AGE: 17 ⟡ PRONOUNS: she/her ⟡ HOME REGION: Johto ⟡ DEVICE: PokéGear
DATE: Thursday, September 17 ⟡ TIME: Evening
LOCATION: Southern Pokémon Center

Registering her license is easy enough. She knew activation would take a day, but Marie hasn't figured out what to do with that day. She's already been to the marketplace- and spent too much, which she probably should have remembered before buying from the café- and the beach. She's already caught a Pokémon, but she can't challenge the gym until Saturday...

She stirs her cocoa with some small feeling of regret as she idly glances around the café. The nurses said Tuie and Stunnie will be out in about an hour. Maybe she should train? That's a thing people do, right? That's why we're called trainers, haha… But no, it's getting late. She should be in bed by eleven if she wants to leave around nine. Even if she doesn't know what she's leaving to do, having a schedule is probably helpful.

Her eyes drift across the room. It's nice here, warm and friendly with a fair amount of people even at this late hour. She hadn't ever been to a Pokémon Center before leaving Johto, but the ones she's seen since have all been fairly similar. Some nicer and better funded than others, certainly, but all similar. Even down to the community bulletin board near the framed café menu.

Oh, hey, maybe that will give her something to do tomorrow.

She deposits her dishes in the caddy and surveys the board. Ideally, there would be some kind of show or event happening… there's a few listed, but none for tomorrow. Maybe she should look into the Contest Hall's schedule- oh, hey, speaking of…

A sky blue flyer with an image of the Contest Hall and "HELP WANTED" in bold letters gets its picture taken. Marie grins. Tomorrow at 10am, she starts her first job!

Pokémon / Inventory:

AVRIL'S MONEY: $6 500

AVRIL'S TEAM:
🌼 Poppy (Flabebe) - ♀ - lv. 15
Flower Veil
Synthesis, Fairy Wind, Razor Leaf, Lucky Chant

NATSUKO'S TEAM:
🌻 Sunshine (Ponyta) - ♀ - lv. 15
Flash Fire
Tackle, Sunny Day, Flame Charge, Tail Whip

AVRIL'S INVENTORY:
🌼 2x Pokéballs
🌼 Holotch (phone)
🌼 Fanclub Membership card
🌼 Eviolite
🌼 Various clothes and commodities

🌼 Character art made with [SPAN="color:rgb(40,180,40);"]https://picrew.me/image_maker/94097[/SPAN]

Once they finished breakfast, it had taken a little over an hour for the girls to reach the market and pick out a new swimsuit for Natsuko. Avril had browsed some other shops as well, recognizing the stands where Jo bought their own items, but didn't get anything for the time being. She would have passed by even later, on the way back, after all.

After that, they arrive at the beach, changing clothes in the public locker room. Tsu steps out in her new black bikini and a black sarong with a flame pattern, keeping a hand on her new wide-brimmed white sun hat so the wind doesn't take it. She has a small satchel strapped to her thigh, currently hidden under the sarong, and she retrieves Shiny's PokéBall from inside, sending the Ponyta out.

Not too long after that, Avril leaves her own locker room with a green tankini, her cloth bag and towel on her shoulders, her sunglasses in place of her other pair, and a berry print kerchief on her head, under which Poppy is resting comfortably.

"Ah, the beach…" Tsu looks around the area, but it just seems like a normal beach to her. "Let's have some fun!" She pulls her phone out of her satchel, angling the shot so she can take a selfie with both Shiny and her new swimsuit in it. She flashes a grin and a V-sign, showing the picture to Shiny. "Look how cute we are!"

She notices Avril, enthusiastically waving to her. "Hey, Avril! Isn't this great?" She hurries over to her new friend, while Shiny prances along behind her, having fun in the sand.

"It really is a nice place! Wow, it's been so long…" Avril replies, her eyes jumping to different people and locations all around the beach. "Uhm… now we're supposed to get closer to the sea, aren't we?" she chuckles, her words covering out Poppy's enthusiastic chirping.

"We can! It'll get hot soon, but the water should be nice and cool." She leads the way, striding confidently into the water, only to immediately jump back to shore again. "Ah! Haha… it's colder than I thought!" Shiny laughs at her from the sand, preferring not to get her hooves wet.

Avril doesn't have enough time to step back before the next wave reaches her feet. "Oh it is cold… I admit I didn't expect that from Hoenn water." she giggles, getting back onto dry sand. "Maybe we should wait a bit before trying to swim."

"Yeah, it's probably safer that way." Tsu jokes as she starts walking along the shoreline, staying clear of the water itself. "Let's see what we can find over this- huh?"

As she walks, her foot sinks into the sand much more than she'd anticipated. She can feel something soft underfoot, but before she can puzzle out what it is, an electric shock shoots up her leg. She cries out in surprise, before being launched backward and falling on her butt in the sand. "Whoa! Ow… what was that?"

"N-Natsuko!?" Avril calls out, rushing to help her friend out but still clueless about what actually happened to her. "Are you ok?"

"I'm okay! Just got a jolt from something." She accepts Avril's help up, eyeing the patch of sand warily. "Shiny, can you use your Tail Whip to clear away that sand?"

Sunshine steps forward, her fiery tail actually growing in length to reach the ground. She backs up to the patch of sand, whipping her tail to brush away the sand and expose a flat brown fish Pokémon. In retaliation, it spits out a jet of water, striking Shiny in the flank and making her jump in surprise.

Seemingly furious at the wild Pokémon for hurting her playfellow, Poppy crawls out of her little place under Avril's kerchief just in time to fire off a Razor Leaf towards it, hitting on target despite being so much smaller than her opponent.

"Ow…" the blonde girl complained in the meantime, as Poppy did pull her hair and mess up her look in her attempt to float away. "No no no, what are you all doing…" she then hastily muttered, as the situation started to look increasingly similar to a Pokémon battle.

Natsuko looks over at Poppy, still on Avril's head, then at the Stunfisk, who does not look happy. She steps in front of Avril in case Stunfisk tries that again, instructing Shiny to get its attention. "No spitting water! That's just rude! Shiny, use Sunny Day, it'll weaken the water!"

A small bead of light forms in Shiny's mouth, which she then spots out into the air. It hovers above the field for a second, then quickly expands into a shimmering orb the size of a basketball. Despite the heat of the actual sun, the girls and the Pokémon can feel a gentle warmth spreading from the orb.

Stunfisk doesn't like that, and unleashes another jolt of electricity, this time at Shiny. She snorts in annoyance, digging at the sand with her hoof but otherwise not too bothered by the Thunder Shock.

"That's a cool move…" Avril whispers, quite intrigued by the small orb floating somewhere over everyone's head. Poppy, however, doesn't want to lose more time and keeps using Razor Leaf on the Stunfisk from her vantage position. "W-we should just… leave the thing alone, I suppose?" the blonde girl then asks, a slightly worried look on her face.

Tsu looks at her friend, who doesn't want to fight, and her Pokémon, who very much does want to fight. And that Stunfisk doesn't look sorry at all for shocking Tsu or Shiny. "Yeah, but we can't just let this thing go around zapping whoever it wants, can we? We have to defend ourselves, right?"

"Or you could just toss it back in the ocean." A strapping young man comes up from behind the pair. His white t-shirt says "LIFE GUARD" in large, friendly letters, and with his red shorts, sunglasses, and a whistle around his neck, he certainly looks the part. He's carrying a rubber-tipped walking stick, which he jabs under the
Stunfisk, flipping it onto its back. During the scuffle, it had moved away from the water's edge, so he has to get the stick under it again to flip it into the water.

