JP w/Eleanor

Sunday, September 20th, 9:00 am

The previous night was another tiring odd job for June, and coincidentally enough also happened to find work at another local library. Unlike the Slateport library however, it wasn't as large, being about a third of the size of the one at Slateport. What truly made it less enjoyable than her evening Friday job however was how rude the librarian on-site was. She ended the day with a pay of 5,000 Pokedollars, less than she hoped, but any amount of money was still money nonetheless.

Today was a new day though. She wouldn't let her bitter experience get her down today, and what better way to get her started than having a nice breakfast? Might as well take advantage of these opportunities, something Mr. Yamiguchi said that June made sure to remember.

Her first meal of the day consisted of scrambled eggs and a large muffin, while Blipbug was given a bowl of non-specific Pokemon food that was crafted from the recommended nutrients for larva Pokemon. As she enjoyed her breakfast, June couldn't help but hear some very loud young men from a nearby table.

"Did you hear about the Pokemon you can find at the beach? I heard that you could find a Treecko here!"

"That's so cool! I saw this Pokemon at the beach, but I didn't get a good look at it because it ran away when I got close.

June's eyes widened slightly, as she heard the last detail.

No, it couldn't be." The girl thought as she scooped up a few forkfulls of eggs.

"What did it look like?"

"Well, I didn't get a good look at it, but it was flat, like, not exactly like a Stunfisk, but sort of round also…"

June's interest was peaked again. The description was starting to match up with her previous assumption.

"It was kind of, like, greyish blue? It had some purple on it, but it got away before I could get very close. That's a shame because it looked kind of cool…"

The conversation of the two young men diverged from there, but June knew exactly what they were talking about.

A Wimpod? In Dewford? How did I never know this? She tried to finish her meal in a rush, her Blipbug looking concerned at just how fast his trainer was eating. June was never a fast eater, but for a rare bug-type, she'd do anything.

By the time the girl was finished eating, June got out of her seat to purchase a bag of potato chips from a vending machine. Not something she'd usually eat, but it would come in handy for her planned catch. When she exited the Pokemon Center cafeteria she unprecedentedly shouted "Thank you kind boys!", just barely looking behind her. It did catch the attention of the two young men, but they were only left puzzled, looking at each other and shrugging.

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

On the edge of a beach, near Dewford Island's southernmost point, Avril and her two Pokémon were enjoying a little snack. As usual, it was all fresh berries that she was able to get from the Fanclub Resort, good for both her and her Pokémon… and in this case, also well deserved, after their training. Poppy was, as expected, in seventh heaven - even after all that she went through. Angie, on the other hand, was still focused on her share of the food, even though she looked a bit more relaxed that day. Avril was just trying to process all of her feelings, with a mixture of surprise, happiness, relief, and pride.

She didn't notice the tall girl approaching her until she looked down to check on Angie, and saw a shadow moving closer. Slightly startled by that, Avril quickly turned around. "H-hello?"

June was grasping a PokeGear in her hands, almost exclusively focusing on it, while her Butterfree net was being carried between her arm and torso. Hearing the greeting of the blonde, she looked up from her device. "Oh, I didn't see you there, by any chance have you happened to sight any-"

When she registered the girl in-front of her, June's face immediately flashed bright red, and she could feel her heart beating like a drum.

"Oh! Um, h-hi, have you seen a-any w-w-w-w-" Forming a sentence right now was more difficult than usual for her. "Any Wimpod around here?" The Blipbug standing beside her giggled at her trainer being as flustered as she this encounter made her. "A-a-and by the way I- Um- I- I like your outfit." June blurted out, covering her mouth the moment it rolled off her tongue while the Blipbug to her side only laughed harder, rolling around in the sand.

"Oh, thanks! And y-yours is nice, too." The blonde girl replied with a slight smile. "I haven't seen any Wimpod around here but I believe you can scan for them… like I did for Angie, here." She then pointed down at her Shellos, who had just finished munching on her last berry… all while she was slightly blushing herself.

"Oh, um, is that a Shellos? I've never seen one in person before, they're very fascinating!" In reality, June didn't find them super interesting, but she tried her best at getting a conversation going.

"Yes! Apparently they're always hungry, but also pretty strong!" Avril chuckled, thinking back to how Angie battled just a few minutes prior. "That though… I've never seen your Pokémon before!"

She reached for her Holotch, trying to scan the other girl's Pokémon. Most likely a Bug type.

June's eyes lit up, and her hands clapped together, seeing this as an invitation to gush about her Pokemon. "Oh my, Blipbug are so adorable aren't they! They were discovered in Galar, but I caught mine in Johto, they start out frail but when they evolve they become very intelligent, and are durable in battle against ranged attacks! He's already pretty smart now, but I'm so excited for him to evolve and learn psychic attacks! Oh, bug types are so interesting, aren't they?" She finished her tangent with a pleased sigh, but remembering where she was she did a double-take. "I-I mean, bug types are so cute, um, right Blipbug?" Her partner Pokemon only chuckled a little more.

"Well…" Avril paused. Some Bug types really weren't either cute or interesting, but some others that she inevitably met while she spent her time in the countryside were just as cute and as interesting as that Blipbug. "Y-yes, you're right!"

By then, Poppy had finished her little berry slices as well, and quickly sprung up from the ground. She floated upwards until she met June's sight, and waved at her with a smile. "Oh right, this is my other Pokémon, Poppy!"

"Oh my, I've never seen this Pokemon before!" The tall girl giggled. "They're awfully adorable as well. They're so tiny, they remind me of a Joltik." She paused for a few seconds before trying to think of something else to say. "You said it's name is Poppy? I've never nicknamed a Pokemon before, but speaking of names, what's yours? My name is June."

"Oh right, I basically forgot! I'm Avril, nice to meet you!" The blondie grinned, a hand on her hair. "And yes, I named her Poppy when I met her for the first time, but she's a Flabébé." She was still blushing, just slightly.

At this point in the conversation, June felt confident in her ability to carry in the conversation. "Flabébé, I've never heard of it! I suppose you learn something new everyd-"

She was interrupted by her PokeGear's noisy ringtone. This couldn't have come at a worse time.

"Um, uh, just give me a second!" June awkwardly laughed, turned around, and put her PokeGear up to her ear.

"Hey Junko dear!" June's mother joyfully greeted. "I've been meaning to ask you about it, but I kept forgetting! I know we usually wait for you to call but I'm asking before I forget again, do you still want to receive an allowance or-"

"Mom!" June whispered as harshly as she was able to, hoping Avril was unable to hear a word she said. "This is the absolute worst time you could have called!"

"Oh? Junko what's wrong?"

The tall girl didn't have any desire to truthfully answer, but her lying capabilities were limited. Unsure of what to say, her stream of consciousness flowed from her mouth. "Well, I uh, there's uh, Blipbug here uh, I was talking to someone and uh-"

"Ooooohhh, I see." Her mother laughed. "Does that person happen to be a girl?"

June froze in place. "N-N-No, of course no-"

More laughing from the other line. "Well with that response, I know for sure it's a girl. Alright, I'll let you finish that before your father finds out! I'll be rooting for ya Ju-"

"JUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNKOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" June's father could suddenly be heard from the line, loud enough to where June had to move her PokeGear away from her ear at the cost that everyone nearby, including Avril, was able to hear him.

"W-wait, what happened there? Is everything ok?" The blonde girl, who was just waiting for her to end the call, quickly was brought back to reality and turned towards her once again. "I-I'm sorry for that…"

"AHHH! I KNEW IT!" June's father said from the other end. "IT IS A GIRL! OHHHH I CAN'T BELIEVE IT, MY LITTLE JUNKO IS ALREADY MEETING OTHER GIRLS, SHE'S GROWING UP SO FAST!!!" Sobbing could be heard among the shouting. "LISTEN HERE LITTLE GIRL, IF YOU DON'T TREAT MY DEAR JUNKO LIKE AN ABSOLUTE PRINCESS AND SHE HAS ANY REGRET I SWEAR I'LL-"

June hung up before he was able to finish. If this wasn't the final nail in the coffin for her, she didn't know what was.

