[PKMN FULL] Hoenn: Square One [IC]

Juno · Feb 23, 2021

3-5: For Tuna

🌳 Petalburg City 🕙 Sept. 22nd, Morning

"Goldie. Cute, but basic. Topaz... No. Karat," Marcella mused to herself as the group continued out of the city and made their way towards the Ranger Station under Parker's lead. "Hm. Maybe."

"What are you talking about?" Her companion didn't really speak all that much unless he was directly spoken to, so the sound of his voice after several minutes of just hearing herself was a little startling.

"Oh! I'm coming up with a name for this little guy." She nodded towards her new Meowth, who was currently walking a few paces ahead of the group with Opal and the other Meowth. There seemed to be a little chain of command forming in their gang, with Parker's Meowth taking lead. Marcella quickly noted that, while she, too, liked to race off towards people or objects of interest without notice, she always came back to Parker without being told to, and was overall a good influence on her own Pokémon in that regard.

"Ah." Parker went quiet for a moment again, cocking his head to the side as he stared at the back of her Meowth's head with furrowed brows. "Okay, I give up. Why 'Carrot'?"

Marcella wasn't sure if he was joking or not, since it seemed like a pretty self-explanatory name, but it quickly dawned on her that it was also phonetically quite similar to another common word. "No, no, not Carrot. 'Karat'." She repeated slowly, with emphasis on the A's. "You know, like how gold is measured?"

"Oh. Well, I guarantee if you call him 'Karat' in public, most people will be thinking more orange than gold when they hear it."

She sighed. That may be true—a lot of people probably did not frequent jewelry stores enough to make that connection right away. Evidently. She thought as she glanced sideways at Parker.

The trio had noisily returned from successfully bullying a Skwovet into a bush, disrupting her thoughts. Bijou looked like she wanted to join in a few times, but quickly gave up on catching up to them when they raced off, turning her nose up in a "well, I didn't want to play with you anyway"-way as they bounded back. Marcella smiled sadly at the Purrloin next to her, before turning back to Parker. "Whatever. So, what do you call her?" She asked, gesturing to his own Meowth. Might give her some inspiration to start with. Matching names would be cute! She added silently.

"I call her 'Meowth'."

Speaking of 'basic'. So much for inspiration. "But—you can't do that! You have to give her a name."

"Why? She knows she's Meowth." And sure enough, the Meowth now padding alongside him kept looking up at the sound of her 'name'.

"How would you distinguish her from other Meowth?"

"I mean... I only have the one. And if you name yours Carrot, I can keep calling her Meowth with no issues."

"I'm not calling him Carrot. But also, giving them a nickname is how you bond with Pokémon." She argued matter-of-factly, as if Avery hadn't told her this just two days ago. She peeked over at the Meowth. "We'll think of something for you next, okay, sweetie?" Parker's Pokémon looked back at her indifferently.

Marcella spent a few more minutes thinking, not wanting a name too common, but definitely not reminiscent of orange vegetables.

"Okay, I got it—Midas. Like the Midas touch, you know? Turning everything to gold. He's clearly got an eye for shiny things."

"Yeah, it's cute." Was all he had to contribute.

"And we can call her Fortuna," She continued, brushing past his terse praise. "That goes well with Midas."

Parker hesitated. "You know, I found her digging through the trash behind Fatboy's Pizzeria."

"What's your point?"

He shrugged. "Fortuna just sounds a bit... fancy for her, is all I'm saying."

Marcella pursed her lips together as Parker led them up the stone steps towards a large, old house. He glanced back and caught a glimpse of her expression, before looking down to address his Meowth.

"What do you think, bud? For-tuna. She does like tuna. Don't you, Tuna?" She purred in response to the attention of both humans.

"Are you doing this on purpose?"

"No, no. I like it, too." He said lightly, with a small smile. "Fortuna. But Tuna for short."

She ignored him, stooping down to give the Meowth a quick pet. "Midas and Fortuna it is!"

He hummed in agreement. "Kinda missed out on the opportunity to be 'Carrot and Tuna', though."

"That's... not even clever. Or a good combination of foods." Marcella shook her head as he opened the door for her.

Parker laughed. "Well, anyway, here we are. Come on in. Tuna—go get Opal and Midas, I saw them rolling that way."

🏘️ Petalburg Ranger Station 🕙 Sept. 22nd, Morning

The interior of the Ranger Station was more modern than Marcella would have expected, but mostly because it looked so old from the outside. Not that it wasn't without its charm—they still kept a rustic look about it, with polished wooden floors and stylistically rough-sawn lumber furniture, but this was contrasted with some of the machinery in the left wing of the first floor, which, from the looks of it, Marcella guessed functioned as a workshop of sorts. A large, wooden table sat in the center of the room, and Pokémon saddles and harnesses of varying sizes were hung on the walls, with the workstations and tools that created them lined up neatly underneath.

"So, we are still needing help in... area 5C." Parker read out from the monitor of a computer at the back of the room. "That's actually right up against the forest entrance on—hey, are you paying attention? Nevermind, I'll walk you there, sounds like I need to go into the forest to fish out some kids that snuck in, anyway. So, since you're assigned there, you'll need—" He motioned for her to follow him to one of the workstations, before reaching into one of two plastic bins under it and tossing her a pair of garish, green and red goggles. "These."

"Um—" Marcella mustered up a surprising amount of disdain in just the one syllable, as she held the goggles by the strap. "I'm not wearing these."

"It's not a fashion statement, Marcella." He snapped on a pair of his own. Clearly. She grimaced as he continued. "If you happen to run into Shroomish that have wandered near the edge of the forest, you could get spore'd. You'll need these." He repeated.

She exhaled sharply, defeated, but did not want to put them on until they left this area. "Anything else?"

"Yes. So, because it's already a bit distressing for the wild Pokémon out there—with the number of volunteers wandering around this time of year and all—we limit the number of Pokémon you can bring with you for help. Which one are you taking?"

Marcella went through her options in her head, but kept thinking back to the sad Purrloin who just wanted to play with the other Pokémon. She'd probably be happier for it if she could drop a few pounds. But she'd have to work for it. This was a good opportunity for some exercise.

"How about it, Bijou, wanna come with me?" Maybe she realized this, too, but for the first time, Bijou seemed eager to do something physical.

"Alright then, Purrloin—"

"Bijou."

"Right, Bijou, come up here." Parker patted on a cushion sitting atop the workstation. "We don't have Safety Goggles prepared for every species of Pokémon, but I can make a pair for her really quick. Just need to measure her head—you can take a seat at the table if you want, and there's a coffee machine over there."

Marcella did just that—the coffee was tepid, so she left it alone after taking a sip, and just sat watching Parker gently take Bijou's measurements and work quietly. 20 minutes later, Bijou hopped off the workstation with a brand-new pair of... those ugly goggles strapped to her head. At least she seemed to like them.

"She's really feeling herself in these goggles, huh." Parker smiled proudly at his work, as the Purrloin strutted around the workshop. "Ready to head out?"

Marcella sighed, snapping her own pair in place. "Yeah, they sure... fit her head." Was the best compliment she could come up with. "Alright, let's go."

I rushed the shading and lighting ok leave me alone

Party

Purrloin ♀ // Bijou
Level 22

Scratch
Fake Out
Sand Attack
Play Rough

Art

Clamperl ♀ // Pearly
Level 13

Clamp
Water Gun
Whirlpool
Iron Defense

Art

Wooloo ♀ // Opal
Level 20

Tackle
Copycat
Double Kick

Art

Meowth ♂ // Midas
Level 15

Pay Day
???
???

Dear Diary

CHAPTER 2: LIVE FOR FUN

2-1: M.I.A.
2-2: Footwear Filchers
2-3: Cut Off
2-4: Bijou Bootcamp
2-5: Beached
2-6: Pearly
2-7: Showtime - ft. Avril, June, Tsu, Robynn, Shuna
2-8: Natsuko vs. Marcella - ft. Tsu
2-9: The Three C's
2-10: In/Dependent
2-11: Connections - ft. Avril, Hikaru

CHAPTER 3: YOUR BRAIN GETS SMART

3-1: Fiancé
3-2: Promise
3-3: Roughing It
3-4: Feline Friends
3-5: For Tuna

Inventory

₱31,000, more or less

Medium-sized leather suitcase of clothes
Rotom Phone (Sky Blue)
Fanclub Membership Card (Annual)
Luxury Balls x 3
Silk Scarf
Contest Pass

Trainer Info

Badges

[PokeCommunity.com] Hoenn: Square One [IC]

WizardOfOdd · Feb 23, 2021

Arthur Weissmann
Location: Docks, Dewford Town
Pokemon at hand :

Tuesday, September 22nd

Chapter 2 - 17
Farewell, My Friend!
Part 2

Both of us were standing on the edges of the dock as we were being bathed by the sunlight. There were only several minutes left before the scheduled time for the boat to arrive, and so we decided to wait there.

"So how are you doing?" I asked her before sipping the cherry soda she gave me.

"I'm doing much better, thanks."

I was very happy to see her here. Her rosy cheeks that were shined upon by the warm sun gave way to a wide smile on my face. I was very happy that she was doing much better than how I left her yesterday.

Yet even with that, I just couldn't stop the jitters. Even when I knew that she was going to come here, thanks to her message she sent me earlier in the morning.

"So you have decided to return to Slateport, huh?"

"Yeah, I don't know if things will work out, though." I laughed sheepishly, it was not a lie that I was a bit nervous about my decision to do this. Quite a lot even.

"Come on, for someone who talked all of that back yesterday, you should be confident!" She clenched her free arm tightly while smiling to encourage me.

"Tsk, that is that and this is this." I took another sip of the cherry soda. "Well, even if I lose again, I guess I'll just have to bounce back harder." I smiled in front of her.

There was no doubt in my mind at this time that I was going to trudge on the path of being a trainer even if I lost this battle. But Kat's response to what I said was not what I would expect.

"You won't." She answered with such a resolution in her voice as if she already peered into the future to see this reality.

"How can you be so sure about that?"

"Because it's you we're talking about." She brightly smiled once more which caught me off guard while I was drinking. I was choking on the soda as she innocently uttered the words that caused me to blush.

She was thinking too highly of this young man right here. Not that I didn't like her compliment at all, of course not.

"Okay now you're just making me blush, stop it."

"Oh yeah? Now you know how I felt all this time."

"Well if you weren't so cute to tease I wouldn't even be bothered to try." I decided to pay her back for what she did, and this one caused her to blush herself.

"Oh, you!" She tried to pinch me while I tried my best to parry it with both hands.

"Well, well, look who we have here."

In the middle of our tussling against each other, I could hear a familiar voice. It came from Vincent as he and Callie walked in on us. However that wasn't the only thing that caught my eyes, Vincent was dragging a big suitcase alongside him which could only mean… Nah, no way I thought.

"Vincent! Callie!" I enthusiastically greeted them.

"Haha, hi Arthur. Sorry to interrupt your conversation."

"No, no… It's okay. Happy to see you here, uh… What's with the suitcase?"

"Wait, didn't you know already? I'm going to Slateport today." He uttered the word that caused all of us there to look at him with a confused expression on our face.

"What? What's with the expression? Did I not say that already? I mean back—"

"You didn't, V." Callie cut him off while shaking her head.

"Ahaha, my mistake then. But yeah, I guess you should be happy that the dashing gentleman is willing to accompany you on your journey for one more day!" He made a v-shaped gesture on his chin using his fingers while smiling smugly.

The gesture was only met by an eye roll from me, an awkward smile from Kat, and Callie covering her face with both of her hands while shaking her head. She looked like she was ready to dive in the sea any time soon due to the embarrassment of watching this middle-aged man's poor impression of a hip teenager.

"What's with the expression? Can't you all be much happier about my—"

The boat horn blared loudly before Vincent managed to finish his complaint, signaling that it was time to board the boat.

"Welp, I guess we won't have much more time to chat." Vincent smiled before Callie hugged him really tightly.

"I'm going to miss you." She told Vincent in a sorrowful voice.

"Yeah. Me too, Callie. Take care of yourself would you?"

"Don't forget to call me…"

"Of course, I'll keep in touch."

"Don't just say it… The last time you did—"

"Aight, aight… The last time was my fault. I won't do it again."

Vincent tightened his hug on Callie and both of them stayed in it for a while. It was pretty telling from their expression that they cared a lot about each other. It was pretty touching for me to see them, but I had my own thing to deal with.

I sent a message last night to Kat about what I was going to do today and the fact that she didn't bring her luggage here was pretty telling to me of her decision.

This was the end of our journey together.

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WizardOfOdd · Feb 24, 2021

Arthur Weissmann
Location: Docks, Dewford Town
Pokemon at hand :

Tuesday, September 22nd

Chapter 2 - 18
Farewell, My Friend!
Part 3

I tried to keep it calm to respectfully send her off. But it was not easy to keep a smiling face as we both shared some parting words with each other, it's just plain sad, you know? Parting wasn't my strong suit, and even with the few experiences I had, it was still bitter to do so.

Yet I put on my smiling face as always, hoping that at least my smile could help her avoid the same feelings I had about this decision.

"Hey, Arthur. Sorry that I decided to stay here, I just wanted some time by myself to think of what to do next..." She hung her head while avoiding my eyes as she told me what

"Oh please don't be… I mean you do you, don't… Don't let me dictate what you want to do, that's you know, not good and all… I, uh… What's your plan moving forward, then?"

My attempt at trying to hide my emotions felt like a waste of time at this point as I couldn't even speak properly without stuttering my words. But, I continued to do so anyway like an idiot.

"I don't know. Honestly, I want to try doing contests and still doing gym but juggling both may be a recipe for disaster, haha…" She sheepishly laughed while still averting her gaze away.

"No, actually that's a good idea! I mean who knows right? Maybe your passion lies in doing contests or perhaps something else different entirely. This is honestly quite hypocritical for me to say, but… Do what you want, don't let anyone else dictate it for you because you're the one living it. That's what my late grandpa told me, back then… I hope it works for you." I smiled at her as my eyes met hers which was stealing glances towards me.

"Thanks."

