Showgan -- Standing On Edge (Invitational)

[Alter Ego]

Right'o. As the title states, this RP is invitational, meaning that you are only allowed to participate if you've recieved a personal invite from me although everyone is of course free to read. As such, I already know your RPing skills so a sample will not be necessary. This RP will start as soon as we have the profiles of all involved, which should be either Monday or Tuesday.

Plot:

In ages past, when humans had only begun their ascent towards the dominant position they hold today, an ancient and mythical being remembered only as the Lifebringer grew tired of the greedy and selfish ways of the humans encroaching on her home, abandoning her nesting place in Hoenn and setting of towards new lands in search of a place where she would be beyond the reach of the corruptive ways that 'civilization' seemed to entail. Alas, she soon came to discover that there was no such place to be found. The human populace had already spread itself across every continent, and wherever the Lifegiver tried to hide, the hunters would come, those who sought to use her powers to their own selfish ends.

Finally, the Lifegiver came to the conclusion that if there ever was to be a sanctuary in which she would be safe from the corruption of the world she would have to create one herself. Calling upon every last ounce of power in her body, she summoned up a massive continent from the seas, filling it with verdant plantlife and creating a veritable utopia. Pleased with her handiwork and desiring company, the Lifegiver then called out for all the opressed pokémon of the world to join her, soon forming an efficient ecosystem on the young continent in which the laws of nature prevailed. Realizing that, despite her power, she couldn't keep humans from discovering her creation forever, the Lifegiver decided to settle for a compromise. Hand-picking the humans she considered to be purest of heart and bringing them to the new continent, assigning them with the task of building up a pure civilization, one in which humans and pokémon would work together in harmony, as equals. Believing that they had been chosen by nothing short of an all-powerfull deity, the humans were quick to abide the Lifegiver's instructions, quickly settling across the new homeland which they named Showgan and often praising the Lifegiver with works of art and song.

Pleased that her chosen ones were performing their duties, but worried that they would get out of hand in her absence, the Lifegiver decided that only by leaving behind a reliable heir could she ensure that Showgan remained as it was meant to be.

And so, the Lifegiver called upon her powers once more, managing with considerable effort to procure an egg and watching over it for the whole hatching process- The egg yielded a surprise however; as the shell finally cracked it turned out that the Lifegiver had not only given birth to a child, she had given birth to twins; brother and sister.

The sister was a lithe and elegant creature, pink in colour with light blue eyes. This child came to embody the creative and youthfull side of the Lifegiver's personality as well as her love for nature and all things beautifull, she quickly began roaming the continent, a beautiful sight that seemed to inspire newfound creativity and joy in all who beheld her, the name of Mew quickly became known amongst the people of Showgan. This child was not without fault however, acting with a child's impulsiveness and lack of heed for the consequences of her actions, Mew often left behind scenes of unintentional destruction, soon proving to be far too unreliable an heir to be entrusted with the fate of a whole continent.

The brother stood in stark contrast to her sibling, light green in colour and moving in a careful and orderly manner, the only things that this child seemed to have in common with his sibling was his light blue eye colour and his love for nature. The child soon came to be known as Celebi, although only by those who payed close attention, for he seldom travelled beyond the verdant forests where he enjoyed dwelling. Celebi was by all means a far more peacefull and contemplative child, exhibiting wisdom far beyond his years; always acting with great consideration to the consequences his actions held for those around him and tirelessly working to preserve his mother's creation. Celebi often followed in his sister's wake, discreetly healing the damage that Mew's actions caused the land.

It soon became obvious that the two siblings could agree on very little and were thus incapable of efficiently watching over the continent together, so it fell to the Lifegiver to decide on her heir, and while the choice seemed clear and right she found herself hesiant to make it. While it was true that Celebi was by far better in conserving the state of the land, the Lifegiver could not help but notice that while the people were content under his rule, that was all that they were; content, but never truly excited, thrilled, or ecstatic, and Celebi failed to inspire the same kind of artistic and social achievements that Mew's often contradictory appearances sparked. Not wanting to deprive her people of either, the Lifegiver finally came to a decision; both siblings would take turns to rule. But to avoid turning they system predictable by just swapping between the two at regular intervals, the ruler of each year would be decided by the simplest unpredictable means possible; the toss of a coin. If the coin showed heads, Celebi would rule, keeping the people and lands safe and prosperous, and if the coin showed heads Mew would rule, allowing the people of Showgan to live to their fullest for both good and bad.

Having assigned the duty of tossing the coin to the most trusted of her humans, the Lifegiver finally layed herself to rest deep within the earth, dreaming contented dreams of the utopia she had created.

And so time passed; the memory of the Lifegiver fading to history, the history fading to legend, the legend fading to myth, and the words and laws she had left behind vanishing to the sands of time, the power of her children fading. Before long, Showgan became modernized, those who still maintained the old ways becoming ever fewer, and the yearly ceremony of the coin becoming viewed as little more than an amusing tradition, a tourist attraction and an excuse to start partying.

This year's ceremony, however, yeilded results that caused widespread panic and concern among those who still believed; as the oldest of the elders performed the ceremony, the ancient object did something that had never before been witnessed; it landed on edge, standing there in front of the gathered people in open defiance of the laws of physics. It did not matter how many times the coin was tossed, the result was always the same; this year, neither sibling would rule.

Although most dismissed this as mere coincidence and superstisious mumbo-jumbo, it is unquestionable that strange things are afoot in Showgan; scattered sightings of strange creatures roaming the countryside, heat waves, blizzards and thunderstorms appearing with little or no warning and dissapearing just as suddenly as they came, all seem to make both sides defend their views more stubbornly, although few know as the good people of the weather control facility have quite promptly informed the public that any information of such is confidential. What's more, a formerly fairly light-hearted criminal organization known as the Neon Knights, which has always held a reputation for upholding the rules of honour and good sportsmanship and has actually proven instrumental in keeping the more dangerous organizations like Team Rocket out of Showgan has suddenly taken a major turn for the worse; acting in a crule and ruthless manner, seemingly with the sole aim of creating as much profit and chaos as possible.

Regardless, even in these times there are young trainers eager to start of their careers and travel through Showgan in search of their goals; be it fame, fortune, power, knowledge, or just the thrill of the adventure itself. And of course, the gyms and countless trainers across the continent are quite happy to oblige.

Sign-up sheet (For reference purposes):

Name:
Gender:
Age:
Appearance:
Personality:
Pokémon: Only first-stage ones and no more than 2.
Other: (Please, don't use this field to tell intriciate backstories. I left out the 'history' field for the same reason, backstories should be revealed as the RP progresses.)

I will have my own up shortly, but my internet connection is being a real pain at the moment and I wouldn't want all this text to dissapear if it crashes.

[Random Plushie]

Name: Kayley Silph
Gender: Female
Age: 13

Appearance: She has long, chocolate brown hair that she always wears in a ponytail, rarely taking it down. While it’s in a ponytail, it falls down to her waist, meaning she has very long hair. Her eyes, however, are hazel in color, although for some reason they match her hair perfectly. Kayley is very tall for her age--5 feet, 10 inches, or 1.75 meters tall.

She wears a creamy-white hooded sweater, which she never seems to take off, unless it’s way too hot, which isn’t too often for her, since sometimes she seems immune to temperature. Underneath that is a pale, mint-green T-shirt that one rarely sees because she wears her sweater all the time. She also wears navy blue pants, not jeans, mind you.

To hold items, mostly gadgets from Silph Co., she wears a light brown sling bag.

Personality: This girl has a bit of a rounded personality. She is usually very friendly, and tries to be outgoing, although it certainly isn't her best trait. In fact, Kayley often withdraws into her own thoughts, so much in fact that she doesn't even know what's going on around her. In other words, Kayley can be very oblivious, often daydreaming about what could be and what could have been. Aside from that, she is fond of her Pokemon, and tends to spend more time with Fishy, though unconsiously.

Pokémon: Mudkip [Male] (Fishy), Ponyta [Female] (Razz)

Other:

There is one object that she carries with her at all times--never, ever leaving her side, besides her Pokemon. It is kept in a solid black case that looks somewhat like a briefcase, although more rectangular in shape.


....Kayley also has a strong bond with Fishy.. Much stronger than anyone would ever think. So deep, in fact, that she can understand his speech--but only his. Actually, even parts of Razz’ speech has become understandable to her. She can’t comprehend every word, but still.. She considers this talent perfectly normal.

But this must have a limit as well. Kayley can only begin to comprehend the speech patterns of Pokemon that she has been around for a long period of time.




Gawd, I typed up all that precious history for nothing?

..That's right. Half an hour. Sitting on my bed. Typing. For naught.

..Oh well.

[Alter Ego]

Gah >.< Forgot the personality and appearnace fields. Hang on...*Edits*

There. All better now...

[Random Plushie]

Otay. It's all good now. ^.~

*waits for Yibber*

[Alter Ego]

Stupid post-chache-whatever memory erasing meh sign-up. *Grumbles* This one had better get through...

Name: Raistlin LeBlaque ('Rai' for short, although he might introduce himself as something else. ^.~)
Gender: Male
Age: 14

Appearance: A tall and slender boy for his age, Rai has blonde hair, which is usually kept about shoulder length, light blue eyes and a fairly average complexion; not tanned but not pale either. As clothing goes, it tends to vary with the occasion, although when he's out on his 'adventures' he tends to wear a white shirt, black pants, and a pair of black shoes so as to not look to conspicious, although all of these clothes are, of course, made of the finest possible materials which quite easily give him away to anyone paying close attention.. He also carries a pendant which consists of a translucent, clear blue stone on a gold chain. This pendant is a family heirloom which he is very fond of, and quite often even wears, despite the risk of being recognized that it entails.

Personality: A kind and intelligent young man, Raistlin's personality has largely been shaped by his upper-class upbringing. Homeschooled since his early childhood and kept within the confines of his hometown for almost his entire life, Raistlin is still naive about the ways of the world, failing to understand that not everyone abides by the rules of honour and good manners. He always tries his best to be friendly and polite with everyone, no matter how rude they might act, believing that there is good in everyone if you just look deep enough and if he ever gets angry or frustrated with something he rarely lets it show, not wanting to burden others with his own concerns. Freedom is something that Raistlin values very highly, and as such, while he's more than happy to be friendly with everyone, he is reluctant to become too attached to people, an approach which has left him with very few, if any, true friends. Raistlin also dabbles in 'white lies', although only to help people or for harmless pranks and prefers to keep certain secrets from others around him. Having never experienced a failed scheeme, Raistlin is very confident in the success of whatever plans he concocts, with exception of one particular matter in which all of his confidence seems to dissipate. Overall, Raistlin tends to be a rather reckless young man and would probably already have met an untimely end, were it not for the aid of his ever-watchfull Scyther, Ashura.

Pokémon: Treecko [Male] (Chupon), Scyther [Female] (Ashura)

Other: Although he doesn't know it himself, Raistlin's family has a certain connection to the Neon Knights, one which could prove quite troublesome in the near future. He also has a fairly good understanding of what his pokémon are trying to tell him. Not a word-to-word one, but rather, an understanding of the fundamental message. Although he does get it wrong at times.

[Ibuberu]

No pressure the angel!
Geez,me sister was hogging the comp.XD

*stares at Titan accusingly*
Plushie,I also bothered to write up a History,and now its all down the drain.T_T
No matter.*evil glint*

Name-Jena Minane
Gender-Female
Age-14
Pokemon-Mudkip-Male(Cascade),Ralts-Female(Ryne)

Appearance-
Jena wears a normal shirt,the top of it is colored black,while the bottom is white in color.The girl wears a knee high shirt and long black pants underneath.Unlike most people,she wears an odd pair of boots rather than normal shoes.She wears black bands on her arms to hold her pokeballs.She carries a bag to keep all her possesions,which is secured loosely round her waist.The girl has dark blue eyes.Her hair falls to mid-back and is of a solid black color, her long,un-kept frinch has a tendency fall over her right eye now and again.

