Pokémon: Tipping Point [IC]

[👀 REP 👀]

Thornbay City

---

 

The ghostly snail seemed to nod at Daniel's proposition, glowing white as it stared at the young trainer. "Recover too?" He muttered to himself, before standing up. "Well, I think that was a 'yes' so, here goes nothing." He lightly tossed the Pokeball he had in his hand on top of the Phasnail. Without much resistance, the pokeball wobbled back and forth before stopping, giving off a satisfying click. Daniel walked up to pick up the ball from the floor, before turning his attention to Ashley. He waved at her, placing the Pokeball back onto his backpack. "Yo." Meanwhile, Proton was sitting on his shoulder, looking up at the sky.

[Htamret]

"Uh, hi. Guess you came here to train too." She said, returning Daniel's wave. She hoped her face still wasn't red from crying, but if he said anything she could play it off by saying she was running or something like that.

 

"That Pokémon you caught is really something else. I saw part of your battle, and it's pretty tough."

 

She had also picked up a Pokémon recently, making her team consist of three in total. Daniel's Emolga seemed pretty tough, but it was hard to tell just how tough based on a battle with a wild Pokémon alone. She thought of something that would not only test the strength of the squirrel-like creature, but give both Trainers some practice.

 

"Hey, do you want to have a battle? I have three Pokémon, and you have two, right? In that case, we can do a two on two. We came to to train, and what better way than a battle?"

 

She wasn't too sure of which Pokémon to bench at first, but she decided on Rascal. She was interested to see what the Geodude she just caught could do.

 

"How about my Laconda, Squirt, and Pebble, the Geodude I just caught, against your team? How's that sound?"

[Draconus297]

"Don't worry, dude," Fern waved, obviously nonplussed, "your many secrets are safe with me. Just go find your Dex and bring it back here honestly, and we should have no real problems."

 

"B-but, Miss Fern-" Rudy complained, pointing to his recently-repaired shoulder.

 

"No buts. You're my Gym Trainer, and you'll accept my judgment calls as I give them," Fern said with a sly, nearly arrogant smirk, "and I say that we can afford to give someone who gave Predincense an actual challenge done leeway with how he wants to be represented."

 

"Y-yes, Miss Fern," Rudy mumbled dejectedly, glaring daggers at her as she turned and ignored him.

 

"So, yeah. Whatever your name is . . . I look forward to when your probation expires. A rematch like that should be fun," the Thornbay Gym Leader grinned, pounding a fist into an open palm.

 

Predincense returned, still somewhat injured, but considerably healthy given that its leafy legs nearly bounced off the ground with confidence. "Pred," it grunted. {Done.}

 

"Good girl, Predincense. Your choice, anything in the greenhouse is yours for a snack," Fern praised, scratching the vicious-looking plant in the back of the head.

 

The Grass/Fire type seemed to consider it for a moment . . . before sizing up an Oran Berry bush that had been cultivated nearly perfectly, and biting off an entire branch. Loud crunching noises escaped its maw, and it looked back in Neos's direction as it chewed.

 

"I grow just about every relevant variety of Berry here at the Thornbay Gym," Fern puffed out her chest proudly, donning a pair of gardening gloves she kept in the pockets of her overalls, "and I care for my Pokémon personally. I've always loved plants and Pokémon battling, so I kinda . . . put the two together, by using Grass-Types!"

 

---Thornbay City Pokémon Center---

 

"Cute? You think Predincense is . . . never mind," the nurse sighed, continuing to do her best to clean Garbit's wound. "Fern's Predincense never seems to need the Center, always getting everything it needs from Miss Fern herself. It's honestly for the best . . . that thing scares me, and its breath makes me . . . see things. Things I'd rather not see."

[👀 REP 👀]

Thornbay City

---

 

"Uh, hi. Guess you came here to train too." Daniel nodded his head, Proton shifting its gaze from the sky to Ashley. "That Pokémon you caught is really something else. I saw part of your battle, and it's pretty tough." 

