Battlegrounds : A Pokémon Role-Play { Closed } - Day Two: On the Road to Jade Forest

[NeoAC]

Robyn decided to follow alongside Alix, doing her best to avoid tromping on her Pokemon. She got an Oshawott? Thought those were only supposed to be like starter types? Damn. Be nice to find one of those. Better then those dang Woopers and shit getting pulled out of the lake.

"So... which path to take, I wonder,"

Robyn looked at the general area. There wasn't really a discernible difference in the two except that one appeared to be higher up than the other. People were active on both, there were ample opportunities to catch Pokemon from the looks of the terrain. Still the one up top offered a prettier view. Robyn shifted her weight to try and put it all on her right leg and instantly regretted the decision as pain shot up through her body. FUCK! FUCK! DAMN IT! OK, OK, no climbing then. We'll just try and avoid that.

"Probably just as well to stick to the lower path," she opined to Alix. "Look like the two are similar in make-up and there's no need to really go full at it right? Make sure we get to this place easy and ready to hand that gym leader's tail to him?" And make sure I make it.

 

[Lambi]

Heidi looked at the picture, then the Ducklett Eurydice was holding in her arms and did her best to make the connection between the two based on her question. "Oh, you're looking for this Ducklett's mother? Well, then I'll help you find her." And so she started to search with Eurydice, looking around as much as she could, even asking Yani, George and Eve to help them out. But after a while of searching, they found nothing. "It can't be this hard to find a frigging swan." she said in mild frustration.

However, her attention was taken away from that when Eurydice pointed her towards a sign saying ROUTE 3. "You want to look over there? Well, okay then. I'd think the Swanna would be near the lake, but we can look over there as well." She kept her three flying Pokémon out of their Pokéballs to help with the search, following after the younger girl with the Ducklett.

An Ekans attacked Eurydice, but she was quick to attack it back with her Ralts and win. "Nice!" Heidi said to her, encouraging her. However, shortly afterwards, she fell. Heidi ran over to her and knelt down by her side. "Are you alright?" she asked before her Ralts attacked something. Heidi got out of the way as well along with Eurydice to not get hit by the Confusion attack from Ralts and saw as well what she was attacking. A Geodude. A Geodude who was not happy with being tripped over.

Heidi watched as Eurydice acted quickly against the Geodude and caught it with the help of the Ducklett she'd been carrying, then the Ducklett turned on her as soon as she showed that she wanted to catch it. She again watched at how quickly Eurydice acted against it, although it was kind of unfortunate that Shinx didn't know any Electric moves early on, but she still caught the Ducklett nevertheless.

Heidi didn't get any peace, though, as she was attacked by a Pokémon as well, a Chimchar who jumped at her and started to wail on her for seemingly no reason. "Agh! Get off me!" She took him off her, but unfortunately her glasses fell off. They were alright, but Heidi didn't know where they were. "Yani! I need your help finding my glasses!" Yani instantly started looking for Heidi's glasses, when she noticed that the Chimchar was wearing them, probably originally to tease Heidi, but ultimately worked against him as he couldn't see a thing out of them. "Yan! Yan yan!" The Chimchar has them! I'll get them from him! Yani flew fast towards the Chimchar and, due to him not really seeing much, she managed to grab them from him and fly back to Heidi with them, handing them to her when Heidi put her hand out. "Thanks, Yani." Heidi adjusted her glasses, then looked towards the Chimchar with slight rage in her eyes.

"No one, and I mean no one, takes my glasses away from me!" She was not pleased by what the Chimchar had done, and she was going to make sure he would know. She picked up one of her Pokéballs and sent out Laura to take on the Chimchar. "Laura, take him out, would you? Mud Slap!" Laura couldn't help but obey Heidi's orders because of how furious Heidi sounded, slapping mud in the Chimchar's face. The attack hit, and the Chimchar retaliated by scratching Laura, but it didn't affect her too much as she retaliated back with another Mud Slap, leaving the Chimchar weaker than it was. Heidi picked up an empty Pokéball and threw it with all her might at the Chimchar, catching it after three shakes and a click. Heidi picked up the Pokéball and scanned it with her Pokédex.

[table border=2]
[tr]
[td rowspan=7]

[/td]
[td]#390: Chimchar ♂[/td]
[td]Chimp Pokémon[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td colspan=2]

[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Height: 1' 08" / 0.5 m.[/td]
[td]Weight: 13.7 lbs. / 6.2 kg.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Ability: Iron Fist[/td]
[td]Boosts the power of punching moves[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td colspan=2]Moves: Scratch. Leer. Ember.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td colspan=2]Level 8[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td colspan=2]It is very agile. Before going to sleep, it extinguishes the flame on its tail to prevent fires.[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]

"At least you won't set everything on fire when you go to sleep. I think I'll name you Mike." As if naming him did the trick, Mike's Pokéball flashed away from her hand. Heidi was very surprised at it, but she quickly realized that he was probably just sent off to a PC box where her Pokémon would be sent to. After that, she went back to Eurydice to check up on her again. "Seeing as you couldn't really get a chance to answer me earlier due to all that commotion, I'll just ask again. Are you alright?"

 

[Mr. Omega]

Russel arrived at the entrance of Route 3. Rory slowed down a little, starting to look up and the paths and whine Raaaalts... "Oh right... rocky passes might not be the best choice. Maybe you should take a rest back in your ball..." Rory nodded as Russel pulled out his Pokeball, shooting a red beam at Rory and withdrawing him into his ball. "While we're at it, this'd be a good chance to get some practice with our new friend..."

In a swift movement he had swapped Rory's pokeball with that of his new Lotad, opening it to reveal the sleeping Pokemon. "This is going to become a pattern, isn't it...?" he sighed remembering Rory tended to be asleep when they weren't walking. "OI!" he shouted, clapping his hands. The Lotad jumped a few inches, looking all around it. Lo? Tad? Lotadtad? she quickly turned to face Russel. "Welcome aboard, little guy. Well, gal, if the pokedex is right. Now as for a name... you kinda look like a 'Mera'. That sound good to you?" The Lotad nodded, walking over and nodding her head to Munchie. Lotad? Munchie extended his hand, shaking the lilypad on her head as if it were a hand. "Nice to see you two getting along, but we have some work to do. We should get going to town before the sun starts going down..." His pokemon nodded, following him into Route 3.

Russel took a moment to check the surroundings, noticing two of the trainers from back at the lab contemplating which path to take. Is it really that hard a choice? Take the lower one. Path of least resistance... he shrugged, walking past them. "Ladies." he said, tipping his fingers where a hat would be, with both Munchie and Mera duplicating this action.

"Lots of fire types and rock types here, Mera. Should be easy pickings. Think of them as target practice for the gym coming up." he smirked, looking for their first opponent.

