The sea in Unova teamed with a wide variety of different pokemon, aspiring water-type specialists will spend most of their time by the sea or other large bodies of water such as the two rivers that cut through the region.
While the ocean is home to a plethora of powerhouse that roam its dark depths, the same can't be said about the cove the leaks into route 1.
Its moderately shallow depths combined with how close it is to the sea makes it a prime area for weaker species of aquatic pokemon.
Another interesting fact is that since there are many rivers leading into the sea from here, you get a mixture of pokemon that prefer salt and fresh water in the area. It all depends on which area you arrive at.
After batting a few more trainers on the way over and raking in some more cash, Magnus and Rookidee were standing next to the water.
"I probably should've asked you this before, but do you want a nickname?" Magnus somewhat apologetically asked his pokemon.
Hearing its trainer's question, Rookidee took a moment to mull over it. After considering it the small bird shook its head in denial.
"That's fine, if you end up changing your mind just tell me" he said to which Rookidee squawked.
"Right then, do me a favor and fly around for a bit and see if you can find any pokemon that'd like to join up with us. Make sure to tell them what they're getting into, we don't want to have any slackers in the team. While you're doing that I'll get some food ready for us."
Opening his backpack, Magnus pulls out two small pouches where he keeps all of the cooking equipment and food. Reaching inside he wacks out a table, a seat, wooden cutlery, paper plates and food for both humans and pokemon. All of which seemed wildly too large to fit inside the pouches, but fit comfortably thanks to the shrinkage technology imbued in them.
The pouches were a gift from the Gym Leader Drayden, he gave them to Magnus as a farewell present when he left the academy to do work under Professor Juniper.
Before Rookidee took off Magnus asked "You fine with this stuff?" gesturing to the slightly open bag of pokemon food.
Rookidee hopped up on the table and gave the bag a few sniffs before nodding. After Magnus nodded in return the bird did a quick salute and took off into the distance.
Once Rookidee left, Magnus got to preparing his own meal. Living alone did wonders for Magnus's cooking skills, it was an easy way to save money and eat tasty food at the same time. While he wouldn't call himself great by any means, he still prides himself on being a better cook than most.
Just under an hour later Magnus was sitting at the table scribbling a few things down in his notebook - strategies, tactics, training and whatnot - a far away screech was heard from over the water.
It took a moment for his eyes to locate the source of the sound but he eventually zoned in Rookidee, who blended in pretty well with the waves. He was flying slowly just above the water and trailing behind him were two shadows, one larger than the other.
At one point, the larger of the two began swimming in a different direction… well more than once. Rookidee had to basically hold its hand so it never wandered off in the wrong direction.
Eventually though Rookidee and his crew made it to the shore. Magnus had to walk out into the water a bit since the beach was so shallow, as he did Rookidee perched upon his head while he got a look at the pokemon.
"Good work Rookidee" He said, petting the bird gently for it's work. "So we've got a Febass and a Magikarp" Magnus said as he inspected each fish.
Feebas skipped out of the water as Magnus said his name, revealing its lackluster body, sunken eyes and blotchy scales. In all honesty Magnus thought it looked like the old man that lived underneath him back at Opelucid. Shame he died a year ago.
Magikarp on the other went above and beyond as a prime specimen of its species, it was a genuine monster of a fish, possibly being the same height as himself - 5'10 - which is a mean feat for a magikarp. Its pristine orange scales that bordered on red shimmered in the sunlight, its crown unblemished and barbels long and thick.
The only thing that wasted the sight was the sheer vacancy of intelligence within its wide eyes as it splashed towards the land. Rookidee just looked tired of it all and let the fish flounder its way out the water only to be confused as to why there was none of it when he was finally out.
From this display alone Magnus could tell that this Magikarp - amazing as it was - was lacking severely in the IQ department, even when compared with other magikarps. Never in his life has he ever seen a Magikarp so thick that it left the water and started rolling around on the dry sands.
Pulling out his pokedex he gave the Magikarp a quick scan.
'Magikarp, the fish pokemon. A water type. Because all Magikarp seem to do is splash around, some consider them weak, but they're actually a hardy pokemon that can survive in water no matter how dirty it is.'
'This Magikarp knows the moves: Splash, Tackle and Flail'
"How did you even manage to get him to follow you?" Magnus asked curiously to the bird on his head. Rookidee just tweeted back but if Magnus could see him, he'd notice the bird just shook his head and shrugged.
Putting the big boy on the back burner for a moment Magnus turns to the Febass who patiently waited next to him, unlike a certain orange fish.
"So you interested in Rookidee's offer huh?" Magnus said to the pokemon.
"Fee…Bas" She slowly murmured, contrasting her slow style of speech Feebas excitedly swam round in circles.
