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 Posted: Thu Jun 27, 2013 7:30 pm
"...Jae...? ....Jae! ...Jaeshan! Wake up! ....Jaeshan, please wake up!"
The familiar voice calling out to him had started out sounding very far away, but as Jaeshan found his way back to consciousness, it became louder and clearer. With a groan, the blond boy began to stir, now able to feel someone shaking him, and pretty roughly at that. He also became aware of a steadily throbbing pain in the back of his head, and another pained mumble escaped him. Despite that discomfort, however, he was temporarily treated to those few blissful moments of worldly ignorance that most people experience when just waking up from sleep. Or a forced blackout. It didn't last very long, however, as soon the boy realized he was lying face-down on the ground, the savory aroma of pine needles assaulting his sense of smell. Not again, was his very first thought, with the second wanting to know why this felt so familiar, if not a lot less sandy.
"Jaeshan! Wake up!" the voice yelled again, shaking him harder.
The blond smiled. Jade, he thought fondly, but then frowned. His eyes snapped open and at once he was trying to push himself up off the ground. It was no easy task as his world was still spinning quite dangerously, but he did manage to get to his knees, much to the relief of the blue-haired girl sitting next to him.
"You're okay! Thank Arceus..." she sighed, smiling hugely as he turned to look at her. "I thought you were... were..."
"Lisa," he interrupted, his voice a little weak. His head continued to pound and gingerly he reached up to feel the back of it, wincing as he felt his hair to be quite wet and matted - was he bleeding? He looked back at Lisa curiously, and then all around them, panic flaring up in his chest when he realized they were alone. "What happened? What are you doing here? Where is Jade? Why... why am I bleeding? Where's Jade?!" he shouted, his voice growing louder and more frantic with each question.
Lisa sighed, relieved that Jaeshan recognized her, at the very least, and she shook her head. "I... I don't know," she answered quietly. "I found you right here on the ground, unconscious. I-I think someone knocked you out." She didn't know for sure who Jade was, but if she had to guess, it'd be that scowling, dark-haired girl he'd been with earlier.
"...knocked me out?" the boy repeated, gingerly feeling the back of his head again before looking at his bloody fingers for confirmation. "What makes you say that?" he asked, looking around again. It was very dark - nighttime, he'd assume - save for the flicker of orange light given off by the tail flame of a nearby Pokemon; an orange, monkey-like creature with blue markings on its face. "Ace!" he said, temporarily forgetting his predicament. "Good to see ya, buddy!"
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Posted: Thu Jun 27, 2013 8:38 pm
Raising an eyebrow, the Monferno took a step back while shooting a nervous glance at Lisa. "Um, I dunno who Ace is, but this here's one of my newer Pokemon, Monferno. And this would be why I think you were knocked out." Lisa held out a rather thick and lengthy stick for Jaeshan to see, nodding to the end of it. "Unless trees bleed red, I'm pretty sure that someone snuck up from behind you and whacked you pretty hard. Who'd ya piss off this time?" She dropped the improvised weapon to the ground and motioned for Monferno to come closer, which he did reluctantly. "Now lemme see how bad it is."
"This... time? What? Wait, Lisa! I'm fine-OW!" Jaeshan yelped as Lisa had grabbed hold of his face and was forcefully turning him around to look at his wound. "Really, it's not that bad," he sighed, squeezing his eyes shut as all the sudden movements had brought on another dizzy spell.
"You're still bleeding. I think you may need stitches," Lisa said, ignoring Jaeshan's protests. "Can you walk? I'm taking you to the hospital." Slowly, she helped the boy to his feet, thankful that she'd found him so close to the entrance to the forest. "Do you remember anything about what happened?" she asked as they started to walk forward.
"I don't need stitches," Jae mumbled, though he was grateful to find that the more he moved, the less weak and dizzy he seemed to feel, and after a short time he was able to remain upright under his own power. "Not really... We were... we were going back to Eterna," he said slowly. "We were training and going back to get our Pokemon healed up and have some supper. We weren't exactly rushing to get back to town but... one minute we were walking along together and the next, Jade's disappeared and I'm on the ground with the back of my skull bashed open." His cheeks flushed as he thought of their dillydallying; the warm, sweet smile Jade had on her face as he'd kissed her for the umpteenth time that evening. They'd gotten so comfortable with each other in such a short amount of time that they'd let their guard down, and it was in that exact moment that he understood just what had happened. The panic he felt before had come rushing back, making his heart start to pound painfully in his chest, which in turn only made the ache in his head worse. Jade was gone; that much was certain, though he hadn't directly thought it yet, a large part of him could already feel the guilt starting to settle in. "They took her," he said, his pace slowing a bit. The finality of those three words felt as though he'd been punched in the stomach by a Machamp and he stumbled. It seemed that the ground had become a bit wobbly beneath his feet. "They took her."
