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

[socialtangent]

"Did you get your prize from Mr. Roman?"

"I did," Tyler replied, brandishing his check as the two of them took their spot in line. "Oh, and..." A friendly smile crossed his face. "...thanks for saving my ass back on...you know...the boat." He put a hand on Simon's shoulder. "Don't know if I would've made it if you didn't show up. I owe you one, man." Sentimental moments were never Tyler's specialty, but he thought that he needed to make his gratitude known. It would be rude if he didn't, he felt.

 

[RBMidknight]

Simon jerked his head in a brief nod. "You're welcome. Glad I could help." He shrugged his shoulder, the same one Tyler had briefly touched, and took a step backwards as the line began to move. "Your Kadabra saved us both at the end," Simon recalled, "Could you thank...Geist for me?" Simon took another step and accidentally backed up into the counter. "Sorry." he immediately turned to apologize to the teller as he took his check back out. He gave the teller - whose name-tag he couldn't read - the check and dutifully recited his full name, the last four digits of his trainer identification number, and which account he wanted the money to be deposited in.

"Would you like a receipt?" the teller asked once the machine had finished verifying his check.

"Yes, please. Thanks." Simon folded the given receipt and slid it into his glasses case - the first thing he could find at the top of his pack. Pulling the still-open bag Simon moved to the side so that Tyler could move forward.

 

[socialtangent]

"Could you thank...Geist for me?"

"Sure can. He's eating like a king tonight, that's for sure," Tyler replied before Simon excused himself to go deposit his check. A few minutes later, Simon left the teller's window and moved aside for Tyler to step forward.

"Next customer in line, please," the teller called.

Tyler approached the window and pulled out his check. "Yeah, I'd like to make a deposit." He handed the check to the teller, who examined the piece of paper for a moment before setting it aside. The teller asked for his ID, which he fished for out of his wallet and presented. Tyler then gave his bank account information when prompted. After that, it was only a few button presses on the teller's part until the transaction was completed.

"Thank you," he said to the teller before putting away his receipt. With their business done, Tyler and Simon headed out of the bank. "So...are you gonna challenge Surge today?" Tyler asked, trying to start up a conversation.

 

[Lambi]

Aeris and Charlie found a table for two in a corner of the eatery and had a seat. The place was so crowded, there weren't a lot of spots there to sit. And most of the other places were for more than just two, so they felt it wasn't good to take a table meant for four for themselves.

Aeris looked out the window at the weather. It was sunny, which would make her feel a bit up, but she only had her mind on Mika at the moment. She sighed while they waited for their food. She looked towards Blaze, who looked back towards her with a quizzical expression. She recognized Charlie, but didn't see Mika anywhere. She briefly asked her, but Aeris just looked away with tears again in her eyes, though she tried to fight them back. "I'll tell you in a bit..." she said to Blaze, who still wanted to know, but didn't push it. It seemed something had happened and she didn't want to talk about it.

Not too long after, their food was served to them. The sandwich Aeris had ordered looked alright to her, and the orange juice looked good. She had a few small bites of the sandwich and took small sips of the juice.

 

[Lost In The Void]

Sarah struggled out of bed a bit later than she normally woke. While she hadn't had any nightmares of any sort, a common side effect of trauma, she had experienced difficulty in falling asleep, only really dozing off when Mia, breaking out of her normal trance, to nuzzle softly against her. The intuition of Pokemon was truly amazing.

After a brief hot shower and a rough attempt at making herself somewhat presentable, she had walked to where everyone had gone, where the owner of the S.S Anne had presented everyone with a cheque of 1500 dollars. While it was a sizable amount, Sarah was sure that most were only accepting the amount now because they needed the immediate cash flow to get back on their feet. She was sure more would sue in the days to come.

She would cash the cheque later though, it appeared the bank was nearly backed up to the brim with customers trying to cash their new cheques and she wasn't interested in long lines at the moment. Instead she set about finding one of her new friends, the immediate thought was to go back to the Pokemon Centre to wait for one of them, but before she could set off that way, she stopped by the gym to investigate who her friends would be fighting. To her surprise, Callum was already there, talking to another trainer he appeared to know.

Cutting through the line that had begun to build, she guessed pent up energy after a brutal prior night was to blame, she tapped Callum lightly on the shoulder.

 

[CounterAttack]

"Well, you kind of already heard what I want to do; travel the world. Any big dreams or plans of your own?"

What did she want to do, after completing the Indigo League? Rochelle pondered this question for a moment. There was a lot out there. Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova... Callum's idea of travel was a good one. But there was also the idea of settling in one place, landing a job and becoming comfortable with one's place in the world. The idea did not seem all that fantastic, though.

Rochelle liked the idea of a job, or something, involving Pokémon. Maybe she could join up with a Gym... maybe even become Leader some day. The Goldenrod Gym Leader, Whitney, was kind of a pushover according to some people. Rochelle made a note to find out how the Gym hierarchy worked. Could someone challenge the Leader for their position?

