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Feel The Ground Shake (Pokemon - Ground-type specialist)

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LordVishnu said:
fb82cef6b058.jpg


The Flygon mafia still pushing their agenda I see. They'll never leave me be.
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Hey I'm a Garchomp guy, all the way! Just don't want our guy to leave Sinnoh with nothing but a pair of magic jars to show for it.
 
LordVishnu said:
"Just a little souvenir!" Wattson cheerfully barks, his voice carrying over the work of the repair crews hauling dirt and stone behind him. "I know you aren't running the Hoenn circuit, but now you'll always have something to remember ol' Wattson by! BWAHAHA!"
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Do badges ever "expire"? I imagine he might do the Hoenn circuit at some point.

LordVishnu said:
The man doesn't just like digging up dusty relics, he socializes with us too! BWAHAHA!"
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XD

LordVishnu said:
Drake was disappointed you didn't showcase a Flygon. Though I think the bias is obvious on that one. Always something to compla-"
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Brad was also disappointed that he didn't find a flygon worth showcasing.

LordVishnu said:
Mirage Tower. An exclusive feature of Pokémon Emerald.

Sometimes it's there. Sometimes it's not.
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Thought it was mirage island for a bit, as I mostly played ruby and sapphire, where you get the fossils in a random patch of unstable ground.

I never did manage to see mirage island.
 
Priapus said:
Do badges ever "expire"? I imagine he might do the Hoenn circuit at some point.
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Not in this story, they do not. You only get to participate in a Conference once though. After your official 'debut year', people with eight badges just participate in the Ace Trainer Rankings. They're their own thing in this story.
 
Zerak said:
I know this doesn't have a deep meaning. But I wish there was a Pokémon cultivation story. There is one years ago, and it was good, but like most fanfic it died. Author came back a few years later with another chapter, but it died again.

This world would be a paradise for a cultivator.
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I read one a while back woth a grass type protag, it died when author completed arc 1 and said "I wanna rewrite arc 1" it's a common trap, because your aiming for perfection when it's just not possible because as you write you get better, so as you rewrite you get better at wroting and then wanna go back all over again in an endless cycle until you burn out on the idea.

if I ever have the time for writing fanfiction such a story would be my first, I'm thinking one where pokemon cultivate like xianxia protags and the human trainers are the only source of aura/qi in the world and their cultivation methods are meant to help with creating rarer and more potent qi.
 
LordVishnu said:
"Ha! Are you kiddin'? It made their night! Ben and Viv had never seen an Alpha outside of textbooks before and Kirk—well he was barely up to my knee back when 'Charlie' was still around at the Mauville zoo! I had to remind them all that
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Theres no way this is a coincidence, tho i may just be brainrotted
 
DannyAnd said:
Theres no way this is a coincidence, tho i may just be brainrotted
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Kirk is literally the name of a trainer NPC in the Mauville Gym and I just wanted a gender neutral name for the Torchic.

Not everything's a conspiracy mate.

Don't bring politics into my silly Pokémon story. I write for fun, not to embed hidden messages or some nonsense.
 
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So I've been doing some thinking, and have come up with a prediction for later down the line.

Giovanni has been set up as a major antagonist, not just in the world in general, but towards Brad specifically because of his previous contract work. But he's also been doing some messed up things, presumably in the pursuit of developing the means to increase the power of Pokemon, no matter the cost. A more extreme version of Brad's perspective.
LordVishnu said:
"It was a simple idea at first." I continue. "Bartering, but with extra steps. I could do a few jobs for Rocket, rack up credit towards a favor. All so I could get Grundy what he needed. I wasn't even accepting money."

A dazzling flash of blue suddenly illuminates the beach just a few meters in front of us. An incredibly powerful and long-range Teleport warping in that gets Grundy's hackles up in a defensive position.

