The Whirl Cup (T)

[for him.]

I rushed a bit in the end, but... here's the post.

Chapter 1 Part 2​

I avoided my uncle and aunt's place completely. It had struck me while I was on my way to their house. They knew. They knew about what my fathers were doing, but they didn't say anything. Weren't they on my side? Weren't they worried that I would kill the pokemon I would catch like I did to my old party?

Like how I killed Swipes.

I was in the Pokemon Center just moping. The Chikorita that was forced on me was sitting in front of me. She seemed eager to please and was doing many things to gain my attention.

"You're going to die you know," I mumbled lowly, but the Chikorita seemed to hear me and stopped what she was doing, "I'm not new to this. You'll end up like my old party."

The Chikorita seemed scared and I had begun to regret ever mentioning it. It was the right the thing to do right? That thought seemed to be the only thing that seemed to comfort me at the moment.

"You can leave if you want to," I told the leaf headed pokemon, "If you're that scared you can leave. I won't stop you."

The Chikorita ran out the door.


I had walked back to the lab once more. This would be an excuse wouldn't it? I wouldn't have to face the pain and I just saved the life of a pokemon. Wasn't that all in the days work? I did something good didn't I? I warned that Chikorita of the danger of being a pokemon owned by me. All I needed to do was get Prof. Wood to remove the serial number off the pokeball and I would be on my way.

"I didn't think I would see you back so soon," Prof. Wood said, popper her head in my face, "What do you want?"

I shoved the Chikorita's pokeball in her face.

"What am I supposed to do with your Chikorita's pokeball?" Prof. Wood asked, "You have to tell me what's wrong or I won't be able to help you."

"Take the serial number off the pokeball," I told her.

The short professor looked absolutely livid. Her eyes began to burn with a flame, her lips turned into a frown, wrinkles began to crease on her face, and her lips were trembling, "Where is she?"

"She left," I stated simply.

"Not willingly," She concluded.

I shook my head, "Willingly."

Her eyes widened, "You told her didn't you?"

I didn't reply.

"Oh you did," She grumbled, but then she began to shout, "How could you?! You scared her!"

"I only told her the consequences," I said, looking at everything but at her face.

"Consequences my butt," Prof. Wood stated flatly, "You're just running away from your problems!"

"That's not tr—"

"You know that's bull," Prof. Wood countered once more, "This is chance to fix your mistakes and move on from your pain. If you aren't going to move on for your fathers and move on for your pokemon, I highly doubt they would want to see you like this."

"But what if-"

"They won't die," She stated plainly.

"And how would you know that?" I asked.

"Because you learned of the consequences did you not?" Prof. Wood asked, "You won't repeat the same thing you did before."

There was a long silence before Prof. Wood had kicked me out of her lab. It was time to find the Chikorita.


It didn't take very long to find her. She was on the shores of Olivine, however she was getting battered and beaten around by a little boy with a straw hat that had pokeballs attached to it and his Krabby. It was obvious that the Chikorita didn't have much battle experience as she was now just trying to avoid all the Crabhammers the Krabby sent her way.

"Leave her alone!" I shouted, interrupting their battle and stopping the little boy from reaching for a pokeball. The boy looked up from, revealing his covered face. He looked very childish and he only sported a tank top, boxers, and flip flops.

"You're this pokemon's trainer?" He asked, "If you're pokemon goes wandering off like this, then you must be a horrid trainer."

It was true. If I were a good trainer my party wouldn't have died.
"Ha, I bet I'm right," The boy laughed, "I bet you never battled a gym leader in your life, I deserve this pokemon more than you do. I bet all the other pokemon you'll catch or may have already caught are just weak and pathetic like you are!"

Anger boiled inside me I felt like I was going to erupt, but I managed to calmly spit out, "Take it back."

"What?"

"Take it back," I said even louder, if I were a volcano, lava would be oozing at this point.

"You mean about your pokemon? No, so just go run along now and ask Prof. Wood to remove the serial number off of that ball so I can catch this Chikorita that I deserve," The boy bit back.

"Don't make fun of them!" I screamed, "You can make fun of me all you want, but don't make fun of them…"

I caught myself from adding, 'especially since they aren't around anymore'. The little boy didn't need to know that.

"No," He stated simply. At this point, I was biting my lip trying to hold my fists at my sides and tears were threatening to pour. I could punch him later, at the moment, that Chikorita needs me.

I wiped the tears away with my arm, "Chikorita, I know you're afraid and I don't blame you, but if you want to win I need you to trust me."
There was no response.

"Please, I need you to trust me if you want to win," I pleaded, "Just let me… defend them… let me defend my friends, the friends I lost…"

It was a while before I had gotten a "Chika" as a response. Turning my attention back to that little boy and his Krabby, gears began turning in my head as I tried to think of a plan. The boy resumed his pursuit with crabhammer and I was steadily making observations.

"Try Razor Leaf!" I ordered. The Chikorita had sent me a glance before swinging the leaf on her head. Green crescent moon like blades flew across the sky and the boy looked very happy. He ordered his Krabby to use his pincers as a shield and I had gained an opening I was looking for.

Gottcha. The Krabby raised his two pincers to block the crescent blades and I had found the opening I was hoping for. The Krabby was completely defenseless for another attack and this was my chance.

"Tackle now!" I urged the Chikorita. She seemed to catch as she was running across the sandy beach. The boy looked horrified as she rammed her body against the Krabby, sending the crab pokemon flying into the sand.

"Uh…" The youngster hesitated, fidgeting nervously with his straw hat, "Vicegrip!"

"Jump and then Razor Leaf!" I retaliated.

Krabby was pulling itself from the sand and was traveling across the sand with great speed with a pincer that kept opening and closing like a shutter, in the air. Chikorita had jumped when the Krabby got close and swung her leaf sending a barrage of green crescent blades at the crab, sending it flying back into the sand.

"K-kraby!" The youngster cried again. The Krabby responded to its trainer's voice and was struggling to get up.

"Finish with Razor Leaf!"

Chikorita jumped in the air and conjured a rain of crescent blades down on the crab. Krabby was already struggling to stand up and the blades that were slicing his skin weren't helping at all. Krabby tried hard to hold on, but the pain was too much and it gave out. The Krabby fell face first into the sand completely limp.

