Sophrosune [Rated T]

[CyBeastSaber]

Chapter 1: Thoughts of the future... (part 1?)

A few rocks skipped across the paved dirt ground as Gale kicked them from his walking path. His first encounter with the AOS wasn't as he had imagined.

"No no no. That is NOT a pokemon. That's an egg. I can't let you through unless you have a pokemon." Gale could remember the AOS soldier's powerful voice. They had denied him passage out of the town unless accompanied by a pokemon and though Gale did have a pokemon egg, it still wasn't a pokemon until it had hatched.

Following his failed attempt to persuade the AOS men, Gale retreated from the barricades with his heavy pokemon egg supported on his chest with his two hands and his blue backpack slung around his backside. A small beep from the inside pocket of his grey vest and it said aloud, "Nutteini Town." before it fell silent.

"Look. We're back in town." Gale said to Kelpsy which was what he had decided to call his egg instead of Professor Mirili's take of an odd nickname of Kelp's Supper. Gale's return to the town had actually opened his eyes to the environment and life around it for he had ignored it his first time around. The town wasn't overly large with a majority of the townsfolk most possibly knowing each and everyone. Gale decided to take a stroll through the town as he occasionally rubbed the topside of his egg. He came across many children in his walk through town and they were extremely energetic. A group coerced Gale into playing games with them and Gale couldn't deny them with their innocent and pleading eyes. Many of the children also knew of Professor Mirili and as her name slipped out of his voice, many of the children began talking about her.

"Oooo. Miss Mirili!?" One of the girls asked. Some of the boys laugh as the girls giggled. "She's a funny lady. She talks all funny sometimes!" The same little girl called Wynn continued. Apparently, Professor Mirili is a weird funny person to the kids and Gale couldn't help but laugh with them. Some of the kids were looking at Kelpsy and softly poked it a bit as it rested on the side of a grass patch along with Gale's backpack.

"Hey hey!" One of the boys shouted. "This looks like one of Miss Mirili's weird eggs!" All of the kids ran up to it and began inspecting it with awe. Gale decided to join them as he pretended to inspect it too.

"So... What do you think is in it?" Gale asked as he stroked his chin. A whole bunch of hands flew up before Gale started picking hands.

"Is it a bird egg?" A boy with brown hair and brown eyes asked. Gale shook his head and replied, "Nope!" The children then began to inspect it even more with some of the kids touching the cold shell of Kelpsy.

"A-Ah! It's cold..." A girl blurted out as she retreated her hands away from the pokemon egg. "I don't think it's a chicken egg."

"Of course, not dummy! Chicken eggs are white!" Another boy explained and the little girl, Bridget, as Gale had come learned her name afterwards, turned bright red as a tomato. Gale laughed and patted Bridget's head to comfort her as she hid behind Gale. Gale looked at the young boy who spoke last.

"So... What do YOU think it is?" Gale asked. The boy looked at Gale with crossed arms.

"That's easy. It's a pokemon egg." He replied with confidence. Gale smiled and nodded to the group of kids.

"He's right, kids. It's a pokemon egg!" The kids roared with amazement and laughter as they circled around the boy who guessed right.

"Wow, Glen. You got it right!" Came one of the many sentences that fell out of the chatter. Gale looked at Glen before he posed another question.

"So Glen. How did you know it was a pokemon egg?" Glen looked at Gale, then away, then back at Gale again.

"W-Well..." Glen paused. "...I overheard Miss Mirili calling it that." Glen finally confessed making Gale laugh as Gale ruffled his head. The boy turned red with embarrassment and pushed Gale's hand away from his head before Bridget slowly walked towards Glen wearing a small smile, and taking one of his hands, she placed both of hers around it causing him to flush even more. Gale stood over the children and watched quietly, engraving each moment within this town into his memory. Despite the warring states between the Marauders and the AOS, he was glad this town hasn't been engulfed in it's flames.

"Okay, kids. Big Brother Gale has to go now." Many kids awed with sadness. "H-Hey. Don't worry. I'll visit again, okay?" Gale tried to cheer them up. Grabbing the blue backpack and slipping his arms through it's straps, Gale crouched down and picked up his egg. With no idea where he should go next, Gale decided he would return to Professor Mirili's lab to gather his thoughts. As he began walking away from the kids, he glanced back at them once more. Many of them were waving him good-bye which he returned with a wave of his own. Off to the side of the group, Gale could see a flushed red faced Glen standing next to Bridget who was waving towards Gale as she softly pinched the edge of Glen's shirt with her index and thumb. Gale smiled at the two before he turned his attention forward and continued on his way.

"I sure would like to see these kids again... do you?" Gale asked Kelpsy as he once more rubbed it.

After a few minutes of walking, Professor Mirili's lab could be seen in the distance. Gale was beginning to feel the effects of his heavy egg once more and stopped short of the lab and placed his egg off the pathway at a nearby tree before he collapse onto the ground. Slipping off his backpack, Gale put it in front of him as he thought to examine the contents within. Gripping the zipper that closed the larger portion of the backpack, Gale began opening it as it made it's zipping noise. A soft and somewhat refreshing breeze dance past him filling him with a feeling of nostalgia. Awestruck with the warm feeling, Gale continued opening the backpack and after completely pulling the zipper back, he brought his right hand inside the inviting backpack. From within, Gale brought out a tiny object that jingled as it brushed against the backpack's side. It sort of looked like a Chimeco but didn't at the same time.

"Hm... A... Jingle Toy?" Gale said to himself before he placed it next to Kelpsy and continued onward pulling out 700 yen, a revive, and 3 heal balls. "Hm... not much... but I have a good feeling I can work things out with these." Gale spoke with more confidence than before. As he returned most of the contents back into the backpack, he left the Jingle Toy out and jingled it once more. Jingle Jingle... For some reason, the jingle filled Gale with warmth.

"I think I could get used to this in the future, Kelpsy. What about you?" Gale said to his egg as he shook the toy once more. Jingle...

 

[Ethan Gold]

Chapter 1: Nothing Else To Do

Sefredo woke up early in the morning in contrast to his usual self. He wasn't able to sleep since that night. He shrugged his head, sighed and got out of the bed and stared at the egg he was given by the weird professor from the other day. He just shuddered at a thought of her as he will never get used to people like that. "I'm not sure why the professori gave you a name." He talked to the egg and took the egg with him to the foyer.

He was not the first one to arrive downstairs. He saw a few people from the fateful accident already in the foyer. Sefredo never socialised with any of them so he expected nobody to greet him. He took a seat on a sofa that was towards towards a monitor displaying a channel playing movies. Luckily, the monitor was currently showing a well-known movie called "Poke Wars" rather than a film that he never heard of to kill some time.

An electric pokemon was on some sort of surgery board. The board suddenly tilted after his mask was fully on. A cloaked pokemon, presumably his master sttod beside to look at his apperentice.

"Lord Kaiser, can you hear me?" the cloaked being asked.
"Yes meister." Came a medium pitched reply. "Where is Pikachu?" The masked pokemon asked. "Is she safe? Is she alright?"
The cloaked being answered: "With your anger, you seemed to have killed her."
The electric pokemon paused for a second before reacting. "I couldn't have!" He said in a tone of disbelief. "She was alive! I felt it..."

The building started to tremble with objects getting crushed. Darth Kaiser, revealed to be a Minun broke free from the board that kept him from moving.

"Neeeeiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!" He screamed in despair, not knowing that his master was smiling at his sorrow...

Sefredo knew this was a well-known tragic scene from the whole saga. He remembered that the film received fewer awards than expected but the Minun that played Darth Kaiser won the best villain along with the worst supporting actor award, a rather odd mix. Sefredo looked at his egg to ensure it is in safe hands and nobody would dare to steal it.

 

[Neiko Star]

Chapter One: Rinse and Repeat (Part 1)​

Claude stared at the egg in his lap. It was bright yellow splashed with purplish triangles, and it somehow seemed...bouncy. And shiny. He wasn't sure how an egg could be bouncy though. He tried poking it with a finger; it was like poking a balloon. The egg radiated a cozy warm feeling, as though the Pokemon sleeping within it was comfortable and at home.

Claude didn't want this egg.

The guards had refused to let him pass without a Pokemon. Logically, that meant that the road ahead was too dangerous for a person to travel through alone, and that he would be expected to defend himself with Pokemon. Claude was not fond of Pokemon battling. He considered staying at this town until he figured out a way out of the region, but Nutteini was too small, too claustrophobic, the air stuffy.

He didn't have to actually battle with it, he reasoned. Just hatch it so the guards would let him pass, then stay at the next town he came to, which would hopefully be larger and more helpful than this one. A lot of people owned Pokemon simply as pets, after all, and he was a researcher. Professors and scientists often studied their own Pokemon. There was no reason Claude should refuse to hatch the egg. Actually, it would probably be extremely beneficial to his knowledge of Pokemon. It would be an excellent opportunity to observe a Pokemon's growth and evolution. Not to mention that Sophrosune being such an isolated region had to mean that its Pokemon were at least slightly different than the ones he was used to.

Yet for some reason, he didn't want it. It was silly. He didn't have to be a trainer. He knew that. But something about this egg gave him a feeling of uneasiness. The Jester Egg. That was its name. And he, Claude Jester, just happened to be one to pick it. It had to be more than a coincidence. Something made him feel like this was fate. Claude didn't trust fate very much, though. And he had no idea why the gods would suddenly thrust this egg carrying his own name upon him right after arriving on an unknown region. He didn't like the signs, though.

The only person who could freely leave Sophrosune was Champion. The AOS guards wouldn't let him pass without a Pokemon. He had lost all of his belongings in the shipwreck. He had no choice but to start over in this obscure region, alongside this Pokemon. Start over.

It sounded far too much like a second chance at being a trainer.

Sighing, he put the egg down on the grass and opened the backpack he had received from Prof. Marili. It was completely white, something Claude supposed he was thankful for, since it matched his outfit. A bit on the plain side, though. It contained 2 Great Balls, 3 Potions, some money, and a length of ordinary rope.

I suppose rope can be useful. I've got enough money for a while, and some supplies if I ever want to catch more Pokemon or if this one gets hurt.

It sounded a lot like things a Pokemon trainer would carry around.

 

[Arcaray]

...It's a bit long. Sorry.


Chapter 1

"Come on everyone! Get up, I can see land! Quick, get up!"

James awoke with a start at the sound of Capt. Davis' voice, riddled with the exciting prospect of finding land. James sat up quickly, his hand instinctively searching for his Ninetales at his side. When his hand didn't reach the warm fur of his beloved pokemon, he instantly panicked.
"Ingrid?" He mumbled to himself, looking around the small boat. Then, James' head hung dejectedly as his short term memory kicked in. The boat. She was on the boat... A lump the size of a pokeball appeared in James' throat as he fought back his tears. His best friend. His family. Ingrid was everything to James, and now all he had left was the shirt he was wearing, and this stranger's backpack. He had the sudden urge to cast it into the sea. It wasn't his; nothing was.

James looked ahead to where the Captain was pointing, and sure enough a shore was barely visible along the horizon, getting bigger and closer with every ebb of the ocean. Where were they? They weren't anywhere near Sinnoh, that's for sure. And as for Unova? That's as dead in the water as the other passengers on Davis' ship. Ooh, that was a bit dark. Don't think like that. On the plus side, James finally had what he wanted; adventure, sea air, somewhere new to discover. And the company didn't seem too shabby either, truth be told. Ten of them had survived, or eleven, if you included the Captain. The students were, just as he was, travelling to Unova to study. Or so he assumed, by the nature of the general chit-chat which had occurred on the ship before the crash. He made a mental note to strike up conversation when they got to ... wherever it is they're going. He couldn't survive here without knowing anyone, and without some sort of companion he'd certainly go insane. He'd not been alone once since his tenth birthday, but now that was prone to change. He didn't like it, not in the slightest.

James would have liked the time to reflect on this further, but shore was fast approaching. Moving to the edge of the boat, James started wading through the water with his hands in a poor attempt of propelling them forward. The water simply flowed around his hands, so James looked around the boat for something else. All that was here was his backpack... dare he use it as an oar? Shaking his head slightly, James continued to use his strong arms to paddle to shore; that bag might be more useful than it appears...

After a few minutes of furious paddling between James and the Captain, the boat made a small thhhhhnk as it sank into the sand of the shore. Captain Davis and his makeshift crew moved from the boat, James bringing up the rear. He assisted the Captain in tying the boat to one of the iron pegs in the sand before taking in his surroundings.
The ten students found themselves on a small beach which backed off into an even smaller town. At first glance, James thought the beach seemed idyllic; calm sea air, waves lapping at your feet, not exactly a massive tourist attraction... But then of course, came the nagging question: Why was it so quiet? There were no speedboats or children splashing in the waves. Nobody seemed to be stopping to take in the peaceful beauty – in fact, they all looked like they were avoiding straying too far from the centre of town.

