[PKMN FULL] (IC) Crossroads ; A Johto Story - ACT I

[Sir Bastian]

Christina & Aberdeen – On the road to Violet
Chapter 2: Tina VS Deen!

The hand-holding didn't last for more than a minute, to both Ab's and Christina's relief. Chespin found another Vivillon to chase, which made Aberdeen run after him in order to stop what he now realized was a rather futile attempt at catching something that was quicker than they were. Plus, Christina didn't seem to like bugs. Didn't want to scare her away the first thing he did.

As they walked due west, they soon felt like the ground was elevating, like they were going faintly uphill. The hill of Violet lay ahead, only a few fields of flowers, gleaming in the afternoon sunlight, sitting between the city and the trainers now.

"So, are you gonna challenge the gym when we get there?" Aberdeen asked the girl.

"Mmh, I think I will." She responded, looking ahead as she trekked up the road, having picked up Sindy in her arms as the Cyndaquil had seemed a bit tired. "It's a great way to prove yourself, show how strong you've become along the way." She looked to Ab curiously. "What about you? I haven't even seen Chespin in a fight yet, so I don't even know how good you two are."

Ab smiled widely at that. "I'll definitely challenge the gym," he said. "I haven't been in many battles yet, but I will be. I'm traveling to experience a bigger life than the small world of Cherrygrove!"

As he spoke he held out his arms as if trying to reach the sky, eyes glittering. But he also found himself swallowing hard all of a sudden, and a fleeting image of his dead sister came to his mind. He shook it away and lowered his arms. Pondering days were over.

"Well, are you any good yourself, then?" he asked Christina, looking more closely at Sindy. "You're pretty new at this trainer thing too, am I right?"

Christina had looked a little at Ab as the thoughtful look came across his expression, but as he turned to her again, she quickly nodded her head, giving a sheepish little smile.

"Well... yeah, I'm pretty new to it. It's my second day, actually. But I've won every single battle I've been in so far!" She gave a bright smile, luckily neglecting to mention the fact that she hadn't had a single trainer battle so far. That said, she felt confident that her and Sindy could take on whoever they might run into as their first trainer battle.

"Besides," she added, sending him a bright grin. "You can't become famous in this day and age without being at least pretty good with Pokémon, in one way or another, right?"

Aberdeen shrugged and let some flowers by the road catch his eyes. "I don't know. There must be many who don't train pokémon. But I guess you can't live without meeting pokémon at least a little every day. Because they are everywhere."

Should he pick the flowers and give to Christina? That's probably what he would have done if Rachel walked beside him now. No hidden intention, they were just flowers and she'd be a girl. Girls like flowers, maybe. Aberdeen liked flowers too. And he wasn't a girl. Okay, his thoughts were spinning in weird directions now and he didn't know why. He scratched his head and decided to leave the flowers unpicked.

Looking ahead, he suddenly saw a tall tower coming into view. There was still a bit to go along the flowery fields, but he was pretty sure that the tower stood in Violet. They were there soon.

But first...

"Hey, by the way," Ab said. "Why don't you and I have a battle? Here and now! We'll reach Violet any minute now and can heal our pokémon there so it's a good time for it."

Having been squinting into the distance at the tower, Chris suddenly turned to Ab at the suggestion of a battle. "Oh, uhm..." On one hand, she did really want to see just how good a trainer Ab was. And sort of secretly get back at him for landing on top of her earlier, but on the other hand, did she really want him to be her first trainer battle ever? After a short while of contemplation, she gave a little grin, coming to a stop in the middle of the road and looking down at the Cyndaquil who had now stopped along with Chespin.

"What do you say Sindy? Wanna take on Deen and Chespin?" The Cyndaquil looked to Chespin for just a moment before the patches on its back burst into flame, letting out a challenging little squeak, followed by Christina giggling and looking to Ab with a wry smile. "Well, I guess that settles it. You're on, guys."

"Great!" Ab said and put some distance between them on the road. "Let's say two pokémon each?" He wasn't stupid. If Sindy was sent into battle, the last pokémon he wanted to go against her with was the grass type Chespin.

Chris hesitated for a moment, glancing down at the Pokéball housing the unnamed Spinnarak she unwillingly caught earlier. Not wanting to back down from the fight, she nodded her head and sent Ab a challenging smile, grabbing the Pokéball at her waist. "Deal. No healing items either." If she was going to go into a fight with a Pokémon she barely knew, she wanted at least some kind of edge on him. "Come on back Sindy, we'll save you for second."

The Cyndaquil looked a little disheartened after having pumped herself up like that and waddled back over to Chris side where she sat down, ready to watch the fight unfold.

No Sindy to begin with. Right, Chespin was up, then! "You ready, pal?" he asked his little pokémon, who replied with a cheerful squeak.

"Choose your pokémon, Tina!" Ab then said in a challenging tone to the girl, but quickly regretted it. "Ugh, not sure I should call you that. Deen is one thing, but Tina... It's like a whole different name."

The girl giggled as she picked out the Pokéball, shaking her head lightly. "Yeah, Tina's... not really what I'm hoping for in terms of nicknames. What about 'Chris'? Just go with what comes naturally. Anyways!"

She took a deep breath, readying herself for the inevitable as she clicked the Pokéball's center, causing it to open and send out the white beam, quickly forming into a Spinarak, curiously looking around, and upon seeing Chris, it wriggled happily on the ground. Christina was much less happy to see the spider though, wincing a little and holding herself back from running over and kicking the thing. "... Eugh. Right, ready I suppose."

Ab looked from the spider to the girl and a grin grew on his face again. "Haha, do I sense the perfect trainer-pokémon chemistry? Anyways, let's start then! I'm so not really sure about how this is really done," he laughed. "But Chespin, start with a Tackle!"

Chespin sturdied its body before dashing forwards, about to slam its body into the spider on the dusty road.

"Hit it with a String Shot, Spinarak!" Christina shouted, pointing at Chespin. The little spider managed to spit out a string of webbing aimed at Chespin's legs before the little rodent slammed into the spider, sending it tumbling to the ground. "Right, and then get it with a Poison Sting!" Christina had tried to recall what strengths and weaknesses bug types had, but she frankly couldn't remember it, despite the many times her brother had teased her with it.

Spinarak easily stung Chespin with its little horn, making the rodent yelp and hop up in pain. The string shot around his legs luckily loosened up a bit at this, so that he could stand and move again.

"Whoa, that was fast," Aberdeen commented. "Making your pokémon do a counter move and then retaliate just like that. You've got some reflexes."

As Chespin got up and stared at its opponent, Ab tried to think quickly. Chespin didn't seem poisoned yet, thankfully. He might have misjudged Christina though, thinking she was just like any little bug catcher or youngster here. But the very first move she made showed that she was alert. He had to make an effort to be like that too. With less of a smile, and sharpened eyes, he continued the battle.

"Chespin, be quick now. Lift it up with Vine Whip!"

Chespin, feeling his trainer's resolve, sent out his vines and grabbed ahold of the jiggering spider.

"Now, Tackle when you're holding it!" Ab called out as fast as he could, hoping to take a leaf out of Christina's book. If there was one thing Aberdeen was, it was an attentive learner.

The grass type pulled in his vines and dashed forward again to Tackle the trapped bug.

Christina cringed as the spider was lifted into the air, flailing its little legs around, seemingly too absorbed in the battle to throw around banter, at least for now. Despite not being a fan of the little thing, it was still her Pokémon. "Ngh..." She clenched her fists, desperate to try and come up with a tactic that'd help her against the rather strong Chespin. After a moment of wrecking her brain to come up with a strategy, only one thing seemed viable right now.

"Spinarak, twist around and have Chespin charge right into your stinger in a Poison Sting!" The little spider twisted and squirmed in the vines in an attempt at turning to have the 'horn' facing Chespin's charge.

Once again, Aberdeen was outsmarted. Chespin dashed into the Poison Sting and dropped the spider from his vines in shock at the impact. He staggered backwards with a sick look on his face. Ab quickly pulled up the pokédex to scan his pokémon; Chespin had been lightly poisoned this time.

"Poison... Never liked that in battles," he muttered before clenching his fist and sending the grass type back into his pokéball. Then he smiled at Christina. "I'm not a sore loser!" he chuckled. "You won the first round, but now I'm using someone else. Whismur, go!"

The pink bunny-like pokémon emerged from a second pokéball and stood on the road in front of the Spinarak, shuddering every so slightly.

Christina let out a breath of relief as Ab pulled back Chespin, the look of relief on her face clearly stating how desperate she had been, and the fact that the little spider would have been knocked out if it was attacked just once more by Chespin. She sent him a wry little grin, lifting the Spinarak's Pokéball as she recalled it. "I didn't think you were. Alright Sindy, it's your time to shine!"

The patches on the Cyndaquil's back flared up as it let out a challenging semi-growl that sounded more adorable than anything as it quickly waddled over to stand in front of Christina, facing the Whismur. At a closer inspection, she furrowed her brows and brought out her Pokédex, checking out the Whismur. "... Huh. I've never seen that Pokémon before." She snapped the 'dex shut and gave Ab a friendly smile as she packed it away. "I think it's only fair you go ahead and make the first move."

"Suit yourself," Aberdeen smiled. "That mouse of yours has got great hearing, right?" He suddenly clapped his hands over his own ears. "Uproar, Whismur!"

Whismur didn't waste any time. It took a deep breath and started yelling at an incredible level, all while jumping about as if it tried to let all its energy out into one wild attack spree. It was difficult to say if the attack was physical or not. Probably mostly sonic.

Not understanding why Ab had put his hands over his ears, Christina opened her mouth to say something, just as the little, pink ball began shouting out at an incredible volume, Christina quickly wincing and moving her hands up to her ears to cover them up. Sindy was less fortunate, her little arms not long enough to reach up to her... ear holes?

"What in Arceus' holy litter box...?!" she cried out, watching the thing continuing to bellow and scream. "I- ngh... smokescreen is no good... damnit, Sindy, hit it with a tackle, get it to shut up!" The Cyndaquil responded immediately, thankful to be able to get a chance at getting the Whismur to shut up, running forwards as she dove towards the pink ball in a furious shoulder-tackle.

Whismur, wild in its sonic tantrum, whirled away from a direct hit but got hit in the side and tackled to fall down anyways. The Uproar ended.

Chris groaned as the noise ended, lowering her hands from her ears with a sigh of relief. "That... was absolutely horrible."

"Retaliate with Pound!" Aberdeen said, trying to be swift about it.

Whismur bounced up and slapped its little hands forcefully at the fire type pokémon.

Sindy, only just having relaxed from the pleasant silence after the Uproar's end, had no time to react as the little, pink ball ran up and smacked her over the head, sending the Cyndaquil stumbling backwards with a squeak.

"W-whoa, careful Sindy! Uh, Smokescreen!"

Sindy arched her back, thick smoke billowing from the patches on her back to envelop a large area between the boy and girl. Chris grinned at first, happy with the fact that the Whismur would have alot of trouble hitting Sindy... until she realized that Sindy probably couldn't see the Whismur either. "... Ack. Should've thought that one through."

Whismur whirled around, unsure of what to do. But Aberdeen grinned widely. "Perfect!" he laughed. "Use Uproar again! Sound needs no eyes to hit its target."

Holding his hands over his ears again, Ab watched as the bunny took a step into the smoke and disappeared, right before the hideous screaming noise from its Uproar attack came again, even making the smoke whirl faster from the vibrations in the air.

Christina realized her mistake the minute Aberdeen shouted and her face immediately paled. She quickly lifted her hands to cover her ears again, wincing. She stared into the smoke, desperate to try and think of something. In the middle of the fog though, she saw a glimmer of flames, most likely from Sindy who was, understandably, getting both hurt and frustrated.

"... Time to see if this'll work. Sindy! Use Extrasensory!" The Cyndaquil, flailing its tiny arms in the smoke squinted her eyes somewhat open, a firm, purple glow having taken over the usual sheen. After a splitsecond, the air to the right of Whismur shimmered for a brief moment before erupting in a fireless explosion, which startled the bunny a little, but wasn't close enough to actually hurt it.

"... Damnit, it's still going! Once more Sindy, Extrasensory!"
The little Cyndaquil squeaked out in exhaustion, mustering up the energy for another attack, the air near Whismur rippling again as another explosion ahppened, this time on its left. However, the attack still didn't connect. The smoke was slowly starting to clear out, and just as Christina got a glimpse of Sindy, the 'mon toppled over onto its side. Her eyes widened and she ran forwards, kneeling down next to it.

"S-Sindy! Are you okay?" The Cyndaquil squirmed a little and let out a weak little groan. Chris smiled softly and lifted the Pokéball, recalling her. "It's alright. You did great, get yourself some rest." She stood up again, sighing as she sent Ab a smile. Not a wry, teasing or mocking one, but simply one of respect. And a little bit of annoyance, though not pointed at him, rather than herself.

"... Whelp. I guess it's a draw. That... Smokescreen didn't do me any favors, but you were really great, Deen." She stood up and walked over, only to crouch again as she patted the thankfully quiet Whismur on the head with a bright smile. "And you were really cool too!" She rose up once more and offered a glove-clad hand to him with another smile.

Ab looked at her thoughtfully for a moment. He was beginning to figure her out, he thought. Christina had been intuitively clever in battle to begin with, but when she tried to think harder later in the battle, she had been overwhelmed. His smile returned as he took her hand and shook it with one quick squeeze. It would be interesting to see how she developed as a trainer. Already from the start, he hadn't really cared much about becoming the very best himself, even if he told his family so. He just wanted to escape the town where bad memories lingered, and experience something else. Something exciting. There and then, he told himself that this wouldn't be the last time he battled Christina.

He couldn't really tell her all this now though. That would be weird. Instead, he let go of the girl's hand and returned Whismur to its pokéball with a quick, affectionate rub of the ball against his cheek.

"Draw, win, what does it matter really? You've got, um, great instincts I think. It's cool to see. And I had loads of fun. So thank you!" he said to Christina, then suddenly winked at her. "Violet City, then?"

"Violet City." She replied with another, excited grin forming on her lips before the two began their journey towards the next town on their way.

Current Team:

 

[moon]

Christina
Sindy grew to lv 10 and learned Ember!
Spinarak grew to lv 7!

Aberdeen
Chespin grew to lv 9!
Whismur grew to lv 8!

 

[Sir Bastian]

Christina Langley – Violet City Gym
Chapter 3: A desperate battle! Christina VS Falkner!

"See you sometime soon!" Ab called out, waving his hand before turning and heading deeper into the city. Chris lowered her hand from returning the wave before taking herself a seat on the bench outside of the Pokécenter. She stretched her arms out over her head, sighing out quietly afterwards, leaning back in the seat, with Sindy taking herself a seat on the bench next to her.

"Wow… what a day, huh Sindy? Made a farmer angry, met Deen and… Nate, was it? And we had our first trainer battle!" She smiled excitedly as her hand raised to tug lightly at the scarf wrapped around her neck, her expression slowly gliding into a more thoughtful look. "… We didn't win though. I was so sure of it. I guess Deen was just pretty good too, huh sindy?"

The Cyndaquil squeaked out in a non-committing manner before starting to nibble on one of the berries Chris had given her as a treat for fighting well during the battle a while back. "Mmmh. And you learned Ember! That's –really- cool. I can't wait to try it out in a fight. Speaking of…" She gave the little 'mon by her side a wry grin. "… We're still on for fighting Falkner, right?"

Sindy paused mid-bite, looking thoughtful for a moment before lowering the berry in her little arms, letting out a little string of squeaks and murmurings up at Chris. She furrowed her brows, looking a little confused. It seemed like Sindy was a bit… hesitant with the idea of challenging the gym. "What's wrong? I'm pretty sure we can take him on. I mean, he's the weakest of all of the gym leaders! So he shouldn't be that tough to crack, yeah? Just need a strategy against his birds and we're all set!" She gave a bright, confident smile down at the Cyndaquil, who continued to look a little doubtful, but gave a nod, the patches on her back flaring a little up to show her support.

Christina giggled and lowered a hand to affectionately pat her, smiling warmly. "Trust me, we'll do great. And it's going to feel so good when we get our first badge. It'll just be the two of us though, I deposited the… bug, in the PC. Just you and me again, Sindy!" She paused, reaching into her bag to pull out a sandwich she had brought with her from the other center, back on the route, unwrapping it and chomping hungrily into it.

"Though… I wouldn't mind expanding the team. You're awesome Sindy, but we kinda need… more. What if we were up against a water type? I'm pretty sure we'd get wrecked, then." She gave a glance at Sindy, but the Cyndaquil was too busy devouring the second berry. "I guess we'll see once we leave town. For now, let's eat up and go fight Falkner!"

Not long after, the red-haired girl stood in front of the gym's large doors. From in front of the gym, the building seemed a lot more… imposing, than she'd imagined, but she waved it off as just nervousness for the coming fight. She looked down at Sindy and gave a warm smile. "You ready to do this?" The Cyndaquil looked at the gym, then up at Chris, unsure for a moment before matching her determination and nodding with a squeak.

With that, they stepped forwards, the doors sliding aside. She was surprised to find several trainers in this large hall-esque building, with very big, open windows up under the ceiling, for bird Pokémon to fly in and out of, which they currently were. There were a lot of trainers simply… talking or battling against each other, seemingly just… hanging out. Chris was taken a little aback at first, but she managed to tap someone on the shoulder as he passed by.

"Uhm… sorry, where do I go if I wanna challenge Falkner…?" The blonde-haired guy raised his brows before smiling and pointing down to the back of the gym where a large, raised podium stood with a short staircase leading up to a blue-haired, young man who was looking rather… impressive, actually. Christina smiled and thanked the guy before going straight for Falkner. She came to a stop not far from his podium, his one eye, not obscured by his blue hair staring down at her, like a Pidgeot awaiting a Caterpie's next move.

"… Greetings, young trainer. What may I aid you with?" He asked. Christina felt a surge moving through her stomach, but tried to supress the nervousness and the butterflies growing. The other trainers had stopped what they were doing and backed a little off. She cleared her throat and met his gaze, raising a hand to point up at him. "I'm here to challenge you to a battle, Falkner!"

The trainers murmured amongst each other and the young man at the top of the podium offered a smile. "You've come here to challenge me and my bird Pokémon? Very well, I accept your challenge. We'll each fight with a maximum of three Pokémon, no healing items. Before we begin, may I ask you why you have chosen to duel me?"

Christina planted her hands solidly at her hips, smiling with determination up at him. "I want to become strong! Sindy and I are going to prove to everyone that we can take on even the best of them! Even if you –are- the lowest ranked gym in Johto!"

Falkner cringed at the last part, his serious demeanor breaking apart as he raised a hand to brush his hair a little back, looking a tad bit annoyed. "… Do you really have to go around saying stuff like that…? It's a huge honor to be one of the gym leaders!" Suddenly, the young man seemed a lot… younger, than before. "Oh, uh… sorry. I'm sure you're still really strong!" Christina replied, trying to not be completely rude towards him.

The young man huffed, but seemingly waved it off as he raised a hand in front of him, keeping eye contact with her. "Alright then, let's get this battle started. Choose your first combatant."

"I only have one Pokémon, so my first and only combatant is going to be Sindy!" Christina thrust her arm forwards, prompting Sindy to quickly waddle in front of her, definitely not accustomed to things being this… showy. She let out a not-so-intimidating growl, the patches on her back flaring up as if challenging Falkner himself.

The young man on the podium furrowed his brows before shaking his head lightly. "… Very well. If that's your choice." He placed two fingers in his mouth and let out a sharp whistle. Somewhere nearby, a bird's cry was heard, and soon, a Pidgeotto darted through one of the open windows, flying down to hover in front of Falkner. It was just then that Christina realized that her and Falkner were actually standing on an arena, cut into the floor and Falkner was intending on staying up on the podium it seemed.

"Not going to fight me face to face? That's alright, I'm still planning on taking you down to my level." Christina gave a wry little smile as she clenched her fists, readying herself for the fight. Falkner nodded, his arms folded across his chest once more. "Then let's start. Pidgeotto, Quick Attack!" The bird cawed before shooting out of the air like a rocket, slamming into Sindy and flying up again before Chris could even register what happened.

"W-whoa! Okay, this isn't the time to get startled! Sindy, uh… Tackle when it gets close!" The Pidgeotto came around for another attack, but this time, Sindy was ready for her. As the bird was diving for another attack, the Cyndaquil lept forwards, underneath the bird before shooting up into its underside, sending it careening off to the side, though still in the air.

"Hmh. Not bad. But it's still not going to save you!" Falkner exclaimed. "Tackle!" The Pidgeotto made for another flight, but Chris was just a mite faster this time. "Sindy, Smokescreen!" The smog emitting from the Cyndaquil's back quickly enveloped the middle portion of the arena, the Pidgeotto diving head-first into it, though from the sounds of things, it stopped mid-air before making contact with Sindy, seeming confused.

"There! Good luck hitting Sindy now!" Christina called, grinning happily at her quick thinking. Falkner merely huffed and called out "Blow it away with a Gust!" The smog quickly dispersed as the Pidgeotto within the smoke swiftly batted her wings about, sending both the smokescreen and poor Sindy tumbling away.

Christina clenched her hands into fists at her sides, gritting her teeth as she watched the fight. Damnit, this isn't good! Come on Chris, think, think, think… what would Marcus do…? Without any great ideas coming to mind, she simply called out for Sindy to use an Ember. The Cyndaquil pulled in a sharp breath before spitting out several lumps of flame into the air. The Pidgeotto was hit, and from the looks of things, it hit it pretty hard, as it fluttered a little, having a hard time keeping itself in the air.

