[Best Veteran March/May 2011] A new professor in town - Kanto Adventure PG13

[{Swan}]

There are no words to describe how much Lou hated the ocean. Lakes, they were fine, but it was the up and down motion of a ship on the waves that killed her. Louisa Fischer did not have sea legs at all.

The return voyage had been even worse than the way there, because Mr. Briney's little boat was like a plaything in the waves. At least the ferry was bigger. It had taken Lou at least half an hour to get her stomach straight again.


She had thanked Mr. Briney and gotten away from the water as quickly as possible. She didn't really remember the trip very well, she had mostly spent the time half-hanging over the railing and wishing it was over… Yeah, sea-sickness does that to you. But now she was on land again, nice unmoving land.


It took Lou a few minutes to remember her new Pokémon, which she hadn't even stopped to look at. "Oh, I'm sorry, girly," she said apologetically while releasing the creature. The red beam from the Poké Ball materialized into a smallish horse, who looked around curiously. The horse's withers only came up to a little above Lou's waist. She pulled out the fancy little device that Professor Maple had given her, and pointed it at the Pokémon. She had to push a few buttons before she had the right one, ironically it was the bug round one in the center.

Ponyta, the Fire Horse Pokémon, its manes are completely made out of a fiery fire. It has hooves ten times harder than diamonds and can trample anything in little time.

"Hey there, little Ponyta," large black eyes turned toward Lou. "Aren't you beautiful?" Lou stretched out her hand, letting the Ponyta sniff it like she was taught to do with most Pokémon. She moved her other hand to slowly trace Ponyta's long nose, letting her get used to her presence.


"Hey there girly, ain't you sweet?" The Ponyta whinnied a bit uncertainly. "You need a name, don't you. Can't have ya running around with no name on. Hm, let's think about that one shall we?" Lou proceeded in stroking the horse's neck, being careful to stay away from the flames. At this point in time they would no doubt burn her.


"Well, we'll think of something in time, let's just walk for now," Lou motioned for Ponyta to follow her, which he creature did. They hadn't walked for 10 minutes when Lou heard the rustling of wings. She turned to her Ponyta, put a finger to her lips in the universal 'hush' sign and crouched down to look behind a bush. There a small flock of strange birds were fighting. Lou quickly got out the Pokédex again, this time somewhat knowing what to do.

Taillow, the Tinyswallow Pokémon. It dislikes cold climates and migrate to other lands for warmth. It has great courage and takes on any foe it can find.



Okay, that sounds pretty good, Lou thought. Plus, they looked rather cute too. One minus point, there were 5 of them, and only Ponyta and Lou. She had to get one of them alone somehow.


"Psht, Ponyta, I have an idea, are you with me?" The little horse looked at her distrusting for a moment before sniffing once, looking a bit unhappy. "I'll take that as a yes. I want you to barge in there, but run away. If those birds would attack anything, then it would definitely attack you. Outrun them, and then come back here."


Ponyta seemed to hesitate before running right through the bushes and into the flock. She let out a high and menacing whinny, obviously some sort of growl attack. Every head turned toward her before the first one, presumingly the flock leader, flew up in the air and started toward her. Quickly she turned around and galloped out of the area, four birds on her trail. There was only one left over, a small Taillow, huddled against a tree. It looked scared.


But, the Pokédex said that they were courageous birds, then why was this one cowering away while the others are chasing Ponyta? It didn't make sense. Unless the machine wasn't always right, and this was some sort of exception? That might be it, and exception. And it looked rather young too.


Lou waited patiently for Ponyta to return, which she did, panting lightly. She wasn't really hurt, which showed her exceptional speed, but she did look rather wary. Another few moment for Ponyta to catch her breath later, and Lou told her the next part of the plan. "Ponyta, I want you to engage that Taillow, okay? It doesn't look that strong, and it's alone. You should be able to handle it easily!


Ponyta did exactly that. She charged in, another high whinny that made the Taillow tremble a bit and she was pawing the ground menacingly. Lou herself rose from the hiding place too, so she could direct Ponyta's movements. "Okay, start with a tackle!" Lou had checked the Pokédex and Growl and Tackle were all that Ponyta really knew, so she was going to have to work with it.


Ponyta charged at the Taillow faster than the scared little bird could withstand. A tang of guilt struck Lou, she was harming an innocent little bird, but it was too late now. She had to let Ponyta play it out. The Taillow cried out as it got swung into the air, but it opened its wings lightening fast and managed to fly far above the Ponyta. For a moment Lou was sure that this was it, the scared little Taillow woul fly away and leave them empty-handed. But some of its specie's nature must have been awoken, because the Tailow hesitated. Then it folded in its wings and dropped down, pecking Ponyta uncertainly. The growl had destabilized its attacks, making the little bird doubt itself more than it already did.


"Ponyta, get it while it's moving up!" Lou quickly instructed. Just a fraction of a second later Ponyta launched itself on her hind legs, throwing up her hooves and hitting the Taillow with her head while it was trying to move up. The Taillow screeched and lost balance. It was so startled that it forgot to flap its wings, crashing toward the earth as a result.


"Just one more hit Ponyta, and we have it where we want it," Ponyta took this as an order for another tackle and jumped forward even before the bird hit the ground, hitting it in a downward movement which sent it toward the ground even faster. The Taillow crashed with the ground, throwing up a bit of dirt, and was completely beat. It was still conscious, watching Lou with a wary eye while it's breathing was very labored and its heart rate all over the place. Its wings were dirty and shaking.


Lou fumbled with her bag for a few seconds before she was able to get her Poké Ball out and threw it at the Taillow. The little bird got sucked it, causing the ball to twitch back and forth for a bit…

 

[slls81]

@Zeph - Nice battle. I'll add Rokko's new nickname to the OOC thread :)

Congratulations Zigzagoon (Rokko) grew to Level 4
Congratulations Tangela (Gella) grew to Level 9 and learned Absorb

@Izuna - Nice start to his Hoenn adventure for Sam!

Congratulations Sam caught a Level 4 Shroomish

@drunk¬_¬ - I've always found skipping to be a highly under-rated way of travelling around...

Congratulations Psyduck grew to Level 7

@Amoire of Invincibility - Only Warren could get himself into a situation like that...

Congratulations Warren caught a Level 4 Poochyena

@Luigi-a - With so much boat travelling in this region, it looks like Lou could be in for a rough time...

Congratulations Lou caught a Level 3 Taillow

 

[sasuneuchiha]

The ball stopped shaking and a click echoed out. Sam smiled and walked over to the orb, picking it up. He tried to contain himself, but a smile broke out. He'd caught it!

"Yeah! We did it!" he said, looking at Poochyena, who was still breathing heavily. It looked up at him, then collapsed. "Poochyena!" He knelt down and checked it out. A small pulse kept up at a constant rate, causing Sam to sigh out of relief. That Shroomish had been incredible, that much was for certain, but Poochyena had been great, too. There was no doubt that he'd made a good choice in capturing it, though he wasn't sure just what he'd do with the Shroomish. He had no doubts that it only had one attack: absorb. Still, it had made pretty good use of its unique skills. Maybe, with some training, it could be even better...

Standing up, he returned Poochyena to its pokeball. It had really earned a rest, fighting with everything it had. He just wished it was a little more obedient outside of battle. Still, he couldn't have everything in life...and what he had was good enough. Walking forward, he made his way through the woods, getting further and further in with every step.

The trees slowly became thicker and thicker as he walked, but he kept going, no sign of stopping any time soon. Kicking branches out of his way, he finally stepped into a clearing after a long walk. Smiling, he gathered some supplies to make a fire.

About five minutes later, a fire was blazing in front of him. He had sent out all his pokemon, including the new Shroomish and set out some food. Poochyena was eating slowly, showing just how injured it was, Cleff was smiling and downing some food especially fast but Shroomish sat there nervously staring at the food. Sam sighed and walked over.

"Something wrong?" he asked, causing Shroomish to jump out of fright. Sam smiled as it turned to face him.

"Shroomish shroo!" it cried nervously. Sam quickly understood.

"Really, its fine. Look, I'm your friend, okay? You're obviously really strong, but you just don't realize it. You just need some...confidence. Anyway, maybe I should get to know you a little better. The name's Sam Saruno, nice to meet you," Sam smiled at the small mushroom pokemon, who still looked really nervous.

"Sh...shroomish..." it whimpered. Sam smiled again, attempting to make the pokemon feel better.

"Nice to meet you, Shroomish. Anyway, eat up! We'll be back on the move in a little bit," Sam explained. The pokemon nodded nervously, before taking a bite of the food. Its eyes suddenly opened wide and it started to eat a little more quickly. Sam walked over to the fire, sitting down to rest a bit.

A little bit later (15 minutes if Sam had counted properly), Sam returned Cleff and Poochyena, who needed rest. Shroomish, however, he decided to keep out, so he could get to know it a bit better.

"Well, let's go, Shroomish," he said, starting to walk down the path. Shroomish followed, dashing down the path after his trainer.

Before too long, they reached another small clearing. In this one, however, someone was already there.

"Well that's just great...the Slakoth got away..." he whispered. Sam decided it couldn't be a bad idea to approach him.

"Hey!" he yelled. The boy turned around to face him.

"Oh, hey. It's rare I see anyone else out here. What's your name?' he asked. Sam smiled.

"The name's Sam. You?" he replied.

"I'm Larry. Nice to meet you. So, what brings you to the forest?" Larry looked around, scanning the trees.

"Just passing through. You said a Slakoth got away?" Sam also started to look for an out of place pokemon.

"Yeah...oh! There!" Larry yelled, grabbing a pokeball and throwing. Sam caught sight of a small brown monkey pokemon sprawled out on the ground. The pokeball enveloped it and started to shake. A moment later, it stopped and Larry went over to claim his new pokemon.

"Nice capture," Sam said, smiling.

"Oh, thanks. I'd been after that thing a while...finally caught it. Say, Sam. I've just captured this thing and I'd like to train it. Would you be in for a two on two battle?" Larry asked, placing the ball on his belt.

"Oh, um, sure. But wait, you said two on two yet you only want to train your Slakoth..." Sam said, a little shocked by the sudden invitation. Larry grinned widly.

"Heh, I've got a Wingull I've been with a while to train, too. So, you in?" he asked. Sam smirked.

"Totally, Shroomish, get in there!" Sam yelled. Shroomish stepped forward, coming to a rest in front of Sam.

"Okay then, Slakoth, get in there!" Larry yelled. He tossed the pokeball and the monkey-like pokemon appeared again, yawning. Sam decided this would be a good opportunity to add further data to his new pokedex.

*bulbagarden.net image removed*

Slakoth, the slacker pokemon.

This pokemon sits around sprawled out on the ground for days at a time, moving very rarely.

A lot of good that did me...well, better to just get this started! Sam thought, preparing his first move.

"Shroomish, use Absorb!" he yelled. Shroomish let out a burst of green light, which clung to Slakoth. It turned red and startred draining energy. Sam smiled, but it quickly turned to a look of shock when he saw that Slakoth was sleeping. "But...how...?" he stammered, not familiar with the Hoenn pokemon he was fighting.

"You're pretty new here in Hoenn, aren't ya? Well, I'll tell you. Slakoth doesn't feel anything right away. In fact, its like Kanto's Slowpoke," Larry explained. Sam sighed, remembering those. Still, Shroomish should be able to take this thing. Suddenly, Slakoth jumped up and screeched in pain. Sam quickly realized Larry wasn't kidding. It didn't feel pain right away. It waited a little bit, then felt the pain it would have felt before. Slakoth shook out of it and leapt forward with incredible speed...or at least incredible as Sam thought it could. It wasn't much faster than Cleff, who was far from fast, but it was still fast for something that hadn't been moving at all a second ago.

