8th Grail: [Video/Action for Route 35]

[dressofheaven]

[The gear opens on a scene of Ilya sitting next to her Deino, waving him over to a patch of flowers and bopping his nose with her hand when he tries to eat them. Behind her, Xion can be seen surfing on top of her Gyarados.

The gear then swivels over to show Berserker the Rhyperior marching around in the tall grass many yards away. A text message accompanies the scene.]

We see here the not-so-wild Berserker in what is most decidedly not its natural habitat.

[Berserker glances around a bit, then suddenly lunges at something.]

What's this? Berserker has found something! What could it be?

[His massive hand pulls back to reveal a male Nidoran, biting repeatedly at his fingers. Berserker stares at the tiny spiked beastie for a few moments.]

You can almost see the gears in his head turning. What is this strange creature? Why is it biting me? How can I make it stop?

[Apparently coming to a conclusion on that last one, Berserker slams his hand into the ground abruptly.]

And the answer to all his questions is, as always, Hammer Arm.

[Lifting up his hand again, Berserker inspects the dazed Nidoran. After a few moments of consideration, he turns to lumber over to Ilya.]

Ah! It seems he's decided to show his magnificent victory off to his trainer. I wonder how impressed she'll be?

[Ilya lifts her head as Berserker approaches, tilting her head in curiosity.]

What did you find, Berserker... Is that a Nidoran? It doesn't look very healthy.

[Apparently hearing this, the Nidoran abruptly lifts his head and leaps out of the stunned Rhyperior's hand, landing on shaky legs in front of Ilya and beginning to squeak rather unimpressively at her. She does seem pretty surprised he's even moving.]

Xion! I think Berserker found a Pokemon that can still stand after one of his attacks!

[ Despite the distance - both in terms of being away from land and riding on the crown of an over twenty foot sea serpent - Xion can be seen turning her head back to Illya. She taps her Gyarados head, who gives a low roar of obedience and swims his way closer to land. He lowers his head, but the black-clad girl doesn't slip off just yet. ]

Are you planning to capture it, Ilya?

I'm not sure! It must be pretty tough to still be standing, but I'm not so sure I want a Nidoran...

[Ilya is interrupted when the Nidoran in question proceeds to leap at Berserker's leg, biting and scratching. Berserker stares down at him for a couple moments, then thumps him with his tail. The Nidoran is driven into the ground, and even Ilya winces at the brutality of the attack.

And yet, somehow, when the dust clears, he's trying to rise back up again.]

I don't believe it...

[ Xion watches the Nidoran trying to get back up by sheer tenacity and will. It actually reminds her of all the times she was knocked down and struggled to rise against her opponents. She gives a contemplative hum. ]

I'd give it a chance.

Well, if it's that determined, maybe...

[Ilya pulls out a ball, looking thoughtful, as Hydra wanders over to sniff at the newcomer. In a fit of irony, the Nidoran bites the Deino's nose, and Hydra begins yelping in pain.

At that, Xion frowns. ]

Hey!

[ In response to her cry, Lancer the Gyarados gives a roar at that Nidoran, red eyes lighting up with a threat.

The Nidoran, recognizing the greater threat, releases Hydra, who staggers back behind Ilya, and turns to face Lancer on wobbly legs. He looks like he can barely stand, but he just will not go down.

And then Ilya tosses out a pokeball. He has a brief chance to blink before he's sucked in and the ball begins to wiggle. Once, twice... three times, and it dings. Ilya walks over to it.]

Okay, you've proven yourself. I name you... Achilles.

[ Xion smiles at that before giving Lancer a brief pat on his head to calm him down. He even closes his eyes briefly at the treatment before she turns to Illya. ]

You still want to walk along the road or ride with us?

Actually, my feet are getting kind of tired. Let me just... hey, where's my gear?

The text returns.]

Well, it looks like that's all the time we have for today. Join us next time for-

Orpheus, give that back!

Whoops, angry Mistress! Bye!

[And the feed ends.]

[OOC: Blue is Xion. Bold is Orpheus the Dusknoir. Characters can reply to either him or Ilya! Xion may respond as well.]

Comments

video;

[namelesshero]

[oh hey, it's a familiar face! which one though regardless though, he would have noted that tough Nidoran. he almost wanted to cringe at times, but its tenacity was to be admired. he's just sitting on a couch with the PokéGear in hand. amused enough]

It puts a lot of bigger Pokémon to shame. [what a tough cookie]

video;

[dressofheaven]

[Oh, she recognizes that face and voice. And she's not exactly pleased to see him, but he pointed out the main reason she decided to take the little scrapper along.]

His determination deserved recognition. That's why I named him Achilles. [One wonders what will happen to the poor pointy bunny's heels.]

I wasn't aware you'd arrived in Johto.

video;

[namelesshero]

[her own face and voice are...familiar at best. though given his circumstances and his status as a "nameless" hero, as it were, it was difficult to decide upon what he truly knew or not. how much he was willing to give out. how much of it actually mattered? that was the real question. for now though, he simply took it in stride, casually so. it was easier to do in a world full of Pokémon]

Hopefully his name doesn't weigh the rest of your team down.

