of pocket monsters and snowmen [mod]

[SHIROGANE HARU]

The little round pokemon was completely in its element. Bumbling along through snow that stood a good several inches taller than itself, the spheal made way like a lawnmower. Its thick layer of blubber kept the ice-type well insulated from the cold. Although at the moment it was not snowing, mountains of frost covered the area so that the circular explorer could not see more than a couple feet ahead. Chirping importantly, it bulked up the muscles in its stubby fins and prepared to turn around and head back to its waiting master, when the branch of an evergreen overhead gave way, sending a mass of snow plopping onto the seal pokemon's head. The creature let out a muffled noise of surprise and began to try tunneling its way out. Before it could, however, a pair of hands inserted themselves in the snowdrift and plucked the little pokemon from its predicament. "And here I was, thinking you might've wandered off too far. Having fun being a snowman?" The globular pokemon made puppy-dog eyes as it recognized its trainer's fine white hair and amused smirk. With a chirp of appreciation and affection, the spheal snuggled its furry blue head against the human's chin, shaking snow into the man's clothing as it did so. "Cold!" Its trainer hissed, but did not otherwise appear to react, simply shifting the spheal to one arm while he used the other to shake his heavy coat loose of the flakes. "You're quite mischievous, aren't you?" He tsked, sucking his teeth and causing the spheal to blink back obliviously. "Nevermind then." The human hummed, setting the little ice-type back down. "Did you find anything Phinn?" The pokemon hopped onto its trainer's snowboot, catching a ride as the man began to walk across the blanketed field. Although Phineas loved his master deeply, Haru was not as popular with the other humans. The spheal was not sure why, as his trainer was as gentle with him as a son to a father. Still, in a way, it had its perks. That meant he had more of Haru for himself! The fact that the white-haired man did not get along well with other humans allowed pokemon and trainer to go off on strolls like this, away from the bustle of the city. Phineas garbled unintelligibly, trying to express how much fun he was having as his trainer gave him a free ride through the snow. MADE BY KIROUKO OF GANGNAM-STYLE

[♠ Kuroya ♥]

A HOLIDAY POKEMON HAS APPEARED!

STARYU WATER GENDERLESS ILLUMINATE LEVEL 12 TACKLE HARDEN WATER GUN RAPID SPIN RECOVER -- -- --

The Staryu was bored. And when it got bored, usually bad things happened. It had been the same ever since it was newly hatched - it would get bored and something bad would happen. That was why its parent had kicked it out of the nest within a few days. It had been responsible for one of its siblings to get a large part of a rock wall to fall onto the both of them, and since it had been the one that was the least hurt, not to mention the perpetrator, it had been the one to go. Not that it cared. This just gave it an opportunity to have some fun on a bigger audience. Thankfully, its body was pretty hard, so despite the cold of the snow making itself known against his limbs as he plowed through the drifts, it wasn't really something that bothered it. If it wanted to, it could even spin himself up out of the snow and get around that way, but it didn't feel like it. Instead, it paused at the sight of a human with a Spheal riding on his leg, and then its little jewel of an eye gleamed once with the conception of an idea. It was going to play a prank on them. Carefully, ever so carefully, it crept through the snow towards them both, and then, when it felt that it was close enough, it poked one of its points up through the snow and shot a Water Gun straight for them. This was going to be its best prank yet!

[SHIROGANE HARU]

"Is that so?" Haru chuckled, amused by the spheal's endearing if not incomprehensible speech. Anyone who knew Haru would find the man's current mood of pleasantry awfully disturbing. He was not known for his affectionate nature, and in reality, the little blue pokemon appeared to be the only exception to his otherwise unrelenting criticism. It was difficult to imagine such a hated human being loving anything but himself. And yet the world was full of miracles. Phineas garbled on, chewing away at the fabric of his trainer's boots with pointed fangs. When the water gun came out of nowhere, it took the spheal by surprise, just as it did Haru. The well-timed attack hit the white-haired man straight in the face. It was so unexpected and the water so sharply cold against the frigid winter air that the impact sent a painful wave of prickles across Haru's skin, his mouth opening to gasp in surprise; it was promptly filled with water as a result. "Phineas!" The man finally shouted once the pressure of the spray had died. Haru's entire upper body was soaked, and he had unceremoniously staggered forward in the snow, sending his pokemon diving off to the side to avoid being flung into the nearest tree. The spheal responded instantly to his trainer's call. Despite being just as alarmed as Haru, the pokemon quickly prepared itself for whatever means necessary to defend its beloved human. "SPHEEE!" Phineas chirped in ferocious determination, firing a WATER GUN of his own in the direction that the attack had come from. MADE BY KIROUKO OF GANGNAM-STYLE

[♠ Kuroya ♥]

A HOLIDAY POKEMON HAS APPEARED!

STARYU WATER GENDERLESS ILLUMINATE LEVEL 12 TACKLE HARDEN WATER GUN RAPID SPIN RECOVER -- -- --

Direct hit, and right to the face too! Or at least the Staryu thought it was a face. Considering that it didn't have a face itself, or much or anything to be entirely honest, it usually got body parts mixed up. Never mind that humans were so complicated, what with their size and their extra limbs and their stupid opposable pinkies. Either way though, the Water-type had pulled off its prank, and it was quite proud of itself. Proud enough to spin around quickly, flicking the snow off of its body and then hovering into the air slightly. Big mistake. By underestimating its opponents, the Staryu opened itself right up to getting hit with a Water Gun right in the jewel, and the star-shaped Pokemon fell back in the air, spin faltering for a moment, but that was all the time it needed to lose the lift that it had and go tumbling back towards the earth. The Water-type lay there for a moment trying to catch its breath before huffing and spinning its arms rapidly to pick itself back up again. It would fight back, but that would involve getting back up in the air again, and that would take quite a bit of momentum and speed. This was not likely going to end well.

[SHIROGANE HARU]

Although Haru's brow twitched in smug satisfaction as the wild pokemon took a direct hit, at the same time, he was taking quick note of the situation. A staryu, huh? The man recalled the last time he had seen one in the flesh. It had been in a large fish tank, one of a series of aquatic displays used to decorate his old corporate office. For the first time, he wondered what had become of all those pokemon when his building was burned down. "Phineas, use DEFENSE CURL." He commanded, taking advantage of the wild pokemon's momentary lapse in order to give his spheal a better fighting chance. The only offensive moves the little blue pokemon knew were weak against an opponent like staryu. If he didn't heighten Phineas's defenses, the spheal would weaken much faster than the starfish. The seal pokemon was chirping triumphantly, proud that its attack had hit its mark. It reminded itself that this was a battle though, and quickly followed Haru's orders, curling into itself and increasing its defensive stats. Despite doing the dirty work in most fights, the ice-type lacked the battle experience necessary to call any of the shots in a real brawl. Phineas was, to put it kindly, not very good at figuring out what to do. Worst case scenario, if the pokemon lost, Haru could always step in and take over. It didn't take a genius to realize that the silver-haired man was very much the kind to hold grudges. "Once more," Haru issued, and the spheal obediently initiated another DEFENSE CURL in preparation for the staryu's counterattack. MADE BY KIROUKO OF GANGNAM-STYLE

[♠ Kuroya ♥]

A HOLIDAY POKEMON HAS APPEARED!

STARYU WATER GENDERLESS ILLUMINATE LEVEL 12 TACKLE HARDEN WATER GUN RAPID SPIN RECOVER -- -- --

The Staryu managed to get spinning again with some effort, rising up into the air once more with its limbs all working, and for a moment, it wondered why it had managed to do that lift quite so easily before it paused to realize what had happened. Obviously the spherical Pokemon was building up its defense so that it wouldn't take quite as much damage. The Water-type's arms spun a little faster, irritated with itself for giving the other Pokemon the time to do such a thing. This was supposed to be something quick, but instead, it was turning into something longer, something meaner, something more drawn-out. This was combat at its finest, not something that the Staryu was used to but definitely something that it could get used to if given the chance. It had heard about how to fight and all that kind of aspect of battling, but it had only used the abilities for pranks before, not an actual battle. Still, that looked like it was about to change. Deciding to disorient the Spheal, the Pokemon spun its arms faster and faster, almost as if it was preparing to lunge for the Spheal, but instead, a spray of water shot out of its center, a Water Gun that was intended to smack it right in the face with as much pressure as it could muster.

[SHIROGANE HARU]

With the added buff to Phineas's defenses, Haru wasn't worried (at least at the moment) about the staryu going on the offensive. If it did, the spheal had plenty of coverage in the snow and could easily dodge. The man's only remaining concern rested on how long it would take to defeat the pokemon, considering the type resistance. "Go on, kid. Try another water gun." Haru adjusted his scarf as he gave the order, and the spheal complied without hesitation. There was no doubt the furry little dual-type would die for its trainer if asked to. However, before the pokemon could release an attack, the stary had sprung to action. Round and around it spun, its five points blurring into a spiral of indistinguishable movement. The spheal tried to focus, but every time it locked on, it merely became confused by the constant swirling motion. Before Phineas could release his attack, a sudden jet of water was headed his way. "Phineas!" Haru snapped, and the pokemon rolled sideways just in time, the water gun striking the snow just inches away from its fins. As the spheal righted itself for a counter attack, it found the ground now difficult to stand on. The temperature was so low that the water from the staryu's attack had already solidified, now slippery and icy to the touch. "Careful," Haru warned, noticing the way the surface shined beneath the sun. "Think of how you can use this to your advantage." This was another thing about its trainer that the spheal liked. When they battled, it was not just for Haru's sake, but to help Phineas gain experience as well. Sometimes, like now, the white-haired human would let the spheal figure solutions out for itself. If anything went wrong, Haru would naturally step in before the pokemon could get too hurt, but there was always a freedom of expression that allowed the spheal to build its own strategies, too. "Spheal!" Phineas chirped, waddling backwards a bit, before taking a sudden dive on the ice and sliding towards the staryu at a rapid speed. It was an incredibly risky choice. Not only did the starfish have the size advantage, but Phineas didn't know any direct physical attacks. By getting in close, the spheal was putting itself directly in harm's way. Still, this was a chance the pokemon was willing to take, and Haru was the one who had allowed the spheal a choice. This was the one Phineas was making. Just before the path of ice ended, the spheal bounced into the air and sucked in an enormous breath that caused its belly to inflate. Then, with all the force it could muster, it released a WATER GUN right back at the staryu, shooting so hard that the counterforce would easily send the spheal flying if the attack made contact with its target. MADE BY KIROUKO OF GANGNAM-STYLE

[♠ Kuroya ♥]

A HOLIDAY POKEMON HAS APPEARED!

STARYU WATER GENDERLESS ILLUMINATE LEVEL 12 TACKLE HARDEN WATER GUN RAPID SPIN RECOVER -- -- --

The movement of those arms to keep the Staryu in the air seemed to confuse the poor Spheal, something that gave the Staryu the chance to shoot out the spray of water. It was only a shame that the cry of the human had been enough to send the Pokemon darting for cover, and that was something that had it feeling a sensation of some sort of disappointment going through it. Though the fact that the water had frozen to ice underneath the round seal made the Water-type a tad more interested in playing this through. Ice in the right spot could change a battle drastically, and it knew that, so it decided that that would have to do. Though this was something that confused it. It spun slower, curious as the Spheal scooted around on the ice, and then suddenly the dual type was shooting faster at it, and if it had a mouth, it would have been hanging. "Star!" the dual type cried, trying to spin its limbs quickly enough to dodge the water that shot right at it, but it wasn't quite fast enough, taking the blow across the ruby jewel in the center of its body. The Pokemon was catapulted backwards out of the air, its whole body aching from the collision with the snow, slowly trying to stumble back up to an upright position. It was slowly weakening - that blow had done quite a number on the Staryu, and it would be hard-pressed to try to maintain any sort of advantage - and the constant energy having to be expended to keep in the air were beginning to drain it as well. A large part of it just wanted to give up, but it got to standing on two limbs anyway. Let it never be said that a Staryu gave up at the first sign of defeat. Instead, it merely gathered up its strength, limbs curling inwards slightly as its body glowed with a slight Recover, hoping to get back some of the energy it would need to continue the fight. Things could still go either way, it just had to play its cards right and not take another catastrophic hit like that again, otherwise it would be toast.

[SHIROGANE HARU]

A perfect hit, and Haru couldn't be prouder. Although his usual composure kept him from exploding into spontaneous celebration, he did meet the spheal's look for reassurance with a small smile. "It's not over yet, though." He concluded, and Phineas turned back to face the staryu, surprised that the water-type still had the strength to stand. "Spheal spheal!" The chubby blue creature challenged, eyes narrowed in determination as it faced the starfish once more. No matter the circumstances, he had always been taught by Haru to never let his guard down. Just when you thought you'd won a battle, the opponent could come flying back with a vengeance. Haru himself could see that the staryu was trying to heal itself. Although impressed by the creature's willpower, it was a foolish move. There was no chance for it to win. It would have been better off laying in the snow where it belonged. "Finish it off, Phineas." A dismissing wave of his hand, and Haru had stopped paying attention to the fight, pale eyes trained on the hills that trailed off into the distance, shrouded by clouds and snow. It was a haunting mixture of gray and white, and he wondered if any human being had ever set foot on them. With not quite the same degree of callousness as his master, the spheal puffed itself up once again. He refused to be deterred by the staryu's persistency. A summoning of strength and a moment to aim, and the spheal had shot another WATER GUN in the enemy's direction, followed sharply by a POWDER SNOW that left Phineas breathless from the tiresome effect of such a rapid combo. His pokemon species was not a naturally fast one, and Haru was always training Phineas to up his stamina. The spheal tried hard, but even then the path to perfection was a long and never-ending one. MADE BY KIROUKO OF GANGNAM-STYLE