Session 21, VP2

Bronze, Reinhold, and Donner woke earlier than the rest of the group. Reinhold and Bronze took the opportunity to enjoy a morning jog; unsuited to such exercise, Donner performed his own morning routine in the Halvorsson’s front yard. After getting dressed for work, Leana and Erik stood together in Lauren’s doorway. Their hands intertwined as they watched Lauren’s chest rise and fall beneath the covers. Though Lauren had made pit stops in between their earlier rounds of research, this was the first time they had done so with company. It was a balm to both of their spirits to see Lauren surrounded by people who seemed to care, a sight not seen since…… 

Giving Erik a brief kiss, Leana left to head to the PokéMart. Erik, having some time before he needed to leave, decided to prepare breakfast for the party. Donner re-entered the house to the growing smell of flapjacks and jam. Erik politely turned down his offer to help, as the rest of the group began to wake. Reinhold and Bronze returned from their jog a few minutes before Erik needed to leave, so he bid goodbye to Lauren and their friends. 

When the flapjacks proved quite popular, Lauren quickly whipped up some more for their friends. Vorpal Blade and Jasmine scuttled their way around the kitchen table, licking up any unguarded splotches of jam and syrup. By the time breakfast was finished, the two Pokémon were dotted with a motley assortment of sticky stains. The group helped Lauren clean the kitchen, before getting ready for the day. 

A balmy sky greeted them as our heroes wound their way to Tilligan’s Beach, one of Lauren’s favorites. The group followed the river through Ohmslo, before descending a set of stairs carved into the cliff face, similar to Ever Dam. The beach was only sparsely populated; at least, by people. Large groups of Pokémon milled about, looking for food where they could find it. Before settling in, the trainers caught a few of the Pokémon to add to their teams. After a bit of advice from Sylvie, Bronze picked up several Pyukumuku, throwing them into the shallows of the ocean. 

Ariela attached her shovel blade to her stave and began to search for anything of note buried on the beach. Meanwhile, Sylvie, Thistle, and Jasmine sat down to build a sandcastle together. Bronze released Izu, her newly-hatched Nymble, to join in the fun. Looking to get some more use out of his fishing rod, Reinhold located a nearby dock, inviting Donner to watch and learn. After explaining the basics of fishing to Donner, Reinhold cast out his line, setting the rod into a rod stand built into the dock. Donner seemed a bit confused at the relatively passive nature of the activity, but was intrigued nonetheless. 

Back on the sand, Ariela came across a Root Fossil, as the sand castle continued to take shape. Lauren noticed a small discussion taking place nearby. Three other beach-goers, around their age, were scratching their heads over what appeared to be a massive, stapled document. Curious, they drifted over to see if they could help. 

The trio introduced themselves as Embla, Helga, and Latham. Embla explained that the group had volunteered to run a Sand Sculpture Contest taking place the next day but were running into some difficulties making heads or tails of the rules. As Lauren glanced over the print-out, it was easy to see why: the document appeared to have been translated into Vanic from a different tongue and was written practically like a legal document. 

Out of their depth, Lauren asked if Bronze would come by to help out. With a nod, she made her way over to join the group. It was around this time that Reinhold felt a pull on his fishing line. With Donner’s help, he managed to take up the rod and begin to reel in his catch. After a brief struggle, Reinhold was able to successfully catch a Tirtouga. Seeing how Ariela’s eyes gleamed in appreciation, he decided to gift her the fossil Pokémon. 

With some encouragement, Donner took a turn at fishing. He chose to hold onto the fishing rod, rather than using the rod stands. Bronze finished a cursory read of the contest’s rules and was able to confirm that it appeared to be translated from Kantonese. She was able to draft a short summary of the more pertinent bits, particularly the 20-steps of judging criteria. The trio thanked her for her efforts but blanched a bit at the summary. 

Stepping off to the side, they conferred amongst themselves for a moment. They returned to offer our heroes thanks, and to ask a favor. Realizing they would still have difficulty handling the rules, Embla asked if Bronze might consider helping out as part of the judging committee. Though they offered to pay for her time, Bronze insisted that no payment was necessary. After some pointed looks from her comrades, Bronze did acquiesce to the trio’s offer of free food and drink. 

As this conversation was winding down, Donner suddenly felt a strong pull on the fishing line. Taken by surprise, he attempted to brace against the Pokémon’s strength. He successfully maintained his grip on the fishing pole but failed to maintain his footing on the dock. With a splash, Donner was hauled overboard, landing in the shallows with a splash. Sputtering out water, Donner popped up above the waves. He hefted the rod over his head, happy to not have lost the item lent to him by Reinhold. Unfortunately, the line had snapped under the power of whatever it had hooked. He slowly waded his way back to the shore, sopping wet. Ariela gave him Mafbt Wallaby to hold, while Lauren pulled out a towel with a smile. 

Meanwhile, Bronze took a quick jog back up the stairs to a Pokémon Center, swapping King out into her party. Hoping to temper any residual resentment from his denied meal in Drillsberg, she released him onto the beach. Though King had clearly not forgotten the slight against his regency, he chose to explore the waters in lieu of levying punishment. The party spent a bit more time relaxing on the quiet beach. 

