The New League

[Koroc]

After leaving the building Kenny released Stanley from its ball and started talking to the little guy. Stanley looked up at Kenny and gave a smile before he turned white and began to grow taller. When the light disappeared there was a tall tree pokemon with a twig on top of his head and two sets of green bulbs on his hands.

"Sudowoodo woodo woodo." The pokemon cried throwing its right hand above his eyes like he was saluting its trainer.

"Stanley you evolved that is great." Kenny yelled hugging the tree pokemon. After about ten seconds of excitement Kenny returned Stanley and headed into the town.

Walking into town Kenny first noticed a ranch that was full of pokemon on his left. Kenny made his way to the fence and stared at all the pokemon while Chewy was going through his bag. One of the pokemon walked over to Kenny and let him pet it. The pokemon smiled and licked Kenny's face before running back to where the other pokemon are.

On the other side of town Kenny saw another building that looked similar to the ranch and decided to walk over there to see what they are all about. When Kenny got to the fence this time there were very few pokemon. After seeing this Kenny walked into the building and noticed there was a couple inside drinking tea.

"Excuse me…." Kenny said politely hoping to get a response.

"Harold look we have a customer." The lady said looking at her husband who stood up.

"Hey young man what can we do for you?"

"I was wondering why you don't have that many pokemon on your ranch as the other one across town."

"That is because we are a daycare service while the other ranch takes pokemon from trainers that they do not want anymore."

Kenny felt bad he asked that question after getting that answer. He waved to the old couple and headed out the door. Looking to the other ranch Kenny felt sorry for all those pokemon that were abandoned by their trainers. Kenny looked forward and headed to the pokemon center so he could check on the egg. Kenny walked around the small town until he found the center and walked in there doors.

Chewy jumped off Kenny's back and ran to where this man was sitting and sat in his lap. Kenny saw this and ran to grab his Pikachu.

"Chewy you can't just go sit in just anybody's lap like that." Kenny said before he looked up at the man's face and saw it was Professor Rowan. "Oh hey there Professor Rowan I did not notice it was you." Kenny said nervously with a little smirk.

"Ah Kenneth and my little pichu. It is great to see you both." Professor Rowan said rubbing the top of Chewy's head. "From the looks of it you have been taken care of this Pikachu. Her coat is very shiny and she seems to be getting the exercise she needs."

"Thank you Professor Rowan I treat Chewy here like she is my sister."

"Good good but I need to do some test with her if you don't mind. So follow me to the back."

Kenny walked closely behind the Professor as they made their way to the back of the pokemon center. Rowan placed Chewy on a stretch table and had her stick her tongue out while he placed a small wooden stick on it and shined a flashlight in her mouth to check her teeth.
"They seem to be clean." Rowan said throwing away the stick and standing up. "You seem to be doing a great job with her Kenny. Do you have any other pokemon with you?"

"Yes I do. I have Sunny the Grotle, Barney the Machop, Willy the Drifbloon, and Stanley the Sudowoodo."

"Nice team you have here. The all look very healthy. I have to reward you with this thunderstone young man for an outstanding job you have done but be wary I will check up on you again so keep on your toes."
Rowan said walking out the door. Kenny was glad he past the Rowan test but was fearing that he has a lot more to learn.

"Oh snap I forgot to check on the egg." Kenny said looking in his bag to check to see if the temperature dropped. "Phew I am good." Kenny said with relief the eggs was okay. He quickly closed his bag and returned all his pokemon but Chewy and left the lab back to the lobby.

"Have you heard this guy was giving away Unkown for free?" Boys said almost out of breathe.

"He is? Where?" The girl asked.

"The lonely house but the ruins." The boy said with a smile on his face.

Kenny could not pass on an opportunity like this one and headed over to the ruins. Kenny walked north of the town and made a right and saw that he had do go down a few cliffs to get to the man's house. Kenny reached the man's house and noticed that the lights were off. Kenny thought the man was gone but he seen a boy about his age leaves the house with an apriball.

Kenny knocked on the door and Kenny here a faint voice.

"Come in please but don't turn on the lights they give me migraines."

Kenny pushed the door open slightly and walked in.

"Hello I am Kenny and I was interested in one of the pokemon you were giving away."

"Well I have a pokemon for you. It's called an Unknown. They come in the shapes of letters. Since your name begins with a K I will give you the K unknown." The man pulled out an apriball with a K etched into it.

"Thank you very much." Kenny said leaving the house with the new pokemon. Kenny stopped to think that if the egg hatches it will need a team to be on so Kenny decided to take the unknown to the pokemon storage place.

Kenny headed back to the building with bird pokemon flying in and out with bags and letters. Walking in the building the guy called for Kenny to come to him again. Kenny walked to the guy and took out the apriball that contained the unknown.

"I want to drop off my unknown but I don't have a trainer code yet."

"Well I have to give you one huh." The man said walking into the cabinet to right of him. "Let's see here. Okay your trainer code will be 012547. Write that down and remember it. Okay I will take you pokemon from you here but from now on please use your whistle.

 

[Wolfwhispers]

"Gaaass," was the first response out of the Shaun's team as he finally came upon the next town. The town was literally a wide field with very few houses, but off in the distance, Shaun could make out a type of farm that housed quite a few pokemon in the fields, and wherever there was a crowd, Gastly was there to try and make trouble.

"No," was Shaun's immediate response as he continued down towards the town.

"Ga!" Gastly pouted, going so far as to even stick out his tongue.

"Meoww," Meowth purred, tone taunting as he licked a paw before turning to the side in disgust and spitting out a mouthful of water. He still hadn't quite gotten down that Water Pulse, and occasionally water would rise up and he would need to spit it out. "Oweth." Meowth blinked, ear twitching as he turned to a little house that almost seemed to meld into the hills that coincidentally were right in the shadows. "Meow," he moaned to Shaun, pawing at his pants leg to get his attention.

"What?" Shaun snapped, turning to his pokemon. "We just ate, so I'm not feeding you."

Meowth glared up at his trainer before pointing a single claw in the direction of the house.

Lifting a brow, Shaun followed Meowth's line of view and closed in on the shabby little cabin. The disgusting thing looked as if it would fall apart any second. Heck, even the door was slightly open. "Let's go see if we can scavenge anything," Shaun told his pokemon.

Hissing happily, Gastly made a beeline for the cabin, finding it to be a nice little haunt, if a bit small. "Gass," Gastly moaned loudly, hoping to scare a wild pokemon that might be taking refuge in the old cabin.

He was not let down as a loud "Gah!" echoed loudly.

Shaun frowned as he entered the cabin. Finger's fumbling for a switch, he was immediately met with another resounding "Gaaah!" but this time far louder. "Would you stop screaming already!" he snapped at the man as soon as he laid his eyes on the flinching man in the corner.

"Turn it off, please!" he shouted, arms covering his head to block out the light.

A bit startled, Shaun flicked the switch off. "Are you alright?" he asked warily as he tried to ignore Gastly's chuckles.

As he grew used to the darkness, he finally noticed that a candle was lit behind the man's figure. The man sighed in relief as he brought the candle forward and offered a weak smile. "I'm terribly sorry," he said mournfully, but I get these awful migranes when there's too much light.

Shaun could feel his disbelief growing. "So you're allergic to light?"

An embarrassed chuckled was the answer. "I work in ruines and caves," the man informed him, "so my eyesight has grown rather used to the darkness, and I find to much light actually causes pain. It's the same with Zubat, you see."

"Right..." Shaun really didn't know what to say to that. Tough luck, old man? "So what is it you study in ruines?"

"I actually study the ruines right by my house!" the man nearly shouted excitedly. "I found strange writing on the wall that was once blieved to be an ancient language, but would you believe it! It's actually a pokemon!"

"You mean Unown?" Shaun asked. "They discovered those things back in Johto a while ago."

Another embarrassed cough met Shaun's ears. "I suppose so, but there is always more to learn in different areas."

Shaun couldn't help but agree with that.

"Say, you wouldn't happen to want an Unown, would you?"

"Say what now?" Really, talk about a random question.

"An Unown," the man urged, already taking out an Apricorn pokeball. "I found this little guy flying about outside of the ruines, looking very lost and confused. I captured him by accident, what with me falling and the little bugger going through my stuff while I was unconcious and touching the poke... well..." Even with the dark, Shaun could tell the man was blushing as he realized he was rambling. "So would you like it?"

Shaun thought about it. "Sure, why not?" He could always trade it later or something.

The man beamed and, after covering his eyes, allowed the pokemon to pop out with a bright flash of light.

The effect was almost immediate. Gastly began to hiss and actually spit at the new pokemon and Meowth's hair stood on end as he too hissed at the pokemon. Unown just blinked lazily at the two, and if the thing had a mouth, Shaun figured it would have been yawning. It looked half asleep anyway, what with its eye half closed.

Unnoown," the Unown sighed, simply floating there.

Somewhat warily, the strange man returned the pokeball and handed it over to Shaun. "Well, er, goodluck?"

"Right." Shaun threw a narrowed look at his two pokemon as he left the stange man all alone in the dark, his two pokemon following behind at a distance.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"You two really need to get over whatever issue you have with this thing," Shaun told his pokemon a good hour after he had recieved the Unown. The two kept glaring or spitting at the pokeball resting on his belt.

"Sas," Gastly spat, turning away in a huff, gassy body flickering like an enraged fire.

"Meo," Meowth hissed, giving Shaun a look that said the stupid thing clearly freaked it out.

Shaun sighed, eyes glancing back at the ranch he had just left. There were at least a hundred abandoned pokemon that lived there, and he was seriously considering leaving the Unown with the ranch owners. The reason Shaun knew he wouldn't do that is because they don't trade the pokemon (he had seen a rather nice Houndour and Jolteon and was practically drooling), and he had too much pride to simply not take care of the issue.

"Just shut up and deal with it," he told them.

Oh yea, he would deal with it.

"I see your respect for your pokemon hasn't changed one bit," came a dry voice.

Shaun jumped and turned around with a scowl. "Professor," he acknowledged with respect, if a bit icy. "What a surprise."

A cool look was given. "Surely you haven't forgotten that little warning about surprise checkups, have you?"

Shaun's face hardened.

"I'll take your silence for a no," Professor Rowan said, eye as cold as ice as he surveyed a glaring Gastly and smug Meowth. "Are these the only pokemon you have?"

"Of course not," Shaun said haughtily, feeling very offended.

"Then what are you waiting for, boy?" Rowan nearly barked. "Let 'em loose."

Nearly grimacing at the command, Shaun released his Tauros and Unown. With a battle cry, the large bull pokemon pounded at the ground, great horned head shaking as it looked around. Upon finding no opponent, it turned questionably to Shaun. "Tar."

"Professor Rowan here is giving you a checkup," Shaun told his pokemon, inwardly pleased by how eager his new pokemon wanted to battle. He had yet to get to know or use this pokemon. "We'll battle later," he told the normal type.

"Roos," Tauros snorted before blinking almost stupidly at Unown.

"Nooon," Unown said in a yawning voice, eye still drooping.

"My, my," Professor Rowan murmed, running his hands over the letter pokemon. "Quite rare. I wasn't aware you could even capture a pokemon like this."

"A crazy old man gave it to me near the ruines," Shaun informed the professor.

"That explains it."

Shaun really had to fight the urge to huff and glare like a small child. The man made it seem like he couldn't capture a rare pokemon on his own!

"I suggest allowing Unown to spend some more time in the sun," Rowan ordered, already beginning his inspection with Tauros. "My, what poor condition these horns are in," he murmered, running a hand over the bulls horns. "You must sharpen them by ramming them into rocks." He threw Shaun a narrowed look. "How long have you had this pokemon?" he asked, eyes roaming over a few scars.

"Little over a day," Shaun told the professor truthfully. "Found him in the field just before the town. He was a hard capture."

Tauros gave a proud snort, even going so far as to stamp the ground and shake his head.

"Hmm." Rowan began his inspection with Gastly, but the ghost type actually spat at the man, much to Shaun's amusement, and flew over to Shaun's side. "There's a saying that the trainer is like the pokemon and vice versa," Rowan said coldly, only to recieve twin smirks from both Shaun and Gastly. He sighed. "That pokemon right there does look like he's in good condition," he admitted, "and very loyal, if a bit too spiteful. Best work on that," he warned. "The league doesn't like pokemon that are too wild in their battles. It's a sport, not a battle field."

