Pokemon Adventures I: Kanto Saga!

[Yuukihime]

Chapter 1: Congratulations, this is the beginning of the end.

We promised each it's till the end​

The same exact dream. She was standing in the lonely sidewalk, her sister standing beside her. They idly discuss the days happenings until that black van pulls up. Yes, that black van. It took her sister away, and that's when her world was turn upside down. She lost the one thing that was important to her.

This was the exact nightmare she'd lived in, every night she kept dreaming of it, and every day she kept thinking of it. There was no escape from this nightmare. She dreamt it, she lived it; what hope was there for her to escape it?

BEEP BEEP BEEEP BEEP BEEP

****​

Iris sat straight up in her bed and yawned. She looked at the Sunflora alarm clock that was making the loud noise that woke her up from her nightmare and gentley shut it off. She looked around the room and almost forgot today was the day she was leaving on her "trip". Yes, that's what she told her mother because her mother was a worry wart and if she had know Iris was going on a Pokemon journey then she would have surely said no.

Well..it some ways it was a Pokemon journey and other ways it wasn't.

Yes, she would be gettign a pokemon...but did she care much of raising it, battling it, training it? No, she didn't. Iris just wanted her sister back. And that meant a lot of hard training ahead of her. If Oak would force her to travel with people, she would use them. She would make them believe that she was an only child and that she had no living family. That they all died in a tragic house fire. Yes, she woulld tell them that.

Iris hopped out of the bed and stretched. Her eyes darted the white and pink floaral backpack that Starla her only friend had given her. She said once iris started her journey they would meet sometime soon.

Today was the day. Iris headed to the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. She picked up a brushed and began brushing her hair which was a light silver which she had inherited from her mother and then she looked at her eyes. They were probably the most unique feature about her. One red, the other Green, it usually made people stare when they saw that Iris and her sister had the same colored eyes.

"Iris! Breakfast!" Her fathers voice boomed from below.

"Coming!" She yelled back and put the brush down and quickly brushed her teeh and slipped on a black dress witch was embroidered with pink frills.

She came down the steps to find her mother, a beautiful blonde haired women, making breakfast and her father , a slender man with silver hair, reading the paper. She sat down and started nibbling on the pancakes.

"It must be exciting thinking of all the places you'll see." Her mother smiled at her.

"Yea.." Iris responded.

Her mothers eyes darted to the picture of her twin sister and she smiled at it. "I wonder how your sister is doing.." Iris nearly choked on her food when she heard that. Her mother never brought up the topic of her twin sister, ever since she disappeared, it's basically been a taboo subject.

"Well. I'm off, I'll see you guys whenever I get back." Iris smiled at her parents and waved at them before taking her bag and darting off.

The lab was only a short distance away and she was sure she was last. Not that she didn't mind. The pokemon she wanted usually wasn't picked first which made her sure that it was still there. She strolled by a boy who looked like he had jsut go a Charmander. Iris didn't think much of it though.

She stepped into the lab and looked at the age man who was chuckling to himself but saw Iris and regained his composure quickly.

"Ah Miss Iris. I'm afraid theres only one left you see-"

"Just give it to me." Iris interupted him mid-sentence and he looked at her curiously.

"Well if you insist.." He muttered something about her and handed her the pokeball. It had a small flower on it and inside was a Bulbasaur peering from inside the pokeball.

This was the Pokemon she had wanted, because Bulbasaur , in it's final evolution, had a gigantic flower on it's back and that made Iris smile.

"Are you going to name the Bulbasaur?" He asked as he handed her 5 red pokeball capsules and a purple pokedex. She nodded. "Well, what is it's name?"

"Amaranth. After the Amaranth flower. It's one of my favorite flowers." She smiled and strolled out of the lab and continued on her way to Route 1.

Ooc:Alright, I know it sucks majoraly but I suck at first posts.

 

[Cirrus]

Maybe it was fate.

Leaves rustled in treetops, creating a semi-rhythmic swishing noise that repeated itself every second or two. He was never one to believe in such things as that concept, but as he walked onto the wooden planks of one of the numerous docks of Pallet Town's harbour, he could not manage to banish it from his thoughts.

The memories were still painfully fresh. His memories of someone.

It used to be that he could forget anything, everything that he thought he didn't need to remember, either because it was unnecessary or it depicted things he didn't like to remember. He could not do that so quickly and easily, now.

He could still see the scene in front of him, the colours more vivid than anything. The reds, the blues, the greens...

Cecil needed to forget things.

He looked wistfully at the surrounding scenery, shifting his gaze, letting out a small breath in the process, realizing that he had been holding it unconsciously. That's why he was here, instead of at the university. He could not find it in himself to worry about anything, much less internalize more information. A sudden breeze, bringing a touch of autumn frost, flowed over him, and he shivered a little, wrapping his overcoat tighter around himself.

He looked at the ground in front of him. Not precisely ground, since he was still on the dock. He began to walk off the platform on the water, towards drier land, stopping briefly to speak with a sailor to ask for directions to the nearby laboratory.

"Excuse me, sir... do you happen to know where the eminent Professor Oak is located?"

He tried to smile at the man in the blue-and-white uniform, a weathered man in the middle of life. Then, he realized he was speaking in English, and hurriedly repeated it again in Japanese (or tried to, as the man seemed to understand well enough in the first place).

The sailor grinned and pulled out a rugged paper map, folded and frayed on the edges. It was serviceable enough, nonetheless, and he pointed out the location of the place that he was supposed to go to.

He nodded in thanks, uttered a quick "thank you very much", bowed, and swiftly left.

In hindsight, he must have seemed strange and not a little out of place.

---

The building was many-windowed, red-domed, and had a big windmill behind it. It was also located on a hill with gates and a mix of trees and grass surrounding it. Cecil pulled on the gate, which appeared to be unlocked, and it opened soundlessly. He began to trek up the hill, arriving at his destination a few minutes later.

The lobby of the complex had a green carpet and two sofas, as well as a coffee table, and the person whom he was looking for was present here as well, firmly seated on one of the previously mentioned couches.

"Good morning, Professor. How... are you today?"

"Fine, thank you. Good morning to you as well, Cecil. I've been expecting you."

They exchanged words in different languages. He in Japanese, and the old man in the white lab coat in English. For the first few words, anyway. Switching to Japanese, the professor began to speak a second time.

"Did your journey from England go well?" The old man's voice was civilized, tone a touch softer. "Are your wounds fine? I've heard from Professor Yew your reasons for starting your journey here, rather than in your home country. Do remember to take your medicine everyday."

"Thank you, professor. I am relatively well, I think." He blinked for a fraction of a second too long after hearing the words "wounds" and "reasons", nodded to everything the professor said, and tried to look cheerful as they paced around the two-storeyed structure, the professor cheerfully talking about his work.

"So, young man. I'm happy to announce that you're the earliest one here today. I have three Pokemon, and those-" Professor Oak pointed at the Pokeballs in the circular machine in the middle of his research area, on the second floor. "Are over there. Classically, the researchers in Kanto, and indeed everywhere in Japan, have attempted to gather three Pokemon of generally equal strength from the elemental triangle Water-Grass-Fire. It is up to you to pick which one."

"Water, Grass, and Fire..." He nodded in apprehension.

The idea of grass brought to mind images of nature, of the outdoors, of flowers. He wasn't that kind of person, no matter how he thought about it, so he moved on with a small smile.

The idea of fire... of passion, of unbridled emotions of love, anger, hate. He might have thought of himself as those traits, but he did not embody them now. He moved on.

Water.

He would take water, evoking to mind great mirror-like surfaces, seemingly unbreakable when calm but shattering at the slightest disturbance. He reached out for the Pokeball, tentatively, and closed his hand on the small sphere.

"Ah! The Tiny Turtle Pokemon, Zenigame, is your choice, then?"

"I believe so."

"Well." Professor Oak rummaged in his lab coat, taking out a prepackaged plastic blister of 5 Pokeballs. "Honestly, the Pokemon Association these days... they put everything in this ridiculous covering, when it's completely unnecessary." He chuckled a little, mainly to himself. "Oh, uh... Where was I now? Ah, yes." A blue rectangular electronic device was also removed, and he put it in Cecil's hands along with the Pokedex and the Pokeball containing Squirtle. "With this..." He cleared his throat. "The path in front of you is long, and probably difficult. Inside this Pokeball, a companion awaits. He will accompany you for as long as you two are together unless you wish to change that. He will fight for you, and in return you will take care of him. The Pokeballs, empty right now, are for capturing more companions, and up to six may be on your person at any given time."

"This blue device is a Pokedex. It will automatically record all of the data on the Pokemon you capture and send it back to me. It will also record your Pokemon's growth and display its statistics and condition on this screen here. If you press this button, it will display whatever Pokemon it is pointed towards. It's a relatively simple to use tool, and quite powerful, at that."

"The presentation of these essential tools completes your initiation as a certified Oak Trainer. Good luck on your journey, Cecil. As I've said, the road is a steep and treacherous one."

Cecil clipped the Pokeballs into place on his belt, and inserted the Pokedex into one of his inner pockets. "Thank you for everything, Professor. Your hospitality to me, and your words - I appreciate them." His expression was bright as he spoke. "I hope you have a good day." With this, he departed from Oak's laboratory and the hill it was on, and the world seemed to glow with hope as he began to move towards the exit of the town, brushing a few locks of hair to the side of his face and affixing his beret's position. Here, a new story was beginning. And perhaps, he mused to himself as he looked at his new Pokemon and Pokedex, he could mend himself again.