"Take it that's a yes then", kneeling down so he could touch the pokemon's body he said "You wanna get some grub before we do the catching then?"
Feebas started swimming in circles again, Magnus mentally noted that it probably does that when it means to say yes.
Before he left though he scanned Feebas as well.
'Feebas, a water type. Feebas's fins are ragged and tattered from the start of its life. Because of its shoddy appearance, this Pokemon is largely ignored. It is capable of living in both the sea and in rivers'
'This Feebas knows the moves: Splash, Tackle, Dragon Breath, Haze, Hypnosis and Mirror Coat'
"The fuck?" Magnus said as he looked between the Pokedex and a calm looking Feebas.
Stroking the fish's blotchy body he asked "How'd you learn those moves girl?" to which Feebas just waggled its little blue fins.
Shrugging, Magnus headed over to the table, poured a bowl of pokemon food for Rookidee and poured Feebas's into the water around her. Then he turned to Magikarp, who was still flopping up and down at a steady pace while dully taking in the surroundings.
"Magikarp!" Magnus shouted, seemingly getting the fish's attention as it spun around mid air and began to face him. Maybe he's not so stupid afterall.
"Catch this!" Magnus said as he threw a block of food at it.
Zeroing in on its meal Magikarp used his only move splash against the sand and bounded into the air, going just high enough to catch the food in his puffy lips. He never even chewed, just straight up gubbed the whole thing down.
"Karp Karp Karp Karp" Magikarp repeatedly said, bouncing up and down with even more vigor than before.
The rest of the meal was quite uneventful, Rookidee chirped happily as it pecked away at his food and choking occasionally when he tried to eat too fast. Feebas just quietly sucked his food in through her pink lips, barely making a sound as she did so.
Magikarp looked to be having the time of his life though, and Magnus was happy to humor him. Magikarp seemed to make a game out of eating his food, each time Magnus threw a piece he'd switch up his throw a little but Magikarp had no trouble at all adjusting to the change.
At one point he got curious as to how high the fish could jump, and the answer is pretty fucking high. Magikarp was clearing some of the smaller trees with the all powerful move splash and this was all out of the water.
Say what you will about Magikarp but you can't deny they've got some serious muscle for splashing… even if that's the only thing they have.
Now that everyone had finished eating and Magnus put away all the stuff, he pulled out a pair of pokeballs.
"You guys ready?" he asked the pair of water types.
"Fee…Bas…Bas" "Karp Karp" the pair both made the usual noises but never showed any signs of refusal.
Priming both pokeballs, Magnus casually tossed the pokeballs at their respective targets. Feebas waited for her's to impact before getting sucked in, but Magikarp took matters into his own hands. Splashing against the sand once more he leaped at the capture device in a similar manner to how he was catching his food.
When Magnus saw his mouth widening, he almost thought Magikarp was going to eat the Pokeball. Luckily that never came to fruition, Magikarp swiveled his body and the pokeball smacked against his scaled side.
Two clicks later, Magnus's team was up to three members. Picking both balls up and releasing their inhabitants he spoke a few words to both.
"Now you're with me I'll make sure to train you both real hard so that you'll become the best Milotic and Gyarados about" he said while patting the two fish.
After catching Feebas and Magikarp, the group spent the next hour walking towards Accumula town, the halfway point between Nuvema and Striaton City.
During the journey Magnus let out both pokemon to check out their moves, there wasn't much to check out in the Magikarp department but he was happy to see Feebas performing her full set of moves effectively.
Though most were fine, she had some trouble using Dragon Breath, after using it more than twice in a row she was wiped out, Magnus and Rookidee ended up having to search for some berries to bring her back up to full capacity.
Struggling with Dragon type moves is no surprise, especially for a pokemon like Feebas. Unless the pokemon is born a dragon-type, they seem to struggle with any moves that incorporate draconic energy. So part of Feebas's training for now was to work on her attack, her only way of dealing effective damage for now.
She's not got the body or muscle mass like Magikarp so tackle won't be very effective, even if it ends up connecting. At the moment Magnus is planning on making Feebas a ranged attacker to cover for his other two pokemon, who'll mostly be using physical attacks.
Magikarp on the other hand was all about splashing, as soon as he was let out of the pokeball he was bouncing all over the place. Even while Magnus was walking the orange fish would just splash his way alongside him.
Wasn't even tired doing all that as well, Magikarp seemed to be all muscle and no brains. More than once Magnus had to avoid being squashed by his own pokemon, it'd jump up on tree branches and leap off expecting Magnus to catch him.
And Magnus would've, if only Magikarp was a normal size. No way in distortion was Magnus catching that hunk of Magikarp meat, no matter how in shape he was nothing was going to stop him from being squashed under the weight of the fish that dreams of flight.
