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“Okay then lets get you guys set up.” Cathy was obviously eager to get started. Colandra came dancing and twirling over to stand by Akane, obviously in a better mood, and the three of them were told to take a pose. Cathy took great pains to make their position just right, giving directions and at times walking over and physically moving the three if they weren’t getting it right. It took what felt to Akane much too long for them to be ready. She decided that being a model was hard work. When Cathy was finally happy Akane looked like she was about to start a Pokemon battle, Twinkers and Colandra ready to fight.
“Perfect guys. Now hold that for as long as you can.”
Cathy began to sketch an outline of the pose on the new canvas she pulled out of a neat group standing by the door. It appeared that the painting was going to be a large one, the canvas measuring some three feet to a side as far as Akane could estimate. Cathy worked quickly with confident strokes of a pencil, alternating looking at Akane and her Pokemon and back at the canvas in front of her. Akane was starting to wonder how much of her there was to draw as the time dragged on – her muscles were starting to ache from a combination of holding her pose for too long and the bad sleep she had the previous night.
“Okay, I think I can be done for now” the young painter finally said. The sun was dipping closer to the horizon now and Akane was shocked to discover that the time was now almost four in the afternoon. “Now, what do you think we should have for eats?”

As seemed the normal way of the pair’s relationship, Cathy ended up deciding what they were doing. Dinner ended up being some chicken strips with a fresh homegrown garden salad and some oven warm crusty bread. They watched the next episode of that King Bonsly and Queen Mime Jr. show they watched the previous night as they ate, Colandra sitting next to Marcel. Those two had been conspiring and dancing together in a corner whenever they could ever since the battle Cathy and Akane had had that morning. Akane spent more time watching her Oddish and wondering what was going on with her than actually watching the show. With the dinner finished, they got comfy on the couch and finished their drinks (juice for Akane, beer for Cathy) and munched on some popcorn while they watched the next show – a Pokemon Western featuring Sheriff Snorlax and Machoke the Kid. Mr. Mime and Colandra slipped away at some point to do whatever it was they were up to, this time heading out the back door. The movie was fun enough, Akane liking Mrs. Azumarill the most, even though the movie was pretty cheesy. Twinkers fell asleep cuddled up with Akane long before the movie was over while Remmy seemed to be inspired and drew himself a cowboy hat to wear and twirled around a water pistol he also painted into existence with his blue tipped tail.

Surge did feel a bit better upon seeing his Raichu successfully dodge Javier's fully-powered Fury Cutter, but it was easy to see that there was still something wrong. Raichu didn't seem to have the spark he normally did, and Surge furrowed his brow. All right, it's time to end this, exhibition match or not, the large man thought, eager to get Raichu over to the Pokemon Center so that the nurse could have a look at him. He hadn't a clue what command the strangely-dressed Carlos gave next, and it was like nothing he had ever seen before. The Kricketune unleashed a large burst of energy that vaguely reminded Surge of a Pokemon unleashing energy after using Bide, but this was much different. There was no way that Raichu could dodge something like that so he put his paws up in front of him defensively, teeth grit and his tail lashing against the floor violently. The aura wasn't as powerful as he'd been expecting it to be, but Raichu felt strange in its wake. Weaker in some degree, but he couldn't quite put his paw on it. "Okay, Raichu, let's end this in one shot," Surge barked from across the field, and Raichu grinned, his expression matching his master's. "Let's show 'em some real power! Give 'em a Thunda-bolt!"

The Mouse Pokemon raised his paws high, sparks raining from his cheeks. He could feel the electricity building up and he held it together before he released it at his target. "Raiii-chuuu!" Raichu shrieked, but it was all for nothing as the electricity surrounding him quickly winked out, leaving nothing but a few ripples of static. "Rai?" he blinked, realizing quickly that something was off. He grit his teeth and tried again, only to have the same result and he looked back over his shoulder at Surge, who was just as confused as he was.

=-=-=-=-=

Karrigan returned her wallet to her bag, painfully aware of the measly $300 she had left to her name, but she tried not to dwell on it, as she could easily win most of what she'd just spent back at the gym. She was feeling a bit excited about her potential match, and she smiled at the two discs in her hand. Aegeus and Ikouma would be so happy. Well, the Onix would be happy; the Sneasel would probably just give a serious nod. She was oblivious to Amy's apprehension inside the store, noting the brown disc in her friend's hand as they left the store and headed out into the main corridor. "Oh, I think I'm finished shopping for now," the redhead said, looking down at her own new TMs. "I need to teach these to Ikouma and Aegeus, then we could make our way to the gym, if that's okay with you," she said, not wanting to rush the other girl.

