[PKMN FULL] TRAINERS (IC)

It had been a pleasant Saturday morning for Gwen, just perfect for her to go grocery shopping. Lavender Town had a notable market square, from which she bought some food and ingredients not commonly found in Kanto.

As a kid living in Unova, grocery shopping was always dreadful to her, especially when her family would always go during the weekend, and, while at least not cutting into Detective Greedent's air time, was still pretty dreadful for the Unovian trainer.

Since she'd been buying her own groceries since Cerulean, however, something about it was enjoyable. Grocery shopping seemed to be less torture when you actually got to pick out your own meals.

These thoughts lingered on her mind, eventually overtaking her thoughts to the point where she was aimlessly wandering Lavender.

"Excuse me, Miss! Would you like to sign the petition to save the REAL Lavender Town gym going?"

With someone sticking a clipboard in her face, Gwen had no choice but to pay attention to her surroundings. "W-w-wait, is the electric gym in t-t-t-trouble?"

The person holding the clipboard, a young woman slightly older than Gwen, didn't appear too happy with her response, furrowing her eyebrows. "Oh, of COURSE not- Why would a rich boy ever be in any sort of trouble? That's why I said the real Lavender gym, the Pokemon Tower right here!"

Gwen followed the young woman's gesture to the old tower she stood in front of, to which the Unovian trainer raised an eyebrow.

"W-wait, I thought there already was a gym? I'm confused…"

"Beaumont's dad bought his way into the league." The young woman sneered. "He pales in comparison to our very own Leader Jarmie and her ghost Pokemon!"

Gwen's eyes lit up. "Did you say ghost Pokemon?"

The young woman noticed the black haired girl's enthusiasm, and decided to capitalize on it. "Why yes, GHOSTS, certainly something you won't see everyd- Hey, where'd my clipboard go?"

She looked around to see her clipboard had been snatched away from her by Gwen, who already handed it back as soon as she noticed. "Can I battle the gym leader!? I've always WANTED to battle the ghost gym in Nacrene, but I'm not in Unova right now, so-"

"Alright, alright, enough! If you want to battle Jarmie, follow me!"

Gwen followed the seemingly nameless woman through the tower, and up to the second floor. Her excitement came to a breaking point as she walked up the creaking stairs.

"Jarmie, we have a new signature and a new challenger today!" The young woman shouted as they reached the second floor.

Gwen noticed another young woman, dark olive skin, short black hair exposing her golden, dangling earrings, and wore a purple and lavender kimono that was adorned with a Duskull pattern.

"Good job, Keiko!" Jarmie called out, then shifting her attention to Gwen. "So challenger, what's your name!"

"My name is Gwen Alanis!" The Cape Trainer smirked "You may have heard about my sister, Jennifer Alanis!"

Jarmie appeared to recall the name she just heard. "I don't think I have. But that's not relevant, I'm here to test your strength as a gym leader!"

What does she mean, my strength? The black haired girl thought. Shouldn't hearing about my sister set a precedent for how strong I am? Oh well.

"Now Gwen, this is how we do things here." Jarmie announced, holding up a Pokeball. "Before we start, I'm going to announce what Pokemon I'm going to use in the exact order I send them out. I'll start out with…"

Jarmie then tossed the Pokeball, sending out a Golett. "Golett right here. I'll then use Lampent. Now you tell me what two Pokemon you'll use, in whatever order."

The Cape trainer looked as if she was about to shriek with excitement at the sight of the Pokemon, but rapidly shook her head to refocus.

Focus. Alright, so she because she uses ghost Pokemon… I'd use Bead but he doesn't have any good ghost type attacks. Tusk and Jess both know Bite, and that should help me out a lot.

"Alright!" Gwen called out. "I'm going to use my Axew and Ekans!" Examining Golett and his body-type, Tusk seemed like a good choice to use Doryu's training on.

"Starting out with Axew! Go, Tusk!"

Tusk was sent onto the battlefield, holding his left arm over the other, legs apart. It was still pretty sloppy looking, but Gwen was confident enough that it didn't bother her.

"And one more thing Gwen, I take music requests! So if you want to listen to something while we battle, now's your chance.

"Well… Y'know, I REALLY like this one group called Hundred Ge-"

"Nope!" Jarmie interrupted. "Trash! Bottom of the music barrel! We're listening to what I want!"



While Jarmie's music taste wasn't exactly what Gwen wanted, the song she chose was pretty pleasing to her ears.

"Keiko! You know you're supposed to referee!"

"Oh right, right, sorry Leader Jarmie!" Keiko scurried over to a spot that was far enough from the action to avoid getting hit, but close enough to still get a good look at everything. "Um… Am I supposed to say the thing?"

"JUST START THE BATTLE ALREADY!"

"Ohh, yes Leader Jarmie! Uh, begin!"

With the referee's announcement, Golette launched itself towards Tusk, fist first, just as he had anticipated. Golette's fist was right about to hit the Axew, but Tusk stopped his opponent by using his right claw to grab the underside of Golette's arm, jamming his elbow into the other side of its arm.

Alright! We got this under control, this should be easy!

Right as she had gotten cocky, Golette used his stubby feet to kick thick mud at Tusk, loosening his grip, before letting go entirely. The mud blast had reached into the Axew's eyes, blurring his vision, and opening him up for a Shadow Punch to the gut, knocking him back as Tusk did his best to stand his ground, skidding across the floor.

"Damnit! Uh, Tusk, use Dual Chop!"

"KEW KEW!"

With his stance gone and mud still in his eyes,
Tusk rushed up to his foe, bearing his claws which had been surrounded in dragon energy. He was able to strike Golett's left, but his second jab was interrupted as a Shadow Punch clocked Tusk straight in the face, knocking him down on his back.

Tusk still had some fight in him, enough to stand up back on his two feet, but didn't even attempt to use what Doryu had taught him. Instead, he breathed heavily and aggressively, a type of anger present in his face that Gwen had never seen.

"Tusk, use-"

"KYEEEEEEEEEEW!" Gwen was cut off by her Pokemon letting unleashing a loud, blood-curling roar, unlike any she heard from the Axew. Without any input from his trainer, Tusk's right claw was surrounded with purple static that appeared stronger than the Dual Chop he used a moment ago.



Tusk, deeply enraged, used all the power his tiny legs muscles contained to rush the short distance to get closer to Golett, and used his claw to scratch across Golett's chest. With Axew at point-blank range however, Golett was once again able to quickly jam it's fist into Tusk's face, and followed up by kicking mud at him while Tusk lied on his back again.

"Tusk! What the fuck is wrong with you!? Uh, remember what Master Doryu said!"

