were very eager to show judgment towards this insolent youngster, they squawked in anger in order to show the fact that they were not intimidated at all. However, the Honchkrow immediately let out a deep cry once more stopping the rest of the pack.

"No, no, no, you guys don't understand. Obviously I'm the one at the disadvantageous situation here, and so I'm going to propose a sweet deal here."

With the Head Honcho Pokemon listened intently, Matt realized it was now or never. "Let's have a wager… If you manage to beat Sherry in a one-on-one battle I'll give you an extra gold ball, and you guys can anything you want to us. But if you lose, you have to let us go free but in exchange, you still get these two 'gold nuggets' sounds fair?"

Honchkrow was very tempted with this very sweet deal, after all, it got nothing to lose in this. This human was an idiot to offer that kind of deal. Little it knew, that the one side who hoodwinked the other was Matt's. The Head Honcho Pokemon didn't realize that the 'gold nugget' offered by the young trainer was just a cheap ornament easily bought at a craft shop.

"So? I'm waiting for your answer, Sir. I hope you can give yourself a chance to obtain these beautiful loots for yourself." Matt tried his best sugarcoating the actual truth. If the real fact that the things they think is a 'golden nugget' came out, Matt didn't want to think about the consequences.

The Honchkrow finally nodded, and with it, the deal was on. Matt was confident with his chance, after all, he read at Crescendo Library that Honchkrow leading pack rarely got their hands dirty and have it's underling handle it's business instead. Fighting a Honchkrow is an absolute no-no, but a Murkrow? Matt was confident with his chance.

But to Matt's surprise, the Honchkrow let out another deep cry. Matt wondered what the hell is going on until he could see a black silhouette flying towards them. "Yes, it's a Murkrow! Wait, is it just me or it's a big…"

A large Murkrow landed in front of them, it has a scar running diagonally over its left eye. Even the look of it made Matt worry about what the heck he just got himself into, maybe he was better off with just negotiating for safe passage for the two golden ornament balls instead of negotiating this gamble with low odds of winning. It was very clear that the Honchkrow knew what Matt is trying to do when he saw the Pokemon snickered in front of him. "You sneaky old Honchkrow..." Matt could only smile ironically at the fact that he was outwitted.

It was too late for regrets though, as Sherry stepped up to protect both Charlotte and Matt. The Calm Pokemon eyed the Murkrow with a fierce look amusing the bigger than usual Darkness Pokemon.

"Well then, I guess it can't be helped. Sherry, Mystical Fire!"

Sherry created a circle of fire from which a stream of fire erupted from it. Murkrow easily evaded the burst of flames and instead summoned a huge burst of wind behind him.

The powerful wind was pushing the Calm Pokemon back, nonetheless, she managed to stand her ground against the raging wind.

The Darkness Pokemon took advantage of this and launched a Wing Attack that landed perfectly, it then perched in one of the nearby trees laughing as the Calm Pokemon unable to retaliate.

Sherry was fuming, she decided to shot another Mystical Flame. This time the Murkrow was uninterested and instead decided to make her taste her own medicine. However, to his surprise the flame he created with Mirror Move was easily extinguished by the flame Sherry shot out.

The flame burned the Darkness Pokemon's body, sending him down from his perching place. With his feathers damaged by the flame, he was pretty mad… But, he was also realizing the fact that the Calm Pokemon was pretty powerful, however, could she keep up with the speed it had? The Murkrow thought the answer to that question was an absolute no. With confidence, it tried to use the speed advantage once more to overpower the Calm Pokemon.

Before it could act, however, a heavy pressure crushed hard on both Sherry and the scarred Murkrow out of nowhere. "What the actual!?" Matt tried to look around to get the gist of what's happening when suddenly the rest of the Honchkrow pack plummeted to the ground due to something also pinning them to the ground.

The question in Matt's head about who the heck caused all of this was finally answered when he could hear a girl's voice from behind.

"Finally, we're rich!"
​

 

[budube]

Carmen Sylvia
Chapter 3 - Part 2: Maybe not that Easy​

---

Dolce Stadium, Dolce City - Morning​

"Y've a beautiful hair, if I gotta be honest," the hairdresser said. A woman on her 30s with a skin similar than hers, around her size as well, but a little chubby. She liked using a lot of makeup just as a lot of perfume and she wore a pair of sunglasses on the top of her head. "But damn what happen to ya out there? Did ya use a Mareep as a pillow or somethin'?"

"I don't want to talk about it." she answered, thinking that sleeping over a Mareep would've been at least a better thing that being attacked by a Pachirisu, but just as embarrassing.

"Can't blame ya, sweetheart. I wouldn't talk 'bout it either." Carmen stared at her. She wasn't sure if she was being rude or just trying to have some conversation with the girl but whatever it was, it only worked as the former. "This'll take some time, so just sit still while I do my thing 'kay? Thank god you didn't need that much makeup or this would be impossible."

She continued speaking during most of her time with Carmen but the girl didn't really pay any attention to her until she was finally done and showed her a mirror. "Ta-da! What'd ya say? Not my best work, I agree, but not as if we've got enough time for it. Ya look great for TV, though."

Carmen was actually falling asleep while the hairdresser was fixing her hair but the moment she showed her the mirror she smiled and suddenly woke up. That was way better than what she thought could be done in the time they had before the show began. "It's good."

That remark didn't sound that dry in Carmen's head but it did for the other woman who tried to force a smile that faded on an expression of disappointment. "Well, if ya think it needs a more complete work, ya can come to my salon two blocks behind the stadium once y're done w' this."

"I'll keep that in mind, thank you." with that, Carmen got up giving a long yawn and waited patiently until the challengers were told to enter the pitch.

---

Carmen tied her hair in a ponytail once she took her first step inside and saw all the trees and gym staff holding nets.

Bruna's speech was laughable. So… unprofessional. Was that really the Gym Leader? Of course she wasn't going to take things lightly because of it, but it didn't really seem as if she was very experienced. The assistant's explanation gave a totally different feel of experience, though, but it also did nothing for Carmen other than making her nervousness rise. She knew about the bug catching part and that was already bad enough, but Ditto? That pink blob that turns into whatever it wants? It seemed as if this challenge was done for her to pass on, but it was too late for that now.

She tried to hide another yawn from the tall man with round glasses that gave her the net, and once he and the rest of the Gym staff left and the horn blared she started walking between the trees, net on hand, hoping that it ended soon.

---

Carmen's Party:

 

[WizardOfOdd]

Matthew "Matt" Callista
Location : Northern Wild Area
Partner Pokemon :

​

​

Chapter 2 - 6
Devious Mind​

"I'm sorry, but who are you guys?"

