Evelyn takes a seat on the sidelines, Athena at her side. She's more interested in the night's air, and her Pokédex.

Bubby needs a bit of help to get in range, but then has no issues picking the Magikarp out of the jellyfish's grasp. Angry, the Tentacool turns it's attention to Bubby. The two engage in a tentacle slap fight, with the occasional Poison Sting thrown into the mix. But overall, Buddy is just stronger, and the Tentacool decides to fish somewhere else.

Laconney looks from Seymour to the birds, unsure what to do. But when they notice Jake, one give him a nasty glare, unsettling the teenager. When Laconney sees that, it breaths out a cold wind that quickly turns into a light mist.

OOC: Houdini's new move has been added to his sheet.

The Tentacool flees, but someone can take a shot at catching it before it gets away.

The two Farfetch'd are ready to fight, and are facing off against Skipper and Laconney. The fight starts with Mist in effect (your team is protected from hostile stats change). I'll PM Laconney stats' to Seymour, so give me your strategies.

Jake looked a bit shocked that the bird had given him such a mean look. He didn't even start trying to catch it yet! Despite the glare Jake called his Skipper over and looked for a piece of driftwood momentarily to carry a stick like the far'fetched does its leek. In terms of battle strategy, Jake didn't have a solid plan. He didn't know laconney's type or moves. He signaled mudkip to shoot water from afar as he checked with Seymour,
"Skipper, shoot water, water gun! Hey, Seymour, I haven't seen your pokemon before, can it do something with my skipper as a team?"

He figured just to keep Skipper at a distance spraying water as he had time to coordinate with Seymour.

"Yes! Good job, Bubby, you're so strong!" Atticus shouted when they freed the Magikarp successfully. Years of being exposed to the ocean and the critters that lived inside of it had paid off. He stepped out of the water and gathered his dry clothes, walking over to where Portia was sitting. He let the air dry him off while Bubby pranced around him freely. He sat down next to the girl quietly, turning his attention to the other two boys while they battled the angry-looking birds. "So, think they'll catch them?" the boy asked her curiously, opening up more to the little group now that they had gotten to know each other better.

"We'll find out," Seymour replied to Jakey. "Laconney and I have never been in a battle before, but he's a fire and ice type."

Then to the Laconney, he said experimentally, "Try and freeze the wet farfetch'd with an ice beam!" Freezing the mudkip's water would have certainly been a good combo attack, but when the rabbit gave him a confused look, he modified his instructions. "Or, I guess, blast fire at the drier one?" This time some of its blue flames lanced out in an ember attack. "Nice job!"

---

Seymour will have the laconney target the farfetch'd with ember until they get too wet for the flames to be effective. Then he will have him switch to tackles.

Seymour will let Jake catch both if he wants. If Jake only decides to catch one, Seymour will throw a ball at the other when there is a good opportunity to do so.

Portia looked up from her TM device as Atticus took a seat beside her and offered a gentle shrug.  "Hard to say.  Farfetch'd are actually pretty strong, especially since two in the same flock would have better teamwork than two Trainers who've never paired up before." she observed.  For one who didn't seem to be big on combat herself, at least she didn't appear to be ignorant of the practices.  All the same, she just shook her head and offered her newest companion a lopsided smile.  "Nice of you to help that Magikarp out.  Who knows - maybe someday, in your darkest hour, a grateful Gyarados will come to your rescue~."

A bit of a tease, but stranger things had happened in the old stories!  "Sorry to have to drop you right into the midst of things like this.  Probably not how you planned to have your journey start, huh?  What brings you all the way out to Cadien anyway?"
This message was last edited by the player at 20:14, Wed 18 Dec 2019.

Things are not going well for Laconney. Despite his glowing tail leaving an eerie glow in the mist that makes it hard to narrow down his location, the Farfetch'd seems to have no issues finding the rabbit, unleashing a variety of attacks at him. Between the pecking, the rapid leek strikes, and the sand thrown in his eyes, Laconney seems in a bad position.

The Mudkip fares better, though. After his opponent kept glaring at him while dodging his attack, Skipper managed to nail the bird right on his forehead, knocking it out. He then turns his attention to Laconney's foe, hoping to provide some help.