"I guess a part of me always knew it would come crashing down someday."
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And so I got to thinking... what if that's intentional? What if, just like "Snowboarder Brad", someone woke up one day and realized... they had become Team Rocket Boss Giovanni? And once he realized the gravity of the situation, he chose to use all of his resources and knowledge of the Pokemon Franchise to his benefit, to the point that Champion Lance has to work with him behind the scenes to keep him "in check"? So now, Brad not only has to deal with a more extreme version of Team Rocket, but that Team Rocket is helmed by a guy with just as much tertiary knowledge of the Pokemon Franchise as he does?
Who better to test the skills of a cultivating Reincarnator, than another cultivating Reincarnator?...


Part of me doubts that would happen, but it'd be sick if it did.
 
LordVishnu said:
Not in this story, they do not. You only get to participate in a Conference once though. After your official 'debut year', people with eight badges just participate in the Ace Trainer Rankings. They're their own thing in this story.
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So there's no Ashes doing a checklist of every regions circuit. Good, that would be exhausting.
 
Chapter 33 New
A/N: A six week timeskip has occurred.

Six weeks and two days, actually.


Chapter 33

"Huntail, lock it down with Ice Fang!"

Five sharpened teeth from the Deep Sea Pokémon sink down into the Mightyena's flank, getting the evolved Dark-type to yelp out in distress. The canine bucks and kicks, trying to dislodge the sea snake from its back leg, but the process has already begun. Glimmering blue frost is permeating outward from the wound and the hound's body temperature is starting to drop, its pained protests becoming sluggish and weak.

That's another combatant down for the count; though it's no time to celebrate. Mark dives into a roll behind his Aggron while he orders Kadabra to handle the incoming flames. The Numel's Lava Plume slams into a glowing barrier -sharply curved like a crescent- and in short order the attack is diverted upwards and into the sky. If Ranger Mark is lucky, it may even take out one of the enemy fliers.

It had begun with, of all things…a scouting mission.

Affiliates of Team Magma had been spotted coming and going on Route 112, just east of Lavaridge Town. 'Up to no good', the leaders of the Ranger's Association were quite sure.

A simple four-man team to go in and scope it out? Potentially break up whatever scheme it was that the eco-zealots were up to? Well that seemed simple enough.

Three veterans and one rookie assigned to the task. Rangers Allyson and Barrel he'd both worked with before. Each capable of carrying their weight in the field just fine. The newer lad, Nigiri, he didn't have a solid bead on yet, but with a mostly filled out roster and seven badges to his name, the boy had all the markings of being able to hold his own just the same.

They'd had no idea the hornet's nest they'd be kicking the door open to.

More Poochyena storm the field as Grunts 27 through 33 charge out of the tunnel like fanatics on the warpath. Like ants streaming from a disturbed hill, there seemed to be no end to the red-clad fodder. Take five down and Mt. Chimney just spews seven more out of its depths. Allyson's Starmie and Altaria both begin pelting the newcoming pack down with Swift, driving the smaller dogs into disarray, but it comes at the cost of the Zubat and Koffing swarm advancing to spread out more freely.

"You Muking piece of-!" A deep-voiced expletive is spat by Ranger Barrel as the squad leader continues in a locked-in, no-holds-barred, slugfest against the Magma Admin. His Sceptile is burned. His Golem poisoned. The mischievous Sableye that Mark knows the man favors has long since been KO'd and the only positive news seems to be that the Admin's Crobat has finally been beaten down.

Now if only it hadn't immediately been replaced by a monstrously well-trained Exploud.

"Vibrava, keep strafing with Dragonbreath! Azumarill, Grumpig, focus on crowd control!" Nigiri's panicked voice manages to cut through the noise. The young man had been performing admirably, but now it's clear his nerve is starting to slip. "Zangoose flank that-!" he starts before rapidly aborting with wide eyes. "Mark! Behind y-"

"I see it!" Mark snaps, already directing his Shiftry to smack down the encroaching Weezing with Extrasensory. "Keep your eyes forward! Focus on your-"

"Explosion!" Barrel's weakened Golem suffers a critical blow and apparently decides its last act of defiance should be to try and take the Admin's Camerupt down with it. Allyson's Medicham spring-flips to her side to shelter his Trainer with Protect. A shadow falls over Mark as his Aggron hunkers down in front of him to do the same.

