BUG CATCHING CONTEST

[these_balls]

Who: The Participants, the Audience, and the like
Where: Johto National Park
When: Thursdays
Summary: Bug-Catching contest! Rules are here. Go catch some bugs!
Rating: G? PG?
Log:

With the perky new song singing about the city, the summer Bug-Catching contest is back on in full force! With everything that's been going on lately, it's high time they start some for-fun things to do. So, mid-afternoon on Thursday, they gather the participants. After the participants check their other pokémon in at the front, they're all asked to line up in the front. From there, one park official reads the rules while another passes out twenty sport balls. Then once everything's settled, they're just about ready to go!

Three... Two... One... Catch!


The tagging format can be however you like, just please stick to the specific contest's sub-thread underneath.
Current Contest: July 11

Comments

JULY 11

[these_balls]

WINNERS
First Place: Snake
Second Place: Lancer
Third Place: Niou

[silentscales]

Snake looks a little confused at first, but his pokèmon help him find more pokèmon. He starts with a few Caterpie, but then comes across a Scolipede. The battle is intense, his Seviper only able to take one hit before she ran the risk of fainting. He recalls her and sends out his Ekans, John. There was some arguing about just how much force should be used, but John wears down just in time to successful catch the level 16 Scolipede.

If anyone asks, Snake has a different story, but he hopes that this pokèmon will keep Rocket happy for a bit.

[soundmind]

[Hark! Who goes there?

It looks like a snake in the grass!

A wild MAKA is approaching now, with a Growlithe at her side looking suitably excited doge.]

Snake? Hi, Snake! Hi, John!

JULY 11

[medinin]

[ Rin can be found participating with Hirokazu the Ducklett. While she does her best, she's pretty new and takes it more as a learning experience than anything else. She manages to catch a few things, but the most interesting is a Paras, and by that point in the day, she judges her partner as needing a break, so finishes up to just cheer for the people she knows.

Both before and after that point she's willing to speak with people, and seems more interested in studying pokemon she hasn't seen before than she is catching the very best thing. Whoops. ]

[itsjustdust]

[She still did better than Obito... who had been roaming around just... looking at things, his Charizard trailing along behind him more as decoration than anything.]

Catch anything good?

[wontturntostone]

[Kanaya wasn't all that interested in bugs, she'd signed up when aradia was going, and then kept the appointment even after the other former troll had backed out. She and her Roselia, Sunshine, were mostly stalking the bugs they thought looked pretty, or whatever caught Sunshine's attention. Usually butterfrees, or other bright, flashy bugs.]

[Kanaya also has a list of people Aradia told her to say hi too, though she has to guess what they look like...]

have a disruptive baby dragon :)

[rather_eat_turquoise]

[Spike had separated from the other ponies, and was trotting through the park with his Mareep Mamara by his side. For some reason, she'd really wanted to come, and Spike just couldn't say no to her - she was far too sweet.

[Unfortunately he wasn't having as much luck actually running into bugs. And yet, he could hear whoops and other various 'I caught a cool bug' sounds coming from elsewhere in the forest. He sighed. Just his luck. Mamara nudged him gently, confident they would find a bug for him to catch.

[He tripped over a rather large tree branch, causing a nearby butterfree to squeak and quickly fly away.]

Ouch!

[aflashoffaith]

[Minato was glad he'd dragged the kids out for the contest- after everything they'd gone through in the last few weeks it was nice to have a distraction, something different to do for awhile in between their jobs and training.

He'd signed up with his Growlithe Reiko and mostly just let her sniff out her own opponents, more interested in seeing how she did without strict instruction than seeking out THE VERY BEST. Still, she managed to track down and dig up a Nincada, knocking the poor thing out fairly quickly with her level and type advantage.

Afterwards he'll be hanging around for awhile with Reiko, chatting with the other participants, congratulating his army of children and asking about how they did DAD STUFF etc etc]

[itsjustdust]

[Ah hahaha Sensei, Obito didn't catch anything, and he's going to give you the most sheepish look ever because... he... wasn't... trying to...]

I think I didn't do too bad...

[bestofthebest]

(Rainbow Dash can be found somewhere in the park, finding the Contest kinda cool but also as an opportunity to get back to Goldenrod! Nothing against Cianwood, but she needed more awesome Pokemon and even though it was too quiet for her tastes...she did find one cool Pokemon to catch!

That would happen to be an Escavalier, around level 36. Her choice to battle it? Level 50 Aerodactyl, since the majority of her other Pokemon would've KO'd him in one shot! This way, at least 2-3 shots were dealt before she captured it. Then again...having him use Fire Fang right off the bat was probably a huge mistake.

Before and after, she'll be hanging out while trying to see if anyone she knew -or knew but hadn't met in person- chose to participate. She'll also be trying to decide what to name her new Pokemon too.)

Before!

[rather_eat_turquoise]

[The journey to Goldenrod had been pretty fun - it had been Spike's first time actually travelling through Johto (dragonback with Twilight didn't really count). He nervously waited next to Rainbow Dash as the other competitors arrived at the park. Mamara, his Mareep, had been determined to be his pokemon in the competition, which surprised him. He had her out already, waiting patiently next to him.]

So, uh....what kind of bug do you want to catch, Rainbow Dash?

[soundmind]

[Did somebody say someone she recognizes?

Because here comes Maka across the way with an energetic-looking Growlithe bouncing along behind her. Argos was moderately-leveled enough for this contest, all of her other suitable types were a wee bit overleveled and she didn't want to massacre the poor bugs.

She stops when she sees a sight of RAINBOW HAIR and squints. Then waves.]

Rainbow Dash!

[brbmakingfriends]

[Meanwhile Pinkie Pie did her own catching with her Jigglypuff. Capturing a new friend, yay! But when Pinkie spotted Rainbow Dash, well she just had to go see her with Jigglypuff riding on her head!]

Rainbow Dash~!

[dressofheaven]

During:

"Alright Cerberus. Sniff me out something impressive. A Scyther or a Pinsir would be good."

Ilya's loyal hellhound gave a swift bark and nuzzled her hand before turning to bound off into the grass. She followed closely at her dog's heels, not particularly caring if they ran into someone. After all, it was just Cerberus, not Berserker or something. Who cared if a dog bounded up on them out of nowhere?

After:

"I can't believe this."

Ilya stared down at her Sports Ball for a moment before turning to glower at her Houndoom. Cerberus looked down at the floor, dejected.

"A Combee? Really? Didn't I feed you enough before we left? Did you have to go looking for snacks?"

Whining, Cerberus turned and offered the honeycomb the bug had been carrying to her trainer. It took a moment, but eventually Ilya sighed and accepted it. "You're lucky I like sweets."

[aburame]

[Turns out Cerberus' nose isn't too off the mark! Maybe it's not quite the pokemon she's looking out for, but she certainly managed to sniff out a giant mantis in the form of Shino's Scizor.

Bug catching was his territory. It wasn't often there was a whole event dedicated to his favourite creepy crawlies, so naturally he'd been focused on catching the wild Nincada before--... it was alerted to the sudden movement of one Houndoom crashing through the underbush and quickly made a getaway. Buzzed right off, so to speak.

Although both Kushinada the Scizor and her trainer were well acquainted with fiery hellhounds, neither were quite expecting one to come bounding up to them during the contest. Losing his target was also another reason to be a tad disappointed, but he doesn't reflect in his expression, only choosing to turn to the Houndoom and the girl trailing behind it.]

[riastrad_ridire]

[He's so ready. Lancer is equipped with a Houndoom, a giant net, and...he's wearing a bright red scarf.]

[Doesn't that seem like a bad idea, with all the Scyther around here?]

JULY 18

[these_balls]

WINNERS
First Place: Kanaya
Second Place: Lancer
Third Place: Aradia

JULY 25

[these_balls]

WINNERS
First Place: Spike
Second Place: Dick Grayson
Third Place: Shino Aburame

Note: A few visitors will be lurking around this contest!

[aburame]

[A The flight back from Sasuke's birthday party was a hectic one, especially since he was worse for wear after the whole fainting/drowning incident. Nevertheless, to expect Shino to not turn up to the bug catching contest - well, it was a ridiculous notion.

He can be found along the edges of the park, stepping over gnarled tree roots with a distinct sense of purpose. Every so often he pauses to listen, quietening down the Kabutops scuttling behind him, and simply observes his surroundings (Shino, is the ground really that fascinating???).

B Sometime later: He's struck gold! Or bug gold, maybe. Satisfied that there seems to be a Pokemon that's buried itself under the tree roots, he instructs Kabutops to unleash Dig onto the soft ground before them. And instead of the Nincada he'd been searching for-- an entirely different kind of bug jumps out. An angry, prehistoric-looking bug.]

AUGUST 1

[these_balls]

WINNERS
First Place: Mitsukuni Haninozuka
Second Place: Pinkie Pie
Third Place: Neji Hyuga

[aburame]

[Guess who's back for round FOUR of bug catching??

This time he's brought along a special friend. Although he no longer has the kikaichu inhabiting his body, Shino has the next best thing: The mother of all bugs (and in a way, quite literally), an effing QUEEN BEE. Barby was the one who originally introduced him to the bug catching contest, and despite her having returned home, he could still bring along her starter in her memory.

Both Victoria the Vespiquen and her keeper are situated in the middle of the park. Doing what, one may ask? Well, the queen bee is releasing pheromones and attracting every single Combee within in the area. There's a low pitch buzzing sound that's been steadily growing. Yeah, that's an entire hive of bees emerging over the horizon and coming RIGHT THIS WAY.]

AUGUST 8

[these_balls]

WINNERS
First Place: Shino Aburame
Second Place: Rainbow Dash
Third Place: Yumi Ishiyama

AUGUST 15

[these_balls]

WINNERS
First Place: Laguna Loire
Second Place: Sasuke Uchiha
Third Place: Mitsukuni Haninozuka

AUGUST 30 - THE BIG FINALE

[these_balls]

WINNERS
First Place: Mitsukuni Haninozuka, Rainbow Dash, Xemnas
Second Place: Vanitas
Third Place: Minoriko Aki
Bonus Prize: Mayuri Shiina

As a bonus and a thank you to all who participated, there will be a cook-out with hamburgers, hot-dogs, vegan meat byproduct, and poké-burgers for our repesitive-speaking friends. Have fun, enjoy the grub, and thank you for participating!!

August 30 - BUGS BUGS BUGS

[firstnothing]

[Twenty minutes isn't long to fight down a pokemon that Xemnas thinks will win a contest. Especially since he didn't quite bother paying attention to the qualifiers for what they'd be looking for. Selecting Regret as the pokemon he would be using instead of the boisterous growlithe he had yet to get rid of, might put him at a type disadvantage, but she was reliable and currently his strongest.

20 minutes. Xemnas wasn't particularly thrilled with the hat, or the net, but he'll make do. A level 26 blitzle should be able to handle anything he's likely to run into, with her single but reliable fire attack.

A few minutes from 'go', it was Regret's nose that led them to something that seemed likely, a massive bug that probably outweighed him and his starter combined, dozing beneath a tree.

It was only after Regret's initial attack that they realized that bug, a scoliopede by the pokedex's list, was much, much stronger than Regret was. And the careful, deliberate training Xemnas had put the blitzle through since the first afternoon paid off almost immediately.

The scoliopede was stronger, and faster, but not more agile. Regret had been taught to use the terrain to every advantage she could possibly get, and allowing the towering insect to smash into trees and rocks and slide on damp grass instead of impacting the nimble little electric zebra, did half her work for her. All Xemnas had to do was find, and then direct his pokemon to each new safe location, and remind her when a plum opportunity to strike back in a fiery charge was there.

Twenty minutes.

Just long enough for a severely disadvantaged blitzle to wittle down a scoliopede twice her level and lock it inside the one of the pokeballs he was given.

After the contest, with his freshly caught bug turned over to the contest's judges (he had no desire at all to have a bug on his team, they were much too fragile; too many weaknesses and not enough strengths), and in the company of a freshly evolved but battered-looking zebstrika still wearing the black and silver collar he'd made, it was time... to freeload a bit.

Because there's free refreshments, he was getting tired of sandwiches, and Regret had earned herself several veggie burgers neatly stacked on a plate and left for her. He still has his bug hat on, however.

Maybe he's forgotten about it.]