"Sorry to interrupt you ladies and your battle, but these things get mean if you provoke them, so you gotta make it quick. I take safety very seriously." He twirls the stick around in his hand before planting it in the sand, offering the pair a small smile. "Hey. Name's Chadley. You ladies having a good day?"

"Y-yes, it's been great so far! T-thanks for your help there…" Avril smiles, with a hand on her hair to fix up the positioning of her kerchief. Poppy, after being somewhat disappointed that the Stunfisk was gone, just chirps and waves at the lifeguard with a playful grin.

Natsuko kneels beside Shiny, checking her over to make sure she's not hurt. "Did that nasty fish get you all wet and mess up your coat? Aw, Shiny, I'm sorry! Let's get you fixed up." A Potion and a quick brush later, Shiny is feeling healthy as… well, a horse. Happy that her partner is feeling better, Tsu finally acknowledges the lifeguard.

"Thanks for that. I don't think we stood a chance, even with the both of us!" She bows her head respectfully, which the lifeguard nonchalantly waves off.

"Just doing my job. But it's hot out here, especially with that second sun you created. There's a lemonade stand down the beach a bit, why don't we get a drink? I'll protect you from any more Stunfisk."

"Well, that seems like a good idea! I should've known about these… Stunfisk things." Avril giggles, still somewhat clueless about what has happened. "What about you, Natsuko?" she turns to her friend, happy to see that Shiny is feeling better.

"Yeah, a drink does sound good. And I do like lemonade." She takes a moment to consider, then gasps dramatically. "Oh, but if you're escorting us, you won't be able to protect anyone else! I mean, you're the only one with the stick, aren't you?"

Chadley laughs off her concerns. "Not at all! There are plenty more of these things back at the guard shack. You don't-"

"Perfect, then I'll take this one!" Natsuko interrupts, grabbing the walking stick and heading back the way they'd come. "Keep making the beach a safer place! We can handle ourselves from here!"

"Wait what?" Avril gasps, her voice followed by what sounded like a feeble, high pitched battle cry from Poppy. The girl can't help but chuckle at her Pokémon's antics, before trying to get Natsuko's attention again. She calls her name out loud. "You can't do this alone, you said it yourself!" she shouts, before giving in and running after her.

Natsuko lets Avril catch up, idly poking at the sand as they walk. "Can you believe that guy? He was a total creep, and he interrupted our adventure. And he made fun of Shiny! Sunny Day is warm and beautiful!" She seems more grumpy now, but tries to reign in her temper for Avril's sake.

"I don't know, he helped us after all…" Avril mutters, in between heavy breaths. "Ok, he was a bit too smug about it, but…" She looks warily at Natsuko and Shiny, who don't really seem pleased to hear that. "You know, whatever, let's do this. At least let me help a bit in case something bad happens. I-I'll do what I can…"

Natsuko lets out a sigh, then chuckles. "Sure! I think that's the guard shack up there, we can grab another one. And hey, technically, this doesn't count as a battle. We're just sending these little guys home before anyone steps on them!" Avril just nods and smiles, happy to hear that Natsuko is reassuring her, before following her to the shack.

Slateport Beach
Friday, September 18th

---

Natsuko leads the way into the guard shack, knocking on the door as she opens it. "Hello, anyone in here?"

There's a *clink* of coins being inserted into a vending machine, then the *rumble thump* of a drink being dispensed. There's a lifeguard inside, a tall woman in a red one piece, who retrieves her bottle of water as she turns to face the pair. "Hi. How can I help you?"

Tsu steps up to do the talking. "We were just looking for the guard shack, so we could pick up another one of these." She presents the walking stick, then hands it to Avril. "There are just so many Stunfisk out there, and we'd feel so much safer if we both had one. And then you lifeguards wouldn't have to worry so much. It's a win-win, really."

The lifeguard sighs, sweeping a lock of blue hair away from her face. "I don't know… it can be kind of dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. Where'd you even get that, anyway?" "Well…" Avril mutters. "We got it from, what was it… Chadley! And he showed us how to use it, as well."

"Chadley, huh? Figures he'd try to recruit more people to do this…" She shrugs and fetches another one from the back, handing it to Natsuko. "We do appreciate the help, and if you want to spend your time doing this, then thank you."

Tsu accepts the walking stick happily, offering a high five to Avril. "Nice! You ready to go?"

"Alright!" the blonde girl exclaims as she accepts the high five, mostly trying to look confident enough in the eyes of the blue haired lifeguard, more than anything else. "Let's get this done!"

"Yeah! Thanks, lady!" Tsu waves to the lifeguard as they leave, who half-heartedly returns the wave, along with a genuine smile.

Tsu heads back to the water's edge, looking for the telltale signs of lurking Stunfisk. She starts poking at the sand almost randomly until she finds one, instructing Shiny to use Tail Whip to expose it. It responds by trying to Tackle her, but Natsuko steps up with the stick. "Not so fast! Get back in your home!" She gets the rubber end under it, flipping it back into the water. Several sparks of electricity fly up as it sinks below the waves, surprising her.

"Wow… that was kinda cool! I kinda forgot they're Electric, too! Aw, I should've had my camera out…" she shrugs and grins at Avril, feeling a little better after getting some revenge for earlier.

After looking at the Stunfisk being thrown into the sea, both amazed and wary, Avril tries to catch onto her friend's words. If she wants a photo of a Stunfisk, then I have to be the one who flips it. Or… she thinks. "I'm sure we'll find another one. Like… here?" the blondie pokes at a suspicious looking pile of sand, but without finding any Pokémon hiding in it. She tries somewhere else. "This may be it. But… a-are you sure I won't mess up?" she asks Natsuko, as Poppy struggles to get a better look.

Natsuko retrieves her phone from her leg pouch, turning it toward Avril. "You'll do great! I was able to do it on accident! I'm pretty sure it's literally impossible to do this wrong."

After carefully placing the rubber tip of her stick under where the Ground type should be, the girl looks once again at her friend. "Ok, here I go!" She then counts to three, Poppy chirping in sync with her, and throws in the air the unaware Stunfisk with all her force. She might not be very strong, but this is more than enough regardless, and the Trap Pokémon is sent flying, before landing in the sea with a big splash. "I… I did it, right?" Avril asks, somewhat surprised of her successful first attempt, as Poppy cheers her up proudly.

Natsuko laughs, having caught the whole thing on video. "Good job, Avril! That was fun, right?"

"Fun? Yes, maybe… but it's also a bit too dangerous for my taste." The blondie sighs. "You didn't look too good before, when Stunfisk hurt you."

"Well… yeah, that didn't feel great, but that happens sometimes, right? That's just life. I get knocked down, but I get up again." She puts her phone away, picking up her walking stick again. "If you want to stop with the Stunfisk, though, I understand."

"Oh no, it's ok!" Avril hastily explains. "I'll still do my best to help you and the other beach goers out! Let's… look for more suspicious piles of sand and show that guy how good we are, right?"

"Yeah! And let's still go to that drink stand! I want that lemonade." They keep going, finding a couple more Stunfisk to flip, and Tsu even hands Avril her phone to record her flipping one herself. Avril tries a couple more times, getting gradually better and more confident. That is, until she messes up a throw.

