[PKMN OPEN] Kanto: Back to Basics (M)

Ahh, Pallet Town. Whether you've been here for a decade or even just a day, you have to admit that it's the most peaceful place you've ever stepped foot on. There's just something about this small town in the south of Kanto that just makes you stop for a minute. This town has grown somewhat in recent years after the successes of famous trainers, having earned the nickname the "Home of Legends". Even though it has grown, it maintains its rustic, grassy appearance with modern touches.

A quick glance around shows the modern changes, such as the Pokemon Center finally opening a branch on the quaint little town. It's not regularly visited, however, so the Nurse Joy there is still quite lax and might need some extra nudging. There is also a small Pokemart in the making where you can buy items in the future.

Small miscellaneous shops have also opened up in the past few years, ones that make good use of the grassy plains that Pallet Town offers, such as flower and honey shops. While not as famous as their Sinnoh counterparts, they can hold their own regional-wise.

Up the hill is still the laboratory, now upgraded from investors to become the Oak Research Laboratories, where some of the major scientific breakthroughs have been discovered. The main building has tripled in size, and a nursery is built next to it to protect and keep rare Pokemon that trainers have brought to them.

Down the south is the beach, the sea stretching as far as the eyes can see. It's not recommended for trainers to go farther than the town limits, as it is home to dangerous water type Pokemon.

And finally, to the north is Route 1, where your journey officially begins.



For your starting route, it's surprisingly rugged. It moves north from Pallet Town in a zigzag-like inclined formation, each path separated by ledges and bordered by woodlands. Thick patches of tall grass spring up periodically and although the road through the route has been improved dramatically in recent years from Pallet Town's attempt in road modernization, it's already showing signs of wear.

Aside from the many ledges, you can easily see beginning trainers from start to finish, challenging anyone that they meet eye to eye. Don't be surprised if you suddenly get tackled by the nearest trainer, asking for a battle.

Thankfully, it's only a relatively short walk to Viridian City.



Please be sure to claim the missions in the OOC thread to let everyone know what you're going to do. Collaboration on missions is possible and encouraged, but be sure to talk with the other person about it regularly so whatever method you use (be it JPs or separate posts) you are in the loop of what's going on. You can also create your own missions with your own rewards, as long as these rewards are fair (run them by me if you're not sure).

Some of the rewards are kinda jokes (or maybe they aren't :thonk:) and the missions can be really vague.
They're mostly just prompts, so have fun with it!

Aberdeen - Pallet Town

It had been over an hour since the lab visit, and Aberdeen still couldn't stop gushing over how adorable his starter was. The Chikorita, in turn, seemed to soak up the love and attention like a sponge and radiate it back in full feedback loop through happy noises and smiles.

"Look at her!" he squealed for what must be the fifteenth time, raising her up in his hands and being met with a squiggly banana laugh in response. "I'm going on a pokémon journey, and she is my partner! How am I ever going to handle sending her into a battle?"

The other pokémon walking next to him on the street gave each other a look, before the Wigglytuff rolled its eyes. This was going to be a tiresome trek, wasn't it?

"Maybe I should have brought more potions. I have some herbs from Dad, but they taste so bad..." the boy mused as he finally put the green pokémo back on the ground, where it immediately went to greet the accompanying Sunflora again. Sunflora, always with a kind appearance, met it with a wide smile.

Wigglytuff, however, suddenly jumped into attention. Its ears pointed at some movement about ten meters away. Aberdeen followed its stare, and found the commotion.

"Sir Wiggs, relax!" he laughed. "It's just the Poliwag Pond. Don't you know the Poliwag usually play around there? My classmate swears he even saw a Magikarp there once."

Wiggs narrowed its eyes, not convinced. Those Poliwag splashed around like they had no care in the world. In the middle of the day, in the middle of the town. Totally irresponsible. Just then, one of them seemed to get annoyed with the attention. On its small wobbly legs, it jumped up from the pond and marched up closer to the party on the street.

"Uh-oh," Aberdeen said. "Does it want to battle?"

The Poliwag stuck out its tongue and blew raspberries at the Wigglytuff. The other water pokémon laughed in amusement. Aberdeen and Chikorita also couldn't help but giggle.

