Pokemon: Aschen Adventures (IC)

[BluesEclipse]

Thinking for a moment, Gavin replies, "Honestly, I'm not entirely sure what facilities this town would have for that. Were it a stronger and more experienced Pokemon, I'd suggest trekking into the uncleared areas of the mines, but I doubt that would be wise." Shrugging, Gavin says, "Perhaps the receptionist here could give you more information. Either way, I should be going - I intend to see if I can find someone interested in buying an Oval Stone... or, failing that, I'll see if someone here can utilize my knowledge." Standing up, and turning to leave, Gavin stops for a moment, before turning back to the young trainer. "My offer from before still stands, by the way - should you ever change your mind." Walking back to the rooms, Gavin pulls out his Pokedex, using it to post a quick notice that he has an Oval Stone available for sale to any interested buyer. Nodding as he finishes that, he closes his eyes and falls asleep.

[Gorgondantess]

Gavin & Nathan:
The next day dawns. It is quiet, aside from the muffled sounds of mining far off in the distance. What did you really expect to happen overnight anyways?

Adela:
Brandon nods. "Magikarp, eh? Yeah, I've been thinking about getting one of those- a Gyarados would be fantastic. Still, it would involve, well... training a magikarp... and I'm far too impatient to lower myself to that level."
He winks.
"So, you live here in Heartshome?"

[Ajadea]

Adela nods. "Yeah, I do. But I'm going head out on Route 423 later today after I get Vichi here patched up. With this insane Magikarp in tow. It tried to chase me. On land. Where are you off to?"

[OrchestraHc]

T.J. squeezed the trigger of the bottle, spraying the pidgeotto with potion. when the bottle emptied he decided to make his appeal. "I'm sorry I almost got you killed." He stopped and thought about what he said for a minute. "Let me rephrase that. I'm sorry I took advantage of your situation. My plan blew up in your face. Thing is, trainers are going to keep trying to catch you, so chances this might happen again are likely. Sooo..." T.J. turned and pointed down the road. "Want to go with me to Axelo Town, and get you unmarked?" he blurted out.

Spoiler

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Potion (1d10+10)[20]

[Gorgondantess]

Adela:
Brandon narrows his eyes, looking quizzical.
"...Heading down Route 423?... Why, exactly? Going anywhere in particular, or..." He trails off. You can tell this is something of a pointed question.

TJ:
The Pidgeotto chirps, flapping back on its log and hopping back and forth. It seems much more comfortable around you, but, for whatever reason, doesn't seem to understand what you're saying.

[Ajadea]

"I've been wanting to see somewhere other than Heartshome," Adela replies. "Never changes here. Either everything's normal, or the Center's been attacked. Once you've seen this place both ways, you've seen all of it. I've been thinking of going to Moira Town, if I can find a Fire-type or Flying pokemon."

[Gorgondantess]

Brandon narrows his eyes further, cocking his head.
"...You aren't trying to take the Pokemon League Challenge, are you?"

Spoiler

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...A forest is the wrong place to look for a fire type. Sunsong mountains is the best place, though Route 56, either of the deserts, or Ritriin mountains could also do the trick.

[Ajadea]

"It's not something I've completely thrown out the window. Not something I'm trying especially hard to do either, though."

Spoiler

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Vulpix: grassy areas of Route 423. Numel: Base of mountains by Route 423. Basically, if Adela manages to find one of those on her way to Sandberg, she will consider stopping at Moira Town, to poke around the forest at least, but into a grass & bug pokemon heavy area without a fire type or a flying type seems like a terrible idea.

[OrchestraHc]

"Okay, communications breakdown," T.J. said to himself. Perhaps he was too wordy. "Do you," he said slowly, including a nice point at the pokemon. "Want to come," this time said along with a beconing hand motion. "With me," puntuating it with a few pokes to his chest. "To Axelo?" finishing his question a long point down the road.

[Gorgondantess]

Ajadea:
Brandon looks confused. "Then, I have to wonder, why become a trainer at all? Is there some other goal to it here in Aschen? Pokemon beauty contests, perhaps? Or maybe synchronized swimming?" He scoffs. "I suppose that's not really surprising, all things considered."

