The Grand Tournament

[Degenerate]

Patrick was treading down a narrow footpath littered with dead foliage when he heard the sound of two very familiar voices. One was female, the other, male, undeniably belonging to Kat and Fen respectively. He crept into their sights coolly so as not to prevent his sudden presence from startling them. What a sight. He chuckled.

"Well, what do we have here?" The pair apparently had a fondness for playing in trees. Their timing could have been better however, what, with all the pokémon out there waiting to be caught, not to mention the original plan to reach Viridian City by nightfall. Patrick leaned back against a tree in the opposite direction, arms crossed and one foot resting on the rough surface.

"Why, you guys seem to be having fun over there. I knew there was a quirkiness about you the first time we met, Fen. But this? You like climbing trees, huh? Who's Mankey boy now? Hm, perhaps not you, seeing as the average Mankey at least has some experience. Ay, looks like your IQ couldn't getcha out of this one, mate. But who knows, perhaps your little girl friend can."

His teal eyes slid to Kat's direction. He noticed an emerging shade of crimson on her cheeks. "Eh, you guys weren't busy with something were you? I really hope I'm not interrupting anything serious." Although, having learned about Fen's naivety when it came to girls back at the lab, Patrick sincerely doubted anything serious could have been going on in the first place.

In the near distance, Patrick heard some bushes rustling. Glancing over in that direction, he spotted another opportunity he simply could not turn down.

"It's a Mankey!" He celebrated. He paid a quick glance to his companions still trying to work themselves out of the tree. "Sorry guys! I'd help but it would appear I've got some official business to attend to. I gotta catch me that Mankey! Eh, good luck!"

He sped off, leaving the pair to their comic struggle. Within moments, he was closing in on the monkey pokémon, a steady hand hovering over Speedy's pokéball. Despite his approach, the Mankey maintained its composure, irritation brewing in its dark eyes. The pokémon was clearly in a bad mood about something. Patrick had caught a break with the injured Spearow, but he knew this time, there was no way around a battle if he wanted to catch the monkey.

"Hope you're ready for a battle, Speedy!" The pokéball climbed high into the air before popping open and releasing the Cyndaquill in a dazzling display of red current. Speedy chirped happily. "Great, you're awake! You should have had plenty of rest by now. Look over there," he directed her to their opponent, Mankey, which had yet to make a move. "We need to take it down."

Speedy nodded. Flames erupted from the spores on its back. Unexpectedly, the Mankey spat a long string of seeds at the Cyndaquill, whom shut her eyes as the tiny particles pecked at her face.

"What the hell? Since when does Mankey use Bullet Seed?!" Upon closer inspection, Patrick discovered two seeds on the Mankey's shoulder and another on its arms. A theory began to formulate in his mind. More than likely, some of Viridian Forest's residents were grass pokémon capable of using Bullet Seed. Maybe Mankey happened to have gotten into a scuffle with one of them, and sometime during the conflict, the pokémon sprayed seeds all over it. Maybe some of those seeds inadvertently entered its mouth (hence, the seeds it spat out at Speedy). That would certainly explain why it appeared so agitated and ready to smash its fists into anything.

But Patrick could not have that. He opened his mouth, prepared to call out an instruction to his partner when the Mankey came charging at Speedy, its first signs of aggression. Patrick panicked and failed to get his command out. Speedy hesitated for a moment; by the time she realised the best plan of action was to dodge, it had been too late. The Mankey's Scratch attack successfully hit her in the face, the impact forcing her to roll on her side like an empty barrel of wood. Speedy barely had enough time to recover. As she struggled to her feet, her eyes caught a glimpse of the relentless Mankey running towards her yet again, aggression burning up in its fire eyes.

"Come on, Speedy! Get out of the way!" It was as if her trainer's voice pumped some sort of life-force into her. With his encouragement, the Cyndaquill narrowly managed to avoid the Mankey's follow up attack. "Good going!" But the battle was far from over.

The Mankey continued to throw its hands about, almost recklessly, trying to catch any part of Speedy's body, but alas, the fire pokémon was quick enough to avoid them all. Patrick realised that the battle could not go on like this forever. Although the Mankey showed little sign of slowing down, Patrick suspected Speedy was gradually losing her momentum. He had to think of a way to neutralize this threat, and quickly. The best way to do that was to take advantage of the enemy's weaknesses. At that point, it was clear the Mankey was attacking blindly, no evidence of thought being employed in its movements. Patrick had an idea.

"Hey, Speedy! Keep dodging the attacks but try to lead him towards one of the trees!"

Speedy staggered at the suddenness of her trainer's voice. Trying to focus on his words proved to be a distraction this time 'round, and the Mankey scored another Scratch attack straight across her face. The Cyndaquill was sent flying back towards a tree. She whimpered as she felt her back collide with the unforgiving bark. Almost lifelessly, she slid down its rough surface to meet the ground again.

A bead of sweat trailed down Patrick's brow. Things were not looking so hot. Nonetheless, he found a good point in what had happened. Speedy was in the perfect position to execute his plan. "Speedy, listen to me! When I tell you to, I want you to move to the left as fast as you can, okay?"

The Cyndaquill struggled to her feet, exhausted and roughed up. An overwhelming wave of relief coursed through Patrick's veins when he saw her nod. She had heard what he said. As expected, the Mankey rushed towards Speedy once again. Patrick watched carefully as it drew closer and closer with its hand raised. Almost … almost … almost…

"Now, Speedy! Move!" As instructed, the fire-type hurried out of the way. The Mankey however, had already begun swinging its arm towards the Cyndaquill. There was no changing its course of action now. Its fist crashed into the tree, hard. Patrick could have sworn he heard something crack, one of its bones perhaps. The Mankey's behaviour changed drastically. It began dancing all over the place, holding its aching hand high up in the air, clearly attempting to rid itself of the pain, granted, in an unorthodox method.

"Let's relieve it of its pain, Speedy. Tackle Attack, now!"

Speedy obeyed enthusiastically. The Tackle Attack hit the pokémon square in the chest, knocking it onto its back. Patrick surveyed it carefully. Its body was twitching slightly but there was no way it would be returning to its feet any time soon.

He seized the moment. Grabbing another pokéball, he tossed it at the incapacitated pokémon. The Mankey did not put up much of a fight in the spherical device either. Patrick pocketed the ball with a grin on his face. That was two pokémon in one day! He congratulated Speedy with an affectionate caress on her head, to which she purred weakly in response. She was pretty banged up. He returned her to her pokéball. "No more action for you until you've been to the Pokémon Centre." He kissed the red and white sphere before placing it in his pockets.

He plopped down onto the grass, out of it. He would need a little rest period before continuing after that.

