[PKMN FULL] Legends of the Past: An Unova Journey [T][IC]

[Stinging Bea]

Legends Of The Past: An Unova Journey

Lilly Cosgrove - played by Himika

Spoiler:

Inventory:
- Pokédex
- Xtransceiver
- Pokéballs (x5)

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Pokémon on hand:

Bulbasaur | Male | "Oliver"
Tackle | Leech Seed | Vine Whip | Poison Powder | - | -

Richard Baker - played by Legend

Spoiler:

Inventory:
- Pokédex
- Xtransceiver
- Pokéballs (x5)

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Pokémon on hand:

Charmander | Male | "Aurthur"
Ember | Scratch | Dragon Pulse | Smokescreen | - | -

Aubrey Maclin - played by Nagi

Spoiler:

Inventory:
- Pokédex
- Xtransceiver
- Pokéballs (x5)

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Pokémon on hand:

Tepig | Male | "Hampton"
Tackle | Ember | Odor Sleuth | Super Power | - | -

Valerie Guillory - played by Sir Bastian

Spoiler:

Inventory:
- Pokédex
- Xtransceiver
- Pokéballs (x5)

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Pokémon on hand:

Oshawott | Male | "Lance"
Water Gun | Night Slash | Focus Energy | Tail Whip| - | -

Lexandar Obalt - played by Apotheosis

Spoiler:

Inventory:
- Pokédex
- Xtransceiver
- Pokéballs (x5)

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Pokémon on hand:

Squirtle | Female | "Soul"
Bite | Water Gun | Aqua Jet | Withdraw | - | -

Hector Botolf - played by Lord Sephear

Spoiler:

Inventory:
- Pokédex
- Xtransceiver
- Pokéballs (x5)

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Pokémon on hand:

Snivy | Male | "Severan"
Vine Whip | Leech Seed | Iron Tail | Leaf Tornado| - | -

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This is the IC thread. [S-HIGHLIGHT]Click here to see the SU/OOC Thread![/S-HIGHLIGHT]​

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[Stinging Bea]

Chapter 1 - Route 19 - Summer - Sunny​

Spoiler:

It is the morning you have long been waiting for. Today is the day that you receive your first Pokémon and Pokédex from Professor Juniper. You have been studying at the Trainer's School in Aspertia City for a long time now... and it's finally time to put all you have learned to the test! It promises to be a long and engaging journey... but a good adventure is never without its trials. This is not to say that you are going to be wandering around with no destination, however.

Professor Juniper has given you the task of heading to Nacrene City. It is there that the museum curator and Gym Leader, Lenora, has claimed to have uncovered something that could change the history of all we know about Pokémon! She has been very vague about the details, but it was more than enough to perk Juniper's curiosity. Besides, it is not like you cannot pursue your own dreams and goals while running this errand...

But perhaps we are getting ahead of ourselves. Before you can reach Nacrene City, you will have to travel along Route 19. It is not that long of a route, but it is lush with hills, groves, and trees. There are several kinds of wild Pokémon to catch... and several rookie trainers looking for a catch and a battle! Most of these trainers are kids and bug catchers. Lying at the end of Route 19 to the east is Floccesy Town. There is a Pokémon Center in the town, which houses traveling trainers for the night. The average trip across Route 19 generally takes a full day, so you should be able to arrive by sundown.

Wild Pokémon:

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You can choose between the events listed below. Take note that each event will only happen once. In other words, if you and someone else picks the same event it highly suggested that you both work together and collaborate in the event. Please try and pick the events so things end up a bit evenly. It's not always fun for one person to be the odd man out and be left alone.

Events:​

1) A young girl by the name of Sally is wandering around Route 19 trying to locate her lost Purrloin. She is vastly attached to this Pokémon and is desperate to find her best friend once more. She has been saving her money and is more than willing to share a Great Ball with each trainer who lends a hand in finding her Purrloin.

2) Alfred the Bug Catcher has caught sight of a wild Beedrill and will do anything he can to capture it. The problem? A Caterpie is not exactly the best Pokémon to succeed in this hunt with. Alfred has saved up a lot of money, and may be willing to pay the trainers who aid him in capturing this fully evolved Pokémon. If multiple trainers take this event, share the cash reward. There is plenty to give everyone their fair share.

3) In this chapter, you can also choose to not do any special event and just capture Pokémon or meet your rival or a random trainer or another player. No Great Ball or money should you choose this option, however.
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[Sir Bastian]

Valerie Guillory
Chapter 01: To Conquer a Region

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It was still very early in the day, but Valerie had been up for a while by now. Her goodbyes with her mother had been swift, so as to not drag out any uneccesary emotional moments. They'd had a delicious dinner the night before, cooked by her mother, to celebrate her little girl's growing up, which Valerie had enjoyed.

Inventory:​

Spoiler:

• Pokédex
• Xtransceiver
• Pokéballs x5

Pokemon:​

Spoiler:

- Lance

Now, however, she was standing at a bench on the outskirts of town, staring out along the dirt road leading out. The wind tugged a little at her skirt as she looked down at the Pokéball in her hand; the Oshawott, chosen among Juniper's Pokémon. It had been a hard choice, but she had a good feeling about her choice. It was hard to describe, but there was a feeling in her gut, when she had looked at the picture of the Oshawott, back in the lab.

Taking a deep breath, it was finally time. Before she could start on her own journey to strength and power, she had to make sure that he was ready as well.

Clicking the button on the front of the ball, she released the Oshawott onto the ground, which left the small otter blinking in the bright sunlight. Valerie noticed that unlike the picture, this Oshawott had a tuft of hair curving down over his forehead, like a really stylish hairdo.

Bending down, Valerie placed her hands on the sides of the Oshawott, gently lifting him up without a word, much to the Pokémon's confusion. She placed him on the bench to make it easier for him to be at eye-height with her, when she crouched down. For a few seconds, she simply stared at him, her expression unwavering.

"My name is Valerie." She began, which startled the Oshawott briefly. "I just graduated as a trainer, and Juniper has sent me on a mission. She gave me you, to protect myself, to help me get safely to my destination, though I am sure that is not the only reason."

She paused to brush a strand of curly hair out of her face, maintaining eye contact with the small Pokémon. "I have decided to name you Lance. Is that alright?"

The Oshawott lifted a paw to scratch the side of his head a little before giving a light nod, smiling up at her curiously. Valerie nodded.

"Bon. Now, there is one more thing I need to tell you before we can begin our journey. I have a goal in mind. I am going to become the champion of zis region, the strongest trainer here, bar none. I would like you to assist me, in that."

Lance smiled brightly and was just about to nod, when Valerie lifted a finger, holding it up in front of him, her brow furrowing somewhat. "Non, do not accept so quickly. Zis journey is going to be both dangerous and hard. For me to reach my goal, I will need you to be my strength, my sword. My... Lance, if you will. But strength like that does not come easily. We are going to be training alot, we are going to be fighting others, and it is going to be tough. I am telling you zis, because I will not force you to do it, if you do not wish. If that is the case, I will only need your help to find a replacement, and then I will have you sent back to Juniper, safely."

She lowered her finger again, her words having definitely affected the Oshawott. The small otter crossed his arms over his chest, returning her stare. After several moments, Lance nodded his head and smiled again, unfolding his arms to throw them up into the air with a happy, squeak-like sound.

Valerie simply nodded, her expression not changing in the slightest, except maybe for softening a little bit as she stood up. "Bon. It is decided then. We will both become stronger than either of us on our own, then."