Speaking of the town, Capt. Davis had already sped off somewhere or other. To find some sort of authority perhaps? It was with eager feet that James wandered into town, keen to find out what this place had to offer. After taking one step off the sand and onto the cobbled street, it was quite clear. Nothing. Even from where he stood James could almost see the entire area, from the abandoned lifeguard stand on the corner of the beach to the run-down Inn at the other end of town. It certainly was quiet, but not quite in the way James had expected. It was far from peaceful, and bordered on eeriness, in all honesty. The town had a certain Big Brother feel to it, but perhaps it was to do with the barb-wire fences surrounding the area. Wait... what? James took a comedy double-take as he spotted the fences blocking all exits to the town. Barb-wire? Why? There was something not right about this place... just standing there was giving James the chills. He looked around the tiny town one more time, hoping that something of interest would grab his attention. Sure enough, as James took in his surroundings, he noticed a small sign made of plywood sticking out of the ground, not too far to his left. It had been poorly painted and bore the words:
"Welcome to Nutteini Town. No ball games."

Nutteini... Why was that so familiar? James looked around the town with more thought, the name striking a distant bell in the back of his mind. Where are they? It's certainly not a town in any region he'd visited and it wasn't Unova, he was certain of that. But then... where?

James' train of thought was abruptly knocked off the tracks as Capt. Davis returned to them with a very excitable woman. She stood before the 10 students, carrying a sack of some sort. She smiled nervously before introducing herself as Professor Mirili, but rambled on at a speed which James struggled to keep up with. He listened as intently as he could, his attention focusing sharply on the mentioning of pokemon eggs. Maybe he won't be entirely alone when trapped in this town.

Mirili handed out the eggs, reaching James last. "And last but not least, I hope, is Wick Wire!" She said with gusto, placing a particularly zany one into James' outstretched palms. "It's got a cool pattern and it reminds me of ketchup and mustard. Hehe."
Wow. A real egg. James was surprised to how light it felt; it was almost as if there was nothing in his arms. He had expected it to be much heavier, especially after seeing a blonde haired boy struggle under the weight of his. For one dreadful moment, James feared he had been given a bad egg. Maybe the pokemon inside had died? Or was horribly mutilated? Oh Arceus, what if..? But as James looked down upon his new companion, he felt a strange energy; a presence, if you will. The egg seemed to be excited, and most certainly alive. Just holding it was making James' hair stand on edge, and he couldn't wait to get to know the little guy inside. He held it firmly in the crook of his arm as he listened to the Professor talk.

Professor Mirili proceeded to give them all a handy gadget known as a DAP before explaining their purpose and wishing the ten of them good luck in their quests in this region. James looked down at the egg in his arm and the DAP in his hand. What were these? Welcoming gifts? Are the students expected to stay here? James shrugged a little. It wasn't that bad here, and there was a lot to figure out. It seemed perfect for him, having the opportunity to take a gap year from college and investigate a region that was barely spoken of.

Kneeling on the floor, James placed his egg carefully on the ground in front of him. He swung his backpack off his shoulder and rested it against his leg, bending down to talk to his new pokemon-to-be.
"Hey. Um, I've never raised a pokemon from an egg before. I'm excited to meet you though. And you seem excited to meet me too!" James picked up his egg, raising it to eye level. It was so... eccentric, and James really thought he had got the better deal. It practically shook with anticipation, and James fed off its energy. He got more excited the longer he held the egg. "We're going to do so much. We'll do it all, squire. All this to discover, and you by my side. Brilliant!"

A small thunk sounded to James' immediate right, telling him that he had knocked over his backpack in his excitement. For the first time since he'd chosen his orange bag, James gave its contents some thought. In this bag sat all his possessions and he didn't even know what it contained. All his clothes, his research, his letters from his dear old mum had sunk to the bottom of the sea, and he was left with a half empty backpack of someone else's belongings. He pulled the bag towards him with his free hand, crossing his legs and putting his egg in his lap.
"Let's have a look, shall we Wick?" He muttered, pulling the zipper across. As he did so, a cold sea wind whipped at his face, tearing at his eyes slightly. Shuddering, James put his hand into the body of the backpack.

"Right, so we have..." James started to say, elbow deep into his bag. He pulled out the objects one by one, inspecting them as he did so.
"Three pokeballs. They seem to be in good nick, too. And a potion... no, two! Well that'll give us a hand, won't it Wick? What else?" James rummaged through the backpack, pulling out a sheaf of notes. "Oh, 2000 yen. Not too bad, really. Enough to get me going, at least."
Truth be told, James felt a little guilty about taking some stranger's belongings. It wasn't up to him to call them his own, but he supposed there was no way the rightful owner would be able to get them back... He shrugged it off as he put all the objects back in the bag. As James put in the last Pokeball, a small clinking noise came from the bottom of the bag. What the...?

James thrust his hand back into his bag, looking for the unidentified source of the noise. After a good minute of blind searching, his hand closed around something cold and small. He retracted his hand to see a small green bottle, corked and sealed with wax. It was full to the brim with what appeared to be a colourless liquid, and had a peeling sticker on the front which bore a cross.

"What's this, Wick? The cross... Surely not... poison?" James inspected the bottle, sniffing around the cork experimentally. "Hmm. Maybe not." James allowed his mind to wander to the possible previous owner of the bag. Did he have poison? Why?

"No use in worrying about it now, eh Wick? C'mon, let's go look around."

James stood up, swinging his backpack over his shoulder as he did so. Clipping the DAP onto his jeans, he picked up his zany egg. The egg's energy flowed up his spine, setting his hair on edge once more. He shivered as his spine tingled, grinning broadly at Wick Wire.

"I think we're gonna do well, bud."

 

[XxSweetDreamsxX]

Chapter 1 - Here I am



"Why can't I leave?" she asked in a light tone of voice, almost child like. Her large eyes dared to look into the soldier's own, which were sharp, nearly frightening. She was denied as she tried to leave the small town, the AOS soldier blocking her way immediately. Her question lingered, though an answer came fast.

"You children are too eager to leave the town. I've said it a million times and I'll say it again- you may not pass until your eggs have hatched," the man replied, obviously irritated judging by the sour look on his face. Taylor directed her focus to the egg she was carrying, shooting a disheartened look at the soldier and retreating back to town without a complaint. Though impatient, there was no way she could persuade the man to let her through. She'd have to wait for the time being.

Looking back, the barricades were out of sight. She sat down on the rough grasses, crossing her legs and pulling the yellow backpack off her aching spine. "So, whats in this thing anyway?" she asked herself, setting her dark colored egg to the side and unzipping the backpack. Her hand dove in, grasping an item and instantly pulling it out. It was...a necklace. Judging by its appearance, probably an expensive one, its silver chain leading to a diamond-shaped crystal. It was purely beautiful. Grasping her own necklace, she almost felt suddenly embarrassed wearing it. If Taylor couldn't sell the crystal necklace, she'd keep it as a reminder of her accident at Sophrosune.

Almost for getting about the rest of the backpack, her attention shot back to the backpack, the girl setting the necklace back inside safely and pulling everything else out. "500 yen, one fast ball, two moon balls..."

Her luck had ran out. How could she catch pokemon if she only had three poke'balls to begin with? Along with that, she only had 500 yen. She'd have to be really careful with her money, perhaps selling the necklace once she ran out. With a large sigh, she tossed the rest of her new items back in, zipping her pack and throwing it over her shoulder. Standing back up, she looked down at her dark egg, which looked to be shining under the sunlight. Taylor thought back to her encounter with Pr. Milili. She hadn't asked for the dark one, yet she was assigned the egg right away.

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

"This is The Clandestine One! Dark and mysterious…. Hehe."

"Mysterious, huh?" she said aloud in curiosity, "Do you know what these eggs hatch into?"

The Professor laughed at her question, Taylor's small smile disappearing in reply. "Sure I do, but telling you exactly 'what' would suck the fun out of your experience would it not?" they said, very sarcastically to Taylor's displeasure. Looking at her egg it was dark, just as the Professor had said. Glancing at the others, they all seemed to be attaching to their own eggs quite rapidly. Why didn't anyone take this one...?

"Now now, deary. Dont' be upset. Go on, have fun. I'm sure you and your pokemon will get along great once it hatches...heh..."

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

Clandestine meant secret, sly. What was so 'secret' about her egg? Inside, it was probably a Dark-Type Pokemon, however Taylor understood the types in Sophrosune were different and her pokemon's type could be nearly anything. The egg just...interested her. It was too bad she couldn't truly connect with it.

Picking up her egg with unnoticed hesitation, she cradled it in her tiny arms. "Your rather...unique, compared to the others, ya know," the girl said, almost at a loss for words. She was taking to an egg. It couldn't talk back, it probably couldn't hear her. Yet, here she was, talking to it as if she was its mother. Maybe she was connecting.

"Well, if your unique, I bet that means your special..."

 

[Quest]

Hiro sighed as he looked at the guards in the distance. You see, he and several other college students had just gotten stuck on a continent that no one knew a thing about. The region was known as Sophrosune. Not only did no one outside of it no about it, but the one nice person to outsiders seemed to be crazy.

She was Pr. Mirili, resident of Nuttenini Town and the leading Professor of the region. Though meeting the teens just recently, the woman quickly became friends to them all, giving them their own eggs to replace their fallen Pokemon and DAPs. The DAP was to be the kids' communicator, though it used to have other features as well as one's it has kept. Telling the students some of the number that were on it, she sent them out, giving them her luck. Anyways, let's get back to Hiro.

Still sighing from the fact he couldn't leave yet, Hiro walked away, hoping to scout out the town. The town was abruptly small, even for a town. More like a village, he thought.[\I] Ignoring this, he looked down at the pretty red egg in his arms. "Rabbit Ruby's you're name? Quite interesting if you ask me," he said to it. "So what type are you? Fire, Ground?" Smiling as he felt it shake, he thought it was a reply of sorts and continued to walk, still talking to it occasionally.

His thoughts though, continued to his two Pokemon he had with him. They were his most trusted Pokemon, Rapid the Gyarados and Harmony the Espeon. He knew they may of had a chance of drifting to shore as well, yet he still mourned. I should have done something, he thought.

Finally deciding he needed to tell something about his worries, he told the story to Ruby, occasionally getting a rumble or two out of it. The story took a while as he had started from the beginning of the trip but it had soon come to an end.

"Don't worry," he said to the red egg. "I'll try my best not to lose you." At least I'll definitely try...

Hiro spotted a tree in the town where he saw Gale, at least he thought it was his name, rummaging through his bag. "We should do the same," he said at the site. "We might even get a rival or something."

After reaching the opposite side of tree, possibly an oak, he sat down, patting Rabbit Ruby before putting it in his lap. Pulling his bag from over his shoulder, black he had finally noticed, he unzipped it.

"Looks like were rich," he laughed, pulling out approximately 3,850 yen and putting it in his wallet. He slowly pulled out two Pokeballs and two bottles of water. "No food but at least we'll be able to get some friends and not exactly die from thirst." Finally, Hiro pulled out a pair of goggles or glasses or whatever. They looked like normal sunglasses til he put them on. "Infrared?" He guessed, being able to see a shape in his egg and splotches of red from people and warm things.

Rubbing the egg once again he said, "It looks like we're set up pretty good, aren't we buddy?"

 

[Sewaddle]

Chapter One: The Cake is a Spy?!

Everything had happened so fast. First was the shipwreck, next was the random backpack grabbing and the escape boat, third came the gas depletion, and fourth... Ciel found herself waking up near the water, on a beach. Never mind that she tried to stay asleep while she subconsciously heard the captain shouting a little while ago. A little while later, she discovered she was in a region disconnected from all the others, with no way out. Then there was the Professor. Oh Arceus the Professor. She was a strange one, having eggs with rather strange names and descriptions she attached to them. And let's not forget the enthusiasm she had when describing some broken device she referred to as a "DAP", and how every last survivor was to receive one of these, as if the Professor wanted to get them off her hands. These devices lacked maps, and without such Ciel was pretty much on her own. Finally, the Professor stated that the DAP had two numbers on it, and that it worked as a transportation system of some sort, too. At least it had some sort of use.

Regardless of all the unfortunate things that had happened, Ciel held her head high. For one thing, she wasn't stranded on this region with her family (she couldn't even imagine how she'd last with them around). She also could still get a learning experience out of being on this island. She'd learn how to survive and how to raise Pokemon on her own, something she could never learn if she had stayed with her colorless family. Ciel would also get the chance to make friends, something she had trouble doing because of her family. In comparison with life back home, this was paradise.