He hadn't mused in months, after all. This was a good beginning.

 

[Charizard_Man]

OOC: Normally, I would post the pokemon available in the OOC Thread. But Seeing as it has not been accepted yet, I'll post them here:

Route One:


Gender: 50% Male-----50% Female
Levels: 40% Level 3---------30% Level 4-------30% Level 5
Natures: 50% Serious---------30% Quirky-------20% Adament
Type 1: Normal
Type 2: Flying
Attacks:
-Tackle
Level 5: Sand Attack


Gender: 50% Male------50% Female
Levels: 70% Level 2-------70% Level 3------30% Level 4
Natures: 50% Quirky-------50% Impish
Type 1: Normal
Attacks:
-Tackle
-Tailwhip
Level 4: Quick Attack

_________________________________________________________________

The sun, barely cracking over the rolling hill tops, was still able to cast a shadow out of every blade of grass, tree, and every pebble. Route 1 was a picture perfect, expanding field full of flowers, beautiful trees, and crystalline rivers. The definition of serenity,


"NOW WE'RE THE BEST TEAM OF SUPER HEROES EVA!!!!!" Tai yelled at the top of his lungs, striking a super hero pose similar to that of his favorite Hero. Being an Otaku, Tai has a wide knowledge on manga, heroes, and video games.


Charco immitates his trainer as a backround of a crashing wave appears behind them, but soon dissolves.


"Okay! Charmander, mhm…What other pokemon are around here?" He asked the device as he chew a piece out of a large spongy candy, and it blipped.

"Location, ****yzing…"

After a few seconds, it let out a chime like sound.

"Pokemon Identified. List as follows: One: Pidgey, Two: Rattata, Three: Pokemon Unknown."

Tai stopped walking, Pokemon Unknown?

He looked around for any sign of the unknown pokemon……when a shadow caught his eye and the boy did a double take.

The shadow was standing in the bushes, silently. It was there, tall and imposing upon the back drop of peaceful green foliage. Tai shuddered. It was staring at him; he could feel its eyes boring into his.


The pain, that hot white pain burst from his back and spread throughout his body. Charco seemed worried and gasped as he noticed dark purple, glowing marks scratch themselves into his trainer's skin.

His eyes were watering, he couldn't maintain contact. Every fiber in his body told him to blink.

So he did.

And when the boy looked back, it was gone. The pain was gone, the marks were gone.

What had that been?

He wasn't given time to think over that, as a small shape darted in front of him.

A Pidgey!

~Pidgey~
~The Tiny Bird Pokemon~
~Does not like to fight. It hides in tall grass and so on, foraging for food such as small bugs. Hehe, sounds like you...~​

"Hey!" Tai glared at the Pokedex.

"Kerukroo!" The Pidgey screeched, its head lowered. The cry of the pokemon shook off the remaining effects of the horrendous glare and of that stupid machine's comment, and Tai pointed forward,"Whoo! A feisty one! GO! CHARMANDER!"

The little orange pokemon came out, and then braced its legs as it faced the Pidgey.

"Alright! Charmander, Growl!"

The pokemon opened his mouth releasing a piercing growl, stunning the flying pokemon.

The Pidgey squirmed, and then let out a gust of air that blew back the Charmander, its weakened wings still very much active.

"Ah!" Tai shielded his eyes from the whipped up sand.

"Char!" Charmander righted itself in the air and landed.

"Scratch!" Tai pointed at the Pidgey, and Charmander charged, scraping the Pidgey in the air, feathers and all.

"Go! Pokeball!" The boy threw the capsule at the Pidgey, and it opened, the bird pokemon sucked inside.

Both pokemon and human held their breath as the ball moved back and forth.

Ding! Pidgey was caught!

"Alright! Great job Charmander!" Tai patted Charmander on the head and it smiled. The boy went over, picked up the ball and clipped it on his waist, letting Charmander stay out for a while longer.

"A new friend! His name's Gee." Tai told Charmander, walking along the road, the orange pokemon waddling by his side. He had always had a flair for nicknames….although to some; it was more of an annoying habit….

"Charman Charmander!"

"And you……" Tai thought.

"You're name is Charco. After those powerful rocks that power up fire moves …." Tai smiled and bit another piece out of his spongy candy, then looked down to see Charmander glaring at it.


"You know what, here you go Charco. You can finish it, you deserve it!" Tai tossed the candy over his shoulder into Charco's mouth. The Charmander hiccuped slightly and tapped his belly, Tai chuckled as he reached in his bag and brought out a small dish of his favorite ice cream.


"Char...CHARRR!!!!" Charco opened his mouth and released a powerful stream of fire that charred a couple of yards of grass and flowers. Tai looked at the damage and sweatdropped,


"Wow. Your hiccups are...scary. Haha, I remember my first piece of candy. Didn't really play out like this, but it has its similarities." Tai chuckled, but his smile rapidly faded.


"Charco, stop scratching my leg." Tai looked down to see Charmander on his butt, tapping his enlarged belly. The boy gained a purple hue to his face and a few beads of sweat, he looked down to see a horde of tiny purple rats scaling his legs.


"GAAHHHH! MY CANDY!!! NOOOO!!!!" Tai flailed his limbs violently and ran around the field, "CHARCO! DOO SOMETHING!"


Charco managed to stand on his feet, but only to fall flat on his face. Tai growled and managed to kick the last Rattata off of him before whipping out his pokedex,

~Rattata~
~The Mouse Pokemon~
~Its fangs are long and very sharp. They grow continuously, so it gnaws on hard things to whittle them down. Your Charmander can't fight, good luck!~​

"Shutup! I don't like you, you stupid machine!"​

~STUPID HUMAN...~​

"I heard that!!" Tai yelled out, but wasn't given time to continue the fight as the Rattatas bursted forward. Tai clenched his fists and burst into his super hero pose,​

"Ice Cream Shot!!" Tai launched his dish of ice cream at the rodents before dashing back towards Charco, scooping him up and running down the field. The Rattatas following close behind,​

"Damn! I can'tsend out Gee, he's too weak. Come on Charco, use Ember...Ember!!" Tai patted Charco's back, which let Charco release a small burp in the form of an Ember attack. The fireball struck the ground near the rodents, knocking them off balance.​

Tai turned and placed Charco down, "You good buddy?" Charco gave a thumbs up and struck their superhero pose, his left hand on his hip, his legs spread wide, and his right fist up in the air with a peace sign.​

"You made me waste Ice Cream, you'll pay! Charco! GO!!" Charco smirked and leaped into the air as Tai snapped his fingers,​

"Growl!!" Charco released a high-pitch whining noise, the Rattata fell to the floor in pain and scuttled around.​

"Scratch!" Charco immediately obeyed and clawed at two of the Rattata before turning around and opening his mouth right in front of the final Rattata, Tai snapped his fingers.​

"Now!" Charco released his ember attack, the Rattata knocking out from such a fiery attack. The other two Rattata fled away before the same happened to them,​

"Pokeball!" Tai tossed the capsule at the knocked out rat, a small cloud of smoke engulfed the rat and shrunk it down into the sphere. Tai grabbed the pokeball and clipped it on his waste,​

"You owe me one ice cream!" Tai shouted.​

~OAK OWES ME ONE COMPETENT TRAINER!!~​

"SHUTUP YOU STUPID MACHINE!!"​

<I WANT MORE CANDY!!!>​

It was going to be a long year, really long...

 

[Yuukihime]

Chapter 2: Dance with the Devil

Iris yawned and looked at her pokeball. She figured it would be time to say hello to her new partner so she opened the pokeball. The tiny pokemon opened it's eyes warily and then looked at her. Iris greeted it with a smile and a gentle pat on the head.

"Bulba!" It greeted back at her and licked her hand.

"Well, Amaranth, I suppose you and I are partners from now on. So I suppose we should go find some new fr-" Her sentence was interupted when her pokedex began vibrating. She took it out of her pocket and opened it. The screen had the words "Scanning..." on it.

"Huh???" Iris looked at it as it began to show two pictures of pokemon on the screen.

"Three Species of a pokemon found, Rattata, Pidgey, and Unknown Species." Iris looked at the pokedex and then looked to her Bulbasaur who had turned it's attention to a bush nearby. It's back arched like a cat and it growled at it. Iris stepped forward to check out the bush when her body froze instantly and something rang in the back of her head.

"M-my..body..it w-won't move..." Iris stuttered. She felt the chill of the Pokemons glare boring deep into her soul. The back of neck began to feel very hot, like it was on fire. Iris couldn't move, she couldn't breathe. The evil this Pokemon was emanating was suffocating.

Her arms began to feel hot and Amaranth was powerless to stop anything could sit there as his trainer was suffocating from an unknown force that was glaring at her from a bush and just as suddenly as it had appeared, it disappeared. Iris fell to her knees and gasped for breathe. Amaranth ran to her side and nuzzled her softly.

When her breathing had normalized, she picked herself and brushed off her dress and looked back at the pokedex. The "Unknown" species of pokemon had disappeared from the screen.

