Operation: Witching Hour(F)

[Marchbaby]

As Kevin, Samantha, and Oracle left the Union Cave they came across a small road that led to Azalea Town with a small number of tall grass patches scattered next to the dirt road. It was not a very busy route but it was home to a number of Pokemon that Kevin was hoping to find so that Samantha could spar with them before facing the next gym leader. For the time being he did not have an interest in capturing them but he did plan on returning to capture some later on when he had the time. With that in mind he knew at least for the first encounter he could let Samantha off the leash allowing her to attack whatever Pokemon came out first.

" Samantha you are getting close to the gym level cap but none of the Pokemon here will put you over that cap on the first battle even with your Lucky Egg so with that in mind we can be a bit more aggressive with this encounter. We might need to be careful after this battle but let's take advantage of the breathing room we have while we can to save a bit of time." He said as Samantha already started to build up a flame in her mouth without even receiving an order. Oracle on the other hand was just trying to pick up on the aura of any nearby Pokemon so that Samantha would have a target as quickly as possible. A few seconds later she finally picked up on something and let Samantha know.

" Samantha I can sense there is something in the patch of grass to our right. I cannot quite make out exactly what it is but I do know it is indeed a living thing. Try aiming there and maybe we will get lucky." With Oracle's tip the vixen pointed her snout towards the patch of grass in question and got ready to fire off her attack as soon as Kevin gave the order. He knew the attack would likely burn down a whole forest but with how much damage Team Rocket had already done in Kanto Samantha's Flamethrower was a minor inconvenience. " Samantha just like Oracle said use Flamethrower on that bush. Maybe with a bit of luck we will get some some quick experience without needing to deal with a long battle." He said as she fired at the bush.



OOC: Samantha uses Flamethrower on whatever spawns. Due to her Lucky Egg if she knocks something out she will gain at least 1 level regardless of level.

[Fallen]

Although it was humid, the clear and sunny weather gave a ginormous contrast to the lighting of the Union Cave that the trainer and his Pokemon had traveled through on their way to Azalea Town and its gym leader. Now all that was left was for Kevin's Pokemon to finish the trip to Azalea by traveling on Route 33, while perhaps gaining a little extra experience for his Pokemon as it seemed in the humid weather.

From out of the tall grass patches lining the dirt path along Route 33 would come Kevin and his team's first opponent since leaving Union Cave. The Dark-type Pokemon watched Samantha, Oracle, and Kevin, unsure if it should attack or not. The Poochyena didn't even have a chance to come out and approach the Braixen if it had even wanted to attack, however, as Samantha shot a Flamethrower right at where the hyena-like Pokemon was hiding as advised by the Lucario. The Flamethrower attack was enough to leave the wild Poochyena's light gray fur a darker gray tinted color, after being burnt by the flames. The Poochyena fainted right there, having no energy left to even let loose a howl or attack the Braixen.

A wild Poochyena level 15 appears from out of the tall grass!
Samantha uses Flamethrower! Poochyena is knocked out.

Samantha grew 2 levels to level 24!
Samantha gains +1 Happiness! (Total Happiness: +11)

[Marchbaby]

After defeating the Poochyena and nearly burning part of route 33 in the process Kevin was left with a bit of a dilemma as now Samantha had to be super careful about which Pokemon she faced. Her Lucky Egg had been a huge help in the last battle but now their safety net for error was gone as she could only gain a single level before facing the next gym. " Great job Samantha, that Poochyena did not stand a chance, being a high leveled one is great as well but now I cannot allow you to fight anything too strong if you are to be a help in the next gym." He said as Samantha coughed up a small flame.

" Well be that as it may that still means I can train a bit more and my flames are ready to go another round. To be safe though I will hold off on the next encounter we have until we know if it is low enough leveled for me to face it without going over the cap. Hopefully our luck pans out with the next encounter. At least the weather is nice while we wait. It sure beats fighting in the rain." As Samantha and Kevin waited to see what would come out next Oracle started to scan the aura of the surrounding area again hoping to find Samantha another opponent.

" Ah I can see something else heading our way down this dirt road, I cannot yet tell what it is yet either but it is coming from Azalea Town which is quite fitting about now as that will be our next stop if luck is on our side. Are you ready for another fight Samantha?" She asked as Samantha grinned while preparing to attack the moment she knew it was safe. " Oh I am more than ready, my flames shall show no quarter to whoever opposes me. If luck is on our side this shall be the last obstacle before we can partner up to take down the next gym leader."


As she finished speaking Samantha looked down the dirt road for the first sight of the approaching being. Whatever it was she was ready to bring it down in a moments notice assuming it was not too high leveled. If it was Kevin could still use the opportunity to raise one of his other Pokemon so it would not be a total waste of time.


OOC: Waiting on another encounter.

[Fallen]

The Pokemon that was heading Kevin and his Pokemon's direction honestly had no clue the trainer was even there. The small Pokemon was simply enjoying the humid weather around Azalea town as it traveled down Route 33. As the Pokemon walking on its four tiny, skinny legs came closer into view by Kevin and his Pokemon, it was clear to them that the Water and Bug-type Pokemon was a Surskit.

