Thread: Riviera's Recorded History

Originally Posted by AK.

Nelde Ruins
Wiese Forest - please reply in chartreuse

CyberBlastoise: You decide to follow the boy, introducing yourself as you walk. At your words, the boy simply smiles oddly. He does seem pleased at your amiability, though. Your Totodile and his Luxray trail behind the two of you, conversing. This sight puts you a little at ease, but you're still unhappy with the situation. Perhaps the boy is mute?

Eventually, you reach a small clearing. In the center is a rundown marble statue of a large bird hunched protectively over its nest. Walking towards it, you can see the finer details. It's a Pokémon you've never seen before. Instead of feathers, it has a rough, smooth hide that reminds you of weathered rocks. The bird's eyes are fierce and its wings flared, glaring at the nonexistent predator in front of it. Below it is a plain pedestal so small you're skeptical about its ability to hold the statue's weight. Rays of light fall upon it. The statue looks plain, but the placement of it looks so deliberate that you're left wondering about the secrets it holds.

"Ditt!" the boy cries, grabbing your arm. Huh? The boy grimaces as he realises his mistake. At your narrowed eyes, he sighs as he reverts into an animated purple blob. That explains much more than words ever could. "Ditt," he repeats in warning as he Transforms into another Pokémon- this time, a Smeargle. Gold seems unfazed by this turn of events, as does the Luxray. You were the only one not in on the secret, it seems.

Before you can do much else, the newly-Transformed Smeargle leads you to a nearby tree and grabs his tail. 'THERE WERE TRAPS,' he writes. 'MY TRAINER CAME HERE TO SOLVE THE MYSTERY HE LEFT US HERE HE DID NOT COME BACK WE ARE WORRIED PLEASE HELP HIM.' Apparently, he doesn't grasp the concept of lowercase letters or punctuation, but it's communication nonetheless. The Smeargle stares up at you plaintively, holding his tail. He seems to be waiting for something. Along with your answer, perhaps you could ask him a few questions of your own...

Bill and the young boy had walked through the jungle. The boy was silent the entire journey. He started to wonder if this was a trap, but Gold seemed to make a friend with the Luxray, and that made him feel better. Soon the four had reached a clearing with a huge bird-like statue over some form of a nest. He did not recognize what the statue was, he decided to get a closer look. The statue was either weathered from all the years that it could have been out in the elements, but it was different, the pattern did not even appear to have been feathers at all. He then looked down toward the pedestal that the statue was sitting upon. Nothing out of the ordinary, other than the fact that it appeared too small to support the statue's weight.

"Ditt!" yelled the boy. Bill thought, Wait? Did he just...? Soon, the boy melted and changed to a purple Ditto. Bill was shocked by the sudden transformation of the boy, or rather that his friend turned out to be a Ditto. Gold laughed at Bill's expression upon the transformation.

"Gold, that was not that funny," Bill commented, but the jovial Totodile nodded its head showing it disagreed and felt it was hilarious. Soon the Ditto transformed into a Smeargle. It painted a message for Bill. 'THERE WERE TRAPS, MY TRAINER CAME HERE TO SOLVE THE MYSTERY HE LEFT US HERE HE DID NOT COME BACK WE ARE WORRIED PLEASE HELP HIM.'

"All right, I'll help you out, mostly because I was planning to go through the forest anyway, but also you guys helped me first against that Spinarak," answered Bill, "though I do need a few details. First, does your trainer look like the form you took earlier? Secondly, do you know any of the traps that I will be facing? If so, can you lead me through whichever ones you do know about? Also, I will need a point to the right direction." He hoped that they knew enough, even if their trainer even just researched it in front of one of these two.

Nelde Ruins
Wiese Forest - please reply in chartreuse

CyberBlastoise: With a deft swipe of Smeargle's tail, the message on the tree is erased. He scrawls some new words in its place.

'THANK YOU YES LUXRAY WILL HELP YOU I DO NOT KNOW BUT HE HAD TO SOLVE A RIDDLE.'

His form of communication is starting to give you a headache, but you persevere. In other words: yes, that was his trainer's visage; the Luxray would help (whatever that mant); there is some form of puzzle. But where? Suddenly, you're distracted by the Luxray. It trots up to Smeargle, ears rotated forward, and converses with him before it turns to the mysterious statue. Discharging electricity into the ground, three arrows shoot harmlessly into the air above the Luxray before clattering to the grass, where they trigger a series of localised explosions. Who put these here? you wonder. It's extraordinarily intricate for such a plain locale. You're pretty sure there are more mines, pressure sensors and spring-loaded arrows lying in wait.

The Luxray sparks again, and in an impressive combination of balance, agility and aerial acrobatics, it leaps and somersaults its way into the center of the clearing. It pokes one of the eggs in the bird's nest. Nothing appears to happen. The Electric-type saunters back towards you. There is a notable lack of flying arrows and explosions. From this, you deduce the traps have been deactivated.