Falkner had been watching in silence for a little and just then, he raised his hand, holding a Pokéball, which he used to recall Pidgeotto. "You did well, my friend. Rest for now." Christina was surprised, having been ready to attack it once more to finish it off. She put on another challenging smile, though her confidence had clearly taken a blow, with Sindy panting for air from the fight. "Alright, one down. Two to go, Falkner."

The man pulled out another ball from the back of his belt, tossing it into the air as a Wingull came flying out with a happy squawk, lowering itself down close to the ground, eyeing over Sindy. "This is pointless, so I'm going to end this now." He stated.

"… W-what?" Chris stuttered. Her face flushed, an angrily annoyed expression taking over her features. "… If you think I'm going to just let you brush me off like that, you have another thing coming! Sindy, Ember!" The Cyndaquil pulled in another breath of air, followed by several lumps of flames spewing out, one of them hitting the Wingull. Chris let out a "Hah!" before widening her eyes a little in shock. The bird looked like it hadn't even felt the attack!

"… Wingull, use Supersonic." The gull opened its beak and let out a weird, high-pitched noise, which caused Sindy to flail her arms about, the flames on her back erupting, then dying down and erupting once more, squeaking out in surprise at the attack, which quickly died down.

Christina stared worriedly at Sindy, feeling her nails digging into the palms of her gloved hands. "S-Sindy! Hang in there! Use… use Tackle!" The Cyndaquil growled out as it flailed from left to right, clearly confused. It suddenly charged and threw itself forwards, only to completely miss the Wingull and slam into the ground hard, before slowly picking herself up. "Sindy!"

"Finish it Wingull. Water gun." The gull squawked out again before flying in close to the Cyndaquil, opening its beak and letting out a blast of water, which hit Sindy square in her face, sending her tumbling backwards, whereupon she lay on her side, not moving. "No! Sindy!" Christina rushed forwards to the downed Cyndaquil, falling to her knees as she picked up the little 'mon in her arms, holding her tightly against her chest. "Are you okay? Sindy, say something!"

Sindy gave off a weak little squeak, turning her head somewhat towards Christina, and the girl felt as if she was trying to apologize to her for losing. A few tears had formed in the corners of her eyes, as she noticed a voice speaking up, which belonged to Falkner.

"… Your Cyndaquil is strong, but you're obviously new to being a trainer. You lack proper teamwork and a strategy, you –have- no team aside from one Pokémon, and-"

"Shut up! What makes you think you know so much about me and Sindy?! You have no idea what we're going through!" Christina shouted up at him as she stood up, holding the Cyndaquil close. Falkner's brow furrowed a little, compassion creeping into his otherwise stern expression. "… Did you ask if your Pokémon actually wanted to do this? To fight, to take on a gym challenge?"

"Of course I did! And she-" Christina hesitated, remembering back outside of the Pokécenter. Sindy had been unsure when she asked her, but Chris' persistence had pressured her into agreeing. Silently, the girl looked down at the close-to-unconcious form of her friend in her arms, swallowing down to try and keep her tears at bay. Falkner sighed softly and nodded his head lightly. "… As I was saying. You need to listen to each other. Fix that and your other problems, and then come back."

The next ten minutes seemed to have happened in a blur. Christina didn't even remember leaving the gym, or if she had said anything else to Falkner. She just suddenly found herself in a part of the city she didn't recognize, crusted tears on her cheeks and the Cyndaquil still nestled in her arms.

"… Excuse me, young miss." Came a voice from her left. Christina turned, her eyes red after crying, as she looked at a bald man in a dark-blue robe, standing outside of the entrance to a rather large, very old-looking tower. He offered he a kind smile and bowed lightly to her. "Would it be wrong to assume that you have… challenged Falkner?" Christina gave a gentle nod of her head, any thoughts on her part having completely shut off.

"Ah, I thought so. And… it didn't go so well? Perhaps Falkner offered you some insight into what he believed you were lacking?" Again, the girl simply gave a gentle nod, confirming the man's suspicions. The man nodded again, his hands hidden inside of his robe's sleeves, which he kept collected in front of him. "Mmh, I thought so. Now, I need to know… do you wish to improve? Do you want both you and your Pokémon to become closer and more… whole?"

Christina stared at the man, then back at the tower behind him. She'd heard of this place. Her bother had mentioned it when he was visiting a few months back. A tower where monks trained both their bodies, minds and their Pokémon. She turned her head to look down at the Cyndaquil in her arms, swallowing down hard again to prevent a new stream of tears from happening. With a slightly cracking voice, she looked up at the man again.

"Y… yes. Please help me… p-please help Sindy. I… I-I didn't mean for her to get hurt like this." The man nodded in understanding, halfly turning and gesturing back at the tower. "Then please. Follow me, young miss. Me and my brethren will do what we can to aid you in your quest." Christina nodded meekly, sniffling briefly as she followed the monk towards the tower, her ambitions crushed and her friend wounded. She didn't have much hope that the monks would be able to help her and Sindy, but for her friend, she was willing to try.

Current Team:

 

[moon]

Aberdeen Montany
post 1 chapter 3 : Violet City​

After healing up at the pokémon center, Aberdeen and Christina had parted ways to pursue their own goals in the city. Aberdeen had never really planned to be traveling together with someone other than his pokémon on a permanent basis. But a part of him really wanted to meet Christina again. He didn't feel bad about splitting up though; if they kept traveling in the same direction, they would meet again at some point. He was sure of it.

"Violet is a big place," Ab said thoughtfully, as he and his pokémon strolled through the place in the afternoon. "But it kind of feels smaller. Older." The buildings weren't as modern and shining as in Cherrygrove. There was an atmosphere here that was not present in Ab's hometown.

Suddenly, he realized that they had reached the city's gym. Looking up at the imposing building, very traditional in design, except for a bright sign saying Violet Pokémon Gym at the front wall, Ab thought hard for a moment. He had meant to challenge the gyms, right? That was what every aspiring trainer did. Unless they were just kids with pets on the countryside. Ab wasn't a kid, not according to himself, and his pokémon partners weren't pets.

He glanced down at them. Chespin, Whismur and Pidgey sitting beside each other on the ground, all following Ab's gaze up at the big building. Pidgey looked as stern as she always did. Whismur looked nervous. And Chespin looked expectant. The grass type noticed that their trainer was looking at them, and turned to blink at Ab with a smile. As if he knew what Ab was thinking about and wanted to tell him that he agreed. They should challenge the gym. Aberdeen smiled back. He bent down to pick up Whismur and pet its head to calm it down.

"We won't go to the gym tonight," he said.

Chespin looked a bit appalled. Pidgey raised her feathery eyebrow.

"We nearly lost against other trainers," the trainer continued. "Christina, and that bug catcher. We're not challenging gyms yet. I want to experience things, I don't want to go the same way everyone else goes. That does us no good. Right?"

He held out Whismur in his arms, as if asking the little fellow the question. Whismur squeaked, having no idea how his trainer wanted him to answer that question. Aberdeen just laughed a little and pulled the bunny pokémon into a hug again.

They kept strolling, away from the gym, and only just missed a familiar redhead hurrying in, ready to challenge the leader herself...

Instead, the quartet reached one of the oldest, and certainly the tallest building in the city: Sprout Tower. Like an old, friendly guard, it watched over the city with its ticking log and mysterious monks. The courtyard was empty this late in the evening, but as Ab stood there and looked up at the tower, one monk eventually came out from one of the smaller buildings near it and approached him.

"Young boy," he said calmly. "You seem lost in thought. As if you are trying to make a decision."

"Kind of," Ab answered with a sad smile. "But actually I've made my decision. I won't challenge the gym yet."

The old monk looked at him with wise eyes for a moment. "And why not?"

"Because I don't feel like it!" Ab exclaimed happily, putting Whismur down and waving goodbye to the monk before letting Pidgey land on his shoulder and making the other two pokémon chase after him back to the town centre.

The monk's eyes followed the boy until he turned around a corner. Such a young soul. Yet weighted down by deep grief. Grief the boy wouldn't show or admit to anyone. One could only hope that he would dare to dig up what he had buried deep inside, one day.

He remained in the courtyard, silently watching the stem of the tall tower tick back and forth where it could be seen through the openings in the walls of every floor. Soon enough, another young soul approached. Sad, lost. A different kind of grief, more shallow yet just as strong. The monk nodded to himself. She had chosen differently than the boy had.

The old man gathered his blue robe tighter around his body in the chilly evening air, and walked up to the sobbing child.

"… Excuse me, young miss," he said gently. "Would it be wrong to assume that you have… challenged Falkner?"
​

 

[Legend]

Introducing...Vincent Baker
GUEST STARRING: Melody Hughes
Violet City: Post 1

*bulbagarden.net image removed**image removed**image removed**image removed**image removed*​

"Look, kid. I didn't take your friend's lunch money," Vincent protested outside the academy.

"I saw you take money out of her pocket and stuff into your bag!" One of the many schoolboys gathered in the schoolyard said, leading what appeared to a large group of 10 year old nerds surrounding the taller Vincent.

"Sound a lot like your word versus mine, kid. And I'll have you know..." Vincent said with a scoff, lowering his voice deeper and deeper before getting right in the face of the leader. "I have some frightening friends in high places. I don't think you will want to call them on this little phone of mine. It may not end well for you." With a dead glare, the schoolboy gulped and ran inside, most of his posse following along with sweat dripping down to the ground. Vincent stood up straight and cracked his back. "Dumb kid," he chuckled as he counted the money he yoinked off the other kid's pocket. "I feel almost bad, but whatever." Vincent shrugged his shoulders and stuffed his own wallet with his newest acquisitions.

Not too far away from Vincent, one Melody Hughes had made her way towards the academy. Although the girl was still not completely sold on the need to actually train there, she was still thinking under the mindset that giving the school a quick lookover would not hurt. Spotting Vincent standing outside the building, Melody assumed the boy to be a student of the school or something of the sort. She made her way towards him, putting on a bright smile in the process.

"Excuse me," Melody called out. As she got closer to him, Melody realized just how much taller he was than her, not that that usually was a surprise for her. Still at times it she did find it a bit embarrassing. Forcing a quick blush down, the girl continued when she was closer. "Is this the Pokémon academy by any chance?"

"Yeah what?" Vincent said at first, seeing a shorter girl pester him with dumb questions. Why do people always like to bother him. You would think with his punk clothes, long hair and constant grimace that most people, especially girls his age, would be more terrified of him than ask him innocent questions. He could only mentally sigh at the whole display. "Oh, yeah. It's full of nerds though. They will probably drool all over you." It was this moment that Vincent realized that he probably would need to step in. He had some experience battling, having watched battles on television and was sharp enough to figure out to make his way to Violet City and even managed to nab a Pidgey on the way. But, was that enough to beat Falkner? Probably. But if he wanted to make any of his dreams come true, he would sadly have to sit in a class. The thought sent a shiver down his spine. Without paying the girl much a thought, he walked through the front doors.

"Drool on me...? But it's not like I'm gonna be close to their mouths or anything like th-" Melody began, only to quickly stop as she realized the boy was already heading inside. She smiled brightly, quickly making her way to follow behind him. The boy must have decided to show her the way to the registration area. It did not take long for Melody to reach the boy's side. Glancing up at him as they walked, Melody decided to spark a bit of conversation with Vincent, one that quickly turned into another of her ramblings. "You must be a student or something here, am I right? The nurse at the Pokémon Center suggested that I stop by here before I challenge Falkner. I wasn't all that sure about it, because me and my Pokémon have been through, like quite a few battles already! Just getting here from Cherrygrove was like an adventure all on its own, you know? But I guess that's what the whole point of training is supposed to be like... Oh! I'm Melody by the way!"

"That's lovely...um, Mary or whatever your name is. But I'm not a student. I'm just here for whatever free lesson they hand out," Vincent said, barely making eye contact with the girl. He walked faster, slamming his hand on the front desk hard enough that the phone perched on the woman's shoulder crashed to the desk. "Hi. I am here for some lessons or whatever. Where do I go?"

"Um...well, I will give you a keycard and you c-c-can go wherever you want. There is plenty of experience to go around. C-c-can I get your name please?"

"...Vincent Baker."

She typed a bunch of keys on the computer, had Vincent a few documents (probably some waivers and then handed him the keycard. "It's a day pass, so enjoy your stay here and hope you sign up for more classes!"

"Yeah, no," he said with a scoff and started to bolt around the visitor's floor for a map to get a feel for the campus.

"I'm here to sign up for a class and stuff too! Melody Hughes!" the girl said in a much more pleasant manner.

The receptionist seemed to take note of this, smiling a bit easier with the shorter girl's disposition. After getting her waivers, Melody quickly headed off to join Vincent as he looked around. She quickly retook her place by his side with a giggle.

"I think you scared her a bit there, Vincent," she told the boy. "The look on her face was priceless! She must have been making a phone call or something that they're not supposed to make during business hours!"

Greattttt. Now she knows my name, he mentally groaned to himself. I gotta find a way to ditch this chick and fast. Perhaps if I ignore her! Yeah, that may work! Vincent stared at a map, trying to soak in all the information of what classrooms were where. Knowing that breeding, contests and simple companionship were all terribly boring, Vincent locked in on battling and raising Pokemon. Though, Pokemon Philosophy sounded cool. If only because it was thought provoking. So he scanned the map for anything that gave him that information while paying no heed to Melody. I need to battle...battle...battle.

"What classes are you gonna go to, Vinny?" Melody asked. "Any in particular you got an eye out for?"

Hearing Vinny was like nails on a chalkboard. His teeth began to grind and his eyes darkened into shadows. Moments like this, Vincent would want to deck people in the face. And it would be so easy to do so. But no. He was better than that. Actually, he probably wasn't. But he wanted to do better than that. Without really realizing it, he traced a short path with his fingers to the hallways where the battle centric classrooms were at. Being the rebel that he was, he took out his skateboard and rode down the hallways, hoping to escape Melody's constant jabbering and get to the classroom quickly, so he wouldn't miss too much.

Melody watched as Vincent took off down the halls on his skateboard. While the girl figured that such an activity probably was not something that was allowed in schools, she shrugged it off. After all, it could have been that the boy did not want to be late for a lesson... or maybe he needed to use the restroom before class. Turning her attention towards the map, Melody stood on her tip toes to reach the higher points as she began to try and trace a path for herself to take.

{i]"Let's see here... Battling sounds like it would be fun..."[/i] Melody thought as she analyzed the map. "Philosophy sounds totally boring.. I'll probably skip on that one... Hmmm...? I wonder what sort of stuff they would teach in a companionship class? Napoleon might benefit from that one..."

Deciding that she could put off other classes for later, Melody instead determined that a battling class or two would probably be the best way to determine just how prepared her team would be to challenge Falkner and his gym. After making out which path she would need to take for the class, the girl quickly spun around and began to make her way towards her destination. There was a light sprint in her step as she moved. It was already starting to get a bit late into the morning and the girl did not want to be late for the class. Luckily, she managed to reach the class just moments before the bell would ring.

It seemed that she was not the only one to have an interest in the battling class. The room was full with many eager and budding trainers. There were hardly any seats left at all for the girl to take. The only empty one she found was right next to a rather familiar looking boy sitting in the back row of the room. Melody's eyes lit up as she quickly made her way towards the boy with a smile.

"Vinny! I didn't know you were gonna be taking the same class as me!" Melody exclaimed as she took the seat beside the boy. "The way you took off, I thought you had to use the restroom or something! Looks like we're classmates for the time being, yeah?"

"Yay..." he said sarcastically, before staring out the window. So ignoring her didn't work. Luckily we are in class, so maybe she'll shut up during that. Pretending to care about the class, Vincent pulled out his art notebook and pen and began to doodle, halfway paying attention to the professor when he went over the mechanics of what defined a Pokemon Battle, proper manners and code. All the boring stuff that he probably should care about as a newcomer to whole grander stage of things. He was already that guy, but he needed to at least try to shed that identity if he was to take on the gym leader challenge. Once battle theory and status conditions kicked in, he drew with a little more passion, occasionally glancing out the window.

Melody seemed to be just as equally bored with the lesson as Vincent was. Although the girl did not have a real method of keeping herself entertained as the boy next to her did, she managed to keep herself awake by swinging her legs back and forth underneath her desk. At one point, Melody took a quick glance over in Vincent's direction and noticed that he was in fact drawing something. Reaching into her backpack, the girl found a notebook of her own and a pen. She quickly and quietly tore a page from the notebook, scrawling something down on the page she tore out before folding it up and quickly tossing it onto Vincent's desk.

"Omg, this is so boring, am I right? The nurse said that they let us actually battle each other at one point, but this guy just keeps rambling on about stuff you can see on Professor Oak's old show reruns on PPBS! By the way, wha'cha drawing? :3"​

Vincent didn't know why he bothered to open the note. In fact, he really shouldn't have. His eyes twitched and beamed back at her filled with lasers. In his mind's eye, she was reduced to ash, he learned everything he needed to know and he was halfway to the gym. Yet, here he was stuck, reduced to passing notes. He wrote a little bit on the paper and tossed it back to her.

Stuff.​

Melody nodded as she read the note over, before she picked up her pen before she resumed her scribbled chatting.

"Oh, I get ya! You don't like to show off your work before it's done! I can totally respect that! You should lemme see it when you finish then! So, what kinda Pokémon do you have?"​

This girl couldn't take a hint could she? Perhaps he had to be civil. Be nice and then let her go when he was all done with this school and city. Go their separate ways. A poetic end to such a relationship. He first revealed his sketch, which was a spitting image of their nerdy, overweight teacher with his receding hairline and sweater vest being mauled by a Salamence. He then scribbled a simple note. He wasn't going to bother with details, simply because he didn't care enough.

Two guys. A Froakie and Pidgey.​

.

Melody giggled at the sight of the sketch Vincent had done. It was honestly one of the last things she had been expecting to see on paper. Thankfully, she had somehow managed to not get caught with her small giggle-fit. She took her paper back and began to scratch away again.

"That picture is the best thing ever! I could totally see that happening, yeah? And your team sounds like a handy duo! I have a Chikorita, Buizel, and Taillow myself! One girl and two boys. ^_^"​

The note exchanging had wasted a fair amount of time, as the teacher suddenly raised his voice. Vincent, at first, thought he got caught. That never happened so he quickly exchanged the thought with another. It was announcement. "Now that you all know how battles work, we will have an example of a match for all you to view! You two in the back, you seem like two capable ones having passed notes around instead of listening to my lecture. Why don't you two battle...this two fine young children?"

Vince shrugged his shoulders and slid over to the front of the room. "Aw, no way," he mumbled as he reached the teacher's side. It was the two kids from earlier, who only gawk at Vincent. "Really. You two want to battle? Teacher, I request a change in opponents."

"You will get when I assign. You would know that if you didn't spend your time staring out the window." The teacher motioned for the whole class to follow him, with Vincent, Melody and their two opponents leading the pack.

"Surprised you caught me, prof..." he mumbled under his breath, as they walked to a small courtyard near the middle of this wing of the school.

"I'll get you back for stealing our lunch money, jerk!" One of the students said with glorious applause coming from his ragtag group of geeks, when they finally reached their positions for the battle.

"You stole their lunch money...?" Melody questioned. She glanced over at Vincent and then back at the kid with a frown. "Vinny wouldn't do something like that! He's too nice!"

The victim of the theft seemed to be unswayed by Melody's words however. "J-Just get your Pokémon out and let's battle already!"

Melody watched as the boy and his teammate readied their first two Pokémon for battle. The one who had had his lunch money stolen quickly tossed out a Zigzagoon to battle. Meanwhile, his teammate, a small, blonde girl with a ponytail and a dress which resembled a school uniform quickly sent out a Psyduck to do battle.

"Hmmm... Alright then, I think I'll let Hawk stretch his wings out for his first battle," Melody decided, sending out her Taillow as her first Pokémon. The little bird stretched his wings, letting out a loud chirp as he gazed happily at his opponents, the prospect of a battle easily exciting the Taillow.

Vincent shrugged and tossed out his Froakie without as much as a word, who emerged from the bright lights with a grimace strangely similar to that of his master. Their stern eyes were nearly identical, suggesting either the two were close or concidence dictated that they were kindred spirits. Regardless, they were ready.

Seeing as how all four of the trainers appeared to be ready, the professor of the classroom announced the start of the battle. Melody and her Taillow would find their opponent in the female student and her Psyduck. The girl had never seen such a clueless looking Pokémon before. It was almost as if the duck was completely unaware of what was going on around him. Still, Melody decided to remained focus for the battle, just in case the Psyduck happened to be putting on an act.

"Alright, Hawk! Let's kick this off with a Quick Attack!" Melody commanded her Taillow.

Hawk chirped in response and began to flap his wings, lifting up into the air. Then as soon as he had done that, the little bird dove straight for the Psyduck, with quick and blinding speed. The schoolgirl's eyes widened as she seemed hesitant of what to do.

"Um... P-Psyduck, quick! Use Water Gun!" she told the duck Pokémon.

The Psyduck let out a small, whimper of a quack. He opened his large bill and a small stream of water began to leak out in a rather pathetic display. It almost resembled someone trying to get the excess water out of a gardening hose after they had turned it off. It was during this time that Hawk had managed to plow straight into the Psyduck's head, causing the duck to quack and flail about in an attempt not to lose his balance.

