[PKMN FULL] Hoenn: Square One [IC]

Eleanor · Jun 27, 2020

Avril Reese

16 - ♀ - Laverre City

Written with the help of WizardOfOdd

Pokémon / Inventory:

AVRIL'S MONEY: ???

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

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

Post-lunch Drowsiness

Thursday, September 17^th - About 1 pm - Akurnai to Slateport Ferry, Upper Deck

Happy, sad, happy, sad, happy… what have I done?

I'm relaxing on a beach chair, on the deck of the ship, and it's just the way I imagined it. I'm near the bow of the ferry, not too far from the edge, a calming breeze flowing through my hair, and the faint cries and chirps of Wingull all around me. And I'd be definitely sleeping after such a great lunch, if not for some thoughts I still need to sort out.

Getting here was all but relaxing, by the way. I had to climb a staircase with all of my stuff, going at a Slowpoke's pace, only to open the door and find myself in the open. Not many people were around, but I still felt the need to make a run for the chair with the best position, nearly stumbling half way as I dragged my rolling bag along. Once I did claim the chair for myself, though, all I had to do was get comfortable and get my sunglasses. And… think.

When Shuna and Jo were there with me, my mood was always changing. Sometimes I reeled in my anxiousness, but sometimes I let their enthusiasm for battles get to me. I lost my balance and made promises I'm not sure I can deliver on. Both to them and to Poppy!
All of this would be fine if I kept my distance from now on, but I even gave in to the idea of a group chat between the three of us.

I can already see Jo coming for me just to battle, and give it their all until Poppy is defeated. All of this while I don't even have the heart to attack Gabby! And… what if wagers in money are allowed in here? This brings back some bad memories of the Gym Battles I used to spectate… and what about Shuna? She's so kind and compassionate, and I don't want to disappoint her just like I don't want to do the same with Poppy. But I also don't want to get into uncomfortable situations just because I followed her advice.

The problem with the Gym battles I've seen or heard about, especially those against our Gym Leader, was… that it was all just so… unrelenting. Pokémon giving it their all for their trainers until they really couldn't go any more, and trainers too focused on winning the battle to even care about their companions. Everyone would just get so fired up about the battle, and things could go out of control very fast! Of course, it didn't help that both the Gym Leader and the trainers were very strong, with big, menacing Pokémon.

This is probably why I seem to like more cute, small Pokémon as well. Pokémon I can play with, groom and cuddle. So far the only Pokémon I've had is Poppy, which fits very well, but even in my family and hometown these Pokémon are more common. Speaking of which, Poppy is still on my head this time. I touch my hair, trying to find her, and I feel her flower with my fingertips. Supposedly she's sleeping after her little lunch: if only I could do the same!

About at this point, I look around and try to see if I can see Shuna and Jo again: I don't see either of them anywhere, and I'm not sure whether I should be happy about it or not. All of this considered, I probably just need to take some time away from them and think about what I want to do in my journey. But still! I've never figured it out before leaving Kalos, and I'd actually rather not to think about it too much if I can avoid it. Maybe I'd better wait until I reach Slateport for real… I can already see it in the distance, and it does indeed look great!

As I look around, a girl enters my field of view and I can't help but look at her more closely: she definitely has an interesting style, with some details that catch my attention right away. Just like me, she appears to be wearing glasses. The pattern on her shirt is also nearly identical to the one on my dress, and has the same colors. She has this not-too-big, expensive looking black backpack, a black skirt, and high heels.

The most interesting thing about her though is… she has a Pokémon with her. It's rather small and cuddly too, but I can't really guess what it is. It looks like a Vulpix, or an Eevee, but it's white! And this means… she might really be a trainer. A trainer, that looks like that? I'm not really the odd one out anymore, it seems!

I still wait before introducing myself to her, though. In fact, I don't even move from my beach chair, because… after what happened with Shuna and Jo, I'm not even sure if I want to make my presence known to any more trainers. Plus I can't be sure about it - it's still reasonable to think that she's not actually a trainer and is just here for a little vacation with her pet.

Now that I'm thinking about her, though, my mind is apparently more relaxed, and I'm feeling somewhat better about myself. The abundant buffet lunch from before is making me drowsy and I can't keep my eyes open that easily.

Eventually, I fall asleep.

forg · Jun 30, 2020

*bulbagarden.net image removed*

Koko Puffs

September 17, 3:25 PM
Slateport Beach

A friendly banter starts between volleyball moms as their husbands cheer with flags and pokémon alike. As they snap social media memories and videos the elated individuals fail to realize they had captured Koko combing the shallow shoreline. Were one to enhance the image and focus on her they would find an indifferent Koko devouring a chocolate-frosted donut all the while prodding the suspicious piles of sand.

"Do you want to go to the museum next? I'm kinda curious about it," Koko asked her onix, who nodded and let out an hum of agreement. During Koko's small endeavor curiosity would often get the best of the beast, the smallest of water disturbances catching his attention. At one point he had poked at a floating bucket, smacking it every which way. "We'll check after finishing this- ah! Look, I think I found another stunfisk." A patch of sand shifted in place, alerting her to a possible, electrocuting fish. The brunette attempted to poke at the creature, but was confounded when, instead, witnessed the flat fish scurry to the side and away from the rubber tip.

"...heeey."

♤ ♡ ◇ ♧
Chapter 1.3
♤ ♡ ◇ ♧

Again she prodded. And again. Many more attempts followed, failing time and time again as the stunfisk danced beneath the shallow surface. What initially began as a curious poke here and there turned into a game of speed; Koko was unable to keep up.

A sigh escapes her lips, arm falling to her side as her chin lifts. Admitting defeat, she twists to face her onix, who had then lowered his head to better observe was what occurring before Koko. "Hey, is it okay if you uh, use your tail and kinda, gently only if you can, to push it deeper into sea? Or flip the fish over?" she proposed, pointing at the victim with her stick.

As if a switch had been flipped he rose his tail - like a baseball bat - before the patch of sand she stood by.

"Actually, wait, I think-" Her words were cut short upon witnessing her onix swing, sending water, sand, and the stunfisk alike flying further into the sea. Sparks trailed behind it, but the few that had managed to reach onix merely pinched him.

Upon the action being processed she gasped after the wet sand and liquid soaked her anterior, bemused. "Oh… well okay. I mean… pfffft-" she attempted to muffle her laughter, but failed and instead let out her giggles as her mind replayed the stunfisk's panicked flight. Joining her was Kiko, who plopped next to her and sent more showers of seawater her way. Shielding her eyes and ramping up her fit of giggles, in her distracted state she failed to perceive a duo of shellos approaching her from behind. Onix, however, did so upon them being a foot away from her semi-open backpack, the whiff of donuts attracting the wild pokémon.

Curiously the rock snake lifted himself, staring at the duo like a dog amused by their presence. Koko followed suit, but in doing so she inadvertently helped the pair of shellos acquire the box of a dozen donuts; the shortest's thick, mustard yellow lips had managed to get a grip of the box before Koko swiveled, taking the bag with her and allowing the box to slide out with ease.

Unfortunately her movement was unexpected, the one side of the donut box not supported having opened and emptied its contents into the shallow waters.

Distraught, the oldest shellos dashed around the other, staring in shock at the several donuts sinking down the opaque waters. The shellos still clinging to the box gradually set their sights on Koko, expressing their disappointment on to the trainer with teary eyes.

Her mouth was midly open during the entirety of it all, unable to form a string of words until now. "...sorry. I mean, if you really wanted donuts that bad you could've… asked. I would've split one between you two. But uh…" The brunette observed the pastries shifting against the incoming waves, dancing over the sand amidst algae and sea particles. "I'm really sorry. Try not to steal from others though."

Background noise created by the beach's crowds and ocean's lapping waves filled the silence between the four beings huddled around the donuts. Breaking this moment was Koko, who let out a huff before apologizing once more, turning to begin resuming her prodding adventure. The two shellos, however, shared a different sentiment towards the event.

The elder shellos only needed a glimpse of their fellow junior to find the motivation to charge onward. Utilizing it's miniature frame to dip beneath the surface of the water, its advance steadily quickened as it approached Koko. Kiko was no fool however, noticing this incoming wild pokémon via the ttaversing lemonade pink blob making a linear shot towards them. Once it closed the gap the shellos broke the surface of the sea and emerged with a blue sphere of energy within a gaping mouth. Immediately recognizing its actions as dangerous, Kiko swung his tail of boulders and slapped the sea between his trainer and Shellos, sending a hefty splash of water in every direction, startling the two shellos and Koko alike.

"AH! Wha- oof!?" Koko inquired prior to her onix gently clasping her body in its mouth. Her hands clung to the strap of her backpack, eyes at last pin pointing the reason behind Kiko's protective behavior. "Okayokayokay got it, thank you Kiko," Koko gently pats his nose, signaling him to set her down. But in doing so the elder shellos cried out to its younger comrade, who flinched and glanced their way with hesitation. Unwilling to wait for them to make up their mind, the frustrated shellos continued with its attacks, trudging through the disturbed, shallow waters to face onix. Unlike before, the clever shellos did not leap and announce its attack, on the contrary, it remained beneath the water.

"Hey, let's go. They'll calm down later, it's my fault they're like that and all," Koko suggested as her snake comrade released her a foot from below. With a huff she lands and forces the rubber-ended stick into the backpack, but before she could speak a stream of water erupts from beneath the surface and lands directly on Kiko's cheek, startling him. It was a hard, stinging slap to his face.

Figuring they may chase her and create a commotion wherever they travel to, Koko finally gives out an overdue command.

With a sigh she takes a step closer to onix, finger pointed at the aggressor. "Use body press between the shellos and the beach. The waves shooouuuld push them further into the sea, but it maaaay not work, you know." As commanded the long rock snake proceeded to slam itself against the shallow waters, sending large waves crashing against the unsuspecting shellos.

As expected she watched them vanish beneath them, causing her to assume it was over.

"Okie okie then. Let's goooo," she mutters, pulling out onix's pokéball to avoid the two critters from recognizing them out of the crowd. Much to her misfortune however, the aggressive shellos shrieked over to his more sensitive companion that floated before him. Despite their pleas against being forced into a brawl, its older friend did not bat an eye in using water gun, sending the youngest skyrocketing into the sky in panic.

A yelp escaped its trembling lips, notifying Koko and her onix of its location midair.

Not wanting to get caught in the fight any longer, Koko threw out another command onix's way. "Use dra- f**ck, grab it!" As the young shellos prepared for impact against the sea, Koko's onix seized the opportunity and scooped the small pokémon with his tail. Astonished, the shellos panicked and cried out to its older peer, hyperventilating as the snakes' boulders began to wrap themselves around its fragile, soft body.

SHEEEEEELL! The cries were piercing and carried a hint pain, yet the latter did nothing to mask the terror that easily got to Koko.

Kiko steadily increased the pressure, glaring at the diminutive pokémon that had been involved in its trainer's harm.

"It's okay," Koko muttered, placing her hands on his skin. But the gesture did nothing to alter his actions. In fact, it appeared to have aggravated it further, much to her surprise. "Hey heyheyhey Kiko! Ya!" she raised her tone, hands sliding back down to her sides upon seeing him flinch and glance back her way. Hurt, the onix loosened his grip enough for the small critter to leap off, scrambling over to their fellow comrade. Together they vanished into the sea, trembling in their skin.

Koko felt the drenched clothes stick to her cold, clammy skin. The ocean's salty, brine breeze sent shivers down her spine, goosebumps erupting throughout her. "Hey… Kiko. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you like that-"

Yes, I did, your anger worries me sometimes, she simultaneously thought, but is never quite able to confess.

"-but are you okay? How do you feel?" Gently the onix nudged her shoulder with a nose tap, a deep hum emanating from inside. The rhythmic vibration from his skin that resulted from it caused Koko to hug what she could of his face, finding it to be a much needed massage.

Nonchalantly the same stunfisk that had begun it all returned, nipping at her backpack. Refusing to go through it again, Koko awkwardly rummages through her bag with one hand somewhat twisted to reach her back. Upon successfully locating the brownies she tossed them into the sea, bag and all, for the stunfisk to feast upon.

"Let me heal you, okay? It'll be fast, then I'll have you out again," she explains to her companion before returning him to his pokéball.

With one last look at the stunfisk Koko returns to dry land, scanning the beach for the lifeguard to return the prodding stick to.

Groc · Jul 1, 2020

Natsuko Soyokaze
Thursday, September 17th
Slateport City

It's been a while since Tsu has visited Slateport. There were a lot of people going to the southern Pokémon Center, so she went to the one on the northern side. It was further away, but she needed to head north anyway to reach the residential area.

The house in question is in a quiet neighborhood, far enough away from the sea that you almost forget it's in a port city. There's even a school nearby, which is pretty convenient for a school teacher living here. Natsuko double checks the address she'd been given, pausing on the doorstep before knocking.

She hasn't seen her Aunt Minamo in about seven years. Sure, they'd talked on the phone, but ever since she'd moved to Slateport, she just didn't have the time to come over to Kanto. Tsu idly wonders if her aunt will even recognize her...

"No more delays." She knocks on the door, taking a moment to adjust her hat as she waits. The door swings open a moment later, and Natsuko smiles nervously as she gives her aunt a wave. "Hi, Aunt Nyamo!"

Minamo Soyokaze doesn't look like Tsu's aunt. She looks more like she could be her older sister, although Tsu is actually a couple inches taller than her now. She looks surprised and a little confused, but her eyes soon light up with recognition. "Tsu! It's so good to see you!"

She grabs her niece, pulling her into a tight hug, which Natsuko happily returns. Aunt Nyamo looks Tsu over, baffled but happy. "Look at you! How did you get so big? What are they feeding you over in Kanto? Oh, wait, weren't you arriving on the 6 o'clock ferry? Carrie was going to pick you up."

"Oh, yeah, but I managed to catch the earlier one." Natsuko laughs nervously. "I would've called, but I wanted to surprise you!"

Nyamo looks suspicious for a second, but shrugs it off. "Well, consider me surprised. You're lucky to catch me, I only just got home. But come on in, let's not stand around for the whole neighborhood to see!"

Natsuko follows her aunt into her home, dropping her backpack by the door. It was a nice little house, opening into the living room with the kitchen beyond that, with two bedrooms and a bathroom in the back. Tsu couldn't help but smile as she looks around the place. It's cozy and warm, with plenty of pictures on shelves and tables.

