[h3][color=palevioletred]Eryn Montero[/color][/h3][hr][sup][i]Pureplain City: Trainer’s School || Day 2: Night[/i][/sup][indent] [/indent] [color=palevioletred]“Whew, thank Arceus he’s nice, but he’s still pretty scary,”[/color] Eryn said, walking quickly away from Loke, the tiny boy who’d accepted her battle challenge with a smile and proceeded to whip out a Metang and introduce himself as one of the school ranking’s Elite Four. As she’d suspected, she was definitely not equipped to fight the top tiers of the rankings. A little put off by the fact that a boy around a third of her age had a Pokemon so strong, Eryn was all too happy when another girl appeared, this time challenging her. At rank twenty-three, Leanne seemed around Eryn’s level, since rank thirties and below had been relatively manageable targets, but the girl’s attitude had Eryn wondering whether that was really true. Who’s to say the rankings weren’t increasing exponentially instead of linearly? Loke, for instance, was much stronger than she’d expected, and losing before bed wasn’t on her to-do list. [color=palevioletred]“Oops, sorry, you got me. Just wanted some quick cash before I left the city, and hey, those trainers accepted my challenge, right? And, speaking of,”[/color] Eryn said, glancing at Dei, [color=palevioletred]“I don’t accept yours. Dei, Smokescreen!”[/color] With Dei belching his smoke, Eryn grabbed him and made a run for it, returning her other Pokemon as she did. She hadn’t broken any laws, hadn’t violated any rules, and frankly didn’t want to deal with consequences she didn’t have to. So, away she went, dashing out the courtyard and weaving around the city to get to the Pokemon Center. [hr][sup][i]Pureplain City: Pokemon Center || Day 2: Night[/i][/sup][indent] [/indent] [color=palevioletred]“Ah, I’m so tired,”[/color] Eryn groaned, collapsing face-first onto the mattress. Turning, she looked at her Pokemon, who were clambering either onto the bed or onto the various pieces of furniture around the room, looking equally ready to crash despite being fully healed. She was equally pooped, after that run, and she wanted to pass right out. [color=palevioletred]“Ugh, need to check my messages before bed though. Phebes will kill me if I don’t respond soon.”[/color] Pulling out her Pokedex, Eryn swiped open the messaging function, eagerly devouring the essay-like walls of text she’d received. Phoebe, a friend from high school who’d graduated to university with aspirations to become a Pokemon researcher, had been Eryn’s friend ever since the fateful day they’d sat next to each other at lunch in grade school. Currently under the tutelage of some fancy professor in Witchpeak City, Phoebe had promised to write often, and write she did. Her most recent messages meticulously detailed the unfavorable conditions around Mt. Allmass, featuring many complaints about the weather, her lack of access due to not having a flying Pokemon available to her, and the plight of trying to study the area without becoming too involved with Team Virtue. Steel-types were the highlight of their study, it seemed, and such types were difficult to find without heading into the mountain itself, which Phoebe was specifically barred from doing. Her message amused Eryn, as her messages often did. Their interests were so different, yet they’d become such good friends. Yes they both loved Pokemon, and yes they both worked with them, but their interest and work with Pokemon were completely different: Eryn sought to train, travel, and battle with her own Pokemon, while Phoebe aspired to discover, write, and publish papers on Pokemon not necessarily her own. However, while their interests divided them physically, their shared appreciation for Pokemon united them mentally, which was why Eryn was able to summon up enough energy to write her own not-as-lengthy reply back. Along with sympathizing and wishing Phoebe well, she mentioned her own resident steel-type, Kylie, and teased