The Lost Cities of Talas - The Archaeology Zone

[Charminions]

The Southern Pyramid: A large pyramid located in one of the most hot and barren parts of the land, and seemingly dedicated to the God of Fire. Only a single corridor appears accessible, as it seems a task needs to be performed in order to enter the vast network of halls and chambers within.

Charm feebly walked through the vast desert, aided by a walking stick. Sweating through his cheap desert robe, Charm glanced to the side to see how his partner was doing. The Combusken was happily marching along side his master, not minding the intense sun at all. Oh the joys of being a fire type Pokemon, Charm thought to himself as he drank some water out of his bottle. He took a quick stop to take a look at his map. Apollo proceeded to look skyward and bask in the warm sun while his trainer was busy with his map.

"Okay, so The Southern Pyramid shouldn't be that much farther from here," Charm looked around to see any sign of a large pyramid. To no avail, Charm contemplated whether they were lost or didn't travel enough yet.

"Well... let's keep going forward and see where we get," Charm called out. Apollo nodded and the duo continued walking through the sands.

After about another two hours of harsh desert traveling, Charm wiped a sweat off his brow to see a huge pyramid in front of him. His tired look quickly became full of excitement and joy.

"We're finally here!" he cheered as the flame chicken jumped up and chirped with joy. "Come on Apollo, let's go pay our respects to the God of Fire," he said to Apollo. The Combuken nodded as the two walked to the corridor, only to find that it's closed off.

"What the hell? How do we get in this place?" Charm asked but Apollo only tilted his head in confusion. They both began looking around for answers, the scent of adventure fueling their eagerness.

[uhhhhh]

uhhhhh
The man glares at you suspiciously while you point out the direction the Aipom group had followed. “Bloody monkeys” he snarls, finally catching his breath. “You seem to be telling the truth, so I’ll trust you. Useless trying to follow them now, they can bloody well hide and they’re probably far from here now as well.” His face still showing a reddish angry hue, before returning to his stand he warns you. “Take care of your belongings, the Market has been a playground for these Aipom for the last two weeks, and they’re been stealing both merchants and tourists. Random stuff, both valuable and worthless - pretty quick bunch too, no one’s been capable of catching them. Be careful, and please enjoy your visit.”

He quickly blends into the crowd, disappearing between the stands and visitors. You continue your tour; hopefully it wouldn’t be disturbed by a theft, not a nice way to start your day at all. Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before you heard similar words to the ones you had heard only a few minutes earlier. “Return those immediately, lousy thieves!” You spot an angry woman pointing and yelling at the top of what was probably her tent, threatening the duo of dancing Aipom, their handsy tails juggling between them a few bottles of Potion they had probably taken from the healing-stand owner. That was a particularly amusing show, had it not been a theft. Gaspard on the other hand had been more careful, poking you to look at the stand that stood on the opposite side. While everyone was looking at the Aipom, you spot another characteristic round hand-tail behind the other tent, stealing some jewelry on the stand. Its owner wasn’t noticing however, its eyes focused on the juggling duo who provided a sort of entertainment while the third one appeared to be the real thief. Quite the scheme.

What will you do?

Connor gulped while looking at the man in front of him. He was nervous that the man may be unreasonable and mistake him and Gaspard as thieves and he didn't want a fight to happen because of this. “Bloody monkeys” he snarls as he finally caught his breath. Connor has sweat running around his face, probably both due to the heat and how nervous he was now. “You seem to be telling the truth, so I’ll trust you," Connor and Gaspard inwardly did a breath of relief, "Useless trying to follow them now, they can bloody well hide and they’re probably far from here now as well.”

"Well that's too bad sir," Connor had finally managed to speak. Gaspard shared his sentiments with his trainer as well, "Ai-ai," The man's face was still showing a reddish angry hue, before returning to his stand. He then warned the photographer, “Take care of your belongings, the Market has been a playground for these Aipom for the last two weeks, and they’re been stealing both merchants and tourists," Connor subconsciously grabbed the bag on his side where his camera was placed when he heard that, "Random stuff, both valuable and worthless - pretty quick bunch too, no one’s been capable of catching them. Be careful, and please enjoy your visit." Connor replied to the man, "Thanks for the tip sir, I'll be careful." The man quickly blened in to the crowd until Connor and Gaspard could no longer see him.

"Man, the situation here in the Market's pretty bad isn't it Gaspard?" he said to his partner who nodded and replied, "Aipopom." As the duo wandered further into the Market, Connor said to Gaspard, "Ok Gaspard, stay close to me all right? I don't really want you to be branded as a thief, especially with the other Aipom on the loose. We dodged a bullet that time, so you it's not going to be very pretty if you were mistaken as one of them again," it was then that Connor heard someone shout:

“Return those immediately, lousy thieves!” screamed a woman who was threatening two dancing Aipoms who were juggling some potions that they probably had stolen from her. "Oh man not again... on second thought Gaspard I think you should return to your ba-"It was then that Gaspard poked him and pointed at something else, "Huh? What is it?" It was then that Connor's eyes widened as he saw a round-handed tail, most likely another Aipom, stealing some jewelry on the stand.

"Now I see... those two were acting as distractions while another Aipom actually steals something else. They weren't after the potions, they were after the jewelries," Connor had thought, "You know, I wouldn't be surprised if they were actually owned and trained by someone you know? This is a bit too elaborate for them to be doing on their own," while Connor was busy thinking, Gaspard wanted to help stop the thieves, "I understand that you want to stop them Gaspard, but this way too risky for you to do! For one, people may mistake you for one of them and I'm not risking that again. I'm gonna have to return you to your pokeball. Please understand," while Gaspard frowned at his trainer's decision, he complied and returned back into his ball.

Connor then took out another ball, the one he had just recently gotten from the Adoption Center, "Now then... I think it's time for you come out, Foster!" Connor said as he sent out the Shuppet. "All right Foster, we don't have much time. I want you Knock Off the jewelry from that Aipom over there, think you can do that?" Foster nodded, "Shupp-shupp!" as Foster started to act, Connor had shouted as he was pointing at the other Aipom's direction, "You're being distracted by those two! Another one of those Aipom wants to steal your jewelries over there!"

[takkupanda]

takkupanda
Finding yourself in the Axal Field, you observe the rich variety of fruits, apricorns and berries scattered through the garden, certainly those would make fine ingredients in the art of blocks and poffins making. However, your culinary thoughts are soon interrupted by a screaming “Help!” coming from deeper inside the field. Standing still from the scream, you try to figure out from where exactly came from, the many trees turning the field into a miniature maze. However, no need to walk any further; you suddenly see a small girl carrying a badly hurt Poochyena in her arms, before tripping in a nearby root and falling to the ground. Behind were was a menacing Pinsir, slightly bruised but nowhere near the state of the dark pup. None of them appeared to notice you however, all of them focused on the matter on hands.

“Pooch, try a Sand Attack, please!” she screams in tears, quickly picking herself up while the bite pokemon tried his best to throw sand at the stagbeetle’s eyes. It was a semi-successful attack however – while he did blind the bug pokemon, the Pinsir angrily flailed its white-glowing arms, the Brick Break attack luckily hitting the Poochyena, slamming him into the nearest tree, Pooch collapsing from the super effective move. “Nooo!” she yelled, scooping her pokemon into her arms defensively. “Just stop it already! We already gave you back those Pecha Berries we took!” she cried, but that was to no avail, the Pinsir slowly moving towards her, its arm still glowing white.

What will you do?

As Marcelo and Broly walked through the creepy garden looking for a trace of life, they heard a scream for help from somewhere not far, but the voice echoed from the trees in the garden making it difficult for them to figure out where it came from.

"Broly, you heard that? Do you know where it came from?" whispered Marcelo. But before Broly could respond, a small girl appeared from behind a tree. She was carrying an injured Poochyena in her hand and appeared to be running away from something before she tripped in a root and fell on the ground. As she watched in horror, an angry Pinsir that was chasing her appeared from behind the tree. Marcelo and Broly quickly hid behind a tree while Marcelo opened up his Pokedex and pointed it towards the Pinsir.

The Pokedex started in a crackling voice: "Pinsir, the Stag Beetle Pokemon. It grips prey with its pincers until the prey is torn in half. What it can't tear, it tosses far."

As if it's looks weren't scary enough, the description sent a shiver down Marcelo's spine. The girl called out for help from the already injured and weak Poochyena which tried to blind the stagbeetle by using a Sand-Attack. But it didn't help, as the blinded Pinsir angrily flailed its glowing arms around, hitting the Poochyena with a mighty Brick Break and knocking it out beyond all doubt. As the Poochyena fell on the ground, the girl took the Poochyena back in her arms and begged the Pinsir to leave them alone, for they had returned the Pecha Berries they must have mistakenly taken. But the Pinsir kept moving towards her in blind rage, showing no mercy.

Marcelo knew she had to be helped. But the Pinsir was too strong. But seeing how bravely the tiny Poochyena stood up in front of the Pinsir, Marcelo realised that he had to at least try. Marcelo and Broly scurried to the scene, ready for battle; Broly stood in front of Marcelo glaring into the Pinsir's eyes. "Leave her alone! She meant no harm!", said Marcelo assertively. "Broly, Roar to scare him out of his rage! If he still wants to battle, use Ember! Try another Ember if you need!", Marcelo ordered Broly while he tried to help the little girl back to her feet, "Are you okay, Miss? Everything will be fine now... What happened out there? Why is it attacking you?", he asked.

[Trainer Andy]

Trainer Andy
Enjoying the company of your trusted Turtwig during a very long walk through the jungle, you decide to set up camp near the shores of the lake that surrounded Rapa’s Temple, which was itself shrouded in mystery. Few had had the guts to venture into its chambers, and those who did never managed to return – their bones however reached the shore quite easily, how lucky of them. Myths and horrors engulf the small island, and the inscription “Herein reside the Rapa; Death to those who enter” on the entrance of the temple certainly does not help searching for those brave enough who want to search for the truth. Nevertheless, you (still) decide to set up camp for the night in that dangerous zone – might be the last thing you decide, but perhaps you’ll be lucky to survive.

And lucky you are indeed! A few small noises here and there throughout the night, those damn Hoothoots never do shut up. The sun shined brightly, illuminating the beautiful surroundings – if you didn’t know of those tales of horror, you could easily consider this as a vacation spot. You notice that you weren’t the only one there – a young couple, both wearing Indiana Jones’ wannabe’s clothes, both analyzed the island of Rapa with their binoculars.

“Oh hello there!” The woman appears to notice you as well, waving happily. “I’m sorry, did we wake you up? I can be a tad loud before an adventure!”

“Sorry ‘bout that!” the man replies, putting away his binoculars while she pat him gently. “The name’s Phil, and what my wife was probably going to say next is that we’re planning to go to that there island of Rapa. I doubt you set camp here just for the views, so if you want you can come with us, we can provide you a ride there!”

What will you do?

Andy regarded the two for a moment, waiting for the last few threads of sleep to disentangle from his brain so he could formulate a response.

Looking across to the island, he certainly was interested in exploring it and the structure in its centre, despite the foreboding feeling that seemed to emanate from it.
Looking back at the couple Andy began the think again. The man, Phil, and the woman, who he didn't remember introducing herself, certainly seemed the part of explorers, although just looking at them didn't give away whether they were experienced in this particular area or just amateur adventurers. The thought made him think back to his youth, crawling through tall grass and digging in the dirt to find "treasure" (which usually only ended up being discarded bottle caps or empty Potion bottles).

"I'm very interested," He said finally, these memories reigniting his curious, adventurous side. He still attempted to scrutinize the pair as he spoke. "And the place certainly doesn't seem like somewhere to be exploring alone." Andy reasoned, casting a quick glance to the bones littering the area. He shuddered quietly and returned his gaze to the pair.

"Sure, as long as i'm not getting in the way or anything, i'd love to come with you." He stood up slowly, and extended a hand to Phil. "I'm Andy, by the way, nice to meet you both."

