[PKMN FULL] Hoenn: Square One [IC]

Eleanor · May 19, 2021

Avril Reese

16 - ♀ - Laverre City

Pokémon / Inventory:

AVRIL'S MONEY: $20 000

AVRIL'S TEAM:
🌼 Poppy (Flabebe) -♀- lv. 32
Flower Veil
Synthesis, Fairy Wind, Grassy Terrain, Lucky Chant, Wish, Magical Leaf

🌼 Hydrangea (Shellos) -♀- lv. 27
Storm Drain
Water Pulse, Mud Bomb, Recover, Rain Dance, Mud Sport, Hidden Power (?)

🌼 Wisteria (Inkay) -♂- lv. 22
Infiltrator
Swagger, Hypnosis, Topsy-Turvy, Pluck, Reflect, Psybeam

🌼 Venus (Mawile) -♀- lv. 28 ↑
Intimidate
Fairy Wind, Crunch, Sucker Punch, Iron Defense, Taunt, Baton Pass

AVRIL'S INVENTORY:
🌼 2 Empty Pokéballs
🌼 2 Potions
🌼 Eviolite
🌼 Silk Scarf
🌼 TM for Ally Switch

🌼 Holotch (phone version)
🌼 Fanclub Membership card - valid until October 17^th
🌼 Various clothes and commodities

AVRIL'S CONTACTS:
Jordie, Shuna, Natsuko, June, Marcella, Hikaru

AVRIL'S BADGES AND RIBBONS:
🥊 ➕

🎀• 1

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

In for the kill, pt. 3

Saturday, September 26^th - almost 1 p.m. - Route 102

Most Pokémon I've found go through a few stages. First, they fight or run, as all Pokémon do. Second, they faint. They stop fighting and responding, but occasionally struggle some more, this time with all the energy they still have left, in one last attempt to stay alive. Finally, they die, leaving their body behind for me to feast upon.

This one is no different, but I highly doubt its last squirms will be of any use. Once I have my teeth onto something, that something is condemned - I just have to patiently wait for phase three. Isn't this what you wanted, Avril? I can fend for myself and get my own food, you don't have to babysit me - and you don't have to bring me down either, thinking that just because you give me your own canned stuff I won't enjoy hunting for real food anymore.

Then again I can't say I'm pleased with this… thing. It's anything but metallic, nothing like Aron, it's hard but in a different kind of way… I knew it was going to be a different feel but I expected something better from it. It's not quite as good as a reward, as this hunting trip would've alluded to. But at the same time… these weird sounds, coming from all around me. What are they? Definitely, not Poppy's doing, she doesn't sound like this. This feels almost like some howling storm wind, some whistling…

It gets stronger and more annoying. I don't like loudness, I don't like feeling so tiny. My teeth grind away at the Pokémon, I drool even more, then some explosions literally black out my view. I keep using Iron Defense to protect myself, as the smoke reveals more and more of these round brown Pokémon fainted around me. A few bipedal… Sableye-like things surround me as well, a threatening look on their faces and a pointy nose. Above them is floating… she.

But she looks scared, uneasy, she's really pleading for all of this fighting to end. Her heartfelt chirping gives me some time to look around and… this is when I realize my mistake. I'm not in a cave, even if the forest may look somewhat similar. For these Pokémon, who actually live here and know this place, I'm an easy target in an open field… also because they're everywhere! Literally everywhere.

Caves are good if you're by yourself, because even if you're alone and independent you can handle a group of enemies. They pile up, one after another, but they can only come from one or two directions, if you're in the right place at the right time. But not here. Because as soon as Poppy sets off again, probably realizing that everyone (me included) is looking at her angrily, I get hit by a barrage of different attacks. My only hope right now is to keep enduring them until my prey actually dies. Once that's over, the other Pokémon should likely realize their battle is futile, and let me be. Or not…

All the various Pokémon of the forest mock me, looking down from the trees or smirking mischievously. I don't know what they are being so arrogant for, since I still have my prey safely anchored to my mouth, but I play their game - I'm just a damsel in distress looking for something to eat, after all. But… no, I'm also a merciless fighter, I'm a natural assassin, I crave battles and I'm so damn good at them too… I'm a fighter… fi...iii...ght...er……………………..

What's got into me now?

I hiss like crazy, I hit things all around me without knowing what they are, swinging my maw like a club and twirling in place way faster than my head can take it. My attacks hurt, fueling my bloodlust even more, but that's when I make a mistake. Before I can even realize, an explosion from behind and a smack on the head knock me to the ground, as a large weight is lifted from me. When my maw snaps again and seals perfectly shut, with nothing inside, I feel broken.

Aquacorde · May 23, 2021

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

Marie Rachelle Mocinno

AGE: 17 ⟡ PRONOUNS: she/her ⟡ HOME REGION: Johto
DATE: Friday, September 25 ⟡ TIME: Morning
LOCATION: Petalburg Gym

Chapter 3 #07 - Practical Exam

Marie stands on the challenger's side of the field and crosses her arms in a huff. "You didn't tell me!"

"Why would I?" Wally responds cheekily from his side, and Norman at the referee's box pinches the bridge of his nose. "Every amount of surprise is an advantage!"

"You're not in tournament circuits, Wally," Norman says patiently. Wally winces. Marie grins. Opening!

"And I told you all about my Pokémon, too," she pouts, scuffing her toes in the dirt. "Now I don't get to surprise you, and you have all the advantages over me."

Wally cringes, already apologizing, but Norman takes his side this time. "Gym leaders are meant to have the advantage." Damn.

"But I wouldn't have said if I'd known!" Oh, here- "I didn't get to choose for myself, because I didn't have all the information. So it's unfair to me."

Norman nods, all seriousness. "Wally?"

The green-haired trainer looks torn between sulking and apologizing for a fraction of a second. "Okay, here." He releases two Pokémon, similar yet different. "This is Indy, a male Indeedee." The Pokémon with narrowed eyes and upturned horns strikes a superhero pose. "His ability is Psychic Surge. And his partner is Deedee, a female of the same species." The one with downturned horns and bright, open eyes winks cutely. "Her ability is Own Tempo. Are we even?"

Marie tsks. "You know I don't know what any of that means!"

"Get your PokéDex out like I told you to! C'mon, Norman doesn't run his gym like Brawly does."

Marie purses her lips and glances to Norman, who gestures at her to do as told.

"Just because I don't, doesn't mean you can't or shouldn't." Norman's voice barely reaches her ears as Marie rifles through her bag.

"But this is your gym, and you're still teaching me, I can't just change things!" Wally argues, and it feels like an argument they've been having for a while. Norman shakes his head- "you can choose your own path, you don't have to uphold a legacy-" and glances back just as Marie triumphantly retrieves her 'dex.

Indeedee are Psychic and Normal, she reads- and native to Galar, but she doesn't really care about that. Own Tempo will prevent confusion, like it does for Pokie, but Psychic Surge- "Hey, why isn't the field all weird yet? He's out here already."

Wally bounces in place as he falls into lecture mode. "Oh, well-trained Pokémon can suppress and activate their abilities at will! It's really helpful, especially with Pokémon that summon weather or terrain effects. Some get the hang of it more quickly than others, but oftentimes- well, it makes sense when you think of these abilities as survival tools. They don't activate unless under stress, but when you see battles on TV- these Pokémon are going into a stressful situation, knowing they should activate their defense mechanisms to give them an advantage. Out in the wild, or just on the street, they won't have that pressure to activate that response!"

That explains why Stunnie's not randomly paralyzing everything, I suppose. "Thank you, professor," Marie taunts, letting a smirk settle onto her face. Time to project some confidence, or something. Maybe she'll throw the emotion-sensing Indeedee off their game.

"What? I'm not a professor, that's Brendan and May, I- oh. Am I lecturing?" Norman nods, smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Oh, I'm not supposed to lecture, sorry, I'm supposed to battle- are you ready, Marie? Let's go!"

While Wally's squirming is entertaining, a battle is what she came here for, so Marie releases Stunnie and Cutie onto the field. At Norman's echoing "Begin!" the arena is cast in faint purple-pink light that gently fuzzes and warps shapes in her periphery. There's the surge. Deedee cheers for Indy as the latter draws a sigil in the air to rake Marie's two Pokémon with rainbow leaves, and Marie thinks of Tuie, and flashes back to Brawly- "Wondered what she might've been doing up there! Should have found out earlier, I guess."

"Stunnie, Sucker Punch on Deedee!"

Stunnie slaps his tail into the ground to propel himself easily over Indy's head and dashes toward Deedee. Wally's surprise is quickly overtaken by a grin as the pulsing violet light distorts the field around Deedee, warping Stunnie's perception and his dark-infused tail slams the ground some ways to the left of his intended target. His face goes pinched as he glows yellow.

"Should've read about Psychic Terrain!" Wally calls, and Marie scrambles to do so, with her tongue firmly stuck out at the short trainer. She swears she hears Norman stifle a chuckle, and then swears out loud when she sees that Psychic Terrain protects opponents against that type of speed-boosted move. "C'mon Marie, still battling!"

Marie swears again as she looks up to find Indy focusing his mental energy to send Cutie reeling. "Take it back- Leech Seed!"

The heavy seed breaks not on Indy but on the ground next to him, but that doesn't mean he's safe- the thick roots bursting from the coat reach for him and drape their crawling tendrils across his, no, wait, Deedee's shoulders?! "Ally Switch!" Wally calls again, and Deedee winks at Marie before vanishing and leaving an unseeded Indy in her place to brace a translucent shield against the Dragon-infused slam of Cutie's heads- and against the skittering zap of Stunnie's Discharge. Deedee shrieks, and switches once again with Indy even as the Leech Seed drains her energy.

Rainbow leaves manifest again from a drawn sigil but Stunnie is ready, even if Marie isn't- mud splashes into the air, coating the leaves and dragging most of them down to earth before any can hit their mark. Indy focuses, Psychic power rattling through Stunnie, but Marie's getting distracted, isn't she- "Get Deedee! Sucker Punch!"

"It doesn't work, remember?" Wally frowns, but Marie just grins. Stunnie zips away from Indy, powered by Dark-type energy, and douses Deedee in a jet of mud before she can react. "Oh no, you just used the speed, of course-"

Deedee rubs the mud from her eyes only to come face to face with Cutie's ducked heads, eyes glowing purple with the power of Hypnosis. She maintains eye contact as she leans in and presses a cheeky kiss directly to Cutie's middle mouth. The Exeggutor flinches back, a dramatic movement for such a large Pokémon. Deedee grins and sways, Indy appears, and fire blasts Cutie directly in the faces as Deedee falls to the ground on the opposite side of the field, energy still drawing from her crumpled form.

"Just asleep," Norman confirms.

"I didn't think you would think of that," Wally fiddles with his pendant as the warped terrain fades. "And you knew to go for Deedee- how did you know to go for Deedee…?"

"Still battling, Wally!" is Marie's response, and it's Wally's turn to curse- mildly- as Stunnie gets a real, hard-hitting Sucker Punch in. Indy whips up a storm of rainbow leaves that leave aggressive slashes across the Stunfisk but barely nick Cutie's thick trunk. "Cutie, pick up Stunnie and go after Deedee!"

The idea is sound, but Cutie is just too slow- Deedee wakes before they get there, dancing around Cutie to press a cheeky kiss to his tail-head. Stunnie rockets down, momentum and Dark energy slamming into Indy as they switch again, but he can't avoid the pelting of rainbow leaves that sends him skidding across the field.

"Stunfisk is unable to battle!"

Marie curses and withdraws Stunnie.

"Keep it up, Marie! You can still do it!"

Marie raises an eyebrow. "What?"

Wally coughs. Indy sidles over to Deedee, who winces as Leech Seed drains her energy. "You can do it?"

Marie huffs. "No, I can't. You know what I can and can't do."

"Um." Wally's big, pleading eyes flick between her and Norman. "Sorry, what- what should I say to you, then?"

"I don't know, something you believe? Stop trying to sound gym leader-y and be helpful like you were yesterday." Marie scuffs her toes into the dirt again, this time with true irritation.

Wally turns a confused finger toward himself. "I was helpful?"

"Yes, yesterday. And when you were being professor lecture man earlier. You're a good teacher. Be a teacher."

"But I have to be a gym leader…?" Wally argues weakly.

"He says you can be a teacher-gym leader!" Marie flings a rude finger in Norman's direction to accentuate her point. "He says you can do it how you want. I think you should do what you're good at."

"I…"

"I'm not going to win this." Marie admits, though it stings far more to say out loud than to think. Will it ever get easier, being bad at this? Having her pride hurt every time she has to admit she's not at the level she should be? "But the battle isn't over yet. So beat me, but teach me something. Or I'm done here."

Wally stares at her, open-mouthed. Norman conceals his emotions better, but he certainly has an eyebrow raised in her direction. Just as Marie starts to feel foolish in the wake of her outburst, Wally snaps his mouth shut and shrugs self-consciously, fingers wrapped around his pendant. "Um. Our training got cut short yesterday, right? We can pretend we're doing that."

"Whatever floats your boat," Marie huffs, watching Leech Seed drain more energy from Deedee. "Is she going to last long enough for it?"

"Oh, yes! Go ahead, Deedee."

Deedee forms a vague heart shape with her hands and a pinky-purple light pulses out into Indy and as soon as the light sinks into him, she grabs him by the horns and gives him a kiss on the lips. Energy flows back into her and she lets go just as Marie starts to become uncomfortable with the display. Deedee smirks at her knowingly.

"That was gross."

"That was Heal Pulse and Draining Kiss," Wally corrects cheerfully. Marie groans. I never had a chance, did I? "Deedee knowing these moves means she can restore her partner's energy at any time, and her own when she's near her partner. Her whole set of techniques are based in support- Ally Switch allows her to both take hits and put her partner into favorable positions, Helping Hand lends power to her partner's damaging moves, Psycho Shift allows her to cure herself-"

"Then why does she need the Draining Kiss method?" Marie interrupts, but Wally shakes his head.

"No, um- to cure herself from certain common afflictions. Poisons, burns, and paralysis. Unfortunately- for me, but not for you, haha- it doesn't work on Leech Seed." Deedee tugs at the clinging roots, pouting. Indy pats her arm reassuringly. "I like to use her alongside Indy, but she's a good partner for anyone!"

"What does Indy do, then? If Deedee's so helpful."

"Ah, Indy's techniques focus more on offense. Magical Leaf, Mystical Fire, and Psybeam." Indy demonstrates each in succession, aiming drawn sigils away from the other two Pokémon on the field. "He also can use Ally Switch, because it makes exchanging positions much faster if both partners have it. Endure, in case Deedee can't get healing out fast enough or he's partnered with someone else. And Protect, to shield from bigger hits."

Marie thinks about this. "What can Cutie do?"

"I'm sorry, I don't-"

"All their moves work together, right? How do I get Cutie's to do that?"

"Dragon Hammer, Hypnosis, Leech Seed..." Wally trails off. Of course he memorized them. Maybe she should have been memorizing her opponent's moves better.

"Bullet Seed, Barrage, Reflect," Marie finishes.

"Um, it's not a very complimentary set. Sorry. Leech Seed and Hypnosis is a good method if you're working on attrition, and Reflect will bolster his defenses. Bullet Seed works against multiple opponents at once, but your Exeggutor's partner will have to be wary of getting hit as well. I'm sure you saw, but I don't know- Deedee avoids Magical Leaf well by now; it's just a matter of training them together. Dragon Hammer is a great, powerful move but he needs to learn speed- as much as he can- and precision, which is up to you as a trainer, to tell him where and when to hit."

"However…" Norman prompts. Wally looks at him blankly for a split-second.

"Ah, right, right! Um, however! As a journeying trainer, you'll benefit from having a versatile set of moves as you learn how you and your Pokémon prefer to battle. Although-" he glances warily at Norman, but the man remains impassive. "I'd personally think about making… Cutie, right? I'd consider thinking of him as a support Pokémon, like Deedee, at least for now, because he has the moves for it. To change that, you'll have to find some Technical Machines. Or Records. Or someone to teach him a move."

"Wait, what? Why? I thought Pokémon just learned things as they got stronger."

