Re: ¤Game¤ Dragon Tamers Battle Range v.23 {MA Pidgeot}
Ace64, you had an extension for the maze anyways. The extention lasts until the end of the current scenario so you won't lose stamps.
Hannah, it has worked like that in the past I think in the sense that you can get levels but no stamps (somebody do correct me if I'm wrong). btw, if you can pinpoint what was up with the Blades scenario and PM me about it that'd be great, I confess in some ways the whole campaign was an egotistical 'I've come up with a good bad guy let's inflict it on EVERYONE' thing but I'm always up for some constructive critisism (as long as you break it to me gently-ish) and would love to know any flaws so I don't repeat them. ^^;;
Anyways, have my previous double RBG folks. => Oh and can I quickly get one for Scratchy and Brandy? I'd like to try getting tmy current plot out of the way before I write for the actual scenario. ^^;;
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The small town of Kala Bier would have been a most pleasant place to be passing through under any ordinary circumstances. It was the sort of untainted, cute little habitat that took one back to a more innocent age. Where shop owners were on first name terms with all their customers. Where one could go outside at night without worrying about being mugged. Sure, most of Ulthuan had mercifully escaped the distrust that now enveloped the rest of the world but... well, Kala Bier was something else even by those standards, a town that was almost unreal in its simplicity. It was, it had to be said, a most refreshing change from the hectic life living so close to a Dragons Guild base brought with it.
“Ade, is it me or have we stepped into the setting for a black and white movie here?” As ever, Milliardo was the first off the mark with a stupid yet scarily accurate quip about the whole situation.
“We can't have,” Beckham answered for me. “We're still in colour.”
“Yet again you totally miss the point, dummy.” My Umbreon rolled his eyes. “Anyway, is it me or does this place seem a little too perfect?”
“You have a point,” I conceded. For the closest inhabitation to the troubles I was supposed to be investigating the town was unusually peaceful! “Maybe the problems just haven't reached here yet. Or maybe there's a perfectly natural explanation for the behaviour Lady Ninetales was telling me about. Speaking of whom, I'd better give her a call the instant we find a local inn or something just to let her know we've arrived.”
“What is she, your mother or something?”
“No, but I really don't want to give her any more excuses for fixing me with a dirty look when I return to Sector Alpha than I absolutely have to. I'd say it's pretty much certain that we'll overstep our boundaries at some point during this investigation anyway.”
“Well I'm glad you've accepted that already,” Thunderblast beamed, joining in the conversation. “It'll make things a lot easier later on. Now do you think we ought to find that local inn or something instead of standing in the middle of the street like a bunch of idiots?” My Raichu had a pretty good point actually! First and foremost we had to secure ourselves a base of operations. Then, and only then, could we hope to settle down to business.
Eventually a base of operations presented itself in the form of The Roving Ranger, a quiet little family-run inn with comfortable beds, clean rooms and good meals. Plus, as an added bonus, a reasonably cheap bar that I had every intention of taking advantage of as soon as I could.
“I was rather under the impression that we had an official Guild assignment to undertake,” Marius had commented drily upon hearing that I fully intended on spending that evening with a glass of brandy or three. “Surely if something is amiss we should endeavour to reveal the truth as hastily as possible, don't you think?”
“A nice idea,” I nodded. “But I'm not as foolhardy as I once was and I think we're best off waiting until tomorrow morning to start the investigation proper. I for one don't intend on roaming around in a strange forest when the sun is setting. Besides which, who said I'm not making... hmm, what would be Guild-speak for what I'm planning on doing tonight? I know, 'initial enquiries' works well.”
“Meaning remaining in the bar whilst justifying it with the occasional question directed at the locals.” My Dratini rolled his eyes. “If procrastination was an official sport you could compete at an Olympian level.”
“Hey, don't knock pro-crasty-wotsit,” Beckham beamed from a bar stool next to me. “It hasn't done us any harm so far has it?”
“Nor has it done you any good”, Marius reminded.
