Making History: The Story of Team Alakazam

[ANARCHit3cht]

Zimri was already awake. Checking his clock, it was 6:00 A.M. He usually got up an hour ago, but he had stayed up later saying all his goodbyes and and doing last minute things to all the Pokémon that he was caring for. Fully dressed, he checked his list of things, he had everthing. His guitar, the extra money, his Pokémon, his journal, a little of stuff to care for Pokémon(and humans), and a mysterious rock he had found the day before. Checking his list over once more, he was ready. The house he was sharing wasn't that far from the train station, in fact it was only a couple blocks away. Without any waiting or any second thoughts he left. The morning air that would've been cold to most people, felt good. He loved it. A bunch of people were early risers in the city, they had a job to do. He saw someone walking to his work, he looked bored, so Zimri walked up to him. He grunted something that seemed to make the man stop.

"Whadda ya' want? Dun ya' see that I am walkin' here?! I have job to get ta'!" The man yelled.

Zimri ignored him and released Azu. "Dance" he quietly said. After that he walked up to the man and sung a small, unaudible lyric. It seemed to cheer the man up, a little. However, he just walked onto his office. He allowed Azu to stay out and they continued walking there together alone. Azu had some sort of ability that allowed her to speak to Zimri telepathically.

<Hello, Zimri. You.. you have something troubling you. I can sense it.>

There was no fooling her, Zimri knew that. He nodded. They continued their walk, in a bit of silence, no one was talking.

<Is it because you want to stay?>

Zimri nodded.

<Hm.. I guess that you really wanted to go on a big adventure and find out about your parents.>

Zimri nodded. "No." He said coldly. "If they abandoned me in the first place, it means they don't want me. There would be no point in doing it." He explained grimly.

<I just can't think of a reason.>

"It is better that way.." replied Zimri, quietly. They walked the rest of the way without saying anything. It was quiet trip, and the two wished that the moment was already over. Soon, the station came into view, he walked up and opened the door. There was a few people there, some people worked in Kanto, but not much. The man at the ticket booth was half asleep, and nearly fell asleep stamping Zimri's pass. He had bought a pass, he knew he would come here again, and it would be much cheaper instead of buying a ticket each time. Along with a few other grumpy customers, he walked to a train. The small red train looked new with it's fancy exterior and even fancier interior. It had deep red velvet seats that had golden trimming on them. The ride was seemingly short, but in reality a couple of hours. During the trip Zimri had gained a few new admirers for the time he was able to play his guitar and sing. The train rolled to a screeching halt as it stopped in front of the Kanto station. With a smile, the man exited the train, a Pokémon and left the station. Looking around, he found a sign. It red "Saffron City. The city of Golden Radiance." Off to the side was a city map. It showed all the important places. There was a gym(which Zimri wanted to test his metal against) a dojo, and then he found Silph CO. He followed the trail with his finger and found it to be really close. It was only a block away. Azu at his side, spoke telepathically.

<Wow, it sure is different here.>

"I know. Wait a second." Zimri reached to his belt and released all his Pokémon. They all needed to see this new place. he told Azu to go and do as she pleases with her family, he told Quo too, but Quo wanted to stay with him. He grunted and pointed, sending the Pokémon off on their way. Quo followed him to Silph CO. They entered the building and said a word wih the lady at the counter. Then, they rode the elevator, got off at their floor and entered the room. Their meeting was about to commence. He noticed a few scientist, and people who he assumed to be trainers. He said nothing and took a seat next to them, Quo at his feet.

 

[Eucliffe]

(Agh. Thing logged me off just as I posted. Now I have to start from the beginning again DX)

An aura appeared in the eternally dark room. It was mainly white, but had a touch of blue. It floated around, and immediately another light started shining. It revealed a silhouette of a female, roughly in her early teen years. That light was a crimson color, seeming to come from the heart of the female. As the aura flew closer to the newborn light, it started becoming more and more like a wisp, gaining a tail of some sort. The wisp flew through the heart's light of the silhouette. A shriek rang out, echoing in the seemingly endless dark room. Then there was nothing but darkness. And finally, the sound of an alarm clock.

"Alright already, I'm up, I'm up." The voice belonged to a female, and as she got up, one could tell her figure matched that of the silhouette in her dream. She never understood dreams, to be quite honest, but she tended to have strange dreams with unknown meanings, so it couldn't be helped. As she reached for her alarm clock, she nearly tripped over the last one she had broken. She never figured out how to turn it off, even though she was 15. Finally getting stressed with this one, she smashed it on the floor. Thank Arceus that they're cheap in Goldenrod's Dept. store... she thought to herself, being careful not to step on the broken parts. As she did that, she looked down at the time that the clock once showed. Oh, sweet Arceus! I'm LATE!!![/s]

She lived in Ecruteak. A small town in Johto, nice and very historical. Not only did it have the most interesting of places (such as the two towers), it also had the hottest of the gym leaders, or at least in the girl's mind. She had lived there ever since the woman had taken her in. She still lived in the woman's house, since it was given to her in the will, but she would often stray from it and travel around the world, visiting all sorts of places. As the view turned to the house (which was conveniently located next to the gym), the girl blasted out at top speed, running south to reach Goldenrod.

A meeting in Silph Co., which was in Saffron City. She was in a hurry to get on the train to Saffron. Missing it would mean attempting to ride her Ninetales over to Silph Co., which would be practically impossible. As she exited, she could've sworn she heard someone call out "Gale", but she could be wrong. The girl, Gale, had a large reputation throughout the world as a tactician, whether she was too modest or not.

Reaching the station at last, Gale could feel her heart pounding. Never before had she run this long or at such speed, and so this was a first for her heart. Could this have anything to do with my dream? Oh well, I need to figure out some way to get up earlier so I can relax and whatnot... she thought as she walked onto the train. She went to the other side, so she could look out at the other scenery. More and more buildings every day. I miss the old scenery. Being an industrial city, Goldenrod was always growing. Gale remembered when she went shopping in Saffron with the woman she lived with how verdant the plant life was on the side she was now looking out of, and now buildings were there. She disapproved of this, but it couldn't be helped.

An hour past, and the train arrived at Saffron at last. Dashing out the first chance she got, it took Gale roughly one minute to reach Silph Co., rather than the three minutes it would've took if she walked. It wasn't hard to find, really - although most the buildings were a Saffron color, Silph Co. was the tallest and had the strangest atmosphere around it, or at least Gale thought it did. Entering silently into the building, Gale noticed she had at least two minutes to spare. She sat down in the closest chair and took her cobalt sack off. Opening it up, five Luxury Balls, as well as a sapphire-colored Pokedex were revealed. There was also a sapphire Eevee figure, which was given to her by the woman before she passed away. Getting out the Pokedex, Gale began looking at the limited data she had.

Most of the Pokemon in Gale's Pokedex were Ghost Pokemon, which really wasn't surprising. A lot of them were also starter Pokemon from around the world, and because the Kimono Girls of Ecruteak had the first five Eeveelutions discovered (not to mention Eterna Forest of Sinnoh had plenty of Leafeon roaming about), there was data on all the Eeveelutions, not to mention Eevee itself. Even though Gale did, in fact, travel around the world to various places, she hadn't seen many Pokemon. This was partly because her travels were meant for shopping reasons, but that was besides the point. Sighing, Gale closed the Pokedex and put it away. Nothing else to do but wait... she thought.

 

[Sublime]

(OoC: Ack. Uber sorry for the delayed post x_x)

The morning sunlight crept slowly through the curtains of the window. The rays of light hit Alex's eyes, causing him to have to shield his eyes and relocate to effectively visualize what he was concentrating on. He slid down to the other end of the fuchsia couch that he was seated on. The lighting was much more bearable in this location. He turned his focus back to his drawing pad, which he had been doodling on for the past few hours. The drawings on the paper consisted of a few Pokemon he had been recently researching. A sketch of a Ditto transforming into a Rhydon took up most of the page. Underneath it was a hastily drawn sketch of a magnificent bird that Alex had seen recently flying high in the skies. He didn't give much thought to it, besides the fact that it looked ravishing.

BEEP! BEEP!

The obnoxious sound came from his left breast pocket. He pulled out his PokeGear, the device responsible for the sound. 7:30 AM The florescent green numbers flashed at Alex's face as he realized that he needed to be leaving for his voyage to Saffron City. He wasn't dare going to miss this opportunity. Not in this lifetime.

Alex tucked his pad and pencil into a rather large pocket that hung to the side of his coat. He grabbed an apple from the table in front of him and took a savage bite out of it before he placed it back and made his way out the door. Alex had a certain spring in his step today. He wasn't sure if it was excitement for this once-in-a-lifetime chance or just a random affliction of perk into his spirit. Either way, he bounded out his front door to face the outside world.

The morning air was crisp and chilly. Alex's nostrils flared as he took a nice long inhale, followed by a slow exhale. He stretched his arms out for a moment and rubbed his eyes a bit, still somewhat sleepy. After the little ritual was over, he opened his right breast pocket and retrieved one of five Pokeballs. He looked at the minuscule ball and said to it, "Today's the day. Come on Leo, take me to Saffron!" And with that, he tossed the ball up into the air.

As it cracked open, a blinding flash of white light filled a small radius around the Pokeball. The white light soon took the form of a bird; roughly double the size of Alex himself. The Pokemon stretched as it let out a tired cry, "Roowww..." It shook off the sleep and turned to it's owner, to which it simply nodded. Alex hopped on the creature's back and braced for lift off. The Pokemon flapped it's wings gracefully at first; then as soon as they were not even an inch off the ground, it began flapping furiously to get to full velocity and height. When they reached their desired altitude, it was smooth sailing from there.

Alex was headed due North from where he was currently; which was safe house in the Safari Zone, to be exact. Alex was never one to keep a permanent homestead; seeing as he always travels to study Pokemon. Alex looked below them as they flew through the cool Kanto air. Several Safari Zone locals were going about their daily rituals. Scyther were cutting down trees for some morning exercise. Exeggcute were trying to find their brethren, who had apparently had become lost over the night. Even a Chansey or two hid tentatively from tempted trainers. Alex quickly pulled out his notepad and sketched the various Pokemon.

Before he knew it, the imagery of the Safari Zone had disappeared. Below them now was the bustling port city of Vermillion. Harboring many water Pokemon; not to mention the famous S.S.Anne. Nothing sketch-worthy was happening here. Mostly things Alex had seen already. He sighed as the trainers below battled with their Pokemon. Fools. Pokemon aren't meant for battling... Alex thought to himself as he shook his head in disappointment. Following suit of the Safari Zone, the Vermillion City passed quickly under them as they reached their destination. Saffron was directly below them.

