[PKMN FULL] Myths of Sinnoh (IC)

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The strangest thing was that when she picked a random pokéball from the table where Rowan had laid out partners for new trainers, the professor had quickly informed her that her choice could be tricky at first. Gastly was a ghost pokémon, and often a mischievous such. Ghost... Of course she would end up with a ghost type. It was just her luck. She didn't want to tell grandmaster about it yet, he would just smile smugly and say that he was right about her. He gave her the surname Shinrei after all... It came from an old Sinnoh language and meant "spirit of the heart".

Clara sighed and blinked. The pokémon floating in the air in front of her blinked back but kept up its weird half-smile at her. The girl stood up and looked around them. Sandgem was still visible over the bends of the road to the south. A breeze tugged her long, almost white hair. The same breeze seemed to make her pokémon wobble in the air.

"Gastly," she finally said to him. "A ghost type, my pokédex tells me."

Gastly blinked again, still with the strange smile facing her.

"And you are supposed to be in tune with me." She slowly walked in a circle around him and he raised a curious eyebrow, realizing that he was being studied there, in the middle of the road. "I like to run. You have no legs. I like to sing. Do you even have any lungs? How can we be in tune with each other?"

Gastly's smile still didn't falter, and he blinked slower and more calmly this time, having spun around to face her.

"The grandmaster told me to meet all the pokémon I could," Clara continued, arms crossed. "The professor gave me pokéballs. Five of them. How about we catch some pokémon to make the old man happy, and then... Then we'll see where to go from there?"

The ghost smiled more widely and the trainer took that as an affirmative.

Minutes later, they were crawling off the road, carefully into the tall grass. Gastly zoomed soundlessly straight through the vegetation at ground level, as if he could pass right through the solid plants. Which he probably really could, Clara figured. She had to make an effort to stay silent herself, wading through the straws patiently.

Finally, they were only meters from a wild pokémon. So far this was all child's play of course. Clara had spent many days spying on wild pokémon in the forests. But here's when it would get tricky. Battling, she had never really done. Even though some monks at the temple did train in pokémon battling, she hadn't been part of that. The best she could do was to remember what moves the pokédex had told her that her Gastly knew, and try to imitate the experienced ways of the battling monks.

The pokémon in the clearing ahead of them was a Sentret. The simplest of pokémon there was, Clara thought. She had seen them countless times and there wasn't really anything exciting about them other than that they were rather cute and cuddly. At least she supposed they were; she had never actually touched one. But she was about to.

"Okay Gastly," she whispered before she straightened up, showing herself. "Lick!"

Her pokémon shot forward willingly, closing the distance between him and the startled Sentret in less than a second. A large, pink tongue came out and licked Sentret's whole face forcefully before the wild pokémon could react. As the unpleasant surprise finally wore off, the ferret staggered backwards squeaking. But after a shake of its head, it only stared angrily back up at the trainer and her pokémon. The attack hadn't seemed to weaken it at all, rather just make it annoyed.

"Uh-oh," Clara said, feeling her resolve drop as Sentret jumped up in an attack of its own.

But the Scratch that the round ferret launched just went straight through the unmoving Gastly! Clara dropped her jaw for a moment, as a just as surprised Sentret landed on the ground behind the ghost. Then she remembered how Gastly had passed through the grass. Of course. Some physical moves just didn't hold enough elemental power to affect ghosts. A smile crept over her features at the realization of this advantage, at last matching the grin on her pokémon's.

Now it was Sentret's time to utter the 'uh-oh'. If only it could have.

"Psychic!" Clara called out, recalling that it had seemed like a relatively strong move.

Gastly's eyes started glowing as he let out what sounded like a hoarse laughter, and blinked once in Sentret's direction. The poor wild pokémon was suddenly lifted off its feet, levitated in the air for a brief moment... Before it was thrown with power to the side, tumbling against the rough ground several times before it's little body came to a stop.

Clara suddenly felt a sting inside. Seeing the little pokémon roughed up like this... It was her doing. She was indirectly hurting this creature, on purpose. And this was regarded as a... good thing? Something the monks did, something professor Rowan expected her to do.

Sentret lifted its face and gave the human a look of fear. Clara swallowed and nodded, more to herself than to any of the pokémon around her. She reached back to pick up a tiny pokéball from one of the pouches on her waistbag. With the press of a button, it was enlarged and fit smoothly into her hand. This must be why trainers captured pokémon; they couldn't just leave a beaten pokémon like this. She had to take responsibility for the harm she had caused, had to show that there was some meaning to it.

The resolve was back, and so was the smile, only softer now when she tossed the pokéball. Like it was designed to, it easily hit the weak wild pokémon and sucked it inside in a move that looked almost magical to Clara. When she had walked forward and picked it up, she once again looked at her smiling Gastly as the wind made him wobble in his wingless flight.

"I actually think I can do this," she said.

"Yes," came a thought into her mind. It sounded like a boy's voice. She turned to look, but there was no other human close. Strange.

Gastly just let out his laughter again.
​

The Sinnoh Region. A colder region somewhere to the north of Kanto, Sinnoh is quite possibly among the oldest regions known. Divided down the middle by the Coronet mountain range, this region runs its League much like Hoenn does, with the Sinnoh Elite Four being officially recognized by the League and a challenge that every trainer hoping to claim the title of regional Champion must face. It was always so full of mysteries, and mythology, as the legendary pokemon of the region were said to be the sole creators of the pokemon world. Though they are only found within books and statues, the people of Sinnoh always hold a strong belief for them, and lived out their lives with that belief.

Robin Tanaka, a 17 year old young lady was a newly inspiring pokemon trainer with a dream to explore the mysteries of Sinnoh, whether it e mystical or just plain out right ridiculous. Either or, she had a dream, and thus, she must see it through. She held out her pokeball that contained her first pokemon, a Piplup that she received from the good ol' Professor Rowan. Then again, it was the only pokemon left, but, she was still satisfied on what she had gotten! The gently breeze whisper through her hair as she peered down the Route 202 road.

