[@Ephemeral]

Erza commanded his Pokémon to attack, and neither had any trouble blasting off their attacks, despite the accuracy loss! Summer shot an ember, and Croagunk yelped from the sudden burst of fire-type damage, the blast managed to leave a lasting fire! Croagunk was burned! In addition, Flora drained at Makuhita, the upped Special Attack taking out the last of the Fighting-types strength and the super-powered mass of confusion fell fainted to the ground. At this point, Dale had realized he wasn’t about to win this battle, Burn ensuring he wouldn’t be doing damage, but he did what he could to do as much damage as possible!

[color=b38a72]‘Croagunk, Poison Sting the fox!’[/color] Dale commanded, and Croagunk launched at Summer to sting her with his fingertips. It hit, doing some damage to Summer…! … But she managed to avoid being poisoned! Next turn the next Ember and even a weakened Mega Drain was enough to finally bring down Croagunk as well. 


[center][color=6ecff6][i]Flora grew to level 15!

Summer grew to level 15! Summer learned Fire Spin![/i][/color][/center]

[center][color=6ecff6][i]Erza was victorious! Erza gained 5206P for winning![/i][/color][/center]

Fake Out, Mud Slap AND Poison Sting had probably reduced Summer to about 65% health.

Flora only took a Mud-Slap, so, like, 88%, perhaps.

Dale passed by close on his left side. [sub][color=b38a72]‘Keep the amount you just won secret, now, won’t you?’[/color][/sub] Dale whispered, before walking on to join the rest of the Black Belts and Battle Girls.

[color=de5068]‘… Mud-Slap, Poison Sting… It occurs to me, but you’re fighting pretty dirty, aren’t you?’[/color] Madeline told Dale, looking a bit displeased. Dale grinned.

[color=b38a72]‘Fighting dirty is a way of fighting, Made!’[/color] Dale told her happily.

[color=de5068]‘Hmpf, if you say so,’[/color] Madeline said, and then walked forward. [color=de5068]‘Okay, me next!’[/color]

And then Erza promptly beat her [sub](as established in earlier posts)[/sub].

[color=c75b14]‘OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH YEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAH-!’[/color] Hector grinned as he let out a loud shout, revving up his right arm, making ready to battle.

[color=c75b14]‘I’m fired up! I’m fired up! You beat them all! Awesome, AWESOME!’[/color] Hector grinned, and the rest were moving to make room. Even those that had just been training before were now looking over to see the action, Erza having gained quite an audience from the inhabitants of the gym.

[color=c75b14]‘Kid! What’s your name!?’[/color] Hector asked, still grinning at him. He’s wait for a reply, and then call out. [color=c75b14]‘You’re now a recognized challenger of a Pokémon Gym! From here on out, you’re expected to face any opponent with guts and glory, fight your way through any challenge until you’ve secured your badge! I am Hector! Leader of Redcoast City Gym! You’ve challenged me, AND I’VE ACCEPTED!’[/color] Hector shouted, and then reached out with his hands to the sides, palms upwards.

[color=c75b14]‘ISABELLE! CONRAD!’[/color] Hector called out. Basically instantly, a Battle Girl and a Black Belt grabbed a Pokéball each and threw them over the room so that Hector could catch them in his left and right hands respectively… and his arms crossed in front of him so that he caught each ball with the hand that had started on the opposite side.

[color=c75b14]‘We’re making this a double battle. We keep it going until either of us run out of Pokémon. I will only use these two. This does not mean your challenge will be easy. I wish you good luck, because you will need it,’[/color] Hector said, before throwing the Pokéballs up into the air, the two balls crashing into one another. The impact was enough for the balls to open, and two creatures fell down.