The Stunfisk she's trying to get into the water notices her stick under it before Avril is ready. It moves to the side, and as a result only gets launched sideways, right onto the blonde girl's foot. She quickly moves away, but not before getting zapped by the Electric type and letting out a yelp. Luckily, she's able to get it right the second time, and throw the Stunfisk away into the water before it's too late: Poppy was already in pole position to start a proper battle.

"Ughhh… I'm so done! I'll just let others save me!" The blondie cries out, clearly trying to catch her friend's attention more than anything else.

"Are you okay?" Natsuko comes over, looking a little concerned. "Alright, we can be done. It's not our job anyway, right? Let's go do something else." She offers to take the walking stick if Avril doesn't want it.

"I-I'm fine now, thank you…" Avril mutters, smiling slightly. "It was scary though. I wonder if it happened to the lifeguards as well, as they learned how to do this…"

"Maybe! Let's go ask them." They decide to go back to the guard shack and return the sticks, staying away from the water so they don't trip over any more Stunfisk. But as they're walking, Natsuko notices a patch of sand shift suspiciously.

"Wait. Did you see that?" She holds out her arm to stop Avril. "Probably another Stunfisk. I'll handle this." The blonde girl looks carefully at where Natsuko pointed, noticing what looks like a red toy shovel. "Uhm, wait, whose is that? Did someone lose that toy?"

Tsu strides forward, walking stick at the ready. "You're pretty far inland, buddy. Did someone bury you? Let's fix that." She drives the stick into the sand, but doesn't hit anything. "Huh?" She pokes around a bit, getting a bit nervous when the sand starts rising.

A small mound of sand rises up, the toy shovel sticking out of the top. Two eyes made of stone and a large mouth form, but Natsuko is too committed to back out now. "Okay, you're not a Stunfisk!" She jabs it with the stick, to absolutely no effect. "Let's not…" a suddenly worried Avril mutters behind her. "Just leave it there!"

"Uh… Shiny? A little help, please!" Shiny charges past Avril, trampling the sand pile under her hooves. But it simply rises again slightly to the left, and a dreadful wail emanates from its mouth as sand starts swirling around Shiny.

"Okay, you're right! Shiny, get out of there!" Natsuko is very worried now. Shiny tries to retreat, but the swirling sand pushes her back toward the evil sand pile. "Alright, then, back in your ball!" She holds out the PokéBall, but the sand blocks the red beam, leaving Shiny in the middle of the raging cyclone.

"I guess I have no choice… Use Flame Charge!" The flames around Shiny's hooves flare up, leaving scorch marks in the sand as she charges the sand Pokémon. It responds by Hardening itself, protecting against further attacks. Shiny flinches in pain as the sand rages around her, and Natsuko can only watch and feel helpless.

Now it's actually Avril's time to step up, no matter how much she could try and deny it. Poppy reminds her by swiftly freeing herself from her trainer's Kerchief and floating above what looks like a Sand Tomb attack now, before firing off a large cone of small, but sharp leaves at Shiny's opponent.

Natsuko looks over at Avril in surprise, then sighs in relief. "Alright, Poppy! Thanks for the assist! Shiny, use Tail Whip to soften it up!" Shiny swishes her tail like she was swatting at flies, knocking off bits of hardened sand from their foe. It responds by opening its mouth, absorbing energy from Shiny as more sand buffets her. After a quick Lucky Chant, Poppy sends some more leaves the Ground type's way.

This is how it is, uh? Avril thinks as she takes some more steps closer to the epicenter of the fight. "Ok, I'm here to help!" She announces, putting Natsuko's safety before the one of that weird Pokémon after realizing what situation her friend got herself in.

Shiny whips her tail again, and gets drained of more energy and smacked with more sand. She stumbles, almost falling but managing to stay up. "Come on, Sunshine, you can do this!" The attack is followed by more Razor Leaf - no need to use other moves when it's already proving to be super effective, right? Plus, Tail Whip only seems to make it stronger for some reason.

With another Tail Whip, the Ground type tries to Harden again, apparently getting concerned, but the Sand Tomb holds strong. Poppy fires more leaves, before trying - with only middling results - to use Fairy Wind and dispel some sand. Avril isn't really in control of Poppy, to be fair: she's mostly telling her to be careful and to stay away from danger. To all the advice, the Flabébé replies with more enthusiastic chirping.

"Shiny can't take much more of this, and I can't pull her out through that sand." Natsuko pulls another PokéBall from her pouch. "But thanks to you two, maybe I won't have to! I'll cut off the sand at the source!" She throws the PokéBall, striking the sandy menace and absorbing it inside.

The ball quivers in place, but the sand still swirls around Shiny, which concerns Natsuko a bit. Then it clicks shut, and the Sand Tomb abruptly collapses. Natsuko immediately runs to Shiny's side, hugging her tightly. "Shiny, I was so worried! But you did great, even when things looked grim!"

She turns to Poppy, trying to hide the tears in her eyes with a big smile. "And Poppy, you were amazing! We couldn't have done this without you!" She suddenly feels very tired, putting a hand on Avril's shoulder for support. "I'm sorry, I should have listened to you. I'll try not to be so reckless from now on."

Poppy bows her head as a sign of gratitude, as Avril smiles at her friend. "It's fine, I'm just happy it all went well. This was probably the best ending there could be!" She cheers, before looking at the Pokèball on the ground. "Whatever that is, I'm sure it was just a bit startled by you. I'm sure you'll become close friends!"

"Oh, yeah, what even is that?" Natsuko picks up the ball, checking her Pokedex. "I guess it's a Sandygast, a Ghost and Ground type from the Alola region. Apparently they're pretty rare."

With that taken care of, the girls make it back to the guard shack, where the same lifeguard from before greets them. "Welcome back. How'd it go out there?"

"Uhm… it was fun!" Avril speaks up, forcing a smile, as Poppy also smiles and chirps. "Well, we got zapped once, but I guess it's part of the job, isn't it?"

"It can be, but it's sort of what we're trying to avoid." She takes the walking sticks back, offering Avril and Natsuko each ₽1000 for their efforts. "Thanks again for doing that. You've helped make the beach safer."

Natsuko accepts the reward, still holding her new PokéBall. "It was nothing. Thank you." Avril does so as well before turning to her new friend. "Oh, you did well! Better than me at least!"

"You didn't do too bad, yourself. Now, let's go get that drink. I could use one!" Natsuko jokes as they head back outside.

It's bright and sunny, the beach goes on for miles, and people and Pokémon alike are having a good time. And Edison is bored. He'd spent time relaxing, then sought out and defeated a rare but apparently dangerous Pokémon, and now he has no idea what to do. He walks along the beach, alone, starting to regret not going with Sunny. Energetic and sassy as she is, at least she was someone to talk to.

But there is one area where almost no one is going: the sandbars and tide pools of the shallow water. Most people are sticking to the dry land or going out to the deeper water for swimming, boating, or surfing. Curious, Ed goes for a stroll, noting that the water doesn't even touch his shorts. It's high enough to make walking slightly more difficult and therefore slower, but that's no deterrent to a determined scientist! Neo follows along behind him, their movement speed unaffected as they hover over the water.

The ocean is certainly beautiful to look at, but by rummaging through the sand underfoot, Ed finds interesting shells and shiny rocks, worn smooth by water and time. Neo detects motion nearby, but doesn't see anything when they turn to investigate. While Ed is distracted by rocks and shells, they begin looking around for signs of Pokémon.

Ed notices Neo's behavior, especially when they keep looking behind them, gently scooping them up to look them over. "What's going on?" Neo's eye keeps looking around the area. "Perhaps the ocean is causing problems with your proximity sensor? It is motion activated, so we'll probably just need to calibrate that. Use Supersonic to scan the area, thought ought to clear things up."