"Scratch!" Sam heard Larry yell as Slakoth swung quickly at Shroomish, who barely avoided it. It quickly followed up with a powerful slash to Shroomish's face. The mushroom pokemon flew backwards, rolling for a few seconds, but then stopped, getting to its feet with a nervous look on its face.

"Come on, Shroomish! You've got to have confidence!" Sam yelled. "Use Absorb again!" he yelled. Shroomish let another burst of the light fly out. Sam expected the pokemon to dodge with that kind of simple speed, but it didn't. In fact, it crashed into the ground, getting hit again. Sam raised an eyebrow at this. Just a second ago, it had been moving at a speed he couldn't keep up with, but now it wasn't doing anything...it was sad, really. The pokemon was hit with the green light. "Drain it for all its got!" Shroomish turned the light red and started to sap energy, drawing out as much as it could. Suddenly, Slakoth snapped up again. It cried out in pain, but then shook it off like before.

"Haha...you wish you knew how to beat this! Use Yawn!" Larry yelled. A pink cloud of gas flew out of Slakoth's mouth and floated over at Shroomish, who was drawing in the last of Slakoth's energy to recover from its wounds. The air passed past its face and its eyes closed a little. Sam knew what was next. Shroomish would fall asleep in just a second. Time to make the most of its last seconds.

"Once more! Absorb!" he yelled. Shroomish tiredly made another burst of light and sent it straight at Slakoth. The light hit and started to draw energy but Shroomish suddenly fell backwards, asleep. "Shoot..."

"Now go, Slakoth, hit it with Scratch again!" Larry yelled. Slakoth jumped up and charged, hitting Shroomish with a quickly flurry of scratches, each one looking stronger than the last. It finally ended it with one final smash of a scratch.

"Shroomish!" Sam yelled as the pokemon's eyes opened. Suddenly, it screeched in pain, running in circles as Slakoth collapsed on the ground again. This wasn't good. The pokemon had the power to finish Shroomish off with one more attack...he had to think of something. Suddenly, it occured to him. Slakoth had a lot of power, but it couldn't move for a long period of time. Maybe, just maybe he could get in the perfect set of moves...and end this. He quickly set up his plan, but first...

"Shroomish, use absorb!" he yelled. Shroomish let out a burst of light at the pokemon, who was slowly having its energy drained away. He quickly continued to create his plan. There was a low branch both pokemon could reach, but it was thin. If he could get Slakoth on that...

Slakoth jumped up and charged as Larry gave the order for another barrage of scratches, but Sam expected this now.

"Shroomish, jump on that tree branch!" he yelled. Shroomish jumped backwards, then following up with another leap to where it was on the branch. It quickly jumped up onto another higher one, attempting to escape from Slakoth. The brown monkey followed it, leaping from branch to branch until it was on the same branch. A cracking sound echoed, but neither Slakoth nor Larry thought anything of it.

"Scratch!" he yelled. Sam smiled as he gave this command, realizing Larry had fallen for it completely.

"Now! Jump off!" Sam yelled. Shroomish jumped without even thinking. Slakoth ran a coule inches forward, but another loud crack echoed out. It turned around to look at the tree and saw the branch was breaking. With a loud snap, the branch fell, taking Slakoth with it. Both crashed into the ground. "Now, get on it and use Absorb!" Shroomish leapt over towards Slakoth and started to sap its energy.

Suddenly, Slakoth got up and knocked Shroomish off. Shroomish rolled a few feet before stopping, complely vaunerable. Slakoth looked ready to strike. It began to walk over when the most mysterious thing happened. It tripped on the branch. Suddenly, all the pain hit at once. It tried to get up, but hit the ground, knocked out.

"...my...Slakoth..." Larry stammered.

"Wow...Hoenn's really different from back home..." Sam whispered as Larry returned Slakoth.

"You...you're incredible! Shroomish can only be caught here and you said you were just passing through...so you just caught that!" Larry exclaimed. Sam couldn't supress a smile.

"Thanks...you weren't bad yourself. Now...Shroomish, return," Sam said, calling the mushroom pokemon back. Larry raised an eyebrow.

"Why'd you do that?" he asked, a bit confused.

"Like you just said, I just caught it, meaning I haven't been able to build up its strength or endurance yet. It wouldn't last long at all in another fight. I'd rather avoid it being defeated. Now...let's see...Poochyena, let's go!" Sam yelled, tossing the pokeball. The small grey and black dog appeared, looking around. He quickly sighted Sam and glared at him.

"Let me guess...also a somewhat new pokemon?" Larry asked.

"Yeah...this thing doesn't seem to get along with me all that well. He'll listen when I fight though, so I'm pretty good I guess," Sam replied, kneeling down so that he was able to talk to Poochyena. "Hey, buddy. Its a battle against a Wingull. You up for it?" Sam asked. Suddenly, the grey dog leapt forward, biting Sam's nose. Larry's eyes opened wide.

"Oh my god!" he screamed. Sam's anger seemed to boil.

"Why I oughta..." he started, but suddenly remembered another pokemon who was a bit like this right at the beginning. Pika. The pokemon had rejected him at the beginning. Sam had never really understood why...but when he proved just how much he wanted Pika's friendship and help with his adventure in the Cerulean Gym, Pika had agreed to help him. Poochyena, on the other hand, ignored all of his pleas for friendship. Breathing heavily, he removed the pokemon from his face.

"Yena..." it growled.

"Will you calm down? I'm not bleeding and its fine. I understand how much you must hate me...I had another pokemon like you once. My friend Pika...I miss him so much..." Sam whispered, a tear falling down his cheek. Something in Poochyena seemed to stir, as it walked up to Sam again.

"Yena poochyena!" it yipped. Sam's eyes opened as the dog stood, ready to fight.

"Well, you ready to fight now, then?" Sam asked. The dog nodded and tured to face Larry.

"Hmm...that was interesting..." Larry said, tossing a ball. A bird of the same breed as Peeko appeared in a flash.

"Wingull!" it cried. Sam saw no reason to scan this pokemon, as he had already taken a scan of Peeko on the ride over. He remembered their unique water-flying mix of types. This would be an interesting battle.

"I'll start this up! Use Tackle!" Sam yelled. Poochyena charged, leaping at the bird. It quickly fell down a couple of feet and avoided the attack. Poochyena landed with a small thud before turning around. "Try again!" Poochyena leapt at the bird again, missing for the second time.

"Wow...you need to work on your aim. Ours, on the other hand, is perfect! Water Gun!" Larry yelled. A stream of water flew out of Wingull's mouth, hitting Poochyena as it flew. Poochyena jumped back, a little dazed from the move's power.

"Hmm...try Howl!" Sam yelled. Poochyena looked up and howled, letting a huge burst of sound loose. Poochyena looked down and charged forward at Wingull.

"Don't you learn? Use Water Gun!" Larry yelled. His Wingull fired off another burst of water, hitting Poochyena in the head. Poochyena didn't yield, though. he kept charging straight through the constant stream of water. He leapt forward, hitting Wingull. The first was knocked backwards, but didn't lose its balance. It kept flapping with no sign of injury at all. It kept flapping, a small look of anger in its eyes. "Okay then. You're not bad, but eat this! Supersonic!" A large number of sound waves flew out, hitting Poochyena. Suddenly, it started shaking wildly, occasionally hitting its head against the ground.

"Oh god...I remember this from back home. This attack was always fun...well, it was when I used it...Poochyena! Snap out of it! Hit it with Tackle!" Sam yelled. Poochyena charged, though a bit shakily. He leapt into the air and attempted to hit the swift bird, who easily evaded it. The really annoying part of this move was seen later. Poochyena kept going, unable to see properly. It crashed head first into a tree, shaking it wildly.

"Wow...we really got you, didn't we?" Larry asked. Sam scowled.

"Difficult...very difficult...but go! Use Tackle!" Sam yelled.

"Won't work, you've already seen that!" Larry replied, but was instantly taken aback when Poochyena leapt into the air and took Wingull down, smashing it into the ground. He then persisted to smash it with his head.

"Grr...not good! Water Gun!" Larry yelled. Wingull spit a huge burst of water out, hitting Poochyena in the eye. Poochyena flew backwards in pain, yowling loudly.

"Poochyena!" Sam cried.

"Ha, you're not nearly done yet! Supersonic again!" Larry roared. The bird let out another wave of sound, catching Poochyena. The grey dog started to flail about again before charging randomly. Wingull dodged it and Poochyena somehow managed to spin hard, crashing into the ground. Suddenly, though, it seemed to snap out of it, jumping up at the bird. Smashing hard into Wingull, he dragged the bird to the ground. The bird squawked as he managed to lift it with his paw and smash one final tackle into it. The bird hit the ground and then rolled into a tree. It quickly got up, but was down almost as fast, obviously knocked out.

"I'm...beat..." Larry whispered, returning his bird. Sam walked over slowly.

"You're good...very good. Just keep training. Trust me, your odds weren't all that great against me...I'm not your average trainer," Sam explained. Larry didn't seem too much better.

"Yeah...well, just you wait. I'll get way stronger, and when I do, I'm gonna find you and beat you," Larry said.

"Is that a promise?" Sam asked, smiling.

"Yeah, it is. Just you wait, Sam..." Larry started.

"Saruno. Sam Saruno," Sam explained.

"Okay. Sam Saruno, I will defeat you!" Larry said, storming off, but not before Sam could see a small smile on his face. There it was, his first rival in this new region.

 

[drunk ¬_¬]

VS Nincada + Surskit

Vitor Aurelio
Location: Petalburg Woods

Vitor yawned deeply holding his new his book on his lap. Breeding Pokémon…

There were a lot of people who liked Pokémon for different reasons. Attempting to engineer the perfect Pokémon. At first it sounds like the ambitions of a crazy scientist, but here, lay the art that could allow a person to manufacture the perfect Pokémon through nature: Breeding.

Vitor had never been a fan of reading, he used to despise it as a matter of fact. However, the more he read the book, the more entranced he became by it. And the more entranced that he was by the book, the more he wanted to read it.

"The perfect Pokémon" he thought to himself curiously. The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to take up the challenge, he felt like getting a Ditto and breeding Psyduck with it countless times to pick out from among them the one Psyduck who had such bad headaches he'd be invincible. Nah. he thought to himself. Psyduck has as much chances of being the perfect Pokémon as a Feebas has chances of evolving into a Gyarados. That kind of stuff didn't happen. Besides, he was only just a baby…

Vitor turned over to the aforementioned Pokémon still munching on some Pinap Berries from a small plant they'd found. "You're alright man… you're all right." He said almost to himself, but loud enough for the Duck to hear.

"Psy." His Pokémon replied looking back at his trainer who [accidentally] met the Pokémon's gaze causing it to look up.

Vitor lamented himself before straightening up against the tree. "I swear sometimes you do that on purpose, don't you?" Then with a loud "Hmph." He put his hands on his knees, and pulled himself up before recalling his Pokémon. "Any more skipping with that full stomach and you'll just end up cramping up."

He began heading north again. If he remembered his geography correctly, then he should just keep heading north in order to reach Rustboro City. But the walk had definitely been longer already than he expected. It was probably due to all the ducking and hiding, but after seeing his Pokémon deal the kind of damage he did to that poor Zigzagoon, he was pretty sure he wouldn't need to hide much longer.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~​

After about a good hour of walking, Vitor decided that he should take a break. Not so much from fatigue as much as boredom however, after all, he had walked a long way already, and had had no one to talk to. "Psyduck, come out!" he said as he tossed his Pokéball a few feet in front of him.

"Psy… duck." The Pokémon cried as if reporting for duty before letting go of his head and looking up.

"You seriously got to stop that." Vitor said, now regretting having called his Pokémon out. "Anyways, we still got ways to go, so let's get started."

After saying this he began walking, leaving the small Pokémon behind before it began skipping after his trainer.

It wasn't long before another trainer stopped him however. "What the… is the freak show in town or something. What's wrong with that thing? Is it queer nature?" a high-pitched screechy voice said prompting Vitor to stop.

