Pokemon: A Fresh Start

[{Swan}]

@Romdinner - A really great post, I liked the creativity you always use for battles, and bringing in the Drilbur was a nice addition. And a little suspence at the end too, I guess we'll just have to wait for your next post (;

Snorunt (Winter) grew to lv. 19 and learned Headbutt!
Clover evolved into a Swadloon!
Lily received TM Shadow Ball!

 

[romdinner]

Chapter 4 - Part II
" The Guardian Angel reveals itself!!!"
- Mahogany Town -
​

Another night passed onto Lily's journey as the sun made its way onto the sky. Lily got up at about noon as the last day had been a very chaotic one for her as she had to run the entire day to cure her pokemon so she slept so much to make up for it. She opened her eyes and was greeted by both Clover and Winter which were looking at her with their big joyful eyes. " Morning!" she said rising up and stretching her arms. " Swadloon!!! Snorunt!!!" they replied jumping on her knocking her back into her bed. " Ok, ok guys, cut it out. I have to get up." She said picking them up in her hands and putting them on her pillow. The girl got up and went into the bathroom. After 15 minutes she came out showered, teeth brushed, hair fixed and all dressed and ready for another day of her journey. She packed her things and went down. The old lady was in the kitchen preparing breakfast for her guest. " Here dear take a bite before you leave." She said putting a plate of sunny-side eggs with some bacon on the side. Lily couldn't help but get down and eat as she couldn't resist the smell. The old lady prepared some food for Clover and Winter too which she put into a bowl and handed them to eat next to Lily. " It's delicious, you're very kind." " Oh my dear you deserve every last bit of it. Oh speaking of deserving….let me see where it was again. " the old lady said putting her apron aside and going in the living room and opening a closet. Lily stretched her neck and leaned on the chair to see what the June was referring too. She could see the woman searching in the closet and getting out box after box. " This is it!!!!" the woman said getting a out a tiny red box. The woman rushed back to Lily with the box. " here this is a present for your help. " Oh but you don't have to, it's yours. " " Please I insist, it's mine and I'm giving it to you……and it's of no use to me anymore. Go on open it." She said handing the box to Lily. Lily put her fork down and took the box. She opened it and saw an small shiny disc. " It a TM from back when I was a trainer, Shadow Ball more precisely. It's not as good as the new ones due to the fact that this old model can be used only once and then it's useless. I'm sure you can make use of it somehow. " the woman said smiling looking at winter who was peeking from behind Lily's leg. " Thank you once again. I'll treasure it. " Lily said heading to her bag and putting the box in.

After about half an hour Lily and her pokemon were all ready to leave. " Thank you again for letting us sleep over the night. Take care of yourself." Lily said in front of the door " It was a pleasure my dear and you do to. Good luck on your journey. Hope you'll be a pokemon master in no time. " the woman said as Lily opened the door. She exited the house and took a few steps only to be greeted by a pokemon. " Oh my!! Drilbur what brings you here?" the woman said making her way towards the pokemon and patting him on the head. The mole pokemon enjoyed the pat but his serious personality didn't let him flinch from his staring towards Lily. " You know this Drilbur?" Lily asked surprised realizing that it was the same Drilbur that helped her the other day. " Yes it's a local wild pokemon that sometimes comes into town, but only when other pokemon are in need or in danger. He's our little helper. " " Drilbur!!!" the pokemon cried feeling a bit full of himself. " He informed me yesterday about your Clover and showed me where you were……" the lady said smiling at the pokemon " and he's the same on that helped me getting the berries. " Lily continued surprised. " Thanks for everything Drilbur!" the girl said being more than grateful. " Drillll Drilbur!!" the pokemon cried then got out it's claws at pointed at Lily's pokeballs which were on her belt. " Interesting. Seems this pokemon want to be captured by you! " the old lady said giggling. " By me?!?!?! Ok if that's what you want." Lily said smiling and taking one of her pokeballs and throwing it at Drilbur, but the pokemon tossed it away. " I thought you…." The girl said confused " Drilbur!!! " the mole pokemon cried showing its claws. " Oh I see. How silly of me." Lily said picking her pokeball up. " You want to be my pokemon but I have to be worthy of you I see. " " Drill!!! " the pokemon nodded. " Ok then Clover let's get our new friend into this pokeball. " she said turning to Clover and showing him the empty pokeball. " Winter I want to see how strong Clover is now so no hard feeling ok?" she said towards Winter. But the pokemon didn't care she respected Lily's decision.

The ice pokemon went and griped onto Lily's leg so that she could cheer on for Lily and watch the battle that was to unfold. " You're very cute when you're shy." Lily said smiling then looked in front as Clover was ready for the battle. " Ok Clover let's see how stronger are you now. String Shot and bind Drilbur!!!!" she said making the first move. Clover spit out a silky string that was heading towards Drilbur but the mole waited for the right moment and when the string was about to get him he used his Scratch attack and shred the string into pieces. " Drillbur!!!" he grinned then jumped up into a Rapid Spin. " I guess you're a tough cookie. Clover jump to evade." Lily said as the rotating mole was heading their way. Clover jumped up just as Drilbur was about to hit him, but the mole pokemon was clever and changed course and headed towards Clover but instead of hitting him made the pokemon land on him and made him spin at a high speed just like him making Clover dizzier and dizzier with every spin. " Clover use String Shot again!!!!" Lily said seeing Clover spinning all over the place. Clover spit out the silky web but didn't know in which direction he shot, but this didn't matter to Lily, Drilbur was smart but she was a pure talent when speaking of countering a move. Due to the spinning the silk went all over the place and spread all around Drilbur's body and after a few spins in which the string really got tangled, it let Drilbur completely immobilized. Clover fell from the pokemon and was spinning around helplessly as it was dizzy as hell, it was seeing Starly's flying around it head. It wobbled around until " Clover watch…" it hit a tree " for the tree!" Lily said covering her eyes but then was surprised as the impact made Clover recover from the dizziness.

" All right Clover!!!" she shouted with joy. " Clover even when is silly does the right thing." She thought to herself then smiled. " Ok now Energy Ball while it's still binded!!!" Clover formed a green ball and launched it at Drilbur, hitting the mole pokemon dead on blasting him into the ground, rolling just a few inches away from a bush. Drilbur opened its eyes and jumped on its feet and once again grinned. " Drilburrrrr!!! " the pokemon said using Scratch again and setting itself free but also due to being thrilled by the battle. The mole pokemon went for the ground and started using Mud Slap sending mud balls towards Clover. " Quick Clover counter it with Razor Leaf!!!" Lily yelled seeing the big number of mud balls coming towards Clover. Clover bowed down shaking it's head and a stream of sharp leafs started flying towards Drilbur. The leafs and mud balls met half way. As the leafs cut the mud balls into half they would fall to the ground.

Seeing as this strategy wasn't working Drilbur sent another stream of mud balls then jumped into a Rapid Spin again and being hid by the balls made it way towards Clover. By the time Lily realized that the mud balls were only a decoy Drilbur already made its way near Clover and hit him sending him into a tree. Clover frowned……it was a frown like indicated on the PokePad. Clover slided down of the tree and looked at Lily. " I get it partner!!! " Clover wanted to show Drilbur that he was tough. As the mole pokemon turned around and made its way once again towards Clover still spinning Clover started moving around the place as Lily told it to. Then at the right moment when Drilbur was just above him Lily told Clover to hit it. Clover jumped hitting Drilbur on the tip of its claws. This made Drilbur lose its balance and flew into the same tree that Clover had been sent a few seconds ago. Clover smiled being happy with the result. " Now Clover once last round of Razor Leafs!!!! " " Clover!!!!" shouted the pokemon jumping up and launching the attack. The leafs made their way and hit Drilbur with all of their force making it fall on the ground. The pokemon was barely standing and was breathing hard. " Ok this is it!!!!! " Lily said throwing a pokeball at Drilbur. The ball hit it bouncing off opening in mid air and sucked the mole pokemon in. The ball landed on the ground wobbling every few seconds. " Now my dear is the moment of truth! " the old woman spoke as she had watched the battle from a bench in front of her house. Drilbur was thinking in the ball, thinking about what he saw about the girl, about the battle, about what he learned watching her from the window…….

 

[{Swan}]

Romdinner - Again a great post and great battle!

Swadloon (Clover) grew to lv. 21 and learned Protect!*
Lilly caught a lv. 7 male Drilbur!

*He learned this from evolving.

 

[Groc]

Moe sits in a chair at the Pokemon Center, pointedly ignoring the looks passerby give him. Tank sighs, looking around the Center in boredom from his perch on Moe's head. "Now Tank, we'll leave as soon as Tim apologizes." The boy in question refuses to look at Moe, standing at the counter. The Nurse begins the healing process, eventually handing Tim his team."Here you go, sir! Right as rain!" "Thanks, ma'am. I gotta be going now." Moe stands as Tim passes by, getting his attention. "Well, that was an interesting experience. Care to explain yourself?" "No. It's none of your business." "I should say it is. I hauled you halfway back to town before you woke back up. I deserve an explanation for your little fainting fit." Tim relents, leading Moe out of the Center. "I'm still a rookie trainer. I got my first Pokemon today. I've never had so much fun before. Then you came along and ruined everything. Perfect record, caught two Pokemon, and I was gonna return home a hero." "Hero? That's a bit much, don't you-" "You wanna hear this or not?!" "...I'll be good..." "Anyway... When you knocked out my team, all I could think was that I failed. How can I go on now? I just got overwhelmed, I guess." Moe grips the lad's shoulder, laughing. "Well, that's easy, isn't it? You just do. So what you lost a fight? Dust yourself off, get your partners patched up, and go at it again! Losing is a part of life. You push through, adapt, evolve, overcome! And you get a good story out of it! Just close your eyes and try to smile. I know things are bad, and getting worse, but after all this you can rest awhile. And then you'll go have another adventure!"

Tim stares at Moe, dumbfounded. "...That something you rehearsed, or did you just come up with that spur of the moment?" Moe laughs sheepishly. "A-ha-ha... I got a little... carried away, I guess. But, who cares! It's in the past, and I'll just keep moving on! That's what an adventure is all about, you see?" Tim nods, stopping in front of a house. "Thanks, mister. This is my house. I'll take a break, and head back out tomorrow." "That's the spirit! Onwards and upwards! Allons-y!" "What does that even mean?" "Well, it's French. For 'let's go'. I'm rather fond of saying it." "Whatever. See ya." With that, the boy heads inside, leaving Moe and Tank alone in the street. "...Right! You think we can make it to New Mahogany before night?" Tank nods, pointing forward and chirping enthusiastically. "Alright, then! But first, get off my head. My neck's starting to hurt." Moe carries Tank as he heads onto the path for the third time, determined to take it straight to New Mahogany. "No more distractions! We're on our way!"

*Exactly 10 minutes later*

An angry-looking dog blocks the path, growling at Moe. It's black fur and skull-like headpiece suggest a Dark-type, verified by the PokePad. "Houndour, eh? Certainly looks pretty dour. Tank, start off with a Water Pulse!" Houndour Howls, it's challenge interrupted by the Pulse striking it in the throat. Suddenly, more Howls can be heard from the trees nearby, at least five more fairly close by. "Oh. Tank? Return." Moe recalls Tank, running down the path. He leaps over the stunned Houndour on the path, not looking back for anything. The Houndour, for it's part, is too confused to give chase, tripping over it's own feet and smacking it's face into the ground.

"Come to mama..." A nearby trainer, hiding in the bushes, tosses a Dusk Ball, capturing the confused dog inside. The Howls sound again, closer this time, and the female trainer decides running might be a good idea after all.

((Short and mainly irrelevant post, I know, but I wanted to post something and get Moe on his way to New Mahogany.))