OOC: MASSIVE EDIT. Jakey pointed out that the program I use has a pretty big bug, where rolling the exact number for a Yes gives a result of Ex No. I rerolled the check that was mistaken, and the result was a KO.

Now, although that means it can't be caught right now, you could try to wake it up, and hope he'll be willing to join you.

Otherwise, the current situation is:
one knocked out Farfetch'd
one uninjured Farfetch'd
Laconney has two wounds (and sand in his eyes)
Skipper is unharmed.

Feel free to change your strategy, or attempt something unusual.

And if you think I made another mistake, tell me! There's plenty of moving parts where something could go wrong on my end.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:58, Fri 20 Dec 2019.

"Laconney, you did great. But why don't you take a break. Lotad, it's time to tag in. Use Bubble!"

It seemed these birds were quite formidable! Seymour was quite impressed with Jakey's mukip's skills this far. He felt bad that laconney had gotten so roughed up though, but such was the nature of pokemon battles. And besides, it was laconney who had volunteered to join the skirmish in the first place. Seymour would be sure to offer the rabbit the option to rest in a pokeball once the battle was over, and would certainly bring everyone to the pokemon center before bedtime.

---

Seymour is switching in lotad and using bubble. He is letting Jakey make the calls for catching the farfetch'd(s)

Jake beamed as the Mudkip sniped the opposing bird in the face,
"Yeah! Right in the kisser! Now help out Seymour! Tackle it to distract!"

Ebullient at the success, Jake readied a pokeball as his mudkip changed targets. If this one got knocked out, he could try to wake them up and negotiate, but he didn't want to leave Seymour locked in a battle with a type disadvantage without backup.

________________________

Mudkip will use tackle and Jake will use a pokeball opportunistically if a tackle hits.

With one opponent down, Skipper charges at the bird. He manages to hit it... only to trip over it, and stumble into the newly appeared Lotad. Unimpressed, the Farfetch'd slaps Skipper with his Leek, shouting what you presume are insults.

It seems only Skipper's pride was hurt in the assault, and after a 'kip!' addressed to Lotad, he returns on the offensive. The Mudkip jumps aside before hitting the Farfetch'd, giving Lotad a clear line of fire for his bubble stream. As the bird attempts to recover from that blow, Skipper blindsides it, and sends it tumbling.

Seeing an opening, Jake throws his Pokéball. The Farfetch'd notices the ball coming, and lifts a wing to soften the hit. It vanishes into the ball, and after a few shakes... the ball locks.

OOC: And Jake has caught a Farfetch'd! I'll PM the stats shortly.

Jake struck a victory pose and approached his mudkip to give it a big hug for a stunning victory over both Farfech'ds. He also approached Seymour to give him a high five.
"Great work man! I got the one I wanted. We can try to wake the other up if you want to catch it. Maybe we can show it that I caught one, so it can come with us if it wants to keep on being buddies. I feel a bit bad beating up a pokemon and just leaving it out and around for other people to pick on it. So maybe we should wake it up anyway."

For the time being, however, he kept the new Farfech'd in the pokeball. Jake had a theory that pokemon didn't feel pain when in the pokeball, so he didn't want to bring the injured pokemon out of the ball without good reason until they returned to the hotel pokestop. Overall, he seemed satisfied with the work they did on the beach.

"We can definitely try and see if it wants to come along with us," Seymour replied to Jakey. "And I will definitely get it healed up at a Pokemon center too, if it will let me. But first..."

Seymour turned to lotad and laconney. "You two did great! Thank you both for your help. I'll be sure to get the two of you all healed up at the Pokemon center tonight too. Laconney, if you want to rest in a pokeball for a while, you are more than welcome to." Seymour offered a pokeball to the rabbit pokemon once again, but didn't want it to feel pressured to join his party if it didn't want to.

Regardless of whether the laconney accepted or declined, Seymour next approached the farfetch'd with Jakey to see if it wanted to join as well.

Laconney takes a moment to look in the distance. Turning back to Seymour, he agrees to get in the Pokéball, though Seymour gets the impression that he's joining more in hope of finding something.

Digging through your healing items, you manage to find a Revive to wake up the second Farfetch'd. Realizing it's companion was caught already, it agrees to join Seymour's team.

