Heya, back for another bigger tranche tonight. I was originally hoping to get everything done in a big bang tonight, but wound up running out of steam, so the proper RB sendoff to my series over your short stories will have to wait for another day. Well, three quarters of one given that the deadline is in the middle of the evening tomorrow for me.
But there’s no shortage of stuff for me to cover in the interim, so without further ado, let’s hop straight into some of those prompts:
Prompt #19
Never in her life did Phoebe expect to have someone cowering behind her as if she were a human shield, and never did she expect that someone to be the biggest, most physically imposing Gym Leader around.
Thankful that Brawly wasn't able to see her face, Phoebe rolled her eyes at how he tried to somehow get his whole body behind her petite form, gripping her shoulders with a level of terror that she didn't think was possible from the muscle-bound Leader.
Well, you’ve certainly piqued my interest here. Let’s see where this is going.
With one shaking finger, Brawly pointed past Phoebe's ear over toward the far corner of his Gym. "It's over there. That's where I saw it."
"Brawly," she kept her tone gentle, "What exactly are you expecting me to do?"
- checks prompt -
Oh, this is going to be
gold, I can already tell. :V
His voice rose even higher in exasperation, "I dunno, talk to it or something? Tell it to stop haunting my Gym, man! I didn't do anything to make the spirits angry, I swear!"
I mean, it doesn’t take that much to get spirits angry in stories, just saying, Brawly. :P
Phoebe sighed, "The spirits aren't mad. In fact, I'm not sensing any ghostly activity here at all."
"What?!"
Brawly's shout was painful in her ear and she winced, but Brawly quickly realized how loud he'd been, and not wanting to rile up the spirits that weren't really there, he shrunk back down behind her again, voice in a strained whisper. "There's no way I can believe there's nothing there. I heard things... I saw things!"
Phoebe: “Are you sure that you didn’t just eat spoiled food the prior night or something? Since that feels like this is where it’s going.” >_>;
Phoebe wrenched herself from the Leader's iron grip and spun to face him with a quirked brow.
"You called in one of the only people in Hoenn who can commune with ghosts, and you don't believe me when I say I can't find anything here?"
Brawly: “Look, I know what I saw, man!” O_O;
"Yes," Brawly squeaked out, sheepishly twiddling his fingers as he stared at anything that wasn't Phoebe or the cursed corner of the room.
Crossing her arms, Phoebe fixed Brawly with an expression that bordered between amused and frustrated. "What's it going to take to convince you that your Gym isn't actually haunted?"
That’s what
I wanna know, since when the word of a
Ghost-type specialist isn’t enough to soothe you… :V
"I mean, could you just perform an exorcism anyway? It'd make me feel a lot better."
Phoebe: “...
Seriously, Brawly?”
Brawly: “Better safe than sorry!” O_O;
Phoebe nearly sighed again, but an idea crossed her mind, and a sneaky grin flashed across her face. "Sure, we can do that for you."
"We?" Brawly gulped.
But Phoebe was already on the move, grabbing some chalk from the nearby free weights and drawing symbols on the floor before littering spell tags all along the lines. Of course, this wasn't actually an exorcism; she already had an idea of what might be causing Brawly's "hauntings". But that didn't mean she couldn't have fun with the skittish Leader in the meantime.
I see that trolling is just a general trend for your take on the E4 here. Since… yeah, this is ever so
slightly mean.
Brawly's eyes nearly bugged out of his head as he watched Phoebe work, and he paled while slowly backing himself up until he was pressed into the far wall of the Gym.
When she was finished she moved to the center of the symbol and sat cross legged on the floor, eyes closed, but not quite all the way. She didn't want to miss the expression on Brawly's face. Slowly, Phoebe began to chant and wave her arms in airy, rhythmic motions. She began to chant faster and faster, until she felt that she'd put on enough of a show…
In a flash, several ghost pokemon burst forth from where she had hidden their pokeballs, and Brawly screamed. The Gym lights flickered and dimmed as the pokemon circled overhead, and Phoebe nearly burst out laughing when her Banette flew right over to the panicked Leader and licked him in the face. After stifling her giggling fit, Phoebe finally noticed that all the excitement had done him in; Brawly had passed out on the floor from sheer terror. At least now she could test her suspicion in peace…
Oh
lol. Though this seems pretty par for the course for your take on Phoebe based off what she’s been depicted doing in past prompts.
"Ughhh," Brawly groaned as he sat up from the floor, rubbing his head gingerly. "What happened?"
