A wolf in sheep's clothing (gym v2)

[Tarlar]

(Team: Helen, Yakul, Placido, Pia, Rita, Silvia)

It was time for evaluations in the IPF and Astrid's higher ups had expressed wishes to know her strength as trainer and had made it clear that the best way for her to show them that, was to challenge a gym leader. She had tried to argue that she under her contract wasn't on any call list and her job was to be around and assist where she was. They were not having it, and asked her if there was an emergency nearby if she wouldn't prefer to be called if she could help?
The old woman had reluctantly agreed and had mentally prepared that she would probably have to take on every single of the gym leaders she came across from now on. She set out grumbling, the Station here in Goldenrod certainly was a lot more strict that the one in Cherrygrove, who was fine letting her go around and handle what she stumbled upon.

Since Astrid hadn't gotten a deadline for this test of hers, she spent some time reading up on Whitney and lay a plan. She could understand that most trainer's feared Whitney and often their plans didn't work when they faced her, from a closer inspected Astrid realized that Whitney seemed to have two teams she battled with, and that she switched between them. So if Astrid could time it so Whitney was using one specific team against her, then she should be fine. Hopefully.

As Astrid made her way through the crowded streets of Goldenrod another worry wormed her way in. If she was going to show her skills as a trainer and passed tests with pokemon she usually didn't use for IPF work, could that give her problems later on? If they chose to call her out to something she expected she could easily handle and then her pokemon were not trained enough? She would have to focus a bit more on her pokemon chosen for that kind of work, to keep them in shape.
Astrid almost bumped into a child in a pink dress and frowned as she pulled her trolley around the group who was busy chatting. She realized she was surrounded by pink, fluff and lacers. Ponytails, bows and flowers, and even teddibears and cute looking pokemon. What was all these kids doing here? Where was the adults.
Astrid blinked and stared when she realized that there were no kids, it was all adults dressed in cute dresses and making cute poses while showing off accessories and baby pokemon.
What was going on?!

A bit perplexed Astrid made her way through the many people gathered, several of them shoot her curious looks since she certainly wasn't dressed cutely in pink. The old lady's breathing hastened a bit when she realized the Gym was a part of this and full of cutely dressed men and women, which made her pause at the entrance and look around uncertainly.
"Konnichi wa!" An eagerly voice greeted her and Astrid stared rather rudely at the woman who smiled innocently to her, with a tilted head and making a sideways victory sign pointing at her eye.
"What?" Astrid asked confused and the woman giggled like a child.
"Oh I'm sorry, it means hello, or welcome!" She explained eagerly, "I'm one of the Goldenrod Gym's assistants, are you here for the Festival or to challenge Whitney-san?"
Astrid looked blankly at the woman and then down at herself and her light yellow loose trousers and grey blouse which screamed retired person. She smirked at the woman, "I think that answer must be clear, if Whitney has time of course," Astrid answered and looked around at the busy hall.
"Of course she has!" The assistant reassured and showed Astrid to a desk where her appointment was confirmed. "I'll go get her, just wait here!" The assistant promised and scurried off, leaving Astrid to amuse herself looking at the festival visitors.
She wasn't sure what this was a festival off but something cute certainly, there was an abundance of snubbuls and jigglypuffs and other pokemon like them.
"If Whitney is a strong and fearsome as they say, she really is a wolf in sheep's clothes," Astrid muttered to herself as she studied the dresses and accessories in a nearby booth.

Wordcount: 710

[Marchbaby]

Whitney had been in the back of the gym grooming her beloved Clefairy when one of the Goldenrod Gym Assistants approached her to tell her she had a challanger. " Mrs. Whitney, someone is here to challenge you to a battle. They are waiting near the entrance of the gym." Whitney smiled as it was not too often a challenger would appear during a cute Pokemon festival and it was the perfect time to show off the strength of both her favorite type along with cute Pokemon in general. " Like this is totally cool, like tell them I will be right there." She said as she placed Clefairy on the ground and started to stretch for a moment with her Pokemon. The assistant then walked back to Astrid to let her know the gym leader was on her way/

"Mrs. Whitney will be here in just a moment, it is not too often a challanger shows up during a cute Pokemon festival like this." A few moments later Whitney and her Clefairy quickly walked from the back of the gym and stopped in front of Astrid quite intrigued by such an old challanger. " Like I was totes not expecting a grandma as a challenger but a battle is a battle. Welcome to my gym Granny, my name is Whitney and I totes run the show here. I am looking forward to facing such a unique challenger. Please follow me to the battlefield so we do not totes mess up the festival with our battle." She then led Astrid to the battlefield in the middle of the gym with her Clefairy close to her side.

