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The First Step - Part 2Current Location : Route 03 - Small Pond
His now healed pok?mon watched with worry as Jackson grunted and skipped another stone across the open pond. His expressions contorted with frustration and upset. How could he lose this early? Fall on the first hurdle?! How the hell was he supposed to support Malorie if he couldn't beat some shitty photographer!
He slammed a rock downwards, creating an audible sploosh in the water, not bothering to attempt to skip that one across the surface. He watched it rapidly sink to the bottom, a Magikarp panicking and swimming away with great panic in response. Jackson sighed, but turned slightly as he felt a tugging on his pant leg. Looking down he saw Teddy looking up at him nervously.
Teddy himself was frightened, had he done so badly that Jackson was angry at him too? He hadn't even gotten a single hit in, he hadn't even tried. Was he the reason Jackson was so upset? Those were the thoughts dashing through Teddy's head as Jackson picked him up and placed him on his shoulders. "It'll be a'ight Ted, don't let it worry you."
"...something frustrating you lad?"
Jackson jumped a little and turned 180 to see an old man with a brown vest and a fisherman's cap upon his gaunt frame. He looked brittle and old, nothing but skin and bones, but he had an intelligent smile and a look in his eyes that made him approachable, so Jackson calmed down pretty quickly. "Damn... you scared the shit outta me old timer. Yeah, guess I'm a little pissed off."
The old man nodded with understanding and tapped the empty bench beside him, gesturing for Jackson to approach. He was slightly confused, had this bench been here the whole time? When had this geezer gotten here anyway? He supposed it didn't matter much in the larger scheme of things. Jackson walked over slowly followed by his pok?mon and sat quietly on the wooden bench beside his new company. Teddy sat idly on Jackson's shoulders watching the early mid-day sun, Fang lay down peacefully at his trainer's feet.. and Gaspar watched the old man with an uncanny and intent curiosity.
"I'm from Johto myself." The old man said after a few moments of silence. "When I retired I moved here to Kalos and to Santalune besides. I was content to spend every day fishing in this pond." Jackson scoffed. "I don't think I'd have that patience." The old man closed his eyes, letting the gentle breeze run right through him. "Isn't that why you lost, m'boy?" Jackson bristles and quickly turned to the old man, suddenly irate. "How t'hell did you-" But the elderly gentleman only chuckled, his long white hair swaying slightly. "Does that matter? Isn't it true?"
Jackson bristled and turned to face the water again. "So what if it is...?" He said plainly, before letting out a sigh. "Maybe I was wrong... maybe this isn't what I'm supposed t'do?" He then felt a soft hand gently pat his shoulder. "I'd say the opposite lad." He smiled a toothy grin. "In fact, I'll tell you a story." Jackson rose a cautious eyebrow, but didn't complain.
"Back in Johto I had a grandson just like you... he was rash and forward, he refused to wait for the world to catch up to him. He was aggressive, tenacious and strong." His smiled softened to one of melancholy. "But as he journeyed he grew, he gained patience and understanding. He became the strongest there ever was, facing the champion of champions at the tip of the World." Jackson's eyes widened. "He must have been pretty damn impressive then..." His gaze fell to the grassy floor. "I... honestly sir, I don't think I can compar t'someone like that."
The old man let out an uproar of laughter and Jackson glared at him. "What dahell's so funny Old Man? I'm spilling my guts out here!" The man wiped away a tear with a final chuckle and grinned. "It's just that you say that, but you're already showing humility where you weren't before. Am I wrong?" Jackson growled and stared at the water before him once again. "This tiny pond... was my life." Jackson's expression softened as he heard the sadness piquing in the old fellow's voice.
"I spent so long here, but every day I was prepared. No mater what I thought I knew, every single time something would change. Do you see?" He too looked over the water, but then lifted Jackson's chin to gaze with him at the sky above. "Cast your line beyond the horizon. That's what this pond thought me... no matter what the world leads you to believe, it will always come back to surprise you. Adapt, think outside the limits of your little pond and imagine what lies beyond. Then apply what you learn to your little slice of home. Do you understand, Jackson?"
He nodded slowly in response. "Yeah, I think I do old man. Thank you, honestly."
The old man smiled brightly and placed a hand on Jackson's shoulder once more. "Then one thing left to do! Train your butt off right here until you've seen far enough beyond that little pond to go back and win!" Jackson grinned confidently in response and stood, nodding with a renewed vigor to his pok?mon. They stood up, ready to fight as well. Ready to learn at their trainer's side.
"...Jackson, could you do me one favor?" The old man asked, looking up from his seat. Jackson nodded back without hesitation. "My grandson was always rushing forward... going for gold." He smiled. "I never did get to see him battle before it was too late. Won't you train your pok?mon here? Battle with them so I can watch?" Jackson considered, before giving his signature sneering grin. "You got it old timer, watch and learn how me and my guys here get shit done!"
And so it was, that Jackson trained from the morning until the afternoon. His pok?mon fighting one another in exciting battle after exciting battle. The old man clapped and laughed as Jackson saw the flaws in his own strategy, taught himself to adapt, witnessed his pok?mon learn a new move each as the intensive training continued. As he got so absorbed he barely noticed the time fly by, only an hour and a half until he was to meet Brielle Baker. He'd have to rush to the gym, there'd be no more time otherwise! First, however, he would say goodbye to the man whom helped him so.
"Hey, Old Ma-" Jackson turned back to the bench to see... that it was gone. Nothing stood where he had sat not a few hours ago, nothing but some overgrown grass and an oran berry bush. "Old Man?!" Jackson called out, but to no avail... and Gaspar snickered knowingly in his shadow. In disbelief, Jackson approached the grass, unable to comprehend exactly where the bench and his new friend had gone. Upon drawing closer, however, he saw something lost in the thicket, pushing down a few tufts of grass and half buried in the dirt.
Jackson was surprised to find an old fishing rod... and shocked further to read the inscription carved carefully into the wooden handle. 'Cast Your Line Beyond the Horizon'
Jackson frowned in confusion. Did the old man have to leave in a hurry? Had he dropped it there and some pok?mon tried to bury it? Damn. Well then, he'd have to take it for now and give it back to him the next time he saw him. It was a shame he hadn't gotten his name, Jackson would just have to keep an eye out. For now however, damn the time! With a panic Jackson returned all his pok?mon bar Gaspar and made a dash for Santalune city, this time he had no more doubts. He'd not be leaving that gym without the bug badge in tow.
---
Standing by the small pond, the Old Man gave a soft smile as Jackson ran towards the humble building of Santalune City.
Dylan groaned, coughing soot out of his throat moments later. Where was he? What was going on? ?Where- cough? he sputtered out.
?He?s alive! Hurry, get the machamp!?
Dylan groaned again, pain throbbing in his head and legs. He opened his eyes, flooding them with bright light and the sight of flames leaping everywhere. The forest, he was in the forest. He remembered running from the combees, then flames, and darkness. He must have hit his head pretty hard. He moved a hand gingerly to his head before withdrawing it quickly. ?Oh, no. Don?t do that?? the voice trailed off. He held his hand in front of his face, seeing the dripping crimson liquid that coated the tips of his fingers.
?Machaaamp!? a pokemon cried, the pressure on Dylan?s legs lifting as he felt two pairs of hands drag him up, propped between them.
?Can you walk??
He cautiously put pressure on one foot and screamed
?I?ll take that as a no. Machamp!? the voice called, ?Take this boy to the others and get him some help. If we need another tree moved we?ll send someone for you.? The machamp nodded and scooped up Dylan in two of his arms, using the other two to pick up his bag and egg, which miraculously was not crushed in the fall, although it had a small crack running down one side.
?T-thank-? Dylan began before falling into a fit of coughing.
~~~~~~~~~~
Dylan woke up in a small tent, bandaged all over. His right side of his head was wrapped with gauze and his left leg was tied to a splint. ?Hello?? he croaked out. A man in a red jacket ducked into the tent and smiled.
?You made it!? he joked. Dylan was not amused.
?Where am I?? he questioned, raising an eyebrow.
?Oh come on, I thought some humor would brighten your mood considering half your face is permanently disfigured.?
?WHAT?!? Dylan yelled, hands flying to his bandaged face.
?Stop!? the man scrambled to pull Dylan?s hands away from his injuries.
?This better be another bad joke.? Dylan growled.
?I, well? no. It?s not as bad as it sounds though. It?s not severe.? the man refused to make eye contact. ?Why don?t you rest and we?ll take the bandages off and apply some more medication to it in the morning.?
~~~~~~~~~~
His face really wasn?t as bad as he thought. The skin was slightly distorted around his right eye from his upper cheek to his forehead, but he wasn?t tragically disfigured. They thought he broke his leg but he could put pressure on it without screaming now so it may have just been badly bruised from the tree hitting it.
His pokemon seemed to be concerned, all except the combee which he had named Reine, although she still refused to respond to it. ?Why don?t we all go out to route 3 and train a bit and then hit the gym?? he coughed. He wasn?t going to let a little accident get in the way of his dreams.
Dylan hobbled out of the tent and down the path out of the forest, egg in his almost empty backpack and pokemon trailing behind.
?Helloooo!? a sing-song voice greeted him as he shuffled down the path. Dylan turned to see a rather eccentric reporter brandishing a sparkly pink pen and a glittering notebook. Her hair was bright green and shirt bright orange. All together she hurt to look at. It seemed the feeling was mutual as she recoiled slightly at the sight of Dylan?s face. He grunted.
?Well, it seems like you got into a bit of a mess. Why don?t you tell our curious viewers all about the forest fire?? she stared at him intently, grinning her large fake smile.
?No thanks.? he started to walk away.
?Oh come onnnn? he pleaded, ?We haven?t been able to get any of those rangers to talk about what?s going on in there! We need a story or our viewers will stop watching!? He eyed her suspiciously.
?Hmmm?
?We?ll pay you!? she added, desperately.
?Fine.?
Before he knew what hit him three bright lights were directed at him, a chair was flung under the reporter?s butt and a camera was fixed directly at his face. ?Our viewers are dying to know how bad the fire is. Tell us, what did you see in there??
He blinked. ?Uhh, well, the forest is on fire.?
?Yes, very good. Perhaps a different question.? she tapped her pen to her lips. ?Ah yes, your face! Tell us what happened to your face.?
He touched his burn self-consciously as she stared at him. ?Well, I was running from a swarm of angry combee after I captured their queen to try to disperse them from the hill where they were terrorizing small pokemon, and I kind of-?
?Jumped into the fire to save someone?s life?!? she interjected.
?Well, no, I just-?
?Tried to put out the fire with your bare hands!??
?What? No, that?s stupid, I jus-? he started.
?Was knocked over by a large ferocious beas-? Dylan interrupted her.
?NO! I tripped and hit my head on a rock!?
She looked like she was ready to snap his neck, but the face quickly turned back to a fake smile after she seemed to find a new way of twisting his story. ?Well, we heard from another trainer that a ton of small fire-type pokemon were running amuck, it sounds like you were attacked!?
?Welll, I guess it could have-?
?You heard it here folks! The forest was attacked by fire-types and this brave man here survived the onslaught! Back to you, Tina!?
Dylan stared at the camera blankly after it was shut off and everything was packed up as swiftly as it was unpacked. What just happened?
?Here?s your pay!? she woman chirped, handing him a wad of cash. ?Oh, and my card, in case you come across another great story! Call this number to get me directly?? she said as she jotted a number on the back and handed it to him.
?Thanks?? he replied, still overwhelmed by the sudden interview.
?No problem! Oh! Your name! I never did ask. Mine is Rhonda Skitter, bug-enthusiast and big-time reporter in the making!?
?Dylan Graham? he shook her hand and then wiped the sparkles off onto his pants. ?Pleasure.? he grimaced. What an odd lady.
Repeated stretching aggravated the soreness in his muscles, but allowed him to finally start loosening up. Laurent winced at an audible popping sound while he walked and stretched his shoulders, then let out a big relaxed sigh. He rhythmically bounced the firey-looking pok?ball the Rangers had offered him as thanks in his hand. To think, he'd only been on his journey for a single day and he had already been through such a trial! He most definitely hadn't expected to be facing down a pyromaniacal murderer on the path to becoming a pok?mon master. Already the gentle sounds of rustling plants and pok?mon were returning to the forest, and even running water but neither of the pleasant revelations dulled the lingering smell of fresh ash, scorched would and occasionally...burned flesh and fur.
Laurent's constant smile died when he was reminded of the horror that had transpired in what before was such a picturesque piece of nature. The solemn, thoughtful frown didn't last long before a shocked o took its place at the sight of a trail of lavender and pink feathers. He wasted no time beginning to follow the path of evidence, speeding up nervously when he noticed a few of the feathers having blackened, shorter ends. "Oh no...no, no, no no..." Eventually, he found his way into a clearing that made his heart sink and his stomach turn.
Almost everything in site was completely black, chunks of bark and bushes flaking off in the breeze to disintegrate. What few bits of foliage hadn't been incinerated were dripping with water of all things. At the sound of a bush rustling, Laurent's head jolted in the noise's direction and he dashed straight to the drenched bush without a moment's hesitation. "Please, please be okay! Don't let your journey end this way just because some barbaric ruffians wanted to chase you out for being different!" The young trainer dug frantically through the leaves and twigs, shoveling everything out of the way with his hands as fast as he could and just as he broke through to the core of it - WHAM!
Laurent tumbled backward into the clearing as something slammed into his gut, aggravating his still-sore muscles. Blinking away a bit of dizziness, Laurent's eyes widened at the sight of a Growlithe bristling and growling mere feet away from him. His pok?dex dinged, but he ignored it and stood up, tossing out his only full pok?ball with a flourish to release Bernard back into the world. "We've got no time to waste, Bernard! Dispatch th - huh?" A revelation broke through the hazy anticipation of battle when Laurent noticed the Growlithe was keeping one of its legs curled up against its belly and was dripping even moreso than the bush he'd found it in. His blood ceased its boiling in an instant and he laid a hand on Bernard's head as a signal to relax.
"I believe I see the chain of events now, you little ragamuffin~" Laurent said confidently as he strode closer to the Growlithe, his relaxed smile now back in full force. The Growlithe growled more and more fiercely, and even let out a determined bark or two as Laurent approached, but he wasn't daunted in the slightest. Laurent knelt down once he felt he was at the correct proximity and looked the Growlithe right in it's frightened, angry eyes. "That's enough out of you, pup. I don't know if your mother spoiled you, or what those fire-happy monsters did to rile you and your fellows up but it's time to pay the piper. Children need to be taught a lesson when they do wrong, and mischievous pups need to be trained into steadfast hounds." The Growlithe was having none of his nonsense and forced its injured leg back down so it could spring at its new enemy only to bump its nose right into Laurent's new Inferno Ball.
A frightened yelp escaped the pyro-pooch's mouth just before it's body was transformed into a bright red light and vanished into the ball. Laurent felt the pok?ball shake weakly within his grasp, but simply stared at it evenly and held it firm. Between the Growlithe's previous injuries and the Inferno Ball's effectiveness against fire-types it had no hope of escape, and after a few more seconds of wiggling an audible 'click' signaled the ball stilling, and the struggle ending. Laurent stood up to his full height and looked wistfully down at the ball in his hand for a moment before his gaze softened. "We can worry about discipline later, for now, let us see to your health, Apollo." Without further ado Laurent gently set the Inferno Ball in the second spot on his belt and continued on towards Santalune.
Capture complete!
Species: Growlithe Name: Apollo Moves: Bite, Roar, Ember, Leer.
Soon. Surely he?d win a battle soon. Since graduating, Drew hadn?t gotten himself a single win. All this losing wasn?t exactly in the plan. The teenager sat on the bench outside of the pokemon centre, staring at the Pokeball in his hand. Brycen the Chespin. Still his only Pokemon, and yet he didn?t have a single win alongside his new partner.
While the distracted trainer lamented his failures, a small dainty ghost pokemon crept under the bench beneath him. He poked his head out from the shadows. Glancing up at the trainer above him. He still seemed oblivious. Maybe it was safe to?
?Mimi! There you are. What the heck is up with you lately?? A rather annoyed girl came storming in, completely crashing Drew?s pity party. She stared at the ghost pokemon under bench, completely ignoring the boy sitting on top of it.
?E-exc?? Drew began, looking up at the girl. The words were instantly lost as he saw the stunning girl in front of him. From her silky black hair to her emerald green eyes, Drew was completely intoxicated by her presence. Despite his staring, the girl completely ignored his question as she knelt down in front of him. The boy frantically backed up, knocking the bench back and toppling onto the floor.
?Oh my gosh, are you alright? I didn?t mean to make you uncomfortable, I was just trying to find my Mimikyu.? The girl offered her hand to help Drew up.
After fumbling to his feet himself, Drew finally noticed the girl was holding something. A pokemon? ?What?is that?? Drew dug through his bag, taking his pokedex from one of the pockets.
Mimikyu, the disguise pokemon. A lonely Pok?mon, it conceals its terrifying appearance beneath an old rag so it can get closer to people and other Pok?mon.
?He?s from the Alola region. Poppa brought him back for me when we went on vacation. Poor guy?s pretty broken, doesn?t even come out from under his sheet.? The girl chuckled petting the Mimikyu. ?In fact he barely even tolerates my company.? She laughed. Despite her comments though, the pokemon seemed very pleased with all the attention it was getting. There was a momentary silence as the girl looked Drew up and down for the first time. ?I?m Paige by the way, and you?re?Drew Tucker right?? She chuckled, almost giggled this time, at the quizzical expression on the boy?s face. ?I know your parents. They seemed to be really proud of the fact you?re a pok?mon trainer.?
