The Road to Indigo (Pokemon RP (Closed): Chapter 7: Dead Living On The Radio...)

[NeoAC]

"Huh?" Jordan said looking up, seeing Red and Stick in front of him. Shit, I was hoping I'd get a little cash before I ran into one of the group... He rubbed the back of his head. "Oh, uh, I'm just chillaxing, you know? Just enjoying being out of the forest and all that. Heh, yeah, totally. Missed the sun." He picked up his hat and put it back on his head. "Yeah, it's good to sit."

 

[Lambi]

"Hmm, I see. Well, enjoy your sitting, then." Aeris said to him, smiling, as she and Mika continued to walk around Pewter. They came to the entrance of the town, where it lead back to Viridian Forest. "You know, there is some grass near here. I don't really want to enter the forest again, but I'd like to train Blaze and Tristan a bit more, now that they've been healed." She walked with Mika to the grass, Blaze following them. "Alright. Time for some more training, guys." she said as a wild Rattata and wild Sentret attacked. "Blaze, attack the Rattata! Tristan, I choose you to fight the Sentret!" She threw Tristan's Pokeball and released him from there. Blaze began scratching the Rattata while Tristan tackled the Sentret.

This continued for a bit, Blaze and Tristan fighting a few wild Pokemon, until...
Aeris gasped. "Tristan!" He lay in the grass, his body still. Aeris walked over to him. "Are you alright?" she asked him. She didn't get an answer, not a verbal one at least. Tristan cracked along the top and opened. What came out from there was a Butterfree. Aeris looked at it with awe and a look someone has when they see something cute. "Tristan! You're a pretty Butterfree now!" Tristan looked at his wings and new body, as much as he could, anyway, and looked at Aeris with a look of joy. He flew over to her and hugged her. He seemed to have wanted to do that for a little while now. Blaze knew she was partially to blame, when she'd hugged Aeris and poor Tristan didn't have hands until now. Aeris hugged him back. "I'm so proud of you." she said to Tristan, who looked even happier. Blaze smiled as well.

 

[Lizmichi]

Fary gave Rochelle a quick nod and walked back to the Pokemon center to pick up her Pokemon from Nurse Joy. "Thank you." she said.

"You're welcome and I hope to see you again." Nurse Joy said with an awkwardly happy tone.

"So umm you hope to see me and my hurt Pokemon again? That seems... creepy." Fary asked her.

Nurse Joy blinked and seemed confused. "What do you mean by creepy? I just want to help your Pokemon." Nurse Joy said ending it with a smile.

"Never mind." Fary said walking out and looked around. "Hmmmmm Maybe I should battle someone." she said.

 

[CounterAttack]

"Okay, let's see what they've got in stock," Rochelle said cheerfully to Natalya as she walked into the shop. It seemed to be standardised, official products arranged according to category; medicine in the front for those who needed it without wanting to visit a Pokémon Center, Poké Balls just behind those, and other gear like Repels further in. Rochelle noted the price tags on the items she could be interested in as she took a brief walk around the PokéMart. On her shoulder, Natalya looked around warily, not liking the layout of the building. It was more cramped than the open forest, or the Pokémon Center they had just visited.

Soon enough she gathered up the things she needed; four Poké Balls to replace the three she'd used, plus one extra just in case; a few Potions to expand her supply, and two Antidotes and Paralyze Heals each. They had some kind of system, it seemed, for the more effective items like higher-quality Poké Balls with different designs. Rochelle noted a small poster detailing this system on the counter as she approached.

"Hi, just these, thanks," she said as she set the small collection on the counter.

"Not a problem, miss," the cashier answered, scanning each one under a barcode reader. "Um... did you want a bag for these?" When Rochelle politely declined, he continued his work and looked at the total amount on the screen facing him. "That's, ah, twenty-three dollars all up."

Rochelle produced the appropriate amount of cash and handed it over in exchange for the gear. As she did so, she remembered the broken Poké Ball in her bag. "Thanks for that. Um... I just remembered something else. This may seem like a question you get a lot, but..." She dug around in her pack for the no-longer-functional ball, pulled it out and passed it over to the cashier. "How come Poké Balls break so easily?"