"I don't know, really... there's a lot out there," she eventually answered. "Other regions to explore, Gyms to challenge, people and Pokémon to meet. Maybe I'll find something that catches my eye more than anything else. Dunno when that'll happen, though," she added with a short laugh. As she finished speaking, a slightly short girl, presumably a Trainer, approached Callum and tapped him on the shoulder. Did she know him from somewhere? Most likely last night.

 

[Pm0n3y]

Charlie almost couldn't wait to dig into his food as it was presented to the table. However, before he and Quinn could dig in (or, before he could; Quinn began munching on bacon regardless), he couldn't help but take a glance at the distraught girl that sat across from him. Aeris was eating, but it was still clear that a metaphorical cloud hung over her head. He tried not to make it obvious that he was basically staring at her, and soon his eyes floated over to the Charmeleon that sat next to her. Blaze showed an expression of concern that reflected his own, and he briefly wondered how it must be for a pokémon to perceive their master's personal problems.

"How can I cheer her up?" He thought simply. He began to ask her about Mika, but was interrupted before he could pronounce a word. His Xtransciever was ringing off the hook, and he knew exactly who it was. He let out a nervous chuckle before looking down towards the device. He figured it'd be best if he opened the call as coolly as possible.

"Hey hey he-" He started, only to promptly interrupted by yells.

"CHARLES DELACROIX!! How dare you ignore my calls! You know I saw the news last night, do you know how worried I was?!" It was Charlie's mother, by the way. By how loud she was yelling, she was conveying two points. Firstly, her happiness to see her son alive was hard to covey through all her worry-anger. Secondly, a good number of that restaurant's patrons were silenced as a black middle-aged mother yelled loud enough to briefly suck all attention out whatever conversation they were having. Charlie tried to play it off, but it was clear the outburst left him embarrassed. His mom kept up the barrage of loud-happy-angry-worry words, and Charlie tired his hardest to calm her down. Even if couldn't get a word in.

"Mom. Mom, m-...okay, mom. Momma. mom. I know mom. I'm sorry Mom, it won't happen again. Mo-, lemme speak to dad mom. I love you too Mom lemme speak to Dad. Momomomomomomom, lemmespeaktodadmompleasegeez" Would be the gist of how Charlie's side of that conversation went. Soon, the phone was relinquished from the overactive mother, and the calm, stoic face of a much taller male appeared.

"Dad, hey." Charlie greeted through a sigh.

"Charlie, you should've returned our call last night. We didn't hear the news until after we called you, and that sent your mother into a tizzy." Samuel replied, his stolid demeanor obviously contrasting his wife's. His words quickly sunk into Charlie's mind, the a very visible expression of guilt appeared on his face.

"Yeah...I know. It was just...we were just coming out of of a tense moment when I got the call. Most of us were still shook from what had happened. I know for a fact that I didn't get that much sleep last night." Charlie explained, his father letting the words hang in silence for but a second.

"...I see. How're you feeling now?" He finally asked.

"I'm...fine now. Just hungry-Quinn, you didn't have to eat all the bacon!" Charlie gave the Cyndaquil a bothered look. She looked back at him with a oblivious smile and a burp.

"Oh? Were we interrupting your breakfast?"

"Nahhhh. Well...you were, but y'know-"

"Say no more. You finish eating. Just, call us sometime, alright?" Samuel asked. Charlie nodded simply as his father hung up. He gave another annoyed look before softening the expression.

"You're lucky you're adorable." He told her before looking towards Aeris.

"Parents, amiright? ...I meant to ask this before I was interrupted, but...how was Mika? Was he a cool dude?" He asked. He wanted to wait for an answer before he started eating, but his stomach begged to differ.

 

[elementsoul]

?You never really do,? Callum replied before he felt a light tap at his shoulder. Callum quickly turned around and saw the top of a head of red-brown hair. Quickly shifting his gaze down, Callum recognized Sarah. ?Morning Sarah. I can see that you?re in better shape than Eileen was this morning,? Callum said with a smile, completely oblivious to the lineup of pissed off trainers that Sarah left behind her.

?Oh ya, I?m forgetting something important.? Callum announced as he stepped back from between the two, so that they could properly face each other without being an obstruction. ?Sarah this is Rochelle. She?s one of the people that Eileen decided to join up with before I met her. And Rochelle this is Sarah. Eileen and I met her last night on the Anne after running away from an angry sailor. Long story don?t ask by the way.?

[hr]

After Eileen had cashed her check at the bank, she went to the Pokémon center to get something to eat. The coffee she had gotten earlier hadn?t helped her hangover and she threw it out after barely drinking any of it at all. The food selection at the Center wasn?t the best, but Eileen found a greasy egg and bacon sandwich that she promptly ate. The food helped a little, but Eileen still had a headache and the lights seemed a little too bright. Defeated, Eileen went back to her room at the Pokémon Center and went back to sleep; there was a hope in her that she might be able to sleep the hangover away. Almost right away she was fast asleep dreaming of how she would defeat Lt. Surge.

 

[NeoAC]

A loud burp shook the air outside of the McDonald's near the pier. The customers on the patio turned at the sound and while a couple men nodded silently in approval, most shock their heads at the uncouth action. "Sorry bros, my bad," Jordan apologized as he left the area as quickly as possible.

