Fandom Pokémon: Legends Foretold (Capture Challenge)

[GojiBean]

One... Two... One... Two...

Lorraine and Blaze continued to perform a minor warm up routine of squats and hops in place as more and more people were gathering around them for the start of the Capture Challenge. It was so exciting to think about! Pokémon by the dozens in the sanctioned off zone for them to try and capture using the Sport Balls they were loaned for the event. Ultimately they'd all have to return those balls and Pokémon to the Catch-And-Release Team. But it was great practice and a lot of fun to compete against other Trainers to see how one stacked up. Only the winner would get to keep a single Pokémon they caught today, which was a bit of extra incentive.

Finally, after several minutes of waiting and checking the clock on her PokéDex, a man in a fine-dress suit walked up onto a small stage at the entrance to the sanctioned off area with a megaphone in hand.

He tapped the device, getting a bit of feedback, and held it up to speak.

"Welcome Trainers to the Pokémon Capture Challenge! In mere moments you will enter the sanctioned zone behind me, marked by these roped pylons, and capture as many Pokémon as you can with the 25 Sport Balls you've been provided. The event will last for 1 hour. And 5 minutes prior to it ending you will receive a ping to your PokéDex that time is almost up and to return here to this starting area. Here are the rules:"

He cleared his throat.

"Rule number one, no interfering with the capture efforts of other contestants. Rule number two, no Poké Balls other than your 25 assigned Sport Balls may be used for capture or will be counted towards this event. Rule number three, all contestants must remain within the sanctioned zone at all times unless they run out of Sport Balls at which time they must return to the starting area. Any violations of these three rules may be subject to punishment in accordance with Pokémon League protocol as serviced by our local Saffron City Law Enforcement, whom you can see lined up around the perimeter of the sanctioned zone."

He glanced around at the contestants.

"Trainers, please line up here!" He called, gesturing out with his arms towards the white line to either side of his little platform which marked the entrance of the sanctioned zone.

"Let the Capture Challenge... Begin!" A pop gun was fired, and the Trainers were set loose.

Lorraine jogged forward, quickly falling behind many others around her who sprinted head first into the grassland/forest wilderness ahead. She understood they only had an hour, but sheesh! What a rush!

Either way, this was going to be fun! She darted towards the tree line and crouched a little as she meandered through the brush looking for her first Pokémon. And, wouldn't you know it, the first thing she found was an adorable Caterpie wriggling along the trunk of a tree just ahead.

"Ah ha! Okay then, this one should hopefully be easy enough!"

Lorraine took aim while Caterpie looked at her, cocking its head in curiosity, as she let fly and hit the little worm Pokémon in the head with the first Sport Ball. The Pokemon was struck with a beam of light from the center of the Sport Ball and sucked inside as the ball fell to the ground and began wriggling back and forth. Wriggle... Wriggle... SNAP!! The Sport Ball broke open and Caterpie was free.

"Ah! Drat! Okay then, let's try one more time!"

Caterpie faced Lorraine and launched a String Shot in her direction forcing her to duck behind a bush to avoid being webbed. When it stopped, she raised another Sport Ball and threw it only for it to be batted away by the Caterpie's tail.

... You're kidding me, right?"

Ohh... This was going to be a long contest.

Absollover77 Naburius kasigi MrBrown Phayne asphodelus

 

[Absollover77]

Zera listened to the rules and frowned. 'Well, that puts a dampener on my plans. I can't interfere with other contestants... I suppose just my skills will be enough. Though that doesn't mean Lukina can't have fun on her own.' She grabbed Lukina's ball in her hand and casually started walking toward the start line her bag now shouldered firmly. The moment the judge said go and everyone bolted for the area like bat's from hell Zera shook her head. If there was something she learned from all her time in the wild charging in like that did the exact opposite of what they wanted and precisely what Zera needs. These excitable kids and people would be the key to her victory. She waited while walking for a minute and let out Lukina just as she had planned to.

The bunny Pokémon looked confused for a moment until she looked up at her best friend. The bunny read Zera's face and it smiled. "Go have fun Lukina. Do whatever you want for an hour. I am sure you'll be able to find me when you're finished." Lukina jumped up and down excitedly before jumping into Zera's stomach hugging her. After the thrilled rabbit was finished with said hugging, she'd started jumping off to do who knows what for the next hour.

In the meantime Zera started her walk in earnest now actively looking for Pokémon, only to find two different people. A woman have difficulties catching a Caterpie, and a kid who seemed to be no more than twelve trying to throw a ball at a unmoving metapod and failing miserably. The kid definitely needed some help. He already had broken a ball and instead of walking up to and tapping the ball against the Pokémon like she would he seemed set on throwing the ball at it.

Zera moved to the kid and grabbed his wrist before he was about to throw another wild toss with no control. "You're doing it wrong."

The kid gave her a bewildered look before his face scrunched in anger. "I-... I am not! I'm doing it just how I saw on tv!"

Zera rolled her eyes and set her duffle bag on the ground. "That's the problem... You are wrong because you are copying what you saw and not what is natural." The boy looked confused as Zera grabbed his shoulder with one hand and using the other that had left the boys wrist to push his spine to straighten his back. "For starters you were slouching. Back straight when you begin your throw. Most people believe all the aim comes from your arm and that's only half of it. How you are positioned and how strong your core and back are. I will show you."

Zera took off her jacket and grabbed a sportball from her bag as she did. Her finely muscled stomach, back, and arms showing how much work she put into herself. With a tap of the button the ball expanded with a soft click her eyes locked upon the Metapod. Her pose was relaxed her left side more forward as she hid the ball in her right hand at her waist. Her body tensed as she moved slowly so the boy could observe. "Watch carefully, I will only show you once slowly. After that I will show you the entire motion." First, Zera lifted the front foot up putting her weight on her dominate side as she brought her arm back her shoulder level with her elbow bent as to hide the ball with her hand. The next step had her body twisting as she stepped her lifted foot forward her toes pointed forward at the target. Her arm unfurled cocked back like a cannon ready for launch and with the twist of her upper body following that of the lower she showed the follow-through of the arm without releasing the ball. Her eyes flicked to the boy who was watching her with rapt attention. Straightening herself she then did it again only this time it was a fluid motion the ball remaining firmly in her hand once again. "There... Now you try." She dropped the ball in the boys hand. Said boy was quiet as he looked at the ball she dropped in his hand. "Go on..."

The younger boy got a look of determination as he clutched the ball in his hand taking up what he'd observed rather well. Zera would correct him but that would be counter productive now that he's on the right track. While his focus was on the Metapod she picked up her jacket and bag then started walking again. No longer watching the kid. After ten steps she heard the boy shout, "I did it!"

Now with her self appointed side quest out of the way, she had Pokémon to capture.

 

[asphodelus]

“Steady, Snap,” Jeden murmured at the electrike pup taking great interest in his sneakers. The pup hissed a bit, nosing and playing around with his shoelaces. “Snap,” Jeden sharply repeated. He leaned that foot back onto his heel and the pup came off, leering at him. Jeden met the stare, raised his brow; crouched, cupping Snap’s furry face in his hands. “Behave for me, alright?”

In the background, an attendant recited the rules of the tourney. Stationed closest to him were two young ladies, one with a charmander and the other with a lopunny. Really, Jeden wasn’t here to win — it would be an honest miracle if he did. He was here to cool down, have fun.

By now, Jeden had been in Kanto for about two weeks. He’d done a few trails, battled a few times. Snap was holding up in the battling department just as well as he’d expected. It was sorta awesome, actually. When they returned back to Unova, the pup might be able to beat his brother Howly in a tussle!

