As Jake floated in the water beside the Junior Buccaneer, he shouted up the best he could,
"GOT THE LOOT, PICK ME UP AND LETS GET OUT OF HERE!"

Figuring that his voice may not make it all the way up the side of the ship, he decided to switch from bobbing in the water with manty to trying to scale the side of the boat with bandicoon,
"MAN AND TREASURE OVERBOARD,"

He shouted again for good measure.

The Golduck's Icy Wind keeps up long enough to KO Inky, before getting disabled by Corium's Spite. As the ghost returns to the fight, one of the sailor calls out to the main deck. "That Shedinja is back! And my Slowbro's down! We need Peliper, or something!"

"Hold on! I'll bring my Cramorant! Get back up here to help with the pirate ship!"

Seymour watches Rampage crack the ice made by the Golduck, only to hear a cracking noise behind him. Looking back, he sees Captain Lommbre crack the ice outside the hull to get back inside.

---

After taking a moment to tie up the chest to a line, Jake climbs back on board, though he struggles to reach the deck in his hurry to get to safety.

Looking around the ship, Jake sees the Junior Buccaneer too a few bad hits, as did the military's ship. The biggest difference between the two vessels comes from the damage you did in the rear.

While Bernard pulls up the chest, Tori asks you where's Seymour? Isn't he with you?"

Jake tried his best to do a casual and cool shrug to Tori's question,
"I don't know... he's like sinking their ship or something,"

Unable to completely keep his composure, Jake grinned as elaborated,
"We crushed it! Snuck on their ship and broke out of the hull to get me out. Its not a real fight, so I don't think its a big deal he is left behind. Anyway, Skipper and Inky are there helping. Anyway, how do we signal that we got the loot... or want to give Seymour a couple more minutes to drop their ship?"

As Jake waited for a reply, he sucked his two remaining pokemon with him into their pokeballs. They had hardly been the stars of the show, but they both were essential to completing the plan.

"Captain Lombre!" Seymour exclaimed as his leafy friend appeared. He would have run over to give him a hug, but the rushing water made such a feat impractical. Instead he opted to invite Lombre further in. "Boy am I glad to see you. Let's all get into this other room." He made sure himself and all his pokemon were in the non-broken room before the new sailor arrived.

"Corium, Guard the door. Hold a Spite attack at the ready for any pokemon that try to harm you. Rampage and Captain, let's bust some holes in the walls up here!" He then turned to Jakey's Skipper. "Feel free to retreat with Inky to safety. I think we can take it from here." Seymour himself went toward the entrance to the lower deck to see if he could help hold a door closed or something. Anything that could help slow the Cramorant's arrival (whatever that was) would surely be helpful.

Seeing how Seymour is making a sortie, the remaining sailor sends out a second pokemon: an Azumarill. Not long after, his reinforcement arrives, Cramorant leading the way.

With Seymour's permission, Skipper grabs the unconscious Inky, and retreats.

---

"We still need to get away with our plunder..." Tori says, looking back at the navy ship.

"Yah can't leave a man behind, matey!"

"He's right," Adela says. "We need to get Seymour back to make our daring..." She gets splashed by an ink ball. "...Please, someone will that Octillery."

Seymour was hoping the first sailor would go to the upper decks, but it seemed he wasn't quite so lucky. Still, he did not feel like he was really outnumbered. Yet. He gave his pokemon new instructions.

"Captain Lombre, Mega Drain that Azumarill into oblivion! Corium, keep that Cramorant occupied. Block it and use Spite on anything gets through your Wonder Guard! Rampage, Let's try and get at least one more hole in this hull before we call it quits!"

---

I'm willing to spend up to the full 25 favor points on a roll if it means a knock out (or avoiding one). Or if something else extraordinary would happen with a higher roll. I feel like if I can't justify to myself using my favor points in an epic situation like this, I don't deserve the favor points in the first place. ;-)

"Golduck, stop that Pinsir first! Use Aqua Tail!" <Paf!> "NO!!!" With the Golduck still confused, Rampage manages to grab a part of the hull already damaged from the outside, ripping a large hole into it. The way things are going, it won't be long before the ship starts sinking.