"Just what kinda Pokémon is this thing?" Melody thought, having to fight back a giggle at the Psyduck's rather animated flailing.

"Well, I guess that means I get to fight you kid," Vincent said with a shrug. "How about we make this snappy? I got a badge to earn."

"You mean steal, right?!"

"Oh, Arceus. Drop it, kid. Hanzo, use Aerial Ace and knock out his...little thing already." Vincent wasn't particularly good at remembering what Pokemon were what, only really looking into Pokemon he thought looked cool and strong. So he thought little of Zigzagoon (and it extended to most normal types in general). He also learned most Pokemon weaknesses, but sadly Hanzo, his Froakie, lacked any good moves except Aerial Ace which came from...oh let's leave that story for another day, now shall we? The silent Froakie bowed Vincent, closed his eyes and in an instant seemed to vanish before striking the Zigzagoon from the air with elegant and deadly accuracy. It recoiled from the strike and slid back to the feet of his trainer.

"Zigzagoon! Use Headbutt!" With a surprising dash of speed, the Zigzagoon charged forward and slammed Hanzo with a literal head-on strike. Hanzo did not make even a squeak or moan from the strike, holding his ground and standing tall following the retaliation from his opponent.

"Surprised your Pokemon knows a decent move, honestly." Vincent could only nod and looked at his Pokemon, who replied with a nod of agreement in turn. "Not like it's going to matter though."

Melody glanced over at Vincent and frowned. "Why does he keep saying you're gonna steal things? Saying stuff like that isn't very nice, ya know?"

"Well, I may have stolen some of his money. On accident of course. I mean he didn't have his name on it," Vincent said. He sounded quite convincing as well as he waved his eyes in a motion pleading total innocence. "Oh, and Hanzo use another Aerial Ace." Hanzo nodded and once again, in complete silence and precision struck the Zigzagoon. It appeared to hit the Pokemon in the same spot as the previous attack. Though, Hanzo always sought a challenge in battle, constantly testing his own abilities and resolve. This time, the attack was aimed more downward, driving a webbed fist into the Pokemon's furred head. The Zigzagoon's head knocked back and was sent upward following the collision he made with the ground. It was a critical hit if there was one. The Pokemon went belly up, with a dizzy look in its eyes as it fainted.

Melody processed what Vincent said before suddenly smiling brightly. "Oh, I get it! You mean like you found it or something and picked it up before he did! That's actually totally fair!" Melody returned her attention back to the schoolgirl. Her Taillow was waiting. He had a look on his face as if he was confused about what was taking so long for his trainer to issue out another command. "Sorry 'bout that, Hawk! Alright, let's see how strong you really are! Slam it with your Steel Wing attack!"

Hawk chirpped in agreement and flew off towards the Psyduck quickly. The schoolgirl seemed to be at a loss of what to do she bit her bottom lip and seemed to shout out the first thing she could think of, ordering the duck to use... Water Sport. So, as he was told, the Psyduck began to douse the entire area of the classroom where the four trainers were battling. It was after that moment that Hawk's wing began to shine, almost as if it was made of metal itself, before he slammed it right into the Psyduck's head. A loud, painful quack was heard as the Psyduck stumbled backwards. It spun around in a rather dramatic fashion, before falling flat onto its stomach, fainting upon impact with the floor.

"That... That's it...?" Melody asked, glancing over in the direction of the professor. "Um, 'scuse me, sir? Aren't these guys... well... they're kinda weak."

"I still got another Pokemon!" The angry victim of Vincent's crimes.

"Me too!" His (rather unskilled from what Vincent could tell) friend said. The two tossed their next Pokeballs and through the flashes of light, a Bellsprout and Ledyba. The Bellsprout stood seemingly proudly by the boy while the Ledyba flew cheerily beside the girl.

Vincent remained unimpressed, scoffing at the two Pokemon. They seemed so...common. Vincent lost count at how many he ran away from beside of how annoying they were when they bumped into him during his training sessions. "Vine Whip!" The boy yelled at his grass type and a sharp vine slashed against Hanzo, knocking the frog Pokemon onto the ground with a light gasp of defeat leaving his lungs. Vincent returned the Pokemon to his ball, realizing it was a bad idea to not switch right away in hindsight. "I stand corrected," he was forced to admit, though his eyes sharped in anger. "I won't be making that mistake again." He immediately tossed out his next Pokemon. The bright light lasted only a moment as a small Pidgey perched itself on Vincent's shoulder. "Meet...well, his name is kind of lame. But I call him Brian. I only introduce him because he hates Bellsprouts more than I do."

Meanwhile, Melody smiled at the familiar sight of a Ledyba. Seeing the bug Pokémon reminded her of the first trainer battle she had ever had with her Chikorita. Being that it was a bug Pokémon, the girl was not too concerned with how her Taillow would fair.

"Alright, Hawk! Let's finish this off quick!" Melody announced. "Let's start this off by using Focus Energy!"

Hawk landed in front of the girl, and began to stare down at the Ledyba in front of him. Closing his eyes, the bird Pokémon started to make a humming-like noise. The bird's eyes then suddenly snapped open, giving the Ledyba a fierce glare and spreading his wings. It was as if the Taillow had suddenly tapped into a hidden source of energy.

"Ledyba, use Super Sonic!" the school girl cried out.

The Ledyba buzzed up into the air, a strange sound being emitted from its antenna as it hovered in the air. Hawk began to look around, wondering where the sound was coming from. Melody noticed the look of confusion on Hawk's face.

"Hawk...? Are you okay?" she questioned. The Taillow simply spread its wings and squaked in response. Melody bit her lip lightly. "O-Okay then... Use a Quick Attack on Ledyba, Hawk!"

The Taillow squawked in response. The bird Pokémon spread his wings and took to the air, before suddenly diving forward and slamming itself into the ground. Melody did not know just what to think.

"H-Hawk, what are you doing? I said to use Quick Attack on the Ledyba!" Melody shouted.

The bird let out another chirp, quickly flapping its wings and lifting up into the air. The Taillow began to look around, spotting Vincent's Pidgey. It let out a series of chirps before suddenly diving towards the fellow bird Pokémon.

"What th-" Vincent yelled outloud as Brian was suddenly tackled by Melody's Taillow. The two birds made a feather pile on the ground as Brian finally freed himself and flew back up to Vincent's shoulder. "Hey! Why don't you control your Pokemon?!"

"I'm trying to!" Melody shouted back. "It's like he's totally forgetting what I tell him to!"

Vincent sighed, mumbling curses under his breath. Great. Now I have to battle with a bit of a handicap. "Brian, use sand attack!" Chirping with a sense of arrogance about him, he filled the air not only with his own inflated ego but with dirt and sand of the small courtyard, causing the opposing two Pokemon to growl and cry as sand pierced their eyes while their trainers coughed their lungs out. A large vine cut through the cloud, but narrowly missed Brian's small wings as he flew passed it. With his keen eyes, he didn't need a command to know what to do next as he flew through the sand and tackled the Bellsprout with excellent accuracy, flying back to Vincent's shoulder.

"Bellsprout, use Growth! We need to make our attacks matter it looks like!" The Bellsprout stood his ground this time, trying to gather his energy.

"Use another tackle," he whispered to his bird Pokemon. Brian whistled this time and used his small, but powerful wings to hurl himself at the Bellsprout. This time the grass Pokemon was ready, and lifted one of its vines and struck the flying Pokemon with a thunderous strike, it caused Brian to be diverted off course, almost flying into a nearby tree. The Pidgey caught itself, and flew a lap around the field. It returned to its original course and delievered a strong tackle to the side of the Bellsprout, but the Pokemon stood its ground.

As Vincent and his Pidgey continued their battle against the Bellsprout, Melody was in a delima of her own. It was clear that whatever was suddenly wrong with her Taillow was not getting any better for the time being. So, the girl called him back, returning Hawk to his ball for the time being. She seemed hesitant, looking at the school girl with her Ledyba. Melody noticed that the girl seemed to be a bit more confident with the bug than she had with her Psyduck.

"Alright then... Napoleon, you're up!" Melody called out.

From out of his pokéball came the familiar sight of her Buizel. The little otter Pokémon looked around, spotting his opponent in the Ledyba before grunting softly. Regardless of how Melody felt about the bug thus far, Napoleon seemed to be a bit more confident. Melody could only hope that the feeling was well founded.

"Use a Super Sonic, just like before Ledyba!" the school girl called out.

Much like before, the Ledyba began to emit a strange noise. The Buizel looked around for the source of the sound. A somewhat dazed look started to enter his eyes. However, it was only for a moment before the Buizel shook his head quickly, glaring at the bug Pokémon. Melody smiled as the attack that had managed to make Hawk so confused had failed to work on Napoleon.

"Napoleon, Sonic Boom!" Melody shouted.

The Buizel slammed his paws together, sending forth a blast of energy in the direction of the Ledyba. The school girl's eyes widened, and she quickly ordered the bug to try and dodge the attack. The Ledyba did her best to try and fly off towards the right, but she just was not fast enough to. The attack collided with the Ledyba, causing the bug Pokémon to slam right into the wall behind it and its trainer.

"Good job, Napoleon!" Melody cheered. "Now let it have another!"

Napoleon grunted, readying another Sonic Boom attack. However, the Ledyba and its trainer were not about to be defeated so easily. The Ledyba was already back up and flying towards the Buizel with an angry look in its eyes. The school girl smiled brightly as the bug was suddenly on top of Napoleon.

"Ledyba, use Comet Punch now!" she ordered.

Napoleon was surprised as he began to be pummeled by a series of quick and rapid punches. The Buizel grunted after the fourth set as he stumbled back, just barely managing to stay on his feet. A low, feral growl could be heard coming from the Buizel. However the school girl was not phased by the Buizel. Rather, she quickly ordered her Ledyba to deliver another Comet Punch.

Melody's eyes widened. She knew she only had a little time to get Napoleon to pull of a successful attack. "Napoleon, quick jump back and blast it with another Sonic Boom!"

Napoleon seemed to have another plan in mind, however. The Buizel instead ran forward, heading straight for the Ledyba. Melody sighed and bit her lip. Once more, the Buizel was following his own battle plan instead of listening to her orders. He stopped just short of the Ledyba, then suddenly slapped his paws together once more. This released a Sonic Boom straight at the Ledyba, colliding with the bug Pokémon. The bug flew back, crashing into the far wall once more and then fainting on impact.

The Buizel glanced downward at his opponent, a rather proud look on his face as he struted back towards Melody.

Meanwhile, Brian the Pidgey had pelted several sand attacks at the Bellsprout, pratically blinding the grass type. Vine Whip after Vine Whip flailed at the bird Pokemon. The sharp vines had ripped up the ground and walls, leaving craters and fault lines all over the ground. With the battleground torn up but Brian in almost pristine condition, the tides of battle appeared to be in Vincent's favor. Two more tackles ought to do it. Brian can probably take a few more attacks, but blinding him was a good idea. Now he can dive in without worry about another one of those vines hitting him.

"Bellsprout! One more Vine Whip. Come on, hit him!" The schoolboy was getting visibly frustrated at his struggling Pokemon. The sand had cleared and with a once in a lifetime opportunity, Bellsprout launched another whip attack at Brian, striking the bird Pokemon on the wing. Like a shot down plane, the Pidgey crashed to the ground. It seemed to be a strong hit, with the Pidgey almost yelping in the pain. However, it had an image to maintain. Vincent could tell it was a Pokemon with aspirations. It's the only reason he would catch such a common Pokemon in the first place (he lived with the delusion that the rarer the Pokemon, the better it was).

Brian flew up higher than usual, his small head scraping the ceiling, spread its wings with a loud whistle. A battle roar of sorts. "I got you, buddy," Vincent said with a smirk. "Deliever one last tackle!" It dove at the Bellsprout. It was a fercious tackle, as evidenced by the loud collision and pop the ground made as the bird Pokemon crashed ontop of the Bellsprout. Despite being so small and seemingly fragile, the Pidgey knew how to deliever a nasty strike to unsuspecting floral wildlife. Once the dust was settled, Brian crawled over to his master, chirping in victory as he lightly hopped back to Vincent, perching himself on his arm. The Bellsprout was clearly defeated, it's eyes glazed over in defeat as it lied in agony. His owner regretfully recalled the Pokemon, murmuring of how he hated losing but conceded defeat to Vincent and Melody.

"Winners!" The teacher gestured towards Vincent and Melody. "Allow me to heal all your Pokemon."

"Thank you, I guess," Vincent said, not wanting to admit he was actually grateful for the teacher's help.

"Did you hear that, Vinny? We totally kicked their butts!" Melody cheered, grinning brightly at the boy by her side.

"I recommend going to a few more lectures though," the teacher said, glaring more at Vincent than Melody, but matching each of their eyes. "You both have a lot to learn."

"But we totally wiped the floor with those two!" Melody replied, giving the teacher a curious look. "I mean out of our four Pokémon they only managed to actually make one of them faint..."

"While you did win, you failed to realize that your Pokemon was confused," the teacher talked down to Melody with some sense of caring. "And you placed your water type at odds with a grass type. You have to keep in mind types if you want to get anywhere in battles," he directed at Vincent. Vincent only scoffed, as he did not want to admit that he thought the Bellsprout wouldn't amount to anything and have a gang of 10 year olds swarm him.

"Whatever," Vincent finally said, plowing through the teacher and stepping over the other students as stormed out of the courtyard, back into the hallways of the school slamming the door that led back inside.

"V-Vinny! Wait a second!" Melody called out. She blushed, turning to the professor and excusing herself for a moment to chase out the door after him. Napoleon followed behind the girl, though not at as much of a hurried pace as she ran. Luckily, he had not managed to get far down the hallway when she popped her head out the door to look for him. The girl quickly ran to his side, looking at him curiously. "Vinny? What's wrong, are you okay?"

"Why are you following me? Don't you have some other class to go to?" Vincent protested. "Or other friends of yours to bother?"

"Well, I was wondering why you just took off like that," Melody admitted. "Did he say something that bothered you? He was just making a suggestion, really. I mean, he wasn't telling you how to battle, just more or less saying what he would do probably, right?"

Vincent rolled his eyes. Who did this girl think she was? Again, he felt his teeth grind. "It's...nothing, okay?! Just leave me alone," Vincent said with a growl as he picked up his pace and looked around for somewhere to go. Anywhere to go. He heard that the main garden is where most of the battles were held. And that's where he was going to go.

Melody seemed hesitant at first, but she ended up following behind the boy anyways. It seemed that his attitude had taken a complete, 180 degrees spin from what it had been when she first met him. She was also still curious about why the professor's suggestion had made him so mad to begin with.

 

[Greiger]

Blaine - Reunions​

​

Blaine was already getting weary from walking around so much and thus he found a bench and had to sit on it. The downside was that Derpy was more interested in his shoe now and was gnawing on it lightly as he sat back. He had one psychic Totodile sure, but he hadn't yet gotten a great reading on how his Bellsprout was. He was afraid she was the same way… but maybe she wasn't. Blaine took out her ball and tossed it down as the leafy plant appeared. The Bellsprout was quickly assaulted by some hugs from Derpy who jabbered to her and patted her head as the plant seemed to smile weakly.

"Okay… let's see." Blaine looked once more through her entry on his dex, "Growth and Vine Whip… I guess we can find some water types and you can practice against those."

"Bell…" The Bellsprout said as Derpy kept up the happy patting, completely oblivious to the annoyed look the plant was soon getting. Blaine put his up his dex and nodded, "So… I think there are some Buizel around here. Probably Psyduck too. We can find some and we can get you strong like Derpy. That sound good?" He asked the grass type.

The Bellsprout nodded slowly and drooped over just a bit. Blaine frowned and looked at the strange anatomy of the plant. "Well… you DO have no backbone, so I guess you'll droop a bit huh?"

The Bellsprout stared up blankly at him and he began to walk along the path once more. With his back to them Derpy took the time to grab the Bellsprout's leaf and twist it a bit, gurgling softly into the grass type's ear before releasing her. The Bellsprout rubbed her leaf and quickly ran after Blaine as did Derpy. They saw many bugs, but it seemed water types were something to be desired here. Still, they searched and searched until finally they did catch sight of some yellow fur, which of course belonged to a wandering Psyduck.

"There!" Blaine cried out. Derpy had already seen the duck but the Bellsprout was a bit slower as it waddled on in front of Blaine and held up its leafy arms. "Okay Bellsprout, start off with a Vine Whip!"

The plant let out a loud 'Bell' as it's leafy appendage extended out and slapped into the Psyduck's head. The water type cried out as it rolled over and quickly staggered back up with a ditzy look on its face. "Again Bellsprout!"

The grass type obliged as it sent out another leafy appendage just as the Psyduck spat out a load of water at the plant. It didn't really affect Bellsprout and the appendage ended up smacking into the gut of the water type. The Psyduck fell back again, but that didn't stop it from getting up and turning about as it wagged its tail back and forth at Bellsprout. The grass type flinched a bit, but with one last call from Blaine the duck soon fell down. The Bellsprout waited for a moment before she let her appendages wave about happily in the air. "Beeeellll!"

Blaine nodded as Derpy did a happy dance. "Hm…" Blaine thought for a moment and looked back to the school. "Let's go and get some healing for you two. Then… we can find some opponents in the school." The walk to the center wasn't that bad, tough it seemed all the nurses had the same advice for any kid that walked in. Oh did you go to the academy yet? You really should they can offer some great advice! He got out as quick as he could and he felt even less declined to head to the academy again. Sure there were bound to be strong opponents there, but… at the same time he did have that garden to practice in. He made his way back in and as he turned a corner another boy went on by, but he saw a familiar face. That one in the forest… oh dear. Quickly Blaine turned from Melody and placed his back against the wall, maybe if she didn't see him-oh s**t.

Derpy had of course escaped from his ball yet again and ran up to Melody as it jabbered on and on and finally Blaine had to turn the corner yet again, "Hey there…" He said unenthusiastically.

 

[Stinging Bea]

Blossom the Chikorita
Female - Level 9
Tackle/Growl/Refresh/Razor Leaf/Poison Powder/-

Napoleon the Buizel
Male - Level 8
Sonic Boom/Growl/Water Sport/-/-/-

Hawk the Taillow
Male - Level 8
Peck/Growl/Focus Energy/Quick Attack/Steel Wing/-

(none)

(none)

(none)

Melody Hughes

Chapter 3 - Violet City

An Old Friend​

The garden was absolutely abuzz with activity. Some of the regular students of the school were busy chatting with each other. Some of them were having battles, reviewing things they had learned from the professors back inside or maybe preparing for some sort of test. For some reason, Melody felt that she might actually be able to benefit a bit more from this section of the academy then she would back inside in the form of teachers and lectures. Even Napoleon seemed to perk up at the sight of what stretched out before them.

Suddenly, both the Buizel and his trainer were snapped from their thoughts from the sound of a rather excited, jabbering Totodile. Melody glanced down at the Pokémon, noticing that it definitely had an air of familiarity to it. Her eyes widened as she heard a familiar voice greet her. Slowly, the girl looked up. A bright smile graced her lips.

"Oh... my... GAWD! Blaine!" Melody exclaimed, running towards the boy with glee. She stopped right in front of the boy, grabbing his hands and jumping up and down with excitement. "I'm so happy to see ya! It feels like it's been forever since we all got separated while running from those spiders! Where have you been?! What have you been up to?!"

Napoleon watched his trainer quietly. The Buizel grunted, rolling his eyes at the amount of pep that Melody seemed to show with this boy. The sound of a quick snapping caught the Buizel's attention. Napoleon quickly glanced over towards Derpy, noticing that the alligator Pokémon was attempting to take a chomp of one his tails. Giving the Totodile a rather annoyed glare and a low growl, Napoleon quickly bopped Derpy on his snout.
​

 

[Sir Bastian]

Christina Langley – Sprout Tower
Chapter 3: Introspection in Sprout Tower

Slowly in… slowly out… slowly in… slowly out. Christina continued her controlled breathing as she was instructed to by the monk who had led her into the massive first floor hall of Sprout Tower. She was sitting on a small mat on the floor off to the side along with several others, though mainly monks of various kinds. Her hands were resting on her thighs as she sat on her knees and her eyes were closed, with Sindy sitting beside her, going through exactly the same as her.

The monk had told her that she had to calm herself, first and foremost. She had been in a state of complete emotional disarray and now, after about fifteen minutes of sitting here, she knew that she'd been acting erratically, although in her mind, it was justified, considering what had happened to both her and to Sindy. She peeked one of her eyes open, glancing down at the Syndaquil who continued breathing in and out slowly. The monk who led her inside had been so kind as to heal the little 'mon, which had helped Chris a lot. But even now, with Sindy being healed and herself having calmed down, she still found herself disappointed and sad beyond anything else.

Of course, she was relieved that Sindy hadn't taken any permanent damage or, Arceus forbid, died, but she still felt both ashamed and guilty at leading her Pokémon into such an unwinnable situation. Or maybe it had been winnable, but she just hadn't been able to see the strategy they needed to win? As doubts began filling her mind again, the monk from earlier came over, his hands still hidden within his sleeves. He offered Christina a smile as he lowered himself down to sit on his knees in front of the two, bowing his head lightly. Sindy opened her eyes to look up at him, both her and Chris bowing their heads slightly in return.

"So, child, have you been meditating and thinking over your actions?" Christina lowered her gaze a little, staring at the wooden floorboards in front of the monk. "I… thought we could take on Falkner. We've been handling every other battle we've had with ease, so I thought… he- he beat me so effortlessly and then he started saying all these things that just made me… angry. And sad."