 

[Phanima]

Their journey across Route 1 was uneventful yet somewhat pleasant and devoid of any complications and conflicts. Most of the group had gotten to know one another quite well by now and despite the size of the group, they had covered fairly good ground since leaving Pallet Town only a few hours prior. Soon bypassing Route 1, they soon reached the entrance to Viridian Forest, the final detour before arriving in Viridian City, their first pit stop.

It had only been a few minutes into entering said forest when certain individuals began to break off to catch their breaths and if they were confident enough, go exploring. Luckily, the dirt path that stretched through the forest was linear, making it so that if anybody would became lost, they would only need to find the path in order to get back out, which also allowed the rest of the group to continue through without stopping everytime someone wanted to branch off. That didn't mean of course that they couldn't get lost in the foilage and shrubs, but he was content with everyone's sense of direction...mostly.

Suddenly, as if on cue, he felt the light yet firm grip of one of Kat's arms wrap around his neck. He had become somewhat used to it by now and found himself enjoying the closeness, despite not understanding her reason for doing such a thing, but everytime she would do it, a sense of safety and comfort washed over him. It was a nice thing, regardless of how insignificant it might of seemed.

When the other blonde suddenly broke away, Kozue realised just how much he had accomodated the girl's attention and how much he missed it when she deterred. Fortunately, there was another person who pined after his own attention, except this one was a little more open with what it wanted. Pocky, who had become the main victim to Kat's ambushing hugs, had quickly developed a repulsion to the other blond, despite his trainer's budding bond with her.

"Aww, I'm sorry Pocky," Kozue started with an apologetic smile and a ruffling of the baby penguin's feathers, "Kat didn't mean it, she's just a very interactive person."

Despite his trainer's quells, the blue Water-type Pokemon began waving its little flippers as it made exclamations with its own name, all in a fashion similar to a person outwardly complaining, and quite noisily at that too. Kozue could only smile and offer reassuring pats to the penguin who continued its rant with hightened emphasis on certain "pip's" and "lup's".

Looking around now, he noticed that four of the group had deterred from the path, leaving only Noah and himself behind...or in this case, in front. Three of the trainers he had seen in the lab, W., Drazen and Rukia if he remembered correctly, hadn't been seen since the group had left, meaning that they must've gone off on their own as well, just like Marcus. Thinking about them all out there on their own seemed lonely and difficult, he couldn never imagine breaking off from his party of six, despite how recently they had met. Kat, Fen, Noah, Pat and Roisin were now his new friends and comrades, and he was more than happy to travel with them across Kanto and beyond. Realising this, he couldn't help but admire the solo trainers' independance. They were something else.

Realigning his thoughts, Kozue remembered that the group's designated meeting point was at the exit of Viridian Forest where the path would lead them straight into the city, allowing everyone to catch up if they had decided to fall back. The afternoon sun was still fairly high in the sky, and he estimated it to be around three or four o'clock. Walking all that way took longer than he intially expected, but by now, he was sure that they were drawing nearer to the exit.

Pocky had finally calmed and had fallen into a light doze in the blonde boy's arms. It was then that a rustling across the way caught his attention. Deterring from the path, Kozue gently made his way past several shrubs where he had first heard the subdued rustling and noticed a trail of damp grass leading deeper into the forest. Glancing a quick last look over his shoulder before heading further through the branches and bushes, the teen soon reached a small pond where a sudden splash grabbed his full attention.

At the edge of the pond where the trail had led and where the soil softened, sat a small green orb, the size of a soccer ball. A single black diamond pattern stretched across the back of the ball, while a small yellow feather sprouted from its top. It looked like...well, it didn't look like anything. Then, as if an instinct he had gained from just becoming a trainer, an idea struck him.

Whipping out his ocean blue PokeDex, Kozue pointed the open device at the orb and began to scan it for details. In an instant, the screen lit up and an image of the same orb appeared, except now it had a mouth and two small slits for eyes where the black diamond appeared to be. Then, on cue, the smooth female voice that documented such data, began its explanation.

"Gulpin. Most of Gulpin's body is made up of its stomach - its heart and brain are very small in comparison.This Pokemon's stomach contains special enzymes that dizzolve anything."

"So you're a Gulpin," the blonde announced, crouching in place just as Pocky stirred from its nap. "It's so cute! Oh, but I wonder what it was doing..."

As if to answer the boy's question, the green orb now known as Gulpin, swivelled in its place until its tired looking face met the gaze of the trainer and his Pokemon. A large blue berry sat wedged between its three-shaped mouth, where as it turned, revealed a larger pile of the same fruit sitting behind it.

"So, you were foraging?" he asked with a smile, expecting the slug-like creature to understand his words. "How many have you gotten so far?"

The wild Pokemon's face remained unenthused as the trainer questioned its motives. Pocky, who had been unexpectedly quiet all this time, finally leapt out of his trainer's arms and onto the ground, where it pointed one of its flippers to the opposing creature and gave the boy a determined look.

"Oh, no Pocky," he began, waving his hands defensively, "don't attack it, I don't want to scare it away..."

The penguin Pokemon gave his trainer a bemused look before huffing a small sigh and retreating back to the boy's arms, where he happily picked up his partner and prepared to leave.

"Bye bye Gulpin," he said, slowly backing away, still unsure how to approach a wild Pokemon who seemed completely out of thought, "it was nice to meet you."

As Kozue turned to leave, Pocky shot the Gulpin a last "next time" look with a point of his flipper and a furrowed brow, as if the two of them were long time rivals. The Gulpin returned the gesture by swallowing the large Oran Berry in one gulp before slowly trudging back to the pile where its other foraged berries sat.

"Well, better get back on track, it's getting dark..."

 

[Percy Thrillington]

Noah wasn't in a hurry. He knew of the Pokemon that he could encounter in route one, and he didn't want any. He wanted a Pichu, and he was pretty certain that he could catch one in Viridian Forest. His red monkey was beside him; just in case a wild Pokemon leapt out and attacked him by surprise.

Where is everyone? I know they went off to catch some Pokemon, but why would they just leave me like that? I guess it doesn't matter; I'll catch up with them in Viridian, after all. How long have I been walking? About half an hour, probably... Why didn't I bring a watch? It doesn't matter, I'll buy one in Viridian, which I should reach any minute now.

"Spinarak!" A green Pokemon resembling a spider lowered itself down from a web made of silk and looked at Noah and Chimchar.

"Hm..." Noah thought for a second before smiling. "Okay, Espa, use scratch attack repeatedly until you knock that insect out!"

Espa nodded and lunged at the spider. It wasn't long until it fainted and was lying on the ground. "Good work." Noah said to his Pokemon gruffly.

It was about fifteen minutes later that Noah realised he was lost.