"Make yourself at home!" Aunt Nyamo heads toward the back of the house. "I'm just going to let Carrie know you're already here."

"Okay..." Tsu is already distracted by the bar between the kitchen and living room. There's a modest collection of bottles on the lower shelf, but the rest has been converted into a sort of trophy case. Eight Hoenn Gym Badges in a glass case on one side, and on the other, a set of Contest Ribbons. One D-rank, three C-rank, and one B-rank. Below that, Minamo's diploma. Finally, there are three framed pictures. Natsuko has no idea who is in the one on the left, but recognizes Aunt Carrie among them. On the right is Aunt Nyamo, along with Tsu's parents and a young Natsuko. The center picture is of Minamo and Carrie on their wedding day.

Tsu looks at the picture with her in it, trying to remember where it was taken. It doesn't look like Kanto, and Tsu is pretty young in it, so it's probably somewhere in Hoenn.

"Do you remember that trip?" Aunt Nyamo asks, startling Tsu. Tsu blushes in embarrassment as she puts the photo back, shaking her head.

"No, but look how tiny I was! It had to be at least twelve years ago, right?"

"Oof, don't remind me. I was your age in that picture, or just over." She sits down in the loveseat, while Tsu takes one of the armchairs. "We took that picture in Lavaridge, when we went to the hot springs. Your dad had gotten that promotion and I had just been accepted into the Rustboro Academy for my teaching degree. It was the last trip we could all take together, and the hot springs were supposed to grant good luck, health, and prosperity. I'm still not convinced they actually do, but it was a fun trip and Mt. Chimney was really pretty that time of year."

Natsuko listens in awe, and is a little sad and envious she doesn't remember the trip. "That's why I came back to Hoenn, Aunt Nyamo. I don't remember anything about it, but there's all these cool places and memories here! I'm gonna tour the country, and make a detailed scrapbook of photos and videos while I do!"

Minamo smiles wistfully, amused at how excited Tsu is. The two talk about various places Nyamo had been or that Tsu wants to visit, until Nyamo gets a call. She steps away to take it, returning a moment later.

"That was Carrie, she's on her way home. Come and help me make dinner."

"Oh... sure." Tsu looks at the clock. She hadn't realized it's already after 5. "I can help, but I didn't plan on staying. I was just going to eat at the Pokémon-"

"Natsuko." Aunt Nyamo fixes her with a hard stare. "You are my very favorite niece, and I will not allow you to spend your first day back in Hoenn in some rental room. You will have a nice meal, and you can stay the night here."

"Yes, Aunt Nyamo..." Tsu relents. She never knew her aunt could be so fierce. She was always so easy-going and chill. "I just don't want to be-"

"You are not a burden. You are family." Tsu is surprised, but Nyamo actually laughs a little. "That was your father's line, too. Now, come on."

Cooking is a new experience for Tsu, but she has a good teacher tonight. Aunt Carrie keeps a garden out back, so they have fresh ingredients to make a nice salad, some grilled chicken, a sweet berry vinaigrette...

Tsu is proud of the meal. Sure, Aunt Nyamo did most of the work, but it looks delicious. She's taking a picture of it when she hears the door open.

"Hey, Mina! I'm home!" Carrie Tanner doesn't look like Tsu's aunt, either, with bright blue eyes and dirty blonde hair done up in a bun. She's quite tall, and Nyamo's head is level with her shoulders, requiring her to lean in slightly to share a kiss with her. Tsu awkwardly looks around the kitchen, feeling slightly like an intruder.

"Oh hey, is that Nat over there?" Carrie comes over, grabbing the surprised Natsuko into a hug. "It's so good to finally meet you in person!"

"Ha ha, yeah, hi!" To be completely honest, Tsu had never been that excited to talk to Aunt Carrie, or even get to know her. It's petty and childish, but she'd always felt like Carrie was trying to take away Aunt Nyamo's attention, or somehow keep them apart.

"I'm gonna get changed. Be right back!" Carrie goes back to the bedroom, shutting the door behind her. Tsu continued looking around the kitchen until she feels Aunt Nyamo's hand on her shoulder.

"Natsuko... just give her a chance. She's really excited to meet you."

"What do you mean?" Tsu feigns an innocent smile. "I'm really glad to meet her, Aunt Nyamo."

"Don't lie to me, Natsuko. I'm a teacher, I'm very smart and very perceptive. I know you never wanted to talk to Carrie, you always wanted to talk to me." She grabs Tsu's hands, her eyes beseeching. "So please, for my sake, be nice? I love you both very much, and we're all family in this house. So let's keep it happy and comfy in here, okay?"

Tsu can't say "no" to Aunt Nyamo. "Okay. As long as she doesn't want to talk about battles. You know I don't like talking about that."

Nyamo sighs in relief. "You don't have to tell me. Tell her yourself."

"Tell me what?" Carrie comes back out into the living room, having changed into shorts and a t-shirt and letting her hair loose. Tsu is actually surprised that her hair reaches her waist, considering the bun she'd had it in.

"Oh, nothing!" Tsu smiles, earning a slight frown from Nyamo and a confused eyebrow from Carrie. "I like your hair, though! It's longer than I thought."

"Thanks, I grew it myself." Carrie jokes, heading to the cupboard for plates and cups. "I also grew these vegetables and fruits outside. I sell fruits and Berries at the market, so keeping my hair up is just a courtesy. Wouldn't want a stray hair in your Pomegs, now would you?"

They didn't really have a dining room, so the three just sit in the living room by a coffee table. Carrie gets glasses of water for Natsuko and Minamo, grabbing herself a bottle of beer from the fridge. Tsu's guess was correct, and dinner is delicious. She even suggests Aunt Nyamo share some tips for when she's traveling.

"I don't know that much about cooking on the road, sorry." Nyamo apologizes, sharing the loveseat with Carrie. "I mostly cook at home, even when I was traveling."

"Oh yeah, you're going on a journey here, aren't you Nat?" Carrie chimes in. "You chose wisely, I think Hoenn has the best League!"

"Oh, yeah?" Tsu glances at Nyamo, who nods slightly to encourage her to speak. "I mostly picked it because I wanted to see the country, but I saw your badges up there."

"Yep, all eight of 'em. 'Course, that was back in the day. League's a bit different now, but I still hear good things about it. Hey, you could call us and tell us how it's going while you're journeying!"

"Uh, yeah! I... I could." Tsu feigns another polite smile, nodding as she pretends to consider it.

"Actually, that's not a bad idea." Nyamo clearly doesn't approve of Tsu's act, based on her expression. "Weren't you saying earlier you wanted to make a scrapbook of your journey? We'd love to see it."

"Yeah, you could even like, record your battles and make one of those 'v log' web pages! Mina and I could be your first followers!"

Natsuko can't help but laugh at the idea. It's kind of absurd. "I don't know about that. I'm not really good at battling, Aunt Carrie."

"Well sure, no one is at first." Carrie leans forward in her seat. "But you keep practicing, and I could give you some tips, if you want. Not saying you have to be like me, but I could help you find a style that works for you."

"I wasn't very good at battling, either." Nyamo offers. "It's why I went into Contests. A little more creativity, and not quite as aggressive. Still more stress than I could handle, though."

"You were great and you know it, Mina." Carrie chides her, pulling her in close. "You just found something you liked more."

"More than one thing." Minamo snuggles up to Carrie's chest. "I like being a teacher, too."

"That's not a bad idea, either..." Natsuko reminds them that she's still here, again feeling a little awkward. "My trainer card lists me as a battler, but I could do Contests instead."

"You could do both." Nyamo suggests. "The point of the journey is to find out what you want, to train and improve not just your Pokémon but yourself, too."

"Yeah, give 'em both a try. It might be more work, but I doubt it'd be too much trouble for someone like you. What do you say, Nat?"

"Tsu." She corrects.

"Huh?"

"I prefer 'Tsu'. I don't like being called 'Nat', like a bug."

"Sure, I can see that. No problem, Tsu. What do you think?"

"I think..." Tsu takes a moment to consider. She sees curiosity in Carrie's eyes, quiet excitement and pride in Nyamo's, the Badges and Ribbons on the bar, and the picture of herself in the past, off to see the world with her family.

"I think it sounds like fun! I wanna try everything, get creative, get strong! And I want to share my adventures with you."

Carrie chuckles, looking genuinely excited at the prospect. Nyamo hugs her tight, so happy that there are tears in her eyes. Tsu smiles herself, glad that she didn't go back to the Pokemon Center after all. "It's good to be home."

Embyr · Jul 1, 2020

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

Capitalism, ho!

Kira walked down the docks where the ferry disembarked, lost in a sea of travelers as she made her way to the city proper. Absolutely intoxicated by the moment, Kira couldn't help but wear a large smile on her face as her mind raced. Growing up, Kira always knew that Kinyo was unique in how it's culture developed against pokemon battling. Even in school only a bit less than half were from Kinyo itself. Hoenn however, here battling was still celebrated! Perhaps that difference would be apparent the moment she walked into the city proper!

Well as it turns out… No, as far as Kira was concerned it looks exactly like the city she just left. While somewhat disappointing it didn't really matter that much to her. She was thrilled at the idea of traveling through the region. Thrilled at the thought of having her father's blessing. Thrilled at the idea of no longer feeling like an outcast.

Pulling out her Holotch Kira scrolled over a map of the city for about the fifteenth time that day, multicolored pins decorated the digital image of the city. At this point checking it was just a formality, she already knew where the closest pokemon center was, yet she felt like she had to be doing something besides just walking.

Looking up from her Holotch Kira noticed a well kept, rustic looking building on a rather large plot of land. The building itself was primarily built out of brilliant, golden brown stained wood and had a large front porch area supported by tan cobblestone pillars. Outside there were several empty tables and chairs, each one with a green sunlight umbrella planted in the center. Finally at the entrance along a tall iron fence rested a long sign "Slateport City's Pokemon Fan Club"

Peering through the nearby open gate, the building's courtyard seemed to be somewhat lively. A Zigzagoon and Growlith were playing near a few of the tables while a Psyduck could be seen chilling in a small pond with a few people talking nearby. Her curiosity getting the better of her, Kira sauntered towards the building and opened the large double doors. Immediately inside there was a large, dark wooden counter with a young adult, auburn haired woman at a computer behind it. Looking up from the screen, the woman at the counter smiled as Kira entered the building "Welcome! May I please see your membership card?"

Kira awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck "Um… I don't have one. I was just curious what this place is."

The woman tilted her head inquisitively "This is the Pokemon fan club. Well, at least our branch in Slateport. Forgive me for asking but do you happen to be new to the area?"

Kira walked up to the counter, looking around the entrance hall of the building "That easy to tell? Yeah, I'm from Kinyo, I just got off a boat a little bit ago. I was on my way to a pokemon center when I saw this place."

"Well, we are one of the largest clubs in the region so most people have heard of us. it makes sense if you're from Kinyo though. Here, wait just a moment!"

Kira watched as the woman stepped away from the counter and began shuffling through some storage cabinets. As she waited a small, snowy fox pokemon leapt up onto the counter and began to nudge Kira's hand with its head. Absentmindedly, Kira began petting the fox behind the ear.

The woman turned back towards Kira with a small pamphlet and laid it on the counter. "I see you've met Kit. She's not bothering you is she?"

Picking up the pamphlet with her free hand, she took a quick glance at it before returning her focus to the receptionist. "No, not at all. She just seems a bit attention hungry. I've got a Spheal just like that."

The woman's smile turned somewhat wily before shifting back to normal in a near instant. "Oh, a spheal? That must be a rather large handful while you're away from the sea isn't it?"

Kira, caught somewhat off guard by the woman's shifting expression, responded with a bit of a stutter. "A-Actually I haven't really been too far away from the sea yet while I've had him. I guess technically Mahono town's beaches were closed but I… found another way."

"Ah, well if you're planning to travel across Hoenn you'll need somewhere for him to soak in the more landlocked locations won't you?"

The snowy fox barked loudly, trying to remind Kira it was still there. Still absentmindedly Kira put down the pamphlet and picked Kit up, holding her in her arms. "I guess so? He gets rather grumpy when he's away from the water for too long."

"Well then, it's a good thing you found us! We have locations all around Hoenn, each one constructed with habitats in mind for any type of pokemon, including sea based ones like Spheal is!"

Kira was taken aback by the woman's forwardness "I appreciate the offer but this place seems kind of fancy to me. I don't really have much on me, there's really no way I could afford a membership to a place like this!"

"It really isn't that much! Membership for a new trainer like you is only ₱3,000 a month!"

"I don't really have much more than that, can't I just wait to sign up when I need the water for Azure?"

The woman let a sly smile slip one last time as she reached under the counter, pulling out a sheet of paper as well as a small purple stone. "Well, there are people all over slateport looking for help. As a club we gather these requests together for our younger members looking to make a bit of money. Not only that, I'm authorized to give these out to any new members who are licensed trainers." The woman set the purple stone on the counter for Kira to see clearly. "It's an eviolite, It's only available from the Slateport branch as well! If you plan on challenging the local gym with your unevolved Spheal this would be perfect for you!"

Kira paused, setting Kit back down on the counter she looked over the small purple stone. "That's really kind of you…"

The woman spoke up just before Kira had the chance to add anything further. "Then allow me to get you some registration papers ready!"

Spoiler:

WizardOfOdd · Jul 1, 2020

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

Thursday, September 17th - 2:20 PM.

Chapter 1 - 1
True Colors

"Thank you... For your assistance..." Kat bowed slightly while she elicits her standard business smile, unfortunately, she couldn't hide her panting after running as fast as she could towards the Southern Pokemon Center.

"You're welcome, please enjoy your stay in Hoenn." The attendant returned the gesture.

Katrina tried her best to run as fast as possible to chase Jack who was running in front of him, but her lack of exercise eventually showed as the man quickly disappeared from her line of sight. She had to drag her way to the southern Pokemon Center with every last drop of energy she had left, but at least she arrived safely. However, she was still pissed. Instead of greeting and helping her, Jack was having fun talking with the barista.

That jerk… He had the nerve to leave me alone… He didn't even flinch and look behind him again for me. And now he's sitting cross-legged relaxedly at the cafe without realizing I am here? Geez…[/I]

With a fake smile hiding his anger, she slowly approached Jack.