"K-kraby," The youngster stuttered, "get up."

Krabby wouldn't rise.

"You-"

"Stop," I interrupted, "Your Krabby is down for the count."

His lip trembled, but he returned his pokemon to its pokeball. I almost breathed out a sigh, but when the boy began to fidget with his straw hat I held my breath in. He was playing with one of the pokeballs on his hat and he looked very nervous as he was contemplating sending the pokemon that hibernated inside the capsule. He made up his mind and unclipped the ball from his hat and threw it weakly in the air.

A Rattata was spat out of the ball that was thrown in the air. The purple rat looked at me and then turned around to look back at its trainer. It cocked its head to the side, looking awfully confused and then began to nibble on the trainer's foot. Something hit me then; the boy didn't know how to use the poor pokemon in battle. They lacked trust in each other.

"Ur, Rattata, we are battling now," The straw hat wearing youngster said.
The purple rat pokemon let go of his foot and looked at him for a silent moment before turning around to meet its opponent. Chikorita was very tired from her earlier beating as she was panting, her body nearly giving out against the sand. I needed to finish this quick.

The other trainer seemed to scrunch his eyebrows in thought. He bit his lip nervously as the Rattata just began to play with its tail. He was probably thinking about what other attacks his pokemon knew, judging by how deep he was in his own thoughts. I almost felt sorry for him, the fact that he didn't know how to battle with his Rattata at all, the key word being almost.

"Razor Leaf, Chikorita," I ordered. Chikorita had leaped into the air and created a rain of leave that rained down on the purple rat pokemon that was playing with its tail. Its trainer was yelling frantically about not being ready, but it didn't matter at this point as his pokemon cried out in pain as the leaves sliced up its furry purple skin.

"T-tackle!" The boy with the straw hat stuttered.

The Rattata had picked itself off from the sand and began to run wildly forward to crash into Chikorita. I took one glance at her, noting that she might not be able to take another attack. I quickly ordered a Razor Leaf to end things. The Rattata cried in pain as she was nicked and sliced with green crescent blades that came from the twirling of Chikorita's leaf. It was obvious the pokemon wasn't well trained because the Rattata fainted soon after.

"R-rattata!"

I had gone up to Chikorita and tried to touch her leaf, but she moved her leaf out of reach from my hand, making me sigh sadly, "I'm sorry that I scared you."

Chikorita didn't face me.

"It's true though," I mumbled, just in case the youngster was still there. I cast my glance to where he was before and noticed he was gone. He must have ran off.

She quivered.

"I loved them and still love them very much," I told her, "I was just trying to warn… No, I wasn't trying to warn you… I was being a brat… I didn't want to be a trainer again… I didn't want to be responsible for the death of other pokemon like how it was my fault that my old team died."

She turned around.

"When I told you that… I… was being selfish… I wasn't facing my problems, my guilt, and my sadness. I told you that because I wanted to go to Prof. Wood and release you from my ownership," I said, feeling myself beginning to cry, "I loved them all: Swipes, Belly, Featherhead, Rockers, and Herald. I want to try to make this work. I can't promise you that your demise might be like theirs, but I can promise you that I will work as hard as I can to prevent it from happening if you give me the chance."

Chikorita touched me with her head. Maybe getting back to this training thing was good for me after all.

 

[Lostworld]

@First Snow: That post was riveting. Your character has a lot of background stuff to work through but I think he just made a break through at the end there! I thoroughly enjoyed that. Chikorita can now use Poison Powder!

 

[{Swan}]

Chapter 2: It All Comes Down To One Pokeball​

Charlie was sitting in front of the Pokémon Center, a coffee-to-go cup in her hand, Pokémon guidebook on her lap and grumpy Chikorita by her feet. "So you can sense warm places can you?" Sheva just stared at her. If she could have she would have shrugged. "You really don't like me do you?" Charlie challenged, and Sheva just stared at her.


"Look, I know I'm a lousy trainer right now, but it's a learning process, and I am learning," Charlie defended herself. She come to the Pokémon half-panicked and pretty much shoved Sheva into the Nurse's hands, who'd given her quite a 'look'. But it didn't take too long to get healed up, and the Nurse assured her that she'd definitely seen worse.


"If only humans healed as quickly as Pokémon did," Charlie sighed, returning to the guidebook. "So can you do more than just Tackle, Growl and Razor Leaf? How about Poison Powder?" Charlie suggested, staring at the list of attacks in her guidebook. Sheva swung her leaf, and two and three dark purple flakes came setting from it, before being swept up by the wind. "I guess not. So I guess the other things on the list are out too hm?"


She downed the rest of the coffee and stood up. "Right, it's time to get going Sheva! We've got quite the journey ahead of us!" Sheva followed reluctantly, being a started she'd been taught to obey her trainer at all times, but she could feel that there was trouble brewing in the air.


It was still sort of clear-skied with Charlie and Sheva entered the route, the dark clouds only just setting across the sky, but it didn't take long before a long shadow started falling over the plains. Charlie resisted the urge to take the path toward her family's farm. "I have to do this alone," she told herself. "Can't come running to them everytime something goes south." So she continued along the route, hoping that those dark clouds would stay away until she'd reached the City. The wind started to act up soon after, making Sheva even more nervous, which in turn prompted Charlie to call her back in her Pokéball.


"Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to wear shorts after all," Charlie muttered to herself, upping her pace. Her legs were definitely starting to chill in the cold wind. "Sheesh what happened to Olivine's nice weather? Wait up She- HEY MY HAT!" The wind had knocked Charlie's hat right off of her head and carried it away.


Charlie, of course, ran after it. She liked that hat! "Just stop- no-wait!" Charlie uttered to herself and the hat, but each time she made a grab for it she just missed it and it rose higher into the sky, only to taunt her again moments later. Then, just as Charlie was about to admit defeat, a hand snatched it from the air. Charlie, who hadn't been paying attention only to the flying hat, now looked at a guy that might've been a few years older, with brown curly hair and light eyes.