[gmoyes]

gmoyes (note: in your replies you can not control your environment, as it is considered self-updating; although the description of the lab says "Occasionally one of the professors may have a job opening", indeed there are probably people in there, but you can't describe it as "busy people" rushing from one place to another; please be more careful about this in the future ^-^)

Repeatedly scolding yourself for not bringing some bottles of water for this heated journey, you eventually reach the Research Lab, the mechanical doors quickly sliding open, the cooler temperatures welcoming you to the science institute. A little bit shy, you don’t really know what you should do there, as several scientists rush from one place to another, such a hectic place!
“Hello there!” You’re suddenly greeted by the young lady at the welcome stand. “Are you a trainer?” she asks, receiving a nod from you. “Well, then, might I interest you in our free tour today? Should you accept, please just wait in that room, and you’ll get your tour in a few minutes” As she handed you a small pamphlet, she pointed to a dark red door on the opposite side, that was the waiting room.

SPECIAL OFFER!
Just for today, the Research Lab will fully open its doors to public, organizing one tour around this institution. Completely free of charge, this is your only chance to see what happens behind the curtain, including recent researches, a fossil exhibition, as well as some other secrets that you’ll find intriguing in the least.

We hope you enjoy!

As you finish reading the pamphlet, your mind started to work excitingly. You couldn’t have been luckier! Just for today, and without any special favour, you could get a free tour around the research facilities. Why not, you ask yourself, as you gladly come into a small chamber, although not empty – indeed, many were gathered, your eyes spotting scientists and trainers alike. Interrupting your thoughts, everyone spots a woman, about 1.65 meters tall, her long black hair curled on her white medical-looking coat, pushing the doors away, walking with a steady pace. “Good morning, everyone!” she says, observing her crowd. “I’m Dr. Foster, one of this laboratory’s archaeologists, and I shall be your tour guide for today.” Her beautiful blue eyes gathering everyone’s attention, she continues. “I know you all must be very excited with what is going to happen. This is a very rare event, and it probably won’t happen in near future, so I hope you enjoy it as much as possible. Since you seem to be ecstatic, I won’t delay the visit anymore. Shall we?”

Turning around, she disappears as she exits the room and passes through another set of doors, and all the visitors, you included, quickly rush in to enter it, some of them acting very competitively and pushing each other away, as to enter the Research Lab first. As all of you enter, you walk down the corridor, following Dr. Foster. In the wall, several photographs were hanged, and in your quick pace you read one’s description “Dr. Kamus and the Archen”, a man who appeared to be in his late 50s pointing to a group of fossils.

“Before I show you history, I must tell you this lab’s history. This Research Lab was founded on 1990 by Dr. Kamus Mespira, a renowned archaeologist who practically lived on this desert, digging every squared meter of sand there was. Years before, he was mocked by his colleagues, as his instinct was certain that there were fossils in a place that no man considered archaeologically valuable. Indeed, he dug, and dug, but found nothing. However, one day he met Dr. Ethos Tomus, the founder of the Paleontological Center of the Sunny Dryland, set in the continent of Fizzytopia, and top archaeological institute in the world at that time – and still today! Dr. Tomus gave him his help, and more importantly, his trust, believing there was certainly something in that spot, something big. And indeed, they were right – in 1988, Dr. Kamus discovered fossils of a large community of never-before-seen pokemon fossils, afterwards baptized as Archen. Quite the instinct he had there! After his discovery, he built this Research Lab, affiliated with the ‘Bones Center’ of Fizzytopia, becoming one of the most talked archaeological centers of this continent!” She states. You start to feel an increase in temperature, and in the far end of this historical tunnel, the light shined upon them, a window separating you from the exterior.

As you get closer to it, you realize that the window is quite long, stretching for about 8 meters to the right. However, you see the windows entrapping that location, forming a square around it. Looking down, you see some archaeologists digging and cleaning some rocks, while three Nidoqueen fire a Blizzard at them, which combined with the intense heat, would create a gentle cooling breeze. “And this is the Crypt, another nickname given by our workers, since they’re in a lower level than ours. If it weren’t for those Nidoqueen, our scientists would probably be dead by now, as the temperatures are extremely elevated. We created a, well you can call it a sub-station, here, as we presume this was the location of a large pokemon community, a fact that justifies the findings of several fossils. Moreover, we presume we are looking at the biggest Lileep fossil ever encountered. But let’s continue our tour, there’s much more to it.”

Turning to her right, she continues walking, and the group follows her, some of them still observing the “Crypt”. “Now you’ll look at our fossil exposition. With high technology, we managed to create faithful replica of the fossilized pokemons.” She states, and as gets near the door, you realize it’s mechanical, as it slides open to her. As you enter it, the hall was greatly large; a community of Snorlax could easily sleep there, and there would be plenty of room left. “I’ll give you some time now to observe the fossils.” Dr.Fosters says, before exiting the room. You start looking around, staring at the fossils. In top of them stood a picture of their appearance, as well as characteristics and other details.

However, you suddenly hear a loud scream, followed by a threatening roar. As you turn around, a large pokemon rushed through the room, the visitors running for their lives. The dinosaur creature, much similar to the ancient Tyrannossaurus, appeared from thin air, as there was no sign of forced entrance in the wall. The Rampardos notices you, and quickly changes his trajectory, rushing towards you.

What will you do?

(sorry, this is the third time writing it up and I sort of lost focus after I lost two almost done replies)

Alex grinned and nodded in thanks to the lady and browsed through the brochure. He couldn't believe his luck, the day he entered the lab there was a tour going on. As he entered through the door though, he was slightly disheartened at all the other people that shared his luck. Figures, he gets lucky but that luck had some down sides. This was why he hated thing like gambling. Though the crowd was a well mix group of trainers and scientists with himself being both. He figured it could have been worse. He waited patiently off to the side with his two steel types looking forward to what he might discover.

Then a female scientist entered trough a door on the other side of the room and introduced herself a Dr. Foster and that she would be the group's tour guide. Alex caught himself staring at the woman and quickly looked off to the side with heat rising in his cheeks. He mentally told himself to focus and to listen. She could have had some important information, though it was hard to hear with a couple of the trainers in the group were goofing off and fooling around. He kept his distance away from them and followed the group out the door.

The group ended up in a hallway adorned with various photographs of operations the people here must have done, including one of a man examining a bunch of fossils and the caption identified them as a Dr. Kamus and Archen. The group paused while thier guide explained who Dr. Kamus was and that after a long time of searching, discovered fossils of the pokemon Archen and founded this research center. Alex was amazed at all the work the man had done. He always figured the ancient bird pokemon was native to Unova, though maybe it had something to do with the fact that in both places the pokemon fossils were found in the desert. The doctor sure had ambition, something that a lot of scientist have but in a very narrow field. For Alex himself, it was battling and non-biological pokemon.

The group continued down the hallway to a window overlooking some workers chipping away at rock while a couple of Nidoqueen stood nearby releasing a Blizzard to cool things down. Dr. Foster refered to it as 'The Crypt', a rather creepy name but it sort of fit. Alex briefly wondered why they were using the poison types when an ice or water would be more efficient, but then remembered that in the dry heat of the desert they wouldn't last long. The Nidoqueen however, were used to the climate. He was glad that he wasn't in there, and though it would be exciting to make a great discovery, he doubted he could handle the heavy lifting or the conditions.

Finally the group came to a large hall filled with a bunch of displays of fossils. Their guide let them have free reign of the room and stepped outside. Alex immediatly went over to the nearest display case which held a translucent orange egg-like thing. The plaque sitting beside it indentified it as an old ember, and that a pokemon called Aerodactyl could be revived from them. A picture was provided of the fossil pokemon and he shuddered as he looked at it. He didn't know why, but he had a bad feeling about the ancient preditor. Maybe it was just the fangs and claws, but he felt uncomfortable about it. Suddenly a huge roar rang throughout the room. Whipping around he spotting a bunch of people scrambling to get away from a large grey and blue pokemon. Alex identified it as a huge, pissed off and probably powerful Rampardos.

The rock type turned toward him and lowered its head. Alex swore and stumbled backwards. He was glad that Magnemite and Bronzor were out of their pokeballs, by the time he pulled them out and released them, he would already be dead. "Magnemite, Metal Sound! Make it lose focus. Bronzor, follow that up with a Hypnosis. If for some reason it doesn't work, keep your distance and hit it with Thundershock and Confusion." His partners bobed a nod and the magnet pokemon rubbed its magnets together creating a harsh screech while Alex tried to crawl backwards, trying to find shelter.

[Azran Flame]

Flame Mistress No prob ^-^ and you could try to run away; I can’t guarantee you’d make it out of there though >=]

Without any other reasonable option, you call out to your Vulpix to attack the masked man’s Solrock. The solar pokemon did not seem startled at all at your commands, continuing levitating above the one who had summoned it. Ordering her to use its most powerful move, the fox pokemon lets go of your arms, and as she reaches the floor, she takes a deep breath before exhaling a large round of condensed heated air towards her foe. As the Heat Wave headed forward, the solar pokemon calmly kept its place – a small flame appeared in front of it, quickly blasting forward a Flamethrower. Both fire attacks met each other, none seemingly having an advantage over each other, being a matter of time before completely negating themselves.

“Oh my!” the masked murdered exclaimed. “Such a majestic dance of flames we had there! Faros would be most pleased at this fiery show, and at your pokemon as well, young traveler! Had we met under other circumstances, we would have invited you to rejoice under the grace of-
His devoted speech was interrupted by a sudden Roar, your Vulpix’s threatening voice echoing through the empty temple. It threatened none unfortunately.

“The rudeness! The nerve!” he appeared appalled at your move. “You dare interrupt me with such noise?” His devotee’d voice suddenly turned cold, similarly to the time he had ordered your elimination. “Solrock, show them some discipline.”

The solar pokemon’s eyes glow again in the same hue of the girl’s oozing blood, apparently unaffected by Flare’s previous roar. Again, a feeble flame appeared in front of it, quickly turning into another straight jet of flames, the Flamethrower hitting your Vulpix spot on. Even considering Flare was a fire pokemon, the attack did considerable damage, as the small fox got back to her feet while letting out a small groan of pain. This was no ordinary foe indeed.

“Splendid!” he yelled again. “Let us continue! Increase your speed with a Rock Polish, and follow with a Rock Throw! But be careful, let us not do any damage to Faros’ Temple!” The solar pokemon did not exactly reply, but was certainly ready to do its master’s bidding.

What will you do?

Charlotte looked on in dismay as Flare's Heat Wave was negated by the strange Pokemon's Flamethrower (confirming her suspicions of it being a Fire-Type in the process). “Oh my!” the masked lunatic exclaimed in the heat of the battle, making Charlotte look at him with disgust. “Such a majestic dance of flames we had there! Faros would be most pleased at this fiery show, and at your pokemon as well, young traveler! Had we met under other circumstances, we would have invited you to rejoice under the grace of-" He was then interrupted by Flare's Roar, which unfortunately did nothing to the sun-like object, and cried out, appalled; “The rudeness! The nerve! You dare interrupt me with such noise?” His voice suddenly turned cold and icy, sending chills up Charlotte's spine. “Solrock, show them some discipline.”

So the Pokemon was called Solrock. Charlotte didn't remember hearing its name anywhere else, but tried to remember where she had seen it. The only thing she could remember was the sun, however. “Splendid!” he yelled again, snapping Charlotte out of her trance. “Let us continue! Increase your speed with a Rock Polish, and follow with a Rock Throw! But be careful, let us not do any damage to Faros’ Temple!” The Solrock didn't respond, but certainly looked like it was going to attack them for real.

A flurry of thoughts was going through Charlotte's head. What she did realise was that Solrocks weren't Fire-Types at all, but instead Rock-Types; it was even in their names, and she hadn't realised that. But what really mattered was the fact that Flare was at a huge disadvantage, and that she probably wouldn't stand a chance. She tried to find anything that she could use to deflect the Solrock's attacks, but her attempt was futile as she found virtually nothing that seemed to be able to do the job. Exasperated, she decided to go for the only safe option left.

