Cecil Harvey (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
paladinlost) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
victory_road2021-12-06 05:45 pm
paladinlost) wrote in victory_road2021-12-06 05:45 pm
136th moon [video]
[The feed, when it turns on, mostly shows the barely-lit left half of Cecil's (clothed for colder weather, thankfully) chest. When he adjusts the angle to look at the camera properly, his surroundings become somewhat visible; he's in a cave, though the cave in question may only look familiar to the few people who fought a certain dangerous creature years ago.
Also, a non-negligible portion of his hair is stuck in a chunk of ice. What a weekend, right?]
Due to circumstances beyond my control, please note that the Lunar Gym will be closed tonight.
[Offscreen, a Golbat screeches in pain. When it flies by in a panic, Cecil ducks nonchalantly.]
And most probably tomorrow.
[Absentmindedly, he steps aside to avoid Rosie the Clefable, who appears to be gleefully chasing the fleeing bat.]
Frankly, I'd not get my hopes up for Wednesday, either. We'll see about Thursday.
[Thursday is also not looking good, to be honest.]
Also, a non-negligible portion of his hair is stuck in a chunk of ice. What a weekend, right?]
Due to circumstances beyond my control, please note that the Lunar Gym will be closed tonight.
[Offscreen, a Golbat screeches in pain. When it flies by in a panic, Cecil ducks nonchalantly.]
And most probably tomorrow.
[Absentmindedly, he steps aside to avoid Rosie the Clefable, who appears to be gleefully chasing the fleeing bat.]
Frankly, I'd not get my hopes up for Wednesday, either. We'll see about Thursday.
[Thursday is also not looking good, to be honest.]
Video!
Cecil? Where are you? Why is your hair frozen?
Video!
[Offscreen, Rosie shouts what appears to be an apology, but Cecil doesn't sound too upset about it.]
Finding yourself in a cave is a common outcome of these weekends, I'm afraid. Thankfully, I have both my Pokégear and a few Pokémon, this time.
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[Felix facepalms.]
Don't you have any Pokemon with a Fire move and precise control? Or a Fighting one, to break the ice?
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[Felix asks a good question, though. Cecil considers his options.]
Rosie can cover both types, but her strength is best conserved for combat at the moment. That leaves me with Incinerate from an untried new capture. Not ideal, but I can work with that.
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Will you need any help? It'll take a while, but I could come down there if you need it.
[Being that Armin is one of the few other people who actually is allowed to access that particular cave system.]
Video;
[He turns around to show the rock formation in question, which strikingly resembles the head of a Pinsir! But it's still, you know, a rock in the middle of a sea of badly-lit other rocks.]
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[And even though that is pretty understandable, Armin does still sound very apologetic about having to deliver that news.]
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[Poor little Pinsir-head rock, ignored by all.]
Perhaps I should take notes about such landmarks as I look for a way out, for future reference.
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[Riz frowns, and he seems to be checking some booklet.]
That one is not on this list.
[Riz has been tentatively looking into beating the gyms -- not because he particularly cares about the badges, but rather the prize money is pretty interesting. He found a shop in Goldenrod just on the edge of totally legal with a lot of spy equipment for sale (or what passes for it, in this world) but unfortunately, that stuff costs Money.]
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[Or not paying attention to the network and local gossip at all, but Cecil chooses to believe the first option.]
You are aware of the existence of sixteen official gyms, eight in Johto and eight in Kanto, correct? That's the Indigo League. But those among us who've defeated all sixteen leaders and the Elite Four have been allowed to form the Aurora League. Members have the right to open their own gym if they wish, as long as they follow certain rules.
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[Has it already been a few weeks? It feels unreal, but steadily time has passed despite how Riz might feel about that.]
How big is this-- indigo league you called it, right?
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[Not that anyone has much of a choice about that, really.]
The Indigo League includes a total of twenty-one trainers to defeat. As for the Aurora League, we currently have seven gyms in total... but a couple are defended by two leaders, and there are still a few victors who could open their own gym at any time.
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[Riz looks deeply unsettled by that thought. Just being here for a few weeks had already been long enough. He wants to go home! Back to his friends and his mom and their quest.]
Twenty-one? [A frown, as he glances back at the booklet.] There's just sixteen here from what I can see. There's even more?
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[Relatively, because he's been here long enough for anything short of a decade to seem short.]
