Chi's first time!

[chi]

Chi walked into the room carrying her signature hammeraxe and in her typical cloths. Her shirt had a couple small burn holes in it but those remained fairly covered, as well as the stains, by a gray jacket she wore at the time. Her cargo pants had a fairly large hole in the outside leg as well, revealing that she wore shorts underneath. Her boots adorned her feet and decent socks under those. Over all, typical dress for the blacksmith girl.

A piece of paper was carried in her hand that had a small map and some instructions for her to go to the lab for her placement test as well as her first pokemon. It was difficult to contain her joy at the thought, and in fact she did a horrible job. A massive grin spread across her face and a twitch kept coming up that hinted at her desire to leap for joy. Over all, it was a miracle she kept from falling over in excited glee.

When she arrived in the room she was momentarily blinded by the glaring white lights. It took a second for her eyes to adjust to the brightness but when she did she still couldn’t see much. Being in a dimly lit workshop most days of the week had the effect of light sensitivity on the eyes. ”Hello, I’m here for my exam.” She called out, hoping someone would answer and at least dim the fucking lights.

[Tao]

"I ask that they conserve electricity, what do they do? They make it brighter."

Tao grumbled as he headed down towards the testing site. Sure he had a lot of paperwork to do but this was his little stress reliever. Besides, it was always fun seeing new hopefuls actually try, rather than those little kids who thought passing a test was easy.

"Hello to you too. I'll be conducting your Placement Exam."

The silver-head said as he pulled his fedora down a bit more, casting shadows on his eyes and trying his best to find that damn light switch. Groping around the side of the panel next to him, Tao clicked it and set the intensity down.

"Okay, now that my technicians aren't out to make my eyes bleed, we'll conduct your test. Follow me." Tao said as he grabbed two pokeballs on the banister on the way to the testing area.

[chi]

”Thanks for turning the lights down a bit.” Chi’s voice was fairly weak from the exertion it took to keep her eyes even remotely open from the glaring illumination. It soon faded as the dimmer was struck and she was allowed to see. With her eyes no longer killing her and her hammeraxe over her shoulder, Chi did as instructed and progressed to the testing facility.

Even if the distance was short the girl decided to fill it with small talk. ”I’ve never once handled a pokemon but I’ve heard a fair number of stories. I normally do my own fighting. Is battling with a pokemon anything like fighting with your own two hands just with telling someone else what to do or am I shooting bulls eyes on the target five to my right?” She had a certain level of energy to her voice that teemed with the giddy excitement for what was happening. A serious tinge of concern shone through though, betraying nervous tendencies.

[Tao]

"It all depends on how you want to treat them. If you and your pokemon are so in sync, it feels as if they're moving like your limbs. Sometimes, it feels like a general ordering his army. Like I said, it's how you treat them."

Tao said as he opened the doors to a very, very ,very dim room. Hell, it barely had any lights and whenever he looked at the girl, you could swear you could see a faint blue outline.

"Anyway, the test will be held in the dark." Tao said as he left the girl with a pokeball and an index card that had 5 moves listed on it. "That'll be a guide on what moves the pokemon can use. If you know anything else, you're welcome to use it."

Tao said as he vanished into the dark, the last gleams of his silver hair vanishing. A sudden of gleam of light but that was that.

----

You don't know your opponents pokemon.
The Pokeball has a Nidorino
Index Card: Leer, Peck, Horn Attack, Poison Jab, Poison Sting

[chi]

”Food for thought.” Chi got lost in said thought fairly quickly if briefly. When the pokeball and card was passed to her she snapped back to reality and realized the dark room they had walked into. Instantly her eyes began to adjust, taking in all the light possible in the area. ”Good, I do better in dark places.” In fact, had she not been told it was dark, she would have sworn it was broad daylight.

The card’s moveset made no sense to her. ”Leer? Peck? What do all of these do? Only one way to find out.” The red and white ball got opened as the Nidorino stood before her, snorting its appreciation for being outside that ball. The large predatory eyes glared right into Chi’s sending a wave of adrenaline through her, causing every muscle to quiver. After a brief instant her hand was outstretched, attempting to pet the beast. Nidorino made a brief recoil before finally allowing the contact, pressing it’s head against her hand.

Chi let out a brief moment of relieved laughter before speaking finally. ”Can you understand me?” The Nidorino nodded, removing himself from the touch. ”Would you mind giving me a demonstration of the moves on this card?” With that the pokemon did a fast demonstration of each of them, throwing in a little flare and some dodge maneuvers as well. It emphasized that it’s horn held a very potent venom by letting the purple liquid drop to the floor. ” You’re used to new people like me aren’t you?” All it took was a nod and what Chi could have sworn was a smile and an instant friendship was born in a fit of laughter. ”Alright, let’s do this.”

