OPEN | Each time, you try Gonna get just a little bit better

[namesaquestion]

WHO: Nikolai, Archie + YOU!
WHERE: Heropa; the park with the lake.
WHEN: A week after Niko arrives, but before the Swear-in.
WHAT: A pokemon battle between Archie and Nikolai! Spectaors very welcome.
WARNINGS: It's a pokemon battle. Likely referances to Niko's treatment of his team.


[Nikolai arrived early, if only to clearly mark off a section of the park for the pokemon battle. He's waited a week for this -to rub his crobat in Archie's face- and like any good rival, his themesong's playing at a reasonable volume as he tosses a greatball up and down.

The smirk he gives when Archie shows is a touch cruel, but it doesn't quite reach his eyes as he swaps the 'ball out for his starter's pokeball.]

Figured we should get the water-types out of the way first. So. Ready to lose?

[He'd save the gatr for last, but - that's for crobat, today.]

Comments

THE BATTLE

[namesaquestion]

[h2no]

[archie doesn't comment on niko's taunting-- ignoring it as he usually does. wordlessly after he arrives, he tosses out sharpedo and wailmer's balls to the water. they both materialise, though wailmer won't be fighting. she bobs backwards out the way and sharpedo swims forward, eyeing niko suspiciously.]

You don't get them out the way. They're just as much a part of your team as any others.

[he's already unimpressed and ready to call this off, honestly.]

[namesaquestion]

Awww boo hoo. Whatever. [I know that! is what he'd much rather snap, but he doesn't, even if his eyes darken and free hand fists. No. Words mean nothing - actions speak louder than words and Archie'll think what he wants up until the crobat is shoved in his face.

In a suitably dramatic manner, which this is not, yet.

So the feraligatr's sent out in a burst of light with a snap of his jaws. It looks stronger.]. Target's the shark, now hit it a screech!

[He's also moving before Niko finishes the order.]

[h2no]

[sharpedo roars as feraligatr comes out, though it's more of a "welcome to the battlefield" roar than one meant to intimidate. it did miss its water buddy, even if they never really managed to socialise properly!

the screech hits and sharpedo is disorientated by it for a moment, losing some of its defense in the process. archie notes that feraligatr actually moves as niko is ordering it, not after. seems like some of that natural instinct's come back, huh? archie doesn't realise it, but seeing feraligatr respond normally makes a tiny amount of tension ease out of his posture.]

Hang in there, Sharpedo. Hit him with a Poison Fang! [again, sharpedo roars, though this time to actually intimidate as it surges forward in the water, jaws wide open to latch onto the closest part of feraligatr it can reach.]

[namesaquestion]

[Which happens to be the tail/hind leg area. Thankfully there's no poisoning, though a bellow of pain's loosed. Niko's jaw still sets, but he holds back from any nasty comments. He needs to think of his pokemon more, not let his temper and ego win out.] Slash!

[Again, the pokemon's a bit ahead of Niko as it twists to deliver the attack.]

[h2no]

[despite sharpedo's speed, he doesn't manage to quite avoid the attack. archie doesn't order him to-- sharpedo knows to. he sees feraligatr responding like a normal pokémon again... that wasn't a fluke.

sharpedo is knocked back by the gatr's claws and uses the momentum to backpeddle. archie takes a few seconds to think about what he even wants to do next-- he's so out of practice.]

Waterfall it, Sharpedo!

[archie himself is getting a little more animated as the battle goes on.]

AFTER BATTLE

[namesaquestion]

[Once the battle's done and dusted, a neer preening and puffed up Niko'll hang around for a bit. He did rub his crobat in Archie's face with a win after all. He's entitled to smugness.

The pokemon are out as well, all of them much more at ease around their trainer. Sneasel and Feraligatr relax together near the lake once Nikolai's given them their max revives and off-handed pats and low 'good work's.

Crobat takes to strutting around and soaking up any and all attention. Sometimes even butting against Niko with a happy chitter even though annoyed grunts and off-handed pets result.

The gengar... Anyone approaching Nikolai himself at any time will feel a literal drop in temperature around him (10f/5c) and find red eyes watching from Niko's shadow. A shadow Nikolai is keenly aware of.]