"A-A-Ahahaha!" The tall girl attempted to awkwardly laugh to shake it off. "Ahaha, you know how parents are! My dad is so hysterical!" She followed with more forced laughter.

"It's alright June…" Avril sighed, now thinking about her own parents and her relationship with them. "I guess they just want the best for you, it's understandable…"

Poppy chirped as well, agreeing with her trainer.

June, still thrown off by her parents calling her, felt the need to swing the pendulum back. "Um, you know, I um, was scanning around for a Wimpod and I um, was wondering if you wanted to go out with me?" She yelped as soon as she said that. "N-N-not in that way of course!! I mean do you want to um, go Wimpod hunting with me! Um, my Blipbug only knows two moves and he's my only Pokemon, your Pokemon seem like they'll be helpful!" The forced laughing returned.

Avril smiled happily. "Going out" was a totally new thing for her anyways, even though her older brother seemed to have tried that one or two times with a girl from Laverre: weird how her mind jumped right to that when June herself said this was not that kind of "going out". "Sure, I'd love to help out a bit!" She replied, blushing even more.

June couldn't help but return a smile of her own while blushing. This certainly wasn't a response she expected.

"Great! Just uh, follow me!" The tall girl opened her PokeScan app for it to resume back to what it had been doing prior to her mom calling her. When the app was fired up, June looked up at Avril in anticipation.

"Alright! Let's see where this Wimpod is." She announced, returning Angie to her Pokéball and gesturing Poppy to come and rest on her head. The Fairy type happily complied.

As the two girls followed the signal of June's PokeGear with their Pokemon by their side. They walked at a pace reasonable enough for Blipbug to keep up with them. The moment seemed right for June to try further engaging in conversation.

"So um…" The tall girl shook her head to re-center her thoughts. "Earlier I said that I never saw a Flabébé before, and I've never heard anyone with a name like Avril. Are you from Hoenn?"

"Oh, I'm actually from Kalos! Flabébé is fairly common there. And… I suppose you're from Johto instead?"

June nodded. "I am indeed, but I'm very familiar with Hoenn. I used to come here to visit my grandma every summer." She opened the locket around her necklace to view the picture she had of her grandmother. "She was my best friend." She reminisced before closing her locker, turning her gaze towards the radar.

"Aw…" Avril began, but didn't feel like saying anything more than that. June had just said 'was', didn't she… "Spending time in Hoenn… that must've been nice."

The tall girl was able to pick up the guilt in Avril's voice. "She passed away a few years ago, and she lived a long and happy life that she spent helping people and Pokemon alike, and ended with no regrets. Even if I do miss her, there is a part of her that still lives through me with the wisdom she endowed me as a little girl."

Avril rattled her chime pendant, collecting her thoughts and memories of all her family members. "I'm sorry to hear that, but I'm happy that you feel better about it by now, and still look up to her."

"Grandma always told me to look to the future and not dwell on the past." June said, glancing over to the blonde girl's pendant. "Your necklace is quite nice, you know."

"Aw, thanks! It just helps me calm down, especially when Poppy isn't around… it's a gift from my mom." Before she could go on any more, June's PokeGear began to beep rapidly.

A Wimpod was nearby, and June couldn't be happier.

"Oh!" June picked up her pace, and Blipbug struggled to keep up. Avril also somewhat struggled, maybe because of the other girl's height… but still managed not to lose her. She started panting way sooner than she'd have wanted, though.

It took about a minute of speed-walking on the sandy beach, and there were a few rocks of varying sizes in the sand as the beeping only increased. Another minute, and they noticed a stubby ledge that had a small burrow dug in it.

"Oh my! This is the perfect size for a Wimpod!" The tall girl excitedly cheered. She tip-toed her way over to the burrow, the closer she was the beeping increased alongside. June kneeled in the sand and stuck her PokeGear into the burrow, now just letting out a single elongated beep.

"Oh my gosh, there's definitely a Wimpod in here!" She jumped onto her feet, and rustled through her purse. "Of course, Wimpod are awfully shy Pokemon so they won't come out on their own." She pulled a bag of potato chips out of her purse, tore the top open, and grabbed a single chip. "Fortunately, I came prepared."

"Reminds me of how I tried to catch Angie… of course, it didn't quite work, but you'll definitely be more lucky! Get ready, June!" Avril giggled, noticing how their respective plans looked so similar. Poppy set off from her trainer's head in the meantime and floated closer to the burrow, trying to take a peek inside while still being as quiet as she could.

"Poppy, may you step away from the burrow?" June asked as she set the potato chip a few meters in-front of the burrow. "Now Avril, my plan was that as soon as a Wimpod grabs the chip, I'll have Blipbug use Super Sonic. Do you think Poppy can try using some attacks on it after that?"

"Oh, uhm… yeah, that could work!" Avril whispered as Poppy complied with June's directions. "Razor Leaf should do the trick." She smiled, happy to help out. This whole affair was looking much less aggravating than a full on battle anyways.

"Perfect!" The tall girl pulled her Butterfree net out from under her arm. "However, it should be noted that Wimpod are very skittish. Even in battle, if it takes too much damage it'll flee at a lightning speed, which is why I brought this Butterfree net." She looked around, stopping her eyes at a nearby rock that was big enough for both girls to hide behind. How convenient.

"We'll hide behind here!" June shared as she dashed behind the rock, beckoning for Avril to follow her. "And be very quiet, or else it'll never come out!"

"A-alright!" Avril lowered the volume of her voice even more before following the other girl to their new hiding spot. "So… now we just wait?" June nodded in response. "Have patience."

For what felt like about five minutes, June was bracing herself for any sudden movement from the burrow, indicating this is something she might be used to. Her face was completely stern as she continuously stated at the burrow. Avril's face really wasn't, on the other hand, but she still did her best to stand still and focused. Even her little chime seemed to be quieter than usual, but that's only because she had to hold it still with her hand, muffling the sound.

Suddenly, a faint noise could be heard from inside the burrow, and June's eyes widened. "Something is coming!" She whispered, tightening her grasp on her net.

Her assessment proved to be correct, as just a few seconds later, yellow eyes and what looked like a purple mouth were visible from the burrow. June faintly gasped. "Oh my gosh, there it is! It's so adorable!" She tried her absolute best to keep her volume down, further tightening her grip on her net.

The Pokemon slowly inched its way out of its burrow to scout if any danger was nearby, revealing a silver exoskeleton on the Pokemon's body. When the coast was clear, it darted out of its burrow, honing in on the potato chip, and began to quickly nibble on it.

"Blipbug, now!" June jumped out from behind the rock with Blipbug sitting on her head. The high ground advantage gave him a good aim, shooting a sound-wave from his mouth that was aimed at the Wimpod. Before Wimpod was able to flee, it had been caught in the sound wave. It tried to flee, but only dashed around in circles.

"Avril, now!"

Poppy quickly caught onto June's words and fired off a Razor Leaf, just as planned. The leaves hit the Pokémon right on the hardened exoskeleton, but still seemed to make it flinch. "Nice job! Try Fairy Wind now!"

As if some kind of magic, the Wimpod began to coat it's entire body in water, increasing it's speed.

"Oh my!" June gasped. "I thought Wimpod only knew three moves!? Fascinating!"

Wimpod's speed continued to increase, eventually dashing away from the circle it ran around in, targeting Poppy.

With Fairy Wind, however, the Flabébé was able to slow Wimpod's momentum down, the water around it slowly diminishing as it struggled to keep going. With no momentum left, the Turn Tail Pokemon's attack was reduced only to a simple tackle, falling on it's back after impact, likely due to its confusion status.

Despite this, Wimpod began jumping around while on it's back, kicking up sand that it managed to direct towards Poppy.

"Avril, look out! It's using Sand Attack, and it'll lower Poppy's accuracy!"

"Oh, uhm… Fairy Wind again!" The blondie called out again, not without some hesitation. She was a bit late with her command, but Poppy was still able to get the cloud of sand to dissolve. Some of it was still on her eyes, her body, or her flower, but she was able to shake most of it off. Without waiting for further orders, Flabébé retaliated with a Razor Leaf as well, hitting once again the Bug type somewhat effectively.

