"What the-," Riley cried out as he awoke to find himself floating above the bed, his Kadabra snickering from across the room as his spoon twisted with energy. "Abbadon, put me down!"

The Pokemon snickered once more before nodding and releasing his control over his trainer. A loud creak echoed through the room as Riley fell on to the bed. "You know that kind of hurt, right?" He asked the large Pokemon. The Kadabra had been using his psychic powers ever since he evolved. Riley couldn't tell if the Pokemon was amazed at his abilities, or if he just liked messing with his trainer. "You could always try levitating other things instead. You don't think I'm a ragdoll, do you?"

Abbadon merely lifted his shoulders as if he had no idea what Riley was talking about. "Of course you don't." Riley only sighed as he got off the bed. As much as he liked the Kadabra, he felt as if it was bad luck to have such a troublemaker. He took several moments to get ready for the day ahead. It was so much easier when he wasn't just resting in the wild. There was no days going without showers and no sleeping on the ground. He was thankful there were so many Pokemon Centers around. As much as he liked camping, it was tedious without the proper supplies.

It only took a few moments for him to get ready for the day ahead. Of course, Riley wasn't actually sure of what was in the town. Luckily, there was no one better to ask than the Pokemon nurse of the town. The trainer, upon reaching the main floor, made his way towards the main desk where the nurse and her Blissey worked. "Excuse me, ma'am?" Riley asked the woman in an attempt to get her attention.

"How could I help you?" She replied with a smile.

"Could you tell me a bit about Azalea?" The town was new to him, having only ever seen pictures in textbooks or online. It was one of the bigger town's if he remembered correctly, but that was all he knew.

"Of course." She reached for a small pamphlet under her desk. Slowly, she began to flip through it. "Azalea is known as the 'town where people and Pokemon live together in simple harmony'." She slowly began pointing at several pictures as she talked. "This is the town's gym. It is currently run by Gym Leader known as Bugsy. He specializes in using Pokemon of the bug-type. He comes from a long line of bug-users, so it isn't like his name is coincidental. Assuming you're taking the Pokemon League challenge, it's actually just down the road from here.

"We also have the Slowpoke Well towards the East. Many Slowpoke inhabit the area around and in it. They've almost always been in this town and many people in town even own one.

"This is known as the Research Studio," the woman stated before pointing at the last picture in the pamphlet. "This is where a man known as Kurt lives. He is a friend of a few of the world's most recognized Professors. However, it isn't quite the reason he is famous. He is a researcher himself, but he focuses more on apricorns. I would recommend going here, particularly if you're a trainer. The apricorns could help in many ways. Past that, there are many other small store or shops. This pamphlet has all the info you should need to get by."

Riley thanked the woman for her help as he accepted the papers. He turned towards the door before walking out, Abbadon in tow.

The sunlight was strong as the pair stepped out of the Pokemon Center, making for a beautiful day."If only we didn't have to much to do today," Riley told his partner. "We could actually try relaxing instead of battling." As much fun as it was, it did tire him a bit.

"What do you think we should do first?" He opened enough for both of them to see. "The gym is probably full of trainers at the moment. Everyone always wants an early start on their challenge. As for the stores... Well, we don't really need anything. We could always go to the Slowpoke Well, but that's a bit of a walk. What do you think about that Research Studio?" He pointed at a picture of an old cabin. The Pokemon simply nodded before it began walking in the direction of the building. Riley sighed before following his Pokemon.

Upon reaching the front of the building, Riley stared in an interested fashion. The cabin stood out against most of the buildings in town due to its age. Its owner, Kurt, despite being as old as the building itself, was one of those famous people he always heard about from his father. This was because he had invented an entirely new way to create Pokeballs. Better yet, the Pokeballs were so unique that you couldn't get them anywhere else. If he was to complete this journey, he would need some of them. They would definitely make things a bit easier.​

7 - 1​

Melody Hughes

Azalea Town - Melody's Detective Work Begins!​

Sign-up - Picture - OOC​

"Oh my, it seems like you've had a bit of a rough journey getting to Azalea Town. It almost seems like the sort of story you read about in a book, Melody. Are you sure you aren't exaggerating just a bit...?"

"Every single word of it, Emily! Team Rocket, the Smeargles, that... cave creature... all of it!"

Melody awoke a little bit later in the morning than she had actually planned. Somehow, the girl had managed to sleep into half past nine that morning, a time much later than she had done since leaving Cherrygrove at the very start of her journey. After rushing through her morning routine as quickly as she possibly could, Melody spent her time in the lounge of the Pokémon Center waiting for Sarah. She was currently spending her waiting time talking to her sister, Emily, on her Pokégear. As she made some small talk and caught her older twin up on some of the adventures she had been on so far, Franky, Blossom, and Hawk were all three currently having a small breakfast for themselves.

"Well then if you swear it is, I'll just have to take your word on it then. Although..."

"Although what?" Melody inquired.

"Why don't you tell me a bit more about that Vincent boy? You seemed to mention him an awful lot... if you catch my drift..."

Melody could feel the heat rushing to her cheeks. She knew fully well just what her sister was hinting at, which sent memories of the previous day's teasing brought on by both Sarah and Vincent to her mind. Eventually, Melody managed to find the words she needed to continue the conversation properly.

"It's only because we traveled together the most, Emily! I don't even know if he's still here or where he is now!" Melody insisted. "Besides, he's just a friend. It's not like I set out on this journey to score myself a hot date or something like that!" No sooner had those words left Melody's mouth did the girl already start mentally berating herself. She could tell that her sister was about to lay into her again, so before Emily could do that Melody decided it was long past time to bring the conversation to a close.

"Look, Emily... As much as I love your teasing me, I think I need to get going. I have a lot to do today, after all," Melody said.

"Yeah, I guess so... Listen Mel, I want you to promise me you'll take care of yourself, okay? Oh, and give us some more calls along the way! Mom and I both wanna hear all about what sort of things you see out there!"

"Yeah, you bet! See ya around, sis," Melody replied, before hanging up the phone on her side. The girl had to admit, it was good talking to her sister again... even if it was Melody herself that did most of the talking. The girl glanced down from her chair, noticing all three of her Pokémon were staring right back up at her with patient, waiting looks on their faces. "I guess Sarah decided to go about it on her own then... Well, no matter. I'm sure we can do just fine without her, right guys?"

Franky, Hawk, and Blossom all three agreed with Melody in their own, unique way. Giving each one of her teammates a warm smile, the trainer recalled Hawk and Franky into their Pokéballs and then gave Blossom an affectionate pat on the head. She took care of the dirty dishes from her Pokémon's meals and sooner or later she and Blossom took their exit from the Pokémon Center.

There was a gentle breeze blowing through the late morning air of Azalea Town. Many of the townspeople seemed to be going about their normal lives. Yet, despite this Melody noticed that they seemed a bit... troubled to some degree as well. Some of the townspeople kept throwing glances over their shoulders, as if they were scared of someone or something sneaking up on them. Others seemed to be keeping a close watch on each other, almost as if they did not trust each other or something of the sort. It sort of weirded Melody out to a degree, and made the short girl wonder just how she was supposed to approach this whole "Searching for Team Rocket" plan. Melody was not as worried about it back when she was going to have someone helping her in vigilante investigations... but now that she was working alone... well, it was safe to say that Melody herself was feeling a bit intimidated by it all.

"I guess the first thing to do is to just find out where the gym is. We should probably stay with the original plan and talk to the gym leader about the whole thing first," Melody determined. "Come on, Blossom. Let's go ask for directions."