"Bonjour~ I see that Monsieur Jack here is already enjoying his rest… Don't you think you forget a certain someone? Someone you promised you would take around Slateport? Do you remember her at all?" Said Katrina while tilting her head.

"Désolé, Mademoiselle! I didn't realize you would arrive this early… I didn't misspeak this time, right?"

Kat maintained her aggressive smile, alerting Jack who finally realized why Kat approached him again.

"Okay, look… I'm sorry, but I've told you earlier that I'll run straight here and you can walk here at your own pace. I didn't expect you to run at full speed."

"Liar." Kat didn't trust Jack's excuse, after all, why should she trust a guy who tried to lie to her earlier on the ferry, it's must be another part of his ploy. She couldn't believe that Jack still had the audacity to lie in front of her after getting caught once.

"I did! Maybe a certain someone was too occupied playing with her snow fox to heed what the man behind him said."

"And why should I believe you?"

"Well, nothing really… It's up to you to believe it or not, nothing really changes even if you decide not to believe me." Said Jack nonchalantly while drinking his chocolate milk.

This guy… I can't believe he's such a jerk… If I had known he'd be this bad… I wouldn't even… Kat started to regret her decision to ask Jack to show him around, but she couldn't give up to make him act more friendly to her.

"You do remember that I know your secret, right?"

"Well, you do realize I can reciprocate whatever you're trying to do, right?" Jack unwilling to back down.

Jack's attempts in defending himself angered Katrina, after all the effort she poured to get out from her home, she never thought she would see this kind of person this early on her journey. Her anger finally showed on her face as her business smile slowly peeled away instead revealing the expression of irritation.

Realizing Katrina was at a boiling point, Jack sighed before he raised himself from his seat walking towards the receptionist all while signaling Katrina to follow him with his hand.

"Excuse me, I'm very sorry but regarding the little favor I asked earlier…"

"Ah, about the reservation for your friend. Is anything the matter?"

"Well, I didn't realize when she walked here, but since she already booked a room herself you can just free the room I asked you to keep for other trainers. I'm very sorry for the inconvenience." Jack bowed slightly.

"Oh, it's okay. Please do tell if you need help with anything else."

Katrina turned silent as a rock as she realized that she just made a baseless accusation against Jack. All while the boy he accused joyfully sit back on his chair, sitting cross-legged once more with a smile present on his face.

"Please sit, I don't want you to stand and add more stress to your tired legs," Jack said with a gleeful expression.

"O-oh, you know… I think I should put down my luggage first in my room." Kat tried to flee the awkward situation, unfortunately, this time she was the one being cornered.

"Oh, I insist." Jack put both of his legs down as his tone changed to a more serious one, alarming Kat.

Muk… Kat quickly regretted her past decision, left with no choice she decided to sit on the seat across to Jack, hoping that Jack wouldn't lash out on her.

"You know, for someone who was awfully pissed at me not even five minutes earlier, you act rather meek now."

"O-Oh, I wasn't mad at all, I'm just surprised that it took you almost no time to reach this place… I'm not mad, absolutely not… Haha…"

"Hahaha!" Jack laughed heartily, scaring Katrina.

"Is... something the matter?"

"Oh no, I'm just happy that you're not mad."

Phew, I dodged a sticky situation there.

"The lone thought that a girl would quickly get mad as she accuses me doing something that I didn't do and showed no remorse at all when she was proven wrong is very infuriating. I'm glad you're not mad, otherwise, I would've blown a gasket hahaha." Said Jack with a sarcastic tone while grinning, sending shivers down the spine of the poor girl.

Or not… Katrina quickly tried to find a way to control the damage she just done, but Jack quickly interjected with another thing to say.

"I'm still waiting..."

"I-I'm sorry… It wasn't right for me to make a baseless accusation regarding you leaving me alone without saying anything. I'm very sorry." Kat hung her head showing remorse on her actions.

Jack clapped his hands while showing a genuine smile. "Très bien, Katrina. With that apology, we can finally be friends. I'm really glad to meet you." Jack offered his hand for a handshake.

"O-oh yes…" Katrina shook Jack's hand while smiling awkwardly.

I thought he was a pushover… I can't believe he's this dangerous...

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budube · Jul 1, 2020

Jordie "Jo" Hughes

Thursday, September 17th

Chapter 1: Part 1

6:00 pm - Slateport International Market

Jordie was actually surprised that they had to wait only one day to finally be able to challenge the gym. That obviously meant that they had two days to be able to explore the city as much as they could before heading to Dewford. And of course there was no better place to start than the Slateport International Market. When Jo read that it had everything, they thought that was just a publicity stunt, but no, it really did have everything, even PokéBall vendors that sold rare stuff like Love Balls, Heal Balls or Jordie's personal favorite: Dusk Balls, from which they bought a big chunk.

"Gabby girl, which one do you like more: This one…" they said, showing her a white bikini on their left hand. "... or this one?" they showed a black one on the other hand. Gabby looked repeatedly at both swimsuits as Jo smiled at her waiting for an answer. Finally, the Pokémon rolled to her left and Jordie shook their right arm once more and asked if she really liked that one more, to which Gabby nodded. "I'll take this one!" Jo said, turning to the shopkeeper, a short woman, probably on her 40s with black hair tied on a ponytail. She chuckled at the trainer and their Pokémon's interaction as she received the money.

Jordie and Gabby continued their trail down the large market, stopping more than one time at the many stalls there, either just to take a look or to buy something to drink, eat, and even two pairs of sunglasses for each one! This was definitely something Shuna and Avril had to know about, but Jo would report later, there was still more shopping to do!

Almost at the end of the road, they found a stall with a small chalkboard outside that had written: 'Back with more goods from the lands of Sinnoh! Get yer Capsules and Seals now only for ₽200!' and at the corner it had a cartoonish Sealeo drawing with a pirate hat. A tall, bald old man of around 70 years old, but that was still able to stand on his feet, stood behind the red boxes of PokéBall-like capsules and stickers placed over the wooden counter. Normally, Jordie wouldn't care much about something as simple as transparent capsules or stickers, but they weren't really expensive to begin with, and if someone came from Sinnoh to sell those, then there had to be something special about those!

There was another person there -a boy- that left with a lot of heart and thunder stickers, and by the face he had by the time he left, Jordie concluded that they indeed were special somehow.

"Ahoy there, bucko!" the old man greeted, seeing how Jordie walked towards his stall. "What brings ye to this ol' buccaneer's ship? Did ye come to buy some of me goods or did ye come to plunder me treasure?"

Jordie tried not to laugh at the pirate lingo the man used by faking a cough before talking, then, as they hooked their second pair of sunglasses on their t-shirts neck, the said: "Yeah… Good afternoon! I saw the board you've got over there. I wanted to know what was so special about these Sinnoh stickers you have here."

"Yo-ho-ho! Ye've come to the right ship, then!" he laughed "But yer wrong about one thing." He put his hand behind his large blue coat and took out one of those stickers. Not one of those thunder or heart shaped ones from before, instead it was a grey cloud shaped one. "Me treasure over here… it be no sticker." He also took out a Net Ball of his and put the sticker on it, and walked outside the counter to stand in front of the trainer. "Would cover me nose in yer place!" He said before throwing the PokéBall a few meters away.

A huge cloud of grey smoke came out of it instead of the usual red flash PokéBalls and a fat, old Walrein came out of it as the smoke disappeared in the air. The Pokémon crawled across the floor, using its flippers to help it move and thus reaching its trainer it rolled on its back waiting to have its belly rubbed. "O-ho-ho! Ahoy there, Rudder me boy!" the man laughed as he petted his Pokémon and after a while, he turned back to Jordie. "So? What do ya think?"

"That was awesome!" they quickly replied, together with Gabby still looking at the sky where the grey cloud of smoke had dissipated. "How many of those stickers do you have?"

"They be called seals." he corrected. The old man walked back behind his counter and his Pokémon followed behind him. He took out a few boxes and put them on the wooden table as well. "What do ya want to buy?"

"I don't want smoke! I want something awesome! I want lights! Sparks! I want my Pokémon to shine the moment they get outside their PokéBalls! Something to fit our style!"

"Sparks, uh?" he said, moving his hand around the many boxes and pulling out a green thunder-shaped one. "What does this one look for ya? Ya can try it if ya want to. Free of charge."

"Really, I can? That's great!" they said, taking the seal from his hand and putting it on Gabby's-

"Wait, no! Not like that!" Jordie jumped astonished and looked back at the old vendor who was holding one of those transparent capsules on his hand. "Ya could damage yer PokéBall that way! Ya put those on the ball capsule. Like this." he said, taking out his Net Ball and taking the Ball Capsule off it.

"Oh! Right. So…" they took the Ball Capsule the old man left on the counter and with a bit of struggle managed to put it on Gabby's Dusk Ball. "Like this?" the old man nodded. "And the seal goes here. Okay, Gabby, let's try it. You ready?" Gabby nodded nervously before going back to her Ball. Jordie took a breath, their heart pumping faster in excitement and threw the Pokéball, the usually red flash the Dusk Ball shoot quickly deteriorated into green sparks that spiraled upwards around Gabby as she looked at them with amusement, just as her trainer who gave a discrete grin as they saw how the sparks disappeared on the sky. "I'll take them. 10 of them. Should be enough."

Jordie almost completely ran out of money. There was only ₽3000 on their power now, but it didn't really matter. Always with their confidence in battling up, there was no way they couldn't win the first gym. They were gonna recover part of their money there. But there was no time to think about it, maybe it was a good time to report back to Avril and Shuna.

hey, girls! how r u doing so far? i went to check the slateport market and it was great! it has everything u will probs need on ur journey.

i bought a lot of things there and ran out of money lmao

also there's this old man there that sells seals for ur pokemon's pokeballs maybe avril would like them if she decides to go for the contests. could be helpful there. i bought some of those and both gabby and i loved them.

im gonna send a pic of my stuff once gabby and i get to the pokemon center, so till then… later lol

ily both <3

Jordie's Party:

Eleanor · Jul 2, 2020

Avril Reese

16 - ♀ - Laverre City

Pokémon / Inventory:

AVRIL'S MONEY: $9 500

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

AVRIL'S INVENTORY:
🌼 2x Pokéballs
🌼 Holotch
🌼 Various clothes and commodities

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

Differences ≠ mistakes

Thursday, September 17^th - 3 pm to 5:30 pm - Slateport City / North Center

That nap was probably the shortest I've had in a good while, but also one of the very best. That is, of course, until it ended so abruptly thanks to the speaker announcing our arrival! I still have an headache because of it.

When I got up from the beach chair I was sleeping on, though, the buildings that were once creating a faint silhouette in the distance were now right in front of me. And it's mind blowing to just think I'm now walking between them, on the streets of Slateport!

Of course, that little… accident? Well it caused me to be one of the last people to get out of the ferry and into Hoenn. Nonetheless, the first step still felt great and solemn and important… just like when I took my first step outside of Kalos some days ago. Amidst some heavy breaths, I pulled up my Holotch and loaded a map of Slateport, trying to figure out where to go next.

All I knew for certain was, I had to reach a Pokémon Center and get registered for the Hoenn League if I wanted to have all the benefits of being a traveling trainer, like free rooms for the night or discounts on various items. My little Kalosian license that I was given at my Trainer school wasn't going to cut it by itself. And… even if I was going to up traveling around Hoenn as a tourist, I certainly couldn't do it without some financial help.

And so, I found out that there were two Pokémon centers in Slateport! One was right in the bustling city center and a bit closer to the harbor, while one was in the northern outskirts. Most trainers in front of me were already heading for the southern one but, of course, I wasn't so sure about following them all. Both centers were nearly the same distance from the harbor, leaving both possibilities open. And in fact…

Long queues to get registered? Bustling city centre? Even more fiery trainers, possibly including Jo and Shuna? I knew it was further away from nearly everything interesting to do in Slateport, like the market, the museums, the beach… but I still decided to follow my heart and go up north. And this is where I'm headed now!

I'm currently leaving behind myself all of the more modern, bigger buildings that surround the harbor area, while the city center is somewhere to my left, as far as I can tell from the signs. The road where I'm walking is still quite large and relatively full of people though, and so I already suspect I'll be here a lot in the next few days. It doesn't take that long though, and the faint sound of my little chime and of the wheels on the pavement both start getting more noticeable over the background noise. Good!

The streets are less crowded, the houses are smaller and more spread out, and there are definitely more trees on the side of the road. It's cozy and welcoming, at least for me, and I'm happy to see that this feeling continues inside the Pokémon Center.

There's quite a lot of people hanging in the lobby or near the cafe on the right, but the queue for the registration is much shorter than I expected, and this reassures me that I chose the right PokèCenter. Most people also seem very friendly and cheerful, but never too much, and this is a nice thing for me as I am not looking for battles right now.

The registration, which is the first thing I take care of once I get inside, seems to go smoothly as well, as I don't need to do that much paperwork at all - it seems very well organized. And if anything… I'm the one who makes my own life difficult. I still have that clueless look on my face, and that cracking in my voice. I even get asked something like "Are you sure of this?" at one point, to which I'm caught relatively off guard but still reply affirmatively. Luckily, there doesn't seem to be any rushing trainer in line behind me! Anyways, as a bonus for… that, I apparently get another small guide of Slateport City.

When I get told that my registration will be fully validated only in 24 hours, I'm actually relieved. I have some free time before jumping into Pokémon battles, should I ever want to, but also into contests, which is something I still need to learn about - and because of this, no one can pressure me into doing these things, for now. Time now is… 3:45 pm more or less, so I better keep that in mind!

Of course, the best way to pass this free time is do those few things that my mind is already set on. I have clothes to wash, I have luggage to organize, I have information to gather. This is why, right after my registration, I also ask for a room key. The receptionist seems slightly puzzled, but complies with my request, and in no time I can finally open the door of the room where I'll sleep tonight.

And what a nice room it is! I gush at the colorful furniture and blankets, before looking out the window onto the surrounding neighborhood. Poppy is equally excited, and keeps chirping as she floats around the room. The room is not exactly in the style I'm used to - this is looking very modern - but is surprisingly large and welcoming. And it's just the place I needed to calm down.