"We're from Team Reach, Mate. And we're here to capture these Pokemon. And sorry for your damn luck but we're also taking yours." The skinny guy grinned widely as he realized that he could finally strike it rich.

"Oh, so these are the bad guys I heard about from the local populace… They look like petty thieves but I guess looks can be deceiving. Moreover, they look like they're organized to some degree. I'll have to be careful in dealing with them."

"Yay, Can I keep the Hatenna?" The only girl among the trio spoke up in enthusiasm seeing Sherry on the ground.

"It's for sale, Jane. You do realize we've spent so much money to teach our Pokemon the move Gravity, right? Don't be such a dummy and start collecting these Pokemon." The guy with glasses fixed his spectacles before he started to walk towards the Murkrow to examine them.

"You freakin' cheapskate! Sam, please say something to Castor!" Jane whined to the skinny guy.

"Ugh… I've spent so much effort and time in making this plan a reality, please don't make my head hurt more than it supposed to be, goddamnit! You can take the Hatenna, I don't give a shit!" Sam held the side of his head in anger, while Jane happily trounced around in joy. "Hey you, quickly give your Pokemon here. That Budew could be sold for quite a lot to the right buyer."

"Bastard, how dare you... Tch, Clefairy and Baltoy might be beatable, but that Dusclops gonna pose a serious issue if I dare to fight against it under this situation. What to do… Matt tried to hold up his fake smile while actually gritting his teeth, the situation was extremely dire. If he didn't come up with a solution soon, then his journey would end because all of his Pokemon were stolen, and that's not a good note to end a journey with.

Sam was impatient and the bickering between his companions didn't help at all. He yelled with all his might towards the thinking Matt. "Hey, you! How long you're just going to loiter there, give your Pokemon now!"

"Okay, but please give me a time to say goodbye, okay? Just two minutes will be fine, please I beg of you..." Matt did his best pleading impression as he could, he was glad that the fact that he often stole glances on the old lady's soap opera show while he was getting punished back in the day as it helped him to get into character.

"Urgh… Fine just two minutes… More than that and you're toast." Sam held his contempt towards the young man, as long as he'll get rich in the end, few hiccups on the plan like these would be tolerable.

Matt hugged the sobbing Charlotte on his chest, he gently whispered. "Sorry sweetie, but I'll have to ask you for a favor. Can you disarm that Dusclops using your Sleep Powder?"

Charlotte shook her head, she didn't want her journey with her loved ones to end so soon. But she was unsure that she'll be able to beat the scary one-eyed Pokemon. What if she fails? Will she have to part ways with her beloved trainer? She didn't want to think those things but the thought kept getting popped up in her head.

"Charlotte." Charlotte was woken up from her daze. "I believe in you." Hearing those words, she eventually nodded weakly as she realized there was no other choice.

"Goodbye Charlotte!" Matt continued his farce and act dramatically.

"Haha, got another one! Hey, don't cry… Come on, we'll get you a great buyer I swear." Charlotte was scared, but she gathered all of her willpower and unleashed clouds of green powder on Sam. Unfortunately for the trio, both Sam and Dusclops that were standing close to each other got affected by the powder and immediately gone to sleep.

"Sam! What have you done!" Castor yelled at Matt while he carefully assessing the situation.

"Whoa, whoa, It's not my fault that your friend scared the Budew, mate." Matt shrugged his shoulders, the man tried his best to hold his laughter. "And if you have the time to be so angry like that, there's a bigger issue at hand that you should be worried about." He pointed towards his right.

Castor moved his head in terror, he finally realized that the Honchkrow and his flock was staring at him and Jane with death glares. A wrong move and they would definitely end up suffering.

"Castor, what do we do!? What do we do!?"

"I don't know damnit! It's all Sam's fault! If he was careful in handling that Budew, we wouldn't be deep in this shit!"

Honchkrow had enough with these two, he made a throat slit gesture with his wings, much to the terror of Jane and Castor.

"Castor! We're going to die… Hwaahhh… There is still a lot of clothes I want to try… I haven't had a boyfriend either. I can't die this young." Jane teared up while shaking Castor's body.

"Jane! Jane! Shit… I can't die here, argh… You damn crows!" Castor finally fell in panic just like his comrade.

It was fun seeing the two get the retaliation they deserved, but more than this is too close for comfort in Matt's mind. Especially since the flock was already looking forward to systematically decimate the trio. But on one side… Maybe they need some extra punishment that didn't involve any terror. Matt decided that the latter was more appropriate.

It didn't take long until Matt managed to formulate a devious plan. With the plan already thought out, he immediately unfolded it without hesitation.

"Wait! I have a deal I would like to propose." Matt intervened before the situation got worse.

The flock was confused, they couldn't believe that Matt would defend their common aggressor. However, Honchkrow patiently waited to see what the young man had in store for them.

"Wait, what are you trying to do? Are you going to save us?" Jane looked at Matt with pleading eyes, she hoped in earnest that Matt could help them.

"Yeah, we're stuck in the same situation… But I believe I have an answer to this situation."

"Which is? Come on, I'll give my support, even if the solution is hard… Please, save us." Castor followed Jane and immediately begged Matt.

"Okay fine, come closer." All of them immediately huddled together with each other in order to prevent the flock from hearing their conversation.

"Do you know anything about the Big Nugget?"
​

 

[gimmepie]

Elleni Vargas

Chapter Three - Part Three

"Not another one…" Elleni groaned.

The first too catches had gone smoothly. In fact, Elleni had managed to snag a Scatterbug within the first five minutes and a Caterpie not that long after. Unfortunately, she was having much worse luck in her attempts at catching a third Bug.

Her two successful catches had been followed by not only two failed catches but also two Ditto. With the time ticking on every further, Elleni was starting to worry she might fail out of the test. Checking the time had done nothing to alleviate those concerns either, she had only seven minutes left. What's more, she was beginning to suspect that caught Ditto were transforming again and returning to the faux forest while the actual Bugs obviously were not.

Determining that the small area she had now very thoroughly searched was at that stage totally devoid of any Bugs - real or otherwise, Elleni hurried on to the next patch. She passed by several other trainers as she frantically searched for her final Bug, including the boy she had spoken to at the Opening Ceremony.

It looked to Elleni as though she was not the only one starting to get desperate, many of the other challengers were looking increasingly frustrated or angry. Several had been heard cursing loudly.

Elleni herself had managed to restrain herself from going to that length, but she was pretty quickly reaching the limits of her patience. She hurried about, eyes peeled for some sign of an available Bug type.

"Shit! There's only five minutes left!" She heard one of the other challengers shout from nearby.