Completely ignoring his trainer's commands, Tusk got back on his feet, getting ready to use another Dragon Claw. As more dragon energy exerted through his claws, however, Golett jumped up and down on the floor, causing a small quake that made the dragon-type lose his balance, and the automaton Pokemon used this to its advantage, flying yet another Shadow Punch at Tusk, this one able to knock Tusk back a few feet.

The Axew again laid on the ground, but showed no intent of standing back up. It was clear he was down for the fight.

"Tusk is unable to battle!" Keiko announced.

Frustrated, Gwen retreated her Pokemon, only having one option left, and with a type disadvantage no less.

"Jess, you're my last hope! You can do this!"

As the white light from the Pokeball formed into an Ekans, as usual, Jess loudly hissed at her opponent and rattled her tail. Golett didn't show it, but the automaton Pokemon was intimidated enough to the point his attacks weren't as strong.

Golett's immediate fear was enough for Jess to get a head-start, and she shot a Poison dart directly at the ground-type- It didn't do a lot, but chip damage was still damage. After being struck by a weak ranged attack, Golett jetted forward, again propelling himself with a Shadow Punch that aimed for Jess' jaw. The incoming attack was predictable enough however, that Jess bit Golett's fist before she was able to be punched.

"Normally I'd use Wrap, but normal type moves don't effect ghost Pokemon." Gwen stated.

"You're decent at countering attacks, but let's see how you can handle this- Golett, shake Ekans off!"

With Jarmie's command, Golett rapidly shook the arm Jess biten onto, who only further sunk her teeth in response.

The arm swinging of the automaton Pokemon slowed down after it noticed a flash in Jess' eyes, eventually halting entirely while static pulsated through its body- He had been paralyzed.

"Yes! Now Jess, let go and use Acid!"

The poison-type leaped down to the ground, and hacked up an Acid that landed directly onto Golett, who was still unable to move. With Golett as a sitting Ducklett, Jess lunged forward and bit down on the automaton Pokemon's face, causing it to crash to the ground.

"Golett is unable to battle!"

"Not bad." Jarmie said, returning Golett to it's ball. "But I still got one Pokemon left, and we'll see how you'll struggle with him."

With a Pokemon she struggled with down, Gwen couldn't help but be a little cocky, flashing a grim that beamed her confidence. "Come on now! Show me your Lampent! We got this!"

Jarmie, having a smile of her own, tossed another Pokeball, which released a lantern Pokemon floating in the air.

"Jess, use Poison Sting!" Both Pokemon on the battlefield shot out a small projectile, Lampent firing an Ember, with both attacks colliding, canceling each other out and creating a small explosion. When the smoke cleared, Gwen noticed that Lampent had completely disappeared.

"What the- Where'd he go!?"

"Lampent, use Fire Spin!"

Seemingly out of nowhere, Jess was suddenly caught in the middle of a fire vortex, hissing in pain from the intense heat.

"Jess!! Gah, where that'd come from!?"

Gwen's attention was caught by the Lampent who appeared right in-front of the Fire Spin. Surprised, the Cape Trainer flinched.

"That was Minimize." Jarmie explained. "Seems I was able to throw you off."

"Shut up! Jess, uhh, use Poison Sting, or Arcid, something!"

The Ekans did her best to shoot a poison sting out of the vortex, but her attack was only burnt up by flames, which only grew stronger as Lampent continuously shot more Embers into it.

Things weren't looking so good for Gwen, and she knew it.

"Shit, what do I do!? Goddamnit, I wasn't expecting this! Her ranged attacks won't work, but, uhh, uhh, ARGHHH!!!! What the hell am I supposed to do!!

"Ekans is unable to battle! The winner is Leader Jarmie!"

Gwen snapped back to reality at Keiko's announcement. She wasn't sure how long her own anxiety consumed her consciousness, but apparently it was long enough to not notice Jess fainting from the heat.

Gwen stood in disbelief, watching the fire vortex surrounding Jess dissipate. This wasn't an official gym battle, but the loss deeply stung nonetheless.

"I lost… B-but, how could I lose, I was able to beat Beaumont…"

From the other side of the field, Jarmie scoffed. "There's a good reason for that. Tayloz is a phony. He goes way too easy on his opponents, it's pathetic."

The Unovian trainer could feel her fist tightening. "So are you saying that…" She took a deep breath to collect her thoughts. "You're saying I didn't deserve that win?"

"If our match was anything to go by, sounds about right."

Gwen could feel a knot in her stomach. Beaumont going easy made sense- Him sending out Magnemite against Pix, and his unnerving smile was probably a facade to hide his intent- but being faced with the confirmation of it hit like a truck.

"You have a long way to go." Jarmie stated. "You're unfocused, you're only prepared for a limited amount of scenarios, and you can't control your Pokemon very well. You're clearly not prepared to face the league. Tayloz should have done a better job at showing you that."

Hearing the gym leader's harsh words struck Gwen even harder, and was humiliated, facing the floor while her bangs hid her watery eyes. She kept this posture while she used the healing machine present in the tower, avoiding eye-contact with Jarmie and Keiko at all times.

As she exited the Pokemon Tower, many thoughts lingered on her mind. The thought that Jarmie might be right, and maybe she should give up her dream, but more than anything, one thought terrified her more than anything…

How would Jenny feel after hearing her younger sister lost to a "real" gym?

Gwen's team

I still don't believe it… Beaumont just handed me a win...

Even as she stuffed her face with hot dogs, Gwen couldn't stop thinking about her loss against Jarmie, and what she revealed about Beaumont Tayloz.

Her loss almost sent her to a depressive state, to which the Cape trainer tried remedying by eating lots of food from the cafeteria in the Pokemon Center. Tusk, who sat right next to her, followed suit, and was on his fifth or sixth hot dog. Pix and Custard had smaller servings of Pokemon food of their choice, whereas Jess and Bead didn't seem very interested in eating at all.

Even lacking any desire to eat, Bead still decided to float around the table outside of his ball, and could feel the pain Gwen buried with food. He could tell his trainer's defeat was a lot for her to deal with, and Bead wanted to do whatever he could to cheer her up.

"MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISDREAAAAAAAAAAAAAA…"

Finishing up her hot dog, Gwen turned around and was greeted with Bead's face at an uncomfortably close range with his tongue sticking out.

"Bead, you should know Astonish won't work on me. Besides, I'm trying to eat, I need to eat lots so I can grow stronger!"

Gwen nabbed another hot dog sitting on the table, getting ready to eat it, but it was snatched away by the ghost Pokemon.

"Hey! I was gonna eat that!"

With the hot dog in his mouth, Bead shook his head. She already had three, and he sure as hell wasn't letting her eat a fourth.

"Ugh…I guess I ate enough anyways."

At least that mission was accomplished. Eating that much food couldn't have been good for his trainer.