"They?" Lisa repeated, looking around in a near-paranoid fashion. Her Monferno mirrored her actions, equally worried. "They took who? Jade? Is she the girl from before? Who is 'they?' Jaeshan? Did something happen to her? Who took her? Who did this to you?" She reached out to try and help to steady him, unsure of what to say or do to help the distraught teen.
"It was them, I know it!!" he shouted, not hearing Lisa's voice at all, and still only vaguely aware that he still didn't have any clue as to who 'they' actually were. "I have to find her, I-I promised! I told her I'd protect her from them, but I failed!" He hadn't even noticed that he was crying; his tears leaving clear streaks through the dirt on his cheeks. "They took her," he choked out, shaking his head back and forth. "It was them... it had to be! She ran away from them and they found her and took her back... I have to help her... I have to s-save her... I promised..." All at once the dizziness was back with a vengeance and he found himself falling to the forest floor again. "I promised..." Darkness closed in on him again, only this time the last thing he saw were the bright pink laces of Lisa's high-topped running shoes and the flickering of her Monferno's tail-flame.
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Posted: Thu Jun 27, 2013 9:01 pm
"Ugh, aerial battles are so... lame!" Jody grumbled, stomping her foot on the ground. Her Zangoose seemed to echo her thoughts, snarling up at the Swellow streaking about overhead, as they both were painfully aware of the lack of long-ranged moves in the Normal-type's repertoire. And now, that redheaded jerk had the audacity to make the stupid bird fly even faster! Zangoose's flaming fist flashed wildly as it took a swing at the Swellow, as it had come in for a flyby Quick Attack on her trainer's command. Another double had been destroyed, leaving three or four Swellow still flying around overhead. Jody muttered a colourful word under her breath.
Quite aware of his opponents annoyance, Keegan couldn't help but smirk like a jackass, and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't enjoying this at least a little bit (okay, a lot more than a little bit). It felt justified, however, as to him it seemed like he was a little overdue for the chance to feel like he was actually in control of something for a change. No sooner had those thoughts crossed his mind, however, than did Artemis swoop in for another attack (an Aerial Ace, he was certain of it) did Jody call for her Pokemon to strike again, and this time luck was with the Cat Ferret Pokemon as its seemingly-wild Fire Punch caught the Swellow in the side, disrupting her flight and concentration to the point where her remaining doubles winked out of existence and she fell to the floor, some of her feathers appearing to have been singed.
She's been burned, the redhead thought, ignoring Jody's obnoxious cheers from the other side of the room. Artemis was quick to get back up though, and it was plain to see that a proverbial flame had been lit in the Swellow's eyes. That burn will trigger her Guts ability, but now for some damage control... Still feeling like the battle was his for the taking, Keegan leaned back on a heel, folding his arms across his chest. "Artemis, time to give that new move a try," he called out. "Roost!" Artemis trilled loudly and raised her wings, sending up a small cloud of small, downy-like feathers. Her whole body seemed to shimmer and she chirped again, sounding more energetic than before. Now that was a good purchase, the redhead thought, his smug smirk growing wider.
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Posted: Thu Jun 27, 2013 11:13 pm
Ben couldn't believe his eyes as the Pidgeotto deftly dodged the lightning, coming at his Pikachu with another one of those Aerial Ace attacks... and Ben knew that once the attack was thrown, there was no dodging it. He could do nothing more than watch with dismay as the talons struck down his Pikachu, the Pokemon crying out weakly as he toppled to the ground, his cheeks buzzing faintly as he panted. Groaning dejectedly, Ben hesitantly recalled his last Pokemon, gritting his teeth as frustrated tears stung his eyes. He'd lost... Why had he lost? Were his Pokemon really not good enough? ".... You win," he said quietly, turning his face away in shame. He'd trained really hard, but it still hadn't been enough. What more did he have to do to beat him?
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thunderbolts_and_sunshine
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Posted: Fri Jun 28, 2013 9:29 am
Riza was careful to keep a close eye on Selena as she weaved her way around the trees. The Snivy was looking quite adorable in the colourful flower crown she'd made for herself and Riza found that she was actually smiling a bit as she watched her grass-type. It was also quite pleasant in the gym, if not a bit warm and she felt she was making good progress, at least until she found herself confronted by another girl trainer. The scowl that quickly appeared on Riza's face was in stark contrast to the smile the girl wore, and her eyes widened and she took a step back. "Um, if you can beat me, I'll give you a hint on which way to go," she said quietly, and she released a healthy looking Ivysaur.
"Fine by me," the dark haired girl said curtly, already reaching for Akima's poke ball. The Weavile stretched and looked around, a bit surprised to find so much green all around her. "Akima, let's make this fast," Riza said, nodding to her Pokemon. "Night Slash!" Grinning, the Weavile darted forward, her arms at her side yet ready to strike. She gave a sharp growl as she jumped forward and slashed at the Ivysaur with her claws, an almost black aura seeming to surround her as she tore into her opponent.