TJ:
The Pidgeotto cocks its head. It caws, then flies up, taking a corpse with it and lands on its telephone pole. It's still watching you, but less on edge than before.

Gavin:
Come morning, your foot is quite sore, but it's more of a fleshwound sore, and doesn't seem to be infected anymore. The nurse did her job. You're given a utilitarian cane to help you get around town.
You head towards the mines. It's all business there, with carts and trucks and sweating, dirty men bustling about. Various shanty shacks litter the area, and asking about you're pointed in two directions: you can inquire about jobs at the foreman's office, and one of the shacks is something of a merchant who sells off the weird stuff they find in the deeps.

[Bad Situation]

The Pokemon Center wasn't under attack. Taking this as a good sign, Nathan slung his bag over his shoulder and departed from the Center. He'd spent the entirety of yesterday walking, and this struck him as wasteful. A trainer couldn't very well do well in a career without training his Pokemon. The sleepy town looked mostly devoid of trainers, so he would need to take his battling to the outdoors.

He hated the outdoors.

Sighing, he whistled a cheerful tune in an attempt to make the bst of it.

[BluesEclipse]

Thinking for a moment, Gavin heads into the foreman's office, looking around for whoever is in charge. When he finds the foreman, he says, "Good morning... I'm here to offer my services to your mining operations. I happen to be a specialist in petrology and minerology, so I do believe my skills would be of significant value to you..."

[OrchestraHc]

That was as good an answer T.J. felt he was going to get. He started down the road, periodically checking over his shoulder to see if the bird was following. While walking, he touched his hand to his scratched up face, wincing a bit at the pain. He checked his hand for blood.
This Murkrow misadventure had cost him a portion of his supplies, so he'd have to reload a bit earlier than he thought. Not a problem, he thought to himself, Axelo isn't even a walk. Unless of course I get attacked on the way there. T.J.'s thought's froze himself still for a moment. He told himself not to think about it and started walking again, with a noticeable increase in speed to his usual ambling.

[Ajadea]

"To see new things without having to worry about wild Pokemon as much," Adela says with a small shrug. "Getting a Riolu egg for my birthday last year was a big part of it too."

[Gorgondantess]

Nathan:
As Nathan walks, the day, again, grows hotter and hotter. So very hot- it's infuriating, really. He primarily keeps to the road, as walking on the rocky ground off to the side hurt his feet. As he moves on, it starts to become a little more verdant: there's actually green grass, rather than desert shrubberies. In fact, could that be... it is... shade. Shade, provided by trees. It seems that there's something of a small lake at the corner of the mountain, likely the product of runoff. It being high noon, any respite is worth a break in his movement, and he runs over to catch some shade made by a tree at the water's edge. Being out of the sun and the proximity of the water actually make things a rather relaxing temperature. He sits down, closing his eyes a moment to enjoy things.
"Bidoof!"
Looking to the side, he sees a bidoof advancing on him. It seems blissfully happy, and he thinks it's likely coming over to him to cuddle more than anything else.
"Bidoof!"
Except not from the same bidoof. This came to the side, where there's another bidoof advancing on him.
"Bidoof!"
More bidoofs. Two flank him on each side, and several more begin rising out of the water, all advancing on him at once. Nine in total.
"Bidoof, biii!"

Adela:
Brandon shrugs. "Well... alright then, if you say so. I suppose I'll be seeing you around, then, trainer." And with a wink and a nod, he leaves the gym.

TJ:
TJ continues to travel along the road. He does not, in fact, get attacked along the way there. It's quite hot, though, at this point. Uncomfortably so, even for a native, this close to the desert.
Soon enough, there's something off in the distance. Very far off are the mountains... but before that, a crossroads. He's on the southern road. To the north the asphalt fades to dirt, and leads into the Garin desert. And to the east it continues, heading up to hug the mountain range and move onwards towards Axelo.
And to the west, no road, but a rest stop. Small, but serviceable. He finds it deserted aside from a girl wearing a straw hat, throwing stones at a can. Next to her is an abra in an identical hat, sleeping as abras tend to do.
She nods at your approach. "Howdy, stranger. Would you like any of my fine comestibles... to cool you down under the hot, hot Aschen sun?"
She speaks in a slow drawl, slow enough to cause impatience. TJ almost loses track of what she's saying she speaks so slowly.