Before Lombre can attack, the Azumarill surrounds itself with an Aqua Ring. Lombre replies with his Mega Drain... but Azumarill seems to suck the energy back in with a grin!

The Cramorant stumbles into the hold, unhappy to be in such a tight space. He tries pecking at Corium, who just barely avoids the attack, before locking it with Spite.

---

That last moment save for Corium costs you a whopping 1 favor. You got REALLY lucky there. On another note, did you know Azumarill can have the Sap Sipper ability?

"That doesn't seem good..." Seymour mumbled as the Azumarill seemed to somehow reverse Lombre's drain. His Shedinja was performing spectacularly though!

"Captain Lombre, try draining the Golduck instead. Corium, use Shadow ball on the Cramorant! Rampage, keep up the great work. Destroy this ship!" Just a little more and Rampage could join the battle too. If the water wasn't too high for him...

---

Favor subtracted. Still willing to pay up to 25 for meaningful rolls. Also, no I did not know Azumarill can have the Sap Sipper ability. It surprised me. But I like surprises.

Corium fires a Shadow Ball... but it doesn't seem to hurt the bird. "That... Cramorant! Dive and attack that Pinsir!" The bird vanishes in the water filling the hold.

The Golduck tries another Aqua Tail on Rampage... only to miss and hit the hull, giving another crack for Rampage to widen, helped by the battle outside. Captain Lombre tries to change his focus, but he's too busy dodging the Azumarill to land a blow.

With the amount of water coming into the hold, it won't take much more damage before the boat starts sinking.

---

Just to be clear: the Cramorant is not immune to the Shadow Ball... but Corium just doesn't have enough power to get through it's defense.

With all of the chaos going on in the room, Seymour took a moment to steady his breathing. Especially considering the order he was about to give. "It's time, everyone. Corium, Captain, Rampage, all strike at Rampage's target at the same time. Let's bust out of here!"

With his order given, Seymour dove into the water toward the spot he expected a large hole to be in a few more seconds. He wanted to be ready to return Rampage to his pokeball and swim out with Lombre's help.

---

My pokemon will ignore the enemy pokemon to bust out of the hull once and for all. Assuming success, I'll return Rampage to his pokeball and swim out with Lombre. Corium will help watch our rear during the escape. I'm still willing to spend points as needed to make this an epic escape.

Captain Lombre takes a hit from the Golduck, but it's enough to keep the three opponents distracted for both Rampage and Corium to widen the hole. Water floods into the hold, beyond any chance the sailors have of slowing it, let alone stop it.

With no way to harm the Shedinja, and the battle clearly lost, the sailors retreat to the main deck to warn their captain, as Seymour swims out with Lombre. Your trainer crew mates cheer as they see the navy ship evacuating their crippled vessel, under the watchful eye of the rescue team, making sure no one gets stuck underwater.

Seymour was too busy swimming to his ship to celebrate, but he was certainly feeling just as victorious as his crewmates seemed to feel. He had a huge grin plastered on his face even as he and Lombre waded through the waves. "We did!" he managed to yell between breaths.

To Corium and Captain Lombre, he said, "You two deserve a nice long rest. Rampage too. And a victory party, for sure. Corium, could you go round up Farrah, Jett, and Malley? I need to thank them for performing their duties so exceptionally!" The trainer then continued his swim toward the ship so that he might celebrate with all of the other trainers and hear their story of how events unfolded aboard the team ship. He was also curious if any other teams had ever both captured the treasure and sunk the ship.

"Aw, that's no fair! We got the loot, that is enough to get out of there. Seymour can handle his own stuff. That was the plan!" Jake protested, not realizing that the plan had evolved after him and Seymour started.

"Oh, fine, alright," Jake relented... though as he turned to prepare to dive back into the water he noticed movement from the enemy ship... movement downwards into the water,
"I hope he got out! No matter, the navy should be able to make sure everyone is able to get to safety! See, our plan worked flawlessly!"