"On the other side of the road senses danger.." she muttered for her held. She likes to think that everything is dangerous, since it was set for a good adventure for her. At least she tried. "I guess it's common for a greenhorned trainer to feel a little nervous.. but still. As my great cousin used to say, onwards to destiny!"

Route 202 was chalk full of trees and forests, as was expected, since she remembers travelling this way before with her parents in search of a rare amulet coin that was rumored far and wide. It was only a bidoof. Anyways, Starly flew in groups, Sentrets love to steal apples from Shinx, Shinx are constantly mad at the Sentrets for stealing their apples, and Growlithes just lazes around all day. They definitely could use a belly rub.

In any case, Robin traversed through the plain, traveled through grass, and hopped and shipped over logs. Everything seemed peaceful, until she heard a sudden, "I'M GONNA DIIIIIIIE!" from nearby. Concerned, Robin weaved through some brushes and bushes past through off the road, until she saw someone kneeling down, with another watching overhead.

"I'M TELLING YOU I AM GOING TO DIE," shouted the one kneeling down - what seemed like a fairly middle-aged man. "And this was the last one too! I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS! I'M GOING TO HEAVEN! DEATH AWAITS MEEEE!"

"I-I'm sorry," said the other - a middle-aged woman. "There.. has to be a way to save-"

"No, that's it, I'm going to perish," said the man. " GAME OVER, DIDN'T SAVE BEFORE THE FINAL BATTLE, FORGOT TO CHANGE THE BATTERIES, I'M GONNA DIE."

"W-What's wrong?!" called out Robin, as she arrived on the scene. "Sir, are you.. alright? Is anything.. broken?"

"YES!" shouted the man. "Yes something important is broken! SOMETHING THAT IS LIFE OR DEATH FOR ME!"

"W-What is it?! I can get help!"

"Its my.. my..."

"Yes?"

"My FISHING ROD!"

"Well that's terri-- wait, your fishing rod?" Robin blinked. The man frowned as he slowly revealed his broken-in-half fishing rod from where he was kneeling. It was definitely broken, but... "Sooo... you're not the one who's hurt?"

"OF COURSE I AM HURT!" said the man. "And it's not just because of the fishing rod! For without it, I won't be able to catch the one who will get my heart."

"I don't understand," Robin said. "Sir, what exactly is going on here? What do you mean by heart?"

"My name is Jerry, first of all," the man introduced as he rose up. "But people just call me the Tin Man! Because I have a presence of steel!"

Sooo you crying over there a few seconds ago means you got a presence of steel. Okay then, Robin could only think. Over a fishing rod, no less. Yeah, very steel worthy.

"You see, there arose a rumor here lately of a red Gyarados that was somewhere here in Sinnoh," said Jerry the... tin man. He fixed his glasses to blow off the leaves off of it. "And by catching this Gyarados, the one responsible will have any wish that they desire! And so, when I catch this Gyarados, I'm going to wish for my fisherman's heart. The heart that will fulfill my desire to be the legendary fisherman of the world!"

And a legendary loonie, thought Robin with a sigh. Still, a red Gyarados? That's.. interesting. I always thought that they only come in a blue color, but red? Hm...

"And my name is Audery, sweetheart," said the woman with a smile. "But, people just call me Straw."

"...Why?"

"Because they say my brain is as empty as a straw, and a Snorlax's stomach, ohoho! The kidders!" she chuckled.

Doesn't a Snorlax eat several pounds a day?! thought Robin.

"But seriously though, if I ever meet that Gyarados, I can wish for a new brain, y'know? One that would make me smart n' such!" Audery said, as she then sighed to peer down to the broken fishing rob. "Unfortunately..."

"Unfortunately, this fishing rod has seen better days," said Jerry. "I got it from a salesman who was selling these. Said they were sturdy as a Tauros, but, this one broke apart instantly. On my way t Jubilife, I set it down here, I heard a noise, I looked to the left, I say a Starly, waved 'hi' to the Starly, I turned back, and it was just.. broken. Plus, that salesman was the one who told me about that Red Gyarados to begin with, so, win-win for me, right? Well, wrong."

Robin stood in thought. "Can I see it for a second?" she asked, as Jerry nodded in agreement. She stooped down to inspect the rod even further. After a few seconds, one thing was clear. "I'm afraid that you've been tricked," she said. "This was a fake."

"W-what?!" Jerry shouted out in shock. "But.. But how do you know that?!"

Robin took out the tag that was attached the fishing rod. It clearly read, Ultra Premium Fishing Rod. Disclaimer: this fishing rod is 100% fake, and will break easily. If you have still bought this fishing rod, then, it's too bad for you. Suckers.

"H-How could I have missed that?" Jerry said in disbelief. "That guy - that salesman deceived me! With his award winning smile and his... his Ultra Premium Fishing rod SALESPITCH and everything! Curse him!"

"Where did you met this individual?" Robin asked. "I imagine he's not very far from here? Don't worry. Wherever he is, reaching him to find answers will be a piece of cake!"


****

A mere piece of cake later, there he was. A man wearing a pink suit, with a brown paper bag that was holding what looked like a loot of money. Of course, after counting his earnings, he was only stumbled against Robin, as she peered at him with disgust with their conversation.

"Who is this tin man?" the man asked.

"Don't play dumb!" Robin replied. "You deceived that tin man guy and that straw lady! Thinking that they both can get a heart and a brain, shame on you! And how many other people have you deceived telling that bogus Gyarados story?!"

