Alicia Westfield
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Player Character
Posts: 723
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Helen Rose
OOC Username: AzureGhidorah
Arena Points: 12
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Post by Alicia Westfield on Jun 20, 2024 14:48:14 GMT 9
Alicia nodded, having experienced as much during her Colossal Battle with the psi-fish. She pushed onward, even as Josh mentioned heading back into Ostellia for another big quest. But not unscathed. The crackle of wicked lightning.
The loss of her voice, once just a motion away.
Alone…”There is something I need to do before I seriously step foot in Ostellia again for a quest…” Alicia answered, sighing. But as they continued, the Gardener was a lot more alert. She could catch back up with him easily enough, and did check around the corner Josh went by. Keeping out of the Gulpin’s reach was easy enough. But she was getting suspicious too. … Wasn’t there a nook in the first room they’d gone through that was brushed off earlier? But by the time she thought of that, they had already gone further, and Josh had activated the pressure panel. Locked in, she had to focus on what was going on. But at least this was a large room. ”Stay there, Josh!” Alicia called. Just as a quartet of Rhyperior dropped in, shaking the room as their massive bodies landed. She was quick on the draw though, unleashing her newest ally. ”Yggdril! Coat the area, Syrup Bomb!” Alicia continued. ”Oi, come on everyone!” “More training…?” “No, this looks like the real deal!” “Oh snap!”Her Hydrapple appeared, plopping themselves down, and five heads all poked out. At Alicia’s order, they spat up several globs of Syrup Bombs. As they exploded and spread their sticky payloads, the saurian Pokemon who had divided into pairs groaned as their feet stuck to the floor. The powerful pokemon that could have pretty quickly cornered and overwhelmed them were now rendered largely helpless. Alicia smirked, quite pleased with herself. ”Now snipe ‘em with Bullet Seed.”The Hydrapple chimed an affirmative back. And the room quickly became a firing range as the five heads spat seeds like machine guns. In short order, Yggdril had mowed the Rhyperior group down like target practice. And in short order another small key plinked down in the center of the room. Which was thankfully not syrup-coated. ”Whoo!” “Go us!” “High five team!”And then the five heads craned upward and made a facsimile of hive-fiving by gently headbutting each other. Alicia chuckled, picking her way through the few remaining syrup-free spots so that she could reach a hand up. Noticing it, Yggdril’s main head then reached down to meet her, and she pet the Hydrapple. ”Quit hogging the boss lady!” “Yeah save some for the rest of us!” “Oh can it we have some sense linking anyways!””Alright, because of the close quarters I’m going to have to call you back. Okay?” Alicia asked. A chorus of affirmatives was followed by Alicia recalling her Hydrapple and sighing. ”Right, Nushi, if you would?”At Alicia’s urging, the Veluza zipped over the syrup while it was starting to harden, and picked the key up in his mouth. Holding her hand out to receive it, she looked over to Josh. ”Once the syrup’s not so sticky, you should take Nushi and backtrack to the start of the dungeon. I think that ‘shortcut back’ we passed up had more behind it. Look for a shroom that seemed a bit rotted? Or something like that. I’ll forge ahead as much as I can in the meantime. And don’t worry, I’ll be careful.”——————————————————————— {PARTY}Sylvene (Pidgeotto) [3/3/2] Condition: Good Giyun (Duraludon) [3/3/3] Nushi (Veluza) [3/3/2] Ronda (Cyclizar) [3/3/2] Yggdril (Hydrapple) [2/3/3] Josh Devlin
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Josh Devlin
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Lionheart
The Creed
Posts: 1,200
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Josh Devlin
OOC Username: RaikouRider
Arena Points: 38
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Post by Josh Devlin on Jun 22, 2024 11:31:26 GMT 9
"And what's that?" Josh asked the clearly disturbed Gardener. Her silence spoke volumes; whatever it was, it was serious. If it could shake a fearless warrior like her, then did Josh stand a chance against whatever it was? "...You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. But I'm here for you, whatever it may be."
The battle Josh expected wasn't with Rhyperior; weren't those supposed to be in really high-level dungeons? If they were in LEVEL-3, then what was in later LEVELs? Alicia and her Hydrapple seemed to be able to handle it just fine, her trainer procuring another SMALL KEY once the dragon's sticky breath had dried. He laughed alongside his friend, the Hydrapple quite the handful. Each head seemed to have its own personality. How exhausting it must have been. "Remind me not to raise a Pokémon with multiple heads like that," Josh half-joked. "Even if I'd love to saddle a Hydreigon someday."
That was a Pokémon that was downright dangerous to ride; with an aggressive demeanor and a huge mass, even compared to other dragons, it was trivial for them to unseat trainers they did not like.
"You sure you'll be okay by yourself?" Josh asked. Assuming she was insistent about it, he would take the Veluza with him all the way back to the entrance. And she was right. There was something odd about it, but it was a bit different. Taking a look at it from every angle he could, it seemed this one would fall from an explosive blast. While it wouldn't be a physical explosion, he did have an idea. Taking out Xira's Poké Ball, the trainer hurled it toward the large mushroom and ordered the Pokémon to land on its stalk. "Xira, use SCREECH!"
The bug-type began to vibrate, though all it achieved was widening a crack in its stem - one that had been long since filled with new growth. "Turn up the power, Xira!" he cried, urging the dragonfly to give it everything she had. He gasped as his Pokémon began to glow with a brilliant light, nearly doubling in size. His buzzing noise went from loud to deafening, Josh forced to cover his ears. Surely, even Alicia Westfield could hear the racket, even if she was all the way on the other side of the dungeon.
Were she to follow the source of the noise, she would see the newly evolved Xira's three pairs of compound eyes staring at her, as well as a MAP in Josh's hands.