The monk nodded, moving one of his hands out from its sleeve, reaching down to softly scratch Sindy's chin, which she seemed rather happy with, although the Cyndaquil was a lot quieter than usual. "I see. And why exactly did you become angry and sad at what he said? After all, as far as you told me, he only tried to give you advice."

Christina pressed her lips together, continuing to stare down at the floorboards with a helpless, confused expression. "I don't… I don't know. I was just… so surprised that I lost. He completely trounced me, and I was so confident that we could do it. Even if Sindy tried to warn me…" She looked down at the Cyndaquil who returned her look with a quiet little squeak.

The monk smiled knowingly and nodded his head again, returning his hand to his sleeve before raising up to his feet once more. "It sounds like you have a lot more to think about. I will go to the top of the tower. I suggest you wait a few minutes, then make your way up as well. Meditate on what I asked you and what happened at the gym on the way, and once you reach the top, I will clarify everything for you.

Christina watched as the monk made his way to the back of the hall, proceeding up a large staircase. She sighed out quietly, looking back down at Sindy, offering a faint smile as she reached out to gently stroke her hand over the back of the little 'mon. She wasn't completely sure how, but it seemed like the Cyndaquil was almost just as sad as her, almost apologetic towards Chris. She didn't know how she could tell, but there was just something about the way she was squeaking and carrying herself after the gym battle. "… I guess we better make our way up there. Come on, Sindy."

She stood up, taking a deep breath as her usually cheerful disposition seemed to have been somewhat extinguished, at least to a certain degree. She didn't exactly have the same spring in her step she had when she was travelling with Melody, Blaine or Aberdeen, and her mind was full of worry, hopelessness and fear that she had lost the trust of her friend. The two of them made their way across the hall of meditating and quietly chattering monks and visitors, making their way up the staircase.

Once above the stairs, they had reached yet another large hall, although smaller than the main hall on the first floor. To both their surprises, this hall was almost full of Pokémon, mainly Bellsprout, but it had a couple of other Pokémon wandering around here and there. Dotted around the room, there were more monks and visitors, either training their bodies with various instruments, meditating again, or having actual Pokémon battles. The two walked past several Pokémon like Bellsprout, Nidoran, Sentrets and so on, the Pokémon not being as fearful or hostile as they usually were in the wild, but rather curious and… welcoming, some going as far as to sniff Sindy before waddling onwards.

"This place is… special, huh Sindy?" The Cyndaquil squeaked, her eyes resting on a pair of monks fighting over near the wall. Chris caught her look and smiled, moving towards the two, closely followed by Sindy. They stopped near a pillar, Chris leaning on it as she watched the monks battling, one having a Bellsprout and the other having a Buizel. "Wow. They're both pretty good." She commented as she watched them. The monk with the bellsprout had the plant weave in and out of the Buizel's attacks, dodging to the best of its ability, by giving clear, short orders that didn't –seem- like orders. More like requests, really, which the Bellsprout seemed to pick up on instantly.

"They're really in sync…" She muttered, raising a hand to brush a strand of hair away from her eye, which widened a little as the Buizel was knocked down pretty hard. It looked pretty badly injured, but the owner barely flinched. He stepped over to the Buizel and leaned down, resting a hand on top of its head and mumbled out 'You did well, my friend. Rest.' Before recalling the otter. Chris was impressed at how calm he had been at seeing his Pokémon get beaten up like that, and decided to walk over to him, bowing her head quickly.

"Uhm, excuse me." She began, feeling her cheeks darkening a little. The monk turned to her with a surprised look in his eyes. "Yes, young miss?" He asked. "I… was watching your battle. Your Pokémon was really hurt. Didn't it hurt to see him suffer like that?" She tried to phrase it so that it wouldn't come off as her sounding like she was accusing him of not caring, but the look on his face made it certain he hadn't taken it that way.

"Oh, of course it did. I hate watching my friend suffer." Chris' brows furrowed in confusion, folding her arms across her chest. "But… why even fight then? Why should anyone fight if they don't want their friends or allies to be hurt?" The monk chuckled, offering her a warm smile. "If you set a goal for yourself, would you give up at the slightest inconvenience? At the first obstacle? Or would you press on, knowing that overcoming your weaknesses will only make you stronger?"

Chris was left blinking a little as the monk bowed his head and continued on his way. She was left thinking to herself as Sindy stepped up to her and gently nudged against her ankle, causing her to look down. The Cyndaquil squeaked out softly, raising one of her paws to rest on her foot, which caused her to smile. She then bent down and picked her up, holding her in her arms, against her chest.

As she proceeded through the hall, she was stopped by the monk with the Bellsprout standing in front of the stairs, bowing his head lightly to her. "Greetings young miss. To proceed to the next floor, I'm afraid you will have to prove what you have learned and battle me." Christian blinked, a smile gracing her lips as she was just about to open her mouth to accept the challenge, as she remembered back when she had entered the gym. Pausing for a moment, she looked down at Sindy. "… Are you up for this? I… don't want to fight if you don't want to."

The Cyndaquil looked up to meet her face, looking… thoughtful, for a few moments before nodding her head firmly, squeaking out in determination. Chris smiled and nodded down at her. "Right." She then lowered Sindy down onto the ground and faced the monk. "Alright, you're on." The monk smiled and nodded again, calling out his Bellsprout. "Very well. Let us begin, then. Bellsprout, use Growth."

The Bellsprout seemed to hunker up as it glowed a firm green for just a moment, which surprised Chris somewhat. "Mrh, right. Sindy, use Tackle!" The Cyndaquil charged forwards, leaping off the ground as it neared the Bellsprout, but the plant, thanks to its slim body, simply weaved out of the way. "Good job Bellsprout, now use Vine Whip." The plant spun around without even changing its footing before swiping one of the branches across Sindy's back. Chris grit her teeth at the small outcry of her friend, but remember the earlier monk's advice. She took a deep breath of air to calm herself as Sindy turned around to face her foe again.

Come on Chris, you need to think about this strategically! Okay… he uses Growth to increase its power and uses its bodily advantage to avoid most physical attacks. So I need to use a non-physical- that's it! "Sindy, use Ember, aim for its roots!" The Cyndaquil took in a breath of air and spewed out several lumps of flame. Instead of aiming for the body like the attack would normally, the flames clumped around the floor, where the Bellsprout quickly was burned as it stumbled away from the attack, flailing about.

"Mrrh… Bellsprout, use Vine Whip again, try to hold the Cyndaquil." The Bellsprout's branches reached out to try and grab Cyndaquil, but Chris wasn't having any of that. "Oh no you don't, I've had someone do that to me before, and I'm not letting that happen again! Sindy, use ember on the floor around you!" Knowing that the fires still clinging to the Bellsprout would probably deal a lot of damage on its own, Chris just had to keep the Bellsprout off of Sindy for the remainder of the time. As the Cyndaquil spat the flames onto the floor around her, the Bellsprout yelped out as the reaching branches and vines were burned by the sudden fires all around it, which far from hurt Sindy. Rather, they were protecting her.

The Bellsprout began panicking, flailing its roots around in an attempt at trying to put out the fires. The monk called out to it, but it seemed that the plant was rather distraught with being set on fire, and couldn't focus on his orders. The monk sighed quietly and returned the Bellsprout to its Pokéball, offering Chris a smile. "You did well. Good job."

Chris pumped her hands into the air with a bright smile, Sindy happily running over to leap into her arms. "Nicely done, Sindy! Awh man, you were so great out there!" The Cyndaquil squeaked out happily, nuzzling against Chris' chest, which caused her to smile warmly down at her friend. She suddenly felt a lot more confident and she sort of felt that Sindy was… relieved.

After being reassured by the monk that Sprout Tower was built out of a type of wood that was extremely hard to permanently set on fire, Chris and Sindy proceeded up through the tower. They battled another two monks, the fights starting out a little bumpy, but smoothing out by the end of the third battle. Soon, she made it to the top of the tower, actually feeling it swaying a little bit in the wind blowing past outside. She noticed her monk friend sitting to the side and proceeded over to him. He looked up, opening his eyes with a warm smile gracing his lips. "Ah, child, I'm happy to see you made it up here. Did you get through the fights well enough?" he asked. "Sindy didn't get by unscathed, but we managed to take on all of your friends pretty well, I think."

The monk nodded, furrowing his brows. "And have you been thinking about what I asked of you and what happened at the gym?"

Christina paused, looking down at Sindy in her arms. She took a deep breath of air and slowly nodded her head. Having fought the monks and watched both the Pokémon and the duelling monks from the second floor, Christina had slowly started thinking less about why or how she could have lost to Falkner and more about… why, in general.

"I… mentioned I was sad and angry at Falkner. I think… it's because I knew what he was saying. I knew, deep down what I'd done wrong, and I… couldn't take him telling me right to my face. I didn't listen when Sindy tried to tell me we might not have been ready. I was overconfident and… I rushed. I need to think things through, and as much as I love Sindy, we need more than just the two of us. I… also need to learn not to be as emotional if I lose a battle. It'll only make Sindy disappointed in herself and make us both more worried for one another. We have to trust each other." She paused, looking down at the Cyndaquil who returned her gaze. "… There's something else. I… don't know for sure, but… it sort of feels like I can… read, what Sindy feels. I think she's… sorry. She wants to apologize for not being able to beat Falkner with me." The monk looked surprised at this, but stayed quiet as he listened. "We need to learn to work together, more than just on the battlefield. Listen to each other, know when to back each other up, and when to let each other know when enough's enough."

She swallowed down, looking a little up to meet the gaze of the monk. She wasn't sure if the conclusions she had come to was right, but she felt it was. Eventually, the monk smiled and bowed his head lightly. "Very good, child. You've only been here for a few hours, but… you have learned a lot. When you began your journey, you bonded with your Cyndaquil. That bond needs to be strengthened, by diversity, by fighting, both physically and mentally, in battles and out of battles. Will you go back and challenge Falkner with this knowledge?"

Chris looked unsure for a moment before shaking her head. "No. I… we need to work, both of us, on everything. We're definitely going to fight him, and I know for a fact that Sindy's really strong. But… we have our work cut out for us." She smiled down at the Cyndaquil, who let out a cheery little squeak, wriggling happily back against her chest. The monk smiled brightly. "… You've grown a lot during your time here. I want to tell you something. When Falkner's father ran the gym, Falkner challenged him and lost. He then came here to meditate and train. He was able to tell exactly what was wrong with your fight, because he had been in that situation himself."

Christina's eyes were wide at this realization. It made perfect sense to her, how he'd been able to exactly pinpoint everything she had unconsciously been worrying about, and that… look in his eyes. She snapped back to reality as the monk pulled out what looked to be a small, white tooth on a leather cord. "I want you to have this. It's a Quick Claw. If your Cyndaquil wears this, her speed will increase immensely. I'm sure it will help you in your journey."

"W-wow. Uhm… thank you." She paused before bowing down deeply, smiling warmly at the monk. "Thank you so much. For everything. It… really opened my eyes, coming here." He bowed his head in return, reaching a hand out to gently pat Sindy after Chris had taken the Quick Claw and pocketed it. "It was the least I could do. We monks of Sprout Tower are here to guide lost trainers back onto the path they seek to tread. Now, it's late, so you should go rest. Remember to think about what we've talked about."

Chris continued smiling widely, bowing her head again before turning, heading towards the staircase. She looked down at Sindy, exchanging another glance with her. It had been… quite the exciting day. So many things had happened, and in the end, despite her severe loss against Falkner and the emotional rollercoaster she had been on, she felt calm and a lot closer connected to Sindy than ever before. And she got the feeling that Sindy felt happier than she had been so far, both with herself, and with her trainer's progression. As the two reached the bottom floor and headed out into the town once more, the sky having grown a lot darker than before with the wind blowing through the treetops, tugging slightly at her hair, she took in a deep breath of air and squeezed Sindy softly. "I promise to become the best trainer for you, Sindy. You're my best friend, and I want to do as good a job training with you as I can." The Cyndaquil squeaked out again, as if promising to do her very best as well.

Current Team:

 

[Legend]

Vincent Baker
Violet City: Post 2

*bulbagarden.net image removed**image removed**image removed**image removed**image removed*​

"So much for being in the top percent, eh?" Vincent proudly proclaimed as another Rattata's body collapsed to the ground in the main garden as Brian the Pidgey flew back to his master, perching himself on Vincent's shoulder. "Any other takers? I've beaten just about all of you. Someone else has to be around. Come on, anyone? Anyone?!" He posed to the group of students. A group of a three just stood there defeated, kneeling in the dirt with tears in their eyes. Most of the others took a step back as sweat fell from their brow. There was an aura of apprehension coming from all of them. Vincent only returned their weak glances with a narrow stare of his own. Wimps, he thought. I may be able to keep up with Falkner at this rate, but that would be relying on some dumb luck. I need to be stronger. No. The strongest. He would admit that beating up a couple of youngsters was fairly satisfying. All the fumes that built up in his short time in the walls of the Academy had to be unleashed on someone. That teacher got under his skin all too well and Melody's chattering gnawed at his side. These youngsters just happened to become the pillow he needed to punch. But it was hardly satisfying. Bullying was a novelty that easily runs its course. It does little to calm an angry soul. If anything, it made him feel worse. Like nothing mattered.

"There he is!" A familiar voice said; it's little echo being carried by the light breeze.

"Don't go picking out random strangers, now."

"No. That's the guy who bullied me earlier. I wouldn't lie to you!"

"Alright, I got you. Now let me take care of it. You stand over there." A trainer who was clearly older than the others Vincent had thoroughly beaten came into view and slowly approached Vincent with an aura of confidence. He was only a few inches shorter and had a stockier build than the lankier Vincent. He dressed relatively well, a far cry from Vincent's more punkish attire. "So you are the big guy that my little brother was complaining about. Name's Evan."

"What do you want? Evan," Vincent replied, turning to face his newfound "friend."

"Well, a lot of that depends on you. You see you bullied my little brother earlier today. Something about taking his lunch money or something. Then he goes on and complains that you rubbed his face in it after beating him in a battle earlier today," Evan said, sounding as if his brother does this whole complaining thing a lot. "He wants me to beat you up and take his money back. His words, not mine. But really, something tells me that isn't going to happen. You look like you have been in a lot more fights than me."

"Get to the point," Vincent cut to the chase.

Evan cracked a smile and sighed. "How about this? Battle me," Evan said tossing a handful of potions to Vincent. "A fair fight. You vs. Me. I win, you hand me my brother's money and you leave the city so you can't mess with anyone else. You win, I put in a good word with the Principal about you. How's that sound?"

Vincent stared down at the potions and back at Evan. The deal was relatively simple. And a good bet was always fun. He smirked. "Fine. You're on." Vincent used the potions on both Hanzo and Brian and faced Evan. The other trainer seemed far more confident, seeing Vincent only healing up two Pokemon. Vincent looked closer at his opponent, particularly at his belt and noticed three Pokeballs were hooked on his side. Oh, that explains everything. I knew I should have caught another one. Oh well. Rather have two decent Pokemon than two good ones and a crappy one. Without waiting another moment, Vincent ordered Brian to take center stage, the bird Pokemon flying to the middle of the garden. Evan parked himself on the other side of the garden and tossed out a Pokeball. Flying out of the light was a Pidgey, soaring high to the air before standing close to Vincent's. The battle was about to begin.

"Brian, Sand Attack!" Vincent ordered.

"Pidgey, use Gust!" Evan shouted in response. Brian was a second quicker, kicking a wave of sand and dirt into the other Pidgey's direction. The massive cloud covered the battlefield, making it impossible much to see of anything. Brian flew away from the immediate area, using the Sand Attack as a diversion. The other Pidgey's Gust cleared the area as flapped its wings to create a bold wind. The mass of sand and dirt flew in every direction, but the other Pidgey looked confused, as if some sand was still stuck its eyes as it lost track of his opponent. Brian dove down and tackled the other Pidgey, causing the opponent to slide across the ground from the momentum. The opposing Pidgey retaliated with its own tackle. Brian flew away after the other one's tackle, but the other was on the Pidgey's tail. A sky battle soon took place with the Pidgeys slamming each other tackle after tackle. Evan's Pidgey soon missed an attack and Brian seized the opportunity, slamming the other Pidgey with a hard tackle. Evan's bird Pokemon crashed to the ground, suffering an injury that no Pokemon could come back from.

One down.

Evan returned Pidgey to his Pokeball with a disappointed sigh, confident that his Pidgey could of taken the weaker one. Without any boasts, Evan tossed out his next Pokemon. From the light, a Drowzee stepped out. Brian stood it's ground, looking back at Vincent with eyes beaming with a fire competitive fire. Vincent didn't need to give him any orders for Brian knew what to do. It followed the same game plan as before, flying back with another Sand Attack. "Use another one, Brian!" Vincent resolved, wanting to avoid any more damage coming to Brian's already injured self.

"Not so fast," Evan said with a chuckle. "Drowzee, use Disable!"

Suddenly, Brian couldn't use Sand Attack, flying down to the ground in an overwhelmed, confused state. Drowzee rushed at Brian, slamming the bird with a stiff Pound attack. Vincent grinded his teeth, but Brian knew what to do. The bird flew up, avoiding Drowzee's second wave of Pounding and circled back with a tackle to the back of the Psychic type. The Drowzee's eyes narrowed in anger. As Brian was flying around for a second round of attack, a wave of psychic energy hit Brian and the bird Pokemon fell to the ground, with a gasp of air leaving the lungs as he fainted.

"That was Confusion. Bet you didn't that one coming," Evan said. "One down. One to go."

"Stole my line," Vincent replied, with anger seething in his voice. He silently returned Brian to his Pokeball and pulled out his other, tossing it out to the battlefield. Hanzo the Froakie merely bowed as the light of the Pokeball released him. He was ready for the battle, having learned a few new tricks. "If you don't mind, I'm just going to end this battle rather quickly," Vincent said, mixing arrogance and frustration. "Hanzo, use Lick." The long tongue of Hanzo smeared itself across Drowzee's face. The Psychic type could barely take the impact of the attack, losing its footing.

"Drowzee. Use Hyponsis!" Drowzee didn't move. It was paralyzed. "What the—oh god," Evan said, his mouth open.

"Hanzo! Do that again," Vincent snickered. Another long tongue smacked the Drowzee across the face, causing the fat Psychic type to crumble to the ground, seemingly traumatized by the swarm of Licks that violated its body.

Last one, Vincent told himself.

"Go! Diglett!" Evan said as he threw out his Pokemon. But the bold proclamation didn't convince Vincent that Evan believed for one moment in his last Pokemon. He was supposed to. He had to at this point. Diglett was his last ditch effort. The Pokemon he needed to trust to get himself out of this situation. There was doubt in his voice; hidden deep beneath all that swagger Evan carried himself with. That would be his downfall. Vincent caught the best he could find so that wouldn't happen. He believed in his companions because he saw a fire in them. Confidence matched only by Vincent's own competitive fire. Vincent didn't tolerate inner weakness. He didn't tolerate doubt. He would believe in a Pokemon if he saw it could believe in itself. Any lack of trust, any lack of connection between a Pokemon and its master would douse that fire. It would make the team weak. Vincent was now going to prove that to Evan. Weakness is fatal.

It would only take a moment. "Hanzo. Bubble." The two words cause Evan to swallow down any pride he had left. A barrage of bubbles overwhelmed the Diglett, practically drowning it in water particles. The Diglett barely withstood the attack, only slashing the Froakie with any remnants of strength it had left. Hanzo unleashed one last attack, its personal favorite, an Aerial Ace. The Diglett sunk back into the ground, thoroughly defeated. Evan dropped his head in defeat, returning the Diglett to its Pokeball. Vincent did the same, standing tall in comparison. As Vincent approached, the differences in height were further emphasized in how the two differing trainers carried themselves. What Evan hoped to be a ground roaring in victory and praise of their hero was mute; silent as the night. There were murmurs, whispers of what terrible fate Vincent planned to do all the school children now that he defeated their hero.

Vincent was about to open his mouth as he was within earshot of Evan. "Don't bother," he said. "I remember. Follow me. I…I'll bring you to him."

"You better sound happier than that when you speak to him," Vincent taunted. "I want a good reward now."

-----------​

The walk to the principal's office was a quiet one. Vincent was beaming with pride as Evan was slowly transitioning from solemn to disappointed. Most of the trainers and individuals moved to the side as the two walked through the hallways. It seemed rumors traveled quickly through the halls of the Academy. That or the context clues were that easy to read. A punk trainer thoroughly beat the confident Evan. That thought would comfort Vincent tonight.

"He's right beyond on this door. I guess you can come in with me," Evan weakly said with a sigh. "Just don't say much. I don't want you disrespecting him."

"Fine. Whatever," Vincent said, rolling his eyes.

Evan knocked and then let himself in. "Hello, sir," he said with false cheer swarming his voice.

"Ah! Evan! Long time no see! How's the journey coming along?" The Principal said, rising from his chair and shaking his hand.

"Not so well, so far. Still training a bit before I fight Falkner," Evan said, embarrassed.

"I'm surprised. You were one of our best students." The Principal sounded disappointed, but Vincent was hardly surprised at Evan's lack of success. If he had the same teacher, he would have gotten the same scolding that Vincent had gotten.

"Anyway, sir. I wanted to introduce you to…um…"

"Vincent Baker, sir," he offered a handshake of which the Principal accepted.

