The Cold Never Bothered Me Anyway [F]

[Pixel]

"So this is New Bark Town."

"Yep."

Two figures—a young man and a young woman—stood in front of Elm's lab, the usual place where new trainers got their start. Snow drifted down around them, fluffy flakes collecting on their hair and clothes. However, neither was the fresh-faced sort that one expected to wander into the lab asking about their first pokemon. The young man even had an ivysuar at his side, while the young woman was accompanied by a pokemon completely foreign to Johto—a little dragon called a frigibax.

"I can take it from here, you know. I don't need an escort," the young woman said, her topaz eyes gleaming with mischief. She nudged the young man beside her who was all frowns and awkward shuffling.

"Er, sure. Whatever. I'll, uh, go," he said. 

"Hey, it's fine. Thank you, again, for your help so far. I'll do my best to repay you like I promised I would. So don't look so glum."

"I'm sure you would have been fine. Being a former champion..."

"Champion trainer. It's a little different in Paldea than here. Now go on. I'll be back at the Ranch to help out, and to rest. Y'know, you're really quite the worry wort."

"I'm going."

"Awe, you're blushing!"

"Gone!"

Freya laughed and waved as Adrian retreated, leaving her alone with her companion. Her expression slowly sobered as he vanished from sight, no doubt returning home. He'd used one of his days off from work as an officer to help her find her way here, and there was much to do on the Ranch. Freya arrived in the region a couple weeks ago and had replied to his advertisement online offering free housing to traveling trainers for help around the property. While there, she realized he was a pokemon breeder, and her unique connection with pokemon ended up with her agreeing to help him train up some pokemon for him. 

That...and a certain clefable of his adhered to her like glue. Adrian had a good heart under all the gruffness. When he noticed Star wanted to be with her all the time, he asked Freya to take care of her for him. That clearly she wanted to be with her, at least for now. And how could she say no? Given her own history with clefairy, it felt like fate.

"Well frigibax, let's go inside. We're starting a brand new journey here and I need to register with the pokemon league to get my new trainer card, and I need to pick up a local pokedex since the one I have isn't going to be helping me all that much here." 

<...Whatever...I don't care.>

Freya chuckled, "Grumpy as always. C'mon. I called ahead. Elm said that he had everything ready for me. I bet he'll be really excited to meet you and he mentioned that all trainers that register at the lab get a starter pokemon. i wonder what it will be?"

<Oh goodie, another needy brat.>

"They're not needy. They are just lower level than you."

<Needy! Never had to ever take care of themselves.>

Freya pat his head before walking inside, a gust of wind chasing her in. She shivered and brushed her bangs away from her face, "Hello professor! I am your ten o'clock, Freya Baxton. I'm here about my registration. Oh, and to introduce you to a friend of mine, all the way from Paldea, like I promised." 

She moved with the confident ease of a practiced trainer as frigibax lagged behind, glaring at everyone.

"This is frigibax. She's shy. And a little grumpus!" 

<Desist using that baby voice on me!>

"So grumpy!" she giggled. 

—

Word Count: 613 (+400)  | OOC:

Encounter please!

Placing starter Charmander in Freya's PC for now.

Moving pokemon from Adrian's PC to Freya:
The Paldea starters, frigibax, h. arcanine, clefable,
p. wooper, and orthworm.

Giving her the following items from Adrian:
Ice gem, Loaded Dice, Metronome, 5 Oran berries, 3 Cheri Berries and 4 Lum Berries.

[Avalon]

Freya was far from the usual Trainer that made their way to New Bark Town in search of scheduling some time with the Professor; plenty of aspiring Trainers or those just looking for a fresh start in the Johto Region made their way to the Elm Research Lab in search of time with the man whose research had lead to the discovery of Pokemon Breeding. Unfortunately, not everyone who made their way to the Elm Lab had such positive ends in mind as just having a fresh start or having a bit of fun with their Pokemon.

As Freya entered the lab, she would not receive quite the warm welcome or the beacon of order and prestige that she might have expected from such an esteemed figure. The lab was in a slight sense of disarray, research assistants scrambling to gather items and papers to reorganize them. It was as if a dozen small tornadoes had blown through, scattering the man's hard work across the tile floors. A lanky fellow in a lab coat, the famous Professor Elm, approached Freya, a slightly frazzled look to the otherwise respectable professor.

"Oh, Ms. Baxton. We were expecting you. Sorry about the mess, we had a bit of an incident. Seems like someone broke in earlier this morning and stole one of the Starter Pokemon we had been holding on to," he admitted sheepishly, rubbing at the back of his neck awkwardly. What kind of professor let his research facility get broken into so easily, and to let the thief get away with a rare Pokemon at that? Oak and Rowan sure didn't have to worry about stuff like that happening to them. "Oh, but the one we were holding for you is perfectly safe! And we can still get you signed up for the League, I even have your new Trainer Card all printed out and ready for you!"

With that, he reached into his lab coat and removed the piece of hardened plastic that would make Freya an official Johtonian Trainer. As he did so, his eyes drifted down to the surly little dragon that followed behind Freya, a spare hand darting down slowly to try and pat the icy dragon on its lumpy head. Whether the 'grumpus' would allow the gesture to go unimpeded was up to it, though it would be far from the first time that Elm had been bitten in the line of duty. And definitely not the last.

After a few moments of this, Elm would also hand off the Poke Ball containing Freya's new 'Starter', Charmander, and quickly got her set up for the local League Challenge. With a new friend in tow and her goal before her, Elm was ready to see her off. As he did so, he gave her a quick warning. A Pidgey that they had been researching had gotten loose during the break-in; it would be a bit stronger than most of the local wildlife and might cause some problems, so Freya should probably keep an eye on it.

And almost as if prophesied or written as some kind of cruel joke, after Freya departed from the lab she would very quickly find her path blocked by the rather large and aggressive bird. It was territorially flying in circles, guarding the main pathway out of town with furious squawks and chirps. It seemed as if her first roadblock in Johto had made itself known.

Some punk let a wild Pidgey (Level 7) loose in the Elm Lab.
What will Freya do?

Shiny?E8pNJgL71-421-42

[Pixel]

Oh wow. It was a mess in here!

Freya's smile became a more serious expression as she gingerly stepped over paperwork and other scattered items on the floor. Frigibax followed and huffed as she looked at all the clutter.

<This Professor Elm seems like a quack.> 

"Oh shush," she booped her Baxy's snoot before turning to the professor and listening to his explanation. A thief?! Her eyes widened and she covered her mouth. "What?! How dare someone do something so villainous! You said it happened earlier today? Well, they might still be close by. I will do my best to find them and put an end to their behavior."

Freya puffed her cheeks, offended on Elm's behalf at this point. Especially at the mention of a pidgey getting loose. No doubt it was terribly upset as well if it made a mess of the lab like this! She did manage to keep herself reasonably calm as the Professor gave her the trainer card, the starter she was promised and her registration was finished. When Elm, like anybody with a fascination with pokemon would do, tried to pat the frigibax, she growled and did indeed bite him. 

"Baxy! Don't be so mean, he's having a hard day."

<Bah, he deserved it for touching me.>

"Sorry, professor. She's not very socialized yet. I have to bribe her with food to even tolerate me as much as she does. She's really stubborn, but we're working on our partnership. Sorta. I am working on our partnership and she's biting me less!" With pleasantries done, she said her goodbye's and left the lab, frigibax following behind, muttering about rude, incompetent professors who didn't know how to keep their hands to themselves.

Of course, that was when the buff pidgey appeared in their path and made its upset THEIR problem. 