Jordan was feeling much better after his pit stop at the "restaurant". It was a long wait in line at First Tohjo, as everyone from the town square was looking to cash in their newly acquired hush money. The muzak was terrible. Eventually Jordan succeeded in acquiring some funds, and he immediately focused on having a nice celebration meal. Now that he had accomplished that goal, he wasn't sure where to proceed to.

Hmmmm, what to do. I guess I could like, go to the PokeMart or something. Spend some more money. He looked at the wad of cash still in his pocket. Uh...rather hold onto this for, at least like, a little bit longer. But what else is there to do? Jordan tried to recall the facets of the city. Dude from the ship. Bro said he had a Gym round here. Maybe I could do that. Get some more cash. Or probably lose. But whatever, least it's free.

After getting some directions from a pair of somewhat condescending patrons at a cafe, Jordan made his way to down towards the waterfront. Before he got to the gym however, he was confronted by his nemesis from earlier. A sizeable line pointed the way into the large red, white and blinding neon yellow-colored building in front of the ocean.

Dude. Not cool. I don't want to wait in another line and junk. Jordan scanned ahead into the line. Hmmmm, think that's like Tyler and Simon up there. Guess I can go with them but that's still a bit off....wait a sec. That Rochelle up there? With Direction Dude. They look right close. Perfect.

Jordan took off along side the line until he reached his intended cutting targets. "Hey bros!" he offered to Rochelle and Callum. "Totally weird seeing you here...this close to the door. I should totally join you guys and stuff. Take Surge dude on at the same time, right?"

 

[Lambi]

The phone call Charlie received startled Aeris and momentarily brought her out of her funk. Though that quickly came back once Charlie asked her about Mika. Not his fault, she knew. "Well, he was nice. And fun to hang around. I didn't think only knowing each other for such a short time would affect me this much... then again, it feels like it's been a longer time than just a little under a week. Maybe more like a few months. Call me crazy, but that's how I feel." She actually almost cracked a smile at that when thinking about it further. It was a silly thought, she admitted to herself.

She took a few more bites from her sandwich and drunk a bit more of her OJ. "I still didn't know a lot about him, and I hope that the future will present more opportunities to get to know him better." She was starting to feel a little better, but it would be a while before she'd get back to her full cheery self. "Hopefully his Pokémon are being taken care of in the meantime. Can't imagine that it would be all the comfortable to just be stuck in a Pokéball for a really long time."

 

[CounterAttack]

Rochelle greeted the newcomer with a "Hello," and a short wave. She briefly wondered about how Sarah had met Callum and Eileen... and where Eileen was. The latter seemed like the type to challenge Gyms as soon as possible. Maybe she was sleeping in or something.

As Rochelle pondered this, she heard a familiar voice interrupt her. "Hey bros! Totally weird seeing you here... this close to the door. I should totally join you guys and stuff. Take Surge dude on at the same time, right?"

"Oh, hey, Jordan," she answered. "Yeah, we were about to head inside... I will say, though, that if you're gonna cut in line, you gotta get behind us. It's not fair for you to jump the gun when we've been waiting for longer than you." She thought she heard someone grumble about Jordan cutting in line, but there had been no complaints about Sarah's presence, so she figured why not allow Jordan to get in line behind the three that were already present?

Soon enough Rochelle was leading the way into the Vermilion City Gym... Surge's style of decorating was an interesting one... and a potentially dangerous one. Were those live electric currents running around the edges of the arena? She quickly pulled out her Poké Balls and recalled the three Pokémon she had out, in case something happened to them. And Surge's end of the arena was bedecked with American flags and symbols and whatnot... it looked like the man really loved his home country. Rochelle would show him what a girl from Johto could do.

After the exchange of introductions, of course. Formalities were to be observed in situations such as this. Then they could get straight into battling.

 

[Pm0n3y]

"Well, okay, she didn't burst into tears when I mentioned Mika. So we've definitely made progress." Charlie thought with relieving mental sigh, making sure he listened to her words as he subsequently fed both himself and his Pokémon. It made him wonder if he could show such a strong affection for someone he's come to know in just under a week. It's fairly easy to show friendliness towards new people, but romantic affection just seemed like something that would require a longer passage of time to fully grasp. Or at least, that's how he thought. Or how he was taught to think. "Wait, little under a week?" Then he realized that these kids have been out in the world for about as long as he has. It was funny, seeing as he was always under the assumption that the troupe might've embarked on their journey at least a few days ahead of him.

"Hm. I wonder how things would've been if I'd met up with these guys earlier..." He pondered through a feat of subconscious multitasking, feeding Quinn a piece of pancake as he continued listening to Aeris.

"I still didn't know a lot about him, and I hope that the future will present more opportunities to get to know him better."

"Don't worry, I'm positive it will." Charlie replied with a habitual nod. He wished he could've said more, but knew he couldn't. He really didn't know the boy beyond Aeris' description of him and their short introduction the night before. It induced a feeling of subtle guilt in him, and he couldn't explain why. The topic was changed soon after, and Charlie saw it as a perfect opportunity to get his mind on something else.

