This world is inhabited by creatures that we call pokemon. People and pokemon live together by supporting each other, but now the scourge threatens the safety of the entire region. Kohaku has become a dangerous place, where children stay at home and only brave souls go adventuring.
Welcome to KOHAKU. Come for the nightmares. Stay for the tea and crumpets.
The season is SUMMER. It is easy for survivors to forage for food from the land, as there are entire abandoned farms ready for harvest. On the downside, you can smell the corpses.
swarms
GRAND OPENING !
Welcome to KOHAKU REGION's grand opening! If you're interested in joining, come check out our grand opening giveaway!
She'd given Mordecai a call earlier. It wasn't a call so much as it was a challenge, but she figured the breeder must have a pokemon or two that could use some battle experience too.
Neo wasn't sure Atalanta was a good fit for a researcher. The riolu enjoyed combat a bit too much, not in a violent or perverse sense, but simply in the competitive spirit of... well, a trainer's pokemon.
Still, the riolu was happy to fight, and Neo was happy to let the riolu fight. So they were, in the arena. Waiting for Mordecai to fall asleep and show up.
He was a little too late to be stylish, but still not so late that he was late. Neo waited patiently.
Achilles had been a drooling mess when he'd gotten Neo's call. But a little bit of experience wouldn't hurt, especially since the Pokémon was a bundle of energy anyways. He'd warned her that the Gible might be a bit of an "unorthodox" fighter, but Neo had still insisted.
"Go to sleep in your own bed, Achilles," he'd said, to which the Gible stomped on the ground, and leaped into the breeder's bed to snuggle with his trainer.
Though perhaps the whole sharing-a-pillow had worked, because the next thing he knew, they were both whisked back to the arena of the Dream World. "... I guess it worked again then," he said to the figure standing at the other end of the arena. "Sorry about that. I'm here now though."
And the Gible bounced around the breeder, more excited about all the strange people who had shown up instead of who his opponent was.
Her eyes narrowed at the gible, trying to examine it from the distance across the battlefield, but there wasn't much the eye could make out from so far. She pointed her pokedex at it and promised herself that she'd look over the entry later.
"I'll start things off then. Next time, don't be late. Atalanta, quick attack."
The Gible screeched as the Riolu slammed into the Pokémon's side. He teetered on his feet, swaying back and forth, pinwheeling his arms to regain his balance. Such was the trouble of being a particularly round Pokémon. "Achilles, pay attention," Mordecai called from his side of the arena.
"Go in, head-first with a Tackle, okay?"
The Gible puffed his little chest out. He was going to win this!
His eyes glowed red, and, to Mordecai's dismay, he let loose an Outrage instead.
The riolu took the brunt of the outrage, not expecting it when Mordecai had given the command for a tackle. On one hand, Neo was happy to see that Atalanta was paying attention to what the opponent's orders were. On the other hand, you couldn't trust those.
Getting back up to her feet, Atalanta bared her teeth and rushed in for another quick attack.
This was why he'd tried bringing Achilles to the Dream World arena, and not some other Pokémon. The damage done here, at least so far, seemed to not carry over into the waking world. That didn't stop him from dodging a blue flame that the dragon breathed from his rage.
"Achilles, please calm down," Mordecai said, in his most controlled voice. The Pokémon never did respond very well to loud noises, or for that matter, loud voices.
Suddenly, with the Riolu's dodge, the Pokémon seemed to calm down. Instead of fire, the waterworks turned on as the Pokémon began to sob. Meanwhile, he was hit with another Quick Attack. Mordecai was thoroughly embarrassed. Then again, hatchling Pokémon, wasn't really the little guy's fault.
"Achilles, Tackle, okay?"
So this time, the Gible picks himself off the floor, sniffles a bit, puffs himself up, then throws his weight right at the Riolu.
"Just promise me that when you're fighting at Lake Pax, you don't ask the scourge to cease and desist, okay?"
Atalanta withstood the tackle, wincing a little but carrying on with a brace face nonetheless. She didn't have enough attacks for spoken commands to be very necessary.
This time, Achilles rolled over onto his stomach again, narrowly missing Atalanta's Quick Attack. Of course, that hadn't been his true intention. He just happened to lose his balance, and was having a bit of trouble getting back on his feet. He flailed about helplessly, trying to right himself again.
Achilles rocked back and forth once, twice, three times, but rolled onto his face instead of his feet. He growled, snapped at the floor, and let loose a second Outrage.
Atalanta doged the outrage, skipping across the ground. She leapt into another quick attack.
"If you were a trainer, and if it weren't newly born, you'd be a bit of a disgrace," she commented. She had pokemon that ran around doing whatever they wanted to, but at least Icarus' splash she could pass off as a fake-out and a feint instead of... him really liking to use splash.
The Gible sobbed as the nimble Riolu leaped in for another Quick Attack. He opened his mouth wide and let out a heart-wrenching bawl, then tottered all the way back to Mordecai. The Gible pawed at the man's shin until he lifted the Pokémon into his arms.
"... he'll learn," he reassured Neo. "I think he's had enough for now." One day, Achilles would be a fearsome Garchomp. Then Mordecai would be able to forget about the disgraceful battle that just unfolded before his eyes. He was, for the most part, relieved that Neo had agreed to put up with the incredibly one-sided fight.
(yeah i don't think the gible was going to take anymore)
Atalanta had already prepared another endure, but she startled when the gible began to bawl. She turned to look back at Neo--now what?
Now the battle ends, it seemed. Atalanta walked back to Neo's side and sat down on the floor, leaning her back on Neo's legs, exhausted.
"Yes, but it'll be a better match in the future. Riolu seem naturally disciplined in a fight. Thanks for coming out for a battle though. I appreciate it."