When noon drew closer, they began to gather up their things. At Bronze’s call, King came lurching out of the surf, remnants of several Pyukumuku hanging from his maw. He graciously placed his mighty claw upon each of Bronze’s shoulders before allowing himself to be recalled. Our heroes made their way towards the mall, noting how empty most of the town appeared to be. When it came into view, the large crowd surrounding the mall explained where most of the townsfolk were. A tall man in a tall hat approached a microphone. In an exuberant voice, he began the opening proceedings. 

First, an intricate fountain was unveiled. The statues depicted a mighty Terrelk locked in victorious combat with a twisted Malamar. Something about the statue seemed familiar to most of the group, echoing a tale they may have heard from Bergie while in Drillsberg. Once this piece of art had been properly christened, the spokesperson released two Scizor to cut the symbolic velvet ropes in front of the mall. The cheerful masses began to filter inside. 

As the party slowly made their way forwards, they came across the sign-in desk for the Tournament that would be taking place later in the day. Everyone, save Lauren, decided to take part. Once inside, most of the party had a moment of culture shock. Besides the overall size of the building, there were all sorts of flashing lights and screens advertising stores and sales. Bronze and Lauren led the way towards a map kiosk, as Sylvie insisted they use the buddy system to make sure no one got separated. 

The group paid a visit to the TM Store, finding several new Moves worth purchasing. Next, they visited Paul’s Balls, finding an incredible stock of the myriad types of Pokéballs. Bronze spoke with the proprietor, Paul, showing off one of her hand-made Pokéballs. Although not a craftsman himself, Paul was able to recognize the skilled work and offered to purchase the Heat Ball. Bronze eagerly flexed her negotiative muscles, haggling over the suggested price. 

In an attempt to drive the price up further, Bronze roped Lauren into the conversation as a “random interested buyer”. Unfortunately, Paul easily saw through the tactic, and his interest waned more when Bronze let slip that the Heat Ball had been broken and repaired. With no ill will for the attempted deception, Paul simply withdrew his offer and went to help another customer. 

Having some time still remaining before the kickoff of the tournament, Lauren and Bronze led their friends to a large arcade. Enraptured by the bright colors and chiptune sounds, our heroes spent a few hours trying out various games. Sylvie managed to win a few charms of Pokémon from a Klawf Machine, gifting one to Donner. He seemed taken aback by the gift, small as it was, and apologized that he had nothing to offer in return. 

Once the arcade had lost some of its luster, the group found their way to the tournament grounds. A large arena floor had been built into the center of the mall, with high-tiered bleachers surrounding it. After wishing their friends luck, Lauren made their way into the gathering audience. The tournament announcer introduced himself to the crowd as Gudmund, sending a slight chill down our heroes’ spines. After explaining the rules, he announced the drawn pairs for the first round. Ariela faced a Seismistrix, while Bronze stood across from a Terrelk. Reinhold paired off with a Blizzstrix, while Sylvie, much to her surprise, found herself standing across from Donner. A bell rang out, and the battles commenced. Tanking a solid hit from the Seismistrix, Ariela then managed to knock it out in one massive attack with Jelly Bean. 

Bronze and Ven used a combination of various status effects to slowly whittle their opponent down. Unfortunately, the Terrelk eventually woke, and landed a solid hit with Flame Charge. Though he had put up a great fight, Ven was rendered unconscious. Reinhold had Mephiles layer status conditions onto his foe, keeping the Blizzstrix asleep and paralyzed. Bit by bit, the Gastly managed to weaken their foe. When it was able to return fire, the Blizzstrix peppered Mephiles with shards of ice. After a tense back and forth, the Blizzstrix won by the skin of its beak. 

As Lauren watched from the crowd, they heard a number of people murmuring at Duna’s maimed appearance. Many disparaging comments were bandied about Donner’s fitness as a Trainer, and the supposed cruelty of “forcing” an injured Pokémon to fight. Enraged, Lauren argued with some of the observers. Sensing a familiar aura, Lauren left, heading towards the entrance to the mall. 

Meanwhile, the battle between Sylvie and Donner continued at a fever-pitch. Neither trainer tried to hold back, as Thistle and Duna traded blows. Thistle pushed through a Type disadvantage to return fire on the Elecstrix. For her part, Duna managed to land several potent Electric attacks. As the fight wore on, Duna struggled to make contact with any of her physical Flying Type moves, still not used to her missing wing. 

With every other fight finished, the crowd’s attention was focused on Donner and Sylvie. Thistle managed to land a massive Critical Hit with Metal Claw, knocking off a huge chunk of Duna’s remaining health. Sensing that the end was drawing near, Donner had Duna use Charge to power herself up for one final assault. Sylvie had Thistle land a quick hit while Duna powered up, nearly knocking the Elecstrix out. Yet, Duna still stood, now crackling with static electricity. Donner pointed forward, and Duna released an incredibly powerful bolt of lightning from her beak. The attack lanced straight towards Thistle, only to be repelled at the last second by a shimmering Protect. 

The crowd’s screaming could barely be heard over the explosion from the blocked move. Before Duna could recover, Thistle struck one final time, draining the last bits of Duna’s health. Donner cradled Duna in his arms and gave Sylvie a bow as he left the arena. Now that all of the first-round matches had been completed, the pairings for the second round were drawn and announced. 

Reinhold and Bronze stood watch to cheer on their friends, as Ariela and Sylvie had their Pokémon healed for the coming fight. Donner headed out into the mall, while Lauren successfully tracked down Hilde. Already, the grand opening of the Ohmslo Ohmodome had been everything our heroes had hoped for. Who knew what else they might find throughout the day?