Information> You got the DUNGEON MAP! View it in the Dungeon Menu. The dark rooms are the ones you haven't been to yet.
"Certainly wasn't expecting this," Josh said as soon as he noticed the enormous bug's wings at rest. "But I've got my first aerial ride now... once I reach level 11."
Alicia Westfield Map {Map} Party {Party}Ares the Charmeleon (Levels: 3/3/3) Saber the Manectric (Levels: 3/3/3) Granmarg the Mudsdale (Levels: 3/3/3) Raiden the Zebstrika (Levels: 3/3/3) Cond: FAIR Ulysses the Dewgong (Levels: 3/3/3) Xira the Yanmega (Levels: -/-/-)
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Alicia Westfield
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Player Character
Posts: 723
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Helen Rose
OOC Username: AzureGhidorah
Arena Points: 12
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Post by Alicia Westfield on Jun 22, 2024 17:05:53 GMT 9
”Thanks. Maybe after I’m done I’ll… feel fine enough to talk about it.” Alicia replied when Josh took her silence as enough of an answer. She did crack a small smile regarding Josh’s commentary on Yggdril though. ”They’re a handful, yeah. There’s two others that don’t actually poke their heads out. They instead act as the Hydrapple’s ‘feet’ with their tails. I gave up trying to track and name each of them individually about five minutes after the evolution. So they all collectively respond to ‘Yggdril’.With an insistent wave and a reassuring smirk, she sent the scout on his way. Nushi, dutiful, followed him at her go ahead, floating by him. And once they were out of Alicia’s earshot, the Veluza got a sad expression on his face. "That lab place was bad news. Used to see Tikani by her all the time when we were training before. Now…? Now she’s always absent, and the boss won’t say why. Just Clamperl’s up if anyone mentions her. Giyun got real upset when someone pushed." The Veluza mused in concern. "She’s being brave for the rest of us. And subconsciously walling us out at the same time..."Tikani and Giyun. Two of the only three Pokemon that Alicia had available going into Sector Jarzick. That she felt had gotten strong enough to make the trip. Given the electrifying end of that fiasco… Meanwhile, Alicia had split off from them. Heading for the locked door that had diverted them into the Rhyperior room in the first place. She wasn’t too concerned about the fact powerful fully evolved Pokemon were appearing in Level 3. The Rock/Ground double typing having not one but two critical weaknesses to types that about two thirds of the player base would have at least one example of. It didn’t seem like such a huge deal when some smart play and good evasion would bring them down. Maybe not as easily as Alicia had done it, but it was possible. Fitting the key into the lock and turning it, the door came loose and gave her access. Given how quick Josh was, she doubted it would take him long to reach that nook they had passed earlier. So she stepped in, quirking an eyebrow in surprise as this time the room contained a field of mushrooms, each having one of three different colors. Which seemed suspiciously similar to- And the room locked itself in similar fashion as the Rhyperior arena, making Alicia’s eyes widen in panic. ”Yggdril!” she called out her Hydrapple again. It was going to suck but she would rather be sticky rather than any number of things these mushrooms might do. But as an extra precaution… ”Protect! Stay tucked in!”Given the surprising speed at which the Hydrapple had been brought back out, all she heard was muffled surprise as she pressed herself against the syrup-drenched apple. One by one the mushrooms began to all but explode, choking the room in various powders and spores. There was nowhere to go except to try and ‘submerge’ herself against the syrup being secreted by the Hydrapple and hope physics kept the worst of the trap from affecting her. After what felt like forever, the shimmering defensive barrier formed around them, sheltering both dragon and trainer from the cloying multi-toxic clouds. ”Ugh, man this sucks!” “AAAAAAACK!” “I’m choking, I’m choking!” “We’ll be fine! Keep your head on straight!” “We got thrown into the deep end here!” “She looked like she didn’t have much warning...””Sorry…!” Alicia muttered out, seeing her Hydrapple look around. The poor thing looked ill now, and her heart twinged in pain. ”I’ll get you all healed up as soon as I can, okay?””Holding you to that!” “Would appreciate it!” “Please do!”Alicia grimaced, recalling the syrpents in the hopes that time in the Pokeball wouldn’t increment the poison damage too much. Though this was going to be embarrassing to explain to Josh. And speak of the devil, there was a giant screeching noise tearing through the dungeon. And from the direction, it was from Josh’s current location, or near it. Kicking open the unlocking door, she ended up in a much larger chamber with a raised layer of the earth she couldn’t quite peer up towards. If Yggdril was more freely usable she might’ve asked for their assistance overlooking the area. But as is, she was more concerned with figuring out what Josh had gotten himself into. Or what had occurred otherwise. "At least it wasn’t a Bug Buzz, uuuuuugh..." She heard Nushi gripe softly, his fins clutching his head as he recovered from the Screech. ”Found something, I guess?” Alicia asked once she met up with Josh again. While a syrup-y mess. Despite looking like a drowned cat and feeling just as miserable, the Gardener tried to ignore the whole debacle she was in to focus on the hopefully good news. Wait… That was a Yanmega, not a Yanma… ”And, uh, congrats on the evolution too.”——————————————————————— {PARTY}Sylvene (Pidgeotto) [3/3/2] Condition: Good Giyun (Duraludon) [3/3/3] Nushi (Veluza) [3/3/2] Ronda (Cyclizar) [3/3/2] Yggdril (Hydrapple) [2/3/3] Condition: Good/POISONED Josh Devlin
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Josh Devlin
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Lionheart
The Creed
Posts: 1,200
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Josh Devlin
OOC Username: RaikouRider
Arena Points: 38
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Post by Josh Devlin on Jun 27, 2024 14:10:17 GMT 9
It truly was serious; from what Josh understood, Alicia was one to share her woes with him. Because he was a friend she could trust. His somber mood changed as she described just how much of a headache the Hydrapple was. "So that's why you refer to Yggdril with the pronoun you do, heh," he let out a single laugh.