Personality-

Jena has a rather complex attitude,she helps when needed,does what she can and looks out for her pokemon.Friends too(If she had them that is…). While the girl can be talkative, she usually wuithdraws from any conversations she finds that she doesn't need to comment on. Them, being the topic of one's family, past, present, future hopes...
Though, Jena can also be good-tempered,never fussing over trivial matters,rarely getting angry at all. Usually never thinking twice or fretting on trying new things. Strong-willed on an overall basis, she can be independent at times,while needing help the next.She doesn’t want people to meddle with her life,not wanting to burden them. Mostly keeping quiet, being secretive, not wanting anyone to know about her background, secrets, thoughts or...her, simply.Thus, she decides to silence herself at certain points of time, telling herself never to get close to anyone. They could turn against her any moment, at any given time. She could do the same to them. And yet, at the same time, Jena never expects, not even a single thought, of anyone feeling for her.

Lastly, the girl lacks one important aspect-Self Confidence.

Other-Jena instead of being a pokemon trainer,hopes that one day,she can become a top Pokemon Coordinator,and participate in contests all around the reigon.Earning a name to herself, her pokemon and maybe even her family.
She doesn’t understand her pokemon by the tones of their growls and voices.Instead,she observes their movements.Well,she still barely understands,but loves them all the same!


Muaahahahahahahah…….Done…finally..
Yay!!!*runs screaming around thread*

[Fls4eva]

Name: Silver Winphe
Gender: Female
Age: 11

Appearance: Silver wears a pink colour biker's helmet over her hair which she never takes off.. She wears a creamy purple colour sleeveless shirt and three-quarter jeans most of the time.. Sometimes for a change, she replaces her jeans with a milky colour long skirt.. Is of the perfect height and weight for girls of her age..

Personality: Daring and has plenty of self-confidence.. Due to some stuff that happened to her when she was younger, she became temperamental.. She's a bit of an extrovert..

Pokémon: Swablu♂(Yuraki) and Bagon♂(Miruka)

Other: She trains herself really hard hoping to revenge her parents one day.. She's the one who opposes to the Neon Knights the most thinking that they were responsible for killing her parents when she was young...

[Light_Azumarill]

Yayness! Nah, AE, I'm alright to post on here. I'm sad but I find that getting my mind off of it and trying to have fun is good for me to do. ^-^

*sees a bunch of girls and one guy in the RP so far* Hm... gender bending time!!! ^___^


Name: Zachary

Gender: Male (OMG! I'm a guy!!)

Age: 13

Appearance: Zachary likes to keep things simple, so he usually wears some color of a T-shirt, and his trusty sweat-jacket over it. He keeps his jacket open unless it's particularly cold or raining. He wears a pair of jeans that look quite worn-in and has a pair of sunglasses (his most coveted possession! XD). His hair is a nice, short, fluffy light brown, and he has hazel eyes. He's pretty okay-looking, but nothing to drool over, and he certainly doesn't think of himself that way at all.

Personality: Zachary's a goof. He's always screwing things up too; not on purpose mind you, but on accident. He's highly accident-prone, and for this reason many people are afraid to give him things to handle. He's got a cheery personality, and is very carefree. He takes hard times quite well, and thinks of himself as lucky if he escapes danger alive. When it comes to thinking of himself, he doesn't like to. He's very modest, and gets shy quite easily when the conversation turns to himself. When people mess with his friends though, he gets really angry and protective. He has little respect for evil people, and people that get pleasure off of others' pain. His pokemon, Ron the Aron, is a pokemon that used to be owned by such a person, and if Zachary ever met up with that guy... things would not be pretty.

Pokémon: Aron (Ron) and he's male. Well, hopefully he is with the name 'Ron'.

Other: Um... why does everyone but Plushie have question marks after their pokemon?? O.o Nevermind! I'm a silly person. ^^

[Alter Ego]

Yay! Five sign-ups! Here's hoping that Charon-chan will get hers done tommmorrow. ^^

And tis' a good thing with the gender-bending. 4:2 is not a bad gender balance ratio, but 1:5? Erm, that would have been a bit too much. Anyhow, question marks you say? That's odd, they look like gender symbols on my computer. o_O

[Light_Azumarill]

Ah! They're gender symbols! I should have known that. ^^; I'm on my laptop for today, an older computer, and the gender symbols just show up as question marks. Heh. And it should be interesting to play as a boy; something I rarely do unless there's an unfair ratio that I notice.

When's Charon's trip end? Today? I think it was either today or tomorrow wasn't it?

[Alter Ego]

Well, that explains a thing or two. ^^ And yes, gender-bending can certainly be interesting in it's own right, Although sometimes I get the feeling that people look at me funny when I RP females o_O. It's been a while since I've done it myself actually, would probably have done it for this one if not for the imbalance and a certain other thing...one which I shall not mention at the moment. ^^

As for Charon's trip...I think she said that she'd be back on Monday although she might not have the time to do her sign-up then so it might be delayed until Tuesday. Regardless, it shouldn't be long now.

[Random Plushie]

Dang.. I'm the only one who actually forgot to state the genders of me Pokemon. o_O

*walks over to edit button*

[Ibuberu]

Oh yayness!!!!!
One(or two)more days!!!!!
PWHHEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*explodes*

*then waits patiently for Charon-chan*

Oh,I'll go and edit me pokemon's gender thingys too.*follows Plushie to edit button*

And go Lighti!!
Gender bending,two boys are better than one!XD

[Charon]

{ooc| Shan naro, I'm always the last one in! Ah well. The trip was a success... I'm currently sitting at my computer desk munching my way through a chocolate bunny.

Okay, Alter, would it be better if I played a male? If the whole 4:2 thing gets too much... I quite like playing guys, it's a laugh. I just quote all my male friends. xD I've got another character lined up for a med/fant rp, but I can easily edit him...}

Name: Maxie Hart
Age: 14
Gender: Female
Appearance: Dresses in baggy, stone-washed denim dungarees, with rips at the knee. She wears them over a green t-shirt which reads ‘Make love & peace’, and wears a chain around her neck with two dog-tags on. In her back pocket she keeps a locket - however, all that is ever showing is the chain.
Maxie wears large, leather gloves that go half-way up her forearm, and big skate-style trainers. Her hair is black but tinted with purple, and almost always tied in two stubby plaits. When down, it reaches just past her shoulders. This is very rare, however. Maxie's eyes are a light shade of purple, streaked with strains of black.
Personality: she is a hard-faced, arrogant girl, with a short temper and a vicious streak. Maxie is the sort of person that would cut her nose off to spite her face, and always has to have the last word.
She is also extremely compassionate – she hates all the way, and loves all the way. She would her put her life on the line to save a stranger, as long as they didn’t answer back. An extremely proud creature, Maxie holds a grudge; once you offend her, she'll snap at you for years.
Pokemon:
Zubat -> Fang. Male. (Timid Nature)
Grimer -> What-A-Mess. Female. (Sassy nature)

Other: has an extremely strong bond with her Zubat. Not much is known about it, but she’s rarely seen without him. No one knows what they get up to during the night, but often the pair trek in at morning, both sporting similar injuries. Fang is extremely passive and understanding, the exact opposite of his trainer.

[Alter Ego]

OOC: Tis' fine the way it is Charon. 4:2 is an okay ratio and with all the PM discussing that has been done it would be a shame to just pull a last-minute switch. ^^

Now then...

RPing time!

^_____________________________________^


Oh, and one more thing; for the sake of sanity, when translating pokétalk just put what they're saying in brackets like these; { } rather than writing lines upon lines of gibberish, m'kay? When it's not necessary to know what they're saying then just write ordinary pokétalk.

Cue sneaky intro-thing...

IC:

It was a perfectly still and quiet night in Kingsfield city, a fairly strong northern breeze blowing through the deserted streets, past the practically identical little white houses with their red roofs and small, square-shaped gardens which all seemed to be growing the same plants, all lined up symmetrically alongside the carefully proportioned streets. If one would have been looking at Kingsfield from above, one would quickly have noticed that the geometric shape formed by the streets themselves spelled out 'Kingsfield' in ancient Showgan runes, the surrounding mountains creating a frame for the symbol. Although this, of course, hinged heavily on that one knew how to read in a language that had virtually ceased to be a good millenia ago.

At the moment, no such people were present, or if they were then they were asleep in their beds like all decent people were at such an hour. Yes, it was a quiet night. The only noises disturbing the silence being the quiet breathing and occasional movements of the two men standing guard outside the elegantly shaped gate of a large manor, a large and well maintained structure with a fairly sizeable garden in front, the entire structure cut off from the rest of the city by a high wall, its crest tipped with elegant decorations which, while undoubtedly decorative, were just as undoubtedly very sharp. Incidentally, the building formed the central part in the rune for 'King'. The guards outside of it, donning identical uniforms, simple but neat, complete with the shades that seemed to be a practical necessity for hired muscle these days, both carrying a single pokéball on their belts, were oblivious to this however, and quite frankly, it wouldn't really have made any real difference even if they'd known.

"Buggrit." the guard on the right, a somewhat gangly man in his late twenties with light brown hair which had been ruffled by the wind, muttered, stamping his feet and rubbing his hands together in an attempt to keep the chill out as another gale came sweeping past. "What's with these uniforms? All that good money put to use and yet they can't even keep the bloody wind out. How do they expect anyone to keep a sharp lookout when you can't stand still for a moment without freezing your arse of?" He turned to his companion, a slightly shorter and far more muscularly built man, who was completely bald and, unlike his partner, seemed to be completely unbothered by the cold, hoping for some kind of support on the matter.

"You wish to adress a complaint?" the other guard, apparently the more experienced one, asked in an icily polite tone "Very well then, I shall inform her ladyship that you do not consider your wage adequate for the endangering of your posterior." he smirked at the rabbit-in-the-headlights look that appeared on the other man's face "Or perhaps you'd like to be transferred." the bald one continued, seemingly taking no notice of the other one's discomfiture "How does...gym duty sound?"

"G-gym duty?" his partner echoed, casting a nervous glance towards the Kingsfield gym, a building within which permanent cold was maintained at all times, its mirrored walls even now seeming to radiate a penetrating cold into their surroundings. "I-I don't know what you mean...complain?" he fiddled a bit with his uniform, his hands then beginning to make hasty gestures to illustrate his words "Oh no no noo." he said, in a tone that was supposed to sound jolly "I would not wish to bother her ladyship with such trivial concerns, twas' nothing but a slip of the tongue. Please ignore-"

His sentence was cut short however, as the sound of shattering glass suddenly filled the air, soon surrounded by the piercing noise of an alarm going off.

"You stay here!" the older guard commanded gruffly, rushing of towards the sound of the noise and unclipping his pokéball just in case.

As he arrived at the scene, the source of the noise quickly became evident; one of the large windows at the front had been shattered by means of a brick throw in, although how this had come to pass one would never know and the house guards were in an uproar, several of them having gathered in the area, pokéballs at the ready, just like the bald one had, and all of them seemed equally confused of how anyone could have thrown a brick with such precision from the other side of the wall. Meanwhile, unnoticed in the commotion, a small gecko chuckled for himself, darting of amongst the canopy until he reached his destination.

"Good job, Chupon." a fairly young male voice said quietly, a crimson beam appearing from the vegetation and quickly scooping up the Treecko before the voice's owner began striding towards the main gate.

As all of this went on, the younger guard, now experiencing serious unease, continued to keep watch of his surroundings as best he could, beads of sweat running across his forehead and his hand standing at nearly constant alert by the solitary pokéball on his belt. He nearly jumped up in shock as he felt a gentle tap on his shoulder, turning around to spot a rather tall, although strangely youthfull looking man with blonde hair, dressed in a guardsman's uniform similar to his own, standing on the other side of the gate, his light blue eyes now focused on the guard in front of him and his mouth bent into a polite smile. Behind him, a sizeable Scyther stood, looking all but friendly as it brandished its bladed arms at the guard, the mantis pokémon's body language clearly indicating that it was ready to chop him to pieces at the slightest mistake.