The impact of the attack knocked Wimpod back onto its feet. Instead of hitting back however, it turned around, about to flee from battle.

"Quick! It's getting away!" With all the speed she was able to muster, June ran towards the bug type, swinging the hoop of her net right onto the Pokemon's body. "I've got you know!" Wimpod made nervous noises as it was trapped in the net.

Seizing the opportunity, Blipbug crawled down to June's purse, stuck his head in, and stuck his head out with a Net Ball in his mouth. June reached over to grab it, and with all her might she tossed the Pokeball at Wimpod.

The worn-out net did not act as a very good barrier, and as the ball collided with the Pokemon's exoskeleton, it opened up and Wimpod transformed into a white light that was sucked into the Net Ball.

The Net Ball fell on the ground, lightly shaking around. June kept her guard up, prepared for it to escape at a moment's notice.

The ball shook three times and...

click

...Wimpod was successfully captured.

June loosened her body, her face glowing, shrieking with joy. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh! I caught a Wimpod! My first Pokemon in Hoenn!"

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June caught a Wimpod!
Level 10/Male/Wimp Out
Defense Curl/Sand Attack/Struggle Bug/Aqua Jet

Blipbug grew to level 16!

JP W/Eleanor

Sunday, September 20th, 10:30 am

"You're Pokemon are all rested up! We hope to see you again!"

The Pokemon Center receptionist slid a tray on the desk. The trey held two Pokeballs placed in it, one Park Ball and one Net Ball. June grabbed both, smiling.

"Thank you so much!" She smiled, happy to have her Pokemon rested up.

The receptionist then faced Avril. "Your Pokemon is next, just a second!" She assured, before turning around to grab something.

June then faced Avril, blushing, and smiling faintly. "So, um, I'm going to the gym now. Since we're probably going to part ways, can I um…" She summoned as much energy as she could to get her words across. "Can, I um, g-get your number?" Her blushing became more apparent, holding her cheeks with both hands.

"Oh, b-but I can come see your battle if you…" The blonde girl tried to answer, before being interrupted by a man almost hitting her as he made his way to the Nurse's counter.

"Oh Arceus, sorry little dude!" He apologized, before handing over six Pokeballs to the receptionist. On closer inspection, he appeared to be middle-aged, and had messy blue hair.

"D-dude!?" Avril looked at June, puzzled. The tall girl tapped her lip, signaling she shared her confusion.

"Brawly!" The nurse greeted, holding a tray Poppy sat in. "Nice to see you! You're in a rush today." She said, as the Fairy type quickly sprung up and flew up to her usual place on Avril's head.

The man, apparently named Brawly, scratched the back of his head, chuckling. "Yeah man, I had a tough training session today!" He then handed over his Pokeballs to the nurse.

The nurse shook her head. "You spend all this time training and surfing, I think you've overlooked your duties as a gym leader."

June's eyes widened, focusing on the blue-haired man in-front of them. "Wait, gym leader?"

Brawly turned away from the desk to the girls standing next to him, grinning. "Oh, you're still here little dudes!"

"...Dudes?" June was beginning to get flashbacks to Jessie. "But we're not…"

Brawly laughed, cutting her off. "Oh don't worry, I call everyone dude, it's a gender neutral thing. But yeah, I'm Brawly, the Dewford gym leader!"

The brunette's face gleamed. "Oh, what a coincidence! I was just about to head to the gym! I'm a Pokemon trainer, my name is June."

Brawly looked up, attempting to make eye-contact with her. "Nice to meet you June! Man, I haven't had any challengers in a hot minute, huh?"

"That's because you're almost never at the gym!" The nurse cried out from behind the desk.

Brawly faintly chuckled. "Hey, I gotta keep my Pokemon in top shape, and I don't want to miss any waves. Plus, I got two of my own little dudes I need to take care of, but since you're here, once my Pokemon are all healed up let's head right over there."

"Thank you for your time." June looked down to Avril. "Say Avril, were you about to say that you wanted to watch my battle? Because, um, you absolutely can if you want to."

"Uhm… yeah!" She yelped. "I'll root for you!" Her cheeks turned even more red, but… in hindsight, watching someone else battle might have been good for herself too.

The nurse slid a tray over to Brawly that held six Pokeballs. "Here you go Brawly. It was just some light scratches, as usual." The gym leader grinned, taking his Pokemon back.

"This'll be no sweat, little dude!" He said, completely ignoring June's height. "As a gym leader, it'll be my responsibility to show you the ropes!"

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"Here we are little dudes!" Brawl exclaimed, standing in-front of a dojo that stood on a lonely beach. "Welcome to my gym!"

June stared at it in disbelief. Her mental image of a gym looked a bit more modern.

Regardless of what they thought, the group walked through the shoji doors someone had left open on the way out. June couldn't help but notice the tatami mat, something else she didn't expect from a gym. The sand that had blown in added to her impression.

"Alright little dude, let me just…" Brawly paused, again scratching the back of his head. "Shoot, it seems I forgot a referee. My bad!"

"What about the match?" The brunette asked.

"Hm, seems it'll have to wait." He shook his head. "Until we can find a referee, I'm heading out to the beach to catch some…"

"Not so fast, Brawly!" A familiar voice at the entrance grabbed everyone's attention. June looked over to see that the one calling out was the nurse from the Pokemon Center earlier. What would she be doing here?

"Oh, hey again Liz!" Brawly greeted the nurse, not questioning what she had been doing here.

The nurse, named Liz, had her eyebrows somewhat furrowed, crossing her arms. "I knew you'd forget a referee, and go off to catch some waves instead, so I'm here to make sure you do your job so this young girl here can get her badge." Brawly nervously chuckled in response. "Caught me red-handed."

With a referee to regulate the match, Brawly and June stood on opposite ends of the dojo. Avril, instead, sat on the edge of the battlefield, near where Liz was standing, with Poppy standing on her lap. She was definitely excited to see how that battle would go.

"Alright little dude." The gym leader cried out. "How many Pokemon do you have, and how many badges have you won?"

June, feeling somewhat nervous, answered. "Oh, well I have two Pokemon with me, and as for badges, well...I don't have any. As a matter of fact, I've never actually battled before."

"Don't sweat it little dude!" Brawly cheered. "We all start somewhere, and I'll use two of my Pokemon." He grabbed a Pokeball, getting ready to chuck it onto the ground.

"AHEM!" Liz let out. "But first, we need to start the formalities." She waved two flags up, a blue flag on Brawly's end, and a red flag on June's end.

"The battle between the Dewford Gym Leader, Brawly, and the challenger June...err, what's your full name dear?"

"Oh, well June is actually short for Junko Enomoto…"

"And the challenger Junko Enomoto is about to begin! Both sides may use two Pokemon in a singles format!" Liz then waved both flags downwards.

"BEGIN!"

"Come on June, you can do this!" Avril cheered, in sync with her Pokémon. June blushed in response, but was able to shake it off.

"Let's see who your first Pokemon will be!" Brawly shouted. June grabbed a Net Ball from her purse, thinking this would be her best bet.

"Go, Chip!" June tossed the Pokeball that let out a flash of light, quickly morphing into Chip the Wimpod. June noticed the white light looked like a fish net right before it escaped Chip's body.

"Wimpod, I see." Brawly noticed Chip shivering, able to detect how frightened it was. "You must have caught one from the beach, probably not too long ago."

"O-Oh, well I actually caught him this morning." June was taken aback by how accurate the gym leader's guess was. "How did you know?"

Avril couldn't help but think back at Orion's remarks, and grimaced. At least Brawly seemed to be much more laid-back.

"When you have as much experience as I do, you can infer these things through how Pokemon act." Brawly tossed a Pokeball of his own, releasing a short humanoid Pokemon that looked like it had an onion on it's head. On entrance, it sat in a meditating position with its eyes closed, then standing on two legs "So you said you've never battled, right?"

June nodded in response while examining his Pokemon.

"No biggie! Meditite here will teach Wimpod here to battle! Now then, what moves does Wimpod know?"