"Is this yours?" He asked, holding out the hat.


"Yes!" Charlie said, grabbing for the hat, but when she did he held it out of reach. "Hey, give me back my hat!"


"Don't I get something for getting it for you?" He asked, a wicked grin on his face.


"Now look here mister," Charlie told him with her hands on her hips. "I don't owe you nothing fo- oh." A small brown bird was flying at top speed overhead, toward the tree line. No, not flying, more like a loose kite in the wind. Aaaand off Charlie went, running after the bird, all hat thoughts replaced by 'oh oh oh, I want that!'


"Hey!" the guy called after her. "Don't you want your hat back?!"


"Just a minute!" Charlie shouted back, and the boy took one huge sign and ran after her. What else could he do, really? He'd meant to goad her a little and give her back her hat, and he could hardly just toss it away now.


Charlie reached the trees and looked around for her bird. She found it on a tree-branch, furiously shaking itself as if entirely disgruntled by the wind's rudeness. "Right Sheva," Charlie whispered. "Use Razor Leaf whe- WOAH!" Charlie jumped, having felt something touch her shoulder.


"Dude, I just tapped you," the guy said, raising one eyebrow. Meanwhile the bird took notice of being stalked and swooped into the air toward Sheva. Sheva shot out a Razor Leaf to protect herself but the bird just the attack like it'd been nothing, swooping down and pecking her hard on top of her head. It didn't seem to have much trouble with the wind in the more sheltered woods. "Take care of your Pokémon, Grass ones are weak to birds you know."


"Oh," Charlie said, embarrassed and re-focussing on the battle. "Right, run towards the bushes Sheva, it should be a little more difficult to get you there!" Sheva did as told, maneuvering her small body into the tight brush. The bird flew atop a branch overhead and watched the bush unblinkingly, waiting for its enemy to come out. "Did you see that?!" Charlie said excitedly. "It worked!"


Oh geez, where did I get myself into, the boy thought. But he had to admit he was curious to the outcome of the battle now. "So," Charlie said to him. "What were you going to say anyway?"


"Oh, right, I was going to warn you not to get to agitate the bird. It's a Spearow, they're mighty aggressive. But you kind of ruined that for yourself." He said with a shrug. "Don't you want your hat back?"


"Oh right, my hat, thank you," Charlie grabbed it, forgetting all about his jerkishness before. "I'm Charlie, by the way."


"Jonah, keep your head on your Pokémon, she can't hole up in that bush forever."


"Riiight. Sheva, can you hit him with a Razor Leaf from over there?" Charlie suggested. A few leaves shot up and hit the tree around the Spearow, but Sheva couldn't really aim from there, and all missed. The Spearow actually seemd to gloat about that. "Ehm, right, so come out from that bush, see if you could tackle him when he gets down to hit you?"


"Good going, use your Pokémon as bait," Jonah grinned. "You've got strange style." Sheva did as told, waiting for the Spearow to come swooping down and try to hit her. She threw a bit of her own smarts in though, as she was still doing what was being asked of her. She was just that much smarter than her idiotic trainer. She made sure to stand next to a tree in such a way that the Spearow should instinctively aim for her on the treeside. Then when it got to her she jumped to the side, tackling it straight into the trunk.


"Awesome Sheva!" Charlie cheered. "Did you just see what we did?!" she elbowed Jonah happily.


"Yes, I saw what she did, now pay attention to yout Pokémon dammit!" Jonah hissed, watching as the Spearow dived into pursuit of Sheva again. "Dive Chikorita!" Jonah called, and Sheva dove just in time to avoid getting pecked on the head again.


"Hey, you're not supposed to command my Pokémon," Charlie complained.


"I wouldn't have to if you would," Jonah countered.


"Use Razor Leaf Sheva," Charlie commanded. The Spearow had just turned around in flight when he was met with leaves to the face. They seemed to be doing a bit more damage now, or maybe the Spearow was weakening enough to show it. It dove down again, but instead of going toward Sheva to peck her it let up early, flapping its wings to send a spray of sand into Sheva's eyes.


"What do I do?!" Charlie cried out, again, slightly panicked. The Chikorita did her best to shake the sand from her eyes, but as she was doing that the Spearow closed in to peck her again.


Jonah noticed that Sheva and Spearow were perfectly placed for another tree-tackle., except Sheva couldn't see and the Spearow wouldn't stay still for a moment. He glanced at Charlie, who still what-do-I-do-ing and definitely not helpful. And she was probably crazy. But her Pokémon wasn't crazy, and it would probably lose if he didn't make a decision soon, seeing as it was being pecked from all over….


"Chikorita use growl, we're almost there," he said, ignoring the glare from Charlie. Sheva did as told, growling deeply in her throat. This stopped Spearow in its tracks for a moment, it's eyes wild and cautious. "Now throw all your weight to your right side, there's a tree, just do as before." Sheva nodded once, understanding things perfectly, and threw her weight sideways, trapping the Spearow between the tree and her body.


"Now use Razor Leaf." Charlie this time, still side-ways glaring at Jonah. "Get it right in its face!" the Spearow met with several sharp leaves, to the face as ordered, and it gave in at last. Fainted.


"Now what?" Charlie asked dumbly. "I get a Pokéball, right?"


"You're an idiot." Jonah said crudely. "Yes, you get an empty Pokéball and throw it at it."


"O-okay." She slung her backpack over one shoulder and retrieved an empty ball, throwing it at the Spearow. The ball opened to suck in the bird and started rolling violently. "Keep your fingers crossed!" Charlie said, crossing her fingers.


Jonah just thought: Oh god, what am I putting that Spearow through.
​

 

[Lostworld]

@Swan: Oh that was a very entertaining post! :D Charlie caught a male Spearow!

 

[moon]

chapter two - It All Comes Down To One Pokéball
Special optional side quest
Joint post between Red's Hawt Chibi Pelippers and drunk ¬_¬​

Leon clutched himself firmly but was still shivering violently. As he continued to walk forward, he could feel mucus building up in his nose. With his Pokémon injured, the storm sulking and no Pokémon Centers anywhere near, he realized his only course of action was to find a place to stay the night and brave out the storm, but in the distance, he could discern the glow of lamplight, on what seemed to be a large clearing of land. Had he really walked all the way to MooMoo Farm, or was this another trick by a mischievous Stantler? He knew the farm would be close to Route 39, but as a kid the farm had always been so… far away.