~x~

"You've got a lot of eye-like spots on ya, don't you?" Ciel said to her new egg, which the Professor had named "Hoodsy". She had heard that at a certain stage babies who were not yet born could hear their parents talking, so why wouldn't it be the same with eggs? "I betcha anything you're either a Bug, Ghost, or Dark type, or at least you'll grow into one of those three. I don't remember seeing any Pokemon with so many eyes, so those spots are probably just for show. But you feel rather odd, you know that? Maybe you are a Ghost type..." Ciel rubbed her hand against the egg. It was anything but warm, and it was rather damp. Maybe you're a Water type and a Ghost type. But I don't know of any Pokemon like that... Ciel took her attention off the egg for a moment and looked at her surroundings. There was no doubt in her mind that her grandmother could never stand being in such a place. The very thought made Ciel smile. "Ah, I still have to see what's in this backpack. We better find someplace to go." She made sure the egg was nice and snug in her arms as she walked over to a tree to sit under.

It felt nice to be in temporary shade. Ciel wished the feeling could last longer than it would. She placed the egg to her side and opened up the indigo-colored backpack. For some reason, Ciel could've sworn she felt slightly refreshed as she opened it. Reaching her hand into the bag, Ciel dug around for whatever contents were inside. The first thing she pulled out was some cash. She reached in again and pulled out more. A few moments of digging later, she had ¥1800 in total. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. Ciel went back through her bag and pulled out whatever was left. By the time the bag was empty, Ciel had found one Poke Ball, four Potions, and a device of some sort. She assumed it to be a Pokedex, but it was busted, thus being no use to her. I bet it got waterlogged or something while we were in that boat, she thought, putting everything back in the bag. She grabbed the egg and got up, deciding that it was best to talk with the locals. She approached a man who was rather well-dressed. He seemed like a good person to talk to.

"Excuse me, sir, but I was wondering--" Ciel started.

"THE CAKE IS A SPY!" the man interrupted in a rather booming voice.

"...Excuse me?" Ciel cocked her head quizzically.

"YOU'RE BETTER OFF IF YOU AVOID ROAD SIGNS AT ALL TIMES! THE BREAD COULD BE ANYWHERE, LYING IN WAIT!" Ciel decided the man was off his rocker and walked away, trying to avoid his booming voice as best as she could. The next person she saw was an elderly lady. Hopefully this person would be able to help.

"Excuse me, ma'am, but do you know where the nearest town is?" Ciel asked politely. She could've sworn the egg became slightly more damp as she asked such.

"Whad'ja say, sonny?" The lady held a hand to her ear.

"I asked where the nearest town is?" Ciel spoke loudly and clearly.

"Th' dearest frown? Why that'd belong to my Great Aunt Jilly. A nice one, she was. But how'd ya know?" Yet another failure of a conversation. Ciel felt that she'd get nowhere asking such questions. Well, "Hoodsy", looks like we'll have to find out on our own, huh. She walked back toward the lab, egg in hand, and sat down next to the door. With basically nothing to do for the time, Ciel decided to continuing talking to the egg.

"You know, this is my first time ever raising a Pokemon. My parents, they hate Pokemon. I don't really know why. Maybe it's just how the Bellerose family is supposed to be. But I'm not like them. I'm anything but. Oh, hey, is that a dirt spot on you?" Ciel pulled out a handkerchief from her pocket. She always had one handy, shipwreck or no shipwreck. She pressed hard against the egg as she wiped the spot away, not stopping until there was no sign of dirt whatsoever. "Anyways," Ciel continued, "you're gonna be my first Pokemon ever, so I hope we can get along well." She placed a hand on the egg. Was it just her, or was it a bit warmer than it was previously? It was probably just her.

"HEY YOU! DON'T YOU THINK THE RYE IS SPICE TUESDAY?" The unfortunately familiar voice boomed from afar. Ciel looked over in the direction of the source, and saw the man she had deemed crazy and the woman of hard hearing talking with one another. She could barely make out what the woman was saying.

"Why yes, I do think the sky is nice today," came the response. Ciel was dumbstruck. How. Just...how? This is gonna be an interesting day, she thought, sighing. She looked down at her egg, which was still not doing anything whatsoever. I hope you hatch soon, else I'll have no one decent to talk to.

 

[Fearless Love]

Chapter 1 - Part 1

Rayne gripped the egg in her hands tightly. As she did this, she sent a glare towards the AOS officer standing in front of her. He wasn't allowing her to leave. Not without a Pokemon. And apparently, this tiny little egg wasn't enough for him to let her through. She switched the egg's weight between her hands, still glaring at the officer, who just seemed to pay her no mind anymore. This was just plain irritating, even for her. She understood the need for safety, and sure the guard only had her best interest in mind, but she needed to get home, and she needed to do it soon.

Letting out an aggravated sigh, Rayne spun on her heels and stalked back towards where the rest of them were suppose to be staying. That stupid boat had to have an accident. It had to kill nearly everyone on board. It had to make her lose all of her items. It had to keep her away from her family. And now, all that she had was this little egg, some stupid backpack, and some weird little device called a DAP.

She was suppose to use this DAP to keep in contact with the others. It couldn't help her contact the only people she needed to really speak to, so it was really of no use to her. And this backpack, it wasn't even hers. She had just grabbed it on command, and she was stuck with whatever was inside. And now an egg. An egg that at some point would hatch into a Pokemon. She supposed that was good, considering it would help her get out of this town, but at the same time, she never had a Pokemon, so what was she suppose to do with it?

As she walked back towards the others, she began tossing her egg in the air. She was careful as not to drop it. She didn't want to make scrambled eggs of her only hope of getting home. She wanted to get home. She needed to get home. She couldn't just let herself stay in this place. Not when her brother and mother were both sick like they were. What if something happened to them while she was gone? She would never forgive herself. She had to get out of here. She needed to be with her family. She never should have let Liam talk her into coming on this trip.

As her mind played over all these aspects, her body managed to make it back to their hotel. Unfortunately, as she did this, some kid dashed passed her, catching her off guard, making her lose her footing. When her egg went up in the air this time, they rest of her went down. She let out a loud squeal and quickly sent her eyes too the egg, running various thoughts into her head at once. That egg was seconds away from becoming scrambled on the sidewalk. She had to save it, and she had to do it fast.

Giving the area a half-second of a glance, she pulled the backpack off of her back, evaluating the situation in her mind, observing the pattern in which the egg was moving. If her calculations were correct, in just a matter of seconds the egg would crash down, and she needed that backpack to be under it when it did. Doing a quick double check, she tossed the bag, praying that nothing too hard was inside of it. Otherwise, her egg was most definitely dead.

She let her eyes squeeze shut as soon as she knew the egg would reach the ground. She waited for a second or so, listening for the sound of a crack. After a moment, she concluded that the egg was still in tact, as it made no sound that it was the opposite. She opened one eye, letting it rest on the egg and the bag. A sigh of relief came from her, and she slumped slightly against the ground. That gave her quite a scare, but at least her hope was still alive.

She moved to sit on her knees, reaching over and pulling the bad and egg towards her. She then pushed herself back down on her bottom, holding the items in her lap. She was right in front of their hotel, and if anyone needed her, well, all they had to do was look outside. She rubbed her hand against the egg softly, thankful that it was still alive. For a moment, she had thought that she would never get to see her brothers and mother again. But she had saved her hope. For now. That was a close call.

As she rubbed the egg, curiosity got the best of her. What would her egg become? Would it be enough to bring her home? And what was in this backpack of hers? How useful could it be if it was soft? Not that she wasn't grateful, she was. But how good could it be? She wanted to know.

She slipped the bag out from under the egg, pushing the egg between her crossed legs, making sure it was put firmly, so it wouldn't roll away. She held the green backpack at arms length for a minute, just watching it. She had picked green because...green was her favorite color. So, of course, instinct told her to take that one. She scrunched her nose up for a moment, unzipping the bag. Time to see what it contained.

"1020 yen.." she mumbled as it was the first thing that caught her eye in the bag. "Two Pokeballs...sweet." she fondled with them for a moment, then let them rest back in the bag, looking at what was left. "Soda Pop? Four...Eh, that's cool I guess."

She stretched her arms above her head for a moment, then prepared to zip the bag back up again. Just as she nearly did this, something else caught her eye. The bag at another item in it. Furrowing her brow, she reached her hands in, pulling out the object. She started at it without giving a reaction, tilting her head to the side. It was a dress. A silk dress. A silk, white dress.

She let one of her hands move over the material curiously. Dresses were never her thing, but even she had to admit...it was pretty. And she couldn't wear the clothes she had on twenty-four seven. How unsanitary was that? Rubbing her hand across the dress, she wondered why it felt so soft. She had no doubt it was what gave her egg such a comfortable landing. Thinking of that, she had to admit, she got rather lucky just then.

Rayne gently folded the dress up, laying it back inside the bag, and zipping it up. As she did this, a thought crossed her mind. What if one of the guys had got this bag? This caused a small giggle to escape from her, and she just shook her head at the thought. Well, she had gotten it, and she was glad she had. For once in her life, she had made a good decision.

She pulled her egg back into her lap, watching it. Cookie Dough. That was its name. She rolled her eyes tracing the chocolate covered spots that surrounded the whiteness of the egg. The egg was cold against her hand, and it was actually rather heavy. Thankfully, the time she spent rough housing with Joshua had made her able to handle slight pressure against her body, credit also being given to the many fights she had gotten into over the years. She felt rather happy and calm as she held and traced her egg. Her egg. It was hers. And soon, it would be her Pokemon.

Rayne clicked her tongue, putting the backpack over her shoulder, then wrapping her arms around her little Cookie Dough, grunting a little as she pushed herself to her feet. She huffed once she was standing, using one hand to push some of her hair away from her eyes, but of course, it just fell back into place again. Rolling her eyes and groaning softly, she held the egg close to her, making her way into the building that everyone was staying in.

As she walked inside, she immediately stopped, glancing around the room. She only barely recognized the people that were here, though not many of them were here. She assumed most of them had gone off, exploring their new town that they were stuck in. She, of course, just wanted to crash somewhere and sleep. This was all too much, she was overloaded.

Her eyes immediately darted to the opposite side of the room, where she saw someone emerge from. She furrowed her brows, biting down on her lip. He looked familiar, but she couldn't quite place it. She didn't know the other students too well, so she wasn't really sure of any of their names, but this one did look familiar. Though, she didn't really say anything. Not like she had anything to say.

"Um, does anyone know exactly what's going on?" her eyes landed back on the student who had just joined the room as he spoke.

She glanced around again, waiting to see if anyone would speak up. It seemed that no one would. She pushed her bottom lip between her teeth, pushing it in and out of their grasp with her tongue. It looked like no one was going to answer the poor kid. It didn't even seem like any one paid him any mind, except small looks in his direction.

Rayne sighed and willed her feet into motion. She crossed the room, not saying a word. She just walked silently. Once she reached the kid, she stopped in front of him, pushing her hair back again, only to growl in frustration as it repeated its action from moment ago. She remained silent for another minute, trying to decide on what to say.

"Um...hey." she said softly and awkwardly. She held her egg tighter to her chest, letting her eyes roam around the room, trying to think of something to say to this student. "Uh, I'm...Ray-Ray. Nice to meet you." she knew she mumbled this, so she wasn't exactly positive if he had heard her. She wasn't known for starting conversations with people, but she didn't really want to be on her own right now, and she figured this kid wouldn't want to either.

 

[Neiko Star]

Chapter One: Rinse and Repeat (Part 2)​

Claude glanced down again at the egg wrapped (very, very carefully--he didn't want any wrinkles or creases) in his shirt. Eggs needed warmth, and he supposed that he shouldn't prevent the Pokemon from hatching, even if he didn't particularly want to keep it. A part of him (the researcher part) was curious as to what species it would turn out to be though. After all, Sophrosune was isolated from the other regions for years. Apart from the Water- and Flying-types, the native Pokemon must have evolved by themselves without any outside interference.

Claude sighed. He had lost all of his belongings in the shipwreck. That included his ID cards, his money, his clothes, and of course his research papers. It was fortunate that he didn't have any Pokemon; they would have drowned for sure. This only convinced him even more to stay far from the path of a trainer. In fact, even he hadn't been a trainer, if he had kept a Pokemon as a pet or a companion, it would have died anyway. It seemed like he was unlucky with Pokemon.

I shouldn't keep this one after all, he thought, hand hovering above the suit-wrapped egg. I'll hatch it so the guards will let me pass, then when I make it to the next town, I'll give it to a Pokemon shelter or something.

He unwrapped his suit, smoothed it, then put it back on. Body warmth should be enough. He held the egg close to his body, with both hands. It didn't seem like the egg needed any extra heat. It was far warmer than Claude's hands, but not unpleasantly hot. It was just as bouncy as the last time he had held it, and showed no signs of eclosion.

Claude looked around. There was absolutely nothing on Nutteini's plus side. Tiny, dull buildings stood here and there. The air was stale, despite being next to the sea. There was no construction work, no shops, no activity. In fact, Claude wouldn't be surprised if Pr. Marili's lab was the only point of interest in the town. Not that that had been that interesting either.

"Life must have been tedious," Claude told the egg disdainfully. Having more or less accepted its presence, it seemed like his mind had went: Egg --> His egg --> His egg, therefore more awesome than other eggs.