that she might visit Phoebe in the not-so-distant future. Then, message sent, she rolled to the side of the bed, poised to turn off the lights. Another glance over the room told her none of her Pokemon had moved much from where they’d landed after arriving. On the bed were Dei and Tula, the former curled up at the edge of the bed with one eye cracked open to watch Eryn move and the latter where Eryn had plopped her earlier, eyes open even in sleep due to a lack of eyelids. Kylie, on the other hand, was on the table, limbs splayed and stomach skywards on a surface that could only be comfortable for a steel-type, and Eri was curled on the armchair in the corner, ears angled towards Eryn even though his eyes were closed. [color=palevioletred]“Long day, ya’ll, but good job. Let’s work just as hard tomorrow.”[/color] With that and a hearty yawn, Eryn flicked off the lights, mentally marking the end to another fruitful day. [hr][sup][i]Route 2 || Day 3: Morning[/i][/sup][indent] [/indent] Okay, Eryn had been a little paranoid, but she’d slighted a trainer more than once yesterday and she hadn't exactly been up to dealing with it this morning. So, after leaving at an absolutely unpredictable time—with all three digits on the clock different—Eryn had sneaked her way onto Route 2, where she promptly relaxed, bouncing Tula in her arms as she trekked the rest of the way. Having become rather familiar with the path’s landscape after travelling it so many times, she was almost in her element now, walking down the route. Last night had been offered a restful sleep, as was expected after a long day of training, and, if all went according to plan, she was finally moving on to the next town on the map: Lakewatch Town. Thoughts of dragons and watery expanses filled Eryn’s mind, but soon enough she found herself in front of the opening of the Wet Caverns, and she peered into the semi-darkness with trace amounts of trepidation. She’d heard many a story of the frightful horrors that awaited travelers inside the caverns, and though she was sure most were just exaggerations, she didn’t like the chance that one might be true. Wet mazes and sudden cliffs as well as the rare beast in the murks and darks—tales of the cavern didn’t inspire a kind image. Still, instead of fear, Eryn felt a bit excited about the entire ordeal. Here was her first cave journey, where she’d have to be careful about her resources and choices, where she had real concerns about getting lost and not making it through to the other side. Sure the Infested Woods had been creepy, but the Wet Caverns were [i]challenging[/i], almost like an unofficial rite of passage for trainers. Inside, she’d be able to prove her aptitude for adventuring, for exploration and discovery. Inside lay possibilities she would have to use everything at her disposal to take advantage of because hey, here be dragons. [color=palevioletred]“Well, hopefully we find something interesting inside,”[/color] Eryn said, looking down at Tula, then at her other Pokemon. [color=palevioletred]“You all ready?”[/color] Dei grinned, as did Kylie, and Eri nodded. Tula, well, Tula wriggled. [center] [/center][hr][hider=Actions][u][b][color=palevioletred] Actions: [/color][/b][/u] After much thought (as shown by in hider below) I have made the executive decision to have Eryn run away because a) Flareon is too strong, being evolved and b) Eryn doesn’t have a good counter for any of Leanne’s Pokemon. So, Eryn will 100% not fight, even going to the point of calling out her Zorua in her form to lead Leanne away. After running away, she’ll spend the night at the Pokemon Center before making for the Wet Caverns the next morning. [hider=Planned it, decided against it, and put it in a hider. But hey, if this works, I wouldn’t mind if you went this route instead] [Hider=Previous rendition of the post] [color=palevioletred]“Whew, thank Arceus he’s nice, but he’s still pretty scary,”[/color] Eryn said, walking quickly away