Without wasting any time, she turned around, her skirt flaring a little dramatically, along with the bottom of her jacket as she began striding down the path leading out of town. Quickly scampering down the bench, Lance speed-waddled up to her side, puffing out his chest and putting on a determined expression.

The pair walked for about an hour, without much happening, Lance's determined nature having replaced with him running over to check out some flowers, looking into a hole at the side of the road, and generally getting a little distracted, before catching up to Valerie.

However, it wasn't long before a voice called out to the two.

"Hey! Lady, wait up! WAIT!"

Frowning at being shouted at like that, Valerie came to a stop and turned, glancing into the forested area on her left. A small boy in a summer hat, a white tank top, shorts and sandals came running out to her. He must've been around... twelve years old, give or take. On his shoulder sat a Caterpie, and he had a small pouch strapped to his side.

Once he reached the two, he bent over and breathed a little heavily before standing up straight again, smiling brightly. "Hey there! Nice to meet ya!"

Valerie simply stared at him, whereas Lance gave the Caterpie a quick wave, which the bug responded to by waving its tail.

The boy blinked a little up at the girl. "Not good at talking? That's okay! Listen, I need your help! I was in the forest, where I found this Beedrill! It doesn't have a flock, and I think that with the right pokémon to battle it, I could capture it!"

He lifted a hand to nuzzle his Caterpie's chin, smiling at it. "My Caterpie's really cute, but she's not gonna be able to stand up to a Beedrill. So do you wanna help us out?" he asked, returning a smile up at the blue-haired girl.

Valerie glanced at the Caterpie, then down at Lance, who was nodding up at her quickly, eager to prove himself. Finally, she looked back at the kid.

"Non."

The boy blinked a few times, his smile fading. "Uhm. What?"

Taking a deep breath, Valerie's lips pressed together briefly, as if to restrain herself.

"I said -non-."

The boy was now frowning, folding his arms across his chest. Lance looked a little surprised at her reaction to some perfectly good training. Valerie placed a hand on her hip, pointing her other hand's finger at the Caterpie.

"That is your highest evolved Pokémon, non?"

"Uh, yeah, but wh-"

"A Beedrill is the final in a three-stage evolution line, starting with Weedle. It is very strong, as it evolves early, but also -very- dangerous. If someone like you got their small hands on a wild Pokémon that strong, without having experienced it yourself first, then you are not only endangering yourself, but others as well. It is a reckless and foolish idea, and I would suggest you simply train your Caterpie until she is ready to evolve."

With that said and done, she turned to leave the shocked boy and his Caterpie, sighing quietly through her nose as she continued along the path, brushing a strand of loosehair behind her ear. "I detest shortcuts when it comes to training Pokémon." She explained to Lance, who was still looking up at her in confusion, while waddling along besides her.

"Strength is not everything, Lance. You need to have the wits to use it as well." She looked down at the little otter to see him looking a little sad that they didn't help the boy. He suddenly felt a pat on his head, but when he looked up to see where it had come from, Valerie was still just striding along, as if nothing had happened.

They only managed to walk for a few minutes, however, until they heard a small girl's voice nearby, on the verge of tears.

"M-Mimi, where are you...? Co-come out Mimi...!"​

 

[Sephear]

Hector Botolf
First day of a Pokémon journey

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A loud yawn and a long stretch signified a certain new trainer's exit from Professor Juniper's lab shortly before he stepped away from the door and stared at the pokéball in his hand. An absolutely ecstatic smile formed on the boy's face as he gazed upon the sphere containing his new partner, and it wasn't long before he couldn't resist the urge to toss the device and have a more personal look. When the pokéball burst open and the light it released took shape into a Snivy the only things stopping his grin from growing even wider were the dimensions of his face.

The Snivy grew a smile of its own upon realizing it was free, though it was a self-satisfied, content smile instead of an excited one. The smile almost faltered when it saw the human stamping towards it and staring at it so intently.

"So, you're going to be my new friend hm? Or at least I hope so. It's nice to meet you, I'm Hector, and you are..." He paused, almost as if waiting for the Snivy's own introduction before he realized how silly he was being. "In need of a name, right. Well, your species is definitively serpentine, and I must say you look very dignified, and if I remember right the Prof said you were a male. How does Severan sound?"

The Snivy, being young and only recently captured, lacked a very comprehensive understanding of the human language, certainly of etymology. However, even if he had no idea of the name's intricacies everything leading up to it sounded very positive and complimentary, so he nodded.

Hector's smile relaxed, but stayed firmly plastered on his face at Severan's acceptance of his new name. "Awesome! So Severan, you were given to me so that we could work together to journey through Unova, growing stronger and catching plenty of other pokémon, and who knows what other adventures! What'dya say? Wanna be my partner and ascend to greatness together?" Severan smirked, he wasn't very keen on going back to being a decoration until someone else came along, so why not? He nodded and climbed up Hector's body with no warning, finally nestling around his neck almost like a scarf, comfortable for both of them. "Time to hit the road then, we've got plenty in store for us, I'm sure."

The path to Aspertia's exit towards Route 19 was uneventful, almost disappointingly so. Very little happened still once they ventured into the Route, not that they were in any hurry. It was only after a good deal of aimless strolling that something tugged at Hector's ears. "M-Mimi, where are you...? Co-come out Mimi...!" Sounded like a fairly young girl, he'd think it was just a game of hide-and-seek were it not for her distressed voice. Hector shrugged, throughout history as far as he could tell, Pokémon Champions were champions of the people as well as the League. Helping people in real need just seemed par for the course, and he considered himself a nice guy anyways, so he followed the cries.

 

[Stinging Bea]

Lilly Cosgrove

Chapter 1-1: Beginner Steps

A grand smile stretched across Lilly's lips as she stood at the exit that Route 19. Sleep had not come easy to the girl last night, and for good reason. Today was the day that she would finally begin her journey as an official Pokémon trainer. Just the very thought of it was enough to keep her tossing and turning all night. Yet despite this, not one ounce of fatigue seemed to be showing on her bright and happy face.

After growing tired of being restless, Lilly had spent the previous night double checking her packing of supplies and the like to make sure she was ready. She had her trusty Xtransceiver, as well as her new Pokédex and some Pokéballs she had received from Professor Juniper. She had also packed some other various, personal supplies, like a few changes of clothes and some personal hygiene tools. She had even went over them all again this morning, just to make sure that she had everything she needed. All in all, it was safe to say that Lilly was thoroughly prepared for the journey ahead. There was just one thing she had left to do before the journey could begin properly.

"Now looks as good a time as any to greet my new little buddy," Lilly mused aloud.

She reached down to her belt, pulling off the only Pokéball that actually held anything. Lilly had claimed him just this morning, a Bulbasaur given to her by Professor Juniper. While the Pokédex was more of a sign of graduation, like a diploma of sorts, the Pokémon received from the Professor felt more like a graduation gift. It was with this Bulbasaur that Lilly would finally be able to pursue her dreams. It was this part of the journey that made the blonde girl the most excited. However, Lilly was a bit nervous about meeting him too. Lilly had never actually met a Pokémon of her own. Sure, she had handled a few of the Professor's in some field lessons and tests, but this was something completely different. Taking a deep breath, Lilly finally worked up the nerve and pressed a button on the capsule to enlarge the ball to a larger size, before tossing it out onto the ground to release the Bulbasaur inside.

