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 Posted: Sat Jun 22, 2013 2:08 pm
The Tadpole Pokemon turned out to be far less intimidating than Rattata had been, if that was possible. The Water-type stood there, looking almost uncertain, tail swishing back and forth lightly. Naja's Intimidate ability did not help matters; she hissed and stared the poor Poliwag down, making her fret even more. "Don't let that gross snake get to you, Polly," Donnie said, frowning. "Remember all that trainin' we did? You're plenty strong enough to take that thing down! Use your Water Gun!" Poliwag wobbled forward, her pace unsteady, and she jumped lightly into the air, letting loose a stream of water from her mouth.
"Geez, you aren't very kind to my team," the dark-haired boy mumbled, glancing at Naja. "Dodge it. Bite." The snake, quick as ever, slithered out of the way and lashed out at Polly, hissing. Eyes widening, the tadpole fell back, spinning around and slapping the Poison-type's head away with her tail. Her feet seemed all the more steady as she landed. Naja hissed again, angry. She did not know how the rest of that gym battle turned out, but she knew that she failed against that Scyther. She was determined not to let that kind of mistake happen again, even if her opponents were airborne. Luckily enough, Poliwag wasn't, and that made things considerably easier. Jett scratched his nose, half-smiling as he watched the two stare each other down -- well, watched Naja stare Polly down, at least. Polly just sort of looked back, lacking the malice that his own Pokemon possessed. He was growing to like battling with the Ekans.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Another Ghost-type? Tessa thought, exasperated, when her nameless opponent brought out a Gastly. Does he have anything else? It was no matter; she would persevere. Victorious or not, she would not allow this infuriatingly silent boy bring shame upon the Dewford Gym! His previous silence made it all the more shocking when, perhaps for the first time since she encountered him, Leon addressed the battle girl directly, making some snide comment before ordering a... Giga Drain?
"Aha!" she exclaimed, grinning. "So I see. Stay strong, Meditite." The Meditate Pokemon did just that, barely wincing as her own health was sapped away by the Grass-type move. "Confusion!" With Gastly, at least that half Poison typing would leave it susceptible to their Psychic-type attacks. Finally, the meditating Pokemon's eyes opened, releasing a burst of telekinetic power barreling right for the floating gas ball. It seemed that this round of their battle, which happened to be their last, would be much more interesting. How appropriate.
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Posted: Sat Jun 22, 2013 4:07 pm
Jaeshan smiled as Jade spoke his name again, and for a split second he almost apologized again. He managed to stop himself though, knowing that the cynical, snarky girl he'd come to adore was still in there somewhere and he was fairly certain that her smacking the back of his head for yet another apology would be a moment-killer. When she pulled him into a hug he returned it without hesitation, wrapping his arms around her and holding her as if his embrace alone would be enough to keep the bad guys at bay. He didn't even notice her sniffling and even if he had it wouldn't have bothered him. She'd been carrying that burden around for a while and it probably felt good to finally let it all go. He could most certainly relate as his own shoulders seemed to feel a little lighter now, even if he still had a long ways to go to reclaiming his previous life.
He made a bit of a face at her inquiry. "That sounds like a bad tagline to bad movie," he chuckled, scratching at his chin thoughtfully. "And I dunno, I kinda like "Jaeshan the Lively Corpse" better. It sounds so much more, well, exciting." He had already become certain that looking into her beautiful grey eyes would never get boring, and he tilted his head thoughtfully at her question. He was genuinely aware of the fact that he was almost always a great big, awkward dork (something he was sure he carried over from his pre-amnesia days), and he was quite thankful that Jade had graciously chosen to accept that about him as he leaned in and kissed her again (something else he could happily get used to, by the way), and he was smiling as he pulled back slightly. "I dunno, but I could definitely go for a bit more of this," he murmured, going back for another.
A thought occurred to him quite suddenly, however and the tall blond sort of stumbled and fell back before jumping to his feet. "I'd really like to Google myself," he announced, and only a fraction of a second passed by before an expression of pure utter horror and embarrassment appeared on his face. "Oh god, wow, that sounded a lot less dirty in my head. Wow."
=-=-=-=-=
As the end of the match unfolded in front of them, Surge watched closely, his expression an unusual mixture of shock and amusement. The newly-evolved Quagsire expertly reversed Raichu's Body Slam and introduced the suddenly-smaller mouse to the ground. Normally, Raichu was able to grin at his opponents and give them a thumbs-up to show them he respected those that had managed to beat him, but this time, he was knocked right out. "Son of a Shroomish," the gym leader chuckled, Raichu's Pokeball dwarfed within his meaty hand as he moved to recall his fallen partner. "Gotta say, I wasn't expecting that," he said, stepping down from his platform and making his way across the hole-ridden battlefield. About halfway, he was met by a kid wearing a faded t-shirt with the logo of an obscure rock band on it, his stringy blonde hair pulled into a messy ponytail. He had a guitar strapped across his back and appeared to be half asleep, even as he carried a small, gold-plated box with him.
Surge narrowed his eyes at the lanky youth. "Glen!" he barked, his voice making the boy flinch a little "How many times do I gotta tell ya? Ya report to the gym at 0500, not whenever ya damned-well feel like!"
"Uh, like, sorry Sir," he said as he handed over the items, eyes flashing wide for a moment before he corrected himself. "Uhh I mean, Lieutenant. Sorry man, I was workin' on a new song last night and I didn't crash til like..." he paused, trying to figure out the correct military time to report to his CO.