Nidorino let out an intense roar, turning to face his opponent. Heat could be felt radiating off his body as Nido got pumped for the fight coming. Chi’s inner fighter even got excited, sending her into a fit of flexing and popping her joints in preparation. She slammed her hammeraxe down in unison with the roar, creating a cacophony of war. ”Alright, I’m ready!”

[Tao]

"Looks like we have a contestant."

Tao smiled as he saw the girl prepare for the battle, rather than charging in blind due to her excitement. Then, the fight really started. A sudden shift of the floor panels indicated that there was a change in the environment.

The pseudo quakes had been long, lasting for at least a minute as the lights grew dimmer and dimmer as well. By the end of the of the quakes, the room was covered in total darkness, no one seeing anything.

Behind the veils of darkness, stood Tao. His panel being raised a few feet into the air as his very panel rose up, his pokemon being left down below so it could actually fight. Without a signal, the Luxio that was going in for the fight had this enjoyment in the darkness. It wasn't really ever dark.

The Shinx family were known to have eye sight that could see in the darkness, this Luxio could and it seemed like daylight in this empty dark room. Swiveling through the columns that were put up, the Luxio sent out a Discharge at the Nidorino, creating sparks of lightning that waddled over towards the opponent before slinking into the darkness once more, trying to cover its tracks and use guerrilla tactics.

[chi]

Chi shook as the floor began to quake beneath her feet. She looked to the Nidorino for guidance and found it to be standing flawlessly still, completely unconcerned. When the lights progressed to get darker and darker, moving into nearly pitch black, Chi’s eyes began to strain to see. Finally they adjusted, seeing shadows in the darker backgrounds.

”You can’t see can you?” The Nidorino let out a low growl which Chi took to be a no. ”How’s your hearing?” The large ears on his head twitched as he signaled it to be very good. Chi’s face cracked into a smile as a plan came to mind. ”Ever had a rider before?” The pokemon looked back at her, glaring at her in almost confusion as it growled once more. In an instant she rose up and leaped onto it’s back, adding her eyes in the shadows to his hearing. ”Alright, let’s see if this works.”

Chi’s eyes were still adjusting and the opponent’s pokemon would probably have the same problem as these two. When she peered through the shadows she saw one hiding that was darker than the rest, and it had already begun to move swiftly towards them. In a flash Chi removed her jacket and grabbed her hammeraxe, prepping for what was to come. ”Do I have to tell you what to do all the time or can you react on your own?” Almost in answer the Nidorino saw the flashing cracks of lightning and heard the attack coming. Tensing was all the warning Chi got to hand on tight as he leapt to the side, dodging the incoming attack. A smile spread across her face, the fight had begun.

Chi’s instincts began to take over, not so much extending into the pokemon as a fighting companion but as a mount that recognized her commands flawlessly. Her thighs tightened their hold as one hand found a firm spot to grab behind the ear for a secure latch. Her hammeraxe was in her other hand and laying behind the Nidorino’s head as to keep from obstructing his movement. The girl’s eyes flared as her nostrils did the same. ”After it!”

The great creature ran with a bounce that jostled Chi at first, nearly knocking her off until she got the rhythm. His great ears tracked the creature’s movements in the shadow’s as Chi’s own eyes began to track the shadow against the black. They fell in directly on its tail, unable to close the distance but keeping pace. With the wind rushing passed her face Chi leaned down to give an order. ”Get alongside it and give me a clean swipe.” The great beast’s ears perked up at the strange command, but it attempted to do as told.

[Tao]

A sudden shaking of the earth once more appeared, more and more columns began to rise up and had started to create a labyrinth of stone and steel for the entire field.

The Luxio though, he was wondering why the Nidorino seemed capable of seeing him. It's as if he could keep connecting his eyes with his and know exactly where he was. That wasn't possible, as far as the Luxio's intelligence went.

It had to rethink its strategy as more and more columns blocked his view, well, he could see through walls so that wasn't exactly a bad thing and the walls did allow him to be concealed more in the darkness.

Then suddenly, an extremely bright light lit up in the room, practically blinding the entire arena as it was flooded with light comparable to the sun. And as fast it was, it ended just.

The room was once more in the darkness again, but that blast of light as sure to make everyone cringe for some and put stars in their vision. Luxio was just thankful he didn't attempt to shoot lightning on the ceiling when it happened.

