Johto's New League [PG-15]

[Doctor Who]

Gary Stu - Great post! And eve though I'm unfamiliar with Jimi Hendrix, Little Wing seems an appropriate name (:

Congratulations, Pidgey (Little Wing) grew to lv. 8!
Congratulations, Shockman grew to lv. 9 and learned Leer!

Pikalover10 - Great post, I like the interaction between Jax and his Spearow, seems like it's not going to be an easy partnership.

 

[Nate_Dawg]

Obadiah Samuel Woodsworth

"Raphael!" The sight of the small pink Munna bouncing across the ground after taking such a vicious strike from the sneaky mole-like pokemon caused both rage and fear to swell to overflowing levels in the young trainer. There was no struggle to get up, no squeals of pain, and no hope for the small creature to continue the fight. The attack had succeeded in knocking the Munna out cold. For the first time since receiving the creature, Obadiah held up the creature's pokeball. With a simple command, "Raphael return," a beam of red light gulfed the defeated pokemon, sending her to a safe haven until she could receive medical attention. Getting to a place where medical attention could be given was going to be a bit more difficult than making a flash of red light. The young trainer was going to have to figure out how to deal with the rather angry mole pokemon that was glaring at him in a rather unfriendly way. The situation was only made worse by the fact that the dark skinned trainer's only remaining pokemon was still clinging rather tightly to his jeans. There wasn't going to be any fight out of the timid Buneary this day. Escape was going to be their only option. The mole-like pokemon didn't look like he was interested in just letting them walk away though. At least not until the creature got what it wanted.

"Anna," Obadiah said with a clam but stern voice. "I'm going to need you to drop the food on the ground. We can find you something else to eat, but we need to get out of here right now. Just put the food on the ground, we will back up slowly. Is that understood?" The young trainer risked losing sight of their attacker and took a look down at the long eared pokemon. The creature was undeniably scared but managed to nod her head with a very soft, "Buneary," in response to the young man. Very slowly, the Buneary lowered the food in her arms to the ground. Not wanting to put her through anything else, Obadiah reached down and pulled the terrified Buneary into his arms and started to back up. Appearing to not be completely sure what was happening, Thing One slowly took steps towards the food.

After taking three very slow steps backwards, Obadiah had a very good feeling that his plan was going to work. Anna was content on staying in his arms and the mole pokemon was not showing any threat of attacking. Everything was going to be alright. He would make to the next town and get Raphael some help, all without putting Anna in the position of having to fight anything. "Well played good sir," the young trainer mumbled to himself with a hint of satisfaction. "Very well pla…Ahhh!"

A beak striking him in the middle of his back brought forth a cry of pain from the young trainer as he stumbled forward from the impact. One step…a second step…and then he was falling. It took a lot of effort, but Obadiah was able to twist his body enough to keep from landing with all his weight on Anna. The food she had just laid down as a peace offering to Thing One was not as lucky. The young man could feel it crushing beneath him and he connected with the ground. More than slightly confused, Obadiah had little chance to figure out what had just happened. Feeling the vibrations of feet striking earth getting quickly closer, Obadiah rolled swiftly to his right, avoiding a pair of claws striking where his head had been moments before. Scrambling to his feet in a less than graceful manner, the young man desperately tried to get a handle on the situation. The movement of a flying feathery figure to his right forced him to abandon the thought as he ducked to avoid a beak to the face. The distraction was enough for him to forget about Thing One for a moment too long. The short but sturdy pokemon slammed into the dark skinned youth's chest (technically his arms which were currently being used to hold Anna close to his chest). Having lost his balance from avoiding whatever else was attacking him, the young man was sent toppling backwards. Obadiah ended up on his back, Anna still clutched in his arms, with Thing One on top of him. The angry pokemon raised its arms in the air ready to strike at the helpless man below him. Not having another option, the boy shouted the only thing he could think of to avoid the attack, "Anna, Pound him in the face with your ears!"

Now to be honest, Obadiah was less than confidant that his desperate plan would work in the long run. The Buneary had not been exactly brave so far when it came to facing the mole-like creature. On the other hand, the Buneary had yet to disobey whenever the young man had asked her to do something. For whatever reason, the long eared pokemon seemed to completely trust Obadiah even though she had only been with the young man for a short period of time. Whatever the reason for this trust, Obadiah prayed that the blind obedience would extend to fighting as well, something the timid pokemon seemed (at least up until this point) inclined away from doing.

As the claws came down, two fluffy ears extend. With nothing to block the attack, Thing One was force to take the attack directly to the face. The attack lacked power, but it was enough to disorient the creature. Seeing his opportunity, Obadiah released his hold on Anna and used his hands to throw the mole pokemon off of him to the right. Pulling himself up, the young man was finally able to figure out what was going on. Searching the area, the only other living thing to be seen was a single Spearow sitting on the branch of a nearby tree, surveying the scene below it with an ominous glare. It appeared to be just another random pokemon until the young man caught sight of its left side. The creature's wing looked odd. The wing didn't look broken, but it was almost like someone had kicked the… "You have got to be kidding me…"

It was same bird from the day before: the one that Obadiah had kicked after Raphael had defeated it. "I should have kicked the damn thing harder," the annoyed trainer cursed to himself as he glared hatefully at the creature in the tree. The sound of movement on the ground behind him brought a panic to the young trainer. Crap! I'm still in the middle of a battle. "Anna, Curl up in Defense," Obadiah shouted without actually seeing what was happening. Turning back around, the scene that greeted the young trainer was one of Thing One landing a rather painful scratch on a curled up Anna. The force of the hit sent the Buneary rolling backwards. Obadiah was already two steps into his sprint to reach his pokemon when something surprising happened. After rolling head over heels about three times, the Buneary gained a sudden control over herself. Pushing lightly off the ground with her foot, Anna managed to perform a stunning backflip, landing softly on top of a medium sized boulder. What was even more surprising, however, was the large smile that was on the creatures face. The fear and trembling that had handicapped the Buneary only minutes before were gone. Strangely enough, the Buneary actually looked like she was having fun. Obadiah found it difficult not to smile and laugh at the change of events.

"Haha, that's my girl. Now let's show these two reject what we're made of." Finishing his run, Obadiah took a stand behind the Buneary so that he could see both of their attackers…attacker. "Damnit, where'd that bird go?" Obadiah had his answer a second later when caught sight of the Spearow diving from the left in an attempt to attack the newly confidant Buneary's flank. "Get in the air and Pound that thing to the ground with one of your ears," the young trainer ordered to Anna while trying to think of a plan that would take out both of the attacking pokemon. Ears curled tightly, the Buneary launched herself into the air with a just enough force to clear the diving bird's beak. Rotating her body into a front flip, the long eared pokemon unleashed one of her ears down towards the Spearow streaking below. The attack would have been deadly, but the bird pokemon was too fast, avoiding the attack by rolling to the right. Having missed her target, Anna was now in danger of being hit herself. Thing One was sprinting to where the Buneary was about to land. There was no way that the long eared pokemon was going to be able to land and jump again in time to avoid the attack…unless

"Anna, Pound the ground!" Right as the Buneary reached the ground she quickly uncoiled her other ear and struck the earth beneath. The force of her ear hitting the ground was just strong enough to lift Anna back into the air just as Thing One reached where she had been with its claws. Not expecting to miss, the mole-like pokemon had put all of its weight behind the attack resulting in a loss of balance when it connected with nothing but air. Seeing the opening, Obadiah jumped to action. "Now's your chance, hit it will another Pound." Curling her ears back to her head, the Buneary unleashed both of her ears into the back of the creatures head. Already off balance, the strike sent the mole pokemon stumbling forward towards a nearby boulder. Obadiah knew that he could not let the creature regain its composure. "Anna, get in close and finish it off with another Pound." The Buneary, face covered with excited smile, covered the distance to Thing One in a single hop, adding a flip to make it interesting. Just as she was about to attack however, Obadiah saw his feathery friend dive once again from the sky. Crap, it's just going to keep using that damn mole as a distraction. I got to take one of them out. The idea came quickly, and the young trainer spoke as quickly as he thought. "Jump over the mole thing and Pound it in the face!"

"Bun bun, Buneary," Anna exclaimed as she leapt forward and over the mole-like pokemon. Upside down in the air and staring with a smile at her confused opponent, the happy Buneary fiercely unraveled her ears into the face of her attacker. Dizzy, confused, and in pain, Thing One stumbled back two steps into the path of an attacking Spearow. The Spearow, unable to avoid its new target, was force to follow through with its attack, slamming its beak into the unfortunate pokemon and sending it to the ground. "One down and one to go, Anna. You're doing amazing. Keep it up." The Buneary, now bouncing up and down on the boulder, seemed to be enjoying herself. "Bun bun, Buneary. Bun bun, Buneary," the creature sang as she waited for her next command. Turning his focus to the sky, Obadiah search and located the Spearow circling overhead. The bird seemed content to just lazily soar along, waiting for an opening to strike.

"Damn bird thinks it owns the sky. I think it's gotten a bit full of himself, Anna." The Buneary did a backflip in agreement. Obadiah was starting to like the creature new attitude. Ever since she took that first hit, it is almost like the Buneary had realized that things were not as scary as she had made them out to be. Almost like a kid getting a shot. The actual shot is never as bad as what the kid makes it out to be in their mind. "Alright then, let's show that waste of feathers that it isn't the only pokemon here who can fly. Jump up there and give it a nice Pound" With a smile, the Buneary bent her legs and launched herself into the air up at a very surprise Spearow. Surprised as it was, the bird was still able to avoid the thrusting ears of the Buneary. It's just too fast. Anna's never going to hit it at this rate. As the Buneary began her decent, Obadiah noticed a more serious problem than accuracy. The Spearow had gathered itself and was on the attack. It was going to try and hit Anna right as she reached the ground. Obadiah knew he needed to figure out a way to end this fight quickly.

"Anna, use Foresight to even the playing field" Still falling from the sky, the Buneary closed her eyes and seemed to enter a strange state of meditation (well, as much as you can when you're falling out of the sky). She also entered into a serious of front flips. The next few moments were going to take amazing timing, and Obadiah knew it. Taking a deep breath, the young trainer unleashed his plan right as Anna was about to reach the ground and be hit by the diving Spearow. "Pound the ground and push yourself in the same direction as the bird then finish it off." Ears connected with earth as the Buneary gave herself a little boast into the air to avoid the incoming Spearow and position herself directly above where the bird pokemon was going. Looking up, the Spearow was greeted by a smile and a cheerful, "Buneary," follow quickly by two ears to the face. As the Spearow slammed into the ground, Anna finished a graceful flip and stuck a perfect landing. Two down. The next moment, she was being tossed back into the air by a pair of thick arms.

"Yeah! You were awesome!" The attention was almost too much for the Buneary to take. Though Obadiah could not tell, the long eared pokemon was blushing as much as it was possible for the pokemon to blush. Catching the Buneary as she came back down, the young trainer continued his praise. "And to think you were scared of leaves this morning. Ha, I can barely believe it." Setting the creature back on the ground, Obadiah began to calm just a bit. He was less embarrassed about his outburst than he would normally be because no one was around to see it. Regardless, it wasn't something he wanted to make a habit out of. Still, he could not help but be proud of the timid creature at his feet. He would have to get her something nice in town.

"Alright Anna, let's get to town so we can get Raphael some help. She took some nasty hits in that battle." Patting the Buneary on the head, Obadiah set off down the path at a quickened pace. Not liking birds or things that attack him, the young trainer left all three pokemon knock-out in the field. A cheerful Buneary hopped along happily behind him as he went.

OOC: Finally. That took longer than I thought it would. Hope you enjoy it. Anyways, I'll post in Cherrygrove town soon. On a side note, it seems that Obadiah is not very observant. He is constantly suffering from sneak attacks.

 

[Doctor Who]

Nate_Dawg - Great battle once more, seems like karma really lands a hit for Obadiah xD

Congratulations, Anna grew to lv. 6 and learned Endure!

 

[dragonite149]

OOC: How hard to get is a Pidgey? Very hard, it seems. Also, this post is still Route 29. I don't wanna make my character leave till she gets a Pidgey.

