[PKMN FULL] Hoenn: Square One [IC]

[Groc]

Edison Kintobor
Saturday, September 19th
Slateport Gym

---

"Yeah! Check it out, Eddie! I got a badge!" Sunny excitedly hurries over to Edison after her match. Her battle was interesting to see, and Benji had been very enthusiastic during it. Seel had set up Hail that didn't bother it or Wormadam, but had been a constant hassle to Sputter and Flare. Both Fire types had focused on Wormadam, while both Gym Pokémon had focused on Flare. He was the first to fall, but Wormadam followed almost immediately after. After that, it had been a battle of attrition, but Seel's Rest, which was supposed to give it the upper hand, had only boosted Sputter's Hex, and the little candle Pokémon managed to pluck victory from the edge of defeat.

Ed glances up from his Holotch as Sunny proudly shows off her new badge. He'd been running some last minute calculations, using Sunny's match to gather data. But her energy is infectious, and she'll probably tackle him if he ignores her, so he offers a grin and a thumbs up. To his surprise, she leaps up and wraps her arms around his neck in a tight hug, nearly dragging him to the ground.

"I was so upset that I didn't get to battle Deidre, but now we both have a badge! This is great!"

"What? Uh, Sunny..." Ed gently pushes her off of him, grinning sheepishly. "I lost to Deidre. I didn't get the badge." Sunny looks confused, so Ed keeps talking. "I probably wasn't doing as much training as I should have, and you know I've never been a strong battler. But I've been studying up on moves, and learning what my Pokémon can do, so I might have a chance this time!"

Sunny quirks a skeptical eyebrow, but shrugs it off as she slugs Ed in the arm. "Well, good luck out there! Just think of it as a puzzle and you'll do fine! You're great at puzzles!"

Ed winces and rubs his arm, but appreciates the vote of confidence. "Of course. 'Every puzzle has an answer', after all." Sunny heads over to the spectator seats, and Ed goes back to his Holotch to plan before the match starts.

☆☆LEADER Benji vs CHALLENGER Edison☆☆

The modest crowd in the Gym politely applaud as Ed steps into the ring, along with one very excited fan yelling, "You can do this, Eddie! Woo!" Ed takes a calming breath as he wordlessly waves at her.

By comparison, they are much more excited when Benji enters, and he takes a moment to wave to the gathered Trainers before giving Ed his full attention. "Welcome to Slateport Gym, Edison! We're big on camaraderie and community here. Can I call you Eddie?"

"You may not." Ed is terse in his reply. "I do not permit anyone to call me that. 'Edison' is preferable, but 'Ed' will suffice."

Benji glances over at Sunny in the audience, then returns his attention to Ed with a grin. "Noted! This will be a double battle, but I'll let you pick your pair after I've selected mine. So here are today's contestants!" He throws two PokéBalls, calling on his Stunfisk and Diglett.

Ed pauses as the two appear, running through all of his plans and preparations. He grabs one PokéBall with confidence, but lingers over the second. Steeling his resolve, he is filled with determination as he grabs the second, sending out Aster and Neo.

There are some murmurs from the crowd, some appreciative and some perplexed, and the sound of a chair falling over. Ed forces the distractions from his mind, focusing on the battle ahead. "Phase one, preparation. N.D., use Light Screen! Aster, use Confuse Ray on Diglett!"

Aster spins in midair, their core gem flashing with purple energy as they shine a light on Diglett, but at Benji's command the little mole projects a force field to Protect itself. Meanwhile, Neo's eye glows blue as they emit a force field of their own, erecting a translucent wall between the two teams. Stunfisk whips up a Sandstorm, filling the ring with swirling winds and stinging sand while leaving the other areas of the Gym unaffected. Only Aster is harmed by the sand, but they don't show any visible discomfort.

The next step is crucial, but Ed knows Benji won't make this easy. "N.D., use Supersonic on Stunfisk. Aster, a Water Gun at Diglett, please!"

Aster lands on two limbs, aiming their top arm forward and expelling a jet of water at Diglett. Once again Benji orders Diglett to protect itself, this time by digging through the floor and out of line of sight. Neo emits sound waves at Stunfisk, but a mixture of the howling wind and Stunfisk just not being there anymore cause the attack to miss. Stunfisk starts Charging electricity in it's body, a tactic that will not only empower its next Electric attack, but also provide a buffer against special attacks.

"Change of plans... Aster, get ready for Diglett to reappear, probably very close to Neo, and hit it with Rapid Spin. Neo, use Magnet Bomb on Stunfisk. It's too evasive for anything else."

True to Ed's prediction, Diglett bursts from the ground underneath Neo, bypassing the protective Screen to deliver a powerful hit to their underside. Neo reels from the impact, and Aster flies through the air, spinning like a buzzsaw and slamming into Diglett.

Neo fires off a metal ball, magnetically guiding it into Stunfisk. The small explosive doesn't phase Stunfisk much, and it Discharges a widespread burst of built up static that hits all of the other Pokémon. With it being Charged, the shock is twice as powerful, though the Light Screen diffuses the energy somewhat. Diglett is unphased, and Neo barely feels it, but Aster is blasted back from the blow.

Ed pulls up his Holotch scanner, taking stock of the arena. Both of his Pokémon are in dire straights, while Benji holds every advantage. "Phase three... checkmate." He holds up his hands, head bowed. "I concede. I think we both know where this is going. I think we all do."

He returns his Pokémon to their PokéBalls, stepping out of the ring. Benji does the same, coming over and offering his hand to Ed.

"That was a good match, Edison. You had a solid plan, and your Pokémon are in fine shape. Come back any time you want a rematch."

Ed accepts the handshake, and the compliment, thanking Benji for the match. He heads back out to the lobby, where Sunny is waiting for him. Before she can say anything, he raises a hand to stop her. "I know, I gave up. But you saw the field, there was nothing I could do. It wasn't in the cards, as they say."

Sunny just gives Ed a hug, not saying anything. He awkwardly pats her on the back, and is taken completely by surprise when she punches him in the stomach. "*Guh!* What was that for?!"

Sunny steps back, turning her back on him to hide her pout. "You were holding back before. You had Staryu that whole time, but you didn't use him against me. You could have won if you did!"

"Sunny, I... I wasn't sure of their capabilities yet, they were still untested! I went with a team I knew better."

Sunny looks over her shoulder at Ed, not mad, but disappointed. "Liar. I don't want any pity or charity from you, Eddie. Next time we fight, we fight for real. Don't pull your punches next time, or I won't pull mine." She walks out of the Gym, not waiting for him.

Ed takes a moment to compose himself before heading out after her. "If that was pulled, I'd hate to see her truly angry..."

 

[forg]

- A joint post with the awesome Tooi Akogare -
*bulbagarden.net image removed*Koko Puffs & Kendall Douglas*bulbagarden.net image removed*​

September 17, Evening​

Inside an entrance west of the ferry terminal, a gleaming dark marble surface reflected upon it the many bright lights of the ceiling, as well as the well-groomed spectacled young concierge currently manning the front desk. She straightened the literature in front of her again, a small attempt to relieve some of the monotony out of what had been a quieter than typical evening in the lobby.

Despite the slow burn however, her manager had given her a not-so-typical tip about an upcoming guest who supposedly was going to turn up at some point in her shift. She was instructed to confirm their identity by their reservation number, where she was then to hand them a note and let them know that their reservation was cancelled. Why the hotel was carrying out such frivolous dramatics, she was confused by. But she couldn't help being curious about the whole ordeal; if the note hadn't been sealed inside an envelope she for sure would have found a way to read it during a lull period.

Just then a hazelnut haired teenager with nothing but an over packed rucksack for luggage with him approached the marble desk. The concierge snapped out of her thoughts and immediately resumed her role, asking the trainer for his details with a warm smile of a professional.

"Oh yes, here's my reservation, of course…"

The string of letters and numbers that flashed on the Holotch instantly registered with the concierge. She reached down under the table top to unearth and hand the envelope to its intended recipient.

"...err, what's this?"

"Sorry sir, there seems to be a problem with your reservation…"

♤♡◇♧
Chapter 1.4
♤♡◇♧​

September 18, Morning​

For Koko and Kiko the early morning was a beautiful thing. It was a ritual to admire the sunrise together, thus it was no surprise Koko had partaken in the activity during her first sunrise in Hoenn. Witnessing this new sunrise and confiding in her Kiko about her worries that came with starting such a journey in Hoenn prepared her for the day ahead. Not that there was much to do, for she grew an itch to walk through the entirety of the city to familiarize herself with it; the Pokémon Fanclub, Museum, and International Market were must-see destinations for Koko.

Hoping to tackle her curiosity head on, the young trainer ventured into the marketplace first. And as she glanced and observed every open-air stall, from the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of a falling cap. Its owner, a taller individual with warm, brown hair kept short, seemed unaware of what was occurring, as if distracted. Due to facing opposite of Koko, she was unable to distinguish anything other than the trainer-esque outfit they sported, a detail that eased her into approaching them.

There was a few seconds pause, eyes glancing around to see if anyone other than herself was willing to return the hat to its rightful owner. But alas nobody came forward, leaving her to do the deed, albeit with a slow gait.

Like a good samaritan, Koko plucked the hat from the hot ground and steadily advanced toward the possible-trainer. She took in a deep breath and exhaled via puffy cheeks before proceeding to catch up with the person's quicker gait, soon matching their speed, hat loosely held by her two hands before her chest.

She lightly taps the side of their right arm. With a smile Koko begins her question. "Hellooo, good morning sir, is this your, uh…," she paused to get a second look at the headwear, arm lifting the item between her and the stranger, "red hat?"

A meek voice abruptly pierced through Kendall's hazy headspace, though his mind was unable to discern anything intelligible out of the inquiring noise. All morning his noggin had been echoing with unpleasant sensations, like as if a hitmonchan had been using it as punching practice the night before. The last thing he wanted at the moment was a social interaction.

A wave at the general direction of where the voice came from was all he afforded. "Sorry, not interested…"

Koko hesitated in her response, gait slowing to a near stop as she debated her next course of action. The dilemma processed through her sluggish mind at the speed of a slowpoke, so much so that upon deciding to persist she found the man to be much further ahead than she anticipated.

With a desire to return the hat to its rightful owner, she jogged over to the fellow trainer and tapped the side of his elbow once more, believing in the possibility that she may have been too soft-spoken prior.

"Hello? Sir? Uh, I'm really sorry for bothering you again," she began once more. "Wasn't sure if you heard me, maybe I was too-"

The same voice pierced through again, though this time more insistent for attention. Kendall's frizzled instincts associated it with the aggravating buzz of a stubborn fly. So he swung out to swat it away.

"FOR GOODNESS' SAKE YOU MUPPET, CAN'T YOU TAKE A HINT?? F*CK OFF!"

Stabbed by the sudden sharpness of his words, Koko did, indeed, back off. Her momentary second of shock transformed into that of hurt, both hands tightly grasping the hat against her cold chest. The occasional curious stare from bystanders did nothing to quell the emerging uneasiness, rather it amplified it.

"Aaa. . . hahaha, I'm reeaally sorry. I, uh," she had mustered out, but could no longer. She withdrew into herself, shame and embarrassment now fueling her actions from here on out.

Koko proceeded to rapidly plop the hat by his feet before straightening herself, unable to make eye contact as she spoke, inhaling a large breath beforehand. "I'm sorry if this wasn't your hat. Thought it was."

The word hat usurped Kendall's state into one of surprise, as he quickly realised through physical examination that his head was, in fact, feeling a lot more naked than one with a garment sitting on top of it. He looked down to the girl currently with her gaze planted firmly fixed on her shoes and more realisations started to quickly transpire in his mind.

A mix of embarrassment and confusion temporarily took over. "Oh- my hat! T-thank you for returning it!" His expression changed to one of contrived astonishment.

The sudden shift in demeanor somewhat lessened the damage, melting away the cold tendrils of fear that had planted her feet in place. "Hahaha, yeeeah," she sheepishly replied, a hand scratching her scalp as a small distraction for her. But it was not enough.

Koko gave Kendall a short wave before ambling in the opposite direction, her hands massaging the tension away from her forehead. But Kendall wasn't quite ready to let go just yet. "Hey, wait, let me apologise, I think we got off on the wrong foot here-" Out of instinct his right hand jumped out and grabbed her left wrist before Koko could even make her first step, practically yanking the poor girl towards him. And with a gasp she nearly fell on to him, regaining her balance with arms spread out a mere foot from his frame.

"O-okaaaaay… okay, okay, sorry, uh…!" Flustered, Koko cleared her throat and fixed her locks of hair, taking her sweet time in regaining composure. "I. Am. Sorry. Really really am. Didn't know you wanted to, like… apologize. You don't really have to though, you did nothing wrong, it's fine," she sheepishly grins, hoping to avoid a similar outburst to the one she had encountered earlier.

She takes a step back, her fingers interlocking with one another and palms pressed firmly before her, successfully quelling the stress. "Sorry. Yeah."

"No, no, no, don't be absurd now, I can see I practically scared the pants off you!" laughed Kendall, in his best attempt to come off affable. "Now, let me apologise properly, how about a nice hot cup of tea, all on me? Or coffee, or moomoo milk, if you are into that sort of thing..."

At the mention of moomoo milk she perked up, almost too quick to reject the offer with hands having lifted and mouth left slightly open. His laughter was just the medicine she needed to dissipate the tension she had begun to feel, now at ease and more willing to cooperate. Furthermore, his words were also the push needed for her to see this as an opportunity for some company, at the very least.

She lets out a small giggle, albeit looking elsewhere out of the remaining embarrassment before responding. "Oh no no no, it's okay. I can pay for my milk," Koko attempts to reject the offer with an open hand gently pressed against her chest for emphasis. "I don't deserve that after having done… that, haha. Sorry, still. About that… but I'm cool going anywhere you wanna go." She throws in a shrug and takes a deep breath before grinning with some confidence, already beginning feeling some comfort around this trainer. "Anywhere."

---

A pair of giggling children rushed past behind the table Kendall and Koko had settled on, near the edge of the terrace of the cafe at the southern Pokemon Centre. Koko, who had easily succumbed to his offer to pay for her rather small and simple meal aftet much persistence from his part, took laughably small bites off the large brownie held by two hands. This was followed with an equally small sip from her moomoo milk.

She sets the glass down gently, slouching against the chair with hands now snuggling between her thighs. "Thank you for the brownies and milk, that was very nice of you," she begins, referencing the half a dozen brownies now located in her bag beneath her. "But I sorta feel bad not paying you back, you know? I feel bad for all those brownies." Despite her guilt, a small portion of her does not. In fact, she feels elated for having gathered enough sweets to sweeten herself for the next few days.

Kendall took a sip of his own cup of earl grey, the quality of which he concluded was merely adequate to his tastes. The dazed state of earlier which had subsided briefly during the incident had started to seep in slowly again, though he tried his best to mask the discomfort. "Oh, it's no bother at all. Again, the least I could do to apologise for my behaviour," he said, before shooting a look at Koko's mug. He desperately wanted to share that when he threw in milk earlier he only meant it as a joke, that someone who looked his age drinking plain milk in a public space was absurd, but the few brain cells awake managed to hold his tongue. "Actually, I don't believe I've had the pleasure of knowing your name yet, miss…?"

"My name?" she repeated his question, only to let out an ah! upon registering what he had asked. "Yesss… my name-sorry I don't know why I didn't get that- uh-" She instantly shuts herself up, straightening and unable to contain a chuckle over her own foolishness. "My name is Koko Ara. With the K instead of C, like Coco Puffs and all. And you? What's your name?"

"Kendall Douglas. Are you a local here?"

"Nah, I'm actually from Solaceon Town in Sinnoh. It's like… at the center of Sinnoh and a little to the right." Koko takes another small bite of her brownie, savoring every second of it, yet managing to speak while doing so. "How about you?"

"Kinyo, but, erm, you wouldn't know where…" Kendall wasn't sure if his family location was supposed to be a secret outside of their bubble, or if revealing the location to the girl in front of him would cause any harm anyway. "Erm, you're a long way from home then, aren't you? Are you here to see the sights? There's a good museum here, I believe."

"Oh, yeah, I mean not as far as Unova and other regions, but it's pretty far anyway. And I do remember there's some nice places here for me to visit, like that museum, yeah. I… I forgot the name of it." Her fingers rhythmically tap against the table, refusing to let the fleeting thought vanish. "It has the word ocean in- Oceanic!" she mildly blurts out, hands now on the edge of the table as she calms down with a sheepish chuckle. "I can't believe I forgot that aah haha… " But when she recalls how he had begun with a question, only to divert the conversation, she decides to drag that over and make it the center of attention. "Is there a place you're looking for…? I kinda don't know Hoenn too well, yet, but maybe out of pure luck I might know."

"Oh, there's certainly one place I'm always in the look out for…" Kendall flashed a grin, his left arm now hinged and swinging freely on the back of his chair and his posture more laid back. "And it's certainly not the museum… though, again, I heard it's pretty good."

"Heheh, stuff with the sea is always interesting to me, so I'm thinking of checking it out later… hopefully. We'll see what happens I guess. I wanted to see other places too, but there's always tomo~orroow." She takes a larger bite, face scrunching into that of sheer joy when the chocolate flavor melts her tastebuds.

"Yeah, definitely…"

Kendall took another sip of his drink, his mind desperately searching for something more to say, but surprisingly finding it a struggle. As seconds started to pile up without either party breaking the silence a general discomfort started to grow in him. It was only an age-old incident of a lull period within a conversation, but Kendall could not help but take it as further confirmation of his still under developed charm; he still had a lot of work to do, he noted.

Koko began to neatly fold a napkin around the brownie to better store it in her jacket's large front pocket. Amidst the process she dwelled on how to break this barrier of silence. And it wasn't until she gulped down the last half of her milk that she, at last, came around to it. "I'm thinking of visiting som- the places we talked about earlier and all? Yeah, I'm uh, unfortunately I kinda need to start getting ready soon so I can check out at least the Fanclub." With that she plucked her bag from the floor and set it atop her lap. "Really enjoyed all this, though. I don't mind not seeing all the places I want to see, by the way. I mean, I got free brownies- free as in, I mean, not that I deserve it haha, so again, thanks for that."

"O-oh yeah, of course, don't let me keep you from the rest of your day," Kendall scratched the back of his head, unsure if he had fully managed to turn the girl's opinion of him or if she was just being nice. "Erm, I'm probably gonna head back to my room for now, my head's been feeling awful all morning. At least until my trainer license becomes ready… oh, I thought you were going to visit the museum?"

"Aw nooo," she replied in a voice of concern, now leaning forward. "I really hope your head feels better later. I know how nasty they can get." Now aware of his ailment, Koko felt a twinge of guilt stab at her chest, feeling rather insensitive for leaving him in this state. "But uh, yeah I want to. Maybe after the Pokémon Fanclub. I read somewhere that members need to pay a bit of money so I'm actually kinda curious how nice it looks and what members do since they pay that much. Then I can check out the museum afterwards to cheer me up after finding all that out hahaha." She stood, steadily sliding the chair into the table.

"Really? How much?"

"Uh… actually I'm not exactly sure how much per month. Think it's something like… 30… yeah, I think it's 30k per year," she responds as she relieves an itch behind her right ear. "But that's a lot haha, right?"

An eyebrow raised on Kendall's face, though he wasn't surprised at all by the figure. A similar membership to his own region's Pokémon Fanclub was a thing parents of his peers dangled in front of their kids as a reward for really good grades. He himself had lusted after one when he was younger due to the many benefits the card gave to trainers and travellers, though had decided for this journey to go without one as an extra challenge for himself. Then an idea popped in his head.

"Say… how about a proper apology?"

"Ah? No it's okay! I'd feel very bad haha. You got me brownies and your time of day and all that…"

Kendall waved his hand in front of Koko in dismissal. "No, no, no, that alone simply can't do. A man of means such as myself should properly atone for my… unseemly behaviour earlier." He collected his bag before standing up swiftly. "To the Fanclub! We are getting you a year's membership!"

 

[Aquacorde]

Chapter 2: Live For Fun

Dewford Island is a popular weekend destination for residents of the western mainland and it shows in the multi-story hotel complexes on the south side of Dewford Town. People come for the laid-back atmosphere, the opportunity to tour the famous Granite Cave, the high-frequency Contests, tours of the southwestern coast, and unregulated fishing down at the Pier.

There are, functionally, four areas on and around the island that are of interest to journeying trainers.

AREAS
Dewford Town, Granite Cave, Littleroot Passage, West Wilds

POKEMON
Aron, Binacle, Clamperl, Clobbopus, Dhelmise, Exeggcute, Inkay, Makuhita, Mawile,
Meditite, Nosepass, Pyukumuku, Sableye, Shellder, Tentacool, Treecko, Magikarp, Wimpod

Dewford Town

Dewford Town spans the eastern half of the island, anchored by Resort Cove in the southwest and Granite Cave in the northwest. The public docks are fairly central along the eastern shore; all transit leaves from and arrives there. The town itself is situated on sandy scrubland that becomes small sand dunes as it stretches toward the coast. Buildings are elevated by one story to allow tropical storms to wash under them without destroying the buildings themselves. Often, these shady spaces underneath buildings have been retrofitted to become hangout spots for locals and tourists alike. It's not uncommon to see playground structures and sports equipment tucked away from the sun in this manner.

The wild Pokémon that roam Dewford Town are docile and therefore welcomed, but also have very little competition for the area and are frequently fed by humans despite the Rangers' best efforts.

PYUKUMUKU
"They hardly do anything, but they clutter up the beach. TOURISTS PLEASE STOP FEEDING THEM THEY WILL LEAVE IF THEY GET HUNGRY!" [Common - 40%]

CLOBBOPUS
"These guys are very very cute and are quickly becoming something of a mascot for the town. There are too many, though! They love playgrounds underneath buildings." [Uncommon - 25%]

CLAMPERL
"Frequently wash up along the shore." [Uncommon - 25%]

WIMPOD
"Easy to spot, difficult to nab before they run away." [Rare - 10%]

Docks
Breezy Seas runs service from Dewford to Slateport at 8am and 6pm and from Slateport to Dewford at 11am and 3pm daily; a one-way trip is two and a half hours long. Service from Dewford to Petalburg runs at 12pm and 4pm and from Petalburg to Dewford at 11am and 3pm;a one-way trip is two hours long.

Moonlight Tours and other tours leave from here as well.

The Pier (Fishing Spot)
IC: Fishing Spots are found all over Hoenn in places that the Rangers have deemed not in danger of being over-fished. The Pier, just south of the Docks, has and always will be one of them. There's a little shack at the end of the pier that rents poles and sells bait; $500 for an hour is a pretty good deal for a novice angler.

OOC: Roll once. 50% chance of Magikarp, 30% chance of Tentacool, 20% chance of nothing. This roll does not count toward your 3 rolls for Dewford Town. You may catch what you pull regardless of if you've caught other Pokémon in Dewford Town. You may not SCAN here but you may use your guarantee.​

Dewford Gym
The gym itself is located on the southern edge of town, closer to Resort Cove than anything else. The dojo, unlike most buildings on the island, is not elevated. Its wooden floors are placed almost directly on the beach and its shoji doors are almost always open, allowing the sea breeze and fine sand to flow across tatami floors. Despite the peaceful beauty of the place, Brawly is here as little as possible. It's not that he doesn't love his job, of course he does! But you're much more likely to find him surfing or hanging out with his teenage kids than at his gym. Luckily for challengers, he accepts official battles most anywhere and any time as long as someone can find a willing referee.

Forty-five year old Brawly Marshall has fully embraced being a father, to such an extent that his paternal nature comes across in interactions with challengers, who tend to be about the same age as his own children. He is kind, easygoing, and rolls with punches (sometimes literally). He will battle in any format the challenger wishes, with any amount of Pokémon. His style of battle utilizes balance and redirection of force to create opportunity for head-on attacks. He is rather lenient with challengers and has a habit of drawing battles out until challengers understand what he is doing or trying to teach them in that moment, then forfeiting the match. He gives out Knuckle Badges like candy, basically. And for those that defeat him before he chooses to forfeit, a TM for any one Fighting-Type status move.

HARIYAMA
Fighting . Thick Fat
Force Palm . Smelling Salts . Reversal . Bulk Up . Foresight . Surf

MACHOKE
Fighting . Guts
Vital Throw . Low Kick . Counter . Bullet Punch . Dual Chop . Power Trick
Uses Power Trick to swap its Attack and Defense so it can last longer in battle.

MANTINE
Water/Flying . Water Absorb
Aqua Ring . Mirror Coat . Supersonic . Water Pulse . Tailwind . Surf
Aqua Ring manifests as a force-field of water surrounding Mantine.

MEDITITE
Fighting/Psychic . Telepathy
Meditate . Power Trick . High Jump Kick . Acupressure . Recover . Psycho Cut
Uses Power Trick to boost its hits toward the end of a match.

POLIWRATH
Water/Fighting . Water Absorb
Drain Punch . Coaching . Water Pulse . Circle Throw . Hypnosis . Surf

ALOLAN RAICHU
Electric/Psychic . Surge Surfer
Nuzzle . Electro Ball . Electroweb . Electric Terrain . Teleport . Surf
Teleport can go anywhere that the Pokémon can see.

Contest Hall
Dewford's Contest hall is small and only hosts C- and D-Rank Contests. However, this works out for them- residents of Petalburg and Slateport who are just getting into the Contest scene tend to come here rather than fight for slots in the busier cities.
Schedule:
D-Rank Doubles: Monday-Friday 10am.
D-Rank Singles: Monday, Wednesday, Friday 3pm.
C-Rank Doubles: Saturday & Sunday 10am & 3pm.
C-Rank Singles: Saturday & Sunday 6pm.

Resort Cove
On the south shore of Dewford Island, there is a sheltered little cove with a lovely private beach. Seven multi-story beach houses sit just off the sand. One of these houses belongs to the Pokémon Fanclub. Anyone with a membership may use the house at any time. Just check in at the front to be assigned a room and claim your free gift of a handmade Silk Scarf. Be respectful of the other guests. Complimentary meals are served at 8am, 1pm, and 6pm. Unfortunately, you may not purchase a Fanclub membership here.

Littleroot Passage

They say the shipping passage up to Littleroot is a useful shortcut but extremely treacherous; it is not to be braved in anything but the calmest of seas. This is a dramatization. It used to be quite dangerous, but after some work and installation of lighthouses things are not nearly as bad.

For Moonlight Tours' ship graveyard route, the danger is of course played up. From 8pm to midnight, glass-bottomed tour boats cruise the sandbars and rocky projections northeast of Dewford Town, where they cast lights down on the decades of shipwrecks lying just under the surface. Spooky stories and historical inaccuracies guide tourists to the largest shipwreck in the area- a Unovan cruise ship lost to a storm many years ago. It sits solidly in its final resting place, half-submerged and held fast by the buildup of coral around it. It's been deemed safe for guided exploration, and this tour takes advantage of that- for an hour each night, actors take their places across the ship to provide an unforgettable experience.

The local Pokémon have gotten in on the act as well, which the actors are thrilled about. Mostly because that entices trainers to buy their $2500 tickets for the opportunity to catch those that live in and around the shipwrecks. Trainers could just make their own way out there, keeping in mind that Moonlight Tours have a monopoly on paid transit to the area. As in, you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who you can pay to take you there.

SHELLDER
"The clacking of bones that tourists swear they hear are likely just Shellder opening and closing their shells." [Common - 40%]

BINACLE
"The thudding footsteps of ghostly passengers can be attributed to the hopping movement of the resident Binacle, or their evolution's own footsteps." [Uncommon -25%]

INKAY
"Reports of ghostly, strobing lights causing dizziness and discomfort are usually the product of playful Inkay." [Uncommon - 25%]

DHELMISE
"The many wreckages along this stretch have provided ample accessories for Dhelmise to use." [Rare - 10%]

Granite Cave

Granite Cave is a wonder of Hoenn, a beautiful, sprawling cave system that surveyors believe winds under the whole of the island. It drops deep into the earth as well, though most don't go below the sixty-foot floors. The main caverns are well-lit, a mix of skylights and artificial lamps illuminating the sea-level floor and the one just below. They're busy, too, with tourists from all over coming to experience both the natural beauty and the well-preserved art and artifacts of ancient times. People are allowed to wander fairly unsupervised through these upper levels, but for anything lower one must sign up for a tour with the Rangers at their station.

The wild Pokémon around the entrance and inside of the main caverns are fairly friendly and docile. Trainers may catch Pokémon here, but the crowded and delicate nature of the area means the Rangers disallow battles.

OOC: Pokémon caught here will be lower level than elsewhere. Use modifier "cave entrance" on rolls.​

But if you are able to make your way deeper into the caves, you will begin to encounter far stronger and more aggressive Pokémon. Battles are still strongly discouraged, but it's sometimes necessary to fight your way out rather than be stuck or injured...

OOC: Pokémon caught here will be stronger than those at the entrance, but you must slip past the Rangers and other visitors to make your way down. Also, your character is in danger here. You will ask Anna to roll a d10. On a 2-5 you have no (GM-given) problems, 6-9 you have some problems, and on a 1 or 10 you get a Big Problem. Use modifier "cave depths" on Pokémon rolls. Pokémon in the depths have a high chance of holding an item.​

ARON
"The ones up top will cutely beg for food, the ones below will bite you if they think you have some." [Common - 40%]

MAWILE
"In the main caves, they are shy and prefer to watch people from afar. The ones below attack on sight." [Uncommon - 25%]

SABLEYE
"The most sociable of the four; they will interact with people constantly. Their pranks range from unamusing to genuinely life-threatening." [Uncommon - 25%]

NOSEPASS
"A few wander the rocky areas outside the cave, though they tend to be hard to spot considering their slow movement and tendency to blend in. They prefer to flee from humans, though are generally unsuccessful. Those below ground will tolerate a fair amount of abuse until suddenly snapping into a rage." [Rare - 10%]

PROMPT: guided tour
IC: Granite Cave is a popular place to search for evolutionary stones, but it's easy to get lost in the dark and twisting natural maze. Rangers take groups of up to six people into the caves on the even hours from 10am to 4pm. Tours last about 90 minutes. Each licensed trainer is allowed to take a single evolutionary stone once per year to avoid stripping the place.
OOC: You will not encounter wild Pokémon on this tour. This can be combined with "unguided tour", if you carefully sneak away before the tour guide can catch you.
Reward: One evolutionary stone of any kind, or an Oval Stone, or a King's Rock, or an Eviolite.

PROMPT: unguided tour
IC: There's a couple visiting Dewford whose conversations are very easy to overhear, mostly because one of them is quite loud in her enthusiasm. She's been saying that Granite Cave has a world of mysteries to be unlocked, specifically tied to the Key Stones the two apparently found deep in the depths of the cave. Her partner refuses to take others along during their expeditions, but that doesn't mean you can't go look by yourself...
OOC: If you would like to directly interact with this couple or need specific dialogue for them, talk to Anna. To access the depths outside of "guided tour", you must slip past the Rangers and other visitors to make your way down. You will ask Anna to roll a d10 for consequences. 1-5 you have no problems, 6-9 you have some problems, and on a 10 you get… a challenge. Use the modifier "cave depths" on Pokémon rolls.
To get the reward, your character(s) must get lost in the unlit depths of Granite Cave without any type of guide for at least four hours. Anything else is up to you. Note- there are many unmarked exits that open into the Wilds. :)
Reward: One Key Stone per trainer.

Rangers' Station
Dewford Island's Rangers' Station is located near the entrance to Granite Cave and deals primarily in tours of said cave. However, it also stands at the only true entrance to the western half of the island, and anyone who wishes to explore must pass through this checkpoint. The station employs eight permanent rangers and two rotating rangers.

West Wilds

Dewford Island is divided in half by a six-foot-deep, ten-foot-high rock wall. West of this wall is wilderness, left alone by tourists and residents alike. The only people who regularly visit the western half are Rangers. Licensed trainers are welcome to explore, though they must check in at the Rangers' Station beforehand as the amount of humans allowed in at once is limited. Do not climb any trees while in the wilds.

OOC: Pokémon in the Wilds have a high chance of holding an item. Let me know what you decide to catch here before you write it.​

MAKUHITA
"Usually found amongst broken trees that are the result of its intense training. Large flying objects are frequently identified as Makuhita who have mistaken Exeggutor for trees." [Common - 40%]

MEDITITE
"Found mostly in the cliffy areas on the north side." [Uncommon - 25%]

EXEGGCUTE
"All over the forest floor; easily stepped on. Something about the mineral content of the soil here allows them to easily evolve when six gather together." [Uncommon - 25%]

TREECKO
"Very territorial; fiercely protective of their trees. Often in conflict with Makuhita attempting to train." [Rare - 10%]

PROMPT: wrestlemania
IC: Van, a Fighting type enthusiast and aspiring wrestler, has come to the Hoenn region in search of the next member of her "ultimate Fighting force". She hasn't had any luck tracking one down and is growing frustrated. Perhaps you could help her look, or offer a battle to calm her down?
OOC: This is only available once, to one or two characters, and will be conducted via JP with Groc. Discuss amongst yourselves, I'll roll some numbers if you can't decide who does it.
Reward: Van will teach one of your Pokémon any one fighting technique. This a one-time-only deal, not a TM.

So much to do!

 

[Evily]

Shuna Kamado

​

Friday, September 18 {10: 15am}​

Prologue - Epoch 1.2: Slateport
Beachcomber - Part 1​

"Where is he?" Shuna sat at the same table as yesterday, waiting for her new 'friend' to arrive. At first she didn't want to come, but she remembered the deal she made with Souei: being his friend in exchange for not revealing her past. She was still uncertain of how he knew, but didn't want to risk the information going out to the wrong people.

While deep in thought her Pokemon sat in the same place as yesterday. Both were looking around; Finn was bored and curious while Pidge was watching for any threats to his trainer.

"You actually came?" a doubtful voice rang from behind. Shuna turned and saw Souei standing behind her, looking at her with an unreadable expression.

"Of course, why wouldn't I?"

Souei walked over and sat across from Shuna with a cup of coffee in his hands. She grabbed her own cup of hot chocolate and took a sip, moving her thoughts to her one time job.

"Don't you have a job to do at the beach?" hinted Souei, taking a sip of his coffee. Shuna stared at the male, confused as his words were digested. Shuna perked up and took out her Holotch, looking at the time, but tensed and wearily looked at Souei.

"How did you…" Shuna placed her empty cup on the small plate, pushing her seat back as she stood up. "Nevermind. Now that you remind me, I have to go do a small one-time beach job." She grabbed a certain pokeball from her hip bag, returned Finn and placed the pokeball back in its place, then grabbed the small plate with the empty cup. "I'll see you later, Souei."

As Shuna walked away she didn't notice Souei copying her actions.

*Timeskip - 11:00am*

"Alright, so I leave it to you!" the lifeguard slapped Shuna's back after handing her the rubber-tipped stick he always had with him for this job.

Shuna, before coming to the beach, changed out of her everyday outfit to accommodate for the hot, sunny beach. She changed into a white bikini with blue lining and a see-through blue floral skirt that reaches down to her knees, tied around her waist, with the side where the tie is seen showing the most skin. Around her waist, above the skirt, is her regular hip bag, keeping her clothes and items held inside.

Using one of her hair ties she ties her hair into a high ponytail and keeps the second one around her left wrist. Her other accessories - bracelets and lanyard pokedex - are in their usual places around her wrist and neck.

"Thanks for offering to take my place, miss!" chirped the male as he turned around, not seeing Shuna looking at him in disbelief.

Shuna hesitated a bit before replying, "N-no problem?" She didn't know what else to say, the lifeguard pushed the job on her and he's saying she offered? That's not how she remembered it, but she didn't have the bravery to correct the male. "So… how will I know that I'm finished with your shift?"

"Oh, I'll come get you when it's time!" The male picked up his stuff and looked over his shoulder, waving at her, then left.

Shuna stared at the male, looking at the stick in her hands after the lifeguard vanished from sight. Sighing, she turned towards the ocean and brought out Finn and Pidge as company. She noticed a suspicious patch nearby and pointed the stick, scrunching her eyebrows. "Alright, let's get this over with."

*Timeskip*

Finn gunted, confused, as he watched a Stunfisk flop by, jumping into the shallow waters and vanishing from sight. He turned and saw his trainer sighed, removing the rubber tip of the stick from the sand, sitting on the sand and rubbing her right foot, which was shocked a bit by the Stunfisk when human and pokemon flesh met. He gibbered worriedly and walked over, noticing that his trainer's hair was a bit staticky from the zap earlier.

Pidge flew in and landed on her shoulder, snuggling his head to her cheek as Shuna gave her pokemon a half-smile.

"Why did you do it?" a voice queried from behind.

Shuna yelped, quickly standing and holding the stick with both hands in front of her chest. She swerved around and saw Souei behind her, his red jacket off and wrapped around his waist, revealing his turtleneck shirt to be sleeveless and the bottom of his pants rolled up to his knees. Beside him was a bipedal, feline Pokémon, predominantly white, with two blue and white tails, white folded ears, a small collar of fur around the neck, and a tuft of fur on top of the head. They have a tuft of fur on its head that is blue and curled, as is the collar around its neck, with their eyes being red with yellow sclerae.

Shuna glared, pointing the tip of the stick at Souei, the rubber centimeters from his nose. "Don't do that! Why are you here?" She took a glance at the pokemon at his side; a Meowstic, a female one too. Their pre-evolution are not native to Hoenn, so he must have gotten it from traveling or his parents bought it from someone who traveled to Kalos.

The feline was giving her a blank look, but she felt like the pokemon was scrutinizing her.

"Friends visit each other, don't they?" Souei shrugged, swatting the stick away from his face, smirking a bit as Shuna moved the stick to her side, her posture tense and defensive. He wasn't too familiar with friendship, but he observed how his family and relatives handled their own, and so far, it seemed easy. He noticed how Sango, his Meowstic, was observing Shuna, but chose to ignore it and focus back on the pink-haired trainer. "I wanted to see what you were doing after our meeting, but you looked busy, so I waited. Which brings us back…" He took a look at the beach, seeing there were still some weird patches, but there was less than when she started. "Why are you doing that lifeguard's job?"

Shuna stared at Souei, confused. "What do you mean? Can't I be doing this because I wanted to?"

"You could, but the lifeguard pushed it on you, didn't he? And you're still being nice by not complaining and just going along." He knew what was going on, he was at the beach yesterday, by coincidence, and saw everything. Recognizing the girl, who then gained his interest, what other way can he get close and observe than be friends with her?

"I don't mind," was all Shuna said, but he saw something flash in her eyes before vanishing just as quickly. She was hiding something, and he was going to find out, no matter how long it took. He was a very curious person, wanting to know everything that gained his interest, using any methods he could.

Shuna turned around and walked over to a nearby patch, using the stick to flip over a surprised Stunfisk. The aforementioned pokémon flipped over, surprised to be uprooted from its slumber, but took notice of the human. Stunfisk jumped towards the trainer, hoping it could still paralyze her like it had planned before being uncovered. Finn however, who had moved to her side when Souei appeared, grabbed the pokemon before it could touch his trainer. He still got shocked, but being part Ground type made him immune to the pain. Luckily he didn't get paralyzed, which he wasn't immune to.

The Stunfisk was about to smile, but when it noticed Finn holding it, the trap pokemon jumped out of his hands. With unexpected speed, the pokemon flopped towards the ocean, vanishing from view in a few minutes.

Shuna pat Finn on the head, thanking him, before walking over to another pile, about to poke with the stick. She stopped, not feeling anything on her right hand and glanced down, her eyes widened and mouth opened when she noticed the stick was gone!

"Huh… Wonder what this one is…"


Current Team:

Spoiler:

{Male}Mudfish Pokemon - Finn (Marshtomp)[Torrent] - Bide, Water Gun, Ice Ball, Mud Shot {Lvl.21}

{Male}Tiny Bird Pokemon - Pidge (Pidgey)[Keen Eye] - Quick Attack, Air Cutter, Sand Attack, Gust {Lvl. 16}

Inventory:

Spoiler:

Camping Kit
First Aid
Snacks & Water
Extra Clothes
Mystic Water
Potions
Pokeballs
Berries - Cheri x1, Chesto x1, Pecha x1, Oran x1, Persim x1
Cover Fossil
Plume Fossil
Quick Balls
Honey x2

 

[Evily]

Shuna Kamado

​

Friday, September 18 {10: ?? am}​

Prologue - Epoch 1.3: Slateport
Beachcomber - Part 2​

Shuna turned her body and saw Souei poking a patch with a strange pink shell covered in small spikes prodding from the sand with the stick she was just looking for!

"What are you doing?!" The pinkette hurriedly jogs over and takes the stick from him, slapping the male upside his head. "Don't poke what you don't know!"

Unfortunately the poking has angered the 'shell', the sand around it falling as the owner of the shell dug out of it's temporary home, glaring at the two humans. The pokemon cried out in anger at being rudely awakened and puffed up her cheeks.

"A Shellos, West Sea version!" Shuna grabbed Souei by the arm and pushed him back, avoiding the purple sludge meant for the male.

Shellos lets out another cry and spat another sludge, hitting right in front of the two trainers.

"Alright, Souei, I'm gonna need you to- Why?!" Shuna turned to the male to explain her plan, only to be flabbergasted. Souei had moved a few feet back, sitting on a reclined chair -where did it come from?!- with his partner pokemon sitting on one of the handles, both watching.

"I'm going to watch the battle," Souei stated, placing sunglasses on.

At his reply Shuna widened her eyes, pointing at the angry pokemon who was charging a blue ball of energy in front of her open mouth. "You're the one who agitated her! At least help me calm her down or battle!"

"Nah, don't want to waste energy on it. Not worth our time," Souei interjected, moving his sunglasses down a bit to look at her, then moved back to their place. "Besides, Sango was just groomed this morning. Don't want sand all over her." Said pokemon nodded her head, watching Shuna, her pokemon, and Shellos eerily.

The pinkette stared at Souei for a few seconds before closing her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose. She sighed after a few seconds, releasing the pressure and opening her eyes. She really wanted to ask Souei, but she didn't have the time; defusing the problem was priority and that meant calming down the Shellos. Battling it might be the quickest way, she had a job to get back to!

Shuna turned around and saw Shellos shooting a spiraling stream of water at her, the pinkette jumping to the side in time to avoid it. It was heading for Souei, but somehow, his chair was moved out of the way, the occupants avoiding the move completely. She stared at the male, weirded out, but ignored the mystery and turned back to the Sea Slug Pokemon. She motioned for Finn to stay back as she called Pidge, said pokemon placing himself between the angered pokemon and his trainer.

"Quick Attack!" Pidge soared towards the Shellos, hitting the sea slug's body and pushing them back. Shellos cried out as her body fell sideways, kicking up some sand, but she got back up and fired sludge, hitting Pidge's right wing. Pidge flinched at the attack, letting out a small cry of pain, but otherwise, continued to flap around.

"Air Cutter!" Pidge flapped his wings, releasing a stream of light blue 'x' shaped blades from the tip of his wings. The blades hit the general area the Shellos was at, the first two hitting Shellos dead on and the rest around, kicking up more sand. As Shuna thought of her next move, the fleeting sand was gutted by a spiral of water, the move surprising the Tiny Bird Pokemon and hitting him on the chest. Pidge cried out, falling to the ground, but managed to straighten himself up before impact. The sand in the air settled, revealing the Shellos standing with a bit of trouble with exhaustion slowly creeping up.

"Quick Attack!" Pidge, once again, soared over and hit Shellos, but headbutted the sea slug instead of body slamming, causing more damage than they thought, ensuring a critical hit! Shellos cried, stuttering back and shaking her head to get rid of the pain. She turned her head and spit out a sludge randomly, getting Pidge off guard and hitting him on the chest. Pidge flinched, but kept his cries inside, but the damage was done and a visible purple pigment was shown on the bridge of his nose; The sludge move afflicted Pidge with poison, she had to finish the battle soon!

"Gust!" Pidge flapped his wings in Shellos direction, creating a small tornado; The attack absorbed Shellos in, causing damage as the pokemon was rotated and pushed around inside the rotating winds being moved higher up the tornado. After a few seconds to a minute, the tornado vanished, releasing the trapped pokemon, but doing so caused it to gain some damage from the slightly high fall. Shellos lands on her side, but stretches her neck and turns, spitting out a sludge aimed at Pidge. The tiny bird managed to dodge it, but the attack soared past and half hit Shuna on the shoulder, the rest went behind her and landed in front of Souei. The girl flinched, but only used a hand to push the leftover sludge off her shoulder, focusing on the battle rather than her health. However, Souei noticed that due to the contact, it began to poison the girl, noticing her flinch seconds later from the effect at the same time as Pidge.

"Hey… That sludge poisoned you, aren't you going to cancel the battle?" puzzled Souei, seeing as Shuna continued the battle. She had to go to the PC to get healed; the poison was mild for now, but if left alone, it could get more potent and worse.

"I can't leave the Shellos enraged, she might attack someone else! I have to calm her down before then!" Shuna protested, feeling the effects of the poison, but refused to show weakness. "Pidge, Quick Attack!"

Pidge flapped his wings, narrowing his eyes as he soared swiftly, hitting Shellos from the back and sending the pokemon falling forward. When he flew a bit away, he flinched once again, the poison taking some of his health.

Pidge heard the conversation the humans were having and noticed that his trainer also had the same purple tin he did when poisoned. She refused to leave the battle, clarifying her reason, and Pidge agreed, but he had to finish this fast before the poison got worse; he didn't know how humans processed it and could become worse!

The Shellos managed to get her head unstuck from the sand and let out an angry cry! She turned to where Pidge was and narrowed her eyes, but closed them, her body faintly glowing green.

"Good luck then. That's Recover, basically restarting the battle to step one," remarked Souei. Shuna didn't reply, but nodded her head to show she heard his comment.

"Air Cutter!" Pidge flapped his wings and sent out the same light blue blades, two out of four hitting Shellos, the rest causing sand to dust up the area. Pidge flapped his wings, sending strong currents of wind to push away the small sand storm, revealing Shellos. The sea slug puffed up her cheeks and sent a spiral of water at the tiny bird.

"Quick Attack!" Unfortunately Pidge managed to skim past the water, getting damaged a bit, and tackled the sea slug, pushing her back on to the sandy ground. Pidge flapped backwards, landing in front of Shuna with a flinch. The poison was taking his health once again, he knew he was reaching his limit and his health was very low, he had to finish it after this turn or else…

"Pidge!" At his trainer's calling, the tiny pokemon turned, only to see two berries land in front of him. A pink one, shaped kinda like a heart, and a blue round one: a Pecha and an Oran Berry. He turned his head and looked at his trainer, who gave him a small smile despite her condition. "They're all yours!" Pidge accepted her words and flapped his wings, grabbing the two berries in his claws. He flew upwards and ate the Pecha berry as Shellos got up from the attack, glaring at the aviary. As he started to eat his second berry, Shellos spit out a sludge at him, hitting his left wing. Luckily the two berries restored some of his health and removed the poison from his system, making the battle a bit easier to deal with.

"S-sand Attack!" Shuna stuttered, losing focus for a second, but shook her head to regain it. Not good, the poison was spreading, slowly making her more miserable. She felt a bit nauseous and knew a fever was starting, luckily she wasn't vomiting… yet.

Pidge landed in front of Shellos and turned, using his feet to kick back sand at her face, irritating the sea slug. Shellos cried, shaking her head with her eyes closed, trying her best to shake away the sand thrown at her face.

"Q-quick Attack!" Pidge swiftly tackled the Shellos, sending her to the ground once again. The sea slug quickly got up and puffed up her cheeks, her eyes half-lid since her eyes stung from the sand earlier, so her vision was a bit blurry. She opened her mouth and sent a spiral of water, hitting Pidge from point-blank, pushing him back and away a few feet, earning a cry.

Shuna was about to call a command when she felt nausea kick in, collapsing to her knees, one hand on the sand below and the other on her knees. Finn jumped and gibbered frantically, grabbing her shoulder and gently shaking her. Shuna lifted her head and pat Finn, giving him a reassuring smile.

"I'm alright, just tired buddy." Shuna felt worse than that, but she didn't want to worry her pokemon, especially since one was in the middle of a battle. Her health didn't matter at the moment.

Pidge landed in front of his trainer, immediately taking notice of her condition, berating himself for not finishing the battle sooner. His trainer was poisoned and he said he'd finish the battle in one turn, but he took two turns and the battle still wasn't finished. He needed to be faster and stronger, enough to defeat Shellos and end the battle before the poison got worse.

Pidge stood straight and turned, facing the upset Shellos, narrowing his eyes. He had to defeat this pokemon before anything else, his trainer's health depended on it. She refused to leave them behind, the words warming his heart, and in her stead, he'll finish the battle quickly and swiftly as possible. He joined her party and accepted her as his trainer to get stronger, allowing Shellos to best him wasn't what made him mad, but it was the fact that he was taking too long to finish the battle while his trainer was poisoned by said pokemon. Her health was more important, and if finishing the battle was the only way, then that's what he needed to do.


Current Team:

Spoiler:

{Male}Mudfish Pokemon - Finn (Marshtomp)[Torrent] - Bide, Water Gun, Ice Ball, Mud Shot {Lvl.21}

{Male}Tiny Bird Pokemon - Pidge (Pidgey)[Keen Eye] - Quick Attack, Air Cutter, Sand Attack, Gust {Lvl. 16}

Inventory:

Spoiler:

Camping Kit
First Aid
Snacks & Water
Extra Clothes
Mystic Water
Potions
Pokeballs
Berries - Cheri x1, Chesto x1, Pecha x1, Oran x1, Persim x1
Cover Fossil
Plume Fossil
Quick Balls
Honey x2

 

[pinkiswin]

Prologue
Thursday, September 17, 11;00 am-1:00 PM
Pokemon

Spoiler:

Calamity Lvl 18

[Intimidate]
Tackle
SPlash

A full day of travel, First; A bus to Cherrygrove. Then, a ship to Akurnai, alongside a sleepless night in the pokecenter. Jay is already sick of traveling. After boarding the ferry. He headed to the buffet, grabbed plain pancakes, apple slices, and a glass of milk. He also grabbed a hand full of the tourist brochures, and made his way to a secluded seat overlooking the water.

He consumed the pancakes, apple slices, and milk voraciously. They were not like his grandmother's apple pancakes, but they definitely satisfied his desperate craving for them.

"Only 3 hours left till we reach Slateport." Glancing between his phone and Calamity's pokeball. "We haven't swam in days, and I'm so tired of being cramped up, I can't even imagine how Calamity feels." Guilt consumes him. He looks out to the water. "I wish we could just jump in."

To distract himself, Jay opened the case his grandfather had given him as a present, Inside were the 5 project pokeballs that his grandfather made. Jay had already completed them during the trip to Kinyo, and had started etching swirl patterns onto them. "I wonder what kind of friends we will make in Hoenn." The thought drew his attention to the Hoenn pamphlets. After skimming the rules of Hoenn, and the prices of accommodations, he looked into his wallet, "I cannot afford to lose! well... at least not more than twice!" His sudden realization that his funds would not last long, and would need to be supplemented some how. Upon looking at another brochure he saw a very familiar looking building, at first he could not figure out why he recognized it. But Then it struck him.

"It can't be!" He went back into his wallet and Took out the old photo of his parents. "Mossdeep Space Center... That's it that's the building that's behind them! This photo was taken in Mossdeep! His energy levels rose. For a moment, but then he became concerned. "They went missing in Hoenn, this photo was taken 3 years TO THE DATE before they went missing. Why were they there then, Why were they there when they disappeared? "

His mind reeled, He dropped the pamphlets, Picked up his things, and he walked to the Bow. "I Don't know what I'm doing, was this a Mistake?, should I have stayed home?" He Punched himself. "No, We have to find out why they disappeared! We need to know. I owe it to them. I owe it to grandpa, and grandma, they need to know what happened to their daughter and her husband."

"Are... Are you ok mister?" A small girls voice came from behind him.

"Uhhh yeah im ok. I think." Jay turned around, and saw that his shouting and striking himself had caught the attention of a large number of the passengers. His eyes then lowered To a small girl holding a wriggling magikarp. "Hey! you have a wonderful magikarp!"

"Thank you, His name is wiggles" the girl squeezed her magikarp and blushed.

"Makes sense. I used to have a magikarp, he's a gyarados now though."

"Really?" the girl, now excited, asked the one question Jay wasn't prepared for "Can I See it?"

"Uhhhh….." Jay looked at Calamity's pokeball. Every inch of him knew this was a terrible idea. But Jay was ridden with guilt about keeping Calamity in his pokeball for so long. "I don't know..."

"Please?!"

"Ok." The water looked so refreshing, He knew Calamity needed some time out of the pokeball, and he figured 'what's the worst that could happen, I let him out for a couple minutes, he gets to swim, and the little girl gets to see a Gyarados. Right?'. "Come on out Calamity!"

The pokeball opened and gyarados appeared next to the ferry.

"Awesome!" the little girl spun around with glee, and gave a wave to calamity."

"Hey calamity! How are-" Before Jay could finish his sentence, the now very confused Gyarados grabbed Jay with his mouth, and made a B line for the shore of slateport.

"Goodbye Mister!" the girl waved as Calamity and Jay swam out of view of the ferry.

 

[Eleanor]

Avril Reese

16 - ♀ - Laverre City

Written with Groc as Natsuko Soyokaze and Cubism as Jordie Hughes
​

Pokémon / Inventory:

AVRIL'S MONEY: $6 500

AVRIL'S TEAM:
🌼 Poppy (Flabebe) - ♀ - lv. 15
Flower Veil
Synthesis, Fairy Wind, Razor Leaf, Lucky Chant

NEW CATCH!
🌼 Hydrangea (Shellos) - ♀ - lv. 15
Storm Drain
Water Pulse, Mud Bomb, Recover, Mud Slap, Mud Sport, Harden

NATSUKO'S TEAM:
🌻 Sunshine (Ponyta)
🌻 Sandygast

JORDIE'S TEAM:
🍀 Gabby (Solosis)
🍀 Neon (Stunfisk)

AVRIL'S INVENTORY:
🌼 1x Pokéballs
🌼 Holotch (phone)
🌼 Fanclub Membership card
🌼 Eviolite
🌼 Various clothes and commodities

AVRIL'S CONTACTS:
Jordie, Shuna, Tsu

🌼 Character art made with [SPAN="color:rgb(40,180,40);"]https://picrew.me/image_maker/94097[/SPAN]

Fight for the Apple!

Friday, September 18^th - 11 to 11:20 am - Slateport City Beach, approaching the Jetty

"So, this is the place?" Avril looks with interest at the jetty, which continues into the sea for a long distance before ending with a tall lighthouse. She lets Poppy free, and in return gets an excited chirp, before the Fairy Type starts to float around her and look around the area. "What should I do now? I don't see many Pokémon, and those that are here don't seem interested in us at all." The blonde girl turns to her friends, pointing to different areas and spots as she speaks.

"Yep, this is it!" Natsuko pulls out her phone, snapping a selfie in front of the lighthouse. She then takes a better picture of the towering structure, while Sunshine gingerly picks her way across the rocks. "The jetty keeps the beach calm and safe, while the lighthouse guides ships safely to shore! You can just feel the security, like a warm hug."

"Right, this is a nice place." Jo adds as they explore the place with Gabby by their side. "Not too many people, and a few wild Pokémon. It's perfect for training and relaxing at the same time." Jordie then looks back at the blonde. "Do you know how to use the scan feature?"

"It's… this one, I suppose." Avril fiddles with her Holotch for a bit, finally finding an icon that looks promising. Sadly, she hasn't used the app before and doesn't know how to continue. "Uhm, no, I've never used this before. But it's waiting for a name, right Jo?" The blonde girl shows the screen to her friend.

Jo goes by her side and taps on their X-transceiver to open the Hoenn Ranger Database. "It's uh… here! You see, this app shows you which Pokémon are possible to catch in Hoenn. Do you have it? The receptionist at the Pokémon Center should've told you to install it once you went to do the license paperwork." they scroll through the different names and pages of Pokémon available near Slateport before finding the catchable ones. "What about… Stunfisk?" Jordie laughs.

"Oh, so I just need to pick from h-" Avril looks at Jo's device with interest before stopping in the middle of a sentence. "No! Not that thing! I've had enough." She vocally complains. "Look, I heard of trainers who can befriend things like Rhydon in minutes, but me? I don't know. What else is there?"

"No, thank you, we've had enough Stunfisk." Tsu goes to Jo's other side so all three can look at the device. "There's Sandygast, but they're kinda spooky. I don't think they're your type. No offense."

"That's what I thought. So that leaves me with these two, right?" Avril looks carefully at the last two options left on the screen of Jordie's device. "Staryu, I think I've seen some around my region, and they look chill actually. Shellos is new to me instead…"

"Well, knowing me, I would go for what is new. But I can't catch anything so it's about you. Staryu are cool, but a lot of people have them, and for good reason, they are relaxed, easy to train and strong! Shellos on the other hand, like to eat a lot." they laugh "They are often taken lightly, but honestly they can be very dangerous and annoying in battle… I honestly don't think they are too cute either."

"Well…" Avril listens to Jordie, almost mesmerized. "You sure know a lot! But thinking about it, Shellos do look cute after all. Staryu on the other hand, I never seem to understand what they're up to or how they feel, even after seeing many. And…" The blonde girl pulls out an apple from her cloth bag. "If what you said is true, maybe I can make friends with one before I catch it. I wonder… would this plan work?"

"Absolutely! You made friends with me over food, right?" Tsu reassures her, looking at the picture of Shellos. "I mean… I think Shellos is kinda gross, but it's sort of cute because of how ugly it is? It even has a little hat!"

Avril looks at Tsu, puzzled. "Wait… what?" She mutters, not really understanding what she means, before taking a heavy breath. "Maybe all I need is to take a closer look at a real Shellos. So this is the button to press if I want the app to locate them around me, right?" She looked at her device, feeling more and more excited.

"Boop!" Tsu reaches over and presses the button herself, initiating the scan. "We have our heading! Lead the way, navigator!"

"O-oh!" Avril nearly loses grip of her device, as she doesn't expect her friend to reach over and start the scan herself. Luckily, the little latch she added and then worn around her wrist prevents the Holotch from plummeting onto the sand. "Apparently there are some Shellos further from the sea, this way!" the girl then declares once she regains her composure, and starts walking parallel to the jetty as Poppy flies right above her, just as excited.

Jo walks behind her and Gabby follows them, and both start looking around to see if they can find the wild Shellos. Not too far away from the lighthouse, Jordie manages to spot some pink… hair, though it wasn't really hair, but they didn't look like horns either. Maybe that was the hat Tsu talked about? Jordie walks closer and sees 3 pink Shellos behind some rocks. "Avril, come! I think I found them!" Tsu and Shiny follow behind the others, camera at the ready.

The blonde girl comes closer to the rocks, gushing. "They look cute enough to me!" she laughs, still failing to get the attention of the Water types. "I think I'll just put this somewhere… here? And they'll come closer. Get ready, Poppy!" Avril starts to get more excited as she puts down the fruit on the sand and takes some steps back towards her friends. Her eyes jump between Jo, Tsu and the apple, in search of approval.

In the meantime, one of the Shellos starts to peek around the rocks and slowly crawls closer to the apple, with sparkling eyes. The other two follow it closely as well, but eventually start bickering. Or at least that's what it looks like. The apple, still uncontested, is laying on the beach as the three Sea Slug Pokémon start headbutting each other, and still remains in its place as one of the Shellos moves back and fires off a Mud Bomb towards the other two. "Oh no, it was working alright…" Avril complains, looking once again to her friends. "What to do, what to do…" she mutters as Poppy flies closer to the ongoing ruckus.

Tsu takes a picture as the first Shellos approaches the apple, switching to video once they start fighting. "Um, Avril? Do you have any more apples? I don't think they're keen on sharing…"

"Uhm, I… don't think so, that was supposed to be my snack!" The blondie complains. "But maybe you… oh no!" Poppy has already switched to Plan B, much to the dismay of her trainer, and fires some sharp leaves right at the Shellos. Now they're focusing on the little Pokémon twirling in front of them - one of them is bold enough to shoot a Water Pulse attack at the Fairy type, which dodges easily. But that doesn't seem like a good situation to be in regardless. "H-Help?" Avril yelps, unsure of what to do next.

"There's three of them and three of us, it's a fair fight!" Tsu keeps filming the fight, eager to catch her first Triple Battle on camera. "Start off with Sunny Day, Shiny!" Sunshine trots up beside Poppy, throwing the glowing orb into the air. The heat shines down on all of them, reducing the power of the Shellos' Water attacks.

Jordie looks back at Gabby that was hiding behind them and both nod at each other. Gabby floats in front of the three Shellos and charges energy inside her bubble to strike one of them with a Psybeam.

As the central Shellos gets knocked back, the other two are hit with another Razor Leaf from Poppy. "I believe we have to catch one and yet we're fighting like this? Poor thing…" Avril complains in the meantime, shrugging. Her apple is being thrown around the beach but looks still somewhat intact. "Uhm, maybe we keep that one busy for now?" She asks her friends.

"I'm on it! Use Tail Whip, Shiny!" Shiny runs past the other two Shellos to smack the central one with her tail. This pushes it away from the others a little, keeping its attention on Shiny.

Jo looks at the other two Shellos and commands Gabby to use Psybeam on the leftmost one, leaving the other one to Poppy and Avril. But if Avril wanted to catch that one Shellos, then using Razor Leaf against it all the time wasn't the smartest thing to do. "Avril, Poppy will probably keep using Razor Leaf on those Shellos! If you want to catch it, then using Grass-type moves isn't the smartest thing to do! You have to order her to use other moves!"

"Oh, good id-" Avril replies, but is interrupted by a cry of pain coming from one of the Shellos. Poppy has aimed for the left Shellos as well, hitting it with another strong Razor Leaf and leaving it no chance to retaliate. The Water type now looks very weak, as if it's about to faint.

"N-no, what have you done!" Avril tries to scold her own Pokémon, who instead shrugs it off and looks at her proudly. After all, that was the Shellos who first attacked its brethren - at least in Poppy's mind, that's not the one she should catch. Unaware of this, though, the blonde girl follows Jo's advice. "At least use Fairy Wind on the other ones!" She commands her Pokémon, who promptly uses said move to proper herself around the air, twirling around her opponents.

The Shellos by itself spits water at Shiny, and even with the effects of Sunny Day the little pony reflexively recoils. She swishes her tail at Shellos, like swatting a fly, which only serves to annoy it further.

Meanwhile, Gabby and Poppy keep battling the other two Shellos together. One of them shoots a Mud Bomb at the Cell Pokémon, covering her bubble in mud and thus affecting her eyesight and the accuracy of her moves. Gabby answers with another Psybeam that misses by a few inches, but still gives Poppy the opportunity to strike. Her leaves finally knock out one of the Shellos for good, and deal some more damage to the other one. No matter how many times Avril tells the Fairy type to hold back, she doesn't in fact listen and keeps circling around her opponent, ready to hit once again.

Shellos spits a Mud Bomb at Shiny, who cries out in despair as her beautiful coat is covered in muck. She stamps a hoof in frustration, but follows Tsu's instructions to use Tail Whip. Tsu looks back at Avril and Jo apprehensively. "How are things going over there? You all good?"

Avril is definitely more concerned by Tsu's expression than her words. "Oh… Poppy, let's help Tsu out!" She maneuvers around the boulders and the Shellos, following her Pokémon with her eyes, before making sure that Jo is also doing alright. They seem better trainers than her anyways.

Without the need for any command, Flabébé just twirls around in circles around the other Shellos, using Fairy Wind to keep it busy: and this seems to give Avril a big enough hint about her intentions. "You want me to catch this one, right?" The girl asks, just for confirmation, before getting back an excited chirp.

"You got this, girl! Go get 'em!" Jordie cheers with pride in the background. There's nothing else they can do, this was Avril's moment to shine since the beginning and in their eyes, she did great. Definitely needs to have more control over her Pokémon, though, but she's just starting, it's fine.

The blonde girl fiddles with her bag and pulls out a Pokéball right as Poppy lands a full blast Fairy Wind on her opponent from above. The Water type tries to retaliate with a Water Pulse, but can't quite fire it with enough strength to make it reach Flabébé. It decides to wait for the attack to fall on its body, though, and this helps it to charge another, more powerful Water Pulse - this time aimed at Shiny.

"Shiny, look out!" Tsu tries to get in between Shiny and Shellos, but almost slips on the wet rocks. "Uh… Flame Charge!" The flames on Shiny's ankles flare up as she charges forward, dodging the aquatic orb and leaving twin trails of flame in her wake. She leaves the Shellos behind as she gallops over to Natsuko. "Whoa… that was cool!"

Shellos seems to shrug as it turns its attention to Poppy once again. The Fairy type in the meantime has just been chanting her little protective spell, trying to help Shiny out, but now is ready to fire another Fairy Wind at the Water type.

"Tsu?" Avril yelps instead, her eyes letting go of Poppy for a bit as she walks closer to her friend. "Hope you and Ponyta are ok!"

"No need to worry!" Tsu gives Avril a thumbs-up as she gently pats Shiny's cheek. The little Ponyta is breathing hard, but still ready to help if needed.

The blonde girl lets out a sigh of relief in response. "Uhm, let's get this done before… that happens again, alright?" She asks as she tries to aim for the Shellos with her Pokéball. "Will you tell me when it's weak enough?"

In the meantime, Poppy is essentially playing some sort of whack-a-Diglett with Shellos. She's not even trying to harm it, she's just teasing it and then dodging all its moves with Fairy Wind, something that is definitely easier to do when you're a tiny Pokémon twirling in the air. This goes on for a little, but the Shellos looks more and more bored. It starts to look around the area, trying to find that apple that the blonde trainer dropped some minutes ago.

Tsu follows Shellos' gaze, noticing the apple behind it. "Shiny, get me to that apple!" She hops onto Shiny's back, laying flat as Shiny uses Flame Charge to dash over to it, trampling Shellos as she does. Tsu slides off, tossing the fruit to Avril. "Now's your chance! Catch it!"

The other Shellos goes to the other trainers with the intention of getting the apple from her. Jordie is quick to answer though and tosses Neon's Dusk Ball at it. It opens and bounces back to Jordie. Green sparks float upwards and the trap Pokémon appears. "Ok, let's see how strong you are. Use Thundershock!" Neon looks at Jo and frowns, then he shoots a barrage of mud at the Shellos' eyes instead that slow it down a bit. The wild Pokémon shoots a Water Gun at the sky that falls on its eyes, retiring the mud from them and the water also being instantly absorbed by its body.

"Gabby, last shot! Use Hidden Power on it!" Jordie calls, seeing how the wild Shellos was too concentrated in the Stunfisk to pay attention to Gabby. The cell Pokémon stores and sends greenish balls of energy at the Shellos, finally knocking it out.

"Ow!" Avril yelps as she clumsily catches the apple not with her free hand, but in between her arms, something that ends up being a bit more painful than expected. She then gets ready to throw her Pokéball at the Shellos, who seems to have noticed the fruit's new location and is now slowly crawling towards it. Yes… even after Shiny's powerful blow.

"Poor thing, all it wants is some more food! And well, I'm the right person for it!" Avril chuckles, adding some self promotion before finally throwing the Pokéball. The device hits the Water type right on its head, pulls it inside, and shakes once… twice…

"There, I caught it, didn't I!?" Avril looks at her friends eagerly, before picking up the now motionless Pokéball from the sand. She is still holding onto that apple which, although is quite battered and not as fresh as it used to be, will hopefully be a good snack for her new companion.

 

[WizardOfOdd]

Katrina Purcell
Location: Southern Pokemon Center, Slateport Town
Pokemon at hand :

Thursday, September 17th​

Chapter 1 - 7
My Toast!​

"Excuse me."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Kat steps back as she realizes that she is blocking the exit. However, it doesn't take long until she falls back to her contemplation. She knows that Jack deserves an apology, but will he even accept it? She tries her best to think about how should she approach Jack so he will accept her apology.

Aurora is feeling nervous. After all, she isn't a stranger to her trainer's tendencies when she wants to skip lunch. Fearing for the worst she decides to spring into action by biting on her trainer's shoelaces until they come undone.

"Aurora!" Kat hisses as she tries to contain her voice before Jack realize that she is there. Fearing that Aurora will eventually cause Jack to notice, she decides to steel herself and hope for the best as she limps her way towards him.

Please don't let him be mad… Please… With shaky hands, she taps the man with the indigo sweater on his shoulder.

The man in question is indeed Jack, he's busy biting on to his Chilli Cheese Toast with Avocado and Artichoke as he looks back towards Kat with his face slightly red.

"O-oh, Katrina. I didn't expect you to be here." The young man awkwardly put down the toast on his mouth.

Meanwhile, Katrina is very relieved, after all, she can't imagine how ashamed she would've been if the man he tapped wasn't Jack. Also, she's quite surprised that he actually wears sunglasses indoors. She wonders if that's new trend… Or maybe his eyes are tired?

"H-hi, am I interrupting your dinner?"

"Well, technically yes. But, I don't really mind… Oh, please sit." he quickly tries to stand from his seat to help Katrina.

"No, no… I can do it by myself." Katrina hurriedly grabs the chair before Jack has the chance to stand up.

Both of them sit on the seat across each other, awkwardly averting their gazes to avoid speaking out first. Kat wishes that Jack will speak first, but unfortunately, she quickly realize that is only wishful thinking on her part. Silence ensues from both parts, but not long after...

"Pi! Pi!" Aurora barked loudly towards Jack thinking that he is the one behind her trainer's slump, besides he's the only person who was visibly conversing with Katrina during the ferry ride. She then jumps on her trainer's lap before trying to climb up the table.

"Aurora! Please!" Kat grabs the Snow Fox Pokemon before she can cause issues, she already needs to apologize for what happened earlier that afternoon, no way she'll let Aurora add more problems to the mix.

"Um… Do you have somewhere to go? We can just talk later…" Jack tries his best to dissuade Kat from forcing herself to sit with him.

"No, no… It's nothing important, really… Hey, Aurora… Geez." Kat struggles to keep her Snow Fox Pokemon causing her to try her best to grab Aurora's Pokeball.

"I insist, beside-"

Crash!

Jack's objection suddenly interrupted by a loud noise of a falling plate. To make it worse, it is his plate that's now laying on the floor. Aurora manages to let loose from her trainer's clutch causing her to dash towards Jack but not before she accidentally knocked over Jack's dinner.

"M-my toast…" Jack tries his best to compose himself, visibly biting his lips while trembling.

Aurora continues to bark, but then her expression of anger turns into fear as she feels a powerful grip on her body. She slowly turns her head while shaking to find her trainer looking at her with a piercing gaze.

"Aurora, you…"
​

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
​

​

 

[WizardOfOdd]

Jacques 'Jack' Tenenbaum
Location: Slateport City
Pokemon at hand :

Thursday, September 17th​

Chapter 1 - 3
Night in Slateport​

"Sorry I had to impose on you like this." Kat sits down on the wheelchair I borrowed from the Pokemon Center.

Thankfully even if my regional license hasn't been out yet, I still can use my current trainer's license to borrow the wheelchair. It's nothing fancy, but it looks reliable. She did refuse me several times on my offer, but no chance in hell I can watch her limp like that while hiding my expression. Besides, it's not dangerous for her to walk far without this wheelchair. For someone who is partially responsible for her falling and hurting her leg, this is the least that I can do."

"Eh, don't worry, I don't mind."

"B-but…"

"Hey, you're the one telling me that I can ask for anything."

"But still, I can't accept…"

"Shhh…" I make a silent gesture with my right index finger, prompting Katrina to immediately stop her complaints.

I expect her to be cheerful again like when we rode the ferry together, but for some reason, Kat lethargically slumps over instead. Is it because I told her to stop complaining? Nah, can't be… Maybe she still thinking about what happened earlier?

"Hey, you're okay? Don't worry people won't remember it." I try my best to console her.

"Are you sure about that?" Kat turns her head back towards me.

Gah, what's with that Baby-doll eyes? This is messed up, how am I supposed to lie if I have to fight against that? Oh well, maybe this time giving out the truth won't be that bad. I'll just have to tread carefully and then I can segue it to a much cheerful topic.

"Uh… Yes… Okay, maybe… Well, your scream back there is kinda terrifying, to be honest." I try my best to hold my expression when recounting that hair-raising experience. "But don't worry a lot of things happen, they'll forget it sooner or later." I warmly smile to ease Katrina's anxiety.

Did it do the job? Finally I can...

"Maybe, right?" Kat answers my question with an uncertain voice.

ARGH! WHY!!! WHY CAN'T I JUST ANSWER FIRMLY!? Fine! I'll just have to wing this. I try my best to continue smiling while hiding my anxiety.

"Ugh…" Despite my initial enthusiasm that I can handle this, I'm not sure what kind of answer can help her calm down. This isn't how it goes on my 'Easy Ways on Making Friends' book, should I just-

"Jack?"

"W-well, what do you expect? Not even my late mother screams that loud…" I jolt as I realize what I just uttered out.

"Your late mother?"

Yep, I've blundered so badly… Not only I accidentally mention my late mother, but I also had to do it in front of a girl that's actually having trouble with her mother, yay me. At this point, I'd rather be truthful, hopefully, it'll make her feel more comfortable.

"Yeah, she's the most graceful and refined woman I've ever known in my life. Unfortunately, she's also the scariest among the people I've ever known when she's pissed." I try to laugh it off, even if in reality I'm feeling really sad when I remember her and her warm smile. However, if I can help Kat feeling better about her mother, then it's all worth it.

"Is that so…" Kat lowers her head in reflex, but as she realizes she is still with me she quickly turns her head back towards me while shaking her head in what appears to be a panicking expression.

"Oh… It's great that your late mother was such a wonderful lady… My mother is also the same, you know… She's pretty reliable… Also uh… Well, I'm happy to have her as my mother…"

Liar. That tone of voice… I know it all too well.

"You don't have to talk about your mother if you don't want to." I try to comfort Kat.

"Sorry, it's not fun hanging out with a people like me, isn't it?"

Argh! I have to do something! But what? My jokes are mostly Trubbish quality… Well, I don't have any choice than this… Sorry, Kat...

I take a deep breath before I start opening my mouth. "Hey - hey… I didn't ask you on a date so you can mop around like this." I try to look as confident as possible.

"H-huh, what?" Kat's face turns crimson red as she turns her face towards me.

"Well I mean, there's no one else besides us on this trip, and we're even going to eat together at a restaurant. Isn't this basically a date?"

"B-but you said before that it's just going to be a-a normal trip… What's gotten into you?" Kat stutters badly, which shows my genius strategy is working really

"Eh, you're not wrong… But still, Kat…" I stop pushing Kat's wheelchair to deliver the final line.

"U-um... Jack?"

"You have pretty eyes, you know that?" I smile widely. I feel so much relief that I manage to properly execute the teasing properly. Now she'll complain about my compliment and I can just tease her with that.

"Thank you…" Kat's face turns even redder than before as she sheepishly give thanks to me.

Ah... She quickly averted my gaze, just like… Wait no. Something's not right here... This isn't how I envision the teasing goes… Wait… F-flushed cheeks? No way! NO FREAKIN' WAY! W-WHY DID I? D-DID I JUST WOO HER!?

I abruptly stop pushing the wheelchair as I realize what I've done.

"J-Jack? Is something the matter? Why is your face so red?

"AAAAH!!!" I let out a loud scream as I crouch down, embarrassed as hell.​

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
​

​

 

[forg]

Emilio Estéban Grácia​

Slateport [Saturday, Sept. 19] Afternoon ​

From inside the gym Emilio emerged having witnessed a trainer going by Marie floored, a sight that only reinforced Emilio's grim outlook of his own first steps in his journey. Furthermore, he has yet to get around to their first training session. And while he is aware that in order to ever hold a candle next to the champions of the pokémon world - of whom can stand their ground against the legendary beasts - the months it would take to even make a dent amongst these elites is daunting.

...maybe he will meet the criteria for the next gym he encounters.

The sound of vigorous drumming erupted from his back pocket, prompting him to quickly fetch his pokégear. Galarian Ponyta inched closer, curious about the caller's identity.

It was a dear friend of his, an unexpected surprise. "Oooooiiii, qué pasaaaaa," greets Emilio with a booming voice, leaning against the gym wall as he begins to tie his shoes.

"Yooooooooooo, hoooooola," replied a young man with a hint of exhaustion. "What's up?"

"Nothing much. Just checking out the gym and seeing pokémon fights."

"Hahaha yeah I know bro. I see you." Emilio shot up and glanced over his vicinity, yet could not recognize his friend out from the crowd.

"Oh yeah?" Emilio replies, doing a sudden, backwards somersault that ended in him yelping and landing on his back. There he remained, sighing before raising the device to his ear with a giggling Ponyta. "Then what did I do?" Finding her trainer endearing, she circles around him before deciding to sit next to his waist, happily smiling to curious passerby.

"What? What are you doing?! Hahaha."

"S-shut up!" replied Emilio in a vexed tone, albeit luckily for him Elliot knew him well enough to disregard such. "Where you at? I didn't know you were already here. I thought you were coming over next month." Preparing for a much needed encounter, he leaps up and signals to his companion to follow amidst the conversation with some whistling, blindly trusting the mare as he walks on ahead.

"Hahaha you'll see."

"Tell me so I know where to walk."

"Towards the north Pokémon Center. Coming back from visiting the lighthouse and got something small from the center-"

"The lighthouse?" Emilio repeats, briefly pausing before continuing forward, somewhat hurt. "You went to the lighthouse and didn't invite me to a date?" He plays off the stinging feeling with jokes.

"You wouldn't wanna go, it was boring, man."

"But we could've been bored together."

"Hahahaha nooooo!"

Between the laughs his ponyta observes the happiness with a hint of sorrow emanate from Emilio. It was refreshing to see him glisten and participate in some banter. However, instead of glee and joy the pony felt … alone and with a desire to interact with the familiar man. Normally he would suffocate the mare in love and affection, but after the passing of ponyta's original trainer the change in him was hard to miss. Unprecedented, even.

Emilio stops upon eyes laying on the sight of the friend before him; Elliot Wingins. The peer was a light-skinned ginger with metal-framed, rectangular glasses over sandy brown eyes. Freckles dotted beneath his eyebags, nosebridge, and upper portion of his pale, twig frame, broken only by a white tank top and khaki shorts. Emilio could make out his sandals shifting and clacking against the hot pavement.

"SEXY," hollered out Emilio to the ginger, the latter of which spread out his arms in response.

"MY MAN!"

The two jogged and met halfway, greeting one another with hands slapping into a tight grip that pulled the other into a hug. The arm barrier between the men prevented any discomfort as they patted the other's back before breaking away, clicking tongues to finish this unique ritual.

"Hahaha yeah! Hey, isn't that your aunt's Ponyta?" Elliot pointed to the curious mare. She took a step closer, hoping to be included in the following conversation.

But with the roll of his eyes and a sigh Emilio turns and allows for Elliot to move on ahead towards his apartment, unwilling to be reminded of the loving woman. "No, it's Death the Impaler, the Pikachu."

Elliot's hands spread out briefly in front of the disappointed Galarian Ponyta, immersed in the moment. "Haha, conqueror of the seven seas!" As he led the way, the pale teen rummaged through his short's large pockets, smiling upon his thin fingers retrieving a pack of cigarettes. "Bro, I brought my games over-"

Emilio threw his hand forward and into his friend's peripheral vision, stopping the ginger in his tracks. "Say no more. You know I'm down for games anyday. Any- yo, you said you wouldn't smoke anymore, you know I just quit," he reminds the young man, watching as he plucks a single cigarette from the pack.

"Sorry man, I know. I just got really in the mood for one."

"You know I f*cking crave one when I see them," Emilio explained further, growing frustrated as he felt the craving for the unhealthy habit re-emerging once more. "Sh*t."

"Want one?" The question was rewarded by Emilio's peeved expression, the two now having halted in their tracks amidst a mildly busy city. "Just one. It's just one, it isn't going to hurt." He hands Emilio two cigarettes, fidgeting with them as he waited for them to be picked. But the wait and silence extended into a minute. Elliot figured his darker friend mentally debated against his need and want, changing expressions revealing the obvious turmoil.

It would take another minute before Emilio snatched the two cigarettes, sliding them into his pocket. "Fine. But not now. Only when I'm really f*cking craving them."

"That sounds cool to me."

《•••》​

"That's rough, man."

"No sh*t."

Sitting inside a rather filthy, small bedroom were the two young trainers. Contrasting with the cheap furniture and lack of hygiene was a 75-inch plasma, curve television connected to a high 360° wall mount. Flickering on its monitor was the 'continue?' game screen.

"Is that why she doesn't have a name yet?" inquired Elliot, referring to the dormant ponyta in her pokéball. Emilio took a hot minute prior to leaning forward, setting the controller on the messy coffee table.

"Yep. Tía called her Gala."

"Gala? Sounds so anime-ish haha-"

"Heh, stop that sh*t," Emilio shot back playfully, mildly pushing Elliot before standing up. He proceeded to stretch, rotating his waist and extending his arms upward until he felt the satisfying crack from his bones.

"Call her Death the Impaler then." The addicting scent of Elliot's smoking reached his nose, causing him to swiftly twist to face the friend.

"Again?!"

"Just this one." Emilio sighed, staring at a random corner of the television, mind wandering off to a compilation of his aunt's quirks and smiles. "Sorry bro. It helps me stay calm."

An immediate sense of dread began to creep up Emilio's spine. The ensuing desperate need to fend off the incoming wave of sorrow caused him to succumb to the cigarettes stored in his back pocket.

Coughing, Emilio apologized and walked out of the apartment and into the hallway to better clear his lungs. Here he solemnly stared at the addictive substance in his hands. Despite the stigma with such, he gave in to the desire.

He shoved the thoughts aside and returned inside. "Yo, I'll smoke with you."

Images credited to Tango Sasayama in Picrew.me (: <3

 

[pinkiswin]

Jason Lee
Slateport Saga

Chapter 1.0 Soup for the Soul Thursday, September 17, 2:00pm-4;30pm

Spoiler:

Jay awoke on the shore of slateport, covered in sand, saltwater, and Gyarados Saliva. Calamity was on the beach next to him, flopping and rolling around, with the most genuine smile his serious Gyarados face could make.

"I haven't seen him this happy in a long time." Despite his sore, and uncomfortable situation, he was sure he had made the right decision back on the ferry. He wrung out his hat, and dusted the sand off of his clothes. He took a picture to capture the moment (luckily his phone was undamaged) then let Calamity enjoy himself for a while before returning him to his pokeball, and setting of to find a pokecenter. "I have to make sure I transfer my license first thing, I could find myself in some kind of trouble if I don't."