"Yes, uh, Vincent. He just beat me and a number of other trainers today," Evan said, his eyes wide at Vincent's façade of polite manners. "He, uh, well," he paused. "I think he will go places. I figured you want to meet such, uh, a potential great trainer. So you know, erm, say you helped him on his journey," Evan finished, trying to sell a story in a terrible manner. Vincent was wondering how the hell this counted as a good word.

"Oh really?" The Principal was taken aback. "Tell me, Vincent, why do you want to become a Pokemon trainer?"

Vincent looked down at the ground before matching the Principal's eyes. "So I can make something of myself. Sir."

"Sounds a bit selfish," Evan said under his breath.

"You would be surprised," Vincent quickly fired back.

The Principal could only laugh. "You remind me a bit of myself when I was your age, Vincent." This caught the young trainer off-guard. The Principal shuffled back to behind his desk and he tore apart some drawers before returning to Vincent. "Here you go, son. Take this." In his hand was a Pokeball, different in design to the regular one that Vincent had grew so accustomed to. "It's an Ultra Ball. Right now, it's probably the best one you can get in stores. Violet City doesn't have any of them though. Consider it a good luck gift."

"Uh, thanks," Vincent said, stuffing the ball into his bag. He made his way to the door, assuming the conversation was just about over. Evan just stood beside by the principal, appearing to want to talk to the man a bit more. With that being said, Vincent bowed and opened the door slowly.

"One more thing, Vincent," the principal said, getting his attention easily. "If you are anything like me, you are taking this whole thing a bit too seriously. Just remember you are doing something few people get to do."

"Right," Vincent said. And with that, he was on his way out of the Academy.

 

[Sir Bastian]

Christina & Vincent – Northern Violet/Pokémon Center
Chapter 3: An evening swim

After such a long day, full of happenings, Chris and Sindy alike were starting to feel rather exhausted. After they exited into the cool evening air of Violet City, Chris let Sindy onto the ground and stretched her arms out over her head, letting out a yawn. "Wow... what a day, huh? I can't wait to get to the center and get a nice bit of rest." The Cyndaquil by her feet squeaked out quietly, letting out a yawn as well before the two moved away from the large tower. They crossed the first bridge to the little semi-island within the lake of the northern part of the city before beginning to cross the second one, leading back to the 'main' part of town, her head full of thoughts and memories from during the day, trying to process everything, which left her a bit unaware of her surroundings.

Vincent, however, had a completely different way of viewing things. To him, the day had just begun and time was a wasting away. As long as he could remain conscious, he could do something productive. However, racing forward on his skateboard carried its risks. Vincent, though he woud never say it outright, was still a beginner at the whole skateboarding thing. Trying to weave through the people leaving and heading to the Sprout Tower, Vincent was clearly barely avoiding the passerbys as he was heading to the tower to hopefully battle some more veteran trainers for quick experience. Shouting "out of the way" a handful of times certainly helped. Until one girl didn't listen. "Yo! Move!" He yelled again. But it was far too late, the next thing he knew he collided into the girl. His board went flying forwards, and him backwards. Her? Well she flew into the lake.

"Ungh?!" Christina grunted in a mixture of pain and surprise as something slammed into her from the direction she hadn't been looking. Everything seemed to go in slow-motion as half flew and half stumbled backwards, arms flailing. Her eyes went wide and her expression went from shock and surprise to complete terror just before colliding with the water's surface. After a brief moment of being underwater, she broke the surface, gasping for air, spluttering and coughing while swinging her arms around wildly and kicking her legs in a panicked attempt at staying afloat. "H-help! Someone!" She spluttered, crying out at the top of her voice in between spraying water all over the place in her panicked state. "H-HELP!"

Vincent was shaking his disorientated state of his head. "Damn, where did my board go?" He complained under his breath. "And what the hell did I hit...?" However, the yells of a girl flailing like a Magikarp soon answered his question. "Right...her." Vincent picked himself off the ground and walked over to the edge of the bridge. "Hey! Why don't you just swim back? It's not that hard!" He yelled over her screams for help. However, Vincent wasn't completely stupid or ignorant. He frequently went to the beach in Olivine City with his brother and sister when they were younger, having taught them how to swim. The girl wasn't swimming. "Oh great," Vincent groaned. Without as much as a second thought, Vincent dove into the water and grabbed the potential drowning victim. He struggled to heave her to shore, as their wet clothes weighed them down significantly. However, with one last pull, he succeeded and threw her to shore. Vincent crawled to safety after he made sure she was clear of any water. He practically hacked up a lung as water fileld his lungs, but it sounded a lot worse than it was.

After being basically tossed halfyway onto ground again, Christina scrambled further up, making sure she was well away from the water before laying on all four, coughing and spluttering up some of the water she'd managed to swallow during her dip. Sindy stood next to her, looking very worried, squeaking out softly to her. After a few moments of mentally calming herself down from her panic attack, she turned around and sat firmly on the ground, panting for air with her drenched, red hair flat against her shoulders and back and partially covering her face as she glared at the boy near her. "Wh... wh-what the hell's the matter with you?! Why'd you knock me into the water like that?!"

"Better question is why you were in my way to begin with?! I said move if you were paying attention!" Vincent protested. "Oh, and a 'thank you' would be nice!" Vincent often wonder why women were never grateful for much of anything. At least all the ones he had bumped into.

"Oh, of course!" She practically shouted, her face growing redder by the second. "Thank you -so- much for not killing me! You can't just ride around a city and expect people to get out of the way when you're bumbling by! You could've seriously injured someone!" She continued panting as she pushed herself off the ground, trying to dust herself off from crawling around in the dirt, but the wet clothes she was now wearing didn't exactly help the situation.

"Everyone else moved," Vincent said with a pout. He walked around and fetched his board, placing into his bag with a mean stuff, as he was venting his frustrations out of some inanimate objects instead of the girl's face. Oh slugging her would be so satsifying. "Well, you are -so- very welcome. I'll keep this whole thing in mind next time I decide to save someone," Vincent said as he walked away from the tower, making sure to mock her tone of voice. Which will probably never now. Ungrateful little witch.

Christina huffed quietly and angrily as she walked over to almost violently pick up her dropped pack, slinging it over her shoulder. She paused, looking back at the equally drenched guy walking away, closing her eyes for a few moments before letting out an exhasperated sigh, her boots making a rather soggy noise as she semi-ran after him. "... Hey, hold up, guy! Wait!"

Not again, he said to himself. Vincent sighed, knowing full well he was going to regret turning around and saying anything. "Yeah, what do you want?"

She came to a stop, folding her arms across her chest, looking rather reluctant and off to the side for a few moments before looking up at him. "... Look, I- ... I've had a long day. Sorry I didn't get out of your way. And... I guess, thanks for helping me. It's not that I can't swim, I just... I get a bit panick-y when I fall into water, is all."

Vincent nodded at her and raised his eyebrow at her strange quirk. "If you can swim, there shouldn't be any more issue with water you know?" He found himself saying. "You should probably get that checked or something," Vincent continued. "You train Pokemon and stuff right? You do know you have to go over water and stuff to get places. You better get over it fast if you expect to get anywhere. Just a word of advice," he finished. Truthfully, that was more talking than he normally intended to do, but maybe he did feel a bit bad about knocking her into a body of water with reckless abandon. That and she did squeeze out a thank you. That certainly put him in a better mood.

"I know, I know." She sighed, lowering her arms from the crossed position, planting her hands on her hips while looking back out at the lake with a frown. "I mean... it doesn't make sense. I can swim, but I'm still... terrified, if I'm on a boat or... a bridge that's just kind of unstable. It's not like I -want- to be scared." She paused, looking him over again, quiet for a few moments while she raised her hands to try and sort out her messy hair and equally messy clothes. "... Don't see alot of guys skateboarding around these days."

"Oh, yeah," Vincent said as she mentioned the board. He wasn't sure where she was going with it and was entirely sure if he wanted to even mention the story behind it. He then tried to remember the Principal's words. "I...had my bike stolen by some dude back home. So I stole his skateboard before I left. Been trying to learn ever since," he finally said with a shrug.

Chris looked somewhat surprised at the fact that he'd stolen the skateboard, but after realizing who it was she was talking to, she simply shrugged her shoulders as well. "Well, if he stole your bike, I guess he had it coming. And I think practicing in a less populated area might be a better way to go about it." She added, unable to hold back a bit of a wry smile, more playful than malicious.

"There isn't much fun in that, you know?" Vincent said. "Plus, I need that kind of practice. Only way to ditch people you really don't wanna talk to in cities." And Arceus knows I have way too many people like that on my list. Vincent went back to walking, but now realizing how drenched he was, he was making far too much noise with his shoes spewing water in every direction and his dark pants sticking to his body. He mouthed an "ewww" and let out an audible groan as he was making his way back to the Pokemon Center.

Christina couldn't help but let out a snicker at his disgust with being soaked, whereas she had been drenched from head to toe before herself, although the wind made the situation just a little more uncomfortable due to the sudden chill in the air. She caught up with him, noticing the way he was going was straight to the Pokémon center like she had planned as well. "By the way, my name's Christina Langley. I'd say 'nice to meet you', but... well." She patted down the sides of her shirt, creating a 'sploosh' noise each time she did. "... I think we'll save that for another day."

"Langely...do you have brother named Mark or something?" Vincent said. He vaguely remembered his brother always talking about some trainer that was on TV that was accomplished battler and what not. Vincent never paid much attention. He paid only enough to humor his brother and keep spirits up. "I.." he hesistated, not wanting to be too nice. After all, this is the second person he had too long of a conversation with. But she was clearly heading to the Center like he was. "I'm Vincent. Vincent Baker."

The red-haired girl currently squeezing water out of her hair winced a little, nodding her head lightly while keeping her eyes on the road ahead. "Uh... yeah, but his name is Marcus. And before you ask, yes, he's the guy from television, no, I haven't been on television with him and just in case you were wondering, no, I probably can't get you an autograph. I barely see him these days."

"It would be more for my brother than me," Vincent admitted. They were just entering the Pokemon Center now, dragging muddy feet through the relatively quiet lobby. "I never actually watched the show, but he loved it. Gave him something to do, I guess." Vincent knew the real reason he watched it, but Christina didn't need to know more than she already did about his life. He made his way to the front desk, handed the nurse his Pokemon and waited for them to be healed, without as much as saying a word.

"Oh... right. Mrh." She cleared her throat quietly while recalling Sindy, placing the Pokéball on the counter while waiting for the nurse to get to her. "Sorry, I just..." she sighed, shaking her head. "Lots of people recognize my name, especially back in my home town. It just gets really annoying really quickly with how... fanboy-y they seem about him." She shook her head, turning a little to lean on the counter. "I doubt you'd understand that though."

Vincent nodded in agreement as he leaned on the desk. She's right. He wouldn't understand. Where he came from, fame and money were only dreams. Little fantasies that the kids in stories enjoyed. The nurse came back with his Pokemon and he made his way to a nearby seat, where he leaned back and relaxed. At this point, he would kill for a fire, shivering at how cold he was. The drenched clothes and strong AC in the building was a poor combination. He did what he could to hide it, but in hindsight, he almost regretted diving in and saving her rich butt. Shame Hanzo was still only a Froakie.

After waiting for the nurse to heal up Sindy as well, Christina decided to join Vincent, taking a seat opposite the little table he had sat at, pulling the bag off of her shoulder and placing it on the ground in front of her. She was quiet for a few moments before glancing over at him again, her brows furrowing a little. "Hey, uh... I didn't mean to gush like that back there. It's just that... everybody looks up to my brother, which has kind of... left me a little in the shadow of him, you know? He's off being on television, super talented with everything he does and... everything, while I've only just started off on my Pokémon journey." She paused, shaking her head lightly with a little huff. "I'm doing it again. I'll stop."

"Good," he said bluntly. "Must be real hard for you. Rich, famous, talented brother. I mean, any time you really need help, you can just call him and bam! All is taken care of. I mean, really. You are like the personfication of a first world problem," Vincent was getting pretty frustrated and took a breath. "Try thinking of what it would be like to not have any of that. Then you can come back to me," he finished. Crossing his arms, he turned away from her. Hopefully she'll take the hint and leave.

Christina blinked in surprise at first at the sudden hostility in his voice, her cheeks quickly starting to redden as he continued to insult her, eventually just turning away from her. She sat in stunned silence for a moment before clenching her fist tightly. "... Yeah, because you really want to rely on someone who's already getting everything while you're completely ignored. If you can just grab onto someone else and get dragged along in life, that'd solve -all- of your problems." She huffed and planted her hand firmly against the table, standing up, picking up her bag and slinging it over her shoulder. "And FYI, I -don't- have any of that. My brother is keeping everything to himself. The only money I have is a bit of pocket change my mom gave me. So thanks for the 'conversation' Vincent." Fuming, she then promptly stormed over to the counter and was directed to one of the upstairs room offered to passing trainers, which she almost ran towards without even looking back.

"At least you got money from your mom," he said when she was gone. He sat at the table alone, continuing to shiver a bit. He held himself tight and leaned back more. A small nap might do him some good.

Current Team:

 

[RSC Cooper Inc]

The next morning, Nate walked to the mart from the Pokemon Center. He had walked to the center the night before and had gotten there very late at night, but he didn't want to have to stop and make camp out on Route 31.

Before he got to the mart, he noticed a sign on the building next door. It said something about the Pokemon League, but Nate turned away. He wasn't interested in getting wrapped up in the league.

When he walked into the mart, he noticed another sign that had a picture of a tent on it. The item was going on sale. The price was a great deal, but it was still more than the average trainer could afford. It looked like it converted into something else. Nate was curious, so he walked up to the counter to inquire about it.

The clerk grabbed a small yellow box that was the size of a pokedex. "This is it. It can quickly pop up into a comfortable tent at the press of a button, and then back to this pocket-sized item!"

Nate looked back to the poster to see the price of the tent. The tent seemed like it would be a great resource for the journey ahead, but it cost a good amount, so he didn't think he could afford it. Wait... he thought. I just got a load of cash from those two kids! It should be enough. Should I spend it all here? There was nothing else that he could think of that he needed to spend money on, so he figured that it would be a good purchase.

Nate pulled out the money that the children had given him, and handed it to the clerk. "I think it would be a good investment. I'll take it!" The clerk happily handed him the little box. "Also, do you know of a place that I could get a Pokegear looked at?"

"I'm pretty good with those things, actually." The clerk replied. "If you have one on you, I could take a look."

Nate rummaged through his pack to find the disfunctional black machine and handed it to the clerk. The man tried pressing some buttons, then turned the machine around.

"Ah! Here's your issue: The activation slip is still in tact. You just have to pull this little piece of paper out and it should turn on." He handed the Pokegear back to Nate, pointing at small, almost unnoticeable slip of paper.

Nate pulled out the little slip and the machine immediately turned on. "Oh, wow. I can't believe I didn't think that! Thanks for the help." Nate said goodbye to the clerk and walked out, fiddling around with the little machine.

After inputting some personal information, he found the radio, map, and telephone functions easily. Nate looked up and realized that he didn't have anything in particular to do in the city. Feeling lost, he let his Poliwag out of her ball and decided to let the tadpole Pokemon find an adventure for them.

The Poliwag jumped at the opportunity to be the leader again, and started walking back towards the Pokemon Center. However, she turned North when they passed by a pond. Poliwag seemed excited to be near water again. As they walked along the bridge, she kept looking down at the water every time a Magikarp or another Poliwag swam by just under the surface. Nate couldn't help but smile at the cuteness of the water Pokemon's excitement.

Soon, they came to the end of the bridge and Nate realized that they were on an island in the middle of the large pond. He looked towards the other side of the pond and noticed the large tower for the first time. "Want to check that tower out, Poliwag?" he asked the leader. She nodded confidently, then headed towards the huge wooden building.

 

[Stinging Bea]

Melody and Blaine - Trouble In Twins
Chapter 3 - Violet City Pokémon Academy​

Blaine groaned inside as the girl came up to him, "Uh... doing fine. Just got here and doing stuff. I just assumed you two got out." He gave a weak shrug.

Meanwhile just as Napoleon popped Derpy on the snout something changed in the Totodile's eyes. Gone was the fun and merriment as his own hand reached out to grab the Buizel's as he just... stared into his eyes. It wasn't a stare filled with anger or such... but almost as if the eyes were staring deep into the Buizel's soul. It lasted only for two seconds but a smirk soon formed on the water-type's face as he let go of the Buizel's hand and soon turned back to his happy self as he jabbed about.

The Buizel stared at Derpy quietly. There was something that was definitely off about the Totodile. Napoleon was not oblivious to the slight change in his demeanor. The Buizel found himself growing even more curious to the Totodile when just as quickly as he had changed, he was back to acting like a complete nutjob.

"Ooooh... So they suggested you come here too, huh?" Melody asked. The girl gave a knowing smile to the boy. "Yep, I bet so. One of the nurses at the Pokémon Center said I should come here to toughen up before I fight Falkner... I've only had one battle here, but it totally wasn't hard at all... I'm not sure what the nurses are talking about, really. If the trainers I battled are any representation of him, it'll probably be a cake walk..."

Blaine sighed, "They wouldn't shut up. And I had a few battles here. I handled them." He looked down at Derpy and sighed, "You SURE you won't take him? I mean... it's not his fault of course, just he goes all over."

Derpy gurgled and happily hugged Blaine's leg as he smiled widely at the girl.

Melody smiled and giggled. "While he is cute, I can tell he definitely likes being with ya, Blaine. Besides, I already have a water type with me in Napoleon. And I wouldn't trade away my Buizel for the world!"

She smiled down at the Buizel as she spoke of him. Napoleon glanced up at that exact moment, giving another huff before crossing his paws across his chest and glancing over at a nearby student duo were having a battle of their own. Melody let out a weak giggle before returning her attention back to that of her friend.

"Did you manage to catch any other Pokémon since we parted ways back on Route 30?" Melody asked.

Blaine nodded and took off his ball and let out his Bellsprout. "She's fine enough. Poweful against water types." The Bellsprout leaned forward a bit, though Derpy was quick to get behind her and patted her about on her yellow head.

He shrugged, "It's just two mon so they shouldn't be that hard to train."

"I see... Well, I have Napoleon here... And you remember Blossom, I'm sure!" she paused and let out Blossom next. The little Chikorita looked up at Blaine with a smile, before suddenly noticing Derpy and quickly hiding behind Melody's leg. The girl giggled, wondering why her Chikorita was suddenly acting so shy. She then took her final Pokéball and let Hawk out. The Taillow stretched his wings before he flapped up and perched on Melody's shoulder. "And this is our newest friend, Hawk. He was a gift from a farmer I met on Route 31."

Blaine nodded and looked at a seat, moving to it to sit down. "Well, that's great and all. I see you're doing well. I just want to get out of this school soon. Seriously, everyone in town was telling me to come here!"

"Maybe we weren't looking in the right place," Melody suggested. She glanced around at all the trainers in the garden. Her eyes lit up as an idea suddenly flashed in her head. The girl smiled brightly and snapped her fingers. "I know! Maybe the real battle to have is out here! Let's see if we can find a good opponent here, Blaine!"

Blaine tilted his head, "Well, you want to find someone? I mean, we could do a team battle."

As the two chatted Derpy kept on patting the Bellsprout's back, letting the trainer's attention wander before he suddenly grabbed one of her leafy appendages and twisted it, causing the Bellsprout to suddenly double over. He twisted a bit more all while looking at Melody's mon with a sadistic grin forming over his face while the Bellsprout whimpered a bit. He twisted a bit more before finally letting go and patting the grass type's back once again, just as Blaine got up and made his way back over, "I guess we can just find someone then."

"That's a great idea! Team battles are totally fun! I had one with Vinny earlier, and we totally kicked some butt! The other trainers tried all sorts of things to stop us, but we managed to make it through the entire battle without any problems at all! Only one of our Pokémon fainted the entire battle, and it wasn't one of mine! Isn't that awesome?" Melody began to ramble.

Blaine nodded, "That's good then. Well, shall we get to it?" He asked. He recalled Bellsprout and looked about, "So where to go first?" Derpy was now grinning widely, that characteristic happiness back, almost as if nothing had just happened before.

Melody took a moment to recall Napoleon and Hawk back into their balls, before she bent down to scoop up Blossom into her arms. The girl looked about, grinning as she spotted two identical twin girls chatting vividly close by. Both girls were wearing a skirted uniform similar to that of the girl that Melody had battled earlier with Vincent in the team battle. Both of them also had two Pokéballs each hanging from their waist.

"How about those two over there?" Melody suggested, pointing at the twins. "I bet they could give us a challenge!"

Blained looked out and smiled a bit, "Uh... I guess. So, you know how to do the team stuff? I've only seen videos of it online. I don't think it's that hard... right?" He wasn't really sure what to expect, but Derpy usually would take the lead. He could do so here as well.

"Well, a team battle is like... a two on two match. Usually each trainer focuses on the one across from them... although they can switch opponents..." Melody began. She sighed, as she really was not good at explaining things and was starting to wonder if she was even making sense. "Um... Basically, you'll focus on one of the twins and I'd focus on the other."

He nodded, "Sounds easy enough I suppose. So... you want to do the honors?" He asked. "Do you just... ask to battle or something? Most of my opponent's started out challenging me."

"You know it's funny, that same thing seems to happen to me all the time..." Melody mused. The girl giggled and nodded at Blaine. "Sure thing, I'll ask 'em right now!"