"Oh, no, not always. Overall, the ability to learn natural techniques slows as Pokémon grow, and Pokémon who reach their full power potential won't gain any more techniques. And some who reach their final stage of evolution also no longer have that ability. Exeggutor is one of them."

Marie quietly curses the Alexes. "So- what? I have to pay people to teach him?"

"Or pick up some machines, yes. Most gym leaders give them out as prizes- if you win, of course. They're rather prized, and considered specialty items, right? So when you're offered a choice, do your research and choose wisely."

Marie frowns. "Fine. But what do I do now?"

"Now? Oh, what should we work on…" Wally fiddles with his pendant. "Let's try improving the speed and accuracy of his Dragon Hammer, okay? That will help a lot, I think."

"If you say so," Marie shrugs, still rather miffed at the whole thing. But as Norman steps down from the referee's podium, and Wally finds his feet teaching, she finds herself relaxing more and- and actually enjoying her time. Here, now, with nothing to prove but that she's listening to her teacher- she enjoys her life as a trainer.

Spoiler: Team

Spoiler: Inventory

Spoiler: Contacts

WizardOfOdd · May 25, 2021

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

Friday, September 25th

Chapter 3 - 10
My Moment
Part 1

The moment I awaited anxiously had finally come. I was finally going to fight Wally, and there was nothing standing in our way other than the dirt battlefield that separated us.

"Are you ready, Wally?" Norman asked his understudy whether he had prepared for the battle.

Wally showed enthusiasm as he nodded. "I am ready, Master Norman!"

Meanwhile, I couldn't help but furrow my brows at the decision I've had to make… As always, I've let all of my Pokemon out from their Pokeball, so they could at least learn even if they were not being used for the battle. But which one should I use for the battle?

We've agreed to do a 2 vs 2 format for the gym battle, since the combination that would have the highest chance of ensuring me the victory would be the way to go. But of course, it's easier said than done, I still had to beat Wally.

Trusting my gut and extensive preparation, especially the latter… Since, you know? I obviously couldn't help but break my promise I made with Vincent about sleeping early because of course, silly me had to be insecure about how much preparation I did. And so with that in mind, I decided to pick the most reasonable combination from a bunch of options I've prepared beforehand.

"Hunter! Nero! you're up now." I called both Pokemon which were happy to oblige with my orders, but unfortunately, there was one fallout from the decision that I didn't manage to foresee beforehand.

"Tang! TANG!"

Braveheart complained loudly at my decision.

"Urgh… Can't this wait!? We're in the final stretch now!" I raised my voice in irritation.

Braveheart shook its head, which caused me to grit my teeth at its action.

"Can you not… Please, just accept the situation, would you!? It's just not ideal—" I was so desperate at the moment to battle as soon as possible that I even used my hand to express how urgent the current situation was.

Despite my desperate pleading, Braveheart just wouldn't let my decision fly. It wanted to fight, and I understood why, but… I just couldn't let its selfish whims jeopardize all the hard work I've poured into the preparation for this very moment. So, as I bit my lips and squeeze my right hand in frustration, I decided to do the idea that I initially found hard to stomach.

Without saying a word, I pressed the button in Braveheart's Pokeball which put him back on his Pokeball mid-rant. The other Pokemon looked very surprised at what just happened, and perhaps they wanted to talk to me about it yet they didn't, maybe because of the forced smile I put up as a last resort to pacify them, or something I just didn't know and honestly didn't bother to know at the time.

I didn't like my decision in the slightest, but it was a necessary evil. I'd just have to explain the situation to Braveheart later and considering that was an easier approach than to prolong the argument, I was sure it's the best way to go compared to letting it derail my plans.

"Um, are you alright? I'm fine if you want to reschedule our match." Wally politely asked me.

Of course, I'm not. If someone managed to look through my facade, they would see a sleep-deprived, stressed, and anxious husk of an untalented scrap heap who was trying his damndest to keep everything glued together so he could at the very least make an acceptable performance against the Hall of Famer standing in front of him.

The only reason I managed to look presentable was thanks to the thick foundation I applied to hide the dark circles under my eyes.

But obviously, I answered I'm fine, what answer should I give otherwise? 'Oh no, I'm struggling to even stand properly? Of course not. So despite Vincent, Wally, and Norman giving me the concerned look, I was more than eager to fight and get this all over with as soon as possible.

With the starting signal given by Norman, we immediately went to business as soon as possible.

Wally was using two Indeedee he dubbed Indy and Deedee… But unbeknownst to him, the Pokemon choice he had was a huge mistake on his part.

"Nero, Psybeam! Hunter, Confusion!"

Norman, Wally, and the two Pokemon started to look at me with a look of concern as if even they knew what I did was a stupid move. And both Indy and Deedee managed to tank the attack without any issue whatsoever because no one except me had the bright idea of using a psychic-type move against a psychic-type Pokemon.

"Um… I'm sorry to interrupt, but it's best to use a non-psychic type move against psychic-type Pokemon because of the resistance they—"

"I-I know that! Nero, Night Slash! Hunter, Peck!" I cut off Wally's advice while stuttering.

"Deedee, Ally Switch! Indy, Protect!"

Both of Wally's Pokemon shimmered in white light as both of them swapped places, and in a few seconds, Indy managed to erect a wall that blocked the advancing Pokemon from landing a hit.

"Tch, the maneuver again!" I yelled once more.

Wally looked slightly hesitant at this point, perhaps he felt that I was not in the right mind which caused him to be worried. "Helping Hand! Mystical Fire!"

A strengthened Mystical Fire would normally be a disaster to face head-on, but I was more than willing to risk it. After all, I already had one of my 'secret plays' hidden up my sleeves.

As the powerful blaze of blue flames scorched both of my Pokemon, Wally looked towards the battlefield with squinted eyes, either because he was concerned about my Pokemon, or about his.

After all, when the flames subsided, both of my Pokemon managed to stand up after getting hit by that devastating attack despite some struggles. Meanwhile, both Indy and Deedee was lying down on the floor unconscious, as both of them fell to the Hypnosis both Hunter and Nero sneakily applied on them.

Oh and about me using moves that are not effective against Indy and Deedee? Of course, everything was just a ruse. No chance in hell I would make such a basic mistake considering how much I prepared just for this moment. The gym badge check Wally did before helped quite a lot for me in preparing this tactic, after all, no one would take a guy who only had a Gym Badge from Brawly seriously. Combine that with the act I had on how I couldn't even mount a proper attack against him, of course, he would let his guard down.

With a window of opportunity opened wide upon my very eyes, I was more than ready to put everything on the line.

THIS IS MY MOMENT, GODDAMNIT!

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

budube · May 26, 2021

Miranda Lockhart

Saturday, September 19th

Chapter 2: Part 5 - Rainbow Stones

17:00 to 17:20 - Granite Cave
"Mankey!" I'm glad Pyukumuku was able to see where Mankey fled to… or that's what I think she did, she was looking inside the cave, what else could it be? "Mankey, where are you?"

He must have been really freaked out to run away like that. I don't think the earthquake was that strong personally, but as I said before, he is afraid of that stuff. Not even me playing with the flashlight brings him here.

How long have I been walking? 5 minutes? That's what it is, according to the P☆DA. It feels like more time, though.

"Mank-!" Yeah, no, on second thought, I don't think I want to shout right now. I don't want to attract any wild pokémon here. I've already heard a few strange sounds behind me, as if someone's been following me, but whenever I look behind, there's nothing.

We go deeper into the cave, I don't know how much, and I shake the P☆DA once again to play with the light. That's when I finally hear Mankey's mankey-sound, whatever it's called.

"Where the hell did you go!?" I say, as he comes running at me, but he is holding onto something. It looks like a small colorful ball. Another stone? That would be great. "What is this thing you got there?"

He hands me the ball. Sadly, it does not look like any stone I know about, it's smaller than my sun stone, although it still fits perfectly on my hand. It has that drawing that you often associate with DNA or whatever that crap is called, but most importantly: It shines. And if it shines, then that means it's valuable. "We could sell it for a high price… say uh… ₽500.000 or ₽1.000.000. We would be rich!" I say, completely ignoring everything around me and then turning back at my pokémon. "If only we knew what it is… maybe Maritza- hey, don't bite it, dumbass!"

We are going to look for more of these rainbow stones (that's what I'm calling them until I know what they really are), so I'm having Mankey to take us where he found the one he took. It isn't really too far away, but once we reach the place, I realize it's empty. I search the whole place again and again, but there really is nothing. What a piece of shit luck I have.

There's really nothing else I can do in this place, so I decide to go back, and that's when everything goes to shit. Remember how I said someone was following me? Well, turns out I wasn't imagining things. For a small moment, my P☆DA captures a wild pokémon that instantly goes hide behind a rock, but I do have the PokéDex and that shit does not miss.

'Aron, the Iron Armor Pokémon. Steel and Rock type. Aron has a body of steel. With one all-out charge, this pokémon can demolish even a heavy dump truck. The destroyed dump truck then becomes a handy meal for the pokémon.'
I still have no idea how to lower the volume of this piece of shit, so I bet that little asshole listened to that. But there's something wrong, there's supposed to be only one Aron, yet I can hear more than one pokémon barking here, so I aim the PokéDex somewhere else, and…

'Aron the Iron Armor Pokémon. Steel and Rock type…'

There's another one! I aim the PokéDex somewhere else, and it goes again with the 'Aron the Iron Armor Pokémon' bullshit! And again! And again! AND A-FUCKING-GAIN! We're surrounded by Aron! They are planning on killing us and have us for fucking dinner!

But I'm not letting that shit happen. Not after getting this far. The PokéDex says Steel and Rock type, right? In that case, I have the advantage!

"Mankey, go get 'em!" I yell. Before I even finish the instruction, Mankey jumps at one of the rocks and breaks it with a single headbutt. A startled Aron jumps backwards and then back at him, scratching him with its Metal Claws. I chuckle. "Mankey, Revenge!"

Mankey prepares a fist full of rage and lands a direct punch on the fucking Aron's face, sending it flying to shit! Yeah, it was awesome! After seeing that, I expect the other Aron to back off, but instead I have two ganging against him. One of them charges at him with a Headbutt and before he is able to retaliate, the other one tosses a few rocks at him.

"Sandygast, do something! Use uhh… your Sand Attack! Yeah, that should work, steel and rock are weak against ground!" Sandygast rushes across the cave's floor and slaps one of the two Aron with a chunk of sand that I have no idea where it came from, but it was enough to attract it to him. It didn't seem to do any damage, though. Why the fuck is it called Sand Attack if it does no damage! Whatever, as if reading my mind, Sandygast changes to his other sand attack so it's unable to attack Mankey.

Two more Aron seem to have appeared from behind the rocks.

"You are a water-type, right?" I ask my shoulder pokémon. "Do you have any water moves that could be useful against those two?"

Pyukumuku shoots a stream of water from her mouth that falls directly on an Aron's head… and now it's coming at us. "That didn't do anything!" It seems Pyukumuku isn't too strong, which means I have to take care of this one with my bat. I get in position and wait for it to come. Pyukumuku jumps down, she holds my bat and has me swinging it even harder than I can, landing a blow on the wild pokémon, but it doesn't go too far, of course, it's heavy.

The wild Aron retaliates by trying a Headbutt at me, but Pyukumuku uses her arm to hop and take the hit. She starts shimmering a reddish light and then the sound of an explosion is heard. Next thing I see is the Aron knocked out and Pyukumuku shaking her fist while hopping on the ground.

I take my PokéDex again, and try listening to the moves she used, but there's too much noise, so I'll have to do it later. I'll have to do this once I'm out of this place.

The other Aron runs against me from behind while Pyukumuku is still celebrating. I try to swing my bat at it like with the previous one, but it bites it when I'm about to hit it and has me falling on my ass instead. "You fucking asshole, let go my bat!" I try to kick the pokémon but of course that was a stupid idea, it's made out of steel! Now my foot hurts because of this piece of shit! "Pyukumuku, do something!"

Pyukumuku tries her water attack once again, and once again, it does nothing other than upset the pokémon more, but I think that maybe that's what she is trying to do, because as soon as the Aron turns her way, she is already flipping her finger at it. Come to think of it, she is giving the finger and sticking out her tongue at the same time. That's some absurd level of assholery, and I love it. I think that move might be Taunt.

Pyukumuku's Taunt has the wild pokémon running at her, which she uses to shimmer in that red light once again and explode with a fucking fist coming out of her mouth! It's awesome, but it's not enough. The wild pokémon retaliates with a Tackle she is unable to counter this time and has her bouncing backwards, where Sandygast is fighting.

Sandygast, by the way, seems to be doing pretty alright too. Without enough sand inside the cave, the Aron he's been fighting is able to escape its sand attack fairly easily and attack him, but he uses his Mega Drain to get that health back.

Now there's these two fighting two Aron. However, the two Aron seem to have agreed to team up against Sandygast and to that, Pyukumuku is unable to counter. Taunt is used to have opponents use attack moves, but it doesn't make you the bait as far as I'm aware, and while her water attack sort of works for that, it's no use to use it when there's two pokémon around.

Wait.

This has me thinking back a bit, when we caught Sandygast. Mankey somehow had him go back to the sea, but he returned like some creepy ass shit that was also hard for Mankey to break.

Because of the water.

"Pyukumuku, use your water attack against Sandygast!" I yell. If Pyukumuku's attack doesn't do shit, then it's perfect! Usually, Colosseum battles are all about going all out and I have rarely seen anyone attack its own pokémon, but maybe playing defensively isn't too bad. Well, it's not like I have any other choice, because otherwise I would fucking die here! "Sandygast, keep using Mega Drain against both Aron!"

At this rate, Sandygast will keep recovering his own health while he keeps hardening. He is invincible! Once I think it's enough hardening, I have Pyukumuku use whatever she used to help me hit the other Aron before, while Sandygast uses his sand attack once again. She blows hard, forming a ring with her thumb and index finger to help Sandygast raise even more sand, making the swirl the two Aron are trapped in even bigger! Between getting hit by the rocks, the sand and crashing with themselves, the two Aron get finally knocked out.

Now there's only Mankey left.

Two Aron more have appeared before him all of a sudden. He is the one I'm worried about the least. When it comes to battle, he is the strongest pokémon. One of the Aron hits him with a Headbutt and he returns a kick that is two times stronger, but the Aron keep coming! They are not even afraid to die, and Mankey is going crazy!

An Aron jumps at him from behind, but this hit seems to be stronger than whatever he has taken so far. He is sent flying to oblivion (whatever that is)! He hits a wall, and falls. The Aron start celebrating, and so do I, but it's because as soon as I see Mankey swinging his tail I know that we've already won.

Mankey just disappears from the place he fell on and jumps on the Aron that just hit him while yelling with anger. He picks the Aron with both arms and tosses it against another one, and then fucking screams when punching the one that he had by his side! He is going apeshit! The other two Aron that had appeared just now finally realize they are about to get fucking murdered and try to escape, but that dark energy from Sandygast's battle comes out of his legs and he is able to knock the first one out with a kick to directly jump at the other one and crush it with an elbow drop!

I walk to him, while he is screaming angrily while stomping the ground and Pyukumuku joins him shaking her fist while hopping.

"That was fucking awesome!" I yell, holding my bat upwards and slamming it against the wall. "I knew all of you were strong! We are the strongest team ever!" The three of them start cheering as well. "I know! Once we are at Petalburg we are challenging the gym! We are not losing this time because of dumb mistakes like on Slateport!"

I totally forgot we were supposed to go look for the rainbow stones, but you know what? I'm hungry as fuck and this has been a long day. I would challenge the gym here tomorrow but Maritza is leaving for Petalburg and I think I should travel with her for now. So yeah, my first actual gym battle will be at Petalburg. Anyways, I feel invincible right now! Nothing can stop me!

- Miranda got a Keystone!
- Mankey grew to level 19!
- Mankey learned Swagger!
- Sandygast grew to level 18!
- Pyukumuku grew to level 12!

Current Party:

Inventory

Spoiler:

QueenNothing · May 28, 2021

Robynn White

Friday, September 25th
Morning
Petalburg City

Seems I just sort of default to the Pokémon Center, huh? The outdoor area of the center is a good place to relax with a nice cup of iced tea, especially when I need some time to think about stuff.

