Pokemon/Inventory:


Vince finished up at the Pokemon Center and began his trek to the next route and Mt. Coronet, proudly sporting his newly acquired badge. It had been a tough battle but somehow Bruno and Scooter pulled through and came out on top. Vince learned a lot about himself in that battle, especially how much he cared for his Pokemon and when at their peak, his emotions could lead to him to new battling heights.

In this time, Vince had been walking for a few hours and through the forest canopy, Mt. Coronet was now starting to come into view. This place was revered in Sinnoh, hailed as the home of Spear Pillar, the home of Dialga and Palkia. Now that was all well good to Vince, but all he really wanted was to explore this place. He was sure there were plenty of adventures to be found in there, not to forget plenty of opportunities for growth.

As he thought about this, Vince realized he had a Pokemon that hadn't experienced anything on their journey yet. He reached for a ball and called the Pokemon out, the bright white light revealing Kiara, Vince's Kecleon. The chameleon-like Pokemon stretched and smiled as she took in the beauty of the area. Vince stooped down and put his hand on Kiara's head, rubbing it softly. "Alright Kiara, see that big mountain over there" Vince pointed to Mt. Coronet, "one day you and I are going to be as strong and revered as that mountain. Tomorrow, that journey begins. Are you in?" The Pokemon cocked its head before cheering emphatically, showing its excitement for the challenge. Vince, excited for what was to come, got up and continued on his way towards his future, Kiara and Scooter beside him, there to assist in any way they could. Tomorrow, was to be a challenge unlike any other they had faced before.

Oakley sighed irritably after finishing her sixth helping of scrambled eggs with cheese. Looking around the kitchen, her father and mother were sitting with their coffee, sipping and chatting as if today was any other day. But it wasn't any ordinary day, and the strawberry blonde knew that. As she got up to get another helping of breakfast, the voice of her father catches her attention.
"So, kiddo, you excited about today?" He asked, Oakley could see a smile under the man's blonde and shaggy beard.
"You are more than me." The girl responded before shoving a slice of toast in her mouth and taking back her seat at the table. The man shook his head.
"Come on, Oak we did discuss this-"
"Dad, do I really have to go? I mean... Won't you and mum need help with the ranch since papa still isn't well?" The girl whined, though she was worried about her grandfather. He hadn't been able to get up for days! And there was a lot to do around the place.
"We discussed this as well!" Selix answered back in such a tone that Oakley felt that she had no other option but to stay quiet, "Oakley, this is a great opportunity for you, you really should have been leaving for your journey five years ago but-"
"I didn't want to go then, either."
"All I'm saying is that you should really get out there and see the world! You can't spend your whole life here, you know!"

Oakley's yellow eyes lowered. He had a point. She did wonder what else was out there beyond their ranch. All she knew was that it was just a little bit off of Route 210. It was one of several and the girl did see a number of people venture down the route in the last few days. It had sparked her interest and it seemed to pass onto Selix, who almost instantly prepared to have her leave, ignoring his daughter's protests the whole time. There wasn't any point in arguing anymore, it was happening no matter what.
Oakley sighed as she pushed her plate away, "I'm going to get my bag then go and saddle up Blue Flash." She yawned as she walked out of the kitchen.
"Oh, Oak I just remembered! I bought you shampoo and shower gel for you to take, remember to use them!" She vaguely heard mother, Juniper, shout after her as she went up the stairs. The girl rolled her eyes, seeing how she was not much of a fan of baths, she knew that she would just forget about them and not bother with them. Living on a ranch barely gave her time for it anyway, and surely that would be the same while travelling. Besides, there wasn't any point. What was the likelihood of meeting up with people on Route 210?

An hour later, Oakley had saddled up her shiny Ponyta with her saddle and bridle. Blue Flash shook her head and snorted impatiently, unlike the fifteen year old, she was ready and willing to go. Oakley was attaching her bag to the saddle as she saw Juniper walk up. She reached into her pocket and showed off her phone.
"I'll keep you posted on papa, ok?" she asked, putting a hand on her daughter's shoulder. Oakley sighed and nodded slowly.
"And you can call me when you want to." Again, the girl nodded, "give me a call when you get to a Pokemon Center."

