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POSTED ON Dec 4, 2019 1:58:14 GMT

[attr="class","merkI"]

[attr="class","merkpokesI"]

Ruby didn't know what she was doing here already. This was her first real gym battle, or at least her first attempted battle. If she could even find her way out of this maze, that would be great. Her progress was slow but consistent at the very least. Hearing stories of some trainers getting lost and sent home when the gym closed, Ruby made sure to show up as soon as the gym had opened, beginning to make her progress through the beautiful indoor nature wonderland. It was absolutely beautiful, the pretty flowers, the Pokemon calls in the background, the fruity, floral scents that seemed to hang in the air. If she wasn't here on a mission, Ruby would have honestly spent the whole day just relaxing here. Hopefully, the gym leader let her just relax after the battle, whether she won or lost!

Just following the left side of the maze eventually led Ruby out towards the other side, but it was certainly a bit time-consuming. Perhaps some other challengers had some flying pokemon that could lead them over and around the maze, but she didn't worry about it for now. Her eyes of course, widened at the sight before her. The cute little river, the beautifully laid stone, this was definitely a place Meddy her Medicham would have absolutely loved to meditate in. It felt so calming, just like she was back home again in her family's woods.

Eventually, of course, Ruby managed to make her way onto the circle of stone and called out with a soft tone, almost afraid to raise her voice and ruin the peaceful sanctity of the place. "Uh, hello? Is anyone there? I'm uh, here to challenge the gym leader...?"

notes: Traditional Battle Please!

[attr="class","merktagI"] cait alfric

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POSTED ON Dec 4, 2019 16:32:05 GMT

"that would be me."

cait was situated on her side of the area, garbed in casual wear that consisted of a blue shirt and denim jeans. she sat with her legs crossed, appearing to be in the midst of weaving a basket. she often filled the empty hours with tasks that required some semblance of focus; and she was in desperate need of containers for her herbs.

at her side was her groyvle, her handy work a bit more clumsy as she gingerly and slowly put together something which vaguely resembled a basket. her father, a rather large sceptile, contented himself with filling the silence with a string instrument, the shamisen in hand filling the silence with a series of uplifting notes.

their work and their music came to an abrupt halt at ruby's entrnace, with cait and her companions peering curiously at the pink-haired female.

"your name?"

she rarely asked for a challenger's name, but she felt the strangest twinge of curiosity as she peered at the pretty young female.

perhaps it was the foreign accent?

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POSTED ON Dec 4, 2019 20:23:09 GMT

[attr="class","merkI"]

[attr="class","merkpokesI"]

Ruby didn't know what to expect, but somehow she looked exactly like she would have thought a gym leader in such a beautiful environment to look. Casual clothes that could easily get dirtied and cleaned, weaving a basket. Of course, the two Pokemon to her sides only made her eyes widened. That music was being played by Sceptile? It was so beautiful! A shame that it stopped as soon as she entered and spoke, of course. Hopefully, they really didn't mind if she stuck around afterward. This was such a wonderful place, it just felt so lovely.

As soon as she was asked for her name, Ruby quickly straightened up, brushing off her shirt before speaking. "Oh! Uh, my name is Ruby Walker. I come from the Galar region, and I uh, well, I'm trying to establish myself as a trainer!" An excited, yet nervous grin spread across Ruby's face as she slowly walked closer. Once within a few feet, she'd awkwardly curtsy trying her best to be polite and give this beautiful woman across the room the respect a talented trainer like her no doubt deserved.

Ruby was struggling for words to say to continue to conversation. Growing up where she hardly spoke at all, social interactions were always complicated even if they really shouldn't be. "Umm, so uh, may I ask your name, Miss? I'm sorry, I was just, so excited to challenge the gym, and so excited to see such a beautiful place, it didn't even cross my mind until now."

notes: N/A

[attr="class","merktagI"] cait alfric

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POSTED ON Dec 4, 2019 20:44:00 GMT

she appeared satisfied by the woman's flustered introduction, her grin broad and infectiously warm as she nodded her head.

"cait alfric," she introduced, tapping herself on the chest. "and this is sceptile and his daughter."

sceptile followed her example and offered a simple nod in greeting while groyvle raised her hand and gave a wave. the gym leader placed the basket she had been working on aside, gesturing for her companions to remain as they were as she stood and addressed the young woman directly.

