11.22.15 -- We are approaching the holiday season very rapidly. I understand that things get busy around this time of year, just try and make sure that you don't forget about us! And, because winter is coming, things in Rakuen are about to change! Our winter event will be starting on December first so keep your eyes peeled for it and be sure to participate. You won't want to miss out. Enjoy the last little bits of your fall!
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Post by Ryusuke Ugumi on Sept 4, 2015 21:13:52 GMT -5
Tear up this future; The story's sequel starts!
So this was where the city's Leader had set up shop?
Tucked directly beneath the cliffs surrounding Crystal City and out of the sunlight, Ryusuke couldn't help but wonder how much of the set up was deliberate effort put forth by the Gym Leader that resided inside of the rather plain looking building. He understood how most Gyms were run and that the League generally only gave a monthly allowance to Leaders for maintenance, so it made sense to have it in a rather undesirable location - far as possible from any of the beach front homes, in a location where the property value would be at rock bottom - but given the Gym's typing.... it seemed a bit over the top when Ryusuke stopped to really think about it. And thinking about it, really, was all that Ryusuke had done for the past two days. Seated on the curb across the street from the building, the blonde's fingers would be interlaced as he simply sat and stared at the building, Ryusuke couldn't help but simply contemplate on what it was that waited inside.
That was the problem with newly established Leagues like Rakuen's. The Gyms were so new that no one had really gotten the chance or worked up the nerve to challenge them, and frankly that was half of any League sanctioned match. Do your research, know your opponent, become familiar with the Pokemon they used, the tactics and strategies they employed and how the trainers themselves reacted under pressure. Generally speaking, many such matches were arranged at least several hours in advance, and what decided the victor was who managed to dig up the most information on their opponent. Granted, there were exceptions - his mother had proven that with the Mega Blaziken during the last Indigo League - but they were rare and far between. And that, more than anything, was what concerned Ryusuke the most about the attempt he was intending to make on Crystal's Gym.
There was zip. Nothing. Nada. And more than anything, Ryusuke was severely regretting his decision not to ask that trainer he had encountered on the cliffs back near Yayli about the region's Gyms. The woman hadn't claimed to have beaten them, but Ryusuke knew her type well enough to hazard a guess that she'd at least challenged a few. So far the best he'd been able to dig up was the Gym's typing from talking to the nurses at the Pokemon Center on arriving in the city, and while it was something it wasn't enough for Ryusuke to feel comfortable about his chances. So, with Grovyle having chosen to lounge around the Pokemon Center for funsies until his human partner felt he was ready, the best Ryusuke could do was mentally go over what little he knew in preparation.
Dark types were nasty. There wasn't any other way to put it - they tended to be physically quick and powerful, with focus put on crushing their opponents under brute strength while simultaneously relying on other, far more underhanded tricks meant to throw their opponents off balance. Amber, the trainer who had taught him how to use Mega Evolution before his Charizardite got stolen in Kalos, had used a Mightyena alongside Salamence as her signature Pokemon - and while it was admittedly one sided, the creature's rivalry with Grovyle had given both of them a fair amount of insight into how Dark types in general fought. The first battle between the two had been fairly easy, with Grovyle simply outmaneuvering a Pokemon that relied almost entirely on type advantage with physical bites and blows. The second rematch, however, was where things got ugly, with the canine having learned from the previous encounter and choosing to employ techniques meant to completely lock Grovyle out of his moves and force the Grass type to fight him at a distance, a style which the Pokemon used to have trouble with. Needless to say Grovyle had won - that had been Amber's condition for Ryusuke learning from her in the first place - but between that and his own Murkrow the blonde knew full well what the Gym Leader was probably going to throw at him. Combine that with the usual level of skill expected from people in Leader positions as well as the fact that Ryusuke didn't have any idea what Pokemon they'd be specifically using.... yeah, no, he didn't like those odds.
Truthfully, there was only one thing for it - abuse the hell out of type advantages, and hope he got lucky. While the Bagon that Lorraine had sent him would eventually prove to be a powerful ally if Ryusuke raised it right, Dragon was neutral against Dark at best. Same for most of his Pokemon, really, with only three notable exceptions. Gastly, who'd get torn to shreds, and then there was Murkrow and Heracross. Neither of them were his most used Pokemon, but they knew how to handle themselves in a fight, Murkrow in particular. That said, though... Murkrow would just place him on even ground with the Leader at best, or in a losing position from the start at worst if they chose an evolved Pokemon or one with a secondary typing that beat Murkrow's Flying. The best decision, frankly, was to throw Heracross at them, and hope that it was a one on one fight without any other Pokemon involved - if that wasn't the case, though, things might end up sticky.