While they waited for her to return, the Veluza mused about their time in the lab and that Tikani never showed up. Josh had last seen Tikani there, and she had seen them white out.
Had Tikani wound up in the Everworld?
He shed a tear of the thought of losing his starter Pokémon... or any of them, really. "I... I won't press her about it," Josh replied, frowning.
Even by the time the syrup-covered Alicia returned, Josh still looked a little mopey. She may have been able to tell how blue he was until he perked up in her presence, doing everything he could to hold a smile back at how drenched in sticky goop she was. "You need a shower?" he asked. "I do have Ulysses with me if you need one."
Whether it made her mad, grateful, or full of laughter, whether she accepted the offer or not, Josh would answer her question. "I did. There was something we missed. If you pull up your Dungeon Menu, you should see a map of the place. And it's obvious where we need to go."
Heading a few chambers north, Josh would point toward a gaping hole in the floor. "That's where we need to go." If he couldn't mount the Yanmega, whether by virtue of being indoors or being too low a level, he could at least use her to avoid taking fall damage. "Xira, can you latch onto me?" Josh asked the Yanmega. With a louder cry than when she was a Yanma, she grabbed Josh's hands with her six legs and flew down the hole.
Were Alicia to follow, the duo would find themselves surrounded by Spinarak, Ariados, and Goomy. Six Pokémon in total, three from the north and three from the south. Overwhelmed with their numbers, Josh and Xira dashed eastward to what appeared to be four dead-ends over a bottomless void that none of their Pokémon would be able to clear. "...What's the point of this room, you think?"
Alicia Westfield {Map} {Party}Ares the Charmeleon (Levels: 3/3/3) Saber the Manectric (Levels: 3/3/3) Granmarg the Mudsdale (Levels: 3/3/3) Raiden the Zebstrika (Levels: 3/3/3) Cond: FAIR Ulysses the Dewgong (Levels: 3/3/3) Xira the Yanmega (Levels: -/-/-)
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Alicia Westfield
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Player Character
Posts: 723
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Helen Rose
OOC Username: AzureGhidorah
Arena Points: 12
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Post by Alicia Westfield on Jun 27, 2024 15:36:42 GMT 9
Alicia let out a soft snicker at Josh’s question. ”Please, actually. Even if it’ll be a cold rinse off. I’d rather not have powder-infested syrup on me longer than necessary. One of the rooms had grenade mushrooms. Poison Powders, Stun Spores, and more went flying through the air. So I sent Yggdril out and drenched myself in syrup while they Protected, hoping physics would keep me safe enough until the Protect could come up. Speaking of, any chance you have a Pokemon with a move that can remove Poisoning while we’re at it?”When the answer would undoubtedly come up ‘no’, she would sigh and mumble about how it was worth a shot. ”Right… Giyun?” Alicia intoned. With a toss of the Pokeball, the steel dragon emerged. ”Big jump, think you can carry me down?””No prob, Boss.” Giyun replied, working with Alicia a bit to pick her up in his arms. It wasn’t a proper mounting so it was fine. Plus, Duraludon weren’t exactly good mounts in the first place. While Josh and Xira were descending slowly, the Duraludon and Gardener would fall past them, landing on the floor below with a heavy thud. They quickly followed Josh’s lead and bailed from the situation before the multitude of Pokemon could even attempt to overrun them. And Alicia looked at the odd room with a hum. Four obvious pathways, including the one they were on… She took a look upward and hummed, flicking open her copy of the Map. ”Josh, look at this.” She began, highlighting the sector they were in on the map. ”This is where we are… and if we flick to the floor we just came from, we find that turnstile in the same ‘column’. Which is also the same sector this lone room on the top floor is. If my theory that those stalks Blitz can Flame Charge down are supporting something is right, once we take the remaining ones out, these two rooms should come crashing down. The turnstile will land here, letting us utilize this room the same way we’re using the one above, and… something will land where the turnstile currently is. What, exactly, I have no idea.””Means we gotta get through that swarm o’ Pokemon on our way out if this is a dead end.” Giyun commented. ”But this time we can bunch them up so your Breaking Swipe can nail all of them at once.” Alicia added. It was time for some quick and dirty strategizing. ”Crowd control’s the name of the game when you’re out numbered like this. Josh, Xira’s got Air Slash, right? He should if what I’ve read up on is right. Have him do flybys on anything that survives Giyun’s initial attack, prioritizing those that land farther away. The Goomies will likely go down immediately, and the spiders are weak to Flying. Giyun, engage closer remaining targets with Metal Claw. With this we’ll divide and conquer the swarm with minimal expenditure of energy and, hopefully, minimal damage incurred. Any questions?”Giyun shrugged his shoulders at that. ”Sounds like a solid attack plan to me.”With that, trainer and Pokemon looked over to Josh and Xira, awaiting their own verdict on the proposed approach to the imminent combat. ——————————————————————— Sylvene (Pidgeotto) [3/3/2] Condition: Good Giyun (Duraludon) [3/3/3] Nushi (Veluza) [3/3/2] Ronda (Cyclizar) [3/3/2] Yggdril (Hydrapple) [2/3/3] Condition: Fair/POISONED Josh Devlin
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Josh Devlin
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Lionheart
The Creed
Posts: 1,200
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Josh Devlin
OOC Username: RaikouRider
Arena Points: 38
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Post by Josh Devlin on Jul 8, 2024 14:06:01 GMT 9
Josh gasped when he heard the measures Alicia had taken to protect herself against the Moonlit Grotto's hazards. "Poison Powder, Stun Spore, and more? Geez. So many status ailments," the scout huffed as he clicked open his Dewgong's Poké Ball, Ulysses swimming in mid-air. "We need an AQUA RING for Alicia, please," he kindly gave his Pokémon orders. A cascade formed from the ice-type's horn, gentle, concentric rings of water washing away the Hydrapple's nasty goop. The water would be cool, but not cold; just enough to make the skin tingle, but there would be no danger of hypothermic complications. "Sadly, no," Josh answered on the poisoning. "That's part of the reason I'm looking for a Ponyta. There aren't a ton of steeds that are dedicated healers, and Galarian Rapidash is one of the few." As it turned out, when a trainer put on restrictions that disallowed more than 75 percent of Pokémon to be used, often times the Pokémon that could fill a specific type and role could be counted on the fingers.