OOC: Stats are on the way. In the meantime, I'll be away for the week-end, and probably Monday too. Feel free to wrap up your beach trip. Unless you want to start another fight, we'll pick up as you leave Rivierstel.

But before we do, level up time!

Houdini's HP increases to Low

Lotad's HP increases to Average, and his SpD increases to Above Average
Glumpy's SpA increases to Below Average
Laconney's DEF increases to Average, and his SpA increases to Above Average

Skipper's Speed increases to Low, and he learns the move Foresight

Bubby's HP increases to Average, and his DEF increases to Above Average

You can also increase one of your character's attribute by one rank.

Seymour looked down at his two newly filled pokeballs with a wide grin on his face. At the start of this day he had one pokemon companion. Now he had four! His parents would probably be shocked if they knew. It had been just himself and lotad for quite a while.

"I think I am going to have to come up with some names for everyone," he said to his pokeballs and lotad. Glumpy, his shroomish, was his only pokemon with a unique name thus far. But he would probably wait until he was in bed to do much brainstorming.

To the group, he said, "Well, I'm definitely going to consider this beach trip a success! Thanks for helping me catch the Farfetch'd, Faulkner." He sat down in the sand where he stood and looked out over the dark water. It was relaxing. And Seymour's mind needed "relaxing" at the moment. He watched the waves wash upon the shore, and his two grass pokemon frolicking in the sand.

---

Stat changes have been recorded. Seymour will leave the beach when the others are ready, but he isn't in any particular rush.

Jake seemed happy to build comradery with his companions,
"Hey, no problem. We both won a bunch. I'm going to call mine Fetcher, easier to say. So now I have Skipper and Fetcher."

It didn't take him long to swagger back to where Portia and Atticus were seated. While Skipper bounced back to play in the water, Jake flashed a double thumbs-up to the pair of humans,
"So, did you like the view? Anything else to do here? I don't really swim at all and it is a bit dark, so not a good time to practice I think."

With a single motion, Jake folds into a cross-legged sitting position facing the water and his mudkip,
"Not that I'm in a rush. It's been a crazy day so the chance to relax is great!"

With a few more companions at your sides, and some more experience under your belts, you take spend some time relaxing to the sound of the waves before returning to your hotel.

The next morning, your group is ready to head out unto the mainland. The long bridge is reminiscent of Unova's Skyarrow Bridge, with a pedestrian path passing over the highway. To the north, you see the port once more, and can better appreciate just how large it is. To the south, you see Rivierstel's suburb, scattered along the sides of the river.

At the end of the bridge, while the main highway turns toward the port, you are presented with a road sign: road 101 to the North, leading to the port and the capital of Levallac, and road 117 to the South, heading to Bluweil.

With a heavy sigh, Evelyn announces that she will head North. She worries that her presence could lead to more distractions from the various groups wanting to take advantage of her name, and she doesn't want to burden the rest of you with it.

OOC: Unfortunatly, Evelyn has not replied to my PM. So, until further notice, I'll have her head her own way. If she does come back, I'll figure out a way to bring her back in.

For the JirachiWish sponsorship, you can contact them if you wish, though you may want to talk about it to your companions before you do.

Jake waves Eve goodbye after insisting she could come with if she wanted. He made sure he had her number in his phone for the future... just in case. He seemed impressed by the size of the region and eager to get on the road... or off the road.
"Hey guys, since Eve is going her own way, maybe we can go and rough it in the country. Just go straight east, then head south once we see the mountains in front. I bet there are cooler pokemon in the rougher places than on the road. It will be good training!"

He didn't say it, but he was planning on heading south like the others had mentioned being interested in doing. They had wanted to see more of the water, but they had just gone to the beach the day before.

OOC: Jake didn't follow up with JirachiWish

While conversing with Portia, he talked about his home village back in Hoenn and his desire to become a strong Trainer like his dad. He also mentioned that he wanted to become a Breeder at some point too but only after he had collected as many badges as possible. After talking about himself some, he would turn the conversation back to her, trying to find out her own ambitions and desires and the reason for her journey. They chatted while watching the others fight the Farfetch'd intensely and when they finally caught them, Atticus would clap and cheer them on excitedly, showing much more emotion around the group now that he was getting more comfortable around them. It was nice to be in a group of like-minded kids for once, instead of always sulking around with his Pokemon instead.

The next morning, he also waved Evelyn goodbye when she announced that she was going her own way. He then turned his attention to Jake and he mentioned cooler Pokemon and a tough training experience. That sounded like exactly what the group needed since judging by their encounters thus far, they all could use some work in their battling, him included. However, the thought of the sponsorship did come to mind and he decided to bring it up to the others, even if just briefly. "I think that's a great idea, Jake, we could use the training, for sure. But what about that lady's offer? Do you really think we should turn it down? I'm skeptical about it too but we can't go wrong with more money."

Seymour stretched in the early morning sun, feeling well rested after the hotel stay. He patted the four pokeballs on his vest that held his four pokemon companions. Four! He could still hardly believe it.

As their group neared the edge of town, Seymour added his own opinions to the conversation. "I didn't really bring the right gear to "rough it" in the wilderness," he admitted. "But I would still be willing to try. Especially if Portia and Houdini go along. I'm thinking teleportation is awfully convenient for emergency situations, huh?" He looked to Portia as he finished speaking in case she had anything more to add. Either about teleportation or otherwise.

"As for JirachiWish, I still haven't made up my mind about them. Sure, the cash would be welcome, but it feels like it would be an extra weight on my shoulders at the same time. But if you want to hear them out Atticus, I would be willing to go with and hear them with you. Together we could try and ensure it isn't some kind of complex illicit scheme of some sort." Seymour shrugged. He was still mostly neutral on the subject.

---

Seymour will meet up with JirachiWish again if Atticus wants to. If they do, Seymour will use his sharp intuition to try and determine if everything really is on the up and up like they claim, and that there aren't any catches that will cause problems for them in the future. I am willing to spend up to 10 favor points on the roll for a more favorable outcome.

It was nice to just sit and chat for a while, though Portia proved herself less willing to divulge her past than Atticus was.  She wasn't tight-lipped but rather cagey when it came to the finer details; she made no mention of her family or upbringing beyond growing up in the busiest metropolis in Kalos - Lumiose City.  Though she offered little of her past, she was perfectly content to speak of the future; she had no grand ambitions like the others who sought to challenge the league or make a name for themselves as combat Trainers.  The world was a vast and strange place, and Portia had her heart set on seeing as much of it as she could.  She'd already traveled to many regions in years past - Alola, Hoenn, Unova, Kanto, Galar - Cadien was just the most recent locale on her list.  All she cared to do was live her life as she pleased, travel where she wanted, and enjoy whatever challenges she chose to take on a whim.

"I've always fancied becoming a Professor, actually.  Been real close with Pokemon all my life - I understand them a lot better than I do people, most times.  But there's a lot of red tape and politics involved in that... it'd be nice in theory, but I don't know if I'm cut out for the minutia." she mused as she released Houdini from his pokeball to hug in her lap, though he remained firmly asleep as usual.  "Becoming a Breeder might be nice though.  Maybe start a little daycare nursery on the side of a scenic route, grow my own garden to make Pokemon food with... not a bad way to retire."

---

While she was sad to part ways with Evelyn - especially in light of obligations to JirachiWish having just come up the night before - Portia understood all too well when paths needed to part.  She offered to go along with the other girl since she didn't mind a slower pace but accepted a gentle refusal all the same, respecting her decision to strike out on her own.  At least with the studio folk in Cadien Evelyn would be better protected against unexpected threats and dangers...

Once at the edge of town with the boys, Portia shrugged at the prospect of heading immediately into rougher terrain.  "I'd still like to keep an eye on the fields and sea cliffs for a Skiddo or Gogoat, myself.  But if we travel the foothill region we should get the best of both worlds." Seymour's mention of lacking camping supplies and wanting to make use of Houdini's teleportation got a sigh from her as she set her hands on her hips.  "Oi, you're cute and all, but I'm not sharing my sleeping bag - if any of you aren't stocked up to camp, best we buy some gear before we go.  And don't look at me like I'm a Corviknight Taxi.  Teleporting is a lot of work and I'm not gonna make Houdini bust his brain trying to jump a big group like this if you boys decide to act recklessly.  We'll help out where we can, but if you want to go jumping into trouble then you'd better figure how to get yourself out of it too.

