[PKMN OPEN] Pokémon Spear [M] [IC]

[Jay]

Raphael Allard
> Route 2 Lake
> Mood: Focussed
> A KARP THAT COULD - PART 2

- A JP featuring Arrietty Maverick & Raphael Allard -​

The road out of Wedgehurst was filled with many waving bystanders and words of good luck and good-bye. The first graduating class of the trainer's school had garnered more interest than Arrietty anticipated, and she resigned to accepting their encouragement as enthusiastically as she could muster.

When she finally escaped view of the last person to greet her, she let out an exasperated sigh. Even the train station had been packed with people, worse than anywhere else it seemed, so escaping through there wasn't an option yet. Instead, her feet had carried her to Route 2. Familiar, but still technically wilderness, she figured. Time to start… doing trainerly things!

Or well, she would, if she had any idea where to start. Catching Pokémon? A glance at the Torchic standing next to her made her waver. She'd barely gotten to know Wren yet, so to add more to her team already seemed like a bad idea. Then, battle practice? What wild Pokémon would be good to—

"AHEM!"

Arrietty started awake, and looked up to see a stout, mustachioed man trying to push a flyer into her face. He looked grumpy, probably as a result of making several attempts to get her attention already.

"Oh, excuse me! I was just lost in thought…" Arrietty apologized, her words turning to a mutter before the sentence even finished. She quickly took the flyer and examined it intently, worried she'd annoy the man further if she didn't take an interest.

"On behalf of the Fisherman's Association, I wanted to remind you of the tourney going on at the lake today," the man carried on in a huff, barely concerning himself with her response. "Ten biggest Magikarp catchers get to keep their borrowed rods! Spread the word!" He practically stepped away before even finishing, rushing to find more willing candidates.

After mumbling an awkward goodbye, Arrietty turned her attention to the flyer. Her Torchic spent some time glaring at the fisherman's back, but then chirped at her inquisitively. She nodded in response.

"This seems like a good place to start. Let's go, Wren."

---

The lake docks were small; only about a half dozen boats could be moored, and there wasn't even a building from where to rent them. That is, except for the makeshift wooden stand set up for the tourney. Another fisherman, decked out in the typical hat and vest, was handing out similar flyers and the rentable rods for the competition.

"Welcome, lass! Here to compete as well?"

This man had a much friendlier disposition than the last, and Arrietty smiled gently and nodded. "If I'm not too late to join?"

"Not at all! 'Cept, as ye can see, the boats are all out on the lake already. Nothin' stoppin' ye from getting yer fish on otherwise, though! The Karps won't mind as long as ye got summat to lure 'em with."

Arrietty paused for a moment. "And I don't suppose you're selling bait as well?"

Her question was met with a hearty laugh. "Turns out that might'a been a good business opportunity! But no, lass, it's bring yer own bait. Otherwise it's you and yer rod for today!"

The girl thanked him, and took one of the old rods standing to the side of his stall. Now, where to sit down? Sure enough, all the boats were out on the water. She set out to skim the sides of the lake for another dock or outcropping to settle on instead… until she spied one of the boats seemed to be moving back towards the shore. Perhaps she was in luck after all? Quickly beckoning the Torchic beside her, she made her way down the few steps and onto the wooden dock.

Sitting at the bow of the small rowboat was Raph, his sleeves were rolled up and as he felt the vessel thunk lightly against the wood of the dock, he released a sigh of relief. "Why do I do this to myself?" He grumbled tiredly, running a hand to slick the sweat addled hair on his head back. His blue eyes met the blue sky, then drifted down to the reflection of same in the water beyond. Vito slowly swam his way towards his trainer now, the tiny pokémon bounding gently out of the water, until he could spin happily and rapidly in place, shaking away the water from his spherical body.

"Right… set yourself a goal… and stick to it. Gotta start getting used to this." With a grunt, Raph clambored out of the vessel and looked around, only to be met with a girl practically hovering over them. She couldn't have been too far from Raph's age, and beside her feet stood a small, but prideful looking Pokémon, Raph had a vague idea as to the species… Torchic? That sounded right, from what he was aware this pokémon was supremely popular in the Hoenn region.

"Er, excuse me… If you're done using it, could I take that boat?" the girl questioned, clutching the rod in her hand. Raph blinked once in surprise, he hadn't expected someone with what he needed to be waiting right here on the docks for him, that was convenient. "Hmm…" He ponders a moment, his eyes drifting to the rod she held. "You're here for the fishing contest right?" He responds with a question of his own, rather to the point, as if he already knows the answer. "Maybe this is fate finally giving me a break…" He mumbles to himself soon after, but then stretches and yawns.

"Thing is, I need this both myself… I'd have asked why you wanted mine specifically but, cor, it looks like everyone else cleared out quickly enough." His eyes now turn to look around the dock and shore. Not a boat in sight, maybe the town should've invested in more waterware before deciding to host this kind of event. Still, all of this was just making it more convenient for him. "I'm going to grab a rod myself, I'm not really in this to keep the tool if I'm being honest… there's a specific Magikarp I'm after and this competition is making it convenient to grab it. Once I'm back… We can head out onto the lake together, if that suits you, it would mean the effort I'd need to spend rowing would be cut in half." He pauses, his point made, but then raises an eyebrow, one of his eyes opening just a little more as he takes a good look at the girl standing before him. "...huh, this is odd but… do I know you? Have we met before?"

"Huh?" she responds, clearly that notion hadn't crossed her mind yet. She takes a look over the trainer and his Pokémon, the Spheal that her own Torchic was warily eyeing from behind her leg. A starter she supposed, so one of her classmates, then?

"I… take it you went to Wedgehurst Trainer's School as well? I don't remember seeing you around much, though," she spoke, watching him doubtfully, before her gaze moved over to the boat once more. "But er, yes, if you don't mind, I would like to come along."

"That's not surprising." Raph responds, if he didn't remember it wasn't much a surprise that he wouldn't be[/b] remembered either. Still, his suspicions were correct, this girl was a classmate of his so it would seem. He had vague memories flooding back now as he tried, she was quiet, a bit like him, though most likely not for the same reasons.

From beside his leg Vito returns the look of the Torchic, though there is no wariness to his gaze. Instead, Vito's eyes are wide and full of wonder and intrigue. He had never seen this type of pokémon before, he had never seen most types of pokémon before, but this one was neat! It was small, like him, but fluffy and feathery and cute. He wanted to be its friend, oh boy, maybe this little orange guy would like to go swimming together when their trainers went out in the boat?! That'd be the best!

"It's settled then." Raph says with a small nod. "I'll grab a rod from the stall then, hope you're ready to row." He turns from her and moves to walk down the dock towards the waiting fisherman, but stops momentarily, to call over his shoulder. "Oh, I'm Raph by the way, Raphael Allard… nice to… re-meet you? Maybe?"

"Ah, yeah, I suppose…" She half-smiled. "I'm Arrietty."

---

Since Raphael had been on the water already, Arrietty offered to row the boat back to where he'd been before. That way, he could stay on lookout for the Magikarp he found earlier as well, though Arrietty was more than a little skeptical he could find the same one more than once. Still, being out on the water was refreshing, and she thought if any Pokémon should be an easy first catch, it would be Magikarp, right?

Behind her, at the bow of the boat, Torchic was standing on the little wooden seat and looking out over the water. He was alert! Vigilant! If any Pokémon came up to the surface he'd be on top of it! Imagining his heroic exploits made him gloat a bit already - until the boat rocked a little and he was hit by a splash of water in the face. Eyes pressed closed, he slowly turned around and shook his body, drying his feathers, before opening them again… and looking right into the face of the Spheal sitting behind him.

"Sphee!" Vito immediately cried out in joy as the ruffled feathers splashed droplets of water onto his spherical body. He bounced a little in place excitedly causing the boat to rock… his new friend wanted to play already!! With an eager sploosh the little ball launched himself up and down into the waters below, the resulting burst of water flying over the waiting vessel… and subsequently drenching Wren once more. The Torchic angrily shook its body again, before glaring just over the edge of the boat again, wary of any further splashes from outside. Vito, oblivious to any negative connotations however, simply peeked up from the water below, a big goofy grin on his face as he floated on the surface.

Meanwhile at the back of their tiny ship, Raph scanned the waters with a focussed gaze. Arrietty had taken it upon herself to row them out to the water proper, he was starting to like her already. What he didn't like was his lack of success in catching the karp that caught his attention. He had been watching and waiting since they cast off… and while he had spotted a few magikarp on the way, none of them had been the one he was after. Rather abnormally large and with a vicious looking scar tracing down its tailfin. "It's odd…" He begins with a sigh. "I usually wouldn't be so bothered, doing something like this, but there was something about this Magikarp that caught my attention."

"What was it?" Arrietty responded without looking up. She'd thought the rowing couldn't be so bad, but this was doing a surprising number on her arms, so she stopped for a moment to look around and rest her muscles. "Are we far enough yet, do you think? I'd like to actually get to fishing…"

"This is probably fine…" Raph meanders, his brain not quite responding to the question as his gaze is still scanning the water. "It almost capsized my boat by just swimming into the side… and its tail had a strange scar, it sprawled out across the fin like a web." He rubs his chin gently as the memory floods back and he slowly settles down to sit rather than stand. He takes a moment to pull his own old rod out, lent for the competition just like Arrietty's, then casts his line out onto the lake. "Steady on Raph… if searching the lake won't work, we'll just have to wait."

A moment of silence passes as Raph and Arrietty begin to fish in earnest, the stillness of the lake serving as a fitting backdrop to silence. "...hm." He wondered if this was the appropriate time to say something, sitting in silence was easier on paper, but was the awkwardness worth the lack of effort? "Your starter… is a Torchic right? I hear they're popular in Hoenn. Never seen one in Galar before." His eyes glance over at the tiny soaked bird and he cringes a little as he finally becomes aware of Vito's antics. "To be fair I've never seen a Spheal either… not sure where he came from though."

Arrietty was facing the other way with her rod, and had gotten lost in thought contemplating what Raph said earlier. This Magikarp capsized the boat? Just how big was it? What if it'd capsize for real now? If it's aggressive, wouldn't that be dangerous? Wait, could Wren even swim?!

Only when Raph started talking proper did she realise they'd been silent for a while. Oh no, did she make him awkward? They were just fishing, right? "Oh, er, yeah, they're not exactly common here… though I think Wren was hatched here, I don't know where his egg originally came from."

She patted Wren's head for a moment, and he didn't complain. "As for Spheal, though…" Arrietty placed the bottom end of her rod on the floor, holding it in place with her feet for a moment as she dug through her bag in search of her Pokédex. Once she pulled it out, she pointed it towards Spheal and started reading aloud.

"First discovered in Hoenn, just like Torchic… common habitat Shoal Cave… since spotted in several different regions. Well, there you have it, I suppose."

Of course, her carelessness was immediately punished when there was a tug on the rod only locked in place by the soles of her shoes. With a gasp, Arrietty fumbled to grab it, shaking the boat and nearly dropping the Pokédex in the process. She managed to somehow clamp the device between her fingers to drop back into her bag, and grabbed a tight hold of the rod again. "Um, a little help!?"

Wren jumped up and sat on the side of the ship, scouring the water for the fish to come up, but other than the taut line, there was nothing to be seen.

"Huh?" Raph raised an eyebrow at Arrietty's distress, she fumbled suddenly, gripping at the rod between her hands tightly. Her call for help didn't fall on deaf ears however, as Raph quickly let his rod go lax against the side of the boat. He stands up shakily and shuffles over, reaching around Arrietty to try and grip the rod too. "Do you think you've got a big- w-wha?!" Just as he's about to grip the rod in turn, an impact crashes into the side of their little row boat. The wooden frame shudders and shakes violently, nearly toppling from the impact. Wren falls back from the edge into the boat's hull, Arrietty's line goes slack from the shock and her catch gets away, while Raphael stumbles backwards, falling hard on his back and causing the boat to shake further. "Ugh!" He exclaims in pain, rubbing the back of his head. "Merde! What the hell?!"

"Aah! Are you okay? What was that?!" Arrietty pulled back the line to confirm her catch was gone, and worriedly looked all around the water for a sign of what just hit them. "Did that happen before? Was that the karp you found then? Geez, that spooked me…"

"Ugh… I'm fine, sorry…" Raph groans, slowly pulling himself into a sitting position, the boat rocking slightly once again as a concerned Spheal quickly flops its lumpy body onto the side of the vessel, his eyes full of concern for his trainer. Raph tries to give a small smile to reconcile his partner pokémon, but as he does so, rubbing the back of his head, he notices something amiss. His own fishing rod, the hook dangling into the water before while the haft sat in the boat, began to shift slightly. "Wait…" Is all he manages to get out as suddenly the rod itself is yanked into the air by its string.

​

Without thinking, Raph jumps upwards, sending the boat rocking once more and grabs the rod as it's pulled away. The string is immediately pulled taut and Raph is dragged to the edge of the boat, his shoulder catching on the wooden rim to stop himself being dragged into the water. For the briefest of moments from the sudden impact, the creature on the other end of the line is yanked out of the lake and into the air. Raph peers over the edge just in time to see it, staring daggers at the two trainers sitting upon the water is an orange fish of great size, its scales shimmer in the sunlight as its gaze meets his… and upon its tail is a spiralling, web-like scar. "You..!" Raph exclaims, frustration building up in his gut. "You little tosser…!" Raph grips the rod tighter, his voice straining to a growl as the Magikarp hits the water again, swimming swiftly through the lake. The new trainer expects a tug of war on the spot but what happens next is an even greater shock.

The boat starts moving. Slow at first, then faster… then faster again.

"W-what the hell?!" He tries to pull himself upwards, kneeling in the boat with his arms and upper torso nearly yanked free of the boat entirely, the old rod in his hands struggles to stay together as his knuckles turn white, a number of other boats shouting in surprise and concern at Raph and Arrietty's as they're taken for a joy ride across the water's surface.

Arrietty made sure Wren and Spheal were okay, before kneeling down beside Raph and wrapping her hands around empty spaces on his rod. She locked her legs under the wooden bench, trying to let him sit upright as they shared their strength, but the Magikarp was becoming more and more erratic, flailing left and right as they soared over the water.

"Wren, help us! Try shooting at it with Ember!" Desperate times call for desperate measures, and Wren rose to the occasion, shooting the burning embers over the edge of the boat - but as soon as they did, Arrietty realised her mistake. When the flames hit the water, steam started shooting upward, and only narrowly missed the fishing line. "Wait! Stop!" his trainer immediately commanded, panic resounding through her voice. "I-I'm sorry, we're no help— what are we doing?!"

Raph felt the strain on his body ease up as Arrietty came to aid him. No matter how strong this Magikarp appeared to be, two humans and the weight of a boat were starting to slow it down. Still, at this rate… it wasn't looking super likely that the line would hold up. Damn it… was this fish going to one-up him again?

He focused as best he could, he watched the situation unfolding. The embers hit the water hard, rising into steam, heating portions of the water… but the Magikarp's serpentine movements only served to slow its movement, not lessen its force.

Wait… slow it down?

The pieces clicked together in Raph's head quickly, a plan began to formulate, alone this was a lots cause… but with these two here? "Arrietty, you're a genius!" Raph exclaims, gripping the rod with reaffirmed strength. "Vito! Back in the water and start using rollout! Build up speed while trying to keep up!" Without missing a beat, the Spheal followed orders, launching itself into the crystalline lake water below and spinning rapidly, with a slow start he immediately started to fall behind, but Raph remembered the events of earlier that day, he was certain his pokemon wouldn't be left behind for long. "Arri, keep doing what you were doing! If we keep going in a straight line this stupid fish is going to get away, it's avoiding the hot water so you have to try and slow it down!"

"What?" Arrietty looked between him and the line in disbelief. Had he not seen Wren almost burnt the line altogether? But she shook her head. If he thought they could do it… "Wren, change of plans! Shoot embers beyond the line, to where this karp is swimming next! Careful not to break it!"

The girl braced herself for Wren to climb up on her shoulder and even her head after, getting the highest vantage point, also so he wouldn't burn her face. Once up there, the Torchic started shooting bursts of embers far ahead into the water, creating clouds of steam to follow - making Magikarp have to slow down and swerve or risk the scalding pools.

"Focus… Raph…" Raphael muttered to himself as Wren started blasting bursts of flame outwards into the water. He gripped the old rod tighter and started to quickly and harshly pull back against the Magikarp at the right moments, maneuvering the line away from the fire as best as he could. As expected, the Magikarp started to doubt its former confidence, it desperately swerved and fought against the two trainers holding the line, small gurgles and cries bubbled up from the water below. Its movements became erratic as it started to swerve in all directions, slowing the movement of both it and the boat drastically. Raph's eyes drifted towards Arrietty and Wren for a brief moment… he had expected more hesitation, but they immediately threw themselves into his plan. The little fire type was certainly proud and his trainer, he imagined, had a bit more skill than he gave her credit for on first impressions. Before his thoughts could get too far ahead of him another sharp tug pulled the line taut, the stray embers and heated air were taking their toll… and the string holding this fish pokémon back was about to break. They had to hold on for just a little longer though! Just until-

As was becoming a habit, Raph felt his train of thought interrupted by a familiar sounding cry. Though this time he was glad to hear it.

"..eeeeeEEEEEEEEEE!!"

Riding along the top of the water, spinning rapidly with its little flippers and tail serving as a propellor, Vito was charging across the surface of the water like a tiny motorboat. Thanks to the effort of Wren and Arri he had gotten the time needed to get rollout really going, without the boat and Magikarp moving so fast that he couldn't catch up. "Vito now! Plunge down!" Using the edge of the rocking boat, Vito leaped out of the water and moved up along the bow as if it were a ramp. He launches into the air like a super sonic cannon ball, then plunges downwards, in his descent he cuts straight through the line, snapping it instantly, but even with that mishap it was too late for the Magikarp to escape. Vito plunges beneath the surface and charges forward with his stored momentum, rising up from beneath the Magikarp and crashing hard into its underside. With a monumental pillar of water bursting up from the lake, the Magikarp is sent flying into the air above the lake, awkwardly flopping above the water as it's sent skywards.

The sudden release of force from the rod knocked the trainers off balance for a second, but they quickly scrambled back upright. Arrietty wasted no time and stretched her arm forward, calling for Wren to "GO!", and he ran down the front of her arm to spout another flurry of embers right at the surfacing Magikarp. She knew the flames wouldn't hurt the water-type much, but at this point, every little bit mattered.

As the fire collided with the Magikarp it spiralled through the air a little further, the fore of the embers almost juggling it for a second and piling on every little bit of precious damage that the two new trainers could muster. As this was happening Raph couldn't afford to waste this opportunity, he quickly pulled himself to his feet and pulled one of the pokéballs Sonia had given him from his bag… but the damn fish was still too far away.

There was a moment of brief hesitation as Raph felt the arm with the ball go limp. Was this catch really worth the effort it'd take to grab it? He had a momentary pause, the options weighing in his mind, but before the line of questioning could progress too far he cuts it off in his mind. "Sunk cost fallacy, right..?" He mutters, before quickly stepping up onto the bow of the boat, nearly toppling the vessel over as he places his full weight on the very edge. "Vito! Powder Snow quickly, I need to get a little closer!" The spheal quickly bounces out of the water once more, opening its maw and shooting freezing cold icy pellets in the same instance Raph jumps from the edge of the boat. The ice collides with the lake and slowly solidifies the water, not a lot, not enough to stand on, but just enough to get a little more traction!

As Raph's foot collides with the small icy platform Vito desperately creates it cracks, shatters and breaks, but not before the trainer can push his momentum forward a little more and swing his arms wide. "This'll teach you… to bother me when I'm trying to relax!" He hurls the pokéball with all the force he can, the world almost slowing down as he plummets towards the water, watching the pokéball canter through the air… before striking its mark dead on. In a flash of red light the Magikarp is dragged into the pokéball and instantly after both Raph and it crash into the lake and sink beneath the water.

A few agonizing moments of silence past with Vito swimming rapidly around the spot where Raph fell. Arrietty and Wren scrambled to the edge of the boat, looking out over the water, but the rippling and icy patches made it hard to see. She was about to shout to Vito to look for him, when with a gasp, Raphael finally burst up from the surface, his arm held upwards towards the boat… showing the now full pokéball in his hand. What was it that trainers were supposed to say at times like this?

"G… Gotcha…!"

The air fell still at his sudden and awkward exclamation, Vito swimming and eagerly rubbing against his trainer as they were both in the water together at last. Raph's eyes fell towards Arrietty… and he smirked, before grinning, then bursting into laughter. He laughed at the rush of relief that he had finished pushing himself too hard, he laughed at the absurdity of the situation and maybe, just maybe, he laughed because he was having just a bit of fun.

In the boat, Arrietty sighed of relief, and sunk back into a sitting position, cupping her face in her hands for a moment. It was over, they were okay… Wren reassured her by resting his warm, feathered body to her leg. She looked up and chuckled a moment too, petting his head gratefully, and stood back up to row the boat towards Raph and Vito.

---

​

It didn't take long for the judges to take note of the Magikarp's immense size, once it had calmed down from its intense aggravation upon being first sent out from it's pokéball. In the end, the newly captured pokémon was deemed easily one of the top ten largest of the day… however, since Raph had been the one to officially capture the creature, only he had been allowed to keep the old rod used… not to mention the judges were none too happy that they had to repair the lines of the rewarded rod that Raph had taken.

Raphael and Arrietty now stood at the edge of Route 2, with Wedgehurst town's entrance now in sight. The two trainers' paths were about to part, for now, but there was a single moment left before they proceeded to the next stage of their journeys. Raph was standing a little ahead of his new companion, Magikarp's pokéball was in one hand, the old rod in the other. "I think I'll name her Carmen." He said casually, not quite turning to look at Arrietty just yet. "Hopefully she'll be worth my soggy clothes, thankfully my phone wasn't in my pocket when I jumped in." He turns properly now, Vito rolling happily around his legs in circles as he sighs. "I'm not usually the most… involved, but I think I really wanted this capture. So, what I mean to say is…" He fumbles, he wasn't used to encounters like this… but being awkward was a lot of effort, so after a moment he smiles.

"Thank you, Arrietty… and Wren too. I wouldn't have been able to do this without you." He ponders a moment as the words leave his mouth, then spins the old rod in his hand and holds it out towards the girl. "Here, I got what I wanted… I think it's only fair you take this."

Arrietty tensed up a little, surprised by his suddenly serious demeanor, but smiled awkwardly and gingerly took the rod off his hands. "In the end it wasn't much really, you did all the heavy lifting." As soon as she finished, Wren piped up in protest, tugging at her clothes angrily. She quickly knelt down to pick the little one up. "Oh no, you did amazingly Wren, for being in such a tough situation!"

The Torchic wasn't gonna let that slide and kept struggling and pecking at the rod as well, causing Arrietty to hold it out from him and try to push it out of reach into her bag instead. She stepped back from the other trainer, still with an apologetic smile, and spoke a final few words.

"Um, thanks for the rod then, and for today as well. Fishing was certainly a lot more exciting than I gave it credit for… I hope Carmen treats you well, and er, safe travels!"

With that, a few paces away, she turned on her heels and started walking back into Wedgehurst - quiet arguing between an angry Wren and his sheepish trainer slowly fading into silence.

Raph stood and watched her go for a moment, rubbing the back of his neck gently. Reaching down, he places a hand on Vito's head to stop him rolling, then slowly picks him up like a ball, tucking him underneath his arm… thankfully, at last, the little water type seemed tired enough to appreciate sitting still. "Huh, maybe it would have been worth paying more attention in school… I'll remember you for next time." He shrugs a little with a small sigh and a smile, before wandering down a different road into Wedgehurst proper, the train station now his one and only destination.

The journey had just begun.

 

[Dragon]

The Quest of 100 Friends

Friends Made

1

......

vs. Zigzagoon pt2

Each of the two young pokemon's attacks clashed, resulting in a small dust formation that blew past the two trainers from the impact. "Whooooa, that's awesome!" Valerie beamed, after she briefly held her hair after it was brushed away slightly by the wind. "Such little pokemon can be super, super strong!"

"You ain't seen nothin' yet, girlie!" boasted the confident Johnny. "Don't let up Ziggy - Headbutt!"

"We're just getting started too! Let's go, Flame - another Tackle!" ordered Valerie, as an attempt to match the Zigzagoon move for move. The two pokemon raced towards each other once again, causing another head on collision towards each other. The force of the blows caused the two to be pushed back away from each other a few feet.

"Heyhey! Not bad, girlie!" Johnny slyly complimented.

"Thanks for the props!" responded Val, proudly. "We worked mega ultra hard in our super special awesome, super secret killer training!"

"Too bad we're still top-percentage! Go on then, Ziggy - give em' your Snarl!"

"Snarl...?" Valerie repeated, only for Flame and her to be struck surprisingly stiff by a sudden loud shriek from the youngster's Zigzagoon. The shockwaves came in black waves, echoing all throughout the field. It caused Flame to stand still, as he could only cover himself in protection for the sounds vibration.

"Now - close in for a good ol' Tackle!" Johnny then ordered.

"C'mon, Flame! Counter with another Tackle!" Val responded thus, but the Zigzagoon was too fast - it managed to strike the young Cyndaquil head on, sending it upwards, making him crash down on the field.

"Gaaah, what the hell is a Snarl? And why is it soooo unfair?" Valerie asked, stomping her feet with a cute, unamused pout. Johnny gave a hearty chuckle, as he grabbed his signature comb, to briefly comb his hair to once again act as cool and flashy as he can.

"Ah, lemme tell ya mate: that's the technique we used to defeat an invader pokemon that was gonna destroy everything with a large meteorite from space," Johnny gave as an explanation. Val clenched her fists and put them together, hearing his story in complete awe. "But uh... y'see, we had to surrender all our power in the end, in order to purify a large, legendary pokemon from darkness."

"Noooo way!"

"Way, girlie. Waaaay,"Johnny returned his comb back in his jacket pocket. "But we're still packin' some fire, sooo lets try to turn up the heat yeah? I mean you're not doin' so bad, but..."

"Right! Turning up the heat, coming up! Heat.... heat.... oh! We got that move, right Flame-bro?" Her Cyndaquil got back up, turned back to her and nodded. He ignited the flames on his back, preparing himself for the upcoming order, one that he is ultimately waiting for... "Fire on, bro - Ember!"

"Wha?!dang!" Johnny could only watch as Flame jumped up, spraying a barrage of small spit-fire flames from his mouth, towards the Zigzagoon - who couldn't do much to evade the countless barrage of fire. After Flame landed, he eased up on his attack, and blew the excess black smoke that surged from his mouth from the fire type attack. Ziggy tumbled over after the barrage of flames, with its body covered in small burns, surrounded by a light black smoke.

"Hah! Now that's what I call... a hot move!" Valerie cheered. "Hehe... get it? Hot? Fire?"

"Yeah, yeah, yuk it up all you want," Johnny said in a more serious and stern tone. "You got us off guard that time, but we ain't losin'! Right Ziggy - give em' a Tackle they'll never forget!"

"No prob! We'll meet ya' head on, too! Double Kick - let's win this!" The Zigzagoon ran up for another tackle, as Flame stuck his small right foot out to attempt to intercept his blow with the heel. As Ziggy bashed itself against Flame, Flame briefly lunged himself forward to throw as much weight as he can against Ziggy's attack, causing the two to stalemate. Or so it seemed. Flame quickly rolled himself over, managing to strike the Zigzagoon right on the side of his face with Flame's other foot - his left. Ziggy got hit and was knocked away, rolling all over the field until it landed on its belly.

Deep down, and secretly, Johnny gulped, and started to sweat. Damn... damn, damn! These pokemon from the academy are all strong, all right... dang it, this always happens, I think I get a lead, but they all turn it on me with flashy stuff... He gripped both his knuckles, his whole body shaking. Not again... can't lose again...!

"Hey! Look!" a small amount of people noticed the battle, and came together. Though most of them took notice to the troublemaker youngster Johnny already.

"Him again, huh?" one of them said in a dissatisfied tone. "None too bright, is he?"

"Hey, kid!" another one taunted. "Did her' all about that top percentage stuff? It's Rubbish!"

Rubbish? Valerie thought to herself. She turned to Johnny, who looked the other way with his head down in his brief moment of shame.

"You ain't won a single battle since ya started," They continued. "All your bragging and what not means diddly."

"Stop bothering these kids! Unlike you, they got class!"

"Why the heck are you even trying?"

"And your poor pokemon too, you're always letting it get beat up!"

"I'm over this already kid - You don't deserve to be a trainer!"

I.. don't deserve... Johnny muttered, glancing over to his Zigzagoon. Even he can't deny, maybe some of it was true. Ever since he started his own quest as a pokemon trainer, he had his partner participate in back-to-back harsh battles, none of which he really won. All his frustrations from losing, and his desire to become the best... he hasn't really considered what a toll it took to his young partner. Zigs, I...

"Man, just go home already, kid. Enough is enough!"

"You're never gonna make it!"

"Just stop this damn battle already and give up. Get out of here!"

Johnny's body kept shaking relentlessly. But soon, he took a deep breath, and let it out. It was almost as if... he had finally made peace with himself, and most importantly, his partner. Maybe deep down, he was getting tired of it all too.

"Ziggy maybe we should give u-"

"Yooooohoo? Hey guys?" Johnny was interrupted by Valerie, who was yelling at the on-lookers. Everyone turned towards her - Valerie cleared her throat. "So uhhh, I dunno what's going on, but I'm glad you all are here! We're having such a super-amaze-balls battle, and you guys can see it too!"

The small crowd of people exchanged glanced and muttered quietly among themselves. Johnny gave Valerie a curious look. "What're sayin...?" he mustered out.

"Eh?" Valerie replied. "But like, you're a really really great battler! And I think Ziggy is super duper amazing! That's what you also told me!"

Johnny sighed. "Girlie, look, I made all that malarkey up," he admitted. "We never did any legend busting feats or any of that at all."

"Awww nuts, really? Dang, that's a bummer..." Valerie replied, the backrubbing of her neck but... she seemingly didn't mind it. "But umm... you know bro, bummer as that is, that wasn't really why I think you and Ziggy are amazing, anyway"

"Huh?"

"Well uh, it's like... when you were talking about your Zigzagoon being top-percentage and all that, it's like... I can feel you're really happy about him, you know? You don't just think he's top percentage cuz he's crazy strong, but it's just because he's your buddy, right?"

"That's!" Johnny froze in thought, as reoccurring words flowed back to him.

*****

Son, a true trainer won't care if their pokemon are big, small, weak or strong... as long as the pokemon is partnered with you, and you connect together as one, there's no doubt that they are the strongest. I think a pokemon connected with their trainer, and the trainer giving them trust and love is top-percentage material any day.