She ran like hell down the stairs.

[King Ghidorah]

Finally, here are some updates. Everyone who has posted on Talas is in my group. Now, remembering some of the rules, and stating a few others:

• Please remember to reply with font size 1, in Dark Orange
• Always keep a link to your FB profile in signature (and obviously, that means you need to show the signature), or in your post.
• If you're on a battle, please bold your attacks to make it easier to read. I'm comfortable with 3 attacks per round.

Now let's go.




King Ghidorah
Quickly defending his trainer, your Krabby seemed ready to battle as well. The Buizel gives a quick glance at your pokemon, although it doesn’t seem to think highly of your starter friend. Surely, you would make him regret its rash judgment. Calling out to your crab pokemon, he quickly starts by shooting a rapid barrage of small Bubbles towards the otter pokemon, although they seemed to be more of an annoyance than an actual threat. Slightly bothered at his starting attack, he quickly moves towards his opponent, opening his right claw, aiming at the Buizel’s throat. It, however, wasn’t that easy to caught off-guard, as it Quickly dashes to the side, dodging your Krabby’s Vicegrip, and with the same speed, Attacks the crab from his left side, sending him gliding through the water surface, quite the impact.

As your Krabby regains its composure, the Buizel smirks before letting out a menacing Growl, it was certainly a worthy opponent and Krabby should be more careful if he wants to be victorious. However, that wasn’t over. The otter dashes forward for just a small distance, firing away a small Sonicboom. Strangely enough, it wasn’t aimed at the crab pokemon, but at the water who stood in front of him, the impact of the small force creating a small wave who splashes over your pokemon. It seemed more of a warning than an actual attack, your opponent smirking at your battler. The Buizel took no damage whatsoever this time, showing off both its agility and attack strength. Your pokemon however, took some damage from the quick attack he had received, and the growl and sonicboom tidal-splash had been somewhat intimidating. It was still early though, and the tables could easily be turned.

What will you do?

Krabby looks a bit dazed and shaken up. The Buizel's rapid fire attacks and evasiveness appear to be posing a much more formidable threat than originally assumed. However, Hugo was sure Krabby was capable of taking Buizel on. The Buizel was testing Krabby. Playing with him. Showing who was dominant. Arrogance, Hugo knew, was often a fatal flaw. Exploiting it could lead to it's downfall. Hugo motioned to Krabby who drew near.

"He's a tough guy, Krabby," Hugo explained. "He thinks he's better than you. He thinks he's tougher than you. He's trying to show off. We're not going to let that happen, are we?"

Krabby furrows his…uh…brow…and angrily clinches his pincers together.

"Here's what we need to do. First of all, his speed is tough. He can easily dodge attacks and then slam into you on his own. So pretend like you're going to use Vicegrip again. Lure him in. Make him think it's the same tactic. Then right as he's about to collide with you, use Harden and make him take more damage on the impact."

*click click* responded Krabby.

"Then, before he can retaliate, grab him and bring him down hard with Slam. And then throw him off. Use Agility to confuse Buizel. He thinks he's so fast. Well we'll be faster!"

[CyberBlastoise]

CyberBlastoise
Happy to see again your trusty Silver, you quickly pull out your pokedex to analyze the bulb pokemon who stood silently in front of you. “Hey there li’l Petilil” you greet the grass little trooper. “Are you lost?” Your answer was not given any answer – at all. The grass pokemon continued there, motionless, not even its eyes meeting yours. But that was just for a short time.

“INITIATE BATTLE”

Those words echoed through the infinite space, and almost like a reflex you return to your Blastoise’s side. Whose voice was that? Seemed somewhat robotic (and cliché’d as well), but no one else was there besides you three. You had more to worry however, as the small bulb pokemon appeared to return to life, quickly gathering a considerable amount of glowing energy between its three leafs. The Solarbeam seemed ready to be fired, until-

“REVERSE MODE – ACTIVATED”

The orb of energy quickly dissipated into thin air. While you two were still extremely confused, the bulb pokemon had its mind clear, and to shock you even further, it had fired – how could this be? – a Water Gun at your Blastoise! Silver managed to easily dodge it, but regardless of whatever the hell was happening, one thing appeared certain: this was a crazy-looking battle.

What will you do?

Bill analyzed the situation for a moment. Something was very amiss here, first a robotic voice trying to "initiate [a] battle" then suddenly the Petilil suddenly attacked. When Bill saw that Solar Beam he was about to call out to his Blastoise, when suddenly it disappeared, leaving both Silver and Bill in shock. The powerful grass-attack dissipated into a weak Water-attack, which Silver dodged with ease. "Well, this is interesting," Bill stated.

He thought about the situation, if this "reverse mode" as it was called was still active, then ice type attacks may not have any effect, in fact, Bill had no idea what to expect. He commanded, "We better stick with the attacks with standard effectiveness, for now, Silver. First use Zen Headbutt. Follow it up with Rapid Spin, finally use Pay Day." This was going to be a weird battle, and Bill hoped that this would at least keep things...as normal as possible.

[FlashFusion]

Celebii 151
You take your time to fully analyze the situation in front of you; having asked for a riddle to the mythological Sphinx, a Baltoy had emerged from the sand, seemingly protecting the entrance to its master’s chambers. “It is not what it looks like” you had heard, quickly assuming of a fake or impersonator creature that was mimicking the psychic Pokémon’s appearance. Not entirely sure of your answer, you say “May this Baltoy be a Zorua or a Zoroark, utilizing its Illusion ability?” Indeed, it was a smart choice – the Zorua line was the only one with that ability, its transformation being merely an illusion, allowing Zorua and Zoroark to keep its type and moves. Biting your lower lip, you stand firm in your ground, waiting for the words you hoped you had not heard.

“Incorrect”

The resonating word takes its time to fade, almost as if to shame you further. The Baltoy did not seem pleased with your answer as well, its eyes now showing an angry blue. Engaging in a quick spin, you almost feel the urge to clean your eyes, as what was once a Baltoy, was now escorted by two other. The Double Team had made the situation slightly more threatening, as the three Baltoy continue their slow movement, starting to encircle you. As it had been postulated before – you answered incorrectly, you have to pay the consequences, and the Baltoy seemed eager to make you pay it.

What will you do?

"Incorrect!" The word was still ringing in Cele's head. "I'm so stupid." Cele said. "I failed the first riddle, while almost everyone else gets through." Cele yelled at no one, kicking himself in the leg, repeatedly. “The Baltoy wasn't a Zorua? Then what was the answer?” Cele asked the Sphinx, almost certain she would not answer. Before Cele could get an answer, the Baltoy had commenced its actions, utilizing Double Team to create two identical clones of itself. They all slowly approach Cele menacingly, as if to scare him. Cele realized the only way was to battle for another chance with the Sphinx. “Boing, Neptune! Get ready for battle!” The two Pokemon looked rather surprised, though they trusted their trainer fully. “Boing, use Odor Sleuth to identify the correct Baltoy, then Shadow Ball it. Neptune, use an Ice Beam followed by a Water Pulse!”

[JustAnotherUser]

Poke_Hunter(no problem, after all you’re just starting; your reply was excellent, keep it up and you’ll do great ^-^)

Quickly shouting out orders to both your pokemon, Terrance the Turtwig is the first to act, setting up a green spherical barrier around you to Protect yourselves from any harm. The timing was excellent, as the Excadrill had just hit the floor with his right iron claw with such force that most of the rocks created by ceiling’s collapse were projected towards. Fortunately, the Rock Slide was negated by Terrance’s protective dome, some of them ricocheting back to the chamber’s walls, while most just fell to the ground nearby.

“Impressive” the man claimed, but that was the only word he said, as your Joltik seals his mouth shut with a strong String Shot he had quickly fired. The man tried to rip it out of his face, but it was to no use, and he could only watch Terrance mimicking the Excadrill’s previous move, firing forward another Slide of Rocks. The subterrene pokemon however was no ordinary foe, his claws suddenly glowing white, using his Metal Claws to easily crush whatever was thrown at him. Unfortunately for him, there were simply too many boulders to be crushed, a few of them actually hitting the mining pokemon, quickly shrugging off the hit.

Both pokemon proving themselves to one another, the Excadrill was next to act, this time Slashing away the bug string that stopped his trainer from talking. “Cheers, Afiar” he thanked his pokemon, before returning to you. “You have good pokemon, no doubt, but give it a rest. My Excadrill is far more powerful than yours, and even in the remote case that I lose, you won’t manage to leave this place alive. You have terribly bad luck, and you’ve stumbled upon something you shouldn’t have seen.”

With a sight, he continued. “Let’s go, boss’ orders. Hone your Claws, and Slash that bug. Hit the turtle next with a Drill Run . Be careful to not hit the walls, we can’t risk any more damage.”

What will you do?

The rocks came a-clattering down, and although they made loud impacts, they weren't able to break through Terrance's screen. Note to self;, he thought, thank Ben for giving Terrance all those TMs. when the cascade of stones finally finished falling, Dan stood, getting out of the hunched position he had been in under the shield.

"Impressive." That was all the man could get out before Zapz turned and stuck his trap shut with his kind's strong, sticky string. Dan smiled cockily.

"Thanks, but we're not done with yet. Terrance, now!" The Turtwig nodded, then started to gather up a cluster of rocks - both general debris and some of the stones the Excadrill tried to collapse onto them - before tackling them, sending them flying at the Drill Mole. His trainer yanked at the string, crying some heavily muffled orders, to no avail. However, the Excadrill wasn't only strong - it was fast, and smart too. It tore straight through the rocks with a glowing claw of iron. While some pieces flew all over, a few managed to punch through, striking the large driller mole in the chest. It staggered, but was back forth in an eyeblink.

The Excadrill then drew one claw and slashed his trainer's mouth free. The man inhaled deeply, before thanking his mole compatriot - apparently by the name of Afair - before turning his attention to Dan. “You have good pokemon, no doubt, but give it a rest. My Excadrill is far more powerful than yours, and even in the remote case that I lose, you won’t manage to leave this place alive. You have terribly bad luck, and you’ve stumbled upon something you shouldn’t have seen.”

"Well, that last part is blatantly obvious, but don't think for a second I'm not going down without a fight!" Dan was determined - he wanted out of here alive, as any normal person would want. The difference between him and man others, however, is a motley crew able to back him up. The man sighed deeply before turning to Afair. Let’s go, boss’ orders. Hone your Claws, and Slash that bug. Hit the turtle next with a Drill Run . Be careful to not hit the walls, we can’t risk any more damage.”

Dan thought fast, then remembered something - the kissing booth from Valentine's day. "Zapz, boost your Agility while he sharpens those claws of his, then under his slash and Tickle him into submission! Terrance, a pair of Energy Balls should suffice; one while he's being tickled, and the other while he's coming in for Drill Run."

[Treecko's Awesomeness]

The Lost Cities of Talas
The Archaeology Zone

The Isle of Talas

Laos River: A long and winding river lined with tall palm trees snaking its way throughout this vast desert island. Many wild Pokémon can be found basking upon its banks, while families love to sit by the water and watch the barges sailing by.

TA looked at the great river before him, squinting as the hot desert sun reflected off the water into his eyes. His Treecko was lounging in the shade of a nearby palm tree, waiting for his trainer to give the signal to move out.

"Alright, Nav," said TA. "We've rested enough. I've heard this is a great place to explore on a journey, and we need to set out before we get too comfortable."

"Treecko!" Nav said as he jumped up and walked over to TA's feet.

TA laughed. "I'm glad you're excited! Let's head downstream to start off. What do you think?" After receiving a nod from the Pokemon, TA smiled and headed off.

(Stats in sig)

[Thrain]

The Lost Cities of Talas
The Archaeology Zone

Areas:
Laos River: A long and winding river lined with tall palm trees snaking its way throughout this vast desert island. Many wild Pokémon can be found basking upon its banks, while families love to sit by the water and watch the barges sailing by.