Melody happily ran towards the two twins. The duo looked to be about her age, although like most they were a bit taller too. Both of them had rather long, blonde hair which they kept pulled up into the exact same, ponytail style. The only way Melody could even remotely tell them apart from each other is that one of them used a pink ribbon to hold her hair up, while the other used a blue one.

"'Scuse me!" Melody greeted, waving at the duo as she approached them. She gave the twins her brightest and friendliest smile. "I was wondering if you guys would like to have a battle against me and my friend over there!" She paused gesturing to Blaine who was standing a bit behind her.

"A battle with you two...?" the girl with the blue ribbon asked. "I dunno, Kelly... Do you even think they're like, worth our time? We are like, the best of our class!"

The girl with the pink ribbon who had been named Kelly looked thoughtful for a moment. "Hmmm... Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt, Mary. It would be like, a totally fun thing to like, you know make battle with the scrubs."

Melody blinked slowly as she looked at the duo. She was not quite sure she was enjoying being taunted by this duo like this. The twins nodded, both of them standing up and brushing their skirts off.

"Like, alright then... Get your friend over there and we'll like, teach ya a thing or two about battling," Kelly said.

Melody nodded, quickly making her way back towards Blaine. "They said they were game for one," the girl told him. "But... they're kinda jerks to be honest..."

Blaine walked on over with her and snorted, "Then we'll beat them over the heads then." He said simply. Derpy was quick to jabber and move ahead as he jumped up and down wildly. "Well then ladies, let's dance." He said with a smirk, "I call you blues, and don't tell me your name really, I'll just beat you so fast I won't even need to memorize it."

Melody was taken a bit back by the sudden change in Blaine's behavior. It had been so unlike the boy from what she had seen earlier. A small blush crept to her cheeks as she tried to put her best foot forward.

"Um... I'm ready to battle too!" the shorter girl chimed in.

The two twins glared at Blaine, before returning their attention to the battle at hand. Kelly was the first to send a Pokémon out. The girl with the pink ribbon tossed a Pokéball out, revealing a Jigglypuff to be waiting inside. The Jigglypuff puffed her cheeks out, trying her best to look intimidating for all those present. Mary was next. The girl sent a Clefairy out to join the Jigglypuff.

"Wow... Those are absolutely adorable..." Melody thought with a small blush.

Blaine smirked as Derpy already walked on out and jabbered a bit. He eyed the Clefairy with his adorable smile and jabbered a bit more.

"I have my guy out then, so let's battle shall we?" He smiled at Melody and looked down at Derpy, "So... yeah, get ready to lose you two!"

Melody snapped back to reality at this point. The girl glanced down at Blossom in her arms, giving the Chikorita a smile and a small nod. Blossom chirped happily, before hopping out of Melody's arms and taking her place beside Derpy. The Chikorita gave a nervous glance over towards the Totodile. A look was on her face that clearly said she was more than a bit worried about being teamed up with such a... unique Pokémon as he.

"Alright, let's get started!" Melody cheered. Since Derpy seemed to have taken Clefairy as his target, Melody decided to make Kelly's Jigglypuff Blossom's focus. "Blossom, kick of this battle by attacking Jigglypuff with a Tackle!"

Blossom chirped and took off running towards the Jigglypuff with haste. She slammed right into the Jigglypuff, causing the round Pokémon to fall back a bit. Kelly was not unprepared for this, however. She simply smiled and issused a command.

"Jigglypuff! Use Pound!" the girl with the pink ribbon shouted.

Jigglypuff glared at Blossom, slapping her little hand across the Chikorita's face as hard as she could muster. Blossom let out a small chirp of surprise as she quickly hopped back. It seemed like this Jigglypuff was definitely stronger than it looked.

Derpy gurgled happily as Blaine called out for a Water Gun to be used. The stream of water flew out and hit right into the Clefairy's face, but just like the Jigglypuff it managed to take the hit in stride. The girl called out for a counter as Clefairy moved in close and began to strike the Totodile with its hand for a Pound attack.

Derpy took the hit likewise in stride and glared at his opponent, letting out an angry jabber as Blaine called for another Water Gun. The water was thrown out at a quick range and hit into the female's face.

"Clefairy use Growl!" His opponent called out as the Clefairy puffed herself up a bit and growled as loudly as she could, though it came off more as humorous than scary.

Derpy just stared at his puffed up opponent with that same derpy look on his face and jabbered a bit.

"Blossom, use Razor Leaf!" Melody ordered.

The Chikorita chirped in response. A storm of leaves shot forward from Blossom, circling around and heading straight for the Jigglypuff. The girl did not seem too worried about the oncoming attack, however.

"Jigglypuf, Defense Curl!" Kelly ordered.

Jigglypuff responded quickly. The round Pokémon quickly curled up into a tight ball right as the leaves began to cut into her. While the Jigglypuff seemed to take some damage from the Razor Leaf attack, the Defense Curl seemed to take some of the edge from the attack. The Jigglypuff quickly unrolled and puffed up her cheeks proudly.

"Hmm... Looks like the normal route ain't gonna do the trick..." Melody thought, staring at the Jigglypuff. Her eyes suddenly lit up as an idea flashed into her head. "Alright, Blossom! Time to go another route with this! Give it a taste of your Poison Powder!"

Blossom leaned forward and glared at the Jigglypuff as fiercely as she could. A fine, light purple powder began to emit from the Chikorita's leaf and sprinkled about the area, eventually blowing onto the Jigglypuff. The round Pokémon looked about in confusion, before a sudden flushed look came to her cheeks.

Derpy meanwhile was going full force with an Aqua Jet, slamming right into the Clefairy as he let out a loud gurgle. The Clefairy didn't look that good at the moment, shuddering about back and forth as the other trainer called out for another pound. Derpy waited here as the Clefairy staggered over, attempting to hit him. He just swerved about and let his tail smack against the fairy's face, gurgling with laughter as it fell over.

Blaine nodded and looked at Melody, "I think we got this in the bag. You need some help over there or does Blossom have it covered?"

"No problem!" Melody replied with bright smile. She turned her attention back to Blossom and the Jigglypuff with glee. "Alright, now blast it with another Razor Leaf!"

Blossom chirped, sending forth another swirling storm of razor sharp leaves at the Jigglypuff. Much like she had before, Kelly ordered Jigglypuff to try and defend herself from the attack with another Defense Curl. Said Pokémon, who was under the effects of poisoning from Blossom's previous assault, was not quick enough to proctect herself from this one, the leaves cutting into the Jigglypuff with razor sharp precision.

The Jigglypuff tried to stay on her feet, but with the combined damage of the leaves and poisoning, it was clear that the Pokémon was just not in battling shape anymore. Kelly cursed under her breath, before calling the Jigglypuff back into her Pokéball.

Blaine nodded, "So... what was that about noobs?" He asked the two girls.

The girl opposite of Blaine angrily stomped her foot down on the ground, "Well, we aren't done yet! We still have another pokemon each!" She pointed out. She grabbed her next pokeball and sent it out, a Volbeat appearing on the field. Blaine had to whip out his pokedex to hear some infomration on it, but he nodded, "Bug type... okay, this shouldn't be hard."

Kelly followed her sister's lead and tossed her second Pokéball out onto the field. The capsule bounced up into the air, releasing a bug that looked somewhat similar to the Volbeat that was already out. This one was of a purple color instead of red, however. Also, it had a much more relaxed looking smile on its face than the Volbeat had.

"What kind of Pokémon is that supposed to be? Another Volbeat?" Melody questioned, pulling her own Pokédex out to scan the creature herself. She read the information, shaking her head shortly after. "Nope... It says this one is called an Illumise."

"Yep! And it's like, way more stronger than my Jigglypuff was... In fact, they're both stronger than the last two we used were!" Kelly taunted.

Blaine frowned, "Well we still have another pokemon as well! We have an advantage! Derpy use Water Gun!" Just as the Totodile was about to blast out water the Volbeat moved swiftly and tackled right into Derpy which sent the Totodile toppling over.

"Well... that one's fast." Blaine said as Derpy staggered back up and shot out his water at the enemy. "Yeah, they're good. We need to be on our toes Melody."

Melody nodded and quickly recalled Blossom to her Pokéball. She smiled at the ball, whispering a small word of congratulations before taking hold of the ball which Hawk rested in. She knew that the bird was probably just the ticket to help finish this battle up.

"Alright, Hawk! You're on!" Melody exclaimed, sending the Taillow out into battle. The Taillow chirped happily, spreading his wings and eyeing the Illumise with excitement in his eyes. "No worries, Blaine... We got this."

Derpy gurgled weakly as yet another tackle was hit into him and he fell over. Blaine quickly recalled him and sent out the grass type. "Shouldn't be so bad. Bellsprout use Vine Whip!" The Bellsprout shot out a vine that hit into the bug, but the Volbeat was quick to recover. It flew forth as its tariner called for a tackle. At least she wasn't using any bug moves yet, hopefully the Volbeat knew none of those.

"Okay, your bird can take them down. At least, he should be able to."

"No worries!" Melody replied with a grin.

"Like, let's just see how well you can do!" Kelly exclaimed. "Illumise, use Tackle!"

The bug Pokémon took off buzzing towards Hawk with speed, much as how the Volbeat did with Blaine's Totodile. Melody's grin grew as the bug approached. She had just the method to counter the Illumise.

"Now, Hawk! Attack it with Quick Attack!" Melody ordered.

The Taillow took off flying straight for the Illumise. At the last second however, the bird swirved to the left, coming at the Illumise from the side and slamming into the bug beak-first. Kelly stared in shock at the speed in which Hawk managed to strike her Pokémon. Melody seemed quite pleased however.

"Not too bad, huh?" the short girl said, glancing over at Blaine with a wide smile.

Blaine nodded and smirked at the Volbeat, "Okay... Vine Whip again!" The Bellsprout obliged, but not before being hit with another tackle and causing it to stagger back just a bit. The vine still flew through the air as Blaine thought a bit, "Well, I think we got this in the bag Melody!" He said with a chuckle. "Their mon are wearing down! Now let's finish this in style!"

"Don't give up, Illumise! Come on and tackle that bird!" Kelly shouted.

The Illumise took off towards the Taillow once more, and just like before Melody ordered Hawk to counter it with another Quick Attack. The Taillow quickly flew straight at the bird, the two crashing into each other. Hawk fell backwards, quickly flapping his wings to regain his balance and keep from crashing into the ground. The Illumise however, fell onto the ground with a thud. Slowly, the bug Pokémon managed to stagger back up to her feet, looking a bit worn. Surely, it did look as if this battle was going to be ending soon... At least, that's what Melody and Blaine seemed to think.

Unfortunately, it seemed the battle was not to be as cut and dry as that.

"Illumise! Use Moonlight, now!" Kelly ordered.

The Illumise smiled, managing to buzz upwards into the air. The area the four trainers were battling in suddenly grew dark, only being lit up by what a pale light which resembled that of a full moon. It was at that moment that most of the damage that the Illumise seemed to have taken vanished, the bug buzzing happily and healthy as if the battle was beginning all over again.

"W-What kinda move was that?!" Melody questioned in surprise.

"Like, I said it wasn't gonna be an easy battle," Kelly taunted, giving a smirk to both Blaine and Melody.

Blaine gritted his teeth and pointed at the Volbeat, "Finish it off quickly!" He shouted out. His Bellsprout threw out another Vine Whip, but it was still not as effective. "Okay, Melody let's take the Volbeat down then we'll focus on that pesky bug!" The Bellsprout let out a soft groan and waved it's leafy appendages, clearly out of its element. It was one thing with one bug, but two bugs against a grass type!? It would be impossible for the Bellsprout to inflict that much damage!

The Volebeat was still up and delivered yet another tackle to the Bellsprout, grinning a bit despite its beaten up state. They just had to take this calmly was all. Hopewfully Hawk could handle a majority of the work from here on out.

Melody nodded, biting her lip slightly. The girl was starting to suddenly feel a bit nervous, as the battle seemed to be suddenly counting upon her to at least balance things out. Both of the girls ordered their bug Pokémon to attack at that point. Illumise was buzzing towards Hawk for another Tackle attack, while Volbeat was buzzing towards Blaine's Bellsprout. Melody looked between the two bug Pokémon. The Taillow would probably feel this one, but it was the only way to put the battle back in Melody and Blaine's favor.

"Hawk! Peck that Volbeat, quick!" Melody ordered.

The bird took off flying towards his target. Volbeat was nearing Blaine's Bellsprout. The Illumise was hot on Hawk's tail. Melody clenched her fist, knowing that if this part of her plan did not work that the battle would more or less be over. Right before the Volbeat managed to reach Blaine's Bellsprout, the Taillow's beak managed to jab right into its side. Volbeat let out a pained buzzing noise, rolling off to the side in pain. The bug tried to make it back up, but it just did not have the energy and fainted with a whimper.

Hawk did not have time to celebrate his victory against the bug though. It was at that moment that the Illumise managed to collide into the bird, knocking him from the air and to the ground with a surprised squawk. Melody gasped, as it looked as if the Taillow was having trouble managing to get back up. Much to her relief however, the bird managed to weakly flap back up into the air.

"It must be from the battle earlier with Vinny and this one... Hawk's getting tired, so we need to finish this up quick..." Melody thought. She glanced back over in Blaine's direction and began to whisper "Blaine... Can your Bellsprout keep Illumise busy for a second? I have an idea, but I need help to pull it off."

As Hawk protected Bellsprout from the attack the grass type blinked and gave a friendly wave to her battle partner, but as the Illumise attacked the bird the Bellsprout cried out angrily as its leafy appendages shot out and wrapped around the insect.

"Well... she already has!" He called out.

The Bellsprout wrangled with the Illumise , struggling to keep it held down, but soon she cried out as the Volbeat smacked into the plant. The Illumise wasn't weak either as it squirmed and pulled against the restraining appendages.

"Best do it quickly!" He said to Melody, "Bellsprout is taking a beating!"

"Hawk, Focus Energy now!" Melody ordered with a nod. The bird gave a quick nod, glaring at the Illumise who was attacking his battling partner. Blaine's Bellsprout was helping him out a great deal, and the Taillow had full mind to pay her back for the aid. With its full focus set on the Illumise, Melody quickly set the second part of what she hoped would be the final attack of the battle into action. "Now, use Steel Wing!"

Hawk squawked in response, sailing straight for the Illumise as fast as he could. The Taillow's wing began to shine and shimmer like a solid sheet of metal as he neared the Illumise. Kelly widened her eyes as she noticed her bug Pokémon in danger, and quickly ordered the Illumise to dodge the attack.

She was not quick enough, however. With a fierce strike, Hawk's wing slammed into the Illumise. The bug buzzed and squirmed in pain as it flew backwards and away from the Bellsprout. It fell upon the ground with a solid thud, fainting upon impact.

The Bellsprout gasped out as the Illumise fell, letting it's appendages fall as it gasped. Blaine quickly recalled it and nodded, "Good work Melody. So... I guess we win and that makes who noobs?" He asked with a smirk over at the two twins. "Still, Hawk was great."

"I couldn't have pulled it off without your Bellsprout, though," Melody returned with a grin. "She really was the hero to help us pull it off."

Both of the twins were absolutely silent at this point. Neither of them knew just what to say as they recalled their bug Pokémon. Mary quickly spun around, taking off with tears in her eyes and an embarrassed blush gracing her cheeks. Kelly glared fiercely at the duo, quickly tossing some victory money in their direction before taking off after her sister.

Hawk let out a small chirp of relief. The Taillow glanced over in Bellsprout's direction, waving a wing and giving a happy chirp. It sounded as if the bird was thanking the plant for all of her help during the last struggle of the match.

"Seriously, though... Derpy and Bellsprout are both really strong," Melody said with a smile. She walked over towards her Taillow, extending her arm for the tired bird to climb up on and relax for a bit. She affectionately rubbed the small bird's head with her index finger, thanking him for a job well done before continuing. "You must've really been training hard since we got split up like that, huh?"

He shrugged, "I... well, Derpy sort of trained himself. He takes the lead usually." He said with a chuckle, "I don't know really... I just felt really good during that battle. I'm not sure why. Anyways, we should go heal up then." He glanced over at Hawk, "They all deserve it. So... uh... how is Chris? Did she get out okay too?"

Melody nodded, leading the way back towards the Pokémon Center. "I saw her back at the Center at Route 30. She made it out just fine... In fact, she's the reason I even have my Buizel," the girl said, patting Napoleon's Pokéball. "I haven't really seen her since then, though... I wonder if she's made it to Violet City yet."

He shrugged, "Maybe. I guess so. So you gonna go for the gym?" He asked as he stepped inside and gave his pokeballs to the nurse. "I'm not going for it. Personally I see it as a waste of time."

Melody nodded once more. "I... I'm gonna go for it, yeah... I have to go for it. That's sort of the whole reason I even went to the academy in the first place."

He waited as his pokeballs were healed and handed back, "I see. Well... good luck I guess. I just don't see the point of getting badges is all."

Melody handed off her Pokémon to the nurse next, giving the woman behind the counter a small smile. "It's a sign to see how strong my team and I are getting... I have to go after those badges... Especially if I wanna beat him..." Melody glanced down at the ground, whispering that last part.

Blaine frowned as Derpy's ball opened and a jubilent Derpy hopped about, "Who's him?" He asked.

"Huh...? Oh, um... Just some person I met a long time ago, before I became a trainer," Melody answered quickly, more or less dodging the question in the process. She gave Blaine a quick smile, rubbing the back of her head with a giggle. "Besides, you probably don't wanna hear about my boring stories and stuff anyways."

He shrugged, "If you don't want to tell me, that's fine." He looked down at Derpy who was busy chasing his own tail, "It's quite a facade he puts on." He muttered under his breath.

Melody took her Pokémon back from the nurse, giving her a quick thanks before looking down at the Totodile. "Huh...? What do you mean?"

He sighed and shook his head, "Nothing." He said quickly. He made his way out as Derpy followed, gurgling happily all the while, "So... gonna head to the gym eh?"

Melody glanced over at the gym and then shook her head. "Not yet, no... We're not ready yet," she replied, turning back and looking at the academy. "I'm gonna head back to the academy and get some more battles under my belt. I wanna make sure my team is totally ready for Falkner... What about you? What are you gonna do?"

He shrugged, "Rest a bit. I'm thinking I might just look around and then head off from Violet. Shouldn't be that hard to get through the route I'm thinking."

Melody smiled at Blaine. "Well then... I guess I'll catch ya around then. Take care, Blaine!"

Blaine nodded, "You too. See ya around I suppose." He said as he began to move on, Derpy following along after him.

Melody waved farewell to Blaine as he left, before turning and preparing to return to the academy. Thinking back to the conversation she had had with Blaine while having her team healed, Melody began to wonder just how Christina was doing. She considered giving the girl a quick call, reaching for her Pokégear in the process. Her eyes suddenly widened however, as she realized her phone was not in her pocket where she usually placed it.

"Crap, did I drop it?" Melody questioned. The girl quickly retraced her steps back into the Pokémon Center, smiling as she found resting on the floor by the counter. She sighed in relief, the girl quickly made her way over and picked up the device. She gave it a quick glance over for any damage, before turning to leave once more. It was at that point that the girl spotted someone familiar resting on the couch. "...Vinny?"

Sure enough, the friend she had made from the academy was busy napping on one of the couches in the lobby of the Pokémon Center. She frowned at the sight, however, as she noticed that he seemed cold. Glancing around, Melody spotted a spare blanket resting on a nearby table. The short girl smiled, quickly taking the blanket and using it to somewhat cover the boy up. The girl giggled lightly, before leaving quietly to return to the academy and let Vincent rest.

 

[Greiger]

Blaine - Research… yay​

​

Blaine had first gone off to the store to pick up a few potions. He remembered from the last route that his stash had been depleted quite a bit and he was very sure that the trend would continue on. That was when he remembered. Pulling out some money did end up uprooting the jewel he had found and caused it to clink against the ground. In that instant he had to wonder why he had never questioned what this gem was. He grabbed his supplies and hastily put them away as he walked out and peered at the crystal. "Hm… what do you think it is Derpy?" He asked the Totodile. He knew that no answer would be provided, but it at least allowed him to voice his questions without truly looking like a dumbass in public.

He made his way around Violet, finally coming upon a jewelry shop. He handed over the jewel to the owner, wanting to see if it was at least worth some sort of value, but surprisingly it was something he had never seen.

"Yeah… it's broken off of something far bigger. It has cracks around it so it must have been chipped off. Hm… I'm sorry boy but that's really all I can say." He handed the crystal over to Blaine and the boy stuffed it into a pocket, "So is it rare then?"

The man chuckled, "Might be. I have never seen items like that, but you might want to try a bigger city. Maybe someone else has seen such crystals, or you can try going to the academy and using their library. They not only have books on pokemon but on geography too. You can find a book or two and scan through them, perhaps see if it's not from Johto but some other region. Could explain why I haven't seen it before."

Blaine nodded and quickly headed out as Derpy's teeth clutched his pants leg, though this time Blaine wasn't too concerned about that. Maybe this crystal was really rare or something? He could sell it for quite a bit, probably never have to worry about expenses ever again! He rushed into the academy once more and thankfully saw that the library was close to the entrance. He hurried on in as Derpy gurgled and of course that was met with a loud 'shush'. Blaine saw the librarian was standing up behind her desk and he made his way over, this time lowering his voice, "Excuse me miss, do you have any books in geography?"

She nodded, "Yes… but you must recall your pokemon unless you can say with certainty it will not chew up the books."