Upon hearing that neither of the two discs in her trainer's hand were meant for her, Amber gave a little growl and swiped at the cases with her little paw, sending them both clattering to the floor. A startled Karrigan could only stare at the fallen items for a moment before annoyance settled in, and she quickly hefted the Vulpix from her shoulder and set her on the ground before returning her to her Pokeball without a word. "Enough of that," the redhead grumbled once the fox was gone, and she sighed. She knew the Vulpix was feisty, but now she realized that Amber was also somewhat mean and selfish. She picked up the two discs and checked them over for damage, looking a tad embarrassed. "Um, sorry about that," she said, even though she didn't really have anything to apologize for. A few people had noticed the Vulpix's behavior and were casting odd looks toward the redhead, whispering among themselves. Eager to leave the building and get away from the judging eyes, Karrigan did just that, opting to take the stairs all the way down rather than wait for the elevator. Once she was outside she sat down on the curb to catch her breath and wait for Amy, wondering how she'd handle a gym match when she couldn't even handle two of her Pokemon.

=-=-=-=-=

Get away? Jake thought, his curiosity piquing. Get away from what? He'd been pretty sure there was something on Jade's mind right from the moment they started traveling together, but like the nice guy he was, he didn't push it, and instead nodded attentively as the raven-haired girl spoke. It seemed that neither of them really had any specific destinations in mind, but their goals were somewhat similar. They walked in silence for a few moments until Jade spoke up again, her voice much softer. "Interesting people and incredible Pokemon," he repeated, chuckling a bit. He didn't think of himself as interesting, and from what he remembered about Psyduck they weren't incredibly incredible, but after witnessing Bidoof's tenacity, he knew better than to underestimate any Pokemon. "I guess we're here," he said, stating the obvious as they passed by a fence that seemed to indicate Floaroma Town's city limits.

Jake quickly realized that Floaroma could hardly be called a Town as they wandered in, finding small, humble buildings mostly covered in vines and flowers. It was more like a giant, partially cared for and partially wild garden. There were mostly cobblestone and dirt paths everywhere, save for the few main roads. There was grass and flowers virtually everywhere, and Jake caught sight of a patch of gorgeous purple flowers and he knelt down beside them, enjoying their lovely fragrance. Something about those purple flowers was familiar to him, and a painful jolt shot through his chest, so strong it almost knocked him to the ground. When he caught his breath again, there were tears in his eyes and he stood up, trying to shake the painful feeling off. "So, uh, the Pokemon Center?" he asked, trying (and failing) to pretend like everything was okay. The last thing he wanted was for Jade to think he was weak or something, and have to put up with her teasing, to boot.

The night sky and its stars lie above the exit of the Gear Station as it was called. Riley didn’t look up to watch like he usually did, if only because his companion would most likely slide off his head and take some hair along the short trip as well. He debated rather he should wake up Lizith or not, since she loved staring at the stars with him. ‘Eh, it might be best to leave her be. She needs more rest then I will need.’ He took a glance up and was thoroughly disappointed by the lack of actual stars in the sky. The corner of his mouth twitched with vague annoyance as he looked for the moon that hovered not too far off of the horizon, continuing its climb skyward. ‘I wonder what time it is in Kanto… It is far enough to be in a different time zone… but is it ahead or behind?’ A few seconds passed with Riley standing their pondering the question as crowds of people swarmed around him. With a shrug, he simply discarded the thought.

Too lazy to fish out the pokenav that was lodged somewhere in his backpack, Riley decided on wandering the streets of the city. Sounds of laughter and jolly filtered through the night air from the amusement park not that far away. He shied away from the colorful lights and odd smells and went in the opposite direction. Less and less people were headed this way as the buildings got closer and closer together. One of the buildings stood out from the rest, piquing Riley’s curiosity and prompted him to quicken his pace to see what it was. Taking note of the red roof and the pokeball sign above the door, he came to the obvious conclusion. ‘Must be the Pokémon Center. I was planning on immediately heading south, but since I’m practically here already, won’t hurt to stay for the night.’

The door slid open before Riley could reach for it. He covered his eyes from the bright lights within as he walked in the building. There was a lot more in the center than what he expected. It seemed less like a place to rest and allow Pokémon to heal and more like a one stop spot for everything Pokémon related, almost like a mall. Plus a free inn. Riley avoided the temptation to go to the PokéMart section and walked over to the front desk.

“Hello and welcome to the Pokémon Center! You must be new here,” the nurse said, a toothless grin strapped to her face.

“I’m actually just becoming a trainer.” Riley smiled back. It only seemed natural to do so.

She began beaming from the small gesture. “Well, you can call me Nurse Joy. Your Gothita doesn’t seem to be injuried. Do you have any other Pokémon that need to be tended to?”

“No, Lizith here is my first a-and only Pokémon.” The baby-like had jerked her hand back, pulling some of Riley’s hair out. He winced, but continued talking mostly uninterrupted. “I was just wondering if I could rent out a room for the night.”

“Of course you can. Let me just get you a key real quick and… here.” Joy handed Riley a key marked #231 from under the desk. “You will need to head upstairs and take the hall along the far right side. Your room will be towards the end and on your left. Don’t forget the cafeteria if you are hungry. I hope you enjoy your stay.”

Riley made a small nod in reply and began following the directions she had given him. As he thought more and more about the bed he was walking to, the heavier his legs seemed to get. ‘I didn’t notice I was so tired. I wouldn’t have made it that far out of the city in this condition. Good thing I found this inn…’

It was a strange realization, the fact that out of the three of them, suddenly, he was the most experienced. The only one with a badge, the one with the strongest Pokemon, the one who seemed obviously to be the first choice to battle this next gym leader. Jett felt that experience didn't suit him--him, an overeager, foolish boy, him, the runt of the litter. The quiet, anxious one who hadn't known what to say to the girl who beat him, the one who had no idea to accept defeat gracefully despite how many times he had encountered it (too many times, too many for his comfort). The raven-haired boy swallowed thickly, remaining silent for a moment as he mulled over the prospect of getting there and battling Bugsy.

"I uh..." he mumbled, rubbing the back of his head as they continued towards the growing silhouettes in the distance. "I dunno, really. Were either of you going to challenge him?" He thought Scarlet possibly would--Cindy would have much better luck against a Bug-type leader as opposed to a Flying-type, and he hadn't seen Jasper battle but the boy seemed capable. More capable than him. Jett quieted after that, waiting for one of them to make the decision for him, trying to shrug off the weight of being some sort of makeshift leader. He was anything but a leader, he knew. Jett winced at the thought, already hearing Darryl's voice dripping with disappointment. Weak. Afraid.

The words bounced across his head as he walked, waiting for either boy's answer and not exactly sure what answer he was hoping for.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"I'm ready," Amy replied softly, stowing away the TM in her bag for later use. Marshall wouldn't have much use for it in a Grass-type gym, anyways. Remembering the way Jerome's Cacturne had wiped the floor with her poor little Wooper, the girl frowned some, finding that the shame and guilt hadn't hit her quite as hard as before. She was broken from her thoughts when she heard the telltale clatter of TMs on the floor and found that the Vulpix had caused quite a bit of trouble. She began to bend down to help pick the discs up, but Karrigan swept them up and hastily returned her fire fox to her Pokeball before heading for the stairs. Amy followed suit, surprised at her friend's sudden speed.

The girl was greeted with a burst of sunshine as she left the department store, finding Karrigan waiting for her and catching her breath. The brunette fidgeted, unsure of what to say to make things better somehow. She remembered the hushed tones of the other trainers around them and stood beside her companion, offering her a kind smile.

"Don't let them get to you," she said softly, offering a dismissive wave of her hand. "As if that's never happened to them before--everyone has Pokemon that were a bit... rebellious at first, I think. And you know what? I heard that when you bond with those Pokemon, you have a real great team member on your hands." She nodded a little, looking off into the distance where she knew the Grass-type leader's gym awaited them. "You ready to go get that badge?"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"We are," Jade agreed without much notice, too busy glancing around to take in the town. In a way, it reminded her of Ecruteak: quaint, peaceful, small... The other girls would love it, I bet. She wondered if there was even a small part of her, the small part that always was a kimono girl through and through, that would love it too. But all she saw was flowers and garden and a place that smelled like overwhelming perfume.

She saw Jake too, the slightest falter in his facade, and in an instant, she knew that something was wrong. He's like me. Like everyone. We all have things to hide, I guess. When he smelled the purple flowers and seemed distraught, Jade pretended to be interested in the flower shop across the large meadow that passed for a town. She glanced back at him when he spoke up, nodding in faint agreement and heading that way.

Yeah, the flowers here are making me emotional, too, she wanted to say with an easy roll of her eyes. I just hate them all that much. But something was different this time--something was wrong, and she'd lose major points if she took a dig at him now. "Think we should get something to eat?" Jade asked as they walked, recalling her two Pokemon before they went off frolicking and got stung by a stray Beedrill (did they even have Beedrill in this region?) or something.

Kressen had Gigas under his arm as he sprinted down the Viridian Forest's trail. The little charmander wasn't struggling as he bounced up and down in his trainers arm. Instead it tried to keep its constantly ablaze tail from burning its trainer. Too bad he hadn't done so earlier, they wouldn't be running from their lives from a swarm of pissed off Beedrill. There was about two dozen several dozen yards behind them and gaining.

If there was only one or two of them Kressen would team up with his partner and try to fight, but there were far too many to even think about that. "Gigas if you could learn flamethrower right this second it would be soooo helpful!" Gigas responded by letting out a pitiful wail. "Thats what I thought." He looked back and was horrified to see that they were gaining. He tried running faster, but its hard to outrun a flying opponent.

The unfortunate duo rounded a bend and Kressen felt his heart drop into his stomach. There was a little girl down the trail from him. Now he has put another person in danger. "HEY YOU RUN!" He dug deep and put on another burst of speed trying to get to her and get her to safety.

The clacking of the keyboard that she heard when awake turned into the clacking of a train on tracks in her dreams. The train was an old fashioned one, the kind of one seen in movies set long ago, and the interior colours were primarily Carnelian and gold with a red wood also prominent. Akane was sitting in one of the private compartments, this one consisting of two upholstered bench seats facing each other, an empty brass luggage rack above each, a window on her right and a translucent glass paneled sliding door on her left. She couldn’t see much more than a blur of mist-shrouded trees out the window, the colour seemingly drained away. Turning back to the compartment door she caught a glimpse of someone’s shadow walking down the hall. She didn’t get to see it for long before it was out of sight but she could have sworn that it was less distinct than it should be. The PA system crackled to life with a trio of notes followed by an unintelligible voice speaking in a serious manner. It repeated itself and then the three tones sounded again leaving the only remaining sound the click-clack of the train running on the rails. Looking out the window, Akane saw that the subdued trees kept flying by in silence – the train wasn’t slowing down. Puzzled, she looked back to the door of her compartment. She could now see many of those indistinct shadowy figures walking in the hallway outside her compartment and yet the only sound she could hear was click-clack of the rails. Akane decided to try and see if she could see what was going on. Getting to the door and opening it seemed like it was happening in slow motion, the shadows of the people walking lessened in number. By the time she managed to get the door open and look down the hallway a single shadow of a man was leaving the rail car and entering the next one, the door being held open by a deep blue car attendants uniform complete with white gloves – but there wasn’t even a shadow of a man within the uniform!

“Umm, what’s going on?” Akane asked the attendant uncertainly.
There was no reply, it didn’t even move. The door next to the man was closed. A small golden lock and a matching chain that was strung with red gems seemed to lock the door in place.
“Hello?” Akane waved her hand in front of where the man’s face should have been and got no response. The young trainer shrugged and tried the door.
Everything seemed to happen all at once. The chain seemed to come alive and wrap painfully around her hand. The car attendant reached out a white-gloved hand and as soon as it touched Akane’s shoulder all the attendant’s clothes fell on top of her, actually more jumped at her than merely falling so as to completely cover her in a deep blue cloth. Also the PA system crackled to life, but instead of the garbled voice of before there was a girlish giggle that soon turned into a cackle, a cackle that she felt was aimed at her. The cackle echoed on and on intensifying in her head as she struggled to get out of the cloth that was smothering her. Finally, the cloth parted and she managed to sit up (when did she fall over?) and the cackling laugh faded away slowly in her head.
Akane was sitting on the floor in front of Cathy’s couch with the blanket all around her. Twinkers was standing on the couch looking down at her trainer with concern painted on her usually jolly face. Cathy was looking down at her too from the vantage point she had up in the loft.
“You okay hun?” the older woman asked. “Looks like another bad dream … wanna talk about it? I can make some hot chocolate or something if you want. Dreams can have meaning you know …”

“Uniforms! There it is.” Cathy grinned at Akane. She obviously enjoyed doing this kind of thing. “A uniform can embody a need to belong or be part of a group. Or that maybe you are conforming too much to the beliefs of others. Um, it wasn’t a nurses uniform or school uniform so .. maybe …” Cathy thumbed through the book again. “It’s a little related, a car attendant is someone in authority on the train, kinda like the police, right?”
Akane nodded slowly.
“Right. You weren’t in the uniform so that out, you weren’t being arrested, so nope. Ahh, the uniform did stop you so maybe it means to slow down, take thing down a notch? Otherwise, it just being there can mean rules, power, authority, and control. It says to end your reckless behavior but I don’t think that one applies. Oh, or there’s this – failing to honour obligation or commitments? Maybe not … yeah, definitely not a science.”
Akane pondered the uniform. If she had to guess what it meant then … slow down? Was she trying to do things too fast? Cathy was thumbing through that book again.
“Shadowy figures, here we go. Yadda yadda yadda. A shadowy figure can represent characteristics you haven’t acknowledged or incorporated into your own personality, or maybe the young, helpless or under-developed.” Cathy looked up from the book again. “I’ve had that one before.” She returned to the book already looking for the next entry. “There was a lock, right? That can mean an inability to get what you want, or being kept from some activity or situation. And it got wrapped around your wrist? There’s an entry for that too! Debating whether to be more open with your feelings or to keep them to yourself. Maybe you feel you would be taking a major risk in letting your feelings known.”
This gave a whole lot for Akane to think about. Well there was one thing that she could do. “Cathy? Umm, I like you” Akane said quietly, “I mean, I think you are an awesome friend, and I want to say that I appreciate what you have done for me … I hope we can be friends for a long time …” Akane felt rather self conscious and looked down into her hot chocolate.
“Aww, thank you Akane. I like you too, and to be honest I’ve been rather thankful for the company … and the painting opportunity! But seriously kiddo, you’ve grown on me and I’d like you to come back and visit sometimes. Tell me your stories of adventure … and pose for more paintings.”
Akane got down from her stool and ran over to hug the older girl. “Thanks!”
“Oh yeah! There was one other thing, the necklace!” She thumbed back through the book to find what she was looking for. Cathy cleared her throat and took a sip of her hot chocolate. “Necklaces can symbolize unsatisfied desires, a spotlight onto your intellect, or a desire for more influence and power over others. Gems can mean riches, ambition or spiritual protection. Or could be a substitute for something you treasure. So no real big help there I think.” Cathy put the book down. “Or it could be a Pokemon messing with your dreams – there are quite a few of them that have the power to influence dreams, both for good or bad. That’s one of the things that can make interpreting dreams so hard. That, and all the multiple meanings. Anyway, we should get back to bed.” Cathy stood back up. “Oh, and if you find it hard to remember your dreams you should keep a dream journal nearby so you can write it down as soon as you wake up and it’s freshest in your mind. I should be able to find something for you to use tomorrow.”

An all white marble arena stretched out before them, extending in every direction with no end in sight. There were no walls, no ceiling, no lights, no stars or moon, no sun, no sky, just a white void that hung above them. Riley paid no mind to his unusual surroundings, and neither did Lizith, now an elegant Gothitelle. Lizith stood beside her trainer, her pink hands cupped, as if in prayer. The two of them only had eyes for the two in front of them, a girl with long, light purple hair in a dress and the feral looking mystery Pokémon in front of her. “I’ll take the honor of starting this match, Jenea, with Miracle Eye!” Riley shouted. The Astral Body Pokémon smiled and closed her eyes briefly. When they opened back up, there was a flash of bright blue and yellow around her face. The lights dulled and the whites of her Lizith’s eyes glowed a soft yellow and her white pupils were now a shifting rainbow of colors.

Jenea reacted mechanically and merely pointed at the gothic Pokémon. Her Pokémon knew the signal and charged forward, running at full speed. An orange star appeared in front of it, wavering slightly before the points of the star shot backwards with lavender colored energy filling in the gaps between the orange streaks. “Lizith! Halt Jenea’s Pokémon with Psyshock!” She unclasped her hands, slowly spreading them apart as a milky white orb of energy condensed into existence between them. The bow like antennae atop of her head began glowing a soft blue as Lizith concentrated on forming Psyshock. It was not a perfect sphere and was continuously shifting, but the blue outline that surrounded the orb signified its readiness. And not a moment too soon, for the stampeding Pokémon was almost upon them.

“Goth!” Lizith exclaimed, turning her palms outward. Psyshock sped forward, slightly veering off course from time to time. Lizith kept her focus up and realigned it each time. The charging Pokémon made no attempt at avoiding the attack and ran into it head, causing an explosion of blue smoke. Not even a moment passed before the Pokémon emerged from the smoke, having lost none of its momentum. Like freight train, the Pokémon just continued its bull rush, coated in that spiral of orange and purple energy. To Riley’s shock, the Pokémon was still locked on its target, which apparently was not Lizith. “Itaaa!” She spun around, her black dress twirling around her ankles and rushed in front of Riley, her arms out stretched to take the blow herself.

“Jenea…” Riley spoke slowly at first, “why is your Pokémon running at–“ Then it hit him. He turned to face the Gothitelle. “Wait, what?”