 

[{Swan}]

@Godzil - Short and irrelevant as it may be, it was an amusing read, and sure to promise a nice sequel (:

 

[moon]

chapter 4 - part I
Ashton Elden, Old Mahogany Town

- Fish Gun -​

The night at the ranger station was pleasant, or at least it would have been to most people. But Ashton complained loudly about the uncomfortable bed, even though he had praised the ranger for all the good food just before they went to bed. Rebecca grew to annoyed that Ashton really thought she would leave him the morning after. When they kept walking down the road, saying good bye to the ranger, they finally reached the next town.

"Welcome to the Home of the Ninja!" a dilapidated wooden sign said in front of the ghost of a town they stood at the edge of. Rebecca sighed and Ashton dropped his jaw.

"Is this what we came for? Do they even have a pokémon center?" he said.

"Yes," Rebecca snapped. "I've been here before, but you clearly haven't. Were you born in Blackthorn under a rock or something?"

"No, I was born in Ecruteak..." Ashton said, suddenly remembering that Rebecca had said that she was from the same town. But she didn't listen to that.

"Let's meet at the pokémon center later," she said, turning away.

"Wait, where are you going?"

"Shopping!"

With that, she turned around a corner and was gone. Ashton threw an unhappy look after her. "Are all women like that?" he asked Astrid, the Aipom on his shoulder. She shook her head violently and patted him on the head with her tail.

The city was really dead. He saw some people here and there but most of them were old and stared at him when he went by. Weren't there even a trainer here? He felt like battling; they hadn't done any training today yet.

As if to reply to his wish, he suddenly saw a boy further down the street. The only young person in Mahogany except for himself and the grumpy girl! He ran up to the boy but realized too late who it was, when he turned around to face Ashton and the latter came to a sudden stop.

"You?" Lucas said, raising a truly surprised eyebrow at Ashton.

"Me!" Ashton said, just as surprised. OK, maybe not.

Lucas smiled deviously. "I would never have thought that you would make it this far. It seems like you have gotten help from someone."

"How's that?" Ashton said, angrily.

"Simple. You are too dumb to go this far from Blackthorn on your own."

Ashton was about to throw himself on the dark haired boy, but Astrid slapped him, making him come back to his senses somewhat. "Hrm... let's have a pokémon battle!" Ashton said instead.

Lucas laughed. "Again? My, my. You will only lose again."

"Not this time! I've got a full pokémon team with me! And I know more than I did last time!"

"Really, now? Well, I suppose a bit of training is never wrong. Shall we battle with 2 pokémon each this time?"

"Sure!" Ashton said and thought about what pokémon to use against Lucas' dragon this time. He wasn't too sure about type match-ups, he ought to read up better on that.

"Dratini," Lucas said and sent out the same dragon as Ashton had battle before.

"Francis!" Ashton said and sent out a pokémon that he had never used before in battle. But Lucas didn't know that. The Remoraid looked nervously back at Ashton, jumping on the ground and kind of asking his trainer if this really was a good idea.

"You choose to battle my dragon with a fish? You truly are a peculiar person," Lucas said, clearly amused. "Dratini, let us get over with this quickly. Twister."

Dratini's eyes glowed and a vicious whirlstorm was suddenly whipped up from nowhere around it. It seemed to sparkle and glow with an energy, as it moved towards Francis on the ground. The fish was terrified.

"Francis, don't despair!" Ashton smiled. Astrid held her hands over her eyes though, as the Twister hit her team mate. "Francis, Lock On!"

"Lock on? Do you really think it can aim properly when inside that twisting nether?" Lucas asked.

"Now, Water Gun!" From the twister came a thin ray of forceful water, and it hit Dratini straight on in the face. Apparently it hurt quite a lot, for the twister subsided and Dratini shivered.

Lucas' smile faltered a little. "Strange," he said. "Use Thunder Wave."

Francis looked a bit roughed up after the twister, but still had energy in him. It looked more determined than nervous
now. Then came the Thunder Wave through the air, paralyzing the fish and restraining the flopping that let him move on the ground. Bad!

"Lock On!" Ashton commanded hastily.

"Dratini, Dragon Rage," Lucas said calmly. Ashton knew that attack all too well.

"Acid Spray!" he quickly said, and a dangerously fuming purple liquid was shot from Remoraid's mouth towards the dragon at the same time as a blue energy beam flew from Dratini's head. The two attacks met in the middle, but being of completely different materia, they didn't crash. Instead, they hit their targets and Francis yelled from the intensive crackling energy beam that he was unable to escape from due to his paralysis. Dratini hadn't escaped either; it was covered in the oozing liquid and its skin looked like it was boiling for a moment.

"Oh, my god," Ashton said hesitantly, feeling he had been a bit too mean now. But then he noticed Lucas' smile and saw that Dratini shrugged in a strange way and all of a sudden let its skin... fly off! Taking the acid with it. Underneath the rags of the old skin, floating down towards the ground, a fresh Dratini stood, looking virtually unharmed.

"Shed Skin," Lucas said softly. "Abilities can come in handy."

Ashton thought hard. Abilities... yes. He had looked up the abilities of his pokémon earlier. He could use this to his advantage! He ran forth, standing between the now hurt Remoraid.

"Is there a rule saying that trainers aren't allowed to touch their pokémon during a battle?" he asked Lucas.

"Hm? I do not think so, but normally trainers do not want to get caught in the crossfire, so they stay away. Were you planning on doing otherwise?"

"You bet!" Ashton said and picked up Francis, holding the fish under his right arm.

"What are you doing?" Lucas asked, actually looking interested.

"Battling! Francis, we have to skip the Lock On attack, it takes too much time. I'll aim and you shoot!"

Francis looked up at his trainer nervously. This must be the strangest thing the fish had done in his life so far, even stranger than jumping around out of water. Lucas sighed and laughed a little. "If that really is how you want to play... then suit yourself. Dratini, Twister!"

The crackling twister, larger than Ashton himself, came spinning towards them. Alright, Ashton thought. Time to do what his pokémon always did. Fight. He ran away from the twister, to the side of the battlefield. The speed of the whirlstorm didn't seem to change, but its direction did and it kept coming towards them. "We'll have to keep running then," the trainer said, and feinted, running to the other side of the field. Astrid cheered worriedly from behind a lamp post.

"Francis, you ready?" Ashton said as he ran closer to a rather confused Dratini. "Water Gun!" As they passed the dragon, Ashton aimed as well as he could, holding the fish, and Francis sprayed his beam of water at its opponent. It was hit, and a bit annoyed, but not hurt much. The recoil from the attack jetted Ashton forward, making him escape the twister faster.

Lucas watched them run around and gritted his teeth. This was madness, after all. Running from the twister... the twister? Looking back around, he saw the twister coming straight at him and Dratini. Ashton had lured it right towards them! Did that mean he wasn't all stupid? But he wouldn't take Lucas down that easily.

"Dratini, stop the twister. It's your own creation, you can control it!" he said, and Dratini focused and made the Twister subside in the nick of time. "Haha," Lucas said.

"Haha!" Ashton said, suddenly standing right in front of them, aiming a living bazooka under his arm. "Acid Spray!"

The icky acid bubbled out from the Remoraid's mouth, not quite as concentrated this time but still potent, and hit Dratini hard.

"Shed skin again!" Lucas commanded, but it didn't seem to be something that Dratini could do right now. It twisted around in pain and suddenly fainted from it all, its skin burning red from the poisonous liquid.

"Return," Lucas said, reluctantly. He looked straight at Ashton then, who couldn't really believe that his weird strategy had worked.

"What a sniper you are!" he told Francis and held the fish up, performing a happy little victory dance right there and then. Astrid joined them on the ground.

"Sniper..." Lucas said slowly, realizing something. "That is your Remoraid's ability, is it not?"

Ashton nodded cleverly. "It is! I guessed that if I only got him to aim at a good enough angle and focus well enough, he'd pull off some critical hits rather easily!"

Lucas nodded too, not smiling. "Clever, indeed. However, I am not sure that this... fish gun strategy of yours will be allowed in every kind of battle. You better ask before you pick your Remoraid up."

Not expecting an advise, Ashton blinked. "I'll... remember that," he said, stopping his dance.

"Well... shall we get on with it?" Lucas said, taking forth another pokéball.

"What do you mean?"

Lucas smiled again. "It was a 2 on 2 battle, was it not? We are not finished here."

Ashton swallowed. Remoraid was tired, but still urged him on with its tiny fins flapping. Yeah... they would carry on.


((OOC: Part 2 of the battle will come up later.))

 

[{Swan}]

@RHCP - Wow.... That's some strategy, but it's so Ashton xD I really love how out-of-the-box he is, in the most idiotic ways.

Remoraid (Francis) grew to lv. 10 and learned Psybeam!

 

[moon]

chapter 4 - part II
Ashton Elden, Old Mahogany Town

- Berry Territory -​

Lucas pulled out a new pokéball and sent out a pokémon that Ashton hadn't seen before. "Girafarig," Lucas said with a smug smile. "Part normal, part psychic. Now, what would you send out against something like this?"

Ashton gulped. He wasn't sure... Francis would surely be squashed by those feet. As saved by the bell, someone suddenly called out for them and caught the attention of both boys. Down the street, an old lady came walking, eyes intently focused on the trainers.

"Hello," she said when she came up to Ashton. "You are travelers from out of town, are you not?"

"Lady, we are having a pokémon battle here," Lucas said, annoyed. "Unless you want to get caught in the crossfire, I suggest you step aside.

The lady quickly looked at the Girafarig, the Remoraid and the Aipom on Ashton's shoulder. "Yes, that is wonderful! I need help from some trainers."

"We are busy, your matter will have to wait!" Lucas said, notably angrier.

"Calm down, will ya?" Ashton told him. "The lady is in trouble, we can at least listen to what she wants?"

"If you do not recommence battling within a few seconds, I will count it as your forfeit. And I win."

Ashton gulped again. He didn't want to lose against Lucas again! And he didn't usually care about other people's problems unless it really bothered him in any way... but Lucas' behavior made Ashton angry in a way he didn't often feel.

Just then, without the boys noticing, Rebecca turned around a corner and came in on their street, seeing the battle and the lady. She approached Ashton when she heard him say: "How can you be so rude? We can continue this battle later!"

"Time is up. You lose now, if you do not start battling."

"You... but..."

"Oh, don't mind me then," the lady said with a weak smile. "There are travelers coming through now and then, I will probably find someone else to help me... hopefully in time..."

"I..." Ashton looked from the lady to Lucas, who wore a smug smile again. He thought he had outsmarted Ashton. Ashton refused to be like Lucas! "Fine!" he said. "You can have this fake victory. I'll go help the lady!"

And with that, he sent Francis back to his pokéball, took the old lady by her arm and marched away down the street. Lucas sighed and sent back Girafarig to its pokéball as well, before walking away in the other direction, passing Rebecca by without looking at her. She quickly ran after the boy and the lady to catch up.

"Young man, no need to run. Yet," the lady said, motioning for Ashton to slow down.

"Sorry," Ashton said, blushing all of a sudden. "I just... uh, wanted to get away from him."

The lady smiled. "Ah, rivalries. I remember what it's like."

"You do?"

"I used to be a pokémon trainer myself, you know."

"Really!"

"Ashton!"

"Waah!"

Astrid fell off his shoulder when her trainer jumped at Rebecca's voice. "What was that about? Who were you battling?" she asked him.

"A stupid dragon trainer person from Blackthorn," Ashton muttered. "He... won..."

"I heard the ending," Rebecca said softly. "You did the right thing. I'm proud." She smiled towards him and he met her eyes, surprised.

"So you're not mean anymore?"

"Mean!?"

"Rivalry indeed," the lady chuckled and made the young ones notice her again.

"Oh, what was your problem, madam?" Rebecca asked her.

