More Moe Is Needed: Let's Play Moemon: LeafGreen, Thread II

[Deme]

Chapter 67: Gentlewoman Adventurer

Spoiler

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I go up and Flash my trainer badge at the first guard I see.


"Wait, you only care about the Boulder Badge?"
Guard: "It's my job."
"...So...I could have just --"

I could have just...gone on ahead?
"Unlikely, Mistress."


"See?"
"Are we going to have 6 more of these?"
Guard: "What do you think, lady?"
"...That was a rhetorical question, you know."


What's the point of it?
"I believe it is meant to be inspirational; a chance, if you will, to reflect over the challenges you faced...Or something like that. You're welcome to it."
"...So... Well, Surge was kind of a crazy guy; I think it was there that I started realizing that there was more to the league that met the eye...That sort of thing?"
"That's the idea, I suppose."


Well, before we get into that narrative flow, let's find an item.

...Kinda not worth it.


Erika...Was she a good person, or a bad one? I'm still not really sure. On the one hand, she used bad tactics. Why does that seem a popular choice among gym leaders and legendaries? Are they just not used to dealing with other people who know the truth?
...I don't think she really was used to thinking of anyone as an equal. It's really kind of creepy...
"...I didn't think I would ever Ascend to my final form. And certainly, not like that... But I'm glad. That when you needed me most, I was there to serve. I never knew I could do be such a thing."
"It was no surprise."
"...And I thank you for that, too."



...The geography of this place is sort of crazy. Who puts a pond in their walkway?


Summation of Koga, summation of Koga... What. A. Jerk.
I feel a little bad for Dusk, though. When your heroes turn out to be creeps, that's kinda sad.


The land along here are covered in things.

Including this very useful thing. I need more ethers.


I look for a moment at the badge I'm showing.
... I'm glad I met Sabrina. Otherwise, I'd have just considered this an evil league of evil. Well, ok, that's not true: Brock and Misty seemed OK. Brock even seemed nice... I wish I had met them later, when I could have asked them some things.


Free stuff's here to root me on!


"Well, riddle me this -- what do you suppose this is?"
I show him the badge. That wasn't a good Blaine reference. I liked Blaine, though.


Wow, I was just guessing!


"Oh, I got it. I got it right. Here."
I flash the badge I earned from Giovanni, the final badge.

Now, there's nothing preventing me from the league.

...

This is kind of not what I was picturing.
Not at all. I think I may have to go back for Jewel, now.

...Well, I may as well take Draca, Mellow, and Ruto, too: this'll be a good training area for them.


I run back and grab them, passing Draca the EXP share.
"A knight has no need for such --"
"So you aren't incredibly weakened by hundreds of years of being dead?"
"...Perhaps a small refresher would be beneficial in my quest against evil that has slept through time..."
"That's the spirit."
I pat her on the back. She grips it.
"It's not that I am weak, but...My body has grown unused to combat. It's...A little emberassing."
She blushes.

"Anyway, just watch Jewel."
"I'm touched you remember."
"Are you still upset about that?"
I mean, gosh, it's not like you can't get around on your own.
"You're my trainer!"
"I was recovering from hypothermia!...Yes, it was wrong. But I didn't mean it. I thought we were cool."
"...Well, this is a lovely cavern you've brought me to...I can forgive anything for a pretty cave."

"Well, let's get exploring."

It's a bit of a challenge, but she's at least enjoying herself.
"Dame Jewel is quite a skilled warrior. A very adventerous spirit."
"Just so! I am Jewel, GENTLEWOMAN ADVENTURER!"
"My spirit is moved by your passion, Gentlewoman Adventurer Jewel!"
"The spirit of adventure is a powerful force! I am glad to see it recognized!"
They clasp hands, tears on their cheeks and. I am not sure what is happening.
... But Draca likes it, and seems to be remembering or learning or whatever more from being around Jewel.





"Great, more rock puzzles."
"Yaay, rock puzzles!"
She gives me curt instructions as we push boulders and...

