Post by flannery on Nov 16, 2012 19:37:48 GMT 9.5
| [atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=style, background-image: url('http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h99/houndoomXdelta/backgrounds/67522.png'); width: 415px;] [style=background-color: #615655; width: 355px; padding: 5px; color: #cacaca; text-align: justify; font-family: tahoma; font-size: 10px;] There was something oddly beautiful about Meteor Falls, something that had Flannery coming back to it time and again, despite the considerable hike it presented from her hometown of Lavaridge. The jagged outcroppings of rock which seemed almost to glitter – what kind of rock was it, anyway? She had no clue about these things; leave that to the eggheads in their labs and white coats to sort that out – in the half-light, giving it an almost magical or otherworldly feeling. The air was damp, but not unpleasantly so, and the chill was just enough to give you goosebumps, but not leave you shivering and wishing you had an extra layer of clothing. It was quiet, save for the distant roaring sound of the waterfall in the background, which was somehow soothing, and it gave Flannery something to focus on whilst she waited. She’d heard that the former Champion, Steven Stone – now, there was a man with presence! – liked to come here from time to time to train with his Pokémon, or do whatever it was that champions did with their spare time, although she’d never seen him, nor found the supposedly secret area where he liked to go. But then, the lower levels of the cave were home to some fairly deep lakes, and Flannery had no love for water, especially not water as freezing as this: you would think, this close to a volcano, it would be warm, but it was icy and left her clammy for hours afterwards. It was probable there were other chambers on the other side of the cave, but she had no way to access them. Still, for her purpose, the first floor was more than adequate: a series of ledges leading steadily downhill that provided her with the ideal scenery for training. Plenty of places to hide, room to run, and rocky terrain to toughen the body up. Perfect. She tapped a foot, her limited patience expiring. Well, that ought to have been enough time for her Pokémon to prepare themselves, and if it wasn’t, that was just something they’d need to work on. Taking a deep breath, she stepped off the ledge. “Well, then. Let the games begin.” She ducked instinctively as a stream of fire shot above her almost immediately, the heat enough to make the hairs on the back of her arms stand up as she had to fight a shiver at the thought of what might have happened if that had hit her. Overheat. One of the strongest attacks fire-type Pokémon could learn, and her signature move as Lavaridge Gym Leader, the first blast was always the most dangerous…and that one had been wasted on empty space. Her assailant would need to use Flamethrower from this point forward if she wanted Flannery to actually notice it, and that lost its potency the further it travelled. She’d had her chance to catch the Gym Leader by surprise, and she’d blown it. “Aim lower; it’s easier to avoid something ducking than it is jumping!” she spun around – an extremely dangerous thing to do on a slope, but then, Flannery had never given much thought to these things – and waved her arms frantically at Mag, her Magcargo, who was situated on a particularly large boulder, who unleashed a second blast at her – Overheat again, only slightly less potent – forcing her to leap off the ledge and down to the other one nearly four feet below to avoid it, landing in a crouch to lessen the shock to her legs…a fine thing it would be, to break her legs, and have to be carried back home. Flannery was made of stronger stuff than that, but humans were surprisingly fragile creatures; she’d had her fair share of broken bones in the past, and it never hurt to be cautious. Perhaps making herself the target hadn’t been a very good idea…but then, how else were all her Pokémon going to learn to function as a team? Besides, shouting commands from the uppermost ridge was no fun at all! A ball of green energy sped towards her, which she evaded easily, to the hiss of frustration from her assailant; Reika, her Ninetales, her lustrous coat standing out like a beacon against the darker rocks, shimmering in the strange sunlight that her natural ability activated whenever she was in battle. “Come on; I could have dodged that in my sleep!” she shook her head, the motion being the only thing that allowed her to spot Johnny, her Blaziken, coming up from behind, intending to hit her lightly…which, of course, meant that he didn’t hit her at all, as she turned back around faster than he probably would have thought her capable of, allowing his momentum to carry him past her and into the path of Reika, who yelped and leapt away to avoid this sudden assault. She stepped lightly off the second