[Ajadea]

Adela heads out of the gym, stopping at the Pokemon Center to get Vichi patched up before heading out to Route 423. How insane would it be to try and train Bane on land? she wonders. It was a strong Pokemon, just...limited, terrain-wise. I need to get it evolved, one way or another. Off to Axelo Town, and then...perhaps Sandberg, perhaps somewhere else. The world wasn't going anywhere.

[OrchestraHc]

Luck was on T.J.'s side. First he managed to avoid being attacked now he had a cance to rest and restock. All he had to do was interact with another human being without making a fool of himself. "I, um. Hello," he said to the girl. So far so good. "S-something to drink would be great. A-also, Pokemon supplies." He said that last part wrong. "Sorry. I-I mean, do you have any Pokemon supplies?" he stammered to quickly correct himself. He tried to muster the courage to approach the pair, but backed up instead, justifying it to himself as trying to keep a respectful distance. "My name is Timothy, by the way, but I like T.J. better."

[Bad Situation]

He'd read stories, firsthand accounts of the horrors suffered under the large buck teethed Pokemon but he had never believed them. Nathan understood it now. This was the reckoning. The end of all things.

This was the Bidoofpocalypse.

He turned tail and ran.

Nathan: >Abscond

[Gorgondantess]

Nathan:
You spin around a beat feet, fleeing from the mass of bidoofs... but, focused on the bidoofs in the water, you miss one in your path! It lunges forwards, grabbing onto your jeans, and you trip... tumble... and fall to the ground. You groan, getting up only to see eye to eye with a bidoof, resting on your leg.
"Bidoof!"
The other bidoofs are climbing up towards you, but you have gained some distance.

Adela:
You travel along the good route for a time, Vichi following along beside you. It's hot, as always, but Adela toughs it out with no problems. Vichi lags a bit, but he toughs it out too, apparently not wanting to go back in his ball.
Everything seems quiet. Mundane. Nothing out of the usual. Then...
Whap! With a loud whoosh, a blur of feathers and a cloud of dust, Vichi is gone. A massive pidgeotto, coming seemingly out of nowhere snatches him up and is up, up and away. For the longest of moments, all you can do is stand there, stupefied, as it struggles to fly him away, Vichi screaming all the while.

[Gorgondantess]

T.J.
The girl smiles weakly and with heavy lids, nodding at your hello.
"James... why don't you... fetch our guest something to drink?"
The abra blinks out of existence.
She actually grins at T.J., showing her teeth. They're very crooked.
"Then T.J. you shall be called. As for pokemon supplies..."
She reaches into a duffle bag resting beside her, pulling out an worn, faded potion.
"I guess I was saving this for James... but... I suppose I could let you have this and the drink for... 100 poke?"
She shrugs, holding it out for T.J. At that moment, he feels a tug on his pantsleg. Looking down, he finds the abra holding up a dusty can of cola to him.

She stops you before you leave.
"Well now... hold on, son... I can see that you're a trainer... and I can see that I'm a trainer... And you can see that I can see that I'm a trainer... Or..."
She trails off more than usual, seeming to have lost her train of thought.
"...Want to battle?"

[OrchestraHc]

T.J. took the can from the abra and rubbed the top clean with his shirt. The can made a satisfying pop when he opened it up. "Thank you for both" he said paying for the soda and and potion. He turned around taking a deep sip from the soda. It was warm, but in this heat, it was so good. And then she challenged him.

He coughed out his soda, a bit of the drink going up his nose. He wiped his face as clean as he could before sputtering out, "W-well I just got out of it with some Murkrows..." Big Dipper was sidelined for the day and his new Murkow, who he made a mental note to run a name by later, was fresh caught. He contemplated using Dancho anyway. The potion from earlier had put him at just below full steam. It was also his first challenge. His first real challenge. How could he not use his starter? "Hmm. Would- would you be okay with a quick one on one?" he asked.

[Bad Situation]

Scrambling around on the floor Nathan kicked and flailed wildly in an attempt to fling the Bidoof from his person. He needed help, badly at that. Frantically, he reached down to his belt he amd unclipped the first Pokeball that curled into hsi grip and threw it into the air. In his frenzies state of mind, he had accidentally released the wrong Pokemon.

