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 Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2012 9:16 am
It was reaching sunset, the sky just starting to turn orange on the western horizon, when the group’s journey was interrupted abruptly.
“We see you there! We demand a Pokemon Battle!” came the challenge from an angry male voice. The voice came from beside a tree off to the left, and standing there was a young man and woman hand in hand. There was a picnic blanket open under the tree. They had been there a while by the looks of it. “Two Pokemon each tag team okay with you?” The guy started off sounding tough but the end kind of ruined it. The young woman looked like she almost didn’t want to have that battle.
Cathy and Akane looked at each other and both shrugged. The battle most likely would not take too long, and they could already see Pewter City before them, the first lights of the evening already on. Without words they new that the other was okay in teaming up against the picnicking pair.
“You’re on!” Akane replied with gusto.
“Well, I challenged you, so I guess I should bring out my Pokemon first.” The young man threw his Pokeball and in a blaze of red light a three-foot tall yellow and orange chicken Pokemon was released. “Go Combusken!”
The Young Fowl Pokemon stood on one leg of its large legs and kicked quickly with the other, its foot a blur up near its eye level.
Not as enthusiastically, the young woman released her own Pokemon by simply holding the Pokeball in front of her. The red light erupted as expected, but as the Pokemon appeared so did several red and pink hearts that floated upwards and then exploded into red and pink sparkles. The glitter fell down on an elegant green and white Pokemon, Kirlia – the Emotion Pokemon, as it twirled much like a ballerina and then posed, one leg up high.
“If you’re sure, Errol” the young woman said calmly.
“Wow! Your Pokemon is so elegant, makes me want to catch one for myself” admired Akane, obviously taken with the grace and elegance it displayed.
“Thank you, though you’ll have to travel to get one.” The woman tucked a lock of auburn hair behind her ear. “And they are rare even if you know where to look.”
“Are we going to battle or trade stories?” asked the young man whose name was apparently Errol.
“Sorry, just being polite”
“Okay, Twinkers! Lets go!” Akane pointed dramatically and the small star shaped Pokemon stepped forward, white bandana flowing behind it.
“Okay Remmy. Show me what you got.” Cathy by contrast was much more reserved in her attitude and her Smeargle all but sauntered up to his position, and then winked at the Kirlia suggestively. Cathy rolled her eyes at her Pokemons actions.
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Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2012 10:32 am
Not wishing to waste any time, Mike sent out his newly acquired Torkoal, Vesuvius. Though largely untested in battle, its naturally hardened defenses would help Mike best gauge Maxie's strength. Despite knowing the man and working with him for a long time, he'd never once even thought of challenging him. But that was then, and this was now.
"A new one." Maxie mused, tossing out his own Pokeball, revealing a Camerupt. "Magnitude."
"Curse!" Mike commanded. As the ground began to shake from the camel's attack, Vesivius hunkered down, assuming a more guarded stance. It would hinder his already glacial move speed, but it would help protect him. Thankfully, Magnitude's seemingly-random strength barely made a dent in the floor, and Vesuvius didn't budge an inch.
"Take Down!" the Magma admin barked, not wishing to rely on such an uncertain move.
"Another Curse!" As the Camerupt charged, Vesuvius planted his feet and readied himself. With a loud grunt, the camel lowered his head and slammed into its target, pushing the Torkoal back. Vesuvius's claws made tracks in the floor as he tried to stand his ground against the much larger opponent. Thankfully, despite how much he was thrown about, he barely felt a thing through his shell. "Counterattack with a Body Slam!" Mike yelled. Using what little speed he had, the tortoise lifted himself on the ground and brought down his heavy body down on the Camerupt. It grunted in pain, already reeling from that full force charge.
"Clever." retorted Maxie. "But I hope you don't expect me to be lured in like that again."
"Oh, don't you worry." Mike said with a sinister grin. "I've got something much more fun planned." He fluttered his fingers excitedly, a small bit of flame sparking between his digits.
------
Milo's smile seemed to grow as Flannery was reduced to a ball of tears on the ground. Yes. He said. But while he is suffering, I rejoice. He turned his attention to Kasiya, who unsurprisingly stood up to defend her friend.
Or what? He laughed at Kasiya, jerking his arm to the left. As he did, Titanium threw himself in front of Cable's attack. The electricity crackled harmlessly off of his metallic frame. You'll stop me? How amusing. Although I will admit, I do have quite a bit of respect for you, blondie. You're the only one that seems on the ball in this whole group! Then again, when you love a guy and, you kinda notice that kinda stuff about him. And you do things that some people would consider completely nuts. Say for example, breaking someone out of the Saffron Mental Institution? I guess I have you to thank, too. I'll be sure to do so personally when I take over. He sunk into the ground, appearing in front of Kilik. And you, ever the tunnel-visioned hero. You can't help him. You're no angel yourself! he shouted, his voice echoing in the boy's mind. He will never be free of me. And neither will any... Milo appeared in front of Winona. He ran a shadowy finger down her neck and chest. ...of you.
It was at that moment when the Gym Leader realized what that hollow feeling in her stomach was when she first saw the shade. "Your voice." she said softly, her voice trembling. Images flashed in her mind of the day Mike stumbled into her gym, covered in blood and and cuts. How he changed and attacked her, tearing off her shirt. Alone with me. The voice rang in her head, it was the same as the one speaking to her right now. Winona backed up, her voice squeaking as she tried to say something, anything to get him away.
Yes, YES! Milo said with a low-rumbling chuckle. Feel that terror positively radiating off of you! I love it. Your trembling form, your tears. Just like that morning. That one. Fun. Morning. He traced his long finger up her neck, cupping her face in his hand. What do you say, Winona? Shall we try again? Winona screamed and threw her arms out at the phantom, trying in vain to push him away. Milo only laughed as he crept closer, wrapping his shadowy arms around her. As the darkness enveloped her, she could only cry out in agony.
"Help me! HELP ME!" the Gym Leader screamed. In the distraction, he had Portabello relay a command to Titanium to Double-Edge Cable. Hoping to catch the Electivire off-guard, the Steelix lunged towards him.
"On no you don't!" Sasha yelled, throwing a Pokeball out, releasing Kitsune, who unleashed a Flamethrower at Titanium. The Steelix was surprised at the sudden attack and faltered, missing his target and now sported a scorch mark on his side.
Milo chuckled, not deterred by Sasha's quick thinking in the slightest. He looked down in immense pride at the sobbing mess that was once the strong-willed and determined Fortree Gym Leader. The damage had been done, of that he was very certain. But sadly, the work was not done. Oh darn, he thought. Milo sunk into the ground and appeared next to Keegan. The shade leaned on the boy as he tried to console his friend. So tell me. How're those bruises healing? I know I roughed you up pretty bad back at the party, but I'm sure a tough guy like you is well on the road to recovery, right? Shame the same can't be said about here. He tapped against the boy's head, his fingers passing right through Keegan. You always were a mess up here. Maybe that's why you can never hold onto a girl for more than five minutes. Oops! Did I just think that out loud?
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Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2012 2:50 pm
Another frightened cry escaped Flannery as she felt someone touching her, and at first she fought back, fearful that it was that creepy phantom, but then she realized it was actually a person, and she clung to them, still sobbing. She managed to glance up, fully expecting to see either Sasha or Kasiya as the one consoling her, but to her surprise, it was Keegan, of all people. Stranger still, the redhead was uncharacteristically calm amid the chaos, and she blinked back her tears as he held her. He'd never really been the touchy-feely sort, but she felt oddly comforted in his arms. Keegan, she thought, gaining back some composure and she pulled herself to her knees, looking around. Kasiya had stepped forward to defend her, and the gym leader managed a weak smile - that girl just didn't seem to know how to be afraid - and a moment later, Kilik had taken up position by her side. Her smile faded quite quickly, however, as Milo revealed Kasiya's involvement in Mike's escaping from the Saffron Hospital, and she could feel a pit of guilt welling up inside her stomach. She knew that she would never have done something so, well, crazy as breaking someone out of a mental facility, especially when it was clear that Mike needed at least some degree of help, even if he refused to admit it. Between Milo's previous outburst against her and this new information, she didn't know what to think or feel. She had been the reason behind all of the things Mike had done, but was she really worth it? It almost felt like a particular little blonde loved him more than she did.
Suddenly, she was shielding her eyes as a bright burst of energy had lit up the area - Kilik's Electivire had fired off an orb of electricity only to have it blocked by Mike's Steelix. In between the commanding Mike's Pokemon, Milo had since turned his sights on Winona, who didn't handle being the subject of his speeches any better than Flannery had. The Lavaridge Gym Leader didn't know what they were talking about, but whatever it had been, it hadn't been a good experience for the Fortree Gym Leader. After seeing Sasha's Ninetales unleash a Flamethrower to block Titanium from attacking Cable, Flannery grimaced and released her Torkoal. "Don't attack unless you have to... use Protect to guard the others when necessary," she told the tortoise, who looked around with unusually wide eyes but nodded in agreement. Flannery jumped again as Milo popped out of the ground next to her and Keegan, and she scampered away, now holding her trusty Houndoom's Pokeball at the ready, as well. I can't take much more of this, she thought, holding back a second wave of tears as the shade turned his hurtful words on the other Lavaridge native.
=-=-=-=-=
In the room up ahead, which was presumably Maxie's office, Kasiya could hear the telltale sounds of a battle starting to take place, accented by a light rumbling of the ground. Then again, it could have easily been due to Titanium's massive weight or even the volcano itself; it was hard to be certain at this point. Flannery wasn't one-hundred percent correct about Kasiya not knowing how to be afraid, as at this point, she was very afraid. The only thing, or things, rather, that was keeping her strong at this point was having all her friends backing her up, and the fact that nothing - not even a projection of Mike's craziness or even all his strongest Pokemon - was going to stop her from getting to her friend. She looked back at Kilik, grinning at the tall, dark-haired boy as he'd taken up a stance beside her (and also helped to bolster her confidence), though she hardly noticed when Cable fired off a powerful Electro Ball aimed for Xanthos. After hearing what Milo had said to Flannery, Kasiya had been expecting an earful of her own, and thus had started to prepare for it, but it threw her off her guard when Milo said he actually respected her. Her blue eyes narrowed, and she quickly glanced around at everyone else before she stared back at the phantom's hollow eyes. A tinge of rose crept into her cheeks, but it would go unnoticed as she was already quite flushed from the heat of the volcano. That was one thing she was hoping no one else would find out; helping Mrs Kyoka to break Mike out of the Saffron Hospital was not one of her shining moments, even if she had managed to justify it to herself. A rush of words flooded her mind in an attempt to explain, but she couldn't piece together anything sensible so she stayed quiet, turning her gaze to the floor as Milo turned his sights on Kilik.
Around her, she could sense that some of the Pokemon had started to attack one another, and that very thought almost hurt as much as Milo's words had. She looked up to see Sasha's Ninetales blasting Titanium with a Flamethrower, protecting Cable for what probably would have been a bone-crushing strike. At her side, Hiro continued to growl, eager to get into the action, but Kasiya placed a hand on his shoulder. "Like Flannery said," she told the Arcanine firmly, "Only if you have to." Needless to say, Hiro was disappointed, but his loyalty to Kasiya far outweighed his thirst for battle and he remained protectively at her side. He wouldn't let anything - a stray lightning bolt, a slam from the Iron Snake or even a jet of water - touch his girl.
Kasiya, meanwhile, had looked over at the two Lavaridge trainers, both glad that Flannery had started to snap out of it, and devastated that Milo was now berating Keegan. A lump formed in her throat and she had to look away when Milo's shadowy finger poked straight through Keegan's head, now feeling more guilty than ever. Her thoughts drifted back to the previous night, when she and Mike had been alone at the summit of the Cinnabar Volcano. She thought of the things she'd said to Mike, and the brief kiss they'd shared. At that very moment, she knew she'd never be able to reconcile her relationship with the redhead, and she had no one - not Milo, not Giovanni, not Mai, not even Keegan - but herself to blame.
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Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2012 7:09 pm
[Magma-Line Kilik]
"Tunnel-visioned...!?" Kilik grit his teeth and swung a punch at Milo, but he had already disappeared to terrorize Winona. He turned his head and noticed as Cable's attack fizzled into nothing. "Ca--!!" he cried out but he noticed the Steelix fall to the side as Sasha's Ninetales covered him. He let out a heavy sigh and nodded at Sasha. Kilik put a hand over his face and closed his eyes, breathing heavily. His hands smelled like char and ash. He was dirty. And Milo was right; he was certainly no angel. That doesn't mean I can't atone for my sins! He pulled his hand away and clenched his fist, looking at his hand as it was shaking. All the color had faded from his hand and he could feel the skin breaking in his palm. Kilik's attention immediately turned from the battle to Milo, who was swirling around Keegan.
And a smirk appeared on his face. The boy started chuckling and then turned back to the battle. "Boy, Milo. You sure like to talk a lot! That's something I liked about Mike..." he swung his head towards the specter, "At least he knew when to shut up!" At that moment, he heard a loud CLANG.
Amidst the confusion Kitsune had caused (which the Electivire acknowledged with a firm nod, much like his trainer), he was prepping himself for a Brick Break. He slammed both of his large fists into the weakened scorch mark on Titanium, causing a loud, deafening noise to resonate through the room.
-*-
[Time-Skip Kilik]
Kilik looked at Cable then back at the girl, somewhat spacing out for a moment. "Wha..?" he blinked, "Oh! Yeah, no, yeah. He's mine." He laughed a little and scratched the back of his head. "What gave it away? The colors?" he looked at his shirt. Kilik crossed his arms and nodded a little. "I suppose you could say that. Certainly one of my stronger Pokemon."
Cable continued to play with Kord, then looked at his trainer with a "Could we keep him?" kind of look before giving the Pokemon a small jolt of electricity. He then stood up and placed Elekid on his head, between the two antennae on his round dome. "Electiviiiire!" he laughed, taking his large steps closer to his trainer.
"The name's Kilik, by the way. And this big lug is Cable." He held out a hand to shake hers and smiled. Maybe she was just short - he never felt like he towered over someone before but she couldn't have come up much farther than his chest. It was almost a little embarrassing for him.
"Say..." he smiled and then glanced over at Cable (who was swaying back and forth rather happily), "Why don't we give your Elekid a little training session? A one-on-one battle with Cable? He remembers all about being an Elekid so perhaps there could be a few pointers exchanged."
-*-
"Think about it Mai..." Giovanni was almost cooing this to her, "All the world's power in the palm of your hand! To create...to destroy! At will! To merely think something into existence!" He started to laugh, placing his empty glass on the desk. She brought up the statues in Eterna. "If they are too damaged, then forget them. However, I would like as many pictures of them as possible. Their existence is still enough to look into..."
He stood behind her chair, placing his hands on her shoulders, almost tenderly. Giovanni was in an uncharacteristically good mood this morning and it was all thanks to her. "Mai, the goal of Team Rocket is to capture Pokemon for the good of Team Rocket, is it not?" It was merely a rhetorical, as he went on. "Of course. You've known that since you joined me. I still remember how bright eyed you were...Yesss...so eager to please. And you've done so well!" He slid away from her, returning to his chair, sitting across from his admin, looking into her eyes.
"But Team Rocket is more than that, now. A global organization bent on conquering it? Even more so. My eyes are set on a much bigger prize, my dear...being a God. Nobody will question the actions of Team Rocket when the fear of God is in them! We will rise above anything anyone could ever hope to achieve and..." he extended his hand to her, fingers curved slightly, "as always, you...you will be by my side, Mai. This world will become yours. Think about it..."
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Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2012 9:17 am
Shiro relaxed a bit as Riza bought his story, or rather decided not to peruse any further. Though by her inhaling after he made his statement he could tell she was suspicious about his claim. At least she was respecting his wish to keep his secrets to himself. The pokemon were behaving, and as Crenu removed the red napkin from his nose it was nice to see the bleeding had stopped. All in all, the morning wasn't so bad. He looked at the lack of a plate in front of him and just shrugged looking off to the side. "I'm not that hungry. I'll just grab a piece of fruit before we go." he said plainly, which was mostly true. With all that was going on he didn't have much of an appetite. He looked at Riza for a moment, feeling a pang of something in his gut, she was actually concerned for him...and it was...nice? "...thanks for worrying though." He said as he tried to hide his face behind another napkin, though the red was on his face this time and not on the paper. He started to feel more pangs as he thought about it, she'd been very understanding of his alienation and never pried any further once he decided to end a topic about himself. She was even able to look past what he did to her during the contest the night before to the point of spending the night with him afterwards. There was no denying that she was patient, and good to him, and he wasn't giving her anything but distance in return. The more he thought about it the more he started to feel sick inside, until he couldn't take it much more. This had to be what was known as genuine guilt, and it was very unpleasant. "W-wait...that's not true. The part about the dry air I mean."
Crenu put the napkin down and looked at Riza straight on, hands crossed on top of the table as he looked at her. "I'm sick. I don't know with what but it's not good." He looked around to make sure no one else could see or hear, luckily the time of day was still early enough that there were only a few other trainers in the center cafeteria and they were scattered around none of them paying the two any mind. Slowly Crenu started to undo the bandages around his arm, then the ones on each hand, wincing as he did so for every motion made the nerve endings of his hands scream. He stretched his hands out bare for her to see, taking a calming breath as he continued. His left arm has a long scar running down it from where he had taken the Arbok's bite for her, though rather than being an open wound or even stitched up it looked sealed, the skin instead looking like a severe burn. His right hand also shared this trait, his palm skin scared with a burn more intense than the one on his arm, while his left hand was stitched up all over the place. It all looked painful, and it was, but Crenu never complained about it and had done his best to hide it from her until now. The stitching was clean but the burns on his hand and arm looked a little worse than they should have, he wasn't experienced with properly treating and caring for bad burns.
"My left hand is stitched up because as you know, I lost it and shattered the mirror in my room back at the center yesterday. But my other hand and arm...in the time we were separated, I sealed the arm wound shut with a metal bar, it was makeshift and one single piece, even though I wrapped my hand in a rag it burned through and burned my hand as I held it to the wound. The reason I did so was...because I had no choice." He said looking down, a little unsure if he should continue. "It was bleeding a lot. More than it should have..it wasn't stopping. Each day I treated it and bandaged it and each day it was like treating a fresh tear in my skin that had just appeared, my body wasn't healing and I was losing a lot of blood. So I ended it, and burned it shut. I was going to do it to my left hand too but Ken talked me into just stitching the cuts instead, and it seems to be holding. For how long I don't know. This nosebleed could just be a coincidence, hard to tell. But what I do know is that...or at least what I theorize, is that key parts of my body are shutting down, or not working as they should. My body is giving up on me...like my fathers body gave up on him. Lately my memory has been spacing, I'm forgetting things...even recent things, and that's not like me at all. And I've been seeing things and hearing things...voices and images that aren't real, they can't be real they must be hallucinations. My mind had been the once aspect that has never betrayed me and I'm starting to question weather I can trust it or not...it's all I have and I can't count on it anymore. No I don't question it, I know for a fact it's not sound anymore I'm going insane. I don't know what to do anymore. I was fine keeping this all to myself...but you don't deserve to be lied to. So there you have it. Now you know what's been on my mind lately." The cards were on the table, Crenu splayed it out for Riza, more than he intended to tell her to be honest, but once he started the words just fell out. Secretly somewhere inside he was dying to tell someone, and a bit of relief came over him before it was drowned in the despair of how she would probably react to this all. As always there was still much more to tell, but for now it was all he could say, and his heart started to race out of control.
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Posted: Sat Apr 14, 2012 9:40 am
Riza's mind had drifted back to her upcoming gym battle, considering which Pokemon she'd use against a water type gym leader. By now she was used to Shiro giving her excuses and she'd learned it was pointless to try and pry anything out of him, so naturally she was quite surprised when the normally quiet and serious blonde boy turned red behind his napkin. "Not....true?" she repeated. "What do you mean?"
The look he then gave her was enough to send chills down her spine, and she looked back at him with rapt attention. When he started to undo his bandages, she began to understand. None of his wounds had healed, including the one on his arm where he'd stepped in front of that snake Pokemon and took a bite, which otherwise would have hit her. It had been nearly a week since that had happened, so the wound should have started to heal, but instead it looked like a bad cauterizing job. His hand also sported those burns, with the other full of fresh-looking stitches. It was painful to look at and Riza felt her stomach turn. "Shiro, I..." she trailed off, but couldn't think of anything appropriate to say to him. She felt awful for pushing him so much before, and for being so unaware of his suffering. Even more so went he told her about the problems in his mind, and she realized that this is probably what had happened to him last night during the contest.
The raven haired girl swallowed the lump in her throat, and stared hard at the table. "I...I don't know what to say." she said honestly. "Other than that I'm glad you finally told me. It couldn't be easy keeping all that to yourself." She stood up and moved to the other side of the table, sitting beside him. "I'm not sure if it will help, but you should probably see a dr or something. I know you're pretty damn stubborn, but you at least need to figure out if there's anything you can do. Even if you don't want to, you need to. We've gotten pretty close, I think," she said, leaning her head on his good shoulder. "And I really don't wanna lose you now."
* * * * *
The orange haired girl giggled a bit, looking up at the taller boy as he made fun of his own outfit. She wasn't so sure that those were the most flattering of colours for someone of his size, but she kept those comments to herself, instead now looking over at Cable and Kord as the two were playing and definitely having fun. "Cable, eh?" she said, nodding at the name. "Cute. That little spark plug there is Kord, and I'm Katie," she said, shaking Kilik's hand. 'One of his strongest, hmm? Does that mean this Kilik guy is an experienced trainer?'
Kord was definitely enjoying the company of his new friend, clinging happily to the larger Pokemon's head and swaying around happily with the Electivire's steps. "Bibibii!" he cheered, sparks still flaring from his prongs.
"Hmm?" the smaller girl snapped out of her thoughts and turned her attention back to Kilik. "A training session?" Her ruby eyes flickered back to the Elekid and Electivire respectively, and she idly wondered how long it had been since Cable's evolution, not only to Electivire, but Electabuzz as well. "Sounds good to me," she said, nodding. "Well, as long as Kord's up to it. Say Kord, do you wanna do some training with Cable?" She knelt down, holding her hand out to her Elekid.
Kord cheered and hopped down from Cable's shoulders, darting over to Katie and hopping up into her arms. He pumped his fists into the air in obvious agreement. "Bibibiii!"
"All right, he's definitely psyched," the orange haired girl said, setting the feisty electric type on the ground. "And so am I!" Her experiences with Mai had taught her that there would always be stronger trainers out there, and that she should capitalize on all opportunities to learn from them.
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thunderbolts_and_sunshine
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Posted: Sat Apr 14, 2012 10:46 am
This is getting old, Keegan thought, his green eyes narrowed into slits as he watched the Pokemon begin to exchange attacks, seemingly only background noise in comparison to Milo's taunting voice. It was bad enough to see him reduce Flannery to tears, but now Winona, as well? Worse yet, Milo had revealed Kasiya's involvement in Mike's escape from the Saffron Hospital, and the redhead could only laugh and shake his head, not even batting an eyelash as Sasha's Ninetales unleashed a Flamethrower on Titanium, followed up by an attack from Cable. He'd looked over at the blonde almost instantly, expecting her to defend herself with some sort of explanation or excuse, but she'd gone silent, utterly dwarfed by the giant Arcanine by her side. Figures, Keegan thought, fighting back a surge of anger as it passed through him. I never stood a chance...
And then, to add insult to injury, Milo was there, "leaning" on him and acting as though he were a real person. At the mention of his injuries, Keegan simply scoffed. "Heh. You give yourself too much credit," he said simply, knowing well that the bruises and other various wounds he'd received had been mostly at the hands of that Rocket punk Leo and his other grunts. "And I'm doing quite well, actually. It's amazing how well a Chansey's Softboiled can heal." He flinched slightly as Milo's dagger-like finger jabbed into his head. He knew the phantom couldn't physically hurt him, yet he still felt a painful, icy stab through his head at the touch. He stood up abruptly, swinging his arm at the phantom in a vain attempt to push it away, and he stepped back as well. "You're one to talk," he hissed, refusing to allow his anger to get the better of him (for once). "Mr Stalker-With-A-Crush. You're not even real! You're nothing more than a figment of Mike's mind. And he'll beat you. You know why? Because you don't really exist!"
=====
A rather refreshed Miharu and Leroy now made their way through the heart of the National Park, both sipping good-sized slushy drinks. They were quietly making fun of a small group of sweatty and tired-looking runners as they passed by. Normally, that sort of behavior would be below the green-haired girl, but she was feeling a lot more relaxed in Lee's company, so a bit of goofing off didn't seem to hurt her at all. "This is yummy," she said, stirring the icy drink with her straw. "I got grape, what flavour did you get?"
"Pina Colada," Lee answered quickly. "Always been one of my favourites, though there's a hint of orange in this one. Not bad, though." He had a long drink through his own straw, his gaze set on the fountain in the middle of the park. It was still fairly early in the day, and he was sure they could easily reach Ecruteak before dinner, even if they did stop to do some training along the way, or take on some random trainers. "So, do you have any particular training regimes you stick to?" he asked, hoping to gain some more insight on the younger girl.
Miharu had another sip of her drink, thinking. "No, not really," she answered after a moment or two. "I sometimes train my Pokemon against one another, especially when we're trying to perfect a new move, but normally I just battle against trainers I encounter."
"I see," Lee said, nodding. "Smart, really." He couldn't say he had any real training tactics of his own, and perhaps that was his problem. He spent most of his time battling anyone he came across, so maybe that's why some of his Pokemons' moves weren't as good as they could be. He didn't have anything else to add, so they walked in silence, easily coming across the spot where they'd met earlier. Lee closed his eyes and tried to ignore the memory of the stinging loss the girl had dealt him, and instead focused on the future. Things are going to change, he told himself firmly.
=====
The cowboy simply tipped his hat to the staff worker as he was pointed at, and he eyed his competition as the two now headed for the arena. This wasn't his first rodeo, but even he was a little surprised to see that the once bare floors were no more, instead replaced with wall-to-wall trampolines. The strange set up would not be an issue for Mr Cowboy and his Rotom-Wash, so he tipped his hat once again to his opponent - he'd always been taught to be respectful, now - and he released the strange haunted-washing machine he'd used in the first round, looking on with a slight nod as Dante released a rather large, and imposing Dusclops.
Rotom-W didn't seem to be intimidated, as Ghost-types would be Ghost-types, offering a cheeky grin at its opponent. They were given the signal to begin, so the Cowboy decided to make the first move, calling out for Rotom-W to use Shock Wave. The Electric/Water-type rose up, hovering easily over the bouncy floors and began to spark with electricity before it raised up its 'hands' and sent the arching bolt towards the Dusclops.
((Non-time-skip and contest stuff.))
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Posted: Sat Apr 14, 2012 11:23 am
Crenu looked across the table at Riza, and was starting to regret having told her anything. She was starting to get sick from looking at his wounds, and when he was all finished she couldn't even look him in the eyes, he'd disturbed her and was sure she would run off to clear herself from the crazy man that he was. He should have kept it all inside like before, it was working well for everyone, now he'd messed up bad. But as she stared at the table, her words told a different story. Instead she stood up and sat next to him, happy to be in the complex loop of his inner turmoil. And as she spoke those words Crenu felt a jolt through his heart, but it wasn't anything painful...it was something warm that shook him to his very core. "...I..I don't want to lose you either." Carefully Crenu started to wrap up his arm and hands once more, and gently took one of Riza's hands in his. "I'm not a fan of hospitals. I don't question their importance of effectiveness...it's purely an illogical unease I have about them. But if things continue to worsen...then I'll get myself checked out. Promise." He lightly rested his head against hers, and sighed deeply. He had to admit, he felt a little better now. And while there was still a lot of unease concerning his mental and physical condition, he was able to let most of it go for now and just relax alongside her. In truth, he would probably be a lot worse right now without her. "Yula's thunderbolt is going to be very hand in your next gym match. Cerulean is a water gym if I recall correctly, though the water drop of the city probably gives it away. Diema could be an asset but the leader is going to be an expert on underwater fights...if it's not something you're use to it could turn into a huge disadvantage. Assuming she's hold her own just cause she's a water type is risky considering almost all of her experience since being caught is on land. That's just my two cents though, I'm sure you've already got your own attack strategy thought out." He said somewhat suddenly, jumping back into his analytically style. His mind was a bit off but when he was calm like right now, things fell back into place again, and battling was what he seemed to enjoy most. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Starmie continued to jet along the water with ken riding upon it's back. Together they shot for the shore skating along the water as other sea pokemon poked out of the water to see the commotion. Ken grinned watching them as they came along, little mantyk's and their older Mantine parents, Finneons swimming around glowing eerily from time to time. It was a beautiful sight, but the sea hid much more dangerous secrets. The event that led to Jaeshan's disappearance for once, menacing things lurked in the waters below and Ken was grateful that at this moment the waters were calm. Starmie was swimming as fast as she could, Sinnoh was in sight of them when they had jumped but it was still a decent distance from the shores of Sandgem, considering that wasn't where the ship was meant to make port. The sin was barely over the horizon as it was early in the morning, and Ken had to wonder how Shiro and Riza were doing, once he got to land he was going to have to give them a call. Shiro wasn't likely to care, but he wanted to find out from Riza how he was feeling after the harsh contest the night before, and let her know about Jae, though all of them had only met for a short time. First he needed to meet with Professor Rowan however and find out if the lead had any merit to it. Before much longer Starmi jumped out of the water with a dazzling display landing on the beach, Ken leaping from her back cape swirling in the air as he landed gracefully, striking a pose even though no one was around to see it. Starmi looked quite tired, and so Ken returned her to her pokeball with a smile. "Thank you my dear, you were marvelous as always. Now we're off to track down a man!" And with that Ken rushed off, hoping to catch Rowan while he was still in his lab early this morning.
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Posted: Sat Apr 14, 2012 4:07 pm
"Stop it, you idiot metal bird," Keegan grumbled as he finally was able to climb on the back of the very sour-tempered Skarmory. Alvero had once again attempted to bite his trainer and had this time succeeded, leaving a small gash in the redhead's hand. It wasn't anything too serious, considering everything he'd been through in the past while, but it still hurt and he had nothing to dress it with. "Just take me to Petalburg already," the redhead grumbled, and with an irate screech, the Armor Bird Pokemon took to the skies, making damned sure to rub and grind his wings together in order to make as much ungodly noise as possible. Keegan winced and grit his teeth, watching as flocks of nearby Taillow and Swellow flew off in terror from the sound. Stupid Pokemon, Keegan thought bitterly, already trying to figure out if there were any other Flying-types he could catch and raise that would be large enough to carry him rather than Alvero.
That does remind me, I should teach that Fly HM to Artemis, Keegan thought, somehow managing to hear himself over the sound of Alvero's wings. The Swellow may have been far too small to carry him, but he figured she'd make great used of the technique regardless. Before long, Keegan found the grating and screeching of the metal on metal to be giving him a headache, and he wondered to himself how he put up with it beforehand. He wasn't able to stand the noise much longer and he finally landed in Rustboro City and quickly recalled the still-cranky bird to his Great Ball. Almost immediately his ears felt better and he sighed, looking around the town. He saw the sign that pointed the way to the gym, and he grinned as he remembered his win over the gym leader. Roxanne had actually laughed at his little Althena, still a tiny little Psyduck, and Keegan recalled how it had hurt his feelings more than it had the Water-type. Althena sure showed her a thing or two, however, and he laughed to himself. Good times.
He proceeded to then teach the HM to Artemis, who trilled and sang happily in reply, though she pouted as best a bird Pokemon could pout when she was recalled. Keegan now had the arduous task of trekking through the Petalburg Woods. He decided against using his bike and he started walking south, already feeling a bit anxious before he'd gone more than half a kilometer, and this time, he didn't have Helios to ward off the bugs. He did, however, have Eithne, so he took the Growlithe's Great Ball from his belt and released her. At first the Puppy Pokemon looked a bit confused, but when she saw her new master standing in front of her, she let out an excited bark and sat diligently at his feet. "...Okay," Keegan mumbled, a bit off-put by the polar opposite personalities some of his Pokemon seemed to possess. He knelt down and stroked the tuft of hair atop her head. "Good girl," he said, and she yipped and licked his hand. Keegan smiled. Perhaps he'd finally found a girl that would be loyal only to him.
=====
Their cold drinks finished by the time the reached the opposite exit of the park, they tossed their cups into the recycle bin (at Leroy's insistence, no less) and continued on their way. They passed through the gatehouse that would lead them into the adjacent route, and the older boy stopped to scan some of the posters and fliers up on the wall. Most notably was a list of recent Bug-Catching Contest winners, and he wasn't at all shocked to find Miharu's name listed, as well as the top-prize winning Pinsir she'd captured. "So this would be where you captured Petunia," he said fondly, tapping the paper with a finger. "It's not easy, winning that thing, believe me, I've tried. Congratulations."
Another blush crept through the young girl's cheeks, but she managed to force this one away rather quickly. "Thank you," she said, remembering the contest well. She and Aska had been in hot pursuit of a Scyther before they found themselves face to face with the not-so-ferocious Stagbeetle Pokemon. "It wasn't easy, and I honestly wasn't expecting to win." Okay, so only the latter of the statements was untrue: Miharu knew her Pinsir would receive top marks and make her a contender for first prize, but a part of her could sense Lee's still-aching pride so for now she chose to tone down her achievements. "It was totally worth it, though. Petunia's an awesome Pokemon."
"I agree," Lee said, smirking. Indeed the Pinsir was tough; and he'd be lying if he said he hadn't entered that contest several times looking specifically for one. Granted, he wasn't overly fond of the girl's taste in nicknames, but that was something he could get over quite easily. "Did she put up much of a fight when you caught her?"
"Hmm..." Miharu thought for a moment, trying to remember the battle. She'd taken Aska into the contest with her, and the then-Pidgeotto had been an excellent scout. "Not too much, but it definitely took a few of the Sport Balls. She didn't turn out to be as vicious as we thought, because she sure seems to love flowers." Thinking about it though, Miharu realized that none of her captures had been that difficult. She'd been given Tingle, Lily and Mori. Petunia was caught in the contest. Aska had practically chosen to go with her without a fight. It had been difficult to find Sparkle, but capturing the Mareep after that had been a breeze. Capturing Starrie was probably her most difficult one, as the Staryu had put up a major fight both on the fishing line, and when it battled both Tingle and Lily, knocking out the newly-evolved Metang with ease.
((Time-Skip))
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Posted: Sat Apr 14, 2012 5:26 pm
Admittedly, having a Fire-type by his side was a bit of a confidence booster for Keegan, and every now and then he'd glance down at the Growlithe, who remained loyally at his side, trotting at his pace. He was blown away by how well the Pokemon listened already, as he spent the first few minutes giving her small commands. The Puppy Pokemon obeyed every one without question, and Keegan was elated by this. I'm glad I caught her, he thought, already imaging her chasing off the threat of bugs with her sharp little barks, and setting the more obstinate ones on fire. He was now flipping through his PokeDex, reading up on her moves, and he was surprised to find a few that he didn't recognize, which prompted him to check through his other Pokemon again. Flame Burst? Inferno? He didn't know what they did, but they sure sounded good. That reminded him that he still had the Overheat TM he'd won from Flannery, and without hesitation he stopped walking and fished it out of his bag and taught it to the eager Growlithe. She seemed very excited about learning a move, though Keegan realized it probably wouldn't be a good idea to use it in the forest, lest he intend to burn it all down.
After tossing the used up disc in the trash, he and Eithne continued their hike south, Keegan's unease lifting slightly. It wouldn't be so bad with the Growlithe at his side, he was sure of it. Before long they exited the city's limits and found themselves on a quiet path. It was still early, even with his having to return to Mauville and the debacle that was flying with Alvero, but they were making good time now. It helped that there weren't any other people on the road, and that was good as it meant there wouldn't be anyone challenging him to battles he didn't really feel like having. The only battle he wanted was against Norman of Petalburg City, in which he hoped to win himself a Balance Badge.
That's all I need, he told himself as he walked. I need to win more badges and get myself back on track. Then I'll show her, I'll show everybody that I'm not useless. He took a deep breath and cracked his knuckles, resisting the urge to light up a cigarette. If he had to be honest, he hated the habit, but unfortunately it was a difficult one to quit, even if the main reasons he'd started up again were no longer presently around him. Once again he glanced at the happy Growlithe at his side, and he sighed. Things would be different from now on.
=====
Miharu had then inquired about Lee's toughest capture, which he thought about carefully before answering. "Definitely my Zangoose," he said thoughtfully. "That bugger tore through most of my Pokemon, but he couldn't touch Banette with his Normal-type attacks, so that was it. Still have the scar on my arm from where he got me, too," Lee added, rolling up his sleeve and showing the marks to the girl. Miharu winced; it must have been painful to get scratched by a Zangoose, as she saw firsthand just how long and dangerous those claws were. She thought about how lucky she had been with all her Pokemon; all of them got along quite well and none seemed to harbor any sort of grudge against her for capturing them. She wondered how much harder that would make her job as a trainer, if her Pokemon disliked her. Seemingly reading the look on her face, Lee grinned. "Oh, it's tough," he said, nodding. "You have to earn their trust and respect. It's a long road, but worth it. Zangoose and I are pals now."
Miharu smiled. "That's good." Unable to think of anything else constructive to say, she turned her sights to her team, running through available moves and type match-ups. Knowing that she was going up against a Steel-type gym made her life much easier, though she still felt a pang of nervousness with every step she took. So far, she was sure that Leroy was right - Aska would not do well in the gym, so it would be best if she was temporarily sent back to her Aunt and Uncle's ranch in Lavaridge. Miharu was so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed the two trainers standing in their path, and she only looked up when Lee held out his arm for her to stop and she bumped into it. "Hmm? What's going on?" she asked, looking around with wide eyes.
"What's going on is, you and your boyfriend will have to battle us and win if you want past," one of the trainer said, grinning. He was tall, maybe Lee's height with hair the colour of rust and impish hazel eyes. The girl at his side had short-cropped, pink hair and she too was grinning. Miharu frowned.
"I'm afraid you're mistaken," Lee said coolly, "but we aren't a couple."
"Oh, Greg, they're not a couple," the girl said, tugging her boyfriend's sleeve. Her grin didn't falter.
"Oh, is that so, dear Krysta? Ah well, doesn't matter. You'll still have to beat us if you want to get by."
Leroy looked down at Miharu. "I guess we should have seen something like this coming, but I'm game if you are."
Miharu blinked a few times, and then smiled. "Why yes, I believe I am."
((More time-skippage))
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Posted: Sat Apr 14, 2012 6:27 pm
Amy had seen a Tangela before--at a contest, she remembered. The Pokemon wasn't the most... conventional of Grass-types, but its long vines and complicated tricks worked well in its favor during the battle portions. It seems we won't ever be out of range, she thought, adjusting her glasses as they began to slip down the bridge of her nose. That, combined with the fact that most of Flora's moves were pretty much obsolete in this battle, created more worry for the girl. As much as she didn't want to lose, she knew it was very likely at this point. I guess I couldn't have expected to win with a suddenly new resolve.
"Vine Whip, Tangela!" Tina commanded, pointing a finger at the Leaf Pokemon. Tangela did as she was told, two blue vines extending from her body to reach out for her opponent. Amy winced as they audibly cracked in the air, lashing down upon the Grass-type, who jolted in surprise. Despite its low effectiveness, Vine Whip still hurt and instinctively, Flora backed away. But she knew it was of little use.
"Poison Powder, like we practiced," Amy said, biting her bottom lip nervously. The Leaf Pokemon charged forward in compliance, her leaf beginning to take a purple hue. Tangela shrunk back, but then Flora was leaping into mid-air, flipping over her and releasing a glittering violet dust. But when it came to landing, the impact seemed to take a lot out of the Grass-type, considering she wasn't used to her new weight as a Bayleef. The Poison Powder took its effects on Tangela, as expected, and she shuddered as her health was sapped away. Amy smiled; she was glad to have at least some semblance of a chance.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Jake seemed confused by the offer, which only brought a small smile to the trainer's face. While Bibarel was fierce and ferocious, she had the misfortune of having attacks that seemed more... straightforward than others. Good, she thought when the blonde ordered for a Headbutt. "Get ready, Aquarius," she called out as the Beaver Pokemon reared herself for an attack, pleased to see that she was having trouble with the muddy field. This did not go unnoticed by the Duck Pokemon, either; he looked down at the ground and understood his trainer's plan within a few moments. As she shouted out her next command, he was already obeying, glad to have strategy on his hand rather than just attacks.
"Slide!" And the Psyduck was propelling himself forward on his belly, soaked by the Water Sport and aided by the muddy battlefield. He jetted away, completely avoiding Bibarel's Headbutt, much to his pleasure. "Let's show them a headbutt of our own, Aquarius!" Jade called, hoping that improvization was not lost on her little duck. Psyduck twisted as he slid, webbed toes digging into the muddy earth and bringing him to a stop as he twisted to face the Bibarel's side. From there, he kicked off, sliding as fast as he could on such short notice, aiming to bring his head slamming into the Normal/Water-type's side. For his sake, Jade hoped that Aquarius had quite the durable skull, lest he suffer some kind of brain damage from his first battle.
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Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2012 9:36 am
The admin continued to listen and watch her boss pace the room, occasionally sipping from her glass. The melting ice diluted the whiskey enough where it didn't make her shudder, but she was still far behind in finishing her drink. She nodded at his answer to the statues, figuring she'd stop off at Eterna and collect photographs of the statues before continuing on to the rendez-vous point in Veilstone City, whenever that would be. She had no idea how long it would take for Katie to complete her missions.
Mai jumped slightly when she felt Giovanni's hands on her shoulders, mostly because this sort of affection from the man was virtually unheard of. By now it was quite obvious of his good mood, and it was a bit contagious. Mai herself was smiling now, and she took another sip of her whiskey. She looked up at him as he brought up her early years with the organization, and she smirked a bit. Yes, she had definitely been incredibly eager to please, incredibly eager to gain power, and move up in the ranks, and that she did. All her hard work had certainly paid off over the years. Her gaze followed her boss as he slid back into his chair, across from her.
Giovanni had always dreamed of Team Rocket dominating the world, even back when they were only notorious in Kanto and some of Johto, and now, it seemed, he wanted even more. She still wasn't sure how her boss planned to obtain Godlike power, but she figured it had something to do with the relics they were collecting. Despite his and her good moods, something felt off. She couldn't explain it, but somehow, this path Giovanni had chosen for them seemed wrong. Despite those feelings, the thought of ultimate, unlimited power was incredibly enticing. The admin smiled, and closed her eyes. "Yes, I can see it," she said.
=-=-=-=-=
The words that had just been uttered by the Grass-type gym leader were ones that no trainer ever wanted to hear: "Knock it out with your Sleep Powder!" The Ivysaur, while definitely annoyed by Ikouma's Screech, seemed to shake it off relatively easy, and before Karrigan could think of a way to counter or evade, the Seed Pokemon's bud released a cloud of sleep-inducing spores, and the Sneasel was right in the center of it.
"No...!" Karrigan called, but it was of little use. Ikouma could only close his eyes and stagger back as he was surrounded by shimmering, blue spores. Almost instantly, a heavy drowsiness fell over him, and though he tried his hardest to fight it off, sleep easily won him over and he collapsed on the spot, snoring lightly. "Ikouma, wake up!" Karrigan shouted, her tone icy. "Wake up this instant and use Ice Punch!" But the redheaded girl's commands would fall on deaf ears as the Sharp Claw Pokemon slept on, easy prey for Erika and her Ivysaur.
=-=-=-=-=
Okay, so that's the way we want to play, Jake thought, also picking up on Jade's strategy, namely when the Duck Pokemon studied the wet and mucky ground. Bibarel was already in full momentum so it would be a waste of time to call out to her now, and he watched as the Beaver Pokemon skidded along the wet ground. "Bibarel, you use the ground, too," the blonde called, refusing to give up so much as an inch.
"Bii," the Pokemon called out, also getting a good idea of what was going on, and she used her own claws to dig into the ground and gain traction. Both trainer and Pokemon heard the call for a Headbutt, and Bibarel did her best to turn, seeing the Psyduck sliding toward her, headfirst. As reckless as Bibarel liked to be, she could also be clever when she wanted to, and as the Duck Pokemon neared her, she raised her tail and slapped it hard on the ground, kicking up a spray of brownish, muddy water into the face of the oncoming Pokemon. It did little to stop his momentum and she grit her teeth as he rammed into her side, but hopefully her improvised Mud-Slap would make things more difficult for him, as well. Bibarel got to her feet and growled, mud and water dripping from nearly every inch of her body. The improvised headbutt had stung a little, but she had plenty more to give. Jake smirked - this was turning out to be a lot more fun than he thought it would.
=-=-=-=-=
And that was that; the Sneasel's horrid screeching came to an abrupt and welcomed stop, and it was now fast asleep in the middle of the arena. Erika sighed, and closed her eyes. The sudden silence was almost deafening, but it was peaceful, too. After a moment or to, the gym leader opened her eyes, and focused on the sleeping Ice-type. I almost hate to do this, but it's what must be done. I cannot give my badge out to just anyone. She raised her hand, and gave a nod. "All right, Ivysaur, hit them hard with a Take Down," she called, her voice firm and commanding, though it never fully lost its gentle edge.
"Ivy saaur!" the Grass-type roared, lowering his head before he charged, full-tilt at the sleeping Ikouma. At this point, he knew his trainer was holding nothing back.
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Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2012 11:47 am
[TimeSkip Kilik]
Kilik blinked. He hadn't exactly heard anyone call his Electivire 'cute'. Name-wise anyway. Not since he was an Elekid. He smiled as the excited Kord pumped his fists and was ready to get some training done. Kord was definitely a different kind of Elekid than Cable was; while Cable was somewhat shy and timid as a baby, Kord seemed ready and raring to go whenever the opportunity arose. It was strange that, much like people, Pokemon of the same species could be so drastically different. "Well, then Katie..." Kilik stretched a little and placed his hand on his yeti's shoulder. "Let's go!"
He motioned for her to follow him, having found the eastern exit of Jubilife that placed them on Route 203; after a hearty warm-up with Kord, Kilik could just head straight for Oreburgh to get his first Sinnoh badge. He found a nice place off the path (not to obstruct other trainers and such) and surveyed the area. "This should do nicely!" Kilik put his fists on his hips then turned to face Katie. "We'll do a little battle first, and go from there. You ready?" He dug his foot into the dirt and leaned forward a little bit. This was going to be fun.
Cable did the same as Kilik, prepping himself for battle. He held up both of his arms, almost like a sumo wrestler would, and began to clench and unclench his fists. Sparks began to fly between the two red LEDs on his tails. He would definitely have to hold back to not hurt the little guy too badly; but he wasn't going to go that easy on him either!
"After you. Ladies first, after all."
-*-
"Good," Giovanni whispered. "That power will be ours for the taking. The entire world will tremble at the name of Team Rocket!" He started laughing, and then stopped as his phone began to ring. He took it from his pocket.
"This is Giovanni," he said simply. His good mood began to falter for a moment and his eyes widened. He could hear sounds in the background that seemed frantic. "Very well. Make sure that everything remains under control." He hung up and placed the device on his desk, frowning. "It appears an accident has occurred in the Viridian base. While examining one of the relics, they said a strange light surrounded it and blew up half of the equipment in the lab." He placed his fingers on his temples and growled slightly.
"I refuse to let such incompetence keep me from my goal," he said aloud, but it was mostly to himself. "Mai, you are dismissed. Keep an eye on the grunts you've recruited. If I come up with any ideas for them, I will inform you." He looked up at her and then turned his chair to face the window, effectively ending their meeting. Giovanni was not happy.
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Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 6:20 am
For about twenty minutes, the trio sat in the silence of the well, listening to the sounds around them: the occasional drip of water, the distant cries of unknown Pokemon, even the fluttering of a Zubat's wings once or twice. Jasper had been staring down at the water for the majority of that time, wondering what aquatic creatures dwelled beneath the surface. At one point, a Pokemon did jump out of the water, but Jasper only caught a glimpse of flowing fins and a tail. After a few moments of thought, he realized it was probably a Goldeen, as one of his foster mothers had been fond of keeping them in a pond. Needless to say, the jumping fish had startled Paras enough to cause him to hide behind a rock, while Totodile simply watched the ripples in the water. Jasper sighed, shaking his head a little. 'That Goldeen wasn't even anywhere near you,' he thought, catching a glimpse of Paras' trembling mushrooms from his hiding place. He stood up to go over and console his terrified Pokemon yet again, but as he did, he heard a familiar screeching coming from above him.
"Of course it'd be a Zubat," Jasper growled, ducking as the winged menace tried to take a bite out of him. With Paras cowering in fear, and Ditto still resting in its Pokeball, it mean that it was time for Totodile to shine. "Okay girl, go get 'im," the boy said, gesturing to the bat with a hand. Totodile shot out of the water like a rocket, glaring up at the flying type. Aerial opponents always seemed to have the edge, so they'd have to rely on ranged attacks. "Blast it with your Water Gun!" Admittedly, there was a strange surge of emotion within Jasper as he gave the attack, and he recalled almost shamefully the time he'd longed to become a trainer. He'd even wanted Totodile as his first Pokemon. The little gator danced from foot to foot, gathering as much water in her mouth as possible before she thrust her head forward, shooting out a sharp jet of water that struck the offending Zubat square in the chest. While it wasn't as satisfying as the sizzle of a lightning bolt, it was still something, and now the Zubat's attention was on Totodile, and not Jasper.
Meanwhile, the commotion had caught Paras' attention, and the Mushroom Pokemon managed to peek out from behind his rock in time to see Totodile deftly hop out of the way of an oncoming Bite attack. The little bug and grass type looked on, eyes wide. Why couldn't he be brave, like Totodile? The thought of battling against another Pokemon was terrifying, and before he knew it, he'd started scuttling away, tears in the corners of his eyes. He didn't make it more than about five feet before he bumped into something big, pink, and solid: it was one of the many Slowpoke the well was home to. "Parrrrassss?" the mushroom trilled, tilting its head to the side. It had taken some time, but the Slowpoke in question had realized someone had entered the well and it had come to investigate. Upon running into the Paras, however, the Pokemon stopped, blinking its wide, vacant eyes in confusion. After a while, it seemed to register the pain from the collision, and its brow furrowed. It opened its mouth and unleashed a Water Gun of its own at the wide-eyed mushroom, albeit somewhat weaker than the one Totodile had just used. Paras could only squeak out in fear and he closed his eyes and hunkered down, preparing for the worst.
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thunderbolts_and_sunshine
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Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 6:53 am
Riza wasn't at all surprised to hear Crenu refuse to go get himself checked out right now, and she couldn't blame him. Hospitals terrified her, and she wouldn't go near them unless she absolutely had to. His promise to go if his condition worsened made her feel a bit better, and she clutched his hand, though not tight enough to cause him any discomfort. That was the last thing she wanted. As he rested against her and sighed, she closed her eyes, wondering how he'd been able to keep all of this inside before. It was no wonder he had outbursts like the one the night before at the contest. And then, true to form, Shiro began to speak about her upcoming gym battle, and she smiled. "Yes, Yula would be an asset, but after all the work she and Akima did yesterday, I think they both deserve a bit of downtime. Besides, I need my other Pokemon to be in top shape as well. I don't know how many Pokemon will be used in the battle, but I want to use Faustus and Plua for sure. If it is a water-type gym, it wouldn't be a good match for Eris. Diemia will probably be my ace in the hole, though I do want to check out the store before we hit the gym. I have a few moves in mind for Faustus."
Despite the dramatic shift in the subject, Riza had not and would not forget everything Shiro had just confided in her. If anything, it gave her a bit of insight into what made him tick, and she realized then that battling and strategy planing was probably one of his coping mechanisms. "You should definitely grab some fruit on the way out, couldn't hurt to pump some extra Vitamin C into your system, you know," she said, but then regretted it. She didn't want him to think she'd gone all soft and motherly. "Anyway, let's get out of here." She cleared away all of her dishes and recalled her Pokemon, glancing back to Shiro with a warm smile as they exited the pokecenter.
* * * * *
Katie couldn't help but smile. Normally, she wasn't a big fan of other people in general, but she liked this Kilik guy. He said what was on his mind, and didn't seem to hold back and that was an admirable trait. She hated when people held back their true feelings and thoughts. "Alright, after you," she said, still smiling as the yellow and black clad boy and his Electivire began to lead the way.
"Bii!" Kord cheered, walking alongside his trainer as they headed through the eastern exit of the city and onto route 203. Katie remembered this route well, as it had been one of the routes where she failed to capture a Starly several times during her first real day as a trainer. It seemed so silly now, how much difficulty she'd had with the troublesome little bird, and now she had a full team, full of potential. She was so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed that Kord was mimicking Cable's gait, making his footsteps wide as he could and puffing out his chest and shoulders in order to act as much like the Electivire as possible. It wasn't until Kilik had picked out a nice spot for them that the orange haired girl snapped out of her thoughts again.
"Sounds good," she answered, smoothing out her skirt and adjusting her sleeves. "Are you ready, Kord?" she asked. The Elekid replied by taking his position in front of her, and spinning his arms around to generate a small charge in his prongs. When he saw what Cable was doing, however, he once again mimicked the Electivire's movements, though of course he lacked the pair LEDs that Cable had. He was ready to show the big fella what he could do!
"Oh, we have a gentleman in our midst," Katie said playfully, flipping one of her long ponytails over her shoulder. She knew that Kord's electric-type moves would be useless against Cable, so they'd be relying on his other attacks and moves. "Okay Kord, you heard him. Let's start off with your Quick Attack!"
"Bibi!" the Elekid cried, and he crouched low to the ground before he sped off, streaking toward Cable in a blur of yellow and black.
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