Now that Gwen had gotten plenty to eat, she could feel pain manifest into a burning desire to get stronger.

"Now that I'm all pumped up, I'm gonna train a bunch and kick Jarmie's ass! I'll show her!"

...At least that's what she told herself. The reality that if she wanted to get to Saffron ASAP she'd have to put aside grudge matches started to sink in. Rematching Jarmie wasn't an option, at least not at the moment. Right now she needed to focus her efforts on Route 12, just south of Lavender.

Gwen had everything she needed, and all there was for her was to make her way to Route 12, only waiting on her Pokemon to finish their meals. Although with Tusk, who would know when he'd be full.

Gwen's team

Route 12 had some new sights at least.

The harsh waves hitting the rocky coast created a thundering sound that echoed throughout the open space. Perfect background noise for Gwen staring into space. She should be trekking South, but the wave noises were so relaxing to her that she just had to sit in some grass. Plus, the amount of hot dogs she ate might have contributed to her unwillingness to advance.

The sounds of nature helped alleviate her inner-tension at least, even if it was at the expense of progress.

Suddenly, without Gwen's consent, Bead let himself out of his Pokeball, doing his best to cheer her on. She might need to relax, but Bead felt it was his job to make sure his trainer achieved her goals.

"I dunno Bead, I'm not really feeling it right now."

The ghost-type cheered a little more aggressively, but his efforts seemed fruitless. He continued to attempt to motivate Gwen, but anything he did paled compared to what stole her attention.

"Bead! Look at that!" Gwen exclaimed, pointing behind her Pokemon. Bead turned around to see a long line of about twenty or thirty Wooper, all of them marching towards the sea together. Their marching was completely unsynchronized, adding a charm to it.

"That's so many Wooper in one place! They're so adorable!" Seeing the massive amount of water fish Pokemon gave her the energy to jolt to her feet. "Alright all you Wooper! My name is Gwen, and I'm gonna catch at least one of you! In fact, I might just try to catch ALL of you! Yeah, that sounds good!"

The only response the Wooper gave was collective blank stares, some neutral, some frowning, but most of them just kept smiling. "Now, which one of you wants to take me and my Pokemon o-"

Her arrogant cry was cut off by every Wooper simultaneously blasting a Water Gun directly into the Cape Trainer's face, knocking her down onto her back from the pressure. Bead floated down to her level to make sure she was alright.

"Yeah Bead, I'm fine...I think. I don't know if I've ever gotten hit with a water-type move before...Or, have I been hit by any Pokemon attacks at all?" Gwen could hear the Wooper pack marching away through the ground's vibrations. As much as she wanted to chase after them, getting hit by a few dozen blasts of pressurized water to the face was as demoralizing as much as it stung.

"Y'know, this doesn't seem like a bad spot to rest for a bit…" The Unovian trainer told herself, the soothing waves relaxing her. Added with her food coma and the pain from the Water Guns, she didn't plan to resist her increasingly heavy eyelids while her consciousness slowly drifted away. Bead tried using countless Astonishes to keep her awake, but nothing seemed to stop Gwen from nodding off.

Gwen's team

"Mis! Mis! Misdreee! Mis!"

Gwen slowly opened her eyes to see Bead, who had probably been barking at her for as long as she'd been asleep. Taking a nap was probably a mistake in retrospect, and nothing made that as clear as her incredibly dry mouth and banging headache.

"Urghhh, I feel like shit." Maybe listening to Bead wasn't such a bad idea, and the Misdreavus felt the same way, projecting his thoughts with an "I told you so" expression.

Lethargically, Gwen sat up off the ground- It was a mystery how she could fall asleep on such a surface- and rubbed her eyes. "If I didn't nap I probably could have caught those-"

She stopped talking after she rubbed her eyes, noticing a single Wooper still stood in-front of her. The Pokemon's had four "branches" sticking out from each antenna, indicating he was a male. The Cape trainer was initially confused as to why he didn't leave with the rest of the pack, but she wasn't complaining.

"A Wooper! Quick, Bead, Confuse Ray!"

Bead's "hair" flared up, while his eyes glew red, then shooting a Confuse Ray. The energy ball was so slow, however, that Wooper was easily able to side-step it while he still had a large, blank smile on his face.

Frustrated, Bead shot a wave of psychic energy at Wooper, and while hitting him, the only change in expression he had was that he closed his eyes while being immersed in psychic energy. When the Misdreavus wasn't able to exhaust Psywave anymore, Wooper retaliated with a Water Gun to the face.

Bead, soaking wet, shimmied to dry off, and Wooper used this opportunity to shoot a blob of mud at the ghost-type, but it was arched at an angle that couldn't hit Head while he was levitating.

Suddenly, Bead teleported behind Wooper, screaming to make him flinch. To his shock, however, Wooper simply turned around and Water Gunned Bead at point blank range.

"I think getting up close is a good idea, but not with Bead…" Gwen mumbled to herself, using Bead's Pokeball to shoot a thin red laser to return him to his ball, Jess being sent out in his place.

Jess did her usual, loudly hissing and rattling her tail, but Wooper only shivered once before hurling up another Mud Shot, landing directly on Jess' head. She recoiled, but was able to shake it off and slithered over to Wooper, who did very little to stop the Ekans, even as she used her long body to wrap around him. The water fish Pokemon was obviously pained, but just couldn't seem to show it, even with Jess gnawing on his head.

"Uh, I think he's weak enough to capture?" Uncertainly, Gwen tossed a Pokeball at the Wooper that hit him smack in the middle of the face, with the water-type not even as much as wincing before he was converted into a white light and sucked into the device.

One shake. The thought that this Wooper wasn't weakened enough and could escape any second was pretty scary. Breathing heavily, the Cape trainer nervously bit her nails.

Crap, I really didn't fight him enough! Oh man, he's just gonna escape, isn't he?

CLICK

To Gwen's shock, Wooper just didn't seem to mind being captured. Maybe he just took a liking to her? Gwen was never one to think too hard on things handed to her on a silver platter though, and she cheered as she picked up the ball her new Pokemon resided in.

"Oh my god, I have a Wooper! Now, if I ever face a Golett or Lampent, my Wooper will be able to soak them! I'm gonna call you…" The Unovian trainer glanced long and hard at her new catch's ball, trying to think of any nickname for the water fish. "Marshall! Y'know, because they live in marshes...But wait, these ones were headed for the ocean…Oh well."

"Wow! That was fantastic Gwen!"

Oh great. Another unfamiliar person who Gwen couldn't remember just had to show up behind her and ruin the mood.

Anxiously, she turned around to see a teenage boy, about her height, with pale skin and short brown hair that peeked out from under his blue cap with a gold Magikarp centered on it. He matched it with a tan fishing vest and denim jeans, and carried a fishing rod over his shoulder, but despite his hand being occupied he still tried to clap seeing Gwen's catch.

