|
|
Post by Basile on Feb 27, 2012 20:34:52 GMT -6
It had been several weeks since that fateful day, and Lesa's group was still about. At first it had just been an inability to go anywhere due to the destruction of half the town, but after a while they had simply fallen in to helping to get things back to normal. It was going fairly well, and the reconstruction of the town was going well, so the entire group, including the newest friend to come along, had decided that it was time to move on. They were just getting in the way at this point, as there was no more debris to clear or any other such medial jobs that they're limited knowledge could be of use for. Considering Sawyer, Yuki, and herself had obtained badges for assisting in the attack, and there was no contest in the immediate area due to Necro's threat, there was only one thing that was left to do.
Lesa's breeder's test.
Though she technically did not need anymore passes to take her final test, the girl was determined to at least visit each and every breeder's center in Varaia, pass or fail. She hoped to pass, of course, but as long as she got to meet all of her fellow breeders, she would be happy.
So, bright in the morning, but not too early of course, she took one last glance around the room in the Pokemon Center that had been her home for the past few weeks, checking to make sure she hadn't left anything, then turned and made her way to the others. She gave each of her companions a grin. "Let's get this done, shall we? Droughtenna awaits us."
With that, she led her little group out onto the street and towards the Gym. She didn't hesitate to pound on the door, seeing as the Gym had recently been reopened to challengers, and then proceeded to barge straight into the main area of the building, calling loudly.
"Cliff! Hey, Cliff! The sooner you get your behind out here and give me the breeding center location hint, the sooner you can get rid of me!" |
|
|
|
Post by Catilena1890 on Feb 27, 2012 20:43:59 GMT -6
Celeste giggled at Lesa's words when Cliff came staggering out, his Rampardos beside him.
"Alright alright. Y'know, I am grateful about your help and all, but I`m still a gym leader, leave me some dignity!" He yelled. Ming-ming popped out from behind Celeste and sat on top of her head, snickering at Cliff.
"What dignity? You practically bent over and spread`em against that Mandibuzz. I mean really, what self-respecting rock-user loses to a bird in a tutu?" She piped, causing both the gym leader and his pokemon to flush in embarrassment while Celeste cackled.
"Alright alright, just take the riddle.
In a place with a mine,
You would think "underground".
Yet for this one that is not fine,
Listen in the trees, there is a sound.
It's call is quite screechy
And sometimes it pops.
The feathers are itchy
On his poor Archeops." He said, reading off a scroll before putting it away.
|
|
|
|
Post by sularis on Feb 27, 2012 20:48:20 GMT -6
Yuki felt kind of separate from the whole situation. He was just tagging along so he wouldn't be lonely. It didn't hurt to make new friends, did it? Bruce was sitting on Yuki's shoulder, scanning all around his trainer. Someone had to keep an eye on him.
The white haired lad jumped when Ming-Ming spoke. He'd never get used to it. It was one thing to have a telepathic Pokemon, but another thing entirely to have one physically speak. "Doesn't she have any respect? Cliff did his best." He sighed deeply and crossed his arms in front of his chest. This was going to be a long day.
|
|
|
|
Post by Basile on Feb 27, 2012 21:06:40 GMT -6
Lesa couldn't help but chuckle softly, both at Cliff and at Ming-Ming, who was just as grumpy as ever. She reached out and patted the skunk like pokemon before turning to Yuki. "Respect is over rated sometimes. Besides, Cliff knows we love him." Here she gave the Gym Leader a wide grin and a wink, before her expression turned serious. There was work to do.
"So it's not in the mine," she mused quietly to herself, her lips pulled into a purse as she debated the riddle. It was significantly more difficult than the others she had experienced so far. "That'd be obvious though, wouldn't it?" she added with a quiet laugh.
Listen to the trees? Why, were there wind chimes or something around the Breeding center? For several moments she stood in silence, twisting her hair about in her fingers as she thought. And then it was like a lightbulb went off, her whole face lighting up.
"Oh, I remember! Thank you Cliff! See you around, and if you ever need us, I have one of those transceiver things." Lesa doubted that the Gym Leader would ever need a ragtag bunch of journeyers, but it was good enough to offer. Her group had received one of the few transceivers that the elusive Z had brought back, seeing as they had two of Necro's undead and seemed to be frequent targets of the group. The Leaders had thought it would be better for the group if they could get into quick contact if need be.