Xira's vibrations were numbing. How was he supposed to ride such a Pokémon? The issue wouldn't be with controlling her; it would be doing so while maintaining the ability to move his own body. This would surely take quite some time to adapt to... and perhaps several other adventures with his friends. Even so, an agile flying steed like a Yanmega would no doubt be worth the trouble.
Upon Alicia's suggestion, Josh opened the map. "...You're right. Good eye, Alicia," he complimented the Gardener on her deductions. "We just need a way to hit those stalks at range. The ones in these two rooms were too far away to strike," he pointed.
Josh nodded at Alicia's question. "She does," he answered. On the Gardener's cue, the duo would execute their plan, assaulting the six wilds with a bevy of flying-type, dragon-type, and steel-type attacks. A big smile came upon his face as he watched experience bars fill, though none of it would go to Xira. Despite their coordinated efforts, the attacks were simply too numerous for the giant dragonfly to withstand them all. Reduced to zero hit points, the Yanmega's use in the Moonlit Grotto was over.
"Oof, that's rough," Josh huffed as they made their way around the winding basement, using Ulysses' ranged ICE SHARD to take out some grass Pokémon on the way to the basement's far southwest corner. "Might need to assign her to a class before our next adventure. I just don't have the BYTES to unlock all the slots right now. As it turns out, 2,000 for the Identity Parlor is a... bit much."
Alicia Westfield {Map} {Party}Ares the Charmeleon (Levels: 3/3/3) Saber the Manectric (Levels: 3/3/3) Granmarg the Mudsdale (Levels: 3/3/3) Raiden the Zebstrika (Levels: 3/3/3) Cond: FAIR Ulysses the Dewgong (Levels: 3/3/3) Xira the Yanmega (Levels: -/-/-) Cond: KO
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Alicia Westfield
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Player Character
Posts: 723
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Helen Rose
OOC Username: AzureGhidorah
Arena Points: 12
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Post by Alicia Westfield on Jul 14, 2024 15:42:16 GMT 9
”If there’s an effect a powder can cause, I imagine it was in that mess…” Alicia groused out, heaving a sigh. Ulysses’ Aqua Ring was very much appreciated, even as it made her skin tingle a bit. Fortunately with her recent acquisition of the Swimmer subclass, she was able to basically wipe the water off of herself without much trouble once the Dewgong was done rinsing the syrup off. ”Then lets hope we don’t run into any more Rhyperior. Yggdril’s not going to make it till the end of the dungeon at this rate. We’d have to fight them the hard way.” she noted, sighing. But soon enough, they needed to roll. Everything went swimmingly well for the moment. Up until the Yanmega went down suddenly to her surprise. She had expected them to take some blows. Certainly Giyun hadn’t come out of it unscathed. But her estimates had both Pokemon making it out to continue the battle at a later time. And then Josh explained what had happened before she could ask. ”Frag, she was classless?” the pinkette cursed out softly. ”I didn’t consider that possibility, if I’d known I would’ve tried to work around that…”With Ulysses clearing the way for them with an Ice Shard here and there, Alicia felt free to comment on something she’d seen. ”There was a locked door in one of the rooms I ducked into upstairs while we were split up. If we find a key we should keep that in mind when we find a way back up.”The would-be hero then quirked an eyebrow as they cracked into the last room in this section of the map. ”Huh…”Alicia hummed, seeing a carpet of moss writhing strangely. Maybe there was a Pokemon underneath the moss? Regardless, she didn’t want to step on it if she didn’t have to. But at the same time it was suspicious. ”Sylvene? Can you check if there’s anything of interest closed off by that moss carpet?” Alicia asked as she released the bird into the field again. ”As long as that spark head doesn’t come out going ‘bzzt bzzt’! the Pidgeotto spat out, still irritated by catching the stray edges of a Discharge earlier. With a beat of her wings, Sylvene flew over the roiling vegetation while eyeing it suspiciously. Nothing sprung up from it though, so she kept going. ”Well that’s something…””What’d you find?” Alicia asked curiously, as the Pidgeotto was out of sight by now. ”Some kind of lever shaped like a mushroom. I think I can flip it? What do you think?” her flier replied. ”… Yeah flip it.” the pinkette answered after a short delay. A ‘ka-chunk’ followed, as a chest was raised and exposed from the vegetation. ”… That seems too easy. Giyun?””Got ya covered, Boss.” the Duraludon replied as he joined Alicia in approaching the chest. Kneeling down, the pinkette started to open it. But before she could reach in, she heard Giyun gasp, and a sound like a discharging cannon. Then a shadow covered her as rock thundered against