Indigo Trainers Association (T)

"Already got yourself a Magikarp? You'll have six Pokemon before you even reach your hometown if you keep it up," Sethos laughed, only just raising his own Old Rod back. Mankey jumped off his shoulder and onto Rhyhorn so that he could start fishing himself. Seeing Rebecca do it first, he swung a more confident stroke. The line flew overhead and landed with a small plop into the water. As confident as he might've looked, a ditzy smile soon came over him. "I didn't think I'd get it on the first try... well, you learn from your friends, right?" Friend. It had a nice ring to it. The boy lost many when they left for their own adventure, and it was nice to be fishing with a new friend. Maybe...

Walking to the edge of the water, Sethos stopped right next to Rebecca. She was being shy and looked away, but she was more than likely listening. "We should travel together," Sethos said bluntly, looking at the water as he watched the bob of his rod float on top, "officially, I suppose I should say. It'll be nice to travel with someone as kind as you." He didn't sound happy, but he didn't sound sad, either. His tone was rather neutral, and his thinking for that moment was torn between his long-lost Squirtle, what other people were doing, Rebecca, and his two Pokemon companions. But wait, what about himself? What do I do... I feel uncertain all of a sudden, Sethos thought, his gaze narrowing at the water in front of him, Is this the grip of loneliness grandma was warning me about? I didn't even legitimately ask her to travel together. It's probably also very presumptuous; she may have things that she needs to do. But maybe she wants to travel together. Would she even care that I'm putting this much thought into it? It's hardly been a day since we met, but I feel like we're close friends, though. I'm so confused... Nothing tugged at the line. Rebecca was lucky to have gotten an instant result. It might take a while for another Pokemon to appear. Patience was needed when it came to fishing.
Rhyhorn, with Mankey, walked off to the side and approached the edge of the water. Feeling thirsty, he lowered his head and drank the water. It felt nice and cool. Mankey jumped off his back and scooped some water for herself. Though, something caught her eye as she sipped the water... something was swimming close by. Curious, Mankey stepped as close as possible and stared into the water. it was getting closer... closer... it splashed water in her face!! It happened so quick that she couldn't tell what it was. Angry, Mankey punched at the water in a fit of rage. Rhyhorn backed up as water hit his face. He was still a Rock-/Ground-type.

A second later, something seemed to be coming back up. Ready to pounce, Mankey jumped into the water to attack what had splashed it. Rhyhorn looked into the water in surprise, waiting for his teammate to stop acting up. Another instant, Mankey came out of the water and scrambled to land in a panic. With shortened breath, it backed up and stuck close to Rhyhorn's side. Surprised, Rhyhorn returned to the water's edge to see what was going on. Mankey tried to plead him not to. But nothing was there...
 
Laughing, Rebecca watched as Seth began fishing himself...he seemed to get it a lot faster than she did which made her feel somewhat stupid until he said about learning from friends. Surprise flitted across her face for a brief moment, as far as she could remember she couldn't recall Seth explicitly referring to them as friends so bluntly before now, but it was nice that he acknowledged that they were more than just two strangers who happened to help each other out of a sticky situation. Although logically, given what they had been through together, there was no way they could really refer to each other as acquaintances.

"I don't know about that, I'm going to be spending some time on training up this Magikarp...it won't be easy," she sat down beside Seth where he was fishing and took off her boots and her socks, pushing up her jeans until they were above her knees, making sure not to knock her bad ankle. Edging closer to the water, she placed her good leg in foot first and submerging it until it was fully under the water before slowly unwrapping the bandage around her sprained ankle and allowing that leg to join the other in the water. "You seem to have a natural talent for fishing Seth," she observed, swishing her legs in the tepid water whilst looking up at Seth.

When Seth mentioned travelling together, Rebecca started slightly, staring up at Seth with a slight frown on her face. Despite the words themselves, which were of course lovely and very complimentary, his whole demeanour indicated that he wasn't overly fussed either way. Feeling slightly disappointed, Rebecca mentally scolded herself - she'd only known the guy for a day, what was she expecting from him? He must see her as a good friend to even suggest travelling together...but did she want to travel with someone else? Surely the whole point of this journey was to train herself and her Pokemon...although, that was a ridiculous idea for someone like Rebecca. Ultimately she was an extraordinarily sociable girl and didn't really enjoy being on her own - she really liked Seth both in company and as a person, and she would learn a lot about both herself and Pokemon training with him as a companion.