The starter popped and the trainers went loose, rushing for the wilderness. Jeden, in significantly less of a hurry, fell back, Snap keeping at his side.

He jogged into the treeline, passing by the miss and her charmander, and then the young lady from earlier who seemed to be helping someone else out with their throwing technique. He was pleasantly surprised that someone would be willing to help another out mid-competition. Most kids where he came from valued victory first.

A slight rustling above him alerted Jeden to something in the trees. He snagged a sports ball from his pack, glancing upwards. It was a little bird, a sparrow or a pidgey. He couldn’t tell from how it was partially hidden by the leaves.

“You think I can make this?” Jeden asked Snap. He turned to the pup — who was nowhere to be seen; really? Nope, there he was, sprinting off after another small critter. It threw Jeden in a loop: did he trust Snap not to maul it and come back when he was done?

Yeah, whatever. He glared at the little bird in the tree, still chilling there, and skillfully launched the capture
capsule at it.

 

[Phayne]

Trainer

Rio

Tomohiro

Capture Event

A cold intrusive touch of air would slither its touch across the wet patch; sending a cold shiver down the blue haired trainers neck; the summer breeze that cavorted through Saffron's skyscrapers. Sitting with his back pressed against the rim of the city fountain, the touch of icy cold droplets had found themselves upon the nape of Rio's exposed neck; the cold raindrops thrown into the air by the constant 'splish' 'splash' of the rambunctious assortment of pokemon frolicking in the fountains open pool, except for the Cloyster whose anger was seemingly plain to see. Like an old man seeking the peaceful solitude of silence, the bivalve pokemon would receive no such solace as its peace and quiet were replaced with the over active, over zealous playfulness of the pokemon who now shared its space.

The three stooges, the architects behind the demise of Cloysters peaceful slumber were none other than Yoru; the froakie continuing to do laps around the fountains central figurehead as well as a pair of Wooper; the axolotl looking amphibians belonging to two young siblings present on the other side of the fountain.

Glancing to the fountain's pool, with one hand wiping away at the droplets still stuck to his neck, Rio would notice the two unmatched Wooper at the tail end of the conga line of swimmers. While he recognized the blue hue of the first of the two wooper; its body adorned with three horiontal markings, he had had to do a double take at the sight of its sibling species; the brown amphibian having several differing traits outside of the obvious 'color difference' and unlike its counterpart it didn't seem as good a swimmer; though it did do its best to keep up.


Glancing down at his pokedex as he prepared to record the entry of the odd looking wooper, Rio's eyes would soon find themselves attracted to the changing of time upon the uppermost right corner of the device; his mind almost immediately returning to the competition at hand as he mentally prepared himself. A capture contest was something that had immediately piqued his interest the moment he had been made aware of it; the idea of adding to the team of himself and Froakie being a tantalizing one; if not for the experience and practice that the event would provide even if he didn't end up the victor; though he wasn't here to lose either. If he was going to compete, then he would compete to win.

"Yoru" came the calm voice of Rio, the boy now placing an arm against his knee as he pushed himself back up to his feet; his free hand reaching for the rucksack that had been resting against his left side. "It's about time we make our way to the event starting area" he continued, adjusting the rucksack so that it now sat comfortably against his back. "Say goodbye to your new friends for now, I'm sure you will get to meet again" smiled Yoru, turning around to face the fountain; both hands now open wide as he awaited his partner.

Like a child in a playground that has just made new friends, Yoru had been a bit reluctant to leave the fountains pool; the amphibian pokemon enjoying the company of the two wooper that had join him on their own accord. "Fro.. Frooo.. Kie.." replied the bubble frog, as he turned to face the two wooper; saying his goodbyes. Once done, he would proceed to leap into the open arms of his trainer; landing upon his chest before clambering up atop the right shoulder. "Alright Yoru... here is the plan." spoke Rio, as he turned and began to make his way to the starting area.


Arriving behind a mass of contestants, Rio would quickly make a detour, moving towards a nearby booth. One hand was already reaching down into the pocket where his wallet was located. "Excuse me... do you still have any space?" he inquired as he approached a green haired receptionist; her hands holding a clipboard as she stood next to her assistant; a liligant. "Uh.. yes sir.. we still have plenty of space in our lockers. Would you like to leave your belongings here for the duration of the event?" she inquired.

"Yes please," replied Rio, unslinging his rucksack from his back and placing it upon the counter; the boy reaching inside to gather anything he may need for the event; in particular a bottle of water to ensure he remained hydrated throughout. After signing a piece of documentation, his rucksack would be taken by the Liligant and brought towards the numbered lockers; simultaneously the receptionist would hand him a yellow band marked with the lockers number assigned to him. "Once you are ready for collection, please present that band to either myself or one of the fellow receptionist. Enjoy the event" she spoke, waving goodbye as Rio turned and made his way back to the starting area where even more people had gathered.


Standing towards the back of the group, Rio would listen attentively to the rules and instructions being explained via the loudspeaker; his eyes studying each and every other participant that had signed up for the event; taking note of a few in particular as his gaze lingered a little longer than needed. "Seem's like this wont be as easy as expected, Yoru.. Lets give it our best and see what happens" he spoke, raising his right hand to pat the top of his partners head, the bubble frog still adhered to his right shoulder.

*bang*

The pop gun was fired and all hell broke lose as trainers and their pokemon began to sprint forward; the vast majority heading in the same direction whilst a few others began to branch out into different locations; the latter a tactic that Rio would adopt as he chose to travel away from the direction that most of the trainers had sprinted towards. There would simply be too much competition if he were to follow them and that would only hinder his attempts to capture the most pokemon.

"Remember the plan Yoru. Think of this as an opportunity to train your mind and body. Out in the wilderness there may be times when it is just us.. so lets use this experience to our advantage" came the calm voice of Rio as he began to make his way down the less traveled route.

Upon reaching the forest line, Yoru would begin to clamber down the side of Rio's arm; the sticky suction upon Rio's exposed skin, no longer causing him any discomfort. "Ready?" inquired Rio, though he already knew Yoru was up for it. "Fro!" came the reply, as the audible sound of suction being released could be heard popping off; a froggy thumbs up the 'green light'.

Swinging his arm forward, Yoru; using the momentum of Rio's swing had leaped off of his arm, flying towards a nearby tree branch overhead, landing with grace before beginning to rush forward; leaping from branch to branch. Down below, Rio would be running in tandem; leaping over a fallen tree log and past several other trainers, the audible cries of pokemon all around them intermixed with the sound of poke balls capturing and failing to capture their intended targets.

For a few minutes they would continue to rush forward; heading towards the boundary at the other end of the competition playing field and where the sound of others had become virtually non-existent. Now... it was them and nature. The sound of leaves whispering among themselves as the gentle gust of wind ruffled their branches; the breaking of twigs upon the floor as pokemon unseen to the naked eye continued to lurk about; already keenly aware of the threat that had entered their territory; yet choosing to remain just out of sight; unsure as to how they should react to the trespasser.

Now the adrenaline was beginning to get Rio excited; the boy and his partner deep into nature... into a territory unfamiliar to themselves yet wholly familiar to the pokemon whom inhabited the space. "Froo Froaaakie!" came the shrill cry from above; the frog hidden in the tree's catching sight of movement; a purple blur dashing forth from the tall grass. "KKKAAANNNSSS" hissed the assailant; a long purple serpent springing forward with fangs exposed; the target Rio whose back had been turned to the slithering assassin.

"Use your bubbles!" commanded Rio, reacting as best he could as he found himself half turned and falling backwards; right hand reaching for the satchel as his waist that contained the competition balls. On queue, white foam came shooting forward from the tree's above; the sticky substance hitting the ekans square across the face; adhering its mouth shut as it clambered just to the side of the fallen Rio; the pokemon in distress as it tried to wriggle the sticky foam off of itself.