"Hah, and so what if I did? People are always willing to hear a good story to arouse interest, you know? Tell them a thing or two about a Gyarados far, far away in pixie land, and volia! Rollin' in dough!" the man chuckled. Then he didn't do as expected - he took out a pokeball. "Now, me, hand over their money back? You'll have to beat me first! GO KOFFING!"

Just like that, a purple gaseous.. thing appeared that floated. "Koffingggg!" (Clean air is gooooood!) it cried.

Urgh, how is a pokemon battle going to resolve this? Robin could only think. But, she had no choice. It was time for her first battle, with the stakes pretty high. No pressure, right? Nontheless, she had her pokeball ready. "Piplup, I need you! Let's go!"

She threw her pokeball in the air, as it opened up, and the energy released revealed a small penguin-like pokemon. A Piplup indeed.

"Piiiplup! Pi-Lup?" (Posed and ready to go! And-- wait, who are you? Piplup cried, eyeing the enemy Koffing.

"Koff! Ing? Koff!" (Oh HELLO did you have your breath of clean air today? It has popsicles!) the Koffing asked.

"Piplup!" (H-How does THAT work?!)

"Now then!" the man shouted. "Koffing, show off your power and we will win! First, use your tackle attack, now!" Koffing obeyed, as he lunged it's body straight towards her Piplup.

I never battled before, but, the books that I read says that I have to call out an attack! Against a Koffing, I have to play this smartly, Robin thought. "Piplup, counter with a Pound attack! Good luck!"

Piplup did as instructed, waddling up to the Koffing as fast as he could, as he then jumped, and raising it's... fin, to deliver a quick slap upon the Koffing's non-existent nose. It's tackle attack was tough to counter-hit though, as Piplup stumbled a bit after it's landing.

"Hah! Koffing, counter with a Smog attack!" ordered the enemy, as the Koffing, inhaled for a few seconds, then released a purple substance from it's... mouth. And from it's many holes. The smoke was pretty dense, as it made both Piplup and Robin hold their mouths and cough from the hazardous air.

"Koffinggg! Koff!" (Oh I'm sorry I promise to give you clean air soon, okay! With radishes!)

"Pip.. Lup..." (I don't even like.. radishes...) Piplup replied, followed up with a cough. Fortunately, the smog attacked cleared up pretty soon, and both of their composure was regained. Piplup had small wind damage though, in which it felt the effects of that smog cloud.


"You're no match for me, kid!" the man boasted. "Now Koffing! Finish them off with another Tackle!"

Ergh, what else did Piplup learn again? Robin thought, until she remembered, one last important move. "Aha! Piplup! Use your Ice Beam!"

Of course as Koffing charged through, Piplup let use a icy beam from it's beak, which the force released struck the Koffing, causing it to freeze. It had its trademark smile frozen too. And then the Ice Beam reached the man, causing him to freeze over with the Koffing. Both of them frozen? Sure, she can go with that.

"Let's wrap this up!" nodded Robin. "Now Piplup, finish up with another Pound attack!" Piplup nodded, as it ran as fast as it's little flippers can let him to, and let lose a barrage of it's little.. flipper attack, as the ice then broke, causing the two of them to fall against a tree. a double K.O.

"Yes! Well done, Piplup!" Robin complemented. So, this is what a pokemon battle feels like! It's pretty intense! Still, my opponent is less than what I desired, but... she reached on over to see all the money the man pocketed from his victims. It was all there. "I'll leave this to the police. I'll just call them, and... huh?"

Robin then noticed something strange, that fell out of the man's pocket. It seemed like.. a red scale? She reached on over to pick it up. "A red scale, huh?" she said, observing it. Piplup got in to have a look too. "Maybe this came from a Magikarp or something, just to further this man's chance to deceive the others. Then again... this looks pretty big for one. Could this be..."

She stood in thought as she sat the scale back down. Maybe, just maybe, there was something more going on, and she just needs to find it! She came to a realization, the pokemon world was indeed huge. As she was just a beginner trainer, she had the sky as her limit, and with her pokemon, she could reach to new heights.

Her adventure has only begun.​

Filled with new confidence, Clara continued her day of pokémon catching. She had all the right ingredients for becoming a great capturer. She knew how to sneak up on pokémon in the wild, she had a pokémon who could slip right through many basic attacks, she didn't have any noisy traveling companions to ruin things for her, and so far she was still in pretty familiar territory. That would of course change the further from Sandgem and her own village she got.

Holding her breath, she rounded a couple of trees in a grove close to the road and spotted the pokémon she had been following for a while. A Growlithe, completely unaware of the presence of a human girl and a shady pokémon peeking out at him from behind a tree.

Clara had looked more closely at Gastly's moves now and wanted to test out something new. "Hypnosis!" she whispered to her starter, who moved forward.

The instant the wild pokémon reacted and leaped up to its feet, Gastly's eyes began to pulsate with a glow, capturing Growlithe's stare with his own. It didn't take many seconds until the puppy's face drooped. Happy that her plan had seemed to be working, Clara stepped forward into the clearing, ready to toss an empty pokéball.

But suddenly, Growlithe shook its head and growled angrily at Gastly, who backed up in the air. A surprisingly loud Roar came from the tiger's mouth and caused Gastly to shudder and dart back towards his trainer.

"What are you doing? Hey!" Clara exclaimed as the ghost seemed to be sucked inside its pokéball by her belt on its own accord. And instead, another pokéball sprung open.

"Tret?" her newly acquired specimen said, blinking and looking with a confused look at the angry tiger before her. With a scream, she started running back into the trees behind Clara, and the puppy followed, barking loudly.

"Sentret!" Clara called as she ran after them. Seemed like Sentret led Growlithe in a circle, because they were soon back in the clearing, both pokémon panting and Clara alike.

"Return!" the girl finally said and brought the ferret back into its orb. "You!" she said to the Growlithe, hands on her hips. "What kind of trick was that? Scaring my pokémon to change place with a teammate? You'd think you'd just run away instead, wildling."

