Never Back Down (Alola Experience) [FIN]

[Taxx]

Vitra offered the old couple a smile, listening as they asked if she would like to give the challenge a try. It didn't sound too hard- fighting another pokemon? Her gaze flicked downward to Midori, who looked back and then gave the girl a nudge toward the two, letting Vitra know she was up for it. "Bulba!"

A smile flashed over the girl's face and she met Maui and Kaui's gazes with a nod. "Okay, we'll do it! Me and Midori. She's plenty tough, and we already make a great team!"

"Bulbasaur!" the grass-type exclaimed in agreement, squaring up beside her trainer and looking quite ready and determined to begin the challenge- even if they didn't know what exactly that meant yet. Shrugging her back higher up on her shoulder, Vitra straightened. "Just tell us what we have to do!"

[Lamont]

"Oh wonderful!" Maui clapped her hands and smiled broadly at the youthful trainer. Her earrings bobbed as her head tilted to the side. "You'll be one of the first trainer's to undertake this so congratulations in advance!."

"Yes, turns out not many people come by here in winter," her partner, Kaui chuckled. He stepped forward, a surprisingly short man but very fit. The bright clear skies beaming down on them this day made the elderly man squint a bit as he regarded Vitra.
"In our home region these Trials were equivalent to what you folks here call gym challenges. So make sure you're prepared to get your feathers ruffled!" he joked, swinging a hooked arm in front of himself as he spoke. Afterward though he moved both hands behind his back and clasped them together, leaning forward a smidgen.

"We've set up a pretty good mimicry of a Totem if I do say so myself."
"Such wonderful training opportunities around here," Maiu piped up. "So many different kinds of pokémon that are perfect for budding trainers."
"Yes yes," her husband agreed with a little laugh between breaths.
"For this challenge you are only allowed to bring 3 party pokémon with you. So you'll have to leave one of yours here with Maiu, alright?" he explained, giving a nod toward the young girl's four pokéballs.

"Don't worry, I'll take very good care of them while you're away. I just bought a special brand of food that our own pokémon just love!" The elderly woman seemed to get more excited by the minute, like a grandma preparing for a visit from the grand kids.



Once that was all decided Kaiu would beckon Vitra to follow him. It was a short walk to the trial site and definitely not a hidden entrance. Two large, brightly painted pillars marked a break in a rocky ridge leading northward. Only a few trees dotted spaces around the site and even the thick lush grass was beginning to break away into patchy bare soil.

"Here we are." Kaiu stopped and bobbed on his toes, positioning his hands to relax behind his back once again. "Once you pass through here your trial will begin, so if you have any preparation to do before hand now's the time!" He urged cheerily, cheeks raising to stretch his wrinkled face.

"Oh, and one more thing..." Kaiu paused to take a considerate breath, a hand moving to his chin as his gaze turned up to the sky for a moment. "Look for a cautious pokémon that likes to get a bit of height to see a longer ways away."