The brunette remembered the attack Chip used at the beach earlier, opening the 'Dex app on her PokeGear. "It says he knows Defense Curl, Sand Attack, Struggle Bug, and Aqua Jet. The last one is rare for Wimpod to learn."

"I see. Now then little dude, with those moves, how would you want to start a battle?"

June lightly tapped her lip while reading the entry for Aqua Jet. "I suppose I might want to start of by-"

"Not like that, little dude." Brawly interrupted, gently shaking his head. "Don't tell me. Show me!"

The tall girl appeared somewhat humiliated. "Oh, my bad. Um, Chip, use Aqua Jet!"

Chip was able to coat his body in water, dashing into Meditite's chest at a breakneck speed. Meditite was able to stand on its feet, only slightly sliding on the floor from the impact.

"Good job June!" Brawly praised. "Your PokeDex probably says this, but moves like Aqua Jet are so fast, they'll almost always hit first, but at the cost of not doing a lot of damage."

"Interesting…" June noted.

"Now let's see how you can react to this, Meditate, use Psycho Cut!"

Meditite summoned a long, sharp blade made up of psychic energy that was attached to it's right arm. It swiped it across Chip's body, knocking him back a bit.

June shrieked. "Chip, are you okay!?" Chip's shivering sped up a little, but still seemed alright.

"In battle, your opponent will have some deadly moves of their own, especially gym leaders. As a trainer, it's your job to figure out how to deal with this. Meditite, Psycho Cut again!"

"Defense Curl!" June ordered, glancing over at her PokeGear. Meditite swiped the blade again, but Chip managed to quickly roll up into a ball, his tough exoskeleton, which somehow seemed to grow thicker, was able to minimize the damage dealt by the slash. Meditite ran the blade across thrice more to no avail.

"Right on little dude!" Brawly gave a thumbs up. "You're getting the hang of it!"

"I-I am?" June, breathing heavily, reflected on the gym leader's praise. "That's right...I guess I am!"

"Yes!" Avril encouraged her once again. "Nicely done!"

"I think you're ready for the next level." As soon as he spoke, Meditite's blade disappeared. "Meditite, use Power Trick!"

On-command, Meditite sat down, crossing its legs, pinching it's fingers together, and closed its eyes. All June could do was watch, unsure of how to react. Meditite then jumped onto its feet, ready to fight again.

"Now, use Psycho Cut!" Doing as it's trainer commanded, Meditite summoned another psychic blade, this one larger and sharper than before. Meditite slashed at the rolled up Wimpod, dealing more damage than before, rolling Chip back about three feet.

June gasped. "How did…"

"Power Trick is a move that swaps the attack and defense stat of a Pokem." Brawly explained. "Always be on the lookout for these kinds of moves, they can make an opponent tricky to deal with!"

June worriedly gripped her PokeGear, thinking about which move to use next. Brawly took note of this, ordering another move from his Pokemon.

"High Jump Kick!"

The challenger looked up, seeing the Meditite use its strength to jump into the air. Meditite then began to fall from the air, arcing towards Chip while sticking it's leg out. Avril grimaced from the side of the field: it wasn't going that well for June, it seemed.

June gasped again, remembering a move that Chip knew that might be useful. "Chip, use Sand Attack!"

With his tiny legs, Chip kicked up as much sand on the tatami mat that was within his immediate range. Instead of kicking it towards Meditite, as the move was usually used, instead the Wimpod created a cloud of dust that made him basically invisible.

Medidite's eyes widened while it was on a crash course towards the dust cloud.

"Yes! Now what if we try this- Use Aqua Jet!" Chip launched out of the dust cloud, and into the air, targeting Meditite.

"From behind!..If you can at least!"

Chip was able to move behind the falling Pokemon, then crashing into it's back. The impact caused Meditite's falling speed to increase, knocking it unconscious.

Liz waved up the blue flag. "Meditite is unable to battle! This round goes to June's Wimpod!"

June's face lit up with joy. "Oh my gosh! I'm so proud of you Chip!" Chip opened his eyes to notice the fainted Meditite next to it, his shaking somewhat alleviated. "Uhm, congrats June!" Avril cheered, first timidly, but quickly gaining confidence. "That was a great move!"

"Way to go, little dude! But we're not done just yet!" Brawly tossed his second Pokeball onto the ground, releasing another bright light. The light morphed into something larger than Meditite, about the size of a small human. It was shaped like a human too, being very muscular, and...was it wearing briefs?

June thought this Pokemon looked familiar. "Is this a Machamp? I thought they had four arms."

"Nah little dude, this is Machoke, but he evolves into Machamp." Machoke continuously flexed as Brawly explained. "You wouldn't wanna fight a Machamp!"

Chip was scared nonetheless, as his shivering picked up. Avril took a closer look at Brawly's second Pokémon as well. "I wouldn't want to fight this, let alone a Machamp!"

"You can do it Chip! Use Aqua Jet!" June could feel her confidence rising.

Chip followed his orders, again covering his body, darting toward Machoke's torso.

"Machoke, use Vital Throw!"

Right before the Wimpod was able to hit his target, Machoke used both of his hands to grab Chip, stopping him in his tracks. The challenger couldn't help but gasp. The Machoke then began spinning around.

"Chip, no!"

After spinning around just twice, Machoke flung the Wimpod onto the ground a few feet away. Chip's hardened exoskeleton allowed him to resist the damage, but regardless, he turned around and scurried toward June. Before his trainer was able to process what was going on, he transformed into a small red laser that was sucked through the Net Ball. Without June's input, Einstein had been sent out of his Pokeball.

Einstein cheered on entrance, but slowly backed away when seeing his opponent.

"...Well, um, it looks like it's Einstein's turn to battle, I guess."

Brawly grinned at the larva Pokemon. "I think you have the hang of basic battling strategy that you could do this with a different Pokemon. Let's see what you can do!"

"Go Einstein! You got this!" Avril encouraged it in the meantime.

June nodded. "Okay Einstein, use Supersonic!" Einstein shot sound waves out of its mouth that were directed towards Machoke.

Unfortunately for the challenger, Einstein's nervousness made it difficult for him to successfully land the Supersonic.

"Always keep an eye out for openings like this!" Brawly shouted. "Machoke, Bullet Punch!"

Machoke seemed to disappear in the blink of an eye, and in less than a second, his fist was dug into the Blipbug's head.

"Einstein!"

The Blipbug was knocked into the wall from the impact, while Brawly seemed displeased with the performance of his Pokemon.

"Let's tone it down a bit. Machoke, Power Trick." Machoke sighed, flexing, as it's muscles glowed a bright orange. June didn't notice, as her head was turned away from the action.

"Einstein! Are you alright!?"

The Blipbug was able to stand, and inched away from the wall. He nodded in response to his trainer.

"Oh my goodness Einstein! I was so worried!" June held up Einstein's Park Ball. "Return, you've had enough for no-"

Einstein shook his head, and held one of his limbs out. Something about his expression and tone of voice indicated some level of sorrow.

"Einstein, are you sure you want to keep battling?" The larva Pokemon nodded, determined to overcome the challenge at hand.

"Well, alright." June reluctantly agreed. She'd switch out back to Chip, but she had never seen Einstein this determined.

"I appreciate the determination." Brawly nodded, noticing how the Blipbug's eyes flashed bright pink, more than usual for a Blipbug. "But your trainer is right, never hesitate to switch if needed. However, if you've made up your mind we can't change it, so then use another Bullet Punch, Machoke!"

June grimaced, expecting the worst. At the speed of sound, Machoke was about to swing another Bullet Punch at Einstein, and even with Power Trick, it's possible her Blipbug might still faint.

"Einstein, look out!"

Machoke's fist was three inches away from Einstein's face, likely going to end the battle. Despite this, Einstein completely braced itself, it's eyes continuously flashing an increasingly brighter pink. Right before Bullet Punch was able to land-

"Wh- Einstein!? Are you-" In-front of June, Machoke's fist collided with a bright light that held the same exact shape as a Blipbug that stood in Einstein's spot. Avril stood up from her seat, trying to see better, now holding Poppy in her hands.

"A-Are you evolving!?"