"Ivysaur!" the girl cried as her Pokemon staggered back, visibly shaken from the strike. "Fight back with Razor Leaf!" The Seed Pokemon gave a roar, the flower bud on its back glowing brightly as a flurry of sharp leaves were sent flying toward Akima. Akima tried to dodge but she was too close to really get a good jump on them and she gritted her teeth as the Razor Leaf sliced into her, leaving dozens of tiny cuts all over her body. She gave another loud cry, clearly not ready to quit just yet.
* * * * *
With her message sent to Kilik, Katie quickly realized that she'd run out of reasons to stall contacting her new boss and she sighed. She might as well get it over with, she decided. If Mai chewed her out for failing to get the egg from the daycare, well, she'd deal with that when and if it even happened. Recalling all of her Pokemon except for Genki, she plopped down on a bench and quickly tapped out a short message - "In Veilstone." before hitting send. The Monferno gave a soft whine and patted her shoulder reassuringly, causing the orange haired girl to smile. "Thanks, Genki. I'd be lost without you." She sighed and leaned back, closing her eyes. What had she gotten herself into?
* * * * *
The sound of a challenger entering the gym was not hard to miss and Brock smiled to himself as he listened to the battle between a rather loud girl by the name of Hayley and Jerry battling it out. He knew it probably wouldn't be long so he went back to reading his Pokemon magazine, the most recent issue of "Pokemon Today". He'd found a really good article on preserving berries for later use. As predicted though, the battle didn't take too long and before he knew it, a pretty girl with long, wavy brown hair and a Rattata on her shoulder was standing before him, issuing her challenge.
"Greetings, Hayley!" Brock called out, his magazine long forgotten as he stood up from the large slab of rock he'd been sitting upon. "My name is Brock, and I'm happy to accept your challenge." He gave a bit of a bow, an almost stupidly wide grin on his face. "And might I add that you're the loveliest challenger I've had in a while!" He cleared his throat, trying to remain composed and professional like. "This official gym battle will be two on two, with no items and no switching. When one trainer's Pokemon are no longer able to battle, the match will be over. If you can defeat me, Hayley, you'll win my coveted Boulder Badge and take your first step on the road to the Pokemon League." He took a poke ball from his belt, revealing his first Pokemon, a feisty looking Geodude. "You get the first move, Hayley," he called, though he did sort of hope she wasn't planning on using that Rattata.
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Posted: Fri Jun 28, 2013 8:55 pm
The next time Jaeshan opened his eyes, the first thing that he saw was the little wisps of sunlight trying to peek through the tiny gaps of the vertical blinds that covered the nearby window. He was no longer out in the woods somewhere, but back in civilization, and as he looked around to study his new surroundings, the familiar throb in the back of his head served as a not-so-friendly reminder of everything that had happened before. He could hear a quiet, steady beeping and he saw the monitor to the side, and after flexing the fingers of his right hand he realized that his pulse was being monitored by one of those little finger things. An IV had also been stuck in his arm and slowly he traced the tube up to the lone saline bag that hung nearby. "What, no painkillers?" he mumbled dryly, reaching up with his left hand to examine the back of his head. The cut from the stick had been stitched closed and he silently counted along the wound with his fingertips: four... no - five stitches. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair, which felt heavy and generally gross, and it had lost most of its natural spikiness.
"They gave you a shot of something earlier. Demerol, I think," came a quiet voice from his left. Jaeshan slowly looked to his left to see Lisa curled up in the chair next to the bed, looking like she hadn't slept much the night before. "How are you feeling?" she asked, stretching a bit as she pulled herself into a sitting position.
"Head hurts," the blond said, managing a half smile at the sight of the familiar face, even if it wasn't the one he'd been hoping to see. "And I gotta admit that I'm starting to get tired of waking up in strange places." They both laughed a bit, and Jaeshan sighed, leaning back against the pillow. "Seriously, though. How'd I get here? Are we in Eterna?"
Lisa nodded. "Yes, we're at Eterna General Hospital, to be exact. And it was a bit tricky, but my Pokemon and I managed to get you back here safely. It did take a while, though."
The boy nodded slowly, closing his eyes. "Yeah, good. Thanks," he murmured sleepily. "How's Nidoqueen doing? I haven't... seen her in... a... while..." His words were slow and drawn out as he began to doze off again, but he was startled right back awake as Lisa had jumped out of her seat.
"Nidoqueen?" she repeated, excitement in her voice. "She-she's great! Does that mean that you remember her, Jaeshan? What else do you remember?"