"Ah, yes. You must be fairly new to the Pokémon League challenge. See here, how the interior is dull, and the ball doesn't do anything when I press the button? Most Poké Balls allow the target to try to resist capture. If they succeed, the action of breaking out of the Ball usually damages it and renders it useless," the guy explained, showing Rochelle the inside of the ball as he did so. "We run a collection to recycle broken Poké Balls and empty Potion bottles and suchlike. Just turn 'em in whenever you stop in at a Poké Mart."

"Alright, so I'll leave that with you, then. Thanks for that," Rochelle answered, putting her new items in the appropriate pockets of her pack. "That was everything, so... see ya." With that, she gave the cashier a friendly smile and a wave as she walked out, Natalya on her shoulder. Standing outside the PokéMart, Rochelle wondered briefly where to head next. Perhaps there was a lake or pool of water or something nearby in which Kirsten could splash around. She began to backtrack to see if the group had passed one in their mad dash to the Pewter Pokémon Center.

 

[Mookie_Magnus]

Mika watched as Tristan evolved into a Butterfree, his own Pokemon battling the wild ones to gain some experience.

"Bones, use Snarl!" Mika commanded the black-furred Pokemon, causing him to Snarl and bark at a wild Rattata. "Now, Toxina, use Double-Kick!" The Poison-Point Pokemon kicked her hind legs at a Sentret, knocking it out in a single blow.

"Excellent! Now, Artemis, use Peck!" Which she did, Pecking a Pidgey into submission. "Great job, guys. You're all getting stronger, fantastic." Mika smiles happily, petting his Pokemon happily.

He walked over to Aeris and kissed her on the cheek, looking up at the Butterfree and smiling. He held her hand and smiled softly, chuckling happily.

"Tristan's very handsome now." Mika said to his girlfriend, holding a hand out to the Butterfree and rubbing between its antennae. "He'll be really strong now... With him on your team, you should have no trouble taking out Brock in a Gym Match."

 

[Lambi]

Tristan gave a happy sound and nibbled on Mika's finger. Aeris giggled at that and enjoyed holding hands with Mika. "He may be handsome, but not as handsome as you." she said and kissed Mika on the lips. She held the kiss for a moment before pulling back and smiling towards him. "Maybe I should test to see how Tristan does in battle. After I get data on him, for a third time now." she said and giggled a little while reaching for her Pokedex in her pocket. She aimed it at Tristan.

Butterfree
Butterfly Pokémon
Types: Bug/Flying
Height: 1.1 m / 3'07"
Weight: 32.0 kg / 70.5 lbs.
The wings are protected by rain-repellent dust. As a result, this POKéMON can fly about even in rain.
Moves: Tackle. String Shot. Harden. Confusion.

"Evolved and learned a new move. Lets see what it does..." She looked around to see if she could find a wild Pokemon, which didn't take long. She saw a wild Sentret. "Tristan, use Confusion on that Sentret!" Tristan did as she asked him of and flew over to the Sentret. He used some kind of telekinetic force on the Sentret, which made it spin around for a bit. The Sentret stopped when the attack stopped and tried to tackle Tristan. He flew a bit into the air, making the Sentret miss. Tristan then tackled the Sentret and knocked it out. "Good job, Tristan!" Aeris called to him.

 

[NeoAC]

With the two gone, Jordan popped his hat back down on the ground. He didn't get any bites before they came along, and food wasn't going to pay for itself. He couldn't rely on Fary all the time just giving over free food. That went against the code of the beach. You don't just take food off your friends...or your girlfriend. You gotta be able to contribute something back. Money off of complete strangers though, that was totally different. Didn't need to pay back.

"Change bro?" he asked a man walking by, a man who looked fairly important. Without looking, he tosses a couple of quarters down into Jordan's hat. "Nice, thanks bro!" He went back to scanning the street for people.

