20:00 to 20:05 - Slateport Beach
"Getting late, my ass! I bet it's barely six!" Miranda complains as the clock hits 8 pm and the lighthouse's light turns at her. "She said she was going to teach me some stuff, but the only thing I learned is… nothing! I didn't learn shit!"

Mankey starts screeching, hitting the sand and jumping around while Miranda's yelling feeds his anger even though he can't really understand what's going on.

"Also, what's with that don't touch my expensive ass PokéBall bullshit! I worked in a hotel, I know what goddamn basic hygiene is! And she even lets her Pokémon eat Wingull crap from the fucking sand!"

Mankey jumps with even more rage, kicking and tossing more and more and more sand, until Miranda puts her hand on his head to make him stop.

"You know what? Fuck it!" she says "I don't need her to teach me shit! I can figure out how scanning works on my own!"

It's actually just as easy as Maritza said it was. Miranda could figure that out on her own just from memory, after all. She went for the rarest catch, and apparently the most dangerous one, considering what Maritza taught her about it before. In fact, it's so dangerous that the only reason stick dudes aren't kicking that stuff to the sea is because Stunfisk are way more common, making them a bigger threat!

And because it's just a pile of sand.

But it's not any pile of sand, no! It's a pile of sand that scares the shit out of kids! In comic books, they show how its evolution eats a goddamn Pikachu! It's probably the strongest Pokémon of all time! Nothing compares! She will win by default in Pyrite Colosseum just from bringing it out! She'll win so many times, they'll eventually have it permanently banned from tournaments!

Miranda adjusts her cap and hits the ground with her bat, with her device on the other hand.

"Let's go catch that bitch." she says with a grin.

---

She follows the way the scanner's arrow shows her. It's useless as shit, though. Sure, it showed her where that Sandygast is supposed to be, but how on earth is she supposed to locate it when everything around her is fucking sand! It's not even like searching a needle in a pile of hay! It's more like searching a specific piece of hay in a goddamn sea of hay!

She isn't even sure how this crap works. She's been walking in one direction for like three or four… a lot of time, who cares, and the arrow doesn't even move.

"Shit must have frozen." the girl sighs. In yet another sudden burst of anger, she drops the thing away. "Stupid 9 year old piece of shit thing! Why did they discontinue this crap! It's the only thing we get in Pyrite!"

Her device falls on the sand, and while Miranda is busy yelling at it, the arrow gets each time shorter and shorter until it finally disappears and starts beeping.

Miranda instantly jumps at it and picks it up. She can see a red shovel that some dumbass kid forgot, but no Sandygast. That means, it's time to start digging!

Or that's what Mankey thinks at least.

Miranda knows full well digging for a pile of sand is not only useless but also totally dumb. Her Pokémon clearly doesn't give a shit. In fact, he seems happy swinging the shovel around and kicking the sand.

At least until the sand kicks him back.

Mankey is sent rolling backwards, still holding the shovel. He squeals at the pile of sand rising before him and tosses the shovel at it, just for it to get past it.

The wild Pokémon hides under the sand once more and starts moving around them both at high speed, dragging the shovel with it.

It jumps behind Miranda. Her reflex is to instantly swing her bat at it with all of her strength, but it doesn't have any effect on it.

She is hit by a burst of sand and falls back.

The Sandygast buries itself once more and starts spiraling around Mankey, rising a sand veil around the fighting type, trapping him inside.

Mankey tries to punch his way out of the vortex to no avail, for his fists just get past the sand as the Sandygast keeps raising more. Miranda tries to help him by putting her hand inside, but it's spinning so fast that her hand gets slashed by grains of sand. Second option she has is using her bat, so Mankey can grab it and get pulled outside by her, but it's useless; the vortex spins too fast and strong that her bat gets sucked in instead.

Before Miranda gets to run against the Sand Tomb to push Mankey outside of it, the pig Pokémon is launched upwards and falls in front of her. There's smoke coming out from his feet. Or well, she thinks it's smoke because it's black, but it doesn't smell like smoke at all.

The Sandygast shows itself once more, but doesn't attack back. It looks a bit scared, actually, and as soon as it looks at Mankey it starts fleeing.

"We are not sparing two shits! Mankey, don't let it escape!" Mankey squeals in response and sprints. The black smoke thing covers his legs as he runs and it does seem for Miranda as if it's giving Mankey some speed boost.

The Sandygast is way slower than Miranda's Pokémon. As much as it tries to flee, Mankey catches up easily and connects a kick that somehow doesn't just get past it and actually does some damage and also sends the shovel to the sea.

With Miranda and Mankey around it, the Sandygast has no escape now.

"Come with us or die! You got nowhere to escape now!" Miranda yells and Mankey squeals back in agreement.

The Sandygast looks at all the sand around it and then stares back at the girl. Then at Mankey. Then at the sea. It hides under the sand again and drags itself to the sea. It's dead.

"Really!? What the hell!?" Miranda yells, staring at the sea, looking at the Sandygast that will never return. She is frustrated, more than anything. All of that shit just for it to kill itself! She didn't even get to take out her PokéBall! She'll have to scan for another thing now, and it was already too much of a pain before!

While she is busy screaming at the sea, the water brings a red shovel to the shore. Around it, a bunch of wet sand starts taking form. It starts growling while the sand rises, cracks, and falls, just for it to rise again.

It's most likely the Sandygast from before. Or at least, it's the same shovel it had. It's wet, and therefore harder and heavier, which means it also moves slower. It can't fight anymore, but it sure as hell takes a hit.

Mankey runs against it at Miranda's command. There's no black smoke around him anymore, it's just a normal punch. If the previous attacks went past the Pokémon, these ones are barely able to put a dent on the Sandygast's defenses.

The pile of sand starts moving slowly towards Miranda and she tries to get away from it. As it gets to a dryer area the wet sand starts falling and being left behind, while normal, dry sand takes its place, though its impenetrable sand armor stays in its place.

The growling of the pile of sand is scary for her and the way its empty eyes look at her while it gets closer and closer are even worse. Mankey isn't able to do much. The Sandygast is too slow for him to think about getting some speed, and Miranda isn't aware of what move the black smoke one was to command it, and even if she knew, she is too scared right now to do it.

"S-shit." she whispers. "Mankey… help."

