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5’9” height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

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TAG WITH @shinobu

POSTED ON May 27, 2024 17:48:02 GMT

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He was finally going to do it. After saying over and over again that he would be finally doing it, all it took was setting everything up on one of his days off from work.
[break][break]
And what was he doing, you may ask? Taking on the gym challenge.
[break][break]
He had already started the gym challenge in Unova, but as that was no longer an option, he wanted to take the one in Hoenn. Something he had said he would do for months. However, with his workaholic tendencies, he continued to find reasons as to why he couldn’t take on the gyms until he realized that the only thing holding him back was himself.
[break][break]
Once he realized that he had stopped making excuses, he signed up to take on his first gym in Hoenn. That was actually why he was currently making his way through Mauville instead of being in Lilycove.
[break][break]
Reaching the gym with the help of Tempest, he returned the Manectric back to her pokeball before making his way inside, where he was told to wait until things were ready for his gym challenge. [break] Josh Devlin

[attr="class","oocnotes"] + Using Marowak and Metagross

[attr="class","pokeclass"]
Venus | ♁ OVERGROW | leaf tornado, leaf blade, giga drain, leaf storm

Marrow | ♁ BATTLE ARMOR | BONE RUSH, DOUBLE KICK, ENDEAVOR, RETALIATE, SANDSTORM, THRASH

Yuuki | ♁ SNOW WARNING | aurora beam, ice beam, ice fang, dazzling gleam, draining kiss

Athena | ♁ STEADFAST | QUICK ATTACK, METAL CLAW, ROCK SMASH, FORCE PALM

Tempest | ♁ STATIC | FIRE FANG, QUICK ATTACK, THUNDER FANG, DISCHARGE

Isis | ⚬ LIGHT METAL | HAMMER ARM, CONFUSION, METEOR MASH, BULLET PUNCH, ZEN HEADBUTT,

[attr="class","milkcredit"]milky

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played by

raikourider

Master of Faster

He/Him

December 12

Goldenrod, Johto

Straight

Mauville Gym Leader

Champion

6'1" height

"With great speed comes great responsibility."

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7,240 posts

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TAG WITH @joshdevlin

POSTED ON May 29, 2024 21:14:45 GMT

Mauville Racing Grounds' facility was enormous indeed; while the office space had little signage due to its size being on the smaller side, the property where the action took place, just outside the city proper, was enormous. Luckily, Josh had experienced staff who knew the facility well, and signage that could guide challengers to the correct location. The voice of ANDREW WEISS, Josh's scheduler, echoed over the Gym's loudspeakers:

"Challenger shinobu fujimori , please report to the Main Sector. Challenger Fujimori, to the Main Sector. Thank you!"

Provided Shinobu followed the ample signage to get to the Main Sector, where the facility's battle courts were located, he would find Josh removing the saddle from Saber, a Manectric that was one of the most well-known Pokémon the Gym Leader had. "Hi, Shin!" Josh greeted his friend. "Long time no see! How you been?" While most Gyms' battle courts had some variance to how large they were, Mauville's was notable for being extremely large; it was triple regulation size, and it was wide open, with plenty of channels for aquatic Pokémon to swim. Pokémon had plenty of room to run and nowhere to hide, playing into the ultrafast Pokémon on Josh's Gym squad and giving them quite the home field advantage.

The Gym Leader and Champion directed the challenger toward the west side of the triple-sized court, toward the Trainer's Box on the challenger's side. "According to your application, this will be a two-Pokémon Doubles match. The first side to incapacitate their opponent's entire Pokémon will be the winner. This match will have a seven-minute time limit, and ties will be broken by sudden death. Good luck to you; you'll need it."