[h2no]

[without the items from home to fix up his own pokémon, archie takes a few minutes out to heal them all up with his porter-given powers. as conflicted as he is over them, it's good he can use them on his team. sharpedo is happy to bob about in the water with wailmer, who rejoined them after the battle. the whale pokémon burbles to the other ones, concerned for them and trying to socialise.

archie stays crouching near mightyena when it jumps back up, licking over his face in its own concern. he's facing away from niko and stays like that for a good five minutes. eventually he stands up with a sigh and holds out a $20 note. half of what he has on him; thems the rules.]

Well done, [is all he says, looking over towards the crobat and gengar.]

[namesaquestion]

[Feraligatr yawns, moving a bit closer to the water, mindful of the sneasel on it's back. There's a faint hint of curiosity about the baby whale but otherwise, the croc is more happy to be lazy.

The offered money's taken and pocketed with a smirk before he shrugs, not bothering to look at either pokemon near him, even though his shadow waves and crobat's ears twitch as it puffs up smugly.] Tch. They could have done better, but I guess it was OK.

[h2no]

[fortunately, archie's pokémon are on the same wavelength. they chatter to the two of niko's team, but they're content to float around lazily as well.

mightyena stays with archie, though he hasn't yet released his crobat. he shakes his head, pulling something out of his pocket-- a wrapped up baseball cap. it's purple, the same purple gengar would've been as a haunter. he holds it out to the shadow.]

Here. I got this a couple weeks ago. Made me think of you.

[namesaquestion]

[Lazy buddies are the best! Eventually, the feraligatr'll ditch the sneasel to join it's water brethren, if only to be a lazy blue log of a crocodilian. This kind of hanging with other pokemon it can get behind.

Both Niko and Shiko - crobat seem to stop breathing for a second or two. It's less that they don't trust the ghost and more at what Archie's just done.] Don't do that again unless it's offered through the trainer.

[There's a hint of worry-fear-anger-are-you-mad?! in his voice, but Nikolai forges on anyway, tone deliberately neutral and face blank as he takes the hat, then offers it to his shadow. It's less a fuck you and more

Safety (and a hefty bit of paranoia about being judged if he messes shit up right now).]

Take it but if you ruin it, you won't ever get another.

[The cap's taken - and there's a gengar up to the ':>' grin in the shadow - with a purple hat.]

[h2no]

[archie gives niko an odd look-- opens his mouth like he's about to say something but shakes his head and closes it. is niko scared of his own pokémon? that can't be good. yet he can see the kid trading for a gengar for the power without realising exactly what owning one would mean. archie just sighs.]

It's alright, Gengar. You're still adorable. [he says with a little smile to the shadow, though it's tinged somewhat with unease. he doesn't think of gengar as too wildly different from when it was a haunter, but... this could just go so wrong so fast, and the poor thing would suffer for it.

well, only time will tell. archie tosses out his crobat's ball. the bat materialises and lands heavily, staring flatly at niko's crobat.]

You'll let them fly together, this time?

[queenofseers]

[ What the fuck did she just watch.

Honestly, why did she even come? This was high on the list of most stressful shit she's ever seen in her life. She approaches Niko afterward with her arms outstretched in a bit of an oversized shrug. ]

Do you people seriously do that all the time? How are you not destroying things left and riiiiight...

[ Yeah, she just saw Gengar. So now she's stopped dead, staring at Niko's shadow. Today is wild. ]

[namesaquestion]

[A high-level pokemon battle that's tame compared to what could happen.

Even so, there's a bit of a dead-eye stare.]

Hmph. How do you live with superpowers? [No chance to reply.] Not every pokemon battle is as ground-shaking and shattering as this. We typically aim to be either in parks or arena made for battle, or outside city or town limits. I guess you could have one indoors, but you will make a mess. I've seen level one pokemon mess up a room without meaning to.

[His eyes flick between the woman and his pokemon.] ..Show yourself, Gengar.

[The pokemon does. It's 4'07 and hanging back behind its trainer, completely at ease unlike Nikolai, who now has a pokeball in an iron grip.] Gengar. Evolved form of haunter ... and an apex predator in my world.