Psyduck, having heard the kids insults ran to his trainer hiding in-between his legs. "Psy!!!" it cried asking Vitor to make the kid stop.

"Seriously??? That has GOT to be the most pathetic Pokémon I've EVER seen!" the perpetrator continued making fun of the Pokémon, while stepping out from under the shadows of an especially lush tree. Upon closer inspection, he was short, skinny, freckly, and much to Vitor's dismay, carried around a Capture Net, and a straw hat.

"Well if it isn't the Bug Catcher poster boy…" Vitor told himself much to his dismay.

"Huh?" the brat asked mocking Vitor by putting his hand around his ear as if it would help his hearing. "I couldn't hear you, do you DARE speak a little louder? Although I suppose you don't with THAT being your only line of defense."

Vitor however, DID dare to speak a little louder. "Yeah, umm, this is called a Psyduck, it's a Pokémon originally from the Kanto region, and you've never seen him before because they don't let stupid-ass hicks mess with Pokémon who are too precious to the world. Thus that **** you got there." He said pointing at the kid's Capture Net.

"Me? A hick? How dare you? You can't even begin to realize the magnificence of Bug-type Pokémon! Have you never heard of Bugsy before???" The kid replied, clearly aggravated by Vitor's reply. Vitor however, felt Psyduck's grip on his shorts lighten up, and realized that his Pokémon was calming down after seeing how the Bug Catcher lost his composure, thus, he decided to keep the trash-talking up.

"Bugsy? Yeah, I've heard of her… isn't she like the weakest Gym Leader currently???" I mean, there's Falkner and Flannery who barely started out, but I'd like to see her TRY to pull an upset over them. Ha! She wouldn't be able to beat Brock, OR Roxanne either!" Vitor replied, being greatly pleased at the brat's reddening face, and after hearing a slight chuckle from his Pokémon, who while didn't know of Bugsy, Capture Nets, or Gyms, did know that the kid's reaction was funny.

"And I suppose YOU could beat them?!?! HUH?!" he yelled back, having finally lost his cool. "Besides, BUGSY IS A GUY!!!"

"Really?" Vitor replied sounding honestly shocked. "I guess I didn't see THAT one coming. And about Rozanne, well, that's kind of the reason why I'm heading to Rustboro right now." The trainer from Pacifidlog replied calmly. Psyduck had become scared by the kid's sudden rage explosion, but gained his composure after hearing his trainer's words.

"Bug Pokémon are the best, and I, Brent Davis will prove it to you, right here, and right now! Go Hideo!"

"Nincada!" a white bug with stubby green wings and pinkish pincers cried after being sent to the battlefield.

"Wow, and I thought I had seen all Bug-types out there. Vitor thought to himself in a way admiring his opponent's Pokémon. Quickly he took out his Pokédex in order to record its entry.

"image removed"~Nincada, the Trainee Pokémon. Nincada lives underground. It uses its sharp claws to carve the roots of trees and absorb moisture and nutrients. This Pokémon can't withstand bright sunlight so avoids it.~​

"Lol." Vitor said audibly as he looked at the Pokédex's entry for the [now pathetic] Pokémon.

"Stop stalling you idiot, we'll show you!" the brat screamed.

Vitor simply waved him off however, "So it's a leech huh? No wonder. By the way, you DO know why coding errors for computers are called bugs right? It's because they're nuisances!"

"Shut up and see if you can hit me with your best shot!" the Bug Catcher demanded.

"My best? Against you? No my good friend, against you I won't need anyone but my Psyduck here."

The brat, Brent, was about to EXPLODE. "Aaaargh!!!" he yelled frustrated before barking out his first command. "Hideo! Teach this kid, go and Scratch that yellow thing!"

"Psyduck, counter with a Scratch attack of your own!" Psyduck nodded, confident on his trainer's ability, and the fact that Bug Pokémon must be overlooked since none of them are strong anyways.

"Psyduck!" he yelled confidently, puffing his chest out a bit, and running into a headfirst collision against the white leech-like life form. Their claws hit each other giving off a sword-like metallic sound, before the two Pokémons attacked each other again, and again, parrying the other's attack in an effort to outspeed the other on the next round.

Really though, the battle was not as epic from the trainers' perspective, and it seemed like the two Pokémons were simply playing patty-cake, hoping for the other to mess up. "Hideo! Time for a change of pace, be faster and use Leech Life!"

"Counter that with Tail Whip Psyduck!" Vitor hadn't even finished his sentence before 'Hideo' dove in headfirst. However, Psyduck had understood what Vitor wanted him to do after hearing 'Tail', and as soon as the Nincada tried to breach the bigger Pokémon's defense, Psyduck turned on his own axis, and tapped the opposing Pokémon on the behind with his Tail, causing it to fall headfirst on the ground.

"Perfect!" Vitor yelled proud of his Psyduck. He hadn't gone berserk mode at all, and had still one-upped the Nincada perfectly, what else could he ask for? "Now Scratch it until its lights go out!"

"Duck!" his Pokémon replied, going in with two powerful Scratches, the second, which sent it flying a few meters back, prompting the Water Pokémon to chase it down.

"Attack with your own Scratch attack!" the Bug Catcher commanded, and smiled when he saw his Pokémon answer back the next few blows, but the difference in power was clear this time. Brent's smile quickly faded away when he noticed that Hideo was already feeling the effects of Psyduck's assault, while Psyduck was barely hurt from the Nincada's feeble attempts. "Damn, use Harden!" he commanded.

On the other hand, Vitor was relishing in his lead. He had always relied on his Psyduck's berserk-mode attack pattern, but this was different. Although Psyduck's attacks didn't seem to cause as much damage as before, he DID seem much more composed, and accurate. "Keep it up!" he yelled, not really commanding anything, but letting his Pokémon know that he's got his back.

The Nincada had hardened its skin to the point where in one of Psyduck's powerful thrusts it broke a tree's rotting root with its back, but that was exactly the problem: Brent had been too late. The Nincada struggled to get up once more before its knees buckled under its weight, and it lost conciousness. "Psyduuuck!" Vitor's Pokémon screamed, willing to go and deal the finishing blow, but his nails were only met by the rot and moss from that particular tree's roots. Brent had recalled his Pokémon.

"Well, I guess that means I win." Vitor broke in with celebratory glee. Then with a loud yawn added: "Wow, it's getting late. I should go to Rustboro now."

"Not so fast!" Brent stopped him.

Psyduck, who had fallen in line behind his trainer, was the first to turn around. Vitor was slower, but did so as well. "What do you want?" he asked dully before realizing exactly what he wanted. Brent had taken out a second Pokéball, and was in the process of releasing whatever was inside it. "Dude what the…?"

"Go Jaiden! Let's show him!"

"Dude, I just beat you though…" Vitor protested, but to no avail.

"Use Bubble!" the Bug Catcher roared to his Pokémon who was quick to comply.

Vitor however didn't know whether to be impressed or disappointed. "Bubble?" he asked. "Dude that won't even scratch my Psyduck!" On the other hand, he wanted to know why a Bug Catcher would have a Water-type. "Let's see he thought as he pulled out his Pokédex, without bothering to give Psyduck a command.

"image removed" ~Surskit, the Pond Skater Pokémon. From the tips of its feet, Surskit secretes an oil that enables it to walk on water as if it were skating. This Pokémon feeds on microscopic organisms in ponds and lakes. ~​

Sure, this guy was cooler, but still, it was… a bug. "Psyduck! It's time to…"

But he was proptly interrupted by Brent. "Now Quick Attack!" Jaiden, as the Pokémon was called apparently, had clearly trained this several times before. It used the bubbles from its Bubble attack as some sort of camouflage, and burst through them, surprisingly fast, hitting Psyduck on the face, and toppling him down.

"Psyduck!" Vitor's Pokémon cried after being surprised.

Vitor screamed out alarmed: "Dude! Chillax, it's okay to lose… I've lost before too, but leave me alone damnit!" then looking back at Psyduck reprimanded him: "And Psyduck, if this douche is going to be like this, then I need you to fight!" Truth was that more than nervous, you could say Vitor was scared. He was scared that this kid would end up hurting his Psyduck in his rage, and it would have all been HIS fault. "Damn!" he thought alarmed.

"Do it again!" Brent commanded his Pokémon, who proceeded to let out a slow jet of bubbles between the two Pokémon.

"Psyduck, you know what's coming! Counter him with Scratch!" Vitor commanded with his mind still racing.

"Psy!" the Pokémon acknowledged the plan, and prepared for it. Gaze fixed straight on his opponent on the other side of the field of bubbles, except that once it charged… its blue color made it invisible, and the countless bursting of bubbles made trying to trace its direction impossible. "Psy ai ai!" Psyduck screamed, freaked out by the attack, before being dropped again, and again.

Brent's strategy was very simple, hit and run. Problem is that it worked, and Psyduck couldn't even begin to get the timing right for a good counter. "Damn." Vitor thought, being clearly frustrated by the development.

One more time Surskit attacked his Pokémon, but this time, Vitor noticed something. As soon as Surskit landed, its legs buckled under it, and it took longer to run away. Something was affecting it… "Of course! If Surskit has to set up the Bubbles every time it attacks, of course it'd get tired. And bursting through them each time must be taking its toll as well!

"Psyduck!" he yelled sternly. "I know you're tired but so is Surskit, believe it or not, it's obviously on its last pair of legs, so on this next attack, I want you to duck as soon as you see the last bubbles burst, okay? But first I want you to use Water Sport."

The plan was simple, it was imperfect, and in Vitor's mind, the plan was foolproof. Surskit was a small Pokémon, so leaping all the way up to Psyduck's height must be taking its toll as well. When Surskit misses, whether it gets hurt, or falls correctly, it will not have the strength to get away from Psyduck… and that's where they'd overpower it.

"Now!" he yelled ecstatically when he noticed the bubbles bursting were almost upon them. Psyduck, who had been spitting out a stream of water around him, obeyed, and as expected, avoided the attack. "…and Scratch it with all your might!" Vitor barked.

Psyduck turned around quickly, to find the other Pokémon defenseless and with its legs completely buried under the mud caused by the constant spray of bubbles bursting, and Psyduck's Water Sport… there was nowhere to run. Psyduck scratched once, twice, three times, and over, and over, and over again, while the poor bug tried helplessly to blow out some Bubbles for protection, but it was not to be.

"Come back Jaiden!" Vitor heard his opponent yell as he recalled his Pokémon. He was visibly upset, but this time perhaps more disappointed than anything?

"Got any more tricks up your sleeve?" Vitor asked pissed off by his opponent's underhanded attack, as he dumped two Oran Berries inside his Psyduck's open beak like a trash can. But before the kid was able to answer; someone backhanded him from behind, and sent him flying unconscious. "Who are you?" Vitor asked alarmed by the person's actions.

"Ahoy! Yer' got a nice duckey thar, ain't'cha? Why don't you gi'e it up nicely, eh?"
​

 

[slls81]

@Izuna - Good battle, nice to see you've found yourself a rival...

Congratulations Shroomish grew to Level 6 and learned Tackle
Congratulations Poochyena grew to Level 6

@drunk¬_¬ - Nice battle post, take it Vitor doesn't like bug catchers then?

Congratulations Psyduck grew to Level 10 and learned Water Gun

 

[Zeph.]

Vs. Seedot & Slakoth

Strange. If North was where the signs said the exit was, why wasn't Kliff there yet?

He and Gella had been walking for what seemed like a dog's age, and they couldn't see the end of these woods coming any closer. Gella found a conveniantely located log after a few more minutes and sat down for a break. As Kliff sat down too, something brushed against his back. Turning around, he found a small tree full of Oran Berries which he happily harvested. He took this opportunity to release Rokko,

"Zagoon..." it said weakly. The poor thing couldn't even stand,

"Here," Kliff said as he tossed an Oran Berry down for it. Rokko engulfed the food and happily got to its feet,

"Zigzag!" it called, feeling much more relieved.

"You'll be needed, so stay in here for now," Kliff said, returning Rokko to his pokeball. He heard another laugh, "I swear to god, if that Magna guy or whoever the hell it was is back..."

"A Zigzagoon? You noob..." someone said. Kliff stood. There was one thing he was certainly not, and that was a noob. Facing the direction of the noise, he saw a boy in what looked like his early teens with blonde hair and baggy clothes.

"I'd watch your mouth kid," Kliff said, feeling slightly annoyed,

"Or what? Oh wait, your Zigzagoon will tackle me? Pah!" he said, arrogance pouring from his mouth,

"... is it my fault that the pokemon is this dumb place start out so weak?" Kliff asked, raising Rokko's pokeball once more, "No. Rokko," The small raccoon pokemon materialisez infront of Kliff, "Bring it on - 2 on 2."

"If you say so," the boy said in reply, "Seedot, let's go!" A small brown thing burst from the boy's pokeball. Kliff opened his pokedex,


Seedot: the Acorn Pokemon. It hangs off branches and absorbs nutrients. When it finishes eating, its body becomes so heavy that it drops to the ground with a thump.

"Wooow..." Kliff said sarcastically, "a nut. Rokko, just use Tackle," The Zigzagoon lowered its head and raced towards Seedot. It was going to be a clean hit,

"Seedot, Harden!" shouted the boy. His pokemon gave off an impressive metallic shine just before Rokko made contact. Rokko smaked it, however Seedot didn't budge, and instead Rokko bounced back a little,

"Hmm... use Tackle again," Kliff said unconcerned,

"Not so fast, Bide!" Seedot began to glow a little and stay still. Rokko rammed into it, however the acorn once again refused to move and took the blow,

"Rokko,try another Tackle," Kliff said, pointing at the opposing pokemon. What exactly was it doing? As before, the Zigzagoon threw itself into Seedot. To Kliff's annoyance, the pokemon was still there.

"Now Seedot, Unleash!!" the boy said ecstatically. Seedot's whole body glowed a radiant white and it launched itself into Rokko. The bone-crushing impact let out a loud thumping noise as Rokko was hurled back a few yards in a matter of seconds. Kliff's eyes widened slightly as he saw the attack. He got the idea now - Bide takes the opponent's attacks, before repaying the damage. He'd need to be careful,

"Rokko, stay tough!" Rokko wearily managed to hop back to the battle, " Now, one last Tackle!" Kliff shouted. The raccoon ran at great speeds towards the opponent,

"This is too easy Seedot! Bide!" the boy said in disbelief. Well, was he in for a shock. Rokko rammed its shoulder into Seedot, who this time rolled over and ceased glowing,

"Wha?!" the trainer stuttered, his fainted pokemon lying there,

"Look kid, it's simple - your Seedot took too much damage. Bide dosen't stop the attacks hitting you know." Kliff said, his patience wearing thin with the boy's arrogance.

"Whatever, return Seedot." He replied as he retrieved the acorn pokemon.

"Return," Kliff commanded as he too enveloped Rokko in the red beam of the pokeball. He was a little weaker, so he would be needed.

"Go Slak! Show this punk!" the boy boasted as he called out his next pokemon. A weird ape like creature with its face in the dirt.


Slakoth: the Slacker Pokemon. It sleeps for 20 hours every day. Making drowsy those that see it is one of its abilities.

"Gella, you know what to do," Kliff said. Gella, excited about getting some action, took her place, " Now begin with Constrict!" The Tangela performed the same technique of wrapping its vines around the pokemon. Slakoth, expression unchanged, was wrapped up in the vines and squeezed tightly. It was trapped, "Now, use Absorb!" The sloth began to glow red as the energy was sapped from it, travelling through Gella's vines to her. This was ending up too easy...

"Slak, use Yawn!" the boy shouted hastily. Slakoth opened its mouth and a single bubble emerged from it. Gently, it bobbed over to Gella where it popped in front of her. Slowly her eyes became heavier, and heavier...

"Uh oh..." Kliff said to himself. Something wasn't right. This became clear when Gella released the Slakoth and she fell to the floor, asleep.

"Yes! Now use Scratch!" the boy commanded. However, Slakoth took the time to scratch its, well... other end. The boy facepalmed, "... whenever you're ready, I mean..."

Kliff sniggered to himself, but his attention was soon drawn back to his own problem, "Gella! Wake up!" he said loudly, but to no avail. By this point, Slak had regained himself.

"Now, strike!" the trainer shouted. Slakoth brought one arm up, claws at the ready. It brought them crashing down with some force, slashing Gella and knocking her back a few feet. Small cuts were visable on her vines,

"Gella! Come on!" Kliff shouted. Nothing. Slakoth slumped to the floor and began to doze off again. One thing was certain - what it lacked for in speed and movement it more than made up for in raw power,

"Hahaha! Looks like you're finished!" he boy boasted. " Slakoth, another Scratch when you're ready!" Slakoth lay on its belly and began to scratch again. It wouldn't be long before it was ripping into the Tangela again.

"Gella!!" Kliff said exceptionally loud this time. He couldn't believe Gella was loosing to a pokemon that slept for 20 hours a day,

"20 hours a day..." he thought.

He had a plan. But Gella really, really needed to wake up. That wasn't happening soon. Kliff had to think fast - how do you wake things up quickly? Slakoth again slashed at Gella with a powerful Scratch attack. She wasn't going to last long at this rate. Kliff noticed her twitch a little at the point of impact. He walked over to her - he was really going to regret this. A Slakoth's scratch couldn't be as powerful as, say:

A person's foot?

"Sorry to have to do this," Kliff said with a sharp inhale as he brouth his foot up. He closed his eyes, and rammed the foot down hard on one of Gella's vines. The Tangela's eyes shot open, and it squealed in pain as it bounced about, one of its vines hurting.

"Hey man what the hell?!" the trainer called, "You can't just--"

"Can't I?" Kliff replied. Gella was still hurt, "Sorry about that Gella, now use Sleep Powder on Slak!" Gella shook her tears away as she extended a vine and sprinkled the green powder over the Slakoth. The sloth pokemon took no time in closing its eyes and falling on its back asleep,

"No! Slak!" the trainer gasped,

"Absorb your energy back Gella!" commanded Kliff. Gella fired a small green beam at Slak, which turned red on impact. Gradually, Gella drained the pokemon's energy, and recovered in the process. Kliff, realising she needed a break from walking, returned Gella to her pokeball. He began to walk on,

"You lost," he said to the trainer,

"Says who? I can still beat you!" he spat,

Kliff sighed, "It says in the pokedex - Slakoth sleep for about 20 hours a day. I just put yours to sleep, so it won't wake up for a long time yet." He resumed walking the way he was going. From behind, he could hear the frantic shouting of the boy trying to wake the Slakoth up. It was useless.

Shortly afterwards, Kliff got a small wiff of fresh air. He could just about see the exit too. He was nearly out.

 

[slls81]

@Zeph - Wow what an... ineresting? oppenent Kliff found there...

I'll add Rokko's nickname to the OOC thread :)

Congratulations Zigzagoon (Rokko) grew to Level 6 and learned Tail Whip
Congratulations Tangela (Gella) grew to Level 10

 

[I Laugh at your Misfortune!]

Warren froze as he bent down to pick up the Pokéball, slow, sarcastic clapping coming from behind him. Gradually straightening up, the ball held loosely between his fingers, Warren turned his head to see a short, sneering boy, his face mostly hidden by a sheet of blood-red hair. For a second, Warren stopped then, suddenly, he spun around, launching his fist straight at Guy's stupid smirking face. The younger boy ducked back, Warren's knuckles just inches from his face. Steadying himself, he brushed his hair to one side and chuckled coldly.

"Typical...resorting to violence without any reason."

"No reason? How about theft!" Warren spat back. Guy rolled his eyes.

"Don't be so melodramatic, it wasn't stealing, it was just borrowing, without permission. I've had my fun, you can have this back now." Reaching into his pocket, he threw back a small object. Warren caught it and, looking down, saw a glistening blue gem. Tightening his fist around it, Warren resisted the urge to beat Guy to death with the Water Stone, ironic though it may have been.

"Why would I even want this?" Guy raised an eyebrow, turning to start pacing.

"Fair point. I saw it on the news, when your Pokémon got nicked. Shame that those Hoenn goons got to them before I did. They probably don't even know the power that they hold." Warren raised an eyebrow, curious.

"What power is that?" Guy laughed.

"Oh come on. You really mean to say you never knew?" When Warren didn't respond, he laughed more.

"Well, if you're going to be so stupid, then I'm not telling you...I'll see you 'round, Warren." Stepping forwards, he made to leave, but Warren's hand shot out, grabbing Guy by the throat.

"Oh no. You don't get off that easily." Guy sighed.

"I'm afraid that, actually, I do. Now!" Warren whipped his arm back as a stream of fire shot out of the undergrowth, narrowly missing him. Guy stepped back as a large, snarling black dog prowled out of one of the bushes and stepped up next to him. Warren swore, glaring at the Houndour, flames dribbling from its mouth like liquid wildfire. Guy tutted.

"Now, now, Warren, language." Warren growled in response. Guy rolled his eyes.

"Now, stand aside." Warren clenched his fists tighter, not moving.

"I said stand aside!" Slowly, stiffly, face burning with humiliation, Warren took a step to the left, ignoring Guy's laughter as he walked past. He had to be sensible. There was no way he could fight Houndour right now. Instead, he looked down at the Pokéball still clenched in his hand and dropped it, deciding that now was as good a time to introduce himself as ever. It burst open, releasing the small, grey wolf. It looked around, bemused. Warren bent down and, startled, it leapt back and opened its mouth to howl. Quickly, Warren clamped his hand over its mouth and it glared at him.

"Look, just calm down!" he said quickly and it slowly stopped struggling.

"Look, I'm Warren. I'm a trainer and I'm pretty new to this region...I've got quite a lot to do here, but if we all do well, there's fame and riches. Sound good?" The dog tilted its head to the side, undecided. Warren sighed.

"What else do you want...a stupid nickname like Cuddles?" The dog paused, then grinned. WArren sighed.

"I was joking...but fine...how about, um, I dunno, Lupus?" The wolf raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, fair enough...hey, how about Silver?" Poochyena paused then nodded, grinning. Warren smiled.

"Alright, return, Poochyena...I mean, Silver!" The dog yapped happily as it disappeared in a flash of red light and Warren let out a long sigh as he stood up. Guy couldn't be far ahead and while a straight fight probably wouldn't go too well, an ambush was something else entirely...

 

[slls81]

@Amoire of Invincibility - Hey Guy's back, how... fun for Warren :P

I'll add Silver's nickname to the OOC thread :)

 

[King!]

OOC: It's short, but I just realized that i needed two posts at least, sooo....yeah. Also, I was wondering if Surskit could follow Jazmien into the woods? Thanks.

Chapter 1: Ugh, Can't You Get This Crap OFF Of Me?

Jazmine walked down the sandy path, the outline of buildings growing bigger, closer. She walked with confidence, despite the fact that she'd noticed scrunched up faces and dirty looks when she'd walked by. This, of course, was all due to the fact that about twenty-thousand, more or less, cans of Repel had been sprayed all over her. It was her grandmother's doing, to prevent any attacks what-so-ever, but nonetheless, she had agreed to let Jazmine run this errand.

Jazmine had agreed to help one of the stay-at-home mothers in the area, all of which she was on speaking terms with, by delivering a letter to Mr.Briney, who'd lived a ways away, near Petalburg City. The trip had gone fairly well so far, besides the looks she'd received. She held the letter firmly in one hand, a long, pointed stick in the other- Grandma's orders, of course, to defend her from danger.

Jazmine didn't blame her grandma for being this way. Only five years earlier, Jazmine's parents had mysteriously vanished on a business trip, and were assumed dead. And so, Jazmine had been trapped in old Littleroot Town, running errands and roaming the town. It was the first time she had been allowed to travel all the way to Petalburg alone, though, a significant improvement.

Finally, Jazmine stepped into the city, and building's blossomed around her. It wasn't much different from Littleroot, but at least it was a change of atmosphere. Plus, it had a bunch of things Littleroot didn't have- a Pokémon Center, a PokeMart, and even a gym. "I shouldn't get distracted, Grandma might call the police again", Jazmine thought, and she hurried past the buildings to the opposite end of the town.

She reached another clearing, with some tall grass, and a tiny cottage a bit away. "Here we are." Jazmine said to herself. As she did so, a small whiff of Repel found its way to her nose. "UGH!" She cried. "CAN'T YOU GET THIS CRAP OFF OF ME!?" She shook the feeling away. "No use being angry here", she muttered, and she continued her way into the grass.

"At least the Repel works", Jazmine thought aloud. Just as she said it, a blue creature hopped up onto her head. "EEPPPP!!!!" Jazmine screamed, and she bolted towards the end of the grass. Just as she reached the edge, she tripped and fell flat on her face. The creature scurried off of her head, and proceeded to lick her face.

"Surskit!" It cried. Jazmine sat up dizzily, and could just make out a small blue thing with what looked like a couple more limbs than normal.

"Shoo!" Jazmine said, waving her hands at it. The creature turned and scuttled away. Jazmine picked herself up, and wiped a few specks of dirt off of herself. She looked up. Looming over, not looking so tiny anymore, was Mr.Briney's cottage.

 

[{Swan}]

As soon as the ball stopped rolling, Lou squealed. She had caught her first Pokémon. Her very first Pokémon! Okay, maybe her methods had been a little harsh, and she would've probably been chided by her papa, but that wasn't killing her fun. She had caught her first Pokémon!


She quickly grabbed the ball and released the little Taillow, who was watching her with a fearful expression on its face. Wait, she couldn't go on calling it and it. Lou fetched her Pokédex again, messed with some buttons until she had the right things, and read what it said. Basically it was reading the stats of the Pokémon, showing its, no, her information.


Apparently the Taillow was a female, relatively new to this world and slightly smaller than the average Taillow. The rest was all things that she didn't really understand, but what she did understand was that the little Taillow needed a confidence boost, and she needed to learn that she could trust Lou, and so Lou did the one thing she could think of, which was fetch a potion from the bottom of her bag and giving it to the poor bird.

With her energy restored, the Taillow was a lot more trusting and less frightened. She took off into the air, flying in big circles around the route, but still shied away from Lou when she motioned for her to come closer. Most of all Taillow seemed to dislike Ponyta, and stayed well away from her. Lou would have to work to remedy that one.


She had to admit, Taillow was beautiful when she flew. The rhythmic beat of her wings, the smallest change of angle in her wings that had a great impact on her flying. Absolutely stunning.


Lou had decided that it was lunchtime and had lowered herself one some soft grass only minutes away from the Petalburg woods. From that spot she could almost heard the buzzing of the bugs inside. Almost. It was blissful, feeling soft and sturdy ground underneath her and looking up at Taillow's as she flew, then angled her wings and turned a half circle and flew some more. The Taillow would pull both wings in just a little bit and lose altitude slowly before spreading them and flapping them again and climbing back high into the air.


She observed the bird for a long time. Every once in a while Taillow would pull in her wings almost entirely, leaving a bit of wing to steer her course as she dived back toward the ground. Then at the last moment she would spread her wings wide, catch the air under them and come to an abrupt stop in mid-air before moving them up and down rapidly and regaining all the altitude that she had lost. Beautiful.


And then there was Ponyta, who was running around curiously, sniffing things and trying to find things she hadn't seen before. With every move her muscles visibly worked in a tight rhythm that could match the beauty of the wings. And the long flaming manes behind it. "How did I end up with these beautiful creatures?" Lou wondered to herself.


Suddenly it hit her. "Epona!" Epona was the Celtic goddess of horses, it was perfect for Ponyta. The firy horse, who had stopped her frantic exploring and was now grazing near Lou, looked up with quizzical eyes. "Epona, that will be your name." Ponyta -Epona- looked at her for a brief second more, before continuing to graze. She seemed fine with it at least,


Now the Taillow. She had been in the air for a long time now without stopping, and she didn't seem in the least tired. The little bird might have been a bit scared at the time, but she wasn't as weak as Lou had thought. The bird held some formidable muscles in the tiny body, and her size made her light and very maneuverable. "Macha." It just struck her like that. Macha, one of the Morrígan, who was often depicted as a crow. Macha was also the most generous of the Morrígan, and thought to be the healer of fallen warriors. It all fitted in somehow, this strong yet modest bird.


"Taillow!" Lou called, and Taillow's head turned to watch her warily. Lou was happy that the Taillow knew to stay with her, and didn't just fly away as she could have done. She might not be too happy with them, but at least she stayed, gave them a chance.


Lou held out her arm, hoping for the best, but the Taillow just regarded it with distance, and resolved by landing on a tree's branch a bit to the right of Lou. Close enough, Lou thought. "Hey there little girl, what do you think of going about as Macha from now on?" Just like Epona, Taillow didn't really react to this information, she just kind of nodded her head and then flew into the air again. Once again, Lou took that as an acceptance.


So with the newly named Macha and Epona, Lou ended her little break to enter the woods that stood between them and their first gym battle. That was sure to be exciting, yet challenging. She hadn't exactly bonded with her Pokémon yet, though the Lord knows that she tried.


Right before she was about to enter the woods, a voice behind her stopped her. "Ehm… hi there?" Lou turned around to face a big eyes little girl with beautiful blonde hair in ringletted pigtails and a kind of frightened expression on her face. She couldn't be more than, what? Eight?


"Is there something I could help you with?" Lou asked nicely, smiling at the little girl whose gaze dropped on both Epona and Macha. Lou noticed that there was a tiny mushroom-shaped Pokémon hiding behind her legs, peeking out every now and then just to cower back again.


"You are a Pokémon trainer, right?" The girl's voice was a bit weak and her big hazel eyes kept looking around nervously.


"Yes, I am," Lou said, ever kindly. "My name's Louisa, and what is yours?"


The girl's eyes brightened. "My name's Isabelle! I was… ehm… wondering if you could help me! You see, Shroom over here isn't very confident, even though she's very strong! And neither is Wing. I was wondering if you wanted to battle them, so that they could be stronger."


"Sure thing," Lou said. She just couldn't help herself, the girl was just too cute! And her Papa had always taught her help people, especially girls, because it was the proper thing to do. "If you help people, you will be helped in return." is what he always said, and Lou lived by those rules.


"Okay, I'll get you to fight my Macha first, okay? She's relatively young and I've never battled her before, so we'll see how that goes!" Isabelle nodded at this and nudged Shroom, her Shroomish, forward to face Lou. Lou, in turn, called Macha, who reluctantly stayed aloft in front of Lou, her tiny frame were now problem for her strong wings to keep afloat. Lou took out her Pokedex and checked the entry.

Shroomish, the Mushroom Pokemon. It loves to eat damp, composted soil in forests. If you enter a forest after a long rain, you can see many Shroomish feasting on composted soil.


"Shroom, use Absorb!" The girl ordered confidently, like only a little child could, and Shroom complied, albeit a bit unwillingly. A bright glowing green orb floated toward Macha, which she dodged easily. Shroom made an audible kind of deflated sound, as if its confidence was escaping it already.


"Macha, can I talk to you for a second?" Macha zoomed over to Lou, who immediately started whispering. "Macha, I want you to let yourself be hit a few times, give the Pokémon some confidence, okay?" Macha nodded, but didn't seem happy about it, making her trainer wonder if she would ever warm up to her.


"Macha, why don't you try a peck?" Macha swooped down toward Shroom more slowly than she would have usually moved. She also seemed a lot more sure of herself with a steady voice behind her. Just as Macha was about to hit Shroom, Isabelle ordered an Absorb attack. Just like Lou had told her, the Taillow spread her wings out a little more, which created more resistance and slowed her down. The little green orb hit her, and small, just as green sparks were flying from the spot and returning to Shroom, who was visibly getting a confidence boost.


As soon as the attack had stopped, Macha swooped in and pecked Shroom hard once on its head, making it whimper in pain, before she swooped back into the air and hung there. But Shroom now had the idea in its head that, really, it was pretty capable of landing any hits, and it would do so again. Without Isabelle's order Shroom fired another Absorb, this one not at all hesitant and much quicker. It hit its mark, and this time Macha cried out in surprise. Shroom got the energy from it and looked better and meaner.


"Great job Shroom! Continue that way, do not let the Taillow peck you, use absorb before it can!" The little girl was getting excited now, she was all but jumping up and down on her feet.


"Macha, I want you to use peck in earnest now, and don't let the absorbs stop you!" Macha did what she was told. She tucked in her wings and pulled into a quick dive toward Shroom, but she was still not entirely sure if she was supposed to fake it again, or if Lou really meant what she said about the earnest thing. That little second of hesitation bought Shroom enough time to attach another energy-stealing green orb to Macha, and take some more energy.


This is ridiculous, Macha is a bird Pokémon, and a damned quick one, too, pardon my words. Shroomish are slow things, they aren't supposed to be able to hit Macha at all! Lou thought furiously. But Isabelle and Shroom had different ideas, Isabelle was cheering on the sidelines while Shroom's energy was as good as new. "Macha!" Lou yelled, catching Macha's attention. "Pull into a lightning quick peck, in it to win it! No hesitation!" Macha nodded, she understood what Lou had tried to tell her now. This was business.


"Shroom, use Fake Tears and then get him!" Isabelle commanded, and for one second Lou was confused. Shroomish weren't supposed to use a move such as Fake Tears. But then she remembered it, Egg Moves. There had been a Pidgey on their ranch who could do a move that he had inherited from a parent. And this Shroomish was using Fake Tears.


Shroom started sobbing theatrically , great big crocodile tears escaping its eyes as it sank in on itself. Macha slowed involuntarily at the sight, felling pity for the little creature. Just as Macha was about to fly up and wait for the tantrum to be over, Shroom jumped up, it's body was inches away from Macha and it latched onto the bird with its grassy powers, sucking all of the life out of Macha, leaving her panting and tired. But she wasn't too tired to land one last blow, hitting Shroom with a harsh peck attack that knocked the grass Pokémon completely out.


"Come back Macha, you fought bravely." Lou called the Taillow back into her Pokéball, and Isabelle did the same for her Pokémon. Now the little girl sent out Wing, her Wingull. Macha motioned for Epona, who took her place on the battlefield. Lou checked her 'Dex.

Wingull, the Seagull Pokemon, Wingull has the habit of carrying prey and valuables in its beak and hiding them in all sorts of locations. This Pokémon rides the winds and flies as if it were skating across the sky.


"Wing, I want you to start with a water gun!" The bird flew up, its wings were not quite as strong and perfectly formed for its body as Macha's were. They were long and thin and capable of bending down right in the middle to aid with resisting the strong ocean winds. But this very thing made them a bit clumsy when it came to precision flight.

"Epona, whatever you do, do not get hit by one of those beams of water! I want you to avoid them, and get in close with a tackle!" Epona did exactly that. She swerved around the beams of water that Wing was sending her way, and hit the low-flying bird with her shoulder, ramming it into a near tree. The bird was shaken, but functional, and flew up high to recuperate.


Isabelle would not relent, not even after such a bad start for her. "Wing, use Water gun again, just keep on trying to hit that Ponyta!" Wing nodded to its trainer and lowered to the ground the shoot beams of water at Epona. With her speed she was able to dodge quite a few of them, but it was unavoidable that one should hit her. She cried out as the hated water spurted over her, but she was not one to give up.


"Epona, wait until Wing is low, then do the exact same thing, push it against the tree!" Just as Wing was dropping lower in order to hit Epona with a beam of water she charged at him, not even giving him time to shoot his attack, and pushed him right against the tree again. Wing could not recover from two of those harsh blasts, and he collapsed on the ground.


"Wing!" Isabelle ran toward her injured Pokémon, dropping down beside him to stroke his feathers, whispering soothingly to him while Lou was watching quite awkwardly.


"Great job Epona," She told her Ponyta, rubbing her nose while she was panting and regaining her breath. "you were great out there, a lot of speed, definitely. We might have to work a bit on your precision, your first tackle was a little bit off, but the rest was just fine." Epona whinnied, her eyes half-closing as Lou massaged her nose. Finally Isabelle recalled Wing, and turned to Lou.


"Thanks for your help. Your Pokémon were really strong, I hope Shroom and Wing can get strong too!" With that she waved frantically while running back to Petalburg where no doubt her home was.


"Oookay," Lou said. "Time to get into the woods and to the other side Epona. Let's do this!"

 

[slls81]

@iPrincess - Nice to see you've finally joined us :P ...only joking :)

@Luigi-a - Nice battle :) and Lou's chosen some interesting nicknames for her pokemon!

I'll add Epona and Macha's nicknames to the OOC thread

Congratulations Taillow (Macha) grew to Level 4 and learned Focus Energy
Congratulations Ponyta (Epona) grew to Level 7 and learned Tail Whip

 

[I Laugh at your Misfortune!]

Bent almost double, Warren padded through the undergrowth, as quickly and fast quietly as he could. Just ahead of him, he could see Guy, sitting on a fallen log and poking at a campfire with a long stick. Houndour was lying on the ground, eyes closed, its head just inches from the flames. Ducking behind a pair of trees with especially thick trunks, Warren released his two Pokémon silently, then gestured over at Guy and Houndour. Silver's hackles raised and Cuddles raised his claws grinning, but Warren quickly held up a warning hand, then pointed at the tree behind him, one of the branches of which hung conveniently right over the red head and his Houndour. Warren crouched down, whispering to his Pokémon.

"Ok, this is a stealth mission, got it? Get out on that branch and wait for my signal. When I give it, you take that Houndour out." The two Pokémon glanced at each other, then nodded before setting off, the bear scrambling up the tree with his claws dug into the bark. Silver scrabbled at the bottom for a few seconds before Warren, sighing, picked him up and placed him on a high branch, where he could begin to climb up the rest of the tree. Stepping out from behind his cover, Warren began to sneak up on Guy, who had taken out some electronic device, about the size of a Pokédex. After glancing through it for a second, he snapped it shut and jumped as he glimpsed Warren over his shoulder. Snickering, Warren stepped forwards.

"So....what've you got there, Guy?" Guy scowled.

"That's my own business, Warren. Anyway, I thought I made it clear that I didn't want to see you again." Warren sneered.

"Well, I wanted to see you, Guy. I want to know why."

"Why? Why what?"

"Why you kept following me. Why you were so desperate to take my Pokémon. Why you tried to steal them when it would have been just as easy to catch them yourself." Guy smiled.

"Like I said, Warren, your Pokémon had power that you were incapable of harnessing. I wanted them so I could take that power for my own team...maybe even adapt it, so that it could have a similar effect on humans." Guy smiled.

"Still, Teams Magma and Aqua are stupid, but they understand one thing, and that's cash. I'm sure it won't be too hard for me to acquire your Pokémon from them." Warren snarled, stepping forwards and grabbing Guy by the scruff of his neck. Guy's demeanour changed instantly.

"Houndour, get this scum off me!" The dog leapt to his feet, but Warren grinned.

"Now!" With howls and the sounds of crashing, Cuddles and Silver dropped from the tree, landing right on the large dog's back and bringing it crashing to the ground. Warren grinned, but reeled back seconds later as Guy's fist crashed into his head. Clearly, this brat was happy to get his hands dirty. Stumbling, Warren raised a hand and blocked Guy's next punch, but fell as his leg was knocked out from under him by a quick kick. Guy grinned, panting lightly as he stood over Warren, fists still raised.

"I'm not as stupid as you think, Warren," he spat, "After last time, I decided that I should probably start learning how to defend myself without Houndour." Scrambling back to his feet, Warren scowled.

"You're still a pathetic wimp, Guy!" he shouted back, "And you're going to start explaining, now!" Guy raised an eyebrow, but didn't speak. To his right, Houndour was backing up, glaring at the other two Pokémon. Warren gulped. This was becoming exactly what he had hoped to avoid - a straight face-off. Guy chuckled.

"Alright Warren, you know you can't win here. You're outgunned. Now, I think we need to strike a deal." Warren narrowed his eyes.

"What kind of deal?"

"Simple. When I get your Pokémon back from Teams Magma and Aqua, I pass them onto you." Warren froze.

"Why would you offer that? What's the catch?" Guy paused.

"Ah, yes, the catch. It's nothing really. When I get them, I keep hold of Victreebel and Rattata for one month." Warren burst out laughing.

"You're kidding, right? You really think that I'd agree to that?"

"Yes, yes, I do. Because, quite simply, I'm the only chance you've got. The teams are big organisations - if you try to go against them and steal your Pokémon back, they'll make mincemeat of you. And, no flattery intended, your team was top class and they'll be asking high prices for them. You could never afford to buy them back." Warren stopped. Guy, smarmy little git though he was, was right. There was one problem, though.

"You said you wanted to try and 'adapt' this power...what would that involve?" Guy smiled widely, sensing that Warren was about to accept.

"Nothing major, just some light experimentation."

"My Pokémon are not lab rats," Warren spat back instantly and Guy paused.

"Of course. No harm would come to them. At most, I would need to take blood samples, but nothing more." Warren raised an eyebrow.

"What the hell are you planning, Guy?" Guy laughed.

"That's the other condition, Warren. My work is secret." Warren sighed. For a long time, he said nothing. Nobody moved. Then, finally, he looked up and stared Guy straight in the eye.

"I guess I don't have much choice, then, do I?"

 

[slls81]

@Amoire of Invincibility - Wow, I did not see that coming! Warren and Guy working together... what is the world coming to??? :P

 

[I Laugh at your Misfortune!]

Petalburg Woods was meant to be a habitat to many varied species of Pokémon. Unfortunately, that didn't stop it from being completely grey. Well, that wasn't fair actually. With the midday sun blocked by heavy cloud cover, the woods were a mixture of dark grey, light grey, and a kind of greenish grey. It was the complete lack of colour that made the trainer stand out even more, his blue t-shirt, yellow straw hat and red trousers contrasting horribly with both the woods and with each other. Waren raised an eyebrow as he watched the trainer poke at a bush with the handle of a long butterfly net. Nothing happened.

"Well that was dramatic." Spinning, the bug catcher saw Warren and smiled widely.

"Hey, are you a trainer?" Warren sighed.

"Yeah. I guess you're wanting a battle?" The boy nodded eagerly and Warren paused as he realised that this kid was probably some newbie, just starting out with his first Pokémon or two. Crushing his hopes and dreams should be fun.

"Sure...let's just make it a two on two, alright?" The kid nodded again, seemingly having lost the power of speech. As they stepped up to opposite ends of a small clearing, he spoke once more.

"My name's Adrian. What's yours?" Warren groaned.

"I'm Warren...now, let's get started! Silver, you're up first!" The kid grinned as the small grey wolf burst onto the field.

"Perfect! Makuhita, you're up!" Warren swore as the flabby fighter jumped in front of Silver, pudgy fists already raised.

"Arm Thrust!" Silver leapt to the side as the fat sack skidded forwards with surprising speed, its hand thrust out straight in front. Jumping high into the air, it landed on the other side of Makuhita and charged forwards, barging the pudgy Pokémon in the back. It went tumbling to the ground, but clambered up once more, pounding its chest with its fists. Charging, it attacked once more and once more, Silver leapt. But this time, Makuhita was expecting it and thrust a second time, catching silver in the side and sending it skidding along the ground. Winded, the dog struggled to its feet, only to be sent flying as Makuhita shoulder barged it right into a tree.

"Well, crap," Warren muttered to himself, before stepping forwards.

"Alright Silver, Howl!" The dog glared at Makuhita, then threw back its head and let out a long, eerie howl. It got exactly the response that Warren was hoping for. With a sequence of crashes, barks and squeals, two other Poochyena burst out of the undergrowth to land next to poochyena. The bug catcher blanched.

"Hey, that's not fair! That makes it three vs. one!" Warren snorted.

"They're not mine, they're just his old packmates. I'm only using the surroundings to my advantage." The bug catcher opened his mouth to protest, but just gasped as the three dogs leapt onto his Makuhita. Grunting with exertion, the fighter lashed out and knocked one of them clean out of the air, knocking it out cold with a single Arm Thrust. Quickly, Silver skidded around to behind Makuhita and, with a huge bound, the other Poochyena leapt at its face. It stumbled back a few steps and promptly tripped over Silver, going crashing to the ground. It stumbled upright, then nearly fell once more as Silver made a huge jump to land straight on its head. Warren grinned as Silver clamped its paws firmly over Makuhita's eyes and, blinded, the sack-like fighter walked right into a tree. It crashed to the ground, nearly crushing Silver, who jumped off just in time. Makuhita, panting heavily, climbed to its feet, glaring angrily at the two wolves. The larger one, the wild Poochyena made another charge, but Makuhita had been enraged. Reaching out, it grabbed the wolf around the neck and, swinging around, threw the Poochyena straight into Silver. The two of them collapsed into a mess of scrabbling legs, falling apart a second later and scrambling to their feet. The larger wolf growled at Silver holding out a bruised leg. Silver yapped angrily in response, but the wild Poochyena just turned around and limped back into the undergrowth, pausing only to give an affectionate wake-up kick to its fallen comrade, who was still snoring in the dirt. Silver growled, glaring angrily at Makuhita as the Bug Catcher laughed.

"Looks like your cheating didn't help much, Warren. You weren't expecting Counter, huh? My dad breeds Pokémon, so he knows how to teach Pokémon certain moves, before they're even born." Warren rolled his eyes.

"I could really care less, Adrian. So let's just wrap this up. Silver, Tackle!" The dog sped forwards and Makuhita grinned.

"Too predictable. Use Counter!" Makuhita made a grab at Silver, but the dog jumped, hopping neatly over the pudgy fighter's outstretched arms and rolling forwards before slamming hard into its stomach. Makuhita's eyes went wide, then it stumbled back, before tumbling to the ground, unconscious. Warren grinned, holding out his Pokéball to return Silver as Makuhita disappeared into Adrian's Pokéball.

"One down, one to go! You're up next, Cuddles!" Ignoring Adrian's snorts of laughter, Warren threw the bear's Pokéball and it landed in the middle of the arena, grinning as it raised its claws. Adrian glanced at Cuddles and his mouth stretched into a broad grin.

"Heracross! Let's go!"

 

[slls81]

@Amoire of invincibility - What... erm, unique tactics from Warren :P Cuddles vs Heracross should be an interesting match up :)

Congratulations Poochyena (Silver) grew to Level 6

 

[I Laugh at your Misfortune!]

Warren grimaced as the blue bug materialised in front of Cuddles. It was several feet taller, though that was mostly the large horn that stretched above its head. Adrian grinned.

"Heracross, start with Night Slash!" the giant beetle darted forwards, slicing through the air millimetres in front of Cuddles, who had leapt back to avoid the attack. Where its horn passed through the air, Heracross left thin trails of black, as though it was cutting the air itself. Cuddles growled, then charged forwards, ducking under another swipe before straightening up and scratching at Heracross's body. Three thin lines were drwn across its abdomen plates, but Heracross simply laughed, unhurt. Warren swore as Cuddles looked at its own paw - three of its claws had broken half off on Heracross's shell. Heracross sneered then, ducking down, smacked Cuddles right in the stomach with a sweep of its horn, sending it flying into a tree. The bear struggled woozily back to its feet as Heracross charged, horn outstretched. Cuddles skidded to the side as Heracross flew past, missing it by inches. Warren grimaced.

"Come on, concentrate!" he bellowed, gritting his teeth, "If we can't attack directly, then use Fake Tears!" The bear turned to Heracross, who was growling angrily and its expression changed instant;y. Dropping one hand to its side and putting one paw to its mouth, Cuddles's face began to quiver as big, fat tears rolled down its face and plopped onto the ground. Heracross paused, lowering its arms and looking over at Adrian.

"Herrrrraaa..." it moaned and Warren grinned. Adrian scowled.

"No! It's faking, now just - LOOK OUT!" Heracross stumbled as Cuddles, instantly taking advantage of the opening, leapt onto it and, laughing ghoulishly, slapped the giant beetle right across the face with its tongue. Heracross, staring in abject terror at the small bear. Warren just raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't know you knew Lick," he commented as a drop of saliva rolled of Cuddles's tongue, which was still hanging out, and splashed onto Heracross's face. That seemed to break the trance. The bug, with a cry of disgust, threw the ursine half way across the arena, where it landed, face down. Slowly, the Teddiursa tried struggling to its feet, but Heracross was on it and, with an angry screech, the blue bettle sliupped its horn under the bear's stomach and flung it skywards. Cuddles screeched as it was thrown high into the air, Heracross's herculean strength sending it almost out of sight. But then, it peaked and began to fall. Cuddles screamed louder. Warren just grinned.

"Use Scratch!" he shouted and the bear thrust forwards its unbroken claws, using the momentum to fuel its attack.

"Harden!" Adrian yelled and Heracross bent over, tensing itself, ready for the attack. The two trainers locked eyes and the two Pokémon collided. For second, Nothing seemed to happen and Cuddles froze there, appearing balanced on its one claw. Then, with a cry, it vaulted off the bug and landed hard on the ground, panting heavily. Heracross groaned as it tried to straighten up and, with a loud crack, a thin black line appeared in the middle of its back. Adrian gasped as Heracross froze, then collapsed face first in the dust.

"But...Heracross's shell is as hard as steel! There's no way you could have hurt him!" Warren snorted.

"His shell is solid, but he's still soft and squishy underneath. Besides, if his shell is as hard as steel, then how much force do you think was needed to crack it?" Adrian sighed, returning Heracross.

"I guess..." Warren grinned as he looked at Adrian, dejectedly staring towards the edge of the forest. In a way, he reminded him of himself, when he started off the first time and Poliwag had been incapable of winning anything. Warren looked up as Adrian turned to go.

"Hey, Adrian," The boy looked around.

"Yeah?" Warren paused, unsure of what he actually wanted to say.

"...See you."

"Yeah, see you Warren." Sighing, Warren returned Cuddles and set off once more.

 

[slls81]

@Amoire of Invincibility - Nice post... was Warren actually being nice at the end there? :P

Congratulations Teddiursa (Cuddles) grew to Level 7

 

[I Laugh at your Misfortune!]

OOC: Joint post from me and Izzy...

"Good job, Poochyena," Sam said, bending down to pet the pokemon. His hand was met by none other than Poochyena's fangs. "Gah! Why?! Why do you refuse to accept my friendship?!" Poochyena turned away. Sam sighed and pulled out its Pokéball, returning it. He was about to get moving when he heard the sound of clapping behind him. Just a few paces off, Warren slowly brought his sarcastic applause to a halt.

"Oh, well done, Sam. The League Champion can't even touch his own Pokémon!" he drawled. Dropping his hand to his belt, his grin fell.

"Now how about we have a real match, no unfair advantages! Then we'll see who's the real Champion!"

Sam's smile vanished as he pulled out a Pokéball.

"Warren Warren Warren," he chided. "I AM the real Champion. Will you ever just let that go?" Warren snarled.

"You never would've beaten Poliwhirl if Guy hadn't stolen my Water Stone...how do I know that it wasn't you that stole it anyway! That's the only way you could win!"

Sam gritted his teeth, anger he'd never really felt before boiling up.

"Me? How could you say that? That's it, you're goin' down this time!" Sam yelled, preparing to throw a Pokéball but Poochyena jumped in the way, snarling at Warren.

"Poochyena!" it growled, showing its fangs. Warren grinned.

"Fine, I guess it'll be your wolf against mine! Silver, you're up!" With a matching snarl, the smaller Poochyena burst onto the field, glaring up at Sam's Poochyena.

"Alright Silver, Tackle it!" Sam smirked.

"Oh come on, Warren. Poochyena's better than that! Jump over it!" Sam yelled. Poochyena leapt into the air, narrowly dodging the rough tackle. It landed with a small thud.

"Now use Howl!" Poochyena leaned its head back and let out a loud howl, echoing for god knows how far. It looked down, ready to strike. Warren rolled his eyes.

"Oh no, your mutt made a loud noise. However will we beat that? Oh, wait, I know! Silver, get moving! Circle it, then Tackle!" Silver ran in several quickly circles around Poochyena before ducking in. It was all set to do some damage, but all it got was a swift kick to the face. It slid backwards, growling, as Sam started laughing.

"Wow...you really didn't see that coming? Poochyena's not helpless you know! Now, leap on it!" Sam yelled. Poochyena spun and jumped, falling towards the other dog. Warren rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, I totally didn't see it coming that your Poochyena might fight back." As he called, Silver sped forwards, using its small size to narrowly evade the attack.

"Now, Tackle to the back as it lands!" Silver leapt forward, crashing into Poochyena. The small dog slid a few feet before jumping up, growling at Silver.

"Show it! Tackle!" Sam yelled. Poochyena dug in hard, then leapt forward straight at the small dog.

"Yeah, because direct attacks work so well. Silver, use Howl!" Silver threw back its head and let out a long piercing howl, a sound that even gave Warren a chill down his spine. Poochyena skidded to a halt, eyes wide at the demonic sound Silver was making. It wasn't the only one to respond. Seconds later, the woods were alive as a cavalcade of Pokémon jumped, fell or flew out of the surrounding trees. Warren grinned as their impromptu battlefield was filled with hundreds of panicked Zigzagoon, Wurmple, Shroomish and even the odd Slakoth. Grinning, Silver shot forwards into the crowd and instantly disappeared, his small form allowing him to hide behind the taller creatures. Sam, on the other hand, was gritting his teeth at this situation. Poochyena had stopped...he'd actually stopped. Still, maybe there was a way to handle all of this.

"Well, Warren. If you can do it, so can I! Poochyena, HOWL!" Sam yelled. Poochyena looked up into the high trees and let out a high pitched howl. The pokemon on the field started to screech and ran the other way. Soon, they had all left the field out of fear and Silver was caught up in the struggling. With a fair amount of tackling, it eventually broke free...to Poochyena right in its face for a tackle.

"Let's see you get out of this one!"

"If you can steal my moves, I can steal yours!" And indeed, as Poochyena drew near, Silver spun around and booted it right in the face, just as Poochyena had done earlier.

"Poochyena!" Sam cried as the dog crashed to the ground with a thump. It shook its head and stood up, though it was obviously injured.

"Try that again! Charge!" Sam yelled. Poochyena charged in, ready to tackle. Silver instantly spun around, ready to kick. Sam smirked. "Now, slide under it and kick hard!" Poochyena quickly twisted to where it was sliding on its side, dodging the kicks. As it slid under Silver, its feet connected with the grey wolf's stomach, knocking it up into the air.

"Now, hit it with Tackle!"

"You too, Silver!" The two dogs shot forwards and collided head on, bouncing back to skid to a halt on all fours. Silver and Poochyena both stood their, hackles raised, neither backing down.

"Well well, what do we have here then?" Warren glanced over his shoulder as a man wearing what could only be described as a pirate costume walked out of the forest. Grinning, he held out his hand.

"Now hows about you two just hand over your Pokémon and nobody gets hurt, eh?" Sam couldn't hold back a laugh.

"Dude...how about you get out of here right now and leave us to our battle and I don't have my Poochyena rip you limb from limb?" he replied smartly.

"You talk big but you're just a newbie, kid. Just hand over the Pokémons you gots to me, a member of the great Team Aqua and you'll be supporting a better world," the man smiled with a mocking grin. He apparently expected Sam to be nice. Sam started laughing.

"You hear that, Warren? Team Aqua. You know what that means?" Sam asked. Poochyena ran forward and stood in front of Sam, snarling. Warren scowled.

"Oh no you don't! Come on, let's go, Cuddles!" dropping his hand to his belt, Warren threw another Pokéball to release the unfortunately nicknamed ursine.

"Now, Cuddles, you cover that pirate! Silver, Tackle on Poochyena!"

"Warren, this is serious! Poochyena, teach it a lesson! Jump over it and attack! Oh, and I believe you're the one who drove me crazy about nicknames? Cuddles...really?" Sam yelled. Poochyena easily evaded Silver and charged back, ready to attack. Meanwhile, the Aqua was staring at the bear.

"Damn bear! Eat foot ya land lubber!" the aqua member swung his foot out, connecting with the bear's stomach. Not even waiting for a command, Cuddles caught the foot and drove its claws deep into the Aqua grunt's ankle, before leaping onto his chest and slashing madly. Silver, meanwhile, skidded past Poochyena and narrowly dodged the attack.

"Fine, Sam, you want to make it personal! Silver, forget that mutt and get Sam!"

"I'm not the one who made it personal! You did it back at the league! Poochyena, intercept it with Tackle!" Sam yelled. Poochyena quickly charged in front of Silver, passing it with high speed. He then leapt at his opponent, ready to hit Silver. Warren laughed madly as Silver spun, deflecting the attack with his back feet.

"I made it personal? We were almost friends, Sam...until you took advantage of my momentary weakness. With the Water Stone, I could have won, and you know it!" Warren suddenly flinched as Cuddles flew through the air in front of him. Stumbling to his feet, his clothes shredded and red lines on his chest, the Aqua grunt glared at Warren. Holding up a Pokéball, he threw it and out burst a small, fluttering bat with a conspicuous lack of eyes. Still, it could clearly see Cuddles well enough as it instantly dive-bombed the bear, biting at it madly. Cuddles, true to form, lashed out with a devastating scratch that skimmed Zubat's body, prompting it to retreat to a safe distance.

"Warren...friendship...I consider us friend...even now. I'm sorry that it ended like that but I didn't take the stone. I know you wouldn't have wanted me to hold back...but very well. Cleff, let's do it!" Sam yelled, throwing the small orb. Cleff appeared. He was ready to help Warren out, but suddenly, a man cloaked in red walked out from some trees.

"Hey kid, how about you hand over that pokemon? It's awfully rare around here and...YOU!" the man said, looking at the pirate.

"Team Magma's here?" the pirate asked, drawing a second Pokéball.

"Yeah, here to take the pokemon from these kids!" the man in red yelled. The aqua member laughed.

"Don't even try! They've got some skills...and they aren't handing the pokemon over. Still, this could be a good chance to get rid of you! Zubat, forget the Teddiursa, let's get this guy!" the pirate yelled.

"Oh yeah? Poochyena, go!" the magma yelled, releasing a third Poochyena into the arena. Sam sighed and backed up a bit.

"Hey Warren...it's not worth getting involved in this...so how about we just finish this up? Poochyena, use Howl again!" Sam said. The small grey dog let out a bone chilling howl, echoing and apparently scaring the third Poochyena and Zubat. Warren snapped.

"WE'RE FINISHED WHEN I FREAKING SAY WE'RE FINISHED!" he yelled, sheer anger almost seething out of his pores.

"SILVER! Get that Zubat!" Zubat looked around, still cringing, as the grey dog leapt straight into it, bringing them both tumbling to the ground.

