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 Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 4:09 pm
Recap of the happenings of Goldenrod Gym --
1- Blanca vs. Miharu
2- Blissey vs. Lily
3- Sing vs. Double Edge
Now that the stage has been set once more, let us commence. Blissey watched as the drowsy Bulbasaur dashed forward despite its drowsiness, admiring its tenacity and spirit. Nevertheless, the lethargy appeared to be getting to it one way or another, and it was surely not coming on as hard (ha) as it could have -- she didn't have much time to ponder this, though, as the attack was quickly coming and she didn't have much flexibility to dodge it. The rough attack connected at her hip rather painfully, and by topping over she ended up more or less sitting on the Bulbasaur.
"Bliss, come on off," Blanca called. She couldn't quite tell from her view point whether the Bulbasaur was still conscious after the sleeping powder or the backlash, but it wouldn't do for her Pokemon to smother it. Sudden fetal death syndrome? No, that didn't make sense in this context. Well, regardless, it looked like Blissey would have to battle a full-strength Pokemon sooner or later, so might as well heal up when she can. "Soft-boiled!" The stand-in gym leader commanded, and the Blissey happily complied.
---------
"Amphy's doing fine," Jasmine answered, setting some tea down for the both Juunko and herself. The peaceful atmosphere of the room, however, was suddenly disrupted by a flash of electricity as a very angry Magnemite hovered menacingly over Juunko's dear little Duskull. It had been sleeping rather contentedly, you see -- with its eye opened more by habit than anything -- when suddenly something weird jabbed it extremely deep (ha) and woke it oh so rudely. Static electricity was rolling over the Magnet's body.
"Enough," the Gym Leader said very quietly, but something authoritative in her tone persuaded the Magnemite to stand down immediately. It shot the Duskull a nasty look before settling above Jasmine's shoulder.
"Sorry," she said with a little laugh. "Anyways, Juunko, what brings you here? It's a bit of a trip to just visit out of the blue, as much as I like the company."
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Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 4:28 pm
A somewhat inebriated Jun and his container strolled down the streets of Hearthome. What to do now? Demi the Jynx wondered to herself; she wasn't really quite accustomed to this aimless extended trip business, didn't know what they ought to be doing. She knew that Jun wanted to be a top beautician, that she was going to help him get there, and that they were taking this voyage to expand their view of the world's beauty, but that was a pretty abstract idea. Jun was ever the romantic, and at times it made life somewhat difficult for the more practical Jynx. But he was her best friend and pretty much all she had, so she didn't complain.
A sign presently caught her attention. "Showcase Your Pokemon at the Super Contest Hall! Strength, Beauty, Cuteness, Coolness... We Want To See You In Your Tip Top Shape." There was an image of a gorgeous water serpent of some type, creating ice crystals in the sky. How pretty! Well, this looked like it'd be worth looking into. "Juuuh~" the Humanshape Pokemon mumbled in her tranny-like voice, pointing at the sign and looking over for Jun -- who was not next to her like she remembered him being.
In the distance, she could see a well-built figure clearly flattered by Jun's advances. Demi sighed before waddling over there. "Juh juuuuh," she gestured animatedly, and Jun looked at her a moment before sighing. "S-silly Demi. You can't mean that this is a woman? I mean, look at this chiselled face, lovely and stubby," he said, slipping a slender hand over the woman's face, "these carefully constructed biceps, these broad collar bones, and no boobs!" he added, putting a hand on the woman's chest.
"... Oh. I was giving you the benefit of the doubt, you know? Some men have slight manboobs, nothing the gym couldn't fix."
Jun went flying a second time that day.
Jynx couldn't help but laugh at that one, but he deserved it she supposed. In any case she convinced the sobering Jun into checking this Pokemon Contest matter out, and so the dynamic duo meandered into the impressive building.
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Posted: Sun May 10, 2009 4:16 pm
Sam walked over. "Hey, I'm sorry about th-"
"Hey back off before you hurt him even more!" Tony snarled. Sam felt her blood in her cheeks.
"Now you care about him?! What happened to him being lazy, useless, a utter failure?!" Tony stood.
"He is all the those things and more, he is so useless that I hate him! But that doesn't mean I want him to die!" Sam understood. Tony was, in a way, just like her. He hated pokemon, he didn't want them, but he was too compassionate to have complete disinterest. She sighed. Can't live with them, can't live without them. Star nudged her leg. Sam looked down, and saw Star lying on her back, with her stomach making growling noises. Sam laughed.
"Okay, okay, I'll feed you, one second. Lucky for you, I packed a little before we left." Sam unzipped the front pocket of her pack. As she was rummaging through, a small piece of paper fell out. Sam picked it up, and stared at it, uncomprehending.
"A...train ticket?" Sam remembered the trains that ran between the regions. Between the...she could use this to get home! She wouldn't have to get all the gym badges! She could just ride the train all the way to Olivine, and then take a ferry home! Tony snatched the ticket out of her hand.
"Hmph...you should go to Hoenn or Sinnoh. Do something useful."
"No you don't understand! Instead of getting all the gym badges and defeating the Elite Four, all I have to do is get to the nearest train station and ride it to Olivine! Then all I have to do is take a ferry ride to Cianwood and I'm home! Home at last!" Sam trembled. She was just so happy.
