[PKMN FULL] Seeds of Tomorrow [M][IC]

[Sapphire Rose]

Melody/Raeliana Farell
Melody // Eterna, front of the hotel

---

"Terra, Lily, let's go." Melody spoke as she took the lead with the Rockruff and Eevee following close behind her. Lily had seemed to become a bit more accustomed to the presence of Melody but she obviously seemed to be more comfortable staying closer to Terra, who didn't seem to mind or paid attention to it at all. The brunette had just left the room in which she and her teammates met Erin and needed some fresh air before returning to her own room in the hotel. Melody was worried about the new team composition and appeared to be deep in thought. So deep that once outside she did not realise she bumped into someone.

"You again?!" She heard someone yell, only then was she ripped from her thoughts and brought back to the real world. What she found in front of her was the same guy Raeliana bumped into earlier today. The guy with black and blue hair. Similar to Logan except that this guy had an actual haircut. She had to give it to Raeliana. This guy did actually look really good but to bump into him twice in one day? How clumsy.

"I mean, you could've watched were you're going." Melody replied as she held her hand against her chin while she rested her arm on her other hand. She came across as quite snobbish, triggering something inside the young man but at the same time confusing him since the girl he crashed into for the second time today suddenly seemed totally different. "Well well, found your tongue again?" his witty remark made the brunette raise an eyebrow. "I never lost it. I was merely at a loss of words for your clumsiness." a smirk seemed to slowly appear on the girl's lips. Was she enjoying this? Maybe a little. The boy didn't seem impressed though.

"What girl crashes into the same guy twice a day. I would almost think you're searching for an excuse to hook up with me." the next remark was thrown into the air, waiting for Melody to grab it and turn these words into a weapon of her own. "You wish." she rolled with her eyes. While the two were bickering, Terra and Lily occasionally glanced at each other with worried looks all over their faces. "Are you sure you aren't just trying to harass me? Not very subtle, if you ask me." Melody replied to the boy's earlier remark. "Hell no. I like girls with more meat on their bones." The boy smirked back at her. Angering Melody and it showed as her cute smirk started to turn into a frown.

It wasn't until long that a small Oshawott tugged at his legs. The boy looked down at his worried Pokémon, scratched the back of his head and sighed. This was leading to nothing. What an annoying girl. "I'm outta here. Don't try to run into anyone else so late at night. You might get into trouble." The boy picked up the small Oshawott, turned around and left.

Melody was still quiet, worrying both her Pokémon even more as they sat down against her legs. If she had to be honest to herself then that last insult threw her off quite a bit. Both Raeliana and herself spend their childhood trying to lose weight. They were always told they were "too fat". No matter how much they puked or didn't eat at all, those words never changed... and now she was too thin? She's not even interested in him or any physical interaction at all. Why did she feel so annoyed?

What is this opposite kind of world thing?

 

[Shak]

Team Fruit Punch

Maria

Logan

Melody

*bulbagarden.net image removed*

Erin

---

Gut Punch


In the time that Melody had spent on her impromptu walk, the rest of Team Fruit Punch had spent the evening racking their brains in searching for an appropriate 'get to know you' game. Logan had suggested 'Blood ink', an initiation game where the person on the spot would tell a story about themself and the others would guess whether it was true or false. Unfortunately his suggestion was shot down on account of Maria freaking out about the stipulation that each incorrect guess was punished by a slash of the hand. The next suggestion was Maria's, but a wholesome game of charades was dismissed by both Logan and Erin; Neither teammate was all that keen on 'performing'. Finally, they found themselves wanting when they turned to Erin for a suggestion. Team Fruit Punch's oldest and newest member opted to entertain herself by crashing the couch for an evening of prime time TV.

With their exhausting search for an icebreaker behind them, the teens seemed to find one thing they could all agree on.

"I know! We could order a pizza! If there's one way you get to know a person, it's through the pizza toppings they order." Logan suggested, responding to no one but his stomach on it's third time of calling in just as many minutes.

"Pizza toppings…? Is this kid for real…?" Erin thought, shooting a lazy, sideways glance towards Logan. It was the kind of suggestion that she would expect from someone who had been known to be as… frankly childish as the boy was rumored to be, and part of her wanted to dismiss the idea entirely. On the other hand, the girl had yet to eat dinner that night, something that was made noticeable by the faint rumbling in her own stomach. "...I'm game, I guess."

