[center][h1][color=ec008c]Alexandria "Alexis" Deva[/color][/h1][/center]

[@LuckyBlackCat]

Simply put, Alexis was just not having a good moment. It didn’t help that she ended up getting told by a child to go back into town. She found her mind was in such a state that it was practically blank in her attempt to process or even ignore all that’s happened. It was made obvious when she found herself just standing in place, staring at the ground.

Yuki took the chance to come up into Alexis’ line of sight. A small sound of concern came from the Snorunt, with a look in her eyes that showed the same. The girl picked her Pokémon up, and began to pet her. It felt good. A proper distraction that brought a bit more happiness.

“[color=ec008c]Thanks, Yuki[/color]”, said Alexis.

She would continue on her way, holding Yuki in her embrace and petting her along the way. Her attracted the attention of others in town, what with the ears and the frills. Though that was the point, Alexis couldn’t help but feel a bit embarrassed in her current emotional state. Still, she continued on down the path…and found herself in a peculiar scene. 

Amber Pine, a trainer she had recently become acquainted with, was facing down a swarm of flying bugs. Judging by Apologetic tone of voice and her Rockruff attempting to get past its trainer’s arm, it was somewhat simple to figure out what happened. Alexis observed the swarm for a moment. It looked as if they were being organized and led by the center one, looking from the back, she couldn’t see their expressions, but she could tell that they were definitely angry. 

Deciding to help with the situation that was clearly going to turn into a battle, Alexis adjusted her arms so that she held Snorunt up while having another arm free. If they were going to take on wild Pokémon, she might as well try to get a new Pokémon out of it. She aimed Yuki towards the swarm, and said,

“[color=ec008c]Powder Snow.[/color]”

[center]…[/center]

[center][h1][color=39b54a]Deneb Astrologian[/color][/h1][/center]

Deneb’s strategy for preparing for both the contest and the gym battle was straightforward. Observe the traits of Pokémon that appeal to the majority’s favor, and simply continue to have the team hone their skills. The former is for the use of contests. Appealing to the audience’s expectations is the simplest way to gain their approval in a contest that judge’s the Pokémon by how much attention they attract. The former was for generally any Pokémon battle. Mere fighting instinct would not help without practice and control. If that were all that was needed, then everyone would be using the equivalent of wild beasts.

In preparation for the coming gym challenge, Deneb also elected to gain an additional Pokémon. This was necessary as he only had two Pokémon to work with, and one of them had a detox abilities that would do little against the gym’s preferred pokemon type. Grass does not do much against grass, so in the process of training and observation, the boy would also need to keep a lookout for bug type Pokémon. Not that it would be difficult. Often times, bug and grass Pokémon inhabit the same area. The only real problem is that it does not see that this particular area of the forest follows the norm. There were plenty of grass types to be found, but few bug types were to be seen. The ones that Deneb had found fled as soon as he noticed them.

A swift victory, showing one’s competence in understanding the basics of Pokémon battles requires a trainer to have on their team a Pokémon that acts as a counter to the gym leader’s, so acquiring one was a necessity. In addition, Deneb’s current Pokémon lacked any significant counter to the grass types to begin with. In other circumstances, Edea would be able to cover any lack of effective attacks with a combination of defensive and healing abilities. 

Eventually, Deneb would find what he was searching for. It was a Sewaddle. A small Pokémon with a lot of growing to do, and the benefit of being both a Grass and a Bug type. He had to act quickly in order to catch it. He didn’t want it to flee. He sent out his Helioptile. No major type weaknesses on either side would ensure the best probability of success.

Deneb’s orders were short, brief, and easy to follow. 

“[color=39b54a]Pound.[/color]” To catch it off-guard and daze it.

“[color=39b54a]Charge.[/color]” To boost the next attack while it’s dazed.

“[color=39b54a]Thundershock.[/color]” to weaken it even more, and paralyze it, keeping it from escaping.

Then it was simply a matter of catching the Sewaddle. A soft toss of a pokeball, and the creature would be sealed within.

Despite his lack of expression, Deneb was satisfied with this sequence of events. Perhaps they may need to continue training to be any sort of properly broken in, and it would surely make it so that the battle would be much easier…Hm. Resupply first, then decide on the proper training session. No sense in attempting one now, when the new member is still weakened…