It's no secret that yesterday's contest could have gone better- specifically my battle with June. Meet a pretty girl, get to know 'em, and make a mistake that tears down your entire chemistry. Not the first time this has happened, but it never won't suck. I'm guessing this means it's time to move on from her- disappointing but it's nothing I can't handle, I guess.

I'm not proud of myself, and not even just because of that, but my act was just not good. I'll just take this time to refocus myself and figure out how to get my cool back.

Although, something else that's been bothering me about yesterday is that, if I remember correctly, I think the judges were like "Wow, she's so elegant!" which is very weird because in that battle I was very brudish. If I had to take a guess, I think it's because they know who my adoptive mother is...

"Damn it, DAMN IT, DAMN IT!" An unfortunately familiar voice barges out from the sliding glass door. Pushing up his ridiculous sunglasses, Jessie shouts at the top of his lungs. "DAMN IT ALL TO HELL!!" His frustration grows as he ruffles his hair and stomps his foot.

"Oh, hey Jessie." I can feel his rage piercing through his sunglasses. On any other occasion I'd try fucking with him, but I'm not really feeling it right now.

"YOU!!!" With all his ire, he points directly at me. "You're that bastard who absolutely humiliated me!"

"...I humiliated you? Buddy, when was the last time you looked in the mirror?" Alright, maaaybe I can mess with him a little.

Jessie grits his teeth. "Are you cruisin for a bruisin'? I just got a poundin' from that Wally kid, and I'm in a bad mood, so ya better watch it!!" Two Pokeballs are pulled from his jacket pocket. He talks such a big game, and anyone can see it's overcompensation from a mile away. I don't really think he'll put up much of a fight… but y'know, I think it'll be a good way to get into my stage persona.

"I wouldn't mind giving my Pokémon some rehearsal." I shrug. "Peridot, Ruby, how about it?" Both my Pokémon look up from their food and focus on Jessie. Ruby leaps her way over while Peri lags behind.

Spoiler:

"Well well, I warned ya!" He shouts, sending a Litten and Murkrow out to the field- I believe they're named Stray and Feathers. I'm really not a fan of those names- they're so stupid.

"Stray, Fake Out! Feathers, Peck!" He's done with the tough guy talk- he's going right into it. Stray rushes forward, getting ready to smack Ruby in the face, but he's outspeed by her, who funnily enough, uses Fake Out on him, causing Litten to flinch, and the damage is boosted with another Helping Hand from Perry. This does leave a blind spot though because Feathers is able to jam his beak into Ruby's cheeks when she finishes her attack. It doesn't do a whole lot, but I definitely need to be more weary of my opponents.

Feathers then flies back, using Haze to obscure our vision. Ruby looks around helplessly before being surprised by Stray pouncing from the Haze, preparing an assault with Double Kick. Fortunately, her instincts are quick enough that she almost immediately deflects each paw with her claws while Peri claps.

The Haze starts to fade away- that was fast. Now that I have a clear view, I order Peri to use Ice Shard and aim for the wings. When Feathers spirals downwards, I have Ruby use Pay Day to pelt them with coins. Seeing them flinch is enough for me to know it's time for the payoff.

"Alright, now for the finishing act! You know what to do!" As Feathers and Stray recover from the attack, Ruby releases another Pay Day, and Peri uses Icy Wind to cover them in a layer of ice. Both Pokémon, especially Feathers, take lots of damage, and both are unable to get up. Completely speechless, Jessie returns both of them to their Pokeballs. That was pretty lame honestly. And to make things worse, I really didn't do as well as I would have liked. Guess it's going to take more than picking on bad trainers to get my cool back, huh?

"Have I finally deflated that ego of yours, biker boy?" Okay so maybe I can try it out a bit more before giving up on it entirely. Unsurprisingly though, Jessie doesn't seem very happy about my comment.

"You… you…" In his fury, he chokes on his own words. He's even angrier than when I first encountered him a bit ago- and I didn't think that was possible. "This is the second time you've deflated my manliness!"

I casually take a sip of my iced tea. "Does your perceived masculinity really rely solely on you winning a Pokemon battle? As far as I'm aware, I don't think you've won once. Are you okay? Anyone with eyes can see you're overcompensating. Do you wanna talk about it?" I'm not being entirely sarcastic here, but I doubt he'll interpet my questions any other way.

Jessie winces. He looks as though he's cornered. He presses his sunglasses closely against his face and swears me out, completely dodging the question. It's satisfying to see him double down- it's how I know I'm right. He then flips the bird and rides his motorcycle off into the distance, and I just wave goodbye to him back.

I have to admit, I'm kind of interested in figuring him out a little more, but I'm not sure if I'll see him soon as I won't be sticking around here much longer. I heard from my mother that there's a Contest Hall in Littledale, which I think is a good excuse to depart from Petalburg. I've been here long enough anyways, and besides, I don't want to give a certain bug catcher the displeasure of remembering her first heartbreak. There's plenty of other fish in the sea.

Peridot grew to level 24!
Ruby grew to level 24!

❄️Robynn's lineup❄️

100,700

CREDITS

Spoiler:

Eleanor · May 30, 2021

Avril Reese

16 - ♀ - Laverre City

Pokémon / Inventory:

AVRIL'S MONEY: $20 000

AVRIL'S TEAM:
🌼 Poppy (Flabebe) -♀- lv. 33 ↑
Flower Veil
Synthesis, Fairy Wind, Grassy Terrain, Aromatherapy, Wish, Magical Leaf

🌼 Hydrangea (Shellos) -♀- lv. 27
Storm Drain
Water Pulse, Mud Bomb, Recover, Rain Dance, Mud Sport, Hidden Power (?)

🌼 Wisteria (Inkay) -♂- lv. 24 ↑
Infiltrator
Night Slash, Hypnosis, Topsy-Turvy, Pluck, Reflect, Psybeam

🌼 Venus (Mawile) -♀- lv. 30 ↑
Intimidate
Fairy Wind, Crunch, Sucker Punch, Iron Defense, Taunt, Baton Pass

AVRIL'S INVENTORY:
🌼 2 Empty Pokéballs
🌼 2 Potions
🌼 Eviolite
🌼 Silk Scarf
🌼 TM for Ally Switch

🌼 Holotch (phone version)
🌼 Fanclub Membership card - valid until October 17^th
🌼 Various clothes and commodities

AVRIL'S CONTACTS:
Jordie, Shuna, Natsuko, June, Marcella, Hikaru

AVRIL'S BADGES AND RIBBONS:
🥊 ➕

🎀• 1

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

In for the kill, pt. 4

Saturday, September 26^th - about 2 p.m. - Route 102

Wisteria has led me to a place where I can hear explosions going off here and there over a constant white noise made of Pokémon cries, moves, and… teeth. It doesn't take me too long before I can find the battlefield by myself - and shiver intensely as I realize who's in the middle of it all. I'm interrupted by Poppy, of course, who makes a run for my cheek specifically and throws herself and her watery eyes right against it. By now I know I have to interpret that as a warm, tight hug from who's probably my closest friend… but even then I have no time to think about that.

I get hit by a barrage of weird leaves that shatter against me, not before giving me a myriad of little paper cuts, coming from Seedot and Nuzleaf… and directed at the Pokémon behind me. I put myself in this position without even thinking about it, without a reason - or maybe there is a reason. I am the one who will treat Venus accordingly to what she's done, and I don't want to let these Pokémon interfere. The Mawile's Pokéball is ready in my hand, and the click of a button is all it will take…

Venus hisses again and runs in front of me… and that's when I realize I'm in a very unfavorable situation. I have to fight, I have to witness a battle, I can't run from it, and all I can do is decide on whether Venus should stay out or not. In the end, I let her do what she wants.

Wisteria and Poppy run to her help, and I clumsily move to the side to let them battle freely against this horde of Seedot and Nuzleaf. I can't quite watch, and I try to get an idea of where I am instead - my Holotch struggles a lot with the GPS and the map barely loads, but it's enough for me to pick a direction.

I take some timid steps as Venus keeps biting things behind me, slowly circling around her. Wisteria, after setting up a nice Reflect, is floating up on the tree branches to put to sleep the Seedots that are hanging from them. Poppy is blowing her Fairy Wind around to get the Grass-types' attention, occasionally using Wish to keep Venus healthy. My attention is eventually caught by how Venus is getting more and more nimble around trees, using her second mouth to hook herself onto larger logs. Poppy seems a bit less comfortable floating by pointy twigs and hard branches, but she does her best nevertheless.

Their enemies are many and strong though, literally flooding the air with Razor Leaf or Air Cutter. They're also exceptionally fast and agile, because not only they fit right into this environment, but they also have used Sunny Day to activate their Chlorophyll ability - or so says my Holotch. I've seen such a move being used by Tsu's Ponyta but what surprises me is how it still works in a forest this dense!

The additional light lets me notice one thing that I'd rather not see, though… a fainted Seedot with some wounds and marks (and possibly, water, or something like that), lying down near a large tree. There's more like that around, but that one is the only Seedot that looks in a very bad shape… then again, I cannot do anything with literally the entire forest against me and my Pokémon.

I hear a Nuzleaf fainting by Venus's Fairy Wind. She definitely used the same technique of holding her opponent in her maw before letting go and, case in point, the Nuzleaf is nearly hanging from a trunk by its own nose. But in a matter of seconds, Wisteria faints too, thanks to a perfectly timed Explosion from one of the Seedot he tried to hypnotize. I hastily recall him, still struggling to believe my eyes, and get ready to make a run for… somewhere safe.

Poppy doesn't come to me just yet though. She still tries to assist Venus, who - to tell the truth - is actually doing great! A Rollout, coming from one of the Nuzleaf that's still battling, doesn't even seem to faze her as she grabs it with her maw and once again knocks it out with Fairy Wind. Even when things get dire, Poppy keeps the killing machine going with more Wishes. But the sight of that one Seedot…

Something feels wrong here, I don't want this to keep going. My heart races faster and faster, my mind goes blank, until eventually it happens. I call Venus back, I gesture for Poppy to follow me, and I start running away.

Eleanor · May 31, 2021

Avril Reese

16 - ♀ - Laverre City

Pokémon / Inventory:

AVRIL'S MONEY: $20 000

AVRIL'S TEAM:
🌼 Poppy (Flabebe) -♀- lv. 33
Flower Veil
Synthesis, Fairy Wind, Grassy Terrain, Aromatherapy, Wish, Magical Leaf

🌼 Hydrangea (Shellos) -♀- lv. 27
Storm Drain
Water Pulse, Mud Bomb, Recover, Rain Dance, Mud Sport, Hidden Power (?)

🌼 Wisteria (Inkay) -♂- lv. 24
Infiltrator
Night Slash, Hypnosis, Topsy-Turvy, Pluck, Reflect, Psybeam

🌼 Venus (Mawile) -♀- lv. 30
Intimidate
Fairy Wind, Crunch, Sucker Punch, Iron Defense, Taunt, Baton Pass

AVRIL'S INVENTORY:
🌼 2 Empty Pokéballs
🌼 2 Potions
🌼 Eviolite
🌼 Silk Scarf
🌼 TM for Ally Switch

🌼 Holotch (phone version)
🌼 Fanclub Membership card - valid until October 17^th
🌼 Various clothes and commodities

AVRIL'S CONTACTS:
Jordie, Shuna, Natsuko, June, Marcella, Hikaru

AVRIL'S BADGES AND RIBBONS:
🥊 ➕

🎀• 1

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

No regrets, pt. 1

Saturday, September 26^th - afternoon - Route 102

I've been running for far longer than I would've expected to last and I've been avoiding all the Seedot and Nuzleaf I was able to find. It feels like I was able to get out of trouble, eventually, and now I'm just walking towards where I think Oldale-Littleroot is. I've tried to go as straight as possible, but the slightly hilly terrain, the small creeks and ponds scattered around the area, or the larger trees and bushes make it hard to not turn and weave around obstacles.

In the meantime, Venus occupies my mind as I try to put the pieces together. After bickering with Angie again, she didn't think twice before running away and… getting her own food like Mawile always do in the wild. If my eyes don't betray me, she was on the point of choking and killing a Seedot in the wild, which… is difficult to take in.

I'm generally fine with Pokémon meat but I feel obliged to draw the line somewhere. Farms that respect their Pokémon are something I can endorse. Pokémon preying on others in the wild is something I can accept, but probably not stomach if I get involved with it. But whatever this situation falls into, well… it feels off. It makes me feel as if Venus has not changed a bit since I caught her, and is still as wild as ever. She must be eager to leave myself in the past and return to her previous life… or something to that effect.

And then what about my other Pokémon? Are they happy with me? Angie has to share her food instead of fighting for it like she's used to, or at least that's what it seems like. In Slateport beach she was fending off two other Shellos to reach that apple I threw as bait. Inkay? Do I even know what goes through his head? The only one who is genuinely happy to have me by her side seems Poppy, because even after all the struggles we've been through… she is still close to me, flying in front of me as I ponder. But this is not how I want it to go. We were just as happy before, weren't we? We didn't need to go to Hoenn and get that license to find each other and become friends, because it had all been done already.

But then I caught Angie because I tried to emulate some of my new friends. I caught Wisteria because I hoped he could help me get out of that shipwreck after all his pranks and antics made me get lost in the first place. I caught Venus by mistake with a Pokéball that wasn't even mine. They didn't ask for this, they were happy before, and if the job of a trainer is to make them happy to be with you then I failed miserably.

And like, what other thing would "being a trainer" entail that I could agree with? Getting all the strongest Pokémon so that you can win battles and get prizes? I don't need that level of fame or recognition, I don't need all that money, and it's a volatile income anyways. I also don't quite see how that would make my Pokémon happier, which to me is a crucial aspect of it.

Even Valerie, back at home, said that battles are invaluable to get closer with your Pokémon and strengthen both them and you as the trainer, but I'm still failing to see it. Pokémon can get hurt. A trainer who's not responsible can push them too far. A trainer who can't control them is only getting overwhelmed, like me with Venus.

Now… where have I got so far?
I had some battles. I tried them out, I got my own Pokémon to faint a couple times, and every time it was heart-breaking. They deserve better from me, they need the gratification that Pokémon get when they battle for a trainer they love and respect.
I won two badges. One was given to me after I lost, for whatever reason - this would never be allowed in Kalos! - so I don't even feel like counting it, whereas the other was given to me for a victory that Poppy and Venus earned by themselves, with their generosity and sheer power respectively.
I traveled around Hoenn, and met some friends. I met June too. But of course we're all caught up into this "we are trainers" cobweb, and people expect certain things of me when they meet me and Poppy. It doesn't help that I did things I'm not proud of, like hurting that Zigzagoon… and it doesn't help that people like Kimberly are a thing.
I got a ribbon for… some performance that was fun enough while it lasted. But is that what my Pokémon even want to do? I feel weird for forcing them into contests and battles simply because now I'm the one who feeds them and gives them shelter. They didn't ask for food and shelter!

I feel like I'm still lost on this concept. I tried a few things during my stay. I followed some of the advice on that "Journey - Hoenn" flyer, but as I said, I failed. I'm not going to become a trainer like my friends and parents hope, and I just want to stop trying, or pretending like I still care. I need to get this experiment over with.

As soon as I reach Oldale-Littleroot, if I get there, I'll be sure to tell my family about my decision. I will then reach Slateport and Dewford, where I can free all my Pokémon but Poppy into their previous habitat. And then we can go back home… as soon as I'm able to find the right words to explain her. Maybe this time, my Fairy friend will understand.

Eleanor · May 31, 2021

Avril Reese

16 - ♀ - Laverre City

Pokémon / Inventory:

AVRIL'S MONEY: $20 000

AVRIL'S TEAM:
🌼 Poppy (Flabebe) -♀- lv. 33
Flower Veil
Synthesis, Fairy Wind, Grassy Terrain, Aromatherapy, Wish, Magical Leaf

🌼 Hydrangea (Shellos) -♀- lv. 27
Storm Drain
Water Pulse, Mud Bomb, Recover, Rain Dance, Mud Sport, Hidden Power (?)