Maria, though very timidly, nodded in response. "I… I'm p-pretty h-hungry too…" She paused however, as thoughts of Melody pushed into her mind. What if the brunette didn't like pizza? Would that cause a fuss already? Would that make the new girl get into a fight with her…? "M-Maybe we s-should wait for R-... Melody first, though?"

"Aww...come on Maria, you really wanna keep us waiting?" Logan stared at the girl with pleading eyes. "If we order it now, we can lose the pizza guy and have it back up here before she even gets back." He smiled, holding the phone up to his ear.

"...You're kind of a dick, aren't you?" Erin bluntly added, sending a glare in the direction of the blue-haired boy.

At that exact moment in time, Melody stumbled down through the door although looking a bit out of it. The brunette paused only for a moment to glance at each of her teammates before she sat down next to Maria with her arms folded, seemingly deep in thought as she was in hearing distance of Logan's douchebaggery but didn't react on it like she usually did.

"Oh, M-Melody… I… W-We…" the blonde began to stammer, her eyes darting between Logan and Erin in the process. "We were thinking of g-getting a p-pizza… D-Do you h-have anything you want on it...?"

"What?" the brunette looked up a bit confused and annoyed. "Uhm, no, I don't eat calories remem-" she suddenly stopped talking, remembering what Zachery had told her.

"Hell no. I like girls with more meat on their bones."

Melody glanced down at her stomach, then glanced down at Erin's and Maria's. There was definitely a difference. "Actually, order me one. I'd like one with pepperoni." the brunette declared boldly.

Melody's arrival and subsequent declaration injected a jolt of excitement into Logan that may have zapped any lingering resentment the boy had towards Erin's insult. He flicked the phone into the air and began dialing the number from a leftover leaflet in the hotel room.

"Guess that means me and Mel are sharing. What about you guys?" He asked, pointing the phone at the duo of Maria and Erin.

"Pineapples," Erin responded curtly. "Pineapples and ham."

Maria clenched up. "P-Pineapples? I don't…"

Her words trailed off. Erin's eyes narrowed, the glasses-wearing girl looking in the direction of the blonde as she spoke. Maria slowly glanced down, somehow managing to force a smile on her lips.

"I d-don't mind pineapples… S-Sounds good to me…" she affirmed, looking back towards Logan as she did so.

Logan too managed to smile at that. Unlike Maria though, Logan's smile grew into a burst of laughter. Once he managed to calm himself, he smiled at Erin.

"No, seriously whaddaya want?" He asked again, still only talking through breaths of unfinished laughter.

The brunette beside Maria looked up as her attention was drawn to the blue haired dolt. Was he ridiculing her pizza choices?

"Pineapple. Pineapple and ham," Erin repeated. She clearly wasn't that impressed with the boy's decision to laugh at her choices. "Is that a problem?"


"Oh…" Logan recoiled, only now realising that no one laughed with him. "Ummm...right." He began to dial, but the tension in the room just didn't sit right with him. His mind cycled through just about every joke he could think of in the moment. "One pepperoni, one Ham and Pineapple. Heck, if we're getting fruits on pizza, maybe I could get some grapes or something." The boy forced a chuckle, hoping at least one of his team would find the joke funny. With the silence still lingering, the boy took the phone as he escaped and stepped into the en-suite toilet.

Erin leaned back against the window seal she had still made her seat and glared out the window. "How in the world did this team even manage to function? Thoughts of the blue-haired idiot aside, anyways…" She paused her thoughts, glancing towards the other two females of the room. Erin really couldn't get a read on Melody. She had heard rumors that she was a tad of a control freak, but… something about her seemed off from that description. As for the blonde…

Erin glanced back over at Maria. The taller girl in question had been looking at her during the awkward silence, something that the newcomer to Team Fruit Punch was very aware of. As soon as the two locked eyes however, Maria would quickly flinch with her eyes quickly meeting the floor or even trying to shrink away behind one of the other two members of the group. The girl looked like she was about to have a heart attack at any moment.

"...You know, I'm not gonna bite right?" Erin finally questioned. She was quickly growing a bit annoyed with the blonde's antics, possibly even more so than she was with Logan's. "I know I'm not… whoever it was that was on the team last, but I have to say you're all not exactly the most friendly group. I've had a warmer welcome from a brick wall."

