Lessons Wrought [Elinda/Closed]

We're painted red
to fit right in

She needed to get things in order.

It wasn't a thought that Elinda had often, but it definitely applied as of the last week or two. Things in Vega had struck a bit too close to home. Uncomfortably close, and it had been messing with her head and bringing up things that the woman had long since thought she'd left behind, moved on from. And no matter how much the trainer tried to convince herself that it wasn't her problem, that this wasn't her region... a few weeks ago she would've happily hopped on a jet straight back to Hoenn and started touring a different region instead.

A fair few things had changed since then, though, and Elinda couldn't be sure anymore if the voice at the back of her head urging her to stay and fight was her own or Metang's anymore. The connection they shared had certainly started to get stronger again since he'd evolved, but it wasn't so obvious that she could quickly separate her thoughts from his own feelings anymore. That'd probably change once he'd evolved back into Metagross again and his own presence was very much a distinct one as it had been in the past, but now...

She needed to talk to someone with similar experiences, and who had made the same choices she had in the past. Someone with a similar mindset who could hopefully nudge her thinking in the right direction, and that meant going to Shaula before making any rash decisions that couldn't be corrected or taken back.

They were close enough to the town that it probably wasn't even half a day's journey now, actually. The road had been a fairly easy to follow one after Metang and Skarmory had assisted Elinda along a few shortcuts across otherwise impassable terrain across the Gurios Mountains to the north, and thanks to that they'd both made good time and were fairly well rested. In fact... it sounded an awful lot closer than Elinda had originally expected them to be. There were a number of voices up ahead, younger ones from the sound of it, although it was impossible to be sure if they were just trainers like herself that were traveling between towns or locals who had decided to scratch that itch to go exploring a bit. If they were anything like what she'd been before properly setting out as a trainer herself...

It wasn't until the road led to a wider section that allowed a fair bit of sunlight to stream down and access to the river beside it that Elinda caught onto the big one boasting about clearing a region on his own.

"Oh? Might want to be careful of who you hear saying that, not everyone's going to just let something like that slide unchallenged." Elinda spoke up, hands in her crimson travel coat's pockets as she entered the clearing. Now that she finally had an opportunity to glance over those who had been talking... most of them seemed to fall into the second category. Likely trainers by trade, so to speak, but so very green and very local. None of them had the presence that older veterans did and, frankly, their clothes were too clean, lacking the obvious wear that Elinda's own black shirt, jeans and travel boots did under her coat. There was one, though, the guy who had been boasting...

As much as it disturbed Elinda there was something very much familiar about him, something made all the more uncomfortable after the last week's events. It was subtle, but it was something she was quite well acquainted with even if she couldn't really put it into words. He'd seen his share of adversity at least, although it hadn't seemed to temper his spirit nor his judgement.

"We trainers are a competitive bunch." Elinda continued, eyes glancing over to the Shuckle at his side.

---

Metang - Level 20. Take Down, Confusion, Metal Claw, Magnet Rise.

Ferroseed - Level 10. Tackle, Growl, Rollout, Curse.

Skarmory - Level 5. Leer, Peck.

Aron - Level 10. Tackle, Harden, Mud Slap, Headbutt, Metal Claw.

Staryu - Level 10. Harden, Tackle, Water Gun, Rapid Spin, Recover.

Scizor - Level 13. Vacuum Wave, Quick Attack, Leer, Focus Energy, Pursuit, Bullet Punch.

@tag

We're painted red
to fit right in

Oh? A good answer, and the right answer at that. At least as far as Elinda was concerned.

If nothing else it was enough to make Elinda stop mid step right as she was about to continue past the group and reevaluate her earlier appraisal of the older trainer, the one who was speaking. While Elinda wasn't exactly one to judge others for their lifestyles when it didn't concern her own nor did she particularly enjoy the idea of doing so, the state of many younger trainers had left her concerned in recent years. No, not just the younger generation. Plenty of her own were more concerned with the idea of fame and power than the art itself. Influence and recognition rather than the simple idea of self improvement. Winning was always going to be an important part of battling but it was just as important to learn from losses as well, and friendly sparring matches didn't necessarily lose meaning nor importance if you were still able to take something away from them as a result.