After watching Mankey's brief encounter with a splashing Water Pokemon, Rebecca looked up at Seth and smiled widely, hoping that he would actually make eye contact with her rather than the water as she responded to his suggestion. "That'd be really nice..I'd enjoy travelling with you...and Rhyhorn and Mankey, of course," she said in a somewhat soft, almost timid voice as though she was afraid he would turn around and retract his offer based on her earlier erratic behaviour. Feeling that she didn't need to say any more, Rebecca turned her attentions to the water and figured she may as well get some training for Magikarp whilst she was here.

Releasing the fish Pokemon into the water, Rebecca smiled at him and waved her fingers in his direction, fully expecting Magikarp to just stare back at her in that blank manner Magikarp usually adopted. "Magikarp! How about some training? Could you swim down to the bottom of the lake and lure a Pokemon up here to battle against?" she said brightly, shocked as Magikarp scowled - actively scowled - at her before leaping up and under the water, purposefully splashing Rebecca with his tail as he did so. As the water hit her face, Rebecca yelped and stared at the distorted patch of water with an open mouth...well, that was unusual...it was as though Seth's Mankey and her Magikarp had somehow swapped personalities...

Meanwhile, in the depths of the lake Magikarp had discovered a Goldeen he didn't like the look of. Charging through the water, he Tackled the Goldeen who flipped through the water before catching herself and glaring at Magikarp, who was unrelenting in his assault. As he threw himself into another Tackle towards her, she headed him off with a Water Gun before slicing through the water away from him as he was held up by the counter-current. Not to be defeated, Magikarp was a surprisingly strong swimmer, catching up with the Goldeen in no time and smashing into her from behind. Before she could counter with an attack of her own, Magikarp had charged another Tackle from above her, knocking her out on impact. Ha. That would teach her to give him a funny look...

At the surface, Rebecca watched still in shock as a fainted Goldeen floated limply to the top of the water...Magikarp emerging a moment later and staring straight at Rebecca...in a challenging way? What was with this fish?! Rebecca groaned and covered her eyes with her hands, leaning backwards until her back was laid down on the ground her legs still dangling in the water. This would be more difficult than she'd initially thought...
 
Naturally talented at fishing? Sethos didn't know about that. Lucky if anything, but he wasn't sure if it was from natural talent. He never really thought about what his natural talents could be. Taking care of Pokemon, maybe. There were also herbal medicines; thanks to his grandparents. But fishing didn't seem like a natural talent.

He broke out of his stupor when Rebecca agreed to the proposition. It sounded a little uncertain, or perhaps a little sad, but it made his head lighter. Heavy weights felt like they were lifted from his shoulders and, dare he think it, heart. She said yes, Sethos thought, lowering his gaze to his hands as they held the Old Rod, I won't be alone in terms of people. Another smile returned as he sneaked a casual glance at Rebecca as she focused on Magikarp. But then Magikarp splashed her, and managed to hit the side of the boy's face, too. He didn't think anything of it, the water on his face was rather refreshing and he managed to look away in time before he got hit in the eye, but he was amazed that the fish Pokemon was rather... rebellious.

"Well, I'm glad," Sethos said when Magikarp submerged itself underwater, but realized that what he said could've been misinterpreted, "N-not that Magikarp splashed you-- that was kind of rude-- I-I mean, I'm glad that you agree to travel with me. As far as I know we're probably the only two ITA recruits stationed to actually work here in Kanto. We'll stand a much better chance against Team Galactic if we work together... And I'm glad there will be another person to rely on during this journey." The more gentle side of his heart was showing through now. Feeling it work into his speech felt kind of odd, but there was no hint of that. Even so, he didn't look at Rebecca as he said it; either because he was also being shy, or he wasn't sure how bad Magikarp splashed her. First I feel conflicted, now I feel like I'm getting all mushy. What the hell? Sethos thought as he tested the line for any Pokemon, but found nothing biting, Could I be smitten?-- Why am I thinking of this now? We meet earlier today. I might be socially awkward, but I know that it's rare for two people to fall in love after only a couple hours together. This is probably a one-sided crush, and she'd probably want to head for the hills the second I go vocal about any of this. But then again, I suppose I have been showing some signs of interest ever since we met. Not to mention the fact that she's cute and has an adorable personality... Oh man, I'm getting confused all over again! Arceus help me!!

Fortunately, Rebecca's inward struggle with Magikarp secretly saved Sethos without her appearing to know. Turning his head to see Rebecca covering her face and laid back, he suddenly remembered something. "Oh, wait a second! Maybe your Magikarp is challenging you," Sethos said, turning his torso slightly so he could fully look directly at Rebecca's (covered) face, "It could be so experienced that it's stronger than your Hoppip and Pikachu."