She thought this boy might have looked familiar, but she couldn't put her tongue on it. Without being to remember him, someone who might as well have been a stranger was approaching her.

"And the fact that you named him Marshall is super clever! I wouldn't expect any less from you!"

Retreating slightly, Gwen did her best to respond to the boy. "D-d-d-do I know you?"

Shocked, the boy stopped in his tracks and widened his eyes. "You don't remember me Gwen? I'm Flynn, from Cape College! We had class together!"

Flynn...I've heard that name before… Memories of her years at Cape came rushing through her mind, but she was starting to wish she didn't.

Oh my god, it's fucking Flynn Sting. Why did I have to come across him of all people?

Gwen's team

The stage was set. It was the beginning of the year, probably January or February, and Gwen could vividly remember a specific day.

It was just like any other day, probably one Gwen would have forgotten if not for what happened. During lunch, she went about it like her usual routine, grab lunch, take a seat, and watch videos of Pokemon battles on her phone.

She always sat at the same table, one that was as close to the corners of the Cape College cafeteria as they were placed. The other people who sat at that table seemed to change frequently, except for one student- Flynn C. A. Sting. It was weird Gwen could remember his full name, but the impact he left seemed to do that.

As she was eating her lunch, Flynn desperately tried to reach out for her attention. "Gwen Alanis! I have something to confess to you!"

She meekly looked up from her phone like a Deerling in headlights. Considering that every student in the cafeteria focused their eyes on his performance, it was pretty hard not to hear Flynn's plead. The students watching were either holding back their laughter, concerned for Gwen, or embarrassed for what was about to commence.

Flynn pressed a single foot against his seat, as if it would make him look more appealing. "We've known each other for a long time now! We see each other everyday in class and at lunch, and I feel like I've gotten to know you a lot, and I just wanted everyone to know that I like you! A lot!"

Gwen had no clue what this kid was talking about. The most interaction she could recall was how Flynn would go on long tangents about fishing or whatever, and she would only respond with half-hearted nods. This was WAY too sudden for her, as shown by her heavy breathing.

"Now that I've told you everything, will you be my girlfriend?"

He really wasn't able to get the hint. Gwen was anything but flattered already, and the question at the bit only intensified her feelings. Her heartbeat kicked up a few notches, breath growing heavier, and was so incredibly nervous that she could feel her head spinning.

Her memory of what happened next was less clear, but she was pretty sure she broke down then and there. Being asked out by someone she didn't even know the name of terrified her more than anything she previously experienced.

From there she knows that some other students came rushing to her aid while also trying to shoo Flynn away, and everything after was completely blank. He probably asked her out a few more times, but none immediately stood out as much as this.

---

Ugh. What's with this guy.

At the present day, her terror became irritation overtime. She had gotten used to being asked out by Flynn at this point, even if she still didn't like it one bit more.

"Oh. What are you doing here?" Gwen harshly asked, crossing her arms.

"I'm on my graduation journey, obviously, but right now I'm just heading south- I have family who are staying here to fish, and..."

Oh my god, please shut up.

Flynn continued to passionately banter about his family's fishing history, and Gwen mentally checked out. Sure, fishing Pokemon was pretty interesting, but the way this guy focused on the fishing instead of the Pokemon was just enough to bore her out of her mind.

Flynn was able to catch onto this, and thought to turn the conversation in a way that might interest the Unovian girl. "And I hear they once caught a rare Pokemon!"

Just as he expected, Gwen's eyes were beginning to light up. "A rare Pokemon!? What kind!"

"Uhm, well my uncle caught a, uhm, a Kyogre! Yeah, uhm a Kyogre for sure, definitely! And it was uhm, purple! A purple Kyogre!" The brown haired boy was certain that he would be called out for lying. Sure, coming up with a fib on the spot was difficult, but he could have done better. Any intelligent person should be able to see through his lie.

"OH MY GOD, A PURPLE KYOGRE! THAT'S SO COOL, I NEED TO SEE IT NOW!"

Apparently Gwen lacked the intelligence of the average human being. Even if she might have been smart when it came to Pokemon, her social skills needed some improvement.

"Well in that case, why don't you come with me? I'm sure we can go fishing with my family and find some rare Pokemon of our own!"

Unsurprisingly, the Unovian trainer very enthusiastically nodded. "I didn't even know Kyogre was in Kanto! That's an amazing discovery! We can't waste time, let's go NOW!"

"Yeah... Neither did I…" Flynn could feel his nefarious plan to get Gwen to go fishing with her to fall into place, as the two trainers walked along the path set in-front of them. The brunette boy smirked to himself the more he realized that soon, Gwen would realize that fishing wasn't lame, and maybe from there she might warm up to him.

Gwen's team

"Flynn! It's been awhile!" The two Cape trainers were greeted by a young woman who shared a lot of physical traits with Flynn, even having a similar get-up, fishing rod and all. She, along with the massive amounts of fishermen gathered in the area, was a good sign this was Flynn's family.

The young woman focused on Gwen for a bit, making her a little nervous. "Is this your girlfriend?"

The Unovian trainer winced. "Ew! No way would I wanna go out with him."

"I can't imagine anyone would." The young woman laughed, then holding her hand out. "I like you, kid. My name's Fay, I'm Flynn's big sister. What's yours?"

Gwen got a chuckle out of Fay's response. "I-Its Gwen."

Flynn, meanwhile, felt a little heartbroken at both Gwen and his sister casually throwing out jabs.

"So Gwen, what are you here for?"

"I'm here to fish for rare Pokemon!" Saying the sentence out loud only further fueled her excitement, and she held her fists to her chest, containing her eagerness.

"Rare Pokemon, eh? Truth be told, we don't find a lot of rare Pokemon, if anything we almost exclusively fish up Magikarp."

"Oh…" Gwen was pretty visibly disappointed with what she heard. "Well, at least Magikarp can evolve into Gyrados, and that's pretty cool."

"A lot of us here could care less about evolving Magikarp, instead we like catching different kinds of them! Did you know, for example, Magikarp can come in all different kinds of shapes and sizes! I've seen some as big as a Haxorus!"

"Really? Wow!" The black haired girl's face lit up in awe.

"Mmmhmmm. Personally, I find Magikarp more interesting than any rare Pokemon! I think someone might have misled you about that…" Fay's pupils scrolled over to her younger brother, who was whistling as if he was innocent. "Flynn, have you been fibbing again?"

"N-No! Of course not!" He shook his hands to gesture his denial, causing Fay to raise an eyebrow.

"I see…" She quickly went from stern to excited. "Well, anyways, we're about to hold a fishing contest for the young ones soon, and you get to keep your catch! And who knows, you may find a giant Magikarp, or even a gold one!"