"Sorry, don't believe I caught your name?" Elinda responded, head turning and gaze settling on the younger trainer. It was rare to see that sentiment reflected in another, however. All the more so when they'd been through enough adversity for it to leave its mark, although for some people that just as often served as a reality check, something that would force them to reassess and reevaluate their priorities in life. Much of what he'd just said ran directly parallel to her own beliefs, though, and ones she'd spent a lifetime developing and shaping.

To her it'd been all about the thrill of the battle when she'd been younger, but as Elinda had gotten older and started to develop a far deeper connection with her partners... well. There were plenty of trainers who believed such thinking to be sentimental at best and foolish at worst, a waste of time, but in Elinda's experience it was just as true that battling could be viewed as another form of communication. Perhaps the truest form, when you got down to it. Conflict was just as valid an exchange of ideas as speaking was, but the first would tell you things about a person that you couldn't begin to learn otherwise.

Elinda didn't know who he was, but the boy had potential at least as far as his ideology was concerned.

"You'd be surprised at how many people seem to have lost sight of that ideal. That sounded an awful lot like an invitation, however." Elinda replied, a corner of her mouth subtly quirking up in the beginnings of a small smile while she watched the other trainer for his response. Turning to actually face him, it seemed only fair if that was what he was asking for - at the very least he'd earned a bit of her time. Besides, with any luck it'd be good for her as well - as noted before, battles could be very much viewed as an exchange of ideas and that went both ways. Elinda didn't doubt she was going to win but she could hope that it would last long enough to get a solid idea of who this boy was - not merely his name - and what he'd been through. She'd noted before that there had been something familiar in him that she'd rather not have seen, but it didn't seem to dull his spirit in the slightest. He knew exactly who he was and that was honestly something Elinda could use herself right about now.

It was the entire reason she was going to Shaula to begin with.

---

Metang - Level 20. Take Down, Confusion, Metal Claw, Magnet Rise.

Ferroseed - Level 10. Tackle, Growl, Rollout, Curse.

Skarmory - Level 5. Leer, Peck.

Aron - Level 10. Tackle, Harden, Mud Slap, Headbutt, Metal Claw.

Staryu - Level 10. Harden, Tackle, Water Gun, Rapid Spin, Recover.

Scizor - Level 13. Vacuum Wave, Quick Attack, Leer, Focus Energy, Pursuit, Bullet Punch.

@tag

We're painted red
to fit right in

Gozubura? It was hardly an unusual name with how much traveling Elinda had done in her time and how many people she'd met over the course of said travels, but it was one that raised a number of questions. He'd mentioned having completing a regional circuit before and while she'd initially just taken that for a bit of showboating... if her initial thoughts were correct in keeping with his name, it was definitely something to consider for this fight. Gym Leaders never tended to be push overs in a general sense but there were some regions far better known for incredibly difficult challenges as opposed to others.

"Gozu, you say? You wouldn't happen to be from Johto, would you?" Elinda inquired, throwing the question out there and somehow of the opinion that Gozubura wasn't going to mind. She didn't like talking about certain parts of her past in the slightest if it could be avoided but that was largely due to shame. This boy didn't seem to have any of that, though - if anything he seemed to revel in the opportunity to talk about himself.

Like himself, though, the boy's Pokemon was equally deserving of attention as he threw it out.

Grimer weren't Pokemon that Elinda was as familiar with as many other trainers - most tended to avoid Poison types once they knew you used Steel - but she'd seen a few in her time. Enough to find her head quirking slightly to the side and eyebrows knitting a bit in confusion at the sight of a green one. No, that wasn't it, either. It was rare but not unheard of for Pokemon displaying different coloration to be found or bred, and green was the correct color for such a specimen in this case. The yellow portion dominating the lower "jaw", however, was not. Nor were what appeared to be teeth on something that should have only been a collection of sentient slime and sludge, and those differences were only further accentuated by the rather notable lack of Grimer's distinct smell.