Excitement shown in Lilly's deep, sapphire-blue eyes as she watched the Bulbasaur take shape from the light the ball emitted. The little Grass-type yawned and stretched his legs out, looking as if he was just waking up from a small nap before glancing up at Lilly with a rather lazy look in his eyes. It was all Lilly could do not to squeal from excitement on the spot. She managed to compose herself just long enough, kneeling down a bit to look at the Bulbasaur closer to his level.

"Hey there... Did I wake you up?" Lilly inquired. She did not know why she started off asking such a question. It was not as if the Bulbasaur was going to actually respond to her in a language she could understand. "My name's Lilly, and... well, I guess startin' from today you and me are gonna be partners! You know, we'll like... go around Unova, maybe take on some gyms, battle trainers... the whole nine yards! Sound good to you?"

The Bulbasaur merely tilted his head in response, as if he was taking in everything that Lilly had just said and was now mulling it over in his head. The best answer she could have possibly imagined receiving was some sort of excited nod or growl of approval from the Bulbasaur. Instead, all she got was more or less some sort of impassive looking shrug. It was not terrible, but Lilly supposed she could have gotten a worse response from the Grass-type. She grinned, reaching down to pet the little guy on his head.

"Good to hear you're cool with it! Now then, I think it's time to get to know each other a little better, yeah! You know my name, but now I think we should give you a name too... I've been thinking about it a bit this morning, and well... Get ready for this one..." Lilly said. Her smile grew wider as stood up tall, as if presenting some grand reward. "I'm gonna call you Oliver!"

Bulbasaur's eyes widened. A look of complete distaste coming from the name he had just been presented with. Such a look seemed to be missed by Lilly though. The teenager was so proud of the name she came up with for her Bulbasaur, that it was quite easy to tell there would be no changing her mind on the matter, no matter how much... or even if he could protest. Unfortunately for Lilly, her first bonding session with the newly dubbed Oliver was cut short.

"H-Hey there! Can we talk for a second?" a screechy voice called out.

Lilly turned her head to see a boy, probably a few years younger than her making his way towards her with a relieved smile on his face. He was wearing a pair of blue denim shorts and a white tank top, with a straw hat covering his head and a pair of black sneakers on his feet. He was lugging a rather large bug-catching net over his shoulder. A pair of thick, black-framed glasses graced his face, with freckles lining his tanned cheeks and arms.

"Um... Sure? What's up?" Lilly asked.

She had half expected him to try and challenge her to a battle, but the boy seemed to have something else on his mind. "My name is Alfred, but you can call me Al! And this little lady here is Gypsy!" Lilly glanced down, her eyes widening slightly as she noticed a little Caterpie crawling around his feet. "We're pretty new to this area, and were looking around for some interesting bug Pokémon... And boy howdy, did we ever run into one! A Beedrill!"

"A Beedrill?" Lilly inquired. She and Oliver took a moment to glance at each other, as if both the teenager and the Bulbasaur were thinking along the same lines. "Isn't that a bit... odd? I mean, the most I've ever seen around here back when I was in the school at Aspertia was a Weedle or another Caterpie like your friend."

Alfred shook his head, tightening his grip on his net. "I'm positive I saw a Beedrill! It was buzzing around just ahead, before flying off into that small alcove of trees just ahead."

Lilly frowned a bit, crossing her arms over chest as she listened. "I'm guessin' you want us to help you catch it?"

Alfred nodded quickly. "Yes! I'd love to get my hands on this thing, but there's no way I can do it with just Gypsy here. We haven't known each other too long, and well... she's really just a baby to be honest."

"Well... I'm supposed to be making my way towards Nacrene City, but... I can tell you're really passionate about catching this thing," Lilly sighed, giving Alfred a small smile. There was a look in his eyes as the bug catcher talked about the Beedrill, one that reminded her of the excitement over this journey she was beginning in the first place. "Besides, it'd be a good way to get some practice in for the journey ahead. Alright, I'll see what I can do to help!"

Alfred cheered, pumping his fist high into the air. "Alright! Thank you so much! You know, you're a lot more friendly than that other girl that passed me by not that long ago. I was starting to think that all of you school types were gonna be snobby. Kinda glad I was proved wrong!"

"Snobby girl?" Lilly questioned, raising an eyebrow. She could not really recall anyone that graduated recently fitting that description, but she was not about to call Alfred a liar. "Well... Don't worry about it, shall we get going?"
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[Legend]

Richard "Rick" Baker
Chapter 01: Starting off on the Right (or Maybe Wrong) Foot

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.

Inventory:​

Spoiler:

• Pokedex
• Xtransceiver
• Pokeballs x5

Pokemon​

Spoiler:

– Arthur

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Nestled under a tree, young Richard Baker had dozed off into a state of calming sleep. Rick, as most of his friends call him because his elder brother thought Rich was too stuck up of a name. Those are his words, and Rick thought his own nickname captured his more relaxed approach towards life. Though, he would also admit that the name had a certain cacophony to it as well, both in the concrete and abstract sense. But he wouldn't admit such things at the moment. He was in a slumber and couldn't be bothered with such things as origin stories. It was possibly not the best of ways to start off an epic journey that would take him across an entire region of the world, even if the region was mostly huddled around one of the largest cities that mankind had built. He knew of Unova more than most outsiders, with his surrogate father in Troy speaking quite fondly of the place he called home for so long before deciding to retire in the easygoing culture that resided in Johto.

The sun managed to break through the clouds and leaves that Rick had hid under, piercing into his eyes. Rick tried to turn away, but rolled into a less than comfortable position with rocks and roots poking into his side. Rick groaned at the blunt pain, eventually lifting himself to a seated position. "I guess I should start moving," he said to himself. Moving involved work however. Rick hated work. That may be an exaggeration. He loathed uninteresting, unnecessary work. Moving aimlessly on Route 19 would be boring. And that's what he really hated. Boring. Life had a funny way of keeping him just entertained enough to keep from being bored.

Rick got to his feet with a huge stretch, feeling a few of joints crack. With a long yawn, the young man was clearly groggy but awake enough to be somewhat conscious. Casually, Rick unclipped his sole Pokeball and let it fall to the ground. Out of the light emerged Rick's starting Pokemon: A Charmander. He picked it mostly on a whim, but subconsciously it was to separate himself from his brother, who started with a water type. Fire types also happened to Rick's second favorite type, enjoying Dragon types the most. That was likely because they came off as strong in the showings he had seen.

The Charmander looked up at Rick, somewhat confused but also excited, cheering out in joy to be out of the Pokeball. "Right," Rick replied. "My name is Richard, or Rick. Not that you can really say it," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "Anyway, Vincent said that naming Pokemon is pretty important, so I thought not very long nor very hard, but I am going to call you Arthur okay?" The Charmander shouted back, appearing to approve, but Rick really couldn't tell. "Okay, well let's going. Covering Route 19 is apparently pretty long, but Troy never really mentioned it too much. I figure you hang outside of the ball for now. Makes no difference to me."

