A Simple Challenge

[anima]

Cinder had instructed Mage to follow her, and so she did, heading toward the back of the lab to a rear exit, which they passed through shortly after the Typhlosion morph wedged a stopper into it. The backyard of the lab was, undeniably vast, with numerous different types of areas wedged unnaturally close together. It was obviously well groomed to host a wide variety of pokemon.

Once she'd had enough looking around, her gaze fell on Cynder once more. "Alright, so what was it we're supposed to do out here?" Mage questioned. She wasn't entirely sure what to expect, but she assumed it wasn't something too lengthy or complex, otherwise Cynder might be in over her head trying handle it all on her own, without any real experience with it.

[Ash]

The woman looked around, still new enough to be amazed at the craziness going on back there. She doubted she would ever not find it amazing, to be honest. Cynder was uncomfortable because even though the task was not very difficult, she was not quite sure how to phrase it.

"Well, you can choose any area to search through, so pick an environment that you like or that you think you might find good Pokemon in. I'll follow you to the edge of the area and hang back so I can observe, but unless anything goes really wrong I won't be interfering. Once you capture a Pokemon and engage in a Pokemon battle and win, your 'test' will be considered a success. Note that you don't have to capture the Pokemon you battle against," Cynder stated feeling as if she were reading from a text book.

"If your Pokemon are injured, we have the equipment to care for them and treat their injuries here at the lab. You actually won't find a Pokemon Center until Marble City, so once you finish here you may need to return if your Pokemon need healed. Of course, we can also help you if you are injured, but try to be safe... okay?" the woman's voice dropped an octave as she stumbled through her next sentence, feeling odd to show her worry, as if she were a motherly figure to the girl. If anything, Mage had been moreso.

[anima]

Mage listened carefully through Cinder's explanation, and once she had covered everything, she simply nodded. Go out and find a pokemon and win a battle against it? She could do that. Cinder also said the pokemon did not need to be captured, but Mage couldn't imagine why she'd pass up on capturing a pokemon she defeated, at least at this early point at least.

Mage took a few steps forward, considering the different areas. She couldn't guess what kind of pokemon lived in each area, but she could make guesses and hopefully she could find a pokemon that could cover for her current team's weaknesses. She had a fire type, a fighting type, and a ground type, plus she herself was a dark and dragon type. An electric or grass type would definitely help against water types, electric would also cover flying types, and grass against ground. A steel type would cover fairies and rock types.

Of course, she could find anything depending on where she went, so she wasn't terribly set on anything specific. She certainly didn't want Cynder to be stuck here forever while she passed over pokemon after pokemon. After a bit more consideration, she finally decided to move toward the mountains and see what she could find lurking around there.

[Ash]

OoC: Ani, I'm gonna assume that Mage headed off to the mountain since you didn't say, I'll edit my post if you want. ^^

---

Cynder followed Mage as the morph walked off to the mountain after pondering her choices for a bit. The woman was careful to give Mage space and hang back. Once they reached the edge of the mountain area, Cynder stopped. She would stay as far back as she could from this point, moving forward only if necessary to keep the girl in sight. She was only supposed to observe, after all.

Apparently, Mage did not have to wait very long to find her first Pokemon. They were a tad active today, at least in this area. The strange blue rock stood out, and did it with great finesse at that. A blue watery rock, amidst the brown and grey pebble strewn environment. Yeah, totally not obvious or anything. The fact that it moved and a pair of green eyes peeked up at Mage curiously did not exactly help the Pokemon to blend in either. Even with the odd coloration and moist makeup of the Pokemon, it was clearly a Geodude.

species -- ( MARINE GEODUDE ♂ ) type -- ( ROCK / GROUND / WATER ) level -- ( FOUR ) experience -- ( 0 / 8 ) item -- ( NONE ) health -- ( 20 / 20 )

ability -- ( LIQUID BODY ) Damage received from physical attacks is cut in half, while damage from special attacks is doubled. move 1 -- ( TACKLE ) move 2 -- ( DEFENSE CURL ) move 3 -- ( MUD SPORT ) move 4 -- ( WATER GUN ) move 5 -- ( none ) move 6 -- ( none )

[anima]

Mage moved on into the mountainous area, and as she proceeded further, she heard Cynder's footsteps cease. She was on her own for now. Taking in a deep breath, she caught a scent she hadn't quite expected -- dampness. The Vydra morph hardly had to look around to find it's source -- a blue, boulder shaped mass of water, or at least that was what it looked like. After a moment she realized, it was a geodude. I highly unusual one at that.

To be honest, Mage hadn't really been factoring what she'd do if she actually encountered a water type. Two of her three pokemon were at a disadvantage. Was this thing even a water type? Well, it still looked like a geodude at least. "Hey, you. We're battling." Mage warned the geodude before pulling a poke ball off the shoulder strap of her bag, and tossed it forward. It hit the ground, and instantly ejected a black and red Riolu from inside to face the strange Geodude.