"Wonderful, I'd have been happier not knowing," Elleni commented, sweeping her eyes across another segment of the stadium. That was when she saw it, dangling above her head from a tree branch: a Pineco. The Pokemon was so still and blended in so well, it could have been there from the very beginning without anyone noticing. It made Elleni wonder how many others she'd run past without knowing. The only question remaining was how she was going to get it down.

It didn't take much thinking to realise she was going to have to climb the tree. She headed over to it and immediately began pulling herself up into the branches. It wasn't the best tree for climbing, but thankfully she didn't really have to go up that high either.

At least another two minutes had gone by when she finally found herself shimmying out onto the Pineco's branch. She felt it creak slightly under her, but there wasn't time to hesitate. She had a bug to snag.

Inch by painstaking inch, as fast as she could manage, Elleni crawled out until she was close to the Bug type. She reach out under the branch, trying to grab it and pull it up to herself.

The Pineco dropped, releasing itself from the tree and falling out of Elleni's grasp. Time was nearly out, and the Pineco had just made her life very difficult. That moment was not nearly as alarming as the sound she heard next though.

"A Pineco!"

A nearby challenger had noticed the Pineco fall from the tree and was making his way towards it. There had to be only a minute or so left, leaving Elleni with only one real option if she wanted to have her chance to battle against Bruna. She jumped out of the tree, hitting the ground and throwing herself over the top of the Pineco.

"The hell?!" The other trainer yelped, skidding to a halt, and nearly falling on top of Elleni and the Pineco.

"Sorry, but this one's mine," Elleni huffed, scooping the Pineco up and stuffing it into her net. She didn't stay to argue with the other trainer, who was calling after her angrily. She was already running towards the nearest official, a young blonde woman. Elleni was in such a rush that she didn't even notice it was the same official she had taken her previous two catches to until the sound of the horn blaring signalled time was up.

"I was beginning to wonder what happened to you," the Gym official said with a grin, "You got your first too so quickly."

"Someone needs to have a word with Bruna about the number of Ditto she's keeping here," Elleni panted in response, suddenly being hit by the full extent of her exhaustion after her mad dash to get to the stadium and the subsequent sequel mad dash to complete the challenge.

The official laughed but didn't get to say anything else as another official called out to the assembled challengers with a megaphone.

"Those of you who succeeded in capturing three Bugs, please come back to the centre of the stadium. We'll vet you to make sure you actually did get all three and then randomly assign you a slot for challenging Leader Bruna," the same gruff voice as from the beginning of the challenge said. "The rest of you can clear off. Better luck next time."​

 

[Juno]

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Rowlet Art Cred

​

3-3: UNDERHANDED TACTICS

The horn blared, and most of the kids around him scurried off. There was a boy who just... stood there for a really long time, but Edwin wasted no time, stalking and swinging his net at Pokemon in the grass. His current strategy was to slam his net down on as many Pokemon as he could in twenty minutes—some of them were bound to not be Ditto, after all. So far, he netted one real Bug-type out of four tries, with about twelve minutes remaining.

This is so stupid, he thought to himself after a while, fishing yet another Ditto out of his net. He was pretty good at catching the damn things, they just all looked like real Bug Pokemon to him. What kind of luck-based joke of a challenge is this... There can't be any skill involved here, is there? And isn't the point of a Ditto to Transform into a perfect copy of the Pokemon they are imitating?!

He stopped to take a breather and collect his thoughts, dabbing the sweat off his forehead. He glanced over at Carter, who was tossing out a Poke Ball. She said a few words to her Joltik, and it scurried off, seemingly knowing what to do. You can use Pokemon in this challenge? He considered his roster. Theodore liked hunting bugs, sure, but his general tactic also seemed to be chasing them around loud and fast, and Edwin feared he would hinder and embarrass him like he did at the party, rather than help. And Pyrite was... Pyrite.

He looked around some more to see if anyone else was doing something different that he could try. His eyes landed on a girl dangling from a tree. As if, he scoffed, looking down at his tracksuit. Not ruining my uniform for this challenge.

Shaking that idea from his head too, he sighed, and went back to swinging his net down on anything that moved in the grass. With just minutes remaining, he managed to net a real Spewpa, but he was really starting to panic now. Time was closing in. I'm gonna have to get really lucky in these last couple minutes here.

Just then, a girl with glasses and her long, brown hair braided wandered into his view. The casters had been babbling about her a bit, and from their commentary, Edwin had gathered that she only carefully cast her net twice during the challenge, but struck correctly both times. He had no time to figure out why her catches were so accurate and how he could replicate her strategy, but he could just...

Edwin snuck up behind her and peered around her net. She was following a Kricketot, and seemed so absorbed in watching her target she did not notice the boy tailing her. As the Kricketot was backed up against a tree, Edwin quickly knocked her out of the way at the last moment, and slammed his own net down on the Pokemon, who chirped loudly under the fine mesh.

"What the fuck?" the girl cursed out loud, but Edwin wasn't paying attention to her anymore. He snatched the Kricketot out of his net, which, to his relief, did not shift into a Ditto. The horn blared once again, signalling the end of the challenge.

"You asshole! You just cost me my battle slot—!" she complained.

"It's a competition, my lady." Edwin offered to help her up, but she glared at him without taking his hand. He shrugged, and walked off to bring his final catch to an official.

Party

Rowlet // Theodore

Tackle
Growl
Leafage
Peck
Shadow Sneak

Magikarp // Pyrite

Splash
Tackle
Flail
Bounce

Egg // ???

This Egg still looks like it's a quite a while away from hatching.​

Journal

1-1: "Edwin"
1-2: Networking
JP: Unwelcome Reunion
ft. Janice Carter
1-3: Dark Horse

2-1: Theodore Bugsbane
2-2: All That Glitters
2-3: Something Fishy
2-4: The Prodigy's Protege
2-5: Fool's Gold

3-1: Try Your Luck!
3-2: Ready & Refreshed
3-3: Underhanded Tactics
​

Trainer Card



OOC Post​

 

[WizardOfOdd]

Matthew "Matt" Callista
Location : Northern Wild Area
Partner Pokemon :

​

​

Chapter 2 - 7
Lights, Camera, Action!​

"What!? Are you talking about the giant nugget made of gold?" Castor was puzzled with the recommended solution given by Matt, how the hell that gold nugget is able to solve their problem. It's not logical at all." Castor complained to Matt, apparently, he didn't know very much about Murkrow and Honchkrow species in general.

