[PKMN FULL] Z: A Kalos Journey [M] [IC]

Stage 1
Kalos: Route 2​

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A sunny and bright little set of roads, connecting Aquacorde to the upcoming forest. These bright grassy paths are dotted with patches of longer shrubbery where wild pok?mon tend to play and hide. A few areas of the route are covered in light forest, small patches of deeper thicket among an otherwise single stretch of that signature Kalos sunshine. A river runs along the left side of the route at all times and is often dotted with fishermen and swimming water types. People from Aquacorde often take strolls along this area... and the location is often populated with lots of people, be they trainer or not. The perfect place to start a journey!

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Pok?mon Available:​

The following pok?mon cannot be caught unless the character has a fishing rod in their inventory:

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Missions:​

There are nine missions present here! Work together with friends or solo, on whatever mission you like. If you get stuck in a JP that isn't progressing then you will always have another option... and don't consider yourself limited to missions either! The missions present here are more so writing prompts with specifically listed rewards for your character, however, you can make up your own mission and objective as you please.

A list of potential rewards for custom missions will be listed below the pre-made missions for this stage. You may claim one for your character upon them completing your custom objective for this stage.

Pre-made missions must be claimed by players to avoid people doing a different instance of the exact same story, the reasons of this should be obvious in terms of the continuity of the story. To claim a mission, make a post in the OOC stating that you wish to write your character carrying it out. You may also privately message Shak or myself here or on Discord claiming a mission and we will make certain it is made clear that the mission in question is accounted for.

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Mission 1:​

The local Aquacorde grocery store has been pilfered! It's entire berry stock has gone missing and nobody seems to know why. However, a line of Meowth tracks out the back door and into route two might just have the answer. Go reclaim that stock and a nice reward is in it for you!

Reward: 300 P + 1 Great Ball

Mission 2:​

Tiffany has been crying near the entrance to Route 2 for ages now. Seems her prized pet Skitty has gotten stuck in a tree. Doesn't seem like too big a problem, but some rather aggressive bug types have claimed that tree as home. This task might be more dangerous than it seems.

Reward: 2 Potions + 1 Super Potion

Mission 3:​

Subtle cries are being heard from the river bank... and it seems like a young buizel pup has been injured while learning how to swim. The poor thing can barely move... not to mention the fact that it's lost and can't find its family. A helping hand from a friendly trainer is needed.

Reward: 1 Chesto, Cherri and Pecha berry.

Mission 4:​

The annual grass type growing contest is in full swing near the entrance to Route 2, trainers have grass type pok?mon use the move 'Growth' and the tallest contender gets a prize... but one of the judges is terribly ill and poison powder seems to be the cause... but which pokemon and trainer are responsible? Which pokemon even know the move? Some sleuthing may be required and a reward is surely in store.

Reward: 1 Mysterious Floral Egg.

Mission 5:​

Joey likes shorts. They're comfortable and easy to wear. Timmy thinks Joey is an idiot for wearing shorts, even in Winter. This has lead to a big argument that's causing a bit of a scene. Someone should step in and help talk it out... or to battle them both into submission, surely someone will be grateful either way.

Reward: 1 Luxury Ball.

Mission 6:​

Some fisherman on the river have been catching Goldeen and Finneon and storing them on their boat. They're not catching them in pok?balls, nor releasing them either... and the pokemon have started attacking in rage. Someone needs to get out there and lend a helping hand.

Reward: 2 Old Rods.

Mission 7:​

A plusle and minun have become seperated! Plusle is on our side of the river and is desperate to get back to Minun, who's stuck on the other side after their makeshift bridge fell apart. What cruel heart could deny a happy romance?

Reward: 1 Sitrus Berry.

Mission 8:​

A ruin maniac is going crazy over some glowing stone that's lodged in the ground, he's digging up plants and ruining the homes of local wildlife just to get to it! By peaceful or forceful means, he needs to be stopped.

Reward: 1 Dawn Stone.

Mission 9:​

A wild Fletchinder is flying through the air and striking Cottonnee out of the sky for sport! The poor pok?mon, floating in the wind, are helpless. They need someone to help them or their entire group will be in trouble.

Reward: 1 Miracle Seed

Rewards for Custom Missions:​

Spoiler:

Choose One:

- 3 Status healing berries of your choice.
- 400 Pok?
- 3 Potions OR 1 Super Potion
- A Revive
- A fire stone OR a water stone OR a thunder stone.
- 2 Great Balls
- 1 Ultra Ball

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Positives and Negatives

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Current Location : Route 02​

Time to get his ass in gear.

Jackson Crane shoved the pok?dex into his pocket, it served as a trainer ID anyway, so he didn't feel too bad about shoving that "Diploma of Commendation" into the trash. He stepped calmly onto Route 2, his hands shoved firmly in his pockets and his eyes narrowed. Occasionally he saw people look at him and jump with a startle, clearly scared out of their minds. Oh, it wasn't because of him, however, Jackson could see his new pal hanging out in the darkness of his shadow, the silhouette painted onto the pavement by the morning sun was exactly as you'd expect it to be, apart from the eyes. Now Jackson wasn't too bright, but even he knew that shadows weren't supposed to have those. Yet when he looked down, a chill ran up his spine as two purple, gas emitting slits gazed up at him from the 2D surface. Jackson couldn't help but snicker when Gaspar flew out of his shade to give some new kid trainer an early heart attack.

His flat black shoes tapped against the cobbles as he crossed the bridge connecting Aquacorde to the rest of Kalos. He was looking pretty smart, Sycamore had been so kind as to give Jackson a fancy ass ensemble that would've made the boys back in Veilstone pretty damn jealous. "I can doubt a lot, but for some bookworm, the lab coat dresses pretty damn well." He grinned, giving a flick to his white shirts collar, Gaspar gave an echoey snicker from the darkness below, Jackson sneered in response. "Nice reverb bud."

As he walked he fondled a capsule in his hand, the red and white surface shining in the mid-morning light, so this is what they used to catch pok?mon? Just throw it at em right? That's what they'd said in the school, but Jackson had never done it in practice, but hey, he had thrown things at people before, it was the same principle right? Still, despite seeing it multiple times before, he was always amazed at how small it was for what it did. When was the first time he'd seen one face to face anyway?

"It's a pok? ball! Jackson! Jackson look!"

He stopped in his tracks for a split second, before walking forward again with renewed vigor. He had to take this seriously, it wasn't just some half-assed attempt at something new after he lost his last job and had to put himself on the market for the fifth time that month. This wasn't just some quick in, our job for some scumbag in Veilstone that he'd lay awake staring blankly with regret over for the next few weeks of his life and having nightmares about for the rest of it besides. This was his life for the foreseeable future, it was what he'd commit to forever if it meant Mal being able to walk again.

"Alrigh' time to get serious. Ey, Gaspar?" He slowed his pace slightly, taking his hands out of his pockets and rubbing them together as he stopped a step outside of Route 2's boundaries. "You ready to go kick some ass and make some money? Not t'most inspirin' trainer's first-day speech out there I know, but I think you'd prefer if I got right to the point." Well, Jackson had never seen a bigger and more mischievous grin in his life than the expression the ball of gas at his side returned to him. "Tch, they ain't gonna know what hit em."

With that the pair crossed the threshold, Jackson was ready to explore and beat every challenge this world had to offer, anything to come out on top and get things ready for his little sister to follow in his footsteps.

​

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-- Profile --​

~​

?Fetch?d!? An angry duck Pok?mon shouted as it jumped from some of the nearby shrubbery along the Avance Trail more commonly referred to as route 2.

Ching! A metallic reverberation sounded from the large floating sword behind the new Pok?mon trainer Chris Rodriguez as he turned to face the angry Pok?mon.

?Hm? What kind of Pok?mon are you.? The boy asked as he pulled a small red device from his pocket.

?Farfetch?d. The Wild Duck Pok?mon.
Farfetch'd is always seen with a stick from a plant of some sort, and the plant stalk it carries acts as emergency rations and as a weapon, it runs off in search of a new stalk if the one it carries is ever lost.?

?Far!? The Pok?mon shouted, jumping forward and bringing its plant stalk towards Chris as if it was a metal rapier.

CLANG! With rapid movement Whisper the Honedge was in front of the boy, easily deflecting the blow against the flat side of the blade.

?A-ah! Uh? I uh? We don?t have to fight Farfetch?d!? Chris exclaimed shaking his hands wildly.

If a sword could show emotion, it would almost certainly have shown utter embarrassment. However, it instead only let out a loud and annoyingly shrill metallic screech.

?Well fine.? Chris sighed watching as the Farfetch?d continued to try and slash at the Steel type Pok?mon who was easily deflecting every blow coming from the Pok?mon. ?Si insistes? Whisper! Use shadow sneak on the Farfetch?d.?

Without complaint, the Honedge stabbed itself into the ground as the dark shadow of the spirit housed within the blade began to reach forwards towards the duck Pok?mon, forming an ambiguous blob of a shape with burning red eyes behind the duck that reached forward with a pseudopod of an arm and smacked the bird in the face as it turned around. The form instantly retracting into the blade and floating into the air once the attack reached completion.

??xito!? Chris shouted, his natural accent and language slipping out in his excitement. ?Now? Use fury cutter on the plant!?

With lightning speed, Whisper flew forward, the tip of the blade easily cutting through the stalk.

Upon seeing its weapon destroyed, the Fardetch?d began to look around frantically before letting out a loud quack before diving into a nearby bush.

Cling! Whisper chimed victoriously as he returned to his standby position behind Chris once more.