As Rick began to walk, Arthur quickly bolted to Rick's side, looking up eagerly at his partner. The Charmander seemed to be a curious one, but in terms of gathering anything resembling a personality, Rick was unable to really decipher one. His best guess was that Arthur was going to be an eager, curious and probably intense little Pokemon. It would make sense, but Rick would eventually convert him to being more easy-going. Not that Rick had much experience doing that, so maybe it was more of a distant hope. "Also, I am not going to get into the whole exposition of why I'm doing this or what we are going to do, but the more I think about it, the more I don't really know why I am doing it." The occasional encouraging bunch of words that he remembered Vincent say rung in his ear, about being the greatest trainer around and such. His brother tried really hard to do it, and succeeded to an extent, but Rick wasn't sure that was him entirely. Yes, he wanted to beat his brother, since that would just be awesome in and of itself, but was that really Rick's calling? That seemed too simplistic. Too…boring. The real purpose behind this whole venture was to find his purpose. His calling. Stella, his sister, was a lifetime ahead of Rick, knowing immediately she wanted to go into fashion, and she worked since he was 9 or 10 (Rick forgot really) to get into a good school to do that. But Rick, well, the world was opened to him and he was overwhelmed.

In this daze of introspective thought, Rick found himself halting all forward progress and staring at a small blue Pokemon. Arthur took a few steps to get in front of Rick, as if Arthur assumed Rick wanted to battle it. The reality of the matter was that Rick was daydreaming and happened to stop. The series of misunderstandings continued further as the blue Pokemon, a Poliwag to be precise as the Pokedex that happened to be pointed forward awkwardly in Rick's pants towards the Pokemon beeped to inform the spaced out trainer, spewed out some water and began to splash it about, splattering about at Arthur and Rick, smacking the trainer out of his daze.

"What the-?" Rick said as he essentially woke up, shaking his head free of his thought. "Oh, that's a Poliwag right?" He asked, as if Arthur would have anything resembling an answer. The Charmander spouted a light growl back, believing Rick would answer him, yet such a sentiment would be lost in translation. Rick stared for a good amount of time at the Poliwag, with Arthur waving his arms helplessly to get his trainer's attention. "Oh, right. You need an order to do something don't you? Haha, my bad. Use, uh, Ember!"

Arthur nodded before taking in a huge breath of air, exhaling powerfully with a small mass of flame flying towards the Poliwag. The ember lacked some of that extra spark that Rick had expected as the moisture in the air greatly weakened it. The Poliwag took the direct hit with ease, almost chirping in happiness as the ember barely left a mark. Poliwag hopped a small bit forward and spouted a stream of water at Arthur, of which the Charmander quickly ducked under and the Water Gun narrowly missed the trainer behind the starting Pokemon. Rick whistled, admiring the aim of the Poliwag. "I might want to try to catch this guy," he mused. "Alright, well, clearly fire isn't going to work here, so let's get closer."

Arthur agreed, but didn't wait for an order this time around. Using another breath of air, Arthur crafted a smokescreen to cover his advance with the Poliwag instinctively spewing Water Guns at his opponent, shooting blindly into the black smoke. Arthur emerged from the smoke in a march. I didn't see that coming. I better remember this tactic, Rick thought, lacking any experience. He hoped he was going to be a fast study, because now remember how much of a disadvantage he was actually at. "Alright, use Scratch!" He ordered, and Arthur quickly acted, battering the Poliwag with a deep scratch, seeming to land a solid strike. However, being in close range proved to be a downfall as the Poliwag fired another Water Gun, landing a better blow. Arthur was greatly taken aback and Rick's eyes opened wide, desperate to figure out something. Another scratch would do the trick, maybe, but if he didn't throw the ball fast enough, Arthur would be done for.

Rick rubbed his head in a panic before shouting: "Give it everything you got! Anything!" Rick felt like a terrible trainer, and maybe he was. But that was the sign that Arthur seemed to be waiting for. Gathering the rest of his energy, a green light gathering the small Charmander's mouth, emitting a powerful shockwave the launched the Poliwag back, rolling in the dirt when it landed. Rick sensed and seized the only opportunity he had and tossed a Pokeball at the vulnerable Poliwag. The Pokeball consumed the water type in a flash of light, as Rick ran over to Arthur. "I'm sorry about that," he said. "I'll try to be a bit better in guiding through stuff like that, but you know, I am new at this." Arthur seemed to accept the apology, which helped ease Rick a bit. He cocked his head towards the ball containing the Poliwag, seeing no movement. Gingerly walking towards the ball, Rick picked it up. "Looks like we got a first capture," Rick said, kneeling down and offering a high five. Arthur replied with a swing of its tail, putting the flame awfully close to his trainer. "Alright, I guess you are bit angry with me. I'll make it up to you, I promise, okay?" Arthur pouted.

"M-Mimi, where are you...? Co-come out Mimi...!"

"I wonder what that is about," Rick asked himself. "Will you come with me to check it out?" Arthur looked over and gave Rick a tentative look, but eventually came to his senses and followed Rick as he made his way towards the cry for help.

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[moon]

Lexandar Obalt
Route 19

Lexandar practically sneaked out from the Academy after meeting with professor Juniper. As he had turned 18 years old only a few days ago, he knew it was only a matter of time before his father would send a delegation here to bring him home. Every hour was precious if he wanted to disappear out into his pokémon journey before that happened.

He was armed with a big backpack containing a collection of his most comfortable white shirts and an assortment of vividly colored ties, along with plenty of spare parts and wires to craft spontaneous apparatus he might need on his journey. Food? He hadn't really thought of food, and as he couldn't read this text where we realize that he didn't bring any food, he still hadn't realized this mistake when he reached the edge of Aspertia City and the entrance to Route 19.

"Good-bye city life!" he declared and stepped out into the open outdoors.

He was still not completely sure of what he wanted to accomplish, really. He was now a licensed trainer, able in battling and pokémon care, and most of his classmates aimed for the grand throne; becoming the very best pokémon master there ever was. Did Lex? Maybe later. They could have their fun for a while before he crushed them with his superior intellect. In the meantime, he would... Hmm. He would explore Unova and the possibilities for using pokémon elemental powers as energy sources for his machines! Of course. But for that, he needed pokémon.

Oh right, he actually had one already. When he had walked a fair bit away from the city (and gotten real tired in the process already), he dumped the backpack by the side of the road and took off his black jacket. The weather was sunny and pleasant - he would do fine with his white shirt only. And now it was time for introductions.

"Come out, loyal servant!" Lex said dramatically as he took up his one occupied pokéball and opened it.

In a flash of light, the blue creature known as Squirtle appeared in the grass in front of him. It shook its head vigorously before blinking against the sunlight and facing its trainer with a blank stare.

"Hello?" Lex tried with a smile. "They give you any manner down at the bottom of the sea?"

An eyebrow was raised and within a second, Lex's golden tie was soaked from a squirt of water from the creature's mouth.

"Haha! Awesome, water power!" he exclaimed, not at all upset. "What more can you do, boy?"

Another squirt, this time straight into his face. Slightly less enthusiastic now, Lex wiped the wet away with his sleeve and backed off a bit.

"Alright, alright, I get the point. You're a girl, aren't you?"

Squirtle crossed her arms with a proud smile.

"That's alright, you're really cute! I'd have said that if you were a guy too, though. It's not really something you can escape," Lex said happily and dared to take a few steps forward again. "It's just an intricate quality you possess as a Squirtle. Cuteness!"

The creature raised an eyebrow even higher than before.

"Look, I look forward towards working together with you. I'm not an imbecile, I'm a certified trainer. I'll take care of you, if you take care of me. See, I have above average intelligence and can't be bothered with mundane things such as physical power..."

Squirtle's well shaped arm muscles tensed.