" We are totes ready for this battle, the festival should be fine so long as our battle does not leave this battlefield. I am totes excited to see what Pokemon an old lady like you will use. I am like totally psyched right now. I hope you have some cute Pokemon on you. I will be starting with my totally adorable Clefairy." She said as her Clefairy stepped forward and waited for Astrid to select a Pokemon. Whitney could barely contain her excitement as she waited hoping a super cute Pokemon would be her opponent.

Whitney accepts your challenge and sends out Clefairy (Level 25) Please select a Pokemon.

[Tarlar]

Astrid turned and smiled to the assistant when she returned to tell her the gym leader would be here in a minute.
"That is alright, I guess she is busy with all this going on," Astrid said kindly, expecting the gym leader to be out and about, meeting people with how popular she usually was. Had she know Whitney had been withdrawn and doing calm work like grooming her pokemon, Astrid would have been very surprised but also would have thought the young popular woman was a bit overwhelmed and needed time on her own away from people and all the ruckus.
The skin wrinkled around Astrid's eyes as she smiled at Whitney's surprise of seeing her, "and many challengers surely expect you to be a pushover just because your pokemon is cute, right?" she returned with a chuckle and offered Whitney a handshake.
"I am very much looking forward to this challenge again, I have heard a lot of impressive things about you, so I do not doubt this is going to be a real challenge for me and my pokemon."

Astrid followed the gym leader and was both surprised and relieved to learn they weren't going to battle on some kind of stage in front of all the festival goers.
"Do not worry, I do not intent on taking it anywhere out of here. No need to put anyone in danger," Astrid said as she looked around curiously to see what kind of battlefield they were having in a gym like this. Falkner's was above ground and Bugsy's was very green, so what defined one for the normal type with a leader known for loving cute pokemon?
Astrid smiled to the clefairy as she chose her first pokeball, "she is looking very cite," she agreed and sent Whitney an apologetically smile, "the one I am going to start with, is not what is usually considered adorable though. She is very well behaved though."
Astrid held out her hand and released the pokeball's content, Helen materialized from the red light with a determined look.
"Helen, please give a polite greeting, as it does not seem like we are in any hurry," Astrid said kindly but firmly. The ariados looked back at her with a questioningly look but then turned back and bowed her head to Clefairy.
"My apologies, I'm mostly used to fight criminals so I'm not used to start out by being polite," Helen said formally, "may the battle be good and fair, I'm looking forward to see what you have in store for me."
Helen would wait until the battle was started official before she set into motion and would aim several swipes with her front legs at her opponent.

Astrid waited until the battle had started and for Whitney to look like she could think of something else, "do you held this festival often? What is it for exactly?" The old woman asked curiously.

Wordcount: 488
(ooc: Helen uses Fury Swipes)

[Caramell 🍬]

Although Whitney was a little taken aback by Astrid’s arrival, she was more than excited to show off her cute Pokemon. The small pink fairy-type Pokemon with her tiny wings on her back jumped from one foot to the other as she danced to a hidden beat on the battle field. “Fairy fairy! Clefairy! Cle, fairy fairy!” It seemed to chant to itself, its eyes closed as its face contorted into a tight smile. The Clefairy greeted their challenger and waved excitedly to grey-haired granny that stood opposite of them on the battlefield. When Astrid called out her large red poisonous arachnid with its bright yellow-and-purple striped legs, the pink-haired Gym Leader jumped back about ten feet.

“Oh, ewwww! Granny, no! Like, why would you ever want a spider?! That’s totes not cute! Eww, ewww, eWWWWWW!” She screeched, throwing her hands up dramatically at her sides and shaking her head in disgust. “Like, so sorry or whatever for judging your Pokemon. I just totes can’t do bugs! They’re soo creepy and like just...ewww! But this is like an official Pokemon GYM battle. I’ll totes respect your Pokemon just...from a distance.” She nodded, and distance herself from Helen she did. Considerably, nearly backing up to the furthest vantage point she could reasonably push herself at while still being within the confines of the battlefield to avoid her own disqualification.

“Fairy, please. Like, metronome or something on that bug!” She called out with a dismissive wave as she battled her irrational fear of bugs. Whitney always knew this day would come where she would have to face a really scary bug Pokemon that might push her to the edge of her irrational fear of them. Spider. Specifically, spiders. Just, eww! Helen jumped forward, causing the pink-haired trainer to dance on the tip of her tippy-toes and bite her nails reflexively. Though the soft pink Pokemon with her foxy, dark-brown tipped ears managed to jump just out of arm’s reach each time Helen struck out, causing the spider to miss. The fairy-type then held up one finger on each hand and waved them back and forth as they started to glow.

“Cle fairy. Cle fairy. Cle fairy. Cle fairy!” It began to chant over and over as it channeled its famous metronome attack. Out of nowhere, a powerful shot of psychic energy fired from the pink fairy-types fingertips and hit Helen dead-center in her abdomen, causing the Spider to fly back a couple feet on the makeshift battle field. “We have this totally cute festival once every year! You can totes join in after the battle...maybe with something cuter, though? Or pinker? Granny, I’m curious. Like, I don’t wanna be rude, so forgive me if it comes off this way but...do you like, have any children?”