Sir Wiggs did not find that amusing. At all. It suddenly seemed to grow to twice the size, inflated from sheer rage, and took a heavy step towards the Poliwag Pond.

"Wiggs, no! It's okay, don't mind them! They're just trying to have some fun," Aberdeen said and tried to sound serious, but a giggle or two slipped through mid-sentence.

The daring Poliwag didn't seem scared though. It sneered, before using Bubble. Sir Wiggs merely stormed through the bubble swarm though, and used Disable on the wild pokémon. As it tried to blow out more Bubbles, it seemed like it wasn't working. Now it was Wigglytuff's turn to sneer.

"Stop!" Aberdeen called out. Wiggs reluctantly turned around and gave him a skeptical look. His mother's pokémon never quite obeyed him, but... "I know you want what's best for me. Right now, what's best for me is to get experience as a trainer. So please, let me and Chikorita battle this Poliwag!"

Wiggs looked from the boy to the tadpole to the banana girl. It seemed mighty unconvinced. Aberdeen walked up to it and leaned down.

"You can step in if something goes badly," he whispered reassuringly.

Still a bit reluctant, but at least deflating back to normal size, the Wigglytuff finally backed off back to the street, to stand next to Sunflora.

The battlefield was set. Aberdeen and Chikorita stood on the grass, facing the lone Poliwag (although its entourage were not far behind it in the pond). Their first real battle. Chikorita didn't seem nervous, perhaps because Aberdeen really wasn't. He only wanted to throw himself into it already.

"Chikorita, use Razor Leaf!"

His pokémon responded quickly, throwing out her sharp, spinning leaf projectiles towards the foe. Poliwag started to counter-attack... But it had forgotten that Wigglytuff had disabled its Bubble move earlier! Oops. The Razor Leaf hit right on the mark, and made the Poliwag groan in pain, and the wild pokémon in the pond gasp.

"Oh, that's kind of unfair, isn't it..." Deen realized. "It hasn't got an attack move."

Wrong. Poliwag recovered swiftly, and shot out an unexpected Water Gun instead. It hit Chikorita straight on, sending her flying back past Deen.

"Wow, that's strong! Alright then, more fair! Chikorita... Are you alright?"

She got up without trouble, even looking refreshed at the attack rather than harmed. Watering plants wasn't really a great devastating move. However, Poliwag was already coming up and close, despite its small legs. It started slapping Chikorita around with its tail, encouraged by the cheer from its pond pals.

"Don't let him just slap you around!" Deen called out. "Tackle!"

Chikorita was a bit overwhelmed by the sudden onslaught, but managed to pull herself together and listen to her trainer. In between slaps, she counter-attacked and Tackled Poliwag to the ground.

"Now, send it flying with Vine Whip!" Deen hoped, too late, that Chikorita would understand what he meant by that. On TV, he had seen many cool tricks pokémon with Vine Whip could do, but he and his starter hadn't practiced anything yet.

She didn't bind him and lift him up, but rather just lashed out hard enough to actually send Poliwag flying. Aberdeen had to say that was impressive still. They'd work on the fine mechanics later.

"Finish him with another Razor Leaf!"

Chikorita obeyed, and Poliwag was too weak to remember to try and resist. It struck head on. No problem, they'd work on the fine defense strategies later, Deen thought. Once he had caught it.

He only saw the beaten Poliwag on the ground now, and only felt the empty pokéball in his hand. He knew he didn't have to throw it with an exact hit, as pokéball were mysteriously made to be drawn to the specific energy that pokémon were made up of. Without hesitation, he threw the ball, saw it hit its target and open up, watched as the then-wild pokémon transformed into an energy form and got sucked into the ball, and heard the immensely satisfying click that signified that the capture was complete.

"Hurraaaaah!" he cheered after a couple of silent seconds, when the realization finally kicked in. "I caught a pokémon!"

Chikorita and Sunflora cheered with him, and Sir Wiggs at least didn't look angry anymore. But the wild Poliwag in the pond...

"Uh-oh... Let's get out of here!" Deen realized, and the group hurried along on the street before the wobbly legs of the other Poliwag could catch up to them.