"so you're interested in a badge?"

cait released a quiet hum, her smile remaining firmly in place.

"then let's begin. the rules are simple; this will be a one on one. and because your options will be sorely limited to just that, i recommend that you choose carefully."

she glanced down at groyvle.

"groyvle? fetch your mother, please. and tell her to bring lilligant along. she'll know what to do."

she grins apologetically at ruby.

"i'll need only a moment. i suggest considering who you'll bring into battle while we wait."

cait gestured toward the portion of the field where ruby was expected to stand, indicating that she should take her proper place.

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POSTED ON Dec 4, 2019 21:19:13 GMT

[attr="class","merkI"]

[attr="class","merkpokesI"]

Cait Alfric. It was definitely a pretty name, she had to admit that. However, at the mention of it only being a one on one battle, Ruby stiffened a little bit. She knew every gym had a different challenge to overcome, but this suddenly put her in a bit of a complicated situation. Slowly pulling out her pokeballs, Ruby internally began to debate.

Whisper was obviously her strongest, or at least Ruby thought so, but there was nothing to help her type-wise against the gym leader's pokemon. It would be a straight battle against strengths, seeing who could overpower the other the fastest. But on the other hand, quite literally as Ruby raised the Pokeball to look at it, Aurorus was a rock/ice type with some powerful ice moves. She'd be at a heavy risk of a type weakness herself, but the type advantage from her moves was also incredibly compelling. It took her a few seconds more to decide. The risk just wasn't worth it. Slowly, she tucked all the other Pokeballs away, leaving Whisper the Hatterene in her hands.

With that in mind, Ruby slowly made her way over towards her proper position. A nervous look on her face, she slowly kissed the Pokeball, whispering to it. "You can do it, Whisper. I know you can." With that said, Ruby quickly released her, the psychic/fairy pokemon standing tall, perfectly still as her eyes adjusted to the field around her. Taking in everything, she stared at the gym leader with an impassive stare.

notes: Summoned Whisper the Hatterene to the field.

[attr="class","merktagI"] cait alfric

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POSTED ON Dec 4, 2019 22:03:14 GMT

lilligant ♀: own tempo - petal blizzard, petal dance, quiver dance, teeter dance, giga drain, entrainment

as hatterene situated herself upon the field, another sceptile and what appeared to be a lilligant made their entrance. a mid-sized drum was tucked beneath the former's arm, the pokemon who bore the instrument situating herself comfortably at her mate's side.

"you're on, lilligant," cait said.

the dainty pokemon stepped forward, bowing deeply before ruby and her dual-type counterpart. her sceptiles would experimentally pluck and tap at their instruments.

"i hope you don't mind a bit of music. my lilligants are quite fond of it."

she very rarely used her lilligants for battle, the pokemon much preferring to maintain a peaceable existence as opposed to bolstering their own strength. but by combining dance and battle, they could be compelled to act.

"let's begin."

her male sceptile began to play at his mistress's signal, his mate following his lead and following it well. her lilligant began to move, her motions elegant and precise as she began to fall under the music's sway. but despite her movements, her gaze would sharpen as she kept her eyes trained upon her beautiful foe.

"you may begin, miss walker."

[ music ]

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POSTED ON Dec 4, 2019 23:10:17 GMT

[attr="class","merkI"]

[attr="class","merkpokesI"]

Oh dear. Music. Normally, Ruby would have absolutely enjoyed listening to the music the Pokemon would be making, but from the face on Whisper's face, she was clearly struggling not to run over and smack the grass pokemon playing instead of her actual opponent. Ruby bit her lip, putting faith in her and hoping that somehow, she'd actually manage to keep herself in check. "N-no! Uh, not at all, Miss Alfric."

As soon as they were told to begin, Ruby suddenly wracked her brain for how to handle a Lilligant. It was just a grass type, right? Hopefully, it only knew grass type moves and nothing that would really devastate her girl. However, Whisper certainly looked incredibly worked up. That anger was only going to get her somewhere bad, she could feel it. If she attacked any of the Pokemon not in the battle, the gym leader might call off the battle entirely! Determined not to let it get that far, Ruby spoke with a soft voice knowing better than to shout at her, especially now. "Whisper. Use Calm Mind. Relax and focus, you can do this."