[color=c75b14]‘The Gym Battle for the Challenge Badge begins NOW!’[/color] 

[hider=Let’s go][center][url=http://i.imgur.com/ZMfbQom.png][img]http://i.imgur.com/ZMfbQoml.png[/img][/url]

[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91tODLXipK4]Gym Leader Hector would like to battle![/url][/center]

Two Pokémon slammed their feet into the ground. One was a blue bipedal canine, entertaining a blue flame within its hand with closed eyes, slowly opening to glare at Erza. The other was a relatively short, grey mountain of muscle with pink enormous veins pumping its blood about, slamming a giant red girder into the ground next to it, also glaring.

[center][url=https://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/d/d7/448Lucario.png][img]https://i.imgur.com/BWJPsYH.png[/img][/url] [url=https://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/a/ad/533Gurdurr.png][img]https://i.imgur.com/42d6rQ4.png[/img][/url]

[color=6ecff6][i]Pokédex Entry #448 – Lucario, the Aura Pokémon. It can sense the Aura of others, and can by that read their thoughts and movements, and can by that detect even far-off or hidden foes. They use this to detect prey, and also employ aura as offensive power. Often hunt in packs.[/i][/color]

[color=6ecff6][i]Pokédex Entry #533 – Gurdurr, the Muscular Pokémon. They carry steel beams to strengthen the core strength of their bodies. In battle, they skillfully swing the beams as weapons with blows equal to the ones sometimes used to demolish buildings professionally. As muscles are a symbol of status to them, they like to show them off to friends.[/i][/color][/center]

[color=c75b14]‘LUCARIO! GURDURR!’[/color] Hector called, and Lucario’s ears twitched while Gurdurr’s back straightened. [color=c75b14]‘GYM BATTLE…!’[/color] 

With that call, Lucario struck forward a flurry of fast blows at thin air, before bending his knees with hands raised in a stylish battle stance, fists glowing blue watching at Erza. Gurdurr meanwhile spun with the girder, letting it spin within his two arms like a battle staff, first beside him then next to him, before he threw it into the air and grabbed it with a single hand and held it behind him, directing a single hand forwards at Erza and Pokémon. Lucario and Gurdurr now stood back to back, sides towards Erza, ready to battle. It goes without saying, but the two looked really powerful.

[color=c75b14]‘GIVE ME YOUR BEST SHOT…!’[/color] Hector called, eager to see what Erza would do against this duo. They were awaiting him to decide what Pokémon to use.

What would Erza do?[/hider]

__________________________

[@Pirouette]

Erika managed to pass Ellyn and Maple unnoticed, the two girls continuing to wander on chattering, or mostly Maple chattering anyways. Then, she listened to the guy by the gym, before making her conviction to him.

[color=6d80ab]‘Now that’s the conviction of a champion-to-be! Go make her proud!’[/color] Gym Guy told her, giving her a smile and waving Erika into the Gym. With that, she ascended the stairs and engaged the first opponent. Tanya, the Aroma Lady.

[color=d6818f]‘Safeguard!? Fuhuhu, I see you’ve prepared!’[/color] Tanya laughed out as Tara blocked the Stun Spore with said move. Tara VS Shroomish, Tara found herself Leech Seeded but Peck did way more damage against Shroomish anyway. Shroomish managed two counter-Tackles, one of which caused a lucky powerful Critical Hit on Tara, but Tara regardless won out the battle with Super Effective Pecks, and Safeguard protects against Effect Spore [sub][sub]since Gen V![/sub][/sub].

Tangela Vine Whipped at Tara, but wasn’t able to block Safeguard being reinforced once again. Chic came out, and Tangela kept up the Vine Whips because they were his best possible attack at this point. Chic took some Vine Whip damage, but in the end Ember did far more damage and Tangela fainted, with one more turn of Safeguard to go.

Eep VS Treecko! … Absorb, Quick Attack, Leer. Doesn’t entirely matter, Eep stonewalled the lizard, none of its attacks particularly effective against her superior defense. Confuse Ray made Treecko hurt itself half the time, Ingrain neutralized any damage Treecko managed to do, and then Acid [i]did the rest[/i]. Notably, though, Tanya’s Pokémon in general were obviously weaker than those Erika had trained. No levels awarded.