"Excuse me colleuge." the blonde one said in the same kind of polite voice that the bald guardsman had been using, probably standard among the more experienced personell, the younger guard assumed, "I and my Scyther here have been dispatched to conduct a sweep of the surroundings, just in case we might still catch the culprit, but it seems that I have misplaced my key-chain. Would you be so kind as to open this gate for us?"

"But..." the guardsman began uncertainly, beginning to fiddle with his key chain, "My boss said that I should never-"

"Your boss?" the blonde one interrupted in a continuously polite tone, the eyes of the Scyther behind him narrowing slightly "This is a demanding occupation and I understand your need to please your immediate supperiors, I truly do, but allow me to stress this..." the blonde one leaned forward, locking eyes with the guardsman in front of him, "I am under direct orders from lady Isabel herself. Should I fail to carry them out, I will surely be punished most severely..." there was a sad look in his eyes, and what seemed like a hint of emotion mixed into his voice as he continued "And...please understand, this is not a treath, but...the lady has a tendency to punish all those she deems responsible for failures. And...you must understand how it would look if I was forced to report that I couldn't get past the gate because you refused to let me." he shook his head in a sad way, the Scyther behind him mimicking the cutting of a troath.

"Erm..." the guardsman muttered, now sweating profusely as he pictured the scene "I-" his eyes flicked to the Scyther once more. It was truly a magnificent specimen, lithe, gracefull, in a most lethal kind of way, and obviously well trained. Certainly anyone in posession of such a pokémon had to be a high-ranking guardsman. "Of course." he said at last, fumbling for a moment before he managed to procure the right key and unlock the gate, clumsily holding it up as the boy and his Scyther exited the premises through it.

"You have my gratitude." the blonde one said, turning to the guardsman and bowing dramatically "And let it not be said that captain Pendragon is one to forget his debts. I shall put in a good word for you with the lady."

"Oh...th-thank you sir!" the guardsman replied, relief evident in his expression as his clumsily returned the bow. "Good luck on your task!"

"Likewise." the blonde one replied, placing a hand on the Scyther's back and whispering something into its ear. The mantis pokémon nodded, its outline suddenly becoming blurry and causing the guardsman to blink. As his eyes opened again, the boy was nowhere in sight, causing the guard to rub his eyes and wonder, for a moment, if he had not imagined the whole thing. But of course he hadn't, after all, he was still holding the gate open, something which his superior was quick to note.

"Reeve!" the bald one roared, rushing over to the guardsman and grabbing him by the shoulder, shaking him briskly. "What the heck do you think you are doing?! We are under strict orders not to let anyone out!"

"But-" Reeve stuttered, now feeling completely nonplused "But-I had to let captain Pendragon-"

"Captain Pendragon?!" his superior repeated, almost stoking on his rage "What are you babbling about imbecile?! There is no captain who goes by that name!"

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Meanwhile, just a few blocks away, the blonde one who was not a captain and who, incidentally, was not named Pendragon either ran down the streets, chuckling for himself as he made his way to the train station, his Treecko had been unleashed from its pokéball as well and was running as well, trying his best to keep up with his trainer. The little wood gecko was slightly chubby for his age, something which gave him considerable difficulties in keeping up with his well-rounded trainer, not to mention the Scyther who seemed like she hadn't been working at all, despite having had to drag her trainer's weight along with her own just a moment ago.

"Perfect!" the boy called out to his pokémon, grinning broadly at the both of them before breaking of into another fit of laughter at the whole thing "We'll be well on our way to Zephyr Town long before they catch on to us!"

The Scyther snorted dissaprovingly, obviously not agreeing with this scenario at all. Chupon on the other hand seemed excited by the prospect of travel, grinning as best he could as he tried to keep up.

As the trio closed in on the Kingsfield train station, proud to opperate twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, the boy suddenly slowed his pace, grinding to a halt just by the entrance and sneaking of into a nearby alley where he discarded his uniform, revealing a white shirt, its sleeves almost reaching his elbows, and a pair of black pants. Not particularly special-looking, although anyone with a fashion sense would surely note the unusually high quality of the materials and the way that they seemed to fit him just right.

"Now then, on to phase two of our little adventure." the boy said, "Chupon, Ashu, I need to keep you two out of sight for a while, just in case."

The Treecko looked a bit disheartened as he was returned, but the Scyther simply nodded, obviously not caring about witnessing the events anyhow.

The boy then walked into the train station, a large and rather old stone building, its wide halls and numerous little stores completely desolate except for a few people here and there who were apparently switching trains. As he walked over to the storage boxes, the boy couldn't help finding it hard to believe that a space this huge could ever be filled by people, as it was during most weekdays. After a small amount of time spent searching, the boy found his own storage box, procuring a key with which to open it from his pocket and pulling out the fairly large and neatly kept grey backpack which he had stashed there beforehand, carefully inserting the uniform into an empty pocket before slinging the backpack over his shoulder and walking of to catch his train, a simple flick of his pass (The company made a point of distributing them to members of important families to 'Foster good relations' as it were.) allowing him entry. Feeling ecstatic yet worn out by his escapades at the same time, the boy quickly found himself an empty compartment in the train, placing the backpack on the seat beside him and leaning back, slowly falling to sleep as the train nudged forward and began its journey towards Zephyr Town, dreaming dreams of travel and adventure. Dreams of flying free like the Swellows that he had seen flying over the mansion so many times, his hand absent-mindedly travelling to a delicate gold chain around his neck, finding its way to the stone at its end, concealed beneath his shirt, and grasping it tightly. Outside, the sun finally begun its ascent, creating a spectacular show of colours in the horizon for those who cared to watch.

[Charon]

{ooc| *sings* fly your way on my zephyr, we’ll find a place together~! Nun nun nun, nu- okay, I’ll stop now… *looks sheepish* The Red Hot Chili Peppers are the best band…EVAR.

By Joe, Alter, you’ve really out done yourself this time.}

The train station was surging with life, despite the day drawing to a close. The town stopped for no man, let alone something as fickle as night sweeping in.
The platform bustled and ebbed, a sea of people carrying more, it appeared, than one odd child today.

The train that sat puffing in the station was a battered looking engine, but the guard beside it seemed more than ready to perform his duty. He had puffed himself up self-importantly, and his uniform had been decorated with what looked like a piece of red tissue paper, which had been stuffed in his breast pocket in a prestigious fashion.

“Here, here,” the man scoffed pompously, “You can’t possibly want on!” his fat piggy eyes flashed up and down, eyeing up the young girl that stood before him. She was a skinny, awkward looking girl, even from a distance.
The girl had a haggard, bedraggled look about her; maybe it was her protruding bones, or her jutting chin, but she reeked of something half-wild. She wasn’t exactly ugly, but she wasn’t pretty either; it was as if she was beyond the fickle realms of beauty.

Everything from her clothes (her denim dungarees were ripped at the knees, fraying at the hems and the faded green t-shirt underneath), to her black hair, (tied up in a rough pair of plaits) gave an impression that she had got dressed in a hurry – and she couldn't care less about the way she looked.
“You’ve got to let us in,” the girl insisted, her purple eyes wide in indignity, “…My Mum’s….already on board, I can’t get separated from h-her!” she began to stutter, her lip wobbling.
He looked her up and down again, finally catching sight of the quivering lump in her front pocket. The man frowned darkly.
“Yer names?” he demanded, his eyes on the shape.
“I’m Maxie Hart. My pokemon is Fang. Please, please let us on!” she gave a little hiccup of fear, which seemed to swing the man.
“Oh, go on, then. Hurry!”

Maxie didn’t even wait for an answer. She leapt the gap and threw herself inside, and slipped through the doors. Shooting a glance back at the guard (who was digging into a mars bar), she prodded her pocket.
“We’re home free now, mate.” She said briskly, grinning in a self-satisfied way.
Her front pocket jiggled again, only for a zubat to emerge. He opened his mouth, no doubt making a mental-map of the room with sonar. For a moment, he looked wary, before throwing himself into the air. He spread his wings with evident relief.
{Nice acting!} he said, in a mousey squeak. The pair high-fived in mid air, wing and hand meeting with a clap. They slammed off down the train, looking for a compartment.

[Ibuberu]

OOc-Yay!Yay!YAY!!!
*runs screaming around thread*

PWHEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!WELCOME BACK CHARON!!!*though I've never actually spoken to you before....o.O*
Whaever!!!XD
Hope ya had a nice trip yes?
And being last isn't always the worst.Usually..I get chosen first to go and do the scary things(like...greet a new teacher,go up and ask a teacher whether we could play pokemon in class instead of studying....),cause me friends all know that I won't reject them.^^;;
And,sometimes,things no pretty.XD
*continues running*
Wait....did I hear correctly?!*looks at Charon's post*
GIVE ME THE BUNNY!!!!*charges towards Charon*

Ic-
As the Sun began to rise over the horizon.A girl standing alone in a huge grassy field squinted her eyes.Clenching two pokeballs in her hand.She combed her frinch behind an ear.Wearing a black and white shirt,with pants to match.The black pants were accompanied by a knee-high yellowish-orange coloured skirt which ruffled a bit in the morning wind.

"Hitmonchan!"

The girl swiftly spun around and saw that a Hitmonchan which came out of nowhere was preparing to shoot a Fire Punch at her.

"Cascade!Water Gun!"she threw her first pokeball in a graceful fashion into the air,which was rather redundant.

A tiny Mudkip burst out of his pokeball and flew through the air,his eyes narrowed as the Hitmonchan glared at him.The Mudkip opened his mouth and jet of water came flying out,soaking the Hitmonchan as the blast of water forced it to the ground.

"Hitmonlee!"

"Go,Ryne!Psychic!"she threw the other pokeball with the same graceful fashion.

A small Ralts came out form her pokeball as well and fired a strong Psychic wave at the advancing Hitmonlee,knocking the pokemon back a few feet.

"Hitmontop!!"
"Hitmontop!!"
"Hitmontop!!"

Three Hitmontop surronded the girl and her pokemon.

"Ryne!!Psychic!Cascade,Mud slap!!"the girl ordered her pokemon.

As two of the Hitmontop fell onto the grass,dazed.The last stood infront of her,feet rooted to the ground.Daring the girl to attack first.

"Go,Cascade!!!Hydro Pum-paaahh!!!!!"the Hitmotop woud have raised an eyebrow if he had one as the girl fell on the ground face first.The girl had started off charging with her Ralts and Mudkip towards the last Hitmontop.
But before the girl had a chace to finish her order,she tripped over a small rock.Ending with her embarassing plummel to the grass.

{Hey!!What??}Ryne looked over her shoulder to see her fallen trainer,tripping over a rock herself.

{Whoa!!}Cascade tripped over his own legs and landed on his trainer's head.

The Hitmontop took a few moments to absorb the past moments,before stepping forward to the girl.Glaring at her.
For a moment,all that could be heard was their breathing.

Then,the Hitmontop held out his paw to help the girl up.


"Thanks Hitmon."the girl rubbed her sore nose before thanking the Hitmontop who nodded and smiled.

"Miss Jena,what was the meaning of that?"the girl was confronted by a rather old man.His grey hairs were combed back neatly,a very visible white moustache on his face.

"Master Kendre...I.."Jena bowed to her senior.

"This was one of your better trainings,and you had to go and mess it up at the last possible moment!!"the master scolded.

"I don't know what happened...I.."the girl tried to say.

"And what was that movement you were doing throwing the pokeballs??"

"I just wanted to.."

"No,no...."The old man mearly shook his head,waving his arms asking the girl to leave.Jena held a look of dissapointment as she picked up her Ralts and Mudkip,walking away from the training grounds of the Minane Pokemon Training School.

"I don't know what to do Hitmon,that girl...."the old man sighed to the Hitmontop beside him,loud enough for Jena to hear.

---
"What to do...oh that girl..."Jena repeated in a mocking voice as she sat beside a small pond.She placed her head on one hand while skipping stones.

{We were so close that time too...}Ryne sat beside her trainer,talking to Cascade.