Leo made a swift landing directly in front of the Silph Co. building, disturbing a resting Pidgeot in the process. The two shared a menacing glance as Alex hopped of and patted Leo's head.

"You behave now Leo. I won't be long in here, I hope. I'll let you rest out here." Alex said to his Fearow, who nodded in agreement. Alex stepped through the sliding glass doors and was greeted by the smell of tile cleaner and pressed ties. He saw a couple of others around the room, assuming they were here for the same reason he was. He took a seat in a padded chair, which ironically had almost no padding. He crossed his legs and bit his thumb as he thought impatiently, Wonder when we're gonna be called in...

 

[Gardevoyeurism]

"NOIR!"
'Wake up!'
This, followed by a banshee's shriek, was always the first sound Candice heard at the crack of dawn. Groggily, the woman rolled over, struggling not to doze right back off. Nevertheless, the Dusknoir who floated over her continued in her quest to rouse her mistress.
"Dusssk..."
'You're late...'
Though she knew her trainer couldn't understand a word she said, she still attempted to get her point across via speech, hoping Candice would interpret her cries as something worthy of rising from bed for.
"Fine, Baby-Doll... I'll find it after I take a shower."
At that, the dark-haired human female heaved her weighty form from the lumpy purple-sheeted mattress...
Only to find that upon sliding out from underneath her blanket that the temperature of her bedroom could just about freeze a Magcargo.
"Brr..."
Nevertheless, she sucked up the discomfort and forced herself out of bed and into the hallway, where she promptly made her way into the bathroom to carry out her daily hygenic ritual. A shower, primp and towel-wrap later, she was out of said room heading back towards her bedroom, where she withdrew her Dusknoir into its pokeball before pondering her outfit.
As much as she liked wearing them, she knew that skimpy dresses and stiletto heels weren't the best attrie for important meetings - especially meetings with the staff of such a company as Silph Co.
She had spent around half an hour rummaging through her closet before at last picking out a relatively demure knee-length plain purple dress, black leggings, tassled brown faux-leather jacket and a matching pair of buckled platform boots. Once she had dressed herself, she spent a further twenty minutes adding the final touches to her makeup, despite the fact that it would more than likely slough off once she actually arrived in Kanto. Because of this, she packed into her bulky black handbag, along with her basic supplies, several tubes of lipstick and a mascara. Once she had finished brushing her long, jet-black hair, she slipped the comb into her bag and headed into the kitchen where she quickly grabbed from the refrigerator a fruit salad which she had prepared the night before. After hastily yet carefully consuming said salad, she dashed for the front door, wincing as she slammed it shut behind her.

It was only when she was hit by a hailstone the size of her fist that she realized why it was so cold that morning - it appeared that a freak hailstorm had suddenly struck Hearthome City. With a long, frustrated groan, Candice scoured the interior of her handbag for a pokeball donning a pale blue label with the name 'Puffy' emblazoned in white letters.
"Come on out, Puffy!" She threw the red-and-white ball into the air, where it opened to shoot a beam of blinding white light from within. The light pooled into a circular formation, then faded to reveal a small female Castform. The ball then fell back into Candice's hand, which then placed it into her bag.

A ring of vapor encapsulated the small cloud-like pokemon, then formed into a spiral of ice crystals so fine they levitated with its tiny body. Castform had transformed into its ice form. After staring at the pretty crystalline creature for a good thirty seconds of being pelted with hailsones, Candice at last gave her a command.
"Now use sunny day, please. Mommy doesn't like being hit with big chunks of ice..."
"Castform!"
'Okay!'
Chirped the weather pokemon, who promptly formed a blinding ball of yellow light between her tiny cloud-puff arms, which then spread throughout the area, miraculously ending the hailstorm. With the weather, the Castform's form changed once more - the cocoon of icicles which surrounded her melted, then reabsorbed into her body to form a ring of red spheres around her head, which now glowed a deep orange.
However, as no good deed goes unpunished, a nearby child trainer had noticed what little Puffy had done and so his attention turned to her trainer.
"Hey lady, wanna battle? My Piplup versus your Castform. How about it?"
Candice looked down at the little tyke, wondering whether to break his enthusiastic little spirit by refusing or to save her precious pokemon from being bubblebeam'd to death by a little penguin. Understandably, she went for the latter.
"Err. No thanks, dear. I'm in a bit of a hurry."
The little boy turned away teary-eyed and walked off dejectedly. Candice couldn't help but cringe at the sight of the child's sorry state. However, she continued on her way down to Coronet's most southern cave in a shortcut to Canalave City, where she was to catch a boat to Kanto.

Throughout her journey to, through and beyond the cave, she was pestered for battles, jumped by the press, swarmed with Geodudes and had a number of pokeballs thrown at her Castform. After a long, straining journey from one end of Sinnoh to the other, she found that in order to go from the west end of Jubilife City to the east end of Canalave City, she had to cross a long body of water. Upon discovering this, the now exhausted Candice screamed expletetives into the sky, attracting many a strange look from surrounding fishermen and fellow trainers. Her cringing Castform, now in its regular form, dove into her trainer's handbag, supposedly to avoid being seen with the swearing human. Her true intentions were later revealed when she squirmed out of the bag, clutching between her stubby limbs a floral-printed, heart-sealed pokeball engraved with the name 'Clare'. Gently plucking the pokeball from Puffy's arms, Candice gave her pokemon a quizzical look.
"Err... You want me to let Clare out of her pokeball, right? Okay. Out she comes."
Before Candice could throw the ball, a beam of light shot from it, then materialized into a relatively petite, trembling female Alakazam with her spoons tightly clutched in the merged fist which became of both her three-fingered hands. Detecting the scent of her trainer and teammate, she appeared to calm down within a few seconds, though was still somewhat skittish. Puffy floated over to Alakazam, then rested herself upon her fellow pokemon's shoulder.
"Cast, form. Cast. Castform."
'Clare, I need you to use a psychic attack on Candice to carry her across the water. Nobody knows surf, Baby-Doll is too fat to carry anything and I'm too weak. So please do this for us - you're the only one who can carry anything heavy across the water.'
Puffy's efforts proved futile when she was met with little more than a blank, black stare.
"...'Zam?"
'...Run that past me again?'
If she could slap her forehead, she would, but instead of trying to, Puffy gave a simpler command.
"Form."
'Psychic yourself and our trainer across that river.'
Once again, she was met with that same, horrible blank stare that Clare wore so well. However, it was now followed by a gaze across the river, then a half-decent response.
"Ala... kazam? 'Zam!"
'But... what if I drop her? I don't know Teleport, but I do know she can't swim!'
By now, Candice was beginning to lose her patience with her pokemon.
"Err... Excuse me, sweeties, but shouldn't we be finding a way to get across this river? I have a really important meeting all the way in Kanto and we can't be late."
Both pokemon ceased their bickering, turning their full attention to their trainer. Clare, being the more intelligent yet less emotionally stable of the two went into a sulk, which sent a painful pang of guilt into poor Puffy's heart.
"Cast..."
'Sorry, Clare.'
She whispered, leaning against the larger pokemon's cheek.
Noticing that the quarrel was now over, Candice's mind was now clear enough that she had at last thought of an idea which, unknown to her, had already been thought of.
"A-ha! I've got an idea - Clare, use a psychic attack to carry me across that river!"
Puffy, despite having thought of that idea long before Candice figured it out, simply nodded while Clare attacked her with the blank stare of doom.

A nearby fisherman who had just released his Gyarados in order to have it transport him to a better fishing spot had overheard Candice's little 'conversation' with her pokemon and decided that it would hurt to help a damsel in distress.
"Hey, you with the Castform and the Alakazam - You can hitch a ride on my Gyarados! He's certainly big enough!"
Now any intelligent, self-respecting person wouldn't accept rides from strangers, but Candice wasn't very intelligent and didn't have much self-respect and therefore accepted with a smile, calling her sulky Alakazam into its pokeball. Puffy then floated over and placed herself upon her trainer's shoulder as she carefully climbed aboard the sea serpent. Once she, the kind stranger and of course, the Gyarados, were comfortable, they all made a short, safe trip to the other side without even a touch of hassle. Candice thanked the strange gentleman before she and her Castform set off for the Canalave City boat dock, where Candice checked the timetable. Exhausted and horrified by how long she would be forced to wait, she plopped herself upon a nearby bench with her head in hands and her Castform in her lap. For fifteen minutes, the pair remained on that bench, during which Candice played around with her pokedex, hugged Puffy and moaned about her day. Once the boat for Vermillion City at last arrived, Puffy had relocated to Candice's shoulder and Candice, well, almost screamed out in joy as she attempted to run in her platform boots to the front of the queue which had formed outside the ship. Unfortunately, she fell to her knees and by the time she got back up she found she had been shunted to the back of the line. Within another twenty minutes, it was her turn to present her pass, which she gladly did. However, she was forced to call Puffy back into her pokeball as pokemon weren't allowed on the boat. Though Candice saw this as discrimination, she obliged for she didn't want to wait any longer.

The boat trip was long, boring and for Candice, mostly spent asleep. She was awakened by one of her fellow passengers once the boat arrived at the Vermillion port. The passengers spilled from the door of the ship like a flamethrower from the... well, tail-end of a Skuntank.
Candice, thankful for finally arriving in Kanto, decided to let her Hitmontop out for some fresh air. Of course, this creature did draw a great deal of attention from the local trainers, most of whom only knew of the other two Hitmons. Though it was nice to get out of Sinnoh for a while, there was one small problem - she didn't know how to get from Vermillion City to Saffron City.
Because of this, she found herself waiting once more for one of the most unreliable forms of public transport - a taxi. Amongst other grumbling individuals, she waited for a taxi to come by. It was getting to the point where she considered releasing her Dusknoir to scare everyone else off when she at last managed to catch a taxi. Overjoyed, she called Spinner back into his pokeball and dove into the car, slammed the door shut and strapped on her seatbelt.
Before the driver could ask her where she would like to go, she excitedly exclaimed that she wanted to be driven to the Silph Co. headquarters. She didn't care much for the price of the ride, for she was just so glad to at last be making some significant progress in her trip to Saffron City.

