Hmm, the "dual" at the end of "gradual" is calling to me... I have an idea....
Gradual The Pinchemon gym was quiet this early in the morning, and in truth Harmony Belle was slightly surprised that it was open. The sun had been up for an hour, and had this been any of the major cities (Harveston and Esterty) on the island she would have expected it. But this was a small town, not that much larger than an active hamlet, and she had suspected that the inhabitants might be less driven by the needs of city dwellers and spend more time on personal reflection and development. "Hi, you must be new!" A cheerful voice came from a young woman with oversized eyes and a smile that showed teeth so white they must be fake. Harmony noticed that she was wearing a nurse's uniform; black and white starched pinafore over a pale-blue blouse with a name-badge attached, a long, ankle-length brown skirt and what looked like black sensible shoes peeking out from underneath. "Hi," Harmony focused on the badge, which had a little happy face drawn at the end, "Nurse Repatrix?" "That's me," said the young woman. Her smile never faltered. "I know you're new, practically no-one comes here until lunch-time. We are open twenty-four hours a day though, if you want to practice alone." Harmony controlled her smile, she was sure the nurse meant well. But solo practice at a pinchemon battle was as pointless as trying to catch Fishfree with well-done steak. "I can come back later," she said, taking a nervous step backwards. Nurse Repatrix was starting to come across as a little scary. "Oh you don't have to! Toby is here too, and he's always keen to practice!" Harmony endured a few more minutes of what she felt was increasingly pointless conversation before managing to free herself and walking over to Arena 1, where Toby was drilling pinchemon. He saw her approach, gestured in the universal symbol for a challenge, and she nodded. By the time she arrived at her director's podium he was at his and smiling across at her. "May the best slavemaster win!" he called, a traditional greeting, and she repeated it back. "Grasphyx, I choose you!" he yelled, going first and hurling a pinchball onto the astroturf that separated the podia. There was a flash of light as the pinchball -- essentially a tiny prison for pinchmon -- opened and released its captive. A blackened shape twisted in the air and then collapsed to the ground. They both stared. "Hunger strike," said Toby, consulting his pinchdeck, which listed all his prisoners and their current condition. "Tarnation. Nurse Repatrix! We've got a hunger striker!" This of course meant that he'd forfeited his first turn, and after the nearly-dead pinchmon had been dragged off the field, it was Harmony's turn. "Gra-dual, I choose you!" she called, and was rather pleased to see a look of fear cross Toby's face. It was normal to start the battle with weaker pinchmon and escalate to the truly savage and fearsome ones, and bringing out Gra-dual this early sent a message. A very bloody message.
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Hmm, the "dual" at the end of "gradual" is calling to me... I have an idea....
Gradual
The Pinchemon gym was quiet this early in the morning, and in truth Harmony Belle was slightly surprised that it was open. The sun had been up for an hour, and had this been any of the major cities (Harveston and Esterty) on the island she would have expected it. But this was a small town, not that much larger than an active hamlet, and she had suspected that the inhabitants might be less driven by the needs of city dwellers and spend more time on personal reflection and development.
"Hi, you must be new!" A cheerful voice came from a young woman with oversized eyes and a smile that showed teeth so white they must be fake. Harmony noticed that she was wearing a nurse's uniform; black and white starched pinafore over a pale-blue blouse with a name-badge attached, a long, ankle-length brown skirt and what looked like black sensible shoes peeking out from underneath.
"Hi," Harmony focused on the badge, which had a little happy face drawn at the end, "Nurse Repatrix?"
"That's me," said the young woman. Her smile never faltered. "I know you're new, practically no-one comes here until lunch-time. We are open twenty-four hours a day though, if you want to practice alone."
Harmony controlled her smile, she was sure the nurse meant well. But solo practice at a pinchemon battle was as pointless as trying to catch Fishfree with well-done steak.
"I can come back later," she said, taking a nervous step backwards. Nurse Repatrix was starting to come across as a little scary.
"Oh you don't have to! Toby is here too, and he's always keen to practice!"
Harmony endured a few more minutes of what she felt was increasingly pointless conversation before managing to free herself and walking over to Arena 1, where Toby was drilling pinchemon. He saw her approach, gestured in the universal symbol for a challenge, and she nodded. By the time she arrived at her director's podium he was at his and smiling across at her.
"May the best slavemaster win!" he called, a traditional greeting, and she repeated it back.
"Grasphyx, I choose you!" he yelled, going first and hurling a pinchball onto the astroturf that separated the podia. There was a flash of light as the pinchball -- essentially a tiny prison for pinchmon -- opened and released its captive. A blackened shape twisted in the air and then collapsed to the ground. They both stared.
"Hunger strike," said Toby, consulting his pinchdeck, which listed all his prisoners and their current condition. "Tarnation. Nurse Repatrix! We've got a hunger striker!" This of course meant that he'd forfeited his first turn, and after the nearly-dead pinchmon had been dragged off the field, it was Harmony's turn.
"Gra-dual, I choose you!" she called, and was rather pleased to see a look of fear cross Toby's face. It was normal to start the battle with weaker pinchmon and escalate to the truly savage and fearsome ones, and bringing out Gra-dual this early sent a message. A very bloody message.
Greg - don't think I would have ever noticed that dual if you hadn't pointed it out.
I like these three characters and how they interact and reveal themselves. Nicely done!
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