"Hum..I wonder what that could have been....Anyway, I suppose we should try catching a rattata or something." Iris told her bulbasaur who nodded at her. Right on cue a tiny purple rat Pokemon sprang out from the bush.

~Rattata~
~The Mouse Pokemon~
~Its fangs are long and very sharp. They grow continuously, so it gnaws on hard things to whittle them down. Your not really going to catch it are you? It looks gross!~​

Iris sweatdropped at the Pokedex. So her pokedexes personality was super girly, huh? Well that works just fine.

"Alright Amarath, go get that rat!" Iris yelled and pointed her finger at the tiny rat pokemon. With that Amaranth lunged at the tiny Rattata. Startled the Rattata ran back into the bushes with Amaranth in chase. "W-wait a minute!" Iris cried and ran after the the Bulbasaur.

She scrambled through the bushes and ran after her bulbasaur.

***​

The bulbasaur darted after the Rattata completely leaving her trainer behind, but at some point she lost track of the Rattata and was all alone in mass of bushes. Amaranth's ears twitched and he sensed movemnt in a nearby area. Amranth peeked through the bushes and made out shadowy figures striking a strange pose.

"Alright we caught it!" A voice called. Amaranth paid no heed and lunged forward ramming the first pokemon she saw, which happened to be a charmander. Amaranth growled a bit, still thinking it was the Pokemon Iris has told her to attack.

"Bulbasaur..." Amarath growled.

***​

"Amaranth, where are you?!" Iris yelled through the bushes. She had completely lost sight of her pokemon. She sighed to herself. Not even to Viridian yet and she was screwing up majorly. "Amaranth?" She called out again. Unfortunetly, her calls went unanswered. The only things she saw were pairs of Rattata and flocks of pidgey. She sighed, she had lost her only pokemon..this was disaster.

She wandered around for a bit when she spotted a boy in the distance. He had a somewhat glomoy atmosphere about him but iris sshrugged it off and ran torwards him. Her social skills weren't very good but she had to ask for his help anyway.

"E-excuse me..My Bulbasaur ran off...could you help me look for it?" She asked the boy hoping he would help her.

 

[Cirrus]

Their surroundings were quiet, except for the soft, gentle rustling of the grass and the occasional crunching sound of a few blades of greenery crushed by his footwork. The day was half gone, time seeping into a quiet afternoon.

He smoothed out a fold of his overcoat, its silken hem fluttering a little in the light breeze, and continued walking slowly in the tall overgrowth that existed on Route 1.

Northwards was Viridian City, or so his Pokedex told him. It had a Town Map feature for convenience, as he discovered quickly after pressing buttons on the blue device at leisure.

He glanced down at the Pokeball at his belt, and smiled. Though a smile not entirely of happiness, but of serenity, it was enough to assure him once more that he could smile.

He was more cheerful now than he had been just a few days ago.

He continued walking, at a slow, deliberate pace. The Pokedex shook a little every few minutes, but he was not unduly worried, looking down at his Pokeball on his belt. He did not have much practical experience with battling, but these matters were spoken of and well-described in many books that he had read, enough that he imagined it should not be too difficult.

The Pokedex began to vibrate again, but this time it beeped as well, two sharp notes in the afternoon haze. Surprised, Cecil glanced at the display of the technological marvel that was Professor Oak's Pokemon encyclopedia, and scanned for wild Pokemon in the vicinity.

The name RATTATA appeared on the crystalline screen. An electronic voice began to speak.

Rattata
The Mouse Pokemon
Living wherever there is food available, it ceaselessly scavenges for edibles the entire day. It works very hard!

An image of a purple mouse-rabbit hybrid rodent flashed onto the screen, and its replica suddenly darted out of a patch of tall weeds, a purple streak in the air. Cecil took a step backwards, then moved to the side, working quickly at the catch for the Pokeball restraint on his belt. Several seconds later, the Rattata was on the ground near Cecil's original position, and a red pulse of concentrated energy blasted out of the red-and-white sphere, forming into a shape that materialized as a blue turtle.

So this is Zenigame? Cecil put his left hand up to his chin pensively and pointed his Pokedex at his Pokemon.

Squirtle
The Tiny Turtle Pokemon
The shell, which hardens soon after it is born, is resilient. If you poke it, it will bounce back out. It might not be a good idea to poke it too much.

The two Pokemon were already encircling each other, sizing their counterparts up. The Rattata was the first to make a move, darting forward, fangs exposed. Squirtle withdrew into its shell, and Rattata's bite bounced off harmlessly. Undeterred, the rodent tentatively poked at the shell, and Squirtle bounced back out immediately. Seizing this chance, the Rattata began to launch a ferocious assault, scratching at Squirtle's head.

"Zenigame, use Bubble." After examining the capabilities of his particular Squirtle within a matter of fractions of seconds, Cecil flicked his fingers crisply, voice suddenly more confident and commanding. "It should incapacitate the Rattata easily enough and slow it down."

Squirtle was already breathing out small blue spheres, wrapping themselves around the Rattata, but the purple rodent shook loose and began to dash towards Squirtle for a new round of attacks.

The Rattata seems to be persistent.

"Zenigame, Tail Wag followed up with Body Blow!"

A violet streak heading towards a spinning sphere of blue, striking against each other.

The battle was decisively over. The Rattata lay knocked out on the ground, and Squirtle stood panting a little to the side. Cecil nodded to the Squirtle in recognition, smiling.

"Well done, Zenigame. Victoria prima est."

A second Pokeball, this one empty, was used to capture the unconscious Rattata and record data on the Pokemon, and Cecil clipped both of the spheres onto his belt, temporarily rejoicing in the sensation of success. It was at this time that he, preparing to set out again, spotted a girl heading towards him.

Someone else? Who could it be? The girl was in a run, so he began to walk a little towards her, as well.

"E-excuse me..My Bulbasaur ran off...could you help me look for it?" The girl was somewhere around his age, he saw. Perhaps a bit younger. Her hair was a sparkling silver, her eyes heterochromatic red and green. She wore a black dress and matching cape. Her voice was a little quiet, perfectly gentle, and it radiated warmth. To him, she looked the part of a member of upper-class society. Her bearing, tone, and presentation all seemed perfectly beautiful, and only through force of will did he stop himself from entering dangerous territory.

Shattering again was not good for... anyone in particular, really...

He tried his best to smile kindly and bow deeply, then extend his arm for her. It was only good etiquette, after all.

"Your Fushigidane? I think I can help you look for it. Allow me to introduce myself... my name is Cecil Fluorspar. It is very pleasant to meet you."

 

[pikapika44]

How do you sign up? Please tell me......

 

[Charizard_Man]

The pokeball was mantled in his palm, the sun rays penetrating the red top and revealing the tiny rat inside the capsule. It was recovering from its battle it just had against Charco. Tai held the pokemon, and smirked with an evil grin at the rat.

"Hehe. Take that! Now, you owe me one ice cream you little twerp!!" Tai shouted at the Rattata.

~OAK OWES ME ONE COMPETENT TRAINER!!~

"SHUTUP YOU STUPID MACHINE!!"

<I WANT MORE CANDY--> Charco was interrupted, his tiny figure launched a couple of yards. Tai quickly turned to see a small green pokemon, dark dots scattered around its body. It's large bulb pointed at the trainer and pokemon.

"Wow! I-It's a wild Bulbasaur!! Now I can have Charmander AND Bulbasaur!" Tai quickly flipped open his 'smart ass' pokedex, as he put it.

~Bulbasaur~
~Seed Pokemon~
~The seed on its back is filled with nutrients. The seed grows steadily larger as its body grows.~

"Alright, Fire beats Grass! Ember attack!!" Charco leapt forward and swung his tail violently, releasing several fire balls towards the Bulbasaur.

"And now-" Tai reached in his bag and brought out a pokeball very quickly, "Huh?" Tai was shocked at what he was seeing. The Bulbasaur extended its vines and slammed them on the floor, launching its body up in the air away from harm.

"Bulbaaaa!!!" The Bulbasaur charged forward in an attempt to hit Charco with a tackle attack. Tai wagged his finger,

"Now we're ready. Ember!!" Charco swung his tail again, the fireball strikes this time and leaves the Bulbasaur's body laying on the ground charred a bit.

"And now-!!" Tai brought back his arm to throw the pokeball when he stopped at the sound of an annoying electronic voice.

~That's not going to work! This Bulbasaur belongs to some one.~

"Why didn't you tell me this before?!"

~It's more fun this way.~

"Ass. Anyways! Now I have to go apologize! Come on Charco!!" Tai and Charco made their way over to the Bulbasaur's body. He released Gee, the Pidgey perched itself on a nearby tree branch and ruffled his feathers. He seemed to recover slightly from their battle earlier.

"Bulbaaa..." The grass pokemon groaned, still motionless. Charco ran over to the Bulbasaur and rubbed the pokemon on the back, his cheeks turning red in the process.

Charco smiled warmly at the Bulbasaur. <Hello! I'm Charco and this is my trainer Tai .>

The Bulbasaur seemed to roll its eyes as Tai proceeded to poke it with a stick. <Tell your trainer to either stop poking me or face the wrath of my whip to the face.>

The Charmander sweatdropped and brought out a large red and orange mallet out of nowhere, his face printed on the flat surface and slammed it on Tai's head abruptly. <Don't do that Tai! She doesn't like it!>

Tai's eyes widened as he fell to the floor, a giant bump growing on his head. "Oh…okay…." Paying no attention to the fact he can understand his pokemon now, and he can summon a giant mallet.