"Oh my Arceus, you really are an angry bird, huh?" Freya said, covering her smile with one hand. She could talk to pokemon, so trying to reason with them when they were like this was a reflex at this point. However, she couldn't leave this apparently super strong bird out here to harass little kids with caterpies, so into a pokeball it needed to go. "Sprig', why don't you help me talk some sense into this pidgey, yeah?"

Since the little bird pokemon wasn't native to Paldea, she wasn't too familiar with what it could do at a glance. But she was confident a certain feline could handle his own long enough for her to get the angry bird into a ball. So she sent out the grass cat, who fluffed up at the sight of a bird and POUNCED.

"Sprig! That is not talking," Freya laughed. "Okay, maybe that's on me. Well, keep it good and distracted, will ya?" She took out a pokeball and tried to catch this local menace for the good of New Bark and its residents.

—

Word Count: 485 (+400)  | OOC:

Scratch + Pokeball
If catches, please use modbar.

[Marchbaby]

The brave Pidgey was not deterred even as Freyja sent out her Sprigatito against it. The grass type feline was unlike any other feline the bird Pokemon had seen as it's green colored skin and large red eyes were nothing like a Meowth that would sometimes be used by young trainers. Pidgey had no clue what the cat was going to try and use the sandy path to it's advantage as it started to kick up a sizable amount of sand towards the young Sprigatito's eyes. The Sand Attack caused no damage but it did make it hard to keep track of the Pidgey as Sprigatito tried to rub it's eyes while closing the distance.

Despite the reduced visibility the young feline was able to still close the distance and swipe the bird with a Scratch attack before making his way back towards Freyja. The ruffled feathers were the worst part of the attack at least at first as Pidgey tried to clean up from the attack. Before it could straighten it's feathers out however Freyja tossed a Pokeball towards it. Pidgey were not great at breaking out of even lowly Pokeballs to begin with but the damage from Scratch was enough that the bird was too weak to even break out of such a weak device.

After three quick shakes the ball clicked shut as Pidgey was captured.

Sprigatito grew 4 levels (3 from victory and 1 from mod bar) and grows to level 9. He learns Bite.


Pidgey was captured, please complete the following code:


[img src="https://play.pokemonshowdown.com/sprites/bw/pidgey.png"]
[b]Pidgey[/b]
Name: [choose]
Gender: [choose]
Level: 7
OT: Freyja Baxton
Moves: Tackle, Sand Attack
Ability: Keen Eye or Tangled Feet
Nature/Personality: [choose]





Scratch Accuracy: 75%: nzefYw2pp_1-100
Critical Hit:
Sprigatito 1 in 16 chance: p_1-16
Scratch Damage: 4-5 p_4-5
100% chance of capture so no roll for capture needed.1-100·1-16·4-5

[Pixel]

Sprigatitto found sand flung into his eyes when he pounced, but that was not enough to deter him from his hunt. His claws struck that little, feathery body and he tried to pin the pidgey beneath him, using all his weight to do so. But alas, any hopes of maybe having a tiny nibble of birdie were promptly quashed by Freya throwing that pokeball and catching the pidgey before any snacking could happen.

Sadness.

He huffed his disappointment and started to groom.

<Spoil sport.>

"Flying types could hurt you, spriggy," Freya said with a sigh, rubbing the back of her neck. 

<Obviously I had things handled.> He rubbed the sand out of his eyes with a prim paw. <One more swipe and that birdie would have found its way into my belly.>

"You don't need to hunt for prey. You have perfectly good pokemon food to eat. And you can get energy from the sun! You're a grass type."

<Oh woe is me, my belly, how it aches. I hunger, mother. I hunger for tasty birdies.> The feline complained with a hint of melodrama, eyes rolling as he flopped onto his side. <It is so very cold out here. I shall wilt. Perish even. Watch me fade away before your eyes from lack of delicious birdie.>

Freya snorted and shook her head, "You. Are a drama king." 