[center][color=6ecff6][i]Erika was victorious! Erika gained 342P for winning![/i][/color][/center]

[color=d6818f]‘Fuhu… hu… Well! I did my job! I keep all the kids out, as the weakest trainer of a Pokémon Gym! But, honestly, it’s a bit demoralizing, having to sit here with an intentionally weak team and have trainers with five days of experience beating me day after day…’[/color] So Tanya complained a bit, but nonetheless smiled and gestured to Erika to move on.

She met with Daisy again.

[color=4bab7b]‘… Oh my. It seems like I’m not very… oh, well!’[/color] Daisy said, first a little taken aback, but then reinforcing it with a smile, still engaging in the battle like this.

Eep VS Whimsicott! Eep Ingrained herself, while Whimsicott successfully spewed Stun Spore around her, paralyzing Eep. This meant Whimsicott was fasted for the next move, firing off a Mega Drain for neutral damage, high Special Attack clashing against Eep’s [i]higher[/i] Special Defense. Unfortunately, Eep couldn’t move due to paralyzation, letting Whimsicott do another Mega Drain, but Ingrain was actively working against the damage. Next turn Eep managed to send out a Confuse Ray that hit Whimsicott, confusing the target.

Next turn Whimsicott damaged itself in confusion! This while Eep shot Super Effective x4 Acid at the cloud, which did some serious damage! Next turn… Whimsicott damaged itself in confusion again, while Eep kept Ingrain healing and shot another Super Effective Acid! And that… that was too much! Whimsicott fainted!

[center][color=6ecff6][i]Eep grew to level 15![/i][/color][/center]

Kay VS Lombre! Neither Pokémon had a move that was especially effective against the other, so it was a straight up competition for who could outlast the other’s moves! Lombre fought with Bubble, who was a bit faster and as such struck first, but… but Foul Play was a so much more potent attack move it was ridiculous. The dark ball of energy slammed into Lombre multiple times, far stronger than its own Bubble. No critical hits or special effects, Foul Play just did far more damage than Bubble and Lombre eventually fainted.

Tara came out first against Vivillion. Vivillon came speeding across the distance between them at a great speed, but Tara still managed to get off Safeguard in time for when the Sleep Powder came falling. Safe for now, Erika switched to Sno… who immediately took a pretty powerful Struggle Bug attack upon exit. Sno replied with an Icy Wind, doing super-effective damage and slowing the bug down a bit. Safeguard protecting her, Vivillon Stuggle Bugged again, doing considerable damage and leaving Sno with considerably little health… but Sno successfully sent back a strong Icy Wind, trapping the flying bug in a hail of ice! Critical Hit! Vivillon fainted.

[center][color=6ecff6][i]Sno grew to level 16!

Erika was victorious! Erika gained 445P for winning![/i][/color][/center]

[color=4bab7b]‘Ara. Looks like you won. You’ve clearly done some training, and caught a Swablu for the status effects. Good job! You can now keep going!’[/color] Daisy said, still with a smile.

Then, against Ramsey.

Chic VS Skiddo. Skiddo got a Leech Seed off on Chic first, but that did little to balance the damage Chic did with Ember back. Chic found herself tackled, taking significant damage, but Chic managed to topple Skiddo as intended with Ember, burning the grass-goat down. Skiddo fainted.

[sub][i]Chic is almost to level 16… like, it wouldn’t take a fainting an opponent, necessarily, but perhaps just a bit of pressure and determination in a heated battle…[/i][/sub]

Tara VS Leafeon. Sand-Attack was immediately met by Mist, the sands doing nothing but dispersing against the protective fog that Tara had called upon. With that, nothing had happened that round. Ramsey then simple commanded Leafeon to Quick Attack, so it became a Quick Attack VS Peck battle. Now, here’s a thing. Leafeon has an absurd amount of defense, and a respectably high attack power, more so than Tara. Even with all forms of type-advantages, Tara was not necessarily doing more damage per hit with Peck than Leafeon was with Quick Attack. Then, came the time when Tara had to raise a new Mist… and succeeded, but then came Leafeon with a powerful SLAM of a Quick Attack, striking Tara down from midair. Critical hit! Tara fainted. However, Leafeon didn’t have all that much health left. Say 35%. Still, Leafeon still stood, watching for the next opponent.

Despite having fainted, Tara put up a good fight, so…

[center][color=6ecff6][i]Tara grew to level 15![/i][/color][/center]

Relief Pokémon was Gibs, who showed up in front of Leafeon. Sandstorm first, blowing up a huge storm of sand in front of Leafeon… who unleashed a flurry of Razor Leaves at Gibs, which not only hit despite Sand Veil but also managed to score a highly damaging Critical Hit at the dragon-ground type, doing heavy damage! Gibs was almost out by that single attack! Next turn, after Leafeon got buffeted by some sand, the two hurt Pokémon faced off with determination… and one unleashed another hail of Razor Leaves, while Gibs blasted off a fiery surge of Dragon Rage! … The leaves arced around the Dragon Rage and cut into Gibs, the dragon-type misfortunate enough to suffer ANOTHER Critical Hit despite the sandstorm! Gibs fainted! … However! The Dragon Rage he’d shot flew on towards Leafeon, who was too tired to dodge! The Dragon Rage fire hit straight on in a purple burst, sending the eeveelution rolling back and curling together…! Leafeon fainted!

[center][color=6ecff6][i]Gibs grew to level 17![/i][/color][/center]

Kay VS Nuzleaf! Ramsey peered at Kay for a bit, and then decided to go with just shooting Razor Leaves! Kay got up her Reflect, halving the damage of the dangerous leaves. Nuzleaf was faster, so it got off another Razor Leaf attack, hitting Kay for half normal damage again for one complete damage… and then Inkay Swaggered him! Attack raised sharply, but he was confused! This, however, meant there was one dangerous attack between Kay and Topsy-Turvy… And Nuzleaf successfully threw out Razor Leaf, and what’s even worse, it managed to get a Critical Hit on Kay, and Critical Hits bypass Reflect to become even worse! Kay fainted!

Tara, Gibs and Kay had all fainted against Ramsey’s Pokémon. All to critical hits, notably, which had nothing to do with anything but bad luck and Razor Leaf’s increased Crit rate. Nuzleaf’s attack had been raised significantly, but he was confused. Reflect still guarded Erika’s team for two more turns. What would Erika do to reply?

__________________________

[@Gardevoiran]

Both Vivia’s and the wild Goomy paused what they were doing when the rest of Skylar’s Pokémon inserted their opinions into the situation. Wild Goomy was already looking like she’d decided she’d overstayed her welcome… and that’s when Celebrity did what Celebrity does best: take issue with that someone else was getting her pats. Goomy spun around in wild panic and then did her best attempt to spin about more to slide off and save herself, but Celebrity sung out her song that hit the wild Goomy head on, and Goomy fell asleep.

Skylar, taking advantage of this, grabbed a third Pokéball and threw it at Goomy, the sleeping slime being absorbed into the Pokéball once again in a shine of light… 

It rolled once! It rolled twi-!

[hider=result]-ice! It rolled thrice!

[i]click[/i]

[center][color=6ecff6][i]Skylar caught Goomy![/i][/color][/center]

[center][url=https://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/2/28/704Goomy.png][img]https://i.imgur.com/cUevniO.png[/img][/url][/center]
[b]Gender[/b]: ♀
[b]Type[/b]: Dragon
[b]Personality[/b]: (Up to player.)
[b]Quirks/Talents/Aspirations/Other[/b]: (Up to player.)
[b]Level[/b]: 3
[b]Moves[/b]: Tackle, Bubble
[b]Ability[/b]: Gooey. Contact with Pokémon lowers Speed. [sub]Skylar’s speed was lowered due to patting![/sub]
[b]Held Item[/b]: None.

Currently asleep.