"Nigiri! Put a shield-!" There isn't enough time to finish the warning before the pressure wave sweeps over the field, battering and knocking over both the KO'd and still-conscious alike. Magma Grunts get hoisted rudely off the ground. Unconscious Koffing go rolling like tumbleweeds. Mark raises an arm to help protect his eyes as a ringing fills his ears and by the time it all passes…there is a new sound mixed in among the screams and rallying cries of the battlefield.

The sound…of a low-flying helicopter.

Twin rotors. A tandem model. The sound of its blades slapping against the air make for a much lower, deeper sort of tone than the smaller three-blade designs.

And when the aerial vehicle banks sharply from over Mt. Chimney's ridgeline …Mark can almost feel the eyes of the criminal scientist Maxie casting down on them.

Almost as one, all of the remaining Magma members throw themselves into a haste-filled retreat. Pokémon are recalled. Some of the unconscious Grunts are grabbed by their fellows. Even the slick-haired Admin, with half his roster still battle-ready, smirks devilishly as he withdraws into the air on a summoned Flygon. "You idiots are in for it now!" The overweight man calls. "Oh and before you all croak! Do try and provide us some useful data, will ya!"

Taut metal cables beneath the heavy-duty chopper link to a metallic cargo container hanging loosely from its underbelly. A cage large enough to house a band of Rhydon or even one of Indigo's famous Snorlax…and all in unison the wires snap free as the vehicle comes around for an aerial pass.

"Move!" All four Rangers scatter as the payload comes crashing down onto their position. No deployed parachutes to soften the container's fall. No cushioning to prevent its violent impact with the earth. A furious shrieking howls from within the metallic jail cell while at the same time the sounds of a half dozen electronic locks beep and whir as their safeties become undone.

The front panel is kicked off its hinges.

"Aggron!/Medicham!/Sceptile!" The Rangers' three heaviest hitters take up protective positions, ready for whatever monster or-

The Alpha Vigoroth sprints out of the wreckage with eyes unnaturally bloodshot and mouth foaming. Its fur is patchy. The veins on its face unhealthily distended. A custom hi-tech collar straight out of science fiction is wrapped tightly over the abused Pokémon's throat but there's no time to even-

Barrel's Sceptile bounces off the nearest rock wall with eyes whited out and the indent of a clawed foot stamped directly into its chest.

"Head Smash! Hi-jump Kick!" Orders get screamed out as the feral beast swivels its head around for its next victim. A corona of Rock-energy surrounds Mark's Aggron as the ground is ripped up beneath its thousand-pound charge. Medicham hops and bounces, a smaller yet equally-potent light building up over its right foot.

And they're not the only ones.

Water Pulse is fired by Huntail. Psyshock by Nigiri's Grumpig. Allyson's Altaria sings out a living maelstrom of a Dragon Pulse.

With one jump, the red-crested primate leaps over all of it.

Before the Ranger can properly react, the nearly three meter tall beast is already crashing down near Mark's sea snake. The Huntail snaps outward with Crunch, but isn't ready for the Vigoroth to grip its tail like a living cudgel and physically slam the Water-type into the Medicham that had pivoted to make chase.

The Alpha yowls angrily as Shiftry lands a Feint Attack into its back, but the Wicked Pokémon's only real reward is taking a Counter into its elongated nose for the trouble.

Barrel releases his last team member, Hariyama. Zangoose is ordered away from the exhausted Nigiri's side as its fist glows purple with Crush Claw. A luminescent blue outline overtakes the Vigoroth as Kadabra, Starmie, and Grumpig all work in tandem to psychically hold the juggernaut of a Normal-type in place. A joint coalition of telekinetic power that is somehow being resisted by the beast channeling the Dark energy of Night Slash into its claws.