=-=-=-=-=
Mai herself had arrived in Veilstone the night before, and was currently enjoying a late breakfast at a fancy cafe not too far from where Katie happened to be right now, as a matter of fact. She hadn't been sure when her protege would arrive in town so when her phone buzzed with the indication of a new message, she set down her coffee cup to check it. Despite the fact that the girl had successfully collected the breeding data from the Solaceon Daycare, she'd failed to acquire the egg, which had been the real test. Katie's unwillingness to do so was both admirable yet troublesome, and if she planned to continue to be a member of this organization, she'd better learn to mind her superiors. Chuckling lightly to herself, the admin sent back a reply:
Good. You are to bring the data device to the following drop point: there is a newspaper stand on the same block as the Veilstone City Department Store. Go there and purchase the newest edition of the magazine 'Pokemon Friend' and ask the vendor if he's been to seen the meteorites yet. He will be expecting you, and give you further instruction upon your arrival. Contact me when you are done.
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Posted: Sat Jun 29, 2013 1:35 pm
He had been just about to leave after he noticed the construction workers and figured the professor was busy. Then the door opened to reveal the famed professor. "Yes, sir! I was actually dropping by to so you before I left, just like I said I would. I hope those Rockets didn't damage your lab too badly." They had blown a significant chunk out of the lab earlier, so who knew how long it would take for that to get repaired.
"I've got Gilgamesh right here though." He called out the Krabby with the magnificent crown of horns on his head. The fair sized pokemon clacked his claws in greeting. Then he simply began dashing about with agility to examine all the work going around him as if he was giving instructions to the workers.
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Posted: Sat Jun 29, 2013 4:37 pm
Disregarding the structural integrity of its trainer's cranium, Ditto's gaze fell back on the tree. The transforming Pokemon knew that it was going to have to take matters into its own... hands. Shuffling forward a bit, the blue blob ignored Jasper's "encouraging" shouts and narrowed its beady little eyes. That telltale shimmer covered its body and soon it had morphed into a bipedal Pokemon, and aside from being impressed at just how much quicker Ditto had become at Transforming, Jasper quickly realized that it had not taken the form of Croconaw, as previously requested. Instead of a blue gator with a deadly overbite, Jasper found himself looking at familiar tan and navy fire type. "Ditto," he said calmly, placing his hands on his hips, "that's not... I don't... What are you doing?"
Ditto gave himself a shake, and there was a slight sizzling sound before a crown of flames erupted from the top of its head. The impostor Quilava then looked over its shoulder and then down at its rear end, frowning when it saw a complete lack of fiery quills, but that was remedied as Ditto gave its bottom half a quick wiggle. "Okay, okay, I get it," Jasper sighed, shifting his weight back onto a heel. "Cindy, yeah, I see. Very nice. But that's not what-" Ditto would not give his trainer a chance to finish as it had already started forward, its whole body becoming wreathed in flames. Jasper could only watch in amazement as his Pokemon did its very best impression of their redheaded friend's fiery partner an launched itself into the wisp of a tree, easily charring off most of the smaller leaves and branches and leaving nothing more than a blackened twig in its wake. Having completed its Flame Wheel, Ditto slowed to a stop and gave Jasper the smuggest smirk it could possibly manage.
"...oh, shut up," was all the green-clad youth could mutter as he picked up his bike from the ground. "So it wasn't Sudowoodo, bite me." Ditto's response was to shift into the off-coloured copy of Croconaw and gnash its teeth threateningly, but Jasper dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "Since you're dressed for the occasion, you might as well douse the embers. We wouldn't want Smokey the Ursaring after us, now would we?" Ditto may not have known exactly what an Ursaring was, but being the cause of a major forest fire hadn't quite made its bucket list. The bluish imitation gator took a few steps forward and quickly sprayed down the area, looking quite pleased with itself as Jasper and his bike squeezed past the blackened sapling. "Are you finished making a fool outta me? Or can we get to Goldenrod already?" Still grinning cheekily, Ditto transformed into its nearly-trademark Pikachu and hopped up onto the boy's shoulders, and the two continued onward to their hometown.
* * * * * * * * * *
Hayley smiled as the gym leader stood up and properly introduced himself, though she really wasn't quite sure of how to react to his compliment. "Um, okay, thanks," she said, reaching up and scratching Mya under the chin as she listened to the rules for the match. Two Pokemon each seemed fairly simple and she nodded, now looking on as Brock sent his first Pokemon onto the field; a Geodude. The brunette's eyes went wide at the sight of it and it took all of her willpower (and a light tap from her Rattata's tail) to keep her excitement in check, and instead of taking out her sketchbook, she too selected her first Pokemon for the battle, after having waged a small war in her mind to decide between Cynder and Tisyphone.
The Charmeleon was likely going to be really, really angry about missing this important gym battle, but there would be others, Hayley was sure of it, and mustering her confidence, she released the small, blue Nidoran onto the rocky field. Tiss immediately gave a dismayed cry and took a few steps back, but she looked back as Mya gave an energetic cheer. "We can do this, Tiss! Start with a Growl! Let's show them what we're made of!" The Nidoran gave a quick nod and moved forward once again. She planted her feet and gave a rather fierce-sounding growl, the sound waves distorting the air.
