The Archaeology Zone's Recorded History

[Food Guy]

The Isle of Talas

The Sphinx

Food Guy
Looking at you briefly with a mildly annoyed expression on her face, Dot starts focusing psychic power through her palms, shaking a little as the energy goes through her pained hand, but summoning up a panel of Reflect all the same. The technique comes just in time as Skorupi fires another Poison Sting from its mouth; the toxic needles colliding with Dot's protective screen before falling to the floor in little clatters. Glaring at the rather infuriating bug, Dot's wings begin beating up a second Supersonic, causing confusing waves to echo about the chamber once more. This catches the little scorpion unawares once more, and it doesn't take long for spirals to set into its eyes once more.

Smirking slightly at her befuddled opponent, Dot begins another round of flapping her wings, but this time she focuses on releasing insectoid energy from them instead of sound waves. A glittery gust of Silver Wind flies from beneath her chitin guards, arcing into a pair of zephyrs, slicing over Skorupi and... upon further inspection, not really seeming to deal effective damage. However, a glance towards Dot reveals that some of the energies she released appear to have surrounded her, and even as you watch on she appears to have a spring in her flight, and her body seems to have become slightly stronger while Skorupi claws itself in utter obfustication...

Dot closed her eyes and started to focus psychic energy through her palms, wincing as the energy passed through her injured hand. Dot threw her hands forward and a barrier was summoned in front of her. she executed this just in time, for Skorupi had fired another Poison Sting attack out of its mouth. The needles smashed into Dot's barrier and just fell to the ground. Dot glared at Skorupi before she started to beat her wings. The Ledian's Supersonic attack was successful, proven when spiral once again formed in Skorupi's eyes.

Dot smirked at her opponent before she started to flap her wings again, but this time she was interested in releasing insectoid energy rather than sound waves. A silvery powder began to gust out from underneath Dot's chitin guards and headed towards Skorupi, arcing into a pair of zephyrs along the way. They sliced into Skorupi, but upon closer inspection it did little damage, but Dot seemed to be surrounded by some of the energies that she released. The ladybug pokemon seemed to be springier and she just looked stronger, while Skorupi was clawing itself in confusion.

"Yes," said Karmas as he looked at Dot, "Using Silver Wind may bot have done much damage to Skorupi but it raised her stats!"

Watermelon, who was at his trainer's side, looked at Karmas, impatient for the battle to end so that they could move on.

"Wait," said Karmas before he gave Dot her orders. "Dot, use Tackle, and then give it a double dose of Comet Punch!"

[Shadowshocker]

The Isle of Talas

The Sphinx

Food Guy
Keen to continue your pursuit of the Sphinx's wealth, you order a fresh set of commands for Dot, who eagerly dives in with her boosted agility. Making contact before Skorupi can react at all, Dot executes a forward Tackle that promptly sends Skorupi rolling back through the dirt. Somehow managing to right itself, the desert scorpion shakes its head vigorously, but from the way it unsteadily totters it's obvious that confusion is still plaguing its little head. Not wanting to give Skorupi any chance of recovery, Dot flitters over to the smaller insect and begins hammering its back with a furious Comet Punch, literally raining blows on the hapless arachnid. Under Dot's administering it doesn't take long for pronounced bruises to appear on Skorupi, though as Dot raises her four hands to pause for breath Skorupi surprises the lot of you, jumping up and landing a Bite on Ledian's upper right hand this time. Shrieking at the unexpected affront, Dot promptly drives her inflicted fist into the ground; this second Comet Punch jarring Skorupi's head against the packed sediments and handily, holding the bug in place as Dot's other knuckles start wildly pummelling her opponent in a bid to force the living montrap to let go. As this rather brutal display of power goes on, you and Watermelon can't help but sweatdrop a little as Dot continues with an almost animalistic expression on her face, desperate to get Skorupi off her hand. By the time Skorupi finally gives up the struggle, the rest of its body is distinctly in an equally battered state, and with a crinkly groan it keels over. Level up for Dot. Ruefully massaging her pained knuckle, Dot shoots a last glare at the unconscious foe before flying back to you, and in your pressing need to move on you quickly advance through the passage ahead.

Another uneventful series of dashing through the inside of the Sphinx ensues, though this time you have a nagging feeling that somehow, the air has gotten a little staler and your echoing footsteps have turned ominous in timbre, and an impression of doubt begins floating in your mind -- the Sphinx certainly didn't seem as big on the outside. While your mind deliberates over this oddity, an alert shout from your Pokémon has you suddenly screeching to a halt: without you noticing you've reached the third chamber, nearly crashing into a waiting purple creature in the process. As you steady yourself the Pokémon opens its crystalline eyes, before its mouth widens into a sharp-toothed grin.

"Weh-heh-heh! Not too quick on the draw, are we?" cackles the Sableye. "You'll need to be a lot more watchful, though I'll give you that half the people who visit don't reach me. Whether you'll get past me... now, that's another story altogether, isn't it? Weh-heh-heh!" Pausing to chuckle to himself for a few more moments, under the somewhat irked gazes of Dot and Watermelon, the Darkness Pokémon finally stands up straight, thumping himself on the chest while clearing his throat. "Ahem. In any case, here's my riddle for you:

"My first is a person you'd see when you're sick,
My second a sound you might make when in pain.
My third is a letter you give when asleep,
Add up the clues and the answer is plain.

"So, howzabout it? Betcha can't solve this one!" Sableye grins smugly. Might you be able to prove him wrong?

[ZoraJolteon]

The Lost City of Axal

The Celestial Temple

ZoraJolteon
As you and Myria gingerly trot down the staircase leading downwards, you can only hope that Myria's uncovention hasn't determined some omnipresent fate you'll have to deal with later. Following the spiral formation where the Poison Sting must have gone, you make a pair of rounds further down until you find yourself in a circular chamber with three passageways leading further into this basement level. Glancing, you spot Myria's missile point aligned towards one of them, and without any intervention from your side you feel Myria tugging at your hair, clearly insistent you follow the path that she has chosen.

Little consideration given to other options, you find yourself going down the hallway, still accompanied by the strange illuminescence the walls have taken since the moment you entered the temple, and with every step you take you can almost swear that the glow has started to slowly, but surely intensify. While your mind dwells on this you suddenly notice that the passageway has ended, leaving you in a sizeable room decorated with marble pillars, reflecting the mysterious light onto the statue of a Tauros in the middle. Going ahead, you find that the statue in fact has been placed on a stand, marked with a plaque bearing the following words:

Suruta, the Bull
Guardian of Ground

While you're wondering what all this could mean, a voice suddenly booms through the chamber. "Surutan! Your presence is approved!"

Almost jumping from the abruptness of it all, you feel apprehension take you as the voice continues, "Fear not, Surutan. You who have been born under the constellation of Suruta need not be afraid. That you would come across my chamber, first of all the twelve in the Zodiac, is no accident. You have gained favour from Celeste herself, to be led to the chamber that blessed your birth. Celeste smiles upon you, young Surutan, for power is to be had if you would embark on the challenge to prove yourself against the might of the Zodiac. However, you first must undergo my test... you must defeat me if you are to continue on your quest, should you choose to embark on it."

Looks like you've been invited on a marathon of twelve battles, the conditions granted from Celeste no less. What will you choose to do?

"Which one of us do you think he's talking to?" Zora said with a smirk to Myria, whose Birthday fell mearly a week after his own. As Zora lifted an arm up in front of his face, Myria carefully untanged himself and turned around, climbing down onto Zora's outstretched palm as he faced his trainer, raising his blooms in an 'I dunno lol' expression. "So." Zora continued, "Looks like we've got some serious battling ahead of us. I wonder what our opponents will be like. The species seems obvious enough, but any additional factors... Oh well. We'll play it safe to begin with. Lets hope a Stun Spore is working as intended. That should buy you time to agument your abilities with Growth, then we'll go from there." Moving his arm further in front of him, Zora watched Myria leap out of his palm, showing off with a complex little twirl as he somersaulted down onto the ground, landing in a combat-ready stance.
"Lia!" he cried, ready to fight.
"Suruta, we accept your test and are ready to participate." Zora announced to the room, earger to see what came next.

[Shadowshocker]

First off, an apology to Stark for failing to notice his reply, as Food Guy had pushed it to another page and I didn't think to check back. Sorry about that!

Atlas City

The Market

Stark
Both of you terse with the rather definite nearing of the battle's conclusion, you're at least determined not to leave this battlefield a loser, and neither is Houndour. Pressing her nose against the ground, Houndour goes into her Odour Sleuth mode, relying on her keen nose to hone in on Raticate's underground location. A moment later, you see Houndour suddenly kick in the familiar crimson glow of Counter, just as Raticate comes bursting through the floor; his teeth clacking rapidly as their sharpness rips through the packed dirt, paving and other paraphernalia. Tumbling into Houndour like a cannonball, it takes a while for Raticate's Dig to kick in his damage before Houndour's rebound technique sends him diving at the ground with twice the velocity and pain.

Noting Raticate's discoordinated state, Houndour starts focusing a Shadow Ball between her jaws; the orb of ghostly power growing from the size of a gobstopper to that of an orange, soon developing to basketball and pumpkin levels. Pushed on by her anger at the rodent enemy, Houndour rears her head, chucking the bomb with all her might, which explodes against Raticate at Lawrence's feet before either of you can react.

A squall of otherworldly zephyrs bursts upon the Shadow Ball's impact, shrouding the alleyway in darkness, and as the winds tear at your form you briefly wonder if Houndour might have overdone it; you can't see even inches in front of you. All of a sudden, a swiping motion passes you, almost ripping against your clothes, followed by a merry giggle sounding about you. Gropingly you try to feel your way about the alley, panic suddenly seizing you as you realise your proverbial blindness in the spooky mist.

"NO!" Piercing the scenario, you hear Lawrence suddenly scream out, just as the shadowed wind starts to dissipate, but even as you squint through the fading opaqueness you sense that something is very, very wrong. Raticate remains lying on the ground where he was predictably knocked out; however the one responsible for his defeat is nowhere to be seen. Frantically you scan the entire alleyway, but Houndour is nowhere in sight, and neither is Carolina.

"I can't BELIEVE I let that happen! AGAIN!" Wrenching his hands in anguish, Lawrence surprises you with his sudden emotional display, but somehow you have a feeling it's not about his loss at your hands.

"She got away! For the damning FIFTEENTH TIME!" he howls, and you're shocked to see Lawrence face the wall, beginning to pound his right hand against the dead end; his fist clenched so hard you can almost swear to see the knuckles, and the impact at which he punches the wall is most cringeworthy.

"STUPID!" bellows Lawrence, speaking to himself more than anyone else, "STUPID STUPID STUPID STUPID!"

It's clear that the battle's resolution hasn't answered any of the questions you have, and worse of all one of your comrades has now gone missing in action...

The Lost City of Axal

The Celestial Temple

ZoraJolteon
"You have chosen bravely, Surutan. As befits one born under the Bull!" booms the disembodied voice while Myria assumes his battle positions. "Trust in your strength, and victory shall not elude you!"