?This Pok?dex is surprisingly useful. Don?t you think? We were able to get him to retreat.? Chris stated.

??? The sword made no noise in response.

?Still. I do wonder why it was so hostile. I?d say it was being territorial, but I don?t see any nests around here.? Chris mused.

???

?Who knows. Maybe we?ll find out later.?

Grace★ ♀
Modest / Synchronize
- Moveset

She rolled the window down just far enough for a breeze to enter and rush through her hair. A fresh breath of forest air filled the cabin, as the black car made its way towards Aquacorde Town. Odette was idly playing with her hair as she gazed at the scenery flying by, and she mused over how quaint it was compared to her industrial home of Canalave City. This wasn't her first trip to Kalos, since she'd been before when she was a child, but she had never actually set foot outside of the classic tourist areas.

Really though, her being allowed to graduate alongside the regular curriculum was a favor in itself. Odette had had some correspondence with the professor since she started the same course with a homeschool teacher, but apart from an invitation he hadn't informed her about the ceremony much. She sighed. It was probably going to be some primitive hearing in a school gymnasium like she'd seen on TV before... except she wouldn't even have to do anything, since she already had her starter Pokémon. The girl slid her hand into her pocket to grab hold of Grace's pokéball. Despite being made of metal, her fuzzy pocket had managed to keep it warm to the touch. From here on out, their free life was about to begin.

Thankfully the ceremony didn't last long; the graduation class wasn't nearly as large as she'd imagined, and it seemed the students had already celebrated and received their Pokémon beforehand. Only formalities remained, before the group, plus one outsider, was ready to be released onto the 'wild plains' of Route 2.

And wild they were. After stocking up on a few supplies in Aquacorde, Odette now found herself at the end of the bridge. Before her the tall grass stretched out, which she'd heard would be teeming with wild Pokémon. She tried to listen for any movement as to not be caught off guard, but with Grace at her side, she could not be fazed. And so, finally, the girl stepped forward.

Avril Morris

Route 2: Avance Trail

Chapter 1-1 | Adventure, Ho!

Current Party:

Inventory:
- x1 Pokédex - x5 Pokéballs - x2 Potions - 500 Poké Dollars

"A single tear rolled down my cheek as I bid my mother farewell. No longer was I just a mere child, my mind still in need of molding and educating. I was now an adult proper, something which I had truly only began to grasp once I had finally received my Pokédex from the knowledgeable professor. Even though the door to one part of my journey was closing, it was easy to tell that that it was just the first steps to something much larger."

Smiling at her work, Avril closed her notebook and stuck it and her pen back into her travel bag. The girl was absolutely brimming with excitement as she hopped off from a pedestal of the bridge that led to Aquacorde Town and briskly made her way towards the dirt path that led up Route 2. Everything she had been dreaming of was finally coming true. She was finally going to be beginning her journey as a real Pokémon trainer and along with it, she would begin crafting the most exciting story that anyone had ever read. She even had devised the absolute most perfect angle to approach her pending tale.

"I'm gonna make it a real underdog's story," Avril thought as she took in the sights of the route that stretched before her. "It'll be full of heartbreak, romance, intrigue, and mystery. The triumphs that I'll achieve with my team... and the hardships we'll come across as well."

Avril paused as she realized that she was forgetting something very important up to this point. The story of a Pokémon trainer is only so good when focusing only on the trainer. However, a true story in the making would obviously require her Pokémon to accompany her. Quickly reaching into her green travel bag, Avril took out a single Pokéball that had the letter "S" carefully marked on the top of its sleek, red surface. Without a moment's further delay, Avril tossed the ball up in the air, causing it to open up and shoot out a faint, red beam of light. The light gradually took the shape of a small, blue frog of sorts, who began to look around cautiously at his surroundings.

"Rise and shine, Shino! We've got a whole adventure stretching out before us, and we're totally wasting daylight!" Avril exclaimed, giving her Froakie a bright smile in the process. "Wild Pokémon and trainers to battle, gyms to take on, new friends to make... It's gonna be so much fun, ya know?!"

Shino seemed a bit taken back by his trainer's enthusiasm. If one were to look close enough, they would have noticed a small tinge of red gracing the frog Pokémon's cheeks. Still, Avril did not seemed to be distracted by her Froakie's slightly reluctant behavior. She knelt down to his side, offering her hand for Shino to take hold of. Shino cautiously placed his own hand on top of Avril's, before jumping and climbing his way onto his shoulder. Avril felt her heart flutter with anticipation. She could just tell from the start, that this was going to be the journey of a lifetime!

Current Team:

Positives and Negatives - Part 2

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Current Location : Route 02​

A little Tediursa sat calmly by the river side and listened to his pal Minun's story. Apparently, he and his lady love Plusle had been hanging out and having fun, eating a berry picnic when a real bad mon who were up to no good, started making big trouble in their neighborhood. Minun described the aggressor as a really tubby and ugly bunnelby, their thundershocks also did nothing to the fatty fiend in question.

Now Teddiursa didn't really approve of fat shaming, but he understood that Minun was very upset, especially since Plusle was still crying on the other side of the river, apparently, she had been tossed over there rather aggressively by the enemy long-eared ragamuffin. Teddiursa licked his paws clean of some honey so that he could scratch his head in thought without getting sticky. This was certainly a predicament, oh bother, how was he supposed to help these two out.

Wait! He had it!

Tediursa proceeded to explain the circumstances in the human town today, apparently, some new human ball throwers were going t be marching on through with some powerful mon from far away places! It was perfect, Teddiursa would just enlist the help of one and save the day! He'd be a big hero bear like his presumable daddy was! Not that he'd ever met his daddy, but darn was Teddiursa certain that he was the coolest.

"Minun...? Min! Nun nun!" Teddirusa nodded in response as Minun approved, the little bear was amazed as ever as to how eloquent Minun was, he truly had a mastery of language beyond other pokémon by the riverside. This was no time to gawk, however, Teddiursa had a mission and as he dashed towards the road he intended to see it through!

***

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Jackson yawned as he continued to walk down Avance Trail or whatever it was called onwards to Santalune Forest, the gravel on the outdoorsy pathway crunched under his feet. He noticed that the closer he got to the center the fewer people he saw and the more he would notice the grass rustling on either side of him. Usually even he'd feel just a little bit uneasy in this sort of situation, however, the aura of fear radiating from his shadow was thick enough that no caterpies were gonna jump in picking fights.

And yet here came some runt looking for trouble.

A tiny, fuzzy, orange-ish pokémon came tumbling out of the bushes, tripping over its own feet. It stared up at Jackson with this confident smirk that ticked the new trainer off. Jackson glared daggers at it, watching as its confidence relaxed into a meek uncertainty hiding behind a now sinking smile.

"Dahell do you think you're doin'? Gettin' in my way right now ain't the smartest play... capiche?" Jackson spat the words with impatience and indignance, he didn't have the time to be dealing with fuzzballs falling onto the road, he had to get to Santalune city and take down the gym leader there, this was already a painfully long undertaking without the distraction of some sort of plush doll that could blink. Yet still the pokémon stood there, now sort of frozen in place and staring up at Jackson with fear, had the reality of the situation finally dawned on him?

Jackson sighed in resignation and pulled out his pokédex. "So what even are you anyway?" He aimed the reticle on the red device towards the trembling bundle of fluff before him and the screen shot to life.

"TEDDIURSA, THE LITTLE BEAR POKÉMON

It licks its palms that are sweetened by being soaked in honey. A Teddiursa makes its own honey by blending fruits and pollen collected by Beedrill."

"Huh... so you make honey do ya? Useful I guess, but this don't make you sound too strong. So what? Do you have to fight this Beedrill thing for pollen?" The Teddiursa didn't move an inch in response to Jackson's words. "A'ight, guess that's cool. Well, you're too scrawny to beat up so, guess we'll be going."

With a shrug and a few steps, Jackson began to move past the tiny little bear, only to feel sticky paws grasping at his leg. Looking down to see the honey covered mitts of the Teddiursa gripping him desperately, Jackson began to shake his leg quickly to kick the small pokémon off. "Leggo! What the- These are new! A gift even!" It took a few moments but eventually, Teddiursa found himself shaken loose and tumbling back into the brush. Jackson was pretty pissed at this point, where did this thing get off picking a fight with him? Fuming, he walked over to the bushes and saw the little bear staring at him, nigh petrified. "Listen Teddy bear... you wanna get kicked in the head? Because this is how- H-Hey! Hang on!"

Before Jackson could finish his sentence he saw the little pokémon dashing into the shrubbery for dear life, leaving Jackson in the dust. "That little sh-... graah.... Gaspar! C'mon!" In a blind fury, Jackson charged off the ebaten track and headed down towards the river side, needless to say, the other wild pokémon who had been privvy to the interaction decided to give him a wide berth.

Spoiler:

INVENTORY:​

1 x Pokédex
5 x Poké Ball
2 x Potion

500 x Poké

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Cold but clean water made for a wonderful morning. Sun rays gleaming from the horizon and few clouds to catch its color made it even more beautiful. Most of Kalos was like this, pretty as a crystal. Of course this was the opinion of the sandy-blond sitting at the edge of the river next to his blue pokemon.

The two were captured by the scenery, looking around the route and seeing nature in harmony. Feeling eager to leap into the clear water, Samual Smith and Rainer were about to be in their element of choice. That was until the poliwag noticed something, a strange sound of rage coming from another part of the river. He was unsure what it was but knew it was disturbing.

"Poli!" He said, trying to catch his slow thinking trainer.

"I know! I can't wait either. But first thing's first! We need to stretch before we start. Nothing more deadly than a cramp while swimming!" He said, falling on to his back then pulling one knee up to his chin to stretch the muscles. He repeated with the other leg a couple times then sat upright. Pulling his hand around the back of his head so that his elbow was above his ear, Sam felt ready for a good dive.

"Poli..." A bit disappointed in his trainer's lack of understanding, Poliwag waited for him impatiently. His flat tail wiggled behind him, the small thing couldn't help it.

"Ok. Ok. I'm ready. Let's go!" He stood upright then leaped forward with his hands above his head. Joining in tandem (without the arms of course) was Rainer who managed to jump forward with the the same enthusiasm as his trainer.

Left. Right. Kick. Up. Repeat.

Swift as fish, Sam and Rainer moved up the calm of Route 2's calm river. Poliwag was able to see clearly what was around them, a few pokemon not wanting attention as well as something dangling in the distance. It seemed pretty interesting actually, almost... appetizing.

Poliwag swam quickly, unfortunately he was too far away to discover what caught his attention. Instead a goldeen got to it first. She was quick to bite down on it however, in the same moment she was plucked from the water.

Alarmed, Poliwag stopped, causing Sam to bump into him. Both now startled, they surfaced.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked.

Poliwag could see the goldeen on a fishing line and could also hear strange noises coming from the boat of a fisherman. It seemed there were pokemon on that fishing boat. They were quite angry too, not to be released once fished from the river.

"Poliwag!" Rainer said, looking at Sam in the eye with an angry face.

"Uh...?" He was clueless.

The pokemon rolled its eyes, instead it decided to swim for the fisherman and see if it could help.

"Wait, Rainer!" Sam went after him.

The poliwag found another interesting thing floating near the surface. There were too fishermen apparently. Wondering what to do, the poliwag decided to bite the bait and see what happened.

Sam naturally was confused but when he saw his pokemon thrust from the water he was concerned.

"Hey! You've got my pokemon!" Sam went towards the boat. He could finally hear the pokemon in the boat making a commotion.

Poliwag managed to free itself of the hook. Then having the element of surprised, landed squarely on the deck of the small boat with its face towards the group of struggling pokemon. They were in danger! These fishermen were hunting them! That's totally not going to happen on Rainer's watch.

One fisherman tried to use a net to capture the poliwag while the other was just now seeing Sam try to climb into the boat.

"This is our fishing spot! Get out!" One said. He was a young man probably around the same age as Sam. The other was older with gray hair. Both were pretty plump by the looks of their bellies. So the small fishing boat would in no way hold all three humans and the pokemon.

"You've got my Poliwag in that net!" Sam said, fighting the younger fisherman.

"It's plump, too good to ignore!" The old man said, having the poliwag captured in the net.

"Rainer! Water Gun!" Sam said, managing to grab the younger fisherman by the arm and hoist himself onto the edge. It caused the boat to lean on on side, nearly rocking the older fisherman off. Taking advantage of the situation, the poliwag narrowly opened its mouth to a small O shape then jetted water at the old man. That was enough to cause him to drop the net and allow the poliwag to fall into the water.

Sam struggled to get into the boat but managed to do it by pulling the fat fisherman into the water. It was funny to see actually as the old man wasn't prepared to go bobbing up in down as the boat was released from a great deal of weight on one side. Sam saw the pokemon in the boat, all of them trying to break free from a large net.

Poliwag leap back into the boat, standing between his trainer and the old fisherman.

"That's enough of that!" The old man said, pulling out a gun.

"You were going to eat my pokemon?!" Sam asked, confused and disgusted.

"That's right! And now you're gunna be fish food." The old man said, sitting down once his balance was regained. He looked into the water to search for the other fisherman but didn't see him.

Poliwag was quick, not ever needing a command to act while his trainer stood still. Releasing a bubble into the air, he tackled Sam into the water while the old man shot at the bubble. It was a good cover as the bullet pierced only the sphere hovering in the air.

Sam was ok but this whole situation was getting out of hand. Poliwag was pretty angry it seemed, urged by the pokemon in the boat to do something about this. The pair swam away from the boat, making sure only to come up for air as few times as possible.

They needed to come back with a plan.

​

Dylan's blonde and pink hair ruffled in the slight breeze as he jogged down a small dirt path. It wasn't long until Joy, his happiny, let out a cheerful cry and leaped out of his arms. She was waddling around on her stubby legs playing in the grass near a group of people. Dylan's mouth bent into a slight smile and he walked over to the small group of people gathered in the clearing. He noticed a sign before he got to the people and read it, discovering that the group of people were here for some kind of event. They were competing to see which grass-type pokemon could grow the biggest. His thin smiled widened a bit and he walked over to Joy. "Would you like to watch a competition Joy?" he asked calmly as he reached down to scoop her up, his hair flopping into his eyes as he bent over.

"What a gorgeous day!" Laurent proclaimed in a singsong voice, smiling down at Bernard next to him as they strolled down one of the roads from Aquacorde.

An equally enthusiastic "Bulba!" was the happy little plant-lizard's response. The pair continued along the path for a few more minutes until some noise loud enough to stand out among the generally quiet area caught their attention, and Laurent found a curious sign near a split in the path. 'Grass-type Growth Contest! Come see who can tower above the competition!' It read.

"How absolutely delightful! Let's take a look, Bernard!" With their course of action decided, Laurent turned and jogged excitedly towards the clearing he could already see was full of grass-types of varying species and size. He didn't manage to marvel at the contestants for long, however, before his gaze alighted on what appeared to be a young lady. Stark white dress pants cascaded down her thin legs that were held up by a gold colored belt. The stranger was bending over a bright pink pokemon with the sleeves of her pink dress shirt rolled up halfway, the frilly edges fluttering in the breeze. Shoulder-length hair blew over her face which was pale blonde and pink at the edges. His interest was easily piqued and he wasted no time approaching her, calling out before he got too close to avoid startling her too much. "Hello there! I must say I never expected to see someone so well-dressed in these parts! And your hair is absolutely beautiful, you must take care of it as thoroughly as you do your pokémon."

Dylan straightened up and turned to see a boy in front of him about his age. He wasn't sure if the boy was a straight guy who thought him a girl - it wouldn't be the first time - or a gay guy who thought he was cute. Either way, Dylan wasn't interested. "Thank you," he said kindly, still with the same slim smile on his face. "My name is Dylan, and this is Joy." he said poking Joy's belly as she continued to wiggle in his arms.

That name made it all clear, but Laurent's expression wasn't disturbed in the slightest by his surprise. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, I'm Laurent! Goodness, that Happiny is one of the cutest things I've ever seen. She looks so happy, you must take excellent care of her." He knelt down for a moment to pick up his own pokémon, then presented him to the boy. "This is Bernard, I can't try to claim he's as adorable as Joy, but I already love him~"

"Ah yes, a Bulbasaur. Grass and poison type, likes sunlight. Terribly fragile at its current age but it gets quite large after evolution." Dyan spouted off facts that he could remember from his studying. "Poison types can be quite dangerous. I'd suggest making sure you always have an antidote whenever teaching him a new move."

"Yes, I'm well aware~" Laurent explained. "I was quite studious back in the day, and pokémon have always been my favorite thing to learn about. Thankfully there's no need for worry of poison at the moment, Bernard's yet to learn any poison type moves." He gave Bernard a quick hug since he was already holding him, then set the Bulbasaur's back down, where he immediately stretched out an inquisitive vine to wiggle in front of Joy. She cried out in delight and struggled to grasp the vines with her stubby hands.

Introductions were interrupted by a shriek from where the contestants were gathered and both trainers' heads jolted in the direction it came from. Laurent dashed closer to find several of the contestants gathered around an older man, lying on the ground and groaning. Nobody seemed to have any idea what to do, most of the trainers about were just kids, and the rest weren't faring much more calmly. "What's going on here?" Laurent questioned.

"The judge of the growth contest was about to announce the winner, then he started acting all dizzy and passed out!" One of the competitors rattled off.

Taking a few steps closer, Laurent couldn't help notice the man was flushed, not only red but with a tinge of purple. "Purple? I'm fairly certain I've seen this in a book before...but what did it say? Drat, Montpellier feels so long ago some days..."

Dylan lowered Joy to the ground and quickly made his way to the man's side. He felt the man's forehead, then inspected his face. He ran a finger over the purple tinge on the man's cheek and sniffed it. "Poison powder. Causes weakness and pain. He should be fine in an hour or two as long as someone keeps him hydrated. Although, he was hit by quite a bit by the looks of it." He paused. "I'd suspect a wild cottonee, if not for the fact that there doesn't seem to be a cloud of them nearby."

"And unfortunately, we're currently surrounded by grass types at the moment, many of which can learn Poison Powder themselves," Laurent added. "Was anybody with the judge shortly before this happened?" They all shook their heads.

One trainer stepped forward. "There was a break in the contest a little while ago, the judge stepped away when nature called. That's the only time since the contest began that we weren't all together."

"Did anybody else step away around that time?"

They all shrugged and murmured amongst themselves. "We all just sorta did our own thing for a bit while he was gone, nobody was paying much attention to anyone else besides their friends.

Laurent tapped his chin. "How inconvenient...What do you think?" He asked, turning to Dylan.

"It's simple really. I'm sure it was an accident. Nobody had any reason to harm him did they?" he answered. "Unless of course they didn't do so well in the contest and wanted a re-do. Did anyone here look like they were frustrated with their pokemon?"