Please choose 3 pokémon to undertake the Trial
And now's the time to arrange any items!


~~~

After stepping passed the pillars Vitra would enter a large clearing littered with stone and small trees. There were several directions she could begin, but before she could think too far ahead she'd be met with the sight of a few pokémon. Perhaps one of them matched the hint Kaui gave?

The first option was a short bristly raccoon. It was busily rubbing itself against one of the thicker trunks available to it at the edge of the forested area. It seemed to be having a little bit of a tough time with the youth of the bark it was attempting to scratch at, so it's attention was fully engaged at the moment.

Next up, the bob of a familiar purple tail could be seen sticking out of a burrow just off to the side. There was an arrangement of thin prickly bushes surrounding it, all covered with the dead fall from the recent winter. Presumably the rodent was busily arranging some kind of nest... or raiding someone else's for materials.

Third on the list of noticeable pokémon activity were a pair of long rabbity ears poking out from behind an motley of rock and tall grass. As Vitra watched a rotund brown shape that could have been a cousin to Shiro briefly rose into sight for a moment, took in its surroundings with its beady little eyes, and then popped back down to resume whatever it was it was doing.

And finally, the young girl would spot an set of orange-red spheres with black markings tightly clung to the side of a tree not too far away. It wasn't moving. Trying to stay unnoticed it seemed. It didn't blend in particularly well, and when it spotted the trainer looking at it it shuffled itself around to the other side of the tree.

[Taxx]

The delight of the two cheered Vitra and she smiled again, only for her eyes to widen, caught a bit off guard at the news. Like a gym battle? For a moment she hesitated, glancing down at Midori; was she ready for that? She'd barely begun her journey, and her starter- Midori was only a level seven and easily the strongest of the four. Unconcerned, Midori gazed back and then toward the forest again, taking a few steps forward to sniff. It turned back to her after a moment, looking confused as to why she wasn't following. "Bul-bah!" Midori called.

"Okay- okay." She still wasn't sure this was the greatest idea, but maybe she was just worrying over nothing? Just three pokemon could come- Kuro would stay. Tugging his pokeball from her belt, Vitra handed it over to Maui with a nod, grateful for her assurance that she'd treat him well. "His name's Kuro. I- I just adopted him, so if he gets worried tell him I'm coming back, okay?" She held out the capsule for Maui to take and then released her other two.

The calm of the forest was honestly soothing, and Vitra felt herself relaxing as she walked on, pausing only when Kaui did, peering around him at the pillars. She nodded at the instructions as she knelt to prepare her team. To Kai, she gave her single Rare Candy to level the rodent-type up, as well as the TM Grass Knot, and then she handed Kai, Shiro and Midori an Oran berry in case it would be needed. That done, she straightened, pulled in a breath, and moved on between the totem poles. She noticed the various pokemon in turn, unable to help a smile as Kai spotted the other Rattata and perked up in interest, but she didn't move. The last one, the one that slipped out of sight when she looked its way, put her in mind of Kaui's parting hint, and she wondered if that was the Pokemon he'd talked about. It seemed to fit. Was that the one she was supposed to pick? To battle, perhaps?

The girl blinked, momentarily undecided, and then moved toward the raccoon-type. Maybe this was wrong, maybe it wasn't. It wasn't like a typical Gym battle, after all, and she was doing what she thought was best for her team. Kneeling down a few feet away, she called to the Zigzagoon. "Do you need help? I can, if you'd let me."

---

edited in TM Grass Knot, given to Kai the Rattata

[Tarlar]

The pokemon continued what they were doing while Vitra watched and thought about what she was supposed to do.
At the sound of the young girl's voice all the pokemon paused momentarily, the zigzagoons head snapped around as it was right behind it and it stared at the girl for a few moments, before it glanced back at the tree.
It turned to face her fully and studied her hands for a few moments and looked quite skeptical, they didn't look to be very handy when it came to strip off bark of a tree. It looked at her forbearing and gave her few pats with a paw, it was nice that she wanted to help but she couldn't really do anything with what she had. It was a bit sad for her that she had so useless and weak hands, but she surely had a good heart.