ledge, landing on the one below, chuckling to herself. If he was smart, he would have used Aerial Ace; she would have had a harder time avoiding that, and seeing him coming, as well. But then, Johnny had always been chivalrous, and had always been worried about hurting-- A sudden cracking sound warned Flannery that her Torkoal had decided to try a different approach, and she set off at a run, resisting the urge to look back as the ground exploded behind her as Don’s attack, Earth Power, was unleashed. Small stones peppered her back, but they weren’t anywhere near enough to slow her down. In a very dangerous move, she took a running jump and bypassed the next ledge – and a startled Don – beneath her entirely, hitting the ground with her shoulder (that was going to leave one hell of a bruise later) and rolling, allowing her momentum to take her forward, coming to a halt at the very tip of the ledge she was now on. She climbed to her feet shakily…that had been a little too reckless. Her Pokémon were getting better at this; maybe giving them five minutes to prepare hadn’t been the best idea. Next time she was going to need to make it a little harder for them. But she’d left four of her six Pokémon behind, and she only had two left to avoid…and one, she could see quite clearly from here. The final ledge she had to cross was particularly narrow, and her Emboar, Ganon, was smack bang in the middle of it, arms folded. Very clever. She wasn’t going to be running past him. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t still get past him… She ran straight forward and, as she expected, Ganon let out an ear-splitting roar, taking her direct approach as a challenge. He shifted his not inconsiderable bulk into a battle ready stance as she dashed forward, making for his weaker right side, as though trying to sneak past him. His arm came down in a blur as he tried to knock her back – or knock her out; Ganon tended to be overzealous – with a Hammer Arm attack. She smiled and leapt up as his arm came down – he could never resist trying to land a blow, ignoring the fact that his sheer size alone could block all obstacles far better – placing her hands on his shoulders and vaulting straight over him, unable to stop a laugh from escaping …a laugh that quickly died in her throat as she was suddenly staring at Pluto, her Houndoom, his jaws scant inches from her face. She froze as his warm, fetid breath washed over her, and then fell back, laughing, conceding defeat. “Pluto, your breath smells like a Muk in a sewer!” He sat back on his haunches, having the good grace to look embarrassed, and she hugged him reassuringly. “Good job. I completely forgot about you! Guess I’ve still got some things to learn about overconfidence myself. Also…thanks for not biting me just to prove the point.” she added belatedly, thankful that some of her Pokémon could show some restraint. She sat down, rubbing at her back – thankfully, she didn’t have any shards of rock stuck in her, it just hurt like hell, that was all – as she waited for her other Pokémon to re-join her. They were all looking extremely pleased with themselves, which suggested that they’d known exactly how this was going to play out. They probably had, as well. Next time, they were doing this by the waterfalls. Unlike all of her Pokémon, Flannery could swim. See how well they coped when she dived into the water! “Well, you’re all improving.” Flannery said, trying to look disapproving at their smug looks, but failing miserably. “Although even if you’re going to lull me into a false sense of security, you should still try your hardest to hit me in the meantime…better to end a battle sooner, rather than later. Even if that ending was quite dramatic.” Flannery laughed again, a laugh that was shared by her Pokémon. Giving them each one more congratulatory pat, she returned them all to their Pokeballs and stretched, wincing as pain shot through her shoulder and in half a dozen places on her back. Her Pokémon might be working hard, but she was the one with all the aches and pains at the end of the day…and the day was just starting, as well. Meg, who had remained at the bottom of the slope, looked up at her questioningly, and she bent down to pick her up, delighting in the warmth that suddenly engulfed her arms. “Well, why don’t you and I have a wander about before we head back, to see if we can find anything interesting? I feel the need for some adventure to wash away the bitter taste of defeat!” [/style][style=background-color: #615655; width: 355px; border-left: 5px solid #615655; border-right: 5px solid #615655; color: #a8a8a8; text-align: justify; font-family: tahoma; font-size: 10px; border-top: 1px dashed #ffa858; padding-top: 5px; padding-bottom: 5px;] words;; 1625 tags;; Ryuu notes;; This started out a description and turned into a training session...sorry for the supermassive textwall. xD; credits;; ZETTA! of BTN[/style] |