 

[CounterAttack]

"Alright, lower path it is then," Alix agreed, taking note of Robyn shifting her weight to her right leg and immediately back again. "Doesn't look like there are many of those little caves on the higher path: maybe we'll find something inside - Oshawott, come back here!" The otter Pokémon had begun to investigate some of the tall grass nearby: no sooner had he done so than a Torkoal popped its head out and belched a cloud of poisonous gas at him.

Once again Alix was surprised by the presence of a Pokémon she had previously thought to be a native of Hoenn. She had often seen the tortoise-like creature in and around Mount Chimney. Oshawott seemed to not hear her, kicking up a spray of water before he turned tail and ran back to Alix with a glint in his eye.

"You're not supposed to go off and battle other Pokémon on your own unless I say so," she instructed the Water-type. "Osha?" Alix reached down and gave the new guy a scratch behind one ear. "Hmm... you need a name, don'tcha. What's a good name for a Water-type... I know. How's Gideon sound?"

Gideon seemed happy with the name, giving a nod of approval.

"Okay, that's settled. Let's go then." Alix and Robyn began making their way down the route, Alix's Pokémon occasionally getting into a short scuffle here and there. Alix took interest in poking around the caves to see if other Fire-types were present: a fair few were empty, and when she did find a Pokémon inside, it hurried away deeper in where she couldn't follow. Then she came across one with two more familiar Pokémon inside... both belonging to the same species, and the orange Fire-type was rarely seen even in Hoenn.

"Torchic!"

The two chick Pokémon had built a nest for themselves inside one of the holes in the rocky wall. One was playing with a pretty feather, sometimes holding it in its beak, other times adding it to the fuzzy feathers that made up its wings. The other was hopping around on both feet rather than walking, pecking at the ground near the twigs and leaves that made up the birds' nest.

Alix drew back from the cave a little way, so as not to spook the rare Pokémon, then briefly weighed up her options as to what to do. Matti wanted to jump down from where he was being held up and say hello to the Fire-types, but for once he didn't protest when Alix retreated from the cavern. She could try to catch one, but that could scare the other away. And it would be selfish of her not to share her discovery with her friend.

"Psst! Robyn! Have a look at this!" she half-whispered, half-called out to the darker-skinned Trainer. Gideon and Ludevic were talking in low voices again, while they waited for Alix to turn her attention to them.

 

[Pm0n3y]

Gazing upon the lake, Morgan soon came out of his tranquil trance. The sounds of the conversing trainers around him quieted so, making him realize that they all began moving out of the area. "I guess that means we're back on the move too." He rose from his spot on the lakeside, and looked out towards the lake. "C'mon Chase, it's time to go." He called out to the mischievous Chinchou, the young pokémon seeming to ignore his trainer as he splashed around in the water. "Come on Chase, I don't feel like doing this now." He tried using a sterner tone. The Angler pokémon replied by splashing water in his owner's direction, with a teasing raspberry to follow. Morgan groaned at the antics.

"I don't have time for this right now." He mumbled. In a fit of speed, he brandished Chase's pokéball, returning the Chinchou before it could notice or protest. "Don't wanna cooperate? Then you can't hang out. Simple as that." He said to the ball before placing it back on his belt. As if to rub salt in the wound, he took the adjacent capsule from his belt, releasing Spike. "Wanna be my walking buddy, Spike?" He asked the petite Poochyena, with it yapping excitedly in reply. "Welp. Onward to Route three." He gathered his bag, and started towards the others.

The path towards the route was closer than Morgan anticipated (or maybe it wasn't, he was walking faster than usual to keep up with Spike's pace), and as the two approached the route's road sign, Morgan raised an eyebrow at the peculiarity of the fork he was presented to. "Hmm. Do these two paths lead to the same area? Even then, which one should I take...?" He pondered through mumbles. Spike decided to answer for him, taking off into a trot down the lower path. Morgan followed after him, wondering if he caught a whiff of a familiar scent. "I know you wanna see that girl's Poochyena again Spike, but slow it down, geez!" As the area grew increasingly mountainous, Morgan made a thought of training Chase and the Squirtle out here. "They'd definitely have an advantage over whatever pops out around here..."

Up ahead, Spike eventually found what caught his attention, the familiar feets of the trainer Alix. He sniffed around her to confirm his predictions. "Yen! Cheeyen!" He barked happily, tongue lolling freely as he sat and panted. Unbeknownst to the Bite pokémon, was the girl's motives, as his loud barks reverberated heavily through the cave she stood at. Still a ways off, Morgan slowed his gait some as he looked ahead, realizing that his pokémon eventually came to a halt. With no need to run, he let out a sigh of relief, figuring he'd reach the puppy (and the trainer he so eagerly approached) within due time.

 

[NeoAC]

Robyn followed alongside Alix as the two travelled along the lower route. She had let Scout and Natalie out to take on any challengers that would emerge from the bushes, since Nina was not really in her element and Sauza would be a sitting duck against the fire types that appeared to live in the area. Alix dubbed her new Oshawott "Gideon". That ain't much for a name. Sounds poofy. Though I guess it's just as legit as naming a Pokemon after liquor.

"Psst! Robyn! Have a look at this!

Robyn crept as close as she could to where Alix was standing without falling on top of her. Peering into the indicated cave, she saw what the other girl was talking about. She had never seen the two Pokemon in there before, but they looked adorable. Especially the one with the feather in it's wings. She couldn't place the Pokemon it must have came from, but it was a brilliant deep blue. It stood out against the orange cream of the little Pokemon dancing with it, and it made it super cute.

"Torchic!"

Robyn had to stifle an awwww. "I want it soooo much!" she whisper-squeed to Alix. "Can we get any closer?"

Nina was going to find out. She bounced out of Robyn's arms while her trainer was distracted and started moving towards the nest. Robyn wanted to call out to her to get back, but that could call the two other Pokemon as well. So she stayed quiet as the Petilil moved in towards the pair. Nina was making good progress to, about ten feet away from the nest.

"YEN! YEN!"

WHAT THE HELL!

The yapping from outside reverberated through the cave. Nina turned at the sound, but so did the two other Pokemon, and they made it clear in a moment what type they were. That cute feather got tucked away in a hurry as both the little birds started firing balls of fire towards the entrance.

"Nina! Get behind the rock!"

The Grass-type did what it was told, taking shelter behind a small boulder and ducking it's head to avoid losing another chunk of leaf. Robyn moved as quick as she could to along the cave entrance to try and avoid getting scorched.

"Dammit! Scout!" she called out to the erstwhile Sentret, whose ears picked up at the sound of it's trainer's call. It stood on its tail from a ten meters away. "Sentret?" "Get over here! You've gotta get Nina out and stop those things inside!"

A look of realization, then determination spread on Scout's face as it rushed over to where Robyn was standing, leaving Natalie to pluck at the bushes. As it reached Robyn's position, it stood on it's tail and lifted it's tiny hand up in a salute. "SENTRET!" The Normal-type then took a breath and rushed into the cave.