“Oh, leave them be,” Pandora sighed. Most of my team were surrounding me as we commandeered a table in the corner of the bar normally reserved for private parties. Amazing, really, what flashing an official Dragons Guild ID could get you, especially when it bore as impressive a title as 'Lord Umbreon'. “I can see Ade's logic, you know, we only just got here an hour or two ago, it's silly launching straight into work. Just relax for once, dear.”
“I suppose.” Not for the first time the Dratini reluctantly conceded to his foster mother's advice. “I would feel better if I saw some actual investigations being carried out, however, if for no other reason that so far I really do feel like I'm the only one who hasn't forgotten that this isn't some kind of Guild-sanctioned vacation.”
“Relax,” I commented, noting that my glass was nearly empty. “I know what I'm here for, but right now I don't think it such a great idea to go storming out there so we might as well have a little fun while waiting for a better moment to start the investigation, no? Anyway, I'm going to head down and get another drink, and maybe see if the bartender knows anything. Anyone want anything bringing back?”
“Yeah, a Slow Comfortable Screw,” Thunderblast giggled.
“We can work on that later on,” Kasumi commented.
“I meant the cocktail,” my Raichu beamed.
“Ade, don't give her anything,” Milliardo commented. “Her tolerance for drink is as bad as her eyesight without the stupid shades, as in absolutely abysmal. I mean, last time she got drunk she started picking fights with everybody.”
“Did I?” Thunderblast seemed genuinely confused.
“She can't even remember that occasion. I rest my case. I recommend milk or water for everyone, except Becks who I guess would like a triple tequila slammer with added grapefruit.”
“You know, that would probably work quite well,” I mused. “Anyway, hold the fort for me for a second guys. I trust you can manage that without arguing, hm?” I looked rather pointedly at the usual troublemakers within my team... well, Scratchy and Milliardo, at any rate. And then I made my way over to the bar, to be greeted by a greying man who looked as if he had seen his fair share of trials.
“Everything okay, Lord Umbreon?” the man asked.
“Great, thanks. Er... one double Jack Daniels and coke, one pint of scrumpy cider, one coke... um, two orange juices, one with a straw...” One of these was for Katnip, the other for Thunderblast. No matter what my Raichu said I was inclined to side with Milliardo on the subject of her drinking! “...and a few more bowls of water, please.”
“Certainly,” the barman beamed. “I have to say I think it's sweet the way you handle your pokémon. Most trainers would just keep them in pokéballs when coming into this place, but you keep them out and let them join in. You must really care for them.”
“Well we've been through a lot together, sometimes I forget that they're my team and just think of them as friends.” I shrugged, grabbing the first pair of bowls of water and signalling for one of my pokémon to come help move them over; the role ended up being amusingly taken up by Thunderblast and Kasumi who both used their telekinetic powers to transfer the bowls to the table. Not without spilling water everywhere, of course. “By the way...” I began as the barman simultaneously worked on two large glasses of cola, “...speaking of pokémon I've been hearing that the wild ones around here have been acting oddly.”
“Oh it's not just the wild ones, you know,” the bartender commented, passing over the colas and beginning to pour the cider that was undoubtedly going to end up in Beckham's mouth. “All pokémon in the area are being kind of skittish, at least the bug ones. I'm surprised that Paras I see you have hasn't started acting oddly, actually.”
“Well to be honest he's always been too good at masking what he's really feeling for comfort,” I sighed. “I never can get much out of him unless I ask.”
“Well, that's pokémon for you,” the barman grinned. “They're as varied in personality as humans, and sometimes can be just as awkward.”
“Amen to that,” I chuckled, accepting the final drinks. “Anyway, put this all on my tab, okay?”
“Sure thing.” Carefully I made my way back to my table and sat back down.
“Well?” Marius asked.
“Gee, haven't you become the little slave-driver?” I rolled my eyes, rather bemused by my Dratini's almost annoying desire to push on. “As it happens the barman was telling me that it seems as if all Bug-types in the area have been acting rather strangely. Which leads me to ask... Scratchy, have you been sensing anything weird about this place?”
“It's hard to say,” the Paras scoffed. “I'm so used to feeling weirdness all around me...”
“Listen,” I seethed, having had about as much of my pokémon's attitude as I was going to take. “Just answer my question for once instead of turning everything that's said into a tirade about how you think everybody else is stupid, insane or both. I'm sick of it, Scratchy, and in case you were unaware you're not without flaws yourself. Now let's try again. Have you been sensing anything weird about this place or not?”
“I...” Scratchy was thrown completely by this outburst. He wasn't used to being told off like that! “There's nothing weird about the town but I'm feeling something from the forest. It's odd. It's like some sort of signal... it makes me uneasy, like something's in there we really ought to be staying away from.” The Paras shrugged. “That's about it, really, I couldn't say more without actually going in there.”
“See, Scratchy, you can really be quite an asset to the group when you put your mind to it,” I beamed before throwing the topic out to the rest of the group. “Anyone any ideas what this might be?”
“Some sort of unearthly signal?” Bolovayr offered.
“We hardly think so,” Rhiannon countered. “If it were that we would be able to detect it, but we can't. Besides which, if this happened to be a supernatural matter then the Guild would have referred it to Lord Absol's department rather than that of Lady Ninetales. More likely it's some kind of mechanical impulse.”
“What, like those transmitters Team Rocket uses to drive pokémon mad?”
“Precisely.”
“So how come only Bug types can sense this thing then?” Milliardo interrupted. “If it was one of those don't you think we'd all be getting a little deranged right about now? Well... more deranged than we all are already, at any rate.”
“Father has a point,” Marius added. “Here's my hypothesis. We know for a fact thanks to Guild research that many wild Bug pokémon have something of a hive mentality; that is to say they have some sort of mental connection which allows them to know the precise state of every other member of the colony. Supposing that one of the wild colonies, maybe even more, encountered such a problem that, out of sheer desperation, its collective hive mind managed to transcend the limitations of this mental bond? As in they send out a generic message to all those in the area to stay away and avoid falling into the same problem that particular colony has encountered?” He shrugged as best as a Dratini could. “I don't know. I'm only really speculating here but this theory does seem to fit in well with the facts that we currently have at our disposal.”
“It does make a sort of sense,” I mused, sipping at my drink. “I'll let you take a good long look at the data the Guild gave me when we get back to our room, Marius. I'm guessing that if anyone can make any sense out of it you can.”
“Certainly,” came the satisfied response.
“So what about the rest of us?” Katnip asked from across the table. “Anythin' we can be doin'?”
“Not until daylight,” I shrugged. “At which point we'll all be doing a lot, because I want to get in there as soon as possible. In the meantime... well, how does stay here and ask the innkeeper to fix us some food sound?”
Night soon fell and most of our group retired to a cozy, spacious room that quite comfortably accommodated everyone bar Brandy (sadly my Onix was having to stay in her pokéball for the time being on account of her size). There were exceptions, of course. Bolovayr had now quite happily fell into a routine of only needing about four hours sleep a night and hence usually stayed up until three in the morning amusing himself with his own overactive imagination. Rhiannon was currently possessed by her adult mind and hence had elected to spend the night on the rooftop underneath the stars. And, of course...
“So you're having trouble sleeping as well, hm?” After going through the Guild's data about a hundred times Marius couldn't switch off. His mind was racing with possibilities and theories. So after about half an hour of laying awake he ended up sneaking downstairs into the inn's courtyard, hoping that maybe a breath of fresh air would cure his insomnia. He didn't find his remedy, however. Instead what he found was Scratchy.
“It's rather hard to sleep when you're being constantly bombarded with what I'm sure is a 'get the hell out of here' message, you know,” the Paras replied grouchily as Marius approached. “What's your excuse?”
“I'm used to late nights,” the Dratini replied. “And I can't make any sense out of this entire situation no matter how hard I try.”
“Aren't they paying Ade to do that?”
“True enough.”
“So why are you worrying about it?”
“Because I enjoy putting my mind to the test, especially when doing so could actually benefit others. Every one of us has our own unique abilities and when we can actually make a difference by using them why should we just stand by because it's supposed to be somebody else's problem?”