{Yeah we were....}Cascade nodded in agreement.

Jena was the daughter of the Headmaster and Mistress of the well respected and known Minane Training School.
The girl came from a long line of Pokemon League Champions.This time,it was her turn to win the League for her family.But...
The girl didn't care a thing about battling.She didn't like it.All the training,all those years was just to prepare her for that moment where she would become the League Champion,all for nothing.
The girl never displayed an interest in battling,and so she thought,never would.

"I can't do anything right."her voice filled with sadness.

Ryne shook her head and hugged her trainer,Cascade did the same.Except that he couldn't hug,so her dealed with licking her face.

"Haha...thanks."Jena cheered up a bit.Both pokemon looked at each other and chuckled.

{We should go into business,Cascade.}Ryne joked.

{Me be the Manager!!}Cascade took it seriously and told the Ralts.

{I was only joking.}

{No business?}

{No.}

Both pokemon were interupted by their trainer.

"Wish I could get out of this dinky place..wish I could go and travel...wish I could....become a Coordinator."her dark blue eyes sparkled as she mentioned the part about pokemon contests.Jena brushed a few strands of black hair out of her face.
The girl had always felt that there was something important missing from her life.
With her training since young,she rarely went beyond the walls of the Training school,her friends didn't stay long either.But mostly,her parents,she missed her parents the most.When was the last time she saw them?Possibly a week or so.
Sometimes,when Jena was free of her training,she would go to the garden pond,where she was right now and ponder what was missing.

Friends?Adventure?

Cascade and Ryne looked at each other,wanting to cheer their trainer up even more.
Suddenly,Cascade pulled on Jena's skirt,before running to the huge wall which surronded the whole training school,then pretending to climb it.

"Me?Run away?"Jena pointed a finger to herself as her Mudkip and Ralts nodded frimly.

"Well...."the girl took a moment of thought.

--------

"Oof!"Jena landed over the outer side of the wall.Cascade on her head and Ryne in her arms.

"Well..."she took one more glance at the huge building,placing the Ralts and Mudkip on the ground.It was like something out of the olden Japanese times.A somewhat huge mansion-looking building with great ancient carvings of pokemon on its many roofs.At that time of morning,most people were still sound asleep in their beds,a perfect time for the girl to make her escape.

"Here's to a great adventure!And lets hope we can find what's missing in my life,guys!"she punched one fist in the air and her pokemon did the same.

The three dashed down the dirt road,towards the rising Sun,towards adventure,towards-

Zephyr town.

Ooc-
Right,first post.Check!
Darn,I'm sure that Titan's post ish longer!!>_<
And why didn't Plushie post?*fumes*

*looks at Charon's post out of randomness and boredom*
Charon....you must put more feeling when you sing.
Like this here-*takes deep breath*
This be Yibber's version of 'Mary had a little lamb'.-
Yibber had a little Feebas,little Feebas,little Feebas.Yibber had a little Feebas,its scales as...as...cute....as...YIBBER!!!!!XD

To hear more of Yibber's great melodious,whimsical,cute,wonderful,fantastic,feebas-like,cute,cute,cute,(XD)voice,please order her new hit single CD.
'Oops I Feebas again.'
Only $999.99.^^
But for all of you,I give discount.
$1000000
Happy?

Now thats singing in style!!!>D

Oh my goshness.*looks at post once*
I'm being extra hyper today yes???XD

[Fls4eva]

OCC: Ahem.. Yibber.. you sure that you're the one who ask if we could play Pokemon in class??? It was meh mine ya' know.... *does Flissie's infamous mean look tactic*

IC:

"Master.. Do I really have to part with you so soon? I haven't really imparted all your battling skills yet.. I don't think I'm ready to go on my own journey just yet...after all..." Silver asked her master, the gym leader of Fortree City, Winona.. "Yes dear, I'm afraid you just have to," Winona replied as she passed a pink helmet to Silver. "Wear this on.." Silver put the pink helmet on her head then left the gym reluctantly...

Winona watched as Silver's back became less and less visible... "Eight years ago, she was still a small little girl when I found her at the outskirts of Fortree and took her under my wing... Now she has became a pretty good trainer.. She would be having some bright future ahead.. But the revenge for her parents..." "Hey!! Winona!! I'm here to battle!!" a battle girl interrupted her thoughts by asking for a battle... Winona sighed and sent out her Pokemon for the gym battle...

A wild Absol jumped out of the tall grass.. "Whoa.. Prepare for battle, Yuraki and Miruka!!" Silver shouted out.. She sent out her Swablu and used Peck against the Absol... The Absol got hit by the attack and soon returned it with Bite... Silver looked at her Swablu's health level and muttered.."This isn't too good.." She then returned her Swablu and sent out Bagon.. "Erm.... Use Ember!!! Twice.." The Bagon did as he was told and before long... the Absol whited out.. "Yay!!! I won a battle again!!" she cheered... "Now where should we go?? Erm... I remember master said before once.. There's this town somewhere called... Zephyr Town... We'll go there then!!! Silver then whispered to her Pokemon.. "We're going to Zephyr town now... m'kay?"

"Ba..gon..(Okay..)" Miruka nodded..

"Swa..blu!!(Sure!!)" Yuraki jumped up and down out of happiness...

[Alter Ego]

OOC: Well, it's looks like we're up for a good start we are. ^^ Although Plushie and LA haven't posted yet, so let's try not to go too far without them, m'kay? And Flissie, please, use the {} brackets when your pokémon have something to say instead of writing it out in pokétalk alright? It's kind of like a rule really. And Yibber. Yeah, don't even bother counting. My post totally pwned yours so...XP!! Hah! In your face! Cradily pwneth Feebas this day! *Does gleefull victory dance* Dang, according to the word count adding 100 words more would have been enough to pwn your longest IC ever. Tsk, that battle shall be won another day, so sayeth Alter!

IC:

As the train jerked into motion once more, one of the hastily clipped on pokéballs on the sleeping boy's belt fell off, rolling across the floor until it struck the edge of the opposite bench, unleashing its occupant in a flash of white light.

{There already?} the little Treecko asked drowsily, blinking a few times and stretching his joints, unleashing a huge yawn in the process before scanning the compartment and spotting his trainer who was still sound asleep.

{Guess not, huh?} Chupon asked rhetorically, recieving a sleepy mumble in return as the boy shifted slightly in his seat, looking for a more comfortable sleeping position. The little gecko peered at this surroundings, pondering what to do next. The door of the compartment was shut and the handle was far beyond his reach, not to mention that the door was probably far too heavy for him to budge, and although he might not have exactly been the brightest crayon in the box, even Chupon realized that jumping out through the window was not a smart move. Besides, it was closed too.

{Now what?} he thought out loud, casting a glance at the empty pokéball on the floor. He certainly didn't want to go in there again, not now when their adventure was just starting, and he couldn't wake his trainer up either. Ashura would surely get upset if she heard that he had disturbed the boy's rest, and the last thing he wanted was to get on the Scyther's bad side, even though Ashura had grown accustomed to the little gecko's presence over the years, he still knew that the Scyther's true loyalty lay with Raistlin, and only Raistlin and the thought that the mantis pokémon would be prepared to kill him without any regret if she deemed it to be in the boy's best interest unnerved Chupon at times, even though he knew that it would probably never happen.

Finally, the little Gecko gave a sigh of forfeit, contenting himself with climbing up, with some difficulty, on the seat next to his trainer and staring out through the glass of the compartment door, watching the people come and go in the hallway outside. One person in particular soon caught Chupon's attention; a black-haired girl, her apperance alone enough to give Raistlin's mother a heart-attack if she saw it, was striding down the hall, accompanied by a pokémon the likes of which Chupon had never seen before (Although admitedly, he had met few pokémon at all besides Ashura and some of the gym pokémon, all of which had given him the cold shoulder) and heading in their direction, apparently looking for a vacant compartment.

[Charon]

{ooc| *turns up her Naruto sound track to full volume* Need my inspiration! Yeah, guys, we don't want to give LA and Plushie a brain hermorige (sp?) before we even start, too much reading does me in any day. On another note, I got MS Word today! Celebration time! *pops party popper*}

The train chugged on, spewing dirty great smoke clouds into the air.
Maxie glanced out of the window, watching the grass flash by. She stood in the corridor, clutching a curtain rail. Outside, the landscape stretched for miles, seemingly endless squares of flat green terrain.... split up, of course, into neat little fields. Maxie wasn't paticularily keen on this part of the country; it was lush, but all farmland now. She was looking forward to the next town. It would be a new terrain to explore, a new territory to conquer... she was looking forward to it.
"Wonder what it's like?" she thought aloud, running a gloved hand through her bangs. "We've never been sent this far out before..." now she was speaking normally, her voice had taken on a rough, hoarse edge to it.
Her Zubat laughed in his screechy way, furling his wings and diving to sit on his trainer's shoulder. {Well, whatever it's like, you definetly won't like it.} he said, giving Maxie what was quite possibly a bat's version of a wry smile.
"I'll make an effort this time-!"
{Last time you said that, we ended up leaving the city and camping on the outskirts 'cos it wans't up to our standards.} he laughed again.
"Sh'up, Fang. We're moving up in the world now, remember?" she petted him, perhaps a bit rougher than usual. For a moment, the zubat looked like he was about to answer back, until the corridoor door swished open, only to admit another burly looking train-worker, with a ticket box. As she got closer, Maxie realised with a shock it was actually a woman. Perhaps it was the moustache that made her think otherwise.
"Tickets, please." The woman asked, in her grating voice. In an instant, Maxie had changed again. Her confident expression vanished, and her eyes crinkled up in fright.
"Oh, ma'am," she cried, "I haven't got mine! I got on with my brother, but he went to the food cart to get some sandwiches... he hasn't come back yet!"
At Maxie's words, the ticket woman melted. "Oh, there there." she cooed. "Don't worry, I'm sure he'll be back soon. But you need to sit down, I'm afraid."
Maxie frowned. "There's no compartments free." she spat insolently, and for a split second her persona shattered. A shifty look from Fang brought her back down to earth, and she added, "and my brother... won't be able to find me!" She chokled back a sob.
The woman hadn't caught on, fortunatly. "Oh, my dear, why not slip in this cabin?" she gestured to the one to their right, "There's a boy there, but I'm sure he won't mind you waiting for a bit. Then you and your brother can find a compartment together...okay?"
She stared at Maxie ferociously, so the girl decided to do what she was told. Her zubat fled back to her front pocket, as his trainer forced open the door... and walked straight into Raistlin LeBlaque's compartment.

{going out for half an hour/an hour now, see y'all when I get back.}

[Alter Ego]

OOC: Naruto soundtrack...uncouth one. *Ish listening to one of the tunes from 'Spirited Away'* Ahh...nice and relaxing. Hey, I need my inspiration too, you know. ^^

Yay for MS Word! Just be careful, there's one key you should never push when working with MS Word, it does funky things to your writing if you do...erm, can't remember which one it was, though. XD Ah well...*Throws confetti*

IC:

{Meep!}

As the girl entered the compartment, Chupon instinctively leapt back, hiding beneath Raistlin's arm and peering out nervously. Curious the Treecko might have been, but it did little to remedy his timid nature, he just wasn't used to meeting strangers without having Raistlin there to watch out for him. Granted, the boy was right there, but still...it wasn't the same when he was asleep.

"Mmmph...Chupon?" Raistlin murmured, stirring slightly as the Treecko tugged his left shirt sleeve and slowly opening his eyes, his hand instinctively travelling away from the pendant and down to the seat beside him as he pulled himself up, staring at his knees for a moment and rubbing his eyes before turning to adress the Treecko, still oblivious to Maxie's presence. "What's going on?" he asked.

{Strangers.} Chupon replied, pointing towards the girl who had just entered.