"Here let me help you with your pokemon," Oak offered to Sam and Tony. They both looked at him, and shrugged. He picked them up and took them to the lab. Tony looked at his Bidoof go, and then turned to Sam.
"Truce?" he asked her. Sam thought about. She didn't even remember why her little fight had started. She shook his hand.
"Truce." She popped the tab on a warm soda from her pack, and headed back to the lab. 'I'm going home...'
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Posted: Sun May 10, 2009 9:57 pm
After another gentle order to at her son to reapply the ice pack to his face, Mrs. Edwards scurried out of the kitchen. Kenneth stared through the doorway to the bedroom hall, listening to her muttering to herself while she rummaged through her bedroom. He drummed his fingers and waited for the swelling on his cheek to go down, scowling.
Gator stayed within paw’s reach of Kenneth at all times. Shortly after Mrs. Edwards left the room, the little Totodile curled up next to his trainer’s leg, pillowing his head on the teenager’s foot. The brawler ignored the Pokemon for the moment, waiting for his mother to return with whatever had her in such a flurry of activity.
“Here we are,” Mrs. Edwards swept back into the room, breathless. She set a battered red and yellow backpack down on the kitchen table. Kenneth raised an eyebrow at it, and her.
“What’s this all about, Mom?” He glanced at the kitchen clock. “Can’t it wait until morning? You should probably get to bed.”
“Shoosh, I can’t sleep now, I’m too excited!” the housewife cooed, clapping her hands together. “I needed to show you this, Kenneth. Here.” She unzipped the backpack and began pulling items out of it.
“Good. There’s still some Pokeballs left. Five should be enough to start you off, don’t you think?” She smiled at her son, lining up the balls on the table. Kenneth grimaced at them, but said nothing. “This should help, too; all the Pokemon Trainers have one. It’s a collapsible bicycle! Isn’t that just the niftiest thing you’ve ever seen?” She set the contraption on the table next to the Pokeballs. Kenneth stayed silent, letting his mom ramble in her glee. “Oh, and this should help.” She pulled a coil of rope out of the bag, but it looked too thin to support anyone’s weight. It was an odd purple-grey color, too; Kenneth had never seen anything like it. “This is a special rope, called an Escape Rope. It will let you escape from any cave or dungeon if you’re ever in a pinch.” Kenneth raised his eyebrow at that, but remained silent. “And this is very important—a train ticket. These are a little pricey, so I would save it for when you really need to travel a long way in a hurry. The bicycle should get you around fine otherwise.”
“Um…Mom?” the teenager finally interjected. “You never told me you used to be Pokemon Trainer.”
She giggled. “I wasn’t, silly. These are your father’s old things.”
“Wha--?!” Kenneth glared daggers at the contents of the backpack and scooted his chair away from the table. “I don’t want any of his old crap!”
“Ken!” his mother admonished. “It’s not ‘crap.’ You’ll need all of these things on your journey. I know you don’t have the highest opinion of your father, but it’s better to use what he left behind than to have to pay for all new supplies, don’t you think?”
Kenneth looked away, scowling towards the sink. He couldn’t argue with that logic. “I guess,” he grumbled.
“But you will have to buy a few things here and there along the way, so…I want you to take this as well.” Mrs. Edwards circled around the table and placed a leather wallet in her son’s hand. He boggled up at her, then opened the wallet. He only needed to glance at the 500 inside before he shoved the thing back into his mother’s hands.
“I can’t take this. You need it more than I do.” He looked up at her with a resolute expression.
“No, dear,” she returned gently, easing the wallet back into his hands, “you do. I can part with this. It’ll be fine.”
“No,” the teenager insisted. He took his mother’s hand, turned her palm upward, and planted the wallet into it, giving his mom a steely look. “I’m not taking it.”
“Yes you are.” She returned the gesture, then grabbed his other hand and closed it over the wallet. “And there will be no arguments in the matter, do you hear me young man? I’m your mother. It’s my job to protect and provide for you. I won’t allow you to just waltz out into the wide world without some means to get by.” She gave him a watery smile, the steel in her eyes falling away.
He swallowed, closed his hand over the wallet, and looked away. She was tired of him looking after her all the time, wasn’t she? “I’ll pay it back,” he muttered. “And then some.”
“There we are.” Mrs. Edwards straightened, shuffling around to the other side of the table to return the items to the backpack. She zipped it closed and handed it to Kenneth. “With this, and your Totodile by your side, you’re ready to start your adventure as a Trainer.” The woman bit her lip, her eyes tearing up. “I’m so proud of you, Kenneth.” She lurched forward and hugged her son from behind. “So very, very proud.”
“Um, Mom?” He tilted his head back to look at her. “I’m not going to start an adventure at one-thirty in the morning.”
“Oh!” Mrs. Edwards pulled away from her son and giggled self-consciously. “Of course! My, I got carried away there, didn’t I?” she laughed. She poked a finger into the ice pack her son held. “Put that back on your face,” she ordered gently. “You should have a bath before bed, too. You’re an awful mess.”
But she leaned forward again, once more hugging her seated son and petting his hair. “I am proud of you, though,” she whispered, planting a kiss on his temple. “Sleep well, Ken.”
