PTA: Wuhtu (IC)

[CosmicOccurence]

Sicarius gives you a loose salute and says, "Nice to meet you, Sarge. And you guys, and you, Miss," he says to Buela. "I am Sicarius. Hah, the nature preserve? Ain't no preserve tight enough to hold me, no Sir. I'm from up north, near the place you call Gateway."

When Piri Piri offers him the berries, Sicarius plucks one up and throws it high into the air. He has time to say, "Thanks, Chief!" to Piri Piri before snatching the berry out of the air. Then he turns to you and says, "So you're gonna be traveling soon, huh? Mind if I tag along?"

Of course you can tag along, but why? Surely there are more talented trainers than me around. I only started two days ago. But I'd love it if you came along Sicarius.

[Kantolin]

Mordecai turned slightly red as he overheard some of the other rangers. Still, they were right - Kamoho... well, among other things, bit him every couple minutes. Was he being a bad trainer? Everything he'd read had no implications of anything /like/ these three - only Kaulu was anything resembling normal. Maybe mankeys were more calm?

But well... the look on Kamoho's face when the doctor had poked Mordecai in the arm. That hadn't been there the day before - he had been worried about Mordecai's safety. Not to mention when Pa'ao had dove forward during those poochyena.

I mean... it went against everything in the book, but maybe... maybe that was okay.

"Well... finish up, guys." Especially Pa'ao, who had spent so much time fighting with Kamoho that he hadn't finished eating. "We've got training to do before it gets too late!"

Just saying that made his aches pop up again. "Um... and let's /not/ go to the beach. Or, uh, where the dwebbles are as that's towards Orum, and we shouldn't push that. Uh... I guess let's go the last direction, then." Which, if he recalled correctly, was where the gro... poochyena had been.

Dandy.

He braced himself after his group finally finished eating. To split up a fight, he returned Pa'ao first, then the others outside of Kamoho - who took up residence pouting on Mordecai's shoulder at whatever last word Pa'ao had had.

But! Now it was out of town. He nodded to a few of the rangers on the way out, feeling more than a little self conscious.

[HZ514]

Spoiler

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Nikolas smiles uncomfortably at all the attention and tries to play it cool but fails horribly. Scratching the back of his head anxiously, he tries to laugh off some of the compliments and redirects their praise to his Pokemon. "I-It's not that big of a deal. My Pokemon did most of the work anyway..." Inside, his heart threatens to beat out of his chest but it subsides long enough for him to call for Loki. "L-Loki, come on out and help." Sensing his trainer's apprehension, Orobas floats the ball over to Nikolas while he bends down to spray Praelia with a Potion. "You did well out there today, sorry I couldn't do this sooner."

Nikolas
Potion Use: [roll0]

Loki
Shift to D7 and use Hypnosis on the Trapinch in D3.
Accuracy Check: [roll1] - Base AC of 6

The Poke Ball feels oddly light in your hand, as there is a definite magical quality to it derived from its inhabitant. Praelia gives you a polite nod while you heal her. She opens her mouth to thank you, but quickly shuts it because you're in the presence of other people.

The Trapinch is able to dodge Loki's hypnotic ray, but it lands right in the path of another attack, resulting in a knockout. Such is the fate of all the remaining pokemon across the battlefield as the trainers around the area advance toward the center. Soon enough, the last Trapinch is captured by a small boy across from you. Cheers erupt all around.

Spoiler

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You helped win the battle war!
Each of your pokemon gain (10*13*75+35*35*12+50*45*5)/14/3=850 EXP! (Swarm math, somehow ended up with an integer!)
In addition to the full Trapinch evo line, these are the pokemon you could have scanned: Excadrill, Volcarona, Voltorb, Xatu, Golbat, Vanillish, Magmortar, Braviary, Bronzong, Castform, Grovyle, Herdier, and Toxicroak

"That. Was. AWESOME!"
"No kidding, bro."
"The guys back home are so not going to believe this happened."
"So, what now?" the boy who caught the Trapinch asks.

Cass steps up and says, "Now we celebrate!" She and her two friends promptly start to set up a large campsite for all those present to sit around and chat. Everyone except one girl helps out. "I'm late to kick Avu's butt,"" she says as she saunters off.