"No, I'm talking about those processed meat nuggets, Honchkrow loves them you know especially the big ones, if you gave them some, I bet some of them would even agree to be your underling… Of course, I'm joking. I'm talking about the gold nugget obviously. Since, you know... Murkrow and Honchkrow love gleaming items. I think it'll do the trick."

"But how we can find something like that? It's very rare, no way we'll find something like that nearby. We'll be bird food before that."

"No, actually… I have one."

"Then what are you waiting for!? Give it to them now!" Castor yelled while biting his fingernails in panic.

"Hell no! This is expensive… You know, I came from an impoverished family. My parents work day and night to find this nugget. I can't let their inheritance to be wasted that easily… Please…" Matt tried his hardest to elicit guilt from the other two, he even shed crocodile tears to even make his performance more believable.

"Come on Castor, don't be such a meanie… There... there…" Jane patted the 'crying' Matt to comfort him. This actually caused Matt to feel bad that he's trying to trick them, but the performance had to go on.

"Ugh… I'm sorry, Man. I didn't mean to…"

"No, no… It's not your fault, Castor. I'm the one at fault here… Unfortunately, the nugget I have is really expensive, I had an expert to check it and it worth ₱20.000."

"What!? That much!? Yikes man, we just wasted our money to learn Gravity. Cut us some slack here…" Castor changed his tone hearing that, he now believed that this man was trying to rip him off.

"Don't worry, obviously I'm also responsible for this mess so I'll reduce it by a quarter. ₱15.000 sounds good?" Matt tried his best to haggle at this situation, he knew it was absurd and ridiculous to pitch this now, but with their brain of operation currently having a trip in the dreamland, there's a high chance it'll work.

"Forget it, Man! he must be trying to rip us off, Jane. No doubt about it. Don't listen to him!" Castor yelled at Matt once more, smelling that something was up.

"Ah shoot, do I really have to continue acting like those actors from 'Last Petal of The Roserade'. No choice I guess."

With that in mind, Matt sobbed even harder while acting even more dramatically. "Castor… How can you say that to me? I'm just trying my best to help you three… I have the choice to leave you guys alone, but I can't do that!" Matt grabbed his own collar and shook it vigorously to add more drama to his acting. "How can I leave you three here hapless without batting an eye, but I also can't sacrifice what my family had entrusted to me… I'm so sorry… Please understand…"

"U-uh...I didn't think it through… I'm sorry for doubting you…" Castor also cried at this moment causing the watching the flock to watch them with total confusion of what the hell is happening as the 'melodrama' continued on.

"No, no… You guys shouldn't be sorry… I also didn't think everything with the right mind… How can I make you guys pay at full price when you don't have that much money." The two shook their head in an effort to tell it wasn't Matt's fault. "₱11.000 should be fine… Even at that much of lost value… I believe I could gain something even more important."

"Which… is?" Jane tried her hardest to hold her tears.

"Friendship… If you guys are in trouble one day, I'll try my best to be there… Even if I had to cross rivers and mountain to do that." Matt already wanted to barf after he had to utter another super cheesy line, but he tried to hold back the feeling as much as he could.

Both Jane and Castor couldn't hold back their tears hearing the words coming out from Matt's mouth, both of them hugged Matt tightly as emotions poured out from them. With no hesitation left, they decided to put in the money they have to reimburse Matt. However, with not enough money they decided to take most of the money from Sam's wallet and pay the rest of ₱3.000 from their own wallet.

"Goodbye, Matt! Let's meet again sometime."

"Take care, alright! Let's have some fun instead next time."

Both Jane and Castor waved towards Matt in joy while carrying Sam outside the flock encirclement, they even traded contact with Matt so they could hang again together later on. With both of them outside of the range of sight, Matt finally dropped down to his knees while trying his best to remove the embarrassing memories out of his head.

"Muk… Why did I do that…"

Matt hung down his head in shame.
​

 

[budube]

Carmen Sylvia
Chapter 3 - Part 3: Arachnid​

---

Dolce Stadium, Dolce City - Morning​

Two bugs down and 5 minutes left. Carmen managed to catch a Ledyba and a Volbeat, nothing that she would find repulsive, although she also felt repulsed by the exaggerated amount of Ditto she had caught. She looked away the moment another Caterpie transformed back to its original form. The Ditto looked at her and waved before hiding between the trees again.

She sighed, already accepting that it was over for her in this challenge. She suddenly saw Elleni on a tree trying to catch a Pineco. Carmen was ready to go and snatch it from the other girl the moment she saw it fall, but she was stopped by another bug, swinging itself from the branch of a tree.

Carmen froze and her reaction went from general disgust to fear the moment she saw that the Pokémon hanging before her was a Spinarak. She didn't fear bugs, she was just repulsed by them, but this one was another story.

The Spinarak jumped in front of her. Carmen tried to scream but only managed to gasp in fear. She backed off as the Spinarak moved towards her. "N-no… get away." She was unable to move her arms to even try catching it. It didn't matter for her right now if it was real or just a Ditto as long as it got away from her.

She looked back at the clock. 3 minutes left, and she was still too scared to even move.

The Spinarak jumped at her. She let out a scream and fell on her back, dropping her net. When she got up the Pokémon wasn't there, but she saw something moving inside the net. No pink blob coming outside. It was the real thing.

"You're crazy if you think I'm going to put my hand inside to take that thing out." She said to the staffer, showing him her net with the Spinarak still inside.

The staffer rolled his eyes and sighed just to put his hand inside instead. The Spinarak climbed up to his arms and stared at the girl. He patted its head and the Spinarak moved its body and closed its eyes. "Yes, it's indeed a real one. And it likes you, by the way it looked at you."

"I don't."

The man shrugged. "Well, bugs are not for everyone." he moved and opened a way for her to exit the pitch "You're on time, it's only one minute before the challenge ends."

---

Carmen's Party:

 

[Juno]

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Rowlet Art Cred

​

3-4: BELIEVE

The crowd ooh-ed and aah-ed as Theodore strutted out onto the stadium. He was loving the attention. The green and white scarf, plus Theodore's natural cuteness, really won them some extra points with the crowd, which they could use; Edwin's tactics during the challenge seemed to have been quite polarizing, with some finding it a hilarious and entertaining move, while others were less than impressed. Thankfully, the audience's attention span was rather short anyway—most seemed to have forgotten about him pushing the girl and stealing her catch to complete the challenge, and cheered him on all the same when he stepped back out for his battle.

"Number 001, Edwin Jones!"

He smiled. The chairman came through for him after all, and helped him change his name for official broadcasts, it seemed. The applause grew louder, and Edwin waved at the crowd, until he turned around to see that the orange-haired girl had joined him on the pitch. She was walking towards the center, and her assistant behind her subtly motioned for Edwin to do the same.