GYM Leader Battle

---

Weather: Indoors (Clear)

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

[attr="class","qkt-wild-pkmn"]
Fairy LV 25
HP 100% [77/77]

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

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

[attr="class","qkt-trainer-pkmn"]
Helen LV 26
HP 63% [50/80]

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

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

Whitney's Fairy [Magic Guard]: Normal
Astrid's Helen [Insomnia]: Status

SP33 Helen used fury Swipes! She missed!
Fury Swipes hits? (1-80 yes, 81-100 no) t1OY|XFc1-100
SP30 Fairy used Metronome! Fairy used Psyshock!
1-100·2-5

[Tarlar]

Astrid smiled as Clefairy danced around and waved cheerfully to her, but her smile faltered at Whitney's exclamation at the sight of Helen. She had expected that Whitney wouldn't have been a big fan of the poisonous spider but she had expected a more dignified reaction now she was a Gym Leader. Astrid wondered briefly what Whitney thought about Bugsy's pokemon and if this dislike was mostly for the spiders like Helen or for bugs in general, if it was for poison types too it would mean the other closest town Ecruteak also had a gym with pokemon she didn't like. If this was her reaction to one, Astrid wondered how hard she had working with the two closest gyms to her own.
"Whitney dear, I fully respect that there are things you dislike, but I do worry about how others will read your reactions," Astrid said kindly and looked at her with a worried frown, "Helen here is a great pokemon and I could not wish for any better partner when we are on missions for the IPF. We are old rats and it does not bother us what people think about us, but you are a Gym Leader and all the young lads and ladies who looks up to you could get affected. They could even be scared of pokemon like Helen just because they have seen you react negatively to one," Astrid explained.
"Unfortunately I know that some might be pushed down a more dark path if everyone is acting like they expect them to be, this is both troubled kids and pokemon alike, I have seen to many poor soul who thought the world was against them," Astrid added sadly. Helen glanced back with a proud look, she certainly didn't let something like that keep her down, she was living the dream and making the world a better place.
Astrid chuckled and looked warmly at Whitney, "it is good you respect Helen here, since you are stuck with us for a bit. But tell me, what is it that makes you dislike bug types?"

Helen leaped at the fairy type but the skilled pink pokemon nimbly dodged out of the way and Helen slid over the floor as tried to turn to face her opponent again. A wave of psychic energy hit her before she was ready and sent her tumbling to the ground, legs folded protectively around her body.
"Oh no Helen! Are you alright?" Astrid exclaimed, how unlucky could they be that metronome called a super effective move against the half poison type?
"Try strengthen up a bit Helen, you better hit as hard as possible when it goes through if she is good at dodging," Astrid suggested as Helen rolled back up on her feet again. The Ariados nodded and started a little dance to warm up and be able to hit hard and faster.

Astrid turned to look back at Whitney again, leaning on her cane. She chuckled when Whitney went straight to ask about her status of family and then was thoughtful for a moment.
"I am not sure if it is something for me, the only pokemon I can think of which might fit the criteria would be Araceli which is a swablu," she said slowly, "but I am not much for cute stuff and sweets."
"Even if my kids are interested in your festival I think they are too old for that now," Astrid chuckled, "I have two sons, Hans and Ege but as I said they are too old. I have several grandkids as well, although they are all becoming adults," Astrid said with a hint of melancholy, "it is a couple of my grandchildren that are the reason I started out on my journey!" She added more cheerfully.
The old woman went quiet for a bit before she added, "treasure what you have Whitney, you do not know how long you are going to have it."

Wordcount: 659
(ooc: Helen uses Sword Dance)

[Marchbaby]

Whitney took a few moments to try and answer Astrid's question as few trainers ever bothered to ask her why she hates bugs. After building up the courage to say something she finally responded. " I just like totally think they look nasty and they totes gross me out whenever they shoot off webs or like try to sting people like oh my gosh that is nasty. I know some people totes hate cute Pokemon for whatever reason but like at least they are not as creepy as bug types. I give you credit for using them as I never would." She said as she tried to keep her composure. Hearing about Astrid's family helped as it allowed her to take her mind off of the creepy bug types.

" Like wow, that is like great to hear. It has been a while since I have seen most of my family. Since I became a gym leader most of my time is spent here. I totally love it though as my family is totes not up to my level of cuteness." She then turned her attention back to the battle as Astrid made a good point about Helen being with them for a while. Fairy had no good moves to directly counter the bug type however Metronome could always be a great gamble and Whitney decided to try her luck again. " Fairy use your Metronome again, maybe we will get another good stroke of luck." Fairy was a bit too slow however as Helen started to dance using her legs as miniature swords to boost her power.

