Pokemon: Aschen Adventures (IC)

[Gorgondantess]

Nathan:
The Durant sniffs at your pokedex, picking it up with its mandibles and giving it a lick. You hear a crack as the strong jaws punch through its shell, and deciding it's not to its tastes, it tosses the device aside. Thankfully, the light manages to stay on. It then narrows its eyes and approaches you cautiously.

Adela:
The Venomoth flutters out of the way of your attack as Screech bolts down through the top of the canopy, landing into the Venomoth with all the viciousness she can muster. She manages to take a chunk out of its abdomen, leaving it to bleed as she wings around for another attack. The Venomoth stabilizes, though, and eyes glowing, launches a waving green beam at Screech. It punches right through her defenses and she goes crashing into the nearest tree, proving once again the aptness of her name.

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53 damage to Screech.

The Venomoth hovers in place, staring you down but not attacking, as if just daring you to make another move.

[Bad Situation]

Using the wall as leverage, Nathan stands himself up and slowly backs away from the Pokemon. The thing was obviously hungry, whether or not it wanted to eat him however, was yet to be determined. Regardless of its intentions, it had made its presence known, meaning this was a good chance to catch it now.

"Ender, use Thundershock," he orders calmly.

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Accuracy Check (Thundershock): (1d20)[16]
Damage: (1d12+26)[30] I forgot to add in my Improved Attacks. Make that +3 damage for a total of 33.

[Gorgondantess]

TJ & Neimi:

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You don't have a pokegear. You have a pokedex. This is a world with a somewhat higher technology level than our own: pokedexes are a combination of tablet, smartphone, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Pokeverse, among other things. Also, the pOS being open source, there's even all sorts of neat apps that can even allow you to turn the scanner into a laser thermometer, speedometer, infrared scanner, among other things. Basically, anything you can imagine a portable device to do, it'll do, all in one handy little device. Hell, even people with no interest in pokemon get pokedexes, they're so damn useful. Just another way in which the League has infiltrated everyday life.

Flipping open your pokedex, you find that it's 10:30; PokEarth lays out a route to the ranger station, and gives you an estimate of 38 minutes walking time. You're going to have to leave now.
You head off at a brisk walk. The kid starts huffing and puffing relatively quickly, but you find the exercise invigorating. You tear through the crowds and quickly enough make it there- by now, most have started in the competition, and it's a sparse place. 11:04- decent time. You find a ranger, who shakes his head as you approach. "You're late. Gimme your registration papers, I'll get you two to one of the cars. Think we have a few left..."
You explain to him that you're not here for the Bug Catching Competition, but to catch a helicopter.
"Oh. Well, you're still late." He sighs. "I'll take you to the helipad."
He takes you across the facility. It takes a few minutes, but eventually you get to a concrete slab, with a man standing before a rather plain but rugged looking helicopter. A short, broad man stands before it, wearing a standard pilot's aviators and helmet.
"You must be the Hatori kid. I'm Bill." He nods towards TJ. "Who's he?"

[Ajadea]

Adela curses, ignoring the fact that the Magnemite-cam is dutifully recording her every word, and withdraws the now quite thoroughly unconscious Screech. It was close enough for comfort. She throws an Ultra Ball at the Venomoth, and even though she doesn't really buy into the idea of higher powers in general, she does cross her fingers and hope that it sticks.

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Capture! - (1d100-10)[39]

[Nyna]

Neimi was winded for a couple of minutes as they were led to the helipad, but had her breath back by then, giving Bill a small smile as she responded. "Sorry we're late. This is T.J., he's a friend. I invited him to come along, if it's not a problem? He won't cause any trouble, promise." It had been perhaps a touch impulsive to invite T.J. along without even checking if it was okay first, but then, there hadn't really been any time to check either. Hopefully Bill was the understanding sort. Not that it should really be a problem...

[OrchestraHc]

"I'm s--sorry, sir. Is th--that not allowed" T.J asked, trying to stifle his stutter. As he was speaking he shuffled back slightly.

[Gorgondantess]

Adela:
The Venomoth goes down, into the pokeball. It dances about once, twice... three times... and...
Shoot! It was so close, too! The Venomoth bursts out of the ultra ball, flaring its wings majestically, eyes glowing a deep red. Your vision begins to blur, sparks and colors dancing before your eyes. You stumble, and almost collapse, noticing liquid dripping down- your nose is bleeding like a faucet. You barely stay conscious, and feel enervated, disoriented, and have a nauseating, splitting headache.

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46 damage.