The books he had brought along for the trip were no doubt lying on the ocean floor right now, if the paper hadn't been ripped to pieces by the currents or dissolved in the water. And he felt especially sore about losing his treasured banjo. There was effectively nothing he could do to entertain himself. Shrugging, Claude made his way to higher ground. Since he was here, he might as well start his job as a researcher (though technically he was only a student) early and observe the native wildlife. There wasn't much to see, though. No bird Pokemon perched on the rooftops of buildings, no Water-type fish jumped through the water.

The plants, however, seemed quite exotic. Crouching, careful not to dirty his pants, Claude examined the leaves of a strange-looking flower that he had never seen before. Green life had never been his specialty, though, and they rarely brought plant specimens into class, except for berries; he wasn't much of a Birch-type scientist: he wasn't one for field work. He held Professors Oak, Rowan and Juniper in high regard. But what interested him most of all was Pokemon biology--finding out just how the creatures' amazing powers worked.

"I wonder what kind of abilities you'll have?" he asked, putting his palm on the top of the egg. It might have been his imagination, but he was pretty good with measuring body temperature, but it seemed a bit warmer than the last time he had felt it.

Claude paused for a moment. The egg warming up would most probably mean it was approaching eclosion. He was no baby-sitter. He knew somewhat how to care for baby Pokemon, but he only had vague ideas of what to do before the Pokemon became a baby.

Warm it up? No, that's not right...the temperature needed varies depending on the type of egg...and I know there are special treatments you should give them before they hatch to ensure the Pokemon is born healthy and strong...

He looked at the egg he was cradling. It was yellow in color. Possibly an Electric-type? Even so, he didn't dare give it any electricity (not that he could, anyway; where would he get such equipment?). The purple triangles had to mean something. But there was no way to know for sure, so he couldn't risk anything. Pr. Marili hadn't known, so he doubted any of the locals would be able to tell--not that he would ask boring people like them, anyway.

Looks like I have no choice but to wait for it to hatch...which it hopefully will properly.

 

[Spikey-Eared Pichu]

Chapter 1: An Egg-ceptional Companion

Percy walked rather aimlessly through the town. Slung across his shoulder was the bag he'd received from the professor. It was a soft gray, complimenting his clothes and eyes. In his arms was the egg he'd been given by Pr. Mirili. It was a a strange looking thing, but a Pokemon was inside, so Percival held it tenderly and carefully. It has these odd spikes all over and some secreted a pink, sticky liquid. Percy avoided holding the egg by those spots, but found its strange warmth comforting. When he spotted an empty bench, Percy sat down, egg in his lap.

The blonde-haired boy looked at the egg and chuckled, "It's a bit silly, don't you agree?" Percy was referring to the whole circumstance of the shipwreck and that now the other students and himself were entrusted with these strange eggs in a place they knew nothing about. He knew the egg wouldn't talk back, to his knowledge, but he had always preferred the companionship of Pokemon as compared to people.

"Hmm," he ran a finger over one of the spiked-ends of the egg and was surprised when it secreted more of that pink substance. Percy laughed, "Ticklish, are you?" The boy eyed the curious substance and after a small debate with his better judgement, he gathered a small amount on his fingertip and brought it up to eye-level. After a silent inspection, Percy brought his liquid-coated finger to his lips and tentatively licked the substance.

At first, Percy grimaced. The unknown fluid filled his mouth with a sour taste, but after a moment, it turned remarkably sweet. He smiled, "Does this mean you like me? Hahahah," he held the egg up and raised an eyebrow, "What to call you..." He remembered Mirili call it "Dan-da-coot" but thought the name was a bit silly. "What about...Beezle?" He thought of Beezlebub, but thought Beezle alone sounded rather imposing and a tad regal.

As if to respond, the egg warmed up in his hands. Percy couldn't discern if this was a good sign, but took it as one anyways. He smiled, "Beezle it is then!" Percy then realized he hadn't opened his backpack, "Shall we see what's inside?" He set the egg back in his lap, carefully so it rested against his stomach, and shucked off his backpack to look inside.

"Hmm, 7000 yen...four Great Balls, two Potions...and a fur hat?" Percy frowned as he pulled the oddity out of the bag. He turned it this way and that in his hands and finally tried it on. He had no mirror, but he felt silly and took it off. "Wonder why this is in here," he mused to Beezle. He placed a hand on the egg, but its warmth didn't seem to change. "Clueless, hmm?" Percival replaced the hat back in the backpack and rose from his seat, egg in his arms.

"Might as well look around, right?" He said to Beezle. The boy and his egg companion walked around small Nuttenini Town for a bit, checking out the shops and such before entering a small cafe. Inside, some villagers were eating and others were conversing. Percy walked to the serving counter and waited to be addressed by the waitress who stood behind it. She was busy re-organizing menus, from what he could tell.

The girl, a brunette who kept her hair short, barely passed the bottom of her jaw, turned to Percy and gave a start. "Oh! I'm so sorry, I didn't know you were standing there, sir," she said apologetically.

Percy avoided her chocolate-colored eyes and mumbled, "It's okay," he smiled. The waitress seemed to relax, "Um, may I have a cup of coffee, please?"

The girl smiled, "Why, of course! I'll pour you a cup right now." She bowed graciously before turning and pouring coffee from the pot into a glazed mug. She handed Percy the cup and smiled, "Don't worry about paying, it's on the house."

Percy blinked, "Uh, thanks..." He turned and sat down by the windows of the cafe, without a second thought that the girl may have been flirting. Percy placed the egg on the table and looked at it. Half of it was a fuzzy orange, and the other was a smooth golden yellow. A wavy, white line separated the two halves. "Maybe you're a Fire-type? Like Torchic," Percy speculated, "Or a Poison-type? Maybe Weedle?" He rubbed the egg's orange half and laughed at the ticklish sensation it gave him. "Or perhaps you're an Electric-type? Like Joltik," he said. The egg didn't really respond so Percy just drank his coffee and rubbed the egg, all the while wondering what was in store for him here.
​

 

[King!]

Chapter 1: Welcome to the Jungle (Part 2)

At first, nobody answered. Dominic blinked. This didn't look good...either nobody here was friendly, or everyone here spoke a different language. That former was probably the case. He was about to exit the lobby and find a map or something, when a thinner girl with pink and black hair started to head towards him. She looked a bit weird to Dom - the hair covering part of her face, the odd layers of clothing. But at least she wanted something. Maybe she was even one of the people on the ship?

When she finally reached him (after an awkward walk across the room) she pushed her hair out of her face, growled as it fell back again, and then...she...stood there. Dominic struggled to find something to do to look busy, but before he could think of anything, the girl introduced herself.

"Um...hey," she said quietly. She moved a bit, and it was then that Dominic noticed she was holding what looked like....a rock. It was a weird rock, large and ovular. He wasn't very sure it was a rock at all. "Uh...I'm Ray-Ray. Nice to meet you." The girl seemed VERY uncomfortable. Dom was thankful that she was at least trying to talk to her.

"Dominic," he replied. He held his hand up halfway for her to shake, but stopped mid-raise when he realised she was holding the rock. "Do you have any idea where we are?"

Rayne nodded when he recited his name, and smiled when he retreated the thought of shaking her hand. She just switched the eggs weight to one hand and held out her free one.

"Nice to meet you Dominic." she said, holding her egg tightly with the other hand, hoping she won't drop it. "Where we are? Well, if I'm not mistaken, we're in some new region. According to the professor here anyway."

She knew she was speaking in a rather low tone, and worried about the kid, Dominic, not being able to hear here. She lifted her hand to her neck, rubbing it through her scarf. She wasn't very good at raising her voice, so she normally talked rather quietly, if at all.

Dominic took the girls hand in his and gave it a little shake before letting go. He watched curiously as the rock-thing moved in her arms. It looked lighter than a rock...hmm...

A new region? That wasn't good. He barely knew where he was even if he had been told before-hand. Now, they were stuck - all alone in a weird place. He had to get home. To Sam and his little cottage and his huge family and all of his brothers and sisters... WHat had he even been thinking, going away? He didn't like Pokemon. He couldn't do anything.

The girl fidgeted a bit more, and Dom realised he should probably say something back. "Oh, that's not good." He paused for a moment, mentally running through his options. "Um...where did you get...er...that?" He gestured to the object in her arms.

Rayne blinked in surprise for a moment. She noticed that this kid didn't have an egg like the rest of them did. And she honestly couldn't say she remembered him being in the lab with them. Though, he may have, as she sometimes had a hard time telling people apart when they're in a big bunch.

"This?" she asked once she wrapped both arms around the egg again. "It's...an egg. The professor gave us all one. Cuz um.." she started fidgetting again, and tried to raise her voice a little, "We can't leave this town without..a Pokemon."

She winced at how sore her throught got from speaking loudly. She turned her eyes to the ground, rubbing her feet against the floor. It really was slightly awkward talking to someone. Due to the fact that she didn't talk to many people, and along with the fact that most people didn't want to talk to her. Though, she assumed that perhaps she wasn't sending off the same aura as usual. So maybe this kid didn't get the sense that talking to her wasn't such a good thing. Or maybe it was because Joshua wasn't here. It seemed most people were scared to talk to her, because her brother was always threatening them.

Dominic stared at the girl for a second, taking in what she had said. It was...a Pokemon egg? So it would turn into, like, a real, honest-to-goodness, Pokemon? Great. JUST what he needed. He wasn't very sure if she was telling the truth, however. Her whole presence didn't seem very comfortable, and she seemed to be hiding something. Oh, well. It was all he had to go on.

"So....this...professor will give me an egg?" The words sounded weird when he said them - he wasn't usually talking about Pokemon. "If we go to him?" Dom stared at the girl for a moment. She was definitely different. He stuggled to remember her name from before....something to do with the weather....Sonny? No, that wasn't it. Whatever. As long as she helped get him get out of here.

"Here, let's go outside and talk. Where are you from?"

Raynenodded at his suggestion, beginning to walk backwards towards the door.

"Yes. We need it to get out of here." she mumbled as she walked, giving the boy a shy smile.

At his question, she remained silent for a moment, rubbing her thumb across her egg. She bit down on her slip, sending her eyes around the room.

"Me? Well, obviously from Johto. We were...on the boat together. At least..I'm pretty sure you were one of the kids on the boat." she said, furrowing her brows.

He was familiar. He had to of been on the boat. The boat crash. Then again, with so many people, it was hard for her to keep track.

"A-and you? Are you from Johto? Or...are you from here? Or did you come to Johto for the trip?" she bit her lip again, realizing she was rambling. "Sorry." she mumbled.

Domwas taken aback at first by the girl's skill of walking backwards and still seeming to know where she was going. He quickly decided that probably wasn't the biggest of his concerns. She did seem to share his need of getting out of the room full of people, which was a bonus.

So she was from Johto. He should've known - most of them were from there. He hadn't been very fond of Johto the short amount of time he spent there. Maybe it was because it was the first time he'd been on his own.

"I'm from the Sevii Islands. Not one of the main ones though - it's tiny, Only about thirty families. I've never...er..been away before. From home, I mean." He hadn't meant for it to all come out like that - especially the last part. But he felt kind of good letting out his feelings.

In the amount of time it had taken them to have their short conversation, they had arrived at a tall, important looking building. "Is this the place?"

Raynenodded, trying to remember where the Sevii islands were. Geography wasn't her best subject...in fact, she always failed that class.

"Me neither. Being away from home that is. I didn't even want to come here...on this trip. Now I kinda wish I had stayed." she said quietly, stopping as they reached where the professor was.

She stood there awkwardly, rubbing her egg, looking down at the ground. "You should probably go get your egg..." she mumbled, "I guess I can just stay here...and wait. Or, I can go in with you. Or I can just leave you alone if you prefer..."

"Um,I think I'll be okay on my own. It'll take just a couple of seconds," Dom replied. Or at least he hoped it wouldn't take longer than that. He couldn't stop thinking about what the girl had said about not wanting to come. At least he wasn't the only one having doubts. He decided that he liked Snowflake, or whatever her name was.

Shaking, Dominic entered the lab and looked around. It looked...like a lab. It wasn't very impressive - just the same as the one he had visited back in Johto. He wasn't sure whether to be disappointed or relieved. "Oh, hello!" a voice said out of nowhere. Dominic jumped. "Oh, I didn't mean to scare you. You're one of the ship kids, no? The one that crashed?" Dominic stared at the professor and nodded, words not coming to his lips. "Well I'm sorry to hear about your incident. I'm Professor Mirili. Now, if you would please come over here to the table..." Dom willed his legs to walk forward, up to the strange professor standing by the table.

The tables was, of course, covered in eggs. They were set in a nice, neat line. Well, at least they had been - most of the spots were empty, the eggs gone. Luckily, Dominic spied one leftover that he liked. It was covered in music notes, which was about the only thing he knew about. The professor spotted him looking at the egg. "Oh, this one here? This is what I call the Calm Poser...it's...definitely something, alright," they said, chuckling a bit. Dominic nodded again, wanting mroe than anything to disappear. The professor picked the egg up off the table and handed it to him. "There ya' go...now be careful..."

