[001.] action - library, park, verdant forest

[empireofmymind]

[ a - in the library ]



[ Tucked away in the most obscure corner of the library he could find, someone has set up what looks like a veritable fortress of books in their study carrel. Passersby can't even see the person's head. Just the scratching of what sounds like a quill pen on parchment. Every now and then a book gets added to the pile from behind it, swapped for another brick in the wall.

Unfortunately, the book you came here to get (or a book on a subject you enjoy) is a part of this mighty fortress. Do you storm the castle? ]

[ b - a park in union ]



[ Despite its proclivity for academic pursuits, Sanctuary (or its peasants, anyway) has managed to invent a sport called Foote-the-Balle. First debuted at the World's Fair with an...unusual...projectile, it's more commonly played with a ball made of wood or cloth.

The boy kicking a ball around here has a cloth one. And he's not kicking it so much as doing tricks with it in the middle of the park, to the admiration of a crowd of onlookers. Look, see. He can pass it from one foot to the other in midair. He can bounce it off his chest. Off his head. And when he shoots it -

Well, when he shoots it, you'd better not be in the way. ]

[ c - verdant forest ]



[ The young boy out in Verdant Forest this afternoon bears very little resemblance to the one kicking the foote-the-balle ball around earlier. For one thing, he's in full Mage robes. For another thing, his dark hair is spiky, not lying flat in Waver's a bad haircut. And furthermore, he's wearing a mask across his eyes.

That definitely means he's a completely different person.

He's also clenching his fists and menacing a Bidoof, which doesn't look scared so much as just sad and kind of over all of this. Perhaps it doesn't understand what's wrong. ] Fool! You're from the Lake Shrine - you have to be capable of learning a Water move! How has your species possibly managed to survive?!

[ And he kicks the Bidoof right in the stomach. It makes a sound like a loaf of bread being socked and rolls over. So he stamps on it for good measure, then stands back. ] Once again from the top. You will learn Water Gun. And then Caldera will pay!

[ From behind a tree, a Venipede watches sadly. ]

Comments

[divine_braid]

Could be.

[Interesting hair thing going on. Must be an Enlightened thing. So, Duo tapped into his ghostly aura. It usually unnerved people.]

[empireofmymind]

[ You've got a light show? The boy's thankful for his mask - it means he can blink without being noticed. Don't worry about it, he reminds himself. It's to be expected that people around here will have....unusual...talents. It doesn't make them any closer to perfection. It doesn't make them any closer to him.

A long spool of String Shot snaps out of his wrist. He cracks it against the ground like a whip before firing it at Duo, aiming for his ankles. He calls the shots here. Dance. ]

[divine_braid]

[Dance? Nah... Duo tapped into his power and dropped into a Shadow Sneak.]

[empireofmymind]

[ A stealth fighter, huh? The boy waits until he can hear movement from behind himself before turning, hoping to dodge the attack while firing off a Confuse Ray.

If he knows the enemy is coming, that helps him pinpoint where to attack! ]

[divine_braid]

[Duo did his best to be cautious when he did this, though. Cocky or not, he wasn't the type to underestimate his enemies. He might overestimate himself, but he never underestimated his enemies.

He attempted a dodge as well. It wasn't often that someone fought directly like this. Usually, it was the Pokémon!]

[empireofmymind]

[ Oh, the Pokémon will do...its....best. But it has a limited move pool, so the Trainer, understanding this, is trying to compensate.

The String Shot cracks off to the side, and Bidoof, hearing its cue, leaps in the way of where Duo's dodging. It'll try to use a Tackle to knock him off-balance! ]

[divine_braid]

[Oof. Well, if that's how it was going to go...

Duo's Duskull used Shadow Ball at the trainer, no prompting needed.

Meanwhile, Duo rolled with the Bidoof, and attempted to get away.]

[empireofmymind]

[ Getting away from Bidoof will not be hard. Now that it's committed to its Tackle, it's zoned out again. It may not even attempt to land on all four paws, bouncing however it falls into the dirt.

Duskull's Shadow Ball is dodged, if barely, and Disable is attempted for its impudence. The Trainer also readies that String Shot whip, just in case. ]

[divine_braid]

[Leaving the Bidoof for the moment, Duo reached out and grabbed the end of that webbing and yanked it hard in an attempt to pull it free while the other trainer was focused on his Duskull.

(rng on Duskull's 4 moves is 4... so that's Payback on the list)

Duskull took the hit, losing a move, but Shadow Ball wasn't one of them, so it decided to use that again.]

[empireofmymind]

[ What? The Trainer yanks hard, hoping to free his whip. ] Insect---!!

[ He sees Shadow Ball coming but doesn't manage to detach the String Shot from himself fast enough to dodge. Over he stumbles, too. ]

[divine_braid]

[The stumble pulled Duo forward and off-balance as well, and he stumbled, catching himself barely to stay upright. The Duskull moved to support his trainer and help him.]

[empireofmymind]

[ Perfect. Both targets in one place. The Trainer lifts a hand and fires off a Confuse Ray. That'll teach you!!

Now hopefully he can recover from this stumble by rolling into a kneel. ]

[divine_braid]

[They both take the Confuse Ray hit, but that's when the backup arrives in a well-timed Flame Thrower. The other half of the pair Duo rarely travels without, his Houndoom, just came back from a run after a particularly speedy little Deerling he wanted to chase.]

[empireofmymind]

[ -- Reserves? A second wave? The human dodges. The Bidoof does not. It falls over again, instead, and looks up at everyone in the clearing as if they can explain why it currently doesn't feel so great.

Answer: its tail is on fire.

The boy clicks his tongue against his teeth, then whistles for the Bidoof. Which runs towards him. He kicks it to roll it onto its back, stifling the flames, then scoops it up under one arm. ] Insolence. You'll pay for this!

[ And then he tries to make a break for it. ]

[divine_braid]

[Duo was too confused to respond, and his Duskull was, as well. The Houndoom stayed with his team, but gave a snort and a Howl towards the kid and his Bidoof as they ran off as if to say, "Challenge accepted!"]

Houndoooooooooom!