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 Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2012 2:21 pm
"I'm heading out." Mike said, throwing the covers off of him and hopping down onto the floor. It was cold! But only for a second.
"But your injuries." Blaine protested. "You're in no state to leave yet. You must rest!"
"Oh I'm rested." Mike replied with a light laugh. "Trust me."
The most sleep you've gotten in weeks. a phantom spoke up.
"What he said." the boy pointed behind him with his thumb.
"What who said?" Blaine asked.
"Besides!" Mike continued, ignoring the gym leaders question. "What better way to get more data of my new condition than to just live in it?"
"That is true, but remember, even with all of these new abilities, you are still human and have to respect your limits!" Blaine removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You won't do yourself any good if you just end up in here again."
"I won't." Mike said, hopping behind a screen and changing into his old clothes. They remained tattered and overall pretty wrecked, but they would have to do until his mother made him new ones. "I'm just going to get back into the swing of things again. Try to be a normal-ish trainer again. Routine and habit would help me, I think."
Blaine couldn't argue that fact. "I'm not becoming your sponsor just so you can go out and hurt yourself." he sighed. "Be careful. No heroics."
Mike smiled. "I'll give it a shot." He slung his bag over his shoulder and extended a hand to the gym leader. Blaine accepted the gesture, shaking his hand quickly, making a curious noise as his hand wasn't burned. "Thanks for everything, Blaine. I'll be in touch." With that, Mike walked out of the room, walking casually down the hall and out the sliding door to outside.
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Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2012 3:39 pm
Anna seemed a little affronted at Sasha's disregarding mention of Mike's ghosts; she contemplated offering her input, but elected not to. Nina picked up on that, and shot her companion a look before returning her attention to Sasha. "You're probably right," she replied; "I shouldn't worry about him. Kasiya will make sure that he's well tended to, so I should just put my faith in her and try to suspend my worries." She smiled a little.
You know you're not going to do that though.
Shut up, Anna. I have to try, at the very least. I can't physically see him right now, I can't physically see his condition, so I have to take what I'm being told at face value. I really have to try not to worry.
You're going to worry, though; you know you are. You always worry about those close to you, those that you care about.
Yeah, I do; it's my instinct. What's your point?
I don't really have one. Just don't focus on him too much.
That's so easy for you to say, though! You don't know what his mind looks like, how terrifying it is. You don't know what goes on in there-- hell, not even Sabrina does! I'm the only person who does and I can't help but find myself scared and worried that--
Nina, stop it. You're being ridiculous and you're letting your worry start consuming you already. You need to understand that no single person can be there for everyone that they love a hundred percent of the time. You're going to stress yourself out, probably to the point that it'll start affecting you physically. Seriously, calm down.
...I'm sorry. Thank you, Anna.
Yeah, yeah. Don't get the wrong idea-- I'm just trying to prevent you from doing something stupid again.
"To be honest, I'm not sure what we're going to be doing!" Nina said, after ending her telepathic conversation with the ghost and acting like nothing had transpired. "I feel like we're probably going to be doing some traveling, as that seems to fit our pattern. I'm not entirely sure where we'll end up going though." And to be honest, I like travelling when I don't exactly have any other plans... It's not like anyone's expecting me anywhere. Whitney drank a bit more, noticing that she was now running low on her beverage; she pouted a little. "I wouldn't be too surprised if we stayed in Johto for a while," she added. "After all, we've spent some time out and about in a few different places, so it'll be nice to hang around home for a little while." Nina looked to Sabrina for a moment, who was still engaged in conversation with her gentleman caller. They certainly seem to be getting on quite well...
"And what about you-- do you have any siblings?" Sabrina inquired, after having explained the rather long-winded story regarding herself, Nina, and Whitney. "I do!" Damon replied. "I've got a younger sister, Natalia, though in truth she's not much younger than I; she recently turned twenty. It's been pretty cool, us being almost the same age, because in growing up we got to experience the same things at pretty much the same times, so we were always there for one another. And sure, we've always fought because that's what siblings do, but we really are close with one another. She's one of my best friends in the world, and I think that on top of that natural familial bond, to have a friendship as well is something very special." He smiled a little bit, eliciting one from Sabrina in return. "I understand that completely. While Nina and I haven't had the pleasure of growing up with one another, it's not even a question in my mind that she is one of the very few people on this earth that I trust entirely. And hell, even though Whitney and I are at each other's throats half the time, I do still trust and care about her-- but, don't tell her that. Damon took a drink as he listened. "I think it's nice-- you caring so much for them even though you aren't blood related," he replied. "Well, blood doesn't make a family; love does. The three of us-- we love each other, we're there for each other, and that's all that matters."
Science appeared behind Sabrina, beeping inquisitively; its head was flipped upside-down. Taken aback, Sabrina jumped up from her seat, shrieking. "Don't you ever sneak up on me like that again!" She looked around frantically, before she saw the table that Nina, Whitney, and Sasha were sitting at. "Whitney, get this-- get your Porygon away from me!"
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Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2012 4:58 pm
The Vaporeon gave a soft cry, her face set in an expression of grim determination, and she glanced from side to side, acknowledging each and every last one of her teammates as she passed by them and made her way toward Kasiya. By the time she reached the girl, both of them were smiling, and Kasiya's eyes were shining with tears. She dropped to the ground, holding her arms open. "Ariel..." she said, unable to keep from smiling as the Vaporeon practically threw herself into her trainer's embrace. "I knew you'd come around. I knew you'd want to help. And to be honest, I don't think I can do this without you. In fact, I know I can't do this without you. You're my very first Pokemon, and Shocker was the first new friend we made on our journey. It only makes sense that you and I would work together to rescue her." Ariel gave another soft cry, and nuzzled her trainer's cheek before turning to look back at the group.
The emotional display was quite touching, as many of the Pokemon appeared to be glassy-eyed as well. Most notably was Alphonse, who burst into tearful sobs and ran forward, throwing his little arms around Ariel's leg. The Vaporeon patted the Piplup on the head with her other paw, trying to console him. "All right." Kasiya sniffled, and put on a brave face as she got to her feet. "Ariel, Hiro, Fang, Sirrus, Levi, and Seto, you guys are with me. The rest of you need to hold down the fort here, and that means Ada, Casimir and Rosemary especially."
She continued to assign jobs and positions, making eye contact with all of her Pokemon to make sure they understood. Nova's job was to guard the three littlest Pokemon, much to her dismay, but she gave a curt nod anyway, giving a toothy grin to Pepper, Zaira, and a still teary-eyed Alphonse. Kasiya was in the process of explaining her kick-in-the-door plan of attack when there was a commotion from somewhere in the middle of the pack of Pokemon, and all eyes turned to Ada, who was having some sort of fit - something Kasiya hadn't seen since her days as a tiny little Larvitar. "Ada, stop it," she said, giving the Pupitar a stern look. "I need you here, to help protect Professor Oak and all the other Pokemon. I'm counting on you..." she trailed off as the Pupitar's eyes narrowed, and she gave an eerie, ear-piercing cry.
And then, she started to glow.
=-=-=-=-=
Why does it feel like I've done this before? Jake thought as he'd trekked back to Eterna Forest, as it seemed like a great place to train a Psychic/Flying-type.... thing. In truth, he wasn't sure what to call Sigilyph other than just that - a thing - but he really didn't want to hurt the strange Pokemon's feelings, especially considering that it could probably read his mind. Psychic-types were strange ones, but Jake couldn't help but feel this undeniable sense that he'd raised a Psychic-type before. Either my memory can come back any time now, or these random memories can just leave me alone, he thought angrily as he stepped over a fallen log. He kicked at a rock poking out of the ground and it bounced along the mossy forest floor until it bounced up against something wooden. Intrigued by the sound, Jake looked up - it seemed the rock had bounced off a wooden board. "What's this?" he mused to himself, stooping down to pick it up. Whatever it was, it was definitely old, as the wood had that damp, earthy feel and smell to it. He flipped it over and brushed away some of the moss. He could clearly see the word "Chateau" carved into it, but nothing more. "Chateau?" he mumbled, turning it over again and looking around. He didn't see a Chateau anywhere near him. He was out in the woods, after all.
He tossed the piece of sign to the ground and brushed his hands off on the sides of his pants, not a good idea considering that they were white, but it was the last thing on his mind. "Okay then, let's find some wild Pokemon to battle or something," he murmured, hoping he could avoid facing any trainers. The pair that he and Jade had battled yesterday had been quite awful, and he wanted to avoid another experience like that, if he could. He took a few steps forward and then released the new Sigilyph from its Pokeball. It greeted him fairly warmly, and Jake smiled in return. Despite how utterly strange the Avianoid Pokemon was, Jake couldn't help but feel attached to him. "So, let's get you stronger, eh?" Sigilyph hummed in agreement.
=-=-=-=-=
The Bellsprout was literally frozen with surprise, finding the sudden blast of cold both painful and down-right rude. It gave a cry and tried to land another Vine Whip on Naga, this one aimed for her head, but the Cubchoo wasn't having any of that. The little cub hopped back, evading with ease as the cold had drastically slowed the Grass-type, and she gave a sharp Growl, giving the Bellsprout more reason to slink back in apprehension. Ikouma, meanwhile, watched the small battle unfold carefully, nodding his head like some sort of master. He raised a fist and gave a cry, and Naga nodded eagerly. She raised her own little fist, now shining bright with ice, and she slammed it firmly into the Bellsprout's face, knocking it out and giving the little Cubchoo her very first win. Ikouma, as stoic and serious as he always was, was actually grinning.
"Wow, Naga! That was awesome!" Karrigan's voice drifted over to the two Ice-types, who saw their trainer approaching them, giant Onix in tow. Karrigan felt better knowing her team was united, and she leaned up against Aegeus, trying to decide what she should do next. Amy was going to challenge Lt. Surge, she thought, glancing back in the direction of Vermilion City. Maybe I should collect badges, too. But where? Should I return to Sinnoh? Or perhaps head somewhere different, like Hoenn, or Unova? She really didn't know. Naga's loud yawn caught her attention, and she realized the young Pokemon was getting sleepy. "You did well," she said, recalling the little bear into her Pokeball. She then called everyone else back, as well, as she didn't want her Pokemon tiring needlessly. She did notice, however, that things were a lot calmer without Zaira, and she hoped that the Shinx would do well with Kasiya as her new trainer.
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Posted: Mon Dec 31, 2012 4:22 pm
Riza's first reaction to the effortless way Heracross deflected Diemia's Bubblebeam was shock, but she didn't let it show, instead she gave a growl and narrowed her eyes. She was just getting started, she and Diemia weren't going to let this overgrown bug get the better of them! "Use Swift," she called out next, knowing this move would be much more difficult to stop. The Crawdaunt raised her claws again, this time firing off a stream of glimmering stars that began to race toward their target. Riza smiled a bit, knowing that if she could tame the Rogue Pokemon's gruffness a bit, she'd probably do very well in contest battles.
Jaden's cool resolve never wavered, instead just watched calmly. He could tell that his sister was already starting to get anxious, but he wasn't going to let up on the pressure. He had promised, after all. "Aerial Ace," the elder Harding sibling said, giving a nod. "Go right through it." Heracross nodded as well, crouching down before the shell on its back seemed to pop open, revealing the bug-type's previously hidden wings. He sped through the air, not so much as blinking as Diemia's Swift stars broke apart against him, though he did use his horn to shatter those that would have hit him in the face. Overall, the damage was minimal, and he let out a growl as his horn began to glow. Both he and his trainer knew that this attack would be painful for the Crawdaunt.
"Dammit," Riza muttered, a little annoyed that her options were kind of limited due to the Heracross' typing. Upon seeing it charge through the Swift like nothing, her panic only rose. "Protect!" she called quickly, her voice taking on a higher pitch than before. So much for her brave front. Diemia was none too pleased at how easily this creature seemed to be shrugging off her attacks, and she took a step back, raising her claws and crossing them in an X shape, just in time to form the glowing green barrier as the Heracross crashed up against it. The force of the impact pushed Diemia back, Protect and all, and she growled loudly, a fierceness burning in her eyes. She wasn't going to give up!
There was no mistaking the fight that existed within Heracross, even as he bashed up against the Protect he didn't hold anything back. He'd keep smashing until that shield broke!! Jaden's line of thinking was similar, and he smiled, ever so slightly. "Brick Break." Heracross gave another cry and began to pound away savagely at the shield. At this rate, it wouldn't hold long.
* * * * *
"This might be a stupid question," Katie said as she and Thea readied themselves for the battle, "but are you a nurse?"
Thea laughed. "Katie, there are no stupid questions," she said. "And actually, I'm not a nurse, not yet. I'm still in training to become a Pokemon nurse so that I may work in the pokecenter some day." She released her young Pokemon, a cute little ball of pink with what looked like a ponytail sticking out of the top of its head.
"Oh, okay," Katie smiled, releasing her Solosis. "There may be no such thing as stupid questions, but there are plenty of inquisitive idiots out there," she added with a grin. Thea couldn't help but laugh. Katie studied the pink Pokemon, sure she'd seen one before, but she couldn't quite place its name. She also didn't want to go grabbing for her Pokedex, but luckily, Thea filled her in.
"I'm hoping to get as much experience for this little girl as I can," she said, kneeling down to pat the pink blobby Pokemon. "She's a Happiny, and someday, I hope she'll evolve into a Chansey. Quite the perfect partner for a nurse."
"Happiny, right," Katie nodded. "But yeah, that is the perfect partner. You can make the first move," she said, motioning to the field with a hand.
"Oh, that's nice of you! Okay Happiny, let's start off with your Pound!" The young Pokemon gave a happy cry and rushed forward, her tiny arm raised high as she neared Darla.
* * * * *
Jasmine's expression turned to one of obvious anger as Miharu swapped her Pokemon again, more at the fact that she hadn't done the same rather than leaving Magneton out there to get pummeled. And pummeled was exactly the word for it. Miharu's Metang wasted no time in streaking toward the Magnet Pokemon and it smashed its powerful arms directly into the sleeping Pokemon for a very easy knockout. All Jasmine could do now was recall the fainted Pokemon.
"You've backed me into a corner," the gym leader said, still a bit angry though she smiled through it. "But that just means I'm about to bring out my secret weapon, and best friend. Steelix, it's your turn!" The red and white sphere containing the Iron Snake Pokemon flew through the air, and the massive Pokemon appeared in a bright flash of light, roaring loudly. The ground shook beneath its weight and it glared down at the Metang, awaiting its first command, which Jasmine gave just then. "Dig!" With another deafening roar, the massive Pokemon plunged headfirst into the rocky gym floor and disappeared, the ground's occasional shaking the only indication of where it had went.
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thunderbolts_and_sunshine
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Posted: Mon Dec 31, 2012 5:38 pm
By the time that Ditto and Jasper had made it through to the other side of Union Cave, they had gotten very good at spotting the Zubat perched high on the ceiling of the cavern, and they turned it into a brand-new sport: spot and zap. Ditto-chu had proven that he was definitely the current undefeated champ as it hadn't taken long for Jasper to lose count, but it would be quite easy to follow where the dynamic duo had been as all one had to do was fallow the trail of crispy-fried Zubat from one end of the cave to the other. The duo emerged, both happy to see the sun was still shining, though the time on Jasper's Pokedex put them at just before noon. They'd made good progress, and the boy smiled. He felt strangely confident and happy to be out on the road and doing what normal trainers do, and he couldn't help but wonder if some of Jett's and Scarlet's attitudes had rubbed off on him.
The Pokemon Center stood not too far away from where they had exited the cave, so Jasper headed in that direction, Ditto still perched on his shoulder in all his copycat glory. Totodile could definitely use a round or two of healing after her terrible run-in with that Zubat/rock so he headed inside. It was empty save for a couple of younger trainers sitting off by themselves, a Pidgey and a Rattata between them. He handed over the gator's Pokeball, uttering a small thanks before he turned to look back at the two boys. A sort of grin found its way onto his face as he leaned against the counter. What if he'd been allowed to set out on a Pokemon journey when he was their age? What would he be doing now? How different would his life be?
He still had plenty more 'what if' questions left to run through as Totodile was returned to him, and he thanked the nurse again before turning to leave. Ditto had been watching the two boys the entire time as well, and judging by the way it twitched its ear every now and then, was possibly thinking may of the same 'what ifs' as Jasper was. "Hey, pal," the boy said, reaching up and patting the wanna-be electric type on the cheek. "We may not be stinking rich or crazy famous, but I wouldn't change a thing." He smiled at the transformer. 'Well, maybe a few things, but not this.'
* * * * * * * * * *
'This is so much fun!' Hayley thought as she watched Ivy try to plant the little Pawniard even further into the ground, only to dash away the moment she had a chance. The young watcher was learning a lot about her newest Pokemon, and though she was far from an experienced (and decent) battler, she could already recognize that the Snivy's future battles would include a lot of hit-and-run tactics, and possibly some long-range moves once she gained some more experience.
"Use Glare again!" she called quickly, hoping it would catch Kressen and Odin off-guard as they'd been quite preoccupied with getting the dark and steel type unstuck from the ground. Ivy whipped her head around, eyes glowing a hellish red as she shot a menacing glare in the direction of the Pawniard. The battle wasn't quite over yet, though it hadn't really occurred to the brunette that it was very unlikely that she and Ivy would win this match.
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Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:30 am
With the ground around his arms destroyed Odin stood up triumphantly only to be caught by the Glare. The terrifying gaze made him freeze in place as he stared horrified back. Kressen groaned as his Pokemon was frozen with fear, at least for now. "C'mon Odin shake it off it's only a stare buddy."
The encouragement didn't work and the new trainer knew his pokemon's speed was effectively halved so there was no chance of catching the speedy grass type. They'd have to wait for her to either come to them, or try to snipe her with Psycho Cut. "Fine, just stay put and let them come to us! They'll have to land hits if they want to win!"
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Melphaligal the Challama Crew
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Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2013 3:20 pm
Amelia was running over to check out what Robin was calling to her when she watched her go into the sandcastle with her Monferno at her side. When she made it to the castle she peered inside and frowned when the two were no where in sight. The insides didn't seem to be very big and the flaming tail of the girls Monferno should be really easy to spot even if it did go back a little further. The strange inside didn't though and Amelia could easily see the end to both sides. Huffing the little girl put her hands on her hips and wondered if the girl was playing some sort of trick on her. No that probably wasn't the case, even she could tell she wasn't exactly the brightest bulb in the box, that and she was way to nice to do something like that. Her Monferno though, he didn't like her, he was a lot smarter and she was pretty sure he knew what the rest of the people at this park thought of his trainer. He might have unknowingly lead Robin aside. That still didn't seem to right though.
As she was thinking over what exactly was going on here when she heard a familiar voice calling to her.
"Amelia! Hey! Were over here!"
Looking around her Amelia couldn't spot them. She heard Robin though, she just couldn't see her.
"No no! Were up here!"
Stepping a few steps back from the sandcastle Amelia looked up and right above her sure enough was Robin with a huge smile on her face waving frantically at her and her surly untrusting Monferno at her side. "How did you get up there?" She called out frowning slightly. She was sure she saw Robin go in the sandcastle. Plus she wasn't even sure if they were allowed up there.
"I dunno. I just went through the sandcastle and ended up here!"
Weird.
~~~~~~~~~
As a starting gym trainer, and that of Rock types as well Roark couldn't help himself but be happy for Jason. What could he say, one of his favorite things to see, other then dig up new minerals or new tunnels, was seeing new trainers succeed. The miner did his best to keep up on trainers careers he had been impressed by. It looks like Jason might be added to the list. The last two people who he had tried to keep up a bit with was the orange pigtailed girl, the enthusiastic redhead, and the blond boy who had all challenged him a while ago. Grinning he offered his congratulations. "Always impressive to see potential in young trainers. Your Onix sure has enough of it! Still potential isn't going to win you a gym badge, you have to earn that! Onix use your Tackle!"
The large battle scarred Onix roared as he pushed his way through the remaining rock around him and started to move his bulky frame towards his opponent. The Rock Snake pokemon wasn't one for subtly so there was no hiding the fact that this blow was going to hurt if it hit.
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Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2013 7:42 pm
"Ada...?" Kasiya asked quietly, taking a cautious step back as the Pupitar began to undergo quite the change. "No way," she whispered, her gaze steadily drifting skyward along with the Pokemon's form. The rest of Kasiya's Pokemon all seemed to back up as well, a collective murmur of surprise and fear rising from them. The elder Pokemon, namely Hiro and Seto, did not flinch, and rather both of them seemed to inch closer to their trainer as their protective instincts took over. As the light started to fade, and the large Pokemon now loomed over them all, Kasiya's surprise had shifted to a huge smile, and she beamed up at the Rock-type. "Ada!" she cried. "You're a Tyranitar now!"
The newly-evolved Tyranitar's response was a roar, which caused most of the Pokemon to back away even further. Without a second thought, Kasiya whipped out her Pokedex and held it out to scan Ada. "Tyranitar, the Armor Pokemon," droned the machine. "Tyranitar is so overwhelmingly powerful, it can bring down a whole mountain to make its nest. Its body is strong and highly resistant to attacks, so they often wander around in mountains eagerly seeking new and powerful challengers to test their might. When one rampages, maps may have to be redrawn afterward." Ada looked down as the Pokedex gave information about her, obviously pleased with what she heard.
"Maps need to be redrawn? Wow!" The blonde snapped the device shut and put it away, but still continued to grin at the Tyranitar. "I can't wait to see you in battle, but um, no rampaging, okay?" she asked. Ada mulled it over and gave it a nod. She'd see what she could do. "Anyway," the girl continued, acting as though one of her Pokemon hadn't just evolved into a terrifying dinosaur of destruction, "I'd be crazy not to take Ada with me to the base in Viridian now, so..." she paused, looking at her Pokemon one by one. "Seto? You okay with hanging out here and keeping the professor safe?" The Persian, as much as he loved a good fight, didn't seem to mind that his position had been given away that easily and he nodded. He was quite fond of Professor Oak so he would be quite happy sticking around here. "Good, good, this is all very good." A devious smile crossed Kasiya's face as she thought about her own little mission. She really wanted to storm over there right now, but it was getting on close to supper time, and she didn't think an attack at night was the wisest of strategies. So, she'd spend the night here, with Oak's permission, of course, and in the morning, they would be off to Viridian.
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Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:02 pm
Mike jumped at the sliding doors closing behind him with a mechanical hiss. He expected it, as anyone would, but it still took him by surprise. It was weird just walking out of somewhere. He wasn't running, nothing was on fire, no one was screaming. All that he could hear was the distant waves crashing on the Lilycove shores.
So quiet. a ghost commented, returning Mike's life back to his constant. It materialized beside him and put a hand to its brow, looking around. But, peaceful. Not foreboding like the silence of a coming storm.
"Hopefully it can stay this way now. Come on." Mike spied the red roof of the Pokemon center and started walking. The stone walkway felt strange under his feet. Looking down, Mike expected rubble, craters, debris, but there was nothing like that. What greeted him was neatly cut stone, its patterned arrangement almost spitting in the face of his expectations. He frowned that normalcy had become so foreign to him.
"I wonder when I still stop looking at things as they were, instead of what they are?" he asked himself, half-expecting an answer from one of the many phantoms. Surprisingly, they remained silent. "You don't know either, huh?"
Mike was ready for the sliding doors this time, and stepped through with as much grace as one trying to act natural was ever able to conjure. He of course received several looks. For one he was wearing rags, secondly, people aren't normally accustomed to scarred, smoldering boys waltzing casually into Pokemon centers. However, strange looks were one thing Mike was used to, so he ignored them mostly and walked over to the PC box. "If I am actually back to being licensed I might as well play by the rules again." That meant no walking around with eight Pokemon, as per league rules. "Oh well." he shrugged. "Fun while it lasted." Now was the time to think. "Who to send back?"
We don't know what to expect at the gym, so keeping your stronger ones would be a good idea.
"You're right." Mike said. "I don't think Nitro or P.B. are ever going to get any rest." He scoffed. He knew that the Breloom would never ask for any time away from the team, and would probably have to be knocked on the head and dropped off in Lavaridge to get him to relax for a few days. Mike gripped Portabello's ultra ball in his hand. "Not yet, buddy." After some thought, he decided to deposit Felsic, Proton, Vesivius and Pumpkin. He couldn't let Titanium go just yet. After all, it was a Rocket attack, and he needed his favorite base smasher. That left one spot open. The ghosts murmured among st themselves, but none of them expected the Pokemon that would be chosen to fill the vacancy. Mike pressed the button to confirm, trading four Pokemon for one. After the usual light show, a single ultra ball sat in the tray.
But isn't that-
You're using him?
Out of all of them?
Mike smiled as he lifted the ball. "Sure!" he replied simply. "After all, what better way to teach you not to break things then surrounded by stuff that isn't mine, right Beacon?"
He could have sworn he heard a faint honk of approval come from the device.
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Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:36 pm
"Sounds like a good time!" Sasha said with a bright smile on her face. It shifted to a look of contemplation while she pondered her schedule for the coming days. "Tomorrow I have a photoshoot in Celadon, z'hen I presume I will continue my challenge in Kanto." That sounded good, provided today's events hadn't left her with any ugly bruises that would rise up to greet the world tomorrow. She made a mental note to take it easy tonight as well, no use further complicating things. Sasha grinned darkly as she thought up gentler ways to spend the night with her dance partner. Disengaging from that process, the girl wrapped her fingers on the table in a simple beat as she watched Anna float around Nina's head in what she thought was silence as Nina looked on towards Sabrina. As it seemed to be so interesting to the both of them, Sasha decided to eye the couple as well. They were just talking, and their body language was friendly, almost overly platonic. The boy was being being very polite, perhaps guessing at Sabrina's intrinsic personality. It was a pretty simple read, but it was clear that her friends weren't as cultured as she was in the dating scene.
"It's pleasantries," she said finally. "If you must know." Sasha half-smiled. "He's interested, as is she, but there is a wall. Your sister is not the kind for casual relationships I imagine." Sasha sighed. "I wouldn't presume z'hat she will be renting out any rooms tonight." At that moment, a Porygon of all things decided it was now time to show Sabrina its new trick, throwing the usually stoic gym into an amusingly uncharacteristic tizz. "And z'hat's z'he deal sealer." she giggled.
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Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2013 9:52 pm
For the second time, Bubbles let out a sleepy droning cry as he was struck by the mystic rocks summoned by Tangrowth. The goopy sludge puddle spread out further feeling the hurt from the attack, and while he was asleep he sure as hell wasn't sleeping peacefully. His eyes struggled and his mind fought for control, luckily for the duo the jolt of pain from the attack was enough to help Bubbles pry his eyes open. He roared out a gloppy messy cry as his hazy mind tried to get back in it, and Crenu took charge at once. "Disable, now." The rancid puddle rose up from the ground into his semi solid form as he shot his hands out with authority. His body became coated in a blue aura as the Sludge Pokemon let out a deep bellow, his mind reaching out with disabling waves to confuse and cripple his opponent's movements. They'd taken a set back with the sleep powder, and bubbles had taken some damage Crenu would have much preferred to avoid or at least answer with something other than snoring. But this match wasn't over, and he was fortunate Bubbles managed to wake up after only two strikes. Crenu wasn't going to leave without that badge, not this time.
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Jason couldn't help but smile and scratch his head at the compliment, trying not to grin. "Heh heh thanks. But don't worry, me and Atlas and all my friends are gonna come at you with everything we have! Atlas meet that tackle with your powerful Rage!" Atlas wasn't scared at all and gave out a mighty battle cry. The earth rumbled beneath him as he charged towards the bigger Onix as he roared out as well wanting nothing more than to make this other Onix topple. He met his opponent head on and the sound of solid rock crashing and grinding against solid rock echoed out. Atlas felt to sting of smashing his body into the other one, but the pain served as fuel. Atlas clenched his jaw and reared up letting out a harsh roar as he felt his anger and ferocity grow, feeling that anger built the power in his body.
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Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2013 11:13 pm
"That's for certain," Nina replied. "Sabrina's only ever brought up the topic of guys maybe once or twice-- she briefly alluded to the fact that she liked Morty for a very short while, but that was the extent of any mention of her love life. I mean, for all I know she could've had ten, fifteen, twenty boyfriends before she and I ever met, but she's never made any sort of allusions to them. Meanwhile, Sabrina knows all about my love life-- if you can even call that pathetic little stint of mine a love life." She scoffed. "Hey, don't dwell on that," Whitney said. "It's not your fault that your first boyfriend turned out to be a manipulative little son of an Arcanine who was only displaying any sort of interest in you in order to further his own ends. I mean, honestly, none of us could've foreseen that." Nina turned her gaze to look at her sister, a bit of a perplexed expression on her face. "Thank... you?" Whitney did seem to have good intentions, and she certainly had a way with words, although Nina was fairly certain that the girl didn't know what the word "tact" meant. She redirected her attention to the other girl. "If memory serves, Sasha, you actually met my boyfriend once-- his name was Raimundo. Tall, tan, brown hair. He was charming and caring and all that, but a lot happened and it turned out that, like Whitney had so tastefully put it, he was just using me. Every sort of emotion he showed me was fake. He disappeared a while ago and I haven't come across him since then, thankfully."
If I do come across him, though, I'm going to tear that b*****d's head off of his shoulders.
Nina was cut off from talking about Raimundo when she heard a shriek from a nearby table. Whitney burst out into a fit of laughter as she looked over and saw Science showing off a trick to Sabrina; whether the elder psychic was scared by the fact that the Pokemon had his head flipped upside-down, that she just flat out didn't like him, or a combination of both was something Whitney was unsure of. Regardless though, she found it funny.
"I'm glad you find this so amusing!" Sabrina yelled, holding her hand on her chest, over her heart; it was beating quite rapidly. Science beeped a few times, floating a bit closer to the terrified girl. It didn't understand why she was scared. "Whitney!" Sabrina hollered, "Will you get over here, please!" The girl grinned broadly; she drank the remainder of her beverage and put the bottle back on the table before she made her way over to Sabrina and Damon. "What'sa matter?" she said with a little giggle.
"Your Porygon is the matter! It's so weird-- just, get it away, please!"
"Huh. Well, Science isn't exactly a fearsome Pokemon or anything like that. Why don't you like him?"
"What, I need a reason? He scared me for one, and secondly, Porygon have always freaked me out!"
"Whaaat, really? Science is harmless, though! Well, unless I'm using him in a battle or something, but even so, then he's only a threat to whatever it is that he's fighting. So, since I don't plan on fighting you any time soon, you don't have anything to worry about!"
Science made some noises. He was floating upside-down now, moving in circles, before he floated over to Whitney and righted himself. Sabrina calmed down a bit, now that the strange little Pokemon was back with its Trainer. "Y'know, you should probably get used to him-- he's gonna be around for a while!" The girl giggled again, patting her partner on the head before turning her attention to Damon. "Hi there!" she exclaimed. "My name's Whitney Amherst! What's yours?"
Damon smiled politely. "Yes, I know who you are," he replied. "My name is Damon Salvai. It's very nice to meet you, Whitney."
"The pleasure's all mine! So, Damon, what brings you to The Chrome tonight?"
"Probably what brought most people here-- it's a new place in Johto's biggest city. It certainly seemed worth checking out."
"Ah, gotcha. So, are you having a good time?"
"Why yes, I am. The music is enjoyable, the environment is comfortable, the drinks are excellent, and to top it all off, I'm talking to a rather nice, interesting girl."
"I see. Well then, I suppose I'll leave the two of you alone! It was nice to meet you, Damon; maybe we'll run into each other again some time. And, hey-- make sure to have her home by midnight, okay?"
Whitney grinned-- even she picked up on the boy's subtlety. As she turned to walk away, she winked at Sabrina, who seemed to be turning every shade of red possible, be it due to frustration, embarrassment, or somewhere in between. Science floated by Whitney's side, beeping at Sabrina before it ventured off with its Trainer.
The psychic watched the girl and her Pokemon take their leave, and she then directed her attention back to her new acquaintance. "I am so sorry," she said, some of the redness fading from her face. "Whitney's just-- she can be so-- she just has this attitude that--" Damon laughed a little bit at the girl's struggle for words. "Don't worry about it, Sabrina," he said. "Natalia can be that way every now and again, too-- after all, it's a brother or sister's job to embarrass their siblings, now isn't it?" Sabrina chuckled a little, easing up. "I suppose you're right. It wouldn't be a normal day unless Whitney didn't do something to startle or annoy me... or vice-versa, for that matter. Of course, the former occurs much more frequently than the latter." Damon took a drink, and after he set his glass back on the table, he tilted his head as he looked at Sabrina, seeming to be studying the girl. This elicited a curious expression from her; she furrowed her brow a little. "...What is it?" she asked. The boy shook his head a little. "Mm, nothing. You're just... you're interesting. You're pleasant to talk to." Despite having her guard up for most of the time that she and Damon had been conversing-- as was commonplace for Sabrina with most people that she was unfamiliar with-- she seemed to let it fall just ever so slightly now. She smiled lightly, but very warmly. "Thank you," she replied. "Likewise. I... uh." She paused for a moment, seeming to search her mind for the words she wanted to say. Wait... no, it wasn't words that she was looking for; it was courage.
"I'd... very much like to get to know you a little more. Perhaps we could talk again some time, if you'd be interested." Damon smiled in return.
"I would like that as well." He reached into his pocket, pulling out a watch-like device with a screen on it; he touched the screen in a few different places and then handed it to the girl. "Would you mind giving me your number?" Looking at the device, Sabrina nodded a little. "Of course." Tapping the touch screen, Sabrina input her phone number, and returned the item to Damon. "If you don't mind my asking, what is that?" Damon tapped the touch screen a few more times. "This is called an Xtransciever," he replied. "It's a new model communications device; it's largely produced in the Unova region, and it's only recently been getting distributed worldwide. Think of it as a phone but with a screen that lets you look at the person with whom you're speaking. Of course, you can't see the person you're talking to unless they have an Xtransciever as well." Sabrina nodded understandingly. "But you'll still be able to hear whoever you're talking to, and that's the important part." The girl's phone beeped a moment later; she quickly took it out of her pocket and saw a message from an unknown number. "That's just me," Damon said. "So, now you've got my number as well."
Sabrina looked from her phone to Damon, and then back to her phone. She opened the message-- it was a simple smiley face emoticon.
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Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2013 7:27 pm
"Oh, him?" Sasha replied, perking up at the memory of the handsome dark-skinned boy. "A shame he turned out to be evil. Always beware z'he cute ones." she said somewhat playfully, flicking her glass. Sasha looked up at her friend, who wore an obviously troubled expression as she thought of her former love. Judging from what Whitney had just said, it must have been quite a bitter split. "But you shouldn't let one sour cross wi's love turn you sour. Our hearts often play tricks on our minds. Sometimes s'hings just don't work out. Don't let your heart be an anchor." Sasha leaned forward in her chair, locking eyes with the blue-haired girl. "Trust me when I say z'hat it gets easier." She smiled, hoping to coax one out of her friend. "If you ever want to spend a day buying some nice clothes to take your mind off things, you let me know. My treat. I've got money coming out of my ears." Sasha flung both her hands from the side of her head, gesturing out the aforementioned problem. "I wouldn't mind sharing some of it to help a friend." As the girls continued to talk, Sasha noticed a familiar shape walk through the beaded entry way. It was her doe-eyed dance partner. She peered meekly through the room, no doubt looking for her. Sasha made sure when their gazes met, that she would have no doubt knowing she was still intent on seeing through their plans.
"Well," the girl began, sliding off of her chair. "I hate to leave so soon, but my quarry is here, and I would be such a rude huntress to keep her waiting." Writing town her number on a napkin, she slid it over to Nina. "For your sister. I'm pretty sure you already have mine. My offer extends to her as well." She leaned in and gave a farewell hug to her friend, wishing her luck on her travels before making her way over to her partner.
"Was that Whitney, the gym leader?" the girl asked, a bit starstruck.
"Oui. Z'he very same." Sasha replied, looking over her shoulder as the girl in question harassed Sabrina. "Nice girl."
"You're friends with Whitney?" the girl could hardly believe it. Sasha saw a chance to impress and took it.
"Oui, as well as Sabrina." she coolly nodded her head towards the psychic. "I also know Flannery and Winona from Hoenn." Sasha could almost feel the shiver the flying gym leader must have felt from being mentioned by her.
"Wow!" the girl exclaimed, stars in her eyes. "You're the coolest!" Sasha shrugged nonchalantly, only further driving the girl into a squealing fit.
"Shall we?" Sasha asked, extending her hand to the girl, which was excitedly accepted. The two left The Chrome, Sasha's doe-eyed companion gleefully clasped to her side.
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Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2013 8:06 pm
Nina smiled in return at Sasha's kind words. "Thank you," she replied; "I appreciate the consolation. Things'll get better in time, you're right-- it's just the transitioning part that blows." She'd try to keep her friend's words in the back of her mind, because maybe they'd help her out. It was fortunate, though, that Raimundo wasn't really on Nina's mind much lately, other than the couple of instances that he had been mentioned. She couldn't help but to wonder, however, just where he was and what he was doing, moreso for her own safety's sake.
"I appreciate your kindness, too," she added, at Sasha's mention of a prospective shopping date. "I just may take you up on that sometime!" Truth be told, she was more interested in spending some time with her friend again, as opposed to the material gifts that could come from such a meeting. "Let me know when you've got some time on your hands, and maybe we could set something up!" Sabrina and Whitney were nice company, but Nina was starting to feel almost antisocial otherwise-- she'd been doing a horrible job of keeping in contact with her other friends. After all, it isn't like I have a lot of them; it'd be a good idea to check in with them from time to time.
Nina accepted the napkin with Sasha's number on it. "It's okay!" she replied, taking the napkin before reciprocating Sasha's hug. "I'll give Whitney your number, and we'll keep in touch with you. Promise!" She bid adieu to her friend, smiling brightly as she let the girl out of the hug and watched her walk away. She found herself chuckling a little as she eyed Sasha meeting up with a rather pretty girl who seemed quite interested in her. That foxy little minx, Nina thought, watching the pair of them exit the building. She shook her head a little, her smile turning a little coy. She chuckled again.
"Ninaaa," Whitney said, bouncing cheerfully back to her sister's table, Science in tow. "Where'd Sasha go?" The psychic handed her sister the napkin with their friend's number on it. "She headed out a few minutes ago," she replied, watching as Whitney quickly put Sasha's number into her phone before sending her a very simple, "Hi Sasha, it's Whitney!" text message. Whitney looked back up. "Boooo. I wish she would've been able to stay a little longer; she seems really nice and I had a fun time with her!" Nina's coy little smile returned. "Well," she began, "Sasha would've stayed, but she had some more... pressing matters to tend to." Seeing an inquisitive look forming on Whitney's face, she added, "She had... well, she had a lady friend that she left with." Science's tail seemed to stiffen while Whitney covered her mouth quickly and gasped; her eyes indicated that she was smiling underneath her hand. "Ohohoho!" she giggled. "Really?! Good for her!" She paused for a moment. "I didn't know Sasha liked girls." Nina waved a hand dismissively. "Guys, girls-- she doesn't discriminate." Whitney tilted her head. "She told you that?" she asked. The girl shook her head a little. "Not quite. I picked it up off her body language, specifically from when you and her were dancing earlier. Plus, she reads like a book." Science floated around the table a few times before it perched itself on the middle of it. "...Huh. I thought she was just mimicking my own flirty behavior. Oh well-- good for her!" Nina nodded. "Mm. I wonder what it's like to--" She cut herself off, but it was already too late. Whitney's eyes got big and a fun little smile found its way onto her lips.
"...Nina."
The girl looked uneasy. "What?"
"Nina."
The girl crossed her arms over her breasts and slouched in her chair, her face turning red. She knew what was coming next.
"Are you... You're a virgin?"
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Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2013 9:13 pm
Jasper didn't really have much of a plan as he wandered back out onto Route whatever-it-was, balancing Ditto-chu on his shoulder and surveying the scenery carefully. He hadn't gone too far when he was alerted to the sound of footsteps behind him, not from one, but two people; two small people, in fact. The imitation mouse had already craned its neck to look at them, and Jasper turned to do the same. The boys from the center were staring up at him, eyes wide with wonder. Jasper raised an eyebrow, wondering what it was about him that they found to be so amazing. "Boys," he said, giving a cautious greeting. He was expecting some sort of reply, but they both continued to stare at him. On closer inspection, he realized they weren't staring at him, exactly, but rather the Pikachu that was giving them a rather impressive stare in return. "Is there something I can do for you boys?" he asked again, shifting his shoulder again. Ditto hopped up onto the older boy's head and continued to peer down at the young'ins.
The movement of the yellow mouse seemed to snap them out of their trances, and they exchanged looks before their gazes fell back on Jasper. "Well, mister, we were kinda wondering where you got the Pikachu," the boy on the left said.
"Mister?" Jasper repeated. "Hey now, I'm not that old." He shook his head slightly, more than blatantly ignoring the kid's question.
The other boy took a timid step backward while shooting his friend an expectant look. The first kid looked at the ground for a moment, then back up at Jasper. "We're trainers, too," he said, giving a firm nod. "We wanna battle with you!"
''Sorry, kids, but I don't battle,' was almost Jasper's immediate response to the proposal, but he stopped himself. After all, he couldn't very well just up and challenge a gym with virtually zero experience at battling other trainers, now could he? "Yeah, I guess," he said, shrugging a bit. "But are you two even old enough to have Pokemon?" From atop his head, Ditto-chu suppressed a laugh.
The question seemed to spark some sort of fight in both of the kids, and they looked at each other before they both took a few steps back. "Yeah, we are!" they both shouted in unison, and before he knew it, Jasper was staring down at the same Rattata and Pidgey the boys had been tending to inside the Center.
* * * * * * * * * *
"Oooh, yay, it worked!" Hayley nearly squealed with delight, and it seemed to take almost all of her willpower to stop her from hopping up and down in celebration. Ivy, meanwhile, glanced back at her trainer in mild disbelief, but evidently couldn't help but smirk herself. After all, their first attempt at using Glare had failed, but now, they'd managed to inflict paralysis upon the Pawniard, which might have leveled the playing field just the tiniest bit. Hayley looked over at the tall redhead, smiling broadly at his comment. "Yeah, that'll work, but that's if you can even move," she replied with what was easily a rather sad attempt to taunt her opponent, as her voice was as chipper and upbeat as ever. "Ivy, let's use your Tackle again!"
Ivy's own grin had widened at the small exchange of banter, but upon hearing the command, her expression went serious and she carefully eyed her opponent. Tackling it didn't seem like such a good idea, as it hadn't worked very well before hand, and there was always the risk of interacting with those blades again. A tiny smirk appeared on the Snivy's face when she realized she had a new trick up her proverbial sleeves, and she gave a sharp cry, the ends of her leafy collar glimmering for a moment before a pair of slender, green vines lashed out, both aimed for Odin. Naturally, it took Hayley a few seconds to calm herself down enough to realize what had happened. "Ivy! You can use Vine Whip? That's so... cool!"
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