Mankey jumped in surprise as the Goldeen that had harassed her floated limply to the surface of the water. Rhyhorn saw this and gazed at the aquatic Pokemon. It was knocked out. Some other Pokemon just had a fight with it. Maybe it was that new Pokemon that Rebecca caught off to the side. Either way, Rhyhorn heaved a great sign as it continued to have its fill of the water. Mankey seemed a little jumpy for a bit, but eventually she calmed down and rejoined Rhyhorn for a drink. She stayed on her guard, though.
 
As Seth spoke, Rebecca was somewhat thankful for Magikarp's indecent behaviour...it meant that she could hide her face behind her hands without it seeming strange whilst her light blush and smile subsided from what Seth was saying...or, more precisely, how he was saying it. The words themselves seemed extremely logical, well thought through and a smart plan given that they were going after one of the most dangerous Pokemon organisations in the world. But he said it...in a different manner to how he had spoken before. It was very subtle, and normally Rebecca wouldn't have picked up on such a slight change - one word that is generally used to describe Rebecca by others who know her is 'oblivious' - but for some reason she seemed to be more sensitive to Seth. Like before, she had picked up on his sadness when he was talking about his Squirtle (although that could have been more obvious she supposed) and she knew he was more hurt than he was letting on whilst en-route to Viridian...how curious...

"Yes, I think it will be...nice to travel together...and, of course, like you said we can back each other up against Galactic...I haven't noticed anybody else like us in Kanto...there didn't seem to be that many sign-ups in Pallet..." she said, sitting back up once she was relatively sure her face was normally coloured again. She noticed that Seth was looking right at her and smiled at him, nodding as he spoke about Magikarp. She hadn't considered that...but surely not, she had started training Hoppip and Pikachu...she hadn't even started with Magikarp yet.

"Could be...I don't know though, I didn't even know Magikarp had it in them to be so...badly behaved," she bit her bottom lip with a slight frown. "From what I'd read and heard, Magikarp are pretty docile...oh hell," a thought struck her and she looked at the Magikarp who was swimming around the surface of the water, seemingly looking for more challengers. "if...if he's this antagonistic as a Magikarp...what will he be like as a...as a Gyarados?!" she exclaimed, eyes widening. Gyarados weren't known as the most placid of creatures...even the most gentile Magikarp could turn into a Gyarados with a bad attitude on evolution. When this Magikarp evolved...he could quite easily destroy the whole of Kanto, Rebecca feared...

As though confirming her suspicions, Magikarp spotted Rhyhorn and Mankey drinking and inwardly smirked, diving under the water. He swam through the pool, smashing into a Poliwag who had stupidly gotten in his way, until he reached the side and looked up...through the water he could see Rhyhorn and Mankey's distorted reflections. Sweet. With all the energy he could muster, Magikarp darted up out of the water and on breaking the surface his tail muscles convulsed, sending a torrent of water towards Rhyhorn and Mankey, so much so that it even caught Rebecca again, who shrieked and looked at Magikarp as he plopped back through the water, face incredulous as water dripped from her sodden hair, soaking her t-shirt even through her hoodie. "See...what I mean?!" she said exasperatedly, unzipping her hoodie and shaking it off with an irritated growl.
 
It seemed odd right there. For a moment, it sounded like Rebecca was a little shaky in her speech. And not by him being rude and talking over her, Sethos noted to himself, there was a gap of delay between the two talking. Timing, of all things, was the thing that tipped him off. But what would it even mean? Either the girl was still shaken up by Magikarp's unruly behavior, or something else made her uncertain. Had she been battling an inward struggle, too? All this time I don't think I even asked if something was wrong, Sethos thought to himself, feeling rather dumb, I mean I guess she hasn't asked me either, but I've probably been more to myself. Gotta make things right somehow... "I'm sure it'll be alright. There's a chance that it's mood will change for the better, right?" the boy asked, though he was equally as fearful of the possibility of an even more aggressive Gyarados, "I mean, Mankey seems to be more mellow than most of her species, and they're supposed to flare up easily. There's always a chance Magikarp will be a more well-mannered Pokemon in it's final form... But, if you're worried about it, or anything else, you can talk to me about it. I'll listen." It might not have been much, but he'd start from there.