Gee smirked. <Heh, stupid human.>

"HEY! I HEARD THAT!"

A couple minutes and a Potion spray later, the newly healed Bulbasaur started to explain things to Charco and Gee.

<Okay! We'll help!> Charco gave a thumbs up to the Bulbasaur. The grass pokemon smiled, <Thank you very much.> She seemed to bow in gratitude.

<No need to bow. We must do this, it is the gentleman's way.> Gee smirked as he fluttered down from the branch. Charco grinned and turned to Tai,

"So what did she say?"

<Well she got separated from her trainer. Apparently they were after the Rattata we caught, and she mistook me for the Rattata. So now! We need to help her find her trainer!> Charco struck their signature Super hero pose.

"Aww but why?!! We need to get to Viridian already!" Tai whined. Charco's grin faded rapidly, he turned to Tai. His blue eyes gleamed as he reached behind his back, the tip of his mallet's handle appearing.

"I mean...sure! We need to do this! But not without a snack!" Tai reached in his bag and brought out a small dish with a green colored food sliced into four slices with a couple of toothpicks.

"Uiba! Here, we can each have some!" Tai poked the slices with the toothpick and gave one to each pokemon and himself.

"Alright! Let's go!!" Tai marched down the dirt road, Charco following his trainer. The Bulbasaur sweatdropped, Gee sighed and flew close to them.

______________________________________

"Uhhh. My feet hurt..." Tai whined as he trudged down the flowery fields. Charco sighed and leapt up to his trainer's face. He proceeded to open his trainer's mouth and stick a sandwich cracker in.

<Mr. Charco, is your trainer always this, I dunno, whiny?> Bulbasaur sweatdropped.

<Haha no. He just gets that way when he hasn't eaten some sweets in awhile.>

Tai smiled as he rubbed his stomach,

"Mmmmm. Tasty, uh?-" Tai's gaze drifted off into the distance, he saw two people walking farther down. One was a boy, around his age if not just a year older. Next to him is what Tai was fixated on, a beautiful girl with flowing silver hair. She had a beautiful figure, which entranced Tai. The boy watched as the duo walked away,

Bulbasaur extended her vine and waved it in front of Tai's face, <Earth to idiotic glutton, hello are you there?!> She nearly smacked him with a vine when she looked at what Tai was looking at. She smiled at the sight. It was Iris! It looked like Iris was looking for her! Happy as a skitty on crack she grinned until...

<I-Isn't that her?? She has silver hair!> Charco turned to the Bulbasaur only to hit heads with her. The Bulbasaur rubbed her head with her vine, Charco's face erupted with steam as his face grew red.

<I'm sorry!>

<No it's okay. Yes, that is her.>

"Alright. Let's go!!!" Tai ran down the hill, Charco and Amaranth running behind him and Gee soaring a little above them.

He had to find out who that girl was...

 

[Yuukihime]

Chapter 3: A new..friend?

"Your Fushigidane? I think I can help you look for it. Allow me to introduce myself... my name is Cecil Fluorspar. It is very pleasant to meet you." He smiled at her and out of courtesy she bowed and smiled back.

"I am Iris Fujihara, but you can just call me Iris, Mr. Cecil." She smiled at him again. He seemed so...how could she put it? Distant, maybe? Like he was restraining himself from something. Iris shrugged it off, "And thank you for helping me look for my Pokémon." She smiled warmly at him again. She pointed torwards the bushes, "She ran off that way..."

***​

<Thank you for helping me find my trainer..I ran off to attack a Rattata that you caught...I must have mistaken you for that Pokemon, Charco was it?> Amaranth conversed with
"Uhhh. My feet hurt..." Tai whined as he trudged down the flowery fields. Charco sighed and leapt up to his trainer's face. He proceeded to open his trainer's mouth and stick a sandwich cracker in.

<Mr. Charco, is your trainer always this, I dunno, whiny?> Amaranth scoffed at Tai.
"Here! You always whine when you haven't eaten some snacks." Charco crossed his arms as he surveyed the area. Tai smiled as he rubbed his stomach,

"Mmmmm. Tasty, uh?-" Tai's gaze drifted off into the distance. Amaranth extended her vine and waved it in front of Tai's face.

<Earth to idiotic glutton, hello are you there?> Amaranth nearly smacked him with a vine when she looked at what Tai was looking it. She smiled at the site. It was Iris! And it looked like she was looking for Amaranth. Happy as a skitty on crack she grinned until...

<I-Isn't that her?? She has silver hair!> Charco turned to the Bulbasaur only to hit heads with her. The Bulbasaur rubbed her head with her vine, Charco's face erupted with steam as his face grew red.

<I'm sorry!>

<No it's okay. Yes, that is her.>

"Alright. Let's go!!!" Tai ran down the hill, Charco and Amaranth running behind him and Gee soaring a little above them.

***​

"So I was trying to catch a Rattata and Amaranth ran off..." She was explaining to Cecil what had happened. He seemed pretty understanding. He was also quite calm and kind and that made Iris feel a bit more comfortable talking to him.

"It sounds like quite a predicament." Cecil told her.

"Yeah..." Iris mumbled. Her thoughts were interupted when Amaranth came out of nowhere and glomped her. "Amaranth!" Iris yelped as she fell to the ground.

<I'm sorry I ran off, Iris!> Amaranth aplogized and licked here. Iris laughed and gave her Pokémon a pat on the head.

"It's okay, Amaranth." She smiled warmly at her Pokémon who nuzzled her softly.
<There was this idiotic boy who tried to catch me!> Amaranth cried.

"Oh?" Iris stood up holding her bulbasaur and turned around to see a boy running down the hill with a Charmander. Blonde hair, strange outfit and Charmander running next to him. He was strange that's for sure.

<That's him, Iris!> Amaranth cried.

When the boy had managed to catch up to Amaranth she looked at him with a strange look. He was out of breathe and panted profusely.

"Um....Your very..strange.." Iris told the boy as he nearly collapsed panting.

 

[Cirrus]

As the wind

"I am Iris Noire, but you can just call me Iris, Mr. Cecil. And thank you for helping me look for my Pokémon." Her smile was radiant, as bright as rays of stray moonlight on a lightless night.

"Only Cecil will be fine, Iris." Smiling still, forming a clear state of mind, Cecil shifted his observing gaze onto Iris' own heterochromatic eyes. One a shade of medium-light red beryl, the other peridot green.

"She ran off that way..." The silver-haired girl pointed towards some bushes.

"Mm." Cecil nodded, absentmindedly storing the piece of information inside the reservoirs of his memory, and they began their search. He winced a little and opened his eyes in surprise when his fourth finger grazed a sharp branch, drawing a few drops of blood, but he ignored it, attention focused on the silver-haired girl instead.

"So I was trying to catch a Rattata and Amaranth ran off..."

"It sounds like... quite a predicament that you're in, hmm..."

"Yeah..."

They continued to search, and though their results were fruitless, he was content to be able to stay near her and be of any help to her that he could be at all, together in the warm sunshine of the early afternoon.

What cut his mental processes short was a green creature. A green creature with the bulb of a flower on its back, suddenly appearing out of nowhere, moving towards Iris - at this he mentally readied himself for movement - and tackling Iris in a mildly friendly sort of way.

"Amaranth!" Iris yelped as she fell to the ground and Cecil released himself from his restraints. The Pokemon - Bulbasaur, didn't Iris say its species was? A Bulbasaur named Amaranth? Iris seemed to be at ease and happy, patting her Bulbasaur on the head as the Bulbasaur licked her. They seemed to communicate quite well with each other.

"It's okay, Amaranth." Iris smiled warmly at her Bulbasaur, who nuzzled the girl softly and seemed to say something in Bulbasaur language. "Oh?" At this, Iris got up and began to look into the distance.

The... distance?

Cecil blinked and refocused. In the distance was a blond boy wearing red clothing, Nike... Nike sneakers? And a trainer's cap, too. Behind him was a Charmander, and circling near his head was a Pidgey. A new trainer... the very fact that he possessed a Charmander at all meant that he was one of Professor Oak's three chosen trainers.

Energetic, his first impression told him as the boy came running to where he and Iris were.

Brushing back a few locks of hair (one of his perpetual unconscious gestures), Cecil looked nonchalantly for a few seconds at the boy - who appeared to be one or two inches shorter than he was, so they were almost at eye level - before speaking to the boy in what seemed like an indifferent tone.

"You must be the third trainer that the eminent professor has inducted to be his researcher. Nice to meet you; my name is Cecil Fluorspar. I hope... that we will cooperate well in the future." He paused, noting how the boy was looking at Iris before launching a newfound gaze that had a small hint of ice in it at him. "Hmm?" With that, he casually removed his hat and inclined his head a little.

He didn't forget how to deal with other people. His methods of speech and expression might be a little heavy-handed at times, but mostly it was enough, and he believed it to be so in this situation as he did one of his classic introductions to one of the lower classes he believed had reason to be a little envious in the future. It occurred to him that this might have been a little too insulting, but he brushed that concern aside easily.

 

[Charizard_Man]

Dirt was whipped up into the air, a small dust cloud trailed down the hillside as a figure slid down the hill. The bright mid-day sun showered Route 1 with a brilliant yellow glow, the rivers sparkled and the wild life buzzed.