After another twenty minutes of goodbyes, Oakley mounted the blue flamed equine and, with one last look behind her, nudged the Ponyta into a brisk walk. As she reached the bottom of the ranch's long drive she looked at the path that was before her. There was a low fog, which was something that Oakley was used to. While the fog was not as bad in the ranch, she wasn't a stranger to it and besides, Flash's blue flames could probably light a way. The girl sighed as she clicked the Ponyta into a trot. As she ventured down the road, she sighed and looked around. She could hear the cries of various wild Pokemon that were area. But she couldn't see any. But just in case, Oakley reached into her saddle bag and pulled out a Pokeball to put in her jeans pocket. She didn't know when she'd need to use it. And she wasn't really thinking about catching Pokemon at this time anyway. She really just wanted to get to the nearest town, mainly to guarantee that she could get something to eat.

~Four Hours Later~​

Blue Flash trotted happily down the overgrown road with her head held high, the Ponyta had just enjoyed a lunch of the lush green grass that surrounded the pair. Though her rider wasn't as well off. Oakley leaned onto the Ponyta's neck and sighed. She was starting to feel extremely hungry but, judging by the little map she had in her hand, she was nearing the end of the route and was going to enter the next town. Letting out a sigh, she pulled Blue Flash to a stop and dismounted the horse like Pokemon. As the girl was loosening the strap on her girth, she heard a commotion further up. Pokemon cries alongside the yells of a young trainer. It must have been someone going after a wild Pokemon. The girl blinked and listened for a second.
"Hmm… maybe this person would know where there's a good restaurant." Oakley said to nobody in particular. As she was thinking this, her stomach let out a loud rumble as if agreeing with her. Blue Flash nickered as Oakley gently pulled the reins as she started to walk towards the noise with the horse following.
The girl blinks as she comes across another trainer. He looked a little older than her and was a little taller with ear length brunette hair and emerald eyes. Oakley keeps quiet as she observes his battle with a wild Seedot. The strawberry blonde kept quiet as the male attempted to catch the Seedot. After a few seconds, she heard the distinctive "Ding!" of a successful capture. The girl smiled slightly as she took a few steps towards him.
"Difficult battle?" she asked the brunette guy, quite interested.

Oakley scratched her stomach and watched the older boy for a few moments before he addressed her question. She couldn't take her gaze off of the frog Pokemon perched on her shoulders.
I've never seen one of those before... she thought as she mentally inspected it. Then again, when you've only lived on a ranch your whole life, you don't see a lot. Turning back to the boy, she felt Blue Flash give her a hard shove with her muzzle, as if telling her to answer.

"Oh," she waved a hand a little, "No, I didn't get hit by anything. Blue Flash heard you before I did and I only saw the last few moments." She said as she gave the Ponytail a pat between her eyes. Oak rubbed the back of her neck, feeling quite hot in the sun. It seemed that her initial thought of not needing a bath since she didn't have plans to meet people was wrong, though she didn't think of it for long. She looked at the boy, seeing that he was taller than her by a head and was slightly older. When he explains how his battle was, the girl nodded as she listened.

"Ha, I know what that's like. I was thinking of trying to catch a Starly but there was too much fog." She commented, going through Blue Flash's saddle bag and pulling out her map to see where she was. Good, she was close to the end of the route. That was a relief, she didn't like being stuck in the fog like that. She then looked back to the stranger and -after rubbing it on her jeans- reached out with her right hand.
"I'm Oakley by the way. Nice to meet you." She said with a slight grin, he seemed quite nice so it would be pretty rude not to introduce herself.

Oakley gives the boy a wide grin as he shakes her hand, "It's nice to meet you too." she says as he lets go. As the girl watched him call back his frog like Pokemon, she listens to his explanation of what it is.
"Ooh… well, I've never been to Kalos so I don't think I've ever seen a Froakie before." She says as she feels Blue Flash give her a hard nudge, as if annoyed that the trainer hadn't introduced her.

"And this is Blue Flash." She adds, rubbing the Ponyta on her nose. She turns towards the boy as he starts to ask her questions about the Ponyta and about herself as well as commenting on what he wanted to do. Blue Flash wriggle her ears towards the boy as he compliments her and reaches her nose out to him, hoping that he'd give her a pet. Oakley listens to him, nodding her head every now and again although it was becoming increasingly difficult to stay focused as her stomach started to gurgle again, probably since she wasn't thinking about food. When he finished speaking, she looked back at Tatsumi.
"You're right about me being a rancher. My mum and grandpa own it, and they usually breed Taros and Ponytas. My dad gave me Blue Flash when I was ten. I usually ride her around the perimeter of the ranch, you know, to check for poachers." She smirks, "I'd like to say that I managed to catch a few but then I'd be lying." She adds.