 

[♣Gawain♣]

For several hours W. watched the activities of the trainers. This includes their battling styles and techniques. Of course he had some training with the help of his Turquoise and the wild pokemon.

Today, he's battling with Elekid.

vs.

"All right! Turquoise, Water Gun!" A jet of water hit Elekid squarely on the chest. But Elekid's tough. It quickly launch a Thundershock right at Turquoise. But W. reacted quickly, "Withdraw!" Turquoise quickly withdraw into it's shell. The Thundershock had no effect at all.​

"Now, Water gun again! But don't come out of your shell!" Another jet of water was released but from inside from the shell, hitting Elekid from the same spot. Elekid cannot take the attack one from another, so it fainted.​

"Having advantages not always mean your advantagous, it's your strategy that matters most." W. said after the battle. "Good work Turquoise, take a rest." he added as he sat down on a stump.​

Gale(Eevee's name) has been watching those 2 battling each other. It(or rather she) had never seen a battle before, which makes her excited.​

"Lunch time!" W. called to his Pokemon. But as he turned his back, something just litterally grabbed their food and make a run for it. Gale has seen the whole thing and quickly alarmed W. "What? I'm making lunch" W. said, annoyed. But as he turned to the food, it dissapeared! "What the!?" he shouted. "My food! Our food!" he became very angry. Then he saw footprints on the grass. And it was wet. He knew someone had grabbed the food because of the footprints it made. "Hmmmm... this footprints will lead us to..." he observed as he followed it. "The river" he added as he saw the river.​

On it's shore, a Buizel was eating something. "It's our food!" he shouted as he run toward it. The Buizel sticks out it's tongue and did a raspberry. This makes W. and his pokemon real mad. "Why you blither!" he shouted. "Then let's have a battle! Turquoise, I choose you!"​

vs

"Tackle!" W. ordered. Squirtle quickly charged at the Buizel. But its too fast! He managed to dodge it! Then Buizel launched a Aqua Jet attack, which unnoticed by W. and Turquoise had hit them both. Now W. is soaking wet. This doesn't keep W. from concentrating. 'Buizel's too fast, must thing of something quick..." he thought. "Water Gun" Turquoise launch it's own water attack, but Buizel again dodged it. Then it let out a Aqua Jet again. And finally W. got it. "Aha! I knew it! Quickly, dodge it!" Turquoise dodged it. "Counter it with Water Gun!" another water attack finally hit Buizel in the face. Buizel was now lying on the grass.​

"Good job Turquoise! To catch to culprit, go..." before he finished this sentence, he tripped from an unseen hole and accidentally released 2 pokeballs. One hit Buizel and caught it, and the other one hit a brown fish pokemon which lept out of the water.​

"Ouch... that hurt." he said as he examined his cut on the arm. Then he grabbed the pokeballs. He released the Buizel. "Now I'm gonna teach you some manners..." he said to his newly caught Buizel. Buizel again did a raspberry. W. shook his head. "Really..."​

Then he looked unto the second pokeball and released it. Out came a Feebas.​

"What in the name of...?!" he cried. He was totally surprised. "Never mind..."
Then the Feebas hopped(as fishes usually do when on the surface) to the direction of some bush. The bush had unusual, small purple berries on them.​

W. tried one. "Blechhh!! Pootooie!!!" he spat, disgusted. "What is this thing anyway?!" But Feebas desperately tried to reach them. W. picked again one and gave it to Feebas. "You like it?" the Feebas jumped happily. "I don't." W. added flaty. "If this is your only diet then..." he said as he picked about 30 berries. "There!" he said as he packed the berries in a muslin. "Now, let's find some real food." he said. "After that, we'll go back to the main route..."​

The taste still lingers in his tongue for 2 hours...​

 

[Trainer Kat]

OOC: Sorry, last OOC only post I swear.

You know it hasn't even been one day, right, Quasar?

 

[♣Gawain♣]

OOPS... Sorry. I'm very busy on my education. My mind's concentatin' on my education(Nursing) that I forgot to read the other post!! I'll edit it right now...

I will still post everyday(except Sundays and maybe on Saturdays.)

 

[Lash]

Marcus watched his three former Pokemon walk off into the distance to Route 1. He was happy for them, and hoped that they would find the right trainer for them one day. Then, he looked at the three empty Pokeballs that had caught Pidgey, Rattata, and Spearow with. He pondered on what his next Pokemon would be. A bug type in Viridian Forest? Or a fighting type like Mankey? He stopped thinking to shrug, and payed attention to his two Pokemon, Nidoran♂ and Pika. He petted the two, proud of any power they will display in the future, his attention was quickly diverted as the boy with the Geodude stormed out. He walked towards Marcus, anger in his eyes.

"How are you humiliate me with those weaklings! Especially that Nidoran♂ of yours, what a disgrace."

Marcus got up in anger that his Pokemon were being insulted.

"What did you just say!? Want to battle again! Maybe this time it will change your mind."

"Why bother battling your weaklings?"

"You are just afraid to lose again."

"What did you just say! You are the one with the weaklings! Geodude, Tackle him!"

"Ah!"

Marcus yelled, ducked the Geodude attacking him. "Thunder Shock! Double Kick!"

He yelled while falling. Pikachu released a bolt of Electricity at the Geodude, it didn't do much damage however. It was just barely stunned by the shock. Then Nidoran♂ jumped up, kicking Geodude with both of its legs. Geodude returned fire, trying to Tackle Nidoran♂, but Pikachu shocked Geodude, making it stay in its position for a moment, then Nidoran♂ jumped up at Geodude using Double Kick again. Double Kick was aimed this time, to knock Geodude back at its trainer. This event did happen, Geodude hitting its trainers body. The impact caused him to fall back a few feet. Marcus walked over to him, holding out his hand to help the fallen trainer up.

The trainer grabbed his hand, and Marcus pulled him up. "Why are you helping me? I tried to attack you.."

"I helped you up because it wouldn't be decent to let an attacked trainer lay down on the ground. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to get to Pewter."

Pika jumped up onto Marcus' shoulder, while he held out Nidoran♂s Pokeball. The Pokemon was sucked in by a red beam. Marcus then put the Pokeball in his pocket, and began walking towards the North, where Viridian Forest was. He wondered what kind of Pokemon he would see, what kind of trainers he will battle, and how the Gym Leader will be in Pewter. Up for battle, Marcus begins running for the forest through the big city. The time of day is still after 4:00, the sun still shows, but is quite a ways down from when it was noon. Viridian Forest could possibly be a day or two trip, not the place to go through at night. Marcus pondered this as he stopped running near an alley.

"I guess I will spend the night at the Pokemon Center.."