It seemed that neither of us really wanted this to happen. But maybe this was for the best, she could grow without having to worry about me and the same goes for me. Besides, it didn't mean we both are completely disconnected from each other, we could just contact or call each other when we want to.

"I guess this is goodbye, then. I hope we can meet again in the future."

I said my final parting words as I turned myself towards the direction of the boat. With heavy hearts, I slowly moved forward while sipping what remains of my cherry soda.

"Hey!"

Katrina's scream stopped me from taking another step forward.

"I know this is a stupid request I ask you… But… When I'm confident enough that I won't drag you down… Will you wait for me!?"

I turned my head back while unable to hold my grin at what she was saying.

"Of course, stupid. I'll wait until you're ready to, but try not to make me wait really long, will you?" I giggled at her.

"Hey, are you going or not, kid!? I have a schedule to adhere to here so make up your mind quickly!" Our parting was interrupted as the boat captain yelled at me to enter the boat or not at all.

While shaking our heads, both of us decided that it was the right time to end our conversation. And so I took my reserved seat, which was apparently next to Vincent.

"Bye Kat! Bye Callie!" I yelled as I waved my hand as the boat started to move towards the sea.

"Arthur! My name! It's Sophie!"

The yell turned my eyes wide as I looked towards her with a sense of confusion and joy at the same time.

"Bye Sophie! Take care of yourself!" I yelled once more with a wide smile brightly plastered on my face.

It's just been a few days since I started this journey with her.

The fact that we have opened up this far with each other when we couldn't even trust one another the first moment we met at the yacht almost gave way to tears in my eyes. I'm really grateful that I've met her.

Phew, at least I wasn't being sentimental when I'm there, otherwise—

My gladness at the matter stopped suddenly as I remembered that there was someone I knew sitting next to me.

The man in question grinned mischievously while raising his eyebrows up and down. It was hard to ignore him when he constantly nudged me with his elbow.

"Ah, to be young again… Don't worry, I'm sure you'll meet your girlfriend again soon."

"For the last time, she's not my girlfriend!"

"Yet." Vincent giggled before closing his ears.

"Tch." I clicked my tongue at his teasing.

And that was how we went our separate ways. It pained us to do so, but it would make our reunion down the line much sweeter.

Goodbye, Sophie. Let us meet again soon.

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WizardOfOdd · Feb 24, 2021

Arthur Weissmann
Location: Docks, Slateport City
Pokemon at hand :

Tuesday, September 22nd

Chapter 2 - 19
Turn it Up!
Part 1

The boat had finally arrived at its destination.

I walked out from it to the pavement of the dock of Slateport. I couldn't help but think of Benji as soon as I set my foot there or at the very least the worse scenario of what could happen when I challenge him again.

At the very least I had just enough brainpower to know that challenging Petalburg Gym would be an even dumber decision to make when you knew who was the acting gym leader. Nobody in Hoenn that remotely followed Pokemon battling wouldn't recognize his name.

I mean how am I supposed to fight a guy who managed to enter the Hall of Fame with my current situation? If I couldn't even beat Benji, then I could just kiss the chance to even beat the guy goodbye. And so, I just hope I could win this rematch at the very least since it'll make the eventual losing there taste less bitter.

Thinking about It was quite nerve-wracking even after beating Brawly. And thanks to that, I accidentally tripped on the sidewalk because dumb me had to dove too deep in my thoughts to see the road properly.

"Come on, what's with the long face, my friend? Are you doing well?" Vincent lent out his hand to help me lift myself which I accepted almost immediately.

"I'm doing well, but you know…"

"The fact you answer with a 'but' actually means you're not."

I sighed almost instantly thanks to Vincent's response.

"Argh, it's just the jitters. I can't help it!"

"Well, you'll do fine. Trust me." Vincent smiled warmly while I could only chuckle.

I knew that both Sophie and Vincent said that I would do well in my rematch against Benji. But it's easier said than done, but again it's much easier to wallow in a self-deprecating mindset like this than to actually work towards defeating him.

So I took a deep breath and put those thoughts aside the best I could before I changed the topic.

"So, what are you going to do now?"

"I actually have a meeting with my client soon, so there's that. You? Don't you have to book a schedule to get a match against the gym leader here? You won't get a good time slot if you're not in a hurry..."

"True, let's hurry then…"

"Well, actually… I have something to do first, so I guess we should part ways here then."

"Oh, you want me to accompany you?

"Adults only, kiddo," He said while ruffling my hair. "But seriously, it's about the job I've told you before. It'll probably take quite a bit depending on how long my client will ramble on before we go into the meat and potatoes of the matter. You'll have a better time to plan out what you would do against Benji than joining the conversation between two boring geezers."

"True…"

So we decided to go our separate ways just shortly before noon. I went to the Pokemon Center while Vincent minded his own business.

I barely managed to snag a late afternoon slot. It wasn't the best choice though, I planned to rode the boat back to Dewford today so I could go straight to Petalburg, but apparently, I was reading the wrong schedule, and that there was no way I could go from Slateport to Petalburg in one day if I didn't manage to catch the first boat of the day.

Oh well, more time to do more game-planning I guess.

As I entered my room, I decided that the best action to take was taking a rest for a bit. But I just couldn't help it, I found myself sitting on the chair in the room almost immediately as I opened the notepad function of my Holotch.

Sophie was clearly trying her best to find out what she wanted to do. And so I had to do my best here to make my friend proud when we both meet each other again.

There were a lot of things I could do to maximize my chance of winning, and I intend to explore all of those avenues as much as I could with what time I had.

It's time! It's payback time!

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Groc · Feb 24, 2021

Edison Kintobor
Tuesday, September 22nd, afternoon
Petalburg City

Ed stops to catch his breath, leaning against the nearest wall. Sunny is faster than him, and he'd allowed her a head start. Worst of all, he couldn't even call her or navigate with his map. All because of his stubborn pride and need to...

She'd called him "Ed".

He pushes himself off the wall, continuing along the main street. He needs to find the Pokémon Center. It's the easiest spot in town to find, and she'd probably go there first.

He can't stop replaying the scene in his head. What had gone wrong? He hadn't planned to capture Slowpoke, and Sunny certainly hadn't wanted it, but she was furious that he gave it away. It couldn't be about Slowpoke, then...

The Pokémon Center comes into view, so he tables the topic for now. Hopefully she's here, but if she's not, he'll need to ask the staff. They probably won't just tell him if she's rented a room or not, that's not the kind of information you just hand out to strangers. He'll have to think of a plan.

Upon entering, he quickly scans the room. It's actually rather quiet at the moment, with only the receptionist at the desk, filling out paperwork. She looks up as he enters, smiling warmly. "Good day to you, sir! Is there anything I can help you with?"

Ed pauses, quickly thinking up a lie. "Yes, actually. I'm looking for a girl." He notices her mouth twitch slightly, realizing too late how that sounds. "I broke my phone, and my friend Sunny told me to meet up with her when I could. I figured she might wait for me here, but I guess not. Have you seen her? She's about yea high, green eyes, red hair, blonde tips?"

"You know, that sounds familiar. I've seen her, but she left already. Sorry I can't be more help."

Ed waves her concerns away, grabbing a local map from the help desk. "I appreciate it. You've been lovely, thank you for the help." He bows his head slightly, then heads to the Cafe section to spread the map over a table.

Various shops, residential area, the Pokémon Center... there's only so many places Sunny would go. The Enomoto Pokémon Conservatory looks interesting... but that's more his idea of fun, not Sunny's. No, she's more likely to go North, to the local Gym.

With a new destination set, he leaves the Center, following the road north. He picks up his train of thought were he'd left off...

Perhaps it was the Lure Ball? She'd given him one, and one to Miss Tsu, keeping the other for herself. But she'd professed no desire for a Water type, and was happy to give them out, so it couldn't be that... is her anger because he gave away the Ball that she'd gifted to him? No... she's not that big into gifts, she wouldn't be bothered by a simple regift.

Of course, there's the common denominator... Marie. Sunny had become more standoffish when Marie arrived. And she'd refused to give Marie a Lure Ball. His hypothesis? Sunny doesn't like Marie, and got mad when Ed gave her a Pokémon inside a specialty Ball that Sunny specifically avoided giving her.

It seems strange to Ed, but then, Sunny is a strange girl. He makes his way up to the Gym, heading on inside. It's a simple building, nothing too extravagant, and mostly empty at the moment. There's a man at the desk up front, and another watching a Zigzagoon run laps around an obstacle course.

"Excuse me, can I ask you some questions?" Ed approaches the desk, and the receptionist quickly puts down the book he'd been reading.

"Certainly, what can I help you with?"

"I'm looking for a friend of mine. She's a Pokémon Trainer, so I figured she might have come to challenge the Gym Leader. Have you seen her?" Ed describes Sunny to the man.

"Y'know, you actually just missed her. She left after we informed her of the schedule around here. Y'see, Leader Norman only accepts challenges in the mornings, and only on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays."

"Oh. That's... good to know..." Ed strokes his chin in thought. This behavior isn't too outside the norm for Sunny. From that, he can infer that she's not angry anymore, so what would be her next stop?

"Anything else I can help you with?" The receptionist waves a hand to get Ed's attention.

"Hm? ...oh. No, but thank you. I'll be going now." The man shrugs and returns to his book as Ed leaves.

"Right. Where was I?" Ed looks around the area. He could go back to the Pokémon Center and wait for her, or he could keep looking around. He could also just give up and do something else for a while, but that doesn't sit well with him after how they'd parted. He needs to find her and set things right.

As he walks back toward the Pokémon Center, he notices a little café off to the side. The setting sun is in his eyes, but he sees a few people seated at the outdoor tables. And one of them, despite having her back to him, looks very familiar.

Ed approaches, stopping just behind her chair. "You know... you can be very hard to find if you want to be."

Sunny glances up at him, then returns to her drink. "Oh, hey Eddie."

It's odd... he suddenly feels lighter, as I a burden was lifted from his shoulders. "Listen, about The Point..."

"Yeah, that was a pretty lousy thing you did." Sunny shrugs, watching a Dustox fly by. How bizarre, I didn't think Dustox would come this close to the city...

"Luckily, I forgive you." Sunny's words catch Ed's attention again. "And I probably overreacted, storming off all dramatic like that, so... sorry."

"You don't have to apologize." Ed responds almost instantly. "I'm just glad you're okay."

"Why wouldn't I be?" Sunny looks up in confusion.

"Well... I mean... when you left you seemed pretty angry... I just thought... you know..." Ed stammers. Had he been concerned over nothing?

"What, you thought my temper would make me do something stupid?" Sunny laughs, and Ed feels his face flush. Now he knows his worry wasn't warranted, and he hates being wrong in public like this.

"Eddie, I was over the anger by the time I got to town. You know me, I run hot, but I get over it. I checked in at the Center, stopped by the Gym, signed us up to battle the Leader in the morning, then decided I wanted a smoothie."

Ed shakes his head, still recovering from his embarrassment. "Right, I figured. I sort of... wait, what did you say?"

"I wanted a smoothie? Do you want one too?"

"No! Well, yes, but... you signed us up to battle the Leader?!"

"Uh, yeah. Duh. Why else would I go to the Gym?" She loudly sips at her now empty cup.

"You can't just... this is the second... don't I get a say in this?!"

"Come on, Eddie." Sunny reaches up to poke him in the chest. "You know that you don't."

He sputters in protest before just throwing his hands up in defeat. "You are just insufferable some times, you know that?"

That gets a laugh out of her. "You know you love me!" She teases him.

Ed just sighs, taking the seat across from her. "I haven't trained at all since I fought Brawly. That was this morning, remember?'

"You'll be fine! It's a Normal type Gym, how hard could it be?"

Ed thinks back to his fight with Brawly, and Addie's performance at the end. "I know better than to underestimate any Pokémon, regardless of type."

Sunny thinks about that, then shrugs in acquiescence. "Fair point. Guess we'll just have to train tonight." She stands up, tossing her empty cup into the trash. "Wanna go check out the forest?"

"Sunny, the sun's going down! We can't just wander into the woods at night." Ed gestures to the setting sun for emphasis.

Sunny huffs in annoyance, crossing her arms. "Fine, then what do you suggest?"

"We reschedule the match." Ed crosses his arms as well.

"Ehht!" Sunny makes a noise like a buzzer. "Not happening, try again!"

Ed groans, pinching the bridge of his nose. "...local Pokémon." He looks back up, pointing to Sunny's wrist. "We scan the area for local Pokémon, and we battle them. They have home field advantage, they don't want to be seen, and they'll probably try to flee. It'll be like hide and seek, but with a battle at the end."

"I think that's just cops and robbers..." Sunny gets distracted by the metaphor, idly twirling her hair around her finger. "But I like it! I'll bet we encounter some kind of Pokémon thieves, scrounging through people's trash looking for scraps! It's up to us to find these criminals and put a stop to them!"

She holds out her hand to Ed, grinning excitedly. He doesn't think it'll be so dramatic, but Sunny's energy is infectious. He grins as he grabs her hand and she pulls him from the chair.

"With our skills and training, those thieves won't know what hit them."

Sunny drops her voice, mimicking that movie trailer guy. "He's a by-the-book detective who always gets his man!"

Ed rolls his eyes, but does the same. "And she's a loose cannon who doesn't play by the rules!"

The two stand back to back, Sunny looking at her Holotch. "They've been partnered up for their toughest case yet."

Ed pulls Neo's ball from his belt. "Tracking down criminals in this quiet suburban town. They are..."

"Dey and Knight!" Sunny proudly exclaims, to Ed's confusion. "Coming to theaters this summer!"

"...so am I Knight?" Ed points to himself.

"Well, you kinda put me on the spot, and I couldn't think of a good pun." Sunny rubs the back of her head sheepishly.

"We'll work on it."

"Yeah." Sunny pulls up the Ranger database for Petalburg, looking for the SCAN. "This is normally your job."

Ed holds up his hands, his wrists clear of any device. "Guess you're the by the book one. I get to be bad cop this time."

Sunny pouts as her device processes. "But I like being bad cop."

"Sorry, sister." Ed growls, doing his best "dirty cop" voice. "But this good cop's gone rogue."