Leading her Bayleef away from the Pokémon Center, Melody approached a nearby old man who was sitting on a park bench. His face was buried deep in a newspaper, occasionally muttering to himself as he would turn a page. Melody gave a somewhat nervous glrance to her Bayleef, who only offered the trainer the same, bright smile she normally had for the girl. Taking a deep breath, Melody cleared her throat which caused the old man to jump in surprise from the sudden sound.

"W-What is it? What is it with you whippersnappers?!" the grouchy old man began, sending a rather fierce glare in Melody's direction. "Why can't you lot ever just pipe down and use your manners?! Why, I would've gotten my hide tanned faster than a rabid Mankey with eight arms if I made as much noise as you!"

Melody was a bit taken back by the sudden energy and volume of the old man as he spoke. He looked quite frail from first appearances, as if he was one of those kind and dotting old grandfathers. Of course, once she got to see him and listen to him, the trainer learned the old man was quite the opposite. He even went as far as to do some spraying as he shouted, much to Melody and Blossom's horror.

"As me...? You're the one throwing a tantrum right now..." Melody thought with a sigh. The girl decided to try and not let the grouchy and somewhat frightening old man deter her from her plans though. "Um... Well, this is sort of my first time here and I was wonderi-"

"What? You sellin' somethin'?!" the old man accused, practically jabbing his finger at Melody. "Well, whatever it is! I don't want it! Now scram!"

Before Melody could get another word in edgewise, the old man had already pulled his newspaper back up and was once more reading and muttering to himself. Melody was starting to get a little annoyed with the man at this point. She began to wonder if all the people in Azalea were this rude, or of it was just this one man. Placing her hands on her hips, Melody rolled her eyes and huffed.

"EXCUSE me!" Melody shouted, causing the man to jump again. He placed his paper down and got ready to fuss at the girl again, however Melody cut him off this time before he could. "This is my first time here in town, and I was wondering if you could point me in the direction of the Pokémon Gym!"

"Oh, so your a trainer... Had about enough of them, I can tell you that. Bunch of ya been running around causin' all sorts of trouble... Why back in my day..."

Melody sighed, scratching the back of her head in frustration. At this point, finding the gym in the town... or at least getting directions, was going to prove to be a most bothering task indeed. Rather than worry about asking the old man at this point, Melody determined that she would probably be better off asking someone else. Glancing around, Melody noticed a boy that was probably her age standing off in front of the fence to a house. He had black hair and was standing with a rather strange looking Pokémon. The Pokémon looked like he had some sort of mustache and was carrying a spoon of all things.

"Well, let's see if he knows anything..." Melody decided. She motioned for Blossom to follow as she began walking towards him. The Bayleef glanced at the rambling and ranting old man one more time, before following behind Melody towards the boy. Putting the rather... disappointing interactions with her first Azalea Town resident behind her, Melody smiled brightly and waved at the boy. "Excuse meeeee~"

"This place doesn't look like much," Vincent commented as they approached the gym doors. "If I owned a gym, I'd be sure to make mine looks...you know...exciting. But this, I'm not impressed." Vincent was, for all intents and purposes, not actually thinking about what he was saying, merely commenting on the relatively standard building before him. It resembled the Violet City gym well enough, and was clearly recognizable as a gym, but it lacked any flair or prestige. It bored him, really. Enough for Vincent to make his discontent public. "Oh, well. Shall we?"

Christina shrugged her shoulders with a little smile as she looked up at the gym. She was excited to both see the gym's leader, as well as Vincent battling, which she hadn't yet, now that she thought about it. "Well, you know what they say about judging books on their covers. It'll probably look themed after which type they use once we get inside. So yeah, let's do this." She finished with a light grin, pushing open the doors with Vincent.

As soon as they stepped inside, they were met with a surprisingly fresh scent. The floor was covered in grass, there were bushes and even trees everywhere. It looked like a somewhat dense forest, and for a few moments, Christina couldn't even comprehend that they'd just gone inside a building.

"... Whoa. Okay, I think it wins some points back by looking like this inside. My brother was actually right for once, in saying that he knew I'd love this place." She commented, smiling as she stepped fully inside, looking around.

Vincent cocked an eyebrow at Christina's reaction, believing that she was too easily impressed by a greenhouse growing in the gym. It wasn't Vincent's style at all, but then again, he wasn't sure what his favorite type was. And based on what he gathered from gyms, having a specialized type determined what your gym would ultimately become. At the moment, he leaned towards water but that was probably because Hanzo was such a good battler. "I didn't take you for someone who liked bugs though," Vincent said. "But then again, that Caterpie seems to disagree with me," he continued, pointing at her one shoulder.

This made Christina freeze up completely, staring straight ahead of her, with her back turned to Vincent. Slowly, she cleared her throat and spoke up, her voice ever so slightly shaky. "... Vincent, please... tell me you're kidding me. There... isn't a Caterpie on my shoulder... right...?"

"Have I ever lied to you?" Vincent asked, with a sly grin, running up to be right beside her. "After all, friends don't lie to each other. That is how it works right?"

Christina sent Vincent a look that could kill him if it weren't for the fact that she also looked rather pale and almost in shock. Slowly, she turned her head with closed eyes, opening them to see the Caterpie, wriggling happily on her shoulder.

It only managed to let out a squeak before the thing flew across the room and into a pair of bushes, after which Christina shuddered, patting down her shoulder frantically and shaking her head.

"Blech, ergh! Oh god, it's a bug gym! It's going to be full of bugs! Marcus, you bastard, I knew you were just messing with me!"

Vincent laughed: "Well, with a name like Bugsy, what do you expect?" Vincent shrugged and turned to face what he assumed was the back of the gym. "Anyway, if this gym is anything like the last one, Bugsy is probably waiting in the back so let's get going."

Grumbling under her breath, Christina hugged herself and speeded up to be right behind Vincent, looking around herself to prevent any other critters from sneaking up on her. "... Mrph. The sooner this is over with, the better..."

The two came up to a small clearing in the 'forest', where a small, pig-tailed girl was tending to a Ledyba under the supervision of a fairly short, lean person with light skin and soft lines on their face. The hair was a shimmering purple, reaching down to the shoulders and framing the face elegantly.

As the two trainers entered the clearing, the purple-haired person glanced up, smiling, before patting the girl on the head. "Go on, Lara, take Ledyba for a walk, I think he'll get better then." The little girl quickly looked at the strangers, narrowing her eyes at Christina, who simply gave a narrow-eyed stare back, before the little girl ran off, Ledyba in tow.

"So I take it you are Bugsy eh?" Vincent asked rudely, pointing at the purple-haired person. "I mean, I guess you could just be a regular chick but seeing how you bossed that other girl around, I am pretty confident in my assumption or whatever you want to call it." Bugsy, in turn, looked only mildly confused, not necessarily at the young man's utter lack of tact but in his accusation that Bugsy was a girl, when in reality he was, well, a young man himself and a leading expert in Bug-type Pokemon. "Not a fan of the place to be honest, but then again, I have yet to see a decent bug type since I started this whole Pokemon journey. And I highly doubt you'll prove me wrong anyway."

Christina quirked a brow, glancing at Bugsy before looking back at Vincent. She opened her mouth in order to let him know that he'd mistaken Bugsy's gender, but at the last minute, she closed it again, an amused little smile creeping over her lips, her arms still folded over her torso. "Mrph, tell me about it. I really, really hate bug-types, so I can't see why someone would want to make a gym around them... no offense." She added, sending a small smile to Bugsy, honestly not meaning any insult to his chosen profession.

But Bugsy had calmly observed their initial words and now smiled at them. "I will certainly try to convince you of the opposite, then," he said with a voice so light that it could actually be mistaken for a woman's if you didn't know his true gender. He also had noticed Christina's hesitation and decided to play along. It was not the first time, after all. "Welcome to Azalea's Gym. I am Bugsy, indeed! I take it you are challengers?" he then said a bit more cheerfully.

