bohren_rpg | of all the shitty little places I meet you, it's here[open!]

Entry tags:

of all the shitty little places I meet you, it's here[open!]

Who: Jade, Dist, possibly others who are walking by WE MAY HAVE A BATTLE IDK
Where: Quakesburg
When: A couple weeks before the Quakesburg Tournament

Dist, not being a beginning trainer, felt no particular pressure to follow this year's crop on their journeys as they made the gym circuit. What he did want was to collect the Quakesburg badge himself, as well as to compete in the upcoming tournament(hopefully putting that stupid medic back in his place in the process). To that end he'd gone ahead, thinking it probably a good idea to add a new member to his team. He really didn't much like being in the underground city since he couldn't just fly away on Corax, but there wasn't much he could do about it.

It was due to this that he was trying to coax a very nervous little Shroomish into actually trying an attack out on a rather bored-looking Umbreon near the hotel where he'd booked his room. "Look, she won't hurt you unless I tell her-- get back out here!" The poor thing had fled to cower behind Dist's legs as Taupe yawned and eventually lay down on the street, rolling onto her back.

This was going to be tedious.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Well, it had taken a long time. Years, in fact, to say nothing of the tireless effort involved. But of all the many things Jade had been accused of in his life, a lack of dedication had never featured on the list.

He'd tracked Dist through Sinnoh, dogged his footsteps in Hoenn...and now, here in Bohren, he was staring at the back of the fool's head. An excellent target for what he held in his hand...but, he considered somewhat regretfully, Rangers probably frowned upon assault. Even when it was something like Dist.

...but on the other hand, they definitely frowned upon trying to blow people up...

Jade decided to compromise. "You dropped something," he remarked brightly, before giving the dented pink Pokeball an overhand throw at Dist's shoulder.

Dist didn't need the visual cue to know who it was.

He didn't move for several moments after he heard Jade's voice, letting the Pokéball bounce harmlessly off his shoulder and to the ground(though his new Shroomish let out a loud wail and bolted, cowering behind a lamppost). He was frankly not sure how he felt about it; on the one hand, Jade wasn't dead... and on the other, Jade wasn't dead. The emotion running through his head was a very uncomfortable mix of elation and cold dread.

Eventually his mind decided on a course of action. He whirled, far too late for it to even vaguely resemble a startled reaction, scooping the Pokéball up and throwing it right back; for a moment or two he seemed unable to form words, just letting out a frustrated 'RRRRRGH' sort of sound. Eventually, he found words.

"You! What are you doing here?!"

As the movement had been far too late to catch Jade by surprise, catching the Pokeball was relatively easy. "Is that any way to greet an old friend?" he inquired, moving up to stand beside Dist rather than behind him. He doubted the other man appreciated it, a fact that justified the change of position all by itself. "Normally that would constitute an assault on an RTF officer, but I suppose we're well beyond that by now, given our history."

"Assault on--! You attacked me!" Dist stepped away from Jade so that they were facing one another again, though he did note exactly which of his little calling-cards Jade was holding: one that had clearly survived an explosion. So that made two things that Dist was very surprised to see still in one piece. "And you're supposed to be dead!" That last sentence was spoken in a hissed whisper.

"On the contrary," Jade demurred, "I was simply returning your property." He held up the ball for Dist's closer inspection, balanced on the tips of his fingers. "Whereas you tried to murder me with a bomb. If you truly wish to argue the point, Dist, you'll lose."

Baskerville stalked out of the shadows where he'd been lurking, circling Jade's legs like a shark before sitting obediently down beside his master. He looked at Dist and, rather pointedly, lifted his lips to expose all his teeth. There was no accompanying growl; either the Houndoom was simply baring its teeth for the sheer pleasure of it, or - like his master - he had developed a rather terrifying take on the human smile. The overall effect was the same either way.

Jade's eyes drifted, briefly, from Baskerville to Dist's cowering Shroomish, then gave Dist one of his most infuriating smiles. "As you always do."

At the glance, Dist turned slightly and returned the poor Shroomish to his ball, not particularly wanting him to die of a heart attack. Taupe, meanwhile, had fallen asleep on her back.