While she focused on that Fairy finally summoned her mysterious power and suddenly melted into the shadows. She had called forth Shadow Force and would be able to strike in the next turn. Whitney was freaking out however as Clefairy had never done something like this before. " Fairy are you OK? This has never happened before. I had no idea your powers could totally turn you into a shadow. I like totes need to get a picture of this before it is too late." She then pulled out her phone and took a picture of the Clefairy shaped shadow on the ground wondering what would happen next.




GYM Leader Battle

---

Weather: Indoors (Clear)

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

[attr="class","qkt-wild-pkmn"]
Fairy LV 25
HP 100% [77/77]

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

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

[attr="class","qkt-trainer-pkmn"]
Helen LV 26
HP 63% [50/80]

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

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

Whitney's Fairy [Magic Guard]: Normal
Astrid's Helen [Insomnia]: Normal, Attack +2

SP33 Helen used Swords Dance
SP30 Fairy used Metronome! Fairy used Shadow Force! (Attack will land next turn)

[Tarlar]

Astrid watched Whitney closely but the gym leader didn't say anything to Astrid's suggestion about keeping the reactions down if she encountered another trainer having pokemon like Helen. It left her to wonder if Whitney were i denial and just didn't want to think about such things, or if she disagreed and thought the idea stupid but didn't want to argue about it.
It meant though that is wasn't a thing Whitney sounded like she wanted to change and Astrid sighed defeated. She didn't think there was anything she could do here, hopefully her mentioning the problem had stuck somewhere inside Whitney's brain so she could take it up another time.
For now she dropped a bit in how Astrid thought about her, she was a gym leader alright but in Astrid's mind she didn't live up to the old woman's expectations.
It was not the time to have that battle though, Whitney surely also had too much on her mind with the festival going on in the building.
"Thank you, Helen is a wonderful pokemon," Astrid agreed, "and I must admit that you are good at getting the best out of your cute pokemon. Most look down on them too, due to that, just like.. some, look down on bugs because they do not like the sight of them," Astrid added with a little smile.

Astrid blinked as Whitney completely missed the sadness the old woman hadn't been able to keep out of her voice, she smiled and shook her head. That was probably for the better, this wasn't the place to open her heart about her sad past, she frowned a bit, why would she even do that? What was it with this cheerful and cute celebrating place that made her feel old, sad and bitter?
"You are making me tired with all of your energy," Astrid said with a smile and pulled her trolley closer and opened the inbuild chair, on which she sat down.
"What do you family say about you being a gym leader?" She asked curiously.

Helen was quick to set up her strengthening dance while Fairy.. became a ghost?
"What is that?" Astrid asked alarmed as Helen hesitated as that was not a thing she had encountered before.
Astrid's eyes jumped between the upset Whitney and her see-through clefairy, Whitney didn't seem to have any clue of what was going on either so Astrid pulled out her pokedex to scan it.
"Shadow Force?" She mumbled, "never heard of it but it sounds scary." Helen glanced back to her, and Astrid frowned.
"Come here Helen, we do not know what it does but I do not want to take any chances," She said as she buried her hand in the trolley and pulled out a oran berry.
"It's not much but it might be just what is needed, try see if you can dodge whatever it throws at you and if you can hit it regardless of what this is," Astrid said and Helen nodded, looking relieved as she gobbled down the berry.
She turned back and watched Fairy for a bit before she made her move and would try swipe at her opponent again.
"Metronome really teaches you a lot of new things! Time to see what your clefairy can do with this one!" Astrid called out to Whitney confidently, this was getting a bit interesting.

Wordcount: 563
(ooc: Helen eats an Oran Berry and then tries Fury Swipe)

[Lamont]

"Well, Bugsy can inspire all those short-short bug catchers," she giggled whilst staring into her phone aimed at the shadow encased fairy pokémon. The girl's fiery eyes were intensely focused, fingers manipulating the focus of the camera in wait of the perfect snapshot at the time of attack.

"Fairy always makes every battle, like, totes a surprise! I never know what's going to happen next. Luckily she's so photogenic there's no worry any pic comes out glamorous. And my fam..?" Whitney paused, seeing the signal for the clefairy to trigger the attack. The shadows deepened around her, making the outlined figure appear more of a void of physicality. It was hard to really follow the movement, but in the next moment the shadowy force was blasting against the lean body of the arachnid.

Whitney squee'd with excitement, capturing the moment with a short video clip. "So fierce girl!" With a few taps and flicks of her fingers across her device the memory was likely instantly shared with a following of the popular girl.
"The fam is totes into all this. I keep them all updated even if we can't visit all the time cause, like, being a gym leader is a huge deal Granny. They're super supportive."