He rushed back to the Pokemon Center, walking through the doors once more. This time, a couple more trainers were there, and only a couple he saw before. Marcus walked over to the vending machines once more, this time grabbing out four sodas, a bag of chips, two chocolate bars, and a water bottle. He walked over to one of the empty couches in the Pokemon Center, and spread his legs across it. Pika jumped up to the top of the couch near Marcus' head. He then let Nidoran♂ out of its Pokeball. It slept on the ground near Marcus. He gave Pikachu and Nidoran♂ each half of a chocolate bar.

"We are going to sleep here for the night. Okay guys?"

Both Pokemon nodded.

"I wonder if I will see any of those other trainers.."

 

[♣Gawain♣]

W. sighed. "I think were lost." he checked up his Pokenav. It's been two hours since the event that happened, and W. is still looking for the main route. On his way though, he teached Olie(Buizel's new name, although he reluctantly accept it.) some manners, especially not taking the food of others.

Also he had seen the boy named Marcus, battling with another trainer. He used his telescope to keep track of them. "That trainer(the other one) has a bad reputation of being a hooligan." he observed. He put down his telescope and continued on his way.

He met some other pokemons on the way, but he had no interest to them.
It's 3:30 pm, and W. able to find a Pokemon center in the middle of the forest. "Some luck, I guess..." he said. As entered the Pokemon center he was surprised to see Marcus. 'Luckily, he hadn't noticed me' he thought. Then he quietly walked toward a couch at the back and started to read his book. Then for a while, he released his pokemons(except Feebas). "Turquoise, Olie you can rest, Gale you can rest in my lap." he said quietly.
He stroked Gale's fur as he read his book. "I will buy food later."

 

[Kansas]

"Fen-Fen?!" Kat exclaimed.

Fen let out a long sigh as, much to his despair, Kat DID show up.

"Mmm...you want down?" She purred. "It's gonna cost ya..."

Fen sighed loudly as his eyes rolled to the top of his head. Kat didn't wait for a response as she immediately climbed the tree and began to wrestle his foot loose. Fen looked at her, as only frightening horrible thoughts drifted through his head as to what this "rescue" was going to cost him. Fen sat, annoyed as she pushed and tugged on his shoe. His eyes finally drifted to her legs and he had to rush to plug his nose from bleeding.

"Kat?! where are your pants?!" Fen exclaimed as another trainer, Patrick, entered the area.

"Why, you guys seem to be having fun over there. I knew there was a quirkiness about you the first time we met, Fen. But this? You like climbing trees, huh? Who's Mankey boy now? Hm, perhaps not you, seeing as the average Mankey at least has some experience. Ay, looks like your IQ couldn't getcha out of this one, mate. But who knows, perhaps your little girl friend can." Fen's face turned red with anger, frustration, and a steady flow of blood to his nose from seeing Kat with no pants. More unwaranted hostility towards him.

Before Fen could react to Patrick, the boy ran off and all Fen could hear was him exclaiming in the distance about a Mankey. Kat finally wrestled Fen's foot loose from the tree and Fen fell hard onto the ground. Forest and Fen both sat up, scratching their head then immediately stood up, looking around. Forest leaped up Fen's body and resumed his favorite perch in Fen's hair.

"That... was... MY Mankey..." Fen said softly in disbelief. Fen clenched his fist in anger as thoughts of Patrick burned through his mind. He couldn't get that arrogant face out of his head. Patrick was no longer a research specimen. He was a rival to be dealt with immediately.

Fen's thoughts were disrupted by a sudden realization of Kat still being left in the tree. He looked up too her then turned his face in embarrassment, realizing that even though she was stuck in a tree, she was still half naked...He held his arms outstretched towards her in the tree and turned his head the other way.

"...come on, jump... I'll....*sigh*.... I'll catch you..." He called up to her on the tree branch. Ever since he became a trainer, his life seemed to be complicated in everything except the situations involving actual Pokemon...

 

[Phanima]

He figured as much. The only time he ever considered wandering off after telling himself to stay on track and follow the path, he gets lost. This wasn't good and it wasn't going to get any better with dusk approaching. His main goal now, was to at least find the path and follow it to either the entrance or exit of the forest, at least that way, he would know where he was. Of course, if he found the exit or one of the trainers that would be even better.

After running into his first wild Pokemon, despite its rather lackluster and subdued presence, Kozue was feeling quite accomplished, even though he made no attempt to catch or battle it. The experience was enough though, and he was thoroughly looking forward to his encounter. This was all going through his head as he absentmindedly made his way through the crowding shrub and foilage, after failing to make his way back to the path from where he had trailed off.

"I suppose you don't know how to get back, hey Pocky?" the blonde teen asked with a heavy sigh, who was answered with a swift shake of the head from his penguin partner. "Yeah, me neither..."

Suddenly, the rustling of bushes caught his attention and with a quick look, he managed to see a familiar face rush past in the near distance.

"P-Patrick!" Kozue exclaimed, seeing the grass-toned mohawk trainer breaking through the low yet dense undergrowth. "H-Hey...I guess he didn't see me..."

Quickly approaching the bushes where the other trainer had emerged, the blonde haired boy looked all around him in an effort to see which direction his new companion had run off in. To no prevail, he couldn't see the boy with the energetic Cyndaquil anywhere, and his hopes of finding his way back fell even lower. It was then however that he realised that if Pat was running deeper into the forest, for a reason unbeknownst to fem-boy, he must of come off the path.

"So...all we need to do, is go back the way he came!" he announced as everything came together in his mind. "Alright! So, since he went that way..." Kozue continued, glancing a look over to his right where the forest extended into a small clearing, before returning his sights in the opposite direction, "then we just have to go this way."

Pocky who had become quite tired of wandering aimlessly through the forest, perked up as he heard his trainer's logic, and ushered the boy to continue with forceful squawks.

"Yeah, yeah, calm down," Kozue hushed as he brushed away the shrubs that got in his way, "we're nearly there."

With a final duck and brush past some low hanging branches, the blonde haired teen and penguin finally reached another small clearing where a rather large tree stood, surrounded by small mud puddles. Who was standing in front of the tree however, was what caught his immediate attention.

"...come on, jump... I'll..." Fen started as he let out a small sigh, his face flushed, ".... I'll catch you..."

There Fen stood, scuffed and ruffled all over, which concerned Kozue but before he could move, something else caught his eye. In the direction of Fen's raised hand, his gaze was led to a rather unusual situation, involving another one of his companions, Kat. What he saw next made himself flush as quite a bit of blood rushed to his face.

"Kat?!" he exclaimed as he realised that the lower half of her attire was missing and quickly clamped a hand over his eyes. "Ah! I'm sorry! Ero-Fen was doing something ecchi!"