Tai Sugimori slid down the hill, his collar and hair gently fluttering as he descended down onto the level surface where his dream girl was. He made a very quick stopp and placed his hands in fists and on his hips, Charco scaled his way to Tai's head while Gee perched himself on Tai's shoulder. He smirked as the tiny grass pokemon leaped into the arms of the silver haired girl.

Her smile...something he's never seen before. A sense of bliss immediately surrounded the area as the girl's face glowed with happiness, her differently colored eyes almost tearing up at the sight of her Bulbasaur.

"Umm. You're very strange..."

"Huh.." Tai softly said as he turned to see who had murmured something, he shrugged it off. Tai quickly caught his breath and smiled warmly at the girl, but his sight was shifted over at the boy next to her.

"You must be the third trainer that the eminent professor has inducted to be his researcher. Nice to meet you; my name is Cecil Fluorspar. I hope... that we will cooperate well in the future." The boy next to her was very classy and kind, but for some reason Tai had a sense of anger towards the boy. He was one of those people you just want to hit, just for fun.

Tai chuckled at this thought, but was taken aback as the boy took off his hat and tilted his head in a greeting. Tai raised his eyebrows and tried to do the same,

"Well hello to you. Yup, you're right. I got Charco just this morning. Tai," Tai extended his hand towards Iris, "Tai Sugimori." He smiled at the girl. He turned to Cecil and tilted his head in a greeting fashion.

"So You're Cecil Fluorspar, guessing you got Squirtle." Tai smirked, "So what's your name lil' lady?" Tai smiled and turned to the silver haired girl.

She curtsied and smiled, "Iris. Iris Yorihisa." Tai smiled, he had never met someone like her. She had something special about her, she seemed classy and elegant. The kind of girl he could never get.

He pulled the visor of his hat down to hide the fact he could feel his face turning red and cleared his throat. He gave a piece of chocolate to Charco and Gee before eating the rest and turned back to the two, "Soo umm. You two heading to Viridian?" Tai smiled at Cecil and Iris.

 

[Cirrus]

"So You're Cecil Fluorspar, guessing you got Squirtle." The red-clad young man smirked so carelessly and impudently that it made him wince. "So what's your name lil' lady?" Tai smiled and turned to Iris.

She curtsied and smiled, "Iris. Iris Yorihisa."

"Soo umm. You two heading to Viridian?" The young man smiled at them, for the second or third time.

Cecil inclined his head in mild agreement. "Viridian City is the logical next stop on our journey, of course." He said it with a small smile, that same infuriating smile whose meaning eluded even his own mind on occasion. "Nice to meet you, Sugimori-kun. Shall we… mm… proceed? I think that perhaps you could travel with us to ensure… that none of us gets lost."

A breeze went past the trio, making Cecil's silken overcoat flutter a little, black silk momentarily tinted a metallic gold in the afternoon sun, in perfect contrast with the silver of Iris's locks.

He was always so ridiculously impulsive.

He did a double intake of oxygen, then exhaled into the autumn air.

For what reasons are you smiling again?

He knew very well what those reasons were. Related to a certain.... person.

"…Before we begin to depart for Viridian once more." He held up a hand, producing that same mysterious smile. "Sugimori-kun, how about a little - contest? A proper trainer's battle; that is what I wish to challenge you to." After seeing your reactions to her presence, how could I manage not to?

Saying this, he activated the release on the Pokeball that he was holding. A stream of red light materialized into a blue turtle-shaped creature. "Come forth, Squirtle!" Protinus cresce, amicus. He smoothed out the sleeves of his overcoat, settling into a fairly preparatory position.

"Shall we, then?" Extending a hand to indicate that he was ready for the beginning of the contest for a moment, he stood back to make space for the ensuing battle and - smiled. "Good luck." He could not smile for himself, but he could for others.

 

[Yuukihime]

"You must be the third trainer that the eminent professor has inducted to be his researcher. Nice to meet you; my name is Cecil Fluorspar. I hope... that we will cooperate well in the future." Cecil said in almost an icy tone.

<Is it just me or is there an unbreakable wall of ice between these two?> Amaranth asked. Iris shook her head at Amaranth but she too sensed the iciness between the two boys.

"I think it isn't you Amaranth.. I wonder have they met each other before" Iris whispered to her Pokémon.

<Well, maybe? Not sure, but there is enough ice here to reverse global warming..> Amaranth joked which made Iris giggle a tiny bit.

She was surprised when this boy turned to her and bowed, trying to act sophisticated. Iris could see he was TRYING but she could still see that Cecil had a bit more class then Tai did. They probably had different standards of what they considered polite.

"Well hello to you. Yup, you're right. I got Charco just this morning. Tai," Tai extended his hand towards Iris, "Tai Sugimori." He smiled at Iris. He turned to Cecil and tilted his head in a greeting fashion.

"So You're Cecil Fluorspar, guessing you got Squirtle." Tai smirked, "So what's your name lil' lady?" Tai smiled and turned to Iris.

"Iris Noir-..." She stopped middle sentence, she always had a habit of saying her full name..and since there were two Iris' she didn't want to hint she had a sister, "Iris Yorhisa Mr. Tai." She smiled and curtsied.

"Soo umm. You two heading to Viridian?" Tai smiled at Cecil and Iris.
Cecil inclined his head in mild agreement. "Viridian City is the logical next stop on our journey, of course."

Iris almost sensed a bit of fury in Cecil but she shrugged it off as her imagination. The ice was DEFINETLY unbreakable. If the 3 were going to be traveling together it would be Iris' duty to stop them from ripping each other's head off.

<It must be a guy thing...> Amaranth guessed.

"Suppose so? I guess it's my job to keep them from tearing their heads off then." Iris smiled again at her Pokémon.

A silent breeze gently blew between the three. Iris couldn't bring herself to say anything. She felt like she was in the middle of a soon to be fight..She decided to wait and see if things turned out all right

It probably was a big mistake on her part...

"…Before we begin to depart for Viridian once more." He held up a hand, producing that same mysterious smile. "Sugimori-kun, how about a little - contest? A proper trainer's battle; that is what I wish to challenge you to." After seeing your reactions to her presence, how could I manage not to?"

"Oh that could be fun actually! I'll be the referee then." Iris smiled.

<Iris, don't you think you should STOP them?> Amaranth asked with a bit of sarcasm in her voice.

"Nah, it's just a Pokémon battle, I'm sure nothing bad will happen." Iris shrugged it off but somehow Iris had the most uneasy feeling in her stomach, like she had made a huge mistake..

"Shall we, then?" Extending a hand to indicate that he was ready for the beginning of the contest for a moment, he stood back to make space for the ensuing battle and - smiled. "Good luck." He could not smile for himself, but he could for others.

"This should be fun to watch. I wonder who will win? Tai or Cecil?"

<Cecil has a clear advantage over Tai..with him having Squirtle and all.>

"Good point, but at this level they really don't have any super effective moves against each other.."

<True...>

"I wonder if I should battle the winner? I've never truly got to battle anything yet..."

<Psh, I'd wipe the floor with every one of them.> Amaranth wore a cocky smile on her face.

"Arrogance isn't a good thing, Amaranth..."

<Yeah yeah..> Amaranth grew quiet.

Iris waited eagerly for the battle to start, although she could shake the feeling that she shouldn't let these two battle..

 

[Charizard_Man]

Across the skies of Kanto, past the plains of Johto, beyond the sea of Hoenn, and over the mountains of Sinnoh...adventure always beckons.

- Jacob Sugimori, Age 35
__________________________________________


"So umm. You two heading to Viridian?" The blonde boy asked the two trainers as he flipped open his pokedex, the map showing Viridian is the nearest city.

"ViridianCity is the logical next stop on our journey, of course. Nice to meet you, Sugimori-kun. Shall we… mm… proceed? I think that perhaps you could travel with us to ensure… that none of us gets lost."


Cecil Fluorspar, the rather classy boy, grew a tiny smile as he looked up at the blonde boy. Tai smirked and nodded,

"Sure." A breeze went past the trio, whipping up Tai's collar and hair. He looked over to Iris once more and sighed before he turned around and smiled,

"Alright then guys, ONWARD TO ADVENTURE!" He smiled, Charco pointing as well.

"…Before we begin to depart for Viridian once more." He heard Cecil blurt out and raise a hand.

Tai fell, anime style.

"Sugimori-kun, how about a little - contest? A proper trainer's battle; that is what I wish to challenge you to." Tai's ears perked at the sound of that word, battle.

"Oh that could be fun actually! I'll be the referee then." He heard Iris squeal and walk over to the center of where they stood.

He heard the oh-so sweet sound of a pokeball shooting out the red energy that quickly materialized into the living Squirtle that now stood there "Come forth, Squirtle!"

Tai quickly spun around and faced Cecil,

"A battle you say?" Tai smirked, this boy doesn't know what he's getting himself into. Tai's been battling since he was small, Tai knew for certain he was going to win. But for some reason, he didn't only want to win, he NEEDED to win. This wasn't for his pride, for the girl, this guy just pissed him off,

"How can I refuse?" Tai smirked.

"Shall we, then?" The boy extended his hand. "Good luck."