steel and Giyun groaned from the heavy blow he just took. ”I’ll teach ya to try taking a pot shot at the Boss! GRWAR!”Fearless despite his dented hide, the Duraludon charged at the newest Rhyperior that just rounded the corner. Its palm smoked from having fired a potent Rock Wrecker, but the recharge time meant that Giyun could close the distance and grapple with the burly boulder dinosaur. The Duraludon growled, trying to find openings to rake Metal Claws across their enemy. But in spite of the super-effective attack and the sparks flying from the Rhyperior’s hide, the beast seemed to not be fazed by Giyun’s attacks. ”Is it immune to melee attacks…?” Alicia wondered in shock at the sight. ”Nushi, get in there with Aqua Cutter! Giyun, focus on keeping it pinned!”Her fish friend wasted no time in diving into the fray when released, taking Aqua Cutter potshots while Giyun controlled the Rhyperior’s movements to the best of his abilities. While the enemy managed to employ its drill horn on Giyun, sending sparks flying again, it wasn’t fast enough to defeat the towering dragon before Nushi’s barrage put it down for good. ”Giyun!?” Alicia asked, eyes wide. She desperately needed to pick up good healing at this point. Giyun may have been absurdly sturdy, but even his durability had its limits unassisted. Maybe the Arena Shop had things she could use… ”’M alright… though if we can spare a moment?” the Duraludon replied, taking a seat with a heaving groan. Between the Rock Wrecker and an attempted Horn Drill the dragon was clearly smarting. Alicia cast a hopeful glance towards Josh in hopes he’d be kind enough to lend Ulysses’ services again. It may not have been an ideal scenario back in Jarzick, but here they weren’t dealing with Ultra Beasts back to back hammering them beyond what they could reasonably be expected to deal with. The chest wasn’t forgotten though, and as she reach a hand into it, she blinked as she pulled out a compass of all things, to a lovely ‘item acquired’ tune. > You’ve acquired the COMPASS! It can track your position in relation to the BOSS, as well as find KEYS!”Well, this should be useful.” she mused as she pocketed her copy and it’s functions were added. ——————————————————————— {PARTY}Sylvene (Pidgeotto) [3/3/2] Condition: Good Giyun (Duraludon) [3/3/3] Condition: Fair Nushi (Veluza) [3/3/2] Ronda (Cyclizar) [3/3/2] Yggdril (Hydrapple) [2/3/3] Condition: Poor/POISONED Josh Devlin
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Josh Devlin
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Lionheart
The Creed
Posts: 1,200
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Josh Devlin
OOC Username: RaikouRider
Arena Points: 38
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Post by Josh Devlin on Jul 18, 2024 13:55:06 GMT 9
The way Alicia was able to wash herself clean was an indicator of her acquisition of the Swimmer class. Josh made a note of that for later; they would be returning to Ostellia for a deep dive in the near future, almost certainly.
"Believe me, unlocking class slots is a priority once I have the money to get into the Identity Parlor," the scout exhaled after Giyun had taken care of the rock-type behemoth... at great expense to the Duraludon's own health. "I saw the numbers... that was incredible. That Rhyperior must really have outleveled us. I wonder if there was a puzzle element we missed." He glanced toward his HUD, and Aqua Ring appeared to still be on cooldown. "It's still recharging. We might be here a hot minute."
It wasn't like they were out of things to do; with the COMPASS that Alicia found, a large amount of information appeared on their DUNGEON MAP. "Let's go into the Map subscreen and try to plan this out. Looks like all the chests are marked on the map now, and that skull has to be the boss." It was all coming back to him. No wonder this looked so familiar.
"Have you played any of the Game Boy Zelda games before, Alicia?" Josh curiously asked. "They might be before your time. This looks... frighteningly similar to a dungeon from one of them." His genre savviness could make the difference between victory and defeat in the Moonlit Grotto. "
Once the AQUA RING use was recharged, Josh would send Ulysses back out to patch up the Duraludon. Due to presumed very high maximum HP, the bath might not be as effective as Alicia would have liked, but it was better than the steel-type being in critical HP. He wondered if she had to listen to grating beeping until Giyun was out of the red.
"Alright, let's head up," Josh pointed to the stairs leading up. As he expected, it took them to an alcove near the entrance, able to see the open chest. "This is where I found the map," he pointed before heading to the west, their COMPASSES sounding a curious tone upon entering a small chamber at the far southwest of the grotto. "What kind of shape you think it wants us to make with these?" he pointed toward the six movable blocks surrounding a singular, discolored rock tile in the center.