"Aye, matey. And a fine job ya did!" Captain Joe says.

Your fellow trainer help Seymour climb on board. After you had a moment to celebrate your victory, with Malley returning to his gooey form to hug Seymour, a navy patrol boat comes next to your ship. On it, a uniformed woman wearing a hat reminding you of a Barraskewda's head shouts "permission to come aboard, captain!"

"Permission granted, Commodore Laurel."

The woman comes on board, accompanied by a few members of the rescue team. One of them carries Farrah, while the other helps Jett climb on your ship. It's clear both of them had a ruff time while you were away.

"So, how did you enjoy our little challenge?" the Commodore asks.

Seymour rushed to help the rescue team get Jett and Farrah aboard, and gave each pokemon a gentle hug before beginning to apply some basic healing items to their injuries. "You two were fantastic. Thank you for all your help. We'll get you a good long rest at a pokemon center after this, and then have a victory celebration!"

Turning his attention back to the Commodore, he replied to her question. "I thought the challenge was a lot of fun, actually. It involved a lot of strategy, skill, and creative thinking. All things I thoroughly enjoy. It was not easy though, which was expected. And I think every single one of our pokemon played an important role in our success. Every one of my own pokemon certainly did."

Jake waved cheerfully at the Commodore and spoke highly of the challenge,
"Oh, it was fantastic! I feel like I could be a real pirate now! Well, maybe I shouldn't tell YOU that!"

Giving a laugh to emphasize that it was, or was meant to be taken as a joke,
"But really, it was so cool! I thought we would just be playing hide and seek or something, but being able think really hard and win with our heads was cool! I heard the gyms back in Kanto are just like street fights but in a big place... this is real cool! It really shows how good teamwork with our pokemon and each other can do really big things!"

The other trainers agree, though Adela wished she had a chance to board the navy's ship.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it! But now, it's time for your reward." She opens the chest you grabbed, and picks up some of the coins, before handing one to each of you.



You realize they're the badges, though they look different from the ones you saw back at the tournament.

"You can also pick a TM. We have Dive, Surf, and Waterfall."

---

Here are the stats for each moves:
Dive       Water    P    Ab.Av   0    2 turn move, avoids all attacks the first turn
Surf       Water    S    High    0    Hits all close pokémon
Waterfall  Water    P    Ab.Av   0    Will cause Flinch if the damage roll ends with 1 or 2

All of them can be learned by Lombre, Barboach, Mantike, and Marshtomp

Seymour held the new badge in his hand, beaming with pride. Mostly pride for the efforts of his pokemon and fellow gym challenge team members. But eventually he turned to his Lombre again and asked, "What do you say Captain Lombre? You want to learn how to Surf the seas? Granted, you're already a great swimmer..." He accepted the Surf TM from the Commodore as his prize.

Jake took the badge and raised his fist with it in hand, showing it for all the sky to see,
"Another badge! Wohoo! Maybe I can even make it to the tournament! Hopefully the other gyms are as fun as this one. Do you know if any are more fun? I want to do the coolest ones! Doesn't matter if they are the easy ones or the hard ones really, so long as they are the cool ones!"

Jake took an uncharacteristically long amount of time to think over the offerings before going with waterfall,
"Yeah, I think skipper would be good to learn waterfall. We're all about direct in-your-face action, just like a gush of water crashing down."

"Well, if you liked this, you'll probably like Chailuire. They'll have you attack their fortress, and try to make your way inside. But with the way you were sneaking around, you'd probably enjoy Vinmur or Bruglare. Vinmur is all about urban combat, like SPAT teams and anti-terrorist interventions, while Burglare is the home of the Ghost Recon."

William nods. "I did Vinmur. It's only tier 1, but it's a serious challenge. We had to command our pokemon by radio, when we could only see what was happening by the camera they were wearing."

"Those all sound fantastic," Seymour admitted. "Jakey and I also talked about heading toward Vollemond and trying to catch some good flying pokemon for the challenge there. Do any of you have any insights on that badge's challenge?" He always loved getting tips that would help him plan for future challenges.