"Hmm?" Raistlin turned his head in the direction that the little gecko was pointing, finally spotting the newcomer. The boy blinked for a moment, taking in the appearance of the girl in front of him. She seemed to be about his age, although that also seemed to be about where the similarity between them ended as everything from the girl's hair, black with a tint of purple and tied up into two rather rough plaits, to the clothes she wore, torn and faded with use, stood in contrast to Raistlin, with his blonde hair, which always seemed to be in fairly neat order (A family characteristic) and his almost glaringly unworn clothes. The boy briefly mused at his mother's reaction to such a person, the joy of his newfound freedom striking him once more and a friendly smile spreading across his face as he rose to his feet, his long education of proper introductory etiquette coming into play.

"Good morning, miss." he said, performing a very court bow (Old habits died hard apparently) "My apologies if I stared, I'm afraid I'm a bit drowsy at these early hours. My name is Raistlin..." he extended a hand to the girl, having considered for a moment if he should go by his alias 'Pendragon' but having decided against it, after all, his mother would never deal with one who dressed like this girl, she was very mindfull of apperances, lady Isabel, "And this is my friend and companion, Chupon." he gestured towards the Treecko still clinging to his shirt sleeve who waved shyly at Maxie "Might I trouble you for your name?"

[Light_Azumarill]

OOC: Ahh! Darned Halloween night, I knew I'd miss this starting! >.< Oh well, you guys haven't gotten too far, and Plushie hasn't posted yet.

You know what Yibber? I really think that you made me like Feebas. I used to think it was an ugly, stupid pokemon, but now I think it's really cute! ^-^ Heehee.

Anyway, onto my gender-bending opening post! XD


Zachary
=========

It was not the most extravagant way to live. The houses around the area were all dim and dingy. Garbage overflowed the occasional bins, not because the people who lived here had so much to throw away, but because the people here could only find a meal among other things if they searched through others' trash. The people who lived here were not exactly nice and courteous, but then who would be if all of their life was misery and death. It was very depressing and a bit unnerving for a 'regular' person walking down the street.

It didn't unnerve one young man though, because he had known the people in this area all his life. His light brown and fluffy hair bounced a bit with his step, and he peered at the sad sights of the houses around him as he passed by. He felt sorry for them, they were even worse off than he.

Zachary was not in total poverty as these people clearly were, but his mother had never been rich. They lived paycheck-to-paycheck in a small and run-down house towards the end of this street. To the other families that lived in this area, Zachary and his mother were rich. As the boy rounded a bend in the street, he came upon his little, blue house, and briskly walked through the front door, as usual, already open.

"Mom, I'm home!" he called, tossing his forest green backpack on the old and ratty couch. He wrinkled his nose at the couch; that thing was as ugly as the dwarf-guy in that movie he watched a while ago.

"Mom, where you at?" he called again, walking lazily into the kitchen and flipping the lightswitch. Nothing came on. Must've not had enough money to pay the electric bill. Oh well, that happened quite often, and Zachary's pokemon enjoyed the darkness anyway.

He walked over to the cupboard, and then his mother answered finally.

"Oh Zack... you home so soon?" she said, looking at him curiously, her hands behind her back.

"Oh yeah, school was out early today, it was a staff day or something," he replied with a wave of his hand, "There was this nice girl at school that sat next to me today; I think she likes me. Though, when I went to pick up her dropped notebook, I fell over and hit my head on the ground. It always ends up like that." He always tweaked out in front of pretty girls.

His mother nodded and murmured a grunt of understanding, and then brought out a small box from behind her back. It was wrapped with newspaper on only one side.

"Aw Mom," Zachary whined, feeling embarrassed, "You shouldn't have spent--."

"Nonsense! It's your birthday and I'm getting my son a present!" she said sternly, "Though I didn't have time to properly wrap it as you can see. You'll just have to open it now." She held it out to him.

"Oh Mom...," Zachary said, frowning. He didn't like the idea of his mother spending so much on him when they didn't even have enough for the electricity. He took it anyway and opened it with ease to reveal... tickets?

His mother beamed at him, "I got you something that I've been saving up towards for months. Tickets to go on a pokemon journey!"

Zachary blinked. She did this for him? He felt a bit too emotional, so his eyes looked elsewhere in the house besides his mother's face.

"Mom you-- I don't think-- what about you?" he asked, still staring away.

"I'll be fine. Besides, I've got Ty to look out for me," she answered with a smile, "And look, I even saved up extra to give you some pocketchange." Wow, that was a term he hadn't heard in a while.

Zachary smiled a bit too. He knew Ty as well, an older man that lived next door, he was always looking out for the two of them, helping in any way he could.

"Oh all right," he concluded, "I guess me and Ron are going then?" Ron was Zachary's pokemon, an Aron that he stole one day. Though he stole it from someone who was abusing the little guy, so it wasn't really stealing; more like rescuing.

-------------------------------------

The next day was full of more emotions, something that Zachary never really liked to deal with; though he had dealt with a lot of them throughout his life. Some of the neighbors came to say goobye as well, for when someone in that neighborhood leaves on a journey, it's a big deal. A couple's son had just gone away on a journey a month or two ago, and there was a big send-off also.

Zachary was soon alone though, green shirted and wearing his old jeans and his trusty sweater-jacket, alone with his pal Ron. They didn't look too bad considering their socio-economic status. He looked down at the metallic, teeny pokemon and smiled. "Going on an adventure, eh, Ronnie?"

Ron the Aron nodded, {Not gonna fall on your face again, eh, Zackie?} He suddenly fell over in a fit of giggles. Zachary's eyes narrowed. He may not have understood him word for word, but he knew what the little pokemon had been talking about because he hadn't shut up about it since yesterday after it happened.

"Shut your pie-hole! It was because she was a pretty girl! I'm not an idio--!" he stopped suddenly, accidently bumping into a rather large, old man.

"Do watch where you are headed boy!" the man said angrily, shaking a fist at the two of them and hastily going along his way.

"S-Sorry!" Zachary called, but realized it was pretty futile. That guy was in a hurry to get to his money or something. Zachary climbed into the train after accidently knocking a woman's purse out of her hands, trying to calm her down as she screamed "THIEF!" and then getting her purse back out of the large puddle of dirty water that it had fallen in. 'One slap for today so far,' Zachary thought. Ron thought it was a riot and spent the whole time collapsed on the ground in yet another fit of giggles.

"It wasn't very funny, Ron!" Zachary said with fake anger in his voice, "Ooh!! SNACKS!" He exclaimed as they found themselves by a large snack tray.

Zachary bought only one snack for himself though, and one for Ron as well. He didn't want to overspend the first day on his journey. He then proceeded to stuff his face with the danish he had bought. Ron rolled his eyes in disgust.

{Must you eat like a Piloswine? Really Zackie,} the little armored pokemon said, daintily eating his poke-snack with his little feet.

OOC: Okay yeah; that took me an hour to write. >.>

[Charon]

{ooc| I love Naruto. It's a great series, and it's the first one I ever seriously got into, downloading it as it gets released and what not... I've been watching it for about a year and a half now. *sings* Don't try, to live so wise!
Melissa, I love youe avatar/banner! Cuuuuute!}

Maxie entered the cabin, feeling ruffled. She didn't like taking orders, even though it was something she had done since she could remember... it always used to be easier, to follow them than to refuse. Of course, it wasn't something she paticularily enjoyed, but they were things that had to be done. Now she was following orders from fat middle-aged lumps-
"Might I trouble you for your name?" the boy had said.
With savage suddeness, Maxie was jerked from her thoughts. Perhaps it was his polite manner, or the flourishing bow, or the fact he rose to his feet when she entered, but Maxie took a frightened step backwards. His simple question took her by suprise. What's in a name? Some famous playwright-guy had once said that....but what was she to say? Her given name or her real name? She wasn't even sure which was which....
"Maxie." she said quickly, already imagining her mother rolling in her grave. "I'm Maxie."
That was the response she was used to, after all. Maxie suited her better - it was a rough sort of name... and didn't Maximillion mean 'warrior'? It was a boy's name.... but then again, Maxie wasn't exactly you're typical girl.

She eyed him up and down, this strange boy that called himself Raistlin. He sure was neat-looking, with that angel blond hair and clothes which, Maxie expected, would probably still have the label tags on. "Nice t' meet you." she said, remembering her manners. She had a strong English accent.

Her zubat wriggled in her chest pocket, listening carefully.

[Light_Azumarill]

OOC: Thanks, I felt inspired to draw Mac and StickyBird after we put Mac to sleep last Saturday. Gosh, seems like it was yesterday, and it was really almost four days ago! Time really flies. Anyways... now for a bit of potty humor. Although, this actually happened to me once when I was helping out at a school and we were on a bus to a field trip. Well, minus the old woman of course. ^^


Zachary
==========

"How about this one?" Zachary said, slidding open a compartment door to reveal two people sitting in it. One was a young boy that looked about five or so years old, and the other was the very same old woman that had gotten her purse knocked out of her hands earlier....

"Uh-oh...," Zachary said, feeling as if he should just go now and end this before anything started. Unfortunately, a train worker approached him and said in a gruff voice to get in a compartment already before he pushed him in. Zachary had no choice. He plopped himself down next to the young boy, opting not to sit next to the very purse he had supposedly tried to steal.

"Hello," the little boy said as he jabbed his little index finger in his nose. Zachary tried not to look too disgusted, but this was pretty nasty considering the boy looked as if he had a bit of a runny nose going.

"You need a tissue or something?" Zachary offered, his eyes suddenly darting all around the room scanning for any nose wipes. Why weren't there any?!

The old woman merely glared at him, clutching her damp purse ever tighter. Ron had fallen asleep, and had taken no notice of the boy.

Still the little boy stared up in wonder at Zachary, his finger prodding his nose.

"Really? Are you sure you don't need a tissue?!" Zachary said, the silence in the room bothering him as well, "Where are your parents?"

"Grandma's here," he said, taking his finger out of his nose and pointing it at the old woman. Zachary blinked for a moment and then made a forced smile.

"Oh, uh, hello there! Remember me...?" he said politely, unsure of how to deal with this.

The old woman continued to glare at him, her eyes boring into his skull. Zachary made a nervous laugh. The little boy went back to his nose.

Zachary sighed. This train ride was interesting, but suddenly he was finding himself already missing home with his mother and the comfort of his house. It wasn't much, but it was certainly not a place that contained little boys who constantly picked their noses.

Just as he was thinking this, the little boy pulled out his finger at last, and then proceeded to stick it in his mouth.

[Alter Ego]

Raistlin was surprised and, for a moment, somewhat disheartened as the girl recoiled from him. He had introduced himself to plenty of girls in his lifetime, although they were mostly from the finer edge of the social spectrum with the exception of a few maids or other assistants that Raistlin had managed to chat up with while his mother's back was turned, and had faced a great variety of reactions, but never this.

Chupon was surprised as well, people usually acted like that around Ashura, which was understandable as the Scyther probably wouldn't hesitate to give any foreign bodyparts encroaching on her space a slash or two from those sharp blades of hers, but Raistlin...the little gecko shook his head, not even he had ever been that scared around him, not even when the boy approached him while he was still a small hatchling, and the Treecko had certainly never been brave by any measure.

"Nice to meet you too, Maxie." Raistlin replied, relieved that the girl seemed to be regaining her composure, although she was still watching him rather intently. Although, he soon realized, his appearance was probably as new to Maxie as hers had been to him. Maxie... he thought for himself Such a nice, uncomplicated name...wish I had one like that. the boy had always resented his name a bit. It sounded so formal and complicated, so weighed down by tradition and duty, strange though it might have seemed to an outsider, Raistlin had always found his name rather opressing.

Meanwhile, Chupon had finally let go of Raistlin's sleeve, beginning to climb up onto his lap, his left leg slipping slightly and knocking of the pokéball still remaining on the boy's belt. Before Raistlin could react, or even take proper note of the event, the ball had already struck the floor, its release mechanism triggering and releasing its occupant.

Unlike Chupon, the mantis pokémon's senses seemed to be peeled the very moment that she emerged and she quickly noticed Maxie, her eyes narrowing as she scanned the girl inch by inch, taking particular note of the movement in her chest pocket, her expression remaining one of variness and mistrust.

At the Scyther's entrance, Raistlin's expression became slightly worried as he had hoped not to have Ashura take part in this scene at all. Ashura was the kind of pokémon who took it to her to ensure her trainer's safety. And in her opinion, strangers were always trouble, and this girl was probably stranger than most, something quite clearly indicated by the defensive stance that the mantis pokémon assumed, the situation would have to be calmed before it got out of hand.

"Now Ashu..." Raistlin said in a soft, soothing voice, slowly stroking the mantis pokémon's head as if she were nothing but a harmless little puppy-dog "...be nice to our guest."

{You mean guests...} she corrected him, still eyeing the little lump in Maxie's chest pocket with considerable suspicion, although her manner became slightly less edgy {Do they have names?}

Raistlin listened intently to the Scyther's words, although the plural seemed to have escaped his understanding.

"Of course." the boy replied, unable to resist smiling slightly at the Scyther's suspicious manner "Ashura, this is Maxie." he gestured towards the girl, "Maxie, this is Ashura."

The Scyther merely nodded, her expression still failing to be anything but displeased as she maintained her vigil over the girl, one eye seeming to be constantly focused on the chest pocket.

[Charon]

Once again, her pocket erupted.
The zubat spread his wings and soared, darting around Ashura in a fashion obviously intended to distract her.
{Leave us alone!} the little pokemon shouted, {Get lost!} the girl held out her gloved hand.
"Fang, come off it." she hissed, and the bat dipped his wingtips and swerved towards her. He landed on her outstretched finger gently; the gloves apparently weren't there for his benefit.

The girl eyed Raistlin up and down. Who does he think he is, she thought angrily, 'Nice to meet me?' As if. She grunted, and stroked the poison type with her thumb. "This is Fang." she said bluntly, switching her gaze to Ashura. She had no fear of pokemon - she almost wished the overgrown bug would attack, then it would feel some serious pain - but humans... they couldn't be trusted. They thought on several levels, and what they said and what they meant often clashed.

Fang's ears twitched, fixing on each person one by one. {Scyther, Treecko, Human....} he muttered, under his breath. Maxie drew his little form closer to her chest, where he whispered; {Raistlin? Have we heard that name before?}
Maxie snorted. She had never heard of a stupider name. God, he probably spent his days lording over some manor, having a dig at every lass that walked his way, getting food on a silver platter... Might have even been gold. She tutted darkly.

{ooc| Lmao, LA. Sorry about your dog, I know how it feels. I still miss my old boy Ben. He was three years older than me, and my big brother! But now I have Harvey... My little brother!}

[Alter Ego]

OOC: Ouch, Charon...just...ouch. XD

Oh, and Melissa, that scene...the scary thing is that there are people like that in real life. Tis' great, though. Your RP post that is, not the fact that some people are like that. ^^

IC:

{It's not as if I forced myself into your company-} Ashura hissed, raising a blade treatheningly and preparing to slash the Zubat darting around her if it performed one wrong move. {And it certainly wasn't I who invited you in. Make as much as one move to harm my trainer and I'll-}

"That's enough." Raistlin said in an uncharacteristically firm voice, grabbing hold of the Scyther's arm with one hand and promptly forcing it down while reaching for the dropped pokéballs with his other and pointing it at the Scyther. "I'm dissapointed with you, Ashu." he whispered to the mantis pokémon, his voice clearly conveying the emotion. Maxie was now on a complete defensive, probably thinking that he had unleashed the Scyther on purpose for some reason, and probably thinking a good deal of other things too, none of them positive. The mantis pokémon muttered something in response, although she kept her eyes on the floor, looking shamefull and defiant at the same time as the boy returned her back into her pokéball before securing it firmly on his belt, right alongside Chupon's empty one. At Fang's sudden appearance Chupon had leapt behind Raistlin's back with a terrified squeak, shutting his eyes and holding tightly onto the boy, his curiosity about the Zubat now completely overridden by his fear for its sudden burst of temper.

Raistlin brought his right hand to the Treecko, stroking him gently in an attempt reassure him and feeling the little gecko's entire body tremble. "It's okay Chupon..." he said quietly, "It's not your fault. You didn't do anything..." he turned his eyes to Maxie, feeling an innate need to apologize. Granted, the girl's manner was far from polite, but it wasn't like it was unprovoked.

"My apologies for Ashura's behaviour..." he said quietly, his voice now holding a sad edge to it "I didn't mean for her to come out at all, and I certainly didn't mean for her to upset Fang. Perhaps I should leave..."

The boy heaved a small sigh, reaching for his backpack in preparation of taking a quick leave of the compartment.

[Charon]

{ooc| *grins* Heh heh heh... It's a lovely name really. Maxie's just... a meanie.}

"Don't, you mor-" Maxie snapped sharply, before a reproachful look from Fang silenced her. "I mean... you don't have to."
The pair exchanged glances - not that Fang possessed eyes, but he swivelled his ears in her direction, which meant the same thing. Maxie raised her eyebrows, and Fang's ears tipped forward. For a split second they stared at each other, but whatever had passed between the peculiar pair was over in a flash, and they turned back to Raistlin.
"Can I call you Rai?" she asked exasperatedly. "Raistlin's a mouthfull."
The girl had a blunt, rough way of going about things; she threw herself down on the seat opposite Raistlin's, and sat in a slump, proving that it wasn't just her vocal chords that had skipped finishing school.

Her Zubat perched on her shoulder, his ears turned back. He pulled his wings around himself, looking edgy. {Maxie...} he muttered softly.
His trainer glanced to him darkly.
"Don't fuss." she ordered, and the zubat leant against her face. She wriggled in her seat, picking at her frayed jeans and rubbing at her eyes - and all the while Fang sighed, as if he was ever so sorry that there was so much fidgeting to be done. Eventually, she turned to the boy.
"Well?" she demanded. "Aren't you going to sit down?"
Fang took this as his cue to pipe up. {We're sorry if we made you jump... but I won't let anyone hurt us. I mean it.} Considoring his small size, his words sounded incredibly brave. He didn't expect the boy to understand - his outlandish screeching was confusing for even Maxie at times - but he mainly aimed it at the treecko, who's movements he could hear loud and clear.
Maxie smiled inwardly. Fang was a coward when it came down to it; he'd much rather run from a battle than fight... but his was a plucky little so-and-so when it came to exchanges of words.

{ooc| sorry I'm so on-and-off tonight....lots of things to do...}

[Alter Ego]

OOC: She sure is, hurt poor Raistlin's feelings she did. Lucky that the boy is so soft. XD

IC:

Raistlin couldn't help smiling ever so slightly as he was more or less ordered to stay. Maxie certainly had a crude manner, but she must have had her reasons...everyone did, and he was sure that there was something good deep down beneath all that cynicism...very deep down.

"Rai?" he echoed at the girl's inqury, testing the name for himself. He had to admit that there was a certain ring to it. Rai, short and simple, no complex multisyllablicness there to make the name sound more special than others, no deep and hidden meanings in the name, just three simple letters. Like Raistlin without the burden of heritage and tradition to weigh it down. His smile widened slightly "It does sound better. Rai it is then."

He watched with a certain amount of curiosity as Maxie went about her fidgeting, seemingly just for the sake of it, before confronting him with another question; Aren't you going to sit down?

Rai decided to answer by actions rather than words, sitting down on his seat again. Once again his imprinted manners had shown, pushing the boy even further from what he was trying to come off as; normal. He had a lot to learn. Meanwhile, Chupon was still clinging to his trainer, although the Treecko had opened his eyes once more, noticing that the situation wasn't quite as tense any longer. As Fang squeaked up, Rai listened politely in an attempt to make sense of the numerous high-pitched noises but to no avail. Chupon on the other hand loosened his grip slightly, turning his eyes to the Zubat and watching him with a mixture of anxiety and curiosity in his manner.

{You sound like Ashu...} the Trecko remarked at last, a shy grin spreading across his face {Except for the 'sorry' part. She never says sorry about anything.} the little gecko shuffled from foot to foot, hoping that his comment hadn't struck a vein as he kept watching the Zubat in front of him with fascination. How could the creature see when it had no visible eyes, he wondered, and how had it mustered up the courage to stand up to Ashura? The Scyther had been known to intimidate both people and pokémon alike, and that included ones that were larger than her, yet this little creature had actually been picking a fight.

Just then, an announcement briefly filled the compartment, the loudspeaker crackling and coming to life;

"Attention all passengers!" the loudspeaker boomed, "Repeat, attention all passengers! The train will be arriving in Zephyr Town in fifteen minutes! Repeat, we are arriving in Zephyr Town in fifteen minutes! Thank you."

"Almost there..." Rai said absent-mindedly, casting a glance out of the window and watching the landscape outside zoom past. Soon, he thought, soon the true adventure would begin.

[Charon]

{ooc| Weren't they going to Zephyr town? o_o; lol, Raitlin reminds me of myself...}

For a moment, Maxie just watched him scutionously. Then she spoke up, her voice full of quiet curiousity now. "What does it mean? Raitlin?" she followed his gaze out the window. She wasn't used to civillised company, and already, she was itching to get off and do something again. Instead, she wrenched a piece of paper from her pocket coated in plenty of scrawling, childish scribbles - apparently, Maxie's handwriting. She pulled a pencil out from her front pocket, and wrote something else on it, before pulling a face. Fang watched her for a minute, before turning back to Chupon.

{Really?} he said incredulously. He was very rarely called anything but a coward by Maxie, let alone compared to a Scyther. Maxie loved him, of course, but she chided him a lot. Probably because, despite his loud words and high speed, he was relatively pathetic in battle. She was probably stronger than him, in the end. {Well... I guess.... maybe I am.}

Maxie grinned at him, and tugged him roughly on the ear. Once again, he turned towards her, and they exchanged a grin - as if some secret language was passing between them that they alone understood.

{ooc| I'm too tired to write any more... Blergh.}

[Alter Ego]

OOC: Gah, stupid typo. >.< You see...Zephyr and Azure were both members of my first team on my brother's copy of FireRed, a Vaporeon and a Blastoise respectively, and I came to think of them when writing my first IC for this RP, so I kind of got those two mixed up when I wrote just now. You know, maybe I should have named it after another team member, but at least Cheese Town (After meh Pidgeot, don't even ask why I called him that. XD) just didn't sound appropriate. ^^ Gahness, I'm too sleepy to write a proper IC at the moment. Maybe tommorow...but Alter needs to rest now. G'night...

[Ibuberu]

Ooc-
You wish Titan,you wish!
Even IF you beat my holy(XD) post,I'll beat you again.Muaha!!
Rights,we'd better slow down the pace dudes,Plushie hasn't even posted yet.^^;;
And you do not want the Plushie to come after you.XD
Yayness!!!500th post!!

Melissi,its obvious tha the Feebas be cute,you only just realised tha.^^
It must be the singing..and the charm too!!
Come on everyone!Singy along!*dances to Naruto music*
Yibber had a little Feebas....
Now,CHARON!!!MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!*hack*

Titan called Maxie crude.*ish all heartbroken and sad and wanting to stab Titan*^_~
I'm supposed to be the crude one here,though I must admit,Maxie's crude,she ish yet to learn from the masta.*jabs self hard with finger*
Ouch.....

Ic-
{Are we there yet...}Cascade asked the Ralts beside him.

{We've only been walking for 10 minutes,Cassy}Ryne told the Mudkip in a matter-of-fact voice.

"Gah..I didn't know that Zephyr Town was this far from home..."Jena sighed,absent-mindley plucking two apples off a tree the three passed.Throwing the apples to her pokemon as she reached up and grabbed one for herself.

"Right,breakfast anyone?"she smiled to Ryne and Cascade and throwing the apple into the air,twirling around and catching it in an odd fashion.

The Ralts looked at her trainer for a moment before nodding and taking a small bite of the apple in her arms.

Cascade however,threw the apple into the air and ate it whole.

{Hack!Hack!]the Mudkip coughed.

