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!
Common fact, the first time doing anything was bound to be riddled with that strange mix of nervous energy and excitement. Lacey remembered that her mother had told her that, so it absolutely must've been true. She also remembered that her mother had told her to always act courteous and polite, especially to strangers, because first impressions were always important, and there was really no way of knowing when and where they'd run into each other next. Though she had to wonder - were the people she met here real people, or figments of her own imagination? Lacey put a finger up to her lip and scrunched up her face, clasping the other in front of her and trying not to wince at the uncomfortable breeze beneath her skirt.
It took her moment to brainstorm out the idea that since this was a place to get stronger, she should probably release the pokemon that was supposed to be gaining strength through...whatever this place was. Another moment to find the pokeball, throw it up in the air like she'd seen on television, and clap her hands as Ratatta twisted its head to look up at her, baring sharp fangs. "Aren't you excited?" She clapped her hands again, bouncing on her heels. This was going to be so much fun, she could practically taste it.
This was an interesting place indeed. The one who made a battle arena in the dream world was a genius. It was the perfect place to do friendly battle. The scourge was far away and reality was far away. This was part of the idea, Vincent figured.
And with that, the red-haired intellectual ran into another person. A girl. She had let out a pokemon - a rattata, it seemed. The vermin was a usual site in the forest and in the sewers alike, and most didn't see it as something pleasant. This girl, however, seemed to like it. So much, in fact, that it had been vaccinated. "Greetings! My name is Vincent" Vincent said and approached her, while giving her a friendly wave.
Of course, Vincent understood that as two people, both in the possetion of pokemon, met in the battle arena, a battle would be underway soon. Thus far though, he did not let out a pokemon and instead scanned the rattata with his pokedex. An entry was, after all, one entry closer to the goal of the Eos programme. 'Rattata, mouse pkmn' the screen read, with a following spread of information.
"Let us not procrastinate the inevitable. I suppose you're up for a battle?" Vincent asked rhetorically, and grabbed his designated pokeball. He let out Hannibal, his non-vaccinated phanpy. With the Scourge running ranpant in the real world, this was the perfect situation to give him some exercise.
HANNIBAL, 10 [ ] pickup odor sleuth, tackle, growl, defense curl, flail, take down, focus energy
It was always nice to meet new people, especially when the potential to become friends with them meant there was the chance to help each other out when they met again in the real, waking world. "Lacey." Lacey smiled a broad smile, curtseying once before tilting her head sideways and returning his wave. "It's nice to meet you!" Rattata gave the man a sideways glance before turning away and sniffing, disinterested.
Part of her still wondered whether or not Vincent was real, even as he pulled out a pokedex and scanned over Ratatta, who looked peeved as it crossed both paws over each other and sniffed again, tail twitching. Still, even if he was fake or whatever, the battle experience was real, and that was what was important here. "Of course! We want to get a lot stronger. Right?" She twisted her head to look at Rattata, who nodded.
"Alright, let's start off with a quick attack!" Lacey hummed, rummaging around in her dress for the pokedex as Rattata took off, lunging forward, then lifted it up in front of her as the machine made various, machine-like noises. "I hope you don't mind me making the first move." She said, still smiling.
The mouse was an ordinary site, yes, but seeing it's feet move so fast was still quite impressive. A quick attack indeed. Hannibal could do nothing but take the hit flat to his side, tumbling over in the process. And even though seeing his small long nose pokemon take a hit like that was teeth-grindingly frustrating, Vincent couldn't help but laugh at the girl's politeness. "That's quite fine" Vincent answered, hoping he was right.
"Hannibal, give it hell" Vincent simply commanded, and the little elephant knew just what to do. With an intense expression, the phanpy growled at the mouse pokemon - "Phaaa-an!" it snorted. Not even a second went before the little being leaped towards it's opponent, going in for the tackle. "Well done" Vincent said with satisfaction.
Hannibal was hit by quick attack! Hannibal used growl and tackle!
HANNIBAL, 10 [ ] pickup odor sleuth, tackle, growl, defense curl, flail, take down, focus energy
Lacey clasped both hands in front of her and kept smiling, brightening slightly at the man's words but otherwise, saying nothing else. Some people were really nice, which got her thinking about the gaps between dreaming and reality that two people could cross again, before realizing that this was a battle, and it didn't pay to daydream during battle.
Besides, it wasn't like the battle was boring, so what was the point to daydreaming? The Phanpy made the most adorable noise, and while Lacey smiled and contemplated teaching Rattata that in the future, her pokemon plugged its ear with a paw, twitching its whiskers. "Focus Energy and Flame Wheel." Wincing slightly as Rattata took a spectacular tumble from the brute force packed into that attack before promptly bursting into flames.
focus energy - guaranteed crit next turn flame wheel - hannibal
The combination of the focused energy and the hide of flames was enough to make Vincent nervous. Getting hit by that was probably no walk in the park. "Do not get hit by that attack, Hannibal!" Vincent commanded. The phanpy leaped quickly out of the way, swiftly avoiding taking the hit. Both Vincent and Hannibal were relieved.