Blaine quickly pulled up Derpy who pulled off a cute face for the woman, "Would this little guy do anything like that?" He asked and quickly set off past the desk. He had never really used a library before, so he wasn't sure where to start. Oh how he wanted his… computer! There near the back were several computers with some students using them. Still, there were serval unused so he grabbed one and opened up the net. Of course, pokenet, the worst of any browser ever, but he would go along with it for now.

He tapped in a request for crystals and groaned as that green bar appeared. It moved inch by inch ever so slowly. It took a minute for the stupid browser to take in his request and by that point he felt like hanging himself. Of course the results were very vague, so he had to type in rare crystal and began the task of going to images and slowly scrolling through the images. There were way too many images so he had to refine it to rare johto crystals. There were far fewer images, but still quite a lot. He kept scrolling along with his eyes starting to droop as all the images began to look the same, that was until he felt a pair of jaws snap around his arm and causing him to cry out.

The librarian let out another shush as he frantically nodded his head. He glared down at the Totodile who was drooling all over his arm as the green gator pointed at the screen. He had almost scrolled past what looked like to be a statue of sorts. He didn't know much about pokemon so he couldn't quite say what this pokemon was, but he pulled out his crystal and held it up to the picture. They were both clear… and somehow, he wasn't sure why, but it looked like this crystal just… belonged to such a statue. He clicked on the image and hit onto the linked page, groaning as yet another minute of pure loading happened before the page came up. It was a simple academic website from some college, but apparently the image was of some statue that was in Johto. In fact, these statues were scattered here and there and apparently depicted legendary pokemon. He couldn't find much information on how they had been made or why they existed, but at the very least he knew what this crystal was from. Question though… was why were these crystals broken off? Why were they in the forest?

He pulled Derpy off of his arm and shuddered as the drool dripped onto the floor. He made his way quickly out and to the bathroom as he washed off Totodile germs. As he washed another idea struck him. Well, he WAS in a library now… maybe he could do a bit of research on pokemon? He was a trainer after, he might as well start.

He headed back in, not paying attention as much to the glare the librarian gave him, but he made his way to the computers yet again and started searching for pokemon. He stayed seated for a few minutes as he pulled up articles talking about the various types of mon. Dragons were too strong and challenged trainers, pass. Ghosts were creepy f**ks, pass. Psychics could manipulate minds and were just as creepy, pass. Fair-pass. Normal types were generally weak so pass on that. He paused however when he hit the fighting type page. Fighting types weren't super smart… but they were strong and powerful. They knew martial arts and could lift large weights. They were mostly human like and were able to be trained into being bodyguards. He scrolled down and looked through the article, mostly skimming here and there. Fighting types were weak against psychic, fairy, and flying types and couldn't really hit ghosts, but they were powerful against dark, normal, steel, ice, and rock types. There was even a fighting type master in Cianwood who was a gym leader.

He glanced through a bit more and tilted his head. Maybe… maybe he could try that? Fighting types didn't seem to be that aggressive to trainers, so they could easily be trained even by someone like himself. Out of curiosity he searched for Totodiles and clicked on some academic links. The first page showed a blue mon, not a green one like he had, but he did see a rarer version of a Totodile was in fact… green. Well what did you know, Derpy truly WAS a shiny mon. He scrolled through and hit through some linked pages, seeing that Derpy could become a Croconaw next and finally… a Feraligatr. Blaine had to look over the image again of the large gator as Derpy gurgled happily.

"Huh… so that's going to be you soon huh?" He asked the gator. He shook his head, "Well… that'll be the day then."

 

[moon]

Christina
Sindy grew to lv 14 and learned Quick Attack! (loved your Tower post <3)

Vincent
Hanzo grew to lv 12!
Brian grew to lv 10 and learned Gust!

Aberdeen Montany
post 2 chapter 3 : Violet City​

Aberdeen didn't feel like going to sleep. Instead of going back to the Pokémon Center and borrowing a room at a decent time, he kept wandering the town. A PokéMart near the town centre was still open at this hour. Mindlessly, Aberdeen walked in.

"Hey! Keep your pokémon balled in here!"

The angry shout came from a short, round lady behind the counter. She had her hands on her hip and glared at Ab, who turned to look at his startled pokémon team.

"Sorry," he mumbled and quickly returned all three to their pokéballs. "I didn't know."

"Kids bringing in rats and bugs and whatnot, making things fall over or stealing stuff... I won't have any of it anymore."

"Lucky for you, I'm not a kid," Ab said with a bright smile and walked up to the counter. "I'm a pokémon trainer!"

"That's what they all say, kiddo. But what can I get you? I was about to close up."

"Um..."

Aberdeen looked around the shop. A lot of fancy medicines and specially colored pokéballs were there. There wasn't anything special about them other than that they were colored differently though, Ab suspected. He'd seen Ultra Balls and stuff like that before and they didn't look as, well, plastic as the simplest of pokéballs. Like these did.

There was another thing though, on display in the window that Ab hadn't really looked closely at before. A tent, black and simple, but big enough for two people to sleep in. Or one person and some small pokémon.

"What's the cost of that?" he asked the grumpy lady.

"Nothing you can afford," she replied, almost laughing. "It's a super modern tent, ultra-foldable with nano-technology. It'll fit in your pocket on the go, and with just a click on a li'l button, it'll pop up or down letting you have a night without rain or being spotted easily by thieves or wild pokémon or whatever's around the routes these days. Not you though. As I said, it's expensive. Hyper modern."

"Won't this do?"

Ab had been rummaging through his bag while the lady talked. Finally finding the money he'd earned from capturing the Loudred together with Nate on Route 30, he put the pouch where he kept it up on the counter with another bright smile.

The lady just stared at the money for a moment, before urgently starting to count it.

"It's... enough," she said when she was done. "You can afford it." There was even a little change left.

Some minutes later, a still smiling Aberdeen walked out from the store just as it was closing, a super-modern, ultra-foldable, nano-technology tent in his pocket.


The following night hadn't been very long. Aberdeen had gotten into the Pokémon Center late, not even looking around to see if Christina or someone else he recognized was there, and fallen asleep in his room almost instantaneously, just merely remembering to take out his pokémon from their pokéballs first, to let them cuddle up together at his feet.


​

 

[Stinging Bea]

Blossom the Chikorita
Female - Level 9
Tackle/Growl/Refresh/Razor Leaf/Poison Powder/-

Napoleon the Buizel
Male - Level 8
Sonic Boom/Growl/Water Sport/-/-/-

Hawk the Taillow
Male - Level 8
Peck/Growl/Focus Energy/Quick Attack/Steel Wing/-

(none)

(none)

(none)

Melody Hughes

Chapter 3 - Violet City

A Private Lesson! Melody vs Professor Gumple!​

"Now, Napoleon! Finish it off with your Sonic Boom!"

The Buizel dashed forward, stopping just short of the Rattata. His young trainer's eyes widened as the little otter slammed his paws together, sending forth the familiar wave of energy at his little mouse Pokémon. At this point, the trainer knew there was nothing that he could do to save his Rattata from the attack. The Sonic Boom crashed right into the Rattata, sending the mouse flying back where he fainted right on the spot.

"Darn..." the youngster whispered as he called his Rattata back into his Pokéball. He whispered a small word of thanks to the mouse, before giving Melody and Napoleon a small smile. "You really are pretty strong, lady. I bet you could even take on Falkner with a team like that!"

Melody gave the boy a small smile. "Thanks, but I'm sure my team could totally use a bit more training before we try to take him on. Anyways, thanks for a great battle, Joey! I hope we can have a rematch someday!"

The boy nodded and waved farewell as he departed to have his team fixed up. Melody sighed, glancing down at her Buizel and yawning softly. It had definitely been quite the busy day.

After the girl had parted with Blaine back at the Pokémon Center, Melody returned back to the academy where she took part in a few more battles. The first battle had been against a school girl about her age who had both a Butterfree and a Beedrill. In a sense, it reminded Melody of her double battle against the twins she had earlier. It had definitely been a close battle for the girl, but she had somehow managed to pull through with the combined force of Hawk and Napoleon.

It was shortly after that that Melody encountered the young trainer known as Joey. While Joey was not as much of a challenge as the previous few battles she faced had been, his team was a bit more diverse, offering a challenge for each of her Pokémon to face. The first Pokémon was a Pidgey, who Hawk was able to outmatch in both speed and power. Next, the boy used a rock Pokémon known as Geodude. Melody's Taillow had a bit of trouble with the rock-type, but Blossom was able to match it with her powerful Razor Leaf attack. His final Pokémon was his beloved Rattata. While Melody figured that Blossom probably could have held her own against the mouse, she allowed Napoleon to get a bit more action. The Buizel managed to prove more than a match for the Rattata, as Melody had predicted he would be.

Melody glanced up at the sky, taking in the sight of the setting sun. It was starting to get a bit late, and the girl knew she should probably head back to the Pokémon Center to let her team get some rest, as well as grab some for herself as well. Still, Melody had the itch to have just one more battle.

Glancing around the garden, Melody scanned the various occupants of the area for a suitable opponent. Most of the trainers who had been there earlier in the day had cleared out, many going home for the evening. The few that remained were those that maybe wanted to get some extra practice in, or just those who liked to hang out in the garden after most of the classes had ended. Melody frowned at the sight, realizing that most likely she would not manage to get any more practice in for the time being.

"I guess we should just head on back, Napoleon," Melody told the Buizel.

Napoleon gave an impassive shrug, not that the girl was really starting to expect anything less at this point. She reached for his Pokéball, preparing to recall the Buizel when a sudden, low cough caught her attention.

"Excuse me, miss?" the voice called out. Melody turned, coming face to face with a man who looked a bit older than her. He was wearing a pair of khaki pants, white shirt, and green jacket. A tie was worn around his neck, but it was worn in a rather loose and sloppy manner. He was a lankey man, wearing a pair of glasses over his green eyes and brown, short, yet messy hair. "Would your name happen to be Melody Hughes, by any chance?"

Melody became a bit cautious at this point, but nodded slowly just the same. The man smiled and then continued.

"I've been hearing your name among two of my students. I believe you and a friend battled against them earlier. Mary and Kelly?" the man questioned.

Again, Melody nodded. "That's right, but who are you supposed to be?"

The man laughed, rubbing the back of his hair with a sheepish grin. "Frank and right to the point... I like that! My name is Kevin Gumple. I'm a professor at this academy, fairly new I might add. When I heard you managed to beat my two top students, I had to come see just what sort of a trainer you were. I was honestly hoping that you might accept the invitation to a battle?"

Melody smiled, nodding. "That'd be totally cool!" Her eyes widened though, as something just flashed into her head. "W-Wait a sec, you're a teacher? Doesn't that mean you're like, really good?!"

Professor Gumple laughed again. "Ha... I'm actually not that great at battling. You see, I'm more of the educator than the trainer. In fact, the class I teach is about the theories of Pokémon evolution..." The man paused, adjusting the glasses on his face. "So... What do you say? Will you accept my challenge?"

Melody smiled and nodded. "Alright then, Professor Gumple! You're on!"

The professor smiled, taking hold of one of the three balls he wore around his belt. "Very well then, let's get this battle started."

"Napoleon, you're on!" Melody announced, grinning down at her Buizel.

The Buizel huffed, slowly stepping forward and taking his place between the girl and the teacher. A knowing smile and nod graced Professor Gumple's features as he adjusted his glasses once more before sending his first Pokémon out to battle.

"Panpour, let's do it!" the man called out.

From out of the ball jumped a blue, rather energetic looking monkey. The Panpour hopped about excitedly, almost as if it was doing a little dance for the girl and her Buizel. Melody had never seen a Pokémon quite like it before. Curious, the girl took out her Pokédex and gave the monkey a quick scan.

"Panpour, the Spray Pokémon. Panpour lived in forests long ago, but developed a body that makes it easy to live near water. It can store water in the tufts on its head."

"A water-type, huh...?" Melody mused. "Well, that's no worry for you, Napoleon! Attack it with a Sonic Boom!"

Napoleon nodded, dashing towards the Panpour with a small howl. Much like usual, the Buizel slapped his little paws together and sent forth a quick wave of energy towards the water monkey. Professor Gumple remained perfectly calm as the attack neared the Panpour. Even the Panpour did not seem particularly worried about it.

A mischevious smirk graced the educator's lips. "Now Panpour, attack with Lick!"

With ease, the Panpour jumped over the oncoming Sonic Boom attack. Melody gasped in surprised as the Panpour managed to latch onto Napoleon's shoulders, its small tongue sliding up and down Napoleon's face. The Buizel cringed at the feel of the saliva-covered appendage running along his face. Then, just as soon as it had jumped onto Napoleon, the Panpour jumped off of him and resumed its happy little dance.

"W-What sort of attack was that supposed to be?" Melody questioned. She gave the Panpour a strange look, almost as if she was disgusted by that sort of attack. "Napoleon, don't let that stop you! Quick, use another Sonic Boom!"

Melody watched as Napoleon prepared to use his attack once more, but there was something different about the Buizel than usual. Melody noticed that there was some sort of stiffness to his movements, almost as if Napoleon was having difficulty moving. Professor Gumple smiled softly at the sight, not letting this chance go to waste.

"Panpour, Water Gun!" the man commanded.

"Napoleon, dodge it, quick!" Melody shouted.

The Buizel tried his best to try and dodge the attack. However, his movements were still slow and jerky, causing more worry to come to Melody. Napoleon was not able to get out of the way fast enough. The small blast of water crashed right into Napoleon, sending the Buizel sliding back towards his trainer. Melody cursed under her breath, quickly recalling Napoleon back into his Pokéball.

"Paralysis, huh?" Melody questioned, glancing at the Panpour and its trainer. Professor Gumple merely shrugged his shoulders, still offering the same smile as he wore since the start of the battle. "Well, it's gonna take more than that to stop me! You're on, Blossom!"

Melody tossed the ball holding her Chikorita out onto the field. The little grass Pokémon gave it's best, fierce looking glare at the Panpour, causing the teacher to laugh at the sight.

"Alright, Panpour, give it another Lick!" he commanded.

The Panpour jumped forward towards Blossom, much like it had to Napoleon. Ready for the Panpour's attack, Melody quickly ordered Blossom to counter the monkey's attack with her Razor Leaf attack. A storm of sharp, swirling leaves began to cut into the Panpour. The water monkey fell to the ground, it's planned attack interrupted by Blossom's attack. Not letting the chance go to waste, Melody quickly followed up by ordering Blossom to tackle into the Panpour. Professor Gumple, did his best to try and get Panpour to recover and dodge the attack, however the blue monkey just was not fast enough. Blossom slammed into the Panpour, causing the monkey to skid further across the grass and faint shortly after.

"Not bad, Melody," Professor Gumple mused, adjusting his glasses yet again. "You might just be as good as my students said you are. Let's see if you can keep this up, yes?"

Gumple recalled Panpour and then took the next ball from his belt. He tossed it out onto the field quickly, another monkey similar to his Panpour emerging from the capsule. However, this one was red in color as opposed to the previous, blue monkey.

"A fire-type, I bet..." Melody determined. She quickly called Blossom back into her Pokéball, and then followed through with sending Hawk out into the battle.

"That's thinking on your feet, Melody!" Gumple announced with a smile. "I can see you take type match-ups into consideration! Always a good thought when battling,"

Melody smiled at the man's compliment. To be honest, she might not have even thought about that angle of the match had it not been for the teacher of that class who observed the girl's double battle with Vincent. It may have just been possible that Melody learned a bit more at this school than she thought she would.

"Alright, Hawk! Attack it with Peck!" Melody commanded.

The Taillow squawked in response, taking flight and aiming towards the red monkey. Unlike the previous Panpour, this Pokémon seemed much more calm and relaxed. In fact, it seemed to mimic Gumple's actions to some degree. As Hawk narrowed in on it's target, the red monkey seemed to pushing a pair of imaginary glasses up on the bridge of its nose.

"...Now, Pansear! Attack with Incinerate!" the man ordered.

Pansear jumped up into the air towards Hawk. The Pokémon suddenly shot forth a quick burst of flames, scorching Hawk as he quickly fell back to avoid being burnt by them.

"He's faster than the Panpour was," the girl whispered. "But you're faster, Hawk! Use a Quick Attack!"

Hawk chirped in agreement, quickly flapping its wings harder and flying straight at the Pansear with great haste. The fire Pokémon widened its eyes just in time for the Taillow to slam into the Pansear. However, the bird did not get away without harm. Pansear grabbed hold of the bird, essentially hitching a ride underneath of Hawk, much to his and Melody's dismay.

"Good job, Pansear! Now, blast it with another Incinerate!" Gumple ordered.

Pansear did as told. Hawk let out a rather painful screech as the monkey shot its quick blast of searing flames at his underbelly. Melody bit her lip as the Taillow suddenly dropped to the ground, skidding in her direction. Pansear quickly jumped off the bird, celebrating as it managed to get a rather nasty hit to the flying Pokémon.

Amazingly, Hawk managed to stand back up on his feet. Melody could tell the bird was hurt, however. She knew that he would not be able to beat the Pansear if its fire would constantly be this intense. She quickly recalled Hawk,trying to think of another strategy she could use.

"Looks like you're in a rather difficult spot now, eh?" Gumple mused. "How do you plan to deal with my Pansear's flame, hmmm...?"

Melody hesitated for a moment. Slowly, the girl reached down for Napoleon's Pokéball. She knew that the Buizel was paralyzed from Panpour's Lick attack. At the same time though, she knew that he had the only method of possibly putting the edge back in her favor with Gumples Pansear.

"Napoleon! You're back on!" the girl shouted, sending Buizel back onto the field.

Professor Gumple gave the girl a curious glance. "Are you sure that's a wise choice, Melody? Did you forget that your Buizel is paralyzed at the moment?"

Melody glanced down at Napoleon with a frown. Just as before, the Buizel's movement was somewhat stiff. "I... I know that! But he can handle it, right Napoleon?"

The Buizel managed a somewhat weakened sounding grunt, before turning his attention to face the Pansear. Melody smiled a bit at how determined Napoleon seemed to be to handle the Pansear, despite his weakened state. Professor Gumple sighed, adjusting his glasses yet again.

"Well, I guess if nothing else you have your enthusiasm," he said. "Pansear, let's make this quick. Get up close and give the Buizel a blast of your Incinerate."

The Pansear nodded, and took off running towards Napoleon. Melody tightened her hand into a fist as she watched the Pansear and her Buizel who was still suffering from the paralysis. Taking a deep breath, the girl called out a quick command to paralyzed Napoleon.

"Napoleon! Water Sport, now!"

Gumple watched in surprise as Napoleon somehow managed to move into action. Right as the Pansear was about to scorch the Buizel with its Incinerate attack, a wild splash of water managed to shoot forth from the otter Pokémon. The water doused the Pansear, as well as covering the grassy area around the two trainers and their Pokémon. When the Pansear managed to recover from its surprised soaking, it went to use Incinerate just as it had been ordered to. However, all that managed to come out of the fire monkey's mouth was a rather pathetic and wimpy spark.

"Nice job, Napoleon!" Melody called out. "Now let's try to finish it off! Give it a Sonic Boom!"

"Pansear, you can still win! Attack with Scratch!" Gumple shouted.

Pansear took off running towards Napoleon once again. Much to Melody's dismay, Napoleon seemed to be having issues moving again. The Buizel's jerky movements seemed to be going at a much slower pace than the Pansear's. The red monkey managed to leap up at Napoleon, its rather sharp claws manaing a quick swipe at his face. However, the Pansear did not get away unharmed. Napoleon had somehow managed to get his paws together, sending forth that familiar wave of energy that Melody had come to know and love so much.

Both of the Pokémon fell back onto the ground. Melody and Gumple both fell silent as they watched their Pokémon. Pansear was the first to try and get back up to its feet. The little red monkey managed to stand upright for a moment or two, only to promptly fall back onto its backside and faint from exhaustion. Napoleon slowly tried to pull himself off of the ground afterwards. Like the Pansear, the Buizel managed to get back up to his feet. However, by some feat he managed to stay standing. That said, it was clear to both Gumple and Melody that the Buizel was done for this battle.

Melody recalled Napoleon, smiling down at the Buizel's ball. "You did great, Napoleon. Thanks for all your help."

Likewise, Gumple recalled his Pansear back into its Pokéball. "That was some quick thinking there, using Water Sport to douse my Pansear's flames... That said, it was a bit risky using your Buizel while it was in such a state. Well... Looks like I'm down to only one more Pokémon... All my hopes are riding on you! Let's go, Pansage!"

Melody watched as Gumple sent out yet another monkey-like Pokémon. This one in particular was green in color, and sported a hairstyle which sort of reminded Melody of the top part of a stalk of broccoli. Piecing together that it must have been a grass-type, Melody prepared to send Hawk in. The girl reached for the bird's Pokéball. However when she remembered how much it had been burnt and hurt by Pansear's Incinerate attack, Melody quickly decided against it. Rather, the girl sent Blossom back out into the battle.

"Alright, Blossom! One last Pokémon to take down! You can totally do it!" Melody cheered at the little Chikorita.

"Grass versus grass... This should be an interesting match," Gumple mused.

"Blossom, attack the Pansage with a Tackle!" Melody commanded.

Blossom chirped in agreement and took off running towards the Pansage. Gumple did not look the slightest bit concerned, however. He patiently seemed to wait until the Chikorita was close to his Pansage, before issuing a command to the green monkey.