Upon her arrival at the magnificent doorway of the Silph Co. building, Candice paid the taxi driver a fare of three hundred yen before making a dramatic entrance, releasing both her Umbreon and Electivire simultaneously, then placing their pokeballs back into her handbag all in one smooth movement. All the while, she was walking towards a pair of free seats, which she and her Electivire sat in, Umbreon resting at their feet. Candice then looked at her poketch to find that she had arrived quite early, for which she was half glad and half frustrated, for as patient as she was, she felt she had done enough waiting for one day. Having spotted her, one of the scientists, who happened to be on her lunch break, approached Candice and decided to inform her of the reason as to why she was called.
"You're Candice Attridge of Sinnoh, are you not?"
In response to the question, the usually friendly Candice gave a grunt in place of a 'yes'.
The scientist rubbed her chin, examining the guest before making a cringe-worthy comment on her appearance.
"I thought you'd be taller..."
Wrinkling her bridgeless nose, Candice gave her response in a tone so grim it could send shivers down an Absol's spine.
"Yeah, I get that a lot..."
Slightly anxious, the other woman backed away slowly.
"Ehehe... Well, err - nice to meet you, Miss Attridge."
Suddenly, Candice perked up and gave a Gengar's grin.
"Nice to meet you too, Miss... Umm... Whatever your name is!"

((OOC: Argh! I'm sooo sorry... I almost forgot about this thread. >.>;; ))

 

[Kansas]

Russell stood with arms still folded across the room, waiting impatiently as he stared at the entrance across the vast room where the Professors would enter from. Briefly the sounds of outside became louder and faded back into ambiance as the doors of the building slid shut. The other trainers were finally beginning to arrive at last. Although it would be a great deal of time being spent together, Russell didn't really see a need in meeting them and introducing himself quite yet. A stubborn anti social reaction and nothing more. Another silent slide of the door, letting the air's noise pollution leak into the building for a moment before being muffled again, but this time it was a much more familiar voice that followed.

"Hello, did you already call them down?" a young girl's voice came from behind him. Turning to respond, he was welcomed to a welcomed face and excited yelp. "Russell?!"

"Hm? Wow... Autumn? Its been a while. Seems my studies have caused our paths to cross again. How long has it been? 4 years? Very interesting you would be here. But why? When we parted ways, you were heading off to continue your Gym Badge journey..." Russell said trailing off into a question as he talked to the old friend. The two had started their Pokemon journey together a mere 5 years prior with their starter pokemon from Pallet Town a few towns over. He listened as she responded, taking in her words of her last few year's escapades that led her here.

The sound of loud echoing footsteps cut off their conversation as it redirected his head towards the back of the room. A group of older men walked in an excited and hurried group. Professor Oak, Birch, and Rowan stood with clipboards in hand and usual white lab coats, smiling happily as they looked over the group of trainers. Professor Oak spoke up immediately.

"Glad you all could make it! It seems everything is in order. From the looks of it, you're all the highly competent trainers I asked for. I can see it in your eyes. Some of you I have already met..." He said, shifting his glance to a few trainers, "And others work for me" His eyes darted to Autumn. "But whatever the case, you're all here for a reason and that is to put your skills to use for the better of man kind! If you would please step forward, I'll give you all the gear that we can provide you with ourselves, along with some artifacts that we would like for you to check out..." The Professor said, immediately getting down to business. He handed out small Pokegears that fit like a phone into Russell's messenger bag.

"They Pokegears with built in 2-way walkie talkies. You'll always be in communication with them. Please take one." He began to hand out various other items as well to the other trainers.

*Autumn received 'Ancient Map'! - Its kinda crusty old...*
*Candy Received 'small red blue and yellow spheres'! - what the heck?*
*Alex received 'Small Telescope'! - Its pretty good for lookin through*
*Russell received 'long rope'! - a rope?*
*Gale received test Pokegear app, 'Pokemap Pro'! - Its hip and new with a 3-D display!*
*Zimvri received 'Odd Egg with markings'! - I hope its a Pichu...*
*Eli received 'Neverwilt Blossom' - What a pretty flower! ...looks fake...*

Russell received the long rope in a coil. He looked at it with a bit of confusion before simply accepting the gift and attaching it to the outside of his messenger bag. The Professor explained the various items to the other trainers.

"The ruins of our world are deep and treacherous, young lad. You'll find a rope more handy than you think in your travels." Professor Rowan huffed, noticing Russell's awkward look at the gift. Professor Birch followed up, explaining the team's mission.

"So your first task will be in the Eastern continent, Sinnoh. We recommend you simply depart from Lavender's coast to arrive in Canalave city. It would be faster than waiting for the S.S. Anne to return. There have been many odd disturbances inside of Iron Mountain. With reports of a large red Pokemon that no one could identify. Based on what we can put together, the citizens of Canalave are describing Groudon."

Russell's eyes widened at the sound of the Pokemon's mention.

"That's a big name to drop, Professor. Are you sure its Groudon?" Russell interrupted in a low monotone.

"The descriptions match, we can't be positive but you'll need to find out. Document anything you can on Groudon, and maybe figure out whats wrong at Iron Mountain to make him appear like this..." Birch trailed in his usual depressing unsure tone. Professor Oak quickly killed the depressing tone as he jumped in, picking the conversation up.

"So that's the mission everyone! Please depart for Sinnoh at once. Groudon isn't going to stay around forever! Go Go! Good luck, Team Alakazam!" The Professor said excitedly, shooing them all out the sliding glass door. "Good luck you all!" He finished as the glass door slid shut, leaving all of the trainers outside in the elements once more. The wind ruffled slightly as they stood in silence at the sudden change of pace from Professor Oak.

"So I guess we go to Lavender and from there through the Ocean?" Russell said aloud, repeating the Professor's directions to Sinnoh. "If we want to be fast about this, we'll want to stick together and travel the quickest way possible, which I imagine would be riding Pokemon..." Russell said trailing off, "So... lets do this, come out! Fleet! Arty!" Russell called, tossing a black ultra ball and yellow and blue quick ball into the air, releasing his two partners in front of him. A bold looking Skarmory stood glistening in the sun next to a rugged looking Arcanine that hopped up and down excitedly.

"Fleet, down." Russell commanded at the Arcanine. It immediately laid low to the ground, allowing Russell to mount its back, near its neck. Russell looked to the other trainers, presenting the travel option to them. "How many of you have riding Pokemon? I can give rides to anyone who doesn't, but I'd like to leave soon." Russell commented, motioning to Arcanine and his two bird Pokemon who were now sitting and Roosting next to each other, awaiting their orders. Russell awaited the team's response.

 

[Gulpin]

The day started as they all did for Eli Greer. He got up, out of bed five minutes before his alarm clock sounded, and quickly took a shower, only to get out right at the time to stop the annoying alarm clock. Getting dressed, as he always did at this time, Eli's most fond Pokemon, Ño appeared next to him. An odd happening it was, it was nothing different in the life of Eli Greer. The tall, green and white creature, materialized from the air. This Pokemon is capable of anything; being very intelligent, he is able to rearrange the atoms of his body to be anything himself- or the atoms of anything else, for that matter.

"So Eli, Are we at the Gym as usual today?" The Pokemon asked, invading the territory that is known as Eli's mind.

"No, Ño. We will not be going to the Gym today, because we have other important business to attend to?"

"Other business?" the Gallade groaned, searching through the stored info in Eli's mind, "Now why wouldn't I know of that already? Oh, wait…. I see. So we are traveling to Saffron City, I suppose?"

"Yes, we are, Ño. But I know I've told you not to be going through my mind! You know very well that I disapprove,"

"Ah, well then," the Gallade said, defeated.

Then, as usual the two walked down the hall and to the gym. On their way, Eli let out the rest of his team, as if to show off the lineup to the rest of the city, especially to those who wished to battle him for his badge– the Iq badge- early in the morning once the gym opened. One by one, Eli sent out his current team line up. First out was Metagross, followed by the other four members of his psychic-type Gym: Gardevoir, Slowking, Espeon, and Hypno. Other trainers- the young ones that wish to become 'Pokemon masters' stared in awe at his Pokemon as they walk to the Gym. As soon as Eli makes it to the Gym he does one thing, and one thing only, which is putting a 'closed until further notice sign' on the door, for he had to make it to Saffron very quickly. Then, before he could explain the notice on the door he was rushing through the doors to the PokeCenter and going straight to the PC. Opening up the storage file know as a Pokemon 'box', Eli noticed some thugs sweeping through the doors.

This can't turn out good… Eli thought which was cut in by the voice of a Gallade.

"Indeed… What shall I do?"

Anything, really, Eli thought, they are probably on the wimpy side. Just transport over there and turn into one of their worst nightmares.

This was easy for the Gallade by first invading the privacy of the thug's minds. It turns out the one was simply afraid of clowns, while the other was afraid of flying bugs. So Ño just simply transported over to the space right in front of the thugs and, in the process of transporting, rearranged his atoms to resemble a horrific creature indeed. He turned into a Mr. Mime-Shednija mix, which isn't a pretty site to see. Then the thugs practically jumped out of their pants, fleeing the scene before things go ugly.

"Did that work?" the Gallade said walk-floating back to Eli.

I guess, but we need to hurry up to get to Saffron City.

Then Eli got back to looking at his Pokemon Boxes to pick out the perfect team for whatever he might encounter. Flipping through the boxes he saw all of his other Pokemon: Umbreon, Dragonite, Bellossom, Kingdra, Blaziken….

Hmmm…. Eli thought, wondering who he should choose.

"To speed things along here," Ño cut in, "I suggest Blu, De, Qu, and, of coarse, myself."

And what makes you say that?

"Oh, I know what you want…" the Gallade trailed off.

So, immediately Eli returned Gardevoir, Espeon, Slowking, and Hypno in turn for Blu, a blue-colored Umbreon De, a smart and resourceful Bellossom, and Qu, one of Eli's most trusted Pokemon, a Kingdra.

Okay, so I guess we are ready?

"I suppose so," the Gallade replied.

~~

Soon, Eli found himself at the entrance of Silph Co., which had strict no-Pokemon-out-of-PokeBall rules, so he was forced to send Ño back into his PokeBall. Walking in, he noticed a group of six people waiting for something. He joined the group right as two Professors walked in.

This must be the right place, Eli thought.

 

[billie_lightning]

"Hm? Wow... Autumn? Its been a while. Seems my studies have caused our paths to cross again. How long has it been? 4 years? Very interesting you would be here. But why? When we parted ways, you were heading off to continue your Gym Badge journey..." Russell said trailing off into a question.

"Yeah, I did. I got pretty far with that whole thing. I kicked some serious ass," she added this part quietly, smirking at her old friend, "But after years of battling I realized it wasn't what I wanted to do with my life. It taught me a lot about Pokemon but I really wanted to buckle down and research, you know? It was my first love, knowledge," she scratched her nose and shrugged, "Plus Professor Oak contacted me and heard about my feats and wondered if I was interested in a job. I couldn't say no to Oak. You know how much I look up to that man."
Russell did know, Autumn didn't need him to answer.