Nathan:
Ender lets out an arc of electricity at the Durant, brilliantly illuminating the room for just a moment. It blinds you for a few seconds, and as soon as your eyes recover the Durant is before you with surprising speed, opting for a squishier target: you. It clamps down on your leg, ripping its head back and forth and shredding through clothes and flesh alike.

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33 damage right back at ya!

[Bad Situation]

Biting back a curse, Nathan whips his leg about to pry the Pokemon loose and stumbles away from the steel ant to order another attack from Ender, "-Kuh, Ender, shock it again. Make it count this time." In a smooth, practiced motion Nathan readies a grey and yellow Pokeball, grip expanding to accommodate the newly sized Ultra ball. It was almost a waste using his Ultra balls on such a shabby looking Pokemon but somehow he doubted in the effectiveness of his Heavy balls against such a small Pokemon. When Ender makes his attack he raises the ball above and behind his ear and whips it at the bug Pokemon in a sharp swing, watching it sail and crash against the metallic exoskeleton with an audible clack.

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Thundershock~!
Accuracy Check: (1d20)[4]
Damage: (1d12+26)[35]

Capture~!
(1d100-10)[4]

[Gorgondantess]

Dalton:
You head towards the ENKA offices, keeping an eye out as you go. The fact that nobody was trying to mug, con or beg off of you was really off-putting. You quickly enough reach the large, pristine ENKA building, all white metal and gleaming glass next to all the other large, pristine offices. You enter, finding the pristine inside all white tile, gleaming glass and enough air conditioning to instantly give you goosebumps. It was blazing hot outside, sure, but it was a dry heat. Balmy, even. Much better than the Johto summers where the air was so hot and wet and humid that every stench of the city (and there were a lot) hung there thick enough to taste.
A young, pretty and plastic (though not in such a bad way) secretary pertly waits at the front desk just for people like you. She giggles at your request, and at first you think she's mocking you, before she speaks.
"Oh my god I just love your accent, it's so charming! Are you from Goldenrod? You know, I've always wanted to go there, it seems just so... lively. Exciting! Nothing like boring old Rogen, at any rate.
Anyways... the contest here really isn't anything so organized. We take challengers all day- though, if someone is already challenging, of course you won't be able to challenge at the same time. You can make a reservation if you'd like, though. Is that alright with you?"
She grins, showing off a set of perfect white teeth.

Nathan:
The ultra ball does indeed crash against the Durant with an audible clack, bouncing off and rolling back towards you. The stench of burnt flesh and metal fills the air. The Durant is fried.
You go to retrieve your fallen pokeball, which is thankfully still usable, and pick up your pokedex: it can still glow, and still make calls, but the screen is trashed.
As you look back up towards the entrance, and grimace at the steep climb- you have your doubts about making your way up there without problem whole and hale, let alone with a wounded leg- you hear a clacking from behind you.
Holding your pokedex out before you like a ward, you look down the tunnel... and see two more Durants coming your way!

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If you wanna try charging up the slope, make a dex check. You can still make commands in such a situation, though it may be unwise to leave your pokemon back as a decoy. Otherwise... have fun!

[Bad Situation]

Hanging back to avoid attention, Nathan bends down to clutch at his knee and tries to staunch the bleeding with his hands. Ender and Nathan share a look and without any sort of verbal command the Magenemite floats to the maximum range of its electric attack and rips another fierce bolt of lightning at the closest bug-type.

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Thundershock~!
Accuracy: (1d20)[4]
Damage: (1d12+29)[30]

[Ajadea]

Definitely time to cut her losses, then. Adela lobs a Great Ball at the Venomoth, hoping that it somehow works. She doesn't stick around to see, instead diving into the bushes. Only when hidden in the undergrowth does she dare look back.

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Note to self: levels in Athlete sound good. I'm spending far too much time running from things. Also, I just realized reading back, but you seem to have missed that I withdrew Vichi when I sent out Screech.

(1d100)[25]

[Gorgondantess]