The lady explained - first, that her name was Rose and then - that one of her old pokémon had caught a nasty flu. Normally it wouldn't be a problem, as Rose was quite versed in the making of potions and herbal medicines and often had townsfolk coming to her for advice. But now, she had run out of one important ingredient: Aspear berries. She had been asking travelers if they had any that they could spare, but people didn't seem to collect berries as much nowadays as before. So now she asked them to travel up the mountainside and pick some berries for her. Her old legs couldn't do it. Ashton regretted having said that he would help her; it sounded like a big bother. But Rebecca insisted on them going and soon dragged Ashton along on route 43.

The route was pretty after all, with pine forests lining the road. To Ashton, it lokoed much like the last route they were on though.

"I wonder if there are any wild pokémon here..." he thought out loud as they were walking. Astrid clapped her hands at the possibility.

"Oh, no you don't. First we've gotta find the berries!" Rebecca said.

Ashton looked around, annoyed. He was getting hungry as well. Maybe the berries were good to eat? Soon, he spotted something colorful in a bush. "Look there! That must be it!" he said and pointed.

"But Ashton... how are we going to get up there?" Rebecca asked, worried. The bushes grew high up on some steep mountain ledges. It would be no easy climb... no wonder Rose knew she couldn't do it alone. Ashton thought hard, sitting down on a rock. Astrid was staring at him from another rock until Ashton stared back. Then she smiled, and he got an idea.

"Of course! Our pokémon!"

Rebecca blinked and looked up at the ledges. "Our pokémon? They can pick the berries for us, yes!"

"Let's see... Francis probably can't climb, and I dunno about Elektra and Babar... But Djingis and Caesar probably can, right?" He sent out his Cryogonal and Zubat. Djingis greeted him with a cheerful cry, but Caesar mostly seemed annoyed at not having been out of the pokéball for too long. "Guys, can you fly up to the bushes there and fetch a bunch of berries? Without completely freezing them over or eating them!" he added when he realized that Caesar would carry them in his mouth and Djingis with his ice chains. "She'll have to wash the berries..."

"Haha, I bet she does. I wonder... Ripip probably can't make it up those ledges, but Theo and Flay can!" With that, Rebecca sent out her Teddiursa and the Flaafy.

As the four pokémon, and Astrid of course, bounded up the mountainside, Ashton took forth his poképad and got a reading on Flaafy. "An electric type!" he said.

"Yeah, they can be found around these parts, actually," Rebecca said. "Flay comes from a farm near Ecruteak though. She was a gift to me since my parents are friends with the family on that farm, but she was a Mareep back then."

Pulling herself back out from her dreams, she noticed that Ashton had stopped looking at his poképad and now was looking at her, absentmindedly almost. She smiled. What a strange boy he was. Lazy, but not as selfish as he seemed to think he was. Reckless, but not without care for his pokémon.

He noticed her noticing him, and blushed. His cheeks seemed to often turn red these days.

Up on the steep mountain ledges, Astrid and Djingis were racing Theo and Flay. Djingis, flying, was the quickest to reach the bushes, but Flay was really quick too, jumping her way forth. Even though Astrid was agile with her tail, Theo was sure on his foot in mountain areas and in the end it was a tie between those two. Panting, they looked in front of them to see all the berries on the bushes. Quite abundant, actually. Happily, the pokémon started foraging.

Caesar wasn't as happy and cheerful though. He zoomed around over them, not really wanting to help. He thought all this was strange and not really nice... to be a trainer's pokémon wasn't fun at all. He didn't even get to battle. He missed his pack of Zubat in the Ice Path. He was bored, generally. As he flied down lower over the bunch of pokémon, he heard something from the forest behind the bushes. Caesar, like all the Zubats, used ultrasonic waves to make a picture of the surroundings in his head. Therefore it didn't matter that it was dark under the trees - he saw it anyways: a whole bunch of wild pokémon! And by the looks of their stances, they were watching Rebecca's and Ashton's pokémon picking berries... from their bushes. Oh-oh.

Even though he wanted not to care, he couldn't just do nothing now. Sighing, he flew down to warn his teammates. His screeching made Astrid and Djingis look up and become more alert. Just then, two pokémon lounged from the forest. A Houndour and a Drilbur!

The Houndour tried to attack Ashton's pokémon with an Ember, but they managed to jump aside. But they dropped the berries and the attack burned a bit of a bush! Astrid lounged back, Scratching the Houndour. But it sent out a Smog that surrounded the monkey and made her eyes tear and her throat choke.

Djingis came to the rescue by hitting the Houndour with Ice Shards. The shards prickled the dog, making it step back and shake its head. Meanwhile, Djingis worriedly couldn't see any other solution to the Smog than to reach in with its ice chains and Binding Astrid, taking her away from the poisonous cloud and putting her down on a safe patch of ground. She was cold from the icy chains, but thanked the Cryogonal with a smile. Just then, Houndour jumped back at them, Howling loudly and forcing Astrid and Djingis to shudder. Another pokémon walked up behind Houndour: a Mareep! It looked a bit scared of the Houndour, maybe they were enemies usually. But both pokémon seemed to love berries and would rather cooperate to save their property now than to see it taken away by some trainer owned losers!

Astrid was still a bit weak from the Smog, which had luckily dispersed by now. She looked over to the other side of the bushes to see Theo and Flay having defeated the Drilbur. But now, new pokémon came out from the forest to stop them. They could be countless... Flay looked like she was ready to fight no matter what, but Theo met Astrid's gaze, also realizing that it might be hopeless. Astrid looked at Djingis, who was as cheerful as ever, despite the grim outlooks. Yeah... they simply had to get a message through to the wild pokémon.

She stood up and told the Houndour and the Mareep that they only needed a few berries, not all of them. The wild pokémon said they would get none, and took some steps forward, seemingly to drive Astrid towards the edge of the ledge. Alright... time for plan B. They had to get another message through. That they weren't a force to be trifled with. Time to battle.

Astrid jumped at Houndour to Astonish it, and Djingis swung its Ice Chains towards Mareep to Bind it. Astrid succeeded, making Houndour flinch. She took her chance and... Tickled it, for all she was worth. Houndour, luckily, was extremely ticklish and couldn't keep a straight face from this. It laughed out loud and tried to kick or scratch Astrid off without success. Mareep, however, avoided the ice chains and Tackled Djingis. The ice pokémon, slightly hurt, flew up into the sky above the sheep. Mareep Growled, but not in the cute fashion. More as if it dared the Cryogonal to come closer again. Djingis didn't come closer. Instead it fired Ice Shards down onto the ground, accidentally hitting a bush and freezing all the berries there over. Mareep avoided the attack as well as she could, but soon some shards hit her and slowed her down enough to let more shards fall on her fluffy body. The wool didn't take all the power away from the impact, only a little.

Houndour had had enough of the tickling and sent out a Smog again. Afraid of getting caught this time, Astrid jumped away. Houndour apparently wasn't affected by the smoke though, and could see through it. Because a rather well aimed Ember attack came out from it and hit Astrid. She was getting weak... not good. How was Flay and Theo doing? Rather well. They had just fought back a pair of Deerlings, but looked rather pumped out. Houndour came out from the dissolving Smog cloud and growled menacingly at Astrid.

"Get away while you still can," it wanted to say.

"Cryooo!" Astrid's teammate cried out and flung its ice chains towards Houndour. They hit, and squeezed the dog hard, making it yelp. The Mareep was looking rather bruised up in the background, melting shards of ice in her wool and around her feet. Astrid giggled in a weird but thankful way. Djingis apparently put the safety of his friends high.

"You should get some manners," she told the ice chain bound Houndour and Bounced high up into the sky... only to land hard on top of the dog, knocking it out.

When the other pokémon saw the Houndour getting knocked out by the trainers' pokémon, they backed off. Maybe they could have some berries after all. Theo cheerfully ran over to Astrid and Flay followed, looking relieved but still proud. Djingis was... like he always was.

Wait, what about Caesar then? Through all this, he had been flapping around above them, not really feeling like doing anything. Now he came down, put a few berries into his mouth, and flied down to hand them to Ashton. Astrid wasn't really happy with that "teammate"... but what could she do now?

They limped back down to their trainers, who were chatting together right where the pokémon left them.

"There, that wasn't too hard, was it?" Ashton happily said when the pokémon came up to him. They all facepalmed.

- - -

They were back in Mahogany when it was starting to get dark. Rose was immensely happy with the help and cooked up the medicine for her pokémon immediately. That was not all; she also made an Aspear pie since they had brought back a lot of berries and she only needed one... something she had failed to mention. So they got dinner and a place to stay for the night there.

As they were going to sleep, Rose came up to the couch where Ashton lay, with something in her hand.

"I wanted to give you this," she said and handed him an old looking disc, small enough to fit in his palm.

"What is it?"

"An old fashioned TM. Technical Machine, that is. My husband used to be a TM-crafter and there are a lot of these just laying around the house. I was thinking about you and your rival earlier. Giving your pokémon some TM moves might give them an upper hand against strong trainers in the future," Rose said, blinking towards the boy. "What move this particular TM teaches stands on the back of the disc."

"Thanks..." Ashton said, actually happy. When Rose left the room, Ashton thought out loud: "Maybe it's not too bad to help people out after all. Or what do you say, guys?" he asked his pokémon, who he had let out from the pokéballs for the night. Elektra, Francis and Babar nodded with varying intensity, Caesar didn't care and Astrid and Djingis were already deeply asleep. "Strange. Berry picking must be really tiresome, I'm so glad I didn't do it myself."

 

[{Swan}]

@RHCP - Oooh, quite an interesting post. It was a nice change of pace to read about a battle with only Pokemon, and I feel like their personalities really came through that way.

Aipom (Astrid) grew to lv. 18 and learned Fury Swipes!
Astrid can't learn anymore moves, do you want her to forget one?
Crygonoal (Djingis) grew to lv. 10 and learned Sharpen!
Zubat (Caesar) grew to lv. 8!
Ahston received TM91: Flash Cannon!

 

[TiTaN.JuStIn]

(OOC: From now on, I might be using perspective changes quite a lot. Enjoy.

Also, this color is for Twinleaf and this color is for Dragontooth. )

Chapter 2: A Wild Dash in the Ice Path​

The walk wasn't short. After Richard left the city of Blackthorn, he walked 10 more minutes. He followed a road, a newly polished gray road made of hard and strong rock. The road led him through trees and different wild pokemon passed by, but Richard had no time battling or capturing any of the pokemon. He just wanted to quickly get to his next destination, Mahogany Town.

Trotting, Richard remembered an old fairy tale about a young girl in a land of fairies, who followed a yellow road just to get back home. On her way, she met friends and foes alike, and, in the end, she made it back to the land of Kanto. What was the name of the story? Oh right, The Wizard of Spots. Or whatever it was, Richard didn't remember the title. But that didn't matter. The story now concerned him and his Pokemon journey. He somehow knew that he was like that girl, trying to achieve his ultimate goal, getting in the Johto League, and, possibly, become a Pokemon Master.

Richard snapped out of his thoughts. He laughed. He was a 16-year old teenager, who now thought like a 4-year old toddler, thinking about fake tales and stuff. He looked forward. There, right in front of him, were two tunnels. The one on the left was a wide tunnel with a wide asphalt road, probably for car and public transports. On the right was a familiar smaller cave, small light coming from the darkness within. Richard knew this tunnel well. He almost died of cold there. The thought just made his shiver once more as he sneezed and covered his mouth with his arm.

At first, Richard just stood there silently, occasionally hearing distant Kricketot sounds. He stood five more minutes staring at his path dumbly, a Murkrow passing by and crying. No more delays. Just run. Richard thought. He straightened up and trotted forward, almost jogging. He already decided what would he do during his journey through this icy path. He and his pokemon were engulfed in darkness when they finally entered the tunnel.