It was then that Autumn noticed a hand full of other people waiting, ranging in age and confidence, and seconds later she heard footsteps. Oak, Birch, and Rowan walked into with clipboards and large grins. Their excitement was radiating and contagius and Autumn felt her heart pound against her ribcage at the thought of travelling again, and this time it'd be better. This time it wasn't all about battles and gym badges --although, Autumn couldn't deny, she enjoyed that part thoroughly-- it was about knowledge and getting to the bottom of things that no one knew about. Mystery. Reviving dormant legends and mythology.
It was way better than battles.
Oak began to talk.

"Glad you all could make it! It seems everything is in order. From the looks of it, you're all the highly competent trainers I asked for. I can see it in your eyes. Some of you I have already met..." He said, shifting his glance to a few trainers, "And others work for me" His eyes darted to Autumn and she stood proud, almost physically gloating about her position. "But whatever the case, you're all here for a reason and that is to put your skills to use for the better of man kind! If you would please step forward, I'll give you all the gear that we can provide you with ourselves, along with some artifacts that we would like for you to check out..." The Professor said, immediately getting down to business. He handed out small Pokegears that Autumn investigated for only seconds before slipping it into her back pocket.

"They Pokegears with built in 2-way walkie talkies. You'll always be in communication with them. Please take one." He began to hand out various other items as well to the other trainers.
Autumn recieved a very old map. It was unlike anything she had ever seen and she fell in love with it the moment it was in her history-loving hands. It was puzzling in that it showed many landmarks that she, in her years of travel, didn't remember existing.

"So your first task will be in the Eastern continent, Sinnoh. We recommend you simply depart from Lavender's coast to arrive in Canalave city. It would be faster than waiting for the S.S. Anne to return. There have been many odd disturbances inside of Iron Mountain. With reports of a large red Pokemon that no one could identify. Based on what we can put together, the citizens of Canalave are describing Groudon."

She and Russell both widened their eyes til they were the size of dinner plates. That's a big name to drop, Professor. Are you sure its Groudon?" Russell interrupted in a low monotone. She admired Russell for his focus and his seriousness with situations like these, but she couldn't help but laugh a little at anyone who would question Oak.

Oak comfirmed it and shooed them outside, wishing them good luck along the way. It was silent for a moment as everyone took in all the information that had just been shoved into their brains. Some were still inspecting their artifacts. Autumn held the map to her heart. She still hadn't bothered to take in any details about the other trainers; she wasn't in the mood for awkward "hellos" and was sure it would happen eventually. Besides, Russell would want to get moving as soon as possible. Assuming he hadn't changed over the years.

"So I guess we go to Lavender and from there through the Ocean?" Russell said aloud, repeating the Professor's directions to Sinnoh.
I knew it, Autumn smiled as Russell took control. Predictable.
"If we want to be fast about this, we'll want to stick together and travel the quickest way possible, which I imagine would be riding Pokemon..." Russell said trailing off, "So... lets do this, come out! Fleet! Arty!"

Grace nudged her and Autumn realized that the Meganium would have to go back into a pokeball if she were to travel via Pokemon. It'd be selfish to expect Shelly, her Noctowl, to carry them both. Autumn looked down and Grace, "I'm sorry Gracie, looks like you're going to have to deal with this garbage for awhile," she gestured to the pokeball, old and untouched for years; Grace hadn't been inside it since she was a Chikorita.
She turned to Russell, "I have Noctowl, don't worry about me," she threw a great ball into the air and out popped Shelly, stretching her wings and grateful to be out of there. She looked at Autumn expectantly, "I don't have an errand for you today, dear. We're going to do some flying, are you up for that?"
The Noctowl looked a bit shocked at the request but nodded eagerly, always willing to help her trainer.
"All right. Let's do this."

 

[Eucliffe]

As Gale waited patiently, she noticed three old men (well, two old men and one young guy) walk out, clad in white lab coats and carrying clipboards. Immediately recognizing them as Professor Oak, Birch, and Rowan, Gale got up and headed over to where they were to be. Other trainers seemed to head there too. At least I wasn't late... As she reached her spot, Professor Oak seemed to speak up immediately.

"Glad you all could make it! It seems everything is in order. From the looks of it, you're all the highly competent trainers I asked for. I can see it in your eyes. Some of you I have already met..." He looked over at some other trainers, "And others work for me" His eyes immediately took a lock on a solo girl. "But whatever the case, you're all here for a reason and that is to put your skills to use for the better of man kind! If you would please step forward, I'll give you all the gear that we can provide you with ourselves, along with some artifacts that we would like for you to check out..." Ending his speech, the Professor then proceeded to take out some Pokegears and handed them to every person. When Gale got hers, she shuddered at the color. I'm gonna paint this thing a nice cobalt blue when I get the chance... she thought, placing the Pokegear into her pocket. She stopped complaining though, as Professor Oak started talking again.

"They're Pokegears with built in 2-way walkie talkies. You'll always be in communication with them. Please, take one." He began handing out a variety of items, one per trainer, it seemed. When he got to Gale, he gave her what looked like a small computer chip. Looking at it quizzically, Gale looked up at the professor in dismay. Seeing how she seemed unsure of what she was given, he paused and headed back in her direction.

"Ah, this is a test application for the Pokegear, known as the 'Pokemap Pro'. It'll help you in many ways, miss." A bright smile on his face, Oak then went on to the next person to hand out their item. As Gale looked around, she saw the strangest items ever. One guy received a rope ("What would they need a rope for?"), another person got what looked like an egg with odd markings ("Well, since it'll end up as a Pokemon..."), and someone even received the simplest of spheres ("OK... I'm not even gonna ask."). As she finished commenting on the items everyone got, Gale noticed Professor Birch about to speak up.

"So your first task will be in the Eastern continent, Sinnoh. We recommend you simply depart from Lavender's coast to arrive in Canalave City. It would be faster than waiting for the S.S. Anne to return. There have been many odd disturbances inside of Iron Island's mountain. With reports of a large red Pokemon that no one could identify. Based on what we can put together, the citizens of Canalave are describing Groudon." Amazed at this discovery, Gale shuddered. Such a big Pokemon... She heard one of the guys (the one who received the rope) speak up about Groudon. They seemed to be just as surprised.

"The descriptions match, we can't be positive but you'll need to find out. Document anything you can on Groudon, and maybe figure out whats wrong at Iron Mountain to make him appear like this..." Birch sounded a bit depressed, but then again, it always seemed to be that way. Professor Oak quickly killed the depressing tone as he jumped in, picking the conversation up.

"So that's the mission everyone! Please depart for Sinnoh at once. Groudon isn't going to stay around forever! Go Go! Good luck, Team Alakazam!" Oak shouted in an ecstatic tone, immediately shooing them all out of the sliding glass door. "Good luck you all!" he finished as the glass door slid shut, leaving all of the trainers outside in the elements once more. The wind ruffled slightly as they stood in silence at the sudden change of pace from Professor Oak.

"Well, that was...weird..." Gale muttered. So... Lavender... But wait, go through the coast? How can I do that? The only Pokemon of mine that can learn Surf is Kip, and I don't want to get wet, or stress her out! Walking eastwards to Lavender anyways, Gale took out her Pokegear and the chip she had received. She placed the chip in what seemed to be the appropriate slot. To her surprise, it seemed as if the Pokegear swallowed the chip. Immediately afterwards, another button appeared on the choices. Gale pressed the buttons on her Pokegear until it got to the map. To her surprise, a map of Saffron seemed to immediately pop up like a hologram. Nothing else seemed to be 3D like this. So, it displays a map based on my current location... Maybe I can find a way to get to Canalave without going through Lavender, then? Looking in awe at this amazing feature, Gale began her somewhat-short trek to Lavender, where she would have the biggest challenge yet - getting to Canalave, of course!

(In case you might've been wondering, when Gale was looking at the items others got, the parentheses with the quotes were her opinion of what the others got - not mine. However, she was thinking all of this, so no one could've heard her.)

 

[Kansas]

Russell's question seemed to be drifting through the heads of the trainers as the first to speak up was Autumn. She knew him too well and was much more than ready to leave. The youngest of the group, a teenage girl had already began to walk off to the East towards Lavender by herself. Russell sighed heavily before remembering one of the many lessons he learned while traveling with Autumn, which was coincidentally the only time he traveled with anyone. 'Introductions are key and people need time to warm up'. A voice echoed through Russell's mind as he let out another impatient sigh of frustration before patting his Arcanine on the back, a sign for him to rise. Russell guided Fleet to leap in front of the young trainer, trotting to a stop. He looked down to her from atop his Arcanine, and spoke down.

"...My names Russell, Russell Cunningham. The professor gave you the new map application right? I think it would be better to stick with us... and walking would just waste time at this point. You're not too big, my Pidgeot is a little tired but I don't think she'll mind you on her back... Windy!" Russell let out a sharp piercing whistle and his Pdigeot immediately rose from its resting spot and landed at Russell's side. "Windy will take care of you until Lavender, if you don't mind?"

He turned to the others in the group and spoke to them again. "So... it seems we're ready to go, we can take care of real introductions on the way, aye? For now... Old man, you can ride on Arty, my Skarmory until Lavender. And Lady..." He said pointing to *Candice*. "You can ride with me on my Arcanine, and the girl will ride on my Pidgeot. That's all I can take on land though, but it looks like that covers it. Are the any objections or can we depart?" Russell said to them from atop the large red striped dog. He trotted to Candice, having Arcanine kneel low enough to board. He looked to the trainers, hoping to Arceus that for the sake of time they would at least take the rides for now.

His pokemon stood at ready, awaiting their passengers as the afternoon sun beat down on them. In a few moments they would all be able on the way to Lavender, where crossing the ocean would be a breeze with Lilly...

 

[Gardevoyeurism]

Candice was so engrossed in her own daydreaming that had it not been for her Umbreon's sharp senses, she would have remained oblivious to the presence of illustrious professors Oak, Rowan and Birch. Realizing what she had just done, Candice praised the dark-type eeveelution and withdrew him and his electric-type teammate into their pokeballs before the trio of glorified researchers could notice that she had so blatantly broken the strict rules pertaining to having pokemon outside of their pokeballs. She for one believed that with the right training, certain pokemon could be trusted to behave themselves. Nevertheless, rules were rules and she would most certainly have her trainer's license yanked from her very hands if she broke them. Ensuring that she wouldn't fall over in her impractical footwear, she walked slowly towards the group, carefully watching her every step. She almost tripped and fell onto one of the younger members of the group as Professor Oak's voice seemed to pipe up out of nowhere.