"Oh, thanks," Dominic muttered, trying to find a way to fit the egg comfortably in his hands. He had never imagined this would happen. Him, after all this time, holding a Pokemon - a life - in his own hands. He turned to head out of the lab, when the professor stopped him again.

"Wait a second, you haven't gotten your Digital Assistant and Phone, yet! I like to call them DAP's, for short. You can make video calls, take notes, and all that kind of stuff. See, the only problem is the map. It doesn't exactly work quite right...but, oh well! It'll tell you where you are, even parts the AOS has marked off! Isn't that nifty? Granted, it only has my number and Tina the Trader's on it...but you can always register more!"

Dominic blinked. He was very confused. What the heck was the AOS? And who was this...Tina girl? Oh, well. Maybe Sunshine (that was her name, right?) knew more about it. After saying thanks once again, Dom quickly headed back for the door. Once he returned outside, he sighed. "That is one crazy professor," he remakred, talking to Rayne. "Where to now?"

Her head snapped up in surprise. She had been so lost in thought that she hadn't heard him come out. She used one hand to rub her eye, and sniffled a little, shaking her head.

"Well...I'm not really sure. We could...walk around, get to know the place." she smiled at him. "And yes...the professor is a tad bit weird."

Rayne figetted with her feet, holding her egg, and pulling up one of the strings on her backpack, trying to keep it on her shoulder. Of course, fate would never let things go her way. So when she did that, the opposite string slid off of her shoulder, causing weight to pull on her arm, which made her nearly drop the egg again.

She gripped her egg with both hands, squealing. When she did that, the backpack hit the ground, somehow managing to open, letting the contents of it spill out. This caused Rayne to grumble and sigh.

"Well, that's just great." she mumbled, setting the egg down on the ground, reaching for the stuff on the ground. As she tried putting everything back in the bag, she decided to start up a new conversation. "You're bag?" she said, glancing up at him, "What's in yours?"

Dominic gasped and leaned down to help, even though most of the stuff was already in her bag already. "My...bag?" Oh, right. He had one himself. Unfortunately, pulling it off of his back was no easy task when he was holding the egg. And he didn't want the same thing that had happened to Rayne (THAT WAS IT!) happen to him.

He looked around for a moment, contemplating what to do with the egg. Sighing, he set it gently on the ground next to him. Immediately, it rolled away, stopping with a thud against the lab. Dom grabbed the ugly-looking back from his shoulders and flung it around so it was in his hands. "Let's see here..."

He slowly unzipped the main part of the bag. It wasn't very full - whatever was in here must've been small. When it was halfway unzipped, he reached inside, rummaging around. His hand closed around a tube-like thing, and he pulled it out. In his hand was a can of lemonade. "Well that's...eh...useful," he commented. Maybe he would get thirsty? Next he found two Pokeballs, except for that they were blue and a bit bulkier. They looked familiar, and he though that he had learned about them in school, but he couldn't remember the name of them. Third, he pulled out a tiny pouch filled with money. This was probably the only useful thing in here, since he was going to need money to get out of here.

He almost zipped the bag again, when something cold brushed against his fingers. Slowly, he pulled the final item from the bag. It was a knife. Dominic's eyes widened for a moment. What would he need a knife for? At least it was capped, and it looked clean. It hadn't been used for murder. Yet. Dom tossed everything back in the bag and glanced at Rayne. "Well, that was unexpected," he muttered, while trying to stuff his egg in the bag with the items. No matter how hard he tried, the thing wouldn't fit.

"Tellme about it?" she said, laughing softly. "I found a dress in my bag." she smiled, slinging her bag back over her shoulder, lifting her egg back up. "And your egg won't fit...believe me, I've tried."

She stood up straight, pushing her hair behind her ear again. Er, trying to anyway. She huffed again. She needed to just cut the darned things off.

"Well...um...Dominic?" she asked, making sure she got his name right. "Um...you said that you've never really been away from home. So, do you have a good family? ...I don't mean to pry. Sorry."

Dominic grinned at the girl. "A...dress?" Seriously, whoever had packed these bags had been messing with them. By now they had started walking again, going wherever their legs were taking them. When she asked her second question, Dominic froze. His...family....

White. Everything was white. The ceilings, the walls, the bed he was lying in, the tubes connected to his body. Where was he? The last thing he had remembered...was...was... He couldn't remember anything. At all. Suddenly, the door opened. Dominic shut his eyes immediately, hopping whoever had come wouldn't have noticed he was awake. A woman's voice spoke - his mother. "Idiot boy. What was he thinking, putting himself in danger like that? You would have to have very little brain to disobey your parents like that," she said harshly, obviously talking to somebody.

"Well, honey..." This time it was a man. The voice must've belonged to his father, who hesitated before agreeing with his wife. "You're right. Dumb move. Definitely something no son of mine would ever do." Somebody in the room sighed.

"What did we do wrong? All of the other's turned out right... What was he talking to you about that one day? Music? Pfft," his mother replied, sounding angry. Dominic flipped over, burying his ears in the pillows. He couldn't bear to listen to them anymore. Was he really such a failure?

"My family is big. We all lived near each other, too. I never really got along with anybody though..." Dominic answered. He didn't mention Sam. It was too hard to think of her, now that he had no way of reaching her.

Raynesmiled. "Not getting along with people? Hm, I understand that." she looked down as she walked, just listening to the silence.

She suddenly wished that stupid device could be used to contact her brothers. She was so worried about them. How was Mother? How was Joshua? Had anything happened to Liam? Joshua was only in the middle stages of his condition, but she didn't know how long she'd be here? Would she be back in time? And her Mother? Her time was so much more limited.

Rayne sniffled, gasping slighty when she realized she was crying. She lifted a hand to rub her eyes, blinking back any remainder of tears. She didn't fight her hair when it fell back in her eyes. That would help to hide the redness that now incircled her eyes. She thought for a moment, deciding to change the topic, disliking the silence.

"Y-yeah. A dress. As if whoever told us to get the backpack's new a girl would get it. How funny would it be if one of the guys got it instead?" she smiled, giggling, attempting to cover up the way her voice was shaking.

Instantly, Dominic felt bad for the girl. Was she...crying? Before he could say anything, they had stopped back in front of the hotel. He wasn't sure how he could make her feel better, so he just said, "That would be pretty funny."

He shifted his egg into one arm and placed the other hand onto Rayne's shoulder, turning her so that their eyes met. "Looks like we're back here. Thanks for, you know, helping me out." He smiled at her, then removed his hand. "See you around?"

She nodded her head, smiling at him. "Yeah." she bit down on her lip. "Oh!" she pulled that weird device out of her pocket, smiling. "We can exchange numbers."

Rayne giggled, realizing the tone of her voice made her sound kind of excited. She blushed a little. "Well, I guess we can do that later. We are staying in the same hotel after all."

She fidgetted a bit with her feet, rubbing her egg nervously. She glanced around, trying to think of something else to say, but now that they were back, she figured their conversations wouldn't last much longer. So she just sighed.

"Yeah. Catch ya later." she mumbled, smiling weakly.

Then she just turned to face the hotel, starting to walk towards it. Today was sure...awkward. Just as she was about to reach the door, she turned back around.

"Ray-Ray Carter!" she called to Dominic. "My name." she realized she had mentioned her name earlier, but was still unsure if he had heard her the first time, so she said it again.

She rubbed her throat again after that, since she had to raise her voice rather loudly. Glancing around again, she waved and quickly turned back, walking into the hotel. Definitely awkward.

 

[Searn]

Fate's Pendulum

To the Spoiled Goes Misfortune

Prologue
​

She never was good with boats; not even the S.S. Anne could repel all the queasiness from her. Lynette only took this poor excuse for a boat since it was the only last-minute option. Time may be money, (especially her precious time) but Money can't be converted back to time. It's a one-way street, you must choose which one you want. Lynette learned this earlier in life when her father left each Monday for his share in his business, only to return late Saturday night. She cherished every Sunday she could spend with her father, but one day can only last so long. The next day, he'd wave his daughter good-bye and leave behind a lonely child. She longed for his retirement, but not what fate's retirement had in store for him. One day, his guardian Salamence blew a gasket and destroyed him. Lynette's reaction as a 14-year-old child wasn't one of pure devastation, rather, insanity. She lost the ability to smile, and blamed her father for his death, ruined childhood, and pure brokenness. He was never there for her. He never cared. She had convinced herself every person was simply selfish. They didn't make sense to her. When she lied, they would become furious and never speak to her again; when she told the upfront truth, they'd become offended and turn their back on her. The only people who seemed able to tolerate her were the ones benefiting from her presence. Maids, waiters, and chauffeurs, even her childhood nanny, all received pay for their tolerance of her. She was a blemish on the world to everyone, and, in retaliation, Lynette Geoux DePouilles decided to mimic them. From that day forward, she would only give any concern to herself.

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

Sometimes, You Don't Reap What You Sew

Act 1, Scene 1​

Prof. Mirilli seemed jittery, unsure of herself. A card, for sure, (aren't most pokémon professors, though?) she was kind enough to provide every shipwrecked survivor an egg. I –erm- Lynette saw through her ruse, however. Professor Mirilli simply wanted one of those suckers to become champion so she could steal the fame. Imagine a league winner owing their entire career to a Professor: the media would eat that up. Why else would someone give away pokémon eggs to vulnerable strangers? Lynette sighed, crossed her arms, and closed her eyes, allowing the others to grab whatever egg they chose. I guess I'll have to play along, though. The only way off this god-forsaken island is through the league champion, himself. Her thoughts were cut short by some grateful trainers that bumped her on their way out. They had all retrieved the eggs they desired so Lynette saw fit to move to the front and take the one she had wanted from the start. The egg deemed "Mr. Genie" by Prof. Mirilli was shimmering purple color, with a texture that would make one believe its shell was created with sand. It had an air of elegance around it, something Lynette found quite intriguing (although, she wanted it simply for the color that went perfectly with her attire.) As she picked it up, she felt slight warmth emit from it but was surprised to feel its weight anchor it to the table. With a little strength from both arms, she could easily collect it. Looking it over, Lynette snuggled it into her backpack. The largest pouch concealed no contents, which allowed for easy stashing of the item. Without expressing any gratitude to the Professor, Lynette departed.

The sun smiled on Nutteini that day. Clouds gently stroked their way across the sky and a intermittent breeze cooled the town off every so often. The ocean's pungent, salty smell followed its course throughout the city, reminding Lynette's dried mouth of how little fluid she had had since the boating incident. Her saliva tried to fill the gap, but her dehydration forced her to yearn for something more. Lynette strolled through the city, walking in her average, proper way until she came across a small café in Nutteini. Another boy she recognized from the ship had already sat, speaking to his egg as though it were human. Did he have any dignity? Lynette simply mocked the boy in her mind and allowed herself a chuckle, then looked around for her server. "Hello!" A cheery voice rang from inside the building where a waitress was rubbing a table down, "How may I serve you?"

Lynette frowned, "Did I say I wanted to be served?"

"Well, I just assumed…" Her voice trailed off as she seemed threatened by this demanding customer – almost as though she had never been spoken to in such a manner.

"Assumptions will fail you." Lynette snapped back, obviously reopening old scars, "However, just this once you have been served by assumptions." Lynette sat herself at a table across from the boy, "I'd like the finest cup of tea you have." The waitress stood shocked, twiddling her fingers for a bit. "Well…?" Lynette prompted the poor victim, forcing her to hurry into the kitchen. Sitting on the edge of her seat in a very matter-of-fact way, DePoilles examined her surroundings. The place was a dump with a tacky, 40's style feel to it. She avoided looking at the boy a few tables away from her, always looking above him when her eyes came near him. Within minutes, the waitress stammered back with the tea, keeping her eyes glued to the floor.

"Here you are, ma'am," the words were as subtle as the waves nearby.

" 'Bout time," Lynette spat the words out, "Next I'd like a freshly baked croissant." She demanded. Once again, the waitress hurried into the kitchen, only to rush back out with a steaming hot demand with inward contempt lathered around it.

"…and here's your check…" The waitress was obviously hinting for Lynette to leave, but, instead, she only stayed longer. Reaching into the pocket of her ripped jeans, Lynette's hand could only find a pile of soggy paper that used to be money. Her heart sank. Never had Lynette been short of cash. The bag. Lynette frantically searched through her backpack for any hope of not being indebted. First pouch? Just the egg. Second Pouch? 5 Pokeballs, a Tm with "Bite" written on it, and a can of… Black Spray-paint? Who would use that? Finally, in the front-most, waterproof pouch, Lynette found 900 yen. She sighed, sat back, and enjoyed her tea and croissant after taking her egg out for inspection. The bright purple egg stood proudly on the table and glinted in the sun. For a second, she almost asked it a question, but held her tongue and laughed silently at herself. When she did, the egg seemed to turn away from her, giving off an air of offense. She sat back in the chair almost feeling guilty and sipped her tea gently.