It turned and sniffed the tree again, and then decided it didn't want to do that anymore and trotted past it and disappeared into the undergowth.

The zigzagoon hadn't really seem cautious at all, nor had it attempted to gain height or scout the area, it had to be one of the other pokemon that was Vitra's target.

The purple rat had popped out of the hole to cast a glance at Vitra and her interactions with the zigzagoon, but then decided to return to whatever it was doing down the hole. Sand flew up from the hole and it sounded like it had found something sturdy it was rasping with its teeth down there.

When the zigzagoon pushed its way through the undergrowth the round rabbit eared popped up from behind the rock and stared wide eyed, before it popped down again and disappeared behind the rock. No sound came from behind, so there was no telling what it was doing.

The red and black pokemon in the tree were still on the opposite of the tree trunk and out of sight.


(ooc: Are you aware of that Midori is level 7 not 9? I know it first said in your travels that Midori had gotten levels from from the second capture, but that was an error and has been fixed now ^^
Berries handed out and rare candy applied.)

[Taxx]

The zigzagoon whirled around as Vitra spoke, looking between her hands and the tree; a brief grin crossed her face. Did it think she'd meant trying to help with her own hands? It patted her gently with a paw and then turned away, disappearing into the undergrowth. The Rattata, who had watched, disappeared just as Vitra turned to glance at it again, her mind working over the last words Kaui had spoken. Rattata could climb, but this one didn't seem to be exactly cautious- just busy. And she was pretty sure Buneary couldn't climb, even though it was acting shy. But... she turned again, looking toward the tree the last one was hiding behind and rose.

She approached the tree, setting a hand on the trunk and leaning around to look. "Hi there," she greeted, hoping she didn't startle it too much. "Are you scared? You don't have to be; I won't hurt you. I promise." She glanced back at her team; Shiro was keeping close, but Kai was ever so cautiously creeping up on the place her kin could be heard gnawing on something underground, and Midori was watching the tips of the rabbit-type's ears where they were visible above the grass and rocks, but kept her distance. "None of us will," she added. "Why don't you come out?"

[Tarlar]

There were no buneary in the clearing but Shiro would probably have been quite offended if she knew that Vitra couldn't recognize his species. Granted, they hadn't been together long and probably didn't know each other well, but sentret wasn't really a rabbit pokemon although it had ears that was as long as a buneary's.
The rattata she could at least recognize even though it was out of sight, almost, its tail still appeared in the hole now and then when it pushed out more dirt, so if she wanted to interact with it, it would be easy to get in contact with it.

The... thing sitting vertically on the tree at first moved with Vitra so it continued to be on the opposite side of the tree than she, but as it just revealed it to her pokemon instead, the bug stopped and just stayed were it was.
Its six legs clung to the trunk and its antennas waved a bit in the air as she talked to it. It had a strikingly red shell on its back with several black big dots, not really the best for camouflage if that was what it had attempted.
It looked timidly at the young girl but otherwise didn't react to her questions, it just pressed itself against the tree and pretended it wasn't here at all.
That was until a few of the bugs came flying by and it squealed happily, opened up its shell which showed to hide a pair of wings, and without a second look at Vitra races up to joins its fellows.

That left the digging rattata and the not-buneary who was now sneaking from one rock to another, only to stop midway to raise itself on the same long tail as Shiro had, to get a good look on its surroundings before it dropped to all four and hurried to the next rock. It stopped a few steps away from it and then cautiously crawled closer like it feared something would spring at it from this rock.

(ooc: I have added the Grass Knot to Kai, another time, please make a note about it in your newest thread as an ooc or something, since I only looked for it, since we talked about it. It would have been missed completely since we usually don't go back and check earlier posts, thinking them handled and done ^^ )

[Taxx]

Ledyba- that was it. The pokemon's name had eluded her for a moment. Cautious as it was, however, it didn't seem to be the one she was looking for either. Vitra watched it fly away with others of its kind and then turned back, leaning against the tree. That left two: the digging Rattata and the... not-Buneary, she noticed now as it left its hiding place and she saw more than its long ears and pert little face. Another Sentret. She glanced down at Shiro, who blinked back, and after a moment she straightened to head toward where it had disappeared.