His question was soon answered as a cheerful Phoebe popped into his field of view.
"Morning, sleepy head!"
"Sleepy head?"
Brawly: “... How are you just okay right now when the last I saw you, you were surrounded by Ghost-types from nowhere?” ._.
"You fainted," she said with a smile, "But I have good news. I've caught your spooky visitor!"
"You did?"
"Mmhmm! Want to meet them?"
Brawly: “... No, not really.” o_o;;
Phoebe: “Too bad, you’re going to meet them anyways!”
"What, wait, no way man!" Brawly quickly tried to backpedal, but Phoebe swung her arms out from behind her back and Brawly screamed again, cowering away from the "ghost" behind his hands.
"Shroom shroomish!"
Brawly cracked open one eye and found himself staring at a jolly green blob of a pokemon happily nestled between Phoebe's hands. She giggled.
"This little guy was hiding in your vents watching you train. I think he wants to join you so he can be a strong Breloom when he grows up."
Brawly: “B-But the ghosts-! And-!” O_O;
Dumbfounded, Brawly reached out with one shaky hand to pat the friendly Shroomish on its petals.
"So... so there wasn't a ghost after all?"
Brawly: “Since I
know I saw you surrounded by ghosts earlier.” ._.;
Phoebe: “Just a nightmare!”
Phoebe shook her head and the Shroomish chirped as it wiggled in her grasp. "Well, not ones that were living here..."
Brawly looked surprised for a moment before his gaze narrowed suspiciously. But before he could interrogate her about the exorcism, she thrust the Shroomish in his arms and danced out the door.
"Bye, Brawly! I promise I won't tell Roxanne that you're afraid of a little ol' ghost!"
She’s totally going to tell Roxanne, I can tell. :V
As the Gym door slid shut behind her, Brawly found he couldn't stay upset with the mischievous Elite, so he just looked down at Shroomish and shook his head with a small smile.
"Not cool, man. Not cool."
Well hey, at least he got a new teammate out of it. Even if I suspect Brawly’s going to be hearing a
lot about this whole incident from his peers in the future.
Prompt #20
"Whew!"
Sidney let loose a sigh of relief as he plopped down on his backside and sprawled out on the floor, sweat sliding down his brow.
"[That was an intense training session, you guys,]" he beckoned to his teammates, and his pokemon gathered around their exhausted trainer looking nearly as overheated as him. "Good thing I came prepared."
He took a deep breath as he sat back up before jumping to his feet. Crossing the room quickly, he picked up an impressively sized ice chest and made his way back to his waiting partners.
It… might have made sense to hint at what exactly they were all doing for training that even wore out Sidney, since it feels like there’s a story there that’s not really being told, even if it’s just a sentence in passing.
"I come bearing gifts," he grinned as he tilted the lid open, and all eyes peered inside.
Mightyena gave a howl of excitement as Sidney slipped six generously sized ice cream sandwiches out of the cooler's depths.
Can all of Sidney’s Pokémon even
eat those without making a giant mess? :V
"You guys worked hard, so let's celebrate with a treat to beat this summer heat!"
But whatever grin that graced Sidney's face quickly vanished as he caught sight of Absol's horrified expression. And then all hell broke loose.
Whelp, sounds like someone’s going to be
wearing ice cream in short order.
His pokemon surged forward, eager to get at the sugary goodness, and Sidney disappeared under a barrage of fur, leaves, and feathers. Mightyena emerged victorious, grasping two bars in its jaws, but before he could make a clean escape, one of the sandwiches was speared through with one of Cacturne's needles. Shiftry chattered in dismay as another bar slipped out of its leafy grasp, plucked free by Mandibuzz's beak. A second Mightyena tried to slink away unnoticed with an extra portion as well, and Sidney did a double take as he spotted the imposter from his place at the bottom of the pile.
"Hey, Zoroark, I know that's you! You gotta share!"
So much for ‘sharing is caring’ on this team. Not that it’s not thematically unfitting for a team of
Dark-types.
Absol simply watched the chaos with a shake of his head, patiently waiting at the edge of the melee.
inb4 this guy snags the very last ice cream bar and leaves Sidney with bupkis. :V
By the time Sidney scrambled to his feet, his pokemon had torn into their treats with varying degrees of success. The real Mightyena's coat was slathered in vanilla cream and it was happily trying to lap up the rest of the rogue treat with its tongue, all the while rolling on its back in delight. Cacturne was happily munching on its sandwich that was slowly leaving melting trails down the needle in its hands. Mandibuzz soon found that feathers and ice cream didn't mix, so it settled for picking at the melted puddle of stickiness that ended up beneath its talons. Shiftry had managed to claim Zoroark's extra treat, but had enjoyed it too quickly. Its ears twitched in distress as it fanned itself to try to rid the lingering brain freeze. Only Absol and Zoroark had managed to escape relatively unscathed, and they were contentedly enjoying their treat when the door to the chamber creaked open.