"Hey. Hey hey hey, look at this!" Sunny smacks Ed's arm to get his attention. "You were right, look at all the places Zigzagoon show up. Come on, let's go!"

He winces from the hit, but when Sunny takes off running, he's right at her heels.

WizardOfOdd · Feb 24, 2021

Arthur Weissmann
Location: Slateport Gym, Slateport City
Pokemon at hand :

Tuesday, September 22nd

Chapter 2 - 20
Turn it Up!
Part 2

"So you're back! After winning Brawly's badge too, Great! Let's see how much you've improved!"

Benji was as enthusiastic as ever with his challenger. This time it was rubbing off well with me, or maybe I was just being more open-minded and less cranky which helped quite a lot in me being receptive to his approach.

The fact that I felt that I was well-prepared enough was something that certainly helped with my nervousness.

I've done quite a bit during my limited downtime. I briefed them on what they should do when I told them a certain order, taught them what to do when I yelled a certain keyword to catch Benji by surprise, I even did pep talk to each and every single one of them to raise their spirits.

I was very hopeful that all of that would pay off well.

I did a quick handshake with him and after we wished each other good luck, the battle finally began. We both chose two Pokemon while the rest of my team was watching on the sidelines so they could learn something from the battle.

He chose Trash Cloak Wormadam and Pineco while I decided to roll with Nero and Braveheart. Why not using Muchorin, you might ask? It's just the issue of how this would go down that's all.

After the last weather-laden affair his Pokemon whipped up last time against me and Sophie, it wasn't a far reach to guess that he would do the same thing even with the new combination of Pokemon, and with the most probable weather being Sandstorm it would be unwise to proceed with Muchorin even with his type advantage.

I was almost certain that it was the case and it didn't take long before my prediction became true. Just a mere seconds after the battle started his Wormadam whipped up a Sandstorm which not only obscured the view but caused him to cough as sand entered his mouth when he tried to cheer me up again.

Pineco tried to set up Stealth Rock but unfortunately for it, Nero shot the Pineco with a Psybeam just before it managed to do so, but Wormadam's Electro Web raged inside the Sandstorm causing an electrified web to fly all around the place stopping a follow-up attack to be done as my Pokemon chose to eject the web with a combined psychic energy push by both Braveheart and Nero.

If I had to pinpoint, that might be the moment where both of us realized it was a battle of attrition. Or so I thought, because I forgot the fact that Benji's Wormadam had the move Quiver Dance. As soon as he did it, I knew that this would end really badly from my experience against Alice's Larvesta.

I had to finish this as soon as possible, but the fact that Pineco kept shooting Pin Missiles while adding Stealth Rock and Toxic Spike to the whirlwind of sand was really keeping both Braveheart and Nero from being able to drop that decisive blow against Wormadam.

Wormadam had to constantly shift position and threw attacks of itself instead of using another Quiver Dance so that was a win, but Magnet Rise as a mobility option made it really hard for Braveheart to land on close-ranged hits.

As the battle raged on, it was clear that both Pineco and Nero weren't going to last longer in this hazardous surrounding filled with Toxic Spikes due to the typing they had compared to Wormadam and Braveheart.

And with both of Benji Pokemon able to run Sandstorm outlasting it wasn't a choice either. It was getting so much out of hand that we had to stand much farther than what trainers usually do for their battles thanks to how hazardous the condition inside the

It was clear to me that it was the time to sack Nero with Destiny Bond. It worked wonderfully against Brawly's Hariyama, so there was no question regarding its effectiveness.

And so I yelled one of the keywords I taught to Braveheart specifically. I yelled "Braveheart, hard press!". This actually meant the opposite, I basically ordered Braveheart to change its attacking plans and calmly use the attacks at its disposal to reduce pressure instead of rushing through with barrages of Bullet Punch with Zen Headbutt like it was doing right now.

The reason why I shouted the order was so it could tone down the pressure a little bit to allow Wormadam to do his Quiver Dance and ensure that it would power up so it could land a powerful attack on Nero and knocking both of them out, which would leave the weakened Pineco for Braveheart to finish off.

Sadly my partner never listened at all. I couldn't tell if it was because of it being engulfed with anger or the sandstorm just muffled my voice, but it just didn't go the way I envisioned.

Braveheart kept raining down Bullet Punch again and again which kept Wormadam on its toes. It was just not what I wanted and with me unable to blurt out the plan without causing Benji to understand what was going on, I just had to roll with what was currently going on without yelling more orders after that. It's just too risky and the chances are that Benji would be suspicious if I kept telling Braveheart to press even more while it already did that.

So decided to improvise and ordered Nero to press Wormadam also, but the flying hazards combined with the constant Rapid Spin from Pineco prevented any sort of opportunity from opening up as Nero was busy fending for itself.

Then suddenly an accidental breakthrough opened up for us as Braveheart's attempt to use its signature technique of the rapid speed rotating Zen Headbutt was dodged by Wormadam who used Quiver Dance as the opportunity opened itself. It was a great opening, I thought. If I could get Nero at the right spot in time, I could potentially knock it out now.

It only lasted a mere moment though, Nero finally tumbled thanks to the damage it sustained inside the sandstorm, and with the situation now two against one in the state Braveheart was… I just did what I can until Electro Web and Pin Missile finally took my final Pokemon out.

And it's over… Just like that. An even worse result than my first battle.

Benji cheered me up and told me that he would wait for my rematch again with great enthusiasm, and I smiled at him. I even confidently said that I'd get him next time, but damn if it didn't sting.

I needed ice cream… Lots and lots of them.

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WizardOfOdd · Feb 25, 2021

Arthur Weissmann
Location: Slateport Gym, Slateport City
Pokemon at hand :

Tuesday, September 22nd

Chapter 2 - 21
Turn it Up!
Part 3

"Arthur! Hey, Arthur!"

"Yesh?"

"Uh, I know you're upset… But uh… Are you sure you'll able to eat all of that?"

"Dunh wurry!" I gulped a huge portion of ice cream in my mouth. "I'll manage."

Vincent's jaw continued to drop as he watched me finishing the seven scoops of chocolate and vanilla ice cream I ordered with cherries, nuts, wafers, and chocolate syrup on top.

I needed some outlet for my frustration and so I decided that the best way to do it than to swear a lot inside a public space was for me to wolf down on this ridiculous amount of ice cream without caring about anything. Not even brain freeze or my usual healthy diet plan could stop me from chowing this down.

I was going to order a bigger bowl of ice cream, but I was pretty sure that the only place I was returning to if I finish the entire bowl was the ER. So I was barely able to restrain myself from ordering the 'Heart-Attack Bowl' from the menu.

Unfortunately, I was unable to escape the consequences of my action as I was barely able to walk due to stomachache.

"Geez, I'm glad that you didn't do binge drinking to vent like some of my colleagues do, but please have a handle on yourself…" Vincent complained while helping me to walk.

"Sorry… Urgh…" The stomachache I had started to act up as I covered my mouth in an effort to stop the nausea I had.

Vincent had to give me some water to drink while we rested on a bench as I wasn't in the shape to continue moving. Several minutes elapsed with him helping me to get my body good enough to walk again, but soon after I was feeling better he started the conversation as usual.

"Well… This is not what I expected to see after coming back from finishing my business. Far from it even."

"What? You thought I'd cry in self-loathing?"

"Maybe?" He answered in a playful tone. "Although, I must admit that eating ice cream is a much better way to cope than to wander aimlessly to in the streets past midnight, but still, eat responsibly please." He launched a playful dig at me which managed to elicit a chuckle from me.

"Well, I've learned my lesson at the very least."

"Yeah, you should. You would attract more ladies if you do so."

"What's with the sudden comment?"

"You don't realize? Some girls were stealing glances at you, you know?"

I looked at him with a shocked expression. Nah, it can't be… The only reason they would've glanced at me is probably because I did something weird without me realizing it. Stealing glances in the context he was trying to imply? Nah, no fucking way, it's just not realistically possible.

"What the hell, Vincent? That's not true, even back at the academy—

"I don't know you back in your academy days, Arthur. But you're pretty good-looking right now if I may say so myself, combined with how you constantly dressed to impress and you get yourself a killer combo."

"Oh please. It's… I mean I got these from thrift shops, no way they'll attract the girls." I was still adamant that there was no chance in hell that what he said was true at all. All I did was just applying what I learned about dressing nicely from Alice, nothing more than that.

"They might be from a thrift shop, but what important are they didn't look that way. Let's see…" He started to examine my clothes more closely.

"Marc Fuller… Gabriel's… Giancomo Androssi… These are high-end brands. Hell, even your belt comes from the same tier of fashion brand. The way I see it, you're looking like a supermodel on vacation, even down to the part where you looked like you've been binge drinking to drown your sorrows."

We both chuckled at his joke, but listening to it… I couldn't help but think it was strangely detailed. Did what he just said comes from his personal experience? If so was he actually a model? Well, how messy his look was almost dissuaded me from questioning that, but he certainly had the physique to excel in modeling...

And so with nothing to lose, I fired my question bullet.

"Your personal experience, huh?"

"Uh… Well, kinda. I was the guy who carried the said person to the hotel we stayed at. You can say that it was a fascinating experience."

"Is that so... So you're a model?"

"Perhaps so? Or maybe not? Who knows?"

"You, dumbass." I answered him with a snarky tone while squinting my eyes.

"Well, sometimes humans can't escape their forgetfulness." He laughed before lifting himself from the bench we sat on.

My question was deflected once again. Of course. I didn't know why I expected any answer from him after he always changed the topic when I asked about it back in Dewford. My curiosity about his job grew and grew each time he deflected my attempt, but looking at the current situation I probably would never know the truth.

Either way, we decided to call it a day. Vincent said that he would need to ride a boat back to Dewford anyway, so he could accompany me until that point at the very least. And so we entered the Pokemon Center only to be greeted with a sight that made me extremely nervous.

A girl looked at me with a concerned look. Her auburn hair and fair skin were mesmerizing as always, yet the sorrowful smile plastered on her face was enough to make me hung my head and avoid her gaze.

The girl in the white dress I saw there was my beloved sister.

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

budube · Feb 28, 2021

Jordie "Jo" Hughes

Sunday, September 20th

Chapter 2: Part 2 - Midnight Tours

23:45 pm to 00:05 am - Littleroot Passage

The worst part of going on a tour or similar is having to wait in line, even if part of it is Jordie's fault and their obsession with being early everywhere.

The midnight tours don't start until well… midnight, at least theirs, so it's still around fifteen minutes to go, which also explains why there's barely any people, and the few there are, are groups of friends, or just couples.

Jordie sighs, it's a terrible time to be alone. Not just being single, in fact, Jordie hasn't felt something like that in a good while. They did leave a few people in Unova, though, and while they do plan to go back there at a certain point, their ties with them aren't as strong as they were before.

It's not Jordie's fault, though. They didn't understand this was important. To be the strongest trainer in the world may be a fantasy for many, but it's a lifelong dream for them and they had to pursue it. Starting in a familiar place like Unova wasn't going to help when they got to other regions, they had to take the big step forward, even if that meant to tell everyone to go fuck themselves. It's not selfish to follow your dreams.

They still miss those people, though. A bit.

"Good evening, everyone. The last group should be returning from their tour shortly. We will set sail to start the shipwreck tours in a few minutes." The tour guide suddenly claims, interrupting Jordie's nostalgic thoughts and welcoming the feeling of excitement and anxiousness, similar to that of going to watch a movie you've been so hyped for months. "For now, you are free to take a seat. Please board our boat carefully and try not to push other passengers."

Jordie decides to stay as close as possible to the front and the water. If they fall, they'll be fine. They just verified the water is warm enough for them, so swimming back to the boat won't be a huge issue unless the water Pokémon decide otherwise.

Of course, nobody sits with them, because… groups. Not until a familiar face shows up at least.

"You are that guy from Slateport." Jordie asks. "Hui, right? From Alola."

He doesn't seem to recognize them at first. That, or he was just caught off guard because he was looking at his phone when Jordie called him. Still, he takes his time to react and point at the trainer. "... from Unova. It was…"

"Jordie."

"Or Jo. That's right." Jordie smiles and invites him to sit with them. "I'm gonna be honest, I didn't expect to see you ever again."

"We are both trainers, though, right? It was just a matter of time we would meet again." They ask back, to which Hui confirms although he doesn't seem very sure. "What brings you here?"

"Well, while people usually complain this region has too much water, Alola is four islands so this isn't much, really. Heh." He explains. "It was natural for me to build some interest on the sea, that includes shipwrecks. S.S. Cactus in particular is a strange case. Nobody really knows why it sank to begin with, one of the engines just stopped working."

"That's interesting. Leave a bit of work for the tour guides, though" Jordie laughs. "So you are not here for the league?"

"Uhh... not really." He says. "I'm a trainer too, but my brother is the one interested in the league and becoming champion."

"Why not start in Alola, though?"

"There's no point in doing that. Or that's what he says, at least…" Hui answers. "He wanted to start there at first, but the Pokémon League in Alola is practically recent and therefore not so big. He is very competitive, so that was important to him."

"I agree with him." Jordie smiles and blushes a little bit from finding someone with a similar mindset than them. "I don't think there's something like 'competing for fun', you see. People compete to win. If you want to have fun you can battle random trainers on the street or enter a Trainer's House. If the competitive scene isn't too big in Alola, then he is just wasting his time."

"He might like talking to you… but he may hate you as well." Jordie laughs. "What about you? What brought you to Hoenn?"

"Unova's competitive scene is pretty big, unlike Alola's. The problem is that I already know each corner of the map, and while that would make it easier, it would also be too boring and not worth a first experience. I wanted to take a huge step forward." Hui just nods to that. "Being a Pokémon trainer has been my goal since I was a kid. My parents are trainers too."

"I assume they liked when you told them you wanted to start your journey here."

"They didn't." Jordie answers. "They wanted me to stay there just like they did."

"So… how…?"

"I left on my own. Haven't talked to them since I got here."

And there goes the awkward silence. Thankfully by then the tour finally started.

