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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"If your definition of fun Jodie is a Pokemon with a screw loose I guess I want off that band wagon!" The Geodude barreled away at the female Meowstic in an ongoing crash course of boulder smashing chaos. The rolls got faster, and more violent the more it did them. It wasn't long before it landed one really hard hitting roll at the female Meowstic smacking against its face at a dangerous pace nearly shredding its head clean off. Just as it did this, it gets hit with a Psybeam from the male, but it just shoots right through the Geodude during its rolling insanity landing a hit, but not affecting the Geodude's frenzy of attacks. The Pokemon moreso just kept ignoring the pain in its manic. It also left dents and dings and scrapes all over the room like a pinball in a box. The female Meowstic had received its final blow at this point, with that last rolling thrust, the Pokemon falls to its knees, and collapses onto its side, fainting from the Geodude's lunacy. The rock Pokemon left all sorts of bruises and bumps and dirt marks on the fainted Meowstic's face and fur causing the male Meowstic to watch in horror as his partner faints before his eyes.
"Uh oh...oh he looks pissed..." The Geodude ends its rampage of rolls once the female is defeated, and beats its chest in a boast reveling in its win. It floats in the middle of the room now, ignoring the damage and collateral it has done in the house everybody was in, and keeps a set pair of eyes on the remaining male Meowstic, who is now filled with an overwhelming sensation of loathing for the Geodude. The Meowstic has a hard time taking its eyes off of its counterpart's corpse, but it eventually gets its sights back on the Geodude, and is prepared for payback. "Geodude, it really isn't very happy. So you need to get that guard up, it's going to hit you back hard for what you did." The Geodude grunts, shunning away Nattousai's comment and stands its ground flexing its muscles urging the Meowstic to bring it on. "Oh brother....why do I keep bothering with this Jodie..." Nattousai quits his apparent efforts to sway his Geodude into obedience presently, and watches to see what it was going to crazily do next.
Already knowing what it wished to do in its next phase, the Meowstic whirls its hands towards the Geodude in a glowing whoosh and fires off a devastating Psyshock attack at the insolent rock. "Geodude, brace yourself!" The Geodude was already standing its ground awaiting the next move, so it planned ahead and made itself as small as it could lifting up one of the loose floor boards underneath it and rolling below it holding itself there as the attack was sent to it and the Geodude attempted to use the floor board as a sponge so to speak for the shocking move to slow the impact. The floor board wasn't strong enough to block the move though entirely, and much of the move splashed down onto the Geodude sending him rolling backwards and crashing into a broken down desk which then shattered to pieces. The Pokemon was heavy and resilient enough though to bounce back and recover in time before the next move of the Meowstic, in which it then tried using a Covet attack on the Geodude to keep it grounded and reserved. The Geodude dodges it by grabbing a chunk of the broken desk and tossing it in front of the attack's trajectory completely avoiding the blow.
"Smart move Geodude, I could have told you that though!" The Geodude just shrugs off Nattousai's comment, and then digs its arms into the floor to attack again. It then uses its arms to scrape itself against the ground and build up debris and dirt from below the house to run down the remaining Meowstic with a Bulldoze attack. It takes a moment to gain the momentum for it, but eventually the Geodude manages to charge the Meowstic with the Bulldoze and bounce back at it with great speed. The Meowstic is launched into a wall and hits a beam of the home with a thud causing clouds of dust to appear and pieces of the roof to fall. It curdles over to the ground and slowly starts to get back up. It's breathing became harder and more coarse, it for some reason gives a look to Jodie and her Haunter, a look of dread and sorrow, as if to want to ask why its home was invaded, why it was being fought...it really didn't seem to know anymore. Life was a matter of survival for it, and now that its only home and shelter was about to be destroyed by the intruding Trainers, and now that its companion was done for, it didn't understand what to do with itself any longer, all it could do was keep fighting until it either passed out, or won. It felt there was no alternative.
Geodude HP: 35%
Rollout-->Bulldoze
Meowstic(M) HP: 63%
Psyshock-->Covet
(Light Screen In Effect. 3 turns left.)
Meowstic(F) HP: F A I N T E D
Last Edit: Oct 17, 2015 0:47:46 GMT -5 by nattousai
The female was defeated. Unable to withstand the geodude’s attacks, the psychic type fell, leaving their last enemy on his own. Both the meowstic and the house looked like they’d seen better days. The pokemon looked to be on the downward side, caught between two trainers left with two pokemon each. The basement was dented, scratched, and broken. Shaking and strikes had freed a number of planks from the floor above, letting down light the stone floor hadn’t seen for decades, and littering it with splintered wood and a few pieces of unlucky furniture. Many of the shelves were broken, their contents shattered. The air was thick with the smell of old preserves and the wine that poured out of the keg that had been damaged at the start of the fight and spilled from the other, cut open by the meowstic’s psyshock.
