It's been a couple days since Liberty turned 10 years old. She got her Pokémon license and picked up her starter Pokémon; a Cubone named Relic. With a smile on her face, a readiness to explore the region, and an eagerness to learn what it means to be a Pokémon trainer, Liberty has started off towards the path with her two friends and their Pokémon.

(Those friends would be you, Chris and Will! :) Figure who you'll be and what Pokémon you start with.)

Jake also happens to be 10.  His starter pokemon is a vulpix named Joey.  He's not really into all the combat related stuff, but Joey sure is.  Believes that there's a world of damsels in need of rescuing or something.  Jake is more interested in technology.  His pokedex for example.  Which he's already hacked some.  It now doubles as an MP3 player!  Wooo!

  How come so many Pokedex lack information even starter pokemon anyways?

  Clearly fuzzy fire types are popular, because Joe ended up with a Growlithe named OH HEY WHAT'S THAT OVER THERE.

  Oh, it was our imagination.

  "Aren't rock and water gyms usually first thing?  Maybe we can take it easy unless our pals want to get right at it."

Liberty says, "I heard it's best not to even try a gym until you've gotten at least a couple dozen or more battles under your belt. Besides... water isn't a good idea to try out first thing for your fire types... right?"

"Yeah.  Prolly best to focus on capturing a couple pokemon of each type first thing.  Especially plant type if we're going up against a water gym first.  Problem is with fire types we might knock plant types out too easily."

  Max "This is what headbutts are for."  "...What about the rocks?"  "That depends if helmets are cheating."

  While Joe has a more casual 'eh, they fight if they feel like it' outlook on driving pokemon under his care into battle, Max will probably feel like it.

A wild bellsprout appears!

Bellsprout: "Alright, you bunch of wannabes! Let's see if you got what it takes!"

The bellsprout is hopping from side to side with it's leaves curled in a "dukes up" pose.

Liberty looks at the others. "...alright, so who goes first?"

Joey steps forward, putting himself in front of the others.

"Never fear, friends!  I shall defend thee from this foul villain!"

Jake skews his lips.  "No call for being rude, Joey..."

  "Maybe the bellsprout is just very enthusiastic?"  "Have Relic do it, they'll never suspect the non fire one of us."   It remains to be seen if Max is either good, or bad, at strategy.

Liberty shrugs. "Despite the saying "knock yourself out", don't. The object is to knock out your opponent."

Relic doesn't say anything. Then again, cubones aren't known to be talkative.

The bellsprout opens with a vine whip on Joey! "You'll find I'm not an easy foe, you cutesy internet icon!"

"Nor shalt thou find me without bite to my bark, fiend!"

Joey retaliates with a scratch attack!

"Cutesy internet icon?" Jake echoes, beginning to fiddle with his smart phone, "Oh right.  Firefox.  This one sure has fighting spirit.  But I thought we were trying to capture it, not knock it out.  So yeah, uh, keep doing what you're doing, Joey.  Uhm...  When am I supposed to throw the ball at it?"

  The random man on the street survey for internet icons happened to be Raikoo.  So of course Vulpix was their choice.  In other news, LOLCats is destroyed as collateral damage between Renamon and Krystal in an internet popularity battle.

  "When it looks like you are totally winning, but before it self destructs."  Do bellsprouts even have that move?...  Joe would assume yes there, even with a magikarp.

During the fight, just as the bellsprout is about to pass out, Liberty yells, "Now, Jake! Use the pokéball!"

Should he use it, the bellsprout gets captured!

Jake's pokedex makes a strange modulated sound ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7NrFdfQdFk ) and displays information on his newest "friend."

"So uh... is it bad form to talk to it before we take it to be healed up at a poke-center?"

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you," Joey answers, licking his wounds.

"Right.  Directly to a poke-center it is, then."

He heads off.

  "Does this mean Wild pokemon I beat unconscious, we just leave laying there?"  "I have no idea, but I can't think of a time somebody's brought one to the pokecenter either."

After healing up Joey and the bellsprout at the pokécenter, Jake soon has the bellsprout out and about.

The bellsprout "dusts himself off" with his leafy appendages. "Well... nicely fought, vulpix."
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:04, Tue 27 Aug 2013.

Joey nods to the bellsprout.

"Likewise, sir.  Thou art a worthy adversary.  The name is Joey.  And this is M'Lord Jake."

Jake blushes a little.  "I'm not royalty."

"I try to see the nobility in all, my friend."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:03, Tue 27 Aug 2013.

   Max was about to correct the Bellsprout (though he totally could have kicked their... Wait, does a Bellsprout even have an ass?), but then reality corrected itself.

  "Joey is surprisingly optimistic, but then I guess we do try to not be completely horrible examples."

The bellsprout says, "My name is Humfry."

Liberty says, "And I'm Liberty. This is Relic, Joe, and Max."

Humfry says, "So I'm Jake's pokémon now, eh? Alrighty. Maybe I can help you guys find more pokémon to join your team. There's plenty of bellsprouts in the area you found me. Along with some weedles and caterpi."

OOC: ...surprised the clash of Joe and Joey hasn't come up in RP before. Magically, Chris' paladin has never been in the same team as one of Will's many Joes.

"Well met, sir Humphrey!  I thank thee for the helpful tip.  I do believe the plan was to capture at least six pokemon per human."

Jake nods and fiddles with his pokedex, looking up the bug types mentioned.

"So maybe we should have a plan or something next time.  Like... at least who's turn it is to do the capturing."

  "We go by which one of us they insult more, if Humfry is any indication?  Or would that be just silly?"  "Not any more silly than me wanting less flamable partners, considering I'd have to beat them up first."

  Growlithes and Sandshrews, Version red buddies!

OOC: Fun Fact.  I started using Joe more than Matt not just because Joe was usually my more Humanish characters (reploids count!), but because of "Matt the Mobian hanging out with Matt Seth's Human".

Liberty shrugs. "We should have a rotation. I'd like to be next, if that's OK..."

"If you're worried about hurting your future allies too much, why not stick to normal, non-fire attacks like Joey did?" Jake suggests.

"I'm sure Humfry didn't mean any offense by his challenge," Joey offers, "You going next is fine with me, Liberty."

  Joe shrugs,  "Go for it, no particular reason not to that I can think of."  This is Pokemon, having the result be 'I got a rock' means you are probably coming out ahead something that can cause earthquakes.

Fast forwarding a bit, the trio wind up bumping into wild Pokémon. Liberty winds up catching a caterpie while Joe manages to catch a weedle. Liberty's caterpie has an adorable voice (Like Catbug: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnZdiR7YbN4 ). The caterpie interduces himself as "Kozak the Ninja" and seems excited about "perfecting his skills" under Liberty.

After some trial and error, the group eventually has to make camp. By now, they have each caught 2 Pokémon (in addition to starters).