"Which is why it's awesome that others can! You have another type of intelligence, which I desperately need. The physical kind," Lex went on, hearing how ridiculous his words were but hoping that the creature would be convinced. "What do you say, I make sure you get opportunity to grow even stronger and you'll be my body guard on my journey? Partners?"

He held out an open hand. Squirtle met his gaze stoutly for a few moments before she took his hand with her own reptilian paw and shook it.

The partnership was formed.

 

[Nagi]

​

Aubrey ''Bree'' Maclin

She could barely contain her excitement. The girl was holding her newly received Pokéball in both hands, and pressed it to her chest. This would be the first Pokémon that would be her very own companion, unlike all the others used before in practice battles at the Trainer's School. The Pokémon contained in this red-and-white capsule was going to be her lifelong friend, with whom she would go on a marvelous journey of self-discovery, or so she imagined. Aubrey closed her eyes and took a deep breath of the forest air. When she opened them again, she took in the lush scenery of Route 19 before her, and a bright smile appeared across her face within moments. The start of her journey was but a step away.

She felt she shouldn't take that step by herself, however. Aubrey threw the ball she was holding up into the air - for dramatic effect - and caught it again as the piglet Pokémon appeared in front of her. Tepig shook its head as if to come to its senses, and then looked at Aubrey with a quizzical expression. His trainer grinned and lowered herself to her knees, to sit at somewhat equal footing with the Pokémon.

''Hello! I'm Aubrey. And from this day forth, we'll be a team!'' she started. To her delight, the Tepig oinked excitedly. ''Great! And, to commemorate our partnership, I've decided to name you. Are you ready?'' The Pokémon practically danced around in front of her now. Aubrey held her breath in anticipation of what he would think of her creativity. ''You will be named... Hampton!''
Tepig did not at all react as she expected, however. He stopped in his tracks, and looked at his Trainer with a frightened expression. Aubrey was flustered at his response. ''W-What's wrong? Don't you like--- No, wait!'' She stretched out her arm as she got up to go after the Tepig when it dashed away from her. ''Tepig!''
Luckily, the Pokémon was still small, allowing Aubrey to catch up to it easily. She practically jumped on top of it and grabbed a tight hold of the Pokémon. Its struggling made it impossible to get up from her sitting position, and afraid it would use one of its fire-inducing moves, she screamed ''STOP!'' which thankfully managed to startle the Pokémon enough to make it stop struggling. Aubrey adjusted her grip to be more befitting of a hug, and held onto the tensed-up Tepig. She spoke softly as to not frighten him any further.

''It's okay. That's not it. I didn't name you Hampton because I think you'll be tasty. I mean... it does have to do with you being a swine Pokémon, but that's just it. Hampton is a strong name. You'll be a powerful, fire-breathing Tepig! Your enemies will be the ones to be roasted, and you'll come out victorious. And...'' she took the now-pacified Pokémon in her hands and placed it on the ground in front of her. ''I hope you'll let me help you achieve that. We can become each other's strength. Right?''

Tepig looked downwards, seemingly embarrassed at his panicked outburst. He nodded timidly, and after a few seconds looked back up at his trainer, only to meet her gently smiling face.

''Thanks, Hampton.''

Aubrey stood back up, and returned Hampton to its Pokéball. A sigh escaped her lips as she returned the ball to its designated pocket in her bag, and she gave her dress a quick dust. This was to become a long journey, but at least she wasn't alone. She stretched her arms above her head, and proceeded on the path leading through Route 19.

 

[moon]

Lexandar Obalt
Route 19

The countryside was beautiful and made anyone who traversed Route 19 feel refreshed this day... Except for Lexandar. His nose was inches from the screen of his pokédex as he walked, mumbling things that he read out loud. Squirtle waggled on ahead of him, rolling her eyes a bit but accepting her duty to protect him from whatever he might run into.

The road turned right. Squirtle followed the road, but when she glanced back over her shoulder after a few meters, she realized in horror that her trainer hadn't been looking at his feet and kept walking. He was now strolling out into tall grass. And even someone as unfamiliar to the wild outdoors as Squirtle, knew what could hide in tall grass.

She ran after him on all four, as that was much faster than trying to stay on two legs. The vegetation quickly got much thicker, but Lex trampled on as if roads usually looked like this. Squirtle's limbs, so able in deep water and high waves, were uncomfortably useless against the plantlife in her path.

Meanwhile, Lex had read something interesting. "Wartortle uses its ears to steer in strong streams! Can you imagine, steering with your ears?" he laughed and finally looked up. What met his gaze was a tree he was just about to walk in to, and hanging from a branch right in front of his face was a yellow pod. With eyes of its own.

"Okay..." Lex said, very carefully backing off a step or two while putting away the pokédex at last and instead sliding down his incredible goggles over his eyes. "Heat vision confirms that this is a living creature. Oh wait, I've seen this!" he said, a little bit too loudly.

Squirtle finally caught up with him, panting at this point.

"Look, it's a Kakuna! They're not rare, but they're quite... No, actually they aren't even fascinating. They're just boring. No elemental powers of interest, no... No nothing at all really. Just hanging around as if they owned the forest."

The water pokémon nervously tugged Lex's leg.

"Yes, you are ten times better than this thing. No, make that 23 times. At least," Lex added after a bit of thinking.

Squirtle squeaked and finally caught her trainer's attention. She pointed upwards. Above them, a number of angry eyes stared down from the foliage of the tree. And not all of them belonged to Kakuna.

"Right..." Lex began, sliding his goggles back up and backing away but noticing the eyes crawling closer as he did. "You're trained for battling, right?"

His pokémon nodded and jumped in front of him.

"Good. Me too. Sort of. Let's make this a brains and brawls partnership, shall we?"

One pair of eyes above let out a growl (well, not the eyes themselves, but the face they belonged to) and suddenly jumped at the duo.

 

[Nagi]

​

Aubrey ''Bree'' Maclin

It was a pleasant day. The light was shining through the trees, creating a nice balance of sun and shade, not too hot nor too cold. Aubrey strolled along the path of Route 19, feasting her eyes on the nature around her... but mostly spying around to spot wild Pokémon in their natural habitat. She liked spotting them, even though the Pokémon here weren't particularly interesting for her to catch, since the Trainers' School would often send groups of Trainers out here to catch Pokémon as a practical catch-and-release assignment. By now, she figured she knew about every Patrat and Purrloin to be found.

For today, her goal was to reach Floccesy Town, and so she had told herself it was best to stay on the path and not get distracted. Travel on foot to Floccesy was supposed to take a full day. Aubrey knew she didn't have the best stamina, so she'd likely take longer already, and she couldn't have the Pokémon Center getting flooded with all the new Trainers who just graduated. She was not spending the night out. No time to get swept up in all sorts of adventures today.
The girl put an extra spring in her step, and focused her mind on the road. Right. No distractions.

Buzz, buzz...​

A strange sound entered Aubrey's ears. She stopped and looked around to find its source, but as it sounded like it was still a distance away, she continued on.

Buzz, buzz...​

The sound kept ringing, however, and it seemed to get progressively louder. Somehow it was difficult to pinpoint exactly where it was coming from. The drone seemed to surround her, and made her feel somewhat uneasy. Her pace sped up, but she kept her eyes forward... until suddenly the sound became extremely loud right behind her, and she barely managed to duck in time to avoid a Beedrill from striking the back of her head. The insect Pokémon flew overhead at high speed, seemingly without any regard for the girl he barely missed. A Beedrill though... That could be a valuable addition to her team! Other than its fellow Pokémon on the route, a Beedrill would likely be a powerful teammate. And - she took out the Pokéball of her Tepig - she did have a considerable type advantage.

