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Kasiya hadn't really been paying attention to the other passengers on the train, as she'd been busy looking out the window and committing the last few sights of her home region to memory before they departed. When the other couple sat down nearby, she looked over at them, and then at Keegan, wondering just what they'd been going on about. Deciding to chance it, she reached over and gently tapped the woman on the shoulder.

"Um, excuse me," she said, trying to be polite. "I don't mean to be rude, but which professor are you speaking of? I don't think I've ever heard of a Rowan before..." she trailed off, expecting to be scolded by the woman, but was met with a soft smile instead.

"Professor Rowan," she started, a faraway look appearing in her eyes, "is the renowned Pokemon professor of the mysterious Sinnoh region. He's come all the way from his laboratory in distant Sandgem Town in order to deliver a speech announcing his discoveries. You see, until recently, Sinnoh as been cut off from the other regions because the Pokemon Ranger Union didn't want trainers bringing in foreign Pokemon and potentially disturbing the natural order of things. We believe that soon the good professor will announce that trainers will be able to travel to the Sinnoh region, although so far the only known way to get there is by seafaring, as there is no train system in place, and it is impossible to fly there with a Pokemon based on the sheer distance from the other regions." She stopped speaking as her male companion placed his hand on hers, and gave her a knowing look.

"My dear Regina, I don't think these young trainers were in need of such a lecture," he chuckled.

"My apologies," she laughed, waving her hand. "I used to be a schoolteacher, you see, so sometimes I tend to get carried away."

Kasiya just stared at her, wide-eyed. "Another region?" she asked, blinking. "That sounds so... cool! Keegan, we should go to this seminar!" she said excitedly. "Just think! We could hop on a boat and visit an entirely new region! With all sorts of new Pokemon!" she was tugging on Keegan's sleeve and bouncing up and down in her seat in her excitement. "Please, please, please can we go?" she asked, giving him her cutest puppy-dog expression.


((Oh yeah... at the end of this page, I'm going to start up a new thread, because I don't like it when they get too long... makes going back to reference things a pain if there are a million pages to sort through. So once we get to 15 posts on this page, please stop posting and I'll get a new part up and going! heart ))

"Actually, I think I'm going to use my beloved Wigglytuff, Belle!" Lisa said with a cute little smile on her face. She seemed most excited. The bouncy Pokemon hopped lightly onto the field, its large eyes unknowing of our hero's strategy.

"You know, I almost feel bad about this." Mike said with his usual smug over-the-top arrogance he passed off as 'badassery' (It's a word, look it up.). "Well, almost." Reaching onto his strap, the boy unclipped a Pokeball and let it spin on his finger. Granted, he wasn't coordinated enough to pull that off and it fell off and cracked open on the ground. "Er, Num Num ready set?" He said, trying to pull it off as if he planned it.

"Num Num?" Lisa cracked up at both his antics and the nickname. "What kind of Pokemon is that?"

Good, her guard is down, let's hope it all goes down like I want. He thought to himself. "Oh, that's not his real name, most know him as Titanium," The white light began to stretch and form a Pokemon of beastly proportions, towering over both of the trainers. "and he's one of my best." Mike smirked, crossing his arms as his prized Steelix erupted in front of him with a loud gut wrenching roar, slamming his tail on the ground, causing the nearby area to shake. "Eeeeeeeeek!" Lisa shrieked, and her Wigglytuff wasn't looking too sturdy either. Nitro and Felsic both light heartedly clapped, wishing their partner luck from the sidelines. "Like I said, I almost feel bad." The boy said, inspecting his fingernails momentarily. "Titanium, Iron Tail!" He commanded, his Pokemon lunging into action. His opponent was shaken and unresponsive, a perfect target. With terrifying force Titanium raised his already heavy tail, slamming it downward onto the Wigglytuff.

Lisa was visibly intimidated, her body shook nervously as she looked Titanium in the eye. "He's a monster!" She wailed, trying to regain her composure. "Belle, use Disable!" Her Pokemon, already moving with less grace than usual, hopped forward and concentrated hard on its opponent. The two Pokemon locked eyes, having a vicious staring contest. Without a second thought, the Balloon Pokemon jumped into the air and batted the Steelix on the head. He recoiled, shaking his head off. What was that move he just used? He couldn't remember.

"A nice plan to be sure," the boy commented. "However, I've taught Titanium enough moves to make that line of thinking useless!" He lifted his arm, pointing outward in a pretty sweet pose. "Alright boy, let's kick this up a notch, Earthquake!" Nitro and Felsic straightened up as soon as those words left his mouth, both lowered their heads in anticipation of the move. Titanium reared his head straight up, and with a loud grunt, sent it crashing back down to the ground. The earth beneath them exploded in a shower of gravel, and the muffled sound of Belle's cries were overcast by the sound of the earth being ripped apart. The dust cleared, Belle was out cold. Nitro had carried Felsic into the air to avoid the attack.

"Oh goodness." Lisa remarked, falling to her knees, observing the K.O.'d Pokemon in front of her. "How can you control that beast?!" She screamed, closing her eyes in frustration. When she opened them she was met face to face with the very Pokemon she was afraid of, Titanium. She froze, then noticed something on top of its head: Mike.

"I'm sorry for that Lisa." He scratched the back of his head nervously. "But I don't want you to think Titanium is some sort of murderous creature. I just battle with him like that because it's the best way to win. He's really a big ol' softie on the inside." To prove his point, the boy hopped down and gave his Steelix a hug, his arms barely making it past Titanium's right side of his face. The Steelix smiled, as best as he could, and carefully nudged his trainer back. "See?" Lisa carefully reached out and touched Titanium, and was relieved when he didn't in fact gnaw her arm off, but instead responded with a sort of guttural purr, gently bobbing his head up and down. Before long Lisa was happily hugging the Pokemon, as she and Mike shared a laugh. She returned her Pokemon, glad to know that Mike wasn't the wielder of evil demon Pokemon.

"So, one more to go." She said quietly. "Things aren't looking so hot for me." She laughed to herself, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Ah, what happens happens." Mike said waving her off. "Hell, my last battle was a loss. No biggie, that's life. You learn from losing too."

"You're right." Lisa agreed, taking out her final Pokemon. "Win or lose Mike, it was a blast to battle you!" She tossed it out.

"Same here." He said as he threw his final Ultra Ball.

Keegan looked over at Kasiya through one opened eye, and shrugged. "I'm just not very talkative at the moment," he said, reaching over and putting his hand on her shoulder. "Doesn't mean that I'm not glad for your company." He noticed the disappointment on her face when she realized Shocker was not with her, and he leaned over and kissed her cheek lightly. "Hon, if you miss her that much, then keep her in your party. It wouldn't hurt to have a few higher level Pokemon mixed with lower-leveld ones." He kissed her again, looking at the soundly sleeping Jolteon with a grin. "Flash certainly seems to enjoy your company as well as I do," he said, also patting the electric type gently. "Until now, I had no idea that a Jolteon's spikes weren't permanent."

As he studied the Eeveelution, he couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to have a fiery Flareon on his team. He shook the thought though, remembering that he needed diversity and that stacking on the fire types wouldn't make his journey easier (that is, unless the rest of the gyms stocked bug or grass type Pokemon). "You know, I wouldn't mind having an Umbreon or an Espeon someday myself," he said, looking around their train compartment, but mostly at the luggage racks above their heads. Some people sure weren't traveling light. "Where'd you get Flash and Ariel from, anyways?"

Kilik nodded and gave her a thumbs up. "Of course. Wouldn't have it any other way. See you around, Robin." The boy hopped back onto Bahamut and waved goodbye to her as he rose up into the sky. It was like one of those movie moments when the hero leaves the princess to go fight one final battle. However, there was no 'final battle' involved here.

As the Flygon flew through the air, Kilik rested on her, his hands wrapped loosely around her neck. He sighed lightly and pressed his cheek against her scales. They were cool against the heat of his skin. Traveling with someone was nice. He sat up slowly and pulled his PokeNav out of his pocket.

Flygon flew aimlessly over the ground, at least fifty feet up. It wasn't too high but she was low enough to make a quick landing. She looked down at the ground to see the crossroads that went from Route 35 to Violet City or up towards Ecruteak. She let out a squeak-like yawn.

Kilik thumbed through the names and landed on Mike's. A smirk appeared on his lips. It'd been a while, or a mere day or two (Kilik had lost track of time) since the two had seen each other. Maybe a light expedition was in order? The boy cleared his throat and clicked 'Call'. "Hopefully Mike's not...too busy to spend time with me. Plus," he laughed, stroking Bahamut's neck, "He's got to see you."

After a few more tries, the young Mareep seemed to be getting the hang of her Tackle attack, and had even managed to fake out the more-experienced Bulbasaur a few times as well. Both Miharu and Lily were quite impressed at how quickly the Mareep was learning, although it was mostly due to her eagerness that she was catching on so quickly.

"So this next bit might be a bit more painful for you, Lily," Miharu said, touching a finger to her chin. "But I think you can take it." A quick nod from the Bulbasaur let her know she was ready, and Miharu signaled to the little sheep Pokemon in order to get her attention again. "Hey Sparkle, you're up again," she said, gesturing towards Lily. "Now you need to practice aiming with your Thundershock attack. Don't worry about Lily, she resists electricity, but the point is to actually land the attack, so damage isn't important until you get the accuracy down. Ready, Sparkle? Thundershock attack!"

The electric sheep let the energy crackle through her wool, and her tail lit up as she pushed the electricity forward in an arching bolt. It missed Lily by a good four feet though, as the Bulbasaur didn't even have to move to avoid it. "Bulba..." she murmured, yawning. This would take a while...

"You have to concentrate, Sparkle!" Miharu said encouragingly. "Focus on where you want the energy to go. Now try again! Thundershock!"

Lily yawned again and closed her eyes, not expecting to be hit by the attack so soon. So when a fairly strong jolt shot through her body, she jumped back, shaking off the tingly feeling and looking towards the Mareep with surprise. It didn't do much damage, but hey, she'd been hit! This was definitely progress, and the grass type looked forward to battling alongside the Mareep someday.

Kilik drummed his fingers idly on Flygon's back, which she seemed to enjoy due to her light humming. It seemed to take a minute before Mike finally answered. He laughed quietly to himself. "Hey, Mikey!" he said, sitting up with his back straight, "Where are you? I've got something I want to show you." He looked down at Bahamut and gave her a light wink.

She seemed to be paying attention, since she winked back at her trainer. She rose a few dozen feet into the air and bobbed a little bit. The dragon gave her wings a quiet flap to get them less stationary. "Flyflyflyyygoooon..." she crooned almost silently. She must've known she was a surprise for Mike.

Kilik held his finger up to his lips to shush the Pokemon. "You're not too busy are you?"

Just as he was about to say something, he heard the other side of the line click off. Kilik stared at the PokeNav and felt his eye twitch a bit. "Oh Mike...Oh boy." He stuffed the Nav back into his pocket and tapped Bahamut on the shoulder. "We're headed to Hoenn!" he shouted, "You should know that place quite well!" West, close to Fortree, past the big bridge. I could always just look for the Charizard. Kilik shrugged and leaned to the left.

This caused Flygon to tilt to the side as well, making a complete U-turn, headed Southwest towards Hoenn. She knew that it would be a while until she got there - quite a while. Her homeland was so far away from this mysterious Johto region. The Pokemon let out a squeak of disapproval.

"Aww, Bahamut, don't be sad. Once we get there, you'll get a nice long rest. You've been flying me around pretty much all day!" he scratched the back of his head, "Plus, at least I'm not forcing you to fly towards New Bark Town. That's at least another two hour flight from Fortree." The boy leaned forward, pressing his chest against the Pokemon's cold scales. A sigh escaped him. "Full speed ahead, Bahamut," he whispered.

"Alright Sparky, let's hit that shroom with a Swift attack!" Lisa commanded, having her usual 'lift' back in her battle persona. The Electrode spun around until it nearly a blur, then shot forward, releasing a pattern of sharp looking stars right at Portabello.

Don't waste your energy trying to dodge it, it's a no miss move. Mike commented, crossing his arms. Go for a Mind Reader and Dynamic Punch combo, let's see how it works when knocked for a loop.

Yes master. The ever loyal Pokemon replied, taking the Swift attack with a small flinch. It was a light hit. Portabello then sat there, closing his eyes in focus. He spotted the Electrode in his mind, that blasted smirk causing his forehead to throb. He sensed his next move, getting a lock on his target. He then stood up, keeping the enemies future actions close in his mind.

"Rollout!" Lisa shouted, quite enjoying herself. The Electrode rolled forward at impressive speed, hitting the Breloom for next to no damage. "Huh?" She was confused. "I know that the first hit is weak and Electrode don't have good attack, but your Pokemon barely reacted to that at all!"

Odd. Mike thought. She must not know Portabello's second type. Portabello shrugged, then turned to face Sparky. Here I come! He 'shouted' as he kicked off the dirt, rearing back his claw. A bright light covered his hand, forming a large ball shape as the Breloom threw all of his weight into the attack with a loud grunt. The Dynamic Punch connected, and sent Sparky bouncing back into a nearby tree.

Lisa side stepped, avoiding her airborne Pokemon. "Ah!" She yelped, almost dropping her parasol. "What was that? Sparky, hit it with a Hyper Beam!"

"Hyper Beam?!" Mike shouted as the Electrode launched an impressive blast of energy from its mouth straight at Portabello.

Oh drat! The Pokemon remarked, as he had just enough time to brace for the impact as it slammed into him. The beam crisped his 'fur' but nothing permanent. Leaping from the smoke, Portabello spun once in midair, shooting a small barrage of the seeds from his tail. Much to Mike's surprise, when the connected with Sparky, they exploded! This was too much for the Electrode, and he fainted.

"Woah, awesome!" Mike cheered, giving Portabello a high five. "What was that move just now?"

I'm not sure master, but it just seemed like it was what I should have done at that moment. The Breloom replied, picking off some singed grassed from his body.

"Well, that works for me." He shrugged, then looked over at his opponent. "Lisa, that was fun!" Mike smiled, walking over to the girl and extending his hand. "Pals?" Lisa smiled, returning the gesture. To her surprise, there was something in his hand.

"Money?" She asked. "But why? I lost." She was visibly confused.

"Ah, I don't need it." The boy laughed. "I'd probably just spend it on candy and soda anyway. And don't worry, I got a friend heading over here soon, so you don't need to lend me that parasol."

She smiled and the two said their goodbyes after exchanging numbers. Lisa donned her parasol, skipping happily towards Lilycove.