Even though Magnus would consistently evade Magikarp's futile attempts, causing the fish to crash into the ground. He'd just merrily splash back up and try again.
Rookidee got started on his exercises too, darting through the tree's as fast as possible to work on his agility. Being so small and lacking severely in defence means that one good hit could mean lights out for him. Which is why Magnus wants to up his agility to prevent any attacks from connecting.
Once they left the forest and caught sight of Accumula town, Magnus took the two splashing fish back into their pokeballs. While Magikarp looked fit as ever, causing Magnus to think that the myths about the Magikarp skipping mountains might be true, Feebas was getting tired from the constant splashing and could use a rest.
Plus Magnus didn't want any rangers or officer jenny's to do him for Pokemon abuse or something stupid like that. Seeing two fish hopping along the group next to a trainer would definitely raise a few eyebrows.
A brief walk later and Magnus with Rookidee on his shoulder were strolling through the town. Speaking frankly Magnus thought it was a wonder why this place was still called a town, while it wasn't as large as a city nor as populated as one, anyone who has laid their eyes on it could say it's long surpassed the title of town.
Streets upon streets of houses, shops and battle area's made up Accumula, all of which were in pristine condition. It had everything a trainer or non-trainer would ever need, it even had a battle club right in the centre of it all.
Each battle club was run by a Don George, there are about 20 or so cousins with the same name that look identical. The tall broad moustached group of cousins all run a branch of the battle club in different locations all over Unova, they do a few tournaments with prizes a couple times a year.
But Magnus wasn't going to check the place out, at least not for now. While the battle club is a good place to have matches against specific opponents thanks to its matchmaking system, Magnus wasn't in need of that for now.
Though the main reason he wasn't going is because all the battles that take place there are for sportsmanship. In other worlds the loser doesn't have to cough up money if they're beat.
He'd rather risk getting beat by an experienced trainer on the road, and having to pay up than waste his and his own pokemon's time battling for free, when he could be doing something more productive such as getting the first gym badge.
They can get their battles in while heading through route 2, if anything the fact that losing means losing money is a good incentive for them to fight harder. So after taking a brief glance at the battle club the pokemon trainer pair made their way out the city.
Route 2 was basically the same as route 1, take away the water and add a fuck load of trees and they'd look the same.
Part way down the path Magnus had his first encounter with a trainer since he left the Accumula, unlike the previous trainers he'd seem who all looked the part, this kid was out in the forest wearing a suit and shitflickers. Most definitely one of the youngsters who get their pokemon as early as possible.
Magnus would've thought he was just a randomer who got lost if it wasn't for the 3 pokeballs hanging off an extremely expensive looking belt.
Magnus was just about to pass by him when he suddenly pointed directly at him and cockily said "You, the brute with the little bird. I demand you battle me!"
Raising an eyebrow Magnus responded with "How much for?" clearly intent on wringing as much money out of the fool as possible.
"Does it matter? As if you could beat me and my illustrious team! Now battle me 3 vs 3" He snarkily ordered, still pointing his finger.
"Illustrious huh" Magnus said, looking at the three balls carried on the boy. 'Can't be that strong if he doesn't even have a full team' He thought.
"What's your name mate? You look familiar" He asked wondering if the little fucker had a famous parents that would be on his case once he's done embarrassing the clown.
Noticeably perking up at the statement the boy finally ended his pointing and placed the hand over his chest while saying "This one is called William Arnolt" looking as snobby as ever.
Magnus thought for a moment before saying "Nah never heard of you. Well let's get this show on the road then" Making some distance between himself and William he waited for his opponent to release his first Pokemon.
With a vein pulsating across his forehead William stuttered "You-you swine, do dare disrespect me like this. Joltik teach him a lesson"
Throwing a pokeball he unveiled his first fighter, a true miniscule one at that. The Joltik wasn't even half the size of Rookidee and that's saying a lot, though it is an electric type which is a bad matchup for his current team.
"Rookidee you've got this right?" Magnus said to the bird.
Squawking loudly and proudly as it could, he landed to face his opponent. With Joltiks being part bug type, Magnus guessed that the first bout was going to be quick and concise.
"Joltik use Pin Missile!" William screamed, urging his pokemon to attack quickly.
Completely calm compared to the second-generation opposite him Magnus told Rookidee "Hone Claws and close in with Peck".
His pokemon followed his orders exquisitely, swiftly using Hone Claws to power up his attack with time to spare before the Pin Missile was on top of him. Even though the two never had much time to train together, Rookidee was already a great flyer before Magnus came along. Taking off, he weaved his way through the Joltik's attack, not letting any of them so much as graze a feather.
By the time he passed through them, Rookidee was already on top of the electric-bug type. William was speechless as his pokemon was hammered with a boosted peck, sending it tumbling backwards towards his feet.