---

Twinleaf looked at his trainer excitedly. Being back in the road was nice, but he was a bit worried about his trainer's health. He didn't want to be delayed again. Quietly, he followed Richard, Dragontooth by his side. They were pacing fast this time, making Twinleaf worry even more about his trainer.

Dragontooth, meanwhile, didn't look so worried. She herself looked a bit depressed. Twinleaf wondered why. She had been in this state for a few days already, and still no signs of mood change. Twinleaf decided that he should ask or at least cheer her up a bit. He went closer to her.

'What's wrong, Rock Head?' – Twinleaf asked, teasingly.

The Bagon only looked up and glared at Twinleaf. 'Go away… I'm not in a mood to listen to your blabbering…' – she growled. Twinleaf was wide-eyed. He never saw Dragontooth this angry. And he meant that by saying 'Calm Anger'.

'Sis, what's cooking?' – Twinleaf tilted his head to the head and asked.

'Don't you dare call me Sis.' – was the Bagon's answer.

'You've gotta cheer up, Hot Head. Nothing good will happen when you're like that.' – Twinleaf tried to cheer her up. Apparently, the 'Hot Head' didn't like what she was called and growled more. She was now showing her teeth even more, those razor-sharp white teeth. Her eyes were full of rage, but she was somehow bearing it all. 'Shut up.' – she calmly said, before the anger vanished and her face didn't show any emotions. And Twinleaf did as he was told. Looks like Dragontooth was in no mood to accept jokes or cheer-ups.

He looked forward as the tunnel deepened. He could barely see a small light behind, coming from the entrance. In front of him, Richard was going fast, panting and sweating at the same time. Time was going fast. They were already running for 10 minutes. And to Richard, Twinleaf understood, it was hard to jog that long. He watched many wild pokemon look at him with mixed expressions: a Swinub was looking at him happily, about 5 Snorunts were looking at him with scared expressions, a Bronzor was looking angrily at the trio, and the Zubats and Woobats didn't care in the world what they were doing. But the most strange thing Twinleaf noticed was that Richard didn't stop once to look at the wild pokemon around him. He was just walking wildly, still panting hard and sneezing sometimes. Twinleaf was even about to nudge his trainer to stop and look at a wall, where a Sneasel was sleeping peacefully, but Richard didn't stop, only saying: "Not yet. Just a few more minutes and let's have a break." Twinleaf managed to facepalm himself with his stumps and grunted at the same time. He couldn't watch this. Richard was missing all the rare pokemon. Zubats and Woobats appeared quite often, there was a sleeping Sneasel that the trio passed early, multiple Bronzor glared again and again at Richard, and a Vanilite was giggling in the shadows of one of the side –tunnels. There was even a lost Super Potion left near the wall, but Richard didn't even stop to look at it. Looks like his trainer was really determined.

After five more minutes, Richard finally stopped with a sudden halt, panting really hard. He took out his handkerchief and wiped his sweat with it. Twinleaf was really surprised for the first time at his trainer's attitude. He knew Richard could never run that fast and long, but he managed to run for 30 minutes non-stop with only a bottle of water and a handkerchief. When he finally sat down at the right side of the wall, Twinleaf noticed his hard breathing and red face. His mouth was open wide, so that he could breathe as much air as possible. Twinleaf was now scared. What was wrong with his companions?

---

For the first time Dragontooth saw her trainer be so determined to get to the next city as fast as possible. She now smiled a bit. This was something she liked about her trainer.

"Wow guys, look! A Zubat!"

Dragontooth facepalmed. It wasn't determination after all, but just being lost in his own mind.

She sat next to Richard, as he took out a Sandwich from his backpack and two food plates for his pokemon. He poured some strange yellow stuff on one plate and water on the other. "Here guys, share." – he said as he put the plates in front of her. The yellow stuff looked weird. It looked like a curved brownish apple which was sliced thinly. She looked at Richard with a strange look. 'What is this?' – she asked.

Richard somehow understood what Dragontooth was asking. "These are called Patato Chips." –Richard explained – "They are thinly sliced Patatoes, which were cooked in Sunflora's Oil. Try it. It's good."

Dragontooth tried to pick up one of the 'patato chips'. But when she tried to grab it, the 'patato chip' only made a cracking noise and crumbled into pieces. Dragontooth was confused. She tried to pick up one more piece, but she ended up with the same results. Meanwhile, Twinleaf didn't have much luck. He managed to put one chip on his leg and slowly put it on his mouth. The turtle chewed the crunchy food for some time until his eyes brightened up and he started to pick more chips the same way. 'It's really gooooooood!' – was what he said during his bites. Dragontooth decided to pick up the chip her own way. This time she grabbed the chip the same way, but she used as less strength as possible. Successfully, she managed to bring the chip to her mouth. She bit it and chewed it slowly. The flavor was strange. It tasted like garlic and at the same time like rotten milk. And Dragontooth didn't like neither garlic nor rotten milk. She spit the remains of the chip and growled at the horrible taste.

"What's wrong? Flavor?" – Richard asked with concern, trying to pick out some cucumbers from his sandwich. He put his hand into his backpack and took out a strange bag. He opened it and took an another plate, putting the chips with a different flavor there. He gave it to Dragontooth with a smile:
"Try this one."

Dragontooth took the chip carefully and put it in her mouth. This time, the chip was delicious. It felt like she was eating fresh prey in the wilderness, just what she used to before Richard caught her. She swallowed the chip and happily continued eating the rest of the chips.

---

Richard looked at his pokemon happily munching what was he brought from his house. His Uncle was a good cook, making chips of different flavor. He understood that Twinleaf like Garlic and Sour Cream, while Dragontooth really enjoyed Beef. His Uncle actually didn't use real meat, but got some strange powder and mixed it with fish, which ended up with this same taste. Richard liked his Uncle whenever he would do something unique or interesting. And this was one of the examples. He smiled as he ate his sandwich bit by bit and looking at the lamp lit ceiling of the ice cave.

(OOC: This time I wanted to have my character take a "break" with his pokemon. Richard is so dumba... Never mind.)

 

[{Swan}]

@TJ - Great post, it's nice to read about a break every once in awhile C: Just becareful with the colours though, I'm using the "top dog" skin, so my background is nearly white. I can just about read Dragontooth's text, but I'd prefer it if you'd darkened it a little.

 

[moon]

Ashton Elden
chapter 4 - part III

- River Race -​

The next day, Ashton, Rebecca and their pokémon went out on the road again, leaving Old Mahogany behind and saying goodbye to Rose the old lady. Ashton had the TM in his backpack, not sure what to do with it. Should I give it to a pokémon? he thought. Flash cannon... maybe Francis could pull it off? "A silver bazooka... awesome!"

"What?" Rebecca said, raising an eyebrow. They were walking side by side on route 43, north, the still rising sun behind them. The road was easily traveled, being wide and having pine trees only at the sides. There was also a small river running alongside the road, and big flashy signs every other meter - at least it felt like it - advertising the place they were heading to: New Mahogany, the skii resort in the winter and the beach resort in the summer.

"Uh, nothing at all!" Ashton said, realizing that he had thought out loud again.

"Alright," Rebecca laughed and kept walking. She was her normal pleasant self again, instead of the rather annoyed type she'd been when they reached Old Mahogany. Ashton had decided that she was a person who needed to eat on a regular basis to not get cranky. And obviously she didn't keep track of that herself, so he would have to make sure she ate properly on proper times, in order to escape her temper... jeez, women. He didn't normally take care of himself, "How could I take care of her as well?"

"What now?" Rebecca said, raising both eyebrows this time.

"Nothing at-"

"Oh, stop it. You're thinking about something, aren't you? What's up?"

"Uh..." He wasn't going to tell her what was on his mind, so he quickly made up something else instead. "How many pokémon have you got, really?" There, it wasn't too bad. He had actually been wondering that. The girl just smiled.

"Maybe I'll tell you some day, she said. But I did tell you about my father, right?"

"No, what? All I know is that you're from the same town as I am. But I've never seen you in school."

"I was homeschooled, and I'm not born in Ecruteak," Rebecca said, blushing a little. Strange. Normally Ashton was the one doing the blushing. "My father travels a lot and sometimes he takes us with him. He has a lot of pokémon and has given me some and helps me catch some. But Ripip and some others, I've caught myself!"

"Some others...?"

Rebecca winked at him. "I've got more pokémon than you do, let's leave it at that."

"Wait, why are you always telling me that I shouldn't catch this many then?" Ashton said angrily when she just kept walking while he stopped.

"Because you're catching them so quickly. You should train the ones you already have before catching even more."

"I am training them! Tell you what, I challenge you to a battle here and now!"

Rebecca turned around and stopped walking too. "Are you sure?"

"I won the last battles, why wouldn't I win now?" Ashton gleamed.

"Hm... we should get moving to Mahogany... but maybe we could to a race battle again?"

"Race.. ah, like in Ice Path?"

"Exactly!"

"Haha, right! This time, I'll use... Babar!" Ashton said and sent out his dragon type. Babar yawned, as if it had been sleeping, and tried to bite in the air for lack of a better way to say hi at the moment.

"Alright, then I'll take Flay!" Rebecca said and sent out her strong looking Flaafy. The sheep snorted at Babar, but the dragon growled back. Both were ready for battle.

The well kept path lay straight before them, the river running alongside it on their right side, before the rocky slopes began and a forest laying on their left side that wasn't only pine trees anymore. It looked denser than the forest where they had battled the Armaldo.

"Ready, set, go!" Rebecca said and started running, before Ashton had time to react.

"Hey, wait up!" he said and started running as well, Babar tagging along with its tongue hanging out like a happy dog. "Let's not give them that head start for free, Babar, use Dragon Rage on Flaafy!"

The Deino loaded up and shot out its blue, crackling beam and hit Flay in the back. The Flaafy stumbled, getting hit right in the back. The boy and the dragon caught up with them, smiling cleverly.

"Give them a taste of their own medicine," Rebecca said to her pokémon. "Thundershock!"

Flay shocked Babar, who slowed down a little from the pain. A jolt hopped over to Ashton, who got struck as well. "Watch it!" he said. "Babar, Bite Flay's tail!"

The dragon lounged forward, easily sensing with its every sense except for eyesight where the sheep's tail was and grabbing it with its strong jaws and teeth. He braked and pulled, and the Flaafy had to stop, squealing from the pain.

"That's not nice!" Rebecca said, not wanting to stop as Ashton jogged on. "Flay, come back! Ripip, go!" She took back the electric type to its pokéball and sent out the tiny rat instead, as Babar started running after Ashton who had now caught up with the girl. Both humans were starting to get a bit flustered, panting when they gave out their orders.

"Babar, Dragon Rage!"

"Ripip, Sucker Punch!"

The Rattata managed to sneak in and give a dark powered tackle to the dragon before the energy attack had fully loaded up. The result was a loud splash as the Deino fell into the river. It struggled against the stream, not really a good swimmer.¨

"Argh, Babar! Back!" Ashton said, unwillingly stopping and taking back his pokémon to its pokéball while Rebecca and Ripip ran away from them. "Let's turn this around... Francis!"

The Remoraid came out and jumped into the river immediately. It easily broke through the stream, swimming faster than Ashton could run on land. Soon it caught up with the girl and the rat, Ashton trying hard to catch up on land. "Use Water Gun!"

Francis winked at Ripip and then dove down under water. The rat got distracted for a moment, wondering what the fish was up to, when Francis then came up again and launched a forceful blast of water that blew Ripip off the road. It also splashed Rebecca, wetting the girl's clothes.

"Not nice!" Rebecca said, waiting a moment for Ripip to get back up on its feet. Ashton caught up with them and all three ran alongside each other, the boy with a big smile and the girl with a grumpy face. Then she looked forward and suddenly grew an even wider smile. "Tough luck!" she said, and he turned his head forward as well.

