[PKMN FULL] BEYOND ic

Elise Greene​

"Are you sure you wanna do this?" Kath asked, for the third time. She sat on the edge of the porch in front of Professor Cyprus' lab, kicking her legs idly.

Elise nodded, watching as her new Espurr slowly walked around her, looking her over and occasionally sniffing at her legs. "I... I think so. It's not going to be easy, and it might be a little s-scary, but this is the direction I need to take my life in." Espurr stopped in front of her, looking up and letting out a soft meow. Elise smiled, picking her up and letting her snuggle against her chest.

"Besides, look how cute she is! I'm so grateful the professor let me take her with me! All she needs now is a proper name. How about... Pearl? You like that name?" She tickled Espurr under her chin, eliciting a happy purr. "I'll take that as a 'yes'." Elise chuckled.

Kath hopped off the porch, stretching her arms over her head as she landed. "Well, at least I know you'll take good care of Es... I mean, Pearl. You've lived here for what, two years now? And how long have we been friends?"

"Um... not very long, actually. The professor only introduced me to you a few weeks ago."

"Exactly! And in that short amount of time, I've come to see you as good people. I may not approve of your decision to become a Trainer and battle Pokemon, but maybe I can help you out a little. You remember that TM the professor gave you?"

It hadn't been that long since Elise had received her Pokemon and Pokedex, and the mysterious disc that came with it. "Yes, actually. I think the Professor said it was for a move called Thunder-"

"A move called Thunder Wave, exactly!" Kath interrupted. "It's a special attack, so it plays to Espurr's strong suit, and it inflicts Pokemon with a short-lived and ultimately painless paralysis effect. It's useful for capturing Pokemon, preventing them from harming your Pokemon, or just running away from danger. It wears off on its own after a bit, so it's perfectly safe to use and a great tactic for when you get in over your head. Which, let's face it, you will."

"Gee, thanks. I feel so confident now..." Elise muttered. Kath didn't seem to pick up on her sarcasm, so she sighed and awkwardly changed the subject. "But, um... how do I use it? The professor didn't tell me anything but its name."

"Well that's simple! TM's can be taught at any computer, or used in your Pokedex so you can teach them anywhere! Just insert the disk, and it sends out a wireless signal that uploads the knowledge of the technique directly to a Pokemon's brain! Isn't it amazing what we can do with science?" Kath's tone of voice implied that her spiel had been rehearsed beforehand, but her enthusiastic grin seemed real enough.

"Oh. That's... interesting! I guess I have a lot to learn about Pokémon..." Elise looked down at Pearl, who was purring happily, her eyes half closed as she started to doze off. "Well, I'm going to take Pearl home with me. Thanks for everything, Kath."

"No problem! Stop by anytime! The professor will want to know about your progress, and we can hang out some more!" Kath waved enthusiastically, which Elise replied to with a much more subdued wave before heading off.

---

"Okay, so I just... insert the disc here..." Elise fumbled with her Pokedex, not entirely used to the technology yet. Pearl was enthralled by a flower lei hanging off of Elise's dresser, batting at it playfully.

"And then... it... it says 'loading...'. How long does it- oh. Okay, it's ready. You ready for this, Pearl?" Elise looked up from her Pokedex, seeing Pearl with flowers in her hair. She couldn't help but giggle. "You look super cute. Ready to try this out?" Pearl meowed, nodding once.

Elise pressed a button on her Pokedex, which scanned Pearl and displayed her data onscreen. Elise pressed more buttons, until a yellow beam emitted from her Pokedex, shining on Pearl's head. Pearl closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. After a moment, the beam turned off, and "Thunder Wave" was added to Pearl's data on the screen. "Did it work?"

Pearl opened her eyes, tilting her head in confusion. She smiled and meowed, apparently none the worse for wear. Elise scratched her head in confusion, unsure of what just happened. She stared hard at Pearl, going cross-eyed for a moment as she focused, seeing a faint green aura surrounded the kitten. She puffed out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "Well, you seem alright to me. Fit as a fiddle! Come on, let's get you some lunch. Anything in particular you'd like?"

