"I was always fascinated with stories and tales. I was very much a reader as a child, and biographies and personal stories were always interesting. I guess it kind of followed I would take a career where I asked questions. If you're good at something never do it for free. I'm actually hoping the articles I write can springboard me to making books of oral histories." Alan replied, his pokemon joining some of the others that were playing, Croc though remaining behind his trainer at the sight of Aeris.
It was obvious that Spike was having a hard time with this battle, the paralysis not helping at all. "Yeah OK, you totally got me there Rochelle," Jordan told her, returning his Fighting Pokemon to its ball. "Man, I just, like, haven't had an answer lately, you know? Like first Misty, now you. It's like, a bummer. This is so much tougher than it looks. Or maybe just Rock Dude is absolutely terrible."
As Rochelle returned Iskra and Kirsten to their own Poké Balls, she had to stifle a short laugh so as not to offend Jordan, though she did smile a little at both her victory and Jordan's attitude to the battle. "The thing is, Jordan, you weren't giving your Pokémon any real direction. Battling takes more than just having the Pokémon out and ready to fight. I myself tend to think in a tactical sense, using the right move for the right situation.
"For example, Iskra is fairly slow compared to some of the others on my team, so the first step when he's in a battle is to paralyse the opponent with a Thunder Wave," she explained, feeling a little like a teacher as she explained the basics of strategy. A subject in which Jordan seemed to be lacking.
"It also helps to have a good grasp of the advantages and disadvantages certain types have. There's a lot that goes into a battle..." Rochelle trailed off, remembering where she had gained her knowledge of Pokémon. "Wait a minute. This should have all been covered in school, ages ago. How come you don't remember things like that? Giving Pokémon instructions is, like, fifth or sixth-grade stuff."
"Well I wasn't exactly in on the whole battling thing when I was little," Jordan explained. "My mom, she was pretty against me having anything to do with them. She hates them. Don't know why. Wouldn't let me be involved with any of the in class training, signed some release form. And like, back then, I totally didn't complain. Was like terrified of Pokemon back then cause of something that happened. But my uncle taught me that they could be cool. Like he can surf on his. It's pretty sweet. But mom still is like no.
When my dad decided I should come out here, like this there was a big fight in the house. I just wanted to head on back down to the beach but Dad was like, not happening, bro. But yeah, I'm not like sure what to do totally. I think I need coaching, or something. Cause like, I'm not really getting all that good here." He looked down, a bit ashamed of his lack of skills and his current .500 record as a trainer.
Mika nodded as he listened to the reported tell his story of how he came to get into his profession. "That's cool. Glad that you knew what you wanted to from so young... I still have no idea what I want do to when I get older... I mean, you can only manage being an adventuring Pokemon Trainer for so long... I mean, Gym Leaders and such are the exception, I guess. But, I suppose I have the rest of my teenage years to figure that out, huh?"
Mika held Aeris' hand in his, trying to get her to calm herself around the Water-Type Pokemon. "Deep breath, Aeris... Deep breath."
So Jordan didn't exactly have a large amount of experience as a Trainer. Rochelle wasn't all that experienced herself, not counting the Trainer classes in school where she had never battled with anything that was all that strong. She knew her way around type advantages, knowing most of them by heart, and how some Pokémon were naturally immune to some attacks. She figured she could teach Jordan a thing or two, if he wanted to learn.
"Hey, it's okay... we're all new to it in the beginning. If you like I can give you some tips on how to battle effectively," she suggested. "It's easy enough once you get the hang of it... your Pokédex is a huge help with that. It'll tell you about your opponents as well as your own Pokémon if you scan them every so often."
Rochelle was a little confused by Jordan's explanation of his mother's attitude towards Pokémon. They were good friends to have around, trusted companions and could protect you from harm as long as you trained them well. Why a mother would keep her son away from them, even going so far as to exclude him from an important part of his education, she didn't understand.
Aeris took a deep breath, holding Mika's hand. She held her other hand close to her chest to help her calm down a bit more. "Thanks, Mika." She smiled towards him and gave him a kiss. She felt a bit easier at the moment. But that Alan's Croc had evolved into a bigger Water Pokemon didn't really help. She still kept herself behind the tree she had initially gone behind.
Meanwhile, Blaze and Tristan were still staying close to her, though Tristan was kinda occupied with checking out the Pokemon in the tree. Not fighting them, more just communicating with them. Xal was busy dealing with a Mankey, avoiding what attacks came his way as he could, because he knew he was weak against its attacks, but this could possibly make him tougher. Sonya was playfully fighting some Oddishs with her Confusion attack, taking care of them all as she could. Ekans managed to make easy prey out of the local Drowzee by using Bite, followed by a Wrap attack. As for Felina, she was having fun with the other Meowths, fighting them to show them she was superior. Which she made clear in most of the cases, though she wasn't without her own losses.
"Are the rest of you just going to just train until it's time for the party?"
Tyler shrugged. "That's the plan. If you excuse me, I'm gonna see if there's still anyone out there who wants to battle."
With that he waved goodbye and continued his way up north.
As he walked, he heard the sounds of Pokemon fighting and young Trainers barking commands from the tall grass that surrounded the path on both sides. Tyler wondered briefly why there were so many kids out around. 'School just let out, maybe?' But that could be to his advantage; with all the people out, there had to be someone who wanted to battle...
"Hey! You!"
The voice came from Tyler's left. From out of the grass sprung out a young man, who couldn't have looked older than fourteen. His lanky frame was in stark contrast to his thick-rimmed glasses, which began to slide down the bridge of his nose until he corrected them. He pushed aside a streak of greasy black hair that covered his eye and pointed at Tyler.
"You're not from around here, are you?" the kid asked.
Tyler looked around before answering. "Uh...yeah," he replied uncertainly. "Why?"
"Good! Fresh meat!" replied the kid as he withdrew a Pokeball.
"Right...well, I'll battle you if that's what you wa-"
"Faraday, go!"
The young man hurled his Pokeball with a flourish that seemed rehearsed, yet extremely cocky. From the device appeared a creature with a metallic spherical torso and two horseshoe magnets on either side of its body.
"Magnemite."
Tyler pulled out his Pokedex and did a quick scan
081 Magnemite
Magnet Pokémon
HT 1' 00""
WT 13.2 lbs
The units at the sides of its body generate anti-gravity energy to keep it aloft in the air.
'Hmm.'
He reached for Tank's Pokeball. Since he knew Double Kick, it was the logical choice.
"Tank, you're up!"
Free from the Pokeball, Tank took a moment to look around before setting his sights on his opponent.
The young man looked at the Nidoran and scoffed. "A Nidoran? This won't take long at all. Faraday, Thundershock!"
Sparks formed around the Magnemite's body and quickly focused around the screw-like appendage at the top of its body. A yellow arc of electricity fired out from the appendage in Tank's direction.
Tank jumped to the side, and the bolt slammed harmlessly into the dirt. Faraday fired again and scored a hit as Tank tried to evade again. Tank yelped as he was momentarily stunned by the electric blast.
"C'mon Tank, shake it off!" Tyler commanded. "Use Double Kick!"
Shrugging off the worst of the Thundershock attack, Tank charged and leaped forward. The Magnemite tried to dodge, but it was too slow to avoid the attack. Tank's hind feet struck his levitating opponent squarely in the face, sending it hurtling backwards. It crashed into the ground as it lost consciousness, rolling towards its trainer before coming to a stop.
The young man gaped at Tank in disbelief. "F...Faraday, return..." he mumbled quietly as he returned his Pokemon, all signs of his previous arrogance completely gone. He pulled some money out of his pocket and meekly handed it to Tyler. Without a word, he walked dejectedly towards Vermillion, no doubt to the Pokemon Center.
'Well, that was something.'