Smiling, Christina shook her head before just jabbing a thumb towards Vincent. "Just him, actually. I guess I'm just here to see what he's got. Not that I'd mind seeing a gym leader in action either."

"Are you sure? I think there's someone here who seems pretty eager to get to battle you," Bugsy said with an amused smile, pointing behind Christina.

The Caterpie from before had crawled back up to them and was now huffing in a strangely non-buglike way from the ground towards the redhead.

Raising a brow, she turned her head to see the Caterpie nearby, seeming... annoyed at Christina for her treatment of it. She let out a low growl, shifting to the side while grabbing one of the pokéballs in her bag, letting out Conan in a flash of red light.

"... Conan, if any bug tries to get close to me, you've got my permission to destroy it." The Bagon raised his brows before letting out a snort, nodding his head firmly. With this new task, he could finally prove his worth. He turned to face the Caterpie, narrowing his eyes and scraping the ground with his foot, as if challenging it to come closer and face the wrath of Conan the Bagon.

Caterpie instantly paled and shrunk to a tiny ball of fear. Bugsy let out a noise that could have been a giggle as he walked over and picked it up. "Let's not destroy anyone today. I mean, not outside of the official gym battle, anyways," he said with a challenging look in Vincent's direction. "Are you and your pokémon ready for battle?"

"Better question is: Are you and your Pokemon ready for one? I beat Falkner with not much trouble and I highly doubt you are going to do any better," Vincent said confidently. "So let's cut to the chase. 3v3 with no healing items right? Is that how you gym leaders prefer to do it?"

Bugsy smiled and nodded, reaching down to grasp one of the Pokéballs by his waist. "That's exactly what I was going to suggest, yes. So, in that case, let's get started! Go! Butterfree!" A moment later, a Butterfree came flying out of the Pokéball, flapping its wings as it did a little lap, letting out an excited little chitter.

Christina wrinkled her nose and sidestepped away from Vincent after patting his shoulder, smiling and muttering a 'Good luck!'. She stepped off to the side of the battlefield, with Conan following right behind her, sending evil looks at the creepy-crawlies hiding in the nearby bushes and shrubs.

"You should be wishing Bugsy here 'good luck' not me," Vincent said as he pulled his sleeves up and cracked his neck. He clicked a Pokeball off his belt and tossed into the center of the makeshift of the field. "Go, Tank!" Emerging from the light came a Beldum, floating with a gentle beep as its eye looked around the field, slightly amazed at the scenery. Vincent grinned a little at the sight of Tank being confused with seeing grass and trees but snapped his fingers. "Look alive, Tank! Use Take Down!" Tank bounced in midair and flung itself forward at the Butterfree. Yet Bugsy's Butterfree seemed almost unimpressed with the attack, flying upwards to easily dodge it.

"You are aggressive like I thought, but Butterfree can easily avoid you," Bugsy said with a subtle sigh, stating the fact rather plainly. "Use Tackle." Butterfree from its high elevation, dove down to deliver a stiff tackle with the Beldum crashing into the ground, crafting a small crater with its still body. Butterfree flew back to its owner, confident that the Beldum has put out of commission. Yet, as Butterfree was flying back, Tank collided with the butterfly Pokemon hurtling through the dust cloud and sending the Butterfree through the air at a brisk pace inches away from a nearby tree.

"Heh," Vincent spat. "Beldum is a steel type, so it's thats your best shot, this battle isn't going to last a long time. A couple more of those and your Butterfree is history, Bugsy. Hopefully you got something up your sleeve 'cause otherwise this will be too easy."

Bugsy smiled: "Just like everyone else, you seem to underestimate Bug type Pokemon. So let me show why you should not make that same mistake again." With a small nod to his Butterfree, Bugsy put his course of action into motion. The Butterfree flew around the arena with small particles raining down from her wings. Tank at first seemed unfazed, capable of living up to its name. Yet as the Beldum tried to use its sole attack, it found itself unable to move. Vincent gawked at the sight as the Butterfree instinctively flapped its wings stirring up a strong Gust, firing the Beldum into the same tree that Butterfree almost collided with. The tree nearly snapped due to the brunt force and weight of Tank, but like the steel type its stood its ground.

Tank quickly shook it off the damage and it floated back to the center of the field. Vincent knew exactly what was happening and silently yelled at himself for not accounting for Butterfree to not have a tricks up its sleeves. After all, if he was known for inflicting status conditions in his battles, if a bit rudimentary ones. But Bugsy, undoubtedly a seasoned battler, would use such things such as paralysis. Vincent favored a quick battle and Bugsy was likely going to drag this one yet to exhaust and frustrate Vincent.

Ooh... this is going to be a long, interesting battle. Christina thought, lifting a hand to bite down on her thumb, staring at the fight ahead of her as if in trance.

Both Vincent and Bugsy seemed to share an expression creeping close to frustration however. Vincent at the sight of Beldum having difficulty in hitting the Butterfree and Bugsy at the sight of Butterfree unable to cause any amount of damage. Vincent's expression quickly shifted into one more akin to rage. "Tank! Use Take Down again! Come on! One good hit is all you need!"

"Butterfree, use Confusion!" Bugsy ordered. As the Tank poured everything he had into its Take Down, the Butterfree's eyes glowed with psychic energy. The waves of telekinetic energy slowed Tank's ascent, but the Beldum barreled through striking the Butterfree with intensity. The two Pokemon crumbled to the ground, each a few meters from the other. The Butterfree seemed to gasp for air, struggling to gain some elevation in the air before finally flying with some strength. Beldum, on the other hand, simply laid on the ground before it's eye awakened and it floated back up to a lower, but still stable height. Both Pokemon were damaged. The next big hit would probably decide everything.

Vincent did not have to say anything, as instinct guided Tank at this point (and the Pokemon did not exactly have much in move variety). The Beldum flew at Butterfree with everything it had as Bugsy mustered a strategic response. "U-Turn!" he ordered. As the Butterfree maneuvered in the air to not only strike at Tank, but recall to Bugsy, the Beldum cut through the trick and collided with the Butterfree, knocking the wind out of the Pokemon's sails. Crashing to the ground as one unit, Tank rolled off Buttefree and slowly levitated back to Vincent. Butterfree, on the other hand, did not move.

"Nice one!" Christina called out, clapping her hands together once, with a bright grin on her lips. It was surprisingly exciting for her to watch others fight, especially a gym battle like this. Not to mention how high the stakes had been in the current matchup.

"Surprising," Bugsy managed to say. "Well, if you want to play this kind of game, I have just the Pokemon for you. Go! Heracross!" Bugsy threw his next Pokemon out, with Heracross standing tall and proud, awaiting Vincent's response. Knowing that Tank couldn't take a fresh and staunch Pokemon like that, he recalled his newest capture and reached to his belt, pausing for a moment. He was unsure who would be the better fight to take on a Heracross, only knowing that the Pokemon could hit hard in a pinch.

Hanzo can probably hit a bit harder and maybe end the fight faster, but Brian can fly around and possibly avoid most that thing's attacks in the first place. Then again, who knows what Bugsy has got in store for her third Pokemon. She could have another trick up her sleeve and I'll have to admit I got lucky with Tank beating that Butterfree.