He turned to look at her as she walked into the hall. “You too, Mom.”
Mrs. Edwards nodded at her son, her lined face pulled into a smile. She plodded into her bedroom and shut the door.
Beside him, the little Totodile purred against his leg. Kenneth looked down to see it looking up with a question in those gigantic red eyes. “…Toh?”
Kenneth heaved a sigh. “I know. I’m worried about her too.”
He didn’t bother to take a bath. The icepack got tossed onto his nightstand, his jacket got tossed onto the floor, and Kenneth barely mustered the energy to remove his shoes before crawling into bed. He was asleep as soon as his throbbing head hit the pillow.
Gator the Totodile sprang onto Kenneth’s bed, shuffled to the teenager’s side, and lay down under the crook of his arm. He pressed his scaly body against Kenneth’s warm form. That odd purring, growling sound rumbled through his body and into Kenneth’s chest cavity. Kenneth slept through the whole thing.
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Posted: Mon May 11, 2009 3:03 pm
The ball rocketed forward and caught the steel-clad bird in the chest, and it was sucked inside, after which the ball fell to the ground and began to quiver and shake violently for a few seconds, and then it was still. For a satisfying moment Keegan thought the capture had been successful, but suddenly the sphere practically jumped up off the ground and exploded open, sending its contents soaring skyward. The Skarmory was managing to fly even in its paralyzed state, but now it no longer intended to escape but in fact had turned its sights on Keegan and Themis. It let out an angered screech as it dived down at the Manectric, showing some impressive skill even while suffering a status affliction. A surprised Themis found himself to be on the receiving end of a vicious Fury Attack, though he didn't utter a sound to show that he was hurting from it.
"You're gonna have to weaken it more than that, Sonny!" the elderly chap jeered from the sidelines, the cigarette dangling dauntingly from the corner of his mouth. "You said you knew what you were doing, kiddo, but so far you've shown me nothing to prove that statement!"
"It's hard to concentrate with you flapping your gums, Old Man!" Keegan retorted sharply, giving his cigarette a quick flick to send the ashes to the ground. He looked back towards the Skarmory, feeling a rush of adrenaline surge through his body. It was either this, or the painkillers that caused all the hurting to suddenly stop, and he pointed at the steel bird with his free hand. "Flamethrower!"
A snarl escaped the throat of the Manectric only seconds before a torrent of flames followed it. The Skarmory, being in such close range to the electric type, could do nothing but turn its head and screech loudly as the fire burned at its steely body. Somehow it pushed through the pain before rearing back and slamming its sharp beak into Themis' shoulder, leaving both a deep cut and a fiery rage building inside the Manectric. Once again his limber body flared with electricity and he jumped at the steel bird, delivering a powerful electrical tackle that also pinned the Skarmory to the ground.
"This time I've got you," Keegan growled, this time holding up a Great Ball and ignoring the old codger, who was still shouting out a strange assortment of insults and encouragement. The redhead let the ball fly, holding his breath as the Skarmory once again was sucked inside the sphere.
=====
Even Miharu couldn't tell from her position if Lily still had any fighting power within her or not, so without another thought she recalled the Bulbasaur, quite impressed with how well her most reluctant fighter had handled herself. "You were excellent today, Lily," Miharu smiled as she put the ball back on her belt. "Rest up now." She looked over at the Blissey as she healed some of her health, and sighed. The Leech Seed from earlier was still working in her favour, and she knew she couldn't send out Sparkle or Petunia, as the two weren't quite as strong as the rest of the members of her team. She also didn't think Starrie's attacks would be as effective against the special wall that was Blissey, so that left her with one choice.
You'd better listen to me this time, Miharu thought irritably as she released the unpredictable Metang. Tingle appeared in a flash of light in front of his trainer and for once, it was actually facing the (general) direction of its opponent. "Okay Tingle, it's all up to you now, all right? We've gotta earn this Plain Badge!" Tingle remained silent, but gave a slight nod, and hovered more into position. "Start off with your new Bullet Punch!"
Oh, that move! Tingle had always known this move existed somewhere in the back of its mind, but it always felt like it was locked, since even the Metang didn't know what the attack was. Tingle's eyes narrowed into slits and it balled its hands up into tight fists seconds before it shot forward at its big, pink target, prepared to use her as a punching bag.
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Posted: Mon May 11, 2009 8:09 pm
For a grueling couple of moments, Keegan could only watch as the Skarmory fought against capture with all its might, though the fight would prove to be in vain as finally the blue and red sphere came to a halt, and the light dimmed in the center. Even after this Themis continued to glared down at the stationary Great Ball, growling loudly and looking as though he'd blast the thing with a Thunderbolt if it so much as even twitched again. "Themis, relax," Keegan said breathlessly after taking a long, celebratory drag from his cigarette. "He's ours. We got 'em." He slid his free hand into his pocket and strolled over to where Themis was still glaring angrily at the Great Ball, though the growling ceased when Keegan patted him on the head. "Good work," the redhead said, and with those words the Manectric stood down, sitting back on his haunches in a very canine-like fashion. Keegan squatted down at eyed the Great Ball before he snatched it up. "Piece of cake," he chuckled, blowing a cloud of smoke over the sphere.