As the Surskit walked, it finally noticed Kevin, very close in proximity. The Pokemon seemed not to mind it though, as if it was not worried about the trainer and his Pokemon at all, no matter how strong they looked. One thing that did kind of concern the Surskit was the smell of fire in the direction the way it was heading, the same way Kevin had just left. The smell from where Samantha had burnt the bush where the Poochyena had been hiding still carried a heavy burnt smell.

The Surskit seemed to have no worries still as it walked down the path in the direction of the Union Cave, coming even closer to Kevin and his Pokemon.

A wild Surskit level 8 is heading your way!
What will Kevin and his Pokemon do?

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Shiny Check1-42

[Marchbaby]

As the Surskit came into Kevin's view Samantha could hardly contain her excitement as she was able to tell just by looking at the bug that it was weak enough for her to safely fight without going over the level cap of the next gym. " Oh good our new friend over here is not too strong at all and that means after this battle we will be ready for the next gym. That poor Surskit might just have a bad day but I am sure its luck will turn around at some point." She said as she got ready to attack the young Pokemon.

Kevin was quite pleased with their luck as well as he would not have to waste any more time before taking on the next gym after this battle. He could not have been happier with how things turned out as he cracked his knuckles and chuckled before looking the bug right in the eyes wondering how long Samantha's Flamethrower would take to knock it out. Before he could give the order Oracle looked at the bug and just had to tell it how sorry she was before the battle began. " I am sorry Surskit but we cannot pass up a chance to battle you to make Samantha stronger. I wish things did not have to be this way and I hope you can forgive us." After speaking her peace she stepped aside as Samantha lined up her foe waiting to strike the very second Kevin gave the order.

" I have that bug all lined up for my attack whenever you are ready sir, I will not hold back at all knowing that a victory here were allow us to take on the next gym without further delay." Kevin had no interest in making her wait any longer either as he needed to get to Goldenrod to regain access to most of his equipment anyway and defeating Bugsy and passing through the Ilex Forest was the only way he would be able to do just that. " Oh by all means my dear go ahead and use Flamethrower on that Surskit. The sooner we get through this upcoming slog the better things will be for us and the sooner you bring down that bug the sooner we can begin." Having received her orders Samantha fired off the Flamethrower attack aimed dead center at the bug and hoped that luck would still be on their side long enough to end this battle.





OOC: Samantha uses Flamethrower. Samantha's Lucky Egg will net her 1 level upon a victory in this battle despite the level gap. 

[Fallen]

As the Bug and Water-type Pokemon reached a close proximity to Kevin and his Pokemon, the Surskit continued to enjoy its little stroll down Route 33. It was happily enjoying the Humid weather of the Route just a short way out of Azalea Town and the Slowpoke Well. It was a weather condition that fit very well for the Surskit, and it enjoyed it. Where it was heading? The wild Pokemon likely didn't even know itself. It was just enjoying life.

Of course, the "Hakuna Matata"-like attitude with no worries wouldn't go on for long, as Samantha's level grinding on the route continued. Releasing a large Flamethrower attack onto the Surskit, Kevin's Braixen practically torched the wild Pokemon, leaving it rolled over and on the ground with no energy and nothing left to give, even if it had wanted to start up a fight against the trainer and his Pokemon. The Pokemon hadn't even gotten the chance to land on a single attack in defense before having to declare imminent defeat against the much higher-leveled Fire-type Pokemon. It was a very good showing of the power the Braixen could display against their future battle against Bugsy, the Bug-type wielding Azalea Town Gym Leader, and gave the Braixen enough experience to grow another level to level 25.

---

The wild Surskit was torched by Samantha's Flamethrower attack!

Samantha gained one level from torching the bug and grew to level 25!
Samantha gained +1 Happiness! (Total +12 Happiness)

[Marchbaby]

As soon as the Surskit lie on the ground defeated Samantha knew that she was now ready for the next gym with Oracle's help. The two Pokemon were just at the level cap for the gym allowing them to use all the power they could possibly muster under the conditions they faced and Keven could hardly wait to get started as he congratulated the two Pokemon for all of their hard work. " Well done ladies, you are both finally ready to face Bugsy now that you have both hit the level cap. There will not be any room for error if you make a mistake so we will have to hit him with everything we have and hope it is enough until we can train the others." 

As he finished speaking they started to walk down the dirt road that led to Azalea with the gym battle being the first thing on their minds. As they passed the Slowpoke Well Kevin noted the location on his map as he planned to explore it after the gym battle assuming things went his way in the match. He could really use a Slowpoke on his team for some of the later gyms and the well was home to a number of them. It might also prove to be a nice place to train after he finished the next gym battle as well. With his notes about the well complete the dirt road finally led them to the outskirts of Azalea town and he could see the gym at the far end. A big smirk ran across his face as he walked towards the gym with Oracle and Samantha by his side.

" Here we are my dears, this is the Azalea gym that we must overcome before our mission can progress any further. I cannot train you gals any further before the match and you two are the only ones strong enough to stand a chance so we will have to hope you can will be able to win with brute force alone. It is not the best tactic for facing a gym leader but sometimes muscle alone can lead to victory. Let's hope this is one of those cases." He said as he prepared to enter the gym. Besides knowing the name of the gym leader and knowing he liked bug types he had no idea what to expect as he opened the front doors ready to start the battle as soon as he could.