Vincent simply stared at the Heracross, before snatching a Pokeball and throwing into the ring. The ball flashed, revealing Brian the Pidgey. With a tweet and a flap of his wings, he perched himself on a tree, enjoying the forest a bit. "Here's the thing, lady. I don't really care for games and any of that. So, you can stick a cork in it and just battle alright?" With a whistle, he called Brian over, sticking his arm for the bird to perch on. "Now go!" Thrusting his arm forward, he gave the Pidgey a small boost of speed and the bird Pokemon at the Heracross, Brian tackled the Heracross, testing the waters of the battle. The Heracross responded with a swing of its horn, but the Horn Attack missed as Brian nimbly dodged the attack. With a blinding burst of speed, the Pidgey flanked the Heracross with a Quick Attack. Heracross rolled on the ground, quickly recovering and with another swing of its horn, attacking the Pidgey with a Night Slash. The sudden impact of the blow surprised the Brian and the Pokemon seemed visibly nervous from the raw damage. Following up, the Heracross charged forward with an Arm Thrust, striking Brian another three times before Pidgey managed to get away. While not painful, the attack thrown Brian off his rhythm hurting its self confidence more than anything.

Flying off and hiding in a tree, Brian tended to its wounds, picking at them with his beak. Vincent growled lowly before cupping his hands around his mouth and yelling out: "Use Sand Attack, Brian!" But the Pidgey chirped lowly, whining in his own way. "What do you mean, you don't wanna?!" Brian chirped loudly, anger matching Vincent's frustration. "Aw, come on. Don't be like that! I wouldn't put you out there if I didn't think you could kick this giant overgrown beetle's ass!"

"Hey, I-"

"Can it, lady!" Vincent fired, cutting off Bugsy with a wide swipe of his arm ending in a stiff point. "Adults are talking."

"But I'm ol-"

"What did I just say?!" Vincent continued, becoming progressively louder as his frustration grew. "Now! Brian! Stop being a baby and do something! You won't get anywhere if you don't at least try!"

Christina's voice suddenly rung out from the side of the battlefield. "Vincent, look out! Heracross is attacking again!"

"Huh? What?" Vincent turned to Christina before the sound of a crashing tree rumbled through the stage. Splinters of the tree flew through the air as Heracross stood proudly over his work. Brian hopped away from the ruined tree, visibly hurt as Heracross charged forward with another Horn Attack. "Sand Attack now!" Brian hopped away, kicking up a sand cloud moments before the Heracross attacked.

Vincent and Bugsy were unable to see anything. Whether or not Heracross made contact, or if Brian even survived being gutted. Vincent tried to hide his apprehension, while Bugsy made little effort to do anything, maintaining a rather content poker face. Suddenly, Heracross came flying out of the sand cloud, rolling less gracefully as he landed. He was bruised, but not beaten. The dust cloud was slowly settling and standing at the center was not the Brian that Vincent recognized. It was a Pidgeotto. Brian had evolved.

"Whoa, Brian evolved! Nice one, Brian!" came the cheering from Christina from the sidelines. She grinned brightly, clapping vigorously, and even Conan, having now taken a seat besides her, seemed impressed. Or at least as impressed as his otherwise stoic nature let him show.

Slightly more confident than before, Brian blasted off to the sky, glaring down at the Heracross. Heracross leapt into the sky, going for an attack that Vincent recognized all too well, Aerial Ace. Yet despite the flawless accuracy, Pidgeotto was faster and more nimble in the air. "Use Gust!" With a huge flap of its wings, a tornado whipped up, blasting the Heracross down to the ground with a loud crash and a small crater. The Heracross struggled to move for a second before failing to gather its composure.

Vincent let out a sigh of relief as Brian stood tall. "Well, it seems this battle is mine already. How about giving up?"

"Hardly," Bugsy said. "But I will let my last Pokemon do the talking for me." Without much hesitation on Bugsy's part, he tossed out his last ball and a Scyther came bursting out of the gates with quick attack, knocking Brian back without any warning. The sneak attack caught Vincent off center and he could barely muster any sort of response. Taking a ball from his belt, Vincent prepared to recall Brian, yet Bugsy saw right through Vincent's desperation. "Pursuit!" Bugsy ordered and with another swift strike with its claw longs, Brian was knocked to the ground, chirping lowly as if apologizing for its defeat.

Man, this thing is fast. And strong," Vincent thought. No way Tank can handle him. I mean he may be able to take a few hits but I doubt he could land anything. It's all up to Hanzo now.

Mirroring Bugsy, Vincent threw out his last Pokemon, Hanzo the Frogadier who emerged from the light with a hand on the ground and his eyes closed, as if waiting his eventual summoning and orders. Stoic as ever, Hanzo remained unfazed as the Scyther roared and taunted the water type.

"Quick Attack!" Both Vincent and Bugsy ordered. The two Pokemon, in a flash, attacked each other. Moving with such speed, Vincent and Bugsy lost sight of their respective Pokemon as the two dueled each other, matching each other's speed, strength and ferocity blow for blow. The only time each was visible was when the attacks collided, whether on ground or in midair. Eventually, the two became visible, their attacks locked together as the Scyther and Frogadier tied each other up in a power struggle. They appeared evenly matched, though the Scyther seemed to be getting the advantage, pushing Hanzo back inch by inch. It became clear what the Scyther intended to do, as every step took them closer to a tree, hoping to corner its opponent.

"Use Bubble!" Vincent ordered. Dropping to one knee, Hanzo tilted its head up and blew a series of bubbles directly into the eyes of the Scyther. Despite being blinded, the Scyther retaliated with a False Swipe, cutting Hanzo across the chest. The two, ignoring orders for a moment, engaged in another duel of speed, locking each other in a series of Quick Attacks once more. Vincent and Bugsy seemed equally amazed at the bursts of speed from each other their Pokemon, unable to fathom how it would end. Scyther appeared alone in the middle, looking around for where Hanzo had vanished to. Then, suddenly from behind, the frog ninja struck the Scyther with a Pound, driving the Scyther's head into the ground. With Hanzo vanishing into the bushes, the Scyther's angry face searched everywhere for his opponent.

"Use Focus Energy!" Bugsy said, trying to regain control over his Scyther. Scyther, despite it's pride wounded by Hanzo's stealth and poise, listened and refocused its rage. Hanzo leapt into action, hoping to attack from the bushes. "Behind you!" Bugsy roared. With a swift response, Scyther struck with a Vacuum Wave square in the chest from point blank range and bring Hanzo down to the earth in a seamless motion. Standing over his opponent, Hanzo flipped back, and bounced off a nearby tree into the canopy. Scyther resumed chase, striking every which wave with a series of False Swipes. Branch after branch fell down, decorating the battlefield in sticks, leaves and branches of every size and shape. Hanzo near lost its focus and the same blank expression adorned his face as Scyther's guise of enraged warrior remained constant.

The two collided again and the equally matched power of the respective attacks catapulted them back to the ground as they locked gazes. They measured each other, walking in a circle as both Hanzo and Scyther honed their focus on the other, making sure none made a move without the other noticing right away.

Vincent and Bugsy appeared to do the same, before each smirked at the other.

"Vacuum Wave!"

"Aerial Ace!"

The two Pokemon, without as much as a blink, leapt into action. Scyther fired a torrent of energy with its Vacuum Wave. Yet in a flash, a battle damaged Hanzo appeared only inches away from Bugsy with the Scyther flying in the air, covered in wounds as the blinding fast accuracy of the Aerial Ace broke through the Vacuum Wave before Scyther could finish off the water type. Scyther squirmed on the ground, not quite defeated by the attack but Hanzo seemed to ignore the Scyther's demand for an end. Bugsy, however, understood and recalled Scyther after a few moments, watching the Frogadier pace over to Vincent.

"WHOO!" The redhaired girl shouted out as she came running up to Vincent, a bright grin on her lips, her eyes widened and a reluctantly awe-struck Conan behind her, she quickly patted Vincent on the back. "You did it! Holy crap, that was -amazing-! I've never seen a fight like that before!"