"Hey, Shiny-Trapinch guy! Lend me a hand?" Greg asks you as he struggles to pin down a tent corner.

[HZ514]

Pitch gently happily pats the female on the head, glad to have the two snakes on his team.

As the snake starts hissing, Pitch looks to Carn for a translation. As he does so, he goes into the pack to find some meat and start chopping it up with his knife, calling Outlet over and feeding the Shinx small cubes of meat. He also puts the pot on the fire, trying to get it to heat up.

Carn listens intently while the Ekans continues to hiss with his eyes closed. Once he stops, he joins his sister at your side.

While you're waiting for the pot to heat up, Carn motions you over to him. "He was using some religious terms that went over my head, but the gist of it was a prayer for the strength to protect his sister from any and all threats." There is a weight to the way he says threats, and you can tell the Ekans was not excluding you in the term. "He may not fully trust you, but I believe he will be willing to serve so long as she remains healthy."

By the time Carn is finished speaking, the pot is sufficiently heated up.

[HZ514]

Of course you can tag along, but why? Surely there are more talented trainers than me around. I only started two days ago. But I'd love it if you came along Sicarius.

Sicarius picks another handful of berries and pops them into his mouth one at a time as he speaks. He points at you and says, "Good question, Guy. Smart question. That's what I like about you. I saw a lot of my pals get tagged by all sorts of trainers--big, small, black, white, blah blah. You know what the problem with all of 'em was?"

"The couldn't tell their foot from their face. All they could do was throw a ball into the air and hope for the best. Maybe they memorize some rock-paper-syster table in their heads, maybe they buy some shiny things--bush league. When the chips are down, all that really matters is whether the guy telling you what to do has a brain worth his skull."

"I'm confident, see, but I'm not crazy. I know that sooner or later some dunce with a bankroll is gonna come along and bop me in the face with one of those balls, and I'll be royally screwed. So I figured I'd take that chance out of the equation, find some genius to attach myself to, and I'll be golden. Ain't no big deal if you just started. I can tell you're my guy, Chief. Yeah?"

[HZ514]

Spoiler

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Mordecai turned slightly red as he overheard some of the other rangers. Still, they were right - Kamoho... well, among other things, bit him every couple minutes. Was he being a bad trainer? Everything he'd read had no implications of anything /like/ these three - only Kaulu was anything resembling normal. Maybe mankeys were more calm?

But well... the look on Kamoho's face when the doctor had poked Mordecai in the arm. That hadn't been there the day before - he had been worried about Mordecai's safety. Not to mention when Pa'ao had dove forward during those poochyena.

I mean... it went against everything in the book, but maybe... maybe that was okay.

"Well... finish up, guys." Especially Pa'ao, who had spent so much time fighting with Kamoho that he hadn't finished eating. "We've got training to do before it gets too late!"

Just saying that made his aches pop up again. "Um... and let's /not/ go to the beach. Or, uh, where the dwebbles are as that's towards Orum, and we shouldn't push that. Uh... I guess let's go the last direction, then." Which, if he recalled correctly, was where the gro... poochyena had been.

Dandy.

He braced himself after his group finally finished eating. To split up a fight, he returned Pa'ao first, then the others outside of Kamoho - who took up residence pouting on Mordecai's shoulder at whatever last word Pa'ao had had.

But! Now it was out of town. He nodded to a few of the rangers on the way out, feeling more than a little self conscious.

As you walk out of town, another trainer heading into town flags you down. He shouts, "Hey! You're a trainer too, right? Wanna battle?"

[Arcran]

Carn listens intently while the Ekans continues to hiss with his eyes closed. Once he stops, he joins his sister at your side.

While you're waiting for the pot to heat up, Carn motions you over to him. "He was using some religious terms that went over my head, but the gist of it was a prayer for the strength to protect his sister from any and all threats." There is a weight to the way he says threats, and you can tell the Ekans was not excluding you in the term. "He may not fully trust you, but I believe he will be willing to serve so long as she remains healthy."

By the time Carn is finished speaking, the pot is sufficiently heated up.

Pitch nods, and who could blame the two snakes? He had stabbed, beaten, and discarded one of their number. These two were only with him because the praying one was interesting; if they proved less useful than the four he has, they'll be gone.