"Oh, I can tell you about that one," Tori says. "I was just there. Colonel Solomon's challenge is kind of a Kite Battle. You have to fly on one of your pokémon, and use the rest of your team to try and cut-off your opponent's trail, while protecting yours."

Bernard nods. "It can be really hard if you're not ready for it. Not to mention that you really don't want to try it if you're afraid of heights."

"That... sounds really cool, actually," Seymour admitted. He was unsure about how he would feel about the height issue, but liked to think that he would be brave enough to try the challenge. He wouldn't know for sure though until he had a pokemon that could fly with him on its back.

Changing the subject a bit, he asked everyone aboard the boat, "When we get back to shore, is anyone up for joining me at a victory celebration? After a quick stop at the pokemon center, of course. I think all of our pokemon deserve some time to relax, recuperate, and celebrate! What do you say?"

---

I am ready to jump forward in time a bit whenever Jakey is ready.

Chailuire and Bruglare sound awesome! Bustin' into a building sounds cool, and ghost ops also seems would be cool. Vinmur sounds hard, and the Solomon guy challenge seems uh, a bit above me. Jake's grin implied that the pun was indeed intended.

"Still, maybe if I get a good flyer it would be good to do! Then we could also get around faster to get back to Chailuire and find Bruggers. But yeah, all that can wait until we get to party! Know any place that can host us all?"

Jake was eager for his pokemon... and more importantly himself to celebrate.

"Aye, it's not a pirate's life without a party afterward!"

You sail back to port, where Captain Joe leads you to a café where the navy's cadet tend to gather. It's not really a pirate bar, but it's easy enough to pretend when the juice is served in wooden mugs.

Your pokemon get healed, and join you in your celebration, as you drink far into the night.

OOC: And this is a good place to close the thread. You can tell me where you head next in the OOC thread.

Now, for the level ups!

For Seymour's team:

-Captain Lombre increases his SpA and SpD to High
-Farrah increases her HP to High, and learns Aerial Ace:
  Aerial Ace   Flying   P   Ab.Av   0   Will hit on anything but an ExNo, long range
-Malley increases it's SpD to Ab.Av, and learns one of these abilities:
  Imposter (Ditto can use Transform as it's sent out)
  Discipline (If user has the initiative, he can cure one of Confused, Enraged, Infatuated, or Flinched)
-Jett gains one of these abilities, and learns Helping Hand:
  Pick Up (User has a No-Way chance to find an item at the end of each fight if it has no held item.)
  Helper (When the Pokémon uses Helping Hand, it's target also gets +1 Acc)
  Helping Hand   Normal   *               +1 Priority, gives a close ally +2 Power
-Rampage increases his SpD to High, and learns Double Hit:
  Double Hit   Normal   P   Low   -1   If the roll is withing 5% of ExYes, +2 Pow. If within 1/5 of the ExYes, +4 Pow
-Corrium increases both it's SpA and SpD to Low

For Jake's Team:

-Skipper increases his HP to High, and learns one of these abilities:
  Damp (Self-Destruct and Explosion cannot be used if this pokémon is in range)
  Own Tempo (Gives immunity to Confusion)
-Roach increases her Att and Def to Ab.Av
-Manty increases her Def to Average, Att to Low, and Speed to Average
-Nanny increases her SpD to Awesome, and Att to Ab.Av
-Inky increases his SpD and Speed to Average
-Bandy increases her Att to High, and learns Fake Out:
  Fake Out   Normal   P   B.Av   0   +3 Priority, can only be used when pokemon comes out, causes Flinch

Finally, you can increase one of your stats, and you learn one of these Strength:
 -Rampage: When ordering your pokemon to attack an object, the move is considered one step more effective.
 -Fish in Water: You personally have +2 to swimming check, and give +1 Speed to your pokemon when they're in water.
 -Ambush Training: When you ambush your opponent, on top of the normal bonus, you and your Pokémons have +1 hit bonus for the rest of the fight.

This message was last edited by the GM at 17:49, Wed 24 Mar 2021.