"Let's see what that does..."
...It’s not detectable right away, but it lowers rocks. Who builds a rock-lowering mechanism? Who assumes that you can beat 8 gym leaders, but cannot push rocks?



"I think we're both pretty tough, given where we are."

This'll be my first trainer battle with Jewel. Let's see how this goes…

Ow, that hurts. But recoverable.
The Persian launches her next attack, and suddenly I feel a sharp intake of breath. Jewel's realized something, and so have I.

That swift, fading attack...Has pierced her side.
She drops to her knees.
All I can think about is how stupid I was. I run towards her.
"...Probably should have forgiven you...sooner..."
She coughs. Her side has no blood, but I can feel that there's no strength left in her when I touch her.
"Keep fighting, Dame Draca...And..."
"Jewel, Jewel, stay with me!"
"It's alright. This is how...An adventurer is at the end. Visiting this world… No, meeting you… Was an adventure… Worth legends…"
She closes her eyes, and my world blurs, colors fading into one another, into indistinct blurs of grey and brown, leaving warm streaks fading onto my face.


[color=silver]"Don't spend tears! She died as an adventurer, and if you feel guilt, you must keep your head high for her."
I look up to see Draca hovering overhead.
"...Yeah. Good play, 'ace trainer.' But I'm. Just. Getting. Warmed. Up!"
Luckily, I brought FISTICUFFS to act as a bodyguard. She's stern, in response to my anger.

... I don't feel much better.
I'd been trying so hard.
"...But thanks, Draca. I'll finish this. For her."
She nods.




It was just my mistake.




Only my fault. I'm not going to cry. I'm not going to pout...But it was my choice that hurt her. No more. No less.


"FISTICUFFS!"
"DON'T FEAR."
She gives me a thumbs-up.



"...Deal with it."
I lower my head.

And we escape for a while with Jewel's body. It's just empty now, like a discarded mascot costume.
"I am sorry, Mistress."
"I'm the sorry one. She trusted me; twice, she trusted me, and twice, I betrayed her."
"Accidents happen; there is no betrayal in them. That is the way of adventure. As a knight, I understood her heart. Being an adventurer means not holding regrets. Go. Explore, and she'll be content in her heart in our other world. This, I say truthfully."
"Thanks, Draca."
I can't quite believe her...But I can at least pretend I do, and keep training. But who?

I bury Jewel's body at the mouth of the cave. The pokemon look at me like I'm a little crazy; I guess to them, bodies are just costumes they take off when the show's over.
But I do a lot of thinking, digging that hole. I don’t do a great job, and I don’t think the layer of stones over it will do much good…But it’s what I can do.
And then...



"Why Me? She means Us. Why us, when...Well, all 3 of us don't..."
"I'd like it if we could get along a little better, that's all... Life is...Short."
"WhAt DoEs It MaTtEr? YoU dOn'T cArE. YoU mUrDeReR."
"Yeah. Yeah, you're right! I don't care. I don't care about lives or justice, or anything but proving my own superiority! I don't even care about crushing fungi into dust, as long as I'm on top!"
I snap bitterly. They stare
"That's terrible. Is that what you're really like?"
"...Of course not."

I sigh.

"If I did get the mushroom to die forever...Well...I'd have been sad."
[font="fixedsys"]"?"
"...Sad that it had to be the way it would have been. I can't let people get hurt, or the world get dominated. I can't... But... I don't think just crushing anything that wants to hurt me...Makes me happy."
That was what I realized when Giovanni offered me that syringe. I could have killed him, and he could have deserved it...But it wouldn't be right.
I turn to Mellow, and force a smile.
"Working together for supremacy of Mushroom kind...I don't get how you couldn't feel that way about humans and pokemon you'd have to sacrifice."
"...Well, I wasn't hoping for that much supremacy -- ...I hAvE nEvEr...NeVeR lEt SuCh MaTtErs CoNcErN mE."
"I figured not. Otherwise, who knows?"
I shrugged.
"Well, anyway, you're my pokemon, so you need training."



We train her up for a while, using a Giga Drain I gave her. While she could take down rock-and-ground type enemies with ease, she had a bit more trouble against fighters...