Pitch tosses in some meat for himself, as well as a few vegetables he cut up. Some kind of stew or something; he's not quite sure. He sets some aside for Shovel and Thales, feeding the two of them. He simply tosses Carn a steak; he could do with it as he would. Finally, he cuts up some meat and goes over to the snakes, offering a piece to the female first.

"Eat up; we have a long trip ahead of us."

[Kantolin]

It took Mordecai a couple seconds to realize he was even the one being spoken to. He turned aside for a moment, blinking. He wanted to battle?

Wait, yes! That was a great idea! He suddenlyr ecalled back to his battle with Pitch - that had gotten interrupted but was still a good experience.

"Absolutely! I could use a good battle!"

"Dile!"

He was beginning to note that Kamoho got excited whenever he did. "Singles, but I can go up to four. How many pokemon did you want to try for? Oh, and I'm Mordecai!" And he glanced around - just outside town should be a pretty good spot for it.

[Bad Situation]

Before Nikolas can think to protest, Orobas shoots a spike of psychic energy into the back of his ankle, knocking him off his balance and hurtling toward the other trainers. He manages to catch himself but not before he is all but face to face with 'Greg'. Caught and unable to object, he wordlessly helps the trainer set up the tent. Did they want to talk to him? What if the conversation headed toward Pokemon and they laughed at his inexperience? Looking at their assembled Pokemon they obviously had more experience with the Pokemon training business than he did. Would they be offended that a complete newcomer had caught the much coveted shiny Pokemon? Had he been hasty and presumptuous when he threw the ball.

Feeling one of his panic attacks setting in, Nikolas turns away when the peg is finally set in and tries to collect himself.

[HZ514]

Pitch nods, and who could blame the two snakes? He had stabbed, beaten, and discarded one of their number. These two were only with him because the praying one was interesting; if they proved less useful than the four he has, they'll be gone.

Pitch tosses in some meat for himself, as well as a few vegetables he cut up. Some kind of stew or something; he's not quite sure. He sets some aside for Shovel and Thales, feeding the two of them. He simply tosses Carn a steak; he could do with it as he would. Finally, he cuts up some meat and goes over to the snakes, offering a piece to the female first.

"Eat up; we have a long trip ahead of us."

Carn nonchalantly skewers the steak and eats it. The difference between raw and cooked meat is probably irrelevant to him.

The female Ekans eagerly eats the meat you give her, overtly happy to be provided for so well. The male is also clearly hungry, but lets his sister eat some more of his food rather than finish it all himself.

Spoiler

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Not that you have to fast forward to sleeping, but just figured I'd let you know that when you do go to sleep, you'll roll a 1d20 either -INT mod or +Con mod for whether an encounter happens and a 1d100 -INT or +Con for encounter difficulty. Can't remember if you'd already know this, but figured I'd type it up for clarity in any case.

[HZ514]

It took Mordecai a couple seconds to realize he was even the one being spoken to. He turned aside for a moment, blinking. He wanted to battle?

Wait, yes! That was a great idea! He suddenlyr ecalled back to his battle with Pitch - that had gotten interrupted but was still a good experience.

"Absolutely! I could use a good battle!"

"Dile!"

He was beginning to note that Kamoho got excited whenever he did. "Singles, but I can go up to four. How many pokemon did you want to try for? Oh, and I'm Mordecai!" And he glanced around - just outside town should be a pretty good spot for it.

"Nice to meet you Mordecai, I'm Preston." He shakes your hand. "And singles sounds good to me. It's been a long trek from Elrem...only three of my Pokemon are at full health right now. How about over there?" he asks, pointing to a worn patch of field that clearly had been used for this very purpose quite often.

Spoiler

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Map!

[HZ514]

Before Nikolas can think to protest, Orobas shoots a spike of psychic energy into the back of his ankle, knocking him off his balance and hurtling toward the other trainers. He manages to catch himself but not before he is all but face to face with 'Greg'. Caught and unable to object, he wordlessly helps the trainer set up the tent. Did they want to talk to him? What if the conversation headed toward Pokemon and they laughed at his inexperience? Looking at their assembled Pokemon they obviously had more experience with the Pokemon training business than he did. Would they be offended that a complete newcomer had caught the much coveted shiny Pokemon? Had he been hasty and presumptuous when he threw the ball.

Feeling one of his panic attacks setting in, Nikolas turns away when the peg is finally set in and tries to collect himself.

The assembled trainers are regaling each other with stories of gym battles and frightening wild encounters as you all work together. Perhaps luckily, Greg is focused talking to his friend so he doesn't press you for conversation beyond some thanks for your assistance.

Cass notices you turning away and comes up to you to ask, "Hey, are you alright?"

[Arcran]

Carn nonchalantly skewers the steak and eats it. The difference between raw and cooked meat is probably irrelevant to him.

The female Ekans eagerly eats the meat you give her, overtly happy to be provided for so well. The male is also clearly hungry, but lets his sister eat some more of his food rather than finish it all himself.

Spoiler

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Not that you have to fast forward to sleeping, but just figured I'd let you know that when you do go to sleep, you'll roll a 1d20 either -INT mod or +Con mod for whether an encounter happens and a 1d100 -INT or +Con for encounter difficulty. Can't remember if you'd already know this, but figured I'd type it up for clarity in any case.

Pitch gives the male a bit more food, not wanting to make it feel like it was getting less.

When the snakes are done eating, Pitch returns them to their balls, not trusting them on the level as the rest of his team. The rest of his team only had him; they only had each other. The snakes had each other, which made them dangerous. He'd need to find a way to either put him before each other or remove one from the equation.

As the night goes on, Pitch happily eats his stew, continuing to ask Carn about what to expect around Elrem, trying to see if his ally could get him any specific species of Pokemon.

"Carn, about your talking. How does that work? Were you born like that? Did it happen later? Or is it something that you're not going to share yet?" Pitch asks, putting it bluntly, gently stroking the unconscious Outlet. Thales is, once again, messing with the fire, shooting tiny streams in to mess with it. Pitch leaves him to his entertainment; if the Oshawott liked putting out fires, it would be very useful in a day or two when they met the Charmander. Shovel waddles over, claws outstretched. With a flick of his knife the trainer starts to clean the claws of his mole, digging out the dirt and grime from a day of very little work.

[Bad Situation]

Nikolas immediately flinches from her touch but manages to catch himself before doing something he could forget. "Y-yeah. I'm just...not used to being around so many people at once." Forcing his ragged breath to a more even pace he looks at Cass with what he hoped was an impassive face.

"I guess I'm just rather excited..." he says with a face that is almost devoid of emotion.

[Kantolin]

"Wow, you're from Elrem? That's quite a trek!"

Whoa, that meant he was pretty intimidating. Still, it'd be good practice! "Good luck then, Preston! Let's start things off right, Kamoho!"

"Dile!" And the totodile hopped to G-10, snapping his jaws.

(Speed 2. What's a speed?)

[HZ514]

Pitch gives the male a bit more food, not wanting to make it feel like it was getting less.

When the snakes are done eating, Pitch returns them to their balls, not trusting them on the level as the rest of his team. The rest of his team only had him; they only had each other. The snakes had each other, which made them dangerous. He'd need to find a way to either put him before each other or remove one from the equation.

As the night goes on, Pitch happily eats his stew, continuing to ask Carn about what to expect around Elrem, trying to see if his ally could get him any specific species of Pokemon.

"Carn, about your talking. How does that work? Were you born like that? Did it happen later? Or is it something that you're not going to share yet?" Pitch asks, putting it bluntly, gently stroking the unconscious Outlet. Thales is, once again, messing with the fire, shooting tiny streams in to mess with it. Pitch leaves him to his entertainment; if the Oshawott liked putting out fires, it would be very useful in a day or two when they met the Charmander. Shovel waddles over, claws outstretched. With a flick of his knife the trainer starts to clean the claws of his mole, digging out the dirt and grime from a day of very little work.

Spoiler

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I feel silly referring to them by gender, so I'll start using the Ekans' names now. Oh, and Inigan's loyalty is at 2 while Dilos is at 1.

Dilos seems to genuinely appreciate your generosity. He might just warm up to you yet. Inigan seems to have already given you her full approval. They return to their Poke Balls contentedly enough.

Carn looks off into the distance as he answers your questions. "I suppose I was born this way, though I did not know it until later on in my life. Most pokemon never even try to learn your language, so perhaps the only real difference within me was the willingness to try. At any rate, I was able to learn. It was...difficult, but I succeeded." He looks at you for the first time since he started speaking. "Your kind's language is quite tricky." He starts to sharpen his blades. "Your language, on the other hand, I speak quite naturally."

[HZ514]

Nikolas immediately flinches from her touch but manages to catch himself before doing something he could forget. "Y-yeah. I'm just...not used to being around so many people at once." Forcing his ragged breath to a more even pace he looks at Cass with what he hoped was an impassive face.

"I guess I'm just rather excited..." he says with a face that is almost devoid of emotion.

Cass gives you a look and says with a smile, "Right. Well, don't worry too much. I promise we won't bite! At least, not nearly as hard as those Trapinch did."

She leads you toward the center of the fully set-up campsite. You both sit down on some logs around a fire. "So you just started recently, huh?"

[Arcran]

Spoiler

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I feel silly referring to them by gender, so I'll start using the Ekans' names now. Oh, and Inigan's loyalty is at 2 while Dilos is at 1.

Dilos seems to genuinely appreciate your generosity. He might just warm up to you yet. Inigan seems to have already given you her full approval. They return to their Poke Balls contentedly enough.

Carn looks off into the distance as he answers your questions. "I suppose I was born this way, though I did not know it until later on in my life. Most pokemon never even try to learn your language, so perhaps the only real difference within me was the willingness to try. At any rate, I was able to learn. It was...difficult, but I succeeded." He looks at you for the first time since he started speaking. "Your kind's language is quite tricky." He starts to sharpen his blades. "Your language, on the other hand, I speak quite naturally."

Pitch laughs at the joke. The two did speak a similar language. The superiority of combat, revenge, all of it. Pitch's mind drifts towards the man from the hotel; obviously he hadn't been a high target, otherwise they would have attempted to catch him as he left the city. He could try to investigate in Elrem; maybe even get a lead.

"Carn, get some rest. I've got the first watch tonight," he says, sitting on the ground, knife in hand. Thales heads into the tent as well, aiming for a little rest. Shovel is already passes out, and Pitch doesn't want to move the Shinx as of now.

As Pitch takes his watch, he keeps a keen eye open, watching for opponents. He'd love a chance to test the snakes; they'd definitely be fun to try out. As he keeps watch, he tries to rub some blood stains out of his knife with his shirt as well as reciting Ginny's number to himself.

Spoiler

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Encounter? (1d20+2)[21]
How strong? TOO STRONG! (1d100+14)[39]
Hopefully not something super awesome that makes me want to spend another Pokeball.

[HZ514]

"Wow, you're from Elrem? That's quite a trek!"

Whoa, that meant he was pretty intimidating. Still, it'd be good practice! "Good luck then, Preston! Let's start things off right, Kamoho!"

"Dile!" And the totodile hopped to G-10, snapping his jaws.

(Speed 2. What's a speed?)

"Hey, cool. I've never seen one of those before!" Preston shouts as he scans your Totodile. "Scout it out, Yamiyugi!" He sends out a green-headed flying bug pokemon, which flies over toward some ditches in the ground and flaps its wings violently enough to release a blast of sound headed for Kamoho.

Spoiler

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Sonicboom!
AC 6 (1d20)[19]
(Does 15 damage if hits)

[HZ514]

Spoiler

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Pitch laughs at the joke. The two did speak a similar language. The superiority of combat, revenge, all of it. Pitch's mind drifts towards the man from the hotel; obviously he hadn't been a high target, otherwise they would have attempted to catch him as he left the city. He could try to investigate in Elrem; maybe even get a lead.

"Carn, get some rest. I've got the first watch tonight," he says, sitting on the ground, knife in hand. Thales heads into the tent as well, aiming for a little rest. Shovel is already passes out, and Pitch doesn't want to move the Shinx as of now.

As Pitch takes his watch, he keeps a keen eye open, watching for opponents. He'd love a chance to test the snakes; they'd definitely be fun to try out. As he keeps watch, he tries to rub some blood stains out of his knife with his shirt as well as reciting Ginny's number to himself.

Spoiler

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Encounter? [roll0]
How strong? TOO STRONG! [roll1]
Hopefully not something super awesome that makes me want to spend another Pokeball.

During your watch, you notice some rustling in the bushes nearby. When you get close to investigate, one suddenly moves--that's not a bush, it's a pokemon! Two more start to move, too.

Spoiler

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Map!
For this battle, you'll only have access to the two Ekans on your person. You can control both of them, though.

[Bad Situation]

Nodding expressionlessly, Nikolas shows her his assembled team. "Three days ago to be precise." Trying not to embarrass himself, he sits down quietly and stares into the fire before asking his own question, "I take it you have been at thing longer than I have."

[Arcran]

Pitch flicks out his knife at once, tossing out the Ekans's Pokeballs to the left and right of him.

"You two, attack. Shoot Poison at the things, see how they like it," he says, scanning the Pokemon. "Focus your fire on a single on. Stay back; you're not healthy enough for close battle."

Pitch stays back. After all, this was a test for the snakes, not him.

Spoiler

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Inigan uses Poison Sting on D4!
AC: (1d20)[9], Poison 17-20.
Damage: (1d6+15)[20]
Crit: (1d6+3)[9]

Dilos does the same!
AC: (1d20)[15], Poison 17-20.
Damage: (1d6+11)[16]
Crit: (1d6+3)[4]

[HZ514]

Nodding expressionlessly, Nikolas shows her his assembled team. "Three days ago to be precise." Trying not to embarrass himself, he sits down quietly and stares into the fire before asking his own question, "I take it you have been at thing longer than I have."

Cass shrugs. "Oh, not that much longer. Earl, Greg and I all started in Wrystone about a month ago." She pats you on the back. "Don't worry, you're doing fine. Heck, I sure didn't catch a shiny pokemon in my firs tweek."

Another trainer across the fire chimes in, "Hey, let out the golden Trapinch!"

"Yeah! It looks so cool."

Cass smiles kindly. "Only if you want to," she says, trailing off because she doesn't yet know your name.

[HZ514]

Pitch flicks out his knife at once, tossing out the Ekans's Pokeballs to the left and right of him.

"You two, attack. Shoot Poison at the things, see how they like it," he says, scanning the Pokemon. "Focus your fire on a single on. Stay back; you're not healthy enough for close battle."

Pitch stays back. After all, this was a test for the snakes, not him.

Spoiler

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Inigan uses Poison Sting on D4!
AC: [roll0], Poison 17-20.
Damage: [roll1]
Crit: [roll2]

Dilos does the same!
AC: [roll3], Poison 17-20.
Damage: [roll4]
Crit: [roll5]

The pair of Ekans coordinate their attack well--they are family, after all--and the two poisonous darts arrive simultaneously, instantly knocking the first knotty bush-looking pokemon out.

Its two compatriots respond to the aggression by ingraining themselves to the ground to brace for the next attack.

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Ingrain! x2

Meanwhile, your Pokedex lets you know they're called "Tangela."

[Bad Situation]

Though not entirely fond of the sudden attention, the pressure in the air forces his hand and with an easy flick of his wrist, Nikolas releases the small ant-like Pokemon before the group. Kneeling down in front at the Pokemon, he announces his name, "I'm Nikolas. Your new trainer." As a peace offering, he extends his hand to the Trapinch but is forced to pull back quickly as the golden Pokemon makes its opinion by snapping down viciously where his hand had been hovering only seconds prior.

The small Pokemon was obviously a fighter, and a proud one at that. So different from himself that it made him envious. Thankfully he had just the nickname in mind, "I'm going to call you Bishamonten, after the god of war and wealth." What better name could there be for a golden colored Pokemon with such a powerful evolution hanging down the line?

[Arcran]

"Keep it up. Fire on the next one," Pitch says, pointing to the next one over. He grins; the Ekans knew what they were doing. Maybe he'd let them live after all. The Tanegla though... They were living rope. One could be invaluable in the future, even if he doesn't use it for battle.

The two snakes rear back once again, toxic darts flying with the vine Pokemon.

Spoiler

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Inigan
AC:2 (1d20)[14] 17-20 Poison
Damage: (1d6+15)[16]
Crit: (1d6+3)[7]

Dilos
AC:2 (1d20)[18] 17-20 Poison
Damage: (1d6+11)[13]
Crit: (1d6+3)[8]

[HZ514]

Though not entirely fond of the sudden attention, the pressure in the air forces his hand and with an easy flick of his wrist, Nikolas releases the small ant-like Pokemon before the group. Kneeling down in front at the Pokemon, he announces his name, "I'm Nikolas. Your new trainer." As a peace offering, he extends his hand to the Trapinch but is forced to pull back quickly as the golden Pokemon makes its opinion by snapping down viciously where his hand had been hovering only seconds prior.

The small Pokemon was obviously a fighter, and a proud one at that. So different from himself that it made him envious. Thankfully he had just the nickname in mind, "I'm going to call you Bishamonten, after the god of war and wealth." What better name could there be for a golden colored Pokemon with such a powerful evolution hanging down the line?

A couple of the trainers admire Bishamonten from afar.

"Dude, check out how cool that Trapinch looks by the fire."
"Crazy, man. I need to get me a shiny 'mon."
"I wonder what it's going to look like when it evolves!"
"Whoa. Mind. Blown."

One of Cass's friends sets up a large pot over the fire and starts preparing some food. "Earl loves cooking for lots of people. It wasn't so great at first, but it's not bad now, so please humor him."

"I heard that, Cass!" Earl shouts.

[HZ514]

"Keep it up. Fire on the next one," Pitch says, pointing to the next one over. He grins; the Ekans knew what they were doing. Maybe he'd let them live after all. The Tanegla though... They were living rope. One could be invaluable in the future, even if he doesn't use it for battle.

The two snakes rear back once again, toxic darts flying with the vine Pokemon.

Spoiler

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Inigan
AC:2 (1d20)[20] 17-20 Poison
Damage: (1d12+12)[17]
Crit: (1d20)[17]

Dilos
AC:2 (1d20)[4] 17-20 Poison
Damage: [roll4]
Crit: [roll5]

This second Tangela seems particularly resilient, as it is able to withstand the dual darts. Afterward, it draws some energy from its roots in the ground and looks a bit healthier. Then it lashes back with a portion of its rope-body, aiming for Inigan. Dilos, however, reacts instantly and jumps in the way to take the brunt of the damage for his sister.

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Vine Whip!
AC2 (1d20)[20]
Damage: (1d12+12)[17] (+7 more from the crit roll) (3/4, rounded up on Dilos & 1/4, rounded down on Inigan)

The other Tangela takes the opening to spray some green powder over your two Ekans.

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Sleep Powder!
AC 6 (1d20)[17] (Inigan) & (1d20)[4] (Dilos)

[CosmicOccurence]

Sicarius picks another handful of berries and pops them into his mouth one at a time as he speaks. He points at you and says, "Good question, Guy. Smart question. That's what I like about you. I saw a lot of my pals get tagged by all sorts of trainers--big, small, black, white, blah blah. You know what the problem with all of 'em was?"

"The couldn't tell their foot from their face. All they could do was throw a ball into the air and hope for the best. Maybe they memorize some rock-paper-syster table in their heads, maybe they buy some shiny things--bush league. When the chips are down, all that really matters is whether the guy telling you what to do has a brain worth his skull."

"I'm confident, see, but I'm not crazy. I know that sooner or later some dunce with a bankroll is gonna come along and bop me in the face with one of those balls, and I'll be royally screwed. So I figured I'd take that chance out of the equation, find some genius to attach myself to, and I'll be golden. Ain't no big deal if you just started. I can tell you're my guy, Chief. Yeah?"

Leo nods in agreement. Knowledge is power. With a good strategy, you can win fights that might lose normally. And I'd love it if you would come with me Sicarius, but I hope you like spicy food.

Leo pulls out his last pokeball, and offers it to the sneseal.

Spoiler

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(1d100+5)[57]

[Bad Situation]

Uncomfortable with the situation, Nikolas merely nods and accepts the food without much fuss. There wasn't much sense in complaining about food, least of all when it was being offered for free. And in that respect, he was grateful. Having taken care of the household affairs he could respect someone who took joy in their ability, cooking especially. He was proud of his own ability to clean and organize but cooking remained one of those nebulous chores that he could never fully grasp. Rather than speak his opinion on the matter, he instead says, "It will be a fine meal, I am sure."