 

[socialtangent]

After a few seconds, it was obvious that Terinth hadn't heard Tyler's suggestion, so he turned to leave the Pokemon Center. Just as he was about to leave, a voice called out to him, urging him to stop.

"Sir, wait!" called the voice of the male nurse. "Your Pikachu is cleared for release! He's waiting in the ward".

But it's not my... he opened his mouth to say, but the sudden rush of relief took the words from his tongue. The young Trainer released the breath that felt like it was being held for hours. The nurse opened the door that lead into the hallway and gestured for him to come inside. Tyler nodded. "Thank you," he said timidly as he stepped past the man and into the hallway.

The nurse led Tyler into the main ward, where the Pikachu was sitting upright on the hospital bed. Thanks to the effort of the resident nurses and Chanseys, he looked almost completely healthy once more. The assorted scratches and bruises appeared to be completely healed, save for a faint goldenrod-colored scar that crossed diagonally over his right eye.

Cautiously, Tyler approached the Pikachu, who turned to look at him as he stepped closer. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked.

The small yellow Pokemon regarded him for a moment, then nodded slowly. [color=FFB00F]"Pi pikachu,"[/color] he replied before climbing down off the bed.

Tyler and the Pikachu were escorted out of the ward and into the main lobby of the Pokemon Center, where the male nurse wished him and the Pokemon well. The Trainer led the Pikachu outside and knelt down beside him.

"Okay, Pikachu, you're free to go just like I promised," he told him, gesturing out towards the Viridian Forest on the horizon. "I won't follow you back, and I won't ever try to catch you again".

The Pikachu took a step away from Tyler and looked out towards the forest for a moment, seemingly in thought. He looked like he was about to take another step, but abruptly turned to face him again. [color=FFB00F]"Pika-chu,"[/color] he said, shaking his head.

"Does...does that mean you don't want to leave?" Tyler asked tentatively.

[color=FFB00F]"Pika,"[/color] he replied with a slow nod.

"Does that mean you want to stay with me?" he inquired further.

[color=FFB00F]"Pika pi,"[/color], he confirmed again, with another nod.

Tyler took a moment to let the Pikachu's response completely register. Despite being given the chance to be free again, he chose to remain with Tyler instead, of his own free will. With a slowly growing smile, Tyler produced an empty Pokeball from his backpack and expanded the device to full size. "Okay then. Welcome to the team....uh...wait...do you want a nickname?"

The Pikachu tilted his head to the side quizzically for a second. [color=FFB00F]"Pi pika pi,"[/color] he replied affirmatively.

"Alright then..." Tyler said, tugging at his goatee in thought. "How about Blitz?"

[color=FFB00F]"Pikachu!"[/color] he replied with a grin.

"Okay, now that's settled...welcome to the team, Blitz!" Tyler said happily before tossing the Pokeball at the newly-christened Blitz. Because he was willing, the Pokeball did not bounce as much as it normally would have, and quickly emitted the low electronic tone indicating the capture was complete.

Tyler picked up the now-occupied Pokeball and placed it into his backpack. With a fresh spring to his step, he headed towards the Pokemart to buy some supplies for the road ahead. Now that Blitz was a part of his team, Tyler could now focus on his next great challenge: the Pewter City Gym and its leader, Brock.

 

[LunaSocks]

Terinth had heard Tyler's suggestion, but was more occupied with a slight commotion in the back of the Pokécenter. She saw the male nurse, almost racing to call Tyler.

"Sir, wait! Your Pikachu is cleared for a release! He's waiting in the ward." As Tyler got the Pikachu and came back, he began to release it. It turned away and took a step, but returned to Tyler anyway. As the pokémon allowed Tyler to catch it, Terinth began to get a small smile on her lips.

"Hmm, after nearly dying from being in a battle, that small thing wants to do what almost killed it? And doing it for fun? There has to be a bit of irony there, if not, then just plain stupidity." Terinth thought to herself. Still, Terinth felt a twang of sympathy for the boy and his new Pokémon, seeing that they had already had a friendship, even if it was through a tragedy. At the thought of this, Terinth began to have painful memories of a past experience she'd had.

