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 Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2010 3:11 pm
For a moment Kasiya feared her legs wouldn't support her as Keegan set her down, and she was ready to reach out to grab him again if she felt she were about to fall. This wasn't the case, however, as her legs felt pretty sturdy despite how exhausted she felt. "Yeah, you too," she replied sleepily as he kissed her on the forehead. She smiled meekly and waved as he headed for his own room, and she stifled a yawn as she headed for her own. I bet Sasha and Mitsu are sound asleep by now, she thought as she slid the key card through the slot and the door opened with a quiet click.
She wasn't at all surprised to see that both the other girls were already sound asleep, one in each bed, and she sighed quietly as she made her way across the room to collect her bag. She headed into the small bathroom and quickly changed into her pale green nightgown before coming back out into the room. She paused for a moment, deciding that sharing a bed with Sasha would be easiest (mostly due to the fact that Mitsu hadn't left much room on hers) an she carefully climbed into the bed so as not to disturb the pink-haired girl. She'd only just pulled the covers up to her chin when her tears started flowing again, this time completely unprovoked. She sniffled a few times and wiped them away, startling suddenly as one of her Pokeballs burst open from nearby. A few seconds later a loud, familiar purring filled her ears and she smiled and looked up at the glowing feline eyes that were gazing down at her in return. "Seto, you always know when I need cuddles," she whispered, wrapping her arms around the Persian as he settled down beside her.
She closed her eyes and concentrated on Seto's warmth and the feel of his soft, velvety fur. She sighed and made a silent promise to herself that she wouldn't let her grief get in the way of the mission tomorrow. She knew Jaeshan would understand, and that he wouldn't want her placing herself in (more) danger because of him. Her heart still throbbed with a dull ache but it soon passed as the girl drifted off into a dark, dreamless sleep. Seto remained awake for quite some time afterward, unsure of what was troubling his trainer as he watched over her. He somehow knew that he couldn't make it better, though he did make a silent promise of his own - and that was to claw the eyes out of anyone that tried to hurt his girl.
=-=-=-=-=
Bidoof's ears twitched in annoyance as the Monferno's Taunt had full-effect on her, and she let out a sharp growl, though it possibly only was intimidating to her (and a few passing dust mites). Jake had taken out his PokeDex and was reading up on Ace's technique as well. It seemed vaguely familiar to him and he looked down at Bidoof. She had only three attacks in her arsenal and two of them weren't very strong while the third was only strong if it could make successive hits. "Try a Quick Attack," the blonde-haired boy suggested, but the Plump Mouse Pokemon was already sprinting towards the Monferno, a telltale bright white light trailing from behind her as she closed in on her target.
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Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2010 3:47 pm
Riza glanced from Crenu to Moti and then to Claire, and then back to Crenu again. It was obvious that something had happened in her short absence though she didn't dare inquire about it. "Likewise," she said, nodding at Claire before glancing down at her own Quilava. Eris beamed up at her, obviously happy to have made a friend. "Yeah, see you around," she added, a little sorry to see the pair go so soon. After all, she was starting to get the hang of meeting new people and making new friends, but that was a skill Crenu obviously lacked completely. She eyed his bandages and nodded slowly, lingering for a moment or so as he had already started walking away. "Uh, bye," she said, giving a small, awkward wave as she followed after her surly blonde companion, Eris a few reluctant steps behind.
"Okay, so what was that all about?" she asked once they were out of earshot of Moti and Claire, and she checked her watch. Her salon appointment was soon and she had no intentions of being late for it. She recalled Eris into her poke ball as the Quilava had started slinking back in the direction they'd come from. "And when do you want to change those bandages? I still have things to do today."
* * * * *
Both Katie and Genki let out a sigh of relief at the exact same time before the pair exchanged a bright grin. The Monferno returned to his trainer's side as she made her way across the still-wet battlefield, and he laughed when he saw the gym leader pull Katie into a wet hug. "Thanks," Katie said, returning the hug as best she could before Gardenia had pulled away an was already placing a shimmering green and silver badge into her palm. She nodded as she placed the Forest Badge neatly into its place beside her Coal Badge in the case, and she put away her other winnings as well. "Thanks, Gardenia, that was a great battle. I learned a lot from it," she said, groaning a little as Genki jumped up onto her back. The Monferno sure was getting heavy and Katie wondered if it was all that muscle he was packing on. "And don't worry, we will," she added, waving goodbye to the eccentric gym leader. She wasn't sure when and if Seraphim would ever evolve into a beautiful Roserade like Gardenia's, but she knew that if the Roselia did, she would be even more amazing than she was now.