Neo sends out a low frequency pulse, and to Ed's surprise, a flashing light below the surface answers it! "Hello, what's this?" He brings up his Holotch scanner, moving closer to scan the source of the light: a golden-brown star shaped Pokémon clinging to a rock. "Hello, what are you? A Staryu, eh? N.D., were you perhaps detecting this?"

Neo floats closer, and the Staryu detaches itself from the rock with surprising speed, its core glowing as a wave of unseen force bursts forth, striking Neo. They remain unfazed, but now there's a battle.

"That was Psywave..." Ed's seen the move before. "Very well, use Thunder Wave!" Neo aims both magnets forward, sending out a low amperage blast that washes over Staryu, causing it to lock up. "That should slow it down. Go for Shock Wave next!"

To Ed's surprise, Staryu jumps up, landing on two of its appendages and pointing the topmost one at Neo. A stream of water erupts from the tip, striking Neo full on. Neo's armor is impressive, but it's not water resistant. "It's so fast..." Fast as it is, it's not faster than light, and the blue laser Neo fires from their eye hits without fail.

"Perfect aim, as always, N.D.! Use Shock Wave again!" Staryu tries to move, but its limbs are locked up in paralysis. Neo lines up the shot, firing another precise shot of electricity. "And now, I believe a Thunder Shock will suffice."

Staryu's core flashes green, and a soft light emanates from the core. Checking his Holotch, Ed identifies the technique as Recover, and is amazed as the Pokémon heals its wounds with its own power. As such, Neo's lower power jolt fails to knock it out as Ed intended. "Fascinating! Neo, another Shock Wave!"

In a moment of deja vu, Staryu fires a blast of Water Gun at Neo, who responds with another blue laser. Ed notices a red light within Staryu's core start blinking, holding up a hand to forestall Neo's attack. "Hold off, N.D. I think I'd like to study this one some more." He pulls a PokéBall from his pocket, tossing it at Staryu. The ball strikes the paralyzed echinoderm, pulling it inside. The ball shakes once, then clicks shut. Ed goes to recover the ball as his Holotch registers Staryu to his Trainer card.

"Star-shaped, with a gem-like core, brings to mind asterism, so perhaps... wait, what's this?" Scanning Staryu's vitals reveals that they are no longer paralyzed. He sends Staryu back out, noticing the still blinking light in their core, but they otherwise seem to have no difficulty moving. "This calls for an experiment... Aster, would you kindly use Recover?"

The Staryu, apparently now named Aster, is happy to oblige, healing their wounds with that same green energy. "Fascinating! And Neo, use Thunder Wave on them, please."

Aster looks at Ed in surprise, but Neodymium responds without hesitation, sending out the paralyzing low amp pulse. Aster locks up again, paralyzed. Edison observes them, but can detect no change. "Perhaps the ball?" He returns Aster to their PokéBall, and as the red beam strikes, there is a flash of green from Aster's core. Checking again, Aster is no longer paralyzed!

"Ha-ha! Success! It appears that interacting with the PokéBall's digitization energy creates a synergistic effect with their natural curative properties! Truly fascinating. Don't worry, my new friend, I won't be testing that ability of yours any further, but I'm sure it will be useful in the future." He starts making his way back to shore, looking for Sunny so he can show her his new capture.

Location: Slateport Hotel

"I know that, ma… N… no, I know, but he sure as hell doesn't show it."

Inside a cheap hotel room paced Emilio, backpack and beanie having been tossed to the foot of the bed. His messenger bag had been gently placed by the pillows, the one pokéball nestled inside in the small crater he had created with a single push of his fist on to rectangular, dirty white pillow.

With a distraught voice the young man argued with his mother, free hand gesturing confusion yet annoyance. "No, ma. It isn't okay for him to do tha- no. I know, but… okay. Bye." That familiar tone of a call ending echoed as his hands wrapped themselves around the device. He begins to jab the edge of the pokégear against his forehead, a scrunched up face doing its best to withhold a scream. A minute of this resulted in him releasing a bellow of rage, defeated yet refusing to give in to his mother's pleas to return home.

He had only just begun. He cannot give in. Yet.

He sits on the bed and feels his back plop against its thick bedding, spread out extremities sinking into the fabric. The bag tilted and landed on its side while the pokéball resting next to it rolled down the pillow, skimming Emilio's left arm before reaching his neck. And like a burning metal he flinched and shot up, now glaring at the filthy, brown carpet. Steadily the pokéball rolled towards his waist due to his weight pushing down on the bed's blanket.

"...I can't. I don't want to see your damn- ugh." Emilio debated against himself, hands massaging his temples with eyes closed to quell an emerging headache. "How do I even… begin?" A sigh escaped his lips. He groaned as he reached for the pokéball, fingers hesitating upon grazing the spherical capsule. Inside a galarian ponyta awaited their release.

He stood back up. "Let's just get this over with." Quickly he snatches the pokéball and presses its button. Immediately he felt weak to the knees, chest tightening and cold in anticipation of his aunt's companion; she never left the cute thing alone.

His hands clutched the pokéball against his chest amidst the galarian ponyta's escape, regret and guilt building at an unprecedented rate. And as the red lightshow melted away to reveal the psychic-type pony beneath, his being began to slightly tremble.

The gleeful expression on the horse upon seeing the familiar man soon transformed into that of a worried one, eyes watching as the pokéball was dropped. His hands now clamped his mouth as a futile attempt to swallow the grief he now attached to the pokémon, yet the stinging that came with incoming tears forced him into the small bathroom nearby.

Ponyta yelped when the door slammed shut. The unfamiliar surroundings began to scream at the horse, puzzling and worrying her. Nothing, not even Emilio's distraught reaction, had been seen before.

Regardless, the ponyta felt pity, cautiously approaching the dark mahogany door, artificial yellow light from inside leaking out the bottom and top. She sat next to the doorhandle, away from the door's range.

Muffled sobbing could be heard, followed by the sudden opening of the door. Out came Emilio, irritated eyes and somewhat wet cheeks signaling to the pony that he was in no good state. It took him a moment to process that his companion was not standing in the same exact spot as before, thus why she was startled when Emilio gasped and scanned the room several seconds after having stared into the wall. When he found her next to him relief consumed his panic-stricken body, shoulders relaxing as he crouched to her level. The door awkwardly squealed as it pulled itself into a wider opening.

He gulps, teeth biting his tongue before his eyes rested on ponyta's own. "Heeey. It's been a while, hm?" Wanting to help him ease out of the peril he is feeling, she displays glee. With ears upright and front hooves tapping the carpet, she uttered a high-pitched neigh.

Unfortunately he felt another round of tears welling up, yet instead of fleeing into the restroom he slapped his hands on to his knees and stood. His ponyta followed him to the bed, observing him retrieve several granola bars from his messenger bag before sitting on the poofy bedding. This caused her own stomach to rumble, yet he did nothing to bring this fact to Emilio. On the contrary, she gently picked a bar with her chalk-white teeth, head nestling between his legs and tilting upward to hand it over.

He snickered, hand plucking it from her mouth. "Thanks, but don't do that. I can do that, see?" he explained, slowly grasping one firmly before opening the same hand, dropping the bar down to lay with the rest. With that he proceeded to unwrap the peanut butter and chocolate delight.