"Now, you get that Poochyena!" Cuddles leapt at the newest Pokémon, slashing at its face and driving it to the ground. Warren turned to Sam.

"And you. Well, I only have these two Pokémon...but they're not the only ones who can fight!" Warren's gaze dropped down until he was staring at Sam's Poochyena. Grinning, he said that little phrase which made the small dog's eyes go wide.

"Warren, use MEGA KICK!"

"Poochyena, dodge!" Sam yelled. The small dog jumped back just in time to avoid Warren's foot. "Now eat this! Mega Punch!" Sam ran forward, swinging his fist at Warren's face. It was easily blocked.

"Why won't you quit? Since the second you got here...you've been giving me crap for something I DIDN'T EVEN DO! I'm not the one who took your damn water stone! GUY DID! Why do you blame it all on me!? You're acting like my life is just the picture of perfect, that I have everything I've ever wanted. Well I DON'T! Hell...I don't even have my real parents..." Sam yelled, getting increasingly quiet towards the end. A tear rolled down his cheek.

"SO BACK THE HELL OFF!" Warren snorted, glaring at Sam with a look of utter contempt.

"Oh, poor little Sam, the league champion. Poor little Sam, who the whole bloody world bends over backwards for. Poor little Sam, who has everything that I ever wanted!" Warren spat at him, glancing first to the left, then to the right at the two grunts from the teams, the pirate with his shirt shredded and the man in red looking completely confused.

"And you two...you're pathetic....you're the lowest, the most disgusting excuses for human beings to ever walk the earth..." The Aqua grunt grimaced.

"You'd better shut it, kid!" he shouted back in a whining drone, "Or I'm coming after you once I've dealt with that Magma goon!"

"If that's what you think, Warren...take it. Head on back to Kanto and ask my so called parents for that trophy up in my room. Tell them Sam said it's alright. I don't plan on going back anyway...I'll rescue my pokemon then leave...you'll never see me again. But until then, give me hand will you? I know you lost pokemon, too. These guys might know something...if you care at all, you'll give me a hand with them. Either that, or you'll prove what I said the first time we met. That you don't care enough about your pokemon..." Sam replied bitterly.

"Stolen pokemon? We specialize in the things! That's why we want yours!" the magma goon said.

"Yeah. That's why I haven't just left. You might know something...now FIGHT ME!" Sam yelled, looking at Cleff.

"Cleff?" she seemed to ask.

"Cleff, we're taking these guys down. Now," Sam said simply. The small pokemon instantly understood. "Now hit the Poochyena, not Warren's, with Pound!" Sam yelled. Cleff nodded, then leapt at the magma goon's Poochyena. Warren narrowed his eyes as the stupid pink blob smacked the grey wolf over the head.

"I don't care? You think I don't care? I'm not the one who started this whole sorry affair, Sam! Do you even remember the first time we met? DO YOU? Well, let me just refresh your memory, Sam! You, being the typical jumpy little brat that you are, were too busy worrying about yourself to look where you were going. And when you ran into me, I pointed out that you were being an idiot. So, you took the only rational course of action, didn't you? You attacked me with a giant freaking water dragon!" Warren laughed insanely, fists clenched.

"I mean, you say I don't care about my Pokémon...but you cared so much about your stupid dream that you were going to attack some random bystander!" Glancing from side to side, he saw that the two goons were backing up to opposite sides of the clearing, their Pokémon totalled. The Magma grunt glanced up and glared from side to side.

"Well, you kids got lucky this time," he spat, looking at his rival, "But you're gonna be sorry you ever saw me!" The Aqua grunt gulped as the other team member, a foot taller and several stone heavier than him, stepped forwards menacingly, before turning and fleeing into the woods. Growling, the Magma runt bounded after him. Warren looked over at Sam as the sounds of the two criminals faded into the distance.

"Well," he said quietly, his voice nearly cracking, "I guess it's just you and me now."

"...you idiot." Sam started. Warren was chuckling a little now.

"YOU IDIOT! You're right when you say I attacked you. I won't deny that, but you're proving my point right now. You let them go...they might have known something. You'll pay for that...you're right, now I'm the one being selfish, but its only because you've disposed of my first real link to my Pokémon's' kidnappers! Poochyena, take Silver down! Tackle!" Sam roared, his anger increasing with every second. Poochyena charged, snarling at the other dog. Silver simply kicked Poochyena hard in the face, blocking the attack.

"You're just so confident! It's so IRRITATING! You were the same way every time I've met you. That first time, you easily took my team down. That second time, you still confidently fought, even though it ended in a tie. Hell, even at the league! Even after I won, you're just so confident that I somehow cheated! Is that all you care about Warren? Yourself? If so...you'll never get anything done in life...I'm out of here." Sam started to walk away, the hatred still apparent in the air. Warren burst out laughing.

"Oh no, I'm confident? Wow, what a shame. It really must suck, living a life where you're so afraid of believing in yourself that you think that there's something wrong with confidence itself." Warren glanced to the side, at the trampled shrubbery where the Magma and Aqua grunts had gone charging off into the distance.

"Besides, I didn't see you try and stop them either, Sam. Maybe you realised, just like me, that the teams don't give out all of their important information to every single person in their ranks." Sighing, Warren looked up at Sam.

"Y'know what? I'm sick of you. I don't want to have to see your stupid, hateful face ever again. Goodbye." With that, Warren held out his Pokéball to return Silver, then turned to leave.

Sam was about to peacefully sever whatever bond they had when he suddenly realized...it didn't have to come to this...and he could still fix it.

"Warren...wait..." he said quietly. The other boy stopped.

"I...I'm sorry..." Warren snorted.

"I don't care if you're sorry, Sam. I don't want to have to see your face."

"Why? Why do refuse to accept it? That's all I ask...just answer me that...and I'll be on my way..." Sam replied. The question was still bugging him.

"You really want to know?" Warren turned around.

"Because every time I see your face, every time I hear your name, it reminds that I'm only ever going to be the second best."

"Warren...allow me to tell you something. You're better, okay? You are definitely the better trainer. I will never deny that and I personally believe you should have won...and you and I both know there's one person to blame...two if you really think about it...for why you didn't..." Sam replied. He felt Warren's pain...it was just like when he and James had trained together...James had been so much better...he had actually been jealous of James and his skill. Warren shook his head.

"See, you go on with all of these well-meaning, flattering words. But that's all they are. Words. Just...leave me alone."

"Fine...I'll leave you alone...but I do have one final thing to say first...I challenge you. Think about it Warren...we're both one win, one loss and one tie in our current standings. Wouldn't you agree...that we should finish this now?" Sam asked simply. For a moment, Warren stopped. Then, dropping his head, he slowly shook it from side to side.

"Like I say, Sam...just let me be." With that, he began to walk off.

"Very well...Warren...but you do realize you're going the wrong way? Well, no matter. I'm out of here...see ya," Sam said, walking away.

"Oh, and I almost forgot...here," Sam said, tossing what looked like a rock to Warren. Warren looked down as he caught it, a helix pattern seemingly engraved in the stone. A fossil.

"I've had it a while...in fact, since that day not so long ago. I figure since I've got two that you'd like it...Helix Fossil...that's what the guy called it. This..." Sam pulled out the other fossil, an amber coloured rock with a small object in the centre, "Is mine. Old Amber..." Warren shook his head as he slipped the fossil into a jacket pocket where it sat heavily.

"I have nothing more to say. Goodbye."

"Warren...gather your strength, train your team...because I'm going to fight you some day soon...and this time, no backing down. And with that...we will truly decide who is the stronger. Oh, and you're going the wrong way," Sam left his rival with that. Some day really soon...they would fight once more. Warren raised an eyebrow.

"I'm going away from you, Sam. By my standards...that's the right way."

"Call it what you will. You're just running from fate anyway. You and I will battle...look at it this way. You can run and run all you want but some invisible force will always send you on your way back to me. Hell...I wouldn't be surprised if I ran into you not too long from now but remember this. We're destined to..." Sam started but he was cut off by Warren walking away. "Very well...I know a lost cause when I see one. Well, remember this. You'll have to follow me out eventually if you ever want to prove you're stronger and this is the only way out." With that, he stepped forward, the exit in sight now.

 

[King!]

Chapter Two: Somebody To Love:


Jazmine walked around the perimeter of the cottage, looking for the entrance, when out of the corner of her eye she saw a movement. She glanced to her left, and found her self looking through a screen window. An old man, slightly bald and dressed in black was inside.

"On yer guard, Peeko!" Mr.Briney said quietly. That was when Jazmine realized that there was a ruffling coming from a wooden cupboard. A tiny Wingull, obviously Peeko, nodded, and slowly moved towards the noise, followed by Mr.Briney, who was craning his neck this way and that, listening for the source of the noise. Finally, they spotted it.

Mr.Briney walked over to the cupboard, and slowly inched it open. When he'd succeeded, and a small, yellow and black mouse with rather large ears turner it's head and faced him.

"Pi?" It asked. It was struggling to open a jam jar.

Mr.Briney let out a sigh of relief, before taking the jam jar off of the creature. The yellow mouse looked up at the old sailor with a sad look in her eye.

"Hungry are we?" Mr.Briney asked.

"Chu," said the mouse, slowly nodding her head.

Opening the jam jar, Mr.Briney passed it back to the small Pokémon. The yellow rodent took it gratefully, before tucking in.

"Pi," she said happily.

Mr.Briney smiled, and headed towards a phone in the corner of the room- right where Jazmine was standing by the window. She quickly ducked down, but it was too late- the man had spotted her. "Hey!" Mr.Briney exclaimed. "You whippersnapper had better get up here right now!" Jazmine slowly lifted herself up. Then, with a change of expression, the old man added, "And join us for lunch."

"You have GOT to be kidding me!" Jazmine thought, though she was grateful. She walked around to where she'd realized the door was, and walked into the cozy cottage.

"Have a seat." Mr.Briney said, gesturing to the table in which the mouse was sitting on. Jazmine noticed it was a PIchu. Mr.Briney proceeded to make his phone call. He dialed the number with surprising swiftness, for such an old man, and held the phone to his ear. After a few seconds, he spoke. "Hello. Oh. No, I'm quite alright. Yes, I've found a Pokemon, and I was wondering if you could maybe take it in? I'm much to busy to care for such a thing, and it's homeless, and family-less. Found it eating out of my jam jar! Okay, that sounds good then. Yes, the trip went fine. Quite the characters you have there! They were all mighty fine. Oh, what's this? Ah, yes, I think I've heard about this Jasper on the news… Poor lad, gave up that championship. He looked like quite the trainer too! Of course, all of your trainers are excellent." At this part, Mr.Briney paused, and nodded. "Alrighty then, see you later Maple!" He then hung up.

Jazmine had been so intrigued in the conversation, she hadn't noticed that the small Pichu had crawled up into her arms and fallen asleep. She pet the tiny creature on the head. "That was Maple. Said she'd take in the little feller. Could you maybe do me a favor and deliver it to the machine in Rustburo City? See, the one here in Petalburg isn't working, and Oldale's isn't connected to the teleportation system."

Jazmine thought about it for a second. This WOULD mean spending more time away from home, and she'd be spending it with a cute little mouse. "I'll do it." She finally answered.

"Great!" Mr.Briney replied. "I suppose I'll give you something as a thank you… Here! Take this Pokedex Maple gave me, I don't have much use for it anyways. And, take these Pokeballs too." Like lightning, the old man whipped out a red electronic device and several Pokeballs.

Jazmine accepted them with glee. "Thanks!"

Mr.Briney carefully picked up the Pichu, and gently wrapped it in a soft yellow blanket, which he placed into a tiny basket. He handed it to Jazmine, and she slipped her Pokeballs and Pokedex too. "Remember, Rustburo City, past Petalburg Woods, okay?" Jazmine nodded, and with a wave, exited the tiny cottage.


(OOC: There we go!)