Liberty's current Pokémon:
Relic (Cubone Male Lvl 4)
Kozak the Ninja (Caterpie Male Lvl 2)
Rina (Nidoran Female Lvl 2)

Liberty finishes setting up the tent while the boys finish gathering wood and setting a fire. "Camp with my buddies... this is fun!"

Kozak says in his adorable voice, "I can hide in the grass and keep an eye out for intruders..."

Rina just kind of rolls her eyes.

---

OOC: Up to you guys what you caught out there, but I'd recommend lowbie Pokémon such as Pidgey, Spearow, Nidoran, and other such.

Fun fact... this was Liberty's Pokémon when I last logged into Pokémon Saga:

Relic (Cubone L-32) <-- Always her starter. Played by me.
Deadeye (Houndoom L-25) <-- Played by Kalinka/Jim Roessel
Thunderbolt (Lupion L-65) <-- Played by Rick/Zero
Sissy (Jigglypuff L-18) <-- Another "caught" NPC played by me.
Faia (Typhlosion L-54) <-- Played by a player not me, but dunno more than that.
Firestreak (Charizard L-40) <-- Played by Razorwind
Dire (Snubbull L-7) <-- Another "caught" NPC played by me.
Piro (Charizard L-36) <-- Played by a friend of Rick's.

Jake wound up with a Weedle named Buzzkill who was eager to pick up a trainer but only if he proved his pokemon to be worthy opponents.  Fire pokemon prove handy for starting a campfire of all thins.  Jake helps with the tent and smiles at Lib's comment.

"My family camps together a lot.  It's lots of fun."

Buzzkill nods to Kozak.  "Intruders will regret crossing us!"

  In a surprise to nobody (in the OOC sense), Joe ended up with a Pidgey going by Superbird.  Said bird was still convinced he totally would have won had Max not finally managed to hit a flying target.  "Your aim is terrible, pidge.  I suppose you coulda taken down plant boy, but I did it after being lit on fire."   Superbird had wizened up and did more than just leer the entire fight trying to annoy his enemy into submission on his post catch test run.

  "I can not learn to shoot sun lasers fast enough..."  Don't worry Megasaurd, Max and Superbird will be begging for your help once those rock and water gyms turns up.

Rina looks at Megasaurd and says, "Well when you do, lemme know how you did learn to do that."

A few stories later at the campfire, Liberty turns in for the night.
Around midnight, Buzkill and Kozak (and any others who took night shift) spot what looks like a Pokémon lurking about in the shadows.

Buzzkill shoots his sticky silk strings at the perceived enemy!

"Intruder!"

Jake wakes to the noise and hurries to investigate.

  Superbird meant to fall out of that tree, honest.

  Joe wakes with a facepalm, as Max and Megasaurd try to decide if this is worth enthusiasm or falling back to sleep.

  "They must be very bored intruders if we are worth their attention."

"Nice shot!" Kozak compliments as Buzzkill's string hits its mark!

Liberty sits up and rubs at her eyes with her fists.
Relic looks unamused. Oh wait... cubones ALWAYS look unamused.
Rina is barely awakened.

The intruder is revealed to be an Eevee and his big, watering eyes as he looks like he's going to cry.

"State your business, Intruder!" Buzzkill demands.

"Now now, Buzzkill," Jake gently reprimands, "No need to be so forceful with someone in obvious need of help."

He turns to the Evee.  "My name is Jake.  Me and my friends are on a Pokemon journey.  You look upset.  How can I help you?"

Joey and Humfry wake and investigate.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:02, Tue 07 Jan 2014.

  Max and Megasaurd decide the answer is 'go back to sleep', and do so.

  Superbird rights himself and hops over, "I'm going to guess sticky stuff all over his fur is the problem, pidge.  It's such a hassle to clean."

  Joe wonders if Crying lowering someone else's defense is A Thing with pokemon?  Wait, no, that's everyone.

The Eevee responds, "I'm hungry... and I smelled food here."

Liberty says, "I can spare some food." and goes to pick up the Eevee. She feeds the Eevee before bothering to untangle him. "What's your name?"

"My name is Ever." the Eevee responds between bites.

"Well don't Ever intrude on our territory again," Buzzkill warns.

"Glad we could help," Jake says, offering water and another bite, "Nice to meet you."

Joey nods and Humfry shrugs and goes back to sleep.

  "Buzzkill will headbutt all trespassers into submission, pidge."  Well, not all of them.  After all Ever has escaped cranial trauma via cranial trauma.

  "Where do you normally get your food anyways, when not hoping to get some that's already prepared?"

"Normally, I eat berries from the berry bushes." Ever responds. "Don't headbutt me; I have a soft skull. Thanks for the food... Can I be untangled now?"

Liberty says, "I don't see why not..."

"I'd offer to help, but... I doubt fire is a welcome solution to your sticky situation," Joey says.

Jake looks stumped too.  Buzzkill looks proud of himself when Superbird affirms his guardian prowess.  He sweatdrops at the soft skull comment and begins eating the thread he used to bind Ever.

"If you'd like a consistent food supply and exceedingly protective friends, you could always join us," Jake suggests.

  "Yes, we are only violent maniacs occasionally." Joe comments, as Superbird disdainfully flaps a wing.  "Pidge, I got lit on fire and didn't complain."   at least not enough that his selective memory couldn't ignore it.  "None of us here can attack with gumdrops and rainbows in case someone is sensitive"

"Well good for you." Ever retorts to Superbird, "Not ALL of us can be crazy maniacs who enjoy being on fire. But personally, I don't like pain."

He then looks at Jake. "Really? I can join you? I'd like that..."

Liberty says, "Sure. Though you did just admit you aren't one for combat."

Ever asks, "What does that have to do with it?"

"Generally speaking those who team up are expected to contribute to the group," Joey explains, "And Pokemon usually contribute to their partnerships with Humans by fighting for them.  Did you have something else in mind to contribute to earn your keep?"

"Probably was planning on 'look cute and fluffy,'" Buzzkill grumbles.

"Some Pokemon do just that," Jake says, "But considering we're not really looking for house pets, a contribution would be appreciated, yeah."

  "Maybe he's good at moral support?  At least one of us not in it for punching things that try to punch us first-" Or are part of sanctioned punch badge events "Probably couldn't hurt."

  Or they could make Ever learn all those skills to get past bushes and rocks and stuff you keep hearing about blocking paths between towns that somehow keep showing up and you wonder where it all went wrong when you realize your starter knows Cut, Lift, Flash, and TV Guide.

Ever says, "Well what do you humans do? I don't ever see humans actually fight Pokémon. Maybe I could contribute the same way humans do?"

Liberty says, "I... don't know that a Pokémon is allowed to have Pokémon."