Somewhat happy, the galarian pokémon laid down beneath him, laying her beautiful head on his dirty sneakers. "No!" he suddenly blurts, startling the pony into a sitting position. "Don't do that, they're dirty." Despite her understanding and smile he felt a twinge of guilt, sighing before stroking behind her ears. Seeing her eyes close and hearing her satisfied hum slightly uplifted his spirits.

He felt a little better now.

"I feel bad. Sorry. I'm just… well, you already know me, right?"

AGE: 17 ⟡ PRONOUNS: she/her ⟡ HOME REGION: Johto ⟡ DEVICE: PokéGear
DATE: Friday, September 18 ⟡ TIME: Afternoon
LOCATION: Northern Pokémon Center

Her first job is…. not exciting.

Mostly she's sitting in the box office at the contest hall selling tickets. Which is mostly fine, but she's not allowed to have Tuie or Stunnie out. And Marie just has to… sit here. With some strangers who are way older than her and not really interested in talking to her aside from telling her to do stuff. Or not do stuff. Like not wear her bandana, because it's "not professional". Even though it's hot in this little booth and her hair is thick and now she's sweaty. Ugh.

It's really something when you're counting down the minutes until you're allowed to go mop floors.

She get that done quickly, at least. Perhaps not well, but she's got $6,000 in hand and is bouncing out the door before anyone can check. $6,000 for four hours isn't bad at all! And now she can get a nice lunch, maybe from one of the market stalls… eat down at the beach… maybe see if Miss Mermaid is working. Maybe help flip more Stunfisk.

Or maybe train, like a trainer should.

That's a better idea.

There's a park with a few fountains behind the northernmost Pokémon Center. A few people are out here with her, some just relaxing but others actively training like she intends to. Some glance over as she releases Tuie and Stunnie, but Marie isn't concerned about them. She's concerned about the fact that she's had this Pokémon for nearly a day and really hasn't interacted with him much at all.

Tuie flutters onto her shoulder. Stunnie flops himself into a fountain with a sploosh and stares at Marie through the clear water. She stares back at him.

"So… how are you?"

Stunnie clacks his beak. Tuie copies him. Marie taps her foot.

"Okay, let's… establish things. I'm Marie. I caught you. This is Tuie. I've been calling you Stunnie in my head, so that's your name now."

Stunnie crackles with electricity, expression unchanging. "Yeah, like that. Okay. What else do you do?"

Marie hops out of the way as a ball of mud splatters where she was standing, but there's no way to avoid the deluge of mud that drenches her and Tuie both, and with the mud in her eyes there's no dodging the blast of water that leaves her dripping from head to toe.

"Oh, you little-!" Marie's lunge at her annoying fish is interrupted by a snicker from behind.

"Hey, hey, you caught a prankster, huh?"

"So it seems," Marie answers through gritted teeth, glaring at her Pokémon and turning to face this springy-haired interloper, who doesn't seem to care that she's in a bad mood. "You want to do something about it?"

"I'm on break," they claim, as if Marie knows what their schedule is or what they're on break from, "but earlier I saw people training on the beach! The lifeguards don't care if you battle down there and there are lots and lots of Staryu to find! They're a much much better match for your Stunfisk than your Natu would be. And, and! You could practise a double battle! Cause you're challenging the gym, right? You're gonna need to practise!"

"That's rude," Marie huffs.

They grin mischievously. "But true!"

Ugh. They're right, but people sticking their noses where they don't belong rubs the wrong way. Marie grabs Stunnie by the tail and drags him out of the fountain, letting him dangle at her side as she walks away.

"See ya later!" The person calls. Marie groans. She hopes not.

Sunny Dey
Friday, September 18th
Slateport Beach

---

Flipping Stunfisk had seemed fun at first, but it quickly lost its appeal. Sunny now sees why the lifeguards are so willing to pass this duty off to others. And worst of all, she can't find the lifeguard to return his stick, or Eddie to hang out with. Sure, he would probably ramble on about something geeky she wouldn't understand, but he's still her best friend.

She doesn't even have the heart to flip the next Stunfisk properly, just leaving it exposed on the sand. "Go on, scram." It puffs up a bit, probably trying to intimidate her, but she just smacks it on the head with the stick, sending it flopping back into the water. "I said scram. I'm not in the mood."

Rather than stay grumpy, she goes to get herself a snack, heading back up to the food trucks by the road. One of them is selling frozen treats, and soon she's happily munching on an orange and vanilla ice cream bar. As she strolls along, part of a conversation catches her attention.

"...fun of Shiny! Sunny Day is warm and beautiful!" "I don't know..."

Sunny pauses, positive that it's just a coincidence, but she laughs at the unintentional compliment. And then she sees the guy! The same lifeguard from earlier!

"Hey!" She runs over to him, handing him back his walking stick. "Chadley, right? Thanks for letting me do this, it was fun! For a little while."

He seems reluctant to take the stick back, but does so anyway. "No problem, babe. Felt good, right? Doing your part to keep the beaches safe and help those Pokémon return home?"

"For a little bit, yeah. But I'd get super bored doing it all day."

"Tell me about it!" Chadley laughs. "But hey, we lifeguards are allowed to offer a reward to anyone donating their time and energy to Stunfisk patrol. What do you say, can I buy you a drink?"

"Ooh, tempting..." Sunny thinks it over for a moment. "But I'll pass. I actually just got something, so I'm okay for now."

Chadley nods, reaching into his pocket. "I get it. Then instead, I can offer you a monetary reward of equal value, and my number." He hands her a ₽500 bill and a folded piece of paper.

"Alright, Chadley." Sunny accepts both items. "That was well played. Maybe I'll talk to you later."

"Looking forward to it." His teeth don't actually sparkle when he smiles at her, but Sunny wouldn't be surprised if they did. "But for now, I am needed elsewhere. Have a good day!"

Sunny keeps moving, heading in the opposite direction than she did earlier. The beach is still very pretty, and she doesn't mind seeing more of it. There are a lot of people here, too, and some of them can be interesting. A lot of small swimsuits, apparently shorts aren't as popular as she thought...

She soon notices someone with a very distinctive hair style walking through the water. It's Eddie! She'd recognize that spiky blond mop anywhere, and calls out to him. He looks around a bit before he sees her, but she can swear he smiles a bit when he finally does.

He starts making his way over to her, but almost slips as he gets out of the shallows. He jumps back quickly, certainly faster than Sunny's ever seen him move, just as a Stunfisk releases a jolt of electricity. Someone less perceptive would probably have been zapped, but not Ed.

Sunny briefly regrets not having a stick anymore, but decides to see how this plays out. Eddie was never excited to battle, but she always liked watching him. She gets closer as she sees Neo move up to engage.

Ed starts off with Supersonic, which Sunny kind of expected. It's one of his favorite moves, after all. Stunfisk is too confused to retaliate properly, so it was a good opening move. "Alright, N.D., let's try a Magnet Bomb!"

That's new! When did Neo learn that? Sunny watches as a small panel above Neo's eye slides open, and a small metal orb is launched from within. It flies straight toward Stunfisk, guided by Neo's magnetism, detonating on impact. As cool as it looked, Stunfisk looks more annoyed than hurt, and scoops up then flings wet sand at Neo using Mud Slap.

Eddie frowns at that, rubbing his chin with one hand. He always does that when he's really thinking. He moves his hand to his shirt pocket, pulling out a PokéBall. He glances over at Sunny, then pulls a different PokéBall from his pocket. What's that about?