"Ran!"
Tank's call caught Tyler's attention. When he turned around, he was surprised to see Tank glowing with a white energy. The same kind of energy he saw when Geist evolved.
"Tank, are you..."
The Nidoran's form became a shining white silhouette and started to change. He doubled in size, his ears became larger, and the spines along his back grew in length. After a few seconds, the bright whiteness began to fade and in its place was the newly evolved Tank.
"Nidorino!" Tank declared happily.
033 Nidorino
Poison Pin Pokémon
HT 2'11"
WT 43.0 lbs
It raises its big ears to check its surroundings. If it senses anything, it attacks immediately.
A quick Pokedex scan informed Tyler about his new Pokemon. 'Interesting...'
"Man, look at you! How are you feeling?"
Tank grinned and nodded positively. "Nido...Nidorino!"
Tyler flashed a smile as well. "Good," he replied. "Now how about we get you something to eat, huh? I bet you're hungry."
"That'd be cool," Jordan agreed. If Rochelle was willing to help him at all with this whole battling thing, it would be greatly appreciated. "Like I dunno, maybe we can do these practice matches again, like so I can get better and stuff, you know?"
Jordan was fumbling around for the right words. He hadn't felt any kind of desire to do anything other than lounge and surf in a long while. But seeing the effort that Vince and Spike and Vicky were giving just for him made him feel different. Hell, Spike could barely move and he was still willing to fight through it just to try and get the win. He had to get better at this. Not just for him, but for his team.
"I think we should probably heal up the bros though, you know? Like, and get some food. That would be cool too."
[hr]
As the hour of departure approached, the trainers invited along on Jordan's ticket congregated at the Pokemon Center for a light meal and a heal-up session before hearing to the pier.
It was easy to find the ship. The S.S. Anne was a dominant presence on the waterfront, easily double the tinier speed based ferries docked. The S.S. Anne was built for comfort, and it showed. A steady stream of trainers was already making their way up the gangplank as a pair of jacket-clad workers checked for passes. Since he was the one with the pass, Jordan led the group up to the entry.
"Hey," he said to the one on the right. "So yeah, like, I got a pass here for like ten people. So that's me and my bros in behind me there right? I think I got it here." Jordan pulled the crumpled pass out of his sweatshirt pocket and presented it to the worker.
"Mhmm, of course," he replied, barely looking at the pass before ripping it up. "Right this way, watch your step! Come on through!" He kept waiving people through as everyone started up towards the deck of the ship.
"If you ever need any help with battling, or just want to talk about how it's going for you, I'm here," Rochelle assured Jordan with a friendly smile.
[hr]
Later in the afternoon, while waiting for her Pokémon to be healed at the Vermilion Pokémon Center, Rochelle placed a call to home from one of the available videophones, to give her parents an update on how she was doing. She could call from her Pokégear, of course, but the small wrist-mounted device couldn't transport items. She was of the mind that an event such as the S.S. Anne's anniversary party required attire that was a little better-looking than the clothes of a travelling Trainer.
Soon enough her mother Dayna picked up at the other end. "Rochelle! Are you alright? You didn't sound one hundred percent when we last spoke." Her expression was a slightly anxious one on the screen.
"I'm fine, Mum. I've put that incident behind me as best as possible, and I'm carrying on with the others," Rochelle answered, giving her mother a warm smile to show she was okay.
Dayna let out a sigh of relief. "That's good to hear. Your father was worried sick when I told him the news yesterday..." She was interrupted by another voice Rochelle knew well: that of her father, Jonathan Sanders. "Is that Rochelle?"
"Yes, Dad, I'm here - " was all she could say before Jon cut her off. "Your mother's right, 'chelle. I was going to come and pick you up myself when I heard about Team Rocket taking you prisoner... But you appear to be fine. Are you sure you don't want me to come out there? If you want I can give you one of my Pokémon for protection."
"Dad, I'm fine... really. I have my own team now, and I'm not travelling alone. Learned from that mistake," Rochelle answered. She didn't want to sound like she needed special treatment from her parents over one little thing. A fifth Pokémon on her team at this early a stage in the Pokémon Gym challenges might possibly be a bit much to handle, especially if it was older and stronger than the rest of her team put together.
"Alright, alright... I trust you, baby girl. You're a smart kid. You won't let one little thing drive you away from your dreams," Jon conceded. "A shame that you don't want my help, though. Torch could use a little bit more exercise than he gets. Eh, bud?" he added, looking off to one side of the screen. The familar "Arf!" of Torch, the slightly chubby Arcanine of the family, came over the phone. Rochelle had to laugh at that. Torch was indeed a bit of a lazy creature.
"Now, what else is happening, 'chelle?" Jon continued. Rochelle explained that the group with whom she was travelling had been invited to a party aboard the S.S. Anne. She wanted some fresh, semi-formal clothing to wear for that night, and promised to send them back over the phone the morning after the party.
"I know just the thing..." Dayna said as she hurried off-screen for a few minutes.
[hr]
That Evening:
Rochelle let out a low whistle at the sight of the magnificent vessel before the group. As per her request for a new outfit, she was wearing a blue, sleeveless blouse with a halter-neck design, her usual jacket over the top and a long black skirt whose hem stopped six inches short of brushing against the ground.
Rochelle had opted not to wear her bandanna to tie her hair back, instead leaving it loose for the occasion. A couple of locks of bright red hair were bugging her by getting in front of her ears, and she occasionally tucked them behind her ear only for them to fall back into place. Finishing out Rochelle's outfit was her usual backpack and belt, Poké Balls attached to the latter. She wished she had a small satchel or something to carry them in, as the belt didn't really go with her skirt. And her slightly travel-worn backpack stuck out like a sore thumb, since she was trying for a semi-formal look.
All four of Rochelle's Pokémon were secured on her belt, since she didn't want any of them wandering around the ship and possibly getting into trouble. Intending to take part in the battling she remembered being advertised on the pass, she followed Jordan aboard the S.S. Anne, stumbling a little on the gangplank before getting her feet in the right places.
Aeris had managed to train Xal, Ekans, Sonya and Felina before they had to return to the Pokecenter, both to heal up her team and to meet the others before going to the event on the S.S. Anne. She was nervous to go on such a huge ship, but she knew she'd be alright if she just stayed with the others.
While in the Pokecenter, she'd managed to call her mother to see how she was and to let her mother know she was alright as well.
"Hi mom!" she said once her mother appeared on the screen. She resembled her mother so much, but there were a few noticeable differences, age difference aside. Her mother had red hair and apparently the same affinity for red clothes, but her eyes were brown and there were some features on her face that were different from her daughter's. Though she had scars like her daughter, but in different places. In the background there was a visible Magmar, her mother's Pokemon.
"Hi sweetie. How are you? Is your journey to become a Pokemon trainer going well?"
"Yeah, it's going alright. I had some trouble with the second gym match, though..." Aeris kinda drifted off for a second before coming to her senses.
"What kind of trouble? You didn't get hurt, did you? Or, wait..." Her mother knew that response from Aeris. "It was a Water gym, wasn't it?"
Aeris nodded. "But I won!" she said proudly, showing her mother the two badges she wore on her vest. "And I did it with Blaze, too!"
Her mother couldn't believe what she heard. "I'm so proud of you, Aeris." she said with a warm smile.
"And Blaze evolved after our first gym battle. And I've caught other Pokemon as well, see?" She released all her Pokemon from their Pokeballs, showing her mother them all.
"My, my, you've been busy. But I can't help but notice that your only Fire Pokemon is Blaze."
"Yeah, we haven't met many Fire Pokemon along the way. At least not wild ones. We've met a Rapidash in a Pokemon club here in Vermilion, a Growlithe that belongs to a friend I've made and my boyfriend's Houndour." Then she realized what she'd said and turned red as an apple.