////

(Yeah...
That's right.
Ziggy was right there with me always.

I never really made much good pals growin' up, so Pa had a really awesome friend for me.
When we lost Pa, I thought, maybe I can pick things off where he left off?

Ballocks, I know, but... Ziggy was still right there with me.)


*****

Johnny finally let out a small smile, as he once again brought out his comb. "Ziggy was brought to me thanks to my Pa," Johnny explained. "And this might sound mad but.... I wanna be a champ with him."

Flame cheerfully raised his arms. "Nah, man! It's not mad at all!" Valerie stated. "When I met up with Flame, he wanted to be super duper tough, but he couldn't even light up his flame! So we both worked together till he could! And you know what? I think Ziggy wants to get stronger with you too, pal!"

"Ziggy?" his Zigzagoon found his way back up on all fours. He approached Johnny, giving him a determined bark. Johnny understood. "Yo, girlie? How about one more go?"

"Sweet! I was wondering when we were gonna start again!" Val cheered, clasping one fist she made against the palm of her other. "Come at us, then!" Flame let out a battle cry, igniting his back flames even brighter.

Ziggy let out his own battle cry, rearing his legs to run again. "Heh, lemme show ya' what the top-percentage Zigzagoon can really do!" Johnny tossed his comb from one hand, to another. "Get em', Ziggy! Headbutt!"



"Give em' hell, Flame! Quick Attack!!"

The shouts of the young trainer's orders echoed, resulting in the two pokemon colliding with each other. The two pokemon went back and forth, bashing against each other multiple times, not giving any quarter nor any time to rest.

"Flame - Ember!"

"Use Pin Missle, Ziggy!"

This time, Flame released his powerful Ember swarms only to be intercepted by Ziggy's barrage of spiked-needles that came directly from its fur. The two attacks collided, resulting in many sparks from each blow that dissipated as quickly as they were formed.

"Nice! Ziggy had that attack too, huh?" Valerie observed.

"Heh, yeah," Johnny replied. "But that's not all! Snarl!"

"Nuh, uh! We won't be beaten by that this time! Quick Attack!!" Ziggy let loose his powerful shriek, planning to stagger Flame for another attack. But this time, Valerie ordered his Cyndaquil to intercept it with his Quick Attack, to try and clash against the force of the sound waves. The blast from the Snarl caused Flame to be slowly dragged away at first, until he managed to power through. He then managed to jump out of the blast's way.

"Ember!" Valerie quickly ordered, having her Cyndaquil perform his Ember barrage from mid-air, to try and trap Ziggy in a tricky spot.

"Dodge! Quick!" Johnny responded, having faith that his Ziggy would be quick enough to run his way out of danger. Luckily for him, Flame's Ember swarms were more concentrated on one spot from mid-air, allowing Ziggy to run from the attack in ease, re-positing itself. Flame eventually landed on all fours.

"Go on - Headbutt!"

"No way! Flame - Double Kick!"

Now the pokemon ran up for another direct physical conflict. Like before, Flame intercepted Ziggy's full-blown Tackle by leaning itself with the heel of his left foot, planning on catching it by a swift kick of his free right foot.

But Johnny was ready for this. "We ain't fallin' for the same trick twice, y'hear? Headbutt!" As Flame released his left foot to deliver a swift kick from his right, Ziggy found a brief window of time to lower his head to counter Flame's kick by attacking with his tough head. Ziggy managed to catch Flame by hitting it on his body, while Flame still found his mark by kicking Ziggy on the base of his face, sending the both of them hurling on opposite directions at the same time.

"Get up Flame-bro! You can do it!"

"Ziggy! C'mon!"

The two pokemon, after hearing each of their respective partner's faces, eventually both stood back on their feet, exhausted and hurt from the clash. They both breathed in and out heavily, as a dire signal of how low their stamina are. There was only left for one more attack left in the tank. And they both know it.

"TACKLE!!"

The two trainers ordered their command simultaneously. Flame and Ziggy mustered the strength to run towards each other one more time... to bash against each other in one final collision. The resulting clash was as heavy and loud as their first, with the wind whirling right past their fingertips, running right through their hair, and even right into the sky above. The dust that formed this time was quite ominous. The battlefield became quiet, as the two trainers both looked on to see who would remain standing after that attack.

The dust finally settled. And as a result, both pokemon were down, curled up against each other.

"Whoa, no way..." Valerie said as she observed. "Does that mean it's..."

"A tie?" Johnny finished. He let out a breath of air; for him, it was like he almost forgot to breathe during that struggle. He didn't win, but, he didn't lose. It was an odd feeling, but.. he still liked it. Valerie and Johnny took up each of their pokemon. The two pokemon eventually both woken up, resting blissfully in their partner's arms.

Val and Johnny patted their pokemon, then looked up at each other at the same time, in a somewhat curious awe. Then they both snickered, which turned into a full, hearty and fun laughter together.

---

Sometime after the battle, the two watched the town, sitting in a bench. Valerie watched calmly the townspeople walked too and from where they were. Johnny cleared his throat. "So uh..." he started to say. "...Thanks for that."

"Thanks for what now?" Valerie asked.

"Y'know. What you said about Ziggy and me," his Zigzagoon barked. It was sitting nearby him on the ground, with Flame right beside him, looking right up near Valerie. "Y'know, Pa saved me and Ziggy this one time, and I thought, maybe I should take up where he left off, y'know? But I like doin' things all in my style. But now I think of it... I think Pa's still out there, just waitin' for me to be a really cool and strong trainer, then poof, the guy will show up, challengin' me for the title of top-percentage. Yeah, sounds like him alright. And I'm gonna look at him."

Valerie gave him a soft smile, but looked at the sky. "Man, your dad sounds so cool. I just know you'll find him!" she: cheered softly. "It sounds really rad... kiiinda jealous tbh."

"What about your folks?" Johnny asked.

"I live with Gran-gran, she's really sweet!" Valerie said, with a bigger smile. "And really really smart!"

"Yeah? And your Ma and Pa?"

"Dunno."

"You... dunno?"

"Well I mean, I kinda... we kinda stopped talking when I was 18."

"Why?" Johnny could only ask. Valerie gave a soft sigh. She leaned herself forward, fidgeting her fingers.

"You know how parents kinda are supposed to accept you as their kid? Mine... never did that."

"Sorry, don't get it," Johnny said.

"Yeah, I didn't either at first, but Gran-Gran explained it to me like this," Valerie started. "So like, lets say my mom likes Oran berries, and all the girls in my old neighborhood do too. And like, I like Oran berries too, but I found out, that I like Pecha berries too."

"Er, okay?"

"Oh but there's more!" Valerie continued. "They didn't know that I like Pecha berries, until I started liking them more and more. One day, I decided to casually tell my family about it because I thought they were okay with it, but... well... put it simply, they're not. Theeeen they started calling me bad names, and then, some of my friends found out and they started to treat me differently and some of them started calling me really bad names too."

"Huuuuh? All that cause you like some berries?" Johnny asked, giving Valerie a suspicious, confused look.

"Oh! Nonono, See, when I say berries, berries is like... uh... what's the word? Amanoloy...? Oh! An... analogy!" Valerie explained. "You can substitute it for anything! Bikes, pokemon..."

"What did your granny substitute berries for?"

"Guys and girls."

"Guys and girls? What are you-- oh... ooooooh...." Johnny rests his hands in his pockets. "Wow I... sorry that happened to ya. You know that ain't your fault though, right?"

"Yeaaaaah... people can hate you for anything," Valerie said. "But no worries bro, it's not really doom and gloom!"

"Val..."

"Aww, you're a sweet kid Johnny, but really, no worries about me! I love who I am!" Valerie reassured with a genuine smile. "Cuz I got Gran with me who loves me, and Flame-bro too! In fact, I'm gonna make 100 friends, just like the story Gran told me about!"

"Story?"

"Sorry JohnJohn, that's a secret!" Valerie teased. "But most of it is like, I wanna meet different people and pokemon who can just accept me... for me! And um, I wanna be there for them too. Things are not quite as scary once you've got a friend, right? That's my goal. To make 100 friends! And hey, you know what? I wanna be friends with you. You and Ziggy. I mean, only if you're cool with it--"

"Hey, you have me and Ziggy a fun battle. And, you're pretty cool, 100x hella a lot cooler than those haters. So no prob, Val," Johnny said with a nod. Ziggy barked in agreement as well. Johnny then reached for something from one of his jacket pockets. "Where is that thing... ah! You can have this."

"Meh? Whazzat?" Valerie asked. Johnny looked like he was holding a Pokeball, but it was a different colour - it was mainly Blue with two mini red dashes.

"It's called a Great Ball. It can catch pokemon better than a normal pokeball," Johnny explained. "Dunno what this 100 friends thing is about, but you're alright. Take it as a sign of friendship, will ya?"

"Whoooa! Nice! Alllrighty!" Valerie happliy took the Great Ball from him. "Slide me some skin, JohnJohn!" the two gave each other a hi-five, with their two pokemon mimicking. "Oh! One last thing. You and Ziggy c'mere a sec!

"Like this?

"Yup! Annnnd... ready! Friend.... HYPE!"

A new picture formed on Valerie's XTransciver.

Youngster Johnny and Ziggy, two friends who Valerie promises to have many battles together.


Obtained Great Ball!
Friends Get! +2

Chapter End!

 

[Jay]

​

"Gaah!"

The shout of pain came out from the woodwork as a young blonde haired man is thrown to the ground in a distant and empty segment of the wild area. He's dressed in the garb of a pokémon ranger, the red coat and black pants are covered in dirt and grime, his face with barred teeth and a focused but exhausted gaze is not much better. But a few moments later a broken styler is tossed to the ground beside him and his fury only grows. "You can't do this!" He screams, struggling against his binds, trying to break free of his captivity. "Someone! Help, stop this!"

There is no response, there is no human life, for miles in any direction.

"Nobody is going to hear you." There's a calm, monotone voice that echoes from the shadows. From the moving truck the young ranger was thrown from, another man, no older than twenty five, steps out to follow him. His platinum blonde hair is tied up in a bun and he cracks his neck gently as he walks towards the helpless victim before him. He's dressed in a business coat, black with purple trimmings and a grey diamond pattern on the sides. A pair of purple plastic gloves adorn his hands, his stare makes his heterochromia obvious, as one yellowed eye shines in the moonlight, dwarfing the grey color of the other. "You should have left things well enough alone... poking your head in the wrong places is bad for your health. After all, stick it too far into the wrong hole and..." He lightly taps an outstretched hand on his neck, as if he were slicing with a sharp object. "...chop."

Spoiler:

The rangers eyes widen and he starts to struggle against his binds, trying to crawl away, looking for a kindhearted pokémon, another human being, anyone or anything to help him.

The other man just sighs. "I don't like the clean up jobs, but the boss needs it done... and the others tend to hesitate. Hesitation leads to mistakes. I don't like mistakes, I like efficiency." He reaches into his jacket slowly and pulls from a concealed pocket a shimmering silver pistol. Like his eye, the mans firearm catches the moonlight and glimmers softly in his hand. "Efficiency means loose ends get tied off... but I guess I'll take a moment to be clear, I don't want you to die thinking this is nothing but business, after all." He approaches, slowly, gripping the gun tightly in a gloved hand... and when he reaches his supposed prey, he drives his heel down hard on the escapees shin. There's a sickening crack that resonates throughout the deserted woodland and the man screams in agony.

"I hate... people like you." The armed individual mutters. "People who are convinced they can make a difference, that they can save people, yet are so completely incompetent that they can't even save themselves. People like you are disappointing, they make me lose faith in humanity. I hate it when things aren't efficient." He places his free hand to the gun and cocks it, pulling back the hammer, preparing to fire. The ranger scrambles beneath him. "P-Please, DON'T!"

"...and people like you are inefficiency at its finest."

A swarm of rookidee squawk in fear and fly in force away from that deserted corner of the wild area, the loud and unforgiving bang startling them.

---

The killer reaches down and searches the now still body of the dead ranger, from the corpse he retrieves two red, filled pokéballs and slips them into his back pocket. His hand then reaches upwards, touching a headset hanging from his ear and responding to an awaiting caller.

"I've dealt with the problem sir. Target had two pokémon... Yes sir... Of course sir, releasing them is too risky... I'll see their capsules returned to base so that the creatures can be disposed of safely... The body will be dealt with summarily."

The call ends as quickly as it began and the man reaches once more into his coat without missing a beat. He produces a black and silver pokéball and releases the pokémon inside. Bursting forth and standing at the ready is a massive, aggressive looking grey body, the horn on its head sharpened to a deadly point. Its eyes are as cold as its masters and it turns to look at the body before it with menace. "Rhydon, you know what to do. Use Fissure."

And so it does, the horn glows and its foot stomps down into the earth below, the ground itself cracks and breaks, opening up to deep, dark chasm. The body falls inside, down, down, down... until a sickening crunch is heard at the bottom. Once the sound rings out, Rhydon's horn goes dull once more and the ground shudders and shakes. It seals itself closed, the fissure disappearing bar a large crack in the ground. The body is consumed by the Earth, nothing left but a small bloodstain in the grass, one that would be gone before too long had passed. Their work was done, the man returns Rhydon to its pokéball and stares, blankly at where the body once was, there is no empathy or emotion in his eyes.

"...mission accomplished." He finally states... before returning to his van and proceeding to drive away through the woodlands and beyond.

 

[Stinging Bea]

Aeliana Kekoa
& Jasper

Wedgehurst Station

Chapter 1-4 | Dance of Dragons

Aeliana's Current Party:

Jasper's Current Party:

"Seriously?! How many people came to see our stupid graduation?" Jasper grabbed his head and mimed pulling his hair out before wiping a hand down his face and turning away from the Wedgehurst station. They were almost finished opening up the rails and getting everything together but there was such a rowdy and impatient crowd of people who hadn't been able to leave after what they thought was a short trip. The very sight of it was a nightmare to him and he couldn't stand to even think of waiting it out around all those obnoxious people, so he left. Hopefully he could come back around for the ride after and there wouldn't be such a raucous crowd.

As the boy mumbled and grumped while walking away from the station, an energetic and peppy Totodile came running down the Wedgehurst road. Her tail wagging with glee as she plodded along, blissfully happy judging from the expression on her face. The Totodile was so distracted by her good mood that she failed to pay attention to where she was actually going. Before too much longer, the Totodile would end up tripping over her own tail. A surprised gurgle slipped past the water type's mouth as she stumbled forward, incidentally slamming right into Jasper in the process.

Jasper grunted in annoyance, though the poor Totodile was too light to actually move him if it wasn't really trying to. "Pay attention to where you're going! You could hurt someone or get hurt if you don't, you little - !" His eyes settled firmly on the pokémon squinting and trying to convince himself he was looking at something else. He only knew of one trainer with a Totodile. "Oooh no, no no no, you get away from me! Go on, shoo, you little bastard!" If his guess was right that Totodile belonged to the last person he wanted to see.

"Tampa! I swear to Tapu Lele, I'm gonna have to put you on a leash!" a familiar voice called out.

Unfortunately for Jasper, his guess happened to be exactly right. Emerging from the Pokémon Center and briskly making her way down the path was none other than Aeliana Kekoa. The pink-haired woman looked around, trying to locate her Totodile amongst the bustling crowds gathering around the train station, only to sigh in relief as she spotted the energetic Pokémon not too far ahead. She briskly made her way down the path, wasting no time in scooping the little troublemaker up into her arms.

"You really are pushing your luck today, Tampa! Can you just stay with me for the time being and stop making messes?" she questioned her Totodile. A joyful gurgle was Tampa's response as the Pokémon quickly latched onto her trainer and scurried up onto her shoulders. An amused giggle could be heard, clearly Aeliana being unable to keep a straight face with her partner. She turned her attention to the boy in front of her. "Sorry about that, my Totodile can be a b-"

She paused, her eyes lighting up at the sight of just who was in front of her. "Jasper! Alola! I wasn't expecting to run into you so soon!"

"Alola." He responded, making every bit of it sound like suffering. "Aeliana, right?" He tried to make it sound like he struggled to remember, but there were a few people from school he couldn't forget if he wanted to, and she's one of'em. "Might wanna try to get her a bit more disciplined. It's no harm now but when she evolves running into people would be a big issue. Croconaw aren't lightweights."

"Aw, don't worry about it! She's harmless, see?" Aeliana responded in question. She held the Totodile forward, who in return flashed Jasper a wide smile. Every single fang on Tampa was on full display. "She wouldn't hurt a Cutiefly! I think she's pretty cute really."

He rolled his eyes. "Yep, adorable. Sweetest monster gator I've ever seen." Faust, as if not detecting any of the sarcasm in his trainer's voice, was staring unabashedly at Tampa, eyes full of curiosity. "If you're lookin' for the train, bad news. Those lazy bones only just got ready to launch even though they should have gone an hour ago, and there's an entire mob up there. At least the next entire ride is spoken for, if not the next two. No point hanging around here."

"Are you serious?" Aeliana questioned. The pink-haired trainer looked absolutely dejected at the news. "I'm getting soooo bored just standing around in one spot. There's gotta be something here to do that could pass some time…"

"I'm in the same boat, thought I'd go find a nice quiet place to sit and read for a bit." Jasper said, an edge creeping into his tone. "It's been a pretty crazy day, to be honest, more active than I like." Faust started to amble over to get a better look at Aeliana and Tamber but Jasper hooked a foot in his way and pulled him back as he made a one-eighty. "Good luck keeping busy. Seems like plenty of trouble going on today, should be easy. Center's got plenty of reading material, too."

Tampa looked curiously at Faust, the Totodile waving at him excitedly. Aeliana was quick to notice this, a sly smile coming to her lips.

"I've got an idea! Let's have a battle!" she exclaimed.

Aeliana couldn't see his eye twitch from the other side, but twitch it did. "No. Today's been enough of a pain in my ass already, I don't need to add anything else to the list." Faust, however, was peeking around his leg to Tampa and starting to wave slowly back.

Tampa's eyes began to shine with excitement. The anticipation of getting to play with a new friend was just too enticing to pass up. She threw all caution to the wind and ran towards Faust. With glee she began to dance back and forth just as Aeliana had shown her earlier.

Faust jumped out from behind Jasper's leg before he could say another word and stared at Tampa in open-mouthed awe. His trainer turned around and grimaced as the Larvitar began to wiggle a bit back and forth, swaying more and more as he began imitating the Totodile's movements as best he could. "Faust, what the hell do you think you're doing? Come on, let's go." When he didn't seem to immediately be heard he raised his voice and repeated himself. "Faust! Let's. Go." The Larvitar stopped his attempts to dance at the harsh words, looked between Jasper and Tampa, then began to sadly trundle back to his trainer.

Tampa slowly stopped dancing. Her tail drooped as a look of sadness overtook her features. Aeliana frowned as she watched the Larvitar trudge back towards Jasper. She scooped Tampa up into her arms and quickly began to chase after the boy.

"Hey, Jasper! You know, we don't have to battle but why not let them play for a bit then? They were clearly having fun with each other!" the pink-haired trainer suggested.

Jasper stopped with a huff. Why, why can't I ever just walk away from anybody? He inhaled deeply through his nose and looked down at Faust, who was looking back at him with puppymon eyes. The trainer squinted in disdain, then relented with a wave of surrender. "Alright, fine. I couldn't do any of this without him. He's done a good job, he deserves at least this much."

Faust brightened up right away and ran straight to Aeliana, stopping at her feet and spinning with a little flourish of glittering sand swirling about him before dispersing harmlessly. "Larv!"

Aeliana gave the Lavitar a bright smile, kneeling down to his level as she did so. "Well, hello! You've got quite the moves, don't you? I think you and Tampa would make such a good dance team."

As if on cue, Tampa hopped back out of Aeliana's arms and smiled brightly at her new friend. Much like before, she began to happily hop from one foot back to the other before suddenly falling back onto her tail. The Totodile used it to balance herself up in the air, before hopping back down to her feet with grace and performing a small spin of her own.

Faust watched each of Tampa's movements very carefully, then began to try copying them. He hopped from foot to foot easily enough, but when he tried the Totodile's tail trick, the wide brim of his own tail trapped him. He landed flat on his tail and it held him up just fine, but his tail couldn't flex and move like Tampa's. He began to wiggle frustratedly like a Turtwig on its back until he flopped over sideways and face planted. Not to be daunted, he shot back upright and did a spin like the early one, scattering some sparkly, gold-dust-like sand into the air.

Jasper, in spite of himself, let out a dark little chuckle that became a small laugh when the sound caused Faust to hide his face in embarrassment. "I wouldn't say he's got a dancer's body...but it's really not bad for a rock, and he's having fun."

"That's what matters the most," Aeliana replied. "It's not always about how well you move, but letting your heart and soul move with the rhythm of life instead of fighting against it." She paused, glancing up from Tampa and Faust locking eyes with Jasper. "You should take a page from his book, really."

"'Scuse me?" Jasper questioned, any hint of relaxation disappearing from his posture. He positively bristled at the other trainer and took a step towards her. "What exactly the fuck do you know about the rhythm of my life? You really are quick to get familiar with people, huh? D'you always have such great advice for how people can enjoy life a bit more, or just me?"

"Hey, hey… Take it easy now," Aeliana replied, trying to get the boy to calm down. The tone of Jasper's voice was enough to start catching the attention of several onlookers that were gathering about the train station. Tampa and Faust both suddenly stopped their dance practice. Both of the Pokémon looked at each other curiously, before turning their focus to the two trainers. "I'm just saying you need to relax a little. You're too uptight."

His face scrunched up and Faust tensed beside Tampa, having been around his trainer long enough to know where this was going. "Relax? Oh, I'd love to relax, I'd love to be a little less uptight. "You wanna know exactly what I was going to go do? Relax! But every time I think I'm about to have some time to do that - by myself - I run into some sort of barrier to the next step of my journey or worse, one of you lot from the school!" Faust took a step closer and laid a nub against Jasper's leg, but he didn't even notice. "You? You haven't changed one bit. Still nosy, still prancing around like nothing's wrong with the world and acting nice even with me. It really gets my Gogoat, seeing hot girls like you just skip from place to place, trying to get other people to be a bit more like you."

Aeliana visibly flinched at Jasper's tirade. Her eyes instantly focused on the ground in front of her, as if she was trying to contemplate some sort of response to the harsh words that came out of his mouth. Tampa on the other hand, was quite quick to respond. The small gator Pokémon looked between the two trainers, quickly taking note of how her trainer looked as if someone had just taken the wind from her sails. The Totodile quickly turned to face Jasper, giving the boy a rather fierce glare as she waddled forward and placed herself between him and Aeliana. A feral growl escaped her mouth. She bared her sharp fangs in an attempt to intimidate the boy.

Faust was totally at a loss, looking between Jasper and Tampa. Trying to ignore things between the humans was easy enough, but seeing animosity flare up with his new friend hurt. Jasper smirked at the challenge, bending his legs enough to look the Totodile in the eye. "Acting tough now, huh? Fine, you like to dance so much?" With a fresh fire in his eyes and a mad grin, he pulled off his hood, stood back up and took a step back to address both Aeliana and Tampa. "Show me what'cha got then. Let's dance."

"I thought you didn't want to battle…" Aeliana inquired, standing up to face the boy properly.

"I didn't, but here we are." Jasper said plainly. "And your little backup dancer seems ready for it. Now that we're here, it seems like a good way to pass the time Maybe if I'm lucky, a beating will make sure you don't bug me next time you see me."

Aeliana nodded. She looked down to her partner, the sight of Tampa puffing out her chest in defiance of Jasper's judging eyes. The Totodile seemed primed and ready for battle.

"Alright then," the pink-haired trainer confirmed, attempting to match her Totodile's energy. "Let's boogie!"

"Faust." Jasper grabbed the Larvitar's attention. "Party's over, sorry. Let's go." The pokémon followed his trainer loyally while he backed a suitable distance away from their opponents. ""Alright, start things off with Rock Throw!" He shouted. Faust, after an apologetic but determined nod to Tampa, began to rapidly form large rocks in his hands and throw them at the Totodile one after the other. You know. You and the other students could learn a lot from each other, if you'd just let it happen. A familiar voice rang in Jasper's head, but he shook it off.

"Tampa, watch out!" Aeliana cried out. Tampa's arms flailed in response as the rocks flew straight at the Totodile. She nimbly managed to dodge the first rock, before the second one slammed right into her tummy. Tampa staggered backwards, before regaining her balance and growling in response. "Tampa! Water Gun!" Aeliana called out. Tampa lurched forward as a blast of water came firing out of her mouth.

She recovered faster than he'd hoped, type advantages really could be a bitch. "Move, Faust!" The Larvitar did his best to jump out of the way but the stream of water hit his arm and knocked him off balance so that he landed crooked. Even though his arm just looked wet, Jasper could tell he was in pain. Quadruple damage...I knew this'd be rough, but damn it...No time to pace ourselves. "Show them your real strength, Faust! Bring out your Ancient Power!" Faust nodded, and a shimmering aura overtook his body as all the rocks he'd already thrown at Tampa, plus more began to float off and out of the ground all at once and swirl around the battlefield. One rock sacrificed itself to block the next blast of water from Tampa, then all the others came flying at her all at once from different directions.

"Tampa, Dragon Dance!" Aeliana called out. The gator Pokémon began to hop back and forth on her feet in a rhythmic fashion. She nimbly ducked under the rocks, before spinning off to the side and returning to face the Lavitar. "Now fire another Water Gun!"

Jasper's eyes watched intently every movement the spry gator made and every attack she dodged, mind racing for a way to climb the mountain in front of him. She's got a speed advantage and only getting faster...and a double type advantage...The longer this goes on the worse it is for me. "Faust, Sand Barrier Rush!" After barely sidestepping the first strike of the new Water Gun, Faust began charging at Tampa as quick as he could. Right before the next jet of water hit him, sand exploded off of the Larvitar, scattering a glittery rain of droplets and sediment all over. He just kept running, sand continuously coming off of him, and gritting his teeth through whatever water pierced his barrier until he was almost to Tampa, a black and purple aura overtaking his body. "Give her some Payback!" His trainer shouted over the sounds of battle.

The Larvitar slammed his body into Tampa, sending the Totodile tumbling to the floor in surprise from the force of the blow. Tampa wailed in pain from the attack, but she was not about to let such an assault go unchecked, nor was Aeliana for that matter. "Tampa, use Bite!" The Totodile suddenly launched herself back off the ground, her jaws clenching around the Larvitar's fist as tightly as she could muster.

This might be his chance! Jasper could only think of one thing to do at this point. "Faust, you use Bite too! Clamp her mouth shut!" He hoped his reading on Totodiles have much less strength opening their jaw than closing it would come in handy here, but he'd never confirmed if it was a fact or not. Faust nodded grimly and bit down on the base of Tampa's mouth as hard as he could, he couldn't open his jaw wide enough to bite fully around it but he tried to keep her locked around his arm from the side.

"Tampa, hang in there!" Aeliana called out as she watched the scene unfold. It looked like Faust was having quite the difficult time biting the Totodile back, and the pink-haired trainer knew she couldn't let this opportunity slide. "Blast him with one more Water Gun!"

"Don't let her do it! Keep her damn mouth shut!" Jasper shouted in response. Faust kept his own jaw locked as tight as possible while using his free arm to press down tighter on the top of Tampa's snout, grimacing at the increased pressure on the arm still in her grasp. Water drizzled out around his arm, stinging hot as it tried to erode at the stony skin of his arm. The stream got faster and faster until finally the dam burst, blowing out in all directions and even out of Tampa's nose, sending both combatants flying away from each other.

"T-Tampa!" Aeliana cried out. The Alolan trainer quickly ran towards her Totodile, worry evident on her face as she scooped the gator Pokémon up into her arms. "Are you okay?" The Totodile let out a weak sounding gurgle, but smiled up at her trainer all the same. The girl sighed in relief at the sight. "Nothing a quick trip to the Pokémon Center can't fix… You did a great job, Tampa!"

Jasper was down on a knee, beside Faust, looking down at the Larvitar and resting a hand on his forehead. There was no waking him up for the moment, he was completely out cold. I hate this. His hand stroked the pokémon's head warmly for a few moments, until his breathing steadied, then went to his belt. "Sorry, Faust. You did better than anyone else in your position ever could." I really hate this. "You can still be friends, I won't stand in the way. Next time, we'll win, no matter what we're up against." Jasper returned the wounded warrior to his ball and stood up, shaking a bit of stray water and sand out of his hair before glaring straight at Aeliana and pointing another pokéball in her direction.

"Round two, let's go!" He called out, tossing the ball to reveal his new Munchlax, the blue blob yawning and looking around. "I'm gonna tear you to pieces." He growled with inordinate animosity. "No mercy, Dispo."

Aeliana gave Jasper a somewhat inquisitive glance. If he wasn't taking things a bit too seriously before, then he definitely was now. The pink-haired girl bit her bottom lip, bringing her Totodile closer to her chest. "Don't… Don't you think you need to relax a little? It's just a battle, right…?"

"Have you caught a second pokémon yet, or not?" Was his only response.

Aeliana nodded. "Yeah, of course but…"

"But what?" He pressed. "Battling was your idea; you gonna get your one point and back out on me?"

Aeliana recalled her Totodile, giving Tampa another word of thanks before switching her ball with that of her new Lotad's. "Alright, your turn Fiesta!"

The trainer tossed the Lotad's poké ball forward as she spoke. The lilypad-topped creature let out a faint cry as he looked around, eyes widening at the sight of the Munchlax across from him. As if on instinct, Fiesta took a cautious step backwards. His body trembling in fear all the while.

"Dispo." Jasper grabbed the Munchlax's attention while he dug into his bag. He looked to his trainer, and his eyes widened when he saw what Jasper was pulling out. "You get the Magic Apple this time." The trainer explained, tossing the Leftovers to his Munchlax, who stuffed it into his fur with a big smile and a happy hop. "Don't let me down."

Dispo turned back to the Lotad and pumped a fist with an excited smirk. "Lax!"

"Okay, Fiesta… We can do this," Aeliana cheered. "Shoot him with a Water Gun!" Fiesta turned his focus back towards Dispo. Trembling in the process, the Lotad took a deep breath and tried to fire a blast of water in the Munchlax's direction.

The jet hit Dispo clean in the face before he even moved, sending him stumbling back a few steps. After a moment of silence, he shook the water off, then tilted his head curiously. "Munch?"

Jasper didn't even deign to smirk, just pointed and commanded. "Tackle, then Lick." Dispo let out an excited cheer and ran straight at the Lotad as fast as his waggling bean buns could take him, lowering a shoulder straight towards him.

"Fiesta! Try to use Absorb!" Aeliana called out.