Growlithe's eyes narrowed and for a moment Clara wondered if it was going to blow fire straight at her. Just in case, she brought out Gastly in front of her again.

"Don't get fooled by its roar this time," she said and would have given him a pat if her hand wouldn't have gone right through him.

Gastly looked a bit embarrassed, but put on a brave smile again and realized that the Growlithe still hadn't run away. Brave creature, that. Or just ridiculously stubborn.

The tiger now dashed forward with its eyes glimmering dangerously. It was about to attack!

"Psychic!"

Just like before, Gastly lifted the wild pokémon into the air with his psychic powers but now he held it there for a moment. Growlithe wasn't scared easily, it kept barking and trying to reach Gastly to bite him. Somehow, Clara wasn't too sure that those teeth would leave the ghost unscathed...

"Spin him around!" she suggested to the ghost, who smiled as he proceeded to whisk around the tiger in the air as if it was an invisible merry-go-round on a little too fast setting.

It wasn't like a hypnosis, but it sure made Growlithe's face droop after a few turns. As Gastly finally relieved the wild pokémon of the terrible ride with a slam down into the ground, Clara once again felt the strange sting of guilt that came with harming an innocent wild pokémon. This Growlithe would become hers now, whether it liked it or not.

She tossed the pokéball before a Roar came this time, but she could see the look of dislike on the puppy's face just before it got sucked in. This one likely wouldn't forgive her for quite some time.

​

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(1-1)​

Neil O'Connor - Route 202
First Steps​

Neil turned around and took one last look at Sandgem town with a heavy heart. The day which Neil had so anxiously awaited for several years was finally here, the day in which he would set off on his own journey of great discovery. This was great news in one way but unfortunately it meant that he couldn't return to Sandgem for some time. His father would soon head off to continue –his- journey while his mother would be left by herself. His mother would be spending countless days and nights all alone. Neil's eyes started to well up a bit until he quickly wiped them with the sleeve of his jacket. He let out a small sigh before he turned his back on the town and took the first few steps into Route 202.

He tried to shake the thoughts of home from his mind and focus on the present moment. "I'm finally allowed to roam free and adventure until my heart is content. No more parents, no more spending days locked away in the room, just me and the open road. Well … not just me" Neil couldn't contain the grin that shot across his face as these thoughts passed through his mind. He looked down and smiled once more when he seen the poké ball which he had clasped in his hand.

Neil walked over to the side of the road and squatted down on his hunkers and held the ball out in front of him. He let go of the ball and watched it tumble to the ground. It hit the ground and opened up releasing a sharp red flash before it returned back into his hand. Neil's face was simply gob smacked. He sat open mouthed gawking at the very small and strange looking pokémon which stood in front of him. It had a large circular dome shaped object on top of its head which covered its eyes. Neil tried moving his head around to see if he could get himself into a position where he could see underneath the dome but it only took a few seconds before Ralts tipped its head back revealing its large, cute looking eyes. It didn't take long before Ralts started scanning around the area. While Ralts was looking around, Neil reached down and pulled out his pokédex. He pointed it at Ralts and gave the small pokémon a quick scan.

"Ralts, the feeling pokémon. Ralts is highly attuned to the emotions of people and pokémon. It hides if it senses hostility."

"Wow, you are a strange one aren't you Ralts? You can sense my feelings and emotions? That's pretty cool although slightly unnerving at the same time. It also says here that you're a female. Well! I suppose I should mention that I'm your new trainer. I wouldn't say I'm the best trainer in the world, actually I've never been in a single battle before but … what the heck there's a fist time for everything right?"

Ralts had been sitting listening to Neil ramble on until he finally finished. Once he had stopped talking Ralts tilted her head back and looked at Neil once more but this time gave him a smile and let out a small squeak to show the pokémon's happiness at Neil being her trainer.

"Whoo! Alright then. We're gonna have a great time together Ralts! I think I'll return you to your ball for now though. Don't want you getting hurt on your first day now" Neil said and followed it up with a nervous laugh, unsure of what Ralts would make of being sent back the ball already. Ralts gave a small nod and Neil sent out the sharp red beam from the poké ball which hit Ralts returning her to the ball.

Neil raised himself up off his honkers with a great heave. The bag he was lugging around weighed a ton, well to Neil it did anyway. He looked around the route and inhaled deeply. The beautiful smell of the woodland area filled the air and the beams of the sun shone brightly in the sky creating beautiful warmth as well as lovely shaded areas amongst the trees. Neil stood with a giant grin on his face as he took in the beauty of nature. As strange as it may sound to some people, Neil had never experienced this kind of beauty before. Sandgem town was almost like a prison to him. He was already having so much fun and he had only taken a few steps out of the town. If that was the case then what was the rest of his adventure going to be like?

Neil's awe of the beauty and wonders of the outdoors were soon interrupted by some rustling over in the bushes. Letting curiosity get the better of him, he ventured off the road and into the trees and bushes beside it. He entered into the dense woodland area and standing just a few feet away from him with its back turned was a Nidoran♂. Neil stared as the small pokémon picked away at a bush, trying its hardest to nab some berries off the bush. Neil slowly reached down and pulled out his pokédex. Aiming it straight at the Nidoran♂ he gave it a scan.

"Nidoran, the poison pin pokémon. Nidoran's large ears are flapped like wings when it is listening to distant sounds. It extends toxic barbs when angered.

Sounds pretty cool. I wonder if I could try and catch it. Probably not, but it's worth a shot I guess thought Neil as he placed the pokédex back into his bag.

"Here goes nothing I guess" whispered Neil. He reached down and pulled out an empty poké ball and proceeded to shout as he threw it. "Nidoran you're mine!"