Surge didn't appear to care about Glen's excuses as he accepted Amy's winnings. "Just shut yer yap and go get a shovel. You got some holes to fill in," he said, pointing to the aftermath of Marshall's frenetic digging. The youth muttered something about Surge's orders being 'totally whack' but plodded off anyway. "Alright, Kiddo," the large man said, grinning down at the speck of a girl (at least in comparison to him). "Ya pulled that one off somehow, so it's my honor t' give ya this." He held out his palm, in the center of which sat a sparkling Thunder Badge. "Ya also get some money, and the most reliable Electric-type move out there - Shock Wave." Waiting until Amy had accepted her prizes, he cleared his throat and continued. "Watchin' ya out there though, I couldn't help but notice just how worked up ya were. Pokemon battles can be pretty serious business, yah, but Kid, ya gotta loosen up. Battlin's s'posed to be fun, too. I'm sure ya saw just how much fun yer lil Woopah was havin' out there. You'd do well ta learn from yer Pokemon, sometimes ya'd be surprised what they can teach ya." He gave the girl a gentle pat on the shoulder (as not to send her to the ground accidentally) before sending her on her way. "GLEN!" he shouted, clearly unhappy with the lackadaisical rocker's work ethic as he strode off in the opposite direction. "SOMETIME TODAY WOULD BE NICE!"
=-=-=-=-=
Nosepass, Kasiya thought, making a mental note to look the Pokemon up later. It sounded sort of familiar, and she was sure she'd probably battled one at some point, but the thought of poor Alphonse being hit by a Thunderbolt or Zap Cannon launched by a Rock-type was almost a deal-breaker. Nah, she thought, smiling as she thought of her sweet little Piplup. His bad luck won't last forever, and he'll turn into a badass battler. "Thanks, I'll definitely keep that in mind," she nodded. Having a boyfriend that had already taken down seven out of eight gyms in a region certainly had its perks, and she was liking the idea of adding some Hoenn League badges to her Heat and Mind Badges.
There are a lot of things you never told me, was almost her instant reply to his answer about battling Surge, but instead she kept it to herself and smiled, looking at him expectantly as he began to recount the little story. He must have flown to Vermilion after dropping me off at the hospital in Saffron from Slateport, she thought, which would explain the time that gone by between the good-sized nap she had thanks to the nursing staff and meeting up with Karen Kyoka before the two put together Operation: Bust Mike Out of the Madhouse. What a chaotic couple of days those had been. She smiled at the mention of Napalm's evolution, and at the fact that her father had calmed him down. She wasn't all surprised by it, but then again, she did like to think that she knew him pretty well. Surge had a fairly dark past himself, as while he hadn't exactly helped to summon a pair of mythical Titan-like Pokemon to rain down destruction on the earth, he had done some pretty horrible things during his tenure with Team Rocket, and his hands were by no means clean.
Despite being oblivious to Mike's nervousness over being introduced to her father again, this time as her boyfriend, she draped her arms around him in an almost-protective fashion, thinking about how she'd love to return home to Vermilion and have that re-rematch with her father. The first one hadn't gone over so well and she had become significantly more powerful as a trainer since then. The smile she wore was almost a giddy one as she looked back at her Mike - a part of her was still unable to believe that after all that happened, everything they'd been through, he'd finally chosen her. She hugged him a little tighter and nuzzled her face into that comfortably warm gap between his neck and shoulders. Despite the call for badges and training her Pokemon and daylight and fresh air, she really didn't want to leave this room and she definitely had an inkling that Mike felt the same way.
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Posted: Sat Jun 22, 2013 5:22 pm
Life was finally relaxing for the Rocket Boss. Having taken a moments reprieve on the beaches of Sunyshore, Giovanni leaned back under a large umbrella. A butler brought him a chilled whiskey in a small glass. Adjusting his sunglasses, the mafia leader sat up to accept the cup. "It's a shame really, Darwin." He held the glass up against the horizon, then lowered it. In the distance he could see the Elite 4 Castle, and a smirk appeared on his lips. Who would make it there, he wondered. Only trainers who proved themselves in the Lily of the Valley Conference would gain access to fight the trainers there. Not that it mattered. It would all be his soon, anyway.
"What is a shame, sir?" Darwin asked, holding the silver tray beneath his arm.
"That such beauty will no longer be free." Giovanni whispered as he took a sip. "It will soon belong to me. All of this. The oceans, the land. Even the sky will be at my beck and call. And yet nobody cares to notice." He relaxed in his chair and closed his eyes. Yet not a moment before he could possibly get some rest, he heard a phone ringing.
"Darwin speaking. ...Yes...." the butler frowned, "I see. Sir?" He handed the device to Giovanni, who held it in his hands.With a few presses of the screen, he was able to slide out the image on the screen and rest it against his lap like a small tablet. He could see many scientists rushing about some ruined equipment. Immediately, a vein in his forehead burst up against his skin.
"Sir!" the man on the screen cried out, "She came! She came back to get her Raichu!" He started coughing, then ordered a few grunts around to start cleaning up properly. "She completely ruined the place! Her and Mike!" Giovanni tightened his grip on his glass.
"I see," he slowly placed the cup on Darwin's tray. It took everything in him to remain calm. "So they think they're clever? They are merely treading on the toes of God." Giovanni continued to watch the screen as it flicked to more images of destruction within his Gym. A smirk appeared on his face. "Did she really think the Raichu is what I was worried about? That I would care!?" He started laughing to himself. "What insolence! Foolishness! A stupid girl who think she's a hot shot! And her stupid freakshow friend Mike." Another low chuckle emitted from his throat. "Do they honestly think they've even come close to winning?"
"Sir, she also left this message for you. I'll direct feed it now." The scientist pressed a few buttons and then Kasiya appeared on Giovanni's tablet.
"Maybe next time you'll think twice about messing with me and mine. If you so much as come near me, any of my Pokemon my friends, or my friends' Pokemon, you'll be sorry. Today will be nothing compared to what I'll do if you don't leave us alone. Let that be a warning to you." She paused, looking around the lab at the machines and experiments before looking to her four Pokemon again. "Destroy everything," she said, looking back up at the camera, and Shocker jumped forward. And the feed became static before returning to the scientist it showed before. "Sir?"
Giovanni said nothing and merely laid his fist on his cheek and leaned. A smile still present on his face. "She really thinks that, doesn't she? How cute. She almost reminded me of Mai for a moment. Naivety...what a gift it must be." He cut the feed on the tablet and handed it back to Darwin. "Ready my helicopter. We're going back to the base." While Kasiya did damage and destroy practically everything in the facility, and it would cost a staggering sum of money to replace, she never found the real prize.