Seeing the moment to strike, Rio now half sat up had thrown the pokeball towards the ekans; the purple pokemon disappearing in a flash of red as the ball began to shiver.

Code by Serobliss

 

[kasigi]

"I know how you feel about Pokeballs, Hallow. You can trust me. Each of the wild Pokemon will be re-released after their capture." The little fox was averse to the idea. Pokeballs were a point of contention for the fox, which is why Elret always allowed him to remain outside of one. Elret definitely didn't mind, either: it just meant he got to hang out with his Pokemon more. Elret's words definitely helped comfort the fox, and it was Hallow's main point of concern; Elret had explained to Hallow that most Pokemon don't mind residing within their Pokeball post capture, and that he would never allow a Pokemon to experience what Hallow had. Hallow trusted Elret; as long as he didn't have to go inside a Pokeball, he wouldn't mind the capture challenge.

You could practically feel the crowd's intensity; the excitement was tangible in the air, many of the contestants possessing a certain intensity to the way they carried themselves. Elret felt similarly: he wanted to win, even if his only reward was proving how capable he was. Listening in to the man on the stage, Elret was glad that the rules were communicated clearly to the contestants. People would have undoubtedly interfered with other contestant's attempts at catching Pokemon, if it hadn't been the case; hell, people still probably will. As eager as he was to come out on top, methods like that are way too underhanded and cruel, unfairly stifling opposing the contestants potential and true ability in a challenge like this. Elret would've considered it cheating, an unthinkable course of action decidedly smothered by both pride and morality, even if it was allowed.

Hallow no longer sat perched upon Elret's shoulder. Instead, Hallow was held snugly to Elret's chest, listening attentively to the man on the stage, just as his trainer was. Then, Hallow heard a hushed words emerge from Elret's lips. "This will be a new experience for you, will it not? You may see a lot of new Pokemon during this challenge; I'm excited for you." The little Zorua hadn't even considered that. Trapped in a Pokeball by his previous trainer for so long, he'd seldom experienced the many wondrous opportunities that being truly alive offered. The ball was a prison, but now that he was finally free, everything was so extravagant and new. Nevertheless, Hallow kept his enegy inside to build up: he was sure Elret would let him run amok once the challenge truly began.

From things, the event moved at a rapid pace. One moment they were lined up, the next, the many contestants began a desperate sprint into the designated zone. That paths that people took were sporadic, but there definitely needed to be some contemplation about where they'd be headed. If there were too many people around, trainers would either get to Pokemon first or scare them away. "Hallow, can you take the lead? You'll be able to track a Pokemon down much better than I, and we need to make sure there aren't too many people nearby!" Without hesitation, the little fox jumped from his trainer's arms, bounding forward into the forested area with Elret in tow. As the duo made their way, Elret couldn't help but tunnel vision on the task at hand, disregarding the people that he passed on his way deeper into the woods. A few of them caught his eye, but he knew that he couldn't get distracted, as hard as it was not to study everyone he rushed by. Hallow was doing a good job keeping Elret focused, too: the fox was beelining towards a scent that he'd picked up, gracefully hoping over logs and other obstacles in the way, eventually coming to a full stop in front of a thick growth of shrubbery that blocked their path. Elret took the hint, carefully stopping behind Hollow and taking a stance low to the ground, one of the poke balls distributed to trainers for the challenge gripped tightly within his hand. Elret studied Hallow's eyes, noting that his partner was practically staring straight through the dense foliage, obviously knowing exactly where the Pokemon behind it was.

Carefully pushing aside the thicket, the target Pokemon rested completely unaware of the chaos ensuing all around it. Hallow jumped up onto Elret's head to get a better look as well, ruffling Elret's hair as he attempted to adjust himself on top of his trainer. Elret met this with a stoic non-reaction, even though it definitely tickled.

They would need to be quick, to ensure that other trainers wouldn't arrive. It was a Mankey, casually munching on some berries scattered across the forest floor. It's pleasant expression betrayed the Pokemon's usually aggressive nature, perplexing Elret as he watched from the short distance away. Everyone loves food, he supposed.

They hadn't been noticed yet. Throwing a ball while it's off guard was a simple plan, yet usually was proven to be quite effective when catching Pokemon in the wild. Reeling his arm back, Elret carefully tossed the ball at little Mankey, softly bumping into its head. Within a split second, a beam of energy shot out of the ball, the Mankey's physical form disappearing to within the capsule. It shook back and forth on the ground, both Elret and Hallow watching eagerly.

 

[Absollover77]

Zera's walk after helping the boy learn to throw a Pokéball correctly was rather uneventful. At least until she came across a bunch of Pokémon congregating around a tree. It seemed like someone had left honey on this tree but got impatient and left. It was fortunate for her that she was downwind. Most of the Pokémon would have scattered if she wasn't this fortunate. It looked to be just a bunch of Weedle. Not really something Zera would be interested in keeping provided she won, but she needed to start somewhere. Slowly setting down her bag she fished out a few balls and passed a glance at the honey jars in her bag. She'd consider using one of those if the situation called for it. For now, she needed to catch this opportunity. After another quick look around and not seeing any other people around she prepared herself.

Armed with four balls she launched them from her like bullets, one after the other catching the bug Pokémon off guard. The four balls fell to the ground in a soft chorus of thumps as they all made the usual sounds of attempted capture. All of the balls after a little time made the sound of a confirmed capture consecutively. Zera waited for a moment or two before heading over to collect the four confirmed captures before taking another look around. It was odd, she didn't see any evidence that anyone had been here before she was. She shook her head, dismissing a forming idea in her head.

She had taken a step back towards her bag when it occurred to her, very few Pokémon produce honey. One of those Pokémon being Vespiquen. She remembered seeing a Vespiquen before. The power of a pokemon like that would definitely be an interesting prospect, but she had time. There was no point in giving herself a specific pokemon to find yet. Not when there is so much more of this area to explore and with twenty balls left, she'd need to figure out which way to go next. She started moving once more and picked up her bag securing her four captures in a separate pocket from her empty Sportballs. It had only been ten minutes so far. Plenty of time to find something worth keeping.​

 

[GojiBean]

Third times the charm. Lorraine had ducked behind the bush and stayed very still until Caterpie was no longer paying attention to throw the third ball. It wriggled a few times before giving off a chime and stilled.

"... Wait. Was that it?"

She blinked a few times and came out to pick up the ball, and the lack of further resistance finally helped it sink in that she'd made her first capture.

"YyyyyyYES!!!"

She immediately ducked down and put her finger over her lips.

Shh! Don't scare the Pokémon away, Lorraine. Otherwise this will be your first and last catch. She thought.

She put the Sport Ball with Caterpie into her pack in a separate pocket from the main group, and picked up the two other balls she'd thrown early and put them back in her pack as well to be used again since neither of them had broken in any way. It was one of the wonders of the Poké Ball machines. If they didn't actually break when the Pokémon was released, they could be used as many times as a Trainer needed until they caught something. And the announcer hadn't said they couldn't use the balls which hadn't been successful before. He just said they were only allowed to use the Sport Balls they'd been given.

Lorraine stayed near the edge of the forest close to the plains since she was seeing groups of Pokémon meandering about which all looked like tempting targets. But she'd have to be careful. There was one Bouffalant nearby who seemed to be somewhat more territorial than those she'd seen on nature documentaries about herd Pokémon like this one. If that thing decided she was a threat and charged her only salvation would likely be scrambling up a tree. And she wasn't exactly a climber.