And a lot against zubats and so on. They seemed oddly lost in thought.

"A word, Dame Seed. Surely this great evil the others have spoken of --"
"...If I don't try and help that mushroom understand, I can't win. Maybe she has stupid reasons. Maybe I was hasty in not hearing them out... It's like I said. Life is short. If there's something to forgive in them, I want to find it. Isn’t it a knight’s duty to know mercy?...I…I think it may be mine. At least to my pokemon."
Well, sure, I think Arthur’s knights were about 50/50 on that, actually.
"...I see."
She seemed a little startled; maybe even impressed?



And I got free stuff! Ha! They thought they'd make me have to choose, but I showed those cave designers!


...Oh snap. Alright, I pull Mellow out at the first sign of trouble this time.


Ok, I'm labelling this 'trouble' and sending in FISTICUFFS.

..."Wow, that was a dumb move."
I can feel a bit of my usual swagger back.


You know, maybe I'll take just a little, little risk...
Call it an 'experiment.'

Ack, maybe I shouldn’t – but Jewel would probably want me to take risks. Yes, even lethal ones. In her absence, I’ll have to be… Seed, GENTLEWOMAN ADVENTURER!
I feel my nerves steel.

"Oh, so this is what a real fight is like...Did I satisfy your hypothesis?"
I wasn't being litera...Oh, nevermind.
"You did great."



Ok, experimenting over. Back to over-kill.


And that's how we do it, Seed-style.
...I actually feel a little better now, even if half of the pokemon with me need healing.


These buttons show that someone has built a cave, basically.
WHO BUILDS A CAVE?

I basically just walk into this guy:

"There is a sign that says something like that, I think."


Right. Terra-Time. I'm going to just keep my main crew out until I get to a pokemon center...







Sand-storm, huh?



Actually, it may be better to go back for more supplies...I'm running low on stuff.
And my main team, too. This is bigger than I thought...

Well, maybe next time.

Spoiler

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Ok, so, what to catch in the area? I put this in spoilers to avoid breaking the mood more than I already have.
But for pokemon available, we have Geodude, Zubat and its ilk, Machop and Machoke, another Onix if you guys want a Steelix still, and Geodude.

[Mystic Muse]

Well that's sad.

[Forum Explorer]

Lets go with Machop.

Also it seems Jewel has really gotten the short end of the stick in this story. Poor Jewel.

I am impressed that this is your first casualty though.

[Cieyrin]

Jewel! No! You were on the cusp of evolving to Steelix...*blubber*

*sniff* That aside, I vote for a Geodude or a Machop. If a Geodude, I'm thinking a Philosopher type, slow and thorough of thought. Name her Tessa.

Machop...I just like how the final evolution of the line looks. Perhaps obsessed with aerobics or running. Not sure on a name, though.

[Gadora]

Well now I'm sad...

To be honest, I'm rather impressed that it took this long for you to take a loss. Why the heck did it have to happen to Jewel? She was one of my favorites(though I'm sure I'd be saying that no matter who you lost).

[ScionoftheVoid]

Aren't there Marowak in there, too? If that's an option, Marowak. If not, I don't know.

And aww, Jewel's gone... What move was it, out of curiousity? I couldn't tell from the screenshot.

[Deme]

Marowak is an option; you can see it in the screenshots.

Also, it was Faint Attack.

[ScionoftheVoid]

Marowak is an option; you can see it in the screenshots.

Also, it was Faint Attack.

I thought it would be, but it was not listed as an option.

Silly third gen with all Dark moves running off of Special Attack...

[Forum Explorer]

Well I'll change my vote to marowak then

[Squiggly-Thing]

Marowack!!

[Dusk Eclipse]

:raises glass: In the memory of Jewel, GENTLEWOMAN ADVENTURER! may you tunnel through the caves of heaven eternally. We will not forget the lessons you taught us.

Wow, really this was quite unexpected I was almost sure you were going to be able to make a clean Nuzlocke run Deme.

My vote goes for a Marowak in any case.

[Ranielle]

Oh no.
Not Jewel.
Everything is ruined forever.