Profile

Arriving upon the embankment of the Laos River, Eric and Blaze looked out across the water, marveling in their surroundings. Palm trees grew along the edge of the stream while barges motored through the water, cutting V-like lines across the glassy surface. The arid desert surrounding the river seemed to stretch out for an eternity, well past the horizon. Tourists mingled among one another while they swam, talked, laughed, and battled with Pokémon. All of the elements of the river's environment blended together to form the perfect spot for a vacation paradise; the dry climate created the perfect stage for some water fun. It's no wonder this place is so popular with families, Eric thought.

"I bet the river's also the perfect spot to catch some Pokémon," Eric muttered aloud to his partner. Blaze barked, heading farther up the stream sniffing the ground like crazy. Eric followed behind, absentmindedly thumbing through a guidebook regarding the area while he kept his eyes peeled for any wild Pokémon...

[OkikuMew]

The Lost Cities of Talas
The Archaeology Zone

Long since buried beneath the desert sands, the lost city of Sobek was discovered after a ferocious sandstorm uncovered part of an ancient abode. When archaeologists heard of the discovery they flocked from all over the world to examine the area, eventually unearthing several more vicinities in which the ruined remains of ancient civilisations have been laying undisturbed for thousands of years. Portions of the strange writings and hieroglyphs discovered in these lost cities have been translated, fuelling speculation that the entire island of Talas is somehow tied in with the heavens. Items, carvings, texts, as well as some rather unsettling discoveries and mysterious events have helped to cement these theories in the minds of some, while others dismiss them as fantasy. Each of the cities are believed to be connected to the others somehow, but there are still missing pieces of a much larger puzzle to be found, leading scholars to believe that there are more cities that have yet to be discovered. Talas has now become a popular archaeological site which attracts scientists, scholars, tourists, and trainers from across the globe.

The Lost City of Lacuna

Located at the bottom of a deep valley laid out in the shape of a crescent moon, the Laos River provides the surrounding area with a rich source of nutrition. Thick jungle surrounds the ancient city whose inhabitants appear to have worshipped cats. Statues and inscriptions depict a very large, very muscular, panther-like feline as tall as a man whilst on all fours, but whether this creature is an extinct Pokémon or something else is anyone's guess. No references have been found in relation to this mythical beast, leaving many to wonder if it actually existed, or was simply a God worshipped by those who inhabited the city.

The Moon Temple: A large temple dedicated to Saros, the God of the Moon. It is said that at various times strange events occur, all of which are related to the moon itself, whether that's during a solar eclipse, lunar eclipse, or under the light of a full moon. Quiet and serene, this temple has an almost magical aura about it, leaving many feeling calm and collected even under the most stressful of circumstances.

When I learned about Talas, I was blown away by the possibilities of the place. Every single corner of it had a mysterious or mystical feeling that I love so much, being curious and having a thing for ancient stories and legends. After thinking for days and many games of eenie miney, I finally decided to go to Lacuna's Moon Temple.

I sit on the temple's rocky floor, taking all in the relaxing atmosphere of the sanctuary.

"Man, I never thought it was true that coming here calms anyone down, well I'm sure proved wrong right now!"

Max, my Poochyena, quietly barks and nuzzles my arm.

"Sheesh, even you, who's usually a furball of energy, is now all mellowed down like a marshmellow!" I giggle, finding his unusual reactions quite funny.

"They say that stuff happens here depending on what's the phase of the moon it's at..." I grab my Pokédex and look at the calendar application. "according to it, it's gonna be the new moon soon... Lots of religions and beliefs related to new moons are about new beginnings and changes, if I remember right... Kinda fitting, if you think about it," as I pet Max's head and ponder about how it is the first time we set foot in Talas, and how we are still just starting adventuring, instead of working and staying at home like we used to. "Wonder what it'll happen here with that? And if we're gonna see something, for that matter..."

[kaisap112]

Areas:
Port Pearl: A large, bustling port developed to handle the large amount of traffic now navigating the Laos River into Atlas City. Cargo ships, fishing trawlers, ferries, small tourist boats, and even five star cruise liners, all dock here. Café's, restaurants, boutiques, a couple of small inns, and a tour company all line the river banks making it a central hub of activity for the thriving metropolis of Atlas City.

Happy to find a peaceful area close to water, Noriko walked along the docks. With all that had been going on lately, she had barely had any time to bond with her new Pokémon, Callias the Finneon. Spotting a quiet spot, she pulled out a Pokéball and called out her new friend. Callias was the quiet type, but seemed to enjoy the waters he was in. While Callias swam happily in circles, Noriko sat down and watched the ships and cruisers go by in the distance. "If only I could ever go on a cruise," she thought to herself, dreaming of full meals at the buffet, tax free shops and the sound of the waves lulling her to sleep at night.

Callias jumped out of the water, spraying small droplets of water on Noriko. "I suppose we could do some training while we're here, right? Gotta get ready for Contests!" Noriko got up on her feet. "Callias, try to use Surf for as long as you can, we need to build your stamina!" While Callias got his training underway, Noriko wondered what else she could do around here: the place seemed busy enough for it. The focus of the day was Callias though, so going too far away from the water would be out of the question.

Clapping her hands at her Pokémon's effort, Noriko called out to him: "Good job, Callias! Now try to do the same in the form of a Voltorb!"

[takkupanda]

Hi guys! Welcome to the lost lands of Talas! Since this is my first update here at FB, I would like to apologize in advance for any errors that I might have made (especially, calling any Growlithe - Broly). I hope you have a nice few adventures here and enjoy!

The Southern Pyramid:

Charminions: After making your way through the hot barren desert with some difficulty, you and Apollo finally find what you were looking for - the Southern Pyramid. This ancient Talasian monument dedicated to the God of Fire may look like a daunting sight to many, but it was an exciting one for you and Apollo. You decide to go inside and pay homage to the God of Fire. As you enter the only open corridor, you see a very old architecture in general, with sculptures of Blaziken in weird poses embossed on the walls. The corridor is lit with candles which are mounted on Litwick statues. How the candles keep burning is a mystery, but the thing that worries you more is that the only corridor leading to the insides ends in a stone wall with only one stone at about face height missing. The opening thus made is about the size of a brick. You try to peep through it, but it is too dark to see inside. You start looking around for clues about how to get in there and find a half burnt piece of parchment on the floor which says:

* * * Welcome to the Southe...
* * * * * * * * * The Pyramid of F...

Those willing to enter the great P...
must light the torch on the far sid...
with fire. The torch is exactly stra...
from the hole in the stone wall. Y...
one chance to light it. You cann...
miss the target.

Note: If you mis............rget, ...
.......

...The lines after that are all burnt out. It’s your luck that at least some of it was legible and you can try to make some sense out of it.

What will you do?

====================

Laos River:

Treecko's Awesomeness: You and Nav start on your new quest after a nice rest in the shade of a Palm tree along the serene Laos River. It is a nice though rather hot sunny day as you walk along the sandy banks of the river with your Treecko alongside you. Despite the overall quietness of the surroundings, you do see occasional spurts of activity along the riverside. A barge sails upstream and a flock of Wingulls follow its trail attempting to catch the fish are tossed along with the water that is churned out of its turbines. You also see a couple of Aipom hopping from one palm tree to another on the other side of the river. Overall this looks like a peaceful place with not much happening.

Nav seems very excited about the first adventure and seems to be constantly looking around as if in search of something interesting. You keep walking waiting to see something interesting, but you keep being pulled back to the thought of how nice a place this would be to just relax and have a day off. Your thoughts are interrupted as Nav spots something at a distance straight down the same bank and starts running towards it. You follow him along the riverside and see an orange coloured furry dog running towards the two of you in the distance. You quickly recognize it as a Growlithe. Happy about having spotted a Pokemon, you and Nav sprint faster towards it. As you get closer, you see the puppy Pokemon being followed by another trainer like you. You slow down but Nav goes ahead till the two Pokemon are face to face and start glaring at each other. Looks like they want a battle!

What will you do?

(You and Thrain have a joint decision to make about whether to battle, continue adventure together without battling or just walk past each other continuing your own adventures. Communicate between yourselves via PM/VMs and reply accordingly in the next update. If you decide to battle, you get to make the first set of orders and hence you have to post first. Also, if you decide to battle, RP the stats of the battle like 1-vs-1, 2-vs-2 or whatever. Avoid switching in the battle and start with Treecko vs Growlithe. Please let me know via PM/VM - preferably on UPN - if you have any problems.)

----------------------------

Thrain: You and Blaze arrive at a fairly active spot on the banks of the Laos River where there are many tourists having a great day off. You see the tourists swimming, playing, battling and enjoying in general in the classic combination of the desert sun and the cool waters of the river. Your thoughts drift towards the potential of this place to offer excellent quality recreation, but soon you snap out of it because that’s not what you are here for.

Getting back to the primary motive of your visit to this wonderful place, you start heading upstream led by the excited and frenetic sniffing of Blaze as you look out for wild Pokemon. Given that there was so much human activity close to the place where you started, it is only natural that there weren’t many wild Pokemon there. So you head further away from the crowd and find that the river there is quite peaceful and pleasant. On the other side of the bank, you see a Kingler dig out some sand so that it could stay cool under the sand and away from the heat of the sun, but you realize that it is difficult to cross the river at the moment and keep walking. You realize that Blaze’s sniffing has become much less wild and much more concentrated as he seems to have picked up some scent. His ears also twitch, meaning that he must have also heard something. He starts moving ahead faster and you have to increase your pace too and soon you have to start running to catch up with Blaze. After a while he stops sniffing and starts looking ahead and running faster. You also look ahead and see a green reptile like Pokemon running towards you. Soon you realize that it’s a Treecko! Excited at having finally found a Pokemon, you sprint faster but soon realize that it is being followed by another trainer. You slow down, but Blaze keeps going till the two Pokemon are face to face, glaring at each other. Looks like they want a battle!

What will you do?

(You and Treecko's Awesomeness have a joint decision to make about whether to battle, continue adventure together without battling or just walk past each other continuing your own adventures. Communicate between yourselves via PM/VMs and reply accordingly in the next update. If you decide to battle, Treecko's Awesomeness gets to make the first set of orders and hence he has to post first. Also, avoid switching in the battle and start with Treecko vs Growlithe. Please let me know via PM/VM - preferably on UPN - if you have any problems.)

=================

The Moon Temple:

OkikuMew: You and Max sit in the evening twilight on the rocky floor just outside the temple feeling extremely relaxed and comfortable. You check the calendar application in the Pokedex and it shows that it is a new moon day which gives you a feeling that something special is bound to happen. You wait patiently for that enjoying the peaceful aura of the Moon Temple as time passes and it starts to get dark.

As you are lost in the thoughts about having begun your new adventure, you hear some sounds echoing from the inside of the temple. You and Max get up in excitement and rush to check out what that is. Inside the temple, you realise that it is getting noticeably darker and you cannot see much except for a pink sphere. That pink ball starts hopping closer to you and soon you realize that it’s a Jigglypuff! Glad to see that it has audience for its prayers for the new moon day, the Jigglypuff takes in a deep breath and starts Singing.

You assess the situation in your mind in a split-second and visualise a rapid series of events which will end up in you falling asleep in this Moon temple in the pitch blackness of the moonless night and you have a clear gut feeling that that would not be a situation you would want to get into, especially on a new moon day. You realize that you should stop that song, or else you might never know what would happen. Under normal circumstances, you would have panicked by this point of time, but the mystical aura of this place helps you keep your calm. But you know that you should act fast, or else...

What will you do?

==================

Port Pearl:

Kaisap112: Walking along the docks of the busy port of the busier city, you find yourself trying to bond with your newest Pokemon Callias. Finding a peaceful spot, you release your Finneon who happily swims in the water. You see many gigantic cruisers around and cannot help but wonder how it is like to be in one of those. But focusing on your primary purpose of coming here, you start training with your Finneon by asking him to practise Surf. Callias, despite his small size, is able to summon a big wave which he stylishly rides on. Happy with your Finneon’s performance, you clap and ask him to perform it again in a different way.