Man can I call ‘em or what. I just
knew that someone was going to be
wearing that ice cream.
I’m wondering if it would’ve made sense to divide this bit up a bit since it’s a
long paragraph, though admittedly I’m drawing blanks as to clean divisions thematically.
Sidney hastily tried to brush the dust and fur from his clothes as he scrambled to see who was paying him a visit, but he only succeeded in smearing more ice cream around, causing Mightyena to dash over and try to help clean him up too. Absol huffed a quiet chuckle as the rest of Cacturne's ice cream slid off its needle and plopped to the floor.
"Hey, Fee. Um, want some ice cream?"
Phoebe:
Prompt #21
"So that's why you have to help us."
"We don't even know where to start."
"What do you get a pokemon that's 300 years old?"
… A nice day out? Since when you live
that long, I’d suspect that experiences start to become more valued than physical objects.
"I don't even know what it's like to be 30 years old, and that's really old, but nowhere near as old as 300!"
Steven winced as he did the mental calculation on how soon he'd be nearing the twin's definition of 'old'.
Er… yeah, it’s a familiar feeling, honestly.
Of course, this was only after he found himself sitting in his living room with a pair of flustered Gym Leaders standing across from him. Tate and Liza had called him asking for his counsel, and he was happy to oblige, but he hadn't expected to be roped into helping choose a birthday gift for the twins' pokemon. He had known that Solrock and Lunatone were ancient creatures, having been with the psychic family of Leaders for many generations. But he, too, was stumped by the twins' request.
"You know," he began gently, "Perhaps your mom and dad might have better ideas than me. Solrock and Lunatone used to be their pokemon."
Liza huffed and Tate's face fell.
Steven: “Wh-Wha-? Is there something wrong with asking your parents with advi-?” ._.
Steven: “... Oh.”
"They just told us to do something special."
"But what does that mean?"
"What's left that's special after 300 years?"
Yeah, I kinda called it about the ‘give them a pleasant experience’, since… yeah, that feels like that this is where this is going in short order.
"I bet Solrock has met every pokemon in existence."
"And Lunatone probably has tried every treat there ever was."
Have you two just tried taking them out on a nice playdate or something to float around and bum on the beach all day?
"We're stumped!" both twins cried simultaneously, and Steven nearly chucked at their predicament, but that would have been rude.
So instead he opted for a smile that he hid behind the hand he thoughtfully brought to his chin.
"What if instead of something new, you gave them something old instead?" he mused.
…
Or that can work too. I’ll admit I didn’t think of
that one. ^^;
"Huh?"
"Something old?"
Steven nodded as he elaborated, "Maybe not something that actually is old, but something that they haven't seen in a while; something nostalgic."
Tate: “Steven, we’re
ten.”
Liza: “How do you expect
us to know what a 300-year old Pokémon would find nostalgic?” >_>;
"Nostalgic?"
"You mean like when mom and dad go through our baby pictures to embarrass us?"
… Oh boy, this is going to be quite a birthday at this rate.
At this Steven did laugh, his own mind going back to the way his own father would bring out the dusty family photo albums whenever Wallace would stop by. But his laughter quickly died down as he thought back to the other pages of the album; the ones at the very front that his father would skip when there was company over. The ones that held a smiling stranger's face tight within their pages. The woman whose face felt so warm and familiar, and yet so foreign at the same time. Steven felt the silence of the room hang heavy as the twins picked up on his stirring memories.
I mean, there’s nothing explicitly said out loud, but those
implications there…
Two concerned gazes were locked onto his own, and he quickly recollected himself with a small smile, waving their worry away.
"Ah, forgive me. When you're as old as I am, those baby pictures are especially embarrassing to remember."
Liza: “You didn’t look embarrassed, though.” ._.;
Steven: “... Embarrassment manifests in many forms, really.”
The twins shared an uneasy look between themselves, but didn't press the Champion's thin lie any further. Instead, Tate chose to bring it back to the matter at hand.
"But we don't have any baby pictures of our pokemon..."
"They're 300 years old, remember?"
"Did they even have pictures back then?"
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvdf5n-zI14
Might’ve had paintings, though.