OOC: Oh Evkay, you hilarious rascal. :3 You actually made me laugh. Xd

 

[Trainer Kat]

"Kat?! where are your pants?!" Fen exclaimed as another trainer, Patrick, entered the area.

Her cheeks quickly shifted from a light pink to a dark red. "Er...it...it's a long...story..." she stammered. "I'll...I'll tell you when we get to Viridian..." Though Kat had noticed Patrick appear, she didn't pay him much attention as he proceeded to tease Fen. At least, that is, until he said something concerning her.

"Ay, looks like your IQ couldn't getcha out of this one, mate. But who knows, perhaps your little girl friend can." His teal eyes slid to Kat's direction. He noticed an emerging shade of crimson on her cheeks. "Eh, you guys weren't busy with something were you? I really hope I'm not interrupting anything serious."

Her eyes widened before narrowing into slits. Dainty hands balled up into fists, Kat began to frantically protest. "Patrick Pitter!" she yelled furiously. "I'm not!" With that, she removed one boot from her foot, hurling it at his mohawk-topped skull. It missed, of course. The throw left her off balance, and she clung to the trunk of the tree to avoid an unwanted spill. Patrick's attention diverted to the rustling bushes, bushes that more than likely contained a Pokemon.

"It's a Mankey!" He celebrated. "Sorry guys! I'd help but it would appear I've got some official business to attend to. I gotta catch me that Mankey! Eh, good luck!"

"That's right, get out of here you...you...overly masculine buffoon!" Kat yelled once more, pulling off her last boot and flinging it at his retreating back. However, he was too far, and the boot landed short. She let out an annoyed sigh.

"That... was... MY Mankey..." Fen said softly in disbelief. He looked more than a little angry. Kat thought for a minute.

"I'll catch you another Mankey!" The words sounded a tad more spunky than she'd originally intended. "What are assistants for, after all?" Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Fen look up at her momentarily before turning his head away, clearly embarrassed by her lack of proper attire.

"...come on, jump... I'll...." He sighed. ".... I'll catch you..." he called up to her on the tree branch. As she was about to do so, she noticed another figure emerging from the bushes. Oh great. she thought. Who's going to poke fun at us this time? Roisin? Ready to yell, she paused when she noticed a familiar mop of blonde hair.

"Kozue-chan!" she exclaimed happily. Seconds later, she noticed a crimson shade rising to his cheeks.

"Kat?!" he exclaimed as he realised that the lower half of her attire was missing and quickly clamped a hand over his eyes. "Ah! I'm sorry! Ero-Fen was doing something ecchi!"

Her eyes widened and her face turned a dark shade that rivaled his. "N-no! Kozue-chan!" she began to protest. "It was...nothing like that!" Reaching into her trainer bag, she pulled out the wrinkled pile of denim. "They're muddy, so I...I..." she stopped, realizing there was nothing she could say to make this situation look any better.

Lowering herself into a sitting position on the branch of the tree, she swung her legs, throwing herself into Fen's open arms. "Thanks, Fen-Fen." She grinned and threw her arms around his neck, careful not to disturb Forest's position on the boy's messy green hair. "I don't know what I would have done without you." Well, for one, I wouldn't have been in that tree if not for him, but...best not to bring that to his attention. I'm his assistant--I have to help him. she thought, placing herself on solid ground. Quickly, she retrieved her boots, placing one on each foot, before returning to the two boys.

After giving Kozue his obligatory hug, she immediately took one of each of the boys' hands, lacing her fingers through theirs, placing herself in the middle of them. At last, she was in the company of the two people she got along best with. Despite having initially rejected Fen, she had grown sort of fond of him. Sort of. And Kozue, well, she adored him. Holding their hands tightly, she grinned at each of them.

"Well? Should we head to Viridian?"

 

[Degenerate]

Several minutes of relaxation proved to be the perfect treatment for Patrick's fatigue. He felt he had regained the energy needed to continue his journey. Committing a long, drawn out yawn, he stretched his muscles and rose to his feet. Now that he had captured that Mankey, he contemplated going back to the spot where he had run into Fen and Kat. Perhaps they could have used a big, strong guy like him to help them out of their predicament. Or maybe not … Kat's last words to him snapped at his mind like a poison-tipped wine whip.

'That's right, get out of here you...you...overly masculine buffoon!'

If he had not been so preoccupied with that Mankey at the time, he certainly would have had some choice words for her too. Hm, it just went to show that even her friendliness had its limits. Patrick understood it completely. Had he been caught pant-less with another guy stuck in a tree, the last thing he would be worried about were his manners. Besides, despite that lashing tongue of hers, his opinion of her did not wither one bit, but moved in quite the opposite direction, he liked a girl who wasn't afraid to stand up for herself. Not to mention, she did not look half-bad without any pants on. The mental image alone was enough to bring blood rushing to his cheeks as well as to other parts of his anatomy.

Thank goodness no one was around to witness his illicit moment of weakness.

He started for the path that led to the original group of trainers. Not surprisingly, the slow bunch was still more or less in the same place he had left them, with the addition of Kozue, whom had not been there earlier. A remark about Kat holding both of the boys' hands sat at the tip of his tongue but he did his best not to let it slip.

"Well, I'm back! And with another pokémon too," he boasted, sliding a finger under his nose cockily. "Ready to go when you are."

He took a position behind the trio, folding his arms behind the back of his head. "By the way, whatever happened to your pants, Kat? I mean, I'm not stupid enough to complain about them missing but it's just … strange, I guess."

 

[Jim]

OOC: Kat said that one shiny was allowed in the RP. If anybody has any objections to it then I'll change it to regular, no problem. It's not like it's an extremely powerful Pokémon and I don't aim to be catching legendaries at any point...

The illuminated clearing which was once occupied by the gang of Trainers was inexplicably empty. The brunette and her Totodile didn't notice until Roisin had reached the point where she was standing before wandering off to engage in battle with 'I spider on my hea.!!' Roisin perked her head up as she finally reached her destination. Shocked at the lack of people yet relieved that everyone may not have seen her little episode.

"Hey Totodile, should we carry on? Kat said something about Viridian City before she left," Roisin asked Totodile, as if she was expecting to get some sort of response out of the small, azure, crocodilian Pokémon. Roisin did get more of a response than usual; this time Totodile actually dropped it's heavily chewed rubber ball and the he started to sniff around her ankles. "What are you doing?" Roisin took a cautious couple of steps to the left, followed by the curious looking Pokémon. Without any prior warning, the Totodile bounded into the air, teeth bared.

"No, Stop!" Roisin yelled as she pulled her hands up to her face. She froze in that position for a few seconds before daring to look at what the Pokémon had been trying to attack with it's powerful jaws. The girl withdrew from her defensive position. Totodile was gone.

"Wh- Where? Where did you go?" she questioned, baffled at Totodile's disappearing act. Surely Totodiles cannot learn Teleport. "Oh... I see." Roisin's face fell as she realized that the Pokémon had decided to retake his favorite position. Totodile had reattached himself back to her bag. Rather than reacting, Roisin had decided to use the same tactics that people -apparently- use for children when they seem to be attention seeking. She scooped up the Pokémon's solid playing ball and thrust it into her bag, paying no attention to her Pokémon, and walked along the only path as if Totodile was non-existent.

The girl and her 'heavily accessorized' bag turned the corner. She was walking at quite a fast pace. The rest of the gang evidently forgot about her or tried to ditch her deliberately. Fen will suffer for this one...

The scenery had completely changed from that of the clearing. There were tall trees over shadowing her and blocking out the blazing orange inferno which was the sky. On top of that, the floor of this little route was caked in swampy, slushy mud. Ugh... Damn rain, when I passed the route earlier today it wasn't so bad... Like the trooper she was, Roisin pressed forwards through the slushy earth. The duo continued to walk, however slowly, suddenly out of nowhere a small green thing pounced onto the ground in front of her. Roisin was startled by the falling green thing which caused her to scream and fall backwards into the mud.

"Oh for poo sake!" she yelled as she clutched her chest. "It's raining random green blobs!" The second after she finished speaking she realized what the 'random green blob' actually was. Her eyes narrowed, as stood in front of her, in battle position, was the exact same Spinarak she had met previously. Although it looked a little more 'beaten up' than before. It's determined.

"Totodile, get rid of it... Try not to hurt it though," Roisin commanded unenthusiastically as she blew a random strand of hair out of her face.

"Totodile?" Roisin, once again, seemed to have lost her Pokémon. She'd also only just realized her muddy her back and bag must be as she was still on the floor. Bag... It took the girl the best part of five seconds to remember that her bag was nearly fully submerged in the mud and Totodile was latched onto said bag. She quickly stood up, her newly coloured Totodile glared through it's crimson coloured eyes.

"Sorry," she laughed, the humor was short lived as, not unlike a dog, Totodile shook its body rapidly, flinging most of the mud onto his partner. Totodile hopped onto her head and laughed.

"YOU THINK THAT'S FUNN-" Roisin stopped mid sentence, remembering the Spinarak. "Oh yeah, Totodile, get 'im"

Totodile, not moving from Roisin's head, opted for a more of a ranged approach. He took a deep breath, filling his lungs. Then when he finally opted to breathe out a torrent of water spewed out, hitting the little spider head on. Although the attack was amazing; Roisin couldn't help but feel sorry for the Spinarak that was currently hurdling over the tree tops.

"So, water gun huh? We'll dominate the Pewter Gym with that... Now get down..."

Totodile blatantly refused to leave his perch, and used his seemingly infinite agility and versatility to dodge every attempt that Roisin tried at bating him off.

Roisin gave up and decided to sit on a conveniently placed tree stump and made an attempt to clean herself off a little bit. The process proved quite difficult considering there was an uninvited guest taking refuge upon her head.

"Totodile, get off my shoulder," Roisin said mindlessly. "Totodile, how can you be on my head and shoulder at the same time, go away." Roisin finally realized what she said was idiotic. There was something else on her shoulder. Roisin slowly turned her head. Half expecting another Spinarak. Yet as she saw what was on her shoulder, her heart fluttered. Whatever it was was amazingly cute. It was a small worm like Pokémon, with huge and adorable black eyes. It had one huge red 'antennae' slightly resembling a mono-brow. It's long silky body was a beautiful amber colour, nearly golden. It's under-body, circle markings and the tip on the end of it's tail were a lighter colour, albeit still a beautiful golden colour.

Roisin was amazed that the beautiful Pokémon picked her shoulder as a place to rest. This Pokémon's mine...

She carefully dipped her hand into her bag (which was caked with solid, dried, mud) and pulled out her PokéDex. She pointed it at the Pokémon and as usual, the data showed up along with a picture.

"Caterpie has a voracious appetite. It can devour leaves bigger than its body right before your eyes. From its antenna, this Pokémon releases a terrifically strong odor."

The image that showed up was nearly as cute as the Pokémon itself, except the colour in the image was wrong. Yay for uniqueness!She slowly swapped her PokéDex for a PokéBall. She let the Pokémon sniff it. Okay, I'll just tap it's forehead with the PokéBall... She carefully drew the PokéBall closer and closer. Caterpie didn't look anxious at all. As if it got bored of waiting, the Caterpie frowned and tackled the PokéBall itself. The PokéBall opened and pulled the Caterpie inside, after which it closed and the white button started to glow red. Roisin nearly dropped it in surprise as the red button reverted back to white.

"I caught a Caterpie!" yelled the girl triumphantly. With that she stood up and started to sprint through the mud. After about two minutes she finally found the group. Well four of them. There was Patrick. Kozue and Fenra, both holding hands with a half-naked Kat.... A half-naked Kat!! The cow, flaunting her legs while holding hands with two boys, not to mention another boy, ogling her from behind!

Roisin carried on sprinting. Thinking up a thousand and two insults.

"Hey, Kat yo-" her speech was cut short. As she was in earshot of Kat a random rock appeared out of nowhere causing Roisin to soar majestically through the air and land in the godforsaken mud. The resulting splash not only caked Roisin and Totodile in mud, again, the slush was sent hurtling at the other four. Only a few splashes reached Patrick, Kozue and Fen, barely any at all hit them. However. Kat on the other hand was practically drowned in the stagnant swampy earth. She's had enough 'punishment' now I don't have to shout and look like a total cow.

"Oh, clumsy me, sorry," Roisin laughed and unleashed a cheesy smile at the not to happy Kat.

Roisin caught a Caterpie.

 

[Phanima]

"Ooooh, so that's what happened," he chirped as he learnt about what had really happened between Kat and Fen, "well that's okay then! It was just a misunderstanding, hehe, silly me!"

At that, Pocky gave a small nod with his flippers crossed over his chest and with his eyes closed, as he sat in the boy's remaining free hand, the other being interlaced between one of Kat's hand, much to the penguin's initial protest. The baby Piplup still hadn't gotten over the girl's obsession with glomping his trainer and crushing him in the process, as a matter of fact, she had done it again just after they had discovered the situation with her and the other boy, Fen. And despite the reassuring quells from his human counterpart, Pocky still didn't like or trusted her.