The battle was 2v2. Edwin was very confident in Theodore's abilities here, and wasn't nervous at all. He walked up to the Gym Leader and shook her hand as they wished each other luck.

When they returned to the opposite sides of the pitch, Bruna stood and turned to her assistant for a moment. The man held out a green tray for her with six Poke Balls on it, all branded with a simple, butterfly insignia etched on them. She was seemingly considering her team, as well as her opponent's Pokemon. Finally, she smiled and picked up one of the Poke Balls, tossing it towards the center of the vibrant, green pitch.

"Let's ease you into battle first. Go, Pieridae!"

Edwin smiled back stiffly, but did not appreciate this child talking down to him. 'Ease us into battle'? You have a full Bug team against a bird!

Art Cred SarahRichford​

A Butterfree burst out onto the field, stretching out her delicate-looking wings. The Pokemon's opening act was well-rehearsed. Without being told to, Pieridae started performing a mystical and entrancing dance, fluttering above the stadium so the entire audience could see her clearly. Even Theodore watched with awe and curiosity, captivated by her Quiver Dance.

Suddenly, a sharp voice called out, "Gust, now!"

Edwin had to look twice to confirm that the voice did indeed come from Bruna. Her demeanor changed quite drastically in battle—the Leader standing before him looked confident and strong, a complete-180 from the girl tripping over her opening statements before the challenge.

Edwin and Theodore were both caught off guard, and the Gust of wind knocked Theo backwards. He ruffled his feathers indignantly. The sight of his Rowlet doubling over pulled Edwin's head back into the battle.

"Theo, Tackle!"

"Sleep Powder!"

The Butterfree released a shimmery dust over Theodore, but he nimbly avoided the move completely as he Tackled Pieridae, bowling into her. Both Pokemon came crashing down onto the pitch. Theodore stood on top of Pieridae as she weakly flapped her wings, trying to get out.

"Hit him with a Pollen Puff!"

Pieridae released a fluffy-looking ball of pollen that floated upwards. Theodore watched it curiously, until it suddenly exploded in his face. Startled, he spluttered and kicked around, released the Butterfree under him.

"Good! Now get him with your Psybeam!"

Edwin could see the Butterfree begin channeling a strange but beautiful ray of light. Whatever it was, he didn't want it hitting Theodore.

"Theodore, Peck!" he called out hastily.

Pieridae did not move much as she channeled this energy, giving the bird Pokemon a perfect opportunity to dive towards her, sharply attacking with his beak. "Again!" They took advantage of the Pokemon's vulnerable state, and hit her once more with another Peck.

"Pieridae, come back!"

The Butterfree weakly flew back to her trainer, before collapsing in Bruna's arms, unmoving. Bruna pet her on the head and whispered something to her softly, before returning the Pokemon to her Poke Ball and turning to her assistant. He spoke into a mic on his lapel, and shortly afterwards, the caster announced, "Pieridae the Butterfree is unable to continue battling! Theodore the Rowlet has won the first match!"

The crowd erupted into applause, and a victorious smile spread across Edwin's face. Theodore flew back to his trainer, and Edwin hugged him, before holding him up. The crowd cheered harder.

"Piece of cake, right, Theo? Are you ready to do it again?" Theodore chirped affirmatively. Both of them were giddy from the adrenaline of their first official win, but Edwin still made sure to inspect him carefully for wounds. The Rowlet was a little worse for wear, but seemed battle-ready otherwise, especially if the battle was against another Bug Pokemon.

Across the pitch, Edwin could see Bruna clapping along politely, as if this was her expected outcome. Her bubbly demeanor returned for a moment.

"Alrighty! That was really a good warmup. Are you ready to face Gypsy now?"

Warm up? Edwin froze. "Y-yes?" he replied hesitantly. He looked down at Theodore in his arms, who shrugged as he took off and flew back towards the center of the pitch.

The Gym Leader selected another Poke Ball from the tray behind her, and tossed it out confidently. "Go, Gypsy!"

A Dustox appeared in front of Theodore. Its wingspan was slightly wider than the Butterfree's, and the demeanor of the Pokemon seemed tougher. Like his teammate before him, he started off with a Quiver Dance unprompted. Where there was a beautiful grace about Pieridae's dance, and she put on a bit of a show for the crowd, the Dustox's seemed more like a war dance.

"Confusion!"

Gypsy and his trainer wasted no time at all. On her command, he immediately channeled a kinetic force that knocked Theodore back. When he recovered from the blow, the Rowlet sat up and shook his head from side to side, looking a little stunned.

"Peck him, Theo!"

He woozily flew into the air, but in his confused state, let out a barrage of leaves instead, which gently pelted the Dustox. And himself. He swiveled his head around and looked at Edwin, before flying back to his trainer and dropping in his arms, snuggling him. The crowd chuckled a bit and he could hear some "aww"s, but Edwin's face turned red. While he was being very cute, he could tell the Rowlet was just confused, but not unable to battle. "Hey! Hey, Theo!" he shook the Pokemon gently. "You can do this. Get out there and use your Shadow Sneak, okay?"

He lightly tossed the Rowlet back up in the air, who seemed to have snapped out of his trance a bit. The Shadow Sneak came as a bit of a surprise to Bruna and Gypsy, since they did not hear Edwin call it out. Edwin could see Gypsy shudder slightly as a giant shadow of a bird much larger than Theodore was cast over the field.

"Gypsy, watch out!" Bruna called, but a little too late. While the Dustox was distracted by the frightening shadow, Theodore pounced on him from behind.

"Yes! Now Peck him!"

Gypsy let out a cry, as Theodore drove his sharp beak into him. This time, without Edwin's command, the Rowlet Pecked him repeatedly. Unlike Pieridae, the Dustox refused to be grounded by Theodore even though he was visibly weakened. He flew away, putting distance between them.

"Hit him with Venoshock next!"

Theodore chased Gypsy around the field, until he stopped and flew up sharply, before unleashing a wave of purple liquid over him. This time, the Rowlet let out a shriek of pain as he tried to shake it off, before falling out of the air.

"Theodore!"

Edwin caught him in his arms, wiping off what remained of the venomous liquid with his sleeve. He grimaced, but the health of his Pokemon was more important. Theo opened his eyes weakly and cooed. "It's okay, you did your best." He reassured him.

Across the field, the assistant behind Bruna gave him a signal, which the challengers were prepped beforehand to understand as the question, "Is your Pokemon still fit to battle?" Edwin shook his head in response. Once again, the man whispered into his lapel, and the caster's voice rang out.