While your Finneon has another go at it, you notice another huge cruiser which docks itself not very far from you. This one is even more attractive and you get lost in your thoughts again. Snapping out of those, you get your attention back to the Finneon and see a Wingull soaring over it along the warm air currents. Callias appears to have spotted the seagull Pokemon as well and cowers in his place. The Wingull then stoops, beak open, heading straight for the wing fish Pokemon. Being an expert at catching fish, it won’t have any problem hunting and devouring your little Finneon.

What will you do?

[kaisap112]

Port Pearl:

Kaisap112: Walking along the docks of the busy port of the busier city, you find yourself trying to bond with your newest Pokemon Callias. Finding a peaceful spot, you release your Finneon who happily swims in the water. You see many gigantic cruisers around and cannot help but wonder how it is like to be in one of those. But focusing on your primary purpose of coming here, you start training with your Finneon by asking him to practise Surf. Callias, despite his small size, is able to summon a big wave which he stylishly rides on. Happy with your Finneon’s performance, you clap and ask him to perform it again in a different way.

While your Finneon has another go at it, you notice another huge cruiser which docks itself not very far from you. This one is even more attractive and you get lost in your thoughts again. Snapping out of those, you get your attention back to the Finneon and see a Wingull soaring over it along the warm air currents. Callias appears to have spotted the seagull Pokemon as well and cowers in his place. The Wingull then stoops, beak open, heading straight for the wing fish Pokemon. Being an expert at catching fish, it won’t have any problem hunting and devouring your little Finneon.

What will you do?

As Callias stylishly rode along another wave, Noriko saw yet another cruiser: this one was even bigger and more glorious-looking than the rest. She sighed dreamily again, diving deeper into her buffets and shops. That one surely had a huge selection of everything - maybe even Japanese food! Callias happily rode on and off waves, having the time of his life. Out of nowhere there was a small but very familiar cry in the distance, which snapped Noriko out of her daydreaming. A Wingull! It was flying a bit over the water, approaching them. Callias was far less than pleased about this developement: Wingulls were notorious for eating small fish Pokémon and this one had its sights set on poor Callias! He took the hint and cowered on his spot, scared.

Noriko decided to act quickly. "Callias, you need to use Surf to knock it down!" She then threw a Pokéball, Skitty coming out with an adorable yawn. "Skitty, Callias needs help! Use Bullet Seed!" Noriko was aware that two on one was not a fair setting for a battle, but she didn't want Callias to get eaten. Besides, she could always call Skitty back if Callias could handle himself..although Callias' level and skills still left a lot to be desired.

[Charminions]

Hi guys! Welcome to the lost lands of Talas! Since this is my first update here at FB, I would like to apologize in advance for any errors that I might have made (especially, calling any Growlithe - Broly). I hope you have a nice few adventures here and enjoy!

The Southern Pyramid:

Charminions: After making your way through the hot barren desert with some difficulty, you and Apollo finally find what you were looking for - the Southern Pyramid. This ancient Talasian monument dedicated to the God of Fire may look like a daunting sight to many, but it was an exciting one for you and Apollo. You decide to go inside and pay homage to the God of Fire. As you enter the only open corridor, you see a very old architecture in general, with sculptures of Blaziken in weird poses embossed on the walls. The corridor is lit with candles which are mounted on Litwick statues. How the candles keep burning is a mystery, but the thing that worries you more is that the only corridor leading to the insides ends in a stone wall with only one stone at about face height missing. The opening thus made is about the size of a brick. You try to peep through it, but it is too dark to see inside. You start looking around for clues about how to get in there and find a half burnt piece of parchment on the floor which says:

* * * Welcome to the Southe...
* * * * * * * * * The Pyramid of F...

Those willing to enter the great P...
must light the torch on the far sid...
with fire. The torch is exactly stra...
from the hole in the stone wall. Y...
one chance to light it. You cann...
miss the target.

Note: If you mis............rget, ...
.......

...The lines after that are all burnt out. It’s your luck that at least some of it was legible and you can try to make some sense out of it.

What will you do?

The duo look around the Pyramid and eventually find the only opening corridor and enter through it. As they walk inside they notice sculptures of Blaziken. "This is what you will be someday, Apollo... except maybe not in those awkward poses," Charm remarks. Apollo doesn't seem to mind. Evolving means becoming stronger, and that's all he would want. The path is lit with statues of Litwick which have ever lasting flames burning atop of it. How this is possible, Charm wasn't quite sure, but he didn't question it. They eventually run into a dead end. Their path being blocked off by a stone wall with a single hole in it about face-level for a Combusken. Looking through it, Charm finds empty darkness and decides to look around for some clues. He soon finds a burnt piece of parchment nearby and picks it up. Reading it through, Charm puts his intelligence to the test by figuring out what the burnt out parts say.

"* * * Welcome to the Southe...rn Pyramid
* * * * * * * * * The Pyramid of F...ire

Those willing to enter the great P...yramid
must light the torch on the far sid...e
with fire. The torch is exactly stra...ight
from the hole in the stone wall. Y...ou have
one chance to light it. You cann...ot
miss the target."

"Alright, I think I've figured it out. Thank god someone left this by or we would be lost..." he says. Then he starts thinking again. Someone left this by. They might not be alone in the Pyramid. Judging by how it's burnt, it might have been some time ago, but it's better to be cautious. "Apollo, I want you to stay extra alert from now on. We might not be the only ones here." Apollo gives a nod and puts on a serious face. "Aside from that, I need you to look through the hole in the stone wall and give a Flamethrower straight forward. Make sure you fire it directly forward, we only have one chance to get this right."

[OkikuMew]

The Moon Temple:

OkikuMew: You and Max sit in the evening twilight on the rocky floor just outside the temple feeling extremely relaxed and comfortable. You check the calendar application in the Pokedex and it shows that it is a new moon day which gives you a feeling that something special is bound to happen. You wait patiently for that enjoying the peaceful aura of the Moon Temple as time passes and it starts to get dark.

As you are lost in the thoughts about having begun your new adventure, you hear some sounds echoing from the inside of the temple. You and Max get up in excitement and rush to check out what that is. Inside the temple, you realise that it is getting noticeably darker and you cannot see much except for a pink sphere. That pink ball starts hopping closer to you and soon you realize that it’s a Jigglypuff! Glad to see that it has audience for its prayers for the new moon day, the Jigglypuff takes in a deep breath and starts Singing.

You assess the situation in your mind in a split-second and visualise a rapid series of events which will end up in you falling asleep in this Moon temple in the pitch blackness of the moonless night and you have a clear gut feeling that that would not be a situation you would want to get into, especially on a new moon day. You realize that you should stop that song, or else you might never know what would happen. Under normal circumstances, you would have panicked by this point of time, but the mystical aura of this place helps you keep your calm. But you know that you should act fast, or else...

What will you do?

As time goes by and the night approaches, I'm completely lost in my thoughts, or "être dans la lune", like the french expression says. Funny how the literal translation of it is "to be in the moon", with where we are and all. But I quickly snap out of it as the quiet and zen atmosphere breaks with sounds coming deeper within the temple. I look at my Poochyena, puzzled, who mirrors my gaze and expression back at me, twitching his ears. In sync, we nod at each other, both hungry for adventure, and run towards the noise.

As we go deeper within the shrine, our vision gets lower and lower as light no longer gets in there as much, but hearing Max sniffling loudly pushes me to keep going and my curiosity tingling even more. After a few moments of running, we see something, some round, rubbery ball... which turns out to be an adorable Jigglypuff!

"Daw-hawww, how cute," I whisper, not being able to resist to its pink skin and round, blue eyes.

And then it started singing.

"Oooooh-oh..." I exclaim as I take one step back.

Many situations goes through my mind very quickly, although detailed. The obvious one, knowing how Jigglypuffs are, we're all gonna fall asleep. Not only that would suck, missing all the fun the temple reserves us, but who knows what could happen to us while we're out like a light? So that was not an option. Max could always attack him to stop it but I think it would be a little harsh on the poor thing, not to mention, its singing could very well do something in this place... And nobody knows about it because they would all fall asleep. I could always try to catch it, but as much as it is tempting, it implies the same problem as the previous idea. ...There's always the choice of trying not to hear its song, though, so we don't get affected by the song but still see what it can do... except we'll have to make it quick, and we'll have to be subtle enough for the puffball to not notice us blocking our own ears, as it'll probably get mad for that... but I have an idea.

"Pssst, Max, block your ears, but act natural."

He looks at me funny, but gets my strategy as I quickly lay down on my stomach, place my elbows under my head and my hands between my cheeks, their palms holding up my head under my chin and my fingers blocking my ears. Although I'm looking like I'm listening and appreciating the balloon Pokémon's music, but I'm actually not listening at all. At the best as he could, Max immitate me by lying down, lowering down his ears and desperately moving his shoulders up to try to block them as much as possible. We look at the chanting Jigglypuff, attempting to look like we are enjoying its show... and block our ears as much as possible at the same time.

[takkupanda]

Treecko's Awesomeness and Thrain: Sorry about having posted this without waiting for your replies. I will be going to Barcelona for 4 days and I didn't want to keep the others waiting. Take your time with your semi-joint replies, I will try to update you in the next set of updates.


The Southern Pyramid:

Charminions: Judging from the instructions written on the piece of parchment, you ask Apollo to fire a Flamethrower straight towards the torch at the end of the corridor. He has to raise himself up to the hole in the wall which he somehow manages to do and fires a thin stream of flames straight ahead which illuminate the remainder of the corridor for a second before the torch gets lit. The two of you watch eagerly through the hole as the torch, which appears to be sculpted as the tip of a Charmander’s tail, starts burning brightly. You feel the earth shake for a moment and the hole starts moving. The stone wall slowly retreats completely inside the walls of the corridor leaving a flight of stairs leading downwards ahead of you.

Excited about what might be ahead of you, the two of you head down the stairs which end in a small passage to the left which then leads you to a gigantic hall, that would amaze anyone who sees it. Hung from the ceiling, you see two huge sculptures - one of a Ho-oh and the other of a Moltres and it appears like the two are battling each other. It seems this hall used to be a battling arena in the past. You also realize that this place is not dark and is lit by the sunlight being circulated within the pyramid by use of huge prisms and mirrors, some of which you see are hung from the ceiling. Everywhere around you see wall sculptures of Charmander, Charmeleon and Charizard battling against each other and you are left mesmerized. On the far right corner where there is a bit of darkness, you see a burning flame which starts moving towards you. Soon as it enters the light, you see a Charmeleon the eyes of which look directly into yours, as if challenging you. The Charmeleon then looks up and sends a Dragon Rage in the air to signal that it wants to battle you. It then goes to the middle of the far half of the hall as if this was an arena and sends another Dragon Rage in the air. Looks like the stage is set for your battle against the Flame Pokemon.

Do you accept the challenge?

===========================

The Moon Temple:

OkikuMew: Trying your best to not hurt the Jigglypuff, physically or otherwise and still trying to avoid falling asleep, you decide to cover up your ears as well as you can and also instruct Max to do so. Positioning yourself in a funny stance so that the Jigglypuff would think you are still listening to it, you cover your ears with both your hands. Max tries to imitate you but that poor thing has sensitive ears and hence has a tough time doing it.

Praying hard that you don’t fall asleep, you stay in the same position while the Jigglypuff sings, only to realize that the voice of the Jigglypuff is enhanced by the echoes from the walls and ceiling of the temple. You still hear the song though at a much reduced volume, but it still makes you feel drowsy. You take another look at Max and see that he’s out cold already thanks to his oversensitive hearing and no real effective way to block his ears. You keep looking around, puzzled and drowsy, as the pleasant aura makes you feel extremely comfortable and your muscles relax and you fall into a deep deadly slumber.

Some time later, you find yourself surrounded by Spiritombs and Haunters and find yourself sweating out of fear. You look around and see a silhouette straight ahead in the darkness which is shaped somewhat like a Mismagius, but not exactly like it. When you look at it, your heart doubles its beating rate and you feel more scared than you ever were. It keeps getting closer to you and just when it’s about to reach you, you wake up.