Once the two trainers were positioned, the small gallery cheered, primarily for Josh, as the platforms rose to a height of roughly ten feet. The Gym Leader pointed toward the circular pool surrounding the inner ring of the battle court, the Manectric ready to do battle. He wouldn't be fighting alone; with a whistle from the Gym Leader, a Kilowattrel swooped in next to the Manectric, the black and yellow bird squawking loudly. "Now, bring forth your Pokémon and ponder your opening move. I can assure you it will be the only decision you will have time to think on," Josh taunted.

shinobu fujimori

{PC: 1}

NAME SPECIES STATUS
Saber Manectric Good
Etali Kilowattrel Good

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played by

lumity/jayfeather

shin

he/him/his

December 19th

Castelia City

homosexual

chef

civilian

5’9” height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

awards

166 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @shinobu

POSTED ON Jun 5, 2024 0:59:25 GMT

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He hadn’t been waiting for long when he was told the gym leader was ready to see him. Hand-ghosting over the signs, the blind youth followed them as well as any verbal directions he was given in Main Sector. Josh’s voice would be the first to greet him upon his arrival at his destination, and he would shoot the older male a grin.
[break][break]
“I’ve been good; been getting out more; well, trying anyway,” he admitted, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.
[break][break]
He was trying, at least. However, deep down, he would always be a workaholic. But wasn’t the fact that he was actually trying all that mattered?
[break][break]
"How have you been?” he asked, deciding to return the question.
[break][break]
Soon enough, the time for small talk was behind them, as if Josh were fully ready to face him. As he went on to explain how the match would work, he nodded. “Sounds good to me.”
[break][break]
Once the signal to start was given, he would send out his Pokémon, a Marowak and a Metagross, his rotom phone helping him know what Pokémon the older male had sent out. After all, knowing who was sent out would help you know how to play the battle out.
[break][break]
Speaking of…
[break][break]
“We’ll see about that,” he said in response to the taunt. “Start things off, Marrow.”
[break][break]
The Marowak, apparently named Marrow, would kick things off with the move Sandstorm, providing the Isis, the Metagross, and the cover to come at Saber with a Zen Headbutt.
[break][break]
Sandstorm: Will last five turns or until the battle draws to an end whichever comes first. The sandstorm can also be ended if another weather condition is put into place.
[break] Josh Devlin

[attr="class","oocnotes"] + ooc notes

[attr="class","pokeclass"]
Venus | ♁ OVERGROW | leaf tornado, leaf blade, giga drain, leaf storm

[attr="class","milkcredit"]milky

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played by

raikourider

Master of Faster

He/Him

December 12

Goldenrod, Johto

Straight

Mauville Gym Leader

Champion

6'1" height

"With great speed comes great responsibility."

awards

7,240 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @joshdevlin

POSTED ON Jun 5, 2024 21:52:08 GMT

"At about the highest point I've ever been," Josh answered. "I'm a Champion now, but that doesn't change anything about the Gym Challenge. It will be the same as it's always been." From the challenger's perspective, it may have been intimidating to tussle against a Champion.

The Ground-type Marowak came as no surprise to Josh; he was prepared to defend against them. The Metagross would be a tough Pokémon to crack, too; with how fast the species was, he had to slow it down to get the speed advantage he relied upon. "Etali, AGILITY!" Josh ordered, the Kilowattrel zooming around the field's outer bounds at the speed of a missile. Saber was in such sync with his trainer that he didn't need orders; he understood what his trainer's desires were. The electric dog loosed a THUNDER WAVE upon the psychic-type just as it disappeared into the SANDSTORM.

shinobu fujimori

{PC: 2}

NAME SPECIES STATUS
Saber Manectric Good
Etali Kilowattrel Good

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played by

lumity/jayfeather

shin

he/him/his

December 19th

Castelia City

homosexual

chef

civilian

5’9” height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

awards

166 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @shinobu

POSTED ON Jun 12, 2024 6:47:00 GMT

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“Congratulations; being a champion is a big deal,” the red head pointed out, sounding impressed. Perhaps he would reach that rank someday. However, for now, it was best to stick to the present and deal with the battle about to occur in front of him.
[break][break]
Though the Thunder Wave would get Isis, it wouldn’t come soon enough to stop the Zen Headbutt directed towards Saber, though even he wouldn’t be sure if it would hit the electric type. Chances were Saber might just be able to dodge at the last second; hopefully that wouldn’t be the case though.
[break][break]
As Isis slowed down due to paralysis, he frowned. “Don’t worry, we’ll use the power of love to break through that paralysis.”
[break][break]
It took a few minutes for him to realize he had voiced that out loud instead of just thinking about it, causing his face to heat up in embarrassment. "Ugh, that sounded so lame.”
[break][break]
'Okay, he really needed to stop voicing his thoughts out loud now.’
[break][break]
Mentally shaking himself, he directed Marrow to use Thrash on Etali, which was a risky move considering what it could lead to but was the best he had at the moment.
[break][break]
Isis, on the other hand, had hidden itself among the swirling sand until it could get rid of the paralysis and execute a move of its own.[break] Josh Devlin