The small Lotad narrowed his eyes, but before he could even get his attack started he was met with the powerful force of Dispo slamming his body into his own with enough power to send him flying back. The Lotad let out a surprised cry, landing roughly on his side. Before he could even manage to get his balance back, Lotad was then met with the wet and bumpy sensation of Dispo's tongue licking up against his body. His stumpy legs flailed from the Munchlax's lick. A look of discomfort graced his features.

"Fiesta, Water Gun!" Aeliana ordered.

Fiesta tried to turn and fire a Water Gun at Jasper's Pokémon, but his body suddenly felt completely numb. The Lotad froze on the spot, completely unable to move in the slightest bit.

"Throw it." Jasper ordered, and so Dispo did. He lazily tossed the Lotad off into the dirt, then pulled out the Leftovers and took a bite, which quickly grew back before it was shoved back into his fur. "Give it another Tackle." Dispo hesitated, looking down at his opponent and wondering if there was a reason to continue. He didn't think about it too long, however, before he shrugged and began to charge the little lily-liverpad again.

"Fiesta, shake it off and try to use Absorb again!" Aeliana called out, her face growing visibly more concerned for her Pokémon as the battle raged on. She watched as Jasper's Munchlax charged forward while her Lotad was trying to steady himself and climb onto his feet proper. The pink-haired trainer winced as she watched Dispo slam his body into the Lotad once more. However, the little guy was not powerless to fight back. He barely managed to cling onto the Munchlax's arm, glowing ever so slightly as he sapped a bit of the Pokémon's energy into his own.

"Slam it on the ground until it stays down!" Jasper commanded. Dispo hoisted his arm up in the air, then brought it down to earth. Wham! Again, wham! The Munchlax just kept raising the little Lotad up before slamming him back down. Jasper's ice cold gaze surveyed the situation.

"Stop… Stop it, that's enough!" Aeliana suddenly cried out. The girl quickly took out Fiesta's poké ball and recalled the Lotad just moments before he would have taken another slam into the ground. Her hand trembled as she pulled his ball close, looking at it remorsefully. "I'm sorry, Fiesta… Please, you'll be okay... "

Jasper's eyes widened at the sight, and he found himself staring first at Dispo's arm, and then at Aeliana. After what felt like an eternity of strained silence, Jasper wordlessly recalled his Munchlax and shoved his hands into his pockets. "This is my loss." He forced out through his teeth as he turned away. "You go on to the center, I'm done." I really can't fucking stand it! "But," He said over his shoulder. "We're doing this again. Next time I'm gonna crush you."

Aeliana watched silently as Jasper marched off, seemingly disappearing into the crowd. Everything had escalated so quickly, that the pink-haired girl honestly didn't know how to process what had all just transpired. Glancing down at Fiesta's poké ball, the girl seemingly snapped back to reality. Both the Lotad and Tampa needed to be fixed back up quickly. She could think about what had all happened later. Aeliana quickly turned and began to make a Beedrill line straight for the Pokémon Center. However, as she did another realization popped into her mind.

"Wait… Did he just call me hot…?"

TM Case:

Spoiler:

Attract TM

​

Inventory:

Spoiler:

Pokédex

Aeliana's ATC

Luggage Case

Poké Ball (x4)

​

 

[Jay]

.

STAGE 2 - THE SOUTHERN WILD AREA

Spoiler:

​

The journey continues!

As our heroes complete the first steps of their journey, the town of Wedgehurst waves them goodbye. The problems of their schools town are now behind them and solved, the train station cleared of trouble, the fishing tourney completed and one particular pokémart significantly less haunted, to name but a few adventures had. Yet the quest has only just begun, these budding new trainers take the train and arrive at a location for which the Galar regions is famed. Acres upon acres of untouched, unsoiled wilderness... where pokémon roam free and the world is open to be explored.

The Wild Area.

With multiple segments, unique weather and most importantly, a plethora of new pokémon to be discovered and befriended, this location promises to be the first major, formative step for many of these trainers journeys. Now they grab their dexes, ready their pokéballs and stand at the precipice of great adventure. Go forth new trainers! Seize the day!

.

THE WILD AREA

Throughout the course of Pokémon Spear, stages involving the wild area may appear. These stages are special in a number of ways, which will be listed here:

1: The wild area is divided into various segments and sub-regions. Each of these sub-regions serves a particular purpose in the original games, providing different wild pokémon and items to the player. In Spear, these areas have been divided and in some cases lumped together to provide a list of setting to choose from.

2: Different areas have different pokémon! Each unique region of the wild area has its own unique pokémon listed, available for you to catch!

3: Different areas have different problems! Each unique region of the wild area has its own set of missions to undertake. As such Wild Area stages have significantly more missions than other stages in the RP.

4: Catch multiple pokémon! In the games, the wild area is a place to capture pursue and encounter many different pokémon, exploring and catching to your hearts content. As such, beyond your first capture, you may capture an additional pokémon each time you complete a mission! You can capture a total of 3 pokémon per Wild Area stage in this manner.

5: Random chance! Know that the ZMs rolled the dice and randomized the weather in each and every region available to you as players. This randomized weather helps determine the types of mission and pokémon available in each zone. As well as this, every wild area stage has an "Invasive Hoard" species, meaning a random evolution line is selected from the pokédex and the base form of same is available to capture in all areas during the stage.

Finally, here is a map of the Southern Wild Area for reference:

.

THE MEETUP SPOT

WILD POKÉMON AVAILABLE IN THIS AREA

​

WEATHER:

CLEAR​

A small communal area featuring a central stone plaza, the train station and a small store for supplies and subsidiaries. It serves as a place for travelling trainers to gather, interact and plan joined expeditions into the wild area and beyond. The train from Wedgehurst arrives here as its last stop. Our heroes arrive just as the evening sun casts an orange glow over the wild area below.

MISSIONS:

1: [OPEN] The train ride from Wedgehurst to the Wild Area is a long trip, taking upwards of three hours or more. While aboard the train you think and dream of what's to come... and perhaps meet up with some friends along the way? Describe your journey, your characters thoughts and your interactions with others as you make the journey from Wedgehurst.
Reward: Fond memories.

2: The train station at the Wild Area is constantly overrun with business and busy...ness... Anyway! With the recent ice storms hitting the Southern Wild Area, many trainers have entered the facility looking for healing items and the services of the small healing station situated therein. Ice related injuries are common and helping hands are scarce. Maybe you could help the staff out?
Reward: 2 x Ice Heal, 1 Potion

3: [OPEN] He is a biker. His name is Charles. He's travelled from far off lands. All to arrive here, in this place, to pursue rock, roll and biking. His trusty pokémon, Whilipede and Carkoal are with him, standing by his side. He wants to see strength. Your strength. Battle him, you need not win, only prove your potential. He is a trainer. His name is Charles. To the strong, he grants a prize. The title of biker for another.
Reward: 1 x Rotom Brand: Electric Bicycle

4: A little girl by the station has big dreams and strong ambitions. She wants to stand on the world stage as a contest queen, one of the greatest stars Galar has every seen... but she's too young to have a pokémon of her own. She's begging you, please, you have pokémon right? Won't you show her a routine in person? Just like the real contest stars do on TV? It'd mean the world to her.
Reward: 1 x Pokéblock Case

.

ROLLING FIELDS

WILD POKÉMON AVAILABLE IN THIS AREA

Pokémon Available on Rolling Fields - Mission 4:

​

WEATHER:

CLEAR​

The "Route 1" equivalent for the Wild Area, some might say, the rolling fields is wide and open plane of lush greenery, small ponds and abundant patches of forest. With lower level and friendlier pokémon, well walked paths and beautiful natural scenery, new trainers and non-trainers alike visit this place to relax with friends, family and pokémon. Don't let its looks deceive you though, this is still the wilderness and as such, danger could be lurking where you least expect it.

MISSIONS:

1: "Boss": A Diggersby has been prowling among these fields with a couple of Bunnelby underlings, bullying the other smaller wild Pokémon that live there. Someone needs to teach it a lesson! Who knows? Maybe you might just earn its respect!
Reward: Salac Berry

2: A trainer named Kit: Kit is a trainer who has also just moved from abroad, in search of his long lost father. But right now, he came to the wild area to hopefully catch some Pokémon, but with no luck so far. Maybe you can help him out and give him a lesson!
Reward: Kings Rock

3: A hurt mother: A group of Petilil has been asking for help. Their mother, a wild Lilligant, is very injured and needs some attention right away. Will you help the Lilligant?
Reward: Sun Stone

4: [CATCH CHANCE!]Love, Unrequited: A hopeless looking camper is trying to impress a girl who lives in the next town. But to do that, he needs to look for a strong Pokémon to catch! He wants someone to escort him through the northern part of the area, to catch stronger Pokémon there. He's way out of his league. Will you help him out?
Reward: Destiny Knot

.

DAPPLED GROVE

WILD POKÉMON AVAILABLE IN THIS AREA

​

WEATHER:

CLOUDY​

A forested area popular for foraging and the first stop for those a bit too adventurous for the Rolling Fields alone, the Dappled Grove ranges from peaceful to gloomy depending on the time, but its always full to the brim with thick shrubbery and forest. It's popular among chefs and trainers alike for the large abundance of berry trees here, as well as the various items wild pokémon have a habit of leaving at the base of trees.

MISSIONS:

1: An infestation of Skovet has been causing trouble in the grove. They're greedily hoarding all of the berries in the area, all so they can feed themselves and their leader, a rather large and overfed Greedant. Help chase off these troublemakers so that the wild Pokémon in the area can eat in peace again!
Reward: Sitrus Berry (x3)

2: There have been reports of a particular youngster harassing the Nidorans in the area and any trainers that happen to pass through, even to the point that he's interfering with their attempts to catch Pokémon. The description seems to match Johnny, the troublemaker from Wedgehurst. Please assist in getting this rabble rouser to stop.
Reward: Great Balls (x3)

3: Alvin, a self-renown curry cook, is looking for the next big recipe to take the world by storm. He's pretty sure that he's on the right track, he's just needing something to make his next curry creation to stand out. And you know… somehow make it taste like not a disaster. See if maybe you can help this confused cook finally make a worthwhile dish to die for!
Reward: Mixed Mushrooms (x2) and Pasta (x 2)

4: [OPEN] Pokémon leave all kinds of items beneath the trees here in the grove, but recently a very special pokémon has been spotted. The pokémon Delibird, usually not found in Galar, has been seen running about... and if that wasn't enough, passerby have been getting extremely excited to see it due to its odd coloring. That's right, it's shiny. Urban legends have already popped up, telling how the Delibird will give trainers a challenge, a race, a battle or what have you... and if you succeed it will leave a special reward under a tree for you when least you expect it. (Note: You cannot capture Delibird.)
Reward: 1 x Random Evolution Item

.

LAKE AXEWELL

WILD POKÉMON AVAILABLE IN THIS AREA

Pokémon Available on Lake Axewell - Mission 3:

​

WEATHER:

SNOW​

A lake to the Southwest and one of the largest lakes in the wild area itself. It's named for the Unovan dragon pokémon, Axew, with Galarians believing the island is shaped like its head. The isle in the center even being dubbed as "Axew's Eye". It's known for its tendency to attract visitors wishing to wade by the water and strong battlers alike. Recent snowstorms have covered the area in blankets of white however and ice type pokémon have thus been drawn out of the woodwork.

MISSIONS:

1: Up-and-coming photographer Julian is trying to snap a shot in the snow-cloaked winter wonderland of Lake Axewell, in preparation for the winter season and the upcoming release of his latest photo collection. Help them set up the perfect picture!
Reward: Timer Ball + TM Reflect

2: Small twins Cecil and Petal from Motostoke came out to build a snowman. They rolled up two really big snowballs, but now they can't get the second one on top of the first, causing Cecil to start crying and his sister to get angry. Both children are rather loud, and this is still the Wild Area - they might attract some unwanted attention...
Reward: Pokédoll + Cecilcone (same effects as Casteliacone - but Cecil made this out of a snowball.)

3: [OPEN][CATCH CHANCE!] In the center island of Lake Axewell, fiercer Pokémon than anywhere else in the area can be found, and the island is even used as a "king of the hill"arena for wild Pokémon. Take great care if you dare take the pedal boat laid out in the water… but you may be able to find some rarer species than elsewhere.
Reward: Dragon Fang OR Dragon Scale

4: One of the Pokémon Rangers working around this Wild Area hasn't come in on communications in quite a while. His colleague Nat has been charged to find him, and is currently scouring their surroundings for any traces. Nat doesn't know what the missing Ranger was investigating, if anything, so there's nothing to do but search for clues. An extra pair of eyes could really help.
Reward: Revival Herb

.

LAKE MILOCH

WILD POKÉMON AVAILABLE IN THIS AREA

​

WEATHER:

BLIZZARD​

Sometimes referred to as "Barrier Lake", Lake Miloch is a large body of water to the East of the Southern Wild Area and is one of the largest bodies of water in the Wild Area proper. It acts as a dividing line between the Rolling Fields and many of the more dangerous species of pokémon present in the Giant's Seat. Many trainers come here to battle wild pokémon in preparation to cross the water and potentially head North, to explore the wild areas far more dangerous Northern Half. Aside from this, the weather is usually quite pleasant and the lake is a nice place to relax... we say usually... as a horrible, freak blizzard is currently dominating the skies.

1: Rolex Retrieval! - Rich Boy Chazz has dropped his watch. In… the snow… during a blizzard. Well, at least he's willing to reward whoever's willing to dig around for it handsomely, and you're welcome to keep whatever you find!
Reward: Big Pearl + one item of your choice (within reason)

2: ICY SOS - Someone HELP! A camper was trying to cut across the frozen lake. Sadly, the water wasn't quite as frozen solid as she thought, and now she's drowning! Her Yamper isn't strong enough to pull her free, so it's come to you for help! Can you get her out in time?
Reward: Thunderstone + diveball

3: Snom Snom Snom! - Wait, what? Snom?! How did they get here? They're not native to this part of Gallar! Help the rangers round up the Snom so they can get them back home before the weather shifts and causes them to melt!
Reward: Nevermeltice + Netball

4: Tch. Looks like a pack of Bergmite, led by their Avalugg leader, are having a territory dispute with a pack of Darumaka, led by their Darmanitan leader. They've made it pretty impossible to get by without being trampled or frozen solid. Of course, Gym Leader Bede can handle this himself, but since you're around, why not make yourself useful and pitch in? You might learn a thing or two.
Reward: ??? (Given after the ceremony in Motostoke)

.

WATCHTOWER RUINS

WILD POKÉMON AVAILABLE IN THIS AREA

Pokémon Available on Watchtower Ruins - Mission 4:

​

WEATHER:

FOG​

A terrifying section of the Wild Area dominated by the ruins of an ancient watchtower, said to belong to the people who inhabited Galar in the ancient past. Trainers and bystanders alike are advised to stay far away from this section of the wild area, as a host of mischievous at best or murderous at worst ghost type pokémon haunt the entire region. Those interested in taking the risk may find some of the more tricky and powerful pokémon of the region hiding within... as well as many an elusive fairy or psychic.

MISSIONS:

1: Warning: Travelling trainers are advised. The recent snowfall and blizzards over the Southern lake have caused disturbances at the Watchtower Ruins. During a sudden incursion of cold fog, a dangerous invading pokémon has awoken. Those coming into contact with this individual pokémon, noted as a wild Frosslass, are advised to take extreme caution.
Reward: 1 x Ice Stone OR 1 x Dusk Stone

2: Fog is known to fall around the Watchtower Ruins more frequently than most other areas in the Wild Area... but this is ridiculous. This thick and soupy mist is off-putting and almost impossible to navigate. An old fellow wandering in the area has an idea as to the source, a mischievous ghost type pokémon creating illusions. He's promising a reward to any young trainers willing to seek out the troublemaker and teach it a lesson.
Reward: 1 x Odd Keystone

3: Within the forgotten, forlorn and broken watchtower there is said to be a great many secrets, but none greater than what awaits for those who stand atop its lofty top story. Getting up there alone is a problem, not aided by the plethora of ghosts and fairies that reside around the area. Yet if one braves the dangers, it is said that a fitting reward awaits.
Reward: Reaper Cloth + Spell Tag

4: Near the ominous tower, hidden out of sight by fog and illusions, is a circular grove of fairy pokémon. There under the moonlight they dance and play… and a certain type of pokémon is said to evolve. Yet now the only thing heard from this grove are upset cries and pouting tantrums… the moon stones, blessed by the lunar eclipse, which were to be used by these pokémon to evolve have gone missing. Were they misplaced? Stolen by some sneaky spectres? Or greedy gem thieves? Wherever they are, these pokémon would likely be glad for your assistance.
Reward: Moon Stone + Cleanse Tag

.

GIANT'S SEAT

WILD POKÉMON AVAILABLE IN THIS AREA

Pokémon Available on Giant's Seat - Mission 2:

​

WEATHER:

THUNDERSTORM​

A large and open expanse of stone and grasslands, dominated by the eponymous "Giant Seat", a massive boulder of stone stretching into the sky. This place is teaming with the kind of energy that attracts some tough customers, the stones bring rock and ground types in droves and the dizzying heights of the crags themselves are the kinds of structure destined to attract mystical dragon type pokémon to find roost and purchase. If that wasn't enough, a brewing thunderstorm is dominating the climate, attracting electric types and making things even more appealing for prospective dragons. Trainers seeking a challenge... or a messy end... might consider heading here.

MISSIONS:

1: Dumbells in the Rain! Blackbelt Derrick needs a brave trainer's help! He dropped his pokégear in his training spot by the rocky walls of the Giant's Seat, and now an entire outdoor gym seems to have sprung up around it! An entire gaggle of Machop led by a Machoke coach - a Macoach as Derrik likes to call it - are taking advantage of the storm for some EXTREME OUTDOOR TRAINING. Derrick's poor delicate little Makuhita! Someone has to get Derrick's device back before it's ruined, all his cutest pictures are in there!
Reward: 1 x Expert Belt

2: To sight a legendary pokémon is a once in a lifetime experience and many experts are saying the conditions are right for that experience to be born right here and now. A number of trainers with dreams are braving the dangers of the storm and seat for the chance to catch a glimpse of a foreign legendary as it makes a temporary roost at the wild area. Whether or not these rumors hold any truth is up for debate... but what isn't ambiguous is that this large a crowd is attracting some serious attention... and a swarm of hotheaded pokémon are ready to respond, charging as a hoard from a nearby cave!
Reward: 1 x Pokédex Entry: Rayquaza

3: The thunderstorm has drawn out some aggressive pokémon... and some aggressive people. A pair of young trainers with big attitudes and bigger egos are attacking an injured Manectric desperately defending her young, claiming they can capture the evolved pokémon and easily get an endorsement to take on the league. They're not technically disallowed from doing this... but can you really let this stand?
Reward: 1 x Electrike Egg (Pokémon will hatch with two egg moves.)

4: [MULTI-REWARD] A dark and dusty cave has been unearthed by a rockfall born of the ensuing storm, Ruin Maniac Johnson is investigating and believes that within this cave, the remains of ancient pokémon previously thought not to have been native to Galar can be found?! This would be an incredible archaeological discovery but... well... Johnson doesn't actually have pokémon of his own and the cave could also be incredibly dangerous! He's begging any trainer that enters the cave to seek out two fossils of any particular type. One for him, one for the trainer to keep. The reward? The next time the trainer is in Turffield he'll revitalize the fossile free of charge for the trainer to use on their team! (Note: When claiming a Multi-Reward mission, state the reward you want in your claim in the OOC.)
Reward:
1 x Skull Fossil
OR
1 x Old Amber
OR
1 x Jaw Fossil

 

[Evily]

Simon Pearburgh

​

Spoiler: Inventory

Xtransceiver

Pokédex

ATC

Pokéball x5

Bug Catcher Net

Badges: 0

Sachiko Akabane

​

Spoiler: Inventory

1000 Pokedollars
Smart Flip-phone
Moomoo Milk x3
Pink Poffins x???
Spare Clothes
Pokeballs x5
Galarian Pokedex V.8
ATC

Badges: 0

Wedgehurst Train Station

After the announcement that the train tracks had been cleared, the station was packed with recent graduates, eager to get started on their journey. Passengers slowly walked through the front gate before choosing a carriage to go into- some going with their friends, others with their families who had traveled to Wedgehurst with them. The boredom and frustration of having to wait for the train was again replaced by the excitement and anticipation of this morning, and could be heard from the buzz inside the train. Trainers of all ages, with Pokemon of all shapes and sizes lined the two rows of seats and tables.

Sachi walked through the aisle, looking for an empty table. She didn't mind sitting with other people, but she couldn't promise that Tora would behave. For some reason, he didn't like it when people sat close to her, especially adults. The only adults he liked enough to not cause problems for were Samuel, Tori, and the Professor. Other than those three, anyone else was free game, so she had to keep an eye on him.

Good thing Bolt was in his pokeball; if he ran around, the electricity he would generate could cause problems for the train. She knew a few things about trains, being told back at the academy, but she'd never been on a train before either. She may have not expressed it, but she was excited!

She felt a paw gently slap her right cheek. "Meow!" The small tap brought her out of her thoughts, reminding her of her current objective.

"Tora?" The feline pointed towards an empty table nearby, however, they would have to pass a couple occupied ones to get there. She grabbed the feline in her arms and slowly walked, hoping that the occupants wouldn't notice her. It's not that she was shy (well… maybe), but she wasn't much of a social butterfly. Luckily, she managed to pass them without a problem and sat in the middle of one of the two rows, placing her case-bag to her right, where the window was. Now, she just had to wait for the train to depart and she'd be on her way to Motostoke.

The brief moment of quiet and solitude was broken by the sound of someone loudly apologizing in the aisle beside her, followed by a few annoyed grumbles, and finally a loud crash on the table in front of her. A boy had just slammed down what looked like a tower of pastry boxes, so tall that she couldn't even see his face, only the white fur on the sides of his coat. He took a moment to catch his breath, before sitting down in the seat facing her.

His head popped out from behind the boxes, as he realized that the 'vacant' seat he'd chosen wasn't so vacant after all. He wore black bucket hat, with a small Scatterbug perched on top. The bug eyed Tora warily. "Oh, hey! Sorry, didn't see you there. Mind if I sit here?" he asked, smiling.

"I don't mind." assured Sachi, smiling at the boy, observing him. He looked familiar… Might be from the academy.

He looked to be around the same age as her, having messy brown hair, most covered by his hat, sunflower-yellow eyes, and his jacket was cream-colored with a white fluff around his shoulders. It looked interesting, but she decided against asking about it, instead looking over the pokemon on his hat. A Scatterbug? I don't know if it's his partner pokemon or a catch, but not many people would take a bug type as their first if that's the case. Sachi watched as he struggled with the tower of boxes, sweat-dropping. I wonder what's inside all those boxes… And why he has so many of them…

"Sweet, thanks!" he grinned. Using one hand to keep them stable, he had split the stacked boxes into two smaller ones and placed them on the seat next to him. "There. Now there's no giant pastry wall between us. The name's Simon, by the way! Though we've probably met at some point."

"Academy?" inquired Sachi, allowing Tora to leave her grasp as he jumped to perch on her right shoulder, giving the male a blank look. "Nice to meet you, name's Sachiko Akabane… Sachi for short." Sachi bowed her head a bit, introducing herself before straightening up.

"Sachi…" Simon mused, tapping his chin. He'd seen the young girl around the academy, but she was a rather quiet person, he remembered. The striking, bright orange hair was hard to miss though, so he definitely recognized her from a few of his classes. "It rings a bell. I think you were a couple names above me whenever they took attendance." He let his Scatterbug down, allowing it to get on eye level with the Litten. "This is Scatterbug! She's my first Pokemon, and Caterpie just joined our team!" Hearing its name, a drowsy Caterpie lifted its head from Simon's hood, and looked at Sachi before snuggling back into the fluff. "I'm guessing this lil' guy is your starter?" He pointed at her Litten.

"...Kind of…" Sachi trailed off, glancing at Tora from the corner of her eye, "I've known him for a while, and he became my first Pokémon a year after I moved to Galar." She grabbed Bolt's pokeball from her belt and pushed the white button. The puppy pokemon barked as he landed on the girl's lap, looking around before deciding to sit, and looked at Simon and his pokemon curiously. "This is Bolt, he joined my team a while ago."

Bolt cocked his head to the side, but a pokemon zooming by on the aisle got his attention. He barked, tongue out, and ready to jump after; unfortunately, Sachi grabbed him and held him in her lap, preventing him from chasing the other pokemon.

"Bolt, you can't run here." warned Sachi, petting the puppy's head. She didn't want him to accidentally electrocute someone or the train itself, the results wouldn't be good.

"Oh, sick! You've got a Yamper!" Simon exclaimed, his eyes lighting up. "I love these guys- wait, I've got something for him." He reached into one of the pastry boxes beside him and pulled out a large toasted cinnamon bun, coated in creamy white frosting. The aroma of the pastries briefly escaped into the air as he opened the box, turning a few heads- human and Pokemon alike. He tossed the bun in the pup's direction.

Bolt turned his head towards the aroma and saw a bun heading his way. He opened his mouth and jumped slightly to catch the goodie in his mouth. He then laid down, munching on the bun with a happy expression.

"You didn't have to…" uttered Sachi, but since it was done, she couldn't refuse. She opened her case-bag with one hand, pulling out the food container from back in the forest, placing it on the table beside her. She opened the container, revealing about a dozen or two poffins, turning the container to face Simon. "Want one?" Sachi felt bad that Simon had to use up one of his buns, but when she saw how happy Bolt was, she decided to repay the favour. Tora might get a bit iffy, but she could calm him down and make some more once they got to Motostoke.

Simon and Scatterbug eyed the strange treats. "Whoa, what's that?" He'd never seen the type of treat before, but he noticed that Scatterbug seemed drawn to it, as well as the Litten on the girl's shoulder. The little bug wiggled its feet at her, it's one-toothed mouth wide open as it asked for the treat.

Sachi handed a poffin to the small critter. "It's a poffin, a type of treat that originates from Sinnoh. There are different kinds of flavors, you can make them depending on what flavor your pokemon prefers."

"Ooh, Sinnoh! Learned about that place when I was a kid. Freaky legends they've got over there." He looked at the happy Scatterbug munching on her meal, and felt glad that he'd ended up with a kind travelling partner- especially given his track record with team activities at school. The girl definitely made him feel under-prepared though. Other than Gramma's cinnamon buns he hadn't brought any food or extra clothes with him, or even a bag- he'd just been planning to get them along the way. Unfortunately, 'along the way' was a little difficult at this point, and his best hope was that the wild area train station sold tents and bags- and that the "school supplies" portion of his government grant would cover it. He dismissed the thought, reassuring himself by remembering that as long as his Pokemon were there, he'd be okay too.

"Well, I guess we'd better get comfortable." Simon smiled at Sachi. "Train is prolly gonna be leaving soon, and it'll be a while before we stop."

Joint post of Evily and Foxrally​

 

[Stinging Bea]

​

Aeliana Kekoa
Pia McGuire
Raph Allard

Train From Wedgehurst

Chapter 2-1 | Three Trainers On A Train

Aeliana's Current Party:

Pia's Current Party:

Raph's Current Party:

The mid-day light was pulsing away, yellow drifting to orange as evening started to take over. The first day of the journey was already soon to come to a close. Raphael sat quietly, resting his head to the back of his seat and gazing at the scenery rushing by, around a bend in the distance, the shape of Wedgehurst was becoming smaller and smaller by the second. "There goes the neighbourhood…" He mumbles, the small Spheal sat in his lap shifting slightly as it lightly snored. All that energy was finally gone, yet for once Raph was feeling restless. At his belt a newly filled pokéball was attached, his second team member now decided on a whim. His mind was racing with possibilities… but before the train of thought, pardon the pun, got too far along, he dropped it back to the recesses of his mind.

"I'm exhausted." He continues to muse, speaking to himself. "Too tired to be thinking about things like that at least, a few moments of silence would be nicer." His eyes slowly drift closed and he takes in the ambience, resting with his pokémon neatly in his seat, tucked away in a corner away from the world. Their only company was the sound of the train racing along the tracks below.

At least, that's how it was for a few moments.

"Alola! Is this seat taken?" an upbeat and cheery voice called out.

Without waiting for a response, Aeliana quickly took the seat across from the boy. A fidgety and excited Tampa was tucked in her arms, all the while a dozing Fiesta sat snuggly on top of her head. The Totodile wasted no time in prying herself from her trainer's arms. She proudly bounded forward across the table, stopping just short of the boy and offering him a big, toothy grin. Meanwhile, Aeliana gently sat her Lotad down off the top of her head in the seat beside her so as to not accidentally wake him up.

"The train is so busy I was starting to think we'd never find an empty seat! I guess that's to be expected with a graduating class though!" the pink-haired trainer exclaimed.

Throughout the girls introduction Raph had endeavoured to keep his eyes closed. Perhaps, he thought, if she saw him like that she'd assume he was sleeping and simply be on her way. That was not the luck he was going to receive today, it seemed, why was he surprised? "...hmm." He sounds as she settles in across from him, the Totodile's toothy leer was met by a tired, but unflinching stare.

The graduating class she had mentioned, of course, he thought he recognized this one. "You're Aeliana." He states, plain and clear, it's not so much a question, nor a statement, almost an accusation. Almost. Yet he tones it down as he continues. "Right… I remember you from school. I guess it's no surprise some classmates ended up on this train as well."

Raph didn't particularly endeavor to remember the names and faces of people he had at an acquaintance level or lower. Still, however, it was hard to forget someone like this. Excitable, big personality, colourful in both attitude and appearance. This one liked to dance too, it was coming back to him now, he had seen her in passing while chasing Vito earlier that day. She was… tiring to look at, hopefully that wouldn't be the case when it came to interacting. "Glad you found a seat then." He finishes, before leaning his head back again, his eyes once more drifting closed.
"Oh, that's right! You're from the class too!" Aeliana realized. "Raphael, right? But uh… no need to get all formal. You can just call me Liana. Keeps things simple!"

Tampa looked between the two trainers curiously, quickly realizing that her trainer must have been familiar with the boy. Were they friends? The way she never stopped smiling must have meant so. At least, that was how the Totodile took it. A wave of excitement rushed through Tampa as she returned her focus towards Raph. She wanted to be the boy's friend too! Tampa quickly hopped in place with a jovial gurgle, before jumping off the table and landing square in the middle of Raph's lap. She grinned up towards the boy, tail wagging back and forth with anticipation of meeting her new friend!

"Huh…?" Raph mutters, as the impact arrives, he glances down, just beyond the round ball in his arms, to the small, but rather large jawed, pokémon now in his lap. Sighing, he places Vito slowly in the window, letting him rest uninterrupted, before turning back to the creature demanding his attention. "I think you're… a Totodile right?" He considers taking out his pokédex to check, but that's a lot of effort right now. Instead, Raph places his hands under Tampa's arms and places her gently back upon the table in front of him. "You're being a bother you know? I've had a long day." His resigned blue eyes meet those of Tampa and he lightly pats her head after a moment of consideration. Being pleasant might appeal to this things' good nature, get it to leave him alone.

