Starting in Saffron // A Gray Journey

[Loki]

Karen watched the psyduck with great amusement, covering her smile with her hand as Hitmontop stared down at it in bewilderment "Go on." She said to the spinning pokemon "It'll occupy your mind."

Hitmontop hopped down from the couches and hopped onto it's head, spinning like the psyduck was attempting to do "It's not problem, Hitmontop needs some distraction anyway." Karen said, not really looking at baseball boy but instead watching Hitmontop and Psyduck. The two were really a funny sight, with Hitmontop never getting dizzy from his spinning, and the psyduck falling down with each round of spins.

Karen glanced out at the rain and back down to Hitmontop. Spinning always cleared his mind- if only for a few minutes. But by the next thunder, Hitmontop would be back on Karen's lap, clutching her baggy camo pants like a stuffed animal.

 

[YoshiRiRu]

Julian watched his pokemon, and half laughed, half sighed. Pokemon were amazing creatures. From behind him, he heard a voice.

"Um, sir. Ahem, sir!" A nurse was calling to Julian from behind the counter. Julian raced over to the counter, his eyes wide. The nurse's expression was one of satisfaction.

"I'm pleased to inform you that we've been able to successfully operate on your Sandslash!" Julian smiled broadly, and closed his eyes.

"It was a major injury - he probably shouldn't be too active for a couple days. He's in recovery now, and we'll be able to release him to you tommorow morning." Julian sighed in relief.

"Thank you, Nurse." The nurse smiled a cute smile, and replied

"That's our job! We're Pokemon Center workers. Thank you for choosing us!" she smiled once more, and strolled off to tend to some other nurse-like duties. Julian walked back to his pokemon, a little bit giddy.

"Oy, guys! Wake up!" He almost yelled, not caring who heard. His pokemon grumbled and groaned, and sat up groggily.

"Slash is going to be alright, don't worry." A tired cheer went up among his pokemon.

<Is he alright?> inquired Clash sleepily.

"Aye, girly. They said that he would be released tommorow."

<Good. We need to get started on our journey, anyway.> Lash remarked, yawning. Julian looked up sharply.

"Say what?" Lash laughed.

<Jules, you forget. Clash is psychic. We know you've been thinking about it.. and with Karen away at camp... We figured, why not?> Clash looked a little embarrassed.

<Besides, I need to get out of this town anyway. I'm a travelling pokemon - I need to see the world.> Lash proclaimed, sticking his claw in the air triumphantly.

"I don't know, guys.." Julian began, but Ash stepped up, and stated his opinion.

<Commander, as much as I hate to admit it, I suppose Lash is right. This lot of lazy soldiers needs some training work! They've softened up - nobody can fight anymore!> Ash growled, looking dissaprovingly at his team-mates. Nobody had any objections, and every reason he could think of not to do, Clash psychiched, and Lash countered. The sneasel could be very persuasive.

"I'll think about it. We all need sleep. We'll talk about it tommorow." He said this, but his mind was almost completely set on going. Clash smiled to herself as she laid down to sleep.

Splash, on the other hand, had his own satisfaction at hand. After about 10 minutes of failing to be able to keep up with the Hitmontop, Splash decided to admit defeat. He spit a small ball of water into the air, and with his telekinetic powers, formed it into the shape of a crown, which he placed above the Hitmontop's spinning form, where it stayed. Splash sat back, and admired his work, very pleased with himself.

 

[Gray]

((Erm, sorry i don't get on much but i have coursework to do and stuff for school. Where do you guys live? You're all like posting at the early hours of the morning and stuff. I live in England so it might just be time differences. Oh well.))

Gray finished reading the magazine and put it down on the table next to the sofa. He looked around the small sectioned off area, then through the gap that led to the lobby. He could hear lot's of noise coming from out there. As he leaned to try and see what was happening, one of the nurses approached him.

"Excuse me, sir, but it will take longer than expected to heal your pokemon. Your Espeon is refusing to be healed and she is currently asleep. If you would like to stay in one of our rooms while you wait, you are welcome."