[queenofseers]

Yeah, I can imagine...

[ Not the focus of the conversation now, though. Gengar's simultaneously more and less scary than Cassandra expected- it's got big eyes and teeth, but it's also kind of little and blobby, in her opinion. It doesn't surprise her that it's a predator, though. She raises her eyebrows, scrutinizing a little bit. ]

How exactly do you get a hold of an apex predator, then? Particularly one that seems very interested in hiding out and terrifying people?

[namesaquestion]

[There's a level look, as if he's weighing his words.]

It does it because it's [Play-hunting, but fuck if Niko's going to admit that.] what it does. It also likes my shadow. Has since I traded Haunter so it could become Gengar.

[Even with the odd hitch on 'Gengar', the ghost nods in agreement. It's trainer's shadow is the best.]

Post-battle

[darkpants_warmfeeling]

[This is the face of a spectator who doesn't know what the fuck he just watched, but is pretty sure it wasn't good. After the fray, Jacob steps forward, sounding concerned.]

So... is everyone still okay? Trainers, Pokemon?

[namesaquestion]

[And this is the smug, excited, smug face of a boy who's absolutely not about to let Archie live down that breakdown anytime soon.]

Hmph. Mine are. Don't know about Archie. Some trainer he is if he broke down like that.

[darkpants_warmfeeling]

[Jacob looks down at the kid, glaring.]

Not a big fan of grace in victory, are you?

[namesaquestion]

[He meets the glare with a level look. Riding the high of victory here or not, he's grown somewhat.]

It's true though. A better trainer than him wouldn't have broken down. Kris might be a weakling, but she didn't break down when I showed the 'bat off. Besides, this my first win here.

[He waves his hand in dismissal before digging out one of his remaining max revives from his sky-blue bag. Yes it clashes, no he doesn't care.] These things revive a pokemon so they're fighting fit.

[darkpants_warmfeeling]

[Things Jacob does not care about: whether max revives clash with that bag.]

I don't know who Kris is. Not sure if I should care. You could have called a time-out when you saw Archie was in trouble. These matches are just a sport, right?

[h2no]

[it's archie's crobat who hops over to jacob-- it seems like the bat has taken quite a liking to him after that training exercise. it chitters happily to him, likely trying to talk to him about the battle in its own language. archie follows eventually, still looking quite a lot freaked out.]

Yeah, we're good. That was just about standard-- y'should see the actual League battles.

[a pause. he winces.]

Please don't put that on my record? [that short time he was shrieking....]

[darkpants_warmfeeling]

I won't. Don't worry.

[Jacob smiles down at crobat, wondering if he should offer his hand for a greeting like he would with mightyena, before refocusing on Archie.]

But I would like to know what happened there.

[h2no]

[fortunately, crobat just grins at jacob before taking off to excitedly chitter in niko's crobat's face. archie crosses his arms like jacob in the icon and watches, frowning.]

It... there were two things, actually.

[he watches the two crobats.]

Having a Crobat is... a monumental achievement. They don't really occur naturally in the wild-- when they do it's exceptionally rare. They're only capable of evolving after forging a sufficient bond with their trainer. Given Nikolai treated his team so poorly before, if he's managed to change enough to actually get his Golbat to evolve... [archie closes his eyes, exhales.] It's a good thing. I wasn't really upset when I saw it. I just didn't really know how to react, because I never thought...

[and archie being archie, emotional confusion = yelling.]

The other thing is the Gengar. [he nods towards the ghost type following niko's shadow.] The other big purple thing. They can be amongst the most dangerous Pokémon back home. I hope he knows how to control it, and that it listens to him.

[darkpants_warmfeeling]

Hear that, Crobat? You're a monumental achievement.

[Jacob calls after crobat- Archie's crobat as it departs. Then he looks to the ghost-type. He's never seen anything like it before.]

How dangerous could Gengar be if it doesn't listen to him? Or even if it does?

[Based on what Jacob's seen of Nikolai, he doesn't think he can take it for granted that he won't use his Pokemon in harmful ways.]