🌼 Wisteria (Inkay) -♂- lv. 24
Infiltrator
Night Slash, Hypnosis, Topsy-Turvy, Pluck, Reflect, Psybeam

🌼 Venus (Mawile) -♀- lv. 30
Intimidate
Fairy Wind, Crunch, Sucker Punch, Iron Defense, Taunt, Baton Pass

AVRIL'S INVENTORY:
🌼 2 Empty Pokéballs
🌼 2 Potions
🌼 Eviolite
🌼 Silk Scarf
🌼 TM for Ally Switch

🌼 Holotch (phone version)
🌼 Fanclub Membership card - valid until October 17^th
🌼 Various clothes and commodities

AVRIL'S CONTACTS:
Jordie, Shuna, Natsuko, June, Marcella, Hikaru

AVRIL'S BADGES AND RIBBONS:
🥊 ➕

🎀• 1

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

No regrets, pt. 2

Saturday, September 26^th - evening - Route 102

The shape of a building catches my attention as I keep walking aimlessly around the forest, and gets me excited to finally get to Oldale-Littleroot. It's a place where I can finally rest up and let the world know about my intention, before planning my next moves.

I definitely am disappointed to find out it's just an isolated ranch. A relatively large house, made mostly out of wood, with a cozy courtyard in front that opens up onto a large clearing. It looks relatively useless to me though… at least until I decide to check it out regardless and see a sign of the Pokémon Fanclub near the main entrance. Finding the door open, I timidly peek inside…

Here, a middle aged woman gestures to me to come in. "Looking for rooms? We have some, free of charge, for Fanclub associates!"

After the previous night spent out in the open, this feels like a dream come true. I am still associated with the Fanclub (although I doubt they'd keep me in after knowing some of my recent deeds) and so, I quickly nod and get myself a small room for the night. Even if this is not Oldale, it will do.

🛥️🛥️🛥️

"I. Said. I. Want. To. Go. Home."

"Hey Avril… I'm afraid it's not possible."

"What do you mean… it's you who allowed me to go to Hoenn, and now you can't get me back?"

"Well… you see, it's a lot of money upfront and you need to book your trip in advance. There's also your trainer license for Hoenn that needs to be changed or revoked and it's a lot of work. I get that you're struggling with being a trainer but I'm sure you can hang in there for some more time!"

"Mom, please… it's been years now. How many times have I told you that I didn't feel ready for it? And now I actually tried to be a trainer, so you can't say I don't know what I'm talking about! And it didn't work!"

Poppy is actually not with me right now, because I don't have the heart to let her listen to this. So what I did was… hide inside my room, tell her to fly around a bit, passing through the open windows, and closing them as soon as she floated to the other side. She's banging on the glass with as much strength as her tiny arms can muster, but I'm not letting her in just yet.

"I think it was your choice to go all the way to Hoenn even if it takes so long to get back! And now you're responsible for that, because our help can only get you so far!"

I'm crying at this point… like usual, I should say. Arguments with my parents have never been an issue for me, but lately… they kept becoming more frequent, slowly but steadily, and always had to do with my future, my narrow-mindedness, Poppy, and a lot of other fun topics that I often didn't see the importance of.

"Hey mom, please… I might have an idea. Let's not get too heated, please…"

"L-Luke?" My brother is actually trying to help out. Knowing how headstrong my mom can be, that's very admirable of him. Even Vanessa peeks into the video call, looking quite concerned.

"You're over there in Hoenn, traveling around with your best friend Poppy, meeting new people and all of this with favorable expenses due to that trainer's license… I can't help but envy you Avril!"

"Where are you going with this? It's not like I want all of this if…"

"No worries! I'm just saying… you can use the opportunity to explore more of Hoenn before you come back. You can be a tourist living your best life and that's still fine for all I know!"

"But, there's a reason why she's there!" Mom interrupts.

"Yeah yeah, but if you spend some of that time with Poppy… how bad can it really get? You two should enjoy your time together over there and not feel pressured to be a great trainer or anything like that!"

"I g-guess?" I speak up.

"Where is Poppy anyways?" Luke continues.

I start biting my fingernails… figuratively. I'm still so torn on what to do next…

"You know what. Prices are a bit higher during this season and the same goes if you don't book in advance. So if you want to come back here, Avril, you'll have to earn some of the money yourself. These are the options you have."

Thanks mom for being so strict!

"Alright alright… I guess that's fair enough… I'm sorry to have bothered you at this time…"

"It's whatever. I could see how you were thrown into the midst of things too fast, but maybe if you take things at your own pace, you can still…" my brother tries to reassure me again.

"Luke…!"

"No regrets, Avril, that's all we really want from you."

🛥️🛥️🛥️

And so that's how it is. I let Poppy back into my room as I try to make some sense of that call. I probably was too hasty there, and immediately called back home to tell them about how I felt so inadequate, only for them to hear a jumbled mess of an explanation. But now their answers… they have left me rather confused. I guess my family is still divided over how important this journey should be for me, with Luke advocating for me to travel as a tourist if I feel like it, and my mom being still very convinced that I haven't been a trainer for long enough to give up.

Another thing that I have realized thanks to this call though is… how I got myself in a corner, basically. I didn't pay enough attention the first time I got here but thinking back on it, that was several days of traveling, hopping from ship to ship, napping on the docks of many different ferries, and taking steps in so many different regions in so little time. Letting me do that was not that easy of a feat for my family, who is not that rich or special or of noble ancestry.

But at this point, I owe it to them, just as much as I owe it to Venus, Angie and Wisteria. I'm getting out of this situation with my own forces… in a way or another.

QueenNothing · May 31, 2021

Junko "June" Enomoto

Friday, September 25th
Afternoon
Petalburg City

June worriedly checks her PokeGear for the time. She was supposed to meet Avril here two hours ago.

She's received no response to her text messages. She hauled a large bag full of camping equipment for multiple people all the way to the Pokemon Center for what feels like nothing. At first she figured Avril was running a little late, but as time slowly dragged by, her hopes that she would go camping with Avril are looking less and less like they'll be reality.

June isn't really sure how she should feel. Should she be worried about Avril's safety? Should she be upset that her dreams had been dashed? Should she even be letting her negative feelings get in the way and go ahead without her? She can't be mad- especially not at Avril.

In times of uncertainty, there's only one thing to be done. She's hesitant at first but after some thought she grabs ahold of her pendant and ponders what her grandma might do. It's something she's trying not to heavily rely on as much as she has in the past, but she isn't left with many other options. She digs through her memory of her grandma's sayings, but nothing seems to come up.

This is a first. There's always a saying for every situation she's in, there are probably even a few that are applicable right now- they just don't appear in her mind. Without her grandma's advice to guide her for once, she acts on impulse and starts the trail to Littledale by herself. She doesn't even keep Sting out of his Pokeball- she's not sure if it'd be good to have him interact with the wildlife.

Without even as much as a Pokemon to keep on her shoulder, June heads out to the wilderness, completely alone… but right now she'd rather have it that way.

🐞 June's Party 🐞

39,492

Spoiler:

budube · May 31, 2021

Jordie "Jo" Hughes

Monday, September 21st

Chapter 2: Part 5 - Granite Cave

08:00 am to 10:30 am - Granite Cave
"This is not an evolutionary stone, what is this?" Jordie says, looking at the small purplish stone they took from the Ranger's bag.

"Oh? Oh! That's an eviolite," the Ranger in charge of the cave tours says. "It's a useful item for pokémon that are still not in their final phase or you just don't want to evolve. We hand them here as well, since they can be even more difficult to find than evolutionary stones."

"I see… I'll take it," Jordie says with a smile, "it's perfect for my Gabby. That's my pokémon, by the way. She's a Solosis. She's usually outside her pokéball but I didn't take her out this time because she gets nervous around a lot of people. Don't underestimate her for that, though, she's really strong! We've been training together for..."

Jordie looks back at the Ranger and realizes they had left a while ago to deliver the stones to the other tourists, leaving them to talk alone.

"Boo!"

"Huh? What is it?" Jordie asks, looking at their recently caught Clobbopus extending his arms/tentacles/whatever at them. The trainer picks him up to look directly at his eyes with seriousness. "I'm still angry at you for earlier, y'know?"

"Boo…?"

Jordie keeps staring but then grins and starts petting him. "Just kidding, you're too cute to get angry at."

"Is that your pokémon?" A random kid from the tour asks. They look like a toddler, not older than four years old. Round face, a bit chubby and with shaggy chestnut hair that goes down to their shoulders.

"Oh? Yeah. His name is…" Jordie still hasn't thought about a name. What about Boo? That's the only thing he says, after all. They just hope they aren't insulting him without knowing it. "Boo."

"Boo…?" both the kid and the pokémon ask at unison.

"Yeah, Boo." Jordie turns their head at their pokémon, still holding him in their arms. "Do you like it, baby Boo?"

"Boo! Boo!"

Jordie and the kid laugh, and the trainer lets them pet the Clobbopus while looking at the Ranger that has just finished handing over the stones to the other tourists. It's time, they think, putting Boo on the ground and grabbing the other three dusk balls.

"Let's get going, baby Boo," they whisper, as soon as the Ranger turns around, also signaling the kid to stay quiet before they go their own way.

Granite Cave is dark and they love it because it would make their dusk balls really powerful if they get near a catch, even with how they are illuminating the path with their flashlight.

They have been walking for a while now, with no clear destination. They just take as many turns to the right as possible to go deeper into the cave. Thankfully the cave is not a maze, so the amount of turns is small… it gets a bit cold, though.

Jordie and their pokémon haven't looked behind so far, just at the floor in search of the colorful gleam of the keystone. It shouldn't be too hard to spot.

An hour or so later, the tunnel opens into a wider room with those pointy stones coming from the ceiling. Jordie doesn't remember the name and doesn't care either.

"Gabby girl, Neon, Maroon, Boo? Found anything?"

There's no answer other than Boo's boo! which means as much as silence, he's just standing behind Jo; he doesn't even seem to know what he's supposed to look for.

"No. There's nothing here either, apparently. Let's continue-"

"Boo! Boo!" The Clobbopus keeps crying from behind them. He just won't stay quiet. Maybe he did find something after all.

"What is it, baby Boo?" They ask, turning around to pick him up. "Did you find some-" Jo takes their hands to their mouth because of the shock. Their heart almost stops the moment they see what Boo found, or rather, what found them. It's not a Ranger, thankfully.

It's not a pokémon either.

Running out of options? It's the kid.

"Why are you here!? Did somebody else follow you!?" Jordie rushes at the kid, and presses their arms while they yell at them. "Didn't your parents teach you NOT to follow strangers!?"

"I- I just thought-," the kid says, looking like they are about to cry. Probably because of how Jordie pressed their arms, or they might just be scared of the cave overall.

"I don't want to know," Jo interrupts and gets up, thinking about… everything, walking in circles around the whole room. Out of all the things that could have gone wrong; a kid? Why is the kid here!?

This day has been nothing but disaster. Since the morning, with baby Boo and the Wimpod. With the few hours of sleep they got, even.

Yesterday went pretty well, why did Jo's luck take such a sudden turn?

Whatever, let's focus on what's going on now: If they go back now, a Ranger will most definitely find them, there's no way their parents wouldn't have realized the kid went missing, even if it was too late; they probably sent a rescue team to look for the kid already. And if someone points out Jordie disappeared as well, what can come out from there just sounds awful.

The kid can't be with them.

"Look, I'll tell you what to do," Jordie starts saying in a calmer voice to not startle the kid. "I have to find something deeper inside the cave, y'see? So I can't stay with you here. I bet someone already sent a Ranger team to look for you and this place seems to be safe. See? There's no wild pokémon here." That might be a lie, they haven't verified if wild pokémon have been following them. "However, deeper inside the cave, there might be dangerous pokémon and I don't want to put your life at risk. So I suggest you stay here until a Ranger finds you, it shouldn't take more than- Ow!"

Jordie feels something slap their left shoulder and then sees Maroon's tentacle pointing at the kid, saying something like 'c'mon, it's a kid don't leave them alone here. The trainer laughs nervously. "A-ha! No."

Maroon holds their arm to stop them from leaving, to which they reply: "We are not taking the kid with us! They will just get in our way." Maroon extends its tentacle to point at the cave's tunnel and Jordie shakes their head. "Even worse! Rangers are coming! If they see us, they are taking us back to the station and we are not getting our keystone! Plus, I already have too many babies to take care of, isn't that right, baby Boo?"

"Boo!" The Clobbopus cries happily, between the trainer's arms, but makes his way out once Jordie gets up again and goes to the kid. "Boo!"

"Really…!? You too?" Jordie huffs some air and turns at the other pokémon "Gabby?" She doesn't answer anything, and Neon just looks away once Jo turns their eyes at him. Jordie sighs and holds their head for a moment before turning back again to the child.

What a disaster, they think once again.

"... Alright. Change of plans," they say, kneeling once again to match the kid's height. "We are not sure how long it'll take the Rangers to find you here... so how about you come with us until we can find another exit? You already followed us for a while, it shouldn't be too bad. Does that sound right?"

That last question was actually directed at their pokémon, but the kid nods at them with a mhm in response.

"I'll ask only for two things, though: First of all, don't leave my side; I didn't lie when I said this place could be dangerous, and... I'm a trainer" the trainer says "Second thing is… if you see a pink stone somewhere, let me know, it's what I'm here for and I'm not leaving without it. The earlier we find it, the earlier we get out of this place. Does that sound good?"

"O-Okay…" they say in a low voice.

"Great! Let's get going, then!" Jordie smiles at the kid and then gets up. Their smile immediately turns into a frown the moment they turn back to their pokémon, thinking for the third time: 'What a disaster'.

Jordie got an Eviolite!

Jordie's Party:

Inventory:

Spoiler:

Aquacorde · Jun 1, 2021

Chapter 6: Shine and Glow

AREAS
Mauville Metropolitan Area

POKÉMON
Porygon

Mauville

The Mauville Metropolitan Area is the largest city in Hoenn by population and hosts the most bustling night life in the region. Its expansion has been severely limited by several of its governing bodies in an attempt to reduce the impact on the surrounding environment, but it still manages to pack people together in the small units of towering high-rises. The use of vertical space is Mauville's most successful attempt at limiting its footprint, but it came with its own problems- how can people enjoy Hoenn's famous weather and carefully protected environment if their city is primarily indoors? Open skyways, wide bridges between buildings, entire levels that are open to the elements, patios and garden balconies, public parks high in the sky, plants growing everywhere they can- nature is invited into the cramped personal spaces and many public spaces all over the city.

Mauville has been built with very regular measurements as a collective project to build a cohesive city. To this end, they have agreed upon a floor numbering system that visitors would do well to remember. For the majority of the city, the ground floor is Level 1. Everything is then measured in relation to that level, which means that as you go east to the beach and the land is lower, the ground floor will become labelled as B2. In the northern foothills, the level approachable from the ground is usually 4 or 5. All this means is that if you look at a vertical cross-section of Mauville, each floor labelled 15 is on the same line. And that is incredibly important- Level 15 houses the most business, the most public spaces, the most skyways out of any of the levels. It even houses the central tram station, situated in several open floors of the centermost tower in Mauville.

At ground level, you won't see many vehicles beyond delivery trucks- even the trams are on elevated rails, winding between the various business-oriented levels. The ground level is oft-ignored and the streets are rough- they are shadowed even in daylight, so most people and businesses keep above the fourth floor and ignore the poorly-lit streets and alleys below. Considering the lack of importance set on the streets themselves, addresses in Mauville are in reference to their building: the official address of SkyPark, for instance, would be 33-082 Gateway Tower- "33" referring to the level, and "082" referring to the suite in the building. Visitors and residents alike are advised to stay on or above level 5 once inside the city, lest they find themselves mixed up in something… unsavory.

Regardless of amount of use, each building in Mauville is required to have public access to stairs and elevators at ground level plus floors 5, 15, 25, 35, and roof access. Many buildings are taller, and have public access at other levels, but those are the only required ones. Tram station floors will always be public access, even if on a non-required access level.