"Cute pokémon. I'm guessing Sonia gave it to you?" He recites eventually, hoping this could serve as some kind of hint to convince 'Liana' to take it away from him.

"Milla! Wait up!" But his hopeful chants were utterly destroyed when the next pair arrived at the seats, a Pichu first followed by a platinum blonde girl with emerald eyes and pale skin. She was a polar opposite to Aeliana who had arrived just moments ago.

"Chu chu!" A cheerful Pichu circled around the cabin Aeliana and Raphael were sitting at, eventually stopping on the seat right next to the dark haired young man.

"Milla! I told you to wait up! You can't just run off like th-" a voice entered the cabin after the Pichu but stopped her sentence midway upon the sight of the two trainers in front of her. Pichu wagged her tiny tail and tapped her tiny paw at the open seat next to her male classmate. "Well well. Who would've thought my two classmates would be sitting here with an open seat? How lucky~" If it wasn't obvious by now, it appeared to be their former classmate Pia and fellow graduate, also in need of a seat. "Don't mind if I do!" Pia picked up her tiny friend and took the open seat right next to Raphael. In front of her was the pink haired dancer girl. Pichu sat on her lap with a cheerful grin on her face.

"Alola!" Aeliana greeted. She quickly scooped the Totodile off the table, the gator Pokémon squirming in her arms a bit, before suddenly getting cozy and snuggling up close to her trainer. "Looks like this train is just full of our classmates!"

Deadpan silence was Raph's response, his brow was furrowed as if he was thinking very deeply on something. His cold, blue eyes were focussed on Pia for a few agonizing moments, she could feel him scrutinizing, mulling over some information swirling about in his mind. Just as quickly as she had seated herself next to him, had he found himself staring at her intently, leaning a little closer. It was only for a moment, but it was there.

Then, almost comically, he pulled away just as quickly with a defeated look on his face, returning to his original position. As if some great mental battle had been lost, or had been abandoned, before finally he spoke.

"Nope, I tried, but I can't quite get it." He seemed to have even more trouble with this than he remembered. "Sorry but… who are you?"

"You ought to try to remember the people you attended class with." Pia teased with a mischievous smirk spreading on her peach coloured lips. "But the name is Pia. This here is my partner Milla. Isn't she just adorable?" Pia scratched Milla's big but cute head. Milla sure looked to be enjoying all that attention and the scratches given by her trainer. "I'm afraid I forgot your names as well, I do apologize. What was it again?" the girl asked both of her current companions, eyeing their Pokémons as well.

"...classmates?" Raph mumbles almost unheard, a single hand pushing his fringe out of his eyes, while lightly scratching his head. His eyes seem focussed for a moment, as if trying to fight passed his confusion, but as before he quickly gives up. She was probably right. "Raphael." Is all he retorts, before resting his head back to his seat again and closing his eyes.

"Heh… It's no problem! I guess there were a few of us, so it can't be easy to remember everyone," Aeliana replied with a chuckle. "My name's Aeliana! But please, call me Liana. That's what everyone calls me!"

"I see! I see!" Pia clasped her hands together and grinned. Milla, on the other hand, left Pia's lap to jump around again once more and take a better look at the new potential Pokémon friends here. She slit on the table and stared at Spheal sleeping in Raphael's arms and also exchanged glances with the totodile cuddling up to Aeliana. She waved her tail around in a greeting at the crocodile Pokémon while leaving the rounder Pokémon alone to rest, unlike her trainer...

"So, any ideas where this train journey is going to take you yet?" Pia attempted to show genuine interest in both of her classmates. She noticed her male classmate had his eyes closed, probably in an attempt to rest but Pia wouldn't take it and pretended to be as dense as a brick.

"Is that a serious question?" Raph grumbled in response, his eyes staying closed as he lightly tapped the window with his knuckle. Beyond the glass, illuminated by the brilliant evening sun, was a horizon of untouched nature. Fields, sandpits, lakes and rocky crags could be spotted dotted across the horizon, and just beyond that, the image of a metropolitan landscape as well. "This train only has one stop and that's the wild area."

"That's not what I meant." Pia playfully stuck her tongue out and winked. "Of course we're going to the wild area but what are you going to do after that?" Pia asked once again. At this point she was basically asking for their dreams and ambitions. Of course this wasn't without an ulterior motive in the back of her head. Pia was currently finding out which of her classmates she should keep an eye on. Who was most likely to become famous? Who would become rich? The girl turned to the tanned girl in front of her. "What are you going to do, Liana?"

"Me? The plan is to put together an unstoppable dance squad and take the contest stage by storm," the pink-haired woman explained. She gestured towards Tampa in her arms and the still dozing Lotad laying beside her. "I've got two members now, but we're still looking for plenty of members. Of course, I'm also aiming to do the league challenge. We're gonna prove our might in dance and battle!"

A confident smirk graced the woman's lips as she leaned back in her seat. She glanced between both Pia and Raph before continuing. "How about you two? Are you gonna be the very best, like no one ever was…?"

Raph considered whether or not to continue this conversation. If this Pia girl hadn't blocked his only exit then he would have just excused himself… but asking her to move would probably lead to even more effort than humoring her. Both of these people seemed like the types to pester him if he refused to answer. Best to just tell them the truth then.

He sat forward a little, tiredly stretching out his back. His eyelids lazily slid open and his cobalt gaze fell to Aeliana, then to Pia in turn. His expression was tired, but dead serious… and his tone of voice matched that energy perfectly. "If my end goal is what you mean then it's simple I guess." His brow furrowed just ever so slightly, but his expression quickly relaxed after he finished speaking. "I'm going to become the Champion of Galar."

"Oh! How determined!" Pia reacted to the dead serious Raphael with a small clap. This was the answer she was searching for. If Raphael was going to be the new Leon then she just had to make friends with him, right? And the same went for the dancer Aeliana. Such a good dancer would rise to fame in no-time.

"I want to be the number one in the contest world! Meaning that I'll be your rival then, Liana!" Pia confidently smirked at her self-proclaimed rival, keeping her nice-girl act up a little while longer. If Aeliana managed to win over the contest world with her dancing that she was going to be an important pawn piece to her game of chess. This was definitely a good start to her journey.

"Is that right? Well, I guess a little healthy competition will make things fun!" Aeliana responded with a smile. Something about this girl was… a bit off. While she had never had much interaction with Pia before graduation, Aeliana had a feeling she wasn't putting her true self forward for both Raph and herself to see. "Well then, I'll be interested to see just how well you fare."

"Contests, I see." Raph was growing less enthused with the conversation by the second. Gym battles were one thing, but a pokémon contest was another story altogether. Those things were beyond tiring, even watching them tuckered him out. There was something mildly interesting however, he couldn't tell what it was, but there was a subtle tension building in the room. The atmosphere was tainted by something a little off putting when compared to the cheery hellos of mere moments ago. For a brief moment his eyes shifted to Pia, curiosity settling in him as well, before he lends back casually into a rested position once more. "So… a bit strange to ask such deep questions out of nowhere right? Why so curious?"

It was an innocent enough question, but Raphael hoped it would further offset the mood in its answer. Best case scenario the two girls present would contribute to the subtle unease… and that whatever came about from it caused them to leave.

"Hm?" Pia reacted to the curious Raphael. She seemed a bit oblivious on the exterior but she was in deep thought. Was she found out? How? Best to play dumb. "Ah, I guess I've been found out." Pia once again stuck her tongue out playfully. "You see, I wasn't too sure what to do after graduation, I figured I'd ask around and see what everyone else was going to do." The girl lied to the two. It wasn't all dishonesty but Pia was more concerned with where to start than what she should be doing because her goal was clear. . She rubbed the back of her head. "Contests seem to fit me the best and I do want to achieve at least something." That was the truth.

Aeliana raised an eyebrow. "So, you weren't sure what you were gonna do after graduation, but you wanted to be number one in the contest world and I'm a rival…?"

"Yes!" Pia happily replied, clasping her hands together once again. "At least, that's the conclusion I came to. It must be weird to have someone you don't know suddenly claim to be your rival. I apologize if I offended you." The girl picked Milla from the table and put her back on her lap. The small pets Milla gave the pichu were enjoyable for the creature and such was proven by the pleasant expression she was showing.

This conversation was going nowhere fast. Raph didn't care about contests, he wasn't bothered with rivals and this conversation really wasn't doing it for him either. He stretches his arms out gently and relaxes in his seat with a sigh. He had only wanted to nap, how did he become the unwarranted third wheel in this, pardon the pun, on rails conversation. Aeliana was a little too eager, Pia seemed like the kind of girl who made a habit of getting close, either way it didn't look like they were going to get a move on and get out of his space unless he gave them a really good reason to. What a bother.

"Rivals… sounds like a good idea." Raph cut across the conversation, with his best attempt at a small smile. "They're useful when it comes to… pushing yourself to get better right? Well if you two are rivals now I'd say you've got to get right to the self improvement. No time like the present, I think you should work together and against each other right from the get go… so that you both do better down the line right?" His eyes turned to Pia, they were holding a faux friendliness, but there was an ominous emptiness to them too. It was difficult for him to hide his annoyance, which made him feel a little bit bad since she seemed to be trying to be friendly. Just a little bit mind you, not enough to stop. "This train goes to the wild area, they're used to Pokémon trainers getting antsy I hear. Near the front there's some carriages built to serve as makeshift arenas for some on the rails battles." His eyes close and leave only his small smirk of a smile on display. "You should start your new rivalry off with a bang right..? I'd say a battle is in order, before the day is out? Unless, that is, you weren't serious about what you said?"

Pia blinked a few times. A battle? But her new Pokémon that she got from Sonia was basically a baby… she couldn't possibly let a baby battle, right? That's what she thought at least and her concerned look directed to Milla said as much but the Pokémon was actually super excited and almost pleaded the girl to say yes.

"It seems Milla wants to battle so of course that would be a yes!" Pia gave an agreeing smile. Although she wasn't too confident in her battling abilities, it would be fun to try. "At least, only if Liana doesn't mind?" Pia turned to the girl in front of her before turning back to the very annoyed boy. "And you can be the referee!"

"Of course! It sounds like a hot idea to me," Aeliana replied. She glanced over towards Raph, a small smirk forming on her lips. "And I'm sure that Raph would love to relax with a nice battle to watch for entertainment…"

"...eh?" Is all he responds with, his tired eyes opening again. Were they for real? Arceus damn them they were really persistent to bother him weren't they. Still, at this point if he refused, they might follow him all the way to Motostoke.

"Fine… as long as it's a 1v1."

---

Rather tiredly, Raph now stood in the middle of a rather large and bulky carriage near the front of the train. Standing at either side were his two former classmates, Aeliana and Pia. They were each ready for the battle he had, in hindsight perhaps rather foolishly, suggested. With a sigh he runs a hand back through his hair and looks to both parties, best just get this over with. "Right, steady on you two, let's make this a clean battle, etcetera… the use of items will be outlawed for the exhibition, as will switch ins, as per the standard league rules… yada yada, whatever, fight till one of your pokémon drop yeah?"

With his lackluster announcement commenced, Raph slides back to the edge of the arena and settles in his seat. Upon the seat next to him Vito is bouncing about excitedly, his eyes wide to watch all these new friends duking it out! Oh how he wished he was them! Raph himself couldn't be less interested however, taking his smartphone from his pocket he starts scrolling through news feeds on the wild area and checking if his mother had messaged him on Chatter.

"Oh um, right, yeah, begin."

"Alright, Fiesta! Are you ready?" Aeliana asked her Lotad.

The face full of panic that her Lotad was giving her would normally speak volumes to most trainers. That said, the bright and reassuring smile that the pink-haired trainer was giving him showed that Aeliana either was blissfully unaware or confident in his abilities. Regardless, Fiesta knew he wasn't going to be getting out of this situation. With a grunt in response, he began to nervously make his way towards the middle of the arena. All the while Tampa was hopping back and forth, gurgling excitedly in an attempt to cheer the timid Lotad on.

On the other side of the carriage was Pia with her Pichu. She exchanged a few worried glances with the Pokémon but Milla gave her a reassuring thumbs up. Pia had a smile on her face but it was obvious she wasn't too sure if she should let Milla battle but conceded to Milla's enthusiasm.

"Take your position, Milla. I'll guide you through!" Pia attempted being confident and took her spot.

"Alright then, let's get this started!" Aeliana called out. She smiled down at her Lotad, who seemed to be a bit more relaxed once he saw who his opponent was. It wasn't that he was underestimating Milla, not by any means. But when compared to his previous opponent, the Pichu was a much more… comfortable and manageable size to deal with. "Fiesta, start things off with a Water Gun!"

"Milla! Dodge!" Pia immediately called out. Water gun wasn't a very effective move on the electric-type Pokémon but the thought of Milla getting hit with something was anxious to her. Milla jumped up to dodge the incoming water-type attack. She was so excited that sparkles emerged from her cheeks, almost hitting the water gun in process and electrifying it. Once Milla touched the floor again with her tiny feet, she rubbed the back of her head showing that was actually just an accident.

"Don't let your guard down, Milla!" Pia shouted, getting wound up in her Pokémon's excitement. It just occurred to her that she didn't yet know what moves Milla knew. She grabbed her Pokédex real quick and opened it at Milla's entry. "Do… Thundershock!" she called, closing the Pokédex as she memorized the four only moves that Milla knew. There was an odd one in between those but there was no time to be flabbergasted about that one.

Milla, as agile as she was, tried to come closer to the Lotad in question. The Pichu, however, stumbled over its own paws and rolled down over the floor. The tiny Pokémon stopped near the Lotad and while her intent was to do a Thundershock, she instead looked very endearing to the Grass and Water type Pokémon.

The Lotad gave Milla a curious look, tilting his head in confusion before gently nudging forward with the tip of his bill. It was a look that more or less spoke a level for concern for the tiny Pokémon. At the same time however, a faint blush seemed to creep up to Fiesta's cheeks.

"Fiesta! Shoot another Water Gun!" Aeliana called out. Fiesta stood still for a moment, before suddenly snapping back to reality. Quickly, the Lotad leaned back before shooting another blast of water in the direction of the seemingly clumsy Pichu.

"Don't stand there dreaming! Dodge!" Pia called out again. Milla seemed startled for a second and jumped away as fast as she could but couldn't prevent her tail from getting hit. That attack was more painful that the tiny Pokémon thought as it rubbed its tail. She pouted at the Lotad with tears filling her bead-like eyes. She filled herself with electric energy and unleashed it at once, shooting a thundershock in Aeliana's Pokémon's way.

Fiesta's eyes widened in surprise as it was suddenly shocked by a spark of electricity. The Lotad shuddered in pain, grunting as he tried to shake off the rather shocking attack. "Fiesta, Astonish!" the pink-haired trainer ordered. Without warning, the Lotad suddenly shot straight towards Milla.

"Chu!" Milla didn't see the Lotad coming and was hit by the attack. Milla awaited her trainer's call. "Thunder Punch!" Pia punched in front of her as the name suggested. Milla nodded and leaped in for a punch at Fiesta.

"Fiesta, try to dodge it and use Water Gun!" Aeliana cried out. The Lotad let out a panicked whine as it barely managed to somehow roll off to the side. Narrowing his eyes, Fiesta then quickly squirted out a blast of water in the direction of Pia's Pichu.

Milla got the blast of water straight into her face and was knocked back a few meters. She had trouble getting back up after that attack and it was enough to cause Pia to worry.

"T-That's enough!" Pia stopped the battle by getting in front of Milla and spreading her arms. "That's enough…" She repeated. She glanced at Milla and picked her up from the battlefield. "I apologize, I don't want Milla to get hurt even more. She tried her best. That's enough for me." She scratched in between the Pichu's ears. She was smiling, yet she looked a bit embarrassed. "You win this battle."

Aeliana looked down at her Lotad, suddenly feeling like the scene playing out in front of her was very familiar. In fact, it was pretty identical to what happened with Fiesta back at the station when she was battling Jasper. Only there wasn't any ill will, at least she hoped not, coming from her. The pink-haired girl walked forward and scooped up her Lotad, before turning to face Pia.

"Hey, don't worry about it. If you wanna call it here, that's fine," she began, offering Pia a smile. "No sense in going overboard and all that right now, yeah?"

"R-Right…" Pia tried her best to smile. Milla looked severely disappointed but she understood. She hid her face in Pia's chest as the girl glanced around the scene to look at their sleepy referee, only to find him looking more alert than she had seen him for as long as she had known him. His gaze was tired, eyelids hanging down, but beneath them his eyes were sharp and there was an odd depth to the way he looked at them. Once the battle had actually gotten started and the moves had started to fly, he had become just a little interested, but whatever interest he had was already gone.

"That was it?" Were the words he spoke after a moment of meeting Pia's gaze. The tiredness in his tone was no longer endearing, but cutting. "Not worth going all out..? This early in the game?" He stands up from his seat and sighs, the sound dripping with enough aggravation to cause Vito to look up at him with a little concern. "Not what I expected."

Ouch. All too familiar words for the young Pia and it actually snapped her back to reality for a second. While she was trying to be buddy buddy with people to raise her own reputation, she allowed herself to be put in a vulnerable position. Something she promised herself she would not do again.

Pia made a small "tsk." Sound and turned around to the exit of the carriage they were currently on. "I'm sorry for being such a disappointment but I'm not going to unnecessarily hurt my Pokémon for your entertainment." Were the last words Pia left behind before leaving. This was probably the only moment in their entire conversation she had been her real self. She realised full well her first attempt at making friends in this town had ended in failure. The girl had much to contemplate.

Raph's gaze followed Pia as she walked out of the carriage, but as she departed he made no effort to follow or confront her, instead sinking into his seat with a small sigh. "Hadn't even gotten to the good part yet… this is why this stuff like this is too much effort." His eyes settle onto Aeliana instead. "Contests are all well and good, but even they require battles. The Pichu looked like it was ready to keep going… I'd hoped I could express that to her, but she left before I could really get to the point." He rubs his chin a little contemplatively, before stopping to stretch, Vito rolling over to squash against his leg. "I guess someone like me can't talk, being lazy like I am. Still… I hope she doesn't get that wake up call the hard way." He yawns, as if to accentuate the point, before looking away from Aeliana too. "Either way, I guess my problem is solved. You seem a touch friendlier than I am, I'd suggest following her if you care."

"She was just nervous. It's not like she's been a trainer long, and this may have been their first battle," Aeliana retorted. She paused just for a moment, recalling Fiesta to his poké ball so he could rest properly from the battle. A quick word of thanks was offered to the Lotad, before the pinkette continued. "Maybe a bit of constructive criticism instead of just shaming her for not pushing her Pichu to the brink would've been a better response. You might be 'lazy', but maybe you should start looking for some energy to at the very least not act like a jerk?"

Shaking her head, Aeliana sighed. Despite her rather sharp tongue, a smile still graced her lips. She began to make her way towards the door that led out of the room, deciding at the very least that maybe checking up on Pia wouldn't be a bad idea. "That's just my two cents, anyway. Catch you later, Raph."

And so Raph watches her leave as well. "Shaming her…?" He mumbles to himself. "Was that what that was..?" He sighs and shrugs before settling into his seat, this place was unlikely to see any more foot traffic. "If that's all it takes for them to get offended… well… it's not any of my business. If people insist on interrupting my naps, the least they could do is try a little harder."

...is what he said, but he couldn't help but feel a little guilty. It was a shame that doing more than this was such a considerable effort.

TM Case:

Spoiler:

Attract TM

​

Inventory:

Spoiler:

Pokédex

Aeliana's ATC

Luggage Case

Poké Ball (x4)

​

 

[Sonata]

Rosa Valdés // 17

​

CHAPTER 2.1 - Enter The Wild Area!

"I saw him again."

Rosa's head was resting on Simon's lap. Her childhood friend had managed to carry her back to the station and find a comfortable bench seat aboard the train. Simon was gently running his hand through her hair as she came to.

"I see," he whispered, the words just barely coming out, his chapped lips clinging to each other as they pulled apart. "I figured it was one of the two when you surfaced mid-episode."

Rosa curled up, pulling her thumb to her lip before scrapping at it gently with her nail. "I thought I was stronger now… I wanted so badly to make new memories, to have new dreams to take the place of these nightmares…"

"Don't rush yourself." Simon pulled on the girl's hair, beginning to braid it into a bun. "We both knew this wouldn't be easy for you. This isn't something you can so easily get over just through sheer power of will."

Rosa sighed, her body shaking as she did so. "I know… I know that, but it's just so frustrating. I wish you- no, no I don't. I'm sorry. I'm ashamed for this feeling."

"There's no reason to be ashamed, Rosa." He said, reassuringly. "I know this is hard for you - it's hard for me too, but we've gone on this journey separately for a reason. I wish-" Simon started before a voice came over the intercom.

'Now approaching the Southern Wild Area. Please listen for the up to date weather report and prepare accordingly.'

Rosa sat herself up, pulling the strap of her dress back over her shoulder. "Guess it'll be time for us to part ways again soon."

Simon cleaned his hands of the stray strands of hair which had woven themselves between his fingers over the course of the trip. "I suppose it does. We both have our own journeys to go on." He picked his bag up off of the floor and opened it, shuffling around before pulling out and handing over Rosa's ribbon. "Though we're sure to meet up in Motostoke."

Rosa patted at her done up hair and then tied the ribbon around her wrist. "You did a good job with my hair. Guess all those times playing barber as kids finally paid off." She laughed, softly.

Simon watched her from the corner of his eye, choosing not to respond. The two looked off into the Wild Area as the train pulled in to the station. "Guess that's that then." The boy rose to his feet and stretched out. "Shoot. I didn't listen for the weather announcements... "

Rosa smiled and opened her bag. "I think I heard a lot of cold, rain, and snow, with a couple warm patches. Now that you've done my hair, it'd be nice if I had something to keep it dry... maybe like a drying pan."

Simon rolled his head around and stared at her with dead eyes and a grimace. "Really? Mom made that lame pun once, and you've never let it go! It's not even funny!"

Rosa tilted her head away and covered her smile by bringing her bag up into her knees and burying herself in it. "Let's see… what've I got in here for warmth… warm, warm, warm..."

Simon sighed and shook his head. "You're plumb broke and only packed dresses. You should have let someone check your bag before you headed out you ditz."

Rosa hastily closed her bag and looked at him with a hurt expression. "Uh, me? A ditz?" She scoffed playfully. "Are you sure about that? I seem to recall someone walking around his room several times looking for his phone while holding it in their hand. Not sure who that might've been, but I feel like they're pretty close right now."

"Hey, whoa, no need to be so aggressive, it was just a joke." Simon threw up his hands and waved them around, playing defense. "Anyways, here, you can have my sweater," he said, pulling the knit Wooloo sweater over his head before handing it to Rosa. "But only 'til we get to Motostoke, then you give it back, alright?"

Rosa nodded and then quickly pulled the oversized sweater over her shoulders. She couldn't help but breath in as she pulled the soft fabric over her face. It smelled like him. It'd been a while since she straight up smelled Simon… that'd be weird after all. But the scent caught in the wool brought back vivid memories that they shared together. The sleeves fell far beyond the reach of her fingertips and it was nearly the same length of her dress when she stood.

"It's cozy," she whispered, bringing the floppy sleeves of the sweater up to cover the blush and smile that was quickly creeping up on her.

Simon scratched his head and turned away. "Yeah, Mom knitted it herself, so I'd say it's pretty alright. She was supposed to be working on one for you as a going-away present, but I guess she didn't finish in time. It might be ready by the time we're in Motostoke, so if it shows up- remember that I didn't just ruin the surprise and act excited."

Rosa giggled as she closed her bag and swung it over her shoulder. "So, how did that whole finishing the fishing contest thing for me go?"

Simon frowned. "Yeah… about that, sorry. After you passed out, your Munchlax ate all the bait you'd collected and I assume a Magikarp cleaned my rod before I could snag him. I waited a while on an empty hook, but it just didn't work out in the end."

Rosa nodded. "Yeah, that follows. Finding a constant supply of food for Ezra is going to be a hassle. Maybe Jasper was right…"

Simon's frown deepened as he turned to face away from her and swung his bag off his back again. "Here," he said coldly after digging around for a few seconds. He held the fishing rod out to Rosa, motioning for her to take it.

"I thought you said you couldn't finish the contest?"

"That's right. This is the rod I won. I already have a water type Pokemon though, so I doubt I'll really need it. With that thing's appetite, you'll need all the tools you can get to help."

"Fight me!"

Rosa shrugged her shoulders slightly. "Yeah, sure. Thanks? I hope you don't come to regret this decision."

Simon exhaled harshly. "Well, why don't we do this then. After we get off the train, we'll have a battle in the Meetup Spot."

"Fight me!"

"A battle? What's that going to accomplish?"

"Not much for you I suppose. But, it'll definitely put my mind at ease. And if you beat me, we'll just call it an even exchange. A rod instead of money."

"Fight me!"

Rosa shrugged. "Yea-"

Just as she was about to accept his challenge, a man rushing by slammed his hand against the car window. "Fight me!" He exclaimed, leaving a flyer behind as he rushed off.

The two looked through the window at the man who was racing along the length of the car, slapping fliers against each window as he called out his challenge. Rosa shook her head and then focused on the flier.

"Well, this might be interesting…"

"What's that?" Simon pushed his shoulder against Rosa's nudging her out of the way slightly so he could get a better look at the flier. "Pro Lifter and Biker Connoisseur. Show you strength to me, Charles, and win a bike of your own." Simon scratched at his head and then leaned back. "Says he'll be waiting in the meetup spot for challengers to take on his two Pokemon."

"Hmm." Rosa mused. "He was rambunctious, but like I said, it does sound interesting. What do you say, wanna take him on a double battle and postpone our match for another time? There is a lot of wild area to explore, so keeping our Pokemon healthy and gaining a quicker form of travel would be our best bet."

Simon tugged at his t-shirt. "Considering I don't have anything warmer right now, I would like to spend as little time as possible in the cold weather." He paused for a moment, re-reading the flier. "Yeah, let's do it. Either or is fine with me. Both sate my curiosity."

Rosa nodded energetically. "Let's do it then!"

-Inventory-

Spoiler:

- ₽20
- Notebook and Pen
- 4 Pokéballs
- Galarian Pokédex V. 8
- Rosa's ATC
- Old Rod
- Simon's Knit Wooloo Sweater​

 

[Jay]

Raphael Allard
> Lake Axewell Approach
> Mood: Speechless
> EYE OF THE STORM - PART 1

"...I don't understand." The young woman's voice echoed across the clinical white room. She was keeping her voice low, careful not to wake the sleeping young boy in the bed beside him. "He collapsed so suddenly, how could this be a pre-existing condition?" Her voice starting ringing a little shrill, choked upset building in her chest. Standing across from her a doctor, dressed in white coat and pants, holds a clipboard with pages of diagnostics and test results for the same child the mother tries not to wake. "It's... surprising to us as well. Conditions like this should have been noticed at birth-"

"Birth?" Her eyes widen in shock. "He's had it since he was born?"

"Yes ma'am, we believe he has." The doctor pauses, his eyes creasing into a furrowed expression. "That he's gone five years of life without any major incidents before now is something we should be thankful for." The woman, the boy's mother, holds a hand over her mouth, unsure of what to say in response. Her silence prompts the doctor to continue. "Aortic valve stenosis. In short, the aortic valve in his heart has narrowed, preventing it from opening fully." He pauses, taking a small sigh before continuing. "Your son's heart has to work harder to pump his blood where it needs to go. It puts a strain on the heart itself... and over time that strain could cause him serious problems. As the stenosis increases in severity, it..." He trails off, the conversation difficult to continue, but seeing the mothers pleading eyes he finished.

"...it could drastically lower his life expectancy. To put it mildly."

She stares quietly, stunned to silence, before forcing out a response. "My son... is going to die?"

"No, not as quickly as that." He quickly interjects, trying to keep her from hopelessness. "With the new medication we discussed, we can work against the strain as it develops, giving him upwards of twenty years beyond what in the past we might have expected... and with the surgery he could live a long and healthy life as any one-"

"I can't afford the surgery..!" Her voice almost raises, but she holds back for the sake of her son. "Between rent and the medication, working every day of the week I'll barely make enough to feed us." Sorrow darts into the doctors eyes, before its pushed aside for sympathy dosed with professionalism. "I'm sorry ma'am... there's not much else we can do."

Tears fall down her defeated face, she can't muster the willpower to wipe them away as she watches the doctor return the gaze for a moment... before he breaks away and turns to leave the room. "Forgive me, I will... leave you with your boy for now."

"...wait." She meekly calls as he goes to leave, prompting him to turn back and face her for just a moment longer. "Doctor he-... He loves, pokémon. Could he... is it possible he can..?" But before she can even finish speaking, the doctor with a pained expression of his own is forced to deny the mother once again. He shakes his head slowly, unable to meet her gaze. "With a condition like his... travelling as a pokémon trainer poses far too many risks. I'm... I'm sorry."

And with that he leaves.

Tears flow faster from her eyes and she sinks slowly to the floor, defeated and heartbroken. She brings her hands upwards to catch the tears and sobs quietly, mumbling the same few words again and again. "I'm sorry Raph... Mommy is sorry..."

But a few feet away, the boy lies on the bed, feigning to be asleep. His open blue eyes stare at the wall away from where the conversation had taken place. Raphael clutches a Charizard plush tightly to his chest... and from his eyes, quiet tears start to fall as well.

---

"..No!"

Raph starts awake, his hand instinctively reaching to clutch at the shirt laid over his chest. He was at this small campsite, a sleeping bag under the stars by a fire, a short distance from the Meeting Spot into the Wild Area. There was no pain, he was okay, everything was okay.

"Sphee..."

Looking down to his side, Raph feels the small body of Vito pressing into his side, sort of pitifully rolling in place against him to try and wake him up. As a chill wind blows passed him, Raph can feel the wet on his cheeks, cool and crisp. He must have been making noise as he slept. "Oi, oi... that's alright isn't it?" He says with a weak smile, picking Vito up from the floor and holding the small Spheal to his chest. The pokémon, with worried eyes, quickly nuzzles against his new trainer.

"I worried you, didn't I? I'm sorry mate." He squeezes the pokémon a little and the worried look turns to an innocent smile. Though with a slight gasp Raph pauses, his vision flickers back to the hospital room and Vito in his arms becomes a toy Charizard clutched just as tightly, for just a brief moment. The dreams never went away, he always remembered that night.

The night they told him he was broken... no... that he had been built faulty.

