ITT: We are all Pokémon Trainers

Ever Grande City

Steven's Chamber

-Steven sends out a Cradily-

Ever: ...Really? It's been a long time since I've seen one of those... I wonder how Silent's doing these days...

Steven: Fossil Pokemon are somewhat of a passion of mine, but they're by no means interesting for scientific reasons alone. Cradily, Confuse Ray.

Ever: Oh, hell.

Cradily: <The Lord Kyogre shall have his sacrifice.>

-his tendrils rotate in a hypnotic way, and Marmalade lands slowly, entirely entranced-

Ever: The goggles do nothing, huh?

Marmalade: <Heh heh. Do.>

Ever: ...

Steven: Cradily, Giga Drain.

Ever: Marmalade, Earthquake.

Marmalade: <Heh heh, laid.>

-instead of using Earthquake, Marmalade attempts to chew on the Stealth Rocks, perhaps inspired by the general desire to break things. As a consequence, she both hurts her jaw and is struck by the Giga Drain-

Ever: Great.

Steven's Chamber

-Ever looks at his remaining team, makes a quick decision, and sends out Spathi-

Spathi: -yelps- <Stealth Rock, Ever? Really?!>

Ever: I didn't exactly have much of a choice as to my opponent's move decisions.

Spathi: <Well, at least this should be a quick fight.>

Steven: Ancient Power, Cradily.

Cradily: <I call upon the boons granted me by my Lord Kyogre...>

-the rocks around him start to vibrate-

Ever: Spathi, climb, now!

Spathi: <Climbing.>

-he shoots for the ceiling as the floor explodes, and a mix of rocks and sonic waves bombard the spot he used to occupy-

Spathi: <Who would have thought a glorified flower would put up this much of a fight?>

Ever: Yeah, I'm a little shocked myself. Fire Blast.

Spathi: <Done and done.>

-as flames flicker in his maw, Ever surreptitiously points-

Steven: Cradily, another Ancient Power!

-as the Cradily makes use of the Power of Rock in several senses, Spathi launches his attack. Not at the Cradily, but at the Stealth Rocks littering Ever's side of the field. The rocks are heated to a glow just as the Ancient Power connects, and they are almost instantly splattered across the battlefield (Ever and Steven both diving to the side). Spathi is struck by a small spatter, but shrugs and brushes it off. The Cradily, on the other hand...-

Cradily: <Augh! The curse of Groudon has found its way here! LORD KYOGRE, SAVE ME!>

-is struck by an astonishing amount of molten stone-

Spathi: <Well, he's not in at the moment, but I'm sure I can provide some assistance.>

-and he knocks the Cradily unconscious with a Dragon Claw-

League Viewing Area

Fletcha: <Ah, cool.>

<He seems to be doing well, with a lot of effective improvised moves from both sides.>

edited 7th Oct '15 7:02:53 PM by BaconManiac5000

League Viewing Area

Sholto: <Yeah, it's pretty interesting.>

<Hope he wins, though.>

-He checks his phone-

Sholto: <Hm...>

Ever Grande City, yesterday

Spiny: <You look tough, but I'm tougher... I think.>

Spiny: <Can I bite him?>

Mezzo: Yes, you can bite him. Go for another Crunch.

Spiny: <Woo!> -chomp-

Hoenn Pokémon League, now

Mezzo: Come on, Ever, you can do this...

Ever Grande - yesterday

-Overkill is attacked by the Sharpedo and a decent amount of health is taken off-

Overkill: <You could be right, but I'm no pushover!>

-he then fires a burst of paralyzing electricity at Spiny-

Victory Road, past

-Focuses, and once again images appear before me-

Mindscape

-A grave in the Unovan forest between the rest of the region and Anville Town-

I couldn't do anything, just watch as my friends got injured, and Anom's Yanmega paid the ultimate price to protect him. I'm kinda glad Hecate ended up leaving Crewe to be honest, just being around her gave me the creeps. I promised on Yanmega's grave that I wouldn't let my friends get hurt again, but that's happened plenty over the last four years.

-And sky turns red-

I should've tracked down Neptune and prevented the Oblivia mural prophecy from coming to pass.

-A warehouse bursts into flames-

I created or rather reverse-engineered Heat Shield, and Helios and I will have to live with that for the rest of our lives.

-Tracer, DS, and Luke get thrown around by telekinesis-

I was weak and Swindle taking my cynical aspect allowed him to take control of me and my mons.

-A smug Absol, and Vyvyan mutating into a Rayquaza-

I was a fool, I trusted her and Vyvyan fell into the hands of the Ozealots, who knows what they would've done with him had we not raided their airship...

-A Keystone of unusual size absorbing Obscura as I get shot in the back with a Dark Pulse by a certain Obscura sorceror-

I foolishly allowed An-noski to be revived and got Sinnoh covered in Twilight. I don't even know how many people died on planes over Sinnoh when the electronics went out.