His pokemon tried to stand back up but had no success in doing so making it the first knockout of the match. While William looked just about ready to pop an artery, Magnus was just shocked at how easy it was, he was expecting a quick battle but not that quick.
His surprise only overtook him for a moment before a wolfish grin was slathered across his face, he'll take the easy win and he'll make as much money as he can doing so.
With an angry visage William returned Jolik, surprisingly not saying anything as he sent out his second pokemon.
Once the initial brightness died down, Magnus could see that an axew would be his pokemons next victim. He glanced at the dragon type before saying "Rookidee take a break for now. We'll give the others a run out."
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The bird tweeted in affirmation and flew back onto his trainer's shoulder, while Magnus sent out his big ass Magikarp. Upon being released from its pokeball, Magikarp instantly began flopping around, curiously scanning the environment, eventually taking notice of the strange green pokemon not far in front of it.
Before Magikarp could bounce over and greet the axew, possibly by jumping on top of it. Magnus made sure to tell him "Magikarp, you're in a battle just now. If you win I'll let you splash around as much as you want on the way to Striaton"
Hearing his trainer's words, the fish excitedly repeated the same "Karp" noise over and over. How could he not be excited, the place surrounding him was filled lots of with high trees to jump from.
Seeing Magnus release a Magikarp, William scoffed at his idiocy "Ha! Do you actually believe that a Magikarp can battle? Fine, if you beat me in battle I'll gladly give up all the money I have on hand."
'Convenient' was the only thing Magnus thought as he heard the twats words. The idiot's idiocy just made his life easier for the foreseeable future, who knows how much cash he has on him right now.
Axew remained silent at his trainer's promise, and just eyed Magikarp who happily sprang around. Magnus just prayed to dear Arceus that Magikarp would understand his commands during the battle.
"Axew! Use Dragon Claw!" William yelled.
Axew's claws suddenly shone white with a tinge of blue mixed in. As soon as Dragon Claw was prepared, it ran towards the stationary Magikarp on its stubby little legs.
"Use Splash to dodge Magikarp!" Magnus begged his pokemon, there was no need to worry about Magikarp though. When Axew closed in, his powerful tail slammed into the ground and splash his way over and above Axew and the draconic attack, easily avoiding the hit.
Clenching his fists tightly Willaim ordered "Keep going! Dragon Claw till it hits!"
Axew continued its assault on Magikarp but had no luck with connecting any of his attacks. Both Axew and William were equally shocked at the magikarp - who they deemed useless - bouncing around, using its useless move splash to evade every single attack.
Thoroughly impressed with Magikarps skills, Magnus called out "Use your tail to hit Axew as you dodge". The axew was tired after using Dragon Claw consecutively so many times and Magnus thought it was safe enough to finally get some hits in.
This time when Axew came in to attack, the Dragon Claw was sluggish and weak. Giving Magikarp plenty of wiggle room to narrowly flip over its claws and come down hard on the back of Axew's head with its strong tail. The blow smashed into the dragon-types skull, stunning Axew as it was smacked into the ground.
"Get up Axew and use Dragon Rage!" William shouted. The struggling axew groggily got to its feet, and faced itself at Magikarp who was still fit as a fiddle.
Magnus heard Williams' orders and quickly said to his pokemon "Finish it with Splash Tackle!"
Axew used the last of its energy to prepare Dragon Rage, its body shivered as a light blue energy shone through the green skin on its chest. Axew's maw widened as a glowing sphere of blue energy formed at its centre pulsating with draconic power. Axew's glowing eyes took one look at Magikarp and let the attack loose.
The sphere deformed into a fiery blast of black and blue flames that shot towards Magikarp. William was sure the attack would land, at least right up until Magikarp splashed up high into the sky. It was a truly tremendous leap that showcased Magikarps immense jumping ability, he easily cleared the Dragon Rage which ended up colliding with a small boulder near the edge of the path.
At the peak of his leap Magicarp began spiralling towards the weakened Axew, moments away from performing the first combination move Magnus made for him. The simple combination of using splash to jump into the air and then using the fall to build up more momentum for tackle was easy for Magikarp to learn, even though he was duller than most.
The speed gained from the plunge times by Magikarp's total mass equaled a staggering amount of force which spelled disaster Axew. William Balled at his pokemon to move, but Axew was too tired from its previous attacks and was slammed by the huge Karp.
When Magikarp flopped back to Magnus, all that was left was a fainted Axew. Magnus genuinely felt bad once he got a peek at the pokemon's battered body, but Magikarp was none the wiser at the damage he just inflicted.
Pulling his vision away from the Axew he began praising Magikarp for his victory "Great job Magikarp. You're Splashes were too perfection" Magnus said while clapping Magikarp's sturdy scales"
"Come back into your pokeball for now" Seeing Magikarps downtrodden expression he clarified "Don't worry, I'll let you out as soon as we finish dealing with this clown" That was all that was needed for Magikarp to relax and accept his return.