She glanced down at the beaten Frogadier, quickly fishing out a potion from the pack by her side, leaning down in front of him with a warm smile, spraying the contents onto the water-type to ease its pain. "You were amazing, Hanzo. You deserve a break. Right Vince'?" She asked, looking up at him with a smile.

"Uh...thanks?" Vincent muttered, taken aback by Christina's kindness and quick care of Hanzo. The Frogadier bowed at Christina, thanking her for the potion and turned to its owner for direction. "If you wanna go and mediate, go for it. I'll call you when I'm done with Bugsy over there," the brash boy said with a gesture towards the Gym Leader. Hanzo bowed again without a word and disappeared into the forested gym, seeking quiet to think on its battle. "Now, where were we?"

Bugsy was calmly walking over to them. He looked oddly at peace for someone who had just lost a battle. But his eyes glanced towards where Hanzo had disappeared every other second as he made his way over the green battlefield.

"Congratulations," he said. "You have defeated me. Please take the Hive badge as proof!"

With a smile, the gym leader held out a hand with the valuable red and black badge in it.

Vincent snatched the badge from Bugsy's hands. "Thank you very much," he said. "Ew, it looks like a bug. Oh well," Vincent said, stuffing the badge in his pocket for the moment.

"Of course," Bugsy said, but there his smile faded into something more serious. "We are not quite done yet though. I need to ask you something." He also gave Christina a curious look now. "That Frogadier of yours... is it by any chance what you would call shiny?"

Vincent was tempted to offer a sarcastic response, but sighed before cocking his head slightly to side and crossing his arms. "I guess? He looks different than the picture in my Pokedex at least. Why do you care anyway?"

Bugsy's serious demeanor turned somewhat brighter. "And perhaps you were actually sent out on a journey on behalf of professor Pine?"

Unable to recall if he had or not seeing how it was a long time ago and he has been busy since then, Vincent racked his brain to remember Pine. As far as Vincent was concerned, he set himself on this path and Pine just happened to equip him. That sounded right to him at least. "Yeah, I guess. Can you just skip to the point? What do you want exactly?"

After recalling Conan back into his Pokéball and tucking it away in her pack, Christina turned back to Vincent and Bugsy, her brows furrowed. "Hey, hold up, I was sent out by Pine as well." She sent Vincent a small 'Don't leave me out' look, before looking back at Bugsy, her hands planted at her hips. "What's Pine got to do with anything?"

"Everything," Bugsy said solemnly. "But I can't tell you details here. Not even in my own gym." He glanced around them, as if checking that none of his apprentices were listening in. "I spoke to some of your friends earlier. Pine trainers too. They said their pokémon had went missing, possibly stolen... And I might know who did it. But like I said, I can't tell you any details here."

He looked with sharp eyes at Vincent, making him look oddly manly for being so feminine otherwise. "You are a strong trainer, I need you. You too," he added towards Christina. "Please meet me and your friends behind the pokémon center at midnight tonight. Everything will be clear there. I will not force you to do anything, but I will ask for your help in a grave matter. What do you say?"

The only thing that piqued his interest was the mention of stolen Pokemon. While Vincent was admittedly hardly moved by his Honedge being stolen, the idea of others going missing such as Melody's or even Christina's bothered him. It helped that Bugsy had patted Vincent's pride so generously. But it felt strange that Bugsy, of all people, would know about. How would a Gym Leader have access to that kind of information? Vincent shifted his attention to Christina: "What do you say? Worth a shot?"

Christina's brows had raised as soon as Bugsy had mentioned the missing Pokémon, and the idea that someone was behind it was even more disturbing. So when Vincent glanced at her and asked for her opinion, Christina simply nodded once, returning the look before glancing back at Bugsy. "Alright. We're in. We can't let someone get away with stealing Pokémon."

Bugsy seemed pleased with their answer. "I'll see you at midnight then. Bring your best, rested pokémon, just in case... And oh. Would you guys wait here for a minute? I have something that might help you."

He smiled again and swiftly headed back towards a door in the overgrown wall behind them.

"Is it bad that I think we are in for a trap?" Vincent asked once Bugsy was out of earshot.

Christina glanced back to Vincent, shaking her head lightly. "Would someone luring us into a trap ask us to bring our strongest Pokémon? Besides, he's a gym leader. Unless the entire league is in on it, I doubt he could get away with doing something like that."

"Yeah, that's tru- Wait a minute....HE?" Vincent yelled, jumping back. "She's a he?!"

Raising a brow, the redhead glanced back at Vincent, with no words, and just an amused smirk on her lips, folding her arms across her chest.

Just then, Bugsy returned, holding a TM, which he handed over to Vincent. "I do hope this will help you in preparation for tonight. Now remember, meet me behind the Pokemon Center at midnight. Don't be late!"

Vincent instantly stowed the TM in his bag and whistled, with Hanzo seemingly appearing of thin air beside Vincent, bowing to Bugsy as Vincent walked away without as much as warning otherwise. "Yeah, yeah. I'll see you there with a rested Pokemon, blah blah. Let's get going Christina! I think I am getting allergies from this place."

"Don't have to tell me twice." Christina muttered, sending a nearby Ledyba a death-glare. She hurried after Vincent, walking half-behind him as they exited the gym. "Ugh. I -really- hate bugs. I'm not scared of them, I just... blech. I want to stomp them."

She shook her head, giving Vincent's shoulder a mixture of a pat and a thwap, smiling brightly. "But you did it! You got the badge! Pretty impressive, I have to say."

"I beat up a couple of bugs. It's not that hard. I'm sure you could of done it too," Vincent, half waving off Christina and half somewhat of a thank you, of which Vincent was hardly skilled at articulating.

"I still think it was pretty cool." Christina nodded to herself, grinning as she gave Vincent's shoulder another light little jab. "And now we're on a mission! Pretty exciting stuff. You even got a-" She paused, a look of realization coming over her. "... He didn't give -me- a TM."

Vincent snickered. "Well, you didn't exactly battle him yet. Or win. Like yours truly."

"Mrph." Christina grunted quietly, folding her arms across her chest. In doing so, the strap holding her bag in place suddenly snapped, causing it to fall to the ground, off her shoulder. Blinking in surprise, the redhead looked down at her ruined bag, letting out a groan.

"Awh, damnit! I've had that bag since for years!" Sighing, she bent down and picked it up with the broken strap, pulling the bag up to her chest, facing Vincent. "I'm gonna go to the store and see if I can find some tape or something to repair this with. I'll see you tonight, alright Vince?"

With that, she turned on her heel and began half-jogging towards the market she had passed earlier on, during their search, her stomach still bubbling excitedly about the match she'd just watched... as well as the mission the two had undertaken the coming evening.
​

Still pretty excited about the battle of Vincent versus Bugsy, Christina almost bumped into a few of the townsfolk on her way to the Pokémart, but she was too lost in her recollections of the fight to even notice at this point. She went through what happened, what could've been done differently, and how her own team could possibly take on Bugsy.

However, without Sindy, there wasn't much chance of her beating the bugs. She could get close, she thought, but it wasn't going to be enough, in her opinion. Okay, so I didn't get the badge fron Falkner, nor Bugsy... I guess I'll have to wait and see about the next one. She frowned a little at that thought. Both at the fact that it was basically admitting defeat without a fight, as well as remembering Sindy, hoping she was alright, wherever she was.

With Christina as absorbed in her thoughts as she was, she didn't even notice the person calling out to her, until he had caught up with her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey! Chrisling, I knew I'd find you here!"

Snapping out of her daydream, the first thought that immediately came to mind was the fact that whoever this person was, they were using a weird nickname for her. Her eyes widened as she was overcome with dread, turning around with the ruined bag still in her arms as she came face to face with her brother, Marcus.