The river bent off from the road, going in through the forest instead! Francis panicked, flopping around, not knowing what to do. He wouldn't be at all as fast flopping around on land... unless...

"Francis jump up to me!" Ashton said.

"What?" Rebecca exclaimed.

The fish realized what his trainer was thinking and happily jumped out of the water into the arms of the boy. "Now, Lock On!" Ashton said, holding the Remoraid under his arm like some kind of cannon. Just like he had done in the battle against Lucas.

"You are too strange!" Rebecca said, trying to outrun the boy. "Ripip, Quick Attack!"

"Psybeam!" Ashton shouted at the same time as Rebecca gave out her attack. Thanks to the Lock On, the attack hit swiftly and precisivly. A strange beam that seemed to be of a very different kind of energy than Babar's Dragon Rage was shot from Francis' mouth and blew the tiny Rattata off the road once again. This time it didn't get up again. Rebecca sent it back into the pokéball and stopped for a moment, catching her breath. Ashton stopped too, doing the same, still holding a happy Francis under his arm.

"You are... so strange," she repeated.

"Thanks, you're just plain normal and boring yourself," Ashton joked, earning an annoyed look from the girl. But then they both broke into laughter.

"These race battles are probably good exercise for both us and our pokémon. But they do make us... sweaty."

"Yeah... maybe we should just lazy around for a while?"

"But..."

"Come on, have you some kind of appointment in that next big town?"

"No... I just happen to know that it's better to lazy around there than out here in the wilderness. They have sunny skiing places where you can lay in the snow without feeling cold because the sun shines so warmly, and they have a loooong beach at the old Lake of Rage where you can just lay for the whole day sleeping in the light breeze and eat ice cream and..."

She was dreaming herself away and Ashton once again found himself staring at the girl with his head tilted to the side. She looked so cute when she was talking about things she liked. Her thin, blue dress and her light, gray jacket swayed in the wind going through the forest, as did her brown, curly hair. Her freckles were numerous on her cheeks and her blue eyes glimmered in a way he hadn't seen anyone's eyes do before. And she was looking right at him...!

"Uh, nothing, I..." Ashton quickly said, looking away and praying to Arceus that he wasn't blushing this time. He scratched his head and wondered why she wasn't saying anything. He dared looking up after a few seconds, and found her giggling. Aw, girls were so annoying! He swore she knew exactly what he was thinking and thought he was utterly silly and would tease him endlessly for it very soon. He was silly, it was silly. Ugh.

He didn't notice that she was just about so say something with a sweet and tender voice, when he burst out with his own enraged voice: "I don't think we're finished yet. Let's race through the forest to the next city! You're behind already!"

With that, he and Francis darted away on the road again, leaving Rebecca with a faltering smile. Irritated feelings started bubbling up inside her, but she swallowed them down. He was just another dumb boy, after all. Better treat him like it. Nothing more. She sent out her Teddiursa, Theo, and ran after them.

The lush forest was thickening around them, but the sun shone on brightly above it all. Suddenly, an attack command was heard behind Ashton.

"Scratch!"

Theo the Teddiursa came up and tried to Scratch the Remoraid in Ashton's arms. "Watch out! Don't scratch me!"

"That's the downside with carrying your pokémon into battle!" Rebecca said, emerging closer behind them on the road.

"Ugh... I guess I'll have to switch. Thanks, Francis," Ashton said and pulled up the pokéball to return Francis into it.

Now, Theo, Rebecca and Ashton were running side by side. "How far is it?"

"Not much further. How's that, you're getting tired?"

"Never!" Ashton lied. He was indeed tired again already. But he sent out his Larvesta, Elektra, anyways. "Use Ember!" he said.

Elektra didn't run very fast, but she knew how to attack properly. Her Ember attack hit Teddiursa and made him stumble into a bush at the side of the road. He quickly came out again though. Rebecca ran up to it and gave it a command that Ashton didn't hear. Suddenly, Theo started crying, as if tumbling into the bush had really hurt both its body and its feelings. Ashton didn't really care, but Elektra was slowing down a bit.

"Oh, come on. Aren't you a tough lady who won't buy cheap tricks?" he told her. Elektra gave him a mean look and then stopped completely, walking back towards the poor Teddiursa. When she came close though...

"Scratch!" Rebecca said and started running again. Theo shot up and scratched Elektra hard in the face before he too ran.

"THAT'S TO UGLY! I SO SAW THROUGH THAT! YOU MEAN-" and several other things were said by Ashton as Elektra blushed, totally embarrassed for not having listened to Ashton, as she tried to run on her small bug feet again. "Don't worry, I still know how we'll win this," Ashton said as they started to see the forest clear up a bit again. Maybe they were at New Mahogany soon.

"Use String shot!... on both Teddiursa and Rebecca!" he said, picking up Elektra and throwing her as far as he could forward. Soaring through the air, the fire bug aimed.. and shot. Her icky strings hit the bear's legs and glued them together. Teddiursa instantly fell over, not able to keep running. Elektra landed beside it, sticking out her tongue angrily, before turning to Rebecca, who had hesitated and ran slower now.

"Oh... no, that's not ok! Don't attack me!"

"Haha, you attacked me!" Ashton laughed, catching up to her as Elektra's String Shot swirled around the girl, gluing her feet together as well. Before she fell over and hit the ground though, she felt arms catch her and keep her from hitting the ground and scraping her knees and whatnot. Ashton's arms. She looked up into his face and he have her his usual smug smile.

"I win," he said.

Rebecca sighed and nodded. After triumphantly dancing around with Elektra for a moment, the boy helped the girl and her pokémon to get the sticky strings off their legs. There didn't seem to be any really harsh feelings between Theo and Elektra after the battle, luckily. Maybe just a little.

"So, are we there yet?" Ashton asked as they got up from the ground again, peeking forward on the road that was bending through some less dense parts of forest.

"Soon," Rebecca said. "Soon we're in New Mahogany." She pointed at a big, bold sign that was put up here in the middle of the forest on the side of the road, announcing that exact thing.

 

[{Swan}]

@RHCP - Oh silly them, I really like reading about them, and the race-battles are so interesting. Even though I love reading about battles, it's nice to have something different every once in awhile (:

Deino (Babar) grew to lv. 12 and learned Headbutt!
Remoraid (Francis) grew to lv. 14 and learned Aurora Beam!
Larvestra (Elektra) grew to lv. 13!

 

[{Swan}]

Chapter 5: New Mahogany​

New Mahogany is everything the signs alluded to. It's a colourful town shaped around the huge Lake Rage, its houses of all sorts of pastel colours, and almost all of them deserted at this time of year. The spring time, as it is now, is set exactly between New Mahogany's busiest seasons, summer and winter, so it might seem a bit deserted. Still there are a few people about, mainly people on a fishing holiday or those who don't like vacationing in the busiest seasons as well as the people who work in the resort.

There's both a Pokémon Center and a PokéMart as well as many other shops and restaurants in the city center, which is actually located closest to the lake. The lake itself is a place of interest too. There are still several things you could do there. Fishing is only allowed for those with permits, but there are plenty of services offering boatrides, as well as picnic benches around the waterside. But of course, none of this is why you are really here.



[ The Gym: ]



The Gym is hard to miss. It's a huge modern-looking metal enclosure about the size of half a football field. There are four entrances, one on each side, three of which will lead to access to bleachers to watch, and the other one, off by the main road, is the one for challengers. It should lead you to a small reception hall where the Gym Leader accepts his challengers. He will then take you to the battlefield. It's a completely open space, enclosed by the walls you saw from the outside but without a roof. You'll be entirely at the mercy of the weather here, and the forecast was that there was a rain storm coming. Around three sides of the field are a few rows of bleachers for people to watch the battle. You will take place on a small raised platform on the opposite side of your opponent, you're allowed to use as many Pokémon as you need to take down all of the Leader's.

The leader in question is a boy in his late teens named Joshua Gates who specializes in Dark-type Pokémon. He's originally from Sinnoh, but he's been all over the world training from a young age and has been called a bit of a training prodigy, at least he sure thinks so himself. He's not very modest, but he's a good tactician, specializing in improvisation and creative tactics. Expect the unexpected from him. However, his strength is also his weakness, with his tendency to think out-of-the-box he might fail to see what is right in front of his nose.



Sneasel

Level:: 16
Gender: Female
Type: Dark/Ice
Ability: Keen Eye
Moves: Ice Shard, Leer, Taunt, Quick Attack, Screech, Faint Attack, Payback



Scraggy

Level: 18
Gender: Male
Type: Dark/Fighting
Ability: Moxie
Moves: Leer, Low Kick, Sand-Attack, Faint Attack, Headbutt, Swagger, Payback



If you defeat him he will register your first victory on your License Chip as well as on your PokéPad. You'll not get a badge, although they're still called Gym Badges, those days are long past, however you will also get a TM Chip, which will also be saved onto your PokéPad, and this time it is unlimited, you can use it to teach any Pokémon the move, as long as it's legally registered to you. The TM you will receive is: TM66: Payback.



[ What you may, may not and must do: ]


- You must challenge the Gym Leader and win a Gym Badge.
- You may battle other trainers in a city.
- You may decide what the weather will be during your Gym battle.
- You may interact with other roleplayers here if you wish, but you must do so through a joined post.

 

[Groc]

New Mahogany stands majestically before Moe, who stops his mad dash just to marvel at it. "Well, fancy that! A town built on the Lake!" He leans against a tree, catching his breath. After a minute, he stands straight, grinning. "Right! First to the Pokemon Center, and then, explore the town!"

*Ten minutes later*

Moe sits comfortably on a chair as Nurse Joy heals his Pokemon. "Here you are, sir. They're all rested and comfortable!" "Ah, thank you dear medicine woman!" Moe heads outside, taking a look around New Mahogany. "Right! This Gym sounds interesting. And everyone seemed to want me to go there. Let's take a look, shall we?"

He heads off down the path, walking at a leisurely pace. He stops to read a sign in front of the Gym. "Gym Leader Joshua Gates, Dark-type specialist. Interesting. We've beaten Dark-types before, right? This should be fun." "WAAAAIIIIIIT!" "Huh? What was-" Moe is tackled from the side, rolling off the path. He lands on his back, his assailant kneeling over him. "You... *pant* are not... *pant* prepared!" His attacker is a girl, around his age. She's about a foot shorter than him, wearing blue jeans, black boots, an orange t-shirt, and a green jacket. She has black hair, reaching her shoulders, and green eyes. "Wait, I know you! You're-" "Just... *gasp* let me catch my breath... Woo... Okay." She stands, offering Moe a hand up. He grabs it, standing. "You're the girl I met on the Ice Path! Kerri, right?"

The girl thinks for a second, then nods. "Yep. I've been watching your progress. Trust me, you need more training." "Well, I think I've done pretty well so far..." "Hush. This Gym will be much tougher than anything you've faced so far." "So what do you propose?" "Battle." "Battle?" "BATTLE!"

Kerri tosses a Pokeball, revealing Houndour. "Oh. Battle. Right. Tank, you're up!" Moe tosses Tank's ball, revealing the Tirtouga. "How fitting. Let's see who would have won back on the road, shall we?" "Wait, what?" "Houndour, Howl!" Houndour Howls threateningly, baring his teeth. "Tank, Withdraw!" Tank retracts himself into his shell, waiting for Houndour to attack. "Bite, Houndour!" "Tank, Rollout!" Houndour jumps forward, meeting the spinning Tank midjump. The impact knocks Houndour back, while Tank wheels around for another attack. "Smog!" Houndour belches out a cloud of purple gas, but Tank cuts through the gas to hit Houndour again. Houndour struggles back to his feet. "Bite, Houndour!" Houndour bites down on Tank's shell, but Tank spins in his jaws, causing him to drop Tank. Tank lands and spins up Houndour's leg, slamming into his chin. Houndour falls down, then crawls away, whimpering behind Kerri's leg. "Okay, he's out!" Tank stops spinning in front of Moe, panting heavily. "Yeah, Tank's done too."