Spoiler: Flashback

The day of Terinth's 13th birthday, she was allowed to free-roam the town of Black City by herself for the first time. It was the one time she had been allowed out of her house for a prolonged amount of time. As she roamed the streets of the city, she got to the busy center square. As she looked around at all of the bustling people and passing cars, she felt her stomach rumble. As she walked into a small coffee shop, she went up to the counter and began to order her food. As she took her table, she saw her small order being delivered. As the girl walked up she greeted her with a smile.

"Hello, I don't believe I've ever seen you around here. My name's Carol, what's yours?" The girl said.

"Mine's Terinth. I really don't get out much, and my parents decided to let me out of the house for once, since it's my 13th birthday today." Terinth responded.

"Well, me and my brother can show you some cool spots around town, if you want. My shift just ended, and his ends in a few minutes." Carol asked.

"Sounds great. Thank you!" Terinth responded gladly. As her and Carol walked outside, they saw a teenager exit a building across the street. As he walked away from the building, he began approach the crosswalk. He quickly looked up, and saw that the traffic was stopped in the opposite direction. He began to walk across, but didn't see the speeding bus coming in his direction. As the light changed, it didn't slow down, nor did the distracted bus driver see the man in the crosswalk. As it plowed through the intersection, it plowed through the man, not stopping until t-boning another car.

As Terinth and Carol ran up to the accident, they looked through the wreckage with the small hope that Carol's brother was alive. As they lifted up the door from the car, they came upon the mangled remains of Carol's brother. As Carol collapsed to the ground next to her brother, crying, Terinth stood in her place, staring. As ambulance sirens wailed, Terinth crouched down next to Carol, and patted her on the back.

"You'll be fine. You'll be able to pull through this, Carol." Terinth said, trying to comfort her.

Terinth grimaced, remembering the failed friendship and the mental pain it ad caused her. She walked out of the pokécenter and over to the pokémart, to stock up on food.

 

[Mookie_Magnus]

Mika giggled as he felt the tickling of the Butterfree's nibble, stroking the Pokemon's head and then holding Aeris close as she kissed him. After they broke the kiss, Aeris scanned Tristan, getting his data on the Pokedex, then had him test out his new abilities.

"That's a good Psychic-Type move." Mika said to his girlfriend, rattling off some of his experience with Pokemon. "It's got a chance of confusing its target, causing them to do harm to themselves. It can help turn the tide in a battle."

Mika looked over his own Pokemon, all having grown more powerful from the training, and looking happy and strong. He looked over at his lovely girlfriend and a little smile formed on his lips.

"Hey, Aeris... Do you want to have a Pokemon battle?" Mika suggested, looking at her and Tristan with a slight grin. "It'll be a good chance to let Tristan stretch his wings."

 

[CounterAttack]

As Rochelle left Pewter City by the south entrance, she spotted a thick patch of grass nearby. Something was flying around nearby; she couldn't tell what it was at this distance. Curiosity overtook her, and she hurried to investigate. It turned out that the flying thing in question was a Pokémon, and an amazing-looking one at that. Mika and Aeris were nearby; perhaps it belonged to one of them. Wanting to get a closer look at the winged Pokémon, Rochelle approached the two of them.

"Hey guys," she said cheerfully, waving as she got closer. Natalya immediately jumped off Rochelle's shoulder and took flight, investigating the Butterfree from all angles before she landed at Rochelle's feet and ducked into the grass to find something to battle. "Careful, Natalya," the Trainer chided before she turned her attention back to the others. "Anyways. This Pokémon is... beautiful, for lack of a better word. Who caught it?"

Out of the corner of her eye, Rochelle spotted a small landlocked lake on the other side of the path, perfect for Kirsten to enjoy herself in if it was deep enough to let her duck under the water and swim around. She made a note to let the Horsea out of her ball when the conversation with Mika and Aeris finished.