from Loke, the tiny boy who’d accepted her battle challenge with a smile and proceeded to whip out a Metang and introduce himself as one of the school ranking’s Elite Four. As she’d suspected, she was definitely not equipped to fight the top tiers of the rankings. A little put off by the fact that a boy around a third of her age had a Pokemon so strong, Eryn was all too happy when another girl appeared, this time challenging her. At rank twenty-three, Leanne seemed around Eryn’s level, since rank thirties and below had been relatively manageable targets, and Eryn was quick on the uptake with a sheepish grin. [color=palevioletred]“You got me! Sorry, wanted to get some quick cash before I left the city at last, and hey, they accepted my challenges, right? Gotta start building humility somewhere. But yeah, you’re on, Leanne. Don’t think I go down that easy, though!”[/color] They set up in the empty schoolyard, and Leanne produced her first Pokemon, a Croagunk, a poison- and fighting-type dual that instantly brought Kylie to mind, since she was immune to poison. However, their typings cancelled each other out so perfectly Eryn had to wonder whether Leanne had marked her. If not, it was just a very even mutual disadvantage, and Eryn could work with that. [color=palevioletred]“Kylie, let’s roll!”[/color] Running onto the field, Kylie brandished her jaws, snapping them at the Croagunk and peering at the poison-type from behind them, a smirk on her face. [color=palevioletred]“You’re going down, Leanne! Kylie, Fake Tears, then Fairy Wind! Blow that frog away!”[/color] Kylie whipped around, eyes shining with tears as she got ready to swing her jaws and whip up a Fairy Wind.[/hider] [Hider=Previous rendition of ‘Actions’] Disclaimer: Not a very in-character plan, but hey, gotta make sure Eryn keeps that win streak, right? In addition, I just wanna say I considered having Eryn run off instead of dealing with this, because Shellos + Flareon is not okay with her current team. That said, ugh. Righty-o, Croagunk will be nicely countered (or not) by Eryn’s Mawile, who will use Fake Tears and proceed to utilize Fairy Winds to blow the Croagunk away from her (if it blows), then dodge out of the way when the Croagunk closes in. This will repeat until Leanne decides to use Taunt, and if she does, Eryn will order Bite instead of Fairy Wind, allowing Mawile to take advantage of the ranged vs close-combat attack scheme (instead of using it to make time for Fake Tears like before). For Shellos (I hate that this was a roll), I have invented something overly complicated for a teensy edge that may or may not pay off. First, Eryn will call out her Charmander and have him spout a Smokescreen, then promptly switch for her Mawile for a Bite. This will hopefully (in a convoluted manner) counter the Shellos’ first Water Pulse (which is more accurate than a Mud Bomb! No need for Leanne to take risks so early, hopefully, and it might miss anyway thanks to the Smokescreen), and after that Bite Eryn will use the Smokescreen to switch her Mawile out for her Zorua and have him take on the shape of an Abomasnow to (fingers crossed) encourage Leanne to swap her Shellos for her Flareon. If she does this, Eryn will call for a Pursuit, then continue pursuits until the Shellos faints if Leanne doesn’t recall her Shellos. [hider=If Leanne realizes Eryn has a Zorua, or if Leanne doesn’t return her Shellos (ugh)] Okay, so Abomasnow doesn’t learn Pursuit, but who knows that? Nevertheless, if the gig is up and Leanne’s just so hard-headed she won’t return her Shellos (ugh), Eryn will just call for Pursuits until her Zorua faints or wins. If the Zorua faints, she’ll call out her Magikarp and knock the Shellos down with Tackles. (it had better die somewhere along all this. If not, I’ll deal with it in my next post) Then, seeing as the next Pokemon is Flareon, Eryn will have her Magikarp expend the rest of its HP beating the fire-type down. After that, she’ll call her Charmander and have him use Growl, Smokescreen, then Scratch and retreat-to-a-safe-distance and rinse and repeat in some pseudo-skirmish tactics attempt. Hopefully Growl will keep him in the game long enough to Scratch the Flareon down (Smokescreen is just to buy time, and if Flareon misses, that’s a bonus). If he faints, she’ll switch to her Mawile and literally Bite the Flareon down (before it kills her Mawile, hopefully).[/hider] [hider=If Leanne swaps her Shellos for her Flareon] Eryn will swap for her Charmander and have him use Growl, Smokescreen, then Scratch and retreat-to-a-safe-distance and rinse and repeat in some pseudo-skirmish tactics attempt. Hopefully Growl will keep him in the game long enough to Scratch the Flareon down (Smokescreen is just to buy time, and if Flareon misses, that’s a bonus). If her Chamander faints, then Eryn will call out her Magikarp and literally beat the Flareon down. Then, with Shellos being the next Pokemon, Eryn will have her Magikarp expend the rest of its HP beating the fellow water-type down before calling out her Zorua again, this time as a Mawile (calling out glow is enough time to transform, right?) to encourage the Shellos to focus on Mud Bombs (and maybe miss a few) while she calls for Pursuits. Whether or not her Zorua reverts back to its natural form, she’ll keep calling for Pursuits until the Shellos faints. If her Zorua faints first, she’ll call out her Mawile and have her deal Bites until the Shellos faints.[/hider] [i]Thoughts on this plan: Overly risky, took too much time to write and can’t even ensure a win. Flareon is a big taboo here, being way too strong, and this plan relies too much on Tula’s Struggles (which are the least reliable thing ever). So, made that executive decision and left this here for peoples’ enjoyment (or just my future reference).[/i][/hider][/hider] [/hider] [hider=Pokemon][u][b][color=palevioletred] Pokemon Party: [/color][/b][/u] [hider=Dei — Charmander][h3][color=palevioletred]Dei[/color][/h3][hr][img]https://www.smogon.com/dex/media/sprites/xy/charmander.gif[/img] [hr][sup][color=silver]Charmander [color=palevioletred]◼[/color] Level 12 [color=palevioletred]◼[/color] ♂ [color=palevioletred]◼[/color] Blaze [color=palevioletred]◼[/color] 100%[/color][/sup] [list][*]Physical — Scratch [*]Status — Growl, Smokescreen [*]Special — Ember [/list][h3] [/h3][/hider] [hider=Kyllene — Mawile][h3][color=palevioletred]Kyllene | “Kylie”[/color][/h3][hr][img]https://www.smogon.com/dex/media/sprites/xy/mawile.gif[/img] [hr][sup][color=silver]Mawile [color=palevioletred]◼[/color] Level 12 [color=palevioletred]◼[/color] ♀ [color=palevioletred]◼[/color] Hyper Cutter [color=palevioletred]◼[/color] 100%[/color][/sup] [list][*]Physical — Astonish, Bite [*]Status — Taunt, Growl, Fake Tears [*]Special — Fairy Wind [/list][h3] [/h3][/hider] [hider=Tula — Magikarp][h3][color=palevioletred]Tula | “Tutu”[/color][/h3][hr][img]https://www.smogon.com/dex/media/sprites/xy/magikarp.gif[/img] [hr][sup][color=silver]Magikarp [color=palevioletred]◼[/color] Level 10 [color=palevioletred]◼[/color] ♀ [color=palevioletred]◼[/color] Rattled [color=palevioletred]◼[/color] 100%[/color][/sup] [list][*]Physical — (Struggle) [*]Status — Splash [*]Special — N/A [/list][h3] [/h3][/hider] [hider=Erebi — Zorua][h3][color=palevioletred]Erebi | “Eri”[/color][/h3][hr][img]https://www.smogon.com/dex/media/sprites/xy/zorua.gif[/img] [hr][sup][color=silver]Zorua [color=palevioletred]◼[/color] Level 10 [color=palevioletred]◼[/color] ♂ [color=palevioletred]◼[/color] Illusion [color=palevioletred]◼[/color] 100%[/color][/sup] Holding: [b]Silk Scarf[/b] [list][*]Physical — Scratch, Pursuit [*]Status — Leer, Fake Tears [*]Special — N/A [/list][h3] [/h3][/hider][/hider] [hider=Inventory][u][b][color=palevioletred] Inventory: [/color][/b][/u] Pokédollars — 6173 [list][*]Potion — 1 [*]Pokeballs — 6 [*]Great Balls — 2 [*]Old Rod [*]Escape Rope [/list][h3] [/h3][/hider] [@PlatinumSkink]