Having a good idea of what Pokémon you have been tasked to defeat, you prepare yourself for the predictable Wild Bull stampede to come. What you might not have expected, however, is for the Tauros statue to suddenly glow with a lightly blinding aura; the illuminescence lasting a few seconds before dissipating. At this, the statue begins pawing the stand with its right hoof, and it promptly dawns on you that while you're definitely fighting a Tauros, it seems you'll be taking on the actual statue that embodies the celestial entity. As the entirety of Suruta's statue comes alive, rearing on its hind legs while it bellows with its three tails whipping snappily. At the sight, Myria appears to shudder, and as you watch his little body shake in what looks like fear you deduce the Wild Bull's Intimidate ability kick in at the start of the battle.

Roaring to the ceiling, the Tauros thunders down the pedestal on which it stood a few moments earlier, bringing itself into a Take Down at Myria. Quickly, the Thorn Pokémon starts whipping up his purple and black blossoms, spraying liberal amounts of Stun Spore as quickly as he can muster, forming a veritable cloud in front of him despite his diminuitive size. Unable to halt or change direction in time, Tauros runs through the collection of paralytic powder, and as you and Myria dive to the side you see the avatar Suruta's lips curl in affliction before it crashes resoundingly into the wall where you had been standing near only seconds ago. Sweating slightly, you watch Suruta pull himself from the wall, chunks of polished stone crumbling to the floor from the points of the Normal-type statue's impact, and while this happens Myria begins to execute his Growth technique, gaining a couple of inches and an increase in special attack power.

Snorting while it turns to you, Suruta begins raising his Tails, but instead of targeting Myria you're astonished to find the Bull Whipping himself instead. A state of unease fills you, and this is confirmed with a quick check to your PokéDex: habitually, Tauros whip themselves with their tails in order to heighten their willpower to fight. Both of you are getting souped up for this battle, but exactly how will you hold your own from now on?...

[Food Guy]

The Isle of Talas

The Sphinx

Food Guy
Keen to continue your pursuit of the Sphinx's wealth, you order a fresh set of commands for Dot, who eagerly dives in with her boosted agility. Making contact before Skorupi can react at all, Dot executes a forward Tackle that promptly sends Skorupi rolling back through the dirt. Somehow managing to right itself, the desert scorpion shakes its head vigorously, but from the way it unsteadily totters it's obvious that confusion is still plaguing its little head. Not wanting to give Skorupi any chance of recovery, Dot flitters over to the smaller insect and begins hammering its back with a furious Comet Punch, literally raining blows on the hapless arachnid. Under Dot's administering it doesn't take long for pronounced bruises to appear on Skorupi, though as Dot raises her four hands to pause for breath Skorupi surprises the lot of you, jumping up and landing a Bite on Ledian's upper right hand this time. Shrieking at the unexpected affront, Dot promptly drives her inflicted fist into the ground; this second Comet Punch jarring Skorupi's head against the packed sediments and handily, holding the bug in place as Dot's other knuckles start wildly pummelling her opponent in a bid to force the living montrap to let go. As this rather brutal display of power goes on, you and Watermelon can't help but sweatdrop a little as Dot continues with an almost animalistic expression on her face, desperate to get Skorupi off her hand. By the time Skorupi finally gives up the struggle, the rest of its body is distinctly in an equally battered state, and with a crinkly groan it keels over. Level up for Dot. Ruefully massaging her pained knuckle, Dot shoots a last glare at the unconscious foe before flying back to you, and in your pressing need to move on you quickly advance through the passage ahead.

Another uneventful series of dashing through the inside of the Sphinx ensues, though this time you have a nagging feeling that somehow, the air has gotten a little staler and your echoing footsteps have turned ominous in timbre, and an impression of doubt begins floating in your mind -- the Sphinx certainly didn't seem as big on the outside. While your mind deliberates over this oddity, an alert shout from your Pokémon has you suddenly screeching to a halt: without you noticing you've reached the third chamber, nearly crashing into a waiting purple creature in the process. As you steady yourself the Pokémon opens its crystalline eyes, before its mouth widens into a sharp-toothed grin.

"Weh-heh-heh! Not too quick on the draw, are we?" cackles the Sableye. "You'll need to be a lot more watchful, though I'll give you that half the people who visit don't reach me. Whether you'll get past me... now, that's another story altogether, isn't it? Weh-heh-heh!" Pausing to chuckle to himself for a few more moments, under the somewhat irked gazes of Dot and Watermelon, the Darkness Pokémon finally stands up straight, thumping himself on the chest while clearing his throat. "Ahem. In any case, here's my riddle for you:

"My first is a person you'd see when you're sick,
My second a sound you might make when in pain.
My third is a letter you give when asleep,
Add up the clues and the answer is plain.

"So, howzabout it? Betcha can't solve this one!" Sableye grins smugly. Might you be able to prove him wrong?

Dot zoomed towards Skorupi, even faster than normal thanks to her increased agility. Before it could even react, Dot executed a Tackle that sent the poison/dark type rolling through the dirt. Skorupi righted itself, but it was still conflicted by confusion, obvious due to the fact that it looked drunk. Not giving her opponent any chance of recovery, Dot flew over to Skorupi and began to furiously hammer into its back with her Comet Punch. Soon bruises began to form and Dot paused to take a breath, but when she did do Skorupi surprised everyone by jumping up and Biting Dot's upper right hand. Dot shrieked once again at the pain from having the scorpion latching onto her hand. She slammed her fist into the ground, starting another Comet Punch, effectively holding Skorupi's head in place while Dot hammered her other three fists into its body. As Dot continued her onslaught Karmas and Watermelon couldn't help but but sweat drop as an animalistic expression formed on her face. Finally the Skorupi gave up the struggle and keeled over. Dot glared one last time at her ex-opponent before she flew back to her trainer, massaging her sore hand, and the trio started to walk through the passage that was before them.

The walk was pretty uneventful, being like every other passageway so far. But this time Karmas couldn't help but think that air was getting staler and that his footsteps were starting to sound ominous. The Sphinx didn't seem to be the size that it was on the outside. Karmas was pondering over this when he was brought back to reality by a shout from Watermelon, causing him to nearly crash into a purple creature. As Karmas steadied himself he noticed that he had gone into the next chamber without realising it. Karmas looked towards the creature that he had nearly run into and as he did it opened its crystalline eyes and its mouth widened into a sharp toothed grin.

"Weh-heh-heh! Not too quick on the draw, are we?" cackled the Sableye. "You'll need to be a lot more watchful, though I'll give you that half the people who visit don't reach me. Whether you'll get past me... now, that's another story altogether, isn't it? Weh-heh-heh!" Pausing to chuckle to himself for a few more moments, under the somewhat irked gazes of Dot and Watermelon, the Darkness Pokémon finally stood up straight, thumping himself on the chest while clearing his throat. "Ahem. In any case, here's my riddle for you:

"My first is a person you'd see when you're sick,
My second a sound you might make when in pain.
My third is a letter you give when asleep,
Add up the clues and the answer is plain.

"So, howzabout it? Betcha can't solve this one!" Sableye grinned smugly.

Karmas thought about the riddle for a little while.

"Okay," he muttered. "A person you'd see when you're sick is a doctor. A sound you might make when you're in pain is ow. And a letter you give when asleep is z. Doctor ow z. Doctor-ow-z. That sounds like..."

The trainer turned towards the Sableye before confidently announcing his answer.

"Is the answer to the riddle Drowzee?"

[-Hayward-]

The Lost City of Lacuna

Lacuna City

Hayward
With your purpose quickly ascertained, you promptly release fighters of your own in swift response with orders on the side; Medeo taking a moment to get over the surprise of facing Ikira. Seconds tick by tersely as the four Pokémon glare each other down, before Medeo charges in first for a quick Fake Out, slapping Roselia by the side of his head. The shorter-cloaked thorn tumbles to the ground, but other than a soft grunt it appears as unfeeling as its trainer. Clefairy, in the meantime, begins to Growl at your Pokémon; her voice laced with rough decibels, causing them to briefly shudder. Hopping into the fray, Forteo goes in for a Bug Bite onto Roselia, tasting plant juice as his hidden teeth come down, but you notice that somehow the impact appears to be reduced.

Suddenly flinging Forteo off with surprising strength, Roselia brings a blade of Grass to his mouth, gently blowing to create a calming Whistle tune as Clefairy rolls up in a Defence Curl. Instantly Forteo and Medeo start to get wobbly on their lower limbs, and even as Medeo tries forming an Energy Ball between his palms sleep inevitably creeps into his eyelids, and he fumbles the botanic bomb halfway through, releasing it as he collapses to the ground snoring away. The viridian orb goes flying, slamming into the balled fairy, drawing a muffled squeak out of her as she reveals herself. Tottering forward, you're shocked as Clefairy begins a Wake-Up Slap on your snoozing Meditite; her palm going back and forth as she smacks Medeo silly on the face. It only takes the first instance of impact for Medeo to awaken, though Clefairy continues the onslaught of abusing his cheeks before delivering a final palm thrust, tossing Medeo back from the force. Sorely, Medeo massages his face where Clefairy has left her red handprints, but with no other moves to withstand against he can only gaze at his opponent with a pained look in his eye. With Medeo taught a rather stingy lesson and Forteo still sleeping, things don't seem to be going so well for you...

Having issued his instructions, the Trainer Benjamin Hale watched as Medeo darted across the raised platform and slapped their adversary’s Roselia on the side of the head. Momentarily Faked Out, the Thorn-covered Pokemon tottered and toppled to the floor with a dull thud. Medeo stared wide-eyed as Roselia’s lifeless expression remained unchanged, and Ben bolted in astonishment at the realization that their opponent appeared to feel no pain. Like trainer, like Pokemon, Ben thought to himself ruefully. It seemed to Ben that Roselia also displayed no emotion and had most likely been bewitched as well. Dragging a hand through his short brown hair, he thought to himself that this turn of events could make things much more difficult. He didn’t have much to time to think about it however. Just then a loud noise from the battlefield brought his attention back to the escalating fight.

Clefairy suddenly let out a menacing Growl that sent shivers down the spine of Ben and his two little partners. As the echo of the Fairy Pokemon’s attack reverberated around the chamber, Medeo nimbly scampered back to Ben’s side of the battlefield holding his tiny hands to his ears; a futile attempt to block out the intimidating sound. Meanwhile, Forteo wasted no time in taking full advantage of Roselia’s temporarily stunned condition. Moving in, he delivered a vicious Bug Bite to the Flower-festooned Pokemon. In retaliation, Roselia simply tossed Forteo across the room, and Ben bolted in surprise at such an alarming display of strength. Bracing itself for any incoming attacks, Clefairy Defensively Curled into a ball, while Roselia Whistled a Grass-aided tune that caused both Forteo and Medeo to get drowsy and fall asleep; but not before the Meditite had launched an Energy Ball that exploded on contact with its rolled-up Clefairy target. Unperturbed, the Fairy Pokemon untucked itself, waddled over to Medeo, and dealt him a number of stinging, retaliatory Wake Up Slaps that startled the Yoga Pokemon into consciousness once again.

* * *

In the main chamber of the Magnificent Moon Temple, the Meditite Medeo tenderly rubbed his reddened cheeks and regarded Clefairy with a pained look in his eyes. Taking stock of the situation, he turned his attention to his still-snoozing comrade. He jogged over to Forteo’s side and gently rocked him back-and-forth on his bottomspike, but the Pineco didn’t stir. Medeo threw a quick glance over his shoulder at Ben and shrugged. Pressing his two tiny palms together, he raised them to the side of his head, pantomiming sleep.

