News, Announcements, Weather, and Events

[Kusarigamaitachi]

Well, that was unexpected.

So Plutus had had a plan after all. It had been rather suspicious, but in hindsight mostly everything made sense. Shannon thought Plutus could have gotten in a few more good hits before getting to the seviper, to close the health gap, since Plutus still had to have been weakened by all those attacks. And that tackle. Still, she had an opportunity now... but she thought Plutus knew enough not to waste it.

"Stick on his back with a fury swipes," Shannon said. "Or if he turns around, scratch up his arm and legs, then target his face."

She hadn't thought wild pokémon were sophisticated enough to come up with plans like that on their own, even if the plan itself was simple. Cheap first hits and targeting certain areas, sure, but actually coming up with and following through with a plan rather than just taking advantage of openings when they appeared... well, that's what a trainer was supposed to teach pokémon. And Plutus didn't seem to need it. She could hone that ability, sure, but Plutus might have been just fine on his own.

She should probably see how well her other pokémon could do these things. Especially Atalanta, if she'd been with Plutus long.

[Solidify]

The trainer's orders proved to be more easily said than done. Plutus wasn't about to give up his advantageous position easily, and the combined swipes between his front and back legs gave one the impression that Plutus was almost trying to dig a hole straight through the mankey's backside. Ven snorted with rage and managed to squirm onto his side and swat Plutus off with a lucky strike to the side of the meowth's head.

Plutus hissed as the mankey staggered back to its feet. It's back was a bloody mess, fur matted and crimson. No sooner had it recovered its bearings, Plutus was on top of it again, pouncing on the mankey's front side this time. The pig monkey gave another squeal of surprise as it fell back. Latching onto his opponent, Plutus raised one of his paws high, claws unsheathed, and dove them into the mankey's already injured arm. Then, with a great deal of effort, he raked the claws downward. This earned more than a squeal, Ven screamed and kicked Plutus in the chest, knocking the cat off. Three very deep cuts showed on the mankey's arm, blood pouring out of one with greater volume than Ven's other scratches. Even slower this time, Ven got to his feet, his left arm dangling uselessly at his side. He was breathing heavily and wiped at his eyes with his good arm. Plutus didn't immediately spring forward, but instead waited for Shannon's opinion of the battle. His tail twitched expectantly and he crouched low.

Ven's trainer cringed at his mankey's state. "You gotta get that shit out of your eyes!" he called. Ven seemed to agree and desperately pawed at them. It seemed the worst of it was gone, but Ven's vision was still a far cry from perfect. The seviper's blood still stung them terribly and Plutus's scratch hadn't helped either, they were watering and bright red. Blood oozed from the side of the mankey's eyes, though whose blood it was was impossible to tell. Either way, they were narrowed in a furious glare leveled in the general direction Plutus was in. This fight was not over.

Ven's trainer didn't look quite as confident as his pokemon. His face betrayed signs of concern and discomfort. "Change of plans, Ven. Use Leer and then head for that tree!"

Update: Ven's left arm is incapacitated.

[Kusarigamaitachi]

Could a mankey even do anything from up in a tree other than recover? Maybe some sort of set-up move, like nasty plot or something, neither of which Shannon really wanted. It was possible that Ven would bleed until it passed out, with all those cuts, but it would be spurting if that was the case, and Shannon would rather the mankey didn't sustain that kind of damage, anyway.

If this was a wild pokémon battle, the solution would be easy enough; she could get Nosos to finish Ven off from a distance. In this case, though, it required a little more thought.

Though Ven didn't look like he had full use of his left arm any more, and his climbing speed would be decreased. Meowth were usually alright at climbing, too, so if Ven tried that, he could follow... she didn't want Plutus under Ven at any point, though.

"Counter his leer with growl, and scratch," Shannon said. "If he tries to get away, grab his tail, and take out a leg."