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thunderbolts_and_sunshine
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Posted: Sat Jun 29, 2013 6:10 pm
"Ice Punch," Riza called, arms folded across her chest. On the ground beside her, Selena watched her trainer's actions before mimicking them. Akima gave a snarl and took several quick steps forward, her hand glowing with a frigid, icy aura. In a few strides she'd closed the distance and had swung her frozen fist around, catching the Ivysaur in the side of the head, and with such force that it went rolling along the ground for a few feet.
"Ivysaur, no! Get up!" the girl called. Clearly this trainer wasn't fooling around. Definitely quite shaken, the grass-type got to its feet, shaking off the flakes of ice that had formed on its body. "Take Down, go!" Both the Ivysaur and its trainer seemed to understand that this battle wasn't going to go in their favor so they opted for an all or nothing attack. The Seed Pokemon gave a fierce cry as it charged forward, aiming to flatten the Weavile.
"Icy Wind," Riza said, starting to sound a little bored. Akima sneered at her opponent, breathing in deeply before exhaling and sending out a blast of very cold air. It didn't stop the Ivysaur completely but it was slowed down as more ice formed on its body and it found it harder to move around. It still managed to slam into Akima, but the Weavile jumped right back up, looking ready to finish the fight.
* * * * *
Genki had taken to putting small braids in Katie's hair while they waited for Mai to reply, that is if she was even going to reply any time soon. Katie had closed her eyes, still feeling a little tired from her long trek yesterday, and she probably could have dozed off if her phone hadn't gone off just then. "Wow, that was fast," the girl murmured, giving the Monferno a nervous look as she raised the device to check it. She read over Mai's message quickly before glancing around. Just where was the department store, anyway?
Figuring that it wouldn't be hard to get directions, Katie jumped to her feet, slinging her bag over her shoulder. She recalled the fire-type to his poke ball, opting to keep him safe and preserve his energy for now as she wasn't sure what the rest of her day held. After asking a middle aged woman carrying a rather mean looking Glameow, she was set in the right direction, and within about twenty minutes of walking, she could see the tall building rising up. It towered over the rest of the block, and a twinge of excitement passed through her as she remembered that all Kord needed was an Electirizer and he could become an Electivire, just like Cable! Even if she bought the required item she would likely hold off on the evolution, as Kord had only just become an Electabuzz and she wanted to give them both ample time to enjoy his stronger, new form.
* * * * *
Brock had almost fully been expecting to see the little purple mouse dart onto the field, as even though it wasn't the best choice to battle his rock-types, they could learn all sorts of different moves to even up the odds. He looked on as the female type of Nidoran appeared on the battlefield, looking more than a little nervous. The gym leader/Pokemon Breeder in training smiled as Hayley gave the small Pokemon some encouragement, and soon they were growling loudly at his Pokemon.
Geodude winced a little from the harsh sounds, feeling its strength drop as a result of the Growl. "Okay Geodude, let's show them what facing a gym leader is all about! Rock Polish, go!" The rock-type gave a growl of its own before smashing its fists together, and it began to spin very fast in place, polishing down its rougher edges and reducing the drag on its body to make it quicker.
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Posted: Sun Jun 30, 2013 10:06 am
"Me? A cunning plan? I would never!" Mike put his hand to his chest, faking shock at Kasiya's 'accusation'. He scoffed. "The very idea!" The release of her Sandslash gave him pause. He wasn't entirely familiar with the species outside of its type, but judging by all of the spikes and barbs, he felt pretty confident to assume it was primarily a physical attacker. Advantage or not, this was a pretty even match up. "Fun!" he said, beaming as he waited for her to make the first move. Poison Sting confused him for two reasons: one, he wasn't aware that Sandslash was venomous, and two: it was a pretty weak attack to lead off with. Why would she-OH, duh. Poison the tank. "Yeah, no. Withdraw!" Silly him. His girlfriend was the farthest thing from an idiot when it came to battling.
Vesuvius, who had been gumming the ground looking for some tasty rocks to chew on, looked up to see a purple scattering of needles heading right for him. Well, that didn't look pleasant. Thankfully, the only thing he could do with any sort of rapidity was exactly what he needed to do in a situation like this. The Torkoal pulled himself into his shell seconds before being peppered, his body glowing a slight blue tint for just a moment. Many of barbs bounced harmlessly off of his obsidian shell, but a few managed to find their way into the openings. Vesuvius poked his head out, one of the aforementioned barbs lodged on the tip of his snout. He snorted a plume of white smoke from his nose, trying his best to glare with already shut eyes.
------
"Why else would you be here?" Brawly said with a hearty chuckle, rising from his chair. "I mean, unless you wanted to go surfing." he added jokingly, even though he wouldn't have refused it if it were the case. "You've bested my trainers and made your way to me." he pointed to himself with his thumb. "I'm Brawly, the gym leader here, and I accept your challenge! I warn you though, I'm not like the others. I've become strong by training myself and my Pokemon every day, both in darkness and on the surf!" He pulled out a Pokeball and let it fly, releasing a scrappy-looking Machop. The Superpower Pokemon flexed, gritting his teeth at Leon and his floating candle.