He kept walking for what seemed like hours, fighting the strong winds and the farm only seemed to creep a little closer, but with no end in sight to the storm, he had no other choice.

Finally having reached main buildings, the smell of wet manure had become overwhelming, and his insides retched, but he collected his strength and banged heavily on the main house's door…

Simon looked up as he heard a banging on the door. Shinx woke up, blinking drowsily. It stared up at Simon for a moment, until it walked up to his foot and lay down on top of it. 'Hm, it doesn't seem scared anymore,' Simon thought and looked up again to see who was banging on the door.

The farmer's wife had been knitting off to an opposite corner, but set her work down by a nightstand when she heard the banging. She got up and walked to the door with long strides, muttering something about the cold under her breath.

Leon was shivering violently, but he gave a sigh of relief when he finally heard approaching footsteps and the clicking of the door unlocking.

The farmer's wife's plump face peering out and the orange glow of the fire were a welcome sight to Leon, but he must've seemed ragged and worn out as he basked against the emanating heat, seeing how quickly the lady took him in, and his soaked jacket off. She set his jacket on the back of a chair next to the fire, to dry it off, and although Leon thought she might've been speaking at him, he didn't seem to be able to hear her over the intense clattering of his teeth.

Simon watched as the soaked person came in. He didn't seem to have been as keen on leaving the safety in Olivine, the storm had really taken a toll on him.

Finally sitting down, Leon looked towards Simon and the Pokémon nuzzling against him… A Pokémon trainer, he thought. Mustering up his strength to subdue the shaking, he started: "D-do you, h-h-have a, a-a-a, P-p-p-p-p-po-ti-sh-shsh-ion, a Potion?"

"Yeah," Simon said and reached for his bag. Oh, he had left it at the door. He got up, somewhat reluctantly leaving the warmth of the fireplace behind him for a moment, and fetched his bag, rummaging inside it and finding a potion that he handed to the cold trainer. "Don't mention it," he added, expecting the trainer to say a bunch of thanks now. He stopped to think for a while, and then he sat down across the table from Leon again, earning an annoyed stare from the Shinx who had had to get up when Simon's feet moved away. Back in his gang days in Olivine, he wouldn't have just given something away like that. Hopefully, he was already starting to change.

"You come from Olivine?" the farmer suddenly asked. He was sitting in the corner, smoking a pipe and watching the young lads. Simon guessed that the question was directed at both boys. He had just been about to ask the other boy the same question but now he just replied: "Yes, I live there," and waited for Leon to answer as well.

Leon was clutching Simon's Potion tightly, trying to heat his hands with the emanating warmth of the object when he heard the farmer's question. "Mm-m-me too." He struggled saying, "I'm a t-t-t-trainer, in the Whirl C-cup…"

"An unprepared trainer." The farmer's wife cut in in a reproachful yet motherly manner. She had walked back into the room with a tray with four mugs of hot chocolate, and an old, tattered blanket, which she placed over Leon.

"Thank you." Leon muttered almost inaudibly, basking in the heat, and turning toward Simon, he lifted the Potion, still trapped in his grasp, a bit, adding: "And you," before setting it down and reaching for one of the mugs and taking a long sip. The liquid was almost scalding hot, and burned his tongue and throat, but he scarcely noted this. "It tastes delicious" he told the wife, not realizing that, at least, his speech was coming back.

"There you go, drink it all up and you'll feel better," she said, nodding. Then her eyes went to the potion. "What is that? There is no need for potions here, young man!" She went into another room again and the boys could hear her move about in what was probably the the kitchen.

Simon warmed his fingers on the cup of hot chocolate and wondered if they had something better than potion here, and then remembered something he used to drink when he was younger... he glanced from the cup to the farmer, who was smiling widely in his comfortable chair.

"Moomoo milk, lads. You'd think milk was for babies, but this magic brings life back into any poor little creature."

"Indeed!" the wife said, coming in again with two pots of milk on the tray. "Now, I guess there are some pokémon that would need some of this here milk? Potions..." she shook her head and sighed.

"Oh," Simon blurted out, looking down at the Shinx on the floor. "This one could probably need it. Thank you," he said. He glanced at the potion as well, wondering if he should take it back... but then he remembered his new, nice self. Giving is good, taking is bad. The other trainer could have it.

Rather content with managing to let something like that go, Simon leaned back in the chair and pushed the lion cub gently with his foot to make it go and drink the milk that the farmer's wife now had put down before it. The cub smelled the milk with a skeptical look at first, but then began to hungrily drink it. Simon took a sip of the hot chocolate and actually felt life and warmth spreading back through his body. Maybe it was magic.

"My name is Simon," he said to the farmer and his wife, and then he turned mostly towards the boy in front of him. "I'm entering the Whirl Cup as well."

Leon looked at Simon with a shocked gaze, but he supposed he should probably not be surprised, many people had joined the competition, and it was only a matter of time until he met up with them. That it happened here and now was a fault of the weather…

He nodded at the trainer, as if acknowledging a challenge, but noticing that he'd given milk to his Shinx made Leon remember of his own Pokémon. "Umm…" he started, "do you guys have some bigger place where I may heal my Pokémon? I'm afraid my Stantler is a little, well, big…"

The farmer gave him a hearty laugh. "Aye, Stantler are big, bigger than normal Miltank, but my Miltank are bigger". Immediately after, he got up and led Leon towards the barn through a connecting door in the house, but neither he nor Leon were ready to find what they did…

Simon just took a huge sip from his chocolate when he heard a scream that made him choke. He cleared his throat and turned his head to where the sound had come. The barn? The farmer's wife came running with a worried look. Simon and Shinx exchanged a look, and went after her.

They came into the barn and found the farmer and Leon standing there in the middle, staring at something. "What's the matter, dear?" the farmer's wife asked.