[attr="class","oocnotes"] + Marrow: Good [break] Isis: Good (paralyzed, trying to gather energy to dispel it)

[attr="class","pokeclass"]
Venus | ♁ OVERGROW | leaf tornado, leaf blade, giga drain, leaf storm

[attr="class","milkcredit"]milky

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played by

raikourider

Master of Faster

He/Him

December 12

Goldenrod, Johto

Straight

Mauville Gym Leader

Champion

6'1" height

"With great speed comes great responsibility."

awards

7,240 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @joshdevlin

POSTED ON Jun 13, 2024 1:27:47 GMT

As much as Josh wanted to calmly socialize with Shinobu, he was in the middle of a match that required all his focus. With how fast his Pokémon were, taking his eyes off them for a split second could have led to losing track of them, at which point he would be the victim of his own blitzkrieg.

It would have been easy for Saber to dodge the ZEN HEADBUTT in clear weather; it was the lack of visibility that gave the challenger's Pokémon enough time to smash into the Manectric at an oblique angle. It was no direct hit, but it sent him flying toward Marrow and Etali.

Seizing the opportunity, Saber opened his jaws wide, a cold mist effervescing from them. Etali was in trouble, a haphazard strike from Marrow grounding the yellow bird and leaving him highly vulnerable to follow-up attacks. Were the Manectric's ICE FANG strong enough to force the Marowak to let go of Etali, he would take the opportunity to ROOST just long enough to catch his breath.

shinobu fujimori

{PC: 3}

NAME SPECIES STATUS
Saber Manectric Good
Etali Kilowattrel Good

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played by

lumity/jayfeather

shin

he/him/his

December 19th

Castelia City

homosexual

chef

civilian

5’9” height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

awards

166 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @shinobu

POSTED ON Jun 17, 2024 1:33:02 GMT

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Assuming Josh had missed his lame response he was relieved. Deciding to keep his attention focused on the match with the help of his rotom phone he went through battle strategies he could do. Battle strategies with Marrow went more towards brute force while the ones for Isis relied more on speed.
[break][break]
If only there was a good way to combine the two. Before he could think too much on the matter Saber would latch on to Marrow this would enable Etali to get free while also disrupting the Thrash attack. In most cases that would be a good thing but considering a Marowak’s weakness and the change of getting frozen it was definitely not a good thing.
[break][break]
Marrow seemed to realize this and did the only thing she could think of to dislodge the Manectric, try to his the electric type with her bone. Realizing Marrow might have things handled by using Bone Rush turned his attention to Isis.
[break][break]
“You hanging in there Isis,” he called out in response to his question the Metagross would use the chance to try and use Confusion on Etali.[break] Josh Devlin

[attr="class","oocnotes"] + Marrow: Poor [break]
Isis: Good

[attr="class","pokeclass"]
Venus | ♁ OVERGROW | leaf tornado, leaf blade, giga drain, leaf storm

[attr="class","milkcredit"]milky

close tab

played by

raikourider

Master of Faster

He/Him

December 12

Goldenrod, Johto

Straight

Mauville Gym Leader

Champion

6'1" height

"With great speed comes great responsibility."

awards

7,240 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @joshdevlin

POSTED ON Jun 17, 2024 23:27:34 GMT

Saber's cold jaws could no longer hold after a swift whack of Marrow's BONE RUSH. Unable to close his mouth due to his jaw rapidly swelling from the repeated impacts, the Manectric began to choke on sand. Having seen enough, Josh withdrew the Manectric, leaving it up to Etali.