"That pokemon is so stubborn. Oh well, guess there's nothing i can do now. I'll have to wait and go to Johto some other time."

"We could try and wake her up, sir. Would that work?"

"Nah, she gets really cranky if you wake her up. It's a bad idea. Just leave her for now. I'll talk to her in the morning."

Seeing as he was now going to be spending the night here, he thought he might go outside for a while. It was about quarter to ten and dark, but he was confident that no one would mug him. Crime was low in Saffron. Except for that Silph place, he thought. That place is trouble. He stood up and walked towards the exit, and as the large sliding doors opened the freezing cold air greeted him in a blast that nearly knocked him backwards as it sped past him into the center, causing quite a mess. He looked apolegetically back at the people in the center as he walked out and the doors closed.

"Fresh air."

He released his remaining pokemon, all except Flaria, and they ran around in the rain, joyfully playing in the considerably large puddles that had been made outside the building. He leaned against the side of the pokemon center and looked up into the sky, raindrops slamming down hard onto his face, and his clothes turning dark as they were pounded by the heavy rain. Another flash of thunder streaked across the sky and Chu looked up in awe, sending off sparks himself. Gray grinned, but it quickly faded when he saw a man walk past the center.

The man was wearing a dark black shirt with a large red R on the front, and also a cap on his head. His boots were long, up to his thighs, and his gloves reached his elbows. His whole body was covered except for his mouth, which held a sneering grin on it. As soon as he noticed Gray watching him, the man hurried along and then dissapeared out of sight. Gray continued to look on itno that darkness, wondering who on earth the man was. His thoughts were quickly disregarded though, when he felt a tingling sensation and was zapped by a small bolt of electricity.

"What the..."

"Chu! Pichu!"

"I think you need to find a better game than trying to fry me."

He smiled and then turned back to the sky, closing his eyes as the rain dribbled down his cheeks and wet his hair, just as he liked it.

 

[Loki]

OOC: That would explain it. I live in the U.S. ^_^

IC:There wasn't much to do now- Hitmontop was content with spinning for an audience, unaware of the watery crown above his legs. Karen rolled out the map that was quite burnt from frequent zap's that Splice used to show which way he wanted to go.

Karen never really used the pokenav her father had gotten her, as she wouldn't be too pleased if Splice burnt her pokenav. But without the Magneton in sight, she pulled out her from one of her numerous back pockets, and pressed on the city of Saffron, giving a closer analysis of the city. She would take the east exit- and that meant going towards the left of the entrance to the pokemon center.

She noticed contest boy sleeping in a chair, Gray had left, and Julian had left to discuss something with the nurse, only to return to the large gang of pokemon she guessed were his companions. Karen looked down at the pleased psyduck and said with a smile tugging at her stubborn lips,

"Aren't you a cutie?"

 

[YoshiRiRu]

OOC: I'm starting to think we should actually head towards the next day. If you all have business to take care of at night, do so - but I dont think I'll post another IC until we're all awake next morning.


IC: Splash was pleased with himself. He took compliments well. The psyduck turned beet red, and looked away bashfully. Julian strode up to Psyduck at this point, and scooped him up. Splash took no offence in this, and instead, dozed off to sleep. Julian looked like he was about to do the same. His eyes were tired; much like that of someone much older than he was, and yet, the innocence of childhood lingered within him.

"Thanks for taking care of Splash. He can be a bit of a handful sometimes." He smiled, looking at the bundle of down sleeping in the crook of his arm.

"I suppose I'll see you tommorow morning then." He remarked casually, and walked off back to his group of sleeping companions. He placed Splash in between Ash and Lash, and laid down on one of the comfortable sofas that littered the waiting room. The storm raged on outside, but the boy began to hear it with a new light. He found the rain soothing - washing the tears away from his eyes, and the thunder to be a loud clap of triumphant joy announcing the glorious destiny of Julian Kensington and company. With a heavy burden lifted off his heart, he gently drifted off to sleep, the pain of the entire day evaporating like mist into a winter morning.

 

[Garouga! Bare Your Fangs!]