The Elite Four and the Champion are, officially, part of the league; thus, twenty-one. But if you'd rather not face that challenge or if you only care about the badges themselves, you'll only have sixteen leaders to deal with, yes.
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So, uhm, I guess you must be really familiar with battling then. Any tips for someone new to it?
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[Riz likes to think he's gotten a basic understanding of how battles are supposed to go, and he's battled a few random folks in the park and not... horrendously lost every time.
(there have been a few losses, certainly, but that was usually due to bad luck on his part -- finding the one training with all birds or the sort of unsporting person who didn't mind bringing out their full level sixty team to deal with a newbie with three pokemon total)
But still, better to make sure he's really understanding all the basics.]
Video;
[For this, Cecil doesn't grab old notes or any instruction manual. He doesn't need to.]
First of all, until you gain more battling experience and access to a greater variety of resources, avoid building a team that shares a common weakness. There are ways to compensate for that, but they involve investing either time or money.
Second! Status and stat-modifying moves may not look flashy, but they can make your life much easier. A Pokémon with improved evasion that faces a paralyzed foe might well be able to win a fight without a single scratch, for example, while a defense boost can be the difference between a loss and a last minute victory.
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[Cause, uh, Riz may two pokemon with a bug typing, two pokemon with a poison typing while having only four pokemon in total. It's not his fault that many of the cool pokemon (in his eyes) are bugs or poison.]
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[Can't really outlevel a Pokémon that's reached 100, after all.]
Another option is to haunt various stores in search of TMs that can counter those weaknesses. For example, as a Water- and Ground-type, Quagsire is weak against Grass users twice over. However, by purchasing and teaching it an Ice-type TM such as Ice Beam, you can give any Grass-type you face a nasty surprise. Of course, that becomes very expensive very quickly, especially if your team is large.
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[Riz is frowning. It's good advice, just also still rather difficult. He doesn't have a ton of pokemon, but do the ones he have learn any sort of TM that could exploit a weakness like that? He'll have to check.]
Do you, like, have to do the badges in order? Can I just skip the first gym and go straight to the second or maybe third one? Cause I'm still not sure my bugs can take on a couple of birds, even if I teach them some new moves.
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[It sure sounds like it always comes down to levels or money, doesn't it?]
There is nothing stopping you from challenging gyms in any order. You could even start with Blackthorn, if you wished. But do note that the trainers' and leader's team levels are set; a later gym's type may be weaker against your bugs, but they'd still be much stronger by default.
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[Concern. Even if she was staring right at the screen, not understanding him at all. How sir? How did you do this?]
Video
[This may say more about his standards for 'fine' than his actual state.]
Earlier, Rosie tried to hit another Golbat with Ice Beam. It dodged in my direction and, well. You can see the result, no doubt.
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Look, Mikasa had low standards for people being competent.]
...It's bad that can happen. At least it wasn't fire. That'd be bad.
......You'd be bald then.
[Ah yes, that was the concern.]
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[Is he genuinely concerned about hair-related heredity, or is he simply humoring Mikasa? The world may never know.]
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Why doesn't it all fall out?
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An excellent question! But one I cannot answer, sadly. He is a powerful mage, however, so perhaps he knows a spell that slows down hair loss? That cannot be much more difficult than throwing lightning bolts.
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Like Cecil's had with the ice?]no subject
[Some men are simply meant to have a very low speed stat.]
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It does come with its limitations, yes. But an active, healthy elder might enjoy a better quality of life than a younger person with a weaker body.
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Yeah... If you're body is weak, you can't work and you'll die. [Attack on Titan is a world.]
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...Does your home not have charities to take care of the ill and infirm? Strong support systems for their families, at the very least?
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...I don't know what those things are?
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[How can he describe those concepts to someone who is entirely unfamiliar with them...?]
Back home, there are groups that regularly gather money to help feed those who are too old or injured to work anymore. They hardly live like kings, but they're not at risk of starving and dying, and their families get plenty of time to rest.
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[But she got it, he'd made sense. Even if the idea was still pretty alien to her.] I got taken in by Eren's family... [Where would she have gone otherwise?]
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[And a rather unpleasant thought besides, though the sentence that follows lifts his spirits a little.]
I'm glad you found a new home, then. They must be very kind and welcoming people.
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Well done. Good talk Mikasa.]