"I have a habit of worrying people I care about... it's really tiring you know?" He starts, gazing up at the pale moonlight. "Maybe that's why..." His mind flashed back to the incident on the train, but he quickly shakes the thoughts away and gives a somber smile to the pokémon in his arms. "Isn't it crazy? Us being here like this?" A question to which Vito looks confused, but gives a goofy grin to all the same. "I never thought I'd get the chance, you're really a dream come through for me, you know?"

The words leave Raph's lips and Vito's smile slowly starts to fade. The trainer closes his eyes as he smiles, wider and wider, as if trying to force the happiness in. The tears start falling all the same. Vito was small, maybe not that bright, but he knew his new best friend was in pain. So he does his best smile again, even though his tears are wet now and nuzzles against Raph again, giving all the affection he can until the pair finally begin to drift back to sleep.

"...thank you."

---

​

The next morning came and Raph had already passed the point of pulling himself together. The nightmares were always hard, but letting them bother him overlong was far too much effort. Vito rolls around his feat lightly as he manages to reach the crest of a small hill at the outskirts of the storied Lake Axewell. This was a place he had only ever heard stories about as a kid, a place where powerful trainers, and even more powerful pokémon were said to reside. He casts his gaze outwards over the turbulent waters and in the distance he spies what he's searching for. A single mass of land standing out in the center of the lake, even from here it was clear that the place had an ominous vibe, it was teeming with energy... and altogether it looked like an exhausting time.

Still, as an expert in being lazy, Raph understood that he had to put in some effort to afford being completely lazy. On that island, Axew's Eye, there was said to reside some of the most powerful pokémon in the Wild Area. Seriously strong dragon type pokémon fighting back and forth for supremacy over the spot, like a messed up game of King of the Hill. He wasn't stupid enough to try and take one on in single combat, but Vito was an ice type pokémon. If he could catch even one of the losing behemoths on that island unawares, a quick and sneaky powder snow and a pokéball thrown before an already injured monster could relax? A pokémon like that would guarantee him the first gym bracket while he'd barely need to life a finger. Smooth sailing, coasting onto the fourth gym easily... hell he mightn't have any problems until Ballonlee if luck was on his side. "Alright... then the next targets in sight. You ready?" Raph asks, looking down at his partner pokémon with a cocksure grin, to which the small ball beams back up at him confidently. "Then let's go, Vito." With that he takes off, stepping down the hill at his own pace with an excited Spheal rolling rapidly around his legs, moving to the edge of the water where a pedalboat awaited to carry him to the awaiting island.

If only he knew of the storm that was awaiting him.

 

[Stinging Bea]

Aeliana Kekoa

Watchtower Ruins

Chapter 2-2 | Among The Ruins

Aeliana's Current Party:

The Wild Area was truly a breathtaking sight to behold. It wasn't exactly Aeliana's first time seeing it. After all, she did get a nice Pidgey's-eye view of it of it when she took the flying taxi from Hulbury to Wedgehurst when her grandparents sent her to study at the trainer's school there. However, getting to see it in actual person instead of just overhead or pictures was a completely different experience all together. Rolling hills and grassy meadows stretched on as far as the eye could see. Twisting paths among rocky crevasses filled the pink-haired trainer with a sense of excitement, curiosity rising in the pit of her stomach that practically begged her to go and explore them. Calming waters in mixture with the gentle breeze blowing through the trees mixed in with a melody provided by the flying Pokémon overhead, offering a bit of music to accompany the trainer as she traversed her way towards Motosoke.

Following the events of her time with Pia and Raph, Aeliana had decided to try and map out her path to the city on her phone during the last few minutes of its travel to the Meetup Spot station. The pink-haired girl had never been the best at this sort of thing. She wasn't terrible with directions, but mapping them out on her own was something she never really had had much experience with in the past. That said, she was beginning to feel as though maybe she should have spent a tad more time in making sure hers were properly planned.

To put it bluntly, Aeliana had no idea where she was. The girl was wandering about blindly through the grassy fields. A dense fog was beginning to cover the area, with various stone rubble and debris jutting out from the various knolls. A frown graced the trainer's lips as she looked about, before glancing down at her phone.

"I don't understand, we should've reached Motosoke by now," Aeliana mused as she looked away from her phone and over her shoulder. Fiesta was riding along with the trainer, while Tampa waddled close behind. Both of the Pokémon shared a curious look with each other, before the Lotad returned a blank expression to the pink-haired girl. "Well… I think maybe we should take a break. We've been moving for a while now."

The three made their way to a nearby slab sticking out of the ground. Aeliana checked the rock for smoothness, determining it to be at the very least a decent spot for her to sit and take a rest. She allowed Fiesta to slide off her shoulder, before placing her bag on the ground and gazing up at the sky. The fading light of the sun was starting to go behind the nearby mountains. While it wasn't quite time for a nightly meal, Aeliana had to admit she was feeling a bit peckish. It was a feeling that was quickly confirmed when she heard a small growl coming from the stomachs of both her Pokémon. She looked over at the duo, an amused smirk forming on her lips as she saw the duo eyeing her bag hungrily.

"I swear, you two are like bottomless pits… If you keep this up, I'm gonna have to start buying the three boxes of those bars at a time," Aeliana told them with a chuckle. She paused, opening up her bag to fish out two of the protein bars that both Tampa and Fiesta seemed to adore. She removed the wrapping, handing them both one which they both gladly accepted. "That's it for now though, we'll be eating dinner in an hour or so and I don't want you two to fill up on stuff like that. It's good for a pick me up, but not for an actual substitute for real food, okay?"

She sighed as she noticed both Pokémon seemed to be in their own world. Well, at the very least they seemed to be happy despite being lost. So, she chalked that up as a win. Turning her attention away from the two Pokémon, but taking care to keep a hold on her bag to prevent what had happened previously on Route 2, Aeliana began to think back to the events of the train ride earlier.

She began to wonder if maybe she had overstepped her bounds when she had talked to Raph the way she had. She really didn't mean to give the boy a hard time, but the way he talked down to Pia… It struck a nerve with the pinkette to say the least. To make matters worse, the girl in question was nowhere to be found after she had run off at the conclusion to their battle. Aeliana wondered if she was feeling any better since then. She knew she was bound to see her again eventually. After all, Pia had decided to make Aeliana her rival when it came to contests. The trainer made a mental note in the back of her head to check up on her the next time they crossed paths.

Meanwhile, as Aeliana had her mental debate about how the train ride went, Fiesta and Tampa were both in heaven as they devoured their treats. Fiesta in particular was about halfway through with his, when the rustling of some nearby trees caught the Lotad's attention. A feeling of dread seemingly filling the pit of his stomach, he slowly glanced over towards Tampa. Said Totodile was in the process of finishing off her protein bar. Crumbs covered her face, and along with white stains from the bar having started to melt covered her hands. She looked over towards Fiesta, who in turn motioned towards the rustling bushes close by. The gator Pokémon stuffed the last bite of her bar into her mouth before she waddled over to the source of the noise. Fiesta was close behind, but he made a careful attempt to try and hide behind his teammate as best he could.

As the duo got close, the Lotad suddenly nudged forward again. This time, he grabbed Tampa's attention by gently pulling on her tail with his bill. Tampa looked over her shoulder at Fiesta, taking in the worried expression that graced his facial features. The small Lotad was practically quaking in place as he gave Tampa a look that practically begged her to reconsider looking inside the bushes. Tampa merely smiled in response, however. The Totodile gave Fiesta a reassuring gurgle, going as far as to wave him off as she returned her focus into the bushes. Tampa slowly moved closer, leaning forward ever so gently before placing her hands inside the shrubbery and pushing the leaves apart to get a better look inside…

​

A sudden wail of horror grabbed Aeliana's attention. The pink-haired trainer had been so lost in her thoughts that she almost jumped out of her skin from Fiesta's panicked wailing. The trainer wasted no time in jumping off the rock and making a mad dash towards the location of her two Pokémon.

"Tampa?! Fiesta?! What is it? What's going on?!" Aeliana inquired, concern evident in her voice.

The trainer soon got her answer as her Totodile looked over at her, before slowly waddling out of the way. Aeliana looked between the two Pokémon curiously, before inspecting the bushes herself. What she found inside of them was enough to make her skin crawl.

Laying inside of the bushes, face down and panting heavily, was a Clefairy of all things. That said, the Clefairy looked as though she had seen better days. Her body was battered and bruised, with various cuts and scrapes gracing her normally bright pink fur. Her breathing was rough as she laid in the dirt, body trembling as though she was desperately trying to hold on to dear life. A combination of dried mud and blood coated the creature's fur. It was enough to make Aeliana's face turn white as a sheet.

"What in the…what happened to you?" Aeliana whispered, bringing a trembling hand to cover her mouth in horror.

Of course, the Clefairy didn't answer. Even if she could have, Aeliana knew she likely wouldn't be able to understand. Regardless, she quickly realized that the what truly wasn't the matter to worry about right now. Rather, it was much more important to do something to help the wild Clefairy before it was too late. Throwing all rational aside, the trainer scrambled over to her backpack and picked it off the ground. She rummaged inside of the bag, her eyes darting through its contents as she fished out a poké ball from it.

WIth ball in hand, she quickly returned to the downed Clefairy. She hesitated for a moment, looking down at the poké ball in her hand. Was it really okay to catch a Pokémon like this? Usually, the Pokémon one encounters in the wild is somewhat aware of what a trainer is doing. That said however, Aeliana doubted the wild Clefairy would have much of a clue about who Aeliana was or how she got to where she was going.

Aeliana quickly shook her head. "I'm being stupid. Saving this thing is much more important right now."

Without further delay, the girl quickly tapped the ball against the weakened Clefairy's body. There was no hesitation or shaking from within the ball as the pink Pokémon was scooped up inside, seemingly allowing Aeliana to catch her without warning. It was either that, or she had completely passed out while laying there. In the end, Aeliana determined that it truly didn't matter. Aeliana could always release it back into the wild after she made sure that the Clefairy had gotten its wounds tended to.

"I think I saw a small ranger outpost not that far back," Aeliana told her two Pokémon. She quickly began to make her way to the south, both Tampa and Fiesta following close behind. "Come on, we need to hurry!"

Clefairy was caught...?​

TM Case:

Spoiler:

Attract TM

​

Inventory:

Spoiler:

Pokédex

Aeliana's ATC

Luggage Case

Poké Ball (x4)

​

 

[gimmepie]

Catherine Carlisle and Ruben Sancho

A Train Wreck of a Conversation

With the Munchlax situation handled, and the throngs of delayed passengers finally starting to disperse, Catherine was able to find her way into a carriage of the train. It was surprisingly comfortable, on each side a set of seats were divided by a small table. She had been expecting something a little more reminiscent of the Wyndon subway, but this train looked more like the overnighter she'd had to take to get to Wedgehurst to begin with.

Pleasantly surprised, she returned Indra to his ball to leave room for herself and other passengers and sat down at one of the vacant tables. She pulled out her Pokegear once again and started reading through a Black Snover ebook, eager to return to the realm of fantasy before someone had the opportunity to bother her.

"There's something that the Motes want you to knooooww! Craig Ian is better than Sanchoooo!
He staaaayed at hoooome! Now he's scoring, scoring all the gooooals!" The furthest corner of the platform found itself home to a bustling duo of chanting Motostoke fans, their thick accents carrying to all that were forced to overhear their excitement. "Mooooootostoke! No one that bleeds Wedgehurst's coming clooooose!" They continued to sing as they stamped through the carriage and dropped their heavy, beer filled, plastic shopping bags along the floor.

Catherine sighed to herself. It hadn't been ten minutes yet and already someone was being a nuisance. She put her headphones back in her ears and turned the music up, but was quick to abandon that idea as the chanting of the morons was so loud it simply melded with the Johto-pop music she was playing into an unholy discordant mess that no person deserved to suffer through… except maybe the football fans shouting on the train. "Fantastic."

"Shhhh!" A sharp shush cut through the excitement of the footie lads. A bony fingered old lady pointed to a sign that stated simply 'quiet zone'. For a moment, the moment that it took for that to sink in, the boys were quiet. In the very next moment however, they had already sneered and were loudly discussing their weekend plans.

"What you reckon mate, three nil? Another Ian Hattrick?"

"Nah, Ruben Sancho loves a goal against us, don't he the snake. Three one, I reckon."

"Ain't that Ruben Sancho there?" The bulkier of the two lads questioned, pointing out to the platform with his jaw agasp.

"Fuck off m-" The second scoffed before turning to match the expression of his friend.

Surely enough, their eyes hadn't deceived them. Ruben hobbled onto the train, hefting himself hop to hop atop his crutches. The two boys leapt for joy at the sight. The only man they feared hurting their beloved Motostoke FC, labouring around on crutches. It was a sight to behold. Any sense of star stricken paralysis was replaced with smugness, with spite and self vindication. They looked at each other with knowing smirks.

Ruben took his first step onto the carriage and breathed a sigh of relief. The now ripped shirt he had on his back was testament to the football fever the town he was about to leave was in right now. Only problem? He was going to the city they were about to play against - his home city.

"Sancho mate, you catching the train to the game?" One of the boys called out, half snickering before he even got his answer. When the footballer raised his crutch as a simple and polite 'obviously not' gesture, the boys burst into laughter, cheering and banging on anything they could find.

"Shhhhhh!" The old woman hissed again. Even Ruben felt the cutting assault on his ears.

With his journey officially sabotaged, Ruben turned to look for a seat, peering down the carriages in search of some form of out. There was nothing. Figures. The graduation was an event that drew people from all around the region. They'd all be travelling home now and that meant people would be hanging out the windows to get home. Ruben took the first seat available to him - across from a bespectacled girl with dark hair. He looked over her for a second, before dismissing the brief pang of recognition that hit him and throwing himself into the seat.

"Sorry." He said, before hoisting the injured left foot onto the chair next to her. "It starts to ache when I let it sit too long." He said as he forced a smile, certain his explanation was no justification for the cast boot invading her space.

Catherine looked up from her reading in response to the thunk of a leg onto the seat next to her. Naturally, one of her classmates had managed to end up across from her and naturally it was the one who constantly had troublesome people following him around.

"Okay." She tried to go back to her reading and ignore his presence as best she could, even if she was pretty certain he wasn't particularly sorry about bothering her at all, there was no point in confronting him about something that small when it would probably only cause more problems for her in the long run.

"There's something that the Motes want you to knooooww!" The football hooligans began, even ramping themselves up by making a beat on the back of Ruben's chair. "Craig Ian is better than Sanchoooo! Oi lass." The bulkier of the two spat, tapping Catherine on the arm.

"Lads, that's enough now. We can't be harassing other passengers. It was fun at first, but you're taking it too far." Ruben explained, again half hearted, but his attempt to be the voice of reason was sincere. It worked...for about half a second. Again the two boys began banging on the furniture, earning another scowl from the sushing woman.

"He stayed at hoooome! Now he's scoring, scoring all the gooooals!"

"I don't know who that is and I don't really care," Catherine responded, barely looking up from her screen. "Bugger off, you're irritating people."

"Nah, you're getting the words wrong lass, I'll teach ya." The man blurted, stumbling forward but barely keeping his footing. "Here look, it goes…" He began tapping her shoulder, this time with a lot less control. "There's something that the Motes want you to knoooow! Now you try."

His friend smirked, watching Ruben clench his fist in annoyance.

"You have a voice like someone trying to swallow a Geodude," Catherine said, giving up on focusing on her ebook. "You're bothering me, this guy and every other person on this train. Seriously, just shut up and go elsewhere."

"You what lass?" The bulkier of the two asked threateningly, squaring himself up to Chatherine.

"Boys, boys let me let you in on a little secret." Ruben began, drawing to two drunken pests in. "I've always been Motostoke at heart. They made me leave for the money." With that statement, Ruben grabbed the Motostoke FC badge on the mans shirt and gave it an impassioned kiss.

The two men looked at each other, a moment of utter disbelief turning to bliss and jubilation.

"I knew you weren't a snake mate!"

"There's something that the Motes want you to knoooow! He's a Mote at heart and his name's Ruben Sanchoooo!" They began before being cut off by a simple shake off Ruben's head. The footballer pointed to the 'Quiet Zone' sign, and within seconds, the boys were apologetically taking their celebrations elsewhere. Ruben couldn't help but smirk. He pushed himself up, balancing on the healthy foot, and addressed the carriage.

"Sorry about that guys." He said, that same smirk on his face. All the while, the celebrity was shrugging, basking in the power his status had given him. Whether or not he betrayed his club for a moment of peace was irrelevant. Even as he sat back down to face Catherine, he couldn't help but wear his pride on his sleeve like a shirt sponsor. "It's alright now, I think we're good." He smiled.

"My saviour," Catherine responded, voice dripping with sarcasm. She looked back to her pokegear, attempting to once again return to reading peacefully.

Ruben allowed himself to soak in the praise for at least a moment...but for some reason, Catherine's tone seemed to sit with him. It sat for way too long.

"See, now hold on... I wasn't expecting a thank you, but what was that?" Ruben spat, eyebrow twitching.

"What was what?" Catherine asked, "I'm not particularly inclined towards hero worship, even if that's what you're used to.

"H-hero worship?" Ruben scoffed, the accusations of the day all coming back to him. "So you gonna act like I didn't just do what I did because those guys were harrassin' you? Like if I didn't you wouldn't still be the soundboard to Weedle Dee and Weedle dumb back there?"

"Shhhhh!" The old woman hissed again.

"Firstly," Catherine started, shooing the dastardly shusher, "If you weren't undertaking your journey-themed publicity stunt, I wouldn't have had to deal with them to begin with. Secondly, you didn't do it for me, you did it for you. They were bothering you too, and you got to enjoy that nice little dopamine boost you got from the adoring looks of your fans in the carriage for saving them from the problem you brought in. If you were being as altruistic as you want me to think, you wouldn't have felt the need to showboat for your audience with that smug look on your face."

"They were here when I came in! What do you people expect me to do? Was I supposed to know they were here and avoid them? Listen, I do what I do because I love it, same way you sit there and read your little books. If you could get paid for it, you would. The fame..." Ruben ranted, stopping himself to ponder his true thoughts on the experiences his notoriety truly gave him. With a deep sigh, "...well that just comes with the territory. It ain't as easy as it looks."

"Of course I would, but if I got paid for reading I wouldn't exactly be able to leverage that for personal gain at the expense of literally anybody forced to be in my proximity," Catherine replied, "But I'm sure all the adoration you soak in and the perks you get thrown at you are a real nightmare to deal with." She continued, refusing to stop for Ruben to butt in. "You asked what I expect you to do? I don't expect you to do anything different. You're as bad as everyone else. But maybe what you should do is tell everyone to back off from the beginning, say no to everything that everyone tries to give you for free, step out of the limelight or at the very least push your adoring fans away from inflating your ego and towards doing something that means something. Do you think you're better than those guys from before? You're not really any different."

"I'm no better than everyone else…?" Ruben mulled over those words, satisfying himself with the thought. Had he been done with Catherine, he may have even smiled a little. With another scowl, he began again. "So what makes you so much better than us? You're levitating above the rest of us because what? Cause you read? Your glasses make you smarter or something? Because you're from Wyndon and you've got a little bit of money with a posh accent you're some sort of deity? I'm not about to quit my job because you think I don't deserve a following. I'm definitely not about to bend to the decisions you think I should make. Once you get up off your high horse, you'll see that-" Ruben stopped himself, remembering the way Daija looked at him. That disdain that came from having to sit and take tough advice from somebody who felt they were a giant but couldn't see beneath the clouds because of it. "All the work, back when I had to choose between heat and food. I just wanted to play football. I didn't realise what I was fighting for back then. I didn't plan to be 'Ruben Sancho' the Boltund Blitz of Wedgehurst...I'm from Motostoke. If Weedle Dee and Weedle Dum didn't make it clear, Wedgehurst and Motostoke hate each other. Maybe I should take up a noble profession and give back but the way my heart bleeds for the game...that just ain't gonna happen. If you can't appreciate that, then maybe it's you who needs to look past what's in your face." He finished, tapping the tablet she still held in one hand.

As he finished, Ruben stood to take his leave...but he couldn't move. His cast boot was stuck in the seat. He pulled and twisted, but no gravy. In a huff, he sat back down and faced her again. "I'm staying here."

Catherine ignored that and continued reading.
​

 

[Sonata]

Rosa Valdés // 17

​

CHAPTER 2.2 - New Biking Bikers!

"I think this should be the place?" Rosa and Simon had been walking for about fifteen minutes before they happened upon a couple of large crates with a badly scrawled sign next to them. "Take the four C's challenge, earn one CC. Challenge Charles, win a chargeable, compact, electric bike. Yup, this is the spot."

"Heyooo!" A voice called from behind them, followed by the oddly comedic sight of a large man zipping up to them on a far too small electric bike. "You two here to experience the joys of biking?"

Rosa glanced at Simon and then gave an uncomfortable shrug. "Uh, yeah."

"Great! Give me just a second." Charles propped his bike up against one of the crates and grabbed a clipboard and a towel. "Here you go. If you'll both just sign your names here and indicate which bike you'd like to enter for." He dabbed at his forehead with the towel before resting it across his shoulders.

"How heavy is the bike?" Simon questioned, taking a few slow and uncertain steps towards the crates as he awaited an answer.

"Of course, you can come on over and take a look. They're Rotom Brand, so they're the most energy efficient. They achieve this level of performance by making the base as light as possible. It's made from a sturdy aluminum frame which can hold up to-"

The man trailed off into his detailed explanation as Rosa and Simon took turns lifting and unfolding the bike. The electric motor was surely the heaviest part of the contraption, but even so it wasn't something that would be too much of a burden.

"I'll take 1C." Rosa said as she signed her name and handed the board back to Charles.

"Gooood chooiiice. That's a good quality bike there. Now you've just got to earn it. And you sir?"

Simon quickly jotted his name down along with his own choice. "1F."

"Good, good. Very well, now that the paperwork's out of the way, how are we going to do this? Are we calling this a double battle and having you both come at once, or are you going at it as individuals? I'll have to let you know, if you come as a pair then you can only use one Pokemon each. If you fight individually, I won't limit how many Pokemon you can use. Fair as fair I'd say."

Simon pulled a ball out of his pocket and motioned for Rosa to do the same. "We'll be putting our rivalry on hold for one more day."

Rosa nodded her head as she pulled out Wyatt's pokeball. "Don't let me down little buddy," she whispered.

"Very well. I'll let you know, just because you're fresh off the train doesn't mean I'll take it easy on you!"

​

"Come on out!" Charles flung his arms up, tossing the two balls up into the sky. One. Two. Three….

"That's some crazy hangtime…" Simon muttered, covering his eyes from the sun as he watched for the balls to drop.

The balls finally fell to the ground and bounced open, revealing Charles' two Pokemon. "Say hello to Carkol and Whirliped!"

"Car-kol!"

"Whir."

Simon tosse his ball out in front of him, while Rosa allowed hers to simply roll out of her hand.

"Whis."

"Aaaaron."

The tiny metal Pokemon was feisty and full of energy. It was already hopping from side-to-side on its tiny little legs, just waiting for its first orders to come through.

Simon sighed and shook his head. "He's a battle junkie. Barry, chill."

The Aron did a little hop and turned around to face its trainer. "Arrrrrron!"

"Yeah. Just… just chill man."

Charles laughed heartily. "You got a good Pokemon there. It's just itching for a chance to prove itself."

Wyatt shuddered from its hiding place between Rosa's legs, but its vision was set on the energetic Aron. It was a shining example of what all Pokemon should be. At least, that's the thought that was going through the Whismur's head at the time.

"Wh-whis!" The Pokemon scooted itself out from beneath Rosa's dress.

The girl nodded. "Yeah, let's do this Wyatt. We gotta be better!"

"Well then, if we're done talking, let's get these wheels rolling!"

That was their cue. The Whirlipede and Carkol quickly rushed the two trainers' Pokemon. Aron continued to hop about with its excess energy, causing the Whirlipede which had focused on it to keep slightly altering its course. The Carkol thunked along steadily towards the slow-moving and shy Whismur.

The trainers all started shouting their orders, hoping that their Pokemon would be the first to react to the change in climate. The first to land an attack would surely be the one to decide the flow of the battle.

"Barry use Metal Claw!"
"Wyatt use Disarming Voice!"
"Carkol use Flame Charge! Whirlipede use Fury Cutter!"

The Carkol was the first Pokemon to react as its body began to glow bright red. Smoke began to form from the stack of coal on its back as it slowly sped up towards the Whismur. Barry did a small hop, allowing it to land on its hind legs and present its front quarters as a shining, metallic embrace. The antenna on the Whirlipede began to glow as it rushed towards the Aron. Charles' Whirlipede was on track to swipe the Aron while remaining out of range of its tiny limbs, but as it came in for its glancing blow it was shocked by the sudden scream coming from Wyatt. The Whirlipede collided with Barry, running up the tiny Pokemon's body as they exchanged blows. The Carkol continued to gain traction until it finally rammed into Wyatt, knocking the Whismur off balance and causing it to cease its screaming.

"Don't give up Wyatt! You did good for your first real battle!"

"Good job Barry. Don't forget your small size can be just as much a strength as it is a weakness!"

"Atta boy Carkol! Don't let that Whismur get to you Whirlipede! You're both doing great!"

"Barry! Use Rock Tomb and tell that bug to slow its roll!"
"Wyatt! Buff yourself with Howl!"
"Carkol! Keep up that Flame Charge! Whirlipede! Counter that Whismur's Howl with an Iron Defense!"

The Whirlipede's body began to glow with a silver sheen, complimenting the ever-increasing glow of red coming from the Carkol as the cloud of smoke coming from it continued to grow in size. Wyatt tensed its entire body as it let out a low and pitiful growl… but its body was encompassed momentarily in a bright white light regardless. Barry took aim at the Whirliped which had finally stopped moving and kicked up a large rock at it. The Pokemon was so focused on defense that it didn't notice the rocks flying through the air, causing it to take a direct hit. The Carkol took the opportunity to deal some quick and powerful damage to the focused Aron. The normally energetic Barry didn't even notice the Carkol barreling towards it while it celebrated, causing it to take some crushing retributive damage.

"Barry!" Simon called out as he watched the tiny Aron painstakingly dig itself out of the hole it had been run into.

"Yeah, Wyatt! Have confidence in yourself and really build up that strength!"

"Ay Carkol puttin' in your fair share! Don't give up yet Whirlipede! You've been had twice, but yer' not out yet!"

"Barry! Use Protect and give yourself time to recover from that attack!"
"Wyatt! Keep up those Howls until you're stronger than everyone else!"
"Carkol! Just keep running through 'em with Flame Charge! Whirlipede! Shake off those pebbles and strengthen your defense again!"

The silver sheen that encompassed the Whirlipede continued to grow in intensity, complimenting the still ever-increasing glow of red coming from the Carkol as the cloud of smoke coming from it continued to grow in size. Wyatt tensed its entire body again, releasing a slightly louder and more confident howl. Barry made itself as rigid as possible, bracing its body against the hard dirt ground as the Carkol came back around for a second helping. This time around, Barry was prepared though. The Carkol crashed into the tiny Aron and bounced off without making a dent in the Pokemon's defense.

"Great job Barry! Just hang in there bud!"

"You're doing great Wyatt! Just build it up from the stomach and let it all out! I know you've got it in you!"

"Shake it off Carkol! You can't win 'em all! Good job Whirlipede! One more time and those rocks will just feel like a nice massage!"

"Barry! Try and hold out with one more Protect!"
"Wyatt! One more Howl and you should be at your full power!"
"Carkol! That Protect won't work this time, so capitalize on it with a Flame Charge! Whirlipede! You know what to do!"

The silver sheen transformed into a fully silver plating which covered the Whirlipede's body. The Carkol was now racing around the battlefield, leaving a trail of smoke and burning grass behind it. Wyatt tensed its entire body for a final time, letting out a scream that was almost as loud as the attacks it had used earlier. After doing this, the Whismur no longer shook as it now felt the power deep within its stomach. Aron braced itself against the ground once more, tensing its entire body as the Carkol rammed it at full speed. But once more, Barry had managed to pull off his protect and the Carkol simply skid away empty handed.

"Great job Barry! That Carkol has got to be feeling the pressure now! Next time around is your chance!"

"It's time for our counterattack Wyatt! You're all buffed up, now its time to show them what kind of strength comes with confidence!"

"Brush it off Carkol! This next attack will mean victory for us! That's my boy Whirlipede! All tricked out and ready to roll on these kids! Let's get it!"

"Barry! Time for the counterattack! Use Headbutt!"
"Wyatt! Stop that Carkol in its tracks with a Pound!"
"Carkol! Sweep the leg. Whirlipede! Use Protect!"

Barry and Wyatt rushed the Carkol as the Whirlipede tensed its body in anticipation. The Carkol began to glow brightly as the two Pokemon closed in on before… Boom! The coal pile on the Pokemon's back exploded, sending rocks hurtling in every direction. The impact of the explosion itself sent the two Pokemon tumbling away after sustaining heavy damage. Wyatt was knocked out cold, but Barry managed to make it to his feet.

"A-aaron." The Pokemon muttered weakly, swaying side to side as it attempted to hop about and show it was still ready to go.

"Hang in there Barry! I know it hurts, but you're the only one left now!"

"You did a good job Wyatt." Rosa walked over to where the Whismur was laying and began to rub its head. "Have a good rest little guy," she said as she pressed the ball against the Pokemon's head.

"Whii." The Pokemon replied weakly, barely opening its eyes.

"You've done well Carkol." Charles tossed the Pokemon's ball out towards it, sealing the Pokemon back as it rolled into the button. "It's all up to you now, Whirlipede! Knock em dead!"

"C-car." The Pokemon muttered as it was beamed back into the ball.

"Barry! Hit that bug with your Rock Tomb again!"
"Whirlipede! Don't stop rolling for anything!"

The Whirliped spun in a few quick circles before rushing at Barry. The Aron dug in its feet and then began to glow brightly as it kicked up two larger than average rocks. The Whirlipede was caught off guard as Barry exploded into its evolution. The Whirlipede dodged the first rock before losing its balance and being hit by the second rock.

"Whoa! Barry! Like the new look!"

"Don't get spooked Whirlipede! Your defense is impenetrable! Just whittle that Lairon down!"

"Barry! Just keep using Rock Tomb until that thing gives up!"
"Whirlipede! Keep using Rollout until you've got enough momentum to knock that thing on its ass!"

The two Pokemon faced each other, ready to end the long battle. Their exchange continued for several rounds, with neither Pokemon wanting to give up and disappoint their respective trainer. The Whirlipede ran circles around the Lairon, having built up speed through its Speed Boost ability and its power through a number of glancing blows from its Rollout. Barry continued to kick up rocks using Rock Tomb, and over time, managed to create a small labyrinth of stones. After all the time that the battle had gone on, there was only one path left. Barry had built up a defensive wall of stones as it traded glancing blows with the Whirlipede, and now there was a singular straight line straight towards him.