This was great news to her mother. "Oh, you have a boyfriend now? Well, it was only a matter of time. What's his name? How's he like?" Her mother asked a few other questions, but Aeris was too busy being embarrassed telling her mother that.
"His name is Mika, and he's really sweet. You'll be able to meet him once we'll be in Cinnabar. I'm not surprised that we'll have to battle Blaine at some point. I know how strong he is, but by the time we'll come to Cinnabar, we should be strong enough."
"Yeah, I should have figured that if you were challenging the gyms, you'd come here eventually."
"I've been traveling with a group of trainers and they're all pretty interesting." She went on about each of them and what she could tell. She wouldn't mention the Team Rocket incident because she didn't want her mother to worry, but she wouldn't have been surprised if she already knew about Team Rocket sealing off Mt. Moon. That sort of thing would surely have been in the news.
"Sounds like an interesting group indeed." her mother said with a little giggle.
"Ah. And I should mention that Jordan, the surfer guy I just mentioned, somehow got a ticket to an event on the S.S. Anne. Even after defeating Misty, the Water gym leader, I'm still pretty afraid of water. Can't cure it with just one victory. But I'm still looking forward to it, and I know I'll be safe with everyone." She gave her mother a smile, then returned her team to their Pokeballs. "How's Magy been doing?"
"She's been alright. She misses you and Blaze like I do, but we know you'll come to visit and once this is done that you'll return." Her mother's Magmar, Magy, waved to Aeris and Blaze, who Aeris had let be outside of her Pokeball. Both of them waved back.
"Ah, I need to go and get ready before we go, mom. It was good talking to you."
"It was nice to hear from you too. Don't you want me to send you some nice clothes for this event you're going to?"
"No, that's alright. I'll just wear what I'm wearing. And you know I don't really like skirts to begin with."
"And yet you wear shorts that are so short." Her mother gave another giggle. "I'll be waiting to hear from you again, my dear."
"I'll be sure to call you again. Maybe sooner than this, though. And before I forget, I assume dad is busy in the laboratory?"
Her mother nodded. "Yeah, sometimes you'd think he was married to his job and not me." Both of them giggled. "But he stops by here once in a while. And I walk over to it sometimes like before." Both of them smiled to each other. "You should go now to get ready, as you said."
"Ah, yeah. Talk to you later, mom."
"Stay safe, Aeris."
The phone call ended, and Aeris returned to her group. "I hope this will be fun for us all." she said to Blaze who nodded in agreement. Before they would go, she thought to take a shower and make a change of clothes. She was again wearing the same kind of vest and T-shirt she always wore, and she'd taken out a clean pair of jeans from her backpack. She pinned her two badges onto this vest, and headed to the front to get something to eat, but not too much before going to the celebration.
[hr]
Now at the S.S. Anne, it was magnificent, but at the same time, Aeris didn't like it. Part of her phobia, perhaps. She stayed close to Mika, making sure to not go too far away from him. Though that was tough, considering how tightly she held his arm as they walked up the gangplank. She kept her Pokemon in their Pokeballs, even Blaze, because they could be released at some point while on the ship, but it would be better to keep them in their Pokeballs while walking towards it and into it.
"I think I'm just about ready to head on out," Eileen stated as she placed the last bandage over the cuts on her leg. Her Pokemon were sitting on the bed, watching their Trainer patiently as she got ready for the party. "What do you three think about the outfit? Good enough for a party right?" she asked, standing up and putting away the small box of bandages back into the first-aid kit. Her Pokemon gave various replies, with two out of the three sounding positive.
Cleo, however, gave an indifferent shrug at the question; not particularly caring about what her owner was wearing. She was interested in talking about something else involving the party, and made it known to her owner.
Meo-owth. Meow-meowth? Meow! Cleo asked. Hughes seemed unhappy with what Cleo had asked, and Ari didn't quite understand anything that was being said.
"I didn't quite catch that," Eileen replied, trying to understand what her Pokemon had said. Cleo sighed before going through her Trainer's backpack, taking out a notepad and pen. "Just only use a few pages if you can," her Trainer stated as Cleo did a quick drawing. It showcased a small creature that vaguely resembled a Meowth reaching into the pocket of a blob man in a suit.
Meowth? Cleo asked after holding up the picture, watching as Eileen realized what her Pokemon was asking.
"Well I guess that would be okay. Just don't get caught, and don't steal anything from the other Trainers that we're traveling with. Understood?" Eileen asked after considering what Cleo was proposing. With all of that figured out, she returned her Pokemon to their Pokeballs. She took a moment to look over herself after grabbing her bag, and while she felt that not everything was perfect it would have to be good enough.
[hr]
The massive luxury cruise liner was stunning as they approached it at night; the dock area being illuminated by the many lights from the ship. 'Quite a beautiful ship. Should be quite a number of people on it tonight,' Eileen thought to herself as she followed the rest of the group up aboard the ship.
Callum?s afternoon had become rather peaceful from that point forward. A good chunk of his time was spent trying to learn the ins and outs of his Pokédex, and he had come across fair good deal of useful information from it. He finally figured out where he could find the type listings, ability, and current move set of each of the Pokémon in his party. He also figured out how to teach his Pokémon moves from the TMs. His practical test of that last part resulted in him placing his Ledyba on tray that emerged from his Pokédex and downloading the move, Silver Wind, in place of the previous move Reflect.
After he was satisfied that he had learned enough about the device for today, Callum went over to one of the Pokémon Center?s PCs and decided to change the Pokémon that he was currently keeping on him. He decided that he wanted to get to know most of his more recently caught Pokémon better so he transferred his Nincada and Spinarak to his box. Next, after he withdrew his Paras, Metapod, and Weedle, he decided to spend the better part of his remaining afternoon getting to know them and generally having fun with them. On his way out of the Pokémon Center Callum had run into Jordan again and was asked to join them aboard the S.S. Anne later.
[hr]
Callum decided to wear his usual attire for the S.S. Anne?s party. This was as much of a personal choice as it was due to the fact that he had never exactly owned any real fancy clothes. Although it occurred to him in his mind that he might not be let aboard because of his choice; he was content with what he owned and didn?t wish to be a part of something that would judge him by his clothing.
Any worries that he had about his personal appearance, disappeared when he got close to the ship. He?d never seen anything man made in this scale before this day and it wasn?t a wonder why. The Devon Corporation headquarters seemed small in comparison and Callum had a sinking feeling growing in his gut.
His personal silence and unease stayed with him as he bordered the ship with the group. His choice of clothing was ignored, and Callum completely overlooked the staff?s lack of interest in who was bordering the ship. Maybe I should have taken a ship from Hoenn instead of flying.
As the trainers made their way onto the deck of the ship, the loudspeaker crackled to life with an auspicious welcome. "Attention honored guests! I would like to welcome all of you aboard the luxurious S.S. Anne on the 20th anniversary of her maiden voyage!" The voice booming across the decks was loud and unnecessarily perky. "My name is Katrina, and I'll be telling you about what you can expect during your time aboard the ship! Since this the anniversary voyage, this ship has been lovingly restored to its original conditions! All the details you see around you have been researched from the original ship and you will all be able to enjoy it, from the railings surrounding the ship to the conditions in the bathrooms!
Now first we will be allowing people to explore the top deck of the ship as we get more people on board. As we get closer to our departure time, that is when the lower decks will be opened up! We have many different attractions for you to enjoy. The banquet hall will be laying out a full buffet spread, featuring many different cuisines from all over the Kanto/Johto region! And if you're not interested in a bite to eat, maybe you're hungry for a battle! We will have multiple battle arenas open for trainers to test their skills against their fellow passengers, and those will be located in the grand ball room!