-A dying Dusknoir informs my group about the fall of Necropolis to the Unity's forces-

All those mons, all dead because of my mercy. I know on some level it probably wouldn't have made a difference ultimately if we'd managed to stop those three from escaping, the Unity would've still crushed Necropolis in reprisal, but perhaps more could've escaped in the time it took to get word back to their leaders. Even Set, and he was kind of a jerk. There's only two people who even know about what happened not named Tracer, and Sol isn't one of them.

-Collapses at the Ghetsis Stick-

I knew Ghetsis had escaped from prison, but I chose to keep that to myself as we went on vacation so that we could get a rest from saving the world. How wrong I was...

-The infamous VBT, and an infamous snuff film-

I let my desire for revenge make me throw aside everything my mons and I have ever stood for, and Lucius and Alice were murdered when I should've been killed instead.

Realspace

-Is sweating profusely once again-

Ever Grande, today

-Does a quick check off the Mega Stone book-

edited 7th Oct '15 7:21:01 PM by rmctagg09

Pokemon League, past

-Everyone cheers at Sholto's victory-

Rougeport Inn, last night

-Nico is lying in bed, staring at the ceiling-

Nico: That Smorg... I thought I was so close to doing it in... but it beat me senseless the next second with no effort...

-he sighs-

I was getting confident... I've faced foe after foe in this whole adventure and won... But it's still not enough... Whatever's next will be even stronger and I'll stand even less of a chance, even with everyone else involved...

-he closes his eyes-

Maybe I should just embrace the weakling and coward I am. No more Crystal Stars, no more J-Team, no more Team Umbra... No more Maggie... She wouldn't want a boyfriend like me anyway...

-He finally drifts off to sleep...-

Nico's Dream

-only to seemingly be knocked awake by the strike of a staff to his head-

Nico: AGH! -rubs his head-

???: Figured since my old Metagross told you who the hell I am, I figured I'd step in on your little existential crisis. No descendant of mine's running off on a world-ending crisis like a lily-livered Ratatta!

-Nico realizes he's in a strange plane of misty haze... And standing before him is a blonde, green-eyed woman in full Aura Guardian regalia.-

Nico: Wait... Your old Metagross... I'm your descendant... You're...

Polly: Yep. Polly Pteryx, Psychic Aura Guardian of the Genesis Mountains Aura Guardians, and your very own ancestor... Who's sick of your self-defeating bullshit!

Nico: H-Huh?

Polly: Don't act all stuttery and confused with me, whelp! You full well know you have psychic power that surpasses what even I had at your age, you can hold your own in a Pokemon battle and have a pretty varied and powerful team, and you've fought all the baddies of this Crystal-Star-collectathon and have mostly succeeded... And you're gonna let one abomination taking you by surprise convince you to give up?

Nico: But...

-he hangs his head-

I... I've never amounted to anything in the J-Team even with my powers and my Pokemon... And if the Smorg beat me at this point who knows what's next?

-Polly sighs and places a hand on her forehead-

Polly: Kid, I understand how you feel. You feel outclassed and overshadowed by all the rest of the J-Team, especially when the main ones you hang out are the Ghost Lord, the Crimson Lady, the Heroine of the Sun, and the human embodiment of the Lunar Pendant. Oh, and that twerp who's apparently from a video game and used to be an unholy dragon god or some shit. But that's not the point!

Nico: -frowns- Robin's not a twerp... But what is the point?

Polly: The point is-

-A Dunsparce suddenly emerges from the "ground" of the dreamscape-

Dunsparce: <Ooh, is this that descendant of yours? He looks shrimpy.>

Polly: -grits her teeth- Dunsparce, not now.

Dunsparse: <Can we hit him with a cactu->

Polly: Dunsparce! This is fucking important! Go away!

Dunsparce: <Hmph. Party pooper.>

-She burrows away again as Polly rubs her temples-

Polly: Sorry about her, she's not really... Right in the head.

Nico: ...Noted. ._.

Polly: Anyway, the point is you don't have to exceed them or even be like them in any way! You're you! You should focus on your own potential to be a hero instead of comparing yourself to everybody else! And I met many heroes in my life, including some of the greatest of all time! And from that I know full well you have all the potential to be one unlike any other.

Nico: -smiles- Thank you...

-he quickly frowns again-

My Psychic powers... I finally used them in a real fight against the Smorg and did good at first only to get creamed just as quickly... I'm not sure what to do there...

Polly: You ever heard of "practice", kid? I've heard rumors it apparently makes perfect.

-Nico thinks to himself, then nods.-

Nico: I'll do that, sure thing.

Polly: Good. But one bit of advice from me?

Nico: Oh?