Upon hearing Ruby's words, Whisper's eyes narrowed. Clearly reluctant to tear her eyes away from the band, she eventually let out a deep breath as she grew silent. A relaxing, almost calming presence would surround her as Whisper's psychic energies began to slowly spin around her, almost akin to a physical representation of her focused state.

Ruby immediately smiled upon seeing Whisper finally calm down, but that time spent focusing was definitely time that she left herself open to her opponent. Hopefully optimistic, Ruby silently cheered her on.

notes: Used Calm Mind.

[attr="class","merktagI"] cait alfric

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POSTED ON Dec 4, 2019 23:19:19 GMT

cait struggled to keep a grin off her face, the young woman curious to see if the dual-type could ignore the outside stimuli and fixate almost entirely on her foe.

"teeter dance, lilligant." cait said.

her pokemon executed the dance as her opponent triggered a calm mind, the grass-type intent on further crippling her foe's focus. the music altered, the band increasing the general tempo of the rhythm as it become increasingly frantic in quality. it was almost dizzying in quality, with lilligant covered in a thin aura of bewildering power as she sought to confuse.

the wobble in her step caused her dance to almost appear tribal, a soft and tittering laugh escaping her as she twirled and twisted.

[ lilligant uses teeter dance! ]

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POSTED ON Dec 4, 2019 23:46:18 GMT

[attr="class","merkI"]

[attr="class","merkpokesI"]

So this was the strategy, it seemed. They were aiming to distract Whisper, confuse her, possibly even anger her to get her to react irrationally. Unfortunately, it seemed like it was going to work. Whisper narrowed her eyes once more, staring intently at the dancing Pokemon. Even Ruby was getting a headache from looking at them for some reason, but oddly enough, Whisper's focus didn't break. She did seem confused, but not in the traditional sense. More akin to questioning what they were doing, as compared to being mesmerized by their moves.

After seeing Whisper mostly unaffected, Ruby couldn't help but smile a bit wider. Now was the time to act! They could either simply go in for an all-out attack or perhaps something different. If this was Lilligant's fighting strategy, then making sure she was prepared to stay calm despite the overwhelming music and dance moves felt like an absolute must. "You got this, Calm Mind again! Really focus."

Whisper let out a slow, deep breath. In and out. The tentacle arm atop her hat simply swung back and forth slowly, ticking to some unknown metronome directly in contrast against the beat echoing around them. The psychic energies swirled up even brighter than before, the pink-ish swirls giving the Hatterene an almost unearthly look about her.

notes: Used Calm Mind x2. Magic bounce reflected on your permission. o/

[attr="class","merktagI"] cait alfric

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POSTED ON Dec 5, 2019 17:32:12 GMT

the grass-type experienced the dizzying effects of her spell, but own tempo succeeded in shielding her from the adverse effects of teeter dance. lilligant appeared bemused before her expression twisted to betray mild annoyance, the music that played for her slowing for a beat as she considered how she'd respond to whisper's resistance. she began to twirl, spinning in tight circles as she began to conjure another attack.

'petal dance,' cait thought, quickly identifying the lilligant's strategy.

it was a powerful move that lilligant could make use of without the risk of confusion. the gym leader's grin sharpened, her eyes alight with excitement as she bore witness to her grass-type's frantic movements. her spinning intensified until she became a partial blur, her music growing increasingly frantic as a wave of sharp petals engulfed whisper's portion of the field.

[ lilligant uses petal dance! ]

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POSTED ON Dec 5, 2019 18:19:24 GMT

[attr="class","merkI"]

[attr="class","merkpokesI"]

The sharp petals slashed away at Whisper almost immediately, but thankfully the built-up psychic energies from her focusing and relaxing helped dampen the impact. Ruby, however, still looked immensely worried. Seeing Whisper get beaten up while she just stood there and took it. She didn't even attempt to dodge! Not that she was nearly fast enough to do so, but it was the point of the matter. Whisper's face twisted into intense annoyance as the petals and leaves slashed away at her, ever so slowly moving forward towards the dancing Lilligant.

They didn't have time to focus and keep their cool, not with this onslaught, it was finally time for action. Ruby quietly spoke once more to Whisper, nerves audible in her voice. "Come on, use Psychic. You can do this." Ruby leaned forward, staring at the battle with wide eyes.