"Yeah. I'm pretty glad it let me catch it like that - the battle could of gone a completely different way." He tossed up the Pokeball he used to catch the ghastly snail. "I guess I should give it a name at some point..." He thought to himself, catching the ball as it fell. "Hey, do you want to have a battle?" Proton's ears prepped up at the mention of a battle. "I have three Pokémon, and you have two, right? In that case, we can do a two on two. We came to to train, and what better way than a battle?" Before Daniel could even think of responding, the emolga on his shoulder jumped onto the ground, taking on a fighting stance. "Molga!" Daniel couldn't help but chuckle. "I guess he's decided for me." He glanced at the ball with the Phasnail in it. He wasn't expecting to have to use it so soon, but at the same time he was excited to do so! "It's a good thing this thing recovered to full health" He thought to himself. "How about my Laconda, Squirt, and Pebble, the Geodude I just caught, against your team? How's that sound?" 

"Sounds good to me." He was already walking away, as to give enough space for the Pokemon to battle. He whistled, and as soon as he did the Emolga jolted to his side, determination burning in its eyes. He turned around to face the girl. "Whenever you're ready."

[Htamret]

"Whenever you're ready."

 

She was surprised by Proton's eagerness to battle, though she was glad that he still had enough energy to battle. Obviously Squirt wouldn't be suited to an Electric-Type, and Pebble would be at a pretty significant advantage. She threw the PokéBall containing her newest companion, who appeared in a flash of light. It looked up at her expectantly.

 

"You ready?" She said to the creature.

 

"Dude."

 

"Alright, let's do this."

 

She thought about her opening move. The main advantage her opponent's Pokémon had over hers was speed, but maybe she could nullify that, or at least lessen the difference. It was a bit of a gambit to start without an attack, though once the battle started there might not be a chance to to anything but attack.

 

"Okay, Pebble, use Rock Polish!"

[DEStroyer of worlds!]

Garbit looked around blankly, he thought most Pokemon were cute, even the ones that look like they can kill you from a couple of meters away, as long as they aren't trying to kill you of course. But that last off hand comment had piqued his interest.

 

Pulling his pokedex out of his pocket, the boy ask it a question. "Pokedex, search data: Predincense"

 

<<Predincense, the Scent Hunter Pokémon. Grass/Fire-Type. While wild Predincense are exclusively solitary hunters that will attack other members of their species on sight with no provocation, captured ones are unflinchingly loyal. Depending on one's state of mind, the haze they breathe shows you either your happiest or most traumatic memories.>>

 

That... that was weird... he could swear he heard two voices. Reaching into his pocket again he felt a another long cold and hard object, almost like... Garbit pulled the object out of his pocket, only to have a premier ball and blue crystal fly out after it. "Crap." The boy knew exactly what they were, how could he forget about them. "Miss, can I go now, I still have something I was supposed to give to someone before a split second decision landed me back here!" The boy called out, holding up all three objects in his right arm.

[👀 REP 👀]

Thornbay City

---

 

"Geodude, huh?" He looked down at his companion, who was very clearly ill-equipped to take on the rocky foe. Still, Proton didn't seem deterred by this fact, as it turned back to Daniel, waiting for his orders. "This is gonna be rough..." He considered switching out, but he decided against it. This would probably be the best time to have Proton practice in unfavorable match-ups. He extended his arm out. "Proton, use Tail Whip!" Nodding, the electric squirrel turned around, whipping its tail back and forth. Its opponent, meanwhile, seemed to be polishing itself up. "Rock Polish? This is really gonna be rough." He thought to himself. It probably wasn't going to outspeed the squirrel at the moment, but that could easily change with a few more polishes. 

[Tesability Black]

"Don't worry, dude." Neos lifted his head suddenly to look towards Fern, looking both relieved and surprised. "Your many secrets are safe with me. Just go find your Dex and bring it back here honestly, and we should have no real problems."

"B-but, Miss Fern-"

"No buts. You're my Gym Trainer, and you'll accept my judgment calls as I give them." Neos let out a sigh of relief as he slowly stood up onto his yellow-shoed feet. "And I say that we can afford to give someone who gave Predincense an actual challenge done leeway with how he wants to be represented."

"Y-yes, Miss Fern," he heard Rudy grumble with his sharp ears, catching the proverbial throwing of daggers at the Gym Leader with his eyes.

He was half-amazed that glare wasn't aimed at him.

"So, yeah." Neos turned to look towards Fern, admittedly standing over her like he unintentionally did over most humans. "Whatever your name is . . . I look forward to when your probation expires. A rematch like that should be fun."