Polly: You seem to already have some talent for one aspect of physical psychic combat; using telekinesis to improvise weapons from your surroundings, and you should certainly hone that. But given your strength seems to lie in more physical combat... Have you tried other aspects of that?

Nico: ...Like what?

-Polly smirks as two pink, scythelike energy blades extend from slits in her gloves just above her wrists-

Polly: Like that.

Nico: ...Holy crap. ._.

Polly: -retracts the blades- It's a variation of Psycho Cut. For learning how to use it... Try concentrating that sheer psychic force you use to grab and swing shit around and concentrate on focusing it physically through your wrists. It'll take a lot of that "practice" hooey I mentioned earlier but it'll pay off.

Nico: -nods vigorously- Thanks!

Polly: Now... One thing I've been saving for last...

Nico ...Oh?

Polly: Nico... I deeply admire, respect and support your desire to be a hero and make a name for yourself in this world... But at the same time, you've got what being a hero's all about completely wrong!

Nico: Huh?! What is it all about?

Polly: I'm not the one to answer that question, kiddo. But I can tell you this: Look to your friends in the J-Team. Look to all those who you helped - or helped you - through this whole adventure you've been having over the past year. Look to that pink-haired chick you hooked up with. They all are the key to the answer, in more ways than one.

Nico: Wait, I don-

Polly: Sorry, wakey wakey time for you.

-she whacks his head with her staff again...-

Rougeport Inn, this morning

-And Nico wakes up, bright and early in the morning, utterly dazed and confused-

Thoughts?

Pokemon Leauge, now

-Everyone's watching Every actually fight Steven-

edited 7th Oct '15 8:46:39 PM by Umbramatic

Ever Grande City, yesterday

Spiny: <Ack!>

-Spiny tries to move his mouth, but it appears stuck-

Mezzo: Clever. Okay, Spiny, try a Night Slash!

-Spiny dashes in a circle around Overkill, trying to slash him with his outer fins-

Victory Road

Salvador: Accept the reality that these things happened, but do not let them poison your spirit and throw you into madness. If you are to be a positive influence in this world, you need to forgive yourself.

Steven's Chamber

Steven: Not bad at all. Not only did you defeat Cradily, but you got rid of the Stealth Rock. Armaldo, you're up.

Armaldo: <When I found myself here, I had a number of questions.>

Steven: I could replace the rocks, of course, but it doesn't seem worthwhile at this point.

Armaldo: <Why was the sun so dull? Why was the air so heavily oxygenated?>

Steven: Armaldo, end this quickly. Stone Edge.

Armaldo: <Why were all these useless, spined creatures cluttering up the space?>

-he slashes across the ground, heaving a massive chunk of stone into the air-

Armaldo: <Let's eliminate part of the problem together.>

-and he pitches it end-over-end at Spathi, knocking the Salamence out of the sky-

Ever: ...Whoa.

Steven: You're down to one. Let's see how you get yourself out of this.

Victory Road, past

TW: Suicide mention

I don't know Salvador, perhaps I should've put an end to me like I wanted to the night before Cyrus' plans went into motion years ago, let your father take my head...

League Viewing Area

Fletcha: <I hope he wins too!> -smiles-

<Though he seems to be in a bit of a tight spot at the moment...>

-Fletcha also checks his phone-

edited 7th Oct '15 7:27:30 PM by Fletcha

Steven's Chamber

Ever: Well, I suppose it comes down to this. Ephemera, let's do this thing.

Ephemera: -Ambipom-

Steven: I'll admit, I kind of expected you to lead with her. She doesn't really seem like the finishing type.

Ephemera: -ZYGARDE-

Ever: ...Yeah. Let's not, and say we did. Charge Beam, Ephemera.

Steven: Armaldo, X-Scissor.

Armaldo: <Of all the squishy creatures that have overrun my planet, I think I like cats the least.>

-Ephemera forms a Magneton and blasts the Armaldo with a stream of lightning as he charges her, before sliding between his feet and off to one side-

Ephemera: -Tauros-

Armaldo: <I can't say I'm fond of those either.>

Ever: Charge Beam, again.

-Ephemera, once more, fires electricity at the Armaldo, who grunts in annoyance-

Steven: You can finish this, Armaldo. X-Scissor, lower to the ground, and be prepared to shift targets.

Ever: -grins- Ephemera, hydra's back. And don't pretend not to get it this time, please.

Ephemera: -Unown Y-

-as the Armaldo charges, Ephemera launches straight up. The Armaldo adjusts its angle of slashing, grazing Ephemera, but she manages to roll with the strike, and digs her claws into the Armaldo's head-

Ever: And end this. One more Charge Beam, for luck.

Ephemera: -Zapdos-

-and she blasts the Armaldo unconscious-

Steven: Not bad at all. Remember, of course, that I have one more Pokemon. Metagross, prepare for battle.