It's interesting enough listening to the tour guide talk even if Jordie doesn't pay enough attention. Hui is paying really close attention to him, though.

"To finish our tour, our main attraction: The S.S. Cactus." The guide says.

As the boat goes closer, a huge ship starts rising from the waves. About half of it is being held by stones and seaweed and Jordie can spot a few Binacle making their homes outside of it.

"I'm going to guide you across the ship to explain a few things about the myth of the S.S. Cactus. There will also be a few actors putting up a show for you to see, however, you are free to wander as you please. The Pokémon here enjoy getting visitors and joining the show as well. You are free to catch one of them if you feel like it... We gotta make trainers interested in this as well." Everyone laughs. That's exactly what Jordie wanted to listen to, of course they were aware of it.

With Gabby's Ball and a few empty Dusk Balls on their belt, Jordie gets up from their seat, and makes their way to a wooden plank just after the tour guide.

The guide helps them exit the boat and Hui comes next. While he is helping the other passengers, Jordie walks to him.

"Excuse me. About the wild Pokémon to be found here, which could we expect to catch?"

"I suppose you caught a glance of the Binacle outside the ship, right? Other than those, Shellder are also a common sight. Inkay are often playing around the ship as well. There's also Dhelmise, but it's rare for them to appear in this ship, or really hard to spot at least since they are often confused with normal seaweed." He answers.

"And I assume we can battle them too."

"You can, but… with a lot of people taking a look around the ship, it'll be a difficult and dangerous thing to do." he says, lending a hand to the last passenger. "Most trainers come here with the help of other boatmen for that same reason. You can definitely befriend one, though, as I said, the Pokémon do enjoy having visitors."

"I see. Thank you very much, sir."

"Thanks to you for joining us today. Hope you've had a good time in Dewford so far. You're Unovan, right?"

"... Yes, I am! How did you know?"

"I overheard your conversation with your friend." He explains, pointing at Hui who is now at the entrance of the ship. "I've also been in this job for a while now, it becomes easy to recognize accents with time. Unovan accent is the easiest one to recognize, for we get a lot of tourists from there, many of them with interesting stories. You guys talk too loud as well." Jordie blushes and opens their eyes in surprise to that. It was certainly unexpected, specifically the fact that they talk too loud. "I'm going to start the tour now, by the way, some other passengers must be waiting." The tour guide walks away from them and says some words to the tourists waiting for him, but Jordie goes there at their own pace to reunite with Hui once again.

"Do I have an accent?" Hui turns his head at them a bit confused by the question. "Actually, never mind. Shall we keep going?"

"I suppose you'll catch a Pokémon?"

"You guessed right." They answer, smiling at him. "Still thinking about what, though."

"I'll go watch the tour instead. Thinking about spending the entire hour exploring this ship. I'll go a different way, so I guess I'll see you again later."

"O-oh, a-alright." Jordie stutters, a bit disappointed although not really surprised. They expected Hui to come with them. "Don't… want to drag you with me either, so do as you please. Have fun! I'll see you later."

He chuckles and looks away. "You too… have fun, I mean."

Jordie's Party:

Inventory:

Spoiler:

Embyr · Mar 1, 2021

Name: Kira Wolf || Day: Tuesday, September 22 || Time: Evening
Location: Dewford Town

Sandy Challenge Part Two, Azure vs Mantine!

Mantine was met with a loud groan from Alex as it splashed on the beach, getting everyone nearby wet.

"I'm sorry what?" Kira asked, giving Brawly a confused look.

"Mantine! She's beautiful isn't she?" Brawly doted, petting the large Sunfish-like Pokemon on the nose. "You know in Alola they surf on Mantine! Riding up and down on the waves they can build up speed and eventually launch themselves into the air." Said Brawly with a not so subtle wink.

"I didn't mean the Mantine itself! I mean I thought you were a fighting type gym leader!"

"Right!?" Alex interjected with a clear tone of frustration.

"Oh that? No, You're talking to the surfing gym leader!" Brawly explained, Alex's eyes nearly rolling out of her head in response.

"That's not what it said in the travel guide..."

"Eh, that things outdated!" Brawly dismissed before turning out to the ocean. "Anyway, I think it's about time we got this started?"

"Right…" Kira replied, not entirely convinced. "Let's go Azure!"

"Ah, so you actually do have a Spheal then! Assuming that isn't a second Zorua at least." He said before turning to Alex. "Whenever you're ready then."

"Yeah, alright… Spheal vs. Mantine, Begin." Alex said in a very disinterested tone.

"Alright! Use Aqua Ring!" Both Kira and Brawly said simultaneously.

Glowing a bright blue for a moment, Azure pulls water from the sea to form several rotating rings of water around himself. Mantine, through a similar process, formed a thinner sphere around herself.

Kira raised her brow a bit at the strange looking aqua ring "Azure, Aurora beam!"

"Mantine, Tailwind!"

The wind began to pick up as Mantine flapped her fins, causing the ocean to stir a bit more violently. Azure, as he fought against the ocean's wake, managed to fire off an Aurora beam. Quickly the attack streamlined through the barrier, freezing a chunk of it on contact, and struck Mantine dead on.

"Nice! Let's do it again Azure!" Kira cheered.

"Mantine, Mirror Coat!"

As Azure launched his next blast, Mantine's aquatic barrier reformed and shimmered brightly, absorbing the beam as it struck. With a brilliant glint the attack was reflected back towards Azure, a thin layer of ice forming on the surface of the water as it struck.

Kira gritted her teeth as Azure shook off the ice "Fine, if that won't work, Ice ball!"

"Don't let them approach so easily! Mantine, Surf!" Brawly called out.

Azure rolled forward on the surface of the water, leaving behind an icy wake as he charged at Mantine. Flapping her fins forward, Mantine created a wave towards the charging Spheal which easily swallowed Azure as he tried to power through it, choking out any speed he had and leaving him disoriented.

"Alright Mantine, follow up with a Water pulse!"

Taking advantage of Azure's dazed state Mantine shot a bright blue ball of water from her mouth, striking Azure head on and sending him under the water with a large splash.

Kira tensed up as she watched Azure struggle to reach the surface once more, his small fins propelling him forward slowly. "How do we break through this?" Kira wondered out loud.

"You two are wiping out." Brawly remarked, turning towards with a smile. "The surf is rather rough, It isn't smart to charge into it head first."

"Did you just…" Kira began to ask before turning her attention back towards the battle. "Azure, pick up speed with Ice ball! Don't charge Mantine head on just yet!"

Azure gave a quick nod before beginning his second roll across the water surface, orbiting the Mantine as he slowly picked up speed.

"Alright Mantine, give them a chase! Surf!" Brawly called out.

Flapping her wings once again Mantine called forward another large wave, this time however it came from behind herself as she allowed it to carry her forward.

"Azure, cut left! Follow along with the wave!"

With a large splash, Azure managed to shift his momentum just in time to be picked up by the wave as well. Quickly, he picked up speed once more as he followed along with Mantine.

"Mantine, Water pulse!" Brawly called out.

"Azure! Climb up the wave!" Kira called in return.

As Mantine fired another bright blue ball of water, Azure quickly circled around towards the top of the wave, letting the pulse sail right by him as he rode along.

"Azure, now's your chance!"

Traveling across the wave Azure broke through Mantine's aquatic barrier and slammed straight into her from above, causing the both of them to be swallowed up by the wave. As it passed overhead Azure was the first to surface once more, followed shortly after by a dazed Mantine.

"Azure quick! Aurora beam." Kira called out.

With a deep breath, Azure fired his multicolored beam at Mantine once more, striking her before she managed to recover from her own dazed state. However, despite the beating, she still seemed to be fine.

"This battle has been lasting a long while hasn't it?" Brawly asked as he turned to Kira. "Let's say we end this quickly shall we?"

"Right…" Kira replied, unsure of what kind of Trump card he might still have up his sleeve. "Azure, get ready!"

"Mantine!" Brawly called out, pausing a long time for suspense. "Return!"

With a flash of red light, Mantine was recalled to her ball. Leaving behind a confused Azure and an equally confused trainer. "I'm sorry, what?" Kira asked.

"Yeah, that's all." Brawly replied "This battle would have gone on like that for a long time and it's getting late. It'd be dangerous to battle when it gets dark and the tides unpredictable."

Kira blinked, visibly confused. "Wait, that's it? Are we going to continue it somewhere else?"

"No" Alex cut in, raising one of her flags. "Leader Brawly recalled his Pokemon, the winner of this Gym battle is the Challenger Kira."

Kira looked in between the two of them, visibly stunned. "Wait a minute, but I didn't actually win!"

"Sure you did." Brawly said as he picked up his backpack. "You showed me everything I needed to see. Your planning could use a lot of work but you think quickly on your feet and your Pokemon trust you enough to respond in kind. That was more than enough for you to earn my badge."

"But… you basically told me what to do against your Mantine. I didn't come up with that by myself."

"I guess I gave you a hint, but are you about to tell me you would have Azure there keep charging her head on?" Brawly asked, tossing a bag towards Alex for her to carry. "If so, I can keep the badge."

"N-No! Not at all! Not sure if I would have thought about riding the wave though… I think I probably would have had him try to attack from below honestly." Kira admitted, looking down at Azure as he made his way onto shore.

"Well, that's enough for me then." Brawly smiled. "If you don't mind, could you grab that bag back there for me? Your badge will have to wait until we get back to the gym, I've been giving quite a few out the past few days so I gotta open up a new box."

"Alright…" Kira nodded. Slinging the bag over her shoulder she quietly followed along behind, lost in thought.

After several minutes of walking, Alex momentarily slowed her pace for a moment, keeping pace next to Kira as they returned to the Gym. "Hey, don't mind dad, he does stuff like this all the time."

"It just feels kinda hollow." Kira admitted in a hushed tone. "It's not like we won, he just gave up because it was getting dark. If I knew he'd do that I'd have challenged him back at the gym..."

"That was just an excuse, he'd have given up back at the gym as well." Alex dismissed before taking a look at Kira's jacket. "That there, that's Benji's badge isn't it?"

"Yeah, I beat him back in Slateport. In all honesty I kinda stumbled into victory there."

"Do you think you would have beat him if he brought his A game?" Alex asked.

"N-No, of course not! He's a gym leader, we would have been slaughtered!" Kira stammered out.

"Well, it's the same with dad. He just has his own way of doing things."

"I… guess I can accept that." Kira conceded with a sigh.

"Good!" Alex chimed, skipping forward ahead a bit. "Then congratulations on your badge Kaden!"

"You're not going to let that go are you?" Kira asked with a bit of a chuckle.

"Nope!"

Spoiler:

WizardOfOdd · Mar 1, 2021

Sophie
Location: Contest Hall, Dewford Town
Pokemon at hand :

Tuesday, September 22nd

Chapter 3 - 1
Small Steps
Part 1

"Hah...Hah…"

My Pokemon were breathing roughly as they finished training their choreographed session for the contest in two days.

I knew joining a Pokemon Contest is no easy feat, but this was… This was something else. I never thought about how many aspects there were that I had to keep in mind to make a wonderful performance.

"Aight, that's enough for now." Miss Callie clapped her hands with a warm smile plastered on her face as she stopped our training session for the time being.

Garnet and Aurora were very eager to continue while Stolz didn't waste any time before he laid down on the floor. It seemed that my Pokemon had different ideas about entering this contest.

But even with my Pokemon's stubbornness, Miss Callie who never seemed to miss a beat ever since she offered to help me when I accidentally told her my plans was able to convince them without any visible issue at all.

The appearance showed and the clothing she wore gave her the aura of a total plain jane. Disheveled blonde hair tied in a ponytail, thick glasses, and a face bare without any visible make-up at all combined with the oversized shirt and short pants she wore exuded that feeling. It was logical to assume that she was just a regular girl just like what she said she was earlier during our lunch together.

Yet I couldn't shake the feeling that she was more than what she let on. The same thing could be said for Mr. Vincent, they—

No Sophie, you must not think that way… The fact that Arthur trusts them is something in itself. Don't think negatively… Don't think negatively… I shook my head several times to shake off my unfounded suspicion.

"Are you oka—"

"AAA!!!"

I accidentally let out a scream as I fell down, was surprised by Miss Callie's face who was too close to mine for comfort.

"...That's going to shave some of my lifespan alright." Miss Callie sighed heavily at what I just did.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to—"

"Haha, it looks like someone needs some time to rest herself, no?"

We sat down for quite a bit to cool down. I took care of my Pokemon while Miss Callie seemed to be enjoying her choice of afternoon snack gleefully. With a huge smile on her face, she chowed down on the salad she brought.

"Want some?"

"Oh no, I don't eat much."

Miss Callie continued to eat, and I was content enough to let her finish her meal. But curiosity eventually crept up and I was unable to keep my lips sealed.

"Miss Cal—"

"Cal-lie~ Don't use miss, let's drop the formalities, shall we?"

"Sorry… Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, what are you curious about? I can teach you about Pokemon moves, maybe basic affinity for moves, or maybe you want to learn some makeup tips? I'm pretty proud of—"

"Why did you help me?"

"Oh boy, so it did come to this, huh…" She scratched her neck as she visibly tried her best to think of a proper answer.

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

"No, no, no… It's just the answer may be more complicated than I initially thought. Umm… It's because… Um… The friend of your friend can be your friend."

"Huh?" I couldn't hide the feeling of surprise and confusion at her strange statement.

"Uh… You know there's a saying where an enemy of your enemy is your friend. So if we… Uh… Oh wait, it doesn't work that way huh? Oh no. Just, forget it would you?" She went down on her knees as she covered her face that was flushed red by embarrassment.

I couldn't help but giggle seeing her flustered with her own mistake. As always it seemed that I'm the one who always suspected others without any reason… I really need to stop thinking that way.

"But you didn't have to help me, you're running your family Cafe, are you not?"

"Well, yes… But if I do help my parents right now, they'll go 'But you're on a vacation Callie, we couldn't impose on you and blablabla', so the only time I was allowed to help was during late in the night, where my parents fully knew that no customer would come. So yeah… Don't have any choice in that matter. They just wanted me to lie down and do nothing but being pampered with kindness while I'm free… Which I really appreciate, but you know I wish they would let me help once in a while."