Tram Stations

Trams are ubiquitous to Mauville. A person will never find themselves more than a ten-minute walk from a tram station, nor will they wait more than ten minutes at any given station for a tram to arrive, even in the dead of night. Journeying trainers ride trams for free- just scan your license at the station. There are more stops than these along every tram route, but the major hubs for trainers and the levels they coincide with are the following:

Mauport Station (1)
Mauport Station sits on the first level of Gateway Tower at the very edge of Mauville, directly accessible from the north end of Mauport Bridge. Travellers are strongly advised to use this station to access Central Hub as opposed to walking through the streets of Mauville.

Central Hub (15-21)
Central Hub is exactly what its name dictates- the very heart of Mauville, the exact center, occupying seven floors in the tallest building around. Every tram line crosses through Central Hub (with the sole exception of the Ring Line, which circles the outskirts of Mauville). Trams criss-cross their way through dizzying architecture, with platforms and vendors at half-levels and stairways all through the six undivided stories.

Beach Station (B2)
Beach Station is a ground-level junction of one- story buildings and kiosks all geared toward serving those who wander out onto Mauville's only sand beach. Said beach is perpetually packed, even at night.

PROMPT: cleanup crew 2

IC: People in Hoenn are fairly conscientious about their impact on the environment, but that doesn't mean trash and debris doesn't accumulate in busy areas. The beach especially is a hotspot of forgotten or buried items! Canvas bags are offered to anyone willing to help clean up and should be returned to the Beach Station Sanitation Office.
OOC: Go out of your way to pick up trash. Yeah, you do have to write about it.
Reward: ₽1000 per bag returned, 1 treasure roll per hour spent.

Parkway Station (2)
At ground level on the west central edge of Mauville, travellers can access Verdanturf Parkway. Don't be fooled by the name, however- heading west would bring nearly three days of travel along gently populated, gently rolling grassy hills rather than just a short jaunt down a street. Feel free to hang out at the ground-level parks and trails just on the outskirts of the city, though, if you need a break from urban life!

Hill Station (10)
The city backs up against the north bluffs and that is where Hill Station sits- a simple one-level tram station, sitting parallel to the tenth levels of neighboring skyscrapers. The wide, well-kept road from the station rises uphill until it terminates at the grounds of a beautiful mansion on a lake.

Pokémon Center
Mauville's sole Pokémon Center occupies the three levels directly above Central Hub, and has the usual spread of amenities on each floor. By unspoken rule, professional Coordinators tend to reserve rooms and spend time on level 22 and tournament-goers do the same on level 24. Locals spend their time on 23. They mingle, of course, and there is nothing that says this must be the case- but the general pattern is thus.

PROMPT: winstrate cup

IC: On the bulletin board on every level, a brightly-colored flyer is stuck firmly in the center. The Winstrates, the rich family of battling enthusiasts who live in the hills north of Mauville, are holding their monthly Up-And-Coming Tournament! Young trainers participating in the League Challenge who hold two to four badges are invited to register for the small tournament held on the second weekend of every month- in October, the 9th, 10th, and 11th. Registration begins Friday, October 2nd. The tournament caps at 32 participants and is very popular, so getting your name in early is ideal!
OOC: This tournament is something of a stopping point. As characters make their way into Mauville, Anna will establish an IRL deadline for those who wish to participate in the tournament. By that deadline, all characters wishing to participate in the tournament must be in the city, or they will be removed from the bracket. Your character(s) may make it past the first round (held on Friday) without having to write it. Anna will then randomize a 16-person bracket with any participating player characters and named NPCs.
Reward: Varies by outcome. Quarterfinalists: ₽5000 each. Semifinalists: ₽10,000 each. Runner-Up: ₽15,000. Winner: ₽300,000 and a trophy!

Contest Hall
Mauville's Contest Hall is on the 25th level and occupies the northeast corner of a tower near Hill Station. There are three main stages here- one behind windows and walls, fully sheltered from the elements, one sheltered only by the tower above, open to the air, and one on a platform jutting out towards the east, bringing in the backdrops of sun and sea and mountains. The stages are in a fickle rotation based on weather, attendance, time of day- so Coordinators really don't know which stage they will be using at any given show.

D-Rank Singles and Doubles: 3:30pm Monday - Friday
C-Rank Singles and Doubles: 5:30pm Friday - Sunday
B-Rank Singles and Doubles: 8pm Saturdays

Stages are available for practise and lessons from 12pm to 7pm outside of showtimes.

SkyPark
Welcome to the Mauville Branch of the Pokémon Fanclub! Just take the elevator up from Mauport Station to level 33 and you'll find the entry to SkyPark- a Pokémon paradise that juts out from the 32nd, 33rd, and 34th levels of Gateway Tower. It features small copies of a variety of ecosystems and is filled with structures for all shapes and sizes of Pokémon to play in, under, and on- but its most visible and stunning feature is the 34th-level "river" that drops into a running rocky waterfall to end in a pool on the 32nd-level terrace. This luxury facility is only accessible to Fanclub members- but don't worry! 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 one-on-one PokéPuff-making lesson with Kalosian Master Pokémon Chef Ophelia la Cour. She will provide materials for this session. After taking this lesson, Ophelia will stamp your Fanclub Membership Card. With such a stamp, medicinal berries are cheaper and easier to source, thanks to Ophelia's connections. One berry will make six PokéPuffs. PokéPuffs may be made in any kitchen with an oven. They can then either be sold or used as a nutritional supplement to improve a Pokémon's visual condition, giving them an edge in Contest performance rounds.
OOC: First to write this opportunity gets to develop Ophelia as a character; others must follow in their footsteps. Let people know when you start writing her so that nobody trips over each other!

Game Corner

In amongst the dingy warehouses and storage facilities of the lower four, the largest arcade in the region has its home. It spans the entirety of floors B2 through 4 of TVH Tower and houses everything you can imagine- VR experiences, laser tag, go-karts, mini-golf, bumper cars, bowling... and all throughout the place all kinds of ₽100 games- pinball and old arcade cabinets and themed gashapons. The aesthetics are glowing neon muted by midnight-blue backdrops, with blacklights casting everything in glowing purple. Except for B1 and B2, which are done up in a very fancy casino-lounge aesthetic. Go ahead, have a cocktail and play for real money while listening to live music- if you're 18 or older. But don't worry if you're not; you can still play for tickets upstairs and exchange them for prizes at the various ticket counters! They also sell soft drinks, snacks, horrible greasy food, and Amulet Coins. The latter costs ₽6000, which for those that believe in its magic is probably a good investment.

OOC: An Amulet Coin will increase your luck on treasure rolls and similar only if your character is superstitious in that way. If they are not, or end up not believing in it at some point along the way, they will not get bonuses.

The Game Corner is open from 4pm to 4am every day of the week.

Mauville Gym
There's an official gym space staffed by a few trainers and marked on Mauville maps, on a rooftop somewhere in the north, but that's not where you'll find gym leader Eiddon Roth. You'll be able to catch him in his small office and personal VR space on the Level 4 of the Game Corner, tinkering with new experiments and programming whatever ideas pop into his head. Eiddon does in fact manage the entirety of the VR systems for the arcade, but his tiny personal room is much more experimental and strange. He even takes battles here! But not in the way trainers are used to. Keep your Pokémon in your PokéBalls and slot three of them into the machine alongside Eiddon's three, then put on the offered VR goggles and sensory gloves and stand with Eiddon on the full-room motion capture platform. Choose from hundreds of maps featuring all kinds of terrain and feel free to ruin them- Eiddon's physics mechanics are well ahead of anything else on the market. Of course, doing anything in the virtual world takes energy- your Pokémon are going to be very tired after this, but they won't get physically hurt the way they might in the real world.

The VR world also has another surprise for those who don't follow certain celebrity circles. Instead of a perfect mirror image of the wiry, scruffy, hoodie-and-high-tops-favoring gym leader, challengers pop into the simulation face-to-face with a curvy, glammed-up woman in whatever sparkly fashion best suits the chosen map. This is Miss Virtua: a DJ, an artist, a dancer, a professional improvisator, and the only drag queen to exclusively perform in a fully digital space! She is a peppy whirlwind of energy and glitter- quite the contrast to Eiddon's laid-back and casual attitude. Her heels are high, her lashes are long, her contour is sharp and so are her skills, because of course she and Eiddon are one and the same- you can tell if you look closely! And they're crazy smart- but also a little bit crazy.

Miss Virtua uses three Porygon for every battle. Each of these Porygon can and will shift their forms between Porygon, Porygon-2, and Porygon-Z at Miss Virtua's discretion. Of course, that's just the beginning of a wild ride! All three Porygon, at the beginning of the match, have their movesets completely randomized using a program that mimics the randomization of Metronome. Not even Miss Virtua knows what they will be! Their abilities are also randomized. Miss Virtua thrives on chaos, really. Good luck!

Information: Porygon are kept at their base forms for challengers who have fewer than two total badges. Porygon-2 has higher Defense and Special Defense than Porygon-Z. Porygon-2 is the smallest and lightest of all three forms, while Porygon-Z is the largest. Porygon is heaviest, though not by much.
When you are ready to write your gym battle, ask Anna to randomize you 18 moves and 3 abilities.

Anyone that defeats Miss Virtua receives an appropriate amount of prize money and the Glitter Dynamo Badge, which will indeed shed bright glitter on all of your things for ever and ever. Prizes specific to this gym are twofold: an Ability Capsule, one per victor, and the offer of a Porygon to keep.

This Porygon is not nearly as versatile as those Miss Virtua uses in digital space- those are fairly unstable, really- but they are able to be programmed with the ability of any non-legendary Pokémon and any one move that is not signature to a legendary Pokémon. It is also not just a simple gift- Eiddon wants to see how these altered Porygon do in the real world, so you must also take his phone number and update him regularly on its progress. If you revisit Mauville later, you may request Eiddon evolve your Porygon, but its ability must be changed upon evolution and you may not evolve it twice within a week. Something about letting the programming settle.

Eiddon is at the Game Corner from 6pm to 2am every day except Saturdays.

Mauville Sports Dome
A 23rd-level rooftop in the southeast corner of the city is topped with a retractable dome covering thousands of spectator seats circling a (usually) grassy field. This is Mauville Sports Dome, home to any number of local, regional, and international teams of all kinds of sports! Feel free to buy a ticket to a game- or try to watch from one of the taller towers nearby if you can't afford it.

1-372 Spark Tower
In the south of the city, in the deeply shadowed ground level, a heavy metal door with a faded address squeaks open far more frequently than one would expect. Nobody should have business down here, not besides the delivery trucks and warehouse workers, and especially not in the dead of night. But for some reason, jumpy individuals have begun to frequent this address and the streets around, carrying strange packages as they hurry away.

PROMPT: investigate

IC: Somehow, you've caught wind of strange dealings centered around 1-372 Spark Tower. For whatever reason you have, you choose to involve yourself.
OOC: Hey, this is crime! It's very dangerous to get involved! If you choose to take this on, you better write it good and scary! Maybe even give your character(s) lasting consequences! Only one person or team may do this. You get to make up what the criminal activity is, and what you do about it.
Reward: Check with Anna once you've established an outline. You'll get something cool and relevant to what you wrote. Requests taken into consideration.

get your game on! go play!

BONUS: meet miss virtua

The wall-mounted monitors and foldaway workstations disappeared at the press of a button. Mihira stood stock-still as her senses grew accustomed to the bright light and the perfumed scent of Verdanturf Parkway filling the air.

"You can move around!" Miss Virtua laughed, voice light and cheery. A gesture summoned a hologram of a keyboard and her shimmering evening gown pixelated before shifting into a strappy, flowing summer dress. Her stage makeup toned itself down slightly, but the illusion of glittery body oil spread across the entirety of her pale, olive-toned skin. A floppy sunhat slid into existence atop her head, and her heels lifted, giving her another few inches of height over Mihira. Mihira glanced down at herself- she looked the same as she had walking into the dark office. She touched the VR goggles, heavy on her head yet invisible inside this digital world. Miss Virtua scrunched her square-jawed face in Mihira's periphery. "Ooh, I should have brought chairs- we can't sit on digital chairs, we'd fall through. I've done it before, very embarrassing!"

She didn't seem particularly embarrassed as she recounted the tale; definitely the type of person to laugh things off rather than dwell. Something was contradictory, though- "And yet you are fully dressed in clothes completely different to those you wore in the real world. Not to mention makeup… and heels?"

"Of course!" Miss Virtua twirled, dress spinning out. A breeze gusted through the grassy field, and it was only by watching very carefully that Mihira could see the fizzling pixelation where the digital models corrected their trajectory upon interacting with Eiddon's- Miss Virtua's- physical form. "The heels are real- extendable platforms built into my shoes, engineered by a friend- but the rest is my own art! I've designed hundreds of costumes for myself, and they each go through specific tweaking each time I put them on! For a show, at least. This dress is so simple, one of my first ones, and I don't wear it much anymore. You can see the problem points- even though I've uploaded my clothes so that the computer knows not to interpret them, I'm not wearing the real-world padding that goes with this outfit, and that shifts everything just a little to the left, like-"

Mihira pulled her tiny notebook and pen out of their holster on her belt. The ink, normally dark blue, came out iridescent pink as she began to take notes. Miss Virtua was clearly incredibly detail-oriented- small imperfections were pointed out to her untrained eyes, and if she was honest, she could barely see what the woman was talking about. Perhaps her eyes were getting old.

"It takes so long, you know? To get everything right? Like, that's why I can't make these things for anyone who walks in the door, even though it would be so much fun to dress you up! Accessories are usually okay, and re-skinning with patterns and colors tends to work pretty well. I could put a hat on you!" The afternoon sun vanished as a wide-brimmed hat shaded Mihira's eyes. "Ooh, no, it's warping, I can't look at that. I'm picky, you know. I let challengers play a little with pre-loaded costumes on the consoles outside before they come in, but they're not perfect and it does make me itch- though I never tell them that! Glasses?" The sun came back but for a moment before the green field turned shades of pink, tinted heart-shaped glasses settling on Mihira's nose. "Oh, yes, that's better!"

Mihira reached up to touch them, but her hand tapped instead the invisible VR goggles. "Thank you…?"

"You're welcome!" Miss Virtua's smile was just as blinding as the virtual sun itself. "Pokémon are easier to model for, honestly. Like… you know how you can put on a knit shirt, and it stretches to fit?" Mihira nodded, unsure of the relevance. "Pokémon are like that."

A beat, and Mihira realized she was not going to elaborate. "Could you… run that by me again?"

"Hm… okay, like- a hat IRL compresses your hair? But a VR hat can't, so the hat model warps or the hair clips through. But Pokémon become energy, and energy can be converted to digital, so when they put on a VR hat, it interacts with their form. 'Cause, like, they are VR as well!"

"In that case, what are we, at the moment?"

"We're…" Miss Virtua tugged at her hair as she thought, and Mihira remembered the brief discussion about the sensor-filled gloves. "We're live video," she decided. And then immediately changed her mind. "Well, we're physical. But the room is basically taking live video as we move around and instantaneously uploading it to the simulation. So, I know where you are in space, and I can touch you-" Miss Virtua tapped her hand to Mihira's palm, and Mihira felt the texture of the gloves even as her eyes watched bare skin make contact. "-and you can touch my real body, but if you try to touch my hat…"

Mihira reached up, and Miss Virtua giggled before bowing down to accomodate for their height difference. Mihira swept her fingers through the alleged straw sunhat and felt nothing, not even a tingle, as her fingers cut straight through the illusion.

Something beeped insistently, and Miss Virtua summoned her keyboard again. "Oh dear."

"What does that mean?"

"Oh, nothing bad- well! Nothing terrible, just that we have to cut our time short." A few quick keystrokes and the simulation disappeared, leaving Mihira blinking in the dark room she had always been in, next to a tall, lanky man. Eiddon yanked off his goggles and stuffed them in the pocket of his ratty hoodie. "Mm, forgot I had a challenger, sorry," he said, gesturing for Mihira to place her own goggles on the tray for sanitizing as his enunciation slowed and voice deepened back to its normal tone. "This one actually scheduled too, unlike most. He's here all the way from Kanto and here I am forgetting. Bit rude of me." Eiddon laughed ruefully. "I'll be done in about half an hour, unless he's fascinated with the simulation. Some people stay longer than others. You could stick around?"