The red-and-silver ball was thrown into the air and released its contents onto the ground. Hampton let out an excited cry, ready to face whatever challenge had it summoned. The Beedrill stopped in mid-air upon hearing the other Pokémon, turned around, and flew straight back at high speed. This surprised the small pig Pokémon as well as its trainer - the battle had begun without warning.

Beedrill wasted no time and approached quickly, its stings turning as it prepared a Fury Attack. ''Watch out, Tepig! I mean-- Hampton!'' Aubrey exclaimed, herself not entirely used to the nickname either. Luckily her Pokémon paid her mistake no heed, and jumped away in time to avoid the Beedrill's arm sting digging into the ground. As it was momentarily immobilized, Hampton could release its first counterattack: ''Alright, use Tackle!'' and knocked its target over onto the ground. ''Now Ember!'' The piglet Pokémon hopped on further, turned 180 degrees and launched an array of small flames from its mouth, hitting the Beedrill on its back as it struggled to get up. Its wings were hurt slightly, but once it returned to being airborne it seemed it managed to shrug it off. Aubrey was euphoric after her Pokémon's attacks landed for quite some damage twice in a row, but received a sharp reminder of the situation when Tepig was struck by a distantly-launched Poison Sting attack. Thankfully it had not been poisoned, but the attack made it apparent just how much stronger the Beedrill actually was: Tepig was knocked back from the impact. They might not be able to win this purely riding on the type advantage.

Beedrill was evidently preparing for another attack, but Aubrey was prepared this time. ''Another Poison Sting, Hampton! Avoid it and counter with Ember!'' Hampton seemed to regain its confidence, and ran towards the Beedrill in a slalom, to make sure it wouldn't be struck again. Contrary to expectations however, Beedrill used a String Shot attack, effectively binding and immobilizing its target. Tepig struggled to get out, but the more it did, the stickier the silky substance became.
''Hampton, no! You can get out with your flames! Use Ember!'' Aubrey shouted, somewhat desperate. Tepig shot out another range of flames, dissolving its silk entrapment, but the Beedrill hadn't been still either: Hampton was struck by a direct hit of the foe's Fury Attack. It hit three times before knocking Hampton into the ground. Aubrey covered her mouth with her hands in shock - Hampton wasn't getting up, and the Beedrill drew closer for its next move...

 

[Sir Bastian]

Valerie, Hector and Rick
Chapter 01:'Making Friends'

​

After a brief search, Valerie and Lance rounded a bush a slight ways off the main road. A small girl with brown hair in pigtails was sitting by a very pretty-looking lake, the trees around them stretching all the way to the other side of it. The small girl was sobbing quietly, sitting on her knees.

Inventory:​

Spoiler:

• Pokédex
• Xtransceiver
• Pokéballs x5

Pokemon:​

Spoiler:

- Lance

Lance quickly ran over and patted her side as if to say it'd all be okay, the girl jumping a little, staring down at Lance with wide eyes.

"Who were you calling for? Are you lost?" The blue-haired girl asked, placing her hands by her hips, looking down at the girl with the same, neutral expression as always.

The little girl sniffed, wiping a few tears from her eyes as she stood up.

"I... I lost Mimi. We... we were playing and sh-she... I lost her! N-now I can't find her, and I miss her really really much!"

The cries had attracted another wayward trainer as well. Hector pushed his way through a patch of foliage after missing the gap in the bushes and trees to see a young girl sobbing next to an Oshawott. He made his way towards the girl and knelt down to her level before he even noticed the trainer much closer to his own age. "Awww, what's wrong sweetie? Lose someone?"

It was only then he realized what he'd missed, turning to see a pair of legs before looking up at the face of their owner. "Oh, hello there."

He was greeted by Valerie by her quirking her brow at his sudden appearance. Lance seemed to like him, though, as he gave the boy a quick wave. Finally, Valerie gave a nod. "Hello."

"Hello," another voice said in reply, completely different from that of Hector. The voice came from behind Valerie, and was more sluggish in its pronunciation. The young trainer, Rick, popped from behind Valerie, with his Charmander lurking around and a Pokeball in his hand, the one containing the stubborn Polliwag. "I heard from cries from this direction. I'm guessing one of two things. Either you guys are bothering her, or she needs help finding her mom or dad. I'm hoping its the latter, since I would hate to fend off two people, because that's a lot of work, but either way, it looks like she needs help so I'm helping."

Valerie stared with her dead-pan expression at the new arrival before finally shaking her head at his assumptions, turning back to the girl and the boy currently crouching besides her.

"I'm glad to say neither of us are bullying her, two teenagers picking on a young girl would be pretty pathetic." Hector piped up, then focused once again on the little girl. "Did I overhear you say you'd lost someone on my way over here? M-Mi...Mimi wasn't it?"

"Y-yeah!" The girl piped up, looking overwhelmed to see so many trainers coming to help her. She wiped her eyes again, looking a little sad. "Mimi's my family's Purrloin. We're really good friends, but she just... I-I found her a little earlier, but she didn't seem to remember me and ran away!"

Nodding her head, the blue girl lowered down to gently place a hand on the pigtailed girl's head. "I will help you locate your Mimi." Glancing between the two guys, she stood up again. "And I assume you will be doing the same, non? It makes it easier to search with more people."

"Of course!" Hector stood the rest of the way up and patted his chest with a fist. "I can't just ignore someone having lost a family member. Now where might a Purrloin scamper off to? And why would it run away..." He continued to mutter to himself for a few more seconds, then stopped and looked up at Valerie, and then Rick. "It would probably help if we had introductions, my name's Hector, how about you two?"

The blue-haired girl turned to look at Hector with a small flip of her hair. "Valerie Guillory. Thank you for deciding to help, otherwise, it might have taken us alot longer." She replied, expression neutral, as always. She also gestured to the Oshawott, who had gone over to meet with Rick's Charmander, giving an excited wave and a smile.

"Right, right. Name's Rick," he said with a half wave. "And this here is Arthur," he pointed towards the Charmander who turned away from Rick and the Oshawott, not having it at the moment. "He's not very happy right now. Anyway, we better going before I forget why I decided to help," he continued, mostly focusing on why Valerie's accent was so familiar.

"So we better get to searching then. Which direction do you plan to start in Valerie? I'd hate to step on your toes." Hector asked, smiling down at Valerie's Oshawott. Severan poked his head up eyeing Valerie curiously.

Valerie raised a hand to brush a length of hair behind her ear, as Lance shuffled over towards his trainer, head lowered in defeat from the Charmander not wanting to talk. the Kalos girl raised a hand to point across the lake. "Lance and I will go across to the other shore. You," she began, addressing Hector. "Should go to the right of the lake, and you," she continued, turning to face Rick. "Should go left. If it is not too much trouble?" She asked with a slightly raised brow, almost challengingly after his carefree answer.

"Why are you handing out orders like you are running the place?" Rick answered. "I mean, last I checked, it is a free country, right?" Rick gestured towards Hector.

Hector smiled, glad to have an answer. "Sounds more like a helpful suggestion to me, besides, regardless of where you want to go it's useful to know where everyone else is. At least that way we know we're not covering the same ground before it's necessary. Thanks for letting me know Valerie." He strode in the direction Valerie had indicated and waved to her and Rick before he was out of sight. "Good luck!"