Some sort of subspecies, like Basculin? Maybe, but Elinda felt like that wasn't quite it, either. Those had identical abilities, but that likely wasn't the case here. Pokemon didn't generally have teeth unless it was to use them, and normal Grimer didn't bite so much as smother. Whatever the case, that initial upward quirk of her lips had begun transitioning into a small but very noticeable smile. It'd been a good while since Elinda had run into anything new, and it was almost always a welcome change when she did. It meant new things to be learned and improvements to be made.

"With pleasure. The first move's yours." Elinda called out, taking a handful of steps back while one hand casually unclipped one of the newer, less worn Pokeballs on her belt to send out Skarmory with a light toss. Flashing into existence directly where the blond had been standing a moment before the big metal bird was easily twice the Grimer's size, the larger Pokemon taking a moment to register where her opponent was and quirking her head curiously at the sight of the sludge puddle. Despite what was likely going to be an overwhelming type advantage Skarmory was still one of Elinda's youngest Pokemon, recently acquired from another trainer. She'd been plenty helpful since then but had never actually been used in battle yet, and her instincts were still as unfocused and untrained as that of any wild Pokemon. With any luck that lack of experience would make this a bit more of an even fight - last thing Elinda wanted to do was end it immediately, and with luck it would be a learning experience for Skarmory as well.

---

Metang - Level 20. Take Down, Confusion, Metal Claw, Magnet Rise.

Ferroseed - Level 10. Tackle, Growl, Rollout, Curse.

Skarmory - Level 5. Leer, Peck.

Aron - Level 10. Tackle, Harden, Mud Slap, Headbutt, Metal Claw.

Staryu - Level 10. Harden, Tackle, Water Gun, Rapid Spin, Recover.

Scizor - Level 13. Vacuum Wave, Quick Attack, Leer, Focus Energy, Pursuit, Bullet Punch.

@tag

We're painted red
to fit right in

Interesting. The Kanto bit definitely made a bit of sense, there was quite a bit of cultural overlap between them and Johto. Both regions were still quite distinct from one another but those lines were fading more and more as time went on, all the more so with the construction of the bullet train connecting Goldenrod to Saffron a few years back and the ferry bouncing back and forth between Vermillion and Olivine even before then. The speak of Kalos, however, was something of a new wrinkle in things. Elinda had been to a number of different regions over the years but Kalos was one of the few she'd never visited. That wasn't to say she'd never heard of the place, though. They were rather well known if only for a relatively unique culture, but among trainers it had long been rumored as the birthplace of several advanced, well guarded battle techniques - the specifics of which she'd never really cared to investigate as Elinda had her own style, but part of her couldn't help but wonder if that was going to play into this fight here and now.

Another interesting bit to note, though, was that Gozubura seemed to be just as open in battle as he was with his personal life. Most of the trainers Elinda had met before weren't quite so candid as to announce that their Pokemon hadn't fought a specific species before. Information was everything and one of the reasons more experienced trainers tended to be so difficult to deal with as they often knew just as much as you did about your own Pokemon, and it made catching them off guard nearly impossible. It forced you to play around your weaknesses rather than apply your strengths if you really wanted to win since that's what your opponent was going to target.

It was a refreshing change of pace in a way, but it also informed Elinda of exactly what to expect from this fight.

Skarmory, however, wasn't quite so perceptive. While she very much heard the words shouted out to Grimer it took the Steel type a moment to process exactly what had been said and that moment of curiosity cost her the chance to avoid the incoming blow. Striking the bird square in the sternum she'd let out a loud screech that was equal parts surprise and indignation, hopping back and rising up on her legs, blade like wings suddenly splayed out to maintain her balance. That surprise would pass as quickly as it had arrived, though, with Grimer suddenly changing from an idle curiosity to a threat and treated as such. Wings remaining splayed, Skarmory's body would lower into an obvious threat posture, eyes tracking her opponent as she started to slowly step to the side.

"Normal and Poison attacks, Skarmory. Press the advantage, it shouldn't have any abilities you need to worry about." Elinda called out, arms folding as she leaned back onto one leg to watch the fight unfold. Skarmory didn't need to be told twice - quite unhappy about the opening blow, a low rumble would sound from the bird as she glared Grimer down before rushing the smaller Pokemon, wings beating to help her along and head snapping forward to bite and Peck her opponent.