"Ready Kia, hit it with a low kick." Mage ordered. The Riolu had been swaying back and forth in excitement and eyed the geodude with curiosity. Given the order though, she instantly jumped back, striking a combat ready pose before rushing toward the watery rock and delivering a low aimed kick.

species -- ( DEMON RIOLU ♀ ) type -- ( FIGHTING ) level -- ( FIVE ) experience -- ( 0/10 ) item -- ( NONE ) health -- ( 20/20 )

ability -- ( STEADFAST ) Speed increases by 2 upon flinching. move 1 -- ( FORESIGHT ) move 2 -- ( QUICK ATTACK ) move 3 -- ( ENDURE ) move 4 -- ( LOW KICK ) move 5 -- ( DEMON CLAW ) move 6 -- ( none )

[Ash]

HP- 15 / 20
Geodude takes 5 damage.

Damage = 3 Base + 1 Level + 1 (Demon) x 2 (Super Effective) = 10 / 2 Ability (Liquid Body)

The Geodude's curious gaze turned to an eye roll. <Well, thanks for the warning, I suppose. Hope that's not how you usually greet strangers,> the Pokemon said with a dry resignation. Had he been opposed to the battle he could have tried to get away, but, though he was obviously not overly thrilled about, it he still readied himself for the fight.

The Geodude snorted as the Riolu came in with the kick, crossing his arms in front of himself and absorbing the blow. It did not appear to do that much damage, though it was still a super effective attack. The Geodude's body rippled due to the Pokemon's gelatinous mass. <I guess I can be sporting as well there, miss. You see, my body absorbs most of the force of Physical attacks,> the strange Geodude stated afterwards.

The Pokemon flashed a dry grin and proceeded to shoot a Water Gun at the equally strange Riolu. The Pokemon was not sure what to make of it actually, and his confusion may very well have shown on his face. A battle was not exactly the place to ask about it. The Geodude doubted he would win this fight, and the trainer would either leave him or catch him. His curiosity of this strange human and Pokemon was actually making him hope for the latter, even though he had been quite enjoying his sunbathing.

[anima]

HP- 18 / 20
Kia takes 2 damage.

Damage = 3 Base - 1 Level = 2

Mage only shrugged at the geodude's dry response to her challenge. "It's what I've been sent out here to do, and I prefer to go straight to the point." Mage responded. If the rock did decide it didn't care to and fled, Mage supposed she couldn't blame it. It'd be a bit disappointing given the geodude's apparent quality, but none the less, she wasn't in this business to bully pokemon into battle.

Kia wasn't sure what to expect from kicking this watery rock. Rocks were hard, water was not. Turned out, water rocks weren't quite as hard, and her attack bounced off it's arms, not appearing to be nearly as devastating as a fighting type move should be against a rock. Next thing she knew, she was being sprayed in the face by a water gun attack. From a geodude.

Mage cocked a brow at the effect of Kia's attack. It did appear to hurt, but not quite so much as expected. Fortunately, the geodude was kind enough to explain that. "Good to know." Mage said, though she was so far undeterred by the geodude's resistance. Metora could potentially hit harder, but he'd also be hit hard by a water gun attack. "Just keep it up Kia." Mage instructed.

<You're pretty interesting.> Kia remarked, as she lunged forward and aimed another kick at the geodude.<What's your deal?> She questioned in regards to his highly unusual appearance and abilities.

[Ash]

HP- 10 / 20
Defense- +1
Geodude takes 5 damage.

Damage = 3 Base + 1 Level + 1 (Demon & STAB) x 2 (Super Effective) = 10 / 2 Ability (Liquid Body)

The Geodude decided to take this hit as well, though he knew that he was taking a risk in doing so. He wanted to wait before trying to avoid the strike, he would likely only be able to pull his trick on the Riolu and slip away once so he wanted to save that as long as he could. The liquiform rock winced under the attack, but tried to shake off the pain. His health was getting low.

<You too miss, never seen anything like you,> the Geodude stated with a nod. <I was born this way, but I'm the only one in my family. Still, for some reason strange Pokemon are being born in the region with increasing frequency. Can't say that I know why...> the Pokemon answered. He was fairly knowledgeable about it, afterall he was an oddball and had made efforts to learn about himself when he was younger and less confident and comfortable with his mutation.

The Geodude curled into a ball, using Defense Curl to boost his stats. He used his defensive position to roll at the Riolu with a Tackle attack, taking advantage of the ability to move while curled up. He was a rock afterall, even being an odd one.

[anima]

HP- 16 / 20
Kia takes 2 damage.

Damage = 3 Base - 1 Level = 2

Kia landed another successful hit. It didn't appear that the rock was even trying to dodge her attacks, though to be fair, she had taken take water gun attack before pretty easily too. Despite the rock's resistance to her physical attacks however, it was beginning to look worn down. She was definitely going to win this one.

<Lucky you.> Kia remarked cryptically when the geodude said he'd never seen anything like her. The geodude's story was definitely interesting, even if it was short. <I wasn't born this way, but it's a long story.> The demon shrugged. <I'll tell ya after I win, k?>

"Don't get cocky Kia." Mage warned. While the battle certainly looked in their favor, Mage wasn't one for assumptions. As if to confirm that, the geodude curled it self up defensively, a move aptly called defense curl, before rolling forward to tackle Kia. The Riolu fell backward as the rock landed on her, but she lashed out at the rock with another low kick, hoping to nail a good hit before it could recover it's distance.