The Relics.
-*-
Kilik continued biking uphill for a few moments before slowing to a stop to breathe. "Ugh...uuh..." he panted heavily, leaning forward on his handlebars. He kept his foot planted firmly on the ground to keep himself steady before biking up one push at a time. Sweat began to trickle down the sides of his face and he felt positively disgusting. A few other bikers sped by him like he was standing still, even on this sharp incline. They were clearly more accustomed to uphill biking than he was. He glanced up to see a guy dressed in spandex blocking his way. "Excuse me, I'd like to--" Kilik began but was rudely interrupted.
"Nah-ah, brah," the guy said, adjusting his sunglasses. He fixed his visor and leaned back on his seat, crossing his arms. "Ya bikin' on mah turf, brah. And makin' me look like a primo-lame-o to all the bodacious babes, feel mah, brah?"
It took Kilik a moment to register what he was even saying to him. With a mix of surfer, southern, and dudebro in his voice, it was difficult to translate in his head. "Uh...well, if you move, I can get to Eterna and quit, uh..." he tapped his chin, "cramping your style?"
The guy shook his head and waved a finger. "Nuuuuway brah. Comin' up all lame like dat on mah turf is straight disrespekkin', dawg." He flipped his long blonde hair and took a Pokeball off of his belt. "So, like...yah gotta battle mah, brah. And it's a speed battle, and there ain't no way like, a chump like yah is gonna beat mah, brah. I'm Dirk Chadsworth, tha most like..." he flexed his muscles, "hot dude in Sinnoh and tha best speed battl'r evah."
Kilik had gotten off of his bike at this point, and hit the kickstand. He crossed his arms over his chest and slowly took in what this guy was even trying to tell him. And much to his regret, he had to ask: "What is a speed battle?"
"Yah live unda a rock or somethin', brah?" Dirk laughed heartily, "It's tha hot stuff on Cyclin' Roads! Yah race and battle. Butcha can't command and bike at tha same time, brah. First one to tha top on tha hill wins!" He tossed his Pokeball and outpopped a Dodrio, the three headed bird Pokemon. Most Dodrio had three separate personalities between the heads, but this one was much different. All three heads had the same stoic look and douchebag personality.
"Dodrio is pretty fast," Kilik laughed, taking Cable's ball from his belt. "Let's see if he can keep up." His first speed battle was about to start, and his blood began to boil. Finally, after what felt like forever, a real trainer battle.
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Posted: Sat Jun 22, 2013 6:03 pm
Even in the decisive silence that followed Marshall's reversal, Amy's heart was racing. Warily, she eyed that electric mouse, suspecting that it was just playing, that any second now, he would surprise everyone by attacking. The shock of it only began to wear off when Surge recalled his fallen Pokemon, and she looked up at the large man, trying to grasp at the truth. "I won," she breathed. The sound of Marshall's bumbling footsteps (he had not yet adjusted to his new body) drew her attention, and before she knew it, the Water Fish Pokemon was right in front of her, wrapping his brand new arms around her. Amy smiled, hugging her Pokemon back. "We won!"
Surge's approach broke the two apart, and a joyful yet exhausted Marshall slapped clumsily at his Pokeball until he was recalled. Everything felt so surreal -- she was actually being presented with her winnings from her very first gym battle. "Thank you so much," Amy said, beaming up at the man looming over her as she collected the money and the TM. But her expression grew more serious when the gym leader addressed her panicked attitude during most of the battle. The bespectacled girl looked down, nodding a little. Just because she could win a battle didn't mean that she didn't have a lot to learn. And she could learn a lot from Marshall -- or any of her Pokemon, really. Perhaps it was her own fear that was getting in the way of her listening to them. If she could help it, then it wouldn't hold any of them back anymore. "I'll try my best," the girl vowed, looking back up at Surge. She took the pat on the back as her signal to go and she thanked the man again, turning to leave. The joy of victory still fresh in heart, the girl walked back out into the night of Vermilion (the sun had finally set during her time inside the gym, and she sensed that her very busy, eventful day was coming to an end), sights set on the Pokecenter once more.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
"Mm, I'd prefer for my partner in crime to not be a 'lively corpse,'" the girl murmured, smiling dryly. But that was the end of their conversation for a moment, as the two had returned to kissing, which was a development she didn't mind whatsoever. Spending time like this with the blonde was calming her down, slowly but surely, and bringing a whole new confidence to her outlook. After all, she'd fight tooth and nail for this, right here, and so would he. If they want to take me away, she found herself thinking, they're gonna have a hell of a fight on their hands. As far as motivators go, they certainly had a good one.
However, Jade's 'motivation' was brought to a swift stop when Jaeshan pulled back, the sudden thought of Googling himself occurring to him now, of all times. The girl raised her eyebrows at him, her stare playfully withering. "Bored, are we?" she asked, canting her head to the side. Jade reconsidered the thought, all levity aside, before standing up and grabbing the boy's hands. "Well, let's go Google you then, you sick freak." With a wicked grin, the dark-haired girl was pulling him out of the room, back into the lobby and down a different hallway, where some of the computers were located. Immediately, she plopped down on a chair and pulled another over beside her, going to the search engine on the nearest computer. "Let's see... Jaeshan -- what was it again? Give me that thing." She snatched the newspaper clipping from the pocket in his jacket, scanning over its contents. It admittedly felt good to be more like herself again. "Jaeshan Edward Devereaux." Grinning at the boy, she typed his full name into the search bar and clicked enter. Immediately, dozens of websites came up, the first few being articles regarding his disappearance. Suddenly, the thing had taken on a more... sober tone. "Wow," she breathed, turning the monitor over so solely Jaeshan could see it. Although she wanted to type it in, it was his identity they were looking up, and if there was anything he didn't want to share about his past life, that was fine by her. What if he had been like, a porn star or a mob boss (or a mob boss' son)? It was up to him, whether or not he wanted to tell her those kind of things.