Nyna & TJ:
Bill cocks an eyebrow, and grunts. "Not unless the two of you weigh more n' 800 pounds, it should be fine." He gestures towards the passenger's cabin.
"We're on a timetable, and you're already late anyways. Get in and buckle up. And for god's sake, don't release any heavy pokemon while you're inside."
You both pile in to the helicopter's cabin, surprisingly finding a cozy situation with nice leather seats. It's rather reminiscent of the back of a luxury car, really, though with more empty space and harnesses rather than seatbelts. You notice a small gyro mount on the lefthand side: that's where you'll be taking photos from.
"A few things: first, stay in the harnesses at all times. I'm not kidding. If- when- you need to get up, you can detach it from your seat, but you'll still have a cable going back to the cabin.
Second: ANYTHING you have in your pockets, attached to a belt- pokeballs, pokedex, food, a piece of paper, whatever- you put in the floor compartment. If it gets sucked out of the cabin, and if it gets sucked out of the cabin, it'll hit the tail rotor. Best case scenario, I get a bent tail rotor on my helicopter. Worst case scenario, you fuck it up and I have to autorotate back to civilization.
I'm going to make this very clear: we'll be miles from anything even remotely resembling a decent landing zone. We'll be miles from anything where I can make a crash landing without killing someone. You release a pokemon, you put something down that's not secured, you screw around at all, we're turning around. I know I can handle anything that happens, but I don't know about you two. We clear?"

[OrchestraHc]

"Y-yessir." T.J. says. He dutifully follows the pilot's instructions like a child on a field trip, which he essentially is. His pockets and belt are emptied into the compartment and he straps himself, or allows himself to be strapped in if that's the case. He sits back in the chair nervously, contemplating psychicly pinning himself to his chair.

[Bad Situation]

Summary:

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The first Durant charges into range and Ender zaps it for his troubles. Taking this as an opportunity, the second Durant screeches at Ender and lowers its defense. To pull some steam off of Ender, Nathan throws an Ultra Ball at the faster Durant and allows Ender to finish off the remaining bug.

Bending down, Nathan picks up the ball containing his capture with a triumphant smirk. Glancing up at the Magnemite-cam, he gives the ball a little wave and smiles confidently, tossing the ball up and down in the air. Chances are this his capture wasn't going to be seen by many people but on the off chance that it was, he would need to play it up for the cameras.

"Good job, Ender." Beckoning the Magnemite closer, Nathan retrieves a Potion from his bag and sprays it on floating steel-type. "We'll get an evolution out of you, yet."

Potion Heal: (2d12+10)[27]

If nothing comes to bother him, Nathan slowly climbs out of the dark pit and when he's out of the gloom he tries to check if his Pokedex is still functioning.

[Nyna]

((Is there already a camera on the mount? If not then Neimi will mount hers before sitting.))

Neimi listened closely, nodding a couple of times as Bill spoke. "You got it. I make it a policy to listen to the person in charge of whatever it is I'm flying in." She smiled as she would remove her bag and empty her pockets, placing the contents inside the floor compartment. Neimi then moved to sit next to T.J., strapping herself in. She had flown in a helicopter a few times before, so she was familiar with the drill. Neimi would doublecheck T.J.'s straps just to be sure, before relaxing, satisfied. "Excited?"

[OrchestraHc]

T.J. settles for a for nod afraid if he starts speaking he won't be able to stop stuttering. He's not even in the air yet and he's already shaking like a leaf. Very visibly shaking. He's scared out of his mind, but he can't stop smiling. He notices how calm she is and tries to ask how, but all that comes out is, "Y-y-y-y-yuh-yuh," and he has to put his hand over his mouth. He cracks his fingers open and speaks one word at a time. "You've. Done. This. Before?"

[Nyna]

Neimi eyed T.J., seeing his rather obvious discomfort and nervousness. "Relax, relax. Take a deep breath. We'll be fine." She smiled. "And yes, I've flown on a helicopter a few times before. Nothing quite like this, but it's part of my job. I was a bit nervous the first time myself, but nothing happened, and it's quite a bit of fun once you let yourself relax."

[Bolt]

Upon walking inside (glancing behind himself as the doors shut to make sure he's not being followed) and having his flesh assaulted by the change in temperature Dalton grimaces and begins to rub his upper arms. He doesn't think that he particularly enjoys the ultra-clean look of everything, since it makes him think about fat business men sucking on dirty cigars while they sit on ten thousand dollar chairs, but if those fat men are going to hand him some cash then he's willing to hold in his snide remarks... at least for now- plus, he supposes it's ever so slightly (slightly!) more trustworthy than a run-down slum.

He approaches the desk with his steely-gray eyes set fearlessly on the woman. She's pretty, he guesses, but being met with such blindingly white teeth gives him the impression that she uses wayyy too many Crest White Strips- girl probably has her throat bleached and bloody too! He is irked when she giggles, but luckily she goes on to speak before he decides to comment on her sense of humor. The compliments roll off of his back for the most part, though he does slide his hands into his pockets and provide the woman with an uncomfortable nod of acknowledgement. He doesn't get into talk of his home city, he doesn't feel like it.