All of a sudden, the sky overhead fell dark. Sethos was about to look up and see what was wrong, but it came crashing down on him. Magikarp's splash got him while his back was turned from the three Pokemon. A good portion of his front was dry, but the back of his shirt and the side of his pants got drenched in the giant splash. His hair got wet, too, and fell in front of his face. It happened so quickly that there was no time to react. Okay, so maybe they were dealing with Darkrai's evil pet goldfish... "It's got good aim, I'll give it that," Sethos said, moving the wet pieces of hair out of his face, "If I didn't know how bad it felt to lose a Pokemon to Team Galactic, I'd recommend using Magikarp as bait when it's a Gyarados. At least he'll give 'em hell before we come in to... retrieve him..." Sethos hadn't noticed it as he wrung out some strands of his hair, but when he brought his focus back to Rebecca he saw that she had unzipped her hoodie. His eyes caught the motion of her arms shaking the overcoat first, so he couldn't help but see how good Magikarp got her wet underneath. "Ehh...? Wha?-- Oh, dear Arceus, sorry! Sorry!!" Sethos apologized rapidly as he snapped his head away in a flustered panic and closed his eyes shut. He couldn't see it, but he could feel a feverish red under his eyes from the strain he put on them and his own flustered hype. "I didn't mean to-- I caught sight of your arms moving first, and then-- I'm shutting up now..." There was no turning back now. No way would he be able to play it dumb and innocently say that he saw nothing. His reaction clearly noted what happened, and he was at the mercy of Rebecca's own response. There was no telling how she'd react, but his eyes would remain closed until he was told it was safe to open them again.

Rhyhorn let out a small cry as it got covered in water. He was surprised, but saw it coming from in front of him, so he didn't needed to assert himself. Even so, he shook himself intentionally to rid his body of the external water. Even if he needed drinking water, it was still weary of getting wet. Seeing her companion in dismay only furthered Mankey's rage. Glaring into the water, Mankey prepared its claws as it leaped into the water again to fight the Magikarp. It swam with an enraged vigor; catching up to Magikarp before it could turn on her. When Mankey got close enough, she hacked away with a flurry of Scratches.
 
Pausing, Rebecca looked over at Seth with a raised eyebrow, startled by the rambling excuses and the furious red blush dusting over his face as she stopped shaking out her hoodie, laying it out in the sun beside her and frowning at Seth in confusion. Wha...what was this all about? Yes she took her hoodie off because of the splash but it wasn't like she was stripping off or anything. She was wearing a tank top...glancing down at herself she cringed and slapped her hand to her forehead, groaning. Why, why had she gone with light blue..? The tank top had gone see-through...but not enough to warrant that kind of a reaction from Seth...

"It...it's alright Seth, I'm wearing a tank top," she laughed figuring that the sun would dry her shirt soon enough. "No need to be embarrassed...there was nothing to see even if you had ogled with binoculars!" she looked down again...well, perhaps that was being slightly economical with the truth, but it wasn't a big deal to her really. Taking her legs out of the water when Mankey dove underneath the surface, she stood up and shook her legs off ridding them of the excess water before walking/hobbling over to Seth and putting a hand lightly on his shoulder, smiling encouragingly. She didn't want him to be awkward when, ultimately there was nothing to be awkward about.

"And thank you too, for saying about you know...listening to me if I was worried about anything. The sentiment is mutual," she said, lowering her hand from Seth's shoulder, not wanting to push limits now they had established some kind of fledgling friendship. The last thing she would want is to be too full on and scare him away...that would be horrendous. "About anything...I suppose I'm not too worried about Magikarp as such, more...shocked I guess. I never once anticipated that he would be such a handful...he will be a challenge to train," she shrugged and smiled, "but it should be fun in the long term...maybe..."

Meanwhile, Magikarp felt claws scratch at him - his scales were quite hard so it didn't hurt him all too much, but that was beyond irritating. Flicking his tail, he slammed it into Mankey's hand before swimming upwards and whirling backwards in almost a somersault in the water before flying through the water at Mankey in a Tackle. Yes, Mankey were tough Pokemon, but the water was Magikarp's element.
 
Sethos calmed down as he heard Rebecca saying it was alright. Carefully, he relaxed the strain on his eyes and reopened his eyes. Upon further look, she was still decent. A small "haha" escaped from his lips, but it soon developed into lighthearted laughter. He was laughing at himself. It might've seemed crazy, but then again it was in response to a crazy reaction. "You right; I suppose I did go a bit over the top!" Sethos said in between dying fits of laughter, "I'm sorry, I didn't want to give you the wrong impression. I'd rather be the socially awkward kid than look like some creep, but I guess it came across too well!" It was easier on Sethos once he got the chance to laugh at himself.

The boy managed to lighten up in record time, but he decided to do something possibly considered bold. Almost like before, Sethos caught Rebecca's hand before it retreated, but this time he also laced his fingers between hers. Raising the two hands up between the two, his own hand curled into a fist, but the boy made sure Rebecca could move her own fingers. "Well, now it feels like it's time to be serious," Sethos said, looking his friend in the eyes, "Mankey seems to be trying to help, too, but if you ever need help with Magikarp, now or when he's a Gyarados, don't hesitate to employ my help. I hope you don't hesitate to ask me for help when you need it. Even if it seems ridiculous to ask; I care about you. Don't forget it." He smiled sincerely as his grip firmed into a oath-like gesture. It was impossible to explain what came over him, but the instinct to protect was natural. It felt like the right thing to say, too.