"Must be nice."

The word slipped from my mouth. Callie looked at me with a confused look before I eventually realized what I did.

"U-Um... Let's go back to practice, shall we?" I tried to act cool and avoid bringing up the topic once more. While it was clear that she didn't believe that I was fine, she refrained from bringing the topic at all even until we parted ways in the evening.

Focus, Sophie. This is not the time to let sentimentality ruin your effort. Arthur is trying his best, so you must do the same.

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WizardOfOdd · Mar 2, 2021

Arthur Weissmann
Location: Southern Pokemon Center, Slateport City
Pokemon at hand :

Tuesday, September 22nd

Chapter 3 - 1
Unexpected Development
Part 1

"Artie…"

"Yes, Sis?"

"Do you really want to do this? You're already pretty old, you know?" My sister asked with a playful expression.

My head rested comfortably on her lap as we both relaxed in my room. Nobody knew about the fact that I loved being doted on by my sister, not a single soul except my dad. Not Alice, not Kira, definitely not Sophie, and literally nobody else could know this. I Couldn't imagine how much teasing they would do if someone knew this fact.

"So what?" I answered nonchalantly.

"Don't 'so' me, isn't it embarrassing for you?"

"Hmm… Maybe… Nah~" I nuzzled my face against Elaine's lap.

"You know that I'm only doing this because you asked me, right?"

Oh please, I knew full well you loved doing this to your little brother.

"Well it's your fault for being such a kind sister."

"I guess I pampered you too much, huh?"

"There's no affection too much if it was from you, Eli." I winked at my sister before breaking into laughter.

"Oh boy, here we go again…"

She gently caressed my hair like she did back when we were younger. I wanted to stay like that for a really long time, but I wasn't so dense as to not understand the reason why she came here especially with the face she showed me earlier at the lobby.

And so, looking forward to clear the situation. I reluctantly raised my head from her lap. "I think I can guess why you're here in the first place."

"Of course you do…"

"Sorry, I never meant to make you all panic like that."

"What you said to Alice is quite… There's a reason she acted like that, you know…"

Of course I knew it full well, I wouldn't be here if I didn't.

"I understand, I was wrong. It's just that, I just felt like she'd be better off without caring about me so I pushed her away."

"...You knew well she wouldn't like it, do you?"

"Well… I mean, not everyone is a saint like you, Eli. I'd rather stay away from her if it meant that she'd be freer to chase her dreams."

It was my true feelings. I never had the intention to hurt her this way. I thought it was the best way that both of us could move forward without hurting each other, but instead I inflicted panic to the poor girl I deemed as the closest friend I've ever had.

"...Geez, you both are taking things too seriously. It's normal for people as young as you to bicker and accidentally hurt each other's feelings you know. What's important is what you do after you realize that your action hurt others, Artie. I'm sure neither of you wants to hurt each other, and it was just a product of the heat of the moment."

"...Yeah, I should've learned from what happened back th—" I didn't manage to finish my sentence before finding Elaine's finger blocking my mouth.

She pouted while squinting her eyes. She was clearly not happy that I was blaming myself and lifting back the topic that she tried to bury since years ago.

"Okay, okay… I'll shut up about that. But..." I put my head back on her lap and moved her hand to my hair while smiling impishly.

She who probably understood me more than anyone in the world started to caress her little brother's hair once more while softly smiling like she always did. But as much as I loved it, it didn't last long as I realized that someone was knocking on the door.

And of course, Vincent had to come in now.

"Hello, I hope I didn't disturb your reunion." He greeted us with a grin on his face.

"Uh... No... Yeah, no... Is something the matter?"

It's a lie, Vincent! Why the hell did you have to come now!? Scram!

"May I talk with your sister for a little bit?"

'Why?' That was the first word that came to my mind as he asked this unusual request. But I said yes almost immediately. There was no reason to be alarmed with it, after all I didn't do anything weird or crazy that he could tattle me on… Oh shoot, Granite Cave happened.

Nah, he wouldn't. I was very sure that Vincent wasn't the type to do that on me without any good reason. Whatever he said must be to reassure her that I was going to be okay in my journey.

I was really curious what he was going to say, but he stopped me and said that 'it wouldn't be fun to reveal a present without wrapping it first, don't you think?'. I said it was nonsense and as always he bailed from my room with Elaine in tow.

Arghh! I wanna know!

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WizardOfOdd · Mar 2, 2021

Sophie
Location: Fanclub Beach House, Dewford Town
Pokemon at hand :

Tuesday, September 22nd

Chapter 3 - 2
Small Steps
Part 2

It was half past eight, I was carefully drying my hair with the hair dryer while sitting down on the chair.

A warm bath is exactly what I needed to calm myself down. After all, it never failed to do so even back in the mansion.

Aurora wasn't quite happy with my decision. Scratch that, she wasn't happy at all, even now she still sulked because of the fact that I chose to eat first before taking a bath.

"Silly girl," I said while patting her body which was laying on the table.

Garnet was already out cold as exhaustion was too much for it to try and stay awake while Stolz… Apparently Stolz was also out of commision. Perhaps he slept during the time I took my bath.

But the enjoyable time bathing wasn't going to solve the problem I had to deal with tomorrow. There were still a lot of aspects of the contest that I was still unsure of, such as choreography, routine, aesthetics, and other stuff. Just having one more day to prepare seemed to be really lacking considering I'm still new to this contest thing.

And so I opened Arthur's notebook while drying my hair to learn more about just anything that I haven't understood yet about Pokemon battling. The first round of the contest seemed easy enough considering I had Aurora that suited the theme very well, but the second and third round looks really daunting for me to pass. Yet I knew I shouldn't cower in fear.

Same as the pages I've read before his notes are very detailed which showed how much effort he poured into mastering Pokemon battling. Some pages are really filled with the white ink from a corrector pen, with several small drawings of him which from the dialog box above them indicated that he was trying his best to motivate himself to study harder.

Compared to him, I still had a long way to go.

Ten minutes in, and I was amazed with the lengths he went to explaining how important status condition was to winning a battle and how to combat the issue. Although I must admit that some of his writing inside was more of him being distracted and gushing about his favorite Pokemon trainer before going back to explaining the point as he tried to get his idea across to the reader. It's cute, though."

My Holotch suddenly rang, and I got up as fast as I could from my seat towards the table next to my bed where I put my watch.

And it was just a notification for a software update. Nothing major happened but I sighed anyway and went to lay on my bed for some reasons I couldn't understand.

Did I really expect it to be a message from Arthur? Maybe, yeah… But, It just felt strange, I guess. I wasn't really looking forward to separating with him, but this kind of feeling was just not what I had in mind.

I grabbed my Holotch instinctively. I really wanted to call him, right now. But would he even answer? Wouldn't he be resting or planning his next battles right now? Would he even like it if I called him right now?
"Aaarghhh!" The thoughts eventually plunged me into frustration as I yelled loudly before rolling several times on my bed like a rolling pin.

Why did I hesitate this much? Why was I being nervous for some inexplicable reason? It's not like I'm going to tell him bad news or something… That's right! I shouldn't—

*Beep*… *Beep*…

My eyes widened in horror as I realized that I accidentally pressed the call option on my Holotch. The worst part was that it was Arthur's contact that I called.

I felt like time was standing still, as the agonizing beeps almost exploded my fragile heart.

On one hand, I'd be glad if he didn't answered my call, less distraction for him and yeah my call probably wasn't worth answering… But another side of me really want him to answer.

"Hello?" A boy's voice could be heard through the Holotch, it was Arthur.

"H-Hi Arthur, good evening."

"Is something the matter?"

"No, no… I'm fine… Am I disturbing you?"

"Geez, so that's why your voice is shaky. Hey can we do a video call instead?"

"Huh!? Why?"

"I mean why not? Those beautiful eyes can be really mesmerizing, you know."

"Hey mister! Just woo another girl already would you?" I said that as I turned on my video feed.

"Haha, I'm just kidding… How are you doing?"

Our conversation went better than I expected. And he was apparently much more happier than I expected, and so I teased him about his gym badge victory. But sadly, it wasn't the case which caused me to immediately panic and ask for forgiveness.

He laughed at my act and said that everything is okay and even joked around about his loss, something that I never expected to happen before. Perhaps Mister Vincent and Mi— Callie, helped him much more than I had thought initially, it made me feel worse about how I initially acted with suspicion towards her.

He continued his story with great enthusiasm as he didn't waste any time gushing about his big sister who came to see him. It was very clear that he adored her so much… I envied him, very much so. If only I could contact mine… I… No, I shouldn't think about that… That's… Just no... Not now.

I then told him about what I was doing right now. And how I was nervous for my debut contest in two days.

He smiled brightly from the other side of the screen.

"Hey now, I'm sure you can do it."

"Haha, why could you be so sure?"

"Because you are yourself, Sophie. I just know you can do it."

I said the same thing to him earlier, but I was still taken aback with his comment. I was very happy that he said that.

Our conversation continued for quite a while. It felt like time flowed very quickly as I continued to talk with him. But eventually he brought up the fact that I was still studying for my debut contest which I couldn't refute.

"Hey, Arthur."

"Yes?"

"Can I call you again later?"

"Of course, silly, I would love to talk with you again. Take care, Sophie."

"Yeah, you too, Arthur."

I hung up the Holotch call and went straight to the desk once more. And with a huge smile on my face, I continued my study while hoping that everything will be okay the next day.

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Aquacorde · Mar 2, 2021

Chapter 5: You'll Never Know If You Don't Go

Here, on the flat and windy seaside road, trainers are presented with choices.

Straight east, past the strange mansion known as Trick House, lies the land bridge of Trainer Route #110. A few hours' walk south of Trainer Route #103's eastern terminus lies the Mauport Bridge Gate. Buses from the gate will bring travelers to Slateport's northern Pokémon Center for a small fare.

What choices will trainers make for themselves?

AREAS
Route 110, Mauport Bridge

POKEMON
Applin, Bulbasaur, Chatot, Combee, Cutiefly, Froakie, Golett, Grimer, Gulpin, Impidimp, Joltik, Klink, Litten, Mime Jr, Minun, Mudkip, Onix, Petilil, Phantump, Pikipek, Plusle, Rotom, Spinarak, Spoink, Taillow, Trubbish, Voltorb, Wingull

Route 110

Trainer Route #110 is effectively split into two distinct parts. The southern section is open to the public and traffic from around Slateport and is often populated by denizens of the city taking nice walks on the outskirts. The northern section, though, is gated by the Rangers to encourage preservation of the natural environment of the land bridge. Humans are allowed access, but in limited quantities and with restrictions placed on the activities they can participate in. Details are explained upon check-in at either ranger station on the route.

Trick House
A six-story mansion sits at the mouth of Trainer Route #103. The exterior, though nice, is not nearly as interesting as the interior. Rooms filled with tricks, traps, and puzzles befuddle visitors of this strange attraction, but rumor has it that there is a handsome reward for anyone who can wrap their heads around the challenges...

PROMPT: a-maze-ing

IC: Entering the mansion through the great double doors leads you to a large foyer. Closed doors line the walls. A grand staircase leads upwards. The elevator at the back of the hall has buttons for all six floors, as well as B1, B2, and R. A receptionist's desk to the side of the staircase has no attendant. A sign taped to it says: "Solve the mystery of a room to obtain a passcode. Input codes into computer." The computer in question is a simple laptop, showing a black screen with blinking green text: "INPUT CODES".
OOC: Solve a riddle room in the vein of Trick House challenges! Ideally, these challenges should feature your Pokémon helping you out. Try not to break anything- go about it as if you are solving an escape room. The proprietor has cameras everywhere, and breaking rules will get you kicked out. You may team up to solve a room if you wish! Room details will be DM'd to you when you choose one of the listed Pokémon: Applin, Combee, Cutiefly, Impidimp, Klink, Mime Jr, Onix, Phantump, Rotom, Spinarak, Spoink. Please talk to Cube to obtain your reward from the proprietor.
REWARD: A TM for a status move or move of 50BP or less. One per room solved.
BONUS REWARD: Solving a puzzle without upsetting any of the resident Pokémon will mark you as a worthy trainer, and they will trust you to raise one of their eggs. One egg per trainer. Your character must solve the room associated with the Pokémon whose egg you would like to receive. Eggs will be rolled on the SCAN table when they hatch.

The Land Bridge
The majority of Trainer Route #110 is the meandering land bridge, bracketed by two ranger stations on either side. Battles are not allowed here due to the delicately balanced ecosystem, but the Rangers will not prevent journeying trainers who walk the length of the entire land bridge from taking up to two legal Pokémon that they form a bond with. You'll also find some neat things that people have dropped off the bridge. And you can investigate the ruins of New Mauville, as much as you dare. If you choose to walk straight through, it will likely take you two days to do so. But why wouldn't you explore while you're down there?

Special Area Instructions:
You may ask Anna to roll up to five treasure rolls for items to find as you walk! Just head into #roll-requests and ask for "[character] treasure 110 x[number of rolls]".

As for Pokémon- SCAN is disabled on Route 110. However, you may choose up to two species from the following list to take with you. You must form a bond with them during your time on the land bridge. When requesting rolls, just put the species name and "110" in the modifier field. Shininess, abilities, and egg moves will be rolled on the SCAN table rather than the standard. Choices are:
Bulbasaur, Chatot, Froakie, Gulpin, Litten, Mudkip, Petilil, Pikipek, Trubbish
In or near New Mauville only:
Grimer, Golett, Joltik, Minun, Plusle, Voltorb

Ranger Station (South)
The southern Ranger Station is a small building that sits just before the beginning of the land bridge. At least one ranger is always on desk duty, because access to the land bridge needs to be monitored.

Trainers will register their ID at the check-in station. All Pokémon but two must be turned over to the Rangers. Those two must be appraised by the ranger to be of a reasonable size, as they will be walking the whole route with their trainers- their PokéBalls will be left with the rangers, as not to startle wild Pokémon as they disappear and reappear at the trainer's will. All other PokéBalls, filled or empty, will also be left with the rangers. Captures are not allowed on the land bridge. All items turned over to the rangers will be held until check-out at either station.