 

[Lambi]

Before Aeris could answer Mika, Rochelle arrived. "Well, I did. This is Tristan, the Caterpie I caught yesterday, who evolved into a Metapod this morning and is now a pretty Butterfree." she said to Rochelle with a smile. Tristan looked at Natalya who was investigating him, but didn't follow her when she went into the grass. Instead, he went into the grass in another direction and fought a few more Pokemon. Blaze was having fun with her training as well.

"And so I can answer your question, Mika. Yeah, I would love to battle. Let them just have their fun for now, though. Rochelle, would you like to watch me and Mika battle with our Pokemon?"

 

[NeoAC]

Jordan continued working the gate to the Pewter Museum, trying to scrounge up some eatin' money. He had worked up to about $8, not bad for the short time he was out there. He tried his luck with an older man with spiky grey hair passing by. "Hey bro, spare some change?"

The old man snorted and looked back at him. "This isn't what you should be doing with your life, son. You should be trying to make something of yourself! If you want money, why don't you try to get a couple of Pokemon together and challenge the gym leader? Brock will take on any trainer, and he'll pay very well if you can manage to beat him." With that, he left down the street, leaving the beach bum sitting there.

"Hmmmmm, I could totally beat someone like that. Vince bro is pretty good I think. Yeah, I can do that!" Jordan said to himself. He picked up his spoils from the half an hour of sitting there, readjusted his hat on his head and headed back towards the Center. Maybe he could dig up some info on this Gym Leader dude and get his bros ready for battle so he could earn some good cash.

Spoiler: Pokemon Roster

Jordan: Vince (Scyther) - Lvl 11 - (Quick Attack, Leer, Focus Energy, Pursuit)
Spike (Mankey) - Lvl 9 - Learned Fury Swipes (Scratch, Leer, Low Kick, Fury Swipes)

Mika: Bones (Houndour) - Lvl 12 - (Ember, Smog, Howl, Snarl)
Toxina (Nidoran F) - Lvl 11 - Learned Tail Whip, Double Kick (Growl, Scratch)
Artemis (Hoothoot) - Lvl 9 - Learned Peck, Forgot Growl (Tackle, Foresight, Hypnosis, Peck)

Rochelle: Kirsten (Horsea) - Lvl 10 - (Bubble, Smokescreen, Leer)
Phoenix (Spearow) - Lvl 7 - Learned Leer (Peck, Growl, Leer)
Natalya (Murkrow) - Lvl 10 - (Peck, Astonish, Pursuit)

Aeris: Blaze (Charmander) - Lvl 14 - Learned Metal Claw, Forgot Growl (Scratch, Metal Claw, Ember, Smokescreen)
Tristan (Butterfree) - Lvl 11 - Evolved X2 - Learned Harden, Confusion (Tackle, String Shot, Harden, Confusion)

Fary: Rogue (Zorua) - Lvl 10 - (Scratch, Leer, Pursuit, Fake Tears)
Phileas (Pidgey) - Lvl 6 - (Tackle, Sand Attack)
Horny (Nidoran M) - Lvl 8 - (Leer, Peck, Focus Energy)
Raven (Murkrow) - Lvl 6 - (Peck, Astonish, Pursuit)

Simon: Shadow (Poochyena) - Lvl 11 - Learned Odor Sleuth (Tackle, Leer, Odor Sleuth)
Pennant (Pidgey) - Lvl 6 - (Tackle, Sand Attack)

Terinth: Puppy (Lillipup) - Lvl 11 - (Tackle, Leer, Odor Sleuth, Bite)
Monk (Mankey) - Lvl 8 - Learned Low Kick (Scratch, Leer, Low Kick)

Tyler: Geist (Abra) - Lvl 9 - (Teleport, Hidden Power (Ghost))
Tank (Nidoran M) - Lvl 9 - Learned Double Kick (Leer, Peck, Focus Energy, Double Kick)
Blitz (Pikachu) - Lvl 6 - (Thundershock, Growl, Tail Whip)

 

[Lizmichi]

Fary looked around the city. "I really should challenge some trainers to level up Horny and my other Pokemon before I fight Brock." Fary said walking up to a kid that was sneaking around some bushes looking for something then saw Fary and jumped up as soon as she looking him in the eyes.