Machoke backed away, and the shape of the light became less worm-like, and more blob-like. Its size, however, stayed the same.

Eventually the bright light faded away, revealing the blob-like shape to be a yellow shell with blue polka dots, and under the shell rested an orange body with blue feelers, and cyan eyes. It stood on four stubby legs.

June gleamed at the Pokemon in an absolute state of awe. "Einstein I-I don't believe it! You evolved into a Dottler!" She quickly pulled out her PokeGear to see what new moves Einstein learned. "I knew it! Now that you evolved, that means you know-"

"Dual Chop!" June looked up, seeing Machoke charging towards the Dottler, crossing his arms in-front of his chest. She had to act fast.

"Oh! Um, Reflect!" At the command of his trainer, the blue dots on Einstein's shell flashed a bright pink, summoning a rectangular force-field in-front of him. Machoke ran up to the force-field, swiping his arms across the Dottler, but the field had rubber-like properties which halted the momentum of the attack. While it still landed, the damage dealt had lessened, and Machoke bounced back from the rubber-like shield.

Brawly grinned. "Nicely done, little dude! But let's see how you handle full-strength! Power Trick again!"

Machoke menacingly smirked, flexing his muscles which glowed orange. "Now use Bullet Punch!" In a split second, Machoke launched his knuckle into Einstein's face, but the field yet again slightly knocked the humanoid Pokemon back. June noticed this, and something Brawl said echoed through her mind.

"Always keep an eye out for openings like this!"

Something about this felt relevant for the short period of time Machoke bounced back from the attack.

"Dual Chop!"

She didn't have a lot of time to ponder on this. Even if Reflected halved the damage done by melee attacks, she could tell Einstein still took damage.

Machoke swiped it's arms across the field, and was pushed back from the recoil.

"Einstein! Supersonic!" While it wasn't clear where exactly the noise came from, Einstein shot a sound-wave at Machoke, however this attempt was successful. Machoke began stumbling around, indicating he was confused.

"Now Einstein, use Confusion!" The Einstein's dots flashed pink again, shooting psychic waves at the Machoke. Due to its super effective damage, Machoke was knocked back into a wall.

"Great job little dude!" Brawly praised, and withdrew his Pokemon. "Seems my work here is done." Avril looked at Brawly with surprise, not sure what to expect.

June blinked rapidly, confused about the gym leader's decision. "Wait, but why did you send your Pokemon back? Wasn't he your last Pokemon."

Brawly nodded. "You're right. I'm forfeiting." Avril blushed at those words, as she looked happily towards June.

"BRAWLY, THE GYM LEADER, HAS FORFEITED THE MATCH! JUNE IS THE WINNER!" Liz waved up the red flag.

"Forfeiting? But why?" June seemed both received and disappointed.

"I did my job as a gym leader, and that was to teach little dudes such as yourself. I think you've picked up on my lesson well."

"Lesson?" The brunette tapped her lip. "What lesson?"

"When you battled against my Meditite, you were able to intentionally get her to miss High Jump Kick, and that always hurts the user if they miss. And you picked up on how to look for openings in battle when Machoke kept bouncing back from Reflect! I've taught you well!" Brawly walked over to the challenger, holding a Knuckle Badge in one hand, and 5,000 Pokedollars in the other. "Little dude, it is my honor to bestow upon you the Knuckle Badge, and 5,000 Pokedollars as your prize money."

June simply smiled. "Thank you. I appreciate it." She grabbed both, and kneeled over to make eye contact with the newly-evolved Einstein.

"But especially thank you! The pokedex said you were able to evolve for a long-time now, so it's nice to finally see you evolve!"

June paused, waiting for a response. The Dottler stood completely silent.

"Oh right, now that you're a Dottler I guess you don't move much at all, heh…I guess if you want me to carry you again, I'll have to pick you up without you jumping into my arms." She attempted to lift Einstein off the ground, but his new weight caused June to quickly drop him. Einstein was completely unphased.

June sighed. "I guess you're too heavy to do that now, huh?" She withdrew Einstein to his Park Ball. "Thanks for helping me get my first badge, at least."

Avril walked closer to the other girl, now that the coast was clear. "Y-you did amazing! That battle was very intense."

"O-Oh it wasn't that impressive." June blushed.

Avril then turned to Brawly and looked at him for a moment. He was just handing out his two Pokémon who had already battled to the care of Liz, seemingly getting ready to leave the Gym again… it felt like a "now or never" moment.

If she was really feeling that good, she had to try and do something that on normal days, she wouldn't have even attempted. Poppy herself was eager to battle, and perhaps Angie was too, from inside her Pokéball.

"Uhm, B-Brawly," Avril said, a scared expression soon giving its way to a smile. "I'd like to challenge you as well!"

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

Chip grew to level 12!
Einstein grew to level level 18!
Einstein evolved into Dottler
Einstein learned Confusion!
Einstein learned Reflect!
Einstein learned Light Screen!

Edison Kintobor
Sunday, September 20th, morning
Dewford Island, Granite Cave

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Natsuko Soyokaze
Sunday, September 20th, morning
Dewford Town, Resort Cove

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Sunny Dey
Sunday, September 20th, late morning
Dewford Island, Granite Cave

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Connor Bleu
Saturday, September 19th, late morning
Dewford Island, Granite Cave
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In the late morning, Connor was lagging behind on his tour of Granite Cave. 'This place is kinda cool!' he said in his head. The Pokemon ranger that he was following, talked about the different evolutionary stones that could be found deeper inside of the cave. They had planned on going no further than the fifteenth floor, for now. As they walked, Sheldon - Connor's Squirtle - had popped out of his Pokeball.

"Sheldon? What are you doing outside of your Pokeball?" Connor asked. "Squirtle, squirt, squirt, Squirtle" Sheldon replied, as he ran up ahead to catch back up to the group. "H-hey! Don't run off! You could get lost in the cave system!" Connor yelled after them as they caught up to the group. The Pokemon ranger was talking about a stone that he had brought along with him, "This is a Water stone. I only brought this one to tell you a few facts about it and to show you what stones to look out for while we're in the caves." Connor listened attentively, before another conversation had grabbed his attention. To his left, Connor saw a couple, a woman and a man. They seemed to be talking about some stones that they had found a while ago. "Hmm... I wonder what they mean by these Key Stones" Connor said to himself, and as he turned to approach them, the couple had also turned away and made their way off somewhere. Connor glanced back at the Pokemon ranger, who was finishing up talking about the water stone and was preparing to move on with the tour.

As the group continued with the tour, Connor had followed the couple and ventured down the same way they went. Sheldon followed, albeit worried about getting lost in the dark. Especially when Connor knows that he's already afraid of the dark. Sheldon stayed close to Connor, practically stepping on his heels. "I wonder which way those two went. Maybe they could take us to the stone, huh?" he said to Sheldon.

As they continued down the pathway, Connor noticed that it started to get darker. Connor stopped and thought for a moment, 'Hmm... I don't wanna get lost down here. But, at the same time, I really want to find out what stone those two were talking about. What to do, what to do?' As he thought, Sheldon had felt a tap on his shoulder, prompting him to look behind him, but he saw nothing there. "Squirtle, squirt!" he said, trying to get Connor's attention. "Huh? What is it Sheldon?" Connor asked, looking behind him. "Sheldon, it's not nice of you to break my concentration. I'm trying to decide something here" he said, returning to his thoughts. Sheldon, meanwhile, kept his guard up and was looking out for anything strange.