Marcus was the definition of a pretty-boy and stood a full head taller than Christina. Blonde hair swept back and to the side with a rather impressive-looking physique and a jawline that could cut glass. He was wearing his trademark, white-toothed, bright smile that made all the younger girls completely swoon over him and his usual bright orange and black, short-sleeved jacket, a white shirt underneath, a pair of armbands (One orange and one black), a belt with all of his Pokéballs strapped to and a pair of jeans. It was the outfit he always wore when he was on TV, and before Christina could look around, the crew he usually toured around with was right behind him. There was a cameraman, a guy holding a boom mic, and a reporter-looking lady with short hair.

Christina's bright expression quickly turned sour as she stared up at Marcus' bright expression, the look on his face telling her that he had -something- planned. "... Hey Marcus. What're you doing here? I thought you were off doing some kind of 'Swimming with the Chinchou' program or something out west?"

"Oh! Nah, we finished shooting that a week ago. And I heard my lil' sis had finally started on her Pokémon journey!" He let out a laugh, lifting a hand to ruffle Christina's hair, causing her to go 'Ech!' and take a step back, lifting an arm to try and straighten out her now somewhat wild, red hair. All the while, the reporter-lady was discussing something with the other two, the cameraman pointing the camera at the siblings all the while.

After settling down her hair, Chris' let out a huff, shifting the weight of the back to her other arm. "Alright, well... yeah, I am. You could've just called, you know. Or called back when dad tried to contact you."

Marcus shook his head, still smiling as he shrugged his shoulders. "Nah, that ain't like me. I wanted to surprise you in person! I figured you'd stop by here within a day or two, so I made sure we were here to say hi... Chrisling." He finished with a slightly more cheeky grin than a moment ago.

Christina sent him another glare. "Don't -call- me that. Look, I appreciate you wanting to wish me well, but-" she began, but Marcus interjected. "But I'm not just here to say congrats on becoming a trainer! Or, fledgling trainer, at least. Where's your starter?" He asked, looking around.

"Oh, she... uh..." Christina began, looking away, her mood sinking a little again. Finally, she shook her head. "She's not around right now."

Marcus was unfazed. "Ah, that's a shame. Anyway, the -real- reason I came here to see you was this!" He reached into his jacket to find something, all the while the reporter-lady was talking to the camera, as she had been for a little while. "-granting his sister the first in a long line of gifts for-" was all she heard before Marcus flashed what looked like a ferry ticket in front of her.

Quirking a brow, Christina reached out and took the item, looking down at it. It looked like... a cheque. Her brother turned to the camera, beaming another smile as he took a step back and wrapped an arm around Christina's shoulders, forcefully pulling her closer.

"That's right! My lil' sis is the first who gets to be a part of the Newbie Trainers' Charity! We started this charity to help out those trainers who might not be able to make it out there in the wide world on their own. Imagine, hundreds of young trainers like her, wandering out there without money for food, a tent, new Pokéballs or even potions to heal your tired, weary Pokémon!"

He released her again, causing her to stumble a little to get her footing, Marcus spreading his arms to the sides as if to gesture to the world around him. "With the NTC, we'll be able to help those more unfortunate than others, and it all starts here!"

The reporter turned to Christina, smiling an impressively large smile, clearly rather taken with Marcus' little speech. "Miss Langley! As the sister of the great Marcus Langley, how does it feel to be the first to have the honor of recieving a donation like this?"

Christina blinked a few times, trying to process everything that was happening, looking from the cheque in her hand, to the camera pointed right at her, to the reporter and Marcus, beaming their fake TV-smiles down at her, the microphone in the lady's hand right in front of her.

She turned to her brother, holding up the cheque. "This? This is what you think of me, Marcus? You think I'm so incompetent and incapable of taking care of myself that I have to live off of your charity? You don't even know what I've been through!" She knew that meeting her brother could never be a good thing, but this was the straw that broke the Camerupt's back. Her own brother thought she was a 'Newbie', despite her having taken care of Sindy, Conan and Shade (almost) without any problems.

The reporter looked a little uneasy at Christina's hostility, glancing up at Marcus questioningly. He just chuckled and threw his hands dismissively at Christina. "Come on, Chrisling, I've been on a journey myself! I know how tough it is! And you've gotta admit, you look a little... ragged." His lips twisted from the bright smile to a little smirk as he quickly eyed her over.

Granted, she was standing with her broken bag in her arms and her clothes -were- looking pretty frayed from all of her running, climbing, fighting and jumping she'd been doing, the buttons of her shirt barely even staying in place. However, his comments only served to further fuel her anger, her face reddening firmly.

"Wh- shut up! I'm doing -fine-, thank you very much! You always do something like this, and you always bring your TV-crew! I'm sick of it, Marcus! You never treat me with any respect, and I want you to leave me alone, okay?! I don't want to -be- here anymore!"

And just like that, she vanished out of thin air. Marcus and the remaining crew stood there, blinking at the spot where Christina had been just a few moments earlier, Marcus even looking rather baffled. "... Err. Cut?"

Christina stumbled as her center of gravity had changed for a split-second, letting out a yelp as she fell backwards, landing on her rear. Quickly looking around herself, she realized that she was suddenly outside of the Pokémart. Hurriedly looking around with raised brows, she slowly got to her feet.

Just as she picked up her bag, the Unown she supposedly had in its ball came floating into her field of vision in front of her, blinking at her with its large eye, humming quietly. She paused, giving it a suspicious little stare. "... Did... you do that?" The Unown simply hummed again and spun around itself.

Shaking her head, she recalled the Pokémon and tugged away the Pokéball. She had to talk to Deen about that at some point. For now though, she figured she may as well do what she came here for, if anything then to get rid of the fresh memory of meeting her brother again.

She entered the mart and began looking around in the accessories section. It wasn't a big store, considering the town's size, but it had what you needed. As she was looking at new bags, Christina suddenly realized she was still holding the cheque that Marcus had thrust into her hand.

Staring down at the slip of paper, she furrowed her brows, her lips pressing firmly together. She didn't like the idea of accepting his 'donation'. Frankly, she hated the thought. But after checking out the sorry state of her clothes in the mirror, she took a deep breath and shook her head. It's not like he has to know. And I already have the money, so...

About half an hour later, Chris' exited the store with a bright smile on her lips. Say what you will, but shopping when you have the money for it felt good. Instead of getting a new bag, she'd decided to go a little more minimalistic, keeping her pokégear in her pocket, and having a pouch for the remainder of her items, such as her mons' Pokéballs, the single potion, antidote and whatnot she carried for emergencies.

Aside from her choice of luggage, she'd also gotten a brand new set of clothes. A slightly longer pair of shorts, a proper set of boots that were long, but built light enough that she could easily run, climb and jump if need be, a turqoise shirt that fit her a little better than the previous one, a brown vest with a nice, fluffy, white collar, a new, plaid scarf wrapped around her neck and a pair of fingerless, brown gloves.



Looking over herself one more time, she gave a bright smile and nodded, stretching her arms out over her head. "Alright! Fresh start. Time to forget about what an ass my brother can be and go get some food. Better make sure I'm ready for tonight." With the thought of revenge on the people who might've kidnapped Sindy, Chris' hit her fist into her palm and headed off towards the Pokécenter.
​

Stepping out into the cool night air, Christina took a deep breath to psych herself up for whatever might happen when she met up with Bugsy and whoever else might be there, aside from Vincent.

She'd eaten, taken a nap, prepared Shade and Conan and even bought an extra potion, just in case. Happy with her choice in vest, the puffy neck and the scarf helped her keep a nice, mellow temperature, despite it being the middle of the night.