I'd just come back, actually. Months have passed apparently.

video;

[dressofheaven]

It would be more accurate to say he's in good company.

[She will not be overly irritated by the bowman. The war is over and there's no reason to pursue a vendetta... even if he did take several of her Servant's precious lives.]

Yes, I'd heard you left just before I arrived. The other Saber seemed really annoyed about that.

video;

[memoryborn]

Heh. Yeah. I'm sure it'll be great at protecting Illya when she needs it.

[ She gives a little look at him. ]

... Archer, right?

video;

[namelesshero]

[small nod. he wasn't close with her by any means. but that didn't mean he was one to forget so easily]

It looks like you've come a long way yourself.

video;

[memoryborn]

[ Ah, he remembers her! Such a change in pace! She brings up a small smile at that. ]

Yeah, it really has been a long while. Both of us were gone for a time. Now we're back.

action;

[memoryborn]

[ After Illya gets her Gear back, Xion is waiting on top of Lancer's head. He occasionally makes some rumbles here and there, unsure if Illya would be comfortable on his head. ]

Is your Gear okay?

action;

[dressofheaven]

Oh, it's fine. Orpheus knows how to use it properly.

... I'm not entirely certain how he knows that, mind you, but he does.

[She walks over to Lancer and holds out her hand to Xion after placing the gear back in her bag. She's not overly concerned about being uncomfortable, after all there should be plenty of room. Neither of them are exactly big.]

action;

[memoryborn]

[ She helps her up after she says that. Sure enough, there's plenty of room on Lancer's head for them both and Xion flashes her a brief smile. ]

Observation? My Togekiss can work my Gear despite not having any real... arms, anymore.

action;

[dressofheaven]

[Ilya takes a moment to balance herself with Xion's hand and a fin, then crouches down to pat Lancer on the the head appreciatively.]

Thank you, Lancer.

[She considers Xion's suggestion.]

That's probably it. He does have the advantage of actually having hands and fingers, too, even if those fingers are kind of ridiculously oversized.

video;

[punches]

[ That was quite a sight. Sakura's mood is elevated due to the return of a certain teammate, so she's less broody than she has been at least. ]

Wow, do you both just collect only strong and big Pokemon?

video;

[memoryborn]

[ When Xion pops up on the feed, her background suggests she's still on top of her Gyarados. She blinks. ]

Some of my Pokemon are small or average-sized. At least from my previous journey.

video;

[punches]

Admittedly, I've only seen you with large ones so I had to ask!

So tell me, what's a small one you'd recommend? I've been enjoying this Joltik, but only because it torments my teammate.

video;

[memoryborn]

A small one... Hmm. I think Joltik's about a small as you can get. Unless it involves into something a bit bigger.

I think most Electric types remain small or average-sized. It's a bit hard to list the ones that are small because some of them eventually evolve into something a lot larger than you think they should be.

video;

[dressofheaven]

Well, most Pokemon are strong if you train them right, and I do prefer the ones that are large and intimidating.

But there is Iris.

video;

[punches]

Iris? I haven't heard of that Pokemon before.

[ She's still getting used to the naming thing. ]

video;

[dressofheaven]

That's because it's a name, not a species. Iris is a Spheal. I don't have her with me right now, but your Pokedex should have information on them.

video; never catches up on my tags

[ex_cashcow493]

Achilles? [ What an appropriate name. ]

Is it really wise to allow Berserker to wander so freely? What if that had been a child?

video; stretches kattu

[memoryborn]

[ This seems like a question more geared toward Illya, so Xion just glances to the other girl and waits. ]

video; throws more tags to bury with

[dressofheaven]

Of course. What better name for a Pokemon that just will not fall no matter what you do?

[Of course with the real Achilles it was more due to invincibility than willpower, but the effect is the same.]

Oh give him some credit, Saber. Berserker only attacked Achilles because Achilles attacked him first. He's not going to go crushing a human just standing by.

... I suppose if some particularly unintelligent child started to kick him or throw rocks or something, there might be cause for concern, but who'd be foolish enough to provoke a Rhyperior?

[buckyouup]

Looks like you two aren't slouching on your team buildin'. He looks mighty strong, good job!

[Oh! Is that Berserker? A familiar Zoroark barks into the gear, grinning happily. Helloooo handsome~.]

[dressofheaven]

[Berserker perks up as soon as he sees Rascal on the gear, waving eagerly at her and puffing up. Check him out, gurl! He's fully evolved now.]

Oh, see something you like, Berserker?

[buckyouup]

[He better like what he sees. Rascal eyes him over and snickers, winking at the screen. You certainly look like you've got some muscle to spare.]

[memoryborn]

Ah, yeah. Lancer is from when I first started out, so he's about as strong as the can be at this point.