Rhyhorn looked over at Sethos and Rebecca, smiling to itself as it let out a small snicker. Who really knew what would come out of the boy's mouth when he was trying to conquer social anxiety? Maybe it was seen as mean-spirited to find amusement in this, but the boy's ability to laugh at himself was something Rhyhorn admired at the same time. It took some courage to do it.
He knew that Mankey was fighting within the water in front of him, but there was nothing he could do. Being unable to swim, he could either stare into the water and see nothing, or spy on their trainer socializing. Things were getting interesting over near the two trainers, too.

Mankey watched as Magikarp came gunning towards her with an amazing pace. Not going to just take the hit, she countered with a Leer attack. Magikarp still smashed into her and sent her spinning, but at least it came with a consequence to the fish Pokemon. Running out of air, the pig-monkey swam back up to the surface and took in deep breaths. Things were getting fun for Mankey. She dived down and chased after Magikarp with more Scratch attacks. If she could manage to knock the fish out of the water and onto the land, she might stand a better chance.
 
Dylan waited at the bottom of the gym as Sherry battled Falkner. He looked up and all he could see was the occasional flame or Pidgeotto flying off and back on the field. How do you think it's going up there Jem? I'd like to think she's winning, actually, I KNOW she's winning.

"Well Dylan, you're a pretty good guesser. She took down the Pidgey, but Sentret fainted in the process. And now it's Vulpix vs. Pidgeotto, and Vulpix is holding out pretty well."

You can tell all that from what exactly? I mean it's nice having a play-by-play, but it's kinda weird too.

"Haha it's not as weird as you think. It's a combination of Sherry and Falkner's thoughts. With only one, I'd be utterly confused, but together, it's a whole story. Oh and Vulpix just fainted, leaving Misdreavus. Also, I can't read their minds anymore, Ghost pokemon limit my range, so you'll have to wait and see now."

Ugh.. Jem! Why must you be weak to Ghost types? Haha I'm kidding, but how much longer will it be? I want it to be my turn!

"...I'm not saying anything anymore Mr. Impatient. Good Night!"

Fine. Be that way.

Dylan went and sat down leaning against the statue of a bird's nest at the entrance of the gym. He took out his notepad and started drawing. He wasn't a great artist, but he also wasn't terrible. He was drawing picture of Jem sleeping, but couldn't seem to get the ears right. He had just figured them out when he heard the elevator start to move. He hurridly packed away the notepad and stood up, waiting to hear the results. Sherry came into view and looked like she was going to be sick. She stumbled off the platform with what looked like it was supposed to be a smile. Staggering over towards him, Sherry said, "I win." She didn't look very good so Dylan got a little closer. She almost instantly fainted, Dylan "catching her" before she hit the ground. He was holding her up by her upper arms, like a murderer would drag it's victim.

Jem was woken up by the elevator turning on. She kept her eyes closed, so Dylan wouldn't bother her. It wasn't that she didn't like him, it was just that he could get a little annoying. All he ever talked about was Sherry. Sherry this, Sherry that, it just got annoying to her. "She really doesn't like heights. She was almost ill being up there, so I suppose this can't be helped," She heard, a voice she didn't recognize. Her eyes shot open and she looked around. Dylan... Sherry... and? OH! Misdreavus!

"Oh hi, and it happens. Good thing she has Dylan though, he wouldn't let anything happen to her, even though they've only known each other for a day. How'd it go up there? I mean, I know you won, but how'd it all happen?"
 
Misdrevius nodded. "I thought Gym Leaders were smart, but man was she smarter. The Pidgeotto tried to tackle me. Me being a ghost type, it went right through me. Then she had me use confuse ray, and then Power Gem. A rock type move that Misdrevius can learn. Man oh man you should have seen Falkner's face when she said for me to use Power Gem. I think she could be a great gym leader if she tried. Just nothing with heights", the ghost pokemon said. The pokemon floated over her trainer. "By the way...what's with your trainer? He seems...a tad bit obsessed with her. Not that I'm ungrateful that he caught her, because I'm very grateful. I'm just curious.", Misdrevius said. She was greatful that most humans couldn't understand Pokespeak.
 