Ben calmly watched Medeo’s charades through his grey-green eyes. He nodded at the Meditite, then lifted a hand to his temple and massaged his forehead while thinking hard to come up with a plan. He had no idea how long Forteo would be out. Hopefully not long. Unfortunately, he hadn’t brought anything along with him from the future that could awaken the woody Pineco. He would just have to rely on Medeo until Forteo woke up. While Ben wasn’t too crazy about that option, he didn’t think he had any other choice. Ben grinned as he thought that at least the ever-ready-for-a-challenge Medeo would relish it. The small Meditite clearly held a type-advantage against both of the foe Pokemon and had mastered a number of techniques that could score super-effective damage on either of them. Ben knew it was just up to him to devise a strategy that would make full use of their advantages. He decided he would try to exploit Medeo’s natural speed and agility. Since the Thorny Pokemon had already taken two hits, Ben decided to concentrate on it first.

“D’you think you can hold on ‘til Forteo wakes up, mate?!” Anticipating the answer he asked the question anyway. Medeo regarded Ben with an indignant expression on his face that Ben interpreted as “Are you joking?!”

“Alright then, look sharp --” Ben directed his diminutive companion, “Don’t get cocky and keep your cool! Watch out for Clefairy’s Follow Me trick! DOUBLE TEAM to dodge, then keep working on Roselia! Go with a double PSYCHIC blast!” Medeo nodded and fixed his opponent with a determined stare.

Ben turned to the sleeping pinecone. “FORTEO! WAKE UP, MATE!” he hollered in a big booming voice. “You can sleep when the fight’s over! If you can hear me, when you’re awake, RAPID SPIN over to Roselia, and do a TACKLE into TAKE DOWN!” As he finished issuing his instructions, Ben sincerely hoped that Forteo would come around soon. A type-advantage was nice, but it would be a lot nicer if it weren’t 2-on-1...

_____________________________________
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[Shadowshocker]

The Isle of Talas

The Sphinx

Food Guy
As you proudly declare what you believe to be the answer, Sableye's legs appears to waver while his grin performs a one-eighty.

"I don't believe it!" he says, clutching the sides of his head. "You actually solved it! I had to spend three years thinking up that one!" Beginning to pace in his flustering, Sableye seems unable to handle how quickly his riddle has been broken, drawing coordinated smirks out of both Dot and Watermelon. "Oh, well. Rules are rules." Dusting his claws, Sableye beckons to you to follow it before disappearing into the stone doorway ahead, and following his lead you continue onwards with your Pokémon aside you. About five metres on, however, leads you to a staircase heading downwards, and you realise the probable answer to the query you had earlier: the Sphinx was probably constructed or created with an objective of tiring out wannabe explorers in mind, likely to dissuade the undetermined or weak from ever landing a hand on the monument's riches. The thought has your mind drifting towards your team -- having faced two battles with no opportunity of recovery, and with a prospect of ten more guaranteed battles ahead of you, it's certainly a warrant for concern.

You are ripped from your thought processes, once again, as your foot hits the final stair beneath you, leading into another battle chamber: this one darkened, yet illuminated by strange purple fire and cloaked with violet fog by the floor. As you step into the hall you feel a strange sense of pleasantry take you, as though you just stepped into a realistic representation of a dream. Just as you almost feel like falling asleep, however, you spot a glinting figure in the centre of the clay floor; long-nosed and gesticulating, the pinkish Drowzee smiles at you, and in that silent stare you feel as though volumes were just spoken in the Hypnosis Pokémon's quietude. Unless you deal with this new foe, you won't take long to fall under its spell...

The Moon Temple

Lacuna City

Hayward
With one of your team presently disabled, the pressure is clear on Medeo to stay alive while Forteo runs through the duration of his sleeping. Tapping into one of his disciplines, Medeo calls on the powers of Double Team, forming a pair of identical Meditite next to him, sharing wounds and expressions. Getting together in perfect coordination, the Medeo trio gather in preparation of what is to come, and indeed Clefairy comes running with her arms raised again. A Doubleslap comes against one of the Meditite, and a brief wave of relief washes over you as the first swipe from Clefairy dissipates what turns out to be one of Medeo's shadow fakes, causing a look of confusion to cloud the Fairy Pokémon's face.

Meanwhile, Roselia reveals himself from your boundary of attention, having apparently received about three centimetres in Growth while you weren't watching him, and before you can react in accordance the Grass-type sends a small storm of Magical Leaf at Medeo. Unable to withstand the homing attack, Medeo is flung backward as the charged leaves batter against his real form; the other Medeo fading as the lighting trick is seen through, but not before Medeo raises his palm to aim a Psychic blast at the offending Thorn. A sheen of shimmering energy rips from Medeo's fingertips, slamming back into Roselia who squeals in response, likewise thrown back from the super-effective technique.

Rising to his feet, Medeo charges up another Psychic pulse in his hands, but a sideways glance confirms what you've been concerned over since this battle began: a Follow Me display from Clefairy as the excitable Normal-type balances on her toe, waving her other hand in a beckoning fashion. Straining with the distraction manouvre, Medeo appears to struggle visibly before his palm can take no more, releasing its gathered energy into a swerving arc that blasts into Clefairy, throwing it into midair like a rag doll.

Panting from the exertion, Medeo glares determinedly at both his opponents; Forteo apparently having slept through the entire exchange. While your Meditite seems to be fine so far, you know only so well that he won't last forever against two foes...

[Food Guy]

The Isle of Talas

The Sphinx

Food Guy
As you proudly declare what you believe to be the answer, Sableye's legs appears to waver while his grin performs a one-eighty.

"I don't believe it!" he says, clutching the sides of his head. "You actually solved it! I had to spend three years thinking up that one!" Beginning to pace in his flustering, Sableye seems unable to handle how quickly his riddle has been broken, drawing coordinated smirks out of both Dot and Watermelon. "Oh, well. Rules are rules." Dusting his claws, Sableye beckons to you to follow it before disappearing into the stone doorway ahead, and following his lead you continue onwards with your Pokémon aside you. About five metres on, however, leads you to a staircase heading downwards, and you realise the probable answer to the query you had earlier: the Sphinx was probably constructed or created with an objective of tiring out wannabe explorers in mind, likely to dissuade the undetermined or weak from ever landing a hand on the monument's riches. The thought has your mind drifting towards your team -- having faced two battles with no opportunity of recovery, and with a prospect of ten more guaranteed battles ahead of you, it's certainly a warrant for concern.

You are ripped from your thought processes, once again, as your foot hits the final stair beneath you, leading into another battle chamber: this one darkened, yet illuminated by strange purple fire and cloaked with violet fog by the floor. As you step into the hall you feel a strange sense of pleasantry take you, as though you just stepped into a realistic representation of a dream. Just as you almost feel like falling asleep, however, you spot a glinting figure in the centre of the clay floor; long-nosed and gesticulating, the pinkish Drowzee smiles at you, and in that silent stare you feel as though volumes were just spoken in the Hypnosis Pokémon's quietude. Unless you deal with this new foe, you won't take long to fall under its spell...

After Karmas declared his answer the Sableye's grin turned upside down.

"I don't believe it!" he said, clutching the sides of his head. "You actually solved it! I had to spend three years thinking up that one!" Beginning to pace in his flustering, Sableye seemed unable to handle how quickly his riddle had been broken, drawing coordinated smirks out of both Dot and Watermelon. "Oh, well. Rules are rules."

Sableye dusted off his claws before he beckoned for Karmas to follow him. The ghost disappeared through the stone doorway ahead and Karmas quickly followed suit. After walking about five metres the trainer found himself at a staircase that led downwards. As he walked down Karmas realised the answer to his previous mental query. The Sphinx was most likely created with an objective to tire out any wannabe explorers so that they didn't get to lay a hand on the treasures within. That thought made Karmas' focus drift towards his team, they had already battled twice and they still had ten battles ahead, and with no chance of recovery it worried the trainer.

Once again he was brought back to reality, but this time it was because he had hit the final step, which lead to another battle chamber. As Karmas stepped into the hall a sudden feeling of pleasantry hit him as if he were in a dream. Karmas felt like he just had to go to sleep when he saw a glinting figure in the distance. Long-nosed and gesticulating, the pinkish Drowzee smiled at the trainer, and in that silent stare he felt as though volumes were just spoken in the Hypnosis Pokémon's quietude. Unless he dealt with this new foe, Karmas wouldn't take long to fall under its spell.

A Drowzee eh, thought Karmas Now there's a pokemon that I'm interested in catching

"Okay Watermelon, you're a dark-type so you should have little trouble with this psychic-type," said Karmas. "So use a Growth then hit it with two Dark Pulses!"

As Watermelon ran towards Drowzee, Karmas pulled out a Pokeball (7 of 10) and waited to see if he could get a chance to capture it.

[Stark]

First off, an apology to Stark for failing to notice his reply, as Food Guy had pushed it to another page and I didn't think to check back. Sorry about that!

Atlas City

The Market

Stark
Both of you terse with the rather definite nearing of the battle's conclusion, you're at least determined not to leave this battlefield a loser, and neither is Houndour. Pressing her nose against the ground, Houndour goes into her Odour Sleuth mode, relying on her keen nose to hone in on Raticate's underground location. A moment later, you see Houndour suddenly kick in the familiar crimson glow of Counter, just as Raticate comes bursting through the floor; his teeth clacking rapidly as their sharpness rips through the packed dirt, paving and other paraphernalia. Tumbling into Houndour like a cannonball, it takes a while for Raticate's Dig to kick in his damage before Houndour's rebound technique sends him diving at the ground with twice the velocity and pain.

Noting Raticate's discoordinated state, Houndour starts focusing a Shadow Ball between her jaws; the orb of ghostly power growing from the size of a gobstopper to that of an orange, soon developing to basketball and pumpkin levels. Pushed on by her anger at the rodent enemy, Houndour rears her head, chucking the bomb with all her might, which explodes against Raticate at Lawrence's feet before either of you can react.

A squall of otherworldly zephyrs bursts upon the Shadow Ball's impact, shrouding the alleyway in darkness, and as the winds tear at your form you briefly wonder if Houndour might have overdone it; you can't see even inches in front of you. All of a sudden, a swiping motion passes you, almost ripping against your clothes, followed by a merry giggle sounding about you. Gropingly you try to feel your way about the alley, panic suddenly seizing you as you realise your proverbial blindness in the spooky mist.

"NO!" Piercing the scenario, you hear Lawrence suddenly scream out, just as the shadowed wind starts to dissipate, but even as you squint through the fading opaqueness you sense that something is very, very wrong. Raticate remains lying on the ground where he was predictably knocked out; however the one responsible for his defeat is nowhere to be seen. Frantically you scan the entire alleyway, but Houndour is nowhere in sight, and neither is Carolina.

"I can't BELIEVE I let that happen! AGAIN!" Wrenching his hands in anguish, Lawrence surprises you with his sudden emotional display, but somehow you have a feeling it's not about his loss at your hands.

"She got away! For the damning FIFTEENTH TIME!" he howls, and you're shocked to see Lawrence face the wall, beginning to pound his right hand against the dead end; his fist clenched so hard you can almost swear to see the knuckles, and the impact at which he punches the wall is most cringeworthy.

"STUPID!" bellows Lawrence, speaking to himself more than anyone else, "STUPID STUPID STUPID STUPID!"

It's clear that the battle's resolution hasn't answered any of the questions you have, and worse of all one of your comrades has now gone missing in action...