 

[elementsoul]

Erika put away the charcoal and her sketch book as she finished her drawing. The picture was a bit rough and crude overall, but it was the limits of her skill. When she walked over to the lake to wash her hands, she ultimately decided that she liked her drawing as its roughness and crudeness was similar to her first battle.

When she got back to her backpack she picked it up and turned to the grass that her Pokémon ran into. Walking over towards it she stuck two fingers into her mouth and blew a loud whistle. Aerial, Breña and Burtha rushed and flew out of the grass towards her.

Where's Maya? She should be right here with?oh god Aerial you didn't?oh god?wait that's too rash, maybe she's just kno? Erika's thought process was stopped as she say a stream of String Shot shoot into the air and a glowing light appear from below it. The light stopped and Erika quickly pulled out her Pokédex in order to scan the new Pokémon before her.







Name: Metapod [color=FF00AA]♀[/color]


Species: Cocoon Pokémon


Height: 2'04" / 0.7 m


Weight: 21.8 lbs / 9.9 kg

Ability: Shed Skin - The Pokémon may heal its own status problems.


Description: A steel-hard shell protects its tender body. It quietly endures hardships while awaiting evolution.


Moves: Tackle: Normal, Physical.
................String Shot: Bug, Status.
................Struggle Bug: Bug, Special
................Bug Bite: Bug, Physical.


Item: N/A


OT: Erika Park // 27718



An emotionless face peered at Erika from the grass as it hopped along the ground and joined her with the rest of her Pokémon. The unchanging face and blank stare kind of creeped Erika out and she quickly returned her new Metapod along with the rest of her Pokémon, before heading off through the forest, and onto Route 3.

[hr]

The forest was thick and was slowing Erika down as she hiked through it. The promise of open ground and plenty of sunshine pushed her forward to the edge and then accidently over it as Erika had failed to notice the sudden drop off at the edge. Her feet quickly planted on the side of the steep hill, and she slid down the side of it in a state of half excitement, half terror.

The slide down the hill ended a second later as the ground leveled out onto a pass and Erika almost ran another person over. A cloud of dust followed her down as she caught her balance and stopped for a second to catch her breath.

"Are you alright?" The man she almost ran over asked.

"Yes. I didn't see the drop or yourself. That turned into something a little too exciting, and I'm sorry for almost running you over." Erika apologized to the man as she looked up at him. The man looked to be wearing a lot of hiking gear and was a few inches taller than her.

"It's alright no harm done." The man replied as he looked up to the top of the hill and realized the direction she came from. "You wouldn't happen to have come this way from Lake Lapis?"

"Ummm?ya. Why?"

"Are those insane guys in uniforms still there? What were they called? It was "e" something; Equinox. That?s what it was Equinox. Are they still there? They drive me and a bunch of other people away from Lake Lapis earlier. I was hoping for a relaxing day at the beach too." The man said to Erika.

"Those people were there," Erika said with some scorn. "I'm not sure what they were doing, but the group of trainers who just started in Gensia with me today drove them off after beating all of them in Pokémon battles. Well less drove them off and more of them their leader ordering them to leave. It was a little strange since they were armed and could have probably driven us away with their weapons."

"Thanks?" The man paused for a second. "I didn't get your name yet. I'm Stephen by the way."

"Oh my name's Erika and it was no problem."

"I know this might sound strange, but considering you just drive them off would you mind facing me in a battle? I kind of want to know how strong someone who helped drive them off through battle is."

"I'm not sure about that. It does sound pretty weird."

"Well you just said that you started today, so some more battles would be good experience. Plus we can make a small wager. Let's say P$200."

Well it would be good to get more experience before a gym battle. "Okay you've sold me."

"One on one battles with two Pokémon each; that is if you have two Pokémon."

"Don't worry I have more than two Pokémon and that sounds good, although you should release first considering you issued the challenge and the rules."

"Fair enough."

Stephen turned around and walked back a few steps before taking a Pokéball out of his pocket and released the Pokémon inside. "Go Growlithe!" A red Pokémon with brown strips and white shaggy groupings of hair appeared in a white light. Erika quickly pulled out her Pokédex and scanned the Growlithe.







Name: Growlithe [color=0000DD]♂[/color]


Species: Puppy Pokémon


Height: 2'04" / 0.7 m


Weight: 41.9 lbs / 19.0 kg

Ability: Justified - Raises Attack when hit by a Dark-type move.


Description: A Pokémon with a loyal nature. It will remain motionless until it is given an order by its Trainer.


Moves: Bite: Dark, Physical.
................Roar: Normal, Status.
................Ember: Fire, Special.


Item: N/A





So it knows a fire attack. That takes Maya and Burtha out of the question. I guess I'll go with Breña. Erika removed the Pokéball with the Poochyena from her belt buckle and pressed the release button. "Go Breña!" Erika Yelled as she tossed the ball in the air and Breña appeared on the ground. Stephen had his Pokédex pulled out to scan her Pokémon.

"Breña use Howl and then Tackle!" Erika commanded as her Poochyena let out a howl unfittingly loud for a creature its size.

"Growlithe use Ember!" Stephen ordered.

The Puppy Pokémon shot a small continuous stream of flame balls out of its mouth, and swept it towards the Bite Pokémon. The Poochyena quickly dodged and jumped around the balls of fire until it was in close range. The fire stream connected with Breña and she slowed down a little as she took damage, but still powered forward and landed a Tackle on the Growlithe's chin.

The stream of fire balls stopped as the Growlithe recoiled for a second and both Pokémon received their next orders.

"Breña Tackle again!"

"Growlithe use Bite!"

Breña quickly charged forward again and leapt at the Growlithe. The Growlithe caught the Poochyena in the air with a Bite attack and Breña's fur shot up as its ability activated. Quickly Breña slammed its head into Growlithe's and the Puppy Pokémon let go of it.

"Breña keep using Tackle until you win!"

"Growlithe use Ember until her Poochyena is knocked out of the battle!"

A stream of flame balls shot out of the Growlithe's mouth again, but Breña was faster and moved to the side of the Growlithe before landing a Tackle. The Growlithe moved to adjust, but was too slow as Breña jumped over it and slammed into its back with another Tackle.

The Growlithe started to spray the Ember attack everywhere and a few managed to hit Breña, but it was ultimately in vane as she slammed her full weight into the Growlithe's face right between its eyes. The Ember attack stopped as the Growlithe collapsed to the ground, knocked out.

"Damn. You were lucky Erika, but I still have one more Pokémon left. Go Cyndaquil!" Stephen said as he returned his Growlithe, and released his Cyndaquil onto the battlefield.