The girl packs away her map and takes out a torch as she saw that the sun was going to go down soon.
"Wait, where was it you were going- Oh yeah!" she says as she hooks the torch to her belt in case it got dark, "Celestic Town, I knew it started with a c!" she puts Flash's reins back over her head and was about to mount the Ponyta when she looked back at Tatsumi and jumped back off.
"Let me ask you a question-" she started but was cut off by another growl from her belly, "Ok, make that two questions. One; you want a lift to Celestic town? It'd be quicker on Ponyta back and I was going there myself anyway. And two; you know if there is like a restaurant or café or something there?" she asked, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly. He did say that there was a Pokemon Center there so that would be helpful.

'Shut up, shut up, shut up!' Oakley mentally scolded herself as she tightens the girth on Blue Flash's saddle since her stomach was becoming more and more persistent to remind her that she hadn't eaten anything since breakfast. She had heard the boy's chuckle and usually she would mind around people that she knew such as her family or some of the other ranch workers, but in front of a stranger, that was different.

When he answers her first question of whether or not he wanted a lift, she lets out a little snort of laughter at his concerns about whether or not Blue Flash could handle them both.
"Don't underestimate a ranch Pokemon. Blue has carried heavier things than us before. Before I had her my dad would have her carry sacks of vegetables from harvests or wood when we had to re-build our barn. She's very strong." She explains as she takes a large rock and carries it over to the Ponyta's side to act like a mounting block.

As Oakley mounted the Ponyta and settled into the saddle, she looked at the boy as he answered her second question about where she could find food. She tilted her head as he talked about Pokemon Centers and what they did.
"Hmm… I've never been to a Pokemon Center before. But they sound pretty useful. Hope this one does have a café or something." The girl said as she yawned and took up the reins, "If you use that rock and get on behind me, Blue Flash would have no problem getting us to the town." She adds, wanting to reassure the boy's worries about whether or not he would be a burden to the pair. She was heading that way herself so she didn't see it as a problem.

What a beautiful day to start anew. Again. Though he supposed this time he should be happy, as his future didn't align with the desires of anyone other than himself. Now it was all on him and him alone. Not really though, he had a Tauros. All on him and his Tauros, all alone. Well, his dad had given him some potions, an old pokedex from his training days, poke balls, great balls, and a good tent and...

Okay, so he had his help. But once he walked out that door, what he did with that help was on him. And that was exciting stuff, though not as exciting as it could have been. He was used to being away from his parents and around strangers. The only difference this time was he wasn't expected to return home. Very liberating! The whole world out in front of him, a world of adventure, friendship, excitement, and all that other crud that spoke to a certain element in a man's character that he gave only a few moment's worth of attention.

No, this was an opportunity to make a whole lot of money. There were plenty of rare and interesting Pokemon out there that he could catch and sell. There were plenty of trainers out there he could beat and earn money, or just go ahead and do what he did before- an impressive victory was worth a lot to some trainers when they needed to impress someone else! There were contests, musicals, dances, probably other things, and this was all cobbled together with his own personal willingness to do anything to make a buck.

Yes, very exciting stuff. He took one step, two step, three step and gone, almost jogging out of town.

Route 210, an indeterminate yet impressively short time later:

So the waterfalls had been a lot of fun. He didn't mind getting wet, but combined with the most and the never-ending sense of just missing out on seeing something other than packs and flocks of Pokemon, the wet provided enough of an annoyance. Annoyance could be quickly turned into motivation if he saw something worthy of his efforts though and as he crested a small hill, that something worthy revealed itself.

Some sort of cafe not that far from him. All that lay between him and his momentary, motivation pushing prize was another half-hour of effort.
"Well, what should I get? Hmmm..." He said, idly pulling out his one full pokeball. Pressing it and once it grew to full size, he released his Pokemon. A second later, a Tauros stood next to him, and Stan bent down to give the elder Pokemon a deserved pat on the head.
"Okay Tee, what should we get? I'm thinking milk. You want milk big fella?" Stan asked. Tee responded with a nod and a gruff mutter of, "Taur," as the pair continued walking.