"Glad you all could make it! It seems everything is in order. From the looks of it, you're all the highly competent trainers I asked for. I can see it in your eyes. Some of you I have already met..." With his long nose, he gestured to some of the trainers, "And others work for me" While he said this, his gaze shifted towards a teenage girl. "But whatever the case, you're all here for a reason and that is to put your skills to use for the better of man kind! If you would please step forward, I'll give you all the gear that we can provide you with ourselves, along with some artifacts that we would like for you to check out..." At that, the Kanto professor distributed to each member of the group a small red device which vaguely resembled a pokedex. Candice was about to state that she already had a pokedex when the professor cut in to explain the purpose of these devices.

"They're Pokegears with built in 2-way walkie talkies. You'll always be in communication with them. Please, take one." He explained, then proceeded to pass to each trainer a seemingly random item. Strangest of all was the set of spheres he handed Candice. Upon receiving these, she gave them a good long stare. At one point, she even bit one, only to find it to be harder than the hide of a Steelix. As the other two professors seemed to be preoccupied with the other trainers, Birch was the one to notice Candice's quizzical expression as she glanced over at the items which other trainers received, then again at the spheres.

"Look closely." Was all the young professor told her before he too joined in on the lecture. Candy stared at the spheres once again - only now she noticed something somewhat... odd about them. Not only were the spheres transluscent, but they appeared to have something inside them. Upon closer inspection, she found that the yellow sphere's interior contained what appeared to be a live bolt of electricity, zapping from one area to the next. In the red sphere was a small flame and within the blue one was what seemed to be a single snowflake gently bobbing up and down in its ice-cold container. Slipping the spheres into her purse, Candice's attention turned to the main subject at hand.

"So your first task will be in the Eastern continent, Sinnoh. We recommend you simply depart from Lavender's coast to arrive in Canalave City. It would be faster than waiting for the S.S. Anne to return. There have been many odd disturbances inside of Iron Island's mountain. With reports of a large red Pokemon that no one could identify. Based on what we can put together, the citizens of Canalave are describing Groudon." Upon hearing this, Candice's narrow eyes widened. Groudon? In Sinnoh of all places? She had heard the rumors, though even someone as generally gullible as she had the sense not to believe them. For weeks, she had believed that she was right about something - only to be proven wrong once again. What truly made her sick, however, was the thought of having gone to all the trouble just to get here only to find out she was being sent right back to Sinnoh. Nevertheless, she saved her scowling for later as she listened to what Dr. Birch had to say.

"The descriptions match, we can't be positive but you'll need to find out. Document anything you can on Groudon, and maybe figure out whats wrong at Iron Mountain to make him appear like this..." The youngish man sighed, then gestured towards the older professor Oak to pick up where he left off, which he did.

"So that's the mission everyone! Please depart for Sinnoh at once. Groudon isn't going to stay around forever! Go Go! Good luck, Team Alakazam!" Oak exclaimed, waving his arms about like the lunatic he was.
"Good luck you all!"
Moments later, the trainers had exited the building, some of them glancing quizzically at each other while others discussed the mission.
Now that they were all outside, Candice decided that she could let off some steam.
"Ooh, you wouldn't believe the kind of day I've had-" Realizing that no-one appeared to be listening to her ineccessant moaning, she stopped, then released a heavy sigh. Two of the trainers had wandered off while she was wallowing in her own self-pity - something she took personally, though didn't voice this view in fear of being mocked. She had made a wise choice in ceasing her rant, for it was time for another to speak - a young, brown haired man who
"So I guess we go to Lavender and from there through the Ocean?" The man asked, obviously not expecting an answer. However, Candice was too stupid to realize this and so prepared a response. Thankfully, he spoke up once again before she could butt in.
"If we want to be fast about this, we'll want to stick together and travel the quickest way possible, which I imagine would be riding Pokemon..."
A sense of impending doom fell upon Candy's head. What if she were to fall behind, or worse still, get lost - all because none of her pokemon were suitable for transport. By now, she was beginning to regret letting her Alakazam forget how to teleport. One of the men, upon hearing of using pokemon as a means of transport scoffed and stormed out of the area. Candice, however, was on the brink of bursting into tears when all of a sudden, the group was saved from having to witness a trigenerian's temper tantrum when the younger male had released unto the pavement a Skarmory and Pidgeot. The fact that he had brought out two flying-types implied that he was planning to have someone else hitch a ride with him.

The queen of wishful thinking watched as he climbed aboard his Arcanine - who happened to have been resting nearby - before fixing his bright blue gaze upon a petite blond girl who appeared to be in her early to mid teens. At that moment, all hopes of the weighty Candice hitching a ride on one of his pokemon were shattered. Not that she minded all that much, of course, as she was quite used to convincing wild pokemon to carry out tasks which her own dear pets were unable to execute. Nevertheless, Candice loved nothing more than to sulk and so that is what she did. Being as nosey as she was, she listened in as the man introduced himself to the girl.

"...My names Russell, Russell Cunningham." He stated with a smile. "The professor gave you the new map application right? I think it would be better to stick with us... and walking would just waste time at this point. You're not too big, my Pidgeot is a little tired but I don't think she'll mind you on her back... Windy!" The man, now known as 'Russell', called over his Pidgeot, who was roosting nearby with a high whistle. The majestic bird obeyed, gracefully flying over to land at her master's feet. "Windy will take care of you until Lavender, if you don't mind?" Her trainer asked the girl, before shifting his attention to the rest of the group.

"So... it seems we're ready to go, we can take care of real introductions on the way, aye?" Though she knew he wasn't talking to her in particular, Candice subconsciously gave a nod. "For now... Old man, you can ride on Arty, my Skarmory until Lavender. And Lady..." Russel pointed towards Candice, to which she responded with a gasp - almost as if she had been caught off-guard. At first, she expected him to tell her that she must find her own way to the coast. Now that would have been just cruel. Much to her surprise, the man instead offered her a ride.
"You can ride with me on my Arcanine, and the girl will ride on my Pidgeot. That's all I can take on land though, but it looks like that covers it. Are the any objections or can we depart?"
She couldn't help but giggle like a naughty little Gastly as the Arcanine trotted over and bowed its head towards her, welcoming her to board it. She gladly accepted the offer, climbing onto the pokemon's back. She hadn't any objections to a free ride, what with all the hassle she went through earlier that day. However, in the back of her mind she dreaded the ordeal which would follow arriving at Lavender's coast, all the waiting she and the others would have to do until a boat to Sinnoh's Canalave City arrives.

 

[Gulpin]

Eli rushed in right as three professors walked into the room to greet a group of people. Eli then stood with the group, as if he wasn't sure of himself. Eli barley had time to introduce himself before the professors started talking. Looking down the row, he saw a kid- about 20 or so- that has shaggy, un-kept brown hair and a seemingly arrogant air, a young lady a bit older than the boy that looked calm and relaxed, another girl even younger than the first guy who seemed really out of place; then another guy about the same age as the first with sharp eyes, another kid that looked even more lonelier and out of place than Eli, and finally one last girl who is as young as the first, who looked as if she sat behind a computer all day. Judging by the look of the group, Eli judged that he was the oldest, which, of coarse he was right.

Before Eli realized it, a loud booming voice spoke above the small chit-chat.

"Glad you all could make it! It seems everything is in order. From the looks of it, you're all the highly competent trainers I asked for. I can see it in your eyes. Some of you I have already met..." he paused, then continued, "And others work for me. But whatever the case, you're all here for a reason and that is to put your skills to use for the better of man kind! If you would please step forward, I'll give you all the gear that we can provide you with ourselves, along with some artifacts that we would like for you to check out..."

Stepping up to receive whatever the professor was handing out, Eli noticed other things too. He saw maps, spheres, rope, an egg, a flower, and even a telescope. Before Eli knew it, he was at the front of the line and the professor thrust a blue PokeGear into his hands.

"These PokeGears have built in 2-way walkie-talkies. You'll always be in communication with them."

Then the professor started handing out the other items. The girl who looked as if she always sat behind a computer screen, busily entering codes and numbers, received an old, crusty map. The girl that looked calm and relaxed received the spheres that Eli had seen earlier. The guy with the sharp eyes that looked as if they could see for miles got the miniature telescope. The arrogant-looking kid got a rope, that seemed to have no use whatsoever. The youngest received a PokeGear application. One of the professors had to snatch up her recently received PokeGear, then hooked it to some device which sent the application to her PokeGear. The lonely kid got the egg, which left Eli the one thing that he didn't want… a flower. Eli took it up in his hands, seeing if it was some kind of poisoning super-secret device. But, no. It was just a flower.

I guess this will look good on Belossom…

"The ruins of our world are deep and treacherous, young lad. You'll find a rope more handy than you think in your travels." Eli heard one of the professors explain to the kid that got a rope.

"So your first task will be in the Eastern continent, Sinnoh. We recommend you simply depart from Lavender's coast to arrive in Canalave city. It would be faster than waiting for the S.S. Anne to return. There have been many odd disturbances inside of Iron Mountain. With reports of a large red Pokemon that no one could identify. Based on what we can put together, the citizens of Canalave are describing Groudon."

Groudon?! How odd. That Pokemon wasn't even discovered when I was fifteen!

"That's a big name to drop, Professor. Are you sure its Groudon?" the same kid that got the rope said.

"The descriptions match, we can't be positive but you'll need to find out. Document anything you can on Groudon, and maybe figure out whats wrong at Iron Mountain to make him appear like this..." said one of the professors.

"So that's the mission everyone! Please depart for Sinnoh at once. Groudon isn't going to stay around forever! Go Go! Good luck, Team Alakazam! Good luck you all!"

"So I guess we go to Lavender and from there through the Ocean? If we want to be fast about this, we'll want to stick together and travel the quickest way possible, which I imagine would be riding Pokemon... So... lets do this, come out! Fleet! Arty!" said the same young boy that interrupted the professor while sending out two of his Pokemon, a Skarmory and an Arcanine.

The boy looked around at the other trainers, saying, "How many of you have riding Pokemon? I can give rides to anyone who doesn't, but I'd like to leave soon."

"...My names Russell, Russell Cunningham. The professor gave you the new map application right? I think it would be better to stick with us... and walking would just waste time at this point. You're not too big, my Pidgeot is a little tired but I don't think she'll mind you on her back... Windy!" said the kid- Russell to a girl that was walking off towards Lavender town. "Windy will take care of you until Lavender, if you don't mind?" he said to the girl.

"So... it seems we're ready to go, we can take care of real introductions on the way, aye? For now... Old man, you can ride on Arty, my Skarmory until Lavender. And Lady... You can ride with me on my Arcanine, and the girl will ride on my Pidgeot. That's all I can take on land though, but it looks like that covers it. Are the any objections or can we depart?" Russell said, right as Eli realized that he was the old man that the kid was talking about.

Eli walked up to the kid-Russell – and confronted him. "Old man, aye? Is that what people like to call me now?" he chuckled, then held out his hand saying, "I've never met you before, so I assume that you've never taken the Gym challenge? Anyways, I'm Eli,"

Then Eli walked over to the kid's Skarmory, and said, "Hey buddy. Looks like we're off to my home town. Will you mind taking me?"

 

[Eucliffe]

"...My name's Russell, Russell Cunningham." The voice seemed to be directed towards Gale, so she turned around to face one of her elder acquaintances (well, everyone was older than Gale, after all). The boy (Russell) continued, "The professor gave you the new map application right? I think it would be better to stick with us... And walking would just waste time at this point. You're not too big, my Pidgeot is a little tired but I don't think she'll mind you on her back... Windy!" "Not too big"; you're what? Only about five inches taller than me? Gale snorted. Just then, Russell let out a whistle so high, it seemed to make a group of wild Pidgey shudder.

Then, from the sky descended a Pidgeot. As it began to land, Gale backed up so the large bird wouldn't pierce her skin. As she looked at it, Russell began to speak to her again. He said something about using her until they got to Lavender. Wait... JUST to Lavender? Dammit, I could just ride Cierra there. I could even have just walked there! I thought this was to get to Canalave! As she continued ranting in her mind, she notice Russell about to speak again. This time, it seemed as though he was directing his speech towards everyone.

"So... It seems we're ready to go; we can take care of real introductions on the way, aye? For now... Old man, you can ride on Arty, my Skarmory, until Lavender. And Lady..." He pointed to another one of Gale's elders. "You can ride with me on my Arcanine, and the girl will ride on my Pidgeot. That's all I can take on land though, but it looks like that covers it. Are the any objections or can we depart?" Yes... I'm NOT a "girl" (I'm a woman, mind you; my IQ is probably greater than most of yours, and I'm probably just as mature as the youngest of you), and I don't think I need a Pidgeot to ride to Lavender... Gale didn't want to say the first part (she didn't feel like arguing), so she raised her hand just like "a girl" would.

"I...think I can manage getting to Lavender on my Ninetales, thanks. But, unless there's a ship to take us to our destination in Lavender... I AM just a 'girl' (Gale seemed to emphasize the word), after all, so it's not like I'd know about what you 'adults' (she seemed to emphasize that word, too) are discussing during your free time. But, I don't have any Pokemon to cross the ocean..." Sighing, she walked away from the Pidgeot, but nodded her head, as if thanking it for coming anyways. She threw a crimson red Pokeball (it almost seemed to have a similar color to the Cherish Ball). The beautiful pale yellow fox-like Pokemon came out. She gave one look at Gale, and Gale nodded. The Ninetales then proceeded to sit down so Gale could hop on. She chose to stay behind the Arcanine (even though Cierra could probably go just as fast, if not faster), so she could at least stay on course and not get sidetracked (after all, she still wanted to add one more Pokemon to the team).

 

[Kansas]

Blinking in a slight stunned confusion, Russell took in the girl's strange attitude but didn't really know how to react. He stared blank for a second from atop Fleet with his new passenger also on board behind him. The young girl proceeded to release her Ninetails, which she planned to ride, proving to Russell that she was even smaller than he had originally gave her credit for. He quickly shrugged off her strange actions, as she proceeded to complain about the ocean travel and how it would occur. Russell was beginning to be frustrated with the girl who's obvious lack of maturity was showing profusely from her small teenage body. Russell let out a small frustrated sigh as the girl and her Ninetails took place a bit behind Russell.

"This girls gonna get on my nerves...." Russell huffed in a low mumble, probably only audible to his passenger, Candice.

The elder man graciously accepted the offer, approaching Russell as the trainers got organized.

"Old man, aye? Is that what people like to call me now?" he chuckled, then held out his hand saying, "I've never met you before, so I assume that you've never taken the Gym challenge? Anyways, I'm Eli,"

Russell reached down from his Arcanine, shaking the old man's hand.

"Pleased to meet ya, Old man Eli." Russell responded as he proceeded to go talk with his Skarmory. The old man had a vibe of experience around him that Russell could feel when they shook hands. He watched closely as Eli continued to talk with Skarmory, quickly befriending his steel companion. It was definitely a strange group of trainers assembled. One of the other trainers, refusing to ride his pokemon began to walk, another thing Russell shrugged off. There was no need for loligaggers when they were in a hurry. Russell's eyes scanned the trainers, the other trainer he had seen before, had a large Fearow, more than suitable for flight. And he knew of course his good friend Autumn would fly on her Noctowl. Everything was finally set. Arcanine trotted to the lead of the group, taking a noble stance, awaiting its trainer's orders. Russell held out a small pokeball, connecting the red beam of light to Windy, returning the Pidgeot to it's Pokeball. He returned the ball to his messenger bag, letting Arcanine start to lead the way.

"Its a short ride to Lavender from here, it should be a small length of time before we get there. We'll arrange sea travel plans there... I'll let you know, my Pokemon are all trained in travel expertise... so.... hold on tight?" He ended slightly questioning. "and... try to keep up." He finished, shifting his gaze to the already obnoxious teen.

"Fleet. Extreme Speed!"

Without wasting a moment, that had clearly been the command the eager Arcanine had been waiting for. It crouched low, wagging its tail a bit before blasting off down the street at break neck speed, darting down the streets out of the city. The wind blew past their faces, whipping through and blowing hair back as Arcanine ran his top speed, through the city streets of Saffron towards the city limits where he would be free to really tear loose. By this point, Russell could only hope the others would be keeping up, he knew Arcanine easily had the raw speed advantage. He called back through the howling winds to his passenger who he had neglected to ask if she was doing okay through the Pokemon's high speeds.

"So i'm Russell! Obviously I was called as the team's transportation specialist. Why were you called here?" He questioned curiously as Fleet exited the city limits, quickly followed by the loud thud of his large paws on the dirt path.

(So the next post can be the ground riders talking and whoever took to the air talking and i'd like for you all to arrive at Lavender during your posts too please :D for the sake of time haha)

 

[billie_lightning]

Arrangments were made and in the blink of an eye, Russell and Fleet were gone. Autumn quickly mounted Shelly and looked around to see who else was flying to Lavender.
An older man, probably late fourties, was making friends with Russell's Skarmory and she made a double take, realizing who it was.
"Oh my goodness are you Eli?!" she gasped without restraint. Without waiting for a reply she said, "I remember, a couple years back, battling you! I don't know if you remember me..." she trailed off, "Anyways, looks like we're both flying," she gestured to Shelly and the Skarmory, "So we should stick together, eh?" Autumn felt weird making a suggestion to a someone like Eli. She always had the greatest respect for people who worked with Pokemon, whether is be Researchers or Gym Leaders, and she didn't want to sound bossy; she didn't want to keep Russell waiting. She tucked the map she had recieved into her bag.

Autumn nodded to the old man, tying her hair back for the flight, and Shelly took off to the air. She trusted that Eli was right behind her.
"It's been awhile since I've flown anywhere," she admitted loudly to Eli, over the rush of wind. "Now that I think about it, it's been awhile since I've been to Lavender at all," she said a little quieter. Lavender did not hold good memories for Autumn and her heart sunk a little when she found out it was their destination before taking to the water. It had been years since she had given any thought to the parents that had abandoned her, but now she couldn't help it.

Any sweat that had covered her body from the run to Saffron was now gone as the rushing air dried her. Autumn's brown eyes squinted against it and she looked down every once in awhile to make sure they were heading in the right direction. Skarmory had taken the lead and she assumed he was following his trainer, Russell. Shelly hooted and pointed her beak at a tall tower that Autumn recognized at once; it was the Pokemon Tower. She had visited it every once in awhile when she still lived in the orphanage.

Shelly descended upon the small town and she hummed softly, feeling Autumn's tension. "It's okay, girl, I'll be fine," she leaned down to whisper this to the Noctowl. They landed gracefully and perfectly on soft ground. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw Fleet, Russell's Arcanine. "Good timing eh?" she said to Eli. The air was thick with potential and Autumn quickly forgot the despair that this town brought to her as her heart raced at the possibilities ahead.
"Where's everyone else?"

 

[Eucliffe]

Was it the right thing to say? He doesn't look too happy with me... Gale wondered, staring over at Russell. I mean, I didn't want to be rude or anything. I suppose I could've rode the Pidgeot without questioning him or anything... But like he said, she was tired. And although I may be younger than the others, I'd still probably make conditions worse for the poor bird... Dammit, I hate being misunderstood and treated like a girl! And that guy, to still think himself being much taller than me... I'm only four inches shorter! FOUR inches! Ah, why bother??? Distraught, Gale placed her head onto Cierra's soft fur, and began to drift off to sleep. To keep herself awake, Gale would occasionally take her head off and feel the cool breeze as Cierra ran to the destination, so the cold air would stun her into waking up.

"It's a short ride to Lavender from here; it should be a small length of time before we get there. We'll arrange sea travel plans there... I'll let you know, my Pokemon are all trained in travel expertise... So... Hold on tight?" Russell said to everyone, though it sounded like he was a bit unsure. "And... Try to keep up." His gaze turned to Gale, and once again Gale figured he was annoyed with her. Bastard... He then proceeded to have the Arcanine use Extremespeed, and at once he was off. Hah, that all? An Arcanine can top 317 points of speed max; Ninetales can top up to 328! Taking a look at Cierra's stats, Gale then sighed. Well... Seeing how her nature makes her Speed stat lower... She can only get up to 269 points... Ah, and it depends on the Arcanine's nature too, if it's known...

As they reached the halfway point, Gale looked up at the sky. The eldest of the group seemed to be riding a Skarmory belonging to Russell. Another one of the girls was riding on a Noctowl. That seemed to be all, Arcanine on the ground included. There was the Pidgeot, Windy, but Gale didn't know if she was following or if she was in Russell's pocket. I guess I should apologize for my behavior when we arrive... Placing her head back onto Cierra, Gale began to wait until Cierra came to a halt.

After what seemed like an eternity (though Gale enjoyed daydreaming; it took her mind off other things), she felt Cierra beginning to stop. Looking up, she noticed the nostalgic but somehow haunting town of Lavender. As Cierra fully came to a stop, Gale sat up straight so she wouldn't fall foward and accidentally injure Cierra or herself (or anybody else, for that matter). As she started to get off Cierra, she noticed Russell beginning to speak.