"Not bad. But here come Poochyena!" "Ditzy, front and center!" Kerri sends out Poochyena, while Moe sends out his Zubat. "Start things out with the 'Sonic!" Ditzy lets out a blast of Supersonic soundwaves, causing Poochyena to whimper in protest. "Poochyena, Sand-Attack!" "What?" Poochyena kicks sand into Ditzy's face, causing her to cough and sputter. "Ditzy, Astonish!" Ditzy swoops in, screaming furiously as she blitzes Poochyena's head. "Bite the bat!" Poochyena bites Ditzy's midsection, eliciting a squeak of pain. "Ditzy! Counter with Leech Life!" Ditzy bites Poochyena, drawing blood to heal herself. "More Sand!" Poochyena kicks more Sand at Ditzy. "Ditzy, keep draining!" Ditzy swoops in again, but misses, barely avoiding the ground. "More sand! Just a little pile, right on Ditzy!" "How much more sand do you plan on throwing?" "ALL OF THE SAND!" Poochyena attacks Ditzy with more sand, and Ditzy's next Leech Life misses. "Bite her again!" Poochyena trips in his confusion, smacking his face on the ground. "Ditzy, I need you to aim, and drain. Can you do that?" Ditzy swoops in, comepletely failing to hit. "For real this time!" Poochyena chomps down on Ditzy, now that the confusion has worn off. "Please, Ditzy! You're hurt bad! Maybe we should retreat?" Ditzy instead uses Supersonic, and when Poochyena leaps, he falls flat on his face. "Lucky move!" "Let's hope my luck holds! Leech Life!" Ditzy misses. "Dagnabbit!" "Finish her! BITE!" Poochyena crouches, preparing to stike, then hurts itself in confusion, knocking itself out. "What?" "What?!" "WHAT?!" Ditzy crashes into Moe's shoulder, clinging on in exhaustion.

Kerri ponders her predicament, posing poignantly. "Perhaps I misread you. This is problematic. One final test. Sneasel, you're my last shot!" "Ditzy, take a rest. Time for Cyndaquil to shine." Sneasel and Cyndaquil appear on the battlefield, ready to face off. "Cyndy, start with a Smokescreen!" "Quick Attack!" Sneasel moves forward at a blur, backhanding Cyndaquil across the face. Cyndaquil releases thick black smoke from his back, obscuring the field. "Tackle, Cyndy!" "Screech!" Cyndaquil slams into Sneasel's stomach, causing Sneasel to let out an ear-piercing shriek. Cyndaquil staggers back, holding his head. Even Moe grips his ears in pain. Kerri calmly inserts a pair of ear plugs. "Sneasel, Scratch." Sneasel slices at Cyndaquil's head, knocking him over. "Cyndy, Ember!" Cyndaquil's back flames flare to life as a small fiery orb forms in his mouth. Cyndaquil spits the ball of sunshine at Sneasel, knocking the taller Dark-type onto his rump. "Scratch again!" Sneasel jumps up, but the oily smoke causes his eyes to water. He swipes, but misses. Cyndaquil's next Ember hits true, knocking Sneasel onto his backside again. "One more Ember and your Sneasel is done for. Cyndy, meanwhile, still has the strength to tough out Sneasel's claws. I suggest you yield, for Sneasel's sake." "Okay, okay! You win. Sneasel, return."

Kerri recalls her Pokemon, giving Moe an odd smile. "I guess I was wrong. You might stand a chance against the Gym Leader after all. Consider me practice then. And keep up the good work. I'll be keeping an eye on you." "Now hold on, you can't just-" Kerri shoves Moe to the ground, running away before he can get up. He stares as she disappears from sight. Cyndaquil walks over, a worried look on his face. "Quil?" "...Who was that pretty lady?"

 

[{Swan}]

@Godzil - Oh my I've missed Moe's sillyness, That was a good battle post and an enjoyable read, I'l look forward to your gym battle.

Tirtouga (Tank) grew to lv. 12 and learned Protect!
Zubat (Ditzy) grew to lv. 13 and learned Bite!
Cyndaquil grew to lv. 13 and learned Quick Attack!

 

[romdinner]

Chapter 4 - Part III
" The path of a Ninja!"
- Mahogany Town and Route 43 -
​

Lily watched with her hopes up high as the ball was shaking. Then it finally stopped. " Yes!!! Caught another one!!!" the girl burst out loud with Clover jumping beside her. June couldn't help but smile….it wasn't everyday that she would see a beautiful scene like these as her trainers days have long passed. Lily went and picked the pokeball up releasing Drilbur. The mole pokemon looked at Lily and stretched out its arm. " Ah I see. Welcome to the team!!" Lily said shaking hands with Drilbur. Yet another interesting personality added to Lily's team as Drilbur was very serious and bold the girl discovered over the past two days. " Well let's find you a name." Lily smiled looking at Drilbur as the mole pokemon nodded. " Hmmmm maybe Bur…. No, no to simple…..hmmm why not Ace. What do you say?" Drilbur cried out loud letting Lily know that he agreed with the name. Deep down he felt that the name quite suited him as in the wild he would often battle and help those in need. It was strange how it decided to tag along with Lily, maybe it's just something about this girl than can reach pokemon's hearths.

"Well done my girl!" June came from the porch congratulating Lily. But as soon as the old lady finished her sentence a calming and charming music started playing from the distance. Lily along with her pokemon and June went to the side of the main road of the town and saw that a crowd of locals also gathered along the sides of the roads awaiting something. Just then Lily saw a glimpse of something from down the main road. It was a parade!!. As they came closer, first in line were a bunch of monks who were carrying beautiful lit lanterns and were walking slowly at the sound of the beating drums and music. After them came a float that looked like a shrine in which girls were dancing in their kimonos, being gracefully carried away by the notes of the melody. " How beautiful! They are so graceful!!" Lily said amazed. After them a bunch of fire breathing entertainers came displaying their skills along with their pokemon, which were mainly Fire pokemon, to the viewers who were amazed by the beauty of the parade. Last came another float which had some ninjas holding their weapons staying still. In the middle of the float was an old man with a speaker. As he was passing he was announcing something important. As the float got closer to Lily she could finally hear him clear " In honor of our precious *Ninja festival* all trainers young or old are welcomed to participate in our annual contest that will test their bond with their pokemon but also reveal their ninja spirit. " The man ended then started his message all over. Lily was looking at Clover and Ace and all three had the same look on their face. June turned to the girl and saw their eyes glimmering with determination.

"I see you're going to join the contest." The old lady said giggling. " If you are, let me tell you that you'll have to register at the pokemon center, or at least that's how it was done the past several years and then you'll have to head towards the main shrine which is up this road. " June said pointing out the way.

" Thank you June for all your help and for letting us stay over for the night. And hope we'll see each other someday." Lily said calling both Clover and Ace in their pokemon as they were tired from the previous battle. Strangely Lily was starting, yet not so noticeable, little by little to warm up to people who were strangers to her. Somehow her bad memories are starting to fade little by little just as her trust towards other is growing little by little.

"Don't worry my dear girl. Good luck on your journey and I'll be cheering for you from the crowd of people. " the lady waved as Lily made her way through the crowd that gathered, towards the Pokemon Center. Somehow she managed to slip through the crowd and enter the center. There she saw a big line that was formed in front of the main desk. Lily walked up to the line and saw that there were about 15 people in front of her which meant a lot of waiting. About 20 minutes later she reached the desk. " How may I be of service? " the nurse asked Lily with a big smile.

"I would like my pokemon to get a checkup and be healed." Lily said handing her three pokeball. She then handed over her hand so it can be scanned for her information then the nurse took her pokemon and gave it to a fellow pokemon helper. " I would also want to sign up for the contest if I may. "

"Why of course! Here is the sing up sheet and here is a pen. Fill it in and then just hand it to me here." The nurse said giving the items to Lily.

Lily went and sat down on a couch in the center. " Now let me see…..name….age….. hometown ……………... Select three pokemon to participate in the contest. These are the only pokemon you will be allowed to use during the contest." Lily read. " Well guess I'm in luck as I just got my third pokemon or I wouldn't have had the chance to enter." She wrote down her pokemon. " Now a signature and I'm all done!!" she said getting up and walking up to the desk.

Lily handed the sing up sheet to the nurse. "Everything seems to be in order!! Here are your pokemon and good luck in the contest." She said handing Lily her pokemon. Lily said goodbye and exited. There were still two hours until the contest started so there was still some time to relax until then. She went to a bench opposite from the Pokemon Center an let her pokemon free. All came out with a smile, except Ace who was still serious yet charming, he was just that way. " Ok guys I've signed us up for a contest this afternoon and all three of you are participating."

"Swadloon!!!! Drilbur!!! Snorunt!!!" they all cried being filled with excitement. " Glad you all fell this way. Since the contest is two hours away you can relax for the time being until we go." Lily pulled out a book she had put in her bag when she left from home and some treats for her pokemon so they will be full for the contest. She handed out the treats and then took her book. It was a mystery/romance novel which she wanted to read for so long but since her journey started she either didn't have the time or forgot about it. The girl started to sink into her book as she started reading the first chapter while her three pokemon were eating and talking with one another. Ace and Clover were the main speakers as Winter's shy personality didn't let her intrude in the talk of the two, but nonetheless she spoke from time to time. Clover and Ace being very receptive towards her which made Winter happy. While Lily was at the end of her first chapter somebody snuck behind her and snatched her book up. Lily raised her head up to see who it was.

" Missed me?" Xander said with his clear blue eyes from above Lily.

" Not at all!!" Lily said quickly getting up as her and Xander's head were just centimeters away. She blushed a little.

"So I see. Well, seems you made it all right and seems to have a few more friends." Xander said hoping onto the bench and then looking at Lily's pokemon just as Knight, his Ralts, went to them and looked like Clover was introducing him to the others.

"Yes we have and without any help from you." Lily replied referring to the fact that Xander ditched her at the Ice path.

" So you wanted my company then!" Xander said with a cocky smile as he lied back on the bench.

"No such thing!!" she frowned sitting next to him. "You think to mighty of yourself you know that. So what brings you here?"

"Well I just came from the Pokemon Center as I just won my first gym battle and saw you sitting here with your nose in this book. Hmm interesting piece. " Xander said starting to read the book. ; And your story is?"

"MY story begins on a dark and wintery night……just joking….i was waiting until the festival starts so I can take part in the contest. First gym ….nice done…I'm gonna head there to tomorrow. Now give me the book back." Lily said reaching for the book.

"Nope!' Xander said taking the book out of Lily's reach. Just then Lily and Xander's pokemon came back.

"Nice to see you again miss Lily! I see Xander is up to his old tricks again." Ralts said with a smile.

"Nice to see you too. Why can't you be more like your pokemon? " Lily asked trying again to reach for her book but without any result.

"Well I wouldn't like to be that small and green." Xander said joking and winking to Knight.

"Why you!!!" Lily said as he was getting on her nerves. Then she stopped and grinned as an idea popped in her head. " Why Xander your hair looks so soft and nice at touch." Lily said leaning over him and playing with his hair looking like she was trying to seduce him. Xander was starting to blush. " Do your lips feel the same?" The girl said getting closer to him and closing her eyes like she was going to kiss him. " Um…." Xander replied begin flustered and not knowing what to reply. He closed his eyes as well.

" Ha got it!!!" Lily said taking the book from Xander's hands and putting it back in her backpack as Xander opened his eyes realizing that he was tricked. "Not so good there playboy. " she teased him. " Maybe I'll see you later." Lily said again with the same tone she used when she was fooling him. " Come guys it's time for the opening ceremony!" she said calling Ace and Winter back and taking Clover in her hands, then walking away.