IC: The Pokeball suddenly opened, and the Pidgey flew out! It soared away, dropping a hard rock on Cirruna's head as it did so.
"Ouch! Anyway, there goes my chance at getting Luntique back. Darn Pidgeys..." Cirruna growled, trying to hold back her tears. She could not hold them in anymore, and she began crying.
"I HATE Pidgeys, and my Doduo hates me!" she bursted out angrily.

Then, Cirruna tucked up behind a smooth, brown and fairly large rock that was to the right of the main route. She always tucked up out of sight when she was really angry. It was a childhood habit. She just cried for a few minutes, ignoring the world around her. But soon, she started to think.

I won't become a Champion just sitting here. To be a Champion, I have to get up and do something. So what if I've lost my starter? He hates me, and I can easily catch a common Pokémon to replace him. So, I'll go find a Sentret or something. And I can catch a replacement Flying Type, like Spearow.

Then, Cirruna heard something in the distance.
"Duo. Do. Do~duo."
It was faint, but Cirruna could hear it quite clearly. It sounded like a Doduo! Then, Cirruna heard it again, but clearer. Cirruna looked ahead. She could see two beige beaks in the distance, then two brown heads, then a brown body. Cirruna recognised these quite clearly. They belonged to a Doduo; Luntique! Luntique came closer to Cirruna.
"Luntique, do you want to work with me now?" Cirruna asked. Luntique just turned both of his heads away at the offer. Guess I'll try reverse psychology or whatever it's called now.
"If you don't want to work with me, I'll just go catch an even more awesome Flying Type, like Spearow, to replace you," Cirruna boasted. This made Luntique take a glance at Cirruna.
"Duo," Luntique responded. He took a few steps toward Cirruna, when...

Whoosh! Another bird Pokemon soared down from the cloudless skies. It was mostly brown, with a black underbelly and red wingtips.
"Row! Spearow!" it cried as it evilly glared at Luntique. Its white talons were firmly embedded in the dirt. However, instead of facing it, Luntique backed off, hiding behind Cirruna. Cirruna ran away from the Spearow, closer to the main route. Luntique was clearly scared of it, and Cirruna couldn't beat it if her Pokemon couldn't even attack it. The Spearow soared away when Cirruna fled. Luntique sped after Cirruna, and soon overtook her. Thus, Luntique was on the main route first.

Soon after, Cirruna caught up to her Doduo.
"Luntique, do you want to be my partner?" Cirruna asked.
"Doduo!" Luntique replied enthusiastically.

"Then let's head to Cherrygrove!" Cirruna exclaimed. She began running towards Cherrygrove, but Luntique just glanced around. He was looking for something, but what? Both of his heads were looking in different directions, scanning the grass. Eventually, he saw the grass shake. He ran over to the patch, and chased out the thing shaking it. As the thing ran away from Luntique and towards Cirru, it revealed itself to be a Pidgey. As it approached Cirru, it looked up at her with curiosity.

Why did Luntique have to bring a Pidgey to me? But it is a Pokémon, so I might as well battle it. Wait, what attacks does Doduo know? Tackle seems like a no-brainer, though.

"Luntique, use your Tackle attack!" Cirru commanded, but Luntique just stared at her, confused. In that time, the Pidgey had managed to get a Tackle attack in. The charge inflicted a bit of damage to Cirru's Doduo, but Luntique could withstand it. So he doesn't know Tackle. Well, maybe Peck? A no-brainer for Pokemon with a beak.
"Luntique, try a Peck!" Cirru exclaimed. One of her Doduo's beak glew and extended, before Luntique charged beak ready to strike the TinyPidgeon Pokemon. The Pidgey retalitated with Tackle, however the Peck attack hit the Pidgey before it was able to connect with Luntique. The Pidgey was bruised by the Peck, but it survived the attack. After the Peck had hit, Luntique paused for a few seconds, before sprinting back to Cirru. The wild Flying Type used this time to kick up a cloud of dust around itself.
"Try another Peck!" Cirru cried. Her Doduo tried to strike the Pidgey with one of his beaks. The Pidgey managed to dodge, and some dust found its way into Luntique's eyes.
"Peck again, Luntique!" Cirru exclaimed. Luntique extended his beak, but he could not seem to see anything. The wild Pidgey jumped out of the dust cloud and Tackled Luntique. Then it rested for a while- it was getting tired from battling. I'm in a tough spot now. My Doduo can't attack, and Pidgey is gaining the upp-

BEEP! BEEP!

A beeping noise snapped Cirru out of her thoughts. It was her Pokedex that was beeping. Cirru pulled the red mini-encyclopedia out of her pocket. She hadn't a clue about how to use it, however. Instinctively, she held it in front of her Doduo.
Doduo, the Twin Bird Pokémon. It runs faster than it can fly. It is a Normal/Flying Type, and it has the ability Early Bird. This Doduo knows the moves Peck, Growl, Quick Attack and Mirror Move.
Mirror Move, huh? I'm sure I can work out a strategy with that. Just then, the Pidgey zoomed at Luntique, in a Tackle Attack. Also, Cirru had an idea.
"Luntique, take the attack, and send it back with Mirror Move!" she commanded. Luntique fearlessly took the attack. Then, he charged at the Pidgey with Tackle, which damged it quite a bit.

I might as well catch it for my team. The more Pokemon the better.

Cirru reached into her bag, and pulled out a Pokeball. She threw the red and white sphere at the Tinybird Pokemon, after she had increased its size. Cirru watched the Pokeball wobble...


OOC: Was my post good enough?

 

[Doctor Who]

Dragonite194 - As I'd said before, the other post was just below the bar that has been set for the role-play, quality-wise. This one really was a lot better though.

Congratulations, Cirruna caught a lv. 3 male Pidgey!

Also, happy new years everyone ;)

 

[Doctor Who]

Chapter Three
Route 30
Free Post
Number of Posts: 1-2​

Laying close to the mountain range, Route 30 is a steep route hugging barren mountains on one side, and thick forests on the other. The rubble is significantly less than on Route 29 as there are only natural disturbances on the road, ones you would expect of a mountain-side.


While the climate in Johto has overall warmed up, Route 30 got very little of it. If any, it got colder, and especially at night. Prepare for some chilly evenings. There is, however, a little house toward the middle of the road. A hermit lives here, in a house surrounded by berry trees. He's a rugged and a bit anti-social man, but he'll grant you shelter. Just… don't touch his berries.


What to do on a route:

-Catch a Pokémon
-Battle a trainer
-Do some crazy things that will make me laugh.
(Bonus points for the last one.)

What not to do:

Catch a Pokémon and battle a trainer in one post. If you choose to try and capture a creature, then you automatically forfeit your right of exp. So think to yourself, do I really want this addition to the team, or would I be better up leveling my existing team?

Notes on catching Pokémon:

-Always end your post with your Ball shaking. And I mean always.
-The rarer the Pokémon the harder the capture.
-I'm not difficult on letting you catch a Pokémon (Unless shiny or very rare), but your level heavily depends on the quality, and quantity, of your post.
-As a gift to awesome posts, either be it funny, an epic battle/capture or just fantastic in any other way, your captured Pokémon might reveal to have an egg move!



Wild Pokémon:


Pidgey

Level: 2-5
Type: Normal/Flying
Moves: Tackle, Sand Attack
Rarity: Common


Zigzagoon

Level: 4-7
Type: Normal
Moves: Tackle, Growl, Tail Whip
Rarity: Common


Hoothoot

Level: 4-7
Type: Normal/Flying
Moves: Tackle, Growl, Foresight, Hypnosis
Rarity: Uncommon


Pineco

Level: 4-7
Type: Bug
Moves: Tackle, Protect, Selfdestruct
Rarity: Uncommon


Spinarak

Level: 4-7
Type: Bug/Poison
Moves: Poison Sting, String Shot, Scary Face
Rarity: Rare


Ledyba

Level: 4-7
Type: Bug/Flying
Moves: Tackle, Supersonic
Rarity: Rare


Monmen

Level: 3-8
Type: Grass
Moves: Absorb, Growth, Leech Seed
Rarity: Very Rare


By Fishing:

Poliwag

Level: 3-8
Type: Water
Moves: Water Sport, Bubble, Hypnosis
Rarity: Very Rare

 

[Nate_Dawg]

Obadiah Samuel Woodsworth

"Cherrygrove," the dark skinned man said with a hint of relief as he caught sight of a building in the distance. Thoughts of a warm bath, a hot meal, a soft bed, and medical attention for his pokemon washed over him and released the tension that had been building in his shoulders. It had taken the young man longer to reach the town than he had anticipated, and the worry he had been carrying with him had been increasing in weight every time an object on the horizon turned out to be just another clump of trees. On a brighter note, the rubble and debris (spoils of war as Obadiah called them) that had littered the route closer to New Bark were all but disappeared. Cherrygrove had been blessed with enough distance from the real fighting to avoid visible scaring. The people would be a different story. The population boomed shortly after the fight started as people flocked from the town of New Bark to the relative safety that Cherrygrove offered. Houses had been left and heirlooms lost to either destruction or scavengers who took advantage of the abandoned treasures. Being ripped away from your home tended to leave slow healing wounds. Most were probably still a few years off from completely mending. War did little to expedite the process.

"Bun……." The soft voice brought Obadiah's attention to the small creature shifting slightly in his arms. Long ears wrap neatly around a head, covering gentle eyes from rays of sunlight that threatened to disturb the Buneary's rest. The adrenaline the creature had obtained from its first battle had given out shortly after resuming the journey to Cherrygrove. The ears were the first to drop, followed quickly by eyelids. The pokemon's body would have been next, but Obadiah intervened by picking the tired pokemon before it could happen. The creature was asleep in seconds. Now I know what some of you might be thinking. Why not just put the dang thing in its pokeball? Well, the young trainer had made a promise and was intent on keeping it. Plus, the Buneary was not injured, just tired. Carrying the pokemon did nothing to threaten its health or well being. While it might just be the thought of an angry Meagan, the young trainer was also against keeping the creatures in the tiny round containers called pokeballs. Obadiah knew it had to be safe, but he just couldn't bring himself to stuff his pokemon into something that was less than a fourth their size. Something about that was just wrong.

After a few more minutes of walking, Obadiah found himself walking past a few of the newer houses that had been built since the end of the war. The sameness of the quick fix living spaces was more than a little disconcerting to the young worker. For most of his life, Barsidious had taught the young man the importance of tailoring a house to the family that would live in it. The gruff builder had always believed that a house should fit a family like a glove. The better the fit the quicker the house would become a home. "They should fall in love with the house, not their stuff in the house," Barsidious use to say after showing the finished project to its new occupants. The thought of what his old mentor would say upon seeing the rows of duplicates brought forth a quiet laughter to the young trainer. Pushing forward, the young man made his way to the center of town in hopes of finding a pokemon center. It was, thankfully, a short search.

Entering the medical facility, Obadiah was surprised to see what appeared to be hotel rather than a hospital. Comfortable couches and multiple tables were available for relaxing, an offer that a couple of trainers had already accepted. The building also appeared to be larger than was necessary for a town that was as out of the way as Cherrygrove. Unless he was mistaken, Obadiah wasn't aware of a gym in the area. Slightly curious, the young trainer made his way to what happened to be the front desk where he was greeted by a chipper nurse.

"Good day to you, sir. I hope you are having a wonderful day." The nurse's bright smile brought an ease to Obadiah that he couldn't quite explain. The lady's general happiness made it difficult not to be trusting of her. The nurse's eyes grew wide with love as he caught sight of the pokemon sleeping in Obadiah's arms. Anna was out of his arms and in nurse's before the dark skinned man could blink. Disarmed by the woman's demeanor, Obadiah wasn't worried about her holding Anna. "Ohhhh, she is just the cutest thing." Anna yawned in response and opened her eyes to look at what had woken her up. Seeing the smiling face of the nurse, the Buneary's face brighten slightly as she let out a tired, "Buneary." The nurse looked as if she could barely contain herself, "Ohh, she is just the most precious thing." Her face grew stern as she turned her face towards Obadiah. "And why is this sweet pokemon not in her pokeball resting?"