Your heart rate feels absolutely normal and you feel a blast of pleasant feelings cover your mind. You try to open your eyes and in the unclear vision, you see a glowing pink figure shaped roughly like a triangle which floats from above you and outside the temple and turns to the right, out of sight. You spring up and look around to see no sign of Jigglypuff. You see that Max is also awake and just as confused as you about what’s happening around. You stand up and look outside and find the same silhouette you saw in your dream. You see that it is hovering in the air and has no feet, and instead has an appearance of a ripped cloak in that place. You notice now that it has three long flame-like appendages at the top, the middle one probably its head. You open your Pokedex but it keeps beeping without giving any info. You see it shooting black orbs to the right and pink orbs hitting it from the right. You try to go ahead to get a closer look, but are stopped by a thud in your stomach.

Soon you find yourself lying on the floor again being pinned down by a black feline creature which has glowing yellow rings on its body. You quickly recognize it as an Umbreon. You see another person running into the temple from the same direction as Umbreon. “Quick, come with me! It’s not safe here right now!” he goes ahead and lifts a tile on the floor of the temple from which you see light illuminating his face. He looks like a man in his late 30s and he looks quite serious about his warning. He climbs down the ladder, the entrance to which he just opened up and the Umbreon swiftly follows, leaving you and Max puzzled.

Will you follow him?

=====================

Port Pearl:

kaisap112: Thinking that it would not be nice to have your new friend eaten, you quickly decide to teach the Wingull a lesson so that it doesn’t mess with you again. Callias dives under the water and rises again along with a large wave of water and rides along with it in the direction of the diving Wingull. The timing is perfect and the wave overwhelms the Wingull who tries to retreat, but it’s too late and it’s coming too fast and the wave soaks the seagull Pokemon completely. The Wingull barely manages to regain flight and before it can even think of attacking the Finneon, it is hit from the side by a surprise barrage of glowing yellow seeds which emanate from Skitty’s mouth and all of them hit the Wingull, most of them hitting on its wing, injuring it seriously. Barely able to fly, the Wingull drifts off along the sea out of sight. You heave a sigh of relief.

“Wonderful!”, you hear a hoarse voice from behind, “Wonderful! You and your Pokemon sure make a great team!” You turn around and see a short, fat man in his late 40s who is wearing an exquisite tuxedo, which actually doesn’t suit him very well. He appears to be rich, but prodigal and kinda reminds you of the famous Unovan Gym Leader Clay, except that he is bald.

“You seem like you’re a trainer! Then you might be interested in participating in the Poke Cruise mini tourney that we have on this ship right here!” He points to the nearest cruiser which had had you dreaming just a while ago. “Well, I happen to own this little baby. I had just dropped by to grab a bite. Once a month, when the ship is docked here, we open it for Pokemon trainers to battle and compete for the top spot! The registration will be closing in a few minutes, so why don’t you come with me and get registered for the tourney?”

Will you go and register for the tourney?

[kaisap112]

Port Pearl:

kaisap112: Thinking that it would not be nice to have your new friend eaten, you quickly decide to teach the Wingull a lesson so that it doesn’t mess with you again. Callias dives under the water and rises again along with a large wave of water and rides along with it in the direction of the diving Wingull. The timing is perfect and the wave overwhelms the Wingull who tries to retreat, but it’s too late and it’s coming too fast and the wave soaks the seagull Pokemon completely. The Wingull barely manages to regain flight and before it can even think of attacking the Finneon, it is hit from the side by a surprise barrage of glowing yellow seeds which emanate from Skitty’s mouth and all of them hit the Wingull, most of them hitting on its wing, injuring it seriously. Barely able to fly, the Wingull drifts off along the sea out of sight. You heave a sigh of relief.

“Wonderful!”, you hear a hoarse voice from behind, “Wonderful! You and your Pokemon sure make a great team!” You turn around and see a short, fat man in his late 40s who is wearing an exquisite tuxedo, which actually doesn’t suit him very well. He appears to be rich, but prodigal and kinda reminds you of the famous Unovan Gym Leader Clay, except that he is bald.

“You seem like you’re a trainer! Then you might be interested in participating in the Poke Cruise mini tourney that we have on this ship right here!” He points to the nearest cruiser which had had you dreaming just a while ago. “Well, I happen to own this little baby. I had just dropped by to grab a bite. Once a month, when the ship is docked here, we open it for Pokemon trainers to battle and compete for the top spot! The registration will be closing in a few minutes, so why don’t you come with me and get registered for the tourney?”

Will you go and register for the tourney?

OOC: Skitty’s nickname has been changed to Kitty, hopefully this won’t be a problem!

Callias was quick to react to Noriko’s command, diving underwater and then coming back up with a big wave. Wingull had to time to react and while trying to escape from the wave was caught right under it. Soaked to the bone Wingull got out of the water, wavering a bit above the surface. It didn’t have time to even think about attacking Callias as some green, glowing Bullet Seeds made their way right to Wingull. Kitty’s aim was great, the attack hitting Wingull’s wing, driving Wingull to fly away into the distance with its injuries. It wouldn't be back soon, that was for sure! “That was amazing, you two! I’m so proud of you!” Noriko jumped up and down. This had gone better than she could’ve hoped for! Callias was jumping up and down as well, as happy as his trainer, while Kitty rubbed against Noriko with a purr.

Noriko snapped out of her excitement as she heard someone speaking to her. “Wonderful! Wonderful! You and your Pokemon sure make a great team!” Noriko turned around to see an old man in a tuxedo. He was most likely in his 40s and looked similar to Clay, a Gym Leader in the Unova Region, except that he was bald. She was also a bit sad to admit that for once Clay’s fashion sense had beaten someone else’s as this man’s tuxedo didn’t exactly fit the man right. “Thank you for your kind words. I’m really proud of my Pokémon and their teamwork.” Noriko smiled charmingly.

“You seem like you’re a trainer! Then you might be interested in participating in the Poké Cruise mini tourney that we have on this ship right here!” He pointed at the exact same cruiser that had sent Noriko into her own private Dream World. “Well, I happen to own this little baby. I had just dropped by to grab a bite. Once a month, when the ship is docked here, we open it for Pokémon trainers to battle and compete for the top spot! The registration will be closing in a few minutes, so why don’t you come with me and get registered for the tourney?”

Noriko looked at Kitty, her partner. The Skitty was busy chasing her tail, although she probably wouldn’t have understood the concept of a cruise or a tournament. Callias was happily swimming in the blue waters, still excited about his recent victory. Noriko arrived at the conclusion that a tournament would give the two some much-needed battle experience. “If that’s the case, sir, we’d love to participate in the tournament! Could you please help us register?” She then recalled a tiny little thing. “By the way, what is your name, sir? My apologies for forgetting to introduce myself: I’m Noriko, and these are my friends Kitty and Callias.” She nodded gently at the Skitty and then at the Finneon respectively.

[OkikuMew]

The Moon Temple:

OkikuMew: Trying your best to not hurt the Jigglypuff, physically or otherwise and still trying to avoid falling asleep, you decide to cover up your ears as well as you can and also instruct Max to do so. Positioning yourself in a funny stance so that the Jigglypuff would think you are still listening to it, you cover your ears with both your hands. Max tries to imitate you but that poor thing has sensitive ears and hence has a tough time doing it.

Praying hard that you don’t fall asleep, you stay in the same position while the Jigglypuff sings, only to realize that the voice of the Jigglypuff is enhanced by the echoes from the walls and ceiling of the temple. You still hear the song though at a much reduced volume, but it still makes you feel drowsy. You take another look at Max and see that he’s out cold already thanks to his oversensitive hearing and no real effective way to block his ears. You keep looking around, puzzled and drowsy, as the pleasant aura makes you feel extremely comfortable and your muscles relax and you fall into a deep deadly slumber.

Some time later, you find yourself surrounded by Spiritombs and Haunters and find yourself sweating out of fear. You look around and see a silhouette straight ahead in the darkness which is shaped somewhat like a Mismagius, but not exactly like it. When you look at it, your heart doubles its beating rate and you feel more scared than you ever were. It keeps getting closer to you and just when it’s about to reach you, you wake up.

Your heart rate feels absolutely normal and you feel a blast of pleasant feelings cover your mind. You try to open your eyes and in the unclear vision, you see a glowing pink figure shaped roughly like a triangle which floats from above you and outside the temple and turns to the right, out of sight. You spring up and look around to see no sign of Jigglypuff. You see that Max is also awake and just as confused as you about what’s happening around. You stand up and look outside and find the same silhouette you saw in your dream. You see that it is hovering in the air and has no feet, and instead has an appearance of a ripped cloak in that place. You notice now that it has three long flame-like appendages at the top, the middle one probably its head. You open your Pokedex but it keeps beeping without giving any info. You see it shooting black orbs to the right and pink orbs hitting it from the right. You try to go ahead to get a closer look, but are stopped by a thud in your stomach.

Soon you find yourself lying on the floor again being pinned down by a black feline creature which has glowing yellow rings on its body. You quickly recognize it as an Umbreon. You see another person running into the temple from the same direction as Umbreon. “Quick, come with me! It’s not safe here right now!” he goes ahead and lifts a tile on the floor of the temple from which you see light illuminating his face. He looks like a man in his late 30s and he looks quite serious about his warning. He climbs down the ladder, the entrance to which he just opened up and the Umbreon swiftly follows, leaving you and Max puzzled.

Will you follow him?

...I'm just flabbergasted by all I have seen. It went from cute to bone-chilling to weird and mysterious in such a short lap of time. Or at least in my mind, and probably in Max's too, if I understand his confused look on his face correctly... One thing for sure: We were looking for adventure, and we sure found it.

As much as I don't trust this out-of-nowhere guy with his Umbreon, it seems I don't have much of a choice other than following him, like he asked me to. Not to mention, he seems dead sincere about what he said. ..Hmmm, perhaps he knows what in the world is going on here, at least more than I do?

"Alright buddy, let's do like a tree and leave."

I quickly grab Max in my arms and take the latter that's in the hole, which the man opened earlier.

"...So," I ask to the guy while moving down the opening, "can you give me a briefing on what the fudge are we running away from? What's goin' on?"

Like Takku's other updatees, because of takkupanda taking a break for an undetermined time, this adventure is also cancelled.
Edit: Treepandaone will continue this adventure at a later date, so it is no longer cancelled but instead on "standby".

[Charminions]

The Southern Pyramid:

Charminions: Judging from the instructions written on the piece of parchment, you ask Apollo to fire a Flamethrower straight towards the torch at the end of the corridor. He has to raise himself up to the hole in the wall which he somehow manages to do and fires a thin stream of flames straight ahead which illuminate the remainder of the corridor for a second before the torch gets lit. The two of you watch eagerly through the hole as the torch, which appears to be sculpted as the tip of a Charmander’s tail, starts burning brightly. You feel the earth shake for a moment and the hole starts moving. The stone wall slowly retreats completely inside the walls of the corridor leaving a flight of stairs leading downwards ahead of you.

Excited about what might be ahead of you, the two of you head down the stairs which end in a small passage to the left which then leads you to a gigantic hall, that would amaze anyone who sees it. Hung from the ceiling, you see two huge sculptures - one of a Ho-oh and the other of a Moltres and it appears like the two are battling each other. It seems this hall used to be a battling arena in the past. You also realize that this place is not dark and is lit by the sunlight being circulated within the pyramid by use of huge prisms and mirrors, some of which you see are hung from the ceiling. Everywhere around you see wall sculptures of Charmander, Charmeleon and Charizard battling against each other and you are left mesmerized. On the far right corner where there is a bit of darkness, you see a burning flame which starts moving towards you. Soon as it enters the light, you see a Charmeleon the eyes of which look directly into yours, as if challenging you. The Charmeleon then looks up and sends a Dragon Rage in the air to signal that it wants to battle you. It then goes to the middle of the far half of the hall as if this was an arena and sends another Dragon Rage in the air. Looks like the stage is set for your battle against the Flame Pokemon.

Do you accept the challenge?

Apollo faces into the hole and lets loose a Flamethrower, the thin stream travels to the other side of the area before lighting what looks like a Charmander statue's tail. Upon lighting it, the ground starts to shake as the wall recedes into the ground, showing them a flight of stairs leading to the underground. Charm gives a smirk, "Just as expected." Apollo merely shakes his head at his partner, probably thinking, "Solving a simple puzzle doesn't make you cool."

Afterwards they continue to move down the stairs, making a left at a passage which eventually leads them to a huge hall. Charm's eyes are suddenly lit with excitement as he looks around. He notices 2 huge sculptures above them that looks like a Moltres trying to fight the mighty Ho-oh. He also notices that this hall looks like it has once been a battling ground and the light is being transmitted here from the sunlight's reflection off the prisms and mirrors on the ceiling. All around them were sculptures of the Charmander line, fighting it out and leaving Charm utterly awed at the amazement of such a place. He couldn't hold his excitement, even letting out a school girl's giggle which makes Apollo gag. Charm then suddenly notices the presence of something other than the two of them. A burning light is emitted from a dark corner of the room, slowly moving towards the duo. The moving flame appears to be from an angry looking Charmeleon, staring right at Charm, as if challenging him. That did it for Charm, a real-life Charmeleon. Nothing could make him any more excited than now. The Charmeleon gives a Dragon Rage in the air, showing off apparently. It worked because Charm was still in awe. The Charmeleon then moves to the opposite half of the hall before giving off another Dragon Rage, ready to battle the visiting foes.

Charm has to contain his excitement to understand the situation. "So it's a battle you want?" he looks at the Charmeleon. "Okay. Are you up for it Apollo?" he then asks his Combusken. "Combusken!" he shouts. "Alright, it's a shame we're going to hurt such a magnificent Pokemon, but here goes. Start strong with a Flamethrower! Then follow with a Night Slash and finish with a Crush Claw!"

With Takku taking a break/quitting, this adventure is now cancelled.

[Thrain]

Laos River:

Thrain: You and Blaze arrive at a fairly active spot on the banks of the Laos River where there are many tourists having a great day off. You see the tourists swimming, playing, battling and enjoying in general in the classic combination of the desert sun and the cool waters of the river. Your thoughts drift towards the potential of this place to offer excellent quality recreation, but soon you snap out of it because that’s not what you are here for.

Getting back to the primary motive of your visit to this wonderful place, you start heading upstream led by the excited and frenetic sniffing of Blaze as you look out for wild Pokemon. Given that there was so much human activity close to the place where you started, it is only natural that there weren’t many wild Pokemon there. So you head further away from the crowd and find that the river there is quite peaceful and pleasant. On the other side of the bank, you see a Kingler dig out some sand so that it could stay cool under the sand and away from the heat of the sun, but you realize that it is difficult to cross the river at the moment and keep walking. You realize that Blaze’s sniffing has become much less wild and much more concentrated as he seems to have picked up some scent. His ears also twitch, meaning that he must have also heard something. He starts moving ahead faster and you have to increase your pace too and soon you have to start running to catch up with Blaze. After a while he stops sniffing and starts looking ahead and running faster. You also look ahead and see a green reptile like Pokemon running towards you. Soon you realize that it’s a Treecko! Excited at having finally found a Pokemon, you sprint faster but soon realize that it is being followed by another trainer. You slow down, but Blaze keeps going till the two Pokemon are face to face, glaring at each other. Looks like they want a battle!

What will you do?

(You and Treecko's Awesomeness have a joint decision to make about whether to battle, continue adventure together without battling or just walk past each other continuing your own adventures. Communicate between yourselves via PM/VMs and reply accordingly in the next update. If you decide to battle, Treecko's Awesomeness gets to make the first set of orders and hence he has to post first. Also, avoid switching in the battle and start with Treecko vs Growlithe. Please let me know via PM/VM - preferably on UPN - if you have any problems.)

Profile

OOC: TA still hasn't responded, so I thought I might go ahead and continue my adventure.

Continuing the trek along the river's edge, Eric tried his best to keep up with his partner Blaze's brisk pace, but to no avail. The fiery pup was intent on sniffing out any unusual oddities in the surrounding area, the majority of his search trained on finding other Pokémon. Sighing with annoyance, Eric slowed as they rounded a bend in the river, finally giving up his fast gait for a more leisurely stroll. I'll catch up to him eventually, Eric thought. Relaxing a bit, he breathed in the tangy, semi-moist air emanating off the water, letting it ease his muscles. Seagulls flew up above, pinpricks in the ocean that was the sky; as the sun advanced higher and higher in the clouds, Eric couldn't help but feel a little sleepy.

A sound up ahead broke Eric's chain of thought, slapping him back into reality. It sounded gruff and brusque, exactly like Blaze's bark. Breaking into a run, Eric found Blaze underneath a palm tree. He was barking menacingly at... the river? No, upon closer inspection, Eric found that he was actually looking at a Pokémon across the river, one that looked like a gigantic crab. Pulling out his Pokédex, he quickly scanned the creature:

Kingler, the Pincer Pokémon and the evolved form of Krabby. Its large pincer has 10,000- horsepower strength. However, it is so heavy, it is difficult to aim.