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thunderbolts_and_sunshine
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Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2010 3:49 pm
“Ha! Hurraaagh! HA!”
Blaine was roused from the allure of his studies by his trainee’s loud grunts, his vigor penetrating the thick rocky walls of the volcano. Accompanying them were various Pokemon noises, of which he recognized. He looked at his watch. “What in blazes is that boy doing up at 4:30 in the morning?” he groaned. The sun wasn't even out yet. He looked at his watch again, then back to his book. The old man sighed. “I might as well,” said the Gym Leader, putting down his book. “There’s no way I’ll be able to concentrate now.” Cane in hand, Blaine proceeded down the long staircase into the arena.
When he entered, he saw Mike standing in the middle, flanked by his Charizard, Typhlosion, Magmar and Torkoal. On command they would all let loose a unified burst of flames, and their trainer would try his best to match their power. His body was practically erupting in steam from his constant sweating.
“Again!” he cried, the four Pokemon expelling another jet of fire. Mike took in a deep breath, letting loose a stream of his own. It was the sort of flame you’d see from a young Growlithe which in and of itself was quite impressive, but the boy was far from pleased with the results. “Again!” he shouted, the Pokemon once again complying. This went on for another five or so minutes before Mike couldn’t take it any longer and fell backwards, his Pokemon surrounding him in concern. They helped him to his feet, and he repaid their kindness with a warm embrace, his face showing a smile of genuine affection Blaine had not seen often since they met. It was enough to make the old man’s heart skip a beat. However, as sentimental as the scene was, the Gym Leader had a job to do.
“You need to learn how to pace yourself, son.” He called out, startling the boy. “What you have is a rare, one of a kind gift. You’re not going to master it in a day.”
“I know.” Mike replied as he sat atop his Torkoal, who wore a blank, but pleased, expression. “It’s just, I want to be stronger, and training like this with my Pokemon really helps me understand what they go through; how tiring it can be. It puts me in their shoes, and helps me understand their limits as well as my own.” The boy caressed his Charizard’s snout with one hand, while the other scratched behind a very happy Typhlosion’s ear.
Blaine sucked in his upper lip, rather taken aback by the boy’s sudden burst of wisdom, and let out a quiet huff. “Be that as it may, they are Pokemon. As such, they have a far greater grasp of their powers. They were born with them, it is innate in their very being. You, however, have been given this gift only recently. It is a fool’s errand to try to compete with them. You’ll only succeed in tuckering yourself out and wasting precious training time. You owe it to your Pokemon to give them your all, but you must know your place as their trainer, as a human.”
Mike nodded and continued his pampering. One of the greatest features of his new gift was his ability to touch his Pokemon without getting burned. It brought him untold joy to give his Pokemon their deserved praise.
“You’re a fine lad, son.” Continued Blaine. “And you have great Pokemon, not just your Fire types. I just want you to take it easy on yourself. It’s a miracle that you’re even alive, so don’t push yourself too hard.” A thought crossed the Gym Leader's mind as he looked at the boy. “Mike,” he began. “What would you say to a battle between your Magmar and my Magmortar?”
“A what?” Mike asked, uncertain if he had heard the man's request right. “Between Napalm and your...” he trailed off, not noticing Napalm shudder at the notion of fighting the Gym Leader's Pokemon. There was no way Mike would take the challenge, so the Pokemon wasn't too- “You're on!” Mike shouted, full of confidence and energy.
Oh no, thought the Magmar, as Blaine's expression shifted from playful to stern in an instant.
------
Soft...soft... thought Sasha as she ran her fingers through her companion's hair. She had just woken up to a delightful surprise: Kasiya had indeed joined her. She must have come in sometime late after speaking with Keegan. Sasha could only imagine what adorable outfit her little lightning bolt was wearing. It must be something really modest. Sasha suspected that Kasiya wasn't aware of her lovely assets just yet. Her eyes still closed, Sasha smiled widely as she gently twirled the girl's hair. "Iz mon coup de foudre peu st'eel asleep? Sssh. Hush my darling." she said deviously as she slowly opened her eyes and ran her finger down the girl's back. "We shall be quiet as to not wake Mitsu. My, I s'hought you had cut your hair shorte-" Sasha's eyes shot open as her fingers brushed up against something strange, and soon found herself eye to eye with a rather large sleeping cat.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGH!!" The nearby Pidgey threw themselves into the air to flee from whatever tortured beast produced that awful noise.
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Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2010 4:24 pm
Jett was racing against time yet again, hastily collecting $150 in his hand as he neared that rather plain train station. Aerosmith would surely be disgruntled by the recent turn of events, since he was abruptly recalled and not allowed to bask in the rare glory of the battle. I bet he'll be so happy when we get our first badge... Jett thought, not caring in the least about yet another disadvantage between the Butterfly-Pokemon and whatever rumored Flying types this Falkner had...
There were maybe a dozen groggy people waiting for their train to arrive in the Olivine Train Station. As Jett had predicted, since Fate was funny like that, he was in the nick of time for the Goldenrod train. The boy quickly forked over the $150 for a train ticket and let out a huff as he filed into the line of two people.
"A bit young to be off by yourself," an older gentleman remarked to the boy behind him as they boarded the hissing train. Jett, deciding that talking would keep him awake and well, sat beside him and smiled a little.
"I'm a Pokemon trainer," he mumbled, refusing to feel the fatigue that lurked somewhere within him. I'll sleep in Violet City... The gentleman smiled back and gently tapped the Pokeball that seemed to be attatched to his cane.
"It explains a lot about a person, doesn't it?" he said, removing his hat to reveal a head full of silver hair. "What brings you to Goldenrod?"
"I'm heading to Violet City," the boy replied, settling into his seat. They had taken off now, the scenery zooming past them. Unfortunately for Jett, it was zooming backwards and that never really agreed with him. "And you?" he asked, half out of politeness and half out of genuine interest.
"I have a meeting," the older gentleman replied with a tinge of sadness. No one really liked meetings. "And then I suppose I start on a new journey, like you must be." Jett blinked, curiousity piqued.
"A new journey...?" The old man grinned ruefully, looking to the gradually lightening sky.
"Let's just say I'm looking for someone."
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Melphaligal the Challama Crew
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Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2010 6:40 pm
The moment that the Bidoof started to race forward Robin huffed slightly and wished that she could give a command. Still this was Ace's battle and in order to be a good trainer she needed to see how her pokemon battled so that she could adapt herself to them. Crossing her arms over her chest Robin did her best to watch Ace as he battled his former team mate.
The Monferno had a determined set to his face as he shifted a bit in the ground trying to get the best footing for what he was going to do. When the Plump Mouse pokemon got close enough he rolled back moving with the attack and absorbing the damage as best as he could. Reaching out he grabbed one of the Bidoof's legs and using her momentum he leaned back on his heal and spun them both around before letting go and tossing her back over to Jake's side of the field. Upon letting her go Ace winced slightly not quite happy with the results of his actions. That was going to need some work. He couldn't always dodge and if he managed to start redirecting the other pokemon's energy he might last a bit longer. What Tony said was replaying in his mind, he couldn't take a lot of hits, he knew that, so he had to find ways to use his offense as a defense. Maybe one day he would add some fire to his new offensive defense?
On the bench still Black*Star watched the exchange between the two and snorted. Bah! He would have done that a lot better! He would have already beaten the Bidoof by now! As he watched in frustration the Totodile couldn't help but feel pretty useless, not that he was useless because he was amazing. It was more feeling useless because the Monferno was ignorant of who was truely the best pokemon on Robin's team!
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Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2010 6:55 pm
“… Well, this is awkward.” Scarlet had never spoken truer words. After all, he was a Pokemon Trainer with honor, a man who would never interrupt another’s battle! But the fact that the Bellsprout who was losing said battle currently lay twitching on the ground, something else’s spectral spit oozing off the side of the flower bud it called a face, well… Interfering seemed to be the human thing to do.
“Hands off the Bellsprout, pal. We’ll be your new opponent.” Scarlet’s eyes narrowed as he shot an index finger toward the floating cloud of gas that hovered over the unfortunate, paralyzed Bellsprout. “We won’t let you do… whatever it is… that you’re doing… Yeah, me and my Cyndaquil are gonna beat you up now.”
The center mass of the cloud began to concentrate and blacken as two diagonal white slits appeared in front of it. Underneath those slitted eyes the Gastly materialized was a wide, fanged grin, a grin that really made Scarlet want to run out and pick up a Kangaskhan just so he’d have something that could punch this Gastly in the face. Super hard. Its slitted eyes opened up wide, small black pupils lowering down to stare at Scarlet and Cindy.
And it stared for a while. Then it began chuckling. That chuckle grew into a laugh. It rolled over onto its back, apparently having laughing fit. A little mouse with a candle light flickering on its back and some boy who hadn’t met up with a haircut in years was supposed to take him out? Tears started streaming from the gastly’s face. Poor thing couldn’t even catch the breath that it probably didn’t strictly need to survive.
“…” Scarlet and Cindy’s left eyes began twitching in tandem. “… Okay. That’s cool. We’ll see who’s laughing after I vacuum pack you into a frickin’ ball and lock you into a computer box for the rest of your natural life.”
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Posted: Fri Oct 01, 2010 11:16 am
It was hard to say who was more startled - Sasha or Seto - as one moment the Persian was snoozing contentedly beside his trainer and then the next his ears were being violated by a noise that could possibly rival his own Screech technique. Needless to say the Persian jumped to his feet, his fur bristling and his tail standing straight up in preparation for attack, and he flashed his teeth in a snarl for all of a second before he realized it was Kasiya's pink-haired friend.
The feline quickly calmed himself and sat back on his hind legs, eying the girl carefully as Kasiya stirred next to him. "Huh?" she mumbled, slowly pulling herself into a semi-sitting position. "What's going on? What's all the screaming about?" she asked groggily, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she looked around. "Oh, you don't have to be afraid of Seto," she added once she realized what had happened. "He won't bite, but he is a bit overprotective of me." She smiled at Sasha as she draped her arms around the Persian's neck and hugged him affectionately, and Seto replied with a content purr. "I'm sorry he frightened you," she said after a moment or so of snuggling the large cat. "Did you sleep well?" Kasiya was a little surprised at how rested she felt, even though it seemed as though she'd only just closed her eyes a few moments ago. Memories of the previous evening's events quickly flooded her mind but she forced up a mental barrier to keep them back, also remembering the promise she'd made to herself.
=-=-=-=-=
Jake couldn't help but laugh out loud when he saw Ace's well-timed countering move, though it was safe to assume that Bidoof was not nearly as impressed as her trainer over the matter. One minute she'd been gearing up to slam all her weight into the Pokemon, and the next they were practically moving as one before she felt a strong hand grab her hind leg. Bidoof, though being smaller than the Monferno, wasn't the lightest of Pokemon and she didn't fly too far before crashing hard on the ground. She managed to recover relatively quickly though, rolling with her fall and coming to land on her feet. She looked a bit rattled but was otherwise fine. "Nice moves, Ace," Jake called over to the Playful Pokemon with a nod, though he recoiled a bit from the death-glares and growls he received from Bidoof. "Oh, relax," the boy grumbled, shaking his head. "No one's ever gonna respect you if you don't learn to respect your opponents."
Bidoof continued to glare though she fell silent at the comment. The stupid human didn't know what he was talking about - all her life all she'd ever done was be respectful towards others, but no one ever took her, a commonplace Bidoof, seriously, so she'd adjusted her outlook on life accordingly. It had made things a little more difficult for her but at least some of the Pokemon in her old neighborhood had started to respect her. She snapped out of her daydream as she heard her trainer's voice call for her to use a Rollout. That she could do, and she thought that curling into a ball would make it more difficult for Ace to get his hands on her. She darted forward once more and jumped forward, tucking into a puffy brown ball of fur that went streaking in a zigzag motion towards the Monferno. Hang in there, Bidoof, I know you're tough, you've just gotta learn patience, Jake thought, smiling lightly to himself.
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Posted: Fri Oct 01, 2010 11:46 am
For the next hour or two, Jett listened to the old man's tale, eyes gradually widening until they had reached ridiculous proportions. The train finally settled in the station of Goldenrod, and all the trainer could manage was, "Wow."
"That seems to be the general agreement," the gentleman agreed with a smile, slowly standing. He never seemed to falter in his movements; Jett knew he had been a trainer for a long, long time and never seemed to stop. "Goodbye, erm..."
"Jett," the younger trainer supplied, standing up as well. It was just barely night, he noticed. Jett guessed it might've been around four or five in the morning. "What's your name?"
The older gentleman tried to answer, but his words were drowned out by the hiss of the train and the murmur of the people and the slowly dying night-life. But Jett figured he should get to Violet City as soon as possible, so he waved to the man and quickly fled the station.
Goldenrod was very... bright, for whatever time it was. Though, Lilycove was probably this way and all the other major cities, too. The trainer didn't want to waste time, so he began to hurry to the nearest exit and Route 35. Thankfully, that map the sailor had given him was functional and told him he was heading in the right direction.
Route 35 was fairly darkened, and all the younger trainers had gone to sleep. There was a police officer in the distant backround, but he looked as tired as Jett felt. So, because he somehow thought that it would wake him up a bit, Jett began to run. Really fast. Like, he was sprinting towards the National Park because the only other way had a big tree blocking the entrance and Jett guessed he needed Cut.
But the trainer had to take a pause at the end of the little lake, hunched over and gasping for breath. Maybe running wasn't such a good idea after all.
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Posted: Fri Oct 01, 2010 9:28 pm
Kilik was awoken by a blood curdling scream coming from the room next to his. "That sounds like Sasha," he said, throwing his legs over the side of his bed. He looked out the window to see that it was barely light outside. He raised an eyebrow and looked down at the clock. It was approaching 7 AM. "What the..." he rubbed his eye slightly. The boy stood up and stretched, yawning a bit. Despite the events that would transpire on this day, he managed to get plenty of sleep. Keegan was resting in the bed next to him. He could have woken him up but decided against it. He had fallen asleep before Keegan had come back and that was pretty late in the night, so chances are, the red head hadn't had very much sleep at this point. He stepped out of the hotel room and looked up and down the hall. It was totally empty. I've got a long day ahead of me, he thought, looking down at his feet. He clenched his fist, and felt his stomach grumble loudly in response. "Better grab a bite to eat!" he laughed to himself, patting his belly.
He emerged in the cafeteria to the smells of breakfast - eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits and gravy, and the clanking of plates and utensils together. Kilik stepped up and grabbed a plate, scooping scrambled eggs, fried eggs, poached eggs...pretty much any egg you could think of and it was on Kilik's plate. Bacon and sausage were next, followed by a short tower of biscuits. To top it all off, he drenched his plate in delicious white gravy. He garnered a few strange looks - he was so tall and skinny that it was impossible to imagine where it all went. He grabbed a glass of orange juice and took a seat near the back of the room. He let Cable and Flareon out of their Pokeballs, making divisions on his plate for them to eat from.
Flareon hopped up on the table and took his third of the plate happily - two pieces of sausage, a biscuit and some scrambled eggs. He looked up at Kilik and cooed happily. "Fla! Flarrrreon!" The fox turned his attention over to Cable.
Cable was scooping his food into his mouth roughly about the same speed as Kilik. Both Trainer and Pokemon were shoveling at what seemed like the speed of sound. Cable would swallow but already be shoving another fist-full of food into his mouth.
Kilik gulped down a large amount of food at once, and chugged about half of his orange juice in one fell swoop. A few people looked disgusted at how fast he was eating, as if he were having a contest with Cable. He looked up from his plate to see that Flareon was looking flabbergasted. "Wha?" he swallowed a chunk of biscuit that he had in his mouth and reached over to pet the warm fox. "Eat up! You need to be at top form for today!" He put on the faux happy face for the people around him - they had no idea exactly what was going to happen for the boy this day.
When the trio had finished their plate, Flareon hopped up onto Kilik's shoulder and he recalled Cable into his Pokeball. "I'd assume Mike would want us to meet up in the arena. Though..." he scratched the back of his head, "I wonder if he's even up yet." I'll just walk there slowly, and when I do get there, by convenience, he'll be ready to go!
-*-
And by the power of wonderful circumstance, Mazarin, Train and Carlos had made it to Cerulean City. He was being rather quiet between their conversation. He was mostly just listening in on them to make sure they weren't plotting anything evil. Maz stretched and looked down the path.
The two of them had stopped on a bench or something while he was taking a leak in a bush near the exit of the cave. As he shook it twice (because any more is playing with it) he looked over his shoulder. Train and Carlos had gotten pretty comfortable on that bench and he quickly zipped his pants up, running over to them. "NO TIME FOR RESTING!" he barked, grabbing the back of the bench and shaking it back and forth. "The City is so close!"
"OOHO CHECK IT!" he pointed, "the Pokemon Center is right there!" he jumped up and clicked his heels, running in the direction of Cerulean City, to the beacon-like light of the Center.
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Posted: Fri Oct 01, 2010 11:45 pm
Ace was a bit thrown off by having Jake compliment him but he just grinned and gave the blonde trainer a thumbs up. It was true what the blond said, one had to respect ones opponents in order to get respect, though sometimes some pokemon broke the rules and didn't deserve that respect though. Still this blond trainer his Robin seemed to like did deserve respect and so did the pokemon that followed him. With that in mind he made sure to force a bit of respect for the lowly Bidoof before him. If a pokemon was trying its best then Ace would do his best to! Grinning the Playful pokemon watched the Bidoof curl up into a ball and start to roll towards him.
Watching her carefully Ace shifted a bit on his feet making sure he had his balance. Rollout was a pretty good move, it added a lot of agility to a pokemon and it got stronger with every pass it made. Still with one spinning like that it probably lowered ones accuracy and that was good for him. An eager grin was on his face as the Monferno waited for just the right moment before acting. Kicking his feet upwards in an Ember filled spin the agile pokemon caught himself on his hands and using all of his strength he launched himself up into the air flipping in time to land behind the Bidoof on his feet. Heh, that was pretty cool, he was going to have to try some more break dance like moves in the future.
On the sidelines Robin couldn't help but be impressed, the Monferno's personal cheerleader let out a loud cheer and clapped excitedly for him. She seemed to have forgotten that she was supposed to be acting all serious and tough. "Oh wow Ace your so cool!" Robin cried out with a huge grin on her face as she watched her pokemon land easily on his feet now. He seemed to like to add little flares of fire to his movements which was actually a pretty good idea. It would keep other pokemon more cautious about getting to close to him and it acted as barrier to either help him dodge or deflect some of the attack on him.
Off to the side Black*Star seemed to be even more upset when his trainer started cheering for the annoying monkey. He hadn't even done anything! All he was doing was dodging. The Monferno clearly had no idea how to battle correctly and Black*Star couldn't wait to show him how it was really done. Maybe that would put his arrogant attitude down.
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Melphaligal the Challama Crew
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Posted: Sat Oct 02, 2010 8:23 am
Blaine lifted his hand in a dramatic fashion and called out to his Pokemon that slumbered beneath the Gym. Mere moments later the volcano began to rumble as the sleeping giant stirred. A spire of magma erupted from the lava pool and splashed on the arena. Out from the receding lava came Magmortar, who stomped his way to the center of the stage.
"Beautiful!" Mike swooned, swaying back and forth, completely smitten. "He's just a walking inferno!" said the boy as he eyed the Pokemon's immolated features. He giggled happily.
Napalm was much less giddy. He had seen this Pokemon in action. He could do things that the little Magmar couldn't even imagine. There was no way this was going to end well, but if it was a fight Mike wanted, it was a fight he'd get. "Mag!" Napalm struck his signature ready pose and awaited a command.
Magmortar looked back at his trainer, who watched in silence. The old man simply nodded to his Pokemon, not taking his eyes off of Mike. The Pokemon turned to face Napalm and readied himself, lifting his arm cannons and pointing them at the much smaller Magmar.
Mike felt a wave of excitement wash over him. He's big and tough looking, but we can handle this! Napalm is smart, this will be cake!
"Begin." Blaine said, and the battle was on.
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Posted: Sat Oct 02, 2010 8:26 am
Napalm lunged forward to strike the larger Pokemon with his fist, but the Magmortar saw it coming a mile away. With a quick side-step it evaded, and thrust his arm forward, grabbing the Magmar’s face with his claws. Napalm let out a muffled cry. In an instant the Magmar was on the ground, then forcefully thrown back to his starting position. He rolled to his feet and charged again, this time faking to the left. Sure enough the Magmortar was ready, and slammed his cannon into the ground. Before he could stop himself, Napalm ran straight into a pillar of lava, which once again sent him back to the other side of the arena with a loud thud. How demoralizing, thought the Magmar as he struggled to his feet, his body covered in scrapes and cuts.
Mike grit his teeth. He didn’t get it. Napalm could run circles around this guy, but all of his attacks were getting countered left and right. “You’d think that with such small legs it would be slow, but this Magmortar is so quick!” he said in veiled question form to the Gym Leader. “I don’t get it!”
“Speed isn’t all about footwork, son.” replied Blaine, shifting his weight on his cane a bit. “It’s also about reaction time. Pokemon slow with their legs gotta be quick with their brains. Those that are truly skilled trainers could have an Onix outmaneuver a Jolteon. It’s all about conditioning; all about the brain.”
“Hm,” mused the boy. "This must he what they call ironic." That means I’ll have to try something unexpected. Surely he wouldn’t expect Napalm’s Psychic attack, even if he is a Gym Leader! “Alright Napalm,” Mike shouted in command, confidence returning to his voice. “Let’s try some mind over matter. Go!”
Napalm smiled. This will certainly catch him off guard, he thought. Racing forward a third time, the Magmar stopped short and threw his hands out, a blue light consuming his eyes. He reached out with psychic limbs and grappled the Magmortar, who remained still, making no attempt to block the attack. Blaine huffed a muffled order to his Pokemon, and its eyes began to shine as well. Napalm was taken aback, so much so that he broke his concentration, allowing the Magmortar to grab onto him with a Psychic of his own. From then on you could probably guess the rest. Napalm was thrown skyward, and landed in a pile at Mike’s feet.
“Dammit!” cursed the boy. “I don’t understand what you’re trying to teach me! I figured since Magmortar was used to countering traditional attacks I’d throw something unexpected at you, but you countered that too! What’s the meaning of asking me to use Napalm if you didn’t want my thinking outside the box? How could I have won that fight?!” His fists practically erupted as his temper rose.
“You couldn’t have.” said Blaine, returning his Pokemon. His expression showed he was less than pleased with the boy's performance.
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Posted: Sat Oct 02, 2010 8:30 am
“I-but-WHAT?!” shrieked the boy, clutching his face. “Why not?”
“Because my Magmortar is stronger, faster, and smarter than your Magmar.” He said, walking over to the boy. Mike stood there with his mouth wide open, unable to reply.
Blaine groaned at the boy’s youthful ignorance. “That lesson wasn’t about finding some magic move to catch Magmortar by surprise, or thinking outside the box. It was about knowing when to choose your battles. All your life you kids keep running headlong into fight after fight, ramming your head against the wall because you think the only way to win is to keep at it no matter what. Sure, it worked out for you a few times, but that’s just ‘cause you got lucky! Power is nothing without strategy, and you got none of it in there!” he brought his cane down on the boy’s head.
“Ow, dammit!” cried the boy, nursing a soon-to-be bump. “But that's not true! I use weather tactics, type advantages, all that stuff!”
“Everyone knows that! What few understand is that you hafta learn when not to fight! When to retreat and fight another day. Heroes live and die young ‘cause they’re reckless, ‘cause they’re stupid. If you just fall back on your strength alone, you’ll never make it in the big leagues. If you keep pushing your Pokemon and yourself with nothing but that damn misaligned determination all you kids have, you’ll do nothing but exhaust yourself. You hafta use your brain! Take a step back, think things through. Only then can you truly fight with skill.” With that final word of wisdom, the man turned and left, retiring to his study.
“I've been training!” Mike protested. “Isn't this what I've been working on?”
“For a day!” Blaine shouted, turning back to face the boy. “Not even! Sure, you have been training hard and shown commendable effort in trying to overcome your weaknesses, but to do a task like this requires months, years of hard work!”
“I don't have that kind of time!” the boy replied. “That's why I have my friends here!”
“It's that sort of attitude that will get you in serious trouble boy. You think just because you have strong friends that nothing bad will happen? What if something were to happen to them, it would be your fault for getting them involved. Not everyone is lucky enough to have second chances. Has death taught you nothing of your own foolishness?” Blaine let out an angry huff and turned, once again leaving for his room. Sensing his duty was done, Magmortar returned to his home beneath the volcanic waves below.
The weight of Blaine’s words came crashing down on Mike’s shoulders, pushing the boy to the ground. He flailed around on the ground in a tantrum, letting out a pathetic whine. After letting out his aggression, Mike sat in silence for a moment, staring up through the volcano’s mouth at the early morning stars. Even the noxious volcanic plume couldn’t hide them, and they sparkled like diamonds. They were beautiful, just like back home. It got him thinking, something told him that the Gym Leader wasn’t talking only about Pokemon battles. It only took a moment for him to realize how right Blaine was. He always rushed into things without thinking, and not just Pokemon fights.
“Dammit.” He groaned and rolled over to check on his Pokemon. “You alright Napalm?”
The Magmar shifted uncomfortably beside him and gave a thumbs up. Mike smiled. “You catch any of what that old fart said?” he asked, his eyes returning to the morning sky.
Napalm replied with a simple “Mag.” Mike knew he understood. Napalm was smart.
“I know it' s reckless.” he said to himself. “I know this isn't the best way we can do it, but I can't wait any longer.” Blaine was right about one thing, but Mike knew that even if he were to tell all of his friends to let him do it by himself, they would hear nothing of it.
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Posted: Sat Oct 02, 2010 11:52 am
Jett was in a daze for the remainder of the route, mumbling a half-hearted rejection to the police officer as he slipped into the cool, bright building. The National Park... he thought, merely trudging past those doors into the wide expanse of the park.
"...Thanks for being so big and having the exit like all the way over there," Jett muttered irritably, before he slapped himself lightly. He was going to sprint yet again across this park if it killed him. Violet City was ever-nearing, as was the nice bed in the PokeCenter. He would make it there soon.
With the surprising speed of a fourteen year old boy (maybe it wasn't that surprising), Jett began to run towards that building, ignoring the chirping of Bug-types in the grass. His lungs burned and his heart thundered; Jett briefly worried that it might collapse. But all he kept thinking was that he had to keep running faster and faster.
This thought apparently controlled every fiber of the trainer's being, because he sped right through the building and onto Route 36. And right into a tree.
There was that frighteningly loud thud as the boy met with the trunk of the tree and a rustling from above. Jett barely had thinking capabilities, but he could manage to be surprised when something landed on his head and leapt off.
"Hoot!" Jett turned to the noise, staring at some wide-eyed, one-footed owl that hopped before him. The Hoothoot stared blankly at him, then began to hop up and down. "Hoothoot!"
"I really hope you're like any other Pokemon," Jett sighed groggily, "and you repeat your name over and over..." The Hoothoot didn't seem to run away, and Jett shook his head to wake himself up some. "Owl... thing... Flying-type...?" That would make a slight difference against some Gym leaders, wouldn't it?
The Hoothoot didn't respond to the correct guess. She merely tilted her head and her eyes began to glow. Jett stared back into those red eyes and felt fatigue crashing down upon him--
With a burst of white light, there was a shifting silhouette that emerged into the night, cutting off the Hypnosis attack. The thing seemed to morph as it flew, landing with a graceful twirl before Jett. It reminded him of a ballerina, but there was something so familiar about her...
Jett looked to his belt and noticed that River's Pokeball was open. Except standing before him was not the tiny, timid Ralts, but a furious Kirlia.
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Posted: Sat Oct 02, 2010 3:19 pm
"R-river?" The Kirlia gave an affirmative nod before she stared at the Hoothoot. Slowly, the Psychic-type slipped into an offensive stance and smiled. "River, don't make it faint! We're gonna catch this one!"
River was not too happy with that, because this Hoothoot before her was getting on her nerves already. Trying to hypnotise her trainer? And the way she looked at her, with those big eyes... like she was superior...
The Hoothoot dived forward for a Peck attack, but River was having none of that. The Emotion Pokemon flipped over the owl and landed almost directly behind her. One dainty leg held her up while she spun, sending the other leg right into the Hoothoot's eye.
"Hoot!" Hoothoot was not pleased. Especially since River wasn't holding back, directing a flurry of kicks and punches at the Flying-type. She was loving this new form! It was so graceful!
Now Tackles were gracefully avoided and non-named attacks were attempted to be avoided. In some cases, they were, and Hoothoot was so proud of herself right before another foot hit her.
Jett, on the other hand, was appropriately frightened. River was now scary. Like, really scary. And he had a feeling that these two would not get along... But he wanted this Pokemon nonetheless, and he wouldn't fail! "River, send it flying for me, will you?" he called, readying a Pokeball.
River decided that she would have much more fun while fighting someone she was actually supposed to knock out and prepared a Confusion. The Emotion Pokemon darted forward lithely, her little paw (or hand) raising. Once it met the feathers of the Owl Pokemon, that Confusion was released, sending the very surprised Hoothoot flying.
...Only to get hit again by a Pokeball, the object sucking in the poor thing. It fell to the ground and wobbled for a minute, before that satisfying beep sounded and Jett had his third Pokemon caught.
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