"Well, you're not very friendly yourself so I'm sure you'll fit right in." Melody, who was so distracted only moments ago, said a bit annoyed. It wasn't entirely directed at Erin though. "We have our shortcomings. I think we can all agree on that one." Melody's gaze shifted from Maria to Logan but she quickly opened her mouth again before anyone could interrupt it. "We had things finally figured out! And just when we did, our team composition was suddenly changed." The shortest girl of the bunch stood up and made her way towards the window. "John was taken away without giving the three of us the chance to say goodbye." As those words escaped her lips, she thought back about how Raeliana's little brother was suddenly taken away as well. Without giving his sister the chance to say goodbye to him, he was offered a spot in a foster family… with new sisters. Dr. Hickory always said it was for the best but Melody just couldn't forgive her for that.

"Yeah, well… Tough ****. Things change and people get left behind. It's not like I exactly asked to take his place," Erin thought as she looked away from Melody. "...Whatever. Just order the damn pizza so we can get this night over with, alright?"

"So, I made the orders and they do sell pineap-" Proceeded by the terrible joke he was about to mark his entrance with, Logan found himself losing his words as he trudged through the mud of what was now to be the regular atmosphere of the new fruit punch. He didn't like it.

​

 

[Shak]

Team Fruit Punch

Maria

Logan

Melody

Erin

---

With Friends Like These...


The night went about as well as the evening that preceded it. Each member of the team returned to their respective rooms and few pleasantries were shared on the eve of checking out. Even the initial members of Fruit Punch found it difficult to express how they felt about everything Eterna had thrown their way. John's disappearance, Maria's achievements, Logan's antics, Raeliana's declaration and Erin's arrival: The team had a lot to consider.

Now, filled up on pizza and enduring the endless complaining of the team's youngest member, Melody, Maria, Erin strolled down the underpass of route 206. This was a new look Fruit Punch.

After being silenced by the resident redhead, Logan found himself with yet another gripe, the bikes that rode along the cycle road above their heads. While he was still confused by his teammate's oddly positive reaction, he couldn't get over the fact he'd just given that bike away.

The boy had always thought of himself as a good trainer...but Maria. The fact she got the badge that he couldn't just irked him. He was desperate to know how she did it.

"Hey...Maria." Logan began, making his approach as subtle as was Logan-ly possible. Melody and Erin butting in would only make this more humiliating. Maria was always the one Logan trusted the most with that sort of thing...or any sort of thing. "I umm...I wanna get stronger, as a trainer. Could you help?" He asked, completely swallowing his pride.

Maria glanced down at the only boy of the group, a look of apprehension quickly gracing her features. "I… I d-don't know… I m-mean, I honestly d-don't think I did that well… The only r-reason I w-won was because…"

Her voice drifted off, her eyes glancing down to her bag which held the balls holding her Pokémon. She was quickly reminded of how Gardenia had more or less quit the match in absolute fear because of her newly acquired Mimikyu. Even after the "pizza party", Maria had not had much luck in improving the ghost-type's mood.

Erin glanced at the two conversing team members. Her eyes narrowed as she stared at Maria in particular. "Are you kidding me…? Blondie here is the one who won a gym match and has a badge? She looks like she's gonna have a heart attack whenever anyone so much as gives her a wrong look. I thought for sure Logan would've been the gym enthusiast…"

The dark-haired girl, who had up until this point been lagging behind the rest of Team Fruit Punch, quickened her pace to be a bit more in step with the two conversing members.

"...Is this some kind of joke…?" Erin questioned. The bluntness and tone caused Maria to flinch slightly, the blonde taking a step to be slightly closer to Logan in the event she needed a quick shield. "You mean she's the one to win a gym badge and not you…?" Erin looked between the two for a moment, before turning her focus back to Logan. "I don't see it." As those words left Erin's mouth, the brunette of the group also looked up. Melody would've immediately said something but Raeliana wasn't quite that brave.

"She might hide it well, but Maria here is a badass." Logan chirped up, throwing on his usual mask of upbeatness once he realised who had butted in. It was embarrassing enough that Erin overheard him admitting that he wasn't good enough, but the fact she expected more of him only burned him more. He had a scar for just about every time he'd heard the words "I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed". "In fact, I'd say Maria's the strongest on...on the team." His bold statement teetered off a bit as he realised that also included him.

Maria could literally feel the heat rising to her cheeks from Logan's comment. She knew that the blue-haired boy wasn't one to make a statement like that easily. However, any pride she might have felt from his compliment was instantly washed away when she felt Erin's cold gaze fall upon her once more. It was clear that she wasn't believing a single word.

"Battle me," Erin said flatly, her gaze now completely on Maria.

"W-What…?" Maria stammered.