“We’ve almost got it!” Jodie called to her battle partner. Nattousai was right; the meowstic looked very, very pissed. His green eyes were full of rage as he turned to look at the source of the noise. Without hesitation or likely thinking, the psychic type shoots off energy in an instant, using residue from his recent attack. The psyshock buried itself into stone, wood, and glass. Jodie, not expecting to be attacked, dove behind the keg.
“Watch where you’re-” A dull clacking noise. Stone freed from the attack hit stone ground, lighting a single spark and like a flash of lightning, the alcohol lit. Fire lit and grew so quickly it could make some sort of metaphor about love. “Shoot!” Jodie yelled, her voice raising at the end as she jumped away from the flames. “Nattousai! Fire!”
The gym leader backed up from the growing wall of fire. “Damn!” She yelled. Thankfully she’d jumped to the side that held the latter up - there would be no passing through the lit flames. Her eyes caught sight of the felled meowstic, unconscious on the ground. Pausing, she scooped the pokemon into her arms.
“We’ve got to get out!” The fire was spreading to the wood above them, lighting broken planks and threatening to trek further. The house wouldn’t be habitable much longer.
"Let's go, now!" Geodude did not want to leave, it wanted to finish this battle and smite the remaining Meowstic. It saw the flames as Nattousai did, but did not budge. It flexed its biceps and anchored itself to the floor not taking his eyes off the cat like foe. As the flames got bigger, the Geodude only got bolder, staying right where it was. "Now is not the time Geodude you fool. Stop being so ignorant. RETURN, NOW!" Nattousai takes out his Geodude's Poke' Ball as it groaned with detest not wishing to be recalled, but it was forced to return to Nattousai and was placed right back in its ball, tightly sealed away in its mini dwelling and safely tucked in Nattousai's bag in one of his smaller pockets so Geodude would have a harder time bringing itself back out of the ball if it so desired to fight the Poke' Ball's containment technology. Nattousai began heading over to Jodie and started to try and escort her out of the building with him, but he looked back at the two Meowstics with a dreary gloom. Jodie had lifted up one of them and placed it into her arms, but the other remained."Jodie...should we try and help that one too? I mean, I'd feel bad letting him get burned alive like this, even if it was his fault." The flames crackled and yelled at the two Trainers as the building continued to be engulfed.
"I guess that's not true, maybe my Geodude was partially to blame for this too. But it does look like it may need assistance and seems sad we have its partner with us." The male Meowstic stood scared, almost trembling from the horrific fire it had helped cause. It looked around unsure of what to do, acting more terrified than angry at the moment. It then stared at its nearly lifeless partner in Jodie's arms and cried out for it while tears streamed down its cheeks. "Alright, that's it." Nattousai took out one of his other Poke' Balls making sure not to grab the one which housed his Geodude, and threw it right in front of a rising flame. Out came his Toxicroak instantly covering its mouth from the fire smelling the smoke before it was even sent to action. "Toxicroak, grab that Meowstic and help us get it out of here!" The Toxicroak nodded, leaping over the flames majestically using its honed acrobatic skills to land near the cat. Toxicroak saw its fear pour out of it and sensed its surrender from the fight, feeling its sadness and longing to escape this place with everyone else. With its guard now completely down, the Meowstic allows the frog to sling it over his shoulder and rescue it from the fires of chaos.
Once Toxicroak had recovered the creature, it regroups with the others and mutters something pointing to a nearby exit asking everyone to follow it. Nattousai begins to follow his trusted Pokemon and waves Jodie to come with. "You can count on Toxicroak, he's a smart one. He will get us to safety." Nattousai begins to cough as the smoke worsens and the fire rages. Pretty soon there wouldn't be an exit to find, or a route out of the place if they didn't hurry. The pyro was fierce, and it would only spread into a bigger problem. The Gym Leader remembered all of the terrible situations he has been in, and near death experiences he has witnessed, but none of them quite came close to this scary situation. This would not be something he would easily forget, his friendly visit had turned into an outright intense thriller with Jodie, and the night wasn't even over yet. His only focus now was to make sure they all got out alive and in tact, that's all that mattered. His Toxicroak would help see to that.
Smoke followed quickly after the fire, filling up the basement and billowing out of the growing hole the flames were creating. The whole middle section of the house was sure to be aflame at this point. Jodie had to trust that Nattousai was right; that toxicroak could get them out.