[John Cribati]

A Marowak who happens to be related to Jewel through some egg group wank and fought Seed for revenge?

[Lemonus]

I've been watching this LP and loving it for quite some time. I just wanted to post to say that I'll miss Jewel, and that this is an awesome idea:

A Marowak who happens to be related to Jewel through some egg group wank and fought Seed for revenge?

[Deme]

Hmm...Possible. But actually, most of the pokemon in the story were not produced via eggs: either, like Azula, they were formed out of their elements on the spiritual planes...Or, like Spike or ChuChu, they had family but were born on the "spiritual plane" that Pokemon exist in naturally. I think the only pokemon who I've ever considered as having been hatched on moe-earth... Are the youngest pokemon, Ala and Rya. And Maria's baby, who was born on moe-earth but concieved elsewhere.

Jewel was one of the older pokemon, if we measure age as "time on earth," where they have bodies and are active in them; I think the oldest-to-youngest order, as far as I've reckoned, is,

The Birds (of course)
Eda
Azula
Jewel
Terra (Terra and Seed are not far apart in age, by my imagining)
...
The Rest, in no particular order
...
Ala and Rya, at about the same age, having been hatched not long before Seed met them
Maria's Baby

...I am a repository of useless information.

[fizzmaister]

Noooo! Jewel!

[Deme]

Chapter 68: The Long and Winding Road

Spoiler

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I spend a little time re-stocking, making move adjustments, and getting the team back together. For example, Spike now knows Earthquake.
And now it's time to head on through Victory Road -- for serious this time!


"No, I'm walking in the cave of death for my own amusement."
Geeze.


Maybe that time off the team did her wrong. This is the first time Return's not one-shotted something.

But our enemy can’t capitalize on that too much.

Why do jugglers train psychic types? I mean, if they were faux-fortunetellars, or stage magicians...But they're not. They're jugglers. They'd be better off raising gravellers and machokes.

I mean, I guess you could say that someone who can truly juggle one ball is a good psychic, but come on...

Oh, right. Levels.


...And there you go, distracting me out of my nonsensical, juggler-based ramblings.
"...Wait. How did you know I know Beau?"
Juggler: "I saw your trainer card. He was asking if I had seen a girl named 'Seed'."
"...Oh. I see."
I don't see. Not at all. Why would he do something like that?


"...That's not a very good invitation, you know. Maybe I'd just like to go one day without being harrassed!"

But nope, pokemon battle instead. Well, at least I'll be doing the whipping here.

It's nice using the main team here; everything runs like clockwork.

uh-doy.


"Stop right there, murderess!"
"...Scuzee?"
"I saw! It was by your hand that the adventurer of legend perished!"
...
Jewel...
"Wait, Jewel was 'of legend'?"
"She was a pokemon who travelled the world, all on her own! She was my hero!
...I'll kill them -- all your pathetic followers! It's only fair!"
She comes rampaging at Spike, again and again, catching herself on the spikes of his armor.
Spike glances at me, and I guess he sees I look sad.

"You're a determined little sucker, aren't you?..But..."
"...But Jewel chose to travel with me, even knowing the risks. I should have done better...I'm sorry."
"...That's just excuses!"
She shakes her head, but stops, wearied. The poison's starting to hurt.
"...I'd rather you not get hurt, either. Have a full heal."
She stares at it.
"Darnit! What good is wanting to be an adventurer...When you see your hero fall and can't get vengence? When something precious dies, and you can't get anything about it? Quit being nice, quit being nice! I want you to be wrong!"
...I stare at her, and get a sense of strange deja vu. All I can say is what I've told myself.
"Come with me. Get stronger...And if I'm no good, like you want, then you can take me out. Without hurting my team."
"...Ok."

And so Ayla, the abandoned hero-worshipper, joined our party.


"No, not...really..."


Seems like a shame...But how close did I come to giving up back there?

Hail, huh? I don't have an ice-type that I use regularly, so it's not too useful.


"I. am not. a child. Got that?"

Wrong choice, but no biggy; a quick switch...

And that'll do it.

Marvelous.