"Let's see what you're made of!"
"Chop!"
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Posted: Sun Jun 30, 2013 10:20 am
From there it was a very straightforward ride back into the Goldenrod City limits, and as they looked around, taking in the familiar sights of their hometown, Jasper and Ditto wore matching grins. It hadn't actually been all that long since they first left and Jasper's grin stretched even wider as they passed by the Game Corner. "Fancy a bit o' cards, mate?" he asked, looking up at the fake electric rodent perched happily on his shoulder. Ditto-chu squealed with laughter and they two rode right on by. Jasper was pretty sure he was still on the 'banned for life' or 'shoot on sight' lists; he couldn't be quite sure anymore.
He did feel a little less strange now that he was actively seeking out the Pokemon Center (not that he wasn't fully aware of its exact location) and upon arriving he dismounted his bike and collapsed it before somehow stuffing it into his backpack. Ditto ambled back and forth between the boy's shoulders as they headed inside, both sighing in slight relief as they were blasted by the wonderfully-cool climate-controlled air. "That's nice," Jasper mumbled as he walked up to the counter and quickly handed over Paras, Koffing and Croconaw's Pokeballs for treatment; Zorua hadn't seen any battles so she was still at perfect health. "What about you?" he said, looking up at the fake Pikachu. "You good?" Ditto gave a quick nod and the two returned to the lobby, as it seemed like they had a bit of a wait before their teammates would receive treatment.
After grabbing a few packages of candy and other unhealthy food items from the vending machines, Jasper flopped down on one of the chairs by the window, pondering his next move. He took his PokeDex from his pocket and began to look through it, figuring that he ought to figure out what special moves he wanted to teach his Pokemon. Still perched on its master's shoulder, Ditto-chu gave Jasper the evil eye until he tore open one of the candy bags and handed it over. 'Only the best trainers feed their Pokemon candy,' he thought, watching Ditto for a few moments before going back to the 'Dex, still feeling a bit down from the debacle of a double battle from earlier. He only allowed himself to dwell on it for a couple of minutes before pushing it out of his mind, and he focused on possible attacks for his Pokemon.
* * * * * * * * * *
'Ooh, Rock Polish, that's sneaky,' the wide-eyed Hayley thought, wondering just how hard it would be to catch that Geodude now. Tisyphone didn't look nearly as impressed as her trainer did and sat back on her hind legs, ears twitching intently. "Tiss, let's try a Poison Sting, okay?" the brunette called, figuring that trying to inflict poisoned status on a primarily defensive Pokemon wasn't such a rotten idea. "You can do it, I know you can!" The shy little Nidoran gave a nod and stepped forward, the tiny barbs on her back emitting a purple glow before she sent a volley of needles at the suddenly-speedy rock type.
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Posted: Sun Jun 30, 2013 3:06 pm
"Finish it, Akima," Riza said, her tone still dull. She was already sick of wandering around this indoor forest. "Slash." The Weavile growled sharply and raced forward, claws at the ready. She knew her trainer was still hurting and she wanted to do everything she could to make her feel better.
"Vine Whip, Ivysaur!" the girl called. Significantly weaker than before, the grass-type sent out a pair of greenish vines toward the onrushing ice-type, snapping dangerously. Akima deftly dodged to the best of her ability, taking a few glancing blows from the vines but nothing too serious. With a shrill screech she tore into the Seed Pokemon again, this time for the final strike. A pained whimper escaped Ivysaur as it collapsed, and the girl gave a sad sigh as she recalled her Pokemon.
"Which way?" Riza demanded, giving Akima only a brief smile before recalling the Weavile into her poke ball. Selena hadn't moved from her trainer's side and was glaring at the girl with an equally intense look.
"Th-that way," the girl said, turning behind her and pointing to the left. "Just keep going until you pass the rose bushes. You can't miss the gym's arena. Lady Erika should be there waiting for you."
* * * * *
Katie was definitely considering stopping off and picking up a refreshing fruit smoothie or something as she walked. Maybe it was just her imagination but it seemed to feel hotter in Veilstone, but maybe that was just because of all the cars and people and pavement everywhere. With the department store looming overhead it was easy to find its exact location, and from there all she had to do was walk around the block a little before she spotted the newsstand that Mai had mentioned in her message. After reading through it again just to be sure and she took a deep breath before heading over.
There were currently other customers hovering around however so she pretended to be occupied with the fashion magazines, giving a slight chuckle as she picked up one that had her mother's image displayed in the front of it. In her arms, however, was the bigger surprise and Katie sighed as she saw her own little Buneary, all decked out in glittering accessories and a cute little pink dress, complete with frills. "Oh, Nell," she sighed, putting the magazine back in its spot before finding the magazine Mai had told her to get. The other customers were leaving now, so this was her chance.