The swift bird wasn't unprepared; though the psychic attack twisted the bird's vision and sent him flying farther away from the action than Josh liked, he wasn't out of it by any stretch. All the speed and AGILITY the bird had been building up was for a well-known purpose. As the bird soared faster and faster, the sandstorm battering him, he opened his beak to discharge a lightning-fast ELECTRO BALL that closed the gap in a split second.

shinobu fujimori

{PC: 4}

NAME SPECIES STATUS
Saber Manectric KO
Etali Kilowattrel Good

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played by

lumity/jayfeather

shin

he/him/his

December 19th

Castelia City

homosexual

chef

civilian

5’9” height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

awards

166 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @shinobu

POSTED ON Jun 20, 2024 21:50:01 GMT

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With the Manectric out of commission, Marrow would move closer to Isis, ready to aid them if need be. Especially since Etali was still going strong despite being thrown by the Isis Confusion attack. Knowing that Etali had a good bit of fight in her, Shin wasn’t at all surprised when he heard the unmistakable sound of an electric attack being fired off, which he found out to be an Electro Ball thanks to his rotom phone.
[break][break]
Despite the power behind such an attack, Shin wasn’t worried. In fact, Shin was pretty resigned when Marrow jumped forward to intercept the attack before it could even get close to Isis. This would give Isis the time to prepare its attack using the sandstorm as cover for as long as possible before aiming the Meteor Mash at Etali.
[break][break]
While Isis focused on Etali, Shin would return Marrow to her pokeball. She had been knocked out when the Electro Ball sent her flying, and the impact with the ground had been enough to knock her out. [break] Josh Devlin

[attr="class","oocnotes"] + Isis ~ Good [break] Marrow ~ KO

[attr="class","pokeclass"]
Venus | ♁ OVERGROW | leaf tornado, leaf blade, giga drain, leaf storm

[attr="class","milkcredit"]milky

close tab

played by

raikourider

Master of Faster

He/Him

December 12

Goldenrod, Johto

Straight

Mauville Gym Leader

Champion

6'1" height

"With great speed comes great responsibility."

awards

7,240 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @joshdevlin

POSTED ON Jun 21, 2024 3:11:43 GMT

That the high speed electric sphere was able to pierce a Marowak's natural defenses was a testament to just how well-honed the potent attack was in the Gym Leader's hands. To those newer to watching Josh's matches, it looked like a miracle. To an experienced trainer, especially one trained in the art of speed like Josh was, he knew that even grounded Pokémon could be overloaded with enough speed and voltage.

METEOR MASH was a powerful, but unwieldy, attack. It was one the Kilowattrel saw coming, springing out of the way ot the direct attack. The bird's quick thinking only dodged half the attack; it did little against Isis crashing into the ground with enough force to create a small crater in the battle court, sending ejecta flying all around and doubling the sandstorm's effectiveness. "Etali! Get down!" Josh cried, ordering the electric-type to ROOST and ride the storm out.

Once the sandstorm began to let up, Etali would soar the skies once more, building up speed for what appeared to be another diving airstrike!

shinobu fujimori

{PC: 5}

NAME SPECIES STATUS
Saber Manectric KO
Etali Kilowattrel Good

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played by

lumity/jayfeather

shin

he/him/his

December 19th

Castelia City

homosexual

chef

civilian

5’9” height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

awards

166 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @shinobu

POSTED ON Jun 26, 2024 20:48:24 GMT

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They needed to get closer to the kilowattrel, though that would be easier said than done. Bird Pokémon were all quite agile. Though he supposed if they tricked it on where they were going to strike, they could play things that way. "Isis, don’t stay still; we don’t want you to be an easy target,” the red-head pointed out.
[break][break]
With the way he spoke, it could mean he was wary of another electric attack that could strike from a distance. While that wasn’t completely off-the-mark, most of what he said had a double meaning. Luckily, he was good enough at controlling his emotions not to make it obvious that was the case.
[break][break]
Isis knew him well enough to understand what he meant and started moving around, sticking to the ground, making sure it would be hard to pinpoint where he might attack or what that attack may be. When Isis felt they could pull off an attack, they would suddenly shoot towards Etali's fist, swinging as it performed the move Bullet Punch.[break] Josh Devlin

[attr="class","oocnotes"] + Isis: Good [break] Marrow: KO

[attr="class","pokeclass"]
Venus | ♁ OVERGROW | leaf tornado, leaf blade, giga drain, leaf storm

[attr="class","milkcredit"]milky

close tab

played by

raikourider

Master of Faster

He/Him

December 12

Goldenrod, Johto

Straight

Mauville Gym Leader

Champion

6'1" height

"With great speed comes great responsibility."

awards

7,240 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @joshdevlin

POSTED ON Jul 8, 2024 23:34:22 GMT

Metagross were strong, though all that strength came at the cost of speed. All the strength in the world wouldn't do one a bit of good without the means to hit. It was the primary lesson Josh was trying to teach Shinobu via gym match: how to battle an extremely speedy and evasive opponent. "Etali, ELECTRO BALL!" Josh ordered, spheres of electricity pelting the steel-type at dizzying speeds.