"I'm curious. One of your newer ones?" Elinda continued, although her attention would now shift to Gozubura again. Grimer admittedly didn't have a ton of options for dealing with Steel types and Skarmory's dual Flying typing removed the few Ground moves they had from the equation, but... Pound didn't seem like a move many trainers were keen to hold onto. He'd claimed enough experience to have toured a region once already, and she would've been far less surprised by a Pokemon like Muk instead.

"Was it Kalos you'd finished a tour of?"


Summary: Skarmory hit by Pound for minor damage. Leer used followed by Peck.

---

Metang - Level 20. Take Down, Confusion, Metal Claw, Magnet Rise.

Ferroseed - Level 10. Tackle, Growl, Rollout, Curse.

Skarmory - Level 5. Leer, Peck.

Aron - Level 10. Tackle, Harden, Mud Slap, Headbutt, Metal Claw.

Staryu - Level 10. Harden, Tackle, Water Gun, Rapid Spin, Recover.

Scizor - Level 13. Vacuum Wave, Quick Attack, Leer, Focus Energy, Pursuit, Bullet Punch.

@tag

We're painted red
to fit right in

Elinda couldn't help but note that not once had she heard an explicitly spoken command from Gozubura since the fight had started. A great deal of encouragement for his Pokemon, yes, but not once had the youth called out a specific move or action to his Pokemon. And, curiously enough, Grimer did not seem to take issue with that. The title of "trainer" wasn't merely a phrase. Left to their own devices many Pokemon tended to be incredibly unfocused in battles, usually placing higher priority on escaping a fight if they could and not attacking targets unless they instinctively knew they could win. As far as battles involving trainers went that usually created problems as it tended to involve a very different form of fighting where neither of those two conditions applied. Many Pokemon had no idea how to deal with that initially, and would usually throw everything they could do at an opponent until something stuck. The trainer's role in all of that was twofold. First, to help hone a Pokemon's skill and help it learn what it was truly capable of. The second was to provide a general sense of direction, a battle plan to work from.

Thus Elinda found herself very surprised when the Grimer suddenly countered Skarmory's earlier use of Leer without input or direction from Gozubura despite confirmation that it was a recent acquisition - a newly hatched Pokemon at that.

"... huh. Haze?" The older trainer muttered, eyebrows furrowing slightly and a thoughtful hand rising up to rest on her mouth. Her initial thought had been of Smog, but that didn't make sense - Grimer simply was incapable of learning it. Smokescreen didn't fit, either, and even Haze was a stretch... but at least the latter was possible, and made a certain degree of sense if Gozubura had acquired the egg from a breeder. That presented a bit of a problem in the sense that it meant Leer was going to be effectively useless, though, which would potentially drag the fight out longer than it needed to be.

Points for the effort, though. Things would just have to be hurried along a bit, then.

"Skarm, follow you instincts. No need to hold back here." Elinda called out - a line of thought that Skarmory was already debating as she recoiled in disgust from the filth that Grimer had coughed up into the air around them. Wings beating down hard both to lift herself up a handful of feet and sweep away the Haze, the Steel type was beginning to find herself increasingly annoyed with her opponent. As Grimer edged forward to use Pound again, however, Skarmory was ready the second time around. As the Poison type had heavily telegraphed the move the first time around the bird would flap her wings down hard as the second punch began to wind up, juking above the incoming Pound - and bringing it within reach of her talons. Legs snapping down to try and close around the arm before Grimer could pull it back. Skarmory would attempt to drop down on top of the smaller Pokemon, pinning it beneath her rather significant weight as the bird made a vicious jab at the other Pokemon's extended limb with her beak.


Summary: Haze cleared with Skarmory's wings. The second use of Pound dodged after seeing it used once, Skarmory attempting to catch the extended limb in her talons. Attempt made to pin Grimer in place by landing on it, Peck used (Debilitating Blow) to try and disable Grimer's arm.

Debilitating Blow - 3/3

---

Metang - Level 20. Take Down, Confusion, Metal Claw, Magnet Rise.