"Go for another tackle, Hannibal" Vincent said. Hannibal, with an aggressive look on his face, plowed one of his front legs through the ground in preparation. "That was a nice combination" Vincent said to Lacey. And with no further ado, the long nose pokemon burst towards the rattata, going for a head-on hit.
Hannibal dodged flame wheel! Hannibal used tackle!
HANNIBAL, 10 [ ] pickup odor sleuth, tackle, growl, defense curl, flail, take down, focus energy
There was a reason she tended to overpraise rattata sometimes, especially in the middle of battles. The warm feeling that came with it was a unique feeling, and emotions were always the quickest way to another person's heart, in Lacey's experience. "Thank you!" She beamed, frowning a little as Rattata manuvered around the tackle and positioned itself some distance off, stance guarded.
"Try it again!" And she tried really, really hard to keep her focus on her pokemon, succeeding for the most part but for the exact instant he burst into flames, where she had to avert her eyes to avoid being blinded by the glare.
The girl - Lacey was her name - seemed to appreciate the praise. Not that it minded Vincent, he was just afraid that he had boosted the enemy's spirits. That wouldn't be very good. The fact became especially frightening when Hannibal was hit in the side by a rat engulfed in flames.
"Shake it off, I know you can do it Hann!" Vincent encouraged, and the little pokemon got up on his feet. The Phanpy didn't have much more to give, and so Vincent had to give the command - a last resort, if you will. "Hannibal, focus your energy and use take down!" he commanded with vindictiveness. Hannibal got a gleam in his eye, aiming in on a vital spot on the foe's body. He burst head on towards the Rattata with no regard for his own safety.
Hannibal was hit by flame wheel! Hannibal used focus energy and take down!
HANNIBAL, 10 [ ] pickup odor sleuth, tackle, growl, defense curl, flail, take down, focus energy
"Come on, dodge it again!" At least, that was what she tried to shout. Halfway through the sentence, though, Rattata, still twitching its whiskers over the smoke curling over its fur, took the hit to the side, tumbling once or twice on the ground before collapsing in a heap, still looking bemused. Lacey, giving a small sigh, recalled him. "That was really great! Your pokemon's strong." Yet she couldn't help trail her eyes over to it, concerned. That'd been a reckless attack, even she could see that.
Still, as she shifted her dress around to stuff the pokeball in a pocket, she still didn't feel like that was enough. "Do you mind another battle? Have any other pokemon on you, Mister Vincent?" She shuffled in her dress some more, then fished out another sphere, holding it aloft with an expectant gleam in her eyes.
Victory! It warmed Vincent's heart, the fact that his dear Hannibal had succeeded. But it was bittersweet - Hannibal had taken a bad hit in recoil, and was now very close to fainting. "Well done, Hann. I'll get you to a pokecenter as soon as this is over" he said to his long nose pokemon, and returned him into his pokeball.
"Thank you, your rattata was very impressive too, It really surprised me with the flames" Vincent answered Lacey, amused. She continued onto asking for an additional battle, and Vincent did indeed want this to continue. "I've got a very young charmander which I would like to give a go. Fair warning though, she can be a bit of a brat sometimes" Vincent said, and sent out Cindy - his vaccinated charmander.
As she was sent out, Cindy rubbed her eyes at the daylight, and looked around. She turned to look at her owner, Vincent, and then towards Lacey. "Charrrr" she said irritably, and sat down on the ground. "Cindy..." Vincent sighed.
She'd seen many pokemon in her travels, sometimes scanning them from the shadows, muffling the little noises her pokedex usually liked to make - some, provided to her by people she'd met along the way, for some strange reason or another. "It's a neat trick, isn't it?" Rattata bragged about it to her, sometimes, and it was so cute, the way he did it.
Of course, she'd been really happy upon seeing a Phanpy, and the loss was worth it, given the dex entry that was tacked on as a side effect. And yet still, Mr. Vincent kept picking out more and more pokemon she'd never seen before, and it was great! Lacey hummed, taking out the previously stashed away pokedex, and fiddled with it until the entry pinged on the screen, and the pokedex made whirring noises. "That's quite alright!" Said it while releasing her next pokemon, the swinub sniffing the ground with strange motions as the light faded away, then covered her mouth with the back of one hand. "As long as she's up to battling, of course."
She took a look at swinub's face, pulled her face down in a brief pout, then brightened again. "You have the first move this time, since you were nice enough to give me the last one."
The girl was polite enough to offer Vincent the first move, an offer he would gladly accept. If he could just get his charmander to obey...
"Cindy, you hear that? You have the first move!" he said, trying to encourage her. No response, only a short moment of eye contact. Vincent thought for a second. Maybe she'd grow up when she evolved. Hopefully she would. For now, she would just have to take some motivational bait. "Cindy, you can use your special moves! Come on, show them how special you are!" Vincent said, sounding nauseatingly positive. This, thankfully, worked.
The lizard pokemon hopped up on her feat and summoned a gust of wind from behind, boosting her speed. Thereafter, she used crunch, biting at the swinub violently. "Well done, Cindy!" Vincent uttered in triumph.