"Lair." Barry growled with confidence.

"Whirli. Whirli." The Pokemon continued to run circles around the perimeter of the wall, looking for any other option.

"It all comes down to this." Simon smiled.

"Yeah, they've both done well, haven't they. Though, it looks like they're both running on fumes. This'll be the clenching attack."

The two trainers nodded in agreement.

"Barry! Use Iron Head!"
"Whirlipede! Use Rollout!"

The Whirliped spun in place and then darted down the straight line path. Barry waited at the center of the circle, his head glowing with a brilliant silver sheen. The Lairon rose to its hind legs, ready to meet the approaching Pokemon head on. The Whirlipede attempted to meet it before it could bring itself back down by launching itself towards the Lairon's belly. But it was too late. Barry came down with all of his weight and rammed his head against the Whirlipede, bashing the bug into the ground.

"It's over."

Charles stared at his Whirlipede for several seconds before kneeling down and pressing the ball against the Pokemon. "You're right." He said, bringing a smile back to his face. "Y'all beat me fair and square. Can't argue with that! Come on, let's get y'all some prizes. 1C and 1F right? Here you two go."

Charles placed the bikes on the ground, folding them out to their full length. He'd already explained how to turn the electric motor on, so the two of them promptly took to their seats. They weren't exactly the most comfortable thing, but they were free and would certainly be much quicker than walking around the Wild Area.

"I still can't believe you of all people said that…" Rosa shook her head in disappointment but grinned the whole time.

"What?" Simon recalled his newly evolved Pokemon. "I don't remember saying anything that would warrant this reaction out of you."

"Tell that bug to slow its roll? Really? It's not exactly bad, but it was a little on the nose."

Simon blushed. "I… it was …. Hey! Uh… Yeah. I guess I did say that. Guess mom rubbed off on me a bit after all..."

"So, speaking of which. Before you two head off…" Charles walked over to the sign he'd drawn and placed his elbow atop it, smiling and showing off his pearly white teeth. "How'd you like the sign? Pretty clever joke, huh?"

The two stared at Charles and then looked at the sign. Simon popped the kickstand up and drove off immediately without replying. Rosa laughed awkwardly, wondering what kind of or if she even should search for a face to put on just in case she happened across the man again. "Of course!" She didn't have a clue. "I thought it was really clever and punny." Not the foggiest idea. But she spoke with a convincing confidence nonetheless.

Charles' smile widened a bit more. "Ey, thank you miss. Well, hope you enjoy the bike! I hope to see you again. And before you go, let me heal that Whismur of yours. It took a mighty hit from my Carkol's Explosion."

-Inventory-

Spoiler:

- ₽20
- Notebook and Pen
- 4 Pokéballs
- Galarian Pokédex V. 8
- Rosa's ATC
- Old Rod
- Simon's Knit Wooloo Sweater
- Rotom Brand Electric Bike​

 

[Jay]

Raphael Allard
> Lake Axewell Approach
> Mood: Nervous
> EYE OF THE STORM - PART 2

The snow fall let a cold breeze rush through the surrounding shores of Lake Axewell. Raph unfurled his sleeves and let them travel down the length of his arms, before tucking those arms close to his body, it was freezing here, yet weather reports on his phone had told him that the situation at Lake Miloch was even worse. It was early November, he supposed, but even still wasn't it a little early for this sort of weather? He supposed he had rarely if ever travelled the wild area, let alone by foot, nor at this time of the year, so he couldn't tell if this was the norm for it. At this time of year, he'd usually be at home with his Mother, discussing Christmas, just last year he had been debating what to get Sonia... his Mother had pushed him to consider his classmates as well, but he had ignored that particular suggestion.

In a stark contrast to his trainer, Vito was rolling around excitedly through the snow. The small pokémon had expressed his water typing quite a bit since Raph had met him, but in this particular moment Raph was reminded that Vito was an ice type as well. In fact a semi-frozen lake was almost the perfect environment for Vito, so he could understand why the Spheal was even more active and jumpy than usual (and that was saying something). "You might be well eager to, but I'm not too pushed on the idea of swimming Vito..." Raph mumbled, rubbing the back of his head gently as he scanned the shore for a pedalboat to take across the lake. Were they buried in snowfall or something? Raph couldn't see a single one.

"Pardon me young man?" A voice sounded from behind Raphael and he jumped a little in place, he hadn't heard anyone approaching, yet suddenly an old man stood behind him. He was dressed in an odd mix of clothes, some sort of mix between heavy snow wear and a dark green tracksuit. The parka hood attached to his jacket was strung up so high that Raph could barely make out the expression within. He could see a pair of kindly old eyes, brown in colour, adorned with rather bushy silver eyebrows. "Wandering the Wild Area is all well and good, but you'll freeze to death in this weather dressed as you are, allow me to gift you this." He reaches into a large duffel bag and pulls out a thick black snow coat and a black woolen hat besides. Raph was of course, full of trepidation at first, kindly old men handing out clothes in the middle of a snow storm seemed like a terrible basis for a fiscally responsible lifestyle. In short, it was too convenient.

"...why?" Raph asked with a raised eyebrow, still shivering from the cold, to which the elderly gentleman let out a muffled chuckle. "Searching for a reason for kindness? I suppose people do say there's no such thing as a free meal but..." He pauses, his old eyes the only visible part of his face, radiated a pleasant expression. Raph couldn't tell why, but this man just seemed like someone he could trust. With an eyebrow still raised he takes the coat and hat gingerly. The old man's smile is visible in his eyes. "I'd heard some new trainers would be finding their way to the Wild Area... I guess you could say nostalgia urged me to keep an eye out and lend some assistance." Raph's expression turned from hesitation to intrigue, so this old man was a trainer? He slips the parka on over his shirt and pulls the hat over his head. They were well insulated, definitely a huge help against the cold. "...thanks old timer, I really should have brought this stuff myself."

Received:
1 x Black Parka Jacket
1 x Black Wool Hat

Spoiler:

"At the start if a new journey, the youth will always think of what is most exciting, not what is most practical. I had anticipated that many of you and your classmates would be ill-prepared for the snow, so I thought to bring some solutions myself." He breaks into a cheery chuckle, his whole body shaking a little as he does so. "If you see any of your classmates you'll tell them of my good intentions won't you?" Raph smirked just a little now in turn, before giving a small shrug. "I'm not the most social guy, but if I see someone struggling with cold I guess I could pass it on."

As the conversation hits a moment of quiet after that, he turns to look back to the shore of the lake momentarily. A motion that catches the old mans attention. "You want to sail to the island then... I was wondering why I spotted you so close to the lakes edge." His interest in the older gentleman re-ignited, Raph turns his head back to the older gentleman. "Yes, actually... I don't suppose you've a peddle boat in that bag of yours?" The question is clearly a joke, but the back is so comically large on the old mans back that he wouldn't have been surprised. "Ohoho... I'm afraid not my friend, afraid not... but there are a few further down the shore. Look for oddly shaped lumps in the snow." He chortles a moment after, but his eyes turn a little more serious to follow. "That island is very dangerous boy... what brings your attention there?" Raph contemplates the question, wondering if he should bother being honest, but decided the old mans kindness has earned him that much soon after. "I need a strong pokémon. There are strong pokémon there."

The old man takes a pause, not responding for a few moments, almost prompting walk to bid farewell and leave. "...why do you seek strength young man?" Raphael was taken aback by the old man's question. It was delivered so suddenly that it felt somewhat out of place. The geezer's voice was more somber than before and Raph felt almost compelled to answer, without missing a beat. "Strength is the only thing that can save me." He froze a little, pardon the pun, as those words left his lips. Just that implication was too much, he didn't know what to say to follow it up, or how to cover for the questions that sort of statement might invite.

"Strength is something earned Raphael, not something taken. Remember that as you approach whatever waits on that island."

Raph's regret shifts to confusion, his brow furrowing. Something about the old man's response didn't sit right with him. He turns back to face him with a bit more vigor in his tone. "Hey, I never told you my-"

But he was gone.

"...name."

The last word cascades into the falling snow surrounding them. What a mysterious person... to have vanished as quickly and as silently as he had appeared. Whoever they were, an ordinary old man they were not. Raph tugged on the collar of his new coat a moment, before sighing, his breath vaporizing in the air before him. "...thanks for the coat I guess, whoever you are." His gaze shifts to look at an excited Vito who sits on the ground, gazing up at Raph with glee and awe. "...I look good I take it? Heh." He reaches down and picks his pokémon up, poising him on his shoulder as he marches down the beach, through the snow, towards the boats the old man had mentioned.

"Just a little farther now, Vito. Let's get going."

 

[Foxrally]

Simon Pearburgh

​

Spoiler: Inventory

Xtransceiver

Pokédex

ATC

Pokéball x4

Gramma's Letter

Bug Catcher Net

Badges: 0

Sachiko Akabane

​

Spoiler: Inventory

1000 Pokedollars
Smart Flip-phone
Moomoo Milk x3
Pink Poffins x???
Spare Clothes
Pokeballs x5
Galarian Pokedex V.8
ATC

Badges: 0

Wild Area Train

About an hour of the journey had passed, with little commotion on the train. The excited noise of newly-inaugurated trainers and Pokémon alike had calmed down in the wagon, leaving mostly quiet conversations or trainers playing their Pokémon. One table, however, had spent the trip being much louder than the rest; one of its occupants wildly waved his arms as he told a riveting story to the girl facing him. A small pile of empty pastry boxes rested on top of their counter.

"...but then, just as I thought we'd completely screwed it up and lost it, Caterpie showed me what was in my net- and Gramma's letter was right there!" Simon exclaimed, triumphantly holding the envelope in front of Sachiko.

Sachi chuckled, "That was an interesting morning, I wish I could have seen that." The girl was intrigued by Simon's tales; she would rarely got out of the house and her father was out most of the time, so she hadn't experienced a lot of good memories in the first few years of her childhood. Hearing what Simon went through made her wish for the same thrill, but now that she was going on a journey, it might come after all.

Before Simon could begin another story, the ringing of a phone interrupted. Sachi grabbed her flip phone, opened the device and was about to answer, but stopped, realizing something. If she answered now, Tori and Seto would ask all kinds of questions - and knowing Seto, he would scream them out for everyone to hear, and then Tori would smack him then ask her own questions. Sachi didn't mind, but she didn't know how Simon would react to hearing the duo- and what if he accidentally made a sound and the two heard? They would interrogate her, and ask who it was, and then another can of worms would open.

Sachi declined the call, placing the flip-phone back in her pocket, deciding to call them when she got out of the train.

Seeing Sachi's phone reminded Simon that he'd completely forgot to call back home in the morning like he'd promised. Clenching his teeth at the realization, he made an important mental note to do so as soon as they got off the train. He reached into a pastry box and pulled out another cinnamon bun, his fingers now covered in frosting. Scatterbug, who had been watching the pair patiently, let out a small demanding squeak. She kept her mouth open, looking at the cinnamon bun then back at Sachi.

"Oh," Simon said between bites, "she wants another one of those round puff thingies."

"Oh...sure." Sachi grabbed another poffin from her box and handed it over to Scatterbug. "If you want… I can make a bag for your Pokemon once we reach the station."

Instead of going for the poffin handed to her, Scatterbug suddenly jumped onto Sachi's hand. She quickly skittered up her sleeve, before hopping off and landing in the now-open box of treats. It let out a delighted squeak as it began devouring all the round pastries its little one-toothed mouth could chew on.

Tora yowled, glaring at Scatterbug. How dare he! His human had offered the bug one and she sneaks past instead, taking the savings! The litten launched himself on the box and growled at Scatterbug, revealing his fangs. The bug yelped in shock as the cat Pokemon landed on top of her. She still held on to the poffin in her mouth, attempting to grab another one before crawling away from him.

"Tora!" Sachi grabbed Tora before he could do anything, the feline continued to growl at the other Pokemon, trying to reach her. "I'm sorry… he doesn't like sharing what he thinks is his own."

Simon also grabbed Scatterbug with one hand, scowling at his partner. "No no, you shouldn't be apologizing, Sachi. You should be!" He pointed at the Pokemon. He snatched one poffin from the bug's legs and put it back in the box. "Don't worry, I'll find a way to repay you for those when I'm champ." He set Scatterbug back down; the bug gave Tora a dirty look before finishing the treat in her mouth.

"It's alright, no harm done." Sachi assured, using one hand to make sure Tora didn't jump Scatterbug. "I don't want to be rude, but what do you mean by 'when I'm champ'?"

Simon grinned and crossed his arms. "You're looking at the future champion of Galar, obviously. This lad is gonna take down Leon!" He pointed at himself, saying it loud enough for the rest of the carriage to hear.

"..." Sachi stared at Simon for a few seconds before chuckling, closing her eyes and shaking her head. "I'd agree, but did you forget that me and the rest of the class are also aiming for the top?"

Simon's smile grew even wider as he sensed a challenge. "So what you mean there's only space for one trainer at the top, then. Are you saying you wanna be in my way?"

"Maybe… maybe not." Sachi opened her eyes, giving the boy a grin.

"Alright, then let me make that decision for you!" Simon stood up and pointed at her dramatically. "I'm challenging you to a battle!"

"I accept."

A few of the tables around them had begun grouping around the two, intrigued by the commotion. One of the trainers pointed towards the back of the train, mentioning the battle wagons. Simon nodded, and motioned for Sachi to follow him.

---

Following the signs, the pair made their way to the back of the train, which was going through beautiful farmlands, softly illuminated by the afternoon sun. The battle wagons were just a few carriages down; they looked fairly similar to the regular ones, except the seats and tables were replaced with field marks on the ground. The windows also appeared to be larger and thicker. As they entered, the pair noticed a warning sign: No large Pokemon allowed. Please refrain from using wide, terrain-disrupting moves.

"Hah, that's a shame. Cause I'm gonna rock your world when I beat you!" Simon grinned, quickly taking his position on the opposite side of the field. On his arm, Scatterbug glared at Tora and let out a little growl.

"We'll see." was Sachi's response as Tora growled back at Scatterbug from her shoulder. She didn't mind the challenge; it would help her learn how to battle actual trainers as this was one of her first trainer duels.

Simon looked at Scatterbug and Caterpie, both on each arm. "Alright lads, let's show 'em what we've got." he whispered. He looked at Sachi and called out, "I'm gonna give you a fighting chance, so I'll let you attack first. Caterpie, come on out!"

Caterpie swiftly hopped off of Simon's arm and landed on the field. It let out a determined chirp.

"If that's what you want…" Sachi nodded, grabbing a Pokéball and throwing it, releasing Bolt. "On stage, Bolt!" The puppy Pokemon barked as he appeared, but once he noticed his opponent, he growled. "Bite!" Bolt lunged towards Caterpie, opening his mouth and revealing his sharp canines.

Caterpie nimbly dodged the attack, hopping to sidestep the Yamper. "Great dodge, now hit 'im with a tackle!" Simon commanded. Caterpie stepped backwards slightly before throwing its weight at its opponent.

"Don't dodge, Bolt!" Sachi observed, watching as Caterpie got closer and closer to Bolt. Once it was close enough, Sachi narrowed her eyes, "Nuzzle!" Bolt's fluff sparked and the puppy Pokemon ran closer, enough to rub himself on Caterpie and transmit the electricity.

The bug-type yelped in pain as the electrified fluff came into contact with it, sending it flying backwards with sparks coming off its body. "Oh no! Caterpie, you good?" Simon called out, worried the attack had paralyzed him. After a brief moment, the bug stood up and nodded. "Alright, then go for another tackle!" Simon commanded, hoping his Pokemon could move in time to avoid another nuzzle.

"Take the hit and then Bite!" Bolt allowed the move to hit him, flinching slightly, but moved his head and opened his mouth, biting down on Caterpie's tail. "Throw him back!" Bolt moved his head back and shook the poor Pokemon for a bit, his canine instincts acting up, before using all his strength to throw Caterpie towards Simon. Sachi sweatdropped. I'm gonna have to train Bolt… I didn't know he would do that…

Simon stumbled backwards as he caught the flung Caterpie, the Scatterbug on his head quickly crawling under his hat. "Oh, your pup wants to play fetch, then?" the trainer smirked. He placed Caterpie on his shoulder. "Then catch this! Caterpie, jump off and use bug bite!" he pointed at the Yamper.

Using his extended arm as a diving board, Caterpie ran up Simon's sleeve before hopping off, aiming right for Bolt's back- far from his jaws or fluff.

Sachi narrowed her eyes, thinking of a solution as Caterpie hit Bolt's back. She recalled Simon's words, blinking before smirking. "Fetch?" She saw Bolt glancing at her, a plan in mind. "Herd Caterpie!" Bolt jolted up before swiftly running a few inches from the bug, crouching and watching it closely, sparks of electricity emitting from his tail and fluff. Now he's in herd mode… where do I move Caterpie to? The yamper flinched a bit, his back hurt a bit from the Bug Bite, but he pushed through the pain. He had a Pokemon to herd.

Simon furrowed his brow, confused as to what his opponent was trying to do. It didn't matter, though- as long as Caterpie had energy, they'd pull through. "Try another Bug bite!" The Caterpie ran forward, its mouth glowing a light green.

Sachi observed as Bolt narrowed his eyes, the sparks growing larger as the canine growled. When Caterpie was close, Bolt moved to the side and bit at Caterpie's side, not enough to cause too much damage, but enough to make the bug flinch. He himself flinched from the bug bite, but contained the whimper. As he bit, he pushed Caterpie gently to the side, as if moving her to a specific direction. He stopped and moved a few inches back, back into the same position as before, waiting for Caterpie to get out of line once again.

Wary of the mutt's bite, Caterpie began retreating to Simon's side of the field. Simon noticed the distance between the two of them closing. "Let's gain some ground with a tackle!" he commanded, but Caterpie hesitated for a moment. It stopped its retreat and hopped sideways before attempting to tackle Bolt again.

"Use your own tackle to herd her back and mix Nuzzle in!" Bolt growled and ran towards Caterpie, more electricity sparkling, especially around his fluff. He tackled the bug back gently using his side, causing the fluff to electrocute the other Pokemon, before moving back a few inches, crouching and watching, waiting. Luckily, Bolt had lowered the voltage so it wouldn't cause too much damage.

Scared off by the electricity, Caterpie hopped even further backwards after the tackle. He was almost near the edge of the field now, barely a few feet from Simon.

"Now herd her towards Simon using Tackle, full power!" Bolt jumped and ran towards Caterpie, tackling the worm Pokemon with all his strength, aiming it in the other trainer's direction.

Before it could even react, the bug Pokemon was thrown full-force at Simon and crashed into him, causing him to fall backwards as he caught it. Simon rubbed his head and got up. "Ow… Caterpie, you still good?" He looked at the Caterpie in his arms, but it was completely knocked out. "Ah. Don't worry, lad. You did great." he patted the Pokemon's head and tapped his Pokéball against it.
"You may have pulled a fast one on me, but it won't be happening again!" Simon dusted himself off and pointed at Sachi. "Scatterbug, give 'em some payback!"

Hearing its name, the worm Pokemon peeked from under Simon's hat and timidly crawled out, making its way down his coat and pants and walking onto the field. It trembled slightly at the fierce-looking dog.

"Bolt!" Sachi called as she crouched down, the canine walking over, panting. She pet the puppy's head, noticing the Pokemon's fatigue. "Tired, huh? Caterpie got some good moves on you. Get some rest, ok?" Bolt barked before being sucked into his Pokéball, which was placed in her parka's pocket.

She stood back up and saw Scatterbug on the field, then looked to the side, seeing Tora glaring at the bug Pokemon. "You up for a battle, Tora?" The feline meowed before jumping from Sachi's shoulder and landing in front of her, across from Scatterbug. The moment the feline made eye-contact with the scatterdust Pokemon, he hissed.

Scatterbug's expression also changed to a scowl as it realized who it was going to battle. Simon wasted no time in attacking. "Show him who's boss with a bug bite!" Fueled by the anger of lost poffins, the timid bug rushed forward with its one tooth glowing, determined to bite down on Tora's tail.

The moment Scatterbug bit Tora's tail, the feline yowled and turned, glaring at the bug Pokemon. "Lick!" Sachi commanded. Tora opened his mouth and licked the Scatterbug in the face, smirking the entire time.

Scatterbug winced at the rough, scraping tongue attack, falling backwards. Suddenly, she realized she couldn't move her body. "Stun spore, quick!" Simon called out, but to no avail, as his Pokemon shook from the paralysis.

Tora took the chance and jumped back from the paralyzed bug type, awaiting his human's next orders. "Fury Swipes!" His front claws glowed white and the feline shot forward, scratching Scatterbug, leaving behind a white trail of energy.

Worried, Simon realized he couldn't keep allowing Sachi's Pokemon to have an advantage. "Stun Spore!" The Scatterbug's natural instincts quickly reacted to the command, spraying a puff of black powder at Tora before the cat could back away.

Tora hissed, but when he tried to step back, he realized that his body felt heavy and could barely move! "Stun Spore…" Sachi mumbled, narrowing her eyes before looking at Tora, "Do you best to get past the paralysis, Tora!" The Pokemon meowed before looking down at his own body, doing his best to try and move.

"Quick, now pin him down with a string shot, and then a bug bite!" Scatterbug nodded and blasted a glob of string at its opponent, pinning the litten's side to the ground, and charged forward to deliver another powerful bite. Simon smiled and crossed his arms. "You've got nowhere to go now!" Scatterbug shot another glob of string at the paralyzed litten's legs, further restricting its movement before attacking with another bug bite.

"Is that so…?" Sachi whispered, and when Scatterbug was a few inches from Tora, she grinned, "Ember!" Tora arched his back, causing three-pointed tufts of fur with red tips to stick up. The feline turned towards the bug type and fired a medium-sized ball of fire from his mouth.

Immediately, Scatterbug was flung back by the blast, its neck fluff smoking slightly as it crashed and rolled onto the battlefield. Simon's confident smirk immediately faded into concern, realizing the type effectiveness of the move. After a moment of struggling to get up, the bug raised its head, letting out a pained but determined squeak. Simon pumped his fist, "You've got this, girl! Don't let that fire burn away your spirit!" he cheered on. "Tackle!"

"Burn the strings," Sachi commanded. Tora opened his mouth and shot out small embers at the strings around his body, slowly removing the restraints. He shook his body of any extra pieces left before standing straight, glaring at Scatterbug. "Scratch!" Tora's claws glowed and the feline jumped towards the bug, raising one paw to take the damage from the tackle and the other to scratch. The impact of the two moves pushed both fighters backwards, each bouncing back towards their trainer. There was a brief silence… before Scatterbug finally collapsed on the ground, exhausted.

"Gah! I got you, lass!" Simon rushed over to his partner and picked her up. "We almost had it there- great job!" he whispered to her. The Scatterbug let out a feeble squeak in response, smiling. Simon nodded. "Yeah, that does deserve a treat."

He looked at Sachi, winking as he thrust a thumbs-up towards her. "That was an amazing battle, poffin girl!"

"Poffin girl?" Sachi tilted her head as she picked up Tora, confused by the nickname.

"Uh, sorry, I meant, um- Sachi!" Simon snapped his fingers as he remembered. "I'll remember your name as my first real-world opponent when I'm champion!"

"It's alright..." Sachi assured the boy when she noticed Simon panic a bit. "I don't mind the nickname." She held onto Tora, making sure the cat couldn't escape her grip as she got closer to Simon, stopping about a foot away. She held out a hand, "Good battle, can't wait for the next one."

Simon took and her hand shook it enthusiastically. "Let's make the next one just as memorable, poffin girl!"

Before they left, Sachi grabbed Simon's sleeve, realizing something. "Wanna exchange numbers?"

Joint post of Evily and Foxrally​

 

[LinearAxel]

Haleigh and Melody
Trading Training Trials and Tribulations (On a Train)​

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Haleigh looked at the Pokeball that she carried in her hand, her newest partner ensnared in it. It had created such a ruckus at the bakery, and as Haleigh started replaying the day's events in her mind, she couldn't help but see a bit of herself in the small ghost Pokemon. Like her new partner, Haleigh was no stranger to causing mayhem and engaging in mischievous hijinks. She wanted to show them off to the shopkeeper, but he practically shouted at her to keep it in the ball until she was far, far away from the bakery. In exchange for getting her off his back, he decided to throw in a Spell Tag he had lying around on top of his thanks for getting rid of the Corsola and a promise for a comped pastry or two. All in all, a triumphant success!

Feeling a vibration from her pocket, Haleigh took out her phone and got a notification detailing that the trains were finally running again after the Munchlax problem was taken care of. She had only been vaguely aware of a delay with the trains on account of all of the hijinks that she had been through but was nonetheless glad she wouldn't have to wait anymore.

The young trainer leaned down to her Scorbunny companion and said to him, "Alright, Corey, off we go! We're finally gonna get this show on the road."

The pair made their way through the town towards the train station, noticing that there had been some sort of commotion that had the entire place abuzz with chatter. She made her way past the other passengers and towards the train bound for the Wild Area, her next logical stop for any trainer looking to train their Pokemon and really have the quintessential Pokemon trainer experience out in nature.

Among the other travelers, one person clearly stood out with their black punk clothing and numerous piercings. A wide grin grew on Haleigh's face as she recognized the figure.

"Oi, Melody, over here!"

This was the third time Melody had made her way into the train station. The first time she ended up tracking down a rogue Thievul. The second she ended up in a battle with longtime school mate (and resident pain in the ass) Clovis. After the battle, she didn't feel right hopping on the train without taking a trip to the Pokemon Center. Her new bird pal took too many Echoed Voices to the face for her liking, and there's probably not many good places to heal up in the wild area-- not to mention, with the way today is going, there's a decent chance the train will be taken over by bandits and the passengers will have to battle to get control back.

Man. It's been... a day. Is every day of being a trainer like this? Catching thieves and fighting off hordes of raging birds? She... kind of hopes so, actually. The rush that came from being face to face with that guy and his crowbar was one hell of a thrill.

Melody is looking for a seat amongst the numerous chattering passengers to find a place to sit and wait for permission to load up; however, her seat quest is quickly forgotten when she hears a familiar voice call out to her. She turns, her less than enthused expression quickly transforming to an actual smile. "There's my favorite person." She says with a significantly kinder tone than she had offered anyone else throughout the day. Nightshot eagerly peers out of Melody's bag and wriggles happily at the sight of his trainer's best friend. "Looks like you found some fun ways to kill time."

"Missed me, eh?" She reached into Melody's bag to give Nightshot an affectionate pat on the head. Since Corey had yet to be acquainted, Haleigh took him off his shoulder and set him down on the floor so that the two could get to know each other better.

She took a Pokeball from her own bag and held it up for Melody to see. "Yeah, I had a lot of fun today. Did myself some proper ghostbusting and now I got myself another partner!"

"Eh, a little bit I guess." Melody teases. The instant Haleigh touches the Dreepy's head, he phases through the bag in order to get closer. His excited wiggling intensifies at the sight of the new rabbit, whom he quickly raises his nubbed- arm to in greeting. Melody gives the Scorbunny a nod of greeting and a small wave. That energetic rabbit really is the perfect partner for Haleigh. "-- You got another one already? Not wasting any time, huh?" With that, Melody takes her second Pokeball from her belt loop. "I got one too." Pokemon first, then she'll ask when her friend got her Ghost Busting license.

"Nice, nice! It seems both of us are starting off strong." Her smile turns into a confident smirk. "Not that I doubted you would, of course."

Corey returns the greeting with an enthusiastic fist bump (or as much as he could fist bump given the non-corporeal nature of the Dreepy's stubby arms) and let out an enthusiastic cry.

"Look at 'em, already buddying up. Reminds ya a bit of the 'good ol' days', huh Mel?" Haleigh snapped her fingers as she added, "Ah, speaking of, who's the new 'Mon ya got? I should show you my new one too!"

"I guess hanging around here for so long wasn't a total waste." Melody proclaims with only a small hint of annoyance. Pokeball in hand, she taps the release button to call forth a bright light. The light heads for the ground only to make an about face and zip to her shoulder, where it takes the shape of her new Rookidee. "Haleigh, Bishop. Bishop, Haleigh."

Bishop's feathers ruffle and he puffs his chest out proudly as he surveys Haleigh. She seems okay. He then looks down to Nightshot and the Scorbunny and tilts his head curiously.

"Py!~" Nightshot returns the greeting cry before doing a small spin in the air. He's not normally such a social Butterfree, but Melody has to assume he feels at ease around Haleigh and her gang since the human duo have been friends as long as he's known Melody.

"Ah, hello Bishop~" Haleigh giggled as the small bird stared at her and seemed to be taking in the new scene.

"Let me show you my new Pokemon uh…" Haleigh scratched her head as it dawned on her. "Well...I guess I forgot to name them...the Dex told me she's female…"

Haleigh clicked the button of the Corsola's Pokeball and watched as it materialized from the ball, its pale, ghostly form. However, unlike the other three Pokemon, she did not seem the most pleased to be in Haleigh's company as she turned herself to face away from them and let out a small, indignant huff.

Her trainer let out a nervous laugh. "Eheh, well, she might not be the most happy to see me right now, I did chase her halfway across the centre of town and stopped her sweet thievery."

"Well, damn, look at you, Haleigh." Melody grins proudly. "That's a really cool catch." Aren't Corsola kind of hard to come by? And her best friend snatched one on day one. Take that, everyone else. Melody slides her hands into her jacket pocket and watches the little Pokemon turn her back to them. Well, not everything is going to love you immediately after you beat the snot out of it and shove it into a tiny ball. It'll warm up. "I bet she warms up fast. What do you think, Doom Noodle?"

Nightshot has been happily chatting away with Corey up until his name was said. He glances over to the angered Corsola… and stares.

"... You okay, little dude?" Melody asks.

Nightshot doesn't respond. Maybe he can't hear her? He begins floating over to the Corsola slowly.

Haleigh nods. "Yeah, I just gotta give the little gal some time. It'd probably help to name her, hmm…" She looked at the sassy Corsola, whose attempts to look angry made her look more indignant and pouty in a cute way rather than legitimately threatening. "I think I like…"

She chuckled as she said it. "Coraline. Get it? She's a Corsola."

Noticing that Doom Noodle was getting close to Coraline, Haleigh asked him, "What do you think, ya like the name?"

"Wasn't that the girl in that creepy-as-****-movie about the buttons?" Melody asks. "I approve." It's spooky, it's made of coral-- it's kind of cute when you get past that it's body was made from absorbing the dying life force of the ocean-- this Pokemon is metal as hell.

The Dreepy in question looks up to Haleigh, puts on a big smile, and gives a nod of approval. "Py py!" He says, clapping his little nubs together.