Ferroseed - Level 10. Tackle, Growl, Rollout, Curse.

Skarmory - Level 5. Leer, Peck.

Aron - Level 10. Tackle, Harden, Mud Slap, Headbutt, Metal Claw.

Staryu - Level 10. Harden, Tackle, Water Gun, Rapid Spin, Recover.

Scizor - Level 13. Vacuum Wave, Quick Attack, Leer, Focus Energy, Pursuit, Bullet Punch.

@tag

We're painted red
to fit right in

Hm. This wasn't going exactly as Elinda had expected it would.

Even in spite of the overwhelming type disadvantage Gozubura's Grimer seemed to be putting up a fairly good fight, all things considered. At a rough estimate they seemed to be matched fairly evenly, actually. After a few exchanges in blows it was starting to down on Elinda exactly why.

As much as Skarmory had spirit she wasn't a born fighter, plain and simple. The Pokemon had been found wounded and had evidently - as far as Elinda was aware, anyways - never participated in a battle before the blond had accepted the Steel type and taken it under her care. Honoka had done a fairly remarkable job of rehabilitating it after her injuries had healed but Skarmory still had a long way to go before it was ready for a battle. Not only was she fairly out of shape beyond her ability to carry a load but the severe lack of tactical options seemed like it was going to cost her a fight the bird otherwise should have won in the here and now. Elinda had no idea where Gozubura had acquired the egg from but the breeder had evidently done their job well - his Pokemon had a wealth of moves to choose from even shortly after hatching and given time it would likely become a Pokemon to keep an eye on.

Peck and Leer just weren't going to cut it here, so unless Skarmory's typing could allow her to hold out long enough... even if they were evenly matched now she'd gotten in significantly better hits in the opening exchange of attacks. It'd be close, much closer than it should be were one to look at typing alone, but it was quite possible she could still win this.

Regardless, it would mean upping the bar a little after round one. Elinda's initial estimate of Gozubura's current skill as a trainer had undershot the mark a bit, and if nothing else part of her felt a bit badly about that. His team wasn't even close to taking on Metang but he deserved a bit more of a challenge than Skarmory could currently present.

"Gozubura! How may more Pokemon do you have aside from Grimer right now?" Elinda called out, eyes shifting away from the fight, looking back to the other trainer again.

Despite Elinda's assessment of the battle, though, Skarmory wasn't going down without a fight, and if nothing else she still had her pride. Squawking in surprise as the Poison type's punch hit her in the chest again - albeit a fair bit harder than before - the Steel type was growing increasingly irritated between the soreness of being repeatedly hit and the sheer nerve of the Pokemon inflicting the pain. One claw still closed around the first offending arm and unable to avoid the attack, Skarmory defaulted to the reaction most birds of prey had when dealing with troublesome prey. Second talon snapping down in an attempt to close around the Grimer's face, Skarmory's head would continue snapping down at the Pokemon twice more as her wings beat down, intending to lift both of them a handful of feet into the air before slamming Grimer into the dirt beneath her and 112 pounds of weight. It was debatable whether or not that would do anything to the other Pokemon beyond what Peck was capable of, but at this point Skarmory was willing to settle simply for pain.


Summary: Skarmory hit by Pound, growing sore from repeated hits. Peck used twice, along with an attempted grab for Grimer's face with the talons not already clamped around his arm. Attempt made to lift both into the air and slam Grimer into the ground with 112 pounds of deadweight on top.

Debilitating Blow - 2/3

---

Metang - Level 20. Take Down, Confusion, Metal Claw, Magnet Rise.

Ferroseed - Level 10. Tackle, Growl, Rollout, Curse.

Skarmory - Level 5. Leer, Peck.

Aron - Level 10. Tackle, Harden, Mud Slap, Headbutt, Metal Claw.

Staryu - Level 10. Harden, Tackle, Water Gun, Rapid Spin, Recover.

Scizor - Level 13. Vacuum Wave, Quick Attack, Leer, Focus Energy, Pursuit, Bullet Punch.

@tag

We're painted red
to fit right in