Turning, Lesa offered a wave and then beckoned her group after her, moving quickly through the streets until they reached a grove of trees that did not, generally, look any different than any of the other hundreds of trees in the area. But here there was a strange whistling sound on the breeze that Lesa had attributed to the nearby buildings. Still, it wasn't heard anywhere else, and this was all she could think of.
"Whelp, let's see," she said finally, stepping into the grove and looking about herself curiously. |
|
|
|
Post by Catilena1890 on Feb 27, 2012 22:12:09 GMT -6
Ming-ming watched in mild amusement while Celeste and Sawyer helped Lesa look through the bushes and trees. The coordinator frowned while she looked up a tree and gave a curious sound. Tilting her head, she decided to climb the tree to figure out what the strange object she saw was.
"What in the world is th---AHHH HELP ME!" She screamed as something grabbed her back, carrying her out of the tree. A wild laugh emerged as her kidnapper flew around her friends.
"Ahhhhhhaaaaaaaa! Oh come on, isn't this fun?" Said a wild, masculine voice. Celeste pouted while she struggled against the talons that held her.
"No! Now put me down!"
"As you wish, LOOK OUT BELOW!" He said, dropping her.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH--omph!" As Celeste fell Reso the gallade ran to catch her, holding out his arms as she landed on him. Pokemon and trainer smiled at each other before the Gallade let her down, the strange pokemon laughing in a tree. Pouting, Celeste took her pokedex out and held it in front of the weird pokemon.
"Archeops, the First Bird pokemon and the evolved form of Archen. Archeops runs better than it flies and tend to live in groups. It has a call that is capable of summoning many of its kind to it no matter how far." Said the pokedex as the pokemon continued to cackle.
"It forgot to mention that thing is a big jerk." She mumbled, picking up Ming-ming as the stunky strolled over to her. Finally getting a grip on itself, the Archeops wiped his eye with a claw, still chuckling.
"Aww come on, that was great and you know it. Now then, is one of you a breeder? No one usually looks for me unless they are. Come on, Alchemy is this way." He said, jumping from the tree and trotting past some bushes.
|
|
|
|
Post by sularis on Feb 27, 2012 22:18:46 GMT -6
Yuki actually started smiling as Celeste went up the tree and started screaming. The sight he was met with was a funny one. That was an Archeops, wasn't it? He scanned it with his Pokedex and then pocketed it.
Bruce stared in awe at the big prehistoric bird Pokemon. He'd never seen anything quite like it in his life. He hopped off Yuki's shoulder and trotted up to it. "Mieeen? Foo, mien mien?" Uhhh...What..are you exactly? The white haired lad ran up to his Pokemon, gathering him up in his arms. "Uhh..Terribly sorry sir..He's never seen a fossil Pokemon before.."
|
|
|
|
Post by Basile on Feb 27, 2012 22:24:55 GMT -6
The ability to keep her face straight deserted Lesa after about ten seconds of Celeste's flailing and screaming. Even in those few seconds, there was a twitching of her lip that quickly got more pronounced until finally the girl gave up and collapsed into a fit of laughter. She simply couldn't help it, what with the flailing and the screaming and the cackling from the flying captor.
"Honestly, Celeste, you didn't make that much of a rucus when there was an entei trying to roast you alive. You'd think someone who's happy to make out with a floor would be able to handle a bit of flying."
Lesa shook her head as her companion finally pulled herself together, casting a quick grin to Yuki before turning to the ancient bird. "Yes, I'm a breeder," she responded with a nod, happily falling into step behind him. She couldn't help the occasional chuckle that escaped as she remembered Celeste's plight. |
|
|
|
Post by Catilena1890 on Feb 27, 2012 22:57:54 GMT -6
Celeste pouted at her two friends as she followed the archeops alongside them. He didn't have to walk very far, for soon they came upon a huge slab of rock. Carved into that slab was a cave, and Archeops just kept on walking into it, gesturing for the group to follow.
" 'ey Tucker! Got another one for ya!" He said as everyone looked around. The breeding center was well-lit, so everyone could see the makeshift pens formed by Stalagmites and Stalactites at various odds and ends. Towards the back of the cave, a man loomed over a desk made out of rock tat came out of the ground, looking at various rocks before he turned to see his archeops accompanying three people. With a smile, he gave the trio a salute before leaning back.
"Well hello there. My name is Tucker. Let's make this quick shall we? Come on over here and I`ll get you started." He said, taking a sledgehammer and smashing his desk into pieces.
|
|
|
|
Post by Basile on Feb 28, 2012 21:22:12 GMT -6
Blink. Blink. Blink blink blink. For a moment Lesa simply stood there in utter shock, staring at the rubble heap that used to be a desk. Well. That was... odd. Finally though, she had to snap her mouth shut and shake her head. To each there own. "Thank you Mr. Archeops," Lesa said to the pokemon who had brought her here, then turned and walked forward, offering a hand to the Breed Head despite his penchant for smashing things to bits with sledgehammers.
"I'm Lesa, and I'm glad to meet you finally. Would have been here sooner, but in the chaos of the Necro attack I just haven't had the opportunity to bug Cliff for the clue." Her gaze flickered to the remains of the desk. "Do you make a habit of destroying your desk every time a challenger comes to take your test?" If so he must have one heck of a bill with the local desk maker. |
|
|
|
Post by Catilena1890 on Feb 28, 2012 21:41:01 GMT -6
Celeste cracked up at the unexpected and violent act along with Ming-ming in a corner. When Lesa offered her hand Tucker shook her hand and laughed heartily at her question, shaking her hand in a firm grip while Archeops chuckled to himself after nodding at her gratitude.
"Bwahaha naw. I was using this as a desk cuz it was convenient, but it was actually just a slab of a special rock." He said, lifting some of the rubble and showing it to her. The dark part of the rock was revealed to actually be a black coating, and inside was a clear and shiny mineral that looked an awful lot like diamonds. Archeops leapt onto Lesa's shoulders and inspected the rock closely.
"Oh wow, you found another deposit eh? Hope you do good girlie, Blitz won't be happy if ya don't." He teased, much to Tucker's chagrin. The breeders eye twitched and he crossed his arms at the bird pokemon.
"Don't you have some aerodactyl to bug or something? Beat it." He said. Archeops rolled his eyes and leapt off Lesa's shoulders, flying towards the back of the cave.
"Yeah yeah, whatever ya say Rocky." He snapped. Tucker rolled his eyes in response before turning to Lesa.
"So, you ready to get started? Good. First off, do you know what this mineral is?" He asked, handing the rock to her.
|
|
|
|
Post by Basile on Feb 28, 2012 21:48:22 GMT -6
Blitz? What did Blitz have to do with anything? Wasn't he the Droughtenna gym leader? Confusion colored Lesa's face as she watched the ancient bird toddle off after a bit of banter with Tucker. But then the man was looking at her and asking her about rocks and now she was even more confused. She looked at the thing in Tucker's hand for a moment, her lips pursed as she studied it.
"I don't know much about rocks," she admitted slowly. "Or minerals as the case may be. I'm really better at living things. So my best bet, with something clear like that... Quartz maybe?" She looked up at the man, honestly confused but giving it her best shot. |
|
|
|
Post by Catilena1890 on Feb 28, 2012 22:44:34 GMT -6
Tucker cleared his throat and snapped his fingers, a tyranitar appearing from the back of the cave carrying a huge basket.
"Not quite. It's a rather special mineral. It acts a lot like Eevee in that it can take on almost any form. Or at least, in the stone world, ANY form. See, I feel that evolution is an important part of raising pokemon, but I don't find enough evolution stones. So what you are going to do to help you on your way is MAKE an evolutionary stone using basic Alchemy, hence the name of my Center." He told her as Tyranitar held out the basket. Inside were multiple test tubes filled with all kinds of colorful chemicals and a bowl. Celeste peered curiously at the rocks and the basket contents.
"So, what exactly does she have to do?" Celeste asked curiously.
"Fill the bowl with the contents of one of the test tubes, then carefully put one of these rocks inside it. Don't mix colors and don't go too fast. When it's fully engulfed, you will need to attack it with the type that represents it. So if you wanted to make a water stone, you would need a water type attack. A moon stone would need a normal type attack. You can make any kind of stone you want and, unlike what bird brain says, you get to keep it. If you are successful in making your evolutionary stone, you pass." He finished, leaning against the wall. Celeste frowned in skepticism and tilted her head.
"MAKE an evolutionary stone?" She asked him. Tucker nodded his head with an amused smile.