"Well, maybe then-"

"SCY!"

Stan had only enough time to fall to the ground as a green blur slammed into Tee.

"THER!" it yelled when it impacted, ruining all sense of frivolity and introducing every element of danger into what had been relatively happy go lucky proceedings.

But no time to think as he looked up, confirming that between him and Tee was a Scyther. Luckily, the bladed bug type had his back to him. Good. Tee looked a bit shaken up but he powered himself up off the ground, huffing and preparing to get to it. Where had the Scyther come from? His eyes darted to a small copse of trees that had some sort of brush formed around their base- a nest? They had just wandered into the area, not seeing the Scyther because of the mist?

Well, whatever. The next nest would be in a Great Ball.

Stan didn't shout a command. They had eyesight, and they had done this before. Mostly it was a hidden message for Stan to tell Tee to miss on purpose and set up the big comeback after a missed attack for whoever had paid him to lose, but he and Tee had worked it all out...in theory. Hopefully it would work well in real life, too.

He slowly sent up one hand and did the international sign of rock and roll- Work Up. Tee responded as planned. Tee's body momentarily became surrounded by a light red aura, making him look very intimidating. More importantly, he was getting ready to lay the serious hurt on this Scyther. Stan managed to sneak off into the treeline, getting closer to his buddy.

Not that the bug planned on going down without a fight.
It spun around to gather air. It then released it by punching the gathered air in the form of a scythe. It blew into Tee and sent him flying into a tree, snapping the less than mighty redwood in twain as he fell to the ground. Was that vacuum wave? Yikes! That was not the sort of move he thought a Scyther could even know! What was the first one, Quick Attack?

He wanted one! This one, in particular.

Tee got up, though now he had a certain fog over his eyes. He wasn't in a good spot, but he could still fight. And now it was time to fight back! Stan brought one hand to his head and used one finger to signify the next attack- Horn Attack. Tee went to his glorious work, charging at Scyther. The bug thought the Tauros was defeated and had what Stan could only describe as a somewhat snug expression, one that turned to shock as Tauros charged into him,

The bug was hit point blank with both curved horns. Tee continued to charge and then flipped his head back, sending the Scyther flying through the air, turning around to make eye contact with . Scyther could use its little wings to hover and move around, but it was out of control and hurt- he was coming straight back down.

Hand to head, finger. Tee charged back from whence he came and caught the Scyther in full charge, hitting it once again in the middle with his horns. The bug went flying and skipped across the ground until it hit a tree and came to stop, once more with his back to Stan.

Now this had worked out perfectly! He had tried to remain hidden so that if he did get a change to catch Scyther, it would be a surprise. He didn't know if it would help at all, but it couldn't hurt. And if Tee had been knocked out? Well, a surpise dropkick to the back of a Scyther's head was maybe a good way to buy time, get Tee back in his ball, and scream for help. While running.

But no, this was a better outcome. A Great Ball came out of his bag and in one motion, he tossed it at Scyther which was struggling mightily to get up. The Scyther was converted into energy and the ball fell, starting to wiggle. But while Stan was excited about that, he also jumped over the ball and got to Tee, who was visibly breathing heavily.

"Good job! Good job!" Stan said, potion in hand. He sprayed it on, and then turned around to see the outcome.

Oakley hears Blue Flash let out a grunt as the boy got onto her back behind her. She wasn't worried about it though, she knew the Ponyta would manage both of them. She had said before that Blue had done other work on the ranch besides being her mount. She gave the Ponyta a stroke on her neck before turning back to the boy sitting behind her.

She sees that the boy doesn't have anything to hold onto, something she hadnt thought of.
"You can hold onto my shoulders or something. You'll have to, cause Blue Flash is pretty damn fast." she smirks. At that point, she'd only give him about ten seconds to grab her shoulders before she would click the horse Pokemon into a brisk canter. The Ponyta let out a little neigh as she cantered down the rest of the route. Just as well, too as Oakley could see that it was now getting dark.

As they went along, she wondered about the boy sitting behind her. Was he on a journey to conquer the gyms in the town. Oakley herself was completely unsure as to what she was going to do. All she was really interested in right now was getting a meal into her belly and getting a good sleep, riding for at least seven hours is exhausting. Then again, it wasnt unusual for Oakley to focus on these two factors over others.