Ed recalls Neo, and Addie takes their place. Stunfisk flops about in confusion, giving Addie time to wind up his Metronome. Stunfisk spits water at Addie, but the little guy barely feels it. His little hands glow white...

Here it comes!

...then the energy travels to his head, and he opens his mouth wide to unleash a Hyper Beam! Stunfisk is caught full in the blast and goes flying! The beam carves a shallow trench through the sand, startling several people and getting the attention of everyone nearby.

"Oh. That's... unconventional." Ed seems to be at a loss for words, so Sunny knows he's just as surprised as everyone else.

"Woo! Good job, Eddie! That was awesome!" Sunny cheers, running over to give a big hug to Addie. She tries to pick him up, but he's heavier than he looks. For his part, Addie looks exhausted, so Sunny just pats his head and puts an arm around Ed's shoulders. "We should go. Right now. Come on."

"Oh, hello, Sunny." Ed returns Addie to his ball. "I've had quite the day, let me tell-"

"Shh, no talking." Sunny starts walking, ready to drag him if she has to. "Just move. Please walk. Let's get the hell out of here."

To his credit, Ed doesn't argue. He matches her pace, which is quicker than normal despite her attempt to look casual. "Did you have fun at the beach today, Eddie?"

"I did, actually. More than I expected, I must say."

"That's good! Because they probably won't let us back after that."

"It's not my fault!" Ed protests, bewildered at the implication. "It's a random technique, I didn't... it was an accident!"

AGE: 17 ⟡ PRONOUNS: she/her ⟡ HOME REGION: Johto ⟡ DEVICE: PokéGear
DATE: Friday, September 18 ⟡ TIME: Afternoon
LOCATION: Slateport Beach

Two Staryu are not hard to find once she wades past most of the swimmers, and Marie is all of a sudden battling for real. A real double battle, at that. In the water. Tuie flutters back to her perch on Marie's extended arm; she still can't fly for long and she definitely can't swim. Stunnie's happy to bury himself by her feet and is taking great joy in zapping Marie every time she steps on him.

This is not going very well.

"Okay, Tuie, um- use Cosmic Power! Just, do that a few times! Stunnie, start zapping them, not me, oh my god they're like, right in front of you- no, one went left- just- augh."

The Staryu circle Marie, Rapid Spins kicking up a fine, rainbow-tinged spray. Do they think we're playing? Stunnie manages to zap one, but it sinks for only a second as green light suffuses its form, then pops right back up to twirl once more.

"Ooh, just- Stunnie, just zap everything!" Marie immediately regrets that command as diffused electricity skitters up her legs, undirected power lost on the further-away Staryu. "Uh, not that, not that, stop- Tuie, how many?"

Tuie pecks her four times. "Great, hit that fucker on the left!"

Tuie flicks out her wings and a beam of purplish light punches into the Staryu's core, driving it into the seabed at a forty-five degree angle. Stunnie, simultaneously and unprompted, punches the other Staryu out of the water with a Tackle and electrocutes it before it can dive again. The three watch as it sinks into the sea and washes toward shore with the waves.

Marie lies down to float on her back, Tuie on her bandana and Stunnie on her midriff. "Well," she says, after a moment, "that sucked."

Ability: Static; Moves: Fissure, Water Gun, Bide, Thundershock, Mud Shot, Mud Sport​

Name: Kira Wolf || Day: Thursday, September 17 || Time: Late Afternoon
Location: Slateport City

AGE: 17 ⟡ PRONOUNS: she/her ⟡ HOME REGION: Johto ⟡ DEVICE: PokéGear
DATE: Saturday, September 19 ⟡ TIME: 3:30 PM
LOCATION: In Transit to Dewford via Breezy Seas Ferry

Benji was relentlessly cheerful and encouraging, but Marie and her team still got absolutely trashed.

He'd used a Wormadam, the pink one, and a weird Diglett with hair. Marie really should have studied Pokémon before this trip, though knowing Wormadam's secondary type wouldn't have helped considering its penchant for Magnet Rise. Knowing Alolan Diglett's may have, but Stunnie was far too slow to do a thing to it anyway.

Barely two minutes of battling and she was out. Humiliating.

It's difficult to be mad at Benji, even though Marie is trying very hard to be. He's very nice and encouraging. He likes battles and wants people to go all-out. It just so happens that Marie going all-out is… pretty much nothing.

He said she'll have a better time down in Dewford. And she'd better. Because she already kinda feels like giving up and going home. Even though the gyms weren't even really the point of this. Marie doesn't like to be bad at things. Especially not things that basically anyone can do.

Marie doesn't like to fail.

Whether that will motivate her or drive her away, well. That depends on Dewford.

On this guy called Brawly.

Prologue - Epoch 1.1: Slateport
Thursday, September 17 {2: 50pm}

Sudden Job! Friend or Foe?!

"Stunfisk?" Shuna questioned, "And you want me to help you get them off the beach?"

"Y-Yeah. The sticks we are given are rubber-tipped, but that doesn't mean the rest of our bodies are. I can't even count the amount of times my feet got shocked by passing Stunfisk!" The male lifeguard complained, rubbing his forehead with a sigh, but a thought came to him, raising his mood. "Hey! Why don't you help me move the Stunfisk?"

Shuna stared at the male for a minute before cocking her head to the side, "Why? Isn't moving Stunfisk your job?"

"Yup. But I don't like it, so you do it for me."

"W-wait, I'm busy!"

"You don't seem busy!"

"I came to the beach to train my pokémon!"

"You can do both!"

"The Stunfisk is your job!"

"Not tomorrow! I'm leaving it to you!"

"Eeeehhhhh?!"

As Shuna and the male lifeguard argued, Finn was playing in the ocean, swimming back and forth. He would jump around and do some tricks, however, Pidge was resting on Shuna's shoulder, watching the ordeal. If the human didn't like his job, why does he still have it?

"You can't just hand it over to me!"

"Of course I can! I saw other lifeguards do it with other trainers!"

"Don't copy them! I'm busy tomorrow!"

"Too bad! I'm counting on you!"

"W-wait!" Before Shuna could refuse, the lifeguard had left, being called to break by another lifeguard. As she watched the males leave, she was stuck and shocked at the events that just occurred.

A job. She had a small job tomorrow that she didn't apply for and had been pushed onto, and alas…

"He didn't tell me what time the job was or where?!" Pidge sighed, humans were interesting, but they had their own fill of drama he'd rather avoid.

*Timeskip - 6:00pm*

Shuna sighed as she sat on one of the tables on the terrace on the right side of the Pokémon Center. A small plate with some macaroons along with a cup of tea sat in front of her. Before coming to the Pokémon Center it had taken her about three hours to find the male lifeguard, whose name is Hugh, and then ask him when and where the job would occur. She didn't know someone could move from place to place so quickly, and every time she would ask for the time and place, he would change the subject. She had a feeling he didn't want to tell her so she would take the whole day instead of an hour or two of his job. Luckily, one of his friends was nearby and told her where he was stationed and their work hours, and from the look of Hugh's face, her previous thoughts were correct.

"If he doesn't like his job… then why is he still doing it?" mumbled Shuna, picking up her cup of tea as she placed her elbows on the table. She heard a chirp and turned to her right, seeing Pidge sitting next to her arms and Finn sitting on the seat beside her, eating his own macaroons.

"Because of the females obviously." a voice replied. Pidge turned his head sharply and saw a male sitting in the seat across from his trainer, a stranger nonetheless.

"Ah, that makes sense," complied the pink-haired, but after a minute of silence the girl immediately sat up with a squeal, almost dropping her tea. "W-where did you come from?!" The male across from her had shoulder length savoy blue hair tied into a low ponytail, held together by a yellow tie. He had light blue bangs in a similar fashion to hers and emerald green eyes. His outfit consisted of a white turtleneck with a grey v-shirt over, a red leather jacket with a high collar, floral white pants, and brown boots.

"I was looking for a free table to enjoy my lunch." In front of the male sat a plate of mashed potatoes, rice, and corn with gravy.

"Ah, I'm sorry, but I thought you'd pick an empty table," Shuna emphasised 'empty,' since when people look for a free table usually it's an empty one.

"Too boring," was the male's reply. At that moment Finn had finished his food and noticed the other human sitting with them. At first he stared at the male, as if analyzing him, but after a minute he chirped and waved one of his paws. The male noticed the mudfish pokemon waving at him, but instead of doing what the pokémon thought he would do, the male sharply turned his head away, as if ignoring the pokémon. Finn blinked his eyes, registering the human's actions before puffing his cheeks into a pout, lowering his arm. Pidge glared at the human for hurting his comrades' feelings, his feathers ruffling up a bit.

"I see…" Shuna nervously smiled, but when she saw the interaction between Finn and the male, her eyes narrowed a bit. "...I don't believe you. Why did you really come to this table?"

The male took a sip of his cup of coffee, glancing at Shuna before closing his eyes, then placing his coffee back on the table. "I know."

"Huh?"

"Who you really are… Kuchiki," the male declared, mumbling the last word to himself.

"I'm Shuna Kamado, and I don't know what you mean, mister." Shuna glared, she didn't like what the male was hinting at. It's true, she used to have a different name, but it was changed due to… certain reasons. Pidge, as if sensing his master's anger, also glared at the male. Finn was oblivious to it, still pouting from being ignored.

"No need for glaring, I won't tell anyone." The male closed his eyes, resting his chin on his folded hands, his elbows resting on the table. He then opened them, staring deeply at Shuna. "In exchange…."

"Exchange?" Shuna flinched. She didn't know how this male was hinting at her past, he might not ever know, but she knew that she had to do whatever he said. Her grandparents warned her about her father's side of the family and their problems. So if word got out that she was here, there's no telling what might happen. He might not know, but she wouldn't risk it, what if he does know of her past?

"You have to be my friend." At his words Shuna froze before sighing in relief, but then froze again upon his words registering and looked at the male, confused.

"Friend?" Why would he ask her to be his friend, wouldn't it make sense to ask for something more drastic with information like that? It didn't make sense to her, but she didn't question it. "I-I guess? But you have to tell me your name, since you know mine."

"My name? It's Souei Higurashi." The male, Souei, smirked as he lifted his head, standing from his seat. 'As long as she doesn't know what my real last name is… everything should be going as planned…'

"N-nice to meet you." Shuna bowed her head a bit, weary of Souei. After everything he told her, she didn't know if she should trust this person, but if he knew her old name and past, she couldn't risk it. She had to be his friend or else, her freedom was over, and she still had the mystery of her parents. She placed her left hand over her right wrist, grasping the silver bracelet. She couldn't lose her freedom! One of her goals of traveling was to find her parents and the mystery surrounding them! She remembered the information Arthur told her, back in Nashimity Town. The keystone is the only thing she's got as a lead and a remembrance of them.

"So, as my friend, you're going to hang out with me tomorrow," Souei declared, grabbing a blue shoulder bag from beside his chair and swinging the strap over his head. He turned to Shuna, his smirk turning into a grin. "We'll meet at the front of the Pokémon Center at 10 o' clock."

Shuna watched Souei leave, his words registering into her mind. Once they did however, she gasped and turned to where Souei went, but the male was nowhere to be seen. "Not you too!" Again, she was given no choice but to do something, and it was tomorrow too!

Pidge sighed, giving his master a pitying look. Humans and their customs are weird, but he knew enough to know that humans don't become friends that fast, and with how his master was acting, it seemed forced too. Glaring in the direction the male went, Pidge knew that he had to keep an eye on that human, for he knew Finn wouldn't; the mudfish was too friendly and oblivious when it came to matters like this.

Pidge turned to the mudfish pokemon and saw Finn eating some poké food from who knows where.

Current Team:
Inventory:

Edison Kintobor
Saturday, September 19th
Slateport City

---

After returning from the beach, Edison and Sunny had some free time before picking up their licenses, so they'd gone to a small diner for a late lunch. Afterwards, they went straight to the Pokémon Center, and then to the Gym. Sunny was devastated to learn Leader Benji had already left for the day, and insisted that she get to battle him first.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but the earliest timeslot has already been reserved for tomorrow." The receptionist explained. "He'll be available for battles between 7 a.m. and noon tomorrow, but the Gym itself will remain open until 7 p.m."

Before Sunny could dramatically overreact, Edison stepped up to reserve the latest slot he could. "You say they're half hour time slots? Then I'll reserve the 11:30 battle, please. You see, Sunny? You may not get to battle first, but you'll be able to battle him before I do, at least."

"I'll take the 11 o'clock battle!" Sunny immediately brightened up. "This way we can show up together and cheer each other on!"

They parted ways after that. Sunny wanted to stay at the Gym and train, while Ed wanted some one-on-one time with his Pokémon to prepare. They agreed to meet back at the Pokémon Center for dinner.

But now, it's Saturday, and their battles are fast approaching. But not as fast as Sunny would like, it seems, as Ed finds her sprawled in a chair at the Center cafe.

"I feel like we've been here before, is it Thursday again?" Ed smiles as she glares at him, so she half-heartedly flips him the bird.

"Eddie, it's seven in the morning. I know you were trying to help, but what are we supposed to do for the next four hours? I don't exactly have a long list of things I wanna do in this town."

"I hesitate to ask, but do you even have a second Pokémon? You wouldn't be challenging a double battle Gym without one, but I've only seen Sputter."

Sunny slowly shifts in her chair, a slow smile spreading across her face as she sits up. "You... you don't know my team? Are you asking to see my Pokémon?"

Ed takes half a step back. "I... suppose I am? Oh... oh, I understand now..."

Sunny jumps up, laughing at Ed. "Well, my esteemed rival, if you wanted a battle, why didn't you say so?"

Ed sighs, but smiles and plays along. "Of course! For as Trainers, we must test our skills! But not here. Perhaps a more fitting setting for our confrontation?"

"Oh-ho! What did you have in mind?"

Ed dramatically puts his hand to his chin, as though in thought. "Why, I can think of no place more suitable than the Gym itself! We shall clash outside the Gym, and defeat the Leader inside afterwards, at the appointed times!"

"Yes!" Sunny glomps onto Ed, nearly knocking him down. "Come, my rival! Our battle will be legendary!"

☆☆Later, at the Gym...☆☆

"So, how do you want to do this?" Sunny stands at one end of a battle square, with Ed at the other. "Before, we each only had one Pokémon, so it was a simple duel, first to knock out the other."

"True, but we've captured more since then. I'd recommend we use two Pokémon each, as that's how the Gym battle will go."

"Both at the same time?" Sunny pulls out two PokéBalls.

Ed merely grabs one. "Not yet. Let's not rush this. Do you only have two?"

"Yeah, why? How many do you have?"

"Well, technically..." Ed thinks about it, but Sunny just gives him a look. "I have three. But I'll only be using two, so it's fair."

Sunny doesn't look too happy about that, but relents, putting one ball away. "Fine. Then meet Flare!" She tosses the ball, revealing her Darumaka. He chitters happily, like a mischievous monkey.

"Ah. That's new! And interesting. But I guess you already know Neodymium." Ed sends out his Magnemite, who scans the Darumaka curiously.

"Yes, I do. Hi, Neo!" Sunny waves to Neo, but they don't react. "Flare, use Rock Smash!"

"Oh, so that's who you taught Rock Smash... I taught it to my Munchlax. N.D., use Thunder Wave!"

Flare is surprisingly quick for such a squat little Pokémon, leaping forward and punching Neo center mass. The impact leaves a dent in Neo's armor, but they respond with an electric pulse. Flare screeches as the wave hits him, falling to the ground and twitching a bit.

"Oh, you're fine, you drama queen!" Sunny scolds, but she's smiling as she does. Flare gets to his feet, grinning and flashing a shaky thumbs up. "Good, now use Taunt before Eddie can pull off any more cheap tricks!"

"You mean like Supersonic?" Ed grins as Sunny fixes him with a flat look.

Neo is able to act first, releasing the sonic waves at Flare before he can hypnotize them into only attacking. But Flare is still able to act, and a dark shadow crosses over Neo's eye as the Taunt takes effect.

"Well, attacking is probably for the best right now, anyway. Use Thunder Shock, N.D.!"

"Flare, use Rock Smash!"

Neo charges up and releases a bolt of electricity, which the paralyzed Flare can't dodge in time. Both Trainers call for the same moves, resulting in the same effect. Flare is struggling to stand, which makes Sunny nervous.

"Come on, Flare! One more Rock Smash!"

"N.D., finish it with Shock Wave!"

Neo's targeting laser scans over Flare, delivering an electric shock that knocks the little monkey out. Sunny returns him to his ball. "Come back, Flare. You did good."

"He did well." Ed corrects, earning a glare for it. "He hits surprisingly hard for such a little guy."

Sunny nods, smiling at the ball. "Yeah, but his aim needs work. Apparently it's a trait some Darumaka have. They hit harder, but their accuracy isn't as good."

Ed strokes his chin in thought. "His Ability? Similar to how N.D. has more powerful attacks against foes that move before him?"

Sunny tilts her head in confusion. "Yeah. But wouldn't slowing the opponent with Thunder Wave kinda negate that Ability?"

Ed opens his mouth to respond, then pauses to consider that. His hand goes back to his chin as he starts calculating the efficiency of Analytic versus the chance of full paralysis.

Sunny realizes he might get lost in his thoughts if she doesn't intervene, so she tosses her other PokéBall. "Let's finish this, Sputter! Eddie, you still with me?"

"Hm? Oh, yes! N.D., can you use Supersonic yet?" Neo produces a noise like an error message on a computer. "I see. Well then, use Thunder Shock!"

Neo fires a shot of electricity at Sputter, and the purple flame lights on the Litwick's wick. At Sunny's command, she launches the burning Ember at Neo, knocking them out of the air with one hit.

"Drat. Still no match for Sputter, eh?" Ed returns Neo to their ball, while Sunny just shrugs.

"Not without your dirty tricks, Eddie. That fancy armor just can't stand the heat."

Ed grabs another PokéBall, a confident grin on his face. "Well, I'm actually fully prepared for you to 'bring the heat' this time. Come on out, Adipose!" The little Munchlax yawns as he arrives, but runs over to hug Ed's leg. "Ready to go, Addie?"

"Wait, he's Normal type, right? Doesn't that mean his attacks won't work on Sputter, 'cuz she's a Ghost?"

"Something like that. His Tackle or Rock Smash won't have an effect, but he has a few other surprises in store. His Lick attack, for example, will not only work, but be super effective! And he's immune to Ghost attacks, so your Hex will be useless."

"Good to know..." Sunny nods as Addie lumbers forward. "Sputter, use Minimize!"

A purple aura surrounds Sputter, and she shrinks down to a quarter of her original size. Addie licks her candle body like an ice cream cone, making her shudder slightly. At Sunny's command, she shrinks again, and this time Addie can't get her as she dodges his tongue.

"Since Eddie likes confusion so much, why don't you use Confuse Ray, Sputter? See how he likes it!"

Sputter's eyes glow purple as her flame ignites, and a mysterious light shines from it and hits Addie. Ed orders another Lick, but Addie is dizzy from the light and falls flat on his face.

"Since Hex isn't an option, use Ember!" Sputter leans forward, launching the flame from her head and hitting Addie with it.

"Shake it off, Addie! Use Metronome!" Addie picks himself up, but loses his balance when he tries to waggle his fingers, falling on his back.

"Wow... I feel kinda bad. Confusion is sorta mean, Eddie." Sunny seems genuine, but still orders another fireball, which Sputter is happy to toss.

Ed orders another Metronome, and Addie stands up to deliver. The energy forms into a cone of white light that washes over tiny Sputter, while Ed scans with his Holotch.

"Apparently that's 'Simple Beam', which replaces Sputter's Ability with one that makes status moves twice as effective. Fascinating!"

"Sputter, use Minimize!" Sunny grins as Ed sputters out a protest. "Door was open, Eddie! You didn't have to share the info."

"But... what... I... oh, fine. Addie, go for Lick again!" Addie trips and falls on his face, at this point having hurt himself more than he's hurt Sputter or she him.

Sunny orders another Ember, which hits Addie in the face as he stands, leaving a nasty burn. "Sorry, Addie..."

Ed isn't too concerned, as Addie plucks a Rawst Berry from his fur and eats it, instantly curing his Burn. "Good job, Addie. How about another Metronome?" Addie gives a thumbs up, then falls when he turns thanks to the confusion.

"Was that the trick? Force me to use only Fire moves but give him a free Burn Heal?" Sunny smiles a little. "It's not a bad plan. Shame it only works once."

"Yes, and I didn't foresee Minimize being such a hassle, or Addie being so easily tripped up by confusion. All in all, this isn't one of my better showings, I must say."

"Par for the course when it comes to fighting me, though." Sunny shrugs. "But the battle isn't over yet, dear Eddie! Have another Ember!"

Another purple fireball, another Burn, this one on Addie's arm. He snaps out of confusion as Ed orders another Metronome, the energy conjuring a wall of water that he is able to ride on. "Ha-HA! That's Surf!"

Addie rides the wave toward Sputter, who somehow dodges at the last second, not even getting wet. Sunny and Ed both stare in disbelief, until Sunny cracks up and starts laughing. Ed echoes her laughter, still trying to process.

"Oh, man, that's great! Sputter, finish it with Ember!" True to her prediction, this last fireball is too much for Addie to handle, and he falls down from the impact. Ed returns him to his ball, letting out a sigh, but perking up as Sunny walks over.

"That was a close match, Sunny! I thought I had it at the end there." He offers her a fist, which she bumps with her own, grinning as Ed winces and shakes it off.

"Her size goes down, but her speed and strength stay the same, so Mini-Sputter is great at dodging! Not that Neo ever cared, but it's a great strategy in general."

She reaches up to put an arm around his shoulders, dragging him down to her level. "But you're correct, my rival! An excellent showcase of our power and skill! Let us return to the Pokémon Center, and prepare for our Gym battles! After this fight, they will be a refreshing palate cleanser, an after dinner mint to our clash!"

"Yes, let's. It should be an interesting match." Ed frees himself from her grip so he can walk upright, offering Sunny an arm instead, which she happily takes.