"Don't need it." Tai whispered as he pointed at the battle field,

"Charco, Scratch!!" and so the battle began, Tai was a strange one when it came to battling. He became very absorbed into the battle. He swiftly pulled out his red iPod Nano from his pocket and plugged in his matching red, retro style earphones and played a song to accompany the battle.

Charco dashed forward and pounced up using the strength from his hind legs to bounce off of the floor and towards the blue turtle. Squirtle bounced up quickly and slapped the top of Charco's head to send his face into the dirt, Squirtle snickered as he bounced back.

"Crap. Squirtle's got a little spunk." Tai whispered, "Growl!" Charco opened his mouth and released a loud roar that rang through Squirtle's ears and froze him in mid air. The tiny turtle fell to the floor and clogged the sides of his head with his hands.

"Now, scratch!" Charco grinned and ran forward once more.

"Payback B**ch!" Charco dug his claws into Squirtle's cheek, the turtle flying backwards. Charco grinned, he got WAY too into the battles. Like trainer like pokemon.

Charco's grin faded as a cloud of transparent bubbles floated over, the oversized bubbles completely covered Charco's body.

"Oh crap! This guy's Squirtle already knows a water attack!" Charco was flung into the air and was slammed into the ground. The fire type raised his leg and heaved himself up,

<Wow Tai, that hurt...ALOT. My fire is gonna get put out if that attack hits again.> Charco whined, Tai clenched his fists. This was NOT a good match up,

"Growl again!" Charco leaped into the air and released the deep roar once more. Both Charco and Tai's eyes widened, Squirtle started to float into the air unfazed by the growl attack.

He floated safely in one of his own bubbles, Cecil had commanded Squirtle to use a bubble attack on himself in order to safely shield himself from Charco's growl. The turtle popped out of the bubble, head first, and smashed into Charco. The fire pokemon flew back and skidded across the floor back to Tai's feet, the boy lowered his earphones as he looked down at the swirls in Charco's eyes.

He just lost...

 

[Cirrus]

"Don't need it." The blond boy opposite him whispered as he gestured at the field that was about to erupt with a fierce battle.

The conflict began after three short seconds, every instant felt keenly by him. "Forward, Zenigame! Tail Whip!" His orders were always fairly succinct when he needed to command, and he snapped one out immediately as he sensed the start of the feud. Meanwhile, the boy opposite him was plugging in a music player.

Tai's Charmander ran forward, leaping up into the air, using the strength from his hind legs to bounce off of the floor and towards the blue turtle. Squirtle responded with a sonic-speed head attack, sending the red Pokemon onto the soft grass. Squirtle was smirking in a satisfied fashion as he bounced back, swinging his tail emphatically as he taunted the orange fire-breathing lizard.

It seemed that Tai and his Charmander were not going to be defeated without a fight, however. Cecil blinked as he heard the emanation of a guttural roaring sound and hastily clutched his hands to his ears, and his Squirtle did the same. It was a Growl attack.

The Charmander came in for a Scratch attack with the opening, and the reptile dug his claws into Squirtle's cheek, striking his Squirtle flying backwards. The Charmander grinned, and Cecil frowned.

​

"Unfortunately, we have the elemental advantage…! Bubble!" Directing his Squirtle with renewed vigor rather than idle disinterest now, Cecil stepped back and backhandedly pointed towards their fiery target. Squirtle obliged, a stream of blue insubstantial spheres floating towards the Charmander, flinging the flaming-tailed draconic creature backwards, first into the air, and then the ground.

Charmander hastily got up a second later – he had suffered quite a bit of damage from the Water-attribute attack, Cecil noted.

"Bubble again! I don't think we want to be hit by another Growl attack. It will serve as a sound barrier!"

​

Not five seconds after he had issued this command was Squirtle engulfed in a bluish orb, and two seconds after that another Growl predictably shook their surroundings. Thank God he was prepared for it.

​

"Full attack, Zenigame!"

​

The turtle popped out of the bubble, head first, and smashed into the Charmander named Charco. The fire pokemon was knocked back and skidded across the floor to Tai's feet. Cecil observed with relief that the Charmander was knocked out by the last Tackle attack Squirtle performed.

​

"That… is it. Your Charmander is incapacitated, Sugimori-kun." Cecil curved his lips upwards with an aura of assurance mixed with pride and slight hints of superiority. "I believe that I have won." He took a theatrical bow, recalling Squirtle with a swift motion of his fingers. He was shaking a little, though, despite everything. Turning around, he met Iris's gaze for a moment, then closed his eyes.

​

And smiled at her again. Why was he doing that so often?​

 

[Yuukihime]

"A battle you say?" Tai smirked, "How can I refuse?"

"The battle between Mr. Cecil and Mr. Tai will begin. The trainers are to use their starter Pokémon only. The battle will be concluded when one Pokémon cannot go on." Iris raised her hand, "Start!"

<And where did you get that little number?> Amaranth gave her a smirk.

"Oh well I watch a lot of battle shows at home.." Iris mumbled and blushed at her Pokémon. Amaranth merely rolled her eyes.

"Shall we, then?" Cecil extended his hand. "Good luck."

"Don't need it."Tai whispered.

"Charco, Scratch!!" and so the battle began on Tai's command. Charco dashed forward and pounced up using the strength from his hind legs to bounce off of the floor and towards the blue turtle. Squirtle bounced up quickly and slapped the top of Charco's head to send his face into the dirt, Squirtle snickered as he bounced back while Tai pulled out a iPod and was finding an appropriate song to match the battle.

<What the hell is he doing?> Amaranth nearly gaped as she saw Tai trying to match music to the battle..

"I really don't think I've ever seen this before, Amaranth..." Iris mumbled.

"Crap. Squirtle's got a little spunk." Tai whispered, "Growl!" Charco opened his mouth and released a loud roar that rang through Squirtle's ears and froze him in mid air. The tiny turtle fell to the floor and clogged the sides of his head with his hands.

"Now, scratch!" Charco came in for a Scratch attack with the opening, and the reptile dug his claws into Squirtle's cheek, striking his Squirtle flying backwards. The Charmander grinned, and Cecil frowned.

"Unfortunately, we have the elemental advantage…! Bubble!" Directing his Squirtle with renewed vigor rather than idle disinterest now, Cecil stepped back and backhandedly pointed towards their fiery target. Squirtle obliged, a stream of blue insubstantial spheres floating towards Charco, flinging the Charmander backwards, first into the air, and then the ground.

<I knew how this was going to turn out..Water beats Fire every time..> Amaranth murmured almost so low that Iris couldn't hear it.

"Growl again!" Tai yelled. Iris heard the panic in his voice. He was running out of options.
"Bubble again! I don't think we want to be hit by another Growl attack. It will serve as a sound barrier!" Cecil yelled.

<That's a good move...He's keeping his head..Tai's beginning to panic..> Amaranth mumbled. Iris could only nod.

"Full attack, Zenigame!"

The turtle popped out of the bubble, head first, and smashed into Charco. The fire pokemon was knocked back and skidded across the floor to Tai's feet. Iris could see Charco had been knocked out cold. Cecil took a theatrical bow, recalling Squirtle with a swift motion of his fingers.

"The battle is over. Mr. Cecil wins with his Squirtle!" Iris said. Iris looked at Tai who was outwardly stunned and then to Cecil who was smiling. A smile of pride and superiority. and then he met Iris' gaze and smiled a tiny bit. She smiled back of course.

"That was a good battle both of you. Tai came at it with such passion it was really stunning, and the way Cecil handled Charco's growl by using bubble as a sound barrier was quite impressive." Iris smiled at the two boys and reached into her bag and grabbed a potion. She took it over to injured Charco and sprayed it, "It won't help much so I'd advise getting him to a Pokemon Center as quickly as possible, Tai." Iris told him and then turned to Cecil.

"When you get the chance, you should battle me someday, Cecil. I really would like to see how I would fair against you. You seem to be quite good with strategies."

<I'd cream him no sweat Grass beats Water any day. My vines would pop those silly bubbles of his.> Amaranth stated with an arrogant tone.

"..Anyway, we should both get your Pokémon to the Pokemon Center in Viridian city.."

 

[Charizard_Man]

"That… is it. Your Charmander is incapacitated, Sugimori-kun. I believe that I have won." He took a theatrical bow, recalling Squirtle with a swift motion of his fingers.

"The battle is over. Mr. Cecil wins with his Squirtle!" The voice pierced his ears, confirming the unbelievable thing that just happened. He had lost, he's never lost a battle before...

"That was a good battle both of you. Tai came at it with such passion it was really stunning, and the way Cecil handled Charco's growl by using bubble as a sound barrier was quite impressive." The girl said once more, Tai just fell to his knees and picked up Charco in his arms.

<Sorry...Tai,> Charco only paused to release an overly dramatic cough, <I failed.>

"Don't sweat it buddy. We'll get him next time." Tai smiled, then looked up to Iris who sprayed Charco with one of her potions. She smiled then said to take him to the pokemon center. After that she turned around and walked over to Cecil.

Tai sighed, looks like he lost his chance.

"When you get the chance, you should battle me someday, Cecil. I really would like to see how I would fair against you. You seem to be quite good with strategies." Tai scoffed, he was better than that douche bag. It's just the girl distracted him.