[Solidify]

Ven's bloody eyes narrowed in a frightening, enraged leer. For a moment, Plutus faltered, taking a step back as his defenses fell. But then, encouraged by Shannons commands, he let loose a surprisingly ferocious growl. This in turn made the mankey falter and become a little less inclined to strike at Plutus. In the end, Plutus and Ven were still on the same level.

Though Ven's vision had been blurred, he was able to make out the scraggly tree. The pair of spearow had long since flown off during Shannon's battle with the seviper. Ven turned and dashed towards its, his limp arm trailing behind the rest of his body. The scratches opened up in his back also proved to be rather debilitating and Ven was noticeably slower. Plutus cringed and sprang forward. He was hurting too. As the two pokemon ran towards the tree, it would be Plutus who was the faster.

Leaping forward, he just barely managed to snatch the mankey's tail between his teeth. Ven jolted forward, dragged Plutus with him. The meowth then swiped at one of the mankey's legs, sending it onto its back.

The trainer cursed.

[Kusarigamaitachi]

Plutus was getting back to following Shannon's commands, looked like. Which was great, since she'd know what to expect from him, but he'd still probably know to compensate if Ven did something unexpected.

"On him, Plutus," Shannon said. "Fury swipes. Nose and above his eyes, and see if you can't scratch at that leg again."

Eyes would be a better target, but she didn't like hitting the eyes with anything that would go in any deeper than a sand-attack. Could cause permanent damage, see, and in a trainer battle, there was no way she'd do that to someone else's pokémon. Besides, even throwing sand or blood in someone else's eyes was a sort of personal squick, so requesting that Plutus arrange for Ven's blood to pour into his eyes was nearly bad enough as it was.

[Solidify]

The trainer cursed again, this was not how he wanted this to go. "Let him jump on you and then reach back and throw him off! Then get in that tree!"

Plutus couldn't have agreed more. He dove at the mankey's face, swiping and digging his claws into Ven's sensitive snout. Ven reached up and grabbed a pawful of Plutus's skin around his neck and using his superior strength, threw Plutus off of him with a loud screech. Plutus arced akwardly in the air, but managed to land on his feet.

Ven struggled back to a standing position and made for the tree. Plutus quickly dashed after him, but Ven was already too close. Though the wounds in his back pained him with every movement, his vision was crippled, and he was out one arm, Ven was still an adept climber and quickly hoisted himself up onto a higher branch, panting with exertion.

"Good, nice job, Ven! Now use Focus Energy, calm yourself down. You can do this! If he tries to come after you, swat him down with a Karate Chop." Plutus was already at the base of the tree and looked ready to pursue the mankey. A small snarl itched at his lips.

[Kusarigamaitachi]

"Calmness won't help him now," Shannon said. "Climb up while he's wasting time on that, but not after him. Above him, staying out of reach. Then another growl, and pounce. Claw him however you'd like."

There was of course the chance that Ven couldn't see Plutus coming after him, while focusing and partially-blinded and also only able to use one arm for that chop, but Shannon wasn't going to let Ven get an easy shot. She didn't particularly like the idea of a focused opponent, one capable of seeing openings and completely ignoring pain, but it still meant extra time.

[Solidify]

Ven immediately began to focus his energy, closing his eyes and holding his good arm close to his eyes. Pain was not important. He envisioned Plutus. The meowth's weak spots, its body may be fast and flexible, but it wasn't innately strong and Ven knew the body parts he needed to strike.

Plutus easily scampered up the trunk of the tree, using his sharp claws for traction. As he neared Ven's location, Plutus leapt off and landed on a branch opposite the mankey. The meowth could climb easily enough, but jumping from branch to branch posed a bit more of a challenge, and if Plutus wanted to stay out of Ven's attack range, that was what he was going to need to do.

Ven picked his next target and leaped up, latching onto the tree branch and hoisting himself up. Plutus was panting, his stomach visably heaving in and out. He leapt to another branch and was now above Ven. The time it took for Plutus to scale these branches allowed the mankey to finish his prep and Ven quickly looked around for his opponent with a renewed air of calm and strength.