"You're a trainer I just know it. You have that look in your eye. I bet you like bug Pokemon." The Bug Catcher said.

"Umm no I raise dark and ghost types." Fary said then blinked as the trainer pulled out a pokeball and threw it. "I choose you Weedle." he said.

"Ummmmm whaaaaa." Fary said not sure what brought on the battle.

"You hate bug Pokemon, you will pay for that. Now bring out your Pokemon" he said almost demanding it of her.

"Fine fine, I choose you Horny use Focus Energy." Fary shouted. Horny looked at her and nodded.

The weedle used string attack lowering Horny's speed. "See that's what you get for hating bugs." the trainer said.

"I never said I hated bugs you idiot." Fary said having Horny use Peck knocking it out.

"So you care to keep going?" Fary said crossing her arms.

"You'll pay for this." the trainer said sending out another Pokemon. Fary sighed and rolled her eyes dispatching his remain 3 Pokemon one at a time with Horny.

"Ok kid fork over some cash I won." Fary said as the grumbling kid handed over $15. "Thank you." she said walking off.

 

[CounterAttack]

"Sure, you guys go ahead. Maybe I'll pick up some pointers on battling," Rochelle answered as she ventured into the grass to look for Natalya. She could get into trouble and take some serious injuries if left alone. Pushing aside a particularly thick patch of grass, she spotted the Murkrow assembling a small pyramid of unconscious Pokémon. Seeing her Trainer arrive on the scene, Natalya jumped up onto the Sentret on the top of the pile and flapped her wings triumphantly.

"Aww, look at you, so proud of yourself. Come on now, let's go check out the lake over there," Rochelle said, allowing Natalya to hop up onto her arm like a falconer with their bird. She carried Natalya on her arm to the lake, and set her down at the edge, opening up her other two Poké Balls to let the others out. Phoenix chirped happily and hopped around, looking at the sparkling water of the lake and Mika and Aeris with equal interest. Kirsten, however, promptly jumped into the lake and began swimming around, occasionally kicking up a small splash and generally having a good time of herself.

Smiling at her Pokémon's enthusiasm, Rochelle sat down in the grass to watch Mika and Aeris battle.

 

[Mookie_Magnus]

Mika smiled as he waited on Tristan and the other Pokemon to rest for a bit before taking a seat on the grass, resting and enjoying the warm air. He smiled and watched his Pokemon moving about in the field.

"It's such a nice day..." Mika commented, humming a little tune from memory and enjoying the warm air. "Hmmm... Bones, I think I want you and Artemis to battle for me. That sounds good?"

It sounds fair, Mika. I would quite like to battle against her Charmander, to see how I fare against another Fire Pokemon. Especially one as powerful as a Charmander.

"Alright then... Ready when you are, sweetie." Mika said to his girlfriend, waiting for her to pick which of her Pokemon she was going to use.

 

[Lambi]

Spoiler: Music for the battle

And I got a huge nostalgia attack when listening to it. ^^

Blaze and Tristan were resting after having fought a few more wild Pokemon. Aeris allowed them to lie in the grass, Blaze with her tail out of it, for a few moments. "You did well with fighting earlier." Aeris said to her Pokemon, which looked at her with smiles on their faces.

After a few more moments, they were up again. "Well, I'm ready. And I'll use Blaze first." Blaze walked forward and in front of Aeris, facing Mika and his Pokemon. "Don't hold back." Aeris mused. Her Pokedex gave a sort of ding sound and she picked it up. New information about Blaze was there, her moves to be exact. Metal Claw and Smokescreen? And she forgot Growl? Should be interesting to see how that works. she thought to herself and put her Pokedex back in her pocket.