The young trainer was slightly caught off guard by the change in the women's tone. Stumbling to find words, Obadiah was finally able to manage an explaination, "I promised her she would never have to be in her pokeball…unless she was injured." The young man quickly added the last part after seeing a hint of anger flash across the nurse's face. Regardless, the nurse appeared to be less than satisfied as she turned to take Anna into the back. Still a little shocked, Obadiah almost forgot about Raphael. "Wait," the trainer said before the nurse could disappear into a door in the back, "I have another pokemon that needs care. She was injured in a battle and was hurt pretty bad." Holding out Raphael's pokeball, Obadiah prayed that having a pokemon that was actually injured wouldn't put the nurse in a worse mood. Having some concern in his eyes seemed to soften the nurse back up a little. Smiling softly, the women walked back and took the pokeball from his hand. "I'll need your signature, trainer number, and pokemon registration for verification purposes. You can come back and pick them up in a few hours. Feel free to rest in upstairs if you intend on spending the night (well, at least that explains why this place is so big)." With that, the women disappeared, leaving Obadiah without a pokemon for the first time in his journey. Strangely, it wasn't as good of a feeling as he thought it would be. Maybe he was starting to like the idea of being a trainer…or maybe the silence was something he had not been able to enjoy in awhile. Shaking his head, Obadiah couldn't help but laugh at himself as he walked towards the door. It was a lovely day, and the young trainer intended to enjoy it.

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

Obadiah found himself enjoying a nice breeze and the feel of sand between hi s toes as he looked thoughtfully across the water in front of him. It was a peaceful place and the young man was thankful for that. As strange as it might sound, the young man needed the time to think. Even though he had technically been alone for the past two days, he never felt he had the opportunity to be alone with his thoughts. Something else always seemed more important at the time. Worries about tasks that needed to be accomplished or possible problems that might arise had consumed his mind for most of his trip thus far. With his pokemon resting and errands such as getting food and supplies for the next part of his trip completed, Obadiah finally felt like he had a moment to relax and think.

Thoughts of Meagan and memories of home flood his mind for the first couple of minutes as he realized how much he truly missed them. He made a mental note to give them a call when he got back to the pokemon center. It would be good to hear from everyone, especially Meagan. Thinking of Meagan, the young man took a few moments to update his journal to include the rather eventful day that was. As time passed, the dark skinned youths mind wandered to thoughts of his pokemon. His early thoughts of their weaknesses were starting to vanish as he was continuously proven wrong by their ability to fight. Why were they able to battle at a level that was above their nature? Raphael was less of a question than Anna. From what he had heard, starting pokemon were always considered to be stronger than pokemon caught in the wild. The Munna, while not being very durable, had proven to pack a pretty nasty punch. Anna ability in her first battle had been a complete surprise. The pokemon's speed had been a large factor in its victory, but not as much as its ability to listen to orders and perform them without hesitation. Where had that trust come from? Obadiah was slightly ashamed to say that he had done nothing to gain the creature's trust other than not being directly mean to the Buneary. At best, he had ignored Anna for most of time after capturing her. Regardless, the Buneary trusted him more than he deserved and succeeded because of it. It was a quality the young trainer didn't expect every pokemon to posses.

"You're not going to attract any ladies with a face like that young man." The voice breaking the silence that Obadiah had been enjoying was enough to cause the young trainer to jump. Turning around quickly, a kind smile greeted him from behind a thick white beard. Tough leathery skin covered the man's body but did nothing to take away from the over-all meekness the stranger seemed to possess. The old gentlemen wore an old fisherman's hat with two or three lures hanging off the edges. A plain blue button down shirt cover the man's chest and hung loosely down over the top of his wore and faded khakis. "Why the long face, one young?"

Obadiah hated being talked to as if he was a child, but what he hated even more were kids who disrespected elders. Holding back his irritation, the young man answered quickly and kindly. "I'm just thinking about life and its many twists and turns and trying to figure out how to make the best of what I've been given, sir." Obadiah hoped that his answer would be kind enough not to hurt the old man's feeling but short enough to let the man know that he had no interest in talking at the moment. He succeeded in one of those tasks at least.

"Well you are in luck, young man. I'm quite the thinking man myself," the old fishermen said with a bit of excitement as he settled down on the sandy shore beside where Obadiah was standing. Not seeing a way out of the upcoming conversation without being rude, the young man sat down with a sigh. "Let me guess, you are just like the rest of the lot that moved here from that New Bark Town when the war came. I wasn't able to fight myself. I was old even back then, haha. Regardless, I did my part to help those who were flocking here to get away from the fighting. Provided food with my fishing's what I did. Ah, but there I go rambling. We are here to talk about you not me. So let me see…you are here because of the war aren't you?"

Obadiah debated his answer for a moment. He didn't want to prolong the conversation, but maybe just going along with the old man would get him to his point quicker. Plus, the fisherman was technically right in his guess. "Yep, I'm here because of the war."

"Haha, I knew it. I could see it written all over you. Suffered some tragedies I'd wager. Lost some loved one? You would not be alone young man. We all lost people we loved. Would have lost a lot more if it weren't for the leadership of President Gray though. Brilliant man that Gray. Smart enough to see what so many before him were too blind to notice. Johto was never meant to be under the rule of Kanto. Don't get me wrong, I don't hold any ill will to the people of Kanto mind you. Just the leadership. They got all the bonuses for ruling over us, and we got nothing in return. They were stubborn and greedy and would not lose the benefits of keeping us under their control without a fight. War was the only option, sad to say. But there I go again. You don't care about all of that. And judging by the fact that I have never seen you before makes me think your reason for being here has less to do with the war and more to do with the new league our great president has started. One of the draftees are you?"

The young trainer gave the man a long look. The old fisherman still had the same kind eyes, but Obadiah could not help but notice the amount of wisdom that appeared to be behind them from time to time. It would come and go as the man was talking, appearing in short bursts after he finished rambling. Slightly more interested, Obadiah answered again. "Yes, I'm a new trainer traveling from New Bark. My pokemon are healing at the pokemon center."

"Good, good. Make sure they stay healthy. Such a good idea it was to start a new league. There was a lot of lost revenue from Johto trainers starting their journey's in Kanto. President Gray saw that quickly. Probably ended up saving us from financial ruin. Not that Johto would ever admit that we were in any kind of trouble. No, no. That would have proven Kanto right in thinking we could not survive without the them. They believed we would come crawling back them once things got bad, ha. Funny thing is, they would have been right if it weren't for Gray. Many people still think the bombing was to protect and separate us from Kanto. Eliminate the risk of them attacking again. Fat chance they would waste the resources. Gray did it to take away the option of us going back to them. Forced us to learn to walk's what he did. Great man, great man. Hoho, but what does that have to do with you? I doubt you care for past troubles that are solved when you got your plate full yourself. What is it? Don't want to be a trainer? I'd wager that be it. People never liked being told what to do, even if it's the best for them. Hoho, no no. We tend to have it all figure out. We have our set plans and set goals and things are great. Then big bad brother comes along and messes it all up."

Obadiah was starting to get creeped out. This old man knew way too much. Even his questions were more like statements, as if they both already knew what the answers were. Maybe there was more to learn from the old fisherman than just how to catch fish. Maybe the old man held some secrets. "So what should I do then? I had a life before all of this. I had a girl before all of this. I knew what I was doing with my life before this. Now I'm stuck doing something I have no passion for. Why force someone like me to do this when there are plenty of people who would love to have a pokemon?" Obadiah was done being passive. He was confused and wanted answers, nothing matter where they came from.

The old man was quiet for the longest period of time since he had started speaking. His kind smile and wise eye, however, stayed the same. Staring out across the water, the old man took a deep breath, savoring the scent of water. "Now that is a very good question," the old fisherman said, breaking his silence. "Why indeed. Why send you, a man with a life, a passion, a love? Why send someone who has experienced life: good and bad? Why send someone who has learned that patience and careful diligence bring the best results? Why send someone who has something, or better yet someone, to fight for? Someone they don't want to let down? Why send someone who is strong from hard work? Someone like that would surely fail, right? Better to send people who have done nothing but wait till they can get a pokemon. Better to send kids with no world experience who only dream of becoming "pokemon masters" and have no desires beyond being a part of a foolish storybook adventure. Haha, better to send children rather than men, eh?" Standing up, the old man reached into a bag at his side that Obadiah had not noticed before and pulled something out. "Maybe you don't have a passion for this journey because you never really left home to start it. Your body may be here, but your mind and heart were too stubborn to join you. But I have taken up enough of your day. Here is something for humoring an old man."

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

Lying in bed that night, Obadiah had plenty to think about. Anna snored softly towards the foot for his bed as Raphael dined hungrily for the night. The two pokemon seemed happy enough to have him as a trainer. So why did he not feel the same way? Turning to his right, Obadiah looked at the old fishing pole he had been given by the old gentlemen on the beach. The old man had given him much to think about during their short conversation. Drifting off to sleep, Obadiah's last thoughts were of Meagan and how disappointed she would be if he did not give everything he had into being a great trainer.

OOC: No battle or excitement today. Character development for the win!

 

[Doctor Who]

Nate_Dawg - Oh the joys of character development! Sounds like the motivational tables might turn for Obadiah. Wonderful post indeed.

 

[adventuring]

(OOC: Oh, I have an old rod? We'll say Todd did talk to the fisherman after the Krabby incident then ^^ )

Todd - Route 30

The backpack was terribly heavy by now. Todd made a mental note to buy lighter food next time. Or maybe not by anything at all. Survive on berries, that was how a real pokémon trainer would do it. Maybe.

Shockman was walking alongside him on the shaggy road north from Cherrygrove. They were going to Violet, since Todd had decided it would be good to talk to his parents about... well, about life actually. He had had some days to think about, and experience, things he normally would never have done. And maybe it would be a good idea to actually ask his parents how to do certain things now. Like lighting a campfire in less than an hour. Or cook. He had only dry food, and it got pretty boring after a while. Or how to mend a wound. His pokémon would probably get hurt once in a while, not to mention himself. It would be a pretty neat thing to know how to treat a minor burn or even a scrub...

He shrugged his head. He must really have changed. Before all this, he would never have cared about cooking.

The sun was soon turning orange and Todd felt a slight worry come over him. Not another night outdoors... setting up the tent was the easy part. Falling asleep without nightmares wasn't...

He decided to keep on walking until it was almost dark. The flaming rays of the sun shone on him and the green dog as they trailed on. The forest sometimes hid the orange disc from view, and the light glittered in the mountain cliffs to the east.

Overthinking things, Todd sent out Little Wing. She fluttered her wings and tweeted questioningly but went along with being outside and gained some altitude. Todd had thought she'd be jealous at Shockman for being out of the pokéball all the time. Little Wing really hadn't thought about that at all. She just wasn't the jealous type.

There was an interesting feeling popping up in Todd, as he walked on the countryside in the sunset with his two pokémon. He felt adventurous. He was actually like some protagonist in a Pokémon Trainer video game. He had never really studied the attacks or pokémon lore in them, it was the adventurous feeling that had attracted his attention. And here he was. Adventuring, more or less. Exciting!

With a sheepish smile, he kept walking. It almost didn't even get boring.

After a little while, when the sun was just about to set, he saw another person walking on the road, towards him. And beside that person was a pokémon. Another trainer?

As they got closer, he could see it was a boy. The boy had a bitter appearance and a backpack almost like Todd's. A sentence floated by in Todd's brain, from one of those video games... Are you a pokémon trainer? I challenge you!

Wait what? Should he? Maybe he should... yes he should! After all, he had to give his parents SOMETHING to be proud about when he got to Violet.

"Hey!" he said to the boy as they were only 10 meters away from each other. The boy looked up. "Are you a pokémon trainer?" Todd continued. "I challenge you!"

The boy looked a bit surprised at first, but then recovered quickly, grinning a little. "You sure?" he said confidently.

No, definitely not, a voice inside Todd said, but his mouth said: "Absolutely!"

"One pokémon each then? The loser pays by the way."

"Uh, pays?"

"Of course. Aren't you a professional?"

"I am..." Well, the president had ordered him to be so he probably was.

"Right then. One pokémon each. Go Mareep!"