Metagross: -landing on the field with four audible thumps- <A cat. You trust in your trainer, yes?>

Ephemera: -Y-

Metagross: <We will see if such a decision is wise. I trust in my trainer completely, and the wisdom of that decision has been determined through a hundred conflicts. Not once has he failed to guide me truly, and I do not believe he is going to break his streak. Prepare for the hardest battle of your life, cat.>

Ephemera: -Machamp-

Metagross: <Good, there is courage in you. Now, will it withstand me?>

Steven: My bonds with my Pokemon are harder than diamond! Though you know, diamonds do break from time to time. I should really get a better comparison. Allow me to demonstrate one manifestation of our connection!

-he touches his hand to his Key Stone, and the Metagrossite around the Metagross's leg starts to shine-

Ephemera: -...-

Ever: ...

Ephemera: -Skuntank-

Ever: I feel similarly.

Ever Grande

-he is hit with the Night Slash, which does some damage-

Overkill: <Alright, now for my ultimate technique! ADAMANTIUM RAGE!>

-his body glows a bright red and he starts thrashing around in Spiny's general direction-

Ever Grande

edited 7th Oct '15 7:29:34 PM by BaconManiac5000

Steven's Chamber

Steven: I do hope you're prepared for this.

Ever: As prepared as I will likely ever be.

Steven: Good. Metagross, Meteor Mash.

Ever: Double Team!

-Ephemera summons dustcopies of herself, shuffling into them as the Metagross charges. The blow strikes one of the copies, harmlessly dissipating it-

Steven: Not bad at all, but you can't win by deception alone. Metagross, use Agility.

Metagross: -placing all four palms together- <You can run, cat, but in the end, it's just you against me.

Let's see to making that end happen.>

-the Metagross glows as its speed rises-

Ever: Ephemera, keep using Double Team. Fill the whole room if that's what you want.

Ephemera: -Sylveon!-

Steven: Continue using Agility, please.

-while the Metagross continues its meditation, Ephemera forms more and more dustcopies, until the room is indeed filled-

Steven: I'm certainly impressed with your Meowstic's attention to detail. I don't think I could pick out the real one if I wanted to. Fortunately for me...I don't have to. Metagross, as many Meteor Mashes as you can. You know what to do.

Metagross: <This ends here.>

-there is a flicker, and then the Metagross plows through Ephemera's ghost army, striking out left and right and tearing huge chunks of the ground away. Ephemera zips back and forth through the clones, staying just ahead of the Metagross's claws, but it's a close thing each time, until finally the barrage of strikes ends, with Ephemera panting for breath, the Metagross out of energy for Meteor Mashes...-

Steven: I'm sorry, challenger, but this battle is coming to a close.

-and a ring of stones, torn free by the Metagross's attacks, hemming Ephemera in on all sides-

League Viewing Area

-Sholto is watching intensely-

Steven's Chamber

Steven: It was a good fight, but you've lost. You can have as many clones as you like, but in that little space, your Meowstic doesn't have a hope of dodging Metagross's next attack.

Ever: You're not wrong.

Steven: Please, just forfeit while you can. I don't wish to hurt your Pokemon.

Ever: I wasn't finished. Ephemera's not going to be dodging Metagross's next attack, because Metagross isn't getting another attack.

Steven: Metagross may be slightly worn out from the Meteor Mashes, but it's still entirely unhurt, and you have perhaps twenty seconds in which to change that before it's ready to finish this battle. Please, enlighten me as to your plan.

Ever: Well, first, Ephemera, if you could use Psych Up, that'd be great.

Ephemera: -Sylveon!-

-her eyes glow as Metagross's boosts are transferred to her, the maxxed Attack from the Meteor Mashes and maxxed Speed from the Agility spam-

Steven: Challenger. Ever. All the speed in the world isn't going to save you. And Meowstic aren't meant for physical fighting, so those Attack boosts are just going to go to waste. This battle is over.

Ever: Firstly, her Special Attack isn't exactly flatlined either. Remember those Charge Beams from earlier?

Steven: I'm done arguing with you. Metagross, finish this. Bullet Punch.

Metagross: <A moment, if you please.> -the Metagross begins to gather itself-

Ever: Besides, there's more than one use for stat boosts. Stored Power.

-as the Metagross flashes forwards, Ephemera opens her ears, and the room explodes-

League Viewing Area

Sholto: <...Well.>

League Viewing Area

-Fletcha is quickly looking back and forth from his phone and the battle-

Fletcha: <This is so intense...>

edited 7th Oct '15 7:39:44 PM by Fletcha

League Viewing Area

-Basket is overwhelmed by anticipation◊-

-Doorman is watching the feed disinterestedly-

Pokemon Leauge

Team Umbra (sans Nico) and Mons: O_O