The flames to Jodie’s back were hot as she climbed back up the latter, keeping the poison type close in her sights as the room quickly grew darker. Jodie’s lungs felt the beginning of the burn, though the flames themselves had not yet caught up with the trainers. Haunter followed quickly behind her. He had a look of deep concern on his face. The while meowstic felt heavy in her arms. The pokemon’s breathing was slow and haggard. Jodie doubted this encounter would be enough to end the poor pokemon, she would have to bring the meowstic to a pokemon center. They’d moved past the point that they could simply let the pair out into the wild with their best wishes.
Wow, this encounter had turned sour. Jodie couldn’t remember the last time one of her adventures had gone so horribly wrong. Maybe the cave in where she’d caught Golurk? There had to have been at least something before that. The time she’d almost gotten arrested for trespassing, but then fell through an old floor? Probably that.
Jodie realized, not for the first time, that she was kind of a dangerous person to hang out with.
They were back in the kitchen. The far fourth of the room was ablaze, as was the ceiling above it. Jodie moved carefully but quickly through the room, stepping as lightly as she could. Then, from above, echoed a loud CRACK! A beam fell from the ceiling, covering their exit through the kitchen. Haunter fired off a beam of dark energy, splitting the weakened wood and throwing it into the opening hall.
Then, the roof shuttered. Two more flaming beams fell. Jodie looked to Toxicroak, hoping he would know the safest path to take as Nattousai said. She would follow close behind the poison type.
"Don't think about it Jodie. Just keep pushing through. Trust in my Toxicroak. Don't look at the falling debris. We will get out of here I promise." Zig-zagging through flames and dodging falling chunks of the building engulfed in flames, Toxicroak cuts through the kitchen which was actually one of the more dangerous rooms of the whole place and just barely avoids a fallen beam! It manages to hop at the last second out of the way of the beam with the worried Meowstic still in his arms, about to faint from the smoke filling its lungs. Using its large, bulbous eyes, Toxicroak slits a gaze through the smoke and focuses on the room pausing for a moment. He looked passed all the pots and pans and kitchen Tupperware and scorching pieces of furniture and sees a small crack in the wall in front of it next to the sink. Toxicroak gestures the others to follow it to the wall. Walking carefully along the untouched parts of the floor free of fire, Toxicroak reaches the wall safely, sets Meowstic down really fast, and then reels his fist back as it glows a purple tint, and then shoves it through the wall using Poison Jab to knock down the layered wood splintering it open and creating a giant hole to the outside for everyone to exit through.
"YES! I knew we could count on you Toxicroak! THANK YOU! Now let's get outta here!" Toxicroak picks up the Meowstic once more and makes way for the crisp, cool air outside. The smoke escapes the building following it to the open air and plumes into the sky over the frog's head. Nattousai follows behind and collapses onto the ground falling to his back staring upwards breathing in as much of the fresh oxygen as he can. Toxicroak places the Meowstic on the grassy surface outside and collapses alongside Nattousai while smoke leaves its lungs. The Male Meowstic rests next to the Toxicroak grasping its chest in shock as it was nearly doomed. The Gym Leader leans his neck up and gazes into the rising flames taking in the rest of the house within seconds of the group's evacuation. He also keeps a sharp eye on Jodie and the Meowstic and Haunter near her making sure she gets out okay as well. But what was to be done about the burning house now that everyone was safe was still a mystery, none of them had a water type to extinguish the flames. They would have to think fast before the fire consumes the entire forest, and soon, spreads to Jodie's gym! "JODIE! Is there a Wild Pokemon that dwells around here that knows a water move that can help us out? Maybe a ghost type that might know one? A Frillish would be ideal right about now. I'm sure one has to dwell around here somewhere right? Every ghost Pokemon imaginable I've seen around this place. You keep a real dark environment, and I know they thrive on that stuff." There were so many thoughts rushing through Nattousai's head presently, but the one that took over all others was taking out that fire by any means necessary.
"We might be able to fashion some kind of combo move with our Pokemon to extinguish it. Though none of ours know a water type move, nor does the Meowstic, maybe we can figure something out together if there's no water types around here. The fire may have scared all the inhabitant Pokemon away." Anything was worth a shot at this point, though the deciding move or moves may not be water based, he was confident they all could figure something out and stop the flames from spreading too far. Toxicroak appeared panicked as its eyes scanned across the entire forest for any incoming support. It was well aware that it couldn't do anything about this wildfire, and even moreso, it grew scared for the two weakened Meowstics caught up in this mess. The Male Meowstic was on its feet now, staring blankly at its home being burnt to the ground. Tears continued streaming from its face and it sobbed into Toxicroak's chest while the frog Pokemon tried to console it, also showing signs of sadness for such a disastrous event. "What...what have we done...." Nattousai was on his knees, mortified by the fire, out of additional ideas or plans or solutions....he felt beyond useless, and dreadfully hopeless.