After quite a walk, and asking directions he made it to the Slateport pokecenter.

"Welcome, Trainer, How may I help you?" the pokecenter employee, and customer service superstar was ready long before Jay.

"Uh... o yeah I need to transfer my license?" Jay, was really beginning to feel the lack of sleep, granted he was unconscious for a couple hours after being chewed and hauled off by Calamity, so he wasn't entirely wiped out.

"Home region?"

"Jhoto."

"Name?"

"Jason lee, but you can call me Jay"

"Ok, Mr. Jason Lee but you can call me Jay,", the dad jokes were real with this one. "Processing time for the transfer will take 24 hours, in which you cannot compete in any contests or register for any League Sanctioned gym battles, you may capture pokemon, as long as you follow the laws listed in the Ranger Database, and battle other trainers as you wish. We will notify you via text message Once the transfer is complete, we can issue a Hoenn License, but you can use your Jhoto license, as the ID will be considered valid in our database. Is there anything else I can help me with?"

"Uhhhhhh food?" Jason's stomach was growling, having only eaten pancakes twice in the course of 2 days his body was suffering from lack of protein.

"You may feel free to Eat in our buffet, we have free and reduced cost items in our vending machines for Journeying trainers, Here in slateport we have a huge selection of resaurants, grocery stores, and other places to eat, feel free to shop at your leisure. or perhaps would you like to finish my sandwich?" The attendant paused, and pulled out a half eaten sandwich from his desk. "It's a fantastic egg salad sandwich on toasted rye, I made it myself."

"Uhmn, Thanks, but I think I'm good, and thank you for the help with the transfer" Jay had never met such a master of customer service or improve comedy, and it is such a shame that he wasn't running at 100% mental capacity. He would have liked it much more. Wanting to taste something unique to slateport, He opted to find a local restaurant. And wandered out of the pokecenter.

Jay followed his nose to a Small Shack/Bar style soup and stew restaurant with no current customers. Behind an array of bubbling pots, worked an elderly woman, wrinkled from both age and working in the steam of the kitchen. The woman very much reminded Jay of his grandmother, And he immediately thought to text her. 'hey grandma, made it to slateport, and transferred my license. Gyarados had a fun time on the beach, getting ready to eat Soup' he opted out of telling her he was almost eaten, and included the picture he had taken of Calamity, She replied almost Immediately.

'You are a very lucky trainer! I have never seen a Gyarados look so happy, I had my doubts about Calamity, but you seem to be the perfect Trainer for him. I've been waiting to hear from you, and I'm glad you made it there safely! Your grandfather says hi, gosh he is so cute when he does your chores, its a shame it takes him all day though. Dodrio misses you, your grandfather refuses to ride him, and he's gotten very lonely, perhaps we can find him a new friend? Bless you, talk to you again soon.'

After reading the message he put his phone away, and stepped up to the woman. "Good afternoon mam, boy these soups smell delicious."

"Why thank you, Is there anything you'd wish to order?" She buzzed with enthusiasm, and gestured to the various pots and a small menu board.

"I'm looking for something with flavors Unique to Slateport."

"Sonny, you came to the right place, my family has cooked soup here in slateport for 3 generations, I learned from my mother what she learned from hers, our family's signature recipe, Slateport Stew, features all local ingredients including: crushed white and black peppercorns, fresh herbs and vegetables, meats, and seafood stewed in a soy and sesame broth , and contains the very essence of Slateport cuisine"

"That sounds amazing, and is exactly what I am looking for, I would like to order that in the biggest bowl you have. Please." He took off his hat, and sat down at the Bar, and the woman served him hot, steamy Slateport Stew in a large black bowl. "Thank you very much." The aroma hit his nose, and his eyes closed, he was transported to a world were the sun is shining on a rainy day and flowers bloomed in crashing waves. He lifted the spoon to his mouth, and gently blew to cool the stew before tasting the first bite. The salty savory flavors melted in his mouth, the soup's flavor shook his senses, and made him shudder. How could something taste so good? He smiled, infinitely happy he had discovered this place. "This is the most delicious food I have ever tasted." He complimented honestly.

"I'm glad you like it. Where does a tough looking boy like you learn such wonderful manners?" she prodded curiously.

"I'm from Jhoto Region, I grew up on my grandparent's Ranch, its south of Violet City"

"Oh Jhoto! Apricorns grow there. I've always wanted to make a broth from Apricorn Juice, would be quite the sensation, Don't they traditionaly make pokeballs out of apricorns as well?"

"Yes we do! In fact I have a few pokeballs here that my grandfather and I have made together for my journey" he paused and took out the Case his grandfather had given him. And showed her the pokeballs he had finished and decorated with swirls.

"Those are absolutely Amazing! Have you thought about selling them? I would love to get one of those for my granddaughter Claire. "

"Oh? I hadn't really thought about it." He paused, he was unsure about selling them, they were a gift from his grandfather, and he was going to need them to catch pokemon for his journey, but at the same time he knew, he was going to need to make money on his adventure. He continued to eat his soup while he contemplated selling one.

"Hello mister!" a familiar voice was once again behind Jay. He turned around to see the little girl holding wiggles.

"Hi wiggles! how's your human?" Jay joked.

The little girl giggled and said, "I'm fine." She then looked over to the old woman and pointed at Jay. "Gama Gama, this is the boy I was telling you about!"

Claire's Grandmother looked at Jay with the most shocked face and asked "You were eaten by a Gyarados?"

Jay laughed embarrassingly, and covered his face. "Yeah, its kind of a funny story." he told Claire's grandmother the story of what happened on the Ferry and how he ended up getting to slateport while he finished his soup. Once his bowl was finished he stood up. "How much do I owe you for the soup?"

"Nothing, Claire would not stop talking about the ferry and how she got to see a Gyarados today, she was very happy after meeting you." she smiled and picked up Jay's Bowl and put it in the dish sink.

Jay, whos heart was filled with joy, and belly full of soup, opened the case one more time and pulled out a pokeball. "Hey wiggles! I got something for your human. I hope she likes it." He handed the Pokeball to Claire.

"Really mister!? Thank You! You can have this!" she reached into her pocket and hand Jay a Gyarados Sticker. "It's for your pokeball! Ima put a Magikarp on mine."

"Thank you." Jay peeled and placed the sticker onto Calamity's pokeball. He said his farewells, and Claires grandmother told him 'if your ever hungry for some soup, you know where to find us'. Feeling full and refreshed, he decided to make his way to the Slateport Gym, to scope it out.

Chapter 1.1 The Nightmare/ Risk of Stunfisk Thursday, September 17, 4:30pm - Friday, September 18, 11:00am

Spoiler:

Jay had walked through the busy, trainer filled streets of Slateport, asking passing trainers for directions and information about its leader. He was beginning to learn that the world is equally full of rude and self absorbed people as it is full of those that are kind and helpful. Some found his Jhoto accent and farmboy manners charming, others dismissed him as vagrant beggar based on his appearance. But what affected Jay the most, is when people outright ignored his presence, and continued about their business like he didn't exist, some even gazing through him. 'Am I really just a Nobody?' What he had gathered from his journey was that it would be a 2v2 teamwork battle against The Gym's Leader Benji. He was also told that it would be a fierce battle, as all of Benji's Pokémon knew how to work together with each other.

"So, I'm going to need to find a teammate for Calmaity!" He figured finding a good teammate would be best approached by introducing Calamity to pokemon found on the beach, and seeing which ones he would become friends with. "He's in such a good mood today, I'm sure we can make a new friend." Exhausted from his adventure this far, He hailed a taxi to the pokemon center. He needed to catch up on his sleep, He was going to have a big day tomorrow. Jay had fallen asleep by 7:45 PM.

Jay had dreamed of riding Calamity across the ocean, to Mossdeep. Upon arrival he visited the Mossdeep Space center, and asked employees if they had seen his parents, and showed them the picture he had.

"Why of course, that's Mr. and Mrs. Lee, they live here in Mossdeep, in that house on top of the hill there." The employees pointed west, to a small house on top of the hill.

"What!?! That's Impossible" He screamed with excitement and ran to the house. Upon arival he had seen his parents in the Yard, with two small children who looked like him. "Mom! Dad! its me Jay! I can't believe I found you!" Hey yelled, and started running up to them.

"Honey, did you hear something" His father said to his mother.

"Nope, its probably just the wind" His mother replied.

"What, you don't see me? I'm right here! its me Jay!" His heart sank, as he walked closer to them, and they continued to ignore his presence. "Mo...Mother?" he reached for her hand.

"Back off!" before Jay could reach his mother's hand, his father grabbed his wrist and threw him to the ground. "We left you on the ranch for a reason, we don't want you with us."

Jay jolted awake, eyes full of tears. The nightmare had wretched his soul. "It was just a dream," he told himself, as he held the picture of his parents. "My parents loved me, I know they did." he possessed vague memories of them singing him to sleep as he cuddled a slowpoke doll. "They didn't abandon me. They didn't just cut me, gandpa, and grandma out of their life. Something happened." He decided to Shower and clean his clothes, as he was starting to smell like a fish market, and got ready for a day at the beach.

He woke early enough to see the sunrise, He took a picture and sent it to his Grandmother. He had purchased some rice cakes and seaweed snacks form the vending machine and headed out to the beach. He Wadded into the shallows and released Calamity from his pokeball. Calamity Hapily swam and splashed around in the deeper water, as Jay explored Sandbars and tide pools. "Look at all the shells and cool rocks!" Jay started collecting mementos from them, as he searched for a new teammate.

A Few hours passed, as the two enjoyed themselves. But Jay had not come across a single pokemon. "I wonder where they all are?" Jay scanned the horizon, then something caught his eye. and he drew closer to check it out. He had spotted a vibrant red Shellos. He cautiously approached the shellos, and opened his bag, grabbing a rice cake. He began eating the rice cake, a clever ploy. "Mmn this is delicious! Does anyone want to share?" It worked and the Shellos started paying attention to him.

"Hey, do you want some of my rice cake?" he said, reaching out his hand offering a bite to the Shellos. It was curious and cautiously approached Jay. "It's ok, im not going to hurt you." he bent down, and brought the treat closer. The shellos took a bite of the rice cake and cooed. "Do you like it? I have more, he reached into his bag for another rice cake and Gave it to Shellos.
"Hey Calamity come meet my new friend!" He called and waved his Gyarados to shore.

Calamity swam to the shore, and began flopping across the shallows to meet Jay. When suddenly he suddenly let out a thundering roar, and began writhing in pain. The unsuspecting Gyarados had flopped onto a stunfisk, who let loose a paralyzing jolt of electricity before skittering into the water.

"Calamity! are you ok?" Jay rushed to the side of his pokemon, The Shellos, concerned, followed slowly behind.

Chapter 1.2 Star Guardian Friday, September 18, 11:00am - Saturday, September 19, 11:00am

Spoiler:

Jay and Shellos stood over Calamity as he was writhing in pain. "Are you ok buddy?" he pulled out his pokeball, getting ready to return him for an emergency trip to the pokecenter. The shellos aproched Calamity and nestled its head on Gyarados sympathetically. This gave hope to Jay, Shellos's concern for Calamity showed him that it might make a good partner for his Gyarados. Calamity opened his eyes, and locked on to Shellos. He let out a roar, and Shellos began to flee. Then Calamity Attacked.

"No Calamity stop!" Jay commanded, but he did not listen, and continued his assault, this left Jay with no option, other than to return him to his pokeball. "Calamity, retur-"before he could return the raging Gyarados to his pokeball, Calamity used his tail to knock him over, sending the pokeball into a tide pool. Jay scrambled to his feet and was faced with a split second decision 'do I Scramble for the pokeball, or help Shellos escape?'. He ran to Shellos, picking it up before Calamity could hit it with another tackle. Calamity let out a roar, chasing Jay and shellos across the shoreline. Jay had outrun Calamity enraged before, but he wasn't carrying an injured pokemon then. His pace was slowing fast, and Calamity was gaining on them. Jay tripped, scraping his leg on a rock. Calamity was right behind them, ready to strike. "Somebody help!" he let out a cry, as he held onto Shellos and closed is eyes, anticipating being Killed by his own pokemon, his best friend.

"HYAH!" The sound rung loud the moment Jay expected to be struck. "HYAH! HYAH! HYAH!" Jay opened his eyes, from the sounds, he expected to see a buff lifeguard who specialized in martial arts. What he saw instead, was a lone Staryu, protecting them from Calamity. "HYAH!" Staryu struck Calamity with a rapid spin. Then began to glow. Calamity seemed to forget about Jay and Shellos, and locked onto Staryu. Staryu began to lure Calamity away from them.

"Now's your chance, you need to get out of here!" Jay, pleaded with Shellos. The Shellos cried, and looked at Jay's bleeding leg, refusing to go. "Don't worry about me, you need to get out of here, we don't know how long Staryu can keep him distracted." the Shellos reluctantly left Jay, and escaped into the ocean. Jay began to limp his way to the tide pool where Calamity's pokeball had fallen, franticly looking for it.

"HYAH!" The battle between Calamity and Staryu continued. Staryu spun into the Gyarados, Striking him with tackles and rapid spins. Calamity was becoming more enraged, thrashing about trying to strike Staryu with his own Tackles. Staryu, who was beginning to fatigue, Started using harden to withstand Calamity's attacks, as he no longer had the energy to dodge them or attack. Calamity began continuously smashing into Staryu.

"Calamity Return" Jay had found the pokeball and recalled Calamity before he could deliver another Strike. He ran to the side of his savior. Not having many options, He planned to capture the Staryu and bring it to the pokecenter. 'I owe him a huge debt, after he is restored, I will let him leave if he wishes.' "Pokeball go!" Jay Captured the Staryu, and began limping off of the beach. A lifeguard riding a moped on the beach spotted him.

"A couple of kids saw the commotion and called us, do you need a ride to the hospital?" The lifeguard offered, handing Jay a helmet"

"We have to go to the pokecenter first, the Staryu that saved me is severely injured and we don't have much time. You should notify the local rangers, there's a Shellos out there who might also need medical attention." Jay put on the helmet and climbed on the back of his moped.

"Alright, hold tight." The lifeguard sped them off of the beach, to the nearest pokecenter.

Jay's wounds were mostly surface wounds, and were treatable by the pokecenter staff. He thanked the Lifeguard, who informed him that the rangers found the red Shellos and were able to treat it with a potion. Jay then waited in the lobby to hear from the nurse about Staryu.

"Jayson Lee?" the nurse called out holding a tray with Jay's pokeball. Jay raised his hand and the nurse walked over to him. "Your Staryu is fully healed. The damage it sustained was very substantial, but you got it here just in time. It is a rather strong Staryu, and was able to recover very quickly. Maybe don't push it so hard next time."

"I won't" Jay replied, but he was worried that their might not be a next time. He had decided to let Staryu choose whether or not he wished to stay with Jay. After a day's rest Jay returned to the beach with Staryu.

"Come on out Staryu." Jay released Staryu from the pokeball and thanked him for saving him and the Shellos. He apologized on behalf of Calamity, then told Staryu that he could stay with him, or return to the wild, now that jay had returned the favor.

"HYAH" Staryu pointed at Jay and decided not to leave. Staryu observed the gentle way Jay met Shellos, and the moments leading up to him protecting Shellos from Gyarados. Staryu saw Jay choose the safety of Shellos over his own safety. Staryu was grateful that Jay rushed to his aide after the battle was over. These qualities are what led to Staryu choosing Jay as his trainer.

"Really? you wanna stay with me? what Should I call you?" Jay put his hand on his chin and pondered for a moment. "Oh I know! How do you feel about Star Guardian?"

"HYAH!" Staryu did a flip and nodded his top point. The two of them walked back into town together.

Chapter 1.3 A great Defeat/Journey to Dewford Monday, September 21

Spoiler:

[Sorry, I haven't quite finished this part of the story yet, check back soon!]

Jay's team this far

Spoiler:

Calamity Lvl 18

[Intimidate]
Tackle
Splash

Star Guardian Lvl 15

[Illuminate]
Tackle
Harden
Water Gun
Confuse Ray
Rapid Spin

 

[Evily]

Shuna Kamado

​

Friday, September 18 {11: ??am}​

Prologue - Epoch 1.4: Slateport
Beachcomber - Part 3​

Just as Shuna closed her eyes to rest for a second she heard a lot at once: Pidge's cry that was changing and taking a different tone, Finn letting out a garbled gasp, Shellos crying out, and Souei's voice right behind her.

"Interesting…"

Shuna opened her eyes and tilted her head, looking to where Pidge was, but instead a Pidgeotto took his place.

She stared at the bird pokemon, confused where it came from. The Pidgeotto stepped closer and nuzzled her cheek, very familiar to what Pidge does…

"Pidge?" The Pidgeotto heard her words and backed up, staring at the trainer and nodding his head. At his response her eyes widened, thoughts whirling around her head and emotions running through her. "You…"

Before Shuna could say more she heard Shello's cry. The sea slug pokemon was puffing up her cheeks, about to release another poisonous sludge. The newly evolved Pidge flapped his wings and took to the skies, hovering in front of Shuna and Finn. Shellos spit out the sludge, aiming for either pokemon or human. Her anger had grown out during the battle, frustrated that her efforts weren't working.

The bird pokemon flapped his wings, blowing a large gust of wind at the sea slug. The wind doesn't cause damage, but it intercepts the sludge, its power pushing the attack back where it came from. Shellos widened her eyes, but before she could move the sludge hit her head on, a cry emitting from the pokemon as she moved backwards, shaking her head. Luckily she wasn't poisoned, but the move still hurt.

"Whirlwind…" Shuna mumbled as she noticed the new move Pidge learned, awed at the power and growth he went through.

"..." Souei, on the other hand, was staring at the battle with narrowed eyes, his eyes holding an unknown gleam in them. Sango the Meowstic was standing on his shoulder, staring in disgust at the Shellos as the sea slug continued to shake her head, getting some of the sludge off her.

Shuna noticed how tired the Shellos was, maybe this could be the chance to finish the battle once and for all.

"Air Cutter!" At Shuna's command, Pidge flapped his wings once, releasing a stream of light blue 'X' shaped blades. Three blades hit Shellos as the rest shot around, kicking up a sand cloud. "Whirlwind!" Pidge flapped his wings to produce a gust of wind, pushing away the intruding sand cloud. In doing so it reveals a slouched Shellos, barely conscious. The Shellos lets out a weak glare, growling before puffing up her cheeks and letting out a spiral of water.

"Use Quick Attack to spin around the water!" Pidge swiftly flew down and soared around the spiral, very close to skimming the water and he left a small white-energy trail behind. As he got closer Shellos widened her eyes, seeing the bird pokemon get closer and closer. She stopped the attack and was about to puff up her cheeks for another attack, but Pidge body slammed into her, halting all actions. Shellos was pushed back, skidding a few inches, landing on her side. Pidge flew over and landed in front of Shuna, staring at the fainted Shellos, puffing out his chest and letting out a proud 'caw'.

"Thanks for the freebie." Souei walked over, stopping beside Shuna, holding a pokeball in one hand.

Shuna glanced up at Souei as Pidge padded over, cooing and cuddling up to Shuna. She placed one hand on his back, the other on Finn's head, patting and assuring them. "Wait what?"

Souei glanced at the girl before looking at the fainted Shellos, throwing the pokeball at the sea slug. The ball hit the Shellos' back, activating the ball's function as the device opened, sucking in the pokemon. The device beeped a few times before going still, the pokemon now under Souei's hands.

"W-what… Don't tell me…" Shuna groaned when Souei turned and smirked at the girl as she realized why he sat out the battle. "Why?!"

Souei turned, showing the pinkette the pokeball with a smirk. "I didn't want to get dirty, same excuse I told you before counts for Sango as well."

Shuna gasped at the male, 'did he seriously not want to battle the pokemon because he didn't want to get dirty? What kind of logic… getting dirty is common when being a trainer, especially in battles!' She didn't understand Souei. Not one bit.

"Also, did you forget that you don't have your license yet?"

"That's for trainer battles! Fighting wild pokemon doesn't require a license!"

*Timeskip*

"All better! Now be careful next time, alright?"

Souei glanced up, seeing Shuna and a Nurse Joy walk out of the closed doors behind the reception area. The pinkette had changed into a white, short dress with three linings of frills, one is at the bottom of the dress and the other two are over the chest area; the dress is sleeveless and held up around her shoulders by two straps, a yellow ribbon is tied around her waist into a knot at the front. Instead of her sneakers, she wears sandy brown sandals with straps around her ankles. Around her neck is her white and red bandanna and her black and blue bag strapped around her hips. However, her hat is gone.

After the battle and capturing Shellos, Souei and Shuna returned to the southern Pokémon Center to get the pinkette and her pokemon healed. As Nurse Joy's partner took the pokeballs, said nurse took Shuna to the back to give her the antidote and check her over for any other injuries. Souei stayed back and went to the left, sitting on a spare couch, and waited. He didn't know how long it took, but looking at his blue Poketch, it's about 12:30 o'clock. If he recalls well Shuna arrived at the beach around eleven for the one-time job. Then, about 30 minutes later, he recalls he revealed himself and they found the Shellos, battled and captured it, all of which probably took about 10-20 minutes. Then they had to walk all the way to the southern pokémon center, about 5-10 minutes due to Shuna's state from the poison. Furthermore, after handing her over to Nurse Joy, he sat and began waiting, so around 12 o'clock when they arrived. Now it's been 30 minutes since Shuna was taken to the back.

"Thanks for your help, Nurse Joy!" Shuna bowed a bit, thanking the nurse as she was handed back her pokeballs, placing them in her bag right after.

"No problem, dear. Take it easy for a while, alright?"

Shuna agreed and waved as she walked away and towards where Souei sat, noticing the male was tweaking around with a blue Poketch.

As Shuna stopped beside the male, she noticed the male pointing at her figure, or more specifically, her unfamiliar clothes. "What happened to your clothes?"

"Oh, this?" Shuna grabbed the left strap of her dress, letting go a few seconds later. "The Shellos' attack got stuck to my swimsuit, so I'm going to wash the two pieces once I'm finished with the job. So I changed into this short dress. My usual one wouldn't be good for the beach."

"I see…" Souei nodded along to her explanation, but at the end he blinked his eyes, registering the words. "Wait.. you're going back? Aren' you still sick from the effects of the poison?"

Shuna turned around to leave, but stopped at his words. She looked back, giving him a confused expression as she showed him the stick, "Yeah. I still have to finish the job. The lifeguard said that he would come and tell me when I'm finished. As for the poison, Nurse Joy gave me the antidote, so most of it is gone. Exhaustion is catching up, but I got a job to finish. I'm gonna keep going." She glanced away and walked over to the twin doors, exiting the PC. As she did, Souei watched with narrow eyes.

"Meow." He turned to the right and Sango stood there, staring at her trainer with blank eyes. They held a staring contest for a few seconds before Souei sighed, pushing his chair back.

"You want me to follow her?" Sango nodded once, meowing again. "Why?" Sango meowed again, blinking. "So she interested you too, huh? Alright, she's my friend after all… and she said she was tired after the ordeal, can't have her fainting out of nowhere..." Souei stood up and returned Sango to her pokeball, leaving the pokémon center as he did so.

*Timeskip - 12:35pm*

Shuna poked the rubber tip into another sand pile. In a quick motion, she flipped over the Stunfisk lurking underneath. The pokemon let out a confused moan as Finn grabbed the pokemon and walked over the water, throwing the pokemon in once he was a few feet into the shallow end.

"You've been at it for an hour and a half. Did you tell the guy for extra time?"

Shuna turned, her ponytail following her current, and saw Souei a few feet away watching Finn walk back. She let her eyes take the male in for a few seconds before turning away, looking at the ocean as Finn appeared beside her. He garbled as he grabbed the bottom of her skirt, gently pulling as he pointed to another nearby pile.

As Shuna walked over to the pile she replied to Souei's inquiry, "I'm still waiting for him to return. He never did tell me how long his shift is nor did I ask, so I can't complain." The pinkette turned back around to Souei when he didn't reply for a few minutes, only to see nobody there. "... A figment of my imagination?"

*Outside the Poke Club - 12:50pm*

Souei stood at the entrance with the door being held open by his hand, looking inside. He saw a familiar lifeguard sitting on a couch with an unfamiliar woman, having his arm around her shoulder and flirting with her.

"So this is where you are…" Souei slowly walked over to where the lifeguard was, glancing at the reception desk for a second. He came here to help his friend out, that's what friends do, from what he recalls. They also give each other gifts from time to time… maybe he could follow that tradition, but adding his own twist.

*Slateport Beach - 1:25pm*

The pinkette stared at the familiar lifeguard in front of her, skeptical of the words he just uttered. Beside her was Souei, giving the male a blank look, unnerving the lifeguard.

"Are you sure? I can keep going if you aren't well…" Shuna assured the male as she held the stick with both hands, looking at the lifeguard's semi-panicked expression.

"No! It's alright! I already took too much of your time, I can take the rest!" The lifeguard grabbed the stick from Shuna, placed three bills on her left hand, then speed walked away. The girl blinked a few times before looking in the direction the male headed in, confused at how he behaved.

"That was weird… I wonder what got him spooked…" Shuna uttered as she lifted the bills, recognizing how much money she was given. "Why did he give me $1500?"

"Who knows?" Souei mentally smirked as the lifeguard's figure vanished in the distance, then turned back to Shuna as she mentioned the cash. "Compensation for doing some of his work, isn't that what job rewards are? Money?"

"Well, sometimes yeah. But the rewards could also be items or just praise. Either is fine with me." Shuna shrugged as she put the bills inside her wallet then placed the wallet inside her hip bag. "He didn't have to give me that much though…"

"Just accept the money, woman."

"Are you sure? I could find him and give some of it back…"

"Don't bother. He's long gone."

Current Team:

Spoiler:

{Male}Mudfish Pokemon - Finn (Marshtomp)[Torrent] - Bide, Water Gun, Ice Ball, Mud Shot {Lvl.21}

{Male}Tiny Bird Pokemon - Pidge (Pidgey -> Pidgeotto)[Keen Eye] - Quick Attack, Air Cutter, Sand Attack, Gust, Whirlwind[NEW!] {Lvl. 16 -> 18}

Inventory:

Spoiler:

Pokedollars ($3,000 + $1,500 = $4,500)
Camping Kit
First Aid
Snacks & Water
Extra Clothes
Mystic Water
Potions
Pokeballs
Berries - Cheri x1, Chesto x1, Pecha x1, Oran x1, Persim x1
Cover Fossil
Plume Fossil
Quick Balls
Honey x2

 

[Embyr]

Name: Kira Wolf || Day: Thursday, September 17 || Time: Late Afternoon
Location: Slateport City

A friendly battle?

"So you used to live on an island then?" Liam questioned. "Well, you know, a smaller one. What was that like?"

"I can't really imagine it was anything too different from normal." Kira explained as they traveled towards the battlefields. "My brothers and I used to hang out with a few kids who lived nearby. There was this little road through a wooded area which led to a dock, we played there quite a bit. We even tried making a boat once however being the dumb kid I was I told mom about it, she got pretty upset with us."

"Pff, you little snitch." Liam teased.

"Yeah yeah, I was just excited and wanted to tell someone about it! Ended getting up hazed for it for a while..." Kira said, trailing off just a bit. "We still ended up making that boat though, It lasted all of about 10 minutes before falling apart.

Before them near the edge of the city was a level, grassy field enclosed by a chain link fence. The field had several battlegrounds painted on the grass and near the entrance a young man was lazily sitting by the gate, scrolling through his phone. "Licences please." the young man demanded, barely looking up from his phone.


The two of them handed over their trainer's licences. The young man hardly glanced at Liam's but gave a bit longer of a look at Kira's. "Kinyo… ya new here?"

"Yeah, Just got here a bit ago. Haven't had the chance to register yet."

"Well, it's the standard rules then if you know them. Also standard ante unless you tell me otherwise. Any questions?" He asked, barely looking up from his phone.

"Nope" Kira simply replied, figuring it couldn't be too different from back home at the academy. Quickly she grabbed her card back and headed towards one of the empty fields.

"So, you just wanna make it a one on one then, or do you want to give that Spheal of yours a work out as well." Liam asked as he threw his jacket on.

"One on one will be fine, Azure seems rather content." Kira replied. As she was about to walk over to her side of the battlefield however, she managed to catch a glimpse of the three badges on Liam's jacket. 'Show off' Kira thought to herself.

Liam nonchalantly tossed a ball out to the field, revealing a large green bird with a distant stare. "Ready whenever you are."

"Right then, lets go!" Kira called out, Nyx appearing on the field in a bright red flash. "Quick! Get in there and use Pursuit!"

"Zephyr, reflect." Liam called out. As Nyx charged towards the larger bird, a shimmering barrier of light enveloped it taking a brunt of the blow. All the while Zephyr remained motionless.

"Zephyr hasn't fought an endurance battle against a dark type yet. I figure he can hold out against a younger one like Nyx though."

"We'll see. Nyx! Stay alert and look for an opening!"

"Zephyr, lucky chant!"

As commanded Zephyr stared at the sky and began to sing, as he did a golden stream of energy began channeling from the sun towards him. While reciting his birdsong however, Nyx leapt forward in front of Zephyr into the path the energy was traveling, somehow stealing it in the process and gaining a light golden glow around herself.

Kira gave a surprised look, unsure of what exactly just happened. Quickly she fumbled through her jacket pocket and pulled out her Holotch, taking a photo of Nyx while she was thinking of it.

Liam seemed somewhat taken aback as well, however he quickly shrugged it off. "Zephyr, Future sight!"

'Future sight? Why would he…' Kira began to think before dismissing the thought, figuring he was just toying with her. "Nyx! Get in there with fury swipes before he does anything!" On Kira's word Nyx charged right back in towards the Xatu, going at him with a flurry of claw swipes that only the club's training equipment had seen before! Zephyr seemed to handle the Zorua's flurry decently well thanks to the barrier from earlier, but even with it's stoic demeanor it still managed to show signs of exhaustion.

"Alright, it's time! Miracle eye Zephyr!"

"Nyx, Pursuit! Take them down!"

With one last push, Nyx charged forward and struck Zephyr in his center of mass with a swipe from her claws. Just as it seemed he was about to fall over though, Zephyr's eyes began to shimmer a bright blue color. From seemingly out of nowhere a brilliant, blue strike of psychic energy struck at Nyx, sending her tumbling across the battlefield and knocking her out cold in the process.

Kira stared at the field in shock for a moment, expecting nyx to make some sort of movement. "But… how?"

"The move miracle eye allows a psychic type attack to strike a dark type pokemon. It also nearly guarantees it will hit." Liam explained, returning Zephyr to his ball.

"I-I knew that." Kira lied, returning Nyx to her ball. "What I wanted to know is how Nyx got knocked out in one attack like that…"

"Well, as you said you just caught her the other day right? Not only that she also seemed to be rather young. Meanwhile Zephyr has been with me for awhile now…" Liam explained, looking at the ball in his hand for a moment before putting it away. "I guess that's it though. Leads us into the awkward part then." He continued, holding out his hand.

Kira looked at him somewhat confused, "Awkward part? What do you mean?"

"The ₱1,500 you owe me, for winning ya know?"

"I-I didn't know there was a bet!" Kira stammered. "I thought it was just a friendly battle!"

Liam sighed as Kira fumbled about. "The guy at the gate mentioned the ante, don't you remember?"

"I… I didn't… Fine…" Kira conceded, too embarrassed to admit she didn't know what the word ante meant. Digging through her pocket she pulled out a large coin. "I've only got ₱500 though…"

"Really?" Liam said with a frustrated tone, snatching the coin from Kira. "You're going to play dumb and try to short me? Come on."

"Dude, I told you. I just got here earlier today! I didn't know anything about some ante!" Kira retorted. "That's all I got, I wouldn't have accepted the battle in the first place if I knew there was money on the line!"

"Seriously, don't play dumb. I know trainers new to the area are given a booklet explaining the rules!"

"Y-Yeah… but…" Kira began as she trailed off, cursing herself a bit for not actually reading the book. As she paused for a moment though, something strange struck her. "How do you know that?"

"Know what?" Liam asked, crossing his arms.

"How did you know that there was a booklet?" Kira asked, raising her own tone in response. "Were you trying to hustle me?"

"Hustle you? Are you kidding me? You're the one…" Liam began before being cut off, the man from the gate earlier running over towards them. "Hey! What's going on over here!?"

"She's trying to short me!" Liam accused, pointing towards Kira.

"I was not trying to short you!" Kira spat back.

"I'm not blind." The man began, turning his attention to Liam. "I saw you take your prize from her already."

Liam simply looked at the man with a shocked expression. "You were all the way over there, you didn't see anything!"

"Listen kid, You're not the only one who tries to pull stuff like this. Happens at least once a week." He began, stepping in between Liam and Kira. "And most are smart enough to get out of here before I call the police."

Liam, still shocked at what's happening, opened his mouth to protest but failed to speak. Silently, he glared at Kira before turning away towards the exit.

"Thank god; Dealing with the police is such a hassle…" He said, trailing off a bit before turning to Kira. "Are you gonna be alright? You can stick around for awhile if you wanna avoid him."

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Kira said, returning Liam's glare as he walked away.

"Alright, the center is just down the road so he shouldn't be able to bother you if you head straight there. Just be sure to look after yourself alright?" He said, giving Kira a bit of a wave goodbye before returning to his post.

"Yeah… Thanks."

Spoiler:

Pokemon on Hand​

Spoiler:

Azure the Spheal
Male / Calm / Thick Fat
Level: 21
- Brine
- Aurora Beam
- Aqua Ring
- Defense Curl
- Ice Ball
- Rollout

Nyx the Zorua
Female/Timid/Illusion
Level: 10 --> 12
- Pursuit
- Scratch
- Fury Swipes
- Hone Claws
- Leer
- Snatch
​

Inventory
​

Spoiler:

Money:
₱500 --> ₱0


Medicine:
3 Potion
2 Antidote
2 Paralyze Heal
1 Burn Heal


Pokeballs:
2 Pokeballs


Berries:
4 Oran Berry
4 Chesto Berry
3 Leppa Berry
1 Cheri Berry
1 Pecha Berry
1 Rawst Berry
1 Aspear Berry


Trainer items:
Ability Capsule
Rocky Helmet
Eviolite


TMs:
TM56 Fling


Other:
Extra Set Of Street Clothes
One Piece Swimsuit
Stylish Green Dress
Holotch
Pokemon Fan Club Membership (Expires: October 17th)

 

[WizardOfOdd]

Katrina Purcell
Location: Slateport Town
Pokemon at hand :

Thursday, September 17th​

Chapter 1 - 8
Awkward​

Both Jack and Katrina narrowly dodged issues with the local police, apparently, one officer thought that Jack got a sudden panic attack and almost called for an ambulance from his walkie-talkie. Thankfully, both of them managed to explain the situation before it escalated beyond their control, even if Jack had to embarrassingly tell the officer why he screamed.

The officer started to laugh so much when he understood the situation and tell them not to flirt too much causing both Kat and Jack to be self-conscious with each other, creating an awkward silence as they continue their walk to the restaurant. When they finally arrived at the restaurant the silence was finally over as they ordered their meals, but it continued again as the waitress left their table with their orders.

Come on, there must be a topic we can use to converse with each other… Kat tries her best to find a conversation topic that she can use to stop the silence. She glances towards Jack to help her think, but their gaze accidentally meet as Jack is doing the same thing. Causing them both to quickly turn their heads in embarrassment.

I can't… I can't look at him… Not with me remembering what he said earlier… Kat wants to scream internally, but she realizes that there's no way she can scream in a public place like this. Come on, you can do this… She braces herself to start talking.

"Um…" Both of them talk at the same time.

"Uh, anything you would like to say, Kat?"

"O-oh no, no… Mine can wait, I think I heard you also want to say something, so…"

Both of them talks while still trying to keep their eyes elsewhere to avoid eye contact, causing the staff around to cutely giggle seeing them. The sight doesn't help with Kat's nervousness at all, it's the first time she gets thrown into this kind of situation. But on the other hand, it strangely doesn't feel unpleasant at all… Instead, she feels a bit happy? She tries her best to make sense of her current situation without success.

"I'm sorry. What I said must've make you feel uncomfortable." Jack suddenly opens his mouth.

"No!" Katrina accidentally raises her voice causing her to quickly shut her mouth with her hand. "I-I… I honestly feel you know, um… Happy."

Jack turns silent once more as his face also turns into bright red with embarrassment, thankfully their drinks finally arrived, giving him some time to think for a response.

"O-oh, is that so? I'm really happy if you feel that way… Haha, I… I… Was a bit afraid that you would find it a bit disgusting or you know… Like I'm a creep for saying that. I'm just trying to tease you, but uh… Glad you're feeling fine. Once again, I'm really sorry." Jack tries his best to convey his apology.

"Um, I actually have a question… But it may sound weird..." Kat raised her concern, she feels a bit strange to ask it, but for some reason, she feels a strong urge that she needs to ask the question.

"Mmm? I'm fine with it, just ask away." Jack takes a sip of his drink.

"Do you actually mean it when you compliment my eyes?"

Cough cough

Caught off-guard by the question, Jack accidentally chokes on his tea.

"Are you okay?" Kat worriedly asks which is met by Jack who tries his best to give a signal that he's fine while coughing.

"I'm sorry, it's quite a silly question isn't it?"

"Um… Not really." Jack takes a deep breath before answering. "I was indeed bringing that up just to tease you..."

So it is true… Katrina sighs in disappointment.

"But, I… I didn't lie when I said they were pretty… So… Uh… Uhmm... well, I actually have a training session tomorrow. If you want to join, you can just… Come at seven and I'll be waiting in the lobby if you want to." Jack tries his best to change the conversation topic to avoid causing another awkward situation.

"Well… If you don't mind… Then…"

"Thank you for waiting, here's your order." A different waitress comes with their order, accidentally interrupting Kat's answer. She politely smiles as she put their dish on the table, but her smile turns even wider as she utters a remark that both of her customers don't expect at all.

"Please enjoy your date."

Both Jack and Kat stay silent after the cheeky remark from the waitress, but their reddened face tells everything the other person need to know. They continue their dinner in silence as both of them try to avert their focus elsewhere. It's the most awkward dinner they ever experienced in their life and something that they won't easily forget.​

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
​

​

 

[WizardOfOdd]

Jacques 'Jack' Tenenbaum
Location: Jack's Room, Southern Pokemon Center, Slateport City
Pokemon at hand :

Friday, September 18th​

Chapter 1 - 4
Mock Battle​

"Geez…" Jack tries to massage his stiff shoulder. He slept well last night, but as usual, it didn't take him long to wake up and plan his day anyway, and he even did it while waiting for his clothes to be cleaned at the laundromat. It'll be too awkward if he had to meet an acquaintance while washing his clothes.

"Too much to do… So little time…" He mutters as he checks his notebook about his schedule. He had a lot of things planned out… He was considering the chance he had to prolong his stop here, but maybe he can stuff everything to today as he planned.

Enough of that, though… There's still a lot of things I have to do anyway. Jack takes a thin blazer from his backpack which he wears immediately. He walks towards the hallway still with his sleeping attire of shorts and a white shirt inside the blazer. For Jack, it feels refreshing wearing something he actually wants to wear without being afraid that he will compromise his identity even for a brief moment.

As he walks out from the Pokemon Center, cool breeze immediately hits his face carrying the faint smell of the sea, causing him to smile brightly. It hasn't been long since he last feels the relaxing breeze in the morning at his leisure, but the fact that he can feel this once in a while is something he'll never stop being grateful for. But as much as he wants to enjoy this moment, he has something else to do.

Jack walks towards his destination relaxedly, it doesn't take long for him to get there. After all, his destination was the beach itself.

"Shame the gym is not open yet at this hour, but at least I can do this much. Go, Muchorin! Braveheart!" He threw two of his Pokeball towards the air releasing both of his Pokemon which quickly realizing what their trainer is trying to do. They were already told what to do yesterday after the awkward dinner last night so there's no need to explain things further to them.

"Are you guys ready?" Jack watches as his Pokemon nods towards him. "Okay then, 3, 2, 1, go!" Jack smiles as he starts the mock battle between both of his Pokemon.

Muchorin who already familiar with battling on the beach immediately use the sand to his advantage as it threw a grain of sand towards Braveheart. However, The Iron Claw Pokemon isn't a stranger to those tactics. After all, it spent a lot of its time in Kinyo facing the exact same trick, so it quickly spun itself in mid-air as fast as possible to avoid the sand from obstructing itself.

Muchorin grits his teeth seeing this, but he has more tricks on his sleeves. He shoots out a powerful torrent of flame using Incinerate. But this time, Braveheart uses Confusion to raise a wall of sand to buy enough time to avoid it, angering the Zen Charm Pokemon who is not amused at all.

"Calm down, Muchorin!"

Muchorin nods after listening to his trainer's order as it decides to enter his fighting stance once more, this time it immediately shrieks as a red aura envelops his body.

Hmm… Muchorin is definitely learning. Jack smiles as he sees the Zen Charm Pokemon adapted quickly to Braveheart's decisions by adding more oomph to its move. However, he also knows that the levitating Pokemon won't be easily defeated.

Quickly analyzing what's happening in front of him, Braveheart decides that it's the right time to attempt the obstruction strategy while Muchorin focuses himself on increasing his power using Work Up. He uses Confusion to creates a powerful blast of sand, causing a huge cloud of sand to appear which also blinding Muchorin at the same time.

Realizing he's going nowhere with the current condition, Muchorin decides to blindly shoot another Incinerate, hoping that it would eventually hit The Iron Claw Pokemon anyway. It took a deep breath before exhaling another powerful breath from its mouth.

"Tang!" Braveheart launches itself towards the still disoriented Muchorin as fast as it can, but as it came closer towards the Zen Charm Pokemon it's even harder to dodge the fast-moving torrent of fire. It quickly created another fortification using Confusion but this time the flame is too powerful to be contained, causing Braveheart to be thrown to the nearby sand dunes.

Feeling good of his chances, Muchorin giggles while wiggling his fingers, dancing happily while still trying his best to remove sand from its eyes.

Even if the taunt is done by its compatriot, Braveheart takes the gesture with much irritation. Which causes it to charge once more, this time with its claw glowing white.

Muchorin smirks at the chance and decides to use Flame Wheel to gain some distance from the Iron Claw Pokemon, it's a great chance for him to use Braveheart's anger to his advantage, but as soon as he is able to pick a great spot to spout a powerful breath of flame from his mouth…

"Ka!" Muchorin suddenly yells as it drops to the ground and rolls in pain, confusing both Jack and Braveheart who can only see the incident from afar.​

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
​

​

 

[forg]

*bulbagarden.net image removed*Koko Puff​

Saturday [Sept. 19] Evening​

Almost done. Koko was almost done scanning through the bulletin board's job postings. Impatiently Kiko the Onix waited outside the Pokémon Center, already able to feel her presence ahead of time.

Or so he thought. Koko took her sweet time, going over every piece of paper as if had been scribbled in terms and conditions, scrutinizing and mouthing the rewards. For a small woman such as her, and a large onix to boot, she did not want any small bundle of cash.

Hidden behind several, fresher printed postings was an endearing ask for help written in simple notebook paper. "HELP WANTED - necessary tools supplied." For a moment Koko was distracted by the impressive penmanship before being able to focus at the meat of the contents: painting several bedrooms in the same color.

She plucks the paper and haphazardly folds it into her jacket's only front pocket. Greeting her out the automatic doors was none other than Kiko himself.

Koko tilts her head back and gazes upwards, grinning at the sight of an ecstatic onix. "Heeeeeyo, it's meee, Kikoooo," she announced, albeit redundant, and abruptly exhibited the job posting before him. The rock snake lowered himself in response, humming out in curiosity. This transformed into a deep, rumble of content upon her patting his muzzle. "Guess I found a job we can do for some money. Kinda didn't want to but I prefer that over battling right now. Just gotta wait a few hours." Her pokémon companion's uninterrupted vibration caused her to giggle as she sloppily folded the paper once more, sliding it into her bag for once. "Heeeeey hahaha, that's cute. But uh, yep… I think we got this though. I'm sure we got this, Kiko. We're Kiko and Koko. Huzzah." The last word was accompanied by a weak, brief fist to the air.

♤♡◇♧
Chapter 1.5
♤♡◇♧​

Pokémon Fanclub​

From beneath the surface of the pond a furret swam in circles, fueled by the elation of freedom from the confines of a pokéball. Also mingling inside the clear turquoise waters were a shiny squirtle and Koko's curious hand. It was like a massage, the pond's cold tendrils beckoning for Koko to lay and sink her arms elbow deep. This desire was constantly shattered by the ongoing conversation Koko had inadvertently dragged herself on to.

While one hand floated in bliss inside the rich waters the other studied every scratch and crevice of the eviolite being held; the stone's surface was a beautiful mix of lavender and mauve. It was this appealing appearance that caused Koko to drift away from the current conversation fairly often. Other than the pond, of course.

"Aw shucks haha, you think it's that bad?" Koko re-enters the conversation. The woman on the other end of the conversation was owner to curled, breast-length, platinum blonde locks that bounced with every shuffle she made. Her pale, snow white hourglass figure fit perfectly into her bubblegum pink tea dress. Her beige boots complimented it beautifully.

"Bad? What ever do- oh! Are you referring to the 'bad words'," the woman asked in perplexion, fingers forming air quotation marks. "You are ever so right, I did not ask for your input, now did I? Go on then, don't you agree with me?" she demanded, plopping an altoid mint on to her soft tongue. She shifted in the wooden bench next to Koko. "You can't possibly believe those words have anything else to offer other than inciting rude behavior."

"I mean… uh, yeah. You're not wrong, I've seen how bad it can get-"

"Don't get me started on the insults!" she interjects, her ocean eyes never parting ways with her furret's fluctuating figure. "You'd assume that this was informed to the new generation, but sadly I am disappointed further and further with each passing day."

"I know, yeah," Koko mutters as she stows the eviolite back into her bag. Meanwhile the stranger scooted closer to the young trainer, curiosity gaining the best of her.

Her gloved hands became drastically animated, their movements alone enough to catch the attention of a passing Pidgey, of which crashed into a nearby bush. "But enough about that nonsense, now, I'm more curious about your pokémon! I'm dying to know which cute, ado~orable pet you brought along with you here?"

"Oh! I only have one hahaha. Didn't think it would be okay to let him loose here in this small place when he's so big-"

"Oh my~! Is it a Chansey by any chance?" she begins to guess, leaning closer with an inquisitive expression. "Ah! Pardon my silliness, it is actually an Altaria, is it not? Ooooo please do tell!"

"Haha… yeaaaah naaaah, he's not any of those. He's actually an onix," Koko corrects the damsel, whose excited state immediately drops into that of perplexion.

She blinked rapidly, as if the act would prompt Koko to correct herself. "An… onix? Did I hear you correctly?"

"Yeeeep. He's a big rock snake. Looooove him!"

There was a moment of silence. But before Koko could locate the pokéball in her bag the woman had straightened herself and pulled out a small book of her own.

"Do you wanna meet him? He'd be happy to finally get out."

"Oh dear no, I was simply curious to hear which li- biiig pet you had pondered with great care to lug here."

"Aaah, that's okay. Sorry about that, didn't mean to think that."

The two trainers gazed on ahead, witnessing the furret break the surface of the glistening pond water, letting out an adorable yip prior to diving back in.

She broke the silence with a sudden, gnawing thought. "How did your tale-of-folly go as to how you acquired the fanclub membership? I… can't seem to recall anymore."

♤♡◇♧​

Slateport Residence​

Koko paused, mind having wandered after she had been shown the three bedrooms she would be painting soon enough. "Okay okay… this isn't so bad," she uttered.

The house was found within the rural outskirts, furthest from Slateport Beach. Trees and greener pastures were a nice change from the lack of flora within the city. An elderly couple resided inside, welcoming anyone to their newly-acquired rent-to-own home. With their canes and pijamas they easily made Koko feel comfortable in such a quaint, apple-cinnamon-smelling residence. Cookies and brownies had been made prior to her arrival as snacks, but she knew better…

She devoured the snacks in ten minutes.

The energy from these sweets was siphoned to fuel her slow, yet steady, work. Lavender coated the dull peach beneath, yet she didn't register the patches left amiss until she finished the first coating.

It's a funny thing, one's expectations. Days ago Koko had lulled herself to sleep with the hope of living a life in a setting far from her own home. It appeared exhilarating, dramatic. Exciting, even. Yet here she stood, preparing to apply the second coat of paint to a wet wall illuminated by a fluorescent ceiling fan. Were she to tell this detail to her past self she would have laughed it off merrily, naive and still lacking ambition.

Truth is, she still is quite naive and lacking in ambition.

There was a hard knock on the opposite wall followed by the slightly open door being tapped against, the stranger's fingers applying enough pressure to squeal the door nearly shut. Before it could shut however, another set of fingers slid into this closing gap, immediately clinging to the door and pushing it open.

Startled by the sudden movement, Koko flinched and took a step back, nearly tripping over the bucket of lavender paint had it not been for her hand slapping itself against the wall. There, beneath the doorway, stood two young men who didn't seem to be older than her.

 

[Embyr]

Name: Kira Wolf || Day: Friday, September 18 || Time: Morning - Late afternoon
Location: Slateport City

Beach trip!

"Name, Birthday, School... Ugh, why do I have to write it down for them if I'm sending them a copy of my card?" Kira whined to herself as she filled out the paperwork, feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the sea of questions and blank lines. "Geez, I thought I got away from this when I graduated."

As Kira began filling out the blanks her mind began to wander, her eyes glazing over as she unconsciously took a bite of her morning muffin. "I can't believe I got swindled by that asshole yesterday..."

As kira boredly looked around the pokemon center she caught eye of the Journey Hoenn pamphlet sticking out of one of the side pouches of her bag. "I wonder if it actually…" she muttered to herself as she pulled out the pamphlet and began skimming through it. "A bet of ₱1500 is automatically assigned to the match unless otherwise agreed upon. Loser pays out. Not paying the prize money is… Damn it…"

Kira slouched over the table, shoving the pamphlet back into her bag. "He was right, it's right there, I just didn't read it…" She muttered, starting to feel guilty. "Maybe he just figured I'd bring it up to the guy at front if I didn't want to place a bet as well. He did mention it after all…"

Kira shook her head, quickly filling out the last few blank lines. "I can't be thinking like this. I just got here." She said standing up, pulling a scrap of paper from her pocket. "Minesweeping at slateport beach then, sounds like a perfect time to properly blow off some steam."

***

Kira suddenly found a long, pike-like stick with a rubber end shoved into her grasp "So this is it then?"

"Yeah" The lifeguard said with a flat tone. "Flip them over, rough 'em up. It usually keeps them away for a while"

"And I'll be getting paid for this right?"

"Yeah. Not much mind you, I'm a lifeguard not a business owner."

"I'll take what I can get at this point, I'll see you in a few hours then!"

"Just don't get yourself hurt." He said dismissively as he sauntered back over to his chair, shooing Kira away as he began talking to another lifeguard.

"Tch, fine. I get it." Kira muttered, scoffing at the lifeguard. "Whatever, Nyx gets a bit of training, Azure gets his trip to the beach and I actually have money again. Three birds, one stone. Speaking of which..." she thought to herself as she pulled out Azure's ball, releasing him near the tide's wake.

"Here you go bud, just be sure to keep close alright?!" Kira called out.

Azure happily barked in return before quickly rolling in place. Leaving behind a small hole for him to rest him. The wake brushing up against his body as he happily enjoyed the shifting sand.

Kira smiled at Azure before letting Nyx out of her ball as well, who as she appeared seemed to be taking the illusion of the Vulpix from back at the club.

"Come on Nyx, it's just training, you don't need to…" Kira began as Nyx gave her a confused look. "Actually you know what, go ahead and stay like that for a bit. I wanna see how long you can keep that up. Either way, you're gonna help me out for a bit."

Kira swung her mighty rubber polearm before sticking it in the sand and using it as a makeshift walking stick, beckoning Nyx along as she made sure to poke and prod at anything that even looked remotely suspicious.

Kira's flinched a bit as her walking stick came across something a bit more solid than the sand she had been poking at. "Alright Nyx, right here." She said, brushing off a bit of the sand away to reveal a bit of the stunfisk's brown, leathery body. "Right, when I flip it over, go in and strike alright?"

Nyx however, on the word strike, pounced on the pile of sand with an aggressive cry.

"No!" Was all Kira could manage to shout before a burst of electricity erupted from the small pile of sand, Leaving Nyx recoiling back with a painful yelp.

Nyx however, as the illusion of the vulpix faded into a black cloud of smoke, seemed more upset than actually hurt by the attack. Giving a high pitched growl as she circled the small pile of sand.

"Wait!" Kira called out, quickly scrambling for the poker. Wasting no time, she dug it under the stunfisk and heaved it up from its hiding spot, leaving it scrambling on its back. "Now!"

Nyx, with a loud cry struck at the flailing pokemon with claws and fang. Causing the stunfisk to scramble for the water, the small, slate grey fox chasing right behind it.

Kira felt a bit hollow as she watched the Stunfisk flee for the sea, genuinely feeling bad as it was hunted down by Nyx. She'd get in trouble for messing with pokemon like this back at home, even potentially getting her licences revoked! Meanwhile she was being paid to do it here, it felt rather lousy.

"Hey Nyx, come on back!" Kira called out, Nyx giving the Stunfisk one last parting swipe from her claw before returning, looking up at Kira expectantly.

Kira couldn't help but smile as Nyx looked up at her, not expecting that look from the little troublemaker. "Alright, good job." Kira praised, kneeling down to pet Nyx behind the ears. "Let's give them a fair battle from now on though. No point in training like this if they can't fight back."

Kira poked and prodded at the sand until she found another stunfisk. Carefully she cleared a bit of the sand from its back to reveal it to Nyx without alerting it. "Alright, there you go Nyx. Whenever you're ready!"

Nyx poked and prodded at the sand around the stunfisk herself, weary of the creature after already being shocked once. Once happy with her examination she burrowed her paws into the sand beneath it and flipped it over herself, eagerly hunting it as it flailed.

Kira merely gave a flat look as Nyx chased the stunfisk towards the ocean. Feeling a mix of pride for her picking up on the trick so fast, and guilt for the stunfisk's fate. Once again, happy with her chase, Nyx ran back up to Kira with the same expecting look as before.

Kira gave a bit of a conceding sigh as she knelt down to pet Nyx once again, her pride in the small fox winning out over the guilt. "Alright, If you do it I guess it's fine. At least this way you're learning something."

***

"So, you're done already then?" The lifeguard asked dismissively, barely turning away from the girl he was talking to.

"It's been four hours. An hour over what I'd call a few" Kira said with an annoyed tone.

Rolled his eyes, still barely giving Kira the time of day. "Beaches don't look that clear."

"You haven't looked at me since I started talking to you. Why should I believe you actually checked my work?"

"Fine…" The lifeguard conceded, tossing a few large coins Kira's way. "Just take these and go."

"Right… thanks." Kira said futally as the lifeguard proceeded to ignore her. "Whatever, Azure! We're headed out!" Kira called out to the shoreline.

Snapped alert by her call, Azure shook himself free from his small burrow of sand, the ocean's tide quickly filling in the hole he left behind. With a happy bark he rolled over towards Kira.

"Glad to see you had fun then." Kira said as she knelt down in an attempt to brush a bit of the sand out of his fur. "Cause you've got a big day tomorrow, lets keep you rested until then."

Spoiler:

Pokemon on Hand​

Spoiler:

Azure the Spheal
Male / Calm / Thick Fat
Level: 21
- Brine
- Aurora Beam
- Aqua Ring
- Defense Curl
- Ice Ball
- Rollout

Nyx the Zorua
Female/Timid/Illusion
Level: 12 --> 14
- Pursuit
- Scratch
- Fury Swipes
- Hone Claws
- Leer
- Snatch
​

Inventory
​

Spoiler:

Money:
₱0 --> ₱1,500


Medicine:
3 Potion
2 Antidote
2 Paralyze Heal
1 Burn Heal


Pokeballs:
2 Pokeballs


Berries:
4 Oran Berry
4 Chesto Berry
3 Leppa Berry
1 Cheri Berry
1 Pecha Berry
1 Rawst Berry
1 Aspear Berry


Trainer items:
Ability Capsule
Rocky Helmet
Eviolite


TMs:
TM56 Fling


Other:
Extra Set Of Street Clothes
One Piece Swimsuit
Stylish Green Dress
Holotch
Pokemon Fan Club Membership (Expires: October 17th)

 

[Eleanor]

Avril Reese

16 - ♀ - Laverre City

Written with Groc as Natsuko Soyokaze and Cubism as Jordie Hughes
​

Pokémon / Inventory:

AVRIL'S MONEY: $6 500

AVRIL'S TEAM:
🌼 Poppy (Flabebe) - ♀ - lv. 19 ↑
Flower Veil
Synthesis, Fairy Wind, Razor Leaf, Lucky Chant

🌼 Hydrangea (Shellos) - ♀ - lv. 15
Storm Drain
Water Pulse, Mud Bomb, Recover, Mud Slap, Mud Sport, Harden

NATSUKO'S TEAM:
🌻 Sunshine (Ponyta)
lv. 20 ↑ - learned Stomp and Agility!
🌻 Sandygast

JORDIE'S TEAM:
🍀 Gabby (Solosis)
lv. 19 ↑ - learned Charm and Light Screen!
🍀 Neon (Stunfisk)

AVRIL'S INVENTORY:
🌼 1x Pokéballs
🌼 Holotch (phone)
🌼 Fanclub Membership card
🌼 Eviolite
🌼 Various clothes and commodities

AVRIL'S CONTACTS:
Jordie, Shuna, Tsu

🌼 Character art made with [SPAN="color:rgb(40,180,40);"]https://picrew.me/image_maker/94097[/SPAN]

It's just a friendly, neighborhood game!

Friday, September 18^th - 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 am - Slateport City Beach

"There, I caught it, didn't I!?" Avril looks at her friends eagerly, picking up the now motionless Pokéball from the sand. Tsu snaps a picture, because Avril looks genuinely happy as she holds the ball. "Way to go, Avril! You rock!"

"You did great for your first catch, indeed!" Jordie adds and then looks at Poppy. "You battled really well too, way to go!" they say that without really thinking about it, though, but it was necessary. Jordie is actually feeling more troubled about their own performance here. They need to take care of Neon and more training is necessary.

"T-thank you both!" Avril smiles as she walks back to Jo and Tsu, just savoring the moment. "I have to think of a nickname now, I suppose…"

"A name? Well, only if you want to. I like naming mine, but there are trainers that don't." Jo answers, patting Gabby while they are at it. "I feel that with names the trainer-Pokémon relationship grows stronger."

"I already named my Flabébé, why wouldn't I name this one as well?" Avril laughed, before thinking about a fitting name. After all, she was already going to do that regardless of what her friends would have suggested.

"I got it!" Avril announced, as another flower name popped up in her head. "It's Hydrangea! Or… Angie for short, I guess."

"Angie? That's a cute name, I like it!"

"I like the name!" Tsu laughs, putting an arm around both Avril and Jo. "It's fun to give nicknames to a Pokémon! My Ponyta's name is Sunshine, but I call her Shiny!" Shiny steps up and pushes her head against Tsu, eager for attention.

"That is great!" Avril cheered, smiling at the Fire type. "Poppy's name comes from a flower, so why not keep that theme?"

Hearing her name, the Fairy type chirped enthusiastically as well, before giving a little nudge right on Avril's nose as some kind of high five.

"Hey, hang on a moment…" Tsu steps back from the others, making a frame with her hands as she looks around the area. "With the lighthouse there… and if I stand here… this would make a great shot! I know this is your moment, Avril, but since you guys are the first friends I've made in Hoenn, can I get a picture of you two? It'll go great in my scrapbook!"

"A picture would be great! This is certainly something that should be recorded in a photograph in my opinion!" Jordie cheers. Gabby goes to hide behind them once she hears someone will take a picture, she always did unless it's one of Jordie's selfies. They laugh at their Pokémon and turn to Avril now "What do you say? You can show off Angie's PokéBall too! It would look great!"

"Oh, that sounds like a great idea!" The blonde girl gushes. Poppy definitely agrees with her as she… tries to get Gabby out of her hiding spot and pose for the photo, but the little Solosis wouldn't let her.

"Remind me to get an actual camera…" Tsu pulls out her phone, lining up the best shot she can. "Smile, you all look great!" The phone clicks, and she has a few pictures to sort through later and pick the best one. "Wonderful!"

The wind picks up suddenly, and Tsu has to hold onto her hat or risk losing it. The breeze passes, and the heat of the nearly noon sun makes itself evident again. "This is fun, but maybe we move somewhere cooler now?"

Jordie hums thinking for an answer until an idea crosses their mind. "Maybe we can swim for a bit? The sea seems to be nice and calm. But first…" Jordie rushes to Tsu's right and tries to peek at her phone. "Let me take a look at that picture!"

"Well, we all have some more stuff to leave at the lockers before we can swim, right?" Avril chimes in as well, before noticing how Jo had already focused on something else. "Oh, I wanna see as well!" The girl quickly approaches her green haired friend, as Poppy grins above their head and looks at Tsu's PokéNav from a much better angle. She was too busy to appear in the picture, but is still happy to see how well her trainer looks.

"Uh… sure!" With her friends on either side, Tsu turns her phone sideways to better view the picture.

​

"Wow!" Avril gushes, soon mimicked by Poppy. "Great photo, Tsu!"

"I like it!" Jordie says putting a hand on Tsu's shoulders. "Look, Avril you look so cute there!" they laugh then.

"It's a good photo because I had great models!" Tsu pulls her hat down slightly, hiding her eyes behind the brim.

"Jo especially, at least they didn't close their eyes…" Avril lets out a laugh, before pulling out her own Holotch. "Still, would you be up to share the photo with us? And…" She looked at the time, as Poppy landed right on her head once again. "Maybe we should do this as we walk back to where we were. I also would love to go for a swim so, let's not waste any more time!"

"Sure! Lead on." Tsu follows behind the others, more focused on her phone than where they're going. "Hey Jo, can I get your number? I'll send you a copy, too."

"Uh…? Sure!" they answer, caught off guard since they had gone back to think about all the training they have to do with Gabby and Neon.

The group stops for a moment as Jordie taps on their X-transceiver to exchange numbers with Tsu, with Gabby peeking behind them. Once it's done, they keep walking back to the locker room to leave their stuff there before going to the ocean. Jordie didn't pay much mind to Tsu's words about the heat at first, but as they kept walking, it became much more insupportable and the idea of swimming became even more appealing.

With everything safely stored in the lockers, Avril cheerfully follows Jo to the coastline, trying to get used to what her eyes see without sunglasses: she still has to get used to the brightness, and the lighthouse in the distance is already more blurred out. "Hm, I suppose we need to just get in the water at the same time now? Let's count down!" She suggests.

"I guess we could do that…" Natsuko left her hat and sarong behind, and keeps subconsciously moving her hand up to her head. She takes off her glasses, tucking them safely into her waterproof pouch. "3-2-1 let's go!" Without waiting for the others, she jumps into the water.

"I… don't think that's what she meant." Jordie laughs. They follow Tsu, though and jump into the water as well, leaving Avril behind. Seeing how Avril was left behind makes her feel a bit bad about themselves, though, so they turn to look at her to make sure she's fine. "Avril, you coming?"

Luckily, Avril is not too far behind. "Oh, of course! I guess this works as well…" She laughs as she keeps walking further and further from the beach, doing her best to move forward despite the larger amount of water she has to get through. Soon enough, the ocean gets deep enough for her to stop touching the sand underneath and start swimming. Poppy quickly catches up to her from above, chuckling and chirping with excitement, and Gabby, who was hesitant about joining the group at first, rushes behind her after seeing the Fairy-type join them.

Tsu pops back up, pushing her wet hair out of her face. "Woo! Still pretty cold! Feels nice, though!" She looks at Gabby and Poppy, reaches for her bag, then stops. She knows better than to let Shiny out here.

"It's a bit cold but it's just what we need!" Avril cheers. "I could just float like this for hours…" She chuckles as she leans backwards, trying to float on her back. Poppy quickly lands on top of her swimsuit, where her trainer's pendant usually was, and rests for a bit.

Jordie is just floating, letting the water move them wherever it wants to with their eyes closed, of course since they didn't have their sunglasses now. "I'll just rest here and… relax." Feeling the water gently massage their back is tranquilizing and it's just what they needed considering all of the thoughts they've been having since catching Neon. Jordie still thinks they should be training instead, but they promised Gabby to swim a bit, and she seemed happy now, something that Jordie hasn't seen much since they left Unova. They also caught the Ground-type they were supposed to, so they did part of their job at least… but he doesn't obey them at all on the other hand, so no, they had to be training. Their license is ready today, and the Gym battle is to be taken as soon as possible. Jordie shouldn't be wasting their time in some-

Their thoughts are interrupted by a sudden burst of water splashing on their face that startles Jordie and causes them to sink a bit into the ocean. They force their way out, and after attempting to get rid of the taste of salty water from their lips they see Gabby laughing at them and realize that she was the responsible one.

"Oh, you little-!" Jordie exclaims and slaps some water at their Pokémon. Gabby puts on an angry face and both laugh at the same time before Gabby shoots a Psybeam at the water, sending some to Jordie once more to continue their game.

Some water drops inevitably hit Poppy and Avril as well, who were just relaxing with their eyes closed and their minds as empty as they could get them to be. It takes no time for the Fairy type to join into the game, by blowing a powerful Fairy Wind at the water and aiming it towards Jordie and Gabby. Her little battle cry can be heard as well, nearly as frightening as it's cute… at least, that's what Avril thinks.

Gabby exchanges looks between Poppy and Jo and she laughs together with the latter. Gabby then shoots another Psybeam at the water, this time aiming at the Fairy-type. Jordie doesn't stop laughing, and to keep up with the fun, they slap some water at Avril and Tsu as well.

The blonde girl tries to stay afloat but soon has to change her position and start swimming once again. "Oh, come on you…" She complains, but her pout immediately gives way to a smile. She splashes some more water in Jo and Gabby's direction, just now remembering how fun this can be. Poppy keeps playing as well, floating in the air to dodge the water drops or even trying to dive underwater, twirling to make her way through.

After getting splashed by Jo, Tsu ducked back under the waves, popping back up a short distance away. She watches both Trainers and Pokémon playing in the water and having fun, and her hand instinctively goes to her pouch again. A part of her wants to join in, but she shakes her head, moving her hand away from her PokéBalls. She's content to just watch for now, and enjoy the day.

Avril splashes water at Jordie, and Gabby fires a Psybeam that splashes both Avril and Poppy. Poppy's Fairy Wind splashes water back at Gabby, and Staryu's Psywave manages to splash both Avril and Jordie.

Wait, Staryu?

"I think you girls invented a new game!" Tsu calls out to Gabby and Poppy, noticing how the Staryu had copied their style.

Poppy chirps excitedly, laughing as she tosses some more water at the newcomer. Avril, on the other hand, looks a bit more worried. "Wait, where did this come from?"

"Oh my, how cute!" Jordie exclaims instead, paying no mind to Avril's worry. Gabby seems to have similar thoughts as Avril, though, and hides behind her trainer again. Jordie chuckles and tosses some water at the Staryu, and the Pokémon answers back with another Psywave to the water. "It just wants to play, it's okay." Jordie says to Gabby, trying to ease her worries.

"Hey there, little guy!" Tsu swims up to the Staryu, smiling softly at it. "You wanna join in our game?" She splashes water at Staryu, who responds with a Rapid Spin that flings water at all three Trainers.

After seeing both Tsu and Jo playing with Staryu, even Avril feels more at ease. Well, she still is a bit wary around such a Pokémon, but can't help but smile at it and its playful behavior. "Here we go!" She laughs as she and Poppy make more splashes in sync.

Gabby smiles once she sees how everyone is playing with their new friend and decides to join the fun as well. She tosses some water at the Staryu and then at Poppy. Then dives into the water and appears behind Tsu, splashing some at her too.

"Now, Gabby don't be rude." Jo laughs, slapping water at their Pokémon, which obviously hits Tsu as well.

"Hey!" Tsu laughs, lightly shoving Jo. "No fair, I don't have a Pokémon! Staryu, protect me!" She grabs Staryu, holding it in front of herself like a shield. Staryu unleashes a jet of water from its top limb, narrowly missing Jo. "Whoa, not like that, silly!" Staryu's core gem starts flashing as Tsu holds onto it, but she can't see it.

"I- wow! That was close!" Jordie exclaims surprised, looking at the spot its water attack landed. They don't realize that the gem starts flashing either, and they are pretty sure that the Pokémon is just playing around. It doesn't make any less sudden the fact that it attacked that way, though, so Jordie calmly suggests Tsu to put it down in the water by moving their hands down.

Tsu frowns down at Staryu, wondering why Jo is telling her to drop it. "You want back in the water?" She lowers it back down, trying to calm it by gently stroking its arms. "There you go, back in the water. Is that better?" She can see the flashing light now, but it doesn't slow or stop, despite being back in the water.

Staryu's Water Gun startles Avril much more than her friends, but… it's not really just that. Even after being put back in the water, the Starfish Pokémon doesn't look as playful as before. Whereas the blonde girl tries to keep her distance from the Water type, Poppy tries to float closer, and performs yet another Lucky Chant for all Pokémon close to her.

Another Water Gun attack narrowly misses Poppy, only to hit Tsu in the face! It didn't come from the little Staryu in her hands, but a full-sized Staryu just arriving on the scene with an aggressive HYAH.

Natsuko lets go of the Staryu, putting a hand to her forehead. The water blast won't leave a mark, but it still hurt. She moves behind Jordie, complaining that "I need to get a Pokémon that can swim!"

Jordie looks at the bigger Staryu and then looks at Tsu behind them and realizes that Gabby is hiding as well. "Girl, are you okay?" they ask with serious concern at their friend.

The bigger Staryu's core starts glowing, and this time Jordie is aware that it's not playing around. They look at Gabby, pointing at the wild Water-types, and she instantly sets her Trick Room, might as well have speed advantage.

"Don't worry about me. I think I scared the little one when I picked it up, and this other one's trying to protect it."

As helpful as it is, Trick Room seems to startle the two Staryu even more. While the smaller one doesn't attack, opting for Harden instead, the larger one readies up a Rapid Spin aimed at the source of that weird psychic energy, bouncing on the waves towards Gabby.

"Look out Gabby!" Avril calls out, as Poppy tries to float closer to her. She is apparently moving faster, but seems to have lost some of her gracefulness while in the air - probably because she's not used to Trick Room yet. "We have your back!"

Gabby is quick to avoid the attack due to her speed advantage and aims a Psybeam at the Pokémon that tried to attack her, hitting one of its five limbs and making it plummet into the water after spinning in the air.

The Staryu is quick to retaliate however, and fires off a Psywave from right under the sea surface, still towards the Psychic type: its aim, however, is thrown off. Poppy's Razor Leaf spreads around in a cone, hitting the water surface all around the Water type and still going through, pushing it deeper.

"It should take it some time to come back. Maybe it's best to go back to the shore. If it's going to keep battling, it's better to take it out of its territory." Jordie says. It's not an idea they are too much of a fan of. It counts as admitting defeat in their eyes, and that is something their competitive self can't allow, especially in their first days in Hoenn while they are getting closer to their first Gym Battle.

Now it's the smaller one who attacks, lining up perfectly a Water Gun on Poppy, too busy with the other Staryu to notice. Avril, who's swimming back to the shore, turns around just in time to see her little friend fall down onto the water surface. She floats towards her trainer, using Fairy Wind to propel herself, then perches up on her head and fires off some more Razor Leaf from there.

Natsuko makes a detour, swimming up to Staryu and picking it up again. "Hey, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you. We'll just leave, okay?" The little Staryu panics again, core gem flashing in alarm, so she tosses it further out to sea.

And then the larger one pops back up, shining a Confuse Ray at Tsu. She flinches from the light, listing lazily to the left as she tries to swim to shore.

Poppy lifts off again from Avril's head, still flying unusually fast thanks to Trick Room and throwing sharp leaves here and there in a wide area. It's not really enough to harm Staryu, but at least it keeps them busy.

In the meantime, the blonde girl swims closer to Tsu. "Are you alr- wait, I'll help you get back!" She shouts, before eventually grabbing her friend as they both swim towards the beach.

"Thank you…" Tsu allows herself to be dragged back to shore, helping how she can. She stumbles a bit once they start walking through the waves again, but Avril helps her get to shore, where she can sit down until the confusion goes away. She chooses to lie down instead, her vision still blurry.

Gabby helps Poppy attack the two Staryu with another Psybeam for each, sending the smaller one swimming back into the waves, and the other one to splash not too far from her.

She starts swirling around the latter one avoiding the multiple Water Guns it shoots at her, trying to distract it so Jordie makes sure Avril and Tsu get safely to the shore, until she starts moving slower all of a sudden making her an easy target and finally taking a Water Gun from the starfish Pokémon.

Jordie knows Gabby's limitations regarding Trick Room. She has no problem destroying the room and putting it back on instantly, but having said move's time up always takes them both by surprise because it's hard to tell when it will happen.

As if there wasn't enough disadvantage for them already, Jordie starts growing more frustrated about the idea of retreating. They look back at the shore and see that their friends are safe now, and now it's their turn.

"Gabby, use a final Trick Room! We are outta' here!"

The Solosis does as she is told, and the Staryu's desaceleracion gives them the speed advantage they need to flee. Jordie takes Gabby back to her PokéBall and starts swimming back to the shore, while Poppy leads the way, zipping above them with Fairy Wind, until they finally reach safety.

It takes Tsu a moment to fully recover from the Confuse Ray, but with all her friends safely back to shore, she already feels better. She still can't see very well, but then she remembers she's not wearing her glasses. "Well, that was fun!" She jokes, but she felt helpless and exposed during that fight. She's glad her friends were there for her. "I think I'm done with the beach for today. I'm… probably just gonna go back to town."

"Yes, it was fun while it lasted! I didn't think I would still enjoy swimming so much!" Avril cheers, before finally helping out Tsu to get back up on her feet. "Glad you're feeling better, but you're still full of sand!"

Jordie doesn't answer until a few seconds pass. They are instead staring at the sea and tapping Gabby's Dusk Ball with their fingers repeatedly until they feel Avril and Tsu getting up. "I think I'll stay here a bit more. Gabby, Neon and I still have some training to do." they finally say. "But maybe we can eat something around here before you two leave? How does that sound?"

"Sounds good to me!" Tsu is able to stand on her own now, especially if it means getting away from the water. "After all that excitement, I'm starving!"

"Alright, I'm ok with it! But… maybe we should shower first. Especially you, Tsu…" The blonde girl cheers as Poppy lands on her head again. "Wait, where are the showers and the lockers again?" She looks around, her naked eyes struggling to focus on the buildings in the distance.

All three Trainers are wet from sea water, but only Tsu had laid down afterwards, so she's covered in sand. She laughs at that, finding it funny and only a little embarrassing. "That's probably a good idea! I could definitely use one."

"Oh my god, Avril! You are really lost aren't you? They aren't too far away from here." Jordie chuckles and gets up. "Okay, I'll lead the way! But don't you both stay behind! I'm hungry and I won't slow down until we get to eat something!"

"I-I wear glasses for a reason…" Avril mutters, but not loud enough for Jordie to hear. She then starts following them alongside Tsu, somewhat struggling to keep the pace and panting noticeably on the way, but still trying her best to not fall behind. "Oh, now I see the showers!" She remarks after a while. "Let's get this dealt with, so we can enjoy our lunch!"

 

[Groc]

Natsuko Soyokaze
Friday, September 19th, afternoon
Slateport City

---

After spending most of the day at the beach with her new friends, Natsuko decides to take it slow for the rest of the day. She'd planned on checking out the Contest Hall, but apparently they hold Contests in the morning. So instead, she's heading for the Fan Club, being a fan of Pokémon and all.

It's easy enough to find, especially since Avril pointed the way earlier. When she enters, one of the first things she notices is a Skitty curled up on a pillow on the reception desk. Drawings of various cat-sized costumes are spread across the desk, presumably drawn by the woman behind the desk, who smiles brightly as Tsu enters.

"Welcome to the Pokémon Fan Club, home to Pokémon lovers across the world! Are you a member?" The Skitty yawns, and Tsu pauses to pet it before answering.

"Not yet, but I'd like to be! I really like Pokémon, and I'm going traveling around all of Hoenn. Where else can I find others who like Pokémon like I do?"

"Couldn't have said it better myself, darling!" The receptionist smiles pleasantly as she retrieves some paperwork from the desk. "Of course, we do ask for a modest fee of ₽3000 per month, but membership does have its perks! You'll have full access to all of our chapter houses and facilities, including a salon and a spa, as well as luxury rooms and an exclusive Discord group."

"I was already planning on joining, but those are all great! And so are these drawings, did you make them?" Tsu looks at one of the drawings, seeing the signature "E. Lucy" in the corner. "What's the 'E' stand for?"

"Oh, um... you can just call me Lucy..." She seems flustered and embarrassed at the attention. "But yes, it's just a hobby, really. Opal here just loves to try on costumes, so I've been trying my hand at designing them!" She scratches behind Skitty's ears, earning a contented purr for her efforts.

"That's really cool! Do you make other costumes? I'm thinking of being a Coordinator, and a custom outfit from an up and coming designer could help me stand out." She calls out Shiny to show her off.

"Certainly, darling, what kind of Pokémon wouuuuaaaaat happened to her?!" Whatever Lucy was about to ask is cut off by her shocked outcry. "Matted fur? Scuffed hooves? Mud?! Follow me, to the salon! Quickly!" She leaves the desk, guiding Shiny to one of the back rooms. Tsu follows, more confused than concerned.

"We were at the beach, and got into a bit of a scuffle down by the jetty. But the Nurse at the Center said she was fully rested and feeling fine."

"Darling, there's a difference between 'feeling fine' and looking radiant." Lucy takes a stiff brush and combs out any remaining mud or sand, then switches to a soft brush to smooth out Shiny's coat. "Ponyta are such beautiful creatures. The creamy coat, the hooves that shine like diamonds, that fiery coiffure... you're lucky you're not at the Kanto branch of the Fan Club. Ponyta are a favorite of the chairman over there, and you'd have been denied outright for this crime against fabulosity."

"Oh. I didn't know..." Tsu strokes Shiny's neck apologetically.

"It's fine, dear. You simply needed to learn. Here, brush her mane." Lucy hands Natsuko the brush. "If you plan to be a Coordinator, you'll need to keep up appearances. I have a spare grooming kit you can take with you. It's just some basics: towel, brush, comb, portable hair dryer..."

"Oh, you don't have to do all that!"

Lucy scoffs as she gets to work on Shiny's hooves. "Oh, *psht*, don't fret, darling. You're a member of the club now! Making sure your Pokémon look as good as they feel should be a priority!"

"But I didn't finish my paperwork. Technically, I'm not a member yet."

"Well, then consider this a free trial of our services. You're a bit rough around the edges, but I can tell you have a good heart. And a good eye."

Despite the indoor space, Shiny is enjoying the attention and pampering, but her patience has its limits. Soon enough, she wants to move around and get back outside, so they cut the salon session short. Tsu recalls Shiny to her ball so she can finish her paperwork.

Once everything is in order, and Lucy inputs all the information into her computer, Tsu is officially part of the Club. Lucy hands over her official membership card, along with a small purple stone. "And as a welcoming gift, a piece of Eviolite. Beautiful, isn't it? It would make a gorgeous pendant for Sunshine. Ooh, or perhaps a diadem? It would sit beautifully in the center of her forehead!"

"Thank you, Lucy! It is really pretty." Tsu takes the card and the stone, already trying to remember if she saw a jeweler in the market. Aunt Carrie would probably know...

"Oh, and as fashionable as it is, I'm supposed to recommend you only give it to unevolved Pokémon. Something about it 'drawing on latent evolution energy' to protect them. It's all very New Age, zen crystal stuff."

"I'll remember that. But Shiny's my only Pokémon, so I'll probably just give it to her. Hey, can I still call you if I need a costume for our big debut?"

Lucy smiles at that, genuinely flattered. "I would be honored, Natsuko. Can I call you that? It's so informal!"

Tsu waves off her concerns. "No need to worry! It's my name, after all. But my friends usually call me Tsu."

"Yes, but the full name has such elegance and flair. It's exotic, and I rather like the sound of it. But regardless, call upon me any time you'd like an addition to your ensemble, and I'll be happy to make you something."

Tsu had gone into the Fan Club looking for membership, but she's leaving with not only that, but some gifts and a new friend as well.

 

[mdebourg]

Friday Sept 18 2pm afternoon

It took awhile, that ferry was so...darn... slooow. Like worse than Shuckles slow; at least he was here now in Hoenn. The ferry having just pulled up to the docks leading to the first area in Slateport City. Andy , during this time would at the least read through the books such as the Hoenn Primer and another book detailing the Slateport and Dewford areas, neither which were that engaging at all, but they were quite high on the importence list, after all, wandering through the region 'blind' is a big disservice to this area.

As Andy would disembark the ferry, the air smells of the sea. The blue bouncing mouse on his right side as he takes his first steps into Hoenn...and nearly slips imediately. "Darn land legs" he mumbles before starting to make his way toward Slateport City, eager Bidoof that he is, Aqua bouncing along and glancing around the looming buildings of the city.

Immediately upon arrival , the region just seems to suddenly expand, or perhaps he just went the 'door to Hoenn' in the ferry they breezed on through. Needless to say the first 3 minutes are spent wandering around the city looking at all the things that could be done out here be it on the beach or in any of the buildings. It is all a bit overwhleming for the moment, though Aqua does give him a squirt to get him back to reality a bit later, "Okay thanks i needed that but what the pecha berry am i supposed to do now?" Andy remembers that he isn't exactly official just yet, and instantly frowns.

"Oh right, i have to register first at a pokecenter which means....alot of paperwork. Grrrreat" He facepalms knowing how long that just filling out one of those things takes, let alone processing them. Heading to a pokemon center leads to a Nurse Joy at the reception desk.

"Hello there, are you here to register your trainer license?" she would gently ask

"Yes i am ma'am." He replies while Aqua continues happily bouncing for now. The paperwork presented to him is by the good grace of Arceus, rather quick and easy to fill out and only takes 5 minutes to fill out.

"Thank you , we shall get this processed as soon as possible, but they usually take 24 hours. Until then feel free to explore around Slateport for now and pass the time" she suggests.

24 hours?! That is so looong" he mentally deadpans, though his outward expression doesn't change, "We will be sure to do that ." He says to the nurse before heading out of the pokecenter doors and back into the bustling city,