Crystal City was a large sprawling metropolis. Aveta had gotten lost in Yayli Town, as she arrived at the end of route one she could not imagine how lost she was going to get inside the city. The answer was very. She had grown up in a large town that had an orphanage everyone forgot about. Outside of that town she had only been to two small port towns and one of them was in Rakuen. She managed to find a Pokemon center where she stayed the night. It was the next morning that scared her. She had received an anonymous tip to check her PC and inside of it was an Absol. Where it came from she had no idea. Maybe it was a gift from one of her previous children. To her, it was just a Pokemon she knew nothing about and had never seen before.
This Absol would be her in the position of a two versus two battle with the gym leader. If she still only had one Pokemon it would have been fine and she would have been comfortable challenging the leader. But now... She had a wild card on her team that she needed help with. The woman sighed as she slid out of the Pokemon Center. She guessed the best place to start finding out about the new Pokemon was in a place where plenty of knowledgeable trainers were. Since it seemed none of them were flooding the Pokemon Center, her second guess was the gym. If she couldn't find help there she would have to go back to the lab and ask someone to explain the Pokemon to her.
In the case of her Starly things had been different. The children that she worked with that went off to be trainers had told her what she needed to know. It was a fast and strong Pokemon that used mostly flying techniques to take down its opponents. And that was how Aveta had trained. No one ever mentioned an Absol. It was probably some extremely rare thing that no one would be able to help her with.
The trainer had been told that the gym was at the very back of the city at the base of the cliffs, It made getting there a little easier. With each block the shadows became more intense to the point where there were street lights on in order to give list and not let things be complete darkness. It was while she walking the road that curved with the contour of the cliff she noticed a man sitting by himself. The building that was before him seemed to be just a plain building but it was causing him to be deep in thought. Perhaps it was the strange home of a girl he liked and he was thinking of ways to ask her out. Then Aveta saw the sign. She recognized the words. It was the gym.
The only downfall to finding the gym was that there was only one person nearby and he seemed so lost in thought that she felt wrong disturbing him. He was probably trying to think of some good strategy to take down the leader. Either that or he was figuring out what went wrong with his battle and mourning his loss. Aveta stepped closer. She wanted to know about her Absol. She wanted to know how to fight with it. She wanted to defeat the gym leader and maybe, just maybe, this other trainer was her help. There was a real pull about him. She would have figured most trainers to just run in guns a-blazing but he was trying to think about things. In fact, she was about to be one of those trainers to just rush into the fight except for the mystery Pokemon.
The woman found herself with only a few feet between them. She needed to think of dialogue and quickly. How did she introduce her problem? How did she get the trainer to give her the information. "I'm sorry to bother you," she said, leaning forward a little. "I have a problem though. I was about to challenge the gym leader when a Pokemon appeared in my PC and I know nothing about it. Are you able to help me? I just have two now and don't feel comfortable challenging with a Pokemon I know nothing of." She paused for a moment before letting out a small laugh. "My first battle was a little rough because I was using a Pokemon I knew nothing of." Aveta stared at the man. He must have been her age, a common theme it appeared considering Roman was right about her age as well. Her eyes softened as she gave a small smile, something inside of her told her to be hopeful. If she had made a friend by tripping over someone she surely could get help from the stranger. People were nice here.
Post by Ryusuke Ugumi on Sept 5, 2015 18:32:34 GMT -5
Tear up this future; The story's sequel starts!
It was an odd feeling to be in your own little world, and quite often a less than pleasant surprise when it happened without someone even realizing it. It gave plenty of things opportunity to sneak up on a person, and despite Ryusuke knowing full well he was in a city the area surrounding the Gym had been quiet enough that the fact had somehow escaped him. If anything, it was a testament to his past of much nastier things catching him off guard that Ryusuke didn't physically jump or show much outward sign of surprise when he suddenly found another human that he'd been completely unaware of speaking to him from only a meter or two away, scattering whatever thoughts had been forming in his head to the wind.
While not entirely pleased with having lost his place, so to speak, Ryusuke wasn't annoyed too much by it - truth be told, by that point he was just going in logic circles, worrying about what if scenarios far beyond his control. In turning his head to glance over towards the other person who had spoken to him, however, Ryusuke found himself freezing for a moment, blood draining from his face. The tomboyish dress, the amber colored eyes, the short stature- for the briefest of moments, Ryusuke was more than prepared to receive some form of physical abuse in greeting before the blonde began to notice other physical features, most notably the blue hair. Blue. Not green. And now that he stopped to think about it.... it had always been a running joke between him and his cousin that he was eventually going to be taller than her as she'd had several inches on him when they'd met, and while Ryusuke had grown a lot in the time since then.... no, she wasn't that short. Or at least Ricki hadn't been by the time he and her had met. Beyond that, a whole other sense of deja vu as the girl - Ryusuke thought so at least, judging from their voice - mentioned having a new Pokemon forced on them. Story of his life for the past few years.