Pearl meowed, reaching out for Elise. Elise chuckled quietly, picking her up. "I think we have some of that in the fridge. Let's go check."
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Damien Lalune​

Damien had just exited the building, holding his pokedex in his right hand as he studied the device. With his left, he stroked his new partner, Spinarak, which was sitting on top of his messy, black hair. When Damien was first introduced to Spinarak, the exchange was less than normal. Damien greeted the small Pokemon, but was met with silence and a blank stare. But after seconds of this "silent bonding," Spinarak skittered onto his trainer. Up and down his legs, then around his torso, finally crawling up his spine to rest on his head.

Damien let him rest there, seeing that Spinarak would rather rest on his soft, black hair than be confined. "Oh, that's right. I'm sure you'd like something to nibble on. Let me grab that...." Damien reached his hand toward one of the side pockets, pulling out a metal container of Pokemon food. His uncle helped Damien prepare a set, a basic recipe that any Pokemon would like. Holding up a piece, Spinarak bit down on it with his mandibles, and slowly nibbled on it, vibrating ever so slightly on his trainer's head with joy.

As Damien walked down the steps and passed the two girls, he contemplated his next action. He already had his bag on his back with his supplies, and his uncle was already at the Safari Zone, helping with the renovations. His uncle already felt that Damien wanted to go on a personal journey, so the two exchanged their goodbyes the night before, and his parents left Damien a number, only for emergencies. His parents had a messenger Pidgey for when they needed to contact him, he remembered. "So, this is the first day of my life as a trainer. I suppose I could actually use the TM the professor gave me...." Damien rifled through his jacket pocket, pulling out a disc case, holding the technical machine. It was TM Double Team.

He thought it would be a useful move, knowing that Spinarak could confine their opponents with their webbing, so it wouldn't hurt to try using it. "Spinarak, let's teach you a new move. But first, let's sit under that tree." Though met with no response, he wasn't met with resistance. Damien smirked, and walked away from the laboratory, sitting under the closest tree with enough shade.

Spinarak continued to sit on his head, seemingly staring into nothing. Damien, with one hand, unclipped the TM from the disc case. Through the slot in his new pokedex, he inserted it, and was met with a message. "Please prepare your selected Pokemon to receive the data."

He looked up at his partner, and said, "Come Spinarak, I'll need a closer look at you." Spinarak slowly skittered down, and onto Damien's left arm as he raised it. Spinarak faced his trainer and the device. "Okay... and here we are." With a small, blue beam coming from the small bulb on the Pokedex, it made contact with Spinarak's head.

Still, from the String Spit Pokemon was no response, but closed it's eyes. Just as quick as it was to beam a Pokemon into it's pokeball, the beam from the pokedex dissipated. A message on the Pokedex read, "TM Double Team was successfully received." Damien looked back at the Spinarak, it blinked a couple of times before it made unbreaking eye contact with Damien. He stroked Spinarak on the head, and held him closer to his head. Spinarak accepted the gesture, and scuttled slowly back onto the messy black hair.

"Now, let's take a look here... what do I need to know about you?" The small screen updated the information on his partner. "Insomnia is his ability... and he knows six moves. Poison Sting, Absorb, Constrict, Infestation, String Shot and Leech Life. Interesting." The young man placed a hand on his forehead. He was in thought as to what he needed to do next. Battling some trainers now would be too early for his new partner. And also, a new thought formed into his mind. "What do I even plan on doing, now that I'm a Pokemon trainer? I mean, I need to take on the family job and watch over Lavender Tower, but... my father wanted me to explore life for what it is." He thought this over, and over, until he felt a pinch on his finger. Spinarak softly nibbled on his index finger with his red mandibles, staring down at him.

Damien just laughed, and loosened up his posture. He patted his partner, and said, "Yes, I'm thinking too much. Let's just relax here, and enjoy each other's company." Damien leaned back against the tree, Spinarak scuttling over Damien's face and rested on his trainer's chest, both of them closing their eyes as they listened to the sounds and enjoying the weather around them.
​

Damien Lalune​

Damien began to lose himself to the serene sounds and comforting wind that flowed over him. He almost lost himself to it before he heard a female voice greeting him. His eyes opened up, and he looked over to see a rather cute girl with pink hair, dressed in a punk-ish manner. Still, Damien blushed for a split second before he looked down to see his partner blankly staring at him while still clung to his chest.

