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Jake took a quick moment to think when he saw that it took Cranidos a moment to recover from its missed attack - did that mean that it was nearly out of energy to continue battling? It seemed eager to continue once it was back on its feet and again it charged at Turtwig once more. Jake narrowed his eyes and nodded to himself, a determined grin appearing at the corners of his mouth. All things considered, Turtwig was still doing pretty well, and he was quite confident they could walk away from this with a victory.

A strange, familiar feeling seemed to shoot through him just then, but Jake ignored it as he issued his command. "Hold your ground, Turtwig!" he shouted, and watched as the small Grass-type hunkered down. "Wait for an opening and use your Razor Leaf!" Turtwig nodded and stood his ground as he braced for impact. When Cranidos was about a foot away he quickly swung his head, sending a flurry of sharp leaves at the Headbutt Pokemon. He wouldn't get to see how effective his attack had been as he was then slammed into by the full force of Cranidos' Headbutt. The Tiny Leaf Pokemon cried out as he was pushed back by the attack, and though he was a bit shaken he was able to remain standing, and he huffed lightly as he watched his opponent, wondering what would happen next.

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"Shinx! Shinx shinx!" came Zaira's enthusiastic cries as she charged eagerly at the Pidgey, though the bird itself seemingly had no intentions of standing there and letting itself get smacked around by this little blue thing. With a single flap of its wings it went airborne, easily dodging out of the way as Zaira jumped at it. However, since there was no longer a target for the Shinx to attack she sailed through the air and made a solid face-plant into the ground. The energetic Shinx didn't seem to care as she quickly regrouped and shook the dirt from her face, whirling around to see the bird land on the ground again. It clicked its beak and raised its wings before sweeping them forward and sending a cloud of sand and dust right into the poor Electric-type's face. Zaira sneezed and coughed and wheezed and pawed at her eyes; the Sand-Attack had done its job quite well as she was hardly able to see the tan-coloured blur as it slammed into her full-force, sending the poor kitten to the ground again.

That bird is clever, Karrigan thought somewhat admirably, even though interest in capturing a Pidgey or any members of its evolutionary line. "Get up, Zaira," she said, keeping her voice somewhat firm. "Shake it off, and use Charge." Zaira got to her feet once more and growled sharply before she started to run, though she didn't run towards the Pidgey. A current of electricity started to build up in her forelegs, and it intensified with every step she took until the blue in her fur was shimmering with electricity. Despite her small stature, the Shinx looked downright intimidating while she wore the cloak of static. The Pidgey must have had quite the brave disposition to it, because it didn't appear to be all that impressed as it once again flapped its wings, this time sending a small twister of wind spinning towards the Shinx. Karrigan frowned at this, though as the Gust attack hit she remembered that Electric-types resisted Flying-type attacks. "Fight back with a Spark attack," Karrigan said, still watching the small bird warily.

Zaira crouched low to the ground, her rear end and tail waggling back and forth as she tried to watch her opponent, though the fact that her eyes were still stinging and watery made that somewhat difficult. Finally, she pounced, static crackling loudly as she jumped at her target. Unfortunately, her aim was off by quite a bit and she only just missed grazing the Pidgey's tail feathers by the slightest of margins. The small bird whirled around and unleashed another gust of fierce (yet relatively ineffective) wind at the Shinx. Zaira growled again and charged through the Gust, jumping forward and slamming her electrified body into the suddenly very shocked Pidgey. It crashed hard to the ground but picked itself up before uttering an indignant squawk and starting to amble away.

Karrigan was just about to congratulate her Pokemon on her first win when the Shinx decided it would be a good idea to chase after the already-defeated bird, and with a soft rustling of leaves both the Pidgey and Shinx disappeared into the underbrush. "Ugh. Why me?" Karrigan muttered, gritting her teeth as she prepared to follow after her overly-excited Pokemon. That's it... no more Electric-types for me, she thought irritably.

Train nodded slightly, Growlithe's PokéBall now in her hand. She maximized it and rolled it back and forth in her hand for a moment before pressing the button and releasing the Fire-type, bending down a little and placing her hands on her thighs to hold her balance.

"Growlithe, I need you to use Odor Sleuth for me," She said to the Pokémon, who wagged his tail and look up at her. She smiled a bit at the puppy, before standing up and glancing into the alley. She quickly looked back down at the Pokémon, however, really not enjoying staring into the pitch black, though her eyes had adjusted almost completely and she could actually see fairly decently now.

When Growlithe remained standing, Train shifted awkwardly and bit her lip for a moment. "Growlithe," She said a bit firmly, hoping to catch her Pokémon's attention a bit better. Use Odor Sleuth!"

Growlithe blinked and looked around for an opponent, but didn't see anything that seemed to be threatening. At least not at the moment. Train shook her head a little and added, "No, no--on me." Growlithe seemed a bit confused, but complied after a moment, catching the girl's scent rather quickly.


Leon stepped through the sliding doors of the Pokémon Center and waited rather nonchalantly for his turn. He dropped his only two occupied PokéBalls into a tray and slid it to the Nurse before moving away from the counter to take a seat. It wasn't very long at all before his Pokémon were ready, though, and he accepted the PokéBalls with a monotone acknowledgment of his gratitude to the Nurse.

Now armed with a pretty decent amount of a cash, Leon debated adding a move to Muuma's arsenal, but ultimately decided against it; he would rather wait until they got to the next town or city with a gym, and make sure he was prepared for that particular challenge, rather than just selecting a move that seemed pretty powerful. What good was a new move--even if it was strong--if it wouldn't be useful in his next gym challenge? Instead, Leon pulled out his map and began figuring out where they'd have to go next.

Ryka winced a bit as Crenu spoke to her. His words cut through her confidence like a sharp knife. She wouldn't deny that they stung, but Ryka tried her hardest to stay calm, knowing that her Pokemon's attitude depended on her own. Ryka may not have been an expert in Pokemon Contests, but she knew how to connect with her Pokemon well enough!

"Patience, dear Crenu!" Ryka said, calmly, across the battlefield. "We've only begun. Hopefully we will be able to give you a good battle..right, Blitz?" Ryka gave a wink to her Pikachu, who simply sparked his cheeks in approval. But as soon as Poliwhirl began to unleash his Ice Beam, Ryka was in awe. She stared up at the Poliwhirl, who was climbing higher and higher as his icy pillar grew. What a brilliant way to use that move! Ryka thought. She tried not to let the appeal get her spirits down, and instead racked her brain for a way to combat the situation creatively. When Poliwhirl began to use Rain Dance, it struck Ryka. Water conducts electricity...of course. But wouldn't Crenu recognize that..? Ryka pondered. Her first instinct was that he was setting up a trap, but she brushed that aside, for her Pokemon was really urging for action.

Urging he was. The taunts from Poliwhirl sent Blitz into a tizzy, sparkling and sending electric waves in every which direction, enraged. At least he's excited to battle! "Blitz! Send a Thunderbolt right up into those clouds!" Ryka called out, pointing a finger towards the dark cluster forming near the ceiling. With sparks already flying, Blitz shot a bolt filled with rage towards the clouds. Ryka wasn't quite sure what would happen, but she knew that something was better than waiting around.

Miharu listened quietly as the three boys took turns speaking, feeling quite out of place among them. She couldn't help but giggle a little as the little Totodile put up quite a resistance to going back into her PokeBall, but who could blame her? It was quite a beautiful day, after all. As the little gator continued to elude being put inside her ball, Miharu's hand instinctively reached for Lily's, figuring that if necessary, the Ivysaur's potent Sleep Powder could stop the Totodile in her tracks and give the exasperated-looking Jasper a break. However, a few moments later, fate intervened and the Water-type found herself face-down on the ground. Miharu smiled kindly at the Pokemon as it vanished inside its sphere, and looked up in time to see Jasper already heading back towards New Bark Town.

"Actually," Miharu stated quietly, continuing to avert her gaze from Scarlet and Jett, "I have some things I need to do, so I'll let you guys go on ahead. Um, again, I'm very sorry." She gave a slight bow and turned and headed back along the route, trying to keep her pace a normal one in order to not look suspicious to the boys. She also felt a little bad for leaving Sam behind, but her new friend had her phone number, and Miharu had a speedy Pidgeot that could easily return her to this place should the need arise. Maybe we'll do some training, she thought as she walked, remembering that she still needed to prepare for her upcoming gym match in Olivine City.

((Again, terribly sorry for the holdup. Keegan post coming as soon as I figure out what the hell it is I'm going to write.))

Scarlet watched bemusedly as he watched the Totodile reveal her apparent hatred for people who even spoke about dragging her off to labs. The glare she shot Jett almost scared him. Then she started shooting people with water and dodging laser beams. It was a sight he figured he could look back at and giggle. Then he realized how not-hilarious it would be if that were a charmander and it were spitting fire instead, and it sort of killed his buzz.

“Alright, Miharu! See yah around! Good luck with whatever you’re up to!” With a cheerful wave, he bounded on off after Jett, who himself was generally a far better mood reader than Scarlet. So when Jett hung back, so did he. In the mean time, Cindy trotted right next to him, still staring at the odd bandana clad child whose pokemon could apparently be anything it wanted to be.

After a few moments of apparent silence, the group arrived outside New Bark, specifically at the rather small research facility from which Scarlet had gotten his egg. Scarlet scanned the building with a sense of nostalgia, the slightest grin passing his face. After all, if he’d never come here…

“Huh?” He looked over at Jett while his brain processed the question. “Oh. Sure. Fine by me.” After all, there was no real need to bug Professor Elm about pokedexes when he has a missing Totodile to file. If he had files on them, anyway. So there Scarlet waited, kneeling down to pet Cindy.

The wind blows across the street as some trash rolls by. My challenger stands tall, even though his hitmonchan has fallen. I seem to have gained some viewers to this battle. Many kids from the city streets ride up on bikes, or simply walk by and see our battle. A few women holding groceries also stop to look. Some kids even flip out some cell phones and take pictures of me and the boy. I glance over to a small child adoring Zii, but that does not seem to phase him one bit.

My challenger flips out his pokeball. This pokeball has a shiny blue tint to it with red grips to it; a great ball. Does this kid have everything I would like? The ball glows and reveals his next choice in pokemon.

My eyes gasp before my mouth could: A Riolu!

"CUTE! A Riolu! How does such a lame trainer get so many good fighting type pokemon?" I ask.

"Okay lass, that is enough of your insults! I know you are trying to fluster me, trying to stop me from thinking right. I am a man, and I am fed up with you. After this fight you will realize...." He began to say until my eyes went down to Riolu's attention to Zii. Something is weird about this Riolu. Could it be... yes it is. Riolu has never seen battle.

"Okay kid, I stop listening to you around Okay Lass. Anyway, your hitmonchan seemed tough, but this pokemon seems inexperienced. Did you find this or did you steal it? Riolu should be a proud and strong pokemon. How did such an feebas like you get that kind of pokemon?"

The kid did not say anything further other than, "Reveal your pokemon."

An inexperienced Riolu... I'm not much of the 'kind' fighter so I'm going to show him some merciless beating. I signal for Zii to step up to the plate. A fighting type should be strong against Zii, but Zii has fought me on many occasions.

Zii jumps into the field as the crowd claps, somehow they wanted to see a Zangoose fight.




The girl is very attentive. She saw the fierceness in the Spearows eyes, as well as the warmonger in her opponent. The guy only enjoys fighting, and does not care much for his opponents or feelings of pokemon. From experience it's best to understand how your opponent treats their pokemon, because it tells how far they will go to win. Will her opponent go all out, with no care for his pokemon; or will he take care to make sure his pokemon are in good health. I don't see her opponent being the type to hold punches, which means he is lucky to be in front of a pokemon center, just in case he does lose.

"Hayley, what a sweet name... and a smile to match. I will not bother you further. But, I do want you to know, even though Spearow is a flying type he's not using any useful attack other than peck types. Assume he has a gust attack, but abuse the fact that Jan is not using it. Spearow has to come down to the ground and when it does it's in a straight line. Which means, Spearow's attack is flawed due to it's predictability. Now I will sit on the side lines."

I'd really love for this girl to win. But, both challengers seem to have equal experience in battle, just different types. I step behind Hayley a few yards and lean to one knee observing the fight. The mouse type is still at a disadvantage. This is when Mach-Ni jumps from his ball to watch the battle too. The small orange trapinch smiles as the mouse pokemon seems to jump from being hit. I smile as he gave me inspiration.

"Hayley, you're doing good. Defense is your best offense in this battle. Trapinch has agreed." I say, as she seemed in a focus. I wonder if she heard me. I really need to speak louder sometimes.

Karrigan was very not impressed with the situation as she made her way through the underbrush of the woods, only just able to hear the cries of her excited Shinx in the distance. She had no idea why Zaira had taken off so suddenly, but she knew she had to catch up with the energetic Electric-type before she got herself into too much trouble. "Zaira... get back here!" she hissed, parting branches and pushing aside leaves to keep them out of her face, but the smaller Pokemon was having a much easier time navigating her way through the underbrush than the human. Finally she pushed her way into a small clearing in the woods, her cheeks stinging with a few tiny scratches. Some leaves and twigs had also gotten stuck in her hair, and she tried to brush them away as she looked around for the Shinx.

Zaira wasn't too hard to find, as she'd stopped in front of a tree and was poking excitedly at something she'd discovered. Karrigan ran over to her, ready to give the kitten an earful for running away, but upon spotting what the Shinx was playing with, all her fury quickly fizzled out like a candle that had been snuffed out by a strong gust of wind. "Zaira, th-that's a... that's a Kakuna," she whispered, her eyes quickly darting to the trees around them. She could see more of the cocoons dotting branches around them, and though there currently were no Beedrill in sight, she knew they wouldn't stray too far from their nest. "Come on, let's get out of here," she whispered, slowly bending down and picking up the curious kitten. Zaira gave an inquisitive mew, but Karrigan shushed her, not wanting to attract the attention of any nearby Beedrill. Karrigan began to take a few cautious steps back, trying very hard not to make a sound. She'd managed to back about ten feet away from the Kakuna that Zaira had poked at when she stumbled over a root that was sticking up out of the ground, and she fell backwards, landing hard on her left hip and giving poor Zaira a good jostle in the meantime.

For a moment, Karrigan just sat there, too scared to even breathe as she was certain a swarm of angry Beedrill were going to rise up out of nowhere and attack her and Zaira, but nothing seemed to happen. Karrigan let out a shaky breath and stood up, wincing from the painful bruise she'd suffered on her hip. She turned and took a single step, though chills raced up and down her spine as she stepped on a single twig that snapped under her foot. All at once an angry buzzing sound filled the air, and Karrigan turned to see half a dozen Beedrill rocketing down from the trees towards them. The redheaded girl let out a frightened squeal and turned and bolted, still clutching the poor Shinx tightly to her chest. Running back through the underbrush would prove to be much more difficult now that she was in a hurry, and she did her best to ignore the scratches and scrapes she received as she ran, wanting nothing more to escape this madness.