Stark couldn't shake the chill running through his bones. Lawrence's pounding at the wall not helping put him at ease. Nor the fact that Houndour was missing. His eyes went wide as he looked everywhere for a sign of his dark puppy to avail. Anger surged through his body as the frustration of the events of the day came to a forefront. He had come as a tourist and had gotten a date or so he thought only to now find himself standing in an alley with a man who seemed even more distraught than him. Whatever the ghostly aura in the alley was, he was fairly certain it wasn't completely due to houndour. She was strong, but not that strong. Besides there was that giggling and the disappearance of his partner. Regardless, he was no longer here for a vacation. Then again, maybe that was the point. Maybe he wasn't supposed to be here as a tourist. Maybe he was here to help someone who needed it. Whether that was Carolina as he first thought or the man standing in front of him. Whatever the reason, Lawrence held the answers he needed and one way or another he would give them up. Stark's hands clenched into fists and soon released simultaneously with a deep breath as he kept his temper in check. Somewhat that was.

With long strides he walked up to Lawrence and reached out to try to grab the man, "Dammit! Snap out of it! You're Raticate is lying helpless over there and your standing here taking out your frustrations on a wall?!" he scowled at the man, "It's time we talk. You know what's going on here. Somehow you're involved with all of this and now I am too. Way I see it, that means we can either work together or I can try to beat the information out of you. Not something I really want to do since it won't accomplish anything other than both of us ending up ridiculously tired and ****** off. Besides, together we can accomplish anything we set our minds to."

Stark stepped back from the man and walked over to the brave Raticate on the ground where he began to pet the tired creature along its neck and shoulders as he kindly said with an intensity in his eyes that divulged the seriousness he felt, "So talk to me Lawrence. Tell me what's going on. Tell me about Carolina."

[Shadowshocker]

Atlas City

The Market

Stark
For a considerable while, Lawrence appears surprised by your response and display of concern, causing awkward silence to fill the alley while you continue gazing at him with quiet intensity, before he raises his head and draws a long sigh.

"You're the first person I've come across to ask about Carolina the way you have," he remarks, weariness distinct in his now mellowed tenor, "It'll be a long story, however; most of which I still don't know the details of... And it seems that night has come upon us earlier than we realised." Looking past the now activated street lamps, you notice as well that the sky has turned dark violet, and even the shadows around you appear to have taken on a sinister presence with the tropospheric change.

"These streets won't be safe at this time, even for experienced trainers -- the thieves here have their own backhanded ways of disabling their targets. Come with me; there's a shortcut from here to my place," beckons Lawrence as he recalls Raticate to its PokéBall, and with little other choice you follow Lawrence as he moves out of the alley. Making various turns and crosses along the paths, Lawrence pauses every now and then to glance around warily, ensuring the clarity of the coast before daring to move on. Soon enough Lawrence comes to a considerably battered door along a line of what appear to be abandoned shophouses, and the young man makes a couple more glances before rapping gently but sharply against the panel.

"Password? Password?" calls a deep, gruff voice from behind.

"I hear someone's been practicing their mimicry skills," Lawrence chuckles, knowingly to himself. "It is not always raining when the Grumpig squeals."

"Lawrence! Lawrence!" A pair of excited voices start to cheer as the door flies back, revealing a Chatot and a boy of about age nine looking excitedly at the older male in question. "Who's that?! Who's that?!" Chatot starts cawing, addressing your presence.

"Calm down, Chatot. He's a friend of ours," explains Lawrence smilingly as he brings you in with him, and as the door shuts behind you two you take a look at the inside of the building -- clearly, it's even more dilapidated than the exterior, looking as though it hasn't been used in years. Webs line the ceiling and corners, while dark grey smudges dot the walls, made stark by a single flickering light bulb dangling from above. Just as you get a general idea of how dank Lawrence's apparent lodging appears to be, you hear another bout of joyous interjection: from the staircase and what you assume to be a kitchen doorway come rushing down a gaggle of young children and Pokémon, grouped in pairs much like the shophouse's own security system duo. Soon enough you and Lawrence are surrounded by the young excitable crowd, and while you try to maintain your balance you're shocked to notice how most of the children are wearing tattered, patched clothes; some of their gear so worn even their patches have new patches sewn over.

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet Stark. He's a new friend of mine," Lawrence introduces you, once he's got the youngsters to quieten down. "Say hello to Stark, everyone."

"Hello, Stark!" greets the kids in unison, with the Pokémon crying out in their own language to give you the warmest welcome they can manage.

"Big Brother Lawrence?" asks a girl, holding a Chingling in her little arms. "Did you see Big Sister Carolina today?"

The mention of Carolina has Lawrence heave a sigh and scratch his hair, and at once you see a collective gaze of apprehension wash over the youthful congregation. "I'm sorry, everyone," admits Lawrence as he shakes his head. "I saw Carolina today, but... I wasn't able to get her to come back."

"Awwww..." Once again, the children all react as one, bowing their heads in distinct disappointment, and even the Pokémon carrying sad expressions on their various faces.

"Don't worry, everyone. I'm sure we'll be able to ask Carolina to come back to us," promises Lawrence. "And, with luck, Stark may be able to help us out." This bit of news, in addition to startling you, has the effect of exciting the kids once more as they happily cheer with their Pokémon companions.

"Start dinner without me, everyone. I need to talk to Stark for a while. Don't let anyone in; I'll handle the door," states the young man. At once the children and Pokémon go into a flurry of activity -- some start grabbing plates and utensils out of old cabinets placed in convenient spots, while others head to the kitchen in little droves and return with trays of their final meal for the day. While the tots pass by you, happily chattering amongst themselves, you feel your heart sink another notch -- the dinner, on first glance, seems to consist of purely of leftover Berries -- some of them half eaten with evident bite marks, while others look as though they can't possibly be any fresher than four or five days.

"You see for yourself," Lawrence murmurs to you sadly, jolting you from your quiet observations. "The slums are no place to raise Atlas' orphans, but people rarely ever come to the slums except the unwitting and unaware, and hardly anyone knows we even live here behind these walls. This is one part of Atlas nobody ever really sees."

Leading you quietly into a room on the ground level, Lawrence locks the door behind you, inviting you to sit on a worn, yet sturdy chair. "I kept two of these in case we ever had visitors," he says, pulling up a chair of his own. Once you're seated as comfortably as you can, Lawrence gently cracks his knuckles as he begins his tale.

"Not everyone who comes to Atlas comes for tourism," sighs Lawrence. "As moderinsation moved in, we were slowly evacuated from the villages where we used to live. Most of them sought fortunes far away, while others came here to work for local industries. Out of the ones who came to Atlas, though, few ever managed to make ends meet, and the ones who did eventually left for greener pastures. My family came some years ago, but a lack of vacancy forced us to take up shop here -- in the seedier parts of the marketplace.

"Even then it still wasn't so bad; some tourists, intrigued by the bazaar's variety, would pop by and look at the jewellery we made, and other trinkets we fashioned out of local items. However, the landlords were the ones who truly made the situation unbearable, with their unregulated rental demands and deadlines. We saw many a family be driven out or pressured to extremes; some parents were forced to send their children for begging or manual labour, while others surrendered themselves as collateral so their children still had somewhere to go." Biting his lip at this mention, Lawrence continues with a choke in his voice. "In time, though, even these kids were thrown out, with nowhere else to call home, and no parents to turn to. Some of them were so young, they had barely started walking when they were abandoned." A lengthy pause follows, before Lawrence adds on another remark; this one so quiet and intense you can barely believe it coming from him:

"...It was five years ago when Carolina and I had our parents taken from us."

Shifting nervously in your seat, you feel a surge of compassion for the young man, whom only an hour or so ago you confronted and battled in an alley.

"With us as the eldest in the area, Carolina suggested that we band the other abandoned kids together and eke out a life of our own. Though it was difficult, somehow, we scraped by -- gathering leftovers, recycling trash, any odd job we could ever get our hands on to support the children," Lawrence goes on. "But about a year ago Carolina was approached, she told me, by a budding tourism organisation that was looking for young women as tour guides. Since then she's been staying away from here, usually for days on end, before returning with her hair dishevelled, eyebags on her face, and her clothes an absolute mess." Shaking his head at this, Lawrence cracks his knuckles again in his passive frustration. "I suspected something was wrong, but each time I tried to confront her about it she always avoided the issue, and we'd usually end up arguing with no resolution... much like what you saw earlier. A couple of months later we started hearing rumours about Pokémon disappearances after trainers went on a date with an attractive tour guide... and I'm pretty sure you know the rest. No one had any idea it could have been Carolina performing the thefts, but I found her out one night when she returned with spare, occupied PokéBalls by her waist. She's never come back since then.

"As you've noticed, I've attempted to track her down, and convince her to give up the job. But somehow she's picked up the skills of a master thief; maybe even on par with phantom thieves of yore," adds Lawrence. "Though why she's started stealing Pokémon is something I've never managed to figure out. She comes and goes like a wraith; usually her victims don't realise that their Pokémon have gone missing until they're outside Atlas' limits, from what I've heard. And I haven't the slightest idea where she might be taking them... if there is a clue, it probably lies in the city somewhere. But I can't spend long hours away from here, and not every day either -- someone needs to watch over the kids," he sighs.

"I know we didn't come off to a great start, Stark. And I know there's little but my word you have to go by," he addresses you. "But there's little time we can afford. By a few days your Houndour might have been whisked off to another faraway land, or kept locked up somewhere for who knows what nefarious purposes, and Carolina's trail might already be long gone. I need to get to the bottom of this mystery. For everyone's sakes. And I know I can't go this alone."

Looking to you with sincerity and desperation both in his eyes, Lawrence extends a hand to you. It's true that there's still a lot you don't know about the case, and about Lawrence and Carolina, but if you walk out on Lawrence's offer there's little chance of you ever seeing Houndour again...

The Isle of Talas

The Sphinx

Food Guy
Noticing the opponent's species and elemental type, you promptly deploy Watermelon to handle the mental trickster. A hand goes to your inventory, plucking out a PokéBall for timely usage should the opportunity arise, but even as you raise the orb you feel a shiver run through your arm.

"Karmas!" calls the voice of the Sphinx, warm but this time laced with the aura of caution. "Do not stray from your objective, young one. Fall not to the distractions that lie in your way; lest lose your path towards your true goal!"

As your limb continues to tremble, you realise that attempting to capture the Drowzee, wanted and shiny as it is, won't be an appreciated gesture within the walls of the Sphinx. Meanwhile, already focused on creaming this brand new opposition, Watermelon sends a Nasty Plot running through his brain, which Drowzee seems to meet with another inscrutable grin, as a swirling spiral seems to hover about its head. Consulting your PokéDex, you're somewhat dismayed to discover that Drowzee had executed a Psych Up in response; your investment required of Watermelon seems to have just made this match that much harder.

Glaring at his foe's unreadable expression, Watermelon taps into his inherited powers of nastiness; a Dark Pulse bursting from the equidistant point between his hands and flying towards the Psychic-type in a torrent of violent purple rings. The series of malicious power cannonballs into Drowzee's gut, sending it tumbling along the ground, but it doesn't take long for Drowzee to recover. All at once, Drowzee begins to yell in an unintelligible babble, at which you glance to Watermelon in confusion. Your Nuzleaf matches your own lack of immediate understanding, but even as you exchange glares you realise Watermelon is a lot more concerned at something else; try as he might he can't seem to get his second Dark Pulse going. Snapping from realisation, you conclude with a jolt that Drowzee just committed Watermelon to the effects of a Torment, thus preventing Watermelon from repeating his techniques immediately.