"Yep. It's genuine too, I make stones in my spare time and sell them to Blitz for his department store, and they work like a charm. Begin when you are ready." He said, waiting.
|
|
|
|
Post by Basile on Feb 28, 2012 23:12:14 GMT -6
Lesa, while disappointed, was grateful that Tucker did not look down on her for her incorrect answer. She glanced curiously at the Larvitar as the man explained his test, down right oogling the brightly colored vials and the bowl. Alchemy was an intriguing thing, she decided, tentatively reaching out to touch one of the stones that would apparently soon hold the power of evolution if she managed this test correctly.
"Well, this is certainly intriguing!" She had no doubt about the sincerity of the test. After all, he was a Breeder Head. If he said these would be genuine, then genuine they would be.
Her gaze shifted to one of the vials, containing a liquid so very pale blue it was almost clear. She dragged her fingers along the vial and debated for a moment. It was obvious enough that it was an ice type liquid, but what type of stone would that make? There were no ice type evolution stones... But she thought of Aunia when she was an eevee. Glaceon were ice type, and evolved via the shiny stone. So would an ice attack produce a shiny stone?
Only one way to find out. Taking the bowl and vial from the larvitar, Lesa set them down on a flat stone that was stable, placing one of the mineral rocks in the bowl. She then carefully poured the ice blue liquid around the stone until it was submerged. Nodding to herself, she took a step back and lifted her hand. She debated for a moment. There were two pokemon in her possession that had ice type attacks to wield. Who to choose, who to choose? While Comet was more experienced in battle, his ice type attack was physical. She did not want to risk hurting the stone with the physical attack, so the choice was made.
"Alright Artemis. I need you to use powder snow on that bowl there. Try to make it a good one for me."
The articuno nodded and focused on her power as she prepared the attack.
[RESULT: Miss]
"It's alright, Artemis," she soothed as the bird cried out in distress, glancing at Tucker. The man nodded at her, saying she could attempt again. So she did. "Try again for me, please."
[RESULT: 4]
"You get one more try," she was told, and Lesa felt nerves settle on her badly. She hadn't failed a test yet, and she really, really didn't want to start now. Closing her eyes and sending a prayer to the gods, she took a deep breath.
"Powder snow one more time, Artemis."
[RESULT: 9] |
|
|
|
Post by Catilena1890 on Feb 28, 2012 23:41:01 GMT -6
Tucker and Celeste watched as the ice attack bonded with the compound, and it shrank around the once-clear rock. As it continued to absorb the mixture the rock began to glow. After it absorbed all it could, the rock stopped glowing and the liquid had almost completely disappeared. In the place of the rock, a bright yellow stone sat in the bowl. A Shiny Stone. Celeste eyed it with admiration and looked closer at it with awe. "WOW! You are magic Lesa!" She exclaimed. Tucker chuckled and patted the girls back, grabbing the Shiny Stone from the bowl and inspecting it. "Not magic, Alchemy. And yep, this is a genuine Shiny Stone alright. Great job girl. I`ll go get your egg." He said, handing the stone to her as he walked to one of the pens. He stepped inside one and disappeared for a moment, re-emerging with a silvery egg in an egg-case. He held out the egg case, topped with a dark brown cherish ball, to Lesa and smiled. "Here ya go, one Alchemy Breeding Center cherish ball with a specially bred egg. You take good care of this little guy, and good luck on your journey." He said as he continued to hold it out.  Rarity: Uncommon Obtained From: Alchemy Breeding Center Battles until Hatching: 5 |
|
|
|
Post by Basile on Feb 29, 2012 11:46:10 GMT -6
Lesa glanced back at Celeste and grinned at her companion, shaking her head just a bit. "Me? Magic? Naw. I didn't do anything but put the rock in. Tucker told us about it and Artemis made it work. If anything, they are the magic ones!" Still, she kept a close eye on Tucker as he examined the stone, stroking the blue bird's feathers and muttering quiet compliments to her until the Breed Head declared that it was, in fact, a genuine stone.
Then the biggest smile spread across her lips and she reached out to gingerly take the egg and case from him, wrapping it up in her arms protectively. She was getting used to carrying eggs around. It had felt a bit odd since Artemis had hatched, the few week period being the first time since she started her journey that she had not had an egg to care for.
"Thank you so much, Tucker! I'll definitely take good care of it!" Her voice was bubbly, her excitement barely contained and obvious as was unable to hold still. Lesa looked between the egg and the new stone she had created, then turned with a flourish and bounced back over to Celeste, thrusting the stone into her friend's hands. "Look, look! It's amazing isn't it?" |
|