The little pokémon beside the boy jumped forward with sparkling fur. It looked like a sheep, with yellowish fur and blue skin.

"Go Shockman!" Todd commanded, and the dog shot forward. Now what? Should he just attack?

But the other boy attacked before him. "Mareep, use Thunder Wave!"

Mareep fired up it's sparkling fleece.

"Shockman, Thunder Wave as well!" Todd retorted.

Shockman tensed its legs and fired away a paralyzing wave the millisecond after Mareep did. The two electrical rays met in the air between the pokémon and scorched the ground slightly. Todd was blinded for a second and when he looked again, both pokémon whimpered a little but still stood up. He couldn't tell if Shockman had been paralyzed or not... that was another thing he had to ask somebody to teach him.

"Mareep, Tackle!"

"Shockman, Tackle as well!"

The two pokémon dashed and clashed with almost equal force. Shockman lost its grip on the ground all of a sudden, and tumbled backwards, while Mareep retook firm ground in a balanced way.

"Strike!" the boy said triumphantly.

"Not over yet!" Todd said, annoyed. "Shockman, you ok? Get up and use Swift!"

"Mareep, Thundershock!"

Mareep's fur began to bristle loudly again, and Shockman tensed all its muscles. Opening his mouth, he fired away the star shaped dots of energy at an incredible speed. The thundershock was fired as well, straight at the target which was Shockman. But the Swift cut straight through the wave and hit Mareep in the chest. The sheep was thrown off its feet backwards, baah-ing loudly. The Thundershock hit Shockman but did little damage; if anything it powered him up even more.

Todd was in a happy mood now. Things were going good after all! Until the Mareep got up on its paws again, not at all looking like it was hurt near death.

"You're clever," the boy said. "But you forget one thing. My pokémon has way higher level than you. Cleverness is great and all, but you've got to raise your team. Mareep, Cotton Spore!"

The sheep shook its fur and released big fluffy spores that rapidly floated towards the green electrical dog. He tried to get away, but the spores caught him and clung to him like goo. His running speed was drastically reduced.

"Now, Tackle!"

Mareep shot forward and hit Shockman in the side. The dog hadn't got time to turn around and take the tackle in a better position, and was badly struck. With a groan, he fainted.

"Noooooo!" Todd shrieked.

"Ease up," the boy said. "Is it the first time you lose or what?"

Todd fell to his knees next to Shockman. "I... lost?"

"Yes. So pay up with something!" the boy said and sent the grinning Mareep back into its pokéball. "You don't happen to have some neat dry food, do you?"

In somewhat of a haze, Todd gave him some food as payment and the boy continued his walk towards Cherrygrove while Todd still sat by Shockman's side, absentmindedly plucking away the cotton spores from his unconscious body.

It wasn't until Little Wing tweeted soothingly and landed on his shoulder that he noticed the day had gone dark. The sun was already down. He'd better set up the tent and try to make a fire to keep bugs away. Not that it would help...

He'd lost a battle. Not what he had had in mind when he wanted to give his parents something to be proud of.

***

 

[Doctor Who]

Gary_Stu - Well, I suppose you got lucky then, getting an item without having to do anything for it. My bad, but profitable for you (: As for the post, I like the fact that he lost, and I can really feel the depression of the situation at the end, poor Todd!

Congratulations, Shockman grew to level 11!

 

[adventuring]

Todd - route 30, part 2

The next morning, Todd was still in a strange mood. As breakfast was had, he barely took a bite of his sandwich. Shockman however didn't seem affected at all by yesterday's loss. Both he and Little Wing munched on eagerly.

Todd strolled away from the road, into the forest after packing down the campsite. Both Shockman and Wing were out in the open, just like yesterday. Somehow he preferred not to be alone. Once again something he had never really thought about before. As long as he had had his computer, he had never been alone. Now the pokédex lay in his pocket, just waiting for him to pick it up and start a chat program or playing a game. Yes, Todd had already figured out how to hack a game into the pokédex system. But he didn't touch it.

There was a small stream a short distance into the lush forest. The sun shone down and glittered in the white water. Shockman went down into it as soon as he saw it, dipping all his paws and drinking from it. Todd would never have figured the little creature liked water. One little spark from his fleece, and all the fish close to him would probably go poff. Maybe Electrikes hunted in that way?

Little Wing dipped her beak in the water as well, tweeting contentedly as she splashed a little water onto her feathers.

"You're both taking a bath, huh?" Todd said. "Maybe I should too. I prefer to shower though."

Staring down into the stream, he came to think of the old rod he had been given by the fisherman on the shore in Cherrygrove. The man hadn't apologized for making jokes about him, but he had shared some stories about the war in Johto. Pretty terrifying stories, about pokémon slaves and spies. To think that Todd's parents had been aware of all this when he as a young boy hadn't... or maybe his parents hadn't been aware of it either. It could have been secret stuff. There was always secret stuff in wars.

He pulled out the collapsible rod from the big backpack and flung it out into the stream. He wasn't expecting to get anything, but it gave him something to focus his eyes on as his thoughts wandered again. Why did he have to lose that battle?

Suddenly Shockman saw two pair of eyes he didn't know come towards them. He stopped walking around in the water and watched the little blue blob in the water slowly wobble closer until it was right where Todd's rod was. The eyes on the blue blob looked at the bobber, then at Shockman, then at the blobber again. Then they disappeared under the surface. The next moment, the bobber disappeared as well.

Todd was far away into his sad dream land. Shockman barked and jumped out of the water. Wing fluttered up and settled herself on a rock, watching what would happen with interest. Todd flew up at the bark and noticed the sunken bobber. In a heap of arms and legs, he got up and pulled the rod roughly.

Up from the stream with the bobber in its mouth came a round blue ball with tiny eyes, a rather big fin like tail, and a hypnotic pattern on its belly. It seemed more annoyed than surprised that Todd had pulled it up. It dropped the bobber and landed on a waterlily leaf that was floating just by the shore.

Todd was more surprised and not at all annoyed. He quickly and rather clumsily folded the rod again and pulled out the pokédex for the first time that day. It informed him that the creature was a Poliwag.

"Finally something that's cute and doesn't look like a monster," Todd mumbled with a smile.

The Poliwag's annoyance had seemed to have blown over and it wiggled around on the waterlily leaf until it seemed to break off from its branch. It started to float downstream. The Poliwag took notion of this, made a gesture as if it was shrugging its shoulders... though it had none... and simply sat down on the leaf, a weird smile on its lips. Todd's eyes wandered further downstream and he saw some really heavy currents. Crazy little cute monster!

"Come back here," he told it as he started to walk alongside the shore, keeping up with the waterlily.

Poliwag gurgled at him.

"You'll hurt yourself down there, uh, don't you see all the foam and rocks in the stream?"

Poliwag giggled. It reallywas out of its mind, Todd thought. He ran on the rocks in the waterside, trying to reach Poliwag, but failed. Shockman and Little Wing followed him on land, looking quite amused. Todd didn't notice.

He then got an idea, and unfolded the rod again. He was almost running to keep up with the waterlily leaf now, and it was closing in on the strong currents. He threw the line but missed the leaf. Tried again, missed again.

"Poliwag!" he called.

"Poliwag?" another voice sounded behind him. He spun around and found a red haired girl standing beside a tree. "I want one! Where is it?"

"Oh no," he said. "This one's mine, but it's-"

"I'll battle you for it!" the girl said courageously and pulled out a pokéball.

Todd stood up straight and waved his hands in a refusal. "Oh no, I... I don't feel like battling. At all."

"Why? Are you weak?"

Todd was just about to retort something nasty when he remembered the Poliwag and the currents. He hastily turned back to the stream, but found the poliwag sitting on a rock only a meter away from him. It was looking up at him, blinking with it's little eyes.

"Eh. It's not that, it's... well... alright..."

He sat down on the ground beside the rock, resignedly. The girl sat down as well. Shockman and Little Wing continued their water games.

"I lost a battle yesterday."

"Oh," the girl said. "I've lost plenty of battles. You stop worry after a while. After all, someone's always got to lose, right?"

"I guess... but it was my first."

"Oh," the girls said again. "Well, I lost my first battle too!"

He looked up at her. She was grinning, all the countless freckles in her face seeming to glow. "I'm Sayil, who are you?"

"I'm Todd... Todd Brillings."

"Nice to meet you Todd!"

"Yeah..." he lost his trail for a moment, but Sayil seemed to have lots of trails to pick up herself.

"I've been trying to catch a Poliwag for a while now. But I don't have any rod, and it's a bit tricky to simply fetch them from the pond like that. They don't wander out very often since they've got almost no legs at all."

Todd raised his eyebrows. "How do they walk then?"

"Well they don't. They swim!" Sayil laughed. "But when they grow older and evolve, they get really strong arms instead. My brother has an evolved one!"

"Right... but why would you want to catch the same pokémon as your brother? Wouldn't you want to have something different and unique?" Todd would never want to have the same pokémon as his sister. If she ever had any. He preferred if nothing at all showed that he and that little sleezy blonde were related.

Sayil leaned her head a little to the side at his words. "Hm," she said. "I don't think I've seen it that way before." She glanced over his shoulder. "But it does make sense. I'll catch something completely different instead! So, you can have this Poliwag."

"Well, thanks," Todd said, only slightly annoyed. He had spotted it first anyway so she couldn't come and claim-

"If you can reach it," Sayil added, grinning broadly.

Todd looked around. The Poliwag was gone from the stone. He got up and saw it on another Waterlily leaf, floating off towards the rocks and currents again!

"Ah, for crying out loud, does that blue blob want a suicide?" he moaned and rushed down along the stream.

There was nothing he could do as the waterlily disappeared in the thick white foam and smashed against the rocks in the stream. He dropped his jaw. Was the blue blob smashed as well?

But all of a sudden it jumped up from the water, as happy as ever, and landed on the ground in front of Todd's feet. It was almost as if it had been playing a practical joke on the boy and now wanted to gloat. Todd did not approve.

"You little bastard," he muttered. "And here I was fearing for your safety."

It didn't take much brain power to figure out that this was a good opportunity to catch the Poliwag, but Todd wasn't really sure that he wanted to. It had a strange mind. Before he could walk away though, the little blob was starting to run towards him.

"What are you doing now?" he said. "You haven't even got decent legs."

Just as he said that, the Poliwag stumbled forward. But instead of stopping, it started to roll towards him at increasing speed, with an almost surprised face.

"You've got to be kidding me," Todd said with disbelief and had to jump to avoid the rollout like attack.

The Poliwag hit a rock behind him instead. It got up, apparently with a hurt head, and gurgled blamingly at Todd.

"Wha- Me? Please."

Poliwag breathed in. Todd sensed something nasty coming and called out for Shockman... but what came out of Poliwag's mouth was a spray of bubbles. Todd's right eyebrow shot to the sky, but the rest of him sort of calmed down.

"Eh... you too think I need a bath, ey?"

Then the bubbles hit him. Each one of them exploded on his skin with an unexpected force and caused him to squeak and hurt for each hit. He backed off. That little blob sure was tougher than it looked. The skin on his arms now flamingly red, he called Shockman forward.

"We might have lost one battle," he mumbled down to his pet, "but I know you're good. So... please thundershock this creepy beach ball for me?"

He didn't have to say it twice. Shockman fired off a Thundershock that hit the Poliwag in an instant. Disoriented and slightly burned, the water pokémon's tiny feet failed it and it tumbled forward, hypnotic belly down.

Todd breathed out. "Thanks," he said to Shockman, who sniffed the fallen blob a little before looking up expectantly at Todd.

"Oh, right," the boy said and pulled out one of the many empty pokéballs from his backpack.

He tried another approach than when he caught Wing now. Instead of pressing the ball to the pokémon, he threw it gently towards it. Just as he thought he'd missed such an easy throw, the pokéball seemed to change trajectory a little in the air, and hit the Poliwag's back with a quiet 'thud'. The pokéball opened and the pokémon was sucked in. Funny, Todd thought. Maybe pokéballs were some kind of pokémon magnets.

Little Wing landed on Todd's shoulder and Shockman narrowed his eyes watching the ball wiggle back and forth on the grassy ground. The currents in the stream sounded loudly behind them, and from upstreams Sayil was watching them leaning on a tree. She smiled, and then she was gone.

***
(OOC: dare I wish for a male Poliwag? I have a certain personality for it building up inside my head.)

 

[Vamaar]

Alex looked out at the road that stretched beyond Cherrygrove city, sighing inwardly. He had made all his preparations, and now could no longer avoid continuing on to the next route. He started stretching his arms, going over everything mentally. It was around 12:00, and he had just woken up, so he could probably make it far before having to stop walking. He kind of knew the lay of the route as well, having walked this way to get to New Bark Town. He had slept in a tree last time, but recent experience left him wondering at the abnormal luck he'd had in getting to New Bark Town. He hoped to make it to the next town before nightfall, especially since he had failed to buy a tent. Starting to stretch his legs, he mentally went over what he had bought while he was in town: a potion and an antidote. He had been unable to buy anything else, Buzz-Buzz having only produced so much honey. Honestly, he probably was lucky to get what he had, but his ragged appearance probably had something to do with it. Still, a Potion and an Antidote was more than he had before, and he felt good about being prepared. It left him with a measly ten yen, and he hadn't enough money left to even buy a backpack. He had jammed the potion and antidote uncomfortably into his pockets, and kept his fishing rod in his hand, the end of it resting over his shoulder.

With a few cracks of his fingers, he turned to Buzz-Buzz to see if she was ready to go, only to realize she was already waiting impatiently just in range of sight. Alex sighed and started walking, knowing it was now or never. They quickly formed a sort of stride; Buzz-Buzz investigated every single plant they came across while Alex lumbered slowly down the route, giving her more than enough time. She seemed not to have much success, but they luckily only encountered one or two pokemon, which they ran from. This pattern more or less continued for an hour or two, but Alex could already feel his legs getting tired. He had done far, far too much walking over the past few days, after all. He spotted a nice tree, and walked over, having a short rest in mind.

He sat down with his back to the tree, getting comfortable by stretching, hoisting his rod into the air while allowing the muscles in his back to crack, several satisfying sounds emanating from his lower region. He went to move his arms back to a more restful position, only to realize his rod was tangled in the tree. With a flash of annoyance he yanked on his rod, which came out of the tree, dropping a few pine cones on him at the same time. He then laid back and closed his eyes, only to feel a fierce wind sweep up his entire body, blowing dirt into his face. He shook himself, launching himself up quickly. It was obviously a gust attack, but where had it come from? The only pokemon who was around was Buzz-Buzz, who was flying rather close and staring at the ground. Alex looked at her, and then the ground in confusion only to watch one of the pine cones he had snagged get up and face him, leaping at him!

Alex jumped, reaching up and grabbing onto a low-hanging branch, climbing the tree faster than he would have thought possible, hugging his thick branch like it was his lover. Buzz-Buzz flew between them again, ready for another attack! The weird pokemon, sensing it might not last much longer, started to turn red and glow, its 'face' screwed in frustration. Buzz-Buzz, immediately realizing the danger, whipped up another gust, blowing it into some bushes.

And just in time! The thing flew into the thicket and then the cluster of greenery kind of... puffed out, making a loud racket and sending quite a few pokemon scampering, including some poor owl-looking thing that probably was just woken up. Alex sighed, realizing that the danger, at least, was passed.

"Pineco." said a voice beside him, and he turned, ever so slowly, to see another one of the things just sitting there, staring at him. Alex felt his blood run cold while the angry pokemon started heating up, turning red-hot, about to explode...!

"Fauchard, use peck!" Commanded a voice, and a brown blur streaked by, ramming the tree-dwelling pokemon with it's beak and knocking it out of it's tree. But before it could even hit the ground a well-aimed pokeball struck it, enveloping it in a red light and absorbing it, the pokeball landing on the ground and shaking for half a second before there was a loud *ding* sound. Alex, still desperately hugging his tree branch, was officially confused as hell. Before he could react, the new voice spoke again.

"Man, a Combee! Those are rare! May as well try to catch it. Fauchard, use-" but before he could get his command out Alex relinquished his grip on the tree, landing rather painfully on his back whilst yelling:

"Stop! That's my pokemon!"

Alex clambered to his feet, Buzz-Buzz flying close both to show their bond and to offer what support she could. Alex, once on his feet, looked at the new trainer, breathing heavily. The only word for the trainers appearance was... well, trainer-like. He had a backpack, a heavy leather jacket with another hoodie under it, his jeans faded but well taken care of. His green eyes were searching Alex up and down, taking in his appearance with confidence, mirrored by the casual smile his narrow face held. Framing this was a lank of black hair which came down to his jawline. After a moment of examining each other, he spoke.

"I, uh, hope you weren't intent on catching that Pineco. I've been looking for one for a while and I thought you looked like you were running from it, as opposed to catching it. Oh, I'm Eric Shale, by the way. I'm surprised I haven't seen you around before; I know most of the trainers that come by this way. Are you new around here? I assume by the state of you that you aren't actually a traveling trainer, so you must have just moved, I guess? It'd explain your rare pokemon as well."

Alex blinked, digesting the information as fast as he could, although the youth spoke so fast that it was difficult to keep up. And yet somehow the more this kid talked, the more Alex got, well, annoyed. Yeah, he was in rough shape, but he didn't need someone else to tell him that. It was kinda rude! Same with the Pineco thing, not that he particularly wanted to handle an explosive tree seed. As for the comment on the rare pokemon thing... he didn't want to answer, but after a minute of awkward silence, Alex figured he was going to have to.

"I'm, uh, Alex Hapinson. And I'm alright for a... Pineco? What? Anyways, I'm quite alright for not having one. I guess I'm new around here...? No, no, that's not right. I'm a traveling trainer, unlike you said. President Gray told me to do it, so I did. That's how I got Buzz-Buzz." A decent enough answer, but before he could think of anything Eric was shooting his mouth off again, and his tone was different now.

"You!? You're one of Gray's trainers? I wanted that so badly, and some random hack who can't even deal with a Pineco got it? What makes you so special?! Man, if I had that I'd finally have an excuse to venture farther from home; Mom's already pissed I went out past my boundaries and I've barely explored anywhere far from Violet City.This is ridiculous, I could beat you in a pokemon battle in an instant!" And with that the gauntlet was thrown down, his words ringing in the air. Alex was rather taken aback by this guys attitude, not knowing how to react. It was probably true, sadly enough, but this dude was seriously pissing him off! Buzz-Buzz seemed displeased too, her buzzing taking an angry tone. Alex furrowed his brow, his frustration over the past few days built up.

"Hey, what the hell do you know! Being a pokemon trainer isn't all fun and games, kid."

"Yeah, I know. I am one. Note that I caught a pokemon? I'm not a neophyte, I know what I'm doing more than you do! You have no supplies, I can see it on you! I mean, what the hell are you even wearing?"

"Hey shut up! This is all I have! Maybe you have a nice, pampered home waiting for you, but I have nothing but my pokemon."

"Then I guess they have nothing at all, if you can't beat any trainers to earn money! You're the lamest person I've ever had the misfortune of meeting!"

"I just haven't met any trainers to battle yet!"

"Well you've met one now, want to try it?"

"Fine!"

The two youth had slowly progressed from a casual conversation level to a complete shouting match, Alex red in the face with anger, shaking slightly. Eric, however, had taken a nasty smile to his lips when Alex had accepted his challenge, and now walked a short distance, allowing for a proper amount of room for their battle. Buzz-Buzz flew onto the field immediately, equally angry as her trainer, but Alex hastily recalled her, not wanting to send her out first, seeing Eric's Spearow land on his shoulder and glare, staring them down. Alex gulped, recalling his experience with this pokemon already. Both Duster and Buzz-Buzz might have an issue fighting them given the damage they did last time, so perhaps Crabmeat? Alex just paused, waiting for his opponent to dictate the rules as surely he would.

"Pineco brings my roster up to three, but he's out, so we'll each use two, alright? Winner takes half the loser's money. I'll even throw out my pokemon first. Go, Fauchard!" With a short squawk the bird flew from his shoulder on to the ground in front of him. Alex nodded tersely, agreeing to the rules and unclipped Crabmeat's ball from his belt, hurling it at the ground and watching his Krabby fly out, the ball landing safely in his hands. Crabmeat's response to being called out was his usual one; his pincers were up in a defensive stance. The Spearow merely eyed him, unsure of what to make of him. After a second of standing, Eric called his attack, a peck attack. The Spearow flew into the air, and then shot down, much like he had against the Pineco earlier. Alex grit his teeth, trying to think of some options.

"Try Bubble, Crabmeat!" The Krabby nodded in response and bubbles started to foam from his mouth but it was too slow; the bird rammed him with his beak, sending him flying backwards as the bird flew into the air once again, going around for another pass. Crabmeat didn't waste a moment, shooting a stream of bubbles into the air in front of him. This time he was fast enough, and Fauchard had to charge through a field of bubbles, wincing slightly. Alex, seeing the bubbles slow the bird down slightly, pressed a tentative advantage.

"Use a Vicegrip, try to get one of the wings!" The Krabby reacted instantly, reaching up even as the Spearow's cruel beak collided into him. He was knocked back, but reached up instinctively, managing to grab a hold of the left wing tightly, not letting go. The unfortunate bird's momentum sent it flying in an arc, straight into the ground. Alex couldn't help but wince, it looked brutal.

"Damn it, a lucky hit! Getting the wing in that way... Fauchard, can you fly?" The resilient Spearow lifted off into the air again, Crabmeat having let go upon the force of impact. However, the liftoff wasn't the same graceful one of earlier; it had to flap one wing much faster than the other, and it was tottery; clearly the feathers had gotten torn. Nothing permanent and nothing unfixable. Nothing to stop it from winning, Alex reflected somberly; even without flying that thing could pack a nasty punch with it's beak. Eric seemed to disagree, returning it.

"A lucky shot was all, but I think Fauchard has done enough damage. Besides, I already know that you can't beat my next pokemon. Go forth, Drillia! Use Fury Attack!" He threw another pokeball, and this time another bee came out, not a Combee but one with vicious stingers and glaring eyes. Alex gulped, unnerved by the things appearance. Before he could issue any more commands, the bee flew forth and jabbed the krabby so rapidly that it's stinger-hands blurred together. After a second or two the krabby collapsed, out of the battle. Alex returned him stoically, his mind seriously thinking. It looked strong... too strong to reasonably fight, but he couldn't back down now. All he could do was rely on his pokemon. But which to use? Duster was tough, to be sure, but this thing could fly to get out of range and was probably faster. Buzz-Buzz could potentially survive an aerial battle, and gust would be effective on the thing. He grit his teeth, and threw out Buzz-Buzz.

"It's all on you, Buzz-Buzz! Use gust to keep it away from you!" But before he was even finished his sentence the larger bee was on it, it's stinger turning purple and stabbing the little Combee, sending it flying. Eric smiled, slightly, and spoke in a haughty tone.

"It's over. See the slight purple sheen on your Combee? It's poisoned. It won't last more than a few more rounds. Give up." Alex stopped paying attention at the poisoned part, reaching for the antidote he bought as fast as he could, calling Buzz-Buzz over. She flew feebly, and he reached out, holding her as he used the antidote, murmuring hopes of wellness under his breath. After a second, she was up and ready again, although she still looked to be in rough shape. Alex opened his mouth to call an attack, but Eric already had and Drillia was on Buzz-Buzz again, jabbing it with it's fierce fury attack. It was over in two hits, Buzz-Buzz floating to the ground unconscious. The Beedrill, satisfied it was over, flew back to her trainer, returned to her pokeball. Alex crouched next to Buzz-Buzz, unsure of what to do. Should he return her? Now what happened? He lost...

"Hey, pay up. You lost, remember? Half of your money. Probably should return that Combee to it's ball. You can apologize for your failure later." Alex felt a flutter of anger flash through him at his words but it was quickly overwashed with despair. It was his fault, and he did need to apologize. Eric was absolutely right. Wordlessly he returned Buzz-Buzz to her pokeball. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out five yen, handing it the victor before sitting down where he had originally intended to sit before closing his eyes in exhaustion.