Keeping one eye on the plains and one eye on the forest, via turning her head since she couldn't split her eyes out sideways like a Kecleon, she happened to catch a glimpse of a little fluffy tail wiggling in the bushes. Ever the curious woman she inched closer. And, unconsciously, she picked out a Sport Ball from her pack and tossed it into the fluffy tail. The ball fell to the ground and wriggled a few times before bursting open releasing the Pokémon she'd thrown it at. And it was an adorable green Deerling!

"SO CUTE!!!!"

Had she not been so beside herself from the cuteness she might have noticed the fact that the Deerling was now looking directly at her before immediately bolting like a dart into the trees and scampering away.

"No, wait! Come back!!"

A lost opportunity.

"Dangit. I really need to stop getting distracted by cute things."

Continuing her search Lorraine came across another Caterpie which she was able to capture with one toss of a Sport Ball. With the second Caterpie safely tucked away in her pack she continued scanning the forest and plains... Only to realize her worst fears had been realized. The Bouffalant had its eye trained on her and was giving her a hard stare down. She tried to crouch and get low to get smaller. Most of the nature documentaries she'd watched said it was a good idea to get smaller so you looked like less of a threat, after all. And it always worked for them. So, it should here too. Right?

Nope. Bouffalant gave a roar and shook its head at her while walking forward. Clearly some kind of territorial challenge. Lorraine tried moving behind a tree, but Bouffalant moved around to the side so it could still glare at her and shake its head. A few moments later it gave another roar and started scraping its hoof against the ground before giving her a mock charge. Lorraine looked up and saw a low hanging branch which she immediately jumped for, but missed. While definitely not out of shape by any means she wasn't exactly an athlete with stellar hand-eye coordination.

Bouffalant scraped the ground and charged again. This time, for real. And Lorraine just barely managed to grab the branch on her second jump and used her feet against the trunk to "walk" upwards and flip herself up onto the branch. Bouffalant stopped just short of ramming into the tree and looked up at her, giving another roar and shake of its head before moving off back to the plains to continue grazing.

"... Jerk."

Lorraine waited for it to move a bit further away before dropped down from the tree and moving further into the forest to get away from the not-so-friendly Buffalo brain who just forced her to waste around six or seven minutes up in a tree. The Capture Challenge still had around 40 minutes left before it ended. But she only had two Pokémon. If she couldn't catch more, and fast, there was no way she'd win this Challenge. Not that she had many delusions about doing so. But it was better to have something to strive for than not, right?

Lorraine gave herself a little inner pep talk about never giving up and pressed deeper into the forested area to find new Pokémon.

 

[asphodelus]

He hadn't caught the bird: the sports ball got lodged in the leaves; an irritated caw and a flurry of tawny-grey feathers.

Jeden squawked at the insult on principle, but he had to count himself lucky that the wild 'mon didn't go all talons-out at him: he could fight off a mad bird for sure, but those things fought dirty and it hurt — couldn't have him drippin' blood either; it'd attract something in these woods, and he really hadn't come here lookin' to be a persian's dinner.

Because the world really had it out for him, not only was his ego a bit fried, he was down a perfectly good ball—

Unless he wanted to scale that tree, which, y'know what? Why not.

Jeden hauled himself up with ease. It wasn't the tallest tree he'd been in: that must've been the one in Peirce's backyard. Nearly three storeys high, that one, and not a single person he'd asked knew how it got there.

It took a bit of wiggling, the leaves rougher on his skin than he'd expected, but he managed to retrieve the ball.

He'd also managed to bonk his head against something hard: like a kakuna.

"Lucky me," Jeden muttered, truly bewildered. He could catch it. It would be easy, right? As long as there weren't any beedrill nearby, or weedle, or anything that might want to poison him.

He'd been shocked hard enough to scar before, but never poisoned, and on the other hand, he could flee right now 'cause he wanted to keep it that way.

He couldn't fight off a giant stinging bug with his bare hands.

"Damn."

He shouldn't have let Snap run off, should've he.

 

[Absollover77]

Artist: GojiBean

Zera proceeded with her walk, quietly observing her surrounding area. It was then she heard someone shout a little ways away. Pausing at the sound she looked in it's general direction with her head cocked. Something was going on over there but she wasn't exactly keen on finding out exactly what. Grabbing a Sportball from her bag and tossing it around in her hands, she restarted her trek through the woods. A rustling to her left where the commotion had come from got her attention and she got herself ready for what ended up bounding through the bushes. A Deerling leapt through said bushes and right into view and it looked rather winded from running away. It was rather opertune timing and she wouldn't look a gift Ponyta in the mouth. Drawing her arm back she launched the ball out of her hand resulting in the ball clocking the little deer Pokémon in the head and it disappearing into a red light. The ball sunk to the ground and it clicked immediately. A single raised eyebrow and a interested look, or about as interested as her permanent bored expression would allow. The direction it came from gave her some interesting thoughts now on what was going on but she shrugged and retrieved the ball holding the deer Pokémon, bringing her total to five. Glancing at her watch she glared at it in annoyance. She needed to catch way more than this if she truly wanted to win. She either needed to pick up the pace or set a trap. There was merit to both and she ultimately decided that picking up the pace would be good until she found a quiet spot to lay her trap.

Picking up her feet and actually moving with a reasonable walking pace now. She opened up her bag and loaded up her hoodie and Jean pockets with the empty balls. All but one of them were able to fit eight-teen in total, 5 in her two front pockets and 4 in each hoodie pocket. It made her legs a bit uncomfortable, but she had to deal with it. If she wanted time to decide on a final capture she'd need to work for it. Reaching into her bag again she pulled out one of her honey jars. Pokémon absolutely loved this stuff, and if she was going to catch enough for it to matter she'd have to use this. She moved to a tree and got to work climbing it once she found an appropriate area.

About twenty feet off the ground she wrapped the straps of her duffle around a sturdy branch and got back down with some effort. She had over heard an bug catcher at a Pokémon center bragging about how he caught a ton of bug Pokémon in under thirty minutes. One of them being a Heracross. A Heracross would be a welcome choice as well, but she wouldn't set her sights high until she was on her last ball. She always did her best under pressure. The trap was rather simple four step method. Step one, slather honey near the base of the tree. Step two, climb up said tree. Step three, wait for Pokémon. Step four, while the Pokémon are enticed by the honey drop pokeballs down on their heads. She had to give that guy credit. It was simple and in theory effective. Though he didn't say exactly how many other Pokémon other than bugs showed up but she'd willingly take whatever showed up.

After the set up taking a good five minutes, she situated herself in the tree and waited for her prey to arrive.

Spoiler: Lukina's Shinanangins

Lukina looked around after she'd bounded off from her best friend in the whole world. It wasn't often Zera told her to go have some fun on her own. Usually Lukina's time was full of playing games that tested how tough she could be. Zera must have been really impressed with her recent progress to get a whole hour of free time to play!
Maybe she'd find some people to play with her? That sounded like fun! Maybe they'd play some dodge the pokeball or maybe some punch the target. Oh, Hide-and-Tag or as Zera called it Pouce-and-Strike was her favorite though. Zera would jump out and strike at her and Lukina would have to dodge and strike back without getting hit. If she got tagged she had to go again but if Zera got tagged they would switch places. Maybe Zera would catch a new friend to play with today!

The pink rabbit bounced happily around the plains looking at the grass and other things for a while.