While this was going on William was shaking in frustration at the thought of being beaten by an unnamed trainer, and by his Magikarp at that. Those fish were only useful for living in his family's aquarium.
"You think that you'll beat me. Not a chance. My final pokemon is my strongest, together we've never lost a battle." William announced
"Never lost a battle? Maybe it's possible if your parents paid the trainers off. From where I'm standing I can't see much strength or skill." Magnus replied to his statement. It was his honest thoughts, the entire battle he's been useless. All he did was shout at his pokemon.
"Swanna win this for me!" He squealed as he sent out his final pokemon.
The Swanna stood elegantly on the battlefield, the white a blue plumage ruffled as it shook the stiffness from its muscles. A powerful pokemon if trained correctly but knowing who its train was, Magnus didn't have much hope for it.
Still, William having a pokemon like Swanna all but emphasised his heavy patronage. The thought of taking all of his money made Magnus's hands twitch in anticipation.
Releasing Feebas the fight quickly started. "Swanna use wing attack. Finish it right this instant!"
Swanna flew straight at Feebas, its wings brightening at the use of wing attack as it closed the distance rapidly.
"Feebas blind it with haze and dodge" Magnus promptly said.
Feebas did as it was told, releasing a foggy mist from its lips that rapidly surrounded the Swanna obscuring its vison. After losing its sense of direction, Swanna's flying speed slowed down making it easier for Feebas to dodge with a splash.
"Now use Hypnosis!" Feebas heard its trainer shout, and got to building up its psychic energy. As this was happening the haze surrounding Swanna began to disappear, but all it got after regaining its vision was a Hypnosis to the face.
After a brief struggle Swanna was put to sleep. At that moment Magnus said "Splash tackle until it wakes up"
Copying the same move as Magikarp, Feebas repeatedly struck the sleeping Swanna. She managed to get three good hits in, and would've gotten more if Swanna didn't wake up after the third attack.
"Now Swanna uses Bubble Beam!" William desperately shrieked. Swanna spat a flurry of bubbles that sped towards Feebas at high speed.
But Magnus was prepared for it, "Feebas use Mirror Coat".
Feebas gained a translucent sheen as she covered herself in the move, giving her a slightly more appealing look. When the Bubble Beam connected, each bubble was absorbed into the Mirror Coat before being launched back out at twice the speed.
Swanna tried to avoid the attack but it was just too fast and she ended up getting struck with her own move. While she was still stunned, Magnus said to Feebas "Finish it with Dragon breath!"
Light blue waves of energy began to swirl around Feebas, she then parted her lips to send all the build up energy directly at the injured swanna in the form of a beam. Dragon Breath blasted Swanna with all the power an attack like that should, all the damage taken turned out to be too much for the Pokemon as Swanna fell to the ground unable to battle.
Feebas looked quite proud of herself as she stared unblinkingly at the downed Swanna before she turned to Magnus expecting praise for her efforts.
"Yea, you done amazing girl" Mangus said to his pokemon as he picked her up proudly. Feebas was much smaller and lighter than Magikarp and was able to be carried, and that is exactly what Magnus did as he walked over to claim his rewards.
"Cough it up then, I've not got all day" Magus impatiently said as he stood over William.
"What!? Did you think I was serious about giving you my money! That was all a lie! Now let me leave so I can go to the Pokecenter!"
Magnus had already expected something along these lines to happen. So pulled out his phone and showed the spoiled brat a recording of his promise. Can never be too safe with slippery fuckers like this.
"Wouldn't want the league to hear something like this. You know how they get when trainers don't keep their word about battle money." William flinched at that, "Who knows, at best they might suspend your trainer licence and slap you with a fine. I doubt mum and dad will be happy about that"
Thinking about his parents' reactions caused Williams' eyes to start using Water Gun. As the tears began building up William stuttered out "F-Fine, I-I'll give you the money. A deal's a deal."
Reaching into his suit pocket it pulled out a fancy wallet utterly stuffed with all different kinds of notes. Throwing it at Magnus, he dashed off in the direction of Accumula town, clearly having enough of the situation. Though he only made it about 20 metres before tripping up and skidding across the ground, that's when the crying really started, Magnus, Feebas and Rookidee could all hear his sorry sobs from where they were standing.
"Arceus above. I'm glad that's over" Magnus said while shaking his head.
"Fee…bas"
"Rook!"
The journey to Striaton City was an uneventful one, at least it was after William ran off. Magnus and his pokemon still couldn't get over how much of a little bitch he was. After a night of camping near the water, Magnus got to training his team for a few hours before moving again.
