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It took a lot more willpower than Kasiya liked to keep herself relatively calm and she shook her head. "Oh, it's nothing," she said, sort of holding up the Minccino. "Pepper's tail is tickling me, is all." It was at that point that the Chinchilla noticed the dirt on her trainer's clothing and she let out an indignant cry before flying into a sweeping and cleaning frenzy. By the time she had finished, Kasiya actually felt a little more presentable and she smiled at the little mouse. "Thanks, Pepper," she said, chuckling a little, and she nodded. "Yeah, that Keegan. Y'know, he's so... charitable." It wasn't quite the word she wanted and if she could have smacked herself in the forehead, she would have.

She inhaled deeply to compose herself and called both Nova and Alphonse to their Pokeballs, as the Piplup had took in a sharp breath and Kasiya was sure he had been about to start pelting the Charmeleon with bubbles. She recalled Zaira and Pepper too, giving a sort of shrug at the mention of her Umbreon. "Well, he's coming with us to the gym, after all. Plenty of time for introductions later." At the mention of Sirrus the Flygon, however, a rather uncomfortable look overcame her face, and she gave a very Mareepish shrug. "Heh, funny you should mention that. Well, you see the thing is, after Slateport, a bunch of us - Kilik, Mitsu, Sasha, Keegan and I - all headed over to Sinnoh. Looking for a new start, I guess. Well, Mitsu and I went into a store to do some shopping and we ran into Mai there. Only, she didn't see us and we kept out of sight. I figured, hey, she took Shocker, right? Only seems right that I try to get her back. One in six chance and all. So I snuck up on her, I snatched a Pokeball right off her belt and Mitsu and I ran out of the store before she could see us."

Of course, Kasiya knew that Mai was much more observant than that and more than likely had seen both girls fleeing the scene, and of course most people would notice having a Pokeball taken from them. "I guess she didn't mind all that much because she hasn't taken any active steps in getting him back. You see, when I realized I had her Flygon, I figured I had some leverage on her and if she wanted him back, she'd have to trade me Shocker." She paused, taking a deep breath before continuing. "It didn't end up working, because Keegan was right when he said that Mai didn't have her anymore. I guess it was a pretty stupid plan in the end."

The road down into Pallet town proper was fairly devoid of life this morning. Kressen only saw a few flying types to far above his head to identify. It wasn't until he was walking through the town did he see any sign of the inhabitants going about there daily rituals. People and various breeds of pokemon were all about the streets. It made him wish he had the pokedex already so he could identify all that he was looking at.

Sure most were common, but he occasionally saw a type he hadn't seen except on tv. Such as a stinking sludge pokemon or a mime like pokemon sweeping off a porch. He gave that one a wide berth since he never really cared for mimes. They gave him the creeps.

It wasn't hard to find the road to Oak's lab since he was atop a large hill. "All right guys let's go meet this famous professor."

It took a few minutes of Mike talking to himself on the trip to realize that Kasiya had long since dozed off. If he had to wager a guess, between him and Nitro the girl was just far too warm to stay awake. Mike smiled, happy to see her so relaxed. Sure, he was totally gushing over her completely cutting loose on those Rockets this morning. That was a light he had no issue with seeing her in. She must have felt so safe with hi-wait. Was she drooling? A light jolt of pain shot up his spine, confirming his suspicion. Mike snickered, ignoring the minor discomfort. She would be a drooler, he thought with a knowing smile across his lips. She sure had a habit of passing out on him when they flew on Nitro. Mike leaned forward, figuring that if Kasiya's grip loosened as she napped she would just slump over on him rather than-where were they-all across the sands of Dewford. No splattered girlfriends, thank you. He just got this one, and he was quite happy with her. As Mike looked down to see where they were, he remembered that was the beach where he gave Kasiya flowers after his match with Brawly, and moments later Lt. Surge showed up in a helicopter, and was then revealed to be her father. It hit him again that he would soon have to meet the giant man not just as a hysterical gym challenger, but as the boy locking lips with his daughter. Mike's smile flattened into a look of dread. His last meeting with Surge didn't really paint him as the model of all boyfriends.

Pushing that thought aside, Mike enjoyed the rest of the trip with relative silence. It was hard to hear himself think with all the wind rushing past them, and that was fine by him. He expected Nitro would need to stop to rest, but to the boy's surprise, the Charizard kept trucking along. "You've got this, apparently." Mike said to himself. It was a good thing too, that was an awful lot of water below them, and if he somehow fell off, he would only have a few seconds before fizzling out of existence. Boy, his mind always seemed to jump to instant death whenever he flew. It should really cut that out.

Once again proving his increased skill, Nitro landed safely on the ground. Not so much as an unwanted dip. Shifting his weight gently as to hopefully not wake Kasiya, Mike slipped off the dragon, carrying the girl on his back. "Thanks for the ride, buddy." he said, recalling the dragon back into his ball. Figuring that she probably didn't want to challenge the 7th gym in Hoenn with a baby penguin and a Charmeleon, the boy made his way into the Pokemon Center. "Hey." he said softly. "Wake up. We're here. I figured you wanted to swap out your team, so we're in the center in Mossdeep now." Mike smiled as the girl stirred awake.

The stairs certainly made climbing the hill far easier with the heavy pack strapped to his back. Dear God Mount Moon is going to be hard to traverse once we head that way. Perhaps he'd get in some training with the gang here and run up and down them to try and build endurance.

The sound of the Professors voice made the red head look up. He looked exactly as he did on television or in the magazine, although perhaps a fair bit more relaxed. He waved smiling, happy to meet one of the most famous men in the world. "I came to see you sir. I can come back later though if your busy. I wouldn't want to intrude too much."

"Never fear!" Mike bellowed. "I shall lead us to victory!" With Kasiya attached, the pair marched down the path towards the Gym. Mike had spied the gym from above, recognizing it from various pictures he had seen growing up. It was a large, light blue dome like building which was not very far from the Pokemon center, and very easy to spot from the air, as it stuck out like a sore thumb amid all the tall buildings. "This way!" Mike pointed at a fork, spotting the Gym in the distance. As the building drew nearer, Mike felt his heart begin to pound in his chest; not out of fear, but anticipation. Excitement! He was about to challenge the 7th gym in Hoenn. After this he only had one more until he qualified for the Pokemon League! Even better, he was with his favorite battle partner, about to once again prove that together they could not be beaten. The boy found himself shaking in anticipation. His scars gave off a light orange glow, and his forehead leaked a trail of light grey smoke.

"Sorry." he said, slightly embarrassed at his reaction. "It's just so thrilling! Thank you so much for coming along with me. We are going to destroy this gym!" he pumped his fist in the air. "Well, wait-" he stammered, looking around anxiously. "I mean-I mean like, figuratively! With Pokemon battles! Not like...you know what I mean." he lowered his head. "We're gonna win." Mike let out a subdued 'whoo', his face now sporting some red mixed in with all the orange.

Soon they found themselves at the gym's 'door', or lack thereof. Interestingly, it was in fact, just a dome. The arches on the side providing no real cover from the elements. "Very outdoorsy." Mike mused, looking at his partner. "Shall we?" he asked with a smirk before walking in.

Inside there was an arena sunken into the ground, with a raised platform on the opposite side; no doubt for the leaders to observe. On the lower level various gym trainers could be seen with their Pokemon, doing some mild training to prepare for any challengers. Luckily for them, they would not have to wait much longer. As the pair approached, the trainers, sensing their presence, all looked up to greet them. Mike was a little off-put by this, silently hoping they weren't all psychics like their Pokemon.

"Greetings." a purple haired young boy in in a blue uniform called out, stepping forward. Beside him was a Kirlia, who rose to its feet with a weightless grace. "Are you here to challenge the Mossdeep Gym?"

"You bet!" Mike replied, pointing a thumb to Kasiya. "We both are in fact. We figured since the leaders like to battle in pairs that we could, too. Would that be a problem?" The blue-clad boy looked to his side, the multitude of trainers behind him all replying with a sort of indifference.

"That should not be an issue." he closed his eyes, a Pokeball beside him floating into the air, surrounded by a green aura. "I will be your first challenger."

"As will I." a similarly colored girl spoke up, walking up beside the boy. When they stood side by side, they looked almost like twins.

"Must be a theme." Mike said out of the side of his mouth to Kasiya. "Us non-twins are intruding on their territory." he snickered, not meaning any particular offense. "That sounds great!" he said, detaching from his girlfriend and running down the stairs, clearing the last few with a leap and making his way to his side of the arena. He looked up at Kasiya, his expression positively radiant. The two trainers walked to their positions, their demeanor in stark contrast to that of their challengers. The boy's Kirlia softly pranced over in front of its trainer, and the girl flicked her wrist and sent a Pokeball flying, releasing a rather stern looking Kadabra.

Mike, who at this point was all but dancing in place, couldn't hold it in any longer. He let out a dark chuckle, smoke shooting from his mouth, which elicited a simultaneous eyebrow raise from the gym trainers. He reached down, practically ripping the third Pokeball on his strap off in excitement and throwing it onto the battlefield. "Let's tear this place up!" he shouted, letting out a high-pitched laugh as a flash of light revealed the massive Steelix: Titanium. He let out a deep roar, which shook the ground beneath him. The two trainers tilted their heads upward, their expressions for the most part unchanged. Still giggling, Mike looked over at Kasiya, eager to see who she was planning on sending out.

Possibly the only downside of having Loki doing Arceus-knows what underground was that Keegan had absolutely no idea what the Arbok was currently up to. He only knew that at one point or another, Loki would burst from the ground and hopefully rip that Typhlosion a new one, but until then, he was just as clueless as the rest of the spectators, with or without the Smokescreen obscuring the majority of the battlefield. Even though he knew better, Keegan glared into the murky haze, almost wishing he knew what was going on inside his father's head. For now he'd have to settle for just listening, though his father's call of "Defense Curl" was almost inaudible.

That meant that both Todd and his Pokemon were ready for Loki's pending attack, and inwardly, Keegan winced a little. I sure hope Loki knows what he's doing, the redhead thought, scratching his chin and fighting the strong desire for a cigarette. He figured that after this battle, it was a safe bet that he could easily go through at least half a pack. The Smokescreen was slowly starting to lift, granting a hint of visibility as Keegan could see, at the very least, the flames blazing from the mane of the Volcano Pokemon. Okay pal, any time now, Keegan frowned, shifting his weight onto his heels, arms still folded across his chest. On cue, the Arbok erupted from the ground, almost directly beneath where Typhlosion stood. She tried to jump out of the way but was still caught up in the strike, managing to avoid at least some of the damage. Both Pokemon were starting to look quite battered, as did the field around their feet thanks to the burrowing Loki.

Keegan still could not see his father through the smoke, but he did hear, as plain as day, the next command for Typhlosion, and he felt himself pale. "Overheat."

Oh, no, was about the only thought Keegan was capable of as Typhlosion summoned all of her strength into one massive fireball, which, naturally, had been enhanced as her Blaze ability was now active. He tried to call out to Loki to move or burrow or anything, but his voice was drowned out by the roar of the flames. Loki had nowhere to go and he'd be pretty lucky if he wasn't reduced to nothing but a pile of Poison-type ashes by Typhlosion's attack.
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As Miharu's Pinsir dealt with Zangoose, and quite handily, at that, Leroy closed the distance, his Ariados creeping along at his side. He wasn't sure if the terrified girl had noticed, but the chase had landed them somewhere in Olivine's relatively large port; the landmark Lighthouse standing tall above them. Leroy smirked as he watched the beacon sweep across the dark waters, alerting ships to the proximity of the shoreline. So the girl had managed to take out two of his Pokemon so far, but he wasn't worried. Zangoose had inflicted a lot of damage on the Pinsir and he watched as the large beetle Pokemon retreated to her trainer's side. Yes, he was going to be quite happy with his spoils from this little misadventure.

Miharu herself seemed to realized then that they were down by the docks now, her own gaze drawn up to the tall lighthouse for a moment or so before she remembered the peril she was in, and her eyes darted around frantically for signs of her pursuer. She wasn't about to get comfortable with the thought that she'd lost him as she quietly returned the Pinsir to her Park Ball, still glancing from side to side as every shadow seemed to jump out at her at once. Fear had taken over the girl's normally-rational mind and she was finding it almost impossible to think straight. Hide, her survival instinct told her, and she looked around once more before she darted off again. It didn't help that she didn't know this area of Olivine and that it was safe to say she was quite lost, but being lost was much better than being face-to-face with that lunatic.

Leroy watched the girl run again, an almost amused grin creeping across his face. She was scared out of her wits and he knew it, and he released his Banette alongside his Ariados. "Follow her," he whispered to the two Pokemon, glancing sharply at Ariados, who gave a quick nod in reply - he knew what to do. "Don't lose her, or you'll both regret it."

((Oh, is this post 1000? I think it is. Booya.))

The worry of interrupting the researcher was abated now and Kressen smiled happily as strode forward."Thank you sir. Yes, sir I'm from Viridian city. I'd would have gotten here sooner, but err Beedrill make a rather dangerous detour hehehe." He rubbed the back of his head looking a little embarrassed.

As he approached the thought of Odin's sudden appearance hit him. Perhaps the Professor could answer what on earth happened to cause a Pawniard to appear in egg form in his arms. It was at least an interesting story to tell to break the ice.

He'd save it for later though. He kinda wanted to focus on seeing what the place looked like. It's not everyday one got to walk about a pokemon researchers house.