I sit on the little chair and start to finally unpack some of my stuff. I don't know for how long I'll stay here in Slateport, to be fair, but I still need to take this occasion to sort out all of my items. I put all the dirty clothes aside and start rummaging through the rest of the content, admittedly rather surprised at how much stuff me and my parents were able to fit inside. Sleep bag, body care products, a decent pair of shoes, some cool food containers for things like berries, even a cute cloth bag and a swimsuit - which I honestly didn't think would have been useful but, being so close to the sea, I can actually make good use of!

I take one more look at the bunch of different flyers I gathered today and still find the image of that "perfect trainer", now slightly ruined by my tears from before. As I debate whether I should throw it away or keep it as a reminder of how I felt this morning… Poppy floats around me and lands on top of said flyer. She shakes her head sideways and smiles at me. "What is it, Poppy?" I ask. "You say I'm not…"

I'm not that kind of trainer, but… it's fine! is what I'm understanding from all this. And this makes even more sense when Poppy points at the other flyer, the one with the Contest Hall.

Well, at first I'm actually slightly puzzled, because even here I'm trying to find the differences - it's like that little game where you have two nearly identical images side by side, you know? And there are indeed some differences: just like the boys are wearing jackets and similar, the girls in the picture have very fancy dresses, heels, and all that. But as Poppy keeps cheering for me, I realize very quickly what she's on about.

I'm not the perfect trainer from the flyer, I'm not the perfect coordinator from the city guide, but what I am is perfectly fine! Or rather, all those differences I keep noticing are not a bad thing, and don't make me less valid. "Oh! You're saying it's ok to be different from… this…!" I say out loud, to which my Pokémon smiles once again and twirls in the air. She can't talk in the human language, but we can easily do without.

I breathe heavily a couple times and begin thinking over what Poppy tried to tell me. My dresses may not be good for adventuring, but they look just fine for contests. I don't really need to get to the top rank, I can just try them out as Shuna suggested, and I'm definitely not going to look out of place then! And… I do have some ok clothes for adventuring too, just in case. Some shirts, a sweater to wear on top of them, trousers, closed shoes… I'm good!

All the jewelry, including my glasses, are also totally fine. Without glasses I obviously cannot see much, but even those other items that someone like Jordie may find unnecessary mean a lot to me. I will have to treat those items well and try not to ruin them, but I'll wear them proudly whenever possible.

And how could I forget, my backpack? So far, in Slateport, the wheels have actually been a blessing - and I may go as far to say, they're definitely worth having for me! And, having such a big, capacious bag is also a nice plus. This is exactly how I should've gone about this: I am just being myself and I shouldn't feel bad for it.

As I keep talking to myself aloud about all this, Poppy nods and listens to my voice carefully, occasionally chirping with excitement. Once I've made up my mind though, I'm the one who looks the most enthusiastic. "Alright, let's get that sorted out before it gets too late!" I announce, picking up all my dirty clothes and waiting for Poppy to land on my head before making my way to the laundry room. After that little moment, even doing these basic chores that I knew I wanted to get sorted out regardless feels great… because I'm just being myself!

A nice and relaxing shower later, I can start planning what to do now. I'm not sure exactly how Contests work here, but I remember seeing them on TV back at home and finding them quite interesting, especially as a little kid, and for this reason I'm interested in trying to participate in at least one! But… I can only do that once my license is all validated, and that will take some time. Same goes for the Gym, obviously, but I'm really not sure I want to try just yet. Hopefully I can just ask around and gauge how difficult it is.

I browse the city guide, jumping from one page to another, as I read more about Slateport's center, the market, the beach… but also its museums and, up north and closer to where I am, the local Pokémon Fan Club and the Contest Hall. All interesting places to visit! I get ready to leave my room once again, still falling back on the outfit I've used on the last ferry, and I put all of the things I need in my cloth bag, as I believe I've found my next destination.

WizardOfOdd · Jul 2, 2020

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

Thursday, September 17th - 2:30 PM.

Chapter 1 - 2
Cordial Invitation

With what she perceived as tension between them dissipated, Katrina walked back to her room so she could rest her exhausted body. But before she could go through the door leading to the rooms Jack stopped her.

"Before you leave, I actually have an important question for you."

Kat stopped her steps before looking back towards Jack, confused with what else the young man wanted from her. If it was something ridiculous, she didn't know what she'll do… But with optimism, she held back her skepticism and showed a curious face instead. "Yes?"

"How many Pokemon do you have in your team?"

Katrina tilted her head, unsure of where the conversation was going. "One, only Vulpix… Is there something wrong with it?"

Jack sighed, his guess was lamentably correct. "Unfortunately… Yes. Take a seat, I'll explain it to you."

Wait… What's wrong with only bringing one Pokemon? I don't know anything about this… Did I misread something on the guide? I'm pretty sure bringing only one Pokemon is fine.

With curiosity exceeded her will to get up and walk back to her room, she decided to sit down and hear what is it all about.

"Okay, judging from your response I guess you haven't known about this yet."

"Knew what?"

"The fact that the gym leader here only accepts a challenge from trainers in a doubles format."

"Huh? I see… You're trying to say that I need to catch another Pokemon soon, right?" Kat quickly caught on with what Jack tried to convey.

"Exactly."

"And how did you get this information? If I remember correctly you haven't been to Slateport for quite a while, right?" Katrina curious about the validity of Jack's source, after all, if it's wrong then she can laze herself on the bed instead of trying hard and search for another Pokemon this late in the evening.

"From him," said Jack while pointing towards the barista who was currently tending to another customer. "Baristas in the Pokemon Center Cafe sure comes in handy regarding trainer information. You should ask them if you have something you're wondering about being a trainer, they usually know the answer most of the time, after all their job is perfect to gather information from trainers chit-chatting here." Said Jack while pointing towards the barista who was currently tending to another customer.

She understood completely where Jack based his opinion from, but she still wasn't sure about something… She went silent for a bit before she started to realize what felt wrong for her.

Wait… The license will be ready tomorrow right? That means that we'll probably challenge the gym leader the day after… I can just relax in my room and enjoy my rest without having to worry about catching another Pokemon this early. But the fact that he brought this up today instead of tomorrow must've meant something. She was suspicious, after all, Jack could've told this on the next day instead of today.

"So, are there any particular reasons you tell me this today?"

"Yeah, I'm actually going to the beach soon. I asked just in case you want to tag along and find a Pokemon there. I mean the faster you do that, the more time you'll have to prepare against the gym leader."

Hmm… That is actually a tempting offer. Kat thought carefully about this offer. Judging with how much he understood how things work, maybe he was actually a veteran trainer from the start, which would be not surprising judging how old he is from his looks. It'll definitely help considering she didn't finish formal education to obtain her license.

"Well it's fine if you don't want to, I'm just offering… And by the looks of it, you're seemed to be quite exhausted by the trip. Just make sure you catch one in your free time if you want to challenge the gym, alright?" Jack stood up from his seat, intending to take some rest before he went to the beach.

"I'll go with you!" Kat quickly interjected, unwilling to let her chance of easier trip slip away even if she's a bit winded up.

"Oh, that's great! Since we're both need some time to rest, how does 4 PM sound to you?"

"Sure, I'll be down with that."

"Okay, if there's no more question, I'll be resting in my room, bye." Jack walked away from the table while stretching his stiff body, ready to take a nice short break in his room.

"Wait!" Katrina stopped Jack before he managed to walk far. There was one thing she was still unsure about Jack it was about his demeanor. Did the information about her being in Hoenn already leaked to her mother? Maybe he was working under her mother, otherwise, why would an experienced trainer still at this stage of his journey? He would've finished his a few years ago...

"Is there something wrong?" Jack's question interrupted Kat's musings

"No, haha… Sorry I called you for nothing."

"Oh well…" Jack finally walked away to his room.

"I still can't trust him, but maybe I can use this opportunity to find out who he really is..." The girl murmured silently. With the doubt still in her mind, she quickly went to her own room in an effort to concoct a plan that would uncover Jack's true identity once and for all.

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WizardOfOdd · Jul 3, 2020

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

Thursday, September 17th - 2:45 PM.

Chapter 1 - 1
Brief Rest

"Phew, that was really something…"

I was afraid that the situation would descend to the region of uncertainty, but it was a lucky break for me that Katrina didn't realize I've talked to her about going to the Pokemon Center first, thanks to that I was able to exploit the situation and information I have to improve her perception of me.

She must think that I'm a dependable friend now… Or, maybe not. The deal about her mother might be a deciding factor, but it's not a great choice if I decide to ask her about it now. Ah well… Not much I can do about that. At the very least I'm pretty sure she'll think twice before doing something crazy against me.

Not in the mood to mull over the details I can't work about, I quickly open the door to enter my room. It's pretty standard, but with this level of accommodation without paying any money, it's absolutely more than worth it.

"Finally, I can relax in peace…"

I throw all of my Pokeballs towards the floor, releasing Muchorin, Braveheart, and Kaplan from their Pokeball before finally jumping to the bed landing face first in exhaustion.

They quickly make a ruckus of their own, especially Braveheart. Just as it manages to roam free, it immediately buzzes to complain and nudge my motionless body with its big iron claw. Obviously, I can't fully understand what it was complaining about, but judging from what happened today. Maybe he dislikes being inside his ball for too long, after all, he's used to be outside even before my Trainer School days. Feeling annoyed by the constant nudging I eventually raised my head.

"Sorry okay, it's not like I can do much. If I bring you out too much, it's just the same as me screaming that I'm Arthur. I mean not be rude, but you're gah-" I suddenly feel a strong impact on my hips, with Braveheart in front of me while Kaplan is busy minding his own business, there is only one Pokemon that can be responsible for this.

Apparently it was Muchorin, seeing the angry face I instinctively make, he quickly creep up close to my face with baby-doll eyes in an effort to soothe my anger, which he succeeded to do… Very easily. I should train myself to be more resistant to this kind of thing, but darn this is hard.

"Okay, fine… Don't be sad… I'm just surprised that's all." I pat Muchorin's head as gentle as I can to pacify him.

Muchorin giggles happily after getting pats, but it was making Braveheart jealous which I'm pretty sure of after seeing how much buzzing noises he let out when I'm patting Muchorin.

"Sure, sure… Here's some for you too... Kaplan, would you like some patting too?" I asked Kaplan just in case.

Fortunately, he isn't craving for attention like the others. But the reason why is actually making me a bit sad.

"...You're hungry aren't you?"

Kaplan nods, he even makes a feeding gesture with his wings to nail the point even further.

"Okay, since I've given you all the attention you guys need, it's time for you guys to return to your Pokeball."

All of them complain again, letting out their displeasure of being stuck inside their Pokeball. Especially Kaplan, who hasn't get his extra meal yet. It was really something.

"I'll let you guys out again soon, okay? I have some things to finish, so I'm really sorry."

With the little energy I have left, I wiggle with all of my might towards the edge of my bed. Grabbing an Oran Berry from one of the pockets of my bag.

"Catch!" I throw the berry towards Kaplan, who sweeps in as fast as he can in an effort to prevent his friends from eating his share of food. After all of them are pleased enough, I can finally put them back to their respective Ball without any other issue.

"With all of my Pokemon back to their respective Pokeballs, now I can enjoy a nice tranquil silence and sleep… Argh, I almost forgot about the promise."

Reluctantly, I drag my body to the desk available in the room. Using my notebook and pen, it's time to re-check the notes.

"Okay… HRD database already checked, the map is also clear, information about the gym is already in hand…" I continue to mumble as I check what kind of information I already have and which ones I need to obtain. Thankfully, my note is arranged perfectly as always well at least for my usage, although I wish the writing can be half as good as the arrangement. Oh well…

"Boy, I really need more nap time," I say as I cover my mouth after I yawned. Maybe I should've let her handle this on her own, but I'm kind of worried for her due to some unexplained reason. It's not like I can take back the offer so suddenly anyway, so I guess I'll just have to deal with it.

With a lot of time left before the agreed meeting time, I guess I'll just check my information once more… After all, knowledge is power, and who knows what will happen if I'm not prepared.

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Evily · Jul 3, 2020

Shuna Kamado

Prologue - Epoch 1: Slateport
Thursday, September 17 {2: 30pm}

The Arrival & Beach Time!

"I come from Kinyo and I came here to register for a trainer license."

Shuna stood in front of the reception desk, talking with the receptionist and registering for a Hoenn trainer license and transferring her information from her Kinyo license. As the receptionist started creating the Hoenn trainer license, Shuna was asked questions, mainly to review the information and make any changes necessary. It would take awhile since she needed to show proof that the same person on the Kinyo license was her; She showed the receptionist the proof of her name change.

In the background, Finn sat at one of the free cafe chairs at an empty table, eating pokepuffs bought at said cafe. On top of the table sat Pidge, eating his own Pokepuffs, but with a different flavor than Finns'. Finn ate a pink pokepuff, placing one hand on the plate to grab more, only to feel nothing else but the smooth surface of the plate. He looked down and saw no pokepuffs, but noticed Pidge still had some: should he risk it? Feeling a stare, Pidge paused his eating and turned, noticing Finn staring as he munched on his last pokepuff, one of his paws on an empty plate. Pidge, as if sensing his thoughts, glared, using one of his feet to push his plate further away from the mudfish. Finn whined, wanting more, but Pidge would push his plate more until Finn couldn't stretch anymore without risking a fall.

"Thank you miss." Shuna bowed her head before turning, walking over to the table her pokemon are at. So she has to wait 24 hours for her trainer card to settle? It might be annoying, but it gives her time to relax and enjoy the different views. Maybe she could go to the beach and play a bit, Finn would love the water for sure, Pidge… not so much. The pinkette stopped at her table and sweat-dropped as she watched; Pidge was eating his pokepuffs, pushing his plate away from Finn, who was stretching as much as he could, whining.

*Timeskip - Slateport Beach *

After returning her pokemon to their pokeballs -she waited for Pidge to finish his food-, she went towards the beach, hoping to spend some time relaxing, however…

"Woah!" Shuna awed as she watched a Sandygast appear from the sand, a red shovel on its head. She didn't expect to see one here, reading from one of her books that they were native to Alola.