((Sooooo sorry for the delayed, short, and rushed post... I wanted to get it up before today was over...))

 

[Spikey-Eared Pichu]

Chapter 1: An Egg-ceptional Companion, Pt.2

Percy continued to speak to Beezle, all the while unaware of the girl who was eying him from a few tables over. "Do you think we'll encounter exotic species of Pokemon here?" He laughed, "Oh, wait, you're an exotic variety, aren't you?" He took another sip of his coffee and sighed, "You know, Beezle," Percvial said as he absently rubbed the egg, "I'm actually pretty glad we got stranded out here." The egg, in response, seemed to heat to his palm, as if pressing for information, "You see, my entire life, I never had much ambition. I just lived each day, went to school and played with the Pokemon around the house. No dreams of glory or Pokemon battling..."

He continued on with his rather sad story, finishing his coffee in the process. "And then-Oh," He noticed the empty cup and gestured to a waitress that had attended to a girl just three tables away. He actually looked at the girl for once and realized she was one of the students from the wreck. However, he didn't pursue this and simply asked the waitress for a refill of his cup. Percy was about to pick up on his story, but for some reason he had an urge to engage the student he recognized. "Beezle, let's make a new friend," he said with mock excitement.

Percival rose from his chair, mug off coffee in one hand and Beezle in the crook of his arm. He walked over to Lynette and smiled, "Um, hello. You're...Lynette, right?" He pulled out an empty chair but realized something, "Um, is it alright if I sit down? I recognized you from the ship and, well, I haven't really spoken to anyone else about it."

Beezle seems to heat up in the presence of Lynette's egg, which caught Percy's attention, "Oh? You have an egg too? How quaint! Did you name it?" He asked with excitement.
​

 

[Searn]

Fate's Pendulum

If You Don't Have Something Nice to Say…

Act 1, Scene 2​

--- Flash back ---​

The ship swayed as though it were a pendulum. Back and forth, back and forth. The rocking was actually quite soothing to Lynette, even though she hardly enjoyed ships. It was a nice day, once again, not a cloud in the sky. Gentle breezes shot sprays of saltwater onto the deck, as well as its perfume. Lynette avoided the others, though. She stayed in her cabin contemplating various things about their destination. All within a second, the boat collided with something. The sudden jerk tossed Lynette to the wall, almost throwing her stomach further. She looked out the window to see dark clouds forming and entering from the sides.

The perfect storm.

She had heard about these: when weather was great, light breezes, not too hot, sailors would often enter the ocean's deadliest trap. In the middle of water, clouds could form within seconds and storms could brew faster then stew. Luckily, the clouds didn't seem too large, but the wind had picked up, along with the sizes of the waves. Lynette rushed outside to see what was happening, along with another 9 students. They huddled around their captain's boat. He yelled above the screams, calling for each student to grab a backpack for survival. Lynette was the first to grab (ladies first, right?) a violet backpack that went well with her shoes and undershirt. As they clambered aboard the lifeboat, she heard a crack. The wood in the center of the ship had fully splintered apart. Lynette, of course, only saw this as a stroke of terrible luck. Instead of being thankful for one of the few 11 on a lifeboat, a fire raged within her. How could so many terrible things happen in such short time? The lifeboat belly-flopped with a "splash" into the raging ocean.

--- Flash Back End ---​

"Um, hello. You're… Lynette, right?" A chair screeched along the wood floor, "Um, is it alright if I sit down? I recognized you from the ship and, well, I haven't really spoken to anyone else about it…" DePouilles twiddled with the teabag in her coffee, lost in thought when the boy approached her. She glared up at him from the top of her eyes, not even giving energy to move her head. As he saw her pokémon egg, he seemed to energize, losing all awkwardness in his voice, "Oh? You have an egg, too? How quaint! Did you name it?"

First impression? This kid seemed to like asking a lot of questions a lot. His voice had almost already provided Lynette with a headache, but she did feel a little glad when he approached her. She was lonely; maybe he could provide some sort of entertainment? "Sure. You may take a seat, if you wish." Her voice seemed monotonous with an edge, almost as if she was uninterested, "I am Lynette, and, to answer your questions, yes, I do possess an egg as well. As for identification of the currently inanimate object, no, I have not 'named' it." The egg let off another, more powerful air of offense. Obviously it hated being referred to as an object. Lynette ignored this, however, simply shrugging it off with a sip of tea, "As for you, I did not feel it was of any importance to memorize each person's name, especially of a boy who feels it is necessary to… communicate with eggs…" She allowed herself a single chuckle to her obvious mock of him.

 

[Who's Kiyo?]

It's been way over 48 hours. The JP is now disqualified for making any changes in your egg. I still expect it, though.​

Chapter 2​

Congratulations, parents! Your Pokemon have all hatched into healthy newborns!​

Jester Egg:

Larvesta ♂
Temperature/Insect​

Ember: Special; Temperature Type. 40 pwr, 100% acc.
String Shot: Status; Insect Type. 0 pwr, 95% acc.​

Feeling shunned constantly, he displays affection excessively to gain your love and respect. He is quiet and will probably follow your every command to impress you.​

The Clandestine One:

Stunky ♂
Dark/Venom​

Scratch: Physical; Colorless Type. 40 pwr, 100% acc.
Focus Energy: Status; Beast Type. 0 pwr, 100% acc.​

He takes upon itself to become your personal body guard and protect you at all costs. He hates other people getting to close to you and will attack if they come within five feet without his permission. Note, his. Not yours. He's rather unsociable.​

Rabbit Ruby:

Minccino ♂
Colorless/Magic​

Pound: Physical; Colorless Type. 40 pwr, 100% acc.
Growl: Status; Beast Type. 0 pwr, 100% acc.​

It doesn't like stray too far from you and is a tad bit clingy at times. It's a little tricketser and loves to play pranks on other people. And you, but that's out of love.​

Cookie Dough:

​

​

​

Cottonee ♀
Plant/Wind​

Absorb: Special; Plant Type. 40 pwr, 100% acc.
Growth: Status; Plant Type. 0 pwr, 100% acc.​

Has a tendency to do silly and "brave" to impress you. She's very much a free spirit, constantly floating away from you to go explore things.​

Dirty Max:

X​

I'm going to need you to finish the chapter before you get anything.​

Mr. Genie:

(Shiny) Drowzee ♂
Light​

Pound: Physical; Colorless Type. 40 pwr, 100% acc.
Hypnosis: Status; Dark Type. 0 pwr, 100% acc.​

Pompous and only listens to self because you shirk him. He constantly will disobey you and insult you. However, secretly, he seeks you approval. That's why he sticks with you.​

Bugsy:

Sewaddle ♀
Insect/Plant​

Tackle: Physical; Colorless Type. 50 pwr, 100% acc.
String Shot: Status; Insect Type. 0 pwr, 95% acc.​

She couldn't be more fascinated by the human race; especially you. But, she has a keen sense of danger and is not naïve in the slightest. Always sticks with you like a faithful little lap dog.​

Kelp's Supper:

Chinchou ♂
Liquid/Electric​

Water Gun: Special; Liquid Type. 40 pwr, 100% acc.
Supersonic: Status; Sound Type. 0 pwr, 85% acc.​

He's as awkward as awkward can be, not to mention timid. The tiniest noise and moment will set him off screaming and running away. The only way to calm him down is with that hypnotic jingle toy you have there. He seems to have an obsessition with it.​

Calm Poser:

Bonsly ♂
Mineral/Magic​

Rock Smash: Physical; Beast Type. 40 pwr, 100% acc.
Fake Tears: Status; Dark Type. 0 pwr, 100% acc.​

He doesn't respond to any kind of swimuli.... it's like he's a statue. He follows your every command and acts like a robot. Pretty creepy.​

Wick Wire:

Buizel ♀
Liquid/Beast​

Sonicboom: Special; ???? Type. Always does 20pt (plus or minus 10 depending on Strength/Weakness) damage, 100% acc.
Growl: Status; Beast Type. 0 pwr, 100% acc.
Water Sport: Status; Liquid Type. 0 pwr, 100% acc.​

She's zany and full of energy- maybe more than you can handle! She absolutely adores you can no one can convince her that you're not her parent. Enjoys physical activity and exercise.​

Dan-Da-Coot:

Ferroseed (X)
Plant/Mineral​

Tackle: Physical; Colorless Type. 50 pwr, 100% acc.
Harden: Status; Insect Type. 0 pwr, 100% acc.​

A bit oblivious and easily angered. It does not respond to anything you call it besides its original name, "Dan-Da-Coot." It wouldn't dream of hurting you on purpose, for some reason.​

NOW IT'S DECISION TIME!

You could through the AOS Barracks and get through now. But.... there are is an immediate fork in the road. Which one do you take? Left or right?

Both sides have the same wild Pokemon. The route is a bit jungle-like, for some reason.

Common:

Uncommon:

Rare:

However, on the beach of Nutteini Town, the barb-wire only goes to where the sea begins at low tide.... A few steps and you're in the jungle! There are an uncommon amount of Poison-Types, here.... so watch out.


Common:

Uncommon:

Rare:

Notes:

1. Your objectuive this mission is to get to the next city/town. Feel free to be as a creative as you want. :3
2. If you try to call Tina the Trader on your DAP, her service is unavailable, for some odd reason. Oh well.
3. If you want to capture a Pokemon and have the balls to (heh), feel free. The rarer, the more Luck Points it'll take. Want it shiny? Cough up another ten luck points.
4. Want to train? Go ahead! Write at least one paragraph about how you trained. The better the post, maybe I'll throw more levels in.
5. Have fun!

 

[CyBeastSaber]

((OOC: Okay... It seems I will have to post up our JP and I'll get Arcaray to PM for the edit. I have to admit there will be a slight bunnying near the end, well it's barely apparent, since we haven't heard from Arcaray in a while which we need his/her final post to finish.))

"So, Wick. Where to now, eh?" James looked around him slowly, only to see that his peers had dispersed. A few young children played nearby, and in the distance James could see a fellow student attempting to pass the guarded gate. "Looks like we're stuck for a while, mate."

Egg in hand, James strolled towards the laboratory. He had no real interest with going in there just yet; the Professor, as kind as she was, was a little too excitable for James to deal with after such a long day. Instead he stood outside the stone building, breathing in deeply. Oh yes, he could really get used to--

Tingling!

James looked around in alarm as a small jingling noise came from behind him. He scanned the area, his eyes finally resting upon the base of a tree, where a survivor was sat. It was the blonde boy with the heavy egg, rummaging through a blue backpack. In his hand he held a small toy.
He seems nice enough, James thought before walking over to the student. He needed to befriend someone here, or else he'd succumb to Cabin Fever.

"Hey," James said with a casual smile, sitting down, crossing his legs and placing Wick Wire in his lap. "How's it going?" Surprised, Gale stopped jingling his Jingle Toy and looked over towards the voice. Gale remembered his face on the boat but wasn't great with remembering names; however, he was fairly certain the man's name was James... or something. After a moment of silent recollecting, Gale didn't want to be rude without answering back.

"Oh. Hey." Gale replied. "Nothing much. Just taking a break from hiking around with my egg and all. I guess... I just can't keep still after everything that's happened." He weakly smiled but kept a strong impression. Despite being one of the survivors of the horrific accident with the sinking ship, Gale was still, deep inside his core, troubled by the incident, but he tried to stay positive about the situation as he move on. Turning his attention back to the new face, Gale glanced between James and his egg.

"So... What about you? You have something to do at Professor Mirili's Lab?" Gale decided to pose a question of his own. There were very few reasons anyone would actually come back to around Professor Mirili's Lab or rather anywhere close to it but Gale decided to pry out of curiosity.

'Is that a conversation I hear?' Hiro thought to himself. It didn't necessarily sound like someone talking to their egg, though now hearing the second voice he knew he was correct. 'Someone must be talking to Gale.' Quickly deciding to put his stuff away, Hiro, carrying the egg and black bag, went to the opposite side of the tree to see Gale and...

'Crap', Hiro thought, 'I forgot the dude's name.' Knowing he was another student, Hiro simply butted into the conversation, sitting down with Ruby in his hand. With them being in conversation, he simply said, "Hey."

Before Gale knew it, another person had appeared and joined him and James to make a trio. A rather odd group at first glance, they were sitting under a large oak tree along with their possessions.

"Oh, hi!" James said, as he turned to the newcomer. The boy who had emerged from behind the tree had dark messy hair, and cradled a crimson egg. "I'm James, James Langden. And this -" James held up his bright egg, "-is Wick Wire." Sensing an awkward silence beginning to manifest, James decided to ask, "So... What do you two study anyway?"