He stood up and looked over at the old man, who was nodding with a sort of bemused smile. "None too shabby, Sonny," he said, making his way over to where Keegan and Themis were. "You had me a bit worried there, back at the start, but you pulled through!"
"I had this one in the bag from the start," Keegan argued, shooting a dirty look at the man as he got to his feet. "I told you I knew what I was doing. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to get going. Let's go, Themis," he said, dropping the Great Ball into his coat pocket before turning to head back in the direction of Lilycove, Themis trotting along proudly at his heels. Damned old codger doesn't know s**t about anything, he thought angrily, kicking the dirt a little as he walked. Stupid old man... Mooching smokes, interrupting my training, trying to tell me how to catch a Pokemon... his thoughts trailed off as he heard someone calling out to him, and he stopped so quickly that Themis bumped into him from behind. "Now what...!?" he grumbled angrily, pivoting on a foot to turn and glare at the old fellow. "Would you just leave me..." he trailed off as his gaze came to rest on two guys, probably around the same age as him, if not a little older. They both had jet-black hair and dark, beady eyes, and each were glaring at Keegan as though he'd ran over their pet Growlithe with a truck. "What do you want?" he snapped, though when the skull-pounding pain returned to him in a flash, he immediately regretted using that tone of voice with them.
Neither of them said a word, but Keegan noticed the one on the left move his gaze to the pocket in which Keegan had just place the Great Ball that held the Skarmory. Themis had stationed himself at his trainer's side and was growling fiercely, though neither of the two males seemed to be deterred by the Manectric's protectiveness. The one who'd been eying the pocket took a step forward, arms crossed over his chest. Keegan already thought he knew what this would be about, even as the young man finally spoke. "That Skarmory. I've been chasing it for days, attempting to catch it, and you're the one who gets it? That seems justly unfair to me, and you're going to hand it over without a fuss. Do we understand each other?"
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Melphaligal the Challama Crew
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Posted: Wed May 13, 2009 9:22 am
Raz appeared out of the park ball in his usual sense of aerial acrobatics and determined demeanor. The sparky Yanma looked around and quickly took into account that this was another battle! Wow his trainer was getting into a lot of those lately! Still the Yanma wasn't one to complain to much, besides battling provided a fun time for him to practice his skills! He was going to be the best Yanma ever after all going on all sorts of fun adventures.
Not able to help the small smile at the sight of her pokemon Robin was glad that her first pokemon she had ever captured still had faith in her. Grinning slightly Robin was determined not to let Raz down this time. This pokemon had such faith in her and it would be no good to let that faith go to waste! "Ok Raz lets start this battle off with, umm, Double Team!"
The small Yanma stopped buzzing around the battlefield and instead did just what Robin had somewhat uncertainly ordered. Razputin himself had no qualms with using Double Team though, he certainly liked the move anyway, it gave him the chance to go really fast! Concentrating Raz started to vibrate forming a few copies of himself.
"Oh dear. Well you certainly have a fast, and cute, little Yanma there!" The smelly lady said as she looked over at the bug type pokemon. "Still don't take us to lightly! Sunflora use your Ingrain ability! We are going to last through this battle no matter what." The grass type pokemon just nodded its large sunflower head and dug it's roots into the ground.
Both Raz, his copies, and the Sunflora eyed each other warily. Raz had seen a few Sunflora in his days at the National Park, he had never battled one before but he had seen a few times what they could do. The grass type couldn't take much damage but if it was really sunny outside it could do a lot of damage really fast. The Yanma would have to be very careful around this pokemon, that was for sure.
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Posted: Wed May 13, 2009 2:51 pm
Dawn came and went, unhailed, unacknowledged. Shafts of early-morning sunlight stabbed through the closed blinds, pushing through the cracks and falling onto Kenneth’s pillow. The comatose teenager gave them no heed, merely rolling away from the light as the sun climbed higher and the stabbing rays grew stronger.
Kenneth gradually became aware of a noise in front of him, something low and soft. A gentle intake and exhale of breath, steady, growling, purring. Right in front of his face.
He opened his eyes and blinked. A Totodile’s maw hovered inches away from his face, decorating his nose with its breathing. Huge red eyes watched him steadily.
Kenneth let out a strangled noise and launched himself backwards. He clacked the back of his head on the wall, bit down a gasp of pain, and slumped back onto the pillow.
“Damn you Gator!” he growled, glaring through one cracked-open eye at the Pokemon. “I just slept off that headache too…Hell of a way to start a day!”
The reptilian creature tilted his head at his new Trainer, blinking his curious red eyes. “Toh?”
“Stop being so damn creepy!” Kenneth snagged his comforter and pulled it up over his head. “I’m trying to sleep. Go away.”
The steady, growling undertone of the critter’s breathing suddenly lost its endearing quality. The Totodile scowled at Kenneth and rattled a peeved growl his way. “Toh,” he insisted.
“No,” came Kenneth’s muffled reply as he burrowed deeper under his covers.
The growl gained strength and volume. Gator lumbered forward and nudged Kenneth’s face with his snout. “Toh!”
“Go away,” the teenager snarled.