"So, I'm Russell! Obviously, I was called as the team's transportation specialist. Why were you called here?" Glad that he didn't mention anything about Gale's arrogance and her questioning about sea transportation, Gale couldn't help but smile a little. Some others were missing, but there were four others besides Gale, it seemed, Russell (and his passenger) included. Not wanting to step up and be the one to say why she was here first, Gale instead chose to wait for someone else to speak first. She would then apologize to Russell for being such a b*tch after she took her turn.

(So yeah. Gale doesn't like being a b*tch or anything; she just hates being treated like a minor. Everyone is older than her, I know, but why would she be part of Team Alakazam if she wasn't mature or smart enough? XD She's kind of like me the most; we both hated being trated like kids and may act like b*tches.)

 

[Sublime]

(Yikes, I'm still in Silph Co. x_x)

The room the trainers were sitting in was fairly large. Secretary's were typing away on their keypads. A cell phone vibrated every now and again, answered with a very professional "Hello," Alex twiddled with his thumbs for a few moments out of boredom. A swift 'swoosh' was heard from a nearby door. Three men entered the room, all wearing very professional looking labcoats. Ale new these three men from his various journeys. His eyes focused on a man that appeared in his later years. He had a rather stout build and greying hair. Professor Oak, leading Pokemon researcher of the Kanto Region. Alex thought to himself. He changed his line of sight to a rather short fellow short brown hair and a matching goatee. Professor Birch of the Hoenn Reigon... Alex again racked his brain for information on the familiar figure. The final figure stood tall and firm, yet appeared the same age as the carefree Professor Oak. Finally, Professor Rowan of the Sinnoh Region. Studies much about Pokemon evolution... The three men presented themselves to the trainers. Professor Oak was the first to speak

"Glad you all could make it! It seems everything is in order. From the looks of it, you're all the highly competent trainers I asked for. I can see it in your eyes. Some of you I have already met..." He said while eyeing a few trainers. "And others work for me" His view changed to a girl sitting across the room "But whatever the case, you're all here for a reason and that is to put your skills to use for the better of man kind! If you would please step forward, I'll give you all the gear that we can provide you with ourselves, along with some artifacts that we would like for you to check out..." The Professor said while reaching into his bag.

Almost simoultaneously, the trainers stood from their seats to retrieve the "artifacts". Alex waited his turn and was handed a PokeGear, along with a Telescope. Well..I already have a PokeGear; but this telescope looks interesting. I'll have to test it ou-. Alex's thoughts were interrupted by the Professor of Hoenn.

"So your first task will be in the Eastern continent, Sinnoh. We recommend you simply depart from Lavender's coast to arrive in Canalave city. It would be faster than waiting for the S.S. Anne to return. There have been many odd disturbances inside of Iron Mountain. With reports of a large red Pokemon that no one could identify. Based on what we can put together, the citizens of Canalave are describing Groudon." The Professor said with all seriousness enclouding his voice.

Alex tried his best to keep his jaw from dropping. He had heard rumors of Groudon. Most were believed to be fairy tales. One again, Alex's thoughts were cut short by a voice. This time, it was a fellow trainer's voice. He asked something about the Professor's being sure it was Groudon. To which, Birch confirmed. Professor Oak stepped forward and gave some final parting words.

"So that's the mission everyone! Please depart for Sinnoh at once. Groudon isn't going to stay around forever! Go Go! Good luck, Team Alakazam!" The Professor said excitedly, shooing them all out the sliding glass door. "Good luck you all!"

And there they were. Back outside with half of them still dumbfounded from the sheer magnitude of the first mission. Leo came forward and nudged Alex's shoulder, then followed up by pointing to the trainer that had spoken up earlier. He was saying something else again; Alex figured it would be important to listen.

"So I guess we go to Lavender and from there through the Ocean?" The trainer said, readin aloud some directions. "If we want to be fast about this, we'll want to stick together and travel the quickest way possible, which I imagine would be riding Pokemon..." He then proceeded to call his own Pokemon, offering them as rides for anyone who needed them.

I have Leo here... Alex thought to himself as he patted the Fearow's head softly. He then proceeded to mount his Pokemon and wait for the others to depart. He noticed one trainer, a rather young girl, was contempt on walking. Only to be offered a ride by the young man that had been speaking up a lot. She resisted yet again and called out a Ninetales, mounted it and headed off. The boy sighed and headed off on his Arcanine, along with another passenger.

The air travelers were and old man who had used the boy's Skarmory, the young girl that Professor Oak had apparently worked with, and Alex himself. He waited for the other two to depart; seeing as he didn't feel like conversing at the moment. When those two took flight, Alex followed suit a few moments afterward.

It was a short trip east to Lavender, but Alex enjoyed it. He had been cramped up inside that Silph building to long. He needed some fresh air. He stared ahead at the sky before them, and before he knew it, Leo made a nose dive toward the ground. They had quickly arrived in Lavender, where the rest of the group already was.

I suppose now would be a good time for introductions... Alex pondered as he dismounted his Pokemon. He approached the group and nervously said. "Eh, Hello all. I'm Alex Tremain. Sorry for not speaking with any of you back there, hehe... Anywho, I'm willing to provide water transportation to one person aside from myself with assistance of Cala, my Tentacruel." He awaited the rest of the teams answers while he took in the sights of Lavender. It was a rather gloomy place. Not much to sketch either. Alex was eager to get into the sea voyage to Sinnoh to start their mission

 

[Gardevoyeurism]

Candice could do nothing but blink, slackjawed at the burst of attitude the young girl had thrown at her elders. Being the second-eldest in the group, she in particular took offence to the reference the child had made to how the 'adults' were inferior to her. What truly hurt Candy's brittle feelings was how she knew that every word the girl had said was true - she was a child prodigy, Candy was a high-school dropout with the intelligence of a Dunsparce.

"This girls gonna get on my nerves...." Russell scoffed, harboring from Candice a concerned look invisible to him. She watched as one of the other trainers - the only one in the group older than she - jokingly remarked on how the younger man had referred to him as 'Old Man'.

"Old man, aye? Is that what people like to call me now?" The man chortled, then offered Russel his hand.
"I've never met you before, so I assume that you've never taken the Gym challenge? Anyways, I'm Eli," Candice, being a Sinnoh trainer, had never heard of the gym leader 'Eli Greer' or whatever type he specialized in. She too had at one point aspired to become a gym leader, though she thought it somewhat cruel to force pokemon to battle more than once a day unless it is truly necessary.

"Pleased to meet ya, Old man Eli." Russell replied, then watched as the older man waltzed on over to make friends with his Skarmory. Following a brief interlude with a few of the other trainers, he at last shifted his attention back to Candice.

"Its a short ride to Lavender from here, it should be a small length of time before we get there. We'll arrange sea travel plans there... I'll let you know, my Pokemon are all trained in travel expertise... so.... hold on tight?" There was a slight tone of concern in his voice, though this later changed to a tone of contempt once he focused onto the youngest member of the group in order to give her what Candy perceived to be a sugar-coated brush-off. "and... try to keep up."

"Fleet. Extreme Speed!" The boy commanded, his loyal canine companion immediately proceeded to dash through the woods at breakneck speed.

The trip from Silph Co. headquarters to Lavender was, quite literally, a blur to poor Candice, who throughout the ride struggled to hold on without hurting the Arcanine or making its trainer feel uneasy. Her arms around Russel's waist and her legs around Fleet's with her handbag over one shoulder slipping towards her elbow, she held on for dear life as her fellow trainer, oblivious to her current condition, cheerfully attempted to make small-talk with her.

"So I'm Russell! Obviously I was called as the team's transportation specialist. Why were you called here?" He asked only moments before the magnificent pokemon ended his trip with a thud of his heavy clawed paws upon dirt. Nauseous and dizzy, Candy almost fell flat on her face once she feebly peeled herself from Fleet's back before giving the pokemon a scratch behind the ears as thanks. She'd caught what Russel had said, though she wasn't in the best position to speak at the moment. It took an entire five minutes, during which all the other trainers had arrived, for Candice to fully recover from her dazed stupor. Very well as she had snapped out of her dreamlike state right as one of the other team members decided to spark a string of introductions.

"Eh, Hello all. I'm Alex Tremain. Sorry for not speaking with any of you back there, hehe... Anywho, I'm willing to provide water transportation to one person aside from myself with assistance of Cala, my Tentacruel."

During the course of Alex's introduction, Candice made a shocking realization - she too hadn't so much as told anyone her name, even after Russel had so kindly allowed her to ride upon his prized Arcanine. Knowing this, she knew she had to find a way to muster up the courage to get a word in between everyone else's. Especially if she was going to hitch yet another ride on someone else's pokemon.

Like a modern-day Macguyver, she rummaged through her handbag to look for a solution to the problem at hand until she once again pulled the blue-labelled pokeball from the bag's front pocket, then pressed the button in order to release Puffy, who once again took her place upon her trainer's shoulder. Though there was no apparent reason as to why she would need to send out the little rain-cloud pokemon, having it around gave her confidence a much-needed boost. As jolly as a Swellow, she stepped up and into the heart of the group and petted her Castform beneath its dainty chin before proceeding to introduce herself.

"My name's Candice Attridge, and I'm an alcoholic... Tee-hee, just kidding!" She knew it was uncalled for, but the temptation was such that she just couldn't resist making a terrible joke of a serious matter.
"...So, anyway... I deal with difficult pokemon. Not that my sweet little Puffy here is or ever was a difficult pokemon, of course, but I guess you all know what I mean. I know I'm pretty much useless for now, but if it all turns to crud and we run into a storm on the way..." Pointing towards Castform's adorable goggled face, Candy gave a sheepish grin. She realized that she had made a complete fool of herself and was only digging herself into a deeper hole by trying to give a legitimate-sounding reason as to why she would place yet more weight upon the back of whatever poor pokemon that would be forced to carry her across the seas all the way back to the region of Sinnoh.

((OOC: Darn dad, hoggin' the computer. >.>; ))

 

[Kansas]

One by one the small introductions finally took place in the small opening just inside of Lavender.

"Fleet, down boy." Russell called down to the large dog Pokemon. It immediately kneeled low again, allowing its passengers, Russell and Candy, to slide off. "Thanks boy." Russell finished as he hugged the big dog through its scruffy fur and returned it to its pokeball. While placing it back into his backpack he listened to the other introductions. Candice Attridge... Alex Tremain. Russell had been out of contact with main stream world for a good long while so he didn't know many of the trainers anyway. Although Autumn seemed to remember Old Man Eli. He was pleased to see that there truly were talented trainers with them for this team, they could really accomplish great things. Russell looked towards the inner parts of the city, squinting into the bright sunlight. Suddenly a dramatic realization struck him like a brick.