"What a gripping battle that was! But it looks like our Bruna comes out victorious in the end, once again!" The crowd went wild. "Thank you for participating, Edwin, but better luck next... oh?"

Edwin carefully returned Theodore to his Poke Ball, as he saw a different assistant run up to the caster. That's it... We lost.

A few seconds passed, and the caster spoke again. "I'm being told the young challenger checked in today with not one, but two Pokemon, so it's not over yet! Challenger?"

Edwin was speechless. In truth, he totally forgot about Pyrite during the battle, but it didn't matter. My other Pokemon is a Magikarp, though... he's not ready.

"I... um..." Forfeit. He said mentally. Say it and get it over with.

"I..." But the word wouldn't come out.

Believe in him. It was Rosa's voice in his head now, the little girl that helped him train Pyrite. Give it your all, and he will do the same.

A hush fell over the stadium as every eye was on him.

"I... choose you, Pyrite!"

Party

Rowlet // Theodore

Tackle
Growl
Leafage
Peck
Shadow Sneak

Magikarp // Pyrite

Splash
Tackle
Flail
Bounce

Egg // ???

This Egg still looks like it's a quite a while away from hatching.​

Journal

1-1: "Edwin"
1-2: Networking
JP: Unwelcome Reunion
ft. Janice Carter
1-3: Dark Horse

2-1: Theodore Bugsbane
2-2: All That Glitters
2-3: Something Fishy
2-4: The Prodigy's Protege
2-5: Fool's Gold

3-1: Try Your Luck!
3-2: Ready & Refreshed
3-3: Underhanded Tactics
3-4: Believe
​

Trainer Card



OOC Post​

 

[the sloth]

Bennett Myrtle

Chapter 3-4: Bruna, the Lepidopteran Prodigy!

Party:

Current Location: Dolce Stadium, Dolce City

Soon after the challenge ended, everyone who had met the challenge's requirement would be directed towards a stadium locker room and told to wait there until their number was called. Of course, nobody had to stay in here, but if they missed their call, tough luck, they'd have to come back another day to fight Bruna. There were monitors scattered around the room that showed the current feed of the stadium, so challengers in the queue could have something to watch while they waited for their turn. As glued to a screen with a Pokemon battle Bennett would usually be, knowing that he would be on that same screen very soon meant he had to spend his time wiser.

Sitting on a bench in one corner of the room, he let out both of his Pokemon to let them stretch and prepare for the battle ahead. Jingles was as gung-ho as ever, yipping and snarling excitedly while hopping around on the floor and perfecting his battle stance, while Berry was more reserved. He tried giving the both of them a pep talk, telling them both to do their best and to... ahem, get along, that second part directed at the Jangmo-o, whom grumbled in begrudging compliance. As long as the Phantump didn't upstage him, he would play along for Bennett... so, when Bennett started laying out a plan that suggested she lead instead of him, he barked in protest before being shushed.

"Don't worry, boy... y-you'll get your time to shine, too." He reassured his partner, petting him on his head and making his complaining grumbles slowly fade the more he pet him. So absorbed with his Pokemon, discussing the strategy he'd crafted for dealing with Bruna's tricky team, Bennett didn't pay much attention to the matches that went on before his, nor did he really pay any of the other challengers that much mind, only snapping back to reality once he heard...

"Number 229, Bennett Myrtle! Please make your way to the stadium posthaste."
​

​

​

The audience density wasn't any worse here than it was over in Crescendo. In fact, it was much smaller, reasonably so, but still pretty abundant. His heart pounded in his chest, his nerves still acting up from the pressure of it all. This time, he wasn't just one of many taking certain stage. Jingles wasn't even on his shoulder right now, both of his Pokemon tucked away in their balls before the start of the battle. In no uncertain terms, all eyes were on Bruna, and him...

He gulped nervously, at first hesitating before walking back onto the stadium's lush green field, forcing a smile that still looked very nervous as he waved to the audience awkwardly. As he did, the cheers didn't die out any, and... did the cheers get stronger? Even if by the smallest amount, he could've sworn... Even if he didn't think so, that mishap with his net and that other trainer's head didn't go unnoticed by the audience, and even if their words couldn't really be heard, the wholesome interaction between the two had garnered both Bennett and Janice some fans. Others didn't get too attached, however, believing the frail boy was too soft to go that far in the Gym Challenge.

Both challenger and leader met at the center of the stadium, to wish each other luck. It was still surreal, meeting a respected trainer like Bruna after seeing her battles on TV. The assistant by her side, acting something like a coach, briefly laid out the rules of the match. After that, Bruna stuck her arm out to shake hands with Bennett, who froze for a moment to find his voice.

"... Ms. Bruna, I just w-wanna say... I'm a big fan, so it'll b-be... it'll be an-, an honor to fight you!" He finally gets his words out, which make the orange-haired girl beam with pride.

"Aw, thanks! Man, I can't remember the last time a challenger has said they're, you know, a FAN of me, not over any of the other gym leaders at least!" She smiles with a smirk that says "Bruna - 1, All the other gym leaders - 0", before catching herself "goofing off" and clearing her throat, brushing her uniform off and putting on a stern expression. "Formalities aside, I won't hold back, so you bring your best." She says in a stricter, but not exactly harsh tone. The swing in disposition catches Bennett off guard, but he pays it no mind before formally shaking with her, and the two trainers each go to opposite ends of the field. The boy clenches his fist, closes his eyes, takes a deep breath... even if only for a brief moment, the sounds around him all fade away, and he remembers the soft chirps of Bug types he could hear from his porch early in the morning... that all goes away as soon he opens his eyes again, and sees that Bruna has already sent out her first Pokemon.

Following suit, Berry emerges onto the field, at first confused but then flattered and giggling as the crowd cheers for her arrival. Across from her, a majestic Vivillon flutters around, a sparkling energy surrounding her and the elegant movements of her wings. Bennett immediately knows where this is going, and gives a quick shout to Berry.

"Q-quick! Hit her with a Tackle!" Berry picks up on the urgency in her trainer's voice and flies through the air head first, ramming into the butterfly Pokemon and making it stumble back onto the ground. Given the glittering aura coming off of her, however, they were a bit too late in preventing her buffs from coming into play. Bennett's heart sinks nervously, this was defiinitely going to be an uphill battle... but still, he's confident in his choice of sending Berry out first. After all, she can prevent Bruna's bugs from using their powder moves.

"Monarch, Struggle Bug!"

... Oh, right. Bennett very quickly realizes he failed to see the forest for the trees, as a bunch of stray, green surges of energy home in on Berry and make her flail and attempt to shake them off! The move isn't that strong, but it does more damage to Berry than it usually would any other foe, and she starts to struggle focusing on the battle.

