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ghostmartyr · 5 years

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Pokémon White Randomized Nuzlocke Run [Part 11]

We have made it to post-game!

Sort of!

The plot done away with, now is the time to explore the rest of the map and wrap up the entire run with one last go at the Elite Four in their final form!

Our main contestants are

still spoiler tagged!

for maximum worrying.

Let’s get marching.

Back in the room where it all began. I wonder if this beginning will also start with my friends running in unannounced and starting a battle with me. ...That would be bad, it’d better not.

...Looker. I’m gonna level with you.

I don’t wanna be a junior detective.

He’s still on the trail of Team Plasma, and has decided to assign us the task of tracking down the Seven Sages. He also gives us a Super Rod. I don’t think we could fish before this, which is kind of an odd feature for a pokemon game.

Looker’s a nut, but an endearing nut.

Ah yes, my besties.

And hey, Professor Juniper’s dad shows up to upgrade my pokedex! Half my team will no longer be without numbers!

So. Now what.

Which really means, do I let Buzz Fly me to Nimbasa or Opelucid?

I think the Nimbasa route will contain a bridge.

We’re going on the bridge.

Though before we do that, I want to check out the train area again to see if the IV person is there now that I’ve beaten the plot. I’m probably just misremembering their entire existence, but I could have sworn someone was down there.

DUDE! LOOK AT WHO’S RIGHT!

Okay okay okay we’ve got to give this a full check.

Frogger is above average, with fantastic Attack and Special Attack. Rojo is decent, with very good Special Defense. Tock is above average with very good Special Attack. Fido is above average with HP that ‘can’t be better.’ That explains a few numbers. Batman is above average with fantastic HP. Palm is above average with fantastic Speed.

Rojo, you poor, useless legendary.

You are still one of the most broken things on the team, and I love you for it.

That’s more rounded than I expected, honestly. I figured a few of them would just be terrible, and maybe one would be extraordinary, but it’s above average across the board. Which is. kind of average. Pokemon NPCs are kind people.

APTLY NAMED BRIDGE. ALSO KNOWN AS A NEW ROUTE, LET’S GO FEATHER DROPS.

The dude offering me a Magikarp to buy does not count as the first encounter. Also, I did not buy it. It is not randomized, and as we all know that means it’s awful.

That’s pretty much my reaction, word for word.

Ghetsis told them to give me the Adamant Orb. And the Lustrous Orb. And the Griseous Orb. I think those are... Diamond and Pearl’s legendary special items?

Then the ninja zoom away after telling me we’ll never meet again.

That’s one lazy way to get rid of ninja. I could have sworn I fought them once... wait, did I? That seems like something I could go back and check. Eh, whatever.

Speaking of lazy things, was Team Plasma having a giant castle ever explained? I feel like it wasn’t. I’m okay with that, I just want to know.

The inclusion of the wings you can pick up on bridges were really helpful to EV training. I don’t know how many hours I would spend biking on bridges, and frankly the answer would likely depress me, but picking up all those feather things was so useful.

Of course, I have no real use for them at the moment. I’m trying to find a pokemon in those shadows.

I found one!

Look at you, little adorable guy. Oh, girl.

Quick Ball, then faint if that doesn’t work.

Caught her!

What’s your name, though... gotta go with something musical... I dub thee Pink.

Some girl in the gateway area wants to have a Rotation Battle with me. Like a fool, I say yes, and--

Oh shit.

I was kidding when I called myself a fool, but no, yes, that classification stands. Ahahaha. Um. Okay so after this, I’m gonna. Gonna go to Opelucid instead, maybe.

I didn’t even look at Pink’s level when I caught her. It was all Quick Ball action and ignorance. Could I have been forewarned?

This is bad.

Rotation Battles in general irk me. Rotation Battles that place me at a considerable level disadvantage are. something else. Oy.

Um.