Finally, Connor had made his decision, and ventured deeper into the dark. "What do you think we'll find down here, Sheldon?" Connor asked, "Squirt, squirtle, squirt" Sheldon replied, lowering his guard just a little. Suddenly, they could hear the sounds of metal clanging together. "What's that noise?" Connor asked out loud, before heading off to go find out what was going on. As he rounded a corner, Connor saw only flashes of light from two Aron, battling each other. "OK" Connor said, as he pulled out his Pokedex and scanned over the Aron. "Aron, the Iron Armor Pokemon. This Pokemon has a body made of steel. To make this special armor, they eat the iron ore that they diug up in the mountains. Though, they can cause quite a lot of trouble by eating bridges and rails." The two Aron were really only using Headbutt against each other. "Sheldon, what do you think we should do?" Connor asked, looking at where he assumed his Squirtle was. "Squirt, squirtle, squirt" he replied. As they lingered by the corner, a new Pokemon had came onto the scene, and had planed to have some fun with Connor and his Pokemon. As Connor watched the battling, he felt the stinging pain of a pebble bouncing off of his head. "Ow!" he said, turning back and seeing the most beautiful pair of gemstones, floating in the air. "What's that?" he asked, pulling out his Pokedex again. "Sableye, the Darkness Pokemon. Sableye lead quiet lives deep inside caver- No Pokemon entry found" it had stopped scanning abruptly. Connor looked up from his Pokedex and saw the same gemstones, leaving. "Hey! Wait for us!" he said, returning Sheldon to his Pokeball and chasing after the Sableye. 'A Sableye, huh? Sounds interesting!' he said to himself as he ran after the Sableye.

Eventually, Connor found himself lost in the massive cave system. "I lost it. Dangit!" he said, as he sat down on a nearby rock and tried to catch his breath. "What now? I'm lost and in the dark." he said, pulling out his PokeGear for a little bit of light. Sheldon had popped out of his ball again and comforted Connor. "Thanks for the company Sheldon. But, now that we're lost... How are we going to find our way out of here?!" he shouted in frustration. Sheldon had hopped into his trainer's lap and started ranting at him "Squirtle! Squirt, squirtle, squirtle!" he shouted in his trainer's face. However, with all of the shouting, another Pokemon was being attracted to the scene. The thuding steps of something heavy was coming towards Connor and Sheldon, and they could feel it. "Wait, Sheldon... Do you feel that?" Connor asked, trying to shine some light in the area around them. The steps soon felt heavier and faster, as Connor saw the glint of steel charging right at him. "What is that?!" he asked, as he jumped out of the way. The cave shook as a large Pokemon headbutted into the wave. Connor had pulled his Pokedex out and scanned it; "Lairon, the Iron Armor Pokemon, and the evolved form of Aron. Lairon tempers its steel body by drinking highly nutritious mineral springwater until it is bloated. This Pokemon makes its nest close to springs of delicious water." "This one must NOT like having us in its territory. Let's get out of here" Connor said, as he made his escape, with the Lairon chasing after him for a while.

By this time, Connor was very tired and didn't want to be in the caves anymore. He was really starting to freak out. "OK. So, we're lost. In the dark. With no direction, or clear way of getting out... We're doomed" he said, dropping to his knees. Sheldon tried to comfort him again, but was failing. "I don't want comfort right now, Sheldon. I just want to get out of here!" he said. Suddenly, Connor saw the sparkling gemstones again. With a gasp, he ran after what he saw! "Get back here! I'm lost because of you!" he said, following the Sableye around a corner, with Sheldon chasing after his as well. The Sableye seemed to be leading them somewhere. "Sheldon, Water Pulse!" Connor shouted, as Sheldon formed an orb of pressurized water in his mouth, before firing it off at the Sableye. Of course, with them all running, Sheldon's aim was off and he missed. The Sableye, now ready for a battle, had turned around and used Leer. Connor held his PokeGear out for light, as they battled. Sheldon shuddered at Sableye's leer, but shook away the feeling. "Withdraw, then Bite!" Connor said, while Sheldon retreated into his shell for a minute, then charged at the Sableye. It seemed as though Sableye, shared the same idea as it charged at Sheldon, and they both met with a Bite and a Scratch. Sheldon, however, managed to catch the Sableye by the arm and toss it into the air. "Now, Water Pulse!" Sheldon, fired another sphere of pressurized water at Sableye, landing a direct hit. "Ha!" Connor cheered, as he threw a Pokeball at Sableye. A few seconds went by, before the Sableye popped out of the Pokeball. This battle wasn't going to be over that quickly.

Sableye had charged at Sheldon again, and landed a few good Scratches. "He's feisty. I like that. Withdraw and Bite!" Connor said, as Sheldon retreated into his shell. Sableye took this opportunity to attack, as three glowing orbs formed around it and fired off at Sheldon. As soon as Sheldon popped his head out of his shell, he was dazed. Everything look blurry and out of place to Sheldon. "Sheldon, are you alright?" Connor asked, and received a confused "Squirtle" from Sheldon. "Look out!" Connor shouted, as Sableye popped out of the shadows and hit Sheldon with Shadow Sneak! Sheldon rolled back a bit, but caught himself. "Water Pulse" Connor had said, while Sheldon fired another orb of water at the Sableye. However, thanks to the confusion, the Sableye managed to dodge and counter with another Scratch to Sheldon. "Try it one more time, Sheldon!" Connor instructed, worried about losing.

Finally, Sheldon's confusion wore off, as he delivered a successful Water Pulse to the Sableye. "Woohoo! Now, you're mine!" Connor said,m throwing another Pokeball at the Sableye. After a few minutes, the Pokeball stopped moving. "Yes! I caught it!" Connor cheered. Sheldon was laying on the ground, tired from the battle. "You did great, Sheldon. How about you get some rest, huh?" he said, returning Sheldon to his Pokeball, and went to pick up his new catch. "What to name you? ...How about, Rascal? I like that." Connor said to himself out loud, as he released Vale from his Pokeball. "Alright, Rascal. I ned your help getting out of here. You know this cave system way more than me or Sheldon. So, how about you get us out of here, huh?" he asked politely. Rascal sat there for a moment, before running past Connor, seemingly towards the exit. "Alright, slow down! I don't wanna get lost again!" he said, keeping up behind him.

After running for a little bit, Connor had emerged from Granite Cave's entrance. As he saw the light, Connor ran out of the cave's mouth and was back at its entrance, where the final group for the tour was waiting to go in. "Woah, there! Did you get lost in there?" the Pokemon ranger asked. Connor's cheeks flushed with embarrassment, "Y-yeah." Connoir said with a nervous chuckle. "I did. But, I got a new Pokemon out of it, so it wasn't that bad!" he said confidently. "Even still, you shouldn't have left your tour group. Going into the cave system by yourself can be dangerous! Don't do that again, young man" they said, scolding Connor. "Y-yes, I won't get lost again, next time" Connor said. The Pokemon ranger sighed and dismissed him, as he turned back to his group to get them ready. "Let that be a reminder to you all. Stick with the group and you'll be fine. Now, let's go find us some stones!" he cheered, as the tour group left to go explore the cave.

Connor, meanwhile, had brought Sheldon out of his ball. "Sheldon, meet our newest member, Rascal!" he said, enthusiastically. Sheldon had acted friendly towards Rascal, who snickered to themself. Overhead, a flock of Taillow had flew through the sky. "Hmm... Well, let's head back to Dewford Town. I saw that they have Pokemon contests here and I wanna see one" Connor said, as he put Rascal back into his Pokeball and heading back to Dewford Town with Sheldon.

Connor Bleu
Saturday, September 19th (5 P.M.)
Dewford Island, West Wilds
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After the incident at Granie Cave, Connor had made his way back to Dewford Town.

"Well, we got ourselves a new teammate, Sheldon. what do you think about them?" he asked, releasing Rascal, his newly caught Sableye, from his Pokeball. heldon had walked over to Rascal and stretched his hand out to him, introducing himself. Rascal's impish nature, however, prompted him to push Sheldon onto his back and spin him around. "Squuuiirtle!! Squirt- Squirtlllee!" Connor laughed at Sheldon for a moment, before helping him back onto his feet. "I'm sorry for laughing, Sheldon" Connor apologized, as Sheldon dusted himself off and crossed his arms at Connor. "Rascal, play nice" Connor said, as he headed towards the Pokemon Center. "How about we get a quick bite to eat, huh?" he had suggested, walking inside of the Center.

Turning to the left, Connor had gone towards the PokeCafe and sat outside on the patio. Sheldon and Rascal had sat in their seats as well. While Connor looked over the menu, Rascal was trying his hardest to maintain his composure. His eyes darted around the cafe, landing on the waiter, who approached Connors table.