When the flurry of jabs and swipes assailed Fairy Whitney's visage flipped to express each blow as if they were being inflicted personally. Fairy herself didn't seem to weather them very well, the last one making the cute fluffy pokémon spin around on one foot.
"Fairy!" There was a brief pause as the fairy type regained her footing. "You need some defenses, maybe a Sing?" Immediately after speaking it the gym leader's brow furrowed as a nagging half-remembered thought came to mind.
"No no no, hold up girl," she hurriedly corrected, hands waving in front of her as she stared suspiciously at the dark colored spider across the battle field. "Keep up that metronome! I almost goofed." She grinned, a knowing smile coming over her before shifting into a fake, joking, look of disgust. "OMG that bug crazed neighbor is totes coming in handy," she laughed.

Clefairy waived her hands, reflecting internally following and finding the mysterious power of metronome crafting itself into a more supportive energy this time around. Her fine pink sheen reddened lightly for just a moment.

"Did you pick up tips from Bugsy?" she half-jokingly inquired.

GYM Leader Battle

---

Weather: Indoors (Clear)

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

[attr="class","qkt-wild-pkmn"]
Fairy LV 25
HP 44% [34/77]

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

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

[attr="class","qkt-trainer-pkmn"]
Helen LV 26
HP 49% [39/80]

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

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

Whitney's Fairy [Magic Guard]: +1 ATK, +1 DEF
Astrid's Helen [Insomnia]: +2 ATK

SP33 Helen eats an Oran Berry! [Updated]
SP30 Fairy emerged from the shadows to attack!

SP33 Helen used Fury Swipes! Hit 3 Times!
SP30 Fairy used Metronome! Fairy Bulked Up!

[Tarlar]

"That is true," Astrid said and thought to herself it was a shame that he couldn't inspire others too, but people had a hard time looking past their prejudice.
They all waited for Fairy to be ready with her attack, Helen had finished her berry and was watching her patiently too.
"With metronone anything can happen, is that not right?" Astrid asked, "how do you work with it when you cannot plan for what happens? It must be really hard to adjust to."
Helen tensed and turned her head away as the shadow washed over her and left her out of breath, she lifted her head when it stopped with a determined look and leaped at Fairy and this time managed to get several hits in before she had to withdraw to catch her breath again.
"Sounds nice," Astrid said politely, "support means a great deal."

She looked sharply at Whitney when the Leader thought out loud and almost called a move which would have little effect.
"Sing won't work here no, I have planned for that," Astrid said with a smile, "Helen is your Fairy's best opponent from my point of view." She winked to Whitney.
"You okay Helen?" Astrid called out to her pokemon who waved an arm dismissively, before leaping at Fairy again in the hope of finishing this off quickly.

"Tips? He did give me some suggestion for my scyther and told me the differences between how to use him in his current form compared to his evolved one," Astrid said thoughtfully, "but otherwise I do not think he gave me any tips. Is there anything specific you are referring to?"

Wordcount: 275
(ooc: Helen uses Fury Attack twice, exhausting the running shoes. Stupid lucky use of metronome )

[Caramell 🍬]

The battle was heating up. Whitney kept snapping photos with her cell phone as she tried to get all the best shots. In some moments, she would even record small clips of the action to save for later. She hadn’t expected the bright red spider to pack such a powerful punch, nor had she expected the other Pokemon to keep her on her toes as much. “It’s like totally mystery with Fairy’s metronome! She’s a superstar, like the way she pulls out her own moves out of thin air and like manages to use them with such ease.” Whitney nodded her head and hummed to herself in mild amusement.

She knew many trainers who needed to know the ins and outs of their moves in order to pack a punch. Whitney had to rely on both her own skills and her Pokemon. She needed to keep her mental head in the right place, so that she could easily foresee her opponent’s next moves and plan a solid form of attack around them. But with a mysterious Pokemon like her Clefairy, she also needed to trust in them and know that they can handle the job on their own, just as much. “I totes put a lot of faith in my Pokemon. Fairy like trusts me to lead her. She knows that, like, I won’t make her handle anything she’s not truly capable of facing. Like, I have to trust her. I totally know that she knows herself best and knows what she’s truly capable of with her own moves. We totes work in tandem. What about you and Helen? What’s your strategy?” She asked and nodded towards the arachnid.

Whitney already had a fair assessment of Astrid’s strategy from the way they battled, though. She seemed well equipped to work off the Pokemon’s known moves, and seemed to work closely with her Pokemon, as well. If Whitney wasn’t mistaken, she hadn’t heard Astrid necessarily call out every single move she wanted her Pokemon to use each and every time. This meant that at some level, she truly trusted her Pokemon. Maybe Astrid could understand the GYM Leader’s strategy? The red spider rushed and and swiped at Fairy several times. Helen slashing the other Pokemon across the stomach, over one shoulder, across her cheek, across the top of Fairy’s left leg, and across Fairy’s back. Fairy cried loudly and stumbled backwards, panting heavily.