<Lazy and pathetic> Frigibax muttered. <It is not even cold.>

Sprigatitto glared at the little dragon <You are a delight as always, Baxy. So cheerful. Just the absolute life of the party. Puuuuurhaps you would even HAPPIER if you buried yourself in a snowbank and gave us all a break from your presence.>

When the frigibax looked ready to throw hands, Freya quickly returned her grass-type paldea starter and soothed frigibax. "You know how he is, bax. No need to let him get to you."

<He doesn't. I don't care about a single thing that cat has to say. I could breathe on him and he would keel over.> Grumble, grumble.

Crisis seemingly adverted, Freya wiped her brow and started to look around the lab. There was a break in earlier according to the professor, and she, like the good citizen she was, wanted to help find the scoundrel and bring him to justice! The poor man's lab was in disarray because of them. 

Thus Freya started her journey by trying to solve the mystery of who stole from Elm, searching for clues, be they footprints or even dropped wallets. Whatever she could find that might push her in the right direction.

—

Word Count: 429 (+400)  | OOC:

Requesting to  battle that redheaded punk that stole a starter and caused mayhem in Elm's labs!

[Professor Oak]

At the edge of the forest, Silver grappled with a Pokémon he had snatched from Elm's lab in the early hours of the morning. The thrill of the heist still surged in his veins, a potent cocktail of triumph and adrenaline.

With a cunning honed through years of rough-edged experience, Silver knew the art of persuasion with Pokémon all too well. He felt the Totodile's resistance, its sharp claws digging into his arm, its snout snapping futilely at the air. But he remained unfazed.

"Easy now, little one," Silver murmured in a voice as smooth as polished steel, his tone carrying a subtle command that belied his calm exterior. "No need for all that fuss. You're with me now."

The Totodile's movements began to quell, the fiery spark in its eyes softening as if lured by the undercurrent of authority in Silver's words. With practiced finesse, Silver loosened his hold just enough, allowing the Pokémon a semblance of freedom while maintaining an unspoken control.

Snowflakes dusted their surroundings, painting the scene in serene charm that masked the recent illicit activity. The stolen Totodile, a promised gift to one of Elm's newest trainers, now found itself under Silver's unspoken influence.

As he navigated through the dense foliage, a rustle nearby pricked his senses. A warning bell chimed faintly in his mind, alerting him to an imminent encounter. Instinctively, he sought shelter behind a cluster of bushes.

From his vantage point, he watched as Freya, with an air of determination and a glint of justice in her eyes, ventured into the area. Silver observed her meticulous search for clues, her keen eyes scanning the ground with a determination that matched his own. Yet, as she diligently combed the area, Silver couldn't help but admire her tenacity. She was a force to be reckoned with, formidable in her pursuit of truth.

Perhaps it was the pressure of Freya's pursuit or a rare twinge of conscience nudging at his soul, but before he could make his retreat, fate intervened.

A stray pebble skittered from beneath his foot, cascading down the embankment with a clatter that echoed through the silence. Silver cursed inwardly at the slip, his sharp gaze locking with Freya's, who had swiftly turned towards the disturbance.

Their eyes met in an electric moment of realisation and tension, a silent dialogue passing between them — a clash of wills, an unspoken challenge.

A mystery trainer appears with a Totodile [Lv 10].
Weather is clear; light snowfall.

[Pixel]

Freya was indeed a dedicated searcher. Her hunt for this miscreant took her all the way to Cherrygrove, where she was dragged along on a 'tour' by an old man who insisted she take a pair of sneakers with her before letting her leave to chase her latest lead. But from what she learned while there, she determined that the thief had yet to go into town and so it was best to double back and investigate the route with a finer tooth comb. Freya strayed a little further from the path, searching for footprints that left the well-beaten walkways that travelers carved between New Bark and Cherrygrove. She found pokemon prints readily, but the human tracks were just a messy, slushy blur that were getting further obscured by the snowfall. 

"Okay, arcanine, I'm going to need your help here," she said softly, withdrawing a pokeball from her pocket and enlarging the capsule with the press of a thumb. "Help me sniff out any trainers on this route. I haven't seen anyone, but if we find them, they might just be that thief." Freya threw the ball with practiced ease and freed her recently evolved childhood pet. 

The odd, almost statue-like arcanine let out a huff and a howl.

"Let's put that sniffer to good use," she said.

<Looking for people?> he asked, lifting his nose.

<Obviously. That's what she just said> groused the frigibax.

<I can find them!> yipped the arcanine. <Just watch, mama, I can find!>

<She isn't your mother> the little dragon sassed.

<No. She's not my mother, she's my mama.> Arcanine corrected. <Watched mama grow up from little to big! Mama took care of me when I was a pup and now we're adventuring together! It's great. I don't understand why you're not more excited about traveling with her.>

Frigibax didn't answer. She just looked disgruntled as always.

The happy arcanine bounded about in the snow, sniffing around as Freya followed.

They were deep in their search when they both heard it. A tumbling stone. A stray sound that was entirely out of place.

<Mama. I smell a person.> Arcanine said.

Freya nodded and moved towards where that noise came from amongst the branches and bushes, "I know you're there!" She pushed back some limbs and saw the redhead with a totodile at his side. "You're the thief! Ah-ha! I found you!" She pulled out a ball and threw it between them, "Sprig', apprehend this villain with your leafage!"

The puzzled feline looked between the totodile and the human, <I see why you didn't have the puppy handle this, but I'm pretty sure I'm the wrong cat for any sort of 'apprehending'." He yawned then pounced, leaves surging around him as he struck.

—

Word Count: 457 (+400)  | OOC:

Sprig use leafage x2

[Professor Oak]

Silver's pulse quickened as Freya's accusation shattered the tranquility of the moment. Caught in an unexpected spotlight, he felt the weight of her judgmental gaze. His eyes darted, searching for an escape route that didn't exist, trying to contrive a tale that could sidestep the truth without stumbling into outright lies. The accusation lingered like morning frost and he scrambled for words that could melt its chill.

"A thief? How presumptuous," Silver retorted, his voice was composed, masking the internal turmoil. "I'm merely a wanderer enjoying the scenic beauty nature has to offer in winter, much like yourself, I presume."

Silver's mind raced, a gambit of possibilities and consequences swirling in the storm of impending conflict. His gaze flickered to Freya's Sprigatito, the feline Pokémon, adorned in a cloak of verdant leaves, exuded an air of nonchalance. The tension simmered, palpable as the frosty breath that billowed in the wintry air. Totodile, sensing the charge in the atmosphere, tensed and readied itself for what was to come.

"Show them our mettle, Totodile!" Silver's command cut through the charged air. With a swift motion, Totodile leaped into action, meeting the grass-type Pokémon head-on. As Sprig conjured a storm of razor-sharp foliage, Silver's lips curled into a sly grin, his command swift and decisive. "Leer, then Bite!"

Totodile's eyes glinted with an ominous leer, a chilling gaze meant to unnerve its opponent. The tactic was a prelude to the inevitable clash, a strategy to weaken Sprig's resolve before sinking its jaws into the cat-like Pokémon. Yet, Sprig was ready. Leaves swirled around, a flurry of green blades hurtling toward Totodile.

"Stay focused, Totodile!" Silver's voice commanded through the chaos, a steady anchor amidst the elemental clash. His eyes, sharp as flint, never wavered from the battlefield.