Still. Resistance does not equal immunity.

A half-dozen attacks slam into the slowed Alpha one after another. Aggron finally connects. Azumarill gets in close with Superpower. Vibrava tries to impart a status move with Dragonbreath.

The Alpha screams. Lights flash and beep from its hi-tech collar. Some reservoir of green liquid begins to drain, getting injected directly into the giant sloth's neck and the Normal-type's internal aura goes haywire.

Flurries of wind whip furiously around the wounded mountain king. The telekinetic grip violently shatters with a great flexing of muscle and faster than Mark can even blink the Alpha blows through Vibrava's position -knocking the dragonfly from the sky- and howls a deafening battle cry at the Psychic trio.

Kadabra and Grumpig teleport away.

Starmie does not.

Flakes of red crystal scatter in the air as the starfish's center jewel cracks and splits beneath the Alpha's fist -"Ruby!"- and the alien Water-type is sent careening into the mountainside. Allyson swoops an arm over Altaria's neck and the two race off to check on the Pokémon while Mark buries the curse on his tongue.

"Bring it down!"

The Focus Punch Hariyama had been slowly building launches off like a thundercrack. Medicham comes down from above with one of the elemental punches. Zangoose leaps in with its arms glowing green in a powerful X-Scissor. Azumarill rides an Aqua Jet for extra speed as it preps the Fairy energy for Play Rough.

All four are blown away.

Scratch that. Hariyama slips in.

The insanely powerful Fighting-move connects to the Alpha right in its sternum, delivering Super-effective damage that rips all the breath out of the rampager's lungs. The Vigoroth tumbles and crashes, overturning rocks and foliage as it ragdolls through the natural scenery around the mountain's base.

Mark is aware that Magma's leader is still watching them all intently from afar. He's aware that even if they overcome this thing, the Admin and Grunts could come right back and the Rangers would be more exhausted and vulnerable than ever.

It doesn't change his order.

"Hyper Beam, now!"

Aggron and Shifty both let their lower jaws hang loose. Nigiri joins in and the boy's Grumpig cups his hands together like a television show character.

Three shining orange beams unleash as one on top of the Normal-type who was only just starting to stand. A devastating plume of smoke billows upward into the sky and Mark feels his beret get blown off in the resulting gust.

"Did that do it?" "It's gotta be down now!" "Stay on your toes people, it's not over til it's over!"

When the dust cloud finally clears…a barely conscious Vigoroth stands motionlessly in Route 112's newest crater. Its eyes unseeing. Its fur charred and scorched. Smoke is wafting loosely off its upper body and the futuristic collar it had been forcibly saddled with is actively crumbling into worthless scrap.

The now freed Alpha twitches weakly once. It twitches twice.

It stumbles and sways. Barely conscious on the absolute last dregs of strength.

And then its eyes swivel onto the Ranger's remaining party with hate.

The white light of evolution erupts over its form.

Mark loosely registers the helicopter pulling away. He loosely recognizes Nigiri slumping onto his butt in defeat. His own depleted team struggling to not do the same. Barrel and Hariyama stand tall, readying themselves for what's coming and Allyson returns, a burning determination of her own carved into her face.

The evolution is not clean. A healthy Pokémon has the process happen in uniformity. The body changing as one undisturbed whole. The shining silhouette before them seems to do it in chunks. Muscles balloon on the right side at least half a second before the left. The chest and arms finish before the legs and head.

All the while Mark prays that the infamous nature of the Slaking will take hold. Incredible power, yes. But also incredible laziness. Let it transform and only wish to sleep. Let it grow tired of this fight and only wish to sleep.

The aura of light shatters revealing healthy brown fur and wounds now stitched closed. Its stature is…frankly the biggest Pokémon Mark has ever seen beyond a Wailord. The Alpha's breathing remains heavy and the veins of its face are no longer distended. The restorative powers of evolution having fixed many issues.