I think the Alomomola might have Water Absorb. But Frogger is the most likely to survive whatever awful thing is about to happen. So that limits me to attacking with Mud Shot or Hyper Voice until the Alomomola is downed. It’s a Normal move. It isn’t going to do much against a Steel type, and it doesn’t do much against Beheeyem either, but I think one of those probably has Levitate for their Ability.

Frogger should not be in front.

He is staying in front.

So far, none of these things are using an actual attack, which I’m grateful for.

As I say that, Alomomola uses Hydro Pump. Frogger’s still green, so. Yeah.

Frogger just keeps using Hyper Voice. He’s going to run out of PP for it. Oh well.

Next Hydro Pump gets him low enough to warrant a Hyper Potion.

Beheeyem uses Power Split. Beheeyem’s not bad and this one is a higher level, so I’m not sure how bad that is.

Good news! Nothing has Levitate, and the Klinklang is defeated!

Alomomola is also defeated!

Beheeyem is defeated!

Yikes.

That only went so well because the other trainer almost never used attacks. It was all status stuff except for Hydro Pump, which missed twice. Something would be dead if a human trainer had been guiding those move choices.

I think I’m going to go outside and check what the wild life is like. It’s possible that the huge level difference is an artificial thing with this one trainer, rather than the norm. I mean, her AI virtually never attacked me. So I’ll hold off on going to Opelucid until I get a look at what other people have.

It could also be that I am underleveled for post-game life.

One thing at a time.

Exploring time.

Oh. That guy’s a trainer. He has a level 62 Gulpin.

Okay, so I’m not comfortably leveled for this, but as long as I don’t fall into a Rotation Battle or a Triple Battle, I have items, and the exp will be worthwhile. I think I’ll keep going, with special attention paid to caution. Maybe something in the grass can help me out with some mild grinding.

I biked all the way back to a Pokemon Center.

That is how much confidence I am feeling.

Something should have a Lucky Egg, but I don’t even know if it’s safe to be here, let alone who my front runner should be.

...Fine, it’s Frogger, never mind.

I’m sorry Frogger, I have no idea why I’m so uninterested in cultivating you. I should be better about not taking you for granted and appreciate that you are the one true survivor of this squad.

It’s just you’re also level 60. So not the thing most in need of exp.

Hello possible new friend. It’s level 48, so I think it might be that the post-game sections just have a level jump for trainers. Delightful.

Quick Ball ftw, Baltoy is now Woody.

Munna’s also in this grass. I can’t help but notice these things are not great for grinding.

Trainer with a level 65 Altaria.

I think Rojo might need to try to handle it before anything more creatively unfortunate happens. Altaria’s a Special Defense pokemon, and I think has a few really great Defense-boosting stat moves. If I let it, it can sweep.

It might also be able to kill Rojo in one hit already, but.

Argh, I hate this, lol.

Rojo, go in, if something happens I’m sorry in advance.

Yeeeeeah this Altaria is doing what I thought it would and I don’t care for it. Dragon Dance plus the Cotton thing that drastically raises Defense. .I am afeared. It uses another Dragon Dance.

Oh good job Rojo. Critical hit for the save. Good job, good job.

Abomasnow is up next.

Fido, you’re up.

Fido eats it.

You know. I like this better when I’m not chronicling every single fight out of the fear of imminent death. The next trainer looks like a Fighting one, so Tock is moved to the first slot.

Are you fucking kidding me.

New plan!

We’re murdering legendaries for breakfast!

Because exp!

Side note: Air Slash has 95 accuracy. Why is it always missing.

...Oh fuck.

I hecked up. Badly. Oh fuck. no.

I thought. Tock would out-Speed. Which I would have realized was a stupid thought if I had actually spent any time thinking about Tock’s features and the fact that the Hitmontop has eight levels on him.

I thought about healing him. Those missed Air Slashes left a lot of damage.

You know what also leaves a lot of damage.

STAB Close Combat.

Stop. thinking. “oh I’m sure it will be fine.”