Mihira agreed, but something about the immediate cheer and chattiness of the challenger- a bulky man passing her in the doorway- told her she'd be waiting far longer than thirty minutes. "Mr. Roth?" Eiddon glanced toward her, pausing in his explanation of his gym challenge. "On second thought- I do need to retrieve my daughter from the casino. I will email you later."

"Sure thing." Eiddon nodded and went back to a rather more technical explanation than she herself had received. Mihira flipped through her notebook, only a few pages filled with blue ink.

Next time.

Juno · Jun 1, 2021

3-6: The Bear and the Maiden Fair

🌿 Petalburg Forest Outskirts 🕙 Sept. 22nd, Noon

"Here you are—area 5C. Stay on the trail if you can."

"If I can?"

"If you can't, give me a call. Later." And with that, Parker was off—no, he wheeled back around to say one more thing: "Also, we're having a bonfire here at sundown, it's kind of like a 'thank you' to our volunteers. See you then?"

🌳 Petalburg Forest Outskirts 🕙 Sept. 22nd, Late Noon

Marcella had been hiking before, that wasn't the issue. It was in her top five favourite fitness activities, actually. But carrying around a clipboard while balancing her phone on top of it with the Pokédex app open, wearing those god-awful goggles and being stealthy enough so that the Pokémon didn't scatter off the moment they sensed her presence definitely made the experience a lot less enjoyable.

There was a soft rustling sound, and she caught a glimpse of orange in the bushes nearby—having been at this task for a while now, Marcella instinctively turned and crept behind a tree.

"Quick, Bijou—where are you?"

She scanned the area around for her Purrloin, but a soft, panting noise directly under the clipboard she was holding alerted her to Bijou's presence. Marcella was pleasantly surprised. Although there was no noticeable difference in her shape and size, she seemed to move slightly quicker than she did at the start of their journey already. All the walking they'd done the past few days seemed to be doing her some good. "Hey, look at you, keeping up the pace!" She gave Bijou a quick scratch behind the ears—even through the ridiculous, tinted eyewear, she could see the pleased look on the Pokémon's face.

She turned her attention back towards the rustling bushes, phone in hand with anticipation, ready to scan. And it was... Wurmple. Again. Three of them, but Wurmple. Marcella sighed softly, putting down her Rotom Phone to jot down the new tally for the bugs. She was well familiar with these creatures by this point. This wasn't the most exciting task in the world to begin with, and it was made worse by how often she was running into the same orange bugs over and over. If she had to count Pokémon for at least four hours, she wanted to see some variety.

As she shifted her foot back, she could feel something brushing up against her heel. Peering down at the small pile of leaves that had formed under the tree, she could see that she had disturbed something.

A muted-pink Pokémon with green spots rolled out, smiling at her. Nope- no, it wasn't—she was looking at it upside down. It was frowning at her.

"Oh! Hello," It did not look like the most interesting find, but it was something new. Marcella scanned the creature.

Shroomish live in damp soil in the dark depths of forests. They are often found keeping still under fallen leaves. This Pokémon feeds on compost that is made up of fallen, rotted leaves.

"Oh." She said again, with much less enthusiasm. She wrinkled her nose and lightly kicked it back under the pile of leaves with the toe of her shoe. "Sorry about that. As you were."

If Shroomish senses danger, it shakes its body and scatters spores from the top of its head. This Pokémon's spores are so toxic, they make trees and weeds wilt.

She froze, hoping the Pokémon was not slighted or threatened enough to do that. She looked down. Is that the 'shaking'? She tilted her head. Whatever. They did have the goggles, but she still didn't want to stick around to find out.

"Bijou, come—now."

🐻 Petalburg Forest Outskirts 🕙 Sept. 22nd, Evening

Aside from the occasional moss-covered Slakoth, the rest of her census-taking exercise was more of the same.

She contemplated stopping a little earlier and getting 'creative' with some of the data—part of these censuses involve a bit of guesswork and calculation based on existing data anyway, right? By five-thirty, she was bored enough, and felt like she had enough data to guess there were mainly going to be more bugs and some Skwovet on the trail.

Just as she was about to call it a day, she spotted Bijou playing with something in the clearing—something she had not seen yet today. She didn't need to consult her app this time; her friend Jasmine had one back home. It was a Teddiursa in the wild. Cute! She watched it with fascination for a few moments, and another one scurried into the clearing. Marcella crouched down and crept closer without thinking.

"Hello, sweeties," she crooned, stretching her clipboard-free hand out. One of the Teddiursa bounded towards her curiously, and the other retreated into the thick brush nearby.

She spent a few minutes playing with the cub—it warmed up to both of them fairly quickly, unlike its shyer sibling. She hoped the other Teddiursa was okay, but didn't have to wait to long to find out where it had gone.

A low growl, and crunching of twigs announced the arrival of much larger version of the bears. It loomed over her, the other Teddiursa clinging to its leg. Mama bear.

Her first instinct was to run, but she knew better than that.

"Woah, okay—I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean any harm," She did her best to keep a steady voice even as the sweat rolled down her back. She ignored the pounding in her ears as she tried to recall what the best course of action was in this scenario. Marcella slowly got to her feet without making eye contact, almost tripping over Bijou as she stepped backwards. "Going now. See? No harm done. Just gonna grab my things, and—"

Mama bear wasn't placated. She stepped forward with a snarl as Marcella stepped back, and her instincts finally got the better of her. With her free hand, she snatched up Bijou and ran, silently cursing herself for wanting more excitement on this expedition.

No, no! What an awful way to die! My body's going to be a mangled mess! She ducked and weaved under lower hanging branches, hoping that would throw the bear off, and didn't turn to see if it was even following her or not—she was pretty sure if it wanted to catch her, it would have, but that didn't stop her from running until the lights of the Ranger Station were in view.

A long, drawn-out 'meow' from the heavy Purrloin draped over her left shoulder told her that it was safe to stop, and she would like to be placed down now, please. She was not held in the most comfortable position. Marcella's heart was still racing as she set the Purrloin down. She slumped against a tree and took deep breaths.

That was stupid. That was so stupid. You don't run. Everyone knows that. But she did, and it was fine. As soon as she caught her breath, she started laughing at how dumb and lucky she was.

She glanced down her clipboard to fill out the last of her findings. "Okay, so. A family of three, yes?"

🏘️ Petalburg Ranger Station 🕙 Sept. 22nd, Evening

"What happened to you, got chased by an Ursaring?"

Marcella was taken aback. "How'd you know?" Oh my god, do I look that disheveled? She worriedly turned to the glass doors—against the dimming light on the other side, she could see her reflection. Her hair was a nest of twigs and debris from running under all those branches, and she needed to wash her face. Hell, she could use a whole shower, really.

Parker looked a little surprised. "Oh. Oh, I was kidding, but I guess that's not the most uncommon thing to happen out there." He scratched his head. "So, how close did you get? They're pretty cool, right?"

"I thought the danger was in the forest!"

Parker shrugged nonchalantly. "They're not that dangerous, really. Just leave their babies alone."

"Noted."

"Anyway, ready for some weenies?"

"Excuse me?"

"The bonfire." He pointed through the glass doors at a few other rangers stacking some logs, surrounded by people she assumed were other volunteers. It seemed like it could be fun, but it wasn't a small group of people. She wasn't looking her best, and, consequently, not feeling her best.

"Oh. I don't know." She pulled a leaf out of her hair. "I'm kind of a mess. I should probably go back."

"It's really not that bad."

"Thanks, that's what every girl wants to hear."

"You look fine. Beautiful, even. The most fair maiden these forests have seen in-"

"Oh my god, okay, I'm coming."

Party

Purrloin ♀ // Bijou
Level 24 (+2 from Census-Taker)

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
3-6: The Bear and the Maiden Fair

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
Safety Goggles (Bijou-sized)

Trainer Info

Badges

QueenNothing · Jun 1, 2021

Junko "June" Enomoto

Sunday, September 27th
Morning
Oldale-Littleroot Township

Two days of hiking through Route 102 alone went about as expected. June made it through safely without any serious hiccups, which honestly might have been less possible were she with Avril- she's aware Avril isn't the most graceful person- but any element of something resembling chaos would have been preferable to the loneliness that was these past two days. There's just something about sleeping in a tent big enough for two people when you've packed a spare sleeping bag that she'd like to not experience again. But she's out of that now- similarly to Petalburg, she just so happens to have family in the Oldale-Littleroot Township, a small farming town with lots of open space. And through the Pokemon Center and the available internet, it doesn't take long for her to track down Aunt Akira's farm.

It's strange to June how there's been a farm with her last name in the title that she didn't know about until a few days ago. She may not closely follow what goes on in Littledale, but the fact that her aunt got married, started a farm and only shared this knowledge to those who follow an inactive Facebook page doesn't feel right. Her family has always been pretty close, so why didn't she tell anyone else? As a matter of fact, June hasn't heard anything from her Aunt Akira since her grandma's funeral when Tetsuo involuntarily inherited the-

Oh right. That's why. Spending time with her Uncle Tetsuo back in Petalburg almost made her forget how distant her family had grown since then. It's sad to think about it, but she can't dwell on that. Her grandma would always make it clear how nothing good can come from that. Instead she's going to focus on what's in-front of her: Enomoto Farms, where she'll reunite with another family member.

Walking to the nearest house June can spot on the farm, she notices her aunt must be practicing some sort of mixed farming as sees both crops and livestock. The livestock she keeps are Miltank and the crops are… well June isn't actually sure what they are. They're grown in the ground so the most she knows is that they're some kind of vegetable. Maybe she can have a nice conversation with her aunt about what she grows when they meet!

She walks a bit further, getting closer to the house she had seen, and can't help but notice another person weeding the crops. One glance at the person is enough for June to know they aren't Akira, and it takes a bit longer to figure out they aren't Gino either. She might as well ask them some questions.

"Um- excuse me." She speaks up, grabbing the stranger's attention. They stand-up straight and face June, revealing themselves to be a short woman in her thirties or forties.

"Hello there!" She greets with a smile. The woman wears a bandana over her curly blonde locks and dons typical farmer getup. Her skin is a bit tan, although it looks like it's because of exposure from the sun instead of a natural color. "I don't think I've seen you around here. How can I help you?"

"I'm looking for-" How odd. Despite how just a second ago June was sure the person she laid eyes on wasn't Gino, she really can't help but think something about this woman reminds her of him. Everything from her mannerisms, to her slight accent, and even her physical appearance in some regards. Maybe he has a sister who decided to help out? It's the only explanation she can think of. "Um- I'm looking for Akira Enomoto."

"Ah! Of course!" She says, looking excited just from hearing the name. "Unfortunately she isn't here right now, but she should be back in a moment- oh, nevermind! She's here already!"

June looks behind her to see an old blue truck driving down a dirt road leading to the house. The second it pulls up, the doors open and out hops a Machamp and an almost inhumanly tall woman wearing a straw hat and overalls over a flannel. No doubt the oldest child of Sachiko Enomoto. "Giorgia, I'm home!"

June tries greeting her aunt, but flinches when the woman likely named Giorgia runs to the giant woman and enthusiastically cries "OH AKIRA, HOW I MISSED YOU!!"

"Aw c'mon, darlin'! We do this every week!" Akira chuckles while kneeling and swinging her arms outwards. That dialect is unmistakable- she lived in Petalburg until her twenties but anyone who talks with her would think she was raised in the countryside. "But it don't get old, so I ain't complaining."

Whoever this Giorgia person is, she seems to be very good friends with her aunt. It must be a nice thing to have, June thinks. But now that Giorgia has quieted down, this might be a good time to say hello. "Aunt Akira, hello! It's me, Jun-"

June stops herself again as she's taken aback by the sight of Giorgia running into Akira's muscular arms, which are used to lift up the shorter woman and give her a welcoming smooch on the lips.

"W-w-wait, wh-wha…" June blushes at what just took place. This certainly wasn't something she expected. "What's going on!?!"

The two older women break up their activity to pay mind to June. "Well I'll be!" Akira exclaims. "If it ain't lil' Junko! Howdy! You're all grown-up now!"

Giorgia squints at June for a second before her face lights up. "Wait, Junko?? I don't believe it, you're so tall now!"

"Wh- who are you? How do you know me? What…" June can feel her head spin as she fails to put the pieces together. "What's happening!?!"

"Oh right, I haven't told you what's happened lately. This here is my wife, Giorgia, and this is my Machamp who helps around the farm, Betsy!" Betsy flexes after she's introduced while Giorgia waves and smiles.

"...wife?? What happened to Gin-"

"Ah-hem!" Giorgia forcibly clears her throat while making eye-contact with her wife, which she takes as a signal to lower her to the ground. "I guess now's a good time to explain everything that's happened lately?"

"It's kind of a long story." Akira laughs. "But I reckon it ain't nothing we can't talk about over some refreshments! Whaddya say lil' Junko?"

🐞 June's Party 🐞

39,492

Spoiler:

Groc · Jun 1, 2021

Natsuko Soyokaze
Friday, September 25th, morning
Route 102

With her first Contest victory under her belt, Tsu had said goodbye to Petalburg and set off on the road for Littledale. Some of her friends had already left, while others hadn't left yet, but going at it alone is more Tsu's style. The freedom and flexibility just feel better to her, and with her Pokémon, she's not truly alone. Shiny walks beside her, enjoying the morning breeze, while Totodile runs from one bush to another, probably looking for Pokémon to play with.

"Totodile! Don't get too far ahead!" Tsu calls out, afraid she'll lose sight of him if he chases after some wild Pokémon. Totodile scowls at her, as if he'd intended to do just that.

"Aw, don't be grumpy! Look at how beautiful it is out here! The sun is shining, the trees are so bright and colorful, and there are even little ponds and marshes further down the road! Don't those sound fun?" She reaches out to Totodile, but he snaps at her fingers.

"Hey!" She quickly withdraws her hand. "I need that hand! Why are you so nasty all the time?" She's not mad at him, but his standoffish behavior hurts.

Totodile growls a little, then ignores Tsu in favor of another bush up ahead. Shiny pushes her head against Tsu's side, nuzzling her hand when she absent-mindedly strokes the Ponyta's face. "Is it just me? Am I a bad trainer?"

Shiny snorts and shakes her head, letting out a gentle whinny. Tsu smiles at the reassurance, leaning in to kiss Shiny's forehead. "You've known me longer than anyone. You'd have told me if I wasn't good at this."

The moment is interrupted by a sharp yelp. Tsu looks around, but doesn't see Totodile. A bush further down the road rustles violently, and Tsu puts two and two together, figuring he must have picked a fight with something. "Let's go, Shiny!"

The pair run forward, but Shiny stops as a loud howl cuts through the trees. Her ears twitch at the sound, her tail flicking nervously. Tsu goes back, rubbing Shiny's neck as she looks around. "Hey, come on! Totodile is out there, we gotta find him!" Shiny snorts at that, still refusing to move.

"Shiny, please! If not for him, for me!" Tsu pleads, and after a moment Shiny relents, following Tsu off the path and into the trees. Another howl rings out, sounding closer. Tsu considers moving away from it, until she hears another sound. A high-pitched, strained chirp. The sound of a young crocodilian calling for help.

"Totodile!" Tsu pushes through the brush, Shiny at her heels. She finds herself in a small glade, spotting Totodile in the center. A Poochyena stands near him, looking hurt as it holds one foot off the ground. The two behind it look ready to fight.

Totodile fires a Water Gun into the lead Poochyena's face, earning an angry growl from it and whooping, hyena-like laughter from the others.

"Hey!" Tsu rushes over to Totodile, Shiny right beside her. Totodile looks relieved to see her. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" Not the best one-liner, considering Totodile is slightly larger than the Poochyena, but it gets the message across. Or maybe the arrival of two more creatures just puts the Poochyena off balance.

"Are you okay?" Tsu leans in to check on Totodile, who looks away from her and tries to play it cool. The Poochyena growl again, returning their focus to the little croc. "Shiny, use Stomp!"

Shiny leaps in, trampling the lead Poochyena under her hooves. The other two snarl and snap at her, forcing her to step back. The leader lies dazed and stunned on the ground, while Totodile cries out in frustration. He actually runs over to Shiny, growling and chirping furiously at her.