"I do not always lose," Dist snapped, though he did give the Houndoom a careful glance. "You're a cheater. And I can't believe you kept that." It was slightly flattering, really.

"Evidence," Jade informed him lightly, before absently tossing the ball into a nearby garbage can. "Which you just put your fingerprints on, for the record. I could have arrested you already and been done with it."

Maybe Dist had a point about the cheating thing, come to think of it.

"However," Jade said with a smile, "I hear you're a gym leader now. Rather than humiliate the League by raking up every sordid detail of your history for the world to see..." He let this hang in the air, letting Dist examine it at his leisure as an option Jade could choose at any time. "...I believe I'll settle for evaluating you, for now."

Dist practically growled. Now that there was something interesting happening, Taupe had taken notice, trotting mildly over to watch.

"I don't need to prove anything to you. I'm brilliant, and I always have been! That you can't see that just means that you're a mindless wretch."

"Is that so," Jade replied mildly. It really wasn't hard to win an argument with Dist; anyone who could maintain their temper had an insurmountable advantage over him, and Jade was a master at such things. "For a brilliant man, you've left a remarkable trail of failures behind you. Becoming a gym leader is the only thing I've actually seen you succeed at, and given that I heard you took yourself out of the running of that tournament a few days ago, the level of success seems debatable even then."

"The person who supposedly defeated me was a cheater like you! I was simply trying to give him what was coming to him. It seems that being an annoying wretch is required for Rangers, however; one of your kind stopped me. There was no reason for me to remain in a nest of thieves."

"Given that tournaments are regulated in such a way as to prevent cheating, one can only imagine how the officials missed it." Jade resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Were there any circumstances under which Dist would admit to a legitimate defeat? He doubted it. "Have you actually improved at all, or did you simply trip into your position?"

"I earned this position completely legitimately!" And it was true. He registered and passed all of the screening processes legally, had his full team registered, the whole thing. "They don't give gyms to people who can't live up to their reputations. You really are an idiot."

"Oh, I'm aware," Jade said with a slight shrug of his shoulders. Baskerville yawned beside him, whip-like tail swishing idly. "But, after all, it is you. Those two facts are hard to reconcile."

Dist PUFFED, scowling mightily as he withdrew a Pokéball from the inside pocket of his coat. "Fine! You're obviously dense; I'll have to show you!"

Jade smiled, though he kept it a generic expression rather than allowing his wicked amusement to show. He'd rather been hoping to bait Dist into a battle; it would be an excellent chance to gauge his capabilities, not to mention find out his team lineup in advance. And it would be a good warm-up for the Quakeburg gym; he had decided the tournaments would be a good way to pass the time while he was in Bohren, and he'd need a badge to participate.

"Why, Dist, is that a challenge?"

Dist didn't even say anything; he simply threw the ball to the ground, his Roserade appearing on the street with a flourish and a shower of petals. Taupe, meanwhile, moved herself out of what was very quickly becoming a battlefield outside the hotel.

Baskerville got to his feet, pawing the ground and growling softly from deep in his throat. Jade, however, held out a hand, indicating he should hold position. "As quick as you could make this," Jade informed his Pokemon with a smile, "Dist is hardly worth taking that seriously."

Pulling a Pokeball from his belt, Jade tossed it almost lazily onto the field - but this was a battle, even if it was with Dist, and his voice was stern as the Flygon emerged, hovering over the field. "Go, Albiore!"

Hm. Unfortunately, Adagio couldn't do much against this first threat, but Dist was not about to use up this first turn. "Adagio! Lay down your Toxic Spikes!"

The Roserade did a quick pirouette, extending one of his arms and scattering a collection of poisoned barbs around Jade's feet. "There, Jade!" Dist cackled. "You'll send your poor Pokémon to their doom!"

"Oh, how terrible," was Jade's unperturbed reply. Albiore was entirely unaffected, and though Dist didn't know it yet, several other Pokemon Jade could turn to were also immune...

Seeing no reason to waste any time - or go easy on Dist - Jade rapped out a sharp command. "Aerial Ace!"