Had Plutus been a half second slower ascending the tree, the resulting attack could have ended very differently. Ven's focus allowed his another senses to heighten, and it was the mankey's injured nose that located Plutus first. Above was not where Ven had expected his opponent to be however. He spun upwards, raising his good arm to strike, when Plutus dove forward, pushing off the branch with his back legs. Ven swung his arm in a mighty Karate Chop as Plutus dove forward, but was too late. Plutus latched onto the mankey with all four paws as the two collided and burst from the tree.

As the pair fell, it looked like Ven would take the brunt force of the fall, but he grabbed at Plutus's back with his good arm and attempted to flip the meowth over. Plutus's forward momentum would prove to be too much however, and Ven was slammed into the ground back first, letting out a gasp as the wind was knocked clear out of him. The force of the fall sent Plutus kareening off of his foe, and skidding into the ground next to Ven.

Both pokemon were rapidly running out of steam. Ven's Focus Energy had done wonders to rejuvinate the mankey, but the fall from the tree had stunned him. Plutus too seemed exhausted, but pushed himself to his feet. Ven realized the dangerous situation he was in, but the culmination of all his injuries was a high hurdle to to overcome. The mankey refused to give up and dragged himself into a sitting position to face Plutus, outstretching his arm and putting it in between himself and the meowth.

[Kusarigamaitachi]

Ven was apparently having trouble standing, because he wasn't, instead only getting his arm out between himself and Plutus. Plutus, though, was mobile even if he was tired, and Ven had already shown he had difficulty in fighting opponents behind him.

"Not too much longer, Plutus," Shannon said. Exhaustion was just as hard to push through as pain, probably even more so for pokémon, but she probably only needed him to use a few more attacks. "Get behind him and scratch."

[Solidify]

"Keep it defensive, don't do anything flashy!" Ven's trainer warned. Not that it looked Ven was in any position to pull of a flashy maneuver. "Let him come to you and knock him back with a karate chop. Put everything you've got into it, he can't take too much more!"

Before Shannon had even finished giving her orders, Plutus had darted forward. Ven, eyes squinting, did his best to follow the meowth's movement. Though he may have been grounded, Ven's good arm still posed a dangerous threat to Plutus. As he ran forward, Plutus recalled the karate chop he had taken to his side. Risking getting hit by another one of those in favor of getting in an attack of his own was a risky plan at best. Even if he managed to get behind the mankey, by the time he could lash out with a scratch, Ven would be able to wheel his arm around and connect.

A split second before it seemed to the two pokemon would collide again, Plutus skidded to a halt just in front of Ven. Caught off guard and a little depth misperception thanks to the seviper's blinding blood, Ven swung his arm down in a vicious karate chop that thunked loudly into the dirt, but missed Plutus entirely. He snorted in shock and realized too late what he had done. All according to Plutus's plan. Plutus leapt again, this time at Ven's good arm. Biting savagely into it, he sunk his claws into whatever section of the mankey's arm he could, shaking his head to further aggravate the wound.

Ven screeched in pain. Too exhausted from the fall from the tree to fight Plutus off with his legs, and with his left arm out of commision and unable to strike, the mankey had no way of fighting off the cat, who refused to release his hold on Ven's arm. All Ven could do was use his own teeth to bite down at whatever part of Plutus he could. The mankey's teeth were not suited for fighting however, and though Plutus cringed as the tiny teeth sunk into his neck, he would not budge.

"Ven!"

A few more seconds of tearing at the limb, and Plutus was biting and clawing at an unconscious foe. Blood loss and the open wounds had finally beaten Ven's spirit. Finally releasing his hold, Plutus slowly crept back and away from the fallen mankey.

The mankey has been knocked out. Plutus has gained +15 EXP. and is at 20 health.

[Kusarigamaitachi]

"Nice work," Shannon said. She looked over his injuries; they seemed rather painful, and the way Plutus was holding himself supported that assumption. "You can return to your poké ball if you'd like, or stay out here."