He makes it sound like I'm going to murder my opponents pokemon, Shaun thought, casting Gastly a glance. The pokemon was just as amused as he was and seemed to be thinking the same thing because he gave a dark chuckle.

"Now for you," Rowan said, voice a bit fond. "You don't seem too beaten up," he mused, lifting a hand to pet Meowth.

"Mewm," Meowth purred, a bit of water quickly being spat to the side before he licked the hand petting him.

"What was that?" Rowan demanded at the excess of water.

"Water Pulse," Shaun informed. "Meowth is learning how to use that attack thanks to the Move Tutor a few miles back." Shaun lifted his eyebrows, just daring the professor to say something. "It was perfectly legal to teach his Meowth Water Pulse. Just because the cat pokemon didn't like water didn't make it a sin.

Professor Rowan's lips thinned as he gave Shaun a piercing look. "It seems like everything is in order," he finally admitted, if a bit grudgingly. "But I'm warning you," he told Shaun darkly, "I don't like it when I see a trainer misusing his pokemon, and the League likes it even less."

"You really think I can abuse these pokemon?" Shaun asked, no longer able to contain his amusement. "They'd kill me in an instant."

His pokemon all murmered their agreement (except Unown, who just floated there). Tauros could easily trample Shaun, Meowth could slit his throat and Gastly would be quite willing to use Curse on him

Professor Rowan actually growled. "That may be so, but that doesn't mean we won't be keeping an eye on you."

Shaun could feel a challenge coming, and he just couldn't wait until he was away from this man. He didn't train weak pokemon, but he knew these pokemon could handle tough training. He needed to get out of here and battle.

"You're reward," Rowan finally said, shocking Shaun. "I have been testing all my protege's and reward them with either an evolution stone or TM, and yes, even you."

Shaun actually smirked. Aw, he just loved it when the man was annoyed like this; having to reward him. "I'll take a TM," he purred. He held his hand out, Gastly and Meowth chuckling under their breath by his side as he waited for the man to hand over the mystical device.

 

[{Swan}]

Koroc - Great post, nice conversation with Rowan, I liked it.

Kenny received a Thunderstone and an Unown.
Kenny already has a party of six, the League requires him to store one Pokemon, which will it be?

Wolfwhispers - Like father like son? Great post, I liked the Unown-guy's tidbit.

Shaun received an Unown and TM14: Blizzard!

 

[rockman0]

The mountain pass that lead to Solaceon Town seemed to slowly slope downwards. The ground seemed to get flatter.

"We must be almost there," Bryce thought. He turned around to see Ariel staring at a sign, as if in complete thought.

"T-this w-way to So-so-lace-Solaceon town," she read, struggling to make out the words on the worn out sign. She stood up from the sign and looked towards Bryce. "Hey, we're almost there!"

As if I didn't know that already, Bryce thought. "Yeah, I kind of noticed that." He turned back around and continued walking. The two had been walking for about 10 to 20 minutes when they noticed a small wooden cottage. There was smoke coming from a small wooden chimney. It looked like a nice place to rest.

"Hey, Bryce, let's go there and rest."

"We can't just walk into someone's house."

"Of course not, silly! We're gonna ask first." She ran up to the door and knocked, with Bryce following behind reluctantly.

"Coming!" It sounded like a woman. She opened the door. She looked like she was in her mid-40s. There was no one else in the house except for a few Pokeballs that lie on a shelf. "Come in! Come in! So, I guess you're here for my special services, huh?"

"Special services?" Bryce was confused. What sort of services could she possibly offer?

"I just so happen to be a certified move tutor. The one and only Wilma Norse."

"Really!" Ariel's eyes grew wide. "Could you teach my Pokémon some attacks?"

"Of course I can!" she said with a big smile. "Just let me see your Pokémon." Ariel showed her the Igglybuff that she was training. "Now, that's some Pokémon. Lots of potential. I can teach it one of these moves." She handed Ariel a list of moves that she could learn.

"Ooh! I'll take this one." She pointed to a move on a list.

"Such a great choice! Your Pokémon will be better than ever. Of course, I charge a small fee."

"Fee!?" Ariel didn't like the sound of having to pay for something. But, isn't this how things work? "What can of fee?"

"Well, I don't ask much, but you know, I have to earn a living for myself." She showed her another list. "The more powerful the move, the more valuable item you have to trade me in return."

"Oh, darn! I don't have anything to trade."

"Well, I'm sorry dear. Maybe next time." Ariel hung her head down low. Bryce took the paper from her.

"Are you interested in anything, young man?" She looked at him patiently. Her eyes seemed to tell him to pick something.

"Um, I was just looking." Something on the list caught his eye. "So, my Surskit can learn Signal Beam?"

"Yep, it's one of my special abilities. That move will cost you an item of medium value."

"Hmm, what do you mean by medium value?"

"Show me what you've got to offer." Bryce pulled out random items from his backpack. He finally pulled out the Bright Powder that was lingering in his backpack since the beginning of his travels.

"Ooh! That would do just fine!" Apparently, she liked the Bright Powder. "I'll teach Surskit to use Signal Beam for that item. Do you wish to continue?"

Bryce thought about it for a while. The little guy hadn't seen many battles. He did need something that would give him a boost. Bryce had kept the Pokémon from battling because it hadn't been of much use lately. Maybe, a new attack would do him some good. "Sure, why not." He handed the women the vial of Bright Powder and Surskit's Pokeball.

"Well, the attack will take overnight to be mastered. I can teach your Pokémon for you while you run errands if you'd like."

"Sure. Thanks." Bryce was about to walk out the door when Ariel stopped him.

"Are you gonna just leave them alone with her?" she whispered. "What if she's a thief?"

"I assure you, I'm not a thief."

Ariel looked up. "You weren't supposed to hear that!"

"It's okay, I understand your concern. But rest assured, I take the best care possible for your Pokémon."

"I guess…" Ariel was still skeptic of the woman's credibility.

"Look, I tell you what," Bryce suggested. "How about you stay here and make sure nothing goes wrong while I go out to the next town. Deal?"

"But I don't want to—"Ariel was cut off because Bryce had already left the cabin. Frustrated, she turned around and saw Ms. Norse looking at her.

"Well, then, shall we get started?" Ariel hesitantly walked over to Ms. Norse.

Upon leaving the house, Bryce noticed another cabin. There were a couple of Miltank behind the cabin. It seemed to be a lot of business there. Bryce entered the cabin.

"Well, hello there!" It was one of the people from the fair that was trying to sell him something. "Fancy meeting you here!"

"Um, yeah. Same here. What is this place?" He wasn't very familiar with Solaceon Town.

"Why, this here is the Café Cabin. Here, we sell MooMoo milk. I'm one of the waitresses. My mother and father take care of the Miltank out back." The girl spoke with a southern accent.

"MooMoo milk?"

"Yea, did you see the Miltank in the back? They produce MooMoo milk. Customers come from all over the Sinnoh region to sample our MooMoo milk. Would you like a glass?"

"Sure." Bryce paid the money and took a glass of milk from the girl. When he drunk the milk, it seemed like his taste buds were in heaven. It was sweet, almost like ice cream. He was immediately hooked. The lady laughed out loud.

"Yup, that's the reaction that we get from all of our first-time customers," she said. "Good, huh?" Bryce shook his head. "Well, I'm glad you liked it. Be sure to come back again, okay?"

"Of course." Bryce turned around and started to walk out the door.

"Hey, wait a minute," the waitress called. "I remember now. You were in the contest weren't you; your Ponyta was in the race."

"Yup, that was me. I actually won that race, not to brag or anything."

"Uh-huh. Well, there's a ranch over in the main part of the town. There's a man in the ranch who's been coming here looking for trainers to help him with something. I was wondering if you'd be willing to help."

"What does he need help with?"

"Well, you know, things that people usually need help with. I'm sure it's nothing too big."

"I guess I'll go check it out. It would have helped if I knew exactly what it was."

"Well, the truth is, I don't know exactly myself, but I'm sure he'll reward you greatly for your help."

"I guess so. Well thanks for milk, umm."

"It's McKecknie. Annie McKecknie. And be sure to come back anytime."

"Will do," Bryce said. He said as he walked out the door. He continued to walk down the straight patch of land that was Solaceon Town. There were farmers and ranchers everywhere. Several ranches were set up that continued different Pokémon. Some were breeding. Some were pulling plows. Others were giving rides around the ranches. He noticed a ranch with a sign next to it. "H ELP WANTED," it said in bold capital letters. This must be it, Bryce thought. He walked into the ranch.

"Well, hello there!" an old man said. He was dressed sort of like Professor Rowan dressed. "Are you here because of the sign outside?

"Yes sir," Bryce said. The man motioned him to follow. He talked as he led the way.

"I have been studying Pokémon Reproduction all of my life. Even since I was a wee little child." The old man carried on. "I've had reasons to believe that Pokémon hatched from eggs. However, no one will listen to me. They call me harsh names like the Mad Scientist and whatnot." He grimaced after saying the nickname that he been given to him. "But now, they will all listen. I now have proof." He opened a door. In the room, there were a couple of eggs. They were white with green spots on them. The professor picked up an egg and handed it to Bryce. "Would you mind delivering this for me? I need it to go to a colleague of mine who is currently set up in Pastoria City. I would be very grateful if you did."

That was it? Bryce thought. I have to carry this heavy egg with me all the time. "I guess so." Bryce reluctantly accepted the egg.

"Thank you so much. I'll be sure to give you credit when I receive my recognition for discovering Pokémon eggs!"

Bryce shrugged his shoulders and left the ranch.

"Wait!" The professor said. "Do not show anyone the egg, understand? This is a top secret operation. Do not let anyone know what you are doing. Bryce nodded his head and went his way.

He decided to go to the Pokémon Center. He'd totally forgotten that he'd just had a battle. Nurse Joy seemed excited about something when he walked into the Center.

"What's that!? An egg! What's in the egg?" Bryce had forgotten to hide the egg. He had to think quickly.

"Oh, it's a plushy. Yeah, that's it. A plushy."

"Well, it doesn't look very plushy to me."

"It's a very lifelike plushy." Bryce countered as he put the egg away into his backpack. He had to keep it there while everyone was looking.

"I guess I'll accept that. So, what can I do for you?" Bryce handed the nurse his Pokémon. "Okay, just give me a second." Bryce waited for a moment. "Alright, your Pokémon are fighting fit! Come back soon!" She handed him his Pokémon and after saying thanks, Bryce was on his way.

He decided to head back to the Café because it was getting dark. He wanted another glass of MooMoo milk before they closed. On the way, he saw a man who was wearing official League clothing. He approached Bryce.

"Are you by any chance, a trainer?" Bryce shook his head. "Great! Let me tell you about a new system that the League is working on." He handed Bryce a whistle. "Have you ever wanted more than six Pokémon to own?" Bryce shrugged. "Well, we've thought of a temporary solution. If you ever catch more than six Pokémon, just blow that whistle. It will call one of League birds. The League bird will take your Pokeball and note with your name and Trainer Code to a temporary ranch here that will keep your Pokémon until you are ready for it. You can also get Pokémon back this way. However, keep in mind that this may take a few hours to complete."

"Thanks." Bryce said. "I guess this may come in handy some day."

"It's no problem. Just doing my job. Besides, I can't go home until I pass out all of these whistles." Bryce continued towards the Café Cabin. When he entered, he saw that Annie was still there. He took a seat and waited for her to come to him.

"What will it be today?"

"A glass of MooMoo milk."

"Coming right up." She walked to the back and brought a glass of milk back. Bryce drank the milk, delighted.

"You look tired."

"Yeah, I am. Do you know anywhere that I can rest?"

"We have a lodge upstairs. You're welcome to spend the night there."

"Thanks." His stomach growled.

"Of course, you have to buy something for the growling stomach of yours."

"Sure. Let me have 4 orders of Pokémon food for my Pokémon and a Burger and Fries for me."

"Coming right up." She went to the back again. About ten minutes later, she came back, balancing 5 dishes on her arms. She must have been doing this for a while. "Alright, here you go." She put a key down. "This will get you into the room upstairs."

"Thanks." Bryce said as he handed her the money. He released his Pokémon and began to eat. When he and his Pokémon had finished eating, he went upstairs and went to bed. He wondered how Surskit's training was coming along. Tomorrow he would find out. He closed his eyes and went to sleep. His Pokémon did the same.

 

[{Swan}]

Rockman0 - Nice post, don't show the egg!