"Serves you right master. But very intelligent of her to use that sort of method to fool you. Never would I have seen the day that master would lose his words in front of a girl." Knight said towards Xander being completely amazed.

"Don't misunderstand. I was just playing around. I knew she wouldn't do it." Xander said getting up.

"Sure you did master." Knight said ironically but Xander didn't notice. " He forgets that I can use telepathy to read his mind. " the pokemon thought giggling behind his master that started walking in the same direction as Lily.

"Now you're a stalker? " Lily asked as she saw Xander following her.

"No my lady." Ralts replied. " We're just…." But he just read Xander's mind which told him to stop.

"We just want to see the competition ourselves." He said smiling recovering his cool and charming attitude.

"Well no harm in that I guess."

After a bit of walking they reached the shrine where the opening ceremony was being held and were the competitors will be informed the rules and tasks. Lily was escorted by Xander up to the building where the organizers would take each competitor to a changing room to wear and official uniform. Xander said good luck and let Lily go, then he walked away. When Lily came out of the changing room and walked up to a mirror she was stunned to see how good the outfit was on her. Seeing as the competition was about Ninja virtues and abilities every competitor had to wear a ninja outfit that was give to them. Her outfit was black with pink. She had a pair of black short pants and a short-sleeved kimono on her which had silver dragons all over her which was tied with a pink and black belt around her waist. She had also a pair of transparent black sleeves from her wrist to her elbow. " Now this is how a ninja should look." She said as she thought that she would have a old fashioned ninja outfit. She walked out with Clover by her side and walked up in the main field that had rows of people standing on the sides cheering on. They were put in lines of ten. She was in the fourth line, only one line more behind her.

( OCC - This is her outfit in the contest)

Spoiler:

"Welcome all to our grand Festival. This year we have a nice batch of trainers that will take part in our annual contest. This contest will test the bond between trainer and pokemon. Now on to the rules. As you know you were asked to sign up with three pokemon. You will have to face three trials along with your pokemon that will test your inner ninja spirit. You have to choose one pokemon for each trial and only one, no swapping them. Now the contest will be help in three sections of the outskirts of the town on route 43 where the fields have been prepared. Now let me explain your trials: The first one will test your Power and Reflexes in a rocky terrain in which you will have to overcome different obstacles and items that will be shot at you. You have to reach the end without being hit in order to pass. The second one will bring out your Knowledge and Ingenuity at the Lake of Rage where you will have to answer different riddles hidden in some lotus flowers that were put this morning. You will have to answer the questions in order to go to the next lotus. Each one will start from one point of the lake and go to the center in a straight line, having to answer three questions in order to reach the middle where they will receive an item. Those who manage to overcome this task as well will take part in the third trial that will test their Speed and Sabotage. You will have to run from the Lake of Rage back to this Shrine and lit the lantern." The man said pointing towards a lantern at the top of the shrine. " In this race you are allowed to sabotage other trainers so you may gain the lead. Sabotage is only permitted in the last trial so in the other you will not be allowed to interfere with other trainer's actions. You will have to decide now which pokemon will help you in each task and write them at the main counter. There will be a 30 minute break between every trial. The winner will receive a TM , this precious Dawn stone and a bunch of pokemon food…. Good luck to all and don't forget to have fun!!!!!" the commentator ended, the crowd bursting into cheers.

Lily looked to the crowd to see if she could spot Xander but she only noticed June which had a big sign with "Go Lily!! Kick their butts!!!" Lily laughed at the sight and waved to the old lady which smiled. She turned around as everyone was calling out their pokemon to see which one to chose. "Ace!!! Winter!! Clover!!! Come out!!!" she said calling them out. " I have to decide which one of you to use for each task. Let me think…..first one is power and reflex……Ace would do good but I haven't used him and Clover did beat him so I guess Clover will be up for the first one. The next one involves water so you being a ground type…" she said turning to Drilbur " …will be a problem so Winter is up for the second one and you Ace in the race. Your awesome speed will be of good use. Now team let's win this thing!!!" Lily said rising her hand up just as her pokemon jumped as high as possible. She then went and informed the referee of every pokemon she was going to use as he was going to watch over the trials. She turned from the desk and bumped into Xander which was wearing a black ninja suit as well.

"So this is where you ran off to!!!! You could have said something you know?!?!" Lily said. Xander had three pokemon next to him as well. Besides Ralts he had a Houndour and a Ducklett.

" Didn't want to ruin the surprise!! " Xander replied patting the girl on the back then going to talk with the referee about his own pokemont hen coming back. He passed by Lily and was heading towards the first field. "Good luck!!! And nice outfit by the way!!!" Xander said as he passed by Lily in a soft tone. Lily blushed but was relieved that the boy kept on walking.

- The First Trial -


​

Lily was at the start of her path with Clover by her side and was waiting for the referee to hit he gong. Every one of the competitors were give a certain path to go on, on the big rocky terrain." Ready Clover?" " Swadlooon!!" the pokemon cried ready to run. Winter and Ace were next to June who was watching from the side of the field. Just then she heard the gong and dashed forward with Swadloon by her side. Within second from the gong a bunch of wooden shuriken were thrown by a machine from the ground at high speed towards Lily and Clover. " Razor Leaf Clover!!!" she yelled seeing the machine shooting and the going back underground. Clover dashed in front of Lily and use it's attack to counter the shuriken and managed to stop all of them except one which flew right by Lily's head. " Now…that was to close!" Lily said, still running as she just realized that she could have been hit and knocked out from the start. Next came up a wall she had to climb over using a rope. She pulled herself up with Clover on her shoulder, but as she was at the middle of the wall bunch of water balls started shooting from two rocks nearby. Before Lily could say anything Clover already used Protect as a shield to keep off . " Nicely done!!! I'll hurry up as fast as I can." Lily said starting to climb even faster as she knew that Protect wouldn't last for long. She finally reached the top by the time Protect ended. " Just in time! Take a rest Clover." She said as the green shield faded and Clover was gasping for air. She jumped down making sure Clover was hanging tight the continued running on the track. The last and final part of this was going to the other side of what looked like a deep hole on a very narrow wooden board. She saw Xander a few tracks away from hers as he was having problems maintaining his balance and his Houndour pulling his leg not to fall off. Lily took a deep breath and took a step. She closed her eyes and walked in a straight line and before she knew it she had reached the end. "You move on to the next trial!!!" the referee said to Lily when she opened her eyes. " We did it Clover!!!!" she burst into cheers. Even though she quit dancing lessons when she was little her balance remained. As she was walking towards the resting spot she saw Xander finally making it and coming her way.

"So you've passed as well. You were a bit slow at the wooden board." Lily said handing Xander a bottle of water then picking one for herself and Clover.

"Haha….Yes indeed. If it wasn't for this guy here I would have been a goner." Xander said patting Houndour on the head. " Thanks. Guess we'll see each other in the next round!!!" Xander said opening his bottle then drinking some water.

- The Second Trial -


​

The next trial took the remaining contestants to the Lake of Rage. From the 50 contestants who were at the start of the competition only 21 remained. Lily was with Winter at her starting point and was facing the lake. She saw the three Lotus flowers that were approximately 20 meters away from each other and after that was the pedestal which was floating with a chest on top of it. Lily was seriously thinking how to get to the pedestal without getting wet. The gong was banged and only 4 out of all the participants were moving as they were flying with the help of a bird pokemon. The rest were standing motionless and still thinking of a way to get on with it. She was thinking hard of a way to get to the pedestal. Xander was on the opposite part from Lily and was in a slump as well as his Ducklett which was by his side wasn't strong enough to fly Xander over. Even though there was no time limit they knew that if this went on for long they would be disqualified. Then, after a few minutes of tiring their brain, both Xander and Lily shouted at the same time, but obviously not knowing this: "GOT IT!!!!!!" Both Lily and Xander told their pokemon, Winter and Ducklett to go by the edge of the lake.

"Use Ice Beam to make a path on the ice!!!!!" Xander yelled as her remembered that he taught his pokemon this move recently.

" Winter powder Snow on the surface of the water!!!" Lily said pointing towards the water.

Xander managed to form a path of ice on which he could walk on and started going steadily with Ducklett in front of him making his path longer and longer using her ice attack. However, in Lily's case things weren't going so well as her attack didn't do anything as the bits of snow sunk in the water. But without any hesitation or doubt Lily told Winter to use its attack again. To everyone's surprise, who were watching from the crowd, they saw that this time the water froze forming and icy platform that was about large as a plate. " Keep going Winter!!! " Lily said as her plan was starting to work. This attack had a 9 % chance of freezing its target so Lily would just have to wait until it worked a few times until finally there was a big icy platform big enough for both her and Winter to stand on. She went on it making sure not to fall and took winter in her hands. "Ok Winter now use Icy Wind!!" Winter blew out a cold blast of wind that was sparkling with blue shards of snow. As Lily was holding her towards the land, the force sent them in the opposite direction making the platform move at a reasonable speed towards the first lotus. Lily was more than happy that her plan worked and they could finally move, she just had to make sure to not lose her balance and fall of the platform. But things weren't over yet.

Lily reached her first lotus and pulled out her question that was written on a piece of paper that was attached to the flower. "How many evolutions does Eevee have and what are their names? " Lily turned towards the man which was next to the lotus on a platform to answer the question. " As I recall Eevee has 7 evolutions; Glaceon, Leafeon………..um Flareon, Vaporeon …..hmmmm" She said thinking harder as she knew there were still three left. " Espeon, Jolteon and Umbreon!!!!" she said finally remembering the last ones. " Correct! You may pass!" the man said but as soon as Lily heard correct she told Winter to use Icy wind again and get moving once more.

The next lotus brought out another question : "Which berry is needed to cure a poisoned pokemon?" Lily smiled as she ended the sentence then turned towards the man that was at this lotus. " It's easy!!" she said turning towards Winter. " A Pecha berry!!! " Lily had remembered the time she searched for berries for the ranger a few days ago. "Correct!!"

She reached the last lotus in no time as well due to Winter's help. She picked up the paper and saw that this time the question was in the form of a riddle: "Risky business, but only in name,/Once known as happy, still easy to tame./If good health and power is your ultimate wish,/Treat it with kindness, and you shall know bliss./ Name the pokemon but without a miss. " Lily really was confused about this one………" Risky in name…….happy……health power…….. treat it kind and you'll know bliss……..hmmmmm………… taking a risk is to take a chance….a chance that's happy…..with health and power………a chance….a chance….. Chansey!!!!" Lily burst out as she figured out the pokemon. She was looking at the man anxious for a reply. " It is correct young miss. You may proceed." " All right!!! Winter full speed ahead!!!" She yelled. With Winter's wind force Lily reached the pedestal at the same time as Xander. "Great minds think alike!!!" he said seeing that Lily applied the ice technique as well. Lily giggled at Xander's remark. They both walked up to the chest. " Shall we?" Lily said opening the chest for both of them to take the item. Xander nodded and they both pulled out what looked like a ying-yang necklace. They managed to pass to the last trial along with 6 others who managed to find a way to the pedestal and solved the questions right.

