The New League

[{Swan}]

Charzeon - Great post, I liked Tony's personality.

Congratulations, Yansa grew to lv. 15 and learned Double Team.
Yansa wants to evolve, will you let her?
Congratulations, Angela grew to lv. 14!


Koroc - Great post, quite the battle.

Congratulations, Barney grew to lv. 11!
Congratulations, Sunny grew to lv. 17!
Kenny released the female Machop.


Broadway - Love the camera reference, awesome post. He really does like the flying ones, doesn't he?


Congratulations, Mackie caught himself a lv. 7 male Gligar with an egg move!


Fen - Wow, paranoid much? Haha that was an awesome post.

Congratulations, Kenai grew to lv. 17 and learned Helping Hand!

 

[Underoos]

The rest of the way through the forest was silent and awkward for both of them. Pidgey kept picking at the side of Jake's head, but he swatted her beak away and didn't say anything. Soon Pidgey just gave up, and she fluffed herself out in a rather pissed off way and stared directly ahead. Jake grumbled to himself, but otherwise didn't try to console his Pokemon. Selene snorted and thought that it served him right. She frowned. Why was he being such a jackass right now anyway? A sigh escaped her lips. She could never figure out what went through a man's mind, no matter what. They PMSed just like women, only it was less often. Really, they did.

Soon they were out of the woods (literally) and the route began to grow rocky. In the distance, Selene could make out a rock wall carved into what appeared to be stairs. Selene marveled at the sight of the stairs. Though they didn't look the greatest even at this distance, she figured it must've taken some work to get those carved out of stone. She then thought of the bicycle road they were planning to build, and wondered if they would destroy this beauty. Probably. Stuff like that always happened. Selene sighed. Jake looked at her curiously, but then turned his gaze away and kept going.

They passed more and more Pokemon as they went on. Selene even saw a rare Baltoy here and there, but they were of no interest to her. Truthfully she hadn't really seen a Pokemon she desired so much just yet. She sort of wanted a Nidoran, but she didn't want to look like she copied Jake. Oh, and she didn't want her team to be super weak to water and ground too. That could be potentially bad in upcoming battles, couldn't it? Yes, yes it could. Selene yawned and stopped thinking strategically. It was just giving her a headache.

As the stairs grew closer and closer, the silence grew more and more uncomfortable. They stopped for a lunch break about halfway through the rocky route. Jake was facing towards the forest on one boulder, and Selene was sitting on a boulder next to his facing towards the rock wall. They looked like such a pair. Selene took a bite out of her sandwich. Why exactly were they not talking again? Oh right, because of that stupid dolly girl. Selene ripped a chunk out of her sandwich and chewed rather angrily.

"No! Hoothoot, stop that!"

Both Selene and Jake looked up. There were two little kids hopping about on boulders. They appeared to be chasing some round ball. Wait, no. It was a Pokemon. Selene's eyebrow raised as the kids hopped after the dodgy little Pokemon. Soon it came to a stop, and the kids ran into it and fell face first onto the ground. The boy shook himself much like a dog would, and his twin sister (they looked so alike, so Selene decided they were twins) began to sniffle.

"Oh stop your crying Effie," the boy sniffed. "Bad, bad Hoothoot," he said, rounding on the Pokemon.

Selene instantly knew one thing about them, just from how they looked and how the boy had acted. They were selfish, spoiled brats. They looked rich and like they'd been pampered their entire lives. The girl had stopped her snivelling, and was now chiding the Hoothoot along with her brother. Selene rolled her eyes. Jake didn't seem to be very interested in them either, because he continued to munch on his sandwich silently. Then, of course, the little kids had to look up. They looked at each other with wide, almost evil grins on their faces.

"You two, we challenge you to a double battle," the boy declared, pointing at them.

Selene blinked slowly and chewed on her sandwich. She really, really wanted to say no. Jake sighed, swallowed, and stood. He agreed. Selene's jaw dropped. Had he just agreed for them both? She glared up at him. Jake looked down at her silently. He nodded towards them.

"Fine." It was reluctant and forced, but Selene was on board.

"Excellent! Hoothoot, return," the boy demanded, holding up a rather expensively decorated Pokeball. Selene grabbed Denahi's Pokeball and watched as the two kids brought out two separate Apri Balls. They seemed to be rather excited. Selene just wanted this to be over with. "Now then, shall we go?" the boy said, obviously being rhetorical. They tossed their Pokeballs, and suddenly Selene grew cold. There was an Ekans and a Corphish standing opposite of them. Selene absolutely hated snakes. She paled and her palms began to sweat as the snake's tongue flicked out quickly. "Well?" the boy questioned.

Jake had Pidgey go in for a try. Pidgey seemed eager to battle. Selene was still partially frozen to the spot. She snapped out of it when Jake waved his hand in front of her face. "R-right. Sorry," Selene said, her voice squeaky. She tossed Denahi's Pokeball, and he emerged in a bright flash of white light. Denahi stretched and snorted. It was obvious that he enjoyed not being kept in his confining Pokeball anymore.

"Finally, took you long enough," the girl said. Selene threw her a glare, to which the girl replied with her own sneer.

"Pidgey, use quick attack on Ekans," Jake said calmly. Selene spared him a quick glance, and then ordered for Denahi to use headbutt on Corphish. A ground type and a water type wasn't the best matchup, that much Selene knew, but it wasn't like she was going to argue for not having to battle the snake.

Pidgey dove in at the same quick speed it always had, if not even faster. Selene couldn't help but watch as it slammed into Ekans with a pointed beak, leaving no room for error. The snake hissed and recoiled away from Pidgey, obviously disliking the attack. Its tongue flicked out again, and Selene swallowed harshly. Meanwhile, Denahi had charged forward at Corphish, but the attack was evaded. Corphish was a bit too fast for Denahi, and while Denahi was attempting to whip around and hit again, Corphish had unleashed a bubblebeam attack from its pincers. Selene called for Denahi to watch it, but obviously that didn't go well. Denahi got hit by the bubbles, and was soon looking rather damaged.

"Oh goodie!" the girl squealed. "Brother, you must pick up your game to beat that Pidgey. I can clear this Cranidos straight away," the little girl stated. Selene glared at her again.

"Agreed, sister." The boy looked away from his sister and to his slightly wounded Ekans. "Alright Ekans, I believe it's time we stepped up our game. Use glare on Pidgey, and then follow up with acid!"

"Denahi, use leer and then stomp on Corphish!" Selene ordered. She had decided that it would be a good time to start planning things out.

"Pidgey use gust attack on Ekans."

"Corphish, keep it up with bubble beam!"

The attacks were ordered so close together, that they happened almost all at the same time. Ekans rose up, and Pidgey looked at its belly to soon become a bit mystified. It tried to break away, but then Ekans unleashed a rather nasty acid attack, shooting purple gunk in Pidgey's direction and hitting it square on. Pidgey fell to the ground and cried out, hitting hard. Denahi leered at Corphish, causing the Pokemon to hesitate in its movement to produce another bubblebeam. Luckily that gave Denahi enough time. He charged in and slammed his foot into the Corphish before it could even unleash an attack. Selene smirked a bit. She definitely liked getting that fish back.

"I think we should work together, brother."

"Yes. We will take them down easily that way. Ekans, use a bite attack to hold that Pidgey in place."

"Corphish, you use vicegrip once Ekans has a good hold on that Pidgey!"

Selene, partially reluctant in helping Jake because of before, probably is one of the reasons why the attack succeeded. When Ekans' jaws clamped down on Pidgey and caused the bird to become immobile, Selene didn't know what to do. Jake called for Pidgey to get free, but it was basically impossible. Just when Ekans finally released Pidgey, she got caught in a snapping vicegrip. Selene clenched her teeth as she heard the bird Pokemon's sharp, piercing cry of pain. Denahi looked at Selene unsurely. He didn't know if he was supposed to attack or not. Jake whipped around, eyes blazing with green fire. His fists were clenched.

"What the hell are you doing?! Help me out here!" he snapped.

"Oh so now you want me to battle?" Selene snapped back. She sometimes wondered how she could switch from worry to anger so quickly. "Now that I'm not battling your little girlfriend, right?"

The twins glanced at each other, and then shrugged. More time for them to win the battle. "Let's finish this, sister," the boy said, "Ekans use acid on Pidgey."

"Corphish, use bubblebeam on Cranidos."

Their trainers were too busy arguing to realize what was happening. Ekans hissed and shot another stream of acid towards Pidgey, who was slowly trying to get up. Denahi looked at Selene but seeing his trainer didn't seem to be doing anything, he charged at the attack. Corphish unleashed another stream of bubbles. The attacks met, and there was a soft boom as they hit Denahi head on. Seconds later, admist the cloud of smoke, there was a shining white light. Jake and Selene stopped in their bickering to look over. When the smoke cleared, Pidgey was no more. A stronger bird was in her place. A Pidgeotto. Denahi was crouched in front of the newly formed bird, looking tired but ready to keep going if he had to. The trainers looked at each other.

"Teamwork?" Selene offered.

Jake looked at her quietly, and then nodded slowly. "Teamwork. Pidgeotto, use gust!"

"Denahi, use take down on Ekans!"

Pidgeotto flew in the sky, proud and new. She kicked up a heavy tornado-like spiral, and then sent it careening towards the two kids' Pokemon. The kids called for their Pokemon to get out of the way, but they were sucked up in the vortex before anything could happen. Once they were spit back out, it was obvious that Corphish was down. Ekans was slowly shaking its head and getting up. The boy urged his Pokemon on, but before it could move further Denahi rushed in. He slammed into the snake harshly, causing it to cry out as it got slammed backwards into a large boulder. It sunk to the ground, down for the count. Denahi shook his head, and snorted. The recoil wasn't too bad.

"Humph. Sister, you could have trained your Corphish better," the boy snapped, recalling the Ekans.

"Me? You were our last hope, but you couldn't even have Ekans attack! I think you need to train Ekans better!" the girl shrieked. She collected Corphish in her arms and sneered at Selene. "You two just got lucky," she said snottily. They walked back the way they had come, still bickering with each other.

Selene and Jake looked at each other. They grinned and then began to head towards the rocky stairs, confused Pokemon in tow. Pidgeotto and Denahi would just never understand humans.

 

[rockman0]

The next morning, when Bryce woke up, he was refreshed and ready to go. He immediately jumped out of bed, brushed his teeth and washed his face, put on fresh clothes and walked to the recovery room area of the Pokémon Center. He was more ready than ever to get on to the next gym battle. Look out Byron, here I come! He was excited at the thought of getting his first gym badge. Not to mention

When he arrived in the recovery room, he was happy to see that Shinx was already up and ready to go. She was sitting up in bed, eating breakfast. Nurse Joy came into the room a few minutes after Bryce arrived.

"Oh, you're here," she said, "Shinx is doing great! She's made a full recovery."

"That's great!" Bryce looked toward Shinx who looked as if she was ready to go.

"I suggest that from now on, you be prepared for any situation you may run into."

Bryce nodded his head in agreement. From now on, he was going to be on top of things. No more scares like this one. He would be in total control. Nurse Joy checked Shinx out and readied her to leave the Pokémon Center.

"You be good and try not to overdo it, okay?" Shinx replied with a happy "Shinx!" Then she hopped off the bed and by Bryce's side, who recalled her to his Pokeball.

"Thanks again for everything," he said. She nodded her head and he took his leave.

Bryce ran toward the gym where Byron was accepting challenges. He walked into the gym. Just before he could get to the leader, he was stopped by one of the subordinates.

"Hey, Byron isn't taking any challenges right now." The guy looked stern as he told Bryce the bad news. "I can't let you in. He's out in the Mines training his Pokémon."

What, Bryce thought. "When did he leave?"

"Yesterday, he's been there for a while now. You should come back later."

"Well, can I go to the Oreburgh mine then?"

"No, it's off-limits to new trainers at the moment."

Darn, Bryce thought as he walked away. There was no choice but to go on to Eterna City. He'll just have to come back later, like the guy said. He followed the signs that pointed toward Route 306.

Route 306 was basically a rocky path. There were lots of trees and a river that divided the path. There were plans that a bike route would be built. However, they were not complete so the only way to the next town would be to go through this route. There was also a cave. It was the darkest of caves that could not be lit by normal means.

Wild Pokémon were everywhere. They roamed the terrain as free as ever. Mankey ran ahead of Bryce to interact with some of the Pokémon. Bryce saw all sorts of Pokémon. In the river, there were fish Pokémon swimming around. He saw a Finneon, a Magikarp and a Qwilfish. There were also some Nidoran running around. Some were pink, while some were kind of gray. He knew that this distinguished the male from the female.

The sun shone brightly. The cool breeze that blew felt good to Bryce. He could see that all of the Pokémon were also enjoying the weather. That's why so many were out.

Bryce continued down the path. He had to keep going. He wanted to get to Eterna City as quick as he could. He walked at a quick pace in an attempt to keep up with Mankey, who had run ahead. He saw in the distance that Mankey was playing with a Ponyta. At least, he thought they were playing. After looking a little while longer, he realized that they were actually battling. For what reason, he didn't know. Maybe they were just doing what Pokémon love to do. After all, Pokémon will be Pokémon. Or maybe Ponyta had done something to anger Mankey, which wasn't hard to do since he already had a short temper. Whatever the reason, they were going at it hard.

Bryce was about to stop them from fighting when he realized something. He remembered how he had used a Ponyta at the Battle Tent. It had so much agility and potential. He wanted on. Maybe he could use it to ride through this rocky area. Then, he would be there in no time. He decided to take advantage of this situation. He threw out his Pokeball that held Surskit. Surskit appeared and let out a cry. Mankey and Ponyta stopped fighting and looked in Surskit's and Bryce's direction. Ponyta left Mankey and began to charge at Surskit!

This was surprising. Bryce hadn't expected Ponyta to turn all of its attention to Surskit.

"Surskit, move out of the way!" Surskit heard Bryce warn her, but her reaction time was too slow. She was knocked back by Ponyta's attack. Mankey ran in and helped her but to no avail. Just as he got ready to attack the Ponyta, it used growl on him, stopping him dead in his tracks. Meanwhile, Surskit had regained her composure.

Ponyta used Ember on Mankey since the tackling didn't seem to do much harm to the Pokémon. While Ponyta's attention was on Mankey, Bryce told Surskit to use Bubble.

Surskit shot out a stream of bubbles that hit the Ponyta head on. It knocked the Ponyta back. The Ponyta charged at Surskit again, almost knocking her into the nearby pond. The waves were crashing violently. Surskit used Bubble again. This time it took the Ponyta a while to recover from the attack. Mankey was still in a daze so Bryce called him into his Pokeball. It was all up to Surskit now.

"Surskit, jump into the water!" Surskit jumped into the water but didn't go under. It was actually standing on top of the water! That gave Bryce an idea. He would lure Ponyta into the river and throw the Pokeball at it at the last minute.

"Surskit use Bubble!"

Surskit blew a small stream of bubbles at the Ponyta. It turned toward Surskit and got angry. Then, Bryce ordered Surskit to get out of the water.

"Now Surskit use another Bubble attack and wait for it to attack back."

Surskit blew another small stream of bubbles at the Ponyta. The Ponyta got upset and started too charge at the Pokémon. Just when the attack was about to hit Surskit, she jumped up. The Ponyta, who was running at full speed, could not stop in time and fell into the river. The violent river crashed at the poor Ponyta. It struggled to get out of the water. It was after a little while that it finally made it back on the shore. It breathed heavily after being exposed to the large amount of water and fighting the strong currents. Just in time, Bryce threw the Pokeball and the Ponyta waited to see if it had been caught.

 

[{Swan}]

Fen - Great post, I liked the teamwork lesson here.

Congratulations, Denahi grew to lv. 20 and learned Scary Face!
Denahi can not learn any more moves, will you delete one for Scary Face?


Rockman0 - That was an awesome post, very creative. I think you deserve something special :D

Congratulations, Bryce caught a lv. 10 female Ponyta with an egg move!

 

[{Swan}]

Chapter Seven
Eterna City
Pokémon Capturing Contest
Number of Posts: 1​

Eterna is a smaller city located right beside the great Mt. Coronet. It's greener than Oreburgh, but the influence of the mountain is still very noticeable. The first thing you might notice is that the streets are surprisingly empty for a city, especially one with a gym. Should you check the Gym out, you would find that it's closed. On the door, just like everywhere else in the city, is a large and bright poster.


The poster informs you of the first ever Capturing Contest being held in Sinnoh, and it's held right in Eterna City, or Eterna Forest to be precise. What's better, it's being held that day! You, of course, hurry to sign up. The poster promises great Pokémon to catch and even better prices for the best capture.

When you get to Eterna Forest you can see a crowd gather around an assortment of little stalls. There's one with sign-up painted on a board, where you sign yourself up. The woman behind the table then gives you a piece of paper and tells you to take it to the next booth. There a man will give you 5 Apri Balls, all green and numbered, and explains the rules to you, which are the following:


You will go into the woods at the same time as everyone else. After an hour you will all assemble at the entrance again. Coming late is not tolerated. You're only allowed to take one Pokémon with you, and no items. The rest will be left with a safe keeper at yet another stall. You'll have 5 chances of capturing the Pokémon that you want to present to the judges. At the end the judges will go over each captured Pokémon, looking at overall health, size and strength, rarity and any specialties that could tip the scale. There are prizes for the top 4 in the competition.


Also note, you don't have to keep the creature you caught, you can release them, or trade them for any Pokémon that was capturable before, within reason. So no Buneary for a Natu, be reasonable, but I'm not too strict with this.



Prizes:

First Place: Evolution Item of your choice (Stones or items)
Second Place: Evolution Stone of your Choice (Stone only)
Third Place:

Rare Candy
Fourth Place:

Vial of Bright Powder
Participation Prize:

Lum Berry


Pokémon in the Contest:


Buneary

Level: 8-14
Type: Normal
Moves: Splash, Pound, Defense Curl, Foresight, Endure, Frustration
Points: 1


Tangela

Level: 8-14
Type: Grass
Moves: Ingrain, Contrict, Sleep Powder, Absorb, Growth
Points: 2


Gastly

Level: 8-14
Type: Ghost
Moves: Hypnosis, Lick, Spite, Mean Look, Curse
Points: 2


Butterfree

Level: 8-14
Type: Bug/Flying
Moves: Tackle, Confusion, Poison Powder, Stun Spore, Sleep Powder
Points: 3


Beedrill

Level: 8-14
Type: Bug/Poison
Moves: Tackle, Fury Attack, Focus Energy
Points: 3


Dustox

Level: 8-14
Type: Bug/Poison
Moves: Tackle, Confusion, Gust
Points: 3


Beautifly

Level: 8-14
Type: Bug/Flying
Moves: Tackle, Absorb, Gust
Points: 3


Gloom

Level: 8-14
Type: Grass/Poison
Moves: Absorb, Sweet Scent, Acid, Poison Powder
Points: 4


Roselia

Level: 8-14
Type: Grass/Poison
Moves: Absorb, Growth, Poison Sting, Stun Spore, Mega Drain
Points: 4


Stantler

Level: 7-15
Type: Normal
Moves: Tackle, Leer, Astonish, Hypnosis, Stomp
Points: 5


Togetic

Level: 10
Type: Normal/Flying
Moves: Magical Leaf, Growl, Charm, Metronome, Sweet Kiss
Points: 6
(Need an amazing post)


How this really works:

I am judging your posts on creativity alone. Creativity and which Pokémon you choose to catch. Of course, Togetic is the only one you need an incredible post for. Incredible posts aren't just long battles, mind you, anything with creativity. If you describe enough, make your post very enjoyable to read, and then a random Togetic comes up to and is like 'Hey, dude, I wanna come with ya', than I'm fine with that. Make me enjoy your posts.
Needless to say, I'll judge all of your posts for the prizes once everyone has posted, but I'll also just judge the capture before then. Also, please state if you wish to keep the Pokémon or if you want to release it in the OOC after I graded.

 

[Underoos]

Selene took in a breath of fresh air. The mountain known as Mt. Coronet loomed over in the distance. She looked around the city, basically completely stopping in her tracks. Jake looked at her curiously and glanced around. Selene noted that Eterna was quite a bit greener than Oreburgh, but she could still tell that the mountain was influential. She then frowned. The city seemed...bare? Yes, that was it. It didn't seem like anyone was out and about, and she couldn't get it. Jake soon realized this, and looked almost just as puzzled as Selene. Where was everybody? It wasn't like this city was abandoned or anything. She spotted the gym a ways away, and pulled Jake along as she marched through the city and toward the Pokemon Center. Restoration first, gym battling second.

They arrived in the Pokemon Center, only to find that Nurse Joy was the only person in there. Selene and Jake walked up to the counter. She took their Pokeballs to the back, and once she came back Selene decided to ask.

"Nurse Joy, where is everyone?"

"Oh, you don't know?" she questioned. She then pointed to the bulletin board a few feet away. Selene and Jake glanced at each other. "Go on and read it. You might even want to participate once your Pokemon are ready," Nurse Joy advised.

Selene and Jake walked over to the board. Selene looked the poster up and down. It was bright so it stuck out, and Selene could've sworn it was bigger than her torso. The poster advertised a new concept-a Capturing Contest. Selene's interest spiked a bit, and she read on. It was currently going to be held (the very first one) on that very day, in that very city! Selene's eyes brightened at the idea. There might be multitudes of new Pokemon! This was an excellent opportunity, and she wanted to go for it. As she finished reading, something else made her even more interested. The best capture would receive another prize that was just as good (if not better) than the Pokemon you captured! Selene grinned and glanced at Jake. He seemed to like the idea as well.

There was a bing suddenly, and both trainers rotated to look. Nurse Joy was bringing their Pokeballs out and setting them down on the clean counter. Selene looked up at Jake.

"We should totally enter this. Maybe we can get some awesome prize!" Selene said excitedly.

"Yeah, and a new Pokemon. I hope there's no ghosts though..." he muttered. The last was more meant for himself, but Selene heard. She just chose to ignore it, simply because she didn't want to embarrass him and his "manly self". She giggled to herself and then followed Jake up to the counter.

"So what do you guys think?" Nurse Joy conversed lightly as she took the empty trays back and put them away. "Are you going to enter?"

"Yeah," they replied simultaneously.

"Good luck to you both!" Nurse Joy called as they walked out the doors.

Selene practically dragged Jake along (mostly because he was walking too slow) the entire way to Eterna Forest. Once they arrived, it was obvious that this was where the town had gone. There was a giant crowd gathered around an assortment of a bunch of stalls. Selene looked around, and finally spotted the one with a sign up board on it. She pulled Jake along, and he followed as she led him through the crowd and to the booth. There was a person in front of them, but then he finished and the road was clear. Selene and Jake stepped up. The lady smiled at them and said a friendly hello.

"Take this paper," she began, giving them each a slip, "to the next booth over there." With that she pointed. There was a man there with a bunch of Apri Balls with him. "And that's where you'll get your Pokeballs. Good luck!"

Selene and Jake moved with the flow of the crowd over to the man's booth. He handed them five Apri Balls each and wished them luck as well. He also then pointed out the numbers on the balls. After clearing his throat, the man began to say the rules. "Here's how it works. You go into the woods at the same time everyone else does. You can take only one Pokemon with you, so if you have another you can leave it here and pick it up with the prizes. No items are allowed either. Anyway, you will be allowed free range of the area until an hour is up. Coming late is unacceptable, everyone must be here at the hour mark." The man blinked a bit, probably realizing he sounded a bit droning. Then again, he had been reciting this probably all day. "Anyway, you have obviously five chances of capturing the Pokemon you want to present to the judges. Once everyone's there and such, the judges will go over each Pokemon. They will look at basically all characteristics of this Pokemon. There are prizes for the top four in the competition, and then a participation prize." He let out a breath of what appeared to be relief. "Any questions?"

Selene glanced at Jake. His eyebrow's were almost up to his hairline. She figured he was thinking the same thing as she was. This guy talked REALLY fast, and he seemed a bit...odd too. Selene quickly shook her head, and she dragged Jake away from the crazy man.

"Well...I think he needs a break," Jake commented lightly.

"No kidding," Selene replied.

Selene and Jake moved to where the majority of the crowd was standing. They were a ways back, but Selene could still make out the red "Starting Line" banner. She then noticed a person was coming around collecting Pokeballs and putting them in separate bundles. Selene picked up Denahi's Pokeball. She was going to go with Kenai this time, simply because she figured that forests=bugs and bugs=weak to Kenai. Jake seemed to pick Pidgeotto's Pokeball, because it was a specially decorated Apri Ball. She knew that Nidoran's had been switched to a regular red and white ball. When the person came around, they handed him their Pokeballs and then waited for the contest to start.

"Good luck everyone! May the best trainer win!" a voice rang out, and then the startling line was removed. Some people rushed out, and others entered in a bit of a walk. One thing was certain. The contest had begun.

Selene and Jake entered the dark forest without much of a conversation. Jake was looking over his shoulder all the time. He seemed to enjoy the nervous act. Selene even questioned him about it once, but he denied it and said that he was just looking out for Pokemon. Uh huh, Selene thought dryly, who looks for Pokemon with a freaked out expression on their face? She wondered why he was so freaked, but decided that it was his own business and it would most likely do her no good to ask. He probably wouldn't fess up to it anyway, just like nearly every other guy she had met. Why were they all so stubborn? Selene sighed and shook her head.

"Hey look, a Buneary!...Again," Jake said with a soft sigh. "Those things are so common they can't be worth much. And I don't particularly fancy one. Have you seen anything?" he questioned, looking down at Selene. The Buneary hopped off into the bushes and out of sight. Selene opened her mouth to reply, where there was a sudden scream that resounded throughout the forest. Jake blanched and looked about wildly. Selene looked over her shoulder to where the scream had come from.

"Come on, Jakey," she demanded, grabbing his arm. Yes, she had just come up with a nickname for him. "Let's go investigate! It might be some super rare Pokemon." Jake attempted to protest, but Selene won in the end. She dragged him off to one of the far corners, and stopped in complete awe. There, out of nowhere almost, was a giant mansion. It was old and looked to be corroding. "The perfect place..." she whispered. Jake looked from her to the mansion rapidly.

"No, I doubt it. There's probably just old cobwebs in there," he said in a rush. "Can we just keep going?" Now his voice was high and squeaky. Selene looked up at him. 

"But... what if there's like a super awesome Pokemon in there?"

Jake opened mouth to respond and, most likely, tell her that he quite frankly didn't give a rat's ass if there was a Mewtwo hiding in there. Which, there most likely wasn't. But just as he opened his lips, he froze and stared straight ahead. His green eyes were wide. As a matter of fact, it reminded Selene of when he first saw that Gastly that had been stalking them in the previous route. Selene frowned and turned her head. Gastly indeed. There was a hovering ball of gas just behind her. It just hovered there, unmoving. Jake stared, and didn't seem like he would be going anywhere soon.

"Oh yes! Sweet-friggin'-nips!" Selene declared. "Jake, this thing has to be worth something, so I-...Jake?"

He had vanished. Selene looked around, suddenly a bit afraid. Where had he gone off to? The Gastly simply began to laugh in an airy way. Selene sighed and shrugged. She wanted to stick with Jake, but this Gastly was something she wasn't going to let float away. The wild Pokemon watched as she turned. She grabbed Kenai's Pokeball with a smirk on her face. Gastly eyed her curiously, and then began to laugh again. Selene got confused, but she brought Kenai out anyway. Once he appeared, the puppy barked and fluffed himself up a bit. Selene pointed to the Gastly. Kenai whipped around and started to growl. Ah, what a good little guard-dog.

"Well Kenai, I don't know where Jake went, but once we catch this Gastly we'll go looking for him," Selene stated. "So let's start with a leer attack to lower its defense. Follow with bite!"

Kenai growled and squinted his eyes at Gastly. The wild Pokemon looked rather startled, and suddenly began to float away. Kenai blinked, and then scrambled after it. He tried leaping up to bite at Gastly, but the Pokemon simply hovered too far up. Selene hung her head and sighed. Alright, so maybe ember was going to be the way to go with this pesky ball. Kenai growled and leapt up again, to which Gastly replied with hovering a bit higher and laughing. Selene had to admit that she was sort of getting a bit creeped out by that laugh, but if she wanted this Pokemon she knew she'd have to deal with it.

"Alright, so maybe we won't use bite. Attack with ember until you can get close!"

It was probably a good thing for her that Kenai had battled a Gastly before, because when the ghost vanished, Kenai whipped around and shot a stream of fire behind him. Gastly cried out and vanished again, only to reappear in a tree. Well, really it wasn't exactly IN the tree, just because it was floating, but whatever. Kenai growled and slammed into the tree. He soon began to paw at the ground and whine. Selene looked up and found that the Gastly was laughing again. He seemed to be enjoying the show. Selene's eyes narrowed.

"Come here, Kenai," she demanded.

Kenai trotted over to her and looked up at her. "Growl," he whined, digging at the dirt. He didn't like the fact that Gastly was playing catch-me-if-you-can either.

"Yeah, I know," Selene said. She then grinned, and Kenai was unsure if that was good or bad. "I have a way you can get him though." She scooped Kenai up suddenly, and the puppy whined. No, Kenai suddenly knew that this was most definitely not going to be good for him. "When you get up there, either use ember or bite. I don't care which." Selene then turned to the side. The Gastly watched curiously. Selene swung her arms a couple of times. Kenai whined uneasily, and then suddenly he was sailing through the air and directly for Gastly's low tree branch. Selene grinned and watched as her Growlithe said through the air and managed to get hold of the branch. The Gastly looked rather surprised. Kenai scrambled up the branch, and then snarled at the wild Gastly.

"Gasss," the Gastly said softly. Suddenly it disappeared. Kenai whipped around, but the Pokemon wasn't there. Selene bit her lip, hoping that it hadn't gone away. Then, just as abruptly as it had disappeared, the Gastly reappeared in its spot and licked Kenai's head. Kenai yelped and shuddered, clenching his jaws together. It appeared that he most certainly did not like that lick attack one bit. "Gas! Gastly!" the Gastly said happily. That's when it suddenly started harshly at Kenai. Selene had a moment to wonder what exactly it was doing, before she realized that it was a mean look. Kenai snarled. He wanted to finish this fight now.

"Alright Kenai, that mean look is no big deal. We weren't gonna run away anyway!" Selene called up to the tree. "Use bite!"

Kenai went to move, but suddenly he flinched and shivered harshly. Selene pulled out her Pokedex and held it high, but the old thing couldn't get a reading. She clenched her teeth. Gastly, as if sensing her trouble, began to laugh again. Selene's eyes narrowed. The annoying little bugger! Who did it think it was anyway? Selene leered at it.

"Kenai, use ember!" Selene encouraged. "Make it hit. I wanna kick that stupid Gastly's can!" Selene was done toying with it. Well, she called it toying anyway. Truthfully she had been giving it a fairly decent go, but Selene figured she'd have to step up her game in order to get this little trickster.

Kenai unleashed an ember attack, this time without getting paralyzed in the middle. Gastly simply vanished again, and Kenai was too slow to move around in time for the attack to hit. Selene growled in frustration. Gastly began to suddenly vanish and reappear all over the place, causing Kenai to look around quickly. Selene frowned. This Gastly really, really didn't seem much for attacking. It just seemed like the Pokemon was having fun, playing jokes and freaking them both out. It was a little prankster, and it seemed that Gastly could care less about beating Kenai. Otherwise Selene was pretty sure she would've had a tougher time than this by now. She thought of what to do. Kenai couldn't run away, because of the mean look. He could hardly attack, because he was paralyzed. He was also stuck in a tree while trying to maneuver, which wasn't exactly the easiest thing ever. Whilst racking her brain, Selene didn't realize that someone had come up behind her.

"Hey shortstuff," Jake said easily. "Hows that ball of gas treating you?"

"See for yourself," Selene grumbled, pointing to the tree.

Jake looked up, mouth hanging open. Gastly looked at him and then turned his attention back to Kenai. The Pokemon almost looked like he was wondering what to do next, seeing as Kenai wasn't attacking. Jake then looked back to Selene. He grinned and winked at her. Selene's eyebrow rose. Hadn't he just been freaking out like fifteen minutes earlier over this very same Pokemon?

"I already got my Pokemon." He looked back up. "All you have to do is wear that Gastly out. The way it seems to enjoy floating about could be its own downfall too." Jake glanced at Selene out of the corner of his eye. "So? Let's wrap this up. We only have like twenty minutes left."

Selene didn't like the whole pressure thing. She looked at Gastly. It was floating back and forth, almost as if it was dancing to some unknown tune. Selene sighed. There was one way she was going to be able to do this. She walked right up to the tree, grabbed a branch, and started to climb. Jake watched as she reached the branch Kenai and the Gastly were located on. Selene stood up awkwardly, ducking her head to avoid hitting a branch.

"Alright you," she stated to the Gastly, "I'm going to capture you. And you're going to get me first prize, alright?" The Gastly tilted his head curiously. "Yeah, that's right. You'd better believe it. I don't need Kenai's help for this. Kenai, no worries. I've got this down." Selene really had no idea what she was doing. Truthfully she was sort of (both literally and figuratively) going out on a limb here. She unzipped her backpack and brought out her black sweatshirt she normally used when it was cold out. Jake watched curiously. "Catch," Selene called, and tossed the rest of her pack down. Jake caught it with ease. Selene then spread the jacket out wide and stalked closer to the Gastly. The Pokemon hovering lightly, looking at bit unsure of what exactly was going to happen next.

"Gasss," it hissed lightly.

"Now don't move," Selene whispered. She stepped over Kenai and held the jacket up. Gastly blinked. It wasn't scared. It could just vanish away, even if she caught it in that funny looking thing. Gastly soon began to laugh. Selene smirked. "Kenai, here we go!" she shouted, throwing her Pokemon at Gastly. The wild Pokemon looked so surprised it was almost comical. Jake let out a confused shout from below. Kenai's teeth clamped down on Gastly's head. The Pokemon cried out and began to shake back and forth, but Kenai held tight. Selene grinned widely, and felt rather confident. Perhaps too confident. For when she took another step forward in order to get Kenai back and bring Gastly to the ground, the branch cracked.

"Uh oh," Jake said.

"Uh oh? What uh oh?" Selene called. She hadn't heard it because of Kenai's snarling.

"The branch is a bit..."

Then it gave way. Selene squeaked as the surface was suddenly removed from underneath her and she was going down. Somehow she managed to grab Growlithe's tail along the way, dragging both her Pokemon and the wild Gastly with her. Jake looked around for something to soften the fall, and was about to move when she suddenly landed on top of him. Jake groaned as his head smacked into the ground. Selene opened her firmly shut eyes and glanced around. Hey! She wasn't dead!

"Cool!" she said. Kenai growled. Gastly struggled. Jake shoved her off.

"I think they need to have a warning sign for falling trainers," Jake grumbled, rubbing the back of his head. He was willing to bet anyone that there was going to be a knot there in the morning.

"Alright, now that I've finally got you off of that tree, I'm going to catch you," Selene stated. Kenai suddenly had enough, for he let go of the wild Gastly. It panted and attempted to float back upwards, but before it could Selene tossed the Pokeball and watched Gastly become engulfed. She let out a breath. This was probably one of the most interesting things she'd ever done. Ever. End of story.

 

[{Swan}]

Fen - Of course Selene would say Sweetnips xD That was certainly... creative?

Congratulations, Selene caught herself a lv. 12 Female Gastly. Will she keep it, or let it go?

 

[Broadway]

It was like a haze, for a while, Mackie faded in and out. Luster and Bonnie had kept shoving at him, on and on, and then they'd stopped, and there'd been someone, a person, and that was it for a while, and the next time he noticed anything he was lying in a bed.

"His fever's broken," he heard someone saying. "Phew. That could have been way worse."

"Just give him some fluids. Avery cleaned out his leg and stitched it up, so he just needs rehydration."

He wasn't sure who they were talking about, but he was too tired to care. He fell asleep.

When he woke up, it was slow at first, and then he opened his eyes slightly, and that made him sit up. "Oof," he said, a little shaky, and ravenous. Was he... in a hospital? The sheets were white, the walls were pastel blue and hung with generic pictures of pretty flowers. There was a window on one side of him, with the blinds mostly drawn, but late afternoon sun was slanting through it. Something pinched when he moved his left arm and he looked down, eyes widening at the IV needle.

"Oh, we're awake, are we?" a man with red hair and bright brown eyes and wearing pink scrubs came around the curtain that hung on the other side of Mackie's bed.

"Uh..." Mackie said. "Where is this?"

"Eterna Municipal Hospital, kiddo," the nurse smiled. "Someone brought you in off route 206 yesterday, you were half passed out."

"My leg," Mackie said, "I had some cuts." He squinted at the wall and tried to remember. It had hurt, a lot, that he did remember, but a lot of stuff after leaving the woody part of 206 was just blurry.

"Yep," the man nodded, and leaned over Mackie to peer at the bag of water, or whatever it was, that was attached to the needle in his arm. "And they were infected, and you got a fever. But you were actually over the worst of it when you arrived, it broke on its own. We just cleaned up your leg and got some saline in you."

"Where's—" Mackie started, and then realized he didn't know what to asked. Where were his clothes? His things? His pokemon?!

"Lie down a minute, kiddo," the nurse told him, and Mackie reluctantly did so. The nurse flipped back the covers to expose his leg, and Mackie raised only his head, trying to see for himself. The nurse peeled off a dressing, and Mackie could see the black stitches closing up both cuts. The skin around them wasn't so red now, it seemed to him, and the pain was much less.

"Yeah, looks good," the nurse told him, glancing up with a smile. "Redness way down, swelling too. It'll close up quick now, just give it some rest."

Rest. Right. Mackie pushed himself up on his elbows while the nurse gently sponged the cuts and replaced the dressing. "I need my stuff back, my pokemon—"

"They're at the Center, don't you worry," the nurse glanced over at him reassuringly. "We do know how to take care of trainers around here."

"I..." Mackie trailed off. "Good. Yeah. Um." He sat up all the way when the nurse was done, giving the guy a grateful nod. He was embarrassed as anything that he'd botched up taking care of himself so much that someone else had to do it, but this was the nurse's job, anyway, and he was good at it. "Could I, uh, get some food?"

"That was next," the nurse smiled at him. "I'll order you a tray."

"So I'm really better?" Mackie asked, as the nurse took off the gloves he'd used to take care of Mackie's leg, and threw them away.

"Well you look like you'd fall over in a strong wind, but pretty much. Just get some food in you, and lay back and relax for a day or two." Mackie nodded distractedly.

"Who brought me in here?" he asked suddenly, realizing that there was yet another person he'd put out by getting sick, and he had no idea who it was.

"Oh, it was a hiker, big fellow. Didn't leave his name, though, just waited to see you were okay and left."

Mackie grimaced in frustration. He couldn't even thank the guy, whoever it was. He had a faint recollection, now that the nurse had told him, of big hands around his arms, holding him up.

"Food'll be along in a bit," the nurse told him as he left, and Mackie nodded, shifting on the bed, and picking at the flimsy hospital gown. His face felt suddenly warm as he realized someone had undressed him and put this on him.

Sudden loud protestation from the next bed over distracted him. "No, I can't stay! The Capturing Contest is today!!" it was a young man's voice, and he sounded furious. "Only one day, don't you get it?"

"Son," a older woman's voice replied, "you need to calm down, or we really will have to put you in an air tent. Asthma attacks are not something to take lightly when you end up in here because of them."

"I'll miss the contest!" the guy groaned, and coughed, and didn't stop coughing, and Mackie's eyes widened in alarm until the older woman, a doctor, surely, spoke again.

"Press, yes, and breathe in, good." There was a faint mechanical click, and whoosh, then the coughing and gasping slowly subsided and Mackie rubbed his own chest in sympathy. Boy was he ever glad he'd never gotten anything like that. Be a mess to work a farm when your lungs were busted. "I'm sure the even will return next year. The League seems to be running very successfully, and I can assure you that you too will appreciate whatever pokemon you catch much more if you are alive and breathing well.

There was low grumbling after that, and the whump of someone slamming down unhappily into their pillows.

Capturing Contest, huh.

And unlike that poor guy over there, the nurse had said Mackie /was/ better.

*

"This is against medical advice, young man," the doctor reminded him a final time. "We had planned to keep you at least overnight again, and monitor that wound."

"No worries, doc," Mackie waved off her words. "I'll be right back tomorrow like you want, and you can check it then. But I feel great now, and I ain't sick, so I ain't staying in this place longer than I gotta." That was a slight exaggeration—he was still a little shaky, but his head was clear, his leg only hurt a bit. He'd be fine.

"Trainers," the doctor said, throwing up her hands in resignation. Mackie chuckled to himself and finished signing the checkout form. He'd gotten more details from another nurse, and he knew he could make it to the Center and still get over to the forest at the north end of Eterna, and still have at least a good couple hours of daylight. Nothing like what he woulda want, not hardly, but he wasn't gonna miss this, no way.

He felt a heavier twinge when he got his bag back on, but nothing he couldn't handle. He was better. He was fine.

*

"Swaaa..." Bonnie was giving him a narrow-eyed look of disapproval as he gingerly navigated the forest. She wasn't riding his hat or his shoulder, but moving from tree to tree. He didn't have his bag on, either, but it was rough going. Here, on his own, he had to admit that. Being better really... wasn't the same as being well. It was only "better" than being sick. He blew out a breath and stopped fighting the undergrowth. They were far enough away from the entrance now anyway, and from other trainers, he thought. No one was in earshot, anyway.

"Don't be like that, pretty girl? Just look, I'm sitting down. No more walking." He cast about until he spotted a mossy stone and sat down, favouring his leg. It hadn't been hurting so bad before, but it was complaining now. Getting all that blood pumping through the sore spot maybe hadn't been the best thing ever. "We'll just wait here, okay? See what wild pokemon come by."

That was a slim chance and he knew it, especially after all the racket he'd made thrashing his way over here. But he /was/ here now, he'd gotten here and he wasn't going to give up. Even if he just spotted a Buneary, or something, it would be fine.

"Swablu," Bonnie said frostily, still regarding him like he was being eminently stupid, and he crossed him arms contrarily. It would be fine. This wasn't like the route, this was a well-traveled forest and he was barely off the beaten path—unfortunately—and he really wasn't feverish anymore. He wasn't going to keel over again.

He wished she'd come down near him so he could give her a hug, at least. He'd gotten used to her sticking so closeby... just like he'd gotten used to Luster's raspberries and playful nature. He frowned guiltily. He hadn't even taken them out of their pokeballs before getting himself out to the contest grounds, he'd just rushed. He hadn't seen Luster since she'd seen him pass out. Not to mention that little Gligar that he hadn't even remembered at /all/ until he'd gotten three balls back from Nurse Joy instead of two.

"I'm sorry, pretty girl," he looked over at Bonnie and sighed. "I guess I just... got carried away."

"Blu," she replied evenly, but she glided down to sit on the rock near him, and he stroked his fingers down her smooth-feathered back.

"And all thanks to you guys I'm even here. I know it," he told her. There were pinch bruises on his arms from where she'd nipped him to keep him moving, and one of his faint memories was of Luster scrabbling at the slippery nylon of his bag, trying to grab and lift it, at least a little.

He heard a faint buzzing sound off to one side, and glanced over there, trying to peer between the trees and identify the noise. "Hear that?" he whispered to Bonnie, who gave him a confused look.

The buzzing grew louder, the sound resolving into multiple buzzes, more than one bug for sure, and Mackie got to his feet, staring around, trying to follow the sounds weaving through the woods.

"Swa?" he heard Bonnie faintly but he was too busy looking for the bugs to pay her attention just then.

A flash of red, finally, and green, and he blinked. Yanma? Here? But yes, that's what was out there, one, two, more than that, he wasn't sure how many, zipping between the trees, circling around the little open area he was sitting in, nearer and nearer. He grabbed the bag with the contest balls in it and pulled out a couple, waiting. They were moving so fast, but if he could just catch even one... they had to be one of the rarer ones. He could hardly believe there were so many.

One Yanma zipped through the clearing—too fast, then another came, as if they were in a row, all following each other. He threw a ball... missed, it bounced off a tree. Another Yanma, he threw a ball... Caught!! The ball fell, twitched briefly, and stilled.

Another Yanma crossed his field of vision and he threw another ball by reflex.

It caught. It fell. It stilled. He could barely believe it.

"Swa!!" he heard faintly. "Swablu!"

"Don't worry, pretty girl," he said absently, "They're beans to catch..."

Another Yanma, and he threw another ball. Caught!!

Sharp pain on his arm made him yelp and he looked down. "Bonnie! What—"

He cut himself off suddenly, because the noise was gone. Abruptly, the buzzing of the looping Yanma had simply ceased. He stared down at Bonnie, who was fairly glaring up at him, and he was struck by a sudden sense of vertigo, and he sat down, hard.

The forest was silent, there was nothing moving in the trees.

But he could have sworn—

And he'd caught—but no... he stared around himself. There were balls lying open
around him, thrown, but empty.

"What..." he said again.

"Swaaa..."

Then, a faint rustle in a hedge of bushes not far from them, and Mackie stared, then glanced hurriedly at Bonnie to see if it was real this time. It seemed to be. She was watching the bushes warily.

The branches parted around the stately-moving form of a four-hoofed, antlered pokemon with sleepy-looking eyes and a jowly muzzle. It was staring at them both, and it lowered its head a little, the black ball at the base of each gleaming in the dim light of the forest.

"Stantler," Mackie said. "I think, I think it's one of 'em." He stared a moment, eyes caught by the black sheen of the black balls, then blinked. This could be a real catch, couldn't it?! "Bonnie! Go!" he told her, and she rose in the air, aiming for the Stantler. "Feather Dance!"

It had come out to them, and not in a curious manner, and so Mackie suspected it was a fighter. It seemed he was right. It met Bonnie immediately, shaking its head free of the feathers before charging forward in a tackle, smacking Bonnie with lowered antlers. "Fury Swipes!" he told her. "Wear it down! See how tough it is!"

She looped up out of reach of the swinging antlers and dropped to its back, extending her small, but strong, feet and swiping at the Stantler once, and again, and three times, and then she banked away as it reared and turned on its hind feet. It darted forward to her, bucking its head. No contact, but Mackie recognized an Astonish when he saw one. Bonnie dove low, away from the antlers.

"No! Bonnie! Up!" Mackie said urgently, seeing now how the Stantler had set her up. It reared again and stomped straight down, catching her full on with both hooves. A harsh blow that pinned her to the ground. "Sing!!" Mackie called out. The notes floated out and though they didn't seem to lull the Stantler fully, it did back away, as if trying to dodge the sound along with the effect.

It seemed worn down some, though, not as eager to charge in as before. And then it lowered its head again, antlers presented as though it was about to charge. But it didn't.

Nothing seemed to happen, Mackie thought, braced for it to Stomp or Tackle again, but then Bonnie floated down to the leaf littered floor and folded her wings around herself. Head tucked under, she looked like a small cloud. She was asleep.

The Stantler circled slowly, approached Bonnie and reared, forehooves out again for a second vicious Stomp.

"Oh no you DON'T" Mackie bellowed, and threw the last unopened contest ball at the pokemon. Call him sexist, he didn't even care, call him hypocritical, since he'd used that very tactic his own self, but he was not standing around while some big dumb pokemon stomped down on Bonnie while she was sitting there asleep.

 

[{Swan}]

Broadway - Great posts, sounds like Mackie should take things a bit easier from now on, we don't want him to end up killing himself.


Congratulations, Mackie caughts a lv. 9 Female Stantler! Will he keep it or let it go?

 

[Koroc]

Kenny walked into the city looking at how much greener it was than the last town and wondered how this place could survive in the cold. Chewy was in awe as she looked around beautiful green town throwing her tail in the air as if she was sensing something.

"Strange that such a beautiful town has very little people here." Kenny said looking around noticing that nobody was walking around or even inside the stores or the mart. Kenny walked into the pokemon center to drop off his pokemon to get them healed. Looking up from his seat after handing his pokemon to Nurse joy Kenny saw a familiar person standing in front of a poster. Kenny walked up to see if he could get a better look at the person's face.

"How are you today son?" The man said adverting his eyes towards Kenny. Kenny eyes lit up, as he was surprised to see that his dad was at the pokemon center. "So I did teach you better than this?"

"I am sorry Dad; I did not expect you to be here." Kenny said running up to his dad to hug him. "What are you doing here?"

"Well I heard there was a catching contest going on here and I thought I would come try it out with my…"

"You brought Glalie?" Kenny said excitedly cutting his dad's sentence. "Cool. Can I say hello? It has been a while since I seen him."

"Fine you can see him." Mr. Henderson said pulling out a black apriball covered in with white crystal like markings that look liked ice freezing streams of water. Out popped a big ball of ice with black indentions on it and two black horns sticking out its head.

"Gla Glalie." The pokemon yelled floating towards Kenny as the young boy hugged the pokemon.

"Mr. Henderson your pokemon are ready to be picked up." Nurse joy said looking at Kenny.

"Dad I have to show you the pokemon I caught." Kenny said running to pick them up. "I have Chewy, Sunny, and Barney." Releasing the pokemon, they looked up at the man that looked very similar to Kenny. "Chewy was my starter that was a pichu to begin with. I caught a Rattata and when I got to Jubilife City, I traded it for Sunny. Barney was recently caught and beat a bronzor in battle proving to be quite powerful."

"They all look like they are in great condition. So you should enter the contest with Chewy."

"I think that would be a great chance to test our bond. Okay you are on." Kenny said returning Barney and Sunny to their respective balls. Chewy ran up Kenny's bag and then jumped off his head to rest on Glalie. Glalie did not mind that Pkachu stayed there and float out the door with its trainer and his son. Kenny and his dad headed east towards the forest, which was past a gorgeous lake that had a bridge going straight down the middle of it. As they approached the forest, they saw a huge crowd of people surrounding the entrance.

"Okay people come on and enter the Sinnoh First Pokemon Capturing Contest." A man on a large pedestal yelled into the crowd with a mega horn. Kenny walked up to the tables after forcing his way up there and asked to join the contest while his dad went to another person to sign himself in.

"Okay young man what pokemon will you be taking?" The man at the table asked Kenny.

"I will use the Pikachu on the Glalie." Kenny said nervously.

"Okay do you have any other pokemon? If so may you please hand their balls to me with them inside?"

"Yes I do." Kenny said pulling out their balls and placing them on the table.

"Okay here are 5 apriballs. You have one hour to go into the forest and try to capture a pokemon that you want to show to the judges. You have five chances to catch that one pokemon. Also don't be late or you will be disqualified."

Kenny picked up the balls and went to the edge of the forest waiting to the contest to start. His dads walked up next to him and wished him luck.

"Okay contestants get ready! Three… Two… One… Gooooooooooooo!"

Kenny took off running into the forest with Chewy clinching his hair as tight as she could not so she does not fall off. Kenny looked around the forest and listened to the sounds of wings flapping and buzzing as they echoed through the forest.

Walking through the forest Kenny heard bushes rustling from behind and he quickly turned to see what it was. Suddenly a brown bunny popped from behind the bushes. Its ears were long and had cotton like puffs on the end of them and the lower half of its body was nothing but the same cotton like puffs. The pokemon saw Chewy and her eyes became heart shaped and she hopped towards them.

"Great it's just a Buneary." Kenny said disappointed trying to run away from it to find a pokemon before time ran out. Walking a bit deeper into the forest Kenny scratched his head trying to think what pokemon to catch. Kenny watched a pokemon that looked like a deer with strange bell shaped antlers. The pokemon had soft brown fur that had white spots running through out it. The deer stood there eating grass and staring at Kenny. Not thinking too much bout that pokemon he just walked passing the pokemon up.

Kenny turned around and saw that the same Buneary was following him and he ran through the forest trying to shake the pokemon. Finally losing it Kenny took a deep breathes and noticed a gloom just lying in his path. Kenny stepped over it and continued the down the path. The Buneary hopped from behind a tree stalking Kenny and Chewy. It hopped down the path Kenny went down jumping over the gloom laying there.

Butterfree flew above Kenny's head and he decided to take a second to stare into the air. Every time the Butterfree flapped their wings beautiful rainbow colored powder were released from their wings making a wonderful sight to see. Following the Butterfree were some other strange butterfly pokemon but there wings had colors that shined in the light as their wings flapped. Kenny realized that he wasted too much time waching these pokemon and headed off to find one that he wants to show to the judges. The Buneary closing in on its target began to slow down a little bit before it knew Kenny would see it and run off again.

Kenny went deeper into the forest and saw a family of Weedle making their way across the forest path. A weedle tipped over and Kenny went to help it up but it let out a terrible cry, as Kenny got closer to it. The cry of the pokemon made a crowd of big bee pokemon with huge silver stingers on their hands appears to see what the commotion was about. Kenny started walking away from the weedle slowly and fell to the ground. He continued to backup. Chewy jumped off Kenny's head and released a Thundershock attack at the bee pokemon. The shock was powerful enough to knock a few of them to the ground. The few that remained retaliated at the pokemon that attacked them. They attacked Chewy knocking her back to where Kenny was.

Suddenly the bunny pokemon that they seen early walked up to Pikachu, saw that she was hurt and turned its head to the bee pokemon. The buneary's eyes began to burn with a furious rage. The buneary hopped over to the bee pokemon thrashing all of them with its ears making them run away in fear. Buneary turned to where Chewy was and ran picking her up hugging her tightly and crying a little. Kenny gave a chuckle seeing that the buneary had a crush on Chewy.

"Contestants you only have three minutes."

Kenny panicked and looked around to find a pokemon. Kenny looked over at Chewy as the Buneary hugged her to death. Kenny quickly pulled out a ball and chunked it at the bunny pokemon. Kenny quickly picked up the ball not letting it finish the capture sequence and took off towards the edge of the forest.

 

[{Swan}]

Koroc - Good post, looks like one determined Buneary.

Congratulations, Kenny caught a lv. 10 Male Buneary! Will he keep it or let it go?

 

[Charzeon]

Sara smiled to herself when she saw the edges of Eterna City coming nearer and nearer. The smile only grew more and more as she neared the City, excited to be in the town she had lived in since they move to Sinnoh. She couldn't wait to go see her family again.

"Of course, I also can't wait to introduce them to you guys," Sara said out loud, grinning when she felt Angela nudging her. "Yeah, I know they'll like ya. After all, you did help me get from Sandgem town back to Eterna. So, obviously they'll think that you're strong." The nudging became harder and more urgent. "And then just wait until I show them what you guys can do! They'll be so impress-"the girl finally had to stop talking when Angela all but tackled into her.

"Hey! What the heck was-"Sara started to say, rounding on her starter, but stopped when she noticed that Yansa was no longer with them. She quickly looked around her, panicking slightly, but the Shuppet gestured to where Sara should look.

The girl trainer did look that way and her eyes widen when she saw that Yansa was a few feet behind them and glowing with a bright light. Then, while still glowing brightly, the Starly started to grow and her shape changing slightly. Finally, the light went away and Yansa looked different then what she did before. She still had the same coloring of her pervious form, but she was bigger and there was a kind of swish on the top of her head, almost making it look like hair.

"Staravia!" Yansa cried out unfolding her now bigger wings.

"A Staravia?" Sara said in wonder as she took her Pokedex out, walked closer to her Pokemon and aimed it at her.

"Staravia, the Starling Pokemon. Staravia is the evolved form of Starly. It lives in forests and fields. It stays within a huge flock."

"Oh…" Sara said, then grinned widely and jumped in the air. "Alright! Yansa evolved!! This is great! Now I know that we can take on the Gym Leader with no problem!"

"Shuppet!" Angela shouted, jumping in mid air with her trainer.

"Staravia!" Yansa also shouted, flying into the air and circling around her trainer and comrade.

"Come on! Lets get going to Eterna City!" Sara said, turning to the city and running towards it, Angela and her new Staravia right behind her.

A couple hours later…

Sara walked out of the Pokecenter and looked around her. The trainer had just healed all of her Pokemon was now ready for the upcoming Gym battle. But before she did that, she wanted to go see her parents. Going to the left, she soon found the small street she lived on and her gray house. Sara practically skipped the whole way to her parent's house. When she finally reached her destination, she jumped the steps and bang hard on the door. She could hear some talking from inside and the sounds of someone getting up and walking to the door. The door soon opened and a large man with brown hair and blue eyes appeared in the door frame.

"Okay, what do-" the man started to say, but then stopped himself when he realized who he was talking to.

"Daddy!" Sara shouted and tackled her father, nearly knocking her over.

"John, what's going on?" A female voice called out and soon and smaller woman with a darker shade of brown hair appeared from around a corner. She was about to say more but stopped when she too realized who their visitor was.

"Mom!" Sara shouted, unlatching from her father and wrapping her arms around her mother.

"Sara! Wha…what are you doing here?" Sara's mother asked, gently hugging her daughter back.

"Please don't tell me you quit," Sara father said, gripping his hair slightly with one hand. "Oh please, oh please don't tell me-"

"I didn't quite dad," Sara said, moving away from her mother and turning to grin at her father. "See? I already have a badge," she took out her Coal Badge and showed her father. "And I'm here to get my second badge! I already have three Pokemon with me, and one of them evolved already!"

"…You don't say huh," her father said, almost unbelieving, before ginning widely. "Well, lets see what you have!"

"Alright!" Sara said as she took out all of her balls. She then threw them into the air and, a succession of lights, Angela, Yansa and Lee appeared. Angela quickly floated over to her trainer's shoulder while Yansa looked around her. Lee just leaned against the wall and watched everything, seeming to be bored with the whole thing.

"Okay, for introductions; this Shuppet on my shoulder is Angela, she was my starter and a great help since the start," Sara said, pointing to the ghost on her shoulder. She then pointed to the bird. "That's Yansa, my Staravia. She was a Starly, but evolved like two hours ago. Then there's Lee, my Ralts. He's very serious and usually makes other Pokemon nervous."

"Wow, that's very good dear," Sara's mother said, smiling proudly. "I'm so happy for you. These Pokemon look very good and strong."

Sara's dad seemed to look over the party with a critical eye. After his inspection, he said, "You know, I think I know how you can make this party even better."

"Really?" Sara asked, turning to face her father.

"Yeah, there's this Catching Contest going on today," her father said. "I don't know exactly what Pokemon you can catch, but I know that there are some pretty rare ones in it."

"Really!?" Sara asked, a grin crossing her face. "That's great! I bet I could find another addition to my party there! Where is the contest being held?"

"Just on the other side of town, by the forest," her father said, then looked at the clock. "But you better hurry. I think the contest is about to start very soon."

"Right, got it dad!" Sara said, returning all of her Pokemon. She quickly kissed her mom and dad on the cheek, then ran out the door.

"Good-bye honey! Good luck!" Sara's mother called out behind her.

"Yeah, knock them dead!" Her father shouted.

Sara smiled to herself as she ran faster to the other side of the town, not wanting to wait that long to possibly get a new Pokemon. It didn't take the trainer that long before she was at the forest, where other trainers were gathering and talking to each other. A banner held up by a couple poles announced that she had reached the area where the Catching Contest was being held. Sara didn't stop running until she reached the table, startling the woman behind it.

"Hi! I'm here to sign up for the Catching Contest if you don't mind," Sara said, smiling widely at the woman.

"Sure ma'am," the woman said, holding out a clipboard and pen. After Sara signed her name, the woman took the items back and said, "Please go to the next stall to get your Apri Balls and hear the rules."

Sara nodded and walked over to the stall the woman pointed out. After the man gave her the five green Apri Balls, he said, "So, here are the rules to this contest. First of all, you can only bring in one of Pokemon. Now, you will use those Apri Balls to catch the Pokemon you want to catch. After an hour, you will return here and the judges will judge the Pokemon you caught. The top four will receive prizes."

"Alright, got it!" Sara said with a nod, then thought about what Pokemon she wanted to bring in. It didn't really take her that long before she grinned and took out her one Apri Ball. "Come out, Angela!"

In a flash of light, the ghost appeared and once aging floated over to her trainer's shoulder. Sara grinned to her starter before handing the man her other two balls. She then walked over to where everyone else was gathering. She practically shook with excitement, wondering what Pokemon she would see.

Then, there was the sound of a gun sounding off and everyone rushed into the forest, getting ready to catch the rarest Pokemon they could find. Sara all but pushed her way to the front and, as soon as she was free from the other contestants, the girl ran off into the forest and looked around herself. She could hear the other people moving around in the bushes while others were just taking the main road, wanting to get deeper into the forest.

Angela made sure to stay as still as she could on Sara's shoulder while still looking around for any Pokemon. The two moved as silently as they could through the bushes, always keeping their eyes and senses open. There was a rustling in the bushes beside the two, making both the Pokemon and her starter spin around to face the bushes. The bushes continued to rustle before a small, brown and white Pokemon hopped out. It looked around itself and Sara quickly took out her Pokedex to scan the new Pokemon

"Buneary, the Rabbit Pokemon. Its ears are always rolled up. They can be forcibly extended to shatter even a large boulder."

"Wow, that sounds pretty strong," Sara commented as she put her 'dex, then smiled. "Not to mention pretty rare. Angela, use a Screech on that Buneary!"

"Shup!" Angela said with a nod and floated off of her trainer's shoulder before letting out her high pitched wail. The Buneary cried out and tried to cover her one exposed ear.

"Nice going Angela," Sara said, smiling even more. "Now hit it with a Payback!"

Angela nodded again before charging at the rabbit, hitting it with her horn and knocking it back. The Buneary was slammed to the ground, but slowly pushed herself up. The Normal type glared at the ghost who just smirked back. The Buneary then let out an angry yell before leaping at the Shuppet with a Frustration attack.

Of course, the Normal type attack when right through the Ghost type Pokemon, making both trainer and Pokemon grin. But the trainer's grin was soon wiped away when she saw that the Buneary didn't seem faze by the lack of what it did at all. In fact, the rabbit seemed to smirk before bounding away from the two.

"Oh no you don't!" Sara yelled, throwing one of the Apri balls at the Buneary. But the rabbit hopped out of the way and into some bushes just as the ball was going to hit it, making the ball open up and close again. Now it was useless to anyone who wanted to use it.

"Oh man…" Sara groaned, sighing in disappointment. "Who know that Bunearies were also kind of smart too…"

"Shuppet…" Angela whimpered as she floated over to her trainer's side. Sara smiled down at the ghost and bent down to pet her head.

"Hey, don't worry about it Anggy," Sara said with a smile. "It's not you're fault. How were we supposed to know that it was going to do that? Heck, when you fought Yansa, she just kept trying to hit you. I thought that maybe all wild Pokemon would do the same but I guess not…"

By the end of her little speech, Sara thought she had saw something out of the corner of her eye and spun her head around to face it. But whatever was there, if anything, was already gone. Sara stared at the spot for a little bit longer before shrugging her shoulders and standing back up. She then spun on her heels when Angela cried out and jerked her head forward, gesturing that something was behind Sara.

It was a Buneary, but it wasn't the same one as before. It was a little bit bigger and it had a lighter brown color to it. The rabbit glared at Sara and Angela before getting into a kind of fighting position. Sara grinned slightly when she saw the new Buneary and said, "Okay Angela, lets make sure this one doesn't get away. Use Payback now!"

"Shup!" Angela shouted and charged at the Buneary. It dodged the ghost's attack but when it tried to counter with a Pound attack, nothing happened and it went right through Angela. The Buneary growled when it saw what its attack did and jumped away from the Shuppet before she could do anything.

"Alright Angela, how about a Screech and then a Knock Off!" Sara ordered.

Angela nodded before letting out her very familiar screech, making the Buneary flinch. She then flew at the rabbit, whacking it with her body.

"Great job Angela," Sara sigh with another grin. "Now, finish this with another Payback!"

Angela charged and hit the Buneary with her horn. The rabbit cried out in pain as it was knocked back and slammed to the ground. It was stayed still for a while, making Sara convinced that it was out.

The girl quickly took another Apri ball out and threw it at the Buneary. However, just before it was to hit the Rabbit Pokemon, it got back up and unwound its rolled up ear, shattering the Pokeball that was going to capture it. It then jumped into the bushes and ran away.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Sara shouted, then shook her head as both she and Angela sighed at the same time. "Great, another one got around, and I only have three Apri balls left…lets get going."

"Shup…" Angela said as she floated back onto her trainer's shoulder and the two went deeper into the forest.

They were once again quiet as they walked; keeping an eye out for any Pokemon that might be worth catching. Suddenly Angela cried out again and pulled on some hair on the left side of Sara's hair. The trainer grunted and reminded herself to tell Angela how she could alert her trainer later, and then turned to see what the ghost was getting excited over. Her eyes widen when she saw a floating, black ball with large eyes and fangs, with a kind of gassy substance surrounding it. Sara shook her head to get her senses back and took her Pokedex out just to see what this Pokemon was.

"Gastly, the Gas Pokemon. Born from gases, anyone would faint if engulfed by its gaseous body."

"Interesting…though I wonder how someone that doesn't breathe would be able to deal with the poisons," Sara said to herself, then shook her head again. "Anyway, even though I probably won't keep it, it should be worth something to the judges. Angela, Night Shade!"

"Shuppet!" Angela shouted and send the purple aura at the Gastly. The Gas Pokemon let out a gasp of surprise and a little pain when the attack hit it, then glared at the Pokemon and her trainer. Its look then intensified and narrowed more at Angela, making her shiver in fear.

"Mean Look," Sara muttered under breath, knowing exactly what it meant for Angela. "Lets make this quick, Knock Off Angela!"

Angela nodded before once again lunging forward and whacking the Gastly with her body. The Gastly growled and charged back at the Puppet Pokemon, giving her a long lick with its big tongue.

"Angela!" Sara shouted, concerned for her starter. But when it seemed as though the ghost was okay, she said, "Okay, now use Payback!"

The Puppet Pokemon flung itself at the Gas Pokmeon, knocking into a tree when her horn connected with it. The Gastly seemed to go limp and feel the ground. Sara grinned once more and, after taking another Abri ball out, threw it at the Gastly. The ball hit the ghost and opened up, making the Pokemon disappear into it in a flash of red light.

Sara smiled, glad that it seemed as though they would finally catch a Pokemon. But that smile went away quickly when the ball opened up with one twitch. The Gastly glared at the two and, before Sara could say anything, disappeared into the woods.

"Shuppet..." Angela said, sighing again.

"Yeah…seems like we're just not getting a break…" Sara said with a sigh of her own. She looked around herself once more and her eyes widen when she saw something in the bushes behind the Shuppet. "Angela, watch out!"

But it was already too late. By the time Sara's warning got out, a few glowing needles shot out from behind Angela and hit the ghost right on. The Shuppet cried out in pain and squirmed in the air. Then a small, green Pokemon with roses for hands came out the bushes glaring at Angela.

"Roselia!" the Pokemon cried out, glaring more at the ghost.

Sara growled, not even bothering to get her Pokedex out to see what exactly a Roselia was. She just shouted, "Angela, use Payback!"

"Shup…" Angela said, though her voice sounded weak. Still, she charged at the Roselie and hit it with her horn, making the Roselia stagger back.

"Great, now use Night Shade!" Sara yelled.

Angela just nodded weakly before sending the purple aura at the Roselia, making it stagger back even more. However, the Grass type soon recovered and, after a quick glare at the ghost, it sent torn covered vines at the Shuppet that attached to her. It let out a cry as, suddenly, a green energy started to flow from Angela to it. The ghost shivered and seemed to grow even weaker.

"Angela!" Sara shouted, then quickly picked up one of the last two Apri balls she had. With out even thinking about it, she threw it at the Roselia. The girl knew that there was no way it would catch the grass type, but she just didn't want it to suck the life energy out of her Shuppet.

Sure enough, the ball opened back up immediately to let out a very annoyed looking Roselia. But it just glared at the trainer and Pokemon before turning on its tiny feet and walking away. Sara didn't pay much attention as she ran to Angela, catching the ghost before she feel to the ground.

"Oh Angela…" Sara said, holding her ghost against her. "I'm so sorry…you must be in so much pain right now…not to mentioned poisoned…"

Sara gently placed Angela onto the ground and quickly took out an Antidote and a Potion. As she applied the medicine, she continued to talk. "Man, that Roselia did a number on you, didn't it? I'm so sorry Angela…if I had known that you were poison, I would had never had kept you fighting. Mew darn it all!! Why didn't I see that Roselia sooner!? We could had prevented all of this! I'm so sorry, Anggy, I'm so-"

"Togetica!" A voice said behind Sara.

The girl spun around and her eyes widen when yet another Pokemon stood before her. It was fairly small with a strange, white body with red and blue triangles on it. It also had a small pair of wings which it used to get closer to the trainer and her injured Pokemon.

"Togetic!" The Pokemon said again, smiling at the two.

"Togetic…" Angela muttered, taking out her Pokedex and aiming it at the white Pokemon.

"Togetic, the Happiness Pokemon. Togetic is the evolve form of Togepi. To Share its happiness, it flies around the world seeking king-hearted people."

"Togepi?" Sara said, blinking. That was the Pokemon she used back in that Battle Tent. It had seemed pretty useless, but it turned out to not be that bad of a Pokemon. So it evolved into this Pokemon?

"Togetic!" the Togetic said happily, and then flew over to Sara and Angela. At first, the girl was scared that it was going to attack, but that soon went away when a strange feeling of happiness over came her.

The Togetic tilted its head at Angela and made a sad sound, as if wishing it could do something for the poor ghost. It then flew over to Sara's pack and picked up the last of her Apri balls. It looked at the stunned trainer before touching the ball to itself, making it disappear into the green ball.

Sara and even Angela, who had watched the last bit of it, were frozen with shock. Then very slowly, as if any rash movement would make something else happen, Sara picked up the ball and looked at it.

"…Well…I guess I caught a Pokemon after all," Sara said, almost as if in a daze. She looked to see what number was on the ball and smiled when she saw that the number was 3. The same number that, in the Battle Tent, had held the Togepi.

"I guess three is a lucky number," Sara said, her smile growing, then looked at her watch. Her eyes widen when she realized that her hour was very nearly up. "Oh Mew! This contest is almost done! We have to hurry!"

Sara picked Angela up and sprinted back to where she came from before. Hoping to what ever deities there were that she would arrive in time and that the Pokemon she caught was good enough to win something.

(OOC: Well, I hope that this post is good enough for the Togetic. Took up eight pages in Word. Also, before you ask; yes I do want to keep the Togetic.)

 

[rockman0]

The Pokeball stopped twitching. Ponyta had been caught! His Pokedex immediately updated. It screen said:

Ponyta, the Fire Horse Pokémon. Its hooves are 10 times as strong as diamond…

"Wow!" Bryce said out loud. I could get to Eterna City in no time!" He released the newly capture Pokémon. It came out with a cry of "Ponyta". Then she started grooming herself.

"Hi there, Ponyta," Bryce said. The Fire Horse Pokémon looked up at Bryce. "How about you take me for a ride? Since I'm your trainer now, you have to, right?" The Ponyta acted as if it didn't hear Bryce talking to her. Bryce jumped upon the horse's back.

"Hey, this is pretty fun. Giddy up!" Suddenly Bryce felt a burning sensation coming from underneath him.

"Yow!" Bryce said as he jumped off of the horse's back. Ponyta had burned him. He looked the Pokedex that was beeping for some reason. He saw that the screen had updated:

It sometimes allows people to ride it on its back; however, it may choose to burn its trainer if it is upset.

"Oh, now you tell me," Bryce said. Ponyta only turned her head. Bryce returned the Pokémon to its Pokeball.

"Well, Mankey, I guess we're walking the rest of the way." Mankey looked disappointed. He was looking forward to ride on the horse's back. The two continued walking down Route 306 until they had finally reached Eterna City. The gang was extremely excited. Bryce and Mankey headed over to the Pokémon Center. Nurse Joy was there to greet him.

"Hello, young man. How may I help you," she asked.

"My Pokémon need a check-up."

"I'll be back in a moment," Nurse Joy replied. The nurse took Mankey and the rest of Bryce's Pokeballs and went to the back of the room. Bryce decided to look around. He checked the Bulletin board for any upcoming events. Nothing much was going on. There were a couple of birthdays, locals who were becoming famous trainers, you know, local stuff. Nothing really interesting. Bryce headed back over to the nurse's desk. Nurse Joy was there waiting for him.

"Your Pokémon are all very healthy. You're doing a good job raising them."

"Thanks," Bryce replied. He headed out of the Pokémon Center. He wondered who the Pokémon Gym Leader for Eterna City was. He just had to win this badge since he'd failed to get the Coal Badge from Byron in Oreburgh. He just had to.

As he walked down the streets toward the gym, he saw that there weren't many people around. There wasn't anyone looking to challenge the gym leader. No one taking a stroll with heir Pokémon. The city was virtually empty save for a person here or there. He wondered what was going on here.

Upon making it to the gym, he found that the door was locked. He beat on the door repeatedly but no one answered. I wonder where the gym leader is, he thought. I have to get that badge this time. I just have to get at least one badge. He started to turn away when he realized that there had been something on the door. It was a sign. It said:

FIRST EVER POKEMON CAPTURING CONTEST!!!

WHERE: ETERNA FOREST!!!

WHEN: RIGHT NOW!!!

GREAT PRIZES, GREAT POKEMON, AND LOTS OF FUN!!!

JOIN NOW!!!​

He had heard of capturing contests before, but he thought they only existed in Johto. His dad had told him about the bug-capturing contests that were held there.

"Wow, a Pokémon-capturing contest! I'm definitely entering!" He was more excited now. He had been bummed out about not getting a chance to get the Eterna City badge, but this had really lifted his spirits. A chance to get rare Pokémon, how can you not get it?

He followed the signs to Eterna Forest. Upon entering the forest, he realized that everyone was here. This place was crowded while Eterna City was a ghost town. There were stalls everywhere. People crowded the stalls. There were all sorts of trainers around: bug-catchers, people dressed up like Buneary, some teenager trainers, and even some older people. Everyone was here! Bryce headed to the stall with the big "SIGNUP" sign on it. The line was kind of long. He couldn't wait to enter. This was going to be great. Finally his turn came up. He wrote his name on a slip of paper. Then, the attendant gave him a piece of paper and directed him to a nearby booth.

The man at the booth looked as if he was tired. Bryce heard him mumbling something too many people around. He couldn't help laughing to himself. The man took the paper from Bryce and gave him another sheet of paper. On the paper it explained some rules. Each rule was numbered from 1 to 5:

1. Everyone will enter the woods at the same time. You have one hour to catch the best Pokémon that you can catch.
   
2. After one hour, everyone will meet back at the entrance. All late participants will be disqualified.
   
3. You may only take one Pokémon. No items are allowed, so choose wisely.
   
4. You have 5 chances to capture the Pokémon that you want to show to the judges. Pokémon will be judged based on health, size, strength and rarity. These attributes will determine the top 4 entries to which 4 prizes will be given.
   
5. You may keep your Pokémon if you like or trade it for another capture-able Pokémon within reason. Have fun!

Next, the man handed him a 5 Apri Balls. They were all green. They were also numbered 1 through 5. The man asked Bryce for his Pokémon. He told him that he could only keep 1 Pokémon. Bryce saw that most of the Pokémon were bug- or grass-type Pokémon, so he chose Ponyta as his Pokémon. He really hoped that Ponyta was going to listen, but he had to take a chance because it was the only one that would be the most use to him.

He and Ponyta headed to the starting line. Then, after a whistle was blown all of the trainers and their Pokémon headed out into the woods. It was hectic. People were over Pokémon. Pokémon tripping over people. Everyone was in a rush to capture that one Pokémon that would beat the rest. The contest was really fast-paced. In the time it took to get around the big crowd of people running into the woods, 10 minutes had already passed. He walked around and saw a Pokémon that caught his eye. It was a Togetic! He remembered how he had helped his dad raise a Togepi back when Project Pokedex was in progress. The Togepi was able to learn a move called Metronome. It allowed the Pokémon to use any random move. That move could really come in handy in tight situations.

He sent Ponyta out to the Pokémon. His plan was to burn the Pokémon and capture it. Togetic noticed that they were about to attack him so it got ready for a battle.

"Ponyta use Ember!" Small flames spurt from Ponyta's mouth and headed straight toward Togetic. Togetic used Metronome. Before Ponyta's Ember attack could hit it, the Pokémon used Aqua Ring. The flames hit the Pokémon and vanished without causing any damage.

Bryce didn't know what to do. His burn strategy was out of the equation. What next? He decided that he would just whittle its health down until it was weak enough for capture. But Aqua Ring healed the Pokémon after each attack, so how could he hurt it? He had to do something.

"Ponyta use Tackle!" The attack hit the Togetic and knocked it to the ground. But Togetic got back from the ground and was healed by the Aqua Ring. This time, Togetic used Magical Leaf. The leaves hit Ponyta but didn't hurt him much.

"Silly Pokémon, using a leaf attack against a fire Pokémon. Ponyta tackle that Togetic hard!" Ponyta charged at the Pokémon at a speed faster than usual. The attack hit the Togetic in a vital spot. It was so hard that not even Aqua Ring could heal it in time. Bryce threw the Apri Ball at the Togetic. He missed the first time so he threw the second Apri Ball at the downed Pokémon. The ball hit the Togetic and engulfed it. 3 seconds later, the Pokémon escaped! Bryce had to weaken it some more.

"Ponyta, use Tackle again!" Ponyta ran after the Pokémon once more. It was about to hit it when a Roselia jumped in the way. The tackle hit the Roselia instead. Bryce gritted his teeth. Things were not going his way today. The Ponyta started to run after the Roselia who had run away after being hit.

"Ponyta, forget about that thing and tackle Togetic!" Ponyta ignored her trainer's orders and continued to chase the Roselia. Then he realized it. Ponyta had a worse temper than Mankey did. He wondered what had caused that. He ordered Ponyta to use Ember.

"Knock that THING out and come back to Togetic. We don't need that weakling over there!" Ponyta used Ember on the Roselia. It fell to the ground, unable to get up.

"Good job, now tackle Togetic again!" Ponyta charged at full speed and hit the Togetic who had slowly been healing during the ordeal with Roselia. It fell back to the ground. Bryce pulled out his third Apri Ball. What happened next was the craziest thing ever. The Roselia had dragged itself over to the Pokémon and was engulfed by the Apri Ball, instead of the Ponyta. Bryce watched as the Apri Ball shook from side to side. Meanwhile, the Togetic had healed up enough and escaped.

Bryce and Ponyta watched as the Apri Ball containing Roselia shook from side to side…

 

[{Swan}]

Charzeon - Amazing post, you could really see that you put a hell of a lot of effort in it, even though you did forget that items weren't allowed in, but that's okay.

Congratulations, Sara caught a lv. 10 Female Togetic!


Rockman0 - Great post, sounds like Ponyta has a mind of its own.

Congratulations, Bryce caught a lv. 11 Female Roselia. Will he keep it or let it go?


----

It's the hour mark, trainers are all streaming away from the forest in big masses, some having arrogant smirks on their faces, others regretful pouts. Some are anxious, others are elevated. Everyone streamed around the judge's tables, handing in their one Apri Ball that they wished to present. An hour and a half of careful examining later, the Judges called everyone around the table again for their results.


The red-haired woman in her late twenties stood up first. "Hello everyone, I want to thank you all in participating, without you, we would have never been able to make it work. In case you don't know, my name is Roseanna, and I am Eterna's gym leader. This is, of course, our local Nurse Joy." The pink-haired nurse stood up briefly and smiled, before sitting down again. "And Mr. Edgar de Graaf, Pokémon expert." This time a dark-haired man with glasses in a bright yellow tux and matching top-hat nodded at the audience. Roseanna continued. "We have decided the four winners of our contest, and will present them now."


Edgar de Graaf stood up, picking up one of the Apri Balls, marked with a black 3. He released it, and out came a stunning Roselia. "This Roselia is a beauty amongst her species. She's strong yet, although there are obvious burn marks that deduct from the score. The Roselia is a prize to look at, and a foe to reckon with. I present Bryce Johnson with a vial of Bright Powder, which considerably boosts the holder's speed and agility." Applause before Edgar sat back down again, and Nurse Joy stood up with the next Apri Bal.


She released a Stantler, who stood arrogantly on the platform. "Not only is this Stantler a very rare find, but it is also in peak physical condition. Its muscles are well developed and it has had a very healthy life prior to the contest. It isn't hurt very badly at all and a prime example of a great catch. I present the owner, Mackenzie Keeler, with a Rare Candy, which will strengthen the eater by one whole level!"


Next was the red-headed Gym Leader, who picked up the runner-up Apri Ball and released a Gastly. "This Gastly isn't a very rare Pokémon to find, but it is a tricky one to capture. The nature of this creature alone is to shy away from, for it's a very devious one to say the least. It must have cost the trainer a lot of trouble to obtain, not to mention that it's in peak Physical Condition, as much as an ethereal body made up of gas can be physical. Congratulations Selene Bihar, I will present you with an evolution stone of your choice." She sat down to make room, once again, for Edgar de Graaf, also proud sponsor of the contest.


"The winning Pokémon of today, is quite a special one. It is one of which we only released three in the entire forest, and this lucky girl got her hands on a fine specimen, the only one to do so." He released a Togetic and smiled brightly at it. "This beautiful and rare Pokémon is attracted to the purest of souls, so we can only assume that miss Sara Goodman is a girl with a big heart. Barely any physical damage, the creature obviously choose Sara to be its caretaker. Sara, you have your choice of quite the rare items as your prize, one of which will even help this Togetic reach the next stage in its life." With a nod, he left the stage, followed by Nurse Joy.


"Everyone!" Roseanna boomed, catching the attention of the disappointed faces already leaving."The prizes will be at the booth where you left your Pokémon and belongings! Don't forget to pick up your participation prize, a valued Lum Berry. Thank you for participating!" And with that, everything was over.

Chapter Eight
Eterna City
Gym Battle
Number of Posts: 1

​

Now that all of the commotion is over, the city is a lot busier. Suddenly its entirely alive Most of the houses in Eterna are made up of wood, with the exception of the new buildings issued by the Pokémon League. It's an old city, which is apparent by the giant statue of an ancient Pokémon that the villagers themselves love dearly.


Pokémon Center:


Pokemon Centers provide you with a warm bed. Rest for the night or heal up your Pokémon here. They also have a lobby with chairs and tables and a coffee/tea machine for waiting while the Nurses revitalize your Pokémon.


Pokémon Mart:

Super Potion
Awakening
Burn Heal
Repel
Air Mail
Yellow Apri Ball*


*Yello Apri Balls are actually painted black with a yellowish-white moon on the top of it. They do their best work in the dark, be it in a cave or under the starry sky. They work even better with Dark type Pokémon, especially with a combo of a Dark type and a dark environment that can capture it without any effort, big health or barely any health. These special Apri Balls have been equipped with a catch-feature which allows you to open the Balls when pushing at the button in the middle, which loosens the catch inside and makes the Ball spring open. Close them by snapping the shut quickly.


Eterna Condominiums:


Inside the lobby of the expensive apartment building is a girl who will give you an item if you show her a Pokémon of one of the types that she loves most.

If you show her a Rock-type Pokémon she will give you a Hard Stone

If you show her a Normal-type Pokémon she will give you a Silk Scarf

If you show her a Grass-type Pokémon she will give you a Miracle Seed


NOTE: All the items are small and tied to a ribbon, so that your Pokémon may wear them without getting inconvenienced by them.
SECOND NOTE: You may only show him one Pokemon, so choose wisely.



The Eterna Gym:


The Eterna Gym is lead by a woman in her early thirties named Roseanna, who actually comes from Floarama town. Even though she wasn't a native from Eterna City, the people took no time to warm up to her. She's a very kind and gentle woman, but don't underestimate her, she knows exactly how to use her Pokémon's natural gifts to their best benefits. She's an expert on Grass Pokémon, and great when it comes to taking care of plants. This might be the reason why her gym is covered in bright and beautiful flowers.

Sunflora

Level: 18
Type: Grass
Ability: Solar Power
Moves: Absorb, Pound, Growth, Mega Drain, Ingrain, Grass Whistle, Sunny Day


Bellossom

Level: 21
Type: Grass
Ability: Chlorophyll
Moves: Absorb, Sweet Scent, Acid, Poison Powder, Mega Drain, Sunny Day

Beat Roseanna and receiver the Forest Badge.

 

[Charzeon]

Sara hummed happily as she all but skipped away from where the catching contest was held, her new Shiny Stone in her hand and her new Togetic in a ball in her pack. The girl couldn't help but to smile widely as she thought about how the announcer had told everyone about her winning and how rare the Togetic was. To think, there had been only three in that whole forest and she was the only one that caught one! The day was just becoming one of the best days that the trainer could had ever experienced.

"Now all I need to do is head over to the Gym and win that badge!" Sara said to herself as she made her way over to the Pokemon Center to properly heal her Pokemon. After she had entered the building and given her Pokemon over to the Nurse Joy, she walked over to the benches and sat down. The girl then crossed her legs and, as her Pokemon healed, she thought about the up coming Gym battle.

"Okay, at least this time I actually know what I'm going up against," Sara muttered to herself. "Roseanna uses Grass types and she has two of them. So, basically, I've got to have Yansa in this battle. She'll be the reason why I win." The girl then frowned to herself. "Actually...both Yansa and that Togetic are Normal/Flying types...there's no way that I can keep both of them...but which one do I keep? Yansa is quiet strong and she just evolved but...that Togetic, who I really should nickname soon, picked me to be its trainer. What kind of person will I be if I just abandon or trade her off so soon? I can't do that..."

The girl sighed to herself. "Well...I think I will trade one of them...and I think the one will be Yansa...I hate to do this to her, but maybe she'll be happier with someone else. I just can't do that to the Togetic...especially when I have an item that will let her evolve. Still, I'm going to keep Yansa for this next Gym Battle. Then..." Sara stopped there, not wanting to think about how that parting will go at the time.

"Anyways, back to the battle itself, I think I will have Angela go out first. The first Pokemon the leader usually sends out is the weakest and that seemed to work out well last time."

"Um, ma'am," the Nurse Joy on duty said, waving at Sara. "You're Pokemon are fully healed. Really, it was only your Shuppet that needed to be healed, the rest were fine."

"Yeah, I know," Sara said as she got up from the bench and walked over to the Nurse. "But I just wanted to make sure that the others were well rested as well. I'm about to go fight the Gym Leader, you see."

"Ah yes, I understand," the Nurse Joy said with a smile, then held out the tray with Sara's Pokemon in their pokeballs in it. "Well, here they are. Good luck with your Gym battle. Though, just before you go, I looked over your chart and I saw that all of your Pokemon had nicknames expect for the Togetic. Are you going to trade her?"

"So it's a 'her', huh?" Sara muttered, and then said, "No, I'm not going to trade her, that would be stupid. It's just that I just caught her and I haven't thought of a name to give her yet. Though now that you ask…I think I'm gonna call her Destiny."

"Destiny, that's a nice name," the nurse said cheerfully. "Well, once again, good luck in your battle."

"Thanks," Sara said as she took her Pokemon and started to walk out of the Pokemon center. But she suddenly stopped when she saw something on the notice board and backed up to take a better look at it.

The notices she was particularly paying attention to was a small posted with some flowers around it's edges. The poster talked about a girl who would give an item to whoever would show her a Rock, Normal, or Grass type depending on what they showed her. Said item would be something that would boost the power of moves with one of those types. Sara grinned when she finished reading and quickly left the Pokemon Center, heading to the address outlined in the poster.

Half an hour later…

For the second time in her life, Sara found herself in front of another Gym. This time, it was the Gym of Eterna and she was very certain that she would win this battle. It hadn't taken the trainer that long to find the building the held the girl that was handing out the items. After showing the girl Destiny, she had just stared at the Togetic for a while before reaching down and taking out a Silk Scarf, saying that it would increase the power of Normal type attacks. Sara had then wrapped the very soft scarf around Destiny before returning her to her green Apri ball and heading over to the Gym, where she was standing at this moment.

Sara took a quick second to review what she was going to do before entering the Gym. Compared to Oreburgh, the inside of this Gym was vastly different. The whole arena was very bright with grass covering the floor and flowers climbing the walls. The battle field was marked with white paint and Roseanna herself stood at the farthest end. The Grass Gym Leader smiled when she saw who was coming to challenge her.

"Well, isn't it the winner from the Capture Contest today?" Roseanna called out. "So, are you going to use that Togetic you caught?"

"No, I'm not," Sara said, returning the smile. "I'm afraid that she's a bit too weak for me to use against you right now. But, that doesn't mean that I'm all out of Pokemon or anything."

"I bet it doesn't," Roseanna said with a small chuckle. "Anyways, you've come here to challenge me, correct? So let's get this battle started so that I can kick your butt and go home for dinner."

"Hate to break it to ya, but there's no way I'm gonna let you win," Sara said with a grin, then took out an Apri ball. "Time to get started, come out Angela!" The girl threw the ball up and, in a flash of light, the Shuppet appeared. She looked around herself before facing the Gym Leader and glaring at her playfully.

"Ah yes, you used that Shuppet in the contest," Roseanna commented with a grin as she took out her own Apriball. "Sadly I didn't get to see what moves she knew, but it's not like it matters too much. Lets finish this quickly, Sunflora!" She then threw her ball up and, in it's own flash of light, a tall sunflower with a face appeared. It cried out happily and jumped up and down a bit.

"Sunflora, huh?" Sara commented, wishing that the Pokemon was close enough that she could had scanned it with her Pokedex, but that wasn't what was important right then. "Alright Angela, why don't we start things off with a Night Shade!"

Angela nodded before a purple aura surrounded her. Then with a cry, the purple aura launched itself at the Sunflora, making it lean back from the force of the attack.

"Interesting. Sunflora, use Growth," Roseanna said, smiling slightly when the walking flower glowed with a green light.

Sara just grunted before saying, "Angela, use Screech and then go right in for a Knock Off!"

"Shuppet!" Angela said, then let out a very high pitch scream. The Sunflora cried out in surprise and tried to cover it's ears, but the ghost just took that time to fly at the plant and whack it with her body, knocking her back a bit.

"Sunflora, use Absorb!" Roseanna shouted.

"Sun!" The Sunflora called out and jumped at Angela, hitting her and taking some of her life energy for itself. The Shuppet was knocked back and blinked as the attack. It reminded her of what the Roselia did and it made the ghost a bit upset.

"Quick Angeal, counter with a Payback!" Sara shouted before the Puppet Pokemon could think more on what happened.

"Shup!" Angela said, then charged at the Sunflora, hitting it with her darkness covered horn. The Sun Pokemon cried out in pain as it was knocked back, then again when the ghost added another Night Shade attack to the combination.

Roseanna frowned slightly before saying, "Sunflora, use Mega Drain!"

"Sunflor-a!" Sunflora shouted, sending out some vines from around its leaf arms and wrapping them around Angela. Soon, a green energy began to flow from Angela to the Sunflora across the vines.

"Not again!" Sara cried out. "Come on Angela, get out of there!"

"Shup…" Angela grunted, doing her best to get out of the vines, but it wasn't proving to be much use. The Shuppet began to despair that it wouldn't be able to get out and that she would faint from lack of energy. But that feeling to despair soon gave way to another emotion; anger. There was no way that Angela was going to disappoint her trainer again and let this plant beat her!

Angela, once more, let out a loud Screech attack, causing the Sunflora cry out and unwrap its vines from the ghost. Angela took that time to ram her horn into the Sunflora, making it cry out in pain this time. Before the Sun Pokemon could recover, the Puppet Pokemon used yet another Night Shade attack on it and then rammed her horn into it again. The Sunflora hit the ground and tried to get up again, but before it could Angela attacked it with a Knock Off and then another Night Shade.

"Angela! Stop it!! Stop attacking it!!" Sara screamed, making her Pokemon stop in mid air just before it was going to hit the now knocked out Sunflora with a Payback. Angela looked at her trainer before slowly floating over to her, panting as she did so. The ghost had still sustained a good amount of damage from the Mega Drain attack and had used up a lot of energy using the moves she used.

"Man…you really need to learn how to control that Shuppet," Roseanna said, shaking her head in shame as she returned the Sunflora to its Apri ball. "Other wise a trainer may report you for Pokemon abuse. Heck, I could do that right now…but I won't. But just so you know, you're getting away with a warning from me. I doubt the next person that Shuppet does that to will be so kind."

"Yes…I know…" Sara said, wincing as Roseanna repeated some of the things Byron said.

"Right," Roseanna said with a sigh before taking another Apri ball out. "Well, let's continue this battle. Bellossom, come out!" The leader threw the ball up into the air and in a flash of light a small, purple skinned Pokemon with two red flowers by its ears and wearing a whole bunch of leaves like a hula-skirt appeared. It smiled at the Shuppet and twirled around.

Sara just nodded before looking to the Shuppet. "Angela…I want you to use Curse." The trainer said.

Angela's eyes widen at what her trainer ordered but then nodded. She figured this was punishment for losing control before. Soon, a nail came out of no where and was driven into Angela by an unknown force. When the entire nail went into her body, the Shuppet cried out in pain before failing to the ground, unconscious. However, even though she had fainted, the damage had been done. The Bellossom soon cried out as a mysterious force seemed to take over her and she didn't feel that well.

"So that's what a Curse attack does for a ghost," Roseanna muttered, then said out loud when Sara returned her Pokemon it it's ball, "How did you know that that was going to happen?"

"A friend of mine when I was younger told me about it," Sara said as she took out a Pokeball. "He was older and already had a few Pokemon, including a Ghost type that knew Curse. He told me it's effects and that I should only use it if it's my last option."

"Or if you want to punish it when it's been bad," Roseanna said with a small smile that didn't reach her eyes.

Sara said nothing as she threw the Pokeball up. The ball opened and, in another flash of light, Yansa appeared with a caw. She landed on the ground and, at first, glared at the Bellossom. But when the Bellossom didn't seem to pay much attention to her and was swaying back and forth, she blinked and tilted her head, wondering what was wrong with her opponent.

"Well, time to continue this battle once more," Roseanna said. "Bellossom, use Sunny Day!"

"Bell." The Bellossom said, shaking her head and then holding her hands up. Some how, the lights started to glow brighter as if the sun was really shining down on the field.

"Yansa, start off with a Wing Attack!" Sara called out to her Staravia.

Yansa nodded before flying at the Flower Pokemon. However, just before she was to hit the Grass type, it suddenly ran to the side and avoided the attack.

"What the..!? I thought Grass types didn't move that fast!" Sara shouted.

"Oh, trust me, they don't," Roseanna said with a smirk. "Unless, of course, they have the Chlorophyll ability, which doubles their speed in the sun light." The Gym Leader grinned more, but that went away when her Pokemon cried out in pain. "Darn…that Curse effect really does suck when a Ghost uses it…"

Sara, again, didn't say anything to that. "Yansa, use Quick Attack this time!" She shouted at the bird.

"Staravia!" Yansa shouted and charged at the Bellossom in a blur of speed, this time hitting the plant.

"Counter with Pound!" Roseanna shouted.

The Bellossom swung its tiny fist and hit Yansa square on the chest, making the bird cry out in pain as it was knocked back a ways.

"Use another Wing Attack Yansa!" Sara shouted.

Yansa recovered and nodded before once again flying at the Bellossom. The Flower Pokemon tried to use its new speed to get out of the way, but then the Curse affected it and it flinched in pain. It was then that Yansa was able to hit it with her wing, doing a lot of damage.

The Bellossom cried out again as it was knocked a good distance away and hit the ground hard. It lay there for a while before slowly pushing itself up. Roseanna grinned as Sara frowned, wondering how much more that little plant could take. However, her answer was soon given to her when the Bellossom cried out as the Curse once more affected her and fell to the ground, this time for good.

Roseanna sigh and took out the Bellossom's Apri ball and returned it to the ball. Sara did the same with a very happy Yansa and walked onto the battle field to meet up with the Gym Leader. When they met at the half way point, Roseanna reached into her skirt pocket and took out a green badge seeming to be made up of three diamond shapes.

"Well, though you had some problems with your Shuppet, you do deserve this Forest badge," Roseanna said with a smile and placed the badge onto Sara's outstretched palm. "Though, about that Shuppet-"

"Yeah, I know I should have better control over her," Sara said with a sigh. "Byron said the same thing, but I didn't pay much attention to him. I thought that Angela was doing a good thing but now…I know better. I won't let it happen again."

"You better not," Roseanna said with a nod. "And just to make sure you don't, I'm going to send a call out to the next Gym Leader that they should watch out for you and your Shuppet. Also, I'll say that if Angela loses her temper, that they should press charges. You understand?"

"Completely," Sara said with a nod. She didn't like it, but she knew that it was only fair after what Angela almost did to the Sunflora.

"Good," Roseanna said, then smiled again. "Well, have a good night Sara Goodman. I know you're a good person. Otherwise that Togetic would had never gone anywhere near you. You just need to learn to have some more control with your team."

"Yeah, thanks," Sara said, then turned and walked back out of the grass covered Gym. Once outside, she sighed and looked up at the sky.

"Well…I guess I should have Angela and Yansa stay over night at Pokemon Center," Sara said, then smiled as she continued, "As for me, I'm gonna spend the night with my folks!"

 

[{Swan}]

Charzeon - Awesome post, it was a really good battle and I liked the Shuppet scenario.


Congratulations, Angela grew to lv. 18 and learned Spite!
Congratulations, Yansa grew to lv. 18!
Sara received the Forest Badge!

 

[Broadway]

After the capturing contest judging was over, Mackie fairly staggered back to the Pokemon Center, let out all of his pokemon except the Stantler, fed them some pokemon food and trail mix, and then passed out on the bed, leaving the window of his little room open. For them to come and go as they pleased. He trusted that Luster and Bonnie would look after the little Gligar, though until he fell asleep, they all stayed with him, the Gligar tucking himself snugly against Mackie's side again. It was so small... By all rights a Gligar should stand around three feet tall. If this one exceed two, Mackie would eat his hat.

He blinked sleepily at the little guy, too tired to do much but put his hand on his head in welcome. "Hey there little thing," he said, and fell asleep. The sun hadn't even set yet.

He woke at his usual time, though—dawn. Unlike when he'd woken the previous day, he didn't feel weak and shaky, though he definitely was starving again. His leg hurt, too, but not badly, just what he suspected was normal. And today he would go back to have it checked again, anyway. He'd promised.

Bonnie was perched in the open window, a ball of white fluff edged with the pale yellow light of morning, still asleep. Luster was nowhere to be seen, so probably out and about, as her painted apri-ball was still open on the table.

The Gligar, for his part, was still right there, next to him, where he'd had been when Mackie had fallen asleep. Mackie had no idea if he might've gone out with the other two and returned, or if he'd had stayed there the whole night. He did suspect it was the second, though.

The Gligar woke as he sat up, and Mackie touched his head again, tapping his fingers lightly between his ears. "Morning, little thing," he told him. No name yet, but at least he'd gotten the gender from Nurse Joy.

"Gliiii," the Gligar replied softly, and stuck out his tongue with a shy smile.

"Hope you don't mind staying with me, little thing," Mackie spoke as he got up and limped over to his bag to pull out fresh clothes. "We're traveling and battling. I don't know if that's your kinda fun." He pulled on the overalls, and a white t-shirt underneath. Hmm, he was going to have to do his laundry here before he left town.

"Gligar..." the Gligar trailed off, perched on the edge of the mattress. He raised its claws like he was about to go into a fierce pose, but then hesitated, and lowered them again, and slumped down, curling in on himself sadly.

"Don't worry. I won't leave you behind," Mackie assured it, though he felt a twinge of guilt as he spoke. This little runty pokemon barely wanted to fight—and of course with good reason—and yet he felt entirely willing to keep it with him, instead of finding it what might be a better home with a person who didn't battle. Well, it did seem very attached to him, but still... And then on the other hand was that fine specimen of a Stantler he'd caught yesterday. He hadn't even taken it out of the apri-ball. He didn't want to. He didn't really want it at all, even though it was plainly a brave fighter. It was because of that that he'd kept it, instead of releasing it... but he didn't... he didn't /like/ it. It had done something to his mind, and he didn't like that at /all/. Not a bit, not even a little. It stomping on Bonnie was forgivable, his knee-jerk reaction aside. Battle was battle, even if Mackie was sexist... but to Mackie battle was... things you could see.

The illusion, the Hypnosis... he tensed at the thought. He knew he'd have to fight against those things in the future, and he felt his jaw tighten. None of it for him, though. Nohow. Just too creepy.

Well, for now it didn't matter. He'd just need to find someone who would be a good trainer for the Stantler, someone who could actually appreciate its abilities, which, Mackie had to admit, were impressive. Until then, he'd do his best to take care of it. Probably better to find it somewhere to stretch its legs, then, a park or something. His appointment at the hospital wasn't for a few hours.

*

The Stantler eyed him coolly as he held out some pokemon food for it to eat. It took the food from his hand though, its mouth soft and warm, and not at all seeming ready to nip or anything like that. "Okay, there you are," he said quietly. He didn't think a little grazing would damage this little park's lawn, but he didn't want it all torn up in ravenous hunger. The Stantler wandered a few steps off, and lowered its head to crop at the grass.

Mackie sat back on the bench, where the Gligar was already, next to Mackie's sack of muffins from the nearby bakery that had only just barely opened for the day. Luster had returned from her time outside looking contented but tired, so she was in her apri-ball again. Bonnie, for her part, must have rested most of the night, because she was stretching her wings now, up above them.

"So, let's learn about you now, huh?" He looked down at the Gligar while he maneuvered the pokedex out of his city bag. The Gligar leaned in and tapped at the pokedex curiously with one claw. "Hmm. Ground/flying... really?" Mackie looked at the Gligar curiously. That was a strange combination. But it made sense, he supposed... they lived on cliffs. Like... vertical ground. "More of a glider, really," Mackie murmured as he read on. "And you use poison, even if you're not a poison type." The Gligar shifted, its tail clacking against the bench slats, and Mackie looked at the stinger on the end. Poison was weak to that psychic stuff, wasn't it? Better not to have that type, and still use the moves, he thought. Assuming this guy would be willing to try it. He would see. Maybe the Gligar just needed a chance to do something without getting knocked over. Build some confidence.

And if not... well. This Gligar was his now, and that was that.

"So now I gotta find a name for you, huh," he said thoughtfully, then felt another pang of guilt when he looked at the Stantler, grazing at the grass in front of him. That... wasn't always that, was it?

*

The doctor had pronounced his leg to still be healing well, with no sign of returning to infection, but did recommend, strongly, that Mackie stay in town and not travel on for at least another day. "I'll see," Mackie had shrugged. "There'll be doctors in the next town too, you know."

"Trainers!" she'd huffed again, and Mackie had just shrugged a second time, and smiled helplessly. She'd dismissed with an eye-roll and a headshake. "Just please be careful."

"Yes ma'am," he'd touched his hat politely as he left. Even if he didn't want to listen to her, there was no mistaking she was doing her job right.

Just like he was trying to do.

He'd heard when returning to the Pokemon Center after the park visit that the Eterna Gym was open again, not that he'd known it'd even been closed.

"Yeah, this is a gym," he said now, to the Gligar, that was clinging to his city bag and staring around. "Not like they're all the same or anything... last one was a rock/steel gym, not grass... no flowers like this." Mackie took a breath. "Ahh... this is real nice." It wasn't really that much like home, but all the flowers definitely reminded him of the orchards in spring.

"So, you can just watch this time, okay? Don't worry about anything." He could see the leader, up ahead. She reminded him kinda of a young Aunt Laura, she was real pretty, and her dress reminded him of how Aunt Laura and a lot of the girls round Solaceon dressed. "Good morning, ma'am! I'm Mackenzie Keeler!" He called out, and pulled his hat off. "Hey, you gotta get down for now, okay?" he whispered back at the Gligar. "I need my bag." The Gligar climbed down reluctantly, but Mackie held out his hat to him. "Keep that for me?" The Gligar took it carefully, and nodded.

"Good morning, trainer," the leader said, and introduced herself. "I'm Roseanna. I like grass-types, as you might have guessed."

"Sure," Mackie grinned. "They're really pretty, too, it's almost like outside, in here. I bet it's a whole lotta work to make it so green and colourful too."

"I have some help," Roseanna smiled, looking genuinely happy to think about that. "Now, shall we battle?"

"Oh yes, ma'am! But uh, please, don't mind this little one here, even if you thrash me good, he's not in the battle. He's just gonna watch, won't fight or nothing." Mackie promised.

Roseanna. "Make sure he keeps outside the ring, then," she told him, and he nodded. "Sunflora! Let's show off the power of grass!" Roseanna called out, and the ball she opened let out a flash that solidified into a... well, it had to be a Sunflora. It was a giant flower, it's whole self was a flower, green body and healthy-looking leaf-arms and a brilliant yellow face. Like a sunflower. He could see where the name was from. "Trainer?" Roseanna prompted, and Mackie stopped staring.

"Sorry ma'am. Never saw a Sunflora till now. Amazin'!" he smiled a little at the Sunflora itself, and then grinned when it ducked its brilliant yellow head towards him in acknowledgment. "Ah, sorry, yeah, getting' on now! Bonnie! Come see the flowers!" He pushed the button on her pokeball and she appeared.

"Swaaa!" she called out in reply, and looped in the air. Mackie looked at Roseanna a little sheepishly, and when she nodded sharply—time to start!—he returned the gesture and turned his attention to the field.

"Ingrain, Sunflora," Roseanna commanded, and the flower pokemon set its little green feet against the grown and dug in. Only, literally—its feet poked right down into the grown like a real plant, and it then drew itself up to its full height, as if invigorated.

"Bonnie, it's put down roots," he told her, "it can't moved from where it is! So you gotta get close, but just come back out to dodge. Now give it a Peck!"

"Now use Growth!" Roseanna was saying, as Bonnie went straight for it, apparently seeing no point in weaving around since it was mostly stationary. The Sunflora didn't attack, just closed its eyes in concentration as Bonnie struck it, like it was ignoring the blow, even though, Mackie knew—he KNEW—that grass was weak against flying moves. It had done maybe a little damage, but the Sunflora seemed to inhale, get bigger, just a little, either for real or just in its attitude. "Keep up the Growth," Roseanna told it, looking calm as anything.

Mackie was perplexed, but determined. This wasn't like Roark's gym. This time he had the better moves. But maybe he should feel it out a little more first.

"Fury Attack," he told Bonnie when she circled back in his directed.

"Blu!" she confirmed, and headed back for the stationary Sunflora to dart at it repeatedly with her little foot claws. Once, and again, three times, then four, and five, before she peeled off.

The Sunflora had done nothing much at all, and yet it seemed to be nearly as healthy as when it had come out. Even now, after Bonnie's attack, it was seeming to /regain/ health.

"Maybe the roots?" Mackie muttered. It made sense to him. Then if it was regaining health, he had to use the strongest attack only. "Bonnie! Peck! Only Peck!"

"Sunflora, make it a Sunny Day!" Roseanna ordered, walking slowly back and forth along the other side of the ring, looking as unconcerned as the Sunflora was about Bonnie's Pecks.

And then Mackie had to squint, as the Sunflora turned its face upward and... everything turned bright as day, no, bright as midday with the sun overhead and the sky clear from east to west. "Whoa," he said. "Bonnie! Keep it up! It didn't move so never mind the light!" He didn't want her to get disoriented, but it wasn't like the Sunflora was going anywhere.

"Mega Drain," Mackie heard the calm direction from Roseanna as he rubbed a hand over his eyes, and opened them just in time to see the Sunflora fling its arms around Bonnie as she came in for a Peck. She did land that Peck, but there was a green glow, faint in the sunlight, and Mackie watched her slump in the Sunflora's grip.

When it released her, she slid to the ground, rolling backwards once, and barely got her feet under her. Her wings hung limp and she was blinking like she couldn't stay awake.

"Wow," Mackie boggled. "Bonnie, come back!" He recalled her to her ball and stared at Roseanna, who raised her eyebrows pointedly, and he nodded. Of course he shouldn't count on superior typing. Not after winning against Roark.

But still, it was good to have. And he still had it.

"Luster, your turn!" he spoke fast. "Quick attack! Show off your speed!!"

Luster zipped forward, even while Roseanna called for another Mega Drain, while Luster used her favourite attack, choosing to make a hairpin turn and smack the Sunflora from behind, making its big head bounce forward. It still shot off a vine, catching Luster around the tail, and she jerked up short for a second, a green glow snaking back down the vine towards the Sunflora before she pulled loose.

Unlike Bonnie, it did very little, and Mackie exhaled in happy relief. "Luster, that flower won't move. It's in the way! Take it out! Silver Wind, and then Aerial Ace!"

He dared a look at Roseanna who was looking more serious now, and he squared his shoulders as she called for the Sunflora to Pound next. Luster dodged the Ingrained pokemon easily, and flung her glowing silvery attack at it, head on this time, and it rocked backwards so far it nearly hit the ground. "Take that," Mackie said happily. "Aerial Ace!" he reminded Luster, but she was already doing it, dropping down from nearly vertical before pulling up and striking upward, and this time the blow pulled the Sunflora from the ground, scattering loose earth and flinging back across the ring.

"Return, Sunflora," Roseanna recalled it. Mackie shifted nervously from one foot to the next, waiting. And there it was. "Bellossom, come out into the sun!"

"Quick attack!" Mackie told Luster. Time to show off for the new pokemon. This one was so little, Mackie could barely make out its details. He'd never seen on of these before either, but unfortunately he didn't get to really look this time.

"Yanmaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!"

Except then he did stare, because Luster's Quick Attack zoomed down to hit... nothing. The tiny grass-type zigged and zagged and Luster almost hit the ground instead, then zoomed around the circle, and Mackie could tell she was irked, by the sound of it.

"Oh yeah? Fast flowers?" He called, still trying in vain to get a good look at the little Bellossom, "Well, Luster, you don't miss! Aerial Ace! Catch it!"

And Mackie had never seen an Aerial Ace take so long to land, as Luster shot after the Bellossom, so low she was skimming the floor as it ran.

"Poison Powder!" came Roseanna's voice, but Mackie just watched Luster. When she struck the Bellossom, a cloud of purplish dust rose around her, and she shuddered faintly. Mackie let that be, just for now.

"Don't let it get away!" Mackie encouraged, "Aerial Ace!"

"Acid!" Roseanna called this time, and this time it was mist that rose around Luster, making her shake herself. That had hurt a little, and then she flinched from the poison, but she didn't move back an inch.

The sunlight had dimmed, and Bellossom wasn't dashing anymore, but Mackie couldn't tell much else about it. Either it knew there was no dodging Aerial Ace now, or it was tiring. He hoped it was the second.

"Luster, antidote!" he called, and she came to him to drink from the little bottle. By the time she was heading out, The Bellossom was launching it's next attack.

Sort of an attack. "Sweet scent!" The air smelled... well, sweeter.

Luster erred directly for the Bellossom, and not in attack mode now, just drawn by the lovely smell, somehow vivid, without being overpoweringly sweet, and Mackie thought of home again for a second, before coming back to himself. "Luster, watch it!" he said, but she was too close.

"Mega Drain!" Roseanna said, and the Bellossom flung itself on Luster, and the green energy ebbed from Luster to the Bellossom. It fell back, standing a little straighter. But not much. Not enough, maybe.

"It's almost down," Mackie said loudly. "One last time! Let the Sweet Scent make you hit it harder!"

Luster drew backwards, clearly reluctant to leave the wonderful smell, but she resisted long enough for enough room to build momentum. "Aerial Ace," he told her. "Go!"

She shot forward and rammed the Bellossom, bowling it back, and skidding to a stop herself just beyond it.

"Yanma," she said, exhaustedly.

"Good girl," Mackie nearly sat down himself, but remembered there was a Gym Leader right over there.

"Congratulations," Roseanna said, striding over to kneel by the Bellossom and stroke its head before recalling it to its ball. She stood up again. "The Forest Badge is yours, Mackenzie Keeler."

"Aw, it's really just Mackie, ma'am," he told her. "Luster, c'mon for some rest. Gotta get you over to the Center," he called to Luster, who flew slowly over to him, and hovered in front for him to rub her head, then recall her to her apri-ball.

"Well, ah, Mackie, I believe you've lost one someone." She was looking down around his feet, so he did as well, then he remembered.

"Aaah! Gligar!" he spun around, staring at the expanse of colour. Purple would just blend right in, too. He stared another moment before turning back, embarrassed. "He's uh, he's little, you know, and he's shy, and he was getting beat up by his family out on the Route so he don't like fighting and I didn't even capture him from a battle, he just came over to me and wanted—" he lurched to a verbal halt when she raised one finger.

"Perhaps we should look for him, then?" she suggested, and he exhaled heavily.

"Uh. Yes ma'am. Right. But I mean, you don't have to..." this time he just trailed off when she gave him a mock-stern look.

"These are my flowers. I don't let people just wander through them."

"Oh. 'Course," he said meekly.

Fortunately for Roseanna's flowers, and Mackie's nerves, the Gligar wasn't far off at all. He had tucked himself between two large freestanding pots that held a pair of very healthy rawst bushes. "Oh, good, ma'am. Just like at home," he remarked before they spotted the Gligar. "Those are hard to pot."

"You enjoy plants as well?" she asked curiously.

"Well, my family runs a berry farm," he shrugged. "So more like some particular—oh hey, little thing," Mackie spotted a swatch of bright purple between the rawst leaves, and crouched down before coming any closer. He flattened himself on his belly, and peered forward. The Gligar was hunkered down against the ground, shaded in the cover of the rawst bushes, and was staring out at him uncertainly. "Hey now. Gonna come on out? Fighting's all over," he said quietly. "He's just a little fella," he remarked to Roseanna, then startled a little when he realized she had crouched down herself.

"Not the fighting type, it seems."

"Yeah, I... dunno," Mackie said, and then, to the Gligar, "hey, little thing. You kept my hat, too, huh. Guess I was right that you'd take care of it."

The Gligar glanced down at the blue hat he was curled around, his claws holding the brim against his chest. "Gligar..." he said, shuffling his claws against the hat.

"I do want it back, though," Mackie wheedled.

It took a little more coaxing, and then the Gligar emerged from between the pots, hat in claws, which it held up for Mackie to take. Ignoring the dents in the brim from the claws, he put it on, and rubbed the Gligar between the ears. "Thanks, little thing," he told him. "And look. I was battling her, you know. And the girls are sure tired from it, but they like to fight. You saw the practice we had in the park, remember?" Mackie adjusted his city bag, and the Gligar climbed up him to hang off of it again.

"Gli... gar," it said quietly, sounding skeptical, but not nervous or afraid. That, at least, was good. Even if the actual fighting was scary to him, he wasn't scared of Roseanna now. So that meant he could tell the difference between friends battling and angry enemies.

"But the real thing's a bit much, maybe," Mackie reflected.

"If you decide to train him, it seems like it will take some time," Roseanna remarked, and Mackie shrugged.

"It's up to him," he said.

"Good luck with him, whatever you decide, and in the rest of your battles," she told him. "Oh," she added, "let's not forget this." She held out the Forest Badge, and he took it with a little duck of his head.

"Trees," he smiled at the shape and colour. "I like that." He pinned it to the chest pocket of his overalls, wishing the Coal Badge wasn't on his other pair. He needed something to wear that he could keep them on, all at once, that didn't need such periodic washing, he reflected. "Thanks, ma'am," he told Roseanna. "It was great to see your gym, and your pokemon. That Sunflora's something special." If he were ever to bring a pokemon home to his family for them to have as a friend on the farm, it would have to be one of those.

"Well, thank you as well, Mackenzie Keeler," she said, smiling like he knew he himself did whenever someone said Luster or Bonnie were pretty.

He made a last wave of farewell at the door, before stepping back out into the real sunlight.

 

[{Swan}]

Broadway - Great post as usual, I love the personality you gave Roseanna, just as I imagined her.


Congratulations, Bonnie grew to lv. 19 and learned Safeguard!
Congratulations, Luster grew to lv. 18 and learned Detect!
Mackie received the Forest Badge.

 

[Koroc]

Disappointed that he only got a lum berry from the contest Kenny threw his head down releasing the Buneary that he just caught. Chewy saw the bunny pokemon and tried to hide as quickly as she could.

"Bun Bun." The pokemon cried as he stuck his hand in his mouth looking around for his beloved Pikachu. Kenny's dad walked over to Kenny and placed his hand on his son's shoulder. Kenny looked up at his Dad and gave a little grin.

"I will do better next time."

"So what are you going to name this one?" His dad said looking at Buneary hopping around Kenny still searching for Pikachu. Kenny bent down and looked the Buneary in the eyes.

"I will call him Tony." Kenny said smiling and sticking his hand out to rub his head. Tony saw a little bit of Chewy's ear sticking out of Kenny's bag, jumped on his back to pull her out, and hugged her. The look in Chewy's eyes could have made many people fell sorry for her as the life was being squeezed out of her.

"Okay I think I am ready for the gym battle." Kenny said returning Tony to his apriball. Chewy was relieved as she could catch her breath.

"Follow me so I have somewhere I want to show you." Mr. Henderson said walking towards the building in the town. Kenny nodded and began to follow is dad. After about 10 minutes they came, up to a house that stood off on its own and they walked in. They saw this young girl in the back of the room ecstatic to see some new face.

"Have you a normal, grass, or rock type pokemon to show me?" The girl said contently as she stared into the faces of the Henderson's. Kenny pulled out two apriballs. One containing Sunny and the other with Tony. He pondered which one he would show the girl. Finally keeping out the green apriball containing Tony, Kenny called him out of the ball. The bunny pokemon cried out looking up at the girl. "Oh he is so cute." The girl said pulling out a white scarf and handing it to Kenny. "It is a silk scarf for showing me the Buneary."

Kenny smiled as he wrapped the scarf around Tony's neck. Tony lifted the scarf and then put it in his mouth. Tony sat their chewing on the scarf until Chewy stuck her head out of Kenny's bag to see what was happening. Chewy jumped out of the bag when she noticed that Tony had seen her and started running to get away from him. Kenny returned Tony to his apriball and placed Chewy on his shoulders.

"Well you are going to have to control Tony if he is going to do that every time he sees Chewy." Mr. Henderson said putting his hand to his forehead.

"I know dad so I will use him and Barney in the gym battle. Maybe Tony will learn from Barney."

"Good idea but you might want to bring in Sunny or Chewy since they have been in battles."

"I will use them if I have to but I want these two to get experience."

Kenny and his dad walked up to the gym and opened up the door. Inside the gym, there were flowers and trees everywhere as if there was a forest inside. From the back of the gym, a woman walks up wearing a pink dress with a green trim and a green jacket. Her hair was a red color and it dance in the air around it.

"Hello there trainers. I am Roseanna and I am the gym leader here."

"I am Kenneth Henderson and this is…..?

"I am Curtis Henderson." Mr. Henderson said running up to Roseanna kissing her hand and looking up at her face.

"Dad aren't you still married?" Kenny whispered softly to his farther as he elbowed his dad in his ribs.

"What I still have to keep myself available." Mr. Henderson whispered back to his son standing upright holding his side.

"Well I am flattered to meet you both. So who is my challenger?"

"That will be me." Kenny said pointing to himself.

"Okay cutie let's do this." Roseanna said smiling and turning with her hair swishing in the air behind her head. Mr. Henderson's mouth dropped as he was shocked that she thought Kenny was cute.

Standing on there respective sides of the field a referee walked up on Kenny's right hand side and headed to the center edge of the field.

"Okay this is a battle between Kenneth Henderson and Roseanna the gym leader. The challenge may switch pokemon as he pleases and use as many pokemon as he wishes while Roseanna has to use the pokemon until they faint."

"Okay I guess I will get this started. Let's go Sunflora grace our eyes with your beauty." Roseanna said as she released her pokemon from its apriball. The pokemon that came out was a tall sunflower that was smiling. "Isn't Sunflora just beautiful?"

"Okay lets go Tony." Kenny said releasing the bunny pokemno from its apriball. Tony let out a cry, turned towards Kenny, and saw Chewy standing next to him. "No Tony we have a battle so no time to play around." Kenny said sternly looking at Tony as he turned back around.

"Sunflora use Sunny Day." Sunflora let out a squeal as it looked up into the open roof of the gym making an intense like appear on the battlefield. Kenny covered his eyes from the light and by the time he uncovered his eyes he noticed that the sun flora's head was a little bigger.

"Hey what's up with your pokemon's head?"

"My sunflora's ability is activating." Roseanna said with a smrik.

"Okay now Tony use pound." Tony started running at the Sunflora and then began to hop from side to side until it reached the pokemon.

"Sunflora use pound and then use ingrain." Sunflora used its leaf to block Tony's attack and then rooted itself into the ground unable to move. Sunflora gave a yell as if it was in pain. "Sunflora use Mega Drain now." The roots of Sunflora began to travel under the field, wrapped up Tony, and began to drain his energy.

"Tony you have to break free." Kenny said worried about him. Tony got mad and began to thrash about as it did when he save Chewy in the forest. Breaking free Tony continued his rage and went to attack the Sunflora who was taking deep breaths from just attacking. Tony began thrashing the rooted pokemon. "Why is Sunflower hurting and not taking damage?"

"A well solar power increase my special attack but at the cost of health while the sun is out." Sunflora's root then came out of the ground wrapping Tony up again draining his energy this time Tony was too tired to escape on his own so Kenny recall him to his apriball and then recalled him back out to sit on the side lines.

"You did great Tony just sit back and watch Chewy finish up the battle." Kenny said watching Pikachu run out on to the field. Chewy turned around, gave a thumb up to Tony, and turned back around ready to fight.
"Don't get your hopes up so fast. Sunflora use grasswhistle then mega drain." Sunflora threw its leaf up to its mouth and began to whistle. Chewy quickly pulled her ears down to avoid hearing the soothing tune but it was too late. Chewy laid there sleeping on the ground. The root wrapped her up but as soon as the attack put pressure on Chewy, she woke up and released a thundershock to break out of the roots.

"Nice move son. Just be careful about using those types of attack on grass types while on the ground though. As long as most grass types are on the ground they divert most of the attack to the ground."

"Thanks dad I was just about to use one on Sunflora. Okay change of plans Chewy use sweet kiss." Kenny said as he gave a smile. Pikachu ran over to Sunflora and gave it a gentle kiss the cheek. The Sunflora's head began to spin and seemed to lose all control of its body. "Now use thundershock. Since it can't control its body it can not divert the electric attack." Chewy charged her cheeks and released a yellow electric bolt at the Sunflora tipping it over. The roots began to return to its body and sunflora moaned as it was in pain.

"Sunflora is unable to battle point goes to the challenger." The referee said raise his left hand, which contained a green flag.

"Return Sunflora you did great." Roseanna said kissing its apriball. "Go spread your beauty Bellossom." This time a pink bell shaped pokemon, which the bottom was made of green and yellow leaves. On the top of its head was darker pink pair of flowers.

"Come back Chewy." Kenny said as Pikachu ran back to his side. "Okay Barney lets go." Machop came out of its pokeball flexing his muscles. "Okay Barney use focus energy."

"Well if you are setting up so am I Bellossom use Sunny day and then follow up with sweet scent." Bellossom gave a little dance and then lifted its arms, the sun began to shine brightly, and then the flowers on her head began to spin as it released a pink aroma at machop. Machop sat there and began to fall for the heavenly aroma that bellossom let out. "Okay now use mega drain." Bellossom began to dance again making the grass crawl up macho's legs and began to absorb his energy.

"Barney use karate chop free your self and then use it on Bellossom." Machop chopped the grass off his legs and began to charge the bellossom.

"Dodge then use poison powder." Bellossom moved from Machop's attack.

"Hey how did Bellossom move so fast?"

"Bellossom's ability increases her speed in the sunlight." The pokemon then released a purple powder in the same fashion it released the sweet scent. Machop was cover by the powder and he tried to hold his breath. After about fifteen seconds, Machop needed air and took a breath sucking in some of the powder. Machop quickly fell to the ground and placed his hand on the ground.

"Barney leer and then use karate chop." Machop began running at the bellossom he gave a little stare that made it shudder and then he chopped the pokemon. Bellossom fell to the ground from the surprisingly powerful attack.

"How did that machop do so much damage?" Roseanna said surprised.

"Well that is machop's Guts ability. When infected with a status problem increases its strength." Mr. Henderson said feeling confident about his son's position in the battle.

"Well two can play this game now use mega drain." Machop began the have its energy. After the attack Barney was breathing hard and ready to fall over.

"Return Barney you need a rest." Kenny said recalling his pokemon. "Okay Sunny you are up." Kenny released his Turtwig it came out the ball smiling and wagging her tail.

"Oh isn't that Turtwig so cute." Roseanna said looking at its shining coat. "I would love to have a turtwig like that one."

"Thanks but we need to finish this battle." Kenny said scratching his head.

"Your right. Okay Bellossom use acid." Bellossom began to spin shooting out a greenish yellow acid out at Sunny. Quickly dodging the attack Sunny awaited the trainer's command.

"Sunny use tackle then use razor leaf." Sunny ran at Bellossom knocking it into the air and then instead of shooting a barrage of leaves at bellossom she released two big leaves at the falling pokemon. "Why didn't she release a whole barrage of leaves like normal?"

"Sunny is starting to make her own style of the attack as it is becoming more familiar with the attack and how she uses it." The two leaves hit bellossom knock it to the ground. Bellossom stood up ready to fight some more. Both pokemon stared into each other's eyes.

"ABSORB!" Both trainers yelled at the pokemon began to use there own version of absorb. Turtwig created an aura around Bellossom while it wrapped Sunny's body with grass from underneath her. The pokemon keep up their attack until both pokemon could not do it any more. They just sat there staring each other breathing hard. Sunny fell to the ground first followed by Bellossom. Sunny struggled to her feet while Bellossom was lying on the ground knocked out.

"Bellossom is unable to battle the victory goes to the challenger."

Kenny jumped up and down in excitement of winning. Roseanne walked over to Kenny.

"You did great and your Turtwig was quite amazing. Here is your badge for winner the battle."

"Thank you." Kenny said smiling and holding up the badge so his pokemon to see it.

 

[rockman0]

The Apri Ball shook from side to side. Bryce prayed with all his heart that the Pokémon escaped. He had wanted that Togetic. If this Pokémon escaped, he would chase after the Togetic that had gotten away. He was upset when the Apri Ball stopped shaking and the Roselia was caught.

"Darn it!" Bryce cried out. "I did not want this stupid thing!" He picked up the Poke Ball and was about to toss it away when he heard an announcer.

"All trainers report to the entrance immediately!" He was really upset now. But he had to keep the thing or he wouldn't qualify for the contest. He'd look stupid without a Pokémon, so this thing would just have to do. He walked up to the table where the judges were sitting, and showed them the Roselia he had just caught.

"Hmm, uh-hmm, hmm, oh!" Bryce couldn't figure out what they were looking at. Then the judge told him that he did a good job and to come back again. Bryce left the table. He knew he wouldn't win, but he had to enter something. Hurry up and get the awards ceremony over so I can leave, he thought.

At the awards ceremony, the crowd was even bigger than before. It seemed like there were some people who had entered the forest during the event. One of the judges stood up at the judge's table. She had red hair. She looked like she was in her late twenties.

"Thank you all for joining us for our annual Pokémon capturing contest. Each of our contestants was wonderful. We enjoyed having you here and we hope you enjoyed being here. My name is Roseanna, Eterna City Gym Leader and I will be serving as one of the judges today. We are also grateful to have Nurse Joy of the local Eterna City Pokémon Center." The pink-haired nurse stood up and bowed. "And last but not least, we have Mr. Edgar de Graaf, Pokémon expert." The man stood up. He was wearing a bright yellow tux with a matching hat. Now, let's get on to the good stuff."

Next, the judge wearing a yellow tux and matching hat came to the center of the woods. He released a Pokémon. Out popped a Roselia. Bryce knew it was his because of the burn marks from Ponyta's attack. "This Roselia is special indeed, but the trainer did not consider its health when he burned the poor thing. However, this is indeed a great find, so it is my pleasure to award this Pokémon fourth place! The audience cheered and applauded. "And I would like to award the trainer, Bryce Johnson with this vial of Bright Powder," the judge continued, "which will boost the holder's speed and agility. Hopefully it'll help prevent any more confrontation from fire attacks!" The judge joked. The audience laughed as the judge went back to his seat.

Bryce was dumbstruck. The useless Roselia had won a prize. Maybe it wasn't so useless after all. Next Nurse Joy stood up. She picked up an Apri Ball and released the Pokémon inside. Out came a Stantler. "Not only is this Stantler very rare, but it is in top physical condition. Not only that, but it is very healthy and not harmed very much. A great and skillful capture indeed." The audience began cheering again. "I would like to reward the trainer, MacKenzie Keeler, with this Rare Candy, which raises a Pokémon's level by one when it is eaten." The audience cheered as the trainer took his prize.

After that, the gym leader stood up. She released a Gastly. "This Gastly isn't a very rare Pokémon to find, but it is a tricky one to capture. It's in peak physical condition and not harmed very much. It is my pleasure to award Selene Bihar with an evolutionary stone of her choice for winning second place." The gym leader sat back down and Edgar de Graaf stood up once more.

"Now, the winner of today's contest is very special. It is a very rare Pokémon, in fact, there's only three present in the forest. It is in great condition. So it is my pleasure and honor to present Sara Goodman with any Evolution Item or stone of her choice." The audience went into an uproar. They loved the Togetic.

That was supposed to be my catch, Bryce thought. He went to leave the woods and go to the next city after picking up his Pokémon and prize. As he left someone called his name, it was the gym leader.

"Leaving so soon, aren't you forgetting something?" Bryce couldn't think of what she was talking about. He had gotten the Pokémon and the prize, so what was she talking about.

"You know, you're here to challenge the gym leader right?" Bryce nodded his head. "Well, I accept your challenge, but it'll have to wait until tomorrow. Oh, one more thing. Do you want to keep Roselia or release it?"

"I was thinking of releasing it. It's no good to me. Besides, I didn't even want it."

"Well that's not a very good attitude. I'll have you know that grass Pokémon are very strong. In fact, I chose to raise grass type as my specialty. In Floaroma City, where I come from, grass Pokémon are the favorite." Bryce shrugged his shoulder. "Look, you don't have to keep it if you don't want to but I would suggest that you do. Roselia becomes a great partner if you train it properly." Bryce just turned around and left the forest. He headed to the Pokémon Center. Maybe he should keep Roselia. It had won him a prize which was better than nothing at all.

When he entered the Pokémon Center, he noticed that Nurse Joy was not there. He had to wait a while before she finally came. He walked up to the nurse. "Would you heal my Pokémon?"

"Of course, it'll be just a moment." He took his Pokémon and walked to the back room. She came back a few minutes later. "Your Pokémon are in great shape. Come back soon, okay?"

"Thanks," Bryce said. He walked out of the Pokémon Center and was heading toward the Gym when something caught his eye. There was a big building where people lived. He'd always wondered what it was like there, so he walked inside. The building was exquisite, unlike any building he had ever seen. There was an elevator that took people up and down the different floors. The hallways were long. People just sat around in the lobby and watched television on one of those new models. Workers were scurrying around the place. "Hurry up and clean this," he heard one say. "Hurry up and mop that," he heard another say. The atmosphere of the place was pretty exciting. There was a girl in the lobby asking people about the Pokémon they had. She spotted him.

"Hey, mister," she said, "were you in the contest today?" Bryce shook his head. "Can you show me the Pokémon that you caught?" Bryce grunted, but decided to show the girl the Roselia that he'd just caught. At the sight of Roselia, the little girl squealed. "Oh, a Roselia! I love it! One day, I'm gonna be just like Roseanna and train the best grass Pokémon in the world." She reached into a bag she was carrying. She pulled out a seed with a ribbon attached to it. "I want it to have this." She put the necklace around Roselia's neck. "This is a miracle seed. It will make her more powerful." Roselia chanted her name happily. She'll need all the power she can get, Bryce thought to himself.

Bryce thanked the little girl, recalled Roselia and left. He headed back to the Pokémon Center and decided to rest there for the rest of the day. Tomorrow they would have a gym battle. He rented a free room and slept until the next day.

When he woke up the next day, he was very excited. Today was his first gym battle! He'd never had a gym battle before. Nothing was going to stop him. Nothing at all, except the time! Bryce had slept longer than he thought! Bryce ran away from the room and toward the desk where Nurse Joy was. He put the keys on the desk.

"Hello there, how are you today?" The nurse was there to greet him.

"I'm fine."

"Roseanna told me you were going to challenge her," she said, "good luck." She took the keys and put them in a drawer. "You'll need it."

"Thanks," Bryce said, but inside he felt that this one was in the bag.

Roseanna's gym was, well, flowery. There were flowers everywhere. Trainers ran around the gym with their grass-type Pokémon and workers frantically watered the plants in the gym. In the middle of the gym was a stage with a big Pokeball in the middle. There were squares on each end for each trainer to sit. On the far end of the gym stood Roseanna. She looked as if she was waiting for him because as if on cue, she walked toward him.

"Well, I thought you had chickened out for a minute there. Ready to get this over with?" Bryce nodded his head. "Alright, let's get this over with."

Roseanna threw out her first Pokeball. Out came a big flower looking Pokémon. It looked like a big sunflower. "Sunflora!" it said. That must be its name, Sunflora.

Bryce threw out his Pokémon. Mankey appeared. Mankey had proven himself over and over, so this time, it would help him again.

"Sunflora, use Sunny Day!" Sunflora started to glow. A few seconds later, the gym grew bright with an intense light as if the sun had come into the building. The light was so blinding that Bryce had trouble keeping his eyes open.

"Mankey, uh, use Fury Swipes!" Mankey ran toward the Pokémon and started scratching the Sunflora nonstop. The Pokémon cried as it was knocked back.

"Sunflora, use Grasswhistle!" Sunflora put one of its leaves in its mouth and played a soothing melody. Bryce covered his ears and told Mankey to do the same. However, Mankey didn't hear his trainer because he was listening to the sun. Instantly, Mankey fell asleep. Bryce noticed that some people around the gym had fallen asleep also.

"Mankey, wake up!" Bryce said, but Mankey would not wake up. He just snored. "Grrr," Bryce growled and recalled the sleeping Mankey. He threw out another Pokémon. He didn't want to use this Pokémon but he had to. "Ponyta, come out!" Ponyta came out of the Pokeball, but its flames looked larger than normal. Maybe, it was stronger? He thought.

"Ponyta, use Ember!" he commanded the Pokémon. Ponyta shot some small flames at the Sunflora, but there were more flames than usual. They hit Sunflora and knocked it to its feet.

"Sunflora, use Growth!" The Sunflora got up from the ground and started glowing again. This time, it looked like it was growing! "Now, use Pound!" Sunflora bashed the Ponyta on the head. Ponyta cried out in pain and shot more flames at the Pokémon. They hit Sunflora and knocked it unconscious.

"Hey, I didn't tell you to do that!" Bryce yelled.

"How do you expect to be a trainer if you can't even control your Pokémon?" the gym leader criticized. Bryce thought of who to send out. He couldn't use Surskit. It only knew water-type moves which wouldn't do much good. Ponyta wasn't obeying him. Mankey was asleep. Electric-types were not very effective against grass types. He decided he would use Roselia. He didn't expect it to do much but at least it could buy time until he could think of something. He called out Roselia. "Roselia!" the Pokémon said.

"Hmm, so you decided to keep Roselia, huh?" She said. "Smart move, but sadly, I have to take it out." She sent out a Bellossom. However, this Pokémon wasn't the same color as the usual Pokémon of its species. "Bellossom, use Poison Powder." Bellossom released some pollen toward Roselia that poisoned it.

"Roselia!" He regretted sending this Pokémon out. If it fainted, what would he do? "Roselia, use Poison Sting!" Roselia shot a poisonous barb at the Pokémon. The barb hit and Pokémon and obviously caused a lot of damage. Roselia moaned. The poison was slowly draining her energy. The sunlight faded away.

"You're pretty good, kid, but I'm still better!" Roseanna said. "Bellossom, use Absorb." Bellossom absorbed some of Roselia's energy, though it wasn't much. Bellossom seemed to gain more energy.

"Roselia, hang in there, and use Poison Sting again." Roselia shot another barb at the Pokémon, which did a significant amount of harm to it. Roselia was inflicted by the poison again. The Pokedex on Bryce's hand showed that Roselia had little energy left. He had to make this next attack count.

"Bellossom, use Mega Drain." Bellossom absorbed more energy than before at the Pokémon. It regained little energy. Roselia's health was barely noticeable on the Pokedex screen. He had to take it out with only one more attack.

"Roselia, use Poison Sting again!" Roselia shot one last barb at the Pokémon. It hit the Pokémon and knocked it to the ground. Everything seemed to stop, as everyone waited to see if the Pokémon would get up. It got up at the last minute. Roselia fainted. The poison had taken the rest of her energy. Bryce recalled the Pokémon. She had done a good job. It was more than he'd expected. He looked at his Pokeballs. He sent out Shinx.

"Shinx!" the Pokémon said. This was its first battle since Route 302. Bryce knew that if Bellossom used an attack like Mega Drain, it would not only gain more energy, but take Shinx out as well. He hoped that it would do something that wasn't damaging like Poisonpowder.

"Shinx!" he said, "it's only got a little energy left, use Tackle." Shinx charged at the Pokémon.

"Bellossom, hit it with acid before it can get to you." No! Bryce thought. Now what? The Bellossom started to do Acid but it couldn't. The paralysis was starting to affect it! Shinx hit the Pokémon head on. "Now, Shinx, finish it up with another Tackle!" Shinx hit the Pokémon once more. Bellossom fell to the ground. This time it didn't get back up. Roseanna recalled her Pokémon.

"Well, I guess you win." She could barely believe it. "I'd say you got lucky, so I expect a rematch some day." Bryce shook his head. He could barely believe it himself. "As the Eterna City Gym Leader, I am required to present to you the Forest Badge." She handed him a badge that looked like three trees forming a triangle. His first badge, Bryce thought. He couldn't believe it. That was a good day.

"I bet you didn't expect Roselia to come through for you, huh?" the gym leader said. "You see, strength isn't all that matters. It's how you battle and the decisions you make that decide whether you win or lose." This was the second time he'd heard this. Maybe they were right.

"Thanks for the badge."

"No thanks is necessary, you deserved it." The gym leader held out her right hand for a handshake. Bryce shook her hand and left the gym. He still couldn't believe he had won. The only thing that convinced him that he really won was the green badge in his hand. He held it in his hand. Just a little longer, he thought.

Upon entering the Pokémon Center again, he saw Nurse Joy was in her desk, as usual. He asked her to heal his Pokémon.

"Sure thing," she said. "So, how did the gym battle go?" He showed her the badge in his hand. "That's great! Now you're an official trainer. Maybe that badge will get Ponyta to show you some respect." Bryce wondered how she knew about everything that was going on. Oh, well, he thought. He took his Pokémon and headed out of the Center.

"One more thing," Nurse Joy said, "I recommend going to the Pokemart. They have a sale going on. Go check it out."

Bryce decided that he would check it out. Once there, he saw the biggest assortment of Pokémon goods that he'd ever thought possible. He picked up a couple of Super Potions, and an Apri Ball. After paying for the goods, he headed toward the next route. Thinking back on the day's events, he was happy with what had happened. The battles had surely made him and his Pokémon stronger. He couldn't wait for the next town and the next gym battle.