If it wasn't this one it'd have to be the Rattata, and she didn't see how it could be- Rattata weren't known for their shyness. So it was to the Sentret she went next, hesitating as she debated how to approach it without startling it and decided to approach in full view, rather than just pop around the rock and risk scaring it. She moved around to where she hoped it would see and stopped before getting too close, offering a gentle wave. "Don't be scared," she tried, as she had with the Ledyba. "We won't hurt you. We're just here for a Trial. I think you're the Pokemon I'm supposed to be looking for."

A cautious pokemon, who likes to get height to see further- it seemed to fit this Sentret. So what now? Was she supposed to challenge it? Catch it? She'd find out, she supposed. Finding things out as she went along was exciting, for the most part, but it was sort of frustrating too, not knowing exactly what was expected her in situations like this. Her sheltered home life had done her no favors in this part of what it meant to be a Trainer.

[Lamont]

The sentret was a tricky one to spot. It had moved slightly from the last time Vitra had seen it bound away to a set of different rubble, but the quiet scrabble of claw digging against hard soil was a bit easier to hear now that the clearing was a less populated. She would have to wade a bit into patchy arrangement of tallish grass, which only helped to make her approach more noticeable.

It didn't run. The noises stopped at a good distance. Tall ears popping out of the grass accompanied by the dark beady eyes. The wild pokémon watched with great scrutiny before dipping down beneath the blades of green. Cautious, yes, but the motley of rock helped disguise its brown body amidst the dry grass but it was by no means a master camouflage. When the girl spoke up, her voice gentle and sweet, that rotund body slipped up through the grass again -- but more of it this time.

Sentret stood high and might on the full strength of its tail. Its tiny arms pumped up, visage skewed into one of an over exaggerated tough guy sticking out his lips and squinting his eyes.
"Sen! Sentret!" it called out in alert, pumping its arms again before pointing at the girl in warning. It had a sparkle in its eye as it observed the pokémon surrounding the trainer. The scout pokémon primed its claws.

The Sentret is readying an attack! (LV 9 - Run Away)
Who will face this foe?

[Taxx]

The Sentret didn't run this time, as Vitra approached; it watched her until she paused, almost seeming to consider its options, and then it stood tall on its tail, tiny arms out to the sides while it glared. Trying to intimidate her, perhaps? It seemed to want to battle, and after a moment Vitra nodded, backing up a few steps.

When she would have called Midori to meet the challenge, however, Tatakai charged in with a raspy squeak, taking the challenge on first. Red eyes glared and teeth gnashed as it eyed the Sentret, tail up and fur fluffed in threat. Vitra drew breath to call it back, intending to give Midori the starting attack, but the little rodent-type seemed determined... maybe letting it go first wouldn't be so bad. "Okay, Kai," she called; Shiro peeked around her leg at the wild Sentret, intrigued but keeping his distance as his trainer gave the first command. "Use Grass Knot!"

"Rrrrata!" Kai replied, and obeyed instantly. It weaved side to side, taunting the wild Sentret to try to come closer, baring its teeth in a clear threat posture, waiting to see how its opponent would react.

[Lamont]

The wild pokémon eyed the purple rodent warily. Sizing her up as it were. It didn't seem very impressed. Kai certainly had the gumption though from the looks of it. Sentret huffed loudly and dropped down from its tail to prepare, allowing the trainer time to adjust to her pokémon's spunk and issue an order.

Sentret hopped to when Kai did, though no attacks were made straight away. Both pokémon seemed to be waiting for the other. Each watching closely as the other moved opposite them through the tall grass. Darting to and fro making the blades dance back and forth with a calming swish. But the atmosphere was far from tranquil. The rattata was getting impatient, but so far the setup of her grassy tripwire was going well; Sentret had no idea. It was happy for the delay as it got to observe the way Tatakai moved.

Finally the wild scout pokémon went on the offensive, and with surprising speed considering how long it took to get to this point. Sentret ducked down on all fours then seemed to disappear in a streak of brown. Tatakai's striking red eyes lost track of her opponent, and in that series of seconds the scout got an upper hand -- though it probably didn't need to to begin with. The next thing Kai knew was the feeling of a train slamming into her side and sending her skidding through the grass and into the rocks.