Jake shrugs.

"Humans provide guidance and leadership," Joey explains, "From what I've heard, their coaching improves a Pokemon's abilities much more quickly and holistically than they would have grown in the wild.  Allowed or not, I've never heard of a Pokemon that could do that for other Pokemon any more than I've heard of a Human who can breathe fire...  No wait.  Some Humans do breathe fire.  Um...  Wow.  I can't think of one thing a Pokemon can do that Humans can't do for themselves with their technology or special talents.  Gosh.  Humbling."

  "Something about us suggesting stupid strategies they wouldn't think of in the first place, that somehow work.  As for punching pokemon ourselves, it's a fine line between 'I would feel bad stepping on this Evee that barely comes up to my shins' and 'Crushed by Charizard'."  Though slapstick cartoon physics means they can at least 'faint' instead of get vaporized.  Probably.

  He looks to Joey and asks "Where do they sell the ACME spontaneous Evolution kit then?"

Liberty says, "...Joe has a point. Pokémon can evolve before your eyes. Humans can't."

Ever says, "How about I just come along and if I'm not helpful enough, you can let me know."

"Human evolution is much more gradual and subtle aside from the results," Joey answers, "You're much bigger and stronger than you were at half your age.  And from what I hear you Humans have evolved as a group over generations with new ideas and technology driving you forward."

He nods to Ever.  "If anyone can figure out a way for you to contribute without fighting it'll be Humans."

  Joe just doesn't feel like leaving behind a named character until they have shown to be as pointless as they are an adorable fuzzy.  But that's not quite 'figure out a way to be useful'.

  "Being able to shove a bicycle in your pocket can be somewhat convenient."  And water pokemon do not have catering line a cruise ship does.  Honestly though Joe's often had to try to not think to hard about the world situation.

Liberty says, "Well for now, let's get back to sleep..."

Ever curls up near Liberty and sleeps.

The next day, Ever is still there, having not run off. Liberty starts showing Ever how to help disassemble the tents and other useful campsite setup/tear-down stuff.

Rina says, "So... is Ever anyone's Pokémon? Or is he just someone following us around?"

Liberty says, "Nobody has 'caught' him. Which brings up something important... if one of us doesn't 'capture' him, then he's up for grabs to whatever passerby who wants him."

"Good point, Liberty," Jake says, "If ever there was a case where the Pokemon chose the Human, this is it, Ever.  Seems you've taken a liking to Liberty, but if you'd rather officially team up with me or Joe, let us know and we can make that happen."

  "I guess just letting people assume otherwise is out then." Let's see, one had their enthusiastic poke pals attack them, one is sorta shrug, and the other fed them.  Who would be surprised by a Liberty bias?

It comes as little surprise the softy goes for Liberty. Wait. Wasn't Liberty supposed to be the hardcore one in the group?

Either way, Ever makes his choice and Liberty captures the Eevee. Ever makes a minor attempt to befriend the other Pokémon and the other two humans. Kozak just wants to show off his ninja skills, so he's easy to please. Rina seems to be ambivalent. Relic is completely unsocial.

"Assuming that others will assume something seems like a big risk to me," Jake answered Joe.

Joey is friendly with Ever, but the other two seem to have little respect for a non-combat Pokemon.

  Superbird doesn't give Ever too hard a time about not wanting to do sweet dropkicks, because he's smart enough to know the little 'pacifist' Evee is totally going to end up a late blooming powerhouse with a grudge.  Just look at Magikarps, oh sure they flop around but SUPERBIRD IS ONTO THEM!

  Now that he's staying awake, Max is happy to have another fuzzy wuzzy pokemon around.  Megasaurd is just glad it's not the nth pokemon on the team plant type is weak too.

  "I keep forgetting I'm not allowed to make assumptions like they do about us all the time."

Ever is friendly to those who are not unfriendly to him.

The group gets to a bustling city. Their first gym challenge is supposed to be here. Liberty says, "Wow. Arrived by noon! Let's go to a restaurant and order some food! I'm hungry!"

Jake's tummy grumbles.  "Yes.  Lets."

Joey tail-wags.  "Human cities never cease to impress me."

"So... what kind of gym are we going up against?" Buzzkill asks.

  Joe could assume it was a Rock themed Gym, but instead he opts to look for signs pointing to or at the gym.  Or an obviously themed town name.

  "Remembering to eat does seem like a good idea, yeah."

Liberty pulls up her Pokédex. "According to the guide, the rock gym is what we'll be up against."

A restaurant is soon found and the group enters to eat. "Rock.. which is weak against plant types. I suppose they knew we would start out with mostly plant type, since we came from the grassy areas just south of here."

Kozak says, "Fwoosh! Shwaaaa! We'll show that gym what we're made of!"

Jake's bellsprout Humphrey pops out of his pokeball!

"You said it, Kozak!  I can't wait to get started!"

Jake sweatdrops.  "Your enthusiasm is impressive, but be careful not to be overconfident.  Gym members will likely be aware of their weaknesses and will have prepared accordingly."

  "I'm not so sure about 'mostly plant types', despite it being a forest we've only notice like, two of them."<brown>  He nods to Jake, <brown>"Just because walking boulders are somehow weak against leaves, doesn't mean it is not a walking boulder trying to mash your face in."

  "Hopefully they are too stupid to close their mouth when I throw leech seeds at it.  Side effects of ingesting leech seeds may include dizziness, nausea, headaches, and death fainting."  Megasaurd is looking forward to actually fighting something not strong against plant? you don't say.

Ever says, "I'm not sure I'll ever understand why most Pokémon get so excited about fighting."

Liberty says, "Most humans too."

Ever plants his face in Liberty's side.

Rina says, "If it boils down to Ever being our last hope..."

Liberty says, "He'll pull through for us. But that will likely be in a situation when it really matters. Getting a gym badge? Not a big deal. Can always train and come back for it later. Getting hurt, kidnapped, or even killed by Team Rocket? Not something you can bounce back from so easily. And if Ever's our last hope then? I'll expect him to do exactly as I tell him: Run and get help."

Kozak says, "Don't worry yourself, Rina! We'll win this fight!"

"I don't understand why you don't get excited about fighting!" Humphrey counters.

Jake shrugs.  "In the long run the gym badge could mean the difference between having the advancement that was needed to fight off Team Rocket.  So success rather than setback is good.  Even from a purely survivalist mindset."

Hopefully by now he has something to nom on.  He's happy to share with anyone who shows interest in tasting what he got.

  Superbird chirps,  "Look guy, your common sense is great and all, but common sense means no shiny objects of nebulous value for casual acts of violence.  Think of the shiny objects, chirp."

  Joe wonders if they will be dealing with creepy rocket or incompetent rocket.  Probably both.