"Look at that, you got the rare Doom Noodle seal of approval." Melody adds.

His seal of approval (and Melody's of course) were all that Haleigh needed to hear to be sure that she had the right name. "Alright, Coraline it is!" The Corsola herself tried her best to still look pouty and upset, but even she seemed to like the name and gave her new trainer a reluctant nod of approval. Warming up to her indeed.

"See, that wasn't so bad was it Coraline?" The purple haired trainer faced the small coral Pokemon, but again rebuffed her with an upturned expression. "Oh man, we got ourselves a bit of a princess, don't we? I know..."

She asked Melody, "You got something sweet on you?"

"Probably. Let me look." Melody begins digging through her satchel. She probably should have organized her things instead of stuffing them into the bag with so little thought. Clothes, no, water bottle, no, potion, no. Ah ha, here we go. Melody takes out an individually wrapped Lava cookie. "Think this will do it?"

Haleigh nodded, "Oh yeah, absolutely." She took the Lava Cookie from Melody, unwrapped it and waved it in front of the ghost Pokemon.

"See, I'm not so bad, I've got-" Before she could finish that sentence, Coraline swooped in and grabbed the cookie with her mouth. She stopped and hungrily chomped the cookie down, a very content expression on her face as she savored it.

Her trainer chuckles at the sight, "There we go, that's more like it, eh?" The ghost Pokemon offered no response, too preoccupied with enjoying her cookie.

Melody laughs as the little ghost suddenly jumps to life at the presented cookie. For a little lady that wasn't willing to give them the time of day, she sure started singing a different tune when food became involved. "Weeeell, you either made her like you a little more, or we rewarded her behavior and made her more of a diva. Too soon to tell." Melody folds her arms behind her head as she turns to see Nightshot watching the Corsola with a… dreamy expression. That's new. She bumps Haleigh with her hip gently. "Does she know Attract?" She asks in a joking tone.

Haleigh looks at Nightshot staring at Coraline, giggling as she realized what was going on. "She might based on how he's acting."

Teasing the little ghost dragon, she adds, "Awww, does our little buddy have a crush?"

Coraline looked at the two trainers with a quizzical expression, wondering what they were getting at and seeming not to register Nightshot's infatuation with her.

Nightshot looks at the human duo briefly before zipping back into Melody's satchel. One can only assume if he were capable he would be blushing. He does; however, peek out of said satchel to continue to gaze upon the pretty white ghost and her cookie.

"Sorry, little dude." Melody gives her bag a quick pat. There's not a lot of cute things in this world she will admit to liking, but a lovestruck Doom Noodle? Acceptable. "Maybe once--"

"Attention, passengers. The train will be departing in five minutes. Everyone who has not boarded, please board now."

"Oh, we gotta go. I am not waiting around here for another four hours to get another train." Melody flashes an encouraging grin towards her best friend. "Dibs on the window seat."

Haleigh replies, "That's fine, aisle's good enough for me. Let's get movin'!"
The two trainers hurriedly made their way towards the train platform, weaving through other passengers bound for other destinations until they found the Wild Area bound train. With just enough time to spare, they made their way onto the packed train and managed to snag one of the last pair of unoccupied seats.

Melody quickly slides into one of the last seats and slams her hand against the wall as if calling 'dibs.' She didn't realize the train would be this packed. Then again, the wild area is a pretty popular attraction for everyone, huh? Not just beginning trainers. "Made it." She says as she takes out Bishop's Pokeball and returns the little bird. She doesn't trust him not to swipe a pair of earrings from another unsuspecting trainer. Getting comfortable, she leans her shoulder against the window and hoists her feat onto the seat, her knees slightly raised so she can rest her arms on them. "Wanna tell me how you came to be Gallar's newest Ghost Buster?"

Haleigh laughed at the new title that Melody had bestowed upon her. "Well, there's this sweet shop in the centre of town, right? It was looking pretty bare despite all the commotion, I wanted to do something nice for Corey here." The Scorbunny beamed at the praise and said, "Scor!" in response.

"Yeah, and so we're about to go in when the shopkeeper is frantic about something that's happened to his store. He doesn't have any bloody clue what's 'appening, I come in and talk with him to try and figure out what's been going when she pops up, red-handed with a pastry in her mouth!" Coraline gave Haleigh a look, trying her best to feign innocence as if to say "Who, me?"

"So I was about to duke it out with her, Corey at my side, but the shopkeeper shoos me out since he didn't want me making a bigger mess of the place, she flees, I chase after her through town. Technically it's mission accomplished already, but then, I start thinking, 'Why don't I capture her proper and end it once and for all?' I take my Pokeball, I aim, I throw it and...the rest is history!"

"It's crazy that one of those got all the way to Wedgehurst. I've never heard of one anywhere near here." Not that she spends a whole hell of a lot of time looking into what Pokemon go where, though she has checked the location of several ghost types. As timid as Doom Noodle can be, she figured he would have the best luck befriending other dead things. It seems she was right, as the aforementioned ghost-dragon phases out of her satchel in order to float beside Coraline again. He's got a very pleased expression on his face just from being around her. Now the question is… will he be like this around all ghosts, or is Coraline special? Guess there's only one way to find out. Gotta get out there and find some ghosts.

"Did old man shopkeep give you anything for de-ghosting his shop? I mean, Coraline's a pretty cool prize alone, but I still think he owes you a solid for the free service."

Haleigh replied, "Oh yeah, he threw in a free Spell Tag and an offer for comped sweets next time I visit. I'm sure I could ask for some for you too if you want."

"Hot damn!" Melody grins. She is never one to turn down free things-- even things she has no need or want for. She can find some use. There's always use for cake though. "You really don't have to do that, buuuut you said it, and you can't take it back now."

The purple-haired trainer laughs as she says, "It's ok, if he refuses I'll threaten to unleash Coraline again." The Corsola's attention was piqued once again, a devious glint in her eyes as she clearly relished the thought of binging on a whole heap of sweets at the shopkeeper's expense.

Melody looks at the deviously smirking Corsola and can't help but return the devious grin. "Ya know, if this trainer gig doesn't work out, we could always aim for world domination." She gives a very quick wink to her best friend. "One bakery at a time."

Haleigh was giggling heavily at the idea of their crew, robbing bakeries from here to Sinnoh with Haleigh wielding a Corsola and Melody a pipe. "Oh man, that'd be a riot."

She notices that the doors have finally closed on the train and that everyone who had made it onto the train has taken their seats. She can feel the hum of the train's engine as it slowly starts to take off from the platform, leaving the town that the two of them had gotten to know over the past few years so well.

"We swore that death will do us part, they'll call our crimes a work of art~ " Melody replies in a sing-song voice. It's a fun image to say the least: The duo busting into a bakery and Haleigh holding Coraline out to the owner, shouting, 'I've got dead coral and I know how to use it!'

Once the train gets going, Melody hoists herself away from the window and sits a little closer to Haleigh, the click-clack of the train making it more difficult to hear. Talk of bakery-robbery and finding a weapon Corsola could wield to make her even more intimidating make the time pass quickly. Though, as the setting sun reflects in the window, Melody finds herself closing her eyes for longer and longer periods of time. It had been a much longer day than she imagined, complete with far more sleuthing, chasing, and bird-punching than she thought possible.

Opening her eyes after a solid minute, Melody sees that Nightshot has fallen asleep beside Coraline, a blissful expression on his little noodle face. "Heh… I think you've got the right idea, little dude." She says, her head bowing again. "Strength through conservation and all…" she slowly begins falling to the side. "...that." And with that: Melody has fallen asleep-- using Haleigh's shoulder and her bomber jacket as a pillow. Ah, well, she wasn't using that arm anyway, right?

The other girl smiled warmly as Melody fell asleep on her. This was a side not many people got to see of her: vulnerable, peaceful, relaxed. It made her all the happier that she was more than likely one of a select group of people who see her like this. In Melody's stead, Haleigh watched the window as the rolling pastures and farms adjacent to the railway lazily passed them by, staying awake so she could wake Melody up when their first real phase of their journey would kick off.

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[Fen-Fen]

Haleigh Windsor
17 | Female | From Circhester
Achille Beringer
18 | Male | From Cyllage City, Kalos

All Along the Watchtower

A speaker crackled to life in the square as an announcement played for the crowd, just departing the train for the Wild Area. "A public safety announcement has been declared. The northernmost part of the Watchtower Ruins is currently experiencing a dangerously cold fog. Please avoid this area until the disturbance has been investigated and properly cleared. Thank you for your understanding.". The announcement ended with a small musical jingle as the passengers went about their day.

As Haleigh exited the train with her Pokemon in tow, temporarily parting ways with her best friend to do some exploring on her own, the announcement piqued the trainer's interest. A cold fog? That didn't sound too bad for such a stern warning.

There were many familiar faces besides Melody that were other graduates of the Wedgehurst Pokemon Academy; in fact, the majority of the passengers on this leg were all graduates that were all waiting impatiently for the first real stage of their journey to start. Among the people in the crowd, one that caught Haleigh's eye was Achille, with his trademark shades, slick dark hair and faux fur lined coat.

"A little fog is enough to scare Galarians away from a lake?" The Kalosian said with a smirk. He had just left the train, alone, and looked bored with his slouched posture and hands in his jacket pocket. He pulled his hands from his pocket, retrieving his ATC and fiddling with it for a bit. "Why don't we see what has everyone so scared." He muttered to himself, still looking something up.

Haleigh had overheard Achille, his Kalosian accent sticking out among the other trainers. She scoffed out loud. Her, scared of a little fog? As if. The purple haired trainer responded to Achille, though clearly he was talking to himself rather than anyone in particular.

"I'd be down for that," Haleigh cheerfully exclaimed. "Besides, I gotta show you that we Galarians aren't pansies."

"Oui?" Achille asked, his posture perking up at the challenge. "Because right now the most impressive Galarian I've met has been a Magikarp… ehm…" He struggled for the name for a second. "Harley?"

She scoffed. "A bloody Magikarp? What's so special about one of those sorry little fellas?"

"Well, this little fella showed more backbone than anyone else in Galar so far." He finally found what he was looking for in the ATC, which gave a small notification ding that a location had been set on the map. "It is obvious that a pokemon is the cause of the disturbance, no? I will go and flush it out."

He turned and began to leave the station, giving a small wave to his fellow graduate. "It will prove a useful ally in my conquest of the league. You can hang around and watch, or adieu until next time."

Haleigh replied, "Alright alright, I'm in. But I sure as hell am not gonna just watch, I'm gonna help you out. I can't pass up a chance to see some wicked powerful Pokemon. Ain't that right, Corey?"

The Scorbunny in question gave a vigorous nod and a confident gesture. Coraline, as usual, merely looked at the two of them with a haughty glance but seemed not to mind following her trainer for this encounter.

With a slight shrug Achille reached into his pockets again and pulled out his own Pokeball, releasing Joiuse. The Honedge took stock of the situation around her, particularly the large mass of people entering and leaving the train, and took up her customary position standing guard behind Achille.

"Joiuse, this is Harley from my graduation class at the school. You might have seen her." He said, introducing the two and preventing any misunderstanding with the overprotective sword. "There's some pokemon causing an issue at a lake and we are going to clear it out, Harley maybe helping." He added the last bit as an afterthought, sounding slightly incredulous.

"My name's Haleigh, mate," Haleigh corrected. "But no matter, we're off an adventure now! I'm pretty amped up for it, and you sound like you know what you're doing, Achille. It's gonna be a splendid time!"

"Of course I do!" Achille lied through his teeth. The two exited the station, stepping into the expanse of the Wild Area proper. A warm glow from the evening sun counteracted the chill in the breeze, likely from the cold weather several parts of the area was experiencing. Achille fought his way through the crowd to a relatively quiet area of the plaza and checked his ATC again to confirm his direction. "We're going to want to head that way," he pointed to a direction northeast of the meeting spot, "and quickly. The rangers are probably aware of it and might be on their way. We've gotta hurry to beat them."
Haleigh replied, "No problem, we'll pick up the pace!"

The closer that the two of them got towards the Watchtower Ruins, the chillier it seemed to get. Haleigh had to zip up her jacket and fish out a scarf she had been keeping in her bag. Corey, for his part, seemed to be just fine as a furry fire type who would seem to be able to keep warm even among the chilliest temperatures; Coraline, as a ghost Pokemon, felt nothing one way or the other about the dropping temperatures.

While passing the time to get there, Haleigh thought it'd be best to strike up a conversation so as not to pass the time in awkward silence. "The temps are starting to remind me a bit of Circhester. Ever been up there?"

"Non," he replied, prickly at first but quickly dropping the attitude. "Have not explored Galar too much yet. I've only been here for the school. I've been to Snowbelle city several times on vacation though. My home city is much warmer though, by the ocean."

Achille reached inside his jacket and pulled out his own scarf and hat, pulling them on as Lake Axewell came into sight and flakes of snow began to fall. "What about you. Ever been to Kalos?"

Haleigh replied, "Yeah, a long time ago. We got to see Prism Tower in Lumiose City, swim on some really nice beaches in Shalour and oh, we even got to see that really cool old royal palace! It was such a fun time, just me and my-." A pained expression flashed across her face briefly. Had Achille known her better, it'd be pretty unusual to see even that much of anything contrary to a cheery and upbeat attitude.

As quickly as it had come, however, her forlorn attitude had left, Haleigh's face brightened and her chipper attitude was back. "But anyways, very beautiful place. You must be a bit homesick from time to time, yeah?"

"Uhh, yeah I guess," he said sheepishly. "The weather here is… to be frank… awful." He motioned towards the falling snow and slowly gathering fog to accentuate his point. Joiuse eyed the fog with suspicion behind him, obviously not a fan of how little she could see through it. "Missing some friends from back home too. But it is what it is, you don't wait for opportunity to come to you, I guess."

A chirping from his pocket caused him to jump with surprise, and he pulled out his phone to check the message. "Warning: severe weather ahead." He read out the message, having to lift up his sunglasses and squint to read it in the small text. "Recommended to turn back… If in a state of emergency reach out to the rangers at… blah blah blah." He locked his phone and rolled his eyes while returning it to his pocket. "Well I guess that means we're getting close if the GPS is telling us to turn back."

Haleigh also started realizing the quickly worsening conditions as they got closer to where Achille's GPS was leading them. She said to him, chuckling a little bit, "You uh, may want to take off your shades now, the sun won't be a problem anymore. It's already as thick as pea soup out here and we still got a ways to go, it seems."

"I was hoping they would shield my eyes from the snow," he said as he reached up and pulled the sunglasses off. He wiped off the lenses and returned them to a packet inside his jacket. "I can see that's not happening. I guess we don't have to worry about anyone seeing us, though."

Joiuse moved closer towards her trainer, practically pressed against his back peering over his shoulder. She let her unease at the situation known with a quiet Honnnee.

"Oh relax," Achille gently chided, "the rangers are telling people to stay away, and this fog is cold anyways. Only thing out here is wild Pokemon, and we have at least 4 between us. We can deal with any con that messes with us." His choice of language in the last sentence earned him a sterner Honnee from his companion.

She was trying not to let it show, but the coldness of the fog was really getting to Haleigh, seemingly penetrating her coat like it was nothing. In order to combat this, she decided to hold her Scorbunny tight to her chest, his warm body helping stave off some of the cold. Seeming to understand that his trainer was in great need of the warmth, he obliged without question.

Similar to how Joiuse could sense a great unease with what was unfolding, Coraline was also feeling ill at ease. Uncharacteristically for her, she hung very close to her trainer and was shivering with fear and anticipation. She let out several cries of "Cor cor, cor cor", pointing in the opposite direction of where they were heading.

"There's no need to be scared, Coraline, we've got this under control. Trust me, I'm sure both you and Corey are strong enough."

Another set of chirping tones went off in Achille's pocket. He fished his ATC out and fumbled it open with numb fingers, frowning at the result. "Putain de ATC. It lost connection and cleared my way point. Map says we're on the other side of the lake still, but we passed that awhile back.

"Ah, putain de froid!" He hissed, returning the ATC to his pocket and digging his hand in deep for warmth. "It's like it's getting colder just standing here." Whatever his next thought was got cut off by a gust of wind and what sounded faintly like girlish giggles underneath the howling wind. Achille dropped to his knees and hugged his arms to him, shivering from the sudden burst of bone-chilling wind.

Haleigh tried to pull out her own ATC and see if she would have any luck with the map, but unfortunately she was facing similar problems to him with a lack of signal; the cold was certainly not helping either. Even Corey seemed to be struggling a bit against the cold, with his trainer being able to feel him shivering. "H-hang in there, buddy, we got this…" She tried to keep her voice level

The source of all of their troubles that they had both been warned to avoid and yet had foolishly ignored started materializing from the impenetrable fog. It was the shape of a humanoid Pokemon hovering in the air, looking at them with an expression of smug amusement from their suffering. Coraline was looking on with worry, clearly intimidated by the far stronger looking Pokemon.

She called out for her human counterpart, directing his attention to the apparition standing before them. "A-Achille, o-over here!"

Achille pushed himself back onto his feet and stared down the apparition. Joiuse moved herself in front of her trainer, ribbon hand on her sheath and ready to attack. "Back the fuck away, or else we'll attack," he shouted, motioning towards his own Pokemon. "We're trainers, we have more Pokemon, you're outnumbered, now leave the people here alone."

The Kalosian's threats did little to dissuade the powerful Pokemon, it giggled at the challenge and advanced a few "steps" towards them.

"I warned you, asshole! Joiuse, fury cutter!"

The Honedge cast off her sheath and a faint, almost invisible, green glow shined from the edge of her blade. She advanced quickly and moved to strike when her target giggled a soft Lass and breathed out another burst of ice-cold wind. The sudden Frost Breath caught Joiuse off guard and the sword took the hit directly, flying back from the blast but recovering before hitting the ground.

Seeing Achille and his sword Pokemon being attacked shocked Haleigh out of her stupor and on instinct, she called to the ice ghost Pokemon. "Oi, over here! Y-you don't wanna mess with me mate, I'm gonna teach you some proper respect, ya hear?!"

The Froslass turned away from Achille, eying the female trainer curiously, more to humor her than anything else. It knows that they've got them in a very bad position, and could easily end them with a few well executed moves.

Before it could react any further, Haleigh barked a command to Corey, her face dead serious. "Corey, get 'er with an Ember!"

The Scorbunny obliged dutifully and dished out the flame attack, aiming squarely for the Froslass' head. However, the Pokemon graciously dodged the attack, its speed surprising Haleigh. Her eyes widened as it swooped in for its counterattack.

"Shite! Shiteshiteshite!"

"Shadow Sneak!" Achille shouted, now behind the Froslass. A spear of shadow jumped off the ground a foot away from the Froslass, jabbing her in the side and knocking her to the ground.

"Don't take your eyes off me, sac merde." He shouted, earning him a scowl from the Froslass. The ghost pokemon closed her eyes and muttered something before opening them again, now glowing a deep purple with red irises. She lifted her hand and let loose a burst of purple fire, a Hex attack.

Achille tried to jump back, but slipped on the ground. Joiuse had no issues dodging the attack, and Achille's fall took him out of harm's way. He hadn't noticed it earlier, but the area around the Froslass was slowly growing a thin layer of frost, which was going to make moving difficult for everyone but the Froslass and Joiuse soon. "Watch your step, Haleigh!"

His warning came in the nick of time, as Haleigh nearly stepped onto a patch of slick frost that would have sent her sliding any which way and cause a nasty injury. Now as angry as Achille, she glared at the ice ghost and spat, "Alright miss, playtime's over. Coraline!" The coral Pokemon perked up, waiting for her direction. "Go to my right, distract her with an Astonish attack. Corey, go to the left and wait for my directions for another Ember, you got one shot!"

Her Pokemon did as they were told and the Corsola shrieked, unleashing her Astonish attack on her. While not enough to pack much of a punch on its own, it did serve as a successful distraction as the Froslass narrowed her eyes at Coraline, clearly miffed that her fun was being spoiled by them actually fighting back.

"Now, Corey!" The Scorbunny charged up the most powerful Ember it could muster, aiming it at her with her back turned, giving her almost no time to dodge. It successfully landed, the Ice type none too pleased at being introduced to a direct fire attack and letting out a surprised cry. If it was annoyed before, it was enraged by this point. Haleigh's heart was beating so fast in her chest, wondering what the creature would do now that they were putting up an actual resistance.

"H-Hey, look at me motherfucker," Achille shouted at the Froslass, but she wasn't playing along with their game of back and forth anymore. He stumbled over his words sometimes, the cold numbing his face. He withdrew his other Pokeball from his pocket and released Proudhon. The Froslass ignored the threat and lifted her hand towards Haleigh, a ball of darkness forming in her hand.

"Tackle and Aerial Ace!" He commanded both of his Pokémon. Joiuse shot off towards the Froslass, but Proudhon couldn't find the grip to launch himself towards the foe. The Magikarp helplessly slipped on the ice, while the Honedge made contact with the ice-type's back. The Froslass didn't fall to the ground this time, somehow shrugging off the attack. Now properly annoyed, she launched the Shadow Ball point blank at Joiuse, sending her flying back.

The Honedge struggled to return to a floating position as the Froslass returned her attention to forming another Shadow Ball aimed at Haleigh. Achille tried to stand back up and charge the ghost himself, but the frozen ground prevented him getting back on his feet.

The young female trainer would have no idea what would happen if a Shadow Ball were to hit her. Despite its path taking only a few seconds to get within striking distance, it was long enough for Haleigh to painfully register just how badly she had fucked up. She closed her eyes, bracing herself for the pain that would surely follow.

However, she opened her eyes to see that Corey had taken the hit in her stead, his form momentarily remaining standing until he keeled over from the power of the ghostly blast and went limp. Even Coraline stared at the scene with utmost shock and horror, frantically looking between her teammate and her trainer for what to do. Unfortunately, the scene gave the Froslass a chance to knock down the remaining Pokemon that stood between the humans, lobbing another Shadow Ball at her. There was no time to even register the blow as the coral Pokemon instantly sunk down to the ground, unconscious from the blow but still "alive".

Haleigh looked at the merciless Froslass, the human's eyes wide with fear and shock. She pleaded, tears in her eyes, "Please, don't do this, I-I didn't mean it, I don't want to...to...to-" The words died in her throat, not even able to voice the very real threat of mortality that faced her, her Pokemon and Achille. This wasn't what her Pokemon journey was supposed to be, she wasn't meant to meet her end in some godforsaken ghost ruins, not after what she promised herself two years ago.

She once again closed her eyes, preparing for what seemed like the inevitable. However, Haleigh heard a voice call out to them.

"Hey! You guys stay put, help is on the way."

Froslass hesitated for a second, looking around for the source of the voice. Not seeing anyone in the immediate vicinity, she turned her attention back to the defenceless Haleigh and prepared another Shadow Ball.

"Vela, stop her with Imprison!" The voice sounded out across the fog. The Shadow Ball dissipated before the Froslass could send it towards her target, and the Pokemon pointed her hand at Haleigh in frustration. Her attack never materialized.

Loudly muttering to herself, the Froslass closed her eyes and then reopened them, trying to launch another Hex. This move also failed, and the Froslass blinked in surprise.

"Trust me, that's not going to work." A figure appeared in the fog and slowly came into view of the two trainers. A woman dressed in a Pokemon Ranger outfit emerged from the fog, followed by a golden white fox-like Pokemon. Ninetails, Achille quickly realized. "Please leave this to the professionals. Are you kids okay?"

"Doing just fine, obviously," Achille said while still making his way to his feet. He'd managed to pull himself onto one knee, and was trying to use that as leverage on the ice. Now that the third trainer was here, he grabbed both Pokeballs and withdrew Proudhon and the now motionless Joiuse to prevent them from getting harmed further.

Haleigh looked to their savior, a tall woman with long black, wavy hair pulled back in a ponytail dressed up in a Pokemon Ranger outfit modified for the cold with a thick parka, boots and a scarf. Arceus, if she hadn't come…

She could only numbly nod in response to the ranger's question, being a bit out of it from the cold and extremely distressing situation. She looked to Achille, who despite everything seemed to be determined to leave with some dignity, as a contrast to the obviously shell-shocked look she had on her face. The purple haired trainer followed his lead in recalling her fainted Pokemon, looking anxiously towards the angered Froslass and back towards the ranger for further instruction.

The Froslass huffed indignantly at the interruption of her fun, breathing in deep for another Frost Breath attack. The ranger was quicker and issued a confident "Flamethrower", which the Ninetails happily obliged. The sudden stream of fire from the large fox's mouth wasn't a direct hit, but it singed the Froslass and caused her to drop the attack and dodge. "Move carefully behind me, I'll cover you. Don't run into the fog, Froslasses like to make people lose their way in it."

The Imprison seemed to be really messing with the Froslass, as she struggled to find an attack other than the ineffective Frost Breath that would actually work. She quickly gave up and resorted to throwing opportune Frost Breaths while avoiding streaks of flame racing towards her from the Ninetails. The tables had completely turned on the wild Pokemon, and she was suddenly the one hopelessly outmatched.

Achille took this opportunity to finally push himself to his feet and began the difficult task of making his way to the Ranger. He gave the battle plenty of space as he traveled a circular path to the ranger, choosing a path that would pass by Haleigh.

Haleigh looked at the battle that the ranger was engaging in, finally relieved that the seemingly invincible ice Pokemon was now the one on the ropes. She tried getting to her feet, but the slick ice, exhaustion and her less than suitable footwear only resulted in her continuously falling. She did her best to crawl over to the ranger, but was not getting anywhere fast. Luckily, Achille already was standing up and had his footing, so she made her way over to him and held out her hand so that he could help her get up.

Achille grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet. "Come on, nearly there." He said, offering a shoulder for assistance if she needed it.

Once on her feet, Haleigh was satisfied limping without any further assistance over towards the ranger. She called out one last attack.

"Alright Vela, give her one last Flamethrower, that should do the trick." Her Ninetales obliged with a dutiful nod, opening her maw and preparing another Flamethrower. The distracted Froslass took the blow directly, letting out a pained cry as the flames hit her with full force. By the time it had finished, the Froslass looked very rough for wear (potentially on the verge of fainting itself) and decided that tormenting the two teens was no longer worth the effort, not with such a strong trainer defending them. The ice ghost made a hasty retreat, disappearing into the fog from whence it came.

The ranger, satisfied that none of the two teens had any severe, debilitating injuries, pinched the bridge of her nose and exhaled deeply. She barked at them, "What in the blazes were you lot doing up here?! Did you not heed the warnings we relayed to the train station? You're damn lucky we had someone notice you walk towards here, Arceus knows what could have happened if I hadn't been here!"

"I was… I only meant to… I mean…" Achille struggled with finding the right words to defend himself before just giving up. The fog has already started lifting to a more reasonable level with the Froslass gone, and revealing just how far from anything they actually were. Achille glanced around the empty, foggy landscape and sighed, clenching his fist in frustration. "It was really stupid I suppose." He admitted, defeated. "Merde, I did not expect it to be so strong and just in the wild area like that."

The ranger crossed her arms, clearly still upset with them, though her expression softened noticeably. "I am just glad that I got here in time and that I was able to save you all in time but..." She looked in a spot behind the two trainers, seeing something twinkling in the snow covered ground.

"What's this, then?" She walked over to examine the item and plucked it off the ground. "Well well well, it looks like our lovely ghost Pokemon has left behind a little something. A Dusk Stone."

"A Dusk Stone?" Achille asked through clattering teeth. "What the hell was it doing with that?"

The air around them was returning to a pleasant chill with the wild Pokemon gone as well. Although the remaining fog kept the sun from really warming the two up, the frost around them was at least beginning to thaw. The Dusk Stone in the ranger's hand seemed to be absorbing all the light around it, just barely tinted with a purple sheen on its otherwise pitch black body. The ranger pocketed the stone and looked the two shivering trainers over.

"Well, we'll deal with that later." She announced, zipping up the pocket she stored the stone in. Her Ninetails sniffed the air a few times and, upon deciding the coast was clear, began walking back towards the lake before looking back at the three humans. "In the meantime, let's get you guys somewhere you can actually warm up. We've got a small rest station near the bridge, and it should have something warm there. Vela can lead."

With a small yip the fire-type hopped to draw attention to her and began trotting back towards the lake, her trainer and rescuees following.

Haleigh started feeling relieved the more distance she put between the site where they encountered the Froslass. With a shadow of her bravado returning, the female trainer offers a wan smile and says, "Well Achille, I didn't know you all that well before all this, but I'll say it's one hell of a way to get to know someone by facing death head on together."

"I guess that's a silver lining," he replied, a bit curt but still obviously fighting off the effects of the cold. "I normally wait until at least a third date before acting useless in a battle." He chuckled at his own joke as the small building he assumed was the ranger's station came into view.

The ranger pulled out a key and unlocked the door, letting the two teens inside. The room itself was decently sized, fitting two couches, a small TV, a decently large table, and a small kitchenette. The ranger pointed the two of them towards the table while she went to the kitchen herself. Vela jumped onto one of the couches and lied down, watching the news channel's weather report currently playing on TV. The ranger filled a kettle and set it on the electric stove before taking a seat at the table.

"That'll just be a few minutes," she announced before unzipping her pocket and pulling out the dusk stone. "Now, what are we doing with this? I was tempted to keep it for the rangers, but in a roundabout way you two did help by finding the Froslass and keeping her in place until we could reach it and actually seem like you understand why what you did was foolish. So if you can agree who keeps it, I'll hand it to one of you."

Achille unwrapped his now soaked scarf and thought for a few moments. "Give it to Haleigh," he decided.

The other girl blinked. "M-me? Why? I don't deserve it, not after being such a weakling at the end there…"

"That wasn't weak," Achille rebutted, crossing his arms. "That ember was the only thing that actually did any damage to it. Joiuse's Shadow Sneak just surprised her, and Aerial Ace did nothing. Hell, Proudhon couldn't even get a grip to tackle her.

"I could not even hold its attention for that long," He admitted sheepishly, "the Pokemon had narrowed in on the fire-type by the looks of it."

The purple haired trainer scratched her head, "Eh, well, I guess you have a point. If you're absolutely sure, I'll go ahead and take it."

The ranger held out the stone for Haleigh to accept, to which she obliged and held it up to her face, examining the stone's unique properties. In a twisted way, this was her compensation for going through all of that hell, a reward for her failure. Though pretty and valuable the stone felt in her hands, it was with a heavy heart that she held it with.


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[LinearAxel]

Melody Argent

17 | Female | From Spikemuth​

A practice in patience part 1

By the time they got to the wild area, night had ascended into the sky above. Melody stretches out her arms behind her back as she looks through the vast, seemingly endless wild area. "See that? That's our destination." Melody tells her Dreepy as she points to the tiny dot in the distance. "Let's get a few miles out and then we'll set up camp." She says, earning a nod from the small dragon.