"It's the Miltank... they have run away!" The farmer pointed at one of the cribs and Simon and the wife walked up to them. The wall had a great hole in it, where the storm was reaching in from outside. It looked like a tree had fell on the barn and struck the wall, making a large hole in it, big enough for several Miltanks to squeeze through at once.

The farmer scratched his head and the wife went immensely worried. "Poor things!" she said. "Why would they run out into the storm on their own accord? It's much warmer in here and they have never run away before!"

"Maybe they got scared and panicked?" Simon suggested calmly.

"That's probably it!" the farmer said, raising his fist in a pointless gesture towards the big log just outside the hole.

Leon ground his teeth in frustration. He didn't understand why the Miltank would run away, but he understood there was no time to stay and think about it. "Stantler, come out!" Stantler materialized from the Poké Ball he threw, but seemed extremely weak. "Here, drink this…" He said as he pretty much forced a bottle of Moomoo Milk down the Pokémon's throat.

"Stantler!" The Pokémon cried feeling his strength come back.

"I'm gonna go find the Miltanks." Leon stated as he mounted his new Pokémon and grabbed hold of his horns… "Let's go!" he shouted, prompting Stantler to leap and dash out the hole; the Miltanks shouldn't be too far.

Simon watched Leon and his pokémon dash out of the hole in the wall. The farmer and his wife exchanged worried looks and Simon sighed. "I'll go out and make sure that the boy survives the storm," he said to them and took some steps towards the hole, too.

"Ah, we're so grateful!" the farmer's wife said, close to tears.

"We have to fix that hole before they are back, Magda!" the farmer said to her. "No time to waste!"

Simon nodded, but just when he turned away again, he felt something nudge his leg. The Shinx?

"You should stay here," Simon said to it. "The storm is still harsh out there." The Shinx looked sad, but did as it was told as Simon disappeared in the storm outside.

It was still cold, but the Moomoo hot chocolate warmed Simon from his insides and he watched the edge of the forest closely to see if the Miltanks had gone there. He wondered if they would stay together or run off in different directions... he knew nothing of cattle.

It wasn't long before Leon caught sight of the farmer's Pokémon, huddled together under some trees away from their usual fields. They were cold and scared, and as Leon went around them to keep them from wandering farther away, he began to realize that he had no idea of how to herd them back…

Dismounting, he began to yell at the Pokémon, but they didn't seem to mind him. Remembering that Pokémon were capable of understanding human speech, he tried begging, but they wouldn't listen to that either. Losing his patience, Leon went so far as to try and push them toward the farm, but they only shrugged him off and one of them tackled him away.

Down, and out of breath, he looked up at Stantler, and tried to think of anything it could do in order to help out… "Stantler, use Astonish."

"Stant!" his Pokémon said as ripples of refracted light appeared in front of his horns. The closer Miltanks began to stir, and as his Pokémon continued to use the attack, some more flinched and began to move away from the Big Horn Pokémon, back towards the farm.

Simon caught sight of the other boy, using his Stantler to annoy the Miltank into moving. Some weren't moving towards the farm though. Maybe they were disoriented from the wailing wind and rain. Nodding to Leon and seeing that he was alright and not as cold as before he arrived at the farm, Simon went to the flank of the Miltanks where Stantler wasn't. He contemplated for a second about sending out Cinder or not... and decided against it.

"Kracker," he said and sent his Krabby out. It turned to look at him, slightly unused to taking orders. "Use Bubble on the Miltanks."

Kracker shrugged... if it had had shoulders. And she sprayed bubbles on the Miltanks who were moving towards the trees. That made them startled. Kracker sprayed additional bubbles and the Miltank seemed to decide to go the other way, back towards Leon instead.

Just then, Kracker started swinging her pincers menacingly, looking towards the forest's edge. "What are you doing?" Simon asked and followed her gaze. He had just time to see a pair of gleaming eyes, when two Luxio jumped out towards them. Simon got shocked... not by their attacks, just imaginary spoken.

"Kracker, Bubble!" he said and she sprayed them and managed to halt one of the Luxio. It stopped and shook its head from the annoying prickling of the Bubble. But the other lounged towards the closest Miltank. They had been planning an ambush!

"No you don't!" Simon called out, but there wasn't much he could do... Cinder wouldn't have time to come out and attack before-

A tiny growling noise cut through the storm and Luxio halted in the middle of its leap. By now, the remaining Miltank had noticed the predators and started running - luckily in the right direction. Simon hoped that Leon made sure they did, and looked back towards the Luxio. He blinked. In front of it, the tiny Shinx stood. It roared towards the bigger cat as if it was trying to tell it off.

The other Luxio came up to them and seemed to be talking with Shinx for a moment. Kracker clipped with her pincers, wanting to attack again, but Simon motioned for her to stay silent. Then, the Luxio turned hostile again. One of them leaped towards Shinx, tackling it.

"That's it," Simon said and took forth his other pokémon. "Cinder!"

The Cyndaquil came out with some kind of battle roar that quickly went silent when it fell the heavy rain. It landed on the ground and looked grumpily back at Simon. "Please!" the trainer said sternly. "Help Shinx out. It's our friend."

Cinder, having been raised to be open-minded and simple... agreed with its trainer without thinking much about it. It got the attention of the Luxio by jumping to Shinx' side, getting it up from the ground. Shinx seemed close to tears, touched by Cinder's kindness. Cinder had a proud moment for a second, then the Luxio attacked again.

"Cinder, use Ember!"

Cinder did and hurt the Luxio. Not enough though, as they weren't gonna back down easily. They charged for another Tackle. One ran towards Shinx and one towards Cinder.

"Cinder, Ember on the far one! Kracker!" Simon added and made the crab pokémon look up. "Bubble on the closest Luxio!"

His pokémon obeyed and the Luxio got hurt once more. That seemed to do it, and they gave each other a look before they turned back towards the forest, leaving Simon and his pokémon alone at last.

Leon noticed Simon was battling something, but judging from the sounds, he wouldn't need help, besides, he had his hands full making sure the Miltanks kept walking straight. Well, until he remembered he had two Pokémon. Clicking the button on his second Poké Ball, he brought out his Totodile.

"Toto!" The Pokémon greeted, happy to be out in the rain again.

"Totodile, make sure the Miltanks make it to the farm." He commanded, beginning to feel the cold after the previous adrenaline rush. Fortunately, the Miltanks seemed terrified enough of the Big Jaw Pokémon's, well, Big Jaw, and were easily herded the rest of the way to the barn…

Simon walked up to Cinder and saw that he was tired and wet from the rain. He sent the pokémon back into its ball and looked at the Shinx. It had gone out into the storm after him... He couldn't help feeling guilty and wanting to take care of it. He got an idea.

"Shinx," he said loudly through the storm. "I don't see any point in battling you now... it would only be strange and mean. But I do want you to become my pokémon. I can take care of you better then. What do you say?"

Shinx blinked and looked at Kracker, who was nodding eagerly. The lion cub sighed, and then smiled up at the trainer. Simon sat down and held out a pokéball. If Shinx agreed, it would nudge the pokéball with its nose, turn into energy and come inside it...

The wind was howling when Simon finally reached the barn where Leon and the farmers awaited him. The hole in the barn had been somewhat fixed and covered, and Leon was covered in the same old blanket as before and sneezing violently. However, he and the farmer had started a small bonfire in the barn, and the farmer's wife returned shortly with marshmallows, chocolate and crackers.

Upon noticing him, Leon offered him a wide smile. "Thanks for keeping the wild Pokémon away Simon!" He said. "Did you catch something?"

The Miltank seemed to have gotten back just fine. Leon was a pretty capable boy after all. Simon smiled at his question. Yeah, did he now?



((OOC: Sorry for the incredible length xD RHCP wishes for a female Shinx, if the capture is successful. ))

 

[for him.]

Chapter 2 Part 1​

I was heading to Ecruteak City after a few hours had passed. I had just made it Route 38 and the sun was still up. The sky was covered with clouds here and there, but it didn't seem too bad. Many Spearows and Pidgeys cried as they fought or took a lift off to the skies. Sometimes even both. I never really understood the constant feud between the Pidgeys and the Spearows, but I just assumed it was in their nature.

As I was walking out of Olivine, people kept staring and pointing at Chikorita. I had tried to return her into her pokeball, but she dodged the red beam every time and after an hour I gave up. Anyways, people kept coming up to me just to pet her and they would often ask if she had a name. I would lie and say yes and say a different nickname every single time.

Don't get me wrong; I support the nicknaming of all caught pokemon; however, when I tried to name Chikorita nothing would come out of my mouth besides a rasp. It wasn't that I wouldn't name her; it was just that I couldn't name her. Chikorita seemed dejected after hearing my rasping sound; she didn't want to just be called Chikorita; however, she seemed to get over it after awhile and probably came to the conclusion that when I would be able to nickname her when the time came.

Were grass types always so cheerful and optimistic? I remember Belly and she was scared of everything, even her own shadow.

I smiled fondly for a second before forcing it back down to the depths of my heart. Chikorita didn't notice.

Many pokemon had stopped to watch us as we passed through. The Stantlers seemed to have taken somewhat of a liking to us as many would stop and stare. I had found this a bit creepy, but after a few second they would be back to grazing on the grasslands. Many land pokemon zipped across the grass in blurs, which easily amazed Chikorita.

One land pokemon caught my eye. It was a Growlithe, examining Chikorita and I with its brown beady eyes. I had always wanted one during my younger days. I could never catch one though; these orange dogs always seemed to elude me whenever I did try to catch them. It was so utterly frustrating that I eventually gave up. Maybe I could catch one now?

"Chikorita use --"

The Growlithe gave out a loud growl that flung Chikorita at my face. I clawed her off and when I did, the Growlithe was nowhere to be seen. I sighed.

------
​

Chikorita and I managed to find a few more Growlithes, but as what happened to the first one all the ones that we encountered used Roar. This resulted in Chikorita, time after time, flew and landed on my face giving time for the Growlithe to escape. I was starting to feel frustrated, but a wanting passion to capture one as well. This training thing wasn't helping me… No it wasn't…

I tripped.

I got up from the ground and Chikorita was by my side. I rubbed my face. I looked at Chikorita and turned around to see what tripped me. I honestly thought it was a rock, however, I didn't expect it to be a Growlithe all beaten and battered. Many cuts and open wounds grazed the Growlithe's orange coat. Blood oozed and began staining the ground.

"Oh my god," was all I was able to utter. I was shaking now, I couldn't tell if tears were about to burst, because the edges of my eyes were getting blurry. I felt sick to my stomach, queasy at the sight. Chikorita nudged me.

I shook my head. I wasn't going to let this one die. I wasn't going to let this one die before its time, do you hear me Swipes? I promise you… I won't let this one meet you just yet…

I walked over and picked him up. It began to rain and so began my trek back to Olivine City.

 

[Lostworld]

That was an entertaining joint post guys!

@Red: Kracker can now use Leer!
Cinder can now use Quick Attack!
Simon caught a female Shinx!

@Drunk: Stantler can now use Hypnosis!
Totodile can now use Bite!

@First Snow: Interesting post, is Tristan going to try and befriend this Growlithe?

The chilling storm you have all endured is now ready to move on from this part of the region, it looks like your trip to Ecruteak will be successful after all!

Chapter Three will follow shortly.​

 

[moon]

chapter 2 - It All Comes Down To One Pokéball (part III)
Simon Silvester, route 37​

When the storm was finally over, Simon thanked the farmers and said goodbye to Leon. He got some Moomoo milk from them as thanks for helping out. He hoped he'd meet Leon again at some point. They were supposed to be rivals... but Simon didn't really pick up any threatening feelings from him. He wasn't like the guys in the gang that Simon used to belong to. Leon was more... cheerful. Genuine. That was a good thing.

Simon clutched his newly filled pokéball in his hand as he was walking. Shinx, and a female one at that. It had decided to go with him rather than stay with its own kind, who attacked her when she opposed them. Wise... that was kind of what Simon had done as well. Left his own kind...

The air was fresh with the smell of rain, but the sun peeked out from between the clouds above. It was rather beautiful. Simon thanked... someone up there, for him being able to walk here and feel this. He felt himself changing already, from how he had been like in Olivine.

Just as he was walking there, he saw a girl up ahead on the road. She seemed to be... training? As he got closer, he saw her pokémon. They were a Growlithe and a Spearow, found on this route according to what the guide book had said. Maybe she was a trainer from Ecruteak City.

"Hey," he said when he came up to her. "Do you know if Ecruteak is close by?"

The girl, looking to be maybe a year younger than he was, with bushy brown hair, looked at him and smiled. "Yes, it's just around the bend of the road!" Then she glanced at the pokéball in Simon's hand. "And you are a pokémon trainer, right?"

"Yeah... I guess I am."

"Then, have a battle with me! Since it's not far to the pokémon center, your pokémon will be fine soon again!" she said, sounding convinced of victory.

Simon pondered this. He'd had to battle in order to become a better trainer, right? Plus, he wanted to test Shinx' powers out.

"Alright. A battle it is," he said. "What pokémon will you use?"

"Spearow!" she said, and Growlithe backed away as the bird fluttered in front of her, looking pepped up. "We're ready to go, we've been training for a while so we're warmed up!"

"Alright. Shinx!" Simon said and let the lion cub out. It emerged in a flash of light and growled cutely at them. Simon sat down. "Do you want to battle for me?" he asked it. Shinx growled readily in response. "Alright."

The two trainers faced each other, and then the girl started. "My name is Jean by the way..." she said. "Now, Spearow, use Peck!"

"Shinx, meet it with a Tackle!" Simon said.

Shinx, however, hesitated, and instead dodged the Peck attack, leaving Spearow to soar up into the sky again.

"Scared so easily?" Jean joked.

"Shinx, don't worry," Simon said. "I've read in the guidebook that electric types such as yourself won't take much damage from flying attacks. Birds will get hurt by touching you, rather."

Shinx listened to her trainer and decided to try and trust him. "Use Tackle!" he commanded, and she shot forward and jumped up into the sky, hitting the Spearow who was flying way too low to avoid it.

"Argh, use Sand Attack! Confuse it!" Jean called out, and Spearow whipped up sand with its wings and sent it towards the lion. Shinx hesitated and got hit.

"Now, Peck!" Jean ordered. The bird got ready.

"Shinx, listen to me and trust me," Simon said calmly. The calmness of his voice made the blinded Shinx stand still. She wanted to trust him. He had taken care of her when she was all alone. "Wait..." The Spearow soared down. Ready to Peck the electric type, it came to a halt in the air and hovered right above it, beak glowing with energy. "Tackle!" Simon shouted, and Shinx leaped blindly forward with all her might and crashed into the bird, who was taken by surprise. Jean growled when the bird fell down onto the ground.

"Ah, screw it!" she said, recalling Spearow to its pokéball. Simon raised his eyebrows at her language. "Growlithe, you're next!"

Growlithe jumped forward and immediately fired an Ember towards Shinx. The poor lion cub got struck and burned. Simon shook his head, he didn't want to hurt her more than necessarily. She seemed like a very young pokémon. He recalled her to her pokéball. "Rest now," he told her, before he took forth another pokémon.

"Fire... against fire. Cinder!" The Cyndaquil came out, happy to be of service. The two fire pokémon glared at each other.

"My tiger can take on your weasel easy as cake," Jean said.

"It's not a weasel," Simon said. "It's a mouse. Cinder, Ember!"

"Ember!" Jean countered, and the two attack were fired against each other and met in the middle. They were even.

"Roar!" Jean said, and Growlithe let out an unexpectedly mighty roar. It didn't do much, however.

"Cinder is not that easily scared," Simon said, and the Cyndaquil smiled. "It's our turn to confuse now. Smokescreen!"

A black cloud surrounded the battlefield, but...

"Haha, Growlithe can see through that, can't you?" Jean said. "Bite attack!"

Growlithe came out from the cloud, fangs gleaming with dark power.

"Avoid it with Quick Attack!" Simon said. He was starting to feel wild in this battle. It was... fun. And his trick worked. Growlithe snapped in the air and Cinder darted away. "Now, turn around and use Quick Attack on Growlithe!"

Cinder did so, and hit the other fire pokémon hard. Growlithe was about to bite Cinder again, but Cinder blew an ember at the pokémon, making it close its eyes and miss, even though the ember didn't hurt much. Simon was certain that avoiding Bite was the best strategy to stay alive here.

"Quick Attack again!" he said, and Cinder struck Growlithe once more. It was too fast for the tiger.

"Growlithe..." It was apparent that Jean thought she was running out of options. "Come back!" she said and returned it to its pokéball. "Spearow, you're up again!"

The bird emerged and Simon raised an eyebrow again. Was she allowed to do that? Nevertheless, they would be ready. Cinder was his strongest pokémon.

"Spearow, Sand Attack!"

"Cinder, Ember!"

The fire met the gust of sand and the warm air it created made it fly away from the Cyndaquil. Simon felt a sting of proudness over his tactics. Jean was getting mad. "Peck! Avoid the fire!"

Cinder kept firing Ember, trying to keep the bird at a distance, but it didn't help, the bird was quick now and avoided the fire. It pecked Cinder hard with its beak.

"Quick Attack!" Simon said, but Cinder was still recovering from the hard peck.

"Peck again!" Jean said, smiling as the battle turned around.

"Leer!" Simon tried. Cinder looked up, fast, and glared powerfully at the bird. That made it hesitate. "Quick Attack!" Cinder hit the bird before its beak had powered up for the Peck attack. The bird fell down on the ground again.

"Finish with Ember!"

The bird was roasted, unable to escape from the mouse standing above it, until Jean called for them to stop, and recalled the bird to its pokéball.

"Alright, alright! You win!" She wasn't happy at all.

"You were really good," Simon said, and she meant it. "Your pokémon didn't know many attacks, but you used them well. I'll try to be as inventive as you."

Jean blinked. "But you are. Much more than I am. That's why you won." She sighed and reached for some money from her pocket. "Here. I'm going to Ecruteak's pokémon center now. Wanna come?"

Simon took the money with a confused look. "What's this for?"

"For beating me! It was as good as an official battle, so."

"Oh," Simon hadn't thought much about it. But maybe that was how trainers earned their money. By battling. It made perfect sense. "Yeah. I'll come with you."

Some minutes later, they were restoring their pokémon in Ecruteak's pokémon center, and Jean said goodbye to Simon. He had finally reached another town, for the first time in his life. Now, what could this place have to offer for him?


((OOC: not sure if we were allowed to battle trainers... I can take this post away if that's so. ))

 

[Fuyu]

The Pokeball slowed to a stop and I managed a smile. I had done it. I had captured a Shinx. My first Pokemon... a feat I hadn't believed was close to possible. I wanted to revel in the moment... but Tory was in pain and tired and there was nothing more cruel than a Trainer who overworked their Pokemon. I returned him silently, sitting down and closing my eyes. I felt the urge to get up and move again, only it was physical, stronger, adrenaline. I had to suppress it for right now. It was unnecessary, meant for later. I needed to be calm and wait out this storm... however long that would take.

Unfortunately, it seemed like I couldn't do that. The Pokeball containing my Shinx trembled and shook itself free of me, opening and releasing my new Pokemon. It yipped and growled at the air, sniffing. At the sight of me it leered then paused. "Shi?"

"Yes?" I offered unhelpfully. It bared its teeth and glared into my eyes. I recognized this behavior as well: a dominance fight. It was best not to blink or I would lose. This prideful creature might as well be released if I lost, for all the good he would do me. And despite its injuries, it still had pride to salvage. So we were locked in this stare down, a will battle taking place with unseen lightning. The urge to pull back whispered in my ear and I ignored it. These were the kind of battles I could not afford to lose. A part of me did feel that the Pokemon before me felt the same.

This could be a while.

Time passed, seconds trickling by like hours. Finally, the Shinx looked down with a huffed growl. "Shin..." I sighed a little and eased the tension out of my body. The Shinx padded toward me and lay down. The kitten seemed tired.

"Are you accepting me then?" I asked, wanting to make sure. The cub growled a little before bowing its head.

"Shin." I nodded and the cub huffed again. Then he sniffed the air. I looked up. It was quieter, the rain pounding less frequently now. The storm was tapering off at last.

"Wonderful," I commented to myself. I hoped my Pokemon would talk to me more. It was not particularly good for me to speak to myself. "Shall we go," I asked my new companion, who I felt reluctant to nickname. He nodded and got to his paws quietly. He padded after my slow walk and all was quiet.

I haven't been able to play my violin. This thought bothered me, not only due to my love of the instrument but due to the loss of routine, something that has been a part of my life for almost its entirety. It would take something... I wasn't sure what, but something inside myself would have to change. That was all I could think of. I've learned how to be introspective, it does not mean I am particularly good at it.

"Shin!" The sudden cry made me blink and notice my Shinx up ahead, gathering blue objects into a pile. Oh, it had found Oran Berries. Nice find. It blinked up at me, growled a moment, then pushed two in my direction. For Tory I supposed, releasing the Cyndaquil. At the sight of the Fire Mouse, Shinx growled irritably and crouched down to pounce but Tory just gave him a calm, cheerful "Quil" and munched on a berry, merrily oblivious to the possibility of being attacked. Shinx stared for a moment, then huffed, padding ahead.

Chuckling a bit, I picked up Tory and the extra berries, preparing to follow my new Pokemon. I hoped the rest of this would be peaceful or at least brighter. Shinx padded ahead of us, sniffing for something that I was quite sure was not there. I was proven wrong a few moments later at the sound of Tory squeaking in my arms. I paused, hesitating. Whatever they smelled was an opponent. I was sure. But... they had just recovered from trying to defeat each other not even an hour ago. There was no way a trainer could allow their Pokemon to go rushing in like that again. However... I highly doubted I could stop him.

Shinx yowled furiously and there was a desperate flutter of wings. A light bird shot through the air, squawking. Pidgey. Oh this would not be fun. Shinx, fearless as ever, raced up a nearby tree and leapt off, tackling the bird to the ground. It pecked at his face, chirping erratically and clearly trying to break free. Shinx panted but managed to pin both wings with his paws, leering at the fallen bird like it was a well-placed meal. Well, considering the two species, it probably was. The bird froze before screeching loudly, not a move but certainly obnoxious. Shinx hissed and rolled off as Pidgey tackled, knocked fluidly into a tree. This was just not his day with the trees was it?

I watched warily, waiting for an opportunity to command. However, unlike Tory, Shinx had instincts honed by time in the wild. He didn't need commands just yet. I doubted he really needed them at all... at least until he learned a new move or fought someone obviously stronger than he was. Then that pride would have to be swallowed or he would lose. I could tell the lion hated that. But for now...

"Leer!" Shinx paused and looked at me, jumping to the side. "Its not very sturdy at this point! Leer!" Shinx nodded and squinted his eyes into a glare, causing Pidgey to hesitate for a second. Then it flapped his wings and soared, creating a sand cloud. Shinx yowled and screeched, yellow eyes flashing brighter.

"SHII!" he screeched furiously, looking around as the Pidgey chirped mockingly over his head. Then he coughed, sand in his mouth.

"Alystar, look for a tree!" I paused at the name that I had blurted out but shrugged, going with it. "Try to get out of the cloud."

"Quil!" Tory called out from my arms. Alystar growled a little before padding backwards. Pidgey glimpsed this and dove with a shree. I saw the faint tremble in its movements and frowned. It was afraid. Then again if I was a bird I would be afraid of a lion. No wonder its attacking.

Alystar screeched as he was struck in the back. Before Pidgey could escape his attacks again, the cub opened his eyes wide and glared through the painful sand. Pidgey froze, looking even more frightened than it had the whole fight. Shinx tackled, rolling him to the ground and yipping. The yellow and blue Pokemon growled at me then and I managed a nod. So I had a confident Cyndaquil, a prideful Shinx, and hopefully now a timid Pidgey... Well this would be awkward. Enlarging a Pokeball, I threw it to engulf the bird, just as Alystar leapt away, panting. Pidgey was sucked into the ball, which began to shake...