The fighting-type jumps in front of her and delivers another punch at the Sandygast. A bit of sand is left on the ground, but that only makes the wild Pokémon faster. After a few more punches, the defenses totally shatter, but the Pokémon doesn't seem to have received any kind of damage. However, the fact that its defenses are down and the Sandygast is starting to flee again is enough proof for Miranda that it's the same one as before. And if it's fleeing, then that means it's damaged enough for it to be safe to catch (yes, she knows the basics of catching Pokémon. She learned that much before leaving Orre), and she still wants to catch it.

"Don't let it escape!" The smoke surrounds Mankey's legs again and it rushes at the Sandygast. "But don't hit it! That's my part of the job!"

The fighting type blocks its path and starts taunting it to direct all the attention at him. That way Miranda has time to take out an empty PokéBall.

Miranda takes a breath and adjusts her cap. She slams her bat against the floor and throws the ball at the sky. She grabs the grip with both hands and swings the bat, delivering a strong hit that shoots the PokéBall at blinding speed, giving the Sandygast no time to react. The ball goes past the sandy body of the wild Pokémon, but still opens as if it reacted to something, sucking the pile of sand and its shovel in. The ball oscillates three times with enough time for Miranda to get to base before it clicks.

---

---

Current Party:

Inventory

June, having boarded the Breezy Seas ferry that was about halfway through its trek to Petalburg, thinks about the experiences she had on Dewford. Her first gym battle, her first Pokémon caught in Hoenn, and what should have been her first kiss all stuck out to her, but the thing that stood above it all was her first contest, being one of the last things she did on the island.

Her showcase winning the final round was unrealistic, and June knew that, but she still wishes she won. If she did, she could have properly shown the beauty of bug-types, something she failed to do. Even if she was happy for Shuna and Tsu for both ranking higher than her, she still thinks about how much she'd love to be in first place.

The brunette's musing are interrupted by her PokeGear loudly ringing. All eyes on the ferry direct towards her, and she apologizes for the noise her device makes. She checked her phone and sees a number she didn't recognize, but answers of out concern of seeming rude to the caller.

"Hello?"

"Greetings June dearie, it is I, Insecta Reine Papillon, and I wish to praise you for your performance at the contest hall!"

"Inse-" June stops herself from talking when she considers any overzealous fans could be on the ferry. "How did you get my number!?"

"That is unimportant, dearie. What is, however, was your performance! For such a rising star as yourself, you did excellently with what you had!"

"I'm not so sure about that…" June exhales.

"Nonsense! While I will admit that your performance could have used more dazzle, I have zero doubt that you shall achieve that in due time. Right now, you are of the likes of a Cutiefly, but as you gain more experience, you will evolve into a stunning Ribombee, just as moi!"

"Thanks…" The brunette blushes.

"But I do not want you to forget, June dearie! Battling is just as important as presentation in contests, and as you continue your journey, I ask of you to hone your battling skills. Always remember, shine like a Beautifly, sting like a Beedrill!"

"Well, actually, Beautifly are known to be pretty aggressive in the wild, so-"

Insecta's boisterous laugh is heard through the line. "Oh June dear, you are so adorable! I wish to see you again soon, but for now I must return to Unova! Farewell, darling!"

Insecta hangs up, not even giving June time to respond. She blankly stares at her device, but knows what the flamboyant woman said was true- Even if her analogy was a little flawed.

With Petalburg before her now, she could put behind her failings of Dewford, and focus on her opportunities that lie ahead of her. Of course, the first thing she plans on doing when she arrives at mainland was catch a bug-type.

All she has to do is wait for the cruise to end, probably another hour or so, and take a quick route through Briney Port. Then she could finally explore Petalburg Woods with a provisional license, meaning nothing would stand in her way from catching the bugs in the vast forest.

---

"Sorry ma'am," A stern young ranger blocking off the Petalburg Woods entrance calls out. "We're closing off this area."

"W-what??" June, wearing her straw hat and net over her shoulder, stands dumbfounded in front of the Pokemon ranger. "B-but...why??"

"Around this time of year the Shroomish unleash their spores into the air, and it's deadly for us humans. I'd have to be incredibly irresponsible to let you pass."

June, immensely disappointed, sighs. The ranger examines her net, and correctly assumes what the tall girl came for. "Hey, there should be some bugs around here, don't get too sad. If you need help looking for any, be sure to use the HRD app, it's available on all devices!"

"Thank you…" The brunette lightly smiles. The area she had the fondest memories of was unfortunately blocked off, but the ranger was right- There should be some bugs around here. She sends Chip out to be prepared for any ambushes wild Pokemon might try on her, and strolls along the outskirts of the woods.

It didn't take very long to find a Wurmple crawling on the ground, trying to make its way back to a nearby tree. The worm Pokemon wouldn't be so fortunate, however, as June's excitement peaks at the sight of it.


"Oh my gosh, a Wurmple! Chip, use Aqua Jet!"

Chip quickly rams his body into the Wurmple with an Aqua Jet, but by being so close, the worm Pokemon is able to gnaw on Chip's "head", causing him to screech in pain. The Wimpod scurries back to June, giving Wurmple an opportunity to shoot a String Shot- Not at Chip, but rather at June, specifically around her ankles, tying them together.

"What the- AGGHH!!!" She screams as she loses her balance, falling forward. She reflexively breaks her fall with her hands, but her glasses fall off her face and onto the ground. Fortunately the frames were sturdy enough to not break. "This hasn't gone as smoothly as I would have liked…" The brunette moans as she picks her glasses up and tucks them behind her ears.

June rolls on her back and sits up, but is surprised to see the silk around her ankles had been removed. "Chip, was that you?" The Wimpod only responds by shaking his head. "Then what was…"

She stops to turn around after hearing rustling behind her, and is greeted by a small bipedal Pokemon with a crescent mark on its head and bright green fur who was digging through her purse. Must have fallen off of her shoulder during her trip. June's initial instinct would have been to scan the Pokemon, but she instead prioritizes snatching her purse back.

"I'm sorry," June apologizes as she uses her PokeGear to scan the Pokemon that lay in-front of her. "But I can't let you have this. It has a lot of important things I need. I'm sure you understand." As she scanned the Pokemon, she learns it's a normal-type Pokemon named Teddiursa, but one thing stands out to her about the one in-sight. The dex app shows Teddiursa as an orange brown sort of color, but this cub is miscolored. "Why is it green? That's bizarre…Is it a genetic mutation?"