{Honestly,can't you eat properly?You're really weird sometimes.}the Ralts complained and smacked hard against the Mudkip.

{Thanks!}Cascade kipped at Ryne.

Ryne took backed away from Cascade,who didn't seem to notice.His attention had now chosen to lock onto a wild Beautifly.Chasing after it,those wings were just too sparkly for the Mudkip to resist!!
Ryne pulled on her trainer's pant leg,pointing to the Mudkip which was straying from the path.

"Why'd I even bother,mama and papa'll kill me if they know that I ran off,knowing how strict they are...."

"What is it?"Jena,who had been eating her apple in silence looked up as her Ralts tugged her.
The girl's eyes widened at the Beautifly.

"Is that a Beautifly?"her eyes ran up and down its wings,passing her half-eaten apple to Ryne.The girl,who had not only trained but studied,had seen the pokemon in books before,but never in person.The bug pokemon looked fabulous,from its cute head,to those colorful wings.The Beautifly tilted its head at the sight of a human.Alarmed,it frantically started flying away.

"No,wait!!"Jena quickly followed after the pokemon.

Ryne quickly grabbed Cascade,who had been examining a Shroomish,by the tail and chased after their trainer.
The Beautifly kept on looking back at the girl following after her.This had never happened before,what did she do wrong?!After a few minutes and the girl not wanting to give up,the bug pokemon instinctively fired a String shot right at the girl's face.

"Gah!!"Jena cried out as the web-thing hit her right on the face,shocked by the attack,trying to get the silk off her face.Seeing the chance for an escape,the Beautifly jumped into the trees and vanished from sight.
The Ralts and Mudkip finally managed to catch up with the girl,wiping off the last of the string shot from her face.She stared blankly at the spot where the Beautifly was last.
Ryne tugged on her trainer's skirt,passing back the apple.

{Eat now,find the Beautifly later}the Ralts frowned at the girl's behaviour.

"I know Rye....but...that pokemon,it was just too beautiful."the girl agreed with the Ralts,taking a bite of the apple.

"I'm making a pac right now guys!"she suddenly burst out after a few more bites of the fruit,scaring Ryne silly,flinching ever so slightly.

"With you two as witnessess,I promise that I'll catch myself a Beautifly one day,and enter it in a Beauty contest!"the girl closed her eyes for a few seconds,not noticing the Ralts and her flinching,making a sign with her fingers.

{Uh...we're with you there all the way!}Ryne tried to smile,jabbing one arm in the air.

{What?}Cascade cocked his head slightly,lost by his trainer's actions and words.Before staring at the Sun,which had finally completed its rising.
{Lookey there!!}Cascade kipped.

"What is it Cas?"

Because of chasing the Beautifly,the three had unknowingly covered a lot of distance, climbing up a small hill too.Not to far below,a quaint town lay between the valleys,sandwiched between a few hills.

"Zephyr Town!"the girl said with joy,picking up Ryne and Cascade.

---
Jena discarded the apples cores in a public dustbin near the entrance of the town.Which also happened to be a train station.

"What should we do after we stock up?Travel by train or continue down the road guys??"she asked the pokemon in her arms.

{Train!}Ryne pointed to the train station.

{Road!}Cascade disagreed and directed his trainer's attention to the other side of town.

{Train!}
{Road!}
The two stared staggers at each other.

"Uh...."the girl sweat-dropped as she walked away from the station,the two really had a knack for arguing.

"Why don't we-"the girl had to stop in mid-sentence as she excidentely banged into a man.

"Ouch!"Jena fell onto the pavement,landing on her rear.

"Sorry lass."a hand reached down and helped the girl up.

"Great,second time it's happened today...At least it wasn't the face."Jena mentally sighed,feeling rather sheepish.

"Thanks sir."she raised her head to thank the man.Who looked very familiar.

Bearing a jolly look on his face,the man wore a small red cap over short black hair,carrying a fishing rod on one shoulder and from the looks of it was in his mid-30's looked at the girl with the same expression on his face.

"Minane?Jena Minane aren't you?"he questioned the girl.

"Uh....."she shifted her feet slightly,staring at the gray pavement she was on.

"I'm your mother's friend.Fisherman Arnold,remember me?I thought you the basics of fishing a few months back!"he shook the girl's hand.

"Yeah..."the girl grimaced as she took the man's hand.

"What are you doing out so early in the morning?Aren't you having a training session now?Thought your parents forbid you to go out of the school last I heard."Arnold continued with his questions.

"Even better,now I've a nosey man after me!!!"the girl screamed in her head.

"Uh...great day it is today right?"Trying to stall as long as she could manage,till' she thought up of an idea.

"The Sun's been more generous than usual...and you haven't answered my questions."the fisherman raised his eyebrow.

[Random Plushie]

OOC:

Honestly, you all expected me to post on Halloween night? o_O

Gosh, I was busy with homework that was actually assigned, plus I just had to assist my Dad in passing out candy.. Not that anyone actually approached us, we were so scary. XD

Anyways, I'm here now, hooray.



IC:


It was a particularly quiet morning along that country route. The only sound was that of a few Pidgey or Taillow that happened to be perching in the trees that were scattered down the dirt lane, or sometimes the hustle and bustle within a lonely cottage that one happened to pass.

This was just one of the many paths to Zephyr Town, although not many came through because the path led towards a privately owned estate, which required a certain measure of permission to enter.

However, on this morning, there was a couple of beings heading up this particular route, the distant hill their only sign of a destination.


{Kay-Kay, I'm bored. How much further do we have to go?} That was a Mudkip, a particularly peppy one that proceeded to bounce up and down on the shoulder of his Trainer.

The girl Trainer sighed, swinging a solid black case too and fro with one hand; apparently she was bored too. The weather had grown particularly warm as the Sun crept higher into the sky, and yet this girl was dressed in a white, hooded sweater over her shirt, as well as long pants. She didn't seem to mind at all as she gave a response to her Pokemon.

"Well, Mummy said that it was a few miles away from the house.. So.. I guess we're about half an hour away." She said, closing her eyes for a bit as a small gust of wind blew past, ruffling her long, chocolate brown hair, which was tied back in a Ponyta-tail, ironically.

At this, the little Mudkip frowned slightly, tilting his head.

{If it's so close, how come we've never been there? This Zebra thingy sounds so cool, how could we have missed out on it?} He kipped, eyes widening with curiousity.

Kayley, the Trainer, sighed.

"Mummy says that it's wasn't worth our time. She said that mostly Pokemon Trainers go through there, and that's why we're only going there now." She explained, lessening her swing on the case she was still holding.

The Mudkip stopped bouncing up and down.

{But we've been practicing for a long time. That didn't count as training..?}

"Yes. But Mummy isn't supposed to know about that." The girl replied, a smile creeping to her lips.

And for a while, the two fell into a harmonius silence, continuing down the road.



{...We'd get there faster on Razzie.} The Mudkip chirped suddenly, shattering the silence.

"Fishy.." Kayley grinned to her fullest, "She would've killed you for calling her that." She whispered just loud enough for him to hear, not that anyone was nearby, quickly unclipping a Pokeball from her waist, then throwing it up into the air.

As the ball popped open, the all-too familiar burst of a light flashed for a second, instantly dying down to reveal a Ponyta. This Ponyta seemed different from your average one, having a perfected posture, standing tall; nose slightly turned in the air. Around her neck was a Red Scarf, which actually matched the dancing flames that made up the Pokemon's mane and tail.

As the Ponyta glanced around her surroundings, she turned her head downwards to become face-to-face with her Trainer. Apparently Kayley was the one thing this creature respected, just by looking at the way she had stood a few seconds ago.

{Not there yet? Figured as much. Very well, I know what you want. Get on.} The Ponyta stated in a rather annoying know-it-all voice, which was dripping with boredom.

It took a second or two for the human to piece her words together, all though not all of them, eventually stepping closer to the Pokemon and swinging the black case over her ride before slowly mounting the Ponyta.

Leaping up with newfound excitement, the Mudkip, obviously dubbed Fishy, burst into giggles. He just loved these kinds of rides.

"Okay, Razz, this path leads directly into town, just keep following it, and stop when we reach the entrance." Kayley said to the Ponyta, obviously named Razz.

The Ponyta snorted in response, charging into an easy gallop within the next few seconds, forcing Fishy to tighten his grip on Kayley's shoulder.



OOC: Tee hee, I'll enter eventually. =3

[Alter Ego]

OOC: Yayness Plushie! The cast ish gathered! ^^ But Yibber...you're really putting pressure on me, aren't you? Tsk, I suppose it's time for the train to arrive then.

IC:

Chupon chuckled at Fang's comment, obviously the Zubat wasn't used to getting much positive feedback.

Raistlin looked up at Maxie's question, taking note of the far less hostile tone in her voice, the girl seemed to be relaxing again. "It's supposedly a word in ancient Showgan." he replied, "Starseeker as I recall." he chuckled "Mother went absolutely frantic when she heard that I had been named like that. You see, they say that anyone who goes by that name is destined to travel in search of his dreams. And alas, that was not exactly what she had in mind."

The boy was about to continue, but suddenly he could almost swear that he felt Ashura's accusing stare at the back of his head. He was supposed to be travelling incognito after all, and it might not have been a good idea to reveal too much of his family relations.

Fortunately, the awkward silence that would have ensued was prevented by the noise that suddenly filled the compartment, and every other compartment on the train, as the train came to a screeching halt, the loudspeaker announcing this as well, quite a redundant procedure really.

"Well, this is my stop." Rai said, smiling apologetically, rising to his feet once more and picking up Chupon in his arms before lifting up his backpack and slinging it over his shoulder "Until we meet again, Maxie." he bowed once more before exiting the compartment and dissapearing into the crowd outside.

{See you later!} Chupon called out as they left, waving at Fang.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A short while later, the pair exited the train station, Raistlin stepping slightly out of the main crowd's way.

"That was close..." he said, stroking Chupon slightly, a slight measure of sadness in his voice. Despite having acted in accordance with all etiquette, the boy still felt a sting of guilt about the way he had left. They had just started getting along, and then he had to go babbling about things that shouldn't be spoken of and spoil it all.

Chupon looked up, guessing his trainer's thoughts and hugging his neck as well as his chubby little gecko arms would allow him. {Do you think we'll meet them again?} the Treecko asked.

"I hope so..." Rai replied, smiling at the grass type's gesture of empathy "I certainly hope so..."

He began striding down the steps of the train station, taking in his surroundings. Zephyr Town was nice enough as towns went but there was nothing special to it. After all, what was there to be said about a town which was best known for its large harbour and train station? Zephyr Town wasn't the kind of place where things happened, it was the kind of place you went to when you wanted to get to other places, in the middle of everything without being locally exciting and, according to 'The Showgan Traveller's Guide', it was a great place to bring up children. The closest thing to excitement to be found was the Minane Trainer School, but the building was located a good bit from town so it didn't really count.

"Come on out, Ashura." Rai said at last, unleashing the Scyther from her pokéball. Grouchy and crude though she was, the mantis pokémon's presence still made the boy feel better, and right now, in the middle of this crowd, the space that others gave her was a significant advantage as well. Walking onwards, one scene in particular caught the boy's attention. Standing not too far from the train station, a young girl, about Rai's age, her black hair falling about mid-back, was talking to a fisherman, and apparently finding herself in a spot of trouble.

Ashura sighed at the look that ignited in Rai's eyes, the boy could never resist helping out a lady in need. And sure enough, Rai began discreetly making his way closer to the two people, beginning to listen in to the conversation. Chupon, who had taken up sitting on the boy's shoulder, turned his attention to it as well. He had the strangest feeling that they were about to witness a typical Raistlin plan soon enough.

{Foolishness...} Ashura muttered, shaking her head in contempt {This is all foolishness...}

[Ibuberu]

Ooc-
What?What's I do??*looks ever so innocent*^^

Ic-
"Uh...well,I..."Jena started,hands behind her back,her feet continued their unwanted movements around the pavement.