You walk tentatively towards the statue. It really is a masterpiece; despite the damage from the elements, the ancient bird looks majestic and lifelike- a true testament to the lost expertise of centuries past. The overhead sun throws the figure into a sharp, angled contrast.

"Toto!" You glance at your Totodile, surprised. He's pointing at the pedestal, conveniently placed just above his eye level. Not so conveniently for you, however. You squat down to read the inscription on the pedestal. It reads:

The end of an era.
The royal family has fallen, and soon shall we.
Never forgive, never forget.

A new era dawns.

Was this statue built when the Binon royal family died out? That would make this over a hundred years old. Centuries, even. It's certainly perplexing, but yields no obvious puzzle of any sort. Yet, upon further inspection, there is a crudely etched message on another face of the pedestal.

Those with wisdom, courage, power.
Go to the place where forest meets sky
There, ye shall hath judgment.

Three trials await.
With great risk comes great reward.

"Ray," the Luxray grunts. He sits on the ground, tail swishing impatiently. What next? he seems to ask you.


Tetyth City
Colosseo - please reply in aqua

fishyfool: Despite the dubious circumstances, you hold your ground. Yakuza nods, orders acknowledged, before he shoots towards the Masquerain in an aggressive maneuver. The Masquerain is surprised by the sudden attack, and Yakuza's Drill Peck glances off it in a solid, SE hit. Not to be outdone, the head Pokémon retaliates with a fierce Bubblebeam. The powerful stream of clips Yakuza's wings at close range and knocks him back a good few feet. Still, the Honchkrow looks quite fresh and ready to go.

"Sur! Surskit!"

At the sight of their leader under attack, twenty or so Surskit let loose a collective, nauseatingly Sweet Scent that gives you quite a headache. You stagger back. Thankfully, you're still able to concentrate on the task at hand. Yakuza manages to keep some of it at bay by flapping his wings, but it's going to be a good deal harder for him to dodge. He's at the perfect distance to unleash a Psychic burst, which he does with a fierce caw. Yakuza's opponent has been expecting a counterattack, however, and the Psychic only glances off a section of its body as it dives underneath the attack. At the same time it unleashes an Ominous Wind that Yakuza isn't too fazed by. The Masquerain pulls out of its dive and eyes your Honchkrow warily, ready to dodge another attack at the slightest provocation.

Instead, the Honchkrow flies away from it and circles slowly above the battleground. "Mas mas! Masquerain!" the Masquerain laughs mockingly. Then a haunting, dissonant melody pours out of Yakuza's mouth, a dismal Unfinished Symphony. You hear a few keening, shrill cries as the nest is sent into a state of confusion. You're thankful the Surskits are weak and succumb easily to the attack, or else you'd have a far bigger headache on your hands. A few thin, errant Signal Beams arc wildly through the air as some of the stronger Surskits struggle under the effects of the melody. Masquerain is utterly enraged and still quite coherent (given the wider-than-norm range that the attack has been performed on). An Icy Wind swirls through the air and hits Yakuza dead on. He falls to the ground and gets back up, wincing.

Blows have been exchanged and both Pokémon have landed solid SE hits. Yakuza is starting to show signs of exhaustion already. The strong energy burn of the Unfinished Symphony did a number on him, as did the Psychic (the energy of which he isn't familiar with). On the other hand, Masquerain looks to be equally injured as Yakuza and is also beginning to get tired. Both Pokémon seem a little dazed and sluggish. The sickly-Sweet Scent still permeates the arena, as do the lingering effects of the Unfinished Symphony. If you play your cards right, Yakuza may be able to gain some momentum...


Mireno Cemetary
Catacombs - please reply in darkslategray

Hayward: The old sage looks to be as perplexed as you are. The sealed door glimmers ominously with a pulsating red light. "...Well, it certainly won't do anyone good if we tarry for too long," he muses. "Let us see for ourselves." Chroma leaps forward, eager as always, and gives the door a sharp shove. It doesn't budge.

Yuanli sighs. "It was worth a try. Alas, there must be some other way. Perhaps...." He stands there for a long time, thinking to himself. "This half of the door lit up when we defeated those animated corpses and retrieved those ankhs... hmm..."

Shifting your eyes away from the door for the time being, you take in your surroundings and do an inventory check. You just came back from the tunnel on the right, and you haven't yet been down the tunnel on the left. There's also the option of exiting the catacombs, but retrieving the artifact is the objective here and you doubt that leaving now would achieve anything. You have the Legendary Birds paper along with three strange I, T and Y ankhs. You're not sure if the grave epitaphs are some kind of puzzle or clue (as vague and seemingly irrelevant as they are), but if they are, they remain unsolved.

"Will!" Your attention snaps back to the old sage, who is grinning triumphantly. You haven't had much success of your own in figuring things out, but he might. From the looks of it, he has. The sagely old man looks meaningfully towards the path you just came from. "In that cavern, we found the graves of three priests. Legends speak of six! These six priests' epitaphs - or at least the ankhs floating above them - must hold some sort of grand secret to bypassing this door. After all, that poor adventurer died trying to access that graveyard, didn't he? The ones that weren't there in the tunnel just now were Xenon, Askus, and one whose name is as yet unknown. I'm almost certain we'll find their graves somewhere."

Yuanli pauses, swaying slightly on his feet. His gaze travels from the right-hand path to the left-hand one. "There must be another trial waiting for us. No less deadly than the first, I'd imagine..."

Originally Posted by AK.

Mireno Cemetary
Catacombs - please reply in darkslategray

Hayward: The old sage looks to be as perplexed as you are. The sealed door glimmers ominously with a pulsating red light. "...Well, it certainly won't do anyone good if we tarry for too long," he muses. "Let us see for ourselves." Chroma leaps forward, eager as always, and gives the door a sharp shove. It doesn't budge.

Yuanli sighs. "It was worth a try. Alas, there must be some other way. Perhaps...." He stands there for a long time, thinking to himself. "This half of the door lit up when we defeated those animated corpses and retrieved those ankhs... hmm..."

Shifting your eyes away from the door for the time being, you take in your surroundings and do an inventory check. You just came back from the tunnel on the right, and you haven't yet been down the tunnel on the left. There's also the option of exiting the catacombs, but retrieving the artifact is the objective here and you doubt that leaving now would achieve anything. You have the Legendary Birds paper along with three strange I, T and Y ankhs. You're not sure if the grave epitaphs are some kind of puzzle or clue (as vague and seemingly irrelevant as they are), but if they are, they remain unsolved.

"Will!" Your attention snaps back to the old sage, who is grinning triumphantly. You haven't had much success of your own in figuring things out, but he might. From the looks of it, he has. The sagely old man looks meaningfully towards the path you just came from. "In that cavern, we found the graves of three priests. Legends speak of six! These six priests' epitaphs - or at least the ankhs floating above them - must hold some sort of grand secret to bypassing this door. After all, that poor adventurer died trying to access that graveyard, didn't he? The ones that weren't there in the tunnel just now were Xenon, Askus, and one whose name is as yet unknown. I'm almost certain we'll find their graves somewhere."

Yuanli pauses, swaying slightly on his feet. His gaze travels from the right-hand path to the left-hand one. "There must be another trial waiting for us. No less deadly than the first, I'd imagine..."

Thanks again for agreeing to continue my adventure, AK!

In the Catacombs beneath Mireno, Will and Yuanli puzzle over the mystery before them. Will scratches his head, and unsure of how to proceed, shrugs and turns to the wizened old man for advice. The boy feels frustrated at their apparent lack of progress and momentarily considers abandoning his quest to help Yuanli retrieve the artifact he seeks.

Thinking out loud, Yuanli reviews the clues they’ve collected so far and tries to uncover how they’re connected. Suddenly the elderly sage exclaims with enthusiasm that there were six priests in all, but they’ve only found three graves, and he believes that finding the resting places of the other priests will provide them with more clues to unraveling the mystery of the glowing portal.

Will listens to the man’s words and feels glad that their quest can continue again, now that they have a sense of direction. Yuanli then shifts uneasily as he remarks that there will undoubtedly be more trials ahead. Will nods his head in agreement, but grins that they’ll be ready and suggests that they check out the unexplored left hand tunnel.

Full | Bio | PC | CC | DT | Credit

Mireno Cemetary
Catacombs - please reply in darkslategray

Hayward: Undaunted by the prospect of another gruelling trial lying in wait, you head confidently down the left-hand tunnel. Chroma leads the way, the diffused light of his Flash providing a warm glow to the otherwise desolate, manmade passage. The Sableye is hardier than he looks, you note. He seems to be already mostly recovered from the last battle.

"Perhaps it would be wise to send out one or two Pokémon in advance?" suggests Yuanli.

You continue walking for a while longer. The atmosphere is no less discomforting than the first passage you traversed, but you're somewhat accustomed to the place by now. The passage is narrow, winding and constricted; you're forced to walk one after the other. Chroma, Yuanli, you. No grotesquely mutilated corpse appears on the dirt floor, which you're immensely thankful for. The more you walk, the darker it gets, even with the Sableye's Flash. When you belatedly realise that it's an unnatural Haze rather than a tiring Pokémon, a rasping, malevolent voice echoes from the wider space ahead.

"Who dares to trespass here? Begone from these sacred grounds, intruders, or face your death..."