Still his pockets were lined with a fat bit of cash now. The wallet that came into Magnus's possession was completely loaded with cash, 47,000 Poke deep to be precise. When Magnus was rapidly counting the stack of bills he couldn't keep a shit eating grin off his face, causing his pokemon to eye him strangely…Well Rookidee and Feebas were. Magikarp was just being Magikarp, completely unaware of the small fortune his trainer had just claimed.
With this much money in his hands he could afford to splurge on all sorts of supplies. Training equipment, TM's and good food for himself and his pokemon, he was sorted in that department as long as he doesn't go too wild.
Though it's not like he needed TM's or the like right now. All his Pokemons movesets are beyond decent bar Magikarp, but he's a Magikarp so that's excusable. His current thoughts were to wait until they evolve before making any final decisions.
That brings up the topic of Feebas's evolution, to evolve her Magnus needs a prism scale. A prism scale is an item of immense beauty, an object of adoration for many people - Magnus doesn't get it, all he sees is a colourful rock - it's popular with upper class citizens that enjoy having them on display.
Before Willia-no. His own wallet fattened, he was worried that it'd take him a while to buy one since the prices for them are in the 5000+ range and in turn cause Feebas to fall behind the rest of his team.
Now with the money sorted, he just needs to find a seller. Driftveil market is probably his best bet, they sell just about everything under the sun in that place. Legal or Illegal.
On a lesser note, he might chance on in Nacrene city. With all the historical and outright strange stuff circulating about there a seller might have one.
But that's a thought for later. The sun was nearing the horizon as Magnus arrived in Striaton and he had a badge to snatch.
Even though he arrived a few minutes ago and only part way walked through the city to look for a map, he could already feel himself getting lost in the concrete jungle. The city was huge, easily being on par with Opelucid in scale, but compared to his home that had an ancient feel to it due to keeping all of the old style buildings. Striaton was all about skyscrapers and modern looking houses, Magnus swore everything he looked at had an unnatural shine to it.
Saving himself from wasting anymore time he asked some people passing by for directions. A few miles and 3 different sets of directions later, Magnus finally made it to his destination.
The gym was a smart looking place, the pillars on the front holding up the arched roof gave the place a fancy feel. Suppose that's needed with it doubling down as a restaurant run by the gym leaders themselves.
Unlike the rest of the gym's in Unova who all have one leader and in their service several other gym trainers, Striaton's was run by triplet brothers who all share the role. With there being three of them, there is no need for any gym trainers to fill in in case of an absence.
Stepping through the stone archway that was used as the entrance, Magnus was met with a series of tables and chairs, each of which were decorated with fine utensils and flowers. He had only been inside for a few seconds when a man with light green hair and a waistcoat greeted me.
Performing a customary bow he said elegantly "Welcome sir, is it a table for one today?"
"I'm actually her for- in fact yea, table for one I could be doing with something to eat" Magnus replied, he was feeling quite peckish since the last meal he had was the oen a few hours ago at the lake.
Can't battle at full capacity if you're hungry.
"Right this way then" he responded walking off in the direction of an empty table.
Getting seated, the waiter who Magnus assumed was the gym leader Cilan handed him a menu. It was filled with fancy babble that he didn't understand so it took him a minute to find the steak option.
After ordering he was left by himself for a while, even though the restaurant served food for pokemon, he kept everyone in their balls. Can't have the gym leaders knowing what their up against beforehand.
Finishing what was possibly the best steak he had ever tasted he called out to Cilan "The meal was top quality stuff, but I'm actually here for a gym battle. Think I could get one?"
"Oh, so you're here for a gym battle then" Cilan said as he cleared the table.
The customers currently eating froze up at the mention of a gym battle and gave their whole undivided attention to Magnus's table.
Suddenly the lights in the room cut off, plunging the restaurant into darkness and stealing away the sight of all those inside. Magnus could hear the rushed footsteps and clanging of cutlery as Cilan ran away from his table.
Then a shining stagelight stone on the other two brothers putting all eyes on them. The room filled with girls were already fawning over the two handsome men - with questionable hairstyles - as they began to speak.
"So you're a challenger eh. Then you will receive a welcome as hot as the mid-day sun! Chilli said with a burning passion.
Shifting to the other brother, Cress states "No, I think we should be cool. Like a refreshing glass of water, chilled of course" as he ran his fingers through his striking blue locks causing all the ladies in the building to squeal in excitement.
It miffed Magnus quite a bit honestly. All he wants is to get on with his gym battle and then victoriously head to the nearest Pokecenter so he can crash on those sweet, sweet free beds. But before that he had to deal with a pre match… whatever this is and listen to the simping of Striations female population.
Just in time for his piece Cilan skidded to a stop between his two brothers, the spotlight shone on his fancy looking tuxedo as performed a light bow and spoke. "We welcome you to the Striaton City Pokemon Gym."