Attempting to catch fainted Female Meowstic with a dusk ball (It's night out)
Smoke Jodie collapsed on the grass. Flames lick the night sky, devouring the wooden structure they’d left moments before like a hungry beast.
“Thank Arceus, Nattousai, for your toxicroak.” Jodie weazed. “I was worried there- the house went up so fast. Lucky, though, I think we got everyone out.”
Thankfully, the mansion was up on a hill, alone with only its old shrubs and berry trees to feed it. Still, if left to spread, the flames could blow into the forest or catch other splintering houses. Nattousai was right - they needed to stop it here.
Jodie’s mind, still reeling from the smoke and adrenaline, focused solely on this task. Her gym pokemon were a ways away, perhaps not even aware of the fire, and Acreus’s grace had already allowed them to escape the fire with little injury. She doubted it would send the perfect wild pokemon their way. Mulling through that, she did come up with one idea. “Toxicroak knows ground type moves, right?” Jodie stopped to cough. “Fire can be put out if you dump dirt on it. If Toxicroak shoots something like a mud ball over the fire, Haunter can scatter it with a shadow ball. We can do that until…” Jodie trailed off, retrieving her other pokeball from her bag.
The beldum released in a flash of light. “You know the way back to the gym?” Jodie asked. The beldum paused, but ultimately bobbed up and down in confirmation. “Go get Froslass and Dusknoir.”
The beldum departed with surprising speed, gliding like an electric train on a direct route to their destination. Jodie looked to Haunter to see if he’d heard her plan. He looked a little distant, but the haunter was ready to try it if the other trainer agreed.
Jodie felt the pounding in her ears slow a bit. She took a deep breath, the cold night air both calming and stinging her lungs. The fire felt warm on her face.
The blue meowstic was distraught. For the first time in a long while, Jodie felt, well, kind of awful. The fire hadn’t been anyone’s particular fault, but it was because they had gone into the building that they’d had the fight at all. The two of them couldn’t have known this would happen - or even that they’d find the meowstic down there at all.
But that didn’t lessen the state of the limp meowstic in her arms. Her breath was shallow; though the flames hadn’t got her, the smoke had seeped into her already weakened body. Jodie’s initial impression was correct - the meowstic needed the care of a pokemon center.
“I really hate to do this.” Jodie said, carefully resting the pokemon’s head on her knee, freeing her hand. She pulled from her bag a dusk ball. “Especially after we knocked you out and all. But, I think this is the best way to help you. Promise I’m a good trainer, really.”
Jodie tapped the empty pokeball to the unconscious meowstic’s head and hoped for the best.
"Your suggestions are not bad at all. I think a Mud Bomb would work. But yes, definitely your Gym Pokemon would be ideal in this situation. I'll use my Toxicroak to muddy up the fire for now while you retrieve your other Pokemon." Toxicroak hears Nattousai's idea and acts upon the fire before he says a single command. Toxicroak begins launching Mud Bombs into the flames in a rapid fire motion. He pelts the left side of the house, then like a machine gun, continues on in a horizontal movement to the rest of the house reaching all the way over to the right side. The tactic isn't doing a whole lot, it's doing just enough to cause the flames to flicker and slow, but not be put out. The frog would keep this up for as long as it could and until it exhausts. Nattousai really didn't want to have to use Geodude to help with throwing dirt on the fire, but he may not have a choice since Jodie's Gym was indeed some ways away and it could be awhile before her Pokemon are retrieved. But while Nattousai was contemplating, the male Meowstic watched his beloved partner and friend be captured by Jodie, knowing she had to be to be saved, he felt sorrow at first, but then a flood of thanks washed over him. To know its partner was going to be okay was all it needed to see to calm its nerves. The Meowstic then made a serious grimace, and walked next to the Toxicroak, murmuring up at Nattousai wanting to help put out this fire.
"You wanna help? Alright friend, show me what you got!" The Meowstic once an enemy, now a friend, jumps in to attack the flames and slow its spread alongside Toxicroak with a wave of its hands, using Helping Hand on Toxicroak to increase the power and size of its Mud Bombs. The Toxicroak's bombs were now bigger and covered a wider radius. The Toxicroak nodded in thanks, and kept spitting the bombs out already feeling winded from the moves. Meowstic then thought of a move that it knew to help as well, and then opened its mouth as wide as it could to unleash a wave of intense sound at the flames as a way to try and blow them out. It used Disarming Voice to help push pieces of debris out of the way and cover some of the smaller, flickering flames up and then blew out some of the remnants of the fire on the edges of the building that weren't so big to make it at least a little easier on the Toxicroak. "I don't know how much longer we can keep this up Jodie, but we will keep it up for as long as we can. Let's hope your Beldum gets back soon so this fire doesn't spread to the forest." Even Nattousai was trying his hand at helping with the fire by scooping up handfuls of dirt and tossing it into the flames. It really didn't do a thing, but he wanted to show everyone he was trying somehow.