Quickly following their small gathering, the mohawk trainer who Kozue had seen prior, reappeared and joined on tail. Patrick appeared somewhat scuffed as well, but he wasn't too sure what had happened. Maybe a wild Pokemon battle? But he seemed okay and fully functional, maybe he just got lost. Regardless, the fem-boy decided not to question the boy's motives and continued along with the three back to the route's path.

"Hey, Kat yo-" came a familiar voice in the distance, where a slightly muddy and worn yet still pretty Roisin appeared, as she started running up to them, before striking a single rock on the ground, causing her to soar into the many mud puddles that surrounded the group.

"Ro-Roisin! Are you okay?" Kozue instinctively exclaimed, fortunate enough to only be sprayed with a few specs of the projectile mud that launched due to the brunette's fall. As his already muddy shoes caked on with another healthy layer of the soggy dirt, the blonde haired teen rushed to the girl's side, releasing Pocky from his grip.

"Oh, clumsy me, sorry," Roisin laughed as she flashed a cheesy smile at the group.

"Uwah..." Kozue sighed as he crouched down beside her with his hands outstretched, after seeing her slightly recover, "you should be more careful...it'd be bad if you got hurt..."

 

[Kansas]

The sloppy wet earth sprinkled across Fen's chest and onto Forest's head, though the lazy pokemon barely noticed. Fen brushed the mud off his clean gray shirt and looked to his lovely assistant... who unfortunately at this point was looking anything BUT lovely.

"Um...Kat... you've got some... uhhh mud......right here" Fen said, opening his palm and circling his entire body, showing her where the mud was like she didn't know. "You're just having terrible luck today Kat... helping you is going to end up being the death of me..." Fen said, exhausted at Kat's constant misfortune. Luckily though, Fen was prepared as usual, he shifted his messenger bag around to the front and dug through it for a bit, pulling out a small hand towel. He pulled her aside and wiped off her face and hands before laying his extra change of clothes, the usual 3/4 sleeve gray shirt and a pair of tight jeans. He led her to a tree and nudged her behind it, turning his back and waiting.

"You know...If this kind of stuff happens to you often, you should tell me now. I need to make the proper corrections to my travel itinerary and adjust my supplies to account for your misfortune..." Fen said to her with a slightly annoyed tone.

Fen looked up, seeing Viridian City in the distance, gently glowing under the sunset.

"When we get to Viridian, i'm sure the pokemon center will allow you to clean your clothes...until then you'll just have to wear mine i guess." Fen said calmly to her from the other side of the tree. He leaned against it with folded arms and looked at the ground.

"Everyone has started catching pokemon...yet the one I was in pursuit of was snatched up by that knuckle headed freak job Cranidos hybrid...I need to seriously attempt to catch something. The forest pokemon will be near the other side of Viridian. I'll go out tonight... and catch one while everyones asleep. It should give me the edge against them if they don't see my new catch until later." Fen whispered quietly to himself as he fiddled with his green pokedex which was uncharacteristically skimpy with pokemon data for a researcher of his level of dedication.

Fen continued to stare at the ground waiting for Kat... He was definitely becoming fond of her, but hated to admit it to himself. The problems she caused him really weren't a burden but he just didn't know how to react to the girl's ridiculous personality... He stopped thinking about girls and focused on Forest.

"Don't worry buddy. We'll get you a partner soon enough" Fen thought to himself as he reached up and rubbed the little Treecko's head

 

[Trainer Kat]

"By the way, whatever happened to your pants, Kat? I mean, I'm not stupid enough to complain about them missing but it's just … strange, I guess."

At this, Kat turned, briefly releasing Kozue's hand, to slam her foot down on Patrick's. "Jerk.." she mumbled. At this point, she turned, taking Kozue's hand in hers once more. The silence was broken when a familiar female voice could be heard.

"Hey, Kat yo-" The girl was interrupted as she did a faceplant in a puddle of mud, sending a wave of sludge towards the four others. Patrick, Kozue, and Fen were only splashed a little, but Kat took the full blow. Drenched in dirt, the blonde's jaw dropped. How dare that little pig splash mud on her?! About to scream at Roisin, her oncoming rant was interrupted by a male voice.

"Um...Kat... you've got some... uhhh mud......right here" Fen said, opening his palm and circling his entire body, showing her where the mud was like she didn't know. "You're just having terrible luck today Kat... helping you is going to end up being the death of me..."

Kat looked up at him pathetically, teal eyes widened, the only color visible in a sea of mud and makeup. He began to rummage through his bag, eventually emerging with a hand towel, as well as a fresh pair of clothes...ones that matched those he had on, down to the thread count. He took the hand towel and began wiping her face and hands as the blood rose to her cheeks. Once finished, she found herself taken behind a tree and handed the clothes he had removed from his bag.

"You know...If this kind of stuff happens to you often, you should tell me now. I need to make the proper corrections to my travel itinerary and adjust my supplies to account for your misfortune..." Fen said to her with a slightly annoyed tone.

"Nope..." she said, removing her top quickly, placing his shirt on. She pulled on the jeans. "It's...just not my day..." With that, she pulled her hair back in a loose ponytail before emerging from the tree. The sleeves, which were three quarter length on Fen, covered Kat's hands, revealing just her middle three fingers. The jeans, though tight on Fen, hung loosely from Kat's tiny legs. Her Uggs, which were covered in mud, had been placed haphazardly on her feet, the pant legs only half-tucked into the boots. She looked sloppy, yet still managed to be cute.

"Oh, hey..." she noticed Fen with his Pokedex, and quickly pulled out her own, eager to show him. "Look at this." Pulling up Shinx's data, she thrust the device near Fen's nose. "I saw a Shinx!" she exclaimed with excitement. "Yeah, I chased it through the woods, and that's how my pants got all muddy! So I took them off. And somehow, I found you!" The blonde grinned at her green-haired companion, obviously quite pleased with herself.

Placing one finger over her slightly pursed lips, she whispered to him. "I'm gonna sneak out of the Pokemon center tonight to try and catch it, but don't say anything." Kat grinned devilishly. "I want to use it against that horrible Roisin!" She giggled and wrapped both her arms around Fen's left one, long sleeves getting somewhat tangled.

"Oh!" She exlaimed, snapping her fingers before re-entwining her arms around Fen's. "Remember when I said freeing you from the tree was gonna cost you?" She looked up at him as a smile spread across her face. "Partner up with me in Cerulean City. I know we have a ways to go, but I wanted to...claim...you before someone else does." At this, she shot a glare at Roisin. After all, Kat would have the type disadvantage yet again, and Fen's Treecko would be perfect against water Pokemon.

 

[Kansas]

So... even Kat had a pokemon she was planning to catch... and a new entry in her pokedex... and still as much as he knew about pokemon... Fen had nothing except the little Treecko.