Time to test the new move.
"Hit it, Spike!"

Ooh. I think I like this move.



I like ace trainers: they keep the exp balanced.


Ooh, this may be annoying.

But not too much.

"That's right! Don't thank me; it's all in a day's work."
...So I say, but the look of awe reminds me of something Giovanni said, and my blood runs cold. I don't think I really want to be a goddess of war. And I don't want to be surrounded by boot-lickers who don't even fully get why they're licking the boots.


Not a useful thing, this. I swear: it's like being in an RPG. You can revive Aeris with a phoenix down as often you want... Except for when she dies, and then all your magic and items are useless.
...Yeah. I just compared my life to Final Fantasy. What of it?



Boy, I did not expect my near-adult life to involve so many rocks.

Or quite so many little switches.


Overheat…
Hmm...Kind of a risky move. I'll have to think about it.


Yes. Duh.

It's time to test out a new little surprise... Dragon Claw.

Not perfect, but not bad. I think it'll be handy...I'm not sure how much I like the idea of Rya against dragons...



Confusion. Ow.
And then the Lapris starts singing, something only Terra hears clearly.
...Oh, shi --...Perish song.
"Terra, get back in the ball right now!"
So this is the feeling of clarity; the certainty which possesses the religious one, and defeats the lover: Love is joy, and joy is made of uncertainty… Having found what I want, the absolute certainty…I am truly unhappy in my happiness...Here, at the brink of death…"
She giggles like she’s drunk.

"Wait, now's not the time for this!"
I recall her and switch in ChuChu.





A what?


"Yeah, maybe..."
What do I live for...? I still don't know. Is that OK?


...This is a...kind of weird selection.




Man, this whole thing has sucked the innocence right out of me...I remember when I thought Chanseys were among the cutest pokemon. Oh, how terribly wrong I was. I mean, they’re cute. But the cutest?


I think I dislike these ideas.




Slightly annoying...



Nice, ChuChu. Nice.



"That's not a terribly good bit of sass. Work on your form!"





Seriously: I thought you guys were better than singletyping.

But I guess not.

“See? That’s the problem with leading with a line like that.”


Rocky go down the hooole.


But it lets me finally hit the final switch of this cavern!


"...But I'm pretty sure the league isn't set up for double-battle champions..."
But that'd be pretty cool. Then maybe Beau and I wouldn't have had to have been rivals...Maybe...

Ack! Right! Fight!

"I guess you get your nidoking fight after all."
"Phht. You already got to do the big hero thing once...But don't think I'll let you do it again!"
"H-hero?"
"Yeah. You saved my bacon...I'm...I'm big enough to admit it. But I'll handle things, this time!"

She throws up a shield; he looks surprised.
"I know better than to fight a fool."
He glares, but then he laughs and clenches his fists, shaking the ground beneath him...


And the blast radius is huge.
"Oh snap! TerraTerraTerraTerra! Are you OK? I'm sorry, I mean, I thought --"
He starts panicking, clearly, stumbling his words into each other.
She puts a finger to his lips. She's beaten, but the fight's over.
"I know you. It's a new technique's growing pains. Everyone gets one."
He looks grateful for the forgiveness.


Oh, dear sweet bippity...
"When did I do that?"
Tyra: "Teach me, Oh sensei!"
I feel my fate bearing down on me like a train.
"No!"
I run off.


And step, blinking, into the light.


And at last, I enter the Pokemon League. We still have a lot of work to do before we're ready, though.
“Let’s get down to business.”

Next time: We train up the team and some of the remaining reserves. Then, after that...It's time for the Elite 4!

[Mystic Muse]

“Let’s get down to business"

"To defeat the huns"?

[Altaria87]

"To defeat the huns"?

Please make a training montage out of this!

[Qwertystop]

Please make a training montage out of this!

pleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenopl easenopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenoplea senopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenoplease nopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenopleaseno pleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenopl easenopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenoplea senopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenoplease nopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenopleaseno pleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenopl easenopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenoplea senopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenoplease nopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenopleaseno pleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenopleaseno.