Somewhere in the vast region of Kanto, there laid a peaceful yet extraordinary scope of land that is as picture perfect and filled with endless possibilities like an artists' pallet - Pallet Town. Pallet Town, also known as the "Home of Legends", being the birthplace of many powerful trainers who became the stuff of legends among even the most Elite trainers. It is also the ideal place of beginner trainers to start off their journey. But for 18 year old Amelia Rose, it's also the start of her own legend...
















To be continued...​

Andrea Tuati and Kari Forsberg

Aberdeen - Route 1

Deen had grown up alongside the Wigglytuff (then Jigglypuff) and the Sunflora (then Sunkern). Sunflora was scary at times, but usually a nice friendly babysitter. Wiggs was very overprotective, but often funny enough to make up for any annoyance that brought. Right now though, Deen wished that they hadn't come with him.

His parents had made up various excuses for why their pokémon should come with him to Viridian City, to the point where Deen had just given in and accepted it. He knew they were just worried about him, especially after his sister...

it would be nice with some freedom though. Now on Route 1, every young trainer the group met seemed instantly scared off by the tough looking pokémon walking next to Deen. When it happened for the fourth time, he had had enough.

"Come back! These aren't my pokémon, I'm a rookie trainer!" he called out to the girl who had initially looked self-confident but had had that all melt away when Sir Wiggs inflated himself behind the boy with a furious stare.

The girl eventually relaxed and accepted his challenge. They had a short but neat battle in which Chikorita actually managed to win over her brave Lillipup, and then his newly acquired Poliwag win over her feisty Wurmple (but it was a quite close call). The girl seemed bitter afterwards, and even though he won fair and square, Deen felt a little bit guilty over telling her he was a rookie and then winning 2 out of 2. He invited her to have lunch with her in the grass, to make up for it.

The girl sat down on a rock in the field where they had been battling, and started caring for her pokémon with Potions while Aberdeen took out some of the food he had packed.

"Hey, I have something that will help," he said, noticing her efforts.

"What? Potions work fine," she grumbled as she treated Lillipup, clearly still not having forgiven him.

Deen walked up close and dug up something else from his backpack. "Oran berries! Pokémon sometimes get nervous around synthetic medicine or dislike the spray sounds. But all pokémon love Oran berries!"

Hesitantly, she accepted one of the big blue berries he handed her. Lillipup instantly sprung to life and tried to nab it from her. When it finally was allowed to bite, the satisfaction was clearly visible on its face.

"Wouldn't you know... You were right," the girl said and nodded thoughtfully towards the other trainer. "I'm Farin. From Viridian City."

"Nice to meet you! I'm Aberdeen. From Pallet Town!" Deen smiled back.

"Figures. Considering how few people actually live in Pallet, it's a wonder how many trainers it produces. Are all of you trainers or something?"

"No! Well... Actually now that you say it, I can't think of many people I know there who don't own a pokémon."

"That's not the same though," Farin said and let Lillipup down, so she could send Wurmple out on her lap to be treated next. Without being prompted, Deen handed her a second Oran berry, which she accepted with a thankful smile and administered to the worm accordingly. The effect was similar to the one of the puppy. "Not all people with pokémon consider themselves trainers. Far from all battle."

"That's right, of course. Wigglytuff and Sunflora don't usually battle," Deen agreed and sat down in the grass next to the girl, with a gesture towards his parents' pokémon who were slumbering nearby together with Chikorita. Poliwag took a seat right next to him. It hadn't taken long at all for the blue boy to accept that a human now owned him and wanted him to battle.

"So how come you do?" Farin asked, as Deen handed her a sandwhich. She looked surprised at first, as if she had forgotten that that was what he had promised her, and not the Oran berries. But she accepted it.

"It seems like the most fun thing to do," he replied in between bites.

She watched him for a moment, and he actually started to feel uncomfortable by it, so he countered: "Why do you do it?"

"I want to get rich and famous," Farin responded.

Deen giggled a bit, but then saw her face. She was dead serious.

"Huh. Okay, fair enough! How will you do that?"

"I'll evolve Lillipup into Stoutland and Wurmple into Dustox and find many more rare and strong pokémon that can win battles for me and earn me money."