She'd go with whatever he chose, trusting him to not be stupid. Even if he had too much pride to admit the injuries were too much for him to bear, she'd tried to phrase it in a way that avoided potentially offending him, so it was a choice and not an admission of defeat.

Then, talking to the other trainer. "That was fun," she said. "Your mankey alright?"

[Solidify]

((PIDGEY SWARM ATTACK!!!))

Plutus slowly crept over to Shannon, mulling over his choices for a moment. He was exhausted and certainly hurt, but nothing that proved to be too crippling. He arced his back up and stretched out his arms (wincing slightly as he did), but made no indication he particularly wanted to go inside his pokeball.

"Geez, good battle," the trainer said, giving a small smile. "Yeah, your meowth sure did a number on him, but he's tough. Maybe now that somebody finally beat him, he'll start taking his training more seriously." He laughed and said, "I really ought to be thanking you. Well, didn't exactly go how I planned, but what can ya do? I'm gonna head back to Fleet Town, heal up." He raised his hand and smiled again at Shannon. "Later."

[Kusarigamaitachi]

Oh, cool, Plutus had beaten a pokémon who had never lost before, apparently. And he wasn't even too injured to keep going, although she'd probably avoid using him in a battle until he healed up a bit. Not by resting, though; too hot for that.

"Later," Shannon said, waving back, and took that as her cue to keep going.

She was going to dex-scan any pokémon she came across next, but this time if she saw a trainer's pokémon nearby, she'd be scanning that one too. Best to know things ahead of time.

[Solidify]

The sounds from Shannon's heated battle with both the seviper and Ven had frightened off most of the surrounding wild pokemon. Shannon would walk on for quite some time before running into another. Shannon would hear the great flapping of wings and, looking up, would find a mighty pidgeot flying high above her in the direction of Mura City. The bird's flowing head crest was a brilliant sight, flowing out behind it, and catching the scattered sunlight as it poked through the clouds. Behind it, three pidgey's struggled to keep up, flapping their wings with noticeable effort. "This pidgeot is female and level 42. This pidgey is male and level 3. This pidgey is male and level 3. This pidgey is male and level 2," rattled off Shannon's pokedex.

The only other object of notice on the dusty terrain was a young trainer sprawled out on a crest of sparse grass a good ways off the main road. His hands were behind his head. He had some headphones in, visable thanks to his buzz cut. Nearby, a phanphy was experimentally poking at the ground with its trunk. The trainer looked up as Shannon passed, but made no move to contact her, resting his head back down. Plutus eyed the phanphy, but continued on. "This phanphy is female and level 6. She is owned."

Ahead of Shannon, Plains End Path split into a fork. Further along the road to the right, Shannon could already glimpse the mighty sky scrapers of Mura City. The left path led into adventures unknown, though the terrain became increasingly more green and lush the further down Shannon looked.

[Kusarigamaitachi]

Shannon stared up at the pidgeot. She was beautiful, all bright and flowy and practically shining, and she had some adorable pidgey chicks struggling after her. The pidgeot could probably carry the pidgey if they got tired, and a pidgeot could carry Shannon without much trouble. Hopefully as a rider rather than as prey.

"One day," she told Plutus, "one of those will be on our team."

Plutus looked up just as a cloud mostly covered the pidgeot, showing only the pidgey, and made some comment Shannon didn't understand.

In any case, there was a fork in the road, and either way looked appealing. The path that continued past the city was one she'd visit later, and it looked like she'd escape the dry heat. And on the other fork-prong, Mura City! Healing, money, shopping, and who knew what else?

"Come on, Plutus," Shannon said, heading off toward the city. "Let's get going."

First, healing, so she'd know how Atalanta was faring right away, and then she'd definitely head to the department store. She didn't actually know where to sell a nugget, but if any easily-accessible location arbitrarily had a gold expert, it would be there.