"Remind me Jodie, never to become a firefighter. Oh, and uh, to have a Water type with me handy at all times." Through all the chaos he had heard Jodie say something about a Shadow Ball technique to help support Toxicroak in the fire fighting. He thought it was worth a shot. "Whenever Haunter is ready, it can jump in with the Shadow Balls to keep this blaze low at any time." Between the Meowstic, the Toxicroak, and the Haunter's cooperation and combined efforts, the fire should be tamed long enough until Beldum returns with more help. Looking at the flames now, and then remembering what they were like just a few minutes ago, there was already a big difference. The building was still very much ablaze, but on a much smaller scale. There would be no way to put out the fire without more support, but for now, it was mostly contained. It was now a matter of consistency more than anything as well as willpower to keep going.
Haunter went to join toxicroak and aid as best he could. The noise of crackling fire and exploding mud balls (similar the sound of slapping water really hard followed by heavy rain) filled the night air. The breeze was smoky, but thankfully most of the fumes were carried up and into the sky. Nattousai’s Toxicroak (who was honestly doing the most work) managed to keep the fire spreading beyond the house.
Jodie closed her hand around the still pokeball. She’d get the meowstic to a pokemon center, as soon as this was all over. Slipping the dusk ball into her pocket, Jodie finally got up.
“Remind me to hire a firefighter.” Jodie sighed. This entire ghost town was just asking to go up in flames; probably about time to enlist some help. She’d get an ad put in next week’s paper.
She scanned the horizon for the little blue pokemon. “Well, that wasn’t the worst thing that could’ve happened. No one’s dead, right?” Jodie trailed off at the end. Her voice was low, but had a chuckle to it. “Let’s keep this between you and me. As far as the league knows, it was a freak thunderstrike.”
It had been a number of minutes, but at last help arrived. The two ghost pokemon flew hurriedly up the pathway to where the two trainers stood, guided by the beldum. The dusknoir and froslass awaited instruction.
“Thank Arceus. Dusknoir, used gravity on the flames. Froslass, water pulse!” Jodie called.
The fire, forced down by gravity, grew brighter and hotter in the smaller area. Froslass focused a blast of water, cold but not the frozen temperature of her usual ice, at the condensed flames. Black smoke rose from where the water struck. Froslass fired off another blast. The fire had been contained well enough that the ice type needed only circle the house before black smoke and small embers were all that remained of the once tall mansion.
Jodie whistled. “Hope they had good property insurance.”
The fire raged despite the efforts of the whole team. Even Haunter joining in was not cutting it. The flames grew dimmer, but still burned passionately. The forest remained in immense danger for as long as the flames roared, and everybody was desperately doing whatever they could to contain the disaster. "As far as the league knows Jodie, I think that's the least of our concerns." Nattousai had no reason to fight Jodie on the reasoning behind the fire, he didn't want to lose his job or license as a Gym leader over a forest fire he, or they, didn't mean to commit. But just as all hope seemed lost and Nattousai's Toxicroak was quickly growing exhausted along with the other Pokemon to follow, the Calvary had finally arrived! In almost no time at all Jodie's Froslass and Dusknoir made quick work of the fire with their combined, powerful moves going straight to work with the flames the moment they appeared. Their team work was like a dance, vivid and elegant, extinguishing the burning rubble of the building in sync with one another's abilities; the gravity pushing the fire down, the water obliterating the orange soul within the scorching pyro. It was all a thing of beauty.
And before Nattousai knew it, the flames were completely put out. His Toxicroak had stopped the Mud Bombs a while ago, losing the energy to keep them going, and gave itself a break once it saw Dusknoir and Froslass arrive. The Meowstic had given up just before Toxicroak did on his attempt with dousing the fire, but the two Pokemon, as well as Nattousai, were all relieved once backup was there seeing that the problem was being taken care of faster than any of them could figure, and let Jodie's Gym Pokemon finish the job on their own in seconds flat. "That is one impressive batch of Pokemon you have there Jodie. I know my team couldn't pull that off in such finesse. No offense to them, but that Dusknoir and Froslass were obviously trained for such emergencies." Toxicroak didn't look offended by the comment, and just shrugged. The Meowstic on the other hand, didn't really know what to say or think after all that. It just fell to its bottom and stared, blankly, coldly, at its burnt up home. Toxicroak sits beside it to keep it company and cheer it up, but it stayed sitting lifelessly upon the wreckage.