But its eyes remain bloodshot.

And whatever chemical cocktail it had been injected with is still flowing strong.

The Uproar it releases from its throat strikes their party like a hurricane.


Mark regains consciousness with a sharp breath and a sudden jolt. A coughing fit immediately strikes him as he tries to clear the dirt and dust from his lungs. Had he passed out? For how long? Where was-?

The ground shakes as the Hammer Arm smashes Barrel's Hariyama through the topsoil and into the earth below. The Fighting-type is one of the greatest powerhouses in Hoenn's Pokédex. Seven feet high. 550 lbs. A protective layer of Thick Fat over its hefty muscle packed body. And yet it is completely outclassed in height and weight.

More Pokémon lay scattered around the field. Allyson too. Barrel is down on his knees and painfully gripping what is obviously a broken arm and Nigiri….Nigiri is nowhere to be seen. Fled, dead, or maybe unconscious in some underbrush somewhere, Mark didn't know.

And with that thought Mark realized he had awoken only in time to see their last defender fall. To…probably see himself die in a few moments if he was honest about it.

The Alpha Slaking stomps its way towards him. The earth trembling beneath every footfall.

"⠠⠗⠑⠃⠥⠅⠬⠀⠠⠌⠁⠞⠑⠰⠞⠒⠀⠠⠊⠀⠹⠔⠅⠀⠞⠄⠎⠀⠋⠜⠀⠢⠳⠣⠲"


My hair rustles in an artificial wind as I watch Karn's warning shot strike the creature center mass. It stumbles a step -nay, only a half step- backwards and then swipes its arms out to clear the dust away with a monstrous roar. Barely a few scuff marks present on its chest to show it had even taken the hit at all.

'Impressive.'

The Hyper Beam just now wasn't Registeel's best. Perhaps a few percentage points above half-power. And as a pure Steel-type, Karn by a good margin had the least gains among the team during our training these past few weeks. But still. To take a blast from one of the Legendary Giants like it was nothing? Very impressive indeed.

'Though I shouldn't be surprised.'

Slaking: Lv. 55
Nature: Rash
Potential: A

My foot kicks over the trashed remains of what was once part of a control collar and I see the dull grey flecks of Everstone laced within its structure. It seems Maxie really went all out in building this toy of his.

"⠠⠒⠉⠻⠝⠫⠀⠠⠺⠜⠝⠬⠒⠀⠠⠮⠀⠿⠑⠌⠀⠅⠬⠀⠊⠎⠀⠁⠃⠀⠖⠡⠜⠛⠑⠲" Karn beeps and whirs, his language now halfway understandable to me. "⠠⠎⠕⠗⠗⠪⠰⠇⠀⠠⠗⠑⠍⠜⠅⠒⠀⠠⠊⠀⠋⠑⠜⠀⠮⠀⠑⠭⠞⠢⠙⠫⠀⠁⠃⠥⠎⠑⠀⠓⠁⠎⠀⠍⠁⠙⠑⠀⠭⠎⠀⠍⠔⠙⠀⠥⠝⠗⠂⠡⠁⠼⠲" He continues with a depressed hum.

'About to charge? Mind not able help?' The nuance and exact wording still escapes me, but I think I got the jist. "That's regrettable." I console the sullen Registeel. "I'm sorry we didn't get here sooner."

I drop the knapsack full of Root and Claw Fossils scavenged from the Tower next to the shell-shocked Ranger who's been staring up at Karn and I -"Watch these for me, will you?"- and brush my hand over the Moon Ball at my belt.

"Grundy."

Titanic purple limbs. Thick carapace plating over nearly every inch of its body. A monstrous 'SKREEE-!' as the second King announces its presence to the world.

"Kill it."

The Nidoking throws itself into a mad sprint, each step accompanied by a crazed laughter and love for battle in its throat. Embers of a building Flamethrower leak from the edges of his mouth as one massive armored fist pulls back for an opening haymaker.