{Bleh,why should she tell you,punk!}Cascade stuck his tougue out to the fisherman when he wasn't paying attention.Slowly ceasing the rude face as he noticed someone heading towards them.

{What is it now?}Ryne turned her head,feeling a rather strong emotion,followed by another type of feeling,which the Ralts couldn't exactly put her finger on.It was coming from the Scyther,and the boy beside it who was approaching them.

"What?"Jena stared as a total and complete utter stranger walked towards her and Arnold.He looked like he had a good life,clothes like brand new.The girl couldn't help but take a glance at her skirt,which had become a little tattered after all those trainings.Jena sneaked out a sigh and shook her head as the fisherman looked away from her.

"And who's this young man?"Arnold hadn't failed to notice the boy as well,giving him a good look from head to toe.

"Ah.."Jena started to open her mouth,wondering what she could say.First,she was going to be busted,and now a strange boy walking up to them,not to mention with his rather agitated looking Scyther.

[Fls4eva]

"Argh.. Just a bit more to go..." Silver said panting.. She was just a few steps away to reaching Zephyr Town.. "I've been travelling for at least 2days... Getting real tired.." she complained..

{Yeah.. So are we..} Miruka and Yuraki agreed in unison...

"Ahhh.. finally.. We're here.. Let's party!!" Silver cheered.. She walked towards the Pokemon Center and whispered to her Pokemon... "I think both of you deserve a rest.."

{Yay!! Silver so rule!!} Miruka cheered..

Silver handed her Pokemon to the lady at the reception. After a while, the lady passed her back the Pokemon in the pink of health.. "Now what should we do??" Silver thought..

OCC: Flissie's feet are aching from all the walking today.. Argh..

[Alter Ego]

OOC: Gee...I have no idea Yibber. No idea at all...XD

"Harlan Geldencross." Rai lied without as much as staggering, his actor's training showing itself as he walked over to Arnold with the well-disciplined stride that the guards outside the LeBlauqe mansion always held, and smiled politely while holding out a hand for him to shake "Geldencross Security services. And these are my partners." he gestured towards Chupon and Ashura "And I do believe that I have found the person I was dispatched to look for." he turned towards Jena, "You are lady..."

{Minane.} Ashura, who's keen hearing had picked up the name while they walked over, shot in in her usual diligent manner. Although she didn't approve of the boy lying, she still found it preferable to him being caught doing so.

"...Minane, correct?" Rai concluded, adding in the name so quickly that the pause was barely noticable "Your parents sent me to escort you."

"Just play along, trust me..." he mouthed at a moment during which Arnold's attention had been shifted to Ashura, flashing the girl a mischievous grin before returning his expression to one of professional discipline.

[Ibuberu]

Ooc-
*pokes Titan*you trying to be funny dude??

Right Flissi...right,me hopes tha your legs,they feel better they do.*looks at clock*
Oh yay,how late it ish...me mom's gonna come out here and bite me head off for using the comp so late.>_<

Darn it,Yibber's family dragging her along to play badminton tomorrow...>_<
I'll be too tired to RP tomorrow,so don't go so far without me!
Or feel my wrath.>D

Ic-
"Uh...right!Right!"Jena tried her best to look as though she had just remembered the boy as he mouthed to her.

"Really,I've heard Madam say that she wouldn't trust anyone other than a close family member her daughter."Arnold scratched his chin,refusing to give up.

"This,he's my grandfather's,niece's,aunt's,brother's,cousin's,grand daughter's,uncle's,nephew!"she gestured to the boy,thinking up as much words to confuse the fisherman.Actually,they nothing like each other,apart from the color of their clothes.

"Really?Close you say?"he asked the girl before taking another look at the boy.

"Yup,very close,his father,comes to play chess with my papa every week or so."the girl fibbed.

"I didn't see him when I taught you."the girl fumed at the fisherman,why couldn't he just accept the facts.

"Oh look,is that a shiny Magikarp riding on a two headed Poliwag?"the girl called out pointing behind the fisherman.

"Where?!"Arnold turned his back to the group.

"Come on!"Jena stiffled a giggle as she grabbed the boy's wrist,pulling him and herself hard out of the fisherman's sight.
Cascade and Ryne quickly ran after their trainer,though,they couldn't resist but stare at Ashura.

----

"Right,I know I've to say thanks and all for helping me..."the girl said to the boy.Hoping that since he caught her last name,he didn't know the she was related to the Minane training school.

"I'm Jena by the way,if you want to know."she didn't really know how to properly introduce herself,so dealed with telling the boy her name.

"Okay..first of all,what's your deal coming out like that?"Jena didn't wait for the boy's reply to her name and started a conversation with him in a small alleyway,praying that it was far enough from Arnold.It felt rather stuffy,plus the boy's Scyther didn't seem to make things better as well.Well,the girl was used enough to tough-looking pokemon around the school,and the Scyther didn't seem all that bad anyway.Except for that look in its eyes.

[Alter Ego]

OOC: Funny? Me? *Innocent face* I've never been funny in my whole life. Don't you believe me? XD

IC:

{That I would like to know as well...} Ashura commented in a dry voice, promptly ignoring the rather open stares of Cascade and Ryne as she turned to keep watch over the alleyway, just in case they needed to make a quick escape, although she made a point of casting suspicious glances at Jena now and again. She already knew the answer though, so she didn't really bother to wait for the boy to reply.

Rai grinned slightly sheepishly at the girl's question, noting that she hadn't left any room for him to make an introduction. He still needed to gather experience of commonfolk manners it seemed. "You looked like you were in trouble." he replied honestly, "I just wanted to help that's all."

{Yeah!} Chupon squeaked up {We were just trying to be nice, honest!}

{Meddle in things that are none of your concern more likely...} Ashura muttered, why her trainer had to get involved with the troubles of every strange female he came across on this day she didn't know.

[Charon]

{ooc| I'm really busy..working on my Mum's birthday card... blergh, I hate coloured pencils. They roll everywhere. I've spent about 40% of the afternoon just scrambling around after the darn things.}

The girl gave a sigh of relief as the train drew into the station.
"Well...bye..." she muttered to Raitlin, but he had already left. He evidently couldn't wait to get shot of her, and Maxie was happy to say the feeling was mutual. Boys his age were an-noy-ing! Her mind darted back to Mac, who had been her partner for...what, three months now? He was clever; she gave him credit, he could work her and Fang around the tight sort of situations she just didn't have the brain power for... but he was still an eager little beaver. She pulled a face at the thought.

Fang laughed out loud at his trainer's fearsome expression. She had set her jaw in such a way she looked like an extremely irritable pit-bull - a sign, Fang had come to learn, meant she was stewing in dislike.
{Maaaaxie. We need to go, remember?}
She gave a rough sort of sigh, and allowed the bat to hop back in her pocket. Together, they joined the thrumming crowd, and exited the train.

A minite later, they stood on the station. Maxie sniffed. This town smelt funny. Too clean, she decided. Fang would have decribed it as a 'lemon-fresh scent' that hung over the station - to Maxie, it was more like 'bleach-and-disinfectant-overload'.
Her eyes fell on the boy - what was his name again? (She had already forgotton) - a few feet away. What a moron he was! He was chatting to another girl now, one Maxie noticed, was extremely pretty. She 'ha-rumphed' and turned to walk in the opposite direction, when Fang spoke up.
{Maxie, you left your pen on the train.} he squeaked. {You're so forgetful, you'd loose your head if it wasn't screwed on-} Maxie froze. She turned very quickly, causing her pokemon to give a yelp of fright. {Max?} he asked tensely.
Her reply came in a strained, thin voice.
"Sephy's pokeball is missing!"

{ooc| lmao at Yibber's post xD
DUN DUN DUN! Man, I love playing Maxie. She gives me an excuse to be a complete she-dog and take the mick out of everyone.}

[Alter Ego]

OOC: Well, it looks like Rai is stuck until Yibber posts again, but I have a way to...entertain myself in the mean time. XD

IC:

Just as Maxie had noticed that some of her property was missing, a rather short figure dressed in a large grey overcoat and a broad-brimmed grey hat, a large brown, moustache sticking out from beneath it being the only visible feature of his body, moved, in a slightly peculiar manner, out from the train station and over to a shaded corner, away from prying eyes.

"I take it, you were successfull, Zander?" a male voice inquired, its owner, a tall and thin man, with a grey moustache rather similar to that of the mysterious figure, who appeared to be in his forties or so, dressed in a black, tailor-made suit and holding a wooden cane in his right hand, stepping out of the shadows.

"Kaa-zam." the figure replied, nodding as a single pokéball came floating out from within the confines of his overcoat, suspended in the air by a light blue nimbus of energy.

"Excellent." the man said, smirking in a self-satisfied way and twirling his moustache, his grey eyes glinting "You know what to do."

"Zam." the figure replied, discarding the overcoat and the hat with a mere thought, and rising up into a lotus position, hovering a few inches above the ground. The Alakazam shut its eyes and lifted the spoons in both its hands up, a nimbus similar to the one surrounding the pokéball encasing it as well before both dissapeared from view, teleporting to a pre-determined destination.

"Now then..." the man said quietly for himself, wandering towards Maxie, "On to phase two..." he suddenly increased the speed of his stride, purposefully walking into the girl and knocking her off balance while taking the opportunity to sneak a note into the girl's pocket.

"Watch yourself, plebian." the man said indignantly, brushing himself off "If I weren't in such a hurry I would have someone arrest you for this assault on my person."

Before the girl was given any chance to reply, the man had already walked onward, taking a few zig-zags through the street to loose any possible tracking and smirking for himself at the thought of the girl seeing his message. Making people jump through hoops was ever so much fun.

[Charon]

{ooc| lol. Yibber won't be back 'til tomorrow, though....didn't she say? *jabs her post*
Also, Fliss, Yibber and Plushie, I hope you don't mind if I swear/talk filthily. Alter and Melissa should be used to it by now... but I'm just checking.}

Maxie was too used to being pushed around to be intimidated. She turned around, and shouted after the man.
"Go jump off a cliff, you pervert!" she shouted back, as she felt his hand brush her thigh, before swearing even more colourfully.
She staggered back onto her two feet, and gritted her teeth. "Jumped up little..." she muttered. For a split second, what looked like two pin-prick fangs, were visible above her normal teeth - but she clamped her mouth shut almost immedietly, because she was faintly aware of people around her. She didn't like questions.

{Max! Look in your pocket!} Fang urged, and Maxie's hands slipped down, only to retrieve a crumpled looking note. She stared at Fang desperately. "Not again..." she muttered.
{Maxie, you can't read!} he exclaimed.
"Yes, I think I gathered that."
The pair stared at it blankly. She opened it, squinted at the words...pulled yet another face. She finally turned her attention to Rai and the girl again. Maybe he has my Sephy? She thought, and began to feel her temper rise again. She had trusted him, she had-
{Count to three. Calm down!} Fang urged, sensing her temper rising. Maxie did as she was told.

[Alter Ego]

OOC: She sure did, and now you've gone and given my poor arrogant side-character a headache. How's he supposed to blackmail an illiterate? XD

IC:

Ashura's eyes narrowed as she noticed the girl from before watching their little gathering with a bit too much interest. There had been something definitely suspicious about that man who had run into her and that note was undoubtedly important but it seemed like this particular female considered it more essential to sneak her peek into other people's bussiness. The Scyther scoffed, absent-mindedly running one of her blades through a nearby discarded plank, effortlessly slicing it in two. Why couldn't humans ever stay out of each other's concerns?

Meanwhile, the mysterious man chuckled in contentment over his scheeme, that is, until he came to realize that the girl didn't seem to be paying her message any heed, staring intently into an alley instead. The man cursed under his breath, certainly he hadn't expected much in the way of intelligence from this one, but an illiterate?

"Zander." he said testily, noting that the Alakazam had just teleported back behind him. "Go over and help the simian with the message. Wear this." he handed the psychic type a simple grey robe, one quite similar to what a monk might wear.

Zander scoffed, obviously considering this beneat