Valerie gave the departing Hector a brief nod before turning to Rick, her arms slowly folding across her chest. "Because, if we all wander around with no purpose or direction, zis would take hours." She took another moment to look at him before shaking her head, striding past him, on her way around the lake. "Feel free to give up, however. I will simply have to do your work for you, if you are unable to cope with responsibility."

Rick cocked his head to the side: "You know if you stopped with 'this would take hours,' I would have been okay with it, since it makes sense and everything. But, my brother abided by one simple fact that I rather agree with: Only listen to people who earn your respect and lady, you don't have it at all," Rick replied flatly. "So I'm going to go the other side of the shore to help out instead, just to annoy you while you go left where apparently I was supposed to go." Without waiting for a reply, Rick started to head in the direction that Valerie she intended to go, knowing that helping out is something he should do, but loathing Valerie's approach of handling the whole situation. His Charmander followed suit, seemingly approving of Rick's rather aggressive disobedience.

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

"You know, Arthur. I gotta say, I really do dislike people who try to put words in my mouth, and man that Valerie chick puts a whole new spin on it. 'Feel free to give up, however,'" Rick began, mocking the trainer's accent as he did in the privacy of his aimless wandering. "'I will simply have to do your work for you.' I mean, really. I get I am not all spirited all the time, but I know when to do stuff and not to do stuff," Rick sighed, kicking the sand of the lakeshore as he moved at a slow pace. Arthur, looking up to face his trainer, seemed to agree with the sentiment, but did not visibly show signs of agreement, still angry at Rick's poor choices in sending him out to battle at a disadvantage.

So far, this journey was not starting off on the right foot and Rick had no clear idea of how to right the ship. He lacked any of the qualities Vincent had, who was able to stand up for himself, battle with confidence and remain focused all at the same time. Rick was smarter than his brother, since Vincent would be the first to admit that, but he lacked the same fiery disposition to make things happen. He was not necessarily lazy, though that was everyone's assumption, but more he didn't want to bother with things unless he needed to. He wanted to enjoy the freedom of travel. It helped spark something in the rest of his family, and that is what he wanted as well. But now, here, well, he was facing tribulations he couldn't fathom a smart way out of, and the effort was draining his soul.

Taking his search away from the shore bit by bit, Rick was losing hope in finding the Purrolin. It was not exactly a large Pokemon, so it would be liking hiding in the tall grass. Having Arthur burn down the grass would make things simple, but that opened up a can of worms he didn't want to bother looking at in the first place. Instead, Rick observed the ground bit by bit, with Arthur joining in with a bit more apathy. Finally, in his peripheral vision, Rick saw some rustling in the grass. "Well that's got to be something," he observed. "Let's take it slow."

Practically tip toeing towards the rustling grass, Rick knelt down as he grew closer, nearly crawling on the ground by the time he got there. As he peered through the strands of grass, there was a small clearing, resembling more of a patch where the grass did not grow to the same impressive height. In the clearing of sorts, two Purrolins were playing together, prancing around in a circle and occasionally wrestling the other. One of the two near identical Pokemon wore a fairly distinct pink collar, and a lightbulb flashed in the young man's mind. Must be the missing Pokemon,he thought. If only I remembered it's name...

"Here kitty, kitty, kitty," Rick began as he crawled into the clearing, trying to get the Purrolin's attention. "I'm here to help you out...come on...." The two jerked back, but did not explicitly flee. Rick could see a mix of emotions on their faces but whatever he was doing was not working. "Damn cats," Rick muttered, as he cursed under his breath. He was out of ideas and knew that trying to chase them with a direct approach would probably fail miserably and place more work on his shoulders. He needed help, but needed a quiet way to not stir the Purrolin's too much. A distraction may work. Snapping a Pokeball off his belt, he released the yet to be named Poliwag into the clearing.

"Um, go play with them with a huge splash!" He ordered and the collection of Pokemon awkwardly began to bond. "Now, then!" Rick crawled out of the clearing with Arthur. "Oi! Guys! I found them!" He yelled out, with Arthur the Charmander sputtering small embers into the sky.

Only a few minutes passed, before Valerie arrived at the scene, Lance hurriedly running up alongside her. After spotting Rick and Arthur, she stepped closer, about to ask where the missing Pokémon was. As she stepped up to him, she noticed the three 'mon in the clearing ahead.

"Mmh, the collar. Well done, Rick." Looking down at Lance, Valerie took a step forward and raised a hand, pointing at the Purrloin without the collar. "Lance, Water Gun."

The Oshawott didn't waste any time. He ran up in front of Valerie, taking in a deep breath before shooting out a beam of water, which slammed square into the non-collared Purrloin. Mimi let out a shriek and jumped back, startled, while the other Purrloin slowly got up, shaking itself off, while looking rather angry.

Rick stepped up, noticing Mimi and Poliwag leap back as the Oshawatt fired off a Water Gun at the wild Purrloin. "Um, is that really necessary? It's not like the Purrloin is doing anything wrong."

"Water Gun again. Do not let it get close." Valerie ordered Lance, before replying to Rick, without even looking back at him, her eyes focused on the battle ahead. "Mimi ran away to play with her new 'friend'. If we bring back Mimi, she would just run away again. I am removing the reason she would run away."

Shortly after Valerie's appearance Hector arrived as well, covered in twigs and bits of grass, and a few scratches. He had continually been sidetracked by basically every slightly interesting thing he encountered, and in the end even though he'd never forgotten about finding Mimi, Severan had done most of the searching. "Hey guys! Oh you found the Purrloin! That's great!" His expression blanked at the sight of the battle and what he'd overheard became clear. "I don't see what this could accomplish, family-pet pokémon aren't exactly in the habit of willingly becoming wild, either that Purrloin would have come home when it was done hanging out out here anyways, or it's just gonna run away again to play with a different wild 'mon.

"It may not 'become' wild, but it would still run to its friend at every chance it would get." Valerie replied, giving a brief glance over her shoulder at the two boys, while the Oshawott continually slammed the Purrloin with his Water Gun, causing the poor cat to flail around on the ground.

"... Besides, we are here to bring back Mimi, non? I would happily debate you on this, but we should bring back the missing Pokémon first." She glanced over at the collared Purrloin, staring at the goings-on with wide eyes, inclining her head towards it before glancing at the two boys again. "So, if you would, s'il vous plait?"

Hector nodded. "Definitely, Mimi comes first." With the decision made he knelt down and held his hand out, palm up to the Mimi, who's back was arched at the sight of her friend being attacked. Her fur wasn't too ruffled though, perhaps she thought they were still playing, since the Poliwag they had fun with had been splashing about. She slowly relaxed a bit and took a few uncertain steps towards Hector. "Atta girl, no rush, take a sniff, make sure I'm not too suspicious. We're gonna bring you home to your family."

Meanwhile, the wild Purrloin was starting to have trouble getting up. No matter which way it tried to dodge, Lance's Water Gun quickly beat it down again. Now, it was only half-risen, panting and staring at its opponent with one eye closed. Lance was about to fire again, but Valerie stepped forwards.

"Enough, Lance. You did well."

The Oshawott blinked up at his trainer, his mouth hanging slightly open in surprise at -actual praise-. The blue-haired girl collected a ball from the bag hanging by her hip, which she promptly threw at the Purrloin. After the Pokémon had been sucked into the ball, it barely even wriggled, before letting out a satisfying click.