Whisper immediately began to focus the psychic energies, suddenly blasting away with intense mental pressure aided by her previous uses of Calm Mind. Even if it didn't stop that annoying dance, Whisper definitely had a satisfied look on her face as she finally took action against that annoying music.

notes: Used Psychic.

[attr="class","merktagI"] cait alfric

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POSTED ON Dec 6, 2019 16:43:14 GMT

the psychic shoved the pokemon roughly, very nearly sending her tumbling into cait and her groyvle. the pair hastily removed themselves from the injured grass-type's path, their expressions ranging from impressed to surprised. her lilligant's eyes were tightly shut as she raised herself from her formerly fallen position, her band slowing their music appropriately to reflect her partially downed state.

"you alright to continue, lilligant?"

the attack that whisper had released was no joke, those whom were present having felt the remnants of its kinetic power. her pokemon stood despite the pain that wracked her form, her expression betraying her displeasure.

"right," cait said, observing as her pokemon stumbled back into her place.

'let's see if she can stand another one.'

the pokemon regained her previously lost posture and without missing a beat she began to spin, a quiet cry escaping her as she contended with the pain which currently lanced throughout her body. but instead of simply surrendering herself to agony, she focused on continuing onward with her performance. the petal dance continued, another barrage of sharp and pink petals spilling forth.

[ lilligant uses petal dance! ]

Ruby Walker

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POSTED ON Dec 6, 2019 21:21:30 GMT

[attr="class","merkI"]

[attr="class","merkpokesI"]

Whisper slowly smirked as she saw just how damaged the Lilligant was from her single attack, clearly quite pleased with herself for upsetting the dance, but still angered that the music didn't stop entirely. She continued her slow movement forwards, taking step by step as she effectively glided across the floor towards the plant pokemon.

Ruby finally smiled, she was doing so great! Hopefully, it wouldn't be too much longer before the battle was over. When she saw the Lilligant do the same move as before, the pink petals slashing away at Whisper, she quickly spoke again. If it wasn't for the psychic defenses Whisper had built up, she doubted they'd be in nearly as good as a position, but there was no reason to push their luck and waste time. "Let's try and finish this Whisper, use Psychic again."

Of course, Whisper was growing frustrated and in increased pain with every slash with the petals, one specific petal managed to get in close and slash away at her cheek, leaving a solid painful mark across the silent pokemon's face. The hair that was supporting them and keeping them upright seemed to wobble a little bit from the impacts, revealing that the damage was affecting her even if she was choosing to ignore it as best she could.

Once again pulling together and focusing the mental energies, Whisper didn't waste any more time. The swirl of psychic energies blasted towards her opponent once again, hoping to put this battle and the music to rest.

notes: Used Psychic.

[attr="class","merktagI"] cait alfric

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POSTED ON Dec 6, 2019 21:39:10 GMT

her lilligant wobbled, unable to withstand the following blast of power. she swayed unsteadily, at first, attempting to remain upright. but her body was rapidly failing her, her vision plagued with blurred edges as she swayed unsteadily upon her feet. cait called for her groyvle to come to her aid, the limber grass-type catching the fainting pokemon in her arms.

cait gestured toward her band, whom allowed for the music to come to a gradual end. she approached the downed grass-type, a hint of a glow entering her gaze as she placed her hand upon the rounded cheek of the petite pokemon.

"a beautiful performance," she remarked, the smile that slipped onto her face filled with mirth. "i look forward to seeing it again."

healing energies that flowed throughout her body and spilled from her palm into the grass-type caused lilligant to stir, her eyes blinking open as the pain lessened by a decent margin.

"better?"

cait breathed, taking care to ensure that her flesh maintained its usual parlor. after blinking several times, the curious light that presented itself within the eyes lessened. cait reached for her pocket once her lilligant returned to her feet, the pokemon leaning heavily upon groyvle as their mistress fished around for a badge - only to find it empty.

"well," she breathed. "you've won, but i'll need to have one of my pokemon fetch another badge. i guess i gave out my last one a few hours ago."

her sceptiles returned to lightly toying with their instruments, their music comparatively quiet as they turned their attention away from the battlefield.

"congratulations, by the way," she said, her attention shifting toward whisper. "that - hm - that pokemon's from the galar region, aren't they?"

Ruby Walker

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