The misshapen silhouette of a purple blob-like Pokémon comes into view. On its left is a floating, ethereal figure swathed in thin cloth. On its right is a black bird. Despite its small stature, the figure is no less imposing. Their eyes are far too crimson; far too blank.

"Swalot, Shuppet, Murkrow..." whispers Yuanli. His head is turned, but his eyes never leave the three standing in front. "Chroma, Will, are you ready for another confrontation?"

Originally Posted by AK.

Nelde Ruins
Wiese Forest - please reply in chartreuse

CyberBlastoise: With a deft swipe of Smeargle's tail, the message on the tree is erased. He scrawls some new words in its place.

'THANK YOU YES LUXRAY WILL HELP YOU I DO NOT KNOW BUT HE HAD TO SOLVE A RIDDLE.'

His form of communication is starting to give you a headache, but you persevere. In other words: yes, that was his trainer's visage; the Luxray would help (whatever that mant); there is some form of puzzle. But where? Suddenly, you're distracted by the Luxray. It trots up to Smeargle, ears rotated forward, and converses with him before it turns to the mysterious statue. Discharging electricity into the ground, three arrows shoot harmlessly into the air above the Luxray before clattering to the grass, where they trigger a series of localised explosions. Who put these here? you wonder. It's extraordinarily intricate for such a plain locale. You're pretty sure there are more mines, pressure sensors and spring-loaded arrows lying in wait.

The Luxray sparks again, and in an impressive combination of balance, agility and aerial acrobatics, it leaps and somersaults its way into the center of the clearing. It pokes one of the eggs in the bird's nest. Nothing appears to happen. The Electric-type saunters back towards you. There is a notable lack of flying arrows and explosions. From this, you deduce the traps have been deactivated.

You walk tentatively towards the statue. It really is a masterpiece; despite the damage from the elements, the ancient bird looks majestic and lifelike- a true testament to the lost expertise of centuries past. The overhead sun throws the figure into a sharp, angled contrast.

"Toto!" You glance at your Totodile, surprised. He's pointing at the pedestal, conveniently placed just above his eye level. Not so conveniently for you, however. You squat down to read the inscription on the pedestal. It reads:

The end of an era.
The royal family has fallen, and soon shall we.
Never forgive, never forget.

A new era dawns.

Was this statue built when the Binon royal family died out? That would make this over a hundred years old. Centuries, even. It's certainly perplexing, but yields no obvious puzzle of any sort. Yet, upon further inspection, there is a crudely etched message on another face of the pedestal.

Those with wisdom, courage, power.
Go to the place where forest meets sky
There, ye shall hath judgment.

Three trials await.
With great risk comes great reward.

"Ray," the Luxray grunts. He sits on the ground, tail swishing impatiently. What next? he seems to ask you.

The Ditt-mergle, as Bill called it in his mind, soon wrote a reply to Bill. After reading the message, he wished he hadn't asked so many questions at once, though it was too late. He looked at the message and finally translated it as the trainer looked exactly as the Ditto did earlier. The Luxray was going to help Bill with some sort of trap or riddle, which probably meant that the trainer had used the Luxray here, but why would the trainer leave the Luxray here? Finally, there was indeed some sort of riddle...somewhere. The only outright place that Bill thought of was the statue. Soon, the Luxray came up to the Smeargle and faced said statue. It released a wide spread of electricity that set off several traps within the vicinity. A few explosions, some arrows flying, if Bill had stepped that way, he probably would have been done for. Soon, the Luxray sparked itself and used the energy to jump from where the four were standing to the statue itself. Soon, it hit something, though Bill was standing a bit too far to tell what exactly it was.

Bill wondered what kind of trainer this kid was. And if this Luxray was a testament to the trainer's skills, he also wondered if he was walking into a trap. Decided not to worry about it now, Bill and his Totodile buddy walked up to the statue. Its beauty and grace had amazed Bill at how the architecture was made. Its attention to detail appeared to outlast even the elements itself, but there was nothing outright that screamed that there was a riddle.

"Toto!" called Gold. Bill looked toward the Water-type pokemon as it pointed toward the pedestal. He saw some sort of etch into the pedestal itself. Bill squatted down to get a closer look at this find to read some words.


The end of an era.
The royal family has fallen, and soon shall we.
Never forgive, never forget.

A new era dawns.


'The royal family'...there was only one family he could even think of that lived out here in the woods that could even match the description, the Binon family. But that was impossible in Bill's mind, the statue would have to be centuries old and with the way the forest's weather acts, the statue should have more wear and tear within it. This statue was a true testament to great architecture and preservation if that was the case. This alone, while a great history lesson, was not helpful as far as a riddle was concerned, so Bill decided to examine the pedestal further. On a different side, Bill saw another writing.


Those with wisdom, courage, power.
Go to the place where forest meets sky
There, ye shall hath judgment.

Three trials await.
With great risk comes great reward.


After looking at the riddle for a moment, he pondered aloud, "Wisdom, courage, and power are used quite often, as well as the more well-known mind, heart, and body." He paused for a moment at the second line, this was very important. 'Go to the place where the forest meets the sky'. That translated in Bill's head as one of two things. Either the line meant to find a breeding ground of some sort that Tropius and/or Hoppip occupy, or the more obvious answer, deeper into the forest where there are higher hills, including one that Bill heard was one of the tallest around, though it is also much deeper into the forest.

"Ray!" called out the Luxray. It was getting restless.

"All right, I think I figured it out," said Bill. We need to go much deeper into the forest, toward the highest available point. Along the way we're supposed to face against trials or challenges that will try to test us." He got ready to head to a deeper section of the forest.

Originally Posted by AK.

Mireno Cemetary
Catacombs - please reply in darkslategray

Hayward: Undaunted by the prospect of another gruelling trial lying in wait, you head confidently down the left-hand tunnel. Chroma leads the way, the diffused light of his Flash providing a warm glow to the otherwise desolate, manmade passage. The Sableye is hardier than he looks, you note. He seems to be already mostly recovered from the last battle.

"Perhaps it would be wise to send out one or two Pokémon in advance?" suggests Yuanli.

You continue walking for a while longer. The atmosphere is no less discomforting than the first passage you traversed, but you're somewhat accustomed to the place by now. The passage is narrow, winding and constricted; you're forced to walk one after the other. Chroma, Yuanli, you. No grotesquely mutilated corpse appears on the dirt floor, which you're immensely thankful for. The more you walk, the darker it gets, even with the Sableye's Flash. When you belatedly realise that it's an unnatural Haze rather than a tiring Pokémon, a rasping, malevolent voice echoes from the wider space ahead.

"Who dares to trespass here? Begone from these sacred grounds, intruders, or face your death..."

The misshapen silhouette of a purple blob-like Pokémon comes into view. On its left is a floating, ethereal figure swathed in thin cloth. On its right is a black bird. Despite its small stature, the figure is no less imposing. Their eyes are far too crimson; far too blank.

"Swalot, Shuppet, Murkrow..." whispers Yuanli. His head is turned, but his eyes never leave the three standing in front. "Chroma, Will, are you ready for another confrontation?"

In the Catacombs beneath Mireno, Will and Yuanli agree to continue their search for the missing priests and set off at once down the leftmost passageway. The Sableye Chroma acts as guide, illuminating the dark and twisting corridor with a Flash of ethereal light. A sinister aura hangs about the place, and as Will and Yuanli traverse the tunnel in single file, the boy feels glad they haven’t come across the decaying remains of any once-living creatures, Pokémon or otherwise…

As Will, Yuanli, and Chroma continue down the passage, the darkness surrounding them suddenly begins to thicken and grow oppressive. Will notices the light from Chroma’s Flash doesn’t seem to be as effective as it was earlier and wonders if the hardy, little Sableye is tiring. Glancing at the jewel-eyed Pokémon, Will sees that it is still in good health however, and bolts with astonishment at the realization that they have stumbled into a haunted Haze. Just then an evil-sounding voice cries out in warning, “Who dares to trespass here? Be gone from these sacred grounds, intruder, or face your death…”

Will instinctively adopts a combat pose at this threatening remark and glances around warily. Suddenly three ominous-looking shapes fade into view, and while Yuanli lists them as Swalot, Shuppet, and Murkrow, Will takes a closer look and discovers the three Pokémon have a blank, crimson-tinged stare in their eyes, similar to the ones he’d faced earlier, and reasons that they, too, must be protecting the resting place of Mireno’s missing priests.

Yuanli asks Will if he’s ready for another confrontation, and the boy nods in agreement, knowing it would be futile to try to reason with the possessed guardians. Reaching into his bag, he withdraws a pair of miniature silver balls, and prepares to defend himself. With a flick of their buttons, the capture capsules triple in size in his hand, and Will tosses them into the catacomb, remarking to Yuanli, “The shadow puppet is yours. You’re the ghost expert. I’ll take the other two.”

The shiny, metallic spheres crack along their midlines, and twin masses of white energy suddenly explode from within, momentarily illuminating the dingy chamber. The first molds itself into the form of a wolflike creature with shaggy fur, before fading, revealing the monochromatic canine, Mightyena. Hynéo lets out a low growl at the sight of their eerie adversaries as she prepares herself for the task at hand. The second stream of light transforms into an overgrown river-crab, which fades to reveal the aggressive-looking crustacean, Kingler. Clacking his enormous pincers noisily, Kéo scuttles from side-to-side, eager for the impending skirmish. The released Pokémon call out their species’ names as Will voices his instructions.