Trainer Battle

---

Weather: Clear

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

[attr="class","qkt-wild-pkmn"]
Totodile  LV 10
HP 27% [9/33]

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

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

[attr="class","qkt-trainer-pkmn"]
Sprig  LV 9
HP 54% [15/28]

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

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

Totodile [Torrent]: Normal
Sprigatito [Overgrow]: Normal, -1 DEF

SP19 Sprig used Leafage! -12 dmg
SP16 Totodile used Leer! -1 DEF
SP19 Sprig used Leafage! -12 dmg
SP16 Totodile used Bite! -13 dmg

[Pixel]

"Likely story," Freya said in a disbelieving tone. This punk kinda reminded her of those Team Star kids. The ones who refused to come back to class and instead made their own little clique of type specialists. Freya never interacted with them much. Though she did hear on the grapevine, before she left for Johto, from friends who were still in school, that they were becoming a greater nuisance than before. They were actively recruiting kids. 

Topaz eyes met the stranger's, as spark and bright as the glittering cut sides of the gemstone itself. Her mouth was in a firm line, her hair blowing in the soft breezes, flakes of snow sticking to dark strands. Both of them breathed foggy clouds of white in the crisp cold, like dragons with maws of steam that would later turn to searing smoke. 

Her hands curled. 

"Prove it then!" she called out. "Show me your trainer card!" Even if she couldn't physically stop him, Freya could at least report back to Elm what she found out. "In the meantime, Sprig', keep at it. You've got this!"

The feline had danced with the totodile, landing one sharp strike of leafage before its glare had him bristling. What a nasty look. It made his skin just crawl with its foulness. How could any respectable pokemon make a face like THAT. Sprigattito hissed in disgust, his defenses weakened by his own lapse in guard, distracted by that ugliness. He launched forward against to slap some sense into the totodile and was rewarded with a bite to his unbraced form. YEOWCH! The feline twisted away and landed in a soft, snowy spot closer to his trainer where he licked his paw furiously.

"Are you okay?" Freya asked. The feline shook his paws and tested it.

<Fine. That clumsy beast thinks he has bested me, no doubt. But I shall rectify that notion.> Sprig' growled, fluffed up even bigger. Freya cheered him on. She watched the grass cat leap onto the totodile again and attempt to end this battle with another leafy strike.

Freya looked back up at her foe, "So? Where did you get the totodile? It's just you and me out here right now, and nobody else has gotten a starter from Elm today. That's why...I believe you are the thief!" She stood her ground. It was possible she was wrong, but Freya wanted to believe she had sorted out this puzzle quite deftly. 

—

Word Count: 408 (+400)  | OOC:

Sprig use leafage
Use modbar

[Tiki]

Silver's eyes glared at Freya, as if his gaze wasn't already glaring anyways. "I don't need to prove anything to you. Unless you're the officer, then who do you think you are? Tch!" The trainer verbally bounced back the metaphorical ball back to the new trainer. He kept his hand in his pants pocket as he was resisting the urge to use physically fight the interrogator young woman.

"Why do you care how I got my Totodile? It's a gift." He replied bluntly and coldly, as his exhaled and formed a temporary smoke in the air. "A gift from fortune, or fate." was likely what he was thinking. "I'm not asking how did you get your strange Arcanine when you've just left Professor Elm's lab either, am I? I hope you realize I could ask you the same question." With his hand still in his pocket, he leaned forward a little, as if to point at the Arcanine with his entire body.

"Maybe--" He spoke a little seriously. "YOU'RE the thief!"

He leaned back and stood back straight, laughing for a few seconds before focusing back into the battle. "What a funny joke. Maybe you should catch a Mr. Mime and be a comedian. Now, Totodile, scratch!"

The young amphibian galloped forward on its two little feet stomping on the snowy ground, readying to scratch the aromatic cat with its claws. Instead, the cat released a flurry of leaves once again at the Totodile, knocking it out.

"Tch, use this money to get some clown clothes." The redhead returned his fainted Pokemon and then turned around, disappearing into the snowy landscape.

---

Sprigatito gained 3 levels and is now Level 12!
+1 Level from bar, now Level 13!
He can learn Hone Claw and Magical Leaf, delete a move?

Silver dropped £300 after losing being out of practice!