[Dusk Eclipse]

pleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenopl easenopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenoplea senopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenoplease nopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenopleaseno pleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenopl easenopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenoplea senopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenoplease nopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenopleaseno pleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenopl easenopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenoplea senopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenoplease nopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenopleaseno pleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenopleaseno.

Why not? that is one of the best training montages I have ever seen.

[Qwertystop]

Why not? that is one of the best training montages I have ever seen.

I just hate those references.

[Mando Knight]

I just hate those references.

You're the saddest lot I ever met.
But you can bet,
Before we're through,
Mister, I'll make a man
Out of you!

[fizzmaister]

You're the saddest lot I ever met.
But you can bet,
Before we're through,
Mister, I'll make a man
Out of you!

Time is racing forward
Until we... arrive.
Shut the hell up Nappa
And you might... survive.


Hmm, that's not the right reference is it?

[Mystic Muse]

Time is racing forward
Until we... arrive.
Shut the hell up Nappa
And you might... survive.


Hmm, that's not the right reference is it?

Oh gosh. Do you have a link to that video? I need to see that again.

[fizzmaister]

Oh gosh. Do you have a link to that video? I need to see that again.

sure http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V06DISKajss

Also, GITP, doesn't support the [youtube] tag. That makes me sad.

[Eldonauran]

Rocky go down the hooole.

Great update. This line cracked me up! Had flashbacks from Looney Tunes. Were you channeling baby daffy duck by chance?

[Deme]

I was indeed: good job spotting that!

[Toric]

What I really liked about this update was the sort of teamwork Spike and Terra have developed together. It's brutal but tactically efficient.


Terra used Bomb Shelter!

Spike used Nuclear Strike!

It's super effective (against everyone but Terra)!!!


And yes, I too adored the Baby Plucky Duck reference.

[Deme]

I'm sorry, master256... I had to.

Montagarrific!

Spoiler

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Right. Now, I'm back to training. But who should I train? More reserves? The main team?
"Well, personally, I'm kinda bushed. Can we take a breather?"
"You did the least out of everyone."
"Yeah, but I'm still tired."
"NO. LET US TRAIN. WE MUST BE READY!"
"I agree. We can train the rest after our fight...And...Maybe one or two more in advance, but let's focus. Since ChuChu's tired, we'll do Azula, FISTICUFFS, and Spike right now, then see how we're doing."

"We're at the ready, Mistress."

Today, we gather strength...From the land around us, and each other. "Let's go!"


Azula, to my surprise, is actually ready to take down her old bug-a-boos, like rock types.

And we get this choice, after I've already used a TM...
"But after the trouble we've had with Ala's techniques, I don't think so."
"A wise choice. Mistress..."
"Yeah?"
"I am glad we are doing this. Not just to make us stronger..."
"?"
"Well...I mean...You always seem to enjoy spending training time with the reserves and..."
"Heeey...Are you jealous?"
"...Well, I..."
"Azula! Don't I spend more time with you than anyone else?"
"That's...True...I apologize for wasting your time with my concerns, Mistress."
"Azula..."
"Say no more, Mistress."


Boy, do I hate bats.
"Is this why we never had a Zubat?"
"Quite possibly, yes."

I try and intersperse a bit more praise in with our training.

"I think not. Let's keep your moveset."
"It is very satisfying."
"Azula...If you want a bit more attention, just say so. I don't think it's selfish at all."
"Well...Thank you for the training today. It was very nice."
...Eh, good enough.

"I think we're done."
"I am glad. We shall see our enemies driven before us!"
"...You know...We could...Lose. You know it's possible, right?"
She laughs.
"Mistress. I believe in you. Do you believe these Champions have done right?"
I think about what I know. About Giovanni, about this world, about the evil in power. I think about that woman who elbowed me in the neck.
"No."
"Then this shall be the wind at my back, and I will be undefeatable."
I smile.
"Thank you, Zu-Zu."