Too shocked to react and with no other commands to perform, Watermelon fails to notice the Gas wafting towards him, a different hue from the sleepy clouds about you, and by the time you realise it there is nothing you can do as your Grass-type doubles over; his face pained with the effects of Poison. It seems that with the riddles, even the battles have started to toughen up as well...

[-Hayward-]

The Moon Temple

Lacuna City

Hayward
With one of your team presently disabled, the pressure is clear on Medeo to stay alive while Forteo runs through the duration of his sleeping. Tapping into one of his disciplines, Medeo calls on the powers of Double Team, forming a pair of identical Meditite next to him, sharing wounds and expressions. Getting together in perfect coordination, the Medeo trio gather in preparation of what is to come, and indeed Clefairy comes running with her arms raised again. A Doubleslap comes against one of the Meditite, and a brief wave of relief washes over you as the first swipe from Clefairy dissipates what turns out to be one of Medeo's shadow fakes, causing a look of confusion to cloud the Fairy Pokémon's face.

Meanwhile, Roselia reveals himself from your boundary of attention, having apparently received about three centimetres in Growth while you weren't watching him, and before you can react in accordance the Grass-type sends a small storm of Magical Leaf at Medeo. Unable to withstand the homing attack, Medeo is flung backward as the charged leaves batter against his real form; the other Medeo fading as the lighting trick is seen through, but not before Medeo raises his palm to aim a Psychic blast at the offending Thorn. A sheen of shimmering energy rips from Medeo's fingertips, slamming back into Roselia who squeals in response, likewise thrown back from the super-effective technique.

Rising to his feet, Medeo charges up another Psychic pulse in his hands, but a sideways glance confirms what you've been concerned over since this battle began: a Follow Me display from Clefairy as the excitable Normal-type balances on her toe, waving her other hand in a beckoning fashion. Straining with the distraction manouvre, Medeo appears to struggle visibly before his palm can take no more, releasing its gathered energy into a swerving arc that blasts into Clefairy, throwing it into midair like a rag doll.

Panting from the exertion, Medeo glares determinedly at both his opponents; Forteo apparently having slept through the entire exchange. While your Meditite seems to be fine so far, you know only so well that he won't last forever against two foes...

On the raised podium battlefield in Lacuna City’s majestic Moon Temple, the little Meditite Medeo bent at the waist and rested his tiny hands on his knees. Doubled over, the faintest traces of fatigue were beginning to show as he inhaled deeply, trying desperately to catch his breath. After a moment, he righted himself and took one massive gulp of air before fixing their zombie-like opponents with his steely gaze. Ben spied the determined look on the face of his diminutive companion and offered a few words of encouragement. “Brilliant work so far, mate! Hang in there just a bit more. It can’t be long now -- Forteo’ll wake up soon!” Medeo nodded resolutely and Ben threw a quick glance at the napping Pineco. “You hear me, mate? Wake up soon.” he murmured uncertainly, in a voice just loud enough that Medeo couldn’t overhear.

Something had been bothering Ben since the beginning of the battle, and as he finished imploring the woody Pineco to wake up, he suddenly realized what it was. Not once had he heard Ikira or the blue-haired boy give their Pokemon any battle orders. Yet, Roselia and Clefairy fought on. He wondered if the glossy-eyed trainers were somehow communicating telepathically with their Pokemon. If so, maybe he could gain an advantage by severing or disrupting the mental link. Ben shook his head from side-to-side. Not a good idea. Suppose he did something to permanently damage his opponents minds? As he considered this, he vaguely remembered hearing about a place in a faraway region where Pokemon were left to battle each other on their own, with no directions from their trainers. It must certainly be a true test of a Pokemon’s skill, he thought, as a Pokemon’s nature probably dictated what type of attack they would choose, and would most likely change when the fighter’s health began to drop. How Roselia and Clefairy knew what attacks to use, Ben didn’t know, but he resolved to watch this round closely to see if he could pick up any hints about where they came up with their attacks. Either way it was a mystery; and maybe he would never find out the answer. He only knew that they had a battle to win, a key to find, and a civilization to save.

Turning back to the small Meditite, Ben wasted no time in issuing his instructions. “Try to blind Clefairy with FLASH, then use TELEPORT to dodge any incoming attacks from Roselia. See if you can reappear behind Roselia and hit him with a surprise PSYCHO CUT.” The plan was a risky one. Timing would be everything, but if Medeo pulled it off, maybe he could escape the round relatively unscathed. Ben figured the ‘attack avoidance strategy’ combined with the ‘sneak attack’ was their best option until Forteo came around.

To be on the safe side, Ben reminded his still-snoozing pinecone partner what the plan was in case he awoke. “Forteo! When you wake up, RAPID SPIN over to Roselia, then go with TACKLE into TAKEDOWN!”


_______________________________
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[ZoraJolteon]

ZoraJolteon
"You have chosen bravely, Surutan. As befits one born under the Bull!" booms the disembodied voice while Myria assumes his battle positions. "Trust in your strength, and victory shall not elude you!"

Having a good idea of what Pokémon you have been tasked to defeat, you prepare yourself for the predictable Wild Bull stampede to come. What you might not have expected, however, is for the Tauros statue to suddenly glow with a lightly blinding aura; the illuminescence lasting a few seconds before dissipating. At this, the statue begins pawing the stand with its right hoof, and it promptly dawns on you that while you're definitely fighting a Tauros, it seems you'll be taking on the actual statue that embodies the celestial entity. As the entirety of Suruta's statue comes alive, rearing on its hind legs while it bellows with its three tails whipping snappily. At the sight, Myria appears to shudder, and as you watch his little body shake in what looks like fear you deduce the Wild Bull's Intimidate ability kick in at the start of the battle.

Roaring to the ceiling, the Tauros thunders down the pedestal on which it stood a few moments earlier, bringing itself into a Take Down at Myria. Quickly, the Thorn Pokémon starts whipping up his purple and black blossoms, spraying liberal amounts of Stun Spore as quickly as he can muster, forming a veritable cloud in front of him despite his diminuitive size. Unable to halt or change direction in time, Tauros runs through the collection of paralytic powder, and as you and Myria dive to the side you see the avatar Suruta's lips curl in affliction before it crashes resoundingly into the wall where you had been standing near only seconds ago. Sweating slightly, you watch Suruta pull himself from the wall, chunks of polished stone crumbling to the floor from the points of the Normal-type statue's impact, and while this happens Myria begins to execute his Growth technique, gaining a couple of inches and an increase in special attack power.

Snorting while it turns to you, Suruta begins raising his Tails, but instead of targeting Myria you're astonished to find the Bull Whipping himself instead. A state of unease fills you, and this is confirmed with a quick check to your PokéDex: habitually, Tauros whip themselves with their tails in order to heighten their willpower to fight. Both of you are getting souped up for this battle, but exactly how will you hold your own from now on?...

'An animated statue.' Zora thought to himself. 'That places something of a restriction on some of our movepool, I doubt Myria could Cut through him. Although obviously he's at least vulnerable to Stun Spore, I don't think it's worth the risk of having to find out through experience if he has an immunity to being Poisoned.' Turning his focus to the immediate events of the battle, Zora called out his first command to Myria. "Darling?" he yelled, as Myria turned to look at him over his shoulder, ready to accept his next set of commands. "We don't want that nasty bull getting itself too pumped up, do we? Show him just how Charming you can be to calm him down a little, then we can get our offensive up and running. I think that a Petal Dance would be a good first assault to try and use against our foe!"

[Shadowshocker]

The Lost City of Lacuna

Lacuna City

Hayward
Trying to match the considerably overwhelming odds as best you can, you issue further orders to Medeo, as well as the still snoozing Medeo in preparation. Not wanting to give the twosome any chances to gang up on him properly, Medeo quickly assumes position, his palm shining with energy once more. It doesn't take long for the light to focus, and in a moment a brilliant Flash emerges from the Meditite's fingertips, enveloping both Clefairy and Roselia in its blinding light. Temporarily deprived of their vision, the two Fairyshape Pokémon run about in uncoordinated rounds before bumping into each other with a thud, falling backwards to the ground. You are surprised to see both Pokémon appear to tear up a little, before a combined Uproar has you pressing your hands to your ears; Clefairy and Roselia's crying echoing about the huge hall.

Gritting his teeth against the sound waves going all around him, Medeo concentrates his powers into a Teleport across to where Roselia is while the little bouquet continues to bawl; his right index and middle fingers pressed together as he reappears. A burst of Psycho power rises from Medeo's fingers like the flame from a blowtorch, and in a diving movement he executes a Cutting motion against Roselia, flinging the Grass-type over to Forteo -- who, as you just come to realise, has become awakened from the sound attack that is still on going with Clefairy pushing her vocal cords. Looking rather miffed at the musical affront Roselia performed earlier, Forteo promptly digs into his opponent in a grinding Rapid Spin; scratching into the leafy cloak with his rough studs. Veering off into an arc, Forteo rights himself before altering his velocity forward into a Tackle, catapulting into Roselia like a rugby ball and beaning him across the face, but even as the Pineco skids to a halt it doesn't take long for him to come rushing back. White light flows from behind Forteo as he Takes Roselia Down, this time throwing Roselia into the walls of the nearby stands. The male flower impacts against the stone in a splatter of petals, dizzily attempting to get back on his feet, but it only takes a second before Roselia crumples to the ground.

Both Medeo and Forteo exchange pleased grins at this, but suddenly Forteo appears to cringe as leafy tendrils suddenly begin curling and weaving between his bark -- somehow, while he was charging back at forth at Roselia earlier, Roselia must have planted a Leech Seed on Forteo given the close contact. A few blips of green energy waft up from Forteo as he shudders, floating over to Clefairy as the remaining relevant recipient, who has ceased her wailing and has now taken to waggling her fingers again. Somehow, this time even you feel like moving along with her rhythm, swaying side to side in line with Clefairy. All of a sudden, Clefairy's nails glow like twinkling stars, and a moment later the aura takes up the whole of Clefairy's left hand, which she balls into a fist. Running towards Forteo, Clefairy launches the unexpecting Bug-type into a Sky Uppercut granted by her Metronome; the technique giving Forteo an aerial tour of the hall from five metres before he soon comes crashing down. Picking himself up painfully, Forteo bounds over to Medeo as his comrade glares angrily at the fairy that simply won't give up. Shockingly, Clefairy once again starts to wave her fingers, and as you feel the synchrony start to sink in you know this match could go anywhere, given the unpredictable nature of Metronome...

The Lost City of Axal

The Celestial Temple

ZoraJolteon
While the reanimated Tauros statue continues to apply the unique method of pumping up his statistics, Myria begins to apply some of the skills he's come to pick up himself, beginning to flaunt his sepia flowers in a Charming manner. Though the Roselia's size makes it hard for Suruta to immediately catch on, as the bull's eyes gaze downwards the sight of Myria strutting his stuff has a prompt effect on the Tauros; causing him to pause in his whipping and paw cautiously towards your Roselia. By the time Suruta has neared close enough, Myria suddenly performs a backflip, launching a veritable whirlwind of Petals out of his spinning blossoms that start to Dance about the moving statue.