Gator decided he’d had enough. He seized the blankets between his teeth and yanked them back with a jerk of his neck. “Toh! Toh! Dile!” he yammered in Kenneth’s face, flailing his stubby arms in ire. “Dile!”
“GAH—Shove off!” Kenneth jolted upward and squirmed away from the peeved critter, tumbling out of bed and onto his feet. “What the hell do you want, anyway?!”
“Toh, diiiile.” Gator reached one stubby paw over the top of his snout and grasped his wide nostrils between his claws. “Toh.” He pointed at Kenneth with his other paw, making a disgusted face.
The teenager blinked at the creature, steel-blue eyes wide and bemused. “So I smell bad.”
“Toh, toh!” The Big Jaw nodded vigorously.
Kenneth lifted an arm and sniffed under it, rather unglamorously. The pungent aroma wasn’t a big surprise, after recalling the scuffle, the passing out on the beach, and getting half-soaked by the surf. The Pokemon’s ability to speak without really talking, however…that was a bit more surprising.
“Huh. You’re not as dumb as you look, Gator.”
“Dile?!”
The teenager chuckled at the Pokemon’s sudden flailing. “I’m just joking, jeez. Don’t get your knickers in a twist. I already know you’re not just some dumb critter.” He scratched the back of his head, mussing the already-tousled blond locks. “I’d have to be an idiot not to realize that by now.”
“T-tooooh…” Gator kneaded the bedspread thoughtfully, not sure whether to be complimented or insulted by that. He didn’t make a fuss over it though, for Kenneth fulfilled his wishes, taking the Pokemon’s silence as an opportunity to amble into the bathroom. The Totodile sighed. At least his Trainer wouldn’t smell like a landfill on the first day of their journey.
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Posted: Wed May 13, 2009 2:51 pm
Fully washed, fully clothed, and as groomed as he was going to get, Kenneth Edwards ambled out of the hall and into the kitchen. He pulled his shower-damp blond ponytail out of the collar of his stonewash-grey jean jacket and cracked his jaw in a wide yawn. He let out a grunt as he sunk into a chair.
Gator followed on his heels, settling on the floor next to Kenneth’s feet as the other sat. Once again, he turned those gargantuan red eyes on his Trainer, observing him expectantly.
Yet Kenneth didn’t do anything more exciting than scratch his head, inadvertently dislodging the same messy strands that always fell loose of his ponytail and framed his face. His face stretched in yet another jaw-cracking yawn.
“Buh,” he articulated. Too lazy to make any breakfast until he woke up more, he let his bleary eyes wander the kitchen.
They landed on an object sitting on the chair adjacent to him, lying there as if forgotten. It looked unfamiliar, so he reached for it, curious. It was shaped like a rock, rather lumpy in places yet smoother to the touch than the rough-hewn surface a rock would have. And no rock he’d ever seen was translucent. Kenneth could even spot chunks of darker matter at the heart of it.
Amber? he mused, having heard of the stuff but never seen it before. What’s this doing here?
Come to think of it, wasn’t that the chair his mom had been sitting in the night before? And hadn’t she been up late crying again? He’d wondered what the cause of it was this time…and the fact that he’d never seen this thing before had to mean…
It’s Dad’s.
Kenneth set the amber on the table, a look of disgust curdling his face.
He hated that b*****d. He’d vanished eight years ago, yet he made his mother’s life hell even in his absence. All it took was a lost memory, or some object unearthed from storage, to remind Mrs. Edwards of her errant husband and prompt her into another spurt of tear-filled depression. So the only reason why his mom would be crying over a stupid piece of fossilized tree sap was if it had belonged to Mr. Edwards.
Enough is enough, the teenager decided, picking up the amber once again with a determined scowl on his face. Mom doesn’t deserve this. She’d be better off just forgetting that b*****d. I’ll make sure she never sees this thing again…I’ll pawn it off to that damn department store. She needs the money more than she needs this stupid thing to remind her—
“Oh…so you’ve found that…?”
Kenneth’s eyes jolted up to his mother’s face, widening as if she’d just caught his hand in the cookie jar.
Sensing his Trainer’s alarm, Gator raised his head and looked back and forth between Kenneth and his mother, questioning.
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Posted: Wed May 13, 2009 2:53 pm
Mrs. Edwards stood at the entrance to the kitchen, still clad in a faded floral-print nightgown, her chocolate hair unusually well-kept for someone who hadn’t yet gotten ready for the day. One arm grasped her other wrist as she looked away in bemused shame.
“Mom?” the teenager questioned. He expected a scolding for messing with her things—or rather, his father’s old possessions—not the embarrassed look on his mother’s lined face.
“That…that Old Amber you’re holding…” She shut her eyes, fighting an oncoming wave of tears. “Your father said there was a man in Oreburgh City who could reconstitute a Pokemon out of the fossil inside it…he said…” She raised a hand to her eye as a tear slipped out. “He said we would go together…and that we’d give the Pokemon to you as your first…!”
Mrs. Edwards clasped her hands over her face as sobs overtook her. She sank into the chair opposite Kenneth. He remained frozen in his seat, at a loss.