-cradles head in hands-

I am so sorry Tock.

Fuck, this was not supposed to happen. I shouldn’t be allowed to touch Flying pokemon. Ever. Or fight Fighting pokemon. The fact that this keeps happenings suggests some underlying stupidity.

Damn it.

This. Tock. Buddy.

ALL THOSE FUCKING SLUGMA.

FUCK I JUST REALIZED IN THE MIDDLE OF MY EMOTIONS. I DIDN’T USE TOCK AGAINST N OR GHETSIS. ALL OF THAT EV TRAINING. ALL OF IT. FOR NOTHING BUT RANDOM FIGHTS.

ALL

THOSE

SLUGMA

IT WAS A LOT OF HOURS.

I. Hell, I am so sorry Tock. I did everything wrong for your final moments. You would still be alive (assuming Close Combat wouldn’t have killed you in one hit regardless, which... I will never get to know) if I had just been more careful and less stupid. Five seconds of common sense would have put you out of harm’s way.

I am just. so sorry. This shouldn’t have happened.

You have such a sweet, innocent face and I...

I am upset?

I can’t even pick someone else for the team yet. It can wait. Nothing can really replace Tock, and I can’t act otherwise.

I can take Bandit for a walk, though. There are boulders nearby.

-eliminates Reshiram with no joy in heart-

Hell.

I think this place has more uses if you are not playing on the computer.

It has grass. That’s the important thing of the moment.

Hey little guy.

Quick Ball go, Quick Ball get.

I don’t know what to call you.

So. I’m gonna go with Tick.

FOR THE LOVE OF SOMETHING, STOP SPAMMING THE A BUTTON EQUIVALENT THROUGH CONVERSATIONS WITH PEOPLE I DID NOT WANT A TRIPLE BATTLE BECAUSE THAT IS LIKE THREE TIMES THE CHANCES OF DEATH AND I AM NOT DOING WELL WITH THE NORMAL CHANCES.

It works out thanks to the typing.

But geez self. Show some learning.

See, okay, the kid standing above her also wants a Triple Battle.

Now, what are we going to do?

Go to the Pokemon Center, and then say absolutely because my guys need exp.

I’m not a greatly intelligent human.

Not even a little.

It works out, though. Exp gained, no one dead.

New route.

This trainer has a level 68 Purugly.

I think. I really need to drop everything and grind for a little bit.

Frogger has fallen in love with the Purugly. He is also now paralyzed. After a turn of that, thankfully, he uses Hydro Pump and it hits.

Frogger.

I’m judging you a bit.

Level 68 Espeon. Followed by level 68 Lapras. Good grief I should not be in this place.

THAT ONE WAS NOT MY FAULT.

Ha. Ha. Ha.

This.

Fuck.

Uh.

So uh. There was this Future Sight Batman took. I made the executive decision that it was safer for her to be in there for it than Palm, and. I stand by that. Except then a critical hit Hydro Pump hit. And it’s a level 68 Lapras. So.

So.

You killed Boeing. By catching you, I took away your ability to kill. But I always knew you could still die. You were the terror. You were the knight.

You were Batman.

You deserved to be enshrined forever in the Hall of Fame.

But this is where we part, my friend.

Farewell.

Uh.

...4x STAB Leaf Storm.

This was meant to be the grass encounter where I caught one of them?

I was focused on that?

I did not think a level 59 Petilil could kill Frogger in one shot?

This is.

Bad?

There is also a chance the Petilil is too dangerous to live?

But I catch it, so yay?

Petilil’s new name is Battousai.

And.

This has been the longest hour of this run.

I am in so much more trouble than I was.

Frogger. You were my second pokemon.

You saved the day against the Elite Four.

You were dependable, and I never learned to depend on you.

I did not see us ending this way.

I am so sorry.

...

Hello.

Darkness my old friend.

I’ve come to cry at you again.

So uh.

Guess who. needs a new team.

Ahahaha I am in hell.

...