OOC: Way ahead of you. I swear my plot is going somewhere with falling asleep in the Pokemon Center.

 

[Gray]

OOC: You're right on. Anyone want to start posting for the next day feel free. I'll just stand in the rain all night if it do please ya.

 

[Garouga! Bare Your Fangs!]

OOC: Nah, I'd prefer if we were all on the same day. That way any interaction doesn't look weird.

 

[Loki]

OOC: How about my post be the last IC post, since I've actually got to get Karen somewhere?

IC: "No problem." She shrugged as Hitmontop stopped spinning, jumping back to his feet. As the duo left, Karen grinned down at Hitmontop, and winked "Ready to get haunted?"

Hitmontop -in a considerably better mood- simply shuddered, before returning to his pokeball without protest. Karen held the minimized pokeball in one hand, while tearing her red headband off her chocolate hair, pulled back bangs and the such falling into her eyes. Walking down the halls of the pokemon center, she found her way to the room she'd rented for the night. It was free, and she had no business sleeping in the lobby. So, jamming her key into the door, she tossed Hitmontop's pokeball onto the nigihtstand where her belt lay with the rest of her pokemon, and the door slammed shut with a simple sweep of her foot.

 

[YoshiRiRu]

OOC: This isn't one of my best posts - I couldn't find much to say but filler..


IC: No dreams came to Julian. Night came and went, but Julian woke early. When he awoke, he found the small square of carpet where his pokemon were to be empty. A wave of horror rushed over him before remembering the Chansey hopping over to him in the middle of the night informing him that he couldn't have his pokemon out of their pokeballs past 11 PM. He felt for his belt, and sighed.Still groggy, he thought for a second why he was even there in the first place. His eyes snapped open.

"Slash!" he cried, leaping up, and dashing towards the infirmary. The doors swung open before he could reach, and a familiar Sandslash walked calmly out of the infirmary, bandaged, but definitely alive.

<Sup, bro.> he said calmly. Julian could find no words. He dropped to his knees and embraced his friend, and he felt tears come to his eyes. Some of the nurses began to stare, but Julian didn't care at all. His friend was alive, and that was **** well good enough for him. He stood up, and stood in the lobby, looking a little little embarrased. A nurse quickly rushed over to him, and began to give the boy details of his pokemon's injury, although he didn't really listen. He was entranced in a whirl of emotion; he didn't care what happened.

"...so he shouldn't be very active for a day or two." the nurse finished. Julian started. "Uh, yeah. Okay. Thanks." he said in a daze. The nurse looked at him indignantly, and walked off - nose in the air.

<Good thing you picked me up, I might have drowned in that rain.> joked Slash.

"Heh.." Julian chuckled, and reached into his pocket.

"For you, bro." from his pocket, he pulled out a pair of shiny new sunglasses, barely a scratch on them. The pokemon placed them on the bridge of his nose, and smirked.

<Dude, I'm starving. Let's eat - seriously.> he muttered, clutching at his stomach in mock starvation.

<The food in there is terrible. It's like.. fried Ratatta.> Julian squirmed involuntary.

"Yeah, let's go.. I haven't eaten since yesterday's breakfast." he agreed, and the two friends headed down to the mess hall.

It was almost a restaurant, the food being served often very high quality, and cheap. Julian pushed the red bangs out from his face, wiped nearly dried tears from his eyes, and stood in line. After stuffing their plates, they sat down and began to eat, as if nothing had ever happened.

 

[Garouga! Bare Your Fangs!]

"Excuse me...Sir? HEY, WAKE UP!" Silver jumped up as if he had been sleeping in a chair full of nails and just realized it. As his vision focused, the smiling figure of Nurse Joy stood in front of him.

"Your Pokemon are ready. Er...You DO own the crazy Eevee and Houndour?" Silver banged his head on his hand and nodded weakly. Nurse Joy smiled and handed him his PokeBalls, then a sleeping Eevee. Silver thanked her and left the building, wondering what kind of crazy things his Pokemon did while he rested.