“I just thought like…Bugsy may have gave you pointers. The way you handle your Ariados. It’s like, superb. You’ve totally trained her well, granny!” She giggled with a bright smile. Helen’s final hit would wipe the poor Clefairy out, knocking it down where it succumbed into an unconscious and forced slumber. Whitney raised her hands to her hand and gasped loudly in shock and horror. Her poor, precious pink puff! She recalled it instantly and pulled out another Pokeball, releasing the bright pink cow with its striking black markings. “My poor Fairy! No! I’m so sorry honey, but we need Milky to take over now!” She commented as the Miltank shook her head and moo’d excitedly, looking for her opponent.

GYM Leader Battle

---

Weather: Indoors (Clear)

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

[attr="class","qkt-wild-pkmn"]
Fairy LV 25
HP 0% [0/77]

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

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

[attr="class","qkt-trainer-pkmn"]
Helen LV 26
HP 49% [39/80]

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

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

Whitney's Fairy [Magic Guard]: +1 ATK, +1 DEF
Astrid's Helen [Insomnia]: +2 ATK

SP33 Helen used Fury Swipes! Hit 5 times!
SP30 Fairy fainted!


Note: I think you meant Fury Swipes, Tarlar?

---

Helen gained some experience!

Helen gained 1250 EXP!
Helen increased to 1250/2107 EXP!
Helen grew closer to Astrid. +1 Happiness!
Helen increased to +8 Happiness!

Whitney isn't done yet! She's ready to send out her Miltank!

^{[Level 28] Will Astrid keep Helen or switch Pokemon?}

Edit: Forgot to calculate at Helen's +2 ATT. Recalculated, Fairy wouldn't have the chance to hit so only 1 round.

[Tarlar]

Astrid nodded her agreement to what Whitney said about Fairy, "it is impressive to be able to utilize such variation of moves now you do not know what you have to work with before you are throwing it."
She watched as the clefairy moved in the shadows towards Helen, and how Whitney did all she could to document every part of it.
"How are you training to be ready for that? One thing is how to react to your opponent and what they are doing, but not knowing what your own side is ending up doing must be really hard to prepare and guide in, is it not?" Astrid asked. She found it hard enough to prepare her pokemon to face anything knowing what they were capable off, but Whitney had somehow managed to get Fairy to be able to do just that, while still acting completely random. While it for the untrained eye looked like the clefairy was just doing random things, Astrid was certain Fairy had been trained hard to be able to adjust and used it so quickly, even when something as new as the current move happened, Fairy hadn't hesitated at any moment but had just carried out whatever her strange powers gave her.

A part of the training was trust, and Astrid knew about that since she needed that too in her work. "You clearly have a tight bond, that is clear," Astrid said honestly and turned her eyes to Helen. Did they have the same? Astrid had guided the spider and she trusted the pokemon to know what to do, but did they really work together now she just sat on the sideline and watched, only to give a suggestion or a potion? Her pokemon were quite a lot on their own while battling where Fairy probably could count on Whitney stepping in and helping her if needed.
Astrid resigned to not really know the answer before having been in a work situation where they had to work together as equal, she assumed that Helen and Themis would be the ones who'd be the easiest with that, since they were skilled in police work already.

"Strategy?" Astrid repeated and laughed, "having a chance to win battles even though I am too slow to give orders all the time!" She laughed some more.
"But that is my tactic, I do my best to put up a strategy and teach my pokemon how and why, and make them ready to face the challenge, while I'm just sitting here and trying to be helpful with potions and similar since that is what I can do, duting battles," she explained and shrugged. You had to compromise and find solutions when you got old.

The old lady looked surprised when Whitney praised her training and Helen, and then she smirked, "it is good you can see past the yucky exterior to see the strength beneath," she teased and watched as Helen dived past Fairy and swiped at her so fast the fairy type went to her knees before she collapsed on the ground.
"Well done Helen!" Astrid called proudly and as the clefairy got recalled, Helen nodded respectfully to Whitney before she turned to trot back to Astrid.
The old woman watched the miltank arrive to the stage, this was the pokemon which got people's knees shaking and made many trainers dread having to face this gym.
"Bugsy could give me some tips about my scyther and the pros and cons of evolving him, I do not think he have given me advice otherwise, or on Helen per so. She is just that great on her own," Astrid said thoughtfully and gave her ariados a few pets.

Astrid lifted a pokeball and let out a skiddo at her side. She quickly grabbed the goat's horn and gave it a gentle shake.
"Leech Seed Yakul, I wish you uses leech seed, got it?" Astrid said while thinking very hard on what she wanted Yakul to do. The skiddo snorted and stomped her foot impatiently, so Astrid let go and Yakul pranced proudly into the arena while staring down Milky.
She would attempt to leech seed the miltank one way or another.