"I just got lucky and you fought well. Wait did you say a Cyndaquil?" Erika quickly replied before the Cyndaquil materialized. Cute! "Where'd you get one? I'm from Johto and those are our starters, but even there they are incredibly rare." Erika asked now scanning the Cyndaquil.







Name: Cyndaquil [color=0000DD]♂[/color]


Species: Fire Mouse Pokémon


Height: 1'08" / 0.5 m


Weight: 17.4 lbs / 7.9 kg

Ability: Flash Fire - It powers up Fire-type moves if it's hit by one.


Description: It has a timid nature. If it is startled, the flames on its back burn more vigorously.


Moves: Tackle: Normal, Physical.
................Leer: Normal, Status.
................Smokescreen: Normal, Status.


Item: N/A





"If you win I'll tell you. Now Cyndaquil use Smoke Screen and then Tackle!" Stephen replied before the battlefield filled with a black smoke. Suddenly Breña was sent tumbling out of the smoke and was barely able to stand up.

She might be able to keep fighting, but it's better if I return her for now. "Breña return," Erika ordered as a beam of red light from her Pokéball hit the Poochyena and sucked it back into the ball. "Now go Aerial!"

A flash of white appeared and Aerial began to fly through the sky. "Aerial use your Gust attacks to drive away the smoke from the battlefield!" Erika commanded.

The Tiny Bird Pokémon rapidly unleashed several small Tornados into the field of smoke, and the smoke began to flow away from the battlefield. Suddenly from within part of the black smoke a blue Pokémon with a fire on its back flew out into the open and rolled across the ground from the force of the wind.

"Damnit!" yelled Stephen as he scanned the Pidgey with his Pokédex. "Cyndaquil use Leer, and hit the Pidgey with a Tackle whenever you think you have a chance!"

"Aerial use Sand Attack!" Erika commanded as the Pidgey flew lower to the side of the hill and starter to whip sand and dirt into the air with the wind from its flapping wings. There was a brief hesitation from Aerial due to the Leer and the Cyndaquil fleetly ran to the Pidgey and hit it with a powerful Tackle. The Pidgey was knocked backwards and briefly hit the ground before taking to the air.

The Cyndaquil started to rub its eyes as the sand and dirt it ran through started to get into them. That's exactly what I wanted. Pidgey now use another Gust and follow it with a Razor Wind!" Erika ordered. "[color=661100]Pidg. Pidg.[/color]" came back a reply from Aerial as it was struggling a little to keep in the air.

Suddenly it turned in the air and a larger than normal tornado of wind quickly whirled towards, and hit, the Cyndaquil. The Fire Mouse Pokémon rolled backwards and a large Whirlwind formed between the Pidgey and the Cyndaquil.

"Quick Cyndaquil! You have to hit it with another Tackle!" Stephen commanded. The Cyndaquil nodded and charged through the whirlwind at full speed. Once it entered the middle it disappeared for a moment before suddenly exiting halfway up the whirlwind attempting to Tackle the Pidgey out of the air.

"DODGE!" Screamed Erika as Aerial stopped flapping its wings and dropped below the intended path of the Cyndaquil. In a blink of the eye Aerial flew above the whirlwind and blew gusts of wind from it that looked like white slashes through the air. The Cyndaquil managed to dodge a few, but it was stuck without a way to counterattack. Then suddenly it was grazed one white slash, and then another. Soon it was hit but several slashes full on and it collapsed.

"Cyndaquil return!" Stephen ordered as a red beam of light hit his Cyndaquil and dematerialized it back into the ball.

"Fair is fair Erika, and that was a good battle. I caught this Cyndaquil earlier on the path between here and Kalita City. You should reach a fork in the path and there should be two routes. One will lead up and looks a bit harder to take then the one that leads down. Take the route that heads up and if you're lucky you might be able to find a Cyndaquil or two along the cliffs." Stephen instructed her before attempting to walk past her, and down the path towards Lake Lapis.

He stopped suddenly when he heard a dry forced cough. "Oh right the bet." Stephen said rubbing a hand behind his head like he had forgotten. Quickly he walked back to Erika and handed over the P$200 before taking off again.

"Have a good time at the beach Stephen and thanks for the battle and information about the Cyndaquil!" Erika yelled after him once she had received her victory winnings.

Erika removed Aerial's Poké Ball from her belt buckle and returned her before she walked down the path and reached the aforementioned fork in the path. When she looked up the path and saw the slightly greater roughness of it, she was glad she was wearing her hiking boots and started to head up; ever vigilant of any Cyndaquil who were likely to suddenly and briefly appear.

 

[CounterAttack]

"I want it soooo much! Can we get any closer?" Alix gave a quiet laugh at Robyn's comments. Torchic was indeed a cute Pokémon... she hadn't seen many of them back in Hoenn though. Some people at the Lavaridge Gym trained with a Torchic, or its evolved forms Combusken or Blaziken. Alix had caught glimpses the few times she'd visited.

"Yen! Cheeyen!"

As soon as the somewhat familiar Poochyena started yapping at Alix, the two Torchics got scared and began kicking up a ruckus, throwing fire at the cave entrance. Alix cursed under her breath, shooting a glare at the Dark-type. "Dammit! Get away, you," she chided... Spike, that was his name.

Scared of the sudden arrival, Ludevic hid behind Gideon upon catching sight of the Poochyena. Alix, however, had other plans. She set Matti down next to the others, hurriedly instructing him to stay put, then turned to Gideon. Being a Water-type, he was perfect for the situation. "Gideon! I need you to get in there and start to counter their fire attacks!" she instructed him. Time to show me what you can do, little guy. Intrigued by what was going on, Matti tried to run up to the cave entrance himself, but Ludevic grabbed the Togepi and held on.

"Osha-wo!" A confident expression on his face, Gideon bounded forward to the cave entrance, scalchop in paw. He swiped the shell through the air to bat away a small fireball aimed at him. The Torchic that had sent the flames at him cocked its head slightly, surprised. "Tor?"

Gideon launched an offensive of his own, spitting a jet of water towards the Fire Pokémon, who hopped behind a rock to avoid being hit... though it did get caught in the spray as it ran for cover. It peeked its head out from behind the rock, only to retreat when it saw Gideon again. Alix didn't want to scare the Torchic deeper into its cave... she needed something to keep it around so she could catch it. She glanced over at Robyn, who was calling her Sentret over to help out her Petilil.

Meanwhile, the Torchic that Gideon had attacked was scared of him, chirping and peeking out at the Oshawott as he waited for it to emerge from its hidey-hole. Gideon was frowning. Why was this Pokémon hiding?

Alix knew why. Fire-types didn't like water being spat at them. "Gideon, come back! Swap places with Ludevic!"

"Abra?"

"Come on, Ludevic. Let's see if we can draw this Torchic out into the open," Alix told the Psychic Pokémon. Gideon reluctantly complied with Alix's command, and Ludevic handed the squeaking Matti to Gideon before hovering himself into the cavern's entrance. He yawned and sat down on the cavern floor... Alix raised her eyebrows, but hopefully the Torchic would perceive him as less of a threat, and come back.

Her guess was wrong. The Torchic was only visible by its shivering head feathers poking up from behind its rock. It was too afraid to come out. Just like Gideon, Ludevic was wondering why it was hiding. "Ludevic, see if you can coax the Torchic out. Try using Metronome," Alix suggested.

Ludevic raised his hands and wagged his fingers back and forth. They began to glow a bright white, and the glow expanded to encompass his whole body. Ludevic was lighting up the cave somehow: Alix shielded her eyes because of the brightness. The Torchic's head feathers stopped shaking, and instead jerked around as if it were looking about itself. It peeped its head out again to look at what was happening. "Tor... chi?" it chirped, hopping a little closer to the light source.

Soon Ludevic's light faded, revealing the Abra again. The Torchic's eyes narrowed and it hopped forward to scratch him with its feet. Alix reasoned that Ludevic could take the hit, telling him to Metronome a second time once the Fire-type had hopped away rather quickly. Again the Abra raised his hands and twitched his fingers... then he coughed up a cloud of green powder, which enveloped the Torchic. It slowed to a stop, confused, and then its eyes snapped shut and it settled on the ground, sound asleep.

Alix was surprised: Ludevic had put it to sleep with Sleep Powder. She didn't give it the chance to wake, tossing a Poké Ball. It landed next to the Fire Pokémon and sucked it in. One twitch, two, three... click. Since the cavern was rather small, Ludevic picked up the sealed Ball and carried it back to Alix, his nose twitching as a result of coughing up the Sleep Powder. She took her new catch from the Abra and raised the Ball a little ways in triumph, making sure to scan it with her Pokédex.

[table border=2]
[tr]
[td rowspan=7]

[/td]
[td]#255: Torchic &#9792[/td]
[td]Chick Pokémon[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td colspan=2]

[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Height: 1'04" / 0.4 m.[/td]
[td]Weight: 5.5 lbs. / 2.5 kg.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Ability: Speed Boost[/td]
[td](This Pokémon builds up speed during battle.)[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td colspan=2]Moves: Scratch, Growl, Focus Energy, Ember[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td colspan=2].[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td colspan=2]If attacked, it strikes back by spitting balls of fire it forms in its stomach. A Torchic dislikes darkness because it can't see its surroundings.[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]

"A girl, eh? I think I'll name you... Jen. Short and sweet. That sounds good for a Fire-Fighting type," Alix mused, remembering that she needed to apply labels to the Poké Balls she'd used... that meant she needed to buy labels. She mentally kicked herself for not getting a pack back in Lazuli Town. Not knowing who was in which Poké Ball meant the potential to make mistakes during a battle. She looked over at Robyn to see how she was doing: the other Trainer's battle with the other Torchic had been going on at the same time.

 

[Pm0n3y]

"Uh oh." Morgan began to realize that his Poochyena's playful barks might've caused some sort of chain reaction from inside the craggy hollow Alix and Robyn wandered into, with sounds of battle erupting from within a mere second after Spike made his presence known. The sight of bite sized fireballs whizzing past the heads of the trainers and pok&#233mon alike only grounded such suspicions, and Morgan thought it'd be best to make towards the opening with haste.

"Nina! Get behind the rock!" "Gideon!...start to counter their fire attacks!" "Osha-wo!" "Dammit! Scout!" "Abra?" "Ludevic, see if you can coax the Torchic out." Was the collection of words that expelled from the cave, but it was one of which truly caught the sailor's attention. "Wait...did she just say Torchic?" By the sounds of it, the girls had also encountered rare pok&#233mon. Or at least, rare by Hoenn standards.

He slowed down some as he reached the cave, hugging the outer wall as he did so to avoid getting caught up in the brunt of an attack. However, it seemed the sounds of battle quieted some as he neared the entrance. "Another starter type? Do the other regions just get their pok&#233mon from Gensia?" He mumbled, poking his head in ever so slightly to catch a glimpse of the action. Spike moved to his trainer's side, suggesting that he wanted to battle as well.

"...I'll name you...Jen. That sounds good for a Fire-Fighting type," He could hear. "Sounds like Alix caught the Torchic..." He quickly found out that it wasn't the only one, with Robyn off to the right making her own attempts to catch a second Torchic. "So, not only have they found a rare pok&#233mon, but they found it in bulk!" He thought as he looked on, making silent supplemental quips on how her Petil wouldn't be much help in a fight like this one.

 

[NeoAC]

Scout charged into the cave, and quickly spotted his team mate behind the rock. The fireballs forced a low approach, but when the storm ceased, the Sentret jumped up and dashed over to where Nina was still cowering.

"TRET! Sentretsentret?" Hey! Are you all right to move?

"Lillill....petililpetilil." I can't....not with them out there.

Scout had new resolve grow in his expression. "Sentretsentretsentret." Then I'll get rid of them.

The Sentret cozied up beside the rock, waiting for the moment when the barrage of flames would dissipate. Unanticipated support from the other side of the cave meant that time was now. The two Fire-types apparently had to reload. Scout was ready for this and went to make his move when suddenly, a flash! The cave was illuminated and Scout was disoriented. It took a moment for the Normal-type to regain it's bearings, but that moment was all it's opponent needed.

Drawn by the light at the edge of the cave, the other Torchic approached with it's sibling, but while it's sister was timid, it was aggressive. Seeing the presumed intruder shaking its head meant that the Fire-type had the advantage. Emboldened, the Torchic dashed ahead and jumped, in order to land a solid Scratch to Scout's stomach.

Scout was caught off-guard by the attack, but now that the target had come out to play, he was ready to take it on. "SENTRET!" He lunged forward, small fist at the ready to land a Dizzy Punch, but this was the Torchic's turf. It knew how to use the cave to it's advantage. It leaped off a small rock nearby to avoid the attack before landing on top of Scout, Scratching it again. "Torchic." It took the feather out of its wing and twirled it around in it's beak before tucking it back into place.

Robyn could only watch from the outside as the Pokemon went at it, not wanting to interfere with either match-up, but she couldn't help but be impressed with the fighting prowess displayed by the feather-donning Pokemon. OK, that's it, I have to have this one. It's cute and can fight like that, it's a Champion-level Pokemon.

Scout dusted himself off after that last hit to the back, and he was getting mad. It stayed in place trying to get a read on the Torchic. It wasn't going to miss this time. Hindsight was 20/20 but Foresight would see that this little chick would be getting hit. As he locked on, Scout was set. There was a plan. Meanwhile, the Torchic seemed to be focusing itself to land the final attack to end this encounter.

"Sentret....sentretsentret!" Not bad...but not good enough!