Three children were making a sand castle when one of the kids tried to grab a shovel nearby. Keyword: Tried. The red shovel shook a bit before a pile of sand rose from underneath the item, revealing the Sand Heap Pokemon. Two of the children ran behind Shuna as the other one stood still, slowly extending a hand towards the pokemon's mouth. One of the children panicked, alarming the others that putting a hand in the tunnel causes the pokemon to take control. Shuna quickly grabbed the child and pulled him away before his hand could touch the pokemon. The child was upset, wanting to touch the sand pokemon, but the pokemon was more so: it's narrowed eyes and angry cries proved so. Shuna called out Finn, who appeared in front of them with his own cry. Shuna pushed the children back as she began issuing commands, starting the battle!

Finn puffed out his cheeks and released a water gun, hitting Sandygast in the face. Said pokemon cried out as some of his sandy body fell off, making his body smaller. The cause and effect enraged the pokemon, summoning much more sand, sending it to Finn and causing it to surround him as a tornado.

Finn, from inside the tornado, puffed out his cheeks as the mystical water glowed. Sandygast formed a red ball inside his mouth, but before he could fire it, water started spraying from inside the tornado.

Sandygast lost concentration of the red ball, dispersing it, as he moved his body down, dodging the water, but some sprays did hit him, causing more damage to his sandy body. The tornado of sand slowly dispersed, wet patches of sand laid around as Finn let out one last water gun, hitting Sandygast in the face, again. The Sandy Heap Pokemon cried out, more sand falling out, the shovel on his head was barely being kept up, on the verge of falling.

The Sandygast melted into the sand, the shovel on their head vanishing into the sand. Finn looked around, looking for the pokemon, but since the beach was mainly sand, it was impossible and the shovel was nowhere to be seen. A lump of sand rose behind Finn, a shovel appearing on the tip with eyes popping out and a tunnel in the middle.

Finn's head fin shivered, sensing the change in the air behind him. The mudfish pokemon turned, only to see Sandygast with a black ghost face appearing in front with pink glowing eyes, a smile, and a red aura. Finn flinched at the scary face and jumped, landing on his back. As Finn was getting up, the Sand Heap pokemon charged up a red ball in its tunnel-like mouth. Once the mudfish pokemon was on his feet, the Sandy Heap pokemon released the beam, hitting Finn square in the chest.

Finn cried out as his body glowed a red aura, his energy being drained for a few seconds before the beam dispersed. Finn collapsed to the ground, half of his energy drained and his health as well, whining as he flopped over to his stomach. Sandygast's sandy body started reforming itself, the lost pieces reconstructed as some of his energy and health was restored. Sandygast turned, remembering the children, and saw Shuna with another pokeball in hand, ready to summon another pokemon if necessary.

However, a blob of mud hit the Sandy Heap pokemon in the back, causing said pokemon to cry out and hunch over. Sandygast slowly got up and turned, seeing Finn glaring, his cheeks puffed out. The mudfish pokemon opened his mouth and let loose a powerful water gun, his energy and health low, activating his ability. Sandygast cried out, his sand body slowly seeping into the sand until little was left, his eyes formed into 'X's as the pokemon fainted, the shovel on his head close to falling.

The children noticed the pokemon's fainted form and ran over to their sandcastle, resuming and playing as if the Sandygast never appeared. Shuna sighed, going over to Finn, checking him over and using potions and berries to heal him. After words, Finn immediately ran to the water, and jumped in.

Spoiler:

Aquacorde · Jul 3, 2020

Marie Rachelle Mocinno

AGE: 17 ⟡ PRONOUNS: she/her ⟡ HOME REGION: Johto ⟡ DEVICE: PokéGear
DATE: Thursday, September 17 ⟡ TIME: 1:30pm ⟡ LOCATION: Ferry

Prologue #01 - Inbound

"Tuie! Wake up, we're almost there!"

Her Natu's talons flex in her hair, accompanied by a groggy coo. "You can't just sleep all day," she scolds. Tuie pecks at her bandana in retaliation.

Almost to Slateport! Marie has been to Hoenn, of course she has, but she'd always flown in. Hanging off the rail of a ship, watching the city emerge from the slight haze of the warm sea- it's a much different experience. Much more exciting! The speed of a plane just doesn't allow a build of anticipation like the slow chug of a ship into port. She's been able to see distinct shapes in Slateport's skyline for quite a while, but only now are they close enough that Marie can make out lettering on the various docks. And soon enough, she'll disembark alongside all these other trainers.

Maybe she should have talked to some of them. Maybe later she'll regret not doing so. The maps, though, they were important to read. The topography, the microclimates, the horrifyingly outdated surveys…

Tuie startles at Marie's sudden laugh. She's already thinking like her dad. Which isn't surprising. They both were raised into their business-focused family, absorbing the same buzzing background knowledge, educated at length in particular areas. And so they both see the world through very specific lenses and focus on very specific things.

It isn't a bad thing. But neither is broadening your horizons. And that's what Marie is aiming for.

...Yeah, she should have talked to some of the others.

Spoiler: Team

Spoiler: Inventory

WizardOfOdd · Jul 4, 2020

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

Thursday, September 17th - 4:15 PM.

Chapter 1 - 3
Cracks

"Why isn't he opening the door? I'm pretty sure he told me to meet him at 4 PM." I was really confused, I waited until 4.15 at the cafe only to have him nowhere to be found. I even had to ask the receptionist to give me his room number. I hope he's still inside.

I knock on the door a few more times, this time with a little more oomph than before.

"Yes?" The room door is finally open, as the occupant of the room greets me with a lack of his earlier enthusiasm only to realize why I am standing outside.

"Shoot, so I did fall asleep… Just wait for a bit, okay?"

I see Jack putting a small black notebook into his shirt pocket before grabbing his hat and sunglasses. That notebook looks important, maybe if I can sneak a peek inside his notebook I can… No, that's dirty. I'm not going to invade his privacy as long as I'm not sure that he's really dangerous.

"Sorry to make you wait, shall we?" He says while smiling, he quickly locks the door to his room. "Oh, shoot…" Jack opens his door once more. "Have you already bring some water?"

His question puzzles me, we're just going to catch a Pokemon on the beach, right? I mean why should we bring drinking water there? It should be easy to catch one. I quickly tell him a piece of my mind.

"I don't think we should bring them though, especially if we're going to stay just for a short amount of time."

He smirks at my answer. "IF we stay for a short moment, if not? Depends on what Pokemon you're searching for, we might stay until dusk. Here take mine." He throws one of his water bottles towards me, which I almost drop because he didn't warn me beforehand.

"Hey, watch it!"

"Sorry, I didn't think you would have any problem catching it… Haha…" He says playfully while rubbing the back of his head.

Darn it… Does he hate my guts? He must've done this purposefully… I should've trusted my instinct earlier, he's really dangerous… I have to be careful, if not…

"Hey, earth to Kat… Kat respond… Kat!?" Says Jack as he waves his right hand in front of my eyes.

"Huwa!?" I almost fall thanks to him, fortunately, that embarrassing moment didn't come to a realization.

"You sure you're going to be fine? I mean I won't force you if you don't want to go." Jack says in a worried tone.

Why is he being considerate now? I don't understand… Is he mean to me? Is he's just faking it? I-I don't even know anymore… At this point, he's acting kindly, but I bet that soon he'll just act like I'm some kind of jerk…

Suddenly I can feel a light tap on my shoulder. Yikes, I'm spacing out again, am I?

"Kat… Maybe, we should just postpone this."

"Oh no, no, no… I'll be fine. Let's just go haha…" I say to reassure him, but the concerned look on his face doesn't fade away at all. Damn it, I just shot myself on the foot… If he's not convinced with my argument then there goes my chance to find out who he really is.

Jack shakes his head before reluctantly opening his mouth, scaring me who is unsure about how he'll respond. "...Fine, but if you're feeling unwell, you have to tell me, alright? I repeat, you HAVE to tell me, understand?"

With no choice I decide to nod while putting off a passable enough smile, it's quite tiring to use a fake smile to clear every single problem, but it's not like I have many choices, I'm used to doing it anyway.

With the situation finally resolved, we both make our way towards the beach. It doesn't take long until we are finally able to reach the beach. It has a better beach feel than the ones in Galar, they usually feel really cold so warm sun with an enjoyable breeze is quite enjoyable for me. Apparently that also applies to the other visitors, I mean there's still a lot of people here even though it's already this late.

As we reach what appears to be the entrance of the beach, Jack dons his shades once more before start talking. "Okay, any particular Pokemon you want to catch?"

I turn silent thanks to the question, I mean none of them really appeals to me. But it's not like hate them either, I might even love them when I got to know them better. But to say which one is a bit too hard.

Just before Jack opens his mouth again, an older man in a black shirt comes close to us. He wears a whistle on his neck and sunglasses. He's probably the local lifeguard of some sort.

"Good evening, sorry to disturb you both. Are you both trainers?"

"Oh it's fine, we are actually. Anything we can assist you with?"
"I know this is a bit embarrassing to ask a favor like this since it's supposed to be my job, but my partner is on sick leave and I can't leave my post, just in case something happen… Not that I'm going to be sued for negligence of some sort, but you know you never know…"

Both I and Jack look at each other, confused about what the lifeguard is trying to say.

Thankfully the man quickly realizes what's going on and explained more "Ah, sorry… I have a bad tendency to ramble. Basically I need your help to clean this beach from Stunfisk, they're cute I must admit but the fact that it jolts people when they accidentally step on it has caused several minor injuries. So, could you please help me?"

Jack immediately respond to the lifeguard's inquiry. "I'm sorry but-"

Knowing that we will refuse the lifeguard turns desperate and quickly cut Jack's refusal "Please, I really need some help! How about some pocket money in return? I know you guys will need it… Please."

I don't think Jack will accept it, after all money is…

"Well, if you're fine with us helping you then sure!" Jack smile before shaking hands with the lifeguard.

Wait, why? Why is he accepting the job? Isn't he supposed to help me? Is he… Trying to ditch me… For money!? I-I…

"Haha, I'm glad you're fine with it. You just have to prod parts of the beach you find suspicious, which usually stands out from other parts. You can easily prod those parts with the special sticks we've prepared. Be careful though, those Stunfisk are really good at camouflaging themselves. Have fun!" The lifeguard walks away while raising his arm repeatedly in a joyful manner.

"Okay then, let's… Kat, what's wrong?"

After all that and he still plays dumb? I can no longer hold my anger, people like him… People like him…

"Really? You're going to be like this? I had hope that you're a better person than what I feared to be, but you… I can't believe you're…" I pour everything on my heart out, the disappointment I feel is immeasurable, I should've known better that he's just like those people back in Galar.

"What are you talking about!? Why are you keep saying nonsense!?" He yells. I'm tired of him feigning ignorance. I walk towards the beach full of anger leaving him behind me.

"Kat, wait!" Jack screams behind me.

I already have enough of his Muk, full with anger and bitterness I decide to shut him up. "I don't want to hear more excuses from money-grubbers like you." I continue my walk on the shores to find the Pokemon I need, who cares that I'm on my own? I can do this perfectly myself without that liar.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aquacorde · Jul 7, 2020

Marie Rachelle Mocinno

AGE: 17 ⟡ PRONOUNS: she/her ⟡ HOME REGION: Johto ⟡ DEVICE: PokéGear
DATE: Thursday, September 17 ⟡ TIME: Afternoon
LOCATION: Slateport Market & Beach

Chapter 1 #01 - Tourism

Marie has money.

Slateport International Market has goods.

Two and two make four.

The oversized sunglasses perched on her nose and the large but lightweight backpack are probably the most reasonable things she's purchased so far. The rest have been clothes, trinkets, and jewelry, all now shoved into said backpack. How much is shipping to Johto? Marie wonders. How much does she have left?

Not… a whole lot. She slips her wallet away and sets aside the delicate glassblown Bulbasaur, shooting a quick smile at the vendor. Her dad would've liked that. But she's only a few days into her journey and she really doesn't want to ask him for money this early. Or at all.

No more shopping, then. But the beach is right here, so…

A quick change in the public locker room and the berry-print bikini she just bought is ready to be shown off. She switches the important things to a smaller bag- sunscreen, book, wallet, PokéBalls, PokéGear- and slings a towel over her arm. It's a beautiful day to be at the beach, and many people seem to agree. There are volleyball nets set up here and there, teens making a valiant attempt to surf in the calm waters, families running after overly curious children… is that an Onix? She can't be certain from so far away, but it might be with someone. In any case, it seems docile. She's not entirely sure what she'd do if it wasn't, honestly. She hasn't done a lot of actual battling yet.

Marie finds a spot and starts applying sunscreen. She'd wanted to do what her dad had done, but maybe she hadn't quite thought it through. His journey had been purposeful, and she's already feeling a bit aimless. Her goal is to… challenge the league? But she hardly battles. Travel the region? She's barely hiked for a day, let alone spent multiple nights under the stars. Put her skills to use? That's just a thought exercise; nothing will come of her observations.

Why is she even here?

Well, she thinks, as she settles down under the afternoon sun, I'll figure it out later.

Spoiler: Team

Spoiler: Inventory

WizardOfOdd · Jul 7, 2020

Katrina Purcell
Location: Slateport Beach
Pokemon at hand :

Thursday, September 17th - 4:30 PM.

Chapter 1 - 4
Hidden Intent

After I walk for a bit, I find something interesting. A Staryu is floating calmly near the shore, maybe I can catch it for battling the local gym leader. Unwilling to give up the Staryu to potentially other trainers in the vicinity, also to avoid being near that money-grubber for too long I ran as quickly as possible towards the Staryu.

"Whoa!" Unfortunately, my anger clouds my judgment. I can't believe that I'm so sloppy that I accidentally step on a Stunfisk. Great, after all I've said before, now I'm stupidly stumbled on the ground… He'll just laugh at me at this state, yay me…

Jack is really fuming… Maybe I've gone too far, but what else can I say? I thought that maybe he is a good guy, but I can't believe he's just a money-grubber like those… I really don't want to think about it. It's time to get back to the PC, I need to get away from "Argh!"

I fall down as I try to lift my right leg, it seems that I sprained my ankle. Darn it, of all times… Jack sees me and decides to leave, serves me right I guess. I'll just have to wait until my foot is okay and I can just walk away. I'll just have to enjoy the sea, hoping that the waves won't wet my clothes.

Just as I spent some time seeing whatever I can find interesting, suddenly Jack is standing in front of me obstructing my line of sight alongside a white bird Pokemon. It's not like there's something interesting on the beach other than floating Staryu and kids playing volleyball, but the fact that he returns here is nonsensical for me.