“You're such an idealist, you know that?”
“I get told that a lot,” Marius commented. “I also get told that I'm annoyingly inquisitive, cynical, over-analytical and I preach far too much about morality. I also get told that I'm aloof and have a superiority complex but I rather feel those last two judgements are somewhat harsh.”
“So you know your own faults. Well done. I don't see what that has to do with anything, though.”
“Well you were the one who brought up being an idealist as if it were a terrible personality trait. I fail to see what's so bad about having ideals. Without ideals and morals we're practically feral and I'm quite convinced that not even you want that.” Marius frowned. “I'm afraid I've gone off on a tangent again. I actually wanted to ask you what you make of this entire situation.”
“It troubles me,” Scratchy replied. For all his faults Marius was one of the few of the Paras' teammates he felt comfortable talking to. At least you could count on him sticking through a conversation without talking nonsense! “You're probably right about it being a warning call, in fact I'm sure of it. It's eerily similar to something I saw before, back before I joined the team.”
“Go on. Something about this situation is familiar to you and it may help us all if you explain.”
“I don't think it will.” Scratchy paused. All this time everyone had been telling him that it would help to open up once in a while... did they have a point? There was really only one way to find out. “But... well, make of it what you will.”
“I'm listening.”
“Back before I ended up in an adoption centre I was part of a Paras colony near one of the Caladorian mountain ranges,” Scratchy began. “It was a dull but peaceful enough life, you know. In fact I rather enjoyed it. We all knew our place, we all knew what needed to be done. The entire group worked as one. How did you put it earlier? Ah, 'hive mentality' you called it. That's how it was, that how it always remained. I was happy that way, you know, we took care ouf our own business and our own business helped the whole of the group.” There was a rather wistful tone in Scratchy's voice but Marius decided it better not to comment on it. Already he was starting to understand his Paras companion a whole lot better. Was his irritable attitude simply because he had been thrust into a quite unruly team after so long in such a simplistic lifestyle? “Anyway, we didn't know it for ages but our colony wasn't too far away from a fuel processing plant. Oh, I know this is Ulthuan and the humans around here for the most part try their best to avoid messing with the environment but it's still not really what you want to have a few miles away from your home is it?”
“No, not at all,” Marius conceded, being one of the first to rally towards any environmental issues. Or any issues where injustices were being done to anything, really. “So what happened with this plant?”
“Ah, you can already see where this is going. Anyway, one day I'm out collecting food for our stores as usual – I'm not going to go into the details of that, I'm sure the almighty Guild has plenty of records on what makes a Paras act as it does – when all of a sudden I get this blinding pain in my head. It's like a short, sharp burst but I know exactly what it means. We all do. It tells us to run. As fast as we can. Something has happened and our territory isn't safe any longer.”
“It sounds a lot like Ventura's psychic pulses. But go on.”
“Of course we didn't know what the hell was going on but we did as it said anyway. You wouldn't know about this; you were born and raised in a team. But when you're a wild pokémon instinct overrides all logic or curiosity. So I started moving away, as did many of my fellows in the colony. And eventually I risk a look back and see the horrible truth. The lands we had lived on for so long had become an inferno. It turns out that some idiot in the fuel plant had decided to risk a sneaky cigarette and set the entire place ablaze. Before you know it up goes the entire area and if it weren't for the warning message from those nearest to the blaze none of us would have survived.”
“What happened to the rest of your colony?” Marius asked.
“Most died in the fire. We're not fast pokémon and we burn very easily thanks to the mushrooms on our backs. Those left were scattered, panicked. We just ran until we found some place to settle. In my case it was in the arms of an adoption centre worker and the rest is history. But... well, if I ever get a bee in my bonnet about nature getting ruined because of anything that thinks it's superior to everything else on the planet that's why. Humans just use and abuse resources without a thought for the consequences, and when it all goes wrong they just damn well shrug their shoulders and go 'oh dear'. And they're not the only ones. I mean, remember Templa Taure? I hear that used to be a beautiful place before the demons corrupted it. It's thoughtless actions like that...” Scratchy frowned. “I can't stand it, it gets me on edge and it's all around everywhere we go. Anyway, there's me going off on a tangent now. Anyway, my point is this feeling here is very similar to the warning call I got back then. Although that was strong and short, this is... weaker, and carries on. Whatever's sending it out is still alive and suffering because of what's happening to it.”
“I have to admit I've reached the same conclusion,” Marius nodded. “I appreciate your confiding in me, Scratchy.”
“It's okay. Don't breathe a word of this to the others, though.”
“It's your secret to impart, not mine,” the Dratini replied. “Although I would advise perhaps letting a few others know. It may make your time in the team easier, even if you only confide in... say, Pearl and Ade.” Marius had reached both for the one he considered ought to know and the one who was best at dealing with the issues of others. “Anyway, now we've had this discussion I was wondering whether you'd like to accompany me?”
“Where?” Scratchy asked.
“Well... let's just call it 'preliminary investigations', shall we?” Marius grinned broadly. He knew perfectly well that this was an offer the Paras wouldn't be able to resist. And if they could uncover something to help the others when they arose... well, all the better! It beat just hanging around without a purpose, after all.
A few moments later and the two pokémon were edging their way expertly into the forest, Scratchy leading on account of his being better equipped to find his way in the dark and his being able to sense the signal, Marius doing a remarkably good job of keeping up behind. It was a remarkably quiet place, this forest. Aside from the occasional hooting of a Noctowl it seemed practically deserted. And dark. And cold. Any pokémon less stubborn than my Paras and Dratini would have given up after a few seconds, in fact. But these were creatures with a cause and both had survived far worse than a slightly uncomfortable trek through a dark forest.
“I have to admit you're doing remarkably well at keeping up seeing as you're not a forest dweller,” Scratchy had been forced to comment on more than one occasion where Marius had somehow managed to navigate past obstacles that would have confounded others for hours.
“Dragons are well known for their versatility,” the Dratini had simply commented after the last instance of this. “Especially those that count as pokémon.”
“Good. You can use your versatility to help investigate that then.” The Paras gestured with a pincer, to where Marius could see some kind of abandoned warehouse in the middle of a clearing. Or, at least, it should have been. But the faint wisps of smoke coming from a small, stubby chimney towards the far end of the construction gave away the lie of it being abandoned. There was something eerie, something not quite right about the whole scene. And Marius' feelings of unease only seemed to double when Scratchy imparted one final piece of most unwelcome information. “The signals are coming from somewhere inside there.”
“Are you certain?”
“They're so loud they give me an even bigger headache than your father does,” Scratchy snapped. “Of course I'm certain.”
“There's no need to be so abrupt you know,” Marius scowled before slowly creeping over to one of the windows, cauiously scouting the surrounding areas for dangers as he did so. Mercifully there was no need for the caution that he had so quickly had to learn against the Crimson Blades this time, and the Dratini made it over to his destination without interruption. “Okay. As far as I can ascertain it is a remarkably imbecilic idea to just burst in through the door so... Scratchy, you can be of a little further use here, actually.”
“How?” the Paras asked as he scuttled over to where Marius was sat.
“Pretend to be a stepladder for a few seconds.” Marius knew full well that Scratchy was never going to agree to such a demeaning request, at least not without a three hour name-calling session, so before the Paras could respond he slithered onto his back, giving him the extra few inches he needed to peer through the nearest window.
“Hey!” Scratchy yelled angrily. “Did I say you could step on me? Did I...” The rest of the tirade was completely lost on Marius. For he was peering through a dirty window into some kind of cell, a barren, filthy place with a single occupant chained to the wall.
The sad eyes looked up... if you could even call them eyes. Just two huge white bulges set into a human-like head, a head that was expressing the utmost agony through these eyes and a mouth stretched wide by tusks so big they were practically mandibles. And the body... oh! The body! This wasn't right! This defied every legal, ethical and quite possible physical law Marius knew!
All of a sudden the sight became too much for the poor Dratini and he toppled backwards in a combination of fear and anxiety.
“Hey! Are you alright?” Scratchy seemed to forget about being a grouch for a moment and scuttled over to his teammate's side. “What the hell was in there????”
“It... oh god. This shouldn't be. This is a corruption of everything we know. I suspect I know what they're doing in there and it makes me sick to the very core of my being just to think about it.”
“Well what is going on in there?” For a second Marius didn't speak, seemingly too much in shock to comprehend the question. And then he turned to stare at Scratchy with possibly the most serious expression he had ever sported in his life. And Marius could sport some very serious expressions when he liked.
“I don't know how or why it's happened. But somebody is keeping a very specific breed of mutant in that building. Namely, a creature that is a fusion of a human and a Parasect. And... it's quite evidently in pain because of its condition.”
“You what?” Scratchy couldn't quite believe what he was hearing!
“You heard me. You say you can't abide nature being corrupted? Well, somebody has gone and taken that to totally unheard of levels. I think we ought to return as quickly as possible and inform the others.” With this Marius returned to a steady position and turned to leave as quickly as possible. Sadly this didn't quite go to plan.
“Not so fast,” a sneering voice chuckled. “Visitors here don't get past without paying the toll.” The two pokémon turned to find their way back being blocked by a most unlikely pair, a Gligar and a Misdreavus. Both sported expressions of utter contempt.
“The toll?” Scratchy's tone was even more acidic than the gazes of the newcomers. It was quite obvious that the Paras was more than happy to provide a fight if these pokémon were after one. Marius, on the other hand, decided to at the very least try and gain some information out of the guards of sorts if not prevent a conflict altogether.
“You're part of this establishment?” the Dratini asked.
“Quite right,” came the reply. “Our mistress looks after us well if we keep this place guarded. It's in our interests to deal with intruders.”
“In your interests?” Marius spluttered. “Have you seen what's in there?”
“Yeah. But who cares? It's none of our business,” the Gligar shrugged.
“None of your...?” For once the Dratini was totally at a loss for words! “Well,” he finally seethed, “I'm most certainly glad that the world isn't totally filled with creatures who share your attitude. This planet would be in ruins within days.”
“Whatever,” the Gligar sighed. “It's worked for me so far. Anyway, are you guys going to put up a fight or not?”
“Exactly what I was going to say,” Scratchy commented with a glare in the direction of his teammate.
“Oh very well, if you won't listen to reason then I suppose we have no alternative. Prepare to lose. Just don't say I never at least tried to offer an alternative.”
FIGHT!!! L17 Paras & L10 Dratini v L17 Misdreavus & L10 Gligar!
Scratchy could have thought of many better opponents to be facing off against than a Misdreavus that looked mischievous; especially one that eclipsed the usual stereotypes of its species. But apparently it was his lot to challenge such a creature. And he wasn't about to let the Ghost type get even the slightest advantage over him no matter what.
“Take this!” the Paras cried, releasing a cloud of harmful dust from his mushrooms just as his opponent used its quite remarkable supernatural powers to attack him with a Psywave. Mercifully Scratchy's mind wasn't the sort that allowed itself to be influenced easily and he hardly even felt the attack. Whereas his opponent inhaled a good deal of his Stun Spore and hence felt more than a little worse for wear afterwards.
“Heh. I have you now.” There was something within Scratchy, something buried deep within him, that was actually rather enjoying this. Already his opponent was suffering through paralysis. Already he had the advantage. And already the desire to prove his superiority to all was starting to burn through his reason. “Take this!” Almost on impulse he attempted to swipe at his opponent; a grave mistake as his pincer just passed straight through the pokémon's immaterial body.
“What an idiot,” the Misdreavus smirked.
“What did you call me???” Scratchy snarled angrily.
“I called you an idiot, you idiot.” Before the conversation could carry on any longer Scratchy attacked again with his pincers, rage evidently having made him forget how ineffectual his slashing attacks were against Ghost types. Before he could hope to realise his foolish mistake the Paras suddenly found himself in the grip of a terrible crushing sensation, one that applied pressure to every single part of his body and made it feel as if he were going to be turned into mush, every fibre of his being smashed.
“What is this???” he cried out.
“Just another application of Psychic,” the Misdreavus smirked. “My trainer was kind enough to give me quite phenomenal powers, far beyond that which I'd normally acquire.” The was something about that line that sounded worryingly familiar to Scratchy, although he couldn't quite place why... yet. “So, why don't you just give up? I'm sure that my mistress would be happy to welcome you to the fold. Just give up on this futile snooping and join us.”
“You think I'm going to join those responsible for this travesty?” The mere thought of it was more than enough to send a fresh wave of anger coursing through Scratchy. An offended anger, an almost righteous anger. An anger that he could actually use. Suddenly he felt the power building up within him, building up until it could no longer be contained within his body. At which point a pitch black shadow seemed to whip out from the mushrooms upon his back, lashing around and around him like a tornado of pure darkness and instantly freeing him from the terrible effects of his opponent's Psychic attack. Moreover, the shadows caught the Misdreavus a glancing blow and sent it reeling backwards, giving Scratchy ample time to take advantage of its abrupt lack of focus. Now he had summoned the darkness, it was his to control. And control it he did, sending it driving hard into his opponent with such force that it drove the gaseous creature straight through a tree. “You make me sick!” Again and again the Paras used his Hidden Power to drive spikes of darkness into his already battered opponent, in some ways rather relishing its cries of agony. The Misdreavus should know suffering for siding with such evil!
Evil... isn't that what I'm becoming now?
Abruptly the Paras stopped his assault, his opponent already well and truly beaten into submission. But that wasn't what had caused him to stop. No, his reason was fear. Fear of the strange sensation that had seemingly been trying to take over his mind, forcing him into acts of greater and greater spite. Oh, it had been there for a while but he had always shrugged it off, ignoring the whispered pleas for vengeance every time he was wronged. But now... now the feeling was practically alien, as if there were something else inside his brain trying to take it over completely. It scared him. And, he realised, if he wasn't careful then it would be his undoing.
Scratchy wins!
Scratchy grew to L18!
Meanwhile Marius was having a far calmer time of things. His opponent, he had come to realise, was mostly show, a creature who seemed to enjoy using weaker attacks in rapid succession in the hope of simply bullying its opponents into retreat. Unfortunately for the Gligar Marius simply wasn't the type to be bothered by mind games. He just found the entire thing rather boring, not to mention easy to avoid.
“Can we please bring an end to all these totally unnecessary acts of machismo and get down to actually battling?” the Dratini eventually snapped after what seemed like the millionth Quick Attack that had been Detected before his opponent had even started it. “I refuse to believe that this is all you have to offer on the battlefield.”
“Oh the kid wants to take it up a notch does he? Sure you can handle it?” the Gligar sneered.
“First of all you can hardly any longer consider me a 'kid' – certainly I may be young for my species but I think you'll find me at the very least your equal... secondly I rather suspect I could handle this battle's intensity being amplified, in fact if I may actually take the offensive for once...” Marius inhaled deeply, allowing the highly adaptable glands within his body to create the required type of energy, and then breathed out a huge torrent of flame in the direction of his opponent. The Gligar made a very impressive attempt to dodge but didn't quite make it; the Flamethrower just clipped the edge of its wing causing it to cry out in pain and surprise. This was the least of the creature's worries, however. For the instant Marius had notcied his opponent was moving he ceased his fire attack and instead threw himself upwards with unnatural speed, becoming just a blur in the air. A blur that collided squarely with the Gligar as it moved to its new location, knocking it to the ground. “So yes, please do 'take things up a notch'. This will become very tedious otherwise.” Marius reappeared almost in the exact spot from which he had launched his Extremespeed attack and fixed his opponent with a look of disdain. He really couldn't stand this sort of creature. One who was all talk and no action. Having been raised by Milliardo he knew the difference between an empty, bullying threat, a tongue-in-cheek or tactical bluff and seeming overly confident because you actually had a reason to be. And he had been taught that whilst the latter two were okay anyone using the former should be treated with contempt.
“Grah... damn, you dragons are even tougher than you're rumoured to be!” The Gligar seemed very worried even though it was butting on a show of seeming unafraid. Marius could sense its fear. And had been any other pokémon he would have acted upon it. But no, the Dratini might have been overly analytical and possessed of a manner that most couldn't even hope to comprehend but he wasn't the sort who enjoyed a quick victory. Better to drag it out a little so that the encounter would have at least some value. “What else can you do?”
“Do you really desire a demonstration?”
“Er... no, actually. I think I'd better just do as you said actually.” All of a sudden the Gligar seemed to concentrate very hard then began to splutter.
“Hey, what's... oh.” Marius realised what was happening too late. By the time his brain had realised what was going on his opponent had already launched the attack, coughing up a huge ball of deep purple bile that struck him in the side, its contaminated substance seeping deep into his flesh. “Ah!”
“Heh. I'm a lot stronger than I let on,” the Gligar sneered. “Fact is, though, most of the creatures I end up having to fight just get creeped out by me flying in at them at speed. This is actually the first time I've had to use the extra strength my mistress gave me. So... hey, I guess thanks are in order. You proved it was all worth it. Well, anyways... bye, my friend.” The Gligar raised a pincer to strike. But Marius had other ideas.
“Like hell.” Marius had lost track of the time when Katnip and his adoptive father had used their Quick Attacks to race... or get out of trouble... or avoid an attack. So if Quick Attack could work why not Extremespeed, which was basically just the upgraded version of the move? Marius decided to chance it. He threw himself to one side, putting every ounce of his draconic power into his escape. It worked admirably. To all intents and purposes the trick looked like a Teleport. But instead of disappearing and reappearing elsewhere Marius had just moved too fast for the eye to see. Still, it managed to creep his opponent out.
“How?” the Gligar asked.
“Oh, it gets better,” Marius chuckled. The effects of the Sludge Bomb earlier were already wearing off, and not for the first time the Dratini was thankful of his heritage as a Dragon-type. “Look. No poison.”
“How????”
“Oh, actually it's a fairly simple concept,” Marius commented. “The cellular structure of some pokémon is far more adept at throwing off foreign objects than that of others. As a Dratini I possess a train humans call 'Shed Skin' although it actually has very little to do with the shedding of actual skin, more the removal of tainted cells. The contamination is passed from cell to cell until it reaches the stage where it can be discarded into the atmosphere. Quite an ingenious trick, eh? Should I be poisoned, paralysed or whatever I merely have to hold on to consciousness for about five minutes and then I'll be fine.” The Dratini grinned as he noticed the incomprehension on his opponent's face. “Don't give yourself a migraine over the concept. To put it simply my biological makeup is even more ingenious than you anticipated. And now if you'll excuse me... I have a battle to win.” Once again Marius inhaled deeply, thankful for his draconic powers. Whereas most pokémon had dedicated glands to the creation of fire or ice or electricity, his could turn themselves to anything. So breathing fire was no problem for him. So a second Flamethrower was easy to create and his opponent was far too stunned to escape, the Gligar being struck full on by the attack and falling to the floor unconscious. The battle was his. Finally.
Marius wins!
Marius grew to L11!
“Are you okay?” The first thing that Marius realised when he had the opportunity to examine his surroundings post-battle was that Scratchy seemed to... well, if Marius was any judge of these matters the Paras seemed to be in something of a state of shock, his focus directly in front of him, seeing and feeling nothing of the outside world. What on earth had happened during his battle? “Scratchy? Listen to me. We have seen quite enough to condemn whatever this institution happens to be. Now we must leave here and tell our companions what we've seen. You understand?” Nothing. “Listen, just follow me, okay?” Marius rather quickly led his friend in the direction he was sure they had just come from. If those two pokémon had been guards then somebody would notice their absence eventually and... well, he didn't really want to be around for that. Not without more allies, at least. All he could do was to get himself and Scratchy out of the area. At least for now.
To be continued...
Originally Posted by Heald
sign.