The buneary got bored rather quick without Zera there. Her ears shot up from where they were resting on her head, she heard the sound of rumbling and a big Bouffalant came charging toward her. It looked like fun, maybe it would play with her? She bounced toward the Buffalo Pokémon as it charged. Lukina jumped up high and and over the Pokémon tapping her paw upon it's back. This however seemed to aggervate the big Pokémon and it turned around, leveling a glare the bunny that had a big smile on its face as it got into a fighting stance and taunted the bigger Pokémon. A modified version of Pounce-and-Strike she was all for it!

 

[Naburius]

Dusk had barely lined up with the other participants when the announcer signaled they were off. Trailing behind the other contestants with Beryl he considered his options. His best option was probably bug types given how they were known to be easy to train but he couldn’t really afford to be picky if he saw something else first given the time limit.

Already trainers were tossing poke balls and he was just trying to find a Pokémon that wasn’t already preoccupied. Suddenly Beryl made him aware of the presence of a nearby grubbin in the branches of a tree. Bingo, just what he needed. They weren't known to be the quickest of pokemon so as long as he could get the drop on it he should be fine. Getting into position his pokemon crawled down from his shoulder and up the tree, opposite of him to startle the poor insect. Readying his ball as it's attention was turned elsewhere he reeled back his arm and threw it at the stunned pokemon. Even without it moving it was a solid miss but with Beryl in front of it the only way it could go was towards him and so he quickly retrieved another Sport Ball and let it loose again, this time hearing a satisfying click as it made contact and closed with the pokemon inside. Waiting a few moments he heard the ding of confirmation that let him know that he'd caught it. Stepping up and grabbing the pokeball he silently celebrated his little victory before hearing noises from above in the tree. Taking Beryl with him he quickly booked it not wanting to risk being taken out of the challenge so quickly. Whatever it had been it sounded big but it was unfortunate he had left the missed sport ball in his haste.

There was no point in dwelling on it though he'd have to move on to the next target if he didn't want to fall behind the competition. Though that was easier said than does as it felt like the others were already speeding ahead, with everyone in sight in the process of trying to catch something. Still it's not like he was in it to win, it might be better to just focus on improving his skills. To do that he'd have to go after a tougher target, in areas like these many canine pokemon tended to be fairly common. The only problem was they also tended to move in packs so they'd probably be too much to handle. In that case he knew exactly what to look for. Making his way deeper into the woods he kept an eye on the bases of trees until he saw what he was looking for. A den underneath the upraised roots of a tree digged out underneath it for storing food. Inside a pair of red eyes could be seen far in the back of the little nest. Perfect, he'd managed to find a Patrat nest, a small one like this should mean it wasn't working under any Watchog so this was a great opportunity. Now he just had to get the pieces into place to be able to catch it. If his aim wasn't good enough he'd just have to be sure to start setting up better shots.

 

[Phayne]

Trainer

Rio

Tomohiro

Capture Event

Several seconds would amount to what felt like an eternity as Rio sat up, his eyes transfixed upon the small spherical device shaking ever so slightly upon the ground; the hypnotic pulsating of the red light syncing to perfection with the beating of Rio's adrenaline fueled heartbeat. Beads of sweat would begin to form along his brow; a single droplet of perspiration slowly slithering past his nose; its serpentine presence a substitute for that in which had been captured within the pokeball.

By now the forest had been overcome by an unsettling silence; the whisper of the wind dancing across the leaves above no longer present; almost as if any and everything sentient within this forest was now transfixed upon the evasive conclusion to what had just transpired. An audience unseen to the duo; yet their presence only a few mere moments ago felt. Even Rio had gone silent save for the faint reverb of his heartbeat, the only hint that he in fact was still counted among the living; such was the intensity in which his mind, body and soul were focused towards the outcome.

*ding*

As if on cue, the forest would return to life; the rushing dance of the wind, the unseen maestro for the orchestral heartbeat of the forest itself. Time had resumed normality; the tight clasp around his nervous heart now unclenched as Rio pushed himself up onto his feet; eyes never leaving the silent pokeball as he slowly reached out to grasp the contraption; right hand almost slipping against its curvical shell. It was only now that he had noticed the sweat upon his hands; the damp clammy feeling a reminder of what it was he had just accomplished. His first capture.... not just in regards to the tournament... but his first actual capture of a wild pokemon.

"Y..Yoru... we... we did it.." spoke Rio, now staring at his reflection upon the surface of the pokeball. "We... we caught our first pokemon..." he continued, slowly turning towards the tree in which Yoru remained hidden within. "Fro..kie.." came the faint voice of his companion; though his tone was anything but congratulatory. If anything... it was quite the opposite. "Yo.. Yoru.. what's wrong..?" inquired Rio, now tearing his gaze away from the captured Ekans.

Caught up in the emotion of his first capture, Rio had failed to notice the sudden change in their surroundings. The furore of the tree's above had increased; the intensity almost chaotic as if the forest itself was getting excited about the prospect of what was to occur. Things were no longer celebratory... Rio was no longer the hunter. Something else was lurking nearby and Yoru had sensed it.

A cackle of an unseen Mukrow would echo from somewhere deep within the dark foliage; Rio's attention drawn to his right; a shrill cry of a triggered Whismur from somewhere to his left. Then suddenly, the looming feeling of danger. A cold shiver would tap dance its way down Rio's spine as the earlier beads of sweat grew in quantity.

Looming behind Rio, the slowly rising silhouette of a hooded monstrosity could be seen rising; the pinking flicker of its tongue salivating with impatience as the large monocled serpentine rose to full stature; predatory eyes fixed upon the nape of Rio's neck', its muscles tightening with the strength to crush bone. Danger.

"FROAKIE" cried Yoru, as a water gun burst from the tree's above, catching the Arbok square in the chest; breaking the paralyzing hold it had upon Rio and allowing the boy to move; fleeing to his left as he pocketed the captured Ekans. "Smokescreen!" shouted Rio, his companion obliging as he blanketed the area in a thick cloud of black smoke. "We aren't strong enough to take on that Arbok, for now we run". Commanded Rio, as they attempted to break free from the dark recesses of the forest.

Meanwhile, the large violet serpent would find itself deep within a cloud of smoke, momentarily stalled yet full of intent to reclaim its kidnapped brethren.

Code by Serobliss

 

[GojiBean]

Lorraine was slowly finding her rhythm. Two more failed attempts at capturing a Taillow, resulting in it flying away ending her chances at capturing it, finally led her to sneak up on and toss a Poké Ball at the back of a Pidgey which was nearby. The tiny bird Pokémon was sucked into the Poké Ball and it twitched a few times before settling. Success!

"Yes!" She whispered.

Placing the Ball in her pack she moved on to another new target; a Pachirisu nibbling on some berries from a berry bush. Doing her best not to make any noise, and pausing the instant it looked like Pachirisu had heard something and started looking/sniffing around, she crept into position and tossed a Ball at it. Her aim was true, and the tiny electric rodent was sucked into it via a beam of light. The Ball wriggled several times, a bit more violently than it did for Pidgey. But it settled with a "Ping" all the same.

Another success. But it was short-lived. Her next four attempts returned empty results save for the Pokémon either running away or, worse, chasing her up a tree like Bouffalant did. One such Pokémon to chase her was a rather bad-tempered Pineco. And worse, it was able to bounce its way up the trunks of trees to chase her into the branches. When it did she slammed a Poké Ball into its face and then tossed it into the brush where she saw it break free and bounce away.

"Phew... Nobody told me Pokémon would be such jerks!" She pouted.

Coming down from the tree she made several more attempts on numerous other Pokémon to mixed results. It was mostly the smaller and naturally weaker species she managed to capture while the larger and more aggressive Pokémon broke free. Thankfully, nothing else chased her. They just sprinted off into the depths of the forest area.

Time ticked by, and the Capture Challenge had 20 minutes left.