"Can you stand?" Jack says to me coldly, the smile he brandished earlier before already gone up in a smoke replaced with a cold scornful look.

"I can stand on my own," I say, as I struggle to raise my body up due to the pain.

"Yeah, right." Jack suddenly lift me up and hold me in a princess carry.

"What are you doing!? Let me go!" I try to wiggle out myself out of his hold.

"If you're not going to stop moving, then I'll toss your body to the ocean instead." Says Jack in a monotone voice.

Feeling a bit scared with that threat from Jack, I decided to stay put this time. I really want to share a piece of my mind, but his facial expression makes me do otherwise. After a bit, he put me down on a bench facing the beach. Not long after, he grabbed my left ankle without warning.

"Hey watch it! Argh!" I winch in pain.

"I knew it…" He grabs a black plastic bag in his possession, it wasn't there when we came here, so I have no idea what is it. He slowly put it on my ankle, and I can feel it's damp… No, it's cold. Is it filled with ice? Is he helping me to heal? But why? After what I did, there's no way he'll just help me without any strings attached.

"Just hold the plastic bag on your ankle for 20 - 30 minutes, don't hold it too long, otherwise it'll have a detrimental effect instead."

What is he saying? He… He must've had a reason to act nicely? But what? If he's still trying to wiggle his way and curry favor with me, he would've hidden the signs that he is pissed. But is it true? No, I have to be careful he might just want to look sincere.

"Use something to elevate your foot also, you might not want to use your bag, but I advise you to use that anyway." Jack tries to walk away before I pull his sleeves.

I need answers, why is he doing all of this? Am I mistaken about him? I… I need answers. Desperate to have the thing clouding my mind lifted from me as soon as possible, I try to ask him again.

"Why are you helping me? Is it because of pity? Or are you just trying to redeem yourself in my eyes?" I speak in a snarky manner, hopefully, he'll get away from here. I don't want to see him throwing needless excuses regarding what he had done earlier.

"Ah, of course, m'lady is very sharp, she could know everything from her own perspective alone. Bravo! Bravo!" Jack sarcastically claps in front of my eyes. "Honestly though, I never think someone so smart could be so ignorant at the same time."

It seems that Jack has more to say about this, maybe… No, no way… After all, I've promised myself that those things that happened in the past will not repeat itself.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aquacorde · Jul 8, 2020

Marie Rachelle Mocinno

AGE: 17 ⟡ PRONOUNS: she/her ⟡ HOME REGION: Johto ⟡ DEVICE: PokéGear
DATE: Thursday, September 17 ⟡ TIME: Late Afternoon
LOCATION: Slateport Beach

Chapter 1 #02 - Miss Mermaid

It's warm and her cheap romance novella is boring, but she still shouldn't doze under the sun. She props herself up on her elbows and surveys the beach around her. People-watching can be fun. Teens falling off boogie boards, toddlers falling off their own feet, adults chasing after flyaway umbrellas, lifeguards looking bored…

Oh? Marie lowers her sunglasses. That's a cute lifeguard looking bored. Her fingers comb through waist-length hair, showing off the shimmering gradient of dark blue roots to bright teal ends. Very evocative of a mermaid, even as she pulls it all back up into a ponytail. Her athletic figure only accentuates the image, and her uniform-red one-piece only accentuates her figure. Very nice. Marie watches another lifeguard approach the chair, calling up to Miss Mermaid. Miss Mermaid sighs and reluctantly swaps places with the newcomer, takes up the stick he'd brought along, and starts a measured stroll down the beach.

Towards Marie, who scrambles to shove all of her belongings into her little bag, shake out her towel, and act nonchalant as she sets a trajectory that will drop her right in step with the blue-haired woman.

"Hi!" Marie says brightly, once she's close enough, "are you a lifeguard?"

Garbage. Absolute garbage way to open a conversation. It's fine. Shouldn't be a difficult salvage, considering Miss Mermaid doesn't look anything but unperturbed.

"I am, yeah. You need help with something?"

"Oh, no, I'm just wondering- um, wondering what you're doing with. This." The vague gesture at the stick covers up some of the stuttering, she hopes. God, she's bad at this.

"With this?" Miss Mermaid wiggles the stick at Marie. It's about four feet long and tipped with rubber. "The worst part of my job, that's what."

"And that would be…?"

Miss Mermaid sighs. "Watch."

She taps at the wet sand, which shifts more than it should from a gentle poke, and drives the tip of the stick down about two inches. Miss Mermaid gives it a forceful yank back, as if the stick were a lever, and a crackle of electricity shoves even more sand away from the form of a flat brown Pokémon. A swift motion has the stick completely underneath the weird fish and Miss Mermaid flips the thing into the sea.

They watch it scuttle away under the waves. Miss Mermaid sighs again. "I go up and down this part of the beach for an hour and a half, twice per shift. Doing that."

Marie has several questions, but she starts with: "What was that?"

"It's called a Stunfisk." Miss Mermaid begins to walk, motioning for Marie to follow as she scans the shore for more suspicious patches. "They're annoying, mostly. They bury themselves right along the waterline and wait for prey to wash onto them so they can stun it. But this is a busy beach, and they get stepped on more than anything. It doesn't hurt the Stunfisk at all, which is good… except that means being stepped on isn't a deterrent, so they come right back up. So we shoo away as many as we can. They come back anyway, but it still helps keep the incidents down."

It's fascinating to hear how people interact with the local Pokémon population, and Marie says as much. At that, Miss Mermaid finally looks interested in continuing the conversation. Nice.

"Do you study that kind of thing?"

"Oh, no. Well, sort of. It's not a focus, but like, adjacent to? It's definitely necessary to consider… Oh, but I don't really study anything. Besides normal things. I didn't even really study to be a trainer."

"But you are a trainer?"

"Um, yes. I guess. Well- yes. I'm in Hoenn to challenge gyms and stuff."

Miss Mermaid doesn't look at all convinced as she prods another Stunfisk back into the sea. Which is fair. Marie hasn't even convinced herself with that nonsense. "Do you even have Pokémon?" still incurs indignance, though.

"Of course I do!" Marie rifles through her bag to find and activate Tuie's PokéBall. Tuie pecks at her shoulder and finds no purchase on the strings of her bikini, so she perches on Marie's head. "I wouldn't be able to do the journey thing without one."

"That's your only one?"

Keep cool, keep cool, you're still trying to get a number... "Yeah. So what?"

Miss Mermaid shakes her head and Marie is momentarily distracted by the movement of her long ponytail. "The Slateport gym leader only does double battles. If you want to challenge him, you'll need another Pokémon."

"Ooh." Was she supposed to know that? She knows she can only catch one in Slateport, that's legal stuff, of course she knows that. She should probably check that app. Or… "What can I catch here?"

"Well… these." Miss Mermaid shoves another Stunfisk into the ocean. "I'm supposed to check the HRD every morning but I forgot… these fuckers and the Staryu are always on there, though."

Of the two, this weird fish is definitely more interesting. "Let me use the stick!"

Miss Mermaid is more than happy to give Marie the tedious job for a while. It's harder than it looks; Marie has to have patches pointed out to her for the first twenty minutes, then spends the next forty complaining every time a Stunfisk scuttles into the ocean too quickly for her to fight.

And then she has an idea.

"Stand back for a minute."

Marie wiggles the stick into the sand between the lapping waves and the suspicious patch and this time levers it away from the sea. She's in position with both hands on the stick by the time it clears the sand and as soon as it does, hits the Pokémon with a dead-on drive. "Fore!"

The Stunfisk lands with soft puff of sand some twenty yards inland and looks quite cross about it. Tuie, on her head, is stacking Cosmic Power while Marie struggles to run through sand. A glob of mud comes straight for them- Marie ducks and Tuie teleports, coming face-to-face with their opponent and unleashing Stored Power at point-blank range. Marie drops a PokéBall on the ground, Tuie teleports again and Marie swings the stick once more to pitch the ball directly into the Stunfisk's beak.

Miss Mermaid looks flabbergasted as Marie scoops up the PokéBall with a cheer. "That's a… technique I've never seen."

"Huh? Teleport?"

"No, using the stick like that…"

"Oh, um, my summer sport was always golf. So…"

Marie hands the stick back to Miss Mermaid, who only says: "Well then."

They turn around at this point, more time to chat as they survey shore they've walked before and turn over only a few sneaky Stunfisk. The sun is just beginning its slow descent when they make it back to Miss Mermaid's post.

"Thanks for keeping me company," she says, and Marie knows she looks overly pleased with herself. "Here, take this."

Marie looks at the $1000 coin pressed into her hand and before she can say a thing, soft lips are pressed against her cheek and her thoughts screech to a halt. "Good luck with your battle."

Marie makes a small, embarrassing noise and stays rooted in place until the male lifeguard has climbed down and Miss Mermaid has reclaimed her post. The male lifeguard pokes her in the shoulder. "Get goin', kid. She's way too old for you."

Marie makes a nasty face at him, but scurries aways anyway.

Spoiler: Team

Spoiler: Inventory

Eleanor · Jul 8, 2020

Avril Reese

16 - ♀ - Laverre City

Group chat messages from Cubism

Pokémon / Inventory:

AVRIL'S MONEY: $6 500 (- 3 000)

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

AVRIL'S INVENTORY:
🌼 2x Pokéballs
🌼 Holotch (phone)
🌼 Eviolite
🌼 Fanclub Membership card
🌼 Various clothes and commodities

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

Head in the clouds

Thursday, September 17^th - 5:30 pm to 7 pm - Slateport City / near the Pokémon Fan Club

My destination was quite close to the Pokémon center where I was staying for the night, so even with a calm pace it didn't take long to get there. It was, however, rather different from all the palaces and houses around it: a rustic-looking, large villa with a large enclosed garden, and various people and Pokèmon around it.

I would have joined the fun later, though: the inside of the building was where I needed to go. Poppy understood this as well, and while she chirped cheerfully at the other Pokèmon outside, she stayed on my head the whole time even as I opened the entrance door and walked inside.

"Let's see what they will say!" I whisper to Poppy as the young woman near the counter noticed us. Or rather… just me. "Welcome! Membership card, please!"

"I- I'm sorry? I don't have one, I'm just looking for some information…" I reply with a slightly unsteady voice. The lady, after looking somewhat annoyed, quickly apologizes herself and offers me to come closer. On the counter, a little white Vulpix is eyeing me: it looks just like that girl's...

"So, what is it exactly that you do here at the Fan Club?" I begin. She answers right away, as she grabs a little flyer for me to read. "Well, as you can see, we love cute Pokémon! We let people and Pokémon spend time together and put them at ease with each other, and we offer help to all kinds of trainers!"

"O-ok, that's very nice for sure," I almost interrupt the woman. "But, what about Pokémon battling?" I ask, as Vulpix starts to walk closer to me, eyes begging for a cuddle.

"Well, battles are surely a good way to make Pokémon stronger!" the woman declares, followed by a little chirp from Poppy. "But it's not all there is to it, wouldn't you agree? You… you are a journeying trainer, aren't you?"

I nod and point at my head with a smile, slightly surprised by the fact that the woman still believed Poppy was just a normal hair ornament. I guess she didn't really have much time to look at me carefully. "Ooh, that is your Pokémon! It's actually quite rare here, you must come from afar!"

"Well, true!" I reply, as Poppy waves with a smile. "I… I don't have the heart to be a trainer, but here I am." I then whisper: the following silence is only being interrupted by the sound of my own chime. Apparently the Vulpix has taken a liking for it and is playing with it excitedly.

"Uhm, I hope Kit there isn't too bothersome!" the woman chuckles, before I reassure her that it's all good: the sound of my chime is relaxing even when I'm not the one rattling it. "Anyways… battles aren't everything as I said before! And that's why I think the Fan Club could really help you - it's a great place to relax with your Pokémon, get to know them better, and ask for advice anytime you need it! Does this sound good?"

"Uhm… actually it's…" I try to buy some time. Wasn't this a paid service that my trainer licence did not cover? I don't really have time to ask questions, though: the lady quickly gets up from her seat and disappears behind a door with the word "Private" written on it. I feel Poppy leaning over my head to look at Kit, who still keeps rattling my chime like it's her brand new birthday gift. Her cold paws sometimes hit me as well, and that's not exactly pleasant, but it's still nice - she still feels clean and well behaved, having some innocent fun without hitting my pendant too hard. After looking around the somewhat rustic, but still elegant and very decorated room, I turn my attention to my Holotch, which appears to be still devoid of any new notification.

"And here we go, some registration papers… and a little welcome gift." the lady comes back after a while, holding what looks like a contract in one hand and a small, relatively thin stone shard in the other. "We can just link your membership to your Trainer licence! Just remember, it's $3 000 per month if you want to keep access to all of our services. This, instead…" she then shows me this little purple stone, "this is an Eviolite. It protects your Pokémon as long as it can still evolve."

"Uhm," I interrupt the woman right away. "How do I give that to my Pokémon? The stone is nearly as big as her-" I point out, as Poppy slowly floats towards the stone and shakes her head.

"Look, I… didn't think about it, I have my head in the clouds… but just take it as our obligatory Welcome Gift." The lady tried to persuade me. "I'm sure another Pokémon of yours can keep it! Or… maybe in the city market, you can find someone who can help you out. And… please keep in mind, becoming a member requires a monthly fee of $3 000."

Now that it's time to sign a contract, I really try to question whether or not joining the Fan Club is a good idea. The woman seems to be more concerned about turning me into a member more than anything else, and seems overall a bit distracted. But the main reason why I came was hearing a different point of view from Jo and Shuna's. Be reassured that being scared of Pokémon fights was alright. Or learning how to find a good compromise between me and Poppy.

Kit, who still hasn't stopped playing with me, is what tips the balance for me. She definitely looks not just polite and clean, but also rather happy! In the end, I decide to sign up, fill the paper in, and pay my first monthly subscription fee. If I'm not mistaken, you can still decide to leave the Club later on, and this alone sounds reassuring. With high hopes for the future, I leave the building and sit outside for a moment, in the shade of one of the green umbrellas. Apparently there are some unread messages on my Holotch.

hey, girls! how r u doing so far? i went to check the slateport market and it was great! it has everything u will probs need on ur journey.

i bought a lot of things there and ran out of money lmao

also there's this old man there that sells seals for ur pokemon's pokeballs maybe avril would like them if she decides to go for the contests. could be helpful there. i bought some of those and both gabby and i loved them.

im gonna send a pic of my stuff once gabby and i get to the pokemon center, so till then… later lol

ily both <3

<3

To the barrage of messages Jo has sent, I just reply with another "<3" and wait for the pictures they promised. After all, Poppy always stays out of her Pokéball to begin with, unless it's an emergency situation: those seals have to be really good to convince my Pokémon to go in her Pokéball, and me to not have her on my head anymore! But also… the things they bought have to be just as good for me to meet up with them tomorrow. For today, I'd just rather get back to my lovely room.

budube · Jul 8, 2020

Miranda Lockhart

Thursday, September 17th

Chapter 1: Part 1

16:40 pm - Slateport Gym
Miranda is standing in front of the gym, bat on her shoulders and behind her neck and her right foot repeatedly tapping the ground. It took her time getting there, but she made it with little trouble, asking strangers for directions wasn't easy, and hopefully she won't have to do it ever again, but at least there hasn't been any major trouble that would complicate things for her… yet; it's still her first day, and Miranda knows fully well that things can go wrong at any given time.

She takes a deep breath. Inhales… and exhales… When was the last time she was nervous? When she was arrested, maybe. She can't remember exactly how she felt that one day, but it was something similar. Not that it matters anyways, this isn't Orre.

She looks at the converted warehouse door, it has a sign outside that says… Whatever City Gym. Short words like "City" or "Gym" are easy and she knows how to read them. There are also long words like "Pokémon" or "Colosseum" that she knows how to read and write because she is used to them, that applies to her name too, though she has some trouble writing "Lockhart". But "Slateport"... the first time she heard about that word was when her father told her where the ship from Gateon Port was supposedly going to take her, so she doesn't know how to read it.

Miranda looks away from the hard word on that sign, once she feels her eyesight going blurry. She rubs her eyes and adjusts her cap. She looks to her right now, and sees Mankey imitating her exact movements, then both exchange glances and nod at each other. Miranda looks at her P★DA, looking for the hour: 16:40; she has been standing outside for ten minutes or so, in Pyrite you would already be robbed if you did that. She finally takes another deep breath and takes her first step in.

A man notices her as soon as she walks in, he is taller than her, but that isn't too much to say -Miranda has always been picked on for being short. He stops her the moment Miranda starts walking further into the gym. First thing he tells her is to put her bat down, thing to which she answers with a grumble before obeying.

"Thank you… Now, secondly… can I see your Trainer License?" he says, smiling at her with his hands clasped.

"My... what?"

"Your Trainer License... or Trainer Card however you like to call it." He answers. "It's the document that will tell me you are a Trainer."

"Oh, do you mean… this?" asked Miranda, nervously taking out her P★DA and showing the man the information it had registered there. "See, there's my name and trainer ID… That's what you need, right?"

The man has to crouch a bit to be able to take a look at the girl's P★DA. He takes his time, reading carefully each line of Miranda's information. It looks like everything is fine, but then he suddenly frowns. "This is from Orre."

"I'm from Orre."

"No, no! I'm saying that your license is registered in Orre."

"I know. Because I'm from Orre!"

"No I… I get that you are from Orre, that doesn't matter." he says impatiently. He takes his time to breath, adjusts his glasses and calm a little bit. "What I'm saying is that you have to register your license in Hoenn to be able to challenge the gyms here."

Miranda instantly lowers her head and holds her cap's brim to hide her ashamed blush. With her free arm, she swings the bat back to her shoulders and turns back at the exit feeling like an idiot.

"Wait!" the man calls before Miranda takes her first step. "Do you know how to do the paperwork for your registration?"

"P-paperwork?" she repeats, feeling even worse than before. Why did no one tell her about this before going to Hoenn? "O-oh yeah! The paperwork! Of course I know about it! I-"

"You have to go to the Pokémon Center to do it." he says, easily looking through her lie. "Any of the two Pokémon Centers in Slateport count. I recommend going to the one on the harbor, though, it's closer to the gym. They are going to ask for-"

"I said I know, dammit!" she interrupts forcefully hitting the floor with her bat. Mankey, who was silent this whole time turned around and started hopping in his own place, screeching furiously at the man.

"O-okay! I get it. I just thought you needed help." he answers, giving a few steps away from the girl's Pokémon. "I… I assume you also knew about needing two Pokémon to challenge the gym."

Miranda remains silent for a minute, trying to process the new information. Register her license, catch something. Luckily her dad stuffed some PokéBalls on her backpack. She nods and calls Mankey who climbs up to her shoulders and goes away.

"Aaaargh! Fucking hell!" she shouts the moment she steps outside and with force swings her bat around, hitting the walls with it. "Why did no one told me shit about the stupid paperwork! I spent the whole damn day looking for the gym just to be sent back to the Pokémon Center!" Mankey jumps in front of her and starts hopping and screeching furiously at the same direction Miranda was looking, tossing pebbles he found on the ground at nothing.

"And it also turns out we have to catch another Pokémon! Where the hell are we supposed to find one?! Why can't we battle just us?!" Mankey screeched in response, this time hopping in front of his trainer.

"We are catching a Pokémon today! The license can't take that much time, right?! We are getting it today, challenge the gym tomorrow!" she says.

"One fucking day!" Miranda is shocked. Shocked and angry. Things are going from bad to worse for her; she made a fool of herself on the gym, then at the Pokémon Center… twice or thrice, when she said that she didn't know how to read and Mankey attacked the idiot that laughed at that, and when she had to ask for help to instal the Hoenn Ranger Whatever application on her P★DA; what is it even for?

Miranda sits outside the Pokémon Center and takes out her device once more and opens the recently installed application. She…

"I can't understand shit!" she shouts hitting the floor with her fist, and Mankey starts hopping and hitting the floor as well as he screeches… again. She takes another look at the application, but her eyesight goes blurry once more after seeing the confusing interface and unreadable words. She 'bahs' at it and tosses the P★DA away.

She stays there, looking at the wingulls flying in the sky. She tries to look higher, but the sun is too strong for her eyes to stare at and gives up, for a second or two, she sees the silhouettes of the Seagull Pokémon dancing in front of her in greenish lights, and then they disappear, letting her look at the passers-by, when suddenly someone calls her.

"Hey, is this yours?"

Current Time and Location: 18:00 - Northern Pokémon Center (outside)

Current Party:

Spoiler:

Inventory

Spoiler:

Groc · Jul 9, 2020

Edison Kintobor
Friday, September 18th
Slateport Beach

Edison never considered himself a "people watcher", as he preferred to study Pokémon or machines, but he had to admit, the beach certainly attracted a large variety. He lounges in a beach chair, finding this beach visit much more relaxing than Carmelion, if not as interesting. There's a soft *paff* as someone plops down in the sand next to him, eager to change both of those qualities.

"Running in sand is hard..." Sunny complains as she leans against the chair. "I threw a shoe and it landed in the water."

"I imagine that was difficult to recover." Ed lifts his goggles off his eyes as he glances over at her. She's still wearing both of the white flip-flops she'd purchased yesterday, along with a white t-shirt and orange shorts.

Sunny gives him a grumpy stare, lightly punching his arm. "You have to imagine, because you haven't even moved since I left. You're not even getting a tan, what are you doing?"

Ed glances down at the clothes Sunny had picked for him. Yellow board shorts and brown sandals were appropriate beach wear, but she frowned upon the long-sleeved white shirt. "My shirt is unbuttoned, I'm getting a little tan. Besides, I'm pacing myself."

"Your pace is slow, Eddie. We're here to have fun, let's go do something!" Sunny grabs his arm as she stands, trying to drag him out of the chair. Knowing he can't stop her, Ed lets her, standing up before she can drag him to the ground.

"Oh, alright. I actually overheard something rather interesting. Apparently, there are a few problematic species of Pokémon on this beach, beyond the usual Wingull." He wrests his arm free of Sunny's grip so he can work his Holotch. "There's something known as Sandygast on this beach, and they're known to prey on small children and Pokémon. If we scan the area, we could find one and-"

"Hey Eddie, check out this derpy looking fish!" Sunny waves at him from a short distance away, an exasperated life guard tossing the Stunfisk in question back into the waves. Sunny laughs in delight, excitedly reaching for the life guard's stick, which he seems happy to give her.

"I'm gonna go find more Stunfisk to flip! Chadley here says they're the real problem on this beach!" Sunny waves to Edison over her shoulder as she heads off down the beach, poking the stick at any suspicious patches of sand.

Edison watches her go, then looks back to his Holotch. "I was going to suggest we each scan part of the beach, but no matter! I have another way to boost the signal. Come on out, Neodymium!"

His Magnemite buzzes in acknowledgement as they are called out, hovering nearby as Ed searches his pockets. "Shouldn't have left my bag behind... here we go, this will do!" He retrieves a pair of headphones, the small earbud kind, plugging one end into his Holotch. With a small knife, he cuts off the buds and strips the plastic casing, exposing the copper wires. He wraps the wires around Neo's bottom screw... feet... things.

"Now, I'll scan for Sandygast, while you use your Supersonic at the same frequency. You should be able to detect any if they're nearby, so lead the way if you get any pings!" Neo hums affirmative, making minute adjustments to their antenna as they scan the area.

There's a ping almost immediately, and Neo starts leading Ed west along the shore. "Ha-ha, we got one! Stunfisk may be a more common nuisance, but we'll deal with the real threat to public safety!" He lowers his goggles over his eyes, careful not to unplug the tether from N.D.

He follows Neo to a small patch of beach absolutely riddled with half-formed sand castles. Two youngsters are adding another to the mix, but stop and stare as Edison approaches. "Don't be alarmed, children, I'm merely here to help! For your own safety, please step away from the shovel and pail, they may be haunted."

The children retreat slowly as Ed and Neo zero in on a particular sand castle. A small handle rises from the sand, dragging the pile of sand up with it until it resembles a gaping maw, two gray pebbles resembling eyes. It matches the description his Pokedex provides, and the battle begins.

"Neo, start off with Supersonic!" Ed swiftly unhooks Neo from his wrist as their magnets begin to spin, emitting a noise too shrill to be heard by human ears, but causing the Sandygast to collapse in on itself. It tries to strike at Neo with bursts of sand it can apparently conjure at will, giving Ed pause.

"Wait... Sandygast is both Ghost and Ground type... And other than the 'sonic, Neo only knows..." Thunder Shock, Thunder Wave, and Shock Wave. Very on brand for a living magnet robot, but utterly useless against a grounded enemy like this. Even if they still knew Tackle, it wouldn't help against a Ghost. Meaning... "Neo, there's literally nothing more you can do in this scenario! Fall back, and we'll let Addie handle this!"

Ed returns Neo to their ball, sending out Adipose with the other hand. The baby Munchlax yawns as he arrives, just in time for Sandygast to duck into the sand, popping back up directly in front of him and unleashing a screech that resembles wind blowing through a tunnel. Addie remains unfazed, and the Sandygast rises from the sand a safe distance away.

"Alright Addie, use Metronome!" Addie starts rocking his fingers back and forth, as Sandygast stretches its body upward, unleashing another windy scream. Wind starts to swirl and pick up sand as Addie is enveloped in a tiny twister of sand. Ed vaguely recalls that the colloquial term for such a phenomenon is "dust devil". The white energy forming around Addie's fingers collects in his fist, which he brings down on Sandygast in a rather unimpressive Pound attack, which doesn't even phase the ghostly granules. Addie grimaces as the sand swirls around him.

"Alright, bad luck, but do it again!" Sandygast's mouth opens wider, and it inhales deeply, drawing a thin red stream of life force from Addie and consuming the energy. Addie barely seems to notice, the white energy turning into thick bands that try to wrap around Sandygast and Block it from moving, but the bands pass right through the Ghost type. Sand swirls around Addie, to both his and Edison's displeasure.

Ed really doesn't want to resort to Licking a sand castle, so calls for another Metronome while Sandygast throws another Sand Tomb. This time, the Metronome energy goes inside Addie, causing him to regurgitate torrents of water into Sandygast in the form of a Hydro Pump. The stream scatters the sand off the top of Sandygast, leaving another hole in its body. Wherever the water touched starts to harden and coat Sandygast in a form of makeshift armor. The dust devil fades away, the sand no longer bothering Addie.

"One more Metronome, let's hope for something good!" As Addie waggles his fingers, Sandygast seems to deliberately Harden its armor, further insulating itself from physical damage. Addie opens his mouth wide, drawing two thin streams of energy from Sandygast as he unleashes Mega Drain. It's not quite enough to sate his appetite, but the pile of sand collapses, leaving behind only a shovel. Ed recalls Addie to his ball as he picks up the shovel.

"Who ya gonna call?" He laughs as he throws the shovel into the ocean, grinning as it splashes and disappears below the waves. "I ain't afraid of no Ghost!"

Eleanor · Jul 10, 2020

Avril Reese

16 - ♀ - Laverre City

Pokémon / Inventory:

AVRIL'S MONEY: $6 500

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

AVRIL'S INVENTORY:
🌼 2x Pokéballs
🌼 Holotch (phone)
🌼 Fanclub Membership card
🌼 Eviolite
🌼 Various clothes and commodities

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

You may regret it later...

Thursday, September 17^th - 8 pm to 9:30 pm - Slateport City - North Pokémon Center, laundry room and personal room

The dinner might not have been just like the Ferry buffet, but can you really blame the Pokécenter staff? They still did their best, poured their heart into their food, and even got some large portions for every guest. Maybe a bit too large now that I think about it… all the food is getting heavy on my stomach as I'm pulling out my clothes from the dryer.

I actually like to get my clothes washed fairly often. Wearing fresh clothes is so satisfying, and while it can be a chore to fold them up or iron those clothes that need it, it's generally worth it in the end. In fact, I'm actually happy that my trusty clothes who followed me all the way to Slateport have a chance to get clean again!

I run upstairs with all of my items and check my Holotch before getting to work. Poppy leans over my head as well to look at the new messages, which are mostly pictures - the ones Jo promised - plus one or two messages from Shuna buried in there. I don't really pay that much attention to her and focus on the pictures instead: apparently my green haired acquaintance has bought various Dusk Balls, a bikini, and a couple seals - among other stuff.