Wordcount: 701
(ooc: Oh yes! Thank you! I'd would have been annoying having to spent another post due to that mistake ^^* surely going to get rid of it as soon as possible. I also just tried to use the shoes if the first one should miss. Also: Yakul starts and uses Leech Seed.)

[antonius]

"Oh yeah totes, let us see how you handle this lovely pink Pokemon. Alright, Milky, let us use one of your well known moves. It is time to see how well this goat handles a body slam"

The smile on Whitney's face is still there but a serious look appears in her eyes. This granny done well taking out Fairy with the icky bug but Milky is the true star of this gym.

"You know, granny, maybe you should try a pink blouse on after this fight. I don't have one but am certain someone out there in the festival could sell you one. Maybe pair it with a white shawl in case you get a little cold. Yeah, I think the outfit would look so cute on you."

Milky runs at the skiddo goat and jumps up with arms open wide. At the last second the left arm pushes the head off to the side to avoid the antlers as most of the body lands sideways on the skiddo. After getting up from the skiddo pancake, Milky walks back to Whitney smiling broadly. This is when it feels what felt like pebbles hit the back side and vines sprout up trying to wrap around the large Pokemon. Milky turns around to see the skiddo back on her paws.

GYM Leader Battle

---

Weather: Indoors (Clear)

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

[attr="class","qkt-wild-pkmn"]
Milky LV 28
HP 87% [86/99]

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

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

[attr="class","qkt-trainer-pkmn"]
Yakul LV 26
HP 59% [46/78]

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

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

Whitney's Miltank [Thick Fat]: Normal
Astrid's Yakul [Sap Sipper]: Paralyzed

Yakul paralyzed? 1-3 Yes, 4-10 Notm0E_vzE1-10


SP69 Miltank used body slam!
SP40 Yakul used leech seed!


Note: Helen 39/80 HP 49% winner of first fight






1-10

[Tarlar]

Yakul had caught that this battle could be tough but she hadn't expected the whole heavy miltank to just drop flat down on top of her, after having her head jerked to one side. A prey pokemon who would fight off her attackers furiously she wouldn't know how to stay down and give up, one thought clear in her head in her confusion: leech seed!
She somehow staggered back on her feet and managed to get the seeds flying, felt a little victory when they hit and Milky turning to looking back at her. Yakul sighed relieved when she felt the thin roots connecting the two pokemon give her a little of her energy back, at the cost of Milky's. Not that it was a thing Yakul thought about, if she was even aware what it meant to others what the move did, but she did know she felt better after it.
She looked back at Astrid questioningly, she had done what her trainer had wished, now what?
"You are doing great Yakul, try attack it if you can," Astrid urged and Yakul tilted her head a bit as she sensed a sadness in Astrid's voice. "Go on!" Astrid said encouragingly and gestured towards Milky, Yakul hesitated but as the miltank moved she turned her attention against her again.
The skiddo tried to jump out of the way but almost lost her balance as her muscles didn't want to cooperate properly and instead she reared and tried to release some sharp leaves to throw at her opponent.

Astrid watched her skiddo sadly for a moment before she looked at Whitney.
"I think she's doing pretty well, is she not?" She asked still with sadness tinting her voice, "but taking her down on her own, I doubt she can."
The old woman frowned and looked thoughtful for a moment, "I do have a pink blouse somewhere at home, but it is thin and for summer so I have not brought it with me. Any reason you think pink would be fitting? Personally I think yellow and red are more my colors, and white of course, but white and black fits most people," she said with a smile.
"But if there is one is calm colors and potential with flowers on them, I might be interested!" She leaned forward and patted her trousers who had a faint pattern of daisies on them.

Wordcount: 400
(ooc: Yakul attempts Razor Leaf. By the way, it looks like exp. share was when Helen got exp?)

[Caramell 🍬]

The pink-haired GYM Leader’s bright pink eyes lit up at how well her Milky had executed it’s Body Slam attack. She already knew how powerful the massive weight of Miltank having been dropped on you was from experience, since her Milky and the other Miltank at the farm loved to try to tackle and slam her down for affection. Though, they could be pretty standoffish to people that they did not know well. “Amazing work, Milky! We should like totes keep up this attack! I think they’ve got one or two more hits, like, left in ‘em, don’t you?” Her bright pink cow with her thick black mask around her head, black ball-point tail tip, and black ‘mitten-like’ marks on her feet mooed cheerfully as she punched her small fists up into the air.

Milky began kicking and clawing at the ground with one foot as she stood up on her hind legs and prepared to charge at her opponent. The thick vines wrapped tightly around her body, pulling, and draining her health slowly bit-by-bit. Try as she might with her front paws, the powerhouse of a cow couldn’t seem to pull and break the seed’s tiny vines off of her body. They would randomly pulsate and glow with a bright green aura, as they slowly drained away a bit of her health. She charged at her opponent, before leaping up into the air just seconds away from crashing into Yakul.