“Ready for some action, mates?! Look sharp now!” he hollers. “Howl, Hynéo, and Take Murkrow Down!” Tail wagging excitedly, Hynéo bares her fangs as Will continues. “Kéo, try to slow Swalot with a Mud Shot then follow with Crabhammer!” Glaring determinedly at the Poison Bag Pokémon, Kéo brandishes his overgrown claw in an exaggerated show of bravado, impatient to throw down.

As his partners ready themselves to fight, Will hollers out some final words of warning. “These undead Pokémon are gonna be hard to predict! Work together and be ready to cover each other!”

Originally Posted by AK.

Tetyth City
Tetyth Lake - please reply in aqua

empoleon dynamite: Sitting atop your trusty Cloyster companion, you Surf towards your next grand adventure. You admire the sights- the glittering sapphire lake, the majestic drowned city, the rainbows forming in the gentle spray of water that arises from the localised turbulence. You inhale the clean, fresh air with delight, noticing that Cloysteris seems equally joyous in her natural environment. The water is slightly turbulent, and it's not only because of your companion- in the far distance you notice a Gyarados doing battle with some unfortunate soul. You can't see its opponent clearly, though, and when the serpent bellows in anger, you can't help but wince. You're very glad the Gyarados is nowhere near you.

While you're watching the distant spectacle, suddenly a Sonicboom resonates through the air. Reflexively you cover your ears as Cloysteris sinks a bit lower into the water, trying to avoid the ear-splitting vibrations. The next thing you know, two orange arms grab you and pull you underwater. You're staring up at the veiled sky, nostrils filling with water as your assailant pulls you lower and lower. Dimly, you're aware of Cloysteris darting towards you, but she's too far away. With a well-aimed kick, you free yourself and resurface, coughing and spluttering and filling your lungs with sweet, sweet air.

Cloysteris comes up next to you and you grab onto her like she's a lifeline. What just happened...? Not letting up, the silhouette from below rises and launches itself at you in a sneak Aqua Jet. Cloysteris is forcibly detached from you from the force of the attack. All too soon, the Floatzel disappears underneath again, the faint silhouette circling as it plans its next mode of attack. You're trapped and vulnerable against an intelligent opponent who employs guerilla warfare tactics. Your next move is...

The boy wrapped his arms around his tired head, leaning back on one of Cloyster’s grooves to unwind. He marveled in the watery seascape, the sprays of water arising from the gentle tide, the warm sun drenching the silver lake in a glittery luminescence. The turbulence expelled thicks of vapour few and far between; which in turn reacted with the sunny ambiance to create a kaleidoscopic bow from one end of the lake to the other. Wes winced as the sun shun against his face, hoisting himself upright via Cloyster’s turret only to be taken back by the rainbow. He’d never seen one all the way before.

“Whoa, that’s a full rainbow all the way. Double rainbow, oh my god. It’s a double rainbow, all the way. Whoa that’s so intense. Whoa man! Wow! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa ho ho oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god! Woo! Oh wow! Woo! Yeah! Oh my god look at that! It’s starting even to look like a triple rainbow! Oh my god it’s full on! Double rainbow all the way across the sky! Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh god. What does this mean? Oh. Oh my god. Oh. Oh. God. It’s so bright, oh my god it’s so bright and vivid! Oh. Ah! Ah! It’s so beautiful!” Wes felt tears of joy flood from his eyes as he burst into nonsenselesical laughter, “Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god! Oh my god, it’s a double complete rainbow! Oh my god. Oh my god, what does it mean? Tell me. Too much. I don’t know what it means. Oh my god it’s so intense. Oh. Oh. Oh my god”…

Cloysteris rolled her eyes and jetted on, clearly not a fan of obscure pop culture references. Wes awed in disappointment, but decided to set his eyes on any latent wildlife. The boys ears pricked to a powerful war cry somewhere nearby. Wes grimaced on with a piqued curiosity, a scaly serpent whipping up a fierce twister no further than a mile his way. The scars of a fierce battle managed to echo down the entire lagoon, a stormy tide now crashing against Cloysteris causing her to bob rearward much to her chargrin. From what his blurred vision could pucker, the trainer was doing a decent job in holding it off, but Wes would be sure to alert any coast guards at the nearest opportunity. He didn’t want to risk putting himself in danger, so rather egotistically pressed on.