Not having anticipated this sort of technique, Suruta grunts and bellows out of instinct; his hooves thundering against the ground while you and Myria step back to a safer distance. Somehow, even as the pieces of botany tear against Suruta's skin, you find that they don't appear to be doing added damage against an opponent of supposedly geological composition. You realise after some thought that in spite of the unique circumstances, you must be still fighting an otherwise normal Pokémon battle, and the standard mechanics of element still apply.

Snorting while he shakes off the swarm of petals, Suruta rounds briefly along a bit of the room's circumference before turning to charge at Myria; this time with his disc-tipped skull taking on a strange blue aura. While you dive to the side in time, Myria doesn't quite have the advantage of covering distances, and before he can get out of the way quickly enough Suruta has already picked him up with a Zen Headbutt and tossed him aside, flinging Myria against the pedestal where the statue originally stood. Painfully Myria stands to his feet, not down yet but having taken a rather significant strike nonetheless. You'll need to strike harder and faster if you want to stand a greater chance of victory...

[-Hayward-]

The Lost City of Lacuna

Lacuna City

Hayward
Trying to match the considerably overwhelming odds as best you can, you issue further orders to Medeo, as well as the still snoozing Medeo in preparation. Not wanting to give the twosome any chances to gang up on him properly, Medeo quickly assumes position, his palm shining with energy once more. It doesn't take long for the light to focus, and in a moment a brilliant Flash emerges from the Meditite's fingertips, enveloping both Clefairy and Roselia in its blinding light. Temporarily deprived of their vision, the two Fairyshape Pokémon run about in uncoordinated rounds before bumping into each other with a thud, falling backwards to the ground. You are surprised to see both Pokémon appear to tear up a little, before a combined Uproar has you pressing your hands to your ears; Clefairy and Roselia's crying echoing about the huge hall.

Gritting his teeth against the sound waves going all around him, Medeo concentrates his powers into a Teleport across to where Roselia is while the little bouquet continues to bawl; his right index and middle fingers pressed together as he reappears. A burst of Psycho power rises from Medeo's fingers like the flame from a blowtorch, and in a diving movement he executes a Cutting motion against Roselia, flinging the Grass-type over to Forteo -- who, as you just come to realise, has become awakened from the sound attack that is still on going with Clefairy pushing her vocal cords. Looking rather miffed at the musical affront Roselia performed earlier, Forteo promptly digs into his opponent in a grinding Rapid Spin; scratching into the leafy cloak with his rough studs. Veering off into an arc, Forteo rights himself before altering his velocity forward into a Tackle, catapulting into Roselia like a rugby ball and beaning him across the face, but even as the Pineco skids to a halt it doesn't take long for him to come rushing back. White light flows from behind Forteo as he Takes Roselia Down, this time throwing Roselia into the walls of the nearby stands. The male flower impacts against the stone in a splatter of petals, dizzily attempting to get back on his feet, but it only takes a second before Roselia crumples to the ground.

Both Medeo and Forteo exchange pleased grins at this, but suddenly Forteo appears to cringe as leafy tendrils suddenly begin curling and weaving between his bark -- somehow, while he was charging back at forth at Roselia earlier, Roselia must have planted a Leech Seed on Forteo given the close contact. A few blips of green energy waft up from Forteo as he shudders, floating over to Clefairy as the remaining relevant recipient, who has ceased her wailing and has now taken to waggling her fingers again. Somehow, this time even you feel like moving along with her rhythm, swaying side to side in line with Clefairy. All of a sudden, Clefairy's nails glow like twinkling stars, and a moment later the aura takes up the whole of Clefairy's left hand, which she balls into a fist. Running towards Forteo, Clefairy launches the unexpecting Bug-type into a Sky Uppercut granted by her Metronome; the technique giving Forteo an aerial tour of the hall from five metres before he soon comes crashing down. Picking himself up painfully, Forteo bounds over to Medeo as his comrade glares angrily at the fairy that simply won't give up. Shockingly, Clefairy once again starts to wave her fingers, and as you feel the synchrony start to sink in you know this match could go anywhere, given the unpredictable nature of Metronome...

Seeing the Clefairy waggling her fingers to-and-fro, Ben wasted no time in barking out instructions to his two tiny comrades. “MEDEO! FORTEO! Look sharp, mates!” he hollered. “Wait for Clefairy to make the first move, then both of you use PROTECT! There’s no telling what Clefairy is going to do, so we have to be ready for anything!”

Surveying the raised-podium battlefield with his grey-green eyes, Ben breathed out a grateful sigh that they had finally taken care of Roselia. Now if only they could get Clefairy to throw in the towel, too. Dragging a hand through his short brown hair, the teenage trainer considered their options and thought hard to come up with a strategy. The eager Meditite had expended more energy, valiantly battling solo while Forteo slept, and needed a break from the front-line fighting. But, if he used Medeo in a supportive role, Ben knew could still take full-advantage of the his diminutive companion’s offensive capabilities, while the defensive-minded Pineco engaged Clefairy in close combat. After only a moment of consideration, he settled on tactics that would coordinate Forteo’s melee combat with ranged support from Medeo.

Ben glanced quickly at Forteo, and felt grateful he had adopted the little pinecone before coming to Lacuna City. He was proving to be an invaluable partner. “RAPID SPIN” to get rid of Roselia’s Leech Seed, mate!” Ben directed the Bagworm Pokemon. “Then attack up close using BUG BITE!” Beaming, Forteo revolved around once on his bottomspike and merrily swayed from side-to-side.

Turning his attention to the small Meditite beside Forteo, Ben continued outlining their battleplan. “Medeo, I want you to provide Forteo with some long-range support!” he explained. “Go with a PSYCHIC blast and a VACUUM WAVE!” The yoga Pokemon nodded coolly and fixed Clefairy with a resolute gaze.

With Forteo awake now and Roselia out of the picture, Ben hoped that the tide of battle would finally begin to turn in their favor…



_______________________
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[Shadowshocker]

The Moon Temple

Lacuna City

Hayward
Determined to give it their all and bring the remaining opponent down, Medeo and Forteo watch Clefairy carefully while her fingers keep on ticking. As the glow overtakes her body, both your Pokémon kick in their Protective abilities, each summoning a green spherical force field to withstand any offence that comes their way. The three of you look on while Clefairy continues shining like a clear rainbow, before forming a Barrier of her own in front of her, indication of her own increased defences. With the passing of Clefairy's technique, your Meditite and Pineco feel their own protection fizzling out without having properly kicked in for usage, shaking their heads as the feeling wears off. Gritting expressions at Clefairy, Forteo is first to move, charging in a Rapid Spin; his intense speed tearing up the vines holding his health hostage. Rattling into Clefairy by the side, he relentlessly batters the pink fairy, nudging her in place against her responsive flailing as Medeo aims a third Psychic blast from another angle. The focused spectrum of mental power curves to smash into its target while leaving Forteo unharmed, causing Clefairy to once again flop about the deck not unlike the doll modelled after it.

Weakly getting to her little feet, Clefairy barely attempts a few steps forward before Medeo lobs a Vacuum Wave her way; the priority technique slapping into her face and knocking her next to Forteo, who crunches a chunk out of Clefairy with his vermicious Bug Bite. Surrounded by damage all around, Clefairy tears her arm free from Forteo's unseen teeth, stepping unsteadily for a while before her pain and exhaustion synapses finally kick in fully, leaving her just fit enough to trip over her own feet, landing facefirst and failing to recover. Level up for Medeo and Forteo.

Heaving noticeably after the battle, Medeo and Forteo look to you with tired grins on their faces, but what immediately catches your attention next is the forms of Ikira and her male battle partner, both of whom have, throughout the entire exchange, somehow not issued orders to their Pokémon. The scenario of their defeat appears to trigger the same green glow earlier to surround their bodies, and before you can say anything else the pair abruptly collapse onto their knees, falling to the ground like stringless marionettes.

Alarmed, you make your way over, checking on their conditions, but aside from the glow fiercely burning about them their countenances are as lifeless as ever, albeit looking a little pained, likely from their defeat. A sickening lurch moves through you as you have a hunch just what the celestial quadruped meant by keys -- chances are, they're the ones lying comatose in front of you...

[-Hayward-]

The Moon Temple

Lacuna City

Hayward
Determined to give it their all and bring the remaining opponent down, Medeo and Forteo watch Clefairy carefully while her fingers keep on ticking. As the glow overtakes her body, both your Pokémon kick in their Protective abilities, each summoning a green spherical force field to withstand any offence that comes their way. The three of you look on while Clefairy continues shining like a clear rainbow, before forming a Barrier of her own in front of her, indication of her own increased defences. With the passing of Clefairy's technique, your Meditite and Pineco feel their own protection fizzling out without having properly kicked in for usage, shaking their heads as the feeling wears off. Gritting expressions at Clefairy, Forteo is first to move, charging in a Rapid Spin; his intense speed tearing up the vines holding his health hostage. Rattling into Clefairy by the side, he relentlessly batters the pink fairy, nudging her in place against her responsive flailing as Medeo aims a third Psychic blast from another angle. The focused spectrum of mental power curves to smash into its target while leaving Forteo unharmed, causing Clefairy to once again flop about the deck not unlike the doll modelled after it.

Weakly getting to her little feet, Clefairy barely attempts a few steps forward before Medeo lobs a Vacuum Wave her way; the priority technique slapping into her face and knocking her next to Forteo, who crunches a chunk out of Clefairy with his vermicious Bug Bite. Surrounded by damage all around, Clefairy tears her arm free from Forteo's unseen teeth, stepping unsteadily for a while before her pain and exhaustion synapses finally kick in fully, leaving her just fit enough to trip over her own feet, landing facefirst and failing to recover. Level up for Medeo and Forteo.

Heaving noticeably after the battle, Medeo and Forteo look to you with tired grins on their faces, but what immediately catches your attention next is the forms of Ikira and her male battle partner, both of whom have, throughout the entire exchange, somehow not issued orders to their Pokémon. The scenario of their defeat appears to trigger the same green glow earlier to surround their bodies, and before you can say anything else the pair abruptly collapse onto their knees, falling to the ground like stringless marionettes.

Alarmed, you make your way over, checking on their conditions, but aside from the glow fiercely burning about them their countenances are as lifeless as ever, albeit looking a little pained, likely from their defeat. A sickening lurch moves through you as you have a hunch just what the celestial quadruped meant by keys -- chances are, they're the ones lying comatose in front of you...

Grey-green eyes narrowed in anticipation, Ben watched as the events of the battle rapidly spiraled to a climax. His strategy was working; Medeo’s cover-fire, combined with Forteo’s in-your-face fighting-style, was beginning to overwhelm Clefairy. Unable to even get off an attack, the chubby pink Fairy weakly toppled to the floor in defeat and Ben breathed out a grateful sigh that the battle was finally over.

As Clefairy went down, Medeo immediately turned to Ben. The Meditite’s little chest rose and fell as he took deep panting breaths, trying to get his wind back. A look of satisfaction spread across his tiny face. Forteo beamed cheerfully beside him. “Brilliant work, mates!” Ben praised his friends before returning their grins. The trio let out a shout and danced around happily. Their joyful celebration was short lived however, as just then, Ikira and the blue-haired boy unexpectedly crumpled to the ground. The green aura Ben had seen earlier had returned and mysteriously bathed the bodies of the two fallen trainers in its eerie light.