“I’m-I’m sorry, dear,” she choked, trying and failing to dispel her tears; no matter how many she wiped away, new ones replaced them. “I’m sorry you have to see your mother like this…”
She sniffed, looking up at her son with a watery smile. “Take it. Your journey will take you to Oreburgh eventually. Use the fossil inside it to resurrect a Pokemon from the past. There’s no reason for me to hang on to it anymore, not now that I know it’ll be put to good use.”
Kenneth felt his stomach falling out of his feet. How could his mother look upon him with such love, such pride, such complete and perfect trust, when he had been about to steal this treasured memento from under her nose and pawn it off for cash…?
He found the words leave his lips before he could recall them. “I’m sorry, Mom.”
But she merely shook her head, misinterpreting his words completely. “You have nothing to be sorry for, sweetie. Don’t worry about me. I’m just a mess,” she half-laughed, half-sobbed, wiping at her eyes again.
Before Kenneth could make a move, Mrs. Edwards rose from her chair and returned to her bedroom. She re-emerged with the garish red and yellow backpack she had shown her son the night before. “It’s about time you get underway…Here, let me…” She eased the Old Amber out of her stunned son’s hand and zipped it into the backpack. “Oh, and you’ll need some aspirin for that goose egg of yours…my goodness, it’s still so swollen,” she murmured absently, drifting to one of the kitchen cabinets, extracting a bottle of generic aspirin, and putting that in the bag as well.
The sudden reality of his mother’s intentions snapped Kenneth out of his guilty daze and drove him to his feet. “Mom—” But she silenced him by handing him the backpack with a warm, loving smile. He swallowed and scowled at his feet, shrugging the thing on.
“There.” Mrs. Edwards put her hands on her son’s shoulders and studied his face, her own radiating affection and pride. “You’ve grown so much, Kenneth. You have a long way to go yet, but this journey will help you get there. Never forget, with your Pokemon at your side, you can do anything.”
Kenneth frowned, a sudden flare of anger surging through him. “With my Pokemon? Mom, I don’t need to rely on Pokemon to get me through life. I can take care of myself, and—” And you.
Gator the Totodile remained silent, keeping out of the way of mother and son, listening intently to the conversation. He didn’t act slighted by Kenneth’s remarks—in fact, the comment drew the Pokemon closer to the teenager’s leg. He stared up at him, still expectant.
Mrs. Edwards smiled and shook her head, sensing her son’s unspoken words. “A bond between a person and a Pokemon is an amazing thing, Kenneth. I know you’ll discover this on your own without listening to what your mother tells you. In time, you may come to rely on them in more ways you could ever imagine.”
“I seriously doubt that,” he muttered, looking away.
She chuckled, reaching up to push one of his stray hair strands out of his face. He made no move to protest.
Kenneth raised his steely eyes to meet his mother’s. “I’ll come back. I’m not just gonna up and leave you alone.”
She bit her trembling lip, swallowed, and nodded. “I know.” She drew her son into a hug. “I know.”
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Posted: Wed May 13, 2009 3:56 pm
Back at the lab, Sam was examining the map hung on the wall.
"Okay, so I'm in Pallet Town, and I'm trying to get to either Saffron or Celadon. Saffron is closer. So all I have to do is go through Viridian, Pewter and Cerulean, then head south straigt through to Saffron." She noticed how close Vermillion City had been. 'If only I had known...' she mused. She re-examined the map. Her face fell. "Do those markings mean there is a gym in that city?"
"Yes, all the cities you are going to have a gym. But don't worry. Viridian is actually the last gym in Kanto. You only have to worry about Brock and Misty." Oak told her. Sam nodded.
"I guess that's some consolation." It was much better then the alternative.
"So, from here, you are going to head north to Viridian. Stay on the path, and you won't have any trouble. When you get there, head to the pokemon center. You can rest up, eat, and figure the next direction you need to go." Sam's pokedex beeped. Her eyes widened in confusion. She pulled it out.
"Star has learned: Mud-Slap" it intoned, and then fell silent. Sam glanced upward to the 2nd floor, then closed the dex. She went up the stairs, and found Star basking in the sunlight flooding in from the windows.
"So you learned a new move Star?" Star got up lazily. "Muud!" Star nodded. Sam smiled
"Are you ready to set off for home?" Star looked at her with confusion. "Mudkip?" What was home? Sam knelt and petted Star's fin.
"Don't worry you'll find out soon." Star grumbled. She didn't like not knowing, and she certainly didn't like being petted. "What? Don't like being petted?" Sam teased. Star promptly got up, and proceeded to walk towards the edge of the suspended walkway. "Star! Hey watch it you'll fall!" Sam grabbed at Star's tail fin. Star, completely oblivious and indignant at having her precious tail grabbed, swung her hand around and clamped her jaws on Sam's hand. Sam immediately let go, out of surprise more then pain. Still it did bleed. Satisfied, Star turned and took another step. She slipped and fell off the edge of the walkway. She plummeted towards the ground, only to be caught by another pokemon, flying by. It was white with red and blue markings. Sam quickly recovered from her pain and panic, and pointed her pokedex at the new pokemon.
"Togekiss, the Jubilee Pokemon." Sam replaced the dex, after accidentally smearing the screen with blood. The Togekiss, not quite accustomed to having a rider, was quickly losing altitude to land. It landed fairly awkwardly, and Star fell off, trembling out of fear. Sam ran down the stairs, to check on Star. After making sure she was okay, she turned to the Togekiss. It looked at her with a small smile, and peaceful eyes.