The brunette doesn't get enough time to read the tiny bear Pokemon's entry, as her attention is yanked away by Teddiursa suddenly bawling, its face buried in its paws.

"Oh, it's because I took my purse back from you, isn't it? I think I owe you some form of compensation…"

Chip approaches Teddiursa out of pity, sharing a similar sentiment as his trainer. When he gets close, however, Teddiursa unpromptedly begins rapidly slashing its claws across Wimpod's back in quick succession, swiping one claw after the other. Chip's only response to his rude awakening that those tears were fake is kicking up a cloud of dirt into the normal-type's eyes, which interrupts its attack.

"Now, use Aqua Jet!" With Teddiursa unable to see, Chip bashes his body covered in water into the cub Pokemon, knocking it onto its back, passing out from the damage.

"Doesn't seem very durable…" June pants. "Honestly, I'd like to leave right about now... Although, I would still like to catch a bug Pokemon." Despite her best interest, she uses her PokeGear to scan for a Wurmple, as it is the only bug type in the area she could catch.

It takea about less than five minutes for her PokeGear to find another Wurmple, being such a common Pokemon. She looks up from her device when it indicates one could be nearby, and sees a Wurmple simply sitting out in the open, nibbling on an oran berry. "Chip, Aqua Jet again!"



As with before, the Wimpod uses the pressurized water engulfing his body to skid across the ground, and darts towards the unsuspecting bug-type. Wurmple, however, casually notices Chip before he was able to land a hit, and spits out a bright yellow web that angled downwards and lands on the Turn Tail Pokemon, stopping him dead in his tracks. The web electrocutes him a few times, revealing it as more than just an ordinary silk web crafted by an ordinary bug.

"What was that!?" June cries, using the dex app to get information on the attack. "Electroweb...Not many Wurmple know this!" More reason to catch the worm Pokemon.

Even while being trapped under an Electroweb, Chip still lands a Sand Attack into Wurmple's eyes. The bug-type squirms around, and shot a String Shot in whatever direction it faces. Enough was able to land on Chip that moving any further would become increasingly difficult.

"I think you should return, Chip…" June says as she retreatea her Pokemon, sending Einstein in his place.

In the time it takea for June to switch Pokemon, Wurmple was able to get the dirt out from its eyes, and covers Einstein in another electric net almost immediately as he enters the field. Unlike Chip, however, the Dottler doesn't seem very bothered by it at all. When Wurmple follows up with a stream of silk, Einstein uses his psychic energy to reverse the String Shot, guiding the silk around the bug-type's tiny body. He continues this process until Wurmple was tied up in his own silk, struggling to move, and flops against the grass.

"Perfect!" The tall girl shouts, tossing a Net Ball at the worm Pokemon. It shakes once, twice, thrice, and…

CLICK

Wurmple was successfully captured!

Overjoyed, June reaches over to grab the newly occupied Net Ball, giggling as she thinls about how she now had three bug-type Pokemon. "Welcome, Wurmple! I'm sorry we had a rough start, but I promise we'll get along soon enough!"

---

June caught a Wurmple!
Chip grew to level 21!

"Uncle Tetsuo! It's been awhile!"

A bored, very casually dressed, brunette man with an olive complexion and blue eyes, sitting at a desk looks up from his smart phone to see June, wearing a sunhat with a Wurmple nesting atop it. "Oh, hey there Junko." He unenthusiastically welcomes. "You uh, you wanted to see the bugs?"

June nods with elation. "It's been some time since I've seen them! How have they been?"

Tetsuo yawns before glancing back at his phone. "Yeah yeah, they've been alright, I uh, I'm pretty sure."

"What do you mean you're pretty sure?" June harshly raises an eyebrow, poking her lip. "Do you not take care of them?"

"Yeah, I uh, I do that stuff, y'know."

"Do you feed them frequently? Or make sure no wild Pokemon get in, call in a Pokemon doctor for regular check-ups, make sure the structure is stable, do daily tallies of every Pokemon living here to make sure none of them are missing…"

"Yeah yeah, I do all that shit, certain of it." Tetsuo rolls his eyes at his niece's insistence. "Well actually, I uh, haven't counted up all the Pokemon just yet, it's a lot of work y'know."

"Uncle Tetsuo!" June mildly raises her voice, trying not to display her disappointment too much. "It's really important you tally everyone! It isn't just my Pokemon living here, dad's live here, and so do yours! This isn't even to mention the species that couldn't survive in the Hoenn wildlife! They can go missing, or worse!"

Tetsuo sighs, very irritated. "Hey, y'know, why don't, you uh, why don't you count 'em. Do it and I'll give you five thousand Pokedollars. Sound good?"

---

"I'm glad I got to see you again, Bully! But right now I need to move on with my task." June states as she pets her dad's Tauros that resided within a large outdoor field by the conservatory. The brunette then moves her hand away to check off a box on a clipboard that listed many Pokemon.

Of course June accepted her uncle's offer. Even if she was incredibly disappointed in the job he failed to do, it seemed to be a blessing in disguise for June.

"Looks like the dome area is next on the list, and soon enough we'll be seeing my Dustox! Isn't that exciting, Wurmple?" She says to the Wurmple snoozing on her straw hat, who slightly opens an eye hearing his name called. "I've caught many Wurmple before, but they all evolve into Cascoon for some reason. We'll see where nature takes you, soon enough!"

She then makes her way to the inside of a large glass dome, an area where many forest or water dwelling Pokemon laid. The first thing anyone would notice when entering were large trees that had been planted making up a small forest, and June was no exception, having done the exact same.

"It's been so long since I've been here!" June grins, taking in a deep breath through her nostrils and exhaling from her mouth. "I've missed it so much! But I shouldn't distract myself- I need to check on my Dustox."

June walks over to a thick tree, seeing a dozen or so Dustox resting in the branches. The few moth Pokemon that notice her all greet her with a hissing noise. "It feels good to see you all here again! I hope you've all been doing good without grandma." She happily greets. June writes something down on her clipboard, but is suddenly alarmed as she feels something dash past her feet. She checks off the boxes for the Dustox before looking behind her to see two cat Pokemon cornering an out-of-breath Bunnelby against a different nearby tree.