While the Meowstic wallowed in its depression, Nattousai struck an idea, similar to Jodie's. "My dear Meowstic....I don't see any good any of this hanging around will do to you other than fuel bad memories. And since your companion belongs to Jodie now, why don't you let me take care of you? We can schedule regular visits with Jodie and the other Meowstic so you two can keep spending time together if you wish. I wouldn't want to upset you and take you away from all of this...but I'm sorry to say, there isn't much to come back to...and the rest of this place....it's meant for the Ghost Pokemon, and you being a Psychic type I think would be much better off with someone like me so you could have a permanent home in my travels, and lots of friends to keep you company, and keep you safe....so, sound like a good plan buddy?" Nattousai is kneeling down next to the Meowstic comforting him, and takes out an empty Poke' Ball presenting it to the cat.
The Meowstic just sits contemplatively, but doesn't back away, or flinch at the offer. It just looks at Nattousai, and lets out a faint smile. It was the only thing that made sense now, and it felt like maybe it was time to feel safe, to be taken care of, and to not be in such a dangerous situation ever again. Being able to still see its partner was also nice to know too, and everything pieced together for it to be a win, win, what did it have to lose? The Meowstic stood up, and kept that blank expression as it had before, no nodding, no shaking its head, it would just stand there, and Nattousai would make the next move. Without further ado, Nattousai lightly tossed the ball onto its noggin, and let the device consume him. The cat now, would take it from there. Nattousai watched as the ball wiggled, and gave Jodie a grin. "Thank you for your help with this fire, Jodie....let's see if this Meowstic is ready to roll with me, and if so, we can set up a play date with yours. They deserve to be reunited again at some point. I can't wait to see how much happier they'll be under our care." After such a rollercoaster ride of an event that had just occurred, Nattousai had a funny feeling that regardless of all that had happened, him and Jodie would still see eachother again, and the Meowstics would visit one another from time to time. Distance could never keep true friends, or partners apart for long, the bond of two hearts cannot be broken by a few miles and a change of lifestyle, this Nattousai would make sure of.
Last Edit: Oct 28, 2015 21:26:35 GMT -5 by nattousai
Fire no longer licked the sky, and only small tendrils of black smoke drifted up into the sky from the blackened remains of what stood a proud mansion fifty years ago. Jodie let out a long sigh. Her heart was no longer pounding against her chest, but her lungs still stung in the cooled night air. Hot drinks were in order.
Jodie laughed at Nattousai’s compliment. “Trained for emergencies... Yeah I guess you could say that.” Her two pokemon returned, their job done. Froslass looked exhausted from the extensive moves she’d used. She drifted low off the ground, the only water type move she knew draining her more than her natural moves would. Dusknoir was alert and ready.
“Thanks, you two.” Jodie said. “Froslass, why don’t you come back with us? Dusknoir, could you check around the area, make sure sparks didn’t spread and the wild pokemon are alright? I’ll send Golurk to help when I get back to the gym.” The dusknoir nodded and faded into the darkness.
The interaction between Nattousai and the meowstic brought a smile to Jodie’s face. It seemed everything had somehow turned out alright enough. They’d gotten lucky, the two of them.“What were they eating? All I saw down there were the old food preserves. Old peaches, dark musty basement… Looks like we’re going to have a lot to live up to, Nattousai.”
At least, she hoped she could offer a good home for the pokemon. She wasn’t used to training psychic types, but Beldum hadn’t been all that hard thus far, and Meowstic was sort of like Beldum, she guessed. Jodie would try her best. “I think we now have a moral obligation to hang out again. But, next time, let’s do it at your place.” Jodie laughed. “Only so much damage I can cause here before I start getting angry nightmares from the residents.”
Jodie stretched her arms over her head. They still shook slightly, but it was nothing a nice walk couldn’t fix. “I’m going to pack up and head for the nearest town.” She said. “Got to get Meowstic to a pokemon center. But if you want to get some rest before getting back on the road, you’re free to use the gym. Or Melia’s place is just up the hill; it’s got less mildew, from what I hear. But, I’ve got the better coffee. Just saying.”
She waved for Nattoisai. “I’ve gotta stop by the gym first. Come with me if you’d like.”