You know what. I. am going to take a break. This has been an excruciating hour. I don’t care for it. I don’t know what I should put on my new team. All I know is that this is very sad and I continue to be worse at this game than I thought.

So that’s great.

[next session start]

Alrighty then.

-stares blankly-

My party has Rock/Fighting, Fire, Grass/Fighting.

I, uh. Need to fill it.

With stuff.

Piglet (Spoink). You’re coming with. Buzz and Bandit will come along with HMs. I’ll see if I can hit the other routes, then figure the rest of this mess out.

Right. Lesgo.

On the comforting side, the first trainer we see has a level 65 thing too. So the side picked didn’t severely change the outcome of. things.

The first thing I see is Lairon, but I have an Aron.

-considers-

Let’s see if I can catch you.

Score, I can. I forgot the Quick Ball, but damage lined up to make it a clean catch. I’mma name you Daffy.

I think. I need to grind more than anything. My surviving team is very much at risk, and Piglet is wholly untrained. Both of those things need fixing. Hopefully it won’t involve chasing down Slugma.

To Dragonspiral and Jellicent, I guess. One step at a time.

(Bandit learned Surf, by the way. Because. Something needed to know that.)

Piglet is evolving! Form of... Grumpig!

Bodacious.

What EVs does Reshiram give? Because if it’s Special Attack...

That’s worth investigating.

Cue nothing but Baltoy. ...I also don’t know what Baltoy gives. ...Or Snorunt. Snorunt is also here. Along with Piplup.

Reshiram gives Special Attack.

I’m taking this as confirmed based on recording several levels of Piglet’s stats attacking nothing but Reshiram. A wild extra point of Special Attack appeared. That makes some things so much easier. I don’t know the exact numbers on what I’m looking for out of Piglet (I think maybe max HP, some convenient split of Special Defense, Defense, and Special Attack), but. Geez this is a relief.

Looking at the numbers though, Piglet isn’t going to be able to pack much of a punch no matter how many EVs I pour into him. I need to focus on tank power.

Maxing HP, then whatever’s left will go to Special Defense and Defense.

Only not in that order.

My memory being what it is, I’m not sure, but I think Relicanth might have Defense and Attack EVs. So I’m just here for Cloyster. I’ll down twenty, then go back to HP grinding. Simple.

Cue no Cloyster.

I should level up Bandit so I start getting better stuff with all this walking.

[one hour later]

This is still boring. I should have figured out my other replacements so I could do this all at once. At least one would have to have similar EV desires, right?

But then I’d have to figure out the other two.

My guess is it will be Yanmega and Jellicent. Fluttershy and Peanut.

But.

I want to wait. Just. Just in case.

Also, screw it, Bandit gets the other Exp. Share. I have two, I’m going to use them. I’m also going to use some PP Ups on Fido’s Flamethrower. Healing after every fifteen fights is. No.

[many hours later]

Okay. HP handled.

Sigh.

The journey continues.

[another hour (okay maybe not really)]

Yay!

I think what I want to do right now is level up what I have rather than focus on training any other new ones. I need to watch those exp bars zoom to the moon. It will sustain me in my grief/exhaustion.

Since I’m in Opelucid anyway, I’m just going to go right and hang in the grass until I’m slightly more confident in the ability of my team to not die.

Wild Pichu are not that helpful in that endeavor. Nor are Mime Jr. Granbull. You are our only hope in this arena.

...

I miss Tock [’s Shadow Ball] so much.

The fear of death is omnipresent. Too much has happened. Where once there was confidence, now there is only dread. Recovery is a faint glimmer of a dream off in the distance.

Neat. Kingdra is also here.

-tilts head-

Yeah, repeats. But still.

I wonder if anything helpful’s in the water.

Well. There’s a level 35 Surskit.

Leaning towards a hard no.

Oh wait, what am I doing. It should be all legendary murdering all the time.