Everyone began murmuring again, louder this time. Mumbled accusations could be heard amongst the stirring, but before any arguments could break out Laurent called everyone to attention. "Now now! If we let dissent rule us we'll never find the root of the problem! Why don't all of you line up as if you were about to be judged again?" Some of them were a bit reluctant, wondering why they should let two young men who just stumbled upon their contest start ordering them around. But after Dylan's mention of a frustrated contestant, all of them either saw the logic of the suggestion or else didn't want to look guilty by starting to argue.

"Dylan, you seem the type with an eye for detail. What say you I get the judge more comfortable so he doesn't get any worse, while you watch everyone get organized and begin examining their pokémon?"

"Wonderful idea!" Dylan agreed, already walking towards the first contestant. He examined each of them, noting down four sunkern, two Cottonee, and one Bellsprout. "You four with the Sunkern can go sit down, Sunkern can't learn poison powder," he informed them. "It's quite an exciting pokemon, however. Learns all sorts of useful grass type moves. Healing and attacking, even ones that absorb energy from their opponent. Wonderful choice." he beamed as they began to get out of the line. "Now then, the two Cottonee and the Bellsprout can learn poison powder so you three are under suspicion."

Laurent gently lifted the judge up, keeping him flat and walking as evenly as possible over to one of the picnic tables that had been set up for breaks and for everyone to enjoy lunch after the contest concluded. He set the judge long the table, thankful that it hadn't been properly prepared yet. He set his backpack down on a chair and pulled out a towel, then a bottle of water. Next, he wet the towel, rolled it up, then set it on the older man's forehead and put the water back in his bag before kneeling down next to Bernard. "Now is where you come in. Keep watch on the judge for us. If he is about to roll off keep him in place with your vines, and keep anybody but me or the trainer with the Happiny away from him." Bernard nodded and bent a vine in front of his forehead in an attempt at a salute. Laurent's smile grew wider and he returned to the main group. "Narrowed down the suspects? Very astute."

Both of the trainers continued to study the remaining three pokémon. The Bellsprout and one of the Cottonee were almost exactly the same height, or too close for Laurent to tell which was taller without proper measurement, at least. The second Cottonee was significantly shorter than either one and it's trainer looked quite nervous to boot. The boy looked younger than any of the other contestants and was staring down at his feet looking supremely uncomfortable with the situation. "That boy certainly wasn't going to be the winner, and he's young enough to possibly not truly understand the ramifications of using a pokémon attack on a person." He whispered to Dylan.

"Hmm, he does look very nervous. If he didn't do it himself then he definitely saw something" he whispered back. "You there!" he pointed at the boy. "You look nervous. Did you do it?" he asked bluntly, staring down the boy.

He looked nervous, avoiding Dylan's gaze. "N-no." he stammered out, glancing up at the taller boy next to him hopefully as if he was looking for advice.

"Do you know each other?" Dylan questioned.

The larger boy took a step closer to Dylan, puffing out his chest. He didn't seem to quite be Dylan or Laurent's age, but he was obviously older than the smaller boy. "Yeah, we do. That's my little brother you're picking on! Leave him alone, he'd never hurt anyone. This is all just scary for him, and he was already upset about how the contest was going. Calem'd never poison someone just to win, he doesn't even like to battle because pokémon might get hurt!"

Laurent rested a reassuring hand on Dylan's shoulder and stepped between him and the older brother. "Now now, there's no need to get so defensive. We simply don't have very much information to go off of."

"Well, why aren't you looking more closely at Billy and his Bellsprout? He knows his little beanstalk can't stand up to my Cottonee Horus, I bet he did it.

Before Laurent could open his mouth to say anything else everyone heard coughing, and turned their heads back towards the tables, breathing collective sighs of relief to see the judge standing up and attempting to rejoin the group. "Thank goodness you're up, sir!" Laurent said. "Maybe now you can tell us how you got Poison Powder on you?"

"Poison Powder?" The old man stammered out. "I was just thinking the heat got to me...I never got attacked with any poison powder. I had something to take care of when the contest took a break so the pokémon could rest. On my way back I ran into Darren." He explained, pointing to the older brother with the Cottonee. "He seemed upset, saying little Calem was distraught about how small his Cottonee still was even after all that use of Growth, and how he was worried his little brother would start crying if he lost. I had a talk with him about sportsmanship, and how I'd have a talk with Calem too. That helped him calm down, then he gave me a hug and we returned to the clearing."

"Well well well..." Laurent muttered to himself, then looked at Dylan. "Are you thinking what I am?"

"Yes, I think I am," he replied, staring down the larger brother. "Explain yourself!"

Darren's eyes darted back and forth as if desperately hoping somebody would somehow come to his rescue with an excuse. When it became clear there would be no such rescue he hung his head. "Alright, you got me...I did it." He looked back at his brother sadly, then continued. "Calem and I got our Cottonee at the same time, they were the first pokémon either of us ever caught, and we're pretty sure they're brothers too. But Calem's Cottonee didn't grow nearly as fast as mine, he ended up being the runt. Calem spent a lot of time trying to get his Cottonee stronger, especially trying to make it really good at Growth so that it wouldn't feel so small all the time... This contest was the perfect chance to show off all his hard work, and he really really wanted to win, he was getting so broken up when his Cottonee wouldn't get any bigger, but mine and the Bellsprout just kept growing. When I found out old man Norman was heading out I followed him, caught him coming back and told him what was up. When I hugged him I sprinkled some Poison Powder of Horus' that I had saved up in a little pouch onto Norman's back. But it was just a little bit! I figured when he got woozy I'd switch Horus and with Calem's Cottonee, let him win the contest and make him think his Cottonee had worked even harder for him and managed to grow bigger after all..."

Dylan felt his eyes tearing up. "You had good intentions at least. It was still extremely dangerous to poison someone though. Surely you knew that?"

"W-well, yeah but...I figured if it was just a tiny bit he'd just sort of stagger around a bit, maybe get a bad stomach ache. I guess I overdid it, huh?" The older brother's face was scrunched up, at that point he looked almost as ready to cry as Calem had. "When the old man fell over and everybody freaked out I just got so scared of what would happen if I admitted it and I didn't want Calem to cry and-and-" Darren's explanation was interrupted by his little brother slamming into him with a teary, sobbing hug.

Calem started hitting Darren's hip with a small fist and smearing his tears on his shirt. "You big, stupid idiot! How could you do something so stupid?! I-hic-don't wanna win by cheating! Stupid, stupid best big brother, what would I do if you went to jail?"

Darren's face teared up and he hugged his brother back, now sobbing just as hard. "I can't believe I could be such a moron, I went through all that and now you're crying anyway! And it's because of me!"

"Jail?" Laurent exclaimed. Before he said anything more, the contest's judge, laid a hand on Darren's shoulder.

"Try your tears, boys. I know you didn't mean to hurt me, Darren and I think it's sweet that you'd go so far just to make your little brother smile. But I'm afraid this still has to disqualify you from the competition."

Both boys sniffed and rubbed their eyes dry, before staring at the ground in shame at disappointment. "Come to think of it, wouldn't a contest to see which pokémon could become the tallest be very biased towards any that might already be big? If it's a Growth contest, I'd make the winner the pokémon that could grow the furthest from their original size." Laurent's musing cut through the affair, drawing all eyes to him for the moment.

"I think that's a great idea." echoed Dylan.

A confused look overtook the faces of the contestants, but the judge caught onto what they were getting at almost right away and smirked. "You know, he may not be the biggest, but I can't help noticing that Calem's little Cottonee has grown more than any of the others, I'd say it's easily twice as big as normal!" It was only then that realization began to dawn on the childrens' faces and Calem's mouth became an O of surprise.

"Wait, for real? Do you mean..." Before he could say another word Darren lifted Calem up onto his shoulders, then the judge grabbed Calem's arm and lifted it into the air.

"The winners of this Pokémon Growth contest are Calem and his Cottonee!" The applause was modest thanks to the contest not having too many viewers or contestants, but Laurent for one was clapping hard enough to make up for a few extra people. Dylan hoisted Joy above his head so she could see what was going on and smiled when she tried to clap her little stubby arms.

The contestants all gathered around the brothers and began cheering and chattering, while the judge walked over to the picnic tables and waved Dylan and Laurent over. By the time they caught up to him he was already digging around inside one of the bags laying on the grass by the tables. "You boys have been a huge help. I know my life wasn't exactly in danger, but you gave all those kids something to focus on while I was out of commission, and setting me up to rest properly probably helped me get back up and about a lot sooner too, so I have to thank you." After another moment of rummaging around the man pulled out two large eggs with strange floral patterns on them. "One of these was going to be the prize for the contest - with the second in case there was a tie - but I'd say you gentlemen definitely deserve them for working to clear this mess up. I know little Calem's more than happy just to have won, especially with the little parade that seems to have formed around him.

"Whoaa" was all that escaped Dylan's mouth as he examined the egg. "It's beautiful. O-oh, and thank you!" he blurted out after, suddenly aware he was being rude. He grinned wide and shook the old man's hand. "It wasn't much trouble. I really enjoyed being helpful."

"Dear me, what a wonderful reward." Laurent agreed, almost gasping. "I feel much the same, the pleasure was all mine, frankly this feels better than I deserve for such a simple matter." He said, staring at the egg he held in awe, chuckling a bit when Bernard's vines rose up to poke at and rub it.

"Take them, take them. This old man and his competition have held up you boys long enough, you've got a journey to get back to, right?"

"Oh! yes, of course!" Laurent blurted out. "If I stay in place too long, everyone else from Aquacorde will get ahead of me, thank you!" Laurent excitedly rearranged his backpack and slid the egg into the largest pocket. Once it was safe and secure he jogged to the edge of the clearing and stopped next to the path he'd been on earlier, apparently waiting for Dylan.

Dylan pulled an extra shirt out of his bag, wrapping it around his egg like a cradle. Then, he tied the arms of the shirt around his torso, leaving the egg tied securely against his chest. He thanked the man before motioning for Joy to follow him and walked over to the other boy. "That was fun."

Laurent nodded happily. "It was absolutely exquisite. I must apologize for the misunderstanding when I first saw you but I have a hard time regretting it, as now I'm just glad we met." He pulled up his right sleeve just a bit, then held his hand out to Dylan. "I suppose this is where we return to our journeys, but it was a delight meeting you. I hope we encounter each other again down the line, especially after these eggs hatch~"

"Yes, it seems like we have an excuse to meet up again. I'm very curious as to what species these are, but I suppose I'll have to be patient." he shook Laurent's hand, careful to keep one arm supporting the egg so it didn't wiggle too much. "Maybe we could even try a battle sometime."

"Oh yes, of course!" Laurent chuckled. "I can't believe the thought didn't occur to me. Yes, next time we meet we should certainly have a battle!" Once their handshake concluded, Laurent picked Bernard up long enough for him to smile and wave a vine at both Dylan and Joy, accompanied by a happy "Bulba!" and began walking down the path without further ado. "Until then! Watch out for more misunderstandings, you really are very cute!"

Dylan blushed slightly and shook his head. "Come on Joy, we've got a journey to start."

-- Profile --​

~​

It was an uneventful walk down the dirt path of Route 2 for Chris once the Farfetch'd Pokémon had disappeared into the bushes. Until of course he came across several alarmed Pokémon that were flying around in circles above, and even more cowering in fear in the bushes. It wasn't a long walk further until he encountered a strange man swinging a pickaxe at the ground and shouting loudly.

"I've got it! It's mine! Finally I'll be able to pay off the debt I owe after gambling all my money away in Veilstone city all those years ago!" The man exclaimed excitedly.

"Can I help you Abuelo?" Chris called out to the bushy bearded man in the hard hat.

"Eh?! Back off you scrawny brat! This here diamond is mine!" The man barked, raising his pickaxe and squatting over a glowing spot in the bushes.

"Diamond? Qué?" Chris asked confusedly.

"Foreigner! Go back to your own region! You're probably just here to steal all our Pokémon and jobs!" The crazy old man shouted.

"…pendejo." Chris sighed and started to turn away.

"Hey! Better go return that Pokémon to whoever you stole it from!" The crazed old man called out after him.
CLANG!

As if in response to being spoken about, Whisper whirled around and glared at the man.

"Let's go Whisper. People like him aren't worth our time." Chris muttered angrily as he stopped to look at his Pokémon.

However, the sword Pokémon didn't back down. Instead it began to slowly float towards the racist old man.

"What do you want? Come to join me? I don't want you. You're tainted by the Border Bandit!" The old man responded snarkily.

Chris gritted his teeth. He wasn't a fan of conflict. Especially with racists. It was below him. They were below him… but he drew the line at insulting his Pokémon.

"Alright you racist old geezer. I see those Pokéballs at your side so you better put up or shut up. Or do you not have los cojones?" Chris roared, taking a stand beside his trusted companion.

"Heh. I'm going to have fun beating the snot out of you punk. Go Meowth!"

"Nocturnal in nature. If it spots something shiny, its eyes glitter brightly.
This Pokémon adores round objects. It wanders the streets on a nightly basis to look for dropped loose change." The Pokédex beeped.

"Good to know Dex." Chris responded eyeing the cat Pokémon with a wary eye.

"Meowth! Use Bite!" The elderly man cried out.

("A dark type move… Honedge is a ghost type in part, and that move will deal massive damage when it hits… It's a real shame the No Guard ability works both ways… I'd best finish this fight fast.") Chris thought to himself as the cat sunk its fangs into the cloth, tearing a large gash in the fabric.

"Whisper, strike back with Fury Cutter!" Chris called out.

Clink! The sword Pokémon quickly slashed forward and cut across the face of the cat Pokémon.

"Meowth! Bite again!" The old maniac called.

"Whisper! Hold on and use swords dance!" Chris exclaimed, digging through his bag.

Clink! The sword Pokémon chimed as it spun around and shook the Meowth off of the cloth which it had latched onto once again.

"Here!" Chris exclaimed as he began to spray the sword with a purple bottle.

"Eh? Stolen probably!" The old man cried out, crossing his arms and sticking up his nose.

"While he's distracted! Swords dance again!" Chris shouted, ignoring the man's remark.

"Hey! That's we had a time out you dirty cheater!" The old man growled as the sword began to spin once more.

"Now Whisper! Use a boosted Fury Cutter attack!" Chris ordered.

"Meowth! Dodge it!" The old man exclaimed, his eyes wide as he realized that the sword was moving much quicker than it had before.

With incredible speed Whisper raked across the face of the cat Pokémon, sending it flying back towards the old man.

"You useless lazy Pokémon! No matter. I've still got Purloin!" The old man laughed triumphantly.

"What the…" Chris eyes widened as he realized that the man did indeed have a second Pokéball at the ready.

"C…ling" A weak chime came from the sword Pokémon as it raised itself up into a defensive stance one more, ready to protect the trainer that it had chosen and formed a bond with however short the time they had spent together was.

"We stand together no matter what!" Chris said to his Pokémon as they faced off against the old man for the second a final round.

"Fetch'd!" A familiar sounding noise sounded from the treeline.

"Eh? What the hell?" The old man gasped.

"Oh Dios mío…" Chris muttered in amazement as both parties turned to face several duck Pokémon poking their heads out of the trees. One of which held what looked like a piece of wood instead of a vegetable like the rest of them.

"Far! Fetch'd!" The wood wielding Farfetch'd cried as the many duck type Pokémon all began to leap onto the old man and smack him with their 'weapons'.

"Ow! Hey! Watch it! Oof! Ow!" The old man groaned as he was hit repeatedly by several vegetables in various places on his body.

"…Oh I get it. This must have been their territory. That's why the Farfetch'd from earlier was so annoyed. Sheesh, I'm glad it was just one and that they found out who the real bad guy was." Chris mumbled as he watched them drag the man off into the woods.

Cling? The sword Pokémon responded with an almost inquisitive chime.

"I've got no idea where they're taking him if that's what you're asking… and not going to lie, I really don't think we want to find out." Chris responded quickly.

"Fetch'd!"

The noise made Chris jump, but as he turned around he saw a single Farfetch'd holding a bright glowing blue stone forwards in its wing.

"For me?" Chris asked with a puzzled expression on his face, not quite understanding what on earth was going on.

"Far." The Pokémon responded with a nod.

"Well uh… thanks. This must have been the 'Diamond' the man was rambling about… it's actually a Dawn Stone I think. Not as valuable as a diamond, but still very pretty. I hear it makes certain Pokémon evolve." Chris explained to his Pokémon before realizing that he wasn't even sure if the sword could understand him. "Well anyway. Thanks far- and its gone." Chris muttered as he realized that the Pokémon had already waddled off. "Oh well. I guess we can just continue onwards. This was a weird day."

Current Team:

Positives and Negatives - Part 3

---

Current Location : Route 02​

As Jackson burst out of the bushes, rushing onto the riverside, he saw the tiny pokémon who had been causing his grief, cowering behind another critter, a quick check of the 'dex revealed it to be a Minun. A little sparky rat, it seemed like. Jackson trudged over towards the pair with vicious intent, his gaze cutting through the two pokémon as an excited Gaspar hovered menacingly over his shoulder. "Now you listen here you little shits..." He growled, the Minun causing light sparks to dance about its ears in response. "I don't know what stupid game you're playing, but I've got business to attend to and kicking your asses ain't on the agenda. So consider this your official war-"

"Plusle, Plus! Plusle!" Jackson was cut off by the sudden cry of a nearby pokémon, it wasn't either of the two in front of him, they had been smart enough to not say a word since he had arrived. Scanning the area, Jackson could see no pokémon in the nearby vicinity that could have spoken at all, in fact, this side of the river seemed pretty barren in comparison to where had been more moments before. Wait, this side of the river, maybe...

As Jackson turned his head to look at the other side of the flowing water, he saw a pokémon nigh identical to Plusle, but with red markings instead. Jackson slapped his forehead at the realization. "Oooooh! So that's your lady huh? I get it now, you should'a jus-"

"Plusle!!! Plus plus!" The Plusle cried out in desperation nd Jackson flinched at the sudden interruption, his brow furrowing in frustration. "'Ey! Look I was scary before, but I'm in the know now, this shouldn' be so big a deal any-" But again he was cut short. "PLUSLE!" Jackson was physically twitching by that point. "Listen here you 'lil shit I swear I'll swim o'er there and kick you in the-"

"Minun!!!" Jackson sighed and turned back towards the smaller electric type pokémon. "Not you too- what da hell?!"

---

​

Teddiursa found himself tensing up in a panic at the sight unfolding before him. The human was distracted talking loudly and angrily to Plusle, but using that as a distraction the tubby bunny had shown his face, he was far bigger than any Bunnelby Teddiursa had ever seen, his massive ears looked like they could knock out any Beedrill in the woods and as they gripped Minun tightly, no amount of electrical discharge seemed to phase them. With a sickening chortle he flung Minun sideways and Teddiursa watched as the small electric type cried out and punged into the raging water beside them.

He froze completely as the massive two eared menace loomed over him. What was he going to do? He couldn't swim like the other pokémon could... and the water types didn't really like him enough to try and save his life. This was it then, there was no way he could fight back against this thing, he was going to drown and die. He'd never get to meet his super col bear Dad, he'd never get to explore the other side of the forest, he'd never get to try those exotic berries the humans put in their stores. He had so many regrets. This wasn't fair, it wasn't-

"MOTHER FUCKER!"

CRACK!

​

The Tiny Bear Pokémon's eyes widened as he saw a large branch swing and break off the back of the huge rabbits head, he stumbled and tried to turn and in doing so allowed Teddy to see as the human, his face painted with rage to put fear into Arceus, slammed a curled fist into the aggressor's face, chipping off part of his huge buck teeth.

"You got any idea who I am, asshole? I'm Jackson Crane and I'm not gonna stand by and let you pick on the little guy! Gaspar, mean look!" The massive rabbit went to retaliate but hesitated as the human's shadow began to flicker and change, a layer of darkness rose off the ground and reformed into what looked like a ball of gas with a terrifying face. Its yellow gaze struck out with a look of sadism that Teddiursa could only describe as pure evil. The big bunny froze completely in its tracks, seemingly stunned with fear.

"Now fuck off! Gaspar, knock him out with-" Jackson Crane sprinted forward and kicked the large pokémons legs, throwing it off balance. "Fire Punch!"

Teddiursa watched, his horror turning to awe as in unison with Jackson, the ball of gas named Gaspar zipped forward, setting himself alight with a blink of his yellow eyes. Now a floating ball of flame, Gaspar reshaped himself, turning into a floating, fiery fist of retaliation, striking the bully right between the eyes and launching him back as he fell into the blow. "D-Diggersby?!?!" It cried as it tumbled backward into the water, Teddiursa couldn't help but feel a little bit of satisfaction as the rushing current carried him away, where electricity failed, it seemed the water really hurt.

---

​

Jackson sat idly on the riverside with the Teddiursa as a nearby Wooper helped the Minun up to the other side of the river. Now reunited, the Plusle and her partner happily trudged along into the shrubbery on the far side of the water. Teddiursa was a little sad to see them just walk away it seemed, but Jackson could tell he was accepting of it. "Guess they're happy as they are, huh?" Teddiursa gave a small nod and curled up his little paws to sit. Jackson reached into his pocket briefly to grab a cigarette, in turn. He called Gaspar out of his shadow and the small ghost quickly lit himself on fire for a brief moment, allowing Jackson to catch the end of the small flammable cylinder in his hand and puff away for a quick burst of relief.

The little bear reminded him a bit of himself as a kid, easily frightened, squishy as shit... and completely unable to defend himself. Jackson had to learn the hard way what it meant to get stronger, he didn't rely on anybody and he was confident nobody could mess with him as a result. It was hard, however, to learn those lessons. He had often wished that someone else could've taken his side once or twice, someone stronger than he was. Perhaps, he thought, this would be a good way to experiment with that alternate reality... while also, maybe, doing right by a little guy who was down on his luck.

"Hey, I called you Teddy before... d'you like that name?"

Teddiursa looked up at Jackson with some slight confusion but nodded gently. He had never had a nickname before, he thought it was cool to have someone so strong give him one like that. Jackson was... really cool in Teddy's eyes, he had fought against that big bully even though it was so scary. Teddiursa hoped that he could be that brave someday, like the big daddy bear he never knew.

"A'ight, good, in that case..." Jackson winked at Gaspar, who dropped a single pokéball out of his gaseous form at Teddirusa's feet. The small bear stared at the capsule with a look of amazement and surprise, his gaze shifting between it and Jackson with disbelief. "Well? C'mon Ted, we ain't got all day and I'm sick of burning daylight."

With a sudden large grin and a burst of fervent nodding Teddiu-, Teddy tapped the silver button on the pokéball and flinched slightly as he allowed himself to be drawn inside. One shake, two shakes, three shakes and a solid dinging noise, just like the instructional videos at the Academy had shown. Gaspar grinned with excitement at the prospect of a new ally and used his ghostly powers to float the now full pokéball into Jackson's hand.

He had never before caught a pokémon in his life, yet holding Teddy's pokéball in his hand left him feeling awfully nostalgic, though he supposed in the end it didn't matter much.

"Welcome t'the team Ted."

With that Jackson rubbed out his cigarette in the sand and stood up with a stretch and a crack of his knuckles, before walking back towards the path. Now with two pokémon at his side, he was ready to get back on track, Santalune Forest awaited him.

Teddy said:

NEW POKÉMON CAUGHT

Species: Teddiursa
Gender: Male
Nickname: Teddy "Ted"

Moves:

• Covet
• Scratch
• Baby-Doll Eyes
• Fake Tears

Ability:
Honey Gatherer

Click to expand...

Spoiler:

INVENTORY:​

1 x Pokédex
5 x Poké Ball
2 x Potion

500 x Poké

​

​

The ceremony had been dull. That hadn't stopped Rai from being excited and not able to sit still, of course. She had done what she could to not whisper constantly to her classmates during the boring talking, and afterwards, she was one of the very first out the doors. Finally her first very own pokémon in her hands, on her very own pokémon journey.

But there came an abrupt pause. Her PokéNav rang - it was her cousin, Kea. Snarkily, Rai had been reminded of that she was a year younger and had so much to learn and that she should be careful and pack this and that before she left Aquacorde. She was soon as bored of her cousin's voice as she had been during the ceremony, but when the call was finally over, she did go back home after all. Just to pick up a few more things. And maybe to say goodbye to her mother one more time.

She would miss her. A lot. But there was no point in getting down about it. She would call Ritha up every day on the PokéNav!

Just as she left home again, her backpack slightly heavier, another call came in. This time it was Kea's twin, Nyo. He was at least nicer about giving advice - which surprisingly mostly was a list of stuff Rai should better leave at home instead of unnecessarily drag out onto the long road ahead. Still doing her best to keep a smile on her face, Rai went home again.

When she finally set foot on Route 2 at last, she could already spot other trainers from school up ahead. She wasn't the first, as she had wanted to be. That's fine though, she thought to herself and took a bite out of a chocolate bar of her favorite brand. She'd catch up for sure.

​

The chocolate bar was eaten way too soon for Rai's liking, but she resisted the urge to pick up another one from her backpack. The path towards the forest wasn't very long, but as she walked, she could see other trainers getting up to all sorts of things in the distance. Herself, she was mostly keen on reaching the forest already. She had been there every now and then as a kid, and always found it fascinating.

Although, this time it wasn't quite the forest itself that attracted her - rather what was on the other side. She didn't want to distract herself with smalltime trainers on this very first route of her journey, or get lost in mazes in the forest for too long. She wanted to meet proper trainers and experience proper battles (and get proper prize money for ending up victorious). Battles in pok?mon trainer's school had never been for money, always only for practice, unless there had been particular school competitions going on.

And the pok?mon they had used had also never been their own. The orb sitting quietly on her magnetic belt now contained the very first pok?mon Rai actually owned. Even if it was a bit strange to say that about a living creature with a will of its own. At least she assumed it had. She still hadn't taken him out again after initially accepting the Elekid starter from professor Sycamore. She probably should...

Rai ended up standing still for a while, thoughtfully eyeing the small pok?ball in her hand, not realizing she had stopped in the middle of the road.

"Let's see now... What's the first thing we should do, Shino?" Avril asked the Froakie who was still riding piggyback on her shoulder. She glanced at the small frog, offering him a small smile. "We could fight some trainers, but... That's too expected, you know? Plus, I doubt many of the trainers here would really be worth the time. A lot of 'em are probably little kids and bug collectors, not even up to the snuff that my fellow graduates are..."

Shino tilted its head, blinking slowly as if taking in Avril's musings carefully. She really wasn't too sure if the Froakie was actually understanding just what she was talking about, but the fact that it actually looked like he was thinking it over was enough to almost make her want to squeal in excitement and give him quite the warm, embracing hug. Still, she managed to keep herself calm enough to resist. At least, for the time being. She was snapped from her thoughts when Froakie began to croak, pointing out a bit ahead to a wild Bunnelby that was poking up from the grass.

"Catching a wild Pok?mon, huh?" Avril replied. She paused, looking over the wild Bunnelby carefully, before sighing and shaking her head. "No, no... That's too expected. I mean, sure I could catch it, but...No one wants to read a story where the protagonist catches everything in sight, much less where they make a catch in the very beginning of the story! No, you have to keep them full of suspense and make the catches revolve around only the most eccentric Pok?mon."

Froakie gave out a small, confused croak. Avril responded with a quick giggle. "It's a writer's thing. You wouldn't understand."

Rai had made her mind up, at last.

"Come out, Elekid!" she said, after which the pok?ball opened and the yellow and black pok?mon materialized on the path before her in a shimmering light.

It looked up at her without a noise for a moment, eyes blinking a few times. Its natural expression looked rather grim and grumpy, but Rai hoped it was simply the way he looked.

"Yo!" she said and made thumbs up at him.

Was that a small smirk he made back? After a second or two, he raised his own hand, as if doing thumbs up back. Yes, success!

"Welcome to Route 2!" Rai said and flung her arms out as if showcasing the environment for him. "Not sure if you've ever been here before, but there's not much to see anyways. We are on our way to the forest. So... you remember my name, right?"

"Kid!" the pok?mon said sharply.

"I... Uh," Rai began, but she couldn't help starting to laugh. "Fine. Kid is fine. But then I want a nicknickname for you too. Something short and sweet, but not too sweet. You're not a little doll. How about... Echo?"

He seemed to consider it for a brief moment, before he smiled and made thumbs up at her again.

"Awesome!" Rai cheered. "Oh hey... Shush!"

She suddenly quieted down and motioned for Echo to move closer. In a shrubbery next to the road, she had just spotted another pok?mon. A tiny rabbit looking thing that Rai had spotted many times before in different situations. This must be a wild one, because it seemed shy. Despite that, it soon crept out onto the road, seemingly anxiously glancing over its shoulder as if it wanted to hide from something.

"Yo, what's wrong little one?" Rai called out to it, deciding to take a chance.

Turned out to be a bad idea, as the Bunnelby was completely startled and took off down the road.

"Oh well," Rai sighed, shrugging.

Echo, however, took off after the bunny.

"Oh crap!" Rai now exclaimed, and started running after them. "Come back, Echo! Let it go! What are you, a dog?"

Avril had just turned and began to walk down the path with Shino in tow when the sudden cry of a girl grabbed her attention. She watched as the Bunnelby she had spotted just a moment ago suddenly began to bolt down the route as quickly as it could. Oddly enough, it was being chased by an Elekid. While Avril was no expert in the habitats of wild Pok?mon, she was fairly certain that wild Elekid were not native to Route 2. It was only when she saw a girl chasing after both the Bunnelby and the Elekid did Avril truly begin to piece together that something a bit unusual was starting to transpire.

"Hmmm... I think... I'm pretty sure that was one of the girls I graduated with," Avril thought aloud. "I remember that Sycamore gave out an Elekid as a starter..."

The more Avril thought about it, the more a small idea began to form in the back of her head. Thoughts of an amazing passage for her upcoming novel, of how she aided one of her fellow classmates in catching their starter Pok?mon were just screaming to be added to the tale. Not only that, but it would make for an amusing adventure at that.

"Come on, Shino... Let's go see what we can do to help out!" Avril decided, chasing after the girl and her Elekid before the Froakie even had a moment to protest.

The running pok?mon stopped so abruptly that Rai almost ran into them. She found the Elekid curiously peeking at not just one, but three Bunnelby huddling together under a bush next to the road.

"You're scaring them, Echo! I bet they've never seen a pok?mon of your coloration before."

Then she heard steps behind her and turned to see a very blonde - and very happy - girl approaching. And she had a pok?mon with her too... Hang on, she knew that girl. Or at least recognized her. It was another one of Sycamore's students, for sure.

"Is everything okay? I saw you um... chasing after your Elekid," Avril began, trying her best to not make the situation anymore awkward for the girl than it needed to be. "Did you um... manage to catch it?"

As she spoke, Shino peeked over Avril's shoulder. His eyes drifted back and forth between the Elekid and Rai, before suddenly ducking back behind his trainer, as if hoping he had not been spotted. He let out a nervous croak, before waving rather shyly at the Elekid.

Echo instantly turned his attention away from the shivering bunnies and eagerly took a few steps towards the Froakie, returning his waving with a grin. That confirmed it for Rai - this was one of her old schoolmates, she just had never been close to her.

"We're fine, and I wasn't out to catch a bunny today. They just started running, both of them. And now there's a whole bunch of them down there in the shrubbery, looking like we were big bad wolves. While in reality we're just two monkeys, a frog and... What even are you again?" she added at the Elekid, before shaking her head, realizing she had been getting off-track.

"Sorry! I'm Rai Cross, by the way. You're... Sorry, I don't remember yout name, but I'm pretty sure I've seen you in school,

"Avril, Avril Morris," she replied, introducing herself to Rai quickly. She glanced over her shoulder at Froakie and grinned. "And this little guy is Shino. And yeah, we just graduated together!"

"I figured! You and me and most of all the other trainers scattered around this small route, trying to not get squashed by life on our first day as proper trainers, right?" Rai gave Avril a playful bop on the arm.

"You know it... Well, some small hiccups aside, right?" Avril questioned, glancing down at the Elekid as she spoke. "Still, I guess all of us will probably flub up in someway before this whole day is over!"

"As soon as we get to that fabled forest in the end, at least. Hm, I should have named Echo here Hiccups instead, shouldn't I? Actually, maybe it isn't too late to change..." Rai thoughtfully said, looking at her pok?mon, who startled.

Glancing down again, Avril glanced at the Elekid once more. He seemed to be quite the little ball of energy... at least, when compared to Shino. However, what caught her eyes more were the trembling Bunnelby. The group of little rabbits still looked posetively spooked, despite the fact that no one had dared to disturb them for a few minutes at the very least.

"I wonder what happened to these little guys," Avril resumed, kneeling down to the group of Bunnelby. "They look like they're about to have a heart attack or something..."

Just as she said that, all three of them jumped up high and darted away into the tall grass with small screams.

"Hey, come back! Her hair is blonde, not on fire!" Rai called after them. "Nothing to be afraid of- what?" she added, when Echo tugged the hem of her tunic, making her spin around. "Uh-oh. Avril? Sit still where you are. Just... Don't move."

Avril looked up towards Rai, raising an eyebrow in the process. "Huh...? What's up all of a sudden?" The blonde girl only felt more confused when Shino let out a small, nervous croak, all while grabbing hold of the hem of her rather long tank top. "You too...?"

A growl made the current situation quite obvious, then. Climbing up from the tall grass on the other side of the path, was a huge bear. At least twice the height of Rai, and definitely more than twice as angry and deadly.

Avril's eyes widened in shock at the sight before her. "What... What is that thing doing on a route like this?!"

"Scaring bunnies, it seems," Rai said.

As the Ursaring started walking towards them, Rai instinctively stepped in in front of the other girl. "Okay. We are pok?mon trainers. What do trainers do now? Run? Fight? Avril?"

Avril looked up at Rai, clearly not feeling quite as determined as her fellow trainer. "Well... I guess we fight..."

Shino craked in absolute fear of Avril's response. The blonde trainer could feel her Froakie tighten his grip on her top all the while. Avril honestly couldn't blame the little frog. Going from battling trainers at the school who used Pok?mon such as a Caterpie or a Bunnelby was one thing, but suddenly being thrust into battle with a fully evolved Usaring? It would be am understatement to say the odds were against her and Shino, even with the help of Rai and her Elekid. As Avril stood up beside her schoolmate, a sudden thought flashed through her mind.

"Wait a minute... a wild Usaring as my first wild Pok?mon battle...? I'm looking at this all wrong! This is just the sort of thing my story needs to be a hit! The rookie trainer defying all odds and saving her friends and the family of Bunnelby from the towering monster of an Usaring! They'll love it!"

Avril suddenly felt much more pumped up as she flashed Rai a bright smile. "Alright then... Let's give it our all!"

Rai flashed her a smile. "I wouldn't have been happy running away, to be honest! Don't worry, Avril, we can do this together, yeah? Time to put those lessons to the test..."

Ursaring stomped the ground and roared, sending dust up around them on the road.

"Big enemy, brute force won't work, think, think... Can we incapacitate him?" Rai suggested. "Echo, use Thunder Wave!"

Elekid, either too brave or too naive to be afraid of the large bear, dashed forward and fired off a weak jolt of electricity that hit the brute at its knees. It made it buckle over with a groan, seemingly having trouble standing now.

"Wohoo! Does Froakie, I mean Shino, know any status changing moves?"

"Um... Not really, no. I mean, he knows Camouflage and Growl, but..." Avril mused. She quickly glanced down at her Froakie and nodded. "Shino, try and slow it down with Bubble!"

Shino looked a bit nervous at Avril, but nodded and obeyed his trainer. The Froakie bounded forward, blowing a barrage of bubbles in the direction of the wild Usaring. The bubbles began to collectively cluster around the bear Pok?mon's arms and legs, as if weighing them down just enough to give it a slightly more difficult time in trying to fight back.

"Nice job, Shino!" Avril cheered, much to Shino's delight.

"Wow, we're practically ninjas! Now he can't walk and can't swing his arms around. Maybe we're on more equal ground now. Echo, go for a Quick Attack!"

The Elekid shot forward and tackled the Ursaring's lowered head, which seemed to both hurt and enrage it. Maybe more the latter...

"Shino, follow up with a Pound attack!" Avril shouted.

Shino quickly croaked in response, hopping forward and tackling his little frog body right into that of the Usaring's. The Usaring let out a loud, annoyed growl as it stumbled backwards, slowly starting to clearly get a bit frustrated over the situation it found itself in. Still, Avril did not seem to feel the least bit of sympathy for the bully of an Usaring.

"I think we need to finish it off, how about you?" Avril questioned, glancing over at Rai.

"Let's do it, sis!" Rai agreed. "Something fancy, like... Thundershock!"

"Don't just sit there, Shino! Let's mix it up with Bubble!" Avril commanded.

The two Pok?mon agreed with their trainers. What followed was a barrage of bubbles blasted right in the direction of the Usaring, all wrapped together by an electrical surge, courtesy of Echo the Elekid. The hydrated-electrical attack blasted right into the wild Usaring, causing the bear to let out a loud, pain-filled roar as it took the full-force attack. Slowly, the bear stumbled backwards before quickly turning tail and running as quickly as he could away from the trainer duo and their Pok?mon.

"YEAH!" Rai cheered. "The bully never had a chance! High five!" she said, arm outreached towards Avril.

Avril grinned, returning the high five with enthusiasm. "Of course, it was easy-peasy, especially with two Pok?mon like ours!"

Shino's little Froakie cheeks flushed a pale shade of red from Avril's compliment. He glanced over in Echo's direction, offering the Elekid a small wave and smile. The Elekid smirked its characteristical smirk and did a big thumbs up to him.

"That was fun, actually," Rai mused. "We tried double battles in school, but they were always, how do I put it... They felt staged, didn't they? This was really real. We were in danger, we had to improvise, and our pok?mon felt it and collaborated. Man. We should do this again some time! I mean, maybe not run into dangerous monsters, but, co-op battling, you know?" She smiled with glimmering amber eyes towards the blonde girl.

"Totally!" Avril replied. She had the feeling that battling wild Pok?mon and trainers were going to feel a bit different than they did back in school, but the blonde girl had no idea it was going to feel this exciting. Oddly enough, Avril found herself wanting more. She began to wonder if this was the normal sort of thought process of a trainer. "Well... regardless, I'm sure this little incident is gonna turn into a huge hit when I write it up! No doubt about it!"

Rai suddenly felt something tug the hem of her tunic again. It was Echo, and once he got her attention, he pointed towards the bush from before. The Bunnelby were back, now looking shyly up at the trainers.

"Oh hi there! You feeling better now that we taught the big monster a lesson?" Rai asked.

One of the bunnies crept forward, and dumped something shiny at Rai's feet, before scurrying back into the tall grass with its friends.

"What's this?" Rai bent down to pick one of the items up. "Oh wow! So pretty, a shiny blue stone! Maybe they gave us this as a reward for kicking the teddy's butt?"

"Looks like it, yeah..." Avril replied, glancing at the stone in Rai's hand. She felt Shino pulling at her leg and looked down to see the Froakie holding onto a green stone with what looked to be a very faint leaf mark in the middle. "...Wait, I think these are some of those stones that we got taught about back in school. They make some Pok?mon evolve or something when they come in contact with them!"

"Oooh, you're right! But where would some wild Bunnelby find these? Do you think they've got a stack of them somewhere? Or maybe some really careless trainers actually dropped them at some point."

Avril shrugged. "Either one's possible, but I'll gladly accept this as a thanks. Besides, there's so many trainers out there, we'd never find who actually lost them in the first place." She smiled, carefully placing the Leaf Stone inside of her trainer's bag for safe keeping. Avril then turned to the Bunnelby and smiled once more. "Thanks a lot guys, I'm glad we could help!"

The bunnies chirped before taking off into the grass, out of sight.

Laurent practically bounced down the path towards Santalune Forest, the only thing that stopped him throwing self-awareness to the wind and skipping the rest of the way was the knowledge that he had a precious new life in his backpack - which was exactly why he was so excited! Bernard, - the adorable little Bulbasaur alongside him - however, had no such reservation and happily bundled forward, spouting various lyrical noises as well as variations of "Bulba!" almost as if he was singing. The pair continued their companionable jaunt towards the forest, only growing more and more excited as the trees loomed closer, until the sound of splashing water and angry squawks.

All thoughts of the forest were violently shoved aside by curiosity for both trainer and pok?mon, the pair turning simultaneously and wandering towards the river as if they shared a whimsical...easily distracted mind. It didn't take long to identify the disturbance, four Ducklett were thrashing around in the water, fighting for some reason Laurent couldn't fathom. He stood on the riverbank, wondering just what would start a four-way fight between pok?mon that weren't known for being territorial. Though Laurent's ever-present amused smile remained unchanged his gaze sharpened when something different caught his eye among the flailing white and blue birds. A flash of...pink and purple?

The young man leaned further forward, hovering dangerously far over the water and at that exact moment a fifth Ducklett shot out from between its fellows, gliding low enough over the river to leave a trail of ripples in the water beneath it. The Ducklett was absolutely dazzling! The majority of the pok?mon's feathers were a pink that would make a Chansey envious and the patch of thicker down its legs sprang from was a purple rich enough to grace a king's mantle. In place of the usual V-shaped tuft most Duckletts wore atop their heads, this one had a luxurious poof of silky down reminiscent of a beautiful belle's painstakingly groomed bangs at an exotic gala cresting its forehead. Most striking of all though was the way the Ducklett's entire body sparkled, an enticing glimmer that continued strongly even after all the water slid off of it.

The beautiful creature was not able to fly far before - much to Laurent's horror - a jet of water knocked it off balance, and the four Ducklett from before slammed into it while it was slowed down. This wasn't some group dispute, the normal Ducklett had all been ganging up on the oddly-colored one, they'd been surrounding it so mercilessly that he hadn't even seen the bright beauty at first! Any concern over why any of this was happening in the first place evaporated to be replaced by the all-encompassing fact that it wasn't an unfair fight, it was the pok?mon equivalent of being jumped in the street, and it needed to stop now.

Another huge splash of water signaled another escape for the pink Ducklett, this time it was heading for the shore, but why? "Santalune Forest!" Laurent blurted out in a eureka moment. "Bernard, interception!" The excitable little Bulbasaur didn't quite grasp what Laurent was getting it, but it followed him willingly and quickly enough when he charged towards the spot where he estimated the Ducklett would make landfall. Ducklett are better at swimming than they are flying - though this sparkling one seemed to have it down pretty well - and like most bird pok?mon they prefer open spaces. The outcast Ducklett must be attempting to hide from its pursuers in a place it knows they aren't accustomed to and it would likely have the advantage in thanks to its superior flight skills.

Laurent made it to his target spot with Bernard hot on his heels just after the pink Ducklett blasted past and continued on towards the forest without any acknowledgment of the human interloper. The four regular Ducklett chasing the new object of the trainer's fascination had no such luck thanks to their pursuit taking place by way of water. One attacker thought to simply launch over the human's head, but was easily slow enough for a vine from Bernard to smack it right out of the air. "Picking on one of your own just for being a bit different from the rest of you?" Laurent called out to the bristling Ducklett staring him down. "That's crass, uncouth, and I'm afraid it also happens to be my most hated of pet peeves. You'll go no further."

As brave and heroic as the young man may have looked, pointing dramatically at his opponents as if someone he wanted to impress was watching, he wasn't the slightest bit prepared for the ferocity of the rebuttal. All four water-fowl pok?mon launched out of the water at him at once, furiously quacking, grunting, and flailing both wing and beak. A well-timed pivot and a graceful leap to the side barely avoided the onslaught, but Laurent was left with no time to plan further before he was surrounded. He scanned the two Ducklett in front of him while Bernard stood at his back, keeping the other two from getting in a clear attack. "Come now, is there really any need for violence?" Laurent asked in a tone sweeter than honey only to be answered with a spray of water to the face fierce enough to get some of it up his nose.

Laurent snorted the water harmlessly from his nostrils then shook his head, sending glittering droplets in all directions and whipping his hair about as it sparkled and dried partially in the sun. "I see." He replied, one eye twitching slightly for a moment, though his smile remained. Without any further dialogue between the parties, Laurent sprinted at the two Ducklett in front of him. "Bernard, Vine Whip on the easiest target!" The first two pok?mon were so unprepared for a human to run straight at them like a lunatic that they scattered in a huff of feathers and squawks. Bernard's vines swung brutally about, smacking one of the Ducklett he faced while the other easily dodged it. While the first Ducklett Bernard struck reeled back, vines came in a pincer manoeuvre at the one that had dodged, wrapping around its ankles as it leaped into the air and attempted to fly only to begin dragging Bernard along the ground.

"Point-blank Leech Seed!" Laurent shouted next, prompting Bernard to begin reeling in his vines, dragging the Ducklett lower and lower, then shooting a small seed into the feathers on its back and releasing it. All four Ducklett circled in the air above, quacking and occasionally squawking while they reorganized themselves. "I can't believe I was so caught up in my pseudo-heroics as to be such a colossal fool. This is our first battle, we can't win four-on-one..." While Laurent pondered a way out, Bernard bit off the tip of a stalk of grass and began to blow on it. Up above, the Ducklett were further disrupted when the small seed stuck to one of their backs burst open, covering its victim in parasitic tendrils, immobilizing it and beginning to sap its energy as it crashed to the ground.

A haunting melody began to circulate through the air, but seeing one of their comrades fall rendered the other three Ducklett too furious to care. They all dive-bombed towards Laurent and Bernard at once, preparing a triple Wing Attack for the poor Bulbasaur. Before Laurent could jump in to shield his companion from the unfair assault, the Ducklett's formation began to waver, then come undone all at once. All three water-fowl pok?mon thumped harmlessly to the ground, snoring peacefully next to their since-KO'd ally. "Genius!" Laurent exclaimed, scooping Bernard up and hugging him so hard he dropped his Grass Whistle.

Setting Bernard back down, Laurent rounded on the four Ducklett and drew out one of the empty pok?balls he had on his belt. "One victory and three...peaceful resolutions is enough for me!" He lowered the techno-marvel sphere towards the Ducklett still covered in tendrils, then stopped and stood back up with a jolt. "Forget about second best. Come, Bernard! Let us go find our lovely friend and tell her she can return to her home!" Bernard nodded and started to turn, then stopped and stared inquisitively at Laurent. "Oh she's a girl, I'm certain. Now, hop to it! It's rude to keep a lady waiting!" Without giving Bernard a chance to respond this time, Laurent scooped the Bulbasaur back into his arms and sprinted full-bore for Santalune Forest, intent on seeing this tale through to its end.