The craziness had ended and the cool air had gave way to a peaceful aftermath. Everybody was alright, and that's all Nattousai could really want. The fire was very scary, and was put out just in time. Nattousai would be lying if he said he didn't feel a little bit of panic or worry while the flames scorched, everyone did he was sure. He would more than likely have nightmares about this for awhile, but it worked out, and everyone was safe, that would help him ease his mind at least partially. "I couldn't tell you how the two Meowstic survived, or why this mansion was their sought after shelter, but I'm sure whatever they had to do to survive was not easy." Pokemon that lived in the wild were a hard sort to figure out, some did better than others in the predicament, while the rest just had a more difficult time fairing the conditions of their environment, thus making them angry, frustrated, starving. There were all types of Pokemon, all different personalities, and it is the sad truth that Trainers messed with their ecosystem.
"We as Trainers, Gym Leaders, what have you, we are the jerks of the Pokemon world you know. We stomp through their homes, we catch them and take them away from their families, we breed them without consent, we store them in tiny devices and computers for who knows how long against their will, and perhaps worst of all, fight them against eachother for sport. We are really the monsters, not them. Such a sad cycle we go through in this world, but alas, once a cycle has started, it can't really be broken." Nattousai didn't mean to make the day anymore dreary with his depressing talk, they should be rejoicing that they put out the fire, but again, they helped cause it, so celebrating such a thing would be a contradicting mistake. "Irony is nature's bastard child. Unfortunately, we help feed it sometimes." Nattousai fancied the idea of hanging out again though, on another day where things didn't feel so somber. A day where good things were happening instead of just bad terrible experiences.
"Hanging out again is a given. Our Meowstic deserve that right as well. My place will work just fine. It's a little messy, but I'll be sure to do some cleaning before you arrive." He was offered to go to Melia's place nearby and rest, but he has yet to meet that woman, and he doesn't know if he even wanted to yet. He's heard stories about her, he would surely be destined to meet her one day, but now was not the time, and he wouldn't feel right using her place for a nice sit. "I think stopping by the gym with you is a fine idea. I don't think I've set foot in that place in ages. Maybe I can give you a few decorating tips upon a bit of a looksie huh? Let's go." Nattousai smiled, just happy to be out of harm's way and back to a normal day of adventure without the danger.
Last Edit: Nov 3, 2015 2:58:22 GMT -5 by nattousai
In her view, Nattousai was framed just before the wreckage of the smoldering mansion as he spoke his mind. The first flickers of morning stroke the sky, and the last few embers rose up before the tres. It was like a scene shot from a movie.
Jodie smiled at the gym leader and shrugged. “That’s one way to look at it.” Glad that he agreed to come along, Jodie began back to the gym. Her two pokemon followed not far behind.
That’s what this whole thing had felt like, some movie. Even though she could still feel the remnants of the smoke in her lungs, the flames felt very far away. If what Nattousai said, about them being the jerks of the world, was true, and their actions tonight perpetrated that societal norm, Jodie felt removed from the whole event. Did that only strengthen the cycle, as he had said? Perhaps. Was the cycle actually such a bad thing? Jodie didn’t know.
She just kind of… lived life. What came, came.
Taking a quick pace so as to be on the road as soon as possible, Jodie reached the gym in good time. The old door let out its signature creek, and revealed the interiour of the old town hall, virtually unchanged since she had left it. That was a good thing. You never really knew with this place.
Jodie waved for Nattousai to follow her in. “Medical supplies are in the kitchen, bottom shelf. Don’t think there’s anyone else here, so you’ve got the run of the place-” Jodie paused. The gym leader stopped in her tracks and rubbed her furrowed brow. “A door. That’s what this was all about.”
Taking a long breath in, Jodie spun 180 degrees on her heel to face the interior of her gym. “Well, that’s deliveries are for.” She said cheerfully. “I’m going to pack up really quick, let me know if there’s anything you need.”
All of this, all of the craziness and the exploring and the meandering, it was all just for a door. Nattousai almost completely forgot what the purpose of their nightly walk was for, and still, they didn't have a door. Instead, they managed to burn down an old home and nearly take the entire forest with them. Funny how something so simple can cause so much chaos and pain. Everything must happen for a reason though, right? Nattousai was still trying to figure that whole saying out though, especially after tonight. Once they reached Jodie's gym it was in much better shape than the mansion they searched, and thankfully was not on fire. The interior was quite the sight, antique touches and a classic earlier century feel. Not as dark and brooding as Nattousai suspected it was, but it was ghostly enough, perfect for a Ghost Type Leader like Jodie. "Even without that door you covet so much, it's still quaint enough." He had heard Jodie mention medical supplies in the kitchen, and without her needing to say another word Nattousai heads over there to find a kit full of supplies.