"What time is it?!" Russell thought quickly as he rustled through his messenger bag, finally finding what he was looking for. He quickly spun his pokegear in front of his face, inspecting the the time.

"7pm? but by the lighting it feels like at least noon... whats going on here..." Russell said quietly to himself. "...Something to do with Groudon...?"

He quickly snapped back to attention, addressing the group on his concerns. "So has any one else noticed that the sun should be setting?" Russell finally said aloud in a blunt tone to the others, squinting through the town again. "I'm gonna go ask some questions... this is weird." Russell said, immediately rushing into town, stopping the closest person he could find.

"Excuse me, ma'am."
"Yes, how may I help you?"
"Well, why is the sun so bright here? This isn't normal..."
"We don't know, It's been like this for 2 days now, and we're starting to get worried. The sun's light barely lets off for a few hours before coming back full force. We"ve all started staying inside already."
"What?! This isn't natural at all... Lavender isn't anywhere near far enough north or south to get this kind of abnormal sunlight... um thank you miss!" Russell said rushing back to the group.

"This has to be something to do with Groudon. I'm sure of it. Its too coincidental!" He exclaimed to everyone. "We should get to Canalave as fast as possible, come on meet me at the docks." Russell called to the group before rushing without looking back towards the docks south of Lavender. A short run through town to the water's edge on the wooden planks that lead toward Vermillion and Fuschia. Russell quickly wasted no time tossing a dark blue and white pokeball into the air that spayed a red light, taking the form of a tall blue Pokemon.

"Lilly!" Russell called to the Lapras happily, leaping from the dock to his pokemon, grabbing her neck and hugging her tight. Russell stood on his Lapras' large saddle-like back as he awaited the other trainers.

"Lilly can take probably 3 passengers, crossing the sea will be a breeze." Russell said confidently to himself. "Hey girl, you up for a long trip?" he asked the gentle Lapras. It cooed gently back at him with a happy look as the two awaited the group to join them at the docks. From here on, it was a straight journey over seas to Canalave...and Groudon...

 

[Eucliffe]

Eh? But... Well, I didn't think everyone would be able to give introductions. But I might as well give a short one... Taking calm, deep breaths, Gale sighed.

"Um, excuse me?" she said, hoping everyone would hear her. "I know this is probably time for the introductions to stop, but I just want to say one thing. My name is Gale Hana, and, well... I'm the tactician. Now, don't laugh or think I'm kidding; I'm a bit of a prodigy (or so I'm told; I don't believe it myself), so my skills with tactics are quite advanced. I really hope to get to know all of my senior allies. Oh, and one more thing..." Her gaze turned to Russell for a second.

"I may act like a b*tch at times, but only because I don't like to be treated like a kid. Yes, I am the youngest of the group, but you have to know this: Just because I'm young and probably 'more energetic' to y'all doesn't mean I'm immature and not as knowledgeable. Treat me like a kid and I'll act that way. Treat me like I'm an 'adult', and I will probably respect you. So, if I get on your nerves, it probably means you'll get on mine. Capische?" Finishing her introduction, Gale sighed. "And I don't have any way of getting across the water; I'm a bit afraid of it, too..." she muttered.

('Rene's Note: Flashback time! =D)

It was cold out. The weather was perfect for skating (well, ice skating, that is). Gale was probably around 9 at this time. She was going out to skate (the person she stayed with made a pair of ice skates for her). This was en route to Mahogany Town. So, as Gale began skating in the ice, she began to notice the cracks below. As she struggled to move away from them, she felt herself slipping.

At last, she fell. Not only did she do this, she also broke open a soft spot in the ice, supposedly sending her down to her icy-cold, watery grave. She had lost consciousness, as well as all hope for surviving.

She woke up much later in a hospital. Although she wasn't injured quite badly, she was suffering from hypothermia. Fortunately, since she was found early enough, she wasn't in too bad a condition. She recalled all these tubes with needles attached sticking into her arms. All the tubes had liquids that seemed to creep her out. And since then, she had had a fear of liquid of any sort.

Now, this would seem strange, seeing how she needs liquid to live. She didn't mind it as long as it came in a box or something she couldn't see it in. Whenever she had to fill a bottle, she'd close her eyes. And, whenever her Pokemon used any Water moves, she would close her eyes (and would keep them closed during Whirlpool's effect, even if it meant losing the battle). So to see the liquid in front of her, in Lavender, Gale was a bit in shock, but tried to hide it from the others...

(So there you have it. I ran out of ideas for the main post, so I decided to give Gale a fear of something.)

 

[ANARCHit3cht]

(Repost, in a better spot now :) )

Zimri stood there silent, he was isolated from the rest of the trainers, standing a few feet away. Curious eyes darted back and forth across the room, and then settled on one door, the door that was opening. Out of the next room came three men dressed in lab coats. Zimri didn't actually know any of them, but he knew all of their names from various television interviews. The one with a red shirt happened to be Oak, the brown haired one, Birch, and the who appeared to be the eldest, Rowan. A feeling of dissappointmet grew on the breeder as he stood there looking at the professors, the only one that he did know wasn't there. Elm, was not there. It was quite logical though, Elm wasn't that much of a hotshot professor. He was never on big T.V. interviews like the others, he was just.. him. An average person who took quite an interest in Pokémon.


The professor named Oak was the first to talk. "Glad you all could make it! It seems everything is in order. From the looks of it, you're all the highly competent trainers I asked for. I can see it in your eyes. Some of you I have already met...But whatever the case, you're all here for a reason and that is to put your skills to use for the better of man kind! If you would please step forward, I'll give you all the gear that we can provide you with ourselves, along with some artifacts that we would like for you to check out..."

Zimri only paid attention to the important parts. The ones relating to him, and his presence here. Waiting, he watched as all the other trainers stepped up, accepting their items. Then, it was his turn. He stepped and held his hands extended. The professor gave him a container. IT was a small, cylindrical one, with a light on top. A small pillow was placed on bottom, and glass surronded it all, except the bottom where it was plastic. Inside was an egg. It was of a dull shade, a bland beige, but it had many colorful markings on it. "Thank You" he formed the words with his lips, but no sound came out. Without thinking, he pulled the pocket on his guitar case and placed the object in there. He pulled a strap over it, securing it in place.

Oak opened his mouth to continue. Zimri payed close attention to what was being said. "So your first task will be in the Eastern continent, Sinnoh. We recommend you simply depart from Lavender's coast to arrive in Canalave city. It would be faster than waiting for the S.S. Anne to return. There have been many odd disturbances inside of Iron Mountain. With reports of a large red Pokemon that no one could identify. Based on what we can put together, the citizens of Canalave are describing Groudon."

One of the other trainers asked a question. He asked if the professors were sure that it was Groudon. They said that based on all the details they have, it is Groudon. Then, that same trainer released two Pokémon. He commanded his entergetic Arcanaine to go down so that he could mount it. The trainer, whoms name he thought was Russel asked another question, but this time directed to the other trainers. "How many of you have riding Pokemon? I can give rides to anyone who doesn't, but I'd like to leave soon."

Zimri absolutely detested using Pokémon as tools for things such as riding. Without any second thoughts he shook his head. "I will be walking." he said bluntly and then exited the building to go find Azu, Uzu and Ozu. Quo was close behind and quicky followed, eager to exit the building were it would be just him and Zimri. His other three Pokémon weren't hard to find. They were putting on a display by themselves. Wowing the people of Saffron. "Time to go!" he called over to them. They walked towards him, and he walked towards them. "Okay guys, we have to head to Lavender and set sail for Canalave." Pulling three balls of all different colors he recalled his Pokémon, leaving only Azu out. "The others will be riding their Pokémon, you know that I prefer to walk."

<Yes I do. However, wouldn't it be much better to ride a Pokémon? I mean you can't be holding them up, come on. You can't be the lolligagger. I mean, they might just leave you behind.>

"Hm.. I guess your right. I'll tell you what, I walk to Celadon city, and ride Quo the rest of the journey."

<But.. then you will still be later than the others..>

"Yes, but Pokémon aren't tools. They aren't to be ridden around like that and made to battle. I let you choose your own path. If you didn't want to preform with me, you wouldn't be. When you met Ozu I saw the affection you had for him, and I let your hearts do the talking. Any regular trainer would force you do battle and wouldn't bother befriending Ozu, despite your love."

<I guess what you say is true.. so, I'll agree with you. But, you must leave now.>

"Deal"

With that, Zimri and Azu were off. They quickly headed for the edge of the city leading to Celadon. It was peaceful and serene, alone, in the quiet. Much of the journey was in a strong silence. Spearow flew through the skies, chirping and singing their bird song. A sign of delight spread across his face. "Quo, I need to ride you now.." he said, pressing the button releasing his Pokémon. "Azu, return" called the trainer. Mounting the absol felt a little weird "Yip, Yip!" whispered Zimri. As if they had been doing it for years, Quo took off.

A voice rang through Zimri's head. <Hello, Zimri. I know how you feel about riding me, it is fine. I prefer this, it feels nice, natural.>

"Hunh? Who said that?"

<It was I, Quo. Zimri, you have a special power, you can talk to Pokémon, but only you can hear them. You understand them. That is why you are so adept in the field of breeding and medical care.>

"What? I have been able to talk to Pokémon?"

<Yes. But, the talking, it distracts me. I believe you have a place to be soon. Hold on tight, I am about to pick up speed.>

Zimri, dumbfounded listened to his Pokémon. He grabbed its fur tight and leaned in. "Ready. Now lets go!"

<Yes. We shall>

With a whip of it's head the absol took off. It kicked up dirt behind it. The area between them and Lavender had a few trees. Zimri was amazed. His absol had such speed. Looking up, the breeder noticed a tree. They were going to crash, Quo was going to fast to stop. Just moments away from impact, Quo jumped. He had used future sight to predict the tree, and dodge it. He dodged another, but landed infront one more. "Quo! Night Slash!" commanded Zimri. The Pokémon listened and cut the tree. It fell, and they jumped over the remaining stump. They quickened their pace and soon caught up with the others at Lavender. "Sorry I am late. I took the long way around.." he returned his absol. He also noticed another, much older than him withdrawing a Gallade. Before continuing, he checked the egg, it was still safe.

(OOC: I don't need a ride, I plan to add to my team here.. if that is ok..)