"Hi. Welcome to Dewford Towns PokeCafe. I'm Jackson, and I'll be your waiter the afternoon. Can I start you off with something to drink?" Connor looked over the menu one last time before turning to Jackson. I'll have a fresh water with a slice of Sitrus berry in it. These tw will have regular fresh water." Jackson nodded as he walked away to get Connor's drinks. Connor looked over the patio's railing, watching the clouds roll by slowly. "Alright. I want to catch one more Pokemon before we go see the Pokemon Contest tonight. We only have an hour before it starts, so let's eat quickly!" he said, just as Jackson returned with his drinks.

After their drinks and a bite to eat, Connor had headed for the West Wilds' entrance, before he was stopped by a Pokemon Ranger. "Stop! Do you know where you're going?" he asked. Connor gave a slightly confused look before answering, "The forest?" The Pokemon Ranger, Phil, simply sighed and shook his head, before leading Connor to the Ranger station. Once inside, the Ranger had brought Connor to the front desk, where another Ranger stood at a PC. "This one almost went into the West Wilds, without even knowing what he was heading into" Phil said. The Pokemon Ranger behind the desk, Dan, sighed and rested his elbows on the counter. "Can I see you Trainer ID, please?" he asked.

Connor fished his PokeGear from his pocket and gave it to the Dan. "Phil, tell him what he needs to know, while I check his ID" Dan said, as he started typing on the PC. Phil cleared his throat before speaking, "Alright. What you need to know is that Dewford Island is divided in half by a six-foot-deep, ten-foot-high rock wall. West of this wall is wilderness, left alone by tourists and residents alike. The only people who regularly visit the western half are us, Rangers. Licensed trainers are welcome to explore, though they must check in at the Rangers' Station beforehand as the number of humans allowed in at once is limited. Oh! And don't climb any trees while in the wilds, please."

"Alright, Connor. Everything's in order. Here's your PokeGear and you are now cleared to train in the West Wilds" Dan said from behind the counter, as Connor 'thanked' them both and left the station.

After heading inside of the West Wilds, Connor soon heard the sounds of heavy blows landing nearby. "What's that sound?" he asked aloud, as he went to investigate. "Maku! Hita!" the cries of a Pokemon were getting louder. Connor soon came upon the scene of two different Pokemon battling. One was yellow and fatter, while the other was green and skinnier. "Wow" Connor said as he scanned them both with his Pokedex.

"Makuhita, the Guts Pokemon. Makuhita is tenacious - and will keep getting up and attacking its foe however many times it is knocked down. Every time it gets back up, this Pokemon stores more energy in its body for evolving" it read as it scanned Makuhita, before Connor moved on to the other Pokemon. "Treecko, the Wood Gecko Pokemon. Treecko have small hooks on the bottom of their feet that enable them to scale vertical walls. This Pokemon attacks by slamming foes with their thick tails."

The two Pokemon had clearly been battling for a while, as they were both panting heavily. "Alright, Rascal! Use Shadow Sneak on Treecko!" Connor shouted, as Rascal had jumped out of his Pokeball and turned into a shadowy form of itself, before lunging at Treecko.

Treecko had been hit with a critical attacks it skidded a few feet away, and stopped under direct light. "Now, Confuse Ray!" Connor said, as Rascal shot three glowing orbs at Treecko. However, Treecko had already managed to jump high above Rascal, and use Quick Attack, as it jumped off of a tree's trunk. "Treecko!" it cried, as it landed a direct hit on Rascal, sending him flying a ways away. "Rascal1 Are you OK?" Connor asked, receiving a confident response from Rascal. "Alright, use Scratch!"

Rascal had lunged at Treecko again, with his claws ready. However, Treecko easily dodged and countered with a swift uppercut Pound. Rascal flew through the air but caught himself and land on his feet. "Rascal, use the terrain to you advantage! Jump from the trees and get an opening!" Connor instructed, as Rascal climbed up a tree and started jumping in between the others surrounding the area. Treecko, meanwhile, struggled to keep up with Rascal's movements, and so it copied Connor's strategy. Now, blurs of green and black dashed from tree to tree. However, Rascal had his own strategy. As he felt Treecko gaining on him, Rascal had transformed his body into its shadowy form, and freefell towards the ground. Treecko had followed Rascal as well, just as he had planned. Rascal smirked at Treecko as he used Shadow Sneak to fade out of the way and make Treecko faceplant on the ground.

Trecko landed face first in the dirt, as Rascal had appeared out of its shadow, triumphant. Connor had walked over and picked Rascal up. "You did amazing, Rascal! Good job!" he said, as he looked at the Treecko, who struggled to get up. "Hey, Treecko? Why don't you come with me?" Connor offered, holding a Pokeball out to it. Treecko looked at the Pokeball, before smacking it away . "Treecko! Tree, tree, Treecko!" it cried defiantly, as it stood up and prepared to walk away. However, Sheldon had came out of his Pokeball and walked over to Treecko. "Squirtle, Squirtle. Squirt, squirt, Squirtle" he said, trying to convince Treecko to go with them. Treecko still acted defiant, until it saw Sheldon's face. Almost instantly, Treecko had ran over to get Connor's Pokeball and returned it to him. "Oh Thank you" Connor said, preparing to put his Pokeball away. "Treecko! Treecko, cko!" Treecko cried. Connor looked at Treecko, who held their hand out to accept the Pokeball.

Connor smiled and held the Pokeball out to Treecko, who pushed the small button and allowed itself to get captured. Connor smiled and stood up, thrusting the Pokeball into the air and cheered. "Yes! I caught a Treecko!" he said, while Rascal sat down and caught his breath. 'You battled great, Rascal. How about you get some rest?"

"Alright. Maybe if I hurry, I can get to the Contest Hall before it starts" he said, as he checked the time. "5:47?! Crap!"

Connor hurried back to Dewfo Town, sprinting fo the Contest Hall, before he crashed right into a pedestrian girl. "Ouch! ...Are you alright?" he asked.

The girl, who was underneath Connor, looked up at him and blushed. "Um... H-hi?"

Connor Bleu
Saturday, September 19th (6 P.M.)
Dewford Island, Dewford Town
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Helping the young woman to her feet, Connor blushed and chuckled nervously. "Sorry about crashing into you. Are you alright?" he asked.

The young girl dusted herself off and sighed, "Yeah, I'm fine. But, you should really watch where you're going!" she scolded. "What's your name anyway?"

Connor blushed at the girl's scolding, but still answered. "I'm Connor. Nice to meet you" he said, holding his hand out to her. The girl looked at Connor's hand before shaking it with her own. "I'm Donna."

"So, where are you heading off to in such a hurry?" Donna asked, as they both walked down the streets of Dewford Town, towards the Contest Hall. "Well, I was out training and catching Pokémon, when I realized that I was about to miss tonight's contest at the Contest Hall" Connor replied.

"Really? I was heading to the performance too!" Donna said happily.

Soon, the two had reached the Contest Hall, where a few other people were heading inside. "So, should we go in together?" Connor asked, looking at Donna, who was slightly taller than him. "Sure! I've never gone to a contest with someone else" she replied, grabbing Connor by the wrist and leading him inside of the Contest Hall.

Inside of the hall, the lobby was filled with people buying tickets to the performance, while performers were led through another door to the side that led to backstage.

"Let's go get our tickets to the show" Donna said, taking her place in the ticket line.

Eventually, after receiving their tickets, Donna and Connor had made their way to their seats in the auditorium. "I've never been to a contest performance before" Connor said, admiring the room. "Really? Well you're in for a nice evening! The performances are always nice to look at and enjoy" Donna replied, just as the show began.

"Hello everyone! Welcome to Dewford Town's Contest Hall, and to tonight's performance. Tonight will feature three rounds of wonderful performances. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy!" the announcer said, as lights slowly turned on and revealed the first contestant.

The first contestant was a young girl with her Inkay. Her yellow dress was short and wide below her waist with white lace at the bottom. Accompanying her on stage was her happy-looking Inkay. "Alright, Inkay! Use Psywave!" she ordered.

Inkay's transmitters, above its eyes flashed as it released a multi-colored wave of psychic over the crowd. Ooh's and ash's could be heard in the crowd around Connor and Donna.

Connor reached up to touch the brilliant colors above him, as it faded away. When he looked back at the contestant and their Inkay, he found that their performance was over.

"A brilliant performance from our first contestant!" the announcer said through the loud speakers. As another contestant appeared on stage. This one was male and dressed in a classy black tuxedo, along with his Torkoal who wore a black bow tie.

"Torkoal, use Smokescreen" he ordered, as a plume of thick black smoke billowed from the openings on his Torkoal's shell. "Now, use Fire Spin!" he said.

Torkoal had retreated its body into its shell and started to spin, as flames poured out from the openings in its shell.

On stage, a mix of fire and smoke had formed into a forex around Torkoal and its trainer. Connor and Donna watched as the flames danced in a spiral motion along with the smoke, before disappearing.

After many more performances, the contest was over and the winner was just about to be announced. "Now, we've been waiting all night for this moment" the announcer said, as the contestants lined up on stage.

"The most wonderful performer will get to move on to the next round. Now, let's see who got the best score from our judges!" the announcer said.

After the scores were assigned and the winner was chosen, Connor and Donna had left Dewford Town's Contest Hall and went to the Pokémon Center.

"Well, I guess I'll see you around, huh, Donna?" Connor asked, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

"Yeah, I guess. Maybe we could even go see another contest sometime?" Donna replied.

"Yeah. Good night, Donna" Connor said, as he went to go check in with the nurse and get his room key.

Donna headed home for the night, while Connor went to sleep in his room with all three of his Pokémon out of the balls.

Donna Logan
Saturday, September 19th (8 P.M.)
Dewford Island, Littleroot Passage
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Donna was on her way home from a night at the Contest Hall with her new friend Connor. However, something caught her attention. There was a sign, right in front of her that read; 'Moonlight Tours! Come see the wonderful shipwrecks of the past and the Pokemon living around them.' Dona thought for a moment, "Hmm... The night is still young" she said, thinking it over carefully.

Finally, Donna made her decision. "Fine. We'll go on one ride, Donna" she said, making her way towards the docks where two tour boats waited.

The ticket line was a bit long, with even people in front of her. "Looks like everybody wants to go for a ride right now" she said, just as her Pokemon, Alita, appeared on Donna's shoulder, "Taillow!" she cheered in greeting. Oh! Hi, Alita. What are you doing outside of your Pokeball?" Donna asked, moving with the line.

Alita hopped onto her trainer's arm and waited for their turn to get a ticket.

After a few ore minutes, Donna made it to the cashier, "Good evening, miss. Here to enjoy an evening's boat ride?" the cashier asked jokingly. Yes, I am Donna replied, fishing out the $2,500 required fee for a ticket. After taking and counting her money, the cashier printed out a fresh ticket and gave it to Donna "Enjoy you ride!" the cashier said to her, as Donna stepped onto the tour boat.

Soon, they were on their way northeastward. "Good evening everyone! I'm Priscilla, your tour guide, and welcome to Moonlight Tours. We are going to check out some of the most wonderful sights tonight. With plenty of Pokemon for you to see and amazing shipwrecks to show you!" Priscilla said.

Donna was busy looking out to see at a few Wailmer that were breaching for air. "Majestic Pokemon. Don't you think so, Alita?" Donna asked, receiving a chirp in response.

Soon, the tour boat had made its way to a nice shipwreck with Remoraid and Chinchou swimming beneath its glassy underside. "Now, if you'll look beneath us, this shipwreck has been here for about sixteen whole years! The S.S. Rapidash, a luxury yacht that sank by an angry Tentacruel. The owner, managed to escape with his guests and crew unscathed, but the yacht was lost and destroyed. There are some rumors that say the Tentacruel still lives inside of it."

Donna wathed as the sunken yact left her view. "This is nice. Im glad we came on this boat ride, Alita" she said, before raising her hand. "Excuse me, will we be seeing any Wailmer or Wailord on this bat ride?" she asked. "Of course! Our next shipwreck actually has a few Wailmer hanging around it!" Priscilla said, directing the guests on the boat to look down, where two Wailmer swam below, revealing a small ship, half buried in the sand. "This ship was nicknamed the S.S. Wailmer, actually. After a runin with a Wailmer and Wailord migration, this boat was rocked and tipped over. Luckily, nobody was injured, and the Wailord that sunk the ship was caught! Though, were not sure why Wailer swim around it so much" she said, as the boat continued on.

Finally, they had reached their final stop. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are now approaching our final stop. This ship is our best sight on this tour and one of the most historical. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you; The Clampearl" Priscilla said, as the tour boat turnd and revealed a magnificent sight. A large ship, half submerged underwater, with the bow facing towards the sky.

Donna looked at it, enamored with this monument in the water. At the tip of the ship, a lone Pokemon sat, looking up at the moon. "What's that?" Donna asked herself out loud, pulling her Pokedex out to scan it. "Inkay, the Revolving Pokemon. Opponents who stare at the flashing of the light-emitting spots on its body become dazed and lose their will to fight."

"Alita, go try and make friends with it, quickly!" Dona said, as Alita flew off. Once at the tip of the ship's bow, Alita perched right next to the Inkay and chirped happily.

Startled, the wild Inkay jumped up and immediately used Psywave, landing a surprise hit on Alita!

From the water, Donna saw this and shouted, "Hey! Alita, use Quick Attack and strike back!"

With a beat of her wings, Alita flew right at the wild Inkay. But, was quickly countered with a well-timed Foul Play from Inkay!

"Focus Energy, then use Peck!" Donna ordered, as Alita flew in an arcing motion and came around the wild Inkay, with her beak glowing white. "Taillow!" Alita cheered.

The wild Inkay, however, returned Alita's Peck with its own and used Psywave again.

Luckily, Alita flew up and dodged both attacks. "Now, counter it with Quick Attack!" Donna said. Alita flew straight at the wild Inkay, and took it down with her wing, pushing it into the water.

"Alright. Now I'll catch it when it comes back up!' she said, holding a Pokeball in her hand, ready to throw it.

Eventually the wild Inkay had came back up from underwater, ready to keep battling.

"Alita, Fcus Energy, then Quick Attack from behind! Donna ordered, as golden particles of energy sank into Alita, empowering her. Then, Alita flew straight as an arrow, right into the Inkay from behind, landing a critical hit.

Now, you're mine!" Donna shouted, as she threw the Pokeball. Floating on the water's surface, Alita waited above, while Donna waited on the boat. Finally, after a few minutes, the ball sat still on the water. Donna had caught the Inkay!

"Alita, bring it here" Donna said, as Alita grabbed the Pokeball and brought it to her trainer.

After the battle, Priscilla spoke "What a way to conclude our tour, huh? Alright folks, strap yourselves back in as I tell you all about this shipwreck and e head back to Dewford Town."

Satisfied, Donna looked at the Pokeball in her hands. "I caugh a Pokemon. y first real catch!" she said, excitedly.

As they reached the dcks, Donna stepped off of the boat, satisfied with her night, when a voice called to her. "Hey! Hey, miss!"

Donna looked back and saw the cashier, smiling and waving at her. "Oh!" she said, as she walked over to him. "Hello, again" Donna greeted.

"You look like you enjoyed the boat ride. How was it?" he asked. Donna looked at her Pokeball before smiling at the cashier, "It was great! I caught a new Pokemon, too!"

"Really? Well, let's see it!" the cashier replied.

"Inkling, come say hello!" Donna said, tossing her Pokeball into the air, releasing her new Inkay; Inkling.

"An Inkay? Nice catch! the cahsier complimented, giving Donna a thumbs up.

After a small conversation, Donna walked back home with her Pokemon and went to bed happily. Who knew what tomorrow had in store.

Natsuko Soyokaze
Sunday, September 20th, late morning
Dewford Island, Granite Cave

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Edison Kintobor
Sunday, September 20th, late morning
Dewford Island, Granite Cave

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Edison Kintobor
Sunday, September 20th, early afternoon
Dewford Island, Granite Cave

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