"Hmm, that's too bad, Blaze. It's on the other side of the river and the current is moving along pretty quick right now. Come on. Let's keep looking," Eric said down to Blaze. Looking disappointed and frustrated, the Growlithe turned away from the water's edge and resumed hiking up the river, sniffing like crazy all over again. Groaning, Eric rushed after him, doing his very best to keep up.

~~~

A little while later, after another few miles of hiking accomplished, Eric looked up to find that Blaze had finally stopped his sniffing. "What's the matter, Blaze?" Eric asked, looking down at his partner. The pup had gone rigid staring farther up the bank... And that's when Eric saw it. A green, reptile-like creature was running along the river's edge trailed by another trainer. Dang it! Eric thought. We can't catch the Pokémon then if it already belongs to another trainer!

At that very instant, Blaze rushed forward to meet up with the group as Eric trailed farther behind. Whenever he finally caught up, Eric found Blaze glaring straight into the eyes of the reptile they had seen. Pulling out his Pokédex yet again, Eric scanned the Pokémon:

Treecko, the Wood Gecko Pokémon. The soles of its feet are covered by countless tiny spikes, enabling it to walk on walls and ceilings.

Realizing that Blaze wanted to battle the Treecko, Eric looked up into the impassive face of the other trainer and decided against it. It'd be too much of a distraction right now. We came here to catch some Pokémon, not to get caught up in a fight. "Not now, Blaze," Eric called to his partner. Let's keep on looking for some more Pokémon, alright?" Turning away from the silent duo, Eric continued walking up the river...

[Ampharos_Dude]

The Lost Cities of Talas
The Archaeology Zone

The Isle of Talas

A desert island so large it's been classified a continent, Talas would be a barren wasteland if not for the Laos River snaking its winding trail from the far north-west corner of the island and throughout the land before rejoining the sea in the south-east province. A mixture of desolate wasteland and tropical jungle, the conditions are so harsh that very few dare to live here. Several nomadic tribes traverse the land, preferring to steer clear of populated areas, though many small villages can be found not too far from the river's edge. Most inhabitants of these villages are quite friendly, but there are the odd settlements whose residents are not at all welcoming, particularly of foreigners. The lost cities aren't the only places of interest in Talas, however, and it's these more isolated locations that have perked the interest of many a curious trainer. Guided tours are offered for those who wish to travel in groups, but the more adventurous trainers prefer to make their own way around.

Areas:

Sovereign Valley: A vast network of catacombs where only the most revered of ancient kings and queens were buried. Riches beyond your wildest dreams are rumoured to have been buried with them, and judging from what has been found so far this very well may be the case. All objects discovered have been taken to the Atlas Museum, but if you're lucky you may just stumble upon an undiscovered chamber that hasn't yet been emptied by an excavation crew or ransacked by looters.

"This is it! The Sovereign Valley!" Shiro shouted exitedly. He and Cherry had just arrived at their destination, and were now standing in front of an entrance to one of the catacombs.
"I wonder what kind of treasures there still are that await their finder?" Shiro fantasiced aloud, and you could almost see the imaginary crown he imagined sitting on his head.
"All hail King Shiro! Or pharaoh, that would sound nice! What do you think, Cherry?" Shiro asked curiously, while spinning round.
Cherry didn't like all this spinning around, and managed to jump off the latte brown child carrier that he was previously sitting in. She landed safely on the sand, but suddenly ran inside the entrance of the catacomb.

"Well, what do you think, Cherry?" Shiro asked once again as he stopped spinning.
"Ch-Cherry? Where are you? Cheeerryy!" Shiro shouted in panick, as the little Sunkern wasn't anymore in the child carrier placed in front of him.
He looked around for a while, but eventually he came to one conclusion; Cherry could only have hopped inside the nearby catacomb entrance.
"B-but it's so dark in there... I have to find some source of portable light, and fast!" Shiro decided, and started hurriedly looking around, starting from his backpack...

[John's Knight]

Could these be... updates?
INDEED THEY ARE!
Sorry for lateness - college can be a pain sometimes.
But alas, here they are.
Don't forget, size 1, dark orange, PROFILE LINK (in zones, you can post your signature (; ), and bold or CAPS LOCK your attacks - something I can easily notice.
Hope you enjoy.

------------------------------

pengyzu
Stepping up to the bully, both look at you dumbfounded, before Rod lets out a joyful laugh. “You’ve got guts, kid, I’ll give you that.” He remarks. “But this has nothing to do with you, so with all due respect, get lost.” Turning back to Tod, he continued his taunt. “So, you were about to give me your pokemon?”

The Corphish’s claw began glowing with greater intensity, the Crabhammer ready to be delivered. Your Ralts decides to act before he reacts however - his fist sparkling for a second, he freely rushes towards the crab pokemon, hitting him spot on before he could hurt the small trainer and his Lotad, both surprised at your attack.

“HEY!” Rod yelled, his glare now focused on you both. “If you want this much to battle, so be it. If you guys win, we’ll leave you all alone. If not, that Lotad there, and maybe your Ralts too, are mine. Corphish, get up!” As you run up to the little boy’s side and provide him some reassuring words, the battle officially begins, the crab pokemon Leering angrily at your pokemon, who freezes in his place. Had he done wrong provoking this Corphish, he begins to wonder, only to snap out of it with a rapid jet of Bubblebeam that makes him meet the ground. Rejoicing at his own attack, the Corphish’s happiness is brought to an end as he is hit again by a mighty Thunderpunch, Kara repeating his attack for a good hit.
“You’re better than Tod” Rod snarled. “Corphish, Harden your body, then follow some Bubbles to distract him and hit him hard with a furious Fury Cutter. Let’s finish this quickly.” The crab acknowledges the commands, as he begins to increase his defenses, hardening his shell.

What will you do?

------------------------------

uhhhhh
You made a good call returning your Aipom to your pokeball, after all who knew if that angry mob wouldn’t consider you and your monkey part of the stealing trio? Calling out to Foster, the prankster Shuppet, you order him to Knock Off the jewelry off the aipom’s hand, while you shout out to the crowd, warning them of what really was happening. The juggling duo stops their act; one glared at you furiously, while the other one was concernedly looking at the other stand. Your Shuppet was quick to act, rushing towards the thief and Knocking Off whatever he was grabbing at the moment. The third Aipom looks perplexed, he had been found out! All of them looking at each other, they give a small nod before beginning to run away, startled at having been found and having nothing to keep their metaphorical pockets full.

Satisfied at what you had prevented, you’re soon startled as one of the Aipom rushed towards you, circling around you chaotically before returning to the tops of the tens. Before returning to his getaway however, he looks back and glares at you once more – he most certainly did not enjoy you ruining their little scheme over there. What troubled you most, however, was what he had revealed to possess in his tail – a simple sphere, top red, and bottom white. A pokeball. Instinctively, you quickly run through your every possession, and freeze at what had happened – that was Gaspard’s pokeball. Once he notices you had figured it out, he continues his run, turning a quick right to a nearby alley, trying to get away from the Market.

What will you do?

------------------------------

takkupanda
Deciding to be the little girl’s knight in shining army, you quickly shout “Leave her alone! She meant no harm!”, putting yourself and Broly between the fallen girl and the angry stagbeetle. The Pinsir was not intimidated at all by your little fire pup, who begins to follow your commands with a mighty Roar, echoing throughout the garden. Even so, the bug was not startled – in fact, it appeared pumped to see a strong-looking opponent, menacingly moving its pincers.

“Are you okay, Miss? Everything will be fine now...” you tell the little girl, who gently patted her damaged pooch. “What happened out there? Why is it attacking you?”

Before she could answer, you notice Broly quickly opening his mouth, firing a quick array of small Embers, which upon contact make the Pinsir cry out in pain, that surely was a super effective move. The Pinsir was quick to retaliate however, serving its Revenge by punching the pup’s face, violently hitting the ground for some good damage. Broly tries to move away from the Pinsir so he could attack again, and gets away from the stag’s range, firing another quick round of Embers, again damaging the bug pokemon, that ought to have hurt!

“Your pokemon is quite strong!” the girl says, looking at you now. “My name’s Linda, and this is Pooch. We’ve been exploring this region for a while, so when we found ourselves a tad hungry, we picked a few berries from a nearby tree. Then, from out of nowhere, that… beast came out of nowhere, and started attacking us. We tried to get away, and we even returned the berries we took – we assumed it was guarding that tree, or something like that. But…it was just too strong for us… And now…Pooch…”
Her watery eyes quickly focused on the stagbeetle again - unfortunately, it appeared that it was not only Broly who had a super-effective-type move. The Pinsir starts to gather his energy on its hand, a slightly brown hue glow engulfing it, before it was thrown towards the Growlithe. Slow to react, he cries out in agony, as he was Smacked Down by the Pinsir’s rock type attack, who grinned in amusement. It surely had a few tricks up its sleeve, and it wasn’t going to let you go anywhere soon.

What will you do?

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Trainer Andy (note: she didn’t introduce herself because I forgot to do it xD my mistake)
“Excellent!” Phil quickly exclaimed, vigorously shaking your hand. “Ok, let’s go now, no time to waste – we surely don’t want to stay over there when the sun sets.” Turning to his wife, he continued, a big smile on his face. “Alice, off we go then!” She returned his goofy smile, and picked two pokeballs from her belt, before throwing them towards the lake, calling out “Dora, Nora, come out!”

The lights quickly materialized into two majestic Lapras, while another flash appeared from out of nowhere, having being called out by Phil. “Mestre, it’s your turn now!” he said, as the light materialized into a fighting Medicham, who greeted you all with a small, gentle bow. Both Phil and Mestre quickly hopped into one of the Lapras’ shell, as Alice quickly invited you to go with her on her other Lapras. “Don’t worry about getting ‘lakesick’ – it will be quick and smooth!” she calms you, helping you get up into Nora’s shell.

“Towards Rapa, NOW!” Phil eagerly exclaimed, and Alice was right – those Lapras sure were fast. The gentle breeze you had once felt was gone, and if you were wearing a cap, you would have lost it in the first second for sure. “I spot trouble already” Alice says, although her voice didn’t quite show the concern her words apparently did. Both Lapras stop synchronously, as two mighty creatures emerge in front of them, creating a huge splash. Indeed, that couple of Gyarados were certainly not good friends of them, as they both roared violently at you.

“Oh, already?” Phil said, before turning to his pokemon. “Mestre, take care of the left one. I’ll leave the other one to you Andy!”

You certainly had a problem in front of you, both beasts roaring violently at the intruders. What will you do?

------------------------------

gmoyes
You are quick to act, both your Magnemite and Bronzor ready to take action against the rampaging Rampardos. The magnet pokemon is the first to attack, emitting a sharp noise that would distract any and everyone – except the Rampardos, who continues to dash forward as if nothing had been heard, quickly closing the distance. Next in line was your Bronzor, its eyes glowing blue, trying to make the furious dino fall asleep. Alas, it did nothing as well, and while everyone had already hid themselves in defense, you continue to be in the way of the fully awaken beast. You courageously stand your ground (or were you paralyzed in fear?), and your pokemon use their last resort move, firing a Thundershock and a Confusion at the Rampardos, who stood a mere few feet from you. Would it work, or would it be the last thing you would see in your life – a rampaging supposed-to-be-extinct pokemon? Well, that wasn’t such a bad last-thing-to-see-alive, was it?...

For your and everyone’s surprise, as your attacks meet the pre-historical pokemon, it disappears into thin air, just as it had appeared. As soon as it disappeared, Dr. Foster rushed into the hall, looking rather disturbed for some seconds before eventually breathing out in relief. “Oh thank goodness, no one is hurt!” she says, looking at everyone. “I’m so sorry for the spook; one of our scientists lost control of one of the computers for some seconds, and created a hologram of a Rampardos, which unfortunately was created here. I hope everyone is okay, and in behalf of our Research Lab, I apologize.”

“Now, thanks to that crazy Bob, we lost our element of surprise. As you can see, we can create holograms of fossil pokemon, thanks to the magical and wonderful advances in technology. Plus, what you saw here wasn’t even 10% of our possibilities. If the computer created a “real” hologram, you would be in a real life battle right now, Mr…?”

You quickly answer “Alex”. Smiling at you, she continues “Mr. Alex. It was nice of you to use your pokemon to defend yourself and the others, and I salute you and appreciate what you’ve done.”

Returning to the crowd, she continues “I don’t know if there are many pokemon trainers in here, but-”; she was interrupted when maybe more than half the crowd raised their hands, showing they were indeed trainers. Dr Foster seemed to be extremely happy, as she tried to stop her giggles. “Excellent. Then I think you will be happy to know that we are hosting a special Tournament here. The prizes will be very good to your tastes, I’m sure. And, to give it a special touch, in farther rounds, we will allow you to use some of our fossil pokemon!”

Her last words seemed surprise everyone in there, as they quickly started blabbering about it. “If you want to participate, there is an inscription sheet over there, near the Hall Entrance, and all you have to do is put your name there. For those who don’t, there are many activities left on the Research Lab, so please feel free to join me as we continue our tour”.

As she finishes, you see many trainers rushing their way into the entrance, signing their names. What will you do?

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Flame Mistress
Despair was beginning to run through your veins, as many ideas flashed before your eyes, trying to counter the solar pokemon’s attacks. None seemed to be quite ideal to deal with such an enemy, and you decide there was only one option left – running away. As for its ‘safety’ - you would find out soon enough.

“Fire Spin”

Those last two words echoed through the temple, shortly followed by a rampaging wall of fire summoned in front of you as you ran down the stairs. The wall quickly enclosed the temple, the fierce vortex of fire ensuring no one would enter the area – nor leave it.

“You, who appeared so fierce a while ago…” the masked man said, with a tad of disappointment in his voice. “You are a coward after all. And I do not care for such low-lives. To use them as tributes to our God would be simply shameful.”

The Solrock’s eyes continued glowing red, but now it was not a simple flame that stood in front of it – a bright white orb was charged in front of him, sparkling often with tremendous power. The Hyper Beam was known to be a devastating attack – and this one appeared to be even more deadly than its non-godly-blessed counterpart. The fire vortex continued to engulf the area, your shadows flickering in the ground as the flames moved at great speed. There was no way out.

“Kill them.”

What will you do?

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King Ghidorah
Giving further commands to your pokemon, he nods, acknowledging understanding of your orders. Beginning with the classic decoy tactic, he would surely show that Buizel what he was made of. ‘Dashing’ forwards, he falsely tries to aim at the otter’s throat, but having seen that attack before, he simply steps to the side with his stunning speed, before trying to Quick Attack his opponent. However, what he didn’t expect was Krabby’s enhanced defenses, as he Hardened his shell, decreasing the damage done. It didn’t quite work as you expected, but Krabby’s increased defenses would certainly come in handy.

The crab continues to amaze, as he quickly Slammed his claw upon the otter’s face, slamming it against the water – had it been the ground, certainly the damage would be much worse. The otter reacts instinctively, backing away from the Krabby before he could attack again, that had hurt! The crab had continued following your commands, and began showing his Agility, slightly increasing his speed. Increased speed and defenses, now let’s see what the otter can do!

And quickly he shows his prowess. He runs at the crab with incredible speed – wait, he actually appeared faster than before! Krabby wasn’t the only one who knew how to improve his Agility, as the otter rapidly reached the crab, hitting him twice with his tail for some damage. Thanks to the previous Harden, the Double Hit wasn’t so bad to take, but the Buizel continued his assault, firing a barrage of dashing sparkling stars at the Krabby, Swiftly doing some damage.

What will you do?

------------------------------

CyberBlastoise
This was certainly an interesting battle, and you call out orders to your Blastoise, hoping there would be no problem with it. If he was capable of performing them, however, that was another issue. Being the bigger man in this fight, he’s first to react, trying to focus his little psychic energies on his forehead – but to no avail. He simply could not perform the move – almost as if he did not know it?

Using your own and your pokemon’s temporary flabbergast to its own use, the small Petilil is quick to act, Rapidly Spinning towards the big turtle, hitting him at great speed. For such a small pokemon, it had actually hurt a bit! Time to return the favor, as Silver tries to mimic the Petilil, beginning to swirl before entering his shell, he would show him what a Rapid Spin was… had he been able to perform it, as he spinning shell fell to the ground, making a big thud. You look in shock at your pokemon - what just happened?

The Petilil continued its assault, summoning a small orb of energy in front of it, kind of grayish in hue. Fully charging it, the grass pokemon fired what seemed like a Flash Cannon, hitting the tortoise pokemon just as he was ‘leaving’ his shell, exploding upon contact. Thanks to type resistance, the damage was somewhat reduced, but that was a heavy attack to take!

It was PayDay, I mean, payback time – but alas, nothing came out of his attempts to perform such attack – all those three orders you gave, it’s almost as if he had never learned them, as if they did not belong to his natural movepool. The same should be said about the Petilil, obviously, as it finished its assault showing off his Swagger, mocking the Blastoise’s failed attempts to attack him. Silver was simply furious right now, how dared it mock him? He felt an increase in attack power, but with great power, comes great respons- I mean confusion.
What will you do?

------------------------------

JustAnotherUser
As soon as the man gave out orders to Afiar, you quickly followed suit, hoping for your plan to succeed. While the Excadrill was Honing its Claws, the Joltik moved forward with stunning speed, thanks to his increased Agility. Reaching the drill pokemon, he hoped to Tickle him, distracting him while Terrance charged his Energy Ball. But the plan failed miserably. With his newfound increased power – and accuracy – Afiar Slashes him, the Joltik hitting the floor with tremendous violence. You quickly call out his name, but obtained no response, as he stood there motionless, having been knocked out by Afiar.

“One down, one more to go.” The man grinned, as the Excadrill continued his orders, dashing forward before spinning rapidly, ready to perform its next attack. Terrance stood his ground, firing away a powerful Energy Ball at his opponent – how dared he do that to Zapz, he would avenge him! But it was to no avail, as he Drills through the orb, dissipating its small explosion as if he had hit nothing, and Running against the Turtwig. The attack was so fast that you didn’t even see Terrance get sent flying by your side, being smashed at the wall that stood behind you. You turn around, and as the dust settled from such a powerful attack, you see the impact made by your pokemon against the wall, slowly crumbling from its center where the force had been certainly greater. On the floor now also stood your trusty Terrance, painfully trying to get up, before the Excadrill stomped him with his foot, taking away the last breath of air he had left in him, now knocked out.

“A valiant effort.” the man said. “But I’m afraid this is the end. Afiar, you know what to do.”

What will you do?