"I'm gonna sneak out of the Pokemon center tonight to try and catch it, but don't say anything." Kat grinned devilishly. "I want to use it against that horrible Roisin!" Kat said to him with a secretive tone.

"Oh really? I was actually going to go out tonight and catch a Pokemon for myself as well. One near Viridian Forest... Maybe we can go out together? As uhh Researcher and Assistant... of course..." Fen said, quickly covering his conversational slip up. Kat immediately jumped up before answering.

"Oh!" Kat exlaimed, snapping her fingers before re-entwining her arms around Fen's. "Remember when I said freeing you from the tree was gonna cost you?" She looked up at him as a smile spread across her face. "Partner up with me in Cerulean City. I know we have a ways to go, but I wanted to...claim...you before someone else does."

Fen looked down at the girl, unsurprised at the comment as the two rejoined the group and moved on towards Viridian.

"Oh? Is that all? ....sure..." Fen responded to her with a slightly melancholy tone.

"I should have known better than to even begin to think her intentions were anything other than battling and personal gain." Fen thought to himself as he turned his head the opposite direction, staring at the ground depressing, as they walked.

Fen grew quiet for the rest of the trip, looking blankly at the tall grass as the young trainers moved closer and closer to Viridian. The sign hung above the path, displaying itself in a grand fashion above the city. Easily visible from the city gates were many houses and the pokemon center just ahead of them to the right. A path to the left reached far off in the distance towards the mountains and Viridian Forest was just barely visible on the far north side of town.

Fen needed a break from the ridiculous day he had been having. He broke off from the group and slipped out of Kat's grip once again. He was good at being un detected when he needed to be. He drifted away from the group and headed for a small tree next to the road outside the pokemon center. He sat under it and watched pedestrians walk by, continuing their daily lives. This was Fen's favorite pass time. Not reading books or studying, but just sitting back and enjoying the life he had been given. He sat, not thinking about girls, rivals, or battling. All he thought about was him and his new friend, Forest, sitting together watching the beautiful sunset as it lowered gently below the mountains. Fen pulled Forest off of his head and set him in his lap, waking up the little pokemon and facing him towards the sunset.

"See, Forest? This is what the real joys in life are about. The natural things that can't be controlled by anyone. The sound of the wind blowing through the trees, the great mountains, and the sun that floats carefree providing life to this planet along with sharing its beauty with us... After every fight we get in... this is what matters. Not winning or losing... but the things we'll always have every day that no one can take from us..." Fen said calmly to the Treecko as he petted its head gently. Forest then curled up into Fen's shirt and made itself comfortable as both Fen and Forest began to fall asleep against the tree outside the center.

 

[Trainer Kat]

OOC: Normally...I wait a while before I post again, but I promised Ev. a post by the time he wakes up. xD So I'ma do it tonight, even though it'll be short. <3 It gives a little insight into Kat's character, though.

IC:

Kat's cyan eyes locked on Fenra's as he responded. "Oh? Is that all? ....sure..." His tone was less than enthusiastic, to say the least. Kat bit her bottom lip. Maybe he didn't want to partner with her? She had been rather clingy...maybe he was sick of her.

"Um..." She paused, trying to find words. "S-Sorry. I didn't answer your question before." Discreetly, she nodded, her only words being "I'd love to." After all, they had now rejoined the group, and the last thing she needed was Roisin catching wind of their plan.

She was silent the rest of the walk, though still clutching Fen's arm. His words weighed heavily on her mind. She didn't even notice when he slipped out of her grasp. He was probably off, trying to get away from her. It was weird, feeling almost unwanted. She didn't even throw herself at Kozue, as his Piplup had been shooting her dirty looks as of late. Letting out one more sigh, she remained quiet, pausing only to dig a cigarette out of her purse. Lighting it, she took a drag. It was something she did when she was on edge. Luckily, these trainers hadn't been around her long enough to know her habits--to them, she was probably just in dire need of a smoke.

 

[♣Gawain♣]

Luckily W. hadn't seen the whole thing! He was peering through his telescope looking for the main route up in the balcony of the Pokemon Center. He had been doing this for 30 minutes or so.

"No sign of the route and man! This forest's huge!" he said as he admired the view. The Viridian Forest majestic size is really immense. "I think..." he calculated in his mind. "We can get the hell out of HERE for about 2 days." he said to Turquoise. "Squirtle..." Turquoise said in a downhearted kind of voice. "Don't worry, we can get out of here in no time." W. assured Turquoise.

After 30 minutes or so, he bought some food for himself and his pokemon. "Luckily there's some store in this Center." W. said. Then he gave some to his pokemon, which happily ate it all up. Then he gave some of the wierd berries to Feebas. "I don't really know why do you need this berries." he shuddered as he thought of them. He'd never forget the brutish taste of it. "And I don't have a name for you" he paused. "Yet"
"Also, I've heard that the Pewter Gym's leader speciallty is Rock type pokemons, so I've a advantage." he said. "But remember advantage's are not always an advantage." he added.

He sighed. "Wondered where the other trainers are?"

 

[Phanima]

"That was really nice," Kozue began timidly, after overhearing the teen professor's speech to his gecko-like Pokemon, "may I sit down?"

Without waiting for a reply, a rather rash decision on his behalf, the blonde gently took a seat a few feet beside the other boy in one of the few grooves that surrounded the tree's roots. He wasn't sure if Fen wanted some alone time, since he did wander off from the group without saying anything, but knowing himself, Kozue wanted to make sure everyone stuck together. Of course, he wouldn't want to impose on the other boy's privacy but he thought that if he was going to be travelling with these people, getting to know them was his best bet to maintain good relations. Besides, he wouldn't stay for too long and if it came to it, he wouldn't speak either, but this moment seemed like a unmissable opportunity to share something with a new companion.

"Excuse me," he chirped nervously as he settled into a comfortable position, Pocky also readjusting his place in his trainer's arms. "The view...is really nice here..."

Quitening down, Kozue gently settled back against the firm yet warm trunk of the tree as he watched the sun fall over the mountains in the distance. Pocky had also settled down and sat peacefully in the comfort of his new partner's hold. It was truly a peaceful and pleasant moment that made him think about how fortunate he really was.

Thinking about everything that had happened that day; arriving in Pallet Town and meeting the great Professor Oak, finally receiving his very first Pokemon, meeting and accompanying a new group of trainers and friends, and the starting of his very own and first Pokemon journey, Kozue couldn't help but smile and feel truly happy.

OOC: Sorry for crashing Evkay, I know Fen broke away rather stealthily, but it just seemed like such a good opportunity. :) Anyway, don't respond if you don't want to, I did leave it open ended. I did promise Kozue I'd let him share the love as well, so after this scenic moment, it's Noah and W. next. X3