To its credit, the tiny mole Pokemon does its best to look frightening.

[Gorgondantess]

Gavin:
You enter the foreman's office, which seems to be a shack like any other, albeit a bit cleaner. Inside you find... not exactly what you expected. At first you think he's not the foreman: the man is very, very tall, well over 2 metres, and skinny. He wears rugged clothing and a stetson hat, and seems to try to look rugged, with loose-kept hair and a patchy beard, but nevertheless, looks like he'd fall down from a stiff breeze. You can't really tell his age- heavy lines around the eyes belie otherwise smooth features. When you enter, he lopes over to you and grips your palm in a bone-crushing handshake.
"James Watson, foreman, proprietor. How do you like my mines?"
He grins broadly, and listens to your answer, and request. Here, he sits back down, more businesslike.
"Well... there's one thing I can think of off the top of my head. See, we recently came across a kabutops fossil in one of the walls of the mine we were intending to blast through with dynamite. Very rare, very valuable, and in one of the deeper areas; I was waiting for a trainer to come through and clear it before just blasting the damn thing and charging on... but if you could head down and give an appraisal of the area, see if there might be any more, I'd be much obliged.
Now, fair warning: this is in one of the deepest areas of the mine. There's gengar, steelix, and worse down there. We'll be able to send a few guards and trainers, but I can hardly guarantee your safety.
If you're afraid to get your feet wet, I can always use someone to appraise the odds and ends we dig up."

[BluesEclipse]

"A Kabutops, you say... Interesting." Smiling as he pulls out his Pokedex, Gavin says, "I might be able to help... though, of course, I'd have to see what assistance I'd have before agreeing to something so dangerous. Especially since at present I only have one Pokemon that's in a battle-worthy condition..." Gavin shrugs, and nods to himself as he reviews the available information on Kabutops before continuing, "And of course, there's also the matter of how much I'd be paid for my services. I'm sure, though, you'll make it worth the risk...?" As Gavin says this, he moves to put away his Pokedex, but stops and begins looking for something else while waiting for the foreman's answer.

Spoiler

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I know you mentioned the Pokedex serving as a phone of sorts... is it possible to look up specific trainers with it? Because if so, Gavin will attempt to look up Nathan's information and try to contact him - better to have at least one trainer he KNOWS is competent helping him, after all.

[Ajadea]

Adela:
You travel along the good route for a time, Vichi following along beside you. It's hot, as always, but Adela toughs it out with no problems. Vichi lags a bit, but he toughs it out too, apparently not wanting to go back in his ball.
Everything seems quiet. Mundane. Nothing out of the usual. Then...
Whap! With a loud whoosh, a blur of feathers and a cloud of dust, Vichi is gone. A massive pidgeotto, coming seemingly out of nowhere snatches him up and is up, up and away. For the longest of moments, all you can do is stand there, stupefied, as it struggles to fly him away, Vichi screaming all the while.

Adela gapes, unable to make her feet move. Damn it. There was about one option that sounded good, and she didn't even like that idea. She flicked her single full Pokeball into her hand and began to run after the Pidgeotto. Midstride, she lobbed the Pokeball and watched it snap open in the air. Time for this insane Magikarp to do its thing. "You!" she snaps, pointing at the oversized fish Pokemon. "Bounce! Attack that Pidgeotto. Hear me? Attack the bird."

Spoiler

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Accuracy Check - (1d20)[14]
Damage - (3d20+2)[31]

[Gorgondantess]

TJ:
The girl giggles.
"Well... sure. I only have James, anyways."
She grins, surprisingly cheery relative to the phlegmatic nature you saw before. It's obviously quite fake.
"Now, how much would you like to ante it's no fun if you're not going to ante." She grins some more, and pulls out a crumpled wad of cash, throwing it on the ground before her.
She's acting strangely. The grin, and her words are wooden. You can't quite put your finger on it, though.