"SIGN ME UP!" Gwen jumped in the air with glee. "I BET I'M GONNA CATCH A GOLD MAGIKARP, JUST YOU WAIT!"

Flynn, on the contrary, was rather cool and collected. "This is my turf, no way I'll lose." He then began giggling to himself as he hatched a plan in his mind. "And when I do win, maybe I can impress Gwen, hehehe!"

Flynn was lucky that the girl he focused his attention on was too oblivious to hear his scheming, but Fay heard everything her brother said, and she simply rolled her eyes. "Before we begin Gwen, let me teach you how to fish."

---

"Alright kids! We're about to start the fishing contest!"

Gwen stood on the rocky shores with Flynn and his younger brother, Flint, both a few feet apart from her, holding fancier fishing rods than the one the Unovian trainer borrowed.

"We got less people than we expected, but that's okay!" The person who seemed to orchestrate the competition was a round old man, who sort of resembled Flynn. Probably his grandfather or something. "But I'll explain the rules anyways! The first Magikarp you catch is what you'll be showing off, so you better hope it's a good one! Now, without further ado, begin!"

Dozens of fishermen all circled around the contestants, as each of them patiently- Well, not so much in Gwen's case- waited for a bite.

Five minutes passed. Not a lot of time, especially for fishing, but Gwen could feel something pulling on her pole.

"Woah! I got something!" With all her might, she turned the reel, digging her feet into the ground. She used up enough strength to pull a Magikarp from the ocean, one that was a foot bigger than average, and a bit rounder as well.

"Looks like we have our first catch!" The crowd cheered, and Gwen seemed pretty proud of her new catch, holding it up while some of the fishermen photographed the scene.

"Hey! I'm feeling something too!" Flint reeled in his bite, although he didn't need to use nearly as much strength as Gwen. With little struggle, the pre-teen reeled in a small Magikarp, five inches smaller than standard, but was shining gold almost as if it compensated for it's small size. The crowd "oooooed", paying more attention to this than to what the Unovian trainer caught.

Heh, just you wait. Flynn thought to himself. I'm gonna catch a Magikarp bigger than both of those! He smirked as he faced the ocean, absolutely confident things would go his way.

---

"Flynn! It's been an hour!" The old man shouted. "Are you sure you don't wanna give up?"

"I'm sure grandpa…" The brunette boy was on the verge of sobbing as he was about to toss aside his dream.

"Well, you better hurry up, because we all have better things we'd rather be doing!"

The crowd had diminished to half its previous size. Even if fishing required patience, Magikarp were super common. This was starting to get a bit ridiculous.

All hope was lost. There was no chance he'd reel in a Magikarp that could top a gold or a large one. He probably should just throw in the towel.

...Is what he thought, until he felt a massive force that almost pulled him into the ocean. He planted his feet deep into the shore, but he still couldn't resist the strength of his catch.

He struggled so much that Fay had to step in, and wrap her arms around him to make sure her younger brother wouldn't get sucked in with his catch. With their combined strength, the siblings used all their strength to reel in a massive catch, much bigger than anybody could have reasonably expected. It made a large splash with its massive body being pulled from the sea and onto the shore, soaking both Fay and Flynn.

"Wow! I think we have a winner!" The old man cheered.

Flynn needed to double-take at what he saw. It looked similar to any other Magikarp, but was much larger than average, even bigger than the fish Pokemon Gwen caught, flopping on the shore at a whopping eight feet. This certainly turned the brunette's day around, and he felt that driven home as the crowd consisting of his family all cheered him on.

"OH MY GOD, THAT'S SO AWESOME!"

Now there was the validation Flynn was hoping for. He turned to see Gwen rushing toward him, likely impressed by the massive Magikarp he caught, despite all odds. He held his arms open, awaiting to be embraced by the black haired girl, but only found himself sticking both arms out while Gwen instead ran up to his Pokemon.

"I'VE NEVER SEEN A MAGIKARP THIS BIG!" She shouted, petting the fish Pokemon above the eye. "And look! Yellow whiskers! That's how you know this one's a male, just like mine!"

Just his luck. Even when the contest goes as he desires, the girl he hoped to impress is more interested in a fish. At least he taught her the joys of fishing- Even if in reality it was his sister, but Flynn liked to tell himself otherwise.

"Alright you three!" A middle aged woman holding a case approached the contestants. Her case was cracked open enough to reveal three Blue Pokeballs. "You all get a special kind of ball to commemorate your new capture, Lure Balls! Use these to catch those Magikarp! And for winning the biggest Magikarp I've ever seen, Flynn is rewarded with a Mystic Water!"

Each contestant tossed their new Lure Ball at their Pokemon, without much struggle due to their perceived weakness. Gwen was unable to carry seven Pokemon however, and used her Pokedex to transfer her Magikarp, which she nicknamed "King", to Professor Palm.

Flynn moped about, upset his plan didn't go as he would have liked. There had to be something he could have done to impress the girl he had his sights on, but what?

"Hey Flynn!" His younger brother cried out. "You're a trainer, aren't you? Give us a battle with your girlfriend!"

The crowd shouted in agreement, all insisting that Flynn, whose cheeks grew a deep scarlet, battle his classmate.

"Hey!" Gwen furrowed her eyebrows. "I'm not his girlfriend, but I will battle him!"

"I don't blame you! Who'd wanna date Flynn!" Flint jabbed, causing everyone in the crowd, including Gwen, to chortle. Of course, the brunette boy wasn't at all amused. He always thought he was used to being poked fun at, but hearing his crush and his family laugh at a joke at his expense set something off.

"You all won't be laughing when I win in battle! Bring it on!" He gloated, grabbing a Pokeball from his vest.

Gwen smirked, grabbing a Pokeball of her own. "You're on!"

Gwen's team

---

♫ - The Offspring - Turning into you
Arianne walked right out of the Official Gym with a pounding heart, two watery eyes, three Pokémon knocked out, and zero badges. The battle started off well for her, but that advantage did not last for long enough.

When Arianne was down to her last Pokémon, she made a gamble. She chose Eric, sent him out, and kept fighting, even if it was just for fear of having to forfeit. The Wartortle definitely pushed himself to be the best he could, and reignited Arianne's hope for a couple seconds, but it was just too late!

Beaumont's Emolga was not an impossible challenge. Eric surely could not take many hits from her, but neither could she. After all, she was already a little tired.

What Eric had to be careful about was Nuzzle, and Paralysis in general. That's where his Protect came into play, though! The first move that the Emolga attempted was, in fact, Nuzzle, but as she lunged down at the Wartortle, she could only crash and bounce off a green-ish shield.