Drew scoffed. Whether it was the very mention of his parents, or the fact they were blindly supporting his sinking ship of a journey, something she?d said rubbed him the wrong way. He glanced down at the pokeball at his side. ?Yeah, I guess it makes sense they?d be proud.? He hissed, with as much malice as he could force into his tone.
Paige tilted her head and planted her hand on her hip. This kid was as grumpy as his parents had insinuated. Clearly he needed some cheering up. She knew just the thing. ?Why don?t you battle me? Since your parents were bragging so much about their boy, I wanna see just how good you are. Before he could protest, Paige grabbed Drew?s hand, dragging him off across town.
***
?Santalune Gardens. You know this is where the contest is gonna be held later today. You?re gonna be competing, right??
?I?m a trainer, not a co-ordinator.?
Paige sighed. ?Let?s make a deal. If I win, you take part in the contest. How about that??
Sceptical at first, Drew let go of his pokeball. This was just a distraction, and he didn?t need any more of those. On the other hand, if he couldn?t win this, maybe he didn?t deserve to be a trainer after all. ?Deal.? He responded flatly. In truth, it was his pact with himself he was agreeing to. If he lost this battle, he?d turn back after the contest and go home.
?Go Aerodactyl!?
?Aerodactyl?you have an Aerodactyl?? Drew shook in a mixture of fear and frustration. How the hell was he supposed to beat this thing? It was pretty much written in stone at this point. His journey was over. ?I?m not doing this. I give up.?
?What?? Paige folded her arms. Even her Mimikyu and Aerodactyl both seemed disappointed. ?You?re not about to give up. Are you really about to let your parents down like that?? She cut Drew where she knew it would hurt. If he was as stubborn as he seemed, she?d need to dig straight in the soft spot to get to him.
Drew clenched his fists. Who even was this girl? And to have the nerve. ?I?m lea-?
?You?re gonna stay and battle me. Mr Tucker.? She grinned as she added the last part. She grinned as the boy turned around and grabbed his pokeball. Hook, Line and sinker.
Drew tossed the pokeball. Without a word. Chespin burst out of the ball.
Neither the trainer nor pokemon said anything. This was hardly a sign of good chemistry. With another sigh, Paige called for her first attack. ?Slade, wing attack!? In the split second the fossil pokemon took to come charging at Brycen, the hedgehog leapt into the air and landed on the Aerodactyl?s back. Paige raised a brow. He couldn?t possibly have thought this was a smart strategy. ?Fly up Slade!?
For the first time in the battle, Drew let a grin slip onto his face. ?Brycen, vine whip! Grab onto those trees!? The idea clicked into place. With a spark in his eyes, Brycen shot his vines at the trees below them, wrapping them tightly around Slade, before latching onto the thick bark.
?Slade, you?re strong enough to rip those things! Keep going!?
Another grin crept across Drew?s face. ?Let him go Bry!? On command, Brycen released the restraints, sending the Aerodactyl like a rocket into the sky. ?Whiplash!? Twisting his entire body, the Chespin lashed his strained vines into the back of the Aerodactyl, knocking him out of the air.
?I?m impressed, and here I thought you were just gonna keel over. No matter, Slade isn?t done yet Drew. Slade, hit him with Supersonic!? Brycen did his best to resist the sonar blast, the high frequency attack left him defenceless. The following wing attack sending him flying back. The attack had him wounded, but not out just yet.
?Bry, this is gonna be our first win. You hear me?? Drew glanced down at Brycen, but immediately returned his gaze to Paige. He was going to beat her. Even still though, he found himself getting lost in her eyes again. A sentiment that he had to shake off. It wasn?t helping him much. ?Rollout.? Brycen began to run. As he picked up speed, he jumped into the air and curled into a ball, charging at the fossil pokemon.
?Dragonbreath.?
Drew could do nothing but watch helplessly as his pokemon rolled uncontrollably into the purple breath of draconic energy. By the time he emerged from the dust of the attack, he was left in a heap, fainted on the ground. His trainer, deflated. Staring listlessly into space. He?d lost. AGAIN!
He did his best to sniffled, stifling whatever tears may have been welling up. His journey was as good as over now. It was a decision he had to make. He wasn?t cut out to being a trainer.
Across the battlefield, Paige?s phone started to ring. ?You should probably head to the pokemon center. I?ll see you at the contest.? She said, with a wink, before skipping away.
Like a zombie, Drew trudged toward route 3, dropping his pokeball behind him.
Coul woke up with the sun shining through the curtains and into his face. He groaned and covered his face with a blanket. He lay there for five minutes until his phone started ringing as alarm. He waited for a few more seconds, letting the wailing tone fill the empty room. He pressed the snooze button and the silence pervaded into the room again. He knew he needed to prepare for the day. He wasn?t really decided if he?s going to challenge the gym leader, but he knew he needed to tackle on some observations. Ouvert Way and Detourner Way could have valuable information hiding just on the grass and the trees lining the path. There?s also the Houndour he caught yesterday. In his mind, he had a lot of things to check on his list. For now, he?s content to close his eyes for a few more minutes.
He only got out of bed thirty minutes after. Coul rubbed his eyes, yawned, and started stretching his sleepy legs. He took a quick bath, just to wash the dirt he got from his midnight mission, and put on another set of his travelling clothes. He took his Pokeballs and put them inside his pocket and slung his bag on his back. He heard the two rods and the bug net clanking somewhere there. He ensured that he left nothing inside the room and that he cleaned everything down. When he was satisfied, he went down the Pokemon Center and handed the key to the Nurse Joy.
?Hi Coul! Sam went by before he came to school and told me to thank you for him,? Nurse Joy said. Coul smiled and asked her to send his regards to Sam if he passes by again. Nurse Joy smiled and said that she?ll do it. Coul waved and went out the Center. The sun was shining bright but it does not hurt Coul?s skin. The perfect weather to go out. He decided that it was Catherine who will accompany him. He hoped to observe Pokemon in Ouvert Way in the morning, have some lunch, then proceed to Detourner Way in the afternoon.
The Ouvert Way was just south of the town. There were a bunch of young trainers around and it seemed like most of them were just flying off with fancy roller blades. He sat down on a patch of grass on the hill overlooking the entire area and took out his notebook and Pokedex. Catherine purred and lie beside him. Coul scratched her back, the grit still clinging to his Pokemon?s fur. She was getting spottier.
He checked his Pokedex for the list of Pokemon possibly found in the route. It was fairly standard for a route. It has its traditional normal-types, the region?s bird Fletchling, some bugs. From the pond there was also a possibility of finding a Corpish and a Wooper. All in all, there was nothing very much exciting about the route in terms of Pokemon availability. Coul smiled and started jotting down notes.
Ouvert Way. This path just lies north of Santalune Forest, and connects the area to the Santalune Town. There?s not a very varying set of Pokemon in the area except maybe for an occasional Vulpix. This is not surprising, however, as Vulpix are largely herbivorous in nature. While there are no berry trees in sight, it is not impossible to say that there were no berry trees in the nearby Santalune Forest. If that forest can attract Pansear, then I am pretty sure a migration of Vulpix a few hundred years ago is a likewise probable event.
Catherine purred in her blissful sleep as another slight breeze brushed against trainer and Pokemon. Coul continued to write.
Normal types are abundant in the area. A lack of a significant geographical presence might be the cause of this as the route is filled with only a huge pond and trees from the Santalune Forest. Pikachu and Pachirishu, both Electric-types known for their fondness towards human, are not also surprising appearances in the area as, like Vulpix, they rely on berries for their diet.? Coul added a sketch of a Pikachu running around the grass in his notebook. There were a bunch of wild Pokemon starting to gather around him, but most were not paying him any attention. ?I am yet to see a Dunsparce in the area but I reckon they are probably underground as they are burrowing creatures. The pond could have been created by a series of underground tunnels funneling freshwater from the river on Detourner Way into the area. Will check whether Dunsparce could also be found in the next route, but I guess this theory has a solid proof."
Coul smiled and closed his notebook and lied on the grass. Soon enough, his mind wandered off to underground tunnels and Dunsparces, and berries and Vulpixes. Another breeze made him want to stay. He closed his eyes.
Inventory
1x Pokedex
3x Pokeballs
2x Potions
490 Pokedollars
2x Old Rod
1x Bug Net
The First Step - Part 3Current Location : Santalune City - Santalune City Gym
"Jackson Crane, back so soon?" Viola stood up from a seat at the back of her wooden platform. Jackson stood firmly at the other side of the arena, no sign of their previous battle remained, the efficiency here was impressive. "I'm here for the bug badge, Viola." He replied plainly, Gaspar glaring across at her from his trainer's shadow, Fang and Teddy were waiting patiently within their pok?balls. Viola raised an eyebrow as she gripped the capsules at her belt, one in each hand. "Oho? Big talk considering your last attempt, but I'll bite. Your attitude does seem different..." She smiled, just a little bit, preparing her arm to throw, Jackson took a pok?ball in hand as she did. No more words were needed between them now. All that was left was a battle, the battle to finalize the verdict on Jackson's current potential.
"So, I accept your challenge. Let's battle!"
"Teddy! It's your turn!" - "Surskit! I choose you!"
Jackson immediately winced as the water bug burst from its pok?ball to meet Teddy on the battlefield. Damn it! She had lead with the other one last time, so why? He narrowed his gaze and kept focused. Adapt, overcome, cast beyond this situation and try to focus on the goal. He could do this, he had to do this. "Aqua Jet, Surskit!" As the command was called out, Jackson watched with dread as Teddy rolled to one side, the stone platform giving him less maneuverability as the Surskit, now enveloped in a watery mist, dashed down the web connector and grazed off of Jackson's pok?mon. Teddy stumbled and whined a little bit, tears streaming down his face.
The Surskit wavered and Viola felt a pang of pity as she remembered how quickly Teddy had been dealt with during the last battle... but that was exactly what Jackson wanted. He grinned, this was his opening strategy, he had instructed Teddy beforehand to use Fake Tears the second he was hit. The opening created was just what he needed to use Teddy's new move. "Now Ted! Fury Swipes!" Teddy smirked through his wet eyes and quickly let a speedy wind streaking energy cover his small claws. Viola gasped and attempted to call out for a dodge, but it was too late. The Surskit was barraged by multiple slashes, one after another after another after another after another after another. A massive five cuts streaked across the Surskit's jelly like body, causing it wince and slosh backwards in retreat.
Teddy's eyes widened with innocent glee as his attack was successful, a critical hit even! He turned to Jackson with pride and the trainer couldn't help but grin. However, this moment of levity was short lived. "Sticky Web, now!" Jackson grimaced as the Surskit spun a silky white substance from its body and shot it forward. It caught Teddy up in its grip and held him tightly in place.
"Teddy! Fury Swipes, cut yourself loose!" Jackson retorted and Teddy did his veyr best to use his bound claws to slice through the rope, however ultimately it was no use. Viola called out for an Aqua Jet and it swiftly arrived, crashing into Teddy head on and sending him sprawling across the platform, the webs tearing around him. With genuine tears streaming down his frustrated face, Teddy barely managed to pick himself up. He wouldn't go down so easily, not again. He had to be tough, for Jackson.
Viola was a little taken aback by Teddy still standing strong. She was genuinely impressed that he had improved so much in such a short time. Still, that wouldn't stop her from winning here. "Surskit now! Finish it with Bug Bite!" The small insect darted forward towards Teddy again, opening it's tiny mouth and enlarging its fangs with powerful green energy, ready to sink into the weakened Teddy. "Teddy! Baby Doll Eyes!" Teddy did his best to keep his cool, he blinked twice and his eyes lit up with a fairy type energy, the gaze channeling towards the approaching Surskit. Jackson could see the fangs visibly shrink up until Surskit made impact, he could only hope it was enough.
Biting into Teddy's ear, the attack hit home and Teddy felt himself about to collapse. The weakening, thanks to his own move, however, had dropped the strength just enough to give him another moment of consciousness. "Teddy! Use Covet now!" Jackson cried out and Teddy straightened his gaze as best he could, focusing on the bug now clinging to his ear, this was it... he pulled his paw back for one last open palm smach, he'd be like Jackson, he'd smash this guy outta the way! "Teddi... URSA!" With one resounding SMACK Teddy walloped the Surskit with all the strength his little bear arms could muster. The pok?mon in question was launched across the stone platform, sliding slowly off the edge. It scrambled to hold on, but it was too weak to climb and even weaker still than he needed to be to produce a web. Viola winced, knowing there was nothing she could do either, as Surskit sunk down into the put below.
Teddy? Teddy promptly grinned before dropping, also KO'd and out of the fight.
Jackson returned him to his pok?ball with a small smile of pride on his lips. "You did good Ted..." He then turned forward to Viola, whom was already throwing out her other pok?mon, Ninjask darting rapidly through the air. "...but we ain't finished yet. Fang!"
The small Houndour leaped in a flash of white light from his ball, landing with a proud and dignified posture upon the stone platform before the enemy Ninjask. His eyes were tightened into a stare of burning hatred and passion. He was ready for revenge. "Fang, ember! Burn him to a crisp!" Fang howled with aggression at his trainer's command, shooting a small shot of burning fire outwards towards the enemy, the Ninjask easily dodged however. "Not going to be that easy Jackson, Ninjask! Double Team!" In a flash, the Ninjask began to vibrate, moving about so quickly that there were multiple falsified clones.
Jackson bit his lip, he hadn't considered just how fast the Ninjask was. "F-Fang... ember them! All of them!" Viola smiled triumphantly. "Ninjask, Agility and Double Team! Don't stop moving!" Jackson's eyes widened in horror, with increased speed beyond even the past limits, for every clone Fang destroyed two more took its place. What could he do?! Fang couldn't keep up with this many... how would he ever find the real one in such a mess? He had to think, he had to do something!
"Cast your line beyond the horizon. That's what this pond thought me... no matter what the world leads you to believe, it will always come back to surprise you. Adapt, think outside the limits of your little pond and imagine what lies beyond. Then apply what you learn to your little slice of home."
Jackson remembered the old mans words... "Think outside the box... don't look at what the current situation is, go beyond that... then bring back what y'find and apply it t'the here 'n now..." Jackson muttered, focusing, thinking, his eyes darting around the room, searching for something to help him, an alternate solution. That's when he saw it.
A stray ember caught one of the arena's many webs... and burned a section away. Jackson's eyes widened with sudden realization, as the pieces finally fell in place.
"Faaaang!" Jackson called out over the sound of almost deafening buzzing and the Houndour turned with surprise. "Sprint around the arena! Keep shooting embers but aim for the webs! The webs!" Fang nodded in understanding and quickly began to dash, rushing from platform to platform and shooting fire at every single support he could see. Viola was taken aback with shock. "Are you crazy?! Ninjask can fly, if the platforms lose support and drop only your pok?mon will fall!" Jackson didn't falter however and Fang didn't besides. The webs burned and burned and the desired effect came about... as platforms began to drop the room started to fill with smoke.
"Fang that's enough! Use Smog , use it over and over, fill the room!" Fang snarled in understanding and killed the flames in his maw before they could erupt, instead spewing black smoke everywhere, making it almost impossible for Viola and Jackson to see each other. However what they could see, was all of the clones, tricks of the light and speed, incorporeal. The smoke flowed right through all of them but one... and Viola finally caught on to what Jackson had been planning.
"Fang there!" He pointed directly at the real Ninjask, whom had been hiding at the back of the arena waiting for an opportunity. "That one is real, focus your embers on the one that disturbs the smoke!" Viola grit her teeth as sweat formed on her brow. "Ninjask, don't give them the chance! Fury cutter!" Ninjask zipped towards Fang, cutting a line in the smoke and darting into the cloud.
Jackson sneered. "Just as planned, Viola!"
The Gym Leader rose an eyebrow and cried back. "What?!"
"Fang, Return!" Jackson quickly summoned Fang back to his pok?ball as Ninjask struggled to even locate his target in the smoke. It was time for the finisher. "Gaspar!" Rushing from Jackson's shadow, the ghost type pok?mon collided with the black smoke... becoming almost invisible as his own gaseous form began to fade into the smog. Ninjask and Viola were both left totally blind.
"Ninjask! Get out of the fog now!" In a panic, the Ninjask whom was frightened of all the burning flames and smoke, darted up out of the low hanging cloud, however, as he did so a solitary burning light began to shine brightly chasing after him.
"Maybe I'm not the best trainer...!" Jackson muttered, as Viola called out for Ninjask to dodge just a second too late.
"Maybe I don't think things through... maybe I DO need to learn to adapt!" He cried out as Gaspar, fully ablaze, charged out of the cloud.
"But either way it doesn't matter!" He closed his eyes as he pictured the hopeful face of his younger sister, as he pictured the reason he was fighting so hard.
"I've got someone following me down this path... so I'm gonna make damn well sure that the way is clear! Gaspar!" A shared and synchronized sneer spread across Jackson and Gaspar's faces.
"FIRE PUNCH!"
In an instant Gaspar's form shifted, transforming into that of a floating, great, flaming fist. It collided dead on with Ninjask, causing an audible crunch as the super effective move buried itself hard into the frail insect, launching it like a bullet across the room until it collided full force into the wall... and slowly peeled off to fall to the ground by Viola's side.
The battle was over.
Jackson had done it... he'd won.