Congrats, Surskit learned Signal Beam!
Bryce received an Egg and a Whistle!

I definitely didn't remember the items you carried, so could you please tell which ones you remember having bought?

 

[Underoos]

Selene was snoring. The bed in the Pokemon Center was just so comfortable that as soon as her head had hit she had begun to snore. Normally she never snored, but this time it was an apparently special occasion. She rolled over and buried her face in the blankets, unaware that someone was looking about the Pokemon Center for her. Her phone rang, but she didn't even hear that. When the digital clock on the nightstand next to her bed flipped over to ten in the morning, there was a knock at her door. Selene was groggy, so at first she figured she imagined the knock and just rolled over. Then the knocking grew louder. Selene groaned and glared at the door. She then huffed, got up, and walked over. What she sadly hadn't realized was that she was only in her underwear and an undershirt. She had gotten lazy the previous night.

Upon opening the door, Selene's eyes snapped open. She wasn't sleepy anymore. Jake was leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed and his green eyes sparkling with anger. Selene gulped and began stammering nervously, when Jake's expression suddenly changed. He kept looking her up and down in a funny way. His mouth was slightly open now, instead of in a firm frown. Selene cocked her head to the side in confusion. Jake's gaze seemed glued down. Selene looked down. Her eyes bugged and she screamed. She then slammed the door shut in his face, eyes wide as saucers. 

Holy mother ****ing ****! I can't believe I just opened the door! How the **** did I not remember I was in my underwear?! Holy **** this is so ****ing embarrassing, Selene thought, her mind practically chirping at a thousand miles a minute. She was still practically pressed against the door. It was like she expected Jake to come barging in or something. Not that he would. Right? Of course. Selene swallowed harshly and heard him shuffle outside the door.

"Uhm...I was just...er..." Jake began, just loud enough so Selene could hear him. She stayed silent. "How...how about you get dressed and meet me in the lobby?"

"Sure!" Selene squeaked. Her face was completely red by now. She heard the shuffling of footsteps, and finally sank down to the floor once she didn't hear them anymore. She couldn't believe that boy. He had nerve, just staring at her like that. Selene's face turned a dark shade of pink, still refusing to go red. Selene groaned and buried her face in her hands. She just could not believe that happened. A part of her actually sort of refused to believe that it had happened. Sighing, Selene dragged herself up and to the bathroom to go get ready. She really, really did not want to see Jake after what had happened.

Selene carefully checked the egg, taken as much time as she thought she could pull off before she had to go see Jake. In the end, Selene sighed and walked out, only to find him not there. Her eyebrow twitched. What the hell? She glanced around, and saw Nurse Joy pointing to a post it note on the counter. Selene leaned over to inspect it. Jake said that he had to go, sudden errand, and that it was his bad and that they should never speak of that incident again. Selene rolled her eyes. The sissy. Although, she probably shouldn't have been thinking that if she had just taken as much time as she could on coming out of the room. Shrugging it off, Selene exited the Pokemon Center and headed towards the town.

The first place she went was the house by the ruins. It intruiged her, so she figured that it would be worth the stop. Upon arriving and opening the door, she then found that some odd young man lived there. He told her that she should not turn on the light, lest he be partially blind. Selene agreed, and he seemed to be happier. He then showed her a picture, and went on about the numerous types. Selene blinked slowly, wondering how she met all of these interesting people.

"That's lovely," she said absentmindedly.

"Would you like one?"

"Oh, er...I...uh...sure, I suppose," Selene agreed, sort of wanting to be out of the house.

The man happily handed her the Pokemon and let Selene go on her way. Selene grumbled under her breath, and then pulled out that whistle thing. A small Pidgey appeared a few minutes later. Selene scribbled down the proper information, handed Pidgey Unown's Pokeball, and then watched it sail off. She felt a bit bad, but she knew that she had no true desire for the Pokemon. Maybe she'd trade it one day, but for now it would stay in the storage whatever it was. Selene was about to keep on going, when she saw a familiar figure close to the Pokemon Center. Her eyes narrowed to a squint. It was Professor Rowan, no doubt about that.

Selene walked over to him, and his eyes lit up a bit. "Oh good!" he declared. "I was looking for you. This makes things easier. So, how have your adventures been going?"

"Good. I have two badges. De...Cranidos evolved," Selene stated proudly.

Professor Rowan nodded, and then requested to see her Pokemon. She brought them out, and he apparently began to inspect them all. Selene waited. He squinted and moved all about, examining them from different angles. Tanana, however, was being a bit difficult and decided to play hide and go seek. Rowan finally gave up with her, and then turned to Selene.

"They look alright, I suppose," he grumbled, shooting a glare at Tanana. She stuck her tongue out at him. Selene grinned innocently. "Anyway...I have a gift...well, more of a reward. For your good job taking care of them, you can have any evolution item or stone of your choice." Rowan paused, and Selene grinned. She had a plan. "As you know, there are many types of..."

"Dragon Scale."

Rowan blinked, and looked a bit disgruntled about being interrupted. He cleared his throat. "If you're sure," he grumbled, and handed her the shiny scale. Selene grinned and took it, thanking him with a mutter. Rowan frowned at her, and then was gone before Selene had a chance to look up.

"Well! Plan started!" she stated proudly to her Pokemon. They looked at her like she was crazy, but she knew what she was doing.

 

[{Swan}]

Fen - Potty mouth much? Sometimes I wonder about you...

Congratulations, Selene received an Unown and a Dragon Scale!

 

[{Swan}]

Chapter Thirteen
Route 215
Free Post
Number of Posts: 2​

Route 215 is almost completely forest, and more often than not it is raining. There are some hills connected with bridges, again these are often used for aerial battles, where the parties stand on opposite ends of the bridge and their Flying Pokémon will battle in the air between them, but for the most part this route is a ground route. The road to Veilstone City isn't that long, but the road zigzags through the forest. In the very beginning stands a Honey Tree where some Pokémon gather. You could either go straight through with the prospect of strong Pokémon but the danger of getting lost, or you could chose the safer route that is loaded with trainers ready to fight. Which one will it be?


Wild Pokémon:

Kricketune

Level: 16-20
Type: Bug
Moves: Growl, Bide, Fury Cutter, Leech Life, Sing
Rarity: Commonn


Kedabra

Level: 16-20
Type: Psychic
Moves: Teleport, Kinesis, Confusion, Disable
Rarity: Uncommon


Drowzee

Level: 16-20
Type: Psychic
Moves: Pound, Hypnosis, Disable, Confusion, Headbutt, Poison Gas
Rarity: Uncommon


Lickiting

Level: 16-20
Type: Normal
Moves: Lick, Supersonic, Defense Curl, Knock Off, Wrap
Rarity: Rare


Scyther

Level: 16-20
Type: Bug/Flying
Moves: Quick Attack, Leer, Focus Energy, Pursuit, False Swipe, Agility, Vacuum Wave
Rarity: Rare


Mightyena

Level: 18-22
Type: Dark
Moves: Tackle, Howl, Sand Attack, Bite, Odor Sleuth, Roar
Rarity: Very Rare


Tropius

Level: 20
Type: Grass/Flying
Moves: Leer, Gust, Growth, Razor Leaf, Stomp
Rarity: Extremely Rare


Honey Tree:


Wurple

Level: 14-17
Type: Bug
Moves: Tackle, String Shot, Poison Sting, Bug Bite
Rarity: Common


Spinarak

Level: 14-17
Type: Bug/Poison
Moves: Poison String, String Shot, Scary Face, Constrict, Leech Life, Night Shade
Rarity: Rare


Munchlax

Level: 15
Type: Normal
Moves: Tackle, Metronome, Odor Sleuth, Defense Curl, Amnesia, Lick
Rarity: Very Rare

 

[Broadway]

(OOC: OMG I'm not dead. See? I'm posting! Ack. I'm really sorry for taking so long! I hope my next one will be way prompter.)

Mackie blasted through town and out of it again, sparing enthusiastic greetings and waves for familiar places, but mostly he just wanted to get home--home!. He'd been so eager to get out of there, so happy to see everything that wasn't the farm, the garden, the orchards, and now all he wanted was to see it again.

He ran down the dirt road, kicking up dust and pebbles, skewing to the side when an orange truck rattled towards him and instead pelting through the weedy edge of the slope that sank into the ditch.

"Wow, hey there, that you Mackie?!" It was Kelsey Marlen, driving her daddy's truck, and she leaned out to wave at him. "Welcome back!"

"Be here a day or two at least!" he called as she passed him. "I'll come by. Say hi to your brother for me!" Desmond had been a friend of his since he was too little to remember, but was a born farmer and grew veggies like nobody's business. Kelsey was the business side of things, learning from her daddy to take over one day.

"What, ain't you the champion yet?! Slowpoke!" she teased, her laughter fading as the truck pulled farther away. Mackie grinned, and looked up. Bonnie was up overhead, and had dipped down some as he'd exchanged hollers with Kelsey. He grinned up at her, then squawked when his foot caught on a tussock of grass and he wheeled his arms, just barely saving himself tipping into the shallow stream at the bottom of the ditch.

He passed the familiar sturdy log-fence that bordered the Marlen Acres farm, the vibrant green of corn rows stretching far into the property, and slowed to a walk. Keeler land was past the Marlen fields, which meant he had a good walk yet, but this long stretch was his neighborhood and it just felt so good to be here again.

Half of an hour later he saw the Keeler mailbox at the end of the drive that would take him back past the rawst orchard and right up to the house. "Sight for sore eyes!" he exclaimed, and picked up the pace to jog over to it, and smacked it with old familiarity to open it up. He pulled out the letters and the one package that had been stuffed inside, and stuck them under his arm.

Bonnie came to perch on it as he did. "Swablu!!" she exclaimed, her voice echoing his own joy, and he reached out to ruffled his fingertips just slightly through her headfeathers, making her duck and squirm and chuckled. "Swa swa swa!"

"Yep, this is here is where I'm from. Not bad, huh?" The rawst plants looked to be in excellent growth, the leaves had darkened up well in the weeks he'd been away, he thought, and almost wanted to hop the fence and do a proper check, see if the shoots Uncle Red had ordered from Hoenn had taken on the patch were growing well, too... but later. He could ask his uncle in person, anyway.

When he got to the house, though, the sprawling, always-in-need-of-some-repair old ranch home, he stopped, all of a sudden feeling shy, feeling silly, with his great big backpack and his city bag slung over his shoulder with the egg and the pokeballs, and the city-kid t-shirt he'd bought back in Eterna, with the League logo on it. It hadn't even been that long, but somehow he felt nervous.

Then he saw one of the red-checkered curtains twitch on the upstairs floor and then the window was slammed open and Aunt Laura leaned out, her long grey-brown braid flopping forward over her shoulder. "Mackie!!" she called out. "Mackie! Why didn't you call ahead, boy?!" for a moment she withdrew, and Mackie heard, faintly, "Red!! Philip! Mackie's on home!!"

Mackie dug at the ground with his toes, grinning madly even through his strange nervousness. "Swaaaaaa!" Bonnie called softly, and the quiet whumph of her wings as she dipped down right beside him blew a soft puff of air over his face.

"Okay, okay," Mackie straightened himself up, and reached out for her. She landed lightly against his chest, arranging herself neatly, and he headed for the porch.

The screen door banged open before he was on the second step, and Philip was there, a huge grin on his narrow, big-eared face. He looked the most like Mackie of any of them—both of them had gotten their looks from their granddad, it seemed, Mackie through his mom, and Philip through Aunt Laura.

Philip was a bunch older, though, married and all, starting to be ready to take over running the farm from his parents. And of course there was Ivan. The baby was in Phil's arms right now, not so different from how Mackie was carrying Bonnie, and after their initial exchange of smiles, they were both stuck studying what the other held. Mackie felt Bonnie preen in his arms under the scrutiny, but was too caught up in looking at his nephew to really notice.

Ivan wasn't exactly his nephew, not really, since Philip was his cousin, except that Philip was really his brother, in every single way except blood. Aunt Laura was Mackie's mother, and the only reason he didn't call her that was because she'd never let him—his mother had been her sister, and she'd always told him she wanted him to remember that. But really, to Mackie, "Aunt Laura" meant what "mom" did to anyone else.

Ivan had grown—he was bigger, less baby-pudgy than when Mackie had left, he seemed more coordinated already, reaching out eagerly for Bonnie as Mackie took his last few steps up the stairs.

"Swaaa." Bonnie said softly.

"Wow," Mackie said, "He's gotten real big."

"That's my boy," Phil said, bouncing his son gently, pulling back a little when Ivan waved his arms at Bonnie again. "Hey now sonny, don't touch." He gave Bonnie a look between admiring and wary. "That's your pokemon, Mack? It's one pretty bird you got."

"She is. And she's gentle, won't do nothing if he touches her. No worries," he assured Phil. "Name's Bonnie. A Swablu. She's the first one I ever got, Professor Rowan gave her t'me himself."

"Mackie!!" Aunt Laura was out of the door next, and as Philip allowed Ivan to put his chubby hands on Bonnie's wings, Aunt Laura threw her arms around Mackie's neck and hugged him tight, her big, sturdy shape the same as ever, and still smelling like that ginger-y soap she liked.

"Hey there boy," Uncle Red was next out, and his big hand landed on Mackie's hat, dragging it to one side then the other in an affectionate way.

"Hey there Uncle Red," Mackie said, a little muffled with his face mashed into Aunt Laura's shoulder.

When she finally let him go, Mackie heaved a great sigh of contentment. He was home.


*

"Daycare? Like... you just leave 'em there, and they get trained up?" Mackie asked.

Uncle Red nodded. "New business, but with the League activity, it's doing pretty good already. Some folks what aren't League trainers but still wanna be with Pokemn have gone to work there—seem like good people, anyway."

Mackie wrinkled his nose and took a sip of the iced tea Phil had made them. He and Uncle Red were sat on the front porch, Phil in the porch swing giving Ivan a bottle, and Aunt Laura had gone off into town on her bicycle to catch up with Caden and Meredith in town, and get supplies back for supper in the truck.

He'd let all his pokemon out to play, after promising that they wouldn't go far or get into the crops. He was confident they'd listen when he told them where not to play, and even if Ziggy or Luster got carried away, he could always recall them, but he doubted it would come to that.

"I dunno, Uncle Red. I wanna train my own team my own self. Seems counter... uh... counterproductive if I wanna have a close team, that one or more of 'em gets raised up without me."

"But you're only allowed six, ain't that the case?" Uncle Red pointed out. "What if you wanna juggle up your team for different gyms?"

"Well... we're s'posed to try for teams that can take on anything, but..." he supposed he could see the point, now that Uncle Red put it that way. Like if he found a super pokemon and had no room, he could switch 'em out from the daycare, back and forth...

"Well, you don't got six yet anyhow, so it's no worry. And these ones look like fine pokemon. Do they make up a balanced team, like you're sayin'?"

"Aw... well." Mackie hedged. "Three flyers is bad for ice and 'lectricity," he admitted, and craned his neck around to look at Bonnie, perched near them on the porch railing, Luster, doing swerving circles above the front yard, and Stel, who was actually sitting by Philip in the porch swing. Philip had been alarmed at first, what with the claws and the great big tail stinger, but one contented, toothless grin and a snuggle later, and Stel was flopped against Phil as comfortably as he ever was with Mackie.

"That one's an ice, though, right?" Uncle Red pointed at Ziggy, where she was speeding on her little legs after Turvy, who was alternating falling over his feet and bounding into handsprings.

"Yeah, but it's not like I want ice against ice, see, I'd want fighting—which I got, too, so that's good—or rock, or water, see."

"Pfft, I got too much other stuff to remember, I'll leave that to you," Uncle Red waved his hand, but there was pride in his eyes, and Mackie smiled into his drink.

"Swiiiiinub," Ziggy squealed, as Turvy let her catch him, and then grabbed her and hoisted her up. Mackie laughed, then paused when Uncle Red stood up abruptly.

"Heeeey!" he bellowed, and Mackie looked up to see the familiar blue pickup heading down the drive.

"MACKIE!!" Caden was standing up in the back, and waved both his arms, then bent down and leaped over the side, regardless of the vehicle's movement, and sprinted for the house. Behind him, Meredith was also in the truck bed, but she contented herself with a wave.

Why where they sitting in the back? There were three places in the front, he'd certainly been squeezed in the middle often enough to know that.

He didn't have time to think about it because Caden slammed into him and grabbed him in a stifling hug. "Hi," Mackie squeaked, patting him awkwardly back, since his arms were pinned. Caden let him go and stepped back. "Lookin' good, cuz," he said, dropping his hand on Mackie's head, not fond like Uncle Red, instead fond like Caden—affectionate while reminding Mackie he was still a shortie.

Mackie smacked his arm off and grinned up at him, then snickered as Caden jumped about three feet in the air when Mackie's pokemon congregated around him, inspecting him like they had everyone else in Mackie's family. "Whoa, whoa!!" Caden ducked as Luster dropped down into his field of view from above, then he almost toppled when Ziggy started snuffling around his ankles. "Guess you—ack! Guess you got some pokemon, cuz?" he said lamely.

"Yep."

Then Caden's grin sharpened with some slightly evil brotherly glee. "Good, 'cause we got someone wants to see 'em." He took a step over.

And then Mackie knew why Caden and Meredith had been in the truck bed. Past Meredith, who was heading for them, and past Aunt Laura, who was just getting out of the driver's side... descending from the passenger side was...

"Professor!!" Mackie reached up and yanked his hat off. What?! Here?!

"Hello Mackie!" the Professor raised a hand in greeting. "I've been staying in town waiting for the new trainers to pass through... but of course you've come home instead." He rounded the side of the truck, and Mackie thought it was real weird to see him without that white lab coat. "I found your aunt at the General Store, and she offered to give me a ride over, though I unfortunately had to decline the offer to stay for dinner," he said, looking honestly regretful at that. Mackie, though, was mostly relieved. He wasn't sure about getting through a whole meal with the pokemon Professor. He'd get all tied up like that time he'd tried to make Spinarak web outta twine.

"Uh... that's really too bad, Professor." He was sincere about that too, because to be able to talk Pokemon with someone who practically knew it all... well, he'd surely see him again someday. But he was more concerned with why he was seeing him now.

"Swaaa," Bonnie called out, and he looked back at the porch rail to see her take off and fly towards the professor, circling around him once, then landing on his arm when he offered it up.

"Well hello there. You seem to be doing quite well, yes, quite well," Professor Rowan remarked to her as he walked the last few steps towards Mackie with her on his arm. He was regarding her with a measure of pride, kinda like Red had been looking at Mackie before. Well, sure, Mackie realized, she had been his before, a long time ago it felt like. He'd almost forgotten. He thought it was kinda nice that she remembered him, though. "Are these all yours, Mackie?" Rowan asked, glancing around at the various pokemon in the front yard.

"Yessir," Mackie nodded. "We never had any at the farm or anything." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Aunt Laura wave everyone back onto the porch, out of the way of Mackie and Rowan's conversation. He would have felt vaguely abandoned if Bonnie hadn't taken that moment to lift off from Rowan's arm and settle herself on Mackie's head. "Hehe... she still does that," Mackie explained, then felt pretty dumb for saying something obvious.

"So I see," Rowan replied. He looked kind of amused, but not in a mean way... more like that way a lot of city folk got. Mackie didn't really mind it—sometimes he thought city folk were funny too. "Now, if I may see all the rest? I'd like to take a look at your progress as a trainer and the manner in which you keep your pokemon."

"Uh.. okay. I mean, yes, of course, sir. Guys?" he looked around, finding everyone except Stel closeby. "Guys, wanna line up, or something, for the professor?"

Ziggy stood next to Turvy, and Luster landed next to Turvy, her wings stilling, a rare sight. Bonnie lit off from Mackie's head to perch on a fence post not far from Luster. "Stel? Where you at?"

"Gli..." Stel's voice carried from the porch, and Mackie turned around to see Stel, claws hooked over the railing, holding himself up next to Philip. "Gli?"

"Yeah, c'mon," Mackie encouraged, and held out his arms. Stel climbed to get his feet on the railing, and then pushed off, limbs out to glide the short distance to Mackie who caught him neatly. "G'boy," Mackie said, and rubbed his knuckles over Stel's head.

"Well, you're certainly energetic," Rowan was saying, and Mackie looked down to see him crouched in front of Ziggy, who was fairly shaking herself apart with her little hops of excitement. She reared up and stomped on the ground, and Mackie felt the vibration under his feet.

"Ziggy," he said in dismay, "no more Earthquake near the house!" She put her nose against the ground, abashed. "That was a good one, though," he had to admit. She perked up slightly.

"Earthquake, was that? I think that's overselling it," Rowan chuckled.

"Well, it was a TM, sir. I think she's kinda small for a real one... but she likes to practice. Guess when she's tougher it'll be more useful." Right now it mostly just annoyed wild pokemon, he reflected.

"Alright then, settle down, settle down," Rowan patted her a last time, before turn to Turvy.

Mackie stood and sweated and fidgeted as Professor Rowan looked them each over. It was like that competition at the fair, only a hundred times worse.

But everything seemed to be okay... Rowan had some questions about how he trained 'em and what he fed 'em and how he'd found a Swinub so far south. But Mackie's answers seemed to satisfy him.

Until he got to Stel.

"He's a healthy specimen, though, as you said, he is small, and missing his large canines, but that seemes to be a birth defect, and not a health issue," Rowan remarked. Mackie knew that meant Stel had never had those teeth, and not that he'd had cavities or anything like that. "However," Rowan bent slightly to get a proper look at Stel, how shied back, snuggling against Mackie. "However..." he began again, "it seems to me this pokemon is not on par with the rest in terms of training... and he is, hmm," Rowan hesitated, "he is not a fighter, is he, Mackie?"

"No, sir," Mackie shook his head, unsure if this was a bad thing, if he should feel bad or guilty, if he'd done anything wrong.

"Then might I ask why you keep him with you?" Rowan looked... not disapproving, but sympathetic, maybe? But still like he through Mackie was doing something he shouldn't be.

"Uh, well. I mean... I captured him, and he was... he wanted to come with me," he shrugged.

"But I suspect his inability to face battle is a stress on him? And perhaps on you," Rowan said gently, and Mackie felt his face warm up with something like shame. He didn't regret bringing Stel in from those nasty Gligar who'd been harassing him, but...

"Yeah..." Mackie said quietly. He'd thought maybe he'd get used to it, get to like it... but that hadn't happened. And Mackie remembered accidentally sending him out that time in the cave..

"I realize it's hard to part with pokemon that are our friends—after all, training for battles is only one way to be with pokemon. But I suspect this one is not meant for your team," he finished. His voice was gentle.

"I..." Mackie hugged Stel a little tighter, felt those big, harmless claws pick at his overall straps. "I know," he said finally. "I just... I can't just leave him any old place."

Rowan nodded. "Quite right. But you succeeded in your trade for your little Swinub, didn't you?" he pointed out. Mackie wanted to protest that it wasn't the same. And it wasn't. He trusted Danny totally, he knew she'd be in good hands, but... but he hadn't liked the Stantler, not as a real partner, or a friend. It wasn't the same. But it didn't look like the professor was going to yell at him or anything. Now that he knew that Mackie knew Stel didn't belong on a battle team, it was all Rowan seemed to think was important. And indeed, he added, "I am quite sure that you will find him an excellent home," he encouraged Mackie.

Some huge weight lifted off Mackie, and he realized he'd thought Rowan might actually just take Stel away. But no—he trusted Mackie to do what was right for him.

That felt pretty big on its own, Mackie realized. But in a good way. "Thank you, sir. I definitely will."

"I believe that," Rowan nodded, and Mackie nodded back. "And, before your kind aunt conveys me back to town, I have something for you, as a thank-you for living up to my expectations so very well," he held out a TM, and Mackie took it in surprise.

"Thanks, sir," he managed, holding Stel with one arm and trying really, really hard not to stare at the TM right now and find out what it was. That'd be impolite.

Aunt Laura had some sixth sense about manners, and she came forward right then, ready to drive the professor back to town, and Mackie watched them leave, feeling a bit shaky after having his pokemon and his training methods inspected like that.

He stood there, watching them get into the truck, and drive away, until he felt Caden come up on one side and Phil on the other. Like old times.

Almost. Ivan gurgled in Phil's arms, then laughed and squealed and reached out to Mackie.

No, not Mackie—Stel. The little Gligar leaned over and stuck his long tongue out at the baby, who went into peals of infant laughter.

Mackie looked at Phil, who was watching his son bat at the Stel as the Gligar let himself be petted and smacked with baby hands, waving one claw of his own at Ivan, gentle and careful. Phil was grinning, apparently as won over by Stel as Stel was by Phil and Ivan.

Well. Maybe there was a good place to leave him, after all.


(OOC: And phew, finally. Mackie is leaving Stel with his family, to go from battle-pokemon to housemate-pokemon. He's also skipping the Unown guy--someone will tell him about it and he'll have no desire to get such a weird pokemon, haha. Okay... now for the next one!)

 

[{Swan}]

Broadway - Great post, I liked meeting Mackie's family :D

Mackie gave Stel away and received the TM29: Psychic!

 

[rockman0]

The next morning Bryce woke up suddenly. There was the sound of clinking dishes, water running, and people yelling. He went downstairs. The café was busier than the night before. People were scurrying around. It seemed like they were in a rush to get everything cooked. The kitchen of the café was a mess!

"Hey, kid? What are you doing back here!? Get out!" A middle-aged man yelled. The big butcher's knife in his hand made Bryce nervous.

"Don't worry, papa. He's our guest." It was Annie. "So, did you have a good rest?" Bryce nodded his head. "Good. So, where are you headed today?"

"Well, I figured I would go to the next town."

"Great idea, but why don't you look around for a little while."

"Um, there's not much to see here." The town was just a small strip of land. What was there to see?

"I'll have you know that Solaceon Town is not just some small strip of land. We are very innovative. We have lots of services that may interest you."

"Okay, I guess." He started towards the door.

"What about one for the road?" She handed him a bottle of milk. "And don't worry; this one is on the house."

"Thanks," Bryce said and after exchanging goodbyes, he left to go back to Ms. Norse's house. Before he could knock on the door, Ariel opened it.

"Bryce! Hurry! Hurry! Come see what Surskit can do!" Surskit fired a beam from its head. The beam was all sorts of colors. Bryce watched as it struck a plant in the room, causing it to completely wither away. His eyes grew big.

"Wow! Surskit! You've got pretty strong, haven't you?"

"Skit!" Just then, Ms. Norse walked into the room.

"I see you've already seen the results." Bryce nodded his head. "I enjoyed working with Surskit. It's an exceptional Pokémon. You should train it more often." Bryce nodded once more. He recalled Surskit back to her Pokéball.

"Thanks a lot," he said. He headed for the door. He was expecting Ariel to follow, but was surprised that she didn't. "You're not coming?" He looked towards Ariel.

"Nope. I've decided to stay here with Ms. Norse and learn the trade of Move Tutoring. She's agreed to help me."

"That's great." He said. He was finally rid of the annoying Ariel, but he was actually going to miss her.

"Aww, you're not going to cry, are you?"

"What! No!" He took back all of the previous thoughts towards her. He was definitely not going to miss that. "You just came in handy at times, that's all. I'll see you later."

"What? You're not going to miss me?" She turned her back to him. "I'm not going to miss you either."

Bryce laughed. "Whatever," he said. "See you around." He left out of the house.

As he walked down the town, he noticed something he hadn't noticed before. The sign from the professor was gone. It was replaced with a sign that said, POKEMON DAYCARE. He wondered what a Pokémon daycare was. He decided to walk in and check it out.

"Well, hi there, young man." It was a woman. She was about middle-aged. A man stood beside her. Bryce assumed he was her husband. "I haven't seen you around before. Have we taken care of one of your Pokémon?" Bryce shook his head.

"Oh! Well, would you like us to?" It was the man talking this time. "We'll watch over your Pokémon and train it for you. Does that sound pretty good to you?"

"No thanks."

"Are you sure? Our services are exceptional." Bryce shook his head again. "Well, if you ever decide to send one of your Pokémon for training, just give us a whistle." Bryce was confused. "Did you get a whistle from the League Representative yesterday?" Bryce nodded his head. "Well, our service is similar. Just send a letter requesting our service and we'll take care of it."

"Thanks," Bryce said. "I'll keep you in mind."

"Glad to hear that, young man." The woman said. "Good luck on your journey."

"Thanks," Bryce said as he walked out of the ranch. He was about to leave when he spotted a familiar face. It was Professor Rowan! The Professor caught sight of Bryce as he walked towards him.

"Well, look at that!" the Professor seemed the delighted. "I see you've been doing a great job with Mankey. It looks very hap…tired." He looked up at Bryce. "Are you feeding your Pokémon properly?"

"Um, yes, sir. We just haven't had breakfast yet." He was getting nervous. He wasn't expecting a surprise check from the professor.

"No breakfast! Don't you know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day!?!" He calmed down and started talking normally again. "Let me see the rest of your Pokémon. You did catch more Pokémon didn't you?"

"Yes sir," Bryce said as he released the rest of his Pokémon.

The professor kneeled down and examined each one very closely. Finally he stood back up. "Well, they seem to be in good shape. You're doing a great job."

"Thanks, Professor." Bryce started to walk back to the next route.

"Wait, I'm not finished. This is for you." He handed out a strange glowing stone. This is a Shiny stone. I noticed that you had a Roselia. This stone will evolve it into a Roserade. That way, it will be much stronger."

"Wow, thanks!" Bryce exclaimed. "So, Roselia, are you ready to evolve?"

"No wait, I would suggest that you first check out the moves that Roselia can learn."

"Aww, okay, I guess." He put the stone into his backpack.

"Goodbye, Bryce. Keep up the good work."

"Thanks Professor." Bryce said goodbye and started towards the next town.

"Hey, make sure you feed those Pokémon properly."

"Will do," Bryce said as he left.


(OOC: Sorry it's kind of short. Trying to catch up.)

 

[{Swan}]

Rockman0 - Don't apologize, it was a great post, on the shorter side or not!

Bryce received a Shiny Stone!

 

[Broadway]

(OOC: Whew, caught up, for once!)

The egg looked good. At least, Mackie thought so. How was he supposed to tell, really? But it was warm, it wasn't cracked—he knew it would crack when it hatched, but nothing inside was moving yet, so uncracked was perfect. He ran his hand over the surface again, reassuring himself a last time, before he rearranged the blanket around it and returned to his bag to dig out his poncho. It was raining, boy was it ever. Bonnie had twitched and ruffled and finally retreated into her pokeball, and so Mackie was pretty much on his own in all the wet.

This tree was a good spot to shelter under though. It was at the edge of a clearing around a different tree, one with golden leaves that stood out brightly even in the rainy gloom, and Mackie could smell it from here, sweetness that reminded him of the orchards in spring, when they were all blooming, but very distinct. Honey, it was, and Mackie was wondering if he'd see a Combee or two—people said they were the ones that made honey in their nests, in trees like this. Because of that, Mackie had stopped under this other three. He didn't want a swarm of anything coming down after him.

He pulled his poncho on and replaced the other stuff in his backpack again, checking that the kite was still folded up properly and that Philip's brownies were still safely wrapped up in their wax-paper package.

Mackie sighed as he poked the wax paper, thinking of Phil, and Caden, and everyone else. Stel now, too, he lived there at home with Mackie's family, and Mackie missed them all already. But on the other hand, being home again, even for that little while, had made him refreshed for his eagerness to seek out all the pokemon he could on each route.

A flicker of movement through the rain caught his eye and he looked up at the honey tree. Green and yellow—not a Combee, then for certain—and then it came fully around the trunk and Mackie could see, even with the raindrops in the way, the Spinarak that was making its way up into the branches.

"Oh, hello," Mackie said, almost silently, and reached slowly for his pokedex, opening it without even looking. He was used to that by now. He glanced down briefly to see that the pokemon had registered, even with the rain interfering, then just crouched and watched the Spinarak until it disappeared up in the branches. He still remembered the one he'd had to use at the Battle Tent. It had been a pretty good little fighter, quick, even with all those feet to keep track of. Mackie wondered idly if that little girl he'd beaten had gotten any pokemon of her own yet. He hoped she'd at least won a battle at the tent, eventually.

That Spinarak really had been a good pokemon. Mackie wondered if he should try to capture one, maybe that one, if it came down from the tree again soon, or at least challenge it to battle, see if it liked to fight, at least.

Well, he couldn't see it now. He'd give it some time. Meanwhile, the egg had to go back in his bag.

He looked around, and stopped moving.

A small, greenish-blue-and-yellow pokemon was poised right over the egg, little hands outstretched, and mouth open with a distinctly hungry look.

For a long second, Mackie and the pokemon stared at each other, then the pokemon lunged, grabbed the egg, and Mackie's heart leaped into his throat.

"HEY! THAT'S NOT FOR EATING!!" he shrieked, panicked, and he scrambled up and after the pokemon, and even carrying an egg almost half its height, it was surprisingly fleet-footed, and he chased it out into the rain before he realized he couldn't catch it, not running over wet, slippery grass.

The pokemon looked back once, seemed very surprised at the pursuit, and then tripped.

Mackie went still again, staring at the pokemon as it fell, but it landed arms outstretched, the egg unharmed. "Bring that back!!" Mackie ordered, trying not to let his voice get so high again. "That's mine!! It's not yours! Give it!"

"Munchlax!!" the little pokemon retorted, getting to its feet, and giving Mackie a defiant look. "Munch! Munchlaaaaax!!"

"Look, I got brownies! I got trail mix, I got cookies! I'll trade you, okay? Just gimme the egg?"

The Munchlax leaned forward slightly, sniffed at the air with a rapid snuffling sound, not unlike Ziggy, and then its gaze went past Mackie to his backpack.

"Yeah, over there. Right? Come on?" Mackie pointed at the bag and backed up a step, hoping. The Munchlax took a step forward too.

Mackie's bag chose that moment to topple over, the reorganizing of its contents having made it top-heavy, and some of his pokeballs apri-balls he'd put in at the top spilled out, rolling out onto the ground below the tree, along with the wax-paper packet of Phil's brownies.

The Munchlax stared at the packet, like it could smell the contents, which Mackie bet it probably could. Then it charged, dropping the egg, and running straight past Mackie for the brownies.

Mackie, for his part, dove for the egg, snatching it up after only a few seconds on the cold, wet grass, and hugging it carefully to himself. The Munchlax set upon the brownies as Mackie rushed back under the tree branches and snatched up the egg's blanket, wrapping it up again.

Once it was all swaddled up properly, he glowered down at the Munchlax, which was making quick work of Philip's yummy, gooey brownies that were pretty much just crumbs now, scattered among the wax paper. The Munchlax, apparently as food-obsessed as Ziggy, but somewhat more delicate about it, at least after the initial rush, was sitting in the shreds of wax paper and delicately picking up each and every crumb with unexpectedly deft little furry fingers.

It looked up at Mackie, grinned a huge grin, which made Mackie's frown fade slightly despite himself, then flopped back and... fell asleep.

Just like that.

Nearly tiptoing, Mackie circled around the sleeping pokemon to his bag, pulling it back up to tuck the egg safely back inside. He picked up the pokedex again and registered this diminutive new pokemon. It wolfs down its weight in food once a day, swallowing food whole with almost no chewing, the pokedex said. "Yeah, I'll bet," Mackie muttered, still irked. Probably it was here for honey too, but Mackie's brownies were apparently an acceptable substitute. Even better than eggs.

*

Mackie adjusted the hood of his poncho again. It kept getting caught by branches. But Mackie didn't want to go back to the road. He'd seen a Kricketune just before. It had fled upon seeing him, but he was carrying the pokedex open, under his poncho, to catch even the briefest glimpse of anything that might be around here.

He heard the sound of something moving behind him and off to the right, and he stopped and turned, craning his neck a bit to see if he could make it out through the rain-drenched underbrush.

Ah, just another Kricketune. Or the same one, maybe? It seemed to have the same broken-off right antenna as the one from before. It seemed to be hurrying, looked kinda harried, really, and Mackie realized it was running away from something again, and chuckled. Poor thing, must have a serious case of nerves, living out in the wild. The cheri berry bush it had fled out from was still rustling, and then a familiar dark-greenish head poked out, followed by an arm that grabbed two berries and stuffed them into an eager mouth.

The Munchlax spotted Mackie watching it and lit up. "Munch!!" it hollered, and scrambled from the bush to run for him.

"Get away, you," Mackie shooed it back, still nursing a bit of a grudge for the brownies, as well as that heckuva scare with the egg. "You ate ALL the brownies," he grunted. The Munchlax stopped a few feet away, though didn't look particularly perturbed, just watch Mackie with wide eyes and a wide grin. "You can't have anymore!" Mackie told it. "Git!"

Then he turned on his heel and kept on, not even looking over his shoulder to see the Munchlax standing there. Except... once. And it waved. Mackie growled to himself and stomped onward.

*

"Aerial Ace!!" Mackie called, and Luster whipped a figure-eight around a couple of trees as a windup before arrowing straight down at the Mightyena.

She struck it side-on and it tumbled over once before scrambling to its feet. It threw its head back and howled, and Mackie heard an answering howl that was far too near for his comfort. "Aerial Ace again!" he instructed Luster and she wound herself up for another strike as the second Mightyena bounded into the clearing. Mackie shook his head hard, whipping raindrops from the hood of his poncho, then shoving it back. The rain was stopped, at least for now, and it was good to see clearly. He had Turvy's ball in hand, but just before he could press the button, a tumble of green and light yellowish leaped from a nearby tree to thump down and roll to a stop in front of the second Mightyena. The Munchlax, again?

Well, if it wanted to fight, Mackie wasn't going to get in its way.

Luster's Aerial Ace nailed the Mightyena, though Luster suffered a nasty Bite in return, and Mackie shook his head and called her back. "Go on Turvy!"

Turvy struck his pose as he appeared, then clapped his hands and made "bring it on" motions at the Mightyena. "Tackle it, Turvy! Feet first like we practiced!" Turvy ran forward and rolled into a back handspring, launching himself with his arms to smack into the Mightyena with his feet. "Good one!" Mackie hoped Turvy would learn some proper kicking moves soon. He seemed to love those kinds of things.

"Laaax!" Mackie heard, and looked over to see the Munchlax go flying from a simple tackle. It bounced a couple of times and stood right up, looking dizzy. Mackie wasn't sure, but he didn't think that it matched the Mightyena's strength, not at all.

"What are you doing? Get out of here!!" Mackie yelled at it. It shot him a grin again, pointed at Turvy, then slapped both of its furry hands to its own chest and staggered for the Mightyena.

It planted its feet on the wet ground, held one arm up in front of itself, and waved its finger back and forth... back and forth.

The Mightyena snarled and stalked towards it in an arc, getting closer and closer and...

The Munchlax's hand made a sudden fist, and then it opened its mouth, took a deep breath, and...

"RRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!"

The sound reverberated through the forest, hard enough to shake water droplets off of branches, and made Mackie's ears ring. He'd heard of attack moves hitting critically, but this?!!

The Mightyena flinched back, cowered, and then simply turned tail and fled, aforementioned tail tucked firmly between its legs.

To Mackie's shock, the one Turvy had been facing off against did likewise. Turvy looked somewhat spooked himself.

The Munchlax sat down with a tired thump, and then looked at Mackie with another one of those big grins. "Laaax!" it said, breathing hard, and swiped at the empty air with both arms.

"Will fight for food, huh," Mackie said slowly. "I gotta say, that's a good bit better'n stealing..." He tilted his head at the Munchlax. "Got anything left? Huh?" he asked, half-teasing, half wanting to see what it would do. "Turvy," he said.

"Ty?"

"Tackle!" He ordered. And more quietly, "like in practice." Turvy slapped his hands together, and charged the Munchlax, which stared at Turvy in surprise, then glanced at Mackie and lifted its chin. It stood up again, on wobbly feet, and braced itself.

Turvy launched himself, just as before, but this time the tackle pulled right up short. Turvy's feet only tapped the Munchlax. The Munchlax pulled itself up short too, from what had started to look like another tackle. Instead it just lolled a great bit ol' tongue out of its mouth and swiped it at Turvy in a nice big Lick.

That was a ghost move. Turvy would never be damaged by that, or, luckily, paralyzed—but he did seem somewhat revolted, giving Mackie a plaintive look and swiping at the trail of saliva. Mackie chuckled.

"C'mere you," Mackie said, "I'll share with ya if y'keep fighting like that." He pressed the button on an empty pokeball, and launched it at the Munchlax. "Long as you remember eggs ain't for eating," he said, mostly to himself, watching the ball twitch and jerk.

 

[{Swan}]

Broadway - That was a bit of a chaotic post I found, but I do like the Munchlax.

Congratulations, Mackie caught a lv. 15 male Munchlax!

 

[Charzeon]

Sara hummed happily to herself as she walked down Route 215, having a very optimistic view of the world this fine morning. It probably had to do with the great night sleep she had with her Pokemon party last night. It was very nice, feeling the warmth of all of her Pokemon surrounding her and knowing that they actually cared about her. Even now, just thinking about it, brought a smile to the girl's face.

"Shuppet," Angela said from Sara's shoulder, once again nuzzling her trainer.

Sara chuckled and lightly petted the ghost, making her starter cry out happily again. This made the trainer reflect on her party over all. Half of her Pokemon where now fully evolved, quite an accomplishment if she would say so herself. Of course...two of them got there by stones and one was so close to evolving anyway that she really didn't have to do that much, luckily. She then also realized that she had really only one of her Pokemon; Lee. Destiny had caught herself, Angela was her starter, Merric had been traded and Flare had just been given to her. Sara didn't know if this meant that her training skills were really good, or if she was failing at something. Of course...thinking about how all of her Pokemon liked her, especially the Gyarados, meant that she had to be doing something right.

"Not to mention how protective they seem to be of me," Sara muttered, then looked to the forest boarding the route, seeing the faint outline of Lee as he hoped from tree to tree.

The trainer didn't know why, but since he evolved Lee had seemed to care more about his comrades and especially his trainer. Well...more to his trainer then anything else. He still showed a disinterest to the other members of Sara party, though he did seem to care about them a bit more. But where Sara was concerned, he leap at the chance to help her or protect her. He wouldn't even go into his Pokeball, afraid that something would happen to her on the road. It annoyed the girl slightly, but at least she knew that the Psychic/Fighting type was loyal.

Pushing the thought of her well meaning stalker out of her mind, the girl just continued to walk down the route. It wasn't long before she came to the fork in the rod. One way led to a very dense forest, while the other went down a straight dirt road. According to the sign on the fork itself, both ways led to Veilstone, but while one was full of Pokemon, the other was a hot spot for trainers.

"Interesting," Sara muttered to herself, then looked between the two roads. "Well, I don't really want to catch any more Pokemon…again. But I do need to train you guys up for the up and coming Gym battle. Let's take the Trainer route. It'll be harder to fight their Pokemon, but at least you guys will get more experience."

"Shuppet," Angela said with a nod, willing to do what ever her trainer told her to do.

"I just hope Flare can hold her own with you guys there to help," Sara said before starting down the road. However, she stopped about five feet in and looked to the trees. "Lee, you better come out. There's a lot of Pokemon in that forest and the last thing I need is to have you occupied fighting something while I need you're help in a trainer battle."

Everything was still in the forest for a little bit. Until a shape suddenly jumped out and landed right in front of Sara, making her gasp and jump back. Lee got up from his crouch onto his full height and smirked slightly at his trainer.

"Oh for the love of…watch it, okay!?" Sara said, then sighed and rubbed the back of her head. "I know you really like this new form of yours but tone it down a bit. I don't like being startled."

"Gallade," Lee said with another smirk, then walked ahead onto the route.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" Sara asked, running to catch up with her Pokemon. "Also, I don't think it's suck at good idea for you to just be walking around. I mean, that's just begging any criminal with in a hundred feet of this place to come and try to steal ya. I know you're worried about me getting hurt and all, but I can take care of myself. Besides, it isn't as if-"

"Hey, you there!" A young boy's voice shouted from Sara's left. "Yeah, you! The girl with the Gallade, I challenge you to a battle!"

"And here we go," Sara said with a sigh as she turned to look at the young boy in a t-shirt and shorts. "Very well, I accept your challenge. May I ask if this could be a Double Battle?"

The boy frowned. "Wait…I thought I was suppose to set the conditions." He said, though it sounded more like a question.

"You are, I was just simply making a request," Sara said. "So, what are your conditions?"

"…Lets have a Double Battle!" The boy shouted, taking out two of his Apri balls.

Sara just had to smile before taking out the Apri ball that held Flare and said, "Lee, you're in this one."

"Gall!" Lee said with a nod, then moved in front of his trainer and into a fighting position.

Sara threw the white Apri ball up and, in a flash of light, Flare appeared. She looked around at where she was and, seeing Lee's position, crouched down and growled lightly at the young boy.

"Alright, why don't we try this," the boy sad as he threw his Apri balls up, "come out; Raticate and Electrike!" The balls opened up and a small, green dog appeared along with a somewhat large, brown rat.

Sara quickly looked up the information on both of the Pokemon on the Pokedex and nodded at what she was given. She then put the 'dex away and focused everything on the battle.

"Alright, Lee, use Magical Leaf!" Sara ordered. "Flare, use Energy Ball on the Raticate!"

"Gall," Lee said with a nod, then gathered some leaves around him and then launched them at the dog and the rat. Both cried out as the leaves slashed through them. Flare then gathered some green energy in her mouth before launching it at the Raticate, knocking it back.

"Raticate, use Bite on the fox!" the young boy shouted. "Electrike, use Spark on the Gallade!"

"Raticate!" The rat said with a nod before charging at Flare. When it got close enough, it tore through her shoulder with it's very large tooth, causing the young Pokemon to cry out. The Electrike gathered some electricity around it before also charging, though at Lee. Just when the dog was about to slam into the human like Pokemon, he disappeared with a Teleport and reappeared a bit away. Lee smirked as he watched the dog fall down onto the ground.

"Lee, fight back with a Confusion!" Sara ordered. "Flare, use Ember!"

Flare was the first to react, quickly sending out a few little balls of fire at the rat, making it let go of her and jump away. Lee grinned before releasing a blast of psychic energy at the Electrike, knocking it back away.

"Raticate, use Quick Attack on Vupix! Electrike, also use Quick Attack on the Gallade!" The young boy shouted.

"Flare, use Quick Attack yourself!" Sara shouted back. "Lee, Teleport!"

All four Pokemon nodded at their trainer's commands. The Raticate and Flare ran at each other in a blurr of speed, before knocking each other back from the force of the connection. The Electrike once again charged at Lee, this time at a much greater speed. But still, the Blade Pokemon was about to dodge with a Teleport. This angered the Lighting Pokemon and it tried to hit Lee again with another Quick Attack, only to be thrown away by a Confusion. The dog rolled across the ground a few times before finally coming to a stop, knocked out.

"Electrike!" The young boy shouted, then looked over at his other Pokemon who cried out from Flare's Energy Ball attack. The fox decided to learn a lesson from the Gallade and had attacked the Raticate when it had been preoccupied. "What the heck!?"

"Guess you should pay more attention to the battle," Sara said with a smirk, but on the inside she was kicking herself. This was just the thing the Gym Leader of Eterna had told her about. If her Pokemon continued to do things with out her permission…things could get ugly for the trainer.

The boy looked at the older girl before shaking his head and returning his Pokemon to their balls. "No matter… I guess I lost, huh?" The boy walked over to Sara and handed her some money and a Potion. "But just wait until next time! I'll defiantly beat you then!"

"Sure, what ever you say kid," Sara said as she watched the boy run away. She then turned to Lee and Flare, glaring at them. "Look, you two, I'm glad that you're really into fighting and that you can think on your own, but I don't want you to use any attacks with out me saying so! If something had happened to that boy, it would had been completely my fault and then I would had gotten in trouble!"

"Vul…" Flare said, shirking away from her trainer. Lee visibly flinched and looked at the ground, taking his trainer's words harder then what he thought he would.

"Shup…" Angela said, knowing what the Pokemon where going through. At least they didn't have a move that Sara could use against them!

"Right…so…Just, remember that for next time," Sara said with a sigh before facing the road and starting out on it again. Lee and Flare looked at each other before quickly following their trainer.

 

[{Swan}]

Charzeon - Lee quite likes his new jacket, doesn't he? Awesome post, I had great fun reading it.

Congratulations, Lee grew to lv. 23 and learned Slash!
Congratulations, Flare grew to lv. 16 and learned Will-o-Wisp!
Flare can't learn anymore moves, will you delete one?
Sara received a Potion!

 

[rockman0]

Bryce stared at the Shiny Stone as he walked down Route 215. A Shiny Stone, huh, he thought. He remembered how he didn't want Roselia when he first caught it. He'd thought it to be a weakling, but Roselia had proven itself to be strong. And now, he had a stone that would increase Roselia's strength even more. He put the stone back into his backpack and continued down the route.

"So, Mankey, where should we go?"

"Mankey?" Mankey tilted his head in confusion.

"See, now that Ariel isn't here to dictate where we go, I need some kind of insight," he replied. He knew where he was going to go, he just wanted to keep a conversation going. The truth is that he felt kind of lonely without a travel companion, even if it was just a 12-year-old annoying little girl. He decided to concentrate on the route after a conversation with Mankey failed.

Route 215 was nothing less than a forest. There were trees almost everywhere. The trees made it easy to get lost. Luckily there was a path that kept trainers on a safe route to the next town without getting lost. Bryce decided that it was safer to take this route instead. After a while, he was starting to get tired and sat under a tree to get some rest. Mankey followed up behind him.

"We'll stop here," he said to no one in particular. He sat down and reached into the backpack that he carried. It was usually heavy. Now that he was so tired and hungry, it seemed even heavier. "Let's see, I got some sandwiches from Annie. Would you like some, Mankey? I promised Professor Rowan I would feed you guys as soon as I could."

Mankey grabbed that sandwich and began to eat as Bryce released the rest of his Pokémon to give them a sandwich. Everyone enjoyed their meals, except for poor Surskit, who was having a hard time eating since he had no way of holding it. Mankey, perhaps out of instinct, kept his distance and ate. As everyone ate their meals, there was a sudden rustling in a bush behind Mankey.

"What was that?" Bryce asked. The rustling continued. All of a sudden, a wild Munchlax jumped from behind the bush. The bulky Pokémon licked Mankey and jumped back behind the bush, leaving Mankey in a paralyzed that.

"Hey, you give that back!" Bryce yelled as he ran to the bush that the Munchlax had jumped behind. The Pokémon jumped from behind the bush again. There were crumbs on its face from the sandwich that it had stolen.

"Munch!" it yelled. Its eyes glared. It looked like it had been starved near death. Bryce aimed his Pokedex at it. The description on the screen read:

Munchlax, the Big Eater Pokémon. It wolfs down its weight in food everyday day, swallowing food whole with almost no chewing.

"Hey! You greedy little Pokémon!"

Munchlax started to wave its hands back and forth. Then, it pulled a leaf from a nearby bush and started to blow into it. Bryce, his Pokémon and some nearby trainers all fell asleep…

Bryce woke up to see that all of his food was gone. Nothing was left. Not even the crumbs were spared. He saw the Munchlax lying down patting his stomach.

"Hey! What was that about!?" He yelled at the Pokémon angrily. "Mankey! Get up and teach this Pokémon a lesson!" Mankey stood up and braced itself. "Use Seismic Toss!" Mankey ran up to the Munchlax and grabbed it.

"WAIT!" It was a little boy. "Please don't hurt Munchy! He didn't mean you any harm!"

"Hey, kid, is this your Pokémon?"

"Yes!" The boy sniffed as he spoke. He looked like he would explode at any second.

"Why is it out here by itself, stealing other people's Pokémon?"

"I'm sorry, I was just trying to get it to battle, but it ran away from me. He never does what I say." Bryce looked at the Pokémon. According to his Pokedex, it was level 15. Just about the right level to battle his Mankey. The boy started to cry again.

"Hey, kid. Calm down, okay?" He couldn't stand the crying. "Here's what I'll do. Munchlax seems to get serious when it's under pressure." He remembered how it attacked when he started to yell and approach it. "How about you battle my Mankey. When it sees that it has to battle, it'll fight back."

The boy sniffled again. "Thanks."

"No problem. Now cheer up, that is no way for a trainer to act. If you're weak, your Pokémon will be weak. Got that?"

"Right." The boy straightened his face and gave a command. "Attack the Mankey with Lick!" He waited for the Pokémon to follow his order, but nothing happened. "See, he won't listen!"

"I'll make him listen. Mankey, use Seismic Toss!" Mankey grabbed the big Pokémon, jumped into the air, and threw Munchlax to the ground.

"Munchy! No!"

"It's a battle. It's supposed to get hurt. If it can't handle it then it shouldn't be battling. Now Mankey, use Fury Attack!" Mankey ran up to the Pokémon and started swiping away at it.

"Munchlax, you've got to fight back! Use Metronome!" Munchlax got up and started to wave its hands back and forth again. Bryce had pretty much figured out that this attack was unpredictable.

"Brace yourself Mankey!" Mankey concentrated on the Pokémon. He prepared himself for the worst that could happen. Munchlax's eyes started to glow. Then, Mankey started to float in the air."

"Good job Munchlax!" The boy jumped up and down and threw his fists into the air.

"Of all the luck!" Bryce said, growing frustrated.

"Key!?" Mankey said, surprised. He was wondering why he was floating in the air. Munchlax finished the attack and threw Mankey into a nearby tree.

"Mankey, get up! Can you still battle?" Bryce ran over to the Pokémon. He saw Mankey look at him. He looked determined to win this battle. He was about to upstaged by some fat baby Pokémon. "Alright, get back in there!" Mankey got back up and walked over to the area where the battle was taking place.

"Alright Munchlax! Do what you did last time!" Munchlax started to wave his hands back and forth again. Bryce gritted his teeth. He was hoping it wasn't another attack like the last one. He wasn't sure how much more Mankey could take. Munchlax continued to wave his hands back and forth. Then, he started to make faces at Mankey. Mankey was enraged.

"Haha, big mistake kid. Now I'll show you what Mankey can really do! Revenge, now!" Mankey started to release steam. It escaped where it could. His eyes turned red and his veins looked like they were about to burst. Then, he attack Munchlax in a very violent manner. When the attack was over, Munchlax was unconscious.

"Wow, that was incredible!" the kid said, amazed. "I hope my Pokémon gets to be as strong as you." He said as he pat Mankey on the head.

"Your Pokémon can't get strong if you don't learn how to control them. From now on, Munchlax will do whatever you say because it knows that it needs you to win."

"So, how did I do?"

"You came pretty close to winning. But your mistake cost you in the end. Try not to rely on Metronome too much. Teach Munchlax some other moves so that it will have dependable attacks. You wouldn't want Munchlax using Splash in a tight situation, would you?"

"Right." The boy said. He recalled his Pokémon. Bryce started to walk away. His stomach growled. He was hungry.

"Wait. I have one more favor to ask."

"What's that?"

"Could I follow you? I'm completely lost."

What! Bryce thought. What did he look like? Some kind of babysitter or something!? "Fine," he said reluctantly.

"By the way, my name's Todd."

"Of course it is." Bryce said as he led the way down the route.

 

[Broadway]

It had stopped raining, but Mackie was still parked under a tree, just in case. It had rained all night—that had been fun, putting up the tent like that—but luckily not too cold, at least. By his estimation the rain had paused for almost an hour now, and he had taken the chance build a fire and hang some of his wet clothes near it to dry off. He had to do that, or he'd run out, of socks at least. He didn't have too many but his feet got darn cold in the rain so he was wearing his boots and socks, and was almost through 'em.

"No, that's definitely not food," he said absently to the Munchlax, who was watching all the hung clothing curiously. Mackie didn't know if he had even been with people before, but he must have watched travelers camping for sure, because he knew that fire meant there was likely to be food. Mackie wasn't sure if he'd actually eat something made of cloth, but best to stop him before he tried. Especially if it might get him sick.

Everyone was out of their pokeballs just now, enjoying the temporary dryness. The air remained humid but it wasn't so bad by the fire. The light of it was hard to see even in overcast daylight but the warmth was something everyone seemed to appreciate, even Ziggy was drying her little feet after a romp in the wet grass.

Mackie dug out the bag of pokemon food and starting tossing pieces to his team, one at a time, except for Bonnie, to whom he just handed a piece, which she took carefully from his fingers.

No one seemed to mind the new arrival at all, even Ziggy, who had soon detected a rival for food acquisition, seemed to have decided the Munchlax was an ally instead of a competitor.. When he'd been building the fire, he'd felt a sudden tug at his overall leg and looked down to see the overly-dramatic begging expressions of two pokemon. That had sent him into a fit of laughter.

Now they hopped up and caught the bits of food eagerly, the Munchlax and Ziggy in their mouths, and Turvy in his hands, until Mackie put the bag away, shaking his head firmly. "That's your snack for now, 'less you wanna go out lookin for berries," he said, and Ziggy perked up at that. "Don't go too far, huh," he said, and then Luster rose to a hover from the mossy stone she'd been sitting on and circle once over him before following the troop of three. "Oh, alright then," he said, mostly to himself, reassured.

He pulled out his pokedex in the meantime. There wasn't much else to do while his socks dried, unless a trainer turned up so far off the road. He flicked it on and checked the newest entries. The latest one was a Lickitung. He'd almost missed that on the way over to this clearing where he'd built the fire, and when he spotted it he couldn't understand how he hadn't noticed it before. It was pink. Really, really pink. And yellow.

It hadn't looked at him, and it hadn't run away, just kept doing what it was doing. It was at the base of a smallish tree, just near the trunk, and as Mackie watched, it opened its mouth and a tongue like Mackie couldn't believe extended out. The Lickitung held its tongue out almost flat, the tip curling up a bit, and then it had braced its feet and smacked its big tail against the tree trunk.

Water droplets rained down, it caught a good bunch on its tongue, pulling it in and swallowing before it stuck it out again, and smacking the tree's trunk another time.

Raining all day long and that was how it wanted to get a drink, Mackie had wondered, until the next smack of its tail dropped a small, unripe apple, along with the water drops. Aha.

It had eaten that with much more relish than it had taken the water, and Mackie had looked up at the little tree's branches to spot a bunch more little apples. They wouldn't be ready for picking until fall, really, but it looked like the Lickitung didn't mind that.

Mackie had left it to its unusual method of food-gathering with a distinct craving for cider.

"TYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!" Came a bellow, and Mackie jerked his head up from his pokedex to see Turvy crashing back through the undergrowth, carrying Ziggy who was... asleep? He put her down by the fire, and as Mackie stood up, he leaped forward and grabbed his wrist, hauling him forward.

Mackie had no way of resisting that pull. Turvy'd never pit his strength against Mackie till right then, and it was almost shocking how strong he was, even being so little. Turvy dragged Mackie back the way he'd come, barely giving him time to call back to Bonnie to watch his stuff and Ziggy. Branches scratched at him and a bunch of wet leaves caught him in the face before he stumbled out into the relatively open area between two big trees.

The ground was uneven, rising an dipping with big old tree roots and rocks and moss, but no more bushes to block his view at least.

A couple of fat yellow-and-brown pokemon with floppy noses were faced off against Luster and the Munchlax. One of them fixed beady little eyes on Luster, and the air between them seemed to shimmer a bit, but Luster zipped back and away from the distortion, and it faded. Drowzee, he thought. Drat, he'd left the pokedex at the fireside.

Psychic types then? Mackie shuddered and immediately said, "Luster, you got 'em beat, you're a bug. Watch for hypnosis but Silver Wind 'em!!" he told her. It was a special attack and probably they were tough against those, but it was still the best type.

"Munch!!" the Munchlax declared as he ran forward in a Tackle and was promptly Headbutted so hard he went head over furry heels. Turvy started forward, but Mackie grabbed at him, and he stopped.

"Nah, you can't, they'll just knock you right over," he said, shaking his head. "Munchlax!" Mackie called, "use, uh, Lick! Yes!" Mackie knew he had Metronome, but that move was just too random for Mackie's tastes.

As Luster swerved to avoid another Hypnosis, she sent the Silver Wind straight to its mark, and her opponent recoiled against the blow. Instead it spread its arms and did an awkward jump, smacking into her with surprisingly strong Pound. "Don't let up!" he encouraged her.

The Munchlax had run straight back to its own Drowzee, undeterred, and Mackie started to think he really did have a good fighter. The Munchlax did seemed to complain whenever it got hit but it didn't get scared of just getting up to try again. The Munchlax avoided another Headbutt just by tripping over one of the twisty roots making the ground uneven, but he scrambled up against and opened his mouth to slap his tongue right against the Drowzee's face and lick upwards.

"Drrrrrowwww," it protested in what sounded like disgust, reeling back, and then Mackie saw it twitch and freeze up. Paralysis!

"Yes!!" he cheered, and the Munchlax bounced back a few feet putting some distance between himself and the Drowzee. "Leave that one a while, help Luster! " he told the Munchlax, and he hopped to it. "Lick, again!!" It wasn't a very tough attack, it was just like Bonnie's Astonish; weal with a useful side effect, but it was still a decent hit against a psychic pokemon.

As the Munchlax hopped here and there to get an opening to Lick the second Drowzee, he distracted it from its overhead opponent, and Luster found a perfect opening, smacking it with another Silver Wind. When it turned to her instead, the Munchlax scrambled forward to actually grab its arm and climb up to Lick this one's face too.

No paralysis here. Just a knock out, Mackie realized, and held his breath as the Drowzee reeled back and thumped down, slumping back against the tree trunk. "Yes!" Mackie said again. "Get back to the other one!"

Its paralysis had kept it stuck over there but it managed to move again, enough to hit the Munchlax with another Headbutt. Hard, that time, and the Munchlax smacked into the other tree trunk like he'd been shot out of a cannon. Luster buzzed furiously and, over her own accord, dealt an Aerial Ace that had her dive bombing the Drowzee. It staggered back as the Munchlax staggered upright, to Mackie's amazement. Strudy thing.

"Okay, keep back, try Metronome!" Mackie said, suddenly realizing it definitely did have a use. As to what... well, maybe a little suspense was good for him. "Luster, just Quick Attack and get out!" he didn't want her near it if the Munchlax got a two-opponent hit.

The Munchlax held out his arm, raised a finger. Back and forth, and then.. the Munchlax yawned, sat back with his arms behind his head, and stared at the Drowzee like he was bored.

That was... that was.. what? Slack Off? Mackie resisted the urge to smack his palm against his forehead. But no, wait—that restored some health. So, good. Not a total loss. "Okay, okay! Good! Luster! Silver Wind!" She'd only have enough energy to do that a couple more times, but maybe this would be the last one...

And yes. The Silver Wind showered down over the Drowzee, and it hit the ground under the assualt, covering its head with both hands.

The Munchlax stood up again, peering over at it, while Luster came down to hover next to him. He looked up at her and grinned his big grin, and Mackie exhaled heavily. "C'mon back guys." The Munchlax turned happily on his heel and trotted over to Mackie, looking quite proud. He opened his mouth and pointed at it hopefully. "Yeah, yeah," Mackie agreed. He waited for Luster to join them, casting a last glance at the Drowzee, who were just starting to pick themselves up again, before heading back towards the fire. Hopefully Ziggy had woken up by now.

If not, he was sure the smell of food would do it.

 

[{Swan}]

Rockman0 - Haha Bryce shouldn't complain, he wanted company didn't he? Great post, I enjoyed reading it.

Congratulations, Mankey grew to lv 24!

Broadway - Got two mighty eaters there, better watch the food! Haha awesome post, I liked it.

Congratulations, Munchlax grew to lv. 17 and learned Recycle!
Congratulations, Yanma grew to lv. 24!

 

[Underoos]

Selene felt like she was dragging some serious butt when she walked. She felt fairly drained of energy, though she wasn't sure why. Although it could have partially been because it was raining, she was completely wet, and she had been walking for all of half an hour. She was going straight through the forest, because there was no way in hell that she was going to go zigzagging all about at a slower rate through the rain. She would take hard Pokemon over unruly conditions any day. It wasn't like she was a big baby or anything, she just liked quicker routes? Yeah, that was it. Selene sighed and hung her head, yup. That's totally one hundred percent it.

She missed Jake. He would've been able to make the trip shorter by joking at least. Selene sloshed through the mud, wishing that he was there every step of the way. It was actually sort of pathetic, or at least that's how she saw it. Honestly, what kind of person would walk through mud whilst on a Pokemon journey wishing that some boy was with her? It was ridiculous! More than ridiculous, she thought in annoyance, it's rather sad actually. She sighed and looked around. There was a log located under a droopy willow (is that what it was called?) tree. Selene walked over to it and plopped down, slightly shielded from the rain. The tree still dripped on her, but it was totally not as bad as the pouring rain. She combed her hair out of her face.

"Perfect," she muttered, "just perfect." She rolled up the end of her shirt and wrung it out. Water splashed onto the already wet ground. She did that with the ends of her sleeves and her pant legs. Her clothes were still practically sticking to her skin, but at least it wasn't as bad. Her feet were pretty cold too, but that was probably because Converse weren't exactly the warmest shoes to be wearing in the first place. Selene sighed, propped her elbow up on her knee, and then set her chin on her fist. Truthfully she wanted to get to the next city as soon and fast as possible, but it was like she just couldn't do it. Her body was refusing to be energetic and awake.

"What are you doing?"

Selene's head snapped over to her right. There was a little blonde headed boy standing there. He had a large football in his hands. A baseball cap was tucked into the pocket of his shorts. He was wearing a bright orange T-shirt. When he talked, Selene saw that he was missing his two front teeth. The boy only seemed to be about seven.

"Sitting," Selene replied in a bored sounding drawl.

"Well no duh!" the boy said in a high pitched voice. "I'm Beau, by the way!"

"Hi, Beau by the way," Selene said, smirking a bit at her joke.

"Nooooo," the boy whined. "It's just Beau."

"Alright. Just Beau then."

"Good!" Beau declared, seemingly proud of the fact they had cleared that up. "Can I come sit with you? It's sorta raining out here."

"Yeah sure, pick a seat, kid," Selene said, scooting over a bit to give him more room.

Beau plopped down next to her, dropped the round ball. He set his left foot on it and began to roll it back and forth. Then he paused and fidgeted a bit. Moments later he tugged the hat out of his pocket and slapped it on his head. Selene couldn't tell if the hat was wet or not, but it didn't seem to be. Probably tucked under his shirt, she figured. Selene began to fiddle with her fingers, and Beau continued to play with his football. Selene wondered what he was doing out here. She knew that she wasn't terribly far from some form of civilization, but still. He probably snuck off. Looks like a little adventurer, she mused. A tiny smirk appeared on her lips.

"So what are you doing out here anyway?" she questioned, deciding that getting the full story from this kid would be a good idea.

"I was playing soccer...er...football," Beau began explaining. "And then this HUGE thing came out of nowhere! I mean it was gigantic! And it was all pink and had a giant long tongue!" He said it in a rush, but Selene still figured it out. She frowned. A thing with a giant long tongue? What the heck was that? "So it like snatches up my ball with its freaky tongue and ran off! Of course I had to get it back, right? Right! So I charged after it. Well, it was a bit harder than I thought. But anyway, I finally caught up to it and well..." he trailed off, nodding towards his ball. "I got it back. But now I have another problem."

"What's that?"

"He took my jacket! It was my favorite one too!" the boy whined. "I got it for Christmas from my big brother, Tim!" Beau sighed heavily, hanging his head. "Tim could get it back. He's the best there is!"

"How old is your brother?"

"Uh...I think he's like seventeen? I dunno, but he's old!" Beau giggled, more to himself than to me. "Hey! I'll bet you...well...uhm..." Beau's face turned pink as he said this. My eyebrow arched as I waited for him to continue. "Do you...I mean, could you...uhm...help? I mean, I'll bet you can battle it and get my jacket back! You do have Pokemon, don't you? I'll bet you do! You're a trainer, right?!" Yeesh, the boy was all excited now. Selene held back a grin. This kid was pretty hyped up about it.

"Yeah, I'm a trainer," Selene replied.

"Will you help me?! Please?" he begged.

"Fine," Selene said. "It beats just sitting here, I guess. Do you have any idea where this freaky Pokemon is?"

"Over there," Beau said, pointing.

Selene looked directly across from them. She couldn't make out much because the tree obscured her view, but she could make out a fairly fat looking pink form. There was some blue jacket (at least, that's what Selene guessed it was) dangling from what looked to be the tongue. Selene stood and walked through the leaves. Beau followed her, peering out. Selene suddenly knew what the thing was; a Lickitung. She had seen them on TV before. She had never really liked them, either. Their long tongues were a bit creepy to her. Reminded Selene too much of this one creepy snake dude from this TV series she had used to watch. Selene shuddered inwardly, and grabbed Aron's Pokeball. She was going to show this thing who was boss.

"Alright Beau, I'll show you how a trainer does it," Selene stated, a smirk gracing her features. She threw Aron's Pokeball, and he appeared in a burst of steam. She noticed Beau's face fall slightly, as if he were expecting something amazing. Selene thought about bringing back Aron and then going for Denahi, just for kicks, but decided against it. Besides, Aron was already out. She figured he could get the job done just as well as Denahi could've. "Aron we've got this one," Selene began, "so let's start off with metal claw."

Aron got right to work. Selene was proud of the little guy, mostly because he looked rather...small in comparison to the Lickitung. Aron slammed his claws into the Lickitung's side, causing it to wince and fall back a bit. Lickitung dropped Beau's jacket, but then wrapped its tongue back around it and seemed to clutch it tighter. Selene figured that she would have to kick this Pokemon's royal ass before she got anywhere near getting that jacket back. Well, that was just fine with her.

"No worries here," she muttered, more to herself. "Alright Aron, go after it with headbutt!"

Aron charged in again, slamming his skull into Lickitung's fat leg. Lickitung budged, but only barely. Selene frowned; she really didn't like that it had barely gotten hurt. Apparently it was Lickitung's turn. The large pink thing suddenly dropped Beau's jacket. It then curled its tongue around Aron. The steel Pokemon began to struggle, but the attempts were in vain. Lickitung squeezed its tongue harshly, causing Aron to cry out and struggle harder. Selene had to admit that she admired her Pokemon's efforts to break free. She began to think of what she could have Aron do, when Lickitung dropped him.

"Well that was easy," she said, blinking in surprise.

"I think Aron's loosing," Beau observed.

"No, he's just...struggling a little," Selene said. "We'll win. Aron's strong, you'll see." In all honesty, she wasn't sure if she was reassuring herself or Beau. "While you're free, use mud slap. Just try to stay away from its tongue!"

Aron slapped mud towards Lickitung. It hit directly, but Selene could see that this wasn't doing a whole lot of damage either. She frowned. It seemed like nothing would work. The attacks kept hitting, but Lickitung seemed to just bask in it. The Pokemon just stood there, looking pretty bored. Selene began to feel a bit worried. If Aron fainted, it was going to make her look horrible in front of that Beau kid. Yeah, Selene wanted to impress him. She thought it was probably a really bad reason to win, but it was true. This little kid seemed like he...well, she didn't quite know, but she wanted to make him happy. She didn't want him to think she was worth nothing.

"Alright Aron, it seems like this is obviously not working. So go use metal claw and follow it up with headbutt!" Selene called.

Aron looked a bit unsure at first, and Selene frowned. Aron apparently got over his shyness though, and charged into another metal claw attack. His claws slammed into Lickitung's stomach, and this time the Pokemon actually cried out and fell back again. It began to get up, but before it could Aron slammed into its side. Lickitung gave some form of a grunt and got up. It then dragged its tongue across Aron's back, making Aron shudder and freeze up. Selene's eyebrows furrowed. Aron twitched, and started to move again but it didn't exactly work. Lickitung took advantage of this and slipped his tongue around Aron. Selene thought he was going to get squeezed to death again, but then Lickitung let go and flung Aron against a tree. Aron struggled to get up.

"It's not looking so good for Aron," Beau mumbled, frowning.

Selene glanced over at him. "Yeah, I know. But Aron can do this. Remember what I said before? He's just struggling, but he's got this."

"Are you sure? Because it really, really doesn't look like it."

"Aron, get in there and use headbutt!" Selene called, turning her attention away from Beau and back to her Pokemon.

Aron charged into Lickitung without freezing up, but before it could hit its side Lickitung's tongue shot out and wrapped back around Aron. Selene cursed, but just as Aron was about to get thrown into another tree something rather crazy happened. A jolt of electricity shot out of almost literally nowhere and hit Lickitung. Lucky for Aron the attack was electric, because his steel typing blocked the attack off. Lickitung went down. Selene couldn't believe it. Beau gave a cry of joy and ran over and snatched up his jacket, then scrambled back over to Selene.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed. "How'd you do that?!"

Before Selene could open her mouth, another voice answered for her. "She didn't." It was a drawling, deep voice. "I did." Standing down the path was a tall, muscular looking guy. He had dark hair that was plastered to his face because of the rain. A spiky fox was standing next to him. It was a Jolteon.

"TIM!" Beau shouted. He ran over to where his brother stood and practically leaped onto him.

"Hey squirt. Who's your friend?"

Selene looked Tim up and down. She bit her lip, but a tiny smile still formed. Tim was smirking at her, but Beau was paying no attention. Instead, he was chatting relentlessly about his story of the day.