The Flygon's wings buzzed as he did several sweeps through the air, increasing his speed, before sweeping down without warning to slash fiercely at the Roserade with its sharp tail.

Adagio made an unhappy cry, but Dist didn't appear particularly surprised. He didn't even recall the Pokémon, though he was at an obvious disadvantage. The Roserade turned his head slightly and Dist nodded. "Wait."

Well, Dist might be taking his time, but Jade wasn't going to draw out this battle. Another hit would doubtless put the Roserade down, meaning Dist would need to bring in another Pokemon...and the rest of his team was, thus far, a mystery.

Jade decided to hit hard. There was no harm in overkill, and Albiore would be primed for whatever came out next. "Now, Albiore! Finish it with Outrage!"

The Flygon let out a heated screech, doing a quick aerial circle for momentum before arrowing toward Roserade, wings beating so quickly it stirred dust on the ground.

The Roserade was recalled from the field as soon as the order was out, Dist throwing down a new Pokéball much more quickly that he probably should have been able to. The new Pokémon, a Weavile that Jade may have been familiar with, took the full force of the blow, thrown easily across the street. Rather than collapse, however, the Weavile remained standing, wearing an expression that would have been a blatantly recognizable smirk on a human face.

"Auricle! Don't waste time; Ice Shard!" The Weavile was flying through the air not a moment after hearing the command, slashing his claws in the Flygon's direction, icicles materializing and raining down from above.

Jade's eyes widened slightly. Not at the appearance of Auricle - though he did recognize the name, even if it had been a Sneasel the last time he'd seen it - or even at the unexpected tactical switch of Pokemon. Even Albiore's agonized cry as the icicles tore through his delicate wings, dropping him heavily to the ground and effectively putting him out of the fight, didn't come as a shock. Withstanding ice attacks was hardly Albiore's strong suit.

Jade simply couldn't believe that Auricle was still standing. Outrage was one of the most powerful moves in Albiore's repertoire, and the Weavile taken a direct hit; surely she should have gone down...?

He allowed himself the moments as he called Albiore back to shake off his surprise; clearly both Dist and his Pokemon had expected this, which meant they must have been prepared for such a strong blow somehow. So Dist was a bit craftier than he'd expected...no matter. His next choice would be a trusted favorite, not to mention a Pokemon prepared to deal with everything before him on the field.

Despite having lost the first Pokemon, Jade smiled as he threw out his next Pokeball. "It's time, Deucalion."

The Lucario emerged with something almost like a huff, Roserade's spikes crunching to harmless powder beneath his feet.

"Focus Sash, Jade. Pay attention; you might learn something."

There was no need to withdraw Auricle just yet, though; his switch-in had been advantageous, and Dist already had an idea of which Pokémon he wanted to use next.

"I'm simply astonished to see anything approaching tactics from you, Dist," Jade replied casually. There was no need to get worked up yet; Deucalion was unflinchingly reliable against almost anything without a type advantage.

Auricle couldn't withstand another hit, that much was obvious; a quick strike would drop it completely. "Extreme Speed, Deucalion!" Jade ordered. "Catch it first!"

Again, Dist quickly withdrew his active Pokémon from the field, the next materializing on the field with a loud rumble: Kaiser, his Tyranitar. Clearly it was time to bring out the big guns. Deucalion's attack hit home, but the Tyranitar didn't seem particularly bothered by it. A sandstorm whipped itself up, tearing through the immediate area.

"You should know better than to underestimate me! Or did you forget the little present I left you?" Dist practically cackled. "Kaiser! Take it out with an Earthquake!"

Well, that was annoying. Extreme Speed was a strong move, but not against this particular opponent. But since Dist had ordered an attack, that meant that he wouldn't be recalling this Pokemon so quickly.

Jade smirked, pushing his glasses higher on the bridge of his nose. This would be satisfying.

"Close Combat, Deucalion."

The Lucario nodded slightly, dropping into a battle stance before rushing forward to slam the Tyranitar with a barrage of vicious hits. Given the size differential, one might have thought it would do no significant damage...but Tyranitar had particularly exploitable weaknesses when up against a Fighting Pokemon.