Hiro nodded to James as he heard his welcome and introduction. 'So James was his name, he thought. At least I found out now instead of acting stupid.' "I'm Hiro Mori," he started, now rubbing and showing the egg to them, "And this cute thing is Ruby." Hiro, noticing yet another sign of a silence, answered James's question even before Gale could speak. "Well, I used to be a battler before starting college." He didn't even hold back before explaining the rest. "Due to that though, I am wanting to study new ways to care for Pokemon and utilize them for jobs in the future." 'Wow, I must sound like a real arse.' Hiro thought as he turned to Gale. Gale took the gesture as his time to explain himself which he had not done yet, at least not in full.

"Oh that's nice. So you've got yourself some experience then." Gale obviously pointed out. "Well, I'm Galio- Just call me Gale. My whole name is a mouthful and Gale is a lot easier to remember. This here is my egg Kelpsy. Professor Mirili's name for it was a bit weird so I changed it. I am studying on a lot of stuff and so I'm undecided as of right now... and even more now that we've crash landed here. Oh well… I've got even more time to think about it." Gale finally stopped himself to ensure he doesn't end up talking off topic. Gale glanced between the two men before him. Both were interesting in their own ways and what of the future... He certainly has no clue.

"Well there's nothing wrong with being undecided!" James said with a smile. "I'm researching the Legendary Dogs of Johto. Well, supposedly, anyway." An awkward silence followed, and James stared at the lab beside them.

"Nutteini... Why is that so familiar?" He muttered, half to himself. Just as James finished talking and the small silence hung in the air yet again, a sudden loud explosion came from nearby in the direction of Professor Mirili's lab. Gale was the first to react in that he quickly jumped up glancing towards the lab and then back to James and Hiro.

"Guys, we should check it out. Something bad might have happened!" Gale shouted before he moved over to his backpack, picked it up and slipped it on as he carefully picked up his precious Kelpsy. Gale waited for the two but was also eager to check the commotion that was happening at Professor Mirili's lab. Hiro quickly stood up in alarm, his thoughts even more separate than before. Patting Ruby before picking the egg up, he turned to the others. 'Whatever that explosion was,' he thought, 'it wasn't likely to be good.'

"Gale," Hiro said, trying to keep a clear head, "I think you're right." Turning to James, he motioned to him. He too was rather eager.

James stood up with a jolt at the explosion, holding Wick Wire firmly in his hand. Maybe this town wasn't as quiet as it looked? His heart hammering against his ribcage, James led the way to the laboratory. As the three came into clear view of the laboratory, a cloud of dust hung in the air momentarily around the lab.

"Profess--? Woah." The cloud of dust started to dissipate to reveal that the inner room was a mess. Light was barely visible at the back of the room, and as the dust dispersed further he came to realize why: a large portion of the back wall was missing! Debris fell delicately to the floor, catching the light from the midday sun on its way. Sheets of paper littered the laboratory floor, presumably from the bookcase which lay on its side, a computer monitor sat in a pool of shattered glass from its own screen, and a large flask of potion had tipped, pouring its contents over the Professor's ambiguous research. James stopped a pokeball with his foot as it rolled towards him, coughing slightly in the dust. Who did this?

Just as the thought processed in James' mind, he noticed a small movement out of the corner of his eye. He wheeled to his left, gripping his egg tightly. There, amongst the rubble, stood a--
"Wait... what is that?"

Hiro blinked in confusion as he stared at the Pokemon inside the rubble. What is it? He asked himself. Staring at it, one would think it was a dog-like Pokemon, though he didn't really think it was the case. It looked like an Eeveelution to Hiro. Sort of like Harmony...

The Pokemon simply stared at them, though it didn't seem scared. It's body seemed to be covered in armor... Or was it a part of the Pokemon? He was ready to ask the others if they knew but suddenly… Creeeak… BOOM! Another explosion went off above them. Hiro, James, and Gale all jumped different ways as they dodged the falling debris being extra careful to protect their unborn pokemon.

Escaping the trouble, Hiro stared at the extra destruction that was caused, nearly right beside the spot they were at. I have to keep this egg safe, he thought. In the air was another Pokemon, and oddly enough, it too was similar to an Eeveelution. Its wings were rather angelic in a sense without the form of feathers of some kind yet the body was too familiar. "What are these?" Hiro suddenly said aloud, his arms tightening around Ruby.

What the hell is going on?! James asked himself shielding Wick Wire with his body. Just as he fell to the floor, something flashed past his line of vision. It moved much too fast for James to identify it, but it was a few inches above the ground and looked incredibly fluffy. Just as he focused his vision, another something appeared in front of him, as if out of nowhere. James blinked rapidly, but on second glance the two had disappeared.

James rolled onto his back, pushing himself into a sitting position.

"Guys? Are you all alright?" James asked aloud and waited for some kind of safe reply.

"We are both fine." Gale spoke loudly seeing as he was close to Hiro enough to see his situation as opposed to James. James then looked at Wick. No damage. Thank Arceus. He scrambled to his feet, looking around him frantically. Any sign of movement... Any at all...

Just as the thought crept into his head, he felt a tugging at his pocket.

"Hey! Gerroff, Wha--?"
Tugging at the DAP on his belt loop was a small, dog-like Pokemon. It seemed almost robotic... Or was that just an armor? It looked familiar, but James couldn't place it.

Before James had even begun yelling "GUYS! Look at this!", the Pokemon darted out of the lab, glinting in the sun.

"...Woah."

Gale shook himself while still holding his egg upon his chest.

"Phew… Good. You're unhurt." Gale sighed with relief as he rubbed off the dust that sat on Kelpsy. Everything had all seemed so unreal and Gale couldn't help but become interested. He decided to wander a little more into the dust cloud that had almost cleared as he wanted to check things out for himself and slowly walked towards the side of the room with the big hole in it. Being careful, Gale quickly touched the wall with the left palm of his hand while he struggled with his heavy egg with his right hand. The wall felt stable as the hole in it was a different story. Gale began to walk back to the others after assessing his worries when a small dark figure caught his eyes from within the dust cloud. It looked like a winged dragon as it hovered in the air, and it was glaring at Gale's way with its sharp red eyes. They kept eye contact for only a split second before a small echo bounced off the ground from a falling rock causing the creature to utter a small growl that Gale could barely hear. The moment the creature began flapping its wings, it cleared the portion of dust around it, revealing a pokemon striking an extremely similar resemblance to an eeveelution, before it fled out the hole. Without realizing he had taken a large breath of air from looking at the pokemon, Gale finally let out a large coarse cough in an attempt to clear his lungs of the dust.

"What…. in the world... was that…" Gale said through his coughs while looking out the hole. Keeping it in mind, Gale walked over towards the other two. They glanced at each other in silence as the mysterious creatures they saw kept them from saying much of anything and a sudden silhouette slowly emerged from within the rectangular doorway entrance just behind them. As it came closer, her unique voice gave her off. It was Professor Mirili.

 

[Neiko Star]

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Chapter Two: The Power of String Shot
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Claude came to a halt. He'd been here already. Letting out a frustrated noise, he sat down on a tree stump (after making sure no bugs, dirt or webs clung to it, of course). Every fork of a path or dirt trail he tried, he stumbled upon the large, barbed-wired fence of the AOS. He'd ended up walking in circles. The locals were of no help, either. He had asked if there were any interesting things around--unique plants that only grew in the region, or perhaps a historic sight--but as he had half-expected, there was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary around Nutteini town. The town didn't even have a bookstore! Apparently, the number of people living in it was so small that they had no more than a single clothings store. Which, of course, Claude found ridiculously absurd--he might have even felt sorry for the residents if they hadn't been as boring as dull as the town they lived in. Barring the Professor. Once again, Claude wondered why an established Pokemon professor (Seemingly; he hadn't been too impressive, but then again, Professor Elm wasn't a very conspicuous man either) would choose to live in such a place.​

All of a sudden, the egg in his arms seem to heat up. While it had been comfortably warm before, it now turned searing hot, and Claude hastily dropped the egg on the grass. He'd seen Pokemon eggs hatch before. Some of them glowed as they cracked open, others seemed to be smashed into pieces from the inside--but he'd never seen an egg behave this strangely: the Jester Egg seemed to be glowing with white-hot fire from within, and it was...bouncing all over the place, as though whatever was inside was trying futilely to escape, but instead of the solid shell wall it had expected, it was surrounded by extremely extendable rubber.​

Finally, the Pokemon gave one last heave--the egg stretched to the right in a way no egg should--and with a pop and a sound similar to air escaping from a punctured balloon (which, Claude reflected, was a pretty acurrate description of what was happening), the egg burst open. Standing in the middle of the mess was a Bug-type Pokemon with a dark face and white fur. Its behind looked like the typical larva body, and five rippled red horns protuded from its body, like a sun. It scuttled around a bit on four stubby black legs before pausing and turning as it noticed Claude's presence. It met his gaze with its single cobalt blue eye, an uncanny oval on an otherwise featureless face. Then, letting out an odd squeal, it waddled as quickly as its tiny legs could carry it towards Claude and clamped itself on his leg. ​

A Larvesta, Claude thought, half-stunned, half-ecstatic. So Sophrosune does contain Pokemon from other regions. Still, what are the odds? Larvesta were rare, their evolution even more so. In fact, Volcarona were considered incredibly dangerous, since they were irrefutably strong--they had to be, to acheive evolution, and trainers and scientists alike were advised to practice extreme caution while dealing with them--a Heat Wave from a Volcarona was devastating.​

It was a male, he decided, as the Larvesta rubbed against his legs, making odd happy sounds. It was ironic, though, that the egg he'd received had just so happened to contain a Unova-exclusive Pokemon when his destination had been a Unovian university. And it was no ordinary Unova-exclusive, either; Larvesta and Volcarona's typings were unique.​

The gears had automatically started turning in Claude's head, looking for suitable nicknames, before he remembered with a jolt that naming the Larvesta would only make him attached to him. Which would complicate matters when he gave him away.​

That's right. I'm not keeping him.​

He bent down and picked the Larvesta up. ''I don't have any Pokeballs on me,'' he said, ''so I'll have to hold you. Is that all right with you?'' Being held by a human sometimes made a Pokemon uncomfortable; aggressive, even, depending on the species. But the Larvesta was newly-hatched, and since Claude had been the one to care for the egg, he was only being cautious. ​

The Larvesta squirmed in his grip, but didn't seem to mind it. It waved its little legs around and made more of those strange, high-pitched squealing noises.​

One of the things about Pokemon that researchers had never found an answer for was how exactly they understood human language. Indeed, it seemed like they were born with the ability--which should be impossible, because there was no plausible way to cram an entire complex language into the brain of a creature hatched two seconds ago. There was the popular theory that Pokemon understood not the words, but the intentions of the speaker. It would explain why some people seemed to have a 'knack' for Pokemon, while others were called 'hopeless with Pokemon'. It was suggested that it had to do with a person's 'aura'; studies had been made on Lucario and its ability to sense aura, but so far, nobody really understood the way it worked or what determined its strength.​

It seemed like Claude's aura--or whatever it was, really, since it was only a baseless theory (though very plausible)--was somewhat decent, since the Larvesta seemed to understand. He let out a cry that sounded like a cross between a chirp and gurgle, and wiggled some more. Claude paused, tilting his head curiously. There had to a reason to that wiggling. What did it convey? Happiness? It seemed likely.​

Well, anyhow, he had a Pokemon now, so the guards had to let him through. He strode over to where they were guarding the fence. After a bit of prodding, Larvesta incinerated a nearby tuft of weeds with an Ember, demonstrating to the guards that yes, Claude could take care of himself. They had exchanged uncertain and doubtful looks, since the fact that Claude hadn't had any Pokemon earlier clearly meant that this Larvesta was a new-born. Rules were rules,
however, Claude concluded satisfactorily, as the guards grudgingly moved aside and let him pass.​

He found himself on on a dirt-beaten road. Small trees and greenery grew on the sides (though nothing too impressive), and just ahead Claude spotted a fork in the path. He studied the two split paths: both stretched on beyond his view, hidden by low-hanging branches or clusters of bushes, where he saw that the vegetation grew denser. He found no footprints on either path--it seemed like it had been a while since people had come through here. Obviously this wasn't a very commonly-used route--or perhaps Nutteini was simply not a commonly-visited town (understandable). Seeing as how there was no visible difference, Claude mentally shrugged and made his way down the left trail. He walked in relative silence for about half an hour, occasionally hearing leaves rustle and the gurgling chirp of a bird Pokemon he identified as Starly. As he walked, the foliage grew thicker, casting a dark green glow over everything as the sun rose higher in the sky, the trees grew larger and older, their roots becoming long and gnarled, protuding from the cool, damp soil in the most inconvenient places, much to Claude's annoyance (he'd nearly tripped on multiple occasions). It was oddly jungle-like; Claude wouldn't have expected such an environment so close to the flat, vegetation-sparse piece of crumbly land near the sea that had been Nutteini.​