The small pokémon was startled and turned around quickly upon hearing this but alas it didn't have enough time to react as it was hit by the poké ball which Neil had threw. Nidoran was sucked inside the ball before it shut closed and fell to the ground. The ball rocked violently on the ground as the Nidoran struggled to escape. Neil however was paying little attention to this as he was too busy celebrating.

"Whoo hoo! I caught a Nidoran. Man my first catch. That felt so good!" shouted Neil as he danced around on the spot celebrating. The ball continued to rock violently before it shot open and revealed the Nidoran from before. Neil's celebrations stopped instantly and he stood staring at the small pokémon. "I thought you threw a ball and then you caught the pokémon. That's how it works right?"

There was little time for thought as the Nidoran was now furious. Its eyes locked onto Neil and it dragged it foot along the ground. Similar to that of a bull preparing to charge. The Nidoran charged forward with its horn pointed in the air heading straight for Neil. Luckily Neil managed to get out of the way just in time, narrowly avoiding a sharp stab from Nidoran's horn.

Neil started to panic and knew that he'd have to battle this pokémon in order to get away. He reached down and grabbed the poke ball which contained Ralts and frantically threw it out. "Save me Ralts!" shouted Neil as he cowered over by some trees.

Ralts looked back and could see her trainer scared for his life. She turned to face the Nidoran and prepared to battle. Neil kept his face turned to the side to avoid the battle but upon hearing no battle sounds or anything of the sort he took a quick peek and could see Ralts was standing facing Nidoran, prepared to battle. Rather than turning his head back to cower from the danger Neil watched as his brand new pokémon was prepared to save her trainer from certain danger. They had just met and already she was prepared to fight for him. Neil thought of his father and all the tough situations that he had been in. The stories he would tell of dangerous situations which he found himself in but would always pull through thanks to his pokémon.

This is no time to cower. I have to be there supporting my pokémon thought Neil. He clenched his fist and raised himself up onto his feet. He walked over and stood a few feet behind Ralts and gave her a reassuring smile when she looked around. Neil pulled out his pokédex and checked the move set of Ralts.

"Okay then. So we got Growl, Confusion and Psyshock. Come on we can do this Ralts" shouted Neil as he prepared himself for his first ever battle.​

(1-2)​

Neil O'Connor - Route 202
Two's a Company​

The Nidoran♂ which was staring down Ralts and Neil wasted no time in charging straight ahead once more. The pokémon barreled towards the two with its horn raised in the air. The Nidoran was getting closer and closer and Neil had no idea what to do.

"Look out Ralts" shouted Neil as the Nidoran galloped closer and closer to Ralts. Had he shouted a bit sooner Ralts may have been able to avoid the attack but unfortunately Ralts had to endure a sharp strike from a charging Nidoran. Ralts was pushed back along the ground but thankfully managed to stay upright. After Nidoran had delivered the attack it proceeded to circle back around to its original positon which was facing Ralts. The pokémon gathered itself before it prepared for another attack.

That Nidoran must be using Peck. I heard about that move. Jab your opponent with a sharp horn or beak. I didn't know a Nidoran could learn it though. Whatever ... I need to fight back if we wanna get outta here thought Neil as he watched both the Nidoran preparing for another attack as well as Ralts taking a few steps forward in order to reposition herself back into the place she was a few seconds ago.

"Okay quickly Ralts let's use, uhh … let me see here. I don't know what any of these moves do, so I'm not really sure if I should use them or not. Decisions, decisions. Let's go with …"

While Neil mulled over the moves he failed to notice that the Nidoran had already launched another attack and was charging straight for Ralts once more. Neil continued to ponder the move set until he finally raised his head up and saw the Nidoran charging straight for Ralts.

"Psyshock! Use Psyshock!" shouted Neil in a panicky voice. Ralts generated a small blob of psychic power near her body and let it charge up for a few seconds. Once the ball was at full power, Ralts released the ball and it hurled straight towards Nidoran. The fact that it was charging straight at Ralts meant that Nidoran had no time to react to the ball of psychic power which connected and sent Nidoran flying backwards along the ground. The Nidoran took a few nasty hits as it was flung along the ground not to mention the initial impact of the attack as well, Neil was full sure that Nidoran was down for the count but to his surprise, Nidoran rose back up onto the ground and prepared to attack once more. The look in the pokémon's eyes was a clear indication that it was absolutely livid!

Come on! There's no way it can keep battling. Ralts just hit it direct with a pretty powerful attack ... at least it looked like a pretty powerful attack. thought Neil as he looked on in amazement at the small pokémon's determination.

"Ralts try using Confusion. Let's see what that does" said Neil as he watched the Nidoran begin its run towards Ralts once more. Ralts let out a small cry of understanding and the horn on top of Ralts's head glowed a bright white. The shining light on the horn disappeared quickly and all off a sudden Nidoran was hit by something. Nidoran just stopped in its tracks. The small pokémon leaned from side to side almost like it struggled to keep its balance.

"What's going on?" muttered Neil as he watched the Nidoran fight to stay upright.

The Nidoran stopped tilting and attempted to continue its charge from before. The charge was much slower and much less aggressive this time but the real surprise came when Nidoran went way of course and ended up charging straight into a nearby tree. The pokémon started to stagger all over the place, weaving from left to right and generally just having a hard time keeping its feet. Neil saw the opportunity and hurried Ralts along the ground and they quickly jogged past the Nidoran in an attempt to escape the pokémon now that they had the chance. Neil ran past the pokémon and was almost out of the trees before he stopped in his tracks and stared at the ground. Ralts tilted her head and looked up at Neil with a confused look as he just stood there almost motionless.

Neil closed his eyes, bit his top lip and let out a small sigh and it was then that he turned around and headed back into the small area where the battle occurred. Upon re-entering the small opening he could see the Nidoran which continued to struggle and stagger in the small area. He went down on his knees and placed his hand on the Nidoran in an attempt to steady it. The Nidoran stopped staggering around and remained still under Neil's hand but it took no interest in Neil and simply stared ahead with a blank expression on its face.