BOOM! Wes’s shrieked, his eyes dilated as he wrapped his legs as tightly as possible against the damaged sea vessel. A sonic wave rattled his ear drums, the trainer holding his ears as the bivalve tactically submerged into the deep. “Aren’t you forgetting someone!?” Wes shrieked, now knee-deep in water. He was hastily cut off as a orangy otter Pokemon dived out of the water and pounced forward. Grabbing ahold of the trainer like a pathetic trout and pulling him into the silvery depths. Wes struggled to no avail, bubbled of air escaping from his mouth as he screamed for help. The sunny sky was but a blurry canvas as the water’s impurities concealed any further view. Wes tussled in an attempt to grab a Pokéball – Cloysteris was a distance away and a poor swimmer in comparison to Floatzel. Wes closed his eyes in frustration, his nose filling with water and the surface a far stretch away. With one fell swoop he jolted the otter and wrestled his way out of its mitts. Kicking and thrusting he made his way to the surface, coughing and spluttering with the sense of untimely death surely dispersing. Wes turned to find Cloyster buoying just a stretch away, and was quick to grab ahold like a lifeline.

“Karma for ignoring that trainer, figures” Wes cursed, scanning the waterfront in search of the oncoming predator. With unrivalled determination sillouette ripped through the surface with lightning speed, propelling itself with its dual tails. The teenager winced - only to find Cloysteris thrusting ahead to take the brunt of the blow. The weasel was easily deflected by the impenetrable shell, falling back into the deep and making circles around the two. Wes couldn’t help feeling vulnerable now neck-deep in water. Whilst he was confident in his squaddies defences, an image of the enemy cracking him against the sea-floor and relishing the gooey centre sprang to mind. He gulped anxiously volleying forward an icebreaker of attacks to fend off the guerrilla combatant. “Withdraw into your indestructible shell and volley a double-barrel of Toxic Spikes and Spike Cannon! If we keep to our defences it shouldn’t be to difficult to fend off”

Originally Posted by AK.

Tetyth City
Colosseo - please reply in aqua

fishyfool: Despite the dubious circumstances, you hold your ground. Yakuza nods, orders acknowledged, before he shoots towards the Masquerain in an aggressive maneuver. The Masquerain is surprised by the sudden attack, and Yakuza's Drill Peck glances off it in a solid, SE hit. Not to be outdone, the head Pokémon retaliates with a fierce Bubblebeam. The powerful stream of clips Yakuza's wings at close range and knocks him back a good few feet. Still, the Honchkrow looks quite fresh and ready to go.

"Sur! Surskit!"

At the sight of their leader under attack, twenty or so Surskit let loose a collective, nauseatingly Sweet Scent that gives you quite a headache. You stagger back. Thankfully, you're still able to concentrate on the task at hand. Yakuza manages to keep some of it at bay by flapping his wings, but it's going to be a good deal harder for him to dodge. He's at the perfect distance to unleash a Psychic burst, which he does with a fierce caw. Yakuza's opponent has been expecting a counterattack, however, and the Psychic only glances off a section of its body as it dives underneath the attack. At the same time it unleashes an Ominous Wind that Yakuza isn't too fazed by. The Masquerain pulls out of its dive and eyes your Honchkrow warily, ready to dodge another attack at the slightest provocation.

Instead, the Honchkrow flies away from it and circles slowly above the battleground. "Mas mas! Masquerain!" the Masquerain laughs mockingly. Then a haunting, dissonant melody pours out of Yakuza's mouth, a dismal Unfinished Symphony. You hear a few keening, shrill cries as the nest is sent into a state of confusion. You're thankful the Surskits are weak and succumb easily to the attack, or else you'd have a far bigger headache on your hands. A few thin, errant Signal Beams arc wildly through the air as some of the stronger Surskits struggle under the effects of the melody. Masquerain is utterly enraged and still quite coherent (given the wider-than-norm range that the attack has been performed on). An Icy Wind swirls through the air and hits Yakuza dead on. He falls to the ground and gets back up, wincing.

Blows have been exchanged and both Pokémon have landed solid SE hits. Yakuza is starting to show signs of exhaustion already. The strong energy burn of the Unfinished Symphony did a number on him, as did the Psychic (the energy of which he isn't familiar with). On the other hand, Masquerain looks to be equally injured as Yakuza and is also beginning to get tired. Both Pokémon seem a little dazed and sluggish. The sickly-Sweet Scent still permeates the arena, as do the lingering effects of the Unfinished Symphony. If you play your cards right, Yakuza may be able to gain some momentum...

The Honchkrow's sudden Drill Peck taking the Masquerain by surprise was countered wisely by a close range bubblebeam from the insect, something Jamie knew the bug possessed considering the aquatic status of its pre-evolution, and as he watched, his head reeled from the Sweet Scent a good twenty of the Surskit unleashed.

"Ugh...no honour in battle I see..."