"Hey. You really plan to just sit there? You won't make it to Violet unless you run, or plan to stay on a route overnight with nothing at your disposal."

Alex made no response, sitting quietly and hoping Eric would leave.

"Hey! Seriously, you plan to be here all night? You'll freeze to death. It's chilly. I've got enough clothing for two just in case I happen to get stuck out here, not that something like that would ever happen. I've got a fold-up bike to get home with, after all."

Still no response. The two boys sat there like that for a while, Alex defeated and Eric annoyed at being ignored and with this apparent failure of a trainer who had the opportunity he always wanted, always dreamed of! And so he hatched a plan in his mind. He took of his leather jacket, and chucked it at Alex, it landing in his lap. Alex opened one eye, looking at the arrogant trainer warily.

"I'll give you that so you don't at least freeze and you have somewhere to put your fishing rod and that potion that's tearing your pocket open. But under one condition: I live in Violet City, so I'm sure we'll meet again soon; you have to head that way anyways. When we do meet again, we'll have another battle. If you win, then you can keep that jacket. It's a pretty nice jacket, quite expensive. But if I win? I get your pokedex. That's the official symbol of a pokemon trainer, and with it I can finally go on an adventure. Taking that jacket now means you agree, so let's meet again!"

With that he turned away, walking swiftly, giving Alex one last chance to disagree, or say something, or even throw the jacket back. But he just sat there, with no idea on what to say. Finally, alone to reflect on his failure.

And so he did.

 

[Doctor Who]

Gary Stu - You certainly may, in any case that was a good post, I'll look forward to what this Poliwag has to offer.

Congratulations, Todd caught a lv. 4 male Poliwag!

Vamaar - Aw, another trainer that needs a hug. That was a tremendous battle however, I'll look forward to reading about that re-match for sure!

Congratulations, Crabmeat grew to lv. 9 and learned leer!
Congratulations, Buzz-Buzz grew to lv. 11!

 

[Zeph.]

The short walk from Cherrygrove to New Bark Town would have been pleasant for Cooper this fine morning - were it not for the several Sentrets chasing after him. Now you can't even take berries from trees, it seems.

"I saw them first! Get your own, guys!" he shouted back as he sprinted for New Bark, looking back occasionally only to see sour faces on the brown creatures faces. They must have been eyeing the berries up, but if you snooze - you loose.

Cooper's mouth turned into a grin as he saw the town dead ahead. Wasting no time, he ran right onto the main path and slowed down as he approached the centre of the village. The Sentrets, scared of this human territory, backed down and dissapeared into the grass.

"Good grief!" Cooper moaned as he gasped for air. He forgot how long he had been running, "Okay, pokemon."

As his eyes met the laboratory, he was less than impressed,

"Duuude..." he said to himself as he approached the main entrance, "It's been seven years, bit of a clean up could do this place-" he lost all words as he strode inside and saw the towering male figure before him,

"P-president Grey sir!" Cooper fumbled for a moment, unsure whether or not to bow, or extend his hand or whatnot.

"Hello son," the President began, "So you must be the last to arrive."

God did he feel embarrased. Would the President believe his Sentret story?

"It's no problem, is it Mr. President..." a female voice spoke from behind the suited man, "Hello, I'm Professor Acacia." The woman came into view holding a few things,

"If you could just take these," she said, handing the objects to Cooper, "What you have there is, firstly, your Pokedex! Unfortunately this is the best model we could do with," Cooper half listened to her words as he inspected the machine in awe. In his head, he imagined himself using it in the most critical battles, of showing off with it, or thrusting it in the air after winning.

"And those are some pokeballs to get you started too!" she said, gesturing towards the five small, round objects in Cooper's left hand.

Wait, five?

"Now this," the Professor said, picking something up from a large, unsuitingly clean table, "this is the best part. I'd like to introduce you to your first pokemon!" Coopers eyes lit up like disco balls as he was given the sixth pokeball, "We're sorry it can't be one of the standard pokemon - as you know they aren't so easy to come by as they were in the past..." The President let out an uneasy cough,

"Thank you very much my dear boy," he said, "thank you for agreeing to take part in this. The region of Johto will one again stand tall thanks to the efforts of you and many others like you. We're counting on you, and rooting for you!"

Cooper paused. That was quite cool - he felt like a national hero already!

"I'll do my best," Cooper said, grinning as he placed his pokedex in his pocket and the pokeballs in his bag, before turning and practically running out of the building, "Thanks again!"

Outside, Cooper realised that he hadn't actually seen his new partner in crime. Still holding the pokeball, he threw it to the ground and let the creature appear before him.

"Nub Nub."

"No way!" Cooper gasped in delight as he utilised his pokedex for the first time. The device beeped, and a robotic male voice spoke,

"Swinub: the Pig Pokemon. If it smells something enticing, it dashes headlong off to find the source of the aroma."

"So... you like eating huh?"

The Swinub looked up at Cooper (eyes still closed somehow) expectantly.

"Well," Cooper sat and rumaged through his bag, eventually pulling out a footlong baugette,

"I was gonna save this for lunch but-" Swinub interrupted him by biting down on the end of the sandwich,

"Hey! Who said you were getting it..." Cooper growled as he tried to pull the baugette back. The two were locked in a 'tug of war' like combat for a moment, before the sandwich split down the middle, sending Cooper falling back onto the ground.

Swinub chuckled as if wolfed the sandwich down in mere seconds. Cooper looked at the creature, amazed. Then scoffed his own half as fast as he could after sitting up. The two looked at each other for a second, before Swinub began to smile, causing Cooper to crack a grin.

"They must have known that you were the perfect pokemon for me!" Cooper said standing up, "You're alright Swinub. You deserve a nickname."

Swinub yawned loudly before licking his lips,

"Aww I've got one!" Cooper said, snapping his fingers, "Pig..." he double checked Swinubs info on the Pokedex. It was male, good, "Pigman... Pete! Your name's Pigman Pete! Though I might call you Pete for short now and then..."

Cooper turned and faced the exit, heading back to the route he just came across, "Let's go Pigman Pete! Let's show them what we're made of!"

Copper turned his head and saw Pigman Pete asleep and on his back. He sighed heavily as he retrieved the Ice/Ground type. Now it was on to Route 29!

[OOC: Sorry if it seems a bit rushed but I want to catch up so... :P]

 

[Doctor Who]

Zeph. - Wonderful post, you portrayed the NPC's perfectly, and it was definitely amusing xD . If this is rushed, I'll look forward to posts that aren't!

Cooper received a Swinub (Pigman Pete)!
Cooper received a Pokedex and Pokeball!

 

[Vamaar]

Alex's eyes opened, his brain telling him there was a dark blur in front of him. He shook himself, feeling a draft of cold air flow around him. It was night time. Had he fallen asleep? He must have. The last thing he remembered was getting beaten by Eric. Eric Shale, whom was far ahead of him in the business of training pokemon and had beaten him quite soundly. He got up, the leather jacket that had been thrown on him falling off. He had half a mind to leave it where it lay, but the biting cold quickly persuaded him to try it on.

It fit well, and was snug. It had nice, roomy pockets as well, surely he could fit his potion and fishing rod in there. Eric's voice floated in his mind, taunting him, saying what the jacket was good for again. You have somewhere to put your fishing rod and potion that's tearing your pocket open. Alex felt another momentary flash of rage flow through him, and he jammed his potion into his jean pocket again, picking up his battered rod and holding it like he always did, determined to at least not use the jacket for anything other than warmth. Suddenly, unbidden, the rest of what Eric had said floated into his mind.
When we do meet again, we'll have another battle. If you win, then you can keep that jacket. It's a pretty nice jacket, quite expensive. But if I win? I get your pokedex. That's the official symbol of a pokemon trainer, and with it I can finally go on an adventure. Taking that jacket now means you agree, so let's meet again!" So... now what? Had putting on the jacket condemned him to have to battle that bratty kid again, and probably lose his pokedex? He didn't know what he'd do without the thing; It was his only source of information on pokemon. He may as well give up being a trainer. But then again, President Gray himself had appointed him, had he not? So he couldn't lose it, that'd be against the law, right? Like a kind of plot armor that title characters had. Title characters never died off, after all.

Well, comparing his life to the tropes of TV and other fictional stories probably didn't have a lot of merit. Besides, if he repeatedly lost and became known as weak, President Gray would probably welcome a better trainer to take his place. And then what would happen? Would he be like Eric, a trainer that had no resources other than what he could scrounge up? Would he have to return home?

And a more sobering thought occurred to him; did he still have a home to return to? It had been a few weeks, who knew what else had broken. One more bout of bad weather might have ended the roof, and then the house was really done for. No, Alex reflected bitterly, his life was that of a trainer, a vagabond made legal. Kind of cool, like a game. But it also meant that the easiest part of his life had passed by, and now all he had to look forward to was more work. This was almost such a heavy weight that he felt like he needed to sit down again, to sleep some more. But sleeping out here was a bad idea. Who knew what awaited him?

Well, he knew he had to prepare for a tough battle ahead. He furthermore knew that his opponent had three pokemon; a Beedrill, a Spearow, and a Pineco. He had no idea how tough the Pineco would be, but it went down to one peck, and Buzz-Buzz's gust had done a considerable amount of damage to another. So Buzz-Buzz could probably take care of it. Crabmeat had taken care of the Spearow, but he had gotten lucky, hitting such a critical spot with his first vicegrip. And if he hadn't who knows how that could have gone. Actually, he hadn't really 'taken care of' the Spearow, it had still been capable of fighting. He had just called it back to make sure that he had a reserve if Beedrill fell and so that it could avoid more pain.

That left the Beedrill. It had a poisonous attack that could cause constant damage and needed an antidote to fix, and Fury Attack, which did a ton of rapid-fire attacks. A vicious move to be sure. Krabmeat could probably withstand more than he had, as he had already taken a lot of damage against Spearow, but Buzz-Buzz's poor defenses meant she would most likely lose to it in one bout, maybe two if the majority of the attack missed. Which was unfortunate, because Gust could probably do a bit of damage if it managed to hit, given that it was a bug type, had wings, and didn't look all that durable.

Still, the Beedrill dilemma involved it being too quick for Buzz-Buzz, so to beat it, he'd need to slow it down. Crabmeat's bubbles seemed like they'd do the job, but he'd need to survive a shot from Fury Attack first, meaning he'd need to be at full health.

Alright, so assuming Buzz-Buzz could take Pineco on her own with minimal damage by keeping it away, Krabmeat was needed at full to have a hope of beating Beedrill. This meant that Spearow was a problem that only Duster could deal with. But Alex still didn't know how Duster felt about Spearow in general. Well, fastest way to find out was to ask him. A flash of red light later, and Duster was out and about, observing the moonlit landscape of route 30, the pale light casting reflections off of the trees and rocks at awkward angles. After being ascertained he hadn't been thrown out for a battle, he looked at Alex expectantly, wondering what was going on. Alex paused, and then spoke quietly, not wanting to wake any sleeping pokemon for fear of unexpected battle.

"Hey Duster, do you have any problems with fighting a Spearow? We had to run last time, but it's because there were so many, so...?" Duster looked at him, nonplussed, as if he couldn't comprehend the question. After a second or two of it, he shrugged, appearing bored. With a shake of his head he started to sit down, but Alex held up a hand to stop him.

"Hey, wait. We'll get in a battle in a second. There's a trainer we have to beat. He's not here now, but we fought him earlier, and Crabmeat and Buzz-Buzz both fell unconscious, so we lost the battle. Anyways, he asked for a rematch, and I'm relying on you to beat his Spearow. But to do that, we're going to need to train you up, alright? So I'm going to give a yell and hit some trees, and I guess you'll beat up whatever falls out of them? Oh, and you're the last pokemon I have that's conscious, so... uh... try not to get hit?" Alex winced at how lame he sounded. We can't beat pokemon our level, lets beat some wild ones up instead. Oh, by the way, we lost. How lame a trainer was he? He couldn't tell what, if anything, Duster thought. All Duster did was settle into a wary combat position. Alex shrugged, and tackled a nearby tree, yelling in the process. In response an owl sounded, and a brown bird flew out of a tree. Alex smiled slightly; Duster's opponent was to be a bird so to practice on birds made sense. He shouted his first few commands, hoping to catch this bird off guard.