"Berry, Disable!" He quickly orders, and although there's some brief hesitance, Berry follows the order soon after. The Vivillon hovers closer to the Phantump as her pupils vanish, and a cursed energy radiates off of her before the Vivillon feels a strange... stiffness in her wings. Nothing hindering her flight, but still bizarre. She flaps them to use Struggle Bug again, but the energy particles don't appear this time! She realizes a moment too soon, and the moment she looks back at the Phantump... she's right up in her face! Berry screams loudly to shock the butterfly, who flutters back in a tizzy. Bennett smiled just a little hearing the crowd react to that, now that they were evening the playing field. Bruna isn't deterred any, and keeps a stern, serious expression as she gives her next command.

"Supersonic!" She proclaims, before Monarch creates a distortion in the air around them from a bizarre soundwave that can't be heard to any spectators, but makes Berry stagger as it reaches her. She whimpers and clutches her head, her mind stuck in a haze before Bruna goes to the next step in her plan. "Alright, Monarch. Go for as many Quiver Dances as you can while she's distracted!"

Oh no. No no no! If he lets her set up like that, they might as well forfeit now!

"B-Berry! Snap out of it, p-please!" Bennett yells out to Berry in desperation, who hovers around to and fro but tries to keep still. Monarch flies into the air, putting on a show for the audience with all of her magnificent Quiver Dances that intensify the powerful aura surrounding her the longer she's allowed to perform. The audience is enjoying the show, some cheering on Bruna while a minority yells with Bennett, whether because they want to see the boy win, or don't want to see the cute Pokemon lose.

The Phantump is clutching her head, grimacing as if she's having a terrible headache, before the sharpness returns to her eyes. Reassessing the situation, she watches the Vivillon soar through the sky. "... Berry?" Bennett calls to her again, not sure if she's back to her senses yet or not. Suddenly, she shoots a bizarre, spiraling and sinister glow into the air, leading her shot and intercepting the butterfly's dance! It doesn't seem to affect her directly, before her flight suddenly becomes sloppier, and Monarch plummets straight to the ground like a rock!

"Monarch!"

A cloud of loose dirt and some blades of grass are tossed into the air upon impact with the ground, and even Bennett winces from how brutal that looked. Bruna says something to her assistant, causing a whistle to be blown before the assistant retrives the tattered Vivillon from the battlefield, bringing her back to her side. After a few moments, and some discussion between Bruna and her assistant, before a voice echoes across the arena.

"Monarch is no longer fit to battle! The challenger, Bennett Myrtle, has the advantage!" They declare, a roar coming from the crowd in response that makes Bennett's heart stop as he realizes that they were... winning! They were winning! He couldn't let that go to his head and let him get careless, but... wow! They somehow managed to turn that around! He calls Berry back to his side for the moment, pulling her in for a hug, which she much appreciates.

"W-what, what was that m-move you just used...?" He scrambles to pull out his Pokedex and check during the brief downtime they had before Bruna sent out her next Pokemon... Confuse Ray! A move that inflicts confusion, much like Supersonic. The moment he looks back up, he's getting impatient glares from some of the gym staff, and looks to Berry. "You still have the energy to fight?" She nods with a smile, and with that, lets her hover back onto the field.

I can't believe it... is our first badge already this close?
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Team Updates

Berry learned a new move!

Astonish, Tackle, Branch Poke, Confuse Ray, Disable​

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[WizardOfOdd]

Matthew "Matt" Callista
Location : Northern Wild Area
Partner Pokemon :

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Chapter 2 - 8
Fruits of Labor​

"Arghh… Why… Why…" Matt hit his fist to the ground repeatedly, he was supposed to be happy when he gained retribution for all of his trouble. Yet the sincerity given by both Jane and Castor made him feel guilty as hell. Not to mention, he used cheesy lines from the melodrama he saw during his time with Helen, the simple thought of him using those lines sends shivers down his spine.

Both Charlotte and Sherry hit their trainer several times to try and woke him from his deep thoughts to no avail. Tired of how the situation progresses, Honchkrow let out a deep sigh before it let out another loud deep cry.

"Hmm?" Matt finally snapped out of his frustration and realized that he's still in the encirclement of the flock, he quickly dusted off the dust from his pants and took both of the golden balls he kept. "Well, I know I intruded your territory. So, yeah these are compensation from me. I still hope you'll let us go… Please?" Matt rubbed the back of his head in anxiety.

The Honchkrow laughed seeing this sight. He did a finger snap motion and with it one of his underlings brought a sack filled with gleaming items, the Murkrow then dropped the sack in front of Matt.

Matt who was curious decided to take a peek inside the sack. "Yikes, most of these are tablewares. Who's going to buy these spoons, forks, and... Oh wait, what... This is a gold nugget, and there's even a pearl here!" Matt rubbed his eyes in disbelief if he sold the entire content of the sack he's definitely going to be rich… But, he didn't feel good about it. After all, he just scammed people, they might be members of Team Reach but they don't feel totally like bad guys. He shouldn't be too greedy.

With a heavy heart, Matt decided to put the sack back on the ground without taking anything inside. This move surprised Honchkrow, the young man's actions defied the logic it already understood. There was no better reward than those gleaming items and the Head Honcho Pokemon knew well that the humans also loved these things... Where did it go wrong. Honchkrow baffled with what just happened.

As he saw the expression on the Honchkrow's face, Matt felt a need to explain the situation. "I really appreciate what are you trying to do for me, alas…" Matt bowed slightly. "I can't accept this reward. I already got more than enough money, and even if I really love to be secure financially until I finished my journey. I think finding a source of income is one of the fun of being a trainer. I'm sorry."

Honchkrow really appreciated the honest answer of the young man, but it was also problematic since it didn't know what else could be suitable for a reward. It looked around for ideas until it focused its gaze on the scarred Murkrow. Since it also felt a little mischievous, the Honchkrow moved near his confused underling, before it kicked the Murkrow down from it's perching place.

The scarred Murkrow complained before a loud cry from a Honchkrow caused a silence once more. This time the other members of the flock understood what the leader was trying to do and let out loud cries urging the biggest member of the flock to go with the young man.

The biggest Murkrow of the pack was confused and squawking to his comrades all around him as to why it got kicked out of the flock. Honchkrow flew down to the Murkrow, explaining to it that it was what the flock wanted. The scarred Murkrow was unique compared to its compatriot, it was sly like the others, but it wasn't afraid of taking a challenge head-on. The fact that they saw potential in Matt was an even bigger reason why it's time to let the Murkrow left and enjoy battling to it's fullest. After all, if they wait then who would take it out for a journey? Finding people who were brave enough to chase a Murkrow is already hard, it's even harder to found one who is a capable trainer.