"Well, mmm...guess we should get going to Viridian." Tai said, grabbing his large red earphones and placing them over his ears. Charco climbed atop of his head and sat there enjoying the view as the trio walked down the flower fields...

► TO BE CONTINUED
________________________________________________________________


Episode Two: Rocket Battle! Viridian's Old Man!!

The flower field slowly gave way to a dirt path that narrowed into ViridianCity, the verdant town of nature. From what Tai could see, there was a pokemon center up ahead, 'Just what Iris suggested.' Thought Tai. Beyond that, masses of small buildings and homes were gathered around the middle of the city, where the Viridian Gym awaited.

Charco skipped ahead, happy to be able to get some food. <Come on! I'm starving!!>

"Hold up Charco! Geez…..you're faster than I thought you would be after taking a beating."

Charco sighed. <Naw, he didn't break my spirit!!> Charco flexed his arms, Tai chuckled. The three trainers stood there before the poke center as people busied past them, in and out of the sliding glass doors….

The boy adjusted his cap, then picked up Charco in his arms and walked inside the poke center, "Come on." He motioned for the other two to follow him.

Charco struggled to get out of the binds of his trainer's arms. <You don't have to carry me you know. I don't mind walking.>

"Don't be silly. It's fun carrying you! You're all warm." Tai smiled a kitten smile and looked around the center.

There were MASSES of trainers everywhere! People gathered from far and wide. Some tough looking, other noobs like them. Old and young, pretty and ugly, the list went on and on.

Charco was pleasantly shocked. <Wow! Are there always this many trainers in Pokecenters?>

"Nah, don't think so. Viridian is the closest city to Victory Road and the Elite Four, that's why everyone comes here…"

<Oh. That's nice.>

"Mhm. One day, we'll be here and-" He was interrupted by a giant Chansey springing up in his face, nurse cap and all. It was right in his way.

"WHOA!" Tai fell backwards, his cap falling off. Iris and Cecil were shocked to see the pink pokemon shove her egg in Tai's face.

"CHANSEY!" The pinkish, oval shaped pokemon grinned happily and shoved the Egg from her pouch in the trainer's face.

Charco sweatdropped. <I think I want to go back in my pokeball now.>

Tai obliged, returning the pokemon as he got back on his feet. The Chansey smiled and bounced off, startling other trainers and showing off its newly polished egg.

'Psycho pokemon…" Tai thought, glaring at it. He looked over at Cecil and Iris,

"Where's my hat...?" He looked around trying to cover his hair, <Hey Tai, yer' hair's different without your hat.> Charco commented, <It stands up a little and less on the sides.> Tai sighed and continued to look for his hat.

"Aha! There you are!" He kneeled down to grab his hat which was next to a large flower, as soon as he extended his arm to grab it the hat suddenly jerked to the side.

"What the hell..." Tai mumbled then quickly reached for his hat, but again it slid to the side. He stuck his tongue out then quickly leaped onto the hat, only to fall flat on his face as the hat scuttled across the center floor.

"Oh hell no! Charco cut him off!" Tai ordered as he ran across the center, bumping into people and Charco burning people. The two finally cornered the hat, Charco stuck his tail next to the hat. After a couple of seconds the pokemon underneath came rocketing out, the hat falling on Tai's head.

"Vee..Vee!" The Weedle hurriedly scurried out the door. Nurse Joy giggled, "Sorry for that pesky Weedle, it's been causing trouble all day." Tai smirked and put his arm around the nurse,

"No need to apologize cutie. But can you go ahead and heal me and my friend's pokemon?" He smirked, it seemed his teeth sparkled for just a split second. The nurse smiled and grabbed their pokeballs,

"See guys, that's all it takes. Well we should take care of any business we want to right now, as for me...I'm gonna go send Ratty here to the professor." Tai smiled then walked over to the computer console placed right next to Nurse Joy, he winked and smiled as he typed in his trainer number to log into his account.

A couple of different programs appeared and after a sequence of button pushing, Tai placed Ratty's pokeball on a small platform. He waved to the little Rattata, then the pokeball quickly disappeared all together.

Tai grinned and flipped open his pokedex, "Hmm...what was that yellow pokemon dad always talked about...?" He flipped through his pokedex.

 

[Cirrus]

[FONT=宋体]"[/FONT]That… is it. Your Charmander is incapacitated, Sugimori-kun. I believe that I have won." He took a theatrical bow, recalling Squirtle with a swift motion of his fingers.

"The battle is over. Mr. Cecil wins with his Squirtle!" Iris's mellifluous voice rang out over the grassy mound that they were battling on, a reaffirmation of his perceived ability.

Thank goodness - he had won, after all the commotion and work.

"That was a good battle both of you. Tai came at it with such passion it was really stunning, and the way Cecil handled Charco's growl by using bubble as a sound barrier was quite impressive." He smiled a little at the first part of the sentence, his face rising in temperature a little at the second.

As he watched Iris treat the Charmander - whose name was Charco, it appeared - he remarked upon Iris's thoughtfulness. Under any other situation, where his head wasn't flooded with instinct and emotion, he would have believed anyone that was kind enough to do the same, but as it was...

Iris radiated something that drew him to her, but he couldn't tell yet what it was. He would figure out in time, he was sure.

"When you get the chance, you should battle me someday, Cecil. I really would like to see how I would fare against you. You seem to be quite good with strategies."

There weren't many girls of about his age that he had met in Japan. In fact, one could say that Iris was the first one he had met properly. He would attempt to offer his aid to her, acting a member of the gentry should act.

That was what he thought to himself, nodding towards Iris and smiling for no logical reason whatsoever, mind swirling like a chaotic concoction in a flask.

"Well, mmm...guess we should get going to Viridian." The red-clad boy named Tai spoke up, and he glanced up from his view of the blades of grass that he was staring at in an effort to organize his thoughts.

Right now, it was pointless. He would go with them, and that would be the end of it.
~!----!~

Episode Two: Rocket Battle! Viridian's Old Man!!

Eventually, the stretches of greenery they were traveling across became a widening path that flowed onwards into Viridian City. Rows and columns of buildings, with both modern and older styles of architecture, could be seen, and a red dome wasn't far away in the distance. Cecil was content to stay by Iris's side while Tai and his vivacious Charmander ran ahead, making small talk as they traveled.

Arriving at the Pokemon centre a few minutes later, the trio entered the glass doors. Tai motioned for Cecil and Iris to follow him, and after a few instants of pondering their next action, he did so, Iris following not far from him. Tai appeared to have picked up Charco in his arms, and was talking to the fiery lizard. There was quite a crowd of trainers in the Pokemon center, though not too many that there would be barely any breathing room.

[FONT=宋体]"[/FONT]WHOA!" Tai fell backwards, his cap falling off. Cecil's expression was one of amusement when he saw the pink pokemon shove her egg in Tai's face.

[FONT=宋体]"[/FONT]CHANSEY!" The pinkish, oval shaped pokemon grinned happily and shoved the Egg from her pouch in the trainer's face. The Chansey smiled and bounced off, startling other trainers and showing off its newly polished egg.

While Tai was having a fiasco with a Weedle, as well as blatantly flirting with the nurse – somehow it was overlooked, though Cecil had no doubt in England it would have been taken care of properly – he was immersing himself in conversation with a certain girl in a black cape-and-dress with pink frills.

"Maybe we should take some time to rest here awhile. Erisu-chan."

"Aa… that's alright! I feel fine," Iris said, her expression innocent. Cecil was content simply to watch her smile linger, entrusting his Pokemon to Nurse Joy for her to take care of. He stretched a little after several seconds, arms stretching to alleviate temporary forms of paralysis, then attempted to resume speaking.

"What are you coming on this adventure for, Erisu-chan?" He blinked as a look of panic flickered across Iris's fair skin, and reiterated. "That is – mm… what's your goal for this journey?"

"I- I just like traveling. And being a Pokemon trainer seemed fun…"

"I… see." Blinking twice this time, he nodded. She seemed to be hiding some things, but everyone had their own secrets. He had his, and he believed that no one should pry into the secrets of others.

Tai was finished, though.

"See guys, that's all it takes. Well we should take care of any business we want to right now, as for me...I'm gonna go send Ratty here to the professor." Tai smiled then walked over to the computer console placed right next to Nurse Joy, he winked and smiled as he typed in his trainer number to log into his account.

 

[Yuukihime]

And it's so easy when your evil. <3

"Well, mmm...guess we should get going to Viridian." Tai spoke up after getting his thoughts together. Iris almost felt a bit of pity for him.

Loosing your first battle must be tough. Iris thought to herself. She shook the feeling of pity off though. Iris was on this journey to look for her sister, not to make friends.

<(''<) (>'')> <('-')> <(''<) (>'')> ^('v')^


Episode Two: Rocket Battle! Viridian's Old Man!!​

Iris was walking quietly next to Cecil, thinking about what hardships she would face. She thought of her sister who had been missing for several years. Iris had a feeling her sister was alive..but where was she? How could she have just disappeared off the face of the Earth? Iris let out a small sigh.

She watched Charco dart ahead of Tai and urging him to hurry up and watched Tai chase after his pokemon.

"Tai-kun is going to leave us behind if we don't hurry up, Cecil-kun." Iris smiled at him.

Some time later the group arrived at the Pokemon Center. It was filled with many different type. Young, old, newbies, experts. You name it, they were there.