If you don't feel your team is up to snuff, there are other options for you to improve your team! Trading facilities will be available in one of the conferences rooms opposite the main ball room! Or, if you feel like catching your own new member, we have sport fisihing facilities set up at the stern, that's back, of the ship! There are a variety of rods to choose from and they might just help you land that Pokemon that will give your team the skills it needs to get closer to becoming a champion!"
Jordan liked the sound of that latest announcement. Cool, get a water bro for the team. Nothing like those lame Magikarps I was catching up on land there.
"After a period of time we will be disbarking from the dock for a pleasure cruise around the waters of Kanto Bay! We will be heading out into the open seas to give all partygoers the experience of being out on a luxurious cruise! Please note that any one getting to close to the front of the ship while proclaiming they are kings or queens of the world, will be advised not to get to close, so they don't fall over the railing! After the cruise is over, we will return to Vermillion dock and that will be the end of the party! OK? So I hope you all enjoy your time on the S.S. Anne!"
The number of guests still on land was almost zero, and soon the entire ship would be open for exploration.
[hr]
"Ugh, it hurt to talk like that," Katrina commented rubbing her face. "Why couldn't we just have that ditz Kimmi doing this? She's much better at it than anyone else."
"Because Kimmi was incapacitated during ze Mount Moon mission, and you were ze next one who could maintain zat level of pep. You deed a good job. Once we are sufficiently out to zea, our plan will be put into action."
"Understood."
"Now go prepare."
"Yes, Jean-Simon."
[hr]
As the final guest climbed the gangplank, the two employees at the bottom followed with them. As the plank was raised, the first trays of food were hitting the tables, and the lights in the ball room were shining spotlights on the arenas. The party was about to get underway.
The informative announcement was barely listened to until the announcer said the phrase 'hungry for a battle'. After that Eileen listened intently to the information regarding the Pokemon battles and where they'd take place. "I know where I'm heading. See all of you later," Eileen told the group as soon as the announcement was over, giving a quick wave goodbye before going to search for the grand ball room.
Eileen regretted her decision of not eating first as she followed the direction signs to the ball room. The movement of the boat wasn't helping either, though it seemed to get better once she was inside the interior of the ship. 'Maybe just a few quick battles and then I can head back and eat something to settle my stomach,' she thought hungrily, finding the large double doors to the ball room and heading on inside.
The grand ball room was all that Eileen could have dreamed of. The tall walls of ball room were a golden color with long, flowing drapes coming down the sides. The ceiling above had beautiful carvings, with a few of them being recognizable as Pokemon. While the room and furnishings were all very regal looking, the six raised stages were what interested Eileen. Each stage had a set of lights above them focusing right at the center of the area, and a scoreboard placed on the wall for each stage. Surrounding each one were a row of chairs for spectators to sit down and watch the battles, and Eileen noticed that there was someone in referee garb for each stage.
With more people coming in by the second Eileen rushed over to one of the stages to use, giving a quick hello to the referee as she waited for an opponent. The sheer excitement of it all made Eileen feel slightly sick, though it could have also been some rough waves. 'You got this girl. We'll kick some butt, and then celebrate with a tasty meal. Then kick more butt...yeah!' she thought with a crazed smile on her face as a young Trainer stopped by to look onto the stage before jumping inside.
"Hey lady, I challenge you to a battle! This is the place for them right, sir?" the youngster asked the referee, who gave a quick nod and proceeded to start the match with a quick explanation of the rules. Eileen eagerly accepted the challenge once the referee was done, watching as the young Trainer (who she figured must be the child of one of the many party goers) sent out a male Nidoran.
"I choose you, Hughes!" Eileen called out, tossing her Pokeball in the air. Hughes landed on the floor of the stage, his initial look of confidence disappearing as he looked around the area. He was on what looked to be a battle stage, and there was even another Pokemon in front of him. However, the room past that looked all grandiose along with the people in the room. The Growlithe couldn't make heads or tails of what was going, so he decided to do the first thing he could think of. Placing one paw in front of the other he started to do a dance around the stage, stopping when his Trainer told him that this was a battle and not their dancing lesson.
Groow? Hughes responded after he stopped, hearing a few claps from some spectators and making a quick bow.
"We can dance later if you want to Hughes. First we must battle!" Eileen exclaimed, before hearing her opponent laughing, "What seems to be so funny, kid?"
"It's just that you chose a male Pokemon, when my Pokemon is also male with the ability Rivalry! My Pokemon is even stronger now, and there is no way that you ca-" the youngster started to say, bragging about his Pokemon until Eileen told Hughes to use Flame Wheel.
"If Rivalry is his Pokemon's ability than there isn't a fear of getting poisoned with physical contact," Eileen muttered gleefully, watching as Hughes hit the opponent's Pokemon and sent it flying out of the ring. "Got anything else?" she asked smugly as the youngster went over to his Pokemon.
"Ann!" he cried out, holding his Pokemon up as a slightly older girl approached him. "The mean lady...look what she did to Pokey!"
"Hush now Tyler. You go find dad while I teach this trainer a lesson!" the lass said to her brother, watching him go before entering onto the stage herself. "You may have bested my younger brother, but there is no way you will defeat me!"
"We'll see about that," Eileen replied as the referee proclaimed her first victory. The scoreboard up above dinged as the number one was shown on her side, getting some more claps from bystanders. The lass sent out her Pidgey, who tried to take flight to dodge Hughes' bite attack. The tiny bird Pokemon could not get high enough before Hughes grabbed a hold of it and brought the Pokemon back down.
"Birdy, no!" the lass called out, returning her battered Pokemon before sending out her own female Nidoran. "Needle, use Scratch attack!"
"Hughes, retaliate with an Ember attack," Eileen said, watching as Hughes shot out a flurry of embers at the advancing Nidoran. The Pokemon jumped up to try to dodge the attack, only to be hit with a subsequent Ember while in the air.
"The Pokemon is unable to battle!" the referee called out after checking to see if the Pokemon could get up, the scoreboard now showing a two. More people seemed to be spectating at this point, with one girl close to the same age as Eileen's last opponent coming up. "How dare you do that to my friend. I, Dawn, challenge you to a battle!" Dawn proclaimed as the referee let the match begin.
"I'm just winning battles here, there is nothing personal in this," Eileen stated, calling back Hughes as Dawn sent out a Rattata. With Hughes returned, Eileen sent out Ari to battle next. The egg Pokemon seemed more interested with all the decorations and scenery than the actual battle which allowed him to get hit by a Quick Attack.
"Pay attention Ari. You can look at things later! Use Leech Seed, than a Barrage attack!" Eileen told her Pokemon who seemed to get back into focus now. His first Leech Seed attack missed and he was hit with another Quick Attack, whereby he quickly fired back with a set of Barrages that knocked the opponent Pokemon off of the stage. Dawn was about to tell her Rattata to get back onto the stage before the referee declared that her Pokemon went out of the ring and therefore lost.
"What!? Why didn't you say that!?" Dawn yelled in confusion, with the announcer replying that he had stated that rule numerous times by this point and that it was her fault for not paying attention. "Pff! Fine, whatever! Return Rattata, and go Pikachu!"
"This is a good opponent Ari. You'll need to learn how to battle an electric type to prepare for Lt. Surge," Eileen told Ari, telling him to try the Leech Seed and Barrage combo again. The Pikachu attacked first with a Quick Attack that allowed Ari to land his Leech Seed attack. While the Pikachu was entangled Ari started his Barrage attack. The damage wasn't too great against the higher-level Pikachu, but it was placing a dent in the Pokemon's health. "Ari, use Uproar!" Eileen said after Ari was hit with a Thundershock by the Pikachu, the egg Pokemon looking surprised that the attack didn't do as much damage as he thought it would. Shaking off his surprise he fought back with an Uproar, loudly taking out his opponent after a few more traded moves.
"You did it Ari! A bit too close for my liking, but you did well!" Eileen told her Pokemon, hearing the ding of the scoreboard above. With each victory the clapping of the growing audience grew louder, and by now it seemed that her battles were bringing in the most spectators.
"Anyone else want to challenge me?" Eileen asked, watching as a older man stepped up followed by the two kids she had first defeated.
"I, Brooks, challenge you. I will not go easy on you after what you did to my children!" the man said, telling his kids to stay off the stage while the referee explained the rules once more. When it was over Brooks called out a Pikachu of his own, though this one seemed a lot tougher than Dawn's Pikachu.
Ari seemed ready to go back into the fight, but was told to return by his Trainer. Ex...egg? Ari asked, looking up at his Trainer. "You can fight the next battle, but I'm giving this one to Hughes. I just don't think you're strong enough just yet," Eileen explained to Ari, the Pokemon looking sad at the reasoning. He was returned as Hughes was sent back out, the fire Pokemon surprised at how many more people there were this time.
"Alright Hughes, you defeated this man's kids now it is time to beat him. Start out with an Ember!" she said, Hughes giving a quick growl in understanding before firing his Ember attack. "Zolt, use Electro Ball!" Brooks commanded as his Pikachu fired a ball of electricity at Hughes. The two attacks collided in an explosion that Hughes used as cover to gain the speed needed for a Flame Wheel. The attack knocked back the Pikachu close to the edge of the stage, though the electric Pokemon was quick enough to hop away from the edge after being hit.
"Zolt, use a Quick Attack stat!" Brooks told his injured Pokemon who followed orders and charged at Hughes. Though Zolt did hit Hughes with his Quick Attack it allowed Hughes enough closeness between the two for him to use Bite against the opponent. "No Zolt! Try to...uh, no use a Thundershock!"
"Let go and get away Hughes, then use an Ember attack to finish this!" Eileen said to her Pokemon, watching as Hughes followed orders and back off just in time to dodge the Pikachu's attack. His opponent fell after his two Ember attacks made contact, the referee calling the match once the Pikachu was down.
"What!? No, I..." Brooks started before being drowned out by both his crying children by his side and the clapping of the crowd. He picked up his Pokemon and gave Eileen her victory money, muttering about how battles were different in his days and such.
"Thank you sir, and thank you Hughes for doing such a good job," Eileen told her Pokemon, petting him before calling out for any new challenger to face her.
It was very lively on the ship. Many people around, some getting to know each other because of what Pokemon they had, others rushing towards the many events going on. Aeris knew she would absolutely not be going to the rods to catch a new Pokemon because there was no way there would be wild Pokemon here apart from the ones in the sea. Though, hearing about a trading facility caught her attention. But where could she find a Pokemon that'd interest her? She kept her eyes open, though she was more just looking around.
"I'm going to take a look around the ship. You shouldn't have trouble finding me." she said to Mika, giving him a kiss on his cheek, then going off to find something to do on the ship.
After a bit of walking, she found the grand ball room, where she could see Eileen battling. She seems to be having fun. Perhaps I could try this out myself. There seemed to not be much of a line for any of the arena, though they all looked occupied at the moment. A few trainers seemed to be waiting for their chance to battle an opponent. While waiting, Aeris let Blaze out of her Pokeball to take a look for herself. Blaze was amazed by the look of the place and how magnificent it look. It was just so big and spectacular. One of the arenas cleared up and Aeris headed towards it. Another trainer appeared at the other end, a girl with short purple hair, wearing a mix between purple and violet clothes apart from her black fingerless gloves.
"Gonna use that Charmeleon of yours?" the girl asked her. Aeris looked between the girl and Blaze and thought that it would be nice to try using some of her other Pokemon. "Not right now, but perhaps later." Aeris didn't return Blaze to her Pokeball, but picked up one of her other ones. Both of them listened to the referee, then the girl spoke again to Aeris. "Why don't we use three Pokemon? Just using one is boring." Aeris didn't dislike the idea, and after both of them mentioning it to the referees and getting an agreement from them, she agreed as well. "Alright, but you'd better prepare to lose!" She was feeling very confident. "Heh, you've got spirit. I like that! Go, Maxie!" the girl said as she sent out a Voltorb. Aeris sent out her own Pokemon. "Go, Xal!" The Geodude hovered in the air, ready for a fight.
"If you think having a Ground type will help you, you're sorely mistaken! Maxie, SonicBoom!" The Voltorb created a loud noise that sent a shockwave towards Xal. It hit a bit hard, but Xal was still standing. Or hovering. "Xal, counter with Magnitude!" Xal hit the ground with his fists, making it quake and hit the Voltorb hard. It seemed to still have barely survived. "I'm not giving up! Maxie, hit him with another SonicBoom!" The Voltorb released another shockwave which hit Xal, but didn't take him down. "Xal, finish it with Rock Throw!" Xal picked up one of the lose parts of the ground and threw it at the Voltorb, hitting it before it could get away. The Voltorb was knocked back and knocked out. "Maxie, return." the girl said, returning her Pokemon back. The scoreboard for them looked a bit different from Eileen's. There were three windows under both of their names, with a crossed over Voltorb on the girl's side, who's name seemed to be Fiona, and two black windows beside it, while there was a Geodude on Aeris' side and two black windows for her as well.
"Next one up is my trusty Gerald!" Fiona sent out a Girafarig. "Attack with Confusion!" Gerald used it's psychic powers to both damage Xal and make him confused. As he spun around, he hit the ground and stayed there. "Xal, return." Aeris returned him back to his Pokeball, then picked up another one off her belt. "Go, Ekans!" She knew it would be risky because of her Ekans was weak against Psychic moves, but he had Bite which she would utilize. "Ekans, start with Poison Sting!" Ekans slithered fast along the ground towards the Girafarig and stung with his tail, making him poisoned. "Grrr..." could be heard from Fiona, though she wasn't about to return him to his Pokeball. "Gerald, use Confusion again!" He did so, and as fast as Ekans was, he couldn't avoid hit, but he survived the hit. "Ekans, use Glare!" He used a frightening glare to paralyze Gerald. "Oh no! Counter that with Confusion!" Fiona ordered her Girafarig, but he was unable to do so because of the paralyze. "Now, Ekans! Use your Bite!" Ekans again slithered fast towards Gerald and bit his tail. The Girafarig was down for the count, in no small part thanks to the poisoning he had gotten earlier. "Gerald, return." The Girafarig was returned to his ball, and Aeris got ready for the last Pokemon she would use.
"It's up to you now, Jessie!" The last Pokemon Fiona sent out was a Misdreavus. It got Aeris all excited. A Ghost Pokemon! So awesome! She was too busy admiring the Misdreavus, it got in an attack, an Astonish to be exact, on Ekans who couldn't avoid it. "Ah! I'm sorry, Ekans. Return..." She returned him to his Pokeball, then reached for the last one she'd use. "Go, Sonya!" The Venonat looked pumped for a fight. The scoreboard above now had two crossed out Pokemon for both of them, Voltorb and Girafarig for Fiona, and Geodude and Ekans for Aeris, and had a Misdreavus for Fiona, and a Venonat for Aeris. Those were their last Pokemon for their battle, and would decide who'd win. "Give it your best!" Fiona called to Aeris. "You as well!" Aeris called back. "Sonya, start with PoisonPowder!" A small cloud of spores came off of Sonya and headed towards Jessie. It hit her and she was poisoned. "Or is she?" Fiona said smirking. "Huh?" Aeris replied, seeing that the Misdreavus was munching on something. "I had her hold onto a Pecha Berry in case I would be up against someone who'd use a poison attack against her! You just wasted a turn!" Aeris was surprised by that strategy. She hadn't thought of making her Pokemon hold onto items before the battle. For that matter, she didn't think she had found any items she could have her Pokemon hold onto.
"Jessie, use Confuse Ray!" A small ray of light hit Sonya who was now confused and trying to make head and tails of her surroundings. "Sonya, snap out of it and use Confusion!" Sonya used her attack, hoping to hit, but barely missed. "Jessie, use Astonish!" Her Misdreavus charged at Sonya and shouted in a startling fashion. The attack hit Sonya, and she got knocked back. Still confused, she tried to stand up and counter the attack with another Confusion, but only hit the floor with her face, unfortunately. "Looks like your Pokemon isn't feeling well now." Aeris almost growled at Fiona, and was sure that Sonya would stand up. After a few moments had passed, Sonya stood up, snapped out of confusion. "Good job! Now use Leech Life!" While a Ghost Pokemon didn't have blood per se, it would still drain some of her life force. A bit of life force was given to Sonya by the Leech Life, but not much. Both Pokemon looked ready to continue the battle.
"Jessie, use another Confuse Ray!" Another ray was aimed at Sonya, but she wouldn't have being hit again, and ran away from the ray and towards Jessie, as odd as that seemed. "Now use PoisonPowder again!" This time, it would stay on the Misdreavus. "Damnit! And you can't have Pokemon hold onto two items, so there's that. But Jessie's health is still better than Sonya's! Jessie, Psywave!" The Misdreavus released a psychic wave that, while not being super effective against the Venonat, it still hit her, taking her down. Both trainers returned their Pokemon to their Pokeballs. Fiona walked over to Aeris and held out her hand. "That was a good battle. Thank you for that." Aeris shook her hand. "Thank you as well. This should make for good practice when I'll go up against Surge in the Vermilion Gym."
The two girls stepped off the arena and Aeris handed over a bit of money since Fiona had won. They both went to get their Pokemon healed since this wouldn't be a battle facility without a healing spot for the trainer's Pokemon. "You know, I saw the way you looked at Jessie earlier." Fiona suddenly said. "Ah. You noticed. Heheh..." Aeris said back to her. "To tell you the truth, that Venonat of yours looks really interesting as well. Why don't we make a trade?" That made Aeris almost spring up out of joy. "R-really?!" she said as she tried to contain herself. "Yeah, really. There is supposedly a trading facility close by this room. Why don't we head over there after our Pokemon are healed?" Aeris couldn't nod faster than she did. Both girls laughed a little at how Aeris was acting.
Once their Pokemon were healed, they placed them on their belts and headed for one of the rooms that were used for trading. A rather large looking machine was in the room they entered. It had a screen, probably for seeing the Pokemon travel between the tubes. The tubes themselves attached to the machine on one end and being on top of what looked like little bowls. Both girls released their Pokemon, Misdreavus and Venonat, to say their goodbyes. "You've been a good partner, Jessie. But now I think that it's time you found a new life with a new Trainer. What do you think?" Jessie nodded in agreement, smiling towards Fiona and then Aeris. "This isn't exactly easy for me, but I can feel that Fiona will take good care of you, Sonya." Aeris was hugging her Venonat, a bit teary eyed. Sonya tried to hug back, but her hands couldn't reach far from her body. She tried as much as she could, though. "Are you ready?" she asked her Venonat. Sonya nodded and both girls returned their Pokemon back to their Pokeballs. They placed the Pokeballs into the little bowls under the tubes and stepped back. "Ready?" Fiona asked Aeris. "Ready." she replied. They both hit the button on their sides, and the two Pokeballs disappeared with the same white light as when Pokemon were released from their Pokeballs.
On the screen, they could see as Jessie and Sonya approached each other, then passed each other and the two Pokeballs appeared again in the little bowls. The trade had been successful. They both took the Pokeballs and stuck them onto their belts. "I promise to take good care of Sonya. I hope the same will apply to you and Jessie." Fiona said, holding out her hand again. "Of course. It makes me glad to hear you'll take good care of her." Aeris shook Fiona's hand, then gave her a hug. "It makes me glad as well that you'll take good care of Jessie." Fiona hugged Aeris back, then both girls stepped out of the trading room.
Code:
Misdreavus
Screech Pokemon
Type: Ghost
Height: 0.7 m / 2'04"
Weight: 1.0 kg / 2.2 lbs
A Pokemon that startles people in the middle of the night. It gathers fear as its energy.
Moves: Psywave. Spite. Astonish. Confuse Ray.
Callum listened intently to the facilities and features that were being offered for the party. As the ship took off from the dock his appetite disappeared and he felt no need to add a water Pokémon to his team at this time. Instead he just decided to follow a few members of the group down to the Grand Ball Room for the battle arenas.
As completely expected, Eileen had rushed up to one of the battle arenas and had already started to wipe the floor with a small child. Why do I have a feeling that she?s made a habit of doing that? Callum continued on past the first few stages and found several people negotiating with each other over Pokémon that they wished to trade. Callum had no use to listen in, since he didn?t have any Pokémon in his party that he either didn?t need for his job, or wished to trade in general.
After watching a battle between one trainer?s Quilava and another?s Fearow, Callum moved on and watched the end of Aeris? battle. The girl had lost but didn?t seem too hurt by the defeat which was good. Callum noticed a large crowd forming around Eileen?s arena and he could hear her yelling out taunts, hoping for a new challenger. This was causing attention to be brought away from the other arenas. One opened up and Callum headed towards it. I never did get around to testing out Ledyba?s new attack, although I?m not sure that I want to?
Callum?s train of thought was lost as he bumped into a ten year old looking girl wearing an expensive looking dress. ?Look at what you?ve done!? the girl yelled at him. ?Your dirty, grubby clothes got my dress dirty! You?ll pay for this! Lina! Come beat up this rude man!? The girl?s yelling seemed to be attracting the attention.
A few seconds later a beautiful woman, a few years older than Callum, walked over to her. ?Cut that out. You?re making a scene,? the woman snapped at the girl, causing her to go quiet for a few seconds.
?Sorry about my sister Marina. She shouldn?t be saying such nasty things,? Lina apologized before shooting her sister a nasty look.
?But he ran into me!? Marina yelled back into her sister?s face, displeased with the look she got.
?I said stop.?
?NO!?
Callum looked on in awe as the two sisters started to argue with each other. What the fuck do I do? I?m not good with these situations. If I back away slowly enough I might be able to get away to the Banquet Hall, and hide there.
Sticking with his idea Callum began to slowly back up. Sadly, Marina noticed his attempted escape. ?Look he?s trying to get away!? She yelled at her sister, pointing at Callum. Well that didn?t work. Lina sighed and smacked her sister?s arm down. ?Look that arena?s not being used. Could we just battle in there so this little brat will shut up?? Lina asked, clearly not defeated by the little girl, but rather just annoyed with better things to do than argue with her.
?Umm?sure why not,? Callum replied as he headed for one side of the arena, while Lina headed for the other side. The Referee announced the general rules of the arena before asking what type of battle they were having. ?We?re having a triple battle. Three Pokémon at the same time, understood?? Lina announced in a voice that questioned if Callum had even heard of the concept. ?Sure,? was Callum only reply as the girl released her three Pokémon; a Hoppip, an Exeggcute, and a Farfetch?d. Callum removed his Pokédex and scanned them.
083 Farfetch?d
Wild Duck Pokémon
HT 2'07"
WT 33.1lbs
It can't live without the stalk it holds. That's why it defends the stalk from attackers with its life.
187 Hoppip
Cottonweed Pokémon
HT 1' 04"
WT 1.1 lbs
It drifts on winds. It is said that when Hoppip gather in fields and mountains, spring is on the way.
102 Exeggcute
Egg Pokémon
HT 1' 04"
WT 5.5 lbs
Its six eggs converse using telepathy. They can quickly gather if they become separated.
An impatient look spread across the woman?s face and Callum quickly pulled out three Pokéballs. His Weedle, Metapod, and Ledyba appeared on the field in front of him. ?All right guys. You?re all going to be fighting that Hoppip, Exeggcute, and Farfetch?d at the same time. Don?t go out of the arena or else you are disqualified. Does everyone understand?? Three cries that Callum took as yeses came from his Pokémon as they lined up for the battle. The pictures of each of the Pokémon appear on a scoreboard on the wall and the Referee declared a start to the match.
Lina was quick to act and shout commands to her Pokémon. ?Exeggcute use Leech Seed on that Metapod, and then use Barrage on that Weedle. Hoppip use Tackle on that Weedle. Farfetch?d use Aerial Ace on that Ledyba.? A seed launched from the center of the group of eggs and landed on Metapod, before vines grew out of it and ensnared the Pokémon. Next a series of semitransparent balls flew out from the eggs and started to land around the Weedle, forcing it back towards to edge of the area. The Hoppip was closing in from the far side of the area for its Tackle and landed a hit on the Weedle, launching towards the outside of the arena.
Farfetch?d took to the air, and started to fly fast towards Ledyba. Streaks of white light began to appear around the Duck Pokémon, before a Mach Punch courtesy of Ledyba stopped the attack from forming. The Duck Pokémon went flying backwards from the attack and impacted with the ground before coming to a stop. At the same time Metapod?s Shed Skin activated, and a thin layer of shell with the seed attached came loose from its body. Once completely free, the Pokémon fired a String Shot attack at the Weedle that was about to fall out of the ring. The long sticky string hit the Pokémon and wrapped around it. Using its superior weight, Metapod pulled the Weedle back to the edge of the arena.
?You didn?t even give them a command. How did your Pokémon know how to do that?? Lina asked in a frustrated tone from across the arena. ?Friends look out for each other?? Callum replied with an unknowing shrug. Callum?s lack of a good response infuriated Lina. ?What kind of answer is that? Stop fucking around with me and give your Pokémon some actual orders!? Callum remained silent from his side of the field and went back to watching the Pokémon battle.
By this point the Metapod was halfway across the field, wrapping the Hoppip with a String Shot attack as it progressed towards it. Weedle was also helping cover the Cottonweed Pokémon in the sticky substance. ?Exeggcute use Hypnosis on that Ledyba. Hoppip get away from those stupid ugly bugs. Farfetch?d use Fury Attack once that Ledyba?s asleep.? Lina commanded of her Pokémon as the battle continued.
The Hoppip?s struggle to get away was foiled when the Metapod hit it with a Tackle from one side. Waiting on the other was Weedle with its Poison Sting attack. The pink and green Pokémon started to glow white as it used Synthesis to regain some health. This only proved helpful for a second as the two bugs around it attacked again. The Hoppip collapsed to the ground and was returned to its Pokéball. Meanwhile the Hypnosis attack was successful and Ledyba had fallen asleep and dropped to the ground. The Farfetched was currently rapidly hitting it with its leak.
?Your Pokémon may have taken out one of my Pokémon without you, but if you don?t start giving orders you?ll lose this battle. Now Exeggcute use Uproar. Farfetch?d keep up the attack.? Suddenly Callum?s Weedle shot its head up into the air and started to glow. A mist of String Shot fell around it and a hard shell appeared around it. As soon as the evolution was finished the Exeggcute started to bounce up and down and produce a lot of noise, as it turned blue. Callum had just enough time to scan his Kakuna with his Pokédex before it was hit.
014 Kakuna
Cocoon Pokémon
HT 2' 00"
WT 22.0 lbs
While awaiting evolution, it hides from predators under leaves and in nooks of branches.
The Uproar hit Callum?s Kakuna and Metapod. The Yellow Cocoon Pokémon fainted right away due to the earlier damage that it had taken during the battle. The Green Cocoon Pokémon on the other hand was still alive, but barely in the battle. Meanwhile, Farfetch?d had kept up its attack until Ledyba woke up and started to match every one of his hits with one of its Comet Punch punches. The two Pokémon seemed evenly match until suddenly the Ledyba launched a Mach Punch in place of a Comet Punch. The Five Star Pokémon flew over the bird?s head.
?Ha. Your Pokémon missed from that close. Wait what?? Lina said as she realized his Ledyba had started launching silver crescents at her Exeggcute. ?So that?s what Silver Wind looks like,? Callum thought to himself as he watched a fine mist and silver crescents appear from Ledyba?s wings. The Egg Pokémon was taking a lot of damage and Callum?s Metapod had crossed the field to it. With a hard hop forward, the Metapod used Tackle and sent the Exeggcute flying off of the arena?s edge. ?It?s out!? Declared the Referee.
As Lina returned her Exeggcute she called out another command, ?Farfetch?d use Aerial Ace on that Metapod. As the Farfetch?d took off a crack appeared in the back of the Metapod and a glowing white light was released. A Butterfree formed from the glowing light and took to the air as Callum got a scan of it. Before the information was loaded Farfetch?d had streaks of white light around him as he made contact. Callum?s Butterfree took a direct hit and fell to the ground, knocked out. Callum returned his Butterfree as the Pokémon?s data loaded.
012 Butterfree
Butterfly Pokémon
HT 3' 07"
WT 70.5 lbs
It loves the honey of flowers and can locate flower patches that have even tiny amounts of pollen.
?That?s it. I?m going to win this battle,? Lina professed. ?Now Farfetch?d use Aerial Ace and finish off that Ledyba.? The Duck Pokémon started to fly again towards the Five Star Pokémon. As soon as the white streaks appeared the Ledyba moved forward with another Mach Punch. The two Pokémon collided in midair and fell to the arena floor. Both Pokémon were struggling to stand up and Lina?s Farfetch?d collapsed down and passed out. As Callum?s Ledyba was still struggling to stand up and the Referee was about to name him the winner, he returned his Pokémon.
?What are you doing?? Lina demanded, as he walked off of the arena.
?It?s a draw.? Callum stated back in simplicity, as he raised his left hand into the air and shook the back of it to her. With his exit finished, Callum heard the Referee declare their match a draw before Lina began to argue with him. The first stop that he was heading for was the machine by the arenas; he wanted to get his Pokémon healed.
Butterfree's new move list: Tackle, String Shot, Confusion.
Eileen's win record continued to grow as she was challenged by other Trainers thinking they could defeat her win streak. All of them only proceeded to lose and add to her total number of victories. Currently she was at fifteen wins to zero losses, and she hoped to add on one last win before leaving. Sailor Trevor, however, was desperate for the victory. He was pushing his Pokemon to their limits, and even when they were both basically down for the count he ordered for them to continue to battle. The spectators booed him and complained to the ref to stop the match for the Pokemon's sake.
Finally the referee called the double battle between Eileen and the sailor over before any serious damage could be done to the sailor's Pokemon. "What do you mean it's over!? My Machop and Tentacool can still fight!" Sailor Trevor argued, pointing at his two Pokemon who were currently lying on the stage floor covered with burns and a Leech Seed. The referee said that his Pokemon were too injured to battle, and that his ruling was final. Sailor Trevor started throwing threats around before being carried off stage with his Pokemon.
There was a ding as the scoreboard recorded the last win, the number sixteen showing up in place of the previous. "Woo! We did it you two! Nice job there, though you are still having a bit of a hard time Ari. We'll need to work on you some more," Eileen told her Pokemon, the battered Ari giving a sort of cry of agreement. "Let's go and get you two healed, then we can eat," she added, returning her two Pokemon and heading off the stage towards the healing station. Along with healing her Pokemon she had also wanted to talk to Callum after spotting his battle during one of her previous ones. A few people seemed to followed her from the stage, but she promptly ignored them in favor of talking to her fellow Trainer.
"That looked to have been a good battle there Callum," Eileen started, placing her two Pokeball into the healing station, "I kinda caught a bit of it during that fight the with fisherman. Seemed like you took control of your Pokemon and did pretty well with it."
After a bit of a wait in line at the healing station, it eventually got to be Callum?s turn. The station was at a bit of a bad angle, and only a few of the battle arenas were visible. None of the ongoing battle between people seemed to interest Callum, and Eileen?s consecutive win counter on her arena?s board was steadily increasing. A ding went off behind Callum and he retrieved his Pokémon from the station.
So I?m that?s another two bug Pokémon off my list. I?m not sure of useful the Kakuna will be for now. Butterfree on the other hand should be a lot better addition to my team for the time being. Now why do I have this feeling like I?m forgetting something? Oh wait. I remember what it is.
Callum had left his backpack in a locker at the Pokémon center, but he had brought his TMs with himself just in case he needed them, and so they wouldn?t be stolen with the rest of his stuff if someone broke into the locker. He removed both TMs and put one into his Pokédex. Nope wrong one. Butterfree definitely couldn?t learn Rock Tomb. He ejected that TM and inserted the other one. Now if I check the list of Pokémon that can learn this move...and perfect. Butterfree Can learn Silver Wind. Callum hit the prompted command and the tray and placed the Pokéball with the Metapod sticker onto it; the new stickers for the evolved Pokémon were still in his bag. After a few seconds the screen on his Pokédex confirmed that Butterfree had learned Silver Wind and Callum put away his Butterfree, his TM and his Pokédex.
After a few seconds, he heard a familiar voice talk to him. ?Thanks, but I thought I already told you that I let my Pokémon battle for themselves. They won the match and I stayed out of it,? Callum replied to Eileen. ?You on the other hand have seemed to rack up a fair number of victories and appear to have a small fan club starting,? Callum said to her as he watched a few people arrive behind her that weren?t cursing her name. ?I should also mention the hate group that was the line of trainers for this station as well,? Callum finished with a bit of a laugh. And there was certainly a lot more people in her hate group from the looks of things.
"You...didn't? I see. Well I did say I wouldn't comment on your battle practices, so yeah," Eileen started, just about ready to go on the importance of trainer input in a battle rant before remembering her promise to Callum. 'Should have just claimed I hadn't heard that part.'
The mention of a fan club and hate group caught her attention, and she looked around behind her at the numerous people around. Many were giving her dirty looks and muttering obscenities as they got their own Pokemon healed, but she didn't necessarily make the connection that they were shooting those looks at her for a reason.
"Fans are a nice thing to have. Not that you'd know, but perhaps one day you will," Eileen stated as she patted Callum on the shoulder, stopping once a young girl from the crowd approached her.
"I really liked your battles!" she started, looking back at an older man who gave a quick nod before she continued, "And I was wondering if I could see that pretty pink Pokemon of yours! Pretty please?"
Eileen smiled at the girl as she took her Pokeball containing Ari back out and sent him out. The Pokemon seemed ready to battle some tough Pokemon once out, only to get hugged by the young girl. "Kyyaaa! He's so cute!" she screamed, hugging the extremely confused Ari.
"Do you not have Exeggcute where you come from?" Eileen asked the young girl who seemed too distracted with Ari to reply. Instead the older man came forward to answer.
"We're from northern Sinnoh. I'm Swinton, and the young girl is my daughter Samantha," Swinton explained.
"Isn't the north of Sinnoh all snowy? Never been to a colder climate, though my hometown is close to one," Eileen replied, ignoring Ari's cry for help from Samantha.
"You'd be correct. To be more exact we live on Route 217, which commonly has blizzards most of the time. No chance of such a Pokemon like the one you have living wildly in those conditions," Swinton said as his daughter let go of Ari to talk to her dad.
"Can we get one daddy? Please? I don't want anything more than one!" Samantha asked excitedly, her father giving her a sad look.
"No dear. We don't have the time to try and catch one before we have to go back home," Swinton told her, sighing when his daughter started to cry.
Ari and Eileen listened in as Swinton kept explaining to Samantha why she couldn't have an Exeggcute, the two of them feeling pity for the crying girl. The feeling changed when Samantha asked why she couldn't just have Eileen's Exeggcute.
"Woah there little one. You can't just take Ari here. He might be a new part of my team and not the best fighter just yet, but I can't just let him go even though I know he'd make you happy," Eileen cut in, looking at Ari who seemed a bit relieved.
"My dad has a Pokemon that lives around the area we live at back home! Maybe there could be a trade? I know my dad's Pokemon is tough! Otherwise they couldn't make it out in the wild," Samantha replied anxiously.
"Oh? Well that might change everything," Eileen said with sudden excitement at the idea of a new, tough Pokemon. Ari didn't seem too pleased at the thought of being replaced, but he was shushed by his Trainer as Swinton spoke up.
"The Pokemon my daughter is talking about is Dalton, my Swinub. Quite a few live on with us at home, but there are many out on Route 217. They're used to the snow, and aren't really affected by it at all. If you'd be interested, I'd be okay with the trade," Swinton said, taking out a Pokeball with an icicle sticker on it and sending out the Pokemon inside.
Dalton the Swinub seemed to not care about what was going on once he was let out of his Pokeball. He did care about the smell around him; his nose sniffing the air and trying to make a beeline to the exit. Swinton grabbed him before he could leave though, and held the Pokemon in his arm.
"That's a Swinub for you, always sniffing out food. Perhaps we shouldn't have brought him out with a buffet nearby," Swinton said with a chuckle, watching as Eileen pulled out her Pokedex to examine the Pokemon.
220 Swinub
Pig Pokemon
Ice Ground
HT 1'04"
WT 14.3 lbs
It uses the tip of its nose to dig for food. Its nose is so tough that even frozen ground poses no problem.
"Interesting. He looks a quite a bit heavier than fourteen pounds though. I think I'll say yes to this trade anyways," Eileen stated after listening to the Pokedex, shushing Ari once more after he started to protest. "Ari, buddy you're going to make this girl extremely happy. We've only known each other for a few days, so it shouldn't be too hard to adjust. I do greatly appreciate that the first time we met was you saving me from my Meowth, but I think it's time for us to go our separate ways. I'm sure you'll enjoy it over there," she told Ari after kneeling down to return him to his Pokeball.
"Let's head to the trading room," Eileen told Swinton and Samantha, about to follow them out before grabbing Callum and dragging him along.
The trading room was opposite the Grand Ball room inside of one of what would normally be a conference room. There were a number of Trainers inside; most were just talking with each other, but there were also trades going on at the trade machines. Samantha ran over to the first available machine and called them over to it.
Eileen thought the machine looked somewhat odd, but wasn't going to sit down and examine it. 'There were more important things to do,' she thought, holding up Ari's Pokeball before placing it onto the trade machine. Swinton returned Dalton to his Pokeball and placed the Pokeball in the slot. Samantha pushed the button as soon as it was placed, watching with excitement as Eileen pressed the button on her own side. The two Pokeballs disappeared in a white light, and the two Pokemon showed up on the screen. After a minute the trade was completed with the Pokeballs returning into the slots.
"That was interesting. I hope you two take care of Ari and have a safe trip," Eileen told Swinton and Samantha, getting a hug from Samantha before they left the room. "Neat. Now I have a tough new Pokemon to train. However, I think dinner should come first. Care to join me Callum, or do I have to drag you again?" Eileen asked.
Dalton the Swinub's moves: Endure, Powder Snow, Mud-Slap, Tackle
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