"So...How are you and Chun Li?"
"WE ARE WELL. YOUR DATE ADVICE...WORKED."
"Seriously?"
"WE WERE SURPRISED. BUT...WE ATE DINNER...AND TOOK A WALK AND COMMENTED ON WHO WE COULD TAKE IN A FIGHT. THEY WERE MANY."
"...Well...As long as you're happy."
"YES. OUR LOVE WILL DESTROY NATIONS."
"..."
...
"Good? Oh, hey, is this an L-thing now?"
"...LESBIAN? BY HUMAN TERMS, YES."
"No, no, the other L-thing."
"LESBIANS?"
"...No, I meant Love. You said Love."
"...OH. YES. THAT WORD HAS COME UP IN TALK. AND PUNCHING. AND KICKING, DEPENDING ON WHOSE TURN IT IS."
"...Right. So...Violence?"
"ALWAYS!"

We get back to training.
"Screetch? Why would you ever want to learn Screech?"
"IT JUST SORT OF CAME TO ME. I AM GLAD YOU HAVE CHOSEN OTHERWISE; NOTHING BETTER THAN A FULL OFFENSE."
"Agreed."

But that strategy does have its downsides...
"Come on. Let's take a breather..."
We take a little break before she gets totally pummeled.

And the moment she's out of the pokecenter, it's back to work.

"Does it bug you to fight so many other Primapes?"
"DOES IT BUG YOU TO FIGHT SO MANY OTHER TRAIN -- OH. IT DOES."
"Yeah...Sorta. It'd be fine if we were on more even footing. I like fighting worthy opponents."
"YES!"

Man, some of these move choices are...Less than ideal. And kinda late.

But we keep trucking, until we're done at last.
"We're gonna do it!"
"WE WILL SEE WHAT WORTHY FOES OUR EFFORTS HAVE BROUGHT!"

"Ready, Spike?"
"Ready, Seed!"
"Ready, Mistress!"
"Ready as we'll ever be!"
"What are you guys doing here?"
Phoebe jumped onto him with a glom. He glanced at Terra and ChuChu, without realizing it: ChuChu glared and Terra shrugged.
"Hey, hey, we're not trying to usurp anything... But just because we won't be there because of league rules... Doesn't mean we won't show our support."
"We're your cheering section! And we've got a song!"
"OH NO."
"Ohhhh yes."


"Let's get down to business! To defeat -- uhhh-- those guys!"



"You're unsuited for the rage of war...So pack up, go home, you're through!"

"How could I -- make a man -- out of you?"
"This has has become a lot less of the feel-good song I wanted..."
"I'm just participating in my own way."
"Well, stop helping!"



All: "Be a man!"
"You must be swift as a coursing river!"


All: "Be a Man!"
"With all the force of a great typhoon!"


All: "Be a Man!"
"With all the strength of a raging fire!"

"Mysterious as the dark side of the moon..."
"Man, they even upstage us during musical numbers..."
"Yeah. Happens. I'm betting on a Tenchi solution, personally."

"Hey, guys...As much as I love that song, I think we're done with it."
"Alrighty!"
"You didn't mind all that gender-fixated fuss, Spike?"
"Eh, I'm alright. I mean, you put up with all sorts of mess from everyone, right?"
"Yeah. I mean, they're my crew. That makes us like family. Or something."
"Yeah. I kinda noticed...And...I think you're right. I figured 'what would Seed do?' and let them have their giggles. It was...kinda fun."



"It was pretty fun, headache aside."
"Yeah... I guess that's your skill."
"Skill?"
"I heard an old story that trainers like you...Had special skills. Specialties. Some could catch pokemon with ease, or work really well with a specific type, or raise a really powerful pokemon using math... But then there's you.
I didn't think I could get this far with you. I didn't think I could ever be this strong, or have so many people I wanted to protect. That's something you did.
Even if we have every reason to distrust you...Sooner or later, our resistance is overcome, and we like you."
"That's not magic. That's just interpersonal skills."
"Eh. I'm just saying... I guess... What I'm saying is, I've learned a lot, too.
And whatever happens in there, well... You make me proud to protect those bonds you've made. And that I've made, too."
"...Likewise."
We fist-bump.

Also, sorry for the brevity. Going on a trip, so packing cuts into editing, so I needed a shorter chapter.