Silver awoke the next morning very slowly. He allowed Eevee more sleep as he went through his morning routine. When he was finally clean, dressed, and awake, he woke up Eevee.

<I dislike mornings...> Silver laughed and patted his partner on the back. Eevee just stared up at him.

<You seem happy today.> Silver shrugged and headed for the door of his room. Eevee trotted behind, pondering over the strange behavior. Silver stopped in the middle of the sidewalk outside and stretched towards the sun.

<Food. Food. Food. Food.> Silver had the same thought in his head. It was like a broken record. After a minute, he realized it wasn't him; it was Eevee.

<You lazy little...> Silver didn't finish his insult because he couldn't think of a good end. Eevee grinned mockingly at him.

<Feeling creative, Sil?> Silver picked up Eevee and rubbed it's head. Both of them laughed.

<Not even a little.> Silver put down his companion and roamed the streets like a dog, searching for food. Eevee walked like it was in heaven. The aromas of bagels, bacon, eggs, pancakes, and other breakfast foods swirled together and became one super-smell.

<Hurry, Sil. I'm...not gonna make it...> Eevee took a few more steps, then collapsed and turned belly-up with all four paws in the air. Silver laughed and walked into the next place he saw, which was a bakery with a Charmander in a hat on the sign.

 

[Loki]

"Hitmonlee! Hitmonlee! Hitmon-"

"TOP!"

Karen sighed in dismay as the two brothers jumped up and down on the lumpy bed, trying to see who would awaken their trainer first, and the two were obviously arguing over it.

"You guys are making a racket!" Karen snapped, as the two pokemon melted into a red laser. She sighed, smoothing her hair down as best as she could. Alakazam sat floating about four feet away from her, and had his arms cross as he watched with a bored and half-bemused expression. His trainer rolled her eyes and tossed the two pokeballs onto the nightstand, slamming the bathroom door behind her as water was heard running.

And about half an hour later, Karen stood, fully dressed, and completely clean, in the doorway of the bathroom, in a much better mood.

<'I'll take care of a Haunter for you.'> Splice said in monotone, as Karen immediately glanced toward Alakazam. It always took awhile for her to figure out just who was talking, but Splice, would never have offered that favor.

"Sure." Karen shrugged, pulling on her wristbands, and straightening her red head band "I honestly don't care, it just means we'll waste that much less of these accursed pokeballs." They rolled everywhere over the nightstand, and soon, it became a game of 'Find-which-pokeball-has-the-Hitmon's-in-it'.

 

[Gray]

Gray awoke groggily to find himself sitting down against the wall of the pokemon centre. He shook his head, spraying water everywhere, and rubbed his eyes, wondering what he was doing outside the centre until he remembered his pokemon. He stood up and heard a thump beside him, which turned out to be Chu. He was curled up into a ball and had rolled off of Gray's lap. Gray smiled absently and picked Chu up, holding him in crossed arms as he walked into the centre and approached the desk. Before he could reach the counter in the lobby a nurse had already appeared and handed him his pokeballs, thanking him for choosing the Saffron City pokemon centre. He smiled nervously, backing away towards the door as the nurse followed him, recommending to him that his pokemon shouldn't battle any time soon.

Once he was outside, Gray began to realise he was soaking wet and his clothes were sticking to his body. His stomach rumbled and Chu woke up quickly, looking up at him with a happy smile on his face.

"Chu, Pichu!" <Let's eat, i'm starving!>

Gray smiled and began to walk to his parents house, hoping that his mum would still have some breakfast left, hoping that his father and brothers hadn't eaten it all, and desperatley wanting a shower and some new clothes.

"We'll go home and get something to eat. Hope you like bacon and eggs Chu."

 

[pkmnfan_06]

RP Joining

I'll join. This RP looks cool.

Name: Tevon Shinto

Age: 16

Gender: Male

Appearance:
Tevon is about 5'10", and he has a slightly muscular build. He wears a black baseball cap over his long, brown hair with a Dusclops on the front and it reads " Dark League". He wears a dark blue shirt with a picture of Lance and his Pokemon on it, reading " Pokemon League". He wears normal blue jeans and black tennis shoes. He has a belt on the waist of his pants for holding Pokemon.