"Probably would be...if I can keep my head the next time." Neos crossed his arms in front of himself as he looked around the gym, fully appraising the damage he did to the Gym. Now that he looked, there was some windows he broke not with a Steel Wing, but with a shockwave from nearby attacks.

"...for my Pokémon personally." Only now realizing midway in that he was being talked to once more, Neos refocused his attention to her. "I've always loved plants and Pokémon battling, so I kinda . . . put the two together, by using Grass-Types!"

"Makes sense," he admitted before regaining a thoughtful look while looking around the ground floor of the gym. "Considering how things were when I finally regained control of myself, it might be a wise idea for you to have some way to prevent Pokemon from going uncontrollably wild in a way that endangers the trainers on either side." At this point, he uncrossed his arms and glanced towards the directing that Rudy had gone. "And from what little I do remember of the hallucinations...you owe the guy your life, because I was likely gonna to try to kill you..."

Subconciously, he moved his left hand over his upper-right arm, gripping it tightly before turning it around. "...nine years at this game, and I finally end up getting my first citation...Arceus-dammit," he muttered to himself before finally leaving the gym towards the center, head slightly hung low.

[Draconus297]

The nurse utterly flipped out, whistling to call Warmink to sit on Garbit's chest. "You are wounded, bleeding and with bits of glass embedded in your body! Young man, you are going nowhere until you have been completely treated!"

 

The fluffy white Normal-Type chuffed as it sat on Garbit, batting the little one's nose with its tail. The light healing properties succeeded in numbing the pain, at least, proving to be an excellent anesthetic as the nurse worked nervously with tweezers.

 

---Thornbay City Gym---

 

"Honestly, you just need to stay calm," Fern said softly, sounding far wiser than her years would give away. "Predincense can only show you things you've already seen, either real or imagined . . . and the more you stress out, the worse memories it can drag up."

 

"For example," Rudy sighed, looking at the predatory-looking Pokémon, "the first time I saw Predincense, I had to live through my dad dying in my head, over and over, all because I couldn't keep my cool. But, on days where I managed not to freak out . . . it showed me all the happiest moments of my life."

 

Fern nodded, plucking weeds from her small Berry garden. "It's psychotropic. I'll prove it- calm yourself as much as possible, then put your head in her mouth. She won't bite," Fern said soothingly, "and, if you keep your zen, you will get to relive all the best moments of your life . . . and that's a pretty useful tool to have, I'd say. Gives you perspective."

 

However, just as Fern said this, she looked up to realize that Neos had left. "Huh. Why does no one ever listen to me?"

 

---Route 401, Entrance to Thornbay City---

 

The battle between Ashley and Daniel had just begun, and it seemed to be a grind game to start with. Pebble increasing its speed with Rock Polish and Proton dropping its foe's defenses with Tail Whip wasn't the most exciting start to a battle, but already put a chess match into motion between the two young Pokémon trainers. Who would make the first offensive move? Only time would tell.

[Tesability Black]

Fern only thinks the words went unheard. Neos hadn't been moving that fast out of the gym, and so heard almost everything said, keeping himself just outside of the door to hear the rest of the advice.

 

Unfortunately, something she suggested he'd do to prove it would have actually invalidated her advice and he knew it, causing him to shake his head. "I need to get help with that at some point...almost got someone killed today," he grumbled under his breath before properly making his way to the center...

 

~~~~

 

"You are wounded," Neos immediately heard upon entering the Pokemon Center. "Bleeding and with bits of glass embedded in your body! Young man, you are going nowhere until you have been completely treated!" He clicked his tongue at this, schooled silent from the times he got the famous 'Nurse Joy Chewout' by various Joys for some of his antics.

 

And so, in an attempt to not make things worse for Garbit, he just stayed sitting in one of the chairs, waiting for when he was noticed and called up so he could get his things from the boy...

[DEStroyer of worlds!]

Garbit lifted his legs onto the table. "It's just you said you didn't have much.." The rest of Garbit's words got lost in between his brain and his mouth as the Warmink hopped in the balls lap, to say the Pokemon was comfy would be an understatement, but alas, Garbit could not fall asleep on it just yet, it was still morning, and the items needed to be delivered back to his... friend? Ally? Buddy? The young boy didn't know what to call him, this was definitely one on the list more complicated relationships he'd had, in fact, normally  Garbit would judge Pokemon as good and humans as bad until proven otherwise, which most of the time didn't happen. The boy just sighed and dropped his arms around the fluffball. "What do you think." Des asked the fluffball, not really expecting anything other then a confused look.

[Htamret]

Ashley was surprised that her opponent wasn't opening with an attack. It seemed that both of them were trying to undermine the advantage of the other's Pokémon. It was risky, but she needed to get some speed if she was going to stand a chance. Her Geodude only had one move that would be able to hit Daniel's Emolga, Rollout. The only problem was that once her Pokémon got going with that move, it would be hard for it to stop. Maybe she could trick Daniel into going on the offensive by getting into his head. It was a risk, but she would have to take that. There were not stakes on this battle, so it would be good for trying out tactics. 

 

Suddenly, she remembered that as a Ground-Type, Pebble would be safe from any Electric moves Proton used. Surely the little creature had more up its sleeve than that, but it was worth thinking about...

 

"Pebble, Defense Curl, then Rollout!" She called out, hoping that Daniel and his Pokémon wouldn't be able to react in time.

[👀 REP 👀]

Thornbay City

---

 

"Pebble, Defense Curl, then Rollout!" He was hoping that the Geodude somehow didn't have a rock move. To make matters worse it had Defense Curl, which would negate any advantage he'd be able to get by Tail Whipping. He grit his teeth, having to act quickly. "Proton, prepare to dodge the Rollout!" Luckily, it wouldn't be too hard for Proton to dodge the attack, especially since it needed time to Defense Curl. The squirrel jumped over the Geodude as it rolled towards it, harmlessly rolling underneath him. Still, things weren't looking good - while it wasn't hard to dodge now, the Geodude was only going to get faster and harder to dodge. It would be dangerous to attack, but the alternative would be to let the Geodude get too fast. He let out a sigh. He'd have to attack at the right time, but for now... "Proton, use Tail Whip! Get ready to dodge another Rollout" The emolga nodded, wagging its tail at the Geodude again. It seemed to be ready to jump into the sky at moment's notice.

[Draconus297]

The nurse simply sighed. "Young man . . . whatever it is you need to do . . . it can wait until you're patched up. Someone who's hurt shouldn't . . ." she trailed off, sounding almost sad and leaving her sentence unfinished.

 

She picked out each piece of glass, one at a time, with a pair of tweezers, sweating and trembling. "Carefully . . . carefully . . ." the young woman murmured, going a little dizzy with her own nervousness.

 

Warmink, in Garbit's lap, warbled at him. Neos in the lobby understood what it was saying, and it . . . didn't paint a pretty picture. {I think you should sit still and let her do her job. It's bad enough that she's a nervous wreck, that she has no humans helping, that the back rooms are all flooded and can't be fixed, but Joy is only good with Pokémon, and she's scared she'll hurt you. Do not question her.} Of course, given the adorable warbling that Warmink gave off to humans, Garbit understood none of it.

 

---Route 401, entrance to Thornbay City---

 

The Geodude rolled past the uneven ground of the forest, making it difficult to steer Rollout, but Proton wasn't having an easy time of it either- the low, twiggy branches that bent when humans and bigger Pokémon passed would either harm Proton, or at least make it very, very difficult to dodge effectively.

[Tesability Black]

"...that furball's a quick learner," Neos found himself muttering in slight shock, more to himself than anything else as his jaw was left to hang for a few moments. Shaking his head to get himself out of the stunned state he found himself in, he looked back up towards the nurse, frowning at the words he heard. "The back rooms are flooded," he asked to himself, gritting his teeth.

He was torn between staying in order to do what he could to help dry out the flooded rooms and getting his things and facing the music back at the Gym. Leaning back into his chair, he let out a deep sigh before standing up to walk up to both Garbit and Joy.

 

"Hey, um..." To his unfortunate luck, his voice decided to die in this throat for a few seconds, nerves starting to get to him. "I have to get my things from Garbit before going back to the Gym. Once I'm done, though..."

 

Alright, Neos, breath, the worse she can do is say 'no', he thought to himself, taking another breath before continuing on. "...need help around the Center while we're here? I heard something had happened in the backrooms." At this point, he looked down towards the warbling Pokemon, as if indicating exactly from whom he had heard that tidbit, though not revealing the full extend of what he heard just yet.

[DEStroyer of worlds!]

"It's either you can read my mind, or you gave me information that was not related to what I was trying to ask about" the boy whispered to the Pokemon on his lap before sighing. "Who am I kidding, even if you could read minds, I still wouldn't have understood a word you just said."
 
"Hey, um..."
 

Crap. Garbit imminently recognized that voice as Neos's, burying his head into the fluffballs head fluff, he had no idea why he did it, maybe it's because he so confused and thinking about Neos when he just appears out of nowhere. The only movement from Garbit's hugging position the whole time was to push Neos's things closer to that edge of the table when he mentioned them, then it came to the backrooms, he would have to ask about those later.

 

After the glass was out.

[Htamret]

There wasn't much Ashley could do but watch as her Geodude rolled along the ground, having trouble due to the uneven nature of the surface. Unless it was forcefully stopped, the creature would stay moving for a while, picking up speed. She tried to decide what to do next. Her opponent's Pokémon is quicker than her own, making attacks difficult to land. However, the attacks that do land will probably be strong. Another thing making this fight tricky was that she wouldn have trouble using any Ground-type moves due to Daniel's Pokémon being Flying-type. It meant that she would only be able to use Rollout, unless she got creative...

[👀 REP 👀]

Thornbay City

---

 

They seemed to be at a standstill at the moment. The Geodude wasn't able to hit Proton due to its speed, but in return nothing the squirrel could do could actually hurt the rock monster. Daniel grit his teeth. While he knew that he wasn't able to really hurt his opponent, he also knew that he wasn't able to dodge forever. The terrain wasn't helping at all, as the small squirrel cut itself on one of the branches while dodging the attack. It wasn't going to do much, but there wasn't much else Daniel could think of. "Proton, use Quick Attack!" Proton nodded and, in a flash, dashed towards the rocky opponent, ready to slam its tail against it. Daniel let out a sigh, turning to his Pokeball. He considered switching out to his newly caught partner for a moment. He kept that idea in the back of his mind as an option if things went sour, which they probably would.

[Draconus297]

"Hm? Your things?" The nurse asked, wiping a bit of sweat from her brow. "W-what things . . ." She suddenly noticed the Premier Ball and blue crystal that had hit the pristine white floor, and the shape in the boy's pocket of two Pokédexes. "Oh my. Um . . . hm. Well, certainly, sir, pick up your things and get moving. You'd best hurry, as the anesthetic in Warmink's fur won't last long, especially if it isn't in contact with the young man . . ."

 

Warmink suddenly plopped its furry tail in Garbit's face, sitting bolt upright.

 

"Anyway . . . I'd appreciate the help," she murmured, returning to picking out bits and shards of glass, "because most of the food and medical supplies are back there . . . and my bed," she finished with a whisper. "I-I managed to save most of the necessary supplies, and most of the things in the back rooms are perfectly fine being wet, like the scalpels and tourniquets . . . I put in a requisition for the things that are damaged."

 

---Route 401, Entrance to Thornbay City---

 

The battle at hand was definitely a dangerous one for little Proton, especially as Pebble had finally found a place clear enough of bushes and trees to turn around for another pass . . .

[Tesability Black]

"Yes, ma'am," Neos quickly stated with a slightly-higher pitched than he meant to, picking up the crystal on its gold chain, the Premier Ball, and his Dex, taking stock of them for about two seconds until he realized he forgot to tell Garbit to get something else as well.

 

His wallet.

 

"Fff...alright, getting gone." With a fast exit, he left the center, heading straight for the bush he originally left his things in, praying to all of the Pokemon gods that the odd-colored wallet was there still. Fortunately, he spotted the purple thing among all the green of the bush, carefully balanced upon a few other branches. "Oh, thank Arceus," he muttered as he reached in to grab it, pocketting it fast before turning towards the direction of the Gym's front entrance.

 

Head hanging in shame, he made his feet move forward, only speaking once he was back through those doors after pulling out the aged 'dex and holding it out. "Here..." He lifted his head as a thought crossed his mind. "Does this also screw me out of participating in Pokemon Contests as well, or am I still good to go there?"

[DEStroyer of worlds!]

Garbit really had no idea how to react to anything going on around him, he was to scared to talk to Neos, and if he spoke up about wanting to help with the bedrooms too, he was afraid he would worry the nurse even more. The Warmink's movement was a pleasant surprise though, it meant he didn't have to focus on the outside world, just on the pokemon, he wished it was like this all the time, but he knew it wasn't, nothing is ever that easy.

 

Even with the tail brushing against the nose hair, the boy sat still, unmoving, if it wasn't for the fact that the nurse was there he might have fallen asleep in the new makeshift pillow the pokemon created...

[👀 REP 👀]

Thornbay City

---

 

Things were going nowhere fast. The battle would take a while, but there was only so many times the small squirrel could dodge attacks. Eventually Proton would go down if he left him in like this. Daniel let out another sigh as he reached into his bag to get out another Pokeball. "Proton!" The Emolga turned its head, having just nearly dodged another attack from the Rock-type foe. Daniel extended his arm out, Pokeball in hand. "Return! Go, Phasnail!" As the squirrel turned to bright red light into the ball, another ball was tossed out almost immediately after. The ghastly snail appeared onto the battlefield, taking a look around it slowly.

[Htamret]

 "Return! Go, Phansnail!"

 

"Huh?" Ashley blinked, caught in a trance caused by watching her Geodude as it rolled around the forest. Daniel's call to his Pokémon snapped her out of it, though as she began to come back to the battle she realized that she knew almost nothing about the creature in front of her. It was safe to assume that it wasn't a Flying-type, so she decided to take a risk. She had only seen the move a few times but knew it could be a gamble. Still, part of her was thrilled by the potential it had, as well as its sheer power. Depending on how it went it might harm the forest, but it would no doubt recover. Trainers battle here all the time, right? She slightly bent her knees, not sure of what might happen since she had only seen the move on television.

 

"Pebble, try to slow down and use Magnitude!" Ashley said, extending her arm, hand outstretched. This was what battling was about: total trust in your Pokémon to do their best, and in return the Trainer did their best as well.

[Draconus297]

"Snaaaail," Phasnail groaned in its low, somber voice, lazily swiveling its head. "Phaaaaa," it seemed to grumble in a sheer lack of understanding of the situation. The piercing, unsettling blue eyes on its sides blinked in boredom as they looked this way and that. In irritation, it shut its eyes entirely, and quite abruptly turned invisible.

 

Pebble, responding to the order, skidded to a halt and raised its fist, slamming it into the ground . . .

 

<<Magnitude 6!>> Both Pokédexes chirped simultaneously.

 

---Thornbay City Gym---

 

"Contests? Nah," Fern waved as she put in the necessary button presses. "Those are run by some company. I don't have any more sway in keeping you from Contests than the mini-Joy in the Center does. But, you tick off one Gym Leader enough, and you can't go to the League for the whole year. Kinda depressing, really," she shrugged, handing Neos back his Dex with a shrug. "Also, I'm letting you off with a warning this time. Just three months. That way, you can come back in winter. Maybe you'll even have a fighting chance, huh?" She laughed at her arrogant joke.

 

Rudy, meanwhile, was sulking in the corner as he tended to the berry plants, softly patting his Tangela on the head.

 

---Thornbay City Pokémon Center---

 

"Th-there," the nurse said with a sigh of relief, signaling for Warmink to get up. "That should do it, at least for now."

 

As Garbit was allowed to move, a glance at his leg showed that she had, at the very least, picked out all the glass shards, and had bandaged the wound left behind with a bit of an excess of gauze- his leg was difficult to move properly, but would at least be safe from any potential infections.

 

"I-I did it!" The nurse said happily, scratching under her Warmink's incredibly furry chin. "I treated a human being!"

[👀 REP 👀]

Thornbay City

---

 

Daniel watched as his Pokemon suddenly became invisible in shock. "Pebble, try to slow down and use Magnitude!" Daniel turned to the girl, realizing what that attack meant. He prepared himself for the ground to shake as the Geodude slammed the ground with its fist. As it did, the ground shook beneath them. He heard both his and Ashley's Pokedexes chime in, notifying them of the strength of the magnitude. This wasn't good; he wasn't even sure where his Pokemon even was right now, although considering the fact that it was a snail it probably didn't move all that much. 

 

"Phasnail, retaliate with a Shadow Ball!" He commanded, hoping that his Pokemon would appear and attack the Geodude.