[center][color=6ecff6][i]New Pokémon caught! Skylar earned 3000 P![/i][/color]

[color=6ecff6][i]Would you like to give a nickname to Goomy?

Your party is full! Select one Pokémon to return to the PC[/i][/color] 
[sub][sub]and put into Amelia’s scene at the lab appearing in a bright light on the server if you wish.[/sub][/sub][/center]

[color=d5cce0]‘Goomy,’[/color] Vivia’s Goomy said satisfied, turning around and sliding back to Vivia, who scooped her up again.

[color=b5e6e2]‘… Um. Well done, Skylar! You got it! And, uh, well done putting it to sleep…?’[/color] Vivia said, looking a bit alarmed at Celebrity who’d put Goomy to sleep while looking pretty mad without the reason why being entirely clear.

Anyways. That was done. What now?

[hider=Route 3][center][h2]Route 3[/h2]

[url=https://i.imgur.com/nMLiW5g.jpg][img]https://i.imgur.com/PsW7NgC.jpg[/img][/url][/center]

Route 3 is partly covered by the Silent Forest, but a path has been made through the trees for people travelling by the northern path from Rainrock down to Highhill and onto Pureplain. It is a fairly decently travelled road, as it’s the main road from Pureplain to the other cities of Isson. But, that doesn’t change that it’s almost constantly under a heavy downpour from the many clouds known to gather in the routes around Rainrock City. The atmosphere is constantly damp, thanks to the rainy weather. Chances are large that Pokémon preferring a rainy day will be found in this route. 

While there’s likely a road for vehicles, the route for travellers is much different. With the proximity to Highhill, there’s actually a fair amount of hills in the area, and the route goes up and down. The path itself is fenced in with wooden fences and stairs up and down the hills, following those would lead to a fairly easy traversal to Rainrock City. But, step outside, and you’re officially in Silent Forest. The path is mostly cobblestone and stairs. The trees are mostly green with leaves but some blossom in pink or stranger colors. And of course, plenty of Pokémon if you just stray slightly from the road.

Due to the high amounts of rain and vegetation, few people live on this route, and besides the route itself there’s little in the ways of civilization. Just a very long, very wet route, with two splits. One near Highhill Town going deeper into the forest to the Silent Shrine, and one close to Rainrock east for those heading to Route 4 and Mt. Strength or Stillwood Village. Regardless… the rain will feel like it ends very suddenly, in either of those directions. But it has been like that for so long, people have just accepted it. “It rains on Route 3”, “water is wet”. And so, reality continues.[/hider]

[hider=Suggestions to actions]1. Find Pokémon. [i]Feel free to specify searching for a specific kind, if so.[/i]
2. Train Pokémon. [i]With this command, we can jump ahead in time and skip posting about grinding.[/i]
3. Seek trainers. [i]There should be some here and there. Note, some may challenge you, regardless.[/i]
4. Talk. [i]There’s some travellers traveling along the rainy route. They can be talked to.[/i]
5. Move along. [i]Move along normally, letting any events that may come happen naturally.[/i]
6. Hurry along. [i]Intentionally avoid confrontations and try to get safely to the next destination.[/i]
7. Specify. [i]If you specify what you want to do, the GM will take it into account and tell the result.[/i]
8. Trigger random event. [i]Force the GM to use his imagination to make a scenario for you.[/i][/hider]

[i]Connected areas: [/i]
Rainrock City. [i]Across the route, north.[/i]
Route 4. [i]Head east just before Rainrock.[/i]
Silent Shrine. [i]Head west just before Highhill, through the forest.[/i]
Highhill Town. [i]Just south.[/i]
North Silent Forest. [i]If you jump off the road west.[/i]
Route 14. [i]If you went onto the water to the east.[/i]

[hider=Route 3, known Pokémon]Common:
#69 Bellsprout
#270 Lotad (in water)
#285 Shroomish

Uncommon:
#425 Drifloon
#455 Carnivine

Rare:
#252 Treecko
#704 Goomy[/hider][/hider]