Personality:
He is a quiet person. Yet he is not "goth" or anything like that. He is very caring with Pokemon and people. He is also popular at his school. He is part of a club called "The Dark League". He handles girls very well, unlike most boys his age. Tevon is not exactly accident- proof, but he is not accident -prone, either. He highly trusts his Pokemon, and does not care about weakness.

Pokemon:

Dusclops-Cy-Lv. 37-male
Cy is very strong-willed, and, unlike many ghost Pokemon, is very friendly. Cy was Tevon's first Pokemon and they have experienced a lot together. Cy also loves to play practical jokes, so watch out, you may be a victim.

Eevee-Vee-Lv. 23-female
Vee is an intelligent Pokemon and can sense what Tevon is feeling. She defends Tevon when he's in danger, and is good friends with Cy as well. Vee is also very calm and does not get angry easily.

Shuppet-Anetty-Lv.24-female
Anetty is a tough-willed ghost Pokemon with a not-so-good temper. She gets mad easily and is hard to calm down. Despite this, she loves Tevon because he saved her from a wild Mightyena. Anetty is one of Tevon's strongest Pokemon.

Fearow-Aeros-Lv. 36-male
Aeros is a very cool Pokemon and was Tevon's second Pokemon. He is very much capable of flying, and is very courageous. Also, he is very loyal and defends Tevon as though he were a baby Spearow.

Surskit-Skitii-Lv.10-female
Skitii was just recently found by Tevon when she was left by her trainer when the trainer's family moved. It is very capable, but not strong enough to yet show off her power. She is not yet sure about Tevon.

Poochyena-Pooch-Lv. 15-male
Pooch was also recently found by Tevon. Pooch is bold and courageous. While he is more faithful than Skitii, he is still not fully trusting of Tevon. Also, Anetty is not used to Pooch yet. He is good friends with Cy, though.

History:
Tevon is an only child and many consider him spoiled (but he isn't).Tevon has lived in Saffron City all his life. One of his friends is Copycat, who lives next door. He got his first Pokemon at the age of ten, after he recieved his permit, when his father brought home a Duskull in need of care. He took this Pokemon and raised it while training it. He began his Pokemon journey in Pallet Town with his new Duskull and discovered a wild Spearow and caught it, nicknaming it Aeros. He had only the two with him when he defeated the first two Gym Leaders, evolving Aeros into a Fearow.
Soon after, he discovered a wild Shuppet, caught it, and nicknamed it Anetty. Very soon after, Tevon discovered and battled a wild Eevee. He caught it too and named it Vee. He later gained his third and fourth badges and wound up in his hometown of Saffron City. There he found and adopted Skitii, a Surskit.
He had problems with the fifth Gym Leader, but soon defeated her with Cy, his Dusclops. His parents have called him, wanting to see him. After he visits his parents at his house, he will be on his way to his sixth badge in Fuschia City, determined to win.

Intro Sample:

I left my parents' house. They were glad to see me, because it had been months since the last time they saw me.

"You still have that ugly hat", my mother had jokingly nagged.

I took in the fresh air. It would be totally unfair for my Pokemon to stay in those Pokeballs, I thought. I let all of my Pokemon out. They were excited to finally stretch their legs.

"Duuscloopss", Cy, who had been sleeping, yawned. He finally noticed where he was, and suddenly, he freaked out.

"What is your problem?", I asked, attempting to calm Cy. Suddenly, he grabbed my arm, and I began to see his thoughts.

A Duskull slowly floated along a dark alleyway in Saffron city, unsure of its surroundings. Suddenly, it was jumped by a gang of scary-looking Mightyenas! They kept biting and scratching at it. Suddenly, a strange man appeared."Poor thing. I'll take you to my son", the man said. Then, the memory abruptly ended. Cy had let go of Tevon's arm, too afraid to remember.

"This is how my father found you?", I asked.

Suddenly, a whole crowd came into the city. What for, I couldn't tell, but it looked exciting, so I joined in. Then I remembered. It's the annual Battle Fair. I always watched these in hopes of someday being in one, and now I am. I joined the huge crowd. " I will now choose the first 2 people from the crowd to battle", a familiar voice yelled. It was Sean, the contest holder every year.

"You, Tevon,...", he pointed at me. Of course he knew me." ...and you", he pointed at a young boy in the crowd. The two of us lined up, ready to battle. "Just don't cry to mommy when I beat you!", the little boy exclaimed. He didn't know who he was battling. I figured he'd be easy. " Go, Cy", I yelled, pushing the button on the Pokeball and throwing it. It opened, and a bright white light revealed a ghostly figure, Cy, my Dusclops. " Go, Poochie", the boy yelled. The Pokeball opened, revealing a Mightyena. Cy cowered behind me. Uh-oh, I thought to myself.

To Be Continued

Here is my registration. Please tell me if I need to edit.

 

[Garouga! Bare Your Fangs!]

<I can't eat any more...> Eevee groaned and pushed a bagel off the edge of the park bench where he and Silver were seated. A Spearow glided down and picked it up, tearing off a portion in it's beak.

<Well, at least we're feeding the local wildlife.> Silver laughed, then grabbed his stomach in pain. He, too, had overdone it with the bagels. Eevee sat down and rolled over, letting the sun try and comfort his pain. Silver just put his arms over the back of the bench and stared at the clouds.

 

[Loki]

Karen sighed, as she picked up an energy bar, and a granola bar. giving the cashier two pokedollars, she stalked out of the pokemon center without buying anything else. Her pokemon had already eaten- inside her room, and as she tore off a bit of granola bar with her teeth, she looked around the outside of the pokemon center. Deserted.

"Good." Karen nodded, swallowing the granola, "Let's go then." She said to Splice, who floated next to her head, sparking at any person or male who walked a little too close to him, and Karen.

At the east exit of Saffron, Karen paused, "This is the place right?" Karen asked Splice, who sparked, in his answer of 'yes'.

And within two steps, she was out of Saffron City boundaries.

 

[YoshiRiRu]

<Ugh...> Flash groaned.

<I can't eat another bite.> The bat sighed, and fell to the floor. The large table was covered with food, and all 6 of Julians pokemon and himself were stuffing themselves. As they gathered their belongings and began to head out the door, Splash burped loudly, and began giggling uncontrollably. Julian shook his head, a grin creeping across his face. Sometimes, you just needed Splash to break the monotony.

He returned all his pokemon to their capsules, and stepped outside into the cold Saffron air. He closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. The crisp after-storm air filled his lungs, and woke up the rest of Julian's body. He wasn't quite sure where to go, now that he had decided to go on his trip. He headed for home, and after informing his father of his decision, he held a counsel in his bedroom.

<Well, where's the nearest Gym?> Flash asked.

"Um.. Celadon, I think. Surge is out on business, I read in the paper, and I don't want to battle Misty." Julian replied.

<Okay, then.> Ash declared.

<Celadon City, next stop!> With a farewell to his father, and a quick packing of some supplies and money, Julian set out towards the west gate of the city. As he approached the gate, he was surprised to see a police force at the scene. Approaching a beefy man with a bushy red mustache and beady red eyes, he timidly spoke.

"Officer, what's.. going on?" The big man looked down, annoyed.

"Some guys thrashed the gate into Saffron. Beat the snot out of the guard." Lash, who happened to be out, commented to Julian.

<Isn't there another way to Celadon? The old underground path? You know, east of the city?> Julian nodded.

"Just what I was thinking." The trek through Saffron wasn't too heinous. It was a big city, but Julian knew his way around, so he took various shortcuts, and occasionally hopped on the trolley that snaked through the city. As they approached the eastern gate, Julian signalled the trolley to let him off. He headed through the gate, nodding briefly to the portly guard, sipping on some hot tea, reading a magazine.

"Going to Lavender?" the man asked casually. Julian realized that that was indeed where the road would take him. But there was no badge there, so he decided against it.

"Nope." Julian replied simply. He stepped out the other side, looking past the dazzling sun. In the distance, the old building leading to the underground path shone dully in the sunlight, maybe a quarter mile away. Pulling his cap over his eyes, he progressed towards the building. Without warning, a roaring motorcycle blocked his path. A lanky man with a purple mohawk blocked his path.

"Where ya goin', kid?" the man chuckled maliciously, and 4 or 5 more thugs roared up behind him. One of them was humongously fat, with a shiny bald head.

"Step aside, Grease." The bald man stepped forward off his bicycle, while the man with the purple mohawk obediently stepped back.

"The name's Cueball, kid. I'm the leader of this gang. And we require all passing travelers pay a.. small fee." Julian gritted his teeth, and looked around. While he was looking at Cueball, several other bikers had approached him from all sides.

"Don't even try to run, kid. Just hand over 5000 smackers, and we'll all walk away safe." the man who called himself Cueball threatened. Julian reached for his belt slowly.

<We can't fight all these dudes, are you crazy?> Lash whispered incredulously.

"Yeah, I know. But we need to get away. Quick." Releasing Ash, he quickly gave his command.

"Smokescreen, quick!!"

Ash released a billow of smoke into the air, and Cueball roared in a rage, wildly throwing his fat arms around his face to blow the smoke around. "Argh! Get that kid!!"

And the battle was on.

A Koffing flew at Julian from the smoke. Dodging it nimbly, he looked for a way to get out. Suddenly, in the commotion, a Rattata flew at him, and sunk it's teeth into his leg. Julian screamed, and kicked it. Lash snarled, and delivered a smashing kick to it's face, making it faint. Julian's leg was bleeding, and it was hard to walk. Tears clouded his vision, and he began to panic. Trying to escape, he crumpled to the ground, the smoke getting into his eyes and lungs. He coughed and coughed. It was pandemonium. His leg continued to bleed, and they were losing the battle. His pokemon were capable, and they were holding their own as best they could, but against 9 rough thugs, in a smoke screen, he wasn't so sure. The bite on his leg wasn't so bad, but it hurt, and that drove his morale through the floor. He had never been attacked personally by a pokemon, and he was terrified by the fact that he had just been viciously attacked by a rattata.

How much longer could he hold up? Was the real world of Pokemon really this dangerous?

 

[Loki]

Karen saw baseball boy pass through the gate from Saffron to Lavender, and wondered just what he was doing. But, it'd be best to ignore him for the time being.

"Let's go Splice." Karen nodded to Splice, who had stared after baseball boy- but with the abscence of sparks.

"So first stop at Lavender will be the pokemon center, and then the tower. That sound good to you?" She asked, as she waved absentmindedly at the louging guard. Splice sparked in response, and floated slightly behind her as she opened the door to see- a cloud of smoke? Sje had only took a few paces forward when a breeze blew some smoke toward her.

Karen coughed, waving the smoke away from her face, hating the smell and taste of smoke in her throat. Splice couldn't do much, except go ahead through the smoke to see what was causing the blockade. His trainer tossed out Hitmontop's pokeball, who instantly began to spin, the smoke beginning to surround him instead of the rest of the route. And Karen saw baseball boy, in just about the worst state she'd ever seen him. But she had barely to issue a command from Hitmontop when Splice sent a punishing blow of Tri-attack, Ice, Fire, and Lightning all mixed into one as the smoke screen blew away.

"Having a little trouble?" Karen asked, raising her voice so he'd hear what she said. Hitmontop was spinning further and further away, so that by the time he stopped, the smoke wouldn't reach the route "There's always a time for running, but when bullied, it's definietly not the time to run. Splice, use screech to drive them off!"

With a blood curdling sound, Splice used the defense lowering attack, the noise sounding very much like nails dragging down a chalkboard- maginified a billion times when it was really just Splice colliding his sound and magnetic waves together in an unearthly combo. Even Karen had to cover her ears, as she wondered if the thugs were leaving just yet.

 

[YoshiRiRu]

Julian began to lose all hope. The smoke surrounded him, engulfed him, swallowed him. Through the smoke, he could see Ash and Lash losing the battle. A few of the bikers had run off, but Cueball, Grease, and 2 more cronies were still battling. Suddenly, Lash went down.

A raticate had delivered a juicy tooth into his arm. He groaned and fell to the ground. Julian gasped, and a wave of disbelief washed over him. Ash roared, and let off a vicious flamethrower at the 2 cronies, who recalled their charred pokemon, and raced off. Julian had never seen Ash lose control before.

Suddenly, the smoke began to clear. He hadn't seen the Hitmontop roar through the crowd, taking out several thugs approaching him, or the magneton providing support from the sidelines. Just the brave growlithe carrying the unconscious sneasel on his back, fighting for his life. Suddenly, a voice called out.

"Having a little trouble?" He knew the voice, but couldn't place it. In the mixture of smoke and koffing's gas, Julian saw Cueball's heavy form shake, and an earsplitting sound erupted from somewhere. It was a screech attack. Julian covered his ears, looking for the source of the sound. It wasn't from anything natural, it sounded like heavy stage feedback. Cueball roared threats at Julian as he retreated.

"Stupid kid! You're lucky your girlfriend showed up. We would have pounded you. And we'll get you, don't worry." Cueball recalled his Pokemon and roared off in a rush. Julian was still on the floor, his leg bleeding profusely. The rattata had nailed him with a devestating Hyper Fang, rattata's strongest attack. Ash limped over to Julian.

<You're wounded, sir..> he muttered. <I failed to protect you. I sincerely apologize.>

Julian tried to console him, but his leg was in too much pain to relieve his comrade of his guilt. "Ash.. you did the best you could. Undoubtedly, you saved my life. I can't ask for more." He reasoned weakly.

Ash dug around in Julian's bag, and retrieved a revive. Clumsily applying it with his mouth, he revived Lash, who staggered to his feet.

<Thanks, mate... Great Scott!> Lash exclaimed, first to Ash, and then looking at Julian's leg. <Worse than I thought. We need to tend this right away.>

The pokemon worked swiftly. His humorous disposition was gone as he skillfully tended to his friends wound.

<"Just escape, just escape," he says. Pfft. You're an idiot, Julian.> Lash quipped. As his friend tended to his leg, Julian thought of Cueballs last words.

"Lucky your girlfriend showed up..."

Then, he noticed someone behind him. Leaning up as best he could, and turning around, he spotted that girl... Karen; standing with the magneton, and the hitmontop.

"Well, this is embarassing." he grinned, blushing a bit. With a sudden grimace, he yelped.

"Ouch!!" he winced, looking at Lash. "That smarts." The sneasel shrugged, and continued his work. Turning back to Karen, Julian smiled.

"You saved my skin there. I owe you one."

Lash, having dressed, disinfected and fully wrapped the wound, patted it tenderly. He always carried a medical kit full of herbs, roots, and other various medicinal supplies around in case something just like this had happened.

<Try standing.>

The boy stood uneasily, testing his weight. "Hurts." he mumbled. "But I'll be fine." He turned back to Karen.

"I guess I got too into it. I probably would've been iced if you hadn't showed up. Thanks." he said quietly, embarassed.

 

[Loki]

"No problem." Karen patted Hitmontop and returned the pokemon, "I hate bikers in general anyway. Hey Splice! Get back here!" She snapped to her magneton, who was not only angry at the fact that they were male, had assulted Karen, but had tried to assualt him, as badly as that idea had failed. He was still sparking when he returned, but soon calmed down.

"You're just lucky you were on the Lavender route." Karen commented, clicking Hitmontop's pokeball onto her belt. She turned to Splice and grumbled, "I have half a mind to stay here and kick their a*s even better next time they show up."

No sparks came, showing Splice's disagreement, and Karen shrugged "Catch you later, since at this rate I'll probably see you soon." And she trudged off down the path. Splice made no movement to follow though, staring at baseball boy and his pokemon unblinkingly for a long time before Karen turned and snapped for him to catch up.