After checking that the streets were more or less empty, Christina moved up along the wall of the center until she came around the back, where she found that she was the first to arrive, meeting with Kurt, although she didn't recognize him. Must be one of the other people Bugsy mentioned. She gave him a soft nod, folding her arms across her chest while glancing around. "So, how many are we waiting for, exactly?"​

Raising her brows at a somewhat familiar voice, Christina turned around, a look of surprise across her face as she saw Morgan coming to join them.

"Oh, Morgan, hey." She smiled, giving a little wave. "It's not that cold. This is a pretty hot night, all things considered. If a bit chilly. Should try living here in the winter, oof." She sent the girl a little grin before turning to the newest arrival, blinking as he approached.

"Oh, Deen! Hey!" She began smiling, although his look and tone of voice made her give him an odd look, somewhat confused. She shook it off, though. "Wow, this is… coincidental." She paused, mentally wondering how many more of her friends would be showing up, all the while unconsciously fiddling with her gloves. "Your new jacket looks pretty cool." She commented, her attention still on Aberdeen.​

Christina giggled as Aberdeen stumbled over his words, shaking her head while lifting a hand to shake it dismissively. "Deen, it's fine. Thank you."

She gave him a light smile, although the odd, held-back look he gave her earlier was still in her mind. Was he angry that she hadn't told him about this in the first place? She'd thought that Bugsy wouldn't have wanted her to go talking to people about a top-secret operation like this, even to Aberdeen.

She snapped out of her train of thought at his question, quickly shaking her head, a hand lifting to brush back some of her red strands of hair. "Oh, no, no. I met Vincent, and he helped me ask around for anyone who might've seen Sindy or Winter, and then he went to challenge the gym, so I went with him.

She paused, smirking a little. "He might be a bit of a jerk, but that battle… wow." She shook her head again. "Anyways, Bugsy decided to tell us both about the operation here, and… well, here we are." She raised her hands to gesture to the cold, dark backyard of the Pokémon Center before tugging her hands into her short-pockets.​

"Excuse me?" Riley heard from behind. The young man turned around to find a short, brown-haired girl standing there, a oddly-colored Bayleef close to her side. She looked young, but it was apparent she was on a journey given her attire. Knowing his luck, the girl would want to battle. It wasn't that he wouldn't want to, but the fact that it would be happening before his battle with the Gym Leader. Abbadon slowly looked over the pair as well. Riley couldn't tell if he was anxious for a battle or merely wanting to play some sort of prank.

Nonetheless, she obviously wanted him for something. Whatever it was, there was no reason to be overly hesitant. He flashed a smile at the girl. "Is there something I could help you with?"

Melody nodded enthusiastically, clearly happy that someone in this town was being friendly. "Mhm, there is! I was wondering if you might be able to point me in the direction of this town's gym!" Melody glanced around, making sure that no one suspicious may have been within hearing range before quickly leaning in and beginning to whisper. "There's something really important I need to talk to the Gym Leader about. There's been some weird activity going on in this area, and I wanna see if maybe he's on top of it."

Blossom glanced over at Abbadon, giving the Kadabra a small smile and nod as Melody spoke with the boy. The Bayleef adjusted the leaf which hung from her head a bit by quickly shaking her head, before giving him a rather proud and boastful look for some reason, possibly because she was wanting to show off just how shiny and pretty it looked in the late morning sun.

"The gym?" Riley repeated looking at the map within his brochure. "Apparently, Bugsy's gym is just down the street." He pointed in its direction to clarify before looking closely at the girl. "What do you mean by 'weird' exactly?" He asked her in a hushed tone, reminiscent of her own. "Are you talking about that stupid Team Rocket?"

Abbadon flashed his own smile at the other Pokemon, albeit a rather quick one before he pulled out his trusty spoon. Though he was a shiny Pokemon himself, he didn't necessarily grow brighter. However, his spoon could and he gave a small smile as he lifted into a position where it could catch the most sunlight.

Melody's eyes widened in surprise. "That's exactly what I'm talking about!" she exclaimed, in a tone much louder than she meant to. Quickly looking over her shoulder with an embarrassed blush at how loud she was just then, Melody made sure no one had overheard her... which by some strange blessing they hadn't, before going on. "Y-Yeah, Team Rocket. They've been going around the area lately and stealing Pokémon..." She paused again, looking down at the ground as she spoke. "They managed to take one of my own plus one from a friend of mine... So, I'm kinda trying to find out if anyone knows anything about 'em around here."

As Melody explained her situation, Blossom watched curiously as the Kadabra pulled out his spoon and held it in the sunlight. Before much longer, a pleased, happy gurgle of sorts quickly escaped Blossom, as the sunlight began to bounce off the spoon and shine onto the Bayleef. She closed her eyes, her smile growing wider as she clearly enjoyed basking in the warm light.

"That's what I've been hearing of late," he told the girl. "Anyways, I'm sure there are a lot of trainers at the gym already. This place is owned by someone named Kurt though." He directed their attention towards the large cabin behind the fence. "He apparently know quite a few of the world's professors and is somewhat famous himself. If anything, I feel like he should know what's going on."

The Kadabra looked surprised by the Bayleef's like for the light coming off the spoon. Apparently, Abbadon hadn't quite realized that its grass typing favored the sun.

Melody gazed over towards the cabin, a small frown coming to her lips as she took in what Riley said. To be honest, Melody was honestly hoping to have a word with the gym leader. It just seemed like to her, he would be the one to go to in a situation just as this. Then again, if he was as busy as the boy said...

"I really don't have time to stand in line all day. Napoleon is counting on me, after all!" Melody thought, crossing her arms over her chest. She glanced over her shoulder, back at the old man on the bench who was still somehow rambling on about something. Melody was not too sure what it was at this point, and honestly did not care to go back and find out. "Well, then... I guess we can give this Kurt-guy a try, sure. Come on, Blossom!"

The Bayleef looked up at her trainer in surprise, Melody clearly calling her out of... whatever it was that was going on. Blossom let out a happy chirp before bounding over to Melody, affectionately nuzzling against the short girl's hand before starting to walk beside her. Melody only took a few steps forward before looking over her shoulder at the boy.

"Well? Are you coming?" she asked, a small smile on her face. "I mean, you were gonna talk to this guy too, right?"

Riley nodded with a smile before following the girl through the gate. Abbadon was close in tow, obviously disappointed at his failed prank. Upon reaching the door, he knocked and looked over at the girl once more. "I'm Riley by the way. This is Abbadon."

"My name is Melody!" the girl replied cheerfully. She patted her Bayleef on the head. "And I guess you already know, but this is Blossom. It's nice to meet ya both."

The door in front of the two was suddenly pulled backwards, with a little more force than was necessary. In the opening was a slightly elderly looking man with white, swept-back hair and a pair of very angry-looking eyebrows. He was wearing a Japanese-looking traditional turquoise top and pants with a white cloth as a rough belt and a pair of white loafers, which divided his toes into two pockets.

He quickly scanned over the two trainers, narrowing his eyes. "... What do you want?" Before either of them could even think about answering, he held up a hand. "No, of course, I know what you're here for. You want to know how I create my balls, right? Come on in, then, I suppose." With that, he turned around and headed back inside of the cabin, leaving the door open for the trainers and the pokémon.

Melody watched as the old man walked back inside his home before giving Riley a somewhat confused-looking glance. The trainer was starting to wonder if all of the elderly adults of this town were like this. There was no way that two in a row could be anything less than a coincidence. Still, if Riley was right this was the man to talk to.

Shrugging her shoulders, Melody and Blossom began to follow the old man inside. "Actually, sir... We kinda came here for another reason. Not to uh... disappoint you from wanting to show us how you make... balls..."

The man simply waved a hand over his shoulder as he walked back into the cabin, which looked much like a normal, if slightly more rustic house, aside from the large toolbench along with a table or two and several tools hanging from the wall and lying on said table.

"Right, right, of course. You obviously want to know about my research as well. I'll have you know that I'm in the middle of perfecting a ball that'll enable you to catch grass-type Pokémon alot easier." He briefly looked over his shoulder, giving them both a stern look. "Well, come on in, you're letting all the heat out!"

"As interesting as that is," Riley started after looking back at the man. "We came to ask about Team Rocket." He was sure that would at least spark his interest. Riley may not have been there because of the villainous team, but he was given the chance to help someone. There was no way he would pass that up. "I assumed you would know something about it, particularly since you are one of the most well-known people in town. "

The man came to a stop halfway towards his workbench. He turned around to give Riley a piercing stare, as if his eyes had decided to join his rather angry eyebrows. After a second or two, he began stepping forwards, shaking his head. "Come on, I don't have all day. If I'm going to show you how my Pokéballs work, you're going to have to pay -close- attention."

He stepped past Riley who was still stood in the doorway before moving the boy and the Kadabra inside with a sweep of the arm. He gave a quick look around outside before shutting the door. After locking it, he turned to the two kids and their Pokémon with a stern look in his eyes, folding his arms across his chest. "... Alright, spill the beans. What do you two know about Team Rocket? And no long stories," he added, sending a glance towards Melody as if he knew her tendency to ramble. "I want a quick, concise reason for you to seek me out regarding this."

"Well, I dunno about Riley, but... I've had a few encounters with them now," Melody answered. There was something about the way that Kurt glanced at her that sent a shiver running down the girl's back. She was honestly starting to wonder if all the older citizens of Azalea Town were like this, or if it was just a coincidence that the two she had actually happened to meet so far were like this. "Truth of the matter is, they happened to steal one of my Pokémon when I was on my way to this town... They took one of my friend's Pokémon too. So, I've been trying to find them so I could maybe go about getting 'em back."

"Honestly, my original plan was to sort of talk with the gym leader here about it, but... The line to seeing him was a bit long," Melody went on, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "This isn't the first time I've had trouble with these guys either. I also ran into one of them on the way to Violet City..."

"I haven't dealt with them much myself," Riley told the man. "I've really only heard rumours up until now." He looked over at the girl beside him. "I was actually coming here to ask about your research when I met Melody here."

Kurt frowned, nodding his head slowly as he folded his arms across his chest. "Hmm. They're getting bolder." He went quiet for a few moments, his eyes slowly slipping from Melody, to Riley, to Blossom and Abbadon. Eventually, he nodded his head.

"Hmh. Right. You two were sent off on your own by Pine, judging from your Pokémon. Right?"

"Y-Yeah, that's right. At least, I was. I dunno about Riley," Melody replied. "But how... wait, was it Blossom's color or something?"

"That and the Kadabra." Kurt nodded towards Abbadon by Riley's side. The old man's hardened appearance softened a little. "Alright. You want to know about Team Rocket? I and some other associates are planning on dealing with their operation here in Azalea. Tonight. Pine obviously trusts you, so I'll go ahead and trust you as well. If you want to have a chance at saving your Pokémon, you should come meet us at midnight, behind the Pokémon Center."

Glancing between the two trainers, Kurt kept his arms folded across his chest. "What do you say?"

Melody nodded energetically, her long pigtails bouncing as her head moved. "Of course! I-I mean, if I can get Napoleon back then... Of course, I'll be there to help!" She paused, glancing over at Riley and his Kadabra. "What about you, Riley?"

"I'll be there," nodded the male trainer. "Abbadon and I were needing something as exciting as this." Riley didn't have a Pokemon of his own stolen, but he couldn't stand-by as others were.

Looking satisfied, Kurt's serious demeanor broke into a smile as he nodded. "Perfect. Thank you both. To show my appreciation, I'm gonna go fetch something for the two of you. Stay here."

He turned and headed over to the right side of the building, opposite where the workbench was sat. He opened a cupboard and rummaged around before turning and heading back to the two trainers. Holding out his hands, he was offering them each what looked like a CD that could fit in your palm, encased in a plastic square.

Riley looked at the small discs in the old man's palm, the light of the room faintly reflecting off its surface. "That's a TM, isn't it?" It was obvious that he didn't quite expect to get one here.

"That it is, my boy!" Kurt nodded. "I'm giving these to you two as a show of good faith.. and, well, I like the cut of your jib." He added a little grin before nodding down at the discs. "Go on, take them. And remember, -behind- the Pokémon Center, tonight around midnight."

"Will do, old man. Thank you." Riley smiled at the man one last time before leaving, Melody and their Pokemon right behind them. Tonight was going to be something.​

Before she had known it, night had come to the sleepy little town of Azalea. Now that she had a lead on finding Team Rocket and saving Napoleon, Melody was absolutely brimming with excitement. It was all the girl could do to manage to sit still for the rest of the day, anticipating the plan to meet up with Riley and Kurt behind the Pokémon Center. A part of the girl was worried that she might end up blabbing about the top secret plan before then, so she spent most of the rest of the day back inside her room at the center, trying to make sure her team (as well as herself) were properly rested for the mission to come.

The girl was quiet as a Rattata as she and her Sandile, Franky, made their way out of the Pokémon Center that night. The entire town was as quiet as a ghost, sending a shiver down the short girl's back from the somewhat creepy silence.. as well as the fact it was quite a bit cooler outside that night compared to the somewhat comfortable temperatures from earlier in the day. If Melody did not know any better, she could have sworn that it was probably because of the urgency of the mission she, Riley, and Kurt were about to undertake... almost as if the world was trying to set the mood for what was to come. Without wasting another moment, Melody quickly stuck to the building as she crept around to the back of it... only to be surprised by the appearance of others waiting there.

At first, Melody thought that somehow she had been caught and was already being ambushed by Team Rocket. However upon further investigation, the girl suddenly realized that she knew several of the people standing behind the center. Her eyes widened before she smiled brightly, quickly running up to meet the trainers standing behind the building.

"Oh, wow! Chrissie! Deen! I didn't know you guys were still hanging around the town!" Melody exclaimed happily, forgetting all about the fact that she was supposed to be waiting quietly for Kurt and Riley. In fact, it did not take long at all for the girl to slip into one of her trademark rambles as she greeted them. Franky did his best to keep up, quickly waddling behind the excited trainer. "I thought for sure that you two would have already been moving on to the next town or something. I mean, I've been really more or less poking around... I haven't even been to the gym yet! Are you guys doing something important back here? Oh, you're not on a date or anything are you? Imagine my embarrassment if I totally ruined it!"​

Christina gave Aberdeen another odd little look. He didn't usually just clam up like he did, and she was starting to worry that she'd said or done something to offend him.

Pushing the thought out of her head, she decided to turn to Morgan who decided to pipe up, shaking her head with a snicker.

"They've still got a few minutes, I think. We want to be as many as we can for this. Besides, what else are you going to do in the middle of the night aside from –sleeping-?" She sent Morgan a wry little smile.

"Oh, wow! Chrissie! Deen! I didn't know you guys were still hanging around the town!" came the voice from somewhere behind her. Raising her brows, she turned around, her mouth opening in surprise at the sight of Melody. "Mel!"

A bright, warm smile spread on Christina's lips as she ran forwards, wrapping her arms around her friend in a warm hug before pulling back again, blinking a little at the rant she managed to get off.

"What? No, of course not! Sheesh Mel." Christina sent her a little grin, planting her hands on her hips. "I haven't seen you since we left the Alph ruins! How're you doing? What've you been up to?"​