The entire flock bowed down slightly including the Honchkrow, begging Matt to take their friend in his journey. Both Sherry and Matt were utterly shocked at the sight. "U-um please your heads…" When Matt moved his sight back to the scarred Murkrow it was already followed suit and bowed down in front of Matt.

"Well, if I did aim to catch a Murkrow… I just didn't expect things to go this way… I accept." The flock cried ecstatically by the revelation filling the silent forest with crow noises.

"So let me ask you, would you like to join me on my journey?" Matt asked once more. The Murkrow nodded and Matt threw his vacant Pokeball on the Darkness Pokemon. "One...Two...Three…Click." Matt caught his third Pokemon, and with it, the long and arduous day of Matt finally ended.

Spoiler:

New Pokemon

??? The Murkrow | Male | Prankster | Bold | Thoroughly Cunning
Tailwind, Wing Attack, Taunt, Mirror Move, Mean Look, ???​

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[gimmepie]

Elleni Vargas

Chapter Three - Part Four

"Number 107, Elleni Vargas!"

Elleni jostled at the sound of her name being called. She had been trying to pay attention to the battles that had drawn before her, but her tiredness was catching up to her. So much so that she was barely noticing the pain in her knees from diving out the tree and was close to nodding off. She was grateful to be called, it saved her from the embarrassment of being the first of the tired challengers to pass out.

She stood from where she had been sitting on the ground, stretching her arms up before walking out of the room behind a member of Bruna's staff. Moments later, she was walking back out onto the pitch itself and found herself standing in front of Bruna.

She certainly didn't look imposing. The orange-haired girl was even shorter than Elleni was, and she didn't exactly carry herself with confidence. Elleni remembered seeing her in the previous Challenge Cup though, and she had already been a fearsome foe back then. No doubt, she was even better now.

"Nice to meet you," Bruna said, holding out her hand.

"You too," Elleni responded, shaking the hand that was offered, "I'm looking forward to this."

"Me too, but don't think flattery means I'll go easy on you."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Elleni responded. The two girls then parted ways, taking their places on either end of the battlefield. Elleni heard the commentators saying something, but she wasn't paying attention to anything but the challenge that stood before her.

Bruna took a pokeball from a tray offered to her by the gruff-mannered assistant. If Elleni hadn't been looking right at the girl, she may have missed the subtle change in the way the Gym Leader carried herself as her hand closed around the sphere. Suddenly, she stood tall, confident. She was in her element now.

"Let's start you off with this then," Bruna said, "Eggar, let's go!"

With a flash, the black body and starkly contrasting yellow wings of a Mothim appeared on the field.

"Okay, Ladrona, you first!"

Elleni released her own combatant, her Nickit taking the field, playfully running in circles. Even as Ladrona moved, Eggar was also moving. He flitted about in an almost enchanting manner, a strange glow radiating out from him as he moved. It took a second for Elleni to realise that this was an unprompted Quiver Dance.
"Wait, already?!" Elleni yelped, "Quick Attack!"

Ladrona yipped happily, suddenly dashing forward. The attack was fast, almost impossible to see. Even with the buff to his speed from the Quiver Dance, Eggar couldn't avoid it. Ladrona leapt up, slamming into the aerial Bug Type and sending him spinning off course.

"Now, Hone Claws!" Elleni ordered, taking advantage of her opponents spiral. This was strategy she had learned from her sister, who had trained a Nickit of her own. Ladrona dragged her claws over each other with a glint, signalling an increase in her power and accuracy.

Elleni new better than to get over-confident there though. As a Dark type, Ladrona was already at a disadvantage, and Quiver Dance was a far stronger boosting move.

"Not bad," Bruna said, smirking concerningly, "Eggar, Signal Beam!"

The Mothim righted himself in an instant and fired off a green and purple beam of energy right at Ladrona.

"Move!" Elleni shouted, the attack closing frighteningly fast.

Ladrona dived out of the way, narrowly avoiding the attack and it exploded against the turf.

"Quick Attack, again!" Elleni instructed.

Ladrona was quick to respond, practically becoming a blur as she shot after her foe. Once again, the attack struck the Mothim, knocking him back. This time he was ready though, he didn't fall into a spiral.

"Electro Web!" Bruna retaliated. Eggar reacted even faster than Ladrona did, spitting a silk web from his mouth that crackled with menacing electricity. Still airborne from leaping after Eggar, Ladrona was unable to avoid the attack. She was caught in the web and slammed into the ground, yelping loudly as she was blitzed by the charge.

Ladrona struggled against the crackling web, making slow progress against the tough material. She wasn't going to be able to get out in time.

"Oh no." Elleni winced.

"Signal Beam, Eggar!" Bruna ordered. Once more, the Mothim took aim against Ladrona and fired the colourful beam of energy.

Ladrona managed to break free of the webbing, but it was too late. She was struck full on by the attack, taking immense damage. Landrona was knocked sprawling along the battlefield. She didn't move for several moments, and the referee was looking at Elleni, preparing to make the call.

To a round of thundering applause though, Ladrona stood back up. The playful yips had subsided, now she was emitting a low growl.

"She's a fighter," Bruna commented from across the battlefield, "But attitude isn't going to save her here."

"Quick Attack and then Tail Slap!" Elleni instructed, trying to tune out the Gym Leader's voice.

Ladrona barked in answer, rocketing off after Eggar. It was the most forceful Quick Attack yet, but Elleni was alarmed to see that while it seemed to contain more force, the attack was clearly slower.

Ladrona smashed into the Mothim again, the Bug type wailing as it was smacked hard. Before the Bug could get too far away though, Ladro whipped around in mid-air. She slammed her tail into Eggar, smashing him into the ground. Then, she allowed herself to fall after him, gearing up for a second strike with her tail.

"Giga Drain!" Bruna shouted as Landrona shot downward. Eggar's wings glowed green and several tendrils of jade light erupted up from him, striking Ladrona and enveloping her in a bright glow. The direction went out of her momentum and the Nickit slammed into the ground next to Eggar as a cloud of glittering green lights flowed back from her onto Eggar.

The mothim took to the air again, clearly worse for wear but looking a lot better off than he would have without Giga Drain's healing. Ladrona however, lay unmoving where she had fallen. This time she was down for the count.

There was a resounding "aww" of disappointment from the crowd as they saw the feisty Nickit defeated.

Elleni returned her newest companion with a word of thanks.

"Told you," Bruna grinned.

"It's not over yet." Elleni took a deep breath, tossing out her second Pokeball. "Perdito, you're up!"​