"Wait, hold on. You're a new trainer?" Ryusuke asked, hoping for a pause to collect his thoughts again. While what she had said before hadn't gone unnoticed by Ryusuke, it was still taking him a moment or two to register what was being said, as well as the context behind it. Introductions would've been nice, but just at a glance she seemed to be much the same age he was when he'd left home. Fifteen, maybe sixteen, and while that was a late start for a lot of people it wasn't exactly unheard of, either, with Ryusuke himself being a prime example. The fact that they kept repeating that they didn't know anything about the Pokemon they had, though.... did they just not know about the species in particular that they were training, or was this a case of someone who knew nothing at all about Pokemon in general suddenly deciding to become a trainer?
More to the point, they were thinking of challenging a Gym?
There were a great many things in the world that Ryusuke was able to turn a blind eye to. He was a deep believer in the idea that people typically learned lessons much quicker through experience than by being taught, and admittedly subscribed to the idea of schadenfreude, aka amusement at others' misfortune. That said, there were some lines that didn't get crossed, and this was probably one of them. While it was a League sanctioned match and only so much could happen during it, at least assuming the opponent played by the rules, Gym Leaders were not to be trifled with. Ryusuke was well aware of the hellish exam that most of them went through to obtain the title, largely because he'd honestly been considering taking it himself for a while, and no rookie trainer was going to walk into a Gym and win a badge. Not unless the Leader deliberately went easy on them, taking skill level into account, but even then the idea was to test a challenger. In either scenario this kid would be walking into a world of hurt, and if anything that battle would be painful to watch for any onlookers as well.
"You're not ready yet. Not by a long shot. If you walk into that Gym you're going to lose." Maybe a bit overly blunt, but completely true, and it was kinder to say it flat out to the kid's face than let them learn it the hard way like he had. Confidence was a great thing and it got you far, but too much of it... well, Ryusuke still had the scar from his first wild Pokemon encounter, and it didn't seem to be going away anytime soon. And, truthfully, it was a good reminder to Ryusuke every time he looked in a mirror - he was a lot more levelheaded now than he had been in the past. And if it was just plain ignorance on the kid's part, at least that much Ryusuke could correct.
"Sorry, had to be said. If you don't know what your Pokemon's strengths and weaknesses are, you won't even be a challenge to that Leader. The whole point of the Gyms is to test trainers' knowledge and ability, and if you're missing either one there isn't a point to walking through those doors." The blonde continued, attempting to at least soften the blow with a bit of the reasoning behind what he'd said as Ryusuke stood up from the curb, dusting off the back of his crimson coat. And it was true enough - while there were plenty of trainers who rushed into Gyms, when you looked at the win/loss statistics of even a single facility the number of losses that the trainers off the street had handed to them was staggering. Looking at the numbers, saying that even one trainer out of every four or five managed to win a badge in a given battle was a generous estimate - depending on the Leader, the numbers might be far lower than that. He had family in Blackthorn, an uncle in particular, and he'd heard the stories of their resident leader. Virtually every single trainer who challenged her lost, with only six to eight notable exceptions over the last decade.
"At the very least I can probably get you started, though. Which Pokemon are you using, you at least have the Pokeballs on you? No need to let them out."
It seemed to take the strange man a moment before he could speak. He was almost shocked at first as if someone hadn't spoken to him in a while and social interaction was something that was just coming back to him. Eventually he did ask a question to Aveta, "Wait, hold on. You're a new trainer?" She furrowed her brow for a moment. Why was that a shock to him? People were starting their lives as trainers all of the time. She was almost certain she had seen a middle aged man in the Pokemon Center the other day getting ready to leave the city with his new starter. She nodded, not really sure if he saw it but it was a response regardless. She may have been old compared to the tweens that were on the ferry that dropped her into the region but that did not mean she was a know-it-all about Pokemon.
The stranger then said a few words that stung. "You're not ready yet. Not by a long shot. If you walk into that Gym you're going to lose." How could he say such a thing. Aveta mumbled to herself about how she defeated a wild Pokemon all by herself and she could handle a gym challenge. When she actually thought back on the experience though it made sense. That Foongus had been the tiniest thing and a little bit rash. It was actually a fairly easy win yet somehow her Starly had gotten injured and needed a good half-hour to rest before continuing on. Maybe she did need a little more training. And then there was that trainer battle... She shook her head, deciding it best to not think about her second encounter on route one. It was then that the stranger apologized. "Sorry, had to be said. If you don't know what your Pokemon's strengths and weaknesses are, you won't even be a challenge to that Leader. The whole point of the Gyms is to test trainers' knowledge and ability, and if you're missing either one there isn't a point to walking through those doors."