Continuing, he was thankful that Yakuza's large wings allowed him to shrug off some of the scent, before firing a psychic burst that unfortunately didn't do as much as he planned, the eyeball pokemon evading and countering with an Ominous Wind attack which seemed to do little due to the dark typing of the crow. At that, Yakuza took flight around the area, ignoring the Masquerain's mocking laughter as he began to deliver an unfinished symphony around the area. Almost at once the Surskit group fell into disorder, signal beams let loose errantly through the air as the confusion set into effect. Unfortunately, it only served to further antagonize the boss of the group as it chilled the Honchkrow with an icy wind, the bird crashing to the ground shivering from the effective technique.

Looking back at them, Jamie's head reeling from the scent permeating the air, he realised that while a bit dazed, so too was the Masquerain, and with the scent in the air, he knew that removing it would clear Yakuza up.

"Yakuza, lighten up and blow that scent towards the Masquerain with a whirlwind. Once he's caught up, keep on the ground and cough up a firestream to scorch him before getting through his own aerial tricks by confuse ray to confound him. Try and stay low to minimise the damage from possible crashing."

Originally Posted by AK.

Tetyth City
Tetyth Lake - please reply in aqua

Treepandaone: The Golduck listens to your words, bobbing its head agreeably as you outline your various points. <...Oh? Is that so.> The mild, noticeably female voice echoes in your head.

<You irritate me. Die, for all I care.> At the Golduck's words, Hera - having from the effects of the Leer - squeaks and darts away. Her Scratch nicks her on the tail, but the Milotic doesn't look too worse for wear. A hint from you is all it takes; Hera's Hypnosis hits Golduck squarely in the forehead, the hypnotic waves easily sending the blue biped into a slumber. The Golduck sways, dazed, before she falls into the lake. She doesn't resurface. With no small amount of relief - one down, one to go - you face your second, more terrifying opponent.

The Gyarados growls lowly. Surprisingly, this time you can't understand what it's saying. You realise belatedly that Golduck, who is now sleeping on the riverbed, was your translator. With it gone, you can't understand each other anymore. The monstrous serpent still understands you, however, and it roars in aggravation. A watery Twister soon heads your way and knocks you clean off your Milotic. The water stings your eyes and nose; you splutter weakly as you tread the water. Hera's Charge Beam arcs through the air and makes its mark. The serpentine dragon flinches noticeably from the shock, but it's much less injured than you thought it would be, considering the 4x weakness. Sparks of pure energy flicker and meld into Hera's skin. It appears that the electric move has boosted her special attack. Your opponent starts spinning in preparation for a second Twister, but this time your Milotic has adequate warning and manages to dart out of the way.

Clearly, the Gyarados is more powerful than you, but Hera is more agile, having a more lithe shape. You cling onto Hera's midsection as you ponder what to do next...

Hanging on to the Milotic for dear life, Matthew found himself in a precarious position; listing to the decision of a Golduck to determine his fate of life or death. Perhaps it served as a purpose then that he had a plan if things went wrong, which for him was normal. Being a tactically minded person from the army, Matthew shared a mindset that allowed him to negotiate aspects of the battlefield that no-one else could. With a career of services in his wake, Matthew was able to make split decisions though he preferred to make them before, as to stay 'two steps ahead of the opponent'.

The Golduck disagreed with Matthew's plan, causing him much trouble as he tapped Milotic, his hand rubbing against her beautiful scales as he urged her to continue the fail-safe plan. With the Golduck rushing towards the duo, Matthew was pleased to see Milotic manage to disable it, sending it to sleep with a Hypnosis certainly worked, sending the psychic-duck down with a *kasplosh* into the vast lake; the biped sinking down for a nice sleep. Under the circumstances, Matthew was very happy to be rid of said Pokémon, though the lack of psychic interpretation made him feel a foreboding sensation, the Gyarados' words now turned into roars of deception and anger.

Thinking about his predicament, Matthew realised that the Gyarados could still understand him as it began to growl incessantly, somewhat angry with his plan to team up on it. To say it was mad was an understatement and Matthew quickly sought a way to defeat it, a watery twister stopping his thought pattern as it threw him into the water. As he began to tread to stay afloat, Matthew watched as Hera fought back, using a charge beam to gain advantage over the 4x weak Pokémon but also provide a boost in special attack. In lue of this, Milotic also managed to dodge a second twister as Matthew began to think of next round, coughing up water and becoming tired.

I can't stay afloat for much longer without help he thought to himself, reaching for a Pokéball among his belt.

“Eir, take the stage!” he shouted, his mouth dipping under the water while he did, providing him with a nice mouthful of salt in its wake. “I want you to keep me afloat and watch out for that Golduck's return. Use a Calm Mind in preparation for now.”

With the Omanyte to help him stay above water, Matthew began to plan for Milotic's next assault. It had the speed on the large Gyarados but it didn't have the power; even with the special attack boost.

“Hera, blast it with a Dragon Pulse to show it you're really in business. Then follow it up with a Natural Gift and an Ice Beam. Remember to stay on your toes; this thing is looking for a meal and it isn't going to be us!