"I know you're gonna hate me for this Nidoran. Catching you while you're in this kind of shape. I think you'd make a great addition to my team though. You'd be my first proper wild pokémon capture. I hope we can be friends " said Neil as he looked down at the Nidoran which still took no interest in him, it just continued to look ahead.

Neil reached down and pulled out an empty poké ball and dropped it on Nidoran. The ball opened up and the pokémon was sucked inside. With no Nidoran to rest his hand on, Neil fell down onto the ground. The poké ball only shook for a few seconds this time before a ping sound was heard coming from the ball. The ball stopped shaking and all signs of Nidoran struggling to get out where gone.

"Wow, I think I actually done it. I think I actually caught my first pokémon! This is so exciting!" said Neil in an excitable and enthusiastic tone. He raised himself up onto his feet and dusted himself off. It didn't take long until Ralts came running over and gave Neil's leg a hug.

"I couldn't have done it without you Ralts. You're the best!"

Ralts let go of his leg and looked up at Neil with a smile. Neil replied in kind and decided it was time to finally get out of this dense woodland area. He kneeled down and picked up Ralts and placed her on his shoulder. Thankfully she was light enough and small enough for Neil to support her. The two emerged from the woods and the first thing to hit Neil was a cool breeze of fresh air. The woodland felt so stuffy and warm, out here in the nice open road there was a nice breeze that blew every so often which made the warm day that little bit more bearable.

Neil continued to walk down Route 202, proud as punch that he was able to show off his Ralts which sat on his shoulder. The two continued to walk happily down the route and it wasn't long until Neil spotted another trainer who seemed to have an interesting pokémon with them. It was some kind of monkey or something.

"Might as well find out what that pokémon is. Better make sure I look presentable" said Neil as he looked down at himself to make sure nothing was stuck to his clothes from when he fell to the ground not that long ago. He looked over at Ralts and gave her a smile before readjusting his giant backpack and walking closer to the trainer.

As Neil walked closer he could see that the trainer was a girl and that the pokémon was indeed a monkey but it seemed to have some fire coming from its tail.

Interesting … thought Neil as he walked closer and closer to the trainer. He stopped just a few feet behind her and spoke up.

"Hey there! That's a pretty interesting pokémon you have. Mind if I ask what it is?" said Neil in a cheery and upbeat tone.​

After successfully catching the wild Shinx, Selena felt like taking the time to get to know the newest member of her team a bit better. So, the girl released him from the Pokéball and quickly healed the small lion up with one of the Potions she had received from Rowan, something which helped the little Shinx perk right up. The demeanor that he had had before the catch was completely different than he was now. A happy smile stretched across the Shinx's face as he bounced over to Selena and pawed at her leg with glee.

"Well, you're a happy little guy..." the trainer said with a small smile, reaching down to pet the Shinx behind his ear. "I guess you really enjoyed that little battle we just had. Well, if you stick with us, I'm sure we'll have lots more along the way."

The Shinx seemed quite pleased with that, a happy little growl escaping his lips as he tried his best to look imposing before before relaxing once more. This earned the Shinx a small giggle from his trainer, who looked thoughtful at the small lion Pokémon.

"Let's see now... You need a name..." she thought aloud. It did not take Selena long to think of one, however. She smiled brightly at her new Pokémon. "I think... Richard is a good name for you."

The Shinx, now dubbed Richard, did not seem to mind the nickname one way or another. Instead, he merely bounced happily along as Selena began to lead both he and Lydia along the path of Route 202. With two Pokémon on her team, Selena suddenly felt a lot more confident in her progress along the route. Richard happily kept pace with Selena, while Lydia took a more casual pace, walking with her hands behind her head. The trio did not get far, before someone called out, gaining the girl's attention.

"Hey there! That's a pretty interesting pokémon you have. Mind if I ask what it is?"

The trainer turned, coming to see a shorter boy coming towards her with a Ralts resting atop his shoulder. Selena recognized him as one of the others from Sandgem Town that had stopped by Rowan's lab in the morning. She really could not place his name... but she was sure that was probably a minor detail that really was not worth sweating over.

"Chimchar," Selena answered quickly, glancing over her shoulder at the boy before continuing on her walk. "You know, you could've just scanned her with your dex to find out, though."

"I suppose I could have ... but then we wouldn't be talking would we?" Neil responded letting out a small chuckle. Neil proceeded to jog for a small bit and caught up with Selena who continued walking along the route. "And besides it'd be a little rude to ignore someone who you had met just this morning. I seen you in Rowan's lab, picking up your first pokémon. Guess it was a Chimchar then. I got myself a Ralts. Pretty nifty if you ask me" Neil added as he walked alongside Selena.

Selena seemed sharp or otherwise blunt. She didn't seem to feel like stopping to talk about her pokémon she received that morning and the fact that she just walked away after giving a somewhat to the point response made her all the more interesting. Of course Neil didn't pick up on these things, being stuck in the one town with minimal contact with other people made it difficult for him to pick up on little things like that.

Neil looked down and noticed that she had another pokémon with her, something which Neil had never seen before. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his pokédex. He pointed it down at the small pokémon and gave it a scan.

"Shinx, the flash pokémon. When Shinx flexes its muscles, it generates electricity. When sensing danger, its fur glistens."

Hmm, that's pretty cool. Never seen that pokémon before ... actually come to think of it I've hardly seen any pokémon at all. Man being locked away in that town really took its toll on me thought Neil letting out a small smile at his somewhat funny although somewhat depressing joke. If one could even call it a joke. He shook his head and placed the pokédex back into his pocket and looked back over at Selena.

"You must be a powerful trainer, or a lot more educated than me at least" Neil said as he laughed. "You've got a pretty awesome team with you here" he added smiling at Selena.

A small smirk graced Selena's lips. "Yeah, I know," she replied quickly, glancing back over at the boy from over her shoulder again. "It's all about picking and choosing the right Pokémon. A lot of these first few routes always seem to have pretty boring or useless ones. Just gotta manage to fish out the good ones from the garbage ones."

"Yeah I get what you mean, totally" replied Neil with a nervous laugh.

Garbage ones? Is she calling my Nidoran garbage? Nah probably not. She probably means ones that don't battle. That's how it works right? Neil questioned himself.

Who knows? There's a reason why I'm totally new to this he added almost letting out a small laugh.

"Sooo then. Where are planning to head to now? I've never traveled around these places before so I kinda have no idea where I'm headed. Crazy right? Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen a map of this region either ... aw well the fun's all in discovering the unknown right?" Neil said as he walked alongside Selena trying to match the quick pace that she seemed to be walking at. The giant bag that he was lugging around, wasn't exactly helping.

"...Aren't you from Sinnoh?" Selena questioned, rolling her eyes at the boy's statement. She honestly found it a little hard to believe. How in the world could someone not even know what their own home region looks like. On top of that, how did she suddenly become the entertainment of this runt? Letting the thought roll out of her head, the girl sighed. "Jubilife City. It's at the north end of this route."

"Jubilife City huh? Might as well go there as well. See what's there you know? Man this is great! Just travelling the open roads, no parents or nothing. Just you and your pokémon" Neil said as he inhaled deeply and looked all around him. The route was so alive, pokémon and trainers everywhere. There was so much to see and do. Question was ... where to start?

"Well spoken," said a voice from nearby. The young trainer approached the duo with her trusty Piplup by her side, which was of course, Robin Tanaka, a young greenhorn pokémon trainer herself. "My apologizes for the intrusion you two, I'm not a spy or anything, nor a ghost for that matter," she said with a smile. "But yes, I must agree! Not only that, but the boundless mysteries that awaits us... it'll make a good novel for us, no? The many pokemon that awaits us, and what questions are around the corner, I hope to solve and learn about them all!"

"Damn, are they just coming out of the woodwork now?" Selena thought with a sigh, glancing over in the direction of the newest arrival.

"My name is Robin," she introduced. "This is Piplup down there! Full of enthusiasm, equipped with Ice Beaming action, yeah? Perfect for those hot summer days!"

Neil stood with a big grin on his face as he watched this total stranger engage and talk to the small duo which had formed. Neil readjusted the straps on his back pack and kneeled down on the ground before he pulled out his pokédex and gave Piplup a quick scan.

"Piplup, the penguin Pokémon. Because it is very proud, it hates accepting food from people. Its thick down guards it from cold."

Neil raised himself back up onto his feet and placed the pokédex back into his pocket. "Hey there Robin. I'm Neil and this is my pokémon Ralts. It's a Psychic/Fairy Pokémon. I haven't really had much experience with Ralts's fairy side but I've had a little with her psychic side." said Neil as he smiled at Robin and then proceeded to give his Ralts a gentle pat on the head.

"Neil and Robin, huh?" Selena replied, deciding to try and put some distance between herself and the two. "Well, nice meeting you both, but I'm in a bit of a hurry and all, so... I'll catch you later, okay?"

Selena waved them both off and started to make her way up the route once more. However, the trainer only got a few steps in when two, small children suddenly came running up towards her, Robin, and Neil. They were both young, probably no older than nine or ten at the most. One was a boy wearing a pair of khaki shorts and a blue t-shirt. He had a yellow baseball cap on his head that he wore backwards. The girl wore a red skirt and white t-shirt. A black ribbon kept her hair tied back into a ponytail. The facial features of both children were quite similar. Both of them sported a pair of dark, brown eyes and black hair, the boy's being cut short while the girl's was quite a bit longer. Both of them had freckles along their cheeks.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Jimmy?" the girl asked. "What if they just try to cheat us just for the reward."

"We have to try anDyways, Janet! Besides, you do want to see our Pokémon again, right?" the boy responded back. "Quit being such a baby and come on!"

The boy led the girl to three trainers, smiling weakly at them as he approached. The girl known as Janet kept a safe distance between the three teenagers and herself by hiding behind Jimmy. She kept a firm grip on the boy's had as they walked.

"Excuse me!" the boy called out, waving the three of them down. "You guys are trainers, right? Me and my sister could totally use some help with something!"

"What is it dears?" Robin asked. "Of course we'd be happy to help, correct?"

This little kids seemed to be clearly worried about something. Robin had already spoken for the group but consulted both Selena and Neil just to be sure. "I'm in. I'll help for sure" Neil said to the kids with a smile, reassuring them that he was as genuine as they come. "Selena?" Neil quizzed looking over at her.

"Am I attracting this kinda crap today or something? I have better things to do than play good Samaritan for these two brats..." Selena thought with a sigh. She glanced down at the two kids and then over towards Robin and Neil. "Well, these two should be more than enough to help you out, so... Good luck, yeah?"

The girl began to briskly walk past them again, only for the small girl to reach out and suddenly grab hold of Selena's jacket sleeve. "Please, ma'am! It's my Nidoran♀, Luna. I can't find her anywhere! And my brother's Nidoran♂, Apollo, is missing too! We'll give you a reward, but we're desperate! We need your help to find them, please!"

Did they just name their pokemon after gods? Robin thought after pondering. "Right then, we'll help you out. This sounds like a mystery to me, though! We'll track down your pokemon and bring them back to you, dears. That, or they might of been reported to a far away dimension, but, they'll most likely be here."