Claude squinted at a patch of sky barely visible clusters of leaves. He couldn't accurately estimate the the sun's position--he had no idea no time it was, seeing as how he hadn't been wearing his watch when the shipwreck had occurred. A low rumble of his stomach informed him that it had been several hours since he had eaten, though. The Larvesta, who had stayed still and silent until now, began to wriggle restlessly. Frowning, Claude looked around for anything edible, like a bush of Oran berries. He was unfamiliar with the plantlife here though, and he didn't see any fruits. The Great Balls in his backpack clinked softly as they rolled into each other, reminding him that Professor Martili had given him absolutely nothing of use--apart from money and a length of rope. But of what use was money, he thought as he continued his trek down the road, which was beginning to slope downwards, out in the wild, with nothing to spend it on? He sincerely doubted he would find a fast food shop in the next clearing he came by.​

He paused. He had, in actuality, come across another clearing. The path opened up into a large, roundish patch of tree-, bush-, and bramble-less grass (though there were long tufts of some kind of green thing sprouting here and there). There was not, in fact, a fast food shop standing in the middle of it. Something else, however, stood in front of him.​

Its face and body were a dark purplish blue color. A fluffy mane of cream-colored feathers sprang out from its chest and around its head. It had a golden curved beak and large talons, and a singlered and white feather rose from its forehead perkily. It tilted its head and surveyed Claude with unblinking black eyes.​

A Rufflet.​

Claude cast an eye warily across the surrounding sky. Braviary were rare, but if there were wild Rufflet here, then there had to be come around. He saw nothing but blue sky and small wisps of white cloud though (but he noted that judging from the sun's position, it was two or three o'clock in the afternoon), so he lowered his gaze back to the Rufflet. He'd shown the guards his Larvesta so that they would let him pass, but he hadn't really intended to use him in battle. ​

He cautiously took a step forward. The Rufflet immediately snapped its head towards him, eyes glinting in a way Claude didn't like and studying him suspiciously, body tense and alert. Claude mentally cringed. This was not going to be easy...​

Slowly, with deliberate movements that were easy to follow (which the Rufflet did), he walked to the sides and made his way across with painstaking languor, following the curve of the clearing, keeping his back to the trees. He had nearly made it--he was almost at the edge of the clearing, the trees were beginning to thicken again--when suddenly, out of nowhere, the Rufflet let out an ear-splitting screech and pounced on him. Startled, he stumbled backwards. The Rufflet's beak buried itself into the grass. Shaking itself, it pulled it out and turned towards Claude, glaring at him. Claude gulped. The Rufflet was fast; he didn't think he could outrun it, the way it had come shooting at him, beak first. And even if he hadn't been so terribly averse to battling, the last Pokemon battle he had been in had been years and years ago. Not to mention his only Pokemon at the moment stood absolutely no chance: it was a newly-hatched Bug-type for Arceus' sake! One who only knew Ember, at that.​

And it was quite clear that this Rufflet knew Peck.​

Claude stared, mind racing. He had two Great Balls, some money, and some rope...and some Potions, but he wouldn't need those unless he was forced to fight. He supposed he could distract it by throwing coins...trying to bind it with rope was risky, but it was better than to get the Larvesta involved...Great Balls had a higher capture rate, so maybe if he threw one he'd get lucky and catch it without having to fight.​

He put his hand in his backpack and retrieved a few pieces of yen. He threw them near the bird Pokemon, but apart from jumping backwards, it kept its eyes peeled on him. Claude's jaw clenched. He withdrew one of the Great Balls and tossed it. Red light engulfed the Rufflet and dragged it inside the ball, which gave a shudder, then burst open again. Claude let out an undignified groan.​

Now what?​

It really seemed like he had no choice. And it wasn't like he was aiming to become a Trainer or anything. He simply wanted to make it to the next town in one piece. So really, this was a one-time thing... ​

Claude took a deep breath. Right. He was going to do this.​

Now that he had made up his mind, hundreds of battle strategies buzzed around in his head. The Rufflet was sure to use Peck, and that was super effective...was there a way to counteract that? For the moment, he couldn't think of anything better than...​

''Larvesta, use String Shot around its beak!''​

At first, Larvesta looked at him curiously, and he feared that he hadn't understood. Then he raised himself on his hind legs (as well as he was able) and spat out (from where, Claude wasn't sure, considering he had no visible mouth) a length of sticky rope. He had aimed accurately; the String Shot touched the Rufflet's beak and stuck, and the Larvesta expertly wrapped the rest of it around it, effectively clamping it shut. The Flying-type squawked in alarm--or it would have, if it had been able--and flapped its wings. It tried vainly to break the bonds keeping it silent, but a Bug-type's String Shot was no ordinary silk: like a spider's web, it was extremely resistant for its size, and it was sticky as well. Claude was reminded of how the Jester Egg had bounced and stretched, harder to break out of than an actual, solid wall...​

It wouldn't stop the Rufflet from actually using Peck, but considering that the bird's beak was curved downwards, and that apart from the small sharp point, it was rather round, it would do considerably less damage. Its feet should be tied up as well, Claude mused as he looked at the sharp claws. The Rufflet suddenly gave a strangled cry from within its throat and flew towards the Larvesta, jabbing him repeatedly with its closed beak and raking him with its talons. ​

''Use Ember!'' Claude cried, as he realized with a sinking feeling that he had let his guard down, and his Pokemon had paid for it...​

The horns on Larvesta glowed bright red as he furiously let out a jet of small flames. Claude identified the smell of singed feathers, and a tiny part of his brain noticed idly that Fire-types must not be common here, seeing as the Rufflet was obviously unused to fire...​

''Use String Shot again!'' he ordered. ''Around its feet!''​

Larvesta glared as well as he was able at the Rufflet's claws, remembering how they had hurt, and quickly spat out another spool of sticky string. The wild Pokemon flapped its wings frantically as it tried to avoid it; it half-succeeded, as the String Shot entwined itself around the bird's tail. This proved to be to their advantage, however, as the Rufflet, unable to fly without use of its tail, fell clumsily to the ground.​

Of course, Claude thought, wondering why he hadn't thought of it earlier. The tail is used to keep balance while in flight. ​

So he--no, they had successfully disabled their foe. It wasn't about to give up, though. It rushed towards Larvesta, its wings flapping rather uselessly, as it once again jabbed at the larva Pokemon continuously. With a jolt, Claude recognized the move as Fury Attack--though it was nowhere near as efficient as it should be, considering the Rufflet's beak was still tightly restrained. But the Larvesta flinched under the flurry of attacks. Then suddenly, one of his horns lit up, and the Rufflet backed away like it had been burned--Claude's eyes widened in realization.​

Flame Body! And with a multi-hit attack like Fury Attack, it's no wonder... ​

Claude sucked in sharply as he realized that this was the best opportunity he'd get. He rushed towards Larvesta, scooped him up in his arms, and ran around the Rufflet. ''String Shot!''​

Obediently, the Larvesta spun out a length of white sticky web. As they made their way around the small bird Pokemon, it trailed on the ground, until they arrived back where they had started; the String Shot now made a full circle around the Rufflet. ​

The Rufflet, confused (Claude could see that it was nursing its right wing and it seemed to be favouring one leg), stared at the white circle that surrounded it. Claude knew what effect an enclosed area had on Pokemon.​

But he had to be thorough. After all, he would never get another such opportunity again. This was his chance to end the battle as quickly as he could. ''Set the fire, Larvesta.''​

At the word 'fire', Larvesta wriggled a bit in his arms, and he just had the sense to drop the bug Pokemon and back away when all five of his horns blazed, and he let out a stream of fire from each of them; not really much, especially when he thought about the Flamethrowers he had seen the lab Magmar use, but substantially impressive compared to the previous one. ​

The Rufflet shrank back, but it wasn't the target. Instead, the attack set fire to the string around it, which quickly caught fire. It spread rapidly, and in a matter of seconds, the little eagle found itself encased in a ring of fire. It ducked its tail, as though afraid it would catch fire as well (the thought crossed Claude's mind that this Rufflet had a very good self-preservation instinct), and stared out at the flames. It might have been the first time it had seen fire; Claude couldn't be sure. All he knew was that this battle was (thankfully) over.​

He walked over to where the Great Ball he had thrown lay in the grass and picked it up. ''Let's see if I have better luck this time,'' he muttered. He glanced at the Rufflet, who still seemed paralysed. A status condition augmented his chances considerably... He threw the ball at the bird Pokemon and heard the 'click' that signified that it had closed. He waited. One second...two...three...he peered curiously through the small curtain of flames, just in time to see the ball give one last quiver before standing still.​

He kicked up some dirt, smothering the fire. He stared at the Great Ball clutched tightly in his hand. So. After all these years, after he'd sworn off battling, he'd tried to fight a wild Pokemon.​

And he'd won.​

An excitement he hadn't felt for years rose up from within him. Warmth spread in his fingertips as he stared at the proof of his success. Maybe...maybe he'd been given a second chance. But...no...he couldn't. He was a coward. He knew that. But...just maybe. ​

In any case, he thought as he stumbled back to where Larvesta was waiting for him patiently, still dizzy from his victory. I'll just have to wait and see.​

As Larvesta wrapped himself happily around his leg, he noticed the scratches he bore. His white fur was dirtied and messy as well. Frowning, Claude realized that even though they'd managed to minimalize the damage, his Pokemon had still taken two Fury Attacks head-on. Rufflet was still burned as well...​

He dropped his backpack onto the grass and withdrew the Potions. ''This might sting a bit,'' he told Larvesta, whose horns were twitching curiously. He took one of the bottles and, as gently as he could, sprayed him. He was right; Larvesta flinched as the Potion's medicinal content burned like salt on his wounds. His injuries quickly healed though, and in no time at all, he was back to full health. Claude gave a faint smile, then released Rufflet. The bird, still limping, peered up at him tiredly in a 'What'd you expect me to do?' air.​

''I'm not going to make you fight,'' Claude reassured it. ''I just need to heal your injuries.''​

Rufflet chirped unhappily, but extended its--no, his, Claude thought, it's a male--hurt leg. Claude gently took it in his hand and sprayed it with Potion, then did the same for the rest of the bird's body. The scorch marks and cuts disappeared, and the damage was fixed...but there was nothing he could do about the burn.​

''You'll have to stay in your Pokeball until we reach a Pokemon Center,'' he told him. The Rufflet gave an indignant squawk that sounded remarkably like a huff and pressed the button of his Great Ball with his beak, disappearing inside of it in a flash of red light.​

''Well...that's taken care of.'' Claude turned back to the Larvesta. ''We should get going then.''​

They finally made their way out of the clearing, and back into the jungle. Luckily, they didn't get interrupted a second time; sometimes Starly would fly overhead of right in front of them, or an Ekans would quickly slither across their path, but they never bothered them. In fact, most of the wild Pokemon seemed more keen on avoiding them and picking a fight. The Rufflet attacking them, Claude mused, had just been his attitude.​

Or so he thought. A writhing mass of brown and white feathers crashed into his face. Spluttering, Claude shoved it off rather rudely and stared at the ground where was collapsed a Starly. It jerked its wing feebly, but otherwise seemed too weak to move. Kneeling slowly down, Claude examined it curiously. It sported a long but shallow cut above its left wing, which stuck out slightly at an odd angle. ​

''It's dislocated,'' Claude said to nobody in particular. ''Can you fix it, Larvesta? Just give me some string.'' He had briefly thought about the length of rope lying inside his backpack, but had just as quickly discarded the idea. String Shot was strong and solid, not to mention it was natural. The Starly would probably find the coarse rope uncomfortable. It was too thick to bandage as delicate a thing as a wing, anyway. And he was really rather low on supplies; he prefered keeping whatever little had.​

Larvesta waddled over and spun a wad of string directly into his outstretched palm. Claude noted in surprise that this wouldn't nearly as sticky as the other String Shot had been--in fact, it was quite dry and silky. Interesting... He tied the wing back in place as best as he could, not being well-versed in the arts of healing aside from basic first aid. The Starly was too weak--or was in too much pain to protest though. Claude's hand lingered hesitantly over his backpack; even with its wing fixed, this Starly was in bad shape. It was surely in the need of a Potion. But he only had the one left: what if something happened later on? He should take care of his own Pokemon first, and this Starly had to have parents...but no. He couldn't just leave it here, in an undignified heap in the middle of the jungle road. He'd already fixed its wing; he couldn't just do a half-hearted job. With a sigh, he opened his bag and took out his last Potion. He used it on the Starly, who recovered quite fast. Soon it stood on its own legs, albeit a bit shakily. With a chirp of thanks, it nibbled Claude's hair (was that supposed to be an affectionate gesture?) and flew off.​

Claude shook his head. ''Let's go.'' Again, he added silently. As he walked down the dirt-beaten path (though it was so covered in bulging tree roots and leaves you hardly saw much dirt), he noticed that it seemed to be getting...brighter. No, he realized. The trees are getting thinner! Indeed, the leaves and branches became much skinnier, and the sunlight finally managed to filter through. Claude's heart rose. This meant...​

He came to a halt. He'd left the jungle altogether.​

''We've arrived!''​