Steven smiled, "It's not the pictures that are important. Lots of other things can trigger meaningful memories. Sights, sounds, smells..."
Oh. Clever workaround there, actually. Even if at some point, you wind up taking a leap of faith since a lot of historical annals even 300 years ago are kinda spotty on detail. ^^;
The twins' faces scrunched deep in thought.
"What did it smell like 300 years ago?"
"I bet it smelled all musty, like the books at Mt. Pyre, or the bottom of an old cave -"
Cave...
"I may have an idea," Steven said, raising a finger as the thought came to him. He waved the twins into a huddle as he brought out his PokeNav, calling a map up to the screen. "I'm willing to bet Lunatone and Solrock haven't been here in a long, long time..."
Ah yes, a field trip/vacation for a birthday present. Seems like a solid enough option.
Tate and Liza had never seen their partners’ expressions light up like they did when they released them into the cavern. They had followed Steven's directions carefully, and armed with a picnic basket filled to the brim with treats, they had trekked deep into the cave before letting Lunatone and Solrock out of their balls.
Sunlight poured through the holes in the roof, carved by ancient meteors, and it danced through the shallow cascades of crystal clear water that fed the upper basin of Meteor Falls. The psychic pokemon's joyful calls echoed off the pale rocks as they spiraled slowly upward, taking in the sight of their birthplace. 300 years was a long time, and somehow the secluded area of the Falls had remained relatively untouched in all that time. Floating back down to their trainers, the ancient pokemon nestled happily into Tate and Liza's waiting arms, sharing 300 years worth of gratitude with their young partners.
D’aww, glad to see that Steven’s counsel paid off for those two, since that definitely seems like a birthday that their Solrock and Lunatone will remember.
Prompt #22
The last time Steven could recall a day this peaceful, was… well in all honesty, he actually couldn't. At least not in recent memory. But here he was, alone with nothing but the sounds of the underground around him. A chisel in one hand and a hammer in the other, a small bag of spoils sat at his feet, and Steven sighed in contentment. The League had become stressful lately, what with the addition of a new Gym and the retirement of not one, but two Leaders, there was a fair amount of work to be done to ensure any ongoing League challenges would continue uninterrupted.
Not that everyone doesn’t eventually need a day off eventually, but that sounds like kinda a bad idea to just allow your champion to duck off and go commune with his rocks in a distant region on short notice. ^^;
Which was why the situation struck him as odd. Shouldn't he be working right now? Steven's brow furrowed and he glanced at his watch. Strange, it was actually the middle of the night. Why was he still awake at this hour? Setting down his tools, he glanced around the cave and noticed his usual stash of supplies was absent. Perhaps he left them back at the surface, as it appeared this was only a small cave system. Dutifully, he picked up his meager equipment and headed out in search of his camp.
Well
that’s not ominous at all…
Steven: “
That’s weird, I could’ve sworn I just had my stuff right here…”
It was only as the mouth of the cave came into view that Steven noticed another oddity. His pokemon were conspicuously absent from his hip. A sudden tightness found its way across his chest. He could count on one hand the number of times Metagross had ever not been at his side, all the way back to when it was just a small Beldum. Where was his team?
Steven's pace quickened in time with his heartbeat as he neared the cave's exit.
But he never made it there.
Uh-oh.
The cavern floor suddenly began to shake beneath his feet, sending him stumbling. As he tried to pick himself up off the ground, a dull roar issued from the depths of the cave. Scrambling back to his feet he hazarded a glance backward to find the source of the noise, and his breath caught in his throat.
Somehow the omnipresent darkness of the cave had taken a more tangible form, crawling and scurrying along the walls and ceiling. The absence of light was curling and forming into pointed claws that raked at the stone leaving blackened gouges in their wake. Living, breathing darkness that threatened to swallow him whole.
Well
that’s terrifying. Even if I’m pretty sure that this is all just a dream here.
Steven:
As a paralyzing wash of terror flooded his senses, a small voice told him there was still a way out, all hope was not lost. He still had an escape route, and he willed himself to begin to sprint toward the exit again, yet it never seemed to draw any nearer. The cave rumbled again, this time loosening bounders from the ceiling that came crashing down all around. Throwing his arms up to shield his face, Steven plunged forward; there was the daylight streaming in, he could still make it! Wait, wasn't it past midnight? What was going on...?
… Have you tried pinching yourself to wake up there? :V
In his moment of confusion he had paused in his frantic escape, and when he went to resume his sprint, he found something stopping him. His leg was rooted in place, but it wasn't the falling rubble that trapped him. Something was holding him there, gripping his ankle with fearsome strength. Reaching down with both hands to free himself, he froze. Fingers made of stone had reached up from the cave floor and grabbed him in an unyielding hold. He kneeled down and pried at the lifeless grip, but it refused to budge. Panic began to rise in his throat, he was running out of time. The darkness was closing in, still roaring like an animal possessed.
Steven: “This isn’t real! It’s all just a dream… just a
real bad dream…”
As he gave another tug at the offending restraint, a second manacle circled his other leg, stony fingers digging into his calf. Wheeling around to try to free himself, something else grabbed at the back of his jacket and pulled, dragging him awkwardly to the ground where he was met with a cold embrace. Arms of stone reached up to snake around his waist and chest, and try as he might, he couldn't break free from their grasp as he was pinned helplessly to the earth.
Well,
that’s certainly some vivid imagery there, even if I have no idea what’s going on in this (presumably) dream sequence there.
And that's when the darkness caught him. Eyes wide with terror he watched the black beast descend, pouring in from all sides of the cave in a massive sickening wave. He tugged and writhed against the bonds that held him captive, anything to get away from this unknown enemy, but it was futile. The first inky knives sunk into the flesh of his leg and he cried out from the pain. Or at least he tried to. No sound would escape his lips as the creature dragged itself up his body, one searing, stabbing claw at a time until its deathly hands encircled his neck. He choked at the pressure, he could feel the breath leaving his lungs, unable to be replenished.
Was this prompt originally written around Halloween? Since it certainly is a
lot spookier in vibe than any of the prior ones I’ve read thus far. Not complaining, though it does make me curious as to if there’s a story behind why this is such an outlier.
In one last terror fueled push, he tried desperately to shove the beast off him with the only hand that wasn't trapped by the very earth that betrayed him, but the shadows were as intangible as their normally benign counterparts. Grasping at the nothingness that was slowly squeezing the life from him, the stony hands finally caught his last flailing limb and anchored it to the ground with the rest of him. It was only then that the darkness decided to show its true face. Cruel teeth formed in a featureless visage that sneered down at its pathetic captive. A guttural growl mixed with an otherworldly screech emanated from the creature as it howled in his face, victorious.
Moral of the story, kiddos. Keep your Pokémon out at your side and at the ready. Oh, and maybe sanity-check your room for the likes of Haunter chilling to eat your nightmares.
Suddenly, the pair of hands around his neck loosened their hold. The long slender fingers reached up to gently caress his cheek as the faceless shadows leered down at him; the normally soothing gesture only served to panic him further and he tried to scream once more. Without warning, the shadowy hands forced their way into his mouth, prying it wide. He began to hyperventilate, but it didn't last long. Without warning the creature poured itself down his throat, the acrid darkness choking him. He was drowning in it now, his lungs filling with the nothingness. His body jerked involuntarily against the onslaught, and the edges of his vision began to swim in the inky blackness. This was the end, this is how he would die…
Whelp. F. Guess that’s the end of the series, huh-?
- Looks up at prompt premise -
Right. Let’s see what’s
really going on here.
Metagross blinked one red eye open. It had been snoozing peacefully in its trainer's study, but a noise had disturbed its slumber. Slumped forward on the desk was its trainer, asleep on his paperwork. It wasn't a surprising sight. Metagross had seen its trainer push himself to exhaustion in that very chair countless times. But what was surprising this time was how he twitched and moaned ever so softly in his sleep. Metagross hadn't seen that sort of behavior very often. After the chair creaked from a particularly fierce shudder, it decided to keep a wary eye on its trainer. So when Steven gave a sudden jerk, toppling himself from the chair entirely, Metagross was quick to react.
Metagross: “*Uh… Steven? You okay there?*” ._.
Steven flailed for a moment, gasping for breath and blinking in confusion even as Metagross eased him gently to the ground with its psychic powers. He was quick to find his starter's concerned gaze, and he rubbed one shaking hand across his eyes.
"Metagross."
I’ll admit, I’ve never thought about the premise of how major characters like regional champions would react to the like of severe nightmares. Though it’s a cute imagining here given how Steven’s flagship ‘mon is ready to just swoop in to come to his trainer’s aid after noticing that something’s wrong.
Metagross: “*Steven, have you been getting into funny food and drink again? You didn’t get into another drinking contest with Drake, did you?*”
The way the name left his lips, it was as if he hadn't seen his partner in years. The sort of gratitude in one's voice that came from the deepest longing, the most heartfelt sincerity. Metagross could feel the emotion pouring from its trainer, and it reverberated a soothing tone in reply. It was here. It would always be here.