"I'm Chill! I light things up with Fire-type Pokemon!"
"I'm a Water-type specialist, and my name is Cress. Pleased to make your aquaintence."
"And I'm Cilan. I like grass type pokemon, and I'm also an aspiring Pokemon connoisseur! Now which one of us would you like to battle?"
Who to choose? It was a tough choice to make. Each gym leader fought with a different type of pokemon. That being Pansage, Panpour and Pansear being a Grass, Water and Fire type respectively.
The first choice for the battling would definitely be Cilain, Rookidee has the type advantage and better manoeuvrability which makes it a prime matchup for his pokemon.
Or he could send out the big daddy Magikarp and watch on as it squashes a Pansear. As amusing as the thought of beating a gym with a Magikarp sounds, he'd rather not take the risk. Even though the brothers have a reputation for being the weakest gym leaders in the circuit - mostly due to their semi-recent instalment - they're still gym leaders, and Magnus was going to treat them as such, no matter how weak they may be.
So with his choice locked Magnus answered "I'll choose to battle Gym Leader Cilan"
Though Magikarp and Feebas have a disadvantage against Pansage, it won't matter since I'll be battling with Rookidee. The Striaton Gym always does 1v1 battle so there's no danger of having them come up against the Grass-type.
Striking another posse since he was the chosen one, Cilan pointed at the wall behind him and said "Time to get this show on the road!"
At the end of his words, the wall covered in fancy wallpaper and intricate painting opened up. The face split into four different sections which slid away, revealing a slightly rocky battle arena with freshly painted white lines, along with a viewing area for any spectators.
The three leaders walked over to their side of the arena while I took my place in the spot closest to the dining room. The crowd of ladies wasted no time at all running up the stairs to the spectator zone.
Having so many people watching him battle was a strange feeling, but one he might as well get used to if he was going to continue being a trainer. When it comes to tournaments and the league every match is watched by thousands of spectators, and that's not even including those watching from one of the many tv channels that stream the matches. Adding that would bring the total viewers up into the millions.
So a crowd of 40-50 people is baby stuff really.
"We never did get your name did we?" noted Cilan as he ran his fingers across a red and white pokeball, "We'd be delighted to learn the name of our challenger before the two of us engage in what I'll sure will be a most tasteful battle."
Grasping a shrunken pokeball from his belt Magnus informs them "Sure man, I'm Magnus", the pokeball in his palms expands to full size as he gives them the name of his first companion "And this guy here's Rookidee"
Tossing the Pokeball against one of the small boulders lying on the field, the miniature bird appears after the sudden flash of light.
"Oh? A Galarian pokemon eh. A common sight in its home region." Cilan says while inspecting the plumage of Rookidee from a distance.
"So you know about Galarian pokemon as well?" Magnus asked, he was the first person to know what a Rookidee was since he left the lab. After their battle he wouldn't mind learning a bit more about the Galar region. It's quite the interesting place with dynamax and an almost unhealthy enthusiasm for pokemon battles.
Performing a dramatic spin he explains excitedly "Why of course! Since my goal is to become an S-class connoisseur. I'm knowledgeable about Pokemon from all regions around the world. What kind of connoisseur would I be if I couldn't even identify my customers pokemon."
Taking up a more serious look after his short outburst he proclaims "Now, the moment everyone's been waiting for! Come on out, Pansage!"
Releasing his iconic Pokemon, a Pansage took up his position with the white lines. Because of the rock the Grass-type was standing on, Magnus could get a clear look at its physique.
The Simian green and cream pokemon was pristinely clean, not even one knot was found in its short fur, showing that its trainer regularly looks after its appearance. Neither did it have any signs of deficiency, from Magnus's eyes it appeared to be a textbook example of a perfectly healthy Pansage.
After Cilan sent out his first and final pokemon, his brother Chilli took his position at the side of the field since he was going to be the referee for our match.
"Attention for the Striaton City Gym battle, We have Magnus the challenger, against Cilan the Gym Leader. This Gym battle will be done in a one versus one format. The battle will be decided when one of either side's pokemon can no longer continue" he professionally stated loud enough for everyone to hear.
Hearing no objections for either side he ended it with "Since neither side has any issues with the rules, I'll declare the start of the match."
Magnus could hear the girls up in the stands cheering on his opponent as he waited for the sign to go.
"Let's go Cilan! All the way! Win this battle yay!" Well, at least he knows who the crowd's rooting for.
'No pressure then' he thought.
"And… Begin!" Chilli yells, cutting his hand through the air, signifying the beginning of the bout.
"Hone Claws then Peck'' Magnus quickly shouted. Rookidee obeyed and soon he was flying towards his opponent with his talons and beak glowing a familiar colour.