"Come on, Lorraine. You can do better than this!"

 

[Absollover77]

Artist: GojiBean

The plan went swimmingly, the ground surrounding the tree was littered with the Pokéballs of captured Pokémon all eight-teen. None of them were anything close to what she was aiming for strength wise. Three Wurmple, two Caterpie, one Skatterbug, three Weedle, a spinarak, four burmy, and four very unlucky Pidgey. Zera huffed pulling her duffle bag loose from the branch she had attached it to. It was a way to secure her win, but she found nothing worth her time to raise. Perhaps the Deerling would be passible given enough time? Shaking her head, she climbed down and started collecting the balls keeping a careful count. "Twenty, Twenty-one, Twenty-two," She paused and scratched her head looking around in confusion. "I know there should be one mo-" her voice cut off as she turned her head to look at the base of the tree. The ball was sitting there next to the nearly depleted honey trap. "There you are..." She gave it an incredulous look before gathering it into her bag with the others. Doing one more count she nodded to herself confirming she had Twenty-Three Pokémon captures and one ball left. She started walking, perhaps Yukina was playing with a strong Pokémon by now? She always did have a tendency to attract a whole bunch of trouble.

Spoiler: Lukina the Buffalo wrangler!!!

Lukina was having the time of her life! This Bouffalant was a really bad at this game and she had suggested different ones, but it swore at her and said a bunch of words that Lukina didn't understand. Lukina didn't want to bring Mr. Buffalo to Zera anymore. She'd have to teach this overgrown Deerling some manners! Teach him manners she did, by assisting him with one too many collisions with trees! He wasn't yelling potty mouth words after the fourth tree, and he collapsed after the fifth. After that some random kid came by and caught him. It wasn't very nice for them to do that when he was tired from playing with her. Then again, they both had been dodging Pokéballs for the whole thirty minutes of playtime. Yukina didn't need to dodge them but getting hit by them wouldn't exactly feel good.

Looking up at the sky she popped her ears up and sniffed the air. She'd better start finding Zera, time was running out and she wasn't keen on making her best friend upset with her. Bouncing off tree stumps and dodging a few other Pokémon, she progressed quickly on the hunt for Zera. Zera could clear quite a distance in an hour, if Yukina remembered right, in one hour they had traveled six miles. That was carrying her duffle bag and Lukina after she got tired. She couldn't have gone far though Yukina could still smell Zera. Her bouncing paused as her ears twitched. Did she just hear Zera whistle!!??

A yawn escaped Zera's lips, she'd been looking for another Pokémon for a while now. A soft rustle was her only warning as a blue haired guy rushed past her with a Froakie latched onto him. Her mind started calculating and she took her duffle bag off and quickly ruffled through it for what she needed. Pulling the padded blocking gloves on her arms and her last Sportball secured on her belt. Sticking her thumb and pointer finger in her mouth and blew a loud clear whistle. She stared coldly at the forest and positioned herself in the path of where the boy was booking it. Whatever this guy was running from she'd deal with it one way or another. She was definitely hoping Yukina heard her.


( Music for atmosphere )
A rage filled hiss, and the imposing visage of a Arbok broke its way through the foliage. The twin yellow eyes glittered against the darkness as it came forward. It's tongue flicking from between its twin fangs glistening as they hit the light. Zera took up a defensive stance locking eyes with the giant snake. Cold blue met irate yellow, and the stare down was something out of a manga or a battle anime. Zera's eyes remained locked as her weight slightly shifted. She was not expecting something like this. He really must have pissed it off to have it hunting him like this. The rage she is seeing in the Arbok's eyes is clear as crystal to the one who holds so much of it in herself.

The Arbok had coiled its body and began prepping for a strike, it would show this human who was in charge of this place. Launching forward mouth agape and fangs primed with lethal poison, something extremely hard slammed against its neck driving it to the right and away from the girl who was in front of it. It was the girl's right fist. Not letting up she delivered a swift kick to the same area. "First rule, never remove eye contact from your opponent. Second rule, find a weak point and strike it with all the power you can give." Zera said as the Arbok made a choking sound as its body flailed in an attempt at moving away from Zera. The stunned Pokémon gasped for breath only to be met with a Sportball to the head thrown from the girl. The snake disappeared into the ball with a red light the ball snapping shut and hitting the ground. "Third rule, no matter the priority be it capture, or destruction... Show no mercy." She watched the ball raddle and shake as the button flickered from red to white for several moments before a soft ding could be heard. She approached the ball and picked it up. "I believe I have found my keeper."

Heading back to her bag a pink bunny shaped missile shot from the bushes and barreled into Zera, who grunted and fell back onto her bottom and looked down. "Ah, Lukina. You're a bit late, I called you about three minutes ago." She patted the Buneary's head softly, causing the Pokémon to make a happy sound. "Don't worry, I handled it, no overgrown snake is going to take me down especially not one that is so poor at fighting. We'll be sure to fix that, won't we?" The bunny Pokémon's eyes sparkled with glee at the words of its trainer. The event's time was ticking she locked her eyes upon the stopwatch clipped to her bag. "About six-teen minutes left... And with this last one... I guess we can relax for a bit Lukina."​

 

[Phayne]

Trainer

Rio

Tomohiro

Capture Event

Dashing through the forest, the blue haired youth would find himself the hunted as he continued to snake his way through the foliage; his partner latched upon his back with two wide eyes focused on the looming danger behind them; ready to counter the looming threat should it rear its ugly head once more. Senses tuned to the max, this mad dash through the forest had reminded Rio of his days back in Ransei; the arduous training he had had to undergo as part of the regions traditions. While he had cursed the spartan training of his past, it was truly coming to the fore now, when he needed it the most.

With adrenaline coursing through his veins, Rio continued forward, parkouring over a fallen log; the shroomish resting within none the wiser as the trainer and his pokemon lept over its resting spot. By now, the faint sounds of other trainers could be heard from among the darkness of the forest; some voicing cries of success whilst others lamented their misfortune... yet none of them would be loud enough to drown out the anguished cry of the beast, presently on the hunt.


"CHAAARRRR~~~~~~~~~~BOOOOKKK~~~" came the venemous hiss from somewhere behind; a flock of spearow sent flying skyward from the sheer terror that ran down their spine; a troop of ratata scurrying into whatever crevice they could find in order to hide. Unfortunately, the slakoth hanging in the tree's above would be unfortunate. Even if it did move at 10x its normal speed... its situation wouldn't have changed much.

"Fro.. Froo... Kie.... KIEEE!!!" voiced Rio's partner; the pokemon pointing behind them as the large bush they had just bypassed began to rustle; two glowing yellow eyes visible from within the shrubbery; their glare a paralyzing one as the amphibian wrestled with its nerves. By now, Rio had entered a zone presently inhabited by more contestants' his hope being that the amount of trainers here would be enough to deter the arbok from chasing him any further.

Alas, no such luck.

Driven by the desire to rescue its captured brethren, the Arbok had no desire to cease the hunt; no desire to let the trainer escape. Truly, it only sought to recover its fellow serpent companion; the ekans trapped within the sportsball that Rio presently pocketed. If only Rio knew. A few minutes would pass before Rio would pass by a trainer, the black haired lass appearing to be perpetually bored, oblivious to the threat fast approaching. Oh well, it was her misfortune that she found herself here.