Nodding her head in acceptance of the situation, the girl stepped over and gracefully bent down to pick up the Pokéball, which she attached to the strap from her bag. She turned back to the two boys and the remaining Purrloin, watching quietly as she let Hector work.

Meanwhile Mimi had been far too distracted by the ear and chin scratches she'd been getting ever since she finished sniffing Hector's hand to even notice her friend's defeat. It was no wonder such an easily distracted pokémon had wandered off. Hector was wary of picking Mimi up so he left her rubbing against his leg to smile at Valerie and Rick. "Good work guys! Now even if something else happens we could at least use the Purrloin Valerie caught to lure Mimi back home!"

Hector made his way over to a thicker patch of foliage and grabbed the longest slightly thick stick he could find, with a few tiny branches on it for extra snatch-factor and waved it at the rest. "This should do the trick." He dragged the end of the stick along the ground, watching Mimi's eyes follow it more and more intensely before she wiggled her hindquarters and leapt at it, scrabbling along the ground to grip her new prey.

Rick silently clapped his hands after Valerie caught the Purrloin and Hector found a way to keep Mimi's attention. He contributed very little to the whole display, but that was fine. With an ego as commanding as Valerie's, it was perhaps best he just went with the flow and accepted things as they are. "I take we are done here then?" He asked with a tinge of apathy. "Lead the way then, boss. Unless you want to beat some other innocent Pokemon on the way too."

"Please." Valerie replied, turning to Rick with the usual thin line of her lips turning into a very light frown. "Do not try to make this a moral issue. Shall I return once you have captured several Pokémon yourself? Zis is how it is, and has always been done. Trying to take the high ground here, is just making you look that much more ridiculous."

Her words weren't unkind, but very... matter-of-factly, as if what she said was simply... logical. And with that done, she turned and started off towards the other side of the lake, glancing back at Hector and the rather playful Purrloin. "You can keep its attention until we get back, non?"

"Pretty confident I can, long as I don't forget to stop moving it." Hector nodded as he answered and took his first few steps back towards town, dragging and shaking the stick for emphasis as Mimi pounced on it. "I'm ready if you guys are."

The Purrloin in tow, it took the group roughly fifteen minutes to get around the lake again, as they had to ensure that Mimi's attention was on the stick. As they rounded a bush, the little girl looked up. Her eyes widened as she saw them coming back. The obvious question was on her lips, until Hector and Mimi came into view.

She squealed with joy and ran over to them, which at first startled Mimi. But as she recognized her owner, the cat eagerly jumped into her arms, purring and rubbing herself against the little girl.

"Oh, you found her! T-thank you so much, all of you! I'm so happy!" She was almost crying as she said this, hugging the cat close to her chest, who seemed to enjoy the affection. "Mimi, why'd you run off...?"

Before anyone could say anything, Valerie replied. "She had gotten distracted by some berries. We found her in a bush."

Oh, so now we are lying too? Aren't you just the model of dignity?Rick silently thought to himself, crossing his arms and leering at Valerie.

"I don't care why you ran away! I'm just so happy that you're back!" The girl replied, pressing a kiss to the cat's cheek, who mewed happily. "Oh! I have something for you!"

She stuck her tongue out as she held the cat in place with one arm, her other arm reaching down to a small belt-pouch around her waist. After fiddling around, she pulled out three blue and white balls, holding them up towards the trainers with a bright smile.

"I saved up my allowance and I bought these! But you can have them for finding Mimi. Just make sure to make good friends with whoever you catch with them!" The girl beamed as she held out the balls on offer.

Rick hesitated and took a ball, before stuffing in his bag. "This wasn't necessary, but thanks. Keep a closer eye on your Pokemon alright? We don't want to have to come back to help again," he said with a smile. "See ya guys later... maybe," Rick said to the other two before leaving rather quickly, not wanting to deal with Valerie's attitude any longer.

Valerie glanced after Rick as he left with a mumbled goodbye, shaking her head lightly. Looking back to the girl offering the balls, she bent down to gently take one of the two remaining balls, nodding softly. "Thank you. Take good care of Mimi, and she will not run away again." With that said, she stood up and took a step back, allowing Hector to take his 'prize'.

Hector couldn't stop smiling the entire time after Mimi was reunited with his owner, completely content while he watched their affectionate interactions. It didn't take long, however, for him to be distracted by a bird pokémon of some kind flying by at an angle that put the sun in his eyes. He failed to tell what it was through the glare and it was too far away by the time he finished rubbing his eyelids. By then Rick was already strolling off with his reward. "Oh, well, good luck on your journey!" Hector called after him, waving all the while.

It was only after Rick's departure that Hector regarded coolly the great-balls the girl held up.
He reached out to grasp one and look at it a bit, and when he did Severan slithered along his arm to poke it with his nose and get a look himself. "I can't, in good conscience accept this for something anyone should have done, but I tell you what, how about a trade?" He pulled one of the normal pokéballs off of his belt and held it out to the girl, lightly tapping the button and expanding it to it's full size. "I know this one looks boring and plain, but it was given to me by Professor Juniper for starting my journey, so I bet it's good luck! Why don't we trade? That way if you ever decide to find a pokémon friend of your own it'll be like I'm helping you out?"

The little girl's mouth opened wide as she stared at the red and white Pokéball offered to her. "You got that from miss Juniper...? And you're letting me have it?" She gently placed down Mimi besides her to get another hand free, very carefully taking the ball in her hand while replacing it with the great ball. A wide, bright smile spread on her lips as she held the ball close, beaming up at Hector and Valerie.

"You guys are the best! I wanna be a trainer just like you when I grow up! Thank you!"

She quickly stepped forwards and wrapped her arms around Hector's waist, giving him a hug, which she proceeded to do to Valerie as well (Who simply looked down at the girl as she did this, without reacting at all). She proceeded to pat each of the Pokémon before taking off, back down the road they came from, while waving back at the two trainers. "Thanks again! Come on, Mimi!" The Purrloin meowed loudly and ran after its owner.

Valerie let out a small breath of air, folding her arms across her chest, for some reason looking a little uncomfortable as she watched the girl run off.

A warm fuzzy feeling of pride and contentment filled Hector's chest as he watched the girl and her pokémon run off, but it was disrupted at the sight of Valerie. "What's the matter? Not comfortable being hugged?"

The blue-haired girl glanced over at Hector, her lips pressing a little together. "... I just am not good viz... how you say, physical affection." She shook her head lightly, lifting a hand to brush it through her curly hair, moving it across her shoulder, which incidentally revealed a tiny tinge of red along her cheeks, turning away from Hector again. "What is important, is that we helped her, and were rewarded for it in the end, non?"

"Of course you're right, I'm glad we could help out. And that other stuff is none of my business anyways. It's not like I don't have my own troubles...in fact...one of them beat me here probably with the express intent of showing me up and screwing with me." Hector looked at the ground while contemplating his 'rival' before shaking it off. "Anyway, it was nice working with you, I hope your journey goes well!" He offered Valerie a kindly smile, trying not to think about the fact that they'd be at odds at some point if they both made it far enough.

Turning back to the boy, Valerie gave him an almost curious look before nodding her head gently. "It was a pleasure. Au revoir 'Ector."

The girl turned back towards the treeline surrounding the lake, striding purposefully into the undergrowth, with the small Oshawott quickly waddling after her.
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