"Alright that settles it then. We'll find your pokémon kids ... and we'll bring them back. Don't you worry about that" Neil said with a smile, once more reassuring the kids that they weren't about to scam them. Neil picked up on Selena's behavior ever so slightly, especially with the fact that she pretty much told the kids that she has no interest in their lost pokémon. It didn't take much to notice Selena's unwillingness to help. Because of this Neil turned to Robin who seemed to be the much nicer of the two. "So then what's the plan Robin?"

Two pokemon... Nidoran and um, another Nidoran... Robin pondered. She got out a notepad, and wrote her thoughts in. So far we have two pokemon, named after gods, in this place. A female pokemon and a male. I... can't really think of anymore than that, nor do I have a clue on where to do on, so, I guess it's time for me to sound reassuring!

She turned to Neil. "If only we had some sort of.. puppy pokemon. A puppy's nose is millions times stronger than the average person. Then we can pick up their scents! As good as Piplup is, it doesn't exactly smell much other than the scent of Magikarp." Piplup stuck out it's tongue towards Robin in secret disgust.

Selena slowly looked back towards Neil and Robin. She noticed that the female trainer was glancing over in her direction. In particular, she happened to be looking at her Shinx. Richard was busy sniffing at a nearby flower, before sneezing in surprise from the pollen. Selena sighed, rolling her eyes at this point. She could tell there was not going to be any way out of this situation without agreeing to help.

"Alright, alright already!" Selena snapped. "Fine, I'll help out... Just so long as I can actually get on with getting to Jubilife before next month..."

"Nooo, perish the thought!" Robin reassured with a smile, but with a bit of.. smugness. "I never wanted to interrupt the schedule of our new and supreme, 'Pokémon master' here! But sorry, the Growlithe I encountered ran away, so, I'm afraid you're our fifth best bet."

Selena glared in Robin's direction. "Shut up..."

Jimmy and Janet seemed oblivious to the discord between the two girls. Rather, they seemed excited that they had some sort of plan to help track down the two Nidoran.

Neil wasn't exactly paying much attention to what was going on at this point, instead his mind wandered and he started to think on his new pokémon which he had just caught. A Nidoran! That's so awesome, and it was my first wild capture as well ... wait, a Nidoran?These kids are missing a Nidoran, two actually! All the more reason to help them out then so Neil shook his mind free and brought himself back into 'reality' so to speak.

"So what are we doing? Anyone have a plan yet?" quizzed Neil.

"Well, Robin said something about using Richard to help track them down," Selena replied, still giving said girl a rather dirty look. "So let's here your brilliant idea then."

Robin nodded. "Don't worry, it's quite simple," she said as she turned to the two Nidoran trainers. "Dears, do you have anything that your Nidoran have been wearing, or, something that your pokemon liked playing with? We'll need to borrow that for a quick second."

Janet looked thoughtful for a moment, before her eyes lit up. "Oh, yeah! We do have something like that!" She paused, taking her backpack off of her back before she knelt down to the ground and began to rummage through its contents. Her brown eyes widened as she smiled, pulling out a blue collar and a purple collar respectively. "These are the collars that our Nidoran wear. The purple one is Luna's and the blue one is Apollo's."

"We found them on the ground when we noticed they were both missing," Jimmy added on. "We're not sure how they managed to get out of them or why, but... it's all we've been able to find of them."

Neil paid close attention to the kids when they talked about the two collars which they still had. Neil decided to step forward and take the collars from the kids. The scent from the collars should hopefully lead them straight to the Nidorans.

"That's fine sweetheart, this is just what we needed," Robin nodded as Neil accepted the two collars. Indeed, they looked small enough to fit the two pokemon, so, if all goes well... then all should be good. At least, that's what she believes. She turned to Selena. "Alright, have your pokemon take a whiff of these. If all proceeds as planned, your own pokemon will lead right to them. If not, then, I suppose I'll be catching that Growlithe soon, after all, yes?"

"What do you mean IF?" Selena snapped. "I bet he could find his way to Snowpoint on his own before any of your Pokémon could find they're way out of a wet paperbag." The girl snapped the collars out of Neil's hand and bent down to Richard's level. She held the collars out for the Shinx, smiling at the little lion. "Alright, time for you to get to work. We need you to help us track down these runts' Nidoran. So go ahead and get a scent of these collars and start hunting, yeah?"

The tension between the two girls was escalating by the minute. Ralts who sat on Neil's shoulder turned inwards and let out a small cry and she attempted to place her head up against Neil's. Neil didn't know exactly what was wrong but it didn't take him long to remember the pokédex entry.

"Ralts is highly attuned to the emotions of people and pokémon. It hides if it senses hostility"

The hostility and tension between the two girls, however it was mainly Selena who was escalating things even further was scaring Ralts. Neil took a deep breath and patted Ralts on the head. "It's gonna be okay Ralts. It'll be over soon" he spoke softly.

Neil's view of Selena was dissipating almost every time she opened her mouth. The one thing that crossed the line in Neil's eyes was the fact that she called the two kids 'Runts'. That was just something you don't do ... ever. Neil closed his eyes and attempted to gather his thoughts. First trainer I run into and she's a total ... better not say it actually. Maybe Ralts might hear me. Man she just has no respect for anyone. I'd hate to be her pokémon. Neil thought to himself.

Richard had managed to catch a good wiff of the two Nidoran by this point. The little Shinx let out a small growl, before suddenly turning and starting to bound further along the path of Rote 202. Selena smirked, glancing over at Robin before getting up to chase after him.

"See? Don't doubt the awesome that is Selena Skye or her Pokémon. Just leave it all to me and I'll have 'em back in no time!" she called as she ran behind the Shinx.

Robin can only give off a hearty chuckle as she waltzed right behind them. She was an interesting one, she'll give her that. But is confidence bounded by weighty words? Only time will tell.​

Clint Webb – Chapter 1 Part 2: Route 202