As for JirachiWish?  Nuh-uh - nothin' doin'.  That rep lady last night was angling to get us to do some dirty work for her.  Doesn't the deal sound a little too good to be true?  Adults always do stuff like that; they just use everyone to get their way and act like it's no big deal."

Looking over the map, you think it would take two days to reach Bluweil using the road. Going through the forest would take about as much... assuming you don't get lost, of course.

From what you've gathered during the dinner, JirashiWish make few demands, for a small amount of money up front, as well as a possibility for more later.

OOC: enough to bring your Pokédollar rating to Below Average, or to Average if it was already Below Average. You could also negotiate for a payment in gear instead.

Seymour chuckled at the notion that he might try using Portia and Houdini as a taxi service and assured her that he would only pester her in an emergency situation. Like if someone broke a leg or something.

When she moved to the topic of JirachiWish, he was still a bit surprised at how extremely opposed she seemed to be in regards to dealing with the corporation. But then he thought back on the dinner the previous evening and began to notice things that hadn't quite caught his attention before. Key details that were hard to verbalize. But something about the whole exchange seemed a bit... off, now that he thought about it.

"Yeah... the more I think about it, the more I am starting to side with Portia when it comes to JirachiWish. Something about them... It just doesn't sit right. Sorry Atticus, but I think I am going to follow my gut on this one. If you still want to go meet with them, I'll still go with you, but I don't think I will be accepting their offer after all."

"Other than that, I am ready to go. My camping gear might not be top-notch, but I think I should be fine for a couple of nights. Still, if you see a good shop on the way out of town, let me know. I wouldn't be opposed to picking up a couple last minute items."

---

Seymour is ready to go, but he will keep an eye out for a store on the way out of town where he might upgrade his survival gear, (or other supplies).

Hearing the conversation between him and Portia made him friendlier towards the girl, even if she was suspiciously quiet about her own past. He wasn't the type of person to inquire though so he did not pry into her personal life. The boy would encourage her when she mentioned her dreams of being a Professor. She seemed like a personable girl and she clearly cared for Pokemon deeply so he thought it was a good fit for her. They bonded over their desires to open up daycares and making food for growing Pokemon and he realized they had a lot in common. He too had been closer to Pokemon than to people, something that he shared with her during their conversation.

As they were about to depart on their journey, it seemed that he was outnumbered on the matter of contacting JirachiWish again. He was simply looking out for the benefit of the group but if the two of them thought that there was something fishy about the dinner with the representative, then maybe it was best that he didn't reach out about the sponsorship. He knew he could be easily impressed, especially around adults, so he may have allowed his naivety to get the better of him the night before. He contemplated his decision a little more but he didn't want to drag the group into a potential scheme that would led to more problems down the line. Their main focus was Pokemon, after all, not spreading games and he felt like he needed to focus on his training to accomplish his goals at hand.

"Nah, that's okay, Seymour. If you all don't think it's a good idea, I'll take your word for it. I'm sure there will be another way to make money on our journey. I think I'm good on supplies for now too. I wouldn't want to take advantage of Houdini like that, so you won't hear me asking for a teleport. We should get going soon, right?"

Deciding on their path and turning down JirachiWish, the group does a final round of shopping before setting out in the wilderness. While most of you settle for the usual Pokémon Center, Portia managed to spot the merchant that tried to scam her before, this time selling some healing items. In a desperate attempt to be left alone, he offers her a box of fresh Oran berries.

And with that, you head out into Bluweil Forest.

OOC: Seymour and Jakey can improve one of their resources by one if they drop their Pokédollar by one rank. Atticus couldn't find anything he could afford.
Portia's lucky break lets her increase her Healing Items by one rank for free.

Jakey was unsure what was needed for forest survival, but after talking with the group and some people in the stores, he quickly found out what he needed to buy and did so... well, at least what he could afford.

-Pokedollar +Survival

Seymour more or less wandered around the same shop as Jakey and bought similar supplies for their journey.

-Pokedollar +Survival