Her vision was going white, body numbing. Sentret was on its face, having fallen for Kai's grass knot, but the fall was soft. The small rabbit-eared pokémon didn't have much weight about it to cause much damage to itself from a fall. Not like the force that had hit Kai. Barely clinging to consciousness she pulled out the berry Vitra had given her and began chomping down. Within seconds her vision began clearing and her pain dulling, allowing her to get back on her feet.



Wild Encounter

---

Weather: Clear

[attr="class","qkt-bkgd"]

[attr="class","qkt-wild-pkmn"]

[attr="class","qkt-clip"]Sentret

LV 9
HP 96% [27/28]

[attr="class","qkt-wild-imgbox"]

[attr="class","qkt-pkmn-img"]

[attr="class","qkt-trainer-pkmn"]

[attr="class","qkt-clip"]Tatakai

LV 3
HP 73% [11/15]

[attr="class","qkt-trainer-imgbox"]

[attr="class","qkt-pkmn-img"]

Sentret [Run Away]: Normal
Tatakai [Guts]: Normal

Sentret used Quick Attack!
Tatakai used Grass Knot! She ate the Oran Berry and feels a bit better.

Adding 194 words to egg

[Taxx]

The Sentret was fast- and strong. Stronger than Kai, for all the rodent-type's stubborn nature, and Vitra couldn't help the wince at the wild pokemon's attack landed, their bodies crashing together and Kai hurled  away, landing hard and staying down. "Kai-!" she called, jerking forward a step to help, but the plucky Pokemon was already helping itself, making use of the Oran berry she'd given it. The last bite chewed and swallowed and she was up, already, the healing berry working to increase her health and soothe her aches. Vitra's heart twisted; she couldn't believe she'd gone for this knowing that this could... that it would happen.

"Kai, come back. You don't have to..." She faltered when the Rattata turned to look at her, eyes bright and determined, unafraid despite the odds and then turned back to face her opponent. Quiet and unhappy, torn between doing what was right and letting the Rattata give this her all, she asked. "Are you sure? Midori can..."

She was pretty sure she hadn't imagined the scorn on the rodent-type's face as it glanced at the Bulbasaur; despite her better judgement, Vitra obliged her. "Okay then. Give it a tackle, Kai!" This wasn't going to end well and she knew it, but Kai was already charging forward, her small, lean body barreling forward with the intent to collide full-on with the bigger Sentret. "Ratatatata!" it squealed as it raced forward, and the gentle pressure of Midori's weight against her leg was a silent attempt at comfort as much as the clutch of paws at her other side.

[Caramell 🍬]

The two warriors seemed to dance through the thick blades of grass. Where the Sentret would dart through one direction, the purple rodent would dart in another. They were facing off, each trying to catch the other at the right moment primed for an attack. Only the Sentret’s thick bushy tail shot out over the tall blades of grass, dancing back and forth through the swaying blades as it moved and scurried about. It may have had the advantage, but Vitra’s Tatakai would remain brave and fearless through the battle.

The Sentret disappeared entirely as its tail ducked back underneath the thick blades of bright green grass. It curled up into a tight ball, pulling its thick bushy tail into a tight embrace as it bundled itself up. The Sentret’s fur bristled on ends, and it prepared itself for Rattata’s next attack. For such a small and weakened opponent, something seemed on the air about the determination and fearlessness, and the Sentret strengthened its defenses in preparation of Tatakai’s next attack.

Tatakai’s battle cry rang loud and true in the open air. The blades of green grass shifted and swayed in quick succession. As the purple rat shifted and darted through the undergrowth, the rustling blades of grass would give away its location. Tatakai leaped forward in the last minute, ramming the full weight of its mousy body into the back and spine of its opponent. The Sentret shot up almost immediately and squeaked out a pained sound. It may not have been as much worse for wear as Tatakai, but the pain of the rodent’s brunt tackle attack had caused it quite some pain.

Wild Encounter

---

Weather: Clear

[attr="class","qkt-bkgd"]

[attr="class","qkt-wild-pkmn"]

[attr="class","qkt-clip"]Sentret

LV 9
HP 85% [24/28]

[attr="class","qkt-wild-imgbox"]

[attr="class","qkt-pkmn-img"]

[attr="class","qkt-trainer-pkmn"]

[attr="class","qkt-clip"]Tatakai

LV 3
HP 73% [11/15]

[attr="class","qkt-trainer-imgbox"]

[attr="class","qkt-pkmn-img"]

Sentret [Run Away]: +1 DEF
Tatakai [Guts]: Normal

Sentret used Defense Curl!
Tatakai used Tackle!