Ben bolted in shock at what he saw and rushed to the side of the comatose twosome. Medeo was beside his trainer in an instant, while Forteo bounded over and joined them surprisingly quickly. As he knelt before the lifeless forms of the duo, Ben studied their expressions. Something wasn’t right. Other than the slight hint of pain he guessed had been brought on by the battle, he was unable to detect any emotion. The trio gazed in silence at the limp bodies of the prone pair for a few more moments until curiosity finally got the better of Medeo. Slowly reaching out his tiny hand, the impatient Meditite extended a finger, and hesitantly prodded the blue-haired boy’s arm. When nothing happened, the Yoga Pokemon turned to Ben and shrugged apologetically. Forteo simply regarded Ben with a look of utter bafflement on his woody face. This was all beyond him.

Like lightning illuminating the sky above an empty field, a thought suddenly flashed across Ben’s mind. Perhaps the two motionless figures in front of them were what the celestial Pokemon had meant by keys. Ben had a bad feeling that was the case, and he quickly reasoned that they would probably find Kiru and the female Disciple waiting for them at Rapa’s Temple. At least one of the obstacles to saving Lacuna had been overcome; he knew what the keys were… or rather who. But what now? The celestial Pokemon had told him that when he found the keys he would know what to do. Dragging a hand through his short brown hair he thought hard to come up with a plan, but nothing came to him. If only the majestic quadruped had given him more to go on…

Feeling helpless and not knowing what else to do, Ben carefully lifted Ikira’s head off the hard, marble ground. Cradling it gently in his arms, he anxiously stared into her wide sightless eyes, searching for any sign of life. “Ikira…?” he asked uncertainly. “Are you…okay?”


for reference:

*level 20 male Pineco is now level 21*

*level 24 male Meditite is now level 25 - Meditite learned Calm Mind*


__________________________________
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[Food Guy]

[center][

The Isle of Talas

The Sphinx

Food Guy
Noticing the opponent's species and elemental type, you promptly deploy Watermelon to handle the mental trickster. A hand goes to your inventory, plucking out a PokéBall for timely usage should the opportunity arise, but even as you raise the orb you feel a shiver run through your arm.

"Karmas!" calls the voice of the Sphinx, warm but this time laced with the aura of caution. "Do not stray from your objective, young one. Fall not to the distractions that lie in your way; lest lose your path towards your true goal!"

As your limb continues to tremble, you realise that attempting to capture the Drowzee, wanted and shiny as it is, won't be an appreciated gesture within the walls of the Sphinx. Meanwhile, already focused on creaming this brand new opposition, Watermelon sends a Nasty Plot running through his brain, which Drowzee seems to meet with another inscrutable grin, as a swirling spiral seems to hover about its head. Consulting your PokéDex, you're somewhat dismayed to discover that Drowzee had executed a Psych Up in response; your investment required of Watermelon seems to have just made this match that much harder.

Glaring at his foe's unreadable expression, Watermelon taps into his inherited powers of nastiness; a Dark Pulse bursting from the equidistant point between his hands and flying towards the Psychic-type in a torrent of violent purple rings. The series of malicious power cannonballs into Drowzee's gut, sending it tumbling along the ground, but it doesn't take long for Drowzee to recover. All at once, Drowzee begins to yell in an unintelligible babble, at which you glance to Watermelon in confusion. Your Nuzleaf matches your own lack of immediate understanding, but even as you exchange glares you realise Watermelon is a lot more concerned at something else; try as he might he can't seem to get his second Dark Pulse going. Snapping from realisation, you conclude with a jolt that Drowzee just committed Watermelon to the effects of a Torment, thus preventing Watermelon from repeating his techniques immediately.

Too shocked to react and with no other commands to perform, Watermelon fails to notice the Gas wafting towards him, a different hue from the sleepy clouds about you, and by the time you realise it there is nothing you can do as your Grass-type doubles over; his face pained with the effects of Poison. It seems that with the riddles, even the battles have started to toughen up as well...

As Karmas raised his arm, he felt a chill go through it.

"Karmas!" called the voice of the Sphinx, warm but this time laced with the aura of caution. "Do not stray from your objective, young one. Fall not to the distractions that lie in your way; lest lose your path towards your true goal!"

Upon hearing that Karmas realised that even though he wished to capture the shiny Drowzee, it wasn't an action that wouldn't be appreciated within the walls of the Sphinx. Meanwhile Watermelon was focused on defeating his new foe. He sent a Nasty Plot (I actually used Growth but I guess that they do the same thing) through his body, and Drowzee responded by smiling, as a swirling spiral appeared to hover around its head. This action confused Karmas, so after a quick check of his PokeDex he discovered that the Drowzee had used Psych Up, which let Drowzee copy Watermelon's gain.

Watermelon glared at his psychic type opponent before he tapped into his inherited powers of nastiness, releasing a Dark Pulse from between his hands,sending a series of pulsating rings towards Drowzee. The rings slammed into Drowzee's stomach sending it along the ground, though it didn't take very long to recover. Suddenly Drowzee began to yell out incoherent babble, which made Karmas look at Watermelon in confusion. Watermelon had the same look of confusion on on his face, but as the pair exchanged glances Karmas thought that his Nuzleaf was concentrating on something else. Watermelon tried and tried again to execute a Dark Pulse but was unable, then sudden realisation hit Karmas. The Drowzee must have executed a Torment, which meant that Watermelon could no longer repeat his attacks.

In shock, and unable to attack, Watermelon didn't notice a Gas that was floating towards him. It was different colour to the stuff in the room and before Karmas realised that it was different, there was nothing he could have done, while Watermelon doubled over; his face showing pain made by the effects of Poison.

"It's alright Watermelon!" shouted out Karmas.

The grass-type tried to right himself and was able to after a struggle with himself. He gave a defiant glare towards Drowzee before he looked at his trainer for his commands.

"Watermelon start off with a Aqua Ring, followed by a Dark Pulse then finish it off with a Faint Attack!" commanded Karmas.

[Shadowshocker]

The Moon Temple

Lacuna City

Hayward
Holding Ikira in your hands, your concerned gaze meets Ikira's spiritless sight, unease filling you as you find no method to ascertain her state of body and mind. With the way her body seems surrounded by fluorescent green, you're not even sure if she's breathing. Momentarily, however, your attention is briefly seized by a glint of light contrast against everything else, and as your eyes peer down you realise that the Lunar Amulet has started to vibrate slightly, apparently from the pure white light shining from its circular surface. Unconsciously raising a hand to hold the amulet amongst your fingers, you suddenly jerk as Ikira's green aura starts to swirl and intensify; energy zephyrs of the strange shade spinning out her and cloaking her form.

Rendered speechless by the display, you can only watch while Ikira's features eventually disappear amongst the singular shroud of colour, as though -- in fact, you suspect that it isn't a dream sequence -- she was being transformed into the very energy mass before you. To your side, you notice that the other Saros boy has also been replaced by another glowing pile of cloudy power. Abruptly rising from your hand, the Lunar Amulet shines the brightest you've ever seen it, and at this the pair of green energy masses suddenly curl up into miniature cyclones, irradiating peculiar light of their own as they arc towards the moon-inspired artifact about your neck. Feeling the string tug into your skin slightly, you gaze in awe and shock as the green gas dives into the amulet like water down a sink; your hair waving from the moving winds generated by the flowing energies. Medeo and Forteo stare up at you, not knowing how to react as the remaining puffs of green vanish through the disc, causing you to lurch back shortly as the pulling on your neck ceases. Hand shaking, you pick up the Lunar Amulet again for another look; while nothing else seems different you notice that some of the white glow generated by the Amulet earlier is now causing the white part of the changing image to faintly shine. Glancing back to Medeo and Forteo, you share their sudden shocked expressions as they find their injuries and exhaustion alleviating from the same glow that earlier recharged them, which quickly dims out of sight once apparent optimal state has been attained.

Uneasily you press the Amulet to your chest. There's no question as to what it was meant by keys, but this resolution still leaves more queries behind than ones answered -- including a good number which you find you're not sure if you've the heart to answer. However, the lack of resolution also means that there isn't any choice beyond heading for Rapa's Temple, the first destination you had in mind when you started this journey. Silently hoping you're doing the right thing, you return Medeo and Forteo to their respective PokéBalls before making your urgent departure from the Moon Temple.

***

In normal circumstances, you probably wouldn't have dreamed of running through the forests of Lacuna, especially not in such dark, nightly conditions. Nonetheless, you find yourself racing through the route you just barely recall in your mind, from centuries in the future that is your present, spooked out more by how relentlessly quiet everything is. It's as though the very life of Lacuna was sucked out of the ancient civilisation, and with this pounding through your brain you forcibly accelerate your advance, breaking into the parameters of Rapa's Temple. Astonishingly, you find that in addition to the blue atmospheric light shining on the other religious establishment and the red glow emanating from the temple's silhouette, the bridge you had seen broken in the present appears in front of you without so much as a scratch, and the deep blue waters of the lake glimmer in reflection of the shining spectrums. The temple must have sustained further damage in the time that passed between your past and present coordinates in space-time, you realise. Shaking all other distractions from your head, you thunder over the wooden structure, dashing up the steps leading into Rapa's Temple in accordance to the crimson swirls leading you, as did the chartreuse ones before.

While Rapa's Temple is likewise built out of stone as is Saros', the differences between the two locations is rather stark. The workmanship of Rapa's Temple is a lot grittier; the walls' bricklaying distinct like that of an average brick wall you might see in a city in your time. Sharp, piercing paintings adorn the surfaces, of the holy creature you earlier saw, the wraithlike form who floated above the forum, and the same moon-resembling Pokémon, alongside what appear to be stories of legend and history. Lichens and webs line the stone, and while the place doesn't look like it's in dilapidation you can't help wonder what it is that Rapa's practitioners could be doing. Had you gone with Kiru instead of Ikira, you might have caught a glimpse into Rapa's world, but for now there seems to be no chance of that.

Led on by the red energy, you reach another gigantic chamber after a small labyrinth of going through passages; this one with stone platforms in the shape of a PokéBall's outlines, above a deep pool of water with its surface at least five metres below from where you stand. Where the PokéBall's proverbial release switch might have been is another staircased stand like in the Moon Temple's main hall, and as you guessed earlier Kiru and the girl you earlier battled in the forum are already waiting. Staring ahead as you near them, as unresponsive as Ikira and the other boy when you entered the Moon Temple, the two Rapan adolescents flourish a pair of PokéBalls from their cloaks; a Murkrow and Totodile bursting from the capture orbs...

[-Hayward-]

The Moon Temple

Lacuna City

Hayward
Holding Ikira in your hands, your concerned gaze meets Ikira's spiritless sight, unease filling you as you find no method to ascertain her state of body and mind. With the way her body seems surrounded by fluorescent green, you're not even sure if she's breathing. Momentarily, however, your attention is briefly seized by a glint of light contrast against everything else, and as your eyes peer down you realise that the Lunar Amulet has started to vibrate slightly, apparently from the pure white light shining from its circular surface. Unconsciously raising a hand to hold the amulet amongst your fingers, you suddenly jerk as Ikira's green aura starts to swirl and intensify; energy zephyrs of the strange shade spinning out her and cloaking her form.