Adela:
The magikarp just misses the pidgeotto, and it flies off into the distance.
Thankfully, though, it's being weighed down: at first it had the advantage of momentum, and Vichi was stunned... but now Vichi is flailing about wildly, and the bird is focused more on keeping the squirming pokemon from damaging it than flying: it's losing altitude, and is flying slower.
By now it's about 100 yards from you, and is heading to a copse of trees.

Gavin:
The man nods. "Prudent. You'll have two of my guards with you. One of 'em will be carrying a shotgun, and the other has an excadrill. That should be able to deal with any swarms of bat pokemon, and any rock pokemon, assuming it doesn't kill you first. Pay's 10,000 poke. The other job, you get 5% commission for each item you identify."

[OrchestraHc]

Ante? Ante! He had heard about this. A wager between trainers. It's generally how they make their money. "Is-is a thousand good?" He wished he sounded a little more confident when he said that. Sounding like he didn't know what he was doing, because he didn't, made him feel foolish. He pulled out a thousand in bills and folded it up neatly before dropping it on the pile with the girl's wager. "Alright..." he had stopped just as he was about to say something. He had forgotten to do something important. Without which that sentence would remain forever unfinished. It was also fairly rude of him. "I'm so sorry! I forgot to ask you your name."

[BluesEclipse]

"Indeed..." Gavin mutters, thinking the situation over. One trainer, albeit with a rather ideal Pokemon for this environment... and one other armed individual. I suppose it should be sufficient, coupled with my own Pokemon. "Very well... I'm willing to head down whenever they're ready, then. Once this is done, I might stay on to help with appraisal for a bit, as well..." Gavin says, "But we'll see."

[Bad Situation]

Nathan blinked back tears as he ran, trying not to think of the crushing defeat at the hands of the wild Pokemon. He knew it was silly, that it was lucky he got away without his own Pokemon dying, but it felt bad to lose. He understood this more than anything now. Losing meant turning heel accepting the fact that you were weak. He hated it.

But not enough to quit.

He hated all the travel he was being forced into, he hated how the dust in the sometimes made him cough, and he hated most of all the fact that the world made him feel so exposed. Back in school, back in the city there was always someone watching. There was always someone out to get you; there was an element of competition that drove him to wall up his thoughts and focus on the goal. The air felt too clean, almost sterile on his lips. The earth felt too natural, as if it hadn't been stepped on for the thousandth time that day. But most of all, it made him think or goof off.

Pokemon. Competition. Success. When he had a goal it was easy to regulate his thoughts. Here he felt flaccid, too unfocused. He yearned for the single minded devotion that had carried him so well in his earlier life.

It wasn't as if he didn't have an over arching ambition. Becoming champion was still his dream, however far off it seemed at the moment. But with it being so far away he could but chase it half-heartedly.

He needed something short term to set his sights on. Some rest would do him good. With his resolve settled, Nathan continued on his way to the Pokemon Center with a renewed fervor.

[Gorgondantess]

TJ:
The girl smiles and nods. "One thousand would be... just fine."
Nodding again, she walks over to her abra and slings him up onto her shoulder. "My name?..."
She steps forwards.
"My name is..."
She reaches down, and sweeps up the pile of cash.
"Teleport."
Blink, and you've missed it: the girl, the abra, the money, are all gone. You've been swindled.

Gavin:

Spoiler

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Sorry for not answering you earlier. No, you can't do that, except for notable trainers. Think modern day internet. Can you look up any random person? ...Okay, maybe. >.>

You're handed over to an assistant, who takes you into the mines. Not before you're given a hardhat, though. There's a sign at the entrance stating that those who enter shall hold no liability against Axello Mining Co. for any and all damages or injuries suffered within the mines, blah blah blah, those who enter do so at their own risk, blah blah, don't sue us, blah. You wait a bit to the side for your escorts to arrive: a thin, young looking fellow equipped like a soldier, with lighting gear, torches, body armor, a handgun, shotgun, a pack full of god knows what, the works. Your other escort, the trainer, is a gruff, hairy man, who looks like he likely only has his excadrill for mining purposes.
The armed man approaches you. "Hi there, Malcolm Reynolds here, and the quiet gentleman's name's Jacob. So, you're the brain we're to be escorting on the suicide mission today?"
He grins a manic grin. The other man crosses his arms, and nods. You notice the other man, Jacob is covered in scars.