He takes out the kit from a wall mounted shelf and plants it on the nearby counter opening it up and taking some gauze and medical tape. He places the gauze on his right wrist and tapes over it to cover a slight burn. He then pops open a small tube of ointment and rubs it against his chapped and scorched lips. Everywhere else along his body felt fine, and he put the supplies away closing the kit and returning it to the shelf. He hears Jodie mention the door again and Nattousai gets a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, it was always the door. He leaves the kitchen and peaks his head out looking at Jodie. "Let's not talk about your door shall we? We've done enough damage looking for one. No more bad memories." He began wondering if maybe it was best he take his leave after all that had occurred, and leaving Jodie to tend to her Gym and find her beloved door herself.
"I should probably get going back to my own Gym...fun times though eh? I do hope when next we meet, it isn't in such unfortunate circumstances." It wasn't Jodie's fault that all this bad stuff happened, it was just wrong place, wrong time kind of thing. "I'm sure my Gym definitely needs tending to of its own anyway. I think you'll be okay on your own no?" There was no telling when the two would meet again, but it was best for now to go their separate ways. Also, speculation would surely arise of Nattousai being away from his Gym too long and spending a surmountable amount of time with another Gym Leader, he didn't want that. He started heading to the main entrance to leave Jodie's Gym, unless she decided to stop him for whatever reason while she was packing and persuade him to stay, but he didn't see any reason why she would. He began to exit her place without another word.
Jodie blinked at Nattousai's harsh response. Bad memories? Is that what this was going to become for him? Jodie shrugged to herself and renewed her smile, returning to her own business of trying to remember where she left her thermos. Personally, she was going to file this evening away as an enjoyable diversion, where she not only got to chat with her fellow gym leader but met a new friend as well. Sure, the building burned down, but no one owned it and no one got too hurt. It wasn’t her business if Nattousai didn’t see it the same way she did. That’s how most people would react after being caught in a fire - she couldn’t expect otherwise.
Other things were more pressing. While Jodie ran up to her room to find her pokeballs, Nattousai seemed to take care of everything he needed to. The gym leader was leaving just as Jodie was returning back to the main hall, Golurk’s pokeball in hand.
“Oh yeah, I’ll be fine. I’ve got all my gym pokemon here and all. You be safe too, alright?” Jodie called after him with a friendly wave.
Still, she couldn’t help but feel a pit in her stomach. Theirs hadn’t been the most friendly of partings, and though she didn’t see the poison gym leader in any different of a way (other than he and his pokemon were quite reliable and good partners in battle), she felt... kind of bad.
Jodie pushed the feeling aside and focused her mind on the task of packing. The negative emotions would settle later, she was sure. She’d leave around thirty minutes after Nattousai departed.
Once Nattousai made it right to the exit of the Gym he stopped himself just as he stepped a foot outside and half cocked his head looking back towards Jodie in thought. He started thinking to himself and realizing that maybe he wasn't the nicest of people with his words, but there was so much about Nattousai that Jodie had yet to know, and braving such a big fire brought back some painful memories for the Poison Type handler. It brought back memories of his father leaving him, his mother disappearing overseas, and the burning flames and fuming smoke of all the toxic waste near his home where he lived at a trash facility. He would spend most of his nights shaking and twitching from the smell of smoke and how loud and scary the night sounds of the crazy waste environment he lived near was. Giant machines would roar, yells of workers would boom into his room, explosions due to on site accidents and trash burning would fill his ears, it was truly a traumatic experience as a child to have to sleep through that all while his father was always out working a dump site of his own and managing a crew of hundred plus workers. He never saw his dad due to him coming home so late, and on his days off, being away at the bar leaving Nattousai to fend for himself and forcing his own son to grow up too fast learning the value of hard work and a dollar at a very young age.
Nattousai knew it wasn't fair to project such emotions on Jodie, none of that she deserved. And his mother, away on research tasks never being around either didn't help growing up for Nattousai as well. Part of all that harsh living may be due to his sarcasm and bitterness presently. His only friend and companion that was ever around for him was his Koffing, but to say he was raised by a Pokemon would be overshooting at best. He didn't want to tell Jodie all of this in fear of judgment, so he thought it better to keep it to himself. He did feel he needed to be more kind upon his departure however, as to not leave Jodie doubting herself or feeling down about the craziness that had occurred on their adventure. He would see to it that she understands all is well upon his leave with a few nurturing parting words. "Jodie....thank you....for being my friend. Let's meet again soon...." His words echoed towards her from across the room like a soothing chime, that would surely allow her spirit to rest with ease much more than the previous vibe she may have picked up from Nattousai. With a faint smile, Nattousai turns away from her and quietly leaves the Gym allowing her to finish packing glad he had a second thought about his goodbye to her.