[chi]

Chi shielded her eyes with the blinding flash, screaming out in pain. She nearly fell from her pokemon companion and would have had he not stopped as well, shielding his own eyes from the blinding glare. Several times Chi attempted to open look around but the blinding flare rendered her own eyes completely worthless. The spiked beast below her however, simply closed his, using those impressive ears to sense oncoming trouble.

”I have no idea what just happened but I can’t see for shit. Be the ears, I’ll keep mine open too.” Chi latched her thighs against the inside of the Nidorino’s hind legs, securing her hold. She grabbed the weapon in both hands, expecting the opposing pokemon to attack at any time. Together the two laid down a defensive grid, keeping their senses as open as possible and waiting for the incoming assault.

[Tao]

Clapping could be heard. Really, really loud clapping rang out in the room. Tao was obviously clapping as loud as he could at timed beats as the room kept it there. The sound waves bouncing off the walls as the plates had shifted to be arranged to maximize this effect.

The Luxio got the signal and slowly and as stealthily as it could charged up behind the columns. The line up of rock and steel was enough that the Charge he had used wouldn't be visible either way.

Jumping on a relatively low platform, the Luxio tried to go through the steps to get nearer to the opponent without sending that heavy vibrations on the ground since it didn't want to risk the Nidorino knowing how to sense the vibrations.

The only problem Luxio had with his electricity was the noise. It was pretty hard to silence his electricity, having both the aspects of Thunder that made noise and Lightning that just loved shocking things.

Regardless, the person was still riding the opponent pokemon and if he had attacked, the person might be placed in grave danger. He looked at his trainer that had stopped clapping, wanting a confirmation on what to do.

[chi]

Chi’s ears caught the sound of very loud clapping, was the fight over? She allowed her grip to relax a little before she heard another sound, the faint sound of electricity. Instantly she grabbed her weapon and buckled down, waiting for the coming assault. Nidorino seemed to have heard the signal clapping as well, followed by the crackling thunder.

Nidorino made to face the coming opponent based upon the sounds of the crackling thunder. He was stopped by a hand grabbing firmly on his ear and a shouted command. ”RUN!” A smile crossed his face, this woman did know how to take command.

The great beast began to bolt, using its poor eyesight and sheer lucky instinct to keep from charging headlong into the pillars. A few times it came close, feeling the wind fluctuate as one came just fractions of an inch from clipping them both. His ears kept open for the coming Luxio and the next command from his audacious rider. Finally the latter came, but it was low and whispered in his ear. ”Put that venom of yours to work. On 3 turn and stab.” He began to slow his charge, instead getting tensed and ready. ”1. . . 2. . .”

[Tao]

"Good Job."

Tao said as the lights began to light up again. This time, it was slow as to make everyone got the chance to recover and get used to it and not go fall off a really high platform and stuff.

"That was a good performance, risking your own safety for a battle."

Tao said as he allowed the columns to return to their proper places before stepping down on the platform.

Pulling out a Yellow choker from his pocket and three deactivated pokeballs, Tao neared the girl and gave her the choices.

"The Yellow Choker symbolizes your rank, don't lose it. And these three pokeballs contain your choices for a starter."

---

Pokeballs - Mawile, Electrike, Numel

[chi]

”3!” Her voice rang out but the battle had ended as soon as she barked. Nidorino looked around as the lights began to return to the stage and finally saw the Luxio, nodding in welcome. Chi’s own eyes didn’t respond, instead refusing to open as they screamed in pain still. She listened in confusion before finally hearing the approaching instructor.

”Did I win?” The Nidorino below made a motion that it was time for her to get off. A little uneasily but not clumsily Chi dismounted, standing on the floor and bracing against a pillar. Slowly she tried opening her eyes, letting them finally adjust before nearly toppling in pain once more.

When the instructor was passing her the color and pokeballs Chi could only fumble with them. It was still impossible for her to see. ”Thank you, and thank you Nidorino, I hope I get to see you again, granted I hope to get to see again period.” The spiked beast turned and brushed his head against Chi’s hand, signaling his liking of her. The girl giggled slightly as she grabbed a random pokeball from the three. (Numel) ”I’ll take this one, whatever it is. And I gotta ask one more thing, could you take me to the nurse, I’m blind.”

[Tao]

"You picked a Numel."

Tao said as he released his Alakazam. The wise and bearded pokemon appeared and once more, stroked his mustache, seemingly more wise than he actually was. Mustaches had an effect like that.

"Kojiro here will teleport you to the infirmary. He'll be guiding you along to make sure Nurse Butler would be able to accompany you. Have fun at the academy, Student."

Tao said as Kojiro the Alakazam raised his spoons, a blinding light once more and the two were gone, leaving Tao alone and free. Well, no, not really. He still had a crap load of paper work to do.