Everyone, make your 'Kong vs. Gojira' jokes now if you would.

There won't be an opportunity to later.


A/N 2: I could probably hold all these party notes back until the next Chapter but…ehhh. Whatevs. No need to be that secretive. I'll let you all feast on these gains.

Timeskip Training Results:

(Presented in order of Least level gains to Most.)
(??? refer to spoilers that I'm keeping in my pocket.)

Quagsire [Celebi Blessed]: Lv. ?? (+0) → Lv. ??
-Did not get to come out and play.
-Probably for the best really.

Karn (Registeel): Lv. 60 (+2) → Lv.62
-Training gains severely hampered by Steel types not suited for training in Ground aura environment.
-Much time spent on bonding with team and MC rather than training.
-Still some results due to constant Three vs. One's of him, Ma Ma, and Simon all vs. Grundy

Grundy (Alpha Nidoking): Lv. 70 (+3) → Lv.73
-Has been stuck at the hump of seventy for a while, finally broke past that wall.
-Stagnation overcome!

Vlad (Gliscor): Lv. 57 (+4) → Lv. 61
-Focused more on energy cycling than on leveling or getting physically stronger.
-Access to all 18 type energies finalized. Can now attack with Ghost and Fairy moves.
-Unique Skill Unlocked: ???

Isra & Fel (Baltoy Twins): Lv 3 (+7) → Lv.10
-Normal development. Babies not able to take advantage of aura environment except passively.
-But I guess you can consider them out of their toddler phase now.

Ma Ma (Ursaluna): Lv. 60 (+7) → Lv.67
-Focused purely on brawn. Seven traditional level ups.
-Less numerical level ups than Pokemon listed below her on this list just because leveling in the 60's is obviously harder.

K.Rool (Krookodile): Lv. 41 (+9) → Lv. 50
-Despite best efforts, can no longer keep up with Simon's growth now that the latter is a Golurk.
-Doesn't stop him charging full speed ahead though.
-Unlock Egg Moves "Me First" and "Pursuit" because of flavor reasons.
-Unique Move Created: ???

Junior (Swinub Pilsowine): Lv. 23 (+11) → Lv.34
-D'aww. Junior's first evolution. Little man is growing up.
-Second most level ups on list due to opposite circumstance that Ursaluna had. These ones are easier.

Simon (Golurk): Lv. 43 (+15) → Lv.58
-Shonen Protagonist powers too stronk. Somebody pls nerf.


Bonus Sheet: Trainer Bradley
-Seismic Sense leveled up!
-Substantive increase to aura reserves!
-Gained 60% Shock Resist!
-Minor Earthbender abilities unlocked!
-Negative Trait Obtained: A bit more vulnerable to Ice, Grass, and Water aligned aura.
-Negative Trait Obtained: Bad flier. Extra nausea while on planes and feet away from the Ground. Does not apply while riding Golurk.

1) "Rebuking Statement: I think that's far enough."

2) "Concerned Warning: The forest king is about to charge."

3) "Sorrowful Remark: I fear the extended abuse has made its mind unreachable."
 
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Hans Bloodsmith said:
Shame. Was hoping the King Slaking is catchable and able to be rehabilitate. Norman probably can take it and provide some interesting future sparring partner.
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Letting Grundy let loose against an insane, beyond-help, alpha, is the the best outcome - as sad as it is for the Slaking. Our big boy needs his rampage time. And there's not too many acceptable targets he can rip and tear against.
 
Wahoo! Lets hear it for the Return of the King! Long may he reign!
 
So happy to see this. So happy that Grundy has a worthy opponent. Hope the ranger rookie is OK. Thanks for the chapter!
 
Gotta recover more karma points to be kept protected from Rockets.
 
Jeezus thats a fucked up thing to do to any pokemon. I know that this is the 'dark timeline' but has there been any indication about Norman's kid?
 
Should we imagine Karn's internal dialogue like an elcor from mass effect?
 
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