"Two Meowths?" June questions, tapping her lip with her pointer finger before frantically flipping through the papers on the clipboard she had. "There aren't supposed to be any of Kantonian Meowth around here!" The brunette watches the hissing cat Pokemon getting closer to the terrified Bunnelby, who desperately hugs the tree trunk.

"Excuse me, you two!" June calls out, mildly raising her voice again. "Please stay away from Bunnelby! And you're actually not supposed to be here, so while you're at it, I'd like to kindly ask you both to please leave the premises!"

The normal-type Pokemon don't seem very pleased, in fact, they looked irritated as they run up to the brunette on all fours. Bunnelby escapes with them distracted, but that's low on June's priority list right now. "Well looks like I'll have to ward you off, help me out Chi-"

June, Net Ball in hand, is caught off-guard when she sees her Wurmple spring off her hat onto the grass. "Wurmple!? Are you sure? Chip can-" June double-takes again when Wurmple responds to the two cat Pokemon pouncing at him with an Electroweb, causing both Pokemon to fall to the ground, screaming in pain as they're both shocked by the web. The web doesn't tangle them for long, however, as the Meowths use their claws to tear through it and get back on their feet, hissing at the bug-type. The Wurmple is just barely bothered by this, and shoots a poisonous dart at one of the Meowths, causing it to moan as the poison infects its body, while the other one charges forward.

"Wurmple! Are you sure you don't need assi-"



Wurmple stops the normal-type by shooting a String Shot that wraps around its body, causing it to drop the ground. Wurmple then shoots another silk string at the same Meowth, and with the string connecting the worm and cat Pokemon, Wurmple firmly plants his legs into the ground, swinging his head to toss the tied-up Meowth by the string at the poisoned Meowth, both Pokemon getting hurled into the tree trunk they backed the Bunnelby into earlier. Wurmple then aims an Electroweb that covers both Pokemon, zapping the cat Pokemon to finally finish them off.

June stands back dumbfounded at what she had witnessed. "Wow, Wurmple, that was...That was amazing!" She begins to kneel down to pick the bug-type up, but she flinches when her Pokemon begins to spin around, shooting out a String Shot that covers his own body.

"Wait, Wurmple, are you…Evolving!?"

Wurmple keeps covering spinning, unable to answer, and once he covers his body completely in silk, he starts to glow white. As he's glowing, the shape of his body becomes rounder, almost oval like, until the white light fades away, revealing a round Pokemon completely covered in silk with two holes that allow for his red eyes to view the world from.

"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh! You've evolved into a Silcoon!" June gasps, feeling incredibly overjoyed. "I've never had a Silcoon before! Oooohh, before we know it, you'll be a gorgeous Beautifly! I'm so proud of you! Oh my gosh, the potential for the-" She stops herself when she remembers what happened just yesterday with Einstein. "Oh right, I suppose I can't carry you around anymore as easily as I could just a bit ago...I suppose I'll return you to your Pokeball before resuming my wo-"

She's interrupted by Silcoon shooting a silk string from between his eyes, landing on the crown of June's hat.

"Silcoon, what are you-"

Silcoon uses the string to pull himself forward, landing directly on top of June's hat. While he was a little heavier than just a few minutes ago, the brunette smiles with the bug-type atop her hat just as he had been, albeit in a different form. She stands back up straight, adjusting to the weight of the Pokemon that now nests on her hat.

"Now then, since that's all settled, why don't we return to our task?"

Congratulations! Your Wurmple evolved into Silcoon!
Silcoon grew to level 17!
Silcoon learned Harden!

🐞June's party🐞

16,492​

"Here you are, Uncle Tetsuo."

Tetsuo grabs the clipboard June hands to him, not even doing as much as examining it with his eyes occupied by a Gameboy Advanced SP he holds in one hand. "Yeah, sure, thanks Junko. I'll uh, get your cash in a sec, just let me beat this map…"

June, clearly irritated with her uncle, keeps a smile on her face anyways. "So, um, Uncle Tetsuo, while I was working I saw-"

"WAIT, NO, FUCK, WHAT THE FUCK, THAT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN!!! Tetsuo shouts at the top of his lungs, eyes plastered against his handheld device. I LOST MARCUS!!! June jumps a bit at the unexpected screaming.

Tetsuo shuts his device off and slams it against his desk. "Fucking one percent crits, fuck this game!" He childishly pouts with his arms crossed, before plainly looking back up at his niece. "Hey, did your Wurmple evolve or something?"

June breathes deeply through her nostrils. "I wanted to let you know that two wild Meowth got into the dome, and they chased down a Patrat."

"Shit, that ain't good. Rangers warned me 'bout 'em, sucks they got in."

For heaven's sake, you even knew about this?? Uncle, I really wish you did your job properly.

"Glad, you took care of 'em tho." The young man continues. "I'll throw in a thousand more smackeroos for you, thanks Junko." Tetsuo reaches from under his desk to hand his niece six thousand Pokedollars. "And since you're here, I'll let you stay here for as many nights as you're in Petalburg."

"Thank you, Uncle." She smiles back. "I really appreciate the compensation."

"Yeah, no problem." Tetsuo half-heartedly responds before opening up his GBA. "Shit, gotta do that map all over..."

"Well, I suppose I'll stroll through the city. Once again, thank you for everything."

"Oh, Junko, one more thing." The brunette man calls out, stopping June right as she's about to exit the old building. "The uh, the rangers also told me about some Surskits in the city, and I uh, know you like bugs. Why don't you go catch one?"

June looks back with a wide grin that exposes her pearly whites. "Thank you for informing me. I'll definitely be sure to."

🐞June's party🐞

22,492​

The next Pokémon Contest was tomorrow, and she wasn't sure how ready she was for the nearby gym- Having four Pokémon might help her with that, which is why June currently uses her PokeGear to scan around Petalburg.

Her uncle informed her about Surskit in the area, and checking the HRD app shows it was the only catchable bug-type in the area. She understands why the catching restrictions were in place, but she can't help but feel some kind of resentment for them, as they are the only thing standing between her and her desire to catch every wild bug Pokémon. But rules are rules, and June wouldn't dare to break any of them. Nature comes first in this scenario, and she'd feel awful if a single Pokeball she tossed destroyed the habitat.

She follows the beeps that continue to get louder and faster the more her device emits the noises, leading her to an area of the city that was isolated from most of the buildings, bordering more on wildlife than an actual city. The beeping gets louder and faster, and June looks up from her PokeGear when the beeping reaches its peak. In the middle of a pond, she sees a round blue Pokémon using its four thin legs to swiftly slide around the surface of the pond.