That seal thing - at least the one that was shown in action in the photo - does look cool indeed, with all the green sparkles around Jordie's Pokémon, but it's just so over the top for me! I chuckle as I look at the photo: I have to admit I like the core idea, though. Maybe another day, when I'll have some time, I'll look into it more and find some alternative seals that fit me better.

With those thoughts in my head, I lay all of my clothes on the bed and start folding them up. I can definitely use this dress for one more day, especially now that I'm in Slateport, and keep my T-shirts for adventuring. I'll admit, it feels bad to put these rather new clothes through all this, but aren't they meant for outdoor quests anyways? And… I guess that can be said for my shorts as well.

I go on for a while, just talking to myself or to Poppy about nothing, before I receive a video call on my Holotch. I get up from the bed and reach for my device, already knowing who it could be. After all, I've arrived in Hoenn today and a call from my parents was due, anytime now. And as much as they made me uncomfortable in the past months, I know their intentions aren't bad and are just trying to keep in touch. I happily open the call, and just squeal "Hi mom!" as Poppy waves from the top of my head. That copper hair is unmistakable!

It's only been a couple days and I miss her already. Her eyes, her smile, her voice… yes, I still think some time away from my family could be helpful for both of us, but it's hard to admit it, especially in front of her. After all, even though she looks happy for me and cheerfully greets me from our house in Laverre, there's a hint of sadness somewhere in her expression. I wonder if she feels like it's my fault for that? For picking Hoenn over my home region of Kalos for my journey?

I try not to think about it as I tell her all about my new friends (Jordie and Shuna, that is) and my ferry hopping adventures, before showing her around my little room. She listens very carefully, jokes around for a bit, but then gets to the important questions. The ones I'd rather avoid if possible.

"Have you tried to battle another Pokémon there? Did you catch anything?" I shake my head as she speaks, feeling somewhat guilty, but she reassures me. "It's totally fine, you can go at your own pace." She smiles, as I now struggle to decide who to blame for the situation I'm in. "But please, enjoy this journey and have fun, because you'll learn so many things even outside of battle. And…" I listen carefully now. "And when in doubt, do a leap of faith! Try new things! If you don't, you may only regret it later when you don't have the opportunity."

Not long after that, I close the call. I lie about being too tired to go on, but in reality I just need some time to process what my mom has just told me. The thing is, that is some great advice and I know it! Plus, how can I even remotely dislike someone like my mother? I ponder over this as I finally get to sleep, Poppy standing somewhere beside me on the pillow. And this is when I realize… maybe what I really need is friends!

I take one last look at the group chat I was added to during the Ferry buffet. They may not agree with me on everything, but they may be just what I need to put myself to the test, like my mom said, while still giving me a hand if things don't go as expected. Even you, Jordie… you aren't so bad after all.

Groc · Jul 10, 2020

Friday, September 18th

Waking up in an unfamiliar room, it takes Natsuko a moment to remember where she is and what she's doing. She quickly rolls out of bed, trying to quietly dash across the hall to the guest bathroom for a quick shower. After that, and getting dressed, she heads out to see Aunt Carrie sitting in a chair, sipping on a cup of coffee.

"Hey, morning, Na- uh, Tsu! You sleep good?"

Tsu smiles at her aunt, partly in greeting and partly in triumph that she got the nickname right. "I did, thanks. Where's Aunt Nyamo?"

"She already left for work. Which is what I'll be doing in just a moment here." Carrie finishes her coffee, leaving the mug on the table as she hands Tsu a key.

"This is yours now. If you go anywhere, which I recommend, lock up behind yourself. It'll also get you back in in case you need to grab your stuff."

"Oh, thank you." Tsu accepts the key, surprised at how much freedom she's being granted. "I guess it would be good to go out and see the city a bit. But, uh… is there any breakfast, first?"

Carrie chuckles at that, collecting a few more things as she gets ready to go. "Not if you get up as late as you or I do. Mina's the cook, not me. I usually just grab something from the market before I open up. Care to join me?"

"No, that's okay. I'll just stop by the Pokémon Center and get a free breakfast. I tend to eat slow, and I don't want to make you late." Not entirely true, but it's nicer than the truth.

Carrie shrugs, a nostalgic look in her eye. "Fair point. Take advantage of that free lunch while you can, kiddo. You'll miss it later."

Tsu makes sure to grab anything she might need before she leaves, like her hat and wallet, parting ways with Aunt Carrie as she heads for the Pokémon Center. She lets Sunshine out to walk beside her, but doesn't stop to look around much. She really is hungry, and that free breakfast is sounding more appealing by the minute.

She checks in on her Trainer card first, but it still isn't finalized. They do allow her to use the Trainer facilities, though, so she happily heads over to the cafe, which is pretty quiet at the moment. The Center is spacious enough that Shiny isn't too bothered by being inside, but her ears twitch at every noise.

And one of those noises is actually the cheerful chirping of a tiny Flabébé, who's floating around the room and showing the way to her trainer. Unlike the day before, she isn't necessarily looking to find new friends for her trainer to meet, or trying to catch anyone's attention for that matter. But playing around with that Ponyta that has just entered the Pokémon Center, just for the fun of it, that alone is enticing… She flies in front of the Ponyta once. And then again, still twirling gracefully in the air. And a third time as well, because why not? In the meantime, her trainer is just busy reading up the day's menu, and doesn't really notice her Pokémon's antics or the girl who's about to get breakfast with her.

Shiny is wary of the Flabébé the first time she flutters by, but is curious the second time, sniffing at her. By the third pass, she playfully nips at the flower, following the Flabébé back to her Trainer.

Who is…? Avril turns around, seemingly startled by the sound of Ponyta's hooves on the floor. She then smiles at the sight of the newly arrived Pokémon and greets it, noticing once again how it was Poppy who brought it here. "You did it again, didn't you…" the blonde girl shrugs, as her Flabébé just chirps again and lands on her head.

When Tsu notices Shiny isn't at her side anymore, she panics for half a second. "Sunshine, where did you-" But the Center is small enough that she can easily spot the wayward Ponyta, making a new friend by the looks of it. She quickly heads over, lightly brushing a hand along Shiny's coat.

"Are you bothering this nice girl? Shiny, you know better!" Tsu offers a friendly smile to the blonde girl, adjusting her glasses. "Hi, sorry about her. She likes to wander a bit."

"Oh, n-no worries!" Avril replied right away, still slightly startled but trying her best not to show it. "It's really not your Ponyta's fault!" Because… I know exactly who caused this… she thought, chuckling.

"Oh, she didn't come over on her own?" Tsu notices the flower in the girl's hair, and the tiny sprite clinging to it. "Oh, that's really cute! Your Pokémon can ride on your head! Hello there!" She waves at Flabébé. "Where are my manners? I'm Natsuko, Natsuko Soyokaze. Nice to meet you!"

"Oh, I'm Avril, glad to meet you. And she is Poppy!" the blonde girl points to her Pokémon. "Quite the playful Pokémon she is… I'm sorry she has bothered your Ponyta." In the meantime, the Flabébé waves back and chirps excitedly, laughing at Avril's quick description of her.

"Oh, she's not a bother! Shiny enjoys meeting new people, don't you Shiny?" She pats the Ponyta's cheek, and Shiny puts her forehead on Natsuko's side and pushes, a friendly gesture. "Hey, um… not to sound weird, but can I take Poppy's picture? I'm kinda making a record of my journey, and since she's technically the first Pokémon I've met in Hoenn…"

"I-is she? Uhm…" Avril quickly tries to find a reflection of herself on the glass panes around her, adjusting her own glasses, but just as quickly gets back to finishing her answer. "Yes, sure thing! Let's do this, Poppy!" she smiles, as her Pokémon on her head tries to find a good pose.

"Thank you!" Natsuko pulls out her phone, taking a moment to line up her shot. "And don't worry, you look great." She takes the picture immediately after, then zooms in on just Poppy, taking one more to be safe. "Yeah! That's a good picture. Look how cute you are!" She shows Avril and Poppy the photo.

"Hey, it's better than I expected… and thank you!" the blonde gushes, as Poppy chirps enthusiastically after her trainer. "So… you've just started your Journey as a trainer?"

"Yeah, I just arrived yesterday. I'm still waiting for my license to update. I'm from Kanto, so they said I had to wait a day for everything to process. Until then, I guess I have a free day."

"Ooh, same for me! I came all the way from Kalos…" Avril explained, before taking another look around the room. She has to be careful not to get overly distracted, at least when it comes to those few things she knows she wants to get done. "Uhm, we should just get breakfast now, before more people come?"

"Sure, that's a good idea." Tsu puts her phone away, going back to the food while still talking with Avril. "I'm kinda used to cities this size, but I have no idea what I'm going to do today. There's just so much to do, so much to see, you know? What about you, any big plans?"

"Well, not really… probably just spend some time exploring this city, until I decide whether I'm ready to face the gym or not…" Avril whispered, as if she didn't want to be heard clearly. From on top of her head, Poppy chirped and tried to reassure her, just like she did many times before.

"Fair enough, I suppose." Tsu sits down at a table, putting a plate of food on the seat next to her for Sunshine. "That's an easy question for me, and it's a big 'no'. I'm in no hurry to challenge any gyms just yet. I'd rather do anything else in town. Even the museum, though personally I bet the Fan Club or Contest Hall would be more fun."

Avril listens to her new acquaintance carefully, as she follows her to the table she's chosen, her and Poppy's own breakfast in hand. "I- I thought trainers like us were supposed to try out gyms and always be up for a challenge?" she asks, willing to hear more of what Natsuko has in mind. "And… uhm, I've already been to the Fan Club and it seems like an helpful place, but it requires a monthly membership fee. And Contests? I might want to check them out too, later."

"Then I'll probably go there later today. But yeah, I was actually just talking about this yesterday." Natsuko tries to sort out her thoughts. "There isn't really a 'should' in Pokémon training. You can do what you want, and if you don't want to, you don't have to. Generally speaking, at least. I'm actually not very fond of battles. Shiny is pretty young still, and has a lot to learn, but I'm not as excited for the gyms as most trainers. I'll challenge some, sure, but when I'm ready."

"You're not!? That is…" Avril gasped, positively surprised by Natsuko's words. "I'm afraid of Pokémon battles, I even feel bad when I'm the one hitting my opponent. But ever since I met Poppy, everyone kept saying I had potential to be a great trainer. The thought of having that potential and not acting upon it, letting people down… it makes me go crazy just as much." She spewed out all of that information very easily, without ever stuttering or miswording, as Poppy once again tried to cheer her up. The Flabébé floated down onto the table, near Avril's plate, and let out a little chant as her trainer stopped speaking.

"Tell it how it is, Avril!" Tsu can tell this has been weighing on Avril for a bit. "My advice is: don't get so caught up on what others say. Do you have potential? Sure, everything does!" She quickly finishes her drink, holding up the cup as an example. "I could potentially be a great athlete. If I throw this glass, it could potentially break. Doesn't mean it will. What matters is what you think. What you want." She tosses the cup into the air, then quickly catches it and sets it on the table. "And I don't want to break something and have to pay for it, so maybe I'll try to find a better metaphor."

"What I want? But… isn't what I want making my friends happy?" Avril hastily replies, as she starts eating through her breakfast. "If only there was a middle option, I'd surely pick that."

Poppy, who pouted at Natsuko's words before - after all, they went against her own goals and intentions - eventually eased up as she heard her trainer talk. She knew Avril had been feeling this way for a while and still appreciated her good intentions. But this was such a good chance to strengthen their bond and become stronger, that she couldn't allow her trainer not to capitalize on it.

"No need to worry, I'm sure you'll find that middle ground eventually." She pulled out one of the travel brochures to peruse while eating. "Now, I need to find something to do today. If I go south, there's the market, the beach, and the ferry. Along the north side is the Contest Hall and the Fan Club, but I'll check those out later. What else is there…"

"Hm…" Avril recalled what she had learned the day before from the city guide she was given. "Well, it seems like most of the interesting things are south, don't you agree? Also because… I've already been to the Fan Club." Poppy nods, nearly in sync with her trainer. "I believe there's also a museum in the south but… you know, the things inside look complicated."

"Sure, south seems like a good idea." Tsu folds her pamphlet in half, only looking at the southern half. "The museum does sound a little dull, but what about the beach? I bet there's all kinds of stuff to do there, and it's Pokémon friendly, so Shiny can get out and run! Does that sound fun?" The little Ponyta whinnies happily, clearly agreeing.

Before Avril can even reply, Poppy chirps happily from the table and nods in agreement, as if there was no need for debate. "Of course it does! I haven't been to the beach or tried to swim for a while, but I'll join you regardless." she announces, as she eats her breakfast slightly faster now. "I'll just need to go back into my room and get my swimsuit. Is that ok?"

Natsuko nods, but a sudden realization hits when Avril says "swimsuit". "Yeah, that's fine, totally… I need to get mine, too. Except I didn't bring one, so I might need to make a detour through the market and get one."

"Oh, no problem! We should have plenty of time." Avril smiles, as Poppy lifts up from the table and lands on her head. "D-do you think it will be much more windy?" the blonde girl asks as she finishes her breakfast.

Tsu thinks about it as she finishes eating. "I don't really know. There weren't a lot of beaches where I grew up, but there was one near where I went to Trainer school. I didn't go very often, but it seemed kinda breezy most days."

"I see, thanks!" Avril replies, before standing up and making her way to her room once again. Her dress really isn't the best thing to wear over a soaked swimsuit, after all. "Just a couple of minutes, and I'll be here again!"

A joint post between Groc and Eleanor.

[PKMN FULL] Hoenn: Square One [IC]

Perish Song?

birds aren't real - & you know it

Kirbmeister

Hi I'm Cube

Perish Song?

Kirbmeister

Kirbmeister

Always follow your Dreams ~

Shuna Kamado

Prologue - Epoch 1: Slateport Thursday, September 17 {2: 30pm}

The Arrival & Beach Time!

♫ following where my arrow goes ♫

Kirbmeister

♫ following where my arrow goes ♫

Kirbmeister

♫ following where my arrow goes ♫

Perish Song?

Hi I'm Cube

Perish Song?

Prologue - Epoch 1: Slateport
Thursday, September 17 {2: 30pm}