"I wouldn't think so either. That's why I let Quinn out whenever I can. I mean, I'd let everyone out too, but then I wouldn't have anything to eat." He said with a chuckle. The topic of Pokémon brought up a bit of a subtopic in him. "Oh!, You're going to fight Surge today too, right? Might've asked this earlier, but d'you think you'll be ready?" He queried, soon turning to his own glass of OJ, his bounding gulps seemingly contrasting Aeris' quaint sips.

 

[NeoAC]

As Jordan followed Rochelle, Callum and Sarah into the daunting Vermillion Gym, the edge was slightly taken off with the almost cartoonish Leader's side of the arena. Surge's decorating style couldn't be more American if he had smeared apple pie on the walls with a baseball bat. It was a little off putting, at least to Jordan. Man, like, I knew Americans were all patriotic and junk, but jeez. This is like too much. As they entered with some of the other trainers, a packed grandstand could be seen along the side of the dirt floored arena. Many of the stranded S.S. Anne travellers sat to take in the battles.

As the challengers stood on the non-American side of the arena, music started blaring over the loudspeakers. Jordan couldn't quite place it, something about highways and danger zones. After that line, Surge strutted out from a side door. "Dat's right kids. Dis...is...the danger zone!"

As he said that, fireworks went off along the far side of the gym, away from the crowd. The pyrotechnics earned some applause from the crowd. Jordan was confused. Isn't this guy, like, got electricity and junk? Why fireworks?

"All right, here's how dis is gonna work for the lotta yas. Since I gotta lot of fights on my card today, we're gonna do this one on one, you're best against one-a my best. You beat 'em, you get a badge, some more spending cash, and one-a dese Thundabolt TMs. Lose and you get nothing! Cause dat's how America works!"

"Dude, too much America," Jordan noted.

"And if ya think dis is gonna be easy, think again kiddos. My Pokemon are ready to shock ya inta submission. I trained dem with da same methods that saved my ass during tha war, and you better believe dat they make dis battlefield light up with da sparks of combat! So get ready, cause you'll be shocked how quick we can put ya down!"

Spoiler: Vermillion City Gym

All battles will be one on one matchups. Surge will use one of the following: Raichu, Magneton, Electrode, Jolteon, Electabuzz or Flaaffy. Have at him folks.

 

[CounterAttack]

"So get ready, cause you'll be shocked how quick we can put ya down!"

Disregarding the electricity pun, Rochelle stepped up first to challenge Lieutenant Surge. The man was confident in his type of choice... but she had an ace up her sleeve. The one type that could easily best the Lieutenant. "I, Rochelle Sanders, challenge you," she declared as she approached the edge of the arena, Pokédex in hand just in case.

"Skip the formalities, kiddo, we got a battle to fight," Surge shot back as he raised a Poké Ball and released its contents. A yellow and white four-legged Pokémon materialised in the arena. "Jolteon!" it cried, discharging a few sparks harmlessly into the floor as it ran around a little ways. Almost instantly Rochelle's Pokédex updated itself:

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

[/td]
[td]#135: Jolteon &#9794[/td]
[td]Lightning Pokémon[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td colspan=2]

[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Height: 2'07" / 0.8m.[/td]
[td]Weight: 54.0 lbs. / 24.5 kg.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Ability: Volt Absorb[/td]
[td](This Pokémon heals itself when hit with Electric-type moves.)[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td colspan=2]Jolteon is one of the seven evolved forms of Eevee. It evolves through the use of a Thunderstone.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td colspan=2].[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td colspan=2]Every hair on its body starts to stand sharply on end if it becomes charged with electricity.[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]

"Alright..." Time to show me what you're made of. Rochelle plucked the appropriate Ball off of her own belt. "Come on out, Eva!" she called out as she pressed the button and the Gligar appeared in a flash of light. She raised her claws to face the Electric-type, clacking them a couple of times.

Surge's reaction was to Rochelle's type advantage caused her to raise an eyebrow. "Alright, girl, so you got yourself a Ground-type. Not gonna help ya much! Jolteon! Quick Attack!" The Eeveelution became little more than a blur as it started to run: Eva was smacked into the wall before Rochelle had a chance to call out a move. That thing was fast.

"Eva, hang in there. Try for a Poison Sting," she suggested. Eva's eyes narrowed and she raised her stinger in anticipation of the Jolteon's next move. Its speed wouldn't help it against the lingering effect of poison. But when Surge's Pokémon moved in for another hit, Eva tried for a jab and missed completely. Rochelle had to change tactics. Moving wouldn't help when her opponent was far faster... so she had to go for a defensive route instead.

As the Jolteon retreated a second time, Rochelle improvised an idea. "Eva! New plan! Kick up a dust cloud with Sand-Attack!"

"Gar!" The Gligar complied, scratching at the floor and beating her small wings to stir up the dirt. Soon she was obscured by the cloud... but it was small. Surge's Jolteon would easily spot her inside it. "It's gotta be bigger than that!"

Eva redoubled her efforts and the cloud of dust and dirt expanded a bit, soon covering a larger portion of the arena floor. Rochelle couldn't see her Pokémon now. The Jolteon was sitting and watching curiously, head to one side. Surge, too, was looking on with interest. "A clever trick... but your Gligar can't hide forever. Jolteon! Stand ready!" His Pokémon stood up again, sparking a little as it braced itself for a potential ambush.