Shiny is not amused, but doesn't back down from Totodile's tirade. Tsu grabs him from behind, picking him up. "We're here to help you, what's the big idea?"

One of the Poochyena growls at them, not appreciating being ignored. "Shut up!" Tsu snaps, and Poochyena cowers under her glare.

"I told you not to run off. I told you not to pick fights. And what did you do? You antagonized the locals and got in over your head! I heard you calling for help. We came running, and you yell at Shiny? You can't have it both ways! Either you don't need us and you go off on your own, or you stop being so rude! No more biting me, no more yelling at us, no more... this!"

Totodile can't look Tsu in the eye, but he does stop struggling. He gestures to the Poochyena, to himself, then to Shiny and the unconscious Poochyena on the ground.

"I don't know what that means!" Tsu looks at Totodile in confusion. "Help me understand, what do you want?"

Totodile struggles, trying to get out of her grip. Tsu sets him down, and Totodile looks over at the Poochyena (who have been very patient and understanding through all of this). He growls at them, looking over to Tsu expectantly.

"You want to fight?" Totodile nods. "Okay, you can fight. Shiny, you take the one-"

Totodile cries out angrily, hopping up and down in front of Tsu. "What?!" Totodile spits water at Shiny's hooves, making her take a step back. She snorts at him angrily, but he just turns back to the Poochyena.

"Totodile! That's enough! What, you wanna fight them by yourself?" Totodile nods, staring the wild dogs down.

"Oh. Are you sure? Okay... Shiny, stay back. Just... be ready." Shiny snorts, not needing to be told twice.

As Totodile squares off, Tsu can't help but feel nervous. In the little time she's spent with him, Totodile has been fairly tough, but also reckless. He has power, but so does Stacy, and her battle with Brawly showed her that you can't win every fight with just brute force. "Can I make a suggestion?"

Totodile glances back at her, confused.

"There are two of them and only one of you. You'll need something to even those odds. Do that Rage thing, get mad. Should give you an edge."

Totodile thinks it over, then nods. He turns back to the Poochyena, who have dragged their downed friend to the edge of the clearing. They return, ready to fight, and Totodile lets out a war cry as he charges forward, clawing at them in a frenzy.

Caught off guard, the Poochyena strike back on instinct. The one he attacked shoves him away, while the other pushes him down. With each hit, a red aura starts glowing around him.

"Is that all they got? Show 'em who's boss, use Leer!" Tsu cheers from the side, Pokédex in hand. Totodile glares at the two, baring his teeth in a cocky grin. The two falter, but rush him again, stomping on him and making his anger grow.

"Okay, more Rage! I believe in you!" Totodile leaps to his feet, clawing and slashing at the closest Poochyena. It tackles him to try and push him away, but he refuses to get knocked down, even as the other hits him from behind.

"Okay, use your teeth! Bite the one behind you!" Totodile whips around, grabbing Poochyena by the neck and dragging it to the ground. He rolls over, dragging Poochyena with him as he gets his feet under him and stands back up. The sheer force and brutality of the attack knocks the wild dog out immediately, and the other, already hurt Poochyena turns to run.

"Okay, you won! Good job!" Tsu herself is surprised at Totodile's strength, but Totodile isn't done. Seeing the other Poochyena try to run, he fires off a Water Gun at its legs, tripping it and making it fall. He chases after it, jaws open wide, but Tsu is faster, grabbing him and shoving a sandwich into his mouth.

"You won! Good job, that was amazing! And scary... But you won, yay!" She hugs him close, rocking him gently. Totodile's jaws aren't designed for chewing, so the sandwich effectively shuts down his ability to bite or shoot water. But the praise is nice, and he nuzzles into Tsu's chest happily as his rage subsides. He doesn't even notice as Tsu carries him away from the glade, Shiny tentatively following.

Tsu makes her way back to the road, holding Totodile delicately. Water types were something of a joke back in Celadon, but she's gaining a newfound respect for them. It's easy to see why Avril is so afraid of Stacy, too. She vows to work closer with Totodile from now on, and to never use Rage unless it's absolutely necessary. "We'll find some kind of outlet for you that doesn't make you lose control, I promise."

Aquacorde · Jun 1, 2021

Marie Rachelle Mocinno

AGE: 17 ⟡ PRONOUNS: she/her ⟡ HOME REGION: Johto
DATE: Friday/Saturday, September 25/26 ⟡ TIME: Passes
LOCATION: Route 102

Chapter 4 #01 - Reality Check

Marie is exhausted.

Petalburg is about six hours behind her. She'd had lunch and set out with a rented tent on her back with all the enthusiasm in the world, even after losing to Wally.

But now.

The hair at the back of her neck is drenched with sweat, her calves ache, she's so so tired and that sucks, because the surrounding landscape is varied and interesting and she can't even enjoy it properly. It's also getting dark- she won't be able to see anything soon anyway, even if she was in a mind to enjoy the sights.

Shit, it's getting dark.

The tent goes up with far more struggle than she expected, and by the time she can collapse inside, it's pitch-black in the rural forest.

The whole experience is, frankly, awful.

The morning comes too early, with the sun rather than with an alarm, and Marie flops around for a while before giving up on sleeping. Dressing in a tent is hard, but she's unwilling to risk someone walking to work on the farms seeing her naked ass in the middle of the dells. She still feels gross, even in fresh clothes, but drags her stiff limbs out to pack up camp. That's almost harder than getting the damn tent up, getting it to pack down back into its little bag. And she was told she's not supposed to pack it wet, but the morning dew isn't going to dry for a while and she doesn't want to be here anymore.

But she finds out quickly that her legs don't want to walk any further, either.

"This sucks," she grumbles, ineffectually, especially since nobody is around to hear or offer assistance. If only she had a car, or a bike, or something else to ride. A Pokémon, even. People do that, too. All her Pokémon are small, though.

Cutie's not.

Marie lets him out and he cheerfully stretches toward the morning sun. "Good morning!" she calls, and Cutie hums happily. "I can't walk anymore. Give me a ride, will you?"

Cutie tilts his head and hums quizzically. "I can just sit on your…. shoulders? I think. Let me try."

Marie clambers up, finding enough grip on his bark-like body to perch herself at the base of Cutie's long… neck, or whatever. It's not supremely comfortable and does take her ankles and arms locked around him to maintain her position, but she's there- and Cutie plods forward, slower than Marie would usually walk but faster than she can go right now.

It'll work.

The overly-detailed map she consults at their lunch break tells her to stay on the main path, because there's no way she can handle walking in and out of the rolling dells she's starting to see. It also tells her she has about another day's walk if she maintains this pace. Not good, she thinks, surveying her food supply. Cutie can photosynthesize, but the rest will have to stay in their PokéBalls. They'll only need one meal a day if she does that. Hopefully. They're small, the few cans she has should be enough. Her own food doesn't look great, but she'll get there.

She hopes.

All four get put away and Marie trudges on, bored and lonely and cursing herself for not having a portable phone charger. If she gets in trouble out here, there's no help for her- what was she thinking? Why did she come out here so unprepared? Did she really think this would be a leisurely walk? This is foot travel, and it sucks, and this is only the first leg of what is going to be a lot of the same.

She should have gone to Kanto, or somewhere else where cities are close together.

This time she makes sure to keep an eye on the sun- she makes camp while it's still light, but still struggles. She wants to call her dad, to shout and complain and talk and be talked to- but her phone's been dead for hours, and won't be charged until she gets to Littledale. It's barely past sunset when she curls up in her sleeping bag and cries out her frustration, lonliness, fear, and exhaustion.

Spoiler: Team

Spoiler: Inventory

Spoiler: Contacts

Embyr · Jun 4, 2021

Name: Kira Wolf || Day: Wendsday, September 23 || Time: Late Night
Location: Petalburg City

Resupplying

"No way! I didn't know they made waterproof bags like this!" Kira excitedly exclaimed, examining the exterior with extra care. "It seems a bit small thou… Is that a light!?"

"Yeah, that's a popular one for those of us stationed out at Route 103." A blond man who appeared to be in his mid thirties explained, taking the bag from Kira. "It's roomier than it looks, plus it's solar charged. You spotted the light but did you see this?" Inverting the bag, the man showed off a small, electric port hidden on the inside of the bag. "It also acts as a charger! It's perfect if you plan to be out and about for longer than a couple days."

Quietly, Aaron pulled the man to the side as Kira snatched the bag back from his grip, staring at it starry eyed. "Hey, Derrick, are you sure this will be fine? We can always spend a bit more if it means we won't get chewed out by the Foreman…"

Derrick scoffed "It'll be fine, you're hardly the first person to buy this stuff for personal use. Nobody cares assuming you don't do it at the beginning of the season, pain in the ass to restock by then."

"Hey, are there any pokeballs here?" Kira asked as she played around with the bag's light settings.

"Yeah, just a few though. We generally don't find a use for them unless there's a specific pokemon in the area we'd like to study more carefully."

Kira shook her head "That's fine, I don't really plan on catching too many pokemon. It always seemed rather slimy to me when people catch more than they can tend to."

"Guess that makes sense, Aaron mentioned that pokemon are more protected where you two are from. Anyway, they're back there near the repels if you'd like to pick them up."

Aaron watched as Kira nodded, quickly running towards the back of the storage room. "Alright well I've kept Marie waiting for long enough, I'm headed out to the forest's edge to meet up with her. Derrick, let me know whatever I owe ya and I'll get you the money by tonight.

"Alright, I'll hold you to that." He called out to Aaron before turning his attention back to Kira who was wandering back up towards the front of the warehouse. "You find them?"

"Yeah, you weren't kidding about only having a few of them. I grabbed three of them if that's cool."

"Yeah, we don't use that many so we only keep a few in supply." Derrick explained as he wrote in a small notebook. "Is that everything you need?"

"Yeah, I think so. Do you need to look it over?"

"Nah, I've been keeping notes on it, you're good on that front." Derrick explained as he flashed his notebook. "Aaron mentioned you were just passing through, Is this all you got planned for today then?"

Kira flashed him a suspicious look before speaking "No, I'm planning to prepare for my gym challenge tomorrow. Why?"

"Gotcha, was hoping you'd say something like that. Wanna help us out a bit on the field, kill two birds with one stone?"

"What do you have in mind?"

After tearing out the top page of the notebook, he nonchalantly tossed it to Kira. "The rangers nearby keep a census on Pokemon near the outskirts of the forest and we use that census to help keep track of population numbers over time. Occasionally a Pokemon can get territorial so they like to ask trainers for help on this, mind lending them a hand?"

"I dunno dude, I haven't had to do math since I've graduated. It's been kinda nice…"

"The job comes with a bit of money and a swanky pair of goggles.":

"That's what I wanted to hear!" Kira said as she made her way towards the door. "Oh! Also thanks for all the help!"

"Don't mention it, your brother knows I'll hound him down if he leaves that tab for too long."

"It's our dad's money, I doubt it'll be too hard to get out of him." With a small wave, Kira rushed out the door.

Spoiler:

Caesar · Jun 4, 2021

Clint Shaw

Thursday, September 18th @ 1530 - Slateport City

The moment was finally here. Clint was in Hoenn. Everything he had been looking forward to was about to be realized, the sky truly is the limit now. He stepped out of the ferry terminal, and took in a breath of that ocean air. He had been given directions to uncle Darryl's house, which is where he was going to stay tonight. Clint headed north into town, reading every street sign for fifth street, where his uncle's townhouse was located. Slateport was like a maze to Clint, certainly had a lot more going on than the Shaw family ranch ever did. Eventually, Clint found the street sign for fifth street, and turned onto it, heading west.
Clint was greeted with a row of nearly identical townhouses, a never ending line of overpriced living quarters, not even beachfront either. After a few more minutes of walking, Clint found what he assumed was the right place, 640 fifth street. How uncle Darryl could handle city life was confusing to Clint, who wanted to get out of here as soon as possible.

Clint walked up to the door and knocked on it. The door was opened for him, and there was uncle Darryl. Darryl was a big man, about six feet five inches tall, and had packed a bit of fat on him as well.
"Clint my boy, how was the trip," Darryl welcomed his guest, waving him in.
"Rather boring uncle, how have you been," Clint replied, taking his cowboy hat off as he stepped inside the house. Darryl's house was neatly decorated, most likely by Aunt Sharon, and was painted a very nice sky blue. Clint hung his hat on the coat rack by the door, and noticing Darryl was not wearing shoes, sat down on the bench right by the door and started to take off his boots.
"Everything has been all good here, work has kept me busy, a little quieter now with Ruby gone for a while. But once you catch up with her, I'm sure she'll tell you all about her travels," Darryl went on. Clint didn't need to be reminded yet again his younger cousin was ahead of him, but Darryl likely meant nothing by it.
"I'll catch her at some point," Clint muttered out. He thought he left being compared to family members behind when he left the farm, but it seems as if he simply switched one annoying sibling for one annoying cousin. Nothing against Ruby, she was probably only six years old when Clint last saw her, but coming from being in Junior's shadow back home to now being behind the eight ball compared to his younger cousin was enough to bug Clint already. Clint followed Darryl up the stairs to the guest room, and Darryl opened the door up for Clint.
"Make yourself at home for tonight kid, and then come on downstairs when you're ready, we have some catching up to do," Darryl noted, as he left to go back down stairs. Clint placed his bags down on the floor in the middle of the room, and looked around. The guest room was very plain, white sheets, a small wooden bedside table, and a closet. Clint had brought two bags with him, his field bag that was going wherever he went, and an extra suitcase that was going to be staying in Darryl's guest room. Clint turned around and walked back downstairs. He walked down a hallway, through the kitchen and out into the backyard, where Darryl was standing outside watching his Dustox hovering around in his backyard.
"Fantastic aren't they," Darryl posed a question, looking over at his Dustox.
"Yes," Clint gave a quick answer.
"Now I never had the gift for training like your father, or even Ruby yet I've always wondered how far I could have taken battling if I was more serious about it," Darryl monologued,
"If I could go back over and do it all again, I would have been all over the world battling. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy everything I have in my life now, Sharon and Ruby are the best things that ever happened to me. Yet that competitive fire still burns in me deep down. You have a great opportunity ahead of you kid, don't let it go to waste. If you've listened to your father at all, I bet you will become one heck of a trainer."
"Thank you uncle Darryl, I won't let you down." said Clint.
"How about you and I have a quick battle here in the backyard, nothing crazy just let this old man live vicariously through you youngsters," Darryl offered.
"For sure, I can tell Charmander has been getting antsy sitting in his pokeball," Clint confirmed. Clint and Darryl walked to opposite ends of the backyard, Clint with his right hand hovering over his holster, Darryl and Dustox not breaking eye contact.

Darryl's Team:

Spoiler:

Clint and Darryl stood about fifty feet apart from each other, their makeshift battlefield spanning Darryl's backyard, with turf instead of real grass below their feet. Dustox was already out of it's pokeball, and then Clint grabbed the pokeball at his waist and threw it out in front of him, letting Charmander out. Clint knew he was at an advantage right away, his Charmander's Fire typing the perfect counter for Dustox's Bug type.
"Charmander, let's start off with an ember," Clint was making the first move. Charmander let out a quick burst of fire, aimed right at Dustox. Direct hit, Dustox staggered back, flapping its wings intensely in an attempt to shake the embers off.
"Dustox, let's go with a string shot," Darryl plotted his next move. Dustox aimed its lower body at Charmander, and started to spray out a string of web.
"Charmander another ember," Clint couldn't let up now. Charmander conjured up another burst. Flames shot towards Dustox, burning up the string shot sent out and further damaging Dustox. After the first hit, Dustox tried flapping its wings faster, but now it simply couldn't, simply mustering a slower pace movement, trying to keep itself in the fight.
"Dustox, hit him with a Gust," Darryl instructed, he wasn't giving up yet. Dustox flapped its wings as hard as it could, sweeping up a strong wind, knocking Charmander back onto Clint's feet. Charmander picked himself up off of the ground, shaking its head as it walked back into battle.
"Let's finish this Charmander, go with a Bite," Clint said. Charmander rushed towards Dustox, and leaped into the air, jaws wide open. Charmander managed to clamp onto Dustox's left wing with his teeth, and the two fell to the ground. Charmander pushed himself off of Dustox, and took a few steps back from his foe. Dustox laid on the ground, clearly roughed up from the fight. Charmander too was breathing heavily, feeling tired from the battle. Darryl returned Dustox to its pokeball, and then put his hands on his hips.
"Looks like you won this one Clint, I'll have to tell Ruby to watch out for you," Darryl conceded. Clint nodded his head, and was blinded by a bright yellow light coming from where Charmander was standing. Clint realized what was happening, his first Pokemon was evolving! Not a bad start to his journey. Sure enough, after nearly a minute of the brightness, it subsided and a new Pokemon was standing where Charmander just stood. Clint pulled out his PokeNav, and used the Pokedex feature.

"Charmeleon, Tough fights could excite this Pokémon. When excited, it may breathe out bluish-white flames." the machine blurted out.
"Well would you look at that," Darryl exclaimed,
"Already evolving Pokemon, someone's got a bright future ahead of him."
Clint stared at Charmeleon, dumbfounded by what had happened. So amazing, Clint thought to himself, how they can change so much, so quickly. Clint returned Charmeleon to his pokeball, and him and Darryl went back inside. They had a nice dinner and chat, but it was early to bed, for Clint had to catch a ferry to Dewford tomorrow, where he was going to challenge his first Gym.

- Charmander grew to Lv.16!
- Charmander evolved into Charmeleon!

budube · Jun 4, 2021

Jordie "Jo" Hughes

Monday, September 21st

Chapter 2: Part 6 - Bane

08:00 am to 10:30 am - Granite Cave
Jordie still can't believe they are stuck with a kid in Granite Cave and their pokémon forced them to take them with them. It's been almost an hour since they picked up the kid.

They haven't found a key stone yet, their X-Transceiver lost its signal too, and baby Boo has been chanting happily as he walks for a while now. It was cute at first, but it's starting to get on their nerves. This is why they don't want kids.

Has Jordie already thought about how much of a disaster this is? Not enough, apparently.

Gabby! Oh, Gabby! She's the first one to notice how Jordie is feeling, of course, and after staring at her trainer for a while, she hovers to Boo's side to ask him with her chirping voice to stay quiet.

"Boo…?" He asks at first, and then nods at the Solosis, but that's everything. When Gabby goes back to Jordie under the thought that she accomplished something, baby Boo starts singing again.

"Why is an actual toddler more polite than a pokémon?" Jordie asks themselves in a quiet voice and sighs together with Gabby.

Aside from the Clobbopus, the cave is quiet for minutes as they keep walking, until suddenly Boo stops and looks backwards. But before celebrating, they hear it too; the steps of a wild pokémon approaching. This can't be good.

"Kid, come here," the trainer calls the child, extending an arm while on their knees. The toddler follows, breathing heavily and Jordie realizes they're sweating too. They must be really scared, or just tired; probably both.

The trainer aims their flashlight wherever they hear the sound coming from, and the silhouette of a small pokémon appears walking towards the group, sniffing the ground as it walks as if looking for something.

"It's just an Aron," Jordie whispers. The Aron stops in front of the trainer and the kid and keeps sniffing at the floor, moving its head from one side to the other one, but then the Clobbopus interrupts by jumping in front of the pokémon with a cheery "Boo!"

The wild pokémon backs off with a single jump and starts growling at the Clobbopus, to which the fighting type doesn't react to well. Boo frowns and violently swings an arm, hitting the iron armor pokémon, which just startled it even more.

"Hey, stop it!" Jordie orders, trying to push their pokémon away, but the Aron pounces at Boo first. The Clobbopus tries to protect himself with his arm and moves sideways, but the wild pokémon bites his arm off, pushing Boo sideways and causing him to fall. The kid screams, scared and almost starts crying, hiding their face on Jordie's shoulders, while they also stare with shock at how the Aron shakes Boo's tentacle violently between its teeth.

Boo gets up from the ground and starts pulling his tentacle back with his only arm, while the wild pokémon does the same while growling at the Clobbopus. In the end, the iron armor pokémon gives up, and Boo angrily starts running at it to beat it up with his torn off limb.

"Stop fighting you two!" Jordie yells, leaving the kid behind and already on their nerves, pushing both pokémon away from each other and Boo happily cheers at them completely unaware that he is being yelled at. The trainer looks at their pokémon (at his shoulder, to be more specific), and notices there's no trace of blood for some reason. "Does it hurt?"

Boo looks at his shoulder and then shows it to their trainer with its eyes closed like it was smiling and starts cheering once again jumping from side to side, swinging his torn tentacle. Jordie finds themselves unable to understand what Boo is trying to tell them, but their patience is running out. Boo seems to not care, in any case.

Before they can move on, Maroon slaps off Jordie's PokéDex. At first, the trainer protests, but then thinks if maybe the pokémon tries to tell them something. Jordie scans the Clobbopus with the PokéDex, in case it has an answer about the fighting type's strange behaviour.

"Clobbopus, the Tantrum Pokémon. It's about as smart as a three-year-old —ooh, I bet. Its tentacles tear off easily, but it isn't alarmed when that happens, it knows they'll grow back." Jordie rolls their eyes, and puts the PokéDex back on their belt.

When they go get their bag back, they see the wild Aron trying to make its way inside it while scratching it with its front paws. Jordie tries to put the pokémon away to lift their bag, but it jumps at their bag and tries to attack the trainer, so they put the bag back on the ground.

"What do you want?" They ask. The pokémon ignores them and tries making its way inside the bag once more, but the trainer moves it away from and opens it themselves, taking out a pokémon snackbar from it. "Food?"

The Aron walks closer and sniffs the snackbar's wrapper and jumps to take a bite at it, yet Jordie moves it away from the pokémon.

"You can't eat the paper, silly," they laugh at it. "Sorry, but this is for my pokémon." The wild pokémon starts growling and barking at them, still trying to jump high enough to get Jordie's snackbar from their hands. "We can make a deal, though. How familiar are you with this cave?"

The wild Aron had the team running for a while. Jordie is completely worn out, because at some point they had to carry the kid as well. They didn't know Aron could be that fast for food.

The wild pokémon stopped running now at least, and while Jordie, the kid and their pokémon take a breath, it starts digging something out of the ground. It grabs it with its teeth and then turns back to Jordie to put it on the ground.

It's not the keystone they were hoping for, more like the second step.

"Is this yours?" Jordie asks, to which the pokémon replies with a bark. "An Aggronite, huh? You can't put it to good use without a trainer though. What do you say, help me find the keystone I asked for and I'll turn you into a really strong Aggron in return. Sounds like a good deal, doesn't it?"

- Jordie got an Aggronite!

- Boo grew to Lvl. 11!

Jordie caught Bane the Aron!

Male - Lvl. 20 - Rock Head - Curse/Metal Claw/Headbutt/Protect/Mud Slap/Rock Tomb

Jordie's Party:

Inventory:

Spoiler:

Caesar · Jun 6, 2021

Team & inventory:

Spoiler:

Saturday, September 19 @ 0900 - Slateport City

Clint was on his own now, leaving uncle Darryl's house this morning. He had to go pickup his Hoenn license, which should be a relatively painless process with him starting the transfer in Kanto before he left. Clint approached the red-roofed building, a Pokemon center which were very important places to be for any trainer. Clint entered into a pristine building, with a reception desk right in the middle. That's where I need to go, Clint reassured himself, and walked up to the desk, where an elderly lady was working.
"Good morning ma'am, I'm here to pick up a license card for Clint Shaw," said Clint. The lady typed into the computer, at a very slow pace, and looked on the screen for a few minutes.
"Ah yes Mr. Shaw," the lady began,
" We got you here in the system, allow me a few minutes to find your trainer card."

Clint nodded his head, and went to go sit down on one of the chairs in the main lobby. He took off his backpack and set it down in the chair next to where he was going to sit, and then sat down in the chair. Clint leaned down in the chair, and tugged down his hat to where he could barely see over the front of the brim. He waited patiently for a few minutes, before the old lady's voice called out,

"Mr. Shaw, we have your license here."

Clint got back up and picked up his backpack, and walked back up to the desk. The lady placed the card on the counter of the desk, Clint picked it up and examined it. It had his name, age and trainer number on it, and 14 empty spaces on the back for the gyms he had to beat.

"Thank you ma'am, you have a nice day," Clint replied, as he shoved the card into his shirt pocket.

"You too, best of luck young man."

Clint left the Pokemon center, and made his way further south over to the ferry terminal. He had a eleven o-clock ferry to catch over to Dewford, where the fun really began. Uncle Darryl had recommended going to Dewford's Gym first, as apparently the Slateport Gym Leader was much tougher. Fair enough, Clint reasoned with himself, need to get away from this big city anyways. He found himself on a cobblestone walkway heading past the beach and towards the terminal. The Dewford ferry terminal was smaller and separated from Slateport's main harbor, where Clint had arrived yesterday.

Clint walked into the terminal, where there was one person in line at the front desk. They handled their business, and then it was Clint's turn.

"Passage for one to Dewford please." Clint placed his trainer's card to the attendant, who then scanned it.

"No charge for you today," the attendant replied, giving Clint his card back. Clint passed through the turnstile, and picked out a seat at the front of the ferry. Very small ferry, Clint noted, hopefully this thing doesn't tip over. Clint took his spot, stretched out, and pulled his hat brim back down over his eyes. Was gonna be a little while before he got to Dewford...

Saturday, September 19th @ 1330 - Dewford Town

The sun was shining bright as the small ferry rolled into to the docks of Dewford Town, a small island village southwest of Slateport. Clint got up, and dusted himself off in order to get ready to get off the boat. Clint surveyed the town from the deck of the ferry, it was rather quaint and refreshing compared to the hustle and bustle of Slateport. The ferry was tied up on the dock, and once given the all-clear Clint hopped off the boat, tipping his hat at the ferry operator. Clint began to make his way towards the Pokemon center, uncle Darryl said they hosted rooms for trainers for free. It was still early to think about sleeping, but it would be good have a place to put his head at the end of the day.

Clint walked into the building, which looked very similar to the one he encountered in Slateport. Clint approached a desk identical to the one he approached in Slateport, but had a much younger man running the desk.

"Good afternoon, Going to need a room for the next couple of days, here's my trainer's license," Clint asked, placing his ID card on the counter. The receptionist looked at the card, scanned it then gave it back to Clint.

"We have one available for you, Room 207, here's your key," the attendant explains,

"Up those stairs in the back, keep going down the hallway."

Clint took the key, and headed up into the room. It was nothing fancy, which suited Clint who could be called a minimalist. He had a chair, a desk, and a bed, might not even need the desk. He threw his bag onto the chair, and then fell back on to the bed, arms spread open wide. He wasn't sure what to do next, as he needed to do a lot. He came here to battle the Gym Leader, but he needed to train, couldn't just barge in all willy nilly. He could also use some cash flow, as even though the room was free, food as well as other supplies he needed wouldn't be. With that, Clint decided to head back down to the lobby, see if he could see or hear anything that would take him in the right direction.

QueenNothing · Jun 6, 2021

Junko "June" Enomoto

Sunday, September 27th
Noon
Oldale-Littleroot Township

"...and that's how everything got to be the way it is." Giorgia, sitting on an old floral print couch, finishes her long personal story and tightens her grip on Akira's hand.

"I never really did fancy men, 'cept for Giorgia… but turned out she wasn't one all along." Akira giggles.

"That's… very fascinating, actually." June responds. Giorgia had just wrapped up her explanation about how, in her words, she was Gino but over the past few years she, through a long process, became Girogia. She gave the comparison of her process to that of a Butterfree's life cycle- a comparison June takes at face-value, but out of her usual politeness, she says nothing. Flawed analogies aside, June has definitely noticed Giorgia has grown visibly more happy since the last time she saw her, and that has her feeling good for her new aunt.

"So lil' Junko, what are you up to these days?" Akira asks.

"...and what are you doing in Hoenn?" Giorgia adds, looking concerned. "I thought you lived in Goldrenrod? Where are your parents? Do they know you're here?"

"Err, what she said."

"As a matter of fact, I do indeed have the permission of my parents to travel through Hoenn." June states. "I'm… I'm traveling as a Pokemon trainer."

Akira's face goes stern. "Mmm. I see."

"Oh my, how exciting!" Giorgia cheers, jamming her elbow into her wife. Akira doesn't budge. "Why don't you tell us more about that?"

"It certainly has been exhilarating…" June nervously laughs. "But I've received two badges and captured four Pokemon along my way. I arrived at Hoenn with Einstein, a Dottler, and during my time here I caught Chip, a Wimpod, Sting, a Beautifly, and Kit, a Surskit."

Giorgia giggles. "All bug-types, how adorable! I remember when you were little that you loved bugs. That doesn't seem like it's changed one bit. That's cute!"

June blushes a little. "Well, bugs are indeed adorable. I find my own Pokemon to be cute on-top of being interesting. Chip, my Wimpod, is very shy, although that applies to the species in general. It makes sense though, because their habit for scavenging makes them targets of interest for Meowth and Murkrow, so-"

She stops when she hears Akira laugh out loud, to Giorgia's delight. "By golly, you're startin' to sound like ma. 'Course, she was never this science-y about bugs, but well… It's nice to see a chip off the ol' block." She lifts herself from the couch, which comes as a surprise to her wife, and walks over to a coat hanger near the exit to grab her straw hat. "I enjoyed spendin' time with ya, but I got some more work to do 'round the farm. We can talk more at dinner."

"O-oh, would you like any assistance from me?"

Akira shakes her head. "Me and Betsy can handle this on our own." She then leaves the house, ducking so she could fit through the door-frame and closes the screen door behind her. Giorgia sighs.

"I'm so sorry Junko," Giorgia apologizes. "She cares for you, she really does! She's just… very stubborn."

"I never thought she didn't care." June taps her chin. "What are you referring to?"

"When she heard you were a Pokemon Trainer, she…" Giorgia groans. "I'm not supposed to tell you this, but I think I need to in order for this to make sense: When your grandma was young, she…"

"Oh… I, um, I actually have heard that already… I also heard how my dad ran away to journey through the region against my grandma's wishes…"

"Oh. Two less things to explain." Giorgia giggles. "But in all seriousness, I'm sure you understand why your aunt might have such a reaction to your news. She's never forgotten the pain your grandma had when seeing her son run away to repeat her mistake… and because of all the grief it's caused your grandma, Akira is just convinced nothing good can come from Pokemon battles. Knowing her, she's probably worried you'll walk down that same path."

June reaches for her pendant before stopping herself midway. She puts her hand down and takes a deep breath. "I-" She pauses again and gulps. "I'd like to show her that she's wrong! I actually used to feel the same way not too long ago, but during my last gym battle in Petalburg, I felt as if I was synchronized with my Pokemon in a way I hadn't felt until that point. There was a connection I had with them that was unlike anything I've experienced and- I want her to see that there is good to come from Pokemon battles!"

Giorgia stares at June wide-eyed, taken aback by the confidence she had displayed. Even June herself was shocked by the way she delivered it! There's a moment of silence between the two before it's broken by a giggle from Giorgia. "Trust me when I say that won't be easy, but I think if there's anyone who can prove that, it's you. You're the only one in the family who battles Pokemon, except Junichi, who… well, to put it simply, has only deepened Akira's conviction."

"Oh, thank you! But although I'm aware of what I've said, my question is… how do I accomplish that?"

"You only have two badges, yes? With that many, I think it'll be awhile before you can prove your point to her. There is a gym here in Littledale, and challenging it might help you grow as a trainer."

"I'll have to keep that in mind, however my Pokemon haven't done much training lately."

"That's an easy fix." Giorgia grins. "Just do some training!"

"Well… where should I do that?"

"I'm afraid I'm a farmer, not a Pokemon trainer. My knowledge of this is very limited. Fortunately however, to the south of town is a research institute that I've heard is run by a very kind man. Maybe you should visit and ask?"

June feels like she'd be a nuisance if she were to barge into a laboratory and interrupt somebody's research, but if the person who runs it is kind as Giorgia claims, she might as well. Plus, going to a research institute sounds like something she'd be interested in anyways. "Yes, I think I will!"

🐞 June's Party 🐞

39,492

Spoiler:

[PKMN FULL] Hoenn: Square One [IC]

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