Cobalt wanted to practice on his weapon but he has not even mastered the first move. He looked around the dojo to look for Master Karashi to get his weapons so he could practice.
About 2-3 minutes later, Marissa found something sparkling being held by what looked like a bull from afar. The girl carefully took her aim and shot her arrow. (Welp, I'm not sure how to describe an orb seen from afar, haha. )
@Ignem (what kind of weapon does he want?) @Kittimancy "Nicely done." Master Karashi smiled when he saw the shattered orb in between the Tauros' horns. "Let's move on to the Raikou..."
On the way to the Raikou statue, Marissa noticed that Master Karashi was about to step on a clump of white flowers. Fearing that it could be yet another Alolan Vulpix, Marissa warned him, "Sensei, watch out!" And seems like her warning was loud enough to startle the white Vulpix. (I'm leaving Master Karashi's reaction up to Wave.)
@Kittimancy "What is it?" Master Karashi asked, stopping as soon as he heard Marissa's cry of alarm. He then noticed the Alolan Vulpix. "Well hello! What brings you out here?"
"I think this fella is simply lost," Marissa explained to Master Karashi. "You see, I met this breeder named Kaimana who's looking for her lost Alolan Vulpix scattered all across the island. 151 in total, if I remember correctly." She then crouched down to the surprised Vulpix and softly said, "Sorry about that, bud. Kaimana's looking for you." Sniper nodded in agreement even though he wasn't there when Marissa met Kaimana back then.
@Kittimancy The Alolan Vulpix nodded, and hurried off. "Your kindness will not go unrewarded." Master Karashi smiled. (I believe that was five...so your first doll will be delivered to the dojo....)
(Were the other two found off-screen? I only remember three ._. ) Marissa only smiled as she saw the white Vulpix running off. To be honest though, she kinda expected a "That's a lot..." or something as a reaction to her story about Kaimana's 151 baby Vulpix earlier.
@Kittimancy Before long, teacher and student arrived at a bridge overlooking some plains and cliffs. "While Raikou often prowls the cliffs, sometimes he comes to the plains..." Master Karashi explained--a subtle hint to the target's location.
The... what??? Confusion ensued upon hearing Master Karashi's hint. Plains? Cliffs? Which one was it again?
And then Marissa sweatdropped because some sort of realization hit her: she hadn't ever seen Raikou, Arbok, Infernape, Combusken, and Emboar as Pokémon before, nor she had any slightest idea about how they even look like.
@Kittimancy Something yellow glinting by a tree got Marissa's attention--a statue of a Raikou! The beautiful tiger Pokémon held a clear iridescent orb in its paws--an irresistible target to an archer of any level. @Ignem "Here you go..." Master Mitsu offered Cobalt a pair of elegant black twinblades with blue edges. "These are the Black Ice Blades--their ability to freeze what you strike will come in handy for this trial."
@Kittimancy The wind, however, made the arrow miss the orb by going slightly off to the left. "It's okay--let's try again." Master Karashi assured her.
Sighing in annoyance as it was her first miss in the trial, Marissa couldn't help but to wonder why her arrow missed... only to realize it when she felt her braided hair being blown by the wind. This sure is a strong wind, aight. "Hey Sniper, can you raise your scarf for a moment, please?" she asked her Inteleon with "your scarf" referring to the Silk Scarf he had been wearing -- the very same one that gives normal-type attacks more oomph. Of course, Sniper complied albeit with a "Huh? Sure" attitude. With the raised scarf as her guide, Marissa took her aim once more, this time slightly off to the right.
@Kittimancy This time, the arrow struck true, shattering the orb! "Well done--don't let the weather frustrate you." Master Karashi assured Marissa. "Remember to take the wind into account when aiming. He pointed out another bridge in the distance. "To reach Buneary, we have to aim from a bridge."
"Yay~" the redhead girl cheered as her second arrow on the Raikou statue hit the intended target. The prospect of overcoming a failure sure is more satisfying than managing to do the thing on the first try, after all.