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Posted: Sat Jun 22, 2013 10:05 pm
Leon was thinking opposite thoughts about Ghos' Poison-typing, but he was not particularly worried about it. The ball of gas was growing fairly well, and though he was still quite young, he was a pretty good battler. Still, he needed to fool around less, as was apparently by the way he floated by the edge of the battlefield, boogying into the darkness surrounding the battlers every so often. At least he had put his tongue back in his mouth.
Ah, so Tessa was trying to "give them a taste of their own medicine", one might say. In fact, he that was something he would have expected this girl to say. Ghos did not have much time to react to the attack (partially due to his distractedness) and was blown back by the nearly invisible wave. He disappeared into the darkness again for a moment, very very unhappy with just how much that had hurt. Still, he felt raring to go, and zoomed back into the battlefield.
Wait, whoa, things looked really weird now! He did not seem able to get a good focus on any one thing (although there were really only three "things" to focus on right now), and stuff was like, happening, but then it went away, and he was not sure he had gone back to the correct circle of light. Leon's voice reached him, however, and Ghos dazedly tried to locate the source.
Leon, back in the normal-people world, could not believe this girl's luck. It was very obvious that his Gastly had become confused. Of all the times in the world for that attack to actually inflict confusion. Leon barely sighed; it was just something they would have to deal with. These kinds of things happened in battles. "Ghos," He said, loudly, and this was the point when Ghos began to quiver around the battlefield. His command was firm, and he raised his voice just a little more. "Night Shade!"
Ghos heard this in wherever the heck he thought he was, and attempted to turn away from Leon's voice. His body became outlined in crimson, and his eyes glowed black and two black beams shot them, towards the nearest target. Perhaps that had been a bit of a reckless choice for an attack in his current predicament.
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Posted: Sat Jun 22, 2013 10:18 pm
Jaeshan's absolutely mortified expression wasn't helped by the way Jade looked at him, and her comment made him go red in the face as he quickly understood how his sudden 'announcement' could have been taken. "I wasn't... I'm n-not bored," he stammered, but seeing the raven-haired girl's not-so-serious expression had allowed him to pick up on the fact that she was already past it and indeed only toying with him (again). "Ooh, it sounds even dirtier when you say it," he retorted, his smirk equally devilish and he was somewhat grateful that her snarky attitude was continually rubbing of on him; it made their conversations that much more interesting and allowed him to feel like there was some sense of balance in their relationship.
Their relationship. The term sounded very strange to the blond as he stumbled along after Jade out of the room and back down the hall to the lobby. Okay, so they'd admitted their feelings (in a roundabout sort of way, sure), locked lips a few times and made it abundantly clear that it would take some sort of godly intervention to separate them, but just what were they, exactly? A couple? Boyfriend and girlfriend? Jaeshan didn't know, but now certainly wasn't the time to ask as Jade had suddenly seemed more curious about 'Googling him' (he'd never be able to hear that word without snickering ever again now) than he'd initially been. Feigning exhaustion as they reached their new destination, he slumped down into the seat next to her, only getting the first letter of his name out before she was reaching into his jacket pocket for the newspaper article and he jumped slightly. "Watch those hands," he chuckled, though it would be him doing the watching as he watched her type his entire name into the search bar and just to be somewhat annoying he leaned over and let his chin rest on her shoulder.
He didn't know why, but as she hit enter, he found himself holding his breath. They didn't even know what results would pop up and Jaeshan knew he didn't have to admit that he was scared, as he was quite sure she already knew that due to the fact that he'd taken her hand and was clutching it tightly. Unsurprisingly, the immediate results were all about his disappearance and as much as he wanted to know more about it and why it happened (being reassured that he'd indeed fallen overboard by accident and had not jumped of his own free will or had been pushed would be nice too), he'd had enough of seeing those grim headlines and accompanying stories for now. Having politely removed his head from Jade's shoulder, he'd been in the process of scanning the rest of the search results when the monitor was suddenly moving all by itself - no wait false alarm, Jade was turning it - and he looked at the dark-haired girl curiously. She'd averted her gaze completely and it took him a solid minute to realize that she was being considerate and giving him some privacy. He smiled thankfully and turned the monitor back to its proper position. "I can't do this by myself," he admitted, his tone a little subdued. "No more secrets, no more unknowns, okay? We do this together." He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close, planting a gentle kiss on her temple. "Though, if you're uncomfortable with it, that's fine, too."
Jaeshan was suddenly filled with an inexplicable feeling of anticipation, like before jumping into a cold swimming pool on a hot day, and he gave a slow sigh as he scrolled the mouse pointer past the depressing articles, trying hard to pretend that seeing his name and the word 'dead' in the same sentence did not bother him. Before long, though, they actually began to find some things - not a lot, as he was hardly famous - about his life before his accident. One of the first things they found was his Pokemon Trainer profile, which was helpful as it listed things such as his hometown (which they already knew) and his birthday (only a few months away, September 22nd, to be exact). It didn't list any Pokemon, however, which was frustrating, but Jae suspected was to help stop thieves from targeting trainers with specific or rare Pokemon. It did list the badges he'd won before, and he was a little surprised to see that he'd earned the first four from Kanto, and two from Hoenn. Suddenly, the random spurts of Pokemon know-how didn't seem so, well, random. Once they'd ascertained all the important information from there and printed out what they could (Jade's genius idea, by the way) they moved on. He had a Twitter account, amusingly enough and the blond got chills as he read over the last tweet he'd made, and only a few hours before he went overboard, too: "For some odd reason, I can't seem to shake this feeling of dread..."
After reading through some verbal sparring between Jaeshan and some a*****e named Keegan Summers (just the name and sight of the boy's red hair was enough to make Jaeshan angry) they moved on again, this time learning a significant amount about his parents and family, including the fact that they were indeed very wealthy (which had incited a hysterical laughing fit from Jaeshan that lasted a good five minutes) and had taken in his Pokemon after the accident. He was the only child of Edward and Caroline Devereaux (their marriage had been arranged) and had no cousins as his father was also an only child, and his mother's only sibling had died at a young age.