- The Third Trial -


​

Eight trainers remained and after a 30 minute break they were at the starting line. Lily with Ace, next to Xander with Knight, in the middle of the line facing towards the town. Lily could hear June cheering for her along with Clover and Winter. She smiled to them as she bent down to take the starting position. " You have your fans cheering for you!! " " Yup. I will make their cheers worth for." " It's nice to have others by your side." He said looking down. Lily felt the loneliness in his words but Xander then looked at Knight and smiled again. " May the best one win!!!" the commentator said then hit the gong. Just as they started running a guy with a Tentacool shouted Bind and all participants fell down to the ground as Tentacool used its many tentacles to trip the competitors and constrict their pokemon. He was trying to make the pokemon faint so he could have a clean way. " Rapid Spin!!!" Lily said. Ace started to spin and released itself from the bind the using Scratch to free Lily's leg. As she got up she saw Xander freeing himself with the help of Knight's Confusion. Lily started running as fast as she could into the forest that was up ahead with Ace by her side. " We should hurry Xander will reach us in no time…..and the others my free themselves." She said speeding, Ace doing the same.
Somehow within minutes a girl on her Ponyta reached Lily and jumped over her taking the lead. " It's not fair…" Lily said seeing the girl distancing her from Lily " Well it is fair but we'll do even better. Mud Slap at Ponyta quickly before it's out of range!!!" Lily shouted. Drilbur started throwing mud balls as it was running aiming at Ponyta. "That won't damage Ponyta even if it's a ground type.!!! " the girl shouted at Lily then sticking her tongue out. But as she was sticking its tongue she saw Lily gaining speed and was stunned due to the fact that Ponyta were faster than a regular human. " Their speed is equal to the power of their flame…… i reduced its speed a lot and health a bit by covering it with mud. And don't do that it's not lady like." Lily said passing by her. The girl stopped in her tracks as Ponyta's flames were about to go out. She had to stop for the time being until Ponyta regained her strength. " Nicely done Ace!!!" she said as they were running and couldn't see the girl anymore.

After 15 minutes of running the two had entered the town and were on the main road that lead towards the shrine. But their luck that made them not get into any trouble from the Ponyta girl until now ended. Lily saw something appearing and disappearing from the distance and gaining terrain towards them. It was Xander who was using Ralts's teleport to make them pop closer and closer to the shrine. " Come on!!!" Lily thought when she realized what was happening and that Xander had passed her. " I'm not giving up that easily Xander Soulester!!!!!! Ace use Mud Sport in front of use and let's get moving. The mole pokemon jumped up and used its attack to make a muddy slide in front of them. Lily jumped as well and was sliding with Ace by her said and reached Xander's teleport technique as quick as you can say "I wish to wish the wish you wish to wish, but if you wish the wish the witch wishes, I won't wish the wish you wish to wish. "…..well you get the idea. Their speed was even and the distance, they were gaining was the same….there were a few meters until the staircase that led to the lantern. Both stepped on the stairs at the same time and now were running as no move could help them here as they could lose their balance and fall. Lily and Xander were neck in neck just like their pokemon behind them. They were trying their hardest and even though they were tired as hell they didn't give an inch. On the last stop Xander managed to gain some momentum and got in front of Lily, exchanged it's talisman with a lighter and lit the lamp before Lily could.

" It's over ladies and gentleman. The winner of this year's Ninja festival, that had the most pure ninja spirit is none other than mister Xander Soulester!!!!" Xander and Lily both went down for Xander to receive his prize. The crowd was cheering Xander's name as he went up to get his prize. Lily went to her pokemon and hugged them all. " You all did a great job. I'm proud of you all."

"Swadloon!!!! Snorunt!!!Drilbur!!!!" the three pokemon cried happily.

" You should be proud of yourself to dear…..you were remarkable out there….you have a great way of working with pokemon , you have passion , nice intuition and determination. You'll be a fine pokemon master one day !!" the old lady said smiling with all her hearth at the girl who never ceased to impress her .

"I'll try not to let you down!!!" She said getting up and then turning at Xander starting to clap.

"He's a fine young man as well. Would make a perfect husband for you? " June said not joking at all.

Lily blushed, her face being as red as a cherry and remained silent until the festivities ended. After that she went to the Pokemon Center as it was getting dark and wanted to heal her pokemon and get a room even if June insisted on coming at her home, but when Lily found out that her grandchildren were coming to visit this night she didn't want to intrude. So after her pokemon got healed and a nice and deserved hot shower, she changed in her usual clothes and decided to head in town as the last part, and most fun one, had started. However her pokemon remained in the room as they were tired and fell asleep. The last part consisted of stands and rides…just like at a fair for this only night…..the old and ancient part of Mahogany shines as bright as the sun on this night. Lily went along the main street passing by the laughter and excitement of others going to some stands and watching what they had to sell or what games were there to play. She decided to try her chances at Whack-The-Diglet. She took the hammer and toy shaped Diglet came popping out of the machine. She was smashing them as fast as she could but some managed to slip her aim. Just then somebody put his hands on Lily's eyes. "Xander you used the same trick when we had our first battle!!!" letting the hammer down and removing his hands.

"Oh did I?? Well I'll just have to find something new next time. So what is a young fair maiden doing alone on a night like this? "

"Trying to enjoy every bit of my journey. I see you're pokemon are resting too. " Lily replied smiling.

"Yup they deserve it. Well if we're both lonely why not be lonely together and goo n some rides?" Xander suggested.

"Only if you promise not to annoy me."

"It didn't even cross my mind. Now let's get going." Xander said as they started walking.

The two had a great night together without any usual arguing. They went into a haunted house were Lily tried to act like she wasn't scared but her tight grip on Xander's arm gave her away. Next was a fun house were they laughed their hearth out at the funny images the mirrors were showing of them. Xander was looking at himself and he was as fat as he could be. " Look I'm a Snorlax!!!" he said laughing. They continued and Lily called him to look in the mirror she was looking as she looked as thin as a pencil. " Perfect modeling size!!!" Xander and Lily both laughed as hard as they could. The night went on and by the time it was getting late Xander was sitting in front of the Pokemon Center on the bench he met Lily today and was waiting for the girl.

"Here I think I owed you one." Lily said handing an ice cream to Xander then sitting next to him and enjoying her own.

"Thanks. I wondered where you run of to." Xander said taking the ice cream and starting to eat it.

"Well you held you part of the deal. I had to do the same." Lily said smiling. " Soooo how does it feel to be the Ninja of the year?" she said joking of course " And be cheered by so many people?"

" Funny miss runner up. It was a nice competition and had tons of fun with my pokemon, beating you was a bonus." He said teasingly.

" Hey knock it off." Lily said knocking him on the shoulder giggling.

"Ok ok. All in all it was a nice experience and for the crowd it was nice but was I saw a girl that started to clap the whole crowd faded away. " He said turning to Lily. Lily's first thought was if he was referring to her but that thought quickly flew away as she believed that that couldn't be true.

"Lily you have ice cream on your cheek. " he said pointing out the spot on his face.

" Oh... here? Is it gone?" Lily said after trying to wipe it off but missing the zone.

"Here let me." Xander wiped out away the ice cream with his finger that liked it.

"XANDER!!!!!!!" Lilysaid turning red in her cheeks.

"What it's a bad thing to waste food." He replied teasing her deviously.

After that they didn't stay out too long and both went inside the Center and into their room and jumped in their bed and within minutes both fell asleep in their own room along with their pokemon that were already dreaming.

 

[{Swan}]

@Romdinner - Wow, that was one seriously good post. I loved the creativity you used for the contest, both in making it up and in the telling itself. Xander and Lily are also seriously adorable together. Really it was a joy to read start to finish!

Swadloon (Clover) grew to lv. 23!
Snorunt (Winter) grew to lv. 21!
Drilbur (Ace) grew to lv. 11!

 

[moon]

Ashton Elden
chapter five - part I​

It was afternoon when Ashton and Rebecca finally entered New Mahogany. A bright city with big advertisement boards and flashy shops and hotels everywhere. It seemed a bit empty now though.

"Not as cheerful place as the signs said," Ashton commented as they walked down a street following the signs to the pokémon center.

"Well, it's not a busy season now, being spring. Summer and Winter are much more lively," Rebecca explained. "Didn't you say you'd been here before?"

"Long time ago," Ashton shrugged. And he hadn't really cared about what the place looked like.

They soon found the big and beautiful pokémon center, made to match the city, and handed in their pokémon to the nurse to get some energy boost. Rest, in other words.

"We should rest a bit as well, my legs are sore," Rebecca said, yawning as she sat down on a couch inside the center.

A loud growl came from Ashton's stomach. "Food..." he mused. Rebecca sighed, but agreed, and they went out to find someplace to eat. They found a restaurant that Rebecca at first didn't want to go to. It was too expensive, she said. But Ashton drooled over the large and fancy burgers they served and said that he'd pay for her. Rebecca watched in awe as he flipped through a pretty well stacked wallet and paid for extra soda and coffee for Rebecca without breaking a sweat. When they ate, Ashton very happily, Rebecca didn't speak much. Eventually, Ashton grew tired of her strangeness.

"What's the matter?" he asked in an annoyed tone.

"You're very rich, aren't you?"

Ashton thought about it for a moment. He had never really cared about money at all - his parents had bought everything for him. Almost everything that he wanted and certainly anything he needed. "I guess so," he said, shrugging and giving her a wink as he took a deep sip of his extra large soda can.

Rebecca nodded and stared out the window. Ashton thought about it all again. Why would she be like this? Shouldn't she just be happy about him paying for her lunch? Girls... they were so complicated.

After finishing eating, they went back to the pokémon center, only to find a dark haired young man flirting with the nurse at the counter. At first, Ashton thought he was Lucas Tek and jumped. But then he realized that this man wasn't as tall as Lucas, actually, and didn't wear the same stupid coat. Their facial expressions were unpleasantly alike though. Self-loving...

"And that's how I beat just another challenger," the man said, making the nurse applaude a little at the apparently great story she'd just heard.

"Excuse me," Rebecca said politely as she tried to get the nurse's attention. Ashton walked behind her and pretended to not notice that the dark haired man was standing there. For some reason, he felt like someone Ashton didn't want to be friends with. "Can we get our healthy pokémon back?" Rebecca continued.

The nurse fetched their pokémon after seeing their poképads, and the trainers put them back onto their belts or wherever they kept their filled pokéballs. The man beside the counter looked eagerly at them, to the point that Ashton just had to comment.

"What'ru lookin' at?"

"Oh, I just realized you guys must be pokémon trainers," the man said.

"Really?" Ashton said sarcastically and applauded the man, imitating the nurse just before now.

Rebecca grabbed his hands and pulled then down, giving him a stern look saying clearly 'Be polite!'. But the young man just laughed. "Hah. You should come challenge me at the gym."

Ashton blinked. "Gym? Challenge... you?"

"I am the gym leader, Joshua Gates," the man explained, flashing them both a bright smile of confidence. "Just so you know, I specialize in... the unexpected. So you can't really prepare yourself very well. Good luck!"

With that, he left the pokémon center, leaving Ashton fuming. "I'll... I'll challenge him!"

"Of course you will, you're on a quest to defeat all the gym leaders, aren't you?" Rebecca said, closing her bag and letting one pokémon out. It was Ripip the Rattata, and she took the pokémon up, carrying it in her arms. "Wasn't that the reason that you left home and went to Blackthorn from the start?"

Ashton scratched his head. He had caught pokémon, made a friend and made a rival so far. He had actually forgotten about the gyms. "I guess it is, though," he thought out loud. "Then this is a terrific opportunity to win my first gym badge!"

"You'll have to be careful," the nurse behind the counter suddenly said. "Joshua is strong."

"Well, so am I!" Ashton said, not at all remembering the times when he had lost to Lucas Tek.

"I'm sure you are. But Joshua hasn't lost a game for several months now."

Rebecca's jaw dropped. "That's... good."

Ashton still didn't break a sweat. "You just wait and see!" he said and stormed out from the pokémon center. Rebecca nodded to the nurse and ran after him.



((OOC: Sorry for not much happening here, but you should know that I'm not dead! Though I think you know that :3))​

 

[{Swan}]

@RHCP - I do know you're alive, but I'm glad you posted. You know how I love reading about Ashton and Rebecca, and I like your take on Joshua. This should turn out to be an interesting battle C: