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Kasiya sat by the video phones long after she'd hung up with Professor Oak, even though she had the good professor's word that Hiro would feel right at home there. She clutched the newly transferred Pokeball in her hands, and occasionally would glance at it, but nothing more. She sighed a few times, more upset about the loss of one of her most reliable Pokemon then the loss she'd suffered at the hands of her father. She sighed once more, hardly noticing when the Pokeball she held slipped from her hand and clattered to the floor, causing it to open up in a flash of light.

"Bay?" came the inquisitive cry from Rosemary, the young Bayleef. She looked around the strange place rather fearfully for a moment, but upon recognizing the blonde girl sitting in a chair nearby, she calmed down a little, and walked towards her, stopping to pick up her own Pokeball and place it in Kasiya's lap. "Bay-leef," she said happily, sensing that her trainer wasn't in the best of moods, and she slowly wafted her leaf back and forth, releasing a soothing aroma that she hoped would help to lift the girl's spirits.

Kasiya breathed in the relaxing scent and closed her eyes, smiling. "Thanks, Rosemary. You really know how to cheer a girl up," she added, reaching down to stroke the gentle Grass Pokemon's head. "I guess we should head back then, huh," she sighed, standing up and gathering her things, and also remembering to put the Pokeball back onto her belt. She motioned for Rosemary to follow, and the Bayleef did so, after looking around cautiously to make sure nothing was going to jump out at her.

((Stupid short posts, I couldn't think of much else to write.))

Kilik turned as well, nodding. "And that would be me. You're..." he paused to try and think of the name. "Hmm...Dawn...Dante! Dante, right?" the boy slipped a hand into his pocket. What would he be doing out here anyway? Could he already be wanting his eighth badge?

Kasiya made the short walk back to the gym, the ever-nervous Rosemary keeping right by her side. At one point, a trainer waved at her, inviting her to battle, but Kasiya shook her head, and kept her gaze trained on the ground in order to avoid eye contact with other people. She stopped in front of the familiar doors, after using her usual method of climbing over the obstructing tree (and giving Rosemary a hand as well) she stood in front of the familiar brass doors, not knowing what to say once she got back in there. That she'd been upset? Or worried about her Pokemon? It occurred to her then that it didn't matter what her excuse was, she still had to go back in and face her father. She had a horrible, sinking feeling that he'd relish in his dominating victory over her, but soon dismissed the thought due to the probable guilt he was feeling from the unintentional injury he'd caused Hiro.

She sighed and pushed open the front doors, allowing the Bayleef to enter ahead of her. Rosemary let out a frightened squeak, but bravely followed her trainer inside. "Hiro's going to be fine," she announced to anyone who still might be there. "He needs a break from battling, but he'll be all right in a week or so," she added, idly watching Rosemary take in the sights of the strange new place they were in.

An odd request to be sure, and it took a few moments for him to wrap his mind, but Mike wasn't going to question a free Pokemon. And Dante's mom was quite the looker. Hell, why not. "I'm sorry to hear that, I'd hate to lose my Pokemon. But yeah, I'll take good care of...what kind of Pokemon are you giving me?" He asked, still confused about the whole ordeal.

"I was wondering if someone was trying to spy on me or something," Whitney said. "Like, maybe my battling style, or the Pokemon that I use or something." She paused. "I know, I'm way too paranoid." The blue-haired girl jumped down off the bleachers and moved nearer to her sister. "No, you're not being paranoid in the least," she said. "If anything, you're being smart-- someone knows this information about you, and if they're doing this, they might be trying to exploit you or something. It's natural to be worried." She smiled a little bit. "Y'know what, though? They won't be able to do that. They won't be able to do anything to you-- you know why? Because I'll be there to protect you." Nina smiled. "And Rai will be too, won't you, Rai?" A smile danced on the boy's lips as he slid off of the bleachers, approaching his friends, standing in the middle of them and wrapping an arm around both of their shoulders and heading towards the door with them. "You'd better believe I will. Tell you what-- I'm not going to let you out of my sight, Whitney. I'll protect you from the bad guys."

Whitney blushed a little. "Heh. All right. Thanks, you two-- I owe you for this." The trio stepped outside. "Ha! Like hell you owe me-- you're my sister! We're supposed to watch out for eachother, nimrod." She giggled a little bit. "So, I've got an idea. How's about the three of us make a trek over to the Game Corner and play something to take our minds off of all this stuff?"

That idea merited a unanimous response, causing Nina to grin. "All right. There's only one condition, though."
"Well, what's that?"
"Yeah Nina, what's up?"
"We're taking Pookie."

Before her friends could say no, Nina slipped away from them and let her estranged Pokemon free from its Safari Ball, finding a seat in between the spikes, near his front. She turned her head and grinned again. "Come on, you two! Pookie's okay!" Whitney stared at her sister increduously. "Are you kidding me?" she asked. "Last time I checked, Pookie almost got you killed!" The girl laughed. "Well, how can you expect me to tame him if I keep him cooped up in his ball all the time? Stop being such a baby!" Even Raimundo seemed a bit nervous around the Pokemon, as he and Whitney reluctantly approached it. "How do you know he won't buck us off or something?" he asked, visibly concerned. "Don't worry, Rai. The absolute worst thing that can happen is that we get thrown off onto the ground. And, we'd be landing on the grass, so we might get a bruise and some grass stains. So?" He sighed. "Well, it's just..." A shiver. "I've never been very at ease around Rhyhorn. I almost got ran over by one when I was younger, so that fear's stuck with me ever since."

Nina dismounted her Pokemon, and walked to her friend. "Listen. Pookie's too stupid to run someone over-- if anything," she said, looking over her shoulder to see Pookie and Whitney having a meeting of the minds, "he's more afraid of us than we could possibly be of him. And besides which--" she took his hands in hers-- "I won't let him hurt you." She smiled and kissed his cheek, and stepped back. "Trust me?"

Raimundo smiled. "Yes. I trust you."

Nina headed back to her Pokemon, interrupting Whitney's babbling to him, and taking back her original seat. "It's not that hard to get comfy," she said to her friends, "just slip in between the spikes and hold on, and you'll be fine." After everyone had taken a seat-- Nina in front, Whitney behind her, Raimundo behind her-- it seemed that they were ready to head off.

"Okay, Pookie! Let's go-- off to Celadon City!" She tapped a foot against his side, similar to what a rider may do to get their Rapidash running, and Pookie let out a brief, confused little roar. After a moment, he bounded westward toward the city, his passengers holding on tightly.

After entering the spacious Gym, Mike began to look around for someone to battle. He needed to train, so where were the grunts already? "Hello?" He called out, his voice echoing and bouncing off the walls. "Anyone here?" So Mike was all alone in a Gym owned by the syndicate leader of Team Rocket, what reason would there be to not cause trouble, to not spark some hell? After all, it is in his character to defy authority. In fact, it would be pretty much a damn shame not to.

"Hey! I'm coming back to destroy the Gym again!" The boy shouted at the top of his lungs. "I'm that blasted boy with the Charizard!"

As if on cue, and they actually were, a pair of Rockets came running down the corridor. "Hey, you! Stop right there!" One of them yelled back. "Don't you dare touch anything!"

Perfect. "Calm down boys, I'm not here to cause trouble, only to battle. I'm under special permission from the big boss man himself, so I challenge both of you to a battle!"

The two grunts looked at each other and shrugged. What was there to lose? "Alright kid, if what you say is true, then I'll be the first to send you spiraling down in flames! Go Tauros!" A purple and red Great ball erupted in white light, revealing a large bull with three tails. It snorted, scrapping the ground with a hoof.

"Alright, let's make this battle funky, Beacon, go!" Mike released his silly Ampharos, who smiled at the exposure. "Hey buddy, you're fighting that Tauros over there, ready set?"

Tilting his head to the side, the Ampharos nodded quickly, displaying an odd amount of certainty and...well, intelligence. "Hi hi." He said cutely, waving to the Wild Bull Pokemon.