"She seems like a good trainer, she beat my trainer! How long do you think she'll be out?" Abra said, letting out a little laugh. "I guess I'm not really sure, but it has something to do with his past. He doesn't talk, and she still listens, that's big for him. He never really thinks about the why part, so I don't know much. I'll ask him if you want me to, actually I will anyways, I'm curious about it. Not now I mean, later, probably tonight." Abra could tell Misdreavius was glad Dylan had no clue what they were talking about, and she was too. She couldn't imagine how angry he would be if he knew, and she didn't want to find out.
 
Eyes widening slightly, A small smile spread across Rebecca's face as Seth began laughing somewhat hysterically at himself...well, she assumed it was at himself or just the general situation that was equally amusing...before giggling along herself. She was somewhat relieved, beyond the slightly reserved exterior, Seth seemed just as odd as she as, although perhaps not quite as excitable. Giggles subsiding she simply smiled at Seth, having decided that she liked this lighthearted Seth especially well, and could get used to having him around more often. Before she could comment on this though, her expression grew puzzled as Seth stopped laughing and caught her hand as it dropped from his shoulder.

She looked at him quizzically and blushed slightly as his fingers wrapped around her own, his expression serious as he looked directly at her. Ah...maybe not so lighthearted...his look was so intense that Rebecca found herself glancing away often, unable to maintain the eye contact very well...she did, however, tighten her hand in his in response to his increased grip as he said he cared...and smiled somewhat weakly at him, slightly flustered by this whole turn.

"I uhhh...thank you Seth, that really means a lot," she said in practically a whisper as his hand held hers tightly, forcing her eyes back up to meet his and marvelling at how fast this bond had developed..."I guess I'm not too worried really...a bit anxious but it will be fine. I have you to look after me after all!! And I'll look after you too of course..." she added hurriedly.

Magikarp averted his eyes away from Mankeys leer by thrashig his tail round and swimming away from her as the pokemon swam to the surface for air. Manley was a fast swimmer, but magikarp belonged here in the seas, and decided to show that ability by flying at Mankey in a Tackle, taking another few Scratches on collision before speeding away through the water and darting between plants and pokemon at rapid speed. He never had to surface for air...ha.
 
Misdrevius shrugged. "I have no idea how long she'll be out, she was hyperventilating. What I find interesting is that she kept looking around for him. She actually called out for him once.", she said.

Shirona groaned softly. She felt weird. She blinked, before fully opening her eyes....and feeling her face turn red. She was staring up at Dylan. "Ummmmm......hi?", she said, not quite remembering what had happened. She stood up slowly and hugged Dylan. "Thank you", she said, not letting go. She was always exuasted by fainting spells. Her eyes closed, and she sighed.
 
Abra looked at the two trainers before talking again. "Yeah, and to tell you the truth, I actually like that he's so obsessed. He makes sure to keep her around, and you guys are good company, keeps me away from his thoughts for awhile."

Dylan nodded his head, his way of saying thank you. He made a puzzled look on his face and shrugged. Not sure if this was confusing or not, he then pointed up to the top of the gym, hoping she understood he was asking about the the battle. While the whole fainting thing happened, he could only think about one thing. It wasn't whether she was going to be okay or not, it was about his battle with Falkner, which he hoped would happen soon.
 
Shirona looked up, then nodded. "It was by no means a walk in the park. His Pidgey may not be strong, but his Pidgeotto is the problem. He uses gust and roost alot. My advice? Try and confuse the pokemon first, then attack it. If your Gastly knows Curse, that also could help tremedously. Curse....well I'll let you figure out what it does. If you want me to, I can go up with you", she said.
 
Oh? Looks like I have the power to fluster, too, Sethos thought as he observed Rebecca's reactions. It made him want to laugh again, but he managed to keep it in check. Some may call it revenge, but it wasn't his intention to make her that way. In any case, Sethos hoped, this should balance things out. There wasn't anything normal about his social skills, as he consistently proved, but he could tell that things were out of hand since Rhyhorn went berserk. He didn't want to admit it out-right, but some closure about their friendship status ought to sort things out for both of them without the need to address it. At least, that was the theory. There will be time to reflect later. After all, I have a feeling we'll be traveling together for a while... I'm lucky.

"I'm glad to have you at my side. The two of us may be the only ITA members here in Kanto, but we've got the resolve of hundreds," Sethos added, still serious, but hoping there wasn't an edge of sternness in his tone, "and even if things get tough, we aren't alone. What do you think about getting to Pewter City before nightfall?" Checking up at the sky, the boy knew that it was a little bit after noon. Viridian Forest wouldn't be that difficult to navigate through; Sethos found his way through it many times before, and Rebecca came through from Pewter City. There was still time if they wanted to fish. Not like he was getting a bite; his line was quiet. Maybe Magikarp and Mankey's skirmish underwater was beginning to scare away the other Pokemon...?

