Adventure Thread - Group A

Vincent started a little. Damn, I was sneaked up on again, he thinks, despite the slight smile on his face. I really need to work on my perception. "Hello there, Lia. I must have forgotten my manners recently, but my name is Vincent. I'm just catching some more Pokemon to fill up my Pokedex and add to my team. You have a Pokedex too right? I got two new entries after meeting you. So how did your gym challenge go?" Vincent got straight to the point and asked the question that had been on his mind.

Then a new face entered the conversation. Vincent's attention was immediately drawn to the axe on the guy's back. This man is a fighter, Vincent thought. "It's funny we were just speaking about the gym. Sure I can take you there," he said, then turned to Lia, "I assume you're headed back towards Pewter too? We could all go together." It was only after he said this that Vincent realized he would be in a group of three again, however temporary. He almost frowned a little, but suppressed the urge. It didn't matter, they weren't travelling together, and even if they did, that wouldn't be a problem either. The more people you had travelling with you, the safer Kanto became after all. Maybe I should start looking for teammates again? He wasn't sure. He'd been proven again and again that he couldn't rely on the people he traveled with. Unless they were secretly Pokemon. But as long as he didn't rely on his teammates or trust them not to leave him, he wouldn't be disappointed right? There was the question of general competence too, but Vincent wasn't a snob, he wasn't going to stop others from joining him because he was a better Trainer than them. It would be nice to have someone strong in his group though. Someone tough, like Lia and this new guy seemed to be. Speaking of the new guy-

"So what's your name stranger? I'm Vincent." 

"I'm from Johto. Nice to see another foreigner in Kanto, even if Johto is literally next door. About the gym, well, it's a Ground type gym, so expect it to be a tough match up for you," Vincent said. "I suppose with Steel types you won't have to worry about Sandstorm as much, but it's still something to keep in mind. The Gym Leader has at least one Pokemon with strong defenses so physical attacks won't do as much damage. If you want to battle the Gym Leader in a full contact match, my advice is to focus on soft targets before hitting the tougher targets, but you don't have to do that."

"Strong defenses and a reliance on defense. It seems my instincts were right the first time." Floyd says with a frown. He nods to Lia as he thinks.
"My Squirtle will be capable in the fight, though vulnerable to the Sandstorm. I fear my Magnemite shall be worse than useless though. Perhaps capturing a Grass, Bug or Flying type will allow my team to prevail." He says aloud, glancing at the buildings of Pewter before shaking his head regretfully.
"It seems I shall have to delay my challenge. I don't suppose either of you can give me advice about the pokemon local to the surrounding area?" Floyd asks, hoping that these more accomplished trainers would be capable of providing him with assistance.

Huh... so Lia acts flippantly with everyone. Not that I thought I was special. She's quite physical too actually, always making herself known by a touch or pat. Well in those cases she just wanted to get my attention I suppose. She talks a little more like the common people of Johto too, whereas I was raised to talk a little more formally. My manner of speech must clash with the casual clothes I'm wearing, Vincent thought in amusement.

Vincent wasn't sure whether he should applaud Lia for her conduct and the ease with which she seemed to tease and provoke people or whether he should be jealous of it. It'd been a while since he himself had acted anywhere remotely like that, but he did do so previously, like when he'd called out that Trainer who ambushed him. But these moments were far and few between, perhaps the Trainer life had simply made him mature or at least change a little. Vincent thought about this for a moment, wondering whether perhaps he should become more lively again, but then remembered to answer Floyd's question.

"As far as I know, there's a wide variety of Pokemon available, but if you look long enough, you're likely to find something useful against the gym. The first Pokemon I came across was a Rotom, which isn't great against Ground-types, but I also just found a Vullaby which due to its natural abilities is immune to Sandstorm and Ground-type moves. I suppose it's just a matter of luck in the end."

"Alright well luck to ya then Flyod. Go catch all the things!"

Lia then turns to Vincent again.

"Hey so it looks like I gotta wait till tomorrow to give the gym another go. I need to find some 'volunteers' to train with, unless you wanna step up for that role?"

(Did you mean Route 3? That's what you said in the previous post.)

Vincent shrugged. "Well, sure, I'm free. I can be your training partner if you wish. Just know that my Pokemon and I aren't going to hold back just because it's training. That's not our style you see," he said. Should I amend that and add that we're not going for the kill or anything like that? Nah, I doubt she would expect me to, and my Pokemon are tough but not that strong. Yet.

"I have to go to the Pokemon Center and heal up one of my Pokemon, after that I'll be available. We can go to the outskirts of the city and have a battle there, or we could try and find a training spot within the city. It'd be easier to get to the Pokemon Center from there. Well anyway, I'll be going to the Pokemon Center now, it's a little urgent. Feel free to come with me."

With that, Vincent started walking into the direction of the city. While he walked, he released Jax and told him that he was going to be off the team for a while, while he trained another member. Jax seemed sad, but when Vincent told him that he was going to live in the lap of luxury, the Ditto's eyes seemed to sparkle. Suddenly he wasn't so adverse to going. Vincent recalled Jax and got out his Pokedex. With a few quick taps of the screen, he'd transfered Jax to the ranch to make place for... the Vullaby. Vincent would have to think of a name for her while he walked. He quickly found one that was ideal for a Vullaby. He'd come across the name in his studies of ancient civilisations as a child. Heresa Heri, a name for a legendary Mandibuzz Queen that received the light of the sun and had kept it for itself rather than sharing it with the world. It was a miserly creature, but it was still a legend and Heresa (the Vullaby) seemed to have some of its pride if nothing else.

Once Vincent arrived at the Pokemon Center, he quickly got Heresa, or "Res" healed. He then took a moment to talk to her, making sure that she knew what was expected of her and what she could expect, now that she was a part of the team. The Vullaby seemed right at home in Vincent's team, and puffed up with pride as soon as Vincent said that they were going to challenge the Champion for their title, as if she was already imagining being part of the new Champion's team. Vincent had to chuckle a little.

Vincent recalled Res and walked to where he imagined Lia would wait if she did indeed wait for him.

Vincent noticed that Lia left her Chingling out and eyed it for a moment, noting that it seemed well trained, although he couldn't discern exactly how strong it was. From the way she keeps him out all the time, I can guess that's probably her starter. Maybe I should let Vel out more often too... Or maybe he'd cause too much trouble.

"There should be a public area where we can battle close by. It's nothing fancy as far as I know, just a space for trainers to do their thing, train and battle without harming the environment or other Pokemon or travelers," Vincent answered.

He checked a map on his Pokedex and led Lia to an open area akin to a park, except the ground was dirt rather than grass. There were a few other trainers around doing their own thing, but there was a free area large enough for Vincent and Lia to have a battle.

Vincent grabbed a Pokeball from his belt and released a reptilian Pokemon into the battlefield. "Let's show Lia what we're made of, Vel!" Vincent told the Sandile with a smile. If she's going to use her starter, so will I, Vincent figured. I'll switch him out if he wins to make things fair.

You can just use group battles. That's what it's for.