Apparently, Spinarak was moreso awake than his trainer. Just then, Damien realized he only looked at his current moveset, and nothing more. As Damien began to pull out his pokedex and look at Spinarak's information, the String Spit skittered back onto Damien's wild hair. It looked over at the girl that greeted them earlier, watching her train with an equally small, but brown Pokemon. it blinked, and only looked on with mild curiosity.

"Now, the pokedex entry," Damien muttered aloud. With a beep, and a flash to a data screen, the pokedex read aloud:


The dex continued on to show typing, stats of his own Spinarak, and the ability known as, "Insomnia." Spinarak is unaffected by attacks such as Sing, Grass Whistle, or other sleep inducing moves. "Interesting...." Damien looked up at his partner, and gave him a gentle pat. Spinarak, reacting to it, slightly and silently vibrated with joy. Damien felt that he could never get tired of that, chuckling to himself. "Why not say hello ourselves, Spinarak?" He was met with a tiny nod. He could feel it's head rubbing on his scalp, so he could tell.

With that, Damien stood up from his relaxed position, straightened himself and his clothes out. He brushed off what little dirt clung to his pants, thinking for a split second he wanted to make a good impression for the pink-haired girl.

He saw that she was training with her Trapinch, so he didn't plan on walking right up behind her and returning the greeting. Slowly, he walked around to stand not too close, and watched her train with her new partner. It was then he realized she must be one of the new trainers along with him that were from Professor Cyrpess' lab, so he found an icebreaker.

"Ahem, hello. If I had to guess, I'd say you just came from the Cypress Laboratory and got that Trapinch, right?" Damien looked on at the Pokemon, as did his Spinarak. However, Spinarak never broke eye contact since it first saw Trapinch. If anything, it would be safe to say Spinarak was sizing up the Trapinch.
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Elise Greene​

"Come on, you can do it..." Elise gently coaxed, kneeling beside the table so only her head and hands were visible above it. "Just one little psychic push? For me?" She smiled hopefully, looking up at Pearl, who was standing on the table. Pearl scuffed a paw on the table, looking back at Elise and meowing nervously.

"Please?" Elise asked, pouting a little. "I just want to see it once, so I know how strong you are. The Professor said you're a strong Psychic type, but you hadn't practiced very much. If I'm going on a journey of self-discovery, I'd like you by my side. This is as much about you as it is about me, after all."

Pearl tilted her head in confusion, but turned back toward the can of soda she was supposed to be attacking. She nodded once, wanting to make her new friends proud. She bowed her head, closing her eyes as she gathered her psychic power. "I believe in you..." Elise whispered, biting her lip in anticipation.

Pearl opened her eyes as she looked up, fixing a hard glare on the soda can as she released her psychic energy in a wave of telekinetic force. The Confusion attack hit hard, sending the soda can flying off the table and through the kitchen window. "Oh, my..." Elise murmured, awed by the display and nervous about what her mother would have to say.

Pearl turned to her with a smile, hoping to be praised. "Oh! G-good job, Pearl. You're certainly s-stronger than I thought! Um... let's go outside and practice some more! Away from the windows, or anything breakable..." Pearl meowed happily as Elise picked her up and took her outside, setting her down by the swing set.

"Okay, so let's try your Confusion on something a little less fragile. We have two swings. Can you hit them both?" Despite her dislike of battling, Elise had done her research on Pearl's techniques themselves. But there was a difference between reading about them and seeing them in action herself. "See if you can make both swings move, okay?"

Pearl bowed her head, her ears going flat as she focused. Much like before, she gave the swings an intense look as she released her attack upon them, first one, then the other. The swings were flung forward effortlessly, and Pearl ran over to Elise happily. Elise cooed as she scratched Pearl under the chin and rubbed her belly. "D'aww, who's my powerful little kitten? You are! Yes you are! You moved both swings with no trouble at all! I'm so proud of you!"

Pearl purred happily, while Elise had an idea. A terrible, terrible idea. "Do you think you could move bigger things, too? Say, for instance, we put something on the swing before you hit it? You wanna try?" Pearl meowed in excitement. She was enjoying this fun new game Elise had come up with. Elise set her down, then ran over to sit in the swing, her back to Pearl.

"Okay, sweet baby!" Elise giggled. "Let's see how high you can push me!" Pearl hesitated, tapping her front paws together nervously. She meowed uncertainly, so Elise looked over her shoulder with a reassuring smile. "No need to worry, I'll be just fine! I have complete trust in you." She looked forward again, adjusting her grip on the swing. "Whenever you're r-"

The wave of force hit Elise in the back, knocking her off the swing without even touching it. Pearl let out a startled cry, rushing over to her friend. Elise picked herself up, spitting out a puff of dust. "*cough cough*! Blegh! Okay! So you can hit big targets just as easily as small ones! And with such precision, too!" She patted Pearl on the head, laughing as her face turned red. "That must have been funny to see! Did I scream? Or did I just fall over like 'woah!', poof!"
Pearl let out a breath in relief, patting Elise on the head.

She picked herself up, sitting in the swing and holding Pearl, gently swinging back and forth. She watched the sky, enjoying the clouds and the cool breeze. She looked down at the little Espurr, who was smiling happily, and couldn't help but smile herself. She hugged Pearl close to her chest, letting out a contented sigh. "Yes. This was the right choice."

"ELISE!" Her mother's voice echoed from the house, startling her. "What happened to the window?!"
​

Elise Greene​

Elise had left in a bit of a rush, before it got too much later. Her mother had informed her off a Pokemon Center not too far away, and Elise wanted to get there before nightfall. She looked over the Town Map her father had given her, looking at the route she would have to take. "Hmm... I think we're lost, Pearl. According to this, we should find a bridge or a path going over the water, but I don't see anything like that."

Pearl gently grabbed the map, turned it over, and handed it back to Elise with a soft meow. "Oh! Yes, I suppose that does make it easier to read. Oh, I think that's the Center over there? We just have to go along... oh, I can't make heads or tails of this thing!" Elise folded the map up rougher than she needed to, stuffing it into her bag. "Let's just head east, and follow the road signs toward Lavender!" She picked up Pearl, holding her close as she set off down the road.

---

Elise found herself avoiding the grass, worried that Pokémon would attack her. She also avoided the trees, in case any Pokémon dropped out of them. And she was worried about the road, in case a Trainer saw her and challenged her to a battle. Which meant she was cowering behind a rock, Fuchsia City still visible behind her. Pearl peered out from behind the rock, eyes wide as she looked at the vast expanse before her. She looked back at Elise, who was hugging her own knees while she stared at the sky.

"I was foolish for thinking I could do this, Pearl. I can't go out there, where battles lurk around every corner. And sometimes just out of sight, or in plain sight, blocking the path! I didn't think it would be this hard!" Pearl meowed softly, rubbing up against Elise.

"Oh, but that's just it! I'm not scared for me, I'm scared for you! I don't want you to get hurt, especially not to protect me. Battles are fierce, and scary, and I've seen what Pokemon look like after a fight. Not even the winner comes out unscathed! I don't want that life for you!" She hugged Pearl close, but Pearl frowned, meowing inquisitively.

"Huh? Well... no, I guess living in fear isn't any better. And that not all Pokémon are big and scary... but are you sure you can handle a fight? You're so small and frail compared to other Pokémon!" A Pidgey flew by overhead. Pearl watched it fly away, quirking an eyebrow at Elise. "Okay, that's not fair. Birds are usually smaller than cats."

Pearl rolled her eyes, pointing at the road. "B-but...You've never battled before! And neither have I!" Elise protested, leaning against the rock for support. Pearl frowned again, meowing in annoyance. "I know we can't get better unless we try! But I don't want to try! Do you?" Pearl thought about it for a second, then nodded.

Elise stared in surprise, her wide eyes making her look like an Espurr herself. "You do? But what if I don't do a good job?" Pearl shook her head, giving Elise a smile. "You have faith in me, huh? And what did I do to deserve that?" Elise teased, hiding her fear with humor. Pearl shrugged, tugging at Elise's hand.

"Okay, fine. You've convinced me. But we're going back if it gets rough, agreed?" Pearl nodded, leading the way down the road to Route 15. Elise slowly stood up, following behind. "Pearl, wait up! You don't want to get too far ahead..."

Pearl turned back to Elise, encouraging her to hurry up. A faint rustling and Elise's gasp if surprise made Pearl turn back, and she found herself face to face with another cat. Startled, she stepped back, but the other cat just laughed. Elise wanted no time pulling out her Pokedex. "It's a Shinx! Look how sleek he is, Pearl! But he's a quadruped, not a biped like you."

Shinx looked back and forth from Pearl to Elise, looking confused, but he soon broke into a smile. He crouched down, shaking his backside as he prepared to pounce. Pearl just stared, and Elise watched in fascination. "I think he wants to play with you, Pearl. Oh, wait... do you think... *gasp!* he wants to fight?!"

Elise's guess turned out to be correct, and Shinx Tackled Pearl, knocking her down. "Uh, um, I... use Confusion?!" Elise panicked in the background. Pearl unleashed her psychic power, knocking Shinx off of her. He grinned as he landed on his feet, squeaking out a happy little roar. He prepared to pounce again, but Elise was slightly more prepared this time.

"Use Scratch! Don't let him knock you down again!" Shinx pounced again, ready to Tackle, but Pearl was faster, Scratching his face. He still Tackled her, but jumped back afterwards, grinning and chuckling. Elise looked at the two, noticing their auras without even trying. Both had been hit, but neither was hurt yet. She noticed that Shinx's aura wasn't as strong as Pearl's, leasing her to guess he was weaker than her. "Pearl, use Scratch!" Pearl dashed forward, raking him with her claws, and Elise noticed his Aura darken from a healthy green to yellow-orange. He looked hurt, but he was still smiling, loving every minute of it.

Shinx roared, the star on his tail glowing. He turned, lashing out with his tail and projecting a beam of light at Pearl. The light didn't appear to do anything, but the PokeDex identified it as Flash. Presumably, he had just missed Pearl's eyes. "Watch out for that light, but use Confusion!" Pearl released a wave of force, striking Shinx and knocking him off his feet. He growled as he got back up, his smile faltering, but his grin returned as he blasted Pearl in the face with a ray of light.

She hissed in discomfort, momentarily blinded by the Flash, blinking rapidly to clear her vision. Shinx grinned, but was breathing heavily after that last attack. Elise knew he wouldn't be able to fight if Pearl hit him again, but she didn't want to hurt him. "I'm sorry! We didn't mean to hurt you! Oh! I have an idea!" She pulled out a Pokeball, tossing it at Shinx. The ball hit home, opening up and absorbing Shinx. The ball shook, as though Shinx was trying to get out and keep "playing" with Pearl. After a moment, the ball clicked shut, Shinx successfully captured within.

Elise ran up to check on Pearl, who seemed unharmed, then recovered her Pokeball. "I... I did it... I just got into a Pokemon battle! And won! Pearl, you did great! And look! We have a new friend! My first catch!" She looked at the Pokeball in awe, grinning almost as much as the jolly little kitten contained inside it.
​

Damien Lalune​

Two glass doors slid open, and Damien walked out, Spinarak accompanied with him clung to his skull. Damien was slipping a few potions and stored extra pokeballs different parts of his bag. Spinarak's eyes were glued to the side compartment of his trainer's bag.

After he was done, he slipped the plastic bag into a recycle bin for plastic, and looked on at the route ahead. "I'm sure Paige and other trainers have begun to head through Route 15. Time to set off." Damien silently walked forward, onward to Route 15, with Spinarak in tow.

Passing buildings, Damien looked over to the Poison-type gym. "Koga, hm... it'll be quite jarring to come back and face this gym where we first started." Spinarak still held his eyes at the side compartment. That was where Damien held the same Pokemon food that he fed when they first met.

He noticed that his partner was hungry, and he smirked as he crossed the border into Route 15. He could see various Pokemon in the area. However, none of them really caught his eye. Moreover, Damien had plans to train his Spinarak. He reached a hand, and slipped out the canister that held the Pokemon food.

Spinarak never left it's gaze. "Okay... I was thinking we should try a training exercise. Accuracy and speed. Want to give it a try?" Spinarak gave a tiny nod, knowing what the training entailed. He skittered down the trainer's spine, down his leg, and ended up in front of him, waiting for directions.

"Okay, so we're going to practice your coordination and your accuracy, as well as your String Shot. This way, other attacks like Poison Sting and Aborb can hit much harder and easier. Now, to do that," he paused as he held a piece of Pokemon food in his fingers.

"We're going to catch them in the air, and I'll want you to try to snatch them as soon as you see them. Make sense?" Spinarak nodded, then vibrated slightly. Damien chuckled, and readied his right arm, ready to cast the first block.

"Alright, let's go," with a shout, he tossed the first one in the air. Spinarak's eyes skimmed above until he saw the piece of food. With a hiss, it released a thick String Shot, landing a hit on it, and quickly pulling into it's mandibles. It nibbled away with much haste. "Alright, once more!" And again, another piece of Pokemon food was thrown into the air, higher this time. Spinarak's head snapped up, shot another String Shot, and reeled it in for lunch.

Sometimes, the wind would pick up and knock off Spinarak's String Shot. "Alright then, try leading your shots! See where they'll fall and shoot them!" Spinarak complied, and as he threw more, they ever so slightly turned off course. With ever watchful eyes, it shot another String Shot, the block landing onto the String Shot. Damien smirked, and said, "Nicely done!" Spinarak once again reeled in the treats of it's labor.

Damien and Spinarak continued this training for several minutes, until a young trainer stepped a few feet behind him. "Hey, you! Let's battle!" Damien paused, and turned around. He met eyes with a youngster, with messy brown hair, shorts, a plain t-shirt, and a baseball cap. "I'm known as Youngster Joey, and since we met eyes, we gotta battle!"

Damien was a bit shocked by the energy, but regained himself and realized where he was. "Of course there are other trainers here, the other Cypress trainers and I aren't the only ones on a journey." He smirked, and said to the youngster, "Sure, let's get battle." Spinarak hopped forward, landing in front of his trainer and eyeing the other trainer. "So, a spider Pokemon huh? Go, Rattata!" "Ratt-ata!" It was a rather small, ordinary Rattata. Still, Damien knew it might be pretty fast, but Spinarak has an advantage.

"You can go first, Youngster Joey." "Fine, Rattata, use Tackle attack!" The Mouse Pokemon charged forward, but Damien had an idea. "Spinarak, let Rattata come in close." Spinarak stayed still, waiting. Joey wasn't perturbed by his opponent staying still, however. Closer and closer, the Mouse pokemon kept it's charge. Just as Rattata tackled and rolled into the String Spit, Damien called out, "Now, use Constriction and String Shot!" Spinarak clung onto the Rattata, and spun it's String Shot around the Rattata, tightening around it.

"Wh-what?! What kind of strategy is this?!" The youngster's eyes bulged, in a stupor as to what just happened. "Rattata, use Bite!" The Mouse Pokemon bit down on one of Spinarak's legs. It screeched for a second, but continued. It bound the Rattata for a good few minutes, before Damien called out again, "Alright, send it off with a Poison Sting!" Spinarak opened it's mandibles, and shot a barrage of poisonous darts from it's mouth, onto the Rattata's back. It jumped off, though limped because of the Bite attack.

However... Rattata struggled where it laid. It was trapped by String Shot, it's movements made the webbing tighter, and the Poison Sting really hit hard at close range. "Rattata, no!" But soon enough, Rattata fainted. "Oh no! Rattata!" Joey ran up and undid the webbing with his hands, with a bit of difficulty. But, after that, he freed his Pokemon, and gave it a potion, and a pink berry. Damien gestured Spinarak back to his resting spot. "Hey, everything okay, youngster?" He walked up to Joey, making sure he wasn't upset or tearing up. But no, Youngster Joey and his Rattata were fine.

"Hey, good battle, fellow trainer! What's your name?" The youngster peered up at him, with curiosity. "Err, that's right. I didn't even say my name. Damien Lalune is my name." "Well, Damien," Joey paused, after returning his Rattata and patting dirt off his shorts. "Let's battle again someday!" He held out a hand with a toothy, stupid grin. Damien sighed, and returned the gesture. After exchanging info, both Damien and Youngster Joey split up. Spinarak looked off into the distance, at the sights before them as the two walked forward.


Before long, Damien thought to himself as he trekked through Route 15, "I wonder if I'll have to set up camp... will I make it to town before dusk?"
​