"Wow. I wonder how many here are here for Victory Road..." Iris thought to herself. She looked at the variety of trainers maybe hoping to see her sister in the mass of trainers but to no avail. Iris let out a disappointed sigh when she saw a pink pokemon shove an egg in Tai's face. Iris stifled back a giggle as she watched Tai nearly stumble backward and loose his hat in the process.

"CHANSEY!" The pinkish, oval shaped pokemon grinned happily and shoved the Egg from her pouch in the trainer's face. The Chansey smiled and bounced off, startling other trainers and showing off its newly polished egg.

"Ehehe...What an odd pokemon." Iris mumbled. Iris saw Tai wander off chasing after a stubborn Weedle who had stolen his hat. She stopped paying attention when Tai began flirting with the nurse.

"Maybe we should take some time to rest here awhile. Erisu-chan."

"Aa...That's alright! I feel fine." Iris responded with a smile. She handed Amaranth over to Nurse Joy to care for.

"What are you coming on this adventure for, Erisu-chan?" Cecil asked her. Iris felt panic rising within her. They couldn't know about her sister. That was her buisness, and her buisness alone. "That is – mm… what's your goal for this journey?"

"I- I just like traveling. And being a Pokemon trainer seemed fun…" Iris lied and felt the panic within her to die. It was certainly a believable lie but she could see Cecil knew she was hiding something.

"I… see." Blinking twice this time, he nodded. He seemed not to delve into her secrets. He knew where to stop asking questions which made Iris breath a tiny sigh of relief.

Tai was finished with whatever he was doing before Iris could ask Cecil what was his goal for this journey. There would be other opportunities though so Iris shrugged it off.

"See guys, that's all it takes. Well we should take care of any business we want to right now, as for me...I'm gonna go send Ratty here to the professor." Tai smiled then walked over to the computer console and typed in his trainer I.D.

 

[Cirrus]

When darkness descended upon Viridian City, its footsteps undetectable and unseen, still there was bustle about its hubs of activity. The Pokemon Centre, in turn, did not decrease in its number of visitors, but rather an increased flow of traveling trainers and breeders flocked to the brightly-lit complex to seek shelter for the night. Earlier in the afternoon, a trio of young trainers arrived at Viridian's Pokemon Centre. On the surface, these were no different from any other trio of ordinary travelers, but they were Professor Oak's researchers, bearers of the famous analysis device named the Pokedex. Although the atmosphere was peaceful, it was more of a sort of calmness before a potential storm. But that was life – one's past came back to interfere with the present, and inter-personal relationships often clashed at the most inopportune times possible. Even so, they were a group that would become closer together in the future, that fact was not doubted. It was also the nature of things for relationships, platonic and otherwise, to form in the first place.

Rays of reddish-orange sunlight began to fade and inky violet set itself into the sky. Cecil was at a second-floor window of the Pokemon Centre, staring at the spectacle in thoughtful contemplation. In a room to the right, Iris was in front of a mirror, examining her countenance and generally taking a rest. Tai was down in the cafeteria, taking advantage of the refreshments offered. The digital clock shaped like a Pokeball on the nightstand beside his temporary bed registered 6: 43. It would be time to dine in a few minutes, and so Cecil stood up and changed into another, fresher shirt, and smoothed out his tie. The Pokemon Center did not serve food at selective times throughout the day, nor was it that sort of organization, but it would be unhealthy to contemplate dining any later. He had invited his companions earlier in the day to dine at this time as well, but Tai had complained (as he would) that he was too hungry to wait until seven and would some food appear- the rest was self-explanatory.

He headed downstairs at 6: 50, and waited at the lobby of the Pokemon Center. When Iris appeared there seven or eight minutes later, without her cape but with a fresher appearance somehow, he smiled and extended his right hand, his left raised to indicate the Viridian evening outside the glass double doors.

"Since Sugimori-kun isn't here, I thought that we could perhaps take the opportunity to dine elsewhere in the city. Would that be fine with you?" Seeing Iris' expression of slight alarm, he faltered a little, but began to smile again reassuringly. "I'll be taking care of things, of course. I just felt that it would be better for us not to have to dine by ourselves."

"A-alright."

 

[Yuukihime]

Let's kill the night and go down in style​

It had been some time since they arrived at Viridian City. Darkness was slowly etching its way through the sky and the sun was slowly descending into the horizon. The stars were beginning to glitter as the suns light gradually faded from view.

Iris let out a sigh as she sat on a temporary bed for the night. Amaranth next to her stifling a yawn. Iris to felt a little bit tired with all that had happened today. Getting Amaranth, meeting Cecil and Tai, her mind was still trying to register all of it.

Iris turned her attention to the mirror placed on the wall across from her. "I should get ready.." Iris told her Pokémon who merely looked at her stifling back another yawn. Iris took out a brush from her bag and approached the mirror when Amaranths voice pierced the quietness of the room.

<Say Iris, I have a question> Amaranth's voice had a tone of curiosity in it.

"Hm?" Iris asked as she brushed her hair gently.

<Why do you wear that cape, doesn't it get to be a bit of a hassle at time? And it looks a bit odd...> Amaranth mumbled. Iris giggled softly, turned to Amaranth and smiled gently.

"It's from...an old friend...We exchanged them as birthday gifts. She has one exactly like this except it's white." Iris said and placed the brush back in her bag, "I shouldn't bring it to dinner though. So I'll leave it here." She placed the black cape on the bed gently.

<Say Iris...It says right here in tiny letters.. For Iris, Made by Lily.> Amaranth looked at Iris with a suspicious look.

"Ah, yes, we sewed our names into the capes as well, it's no big deal." Iris mumbled.

<I see...> Amaranth mumbled.

"It's my only memory of her actually, she disappeared about....3 years ago I believe..I haven't seen her since..." Iris eyes examined the cape with a longing to see her sister.

<Hey! Your suppose to meet Cecil and Tai for dinner in 5 minutes you'd better get going!> Amaranth's voice broke through Iris' thought bubble of her sister.

"Ah! Your right. But Tai won't be there...He couldn't wait for dinner so it's just going be just Cecil and I." Iris smiled.

<So...like a date?> Amaranths voice was filled with mischief.

"D-date? E-eh?" Iris' voice turned low and she squeaked at the words "date".

<Jeeze, you just met him Iris!> Amaranth teased some more clearly enjoying Iris' flustered expression.

"A-Amaranth!" Iris managed to squeaked and her face turning bright red with sheer embarrassment while Amaranth was laughing her ass off on the bed.

<I'm ki..kidding Iris, hahahahaha! Just watching your flustered expression was so priceless, I couldn't help it!> Amaranth was still laughing.

".....Amaranth! You're so mean.... Return!" Iris took out the Pokeball and Amaranth dissolved into a red beam of light. She looked at the Pokeball and sighed, "You're going to cause a lot of trouble for me..I can already tell that..." Iris put the Pokeball away and looked at the clock. It was a little past 7 o' clock. Cecil would be waiting for her.

----​

Iris saw Cecil waiting at the front doors of the Pokémon Center. She tried to push Amaranth's teasing words out of her head because it was making her nervous. She repressed the nervousness like her mother had taught her and walked calmly to Cecil.

"Sorry I took so long...I had a little scuffle with Amaranth over something." Iris smiled gently. What happened next totally caught her off guard.

"Since Sugimori-kun isn't here, I thought that we could perhaps take the opportunity to dine elsewhere in the city. Would that be fine with you?" Iris expression turned from calm to alarmed but Cecil gave a reassuring smile, "I'll be taking care of things, of course. I just felt that it would be better for us not to have to dine by ourselves."

"A-Alright..." Iris managed to stutter out. She was going to have to scold Amaranth later for making her so nervous, "So...did you have any ideas on where we should eat?" Iris asked.

"No, but I'm sure we can find one." Cecil smiled reassuringly. Iris only nodded slowly and then turned her attention to the dimming sky. The stars were growing steadily brighter as the suns light slowly disappeared and the moons gentle rays began to bathe the area.

"I've only been to Viridian a few times so I really don't know my way around the city. It was always on business and I never got to know the town really.." Iris tried starting small talk while the two looked for a place to eat.

"I see.... This is actually my first time to Kanto..I'm here for...certain reasons." Cecil's voice was scarily icy. Iris shrugged it off, just like she had her reasons for hiding things he must thing he had to hide. So just as he respected her wishes not to delve any deeper she respected his, "I have been in England all my life."

"Wow... I was in France for a short time after I was born..but we moved to Pallet Town because of job reasons." Iris smiled warmly, "Ah! There is someplace to eat." Iris pointed to a small looking café with a sign out in front of it with the different specials, "Shall we eat there, Cecil-kun?"

Cecil merely nodded and they both entered the tiny little restaurant together.

The two discussed many things while eating the food they ordered. From literature they had read to other hobbies they had while still keeping away from delicate topics of the past. Iris was learning that Cecil was quite an interesting person and had a vast amount of knowledge for someone his age. It was quite fascinating to Iris.

By the end of the night they had learned much about each other while still staying away from the topics they wished to keep hidden.

By the time they had finished eating the moon had already risen high into the sky and the stars were glittering like tiny diamonds. The air had grown quite frigid and each breath could be seen as a puff of smoke.

"It's cooled down quite a bit hasn't it?" Iris smiled and shivered a tiny bit.