"But you lost to me," Deen said and finished his sandwhich. "I'll always remember you as the first person who lost to me in a trainer battle!"

The increasing angery level was almost visible in the tone of Farin's skin at that. "We'll battle again! And I'll win!"

"Better start working harder already if you want any chance," Deen said with a wink.

She finally seemed to understand that he was joking around with her, and noticeably relaxed a little bit.

"I mean it though. I'll get rich," she said, and stared off into the distance towards Viridian. "You'll see."

"Farin," Deen said, trying his best to be serious too, even though it wasn't a very comfortable mood for him. "I hope you will reach your goal! I'm rooting for you."

Her gaze shifted to meet his. Her eyes were strangely brown, having an almost purple tint to them. Deen thought of some glazed chocolate cake he had had at some point. Yup, he was clearly still hungry.

Viridian City: although it's not nearly as large as the likes of Celadon or Saffron, it's still quite the change from the quaint Pallet Town and is certainly a large enough city with many places of residence, business and entertainment. Once famous primarily for it's gym, and for being the only way through to Victory Road and the Indigo Plateau, in more recent years it has become infamous for the scandal in which former gym leader Giovanni was revealed to be the criminal mastermind behind Team Rocket. After his disappearance this infamy has slowly been eroding away, but it's once stirling reputation is forever tarnished, and some now regard Viridian with apprehension.

The city itself remains largely unchanged since those days, however. It sits to the left of expansive mountain ranges and is surrounded by ever thickening woods that eventually take the shape of the dense Viridian Forest. Although a fairly large city, there isn't much in the way of skyscrapers here giving an almost unobstructed view of these surroundings form almost anywhere in the city and small pockets of trees can be found within. Centrepoint of the city is the Viridian Trainer's Academy, once the most prominent Pokemon education facility in the region. Although it is still indisputably a good school, it's reputation and its quality have taken a hit after Giovanni's reveal and disappearance since in the past they were funded in a large part by his generous donations which have since stopped. Despite all this though, Viridian has largely retained an uneasy peace.

As the first of you reach the city however, a large booming sound rings out over the area disturbing this peace. Upon entering the city, it is clear that something significant has happened. There are sirens in the distance, news helicopters in the sky and police swarming the streets. From here you can quickly discover that a bomb has gone off in the Viridian Gym, leaving it and the surrounding area ablaze ,and with the police in frantic search of the culprit, it is quite possible you may even find yourselves questioned.



I'll be updating the discord more than the actual thread, fyi! But feel free to claim on the OOC thread (and on the discord). You guys wanted a bang so :0

Route 1 ---------> Viridian City
Mission 1​

'I forgot to SHAVE!?'

Kiyo was barely on his first steps to to complete his most grandiose mission, yet he already failed the first bullet point. 'Appear decent in my trainer license: FAIL.' Sighing out of defeat, all hope was not lost on the young adult. 'Well,' he comforted himself, 'It's not like I'm ACTUALLY becoming a trainer, anyways. I only need this stupid ID to cross over towards Viridian City. How tough can the Pokemon on Route 1 be? Besides...' Kiyo was in full-on monologue mode now. While he appeared quiet to any outside bystander, a blossoming garden of thoughts flourished in his mind at a constant rate, a garden he would embrace if it were not constantly painted black by his negativity and pessimistic world view. And the easiest way to drown out the darkness? Replace it with repetitive, thoughtless actions such as playing video games, or sleeping, or masturb--

"Flowers? Mr. Flowers? Is everything alright?"

The calling of his name echoed through Kiyos mind, halting his thoughts to a complete stop. He was in a complete trance, hypnotized by the stubble he forgot to razor off, now forever immortalized in his picture ID. Staring down at his license in dismay, an older gentleman snapped him back to reality. The sir calling out to him was none other than Professor Oak.

The professor stood only a few paces from Kiyo and began theorizing what could possibly be causing the new trainer such turmoil. "You know," he deduced," if you'd like, we can always retake the photo... It'd only take a few moments, I promise." Oak never had the most flattering voice, but the warm sense of reassurance and paternal comfort it offered was unmistakable.

"No, no," Kiyo reassured the professor. "That won't be necessary." A weak smile splayed across his lips.

The professor figured the poor lad was probably too eager to get started on his journey. 'A bit of a late bloomer,' he concluded, 'but sometimes it just can't be helped...' "All right then! How about we get you that Pokedex and send you on your way?" There was one thing the professor was still curious about though. "You won't be needed a starter Pokemon, will you...?"

Kiyo watched as the professors eyes left the gaze of his own and traveled down towards the side of him, stopping around the height his knee stood. Both of their eyes widened as a Pokemons cry bellowed next to Kiyo. "MEOOOWW~!"

Kiyo frantically waved his arms around, trying to divert the professors attention from the pudgy Tiger Cat that stood phlegmatically next to him. "Who? This fatass!? Oh no, she's never been in a battle in her life! She probably couldn't even cast a Scratch attack to save her own life, let alone mine! She-" Before Kiyo could continue spewing his verbal diarrhea, the Purugly hissed at her "trainer", leaping into the air and assaulting him with a paw full of sharpened claws.

Professor Oak couldn't contain his laughter as he watched the scene unfold before him. "I must say, your Purugly seems much more suited for battle than you lead on," he said, winking towards the tubby cat, "It is, after all, in a Pokemons nature to battle. Instinct, if you will." Kiyo nodded towards the professor while he stroked the shallow wound that was lacerated across his face. "But just to be sure…" Oaks voice traveled off as he outstretched his arm, motioning Kiyo to follow his lead. The two of them made their way back towards the front desk where they were greeted by an assistant who rivaled Kiyo in both his thin body type and disheveled hair. "Oh, William?" inquired the professor. "Do get Mr. Flowers his new belongings ready."

The lab worker curiously glanced over Kiyo, raising an eyebrow before returning his attention to the professor. He nodded and began rummaging through a few cabinets before pulling out a box that was clearly labelled "FLOWERS, KIYO". As he brought the box to the professor, he began to question the professors certainty… "Are you sure someone such as HIM is qualified for such a handout? A pokedex isn't just some mere party favor after all."

The assistants words stung like venom, but Kiyo wasn't going down without a fight. "Hey, buddy! I'm right here. I can hear you talking about me and you don't look so put-together yourself!"

William looked almost offended that Kiyo had even opened his mouth in his direction. He was much more "put together" than that homely oaf of a man. But before he could respond, Professor Oak stepped in, trying his best to play damage control. "Now, now you two. No fighting! Besides, William," he said, turning to his assistant, "It wasn't long ago that you too mirrored this budding young lad."

Defeated, the assistant let out a low "Hmph" before resentfully handing over the package. Instinctively, Kiyo looked up towards Oak, silently asking for his approval to receive it. With a reassuring grin, the professor gave the new trainer a nod of approval. Kiyos eyes lit up as he took hold of the box. Even Purugly looked up in awe as she saw his eyes glistened under the harsh laboratory lights. Rarely did her partners eyes light up with such amazement.

"Now don't doddle around here all day!" the professor exclaimed. "You've got the whole region at the tip of your fingers. Just show the wardens at Route One your license, and you'll be on your way."

Kiyo could hear the professor, but was frozen by a flood of emotions. Fear, gratitude, determination, and others washed over him, drowning out any sense of coherency. With a small nudge, the professor began to walk Kiyo out the entrance of his lab, Purugly following suit. It was almost too much for him. His eyes began to well as he coddled the professors gift box; a single tear dripping from his eyes to the package. Under his breath, Kiyo was finally able to muster the strength for a single sentence: "...Thank you."

Andrea Tuati
[float="Ahi (Male, Vital Spirit) - Smog, Smokscreen, Flame Burst, Fire Punch, Faint Attack, Dynamic Punch][/float]

Viridian City
Mission 1, Mission 9​

Kiyo had somehow managed to pull himself together since his visit at Pallet Towns laboratory. Most conversations he had in the recent past with strangers lacked any sort of meaningful depth. Quick "thank you"s and shifty "excuse me"s were the extent of his conversations. Now, he was well on his way to being plunged headfirst into the world of HUMAN INTERACTION. Throwing his head back, he let out a loud groan in discomfort. 'Can I really handle this? I know Viridian City is only one route away, but still…'

Soon before long, he had mindlessly navigated his way towards the cities outskirts. A border outfitted by a couple of rangers was all that stood between him and his next destination. The two guards stood lazily at their post. One was flipping through a magazine while the other snacked on a bag of fries. Trying his best to quietly slink by unnoticed, 'Maybe I can just sneak by real qui--'

"Trainer ID, sir?" Without glancing up once from his magazine, the guard had noticed Kiyos presence.

The teen was at a loss for words. Resigning to the guards request, he pulled out his wallet that now housed his new trainer license. Kiyo stared down at it, still feeling a tinge of embarrassment from his IDs picture. He sighed and handed over the card.

The guard had to tug at Kiyos license a few times before he finally released it. As he scanned it over, he noticed the date it had been distributed. Looking up from the card, the guard finally lifted his gaze from his desk. As he examined the teen, his left eyebrow began to cock up. "Well, Route One isn't a dangerous excursion by any stretch of the means. The most trouble we get around here are a couple of Poochyenas every so often." The guard then handed over the card back to Kiyo and continued. "But that DOESN'T mean we can let anyone just waltz on over to Viridian City. It was Team Rockets previous HQ, after all." Once he finished surveying the teen, his eyes then wandered down towards his partner. "And why is your trainer license brand spankin' new when you got an evolved Purugly with you?" The guard crossed his arms and sighed, moving his attention back towards the teen. "Somethin' just ain't sittin' right with me…"

Kiyo began to fill with anxiety as the guard interrogated him. 'Does he think I'm some sort of criminal!?' "Look, I I I--" he stammered, "I'm just trying to deliver something to Viridian City for my family." His nerves began to get the better of him, causing his voice to shake as he spoke. "I've never even left the city before, let alone interacted with Team Rocket. I don't even know what Pokemon the professor gave me yet!"

The two guards turned to each other, briefly pausing before both of them released a torrent of bellowing laughter. When they had finally caught their breath, one began to question the teen. "You mean to tell me you don't even know what Pokemon Oak got you?" Kiyos face began to redden, blushing for embarrassment. "I'll tell you what," proclaimed one of the guards. "Let's make a deal. If you win, you get to pass. But if i win…" His voice took a more sinister turn. "You gotta run back home to your mamas lil basement. Capisce?"

By now, Kiyo was certain the guards weren't all that interested in actually guarding the area and instead more so interested in pushing his own buttons. "Grrr… All right!" Kiyo turned to his partner, readying her for battle. He'd never actually participated in one before, but he was riding strictly on adrenaline at this point. "Purugly, Show them what you got!" The Tiger Cat Pokemon then proceeded to circle the ground where it stood and firmly plant itself, turning its nose up and away from her trainer. Kiyos jaw dropped to the floor. His first battle and his Pokemon was already disobeying him. 'Oh, you little b--'

Kiyos thought was cut off by the roaring laughter of the two guards. "Even your own Pokemon doesn't wanna battle with you! Give it up, kid." The guard was now tossing his own Pokeball in the air as if to taunt him even more. "You ain't cut out for the trainer life."

Kiyo was practically blowing out hot steam from his nose and ears now. Muttering every curse word in the book under his breath, he reached into his bag, pulling out the pristine box Professor Oak had handed over to him. It was still stained wet by his tears from earlier. As he took a deep breath, he began to reflect. This wasn't just about proving a point to his family or the guards; this was about proving a point to himself. Removing the top from the box, Kiyo finally revealed the contents that laid within. A Pokedex and a single Pokeball were sitting snug within the package surrounded comfortably by soft material. His pupils were dilated in awe. The items glistened in the sun, their metallic sheen polished to a T. His fingers began to twitch a bit from anxiety. What if I drop it? What if I get fingerprints on it!? What if i…' but after much deliberation, he was able to finally reach in and grasp the Pokeba--no. HIS Pokeball. With shaky fingers, he palmed a Pokeball for the first time in his life. 'So this is what it feels like…'

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but we ain't got all day over here!" The guard said, clearly peeved the teen was taking his sweet time. "Lillipup, go!"

Kiyo was slightly taken aback by the contrast between the tiny puppy and the menacing guard and soon began to wonder how he would look compared to his own starter. Clutching the ball, he pressed the button in the center and felt it expand in his hand. 'I guess we'll find out soon enough...' Under his breath, he whispered "Here goes nothing…" before proudly proclaiming, "Come on out!"

After the signature white light dimmed, a small, yellow shape soon began to form. It stood around 2' in height, with arms and legs and… a plug on its head!? "Wh…" Kiyo was only familiar with the species of Pokemon that roamed Pallet Town. He had never seen one like this before. Not only was he unfamiliar with the Pokemons species, but he also didn't know what moves it could cast either! "Umm," he murmured, trying his best to buy some time. 'Just come up with something quick! "Alright, let's see. Use Scratch!" The yellow Pokemon stood there, scratching his head as his trainer called out to him. "Not like that!" Kiyo growled a little bit. How could he possibly beat the guard if he didn't even know what moves his Pokemon had? "Ok, no Scratch. Use Tackle!" His Pokemon still stood there, dumbfounded by his trainers commands. Now Kiyo was getting pissed. He swung his arm around in a pitching motion, then launched a punch in the air as an example. "At least punch the damn dog! You can do that, can't you!?"

The electric type watched his trainer as he swung his arm around and began to copy his action. This unintentionally caused the Pokemon to charge up electricity in its body. After spinning its arm, it launched a punch in the air. Electricity poured from its fist; a lightning bolt firing straight forward. The bolt flew past the Lillipup, narrowly missing the guard. "Hey, bozo! Watch where you aim that thing!" Dusting his uniform off, he called out to Kiyo. "Maybe you should try usin that fancy lil gadget Oak got ya? Juss' a thought."

Kiyo didnt enjoy being talked down to, but the man had a point. He'd never seen such a state of the art Pokedex up close before. 'I spend hours on my computer a day. It can't be that much different, can it? Gently plucking the machine from the box, he watched as the machine rose to life. Its screen brightened and lights flickered. Even though he had never held a Pokedex before, he felt surprisingly at home with a piece of technology in his hand. Like intuition, he instinctively held the Pokedex up, aiming towards the makeshift battlefield.

Elekid, the Electric Pokemon. It spins its arms to create a powerful electric charge.

'The "Electric" Pokemon? How novel…'

It's known moves are Quick Attack, Leer, and Thunder Shock.

'So that means that last move must have been Thunder Shock!' The puzzle pieces were finally falling into place for Kiyo. He had his Pokemon, his Pokedex, and he wasn't about to let some oppressor stand in the way of his future! "All right then, Elekid. Hit 'em with another Thunder Shock!"

The officer smirked. "Not so fast! Lillipup, use Leer!" The Puppy Pokemon took a battle stance, digging its heels into the ground. As Elekid was readying up his attack, the Lillipups demeanor instantly transformed from playful pup to demented hellhound. It snarled at Kiyos Elekid, staring straight into him like knives. In return, Elekid slowed its rate of charge, taking a quick step back in fear of his enemy.

"Aw, come on. It's just a puppy!" Kiyo cried. "Besides, we know that move too!" Elekid looked back at its trainer, then nodded in reassurance. "Forget Thunder Shock and Leer right back at it!" Elekid closed his eyes, readying to deliver the move. When he opened them, he swapped his demeanor as well, exchanging his aloof personality with something more menacing. He practically towered over the Lillipup, doubling its height. The two had an intense scare-off; one that Elekid was surely in the lead of. Eventually, the Puppy Pokemon backed off, returning to its original cute appearance. The Lillipup stood there, ready to endure the final blow. Attacking a little puppy!? This feels so wrong… Shaking the though, he gave the final command. 'It's time to end this.' "Elekid, Quick Attack!"

​

Aberdeen - Viridian City

Aberdeen and Farin finally approached Viridian City late in the afternoon. The sun was still up, but the horizon was starting to get dark and cloudy. Well, cloudy at least. There seemed to be some light coming from the city.

"Hey Farin, there's Viridian!" Deen cheered when they could see the city skyline. Not much of a skyline perhaps; there were no skyscrapers in Viridian, but it was still quite different from the forest silhouette in every other direction. "And there seems to be a festival going on!"

"Festival?" Farin said, coming up to stand next on him on the road. "I don't recall any festival in town today."

Puzzled, they didn't have more than a few seconds more to look towards the city before a whirring distant noise caught their attention. There was a helicopter hovering above the buildings. Several, actually. And...

"Is that a siren?" Deen blurted out.

At that, Farin took off, and Deen had to struggle to keep up with her. She didn't stop until they had reached the center of the city, where there was full commotion and people as well as pokémon running around on the streets.

"What is going on?" Deen panted, barely able to stand after the long sprint, and grasping Farin's shoulder for support. Good thing Chikorita and Poliwag had been in their pokéballs all this time; they would never have been able to keep up.

Somebody who was hurrying by happened to hear him. "There was a bomb! And now everything is on fire!" they shouted over their shoulder.

"Wow, what?"

"Where?" Farin called after the stranger, face flushed from the running.

"The gym!"

Deen could see the exact moment when Farin's skin changed color from flushed to deathly pale. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her to make her face him. No more chocolate pies in her eyes. They seemed more like eerie mud or something.

"Hey, are you okay? Did you... Do you know someone at the gym?" he asked her.

She nodded, and then seemed to come back to her senses. "My sister works there... My sister! I have to go there!"

She tried to break free, but what the stranger had said hadn't escaped Deen, and the red light reflected in the ominous clouds above were quite blatant.

"You heard what they said, everything is on fire! It's probably dangerous to go there!"

The look she gave him then was wild. "That stops you?"

He blinked back at her. "No. I just thought it'd stop you."

"Let's go!" she grunted, finally wrenching herself free of his grip and setting off again. Deen was right beside her this time. Danger wouldn't stop him; quite the opposite.

The stranger had been right - absolutely everything near the gym was on fire. People and pokémon were doing their best to put it out, but they looked tired and sore. Deen didn't even hesitate before bring out Poliwag to help out. The feisty creature joined some Poliwhirl and Squirtle nearby trying to extinguish an apartment building that seemed to just recently have caught fire from the nearby heat. People were still being evacuated from it. Deen noticed that he had lost track of Farin in all the commotion, and felt torn. But a child's scream made him make the choice.

It came from the third floor in the building. On a balcony, a child was trapped, light from within the apartment a telltale sign of the fire having reached the home. What must have been his father was in the street, screaming as well.

"Anybody! Can anybody help? A flying pokémon? Anyone!" he called out, whirling around trying to catch the eye of every trainer nearby. But the roar from the fire was so loud, and all the trainers who were still around seemed focused on the fire, just like Poliwag was. Only Deen heard.

The father ran up to him when their eyes met. "Please! Help! Get my son down! I don't have any pokémon who can do that!"

"I'm sorry!" Deen said, feeling terrible as the child started screaming above again. "I don't have any flying pokémon, I only have... Oh. Oh! Chikorita, come out!"

The grass type was sent out in the street, and immediately gasped at the nearby inferno. This really wasn't a nice climate for her.

"Chikorita, I'm sorry for this. But we really need your help!" Deen said, getting down on his knees in front of her. "Look up there!" He pointed at the terrified boy up on the balcony. "Can you reach him with your vine whip?"

Chikorita was nervous at the thought. That building looked hot... To hot.

"Please! I believe in you!" Deen shouted, and lifted her up in an embrace. A soft noise in his ear told him that she would try. "Thank you!"

He raised her up towards the balcony. "Vine Whip!"

The vines shot out, and for a moment's suspense, it was as if the noise from the fires stopped, as suspense built. Would she reach?

Then, after what seemed like forever, the vines wrapped around the boy's waist and pulled him down. It was shaky, and Chikorita couldn't quite control the downfall. Luckily, the father was there to catch the boy just in time.

"Thank you!" he cried as he held his weeping boy.

Deen let out a relieved breath. They had been able to do some good. But... Where had Farin gone?

x1 Scald TM
x1 Rocky Helmet

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