After another half a hour, the girl pulled Blue Flash to a walk as they entered the town. The girl was quite surprised by the simplicity of the town. She was curious about all the ancient looking buildings. As they walked through the main street, she sighed as this confirmed the boy's previous assumption that there wasn't any cafe around. Her stomach let out another grumble, which just makes her sigh irritably. Then she caught sight of the Pokemon Center.
"Ah, there it is." she says as she walks Blue Flash to the door and dismounted. She would wait for the boy to get off of her before she would walk inside the Pokemon Center and turn back to him.
"So, what do we do now?" she asks, unsure as to what the process was to Pokemon Centers.

Oakley stops looking around the Pokemon Center as she hears Tatsumi answer her question on what they were supposed to do here. As he goes into a lengthy talk about the routine trainers usually take, she nods a few times as she started to understand. Truthfully she felt a little stupid for not figuring this out for herself because it sounded really simple. She listens this instructions carefully and takes it all in. It didn't sound too difficult. What did get her attention was his comment about the food served at the Center. She was quite surprised to hear that the first meal would be free, though knowing Oakley one portion would not satisfy her ravenous appetite. Once his talk was done, Oakley nodded.

"That makes sense." She says, "And yeah, I'm sure Blue Flash would want a long rest after that journey." She gives the blue-flamed Ponyta a pet on her cream coloured neck as the horse like Pokemon rested her chin on her shoulder. She watches Tatsumi as he talks to the Nurse Joy who was there and they struck up a conversation about him entering the Pokemon League. Hearing this caused a tight knot to form in the girl's chest, so he knew what he wanted to get out of his journey but she had absolutely no idea what she wanted to do. The girl rubbed the back of her neck as she listened to Tatsumi talk about someone they referred to as Wulfric. She had never heard of that name, but seeing how the boy was from Kalos, a place she had never been, she wasn't surprised. Though hearing him talk about him was quite interesting. Oakley sighs and takes out two cases from her saddle bag. One was for Gym badges and the other was for Contest ribbons. Her parents had given her both, seeing how she was conflicted on what she was going to do.

"And how can I help you today, young lady?" A nice voice caused Oakley to jump out of her thoughts as she turned her attention to Nurse Joy, who was looking at her with a pleasant smile.

"Oh, yeah. Um, I need a room too." She says, taking the saddle off of the Ponyta and putting it on the floor alongside Blue Flash's bridle. She didn't normally put Blue Flash into a Pokeball and she wanted to be sure if that was really necessary, "Umm… do I need to put Blue Flash into her ball for you to check her over?" she asks.

"If she doesn't like being in a ball, I'm happy to check her over as she is." Nurse Joy responded, giving Oakley a nice smile. As she says this, she notices the two cases in her hand, "Oh, are you planning to get both ribbons and badges?"

Oakley shuddered, "Umm… no, I'm just… travelling." She explained, "I've not… really decided what I want to do." She rubbed her arm worryingly.

"Oh really? Well, don't worry about it, I'm sure you'll decide on something in your own time. It's a big world." The pink haired woman assured her as she checked Blue Flash over before turning back to her, "You're Ponyta looks fine, she just needs a good rest. If you want I can put your saddle back here, it saves you having to drag it around." She offers, to which Oakley nodded and handed her the saddle.

"Like I said to your friend, your room will be ready in a few moments. Why don't you go and get something to eat while your room is getting ready?" the Nurse offered, "Chansey will give you your keycard when it is ready."

Oakley nodded at the nurse in thanks before turning to Tatsumi, "You want to go and get some dinner?" she asks him with a shrug, seeing how they both would have to wait for their rooms.

Pokemon/Inventory:


After what could only be described as the longest walk in his life Vince and his Pokemon finally reached Mt. Coronet. It had been an exhausting journey filled with a couple battles against some angry groups of Starly and Geodude after accidentally knocking a Starly nest down from trying pick some berries and the other after standing on top of a Geodude after using it as a way to get a better view. Thankfully Kiara and Scooter were there to get Vince out of those sticky situations.

Vince was also able to get some good training with Kiara and he could really see the progress she was making as she sparred with Scooter. The timidness was really fading and he could see how much the Kecleon enjoyed battling. This thrilled Vince as he began liking the idea of becoming a Pokemon Master more and more. He knew that battling wasn't the only part of that though but it was definitely a major portion and having Pokemon who loved it was a definite plus.

As they approached the entrance to the mountain, Vince had an idea. He looked around the mountain taking in its grandeur and mystery. Then found it. A little path on the exterior leading upwards.

"Perfect! Let's go you two, we are gonna take the scenic route." Vince said as he began walking up the path.

It had been almost a week since Vince had started his journey and he had really flown through everything not once stopping to smell the roses. This was the other important part of being a Master of Pokemon. Vince needed to take the time to enjoy life as well and learn from it what he could to become more one with nature and his Pokemon. Battling could only get him so far. It was the bonds he forged and the experiences he would have that would get him to the next level. Vince knew this and realized he needed to begin that process if he ever wanted to fulfill his new dream.

A few hours after Scyther was caught...

Stan enjoyed himself some milk, taking big, deep gulps out of a container that seemed unrealistically big. Who sold milk, any milk, in containers this big? Whatever. He needed it, so did Tee. The elder Tauros lay on its side. After Stan took a deep gulp, he would hold the container aloft and tip it. The milk would fall in the vicinity of Tee's mouth, who would welcome it with a hungry like and gulp as it messily splashed about. He gave an appreciative grunt. Whatever regenerative, rejuvenative properties lay dormant in the drink, he was thankful for them as was Tee. Which brought his attention to the pokeball in his hand. After a few moments, he released his newest catch- his first catch- his new friend, as a matter of fact. The Scyther came out, even more beat up than it had been entering the ball. In fact it was out of action entirely. Stan fished out a revive and in a few moments the Scyther's eyes opened up in confusion.

"So, you've gotten the first taste of how this works out, buddy."

He drank some more milk, then offered it to his Scyther. It looked aware, perturbed and annoyed by these developments. It was one thing to be caught. It was another to be TOLD to lose!

One hour earlier...

Stan needed money once he got the cafe and saw the absurd prices of drinks there. He had a strict budget that could get him a little ways, but he had a wounded Tauros and a craving for milk. Really, he was just hopeless. It was just his luck that a girl was looking to impress a guy and after several failed attempts at wooing him traditionally passed before his eyes, Stan decided to step in. He offered classical service: Stacey gets her butt kicked in a good old fashioned trainer battle, and the girl looks awesome. Then she can go to her target and have all the advantages of a vigorous peacock. All he asked for was two revives and enough money for some milk.

She had accepted. Stacey had started off by 'hitting on' the guy, being really forward and more than a little rude about it. Even if a boy would be into a girl after all, there was something unappealing to most- not all, as Stacey had found out at times- about a really aggressive stranger at a place like the cafe. Eventually the girl stepped in, Stacey argued with her. Finally it was decided that a battle was the only way to settle it. Of course.

So the first thing he noticed- she had three pokeballs on her waist. So he didn't need to feel bad about knocking one or two out if he had to. She had led off by stumbling around and selecting her second pokeball. She sent out a Pawniard- and Stacey had responded with Scyther. And to start off the charade, Stacey had used Vaccuum Wave. The move sent Pawniard flying, scoring a surprising KO in the opening blow of the match. The crowd was stunned- as was the girl. What, did she think Stacey hired herself out for squashes? It had to LOOK competitive!

She next sent out...a Rhyhorn! Well, this was a little troubling. Again, Scyther scored a darn good hit in with Vaccuum Wave. Rhyhorn still stood however and delivered a blow which sent the weakened Scyther into unconsciousness- Smack Down. Scyther flew back all the way towards Stacey, who moaned about how weak her pokemon were before summoning him back.

The girl got to tell Stacey all about friendship and valuing Pokemon and treating them kindly and blah blah blah. "Whatever, ya loser! Prepare to drink your own tears! Tauros, finish it!" Stacey screeched, sending out Tee. It didn't take long for Tee to understand what was going on- Stacey now used hand signals, while yelling out a bunch of nonsense.

"Work Up! That stupid thing needs to be put down!"

Tee did so. Rhyhorn responded with Scary Face, which must have amused Tee to some extent. Which puzzled Stacey- even a slower Tee was faster than this large rock thing. Maybe Tee was slowing down because of amusement. Either way...

"Horn Attack!"

It connected, but the Rhyhorn stood his ground, catching Tee mid-charge. You know, because it was a bad idea.

"What?! That's impossible!"

Blah blah blah friendship. Then she yelled out a good old-fashioned STOMP. Rhyhorn stood up on its hind two legs and then brought the front downs on Tee, who let out a pained bellow as he went down. It was all Stacey could do to keep that disgusted, angry look on her face, concealing the pain inside. But Tee was still going.

"Horn Attack! HORN ATTACK ALREADY!" Stacey screamed. Tee followed orders and hot Rhyhorn again, sending the larger creature stumbling back. Looks like Scyther's Vaccuum Wave had done a lot. Rhyhorn responded with Fury Attack, charging and attacking wildly. Tee jumped out of the way- the Rhyhorn missed, and in doing so, exposed itself.

"AGAIN!"

Tee charged into the weakened flank of the Rhyhorn's armor. The beast went down in a growl of pain, so much effort going into the attack that Tee sent himself tumbling over his defeated foe and only weakly standing up.

The third and final Pokemon she grabbed for was the first Pokemon on her waist, it seemed- a Skiploom? Well, no one was perfect. Either way, he was paid to lose. He gave Tee the sign, and Tee nodded solemnly along.

"You call THAT a Pokemon? Ha! Tauros, show her what a REAL one can do! Use Horn Attack!"

Tee did so. He charged at the little Pokemon who could only look around and fail to get out of the way, beaten back by the furious charge of Tee. The Skiploom finally edged out and gathered up the fortitude to use sleeping powder. Tee went down, stumbling towards Stacey. It lasted a few seconds but, unknown to all but Stacey, Tee woke up. He always did. His eyes hovered open and he looked over to Stacey- who in turn gave a nod, covered up by her seemingly yelling at her downed Pokemon to the disgust of all who had come out to see the match. "You lazy, LAZY Pokemon! Get up! Get UP!"

Skiploom charged towards Tee. "Oh no! Tackle!" Stacey yelled out in 'alarm', alerting Tee who braced himself. Skiploom hit and sent Tee flying- wait what right at-

An hour later...

"Listen Scyther, what I'm saying is- we all suffer for the art, but follow me and you'll never go hungry," Stan said as he finished the milk off in Scyther's throat, the recently revived pokemon starting to guzzling it down greedily. Two revives for two knocked out Pokemon and one milk for two damaged Pokemon and a trainer who had taken full Tauros to the face. "So that is how this will work. You won't always like it but when we need to win, we'll win. When we need money, we'll make money. And I won't abandon you or leave you in some box on the computer or whatever happens," he tossed the container. And then he summoned both balls, retrieiving his pokemon. He attached them to his belt and stood up.

It wasn't his proudest work, but pride didn't matter. The dirty looks of the staff as he bought the milk, not great- they thought that Stacey was a right...well, bad type of gal. That was also why he drank outside. Yeah, this was the life!

"...whatever happens."

Location: Celestic Town
Time: Now

Ahh yes, this place. What a bore. That was maybe a bit unfair- compared to other places in this region it was bustling and he didn't really have much to complain about, but after trekking through the wilds for a while he would have preferred a city with a nice sauna. he could scam his way just about anyway with even the smallest effort. But no- that was for later. For now, plan of action: Pokemon Center, find a place to rest, eat, and go from there. Gyms, contests, whatever- he'd make his way.

Pokemon Center. Decent activity- was that a unique looking Ponyta? Pretty. "Nice lookin' Ponyta ya have there," Stan said, deciding to adopt the Castelia accent his friend Emily had when he was a teenager. Turned out that it was the sort of accent he could naturally keep going or days, weeks, without slipping- perfect when he was trying to pass as Stacey and not cause a scene. "Don't think I've seen one with blues all around heh," he laughed, finding an open Nurse Joy.

"How can I help you today, young lady?" Nurse Joy asked. Stan nodded and smiled, grabbing both Pokeballs.

"Got myself two tuckered fellas holdin' me down until they can get rested. Nice massage, I'm thinkin'. Also needin' a place to stay," he smiled, handing the balls over as well as his identification.

"Oh, well let me get that ready for you and get them nice and rested. let me see here-" she said, looking at the information, then him, then back too it, and her system. Then she nodded- no need to intrude, "alright, your room will be ready in a few moments. Is there anything else I may help you with?" Nurse Joy asked. Stan waved it off.

"Nah, I don't- well, maybe. Know a place to get some nice grub here?" He asked to no one in particular, both the assembled trainers as well as Nurse Joy.