Alicia Westfield {Map} {Party}Ares the Charmeleon (Levels: 3/3/3) Saber the Manectric (Levels: 3/3/3) Granmarg the Mudsdale (Levels: 3/3/3) Raiden the Zebstrika (Levels: 3/3/3) Cond: FAIR Ulysses the Dewgong (Levels: 3/3/3) Xira the Yanmega (Levels: -/-/-) Cond: KO
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Alicia Westfield
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Player Character
Posts: 723
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Helen Rose
OOC Username: AzureGhidorah
Arena Points: 12
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Post by Alicia Westfield on Jul 19, 2024 13:23:53 GMT 9
”I should’ve gone with my gut instinct and set up an ambush.” Alicia answered back, letting a shiver shake her voice. ”Instead I wrote it off with only a token precaution, underestimating the damage those things can out put…””Boss, anyone could’ve made that mistake.” Giyun assured with a huff, smirking. He then grunted as Alicia took advantage of the time they were going to wait to hug him tightly. ”Whoa there… hey-…”Anything else the dragon said was too quiet to be easily heard at that point, as Sylvene came over to land on Alicia’s shoulder, wrapping a wing around the would-be hero’s head. The Pidgeotto kept an eye out, especially when Josh was ready to have Ulysses use Aqua Ring. Once the Dewgong was ready, the sudden group hug would split up again and Alicia would steady herself. Catching herself up on what Josh was sharing, the pinkette shook her head. ”My only experience with the Zelda series was Wind Waker when I was younger. An… unfortunate hang up very early in the game turned my opinion of the series quite sour. So I’m surprised to hear that this is similar to a Zelda dungeon you heard of.”Giyun was about as patched up as he could get at this point, so Alicia joined Josh in heading up the stairs, humming a bit. The chime of the Compasses caught her attention as well, and she hummed softly, looking over the set up. She could technically push that one out into the hall to get access to all possible directions. But… that would leave the other two still pinned to their respective walls. Not to mention it wouldn’t lead to anything logically. So that didn’t seem like it was in the right direction. Meanwhile, if she pushed the trio that was clustered together apart and against the walls… that would form a six-sided pattern that she remembered seeing in the brief time she played Wind Waker. ”If I was a betting woman…” Alicia began as she began moving. Placing herself in the small space that was left by the clustered trio. With a grunt, she pushed the first stone up against the wall, placing it parallel to the one against the far wall. Going clockwise, she then shoved the next block against another wall, creating the top-point of the design she was going for. And with one final shove, she pushed the third stone into the wall closest to the corridor they came in from. A chime sounded, as a key fell. Right into the confidently-smiling hero’s hand. ”Yup. They wanted a rupee.”And then she got another chime, grimacing. Checking her party, she sighed softly. ”The poison just did Yggdril in...”——————————————————————— {PARTY}Sylvene (Pidgeotto) [3/3/2] Condition: Good Giyun (Duraludon) [3/3/3] Condition: Fair Nushi (Veluza) [3/3/2] Ronda (Cyclizar) [3/3/2] Yggdril (Hydrapple) [2/3/3] Condition: KO Josh Devlin
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Josh Devlin
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Lionheart
The Creed
Posts: 1,200
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Josh Devlin
OOC Username: RaikouRider
Arena Points: 38
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Post by Josh Devlin on Jul 21, 2024 2:02:47 GMT 9
Josh couldn't help but let out a coo as the Duraludon and Gardener cuddled. It couldn't have been comfortable, which was one of the reasons Josh preferred furred or feathered friends, but it showed just the affection they had for one another. Seeing the two do so, Josh clicked open his Manectric's Poké Ball and gave the electric dog some love as well. His hair stood on end from the static surge, but that was a small price to pay to hear the large Pokémon whine and squeal like a tiny puppy would.
As Alicia related her experiences with Zelda, Josh frowned. "Let me guess. Forsaken Fortress? I didn't care for that part of the game, either. A huge stealth sequence you have to restart from the very beginning if you're spotted? I signed up to play Zelda, not Metal Gear."
As Alicia solved the room's puzzle and claimed the missing key, Josh sighed upon getting the notification she did. "Remind me to do a search of ride Pokémon with Aroma Therapy or Heal Bell when we get back to Briarbane," the scout said, trying to cheer his friend up some.
With the missing key in hand, Josh and his squad led the way, Saber launching THUNDER WAVE after THUNDER WAVE at Pokémon that wanted to pick a fight. Experience mattered, yes, but not when it came at the cost of party Pokémon. "On the way back, we'll need to come down and up that pit to burn the stalk," he pointed as they made their way to the northwest part of the upper floor. The wild, camouflaged Foongus had other ideas; as the unsuspecting explorers passed the hidden Pokémon, they discharged clouds of RAGE POWDER. Covered in irritating, red pollen, the models of Josh and his Manectric turned shades of blood red, a BERSERK icon next to his name in the HUD.
Dashing at full speed, he rounded the corners to the chamber's upper level, slamming open the treasure box at its top so hard that the bottle containing its contents cracked -- but not shattered.
You obtained a BOTTLE OF MUSHROOM DROPS! Try sprinkling them over a patch of soft soil!
Violently stuffing it in his inventory, Josh stormed through the north exit. Were Alicia to follow him, a pillar of foliage would rise behind her, sealing both of them inside. The chamber had two major features: a trough leading west, and a mushroom cap much like the ones they had been knocking down... only this one was surrounded with a wide, bottomless pit, this one leaving its seemingly never-ending stalk well out of melee range.