"Bullet Seed, don't let Rookidee get close" Cilan calmly stated. Pansage's cheeks puffed up to a comical degree before releasing a barrage of high velocity projectiles from its mouth.
"Dodge it but keep pushing forwards!"
Hearing his trainer Rookidee began to fly in sporadic patterns to avoid the ranged attack. Even with his limited training he was able to skiff past Pansage's move and get in close. Barrelling round to the Grass-type's back his peck connected, sending pansage into a boulder and leaving it with a nasty bruise on the rear end of its head.
"Keep it up Rookidee! Now Fury Attack!" Squawking in affirmation Rookidee sped downwards at the dizzy Pansage.
Just as he was about to begin pummelling Pansage, Cilan cried "Quickly use Vine Whip". Its voice caused Pansage to regain a bit of clarity, two thick vines grew out from the leaf atop its head and struck at Rookidee, successfully swatting him away.
"Now grab him!" The same vines raced towards the falling Rookidee and began to wrap around him, possibly in preparation for a throw or bind. Either way Magnus never wanted to wait and find out.
"Use Fury attack on the vines" Magnus shouted. After a brief struggle for control, Rookidee managed to cut through one of the vines and moments later the second one as well. Pansage yelped at the pain from getting his vines cut but otherwise stood tall and the remains were pulled back into his body.
"Keep using peck!" With the distance between the two being so close Pansage had to tank two pecks from a furious Rookidee who clearly doesn't like bondage play.
After the attacks Pansage was left on his last legs, one more hit and Rookidee will have the win, but before the third Peck could jab home Pansage got a new order.
"Dig!" Cilan said loudly.
Using every appendage it had, Pansage drilled its way into the ground avoiding Rookidee's attack.
"Keep an eye on the ground Rookidee make sure you're not caught off guard when Pansage appears"' Magnus informed his pokemon.
At a relatively low flying altitude Rookidee scoured the terrain underneath him, as soon as the ground in front of his flight path began to break Magnus told him "Stop to dodge it then use power trip"
Pansage leaped from the tunnel expecting to impact against Rookidee but was surprised when no such thing happened. With a completely exposed pansage in front of him, Rookidee knew what to do.
His body gained a dark glint as he plunged into his opponent with a boosted powertrip. By the time Pansage's body stopped tumbling across the ground it was thoroughly unconscious.
Lifting his hand in Magnus's direction Chilli announced the victor "Pansage is unable to battle. The winner is the Challenge, Magnus!"
Although the crowd weren't the happiest about seeing the object of their adoration loose, they still gave a polite clap to the winner.
Magnus was feeling somewhat strange at the moment, he wasn't quite sure what he was feeling. On one hand he was happy that he won his first gym battle and gained a sparkling new badge, but it felt like something was missing.
The whole battle seemed somewhat underwhelming, sure there were some tricky parts but at no point did he think that Rookidee was in trouble.
Maybe that was it.
In his head Gym Leaders were supposed to be this nigh unbeatable force, although Striaton doesn't have the best reputation for being a hard gym he still felt like it was a lot, lot weaker than he envisioned.
It was difficult not to think this way when his standard for gym leaders was Drayden. The old man's pokemon can be downright scary in battle.
Shaking that off he caught Rookidee in his arms with a wide smile. "You did great Rookidee, had this battle in the bag from the start." That's right even though Cilan's pokemon left a lot to be desired, Rookidee performed exquisitely, showing his natural battling skills.
With Rookidee on his shoulder he met with the three brothers to collect his badge.
Chilli, the referee for the match held a golden tie-shaped badge in his hands as he said "I present to you the trio badge" before letting it fall into my hand. Giving it a quick inspection he noted that the three colours in each part of the trio badge were the same as the haircolor of the brothers.
Slipping the badge into his pocket for now he gave the Gym Leaders a nod and replied "Thanks for the battle"
Before he could leave though Cilan asked "Would you like me to perform a compatibility test on you and your pokemon? Free of charge of course"
"It's alright, we've travelled a lot today. I'm just going to head back to the pokemon centre to get some rest" Magnus told him. He doesn't need a test to tell him the compatibility between himself and Rookidee anyway, they already know they're a good pair.
"Is that so? Have a safe trip then" Cilan said while looking a bit downcast.
Leaving the Gym, Magnus and Rookidee made their way to the nearest pokemon centre.
After getting inside he rhymed off the numbers on his trainer ID to nurse joy, and was given a room on the first floor.
The simple room was mostly barren, but had all the essentials. Putting his badge into the case, he then left his bag on the wooden table along with his cap and clothes.
Sticking on a pair of shorts he crashed on the bed, the last thing he remembered was seeing Rookidee sleeping on a pillow at the foot of the bed.
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