Mankey shifted gears and shot straight for the surface. It didn't need air, but after seeing Magikarp navigating through the environment it got an idea. Magikarp was trying to get her mad, so why not play the same game? Leaping out of the water, she landed right near Rhyhorn. Rhyhorn tried to greet the Mankey, but she started running off to the side. So instead he resumed his watch of the two trainers. It was funny, Sethos had told him about people who watch Pokemon for a career, but here he was watching people. Things were looking interesting, too.
Mankey screeched as hard as it could at the water; trying to coax Magikarp to the surface. There was no point in staying in his element, so Mankey planned to introduce her own. All she needed was for Magikarp to come up...
 
Dylan looked at Sherry like she just found the cure for Pokerus. He quickly grabbed his pokedex and let out Ghastly. He pointed the Pokedex at Ghastly and it clicked the summary button. It listed of Gender, average height, average weight, and then current moveset. "Ghastly's current moveset consists of, Hypnosis, Lick, Mean Look, and Haze." Dylan frowned, as Curse wasn't listed. he thought for a moment and then it hit him. HAZE! I can blind Pidgeotto, and Jem will still know where it's at using telepathic location! His face lit up and he raced over to the elevator, completely forgetting about Sherry offering to com up with him. He returned his pokemon before the elevator took off and moved up. The elevator reached the top and he told himself not to look down. He wasn't afraid of heights, it was just the shock of the height that might get him. He walked over to challenger zone and let out Abra by his side, hoping she would communicate for him.

Falkner walked out of a room behind him and nodded at Dylan, signifying he was ready, and sent out Pidgey. Dylan pointed foreward and Abra moved on to the battlefield. Alright Jem, I know you can take this thing down, so I'm going to leave it to you. If you need help just tell me. Also yeah, I like to be different.

"Thanks Dylan, I know I can do it too."

Dylan watched as the Pidgey dove at Jem. Just as the pokemon almost hit her, she teleported away, leaving the Pidgey to smash into the ground. While the Pidgey recovered from the blow, Jem sprinted at it, hands glowing black. She reached the Pidgey and started hacking away. Jem backed off and the Pidgey was lying on the ground, a mess. Falkner returned the pokemon and sent out Pidgeotto. ...Jem, I've never seen you like that. You seemed angry, anyways come here, it's time for Ghastly. Dylan threw Ghastly's pokeball as Jem teleported to his side. Alright Jem, tell him to use haze, and make it thick. Ghastly opened up his mouth and a thick black smoke came out. Soon enough, the smoke filled the air, and then Dylan couldn't see a thing. He heard the Pidgeotto screaming in terror, and then a thud as it hit the ground. "Uhh Dylan? Ghastly says he wants this fight, and he just put the Pidgeotto to sleep. He thinks he's going to lick it to death."

Damn.. well I guess we'll see what happens

Dylan just stood there for what felt like an eternity, which was actually about 10 minutes. The smoke eventually cleared up, and Ghastly was lying on the ground, but it wasn't alone. The Pidgeotto was also lying there. The ref started counting, "10..9..8..7..6..5..4..3..2..1! KO! That declares the challenger the winner!"

Dylan sprinted towards Ghastly and returned it to it's ball. He then walked over to Falkner, who handed him a badge and then walked over to his Pidgeotto. Dylan walked over to the elevator and waited as it went down.
 
Shirona rolled her eyes as Dylan sprinted to the elevator. "Good luck!", she called. She went and healed her pokemon, then came back. She was sitting on the floor, leaning against a pillar. Vulpix was curled up on her lap, Sentret was asleep around her neck, and Misdrevius was just floating next to Shirona. Shirona closed her eyes and took a short nap. Moments later, Misdrevius woke Shirona up. Shirona blinked, then heard the elevator move. She returned Sentret and Vulpix to their balls, and stood up. She was practically bouncing in place, eager to hear what had happened.
 
At his words, Rebecca nodded and looked out into the City. Now they weren't rushing with injured bodies to the Pokemon Centre, she could observe how beautiful the City was - so huge and so shiny...but still so green and so natural at the same time. Despite living in Pewter City for her entire life, she hadn't had the need to go to Viridian all too often, but she would make the bet that it was a unique City in the fusion of modern and organic, man-made and natural. It was beautiful...snapping out of her daydream, she looked back to Seth and smiled broadly at odds with his serious tone.