Steven shook his head to clear the lingering visions. "I-I'm sorry, it was just a bad dream."
Metagross:
Steven: “Look, I’ll be
fine okay? Even Champions get nightmares sometimes.” >_>;
But Metagross had seen enough to know it wasn't as simple as that. Its trainer never looked that rattled. As gingerly as it could, Metagross picked its way across the study until it was able to nestle up against its trainer's side. Steven's skin was clammy when he leaned his head against Metagross's steel hide. It rumbled a quiet note and it could feel its trainer nod in return.
"I'd like that, if you don't mind."
As his suit jacket was lowered gently across his chest, Steven's eyes closed, and Metagross was more than happy to let its trainer fall asleep in its arms, just as he did for it all those years ago.
Well that’s certainly one way of paying past care forward. Though that’s gotta suck for all the trainers with Pokémon with smaller bodies than them, since no big, bulky psychic crab to call a pillow and cuddle up with in protective comfort.
Not that that’s
Steven’s problem here. :V
Prompt #23
Phoebe was dutifully scrolling through the docket of challengers in preparation for any that might make it through Sidney's team. An Ace Trainer, those guys always came prepared. A Pokefan, they were one hit wonders, and most fizzed earlier rather than later. A Triathlete, interesting, since their pokemon were always well trained, but rarely had enough power to make it deep into the Elite. Flicking through the rest of the list, her eyes glazed over until one image popped up on the screen.
Not that it doesn’t make for a funny gag about trainer archetypes, but I have to wonder how it is that these guys can just pick out trainer classes by eyeballing them like that.
… Meh, won’t question it too much. ^^;
Immediately she bolted upright with a snort of laughter.
"Sidney, c'mere," she waved at the dark-type expert as she tried to hold in another laugh, "What is that?"
Only halfway interested at what Phoebe may have had to show him, Sidney leaned over with a casual glance. But when he caught sight of the screen, his eyes bugged out of his head before he too doubled over with laughter.
"Oh my god, Fee. I have no idea what that is! Maybe he's supposed to be a magician?"
I’m guessing they drew a Juggler or something like that given how much they’re having a giggle at their challenger’s attire.
Phoebe shook her head, still shaking with amusement. "I already read the brief, so I know. I just want to see if you can guess."
Sidney scratched at his ear in thought, but not without a ridiculous smile. "Gee, maybe he's one of those contest coordinator-turned-battlers, like Wallace?"
Yuuuup, my money’s definitely on ‘juggler’.
"Nope."
"Oh man, uhh, maybe he's..."
As Glacia strolled into the lounge, Phoebe cut Sidney off to wave her over.
"Let's see if Glacia knows!"
Actually… I just realized… flamboyant, draws comparisons to Wallace… that sounds
kinda like the ye olde timey Dragon Tamer sprites. Like it’d look doofy as actual everyday attire, but you’d certainly run into
them going to an E4.
"Know what, exactly...?" the ice-type specialist trailed off, suspicious of the two younger trainer's antics.
"What this challenger is going for," Phoebe said with a grin, as she wheeled the tablet around for Glacia to see.
Her eyes went wide at the spectacle. "Oooh... I... Haven't the faintest idea."
I’m wondering if it’d have made sense to describe attributes of what this trainer and his/her attire looks like, or if that’d undercut the whole buildup to this sequence. Since… yeah, the challenger here’s a little hard to get a bead on beyond “flamboyant and everyone finds it looks ridiculous”.
Sidney laughed as Phoebe flung herself dramatically over the arm of the couch. "Someone go get Drake, he has to know," she moaned.
"We'd all know if you told us, Fee."
"Where's the fun in that?"
Phoebe’s still the same giant troll as always, I see.
Sidney shrugged, but the gesture went unnoticed as the fourth and final Elite made his appearance.
"There shouldn't be any fun, we've got challengers coming today," he grated out, but not without a twinkle in his eye.
Sidney: “Aren’t we supposed to be having fun on our jobs? Like how else are you supposed to have a passion to go up and take on challengers?”
Drake: “No, you’re supposed to prepare yourselves and crush them into the battlefield ground. ‘Fun’ is what you do
off-duty...”
Sidney: “... Agree to disagree, but anyhow, can you take a cop at what’s up with this challenger?”
"Yeah, we know. Phoebe won't tell us who we're facing though."
"Really now?" Drake quirked an eyebrow.
"I'll tell everyone if you can't guess what this is on the first try," Phoebe said as she sat back up, holding the tablet out, and Drake plucked it from her grasp.
"This is what all the fuss is about?"
Sidney: “Wait, what? You could ID the trainer class just like that? Drake, what
are we dealing with here?”
All eyes turned to the Dragon Master as he scanned the photo. Phoebe held her breath and latched onto Sidney's arm in anticipation. Even Glacia found herself leaning in, waiting for Drake's answer.
He remained silent for a beat longer before speaking up. "I have no clue what the heck that is."
… Or not. Though I’m
really curious as to who this embarrassingly-attired mystery challenger is. :V
Everyone deflated in defeat. "Fine, I guess I'll have to just tell you all..." began Phoebe, but in that moment, another voice sounded from over Drake's shoulder.
"Oh, looks like we're having a Dragon Master paying us a visit this afternoon."
Oh, so it
was a- Wait a minute…
‘Dragon
Master’? Isn’t that what
Lance goes around styling himself as?
Four pairs of eyes turned to meet the Champion as he glanced down at the tablet from behind his cup of coffee.
"A what now?" Drake's tone was dangerously low.
"A Dragon Master," said Steven matter-of-factly. "Or at least a self-proclaimed one. I've seen plenty of them when I train out at Meteor Falls."
Drake: “... Steven, how do
you know this and not
me when
I’m a Dragon Master myself?”
Steven: “... Have you tried getting off your boat a bit more often?”
Phoebe nodded dumbly, too shocked that of all people, Steven would be the one to recognize the outlandish outfit of too much spandex and gold piping, complete with a flowing cape.
… Can’t tell if that’s Lance or his discount knockoff. Otherwise… yeah,
that’s definitely a presence to see coming down the hallway. :V
No one spoke, so Steven offered a shrug, "When you're friends with Wallace for long enough, nothing really surprises you any more. Fashion-wise, I mean."
I can hear Wallace seething from all the way out in Sootopolis right now.
But Drake was still steaming. "I have half a mind to ask you lot to let him through so I can show him a thing or two about dragon training... But on the other hand, I wouldn't ask you to go through the embarrassment of losing to that."
I mean, I dunno if other Dragon Masters would find Drake’s sailor getup to be subtle and classy themselves, but you can’t deny the sea dog has a point there. :V
"Hey Boss," Sidney piped up, "Maybe just this once Drake and I can switch places?"
"That's not a bad idea," chimed Glacia, "I'm kind of in the mood for a good old-fashioned humiliation match."
>
when your getup is so tacky that the E4 are going out of their way to embarrass you
There’s an achievement for this, right? :V
Steven's gaze narrowed as seriously considered it. "I'm willing to allow it just this once... Drake?"
Still muttering, Drake grumbled an affirmative before tossing the tablet down on the nearest table and stalking out of the room. "Only if you promise to let me call Lance about this. He's wearing tights for chrissakes."
Not sure if Lance would have a giggle alongside Drake there or be offended since… Lance’s getup isn’t exactly subtle either.
"Well, I guess that settles it," Steven nodded, but not without a nervous glance at the retreating sea captain.
Phoebe grinned as she skipped out the door, "I'll bring the popcorn!"
E4:
Shame we never get a solid view of the would-be Dragon Master challenger, but eh. Some things also work well when left up to the imagination.
Prompt #24
"I really don't think this is a good idea..."
"Nonsense, The Lilycove Summer Spectacular only happens but once a year!"
Both Lisia and Juan had gathered in Wallace's room, and they frowned down at the Gym Leader sprawled out on his lounge chair with a foot propped on some pillows and a nasty purple bruise peeking out from beneath an ice pack.
"Don't give me that, it's not as bad as it looks," he protested, wincing as he tried to wiggle the injured foot.
Lisia: “But you literally
can’t move your foot right now.” :|
Wallace: “It’s only a flesh wound!” >_>;
["Uncle Wallace, you can't even put any weight on it. How are you going to perform?"]
"I'll... I'll figure something out. I always do!"
You probably want to explicitly state that it’s Lisia making the comment there, since I actually couldn’t figure that out myself until looking at the next line after this block and seeing that it was explicitly assigned to Juan and then doing a process of elimination.
Juan: “And how many of those past times involved a foot injury?” :|
Wallace: “... There’s a first time for everything?”
"Perhaps I should go in your stead," suggested Juan with a wistful look. "I'm worried the strain of a contest might hinder your recovery."
Wallace was about to deliver his protest when the door to the room opened and Steven blustered in, slightly out of breath.
"I came as soon as I could," he breathed, holding the walking boot out toward the water-type trainer, but he froze when he saw Wallace was not alone as he was led to believe. "Oh, Juan, Lisia, I'm sorry! I didn't realize you were here too."
Wallace: “Steven, help a friend out here, and tell these two that I need to go on with the Lilycove Summer Spectacular.” >_>;
- Beat moment -
Steven: “Okay
what happened to you Wallace?” -_-;
Juan's eyes slid from the boot to Wallace's innocent expression before addressing the room's newest member. "And you agreed to this despite your best efforts to persuade him otherwise, I assume?"
"Actually -" Steven gave an apologetic smile.
"He stepped in a divot in a cave in Sinnoh a few months ago and didn't want to cut the trip short," said Wallace airily, "Can we move past how much you disapprove of the idea so I can put it on and get going to Lilycove?"
Juan + Lisia:
Wallace: “... Just saying, some
support right about now would be nice, Steven.” >_>;
Steven shot Wallace a look for ratting him out so heartlessly, but Wallace ignored it as he wiggled his hand expectantly. Ducking under Juan's disapproving stare, Steven moved to the end of the lounge and cautiously began to slide Wallace's foot into the boot.
Wallace put on a brave face, but even for how gentle Steven tried to be, he still sucked in a pained breath with every adjustment.
Steven: “Er… Wallace, are you
sure that you need to go to this contest?” ^^;
Wallace: “
Yes, why is this even a question?!” >_>;
"I still think this is a poor decision," Juan said, his frown deepening. "I won't cover your Gym duties for you if this contest injures your ankle further."
But Wallace casually waved him off, "I fully accept the consequences of my actions. You worry too much, Master. I'll be -" he jolted with discomfort as Steven secured the last strap in place, "-fine."
Narrator: “He won’t be fine.”
"Mmhmm..."
Juan's skeptical look remained as Wallace swung his legs to the floor and rose unsteadily to his feet. The boot did an admirable job, but Wallace couldn't hide a grimace as he hobbled toward his wardrobe.
"Uncle Wallace... You're not seriously going to perform with that boot?"
Lisia: “You
do realize that you look ridiculous with that thing on and that it’s going to affect your scoring for your outfit, right?” >_>;
Lisia's quiet voice froze Wallace to the spot. For how many times he had told her to listen to her mother's words, he certainly wasn't setting the best of examples. He turned, ready to deliver a 'do as I say, not as I do' speech, but the determination in Lisia's gaze caused the words to freeze in his throat.
"It's so hideous! We need to dress it up if you're going to wear it to the performance!"
Juan: “...
Lisia, are you serious?!” >.<
Lisia: “I mean, if he’s dead set on going anyways, he might as well not instantly fail on costume scoring.”
Wallace couldn't hide the grin that crept across his face. "You're absolutely right, my dear!"
"You're not going to be wanting this back, are you?" Wallace asked as he turned toward Steven.
Steven shook his head. "I certainly wasn't planning on it."
"Brilliant! Now shoo!" Wallace waved everyone who wasn't Lisia out of the room. "We've got work to do!"
Oh boy, that boot’s going to be quite something by the time those two are done with it.
The next morning, Steven found himself grinning over his morning coffee. Splashed across the front page was a photo of Wallace at the Lilycove Summer Spectacular, perched atop his Gyarados waving to his adoring fans. Even in black and white it was hard to miss the brilliant sparkle of the glitter encrusted walking boot. No, he definitely didn't need it back now.
I’m surprised that Wallace still pulled off a decent performance in that thing, though I guess that’ll be a new fixture around Wallace’s house for a long while. :V
Alright, for my overall thoughts. I liked the spread of prompts tonight. I certainly wasn’t expecting a horror-themed one to crop up in tonight’s tranche, let alone one with as vivid of description as it, but this series has a way of always finding ways to surprise me.
I
do feel that a couple of these prompts could afford to have some extra detail thrown in, such as the Dragon Master one not giving a firm idea of what the challenger looked like, and the one involving Wallace forcing himself to keep going to the contest since I kinda got thrown a bit by not picking out who was saying what, but there wasn’t anything structural that was significant enough to keep me from enjoying this chunk of your series, and I think that everything hit the notes they were intended to.
Kudos,
@Panoramic_Vacuum . I’ll be looking forward to rounding out this series tomorrow, and hope the feedback’s been fun and helpful for you thus far. ^^