PROMPT: cleanup crew

IC: It is appreciated if trainers take the initiative to pick up trash while they are on the land bridge, as things tend to wash up on both sides and flutter down from above. Canvas bags are offered to anyone setting out and should be returned to either ranger station upon exit.
OOC: Go out of your way to pick up trash. Yeah, you do have to write about it.
Reward: 5 additional treasure rolls.

Ranger Station (North)
The northern Ranger Station is much the same as the southern, just situated at the northern access to the land bridge. Again, at least one ranger is always on desk duty.

Upon checkout, all PokéBalls will be transferred to the station and returned to their trainers. Trainers now have the option to officially capture up to two Pokémon that have chosen to journey with them- under a ranger's watchful eye, so they may confirm the legality of the capture and make a note of the change in population.

Checkpoint roles are swapped for those entering from the north.

New Mauville
Accessible from the northeastern corner of the land bridge, a strange and decrepit building sits surrounded by trees. It is the remains of an ambitious project from days long past- New Mauville, meant to be a utopian underground city to curb the expansion of the settlement it was named for. Nobody is entirely sure at what point development was abandoned or why, but the point remains that it is now largely inhabited by wild Pokémon- and primarily nocturnal ones at that. Like an artificial cave of sorts, filled with old machinery and decades of grime.

Trainers are instructed to avoid this place.

However, those that set foot inside will find a few surprisingly tidy pathways. Perhaps Pokémon keep their spaces fairly clean, or perhaps the ghosts of caretakers past continue their missions in death…

Who can say?

Watch out for the disintegrating structures, though.

PROMPT: foolishly brave

IC: Go ahead. Explore New Mauville.
OOC: Danger roll time! Anna rolls a d10. A 1-3 means she will give you no problems. 4-6 means you will have a problem regarding a Pokémon- whether it be a wild one attacking, one of your own running off, or another trainer starting a fight- something like that. 7-9 means you will have environmental problems- your light source breaks, you get lost, you find yourself in danger from the structure itself- that sort of thing. And a 10… we'll talk about that one if it comes up. :)

Mauport Bridge

The Mauport Bridge, this marvel of engineering that proves the ambition of the Hoyo Bridge could be possible, is many things. A truck route, a cycling road, a hangout spot, an entire village- really, the question is: what isn't it?

Well, it's not a great place for catching Pokémon. Unless you're really into Wingull. But other than that, it's pretty incredible.

Even from the ground, it's easy to see that the eastern two lanes aren't nearly so jam-packed with traffic as the residents of Cottage Grove claim- in fact, there's hardly traffic at all. A big poster claims that a maglev train will be replacing the vehicular lanes in the next few years.

At the gate, trainers will be directed to the western side of the bridge. If the eastern side is two lanes, the western must be six- but it's difficult to tell; they're not divided in the way that roads usually are. This is, essentially, an elevated and extremely stretched-out town. One- and two-story buildings back up onto the sides of the bridge in one-by-six blocks, with the general rule of residential bordering the west and commercial bordering the east. In between, cycling lanes and social spaces abound, making travel on foot an enjoyable experience. Even if it takes two days to bike or walk the entire length. And that's if you're really powering through, stopping for nothing but rest.

It doesn't help that this is a hugely popular venue for battles, either- the locals are particularly fascinated with Sky Battles, a format where a Pokémon loses the match if it touches down anywhere. Even more challenging, wild bird Pokémon like Wingull and Swellow will often randomly join the battle for no reason, going after whichever party they feel like in the moment. The locals see this as a fun modifier, but trainers from elsewhere tend to be grumpy about the matter.

Primarily, though, this is an artistic community. The majority of the goods for sale are handmade arts and crafts. Demonstrations abound; artists will create work in front of you on the street or in their workshops. Theater and street performances are everywhere, music drifts through the air from all directions, and murals cover the buildings and even the bridge itself. It's an experience that the travelling trainer would be loath to miss out on.

One will not find a Pokémon Center on the bridge, but Mauport Bed&Breakfast owns several quaint buildings and offers discounts to journeying trainers. Medicinal items and berries are available at many a shop along the way.

Special Area Instructions:
You may choose to catch either a Wingull or a Taillow. They're everywhere, man. When requesting rolls, just put the species name and "mauport" in the modifier field. Shininess, abilities, and egg moves will be rolled on the SCAN table rather than the standard.

Rydel's Cycles
The first shop one sees when getting onto Mauport Bridge at either end is a location under the famous name of Rydel's Cycles. Here, trainers may rent a standard, neon green bicycle to use during their time on the bridge. Currently, the business is doing a promotion- every time someone rents a bicycle at one end and rides it to the other, they are entered into a raffle to win a foldable bike of their very own- with a custom paint job to boot! It costs $1000 to rent, but the value of the prize is a hundred times that.
OOC: Any player character that rents a bike by the time Chapter 8 is released will be assigned a number. One winner will be randomized. If you don't win but you really want a bike, you'll have to scrape together $85,000 and visit a Rydel's location. And another $15,000 for a custom paint job, if you want that.

Mauport Bed&Breakfast
Since Mauport Bed&Breakfast locations are individually operated, their structure and amenities vary. For the most part, they are houses with four to eight rooms, one of which belongs to the hosts, and they serve a home-cooked meal in their dining room sometime between 6am and 10am. Decor and other amenities vary wildly, but all locations offer discounts to journeying trainers. Have a nice night!

Trick House Overlook (Fishing Spot)
IC: A bump-out plaza some ways along the bridge features a small fountain, a few benches, nice raised garden beds, and a lovely view of the mansion known as Trick House. There's a woman hanging out near the guardrail that seems to be trying to fish off the side of the bridge. She'll probably let you borrow her fishing pole for a few casts!
OOC: Roll once. 60% chance of treasure, 25% chance of Luvdisc, 10% chance of Popplio, 5% chance of Feebas. You may catch what you pull regardless of if you've caught other Pokémon on Mauport Bridge. You may not SCAN here but you may use your guarantee.

The Pokémon Fanclub Center for Visual Arts
About halfway along the bridge, a nice community building funded by the Pokémon Fanclub offers trainers the opportunity to take an art class to bond with their Pokémon. Painting, sculpting, pottery, leatherworking, sewing, metalworking, glassblowing- anything you can think of is free for members of the Pokémon Fanclub. Non-members may sign up for a membership at this location and immediately gain access to all amenities. The monthly fee is $3000, but you will save money over time if you cough up the $30,000 annual fee all at once. Either way, you will be issued a membership card and offered the complimentary gift from this location- a choice between some Light Clay, Bright Powder, or Silver Powder to infuse into a craft.

Mauport Amphitheatre
Closer to the northern terminus, a large westerly overlook features stepped audience seating looking out into the cove and down to a small but roomy stage. This is Mauport's Amphitheatre, home to many improv shows, small-cast dramas, and contests! However, only four contests per week are officially judged and may earn trainers a ribbon. The rest are practises, though taken seriously and done in the same format as official ones- mostly between locals, who tend to focus on flying types and weather effects to take advantage of the outdoor setting.

something like this but cooler

Sign up for official contests at the Amphitheatre Box Office, located across the street. The only rank available is D. Singles competitions are held at dawn on Saturdays and dusk on Sundays, while doubles are reversed- dusk on Saturdays and dawn on Sundays.

Everything Else
...is up to you. :)

spend your time wisely :)

Eleanor · Mar 2, 2021

Hikaru

18 - ✨ - Castelia City

Pokémon / Inventory:

HIKARU'S TEAM:
⚡ Rei (Tynamo), ♂ lv. 22
Levitate
Spark, Charge Beam, Tackle, Thunder Wave
⚡ Hoshi (Staryu), lv. 22 ↑
Illuminate
Psywave, Rapid Spin, Water Gun, Camouflage, Confuse Ray, Harden
⚡ Aruku (Clobbopus), ♀ lv. 22 ↑
Technician
Rock Smash, Leer, Feint, Detect, Bind, Brick Break
⚡ Tsuga (Treecko), ♀ lv. 21 ↑
Overgrow
Mega Drain, Pursuit, Pound, Quick Attack, Quick Guard, Detect

HIKARU'S BADGES:
🥊

Pummel and clobber

Thursday, September 24^th - morning - Slateport Gym

You're delaying the inevitable, Benji. I don't care how many trainers are already in line, waiting to challenge you: I will train here until I can have my time in the spotlight, and I'll beat you fair and square. I have a whole week of time to do this, sure, but I'll need no more than a single day. And no, I don't care if I'm still bound to a wheelchair and with stitches in my leg.

Case in point, your little fanboy who goes by Orion was quite easy to beat. He kept using Dig with his Trapinch even in front of a Staryu, who could just lay on top of the other end of the burrow and shoot Water Gun inside it… and when he finally decided to use the much more effective Bite, I had already ordered Hoshi to use Harden and Minimize to lower the damage.

At the same time, Aruku was pummeling either the ground (making it harder for Trapinch to hide) or Klink with remarkable strength, occasionally dodging attacks with Detect or using Bind to make it even harder for the Klink to fight back. Funny how such an aloof-looking Pokémon can be so strong, uh?

Now, Klink wasn't completely useless. Its Charge Beam and Gear Grind were definitely the attacks to look out for, but its mobility was maybe even more interesting. Two gears spinning in the air, but also separating when needed? That… did leave me impressed. So much so that I often let my Pokémon attack on their own, without giving them too many orders and just swapping those out with some snarky comments for Orion. He didn't seem to enjoy them though…

But yeah, that was the first fight of the morning in a nutshell.

The second one was still not Benji. It was Cass, a girl who also worked in the Gym, helping out with the turns and with healing Pokémon. Orion went looking for her right away, as soon as our battle ended, and dragged her outside in a clash of his complaints with her bursts of laughter. Understandable.

I shake my head at her offer to heal my Pokémon, and so she immediately sends out her… Aquarius and Klaria. I thought Leo and Libra sounded somewhat exotic, but this is taking it even further! Oh, by the way, Aquarius is a Bronzor and Klaria is a Dwebble. Okkkkkkkk….

This battle was already quite harder. All I really had going for me was Hoshi being still in relatively good health and with many Hardens under its "belt", but I had to be very careful of those two Pokémon's moves - it didn't take too long to understand that Hoshi wasn't appreciating them at all. My Clobbopus was therefore given this role, as I made her use Detect and Bind (mostly on Dwebble) a few times more.

Staryu's strategy this time was mostly dodging, zipping around the battlefield with Rapid Spin and never truly stopping, if not for firing off some Psywave or Water Gun attacks. This worked wonders for Dwebble, who went down eventually, but not necessarily for Bronzor, who was taking all of my attacks with ease and retaliating with the ever so annoying Confuse Ray. In fact, it was that move that eventually led to Aruku's demise… once she could not use Detect to dodge attacks anymore, she was knocked out rather quickly with a swift Extrasensory.

The battle didn't end until Orion stepped in and let us know that my turn to battle Benji had come at last - if not for him, I believe that Cass and I would've just kept trading not-very-effective attacks the whole morning. I braced myself, engaging some small talk with the two boys as they healed up my Pokémon and mostly building up all of my desire for revenge and redemption after last time. That was, obviously, made even easier by how much they were praising their Gym Leader - but I tried to remain collected in their presence, only to snap out in front of the real deal.

How did that go, then?

11:00 am, Thursday, and finally my time slot had come. I pushed myself forward, grinning at the audience from below, and then pulled out my two Dewford catches - with all the adventures I had to go through in that town, this should've been easy, even if the battle against Cass wasn't really that one sided. Aruku! was not to be underestimated - she hit enemy Pokémon just as if they were skateboards that flew onto her, and Tsuga… well, it was my first time using her in a proper battle, but I was certain that I could count on her agility and interesting moves.

In front of those two valiant heroes stood a small Alolan Diglett and a Wormadam - I still had to go by Benji's own words to know the name of that one, it was a very quirky looking Pokémon that I had no experience with - who immediately started to execute their own strategy. And this time, it was Sandstorm.

It was getting harder for me to see in that sort of weather, let alone for my Pokémon - but they still put up somewhat of a fight, from what I could tell. Clobbopus was once again clobbering the ground, drawing out Diglett anytime it tried to use Dig, but of course it would've been too easy if that was all that the small Ground type could offer. Instead, it went for Bulldoze many times, successfully Protected itself from most of Aruku's attacks, and slowed down Tsuga a lot. And at that point…

Wormadam just needed to hide in the shadows, Quiver Dance a few times, and swoop down for the kill. Signal Beam a couple times, and that was the end of it.

Cass healed my Pokémon again, and accepted my reservation for one more battle slot on the following day. I was determined to win my badge even more after that terrible display. But then, as I left the building for good, it hit me.

How was I gonna do that, exactly?

Embyr · Mar 2, 2021

Name: Kira Wolf || Day: Wendsday, September 23 || Time: Afternoon
Location: The Great Blue Sea

Keeping a Promise

Kira leaned over the railing on the bow of the boat, taking in the ocean's salty breeze as the small port in the distance grew closer. "Enjoy it while you can Azure, this will be the last we see of the ocean for a while." she said with a sad tone to the Spheal beside her.

Azure gave Kira a bark before turning back towards the sea, watching a small school of Magikarp splash high into the air.

Smiling, Kira took a seat on the ground next to Azure, petting him on the head as he stared off into the ocean. With her other hand, she dug through her bag and pulled out her Holotch. Digging through her contacts she quickly found the name she was looking for.

"Hello?" Kira?" Asked the voice on the other line.

"Hey dad, whats up?"

"Not much! Just getting ready for my next shift. Was wondering when you'd finally call!"

"Hey, you said once a week and technically I'm a day early!" Kira retorted "I just figured now would be a good time since I'm just sitting on the Ferry anyway."

"Fine, to be fair though you don't have the greatest track record when it comes to keeping in touch. Anyway, you said you're on a ferry, does this mean you're headed to Dewford then?"

"Nope, Petalburg actually! I didn't really spend that much time in Slateport. Challenged the gym and got out of there really."