"Good luck" came the calm voice of Rio as he brushed past Zera, zero intentions of stopping to aid or warn her of what was quickly approaching. Instead, Rio would sieze upon this opportunity. "Smokescreen!" commanded the trainer, his partner obliging as a thick gust of black smoke permeated the area. "Don't give me that look..." spoke Rio as he glanced at Yoru. "She seems more than capable... and we don't have much time... I'd rather not waste any more of it playing this game of cat and mouse" he spoke to himself as he turned a corner; listening to the faint sounds of a scuffle taking place. "She should be fine."
Absollover77

Code by Serobliss

 

[asphodelus]

Miraculously, he'd caught the kakuna — he was pretty proud to say that he wasn't dead. No beedrill came after him, no weedle to surprise him; just that one lone kakuna.

He'd be caught a number of other things, too. The last thirty or so minutes had been a rush of excitement — lots of bugs in the forest; caterpie and wurmple and metapod, which were much less concerning to work with than anything a bright yellow hollering Get the hell away from me—

Snap had found him later hiding near a berry bush, and Jeden had added the battered rattata fainted in his jaws to his growing collection of captures.

It was nearly five minutes to the hour. Jeden was lounging in a tree, scrolling through the new dex entries he'd unlocked. A few tailows had come out to play, but he ignored them in favour of taking in the pleasant sounds of the forest — the rustling of leaves and feathers was different compared to the woods around home, but they were the closest he'd heard since leaving Unova, and he'd really rather savour it than brandish a pokéball and scare all the wildlife away.

Fourteen captures in an hour had to look good enough for the other competitors. It was his lucky number, anyways.

Somewhere in the undergrowth, Snap was wrestling it out with a rockruff that had taken a liking to him. Jeden trusted the pups enough to keep their play-fighting mild, and so paid them little mind.

The bell for them to head back to the starting line should be ringing any moment now.

 

[Absollover77]

Artist: GojiBean

A gentle huff escaped Zera's lips as she relaxed petting Lukina who could barely contain its energy. Shifting her gaze she stared at the area where the blue haired boy ran to and seeing the fading smoke clicked her tongue. "What a cowardly guy. Shame, he looked fairly strong too. Such potential wasted on one who runs instead of fighting." Shaking her head she looked upon her duffle bag then to Lukina. "We should head back to the starting line. We have no reason to stay when I haven't any means to catch more Pokémon." She pried the bunny Pokémon off of her exposed stomach with a sizable effort made more difficult by the equipment she was wearing. Taking it off was a chore but once it was off and stored away she collected her bag from the ground and Lukina had made herself at home sitting on said bag making it heavier. A ghost of a smile appeared when she locked eyes with the bunny Pokémon before starting her light stroll through the woods and the starting area.

It took most of the remaining time to get back. Taking note of the kid she had assisted early in the challenge, carrying an arm full of what she presumed to be captures with him in a different direction from her. It seemed the child was planning on getting one capture more before the challenge was over. She on the other hand was going to register her captures all twenty-four of them. She ran over the counted captures once more in her head. Seven Weedle, four Burmy, four Pidgey, three Wurmple, two Caterpie, a Skatterbug, a Spinarak, a Deerling, and finally an Arbok. She did quite a bit better than expected, and had confidence that unless someone was either extremely lucky or skilled, she was at least a contender for first. If not in first right this moment. Her mind racked slightly as she stepped into the entrance clearing seeing a person or two milling about with confident looks on their faces. They were holding slips of paper. They must have turned in the captured Pokémon and we're waiting for the end to collect their prize. Perhaps she should allow them to be disillusioned by their placement. Approaching the check-in table she lined up all twentyfour of her captured Pokémon. She watched as the attendant scanned each ball, one by one. Taking note of the attendant's facial expression as their eyes slowly went from passive to surprised near the end as if they hadn't expected each ball to have a Pokémon inside. A soft clearing of their throat was caught, as they printed out a paper showing images and basic information about each Pokémon she captured. The only one she was interested in the Arbok had a few things of note. First, it was female. Second, it was larger than a normal one meaning either it was older or it was just that big. Both situations had their merits, but she hoped for the later.

"As the rules claim we allow you to keep one of your captures should you win. Which of the twentyfour Pokémon would you like to keep, should you claim the prize." The attendent kept their voice down obviously to keep others from hearing. She looked over the paper for any mistakes then took the offered pen and went to circle the Arbok picture. "Are you sure? That Pokémon may be troublesome to control." Zera's eyes flicked up to the attendant and they hardened into icy glaciers as she circled the giant snake Pokémon's picture twice just for emphasis and handed back the pen.

"I know what I can and can't handle." Her voice came out just as cold and sharp as icicle spears. "So be ready to hand over my capture should I be the victor. I will be checking if it's the same one too." She grabbed the slip holding her results after it was checked into the computer and walked away from the desk. That attendant was unnecessarily nosy with her business. She kept her eyes locked on said attendant as she took a seat keeping a firm hold of her paper. Now she just had to wait for the results.​

 

[GojiBean]

Sadly, her performance hadn't improved much. She'd managed to capture two more small bug Pokemon. But that was all. She'd managed to lose 3 Sport Balls in the brush, and one was picked up by an Aipom who dashed off and disappeared into the trees with it.

And then... The 5-minute ping.

"Dang it."

Lorraine checked her PokéDex and saw the 5-minute warning blinking on the display. Reluctantly, she returned to the starting location with her handful of Pokémon in her pack. Once back in the starting area she was asked to place every Sport Ball with a caught Pokémon into a box to be counted, and asked if she would keep any if she were to win the challenge. She somewhat halfheartedly chose the Pidgey she'd caught as the potential Pokémon if she won, not that she felt she would. Still, it was a formality to acknowledge the final choice regardless.

As she lamented her lackluster performance she happened to catch a glimpse of a box that was basically full with maybe one empty Sport Ball spot.

Wait... What?! She thought.

Someone basically caught a Pokémon in every Sport Ball they used?!

The trainer standing before the attendant was a young woman with a cold, almost dead stare and wearing dark clothing. Lorraine felt a tiny shiver go down her spine as she took in the full measure of her. What in the world had this young woman caught? And which among those she caught would she be keeping?

Lorraine knew she'd find out soon as everyone began gathering. Checking her PokéDex, there were only 2 minutes left before the Challenge officially ended.

 

[asphodelus]

The trainer swung himself down the tree not a moment before his pokédex pinged out the alert. He whistled a sharp call that had Snap traipsing over — the odd part was that the rockruff he'd been playing with earlier followed softly at his heels.

"Don't you have somewhere to be?" Jeden asked.

He ran his fingers through Snap's wirelike fur and dislodged the stray sticks and grass blades that had gotten caught up there.

The rockruff barked at him, tongue boldly lolling about, either not or not caring to understand the question.

Jeden lightly tossed a sports ball at him, one hesitant pling, then captured. "Really?" the boy incredulously voiced. The world must've either loved or hated him.

He made to pick up the ball, then froze — no mad mother lycanroc came out at him — and Snap beat him to the curious prize, woofing and nosing.

Jeden stole the sports ball from him, pocketed it — "Well then, we'd better go" — and bolted like a thief, his starter bounding gladly beside him.

They'd be late to the front and get an arcanine set after them if they didn't hurry.

The trainer reached the front in a bit of a huff, and turning in his balls to the attendant at the desk proved a simple matter, even with Snap bristling at anyone with an unfamiliar pokémon who got too close.

Out of his fourteen — fifteen, he supposed — catches, he circled the rockruff pup as the one he'd keep should he win, which, it was pretty obvious he wouldn't. He was betting that you'd need at least twenty to even make the extended podium.

Form filed away by the attendant, Jeden stepped over to the crowd of other competitors to wait for the final results.