Rendered speechless by the display, you can only watch while Ikira's features eventually disappear amongst the singular shroud of colour, as though -- in fact, you suspect that it isn't a dream sequence -- she was being transformed into the very energy mass before you. To your side, you notice that the other Saros boy has also been replaced by another glowing pile of cloudy power. Abruptly rising from your hand, the Lunar Amulet shines the brightest you've ever seen it, and at this the pair of green energy masses suddenly curl up into miniature cyclones, irradiating peculiar light of their own as they arc towards the moon-inspired artifact about your neck. Feeling the string tug into your skin slightly, you gaze in awe and shock as the green gas dives into the amulet like water down a sink; your hair waving from the moving winds generated by the flowing energies. Medeo and Forteo stare up at you, not knowing how to react as the remaining puffs of green vanish through the disc, causing you to lurch back shortly as the pulling on your neck ceases. Hand shaking, you pick up the Lunar Amulet again for another look; while nothing else seems different you notice that some of the white glow generated by the Amulet earlier is now causing the white part of the changing image to faintly shine. Glancing back to Medeo and Forteo, you share their sudden shocked expressions as they find their injuries and exhaustion alleviating from the same glow that earlier recharged them, which quickly dims out of sight once apparent optimal state has been attained.

Uneasily you press the Amulet to your chest. There's no question as to what it was meant by keys, but this resolution still leaves more queries behind than ones answered -- including a good number which you find you're not sure if you've the heart to answer. However, the lack of resolution also means that there isn't any choice beyond heading for Rapa's Temple, the first destination you had in mind when you started this journey. Silently hoping you're doing the right thing, you return Medeo and Forteo to their respective PokéBalls before making your urgent departure from the Moon Temple.

***

In normal circumstances, you probably wouldn't have dreamed of running through the forests of Lacuna, especially not in such dark, nightly conditions. Nonetheless, you find yourself racing through the route you just barely recall in your mind, from centuries in the future that is your present, spooked out more by how relentlessly quiet everything is. It's as though the very life of Lacuna was sucked out of the ancient civilisation, and with this pounding through your brain you forcibly accelerate your advance, breaking into the parameters of Rapa's Temple. Astonishingly, you find that in addition to the blue atmospheric light shining on the other religious establishment and the red glow emanating from the temple's silhouette, the bridge you had seen broken in the present appears in front of you without so much as a scratch, and the deep blue waters of the lake glimmer in reflection of the shining spectrums. The temple must have sustained further damage in the time that passed between your past and present coordinates in space-time, you realise. Shaking all other distractions from your head, you thunder over the wooden structure, dashing up the steps leading into Rapa's Temple in accordance to the crimson swirls leading you, as did the chartreuse ones before.

While Rapa's Temple is likewise built out of stone as is Saros', the differences between the two locations is rather stark. The workmanship of Rapa's Temple is a lot grittier; the walls' bricklaying distinct like that of an average brick wall you might see in a city in your time. Sharp, piercing paintings adorn the surfaces, of the holy creature you earlier saw, the wraithlike form who floated above the forum, and the same moon-resembling Pokémon, alongside what appear to be stories of legend and history. Lichens and webs line the stone, and while the place doesn't look like it's in dilapidation you can't help wonder what it is that Rapa's practitioners could be doing. Had you gone with Kiru instead of Ikira, you might have caught a glimpse into Rapa's world, but for now there seems to be no chance of that.

Led on by the red energy, you reach another gigantic chamber after a small labyrinth of going through passages; this one with stone platforms in the shape of a PokéBall's outlines, above a deep pool of water with its surface at least five metres below from where you stand. Where the PokéBall's proverbial release switch might have been is another staircased stand like in the Moon Temple's main hall, and as you guessed earlier Kiru and the girl you earlier battled in the forum are already waiting. Staring ahead as you near them, as unresponsive as Ikira and the other boy when you entered the Moon Temple, the two Rapan adolescents flourish a pair of PokéBalls from their cloaks; a Murkrow and Totodile bursting from the capture orbs...

Ikira? Ben asked hesitantly. Are you…okay?

No sooner had he asked the question than he noticed a faint trace of light mingling with the eerie green aura of the comatose girl he gently cradled in his arms. Glancing down at his chest, he bolted in shock as he discovered that the twinkle was coming from none other than the medallion he had looped around his neck. The Lunar Amulet! Of course! In all the excitement of the battle against Ikira and her partner, he had completely forgotten the gift the dazzling Pokemon had bestowed upon him. Instinctively, he reached for the two-tone trinket. As he held it in the palm of his hand, Ben bolted again when he saw the iridescent emerald glows surrounding Ikira and her partner intensify to a blinding degree. Right before his grey-green eyes, the fallen trainers dematerialised, while Ben opened and closed his mouth a few times to say something, but no words would come out. At his side, eyes wide and mouths agape, his Pokemon partners also stared disbelievingly at the amazing sight directly in front of them. In the blink of an eye, the lifeless trainers were swallowed up by the Lunar Amulet in a tornado of light and energy.

The Lunar Amulet fell to his chest and Ben half-expected it to feel heavier. It didn’t. Unsteadily, he grasped the mystical artifact for the second time and noticed that the only difference was that now, the white portion looked nearly radiant. Out of the corner of his eye, Ben spied the same restorative light he had seen earlier wash over Medeo and Forteo. The pair wore shocked expressions at the first sensation of healing, but once they had realized that their fitness had been restored, they shared a satisfied smile. Questions swirled inside Ben’s head as he let go of the amulet and reached into his borrowed, fibre totebag. There was no time to answer them now he knew. His curiosity would just have to wait. It was clear to him what he had to do. Aiming the exhumed Pokeballs at his two tiny comrades, he returned them and set off at a trot for Rapa’s Temple.

Ben pushed aside leafy foliage as he raced headlong through the nightdark jungle along a path he was surprised he remembered, having only traveled it once before arriving in ancient Lacuna. Along the way, it struck him as odd that he hadn’t heard the usual chirping of Bug-types hiding in the grass, nor the characteristic rustle of nocturnal Pokemon out on their midnight hunts. There wasn’t even a breeze. All around him, emptiness and stillness reigned, and Ben was shocked at how lifeless this once-thriving civilization had become. Shaking his head he tried to rid himself of the desperation beginning to creep in and picked up his pace.

Illuminated by a scarlet glow, the massive stone temple suddenly came into view, and Ben was startled to see that the bridge, dilapidated in the future, was in perfect condition in the past. He rushed right across the wooden structure without pausing to admire its ancient craftsmanship however, and in his haste, took the steps to the inner sanctum three at a time. Sprinting down the lichen-lined central corridor, he vaguely noticed the cobwebs, furnishings, and folklore carvings that adorned the brick walls. The read beam of light directed him to a cavernous chamber housing a round, raised platform above a dark pool of water. Ben glanced quickly into its depths, but was unable to see the bottom. Looking to the platform, he saw what he had expected to find here all along, Kiru and the female disciple; wearing emotionless expressions. In front of them a Totodile and Murkrow had already adopted fighting stances.

Having anticipated this meeting, Ben wasn’t in the least bit surprised and wasted no time in sending out his own companions. “Look sharp, mates!” he warned, releasing the Meditite and Pineco onto the field of battle. “Team work now -- Medeo, BULK UP and go after Murkrow with ICE PUNCH! Be ready to dodge at any moment with DOUBLE TEAM if one of them tries to attack you!” he instructed. Turning to the Bagworm Pokemon, Ben continued. “Forteo, RAPID SPIN into Totodile right away, then BIDE your time until one of them comes after you!”

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[Shadowshocker]

The Isle of Talas

The Sphinx

Food Guy
Cringing lightly from the toxins running about his systems, Watermelon manages to call up another Aqua Ring for the match; the globulous arcs of healing water reappearing around him to soothe his damage over time. While this happens, however, Drowzee comes scampering towards your Nuzleaf, its rotund gut wobbling as it does so, and before Watermelon can respond in time the Hypnosis Pokémon catapults itself into a full-bodied Headbutt into Watermelon by the nose, knocking the Grass-type backwards by a good bit. Scrambling to his feet in rage at the attack on his sensitive organ, Watermelon blasts another Dark Pulse in Drowzee's direction, once again unleashing an explosion of the amplified negative energy that has the Psychic-type flopping against the floor.

The sight of Drowzee in more pain than him draws a satisfied sneer from Watermelon, and with a dark aura now surrounding his body he charges forward, ready to deliver what both of you believe is the final coup de gracé for certain. However, as your Nuzleaf draws near Drowzee makes a sudden recovery, pushing a fist forward that shines with green energy, Punching Watermelon in the stomach. Feeling some of his health Drain from the point of contact, Watermelon falters briefly before resuming his onslaught, slamming a Faint Attack into Drowzee and tossing it aside.

Barely able to support itself, Drowzee gives up trying to get on its feet; instead floundering on its belly to realign itself to face you and Watermelon, having retained a shred of health due to its siphoning attack earlier. Waving its arms, Drowzee starts to murmur another series of incoherent babbles, this time with its eyes glinting slightly. Even as you stand, Watermelon suddenly feels heavy on his legs; his eyelids and leaf drooping as his sense of balance begins to waver. Soon enough the effects of Drowzee's Hypnosis and the sleepiness gas about you kick in, causing Watermelon to keel over, fast asleep. Spectrums of blue and purple wash over his form as the Aqua Ring and poison perform their handiwork, and while this happens Drowzee brings its hands forward, beginning to form a ghostly orb between them...


Rapa's Temple[/center]

Lacuna City

Hayward
With your purpose ascertained, you release Medeo and Forteo to do battle once more, giving them commands as Murkrow and Totodile note your own readiness for combat. Sizing up his targeted foe, Medeo heaves up one of his Bulk Up manouvres, toughening up his muscles while Forteo promptly Rapid Spins his way into Totodile. Swooping up into the sky, Murkrow glares down at your Humanshaped Pokémon, before surprising you as the greater-crested raven spews forth a cloud of Haze from his beak, surrounding Medeo in a shroud of dangerously low visibility. As this happens, Totodile manages to kick Forteo a short distance away, enough for it to cast an angry Leer in Forteo's direction, causing the Pineco to tremble lightly.

Gritting his teeth through the darkness, Medeo taps into the keener sides of his senses, all the while focusing Ice-type energy into his left fist, preparing himself for the Darkness Pokémon sure to come flying out of the fog. Sure enough, he turns and aims his Punch in a suspected direction, just as Murkrow comes diving down for a Wing Attack, swinging his right flight appendage while he nears. Knuckle meets wing as the two Pokémon clash, both of them tumbling back soon afterwards as the colliding energies explode between them. Rolling along the relatively thin path to reduce the impact of falling, Medeo steps up to his nimble feet, glaring back at Murkrow while he sets up a Double Team. This time, a trio of Meditite appear behind him, all posed in active formation while Murkrow caws in frustration. The blackbird's eyes turn a furious purple as a Night Shade rips from his irises, striking the furthest Medeo and dispelling the fake into anti-matter particles.

Meanwhile, having put distance between itself and Forteo, Totodile is quick to deal with its new foe, landing a Bite onto Forteo's woody exterior with its sharp jaw. Crying out, Forteo takes a few moments before managing to struggle free, spinning on his bottom as he kicks in his Bide technique, glowing a gentle red of his own against the vermillion aura of the temple. Leaping into the air Totodile's Fangs begin to glow with the power of Ice; twin zigzags of freezing energy tearing towards your Pineco and carving against his epidermis, pushing him dangerously close to the edge and missing it by mere centimetres. Barely able to move as he winces from the damage, Forteo manages a couple of hops as far as the Biding aura can allow him. For now it seems neither side is holding an explicit advantage, but with the field on the Rapans' side this balance could be soon ripped apart...