---
Jackson stood dumbfounded as Gaspar floated back proudly and cackled while circling his trainer's legs. Immediately swarms of Masquerain flew out of the walls and put the fires to rest, while Ariados began to fix the fallen platforms. He... he did it? He had won his first gym battle? "Did... Did I just...?"
"Trash my gym? Kind of, haha." Jackson startled and turned to see Viola approaching with a grin on her face, Jackson was started as out of nowhere she produced a flash of bright light, taking a picture with her camera. "Honestly, you're a regular cool guy though, you know? I make sure to take some snaps of the trainers I lose to, for the memories you know?" Jackson stared at her in disbelief, the reality of what she was saying still didn't fully register in his brain. "I... won...?" Viola chuckled a little as the smoke finally began to clear through now open roof panels.
"You did! I guess I misjudged you Mr. Crane." She reached into her pocket and produced a small box. Indented at the top there was a slot where a small disk sat, shimmering in the light, as he stared Viola opened the box and revealed the contents. A small bronze badge shaped like a beetle. Jackson felt his body tense and his hand shaking as he slowly extended a palm to accept the small box. It was heavier than he expected as it fell into his palm.
"Jackson Crane? Yes... he was abandoned at birth, poor boy never had a chance."
"I award you this badge, officially recognized by the pok?mon league." She smiles brightly as Jackson's expression of disbelief hardened into one of pain. "You're going to be an amazing trainer one day."
"Get lost!"
"What is he doing here?"
"Why the hell are you working so hard?"
"Nobody wants you."
"Did you come all the way from Sinnoh alone?"
"Do you think I could have a pok?mon one day big brother?"
"I don't want to be a burden."
"You can come to my school."
"Why does he bother showing up?"
"So rough and violent..."
"These grades will barely scrape you by."
"Are you even paying attention Mr. Crane?"
"..."
"I was glad to teach you, in the end."
"..but you're already showing humility where you weren't before. Am I wrong?"
"I believe in you bro... so do your best!"
"You're going to be an amazing trainer one day."
Tears rolled down Jackson's face as he tightened his expression trying to hold them back from falling to splatter against the gym floor. He gripped the box closed and held it as tightly as he could, doing everything he could to prove to himself that it was real. He had tried so hard for so long, but nothing ever worked, he was always just a little too less to be good enough.
But he had done this. The little piece of accomplishment in his hand was his and his alone, he couldn't hold back all that pent up frustration any longer. "D-Damn it..." He forced out as he felt Viola place a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
He had been running forwards for years, desperate to reach his goals. Yearning to be someone worthy of supporting his sister... and dare he say it, worthy of even having a dream.
Coul woke up to Catherine licking his face and purring. The sun was higher now and he estimated he slept for almost half an hour to an hour. Checking his phone, he saw that it was an hour, so his estimate was pretty close. He remembered that he haven?t had his breakfast yet, so he gathered up his notes and took one last sweeping glance at the route. There was still no Dunsparce around, so he went down the hill and went back to Santalune. The caf? beside the Pokemon Center was already open. The sign outside said it served eggs and bacon with a side of coffee for only 30 Pokedollars. It was a steal, Coul thought, so he went inside with Catherine just behind him.
He ordered the bacon and eggs and bought a few plain berries for his Pokemon to eat. He gave each of his Pokemon two berries and placed them in the Pokemon playground so he can eat in peace. The eggs was fluffy and heavenly but the bacon was a tad bit oily. The coffee is good, which brings the whole experience very good for a cheap price. The food filled his stomach up so he was already raring to go to Detourner Way and see if he can check his Dunsparce theory.
He recalled both Sandy and Snoop back and left the place with Catherine softly walking behind him. Every once in a while, he will hear the Pokemon purr or growl to some critter, but she was silent generally throughout their walk. They passed by the gym of the town and Coul had a thought about battling gym leaders. He could pick their mind about the place. That would mean I need to train my Pokemon up.
They reached the route of interest and Coul took out his Pokedex again. He knew Riolu were pretty common in the area and he already had a theory for it. He just needed other stuff to think about. He saw the Dunsparce in the list, which supports his theory. Litleo, another Fire-type, could also be encountered in the area. Coul thought why Litleo could possibly be found in that route. He couldn?t think of any reason why and considered catching one so he could study it. However, he already had a Normal-type and a Fire-type so it would seem very redundant. He might have to observe one if he sees a Litleo.
He saw Bidoof on the list which excited him. He started looking for one near the river as he was sure the Pokemon is river-dwelling and, unsurprisingly, he saw a bunch of dam. They were gnawing down small trees to build a dam on the river. They may have probably built quite a number of dams around the river because, Dunsparce are being forced above-ground to escape the water flooding their holes because of the rising water level. Coul sat down and started sketching the scene.
Detourner Way. I can confirm that the Dunsparce have been forced to migrate from here to Ouvert Way. The Bidoof are building dams all over the place, causing the river?s water level to rise. This rise in water level floods the underground network of tunnels already established by the Dunsparce so the latter Pokemon are forced to seek shelter above ground. This is not possible because their physiology is more suited underground and away from direct sunlight. They then dig new tunnels away from the river and this new tunnel network might be the reason for the pond in Ouvert Way to form. I need to catch myself a diving Pokemon and see for myself if I can trace the tunnels underwater.
Coul closed his notebook again and watched the species interaction between the two. He was happy just observing stuff around.
Inventory
1x Pokedex
3x Pokeballs
2x Potions
440 Pokedollars
2x Old Rod
1x Bug Net
?Why are you still carrying me, Dahlia?! In fact, why are you running?!? ?Don?t you understand, my dear sister?! LOOK AT THESE CLOTHES! THEY?RE RUINED! We need to get to the boutique in Santalune and change our clothes, posthaste!? Caroline raised her eyebrow. Her brother was using big words again. ?Post what?? ?We need to change our clothes quickly!?
Suddenly, Dahlia tripped on something, and fall down on the sorta hard brick road of Santalune City, knocking him out for a bit. His sister tumbled down onto the ground until she was stopped by the person who was suddenly above her. She glared at the person in question. It?s her. ?You?re late! What the heck took you two so long?!? Fondre was looking below her shoes and started to glare at Caroline, emitting some imaginary spark between their eyes.
?Hey, kid! You?re in-between me and Mr. Pansy.? ?I?m not a kid! And we only took a while because the forest was mostly on fire!? ?You coulda just left as soon as possible! Simple as that!? They were still arguing after that. Meanwhile, Dahlia wakes up and immediately looks at his clothes. He gasped and glares at the two girls arguing. ?LOOK WHAT YOU?VE DONE, YOU INCOMPETENT IMBECILES!? Both stopped and looked at the enraged trainer. ?Wait...what did you just say?!? ?My clothes, you idiot! They were burned at first, but now they have dirt on them, too! Is this your way of saying ?Finally, you?ve actually made it??!? Caroline pointed at Fondre and laughed. ?Haha, my brother doesn?t like you now!? ?Oh, is that so?!? Candle and Dolores, who was still out of their Pok?balls while they were getting to the city, just sighed as they looked at their trainers/superiors argue with their friend/rival.
_______________________________
After that big argument, in the Pok?mon Center, Dahlia showed his friend a flyer for the Kalos Pok?mon Contest. ?Let me guess, you're gonna participate in it?? ?I thought I told you before, Fondue. My ultimate goal is to be a Pok?mon Coordinator. Being the champion is just a secondary goal.? Caroline actually wasn't paying attention to them. She was just looking at their Pok?mon eat the cookies she made before leaving, even though she could have just let them eat those at the local caf? around here. Dahlia looked at her and sighed. ?I still remember her telling me that she wanted to be a Performer.? Fondue chuckled. ?Yeah, until Ms. Pop Star came here and upgraded our dumb beauty pageants into the still dumb talent shows from the other regions. Now it's almost like Caroline never changed her dream of becoming a Coordinator.? Both of them kept looking at her and giggled a bit. ?Hmm...That reminds me. Fondue, I honestly thought you were not going to be here. The gym here is Bug-type, yes? Shouldn't your Electric-type Pok?mon make that gym a breeze??
Suddenly, she went silent. She was looking at Dahlia with a blank look on her face. ?Err...You did beat it and decided to just wait for us, right?? Her eyes were starting to show the anger that was building up inside of her this entire time. ?...Did you actually lose to the gym leader, Fondre?? She was scowling now. Dahlia giggled while slyly grinning. ?Oh my, I wonder how someone as savage as you would lose a possibly easy match like that one. Were you not planning any strategic maneuvers during your battle? Or was it due to your cockiness?? ?Shut up, shut up, shut up!? She slapped him twelve times, with Dahlia not even bothering to dodge. After a few minutes of silence, Dahlia slapped back, counting for a total of eleven.
A few more minutes of silence. Caroline and the Pok?mon were still paying no attention to them. ?...Ugh!? ?Ow?!? Their hands were on their cheeks now, trying to make them feel better after all that slapping. Fondue was just glaring at Dahlia now. ?The damn women had a Ninjask that uses Baton Pass.? Caroline suddenly looked over at the two, now interested in whatever they were talking about. ?...Oh dear. Baton Pass can switch a Pok?mon out with another, while still keeping the stat boosts from the baton passer.? ?Double Team. Agility. Swords Dance. That's Evasion, Speed, and Attack up! AND IT ALSO HAS SPEED BOOST AND IT CAN FLY OVER THE DUMB ARENA AND I HATE IT!? Caroline decided to sit next to them, making her a part of the conversation. ?Why can't I just defeat it with Candle?? Fondue looked at Caroline, actually showing no signs of malice towards her whatsoever. ?Not gonna happen. She has a Surskit, with Rain Dance and Aqua Jet. It also has Rain Dish as it's ability, and it's just as fast as her Ninjask, especially when it gets the boosts from Baton Pass.? Caroline raised her eyebrow. ?But Electric-type Pok?mon are fast!? ?Yeah, when they aren't slowed down by Sticky Web?? Caroline?s face became a face of defeat. Dahlia just looked at them both with a seemingly bored face.
?So, we're trying to think of a way to defeat a Bug-type gym leader who has Pok?mon that are very fast, can Baton Pass their boosts in order to make them stronger and faster, and are able to actually stand a chance against a majority of their weaknesses...Correct?? Fondue nodded. ?Really, your best bet now is training or catching a good Flying-type. Or both.? ?There are other types, you know. But training doesn't seem like a bad idea, actually!? Caroline got up from her seat and pumped her fist up to the air. ?Yeah, we can try and train in Route 22! It's not good to try and beat a gym or contest until you train and train!? ?You two go on ahead, I need to relax for a while?? Fondue then puts her head down on the table with a pouty face. ?Okay, Candle! Let?s g--? Caroline gasped when she looks over at the location where their Pok?mon should be at. Dahlia followed suit, but he just sighed instead of gasp. ?Oh dear...It seems Candle and Dolores decided to take a head start as soon as you?ve stopped looking at them both. They're probably at Route 22, anyway.? Caroline ran as soon as he said that...but Dahlia suddenly stopped her by holding the waist of her sweater. ?What is it?!? ?...You do know that we're still wearing the burnt clothes, right?? ?But...but?? She tried to squirm out of her brother's grasp, but he was holding the waist very tightly. He was walking towards the dressing room in the Pok?mon Center. ?Come along, Caroline. Unless you want to actually look like garbage in public.? ?Why didn't you do this beforehand?!? Dahlia looked at her and giggled. ?Aw, does someone want me to explain the importance of talking to your friends before doing something else that?s important?? Caroline just grumbled.
_______________________________ In Route 22? _______________________________
Candle watched as Dolores tried to perfectly do a little trick on a tree. Dolores was using String Shot on one of the tree?s branches, using the silk as a sort of hook. After taking a head start and jumping, she would try to maneuver the silk rope into tangling around the branch, making her do loop-de-loops around it. During the last loop, she will break the silk off her mouth and fling herself into the air. In the air, she will do an aerial somersault onto the ground, ending off with a stylish pose. This was all for the contest, of course.
There was a bit of an issue, however. Some dumb colorful bird was not only ruining every single attempt at this trick, he was also (To Dolores, at least) very annoying. How dare this nuisance of a bird try and bother her by blabbering it?s beaks like a human! There are many other Pok?mon around here that will be fine with hearing his nonsense. She's just not one of them.
Candle couldn't understand why Dolores has to be so vain and docile towards everyone she meets, including his own trainer. The only exception is her ?superior?, who seems to like to do the same things Dolores likes to do. In fact, she didn?t like his trainer ?treating her like a baby?, to the point where she left the big red building and went to one of the places with a ton of grass. He had to follow her, of course, and all he could apparently do now is to watch her do loop-de-loops around a tree branch. If only he could do amazing tricks like that...Then his trainer would give him more cookies!
?Look at me! Look at me! Squawk! Look at me, look at me!? Look at me. Look at me. That was all he kept saying. ?Look at me being an annoyance!? ?Look at me cut your rope again and again!? ?Look at me test your patience!? At this point, she has enough. Type disadvantage be damned, she?s not having another fail attempt that results in her facepalming the ground! Dolores got up from her last attempt and shot a deadly glare at the dumb colorful bird, who has perched on the exact same branch she was doing her trick on. Oh yeah, he was truly asking for it now.
?Scatter! Scatter, scatter!? ?Scatter? Squawk! Look at me! Scatter!? Oh no he didn?t. The dumb colorful bird is now copying what she just said. Yeah, that does it. Dolores String Shotted the dumb colorful bird, tying the damn bird up in a silk rope. ?Squawk?!? He tried to keep his balance on the branch while struggling to get the webbing off until he?d suddenly slipped and fallen down to the ground. Dolores was laughing at the dumb colorful bird, looking down upon it. The bird was glaring at her now. ?Squawk! Look at me! Look at me!? Suddenly, the dumb colorful bird?s head shot up, and shot a string of silk at Dolores, tying her up as well. Wait--shouldn?t that be impossible for the bird to do? Now the bird was laughing at Dolores, who stopped laughing at that moment and was glaring at the bird for what he?d done. ?Scatterbug! Scatter!!? ?Squawk! Scatterbug! Scatter!?
Dolores? rolled to Candle?s side, glaring the same way she was glaring at the fruity bird. ?Scatter! Scatterbug!? She was asking him to free her from this web. Candle looked at her, and then looked at the fruity bird, then back at her. He pointed at the bird, asking if he could free him as well. ?...Humph!? Dolores turned her back towards Candle. Whatever! He?s not gonna care what she thinks right now! He?s a nice Pok?mon. It?s clear this bird must be misunderstood, all because it can copy Pok?mon cries and human voices. Maybe he?d heard someone say ?Look at me?, and he wanted to use this sentence in order to try to talk to humans or something. It seems as though he doesn?t know that many words or sentences. Or maybe he can just repeat certain human words. Whatever the limitations are, it?s very obvious that the fruity bird just wants a friend.
He bounced up to the bird and put his head flame on to the silk that tied him up. It started to burn away, and the bird was squawking up a storm. ?Squawk, Squawk!? As the silk was burning, his wings were freed. He flew up and blown away the remaining flames of the burning silk. He flew down to the ground and looked at Candle with happiness. Candle smiled at this. ?Litwick! Lit!? ?Squawk! Litwick! Look at me!? ?Scatter?!? Both turned around to see a still tangled-up Dolores. ?...Humph!? The bird crossed his wings like arms, and turned his head away from the Scatterbug, saying the same thing she did. ?Litwick?? Candle was looking at both of them in shame. Couldn?t they just talk this out? Candle looked at the bird and asked him why he was interrupting Dolores? many attempts to do her trick perfectly. ?Squawk?! Minccino! Litwick!? Oh!...Oh no. ?Litwick?!?
?Scatter?? Dolores wasn?t paying attention to the conversation, but after hearing Candle screamed, she was wondering what all the commotion was about. Before she knew it, she was freed from her trapped state by the same dumb bird who did it to her, by making one of his wings become metallic and slashing the silk with ease. ?Squawk! Scatterbug! Minccino!? ?Scatter?!? Uh oh. Now she understands why he had been telling them to look at him, and why it has been interrupting her attempts this entire time. He just wasn?t able to even tell them at this point. Now she?s feeling bad for the poor bird. But she shouldn?t be saying sorry right now: They have to get out of here, and fast!
?There you are, you little troublemakers!? Oh no! Her superior is here, and he doesn?t look too happy. The younger superior was alongside him, too. ?Squawk! Little troublemakers, little troublemakers! Look at me!? The bird was flapping his wings, copying what her superior said and trying to get his attention. ?Hmm? And who is this little chatterbox?? ?It?s cute! Let me check with my Pok?--?
?Minccino!? All of them looked up to see a small gray rodent on top of the tree, holding the silk that was around the branch Dolores was using to do her trick. It looked at them all, with a deadly glare. Dahlia only sighed. ?Oh, dear...what did you two do around here?? He pulled up his own Pok?dex and pointed it towards the Pok?mon. ?Minccino, the Chinchilla Pok?mon. Minccino greets each other by grooming one another thoroughly with their tails, and are always sweeping and dusting, using their tails as brooms. They prefer to live in a tidy habitat.? ?I see...you must have made it mad by using your String Shot at the tree, Dolores.? ?Tidy tree, Dolores! Oh dear, mad Minccino!? Caroline was only looking at the Minccino with happy eyes. ?I want it! I really want it, Dahlia! It?s soo cute!? ?Squawk?! Want it?! Want Minccino?!? He looked at the bird who was still copying their every word. He pointed the dex at the bird.
?Chatot, the Music Note Pok?mon. It hears whatever words it hears and then mimics them. Its tongue is just like a human's and as a result, it can cleverly mimic human speech.? ?Squawk! Chatot! Tongue just like a human?s! Cleverly mimics human speech!? The Chatot was flying up at Dahlia and puffed it?s chest with pride. Dahlia looked at him curiously. <Hmm, not only are you a flying type, you can even copy anything a human says?.Yes, you?ll be perfect in certain situations.> He slyly smiled at the bird. ?Squawk?? ?You. You?re going to help us catch this Minccino. And after this, I?ll be catching you next. Understand?? ?S-Squawk?! Catching Chatot?!? ?Yes, I am going to catch you, Chatot. Was I not clear?? The Chatot looked at him with surprise. But why? Was there a reason he didn?t know about? Suddenly, Chatot was nodding his head like mad. ?Squawk! Clear, clear! Dahlia catch Chatot, yes! Want it, want it! Squawk!? Dahlia was surprised. ?Oh my, I wasn?t expecting that. A Pok?mon like you actually wanting to be caught.?
?Min?! Minccino, Minccino!? Minccino was jumping up and down angrily on the branch. It?s quite clear that it?s patience has been dried out at this point. It jumps down, with its tail glowing a metallic gray. ?Kyaa!? Caroline grabs Candle, and she, along with the others, get away from the tree. Minccino slams the ground down with its tail and got up immediately, still glaring down the group. ?Yes, yes. Sorry for taking so long. Don?t worry, I?ll make sure this fight doesn?t take just as long?? He looked over at the area Caroline should be at...only to see 5 Pok?balls on the ground. ?Good luck catching it, Dahlia! Remember that it?s mine by the end of all this!? ?Litwick!? They were hiding in a bush next to the location the ball was at. Dahlia just sighed. <And yet again, I have to do all the fighting?> ?Well, she?s also counting on you too, Dolores. Let?s battle with grace~!? Meanwhile, deep within his mind, Dahlia knew that this battle was going to take a while...
<Caroline, if we miss the chance to participate in the contest...You?re the one who takes the blame for it.>
TWIN INVENTORY/POK?MON:
Spoiler:
*Pok?balls temporarily given to Dahlia for the capturing of the Minccino.
Two Sides of the Same CoordinatorCurrent Location : Santalune City - Pok?mon Center
Having recovered from his... emotional experience, Jackson walked with a newfound confidence and vigor. He couldn't wipe the massive grin from his face as the badge case in his side bag felt just a little bit heavier. Fang walked proudly alongside him, his snout raised high in arrogant pride and Teddy waved his arms happily from Jackson's shoulders. Gaspar? Gaspar did what Gaspar always does, he grinned maliciously from inside of his trainer's shadow.
Despite his newfound glee, Jackson couldn't help but sigh internally. The worst part of the day was already over... he had to participate on television on a fucking contest of all things. He sighed deeply and held his forehead with a tired expression. What the hell was he going to do? He was going to make a fool of himself.
The pok?center doors slid open and Jackson returned every mon but Gaspar to their balls as he stepped inside, grimacing as he found a seat to sink into for the time being. He scanned the room for Brielle Baker, it was about that time. The professor had set him up for this little training session without his permission. Honestly, it seemed like the professor had a habit of signing Jackson up for things without his permission. Arceus above, he didn't even remember what Brielle looked like, it wasn't like he talked to any of the kids in his class. So... where was she?
Brie sighed, taking a deep breath as she was greeted by the air conditioning of the Pokemon Center as she stepped in, Roon following behind her as they looked around for anyone that looked either familiar or disgusting, whichever works. The professor only mentioned someone who wasn't suited for contests at all, so obviously it would be any of those two, maybe a combination even. She never really saw most of the people there as suited for contests... then again, they weren't as cute as her so they would never be suited for contests either way.
She looked around to spot a familiar face, although she couldn't recall his name... "J.. Jayson?" She muttered, remembering them graduating together, but that's it. He looked disgusting though. What the hell did he do to his clothes? He definitely does not look cute. She internally cringed, tapping Roon and pointing to them. "Think they're the ones we're supposed to help? They look like a wreck."
The Aipom shrugged. Maybe.
Jackson peered around the room lazily one last time until he saw a new arrival. The girl was staring at him with this disgusted expression, it was almost like he insulted her just by being in her line of sight. He wanted to believe this wasn't her, but knowing his luck... He stood up with a sigh and approached. "You're... Baker? Right?"
Oh. It was. "Yes. And you're... uh... Jay-something."
Jackson grimaced and glared at the comment. "It's Jackson, Jackson Crane, actually." He sighed. "Look I don't really know why but, Sycamore went and roped me into..." He looked the girl up and down, she was sickeningly cutesy. "...whatever it is you do."
Brie wasn't even fazed. "Contests. I do contests." She sighed, "You have a lot to learn, young coordinator." Roon looked at the two in confusion, but nodded along anyway. "But you definitely need a makeover. You look very ugly right now, and those burnt clothes aren't helping your appearance."
"'scuse me...?" Jackson asked raising an eyebrow disdainfully and glaring at the girl in front of him, running his gaze up and down judgmentally. She was sickeningly cutesy, prim and proper. The type of girl that yeah, was definitely on the contest wagon, but also probably looked down at those who weren't. "Who dahell do you think you are? You're lucky you're a girl, callin' me ugly." He growled. "And a makeover...? Are you kiddin' me? I just need a touch up on my outfit and a few pointers on how this contest bullshit works." He waved an order slip casually in his hand. "'n thanks to the Professor I got half o' that covered already."
Roon nearly jumped in front of Brie when Jackson growled, his tail already posed and ready to punch someone. Brie noticed this, however, and patted the Aipom's head. "Now, now, Roon. Hitting people, even those as ugly as him," She pointed to Jackson, "That's not cute."
Brie then pouted when she saw the slip, "Lucky you. New clothes for free." She rolled her eyes, "Now you just need to make sure that you're going to choose cute clothes, instead of those rags that you currently own." She grinned, "Oooh, this would be fun, turning you into a cute little coordinator! Do you like pink?"
As the Aipom moved threateningly, Jackson sneered, however Gaspar was far less pleased. Dashing out of Jackson's shadow the ball of ghostly energy floated dead on in front of the Roon, glaring at him, sizing him up. Then he smiled, a sickening and malicious smile dripping with dread and other despicable things. He scoffed, essentially, after that, turning and floating to hang idly by Jackson's side. He didn't feel as if his trainer would even need him for that one.
"Pink? Try black, honestly do you have a screw loose?" He snarled again. "Your attitude stinks kid, honestly stop calling me ugly or I'm gonna get mad." He sighed, he was tired after the gym battle and wasn't in the mood for even more confrontation. "Look, how about we go the parlour nearby and just... pick something." He felt ill just suggesting it, but he had no choice, he had to at least look passable or Mal would be disappointed. "Maybe something similar to this only less... tattered?"
Roon couldn't help but shiver at the Gastly. It looked so... eerie. He instinctively took hold of Brie's hand and squeezed. Brie, in turn, looked at the ghost type now floating next to Jackson. She rolled her eyes; figures the ugly trainer would have an ugly Pokemon. "You can't just pick something!" She almost had a heart attack at the suggestion. The slip was giving him the opportunity of a lifetime-- any kind of clothing, and he's just going to waste it on a carbon copy of his ugly apparel? "Similar to that? Arceus, no. Absolutely not. But yes, let's go to the parlour, and find you something... better." Cuter.
Jackson sighed as the girl took off, this day had gone from bad, to great, to awful in the space of only a few hours.
"Here's hoping the next up streak is sooner, rather than later."
---
As Jackson pushed open the door to the clothes store he grimaced. Creepy ass mannequins wearing what people considered "fashion" were hanging around in awkward poses and there was more colour in this single room than anywhere else Jackson had ever seen. It was making him want to vomit. The air conditioning beat down on him, keeping him cool despite the warmth of the mid-afternoon sun streaking in through obnoxiously large windows. There were so many racks of clothes that Jackson didn't know where the hell to begin. "So... should we just grab something that looks okay and fits...? Or...?"
"Yeah, that's the game plan. Try to pick something that doesn't look something you already own, okay?" Brie said and immediately got to work, heading off to the many racks of clothes for men and picked out different coloured polo shirts, looking at Jackson and putting some of them back in the rack with a disgusted expression. "...Maybe we should do something about your hair too, it's scruffy."
Jackson rose an eyebrow as he fell in with Brielle, looking across a few of the various racks, looking for something that he could tolerate. There was some awfully gaudy bits and pieces, more than a few pink shirts that he was certain his unfortunate new companion was considering. He stopped however, at her latter comment. "Scruffy? What the hell is scruffy about it?" He stopped for a moment to look at himself in the mirror. The black hair a little bit dirty he admitted, he'd need to shower, but what did scruffy even mean? "I think it looks fine, what do I even need to change?"
"It's messy. At least try and condition it to make it look softer? Don't you even use conditioner? Arceus.." Brie suggested, idly getting another pinkish buttoned long sleeved shirt and showed it to Jackson. It was plain and simple, but also pink and cute. Things that Brie deemed acceptable. "This actually would look pretty cute on you." She smiled, "Pair it up with dark coloured denims and you'd actually look stylish!"
Jackson grimaced horribly at the shirt she was presenting him with, taking it by the hanger he roughly put it back on the rack with a vein visibly pulsing on his forehead. "For the love of- No Pink, damn it!"
-SOME TIME LATER-
Jackson sighed with disbelief as he looked at himself in the mirror. Was this... really what he had settled on? The pants felt stiff and the... he thinks it's called a waistcoat? It was pinching his sides. The tie was surely a step too far in the direction of ridiculous, yet Baker had insisted it was necessary. It was either that or pink. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of tinted sunglasses. With the Kalosian Summer coming in in full swing, it was only natural to keep a pair handy. Sighing at himself, he pushed the curtain of the changing cubicle aside and stepped back out into the store.
"I still think this tie is too much..." He grumbled. Jackson's new outfit had many notable similarities to what he had been wearing previously, however he supposed even he couldn't deny the upgrade stylistically. His smart shoes and black dress pants were comfortable enough to move around in while also being more than suitable for a contest performance. His new shirt was the same style as the one he had worn before, with a few key differences in stitching. Jackson had no idea why that made a differency but Brielle had told him that it was important. The waist coat was new to him, he felt it made him look like a ponce, but now that he took a moment it did make him seem more... adult?
"Well then Miss Cutesy Shit, will this do?"
"The tie ties it all together, silly! Without it, it would look like something's missing." Brie responded, amazed by the transformation. It wasn't the pink shirt that she'd been hoping, but it was good enough. Jackson actually looked decent, and it suited the style she assumed he was going for. The waist coat definitely did the trick, she thought, making him look slimmer and quite mature, if they ignored his delinquent way of speaking. Brie was proud of herself. The ugly duckling was now almost a beautiful swan! Almost. "Now if you remember to iron it every now and then before contests, then we're done with your attire! That only took like... hours? Not that long~"
She smiled, "Now, how about that hair...?"
-LATER STILL-
The pok?mon center, blue roof and all, was sitting and waiting for customers as always. The sliding doors parted and Jackson was hit with a blast of cool air as he stepped into the building proper. Brielle was still with him, much to his chagrin... but she had done a passable job with the outfit so he was willing to hear her out on this. Professor Sycamore always used this really fancy brand of shampoo that Jackson had a fondness for, it smelled pretty great and it gave this cool sheen to his hair. Honestly he felt lame just thinking that, but even he had some interest in how he looked.
As he looked over the various boxes and bottles however he felt a small pang of self-conscious panic. Since he had been young Jackson had been given little to no greater education. His ability to read was limited to a few characters and words he recognized. Brielle had enough reaosn to look down on him in her eyes, no way in hell he was gonna give her the satisfaction of another one! He had one option, he'd have to buy time while he... searched,
"So... contests, you like em... why?" He stated rather awkwardly while perusing the shelves.
Brie shrugged, "They're... special to me." She smiled, idly looking at a shampoo bottle as she continued, "Hearthome is all about contests. They let you show your Pokemon's strengths without forcing them to be anything else than what they already are, unlike in gyms, where people force Pokemon to evolve, learn new moves, thrown away... Contests don't do that." She returned the shampoo bottle and just read the labels on the shelves, a distant look in her eyes as she recalled her days volunteering at the Contest Hall. "At least, that's what I noticed from the Contest winners back in my own region. The Pokemon seemed to be happier, you know? Getting to just be their cute selves."
"Speaking of contests, what really made you join this one? You could have just declined the Professor's offer, you know?"
"Hearthome? You know I thought I recognized the accent?" Jackson mused as he went through the bottles idly. "I'm from Sinnoh too, which a lotta people are surprised by. I don't exactly strike folks as the travellin' type I guess. Veilstone is a shithole these days though, can't say I share fond memories of our home region." He bristled a little at her following question. It was right he could've just backed out without too much effort. Just because the Professor put his name down didnt mean he had to go. Could he really tell someone about Malorie however?
He stared at Brielle from across the aisle, watching her curiously as she read the labels. He had to... think outside the box right? Maybe it was alright to at least let someone know why he was doing all of this. "I eh..." He started, searching for the words. "I got... like, a sister? She's not really my sister, we were both from the same orphanage... but that's not important, I mean, the orphanage part." He scratched the back of his head akwardly. "She's my sister, yeah, that's what I mean... she want t'watch me since well, she's sick... she couldn't come with me so I hadta leave her with the professor, he said she was excited t'see me on screen." He tutted and went back to looking at various hair care products he didn't understand.
"Don't matter much, right? End o'the day I gotta do what I gotta do, so I'm doin' it. Jackson Crane doesn't back down when he's challenged."
Oh, he was from Sinnoh too? Brie was learning more and more about this guy. Poor him, having to live in Veilstone though, she thought. While it wasn't that bad of a city, it was definitely one where hooligans usually resided. With all the gamblers, budget shoppers, Maylene... Maybe that's why he wasn't as cute as he can be. She smiled as she listened to his tale of his sister, seeing a softer side to the brusque Jackson that she knew earlier. For a moment, Brie thought of him differently. Maybe he was just a different kind of cute. It was unusually adorable.
"Well, I hope she gets better soon." Brie hummed, "Guess you have to do great at the contest later, huh? Quite a big challenge we have here." She noted, going back to her musings on the labels. "You almost look the part already, after this you just have to think of what you and your Pokemon want to show the audience-- well, in this case, your sister."
Jackson sneered and tapped his nose knowingly. "I'm having the professor get some stuff ready for me... maybe I'm not cute but I do have other talents to show off." He grinned as his plans for a performance went through his head, harkening back to another period of his life... maybe these contest things could be alright after all.
...ugh, what the hell was he thinking? He was going soft, enough of this crap. "Alright, let's just go." He grabbed a decent looking hair cair product. A fancy looking fella with shining blonde hair was on the box. He couldn't quite make out what most of it said, but he did manage to make out the words "brilliant" and "sheen" like on the other shampoo the professor had. Without further ado, he presented it to Brielle. "Will this do?"
"Uh..." Did Jackson just choose... Brie took a deep breath, counting from one to ten in her mind as she struggled not to laugh and say anything that would make her look suspicious. This was perfect. She can just imagine it now; the perfect combination of sweetness and that bad boy look he normally had! "...Yeah.. yeah! That's great!" Please don't let him notice anything, she begged in her head. She couldn't wait to see Jackson later. With his new contest outfit and fabulous hair, he's sure to sweep the hearts of many girls and guys who's going to watch the contest later. Oh Arceus, the guy was actually looking really cute. Brie tried hard not to squeal, reminding herself that Jackson will most likely have her head for this.
She might have to hide later.
-FINALLY AS THE EVENING SUN SETS-
Jackson pondered the odd look the clerk at the pok?mart had given him... but with the contest in a few short hours he didn't have time for questions and conflict. He stepped through the door of the pok?mon center once more, the Nurse nodding at Brie and himself as they finally made their way back. Jackson felt... pretty good about how he looked. He had a smart appearance, yet it still suited his style in a weird way. He spied himself in a passing mirror and gave a small grin... just a little bit of pride was okay, he thought. "Y'know... I really didn't think this would be worth my time when we started, but for a rude kid with a smart mouth, you know your shit Baker. Thanks for the help."
She smiled, "Eh, I didn't do much. Just helped you look cuter, that's all." Brie shrugged, the thought of an angry--yet cute--Jackson still stuck in her head. It was slightly scary but will be worth it. All for the sake of cute! "Just do me a favor and do your best tonight, yeah? Be the next contest star if you can~" She stretched, and yawned slightly as she noticed the time. Hell yes, she still had enough to do her own tiny touch ups.
"Guess I'd better get going, I have to prepare too." Brie smirked, "See you later?"
He shook his head and sighed. "Yeah, contest star Jackson Crane? When spoink learn fly, maybe." He waved her off. "I see you lookin' at the clock so yeah, you'd best go and do... whatever it is you do?" He sneered.
"Yeah, I'll see you later."
With that they parted ways, it was a quick encounter but meeting with someone so different had no doubt taught each of them a little something new about themselves.
---
Jackson wrapped a towel around his shoulders and another around his waist as he stepped quickly out of the shower. His hair felt fresher and cleaner than it had in ages, that new shampoo must have been something special, no doubt. He grinned as he looked out the bathroom door into the hotel room proper. Sitting on his bed were two instruments, an electric guitar and bass. When he was a teenager in Veilstone city he had tried to join a band in order to earn money for Malorie's treatment.
...but even though he had learned both instruments when he should have been studying up in class at the orphanage, nobody would take him on... and people were far too frightened to start something up alongside him. He strummed out a quick riff or two. He wasn't plugged into an amp so he didn't get much sound, but it felt good to go through the motions.
Across the room, Teddy whom had been squishing his cheeks in a mirror to try and mush his face into a cooler position for the performance, noticed Jackson's presence as he strummed the intrument. He smiled brightly and turned towards him, glee painting his features. "UrsaaAAAA?!?!" In an instant the small bear's voice and face contorted to pure shock from their happier melody mere moments before. Jackson rose an eyebrow in confusion.
"Ted? What's the matter?" He asked with annoyance and a quick spark of genuine concern. Teddy's jaw was hanging low on his face, he was unable to speak, unable to respond. Without a single sound he slowly turned the mirror and Jackson stared hard at his reflection.
And then the same shock plastered across his expressions, rendering him horrified beyond belief.
His hair, every single strand and detail, was golden blonde. It almost reflected the light of the room like a metallic sheen. He grabbed the mirror with confusion and fear. What the hell had happened to him?! Why was his hair this colour?! The shampoo hadn't-
The... shampoo...
Jackson grit his teeth and dropped the mirror onto the floor. He clenched his fists as his skin began to visibly flush with anger. All those in the center could hear as the pok?mon centers hotel sector shook violently with his uproarous voice.
"BAAAAAKEEEEERRRRRRRR!"
Spoiler:
BADGE CASE:
Spoiler:
INVENTORY:
1 x Pok?dex
5 x Pok? Ball
1 x Potion
1 x Old Rod
500 x Pok?
- Get ready to read Brielle and Jackson and everyone else's Performance's at the Santalune City Contest! The exciting finale to Z - ACT 1 -
Now that he had two Pokemon, Newt's chances of success were higher. And she might look cute and doofy, but Nidoran had proven her strength already. "Now then, back to what we came for... buried treasure!" He bravely and boldly went to the door, delivering a solid kick to dramatically fling it open. It didn't budge. Looking at the handle, he realized it was a pull door, making him grumble as he anticlimactically pulled it open and went inside.
The power had gone out long ago, but there were enough windows and holes in the wall to let sunlight in. That, and his Pokedex came with a flashlight app. Not a very good one, as it only slightly illuminated the area around him, but it was better than nothing. Besides, he'd played enough video games to know what to expect inside a "haunted" old building.
"Okay, since you're both battered from fighting each other, we're going to rotate who fights and who rests. Agro, you're pretty much invincible, but you've been fighting more than Rey, so she's going out first. We'll save you for when she gets tired." Newt returned Agro to his ball, keeping Rey ready for anything that might show up.
To his immense displeasure, he merely encountered more Rattata and Sentret. To his delight, Rey's Double Kick proved quite adept at knocking them out. "This place isn't haunted!" He found himself complaining. "It's just infested! This isn't scary at all!" Continuing his search, Newt eventually made his way to the front office, which was in disrepair after a tree had crashed through the roof.
With nothing to lose, he started digging through tree branches and fallen leaves, until he found a desk with an unopened package on it. "Hello, what are you?" He picked up the box, looking for a knife or something to cut it open with. As he was searching, a small piece of wood rose from the tree. "Hello, what are you?"
Two red lights appeared in holes on the stump, while a dark, ectoplasmic body emerged from the hollow base (and a small tuft of ectoplasm popped out of the top). A small hole near the two lights stretched out with a creak, making it look like a smiling face.
Newt stared for a moment. "See?" He said to no one in particular. "Now that's scary!" He opened Rey's ball, sending her to fight the floaty tree thing. "It looks fragile. Use Tackle!" Rey leapt forward, slamming her shoulder into the dark body...
And passing right through it, leaving it unharmed. It twisted around and rushed her, hitting her with the stump it called a head. Newt decided to check his Pokedex. "Oh, so it's a 'Phantump'. Apparently it's a Ghost, so it's immune to Normal attacks. Should have realised that sooner, honestly... Rey use Double Kick!" Rey leapt in, twisting in midair to strike out with her feet, but again phased through Phantump. "Seriously!? Fighting moves don't work either? What else do you know?"
While he checked the Pokedex, Phantump tackled Rey again. She was getting tired, but Newt either didn't notice or just refused to quit. "Okay, fine... it's your weakest move, but try Poison Sting!" Rey charged, curling into a ball and striking with her venomous quills. Phantump recoiled in pain, his eyes turning from red to purple as they projected a violet light onto Rey.
"Was that a Confuse Ray? Well, let's see you phase through a Pokeball!" He threw the ball, absorbing the little Ghost into it. The ball fell to the floor, only to break as soon as it hit. Phantump came streaking out of the ball, shrieking as he collided with Rey. She forced herself to stand back up, but she was running on fumes. Newt, however, wasn't going to allow it. "Get back here, Rey! You're dazed and confused, let Agro finish this!" He returned her to her ball, sending Agro in her place.
Phantump charged as Newt swapped Pokemon. Agro barely had time to sniff around before Phantump Tackled him. The Ghost bounced off Agro's head with a pathetic tink, which Agro didn't even seem to notice. Newt took the time to look over Agro's moves, groaning in displeasure at what he saw. "Alright Agro, use... *ugh* Mud Slap..." Agro threw wet leaves and debris at Phantump, making the wooden smile creak and contort into a frown. His eyes turned purple as he unleashed a Confuse Ray at Agro.
"Oh, no you don't! Get in the time out ball!" He threw another Pokeball, again absorbing Phantump. The ball shook once, shook twice, then burst, releasing Phantump again. The little tree spirit tried to Astonish Agro, but missed. Newt, meanwhile, expressed his frustration in the most eloquent way he knew how.
"AAAAAAGGGHHHH!" He shouted, loud enough to rattle the glass in the windows. "I will burn down that tree you came out of, collect the ensuing charcoal, use it to grill up some vegetables, and force feed them to you if you don't stay! In! The ball!" He threw another Pokeball, continuing to shout and stomp until he heard the sharp click! of a successful capture. He stared at the ball for a moment, until the realisation of what he'd done took hold.
"Ha! Yes! Another capture! You're mine now, Phantump! I shall name you Deadwood." After taking a moment to calm down, he found a pair of scissors to open the package with. Cutting it open, he found three discs, each bearing the Silph logo and the number 53, with the subtitle "Energy Ball". "This was the 'box of treasure' everyone was going on about? What a waste of time! Can any of my team even learn this? Oh, look at that, Deadwood can."
He put the disc into his Pokedex, synched it with Phantump's Pokeball, and poof! Deadwood learned a new move. "Cool. Now let's go back to town and challenge that Gym."
Coul decided that he saw what he could see on the Routes leading to Santalune City. While they are pretty standard, there are various things of interest he could study more about in the future. The Dunsparce-Bidoof relationship could have gone farther back into history and is worth looking into. For now, he?s content on the information he gathered. Plus, he still needs that diving Pokemon of his so he can fully explore the area.
He thought of going back to Ouvert Way and paying a visit to the Santalune Forest but he thought that it would be too tiring to trudge back up the hill again and down into the burnt-down forest. The Rangers might have started clearing it too, removing any sign of noteworthy finds. He?ll go back someday when the Forest has bloomed again. He gathered his things and went back to the Town.
As Coul passed by the gate of the Town, he once again took a look at the Pokemon Gym looming high above him. It has a very ornate design, with a very beautiful emerald-green roof and seemingly golden exterior. He heard that Viola was a Bug-type specialist but, looking at the gym, Coul thought that she could pass off as a Rock enthusiast, easy. Coul thought of his Doug and how he could easily breeze through the Bug-type gym. Defeating gym leaders isn?t really his thing but a badge or two under his belt might not hurt.
He decided to drop by the Pokemon Center first to ensure that his Pokemon were in fighting form. Nurse Joy loaded them up the machine and gave them back to Coul. ?Oh, Sam dropped this off a while ago for you. You just missed each other,? Nurse Joy said, handing the trainer a small pouch. Coul took it from the nurse and inspected the contents.
Inside was a Pokeball and a purple stone. There was also a note.
I defeated Joey. Thank you for the help.- S
Coul smiled. While the items were certainly useful, it was Sam?s gratitude that mattered more to him.
Inventory
1x Pokedex
4x Pokeballs
2x Potions
440 Pokedollars
2x Old Rod
1x Bug Net
1x Eviolite
"Oh... my... Arceus! Shino, you have got to try some of this frozen lemonade!"
After leaving the Pok?mon Center with her new Mudbray in tow, Avril and her team started to take in the sights, sounds, and tastes that Santalune had to offer. Perhaps it was a bit silly, what to see a 17 year old, training academy graduate exploring and running around like she had never been in a town before... But to Avril, Santalune City was a place she had never gotten to experience before on her own, and she did not want to pass up one spec of the city if she could. It had already been about two hours since the girl had left the Pok?mon Center. Already, the girl had engaged in a severe dose of window shopping at the local boutique, checked out Viola's photo gallery (all the while choosing to hold off on challenging the photographer/gym leader to a proper battle), and was now treating herself and her team to some of the city's famous frozen lemonade. In a sense, it was like a miniature vacation for the girl. Avril had even gone out of her way to get a small traveler's pamphlet to make sure there was nothing that she was missing during her grand wandering session.
Handing her cup to Shino and Anise, she allowed the two Pok?mon to finish what little bit remained in the cup. The blonde trainer had offered some to Benjamin as well, however the Mudbray seemed to be much more content in giving the girl a quick huff before rolling his eyes and curling up on the ground for a quick nap. With her team occupied for the time being, Avril decided to focus her attention on her tour guide pamphlet. Her blue eyes were shining with excitement as she began to read on more of the town's attractions.
"Hey guys, get a load of this," Avril exclaimed. She opened the pamphlet wide, holding it down for the Pok?mon to look at. Both Shino and Anise gave the trainer their full attention, while Benjamin lazily lifted up his head just enough to see what she was pointing at. "According to this, there's a giant fountain located right in the middle of the city! It was built a super long time ago, but people still come from miles around just to get a look at it. Supposedly, there's a legend that if you throw in a coin and make a wish on the night of a full moon, you'll be rewarded with a meeting of your true love! Oh, that's so romantic!"
Benjamin let out a groan of annoyance, one that Avril either seemed to miss or just ignore entirely. Shino and Anise both seemed happy to explore with their trainer however, so it looked like the Mudbray found himself outnumbered in this situation. With a huff, Benjamin picked himself off the ground and started to follow behind Avril and his other two teammates. The blonde was all too excited to see the fountain. Maybe there would be a good photo opportunity there to share with her Pok?mon team. The excitement and prospect of visiting Santalune's fountain was strong, but the closer that Avril got to the fountain... the more unappealing the visit became to be. There were a number of factors that seemed to make the blonde trainer come to this reasonable conclusion. For starters, a foul stench began to feel the air. It started off fairly weak at first, perhaps the scent of a wild Houndor's droppings in the hot sun or maybe one of her Pok?mon were a bit gassy. The closer the trainer and her team got though, the more repulsive the stench became. Next, there was a general lack of visitors in the area at all. Avril could have sworn that according to the pamphlet, the fountain was going to be one of the more busier locations in Santalune City to visit. The area around the fountain was completely void of any visitor whatsoever. Finally, there was the upkeep of the general vicinity of the fountain. While the rest of the town seemed to pride itself on being very clean and neat, the ground around the fountain, nearby bushes and even the walls of nearby buildings were covered in a strange, purple, sludge-like substance.
Avril slowly made her way towards the purple substance, grabbing a nearby stick and then poking at it curiously. "It's... sticky..." She grunted, gradually pulling the stick free from the purple goo before tossing it aside in a huff. "Well, this sucks... What the hell could have made this much of a mess?"
Avril didn't have to wait long for an answer. Her eyes widened as a ball of the purple sludge went sailing right by her head. The blonde quickly shot her eyes upward, gasping at the sight she saw before her. Sitting in the middle of the fountain was a large, grotesque, putrid smelling pile of purple slime. As Avril stared at the abomination of a sludge pile, she could have sworn that she saw... a tongue... and eyes...? Quickly grabbing her Pok?dex, the trainer quickly gave the slime pile a scan.
Muk, the Sludge Pok?mon. From Muk's body seeps a foul fluid that gives off a nose-bendingly horrible stench. Just one drop of this Pok?mon's body fluid can turn a pool stagnant and rancid.
"Ugh... just listening to the dex talk about this thing makes me wanna hurl..." Avril gagged, quickly shoving the Pok?dex back into her trainer's bag. She sent a fierce glare at the Muk, clearly not happy with the rancid Pok?mon's presence in the slightest bit. "You smell like month-old, dirty socks that have been slathered in mayonnaise and left out in the sun for a week before being dragged through a pile of dirty diapers!" Shino's eyes widened in shock as Avril began to insult the Muk. The little Froakie began to flail his arms around quickly, trying everything in his power to get the blonde to stop. But everyone of his croaks seemed to fall on deaf ears as his trainer continued her rant. "Forget about the smell... Just look at you! You look like a melted pile of rotten poffins that I wouldn't even feed to my little brother! Just the sight of you makes me feel sick, you putrid pile of poorly prepared pudding!"
A twinge of irritation seemed to form over the Muk's features. The sludge Pok?mon let a loud, angry groan as it grabbed hold of the dripping ooze from its body and tossed it directly at Avril's direction. The trainer and her Froakie both jumped to the side, just barely managing to dodge the sludge that had been thrown in their direction. Seeing her trainer and friend attacked angered Anise, the Hoothoot letting out a loud and angry screech in the direction of the wild Muk. Avril returned to her feet, sending the purple pile of putridness a firm glare.
"You're totally ruining my sight-seeing," the blonde complained. "And it's time for you to get sent packing!"
~The Colorful Bird & The Tidy Chinchilla~ ~P-FINAL~
All Fondre could do was just cringe at those two idiots (She called them Spooky Dude 'Blackie' and Cute Girl 'Brownie', respectively.) talk about the contest and picking what clothes they were gonna wear or something. She knew who those two are, why would she not? They were in the same school as her...But she treated them all like the rest: Not caring about their names and not caring for them in general...With the obvious exception being Dahlia and (sorta) Caroline, of course.
<Actually, now that I think about it...Where the heck are those two? They shoulda been back by now.> Eh, whatever. This stupid conversation seems interesting enough to hear. In fact, maybe she should secretly follow them, to see where all of this goes. Besides, maybe she can tell all of this possibly important information to Dahlia when he comes back...She slyly smirked at the thought of it all. The two of them seemed to have left the Pokémon Center, along with their sorta cool Pokémon. This was her chance.
"Let's see what kind of information you'll share with me, Blackie & Brownie…"
_______________________________ In Route 22… _______________________________
"Minccino!" Dolores was about to make the first move, but Minccino was quicker than she was, hitting her with a Pound. "Hmph. That's a bit dirty for you to get the first hit as soon as I'm done with my obligatory catchphrase~" "Squawk! Dirty hit, Minccino!" Minccino glared at them for that line. It was probably because they said the hit was dirty. "Oh, whatever. Dolores, go on ahead and paralyze Minccino with Stun Spore~!" Dolores does exactly as she's told, releasing black powder from her body, scattering around Minccino. Minccino was able to dodge it, though. Dahlia scowled at the sight of that.
"Squawk! Stun Spore Minccino! Squawk!" "...Huh?" The Chatot puts their wings up and flaps them, blowing an orange powder towards Minccino. Wait, it shouldn't have a move like that...should it? Minccino was surprised by this and wasn't able to dodge in time, getting paralyzed in the process. Caroline looked at the attack in awe, while Dahlia looked at it with curiosity. "Wow, that Chatot copied Dolores' move like a sentient mirror!" "...Hmm, indeed he did…" "Squawk! Mirror Move, Mirror Move!" <So that's what it's called, huh?>
He did tell the bird that he would capture it as soon as he caught the Minccino. Unfortunately, that means he's unable to look at what moves this Chatot even had. He had to either see what it does or try to order it to do a move and hope that he guessed right. And that's something he can't really do. He just sighed. "Dolores, go right ahead and weaken it with Bug Bite." Dolores runs up to the Minccino and starts gnawing on its tail. "Min, Min, Min!!" Minccino started to wag its tail around and around in order to get it off of Dolores' grasp. The paralysis was still in effect, making the Minccino stopping at certain points due to it.
"Keep holding on. Don't allow it to break free!" "Squawk! Break free, don't allow!" Minccino, after breaking out of its paralysis again, made it's tail metallic, which took Dolores by surprise, and slammed it hard to the ground, breaking it out of Dolores' grasp and damaging her a lot. Dahlia winced at the sight of this. "Squawk, Squawk!!" "Oh, what now?" Chatot started to yell very loudly at the Minccino, releasing blue waves of energy from its mouth. Dahlia, Caroline, and Candle were covering their ears during this. The Minccino was trying to cover its ears as well, but the paralysis kicked in during the attack, leading it to get blown away by the attack, slamming into a tree. <...Is this yell an actual move? Interesting…>
The Minccino was on the ground now, the paralysis making it a struggle to get back up. <Now's my chance…!> He grabbed one of Caroline's Pokéballs from the ground. "Pokéball, don't fail me now…!" With confidence, he throws the ball at the Minccino. It opened up and the small Pokémon was suddenly converted into energy. It was then sent to the center of the ball, which closed after that. The ball was sent down to the ground. It wiggled once. Then twice. And then once more.
Click. As soon as that amazing clicking sound was heard, Caroline jumped out of the bush and hugged her brother from the back tightly. "You did it, Dahlia! You did it, you did it, you did it~!" "Dahlia did it! Yes, you did! Squawk!" Dolores got up and was walking towards her superior, but was obviously struggling to do so. "...Dolores, are you okay?" She nodded...only for her to drop on her back, looking down for the count. "Squawk! Oh dear!" "Litwick!" Dahlia just sighed and got Dolores' Pokéball from his bag. "Return." The ball opened up and transferred the Scatterbug back into her ball. He looked at the ball and smiled. "...You were amazing out there." "Squawk? Chatot really amazing?" Caroline snatched her ball from one of Dahlia's hands. She looked at Chatot and smiled. "Of course! You were really cool in battle, too!" "Yes, indeed. You may not have attacked that much, but for the few times you did, it's quite clear that you have potential."
Chatot's eyes widened in surprise. Then he suddenly soared into the air happily. "Squawk! Chatot amazing! Chatot really cool!" They both giggled at him. "Caroline, you should probably pick up your--" "Candle already picked them up!" "Litwick!" Surely enough, the rest of the Pokéballs that were on the ground are gone, possibly now inside Caroline's bag. "By the way...Aren't you going to name it?" "Huh...Oh yeah! I wanted to name it Shiny!" Cue the obvious response.
"...Yet another simple name?" "Come on, Dahlia! Shiny is a good name!" The Chatot perched on one of his trainer's arms with the same glare he was having. "Squawk! Simple name! Shiny is a simple name!" Caroline just puts on a pouty face, while Dahlia just sighed. "What about you? Aren't you going to name your Chatot?" "Isn't it obvious? Of course, I am." He looked at the bird and started to think. After a few minutes, he got an empty Pokéball from his bag, with a smile. "...How about Unico?" "Squawk? Unico?" "Yes, Unico. In another language, it means 'unique'. Your ability to speak the human language makes you unique~" Unico squawked happily at that name. "Squawk! Unico, Unico! Chatot is Unico! Unico is Unique~!" He immediately touched the button of the ball and was transferred inside. Even though it was still in his hand, Dahlia still felt the shakes. One shake, then another, then one more...Click. "Welcome to the team, my friend. You'll be essential in my gym battle…"
Dahlia looked around the area. There was a ton of silk on the ground, along with seemingly burned remains of something, which was probably silk as well. He sighed. <Dolores, I'm really wondering what you and Candle did around here…> "...I'm going to clean this place up later. But for now, let's go to the Pokémon Center, Caroline. Our Pokémon needs to be healed immediately." "Okay~!" "Litwick!" After picking up her Litwick, Caroline & Dahlia walked back to Santalune City. Meanwhile, in Caroline's bag, a certain ball kept shaking vigorously…
_______________________________ In the Pokémon Center... _______________________________
"There you are. Your Pokémon are now fully healed!" "Thank you very much." Dahlia looked at both sets of balls...Wait, why was there only one on Caroline's side? In fact, he'd remembered that Caroline had to go somewhere inside the Center with Nurse Joy for some reason. "Min!! Minccino!!" "Come on, Shiny! Dahlia already cleaned your tree up and made it super shiny!" From a certain door, he saw Caroline holding Shiny, who was obviously trying to get away from her. "I have never seen a Pokémon like her actively try and get out of their Pokéball without their trainer's consent. When your sister gave the ball to me, it was shaking out of control!"
Fondre, who was in the exact same table the duo last saw her in, just laughed. "Kya ha ha! That's new. You must have angered that thing beyond belief, Dahlia!" Dahlia glared at Fondue. "You're not helping." "Min...ccino!" Shiny jumped out of Caroline's grasp and made a nice landing on Fondue's table. She started to vigorously clean herself with her tail and arms. The duo took their balls and walked towards the table, looking at Shiny cleaning herself up. "...Was that the only reason why you even got out of the ball?!" The Minccino glared at Dahlia for that sentence. He was able to get a good look at her eyes for that very moment, and noticed that they looked a bit more different than the image he'd saw on his Pokédex: Her pupils were a lot smaller than a normal Minccino, making her have a more aggressive look on her face. That also meant that the irises were small as well. The color of her eyes was also a slightly darker brown. She also seems to have this permanent frown upon her face. It was quite clear to Dahlia that this Minccino was going to be a bit of a problem to deal with.
"Sorry for making you dirty then, Shiny." "Min…." She just scowled at her response and kept cleaning. "Well, it looks like you have quite the teammate, Dahlia!" "Shut it." "Hey, don't be like that! I actually have some news for you about the contest!" Dahlia suddenly sits down on one of the chairs and shoved Shiny off the table with a flick of his hand. "Kyaa! Shiny!" Caroline went to Shiny's spot...only to see that she doesn't seem to care since she started to clean the floor after a few seconds of recovery. "Oh…" Shiny did look back at Dahlia, and just growled. "Sorry, Shiny! But this is important!" Dahlia just crossed his arms on the table, and let his head sit on them. "Right...so what's is this all about?"
"It's about the fact that some of our fellow students are gonna participate in the dumb contest." He leaned a bit forward. "Really now…?" Fondue just had a sly smile for the entirety of this. "Yeah, I secretly followed two of them after overhearing a conversation in the center. Jackson Whatever-his-last name was, and Brie Baker." Dahlia was intrigued now. "Really? Jackson Crane is going to participate in the contest?" "Uh-huh. The professor basically forced him to, apparently." His mouth started to twist into a sinister smile as the conversation kept going. "I see...I can think of a few more reasons as to why he's bothering with it in the first place…." He looked at his sister, who was still trying to deal with Shiny. "Let me guess...his sister?" "And the fact that he was born in Sinnoh. But yes, it's mostly his sister. He probably thinks that she'll be watching the contest, and he'll want to impress her in anyway he can." Fondue was a bit surprised. "...How would you think that stuff? In fact, it seems you know more about his sister than me!" "...You know I have ways to find these kinds of things out, Fondue. But seriously, I think it's quite honorable for him to do this for his dear little sis. I know I would too if I was in a situation like that." He looked more and more at Caroline, his mind starting to be clouded by melancholic thoughts. <But I would never want to ever be in a situation like that. If I was, I would be a bird with broken wings right about now…>
"...Hey man, are you alright? You're starting to tear up a little." "Eh…?! O-Oh, sorry about that. Right, right...so Jackson and Brielle shall both be participating in the contest, correct?" Fondue just nodded. "Yeah, that's basically the gist of it. Of course, there's a chance some of the other guys from school are gonna participate as well. But I'm sure ya gonna knock those judges' socks off the park! I just know it!" She just gave a thumbs-up to her friend, who smiled at the sight of it. "It's possible. I won't cry nor be mad if I don't get a ribbon. All I really need to do is just my best." "Heh. Yeah, sure. Whatever…" She stretched her arms and started to yawn. "Anyways, there wasn't anything else interesting about what they were saying...The only important thing you need to know is that Jackson evolved from a Blackie into a Blondie." "He has blond hair now?" Fondue just nodded. "Anyways, I'm going to the hotel part of the center here...You should probably do so, too. Night." "Good night, Fondue~" Before she walked away, she looked back at Dahlia. "Oh yeah...by the way…" Dahlia suddenly gulped. <Oh dear. Her tone is a bit different...Is this about the gym again?>
"Damn Blondie got the Gym Badge from Ms. Snappy. I actually was going to challenge the gym again, but then I saw someone else challenging her...And I realized that it was him while I was following the two twigs." He just sighed, and his tone became a bit darker. "...So, you want me to beat him in the contest, correct?" "No...I want you to curb-stomp him in the contest, and beat Viola's bug butt harder than he did in your gym battle!" "...Fondre. It's quite clear to me that you're being a sore loser about all of this. He probably lost at some point too, you know? Maybe after some training, he was able to win on his second try. Did you actually just follow the two for the entire day without training?" "...I…" Dahlia shook his head. "You can't just be mad at someone just because they did something that you weren't able to do. If you think you can't do something after just one try, just go and try again. Prove yourself wrong. Show that you can actually do what you think you cannot do." Fondre bit her lip and started to think for a moment. She then just growled.
"Ugh...I hate it when you say stuff that's actually right." "Of course I'm right. So I won't go and beat Viola just because you want revenge. I'll beat her with only the intentions of getting the gym badge." Fondre sighed. But Dahlia still kept the dark tone in his voice while speaking. "However…" "Hm?" "...I'm fine with your request in beating Jackson in the contest. I know it...he's going to be a challenge to beat in the contest...And I'll be ready for whatever he has in store for me." Fondre was still looking at Dahlia from the back. She just closed her eyes and slyly smiled. "...I don't feel tired anymore. I'm gonna go outside and train." "Be careful, alright? There's a possibility that you might see some strange people outside." "Yeah, yeah…"
He looked back at Caroline and Shiny. They were both asleep, with Shiny curled up on top of Caroline's tummy. He sighed, got up and picked her up. "Jackson Crane…" He whispered. He walked towards the hotel area of the Pokémon Center.
<Yes...I can't wait to see you in the contest. It will make this much more interesting…> He still had that sinister smile on his face.
Dylan and his pokemon were sitting together at a fountain reading a flier. "What do you guys think?" he asked them. They replied with happy chirps and other sounds, and he smiled. "Well, we should start training then! We can train for both the gym battle and the contest at the same time!"
He gathered them all and set off to Détourner Way, where he planned to find an open space to practice moves and maybe even find some wild pokemon to spar with. It didn't take long for him to find a patch of grass that looked relatively empty, and he set to work clearing the space of branches and rocks before he sat down.
"We should first figure out what we want to do for this contest, and then figure out what moves we can combine to get our desired effect. Oh, and of course find moves that work well together for the gym battle."
Suddenly he heard a screech, and Bec was in the air, Reine was right behind him, and Joy was in Dylan's lap on top of the egg. Dylan looked around alarmed as smoke began to surround them. "Reine! Gust! Clear the smoke!" he shouted, the smoke quickly dissipating with the wind. In front of him sat an odd furry pokemon with a face that looked like a butt. "A stunky!" he announced, not as alarmed as he should've been. He shoved his hand out for it to sniff, startling it and causing it to spray a poisonous gas behind it. "Gust!" he yelled, watching Reine direct the gas away from the group.
"I wasn't trying to hurt you" Dylan spoke softly to the pokemon, "Why don't you come train with us?" The pokemon looked suspicious, but walked closer and nodded.
~~~
After making a new friend, and using his last two pokeballs on it to catch it, Dylan had four eager pokemon and a plan to beat the gym and create a stunning performance at the contest. A quick trip to the shop for some costumes and supplies concluded their preparation, and they were ready to challenge the gym.
bzzt bzzt
Dylan pulled his pokedex out to find his mom was calling him. "Hey mom!"
"Dylan! Oh honey we're so proud of you, are you okay? What's going on?" she rambled quickly.
"Wait what, I'm fine! Why are you proud?" he managed to interrupt into her mumbling.
"Oh honey, you're all over the news!" she beamed. He was not amused.
"That reporter said it would be a small interview. By 'all over' do you mean-"
"It's all they had to air about the fire! You're a hero!" his mother grinned extra large.
"Oh erm, well, I was just going to challenge the gym. I'll let you know how it goes, okay?"
"Oh absolutely honey, all that heroism and you're still going to continue on like nothing happened." She sounded overjoyed. Dylan didn't have the heart to tell her how much the reporter made up. He smiled and hung up.
~~~
Dylan stared at the battlefield in front of him, large rocks suspended in the air by webs, some connected by web bridges. He could see how this could be a challenge for trainers without flying pokemon, but luckily, he had two.
"Hello challenger!" a voice echoed from across the drop. "I'm Viola, Santalune City Gym Leader!" Dylan glanced nervously at the pokeballs lined across his belt. He figured having them all out and about as usual would've been distracting, and he needed confidence and focus if he was going to win this.
"What's your name, challenger?" she smiled, although Dylan was too nervous to notice, running over strategies he had practiced in his head.
"Dylan Graham." he informed her.
"Oooh! Like that boy-" she was interrupted.
"On the news, yeah. Although that reporter made up most of that stuff." Dylan frowned.
"Well, this should be a great battle then! Ready?"
"Absolutely!"
"Let's battle!"
They each let loose their first pokemon. Viola sent out her ninjask while Dylan sent out Bec.
"Bec quick attack!" Dylan yelled and Bec flew straight for the ninjask.
"Agility!" Viola yelled, as her ninjask began to vibrate and suddenly burst out of the way of Bec in a sudden speedy shot. "Swords dance!" Viola yelled.
"Don't let it charge up!" Dylan screamed, "Keep it distracted!" Bec charged straight for it again before dipping below it as it dodged and launched a hidden power at its underside, interrupting its swords dance. "Great jo-" Suddenly it shot at Bec and tore into him with tiny claws, tumbling onto one of the suspended rocks below. The ninjask vibrated again, seemingly getting faster as it flew away from Bec. "Quick attack!" Dylan yelled as Bec continued to chase after the speedy ninjask. He glanced over at Viola and saw her shake her head at him. Was he doing something wrong? "Bec, come back!" he yelled, and swapped Bec out for Reine.
"Reine! Sweet Scent! Gust!" Dylan commanded, watching the combee disappear into a cloud of sparkling white smoke and then it exploded outward across the battlefield. The ninjask seemed to be distracted by the scent, making it move less sporadically "Now!" Dylan yelled, as Reine glowed purple and a ghostly aura erupted out of him and collided with the ninjask. "Ninjask, baton pass!" Viola yelled. Switching her two pokemon, but the power of her ninjask seemed to linger, causing the surskit to speed up and grow more powerful.
"Rain dance!" Viola commanded, surskit spinning and jumping as water began to sprinkle down around them. "Reine watch out!" Dylan warned, but it was too late, her wings had gotten soaked and she fell into a web and became tangled. Dylan watched in horror as the surskit shot aqua jet after aqua jet into Reine, putting her out of battling condition.
Dylan returned her, tears in his eyes, as he sent out Joy. She looked determined and sat on the rock, waiting. "Joy! Go!" Dylan called, but she sat there, charging up a hidden power from the looks of it. "Genius!" Dylan muttered. The rocks were covered in water, and Joy's hidden power was ice typed. A simple blast would coat the rock it hit with ice, making it extremely difficult to traverse. "Joy! I like your thinking but the surskit would probably just skate over it! Try hitting the webs and breaking them to limit its movement!"
Joy nodded in agreement and began firing ice spheres at the webs holding up the rocks. Once all of the support webs were covered she charged, the surskit gracefully dodging. Then, she used charm and sweet kiss in succession, and the surskit looked confused, and started shooting aqua jets at random, knocking many of the rock platforms down as the spray shattered the fragile frozen webs. "Corner it!" Dylan yelled. Joy chased after the surskit and used copycat, firing aqua jets back at it. The surskit finally snapped out of its confusion and noticed it was cornered.
"Sticky web! Aqua Jet!" Viola yelled, surskit sticking Joy to the platform and hitting the web holding her rock so it began to plummet, and tried to jump off the platform. However, Joy used last resort, glowing a bright color and, with great mental strain, threw her little white rock at surskit, knocking it out as she plummeted and was knocked out on impact. "Well done!" Viola called out. They both stared across the battlefield before throwing out their next pokemon, Bec and Ninjask.
Immediately, Ninjask began to speed up, while Bec began to growl, causing the ninjask to cringe in fear. Bec began flying around, dipping under and over the stones, flying close to Ninjask and nearly missing with peck, baiting it to attack. It, however, began to use swords dance to raise its attack. But Bec kept growling and making it nervous, counteracting its strength from swords dance. After a while Viola realized there was no point in continuing to try to boost Ninjask's attack, and commanded it to attack. Bec continued to dip around, narrowly dodging the other pokemon's furious swiping.
Ninjask slashed at Bec's tail as he turned sharply upwards and pecked the fragile frozen web holding up the platform, it shattered suddenly and caught the edge of the ninjask's wing as it fell, cutting it so it flopped slightly as it flew. "Nice! Now finish it!" Dylan yelled, grinning.
The tables turned, Bec chased after the Ninjask, who was slowly regaining speed, although not fast enough to escape Bec, who pecked it dead center, dealing the final blow. Both pokemon were returned in a beam of red light, as Dylan stood grinning. "I did it!" he beamed.
"I think with a bit more practice you could have done it with a few less knockouts, but overall you did well! Congratulations!"
The Pokémon Center had a washing machine - a useful piece of advice Nyo had gotten her which wouldn't have been obvious otherwise. As soon as she reached the center in Santalune, she had asked to use it, and changed into her spare tunic and leggings. While the ash and mud soaked ones were washed, tumbled and dried, Rai had first taken a shower and now went to explore the parts of the city surrounding the center. It wasn't a big place, but certainly bigger than her Kalos hometown. She didn't feel completely comfortable in this secondary tunic; instead of dark gray, this one was a dark purple color. The leggings were similar to her main ones, but ended above her ankles rather than reaching all the way down to her feet. But she didn't care overly much about appearances anyways - there were much more important things in life!
Such as gym battles. Rai had really only planned on exploring the closest area, but once she saw the sign directing eager trainers to the Santalune gym, she couldn't help herself. Favorite tunic or not, she couldn't possibly wait. Although... She saw Kea's grin in her mind, saying that she should probably grind and train a lot before the first gym, or else she would never stand a chance. As angry as that made Rai, she realized that there was probably some truth in that... So instead of rushing straight in, once she found the building, she swallowed her eagerness for a while yet, and turned away to find some place to train. After all, she had just captured a new pokémon! She couldn't head into something as important as a gym fight without even getting to know it properly, could she?
"Détourner way... That sounds as if this is a detour," Rai mused as she stepped out onto the route. "Alright, this grassy spot looks like a good enough place for some training. Come out, gang!"
She picked up both her inhabited pokéballs and clicked their buttons to let the monsters out. Echo landed on the grass and blinked at his new companion, who shook its head and barked happily upon seeing the others. After making sure that her two pokémon were friendly with each other, Rai set to work at letting them use their attacks.
They practiced aiming on weeds with Thundershock and Ember, and then Rai had them try to catch her as she ran, to train them in speed. It turned out that both pokémon were faster than she was though, especially Growlithe. But then Echo used Quick Attack, and won the contest by a mile. They also practiced getting in Low Kicks and Bite attacks on each other, although they were careful not to use them too harshly. Rai realized that it might be better to have an actual battle with somebody, rather than to let her own pokémon spar against each other. They wouldn't go full out against teammates, obviously.
Just then, Echo actually used a Quick Attack on Growlithe, making it tumble down a small hill, and tumble straight into a wild pokémon... Echo and Rai ran after, and discovered them both getting up and giving each other confused looks.
"Oh, I know that one!" Rai exclaimed, but pulled out her pokédex anyways. "It's a Psyduck!"
The dex confirmed it, and advised her not to use fire pokémon against it. As the seconds ticked by, Psyduck's demeanor changed from surprised and confused, to dark and angry. Growlithe barked happily at it, but that was only met with an angry Water Gun that had Growlithe whining.
"Return!" Rai shouted and pulled him back into his pokéball. "That was rude," she told Psyduck down the hill. "Growlithe stumbled into you by accident. But if it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get! Echo, go!"
The Elekid dashed down the slope with a grin on his face, which the Psyduck met without wavering.
"Quick Attack!" Rai called out, starting to slide down the slope herself to get closer to the scene.
Echo increased speed, but Psyduck's eyes glowed as its hands flew up to its head, and Echo seemed to shudder mere meters from its opponent, before it tumbled and rolled right past the duck instead of hitting it.
"Oh, what was that?" Rai called out, stopping mid-slope to consult the pokédex. "Confusion... What a scary attack. Stay focused, Echo!"
Echo rose up and glared at Psyduck, who seemed to be laughing at him. Quite the nasty personality this water pokémon had, didn't it? Did she really want it on her team? Wait, water pokémon... Right!
"There's no need to come close, Echo!" Rai called out. "It's a water type! Just use your Thundershock!"
Psyduck heard her, and seemed to realize its predicament. It quickly fired off a Water Gun in the Elekid's direction, but Echo smirked, endured it, and merely used that as an extra guide to make sure his Thundershock hit right where it hurt.
A few seconds later, one fried Psyduck squawked on the soaked ground. Rai wasted no time; she ran up closer and threw an empty pokéball at it. The pokémon got sucked in, the ball wobbled once... Twice...
And it fell still. Psyduck was caught! Triumphantly, Rai picked up the ball and gave Echo a hug for his good work.
"Let's hope this Psyduck will soften up to us eventually. For now, the rest of us have a gym battle to perform..."
"Y'know, I could just go to an actual qualified barber to get a haircut." Drew groaned, as Felicity trimmed away at his mop of hair. The fact that she'd dragged him to her hotel room, and was now proceeding to have her way with his hair meant she wanted to talk. Drew had learned that much over the years. He was praying this was just an 'I'm so proud to see you doing this' talk, but it couldn't have been. They'd already had that one. This one was unsolicited, and there was no clear catalyst to it. Did she know something he didn't want her to?
"So, the professor was telling me that he saw your name on the sign-up sheet for the contest…" She continued to ramble on, but Drew didn't listen to the rest. His thoughts instantly returned to his earlier battle with that Paige girl. It was as if she'd planned the whole thing out. The professor had admitted that he signed Jackson up that morning, so if it was him that saw his name on the sheet…had she signed him up before they even battled? Then what was the point? Who was this girl? And what was her fascination with him? He scoffed. As if she was really getting in his head like this. He could just no show the event, but Felicity finding out really put a spanner in the works. Not to mention he had to see her again…to find out more. He'd go through with it. Either that or he admitted he was bailing on his journey. At this point, the latter didn't seem like that bad an option. Before he could speak up, Felicity nudged him. "So I bought you the most adorable little tux, whaddaya think?" She beamed, unveiling the white from the box on the bed.
Drew remained silent.
"C'mon kid, give me something here." Felicity sighed, her tone drowning in genuine disappointment. "You're like a brick wall today, is something up?"
"It's great. I'm…looking forward to it." He responded flatly, staring at a chatot that had perched on the windowsill.
"Ohhh, look, a chatot. Don't get too many of those in Aquacorde." Felicity gasped after following Drew's gaze and noticing the bird. She cautiously attempted to approach the pokemon, but her foot kicked into something on the ground, knocking it over and alarming the parrot. "Damn, if only I wasn't such a clutz." She groaned, crouching to pick up what seemed to be Drew's bag. "Eww, Drew, we do you still have wet clothes in your bag, I swear you're hopeless som…" As she clumsily shuffled through his things, she noticed one thing in the bag. Or conversely, a missing thing. She couldn't help but notice a distinct lack of a pokeball in the pocket. When she saw him she noticed it wasn't on his belt, so she assumed it was in his bag. She glanced up at the boy, who seemed completely oblivious. "Drew, where's your pokemon?"
"About that…" Drew began, his face reddening like a tomato. "I don't want to be a trainer anymore. I'm done." He opened his mouth to continue, but it was obvious that statement had already done the damage.
Felicity scowled and raised a brow. "Excuse me?" She dropped the wet clothes and stood up, with the razor still in her other hand. "Drew, where is your pokemon?" She folded her arms, standing over the seated Drew. The teen glanced away, avoiding eye contact at all cost. "You know what, I don't even care where he is, just go and get him. You'd better be back in 20 minutes." At this point she was pointing to the door, furious. "What would your parents say? Forcing you to become a trainer is the best thing they've ever done for you, and you're just gonna throw that away?" She ranted, barely giving Drew any time to respond.
Drew glanced at himself in the mirror. She was right. He wasn't about to allow his parents to be right. He was going to prove them wrong, even if it took a little effort. He paused for a moment, noticing his haircut was half done. He still had full length hair on the top of his head, though Felicity didn't seem to care much. Half Ivy League, half mop…apparently that was the look he'd have to deal with.
***
He wasn't sure how she did it, but Felicity was still managing to apply that same disciplinary fear that she had back home. What was she actually gonna do? Ground him? That would technically be giving him exactly what he wanted. It would never be that simple though. If his journey hadn't been going well, quitting his journey was going even worse. His train of thought was instantly cut off by a bright flash of light. "The heck?" He groaned, stumbling back. "Hey, what's the bright idea?" As his vision readjusted, he saw a young boy with a camera in front of him.
"Sorry about that friend. Just taking some pics for Viola. You're not exactly what she usually takes interest in, but that hairstyle is too interesting to ignore." He grinned staring down at Drew's half cut mop. "What do you call it?"
Drew blinked a few times. Everything that was going on was just testing his patience at this point. If he was going to follow through like he'd convinced himself. He'd have to battle Viola at some point, why not now. If one of her understudies had fallen on his doorstep, maybe it was a sign. "Take me to the gym, and let Viola know she's got a challenger." Drew announced.
The boy with the camera studied the kid before him. "Ummm…your bravado and confidence are impressive, but you don't seem to have a camera or a pokemon. What exactly is it you're challenging her to?"
Drew glanced down, noticing he was yet to find the Chespin he'd left on the ground. "It should be around here somewhere." He grumbled, scratching his head.
"So it's a photography battle you're looking for?"
"What the heck is a-no I'm looking for my damn pokemon…"
The photographer was taken aback, clearly unimpressed by Drew's response. "If you're capable of losing your pokemon so carelessly, Viola will have no interest in your challenge. You'll have to undergo some sort of…reconciliation first." He spoke in a much firmer tone than before.
Drew cringed, both at the man's use of the term reconciliation and at the insinuation that he would have to complete some extra tasks. This whole thing was already drawn out enough as it was. In his predicament he could hardly say no. It was as good an excuse as any to miss out on the contest as well. "Fine, what have I gotta do?" He sighed, doing his best to mask the relief within.
"If you can help the pokemon rangers deal with the infestation issues, peacefully, then maybe Viola could accept your gym challenge. I think that's fair, don't you?" He stuck out his hand for Drew to shake.
The young trainer stared at the outstretched hand for a moment. He really didn't want to do this. It wasn't like he was in any place to argue right now though. He'd be letting a lot of people down by bailing on this contest: Felicity, professor Sycamore, his parents even this Paige girl. He even felt he was letting himself down. The thought of seeing Jackson Crane in a contest was hilarious, and he'd be missing that. Then again, after getting a taste, maybe the guy would become a regular coordinator. Another time maybe? The thought made him chuckle at least. Figuring out how to make it up to people would have to come later though. He stood up and shook the photographer's hand. There were more urgent matters to attend to than promises. Like where the hell the pokeball had gotten to.
A man with a thick white mustache stepped out onto the topiary stage in the center of the grand Santalune Gardens. He beamed out to the audience as the few hundred people present for this early stage contest made themselves known and occupied their seats with gusto.
"Hello everyone! My name is Reginald Amour! A contest star in my own days, I am here to judge the contestants and welcome all of you to the second official contest of the Kalosian Grand Festival Qualifiers!" The crowd burst into an uproar of cheers. As the the stage lights set up pierced through the night sky, reflecting off the tiny dew drops of the flowery stage and the excited glisten of the old mans eyes.
"I hail from Sinnoh originally... and as you may expect there are no Kalosian Contest Stars on the panel tonight... because tonight! We're scouting for someone with the potential to claim that position! The first Kalosian Contest King or Queen!" Once again the crowd cheered their approval, families and fans of particular contestants waved their home-made signs and the atmosphere was positively electrifying.
As Reginald continued, Professor Sycamore sat in the stands near the front of the crowd, beside him was a sickly teenage girl with a wide smile on her lips. "So the students you thought will be competing?" She asked with glee and Sycamore gave a small and confident nod. "Yes my dear, they will be competing here indeed, I do so look forward to their progress in action!" He turned to look at the girl with a soft smile. "Your brother as well, no?"
The girl gave a small and awkward smile. "I am excited to see him again, but I don't think he's suited for-" She was cut off again by an uproar of cheering as Reginald Amour gestured skywards.
"...so without further ado! I would like to introduce you to our guest judge this evening! The current contest queen of Hoenn! Lisia!"
The cheers were almost deafening as a pink wind carrying balls or fluffy cotton spiraled around the stage, sparks of fairy glitter darted around and the bright beam of moonlight cut down through the beautiful display, illuminating a young woman dressed in a blue costume, sitting upon the back of a regal pokémon covered in clouds.
"Incredible..." The professor muttered. "That Altaria has attained a new form... it has been a while since I have witnessed the power of Mega Evolution in person."
As Mega Altaria touched down, Lisia leaped from its back and posed for the audience whom cheered louder still. The cotton was blown away and the stage looked as it had before, Mega Altaria took to the sky as Lisia made her way to the judging box to grab a microphone.
"Hellooooo Santalune City!" She cried and the crowd cheered louder still than before. "Awesome! That's what I like to hear! It is my honor, along with my uncle to open up Kalos to the world of Contest Spectaculars! It's a shame Wallace couldn't make it tonight, but do you all think I can manage this myself?!" She held the microphone out to the crowd as most everyone, especially a sect of rather cringe worthy fanboys, cried out with a cacophony of "Yes!" and "We love you Lisia!".
With a grin Lisia span and gestured towards the open stage entrance, the darkness within the newly crafted, tent like tunnel obscured the first contestant, ready to step out and perform.
"I don't think I can wait any longer, can you?! Let's get right to it... to kick off this contest everyone welcome to the stage-!"
A Light in the DarknessCurrent Location : Santalune City - Garden Stadium
"Mr. Jackson Craaaaane!"
Jackson winced as this supposed contest superstar called out his name. He carried his bass guitar on his back and the electric in his hand. He quickly knelt down in front of Teddy, he had left Gaspar and Fang to explore around the gardens a bit, but Teddy was Jackson's chosen pokémon for the performance, the one he had put on the sheet upon arriving.
"Alright Ted, you know the drill..." Jackson started hastily, nerves catching up quickly. "I'm gonna go out there and start playing, all you gotta do is strum along that one chord I showed you in the room over and over... and try to look cute as your lil' bear butt can manage, y'get it?" Teddy nodded triumphantly and Jackson grinned. "A'ight Ted, it's time, wait here for my signal."
With that Jackson stepped out on to the stage with his instruments in hand, he carried a stand for the one he wasn't using in the other and upon making it to center stage he set it down and placed the bass carefully inside, ready for it to be used when needed. Malorie was probably sitting at home watching this performance, it wasn't going to be anything special, cute and funny maybe... but that was about all he was going to manage. He didn't want to win, he just wanted to make something passable. Something that wouldn't make a total fool out of himself.
"A musical performance? Awesome! Are you ready to start Mr. Crane?!" Lisia called out excitedly and the crowd responded with an excited bout of cheering. Jackson just grunted and gave Lisia a small nod, so that the small backing track he had requested would begin to play.
Jackson swiftly began to strum to the beat, playing to the best of his ability. He was a little rusty, his band days were long gone by, but he couldn't help smiling a little as he hit the familiar riffs with ease, his hands moving on muscle memory as his performance improved by the second.
---
Professor Sycamore tapped his foot gently in the audience and to his left, Malorie looked on with an ecstatic glee. Sycamore had gotten help from the Nurse Joy of Aquacorde, alongside a specialized dose of medication, in order to allow the sickly girl to make the trip in person and watch Jackson live on the stage. "Wow... I can't believe it Professor, he's actually doing it!" She said with glee. "I'd have never expected him to actually show up for this." Sycamore grinned widely in response. "My dear I twisted his arm a bit, he adores his petite soeur. When he heard you were coming he couldn't be stopped."
She beamed proudly, happy to be appreciated and for her brother on stage both. "I've always loved Jackson's guitar but... where exactly are his pokémon? He has them right?"
---
There was a problem.
Jackson had winked, pointed and gestured towards the entrance to the stage upwards of five times now but Teddy wasn't walking on stage. What the hell was that little fuzzy asshole doing?! Jackson smiled awkwardly as he continued to play, but the judged expressions were shifting to confusion. He had been going for too long now without a pokémon getting involved. He had to keep going though, he couldn't stop or ask for a repeat, not now. He had to do his best or he'd look like the biggest asshat in kalos.
Arceus be damned... where the hell was Teddy?!
---
As the performance started, Teddy watched nervously waiting for his signal. There were so many people out there but Jackson was still standing there all brave... so cool! His eyes sparkled as he nervously gripped the edge of the tent tunnel. Teddy was gonna be cool too! He'd go out there and play that weird stringy stick like no other mon could! No doubt in his-
"Dour!" Teddy heard a cry as a small crash seemed to go off nearby. He had time right? It sounded almost like Fang so he should quickly run to check.
As Teddy stepped out the other side of the cloth tunnel he saw Fang lying hurt on the floor of a nearby flower path. Approaching him slowly was... a big and scary pokémon. It looked like of the grass monkey's from the forest but bigger. Did it hurt Fang because of the fire? B-but it wasn't Fang's fault...
Teddy froze as he frantically looked around for someone to help. Fang wasn't strong enough to fight that big guy alone, even if fire really hurt grassy things. But... he saw nobody, they were all in at the contest. He had to go and get help! He had to get out of here!
In his frantic looking he caught Fang's gaze. He saw a weakness in the fire type he hadn't seen before. He was scared. Teddy remembered... he remembered the big bully bunny, he remembered Jackson and Gaspar rushing to help him. He remembered how strong they were, how impressive they were.
Teddy's small scared lips slowly curled into a snarl and he pulled his arm back, claws bared and ready to strike.
He'd be strong too. He had to be. He had to save his friend.
"Ursa!" Teddy cried out as he charged towards the big green pokémon.
---
Jackson was starting to panic and people began to notice that something was wrong by his expression. He kept playing but the song was half done and there was no sign of Teddy. Mal was watching, all these people were watching. It felt like he was being crushed under all of their gazes, he was alone out here. Alone again.
He grit his teeth and kept playing.
From the floor of the grassy floor Gaspar looked up at his trainer and considered everything. They hadn't know each other for very long at all... and yet. Gaspar felt something other than a mischievous glee or sadistic mockery when he looked at him. Was that why he had gone out onto this stage despite not being selected for this contest? Was that why he sacrificed his own wellbeing to protect Jackson in the forest?
The professor spoke to him when he was still freshly caught. He told Gaspar that he'd be friends with someone who was very much like himself but not. Gaspar hadn't ever noticed that about Jackson, not until now.
Jackson was his... friend. He would help his friend.
Jackson looked downwards in confusion as a purple smoke began to fill the floor around him, the judges and the audience also seemed somewhat enthused by the sudden change. Jackson hadn't asked for a smoke screen so... what was this?
It was then he saw it, in his shadow through the smoke. Two piercing whit eyes met his own... and Jackson smiled, sharing a grin with his pokémon. He played with greater fervor, kicking aside the fog and letting out large and loud guitar riffs, Gaspar manipulated his natural smoke, making it move and flow with the music as if Jackson was somehow forcing it back with the tones of the guitar.
The crowd started to clap in time with the music and the smoke movements and the judges seemed confused, but also oddly curious and intrigued by this effect. Gaspar rose from Jackson's shadow in response to the crowd's claps and cheers. Adoring the attention he began to fly circles around Jackson, with flashing eyes he activated his new move, Night Shade, and manipulated the smoke to form larger shapes and entities with pure ghostly power. Cheering fans, dashing pokémon and swirling clouds and geometric shapes dances out of the smoke, each shattering as Jackson struck a chord in its direction.
The crowd began to cheer louder, eating the performance up and Malorie almost cried with joy as she stood up in the stands and cried out to her brother, Sycamore helping to support her as she made the gesture.
...and Jackson saw her. He saw his sister and he froze for just a millisecond with shock, before his face spread into a genuine smile and he kept playing, kicking through apparitions of smoke and dashing around the arena, raising his arms to hype up the crowd, like he was performing in Veilstone again for the first time in years. Gaspar followed him, shocking the audience with smokey apparitions that followed Jackson like an after image as he moved passed the stands.
Jackson slid on his knees back to the center stage and quickly swiveled back to his feet.
Gaspar again followed, continuing the trail of smoke, perfectly following his trainer's movements. There was something new blossoming between the two in that moment. There was more than just a basic bond of pokémon and trainer. There was a new understanding and friendship as Jackson saw Gaspar's resolve to stand with him and support Jackson as his partner... and Gaspar witnessed firsthand the passion and care that shone through Jackson's dark exterior from his heart when he saw his sister and gave his all for something other than a fight.
From this understanding Gaspar felt a new strength building in his form and the smoke began to coalesce around the gastly, surrounding him a powerful cloak of darkness. Jackson knew what was happening... he could sense it... and so he quickly moved to grab the bass guitar.
"Professor... in that orb, there's a light..." Malorie mused, as Gaspar's shell began to crack with a powerful shining force. Sycamore smiled widely and nodded gently to himself. "To think, he would unlock that power here... Malorie, your brother is just full of surprises."
As he held the base guitar in hand and the light from Gaspar grew brighter, Jackson gripped it tighter and full on flung the instrument in Gaspar's direction. "Catch!"
As the darkness exploded outwards when coming into contact with the guitar, a single spectral purple hand caught the guitar and gripped it tightly, as the light faded off of Gaspar's body the audience gasped as a completely different pokémon was floating in his place.
"Haaauuunt!" Gaspar cried as he flew down to circle Jackson, quickly strumming with his new hands along the notes that Teddy was supposed to play. Jackson followed suit, finishing off with some of the most intricate patterns he could play. Gaspar caklced and pressed back to back with his training, the arena was nigh covered with purple smoke, but a solid circle sat around the trainer and pokémon as they forced it back with strum after strum.
With one final massive, synchronized riff Jackson and Gaspar forced the smoke backwards, forcing it fly over the stands and out of the arena, before finishing by pointing skywards in unison.
The crowd went wild, Sycamore had to hold Malorie down to stop her from hurting herself by jumping around.
---
Lisia clapped her hands with glee as things calmed down. "Jackson Crane everybodyyyy! Wooo!" She screamed before moving over and patting him on the back, gesturing for him to head off stage... and he promptly did so, wanting to get out of the spotlight quickly as Lisia called out for the next contestant.
As they stepped and floated through the tunnel both, Jackson looked at Gaspar with a sneer. "Looks like you put on weight." The now haunter chuckled and sneered right back at his trainer, proud of his new power and glad to witness what he and Jackson could truly do together.
As trainer and pokémon, as partners, this was a huge step forward.
---
Teddy and Fang sat leaning atop one another in a heap by a fountain in the gardens. Many bushes and shrubbery had been burned, cut and destroyed... but together they had managed to beat back the Simisage and win the day. Fang gave a respectful grunt to Teddy whom had come to his aid and the small bear nodded with a bit of a smile.
Fang was kind of scary... but together they were pretty strong so Teddy didn't mind. Besides, underneath that rough exterior he had a heart of gold... hey maybe he'd be a good choice for a contest after-
Teddy's eyes shot open with shock. The contest.
"UUUURSAAAAAAA!" He cried as he hastily sprinted back towards the tents.
"Introducing Dylan Graham, and his four pokemon, Joy, Bec, Reine, and Puan!"
Dylan walked out onto the stage, his red silk cape flowing elegantly behind him. He touched the edge of his mask as he bowed, maroon hair falling over his eyes. Then he straightened, and began to dance, as if with an invisible partner, a white sparkling fog beginning to cover the grass, flowers, and his pokemon. Then, Reine flew along the edge of the stage, using sweet scent and gust alternatively to blow the sweet-smelling gas across the audience. The effect was mesmerizing.
Many oohs and ahhs echoed around as Joy used charm, causing three large hearts to float around Dylan as he danced. As the song drew to a close, he danced his way up to the front of the stage, and at the last note he bowed, sniffing the flowers. When he straightened he suddenly ripped off his mask, revealing his scarred and charred face, bent and contorted in a mischievous smile. Puan used screech to mimic the sound of a screaming woman, and then covered the stage in thick black smoke.
Bec flew through the air, carrying a trail of smoke behind him, spinning around Dylan and over the audience. He let out bursts of purple draconic energy which impacted the stage within the smoke and gave the smoke an eerie purple glow from underneath, as if he was attacking the unmasked man. Dylan gave out a loud cackle from under the smoke swirling around just as Reine used hidden power, enveloping him in ghostly energy, pulling the smoke around him as he glowed a deep purple, forming the smoke into the shape of a large scary face. The face zoomed around the stage and over the audience, eliciting screams from some of the onlookers, while others stared quietly.
Suddenly, Puan used hidden power, causing wind to pick up and blow all the smoke around until it had disappeared, revealing Dylan dressed as a beautiful woman, a maroon dress cascading down, his face covered in the pearly white mask. He flipped his maroon hair, which had been tucked into his clothing, so it flowed down his back. Bec was seated on his shoulder, and he raised one arm, pointed at the face and the bird flew, speeding into the face and causing both to tumble into the ground and send the flowers flying into the air over the crowd.
Dylan, disguised as the woman, twirled in the sweet scented fog, hearts spinning around him. Then he scooped down and picked up Joy, who blew a magical kiss towards the crowd with sweet kiss and stuck a flower into Dylan's hair which she had picked from the ground. Puan used focus energy and glowed next to Dylan, Bec landed on his shoulder, and Reine spun in the sparkling mist around them all. Dylan curtsied, and smiled. Then turning, walked off the stage.
Shino stared at Avril in complete and total disbelief. Did the blonde Pokémon trainer actually expect him to handle fighting a fully evolved Pokémon? Granted, the Froakie was aware that he had done this sort of thing before... However, during that encounter he had the assistance of Echo, Rai's Elekid. Chances are he would be fighting alone this time, unless Avril decided to have him team up with Anise or possibly Benjamin. The cautious little Froakie gave a glance over his shoulder at the Mudbray in question. It seemed like during this entire incident with the wild Muk, Benjamin had made himself quite comfortable off to the side in the grass. Shino couldn't be exactly one hundred percent sure on the situation, but the little frog Pokémon was fairly sure that his newest teammate was actually starting to fall asleep. Avril however, seemed to be completely oblivious to this development. In fact, the teenager seemed to be overly confident on the situation she found herself in.
"Heh... Consider this to be a warm-up for the gym, guys!" Avril commented, her gaze locking with that of the putrid, sludge Pokémon. "If we can take this thing down, then I know we're definitely ready to take on Viola and the Santalune City gym! And what better way to start off than with the power of our newest partner! Alright, Benjamin! I choose you!"
Avril pointed dramatically in the direction of the wild Muk. She waited, her face eager for the Mudbray in question to strut forward and show this disgusting blob of a Pokémon just who was in charge. The problem was, Benjamin never came. Avril seemed to slowly realize this, the eagerness on her face disappearing as she began to glance around in search of her newest Pokémon. Sure enough, the blonde girl located Benjamin still laying in the grass where he had been during this entire exchange. He looked the Pokémon trainer right in the eye, letting out a loud huff before he stretched his body out and began to relax. Avril felt three sets of eyes on her at this point. Shino and Anise were both staring at her curiously, as if wondering if her decision to adopt the Mudbray was truly the best thought she had ever had. The wild Muk was also staring at Avril intently, another ball of sludge ready to be tossed straight in her direction.
"W-Well... why lead off with the raw powerhouse first, right?!" Avril tried to laugh off, the girl desperately trying to restore her composure. "Shino, it's time for you to show this thing who's boss!"
Shino's eyes widened at the mention of his name, the little frog Pokémon clearly not excited over the fact that he was chosen as the backup plan to battle against the wild Muk. Still, he knew that he needed to obey Avril's orders. The Froakie hopped forward, attempting to put on his most intimidating face to stare down the wild Muk.
"Right! We'll make this quick! Start off with a Quick Attack, Shino!" Avril commanded.
Shino croaked in agreement, the Froakie dashing forward at breakneck speed in an attempt to attack the Muk with all the energy he could muster. Shino quickly slammed his body right into the wild Pokémon, but Muk seemed to not take any damage from the attack in the slightest bit. In fact, Shino practically bounced right off the poison Pokémon's body. It was almost as if it was made of rubber or something of the sort. Shino managed to catch his balance, landing on his feet close towards Avril's location. The wild Muk did not let Shino take a moment to catch his breath, though. The sludgy Pokémon quickly launched a ball of poison goo right in Shino's direction! He quickly ducked down, the sludge sailing right over his little head.
"Good try, Shino! But let's try a Quick Attack again! This time try to hit him a little bit harder!" Avril shouted.
Once more, the Froakie tried to tackle into the wild Muk as quickly and as hard as he could. A naughty-looking glint could be seen in the Muk's eyes as Shino dashed forward. Without missing a beat, the Muk took another handful of sludge and launched it forward. Avril's eyes widened as the sludge slammed right into Shino's body, sending the Froakie sailing right into a nearby wall. With a loud splat, Shino hit the wall with a croak of pain. He seemed to be okay for the most part, but it looked as if Muk's sludge was keeping him literally pinned up against the wall. No matter how hard Shino tried to pry himself free of the disgusting, self-made trap, he absolutely could not budge. Muk let out a loud, grotesque sounding gurgle of satisfaction at the sight of this. A loud, rather jolly sounding bray seemed to be heard as well. Avril shot her eyes over in the direction of Benjamin, who seemed to be getting a chuckle out of the situation Shino now found himself in as well. Shino shot the Mudbray a rather dirty look.
"Anise! You're up!" Avril called, sending her Hoothoot into battle to replace the rather stuck Froakie.
The Hoothoot was all too eager to try her luck against the wild Muk. She unleashed a loud and hearty sounding hoot as she wasted no time in flying towards her opponent. Avril quickly ordered Anise to attack with a Peck attack. The owl Pokémon complied, diving down quickly with her beak poised to attack. Muk seemed to wince slightly as the bird's beak drove into its head, but it was quick to counter by swatting at the Hoothoot, knocking Anise away from it with anger. Anise managed to hold steady as Avril ordered to attack with another Peck attack. Once more, the owl took off with intention to drill her beak right into the wild Muk as hard as she could. The sludge Pokémon glared at Anise as she neared her target, quickly reaching out and managing to grab hold of her just a split moment before it would have taken the attack. Anise let out a loud hoot of anger as the wild Muk tightened its grip on her body, bringing the owl in close slowly.
Benjamin sat up slightly in interest, watching as the Muk's rather sloppy-looking mouth seemed to take the shape of a rather mischievous looking grin. The poison Pokémon seemed to take a deep breath, it's shapeless mass of what could only be assumed to be a head rearing back, before suddenly shooting forward. A loud, ear-splitting belch was quick to erupt from the wild Muk's mouth, causing a horrifically foul smelling stench to start blanketing the area. Avril was quick to cover her mouth and nose as the smell wafted forward, the blonde girl doing everything in her power to keep from tossing her cookies at a stench that could only be best described as gasoline mixed with spoiled ham, rotten eggs, and just a hint of Limburger cheese. Poor Anise was definitely not better off. With no way to defend herself from the putrid scents escaping the wild Muk's mouth, it was all the owl could do to keep herself from losing it all over the place to. The belch seemed to go on for what seemed like hours, despite the fact that it was only a few seconds at best. The sludge Pokémon eventually released Anise, sending the bird reeling down to the ground in a desperate attempt to try and catch her breath. The hoothoot looked like she was about to become violently ill and Avril honestly could not blame her for what she had just been put through. Without a moment's hesitation, Avril quickly grabbed Anise's Pokéball and recalled her to give the poor Hoothoot a chance to hopefully grab some relief.
"Arceus damn, that's some foul crap..." Avril managed to spew out, the girl quickly starting to debate bailing on this whole situation now.
Once more, the Muk began to gurgle in delight over the absolute joy he found in himself about the mess he was causing. It didn't take long either for Benjamin to join in. The Mudbray was still enjoying himself, watching his new trainer and teammates being worked over so easily. Avril too shot Benjamin an annoyed glare. She grabbed hold of the Mudbray's own Pokéball, about to call him back into it if only to stop his annoying braying, when something unexpected happened. The braying of Benjamin was quickly brought to silence as a handful of purple goo was quickly tossed in his direction, landing smack dab in the middle of his face. Save for the delighted gurgle of the wild Muk, the air around the fountain grew deathly silent. Without so much as a word from Avril, Benjamin quickly climbed to his feet. The Mudbray glared right in the direction of the wild Muk, before letting out a loud and angry bray and charing right in his direction. The Mudbray jumped high into the air, suddenly slamming down onto the ground with a loud thump. The ground around Avril began to shake from Benjamin's impact, causing the trainer to easily lose her footing and hit the ground with a thump. The force of the blow seemed to also aid Shino's struggling, as the Froakie too found himself hitting the ground quite unexpectedly.
Avril glanced up in the direction of the fountain, the girl gasping as she noticed Muk panicking for a moment, as if the putrid Pokémon was afraid that he was about to lose his balance. This suddenly gave Avril a rather wonderful idea. If direct attacks weren't going to effect the wild Pokémon... then maybe attacking the environment around it would prove to be more rewarding.
"Benjamin, do that again! Quickly!" Avril ordered.
For the first time, the Mudbray seemed eager to obey his new trainer. Once more, Benjamin jumped high into the air and slammed down into the ground, causing another shockwave to rocket forth and shake the Roserade fountain. The Mudbray began to do this over and over again, until finally the Muk simply could not hold its balance anymore. Without warning, it quickly slipped down from the fountain and hit the ground with a loud and surprised groan. Benjamin quickly stepped forward, his head leaning down as he glared at his surprised opponent. Shino too seemed to be feeling a bit angry and joined the Mudbray's side, looking just as anxious to finish this disgusting Pokémon off once and for all. Both Shino and Benjamin suddenly charged forward, slamming their bodies into the Muk for all they worth. Muk let out a loud, groan of pain as it flailed its arms, quickly shifting his body and trying to crawl away. Benjamin let out a loud and angry bray as he lowered his head once more, clearly preparing to chase after the sludge Pokémon. Avril seemed to be eager to let the Mudbray do this, when a loud shot quickly stopped the scene.
"That's enough! No more!" a male voice called out. Avril, Shino, and Benjamin all turned to see a Pokémon Ranger briskly making his way towards them. "I can't believe what I just witnessed. That wild Muk has been causing a headache here for the past few hours. One of my fellow rangers was supposed to be here putting a stop to them, but after the lady that owns a store around her called and said that he still hadn't come by, I was sent to investigate and see what was happening. Imagine my surprise to see some kid trying to fight it off instead!"
Avril glanced at her Mudbray and Froakie for a moment, before turning her attention back to the Ranger. "Wait... so like, you guys knew that... thing was here? And no one did anything about it?"
The ranger sighed. "I guess we're just spread way too thin right now. It can't be helped really, what with the forest fire from the other day. It's really made Santalune City into a real mess for the time being. Formerly owned Pokémon now being trainerless, the fountain, a huge infestation of Bug-types in part of the city, we just can't be everywhere at once. That Team Cinder's really made a mess of things here."
Avril felt a bit uncomfortable now. Had she somehow managed to miss all this commotion going on around the city? The blonde trainer knew that Santalune was a busy place, but she felt like if she would have noticed things were out of place. And all of it was caused just by one group of people?
"Well... no matter," the ranger eventually commented, breaking the silence. "You did a great deed to help us out in this time of need, citizen, even if it wasn't intentional. A good deed like that shouldn't go unrewarded."
"O-Oh... No, really... We don't need anything," Avril tried to protest.
"I insist," the ranger replied. Avril watched as he reached into a pocket on his jacket and pulled out a CD-like object of sorts. "This here is a TM. It's the TM for Water Pulse, to be exact. It's a pretty strong water technique. I figure that Froakie of yours might be able to make good use of it, yeah?"
Without waiting for Avril to respond, the Pokémon Ranger placed the TM in her hands. He smiled fondly at the girl, offering a quick salute before making his way off towards the fleeing Muk. Avril could assume he was going to make sure that the sludge Pokémon properly exited the city so this sort of thing wouldn't happen again.
Avril glanced down at the TM in her hands before looking up in the sky. "Man... It sounds like Kalos is really having some trouble... at least down here in Santalune... I wonder what exactly is going on here...?"