"Yeah, Galatic will regret they day they messed with us won't they! We aren't alone...we have each other don't we," she gave a small laugh and nodded as though trying to make herself more certain in what she was saying. Ultimately, this was a big job...perhaps she and Seth were fooling themselves in thinking they could make any kind of difference...realising her expression had momentarily deflated, she rearranged her smile and nodded at Seth when he suggested making it to Pewter City before nightfall. Yes, that would be a good idea...they could stay at her house if her parents didn't mind, and she was sure they wouldn't. Their house wasn't big, but they had a small spare guest room that Seth should be fine in for the night...as long as Seth was cool with that. She figured she'd ask closer to their arrival. "Are you done with fishing then?" she asked curiously, wondering why he hadn't caught anything so far...perhaps she only caught Magikarp because he was intent on attacking everything, even fishing lines...

Beneath the water, Magikarp saw Mankey retreat to the surface out of the corner of his eye and he followed, bobbing along the surface of the water enough of a distance from the shore so that Mankey couldn't reach out to grab him without falling into the water herself. If Magikarp could laugh, this one would have chuckled evilly as his tail swished over the surface of the water again, sending a large splash towards Mankey. Noticing the water out of the corner of her eye, Rebecca stepped back briskly, grabbing Seth's arm and dragging him back with her so they didn't get wet again.
 
"I'd love to fish, but it seems like nothing's biting now. I guess Magikarp scared everything-- whoa!!" Sethos said, interrupted by Rebecca pulling him away from the next splash coming their way, "Already got my back! Haha!! ... But maybe we should get him and Mankey away from the water before the water Pokemon get scared witless." Sethos reached into his backpack to grab Mankey's pokeball, but as he did something caught his eyes. Right in the middle of the lake, a blue jellyfish Pokemon levitated above the water. He seemed to be staring at the two trainers with a complex gaze. The very sight of it gave an unnatural feel and chilled the spine.

"A Frillish!" Sethos exclaimed out loud, pointing at the water-/ghost-type in amazement, "I must have caught it, and you pulling me away made me tug the line strong enough to force it to the surface! It's capturing time!" It didn't take a second for the boy to pull out an empty pokeball and make it expand, but then the thought occurred to him: there was no way to weaken it. Rhyhorn could go in the water, and Mankey only knew Low Kick and Scratch. Frillish wouldn't be touched! Then again, Frillish was making it's move. Charging after Rebecca, it crossed the water and yelled as it's eyes glowed a mysterious shade of purple. Acting on instinct, Sethos got in the way and swung at the Pokemon. "Hey pal, that's my friend!" Sethos growled, smacking Frillish on the top of the head with... the pokeball?! Frillish stopped in a daze as it's whole body turned red and was sucked into the orb. Sethos looked down as he felt the pokeball shaking in his hand. ... ... ... ...Ping! A clean catch!!

"... Eh?" Sethos reacted in confusion, looking down at the pokeball, "What just happened? Did I just really catch it?" Er-- Well, welcome to the team, the boy thought with a happy/confused/disbelieving smile.

Gotcha, Mankey seemed to say as it charged a Low kick. but instead of trying to his Magikarp, it smashed the ground below. Shards of rocks were blown into the air and rained down on the lake. Luck might have been on Mankey's side...
 
Following Seth's eyes as he mentioned the word 'Frillish' Rebecca froze - she. hated. Frillish. Those pokemon freaked her out no end...the idea that whenever she went swimming in the sea or a lake...one could be there to grab onto her and drag her under? Frillish were well-known for having a tendancy to attack humans for no apparent reason...so when this Frillish began glowing purple and floating over, staring at her, Rebecca...completely freaked.

Before Seth could even act, Rebecca had practically pushed his arm out of her grip and had charged away as though being chased by a pack of wild Tauros intent on drawing blood. Her feet pounded the hard ground below her, Hoppip and Pikachu straining behind her to keep up before she spotted her destination - that massive bush would do fine. Leaping over the top, she landed behind it on the balls of her feet and automatically tucked herself under into a ball, hugging her knees to her forehead. She would be safe here for a while.

A part of her brain nagged her massively - she'd pretty much just left Seth to the mercy of the Frillish...she felt a huge pang of guilt but even as her brain was screaming 'GO BACK TO HIM' her physical body was saying something completely different by tightening the grip she held around herself. She just couldn't do it. She would apologise after the event - Seth could more than look after himself she was certain.

As the rocks rained down on the lake, Magikarp pushed all his weight back into his tail and pushed against the surface of the water hard and threw himself up into the air, backflipping through the air and knocking away any rock that flew his way with his tail or his fins. One somewhat sizable rock clipped his head just before he plunged back down into the water, but it simply dazed him for a few moments until he plopped back into the water, all the rocks having fallen into the pool already. From just below the surface, Magikarp growled and swore his revenge - so he indiscriminately thrashed his tail from side to side, sending literal tidal waves over the surface of the water, breaking harshly over the bank of the lake.
 
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