Scout jumped up and moved forward, fist clenched as the Torchic acted as well, ready to gouge a final hit. The Chick Pokemon jumped, but the problem was Scout dove. It landed below the arc of the Torchic's jump and popped it's fist up to catch the opponent behind the sharp talons, and in the torso. All flying progress was halted as the Pokemon took the brunt of the punch and landed with a thud beside near Scout, blue feather separated from cream on the rock floor. The Normal Pokemon had the presence of mind to roll away as Nina stopped taking cover behind the rock and stood on top of it, leaves pinned down by the small roof but ready to seal the deal against the Pokemon that tried to barbecue her.

"Lillil!" Take this! The Bulb Pokemon shot a large seed out of it's forehead towards the downed Torchic, and it hit it's mark. Vines sprouted immediately and wrapped up the target in a neat little package. A faint glow could be seen as energy started to be sapped from the fire type. The Torchic tried to shake the vines, but they were wrapped tightly and slowly the struggling became muted.

"Petilil! Petilil! I did it! I did it!

"Sentrettret." We won it.

It was clear to see that this match was over, even in the diminished light of the cave. Robyn readied a Pokeball, but with the cave entry as low as it was, she couldn't trust her aim to connect to the target. Instead she shouted to her leader in the cave. "Scout!" She rolled the Pokeball in towards where Scout stood. "Hit it with that!"

Scout understood and picked up the Pokeball. Walking over to where the vines still kept the Torchic pinned down, he dropped the ball, enlarging it. "Sentret...sentretsentret." Good effort...but it's over now. He dropped the ball on top of the Fire Pokemon and it was quickly enveloped by the red light. The vines fell to the ground as the ball landed on top, shaking for a couple moments before clicking shut.

"All right guys come back out!" Robyn shouted into the cave. After a few seconds, the two emerged. Scout came first, Pokeball in it's hands, presenting it to its trainer. "Thank you, Scout. Very nicely done in there," she congratulated the Normal type and skritched it behind it's ears. "Sennnnntret."

Nina came out shortly after, it's own trophy in it's little nubs. It had picked up the blue feather that adorned the Torchic and was waving it around as it came out into the open, conducting to a tune only it could hear. "Lillll, lillll, Petipetilillll!"

"Nina, come on, you don't need that," Robyn told her. "Here." She took the feather out of Nina's grasp and tucked it in beside the scrunchie that kept her ponytail in place. Nina protested slightly, but was sated when Robyn picked her back up. "Come on. You with a feather is weird." As she cradled Nina, she looked at the Pokeball in her other hand. You are going to win me a lot of matches. I can see that.

Catch and Pokemon secured, she turned her attention to who she assumed was the trainer who put them in that harrowing situation. "You are damn lucky I caught that Pokemon, or else I'd be stuffing you into this ball instead! Don't be letting Pokemon run around like that! You could have gotten my Pokemon badly hurt!" Nina was silent but picked up on her trainer's rage and gave as angry a stare as it could muster on the man at the focal point of Robyn's comments.

 

[CounterAttack]

It seemed that Robyn had caught the other of the Torchics that had made this particular cave their home. The other Trainer, however, seemed to be in no mood to celebrate the victory. Instead she wheeled around to someone behind the two girls: Alix recognised him as Morgan, the owner of the Poochyena that had scared the Fire-types into defending their nest. Alix let Robyn vent for a little bit before chipping in with comments of her own.

"She's got a point, Morgan. We could have used a different approach to the Torchic nest if Spike hadn't spooked its inhabitants," she began, beckoning to her Pokémon to regroup around her and picking up Matti with a free hand as she spoke. Rather than mimicking Robyn's angry tone, Alix was slightly calmer about the situation... but still quite annoyed that Spike had caused the ruckus. "I think we might all get along a little better if he learned the concept of 'heel'. I don't think anyone here wants a repeat of what just happened."

 

[Mr. Omega]

Russel had been walking along the path Robyn and Alix had taken, not too far behind them. However, he was distracted by the call of a man walking down from the mountainside. "Excuse me! Excuse me, kid! I was wondering if you might have something to deal with a burn. I was about halfway to town when some Pansear got the drop on my Pokemon. I was about halfway down the mountain when I noticed you and those other trainers and..." Russel raised his hand up to interupt him, reaching into his backpack.

"Say no more, say no more..." he said, pulling out a Rawst Berry. "So who was the unlucky sap?" the trainer pulled out a pokeball, revealing a Machop. "My little buddy here got into a bit of a scrape without me noticing. I was hiking along the mountain to try and get some training in. I am pretty good at hiking, and thought this place'd be perfect to get some practice before the gym leader."

Russel nodded as the Machop chowed down on the berry. "Yeah, I was kinda surprised I didn't see that many other trainers here. Lovely lake behind us filled with water pokemon and a ground gym up ahead. Seems like basic math, really..." he shrugged. "Still, small world. I'm planning on facing the gym leader as well."

The hiker turned to face Russel now, his hand in his pocket. "Oh really? Well, how about a battle? A quick practice round with the new Pokemon I caught here near the caves." He pulled out a pokeball, expanding it.

Russel took a moment to think, recalling what types of pokemon were common in these kinds of areas, then grinned, nodding. "You're on. The stakes?"

"Let's keep it small. About 100?" the hiker reached into his other pocket, showing he had the money.

"Fair enough. Two on two. You send out your pokemon first." Russel said, stepping back and gesturing to the hiker to throw his pokeball.

"Fine! Go, Geodude!" He shouted, a Geodude emerging from the ball. Duuuuuude

Russel nudged Mera with his foot. "C'mon. Let's make this quick..."

Two Geodudes later, the hiker and his Machop looked dumbstruck, then the look changed to depressed. "Awww, and they looked so strong..."

Russel shrugged. "I'm sure they'll be better with a bit of training."

The hiker laughed heartily "That they will, boy! But first we should settle some other matters..." he handed Russel the money, shaking his hand. "Well, best of luck to you at the gym." he said, walking away.

Russel nodded, waving to him. "Well he was nice. Plus we got some training in. Now then..." before he could complete that through, he saw the two trainers from before up ahead, this time with someone else. "Huh. Would have thought they'd be at town by now. I didn't beat him that fast..."

He walked up to the other trainers, but saw one of them was agitated. "Yikes. Perhaps discreteness would be the better option here..." he said, trying to walk around these Alix, Robyn and Morgan without being spotted. "Don't want to get into another battle too quickly."

Taking his detour, he noticed Alan nearby, another one he recognized from the lab, even if not by name.. Russel walked by, waving to him "Hey there."

 

[Pm0n3y]

Naturally, Spike's barely-uncontrollable excitement resulted in Morgan getting verbally berated on two different fronts. With one trainer's reaction being considerably more brash than the other's. Granted, it wasn't anything faltering, he's been yelled at before. And without this particular person being a superior officer, he took the girl's words in stride. "Oh calm down. You still got the Torchic, didn't you? I..." Morgan squinted a bit as he looked into the darker-skinned girl, placing a folded finger to his lips in thought. "...don't we've been formally introduced? I'm Morgan." As he offered a handshake with a fearless smirk, Spike made a malicious growl in Robyn's direction, he could smell the hostilities coming off this girl.

"Hey!" Morgan let out sharply, kneeling to the Poochyena. With a light but firm tap to the snout, Morgan had to let the pokémon know that he did something wrong. "Don't you ever do that again, do you hear me?" The sailor accentuated his words with a sharp, stern tone, with a hard, wagging finger to accompany the act of discipline. Even if Spike couldn't understand the words of his trainer, he would at least know the tone. He knew he was being put in his place.

"Cheeee ee ee..." He whimpered to his trainer. "Nuh uh Spike, don't apologize to me. The damage is done. You know what you did. Now you know not to do it again." Morgan replied to the Poochyena's somber whimpers. Alix piped up soon after.

"She's got a point, Morgan. We could have used a different approach to the Torchic nest if Spike hadn't spooked its inhabitants." She pointed out, her Togepi scurrying into her arms. Morgan sighed in slight irritation as he looked up to her from his kneeling position. "I think we might all get along a little better if he learned the concept of 'heel'. I don't think anyone here wants a repeat of what just happened." She added, twisting the knife a bit from Morgan's perspective. "Starting to sound like a bit of a know-it-all there, chick..." "Yeah, my bad. I've had a reign on him until now, I wasn't expecting him to get that far away from me. Or to get that excited at a familiar scent. Or maybe I figured he would do that, but I didn't have a proper grasp on your situation...? Whatever, I dunno."

"But enough about me. You're from Hoenn, right Alix? You don't think it's a little crazy that you just found one of our region's rarest pokémon, just out here in the wild? Not to mention that I caught a fuckin' Squirtle just down at that lake. This place is definitely getting my motor running...what are the possibilities? Just imagine what other type of rarities we can find here!" He told the two, beginning to ponder on just how interesting the next few months could be.

 

[NeoAC]

"Oh calm down. You still got the Torchic, didn't you? I..."

"Not the point, four-eyes," Robyn told the bespectacled man in the pause, before the derivative nickname pointed something that he himself confirmed.

"...don't we've been formally introduced? I'm Morgan."

Robyn was about to tell him where his hand could be stuck when the little yapper who caused Nina to almost be barbecued in the first place started growling. Her anger was going to be turned onto the small Pokemon, but Morgan beat her to chastising the small Dark-type. Alix came in as well, sounding like the condescending yin to Robyn's angered yang. Morgan seemed to apologize to her as well, but he was more excited about the catches they made. Oh yeah, should probably see what exactly this little scrapper can do.

By this time Natalie had hopped over to see what the commotion around her trainer was, leaving only Sauza out of the loop as Robyn clicked the button on the Pokeball she still had in her hand. Released into the pack of her current team, the Torchic immediately shook itself upon materializing back on the ground, as if still trying to get Nina's vines off. Once it realized that the vines were long shed, it looked around confused as to what happened and why these other Pokemon were around it.

Robyn got her Pokedex out and pointed it at the tiny Fire-type. "Now let's see what exactly you got in the arsenal."

[table border=2]
[tr]
[td rowspan=7]

[/td]
[td]#255: Torchic ♀[/td]
[td]Chick Pokémon[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td colspan=2]

[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Height: 1'04" / 0.4 m.[/td]
[td]Weight: 5.5 lbs. / 2.5 kg.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Ability: Speed Boost[/td]
[td](This Pokémon builds up speed during battle.)[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td colspan=2]Moves: Scratch, Featherdance, Focus Energy, Ember[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td colspan=2].[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td colspan=2]A fire burns inside, so it is very warm to hug. This Pokemon breathes fire of over 1800 degrees F, including fireballs that can leave the foe scorched black.[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]

The rest of the entry might have read "This Pokemon causes trainers to have never ending bad luck and catch nothing but Magikarp for the rest of time" for all Robyn cared. There was one word in that info packet that had raised the Torchic's status from having her curiosity to having her attention.

"Are you serious?" She bent down, putting all the pressure on her propped up left leg instead of the kneeling right. She wanted to get as close to the Torchic's level while making sure that she could actually get back up again. "You're a dancer?"

Torchic looked at Robyn's face, but it's attention was also drawn elsewhere, to her blue feather that now adorned the back of Robyn's hairdo like a tribal chief. That feather was it's identity, and it wanted it back. "Torchic! Torchic! Torchicchicchic!" It was jumping up towards Robyn's face, causing her to lean away to avoid getting pecked. Taking this opportunity, the Chick Pokemon hopped onto Robyn's knee. "Torchic!"

The Torchic wasn't even looking at Robyn's face, it was looking above it. That's when the trainer realized what it was probably looking for. She plucked the feather out of her hair. "All right, if I give you this back, will you show me your dance?"

"Torchictor!" Robyn handed the feather back to Torchic, while Nina softly protested, Scout looked on with derision, and Natalie was obliviously pecking the ground. Target acquired in its beak, Torchic hopped off it's acquired perch and faced it's trainer. "Trrrrrr," it said somewhat muffled. It started to gain a golden glow around itself. "Chrc...chrc...chrc....chrc." The feather moved gracefully from the beak to the air and back in its mouth as Torchic swayed from side to side. A golden powder was released as it did this, spread by the feather as it settled over Robyn and the rest of her Pokemon. As she watched, Robyn felt the rage at Morgan and his Pokemon's actions almost melt away, like her desire to attack was reduced to nothing. The dance finished with a flourish, as a final toss in the air was accompanied by a spin move from Torchic before catching the feather and placing it in it's original spot in her left wing. "Torchic!"

Robyn had to pause for a few seconds before bending back over and putting the Torchic back on her knee. "You...are...so awesome!!!" "Tor! Torchic!" It seemed to concur with Robyn's assessment. Even the other Pokemon came in to offer congratulations and welcomes to the team. "I need to name you something awesome then too." She thought for a second about what would work. "My best friend when I was doing ballet, like the one who I'd always pair with, her name was Laila. I think you're an even better dancer than she was. What do you think?"

The Torchic closed it's eyes and nodded up and down in taking the name. "Laila it is then!" She placed the Torchic back down and got up with a soft grunt. With her newest trainee now meeting and greeting the rest of the team except for Sauza, she headed back over to Morgan, intent on finishing the conversation.

"Sorry about yelling," she said. "I dunno what it is about this place that's letting rare Pokemon wander around like Rattata, but I'm not complaining. If it will help me become the Gensia Champion then it's awesome for me." Right, name. "I'm Robyn, by the way."

 

[CounterAttack]

Alix watched Robyn's conversation with her newest acquisition with noticeable interest, taking note of the Torchic's dancing antics. FeatherDance, eh? I thought you could only get that move by breeding with certain other bird Pokémon... and even then, if I remember correctly, they themselves have to be bred for it beforehand. And if the two that we found are related, which is possible, why doesn't Jen have FeatherDance? Weird. She shot Jen's Poké Ball a look of curiosity before turning back to the others.

"I didn't know you had such an interest in dancing, Robyn," she mused aloud, rejoining Robyn and Morgan with her Pokémon in tow. "I took a few classes myself for a couple of years, back before I took a proper job in Pokémon breeding. I, er, I like to think I was good at it. Might be a bit rusty since I haven't practiced in a while." Matti was to blame for that. Having to take constant care of a childish, sometimes mischievous baby Pokémon was enough to keep Alix away from her pastimes.

Note To Self: Find time to practice some of the old routines from last term. Also, see if there's internet access in Kalita City, to remind yourself of them. The latter note was probably an easy one to take care of, since even Lavaridge, a smallish town by Hoenn standards, had access to decent-speed internet.

 

[Fragrance of Mtn Dew]

Alan was beginning to grow restless after just sitting around for so long and waiting for Clay's paralysis to wear off. He wasn't the only one either, Samson was pecking furiously at the ground for some odd reason and Clay himself was twitching his fingers and toes furiously as that was all he could do for the time being. Mary on the other hand seemed to be perfectly content as she lay in Alan's lap. "At least someone's happy I guess...." He muttered, rubbing her fleece absentmindedly.

After another few minutes of this Clay growled as loudly and angrily as he could muster. He had been stuck like this for far too long already and couldn't stand any more of it. Through sheer willpower he leapt to his feet and began stretching his limbs vigorously to return feeling to them and get back to training. The sudden noise and movement startled Mary and she jumped out of Alan's lap and hid behind him to protect herself from Clay's revenge.

Clay eyed the cowering Mareep up menacingly as though deciding what to do with her for a bit before Alan stepped in. "Hey! None of that now. It was your own fault for picking that fight when I tried to warn you. You two are gonna get along or you can go back in your Pokeball until we get to Kalita City. We clear?" The threat of not being able to run free was clearly an effective one and Clay nodded, begrudgingly giving up on his chances of a rematch. "Good. Now let's get moving, we've still got plenty of training to do."

No sooner than the words had left his mouth, Samson took off like a rocket down the trail in search of a good brawl. Clay cast one more glare Mary's way before quickly following after. Alan stood and began to follow them as well just so he wouldn't lose sight of them again with Mary trotting happily along close behind him. As they moved back to the main trail, Alan heard a voice and looked up to see one of the trainers from back at the lab waving to him as he passed by.

Yeah I recognize him. Don't think I ever got his name though. I could say the same for half the people here though I guess. Couldn't hurt to find out. Alan thought, picking up the pace slightly to catch up with Russel and falling into to step alongside him. "Yo." He said casually, returning the greeting he'd been given. "Don't think we've been introduced yet, have we? I'm Alan. Alan Baines.

 

[NeoAC]

"I didn't know you had such an interest in dancing, Robyn."

"Are you kidding? I was-am one of the best dancers in Unova." Am. Still am, just on the disabled list right now. Temporarily. Yes. "I've been dancing in my crew back home for the past couple years, and before that was in ballet since I was five. It's one of the tattoos I got."

She lifted up the back part of her top layers to show the ink above the shorts. "It's the one on the right...I think. If that dang Angel did it right, it's the one on the right." The shirts went down to their original position.

"The crew I'm with is the only reason I'm here. They raised enough money to pay for my trip so I can become the champion, and get all that prize money. I didn't even know Pokemon had the ability to dance, I mean, Nina never moves in time to the music I play, so I didn't think there was any kind of rhythm there. If Laila can do it though, that just opens up a whole new world. Like it's meant to be, you know?"

 

[Pm0n3y]

"Dancers? The both of 'em? What a coincidence." Morgan thought in a bit of a muse, raising the sliest of eyebrows as Robyn showed her back to the two. He made sure to flatten the expression as she turned to the two, to avoid any other outbursts that could spring from the girl. Here he was, but a simple sailor, basically using this region as a vacation spot. "Or, at least it would've been, if I didn't see those uniformed jokers back at the lake..." With Robyn, it seemed she had an actual goal to her journey, with people rooting for her and hoping her return. Such motives seemed quite the opposite for Morgan.

"Huh. I wasn't even thinking of challenging the league here, I was just trying to get the fuck out of Hoenn. Parents had too many fingers in my affairs." He admitted, crossing his arms. "But if you're only here for a title shot, then what about the league in Unova? Do they even have a league?" He asked.

Now that he thought about it, there wasn't much he knew about that particular region, other than the knowledge that most summer blockbusters were usually made/distributed from there. "And dancers too, apparently. The place must be filled with famous people."

 

[NeoAC]

"I dunno, I kinda wanted to get out of the country for a bit too," Robyn admitted, putting her hands up behind her head. "It's the first vacation I've had, like, ever. Plus, Castelia's Gym Leader is a stupid hipster douche who uses Bugs, which aren't Nina's specialty. Plus Gensia's got more money, at least from the get go it looks like. The people who beat Burgh don't look too pleased with the after-match results, but again, that could be the smug douche residue he leaves on their faces."

Robyn's Pokemon were still getting acquainted behind her. Natalie and Laila instantly bonded over shared avian traits. Nina on the other hand stood away from the pair, still not impressed that the Fire-type instantly got her battle trophy returned upon capture. Scout was beside her, watching the two. He didn't really get the jealousy factor, but she was his first squadmate, and he was sticking with her over the less experienced two.

 

[Mr. Omega]

"Russel Manov. Nice to meet ya." he said, nodding at him. He took a moment to observe Alan's pokemon. While he had seen plenty of Tailows back home, the other two were new to him. Pulling out his pokedex he managed to get info on them, giving them a second glance "Don't mind me. Haven't really seen pokemon like these before." He looked back at the Tyrogue, who seemed a little off compared to the others. "Oi, is he ok?" he slowed down a little to try and get a closer look.

After a couple seconds, his eyes lit up as he recognized what was up. "Paralysis. Little fella musta had a run in with something. Doesn't seem to bad. The fella seems rested up. Still, best medicine is prevention... Oi!" he called to Munchie, who jumped into his backpack. "Get a Cheri Berry, will ya?" He stood back up straight, getting back to where he was before. "Sorry if I was a little nosy. Force of habit. After working with stuff like this for so long you start to memorize the little details."

Once he had finished speaking, Munchie emerged, jumping down next to Clay and offering him the Berry. "Still, I've been rambling on without giving you a chance to speak. What brings ya here to Gensia?"