"Really? You didn't do anything in Slateport? I'm surprised, there's quite a bit there. Lots of stores, restaurants and things to do."

"Yeah, but all that stuff required money. Something I'm a bit shy on right now. You wouldn't believe it but Dewford town was far more friendly to my wallet. I got to take a tour of the caves, explored the wilds a bit and took Azure to the beach. All for free!"

"I'm surprised the tour was free, Usually those resort towns cost an arm and a leg to do just about anything in!"

"Well there was another tour that cost money, it was on a haunted ship or something like that. Couldn't really afford to go though even If I wanted to…" Kira said, trailing off. "Speaking of a lack of funds though..."

"Ah, and here is why you decided to call me."

"Only partially, but yeah. You do still owe me a graduation gift you know, and I figure a great graduation gift would be a set of camping supplies!"

"Why do you need that? I thought you could stay at the Pokemon centers for free?"

I can... but the distance between routes is longer than just a day's travel in most cases. So unless you're willing to buy me a car or something like that I'm going to need to stay the night outside occasionally."

"Right…" He said with a long pause. "Well, you're out of luck on the car but I think I can manage something for the camping gear. I know someone in Petalburg, he'll be able to hook you up."

"I can pick it out myself you know! I'm not Eight!" Kira protested.

"I know, but the guy I'm thinking of knows a few people who can cut you a good deal. Plus it's someone you'll want to meet anyway."

Kira gave a long, conceded sigh. "You're not going to tell me who it is are you?"

"That's going to be a surprise!"

"Right…" Kira said, pausing just as her father just did. "Anyway, so how did mom react?"

"She's worried, obviously would prefer it if you came home. However, she was at the very least happy to know you're doing well."

"Right, well I hope you know that isn't happening…" Kira said with a long pause. Azure, noticing Kira's change in tone, pushed himself under her arm.

"Obviously, She figured that as well…" He said, trailing off for a bit. "You should really give her a call sometime, you two are more alike than you know."

"I really don't want to listen to her try to guilt me into coming back home…"

"I won't make you, just consid…"

Suddenly the loud speaker on the ferry chimed to life. "Attention passengers, we'll be arriving in about five minutes. Please be ready to disembark at the time of arrival."

"Sorry dad, we're about to arrive. Mind just sending me the address of that guy later?"

"Yeah, will do... Talk to you later."

"Cya"

Spoiler:

WizardOfOdd · Mar 3, 2021

Arthur Weissmann
Location: Southern Pokemon Center, Slateport City
Pokemon at hand :

Wednesday, September 23rd

Chapter 3 - 2
Unexpected Development
Part 2

The sun had risen once more. I stretched my body and without skipping a beat went straight to the showers where I took a quick bath.

Today, I was more energetic than usual. It almost felt like my body was as light as a feather.

By the time I was ready to go out of my room, there were still two hours left before the time we decided to meet. All thanks to the curiosity I had about what Vincent and my sister had to say about their conversation.

Having to kill quite some time, I decided to bring out my Pokemon instead for you know… A bonding experience.

It's nice being around them, especially since most of them are small-sized except Braveheart so it was easy to put them inside the same room. They were pretty happy to be out of their Pokeball, and most of them were very keen to be shown affection, even if that's in the form of more food like Kaplan did.

Time flew by, and after I got pranked by Nero after he pulled the chair underneath me when I stood for a bit with his psychic powers. I looked at my watch to notice that there were thirty minutes left before the promised time, yet I just couldn't wait any longer. Perhaps waiting in the Cafe was the best option possible.

So I put everyone back to their respective Pokeball except Muchorin who was a bit more fussy than usual about going back inside it. And so while Muchorin clung to my chest, I walked towards the Cafe section of the Pokecenter only to found that Elaine and Vincent were already sitting there with Cody sitting on the latter's lap.

From my observation, they seemed to be getting along really well. They were even laughing about something I couldn't hear from the place I was standing on. I just hoped that it wasn't me that they were laughing about.

I didn't have to stand long though, Elaine quickly realized that I was in the area and both of them waved at me as if they were telling me to come there.

So I walked there and Muchorin didn't waste any time to introduce himself to my sister as he did a backflip from my chest into the table. The perfect landing was topped with jazz hands as it stood with one leg before bowing in four directions as its short performance came to an end.

Both Vincent and Elaine clapped at this sight which Muchorin reciprocated with a wide grin on his face before looking towards me. Meanwhile, Cody looked at him with googly-eyes as if it saw the dance full of fascination.

"You did great as always!" I rubbed its head causing him to clung back to my chest while nuzzling his face against the shirt I wore.

"You have a really cute Pokemon, huh?" Elaine smiled widely towards my lovely Darumaka.

"Yeah, I'm glad to have him… Uh, what are you two doing here this early? I thought we were supposed to meet at nine."

"Let me answer that, uh… Basically, I'm bored and as you see I was enjoying my morning tea while reading this newspaper right here when your sister greeted me. It seemed that neither of us had anything better to do, so~ We're here." He giggled before sipping the tea on his cup. "Well, if we could start now if you both want to do so."

Neither of me nor Elaine had any complaints about it, and so we began our discussion.

"Artie… I'm really sorry that I had to ask this, I really am… But… I had to ask you this…"

Elaine's hesitation in her voice caused me to shiver unconsciously. What could it possibly be for her to look that worried about asking me a question?

"...Taking this path as a trainer, are you not forcing yourself?"

"U-uh… What do you mean, Eli?"

"I don't want you to follow this path if you're feeling forced… I-I just want you to be happy that's all… So if you really doing this just for either me or dad… Just don't. I'm okay with it, and I'm sure dad will understand it too."

Ah… So that's why she was hesitant, I should've known.

At this point, I couldn't help but sigh at what she said. Elaine was definitely looking out for me, after all, that had happened recently must've opened her eyes to the possibility that I might be suffering in doing this journey, but my answer was already absolute.

"Hey Eli, remember what happened when I was severely ill back then?"

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WizardOfOdd · Mar 3, 2021

Sophie
Location: Contest Hall, Dewford Town
Pokemon at hand :

Wednesday, September 23rd

Chapter 3 - 3
Small Steps
Part 3

I watched intently as my Pokemon did their planned routine. They had a bit of a shaky start, but eventually, they managed to pull out a great performance.

Of course, there were few flaws here and there. But it wasn't like it's something that would ruin the whole show or anything, considering my inexperience Callie told me to overlook the finer details for now and focus on the consistency to pull out the performance for now.

There were few failed attempts such as when Garnet spun too fast and eventually crashed onto the floor, or when Aurora shot her moves too quickly that Garnet was accidentally shot down from its position. It wasn't the best moments if I may say so myself.

The thing I was really unsure of was the performance for the third round. It's really dependent on Aurora's ability to summon falling snow so the ambiance could be set properly, but there was not much testing I could do since the ability was much more taxing on Aurora than I initially thought, so even if Garnet could use Recover to restore itself from the damage it got from the mishap, I had to be really careful in managing Aurora's energy so she wouldn't over exhaust herself for the big day tomorrow.

*Clap* *Clap* *Clap*

Callie clapped from the sidelines with a wide smile which warmed me up. But I didn't have a lot of time to feel happy when I felt my shoes being tugged.

It was Stolz. He bit the rubber on the bottom part of my shoe which prevented me from stepping my foot forward.

"Oh, dear. What's wrong, Sophie?" Callie said to me with a concerned look.

"I don't know, I'm sure I didn't do anything weird or something like that."

I crouched and looked at him with concern in my eyes, I couldn't understand what he was trying to explain to me and so I offered him food and the chance to return back to his Pokeball. Both were rejected.

And to make things worse, Stolz started to sulk and whine which left me in a tough spot.

Aurora tried to help by asking what was wrong, but it ended up badly as Aurora's constant egging of Stolz to reveal why he was so upset caused Stolz to chomp hard on Aurora's paw. Causing both of them to almost getting into a fight before I had to forcefully broke up the both of them.

"What's wrong, Stolz? Please answer me!"

"I think it wants to battle." Callie chimed into my questioning. "There's a lot of reasons why it could be angry with you right now. It might be because you're focusing your attention on your Vulpix and Staryu, but it didn't seem the case since it wasn't interested in the contest training from the very beginning. So I think it's a reasonable guess to assume that the lack of battles was the reason why it was being grumpy."

I looked at Stolz and he was averting his gaze away.

"...I see, I'm not a good enough trainer to understand you yet, huh?"

Aurora was not happy with my sad expression and continuously barked on towards Stolz to force him. But this time Stolz reached out to me and nuzzled his face on my leg as if he was remorseful at what he did.

Callie lowered herself in front of me and patted my head gently. "Gee, don't feel so harsh about yourself. Everyone has to start from somewhere, you know?"

"I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"I couldn't fully trust you yesterday, and yet you would still…"

"Hahaha, it's normal to not trust someone like that. The fact that I was willing to help you out of the blue without asking something in return is something worth being cautious about. I had the same attitude too when I was starting as a trainer, you know?" She giggled while sticking her tongue.

Callie's words really helped me to be at ease about my situation, at the same time it also gave me the extra motivation to learn more and move forward.

I promised Stolz that I would take him to the gym when the contest was finished, and so after a hug, the issue was managed to be squashed.

I and Callie had some small talk afterward and after a few laughs shared between us, we continued the practice session until we deemed that Aurora was too exhausted to continue. And so there was nothing else to do but to rest and hope that everything would go well in the contest tomorrow.

Let's go, me!

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

budube · Mar 3, 2021

Miranda Lockhart

Saturday, September 19th

Chapter 2: Part 3 - One day job, Part 2

15:00 to 15:10 - Dewford Beach
I probably had the most big brained idea ever, even though my job is pretty much over now. If I'm supposed to find wild Pokémon, then why don't I scan for them instead of walking through the whole beach over and over.

Still, my Pokémon are all outside their PokéBalls, including the green one that seems to be very comfortable sticking on my left shoulder, the asshole. I can't even take her off me and it makes me uncomfortable!

The scanner takes us to one of the most crowded places here, which is weird because the PokéDex said Pyukumuku normally repel tourists from the beaches or something along those lines. I know I've gotten pissed off about a lot of stupid shit in my first week here like green Pokémon, Maritza, apples, Alola and whatever, but what the fuck is this PokéDex saying?

It's like people in Dewford either have their screws loose due to so much heat, the PokéDex is full of bullshit, or the kid with the bag of potato chips just wants to be an asshole.

"Hey, you! Don't feed the Pyukumuku!" I yell at the kid. First thing that happens is Pyukumuku knocks the bag off and Mankey jumps on it and stomps it repeatedly. Before the kid could take it back, Sandygast appears from hiding under the sand and eats it. "That was completely uncalled for, you fucking idiots!" I say, tossing the wild Pokémon back to the sea. 'But it was awesome.'

And now the kid is crying.

"Did that girl just attack a kid?" I hear someone ask in the background.

"Yes, I saw that too. Someone should call a Ranger. Or the cops, even."

"Her parents should-"

"Don't you talk about my parents! You don't know me! You don't know shit!" I exclaim, holding my bat from the grip. Sandygast and Pyukumuku are completely clueless, but Mankey is as ready as me to jump at that son of a bitch, but we are stopped.

"Kid. It's alright." I hear a voice from behind. It's the same Ranger as before, holding me by my shoulder. I try to take her off me, but she just holds me tighter. "Your job here is done. Thanks for your help." She sighs and then goes to look at the kid. "You're not hurt, right?" He shakes his head. "Good. I don't think the other girl wanted to hurt you. You shouldn't be feeding the wild Pokémon, alright?"

"Am I in trouble?" I ask her, while she is still looking at the kid.

She stares at me and tells me to wait. At least until his mother comes back from wherever the fuck she was this whole time.

"Come with me."

"You got the spirit, I'll give you that." She laughs. "But you should be more careful with how your Pokémon act, that kid could have ended up hurt."

"But it's not my fault, they acted on their own!"

"They are your Pokémon, and thus, they are your responsibility as a trainer." She says. "If they can't behave, then they should stay in their PokéBalls, or something like what happened just now could happen again with a worse outcome."

I don't answer.

"I should thank you for that, though. I don't think people will feed the Pyukumuku too frequently for a few days thanks to you. So thanks for making my job easier." She starts laughing very loud. What an asshole. "The coordination of your team is also impressive. For non trained Pokémon, they work pretty well together."

"You saw that? Why didn't you stop them then?"

"I was just making sure you did your job. Didn't expect it to turn out that way." She answers. "... and it was pretty funny to see."

"... Heh."

We get to her Zebstrika, who seems to be perfectly fine now, but waiting outside the beach where there's no sand, so it was still a pretty annoying walk to get there.

"Hop in. There's room for two." She says. "I'll take you to the Ranger's base to give you your money."

"It's too high for me." She rolls her eyes and gets off her Pokémon.

I get to mutter a 'holy shit!' before she picks me up and has me riding in front of it. She isn't even that tall for her to do that so easily! I didn't expect her to be so strong! What is she a fucking super soldier? What kind of training do these guys get into? "Ask me first before doing that!"

"You were going to say no."

"Well, that's my fucking problem!" I yell. "Why can't I even walk to the Ranger's base?"

"Because you don't know where it is? I don't think you want to walk to the other side of town either. Not with this weather, at least." She says and she is completely right! But still, what an asshole! "Now, do you want to know what I like about this job?"

"Watching kids get hurt?"

She laughs, but then shakes her head. "No, not that. Yours was just hilarious."

"I'll pay for the kid, don't worry about her." Nora (because that's her name apparently) tells the ice cream guy while we sit in one of the public folding chairs with her Zebstrika waiting behind us.

"Dude. Ice cream discount? This is awesome!"

"It doesn't really come with the job, don't tell the other Rangers." She says, asking me to lower my voice as well. "I just got to befriend the ice cream vendors because I'm constantly patrolling this area."

"It's still amazing, though."

"Yeah, it is. I learnt a lot of stuff from this job alone, overcoming shyness was one of them, but I don't want to bore you with my story." She says then bumps her ice cream against mine, leaving a stain on it but also almost making me drop it. "Oops! Sorry, just wanted to know how yours was."

I can't help but chuckle again. She's an asshole, but a funny asshole. I like her. Didn't expect to meet someone so cool the same day that ruined my whole goddamn weekend.

"I saw you caught a Pyukumuku while doing your job." She stops to lick some of her ice cream which is starting to melt on her hand. "... and a shiny one, nonetheless."

"Shiny? Is that why she's green?" Shiny is a term I've heard before, but it was from some idiot that said her Gengar was shiny, except that it looked the same as a normal Gengar so that asshole lied to me!

"Mhm. They are pretty rare to find, mostly because they are more likely to be targeted by predators. Because they are so rare, some people prefer looking for them over the normal ones as well, so there's that."

"Why do they prefer to catch them, though? Are they stronger than normal Pokémon, do they get to learn moves that normal ones aren't able to?"

"Not at all, no." she chuckles then takes a bite of her ice cream cone. "They are just a different color. It's just… compare it to being left handed. Actually don't, it's a terrible example. There's no difference between regular and shiny Pokémon and that's it."

That adds another question. Is she left or right handed? However, I get so pissed off at the other thing to even think about it right now. So angry I end up making an aggressive movement that ends up dropping my ice cream ball (or what's left of it) on the sand. "Then what's the fucking point!? Why would you spend hours in the wild looking for a Pokémon just because it has a different color! What's their fucking problem!?"

She shrugs. "If you ask me, I'd rather have them be taken by a trainer over having them die in the wild."

"But if they are caught simply because of that, then there's no way they will be taken care of! They are going to end up in the shitter as well if they are weak or they will be trained to death!" I yell from the bottom of my heart now. I won't try to hold back, because this is something that pisses me off so much that I'd punch a Machamp on the fucking face right now! "This happens in Pyrite all the time! They don't give a shit! Being a trainer there is all about joining the Battle Square and when you have gathered enough money, you take your Pokémon to the Colosseum. If they lose you change them for a new, stronger one. Dad says it wasn't this way until the Shadow Pokémon incident but…" My throat begs me to stop. I've yelled so much today and I can barely even see as well, there's water on my eyes. "Never mind."

"It's alright." she touches her pockets, but doesn't seem to find anything so she just uses her scarf to wipe my tears, but I move away from her. "Maybe you got a point. But you can never know it fully. I've met a few competitive trainers that still take care of their Pokémon as if they were family. As I said, in this job you see almost everything… Didn't know you spoke so much. Gotta take care of your language, though." she laughs, while I just blush in embarrassment. It hits differently when someone other than dad points it out. "Uhh, I mean… It's funny. I know I've said 'fuck' more times than I can count during my whole career. Once I did it trying to help an old lady and I just wanted to die when she told my workmate about it. That was the longest someone has complained about me." We both laugh together after that for a while that hopefully would've lasted longer, it was relaxing and that's something I haven't been since I got here. She gets me over her Zebstrika's back once again and then asks: "Why did you catch that Pyukumuku?"

"Didn't know why she was green, so I caught her to figure it out somehow."

"And now that you know she is a shiny?"

"I'm keeping her. She is part of the team just as Mankey and Sandygast."

Nora nods and then hops behind me, then her Zebstrika starts trotting to the Ranger's base. "I think she is in the hands of a good trainer."

"Do you think she is left handed or right handed? What you said before got me thinking, but couldn't ask before."

"I'd say left, but maybe you should ask her. She only has one hand, after all."

Current Party:

Inventory

Spoiler:

budube · Mar 4, 2021

Jordie "Jo" Hughes

Sunday, September 20th

Chapter 2: Part 3 - The Biggest Coincidence

00:08 am to 00:16 am - S.S. Cactus
Jordie was wrong when they thought Dewford wasn't as interesting as Slateport. The S.S. Cactus has its charm, it's a beautiful ship despite being old, and it's clear people take as much care as possible of it.

It's still not what Jordie is here for, though. They are interested in the Binacle, pretty common, although all of them seem to jump off the ship when they come closer and put their hand over their belt. Is the idea of traveling with them really that bad?

It's probably for the best, though. Jordie doesn't believe in destiny or any of that stuff, but they do believe in coincidences, and if they end up finding something good here, then it could be the biggest coincidence of their life. Plus on second thought, there's probably better options than Barbaracle. Hui already said it, this region has 'too much water', and that extends to water-type Pokémon as well. Maybe Jellicent or a Golisopod.

After twenty seconds that felt like minutes of not having anything come at them, Jordie contemplates the idea of finding something themselves once more, but it gets tiring. There are no Pokémon they can see here at the moment either, and the time is running out.

Jordie ends up at the ship's deck. They can see the other shipwrecks from there and the many lighthouses Littleroot Passage has, making a bit of effort has Dewford's Gym completely visible as well. The view is incredible and very distracting. Perfect for a date… which they don't have.

They are about to reach Gabby's Dusk Ball before they feel something touching their hand and then a splashing sound once the shock makes them move their hand away.

"Hui?" No, it's too early for him to be here. He must still be having fun on the tour.

They look behind, and there's not a single soul, but that's because that soul is outside the ship. There's something in there that Jordie is pretty sure wasn't there at first: Seaweed, coiling around the steel railings, but blood red instead of green. Two shinies on a single day is luck at its finest, but the Pokémon's nature prevents them from bursting in joy. It's scary, and Jordie wants to be quiet now that something finally came at them.

"Hey." Jordie calls as they walk closer to the end of the deck. "You gave me a real shock just now. I thought you were one of those actors, although there seem to be none of them in this part of the ship."

While the Dhelmise is unable to answer, it seems to be able to understand Jordie perfectly since it slowly loosens the grip around the railings and rises like a tentacle pointing directly at them while the rest of its body floats in the water. Can it look at them or is it just feeling their presence?

"It gets a little bit boring, doesn't it? Maybe even lonely." They ask, looking directly at Dewford Town once again. "Being stuck in the same place, I mean. It's a big world and it's meant to be explored."

They look back at the wild Pokémon to see it was pointing at Dewford now as well.

"That place looks beautiful, don't you think? Dewford Town. It's a small place, but it's been worth the visit." They look at the Dhelmise that hasn't turned away from the island yet. They seem to have seen it nod, though. "I know I got bored of being stuck in my home region. I was born an explorer… What about you? Ever thought about picking up your anchor and go swim somewhere else?"

There's something about cursed seaweed that is more intimidating than any other Pokémon they know of. The moment the seaweed turns back at them, Jordie finds themselves reaching for Gabby's Ball, but once the Pokémon acts as altered as them by getting closer to the water, they relax and reach for an empty one instead.

"Don't worry." They hold the Dusk Ball on one hand, showing the Dhelmise its button being turned off the moment it starts moving away. "It's not activated. See?"

The Pokémon seems to understand, but it's still being careful not getting too close to them.

"Thought you might've been a bit bored, being stuck in the same place for days. Fetch!" The Ball flies above the Dhelmise and falls on the sea. The Pokémon's tentacle follows its trail and once it sinks, it goes to look for it.

"You are not too fast, uh? That's alright, nothing to worry about." They say with a smile once it comes back with their Dusk Ball. "Let's try again. Fetch!" A splashing sound, and the Pokémon goes after the Ball again. It launches it from the sea, and it falls in Jordie's hands. "Great. Nice aim. Let's try one last time."

Jordie tosses the Dusk Ball, this time aiming directly at the Dhelmise. However, it breaks free from it as the Ball falls on the sea. The trainer hears a splash, and doesn't see the Pokémon again.

They sigh. Maybe it was not the biggest coincidence, after all.

Jordie walks away from the deck to start looking somewhere else, but then they hear something hitting the railings. A ship's helm acts as a hook, holding itself from the railings, while the red seaweed pulls something out of the water while holding itself from it. The trainer runs back to the deck to see the anchor slowly being taken to the ship.

Another of the tentacles goes back to the sea and after a few seconds comes back with Jordie's Dusk Ball. This one is already used, but they understand what the Pokémon is trying to say.

Jordie caught a Dhelmise!

Lvl 15. - Steelworker - Gyro Ball / Growth / Astonish / Wrap / Mega Drain / Iron Defense

Jordie's Party:

Inventory:

Spoiler:

Groc · Mar 4, 2021

Natsuko Soyokaze
Tuesday, September 22nd, evening
Petalburg City

With no Fan Club buildings in Petalburg, Tsu has to stay at the Pokémon Center tonight. She doesn't mind, but there isn't much to do there but wait, and she can't even distract herself with the odd jobs board. So to distract herself from the afternoon's events, she's sitting in what can only be called a 50's-themed malt shop. They have a promotion going on where if you buy a sundae, you get a free single scoop cup. Tsu heads back to the counter for her third sundae. "Can I get another chocolate and caramel sundae, please? And a scoop of the mint, with sprinkles!"

The boy behind the counter, who looks about her age, hesitates to put in the order. "I'm not really supposed to give you the free scoop after your first order. Kind of a one per customer thing, you know? Besides, haven't you had enough?"

"Oh, come on, please?" She leans in closer to read the tag on his tiny paper hat. "...Joe? I'm just passing through town, I'm kind of in debt and too embarrassed about that to ask for help, I don't know what to do next, and I screwed up my first kiss! I got all flustered when she called me pretty, and I missed, and then I didn't know what to say so I called her pretty too... I mean, she didn't complain, but I still thought it was bad, you know?"

Joe takes a second to process that. "Whoa. That's hot... I mean, uh, I wouldn't know! I've never k... you know what? Free scoop, sure thing. I'll have that ready for you in just a moment!"

"Aw, thank you!" Tsu smiles, taking a seat at the booth. She should feel bad for that, but hey. Free ice cream.

What she should do is figure out a plan. She could just leave town tomorrow, but she just got here! Her adventure won't be very fun if she just sprints for the goal. So instead, she pulls out the brochure she'd grabbed at the Center, seeing what there is to do in town. There's a Gym, but she doesn't really feel like battling right now. But there's also a Contest Hall, maybe she could check that out?

"Here you go, chocolate sundae and a side scoop of mint! With extra sprinkles." Joe delivers her ice cream personally, smiling brightly.

"Oh, thank you." Tsu returns the smile before going back to the map. She might join another Contest, but what to do about...

"You know, if you're new in town, you probably don't know what Petalburg has to offer." Joe didn't leave, and is awkwardly shifting his weight back and forth. "I'm off tomorrow, I could show you around if you're interested?"

"Oh, uh..." Is he asking me out? Why? I said I was just passing through! Tsu looks away uncomfortably. "I'm not. Interested, I mean. I'm not staying long. Plus, I travel a lot." Why can't he take a hint? Maybe if I embellish a little... "Because I'm a Pokémon Coordinator. And I really need to prepare for my next Contest."

If anything, that just makes him more interested. "Oh, really? I love Contests! Which one are you in?"

"Uh..." She pulls out her phone, quickly looking up the Contest schedule. The next D-Rank Contest is... "Thursday! Yep, I'm in Thursday's Doubles round!"

"That's really cool! Hey, I'm not working then, can I come watch you?"

How did this backfire on me?! "Well, it's open to the public, so I guess you can! Maybe I'll see you, too!" She laughs, a little too loudly, perhaps.

Joe just grins, apparently not picking up on her nervous energy. "It's a date. I bet you're awesome!"

"Ha ha... sure am! I'm gonna go... rehearse, now... bye!" She takes her ice cream and stiffly backs away, hurrying off once the door shuts.

She sits down at a bus stop bench, suddenly feeling too nauseous to eat ice cream. "Why can't I keep my mouth shut? I'm not ready for another Contest!" She looks at her phone, still open to the Contest page. "Although, this one does look kinda fun..."

But she won't have a costume or anything! Not unless she can find one cheap or convince Lucy to make her another one. But that doesn't seem likely.

...or is it?

She makes a call, anxiously tapping her foot until her friend picks up. "Hello, Natsuko dear! So good to hear from you!"

"Hi, Lucy! Hey, can we make this a video call? I want to show you something."

"Hmm, very well. One moment, please." Tsu hears a bit of shuffling before the video request is accepted. Lucy is seated in her bedroom, wearing a white bathrobe and her hair up in a towel. "What did you want to show me?"

"Well, it's more that I had a favor to ask, too." Tsu sends out Cyrano, switching the camera to get the Nosepass in the shot. "I want to enter another Contest, and I was hoping you could make me some costumes? Just something small, I promise!"

Lucy sighs, one hand to her head. "Natsuko, I'm still recovering from the last time I made you a costume."

"I know, Lucy, I really do, but I can pay you this time!"

"With what, darling? I thought you already sent me what money you'd collected."

"With this." Tsu pulls the Nugget from her pocket, flipping the camera back so Lucy can see both it and her face.

Lucy's eyes widen. "Is that gold? Wherever did you find that?"

"I... traded for it. I'll tell you the story later. How about it, can I hire you?"

Lucy thinks about it, looking at the Nugget and at her friend's face. "Oh, alright. What did you have in mind?"

"Thanks, Lucy! You're the best!" Tsu grins, flipping the camera back to Cyrano. "The theme is Medieval, so I was thinking we could dress him up as a knight? Even just a helmet? And Shiny can be his noble steed!"

Lucy puts on her glasses, grabbing her sketch pad. "Where you get your ideas, I'll never know. I'll see what I can do. I presume your Contest is tomorrow?"

"It's on Thursday, actually. At 3 PM."

A coy smile graces Lucy's lips as she draws. "My, you're giving me a whole extra day for this? Such generosity from you, darling, I'm flattered!"

"Yeah, I'm learning..." Tsu blushes slightly as she laughs. "So, how do I get this to you?"

"I'll borrow my friend's Noctowl again, don't worry. He'll drop off your package, and you can send him back with the gold. Where are you?"

"I'm in Petalburg, and I'll be at the Pokémon Center."

"Thank you, darling. And don't forget to send me his measurements. I need them to make sure his costume fits, even if it's just a hat."

"I will. Thanks again, Lucy!" Tsu hangs up, tucking the Nugget away for now. She looks at Cyrano, who is sniffing at her ice creams. "Now I just need to come up with a routine..."

[PKMN FULL] Hoenn: Square One [IC]

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