 

[Phayne]

Trainer

Rio

Tomohiro

Capture Event

Finally rid of the nuisance that was Arbok, Rio would find himself making his way out of the forest and into a more open field; a grassy plain to be precise where the blades rose to waist height and obscured those that lurked within. Silence beyond the crunching of grass beneath his feet would permeate the surrounding area; trainer and pokemon taking step after step as they searched for those that would become stepping stones towards victory in this capture challenge. Yet despite their attempts to extend their current bounty to more than a single ekans, the only movement to be seen would be that of the grass itself; dancing against the timid breeze that ran through.

A momentary thought would be offered towards the viable distraction he had used to his advantage; the trainer whom had been sacrificed to the rampaging Arbok. Whilst it may have seemed cowardly on Rio's part to simply run; he had made the decision to do so based on the upcoming battle competition; his next gambit at victory. Had he fought the serpent alongside Yoru, he'd have been at a disadvantage during the combat event and that was simply not acceptable considering he was aiming for victory.

Driven by the desire to even have a respectable chance of winning this tournament, Rio would venture forth into the tall grass; eyes and ears on overdrive as he searched for signs of wildlife.. yet beyond the rustling of the grass his ears would pick up naught but silence. "It seems like this area has been completely farmed..." mumbled Rio; the evidence of footprints and crushed pathways becoming more visible the deeper he walked into the foliage.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rio would eventually make his way back to the starting point; the announcement of the competition ending being the reason for his journey back; the Ekans being his sole capture during the whole event; clearly not enough to even have an outside chance of winning. While he had hoped to capitalize on a more isolated area... it seemed the time taken to get there as well as the uninvited guest had actually worked against him.

Code by Serobliss

 

[GojiBean]

As time wound down and the final notification ping sounded from the PokéDex, Lorraine observed as the remainder of the trainers gathered or, in a small handful of cases, corralled back to the starting area by local law enforcement who helped oversee the event. Apparently a few individuals tried to continue capturing activities beyond the 5-minute warning and had refused to voluntarily return to the starting area as per the rules. They were disqualified upon return and all Pokémon caught seized and handed off to the Capture-and-Release Team for immediate release.

A man on a podium stood before the crowd of trainers and tapped a megaphone.

"Ahe-ahem! Ladies and gentlemen. We thank you for your participation in the Capture Challenge, and we will not be wasting any time announcing our winner!"

Lorraine had a feeling she knew who it was. But even so there was a twinge of excitement running through her as she rocked back and forth from heel to toe.

"With 24 Pokémon captured-"

Murmurs erupted from the crowd immediately at the number presented. Everyone knew it was mostly luck if a Poké Ball worked or not. But to have actually managed to capture a Pokémon in basically every one of the Balls given for the event was shocking.

"Please, everyone. Quiet down........ Thank you. As I was saying, with 24 Pokémon captured our winner for the first ever Saffron Pokémon Exhibition and Extravaganza's Capture Challenge is... Zera Quinn! Congratulations!"

Zera was given the chance to step forward and claim both a certificate of achievement signed by Pokémon League representatives, and presented with the Sport Ball containing the Arbok she captured as per her pre-ceremonial choice.

Once she stepped down from the podium area the announcer tapped the megaphone again.

"And now, we would like to invite all challengers the opportunity either to rest at our various cordoned off areas on Saffron's West Side for relaxation and merriment. For those seeking another challenge registration for the Battle Challenge will begin promptly at 10:30am at booths 8A and 8C, just over there-" he said, pointing with his free hand to the booths being set up nearby.

"Thank you once again one and all for your participation!"

With that, he turned off the megaphone and stepped down from the podium as the Capture Challenge event setup began its tear-down phase with the crew removing the cordoning posts and ropes, the podium, the booths, etc. to clear the area. Groundskeepers were also removing trash like tissues and discarded event pamphlets and tossing them in trash bags to be disposed of properly. From Lorraine's observation over the first minute or so of this process, she had to admit they were nothing if not efficient about post-event cleanup.

Phayne asphodelus Absollover77 (I'll be locking this thread once the three of you have made your final reaction posts to the event's conclusion. After that we'll be returning to the Kanto (main) thread for the sign-up phase of the Battle Challenge for those participating. And once we have everyone ready for the Battle Challenge I'll create a new thread for that event. Cheers!)

 

[Absollover77]

Artist: GojiBean

Zera watched as everyone gathered around and the hush that enveloped the crowd was a bit relaxing. It was always welcoming when everyone was quiet. It however didn't last long. When the number of caught Pokémon was said murmurs erupted as she stood already knowing she was the victor but waited for her name to be called for her to step up and retrieve the certificate. She went through the motions until the ball containing Arbok was handed to her. She immediately checked it to ensure it was indeed the Pokémon she caught. She allowed the Arbok out of the ball for a moment. The giant snake Pokémon appeared, and it looked at Zera cautiously. Zera's eyes inspected it and seemingly found what she was looking for because she recalled it immediately.

Stepping down she listened for a moment with her back turned about the next event location, Zera turned on her heel heading in that direction immediately. Lukina heard the word battle and climbed up Zera's arm and sat upon her shoulder. The pink bunny Pokémon leaned her back against Zera's head. The girl's eyes shifted to look at the bunny Pokémon but did nothing to stop them. She was in a decent mood and Lukina should rest for a bit before the battle event. She didn't exactly care how she rested as long as she did. Her gaze landed on the framed certificate in her hand and the new ball seeming out of place clipped to the inside of her tattered old jacket. She stopped for a moment, seeming to think as she looked up at the sky. In all this time it was her first victory in a competition. Unzipping her bag, she put the certificate inside with some semblance of care and zipped it back up. She'd have to carry it for a while, or at least until she found a home to hang it up. A wall of memories, she'd build one. Have a wall full of things like this, each step of her way to getting back at the world and grinding it to dust.​

 

[Phayne]

Trainer

Rio

Tomohiro

Capture Event

Having submitted the Ekans as well as his left over event balls to the event commitee, Rio would find himself leaving the starting area before the final announcement had been made; his interest in the winner of the event virtually unparalleled compared to his desire to not be caught up within a large audience. Whilst he had overheard the 'ooohs and aahhs' of the rumoured 1 pokemon per pokeball contestant, he saw little need to remain; not when there was limited time to recuperate his and Yoru's energy prior to the next event.

"How about we find something to eat... sound good?" questioned Rio, as he maneuvered his left hand, crossing it over to his right side as he patted Yoru atop his head. The audible announcement over the megaphones as well as the cheering crowd doing their best to drown out Rio's voice; to little effect. "Froo Froo Kie.." mumbled the little amphibian as he glanced back towards the finishing event.

"Don't worry about it..." replied Rio, once more patting his companion. "We managed to get some valuable experience" he lowered his left hand, reaching into his pocket for an Oran berry. "Winning the event would have just been an added bonus, what we are really here for is the combat tournament" he continued, tossing the berry skyward; a fleshy pink tongue shooting forth as Yoru caught the berry mid air.

"Lets go get our stuff and maybe we can find a food stall on our way to the next event"

Code by Serobliss

 

[asphodelus]

The awards ceremony went off without a hitch. What sort of luck would someone need to get twenty-four balls filled? Not just luck, but skill. That trainer must've been a nightmare in the ring.

Jeden snagged Snap and hefted him up so they could both see over the crowd. "See that snake, pup? What would you've done if we'd met that in the field?"

Snap let out a low, challenging whine-growl.

"Yeah, if it'd been fat on supper, you could've." That snake looked so thick that Snap's little pup-teeth would've had a hard time piercing through it. Jeden would've recalled his naïve partner and booked it.

"Let's sign up and grab a bite," Jeden said as Snap wiggled back down.

On their way, he noticed the tourney winner, this time with a pink bunny riding their shoulder — their starter? And bunearies did not look like that.

"Some luck…"