Finding his family history to be depressing (and sadly, not helping to spark any memories) he decided to move on, laughing in embarrassment as they were then lead to a tiny collection of videos his mother had just so happened to upload to YouTube, of all places. The first video was of him at about the age of seven or eight, all decked out in a cute little tuxedo and everything, performing at his first violin recital. Despite not being able to recall a single thing about music, he winced every time his younger self hit a wrong note or made the instrument screech (which was often, ouch) and by the time it was over, the audience's applause was hurried and somewhat forced (and probably thankful it was over). The next video had been filmed on the same day, only this time the little blond boy was seated in front of a grand piano. "This'll be rich," Jae mumbled sardonically, but then as the boy began to play, it became apparent that he was far more skilled at piano playing than violin. Not bad, but not perfect either, he skipped to the next video, frowning when he saw that it was only from a few months ago (about a week before his fateful encounter with a rogue Poochyena, that is). A woman's voice could be heard as she tried to convince her son to 'play something pretty for his mother' and Jaeshan felt embarrassed to look at his embarrassed self on the screen, already able to hear Jade's snide commentary once they'd finished watching. Head in his hands, soon a rather lovely piano melody was wafting through the computer room, and after a few moments Jaeshan's hands fell to his lap as he watched himself on screen, a smile on his face and a flicker of recognition flashing in his blue eyes. Soon, unbeknownst to him, his fingers had started moving against his thighs, copying perfectly their movements as they danced along the keys in the video. The blond chuckled and closed his eyes, his fingers still playing along on an invisible keyboard, the realization of what he was doing hitting him near the end of the piece. He let out a shaky breath and closed the windows on the screen, hoping Jade didn't see how badly his hands were now trembling. "Okay, that's it, I've had enough," he mumbled, leaning forward and putting his head on the computer desk as it had started to pound furiously, like a dozen Hippopotas had started tromping around in his brain. "Who's brilliant idea was this? Oh right, mine," he grumbled sarcastically as he waited for Jade to express her thoughts on everything they'd just seen.
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Posted: Sat Jun 22, 2013 10:46 pm
As another vine shot our from the Bellsprout in a Vine Whip attack, Train eagerly watched her Pokémon. Despite being smacked with more vines, the Growlithe remained asleep, and Bellsprout lifted him into the air a little this time. Though there was really no way of telling with her Pokémon sound asleep, Train knew that there was at least a little damage being done to him the longer the Bellsprout held its wrap. However, the girl only stood there awkwardly. Would trying to command her Pokémon while he was asleep really do anything? It's not like he would be able to process her words before he woke up, so, like…should she just kind of wait there for it to pass? She knew that he would not faint, as there was a decent gap in the levels between the two Pokémon, but that thought was still there and she did not at all like the idea of him going from sleeping to knocked out. And how would she be able to tell, if he did? She sighed again and shook her head a little. The Bellsprout was ignoring her.+=+=+=+=+ Bonnie did not wake up disgusted, but became so very shortly after coming into consciousness. She practically jumped off of the bed, though she would begrudgingly admit that she had gotten a pretty good night's sleep on the stupid thing. She pulled a small mirror out of her bag and examined herself. Unfortunately, another trip to the public bathroom was probably in order. She grabbed the bag (which was a good-sized purse), and after some basic hygiene, she dropped off her room key and left the inn, hopefully never to return. Despite having given Clyde some serious s**t about not taking his job seriously, she actually was not quite sure where to begin with her day. It was then that she remembered that she did not have a working PokéNav any longer (which she blamed Clyde for), and headed for the Pokémon Center to make a call.
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Posted: Sun Jun 23, 2013 6:43 am
As they walked along Route 3, Juliet learned that Brett and Jack were both from Striaton City, and had been the best of friends since their first day of Trainer's school long ago. They'd both only just became full-fledged trainers a little while ago, and they both had only two Pokémon so far in addition to their Pidove and Herdier. Both of them had also earned their first gym badges as well, and though Juliet had asked, neither of them were willing to give her any insight on the Triplet Leaders other than that they were all very different from one another. As to be expected, the flow of conversation shifted to Juliet's story so far, so she told them that she'd just left home a few days ago and still only had one Pokémon in her possession. They were all very surprised to learn that the girl was a hockey player, however, and even managed to get her to show them the scar on her left arm from when she'd broken it several years ago and had to have pins put in to aid in the proper healing. This aspect of Juliet's life was rather fascinating to the boys and between the two of them they'd thought of more than enough questions to ask her in order to get them back to the Daycare, though as they actually arrived, the subject had changed back to Pokémon.
"Can we see your Pokémon?" Brett asked as he unlatched the gate.
"Can we battle your Pokémon?" Jack asked hurriedly, receiving a punch in the arm from Brett. "I mean… yeah, can we see it?"
Juliet fidgeted a bit nervously as she wheeled her bike through the now open gate. She had no problems introducing Lottie to everyone, but battling with them? Surely a newly-evolved Herdier would be a bit much for her dear Riolu, and the Flying-type Pidove held a clear and devastating advantage. "S-sure," she said finally, parking her bike on the rack and locking it, even though this neighborhood didn't give her the impression that someone would steal it, like back home in Nimbasa or even Castelia. "Not so sure if she's up to battling, though…"
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Posted: Sun Jun 23, 2013 6:44 am
"That's fine, we'd really just like to meet her," Brett said, shooting a look at Jack, who nodded after a moment or so of standing there, looking confused. "The Pokémon Daycare's over there," the messy-haired trainer gestured with an arm. "The other one is over here, but it's closed today so there are no kids."
"Thank god," muttered Jack.
Brett smirked. "You're still just mad that a bunch of five year-old kids outsmarted you," he snickered. "By the way, Jack, did you ever get all that glue out of your hair?"
Jack scowled and ran his hand over his very-short hair almost compulsively. "Those aren't kids. They're demons disguised as kids," he grumbled, pushing past Brett and heading into the single-storey building.
"Sounds like there's an interesting story there," Juliet remarked, toying with the Poké Ball she wore around her neck.
Brett chuckled, and nodded. "Let's just say that you don't try to con a bunch of little kids out of their afternoon snack and not expect some sort of payback." Juliet grimaced, suddenly quite happy that she was the youngest child in her family.
They followed after the grumpy Jack, and Juliet wasn't surprised to see that it was just like any other child daycare she'd been to before. There were bright colors everywhere and large, light-giving windows (complete with several rows of tiny berry plants sprouting from small plastic cups), shelves upon shelves of neatly stacked toys, games, books and puzzles and Juliet suddenly found herself longing for a simpler time where the only thing she had to worry about was boys with cooties, recess and nap time. All in all, the daycare had a cozy, welcoming atmosphere to it, and she smiled to herself as she looked at the dozens of paintings and drawings made by tiny hands that covered the walls.
Brett had gone ahead into the next room, leaving the blonde girl alone with Jack, who was still looking a little angry. "They're just kids," she reminded him with a smile, and the boy snorted.
"Demons with pigtails," he grumbled.
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Posted: Sun Jun 23, 2013 6:46 am
"Excuse me?" an older, female voice called out from behind them, and both Juliet and Jack turned to see a girl standing by the door, her arms crossed over each other across her chest and an annoyed expression on her face. She wore an apron over a pale pink shirt with polka dots on it as well as a pair of worn jeans. Despite looking annoyed with Jack, her face was quite pretty and her dirty-blonde hair was pulled into a pair of pigtails on either side of her head. Juliet went out on a limb and assumed that this was Annie, as her hair and eye color were identical her younger brother's, who just so happened to be standing next to her, trying to contain his laughter but failing. "Wow, Jack, I know you think I'm a b***h, but don't you think 'demon' is a bit much?"
Jack's face turned scarlet and he stared at the ground to avoid looking at her. "Not you, the kids," he mumbled, which only made Brett laugh harder. Juliet just stood there, unsure of how to react.
Annie scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Hey, I told you that the kids are very protective of their snacks, especially on Thursdays. You were given fair warning."
"Why Thursdays?" Juliet asked Brett, who nodded to a calendar tacked to the nearby wall.
"It's the only day of the week where the kids don't have something super-healthy for their snack, like carrots or apples or whatever. In their eyes, every Thursday is a holiday."
"Say Juliet, can we see your Pokémon now?" Jack asked loudly, eager to change the subject, but Annie ignored him.
"So you're Juliet, huh?" the older girl said, uncrossing her arms and walking toward the blonde trainer. "I'm Annie, and unfortunately for you, you've already met these two clowns. Don't listen to a word they say though; I'm only mean to those people who deserve it." To prove her point, she took a menacing step toward Jack, who leaped back about four feet in reply. "Brett tells me you'll be joining us for lunch?"
"Yes, ma'am," Juliet answered uneasily. "If that's okay with you, that is."
Annie rolled her eyes again, something she seemed to do often. "Ugh, don't call me 'ma'am'. I'm not that old, sheesh. But yes, you're more than welcome to join us. Now, why don't you three run along and wash up?"
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Posted: Sun Jun 23, 2013 6:48 am
About twenty minutes later, the group had made their way outside to a fenced-in area behind the daycare where Annie had set up a picnic table for their lunch. "Hope you like sandwiches and fresh fruit," she'd said as she motioned toward the spread, and Juliet's eyes went wide with wonder.
"It looks delicious, Annie, thank you," she said, sitting down across from the older blonde. She didn't see the dirty look that Brett shot Jack as he sat down next to her, forcing Brett to take the seat beside his sister.
"You're quite welcome, Juliet. It sure is refreshing to have someone around that knows their manners. Aside from little kids, that is," Annie laughed.
"Hey Annie, where's Claire?" Brett asked, his mouth full of sandwich.
Annie's eyes narrowed and in a swift motion, she'd whacked him on the back of the head. "Don't talk with your mouth full, Brett," she scolded.
"Who's Claire?" Juliet whispered to Jack, who had the good sense to swallow before answering quietly.
"Annie and Brett's little sister. Well, half-sister. She's seven, really shy and doesn't like strangers." He took a sip of juice and looked around quickly, giving a bit of a nod. "She's over there, by the playhouse. Don't look! You'll freak her out. Just sort of glance around slow-like, y'know? Like this. Yeah." Jack repeated his quick glance, and it was Juliet's turn to roll her eyes.
"Real subtle," she said sarcastically, but carefully glanced around anyway. Sure enough, she spotted a tiny girl peeking out at them from the window of the playhouse from the corner of her eye. "Is she always that shy?"
Brett nodded. "Pretty much. I bet I can get her to come over, though." He wiped his mouth with a napkin and stood up. "We should give our Pokémon some lunch too, don't you think?" he asked loudly, which confused Juliet until she realized he was making sure that little Claire heard him.
"Good idea, Brett," Jack answered, his voice a little too forced. "I'll go get the Pokémon food, you go get the bowls!"
Both Annie and Juliet groaned, burying their faces in their palms as the boys scrambled to their feet.
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Posted: Sun Jun 23, 2013 6:50 am
A short time later, Brett and Jack had returned with several bowls and a container full of Pokémon food and they quickly went to work filling the bowls and setting them out on the ground near the picnic table. Juliet counted seven bowls in all, fairly certain that one was for her Lottie while four of them were for Brett and Jack's Pokémon. Sure enough, the two boys let their partners out and she smiled upon seeing Brett's Herdier. The canine Pokémon appeared to still be quite happy about his previous evolution as well as being rather fond of Annie, as he immediately bounded over to his trainer's sister and began licking her hand.
"Traitor," Brett grumbled, but motioned to the other Pokémon he'd released; a small, monkey like Pokémon that was red in color and had a long tail with a tuft on the end as well as a curly tuft of hair atop its head. "This is Pansear," the boy said, nodding proudly. "He's my very first Pokémon." Pansear gave a cheer and hopped up onto his trainer's shoulder.
Jack, meanwhile, had become a perch for his somewhat-ticked off Pidove, as it was apparent the small Flying-type was still angry about losing earlier. "My first Pokémon was this guy here," Jack said, nodding to his own little monkey Pokémon. This one was green and had what looked like little shrub growing out of the top of his head. "This is Pansage!" The Grass-type monkey gave a bit of a wave, though he was clearly more interested in his lunch than meeting new people and Pokémon.
"All you need is a Panpour, and you'll have a complete set between you," Juliet smiled, looking over at Annie as she released a Pokémon of her own as well.
This one was larger than the other so far and pink in color with delicate ears and a very sweet demeanor about it. "Allow me to introduce Audino. She helps me with the daycare, and I honestly don't know what I'd do without her help. As for Panpour, well," she glanced over in Claire's general direction and smiled. "Claire's taking care of one. While she's not old yet enough to be a trainer, having a Pokémon for a friend has already helped her to become a little more courageous."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever, it's Juliet's turn!" Jack said loudly and impatiently, startling the daylights out of his Pidove and the little bird cooed indignantly before flying over to choose a bowl of food."
"Okay, okay," Juliet said, taking Lottie's Poké Ball from its hook and clicking it open. "Everyone, this is Charlotte, or Lottie, for short. Lottie, this is, well, everyone!" The Riolu appeared at her trainer's feet, looking around quite curiously, paw raised to her mouth. "These are our new friends, and they've invited us for lunch," Juliet explained. The Fighting-type pondered this and nodded before giving a happy cry and wandering over to the other Pokémon. Charlotte had never really been all that shy, but her ability to pick up on the aura of other living creatures might have had something to do with that.
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Posted: Sun Jun 23, 2013 7:38 am
'Oh hell,' Jasper thought as he watched Croconaw pick herself up off the ground, her maw coated with dirt. Oh, the levels upon which Jasper was done with this battle! He likely would have given up right then and there if Croconaw hadn't been out on the field right now, as the gator would probably attempt to bite his hand off for his blasphemy the first chance she got. Koffing was unlikely to care either way, though she seemed rather determined to beat that Yanma, if one had to judge solely on the fact that she refused to get out of its personal space. "Uhh, yeah, Tackle, keep doing that," the bandanna-clad youth said. "Croconaw, Dragon Dance." Perhaps he could still salvage this after all.
Koffing's delighted giggles weren't all that contagious as she floated up, small wisps of smog drifting from her pores before she did a quick spin and allowed herself to plummet down, where she landed on top of the struggling Yanma. Decidedly tired of being the poison type's punching bag, however, the Clear Wing Pokemon wriggled free and jumped forward, spiraling around in midair and unleashing a rather impressive Sonic Boom as it did so. Koffing's guffawing was cut comically short as she was then punched in the face by a wall of sound. Croconaw, meanwhile, had initiated her special move, feeling herself growing stronger with every rhythmic step she took. When Tangela launched another Vine Whip her way, she was easily fast enough to dodge it and she snarled at the Vine Pokemon. It was on now!
"You're doing much better now," Allan called out encouragingly from his side of the battlefield.
"Thanks," Jasper called back, not quite sure he agreed with the kid. Seeing the heated look in Croconaw's eyes, however, sparked a bit of a fire within him as well, and he managed a grin. All of the great Pokemon trainers probably had off-days, right? Maybe even off-weeks, or months. Regardless, the boy felt a little better as he set his Pokemon on the attack again; another Tackle for Koffing (did she ever need a new move or two, geez) and a Bite for Croconaw.
* * * * * * * * * *
"Diglett, quick! Pull your head in to dodge!" Jerry shouted, watching as the little purple mouse raced towards his Pokemon. Telling a Diglett to be quick was rather redundant, however and the Mole Pokemon vanished in the blink of an eye. A rather confused Mya flew right by overhead, not entirely sure what had just happened. The crafty Diglett poked its head back up, making a laughter-like noise as it did so. "You'll have to be quicker than that," Jerry scoffed.
Hayley frowned. She didn't know an awful lot about Diglett, but they were small and obviously quite fast. Mya wasn't exactly a slouch when it came to speed though, so this presented a bit of a problem. 'Gonna have to try and outsmart 'em. But first,' the brunette thought, giving a nod. "Mya, Focus Energy," she said brightly. When they did hit the ground type, well, hopefully they were going to hit it and hit it good. The Rattata gave herself a shake and pawed at the ground, a rush of adrenaline coursing through her tiny body. Her tail whipped back and forth through the air and she bared her teeth at the obnoxious Diglett. She wasn't going to let that freaky Pokemon make a fool of her!
"Diglett, use Mud-slap," Jerry called coolly, his sour mood having improved somewhat now that he believed himself to have the upper-hand in this match. He didn't have any rock type Pokemon just yet, but he'd learned a lot from Brock since he'd become a member of the Pewter Gym, and he wasn't about to let his mentor down. Diglett suddenly moved forward, the force of its momentum kicking up a spray of dirt that headed right for Mya. The Mouse Pokemon was ready for it, however, sprinting into a Quick Attack that gave her the speed needed to dart around the pending Mud-slap, which splattered against the ground harmlessly behind her. Growling, the little Pokemon jumped at the Diglett, but again the little tunneler was too quick for her, disappearing into the relative safety of the underground.
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Posted: Sun Jun 23, 2013 9:24 am
It was hard for Jasper not to be impressed at how much the gator Pokemon had improved between now and the day he'd first met her (though she'd already had a pretty good head for battling to begin with), and he tried not to laugh as she deftly stepped out of the way of oncoming Vine Whips the ingrained Tangela sent her way. The Vine Pokemon was then subjected to a demonstration of the crushing power of Croconaw's jaws, crying out with what couldn't be called anything but a shriek of pain. This made Jasper grin, but it didn't last as he saw that the grass type was still strong enough to fight back. 'Ingrain, right. s**t.' Through all his bumbling, Tangela had continually healed itself thanks to its roots.