"Pansage! Use Vine Whip!" the man ordered. Melody watched as two, vine like appendages seemed to grow out from the green monkey's shoulders. They suddenly shot forward, slapping into Blossom's face and knocking the Chikorita away from him. Gumple smiled and followed up. "Now, Pansage! Follow through with Scratch!"

The Pansage ran forward, jumping forward at Blossom as she picked herself off the ground. The monkey began to scratch away at the Chikorita's face, causing the little plant Pokémon to squeak in pain. The Chikorita fell back, glaring rather angrily at the Pansage.

"Blossom, use Razor Leaf, now!" Melody ordered. The Chikorita sent forth a familiar cyclone of spinning and sharp leaves at the Pansage. The leaves cut into the Pansage, while not having as strong as an effect against the monkey, it was enough to distract it for Melody to follow through with another attack. "Now, Tackle!"

Blossom charged right into the grass monkey, slamming into it with all the energy she could muster. Pansage fell back onto the ground, skidding towards its trainer where it promptly fainted on the spot. Melody cheered happily as ran forward, hugging her Chikorita tightly who happily squeaked in her arms in response. Gumple gave the girl a soft smile, before calling his Pansage back into its ball.

"I can see my students weren't kidding about you, Melody," the man said as he approached Melody with a smile. "You definitely show a lot of promise as a trainer... I think you may even be ready to take on Falkner."

Melody's eyes widened. "The gym leader? You think so?!"

Gumple nodded. "Yes, I think so... You care about your Pokémon... You take typings into consideration and you know how to use their moves to thier advantages... I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for your name... Good luck, Melody Hughes. Oh, and take this... I think you'll be able to make good use of it during your journey."

Gumple handed a the girl a yellow and white Pokéball with a black design in the middle of it. The girl recognized it as an Ultra Ball, one of the much more powerful and durable versions of the Pokéball. With a smile, Melody thanked Professor Gumple and then bid the teacher a farewell before glancing down at the Chikorita in her arms. The smile on her face grew wider as she thought about what the man had told her. If she could beat Falkner... if he was right, she just may be coming closer to her goal than she thought she was. With a smile, Melody began to make her way towards the exit of the academy. She would let her team get some rest and then in the morning, she would make her way to the gym and take on Falkner...​

 

[moon]

Melody (whoa, you really wanted to get some levels in, plenty of use of pokémon skills here~)
Hawk grew to lv 10!
Napoleon grew to lv 13 and learned Quick Attack!
Blossom grew to lv 12 and learned Synthesis!

 

[Greiger]

Melody and Blaine​

​

Blaine finally got off of the slow as molasses computer, just itching the whole time to download Poke Chrome, but resisting that urge. He finally made his way to the hallway as Derpy gurgled. "Hm... you'll be a Feraligatr if we do this well enough... fighting types have lots of usefulness... should be good enough I think."

Meanwhile, Melody had made her way back into the academy's main building to make her way for the exit. Blossom was still snuggled quite comfortably into her arms. As she turned the corner to make for the hallway which led to the main doors, Melody recognized a familiar sight in a boy and a Totodile making their way down the very same hallway.

"Blaine...? I thought he was leaving Violet City... I wonder what he's doing back here in the academy?" Melody thought, watching the duo. Deciding that asking would be better than just wondering, the girl quickly took off running down the hallway, smiling brightly as she began to call out his name. "Blaine! Blaine, wait up!"

Blaine paused and looked back as Derpy gurgled happily and jumped up and down. "Oh, hey Melody." He said as Derpy glanced up at Blossom, giving a little wave as well as his smile grew even wider, "I found something out. Those crystals we have? I did some research, they are from some sort of statue. I was just heading out becuase this statue is at the Ruins of Alph. It's just down route 32 and if I get there I could figure out what these crystals do."

"...Statue? Crystals...?" Melody questioned, giving the boy a somewhat clueless glance. "What are you talking about?"

Blossom glanced down at the Totodile. She offered Derpy a somewhat weak, nervous smile, before nestling further into Melody's arms. Even after fighting a double battle with Derpy, Blossom seemed somewhat jumpy and reluctant to be around the Totodile.

"These." He said as he pulled out his crystal. "Maybe I can figure out why these were in the woods. I don't know, it might yield some answers. Oh, what's your number? I don't think I have it yet."

Meanwhile Derpy just looked up at that nervous smile as his eyes just flashed for a breif moment, showing a kind of calcuation in the water-type's eyes. "Toto... toto toto!" He gurgled out as he jumped about happily. "Toto dile. Dile?" He gurgled.

"Oh, yeah! I forgot all about those things!" Melody replied, examining Blaine's crystal. She reached into her pocket, pulling out the shard of her own she had, as if proving a point that she did not lose it. That said, she was a bit curious about what Blaine had read about them. "So... Like, what did you read about them, exactly?"

Blossom's eyes widened at the Totodile as he spoke. Her little mouth hung wide open in shock, as if someone had just slapper her across the face. A small chill ran up her spine as she looked up at Melody and then down at the balls which rested on her belt. The little Chikorita was really starting to wish that Napoleon or Hawk were in the shape to be up and about right now...

"Well, they are statues of legendary pokemon scattered around Johto and not much is known about them. So, I'll go there when I leave Violet and figure out what these shards do and maybe find out why they were near New Bark Town."

Derpy just smiled up, his grin growing as the Chikorita realized what he meant by his words before he jumped over to Blaine's side and continued his happy charade.

"Ooooh, wow... That sounds totally magical! Like some sort of epic story or something where chosen kids go on an epic journey to save the world because it was fortold by some some sort of legendary stone tablets! Like one of those anime or something I used to watch when I was a kid! I used to dream about stuff like that when I was little, you know? Me and my sister would play all kinda games and stuff like that too! It was really fun!" Melody rambled.

Blaine coughed, "Um... number Melody." He said. "Phone number and all? Anyway, Do you know how to contact Chris? She might want to check it out too."

"Oh, right! Numbers!" Melody giggled nervously. She reached into her bag, fishing around until she found her own phone. Smiling at the boy, Melody gave her number out. "My number is 3-4-9-0-2-6... I have Chrissy's, too... Um, it's... 2-3-3-6-8-7. You should totally give her a call about it sometime and let her in on this!"

He nodded and tapped it in. "I'll send a text or something so you can get mynumber too. Anyway the paln is to head out whenever I can to those ruins. Hopefully it's not too hard to find this statue."

"Well... I'd tag along, but I still have business to do here in the city... I'm gonna be taking on Falkner in the morning, so we should probably get some rest before then," Melody said with a nod. "Still, if you find out something cool, you gotta totally give me a ring!"

He nodded and got up with Totodile still grinning widely up at Blossom. "Yeah, see you around." He chuckled as the water type gave one last wave to the Chikorita before walking away with Blaine, jumping about happily.

Melody waved good-bye as well, before glancing down at the crystal in her hand. "Legendary statues, huh...?"

 

[moon]

Blaine
Derpy grew to lv 13 and learned Bite!
Bellsprout grew to lv 11 and learned Wrap!

 

[moon]

chapter 4 ; RUINS OF ALPH

Spoiler:

The Ruins of Alph, situated just south from Violet, are possibly the most ancient buildings found in Johto, predating even the Brass Tower and Burnt Tower of Ecruteak. They are a group of almost buried stone buildings in which guided tours are given on the upper floors, and there's a small museum built nearby. Sometimes, accidents happen though. The exact number of floors existing beneath ground level in the largest building has not been released to the public. It's said that strange pokémon live down there though...

You can only trigger Event 2 if you picked up a piece of the crystal from Chapter 1!

Weather - CLOUDY with a chance of THUNDER

Wild pokémon: They are all at Lv 10.

Only through Event 2:

(multiple forms of Unown)

Events:

1) You take the guided tour. In the middle of it all, lightning strikes the top of the building and makes people run in every direction aimlessly. You assist the guide in finding all the silly people who got lost in the tunnels and numerous halls of the ruins. As a reward, you get an old stone that the excavators haven't sorted yet. Oops, it turns out to be a proper elemental evolution stone. Maybe you know which type it is now, maybe you'll figure out that later ;) Better not tell the guide that they actually gave you something rare though...

2) You don't take the tour, you enter one of the old buildings on your own instead. A special, glimmering statue made of crystal and metal catches your attention. Is it beginning to glow as you approach it? Strange, something in your bag is burning hot... It's the crystal you picked up on Route 30! Suddenly, the floor opens up beneath you and you fall down. There are some very rare pokémon here, which you may capture before finding a path leading outdoors. But when you turn back towards the building again, whatever door you must have emerged from has disappeared into the wall.

3) You notice some shady figures sneaking around the ruins, seemingly avoiding the excavators and guidepeople. If you approach them, you realize that they have stolen some artifacts from the museum! After whatever events might transpire between you, the thieves eventually knock you out with some kind of gas or toxic pokémon attack. You wake up when someone finds you on the ground, thieves nowhere to be seen. What do you gain from this, then? Well, you managed to see the face of one of the thieves perfectly clearly... Might be important in the future.
​

 

[Sir Bastian]

Christina & Melody – Room 203
Chapter 3: Pyjamas Party!

After parting ways a second time with Blaine, Melody left the academy and returned to the Pokémon Center a second time. It was starting to get dark by the time the girl arrived at the building. The only signs of life in the town were the street lamps and those lights inside the various homes and houses. Melody knew her Pokémon were probably pretty tired by this point, as was she herself. The girl had plans to take a room inside the Pokémon Center and get a good night's rest as soon as her team was all healed up.

"Excuse me, Melody?" a kind woman's voice called out, snapping the girl from her daze. Melody turned her attention to the night shift nurse, who offered the girl a soft smile. "Your Pokémon are all healed up."

"Thanks a bunch," Melody said with a smile, taking the Pokéballs which held her team. She placed the balls onto her belt before continuing. "Um... Would there happen to be a room available for the night, by the way? I know it's like, totally late right now, but I could really use a good night's rest and stuff."

The nurse gave Melody a weak smile, before shaking her head. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid we're pretty much fully occupied for the night," she explained. The nurse pulled out a clipboard from behind the counter, and began flipping through the papers. "Actually... Some of our rooms only have one occupant in them... You could always go upstairs and ask them if you could share a room."

"I see... Well, I guess it couldn't hurt," Melody decided. The nurse handed the girl a slip of paper which had the room numbers that only had one occupant in them. "Thanks a lot, ma'am!"

Melody bid the nurse good night and made her way up to the second floor where all the rooms were for the traveling Pokémon trainers to sleep were. The girl looked down at the paper, examining all the numbers on the list. Truth be told, there were not that many. Melody's only hope revolved around the trainers inside the rooms possibly being nice enough to share.

The girl stopped by the first one the list, room number 203, and began to knock on the door. "Excuse me, is there anyone in here?" Melody questioned, putting a bright smile on her face as she knocked.

"Just a minute!" a female voice from inside called. A few moments later, the door was opened to, surprisingly, a familiar face, albeit slightly different than Melody recalled. Christina was standing in the doorway in a midnight-blue pyjamas with small, white dots scattered across it, as if a small vision of a clear night's sky, her hair wet, but freshly dried, part of it still somewhat covering her right eye. The girl blinked in surprise as she opened the door and stared out at Melody before breaking into a bright smile.

"... Mel'! Wow, I did -not- expect to see you here. Especially not -now-! What're you doing here?"

Melody gasped at the sight of Christina standing in the doorway. The girl had to admit that she was pretty lucky to manage to pick a room that had one of friends staying in it on the first try! That would make this whole situation a lot less awkward to deal with.

"Well, I've been down at the academy training all day... You know, to see how strong my team was and just get stronger in general," Melody explained, slowly slipping into her usual rambles. "I guess time sort of just got away from me in general, and well... long story short, they don't have any more rooms here available, so I was going around and asking if I could maybe stay with someone for the night, you know because I don't really have a sleeping bag and staying out in the cold and dark nights like this without one or a tent or something is totally dangerous."

"Oh! Well, in that case, you've come to the right place." Chris replied, grinning brightly at her friend before stepping back, allowing her to enter. The room wasn't big, but it was rather cozy. The thick blanket on the bed had been folded several times into some sort of giant pillow, in the middle of which Sindy was lazing about, although at the sight of Melody, she let out a cheery little squeak, waving one of her little arms. Chris gave a sheepish little smile, raising a hand to brush it lightly through her newly-dried hair, a faint tinge of embarrassment clear in her voice. "Uhm... sorry about the state of me. I kinda... well, it's a long story, but I had to take a shower, and my clothes are wet, so..."

Melody grinned, waving back at Sindy before returning her focus to Christina. "No worries at all, Chris! Stuff like that happens all the time, it's not like we can sleep in and wear the same stuff all the time! They'd be a wrinkly..."

Glancing down at her belt, Melody paused long enough to take the ball holding Blossom and let the Chikorita out to see her old friend. The Chikorita smiled brightly and bounced her way over towards Sindy and the bed which held the Cyndaquil. Blossom stood up on her hind legs and tried to climb up on top of the bed, looking rather cute as she struggled to climb up.

Sindy rose up from her comfy lodgings as Blossom was released, looking overjoyed to see her. As the grass type struggled to get up, Sindy waddled over to the edge of the bed, leaning down in an attempt at grabbing onto Blossom with her legs in an attempt at helping her up.

Christina giggled, seeing the two, shaking her head with a bright smile before shutting the door behind Melody. "Yeah, I guess you're right. It wasn't really... uhm, volountary though. But that doesn't matter. You went to the academy? How come?"

Melody walked further inside, smiling at Blossom and Sindy's actions. She helped the duo out, scooping Blossom into her arms and then setting the Chikorita on to the bed. Melody felt this was a good chance as any, so she sent out Napoleon and Hawk to stretch out and relax as well, instead of being cramped up into their balls.

"Well... We were training and stuff, like I said," Melody explained, kicking off her shoes and socks. She wiggled her toes slightly, giggling as the air blew between them before continuing. "See, we have plans to take on Falkner and his gym tomorrow."

"Cool. Always a good idea to get some more practice under your belt." Christina replied with a smile, although it felt a little more strained at the mention of Falkner, though she quickly shook it off. She stepped over next to the bed before sitting down on the carpet besides it, crossing her legs before motioning for Melody to join her. "And I see you've gotten a Taillow too! That's really cool, I really like Taillows." She smiled up at Hawk who had perched himself on top of the rod holding the curtains in place. "How's Napoleon doing, by the way?"

"Napoleon...?" Melody replied, taking a seat with Christina on the floor. She glanced over at the Buizel, who was off on his own in the room. He kept walking around, looking at everything in it with his arms crossed across his little furry chest. "Well... Um... He's getting stronger, I guess? Truth be told... he's kinda hard to handle. There are times I'll give him an order or something and he'll just... do something completely different... or give me this look like he's offended or something..."

Nodding slowly, Chris raised a hand to brush a strand of hair behind her ear. "Yeah, I've heard that Pokémon you get from trading are alot tougher to control. But..." She paused, glancing over at the Buizel, shrugging lightly. "I kinda felt it from the start that he seemed like a really tough guy, both in and out of battles. He just..." She paused, biting her lower lip as she seemed to want to say something else, but shook her head, looking back up at Melody with a smile. "So! Academy, huh? Have you been doing anything else? Come on, I wanna know everything!"

Melody nodded before standing up and walking over to the bed where she had laid down her travfel bag earlier. "Well, after we split up after the Pokémon Center on Route 30, me, Blossom, and Napoleon went down Route 31," Melody explained, rummaging about in her bag into she pulled out a small pair of orange shorts and a matching tank-top with a Piplup on a fluffy cloud on the chest. She then went about changing out of her clothes and into her sleepwear. "While we were going down the route, we met this farmer who had had one of his Pokémon stolen by some guy... He was in some group that's called um... Team Rocket, I think it was?"

"Team Rocket...?" Chris' brows furrowed and her head tilted to the side as she leaned back, resting her hands behind her on the floor. "Sounds like a weird name for a group, unless they're like... scientists, I guess. So what happened?"

"Well, the farmer said he wasn't much of a battler. I felt sorry for him, so I agreed to help him out. I managed to track down the thief, but I had to battle him to get the farmer's Pokémon back, you know?" Melody continued. She paused yet again, pulling hair loose from the pigtails which held it up. This caused a rather long, flowing mass of hair to now reach down her backside. "It was a pretty tough battle, to be honest I dunno how Napoleon and Blossom managed to pull it off. But, we did and we got the farmer's Pokémon back. I took it back to him, and as a reward the farmer gave me Hawk."

Melody glanced up, smiling at the Taillow who had already dozed off on top of the curtain rod of the window. However as she thought about it, something strange struck Melody. The girl had yet to actually catch a Pokémon on her own... All three members of her team had been given to her by someone else...

Pushing the thought to the back of her head, Melody smiled at Christina and asked. "What about you? What all have you been up to? Did you fight Falkner? I bet you did and won, right?!"

"Oh, uhm... well..." Christina replied, lifting a hand to rub the back of her head while looking a little off to the side. "I, uh... visited the Sprout Tower. You know, the really tall one to the north of the city, in the lake? I trained with some monks there, and one of them gave me this." She reached over to her pack sitting on the floor nearby, pulling out the small, white tooth on the leather cord, holding it up for Melody to see. "He said that it'll make whatever Pokémon holding it -really- fast. I haven't tested it out yet, but I'm going to in my next battle."

Melody gave Christina a curious glance. "That's pretty cool, but um... Falkner...?"

Chris' heart sank, having hoped that Melody would've forgotten about her question. Taking a deep breath of air, she nodded lightly. "Yeah, I... fought him as soon as I got into town. He kind of... completely wrecked me." She swallowed a little down, tightening her grip on the Quick Claw in her hand, glancing up at Sindy who had curled up on top of the blanket-pillow, chittering away with Blossom. "... He completely trounced us, and... I took it kind of hard. That's when I went to the tower. The monks and Falkner told me I had alot of things to learn, and... I'd like to think that after I finished training at the tower that I kinda know what to do with myself now."

Melody frowned, feeling bad... She almost felt as if she dragged Christina to tell her about that. The girl clearly was not comfortable talking about such things. "I... I'm sorry, Chrissy... I didn't mean to make you feel bad or anything like that..."

A small smile grazed Christina's lips as she shook her head, reaching out to place a hand on Melody's knee. "No no, it's alright Mel'. I... know I need to improve, and thanks to the monks and Falkner, I know what exactly I- what -we- need to improve, as a team. But I think that with a team like yours, you stand a pretty great chance against him!" She put on a bright smile, which only seemed a little like she was trying to cover up her partially true feelings. The smile was still genuine, however.

"Y-You know... if you wanted to battle him again, I could let you borrow Hawk, or Napoleon... or both!" Melody suggested, looking up at the girl with a weak smile. "Well... I know Hawk would be happy to help you out!"

Pausing a moment, Chris looked up at the bird resting behind her and above them, thoughtful for a few moments before shaking her head, looking back to Melody. "I really appreciate it Melody, but... when I beat Falkner, I want to beat him with my own team." She gained a confident and an ever so slightly more mature smile than Melody would have seen before, leaning back again. "Show him how much I've grown as a trainer. It's no use beating your enemy if you're borrowing someone else's strength."

Melody nodded and stood up. "Well, no worries! I'll be there to cheer you on when you battle him again! I know you'll totally kick his ass too! You bet!"

Smiling brightly, she looked up at her friend, pushing herself to a stand as well, dusting off her rear briefly. "... Thanks Melody. You're really a great friend. And tomorrow, when you go and beat Falkner, I'll be there to cheer you on too! That's a promise!"

"It's a deal!" Melody exclaimed. The girl opened her mouth to say more, but was interrupted as a small yawn escaped her lips. Melody was suddenly starting to feel very sleepy very quickly. She noticed that Napoleon was curled up on the floor near the foot of the bed, already having fallen asleep. Blossom and Sindy had also fallen asleep, both of the Pokémon snoozing away on top of the blanket. "Looks like all of our Pokémon are pretty beat..."

Chris giggled quietly at the sight of Blossom and Sindy huddled up on the blanket together. "Heh, yeah. They -have- had a long day." She suddenly yawned, stretching her arms out briefly. "Mrh... and so have I. We should get some sleep. Uh..." She paused, looking at the bed, then at the blanket that was currently occupied. "... Hmh. I think we can squeeze onto the bed, but the blanket is probably gone for good. And there isn't a spare mattress in here..."

Melody blushed lightly and looked back at Christina. "Well... I guess it's fine. No point in disturbing those two or anything, right?"

"Heh, yeah. Sindy'd probably get a bit cranky if we did." She let out a little snicker before looking from the bed and back to Melody, giving her a sheepish smile. "I mean... I could go ask the nurse if we can have a spare mattress or something, if you want?"

"No... There's no need to make a ruckus or anything this late... I'll be okay sharing a bed with you," Melody reasoned. "Not like you're a stranger or anything, you know?"

Christina nodded her head. "Yeah, you're right. Besides, I'm so tired I'll probably just fall asleep right away." With a joking little grin, she looked to Melody before climbing onto the bed, carefully avoiding the two sleeping 'mon at the foot end, wriggling up against the wall to give Melody enough room to lay down as well.

Melody carefully crawed up onto the bed behind Christina. The girl was careful not to disturb the sleeping Pokémon as well, another yawn escaping her lips as she curled up slightly with a weak grin.

"Good night, Chrissy," the smaller of the two said sleepily, almost drifting off right on the spot.

"Mrrh... g'night Mel'." Chris said with another yawn, resting an arm beneath her head, letting out a soft breath of air as her body relaxed completely, ready to get some well-deserved rest.

Current Team: