[center][color=gray][h3]Leisy Takigawa[/h3][/color]
— Feyhollow Town —[/center]
Leisy let out a short, high-pitched shriek as the Skuntank came hurtling out of the cage, heading straight for Ella. [color=gray]“Watch out!”[/color] she called to her friend, relieved to see her friend whip out her Pokeball. 


[i]Right,[/i] Leisy thought, letting out a quick breath of air and reaching into her bag for her own Pokemon, [i]time to battle. But… [/i] Leisy blanched, hand wavering over the three Pokeballs still in her bag as Ella led Treasure through the battle with the skunk Pokemon, [i]who do I call out?[/i] Bidein was the first choice as he was already out and ready for battle, but the tiny robin looked like no match for the raging Skuntank, fur fluffed and maw gaping with readied snarls. 


As Leisy worried, Treasure was losing the battle against the Skuntank — a realization that shocked Leisy out of her thoughts. [color=gray]“Treasure!”[/color] Leisy shouted, eyes wide as she saw the Trubbish go down, a gash running along one side that — while not life-threatening — seemed like a close brush with death to Leisy. Her hands quivered as she withdrew Devinco’s Pokeball, popping it open.


[color=gray]“Go, Devi!”[/color] Leisy shouted, but her voice fell oddly flat. Glancing at his trainer, the Larvitar scowled at his trainer. [i]Get your act together![/i] he seemed to be saying as he whirled back around to his opponent. With a leer, Devinco captured the agitated Skuntank’s attention and proceeded to distract it as Leisy scanned the Poke with her Pokedex, her terror quelched down by sense and urgency.


[i]Skuntank, Poison- Dark-dual type, female, level ten,[/i] Leisy read to herself, stumbling over the Pokemon’s level. 


Poke Corp had reclassified levels a while ago as part of its simplification campaign that aimed to make the process and act of being a trainer easier to understand. As consumables had become more effective and cheap, they decided to lessen the numbers so that a single digit was now half or even a third of what it used to stand for. Levels, health points — they all decreased and became simplified as a result of this campaign. And no one really protested. After all, the essential facts were still there: train hard, catch Pokemon, become great. 


Though Leisy had never really read up on the history of the Poke Corp, she knew that a Pokemon in its basic stage would evolve once it reached level ten. That the Skuntank was already level ten meant that it had evolved naturally — that it had somehow scavenged enough experience in the wild to evolve all on its own. That, Leisy knew, was no easy task, and it meant that the Dark Pokemon was strong — much stronger than any of her Pokemon.


“Larrr,” Devinco growled to his trainer, dancing out of the Skuntank’s reach after barely grazing the beast with a well-timed bite. He continued to assualt the enemy Pokemon with Chip Away, attempting to wear down the Pokemon. Meeting the Larvitar’s eyes, Leisy set aside her doubts and made up her mind.


[color=gray]“Devinco! Distract it with a Screech!”[/color] Leisy called to her Pokemon as she sprinted to Vivian’s side. Bidein dropped down from his perch on a nearby branch, settling onto his trainer’s shoulder with an agitated chirp. [color=gray]“I’ll put you in in a moment,”[/color] Leisy told the Fletchling, barely sparing a second to stroke his head before she turned to her friend. [color=gray]“Vivian, your Flabebe is a Fairy-type, right?”[/color] Leisy asked, mind skipping to the Pokedex entry she’d read the previous day. [color=gray]“Fairy-types are effective against Dark-types. Your Flabebe is probably our best bet against the Skuntank right now. Plant-types have a weakness to Poison, so I’ll use Naunet and Bidein to distract the Skuntank as your Pokemon prepares to attack.”[/color]


Looking back to the battle, Leisy realized that Devinco was losing steam fast against the Skuntank’s large, raking arcs. [color=gray]“Bidein, Agility over and try to land a Quick Attack, okay?”[/color] Leisy asked her Pokemon, but the Fletchling was off her shoulder and zooming over before she could finish. A small grin on her face, Leisy glanced toward Vivian quickly, checking to see if she was fine with the plan before shouting further instructions to her Pokemon.


[hr][hider=Leisy’s Pokedex]
[b]Organization: [/b]Helping Hand Guild


[b]TP:[/b] 102 +2(HHG bonus) = 104


[b]Inventory:[/b][list][*]Pokeball x 3
[/list]
[b]Pokemon:[/b][list][*]Bidein “Dei” ♂ — Fletchling (5)
[*]Naunet ♀ — Piplup (5) 
[*]Devinco “Devi” ♂ — Larvitar (3) 
[*]Cassia “Sia” ♀ — Ekans (1) 
[/list][/hider]
[@dark light] [@luckyblackcat]
[hr]
[center][color=indianred][h3]Shanae Eller[/h3][/color]
— Atana Mountain Range —[/center]
Shanae stumbled into the local village, dazed. The innkeeper and her son dashed over, concern etched all over their faces as they helped the woman to a stool near the roaring fireplace. “You okay, dear?” the lady asked, frowning as she waved her boy off to get the stranger a towel. “They shouldn’ let just anyone go up there, ‘specially alone. Dunno what you were thinkin’ goin’ up all alone at night.”


[color=indianred]“Actually, I started up in the morning,”[/color] Shanae said, sighing gratefully when the boy returned with a warm mug of tea and a towel. Waving off the innkeeper’s fussing, Shanae realized that — despite everything that had happened — all she wanted was some peace and quiet.


“Ma’am, if you don’t mind me asking,” the boy started, eyes wide as he looked at the strange lady that had made it down the tallest peak alone after dark, “what happened?”


Shanae looked up at the boy, a faint smile on her face as she briefly squeezed the mug wrapped within her hands. [color=indianred]“What happened… Well, where to begin?”[/color]


[hr][hider=Shanae’s Pokedex]
[b]Organization: [/b]Helping Hand Guild [Founder]


[b]TP:[/b] 33 +1 = 34


[b]Inventory:[/b][list][*]
[/list]
[b]Pokemon:[/b][list][*]Ebon ♂ — Houndour (5)
[*]Turris ♂ — Aron (5) 
[*]Dius ♂ — Trapinch (3) 
[*]Amatorius ♂ — Jigglypuff (6) 
[*]Alcedo “Alci” ♀ — Joltik (1) 
[*]Otiosus “Oti” ♂ — Lotad (1) 
[*]♂ — Lapras (1)
[hider=Pokemon Reserves:][list][*]♀ — Hoppip (1) 
[/list][/hider][/list][/hider][hr]
72CP