Adding 263 words to egg

[Taxx]

Tatakai charged, and the Sentret rolled into a ball in its own move; the collision made Vitra wince, but Kai hardly seemed to mind it as she rebounded and found her footing, standing tall and facing the Sentret again. At her side, Midori murmured praise for the smaller rodent-type's bravado. Vitra glanced down at the Bulbasaur and realized, a flash of realization that would make her smack her hand to her forehead, that Midori had a move that would help. She really should have sent Midori out first...

"Kai, return!" she called out, and when the bullheaded pokemon refused, Vitra recalled her with her pokeball. "Midori, you're up." The Bulbasaur sprang forward to meet the Sentret, waiting for the first command without taking her gaze from the wild Pokemon. "Use your Leech Seed!" The grass-type obeyed, but Vitra was briefly sidetracked from the fight as Kai made her reappearance, bursting from her pokeball; at least she had the sense to stay back, even though she didn't look pleased at having had to give way to the bigger Pokemon, and she paced with a constant grinding of her teeth as she watched the battle continue to unfold.

[Caramell 🍬]

A soft and gentle breeze lulled across the otherwise clear sunny day. The wild rotund Pokemon with long brown ears watched its enemies closely with a reserved guarded look. It stood tall; its ears pricked for any sign of danger. It seemed caught in the midst of battle, though its mind seems on edge. Vitra recalled her furry purple rodent just as the Sentret dropped onto its four limbs. The furry brown normal type zigzagged through the tall grasses as the green blades danced and swayed in different directions. Where the tall undergrowth of the forest did not hide the scout Pokemon, it would appear only as a blur.

The frog-like green grass type was summoned onto the field instead, with its large bulb planted firmly on its back. Sentret dashed, shooting straight for its target and ramming into Midori with all of its might. The furry brown tanuki brunt force weight came crashing into the side of Midori’s face. The Bulbasaur cried out, but seemed almost as solid as the Sentret bounced off rather than topple over this strange new foe. It dropped to its feet, raising its tail with bristled fur that stood on ends, and danced in shuffled patterns around this new adversary.

Midori shot out a bunch of tiny seeds that pelted the Sentret all over. The seedlings buried deep into the Sentret’s fur, using their budding roots to wrap firmly around clumps of air and try to bury themselves into the scout Pokemon’s body. It jumped back of alarm and began beating its tail rapidly against the ground. The Sentret would then raise itself up on its hind legs and start sniffing the air profusely. A bright white glow surrounded the furry brown mammal, who now aimed as dispelling any illusions this Bulbasaur may have dredged up. The wild Sentret would cry out and wince as the newly attached seeds sucked away at its health.

Wild Encounter

---

Weather: Clear

[attr="class","qkt-bkgd"]

[attr="class","qkt-wild-pkmn"]

[attr="class","qkt-clip"]Sentret

LV 9
HP 75% [21/28]

[attr="class","qkt-wild-imgbox"]

[attr="class","qkt-pkmn-img"]

[attr="class","qkt-trainer-pkmn"]

[attr="class","qkt-clip"]Midori

LV 7
HP 84% [21/25]

[attr="class","qkt-trainer-imgbox"]

[attr="class","qkt-pkmn-img"]

Sentret [Run Away]: +1 DEF
Midori [Overgrow]: Normal

Tatakai switches out!
Midori switches in.
Sentret uses Quick Attack.
Midori uses Leech Seed. Sentret was seeded!
Sentret uses Foresight. Midori was identified!
Bulbasaur gained HP from Leech Seed.

Notes: Tatakai [HP: 11/15]

Adding 196 words to egg

[Taxx]

The Sentret was charging forward almost before Midori had stopped, taking her place ahead of Vitra and the other two of her team. The grass-type however, barely had time to notice the Sentret hurtling toward her before the round body was colliding against her, and she yelped, staggering a step to the side and shaking her head. She glared back toward the Sentret as it retreated a few feet and then sent her seeds flying to land among the Sentret's fur, feeling them stealing health from the wild Pokemon and increasing her own.

"Use Tackle, Midori!" she heard Vitra direct, and she was off in the next second, dashing toward her opponent for her move. Vitra was confident in Midori's strength, hopeful she could end this quickly- it'd already been dragged out longer than it should have with her attempt to use a pokemon who wasn't quite up for the challenge. But Midori was higher in level, stronger- better equipped to deal with the Sentret. She'd just been trying to let Kai have a chance, but the rodent-type just wasn't strong enough yet, no matter how tough she thought she was. She'd have her chance soon enough to take on opponents on her own.