"I see you have met Taka." Sam turned. Oak was striding towards her. "Trainers often leave some of their pokemon here with me. Taka is one of them. He belongs to a trainer named Skai." Sam turned back to the Togekiss.
"Thank you Taka for saving Star." It chirruped.
"Kiss! Togekiss!" It chirruped again, and flew off. Sam smiled. Star stumbled over and collapsed on Sam's feet, still shaking from her ordeal. Sam chuckled.
"I guess your flight was punishment enough for biting me." Even as she said it, she knew she would have never punished Star anyways. It was Star's way of expressing herself, and hopefully she would learn a less violent way soon. Sam stroked Star's fin again, seeing if Star would put up with it. She did. Sam took her hand away and left red streaks.
"Oh yeah...I should probably clean my hand."
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Posted: Wed May 13, 2009 6:51 pm
Blanca watched with a pout as her Blissey attempted half-heartedly to dodge the assault, both already resigned to the inevitability of this strike. The Happiness Pokemon made a fun little shuffle to the right only to be nailed nevertheless. What a shame, que pena.
Blanca stopped to think a moment. It looked like this would be a battle of Blissey's special attacks versus that Metang's physical attacks, since both were pretty strong on special defense and physical defense respectively. In that case, they better quickly amp up her abilities! "Use that new attack, Bliss! Sunny Day," the stand-in leader commanded confidently, trying to mask the uncertainty she felt about this technique. No better time than the present to try it out, however.
The Blissey, a little sore from the last attack, nevertheless danced happily in an odd little circle. In classic Pokemon physics, somehow the room's temperature spiraled upwards with the dry heat of the sun. The lights hanging from the far-away ceiling seemed more intense than before -- was that possible? Nevertheless, Blanca undid another button on her blouse, revealing a little bit more of her tanned bust; she was ready to duke it out under whatever condition!
------------
Jun and Demi soon found two empty seats in the already crowded auditorium. Somewhere down there, a young lady and her Squirtle were standing on the rink, though she was too far for Jun to analyze the quality of her skin. Really, acne was god-awful, you know? But we digress. "What did we come here for again?" Jun moaned loudly, earning him a few annoyed looks from the surrounding spectators. Demi shushed him herself, quite curious; she'd read of these Pokemon Contests before and they had passed the Contest Hall countless times, but this was her first time within the Hall while it was actually hosting a contest. It was supposed to be an awing experience though, especially at these more advanced ones.
The little Squirtle stepped into the middle of the rink, his shell shining marvelously in the sun. Shiny, Jun thought, absorbed by this thought for a moment before suddenly a huge fountain hit the sky, abruptly freezing into what looked like a dragon bursting out of a prison of ice. "HOLY s**t," Jun shouted, standing up despite the glares he received from parents covering their childrens' ears. "THAT'S ******** BEAUTIFUL! Did you see that, Demi?! ********, noting the security heading their way, hastily pulled Jun out of their aisle and hustled out of the spectators' stands. Jun continued to watch while he was being dragged off, mesmerized, as the ice sculpture broke away harmlessly around the little turtle. He'd never seen a turtle that could do that, or had such a pretty, polished shell. Hmmmm.
In short, they ended up in the staging area; even Demi got lost sometimes. Here they found coordinators of all types grooming and attending to their Pokemon, prepping them for the exhibitions they would soon display. Jun didn't particularly care what they were getting ready for, but my, what a group of meticulously pretty people and Pokemon? Look at that Growlithe over there; he'd never seen a coat so pretty, and my did it look strong and ready to go. "What treatment did you give this?" the man said, still slurring his words somewhat. The coordinator, a young woman, eyed him with suspicion, but after Jun persuaded her that he wasn't a competitor and that he was actually just a wandering journalist -- hello, look, a notepad! -- she happily told him the successes of her homemade shampoo, made of this and that and something she couldn't disclose to him.
And so Jun the Journalist meandered through the corridor, learning little tidbits here and there. How do you prim a Piplup? All about the direction of grooming, my friend, these water-based mammals; all about the sleek, the aerodynamic. Ew, a Gastrodon? Special products, all the way; turn that slime into a magnificent shine! Dear me, a Solrock? The chisel is his brush, add some coat but not the sticky kind, you know?
Unfortunately his tour was cut short by the security, who were quite irked by the Asian man leading them on a goose hunt in the crowded area, but it was a valuable experience overall. Jun left with a solid appreciation of this coordinating business -- well, at least the pretty aspect of it.
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Posted: Thu May 14, 2009 12:57 am
As soon as the train arrived in Slateport City, Ky made only a single pause to ask which way was north-bound. After that, he immediately bolted along the road at a quick jogging pace, with Rex doing his best to tag along. Among the various plans Ky had come up with while riding on the train, he decided first and foremost to waste no time in actually getting to Fortree City. The unknown question that worried Ky the most was whether he would make it there in time, so keeping haste was essential in order to optimize his success. It was early morning now, which meant Ky had all day to get to Winona's home town. Holding his backpack straps tight, with his eyes fixed to Route 110's northern horizon, he continued to run, hoping his legs wouldn't soon give out.
---
Besides having to ignore a few beach-seeking locals talking excitedly about Slateport's beach party, Ky's jog was fairly uneventful. Though far from fatigued, the burning in Ky's calves forced him to speed-walk rather than run, to the relief of a much more fatigued Totodile bringing up the rear. Figuring it was a bit unfair to tire his Pokemon out, Ky decided to hold the little croc for a bit as he took the walking time to catch his own breath. Now holding his buddy in his arms, Ky squinted to make out what was ahead of him to the north. Though it wasn't quite recognizable from the distance, Ky could see a bridge-like platform which he hoped to be Hoenn's Cycling Road. He wasn't hoping so much as to ride his bike on it (since he didn't own a bike), but it was a nice landmark to keep him focused on where he was in his journey. It had already been an hour or so since he exited the city, so Ky expected to be on Route 110 for a while. Gazing up, Ky felt the warmth of the sun being absorbed into his brown hair as well as lightly tanning his skin. For a moment he wished he was on his way to the party, ready to re-meet with his friends and enjoy a simple a day at the beach. It wasn't much longer though until his memory sent another chilling reminder of images from his dream. A girl in tears; a boy laughing. The thought of which made Ky's teeth grind as his fists clenched. Adrenaline now pumping, Ky broke off once again into a sprint towards Cycling Road, not even bothering to relieve himself from carrying Rex.
Rex could only wonder what was going on with his trainer; what was with the hurry and why was he so serious? Whatever it was, Rex respected it to the point that he willingly jumped from Ky's arms to run alongside him. Though a bit surprised by his Totodile's action, Ky continued to run with a slowly-forming smile on his face. "Trainers and their Pokemon can solve anything," he mumbled, ready for whatever lay ahead.
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Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 10:02 am
As Raz floated there he felt the sudden burst of energy go through him as his ability kicked in. Grinning somewhat he glanced back at Robin as his glowing haze died down on him he hoped that she understood he was ready for round two.
Meanwhile Robin was trying her best to keep her composure, she couldn't help the fact that her determination to not let Raz down had fled her as swiftly as it had come. When just moments before she was determined to not let him down now she was shaking as if it was her first battle again. No, that wasn't true, she had bravely stood up and fought with Luffy on her first battle, now she was behaving like the coward she supposed she deep down was. "R-raz use, umm... use your... Oh-"
"Sunflora use your Worry Seed on that Yanma! I don't want its speed getting any higher!" It seemed like the smelly lady was having little to no problems with her confidence as she ordered her pokemon to attack.
The Sunflora let out a small cry before closing its mouth. The sunflower pokemons cheeks bulged before it opened its mouth and with unerring accuracy he managed to hit Raz even through all his clones.
When the seed hit him Raz faltered in the air for a second before catching himself. The seed too effect quickly as Raz felt worry and paranoia fill his mind, suddenly the world seemed much more frightening to the normally carefree Yanma. Without knowing it the minds of both the pokemon and the pokemon trainer were now in the same distressed state.
"Raz use your Faint Attack if you can!" Robin managed to call out after seeing her pokemon get hit by the seed, a brief flare of confidence forcing itself to the top of her mind.
The Yanma looked back at Robin with wide and frightened eyes, as she issued her orders. Should he listen to them? What if they were the wrong orders? Oh what if the Sunflora used one more of its nasty little seeds on him? No no, Robin knew what she was doing, most of the time anyway, he would trust her. Doing the bug equivalent of a gulp the Yanma closed his eyes and felt himself melt into darkness. The moment he disappeared he came back appearing right behind the Sunflora. Using his opportunity Raz smacked it hard behind it's large head and disappeared once more before coming back where he had started the battle.
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Melphaligal the Challama Crew
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Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 5:05 pm
"Okay here you are going to head down Route 1. The path will take you straight to Viridian. It should take maybe 2 to 3 hours." Sam, not really listening to a word Oak was saying, finished packing.
"Hey how do these work anyways?" she said, holding up a pokeball.
"Oh those are simple. When you've weakened a pokemon, but not made it faint, throw the ball. It will open, and suck the pokemon in. It will close, and if the light in the middle dims and it stops shaking, you have successfully captured it. But sometimes the pokemon will break out, in the process destroying the pokeball. There are different balls you can use, each with there own benefits." Sam nodded. When the Staryu disaster had happened, she had merely gone swimming, picked a Staryu out of the water, and dragged it to the gym.
"And how do you release the pokemon?"
"If you notice, the balls are usually quite small. However if you press the middle button, it will prime itself to either release or capture. Throw it to do either. Most trainer's fall into the habit of yelling out instructions when the pokemon are being released. Like so." Oak unclipped a small blue ball from his belt. He pressed the middle button and it expanded. He winked. "Blissey, come on out and heal Star. She could use a pick-me-up." He threw the ball, and a rather large pink pokemon came out. It fed Star, who was still laying on the floor shaking, a piece of egg from it's puch.
"Ah okay. Sense make now. What type of ball is that anyways?"
"This is a Great Ball, the next step up from a normal ball." Star, refreshed, stood up and stretched.
"Ready to go Star?" Star smiled.
"Kiiip!~"
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