Dist had sort of forgotten about the other half of a Lucario's strength: fighting attacks. The Lucario managed to avoid Kaiser's attack entirely, successfully felling the Tyranitar in one elegant move. Dist could hardly believe it.

"No!!"

Jade smiled across the field at Dist. He knew that the sheer force of that attack had taken a bit out of Deucalion in terms of energy, but it was entirely worth it to see Kaiser dropped in a single move, to say nothing of the look on Dist's face. The Tyranitar hadn't even had time to launch its attack.

"I'm sorry, Dist, what were you saying about underestimating? I believe it was something amusing."

Oh, that was not okay. Dist withdrew Kaiser with a scowl. "T-that didn't count! I wasn't really trying!"

Of course, then he had to deal with a Lucario. His whole team had a fighting weakness; it was something he was always working on fixing. Nothing to be done about it right then, though, so he went with the best option he had at that moment, pitching a Pokéball out onto the street. His Spiritomb didn't make a sound as she materialized, just giving Jade and Deucalion a lazy grin.

"We'll see how well your precious fighting Pokémon handles a ghost!"

Jade wasn't particularly concerned when the Spiritomb emerged. True, Deucalion couldn't make use of his fighting moves against it, but there was another option. "Deucalion, stop it cold with Ice Punch!" Certainly not the strongest move in his Lucario's repertoire, but it was the only one that could hit a ghost.

Ouch, Jade. That pun was painful. The punch hit home; while fighting attacks tended to not affect Ghosts at all, adding an element to them had the unfortunate side effect of getting around the immunity. Memoria made a rather otherworldly screech, but Dist didn't look particularly worried. He wouldn't be able to take a Lucario down in one hit with any of his remaining team, so it was all just a matter of waiting it out.

"Give it a Shadow ball, then heal with Rest!"

Jade smirked. Rest meant that Deucalion would have time to get in several attacks; the Spiritomb might recover all its strength immediately, but they'd have the chance to put it down for good before it woke up again.

Time to make sure his Lucario's attacks were definitive. "Swords Dance, Deucalion!" he called. The Lucario nodded, executing a series of motions that would make its attacks that much more powerful.

Dist shook his head, smirking. "Don't mistake a sleeping Pokémon for a helpless one, Jade. Memoria, Sleep Talk!"

The Spiritomb snorted sleepily, then began mumbling incoherently, a pulse of dark energy shooting out towards Deucalion a moment later. Piece by piece by piece.

Another underestimation of Dist's capabilities on his own part. It might be a sign of a rather worrying trend, if Dist had been anyone Jade felt he truly needed to be worried about. As it was, he'd simply have to accept that even for Dist, time and his experiences as a gym leader must have taught him something.

Deucalion braced himself as he took the hit, but for the most part shook it off. Damaging, yes, but Lucario was a sturdy Pokemon; he wasn't going to go down quickly. Seeing that he was still holding strong, Jade decided that bolstering his strength even further was still a safe bet. "Another Swords Dance, Deucalion. We still have time."

Not good. Dist knew he had to take that thing down quickly or it was going to tear his team apart; he made a mental note to start looking for a new Pokémon that could deal with this sort of threat to put on his gym team. It would probably end up taking Adagio's place; the Roserade was one of his favorites, but Dist primarily used him to lay down spikes and thus he was slightly more expendable than the rest of his team.

That would come later, though. For now, he had to deal with the immediate threat before it became unstoppable. "Memoria, Sleep Talk." It was the only attack she could do, anyway. Another dark blast was shot out in Deucalion's direction in short order.

The attacks were chipping away at Deucalion, but slowly; the Lucario was holding up well in the face of everything Memoria could throw at it. And now it was time to return the favor; his strength had been considerably bolstered.

"Ice Punch!" Jade commanded, and the Lucario lashed out with a powerful fist, glowing almost white from the ice. With attacks that strong, Jade knew the Spiritomb wouldn't get the chance to use Rest a second time without being dropped hard.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

of all the shitty little places I meet you, it's here[open!]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject