A symptom of Akrasia (HC Nuzlocke Lore thread)

[akrasia]

a·kra·sia
The state of mind in which someone acts against their better judgement through weakness of will.

Here i'm going to be documenting the lore of my Renegade Platinum HC Nuzlocke!

Setting​

This story takes place in Sinnoh with Circa 2008 technology/fashion/etc.. That's all I have right now i'll edit this if anything more substantial.

Characters​

Aveline Cerenaux - Aveline is the protagonist of this story, and what a life she has had. When she was 3 years old her mother disappeared leaving her to be raised by her dad alone. He did his best, but she always felt like a part of her was missing and he had to rebuild his life from the ground up. She decided to stick around with her dad until her 18th birthday, wanting to make sure that he wouldn't worry too much about her when she started her journey. Her goal is to find her mom, to figure out why she left and maybe just maybe bring her home. For someone who self-isolated from her peers growing up, she's shockingly charismatic and seemingly knows just the right thing to say to someone to get them to open up to her. In spite of this though, there is a pervasive coldness to her demeanor that only gets noticed after someone opens up.

Juneau Cerenaux - Juneau is a man who desperately wants to do right by his daughter. After ■■■■ was gone without a trace, he spiraled into a pretty dark place despite his best efforts. The one thing that kept him going was Aveline, his bundle of joy and the light of his life. He never let himself grieve, leaving himself a lot of unresolved feelings that developed into an over protection of Aveline and someone who at every turn avoids conflict or even the risk of danger. In spite of that though, he was as good of a father as he could have been to his princess. He's a bit of a cowardly man, jumping at his own shadow and trying desperately to just do what he thinks is right while not actively challenging himself to put in the effort that may be required for it.

​

 

[akrasia]

Prelude - Eterna Wildlife Assoc.​

Song of the Chapter

Aveline hugged her father tightly, a rare show of genuine warmth from the girl as this was the last day for who knows how long she would see her pops. It was a lot, if she was being honest with herself. Aveline had always told herself that she would find her mom when she was old enough to go on her adventure, but it didn't quite feel real now that she had the freedom and ability to do so. "I promise I'll text you every day old man just so you don't worry, ok?" She tried to reassure, taking a deep breath as she pulled away from the hug.

Juneau was trying to be strong about this, but in all 15 years since his wife went missing he hadn't allowed himself to heal. The wound that her void left was still raw, and now the one person who was his lifeline throughout all of this was leaving to go on her own grand adventure. Tears began to well up in the corners of his eyes as he looked at his little girl, not so little anymore, preparing herself to face the world. He was so deeply proud of her, hugging her against for just a moment before pulling himself away. "Thank you for that the texts will be such a weight off my chest. I'm so proud of you my little princess, you're going to do so well I know it! Now uh, get going because if you stick around much longer I'll start balling my eyes out and I don't think either one of us wants to have that happen haha..." He tried to joke, giving her the metaphorical push out of the nest that all parents would have to do at one point or another.

Aveline chuckled to help ease her father's anxiety, nodding at his suggestion and walking out of her front door and into the world. Her heart beat a bit faster as she had one last stop until she could truly head out into the world, Professor Rowan's lab. She knew it would take maybe an hour and a half with public transport to get there from her home in Eterna City which wasn't that bad all things considered, but she'd rather get out there bright and early. So, she took a seat at the regional rail station and waited for the next train. It was an uneventful trip from Eterna to Jubilife, and from there it was a 20 minute walk south through route 202 and she had arrived in Sandgem town. She had quite a few memories of this place, her father used to stop here all the time and bring her along for some father daughter bonding time while he was working. She had always thought that one day she might move to this town when she was little, but as she grew she realized just how small the town felt compared to Eterna city.

But she wanted to take a moment to appreciate a place that had long been special to her. Entering route 201 she went west, wanting to sit at the shore of Lake Verity to enjoy it and make a wish in private as she had done every year on her birthday for as long as she could remember. It was a special ritual to her, one she developed after her father told her of the stories of the lake spirits, and one that she chose to believe in. It was a short stroll along an old cobble path that she had grown familiar with, the lake was the place she would sit and keep herself centered at. It was the place she would go if she needed a break from the world. It was sacred to her, and as she passed through the tree line and saw a woman standing at the shore her heart sank. An unfamiliar variable, one that she found herself staring at frozen in place. Then it clicked, that was her mom. Mom was back! Aveline nearly squealed, as she began to run towards the figure she felt the ground beneath her shift. The world began to slowly melt away with each step she took.

Trees fell into the void. The water began to flow up into the sky that was now an inky blue. The ground fell apart and into the void. Islands of sand were all that existed on her path now, ones that she would need to leap between if she wanted a chance at moving ahead. Aveline wanted to throw up from the sudden adjustment of her surroundings, this wasn't right but she needed to get to her mom. She would have all the answers right? On the largest island of sand, her mother stood looking out into what is now a waterfall instead of the calm lake's water. As Aveline began to prepare herself to make the jump towards the next floating chunk, it began to float towards her. Colliding with the isle of sand she was on knocked Aveline off balance badly enough she nearly was knocked over into the abyss below. Regaining her footing, Aveline watched as all of the once independent sand islands became a bridge connecting her and her mother. It was the chance of a lifetime that she didn't waste, sprinting as fast as she could across the sand to her mom.

The woman's chocolate colored hair that draped across her shoulders seemed dull with the lack of any direct light source, but that didn't take away from the comfort that she exuded. She dressed down with a simple yellow cardigan over a purple top and a tan skirt that ended just past her knees. On her other side was a satchel bag, matching the design and make of the one that Aveline herself wore. She looked comfortable, like she had just been pulled from home on a lazy weekend afternoon and into this place. ■■■■ had aged in the decade and a half since her daughter had last seen her, but there was still something off the longer Aveline stared. Was it about the way her mother stood with her feet together like she was a mannequin? The way her hair looked a shade lighter than what Aveline saw in the pictures? The way that ■■■■'s smile seemed to have to be adjusted for a moment because it just didn't sit right on her face? Whatever it was, something wasn't right and Aveline could tell it immediately. "Aveline? Is that you honey!?" Her mother spoke, that wrongness that had sent off every possible alarm bell in her head was gone. "Do you recognize me? Its me, your mom!" She continued, her arms outstretched for a hug.

Aveline couldn't move, her legs wouldn't let her in this moment. This was all too much, her head felt light and her hands were shaking but it was her! It really was her mom in the flesh! It was all too much to handle, and only now did the reality of the space around her changing hit in full force. She had to believe this is the way that Mesprit would grant her wish. The one wish that she had begged the Lake Spirit to grant ever since she she could remember on every birthday, to be reunited with her mother. "Mom I've been dreaming of this day for so long, Dad and I have missed you so much! But Dad mostly... he hasn't ever been the same since you left but he's waited for you every day. Come back home, please?" She explained and pleaded, shuffling slowly towards her mother she was unsure if this was a dream. When she finally was within arms reach, Aveline clung to her mother like a small child whose parent had just returned from a week long business trip.

■■■■ pulled Aveline into a side hug, digging around in the bag that hung across her body and produced a strange object. It was yellow and seemingly carved in such a way that the edges of the thing were pointed, with the space between them sunken inwards. It was like nothing that Aveline had ever seen before, and as she was about to ask about it her mother spoke. "Honey you have no idea how badly I want to go back home. But there's something I have to do, one last task to finish and I need your help for it. Will you do it for me, no for us? Don't you want us to be a family again?" ■■■■ spoke, a gentleness and warmth in her voice that just made Aveline want to say yes without hesitation.

"Why would you need my help? It's been so long and we haven't heard anything from you and now you hand me an... whatever this thing is and you want me to help?" Aveline asks, almost incredulously before taking a deep breath and grabbing the item. "I'm sorry this is just a lot. If you can just tell me why you need my help now of all times, I'll do it." She continued, moving the hair out of her face as she looked up at her mom expectantly. She almost felt used, after all her mom had disappeared for 15 years and now upon reuniting she was being tasked with something!? No 'how are you?' or 'look how big you've grown!', just an ask to do something for the woman that had disappeared into thin air.

"Ah. Well there's quite a difficult woman by the name of Cynthia who has been coming too close to the truth of things. I really do dread what may become of her if she unravels it all." Her mother explains, "And I promise, once it's all said and done I'll tell you where I am. You can come find me with your father, and we'll be one big happy family again. I promise" She continued, looking directly into Aveline's eyes. Aveline didn't need to speak, as she nodded in response to her mother's words cautiously. Thinking it was her turn to speak Aveline opened her mouth, but stopped as she was thrown to the ground as the figure that took the form of her mother began to melt. Like clay being shorn from a scrapped project, the motherly figure no longer existed. In her place was a shadow towering over the size of any mere human. A shadow with two red dots in the place of eyes, and six crimson claws in its center.

A confirmation of agreement. A contract signed. A deal struck.

∀ʌǝlᴉuǝ xuanereC
Aveline Cerenaux
˙sɯɹǝʇ ɹno oʇ pǝǝɹƃɐ ǝʌɐɥ no⅄
.smret ruo ot deerga evah uoY
You have agreed to our terms.
pǝlɐǝs uǝǝq sɐɥ ʇɔɐɹʇuoɔ ∀
delaes neeb sah tcartnoc A
A contract has been sealed.
⅄on ʍᴉll uoʇ qǝ ɟɹǝǝ oɟ ʇɥᴉs ɔouʇɹɐɔʇ nuʇᴉl ᴉʇ ᴉs ɟnlɟᴉllǝp˙ ⅄on ʍᴉll uoʇ qǝ ɐlloʍǝp ʇo ɟoɹƃǝʇ ʇɥᴉs ɟɐɔʇ˙
.tcaf siht tegrof ot dewolla eb ton lliw uoY .dellifluf si ti litnu tcartnoc siht fo eerf eb ton lliw uoY
You will not be free of this contract until it is fulfilled. You will not be allowed to forget this fact.

To call it a voice would be incorrect, as the words of this entity seemingly boomed within Aveline's mind. Her eyes strained trying to see the form of whatever was speaking to her, what had just deceived her and sealed her into a contract that she had no intention of participating in. But she wasn't able to question, or even blink twice before the world returned to it's correct state violently. The trees that had fallen erupted from the void and took their proper places, the sand islands exploded out into the beach, and the water flowing into the sky crashed back down into the quiet form of a lake. All was as it should be once more. The one remnant that remained of the encounter was that spiny object that rested in Aveline's hands. There, where her mother was standing, was a man with blue hair and an impeccably tailored outfit who had begun to walk towards her. As he passed, she watched his steely eyes fixate on the orb she was holding before he disappeared into the tree line.

To say she was shaken would be an understatement, as after waiting for a few moments Aveline fell to her knees and began to sob. She had been played and found herself a pawn to some force she hadn't the slightest clue how to identify. She stayed like that for a while, trying to process what she had just been through as the water lapped at the sand softly and her tears mixed with the lake water. Aveline wasn't sure how long she had been there when she was finally able to pull herself back together, even if eventually she found the strength to return to her own two feet. She was shaken to the core, having seen something no human should ever see, and to cope she steeled herself and tried to seal away that memory. She returned to Sandgem town, her steps heavy and slow like a statue that had learned how to move on its own. She finally stopped in front of the Professor's lab. She knew she had to put on a brave face no matter how hard it would be, and with a deep breath she began to approach the door.

The door swung open as she went to grab the handle, a boy in a hurry slamming right into her, knocking them both down. "O-oh sorry about this miss!" He explained, clearly distracted as he rushed to get back up and ensure whatever was in the bag he was holding was unharmed before offering his hand to Aveline. She took it and was hoisted back up as he spoke again "Sorry again but I gotta get this delivery out before the Jubilife PokéMart closes!" The boy expressed as he got his bike off of a nearby rack and started riding north.

She had been drained from the events that had freshly transpired so thoroughly she couldn't even muster up the energy to get annoyed at him. Aveline wanted to sleep, so very badly in this moment but she needed a starter if she was going to start her journey. Deciding to get a room at the Pokémon center after this, Aveline quietly entered the lab. She saw a familiar sight, an older man putting out food for three pokémon. He seemed to light up when he saw her. "Ah hello miss Aveline, how are we doing today?" He questioned, a smile crossing the old mans face as he looked at the girl he had watched grow up with his own two eyes was finally standing here to start her adventure.

"I should be excited but uhm... something happened that has me a bit shaken up, if I'm being honest" She answered quietly, approaching him and by extension her choices. "But I have an important decision to make, with these little guys professor so I can't be too down." She resolved herself, scratching her arm as she did so as if she was embarrassed to be in such a mood on what many would consider a special day. But she forced a smile, doing her best not to spiral into something deeper and darker and just appreciate the moment.

"I'm very sorry to hear that young Miss, but worry not! These three are as sweet as can be, they'll cheer you up!" The professor spoke, doing his best to keep her spirits up as he watched that smile be forced. He felt pity on her, having grown fond of a colleagues daughter over the years meant that he viewed her as if she were his own granddaughter. As the three pokémon finished their meal, all three turned their attention to Aveline. Two of them, Chimchar and Turtwig immediately bounded towards her with nothing but pure excitement as they greeted the guest that entered unnoticed to them. Piplup however, stuck by Professor Rowan's legs and went so far as to hide behind the old man. The cloud that hung over her seemed to dissipate, as the two nudged heads at each of her legs demanding pets and her attention. A small chuckle escaped her lips as she pet them accordingly, making sure that they would be sated with the attention that they so clearly craved.

"Is it possible to have both of them? I understand it's not normal to have two starters but I don't know if I have it in me to break one of their tiny hearts" Aveline asked, gushing a bit as both Chimchar and Turtwig vocalized their joy at being pet. Kneeling down Aveline couldn't help herself but to find them deeply cute, immediately finding herself needing to protect the two sweetest little things she had ever met. Not even her father's Eevee was this affectionate to strangers, something that was honestly an impressive feat with how much of a lap-mon it had become over the years.

Rowan hesitated for a moment. He wanted to say no, it was procedure not to give a single trainer two starter pokémon, but he recognized how fast they seemed to disarm her. "Mmm Miss Aveline, as long as you don't tell another soul that I let you have two starters and claim that you found one of them in the wild then who am I to deny you what's bringing you so much joy in your time of need!" He answered, feeling a sense of almost grandfatherly pride at how her face lit up at his words. "There is one condition though... you must name them right here right now" He declared, as he kneeled down to pet the Piplup that remained by his side while the other two claimed Aveline.

"Thank you so much professor! I think I will name mister Chimchar over here Napster, and mister Turtwig will be Limewire" She explained, giving them special attention as she named them. Aveline felt her heart was heavy, but as she looked up to the professor with a smile across his lips and her two new pokemon, she couldn't help but to feel that maybe. Just maybe. Things would be alright.

 

[akrasia]

The rules for the run are as follows:
1. can only catch the first pokemon encountered on a route
2. must nickname pokemon
3. any pokemon that have been knocked out cannot be used for the remainder of the run until the elite 4 has been completed
4. items cannot be used in battle
5. if a whole party wipe occurs the run is deemed a failure and must be restarted
6. the highest level a pokemon may be is until the next unique trainer battle (rival fight, galactic admin, gym leader, etc.)
7. in game trades are allowed and count as the encounter for that location
8. HM slaves are allowed because this is already hard enough i do NOT need to teach hms to combat-viable pokemon



So I started on the run to get a little bit ahead for planning the story out since i wanted a bit of a break from writing/editing that beast of a prelude, so i'll give a bit of a quick recap for the encounters I got from start to gym 1 being beaten

Starter: Napster the Chimchar
Twinleaf town: Mozilla the Eevee
Route 201: Reuters the Bidoof
Lake Verity: Twitter the Starly
Sandgem Town: Limewire the Turtwig
Route 202: Comcast the Shinx
Jubilife CIty: FijiWater the Squirtle, Starboard the Cleffa
Route 204: Corolla the Bellsprout
Ravaged Path: Trello the Zubat
Route 203: Runescape the Lotad
Oreburgh Gate: Diglett that was crit
Oreburgh City: Geoguessr the Beldum
Route 207: SpeedRacer the Ponyta
Oreburgh Mine: Grotto the Trapinch

Something to note is that I take the squirtle and the egg from jubilife since to me, the egg is a gift pokemon that is random, unlike the kanto starter that can be given that you know you will get so you can only pick 1 of the three to keep. Thats why in oreburgh i chose the beldum over the johto starters. A bit strange decisionmaking wise but im happy with it.

Going into the first actual rival fight, i went in with the team of Comcast, FijiWater, Mozilla, Corolla, Limewire, and Reuters. Comcast was there to OKO barry's starly with spark before baiting munchlax. Because the starly didn't really do much to comcast, I kept him in to spark munchlax which actually got the super potion used which was very very nice, but i needed to swap to mozilla for a covet to chip before swapping to FijiWater to do a bit more chip with bubble, before swapping into reuters to finish the job with headbutt. Rock Tomb is a really rough move to deal with at level 11 as it turns out. From there I just swapped into Limewire to razor leaf barry's piplup and it was a deathless fight!

Roark is... not so clean. To be honest, the craniados with zen headbutt is real nasty on top of the larvitar. To be honest he's just a scary first gym imo, so I spent a bit of time calcing and trying to come up with as safe of a line as possible. The team I ended up on was Limewire, Runescape, Geoguessr, Grotto, Reuters, and Napster. Limewire was given a miracle seed which let it bulldoze through half of Roark's team up until Craniados was baited (nosepass, geodude, and onyx). This is where things got dicey, Limewire had enough health to bullet seed and proc the oran berry that it had before getting hit with a nasty rock tomb for 60% of it's health. I brought out Geoguessr next, which tanked a thunder punch before finishing the job with iron head. Then larvitar came out, which is another very scary mon to deal with. I chose to swap into bibarel to tank a bulldoze and OKO with aqua jet. Now it's just down to bonsley and things go downhill. First the issue of brick break existing meaning that if i make a move I would lose bibarel which im not to keen on because priority moves are precious. So i swapped into lombre which could tank it and recover with mega drain right? Wrong. I forgot that it had a Rindo Berry, meaning that mega drain that would let it tank a hit with comfort means that it gets nothing. Then, another shock to me is that the bonsly chose to rollout. BAM crit for 54% of lombre's health. That's a problem now, and swapping in on rollout is begging for more deaths. Unfortunately I don't know what I could have done in that situation given how volatile it was, but I think I played to the best of my abilities. honestly it could be worse though, so we'll see where the cheryl fight before eterna, mt. coronet, and gardenia leave me. I'm def nervous but not much can be done other than balling and going forward best I can.