"Duster! Scratch attack!" The mole pokemon leapt into the fray, jumping surprisingly high into the air and delivering a scratch on the thing. It flew to avoid it however, and the scratch was only glancing, getting it's leg. Duster landed, frowning. Hitting a flying target was hard unless it got close to him. He'd have to wait for that to happen. The owl, in the meantime, flew onto a tree branch, staring at the two of them intently. And suddenly, its eyes were getting bigger, and then waves were emitting from them, and suddenly Alex felt sleepy, his eyes drooping closed.

With a stab of panic, he realized he was falling asleep! Or rather, the owl-pokemon was forcing him to fall asleep! He bit his lip, allowing the pain to force him to stay awake. Even then, looking at the pokemon was so relaxing. He shook his head clear, and looked at his own pokemon. Which was standing there, unmoving. Alex felt his heart drop. Had the pokemon fallen asleep?

"Oy, Duster! Don't look directly into it's eyes, it's trying to hypnotize you!" The mole gave no response and Alex ran forward, looking at it's face. It's eyes were closed. Asleep. Alex swore, not knowing what to do. He looked up at the bird pokemon again, who had stopped and now leaned forward, falling directly off it's branch into a dive, pulling up with it's tiny wings to shoot towards Duster. A tackle. Without hesitation Alex reached for Duster's pokeball, knowing that trying to fight this thing was futile if Duster couldn't even stay awake. His fingers fumbled with the ball though, and it instead fell, landing on his foot and rolling away. He looked up, starting to run towards the bird, intending to stop it from hitting Duster at least. But he was too late, the bird was just about to come in contact with Duster...

Who had one eye open lazily, smiling slightly. The bird pokemon was in range. Now for some real damage. His claw was a blur, intercepting the bird pokemon mid-air and swiping it horizontally into a nearby tree. It hit the tree with a resounding thud, and a few other pine cones fell from it. Alex paled, and yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Hit the deck!" Duster wasted no time, jumping aside into a few bushes with Alex. There was a muffled explosion and some leaves went flying. When the smoke cleared, Alex got up, Duster confidently walking over. The poor Owl was sitting there, completely out of it. It might have even been done before it hit the tree. Next to it was another Pineco. Alex frowned, trying to decide if he wanted to catch either pokemon. The owl had seemed pretty weak aside from hypnosis, which didn't seem all too reliable to begin with. Maybe not. As for a Pineco...?

I, uh, hope you weren't intent on catching that Pineco. I've been looking for one for a while. Alex felt another stab of irritation, mentally yelling at himself, anything Eric wanted wasn't worth owning! He turned away, satisfied, and called out to Duster.

"Awesome job, Duster! And without getting hit once! Faking that poor thing out was brilliant." Duster just smiled slightly, pausing to blow off some non-existent dust from his claws, as if to say that it was nothing. Alex smiled at his slightly arrogant pokemon, and let out another yell.

"Alright, Duster! Let's go, the night is still young, and we can make it to Violet City yet! We'll show Eric how it's done." And with that he set off, a new determination in his step. Behind him Duster smiled, observing Alex, noting the changes already. He was settling into his role after all. With a grin he chased after his trainer, ready to see what momentous event occurred next.

 

[Zeph.]

Cooper was so happy that he could have skipped down Route 29 - were it not for the hazardous pieces of rubble from Mt. Sliver. Why blow up a mountain anyway? It's a mountain...

There was also the fact that his only Pokemon was asleep in its ball.

"I suppose that was a big meal for something so small..." Cooper said to himself. He noticed the small tree he had taken the berries from earlier - as it looked relitavely bare compared to the others dotted along the route. Unfortunately, the original hunters of those berries hadn't gone away.

"Trret!" Cooper heard a sharp growl behind him. He turned and sighed as he saw three of the Sentrets who had earlier chased him. The two on either side were on all fours, ready to attack, while the slightly bigger one in the middle stood high on its bushy tail with its arms folded. It must have been the mob leader.

"Sentret: the Scout pokemon. A very cautious Pokémon, it raises itself up using its tail to get a better view of its surroundings."

Cooper almost turned to run, but instead grinned - now he could defend himself.

"Prepare to be owned!" He said as he pressed the button to make Pete's pokeball grow bigger, "Go, Pigman Pete!" The trainer's grin quickly faded as the pig pokemon emerged, yet again, still asleep with its belly in the air.

"Give me strength," Cooper cursed as he rumaged in his bag and pulled out one of the berries. He threw it at the Swinub, hitting it in the stomach. Pigman Pete grunted tiredly as the berry bounced off and landed next to him, but was soon on his feet scoffing it up.

"Okay Pete," Cooper said pointing to the three ferrets, "there's three of them, and they're pretty p*ssed at me. But you're one pack of woopass!" The Pigman grunted in response, grinning at the opposing pokemon.

"Sen!" the middle Sentret shouted. The two on either side of it ran in for battle, while it simply stayed and observed,

"See? It's not as bad as we thought!" Cooper said, however before he could give a command, Pigman Pete was struck head on by a Scratch attack and slid back a few feet,

"Woops," Cooper said foolishly as he fumbled his Pokedex into his hands and opened it. He found the attacks page and called out the first one,

"Tackle!"

With a grunt, Pigman Pete rammed hard into the Sentret that Scratched him, the rodent falling back and rolling over as it cluthced its stomach,

"Alright!" Cooper shouted, "Do the same to the other one!" The Swinub nodded and immidiately ran towards the second Sentret. However it expected the attack and curled up as tight as it could, protecting itself with its large bushy tail. Pigman Pete hit the opponent, however the bushy tail combined with what Cooper guessed was a Defensive move of some sort sofened the blow. Before Pete could move away, the ferret pokemon uncoiled and grabbed him. The other Sentret meanwhile leapt into the air with both arms outstretched and came down on top of the Swinub, Scratching it with both arms. As Pigman Pete squealed in pain, the second Sentret released its grip and swiped, sending the ice pig sliding back along the ground.

"Holy-" gasped Cooper. Maybe he had overestimated his new pokemon's power. He checked the Pokedex again and tried the next move he saw,

"Not to worry, Pete! Use Mud Sport!" The Swinib picked itself up and began spewing fresh mud, letting it spray in front of him and cover the ground as well as the two Sentrets - who were less than impressed at being showered in this filth. One of them angrily took of for another attack, however ended up skidding and falling over on the slippery mud.

"That's the stuff!" Copper shouted, "Show it another Tackle!" Pigman Pete used the mud to its advantage instead, running, leaping and eventually sliding fast across it. He smashed into the Sentret and sent it sliding back to its comrade. The other rodent growled, and instead went for one long leap at the Swinub.

Cooper grinned as he pictured an attack in his head, "Pete, jump as high as you can!" Pigman Pete did so, just as the Sentret landed below him, loosing its footing and crashing into the ground. To make things worse for it, the pig pokemon slammed down on top of it, causing the ferret to cry out in pain.

"Awesome!!" Cooper yelled in excitement, "Now send it back too!"

The Pigman hopped off of Sentret and rammed it with its head, forcing it back to its comrade. The two Sentrets stood up, as the third one observing from behind wore an angrier looking face. They weren't done yet.

Cooper looked again at his Pokedex, and almost had a heart attack as he saw Pete's fourth move.

"Pigman Pete," he began, before shouting, "Ancient Power! Pummel them!"

"Nuuu..." Pete growled as it looked down, hard in concentration. Cooper heard cracks, and the ground began to shake a little. Without warning, a chunk of rock ripped from the ground, surrounded by a white aura. Soon, more large pieces were torn out too, with the sound of breaking and grinding rock surrounding the group. Pigman Pete, also surrounded in this aura, looked physically strained as he looked up and let out a bellow. The rocks shot for the two Sentrets, hammering them full force and pushing them back. The rodents yelled in pain as the levitating rocks pelted them, finally falling to the ground in defeat as the rocks too came to rest on the ground.

Cooper could have cried it was so awesome. Pigman pete was panting as he stared at the third, bossman Sentret, who was looking as shocked as Cooper.

There was a pause, and the trainer was unsure of what the ferret pokemon would do,

"Bring it!" Cooper taunted, "What'choo got?"

The Sentret gulped, and instead turned the other way and legged it, sprinting deep into the tall grass.

Cooper threw his fist in the air, "Woohoo!" He jogged over to Pigman Pete to pick him up, however he forgot about the mud and instead slipped, falling flat on his face.

"..."

The Swinub began to laugh uncontrollably, happy to see his trainer as muddy as he was,

"Whatever," Cooper moaned as he sat up, wiping some mud from his face before letting out a chuckle of his own,

"You know what Pete?" he said, "You're the man."

[OOC: This will probably be the only post for this route from me :)]

 

[Doctor Who]

Vamaar - Great post, I have to say I really like how you give us a bit of the Pokemon perspective too.

Congratulations, Duster grew to lv. 9 and learned Mud Slap!

Zeph. - The man indeed, awesome post again, I'm loving Cooper's commentary.

Congratulations, Pigman Pete grew to lv. 9 and learned Powder Snow!

 

[PsychoJigglypuff]

Celeste Ingerfield - Chapter 1​

It was a peaceful day in New Bark Town. The weather was beautiful, not a cloud in the sky, and only a slight breeze. It was a very quiet town, since it was so small, and nothing much happened there. Mr. Gray could not help but feel relaxed while in a soothing atmosphere such as this. These moments to himself were a nice change from the usual stress thrust upon him. Being a President was no easy job, and he had to deal with too many idiots.

Unfortunately, his time of silent bliss was crudely interrupted. A young girl, brightly dressed, burst into the laboratory. Her voice echoed throughout the building. "Hellooooooo! I'm here to get my Pokémon, please!" She was grinning from ear to ear. Everyone inside flinched from the sudden outburst.

"Does this girl know how to knock?" Gray thought to himself, feeling irritated. He quickly changed his expression before anyone could notice. "Oh yes, you must be..." He took a quick glance at one of the scientists. He whispered her name. "Ah yes, Celeste." He smiled, though to anyone who knew him well, it was obviously fake.

Selly looked surprised. "How did you know my name?"

"Well, I'm President Gray. I know everything." He was sure that he picked out a teenager, so he assumed she would at least act smarter.

Selly had a blank look on her face. "Who's that?" She asked bluntly.

Gray was definitely irked. "Has this girl been living under a rock her whole life?" He thought, rather annoyed. He took pride in being famous and usually everyone knew who he was, so they gave him respect. He hated dealing with ignorant people.

Professor Acacia was watching with much amusement. It wasn't every day she got to see the President lose his temper to a child. Still she almost felt sorry for the guy, so decided to move the attention onto her. "Hello Celeste." She cut in, much to Gray's relief. "I know how excited you are for your very first Pokémon. Unfortunately, we don't have any of the conventional starters, since those are hard to come by. I hope you're not disappointed."

"Nah, it's fine!" She beamed.

"Good." The professor smiled and handed her a Poké Ball. "Here you go. Go ahead and open it."

Selly gladly took the Poké Ball. She began to fidget with it, trying to pry it open. "No, no, you press the button in the middle to open it!" Acacia tried to correct her.

"Oh, I see." Selly pushed the button, and a bright flash of light burst from the Poké Ball. She jumped back a bit, but when she saw the light form into the shape of a Drifloon, her eyes lit up in wonder. "Wow! That's so cool!" She began to jump in excitement. "My very first Pokémon! My very first Pokémon!" She started chanting.

Professor Acacia smiled. "That Pokémon is a Drifloon. You can learn all about it and other Pokémon you meet with this Pokédex." She handed it to her. Another piece of technology that Selly didn't know how to use. There was mored fiddling and explanation. The Pokédex opened up and showed the Drifloon's information. "It's very useful, and has all of the moves she knows now. You can also give her a nickname if you want."

"A nickname?" She thought of the first thing that popped into her head. "I'll name her Bubblegum!" She couldn't contain herself, and gave Bubblegum a big hug. It was a pretty tight squeeze, which made the Drifloon uncomfortable.

"Please be careful with your Pokémon!" Professor Acacia requested nervously. "Some can be more fragile than others. Especially if they are untrained." Now Gray was the one watching in amusement. That child was trouble for everyone, not just him.