She offers to reserve a place for him in the competition or event or whatever this is, and flashes those bleached choppers again. "Depends on what time ya wanna put me down for." It would definitely take much more than a few hours for him to actually succeed at catching anything, plus some rest between roughing it and fighting for some cash would be preferable. "Do ya have space for later tomorrow or sometin'?" He pauses to take a suspicious glance towards the computer sitting on the counter, "And is it free?" He isn't going to pay some insane registration fee and then get screwed over for it later! No way!

[Gorgondantess]

Nathan:
You manage to hobble your way out of the cave, crawling up the steep slope so much as walking. Outside, you check the display on your pokedex: it's trashed. You can still send and take calls, and it can provide a light source, but it's all just a static image common to broken LCD displays.
Thankfully, the cliff wall provides you with NESW, but you're pretty sure you'd lose your orientation pretty quickly in the woods. Things are not looking up, that's for certain.

Adela:
You dive into the bushes, dodging the Venomoth's burst of rainbow energies and getting some good cover between you and the pissed off bug. And with that, you make your escape. Got away safely!
...Well, sorta. Screech is KO'd, you're rather worse for wear yourself, and all you have left are two pokemon largely unfit for such an environment: Vichi, who has a type advantage, and your Magikarp who is... well, a Magikarp. Where to?

[Ajadea]

There isn't much shot at getting something good at this point. Adela pinches her nose until blood stops dripping from it, then slowly returns to the tree, seeing if the Venonat is still there. The moths didn't seem like parenting sorts, and that was her last real shot at anything much better than a Caterpie.

[OrchestraHc]

Neimi eyed T.J., seeing his rather obvious discomfort and nervousness. "Relax, relax. Take a deep breath. We'll be fine." She smiled. "And yes, I've flown on a helicopter a few times before. Nothing quite like this, but it's part of my job. I was a bit nervous the first time myself, but nothing happened, and it's quite a bit of fun once you let yourself relax."

T.J. takes a long deep inhale through his nose and exhales through his mouth. "Ah-I. Yeah. Y-You're right. I'm-m okay. M-must b-be exciting, to d-do this-s-so often."

[Bad Situation]

Scowling at the broken Pokedex, Nathan pockets the mostly ruined device and peers further into the forest. The Pokemon were starting to become more dangerous, a fact that he had just experienced quite harshly. Thankfully, his savior had been at hand for the battle, "Thanks Ender, I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't been around..." Still, now he was stuck in the middle of an infested forest with no map to serve as his guide. Like the girl from before had said, he could no longer just waltz out of the forest any longer. Which reminded him, he still had a goal to accomplish...

Catching Pokemon and training them was all well and good but alone they wouldn't get his name out in the world. With his remaining resources, catching an inordinately powerful Pokemon was simply out of the question meaning the only way he could spread his name around was through theatrics. It was a distasteful notion, but not entirely uncommon for many trainers. His plan, after all, was to make a splash on the training scene, so he couldn't be afraid of getting his hands dirty.

Having decided on his course of action, Nathan randomly heads east. Damsels in distress weren't just going to drop into his lap of course.

[Gorgondantess]

Adela:
You crawl towards the old tree, staying well within the cover of the underbrush. You see your prey: it's dazedly trying to crawl back into the tree, and failing.
Above, the Venonats seem to be stirring a bit. No sight of the adults.

[Ajadea]

In the bushes, Adela grins. She takes out a Great Ball, stands, and throws it. She waits for the shaking to stop. If it works, she dashes in just long enough to grab the ball, then out as fast as humanly possible.

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Capture, then run. Especially run.

Capture! - (1d100)[80]

[Gorgondantess]

Adela:
You chuck your great ball at the Venonat, and it breaks free almost immediately. Shoot- it's a no go. You dive back into the bushes, sprinting off into the distance. Sparing just one look behind you, you see glowing red eyes and the flash of purple wings before you're gone and gone.

Nathan:
You trudge off into the forest, heading blindly east.
Soon enough you find that heading in a straight direction isn't so easy when there are so many obstacles to weave through and no frame of reference. You are positive you've passed that shrub at least three times now! Still, you eventually hear the sound of running water, and rush towards it with all the haste you can muster.
You eventually make it to the river, finding its very proximity a relief from the muggy heat. It's a pretty wide across, it seems, flowing, uh... to your left? It looks pretty calm, anyways- you're pretty sure you could cross it. You're a good swimmer. A few Surskit are dancing merrily about the surface just fine.
As you're looking across, you notice a motion by your feet. A Shuckle has pulled itself towards you, and it's looking up at you, bobbing its head and blowing a bubble happily.

[Bad Situation]

Suppressing a groan, Nathan rubs at his neck. Human beings were simply not cut out for the untamed wilderness, least of all wilderness lacking any sort of air conditioning. Curious, he squats down to get a better look at the shuckle and briefly considers catching it but ultimately decides against it. Shuckle were somewhat niche battlers and lacked any sort of value outside of being foodstuff. If he couldn't turn a profit or find a competitive Pokemon for his team then wasting his few Poke Balls would simply be a waste. Feeling whimsical, he digs a few treats that he had been saving for Simon out of his pocket and scatters them before the shelled Pokemon.

Following the river's path with his eyes, Nathan makes the decision of walking against the current. Pokemon tended to gather nearer to settled bodies of water didn't they? Following the river, at any rate, would prevent him from getting too lost. "C'mon, Ender." And if they were traveling along a body of water, then Ender's electrical strikes would definitely tip the scale in his favor should they encounter more water types.

[Ajadea]

Adela runs all the way to the river, cursing Venomoths and Venonats and overprotective mothers of all sorts. At this rate, she didn't care if her only catch was an infant, but she was damned if she was going to walk out of this place emptyhanded and at least Bane could be useful there.

[Gorgondantess]

Neimi & TJ:
The mount does not have a camera: it's designed to house just about anything, really, and you have no problem hooking your own camera in, slapping on the proper lens and stowing the rest of your gear away as you're told.
The helicopter takes off not long after, and... it's pretty fun, all told. A little more shaky than TJ might've expected- he might start feeling a little nauseous, even- but it's nonetheless an enjoyable experience. The seats are restrictive but comfortable, and with the expansive window you're able to see the landscape drift away below and away from you: the forest is the first to go, then the city as you pass over Route 423, and finally you pass the rugged terrain beyond and start seeing some real mountains.
"Now the swarm is about two clicks north of here, so as I turn this thing around if you'll just look down out of your side window there you'll see a lovely destructive force of nature."
Looking out the lefthand window you struggle to see anything for a while, until you spot a boulder probably ten feet in diameter go flying into the air, and beyond it a small, blurry shape of pale green: a Tyranitar. It's thrashing about, knocking other massive boulders into the air like they were beachballs and just being angry and, well, destructive in general.
"Damn, I wouldn't want to be on foot in these mountains. Don't even ask for me to take us closer: that thing spits in our general direction and we're going down."
He says it with a chuckle, but he's serious. Neimi tries to snap a few shots of it anyways, but it's too far to get a clear picture; besides, you couldn't get a good shot anyways what with all the dust and rocks and rubble in the way.
You continue on your way, not seeing much significant, until a glint appears off in the distance. Bill points it out for you.
"That's where we're headed. As I understand it, normally they appear at a lot higher altitude than this- higher than this can fly, even. This is an important opportunity, so take your shots good, eh girl? And you, kid... uh... try not to distract her, I guess."

[Nyna]

Neimi's eyes widened as she saw the Tyranitar. "I wouldn't even think of asking... I wouldn't want to be any closer to that thing unless I had an army between us and it, and even then..." She shook her head, leaning down slightly to get a good look through her lens. Neimi would zoom in, snapping a couple of pictures, but would shake her head again in disappointment. "Aah, it's no good, like I thought. It's just too far away, and all that mess is just blocking my shot. Ah well. Not what we're here for anyways."

As she waited for the helicopter to get in range of the Beldum swarm, the young woman would turn to look over at T.J. for a moment. "Bet you never expected to see a Tyranitar when you woke up this morning, huh? This is why I love doing this; you never know what you'll see." She grinned as she turned back just in time to see the glint off in the distance. "Aah, that's them, is it? Alright, leave it to me. I'll get some good shots." Neimi would adjust her lens, waiting patiently as the helicopter drew closer, and as she began to get a clear look at the swarm, the shutter began to shut repeatedly as she began snapping photos...

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Snapshot!

(1d20+4)[18]

[Gorgondantess]

Dalton:
The girl smiles. "Well, what time would you like me to put you down for? I should be able to slot you in at just about any time tomorrow."
She laughs again at your last question. "Of course it's free! Because, um..."
She ponders a moment, quirking an eyebrow.
"You know, I've never really thought about why we're running this competition. We're not making any sort of revenue off it." She shrugs. "Well, it's not like ENKA doesn't have plenty of money to throw around, anyways.
Now, could I just get your full name, and what time you'd like to enter?"
She doesn't waste an opportunity to continue chatting you up while she enters the information into the computer.
"So, what brings you to Aschen Mr. Dalton?"