It’s so frustrating, because I just keep thinking hey, I can go fight the trainers along the path for more exp! Then the rest of me remembers that I should not do that.

I don’t think I checked out the dark grass in the route I found Reshiram. I’ll check that out for a quick look. It will possibly be followed by running away as fast as humanly possible, but eh.

That’s not too bad.

...Ah. Levels 58 and 57.

Their danger levels and their exp levels sadly do not line up. Gonna stick with the Reshiram grass.

...Also gonna check what’s in the water of the route with the level 68 hellbeasts.

NO I DIDN’T REALIZE YOU TURNED AROUND.

-deep breath-

-deep scream-

Okay. Okay. It’s fine. It’ll be fine.

Level 64 Primeape, Piglet gets switched in. ..And survives a Close Combat crit.

So then, Piglet is at 23 HP thanks to two Thrashes, and now Palm is out to hopefully do away with a level 64 Scrafty. Yes, because Palm is Palm Wonderful. Last one is a level 64 Poliwrath. Palm gets a crit because Palm loves us.

Piglet learns Power Gem because I don’t have the guts to use Rest as a real strategy.

All right. Lived.

Super Rod leads to Palpitoad. That’s not a bad thing to know. Regular Surfing leads to Wigglytuff. That’s better than the Reshiram grass for leveling if it’s the only thing in the water. But then there’s Shellder.

New area!

Undella Town and Undella Bay are different places, so I must take care with Surfing for my new friend.

This is the town’s choice. I throw a Quick Ball. Metapod caught. Now if only he had a name. Hm.

You can be Crystal.

And this is the choice of the bay. Another Quick Ball is thrown. A Hoothoot is caught. Her name is Winnie.

I’m fast approaching the end of new areas. The map is almost completely lit up.

I think it might be okay to face trainers in the water, because I have Palm. So I’m going to try that, and hope I don’t soon have reason to cry like a baby again.

Level 63 Staryu.

You know, my new question is why that one girl had level 68 monstrosities.

There’s a Quagsire here that we don’t get to catch. ;-;

Oo, and Electrode. I’ve always loved Electrode. It smiles.

I have the HM for Dive now! Yay?

RUN

RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN

RUN.

-severe whimpering noises-

We are not in any way, shape, or form ready for post-game Cynthia. I have memories of grinding against her and others in this house thing, but those teams were allowed to come back after dying.

I will fight her before I fight the Elite Four. Because if I can’t beat her, I have no business facing the Elite Four again (...I think).

Okay, moved up to Route 13 because I don’t actually have anything that can learn Dive. New area. Time to see what we get.

Hmmmmmmmm. Quick Ball get.

Finneon’s new name is F9.

I can’t help but notice that other trainers don’t walk around with level 68 pokemon. I guess that means I really am exploring the entire map before I start training another pokemon. That is possibly misguided, but I really just... am not ready to finalize my final (I hope) team.

Um.

Wait, what the fuck?

I. I was typing.

WHAT HAPPENED WHILE I WAS TYPING. PALM TOOK A HEX BUT HIS HP WAS STILL GREEN AND THEN.

WHAT HAPPENED.

WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED.

It uses Hydro Pump against Piglet, so if I were to guess...

How is this still getting worse.

Palm.

Palm Wonderful.

I have no words.

I am distraught.

I will miss you so much.

I no longer have the option of being cute about this. I can’t be walking around with three pokemon in an area where I’m losing them at this rate. I guess the simple fact is that things are now high enough level to know seriously dangerous moves, and there is no truly safe option except for absurd over-leveling.

I need to select three new ones.

I have Fido, Rojo, and Piglet. Fire, Rock/Fighting, and Psychic. I can basically pick whatever I want. And as much as I hate to say it, Palm’s loss keeps me from being overstocked on Fighting. So. If I wanted...

But what do I want?

I want to stack the deck. How do I do that.

IV checker. Everything I might consider using is getting a free checkup.

It’s a sea of “above average”s. With a few “decent”s here and there.