Liberty is the same about her own order of food (sharing it, that is). Orders do arrive and food is had. Soon after, though, Liberty smiles and stands. "Well I'm ready when you guys are!"

Scene flip:
The group arrives at the rock gym. There is some kid waiting there near the entrance. He smirks. "You can't hope to face the gym leader unless you can defeat my Pokémon! Now which one of you is planning to try my skills first?"

Battle music ensues!

"How do you expect to grow stronger if you don't fight?" Buzzkill asked in surprise.

When the rock gym kid throws down the gauntlet, Humphrey busts out of his pokeball and answers, "That would be me!"

"Buzzkill, I choose you!" Jake says, throwing the appropriate pokeball.

"Wait, what?!"

Out pops the weedle.   "Buzzkill!"

"But..."

"Buzzkill!  Trip 'em up with your silk strands attack!"

"But..."

"Bonzai!"

"Hey!  I'm really good at fighting rock types!"

"Yes," Jake answers, "And your teammates are good at helping you win."

"I don't really need the help.  I can handle this myself!"

"There's no 'I' in 'team.'"

"...Huh?"

  "While I won't say you couldn't beat this guy yourself,  it's a little more questionable if you could beat all of them yourself Humphrey."

  "Pidge, these idiots won't even know what an accuracy stat is when I'm done with them.

Because the "trainer at the entrance of a gym" is just someone to throw XP at the players and/or serve as a warm-up before the REAL fight, Jake wins without much effort.

"Wow... looks like I underestimated you! I need to train harder!" the trainer exclaims and runs off.

Before you all is Brock the Rock, leader of the Pewter City gym. "Welcome to my gym." Brock says, "You all are going to need to decide who goes first."

Liberty looks at her friends. "Say... I have a thought. We each take turns being first at the gyms. Jake and I are the same age, so maybe we go by last name?" she realizes that would put her last, but she just wants to be fair and she would go first eventually.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:07, Tue 21 Jan 2014.

"I... wasn't saying I could take on the whole gym..." Humphrey answered bashfully.

"If you like I could give some...  advice," Jake said to his quickly disappearing opponent before addressing his allies, "Boy.  He sure left in a hurry.  I get the feeling he didn't know plant types are strong against rock types."

He nods to Lib.

"Taking turns sounds fair.  I'd recommend Megazurd's team first if we want the highest chance of success."

  "Looks like it." He's a bit hazy on if they get to share badges or something, but hey going first is a change of pace for his more reactionary tendencies when it comes to the whole BATTLE CRITTERS thing.

  Max shrugs, "Guess I'll enjoy the show."

  Joe looks to Brock, the eyeless wonder.  "Seems like I'm going to be taking you on first, so far as me standing here offering moral support counts there."

  Superbird wing salutes, and steps up first.  "Operation Huge Jerk is go, Pidge.  Avenge my concussion induced fainting."    "I guess, don't go down on the first swing and embarrass yourself or anything."  Megasaurd drones as the bird gets ready to do two things, dodge slow rock idiots as much as possible, and spam accuracy debuffs until it gets old or he takes a boulder to the face.

Brock waits for Joe to enter the arena and then begins the match. "Geodude! Dig!" and his geodude burrows into the ground! Brock folds his arms. "Pokémon battles are not always about what type is better, but also about strategy. No plant type can attack a Pokémon who used dig until it comes back to the surface."

Jake can't help but think on the more practical uses of "dig" than avoiding attacks.  Mining, tilling soil for agriculture, excavating foundations for new buildings, tunneling for highways....

"As useful as that ability is, it does have it's limitations."

Pokemon who can fly can dodge it then immediately retaliate for example.  Leech seed continues to work for another.  Jake's Pokemon cheer Superbird on.

  Joe looks to Megasaurd and asks "Is he right about that?"  The bulbasaur shrugs, "That depends on if we go by common sense logic, or video game logic."  That Dragoon jumped!  Now how is that flying helicopter supposed to shoot him!?

  Superbird manages to fly and facewing at the same time.  "Chirp, he stole my idea about being annoying.  How dare he."

Jake is forgetting something; Geodudes don't have feet and hove aloft. Which means when this geodude bursts from the ground, he dashes at the face-winged Superbird.

Liberty is tense as she watches the fight, hoping for her friend's victory.

"Watch out, Superbird!" Joey warns.

"It's not against the rules to warn our friend... about something he was expecting anyway... is it?" Jake asks.

  Superbird drops like a rock, which narrowly avoids the rock, sent by Brock, we are running this into the ground, which is often made or rock.

  "Pidge, Superbird used being cooler than you.  Geodude's accuracy fell, but it wasn't very good to begin with."

Brock says, "Sockem! Rollout!" and with that, Geodude then begins rollin' like a boulder at Superbird. And will continue to do so several times, hit accuracy and damage increasing with each attempt by a factor of 2.

Liberty glances at Jake, "I... think it's OK? Maybe?"

"Ugh, rollout!" Humphrey groans, "Your only chance now is to knock him out fast before he gains momentum."

"That would discribe most of these battles," Jake comments.

  "Oh, well that's not good.  You want to back out now or take one for the tea-"  "SUPERBIRD WAS PIDGING CALLED BACK SWEET PIDGING PIDGE! "  It was rather bizarre watching the Geodude 'roll' After the bird flying up by the ceiling, but Joe yoinks Superbird out of the way with his hardly used Pokeball right before they can get flattened against a florescent light (Rock and Electric at the same time, that would really suck for a bird).

  "Guess I am up then, this could sting a bit."  Megasaurd walks into battle, as the Geodude's cumlative attack power slams into his face.  "Or not.  Type differences are a censored, aren't they Rocky." The Bulbasaur drones (somewhat muffled by the rock pokemon fist), as he goes to vine whip grab it's arms, intent on seeing if you can spin a rock type hard enough to make it puke pebbles.

Brock's geodude gets hit. Vine whip is super effective and takes a 3rd of geodude's hp. But rollout continues and hits twice as hard as before! ....thankfully, it will only be able to attack one more time after this.

Liberty is holding her fingers to her mouth, looking anxious and nervous.

Brock says, "The battle isn't over yet!"

The geodude didn't puke pebbles. But the fact he's still using rollout is just a testament to that power... or its users.

Humphrey is excited now that Megazaurd is in the fight.  "Vine whip!  That'll teach 'im!"

And when vine whip is used, "Yeah!"

"I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be Megazaurd's human giving the tactical..." Jake begins.

And when vine whip is used, "Well... I guess I was wrong."

"You got 'im right where you want 'im!  You can let his roll out pull you in to add momentum to your headbutt!"

  "Well, Megasaurd used vine whip on his own before any advice so why say no to a good thing?"  This said as he pops open Superbird's ball, the Pidgey landing on his shoulder.

  "I guess I could do that.  Or I could do this instead of smashing my face into a rock."  Is s Mule Kick even a move in Pokemon?  Cause Megasaurd is totally going for that instead of headbutting a boulder, even with type differences involved.

Another third of HP taken. Then geodude's rollout hits maximum damage! Should Megasaurd get hit with it, that will hurt rather badly.

Liberty says, "You're doing great! Just hang in there!"

Brock says nothing as he inwardly braces for geodude's defeat.

Jake is surprised Brock hasn't used a healing potion yet but figures he must be bound by league regs to not use items during badge battles.

"A potion might not be a bad idea right now."

"Awesome!" Humphrey cheers, "Did Megazurd just invent a new move?!  We're witness to history in the making, everyone!"

Joey headshakes.  "Pokemon can fight with more than just what's on a moves list."

"Really?  I didn't know that," Jake says.

"Yeah.  But generally anything not on the move list is usually weaker than what is.  I can wag my tail, but until I learn the move, wagging my tail won't do much of anything in combat."

  Megausaurd learned Flavor Text, the audience is confused.  The Audience hurt itself in confusion, that can't be good for our show ratings.

  Joe knows the Bulbasaur is doing well overall, but he somewhat suspect victory will also involve Brock [airquotes]fighting kids younger than he is[/airquotes] and going easy on them.  Unless they don't, and his Dad is right about things like that Gym full of Ninja's being made up of a bunch of wusses.

  Either way, Vine whip strikes again.

The geodude goes down. Brock then calls out ONIX! So... flying boulder about 2 feet in diameter replaced by 15-foot tall rock snake monster.

Liberty gulps... she had never seen an Onix in person before.

Jake's eyes go wide and he staggers back several steps with a gasp.  Knowing all the nerdy data on Onyx didn't prepare him for meeting one in person.  Joey scurries to stand protectively in front of his humans.  More to calm them down than for any worry that they're in any danger.

"Rock on!" humphrey cheers, "Get 'im, Megazurd!  The bigger they are, the harder they fall!"

  Well of course a Gym leader would have at least more than one pokemon.  The question now is Megasaurd dealing with both of them.  At the very least, leech seed should help drag out a loss if it doesn't make the monotone plant more likely to win.

The Onyx charges at Magazurd, letting out a roar that shakes the arena! Brock isn't giving commands, it seems.

Liberty is calmed a little by Joey's actions. If partly because a cute little vulpix standing defensively made her squee inside. However, that is one impressive roar and Liberty shakes a little, but refuses to let the Onyx's intimidating presence keep her from being ready to aid her friends.

"Leech Seed!" Humphrey cheers, clearly a fan, "You got 'im now, Megazurd!"

Jake is rattled by Onyx, but is trying to keep a brave face.

"Shesh," Jake comments, "How are we expected to win this?"

"Train your Pokemon till they're tough enough," Joey figures.

"Meanwhile Brock trains his.  What if my pokemon can never close the gap?"

"Uh..."

"Then I'll take him down!" Humphrey boasts.

  So, big serpentine creature with a relation to minerals.  Megasaurd knows what he must do.

  Ride that sucker like a Sandworm!  Probably not the most damaging use of vine whip ever, but priorities man.  "How do I even know about that movie enough that I am doing this?"  Because shut up.

  Joe comments "Well, at least we'll get a moral victory either way?"

Brock literally pulls out a notepad and jots down a note. The Onyx, of course, gladly takes Megazurd on a ride. Straight to the ceiling to be squashed.

Liberty covers her mouth in anticipation of what may happen.

"Look out!" Humphrey shouts.

Jake gasps and winces, looking away, expecting Megazurd to wind up a splatter on the ceiling.  The mass and speed of something that size would be enough to flatten a building, let alone something made of organic material.  Joey, however, is unconcerned, knowing full well that physics like that simply do not apply to pokemon.

“Don't worry, he'll be fine.  At worst he'll be knocked out.  Hang in there, Megazurd!”

   "Mega, do the obvious!"  There are two ways this can go.  There is the awesome way following 'The Cartoon never obeyed the rules anyways' logic,  and then there is the boring way.

  Fitting with his font type, Megasaurd goes with the boring way, as he simply drops off the side like a vine based bungee jump.  "Totally worth it."

  Meanwhile, In A Rules Are As Consistent As The Cartoon Reality.

  Megasaurd coils up more vines above him like a giant spring, causing the sudden violent collision with the ceiling to recoil and smash the Onyx's face through the floor.  "Physics is highly selective!

Brock says, "Tailwhip!" and the Onyx swings its tail at the falling Magazurd!

Liberty glances at Joey and goes to pick Kozak up and hold him like a cat. Though seems she is doing so partially for comfort. Kozak wiggles.

Humphrey seems perfectly happy with Megazurd's boring tactic.

"Ha!  That's showin' 'im, Megazurd!  Tail whip aren't nothing to vine whip!"

Jake sweatdrops at Joe's tactical command.  At least he's communicating to his pokemon at all.  Progress?

  Wait, how literal are we taking mechanics?  It gets sort of hazy, but either way it's probably a good thing Leech seed is feeding Megasaurd more health after that Onyx tail makes for a rougher landing than intended.

  "So, thoughts?"     "Worth it"  "Figured as much.  Just shoot him already."  "...I completely remembered I can do that."  Yes, Megasaurd in no way forgot he can shoot razor leaves at Onyx faces, that would be crazy.

Onyx is proving to be a lot sturdier than Geodude was. His idea of "vulnerable to plants" is to roar in anger when hit instead of near-dying. He then uses dig. Fun fun.

Liberty continues to watch, eyes glued on the fight before her.

(OOC: Basically, was planning for "Onyx either wins, or comes real close", but Onyx is the only Pokemon left for you to fight)

Humphrey continues to be riveted by the battle and cheers Megazurd on.

Jake calms down a little when a direct hit from a ten ton tail isn't even worth an "ouch" from Megazurd.

"Looks like you were right, Joey.  This will take some take some getting used to."

  It's a long drawn out fight, but in the end even with the advantage of Type Difference Megasaurd is no match for the Onyx's HUGENESS Stat.  For what little it's worth, Joe calls the droning voiced plant dino back before they get knocked out.

  "I know it's in the rules and all, but 'I have more Pokemon than you' this still feels a little bit like cheating.  Either way.  MAX!"  Joe's first murder beast buddy steps out into battle.  "Nudge him!"

  Max facepaws with one paw, and pokes the Onyx in an eye with the other.  Onyx's Eyes Water!  Onyx's Eyes watering was super effective! Onyx has fainted!

  "I can't believe that worked.  If it's okay with you, can I pick up whatever badges that would qualify me for after I get my little pals checked for concussions?""

Brock nods knowingly. "Go. I'll be here and I will remember your face."

Liberty heads out with Joe and Jake. "That was intense... you gotta let Megazurd know he did so well that Onyx was one nudge away from KO."

"Noooo!" Humphrey mourned when Megazurd's victory is handed over to Max.  He shouldes and follows along mopish without comment.

"Nice finish, Max," Joey commends.

Jake exhales in relief.  "Congrats, Joe.  I have mixed feelings about that match.  I don't think my Pokemon can handle the badge match.  Even if they could...  I don't like that people are getting harmed to the point of being knocked out."

"Nothing to worry about," Joey says, "At worst prides were bruised."

  "I think at this point, it's not emotional bruising they are worried about."  Though on the bright side, the only knock outs were on the other side.

  Pokecenter is reached, checking in little brawl buddies for first aid is had.  "You all did good out there.  I'd say some kind of lesson about teamwork but 'more dudes is better than less dudes' feels less like friendship and more like a gang beatdown."

Liberty says, "Hey now. If not for Max or Mega stepping in when they did, their friends would have been knocked out. They came to each others' aid. It was a match well-fought!"

"I wanted Megazurd to win," Humphrey mopes.

"Mega's team won," Joey answers, "That's victory enough."

"Good point," Jake agrees with Joe, "More is better.  I think I'll need to get more plant type pokemon before my team can challenge Brock."
This message was last edited by the player at 02:35, Sat 05 Apr 2014.

  "Nothing wrong with gang beatdowns, so long as we aren't on the receiving end." Max comments.  Superbird flaps,  "Yes, if you trainers felt bad about lopsided advantages, you'd never get anywhere."

  Megasaurd eyerolls, "The Ghost and Psychic Gyms are going to suck."

Liberty looks at Joe's pokémon. "Are you all OK now?"

As usual, Relic doesn't comment about anything, but he does glance up at Liberty as if thinking about her for some reason.

Kozak says, "Well.. you can't expect Megazurd to win his first gym match, I guess."

Rina shrugs. "Actually, most trainers get soundly beaten their first time or two through ANY gym. So Joe and his pokémon, while they fought well, were lucky."

Ever says, "Sooo... could be worse. He could have been beaten unconscious."

"It was leech seed that won that match," Jake surmises, "Since I don't have a pokemon with that move I'll just have to hope that my team can last without any healing."

"Yeah," Joey agrees, "A full set of six plant types should be at least as good as one leech seed I would think.  Why are you worried about Ghost and Psychic, Mega?  I didn't think plant was weak to those."

  The various short murderbeasts shrug and/or nod in response to wellness.  Pokecenter remains the best in free healthcare for those that can fit inside balls.

  "Pidge, I am fine with a lucky win over being a loser in general."

  Megazaurd comments, "Not being 'weak' won't help when everything we can do harmlessly passed through a ghost."

  Max says "I think Ghosts are, surprisingly, not fireproof.  But yeah what he said.  Then you get into the annoying KEYWORDS stuff where it turns out 90% of the attacks Bugs have do not count as 'bug' type so they end up kind of sucking against psychics when you expected otherwise, and being Bug/Poison means it turns out they are actually strong against psychic attacks and no we are not bitter what are you talking about BEEDRILL YOU LET ME DOWN.
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:41, Sat 12 Apr 2014.

When Liberty fights the gym match, not having leech seed, her pokémon don't last as long as Joe's. At one point, she tried jumping into the ring herself, but is reminded that humans do not qualify as "battle pets" or "pokémon". Seems she really believes in equal treatment of her and her pokémon.

But because Brock's gym wasn't meant to be a huge stumbling block, Liberty does manage to beat Brock and get the badge. Relic proved to be very tanky. Kozak tried stealth and "ninja kicks" and stuff, but ultimately fell before Brock's pokémon because he refused to be recalled. Rina fought about average, like the normal type pokémon she is. She didn't mind being recalled, but at the last moment, her final attack downed Onyx before she had to be recalled.

There is just enough time in the day for Jake to get his...

"I'm sure our humans will figure out a strategy to win against the ghosts and psychics," Joey assuresd.

During Lib's match, Jake freaks out at her unorthodox maneuver and screams, "What are you doing?!  You'll get killed!"

Joey doesn't offer any assurances this time.  He doesn't know if a human could die of a stray Onyx headbutt.  Little does he know that humans regularly survive being repeatedly exploded into the stratosphere.  Jake is too shaken to take on a gym match oafter Liberty's stunt and steps outside to collect himself.

  "I can understand your mindset Liberty, but vague sanctioned fight rules aside I'd save it for something you might actually hurt punching, more than it would hurt you."  This isn't a setting version where Joe's meeting with Superbird involved breaking his fists punching another pokemon unconscious, after all.

Liberty glances at her friends and blushes. "But... it's not fair. My friends shouldn't fight alone."

Relic tugs on Liberty, who looks down at him. Relic looks up at her and shakes his head.

Ever says, "Look at it like this; I don't hop into combat either, but I'm part of the team. You are here for us, to heal us and give us words of encouragement."

"Your friends are not alone," Joey assures, "Not only do they draw strength from your encouragement, they have each other as well."

Jake heads for a library and soon discovers that while there have been cases where a human was hospitalized by a pokemon, usually involving an accident or villain, there has never been a case where a pokemon killed a human or another pokemon.

"Well that's reassuring," Jake says, "I guess I'll be working on getting that plant team.  While Liberty's match proves that a non-plant team can still win, an overwhelming advantage will mean less suffering for my friends."

"No pain no gain," Buzzkill says.

  "Well outside of possible danger to yourself, I don't think anyone will complain if while the pokemon are fighting you kick some Team Rocket member in the face."

  Max comments to Buzzkill "Buzz, could you please tell me what gain you get when you are flattened in one shot while barely scratching the other guy?"  There is a difference between 'weak damage, but normal defense'  and 'double weakness oh dear'.

Because of the research Jake did, there is not enough time left and the gym closes for the day. But just as well since Jake mentioned he wants to get more grass types anyway. So Liberty goes with the others to find a place to sleep. The group finds a pleasant place called Cave Inn.

Once in her pajamas, Liberty gets in a pillow fight with Joe, Jake and all the pokémon.

"If you don't understand the meaning of that saying, how 'bout you ask Liberty's team?" Buzzkill answered, "Or didn't you notice how hard won their victory was?"

"The problem with that sayin is that its wording makes it practically unusable," Joey interjects, "Most times I gain without any pain.  A satisfied tummy after a painless meal, for example, happens all the time."

Buzzkill heavy sighs, a little silk strand escaping his lips, unable to come up with an answer.

Jake shrugged.  "Maxims are understood to be generalizations with exceptions.  'Fortune sometimes favors the bold,' isn't very reassuring, and 'A penny saved is a penny less the difference between the inflation and interest rates times the duration of the savings earned' is a mouthful."

"I... don't even understand that last bit," Joey admits, "But it sure sounded like it settled things fairly.  Thanks, Jake!"

"Sure...."

Jake doesn't hide is misgivings about staying at a place named after a disaster, but ligtenes up during the pillow fight and winds up enjoying himself anyway.

  Worrying about the poor taste in names for Inns is beyond even Joe's cynicism.  Well, okay there are probably plenty of Obvious Horror Movie Inn names he'd have issue with, but this is not one of them.

  "It is fortunate nobody here is particularly pointy" outside of the odd horn or stinger,  "Or we would need new pillows pretty fast."

After the pillow fight, Lib is sure to engage in sharing stories with the other two about past Pokémon Masters and what was said to have been their roads to victory.

But eventually, she falls asleep. The morning brings a decent breakfast and an anxious Liberty who seems to be pushing Jake to hurry up and catch what Pokémon he believes he needs.

"Indeed," was Jake's comment on the hypothetical pillow destruction.  During the capture/training montage, he focuses on Joey and Humphrey to weaken the plant types for capture.  Also, Jake tries to pick up conversation with the others:

"I know the reason I'm spending all this time to raise Pokemon, but I haven't asked your reasons.  Why train Pokemon?  What're your short and long term goals?"

  Joe shrugs,  "No particular goals.  Don't feel like letting you two wander around without me and they wouldn't let Max fill out the paperwork."

  Max comments "I can't fight things without being captured by a loser otherwise."    Superbird flaps, "I don't have anything better to do, pidge"  They both look over to Megasaurd.

  "I need a reason?"

 Best team so motivated.

Liberty looks over at Jake. Then looks at Joe and his pokemon as they answer. The answers make her give them a weird look. Then Liberty looks back at Jake. "I just wanted to do it. I don't think I'll be the best, but I'd like to get good at it. Maybe as I do, I'll understand Pokémon, Pokémon trainers, and the whole thing a bit more. Once I've gotten as many badges as I can, I plan to attack whatever major problem I discover by then."

Relic says nothing. But he does slam his fist to his chest and then points at Liberty.

Kozak says, "I just wanna be a ninja worthy of his name..."

Rina says, "I'm here because Liberty caught me. I'm neither loyal nor unloyal and only along for the ride. But I would like to find a boyfriend."

Ever says, "I just like you guys. But I've mentioned I'm not in it for fighting anyway, so really, I'm just a friend tagging along with friends."

"I ask because I'd like to help you all attain your goals while working on my own..." Jake begins.

"And what noble goals they are!" Joey interjects enthusiastically, "Loyalty!  Friendship!  Honor!  Independence!  Finding love!  Helping others!  What a privilege it is to be teamed up with such fine people!"

Jake fidgets.  "I'm a techie.  I noticed that the most recent advances in science were mostly pokemon related.  I started out hoping to gain deeper understanding of how things work today so I could find inspiration for new technology that could make conditions better for everyone.  So far I haven't come up with any viable ideas."

  "I suppose the step up from Bicycles that you can shove in your pocket would be motor scooters?"  Superbird flaps, "Pidge, scooters still not flying, suckers."

  "Do they have medical sprays for humans yet, or is that still just one spray that works safely without side effects for every kind of pokemon from rocks to bugs to ghosts?"

  Max asks Kozak, "If you were a ninja worthy of your name, who would even know your name then with all that hiding?"  Silly Max, this is Pokemon.  Ninjas hang out in obvious Gyms with piles of Voltorbs and are a bunch of losers with no fashion sense.  Joe wonders how much of his Dad's definition of ninja is true and how much is bias.

Liberty blushes from Joey's reaction.

Rina wonders if he pictures himself as a super hero named Fanboy.

Kozak leaps up and thrusts a fist? leg? into the air, picturing himself in one of those anime freeze-frames where the coloring suddently gets all paintedish. (best example I could find of what I'm talking about: https://tinyurl.com/oxpzh68 )

Relic doesn't seem to react to Joey's burst of fanboy, but internally, he's thinking "Damn straight. Liberty is all that but more. About time someone besides me recognized it." ...never mind that he doesn't talk much. He somehow overlooks that fact.

Ever squeaks and then says, "I feel so accepted..."

Liberty then goes to scoop up Joey and nuzzle his nose with hers. "You sure are an uplifting guy, Joey!"

She then looks at Joe. "That is weird, isn't it?" The spray, not the collapsible bike. Because even though the cartoon showed the bikes being parked whenever they weren't in use, the idea of pocket-bikes is not only cool, but consistent with the setting, so GM says YES THEY COLLAPSE! "I wonder why the spray works on every kind of Pokémon, but not humans." Due to this setting allowing Pokémon to talk, the GM has decided the term "people" is often used to refer to Pokémon. Though Pokémon having equal rights is still a work in progress.

Liberty looks at Jake. "Well, Jake... are you more of an ideas guy or more of a techie? Because Joe and I can help with ideas."
This message was last edited by the player at 16:50, Wed 14 May 2014.

"Being worthy of a name doesn't always mean fame," Humphrey esplains.

"Not that I know of..." Jake answers Joe, looking deep in thought.

"Those are some great ideas, Joe!" Joey commends.

"Flight is a good idea too..." Jake adds, "Can't explain why Pokemon tech doesn't work on humans."
To Lib he says, "I'm more a techie, Liberty.  Whenever I come up with an idea I always think of a dozen or more reasons it cannot be done.  So thanks for offering help.  Already you've suggested a couple good ones."

Joey smiles at Lib and returns the nuzzle with a tail-wag.  "Thanks!  And you're a great friend, Lib!"

  "Maybe human DNA is too boring by comparison for it to work, or something."  Aside from the occasional Psychic human you see in one episode or town then never again.

OOC: Superheroes named Fanboy you say?  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQyuNpzp29E 

Ever says, "Human DNA boring? I didn't know there was such a thing as boring DNA."

Liberty shrugs. "More likely there is something pokémon have that humans just don't."

Kozak says, "Sounds like a quest to me..."

Rina says, "Wake me up when I either need to fight, or have a potential boyfriend." she returns to her pokéball.

Relic just watches.

Liberty says, "I agree with Kozak. We can chase that after Jake's pewter gym match."

---

Driving Freakazoid nuts / scaring him? ...that's impressive.
But hilariously enough, that looks, sounds, and acts like a cartoon version of our friend Rick. Only instead of spouting Disney fandom, he spouts D&D and Anime. XD

Also, on the human DNA and pokémon DNA topic, I remember Pokemon World MUSH, which was a pokémorph RP place. It had many reboots. Eventually, in one reboot, they allowed humans by popular demand, but as a pokémorph. They were the final evolution of mankey (So: Mankey -> Primeape -> Human). And since you were allowed to start out as a final evolution, I picked me up a couple humans. Namely Maverick and Antoinette. XD

"Too boor...  What?" Jake says, confused.