"Battle me," Erin replied, taking hold of a poké ball from her belt. "If you're the best the team has, even better than Logan? I want to see it."

This was the moment the thin brunette, probably the shortest in the group too, decided to butt in. "L-Let's not make hasty decisions!" She spoke, although it sounded like a mouse that was suddenly making a peep after it got away from its predator. "I mean… I'm sure you'd like to battle dear Maria, she really is much better than she appears but she needs her rest. I'm sure our little adventure in Eterna took a lot of her energy and and-" Raeliana, who was desperate to save her friend, looked up at her and whispered. "D-Do you want this…?"

"Rest shmest. Maria's got this. I say we do it. Heck, best two out of three." Logan butted in. Part of him still riding the high of Erin's 'even better than Logan' comment.

Maria felt all eyes on her, her face becoming quite flushed at all the sudden attention. A well of mixed feelings began to build up inside the blonde as her eyes were quickly drawn to the ground. Her hands clenched into fists as she took a small breath.

"I… I guess one b-battle wouldn't… hurt…" she finally replied.

"We're set then," Erin replied calmly, as if her pressuring of Maria into the situation had never happened. Without missing a beat, the black-haired girl's eyes drifted between the two remaining teammates who would be spectating. "Melody, right? You're on referee duty."

Logan grumbled like a child at his being overlooked, but knew better than to make a fuss.

Raeliana sighed. "L-Let's get ready then." She spoke awfully quietly. It wasn't that she had no trust in Maria, it was the opposite. She thought it was pretty cool how Maria won a gym badge. The only thing that bothered her was the idea of Erin defeating her. Realiana was afraid her shy friend would retreat into the very same shell she was seeming to get out of.

The thin brunette made her way towards an open spot and took her place in the center at the sidelines.

Maria looked all about her teammates, Logan and Raeliana in particular. A look of unease graced her features as she began to feel her legs tremble from the pressure suddenly being placed upon her. The grip on her bag tightened all the while.

"Do… D-Do I r-really have to do this…?" Maria asked quietly, glancing towards Logan as she spoke.

Logan frowned. More than anything else, Maria's hesitation was incredibly frustrating to him. He'd seen on multiple occasions now what the girl was capable of, and her battle in the gym showed that his judgement wasn't wrong. Even Logan could see that the girl's hesitation wasn't the result of any kind of fear of Erin. They didn't even know if the redhead was any good. He stamped over to the blonde and confronted her like an opponent in a combat sports match.

"Are you or are you not Maria Cosgrove? Did you, or did you not just beat the Eterna city gym leader…" He paused, reluctant to continue his sentence. His pride stood as an obstacle for a brief moment, but using his desire to push Maria as a springboard, the boy found himself able to surmount the blockade. "...the gym leader that even I couldn't beat. You gotta stop beating yourself before you're beat Maria. I know it was your drawing that helped the honey guy. I know you saved OZ, even though I accused you of trying to steal her. If you don't even think you're good enough, what do you think of us who aren't even as good as you?" As he finished, he stepped away, realising just how much he'd poured his soul out. "I'm sorry about the picture…"

Raeliana stood quietly at the sidelines, she hadn't moved an inch but when Logan started calling out all Maria's achievements… Raeliana realised she had only been a burden up until now. There wasn't anything in particular she was good at and she hadn't tried anything yet. Unlike Maria and Logan, the latter who had shown some personal growth after their talk, Raeliana hadn't grown in any way. She wasn't interested in battling against other trainers either. She glanced at her beloved Rockruff who glanced back at her.

"... Maria… are you set? Do you want to continue?" Raeliana asked reluctantly.

Maria glanced around. Her eyes drifted to Raeliana, who seemed to be looking at her with concern. Then she glanced over to Erin, who seemed to be growing more frustrated and agitated with every passing moment of the blonde's indecision. Finally, she glanced down towards Logan, the boy looking up at her expectantly. The tall girl began to shift rather uncomfortably in place, before taking a deep breath and offering a weak nod.

"...Alright… I g-guess I c-can…" she stuttered out.

"You got this." Logan whispered beside a fist raised in solidarity.

Raeliana took her spot in the center from where Maria and Erin were going to battle. "Then…" Raeliana raised her arm and smacked it down as a sign the battle had started.

"Go!"

​

 

[Shak]

Team Fruit Punch

Maria

Logan

Melody

Erin

---

The Package


Both pokemon remained on their feet as the smoke cleared. Erin's Oddish allowed it's flower to settle as the rays of sun emanated off of it. Maria's Chimchar could barely stand, held up only by the Klang that found itself at the centre of the blast.

"What in the loose chain is going on here?" A man in a cyclers unitard approached them. His multi-coloured mohican was offset only by the racing stripes that cut through the sides of his hair. "You gotta watch where you're pointing your attacks missy, you coulda knocked some cyclists out of their pelt."

"Could've, but didn't," Erin replied bluntly. A satisfied smirk graced the girl's lips as she adjusted her glasses. She glanced down at her Oddish, the plant Pokémon smiling with glee as she trotted her way back towards her trainer. "Good work, Amelia. You earned a rest after that."

She took the Oddish's pokéball, recalling her before placing the ball back into her bag. She then turned her attention to Maria, the blonde girl trembling as she met Erin's gaze before quickly turning her attention back towards her weakened Chimchar. So, this was the power of the blonde that both of her teammates were touting? Erin had no qualm in admitting that she didn't see it.

"That was pitiful," Erin stated, looking over towards Logan. "If that's the girl who beat Gardenia, the champion better get off their ass and start reevaluating who's running the gyms."

Raeliana's worried gaze went from Maria, to Logan, to Erin and back to Maria before she clenched her fists. "M-Maria tried her best. You… you were just forcing her…" the girl spoke, shaking on her feet as she spoke back at Erin, not allowing her to speak ill of her friend. However, Raeliana didn't dare to bring up why her oddish was using a move it should not have yet learned.

Erin scoffed, crossing her arms in annoyance. "I didn't force her to battle. I can demand it all I want, but she was the one who agreed in the end. Don't try to cover up the fact she couldn't handle it."

Maria crouched down, a sudden urge filling her stomach to run and hide away in her room. Of course, she couldn't really get there from where she was. The best Maria could do was scoop up Jango and try to hide behind the Chimchar as best she could… which wasn't much, given the vast size difference between the two.

Logan's head hung. Despite the hard fought battle he'd just watched, where Erin was on the cusp of losing, the demeanour of the two girls made it clear which one had really won.

"I...guess it was a fluke." Logan sighed, the disappointment rushing out of him with each word. "Ummm…"

"Sorry, did I just hear you say you beat a gym leader?" The mohican headed man called as he stepped closer to the group. "Are you, by any chance, the trainers that were sent to meet with the professor?"

Raeliana sighed in relief as she felt like a saving grace had come to stop this situation.

"The professor?" Logan chimed, shoving all that grief to the back of his mind. "Yeah, we know the professor."

"Good." The cyclist said with a smile. "This is as good as any place to do the pickup. Make sure he gets it, okay? And remember, DO NOT OPEN IT." The cyclist finished, handing Logan a backpack before speeding off.

"Wait!" Logan stopped, deep in thought. He looked down at the straps of the backpack he already had on. "Where am I supposed to put this?" He yelled as the man disappeared into the cut.

"You guys never mentioned you were supposed to be meeting up with Rowan," Erin commented as she watched the biker's retreating form. "Much less that you were supposed to be delivering him something."

"Rowan?" Logan blinked, utterly baffled by the question. "I thought he was talking about Hickory."

Raeliana came closer, for a second she forgot the situation that had unfolded just now as her attention was drawn towards whatever Logan was holding. "Why did he say to not open it….? It makes me curious…" she spoke with her soft tone.

"It's bound to be important documents or somethin'." Logan announced proudly, pulling the bag away from the girls. "I reckon we were just trusted because we're the top group."

"I… I d-don't want to c-carry it or deliver it," Maria stammered out. "W-We haven't had m-much luck s-so far. W-What if we l-lose it or d-drop it? C-Can't we just hand it to another team t-to deliver?"

Erin sighed. "They're expecting us to deliver it. That guy seemed like he was waiting for us, the professor is probably waiting for this group in particular." The black-haired girl looked back down at the backpack for a moment. "That said, I'd rather not bother with the damn thing. If it's so important, why not deliver it themselves?"

"C'mon, you gotta know how these things work right? This is an important package, people will be tracking it to try and steal it. They must have recognised me. Not to brag but, I got a bit of a reputation as one of the best chaperones in the business. Back when I lived in Jublife, my family used to trust me getting sodas, snacks; heck they said they couldn't even trust pizzas guys, I had to take the pizza and finish the delivery." Logan explained with a proud smirk. "I never had to deal with grunt work like, powder passing or standing on the corner all day."

​