"Oh my gosh! A Surskit!" The brunette gushes, eyes sparkling. "I've never seen a Surskit walking on water before, and it's just as pretty as I imagined it would be!" She continues to fawn over the pond skater, but her excitement is disrupted when realizing a very challenging obstacle blocks her path, something her Pokémon likely can't solve with such a distance, and June's abilities- Or lack thereof- also prevent her from accomplishing. "Oh wait...How am I going to the middle of this pond to catch it…"

She eyes the large body of water, trying to think of a solution. Chip is part water-type, but Wimpod don't swim, not until they evolve anyways. Even then, it's more like they walk underwater than actually swimming, which even if Chip was evolved, might not get him any closer to Surskit depending on how deep the pond is.

The brunette contemplates the situation at hand, thinking deeply about some way to bring the Surskit closer to land. But it seems Silcoon, still using June's hat as a nest, grows tires of his trainer trying to come up with a plan, and suddenly fires off a long String Shot directly at the Surskit, startling both the pond skater Pokémon and June.

"Silcoon!? What was-"

The cocoon Pokémon uses all his weight to reel Surskit in, having it crash into the ground. It's not long before Surskit stands back on its legs though, and it points the yellow antenna on its head at June to shoot slow moving bubbles that drift her way. While they don't initially appear to be much of a threat, the bubbles burst as they make contact with June's skin, creating a minor stinging sensation.

"Ow! Ow!" June grimaces in pain before grabbing a Park Ball from her purse. "If it uses ranged attacks, I think Einstein will be useful." She tosses the ball, sending out her immobile starter Pokemon. Einstein sets up a Light Screen right as Surskit shoots more bubbles at him, but the bubbles aren't even strong enough to pass through the barrier.

"Einstein, Super Sonic!" The Radome Pokémon shoots sonic waves at Surskit, who tries to dodge, but the Surskit is much slower on land than on water, and is hit with the Super Sonic. The Pond Skater Pokémon tries to strike back while in a daze, but the most it manages to do is spurt water from its antenna up into the air, creating very shallow puddles surrounding the area. June pays no mind to this, and has Einstein push Surskit back with a Confusion.

Surskit gets up again, but is still confused as to what's going on, and sporadically shoots more weak bubbles from its antenna. Rather than floating towards June, the bubbles circle around the Pond Skater Pokémon.

"Use another Confusion!"

Einstein again hits with another Confusion, but rather than directly hitting Surskit a second time, the bubbles surrounding it pop first, and then hits the wild Pokémon.

June widens her eyes and takes note of the psychic attack's interaction with the bubbles. So the bubbles act as a some kind of psuedo-barrier... Interesting…

There's little time to think about that however, as Surskit lays on its back, possibly passed out. June ceases this opportunity, and tosses one of her Net Balls at it. The ball shakes a total of three times before making a clicking noise. Einstein and Silcoon's work had paid off.

June shrieks. "Surskit is mine! I'm so glad! Surskit are so beautiful! And so are Masquerain, and how it flies when it evolves, it's so fascinating!" She leans down to pick up the newly occupied Net Ball. "Thank you both, Einstein and Silcoon! You're both very helpful, and I appreciate it so much! As for Surskit…" She examines the Net Ball with a wide grin on her face, and then uses her PokeGear to scan it. "Seems I have a female Surskit. But I have a nickname in mind for her. From now on, you'll be known as Kit- It's derived from Surskit, and I think it's simply an adorable nickname!"

June caught a Surskit! Nicknamed Kit.
Einstein grew to level 23!
Silcoon grew to level 19!

🐞June's party🐞

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10:00 am to 10:10 am - Southern Pokémon Center

Looking at their schedule, Jordie has nothing planned for today. They are battling the gym tomorrow, which means that they shouldn't do any training today. It's all about having their Pokémon in the best possible physical and mental state which means not making them nervous. It would be better to challenge the gym Monday, but it's closed then and they don't want to wait for Wednesday because, well, they need the money.

So… yeah. The only thing Jordie can do right now is relax in the Pokémon Center after their morning workout while Gabby and Neon are inside their Dusk Balls up in their room.

After resting their head for a bit in one of the couches in the eastern corner of the building they go back to their room. The top hall is just as empty as it was yesterday. In fact, they could say it's emptier because that Hui guy from yesterday isn't there.

They take a quick shower and as soon as they get out, they are surprised by a call from their parents.

They stare at their X-Transceiver for a few seconds, thinking whether they should answer or not, while the screen keeps showing their mom's name.

They are not ready for another discussion about why Jordie had to start their trainer career in Unova, but they guess their parents must be really worried about them. After all, the only thing they left was a letter telling them they were going to travel around Hoenn.

Is that a selfish thing to do? Yes, it probably is. Does it really matter, though?

Jordie is destined to be the greatest trainer of this generation, and therefore, they must take the greatest steps possible. If those steps take them to the cliff of the mountain, they are not turning back, they are jumping to the other side of it.

It's all about taking a risk. Even if that means leaving family and friends behind.

They let them know Gabby and they are doing fine. Not by answering their call, but by pushing the ignore button. I'tll have to be that way for now.

---

Jordie's Party:

---

Inventory:

I'm not entirely sure what happened a bit ago. I remember leisurely skiing across the pond like I do regularly, and have done for as long as I can remember. But suddenly I felt something pull me from my peaceful activity onto the ground, something I was convinced was a predator, and I don't think I ever figured out if what I saw could be described as that.

What I saw was some kind of titan, I think they were called humans. I had heard about them, but never saw one myself. I heard they were very tall, but I didn't think they'd be that tall! I was worried it wanted to hunt me down for my syrup, and it had two companions. One was a Silcoon, and the other was something I'd never seen or even heard of before, some kind of geometrical mess that stood on two feet and didn't move at all. I tried defending myself with my bubbles, but those did nothing. Then I heard an irritating noise and it made me light-headed- My memory after that is very blurry, but I can't forget feeling my weight disappear and passing out as I saw a bright light. For a second it seemed like I was dying.

But I now know for certain that I'm not dead. I see the bright light again, and I see myself out in an open area. I feel well rested, but the tall human from before is right in-front of me. I know now it doesn't want to kill me for my syrup, but what does it want?