It took some effort but Koffing managed to get over the insult of being attacked, and now she was hurtling herself toward the Yanma, nothing less than murderous intent in her eyes. "Yanma, Sonic Boom! Again!" Allan had shouted, and somehow the paralyzed dragonfly had managed to comply, its clear wings beating faster than the human eye could track. Another burst of explosive noise were launched up at Koffing, the concept of evading pretty much lost on the poison type. The sound waves scrambled what little brains the Pokemon might have had and she blacked out almost immediately. Being airborne, however, was a problem in itself and within a few seconds, the fainted Koffing fell out of the sky like a horrible, poison type meteorite and landed with a painful-sounding thud on top of Allan's Yanma.
"That's some luck you have," Allan observed as he recalled his crushed fainted bug type.
"Tell me about it," Jasper chuckled, returning Koffing to her Pokeball as well. It was admittedly a little less daunting now that the competing Pokemon had been reduced to half, and even more so due to the fact that one of his most reliable Pokemon was still out there battling. The gator in question was still viciously chomping down on the Vine Pokemon, and Jasper idly wondered how much more it could take. "Scratch," he called, also wondering what those vines might have tasted like.
Apparently they were quite bitter, as Croconaw sputtered a bit as she released her hold and swiped at the mass of vines with her claws. Allan was quick to counter by calling out for a Bind attack, and before the gator could fully retreat, several dark blue vines had ensnared her and were now reeling her in like a fish on a hook.
* * * * * * * * * *
'Gah! It's so fast,' Hayley thought, stomping a foot in frustration. 'Even Quick Attack is too slow!' Once again biting her lower lip, the brunette watched the Mole Pokemon closely as it nosed its way out of the ground. As it turned its head from side to side to check its surroundings, she began to wonder how quickly it could turn around in place. "Mya! Come in from behind and use Bite!" she called, and the mouse did just that, her little paws skittering over the rocky ground as she closed in on the back of the Diglett's head. Her teeth snapped shut just a fraction of a second too late, and it was then that Hayley realized she was on the right track.
"Diglett, Scratch!" Jerry shouted, not entirely sure what his opponent was trying to accomplish. The Mole Pokemon managed to move enough to somehow swipe at the Rattata with unseen claws, but regardless it had been effective, causing Mya to squeak out painfully. She pivoted around quickly, teeth gnashing, but the mole had already withdrawn into the ground again. "I don't know what you think you're doing," Jerry called over to Hayley. "Your Rattata is too slow for my Diglett! Use Mud-slap!"
Hayley just smiled in reply. 'Yeah, we'll just see about that,' she thought, watching the ground carefully. As soon as she saw a slight shift in the earth, she pointed at that very spot. "Mya, there! Ready a Bite, just like before!" she cried excitedly. Diglett popped up out of the ground as expected, already lobbing a handful (seriously though, how do those things even function?) of muck at Mya. The Rattata lowered her head and ran through it, and unsurprisingly, the Mole Pokemon ducked down to avoid the mouse's strike. When it popped up again, however, Mya was ready! Lunging forward, the Rattata chomped down hard, the resulting wail of pain from her opponent making it clear that their strategy had been a success.
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Posted: Sun Jun 23, 2013 10:03 am
"Oh, this is not good," Jasper mumbled as he watched Croconaw's ineffectual flailing against the Tangela's strong vines. "Croconaw, try and break free!" Well, sure, that seemed like a good idea, but the Vine Pokemon's tendrils were having none of that. In fact, the more Croconaw struggled, the tighter they seemed to get.
Allan pushed his glasses back up with a single finger, trying not to look smug. "All right Tangela, time to end this. Use Absorb!" Eyes narrowed, the grass type's vines all started to glow, tiny spines now sticking out of the ones that were holding on to the gator. Croconaw's pained cries were intense at first, but they began to weaken as her stamina was literally sucked from her body. After only a few seconds she'd gone limp, and gently, Tangela released its hold and set her on the ground beside it.
"Wow," was all Jasper could say as he recalled Croconaw, looking down at the sphere in disbelief. That hadn't gone well, not at all.
"You didn't actually do all that bad," Allan said, having recalled his own Pokemon so that he could speak with the other trainer. "With more practice, I'm sure you could beat me next time."
'Yeah, sure, nope,' was Jasper's first thought, but he slapped on a smile and shook the kid's hand - no sense in being a sore loser. "Hey, stranger things have happened," he chuckled, but then his expression turned serious. "No, really. Stranger things have happened."
"O-okay," Allan replied, returning Jasper's handshake with apprehension. "Where are you heading now?"
"Goldenrod," Jasper answered, hopping back on his bike. "Got a little shopping to do. See ya around, Allan," he said, giving a bit of a wave before pedaling off.
* * * * * * * * * *
More rewarding than finally landing a strike on the highly elusive Diglett was the aggravated groan that came from Jerry as he finally realized what the brunette and her sneaky Rattata were up to. While Rattata were not exactly bursting with physical prowess, neither were Diglett and Mya's single Bite had already significantly weakened the Mole Pokemon. "Scratch again!" Jerry shouted, scrapping his evasive-maneuvers tactics in favor of all-out offense.
Despite feeling the bite of Diglett's invisible claws in her small body once again, Mya hung in there like a champ, making a sort of hissing noise in response. "One more Bite!" Hayley cheered, more than eager to put an end to this fight so that they could move on to the main event. Her hissing quickly shifting to a vicious growl, Mya's teeth were bared as she closed in on her target. Something was different about her attack this time, as the Rattata's fangs had undertaken a white glow. 'That's Hyper Fang,' the brunette thought proudly, watching proudly as her tiny little Rattata delivered what would be the felling blow; Diglett slumping forward weakly in its little hole.
Jerry sighed in defeat before recalling his Pokemon, casting a dark look at the brunette. No one really liked losing, after all. "All right, all right. You can go face Brock now. I'm warning you, though, your little mousy doesn't stand a chance against his rock-solid Pokemon!"
"Probably not," Hayley replied cheerfully, scooping up her Rattata in her arms. "Thanks for the battle, Jerry! Take care!" she said, waving at the boy before she continued along through the rocky path. She came upon a wide opening and she stopped, Mya scooting up onto her shoulder. "Hello?" she called out tentatively. "My name is Hayley, and I'm here to challenge Gym Leader Brock!"
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