From the way the Metagross reacted, it seemed to make up for the lack of speed in computational power, calculating exactly where the Kilowattrel would swoop up to make his electrical barrage strike with maximum power. It was at that exact moment that the BULLET PUNCH struck the bird's sensitive underside: a CRITICAL HIT that left Josh's Pokémon soaring on only his momentum.

shinobu fujimori

{PC: 7}

NAME SPECIES STATUS
Saber Manectric KO
Etali Kilowattrel Poor

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played by

lumity/jayfeather

shin

he/him/his

December 19th

Castelia City

homosexual

chef

civilian

5’9” height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

awards

166 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @shinobu

POSTED ON Jul 15, 2024 2:06:02 GMT

[nospaces]

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[attr="class","setting"]

From the sound, it seemed like Etali was going to use the move Electro Ball. It was the same sound he had heard earlier in the battle, so he figured it might’ve been the move used earlier. As he heard the pings on Isis’ metallic body, he had to resist the urge to wince at the sound it made, setting his teeth on edge.
[break][break]
Mentally shaking himself, he returned his focus to the battle just as Isis got a hit. That was a relief. He had been a bit worried about how the Metagross would do, considering the fact that it wasn’t a very fast Pokémon. The fact that his smarts were able to make up for it was a weight off his shoulders.
[break][break]
It wasn’t over yet, though. From what he had gathered, Etali was still holding on, hopefully not for too much longer.
[break][break]
“Isis, let’s try to finish this,” he said, trusting the Metagross to come up with the best move to use. Hopefully, it would be enough to give them the victory. If not, well...
[break][break]
While its trainer seemed to lapse into his own thoughts about the way the battle could go, Isis continued on with the battle. Knowing a head-on attack might be easy to dodge, the Metagross resorts to using Confusion, hoping the force from the attack will be enough to knock him out.[break] Josh Devlin

[attr="class","oocnotes"] + Marrow: KO [break] Isis: Decent

[attr="class","pokeclass"]
Venus | ♁ OVERGROW | leaf tornado, leaf blade, giga drain, leaf storm

[attr="class","milkcredit"]milky

close tab

played by

raikourider

Master of Faster

He/Him

December 12

Goldenrod, Johto

Straight

Mauville Gym Leader

Champion

6'1" height

"With great speed comes great responsibility."

awards

7,240 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @joshdevlin

POSTED ON Jul 16, 2024 21:45:53 GMT

Shinobu had correctly discerned that Isis would likely not be able to land another strong hit on the Kilowattrel. The electric bird was simply too fast for big physical attacks to hit. The steel-type's mental attacks were far less powerful, but power was not what Isis and Shinobu needed. It was accuracy. The accuracy needed to land the finishing blow on a flying target that felt as fast as a lightning strike in his heightened state.

His instincts were correct; the CONFUSION attack did not pack much punch, but it was enough to down the severely weakened Kilowattrel. With a referee blowing a whistle to signify the end of the match, the platforms began to descend. "You seem to know how to combat speedy Pokémon well," the Leader complimented his friend as he walked across the battle court to meet the challenger in the middle. "I was also especially impressed with your snap judgment to deploy Confusion over Meteor Mash at the end. With that kind of heads up thinking, you will go far in the Pokémon League."

Josh presented a closed fist at Shinobu's chest level, then opened it up to reveal a well-earned reward. "Shinobu, you've earned this. Reach forward, in front of you. It is the official Hoenn League Quick Badge. Wear it with pride. This Gym has a history of being run by some of the toughest and most successful Leaders in Hoenn. Never forget that."

shinobu fujimori

{PC: 8}

NAME SPECIES STATUS
Saber Manectric KO
Etali Kilowattrel KO

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played by

lumity/jayfeather

shin

he/him/his

December 19th

Castelia City

homosexual

chef

civilian

5’9” height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

awards

166 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @shinobu