"Hello Kit!" It kneels down in-front of me, softly smiling, and holding some rectangular thing in its...hands? I'm not sure who its even talking to. Whose Kit?

"I saw your attacks a bit ago and I think they have a lot of potential. What do you say you and me practice your attack together?"

Wait, am I Kit? What does the human get out of calling me this? I've never been called anything like this, and the titan calling me "Kit" is incredibly jarring. But it seems to be asking something, and while I'm not sure what it means, I cautiously nod. I'm curious to see where this goes.

"Good!" It claps its oddly shaped hands together. Is that what humans do when they're happy? "So let us begin! I noticed when I battled you with Einstein, you were much slower on land than on the surface of the pond, and that's because your feet secrete an oil that allows you to walk across water." Why is it explaining this to me? I already know this.

"And I noticed Water Sport created a puddle of water, so I want to start with that. So I would like you to do just that, Kit!" I think Water Sport is the name it gave the sprinkling water that comes from my antenna I use as a defense mechanism for Pokémon that shoot fire. I do as the human says, rotating my antenna and sprinkling water around me to create a mini pond, and it seems happy with me. "Very good! Now, why don't you try sliding around the surface of the puddle?"

That's something I never thought to do, but I'll do as it says anyways. I lean to my left, and my legs slide as far as the mini pond extends. I'm taken aback by this revelation, I always had a pond nearby, so something like this never crossed my mind, but I can basically create my own personal ponds! The human seems pretty smart.

I continuously slide right and left, experiencing a similar rush skating on the pond gave me. I don't know where the pond is from here, but I get a feeling I won't be seeing it for awhile, so it's nice to know I can create my own pond whenever I want, even if there's less room to skate on it.

The human looks as pleased as I do, and pushes up the weird circular things it has in front of its eyes. "Great job, Kit!" I'm not sure if I'll ever get used to being called that. The human pulls a sphere from somewhere, and pushes down in the middle of it. It opens up in the middle and sends out a familiar looking bright light, which forms into the yellow and blue thing I saw earlier.

"Before we continue Kit, I'd like for you to expand the puddle with Water Sport again." Good idea- All the more room to skate in.

I do as it says, and I see the human's static accomplice setting up a clear barrier. I think it's the same one that weakened my bubbles.

"While you're still sliding around, hit Einstein with Bubble!"

The yellow thing must be "Einstein". Again, I listen to the human and aim my bubbles Einstein's way, before sliding all the way to the right side of the pond. I notice they pop against the barrier, so as I slide left, I create more bubbles with my antenna. The human encourages me to continue this action, which I do, not because it wants me to, but because I find the action fun, even if it's a tad monotonous.

Ski right. Launch bubbles. Ski left. More bubbles.

Ski right. Launch bubbles. Ski left. More bubbles.

Ski right. Launch bubbles. Ski left. More bubbles.

The satisfaction I would get from hitting Einstein is completely halted whenever I see my bubbles popping against that goddamn barrier. One thing I've noticed however, is that with every bubble I blew, the faster they floated, and sometimes they made louder bursting noises than usual against the barrier. I think I saw some bubbles put some dents in it!

Seeing this, I'm motivated to continue. I slide right again, but this time my bubbles don't slowly drift in a disorganized fashion- They move quicker than before, and follow each-other in a straight line. I can even see some of the bubbles go through the barrier- Albeit, it looks like they come out the other end much weaker.

I then slide left. As usual, I tilt my antenna towards Einstein, preparing my bubbles, but in a quick steady stream. Slide right. My bubbles don't slowly drift away, but rather they swiftly fly over to the barrier. When I slide left yet again, the same thing happens. This time however, the barrier shatters as the final bubbles I shoot burst against it! My hard work finally pays off!

"Kit, you've done really well!" The human, looking overjoyed, calls out, pointing the sphere at Einstein and turning it into some kind of red light which was sucked into the orb. "I'm very proud of you! Gosh, that must have been very intensive, and I'm so sorry if it was. I think you deserve a rest!" The human pulls out another sphere, one that looks identical to the one that turned Einstein into a light. It's pointed at me, and- Wait, what's this red light coming my way! What's happening to m-

Kit grew to level 17!
Kit learned Bubble Beam!

🐞June's party🐞

22,492​

Sitting on an outdoor wooden bench, June drinks from a large water bottle she nabbed from the Pokemon Center as Silcoon still lays atop her hair. Seeing Kit use water-type moves made her realize how thirsty she was, and fortunately she was able to acquire a water bottle after healing up her Pokémon.

After closing the lid on her plastic bottle, June gazes at her surroundings, every inch of the city bringing back some fond memories. Tailllows flapping their wings as they flew overhead, Zigzagoon zig-zaqgging by, the scent of the ocean breeze rolling in, obnoxiously loud motorcycles zooming across the city roads, pumping the stench of gasoline into the air- Wait a second.

June left her nostalgic daze to see a familiar motorcycle parked by the nearby Pokemon Center. Just as expected, a young man with a large pompadour and a Litten hopped off the vehicle, turning their attention towards the brunette girl.

Jessie! I didn't expect to see him here, but he needs to learn a lesson for what he did!

"Well well! If it ain't the angel my eyes laid on back in Slateport!" The young man smirks, followed by his Pokémon who rolls his eyes. "And it seems you're free right now! So whaddya say, you and me, tonight we go grab dinner!"

June slightly furrows her brows. "I'm not interested. Not after what you did."

"Since when did you get such an attitude, sugar? I'm not even sure whachya mean by that."

"You stole from Mr. Yamiguchi!" June almost shouts, holding herself back.

"Mr. Whoozitwhat now? I've stolen from enough people that I don't even bother to keep track of their names!" He snickers.

June feels more anger flowing through her than she's ever previously experienced. Hearing the young man so unaware of his consequences really sets June off, but she remembers the words her grandma told her. The brunette girl takes a deep breath through her nose, exhaling from her mouth, calming herself down. "I understand you may have a lot you're dealing with right now, and you might have needed Mr. Yamiguchi's Master Ball to sell to pay for necessities. But he needs it for that too, so could you please return it to me?"

"Oh, you mean that ol' geezer I snagged that Master Ball from."

"He's not 'that old geezer's, his name is Mr. Yami-"

"Don't care." Jessie cuts off. "What I do care about though, is getting you to go to dinner with me!"

June, enraged by the manners of the young man, tightens her fists and feels her polite demeanor shattering. "I'm sorry, but I'm NOT interested!" She sharply retorts.

"Ah, brighten' up, angel. I say we settle this over a battle, like we should have last time! If I win, you have to go out with me!"

The brunette girl feels a surge of confidence flow through her, thinking defeating him in a battle shouldn't be too difficult- But even if she loses, she has no intention of actually going out with Jessie. "I accept! But if I win, I want you to give me back Mr. Yamiguchi's Master Ball!"

Jessie cackles as he pushes up his triangular sun-glasses. "Sure, why not? I'll start with my chum, Stray right here!" At his trainer's command, the Litten crawls in-front of Jessie, grooming his paws as he waits for June.

June, holding her PokeGear in one hand, walks a few feet back to create enough space for a battlefield. "Fire types have a strong advantage against my Pokemon, except…" She grabs a Net Ball from her purse and tosses it to the ground to release Chip.

Stray looks up from his front paws, and harshly hisses at the Wimpod the second he makes eye-contact, causing Chip to whimper.

"Ya like that!?" Jessie chortles. "Stray does that whenever he faces off against a Pokemon!"

"It says it's an ability called Intimidate, and it frightens opponents to weaken their physical strength…" June reads aloud. "It shouldn't matter too much, we have a type advantage! Chip, use Aqua Jet!"

Chip quickly darts forward, tackling into the Litten with his body covered in water. Stray screeches as he's hit with the water-type move, but while he's still close, Stray turns around and hecticly thrusts his hind legs in a kicking motion to knock Chip back. While he skids through the dirt, Stray chases him and pounces, landing and repeatedly scratching his sharp claws against Chip's exoskeleton. The Turn Tail Pokémon yelps, and retaliates by kicking dirt up into Stray's eyes, who rubs them to try to clear his vision.

"While he's distracted Chip, use Aqua Jet again!" Chip strikes with another Aqua Jet, which while doing massive damage, gives away his position, and Stray uses another Double Kick to get the water-type off him. Chip flys back, and when landing on his feet, skedaddles over to June, somehow converting himself into a red laser to be sucked up back into his Pokeball.

"Hehehe! You ain't gonna get anywhere with a puny bug!" Jessie taunts, flashing another smirk while Stray goes back to grooming himself.

"Bugs are not weak!" June agirly replies, grabbing another Net Ball. "Bug Pokémon are very diverse, coming in all kinds of varieties, and I have plenty with me to represent that! I won't listen to your ignorance on the subject! I'll…" Something she said earlier comes to her as she's fueled with a passionate rage. "I'll show you the beauty of bug-types!" With as much strength as she can muster, June chucks a Net Ball on the ground to send out Kit. Jessie snickers again. "I didn't know all your Pokémon were bugs! That makes things easy for me, but don't worry, I'll pay for the meal! Stray, use Fire Fang!"

Stray charges forward, displaying his sharp teeth that become engulfed in flames. June isn't intimidated by this one bit, and gives out an order for her Pokémon.

"Kit, use Water Sport!" Kit's antenna spins around, spurting water in every direction, making the ground muddy and creating puddles everywhere. Stray stops charging as he steps in a puddle, frantically backing away and screeching.

"Stray, what's the matter!? You scared of a little mud?" As Jessie bickers with his Pokémon, June smiles seeing her strategy play out exactly as planned.

"Kit, slide away and use Bubble Beam!" The Surskit points her antenna at Stray and shoots quick moving bubbles from the tip, and uses her thin legs to slide back on the puddle surface. Stray freezes in fear at sight of the bubbles, which drift over to him and burst against his fur, causing him to screech in agony.

"Stray! Come on, what are ya doing!? It's just some bubbles, now get back in there and use Fire Fang again!"

Reluctantly, Stray nods and his teeth ignite. Instead of moving forward however, he fearfully stares into the puddle, leaving him open to more bubbles he fails to notice, which pop against his fur yet again.

"Damnit Stray! Just use Ember then, ya don't need to get close for that!" The Litten meekly shoots a weak spark of fire at Kit, but she gracefully slides across the puddle to avoid it. She then increases her gliding speed with a Quick Attack, ramming her body-weight into Stray, and following up with bubbles at point-blank range.

After the bubbles pop, Stray lays on his back unconscious. "Damnit, damnit, damnit DAMNIT!" Jessie furiously exhales, pushing his sunglasses up, grittio his teeth as he returns the Litten to his Pokeball. "Can't even take a few bubbles! That's pathetic!"

"Umm, I don't think you should be pushing your Pokémon so far…" June, concerned, tries to inject.

"Whaddya sayin', angel? Gotta give 'em some tough love! But Stray isn't my only Pokémon, still got one more! Go, Feathers!" The young man tosses his Pokeball onto the field, which releases a white light into the sky that forms into a small black bird Pokémon that uses its small wings to stay airborne. Its head-feathers resembling a trilby stand out to the brunette girl. June doesn't really have time to formulate a response, and instead scans the Pokemon in-front of her.

"Murkrow… Dark and flying type. This will be a challenge with my bug-types."

"Ya got lucky with Stray, y'hear!?" Jessie, having overheard June's analysis, uninvitedly responds. "Now then, Feathers, use Peck!" The Murkrow swoops down towards Kit, who skids across the water to dodge. Feathers shows persistence as he chases her down, and Kit's speed is no match for her predator's. He jams his beak in the Surskit's face, knocking her into the puddle.

"Now that she's down, hit 'er with a Wing Attack!"

Feathers descends while stretching his wings out, flies in close, and knocks Kit further back with his right wing. Kit fails to get up, and makes weakened hissing noises.

"Kit! Oh no, I'm so sorry!" June retreats her fainted Pokémon, and takes a deep breath.

I don't think I've faced an opponent whose this airborne…I'd have Einstein bring him down with his psychic energy, but it appears it would be ineffective against dark-types, according to the Pokedex…

The brunette girl stays deep in thought, contemplating her next Pokémon to send out. She's taken out of her thoughts when she feels a weight that was on her head is suddenly absent. June looks around bewilderedly, and gasps to see Silcoon somehow had jumped onto the ground without her noticing.

"Silcoon, he's too mobile! Try a String Shot!"

As her trainer suggests, Silcoon indeed shoots a long strand of silk at Murkrow, but not quite like she expects. Rather than using it to tie Feathers up, Silcoon attaches it to his belly, and swings off the ground, slinging himself below Feathers, before pulling his weight to temporarily float right above where the flying-type was. While still in the air, Silcoon's casing shines- June's PokeGear says it's Harden- and he quickly falls directly onto Feathers' back.

THUD

Seems Silcoon was able to harden his body and increase his weight, smacking both Pokémon to the ground. The Murkrow wasn't so lucky, being used to break the bug-type's fall, and June's stands speechless as she watches Feathers cawing in pain, struggling with Silcoon's hardened body pinning him to the ground.

"Wh-what the hell kind of Pokemon is this!?!?" Jessie exclaims, ruffling his hair. "I have two Pokémon who can incinerate your puny bugs, and ya do this shit!?"

"Believe me, I'm just as surprised as you are, but I suppose I've proved your claim wrong." June slyly giggles.

"Damnit, do something Feathers! Get that stupid rock of your back!" Feathers tries his best to get Silcoon off of him, and his attempts do look successful after Silcoon's casing stops shining, but he freezes when a cracking noise can be heard very close to him. Silcoon's shell forms a single crack along the center of his shell, which continues to grow in length.

"Silcoon! Are you- Again!?"

The crack along his shell loosens, with what look like two floppy insect wings emerging from it. The wings straighten out as they flap themselves, and Silcoon's shell completely splits open, revealing a butterfly Pokémon that reveals itself and flies into the air.



"Beautifly!" June's eyes twinkle while she clasps her hands together in adoration. "Woooowwww!"

Now that Beautifly awakened from his crisalis, Feathers shakes off the remains of his old shell, and frantically flaps his wings to gain air. "I don't care how many times ya evolve!" Jessie tightens his fist and pumps it into the air. "We still got the type advantage! Feathers, use Haze!"

The Murkrow opens his beak wide and exhales a stream of a thick, cold, smokey wind that quickly rolls in and covers the field, obscuring the location of both Pokémon.

"Oh!" June returns to her senses and searches through her PokeGear in a frenzy. "What should I do now that he's evolved…"

She has no time to think of a solution, but luckily Beautifly comes up with one of his own by blowing the smoke away with a graceful flap of his wings. Not only does it completely rid the haze, but also kicks up a wind current that pushes Feathers back a bit. The crow Pokémon tries resisting, aggressively flapping his wings against the current, but is unable to do so against Beautifly's gust.

With Feathers tiring out, Beautifly unrolls and straightens out his proboscis, and shoots an electric pulse that the current blows towards the Murkrow. As it gets closer, the pulse expands into a net-shape that hits Feathers, causing him to spiral to the ground as the Electroweb zaps him.

Jessie's jaw drops as he witnesses his Pokémon crashing into the wet dirt while trapped under the Electroweb. "I lost!? What the hell!!!"

"You remember our promise, don't you?" June smugly giggles while her Beautifly floats over to her, roosting atop her head. Jessie grits his teeth and reaches into his jacket pocket.

"Fine. I don't wanna, but I'm a man of my word." He pulls out a Master Ball, which he then chucks at the brunette girl. June, however, isn't the type of person to know what to do when a solid object is speeding towards her face, and ducks instinctively. As she's hurdled onto the ground, a smacking noise is heard behind her, followed by a familiar voice.

"Hold on there buddy, thought you were the hyper manly type. Shouldn't you be a little gentler with the ladies?"

June peeks up and turns around, seeing a familiar looking girl around her age with pale skin, neatly kempt white hair, silver earrings, and blue eyes. Unlike at the contest hall, she's dressed far more casually, a sleeveless denim jacket topping a plain white shirt that she wears with light blue leather pants. The girl holds her right arm up high, holding the ball Jessie threw, with her other hand tucked into her pants pockets.

Robynn??? I didn't expect to see her so soon!

Robynn's pupils wander to June's face, and flashes a playful smirk at the brunette girl, whose cheeks turn red in response.

"Wh-Who the fuck are you!?" Jessie screams, pushing his sunglasses up to hide the distress present in his eyes.

"Oh? Who the fuck am I?" Robynn looks genuinely surprised while pointing towards herself, but quickly laughs it off. "I'm just some passerby who caught some of the battle. But I am familiar with Miss Junko Enomoto right here, and feeling how hard you threw this ball at her face, I think it's safe to say I'm more of a man then you without actually being one."

Jessie shivers, pressing his sunglasses against his face. "Oh yeah!? W-well then why don't ya prove it!?"

"Prove it how? In battle? With what Pokémon?" The white haired girl interrogates then gestures toward Feathers, who lays passed out on the ground. "And I certainly don't think you'd use your fists against a lady like me, wouldn't it?" June stands up straight and grabs the Master Ball Robynn, still focusing on the teenage boy, hands her.

Jessie looks more defeated with every word from Robynn's mouth. "Yeah, well- I-I-I-AAAARGHHHHHHH!!!" He panickedly returns Feathers to his Pokeball before hightailing it back to his motorcycle. "Damnit, just ya wait until we meet again next time! I've been so humiliated today, and I'm gonna train lots to make sure this doesn't happen again, ya hear!!"

After he drives off into the sunset, Robynn chuckles and turns to June, having to tilt her head upwards to make eye-contact. "Wow, you're taller up close y'know." June's blushing grows stronger, and she looks down while holding her head with both hands.

"So, Junko, was it?"

"Oh, I-I'd prefer if you simply c-called me June…"

"My bad, June!" Robynn apologizes. "Didn't expect to run into you until tomorrow's contest! But since we're together, I just wanted to say I think you had a good performance today."

"Th-th-th-thanks!"

"Don't mention it!" The white haired girl waves off. "I was actually just taking a stroll through town, and I was wondering if you could join me while we discussed the contest?"

This was quite the contrast from Jessie. Robynn seamlessly moved from smalltalk to an invitation to get to know each other, something June definitely would not turn down. "O-Oh, yes, definitely! I'd love to!"

Chip grew to level 22!
Kit grew to level 19!
Congratulations! Your Silcoon evolved into Beautifly!
Beautifly grew to level 21!
Beautifly forgot Tackle and learned Gust!
Beautifly forgot Harden and learned Air Cutter!

🐞June's party🐞

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