[ti]spawn[/ti]Roaming the Thunder Plains [S][Spawn]

Though Josh wanted to see what Ixion was capable of, the electric-type already much faster than Ares was, he could not remain close. The equine's horn, blinking yellow and white, would attract lightning. The Blitzle could withstand it without an issue, but being hit by a lightning strike would almost certainly result in Josh himself being derezzed, waking up in the Everworld, and having to fight for his digital life to escape. At least in his eyes. He didn't know what the Everworld was like, and he wasn't willing to be willingly find himself among the Game-Overed to find out.

Deeper into the brush the two cautiously continued, a thunderclap echoing across the plains after the noticeable, but not blinding, flash of cloud-to-cloud lightning illuminated the sky for a split second. As he took step after step, Josh covered his ears in anticipation of the loud alert of a wild Pokémon initiating combat with him.

With his ears shielded, he could barely hear the noise, taken more by surprise from the pixelating and clearing surroundings. He took his hands off his ears to listen for the Pokémon's battle cry, that and a familiar driving beat an indicator that it was time for a clash!

As Josh proceeded through the brush, staying as close to Raiden as he was comfortable with, he had second thoughts about continuing as things were. Against his better judgment, he crept deeper into the prairie grass, this time keeping his ears open. He knew what to expect now for the volume and type of sound the encounter alert would be. While he couldn't expect to never be frightened by it again, depending on the environment, at least he had an idea of what would be coming next time a Pokémon decided to jump him.

Silvermoon was a sight for sore eyes. "The cavalry has arrived," Josh sighed as Raiden reared, the electric-type's stripes glowing a bright yellow as he kicked at the spire-shaped dragon in a passing QUICK ATTACK. The attack barely left a scratch on him. "In rough shape, but could be worse." He looked up to see the player's tag. "Thanks, Silvermoon. Let me know if there's anything I can do for you afterward. You're a--"

There would be no time for an extended conversation, or even after word out of him, as the dragon-type reached toward Raiden and Josh both with a nasty BREAKING SWIPE. The left side of his chest and his left arm began tingling, slash marks appearing in both places as well as on the Blitzle's body. This was where he was glad he set a lower pain threshold; the pain from such deep cuts would have been stabbing. Paralyzing, even. Grimacing as he saw the damage inflicted, he was brought to his knees. Pulling up the UI, he had to look up that attack.

With an arsenal like that, Duraludon was truly a mini-boss wreathed as a random encounter. Why was this in an area adjacent to the tutorial area again? This felt like a midgame encounter!

If that was medium damage, Josh didn't want to know what heavy or even severe damage looked or felt like. He felt helpless, almost like a leech, not pulling his weight in battle. That was what experienced players were for: getting started was hard! If this was one of the zones that was friendly to new players, how much worse would other zones be?

Oh, so he would wake up at a Pokémon Center instead of a Shrine? That was wonderful, almost like death in the tall grass was but a slap on the wrist. It certainly beat out the brutality of IronMon back in the real world: death in the grasses of Route 1 was common if the wrong encounter reared its ugly head.

The chimeric Kintsugi frightened Josh: What kind of Pokémon was that? It looked ferocious and difficult to handle. A fantastic steed if he could tame one, but did it ever look unsettling. And it was kicking butt against the metallic dragon, too!

"I'll do my best to support you, Silvermoon! Raiden, use your TAIL WHIP!" Josh commanded. Without hesitation, the Blitzle about-faced and started flicking his tail back and forth, serving as a distraction for the Type: Null to give it a real wallop. The wild, incensed with the Blitzle's behavior, sliced into him with a vicious METAL CLAW, the equine keeling over despite having a natural resistance to Steel-type attacks. Grumbling, Josh withdrew his fallen Pokémon, pointing for Ares to take his place.

With Josh's help, the Type: Null and Duraludon appeared to be an even match. All he needed to do was stay out of trouble. As much as he didn't like to put Ares in harm's way, self preservation was one strong motivator.

"Ares, try to stay as far away from it as you can!" Josh commanded, "EMBER!"

Combat Log> Ares readies Ember.

"Take this, metalhead!" the eager Charmander cried, grabbing his tail and swinging it like a whip toward the wild. Wisps of flame flew toward the spire-shaped dragon, sizzling upon contact.

Combat Log> Duraludon readies Breaking Swipe.

Despite backing away what he thought was a safe distance, the Duraludon's range proved to be much larger than it appeared, slicing toward Josh, Ares, and Kintsugi in a wide arc. The angle was perfect, calculated like a cold killer would. Josh and his fiery lizard friend went blasting away from the dragon-type in the weeds. With the new player and his Pokémon disappearing in a flash of white light, Silv alone against the dangerous foe.

Combat Log> Ares has fallen.
Combat Log> Josh has fallen.

Thankfully, the Pokémon Center was not too far. If Josh hurried, he might be able to make it back in time to bag the ferocious Pokémon... or at least bring it down before even Silvermoon got in big trouble

Information> Please select a new party leader.

Raiden, Ares, and Josh hurried back to Silv's aid. If they were struggling to contain the Duraludon together, he expected they wouldn't last too long on their own. He would be able to travel much faster if he could strap a saddle to Raiden, but in his current form, he was just too small. The price of being fairly tall, yet wanting to be a rider, was it put severe limitations on what one could mount.

Huffing as he returned to Silv's side, Josh cried, "We've got your back!" Ares was back with a vengeance, and he wasn't holding back. He was going to use his strongest attack against the metal dragon. "FIRE FANG, Ares!"

Combat Log> Ares readies Fire Fang.

With a loud, high-pitched battle cry, the Charmander ran past Kintsugi, mouth dripping with embers as he chomped into the wild's underside. While he wouldn't make a dent in the metal armor, perhaps the flames would raise its body temperature to uncomfortable levels.

Ares' and Kintsugi's attacks seemed to merely bounce off the Duraludon, inflicting no more than chip damage. If an experienced player had this much trouble with the Pokémon, then perhaps it was really over their heads? Josh pondered running away, turning to Silv. "Maybe we should beat feet..." he trailed off, unsure of himself for a few moments before shaking his head.

"No. We've come too far."

Combat Log> Duraludon readies Rock Smash.
Combat Log> Ares readies Scratch.

"That's the spirit, Josh!" Ares goaded his trainer before facing the steel-type again. Having spent all his Tech Points on one big attack, the Charmander was reduced to a basic SCRATCH attack. If he could rake over the same place Kintsugi did, perhaps he could land a critical hit that would lead to the two fighters' victory. Exchanging quick but weak blows, the ROCK SMASH made the lizard feel more sick than weak; were he to fall, Josh would be reliant on his newer, less experienced Pokémon!