Then the dust cloud began to dissipate a little, and it was split by Eva shooting up from its center. Her wings snapped open, and she was gliding in circles a short distance above the arena, poking her tongue out at the foe below. Clever girl... Being unable to take flight as a bird Pokémon would, she had used the dust cloud as cover to get herself into the air. Independently, to boot.

"Hah. I'm not gonna make it that easy for ya, girlie! Jolteon, bring 'er down!" Surge commanded. Was she within jumping distance? Rochelle didn't know. But her query was soon answered by the Jolteon's next move. It began to charge electricity... why? What good would it do against Eva? Electric attacks were pointless, they just dissipated against Ground-type Pokémon.

Then the Jolteon released the energy in a ThunderShock, hitting Eva perfectly... and Rochelle saw the reason behind the attack. Eva was immune to the effects of Electric-type attacks, but she was unable to ignore the physical impact of the move. She dropped a few feet in height as a result of being knocked out of her glide path.

"Now, Jolteon! Bring 'er down to ground level," Surge called out. Clearly Eva was within range for a jump, as the Jolteon leapt up to the side of the arena, paying no heed to the live currents of electricity, and pushed off from there, leaping upwards to pounce on Eva. Rochelle remembered trying a similar technique against Eva, aboard the S.S. Anne...

"Eva! Remember what you practiced with Clive! Do it! Do it now!"

Rochelle's shout was a desperate gambit: the Jolteon couldn't alter its trajectory when it was in the air, unlike a bird. Eva's practice with Clive, her former Trainer, had been used to defeat Rochelle in battle. Sure enough, just before the Jolteon crashed into Eva, the Gligar flipped over and enveloped its head, clinging onto its face. The two began to fall... and just as she had seen her do it before, Eva twisted in the air and landed on top of her opponent, more or less. The loud whump that resulted from the crash was met with a smattering of applause from the crowd.

Eva let go of the Jolteon's head, but stuck it with her stinger a couple of times, causing it to flail around in attempts to dislodge her. After a couple of seconds, Eva let go and half-scuttled, half-ran away from the Jolteon, which struggled to its feet. Having a heavy weight land on top of you, especially when your landing did not go as planned, was generally not good for one's health, Rochelle reasoned. The Jolteon coughed a couple of times... and then it coughed up a gob of something and swayed alarmingly on its feet.

Poisoned... that should do it! We've got the upper hand now! "Excellent work, Eva! Now finish him! Quick Attack!" Rochelle called out, confident that she was about to win the battle. Lieutenant Surge looked shocked by the result of Eva's tactics. "Jolteon! Come on! Hang in there!"

His call, however, was left unheeded. In imitation of the Jolteon's preemptive strike, Eva charged the poisoned Electric-type. But when she knocked it over, it didn't get up again. Seeing this, the crowd began to cheer and applaud. Rochelle thought she heard a familiar, "Capital!" in the cheering, and smiled to herself.

A slightly dejected look on his face, Surge raised his Poké Ball and returned his defeated Jolteon. "Congratulations, girlie. Didn't think you'd beat me there, but you pulled it off," he admitted, tossing a small package across the arena. Rochelle caught it with no problem. "Come here, Eva," she called to her Gligar, who cheekily stuck her tongue out at the Lieutenant before climbing out of the arena and walking beside Rochelle as she stepped down to rejoin her friends.

"Well... that's a welcome change from the fight against Misty, that's for sure," she confessed with a slightly awkward smile. "Good job there, Eva, you were fantastic."

"Gar! Gligargar!" Eva smiled behind her tongue as she briefly hugged her Trainer's leg. The two of them stepped aside to let the others past, since they had their own battles against Lt. Surge.

 

[Lambi]

Aeris smirked a little when Charlie said that he wouldn't get anything to eat if he had all his Pokémon out, but it didn't last for long. Though his question did give her some food for thought. "I don't really know. I mean, I do want to face off against him, but I don't know if I can do it right now..."

She would at least need to have the others by her side if she was going to fight him. She knew she wasn't going to be able to fight him if none of the others from the group would be there. Charlie was nice and all, but she hadn't known him for as long as the others. And then there was the matter of who she would use against him. She knew that Xal was an excellent choice, given that he was part Ground type.

Aeris managed to finish a bit more of her sandwich and orange juice, then gave the rest to Blaze, who finished it for her. Aeris tried to clear her thoughts a bit, but it wasn't going too well. "What about you?" she finally asked. "Are you going to fight Surge? Or do you want to go to the bank first?" She remembered the check that was in her backpack and that it might be good to take it to the bank and get the cash from it, though she didn't want to interrupt anything Charlie might have wanted to do.

 

[Lost In The Void]

Sarah watched the display with marvel. While it was obviously over the top, she couldn't help but be amazed at the effort the gym leader would put forward to showcase his love of his country. The gym leader himself was a little more unnerving and Sarah found herself retreating slightly behind the others with her.