Maybe I should try something different. Maybe I should just select the pokemon I love most. That’s the point of a Nuzlocke, right? Getting attached? In terms of Type coverage, there are things I can do, but. I don’t wanna do that. I want to pick the things I love most. If it has good odds on ending horrifically no matter what I do, I want to have as much fun as possible.

Swiper and Wagston are in. As for the last one, that remains to be seen.

If memory serves, Riolu evolves into Lucario with good happiness during the daytime. So I should start walking. He will also be given a Soothe Bell. I think I’ll spend my time leveling up what remains. Rojo can kill a million Reshiram and become a demigod in addition to a legendary.

Oh, and sportsball. Let’s go do today’s.

Baseball! Baseball is fun.

Have I been here since finishing the plot?

I have, right? There isn’t going to be a huge level jump?

This level 65 Persian staring me down says I’m a moron.

-paces-

I should not be here. I should leave. Straight away.

But Piglet is a tank. Everything I uses in battle is over 60.

This stupidity is now on record. I’m going to try to beat the baseball peeps.

This level 66 Simipour makes me miss Palm so terribly.

Wow, I should not be doing this.

And yet.

There are a lot more trainers here now.

Level 64 Conkeldurr vs level 64 Piglet. My future nightmares start this way.

Piglet is victorious, and we continue this horrible decision!

...

You know what, this is stupid. Piglet hurt himself in confusion twice, then I used a Lemonade to get him back to full health, then the Unfezant’s Sky Attack did. That.

So. This is going badly.

Piglet, I swear I’d say sorry, but I’m mostly just dwelling on how amazingly screwed I am. So. Uh.

So.

tfw I have two usable pokemon!

#Pokemon #Nuzlocke Challenge

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rhnuzlocke · 7 years

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Episode 12

Scene 4:

[A day or two later, things are looking a little better. They are still by the waterfall, but Ren has washed and changed and combed her hair. Her things are in a neat pile. We can see that they have carved a small headstone for Wheta in the background. Ren, Kata, Kōtai and Hauoro are skipping rocks over the water while Mele grooms himself nearby. Unsurprisingly, Kata is kicking everyone’s ass and rubbing it in. Roma fetches the rocks back so that they don’t run out. Ren takes a rock from her sharpedo’s mouth and thanks her. She swings her arm back and forth in preparation before flicking the stone back out over the pool. It gets seven skips before sinking. Ren pumps her fist.]

Kōtai: Nice one, luv.

Ren: Thanks!

[A large shadow passes over them and Ren looks up, shielding her eyes with a hand. We can see now that her face, while clean, is still a puffy blotchy mess from all of the crying. Her hair is combed over the left this time, covering some of the scars. The shadow circles down to them and everyone looks up to see Steven on his skarmory. They land and he dismounts gracefully from the saddle. Ren just gapes at him.]

Steven: [smiling pleasantly] Ah, Ren, I thought it might be you. How are you doing these days?

[She doesn’t respond. He looks her over before his eyes drift past her to the headstone and the smile drops off his face. He looks back at her and she is looking down and away. Her shoulders slump and she crosses her arms over herself, body quickly crumpling in on itself. He steps forward, hastily closing the distance between them.]

Steven: [gently laying a hand on her arm] Ren.

[Ren breaks down, tilting forward unsteadily as she starts to cry. Steven comes forward to meet her, wrapping his arms around her. She shakes against him, sobbing uncontrollably. She bows her head so that her crown is pressed into his shoulder rather than her streaming face. He rubs her back gently, but her whole body is tense as she strives in vain to fight the outburst.]

Steven: [quietly] I’m so sorry, Ren.

[She cries harder and he just lets her for a while, holding her gently. He waits patiently for her to quiet a little and she does, though the tension doesn’t leave her.]

Steven: Believe it or not, I know how you feel. [There is a questioning hiccup against him.] I lost a pokemon too, my first year as a trainer. [Ren goes quiet and relaxes just a hair.] She was the first pokemon I ever caught. She died in a battle. It was close and we were cocky… It made me quit training for a while.

Ren: B-but you came back to it?

Steven: Yes. Couldn’t really help myself. Also Bes can be a terrible nag.

[Ren manages a choked sort of warble and leans into him. He holds her a little tighter and she presses her face into his neck.]

Steven: It really is the most terrible thing a trainer can go through. If you are anything like me, you’ll never really stop blaming yourself. It was years ago, but I still think about her all the time. [Ren presses herself harder into him.] But I can promise you that it will get better. Some days are worse than others. You may go through times when you think you are over it, only to have the memories rear back up like it was yesterday. But you have to try and forgive yourself. It will get better.

Ren: [She sniffs loudly.] O-okay.

Steven: You’d be surprised at how common it is too. You’re not alone.

Ren: Thank you, Steven.

Steven: Anytime.

[She takes a deep breath and steps back. He lets go of her. She gives him a weak and watery smile before turning back to the pool. She crouches down and splashes her face. She dries it carefully on her tanktop and scooches back before sitting down. Steven sits down by her left side and sends out the rest of his pokemon (his aggron, steelix, cradily, armaldo and shiny metagross). They just sit quietly for a minute, staring at the waterfall. She glances over at Steven’s pokemon as they spread out and begin to socialize with hers.]

Ren: So, how did you get into pokemon training?

Steven: Oh, that. Good question. Obviously I didn’t do it for the money. The short version is that I went through a rebellious teenage phase.

[She gives him a quizzical look.]

Steven: Don’t believe me, hmm?

Ren: It’s not that I don’t believe you exactly. It’s just… kind of hard to picture.

Steven: I have proof. [pointing to his earring] That’s when I got this. And I have a tattoo.

Ren: [disbelieving] A tattoo?

Steven: A sizable one at that. I’ll have you know that Steven Stone does nothing by halves. Oh, and I dyed my hair. It was blue. Although, to be perfectly honest, that probably had more to do with the fact that I had just started going gray and was very insecure about it.

Ren: [gesturing at his hair] Wait, so this is your natural color?

Steven: Yep. It runs in the family. My father went gray when he was a teenager too.

Ren: Oh… So what is the long version then?

Steven: Well, my father got me Bessemer as a pet when I was a kid, and being a responsible parent, he enrolled us in trainer school so I could learn to take proper care of them. I guess I liked it a little too much. My father was trying to groom me to succeed him and I spent almost all of my free time battling. My father was fine with it as a hobby, but he expected me to go to college and then business school and the whole nine yards. I didn’t mind when I was younger. He has a pretty cool job after all and we were close… [He trails off for a moment, looking out over the water. He glances back at Ren and clears his throat.] So anyway, it started with the hair and tattoo and earring and then right after high school Bes and I ran away from home to become full-time battlers.

Ren: Wow. What did your father do?

Steven: It didn’t take him all that long to find me. It was a bit embarrassing. We had a long talk about it and in the end he let me try and be a trainer. He even got me better equipment et cetera. But after Hecate died, I gave up on it for a while and went to college. Then as soon as I graduated, I was right back in it.

Ren: If you don’t mind my asking, where was your mother for all of this?

Steven: Oh, sometimes I forget you are not from the region.

Ren: I’m sorry! It’s probably common knowledge, huh? I didn’t mean to— I’m sorry, just forget I asked.

Steven: [waving off her concern] No, don’t worry about it. It’s nothing bad. I just don’t have a mother exactly. My dad had me through a surrogate.

Ren: Ohhh.

Steven: It was sort of a big media deal at the time, but it blew over long ago. It’s just something people usually know about me.

[Ren nods. Both are quiet for a while, just looking at the scenery and thinking about things. Ren picks up a rock and skips it, rather proud of her new skill. Ren looks over at Steven and notices him glancing at her. She fidgets for a moment as he returns his attention to the water and the ripples slowly disappearing from her rock skipping.]