"Oh! Okay!" She let go immediately. Bubblegum seemed to let out a sigh of relief. She had deflated a little bit.

"A good way to sense a Drifloon's mood is how they inflate and deflate themselves. You can learn more tips like that when you read the Pokédex."

"Sorry about that, Bubblegum." She apologized. "I'll be more careful next time, okay?" Bubblegum was cautious and hid behind Acacia. "Aww, come on. It won't happen again, I promise!" She put her hand over her heart, to show that she was serious. The Drifloon peeked out over Acacia's shoulder. "So, can we be friends?" She smiled sincerely.

"D-Drifloon." Bubblegum nodded and floated back over. She was still a bit shy, though.

"Alrighty then! Let's move out!" She pointed dramatically out the door. "Let's go Bubblegum!" Filled with joy and energy, she skipped out of the laboratory, with Bubblegum following behind.

Everyone in the laboratory let out a sigh of relief. "Well she certainly was a lively one, wasn't she?" Professor Acacia said.

"More like a headache. At least she has energy." President Gray drank some black coffee to calm himself down. "Now, back to me time." He thought, pleased.

And so, it returned back to normal for the quiet little town. The scientists went back to their research, and the president that by himself, deep in thought. It was only a few minutes later that they had realized a mistake. "...I forgot to give her her Poké Balls." The professor stared at the empty Poké Balls on the counter. "Go get the interns!"

Off in the distance a voice could be heard. "Hurry up, Bubblegum! We'll never get to the town at this rate!"

---

[EDIT: Adding second post!]

Celeste Ingerfield - Chapter 1.5​

Selly happily hopped and climbed over the rocks that littered Route 29. The excitement of her journey propelled her forwards, with an abundant amount of energy. All she could think about was moving on to the next town. Bubblegum continued to follow behind her, failing to keep up with Selly's pace. Several of the Pokémon around them watched with cautious eyes.

"Excuse me! Celeste!" A voice called out, interrupting her stride. Selly turned around to face the one who had called out to her. He had short black hair with glasses and was dressed like those in the laboratory. He had been running after her, and paused to catch his breath, now that he had her attention. It was obvious that he was out of shape.

"Who're you?" She asked curiously. All of these strangers knowing her name confused her. She never remembered talking to these people before.

"Umm, I'm Freddie." The young man responded. "I work at the lab, back in New Bark." He held out the bag he was holding. "We forgot to give you these before you left. They're Poké Balls."

Selly grabbed the bag and peered inside. Sure enough, it was filled with Poké Balls. More than she would ever need, probably. She wasn't sure just how many Pokémon she would catch. She wanted a lot, but wanted to make sure she wouldn't neglect any of them by having too many.

"Now you can catch Pokémon, if you want." Freddie was satisfied that his job was done. Since he was just an intern, he was always assigned menial tasks, but he loved working in the lab and researching the best. He was just about to turn back around and head for the lab before Selly stopped him.

"Hey, how do you catch a Pokémon anyway?" All Selly knew was that it involved putting them in Poké Balls. Freddie sighed internally, since he knew he was responsible for teaching the kid how to catch a Pokémon now. It shouldn't be that difficult, but that didn't mean he would enjoy it.

"It's simple, really." He replied. "All you have to do is attack the Pokémon you want to catch to weaken it, then throw the Poké Ball at it. Understand?" Selly only responded with a blank look. Freddie scratched his head. "Okay, maybe actually doing it would help." He looked around at the area, searching for a good Pokémon.

While Freddie was looking around, Selly heard a rustle in the bush next to her. She examined it, only to find a Pokémon with long ears and a fluffy body nibbling on a berry. "Ooh, this one is cute!"

"Hmm?" Noticing that the girl had found one, he went over to get a look at it too. It was a Buneary. He looked slightly surprised, since they were rare to find in the wild. Yet, it was the first wild Pokémon she encountered. "Must be lucky." He thought. "Well, get your Drifloon out so you can battle it!"

"Drif!" Bubblegum was already out of her Poké Ball, but was hidden behind a rock.

"Ah, there you are, Bubblegum! Come over here!" She waved her arms excitedly. The Drifloon floated over to where her trainer was, looking around herself to make sure she was safe.

"Now, have it use one of it's attacks." He explained to her. "If a Pokémon isn't weakened, it won't get caught."

"Alrighty! The moves were in the Pokédex, right?" She got it out and opened it up to Drifloon's page. "Umm, Astonish!" She said, randomly picking out a move from the list.

"Drif! Loooooooon!" Bubblegum sent out a loud cry to try and scare the Buneary. The Buneary noticed that it was being attacked, and got up on her feet, but didn't look affected by the move.

"You can't do that." Freddie informed. "Astonish is a Ghost-type move, so it doesn't work on a Normal-type Pokemon like Buneary. Also, Normal and Fighting moves can't affect Ghost-types."

While he was talking to her, the Buneary stared at Drifloon and shot red beams out of her eyes. She then quickly transitioned into attacking Bubblegum with her ear.

"But I thought you said they couldn't affect her!" Selly looked at him, demanding an explanation.

"Err, it must have used Foresight. It can attack Ghosts after using it." He scratched his head in embarrassment. "Just hurry up and use another attack."

"Alright!" She chose another random move from the Pokédex. "Use Constrict!"

"Drifloon!" She began to spin around rapidly over the Buneary, and wrapped her arms around it. The Buneary began to struggle, and bounced up and down to try and shake Bubblegum off. But it was just Splash, so it had no effect.

"Good, now use another attack and you should be good!" He was starting to get into it.

"Ooh, this one sounds neat. Weather Ball!"

Bubblegum closed her eyes and focused. A ball of energy formed above her head. It slowly got bigger until finally she forced it at the Buneary.

"Bun!" It fell over on it's side. It looked tired out from the battle, though it still had some energy left.

"Now throw a Poké Ball!"

"Okay!" Excitedly, she fished out a Poké Ball from the bag she was given, wound up like a pitcher, and threw it at the Buneary. Kind of overkill, in Freddie's opinion.

The ball managed to successfully hit the Pokémon, but it just bounced right off. Before they could wonder what happened, a young girl came running towards them. "Hey, what are you doing to my darling Bun-Buns!" She couldn't be very old, probably around seven, but she definitely looked furious. "She's mine, you can't have her, you thieves!"

"No, I didn't know it was yours! I'm sorry!" Selly quickly tried to explain the misunderstanding.

"Excuses! Bun-Buns, use Pound!" She commanded her Pokémon. The Buneary got up, raring for a fight. Freddie reminded himself that even if something or someone looks cute, that doesn't mean they can't be scary.

Bun-Buns jumped up and attacked Bubblegum with an unfurled ear. She was pushed back by the force of the Pound.

"Hey!" Now Selly was the one getting upset. "Don't do that to Bubblegum! Constrict!" Her Drifloon looked a bit nervous, but complied anyway, beginning her Constrict attack.

"Hurry, Defense Curl!" The little girl shouted. Before Bubblegum's attack could hit, the Buneary curled up into a tight ball. It seemed to make Constrict less effective. "Ha, ha!" The girl laughed in a taunting voice.

Selly checked the Pokédex again. There was a move she hadn't used yet. "Hmm, Minimize!"

Bubblegum began to deflate rapidly. Her size decreased, which mad it harder for her to see.

"That won't help! Pound, again!" Bun-Buns started to attack, but she missed, because Bubblegum's decreased size mad her harder to hit.

Selly giggled. Watching the Buneary try and hit Bubblegum, but missing, looked pretty silly. "Now, that cool move, Weather Ball, again!" She declared, really getting into the battle.

Her Drifloon began to focus and build up energy one more, then unleashed it all on the exhausted Bun-Buns. It couldn't survive the last attack, and fell down on the ground, out cold.

"Wha? Bun-Buns? Are you okay?" She ran over to unconscious Pokémon, filled with concern. She then looked up to glare at Selly. "Y-You bully!" She grabbed the Buneary in her arms and ran off.

Selly stared at the girl, feeling bad for her. She wouldn't like it if someone did that to Bubblegum. "Sorry!" She called out after her, but was probably ignored. She frowned.

"That was a great battle." Freddie said, peering out from behind the rock Bubblegum was behind earlier. Apparently, angry little girls gave him the heebie-jeebies. "Was that your first time?"

"Yeah! I'm glad that I won, but I feel bad for her." She looked at her feet, and kicked a rock.

"Well, not everyone is going to win a battle. It never feels good when you lose, but you both tried hard and did your best." He gave a small smile. "Besides, whenever your Pokémon gets hurt, the Pokémon Center will treat them. Speaking of which, your Drifloon looks pretty tired out, so you probably should take it to the one in Cherrygrove, just up the road. It has a big red roof, you can't miss it."

"Red roof. Got it." Selly nodded. "Thanks, Freddie!" She smiled and gave him a quick hug.

"Oh, it was nothing, really." He smiled, embarrassed.

She waved goodbye, turned towards the town, and headed off. Freddie , feeling satisfied, headed back towards the laboratory, so he could get back to work. "She may have some work to do, but she'll be fine on her own" He thought.

"Hey, umm, how do I call Bubblegum back to her Poké Ball?"

He face-palmed. "Scratch that, she's doomed."

 

[Doctor Who]

PsychoJigglypuff - Great post(s), I have to say Bubblegum's one adorable name! I also like how you give a bit of insight into the other characters.

Congratulations, Bubblegum grew to lv. 9!

Chapter Four
Route 31
Free Post
Number of Posts: 1-2​

Route 31 is a short route leading directly up to Violet City. The hill-side is less steep as it moved toward the civilized world. On the route is also the entrance to the Dark Cave. Like its name suggests the Dark Cave is pitch-black, so if you hope to cross it you had better some form of light with you, though any Pokemon caught might give you an advantage to the bird gym to come.


What to do on a route:

-Catch a Pokémon
-Battle a trainer
-Do some crazy things that will make me laugh.
(Bonus points for the last one.)

What not to do:

Catch a Pokémon and battle a trainer in one post. If you choose to try and capture a creature, then you automatically forfeit your right of exp. So think to yourself, do I really want this addition to the team, or would I be better up leveling my existing team?

Notes on catching Pokémon:

-Always end your post with your Ball shaking. And I mean always.
-The rarer the Pokémon the harder the capture.
-I'm not difficult on letting you catch a Pokémon (Unless shiny or very rare), but your level heavily depends on the quality, and quantity, of your post.
-As a gift to awesome posts, either be it funny, an epic battle/capture or just fantastic in any other way, your captured Pokémon might reveal to have an egg move!


Wild Pokémon:


Pidgey

Level: 4-7
Type: Normal/Flying
Moves: Tackle, Sand Attack
Rarity: Common


Bellsprout

Level: 5-8
Type: Grass/Poison
Moves: Vine Whip, Growth
Rarity: Common


Hoothoot

Level: 5-8
Type: Normal/Flying
Moves: Tackle, Growl, Foresight, Hypnosis
Rarity: Uncommon


Exeggcute

Level: 5-8
Type: Grass/Psychic
Moves: Barrage, Uproar, Hypnosis, Reflect
Rarity: Uncommon


Spinarak

Level: 5-8
Type: Bug/Poison
Moves: Poison Sting, String Shot, Scary Face
Rarity: Rare


Ledyba

Level: 5-8
Type: Bug/Flying
Moves: Tackle, Supersonic
Rarity: Rare


Churine

Level: 5-10
Type: Grass
Moves: Absorb, Growth, Leech Seed
Rarity: Very Rare



By Fishing:

Poliwag

Level: 3-8
Type: Water
Moves: Water Sport, Bubble, Hypnosis
Rarity: Very Rare



In the Dark Cave:

Dunsparce

Level: 5-8
Type: Normal
Moves: Rage, Defense Curl, Yawn
Rarity: Uncommon


Onix

Level: 5-8
Type: Rock/Ground
Moves: Much Sport, Tackle, Harden, Bind, Screech
Rarity: Rare


Bronzor

Level: 5-10
Type: Steel/Psychic
Moves: Tackle, Confusion, Hypnosis
Rarity: Very Rare