Beaumont had another way to improve the strategy though, Double Team. The different copies of Emolga that soon appeared made it way harder to hit her, or shield from her attacks. Arianne had an answer to this also, though - Rapid Spin and Water Gun, something that she already tried against Courtney. The splashing water could easily reach every corner of the field, clearing out multiple copies at once.

This exchange continued for a bit, until finally Emolga swooped down from above and landed her Nuzzle, before being knocked away by a Water Pulse. A gamble on Beaumont's part maybe, but surely much more rewarding that Arianne's choice of Pokémon. It was relatively easy for the tired, but still nimble Emolga to knock out Eric with a couple of Sparks and Thundershocks.

That sealed the deal: Arianne had lost, and didn't even get to see Beaumont's third Pokémon, either! This was really because she wasted a teammate, and was reckless with it. She tried to use her newly caught Honedge against Emolga, picking it instead of, say, Mizar or Mulan for its slightly better mobility. Beaumont's Pokémon was too fast, though, and had no issues going for a Nuzzle right as soon as Honedge tried to use Swords Dance.

Honedge had already lunged at Emolga with Shadow Sneak or Pursuit, swiftly hitting her everytime she came close enough, at least two or three times, but after being paralyzed that turned out to be much more difficult. Not to mention, the Electric-type could just hit Honedge from a distance with Thundershock. Arianne realized only too late that she was at a disadvantage, but still tried to put that Attack boost to good use, and landed a powerful Shadow Sneak right as Emolga charged up another Spark. But as the two attacks collided, only Honedge had fainted.

After all, when Honedge was sent out, Emolga was still in top shape. All she really needed to do was to use Pursuit on Arianne's first Pokémon to knock it out in just one move. And said Pokémon happened to be none other than Lulu.

After the previous night's incredible performance, Arianne had no hesitations, and quickly let her out against Beaumont's first Pokémon, a Heliolisk. The small Morelull, albeit intimidated by the fully evolved Pokémon that stood in front of her, still tried to give it her best, and started things off with Flash and Sleep Powder as her opponent tried to run in for a Slam. Lulu took the attack, proudly looking back at her trainer as Heliolisk slowly fell victim to her spores, before bouncing closer and closer to her opponent and setting up a Mega Drain.

When Heliolisk woke up, though, Arianne realized that it wasn't going to be a walk in the park. The Generator Pokémon easily knocked Lulu away, hitting back with Mud Slap. She then slammed onto her as the Grass-type tried to recover some energy with Moonlight.

Seeing that, Arianne quickly told Lulu to use Ingrain. She also asked Lulu to raise herself off the ground with her mycelium, this way avoiding another Slam… and thought that finally, she'd done something that Beaumont would consider impressive. But the look on his face as his Heliolisk bounced off Ingrain wasn't exactly full of emotions.

The battle was continuing. Lulu somehow struggled to hit Heliolisk back with her Mega Drain, but appeared to be in a good, defensive position, from which she could heal herself or cripple her opponent. Beaumont found a way to change that, though. It took Heliolisk a couple of Razor Winds, but eventually her attacks cut through the mycelium and made Lulu fall down from her throne. Struggling to get back up, she was promptly slammed into by Heliolisk, who knocked her back towards her trainer before shoving some more sand in her face with Mud Slap.

Hurting but still determined, Lulu went straight for Mega Drain as Heliolisk came for her. Both trainers knew that someone's Pokémon was likely to fall at that point of the battle, and - to Arianne's surprise - it was not Lulu. Her draining attacks kept her image in full colors for a little longer. The Cape Trainer celebrated, after all who wouldn't have… too bad for her that the battle would just change course soon after.

🍄🍄🍄

Beaumont looked quite happy with Arianne, for sure. She messed up a few decisions, and surely could've done better, but the basics were there. He already had that feeling ever since he saw her battle in Lavender Town the previous day. There was some kind of advice he could give her though… Think about who you have up against. Be flexible with your strategies. Don't do that cool Ingrain thing in front of anyone, because it's going to backfire eventually.

Arianne couldn't quite focus on Beaumont's words, though. The relentless announcement from the AI judge was more important in her mind, and all it said was that she had lost, 3 to 1. 3 to 1…

She struggled to believe that all she did in that Gym really mattered. Lulu's Ingrain shenanigans, or the way she handled Heliolisk at first with Sleep Powder. Honedge's clockwork efficiency in the way it landed Shadow Sneak after Shadow Sneak, despite a clear level disadvantage. Eric's cool Water shield and seamless transition from defensive to offensive moves. But she still lost the battle, and that was what mattered in the end. Maybe not for her, maybe not for Beaumont, but…

What about her Cape College friends? Courtney, even? Or most importantly, her parents? The ones that were still the most likely to doubt her own choice to become a trainer, and potentially even ready to bring her down at every misstep? No matter what their reactions could be, she just didn't look forward to seeing them… at all!

She was starting to understand how Courtney and Sarah could have been feeling the previous night, as they broke into the graveyard trying to find a Rotom (of all things). They needed some kind of proof, a tangible result to display and be proud of, and that no one could contest.

Arianne was getting better at battling, at training Pokémon, at bonding with them even, but winning battles? Still nothing, especially when she was dealing with the battles that really mattered. Drowning in frustration, the Cinnabar girl walked back to the Pokémon center, ready to leave Lavender behind.

---

"Hey Uncle Fletcher, y'see those clouds?" Fay called out to an older man. "Looks like it might rain. Is it really a good idea to have the kids battle in that weather?"

"Oh nonsense!" The older man replied. "A little rain never hurt anyone, nobody from the Sting family that is! Although who knows with Flynn! HAH!"

---

Flynn was never much of a battler, but his instinctive drive to prove he had some kind of worth led him to where he was now, facing off against the girl he had hoped to impress. If fishing a large Pokemon didn't work, maybe proving himself in battle would.

Gwen and Flynn both sent out their Pokemon at the same time, Gwen using Jess whereas the brunette boy sent out a Poliwag.

The black haired girl could have switched into Custard, but right now she was fixated on training Jess, as she felt her Pokemon was creeping closer to evolving. Besides, Gwen could tell her opponent wasn't a very skilled battler. She couldn't describe why she thought that, she just knew it.

The battle started off with Poliwag aiming a Water Gun at the Ekans. Jess had been in this situation enough times to recognize her first action should always be to side-step the attack, and slither up to Poliwag. She executed everything properly, and could wrap her body around the Tadpole Pokemon.

Poliwag groaned in pain with the snake Pokemon constricted around his round body, while Flynn nervously grit his teeth. "Poliwag, use Bubble Beam!"

Poliwag could only shoot five bubbles at Jess' face, being squeezed so tightly made it difficult to produce anymore. Of course, the Ekans was able to shake the attack off, and tightened her grip.

Flynn commanded a few more Bubble Beams, and with each subsequent attack, the Tadpole Pokemon shot less and less bubbles. Eventually after being unable to resist any further, Poliwag passed out.

"That was almost stupidly easy…" Gwen mellowly boasted. As her opponent failed to provide an interesting challenge, she began to grow bored.

Flynn, on the other hand, felt a mix of frustrated and embarrassed. Losing to Beaumont set a precedent for what to expect from battles, but not even being able to stand a chance against a classmate pained him.

He still had two Pokemon left however, and couldn't give up just yet.

"Go, Pokey!"

Flynn's next Pokeball unleashed a white light, forming into a pink, quadruped Pokemon that laid on his back, with a white-tipped tail pointing in his trainer's direction. He certainly wasn't in the mood to fight, but he had little choice.

"Slowpoke!" Gwen cried. "A type advantage! That should be some kind of challenge!" Examining Flynn changed her demeanor, making her question her previous statement. "Er, maybe."

"Pokey, use Confusion!" The brunette boy ordered, waiting for his Pokemon to comply. To his disappointment however, the Slowpoke did nothing, and continued to lay on his back, even as Jess got up close and used Wrap on him. Even as Jess bit Pokey's head, he didn't seem at all bothered, despite being dealt super effective damage.

"Pokey! Please just use Confusion already!" Watching his Pokemon not even resisting, Flynn pleaded for the Slowpoke to attack.

When Jess' grip really started to suffocate him, Pokey's eyes glowed pink. A psychic aura lifted the two into the air, and then quickly slammed both of them back into the rocky ground.

As a form of payback, Jess bit into Pokey's cranium again, slightly harder than before, while Pokey once again used his psychic energy to pick them up and harshly drop them back into the ground.

Both Jess and Pokey looked to be unconscious after being dropped a second time. Flynn sighed in relief as he returned Slowpoke to his ball. At least his starter was able to do some damage, even if it was at the expense of his own status. But this meant Flynn had one Pokemon left, and it was his brand new catch. He wasn't sure how well he'd fair in a fight, but only one way to find out.

Reluctantly, Flynn tossed a Lure Ball, which unleashed his gigantic Magikarp, which flopped against the rocky surface.

Gwen, knowing full well at this point that her opponent used exclusively water types, sent Custard out in Jess' place. Even if Custard was scared by most Pokemon even a centimeter taller than her, the giant fish across from her was almost too comical to see as a threat.

"Custard, Thundershock!"

Standing in place, the Pikachu zapped the Magikarp with electricity she had stored in her cheeks, causing the fish Pokemon to jump in pain.

"You're my last hope, Magikarp! Tackle!"

Flynn waited for his Pokemon to so much as flop forward, but with his luck, the water-type would not obey. This left him open to another Thundershock.

"Come on, please do something!" His Magikarp wouldn't budge, only continuing to flop on the ground, frequently leaving him defenseless to the onslaught of electric shocks.

While the brunette boy focused on his Pokemon, he noticed a water droplet landing straight into Mahikarp's eye, followed by another on his flipper. It was beginning to rain. How appropriate for his mood.

Magikarp's flopping gradually became slower and weaker with each zap, matched with the rain setting in. He wouldn't be able to stay out much longer. Flynn fell to his knees, embarrassed by his failure to both his family and Gwen.

"Please Magikarp! Just do something, I'm begging you!" Even with the rain increasing, Gwen could notice tears rolling down the face of her classmate. She had Custard lay off of attacking out of pity.

Flint wasn't so sympathetic, and chuckled at the sight. He had gotten pretty used to this, and a few of their family members joined in. Fay was an exception. She frowned with disappointment, seeing her brother get himself in such a position.

Kneeling over to the water-type, Flynn crashed his upper-body onto his Pokemon, still sobbing. "I'm so sorry!" He cried. "I caught such an impressive Pokemon, and I couldn't even properly utilize your strength! If only I was a better trainer."

Gwen looked at the boy and his Magikarp, sympathizing with him. She could end the battle right here and now, but she couldn't bring herself to. Even if Flynn was a nuisance, there was no helping how similar she felt when losing to Jarmie.

With his eyelids sealed shut and pressed against his Pokemon's scales, Flynn found the nothingness of his closed eyelids to be comforting. Burying his face and blocking his vision was one way he could hide from embarrassment. This was disrupted when the darkness of his closed eyes had some light seep into it. He thought he was about to pass out or something, but he could also feel warmth against his hands, and then against his face, and with that the mockery of the crowd died down.

Flynn backed away, and after blinking to get the light out of his eyes, saw the fish Pokemon was completely consumed by a near blinding light. Unable to move, all he could do was blink in disbelief- He couldn't believe that Magikarp was evolving.

The fish Pokemon's glowing body slowly stretched out, resembling a Magikarp less and less. The light began taking up space, and many people rushed with their lives out of the scene to not get crushed by the light. The light kept growing, and growing...

When Magikarp evolved, they usually came in at a height of twenty-one feet, but the light stretched far beyond that. Custard trembled in an absolute state of terror, observing what used to be the fish Pokemon growing more than twice the size of the average Gyrados.

The light eventually faded away, revealing an enormous, blue serpentine Pokemon who stared down Gwen and Custard, letting out a ferocious roar that caused the ground to tremble. The surrounding fishermen were all astounded, yet horrified at the sixty foot long Pokemon that lay in-front of them. Even Flynn was curled up in a ball on the ground, shivering like a Snorunt. He wanted a chance at winning the battle and Gwen's heart, but he was too afraid of his own Pokemon to so much as command him. Custard was completely frozen in fear, but Gwen couldn't be any more excited.

"OH MY GOD, THAT'S A MASSIVE FUCKING GYRADOS!" She adoringly gazed back into Gyrados' large eyes. She'd never been to Galar, but she imagined Dynamax Pokemon to be this size- The rain clouds furthered that image. "Custard, use Thundershock!"

Custard instead turned back to look at her trainer, wondering how serious she could be at a time like this. Her trainer was reckless, but taking on a sixty foot Gyrados was pushing that boundary into insanity.

Of course, Gwen wasn't fooling around. If anything, she saw this as a mountain to overcome. "You heard me Custard! Use Thundershock!"

The Pikachu grit her teeth and cautiously opened fire at the Atrocious Pokemon, generating as much electricity as she could from her red cheeks. Gyrados writhed in agony, flinching and roaring, creating mini quakes in the ground where he stood. Even at his stature, he gained the flying type upon evolving, and had already taken a few electric types just a moment ago.

As the water-type failed to keep his balance, Custard used another Thundershock, and Gyrados continued to squirm with misery. Gwen steadily kept her ground, anticipating something from her opponent.

"Come on already! He's your Pokémon! Do something!" She shouted, furrowing her brows. She was able to get a glimpse of Flynn, who was curled in a ball, shaking. "Oh, for the love of- Custard, use Thundershock again!"

Custard, while intimidated by such a large Pokémon, figured out by this point he wouldn't put up much of a fight, and used another Thundershock. The attack was too much for Gyrados, causing him to faint, and his head was about to crash right into where Gwen stood. The weight of the serpentine Pokemon would have probably crushed her. Custard dashed behind her trainer, but all Gwen did was fearlessly stare into Gyrados' face. Her expression didn't change when the water-type was consumed by a red light, shrinking the enormous Pokémon to fit in his Pokeball. "That was pathetic."

"S-Sorry Gwen, I just, uhm, got a little scared. Truth is Gyrados scare me…" Flynn scratched the back of his head in shame. "But I did save you from getting splattered! Hehe, gotta admit, if it weren't for me, yo-"

"Oh my god, you're such a bad trainer!" Gwen retorted, ignoring what the boy was saying. "You had a type-advantage over Jess AND a massive fucking Gyrados on your side, and somehow you lost!"

Flynn looked down in shame, adjusting the brim of his cap to hide his eyes.

"And you're scared of your own Pokemon? That's pathetic!" The black haired girl continued. "Why would I ever want to go out with somebody afraid of a simple Gyrados?"

"Alright, that's enough!" Fay ran up wearing a yellow poncho to protect her from the rain, and held two more in her hands. "You two are soaking wet! Come on, we got a tarp set up!"

As he was beckoned by his sister, Gwen's words sunk into his head. It wasn't something he ever really did, but it might be time to finally start training. Maybe then he could get on Gwen's good side.

Gwen's team

---

♫ - HG/SS PokéMart theme - remix by HoopsandHipHop
The edge of Lavender town is in sight, and I've made up my mind that I'm going to cross it today… even if the weather doesn't seem to be in my favor today. As much as I'm missing my little room with a view, the festival atmosphere, or… Jarmie, I guess, I need to move on and become stronger elsewhere.

Well, I'm not quite sure how, but I know I'll be able to find more opportunities to challenge myself. Or at least, some that aren't as scary as a graveyard by night! I wonder what Route 12 could have in store.

"Arianne!" A voice calls out, pulling me from my thoughts. "Hey, Arianne! How's it goin'?"

It's a voice I recognize, but that I haven't heard in a while… Casey, my classmate! Might as well stop by and say hello - I don't really have a reason to be afraid of him.

The boy waves me over to a picnic table outside a small café. It's covered in berries, seemingly organized into various piles, and a Buneary with berry juice staining her paws lounges in the middle of them. She glares suspiciously as I walk over, but the Charmeleon and Skiddo are happy to greet me.

"Hi Casey!" I smile back at him and his Pokémon. "I'm… I'm alright, just leaving town. You?" I ask, still reluctant about bringing up the Gym battle.

"Same, really," he says, clicking his tongue to call his Skiddo back. The Skiddo doesn't listen, too interested in sniffing at me. "Just stoppin' here for lunch. Uh, don't give Parsley any snacks. How's Lavender treated ya?"

"Oh, so much has happened here! I reunited with some friends, found myself a rival, caught a Pokémon… and got into trouble with Ghosts, of course." I laugh, a bit nervously. I still don't have a clear answer after all, and… Courtney probably isn't the best topic either.

Casey shakes his head at that. "You went into the graveyard too, huh?"

"Y-yeah, got dragged in because someone thought that a Rotom might hide in there. I wonder if someone actually found it…" I shrug, my mind going straight to Honedge and the way I encountered it.

"Oh, I heard that rumor too. Didn't believe it for a second. Did you, uh, find anything else in there?" He sounds casual, but his eyes slip from my face and focus instead on a smaller berry as he rolls it across the table.

"I did, yeah!" I grin. "D'you want to see?"

"Could just tell me what it is," he laughs, though it sounds a little forced.

"It wouldn't give it justice, but alright…" I smile. If he's somewhat afraid of it, then that is totally understandable, given the jumpscares I got for the previous two nights. "It's called Honedge."

Casey hums. "The sword ghost, huh? That'll be interestin' to work with. Have ya battled with it yet?"

Do I need to tell him? Do I? I hesitate for a bit, but eventually decide to answer truthfully. "I tried, yes, but it didn't go that well." I put one hand on my hair. "It looks pretty strong already, though!"

"It's good to have strong team members," Casey muses. "Should be helpful against all the gym leaders, right?"

"That's what I'm thinking, yes." I reply, somewhat dryly. "But it always depends on who you're going up against… that's what Beaumont said." I add, this time trying to stay more vague.

"Sure, sure. How'd your battle with him go, then?"

Might as well. "Well, I lost. Thought I was doing a pretty good job but really, I wasn't." I admit, finally opening up about that with someone. "I can only hope he gives me a good review, but the result…" I mutter. "It is what it is."

Casey taps his fingers against the wooden table. "I kinda forgot about the review," he says. He doesn't look too worried about it, though. "That's actually what matters, right? Even if we couldn't beat him, it's about how we handled ourselves."

"I hope so…" I reply, looking down to the side and focusing on all the berries that are still there on the table. "Well, may I ask, how did your battle go then?"

Casey hums again, but this time it sounds a little more frustrated. "He pulled a stunt I didn't like. I took out two of his an' he took two of mine an' then I forfeited."

"I can see that…" I mutter, thinking back about the battle. "I only took one out. It was a weird battle and I was too scared to just forfeit. Guess we're still on the same boat, then?"

"Seems like!" Casey's usual cheer returns with that- I hadn't quite noticed it was missing until now. "Gotta see how Route Twelve treats us now, don't we?"

"Oh, sure thing!" I smile, finally back to a better topic. "What do you think it's going to be like? Will you leave today as well?"

"Dunno." Casey shrugs. "Haven't really looked into the route. Kinda takin' things as they come, y'know? Got plenty of berries to keep us fed now, though." He gives his Charmeleon a exaggerated dirty look, which the Pokémon responds to by mimicking Casey's earlier shrug. "Y'wanna take some, Arianne? We got way too many."

"Really? Well, t-thanks!" I take a better look at the berries. "And, uhm, if you want we could just travel together through Route 12."

I am not entirely certain about travelling with Casey, but from what we've already talked about, he looks like a much better alternative than… some other people I'm a bit afraid of sticking around to. I'd be happy to go with someone, too!

But Casey shakes his head, smile still on his face. "That's alright. Thanks for the offer, though! Maybe I'll see ya out there."

I can't help it but raise an eyebrow. But I don't want to force him of course, so I just take a few berries as he suggested. "Alright, alright… see you around, Casey, and thanks for the berries."

---