Ren: It was a baltoy, in the desert.

Steven: [turning his head to look at her again] Hmm?

Ren: [looking away] My face, that’s why it’s like this. [Combing her hair to the right with her fingers so that the scared side of her face is plainly visible] My sandslash and I were battling it and it used explosion at close range.

Steven: Hmm. We often forget how dangerous pokemon can be, working side by side with them every day…

Ren: [She sighs.] It’s almost funny really. I was afraid something like this [gesturing to her scars] might happen because I tangled with Magma. But in the end it wasn’t my reckless decisions that got me, it was just some random accident.

Steven: I am sorry that it happened to you. It must be difficult.

Ren: Hey, at least I’m still alive.

Steven: Yes, I’m glad of it. [She glances at him, blushing lightly, and tucks her hair behind her ear. He looks her over and smiles.] I like what you’ve done with your hair. Although, you really are showing up everyone else who already has that hairstyle. No one else is going to be able to pull it off as well as you can.

Ren: [blushing briefly] Thank you. A girl does what she can.

Steven: You do it well.

Ren: [her smile goes from flustered to cheeky] It really is a shame though. I had such plans for this face.

Steven: [picking up on her tone and quirking his eyebrow playfully] Oh? Do tell.

Ren: I've been… building a harem. Or a reverse harem if you prefer. [She pictures this “harem” in her mind’s eye: one boy that she just hardcore friend-zoned (Kai), a gay teenager (Wally), a criminal who she doesn’t even like (Josh), and finally an older guy who is completely out of her league (Steven). She laughs out loud, throwing her head back. Steven smiles as he watches her. She looks back over at him, calming.] Ah well, what's a girl to do?

Steven: [leaning back with a grin and waving off her resignation] Nonsense! You fold too soon. [He readjusts his position to face her more directly. His face becomes a mask of mock seriousness.] Think of it as… a challenge of sorts. You'll just have to rely more on your charm to lure them in.

[Ren looks down, trying to smile. Steven ghosts his hand over the scarred side of her face. She looks back up to find him smiling at her, warm and full. Their eyes lock and neither makes to remove his hand. She glances away shyly, going a little pink before meeting his eyes again.]

Ren: S-shouldn’t be too hard.

Steven: My thoughts exactly.

[Ren turns completely red at this and forgets to breathe for a moment. She sputters and he lets his hand fall slowly away to make it clear he is doing it for her sake and not because he wants to end the contact. She starts laughing at her own awkwardness, embarrassed but happy. He smiles back reassuringly, laughing a little too.]

Steven: [clears throat] But in all seriousness, your personal strength continues to impress me. You really are taking it remarkably well.

Ren: Oh, I don’t know about that. I wish I could be a little less self-conscious about it. I know it doesn’t really matter all that much…

Steven: Please don’t say that. Personally, I am quite certain I’d go full Phantom of the Opera over far less.

Ren: [giggling] A little vain are we?

Steven: [pretend outrage] Moi? Heavens no! [exaggeratedly flipping his hair] Whatever gave you that impression?

[That gets her laughing pretty hard and he laughs with her. We pan out to see their pokemon as well. Kata seems to be having a great time talking to Bessemer, gesturing animatedly and bouncing back on her tail. Mele has settled on the steelix’s head as he talks to her while Hauoro and Kotai chat up the aggron. Steven’s armaldo and cradily are playing in the water with Roma while Damascus naps off to the side. Ren and Steven lean in a little closer as they continue to laugh and joke with each other. We see Ren’s pokemon looking on with relieved smiles and Kata elbows Bessemer.]

#pokemon #nuzlocke #omega ruby nuzlocke #running hot nuzlocke #story #episode 12 #Ren #Steven #Kata #Bessemer #Kotai #Roma #Mele #Hauoro #Ren your crush is showing #Steven are you always this flirty?#children stop

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