Alicia Westfield {Map} {Party}Ares the Charmeleon (Levels: 3/3/3) Saber the Manectric (Levels: 3/3/3) Granmarg the Mudsdale (Levels: 3/3/3) Raiden the Zebstrika (Levels: 3/3/3) Cond: FAIR Ulysses the Dewgong (Levels: 3/3/3) Xira the Yanmega (Levels: -/-/-) Cond: KO
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Alicia Westfield
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Player Character
Posts: 723
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Helen Rose
OOC Username: AzureGhidorah
Arena Points: 12
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Post by Alicia Westfield on Jul 30, 2024 16:42:44 GMT 9
It was time to get moving again. Though Alicia did appreciate seeing Josh play with Saber a bit, smiling at the two of them. But they had a dungeon to finish. Sure they might’ve been a bit under leveled… but with how much they’d gotten done so far, she was confident they could finish the dungeon outright. ”Got it in one. I got lost somewhere along the way, so I have no idea how close I was or if I was even in the right area. I looked up guides years after the fact and I don’t see people go through the kind of area I remembered getting stuck in.” Alicia answered. It was a mystery for the ages. ”So my view on the series is probably a bit unfair because of the unexpected genre swap. But it’s soured my opinion all the same.”She did nod in agreement of Josh looking up riding mons with clerical moves for future endeavors. HP heals only went so far. Fortunately, with the Manectric out, Josh was able to easily clear the path of anything that could threaten them, and Alicia happily accepted the break. At which point she winced upon forgetting the camouflaged mushroom Pokemon! She had raced through so quickly that the Rage Powders had missed her the first time, but she forgot to keep them in mind to warn Josh because of that. ”Jooooooosh!” she called, rolling away from an incoming cloud aimed at her. No use, the temporarily crazed player was already storming off. But at least he was still doing progression things if the jingle she got was any indication. Since she was picking her way through more carefully, she actually met up with Josh as he came back down from the upper level, following him into the room. With him being blinded by rage, and the path back being blocked… there was only one way to go. Alicia heaved a sigh, and made her way through the only remaining doorway, into the room that would be a dead end on the map. ”What the…?” Alicia asked in surprise with a quirk of an eyebrow. There was a pair of Rhydon. Not nearly as powerful as the earlier Rhyperior, but still certainly an issue if she wasn’t careful. But they were just… standing there… Well, if they weren’t going to make the first move, she would, taking a step forward to give Giyun orders. At which point she froze when one of the drilling saurians stepped forward as well, mirroring the move. ”… Giyun… take a couple paces to my right, would you?”The Duraludon, utterly confused, blinked and obliged, taking three steps. The other Rhydon turned to the left and also walked three steps. Now Giyun understood what was going on. ”You seeing this, Boss?””I am… stay right there and get ready to strike. If we can clear them out one at a time, this will be easier.” Alicia answered. Having Giyun move the way he did gave her room. And so she started carefully pacing forward. The Rhydon locking onto her mirrored, and its drill horn revved threateningly as they got closer. ”Not this time.” Alicia chimed as she turned away. Two paces gave her room to walk around the Rhydon without getting close enough to attack. Then she angled back so that the mirrored movements would eventually send it into Giyun’s waiting claws. At which point she also turned herself around. Walking backwards in order to walk her Rhydon mirror back first and defenseless. While entering combat range allowed the Rhydon to turn back around, the choice of movement style rendered the saurian helpless for too long. Giyun’s mighty Metal Claws and Breaking Swipes crushed the dinosaur before it could properly mount an attack. After that, Giyun started moving to drag the other Rhydon over to himself. This one, he believed, was going to be a lot harder. After all, as far as he could tell, he couldn’t do the same thing Alicia did without putting himself in trouble. Alicia, however, had other ideas. While she couldn’t realistically fight on her own yet, she wasn’t going to let any more harm come to Giyun if she could help it. So in complete defiance of common sense, she actually rushed at the Rhydon’s back once they got close together. ”Boss!?” Giyun gasped out, eyes widening as he saw Alicia leap onto the Rhydon’s back. The beast let out a roar and started thrashing, the pinkette grasping an ear and a back spine and holding on tight. Swerving out of tge way of attempts by the saurian to reach behind itself and grab her. ”Take the shot while I’ve got it distracted!” Alicia ordered, wincing. She couldn’t hold on for long. The drill saurian was powerful compared to her, and she could already feel the rocky carapace digging into her skin. With the severity of the situation amplified, Giyun didn’t have the chance to offer any counter suggestions. All he could do was let out a bellow of his own as he charged in. His first Metal Claw went into the Rhydon’s cheek, sending it reeling. The follow up went into its stomach, making ti double over. Which gave Giyun a chance to pry Alicia ofd its back, with a squeak from the trainer, and roughly toss her out of the way. The pinkette landed in a heap and rolled to bleed off the energy of the move, looking up. In the brief time she’d been recovering, Giyun finished the Rhydon off, and came storming over to her in a mix of anger and worry. The Duraludon ignored the chime of completion and a chest appearing that, likely, contained their next item. Giyun instead opted to grab Alicia by the shoulders, lift her up, and shake her like a doll. ”Don’t ya do that again, ‘kay Boss!? These kinda fights are why ya have me around! There ain’t no point if ya get yaself pasted worrying about me! I get it! Yer wishing you could do more! But she wouldn’t want ya throwing what ya have away like this!” Giyun howled out. ”Arceus Boss, I get it… but I didn’t realize it’d get to ya this badly…”Alicia hung there in Giyun’s grip, unable to hide the tears this time. ”I…” she started out quietly, before looking away. What could she say? She couldn’t exactly deny her anchor’s words. ——————————————————————— {PARTY}Sylvene (Pidgeotto) [3/3/2] Condition: Good Giyun (Duraludon) [3/3/3] Condition: Fair Nushi (Veluza) [3/3/2] Ronda (Cyclizar) [3/3/2] Yggdril (Hydrapple) [2/3/3] Condition: KO Josh Devlin
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Josh Devlin
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Lionheart
The Creed
Posts: 1,200
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Josh Devlin
OOC Username: RaikouRider
Arena Points: 38
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Post by Josh Devlin on Aug 3, 2024 14:43:07 GMT 9
The battle in the next room was long enough that by the time Giyun had finished the "puzzle boss" off, Josh's BERSERK state had worn off. Sweating, he slowly joined Alicia, huffing. "I need... a minute or two..." he trailed off, at first bracing himself against the large treasure chest in the room's center. It was only when he sat down and listened to the music that he noticed just how short its loop was. How could a song that looped in under 30 seconds be so catchy?!
Once he was feeling somewhat better, Josh cracked open the treasure chest, finding the key that uncorked the entire dungeon... even if it wasn't a literal key.
Information> You got the PHANTOM DOUBLE! This hold item extends the range of a Pokémon's melee attacks. It can even cause them to reflect off up to one surface.
"That's the component we've been missing," Josh said, smiling for the first time in a while. Applying it to Raiden, he commanded the horse to use a FLAME CHARGE toward the out-of-reach mushroom. An illusory double of the Zebstrika slammed directly into the stalk. bringing its cap all the way down to the floor. As if on cue, the locked door to the south opened, letting them head back to previously explored areas of the dungeon. "Now, where were those last two stalks we couldn't get to? Do you remember?"