He shakes it off figuring Joe must have been joking about boring DNA.  He nods to Lib.

"That was my guess too.  Some fundamental difference that separates humans from pokemon yet unites all pokemon.  But my main focus is robotics, not genetics.  So I'm more likely to equip the scientists who will make such a breakthrough than to discover the answer myself."

"Nothing boring about humans," Joey says, "Joe's just being modest."

Jake proceeds to methodically captures up to five grass types as efficiently as he can.

  "Somehow, I would not be surprised if Jake invented robot doctors before universal human fixit spray was invented."

  Joe can't decide if Jake's grass capture binge is either overkill, or appropriate preparedness.

Capturing goes relatively quick (About an hour per capture), but after 4 captures, Jake runs out of pokéballs. During the captures, however, Buzzkill evolves into a Kakuna!

Happy (Oddish Female Lv 7)
 She likes to hop around happily and squee at random. Tries to encourage others to hop with her and will nuzzle up to Jake,Joe,Liberty, and their pokemon at random.
Coptor (Hoppip Female Lv 7)
 Just likes to hover with a big smile. If spoken to, Coptor will often talk like a cop. "10-4", "We got a Blue Falcon here.." and such.
Mala (Budew Male Lv 7)
 Mala likes to walk, but his walk is very slow since he doesn't have legs. He also likes being in the sun, often walking out of the shade if possible.
Claw (Paras Male Lv 7)
 Claw is usually opening and closing his claws very slowly. It is soon appatent that is his state of thinking and daydreaming. When spoken to, his claws stop unless he has to think about an answer. When he gets excited, he opens and closes his claws at rapid speeds.

---

Was hoping not to go too much into inventory management, but since Pokemon talk in this, every little pokemon counts and is important. After all, this thread isn't a videogame. That said, I've made a thread for keeping track of our pokemon and noticed I miscalculated a little... Brock's Onix is lvl 14, so some of our pokemon would have evolved by now. I'll say Kozak evolved during the fight with Brock.

Jake blushes at Joe's compliment.  "Thanks.  That's a very big challenge, but worth aiming for."

He's of course happy to meet and befriend his new Pokemon buddies.  Joey is quick to welcome them to the team and fan-boys about Jake and the others, making Jake blush and the newcomers wow.

"Let's go get that badge," Jake suggests.

"Affirmative!" Coptor cheers!

  Joe doesn't feel bad for having the least amount of pokemon, because Pokeball costs add up fast.  Well, that and the insane wishful thinking of his player to set up a 6 pokemon set and stick with it.  Because yeah that will totally work, honest.  "Unless things go spectacularly wrong, I don't think your newest pals will have to worry about this Gym fight much Jake."

  OOC: Hazy at the moment, but so far Wishlist for "Other Gen 1 Pokemon I thought were cool" is Sandshrew and Staryu (hey that rhymes).  Also a Paras for purely for metagame reasons <.<  >.>  He is the ONLY gen 1 pokemon that A: Has a bug type attack.  B:  is not a Bug/Poison like Beedrill therefore psychics still kick it's ass due to poison type.

Sandshrew and paras I can pick up whenever.  But IC logic wise, Staryu would be either a bit before or after water Gym. Little me is so lucky that when we got red and blue for me and brother, I went red, because my very favorite Gen 1 and some others I liked were Red Only

Hmm.  personalities.
  Sam Sandshrew: Gives no ****s, will mock anyone having trouble with Electric types.  Superbird will mock right back regarding Flying type immunity vs Ground.
  Steve Staryu: BUZZ LIGHTYEAR SPEAKS TO THE STARS IN CAPITAL LETTERS.
  Pete (and Pete) Paras:  Actually catching two Paras... But we can't tell the difference between them, and they think/act like the same person.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:11, Tue 17 June 2014.

Jake's gym fight goes better, but not as overwhelmingly do-SunTzu-proud better as Jake maybe expected. After all, the newly acquired pokemon are not as well-trained as Jake's first pokemon. Liberty cheers him on, of course, but soon Jake has his badge.

Brock congratulates all three, saying this is a first for him; seeing a group of kids determined to all get the badge before moving on. "For one, it isn't common to see a group of friends go on a pokemon journey together." Why is that, anyway? Seems like common sense.. "For another, usually if there is such a group, it's only 1 who's interested in getting the badges."

Jake sighed in relief when the match ended and thanked Lib and Joe for the encouragement.  And of course praised his pokemon.

"Dunno why it would be uncommon," Jake says, "Wouldn't people want to travel in the company of their friends?  Wouldn't they want to encourage their friends to make accomplisments worthwhile and neccesary for future advancement?  I suppose if I were aiming at becoming a champion I would be happy to hear about such weak competition but I dunno.  Seems strange.

"Thanks for the commendation, Mr. Brock."

  "Well, I had considered it.  But it would be kind of a waste of time to go all that way and not take a shot yourself."  He looks to Max,  "That and some of us want the shiny objects more than others."

In the original game, the badges allowed you to KEEP YOUR POKEMON'S MIND BOUND TO YOUR WILL, but in this reality, friendship is enough. The badges are only needed to get entry to the Pokémon tournament.

Once the group leaves, the sun is setting. Liberty yawns. "What a day... Jake, are you going to go on a Pokémon capture spree every time we go to a gym? Not saying it's a bad idea; you proved it's a good idea. Just wondering if that should be our pattern from now on."

"What an honor to be in a group of such exceptional people!" Joey commented, "You all make me so proud!"

Later, Jake answers Liberty's question with a yawn of his own.  "There are innumerable different approaches to developing an individualized Pokemon training strategy, each having its own distinct advantages.  I've been watching yours and Joe's carefully, plotting and analyzing the results.  While a larger sample would mean more accurate result data, I think a more varied group of data sets would be more advantageous for comparative referencing."

"Wow!" Joey chimes, "That sure sounded neat.  But I don't understand.  Did you answer her question?"

Jake hmms.  "What I was getting at was...  we should each try different things to see what works best for us."

  The game tells you to trade pokemon back and forth if you want their next evolution, then makes it so you can't use them anymore because they were understandably upset at being shoved through a gameboy link cable.

 "...Planning?  Well I guess 'discourage fights they may get horribly stomped in' is kind of a plan?"

  "Pidge, not my fault I'm Ground attacks don't phase me but Rock one's hurt.  What kind of sense does THAT make? Rocks are made of ground!"

  OOC:  My basis for taking the Red copy while Brother got the Blue copy, was that I saw it had Growlithe and I'm all like. Yes.  I have no idea why my brain thought Sandshrew was Blue version, but he is also awesome.