She watched as the battle between the girl, Rochelle or something like that and Surge. It was fast paced, exciting and full of heart, it appeared that Rochelle's strategy of using a ground type would give her no positive ground, Surge's experience was extremely evident, but in the end the girl had prevailed and Sarah clapped politely as the rest of the viewers celebrated in a much more...loud fashion.

During Surge's speech to Rochelle, Callum took the opportunity to introduce Sarah to Jordan, the boy seemed to be in some sort of permanent daze and even called her Bro, despite her sex being completely opposite of what would constitute a Bro. Regardless, she shook his hand quickly and returned to watching Rochelle obtain her badge. Callum leaned into her ear and whispered, "Don't be offended if he doesn't remember your name, he never remembers names."

 

[Pm0n3y]

"Hm." Charlie replied initially, attentively. It was obvious Aeris wasn't ready to face a challenge as significant the next gym leader. Not yet at least. "...It makes me realize that I really don't have a 'mon that could have any sort of advantage against Surge. But then again, I beat Misty with Quinn...y'know what? I'm not gonna even worry about that. I'm just gonna go out there, and earn my badge the only way I know how." Charlie stated with low smirk that contrasted his overly confident tone. As looked down at his plate, he realized Quinn was finishing what scraps were left. It didn't matter as much as it did earlier, he was full, and his mind had moved on to other things.

"Break's over, Quinn. It's time for us to get back to business." He said to the Cyndaquil, she in turn looking back to him with a look of obliviousness. Charlie began his shimmy out of the seat, reaching for his wallet as he slung his bag over one of his shoulders. Just then, Aeris asked him another question.

"...do you want to go to the bank first?" She queried, the Charmeleon beside her devouring what was left of her food. Charlie raised an eyebrow at the question, as he hadn't immediately realized its relevancy.

"The bank...? What would we go there for-Oh yeahhhh, because of that check they gave us this morning..." He remembered, now at his feet. he produced a crudely folded paper from the same pocket as his wallet. Unraveling the note, he gave a long look at the numbers embroidered across the check.

"...Eh, nah. I can always cash this check after I win against Surge. The bank'll still be there afterwards." He decided, putting the check back in his pocket. With that same hand, he opened his wallet, and placed more than enough money on the table. As he did so, Quinn saw it as a chance to run up his arm. "...even if you aren't ready to throw down, I think you should still come to the gym. Y'know, maybe all the fighting could get you all riled up and excited. I'm hoping we might find some of our peeps there too." He added, giving everything on his person one last pat down. He looked back towards the trainer.

"Ready to go?" He asked simply.

 

[Lambi]

Memories of her own fight against Misty did bring a bit of joy back to Aeris, since Charlie had mentioned how he'd won against her with Quinn, just like how Aeris had won against Misty with Blaze. It had been such a great moment for her. Probably the first step towards her recovering from her fear.

It was like that kinda snapped her back in place. Yeah, she was still worried about Mika. And she didn't know if he would be alright or not. But she had to go on, because moping around wasn't going to help him recover. She'd see if she was ready for Surge, but for now, going along with Charlie sounded like a good idea. And like he, she could always go later to the bank too. She got some money out of her own wallet and put enough of it on the table for what she'd had, and she nodded to Charlie when he asked her if she was ready to go. "Yeah, lets go to the gym."

They headed out from the eatery and towards the gym, Aeris following Charlie, where they could see the long line of trainers waiting to go in. "Ugh, we'll have to wait forever to get in now..." Blaze wasn't too happy about it either, but she shrugged. There was little to be done about it.

 

[RBMidknight]

"So...are you gonna challenge Surge today?"

"The gym leader? Yes." Simon replied. He paused, reviewing his current errand load mentally. "I have another stop to make first, though." he admitted. 'Will Drowzee be able to fight?' Simon frowned when he realized that he didn't know the answer. "I'm sorry, but I have to go by the Pokemon Center now. If you'll excuse me." Giving a partial wave Simon immediately began moving past the now sizable teller line. Once outside he began jogging towards the Pokemon Center.

****

"Excuse me, I'm here to pick up my Pokemon? He was left here last night." Waiting in line hadn't eased Simon's worry about his Pokemon. Judy, the helpful nurse from the previous day was nowhere in sight. Instead a new and much younger desk clerk handed Simon a clipboard with a pen attached.

"Sign here and we'll get to you in a jiffy."

Simon neatly printed his name, ID, and the current time on the sign-in sheet. And even though there wasn't a space for it he wrote 'Pick up - Drowzee' in the margin. He hoped a jiffy wasn't very long.

After handing back the clipboard Simon sat down next to an older man who appeared to be with a young boy playing with a small Charizard figurine. Simon's suspicion was confirmed when the boy turned to the man handed him another Pokemon figure to play with. The boy began enthusiastically narrating his own Pokemon battle. Not wanting to unpack anything, or speak to anyone, he tilted his head back and closed his eyes.

"Braddock, Simon?" When he looked up again the boy and his father were gone. The friendly assistant handed Simon a thin folder with metal fastenings along one side and Drowzee's Pokeball. It looked as though someone had tried to clean the Pokeball. The layer of black paint was less noticeable.

"Your Pokemon's been examined and rested so you should be all set. If you have any questions about the report there's a number at the bottom you can call. Have a nice day."

"Thank...you." Simon flipped open the folder and skimmed the first page. Sure enough, there was a phone number listed in the footer. Though instead of being the friendly Pokemon Center logo there was a Pokemon Research Facility logo and and address written in small text. The next two sheets were identical to the original report he'd received. Simon flipped through the remaining pages. Height, weight, blood work, summaries of X-ray results, Psychic Evaluation, Physical Evaluation. The evaluations were new. 'What's this?' Each test result was a number - which meant nothing to him - but some also had yellow exclamation points next to a pair of colored letters. 'It's a code. So...' Simon turned the page over to find a legend.

Subject performed at or above the ninetieth percentile.

'Which means what exactly?' Simon wondered. He waited for a young man with a large net in one hand to walk inside the Center so he could walk outside.

Simon put the report into his pack but set the Pokeball on the ground after activating it. Drowzee appeared with the same flash of light that always occurred. "Drow?" and seemed calm. Simon took that as a good sign.

"Hey. Hi." He knelt down, ignoring the gravel digging into his knees. "How are you doing? You okay?"

Drowzee tilted his head. "Zee. Drow." the Pokemon answered after a pause.

"I was going to go to the gym now, if you're okay." It wasn't really his original plan, but they could shop later.

"Zee." Drowzee turned to point at a nearby sign. According to that sign the gym was only a short distance away. Simon stood up and brushed off his pants. "Okay." He took a moment to readjust his backpack and egg-pack before following Drowzee. "Here we go."

 

[NeoAC]

Watching Rochelle come away with a victory against the large Vermillion Gym Leader gave Jordan a glimmer of hope for his upcoming battle. Hey that's awesome. Rochelle can do this, so like, dunno, maybe I can pull this off too. As the redhead passed by, Jordan offered some congratulations.

"Way to go, Rochelle. Totally nailed that dude," he complemented as best he could.

"Thanks," she replied.

As she came back towards her friends, an announcement blared over the PA system in the gym. "A reminda to youze all," the voice had an even more annoying American accent than Surge's, "once youze dun battaling Surge, get outta da way and get ovva to da stands or get outta here, or sometin'! Just don stand dere!"

"Man, what's with that chick's accent?" Jordan asked Rochelle, as if she would know.

"Not a clue," she answered. "Come on, Eva." She motioned the Gligar to follow her, and the Pokemon complied as the two took a spot in the stands.

"Next up!" Surge bellowed from across the arena. The leader's powerful voice could probably be heard out in the harbor.

Jordan looked around. He was nearest to the battlefield, so it looked like it was his turn. "Uh, all right, I'm going to step up here bro! Let's do it!"

Surge looked a little bewildered but the kid had fight. "That's what I wanna hear! Now Raichu!" Surge tossed a ball and out popped a Pokemon almost exactly the same as the one he commanded so effectively on the S.S. Anne. The only difference was this one was clearly younger, and itching to fight. Sparks were flying out of the mouse's cheeks. "Raiiiiiiiiiii," If the older one sounded like a revving engine, this one was clearly already in gear.

Jordan stood for a second as he thought about who he should be using in this fight. I dunno, that dude looks mondo tough. Like I don't think any of my bros can take that. Uh, I dunno. I guess Vince bro probably has the best shot. He's gonna have to be the call.

Jordan fumbled around in his pocket for Vince's Pokeball, before finally coming up with it. Or so he thought. "Come on out Vince bro!"

He tossed the Pokeball onto the field, but what emerged was not the imposing yet overmatched Mantis Pokemon. Instead, Jordan's liferaft from the shipwreck stood on the dirt floor, the dangling antennae on it's head doubling it's height but not adding to the intimidation factor Jordan was going for.

"Chinnnchouuuuuu!" "I'm here!" Solana announced before looking around the arena, almost as surprised as it's trainer. "Chinnnnnn" Where's here...

"Solana??? Awww no, wait, do-over bro!" Jordan exclaimed. However, his voice wasn't able to break the noise from the murmuring crowd.

"Raichu vs. Chinchou!" the referee announced. "Begin the battle!"

"Let's see how quick dis is gonna be," Surge said confidently. "Raichu! Give it a Dundabolt!" Raichu followed the call as the sparks from it's cheeks grew into a powerful bolt that flew towards Jordan's Pokemon.

It didn't take a Rocket grunt to know that sending electricity towards a creature that lives in water was a good way to get something fried, and Jordan could only watch as the beam smashed into Solana's spot on the ground, illuminating the arena with a flash. Dude, one move and done. Like I can't do this. I'm sorry Solana bro. You saved me and I didn't pay it back.

Jordan looked up to get a look at the damage done, only to find that there was none. Solana was still standing there, perfectly fine. In fact, it looked like it had even more energy than before, hopping around the battlefield. "Chinchinchinchinchouuuuu!" Wowwwww! Like a million bites of food at once!

"Looks like dis will be interesting after all," Surge commented.

"I...what? Solana's OK?!? But how?" Wait..the Pokedex thing. It will know! Rochelle said it would!

Jordan pulled the Pokedex out of his pocket and pointed at his still energetic partner.

Chinchou, the Angler Pokemon (Female)
Type: Water/Electric
Ability: Volt Absorb: This Pokemon regains health when hit with electricity.

"Dude...that's awesome!" Jordan exclaimed. I should probably have it do something...

Attacks: Thunder Wave, Flail, Confuse Ray, Water Gun

"OK, so uh, use Water Gun I guess?"

Solana fired a blast of water towards the opponent, but it was less a torrent and more a stream. It caught Raichu flush in the face, but the Electric type only had to shake it off.

"All right, we can win dis widout da juice," Surge stated. "Raichu! Give 'em a Slam!"

Raichu charged towards Solana, and leapt into the air. As the Water Pokemon looked up, Raichu spun and brought it's bulky bolt-shaped tail forward, slamming it down onto Solana. All the built up power was quickly sapped with the mighty lash, as the Chinchou staggered backwards.

"Not cool! Ummm," Jordan went back to the Pokedex to try and pick another move. "Uh....try...uh Confuse Ray, Solana!"

"Chin!" Right!" Solana bent forward, the orbs on the end of it's antennae glowing a bright gold before multiple orbs shot out towards Surge's Pokemon. The orbs surrounded Raichu, spinning around it and disorienting the Mouse Pokemon until the converged and exploded in a flash of light. Once the din faded, Raichu was wobbling around on its feet like a Vermillion dock worker at midnight on Fridays.

"Snap outta it, Raichu! Give dat Chinchou anudda Slam!"

"Raiaiaiaiiiiii....." Raichu stumbled back towards Solana, it's balance shot as it was still disoriented. However, it was still able to whip it's tail around and deliver another blow to the freshly caught member of Jordan's team, and Solana was left reeling. She flew a couple feet before landing on her back in front of Jordan.

"Solana, you can get up little bro...ette," Jordan was still trying to keep an eye on the Pokedex since it was basically walking him through the fight. "What else we got...can you Flail, Solana?"

"Chinnnnnn. Chinchou." ....Yes. I can. The Chinchou rose back to its stubby little feet and charged towards the still drunk-looking Raichu. It was slow, but on approach, Solana started whipping her fins and antennae around in a frenzy, creating a whirling dervish effect upon reaching the confused combatant. The Raichu didn't know what hit it as every part of Solana's body not dedicated to movement struck it. Jordan didn't know that it was because of the battering Solana took that this move was so effective. All he saw was his newest team member striking back hard at the burly man's chosen battler.

"Raichu don't take dat from dat minnow!" Surge commanded. "Slam it again! Finish it!"

Raichu loped towards it's weakened opponent to try and get the final blow in, but the young Pokemon foolishly went for another jump Slam to seal the deal. It was in no shape to be attempting such a move. It barely got off the ground before crashing down in a maneuver that looked more like a fall than a jump. It thudded into the ground, it's face showing a couple new scrapes.

"OK, so like what haven't we done yet...OK, uh Solana! Use Thunder Wave!"

The move probably wasn't going to have much bearing on the fight, but Solana did as Jordan told it to. Sparks flew around it's body, and a thin beam shot out from it's antennae towards the downed opponent, enveloping it in the electricity.

"Come on Raichu! Dis shoulda been over ages ago! Get onda attack already! Slam it down and send'em home!"

Despite not regularly training with the Gym Leader, Raichu still wanted to do its best for Surge, but the Thunder Wave had taken hold. It wasn't able to get up and mount the called for attack. But there was one attack it could do without moving, and it's current addled state, it decided that it was the best attack for the job. Stronger sparks flew from around it, and another Thunderbolt ripped towards the opponent.

"Nooooo! Not Dundabolt!" Surge shouted, but even his voice couldn't stop the lightning from riding on.

Solana was hit with Raichu's Thunderbolt in the same way a battery gets hit when attached to some jumper cables. It was an instant recharge. After the blast, Solana looked like it could go for another fight right after. But that wouldn't be necessary.

"All right Solana, go back to the Water Gun! I think this one's looking pretty done!"

"Chinchouchinchou!" "Yes, I'm going to win!" Solana shot another stream of water at the Gym Leader's Pokemon, and this time the stream might as well have been a torrent. Raichu was all out of fight, and the attack sent it rolling back to Surge, unable to continue.

"That does it!" The referee announced. "Chinchou is the winner!"

Jordan held his arms straight up, since it was the only thing he could think to do to celebrate the unlikely victory. "We did it! We totally did it!"

Solana bounded back over to her trainer, her eyes blazed alight, and Jordan was ready as she jumped as well as she could into his arms. "Chinchouchinchouchouuuuu?" Yay, so now I get more of that food right?

"All right kid, you got me beat, so here ya go." Surge reached into his cargo pants and tossed a small bag across the battleground to Jordan. "Take your winnins."

"Cool, thanks dude!" Jordan replied, cradling the bag in between him and the winning Pokemon.

"Next up!" Surge shouted!

Jordan moved out of the way and went to join Rochelle in the stands. Solana was still energetic and was squirming in his arms, but he didn't care to return her just yet. He wanted to bask in the moment a little while longer.