 

[socialtangent]

Tyler exited the Pokemart, now sporting a new belt that had six individual holsters for miniaturized Pokeballs. The belt had cost him $75. A bit pricy, but it was a necessary purchase. At least now he didn't have to fish around in his already-messy backpack for his Pokeballs. Tyler believed his Pokemon deserved a bit more dignity than that. In addition to the belt, he also purchased some labels to place on the Pokeballs so he could tell which Pokemon was inside. Geist's ball bore an image of a bent spoon, Tank's had a picture of a purple skull-and-crossbones, and Blitz's was decorated with a lightning bolt.

The young Trainer decided to head out to the grass for a bit of training with his team. If they were going to take on Brock, they needed to be ready. As he prepared Tank's Pokeball, however, something caught his attention. A Pokemon battle about to begin. Moving in a bit closer, he saw that it was Aeris and Mika, with Rochelle spectating. This'll be interesting, he thought as he reached the group.

 

[RBMidknight]

"Are you sure, ma'am? There's nothing at all?" Simon's voice had a whining edge that he disliked but couldn't help. He was having hard time believing that there wasn't any work available. People always had packages to deliver. Every day.

Getting into Pewter City's Ninjask Courier building had proven to be a fairly simple task. As soon as he supplied his identification card and the proper numbers the guard at the side door let him in. Simon had taken the ease of entrance as a good sign.

"I'm sorry, dear.", the elderly woman behind the counter apologized. "All of the assignments have been taken by the local delivery boys." Simon couldn't be certain, but for a second he imagined there was a just a hint of stress on the word 'local'. He wondered if being from out of town had anything to do with there being no assignments.

"Alright, well thanks for checking. Have a good day, ma'am." Just because he didn't have an assignment didn't mean he could be lax in his manners.

"You too, dear. Take care."

As the secretary returned to her phone and pile of paperwork Simon glanced down at his Pokémon. Shadow was vigorously scratching at his ear and seemed oblivious to his trainer's plight. Simon whistled quietly to get Shadow's attention then turned toward the front door of the office building. He walked slowly toward the door.

'So much for having some extra cash. Would have been nice. Maybe there will be something to do at the next town.' Simon thought as he leaned against the door.

"Yen!" Just then Shadow noticed his trainer was leaving. He bounded toward the door. One step, two steps, then the young Pokémon leapt into the air. He went a good distance before landing on all fours. Unfortunately for Shadow, the polished marble floor was not designed for those with furred paws. With a yelp the Poochyena began to slid toward the wall instead of his intended target. Sharp claws scrapped against the floor ineffectually. Shadow whined as he tried to backpedal to no avail. Just before the Pokémon slid into the wall Simon knelt down and stuck his hand out. Shadow's muzzle bumped harmlessly against his open palm.

"Chee..."

The side of Simon's mouth twitched as he resisted a laugh. He glanced at the desk but the secretary seemed deeply immersed in a phone call. 'Glad no one saw that.' Simon thought. Shadow leaned his head back and shook himself vigorously from head to tail.

"Come on." Simon reached down to carefully pick up Shadow. He shouldered open the glass door and set his Pokémon down on the grass as soon as they were outside.

Now that he was on familiar, and stable, ground the Poochyena turned to growl at the office building. His small frame visibly vibrated with the sound and his fur stood on end.

"It's not really their fault." Simon pointed out with a quiet chuckle. "Maybe the janitor went overboard with the waxing. You shouldn't have tried to tackle the door."

With his amused smile still in place Simon began walking down the nearest path. If he remembered correctly it would take him to the Pokémon Center. Shadow joined him after a final defiant head-toss.

 

[Mookie_Magnus]

Mika smiled, sending out Bones first to battle. The Dark-Type Pokemon yipped happily, then took an offensive stance, readying himself for the thrill of friendly combat.

"Go ahead, hun... send out your first Pokemon, and let's start!" Mika smiled and giggled a bit, eagerly waiting for the battle.

Artemis stood on his shoulder, watching the humans curiously. She flapped her wings lightly now and again, and nuzzled her beak against her Trainer's hair. Mika giggled a bit, his scalp being a ticklish spot of his, and he smiled.

"I guess you're going to use Blaze first, right hun? He's a higher level, and he won't have the type disadvantage that Tristan has." Mika assumed, thinking tactically about the battle.