* * * * *
Brock watched Hayley's reaction with some amusement, but it didn't seem to hold her up any. Very soon, her Nidoran had sent a rain of venomous needles flying toward his rock-type. "Trying to poison us, hmm? Nice try, but not this time! Geodude, get in there and give 'em a Tackle!" Again, Geodude bashed his fists together, sending dust and chips of rock flying in all directions before he used his new speed to bolt toward Tisyphone in an attempt to slam into her. Despite avoiding all of the Nidoran's Poison Sting, Brock had forgotten about the possibility of the poison-type having Poison Point for her ability.
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thunderbolts_and_sunshine
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Posted: Sun Jun 30, 2013 8:34 pm
While Ditto gorged itself on candy Jasper continued to search through the handy-dandy mini computer, finding that with every thing he learned he was more and more thankful that he'd bothered to go all the way to New Bark Town to get one from Professor Elm. At one point, Zorua managed to escape her Pokeball and started hassling Ditto-chu for some candy, which it handed over reluctantly as the fox had made herself look just like a Pikachu as well. When that was gone, however, the the two trickster Pokemon were easily able to procure the rest of their distracted trainer's junk food items and promptly devour them. Ditto, in its best impression of Croconaw ate most of the wrappers as well, and now the two sugar-boosted Pokemon were taking turns shifting into whatever they could, getting more and more outrageous as they tried to outdo the other.
Jasper was either oblivious to his Pokemons' behavior or purposefully choosing to ignore it as he compiled a list of moves in his mind, finally snapping the PokeDex shut and looking over to find himself looking at... himself. "...very funny," he said, looking past his doppelgänger to Ditto. The Transform Pokemon had currently changed into... some sort of horrible fusion accident gone wrong, and Jasper couldn't only really identify a select few... parts. Then, there was the realization that the two Pokemon had eaten all of the candy. That was the final straw. "Alright children, back into your Pokeballs," he grumbled, returning Ditto-monster first, but pausing when he saw that Zorua had shifted into a wide-eyed, androgynous child.
"You stop that," was all the bandanna-clad boy had to say about that as the creepy child was also recalled into its red and white sphere. Jasper shook his head as he clipped the ball back onto his belt, wanting very much to have a chat with whatever mystical universe spirit had decided that he needed two shape-shifting Pokemon that were full of themselves. The rest of his team were fully healed and ready to go as he approached the front desk and he thanked the nurse, being careful to put each Pokeball back into their proper slots as he headed outside again, this time the Department Store his destination.
* * * * * * * * * *
Brock wasn't the only one to forget about Tisyphone's ability, as Hayley had watched Geodude's movements with amazement. "Oh, he's so fast," she commented almost dreamily. "He avoided every needle! Amazing!" Tisyphone, on the other hand, was the furthest thing from impressed as she was run over by the speeding rock type. The Nidoran hit the ground hard but jumped up again and she narrowed her eyes at her opponent - that had really hurt, okay?
"Okay Tiss, fight back with your... um... ooh, Double Kick! Yeah!" Looking a lot more willing to fight now that she'd been flattened by an overgrown pebble, Tisyphone rushed at Geodude before skidding to a stop, pivoting and lashing out with a pair of solid kicks from her hind feet.
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Posted: Sun Jun 30, 2013 8:59 pm
Train awoke the next morning to a rustling noise by her head, and as she came into consciousness she felt something bumping against her face. She squeezed her eyes shut tighter for a moment, trying to get some focus in her mind. She squirmed away from the object and turned onto her back a little, gritting her teeth a little as she felt the stiffness in her neck and shoulders. The girl stretched a little as she lay there, moving her head and try and stretch her neck, only now figuring out that at some point during the night she had abandoned her backpack-pillow and rather having her head end up on the ground. She raised her arms and stretched them up above her before moving them back until they hit the tree behind her. "Ow…" The trainer mumbled, dropping her arms and finally pushing herself up. Geez was she sore.
Train realized that the rustling had not stopped and looked over to the left, where she located her backpack, and…a big orange puppy butt. "Growlithe!"" She yelled in shock and anger, ripping the bag away from him. He yipped a little in surprise and looked up at Train, disappointed. A few wrappers lay strewn on the ground around him and Train looked inside of her backpack, digging around and hoping he hadn't ruined anything besides the food. To her dismay, one of the flip flops she had appeared the be pretty chewed up, and though that appeared to be the only casualty she was still pretty angry about it. She had literally just bought those yesterday! Not that flip flops were expensive, but still! The dirty-blonde-haired trainer yanked the Puppy Pokémon's PokéBall off of her belt, but gave him a very firm scolding before returning him to it.+=+=+=+=+ If Leon had cared a little more, he may have rolled his eyes, but he knew that Brawly was just trying to be friendly. He waited for the gym leader to finish his warning before stepping back a bit to position himself properly at his end of the battlefield. It was at this point that he noticed Flambeau's little pity party. "Flambeau, come back here,"He beckoned his little Fire-type, who seemed to perk right up now that Leon wanted him by his side. Leon did not understand this thing's mood swings.