“You see, granny. Your thick, curly hair would just pop against a bright, light background like pink! Add in the white shawl, and it’ll really make the whole ensemble just glow on you. Not to mention how cute pink is in general, and the way it can make your skin light up when you wear it….yeah, I’d totes say pink would be perfect on you!” Whitney hummed in a high-pitched voice as her excitement seemed to get the better of her. She pictured the grandmother donned in the cutest of pink blouses, with long white gloves running up the length of her arms, and a thick white shawl wrapped around the nape of her neck to dangle at her sides…yep, perfect! “And shoes…oh, maybe white would be too loud, though? Yeah, and definitely pink would just ‘fade’ into everything else… Gotta go with red. Red, or a good reddish-brown, to pop! Though, I don’t doubt yellow wouldn’t look just absolutely stunning on you, as well!” She added with a wink.

Milky crashed down on top of Yakul, pinning the other Pokemon to the spot. For a second, both Pokemon would struggle against one another. The large bovine seemed adamant about keeping the grassy goat pinned in place, as Yakul kicked and struggled to break out from underneath Milky’s weight. When she finally freed herself, Yakul would stand up as tall as she could muster and fire a round of sharp green leaves, that enshrouded the other Pokemon and cut deeply into Milky’s hide. Milky bellowed loudly, wobbling uneasily on her feet, and shook herself of the powerful attack!

“Oh, Milky!” Whitney cried from the sidelines, tossing her hands up in alarm. “Are you alright?! That sheep looks tougher than we thought!” The GYM Leader’s alarmed voice rang. …Sheep, though?... Whitney, darling, go get your eyes checked… “I’ll hand it to ya, granny. That Yakul of your sure is a scrapper!” Whitney would add in only after making sure that Milky wasn’t too worse for wear and could handle another round. “Though honestly…I can’t say she’s lookin’ like she’s gunna manage much longer…” Whitney’s voice was soft and serious. It was clear that she was only being honest with Astrid, and wasn’t trying to sound cocky.


GYM Leader Battle

---

Weather: Indoors (Clear)

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

[attr="class","qkt-wild-pkmn"]
Milky LV 28
HP 75% [74/99]

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

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

[attr="class","qkt-trainer-pkmn"]
Yakul LV 26
HP 17% [13/78]

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

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

Whitney's Miltank [Thick Fat]: Seeded! (-12 HP)
Astrid's Yakul [Sap Sipper]: Paralyzed

Yakul paralyzed? 1-25 Yes, 26-100 No VJMpPR|P1-100


SP69 Miltank used Body Slam!
SP40 Yakul used Razor Leaf!
SP40 Yakul gained some HP from Leech Seed!


Note: Helen 39/80 HP 49% winner of first fight


((Sorry about the EXP. Since the EXP Share is supposed to be halfed for Pokemon over 25+ I've gone back and rewarded based on that. Total EXP from Clefairy was 1250, which I gave all to Helen. It should have been +625 to Helen and +625 to Silvia. Corrected to reflect that by just pulling -625 from Helen and adding it to Silvia's! Lemme know if I missed anything. ^^)) 1-10

[Tarlar]

"That sure is a powerful move, I can see why most trainers fear her," Astrid said kindly, the miltank was really a powerhouse and could sweep down any competition no doubt. "You do not think she has any more of those in her? she does not look tired at all to me," Astrid asked a bit pussled as she thought whitney meant that Milky only could attack like that a few more times.

"Now you are just sweet talking, no need to wrap things in cottoncandy for me young lady," Astrid chuckled as she touched her short thin hair, "or perhaps you need glasses if my hair looks thick from where you are standing."
She rolled her shoulder's, not used to sit on her camping chair for longer periods of time, it was good for her to rest her legs but wasn't exactly the most comfortable in the world.
"I appreciate your suggestions and I will keep it in mind for the next time I go shopping. I must admit thought that with traveling so much and helping out the IPF I do fear what you imagine will be far too fancy for me. It would be a shame to destroy, do you not agree?"

Astrid watched grimly as Milky showed how powerful and intimidating her Body Slams could be, Yakul was certainly feeling it and bleated a scream as she saw her coming. Milky was too fast to dodge and the skiddo got squashed against the floor, her legs sprawling out to all sides and she fought to catch her breath afterwards. She somehow managed to use Razor Leaf and as she experienced it, it was what got Milky off her. She stared at the miltank wide eyed, her legs shaking under her but refused to back down. She stood as a guard between the terrifying miltank and her fragile but sweet trainer and as a last resort she attempted to send some more leaves flying at Milky to keep her at bay.

"She is tough, and you are right, she will not last much longer I fear," Astrid said grimly, clearly not liking what was happening but she didn't make any move to recall her skiddo. She pressed her lips to a thin line and watched wtih grim determination.

Wordcount: 381
(ooc: Yakul attempts Razor Leaf)