He was right. She knew her Starly was fast and could hit hard but other than that she barely knew what other Pokemon he had a natural strength against. Bug types, or was it poison? The Foongus had been both and very weak to the flying attacks but which one was it? Or was it a combination of both? To be honest, asking the stranger for help had been the smartest decision she had made since she got her starter in Yayli. Aveta let out a small sigh and frowned as she felt the Pokeball on her belt wobble anxiously.
The next few words that flew out of the trainer's mouth shocked the woman. She had expected his last words to be the end of the conversation. He seemed rude and more of a lone wolf, not someone who would actively offer up advice. Yet here he was, willing to help her. "At the very least I can probably get you started, though. Which Pokemon are you using, you at least have the Pokeballs on you? No need to let them out."
The fact that he was willing to get her started put a smile on Aveta's face before she answered. "My starter was a Starly. We did a few battles on route one but that was about it. Then the strange Pokemon that appeared is an..." She paused for a moment. She really didn't know how to pronounce it. She had been sounding out the letters all day but she still feared butchering the name. "Absol, I think?" Her voice was slow and cautious as she said the name of the Pokemon. Hopefully he would understand what she was referring to and be able to help her. As an after thought, she spoke again to answer the other trainer's question. "I have both of them with me right now."
Aveta took a seat on the ground where she had been standing. It didn't look like too many vehicles were on that road and she felt safe. Even if something did come along she guessed she would have enough time to move. It wasn't like they were going to be top speed in a car in the city. No, slow was better in a city. She pulled both of her Pokeballs off her belt and held them in her lap just in case the other trainer did want to see them. "I'm Kaze by the way. I feel as if you are helping me you might need to know a name." She gave a small shrug and toyed with the loops on her belt that held her Pokemon for a moment. She looked up at the trainer, waiting for further information on her Pokemon that he might be able to offer.
Post by Ryusuke Ugumi on Sept 7, 2015 16:59:11 GMT -5
Tear up this future; The story's sequel starts!
Full of surprises, wasn't she? Ryusuke was admittedly relatively unsurprised by the first Pokemon that she listed off. Starly were admittedly something like a dime a dozen, and effectively Sinnoh's analogue to Kanto's Pidgey and Spearow, or Hoenn's Taillow. Flying and Normal type, plus the things were everywhere and not overly difficult to capture. That wasn't to say that they were bad Pokemon, not by any means, but compared to most they were very easy to train, evolved relatively early and had very versatile forms later on. They had their weaknesses, sure, but were a stable staple of beginning trainers. The second name, though, was what caught Ryusuke off guard and immediately got his attention as the blonde turned his eyes over to the other trainer again, this time actually paying attention.
An Absol? Where could she have possibly gotten her hands on one of those as a rookie trainer? More to the point, assuming someone had given it to her much like Lorraine had pawned off the Bagon to him, what made them think that had been a good idea? As a Hoenn native Ryusuke was more than familiar with the species, including all of the superstitious nonsense surrounding them - concerning the here and now, though, the second bit didn't matter, how little Ryusuke actually believed in it all notwithstanding. Absol were incredibly powerful Pokemon if properly trained, but likewise on the opposite end of the spectrum from Starly.
They began powerful, and only got stronger as you trained them - the trade off, though, was that they had very specific strategies that worked both for and against them. More importantly, though, was that if this Pokemon wasn't originally hers, well... Ryusuke had dealt with that hell before with his mother's Metagross, and in lacking any badges at the time the Steel type had more often than not elected to do whatever the hell it pleased, culminating in it fleeing from Ryusuke in Orre to link back up with his original trainer. If this kid didn't have any badges at all using the Absol could very well prove to be a very costly mistake in a Gym battle.
"Ryusuke. You said someone gave you the Absol? You didn't capture it yourself?" The blonde asked. Honestly, what was most important right now wasn't whether or not the Absol would be useful to this kid - that went without saying. The issue at hand, rather, was whether or not the kid even could make use of it. If the Absol would listen, and how well. While Ryusuke's personal style of battling didn't involve those as factors as much as most other trainers were concerned with them, teaching this kid how to use that style wouldn't be a five minute thing. Four years into being a trainer, and Ryusuke had barely begun to make full use of it - the problem was that while he could think of three or four other people far better suited to teaching this newbie trainer, none of them were here right now, and Ryusuke either didn't have the time to wait for them to travel to the region or didn't want them there to begin with. So that meant the next best thing, giving this girl the tools to get her started on her own.
"If you got the Absol in a trade, battling with it might make more problems than it solves. Unless you've got badges or otherwise convince it that you're not wasting its time, traded Pokemon are wild cards - they don't always listen to their new trainers. I can get you started on what I know about the Pokemon itself, but that's not going to help you much unless the Absol's willing to listen."