He reached into his coat, pulling out Ghos' PokéBall and enlarging it before tossing the ball into the air. Certainly Muuma was tired of battling for now, and especially Machops.
The ball of gas appeared in the middle of the arena, taking in his surroundings for a moment and realizing that the darkness was not as far upon them as it had been previously. It was too far for him to use it to jump in and out of, which was just no fun. What a cruel world!
His eyes landed on his opponent and he grinned a little, but as he prepared to blow raspberries at this creature, Leon commanded his first attack. "Lick." Well, alright, that was kind of similar to what he was going to do anyway. The Gas Pokémon dove towards Brawly's Machop, tongue already hanging out of his mouth in preparation to drag it as grossly across its face as he possibly could.
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thunderbolts_and_sunshine
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Posted: Mon Jul 01, 2013 1:43 pm
Riza looked hard in the direction that the girl was pointing before glancing back at the trainer she'd just defeated. A small pang shot through her and she sighed, looking at the ground. She was still feeling quite miserable and angry from everything that had happened with Crenu yesterday. "I...I'm sorry," she said finally. "I've had a rough few days, and I'm taking it out on the wrong people. Sorry."
The girl brightened up a bit. "No worries," she said. "We all have those. Just keep going that way, and you'll find our leader. She's really quite something," she added before disappearing back into the indoor jungle, probably to get some treatment for her Ivysaur.
"Okay Selena, let's go. We're almost there," Riza said, bending down to pick up the Snivy, but she quickly had second thoughts and stood up again, much to the little grass snake's dismay. "And don't worry, we'll get back to Pewter eventually and you can knock around Brock's rock-types, okay?" Selena gave a nod, despite still feeling a bit hurt. The little grass-type wanted nothing more than for her trainer to like her, and she became aware of a new move she could use that would really turn the tide of battle in her favor. She just hoped that Riza would like it, too.
Pushing through the trees and other greenery in the direction the girl had indicated, Riza went slow enough so that Selena could keep up with her. It wasn't long before they found a break in the trees and the pair stepped into the gym's actual battlefield. Riza spotted a rather pretty older girl dressed in a kimono and almost instantly, the remainder of her sour mood vanished. This part of the Celadon gym seemed very peaceful and tranquil. The dark haired girl straightened up and cleared her throat, suddenly feeling as though she should be a lot more polite to the leader than she was to the underlings. "Um, good morning," she called out, a bit uncertainly. "Are you Lady Erika? If so, I would like to challenge you to an official match."
* * * * *
Clutching the copy of Pokemon Friend tightly in her hands, Katie took another deep breath and walked toward the man running the newsstand, fighting off a minor panic attack over whether or not she had the right place. She placed the magazine on the counter, waiting for the man to acknowledge her. He peered at the small girl over the book he was reading and rang her purchase through, not uttering a word as he handed Katie back her change. Nerves had taken over for the most part and all Katie could do was stare up at him. For a moment, the two just stood there, looking at each other. Finally the man spoke, breaking the awkward silence. "You want something, kid?"
Katie bit her lip and looked at the toe of her boot. 'Stop it,' she told herself. 'You can do this. Stop being such a baby.' She exhaled slowly through her nose and looked up at the man. "Not really," she answered, adopting a casual tone. "I was just wondering if you've been to see the meteorites yet, is all. I hear they're pretty incredible," she added after a moment or two, carefully studying the man's reaction.
A flicker of understanding appeared in his dark eyes as he set his book down, scratching at his arm. Enough of his sleeve had been pushed back so that Katie caught a glimpse of the scarlet R tattooed onto his skin. "Not recently," he said, nodding at the girl. "But you should go sometime." He slid a brochure for the Meteorite Park forward on the counter. "Those hunks of space rock are really something else."
* * * * *
It was hard not to smile at Hayley's commentary, as it was quite unusual for challengers to react so enthusiastically to the opposing Pokemon's attacks. Brock was a little glad to see that some fight had been sparked in the little Nidoran. The Pokemon Breeder in-training raised an eyebrow intently, and he continued to watch the poison-type carefully for a moments even as she landed a strong Double Kick to his Geodude's face. Even with the rock-type's new speed he couldn't have dodged it.
'I think that Nidoran may be ready to evolve,' the gym leader/breeder thought, scratching his chin thoughtfully. Both the male and female varieties of Nidoran were fairly common to this area of Kanto so he'd seen more than a few of them in his gym before. 'But you never know.' Geodude looked a little bit dazed from being kicked in the face twice but it got right back up again, shooting a harsh glare at Tisyphone. "Rock Throw!" Brock called, and the rock-type gave a cry as it picked up a large rock from nearby and hurled it at the poison-type, hoping to get a bit of pay back for those kicks.
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