Alicia Westfield {Map} {Party}Ares the Charmeleon (Levels: 3/3/3) Saber the Manectric (Levels: 3/3/3) Granmarg the Mudsdale (Levels: 3/3/3) Raiden the Zebstrika (Levels: 3/3/3) Cond: FAIR Ulysses the Dewgong (Levels: 3/3/3) Xira the Yanmega (Levels: -/-/-) Cond: KO
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Alicia Westfield
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Player Character
Posts: 723
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Helen Rose
OOC Username: AzureGhidorah
Arena Points: 12
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Post by Alicia Westfield on Aug 9, 2024 11:30:07 GMT 9
Giyun huffed and put Alicia down on her feet, the trembling Gardener taking some breaths to steady herself. The Duraludon in turn folded his arms in front of his chest and rested for a while, waiting for Josh to recover. Once he had, and claimed the Obligatory Puzzle Item, they would join him in seeing how the Phantom Double worked exactly. And upon Josh’s question, Alicia took a moment to hum softly. ”I do actually, but not how to get to one of them.””Should I get ready to launch someone?” Giyun asked with a quirked eyebrow. Shaking her head, Alicia answered. ”No… it was completely walled off. There’s a path we haven’t taken yet downstairs. For the other, though, it’s north of the turnstile and tucked into the left corner of that room from where we usually enter. And I strongly recommend we get in there from the turnstile. I’d rather not discover that those mushrooms have regrown.””So we have that. What about the other one?” Giyun mused. ”It’s in the room where we first jumped down to the basement floor. There’s a secondary chamber we need another pathway to reach.” Alicia noted. ”So I think we split up again. You go hit the turnstile-blocked one. Giyun and I head downstairs and scour the place top to bottom for another stairway upward.”——————————————————————— {PARTY}Sylvene (Pidgeotto) [3/3/2] Condition: Good Giyun (Duraludon) [3/3/3] Condition: Fair Nushi (Veluza) [3/3/2] Ronda (Cyclizar) [3/3/2] Yggdril (Hydrapple) [2/3/3] Condition: KO Josh Devlin
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Josh Devlin
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Lionheart
The Creed
Posts: 1,200
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Josh Devlin
OOC Username: RaikouRider
Arena Points: 38
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Post by Josh Devlin on Aug 16, 2024 3:39:12 GMT 9
"Got it! See you in a few!" Josh waved before doing as instructed. With his new item acquisition and some backtracking, knocking the pillar down would be easy enough. Provided Alicia Westfield was able to navigate to hers (which should be simple, given the Map showed staircases), Josh would hear the loud sound of the third stalk falling. "Raiden, FLAME CHARGE!" he ordered.
An illusory duplicate of the flame-wreathed horse reflected off the rock wall, incinerating the otherwise inaccessible stalk. Josh covered his ears in anticipation of the banging noise he was used to.
Information> There was a loud sound far off, like something being knocked loose!
Just as he uncovered his ears, an even louder crash pounded at his eardrums, earthquake-like vibrations knocking him and his Zebstrika both off their feet. "Owww..." he groaned, landing on his back and banging his head against the grotto's hard floor. Gently shaking his head, he slowly rose to his feet as an iconic "puzzle solved" jingle made music to his ears.
Information> It sounds like something heavy fell down below!
Having expected Alicia to hear and feel a similar tremor, he waited for the Gardener to rendezvous with him as planned.
Alicia Westfield {Map} {Party}Ares the Charmeleon (Levels: 3/3/3) Saber the Manectric (Levels: 3/3/3) Granmarg the Mudsdale (Levels: 3/3/3) Raiden the Zebstrika (Levels: 3/3/3) Cond: FAIR Ulysses the Dewgong (Levels: 3/3/3) Xira the Yanmega (Levels: -/-/-) Cond: KO
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Alicia Westfield
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Player Character
Posts: 723
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Helen Rose
OOC Username: AzureGhidorah
Arena Points: 12
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Post by Alicia Westfield on Aug 20, 2024 12:31:51 GMT 9
The additions to the Map with the key items they’d gotten were a godsend. After a bit of mental thought, Alicia was able to easily locate the stairs she needed in order to as end towards the room with the last remaining stalk. ”Dragon Claw, Giyun!””Urryah!” The Duraludon roared out. And fortunately, it seemed a dragon’s flames worked as a substitute for the kind Raiden was using in his Flame Charge, as her stalk was destroyed all the same. And with that remaining crashing noise, another, much louder one followed. Alicia stumbled and fell to one knee to brace herself. Giyun, biologically designed to deal with such tremors, rocked with the tremors easily like it was a simple breeze on a flower. ”Sounds like it’s meet up time, eh Boss?””Yeah, he should be at the turnstile. Unless there’s something we need from that room up above.” Alicia replied, taking off with her dragon in tow. With her starting to get used to this dungeon’s layout, she had little trouble returning to the once-gaping void of a room. Now, just as she’d thought earlier, the turnstile was down here and they could use it to access the last few sections of the dungeon they had yet to peer into. ”Looks like despite being a bit under-leveled, we’re going to see the boss~” She commented softly, grinning. This was the kind of thing she lived for in some games. While she wasn’t a serious ‘challenge gamer’ or whatever they were called, she did sometimes see a recommended level and think ‘how much can we actually get away with though?’ ——————————————————————— {PARTY}Sylvene (Pidgeotto) [3/3/2] Condition: Good Giyun (Duraludon) [3/3/3] Condition: Fair Nushi (Veluza) [3/3/2] Ronda (Cyclizar) [3/3/2] Yggdril (Hydrapple) [2/3/3] Condition: KO Josh Devlin
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