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The duo had been walking (well, Nightshot was floating) for roughly a half hour when the first of what would turn out to be many interruptions presented itself.

"Excuse me!" Came a young-sounding voice. Melody turned to see a young girl dressed from head to toe in green heading towards her and waving her arm.

"Heya." Melody stops her stride and gives the girl a quizzical look. "What's up?"

"Hi!" The younger girl greets. "I'm Gia. Nice to meet you! Have you seen a Pikachu in a blue dress?"

Melody stares at the girl for a good five seconds and purposefully blinks very slowly. "Once, after I had a few cups of my mom's 'Pecha juice.' I saw a pink Cufant too."

The girl wrinkles her face in pure confusion. "Um…?"

"No, I haven't seen a Pikachu in a dress." Melody says dryly.

"Ah, well… thanks anyway." The girl frowns. "If you see one could you… shout maybe?"

"Yeah, sure." Melody shrugs. "That all you need?"

"Y-eah." Gia nods, her eyes downcast. "Thanks, I guess. C'mon, Clary." The girl pats her side and earns a sharp bark from a Yamper sniffing around in the distance.

Melody waits for the girl and her Yamper to be a good fifteen feet away before she starts walking again.She takes maybe five steps before glancing over to the large eyes she can feel drilling into her soul. "What?"

"Dreeeee." Nightshot accuses.

"What!? I did everything I could. I didn't see it."

"Dree dree dree." Nightshot folds his arms.
"You wanna look for it? One Pikachu in aaaaall this." She stretches her arms out to emphasize the massiveness of the wild area.

"Py." Nightshot unfolds his arms and taps his nose.

"Haleigh?" Melody asks. He started doing that to signal Haleigh shortly after they first met, referencing the bandage that was over her nose at the time.

"Py." The Dreepy nods and turns to motion to the disappearing girl in green. He reaches out to her and then turns back to tap his nose again. "Dree-py-py." He says with an accusing point.

"... If that was Haleigh, I'd do it." He's right, sure, the thing is that Melody doesn't care that he's right. Haleigh's a friend who would do the same. She doesn't owe this girl anything. She doesn't know if she's worth helping. She could be tracking that Pikachu to use it as a sacrifice to a cult for all they know. "So what?"

Nightshot merely stares into her eyes for a good ten seconds.

"... You are not gonna let this go, are you?"

"Eee." He shakes his head slowly.

"Noodle beats one bug and thinks he's in charge." Melody sighs. "Fine… but no cookies for you tonight." She turns around and cups her hands around her mouth. "HEY! GIA!"

The younger trainer freezes in place for a few seconds before turning around. "YEAH?!"

Melody cuts her gaze back to Nightshot and gives a 'do I really have to?' look. In return, Dreepy merely wiggles. "... KEEP GOING. I'LL LOOK THIS WAY."

She's too far away to see it, but she knows the girl is smiling from ear to ear. Said girl jumps up and waves her arms. "THANK YOU !"

Melody drops her hands back to her sides as her shoulders slump. "This is such a waste of time." She grumbles even as she turns around and begins scanning the area for signs of yellow fur or blue fabric.

Minutes of walking and looking at nothing pass before a large tower comes into view from the corner of Melody's eye. "Could be hiding out in there." Melody points out.

"Dreep-pyy?" Nightshot asks as he floats up to latch onto Melody's shoulder.

"I'd hide if someone stuffed me in a blue dress." She says casually as she changes course and half-heartedly jogs to the tower.
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"Uh. Pikachu? Any Pikachu around here?" Melody asks as the duo reaches their destination. Nothing. Has she said how stupid and pointless this all is yet?

"Dree-py-dre!" Nightshot calls-- and jumps in surprise when he actually gets a response.

"Skuuuuuull." A ghostly figure wafts out of the tower: A Duskull. Not… at all what Melody was hoping to find, but at least it doesn't seem at all hostile.

"Hey, fella. You haven't seen a Pikachu in a blue dress around, have you?"

"Sku?" The ghost turns and vanishes back into the tower. When it comes back seconds later, it's holding some tattered blue cloth in its hands. It reaches out to give the blue cloth to Melody.

"Aw. Aren't you sweet?" Melody's incredibly sour expression almost breaks into a smile as she takes the cloth. She can't tell if this material came from a dress (someone like Aeliana or Val probably could) or really anything at all that would tell her this is a proper clue. Better than nothing, right? Gia should be able to tell.

Oh great. She has to do this again. Melody clears her throat and cups her hands around her mouth. "GIA!"

"Yeeeees?" Calls back a voice that's significantly closer than Melody thought.

"I FOUND… SOMETHING."

"Be right there!"

The girl clad in green comes running from the other side of the tower. "What did you fi- AHH!" The girl practically shrieks and leaps back.
"What? What?!" Melody asks, her left eye squinted as her eardrums ring in agony from the shriek.

"Behind you!" Gia points.

Melody turns to see… the Duskull? "Hey. He's trying to help."

The Duskull slowly begins to sink to the ground with a disheartened, downcast gaze. When it gets to the grass it phases into the darkness and vanishes.

"Great. He was our only lead." Melody scowls as she walks over and shoves the fabric into Gia's hand. "Is this part of the dress?"

The younger girl gasps. "Yes! Where did you find it?!"

"The Duskull you just chased off found it. I think it was in there." Melody motions towards the tower with her hand.

Gia squeezes the fabric tightly before kneeling down and holding it out to her Yamper. "Can you find him, Clary?"

The Yamper gives the fabric a good, long sniff before pointing her nose to the wind. Sniff sniff. Sniff sniff. With a yip, it begins to trot off with Gia close behind.

Melody stands perfectly still as she watches them go, resisting the urge to smack her hand against her head. Why. Did. She. Not. Do. That. Before?! If she's had that Pikachu long enough to put it in a dress, she has to have something else that smells like it. SHE probably smells like it! What the hell, man?! What the actual hell?!

"Pyyp pyyp." Nightshot pats his trainer on the shoulder.

"The next time we pass a tree, I am getting the biggest damn stick I can find." Melody speaks through her teeth as she stiffly begins to follow the girl.

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[PastelPhoenix]

Achille Béringer || 18 || ♂️
Location: Wild Area
Current Status: Rethinking some things.

Joiuse - Shadow Sneak, Fury Cutter, Autotomize, Metal Sound, Block, Aerial Ace

Proudhon - Tackle, Splash, Thrash

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Heavy rain beat down on the small overhang Achille took cover under. The storm in the Giant's Seat showed no signs of dissipating anytime soon, and cracks of thunder still regularly boomed across the field. Despite the storm, packs of Elektrike and Manectric ran across the grassland, racing to where lightning would strike next. Thankfully this makeshift shelter seemed to be withstanding the torrential rainfall well and had some rock even enough to sit on. Pleased that the stone structure wasn't about to collapse in the rain, Achille withdrew both his Pokeballs from his pocket and released his team. He felt his heart rate rise as the Pokeballs illuminated the underhang after activating the call mechanism.

Joiuse and Proudhon appeared under the overhang with him, looking none too pleased. He'd expected they'd be cross with him. He did pick a fight with a wild Pokemon much stronger than both of them, after all, and Joiuse got hit badly with that Shadow Ball. Joiuse looked like she wanted to give him a stern talking to, while Proudhon looked ready to fight unless Achille had a very good explanation.

"I… uh… know that was a massive mistake on my part," he began his apology. His pokemon looked at him skeptically, wondering where he was going with this. "I know I could just make an excuse and asked you guys to accept it or leave… but I want you guys to actually trust me."

He pulled off his backpack and reached inside for his notebook. He'd spent the time waiting for his pokemon to recover thinking of some kind of training strategy. The events in the ruins were a harsh reminder that he couldn't just coast off of natural talent if he was serious about being champion. To that end he dug through his old school books, the internet, and memories of the stuffy leadership classes his parents forced him to take. He pulled a hardcover journal from his bag and flipped the cover open. The first page was covered with a smattering of unorganized notes. He'd have to figure out a way to make this readable in the future, but for now the subject of the notes was still fresh enough on his mind that he felt he wouldn't forget anything.

"I wrote up some ideas for how we can get better." He explained. "Not just random ideas either, but actual trainer theory and all that." The use of the word theory caused Proudhon to lose focus, obviously not interested in a lecture. I guess I'm going to have to avoid over-explaining this stuff to Proudhon. Joiuse seemed much more interested in what her trainer had to say, and Achille felt she would likely be more critical of his ideas too.

"I'll avoid explaining the whole thing for now, since we're short on time today. Especially you, Joiuse. The basic idea is that a good team can't just rely on having strong members; you need to also keep in mind team composition, communication, terrain, and adaptability. I wrote down some goals for all of us. So what do you say? Is this proof enough that I learned my lesson?"

Joiuse looked over her trainer for several seconds of cold silence, which caused Achille's heart to drop with fear that she wasn't going to accept. Finally she approached him and held out her ribbon-hand's pinky to him. It took a few moments for Achille to even realize what she meant. Stifling a chuckle at the surprisingly childish response, he reached out with this own pinky and completed the promise. The Honedge brightened at the action and took her normal place behind Achille's shoulder.

"Proudhon?" He asked the remaining teammate. The Magikarp was still, save his breathing, and Achille assumed he was still debating the offer. He knelt down next to the fish and held out his hand for a high five. Proudhon responded by bouncing up and headbutting him.

"T'es un salaud, but I guess I do deserve it." Achille grumbled while rubbing his stinging forehead. The Magikarp was making the noise Achille came to recognize as the pokemon's snickering. I guess he's not really that angry, just an ass. "Okay, asshole," he said with a smirk of his own and offered his hand again. He did leave himself open to that. "Really, are you in or not."

This time the Magikarp slapped his hand, and the tension in Achille's chest was released. "Thank you guys. Really."

Achille took a seat on one of the flat rocks and put on his reading glasses. Sitting up here and speaking to his Pokemon made him feel like one of the teachers back at Wedgehurst. Except he was pretty sure his "class" was actually listening to him. He cleared his throat and began reading from the first page of his notes.

"Okay, in short, most arena matches are probably not going to have much in the way of useful terrain, so I want to focus on making everyone stronger and getting everyone used to working with each other. Joiuse: We've had some success with Fury Cutter, but it takes way too long to actually become useful. I think you should work on perfecting the Slash attack instead, and we'll work Fury Cutter out of our plans.

"Now, unfortunately we don't have much in the way of new moves we can start trying to learn, Proudhon. Instead we need to focus on landing those Tackles when you're outside of the water. I know you've spent most of your life in the river, but we'll be fighting a lot on dry land. Thrash is good, but we need to keep it as a secret for as long as possible if we want it to be effective. We don't want the enemy knowing we have it and avoiding getting close because of it. Beyond that, I want us to work out how we're going to get you to evolve, and then we can really start kicking ass.

He shut the notebook and took off his glasses, returning his gaze to his "students". "Okay, everyone got that?"

He received nothing but shocked glances in return from his Pokemon. A crack of thunder and howling Elektrikes emphasized the awkward silence. "Oh come on, it's not that shocking that I did research into this." He snapped at the team. The sheer lack of faith! "I said I wanted to be fucking champion, didn't I?"

"H-Hon!" Joiuse replied in hasty agreement. Once the shock wore off of her… eye… he felt like the sword was brimming with pride at her trainer coming up with an actual training plan.

"I'm not some connard that plans to breeze by with talent alone," he started defending himself. "I know that talent can only take you so far. There's a lot of naturally talented trainers who get shown up by someone without a lick of talent but trained their hearts out. You've got to be dedicated and good to win."

With no further questions from his pokemon, Achille dug through his bag again and pulled out the bag with his (already wet) rain poncho. He donned the rain garment and turned to face the storm outside.

"Okay, now let's get working. I'm going to carry Proudhon for two laps around the Giant's seat. We'll start your guy's training after that."

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

Achille had made it halfway around the Giant's Seat before he realized how stupid this plan was. The Giant's Seat was larger than he had anticipated, and Proudhon relished in making his life more difficult by struggling in his arms. He was now looking for a place to take a quick breather and get some relief from the rain, but the area around the seat itself didn't have anything that really blocked the rain well.

He passed a particularly large boulder and noticed what looked to be a green tarp forming a makeshift tent within a crook of the Seat itself. With nothing better to block the rain with, he hurried up to the tarp and took shelter under it.

Inside the tarp were several digging instruments and a lot of rubble, but it was dry at least. A jagged cave entrance was open on the rock wall opposite him, and Achille guessed this was some sort of digging operation. He wasn't a geologist, but he guessed that the rubble wasn't that old, and several much larger rocks appear to have been recently broken, judging by their jagged edges. Without any major digging machines around, this cave was probably recently revealed.

He approached the cave, wanting to take a quick peek inside. If this storm was causing rocks to fall from the cliffs above, he didn't want the only thing between him and untimely demise to be a thin tarp. If there was digging tools here, there likely wasn't any dangerous pokemon. Probably.

Before he could enter the tunnel, he heard what sounded like heavy footsteps coming from the darkness inside. Either some moron was digging during a massive thunderstorm, or this cave might not be empty after all.

Realizing he was still holding onto the now-motionless fish, he set Proudhon down and motioned for Joiuse to come closer. He then waited for the source of the footsteps to show themselves.

Inventory:

Spoiler:

1000₽
Pokédex
ATC
Pokéball x4
Old Rod

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[Foxrally]

Simon Pearburgh

Scatterbug Tackle | Stun Spore | String Shot | Bug Bite Friend Guard

Caterpie Tackle | String Shot | Bug Bite Shield Dust

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Spoiler: Inventory

Xtransceiver

Pokédex

ATC

Pokéball x4

Gramma's Letter

Potion x3

Bug Catcher Net

Too many cinnamon buns

Camping Supplies

Badges: 0

Meetup Spot

Simon stepped out of the busy train station, taking a deep breath of fresh wild area air. The evening sun was setting over the rolling fields as a soft cold breeze blew from behind him, as if the wilderness was beckoning him forward. On his shoulders, his two now well-rested partners looked ahead, both amazed by the sheer size of the wilderness before them- a far cry from the trees and tall grass they had once called home. Simon checked his newly purchased backpack, now filled with a sleeping bag, a pot and a few healing items. It was all he could fit in there after shoving the cinnamon buns, which he'd unceremoniously taken out of their boxes and shoved into a plastic bag to make space. He looked around the meetup spot itself- many trainers had already gone off in their own directions, some making a beeline for what he assumed was Motostoke, while some others had decided to prepare near the station.

Simon took another deep breath."This is it, Simon. The start of our champion story." he thought to himself, hopping on the spot to amp himself up. Suddenly, a realization hit him- the mental note he'd made earlier.

He picked Scatterbug and Caterpie off his shoulders. "Can you gimme a sec, lads?" he asked, putting them on the ground and sliding his backpack off. "I got a quick call to make. Don't eat anything in there."

He took a few steps away from the Pokemon, and dialed a number on his phone. After a few moments of waiting, a monotone voice answered.

"You have reached the Ballonlea long-term care centre. If you know the extension of the department or person y-"

Simon dialed the familiar four-digit number. After a few more seconds of silence, another message played.

"You've reached the voicemail inbox of," the voice changed to that of an exhausted-sounding nurse, "Priya Pearburgh." "Please leave a message after the sound, and a member of our staff will forward it to your recipient."

"Uh, hey mum! It's Simon. I called, just like I promised, heh. Sorry if this is a bit late, I got, uh, sidetracked back in Wedgehurst, and it was too loud on the train. But now my journey's officially begun! I've got a partner Pokemon and everything, and I even got my first teammate on the same day! I just got to the wild area, so I'll be starting the trip to Motostoke real soon." Simon paused for a moment. A small beep warned him that he had ten seconds left for his message. "I'll make you and da' proud, mum. I… I miss you." The final beep rang before he finished his sentence.

Simon sighed- whether out of relief or frustration, he didn't know. He knew his mother's nurse would only relay about half the message to her before giving up, even if he didn't have much to communicate anyway. However, he wasn't sure what he would even say if he'd called and she had picked up. He put his phone in his pocket and walked back to his two partner Pokemon, who were thankfully too enamored by the scenery to go for his treats.

Simon picked them both up and put them in his coat pocket. All of a sudden, the wilderness in front of them seemed daunting. The eagerness and motivation he'd felt earlier was mostly gone, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to tackle it so close to nightfall. "Would you two prefer it if we spent our first night close to the station?" he asked, looking down at his bugs. Both squeaked in agreement, favouring a good night's rest after their prior battle.

------​

Simon hadn't yet decided on a spot to spend the night. He'd spent the past half hour scouting the area all around the meetup station, determining the best path to take to Motostoke, and had also watched a few battles between the bloke with the bicycle and any challengers who faced him. Simon had considered the challenge, but after realizing the biker had a carkol, he soon decided against it; his team needed to train more if he wanted to avoid any more defeats like against Sachi.

He tapped his chin as he walked towards a cluster of trees. He hadn't been able to buy a tent, only a sleeping bag; and he had to figure out a way to keep the cold wind out. He reckoned Caterpie and Scatterbug could create a makeshift tarp with string shot, and the trees were perfect supports for the task.

His train of thought was cut short as he noticed a small glint coming from the foliage in the trees, shining off the light of the sunset. Simon peered at the tree where it had appeared- it didn't seem to have any bird's nest, and it was certainly too quiet for a Skwovet. Simon slowed down his approach, waiting for another movement. After a brief moment, a breeze shook the tree's foliage again, revealing the same shiny glint underneath. Simon pulled out his net and narrowed his eyes.

"Lads… I think we've got a catch over there." he whispered to his Pokemon.

Scatterbug and Caterpie looked towards the tree. Caterpie let out a confused chirp, which was met with a quiet hush from Simon. The trainer crouched slightly as he approached the tree, slowing down his breath to match the wind blowing around them. He held his net with both hands, readying himself. His eyes were fixated on the shiny spot on the tree- it was pretty high, but with a running leap he could reach it with the net.

Caterpie looked at the fellow Pokemon on Simon's shoulder, raising his antenna inquisitively. Scatterbug seemed to know exactly what her trainer was up to- this trained style was exactly how he'd caught her hiding in the tall grass near the academy months ago. She barely had any time to react to the stealthy net swing - and the less-stealthy battle cry that followed - before she was captured. She remembered how despite her wariness of humans at the time, she had chosen to trust him- and remain at his side, watching him fail again and again, but never throwing in the towel. She wiggled her antennas at Caterpie, signaling that he stay quiet, and trust in the trainer's actions.

Simon slowed down until he neared the base of the tree, and looked up - there it was! Hidden among the foliage was a small, bulbous black Pokemon, hanging from a small branch. He discreetly pulled out his Pokedex and pointed it towards it. After a moment, the screen showed a picture of a Pokemon, with a description:

Burmy, the Bagworm Pokemon. To shelter itself from cold, wintry winds, it covers itself with a cloak made of twigs and leaves.

Simon raised an eyebrow and looked at the Pokemon again. It looked nothing like the three pictures the Pokedex showed- save for the golden, shining eyes which he'd caught a glimpse of. He reckoned the thing was low on battery and was just glitching, and put it back in his pocket. He stepped backwards slowly, paying attention not to step on any twigs or dead leaves. Once he'd stepped backwards enough, he suddenly sprinted forward, holding his net up.

"HI-YAAAAH!!" Simon screamed and leaped upwards with all his strength, swinging his net. He felt it collide with a branch, shaking the tree, and heard a panicked squeal- right before he felt his face collide with the tree.

All semblance of stealth or surprise was lost now. As he rubbed his face, Simon noticed the creature he'd been aiming for swing upwards to another branch. "Ow… You won't get off that easy." he muttered, before stepping back a couple meters and attempting another lunge. This time, he didn't even hit the branch. The Pokemon still moved to another part of the tree however, swinging using the long appendage on its head. Before Simon could step back and try again, he was hit in the head with a glob of water, originating from the Pokemon's first resting spot.

"Alright, now you're just taking the piss." Simon grumbled and wiped his face.

After dozens and dozens of failed attempts, it had been nearly an hour since he'd reached the tree, and Simon was no closer to capturing the creature. At this point it had swung so high that he probably wouldn't even be able to throw the net high enough. Slumping his shoulders, the bug catcher gave up and looked at his two Pokemon, who had long since decided to get off of his shoulders and relax in the grass. "I don't wanna hear anything from you two. I don't need help. I just need some rest is all." he snapped at them, pouting. As he spoke those words, another floating orb of water smacked him in the head.

"Sca." Scatterbug smirked and closed her eyes, as if to say, 'you asked for this'.

Simon sighed and decided to finally set up camp, as it was practically nighttime now. He unfurled his sleeping bag at the base of the tree, and after sharing another cinnamon bun with his two Pokemon, tucked them into their Pokeballs. He took off his coat, using it as a pillow, and quickly drifted off to sleep.

------​

He was rudely woken up by a sharp, stabbing feeling on his head, as if a bird had just picked at it repeatedly. Simon sat upright and rubbed the top of his head, looking around drowsily. It was still nighttime; everyone who'd decided to camp near the station was already asleep and the noise of battle had completely died down. Simon muttered something about falling pine cones and turned around to readjust his coat-pillow.

His eyes suddenly met with the small black creature from earlier, now crawling on all six legs on the ground- and covered in bits and pieces of his coat fluff. Simon scowled at the Pokemon and pulled his coat away. "Oi, just cause I was trying to catch you doesn't mean you get to nick my clothes." Simon hissed, the sleepiness still in his voice.

The Pokemon growled back. "B-b-burmy!" It was trembling, but Simon had a feeling it wasn't from fear, as the bug stood defiantly in front of him.

"Huh, so you are a Burmy after all." Simon rubbed his eyes and turned around proper. "You certainly don't look like one. Where's your coat? It's bloody cold out tonight."

The Burmy averted its gaze, still trembling. It let out a few soft cheeps.

"Well, that's nothing to be embarased about!" Simon replied. "Doesn't excuse you trying to rip my clothes and waking me up though. Right, come here- I'll help you make a new coat."

As he motioned for it to come over, the Burmy was a little skeptical, but after a cold breeze blew through it again, it slowly crawled onto Simon's hand. The trainer picked up a pile of dead leaves near the base of the tree, and after a moment of consideration, slammed the leaves into Burmy. The leaves stayed on its body for a second, but then soon fell back down. The bug-type squeaked in protest, spitting out bits of dirt and rock.

"Sorry, just wanted to test how it worked first." Simon chuckled, amused by the slight revenge he'd gotten for the water attacks. "Lemme try that again."

He picked up the leaves a second time, but this time, he was more careful with the application. He made sure to shield the Burmy from the wind as he placed the leaves on its body, using the Pokedex image as a reference. Once done, he reached into his bag and pulled out a long silky string- some leftover string shot which he always kept handy. After a bit of crafty rope work, his art was done. Burmy was as neatly wrapped as a Christmas present- assuming the present had been wrapped by a Spinda. The bug-type Pokemon glared at Simon, unamused; but as another breeze came rushing by, it braced for the cold- but it never came. As ridiculous as it looked, the little wrapped Burmy gave a quick squeak of thanks.

"Any… anytime, mate." Simon responded, yawning and putting the Pokemon down. "Anyway, I'm gonna go back to sleep. You prolly should too."

The Burmy paused and hopped closer to him before squeaking again.

"Nah, little lad. I promised I'd catch you fair and square, and that's what I'll do. But that can… [yawn] -wait till tomorrow morning. G'night."

------​

As the light of the morning sun hit his eyes, Simon woke up again, this time without the pain in his head. He sat up, stretched and sleepily reached for his bag for a drink of water, but his hand landed on his net instead. He felt a strange lump under the mesh, and lifted the net- the stringed-up Burmy was there, looking like it was having the first restful sleep of its life.

Simon grinned and pulled out a Pokéball, gently tapping it on its head. "Hah… I... gotcha now." He mumbled between yawns.

New Capture!

Burmy ♂️
Shed Skin
Protect - Hidden Power (water)​

 

[Sonata]

Rosa Valdés // 17

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CHAPTER 2.3 - The Mysterious Shiny Pokemon!

Rosa was riding along on her electric bike, using her Pokedex to do quick drive by scans of the smaller random wild Pokemon. She'd left the Meetup Spot at last, having been held up by Charles for nearly half an hour after their battle as he talked her ear off about the greatness of bikes. It was her own fault of course. Any excuse could have let her break off from him and start on her journey, but the fear of him rebutting her stopped her from speaking up. He was jacked after all, if he had wanted to stop her from leaving it would have been easy, and she had a bad habit of imagining the worst case scenarios in almost every new situation.

Thankfully, by the time she'd gotten on the road, night had fallen. Most of the Pokemon around were asleep now, so her drive by scans were now relatively safe. A few Pokemon would pick up their heads and stare at her with sleepy eyes, but quickly fell back down when she started her bike back up. There were so many Pokemon in this area, but none of them really stood out to her as something that she'd want to take on with her. Sure, she could just catch one to fill out her team, but she'd end up feeling bad later if she forced a Pokemon to go with her only to leave it in a box somewhere down the line when she decided to add something she actually wanted to use to her team.

"Deli, deli, deli."

Rosa skidded to a stop, squeezing the handbrake as hard as she could as she saw the Pokemon from the corner of her eye. She couldn't be sure, given how dark it was outside, but… she was certain that she recognized that species of Pokemon from somewhere. She raised up her Pokedex and scanned the Pokemon that was walking up to her.

'Delibird, the delivery Pokemon. It has a generous habit of sharing its food with people and Pokémon, so it's always scrounging around for more food.'

Rosa stared at the entry, noting that something was off about the Pokemon's appearance.

"Oho, looks like you've found him." An elderly man walked over from where he'd been resting beneath a tree. "That there's a special Pokemon, as I'm sure you're starting to figure out."

"Is it… is it shiny?"

The elderly man nodded. "Aye, that it is. She's a beauty, isn't she? As it so happens, there's a local legend that's begun to form around that Pokemon. It seems that those people who this Delibird challenges to a battle are apt to find rare and unusual items at some point shortly after."

Rosa's eyes traveled between the elderly man and the bag on the Pokemon's back. If what he said was true, then that Pokemon's bag must be full of useful things that she'd be able to earn some quick cash off of. She rubbed the two Poke in her pocket together, reminding herself of just how poor she currently was. She didn't exactly want to take the Pokemon along with her on her journey, but-

"Aye, Lass, no use trying to catch that thing."

Rosa's concentration broke. The man's words bringing her out of her own head. "Why's that?"

"Well, I've been watching it for a while. Obviously, anyone that happens to pass by would be immediately interested in such a rare specimen. I've witnessed dozens of trainers wasting their pokeballs on that little bird. They usually either just bounce off, or if its feeling particularly irritated from the attempts on its freedom, it'll knock the ball away and break it in the process."

Rosa pulled her hands out of her pockets and sighed. "So then what kind of challenge is the Pokemon looking for?"

The elderly man shook his head. "It's different for everyone. Some trainers are challenged to a race, others an art competition, tests of strength, whatever. I'm not sure if the Pokemon's trainer gave it certain orders, or if its deciding each event on its own. It's been out here for a few weeks now, just wandering this area. Given that other trainers can't capture it, the Delibird hasn't been officially released by its trainer, but given that its been out here for a few weeks with no sign of an owner returning for it… it's too cruel to leave the thing on its own. It tried challenging me a few times, but I turned it down. I've just been feeding it berries and apples I've collected while I wait with it."

Rosa crouched down and watched the Pokemon as it waddled into arm's reach. "That's so sad."

"Deli deli?" The Pokemon questioned as it dug around in its bag. The Pokemon looked around it before smirking. "Deli." The Delibird pulled out a megaphone and stared at the girl. "Deli. Deli Delibird."

"Seems it wants to have a shouting competition with you. It's a mischievous little fellow. A shouting contest here would surely stir the wild Pokemon from their rest. It's a mighty good thing you've got that bike with you."

Rosa looked between the old man and the Pokemon before nodding. "Alright, if its a shouting contest you want, it's a shouting contest you'll get. But not with me." The girl dug around in her pocket and pulled out Wyatt's ball. "Come on out lil buddy."

"Whis!" The Pokemon quietly proclaimed as it burst forth from its ball.

"Deli." The Delibird nodded at the Whismur as it pulled the megaphone up to its beak. "DELI!" The Pokemon's voice was amplified and caused a few of the surrounding Pokemon to raise up their heads at the commotion.

"Go ahead Wyatt, its your turn now." Rosa whispered to the shivering Pokemon.

"W-whii?" Wyatt looked up Rosa, shaking violently as its attention darted to the number of Pokemon that were beginning to stir around them.

Rosa nodded her head. "Just be as loud as you can. Do it real quick and I'll make sure we get out of here before any of those Pokemon can get to you."

Wyatt shuffled closer to the Delibird before it cried out. "W-whiiiiis!" The Pokemon's voice was weak, but came out just barely louder than the Delibird's had.

"Deli." The Pokemon nodded as it brought the megaphone back to its beak. "DELI!" The Pokemon called out louder than the Whismur before it, nodding for Wyatt to go ahead.

"Whiiiiis!" The Pokemon called out, once again just barely outdoing the Delibird.

The Pokemon around them were now rising to their feet. Their faces were a mix of irritation and exhaustion. The elderly man backed away to the nearby tree he'd been sleeping under and pulled a green and brown blanket up over himself. "You're on your own now," he'd whispered as he retreated.

Rosa, still sitting on the bike, outstretched her arm towards Wyatt, ready to recall him the second the battle was over. "Don't be humble, Wyatt. Give that Delibird a satisfying result so we can get out of here!"

The Delibird nodded once more, taking notice of the gathering Pokemon but paying them no real mind. "DELI!" The Pokemon shouted into the megaphone, causing some of the wild Pokemon to wince as the sound assaulted their ears.

"Wyatt!"

The Whismur nodded, opening its ears and inhaling deeply. "WHIIIIIIIS!" The Pokemon cried out as loud as it could, causing the Delibird to stumble and fall backwards. Rosa covered her ears as they continued to ring even after the Pokemon ceased its cry. The wild Pokemon around them had closed their eyes and scrunched their bodies, trying their best to protect themselves against the assault.

"Let's get out of here!" Rosa tapped the center of the pokeball, recalling Wyatt. She waited for a second or two for the Delibird to present her with her prize, but the Pokemon continued to sit on the ground, dazed from the literal sound of its crushing defeat. "Ah, heck." she muttered as she twisted the handlebar of her bike, causing it to speed off away from the swarm of Pokemon.

"Deli, deli, deli."

-Inventory-

Spoiler:

- ₽20
- Notebook and Pen
- 4 Pokéballs
- Galarian Pokédex V. 8
- Rosa's ATC
- Old Rod
- Simon's Knit Wooloo Sweater
- Rotom Brand Electric Bike​