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

[Pm0n3y]

Earlier...

It took Charlie a little longer than the others to reach the Pokémon Center. The thought of cashing his compensation check slipped his mind as he battled for his latest badge, and only presented itself once the group decided to move on. As the thought came to mind, he began to gradually fall away from the crowd of trainers.

"I should cash this now, at least then i'd have a little more money to buy supplies..." He pondered aloud. He looked up to tell his friends that he'd disband for a bit, with Aeris being the closest to his person. He tapped at her shoulder, beckoning for her to come with him, joking something about a 'bank buddy'. Before she could comply in any way, he began trotting in the the opposite direction, heading towards the bank closer towards the center of the city.
[hr]
Now...

With that objective subjectively complete, Charlie began to make his way towards the Center and the others. He noticed Fary speed by him on a bike, most likely leaving the city to mostly likely embark on her own affairs. "There goes that girl that I barely got to know..." Another shrug accompanied his words as he entered the center. Everyone he expected to be there was there, all off doing their own thing.

He moseyed his way to the sole counter of the establishment, where one of the nurses waited. After turning in his information and pokéballs, the nurse gave him a short bow and a confirmation to wait for his pokémon to be healed. As she disappeared through a door behind the counter, Charlie moved himself to one of the nearer tables. Looking into his Xtransceiver, he pushed against the device's screen, motioning to call his parents. Surprisingly, neither picked it up. "Must be at work..." He thought as he looked on, the device prompting to leave a video message after the prompt.

"Hey Mom, Dad, just calling to tell y'all that I won the Vermillion City Thunder Badge not too long ago, with Quinn no less. Gimme a call...whenever." He tacked on lazily with a absentminded shrug. With the message sent, he looked up from the wrist mounted cam-phone to check his surroundings. His ears perked up as he overheard Rochelle talking to one of pokémon. As he looked in the direction of her voice, he realized that she was implementing a TM into her Flaafy. Not too familiar with the process himself, he decided to make his way over to her.

"Do you think TMs could hurt the pokémon when used?" He addressed her with a simple question. "Heheh, I wonder what would happen if you use one on a human..." He added with a dorky chuckle.

 

[Lambi]

This had been a great day so far aside from the start of it. The group was all happy, everyone had won a battle against Surge and they were on their way back to the Pokémon Center when Charlie tapped Aeris' shoulder, saying something about wanting a bank buddy. She giggled at it and followed him to the bank. It reminded her that she need to cash in her own check anyway, so this was a great excuse for her to do so.

With the money in her wallet, she made her way back to the Pokémon Center with Charlie when Fary rushed past them. "What was that all about?" she asked out loud, not really to anyone specific and confused about her just speeding by them. She entered with Charlie and gave her injured Pokémon, which only included Xal, to the nurse, then headed towards the telephones to call her mother and let her know she was alright. She figured the attack from last night had been all over the news and wanted her mother to know she'd gotten out of it alright.

Aeris dialed her mother's number and waited until she'd pick up. A few ringtones later, she appeared on the screen and looked relieved that her daughter was in one piece.

"Thank Arceus we heard from you!" her mother said, clearly having been worried by the tone of her voice. "What exactly happened? Did they hurt you? Were your Pokémon stolen?" Her mother let the questions flow as she asked Aeris a lot of questions, to which Aeris finally responded to her to let her actually answer.

"I don't really know. One moment we were having fun and the next one we were being robbed by Team Rocket. They didn't hurt me, and my Pokémon are safe and sound." she assured her mother, along with answering any other questions she had. Her mother looked to breathe easier now and it was also clear that she had been crying earlier. Beside her mother was her father, and it showed that Aeris got her eyes from him because of his green eyes like the ones Aeris had. He'd apparently been worried as well, worried enough to be beside his wife and not at his job at this moment.

"Hey there, Aeris." he said to her in a calm way. He'd always been like that, trying to hide his worry if he had any.

"Hi, dad." she replied to him in the same manner. She'd only seen a few of his work when she'd visited his lab.

"I'm glad to see that you're alright. Did everyone else from your group make it out okay as well?" Aeris would have asked how he knew about it, but her mother probably told him about it.

This wasn't an easy question for her because the only person who hadn't made it out alright was Mika, but she didn't want to tell her parents about what happened to him. However, she couldn't hide it as she started to get teary eyed and tears ran down her cheek. "What's wrong, dear?" her father asked her worried. If they could hug their daughter, they would have.

"It's...Mika. He had a...a mental breakdown and was admitted into the nearest hospital." Her parents understood, and again it was clear that her mother had told her mother about what was between Aeris and Mika.

"Well, that just means that once he'll get out of there, we'll all be able to have fun together." her father assured her. It made Aeris half-smile and she wiped the tears away. "Yeah, we will."

Not wanting to dwell on that, she showed her parents her Thunder Badge on the inside of her vest to show her victory over Lt. Surge, along with showing her father her Boulder Badge and Cascade Badge. They congratulated her on it, and after showing her father all her Pokémon, Aeris promised she would be alright before saying goodbye to her parents and hung up. She had returned all her Pokémon back into their Pokéballs except Blaze, of course. Not knowing what to do now until Xal would get healed, she walked over to Charlie and Rochelle, but didn't really say anything. She wasn't sad, but she wasn't overly joyful either. Just kind of indifferent at the moment.

 

[NeoAC]

"Wait, whoa," Jordan said as he watched Rochelle shoot some sort of laser at her Pokemon. "Like, what was that? What did you just do?"

"I taught Iskra Thunderbolt using the TM that Surge gave me," Rochelle stated. "You just slide the CD into the slot in your Pokédex and it practically does it for you."

"Dude, like, so that just teaches them stuff! Cool!"

Upon hearing this, Jordan started fumbling in his pockets for a ball. Opening it up, Vince materialized on the Pokemon Center floor.

"Scyyyyyther!" Awwwww yeah!

"All right Vince bro. Time to teach you a new trick!" Jordan loaded the bright yellow CD into the indicated slot and point it at Scyther. "Fire away!" The beam shot out of the device and caught Vince flush in the face, but it only served to make him confused, and Jordan as well. "Scy! Scyther?" Ah! The hell? "What? Dude? That didn't look like what worked..."

The Pokedex beeped.

[table border=2]
[tr]
[td colspan=2]Technical Machine Recognised: TM24 - Thunderbolt[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td colspan=2]Pokémon Recognised: Scyther.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Checking Compatibility:[/td]
[td]Not Compatible.[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]

"Oh...yeah, I guess that makes sense...Electric move won't work on a...wait....Electric!" Jordan went back to the pockets for another ball. Please be the right one.

This time, the energy clumped down, and Solana appeared next to her teammate. "Chinchouuuuu?" Where am I now?

"Scytherscy?" Who the hell are you?

"Chinchouchinnnnchou." You first, big guy.

There was no time for further introductions as Jordan had the laser ready for firing. Once again, the beam found it's mark, catching Solana in between it's now widened eyes.

[table border=2]
[tr]
[td colspan=2]Technical Machine Recognised: TM24 - Thunderbolt[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td colspan=2]Pokémon Recognised: Chinchou.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Checking Compatibility:[/td]
[td]Compatible.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td colspan=2]

Teach Chinchou Thunderbolt? Y/N​

[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]

"There we go!" Jordan commented. He looked over at Solana, she seemed to be in a daze. Vince was poking the top of her head with the tip of his scythe, but it elicited no response. "K, better hit yeah then."

As Jordan tapped the screen, the beam looked to shoot into Solana. Upon disappearing, Solana's eyes shrunk back to normal size, and she finally reacted to Vince's prodding. "Chinchou! Chinnnnnnchou!" Hey! Cut that out! The Pokedex beeped one more time.

[table border=2]
[tr]
[td colspan=2]Pokémon Recognised: Chinchou.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td colspan=2]Updates:[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td colspan=2]Moves: Thunder Wave, Confuse Ray, Water Gun, Thunderbolt[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]

"There." Jordan returned his Pokemon to their balls, and then remembered what would make the guessing game go away. He went up to the counter and dropped all his Pokemon onto an available rack. "You heal my bros? Thanks." He rushed out towards the door and shouted to the group. "Gonna be right back! Gotta get something!" He rushed out the door, intent on finally making a necessary purchase.

 

[Pm0n3y]

"Hm. Looks like she's back in her slump..." Charlie remarked in concern as Aeris joined him beside Rochelle and Jordan. He couldn't help but look on as the two exhibited the abilities the TM system has to offer. But even then, he turned towards Aeris.

"Hey. How're ya holding up?" He asked, a low yet sincere tone used to deliver the query. Soon after Jordan jetted from the building, a nurse reappeared at her designated spot behind the counter. She called for Charlie, and it was an obvious sign that his pokémon were fully healed. Upon receiving the capsules, Charlie quickly gave his thanks before returning to his seat. Letting out his group of pokémon from their devices, he too, wanted to try out the whole TM thing.

"But can any of you guys learn Thunderbolt?" He asked the crowd. Naturally, Nina took it as a chance to leap into her master's lap. She seemed heavier than usual, and even a little bigger. He held her before him, getting a better look at her features. "Hey Aeris, mind if I get an outside opinion from you? Do you think Nina here might be close to evolving?" He asked the trainer for a secondary output on the situation as he held the Nidoran in her direction. "Nid!" Nina chirped additionally, obviously enjoying all the attention.

After realizing he was sidetracking himself, he placed Nina down on the table before him. "Alright Nina, sit perfectly still. If this works, then you should have a badass new move in your disposal." He told the Nidoran as he took out his Pokédex. "Nid! Nidonid!" She replied excitedly. The remaining three took safety precautions by making their way onto Charlie, Quinn and Talon perching on his shoulders, while Parker skittered onto his head.

"Alright, now..." He fumbled around his pockets, finding the small disc needed for the process. Once it was inserted into the device, the anticipated red beam shot out from the 'dex, and into Nina's head. After a brief pause, a prompt appeared on one of the screens.

[table border=2]
[tr]
[td colspan=2]Technical Machine Recognised: TM24 - Thunderbolt[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td colspan=2]Pokémon Recognised: Nidoran♀.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Checking Compatibility:[/td]
[td]Compatible.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td colspan=2]

Teach Nidoran♀ Thunderbolt? Y/N​

[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]

Charlie mouthed "Yes" out of instinct as he pressed the confirmation on the screen. With that, the process had ended almost as quickly as it begun, with the red beam disappearing into Nina. "Hm. I was half-expecting that to not work." he quipped in a surprised mumble as the Nidoran began to come back to her senses. Soon after, a resulting prompted appeared on the screen.

[table border=2]
[tr]
[td colspan=2]Pokémon Recognised: Nidoran♀[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td colspan=2]Updates: The move designate 'Growl' has been omitted.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td colspan=2]Moves: Scratch, Double Kick, Poison Sting, Thunderbolt[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]

"Huh. Was that supposed to happen?" He queried, looking from beyond the Pokédex to get a look at his Pokémon. "Ya doin' alright over there Nin? How do you feel?" Charlie asked. She took on a guise of determination in return. [color=49BDEF]"Nid Ora-n!"[/color]Like a badass! She replied. The trainer chuckled at his 'mon's reaction. "Now her ego's gonna be even bigger than before!" He thought, petting her has she fell back into his lap. "Next battle we get into, we're gonna try it out, okay?" Nina nodded happily in reply.

 

[CounterAttack]

Jordan's dashing off reminded Rochelle that she needed to visit a bank to cash her cheque. Returning Iskra to his Ball, she too got up. "Actually... yeah, I need to go deal with something myself. Didn't visit the bank before the Gym." She shot a glance towards the front counter: she had left Eva with the nurse. There was no sign of her being ready for pickup, so she promised the others that she would be back soon, adding that if someone could collect Eva for her if she wasn't back in time that would be great, and stepped out of the Pokémon Center.

The bank was easy enough to find on Vermilion's streets: there were signposts pointing out certain buildings. Goldenrod didn't have all that many of those: she'd had to remember where things were herself, for the most part. She quickly found the Vermilion Bank and entered the building, joining a queue for a teller.

Slowly but surely the line crept forward - Rochelle was fidgeting for most of the way - until there was no-one else before her. She cashed the cheque with little problem, making a small just-in-case withdrawal after doing so, and left the bank after both transactions had been dealt to. It was only then that she realised that she hadn't turned her Pokégear on that morning. She did so as she began the route back to the Pokémon Center, and was slightly shocked by the result the screen showed her.

23 Missed Calls
5 Unread Messages: Mum
2 Unread Messages: Dad

"Oh, hell." Rochelle's heart sank as she realised they'd have heard about the incident aboard the S.S. Anne by now. It would have been breaking news. She'd completely forgotten to call them and tell them she was okay. Briefly flicking through the messages - Rochelle, are you alright? - Rochelle, please call ASAP - Call your mother, she's worried sick - she speed-dialed the Sanders' home number. Her mother picked up. "Hello?"

"Hi, Mum - " Rochelle didn't have a chance to continue before her mother began an emotional outburst. "Rochelle Jane Sanders! I was so worried! What kept you?! Where have you been? The S.S. Anne was all over the news, we were trying to call all through the night and this morning..."

"Mum - Mum, please -" Rochelle was trying to get a word in edgewise, but her mother would have none of it. She pressed on, going into the details of the news coverage and Team Rocket's attack. Rochelle politely but forcefully asked that she didn't. "Mum. Mum. Don't. I was there, I remember it all... as much as I don't want to," she admitted. "You guys are okay, though, right? I'm fine. Don't worry."

"Don't worry? How could we not? Your father was going to take the train into Saffron and come find you. We heard there were people missing or - or dead..." Rochelle briefly recalled the gunshot, cringing visibly at both her mother's words and her own memories.

[hr]

BLAM. The man fell to the deck, a bloody hole through his chest. Panic had shoved itself to the forefront of her mind. What if she was next? What if the two from Mt. Moon were here? What if they recognised her and came for her? She did the one thing that came naturally. She let out a scream of terror and buried herself in Charlie's arm.

She couldn't be a prisoner again. She couldn't live through that. She needed someone to defend her. Charlie was there. He would have to do. Like Tyler had done back under the mountain.

[hr]

"Rochelle? Honey, are you alright?"

"I... I'm okay. I'm fine. I'm fine." The words were more to convince herself than her mother. She was fine, wasn't she? She had put those memories in a box, away from all the others. But they got out. Briefly she wondered if she was going to get a full night's sleep when she next adjourned to a bed.

"You don't sound fine. I'll put your father on." There was some fumbling of the receiver at the other end of the call. Soon Rochelle heard her father's voice. "Rochelle. Thank goodness you're okay."

"Hey, Dad. Yeah... yeah, I'm okay. It was just rough, is all."

"Are you absolutely certain you're up to carrying on?" Her father's tone was concerned, rather than relieved. "You know you can come home any time, right? If you want to take a break, I mean."

"No... no, I can keep going." Rochelle believed she could. She'd beaten Surge, hadn't she? That was proof enough for her. But what if they show up again? Then she could beat them. And if she couldn't, her friends could. That seemed logical to her.

"Alright... if you're sure, kiddo. That offer I made to send you a Pokémon still stands, in case you need something a bit stronger."

That would be unfair to the system. "No, Dad, I'll be fine. My team is strong. We beat Surge this morning." She was proud of Eva for winning that match.

"Well... if you say so, I guess. Just be sure to call more often. No excuses. I gotta go. We love you, 'chelle."

"Love you both. I'll call when I can," Rochelle promised as she rounded the corner to the Pokémon Center. Was it a bad thing that she breathed a huge sigh of relief when the call ended, and she stepped back into the Center's lobby? Her parents were fine, she was fine, they weren't demanding that she come back home... She needed to be more careful, though. She needed to stay in control if the group encountered Rockets again.

 

[Lambi]

Aeris had to take a moment before reacting to Charlie asking her. "Yeah, I'm alright. Was just letting my parents know I was alright." She tried to smile, but only managed a half-smile like the one she gave her father earlier. Probably didn't seem all that convincing, but it was the most she could give right now.

When Charlie went to get his Pokémon that were healed, Aeris was called over as well to get Xal who was now fully healed. There hadn't really been a lot to heal on him, but it was better to be safe than sorry sometimes. She picked up his Pokéball and put it on her belt alongside all the other Pokéballs there, staying near Charlie as she sat down close to him.

"Hmm. Well, it certainly seems like she's ready to become a big, strong Nidorina." Aeris answered Charlie's question after taking a good look at Nina. She watched as he taught her Thunderbolt, which she seemed to take well. Though Aeris wondered how in the world a Pokémon that wasn't an Electric type would be able to use an Electric move, but then again, that wasn't the first time she'd seen a Pokémon use a move that didn't really seem to fit it.

It was nice seeing how happy Nina was with Charlie. Which reminded her that maybe Jessie needed some time outside her own Pokéball. Aeris released the Misdreavus from her Duskball, Jessie appearing in a kind of shadowy light rather than the normal light a normal Pokéball would have a Pokémon appear in. Jessie of course immediately sat on Aeris' head, sitting there comfortably while Aeris barely felt that she was there, a small giggle escaped from her lips because of the Misdreavus being adorable on her head.

"I don't really know if any of my Pokémon can learn Thunderbolt. Or the other two TM discs I got from Brock and Misty." Not that she wanted to check if any of them could learn Water Pulse, of course. "I guess I could check it now..." She released all her Pokémon from their respective Pokéballs and scanned each of them with her Pokédex to see if any of them could learn either Rock Tomb, Water Pulse or Thunderbolt.

She found that Blaze could learn Rock Tomb, but wasn't really sure how useful it would be for her, especially since she had Xal, who was already part Rock type. Tristan couldn't learn any of them, but like with Blaze, Ekans could learn Rock Tomb, but it would be about as effective as it would be for Blaze. Obviously, Xal could learn Rock Tomb, however from memory, Aeris seemed to recall that Rock Throw had about the same kind of power as Rock Tomb, so it would be kind of a waste to teach it to him. Weirdly enough, Felina could learn both Water Pulse and Thunderbolt. That just doesn't seem right. she thought before finally checking Jessie, finding that she could learn Thunderbolt as well.

"Guess you're getting a new move, then." Aeris said to Jessie before returning Tristan, Ekans, Xal and Felina back to their Pokéballs. She might consider teaching Felina Water Pulse later on, but not right now. She didn't want one of her own Pokémon using a move with a type she was afraid of. She inserted the TM disc for Thunderbolt into her Pokédex and, after getting Jessie to sit on the table in front of her, the same red laser that had appeared from Charlie's Pokédex and had gone into Nina's head did the same to Jessie, and Aeris got the same prompt on the screen of her Pokédex as Charlie had gotten.

[table border=2]
[tr]
[td colspan=2]Technical Machine Recognised: TM24 - Thunderbolt[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td colspan=2]Pokémon Recognised: Misdreavus.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Checking Compatibility:[/td]
[td]Compatible.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td colspan=2]

Teach Misdreavus Thunderbolt? Y/N​

[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]

Aeris selected the Y and shortly afterwards, the laser was gone and Jessie now had a new move. As expected, Aeris got an update now on Jessie's moveset after having taken out the Thunderbolt TM disc and put it back in its case.

[table border=2]
[tr]
[td colspan=2]Pokémon Recognised: Misdreavus.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td colspan=2]Updates: The move designate 'Mean Look' has been omitted.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td colspan=2]Moves: Psywave, Astonish, Confuse Ray, Thunderbolt[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]

"That was easy." Aeris said as Jessie sat back on top of her head. "Misdreavus~" Yay~ Jessie said in a soft voice, happy to have gotten a new move, even though it was a little odd to be able to release bolts of thunder now.

 

[NeoAC]

Spoiler: OOC

As of five hours ago, The Road to Indigo is now two years old. To celebrate, we are finally moving out of Vermillion, and some people might finally get their third badge. Hurray.

"Will that be everything?"

"Yeah, totally bro. Like that's what I needed for now." Jordan scooped up the set of stickers he purchased from the craft shop. "Yeah, don't need any....glitter, or nothing." He tossed a slightly crumpled bill onto the counter. "Thanks man!"

Purchase complete, Jordan rushed back towards the Pokemon Center. Everyone still appeared to be inside. New New Guy and Red were talking, Pokemon out beside them, though that floating one was a little offsetting. Looks harmless enough, I guess. Rochelle was standing around, looked like there might have been something on her mind. Probably not the one to talk to though. As he contemplated where to stand, a ding rang out across the building, signifying that another batch of Pokemon had been fully healed.

Jordan moved to the counter where the Balls had been arranged on trays with the respective names on them. He retrieved his quartet of Pokemon and moved off to the side. Shoot. I like, better let Misty know we're coming back and stuff. He pulled out his PokeGear. Misty's number was still in it, as she had previously told him. Is it creepy she put that in there? I dunno. He dashed off a text that further mangled the English language.

Hey. We r hedin bak 2 Ceru. ParT was bad. R-kets n sinkin n shit. Beat zap dude tho. Batl 2nite?

Satisfied with his cryptic wordings, he sent it off.

With that sent he turned his attention to the Pokeballs. Cordoning off a small section of the lobby for himself, he released all four buttons as his entire team emerged in the room. Vince emerged in his usual pose, while Solana looked as dazed as ever. Spike was looking around frantically, it had been a while since he was out. Vicky flew right into a bookshelf with an accommodating hole for her to perch in, out of the glare of the Center's florescent lighting.

"All right bros," Jordan said. "No more, like, mixups and stuff. I'm definitely fixing that, specially since that's kinda what hurt against Misty and all." He took one of the balls and pointed it in the general vicinity of where his team was. As the red beam shot out, it collected Vince and returned the Mantis Pokemon to the ball. Jordan immediately dug his earlier purchase out of his pocket and placed a green sticker on top of the red half of the ball. "There. Green is for Vince bro." The process repeated with Vicky, Solana and finally Spike as purple, blue and orange stickers were placed on them respectively. "Now I just have to remember, like, which one is which color. Shouldn't be too hard...I hope."

Jordan returned to where it everyone who he recognized had gathered. It looked like their travelling party was all present and accounted for. He checked his messages, still no word from Misty. Probably fine to go. "So yeah, we like, heading out bros?" The consensus was yes and so finally, the group was moving on from Vermillion.

[hr]

It was a quick jaunt through the underground path, unblocked by trainers on Route 6 who had retired for the day. By the time trainers emerged back onto the surface, the sun had dipped down below the Mountains to the west. As Cerulean City loomed in the near distance, Jordan's PokeGear finally buzzed indicating a message. As he checked it, he was slightly disappointed.

I saw the news. It looked pretty bad. Glad you're all right. I was handling challenges, and I'm done for the day. I'll battle you tomorrow.

"Uh, so guys, I think we're going to be like, crashing in the city," Jordan stated Like I am, anyway. Gonna be battling Misty and stuff tomorrow, you know. Since she's like, all done for the day." Another buzz disrupted him.

Also, if you promise never to text like that ever again, you can totally stay the night at the gym. ;) Better than PC beds, right?

"Uhhhhh, yeah. Sooooo, I dunno," he finished as he returned the PokeGear to his pockets. Do I even want to go back with Misty? Like after all the shit Fary laid on me? I...I dunno.

Spoiler: OOC

So yeah, bit of free time. If anyone has any pressing captures they want to make in the twilight hours, let me know. Otherwise, go nuts until the morning.

 

[tsatoma]

As the group started to discuss leaving, Eileen made her way outside early to try out a plan to get Dalton to train. Her recent addition to her team did not seem quite so keen on the idea of training, she had found out after realizing that the Pokemon had been sleeping while she explained her training to him. Once she had awoken her Pokemon, he had only been interested in eating his second dinner for the night.

'Going to have to be creative with this one,' she had told herself inside, going through numerous ideas for training before settling on the most obvious one.

When she was outside she brought out her fully recovered Hughes, greeting him with a few pats on the head before taking off her belt and wrapping it around his chest. She left her confused Pokemon there as she looked for a branch, bringing it back and connecting it to the belt with some tape. Finally, she attached a string to the end of the stick and took a step back to examine her work.

"Rudimentary, but it should suffice," Eileen muttered to herself, watching as some of the group started to leave the Pokemon Center. She brought out Cleo and Dalton, telling the latter that it was time to train. Cleo was allowed to go off and do whatever she wanted, while Eileen started to explain to Dalton what was going to happen.

"Here is how it is Dalton: you need to train. After looking up your Pokedex entry, I came up with a great way to train that makes us all happy," Eileen started, taking out a berry bar and unwrapping it in front of the (now) very excited Pokemon, "This is a Sitrus Oran bar. Now, I'm going to take this big chunk and tie this string around it. If you manage to catch Hughes, you can have all of that delicious berry bar. I still have the second half of this bar though, but I decided that, for every Pokemon you beat in a battle along this route, you will be given a piece. How does that sound?"

Dalton at this point had charged at Hughes, only being stopped when Eileen grabbed a hold of the Pig Pokemon. "Hughes, you can get a bit of a head start," she told her fire Pokemon, watching him trot off. Once he was a good distance away, she lowered Dalton to the ground. The Pokemon dashed off after Hughes, kicking up a bunch of dirt as he sped off.

'Almost a perfect plan,' Eileen thought, brushing off as much dirt as she could before running off after her Pokemon.

[hr]

By the time Cerulean came into view, the only thing not out of breath was Hughes. Groow! Ro! he barked as Eileen knelt down to catch her breath, giving Hughes a pat on the head when he trotted by. "That...was good...everyone," she said, taking out a bottle of water from her pack and chugging it down before letting her Pokemon have some. "You guys deserve a nice rest after that."

She took the training contraption off of Hughes, splitting the piece of berry bar into thirds to give to her Pokemon. 'I'll have to get more of those tomorrow morning,' she noted, letting her Pokemon enjoy their treat before they would enter Cerulean.

 

[CounterAttack]

"Uh, so guys, I think we're going to be like, crashing in the city. Like, I am, anyway. Gonna be battling Misty and stuff tomorrow, you know. Since she's like, all done for the day."

Misty not accepting challenges at this hour was fair enough. Each Leader was free to run their Gym however they wished, Rochelle mused to herself. She checked the time: it was still a decent enough hour. Some extra training couldn't hurt before re-challenging Misty tomorrow.

"Dunno about you guys, but I'm gonna get some extra practice in before turning in for the night," she thought aloud. "I'll see you guys back at the Pokémon Center." She gave the others a smile and a wave before heading off on her own, making her way through Cerulean's streets until she found the route north out of the city. It seemed that most Trainers had decided to return to Cerulean now that the sun had set: perfect. She could take the time to train her Pokémon against wild ones without too many interruptions.

Once over the bridge, Rochelle let Phoenix, Iskra and Kirsten out. Eva had earned a day's rest after the battle with Surge. Kirsten promptly hopped into the water near the bridge and began splashing about. Amused, Rochelle led the other two into the grass nearby. A few battles later, during one of which Phoenix found a snack in the form of a defeated Caterpie, the little Spearow seemed to take interest in one particular patch of grass. "Rrow! Spear-row!" he chirped as he circled above it, trying to get Rochelle's attention.

"Huh? Did you find something?" Intrigued, Rochelle pushed aside the grass in her way to reach her companion. She could hear what sounded like snoring. A sleeping Pokémon? Sure enough, she stepped through a tuft to find a small brown and gold Pokémon curled up in a ball, sound asleep. "Rra." It gave another snore as she approached.

An Abra, huh? Isn't that what... yeah, Tyler had one before it evolved. Geist, that was his name. Rochelle considered catching the Abra for herself. A Psychic-type could be helpful later on, especially against Gyms like the Poison Gym in Fuchsia. And half the Elite Four used Pokémon weak to Psychic-type moves... Sure, why not. "Alright, Phoenix, we're gonna catch this guy and bring him onto the team... but Abra can teleport," she mused. "We need some way to keep it here before I can catch it."

Phoenix landed on Rochelle's shoulder. "Row." Rochelle had no idea what he said. "Hmm... if we attack him, he'll wake up and teleport out of here... Lemme try something quick." She dug an empty Poké Ball out of her pack. Trying to catch a Pokémon without weakening it first was difficult to pull off. But if she instructed Phoenix or Iskra to use a move on the Abra, it would likely wake up and run away. "Let's take a gamble."

Rochelle tossed the Ball towards the sleeping Abra. It bounced off, sucked the Psychic-type into the familiar red light and fell to the ground. It shook once, twice... then burst open in a flash of white light. Rochelle heard a zwoip noise as the ball opened. The Abra was gone: it had been woken up by the impact of the Ball, and teleported away the first chance it had gotten.

"Damn! Phoenix, get into the air and find him! He can't have gone far." Rochelle's Spearow pushed off from her shoulder and began to search through the nearby grass. Rochelle collected the used Poké Ball before following him.

Iskra and Kirsten dutifully followed Rochelle, the latter keeping to the water, as the Trainer pursued her quarry through the grass beside the bridge to Cerulean.

Some time later:

"Dangit, where have you gone?" Rochelle was annoyed by the Psychic-type's teleporting, but didn't want to give up. It was properly awake now, and was running away from her at every possible opportunity. But Rochelle persisted. She wanted the Psychic-type on her team. She hadn't gotten the opportunity to try to catch it again, even though she'd found it a good five or so times now. I could swear I've covered every inch of this dang route looking for it... He's a slippery one.

"Flaaf!" Rochelle heard Iskra calling out, and a discharge of electricity soon after. She hurried to investigate the noise, and found her Flaaffy with the elusive Abra. Sparks were jumping off of both Pokémon, and neither was moving. The Abra would have vanished by now...

"Iskra, you paralysed it! Well done!" Rochelle praised her Flaaffy as she dug through her pack and found the Great Ball Brock had given her. She didn't want to take any more chances now that she had the Abra in her sights. She tossed the blue and red Ball, and it sucked in the immobile Psychic Pokémon before dropping to the ground.

One twitch... two... three... Click. Rochelle breathed a sigh of relief as she scooped up Abra's Ball and beckoned to her Pokémon to follow her out of the tall grass. Iskra was lagging behind, and sparking a little. "You alright there?" The Flaaffy whined at her and sat down. What was going on? Was he paralysed as well? Rochelle's Pokédex, beeping at her, provided the answer.

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

[/td]
[td]#063: Abra &#9792[/td]
[td]Psi Pokémon[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td colspan=2]

[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Height: 2'11" / 0.9 m.[/td]
[td]Weight: 43 lbs. / 19.5 kg.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Ability: Synchronise[/td]
[td](This Pokémon passes status ailments to the Pokémon that caused the problem.)[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td colspan=2]Moves: Teleport[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td colspan=2].[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td colspan=2]Using its psychic power is such a strain on its brain that it needs to sleep for 18 hours a day.[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]

So the Abra had paralysed Iskra using Synchronise. Rochelle simply returned all of her Pokémon to their balls for now: she would patch up Iskra herself once she was back at the Pokémon Center. She'd also need to have some one-on-one time with the Abra she'd caught. Already she was thinking over what she could do to train her new Pokémon. That Synchronise ability is clever, but Abra doesn't have an offensive move... what am I gonna do about that? Rochelle tried to think of something as she made her way back into Cerulean, tossing her newly filled Great Ball in one hand as she did so.

 

[Lambi]

Once they arrived in Cerulean City, Aeris thought that perhaps some training might take her mind off of the recent events, if only for a few moments. She could feel that Ekans was close to evolving, and so extra training would be pretty good for him, along with the rest of her team, obviously. Except Blaze, she was quite powerful enough as was.

Before taking off to the nearest patches of grass, she poked Charlie's shoulder. "I'm gonna go do some training, and I was thinking if you could keep me company. If you want to join me, I'll be north of Cerulean." Before getting an answer from him, she headed for the north of town, going over the bridge with Blaze close by her. There, she released her whole team and explained to them that it would be important for them to train some before they would continue. She told Blaze to stay back with her since she knew Blaze didn't need much more training right now. The other five went out to battle any wild Pokémon they came across.

Tristan unleashed a multitude of Confusions and Gusts on any unsuspecting and suspecting Pokémon he came across, while Ekans glared at any Pokémon he came across, paralyzing them before he wrapped around them and bit them or spat acid on them. Xal threw rocks with great strength at some Pokémon, while others he used his whole body to attack them, be it with either Tackle or Rollout, and did his best with Magnitude, which sometimes affected the opponent poorly and sometimes affected them greatly. Felina gladly scratched any Pokémon unlucky enough to be her victim, also biting them and using her Fake Out attack to make her opponents flinch. Jessie was trying out her new move, Thunderbolt, to see how effective it was. It was quite effective, as it turned out, and she was glad that it did, but she didn't just focus on that, also training using her Psywave and Astonish attacks.

Aeris was happy with how training was going, though she got distracted whenever she heard faint sounds from Rochelle, who had also decided to go and train there. Something was annoying her, but Aeris thought it was something she could handle, so she didn't worry about it too much. Again during her training, after some time had passed, she too heard Rochelle's Flaafy call before he apparently used some kind of Electric move. Hopefully he was alright. Aeris thought to check up on it later.

 

[Pm0n3y]

As the group tromped their way back into Cerulean City, Charlie found himself facing down a stark realization. Despite not being in the town no less than a few days ago, the trainer had no real memories of any of the city's buildings or landmarks, excluding the gym and its leader. Truly, the City of Cerulean housed an abhorrently unremarkable environment.

"Hehheh. Ok, no, but I think I might've just sped through this place the last time I was here. Maybe Mom was right. Maybe I should slow things down a bit..." A hind poke in the shoulder broke him from his thoughts. "Eh?" It was Aeris. Sounded like she wanted to get some training done. "Mmmmm, and she wants me to keep her company..." He shook the particularly scuzzy thought from his brain folds. Not that he would've done anything like that in the first place, he was much too honor bound, and not all that fond of destroying houses.

"If you want to join me, I'll be north of Cerulean." She added. "Word. Sounds like a plan to m-" She ran off ahead before he could answer. "O-oh. Well alrighty then." Actually, it seemed everyone began branching out after stepping foot in Cerulean. He tried to shrug with the shoulder he was poked in, but soon realized how sore it was. The heavy duffel bag slung from it would warrant such an effect. He tried repositioning the bag on the shoulder some, but to no avail. In fact, it made him notice just how much it had buried into the blade.

"Oooh, eee, ohhh, this is gonna result in some long term effects in my future, I can feel it." He winced and groaned as he started for the Pokécenter. It was one of those special ones, with a residential wing and lounge. Or at least, it seemed special to him. "They don't make 'em like these in Johto..." Approaching the nearest nurse, he asked if there was anywhere he could safely leave his bag unattended. Smiling at his concerns, she pointed him towards the locker systems they had towards the back of the place, closer to the rooms. "Whichever one has a key in its lock is free to use." She told him.

"Okay, now..." With his bag locked up and not slowly destroying his right shoulder, Charlie took off towards the north of Cerulean, wanting to get some training in himself. "Only seems natural, seeing it's where all the hot training action is going down apparently." He thought, only realizing how far out of the town he was after crossing the bridge that led into/out of it. Hearing the sounds and calls of both Rochelle and Aeris, it seemed like he wouldn't have to linger far before getting into a scuffle. To prepare himself for such, he let Nina back into the open air.

"Ready for some grind-time, Nin? I bet you'll be evolved before the night's out." He told the Nidoran. She chirped back proudly in reply before the two started into the tall grass. Their trek started relatively quiet, nothing being bold enough to jump out at them. As he got past a small clearing and looked ahead, he saw why. Aeris seemed to be in full battle mode, just about every one of her pokémon out and interlocked in their own encounters, with the fiery-haired trainer at the simultaneous helm of each one. With her back facing him, Charlie leaned against the nearest tree, crossing his arms as he did so.

"Hey, uh, wanna save some for the rest of us, Red?" He queried coolly, a cocked eyebrow and smug smirk accompanying the words to enhance the coolness. If he had sunglasses to wear, he'd be wearing them right now.

 

[tsatoma]

After they had spent a good amount of time resting outside of Cerulean City (partially to wait for the rest of the group, and because Eileen and Dalton were both winded), Eileen and her Pokemon made their way to Cerulean City's Pokemon Center. Her memory of the names of the streets and buildings came back as she walked down and past them; finally seeing her destination as she rounded a corner.

Nothing had changed from the last time she had been here; though she had not expected much, if any, change in such a short time. Even the nurse on duty recognized her after she dropped off her tired Swinub; giving Eileen a greeting and telling her the room she used before was free. Eileen thanked the nurse and dropped off some of her stuff in the rooms the Trainers could use in the Center, making her Pokemon's dinner before coming back out and settling down at a table by the windows.

"You two better enjoy staying in a Pokemon Center while you can because we will be back on the road soon I hope," she told Hughes and Cleo, watching the two eat their dinner, "I'm not sure if we will watch any battles tomorrow, or if we will just do some training. Dalton is the only one who needs battle experience right now, but I believe the two of you can have a little rest tomorrow if you want."

Hughes gave no indication that he cared either way. He was a dutiful Pokemon, and if his Trainer wanted him to do something he would do it no matter what. Cleo, however, perked up after being told; the Meowth giving her Trainer an appreciative glance.

"It isn't like I really force you to train Cleo. I understood when I captured you that you are more of an independent Pokemon who would prefer doing their own thing. I got that pretty fast," Eileen said to Cleo, remembering the first few encounters she had had with the Pokemon, "And I'm fine with that. I'm fine if you just want to prowl around and find interesting things, maybe once in a while partaking in a battle or two."

Meowth! Cleo said, picking up a piece of her food delicately and eating it. The Pokemon was certainly more pleased with how things turned out than she had been when first caught. Other Pokemon she had seen after they had been caught were usually not given as much freedom as she was, which had made her reluctant to be friendly after being caught.

"Not sure what you said, but I'm glad to hear it. I believe we'll get to bed in a bit after Dalton is healed up, and tomorrow we'll figure out what we want to do," she told her Pokemon, lounging back in the booth comfortably. Her thoughts drifted to what Pokemon would be available on the next couple of routes they would be visiting, and if any of them would be good additions to the team. She thought of the next gym in Celadon, figuring that Hughes would be all she really needed for that one. Thinking of that gym made her think of the one here in Cerulean, and she thought of whether or not to go at all tomorrow with the rest of the Trainers.

'Should I just tag along to show support for the group, even though I doubt the matches would be anything extraordinary? Would that time be better used training, or would letting my Pokemon watch some battles be better? I'd rather not have to watch a certain person battle, if it can even be called that. Maybe I can just leave once that match comes up,' she thought, trying to weigh pros and cons against each other like she always does.

 

[Lambi]

Aeris got a bit startled when Charlie addressed her, then turned around and gave him a sheepish smile. "Heh, guess I was just so focused on training, I didn't think about anyone else coming to train." She called to her Pokémon to relax a bit on the training, so that they would still train, but not be as much in battle mode as she had been, apparently.

"And my name isn't Red." Aeris didn't say that with an annoyed voice, especially since it was quickly followed with a small giggle. "But I guess I've gotten used to being called that by now. So, who are you going to train? I have Blaze just chilling with me because she's already strong enough as is, and besides, it's not like I'm going to fight Misty tomorrow."

She leaned against the tree Charlie was up against while watching her own Pokémon battle. All the ones battling were doing well, and after some time, the thing Aeris had been waiting for happened. Ekans started to glow before his shape changed in size and form. Aeris just watched in excitement as a third Pokémon of hers evolved. Once Ekans stopped glowing, he was no longer an Ekans. Aeris already knew what kind of Pokémon he was, but pulled out her Pokédex anyway to get the data on him.

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

[/td]
[td]#024: Arbok ♂[/td]
[td]Cobra Pokémon[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td colspan=2]

[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Height: 11' 06" / 3.5 m.[/td]
[td]Weight: 143.3 lbs. / 65.0 kg.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Ability: Shed Skin[/td]
[td]The Pokémon can occasionally heal their own status ailments[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td colspan=2]Moves: Wrap. Crunch. Glare. Acid.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td colspan=2]Level 22[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td colspan=2] With a very vengeful nature, it won't give up the chase, no matter how far, once it targets its prey. [/td]
[/tr]
[/table]

"Yes! I knew it!" She put her Pokédex away and went over to hug Arbok, who didn't really have arms to hug back, so he just kinda coiled a bit around her. She let go of him and looked at him in kind of awe. "Now that you've evolved, it's probably time I give you a nickname. Should have done so sooner, to be honest, but hadn't really thought of one back then. What do you think about Viper? Seems kind of an obvious name for a cobra like you, but I think it fits." Arbok seemed to like so as well, responding with "Charrrrboka!" I like it, yeah. Aeris smiled and giggled in return. "Glad that you like it. Now, why don't you do a bit more training before we head back?" The newly named Viper nodded and returned to battle his previous foes, who were now startled to have an Arbok as their opponent. Aeris returned to Charlie and leaned back against the tree, a little closer to him than she had been earlier.

 

[Pm0n3y]

"But I guess I've gotten used to being called that by now." "I'd hope so! It's a main part of your color scheme, calling you that is just too natural!" Charlie quipped in thought, a chuckle and a smirk accompanying Aeris' quaint giggle. "So, who are you going to train?" Charlie thought those assumptions would be a little more obvious (what, with Nina being his only pokémon out in the open), but he thought no more about it.

"Well...Nina." He replied plainly, gesturing down to the petite Nidoran. "Speaking of which, you ready to get to work, Nin-" Charlie found himself interrupted by a steady glow of white light. The duo of trainers could only look on in awe as the light illuminated the dimming woods, shifting and growing in size. "An evolution..." An act Charlie knew all about, but could claim to have never seen in person. The boy was amazed, to say the least.

The light faded in time, and soon, a whole new pokémon stood before the two. Excitedly, Aeris ran up to the 'mon, wrapping her arms around it. "Whoa, it's a Arbok..." Charlie said in a bit of a whisper, mouth slightly agape. He began to straighten his posture as Aeris returned to his side. He gave a proud thumbs-up along with words of congratulations as she took back to leaning against the tree.

"Seems I wasn't the only one planning on evolving pokémon tonight." He replied, he and Nina even more eager to battle than before. Stepping away from the tree, he entered the fray of Aeris' kerfuffle party, all of which seemed to be involved in their own battles. Soon enough, a Pidgey descended from one of the nearer trees, exasperatedly landing in front of the two. Its wildly flapping wings displayed its eagerness to fight, and both trainer and pokémon alike were glad to oblige it.

"This should be textbook, Nina. Use Double-Kick!" The Nidoran heard his commands and was upon the Pidgey in a flash. "Oraoraoraora!" She battle cried as she attacked, pummeling the small bird with a flurry of strikes, putting her hind legs to work. The Pidgey managed to shove her away before trying its own attack. Nina, much too focused to falter, dodged the attack with some ease. "Whoo! That's what i'm talking about Nin!" Charlie encouraged from his position. The dueling pokémon distanced themselves only briefly before the Pidgey decided to rush the Nidoran once again.

"Nina, Thunderbolt!" Charlie announced with haste. The air around the Nidoran began to heat considerably as electric currents began surging through her. Soon after, a bolt of white-hot plasma both engulfed and shot from Nina, slamming into the unsuspecting Pidgey with force of a hundred thousand volts. The attack did a substantial amount of damage to the bird, and was more than enough to render it unable to fight any further. Charlie let out a quick "Whoo!" as it fell unconscious. Proud of the win, Nina ran back to her owner, chirping happily. Charlie knelt to her, petting her as he congratulated her. And soon after, she too began to glow. A little startled by the suddeness of the act, the trainer fell onto his butt, beginning to shield his eyes as the transformation began to take place.

"Ohboyohboy, here it comes-!" Charlie giddily squealed as Nina slowly grew from within the enveloping light. The light faded minutes later, and the trainer couldn't help but grin cheesily as a Nidorina stood before him.

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

[/td]
[td]#030: Nidorina ♀[/td]
[td]Poison Pin Pokémon[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td colspan=2]

[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Height: 2'06" / 0.8 m[/td]
[td]Weight: 44.1 lbs. / 20.0 kg[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Ability: Rivalry[/td]
[td]Deals more damage to a Pokémon of same gender.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td colspan=2]Moves: Double Kick, Poison Sting, Thunderbolt, Quick Attack[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td colspan=2].[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td colspan=2] When it senses danger, it raises all the barbs on its body. These barbs grow slower than Nidorino's. [/td]
[/tr]
[/table]

Equally as happy as he, Nina ran up to her trainer, hopping into his crossed legs. He hoisted her up into his arms. "Ooh, you're heavier, Nina! And bigger! And pointier!" He remarked happily as he hugged her. "Ni! Rina!" She squeaked back, returning his affections. With all his excitedness spent, Charlie butt-shuffled his way back to Aeris and the tree, reclining against it. "So, not only did we both win Surge's Thunder Badge today, but we also got one of our pokémon to evolve!" He summarized, pausing before emitting a accomplished sigh. "I'd say today was a pretty productive day, don't cha think?" He asked his crimson coated accomplice.

 

[Lambi]

"Oh, right. Sorry, I just figured you might have wanted to train some of your other Pokémon as well, but only Nina is alright." Aeris had answered Charlie before Viper evolved. After he started training again, everyone she had sent out to train were doing well still.

Watching Nina evolve was almost as exciting as watching Viper evolve. She pulled out her Pokédex again to get data on a Nidorina, then put it back away. "So, not only did we both win Surge's Thunder Badge today, but we also got one of our pokémon to evolve! I'd say today was a pretty productive day, don't cha think?"

Aeris gave Charlie a smile when she answered him. "Yeah, pretty productive. If we keep this up, we might become Champions before the end of the month." She giggled at the thought. It would be pretty nice, returning home to show her mother and father that she was now a Champion. She'd need to work hard with her Pokémon in order to achieve that.

"Do you have any sort of plans after you become a Champion?" she asked Charlie. Personally, she didn't really have any sort of plans other than to go home and spend some time with her parents and her Pokémon. Maybe go traveling a bit, perhaps finally go to the Sevii Islands that so many people went to from Cinnabar.

 

[Pm0n3y]

Aeris' comment gave Charlie some thought. "If we keep this up, we might become Champions before the end of the month." She said with a giggle. "Yeaaaah. When you think about it, that actually could happen. I mean, the week's barely out, and we already have, what, about three badges? Makes me think how differently things would be for me if I hadn't recognized Rochelle last night. I'd probably be halfway way to Celadon by now." He told her with his own quaint scoff, letting out a relaxed sigh after. He began to close his eyes. He felt pretty good in his current position, starting to realize that being with this particular group of trainers easily answered to his mother's pleas.

"Is this how it feels to slow down? Things definitely feel a lot slower now. It's a good feeling." He thought, become awash with the feeling of mellowness as he reclined further against the tree. A warm breeze blew through the area, only accentuating Charlie's current state of relaxation. Aeris asked another question as Charlie began interlocking his hands behind his head.

"Do you have any sort of plans after you become a Champion?" She queried questionably. "Well, I...uhhh...huh. Y'know, I haven't thought that far ahead yet." As such a question acquired his attention, he opened his eyes and began sitting up. He racked his mind for a proper answer, but couldn't find an immediate response. He glanced down his Nidorina, curled up in his lap. He began to think of pokémon, and how he always tended to his party in an almost motherly-like fashion. "I always like seeing my pokémon grow. And other people's pokémon too. And it's a pretty satisfying feeling to know that you've had a hand in their growth, that you could help see them on their way." He thought some more on his words.

"...I think I'd become a caretaker." He said in an upbeat, spontaneous realization. "Yeah! That seems like the next logical step after the Plateau. Go back to Goldenrod, and continue helping out the old couple at the Day Care. It's a simple goal to aim for, but I can dig it." Satisfied with his answer, he retook his previous reclining position against the tree. "And (going in a completely different direction with this conversation), how did y'all all meet? Jordan and Rochelle and Mika and everyone? Was it like, a gradual-type thing, coming across people along the way? Or did you all start out in one town?" He asked, looking up to the girl only momentarily before lowering the gaze back to his level. "Ooh, can't be doing that too often..." He groaned slightly, some clicking noises coming from his neck as he rubbed and flexed it.

 

[CounterAttack]

"Hmm... what shall I name you, little miss Psychic-type?" Rochelle mused to herself as she re-entered Cerulean City, making her way to the Pokémon Center. Briefly she went over the names of her other team members: Kirsten, Iskra, Eva, and Phoenix. A good team had names that went well with each other... Rochelle's team was kinda-sorta that way, but not entirely. Setting aside that train of thought, she went back to coming up with ideas. Abra evolves into Kadabra, which uses a spoon to focus its psychic power... Spoon? Nah. Needs to be something that an ordinary person would have as their name.

Rochelle continued to muse this over as she entered the Center. She elected to leave all of her Pokémon with the nurse on duty, instead of using up her own supplies to patch them up. Once she got them back, she would get in some face time with the new recruit. She began playing around with syllables and word structure as she took a seat. Kay... Kayla? Nah. Kara? Maybe. What else is there... Oh, y'know, Kara sounds good. She pictured a Kadabra, and soon after an Alakazam... Kara sounded like a fitting name for Abra and both of its evolutions.

Kara it is. Rochelle dug her pack of labels and a pen out of her bag, marking one with the name and her own. It would be applied to Kara's Ball once she got it back.

 

[Lost In The Void]

Sarah looked at the city of Cerulean. This would be her second city visited in Kanto and as such it deserved a picture for commemoration. She walked around for a while, snapping various things, shops, people and the Gym that her new friends would be battling in tomorrow.

As she walked the streets, she found herself turned around and walking right out of the city. The sun was just about set and the orange hue over the shadows of the city was a beautiful site to see. Sarah could see a Meowth napping on a fence post. Smiling, Sarah picked up her X-com again and snapped a picture of the scene. She finally had a picture to send.

Finding the number on her contacts list, she added the photo to the message, ?I miss you, wish you were here with me,? and sent the message on its way.

Absorbed in her phone, she didn?t hear the two people behind her walking and almost turned into them when she went to go back towards the city.

The old man smiled as Sarah was forced to stop suddenly, only inches from colliding with him, her cheeks flushed red with embarrassment. Beside him, an equally old couple chuckled, ?In a hurry are we? I?d have expected you to capture that Pokemon there, like most trainers your age.?

Sarah backed away from the couple and regained her composure, ?I only wanted a photo of it, it looks far too peaceful to wake up.?

This statement caused the old man to burst out laughing and the meowth?s ear twitched, ?She?s been awake this whole time watching you Miss, she?s curious, I can see it in her eyes.?

If as on cue, the Pokemon?s eyes cracked open ever so slightly and it yawned and stretched out, before hopping to its feet and leaping off the fence. Ever so slowly, it walked around the three people, sniffing once and a while and rubbing against Sarah.

Sarah already had two Pokemon and she only really needed Mai for her paper, but something caused Sarah to forget all of that as the Meowth rubbed against her. Sarah took one of her empty Duskballs and tried to tap the Pokemon, but it jumped away hissing before she could.

The old woman clapped her hands, ?Why, she isn?t going to make it easy for you is she? You have other Pokemon don?t you? Make it a battle this Pokemon can be proud of.?

Sarah nodded and grabbed Mai?s ball and released her Pokemon into the night. Mai stared blankly at the Meowth as the latter hissed back at the Psychic Pokemon.

[table border=2]
[tr]
[td rowspan=6]

[/td]
[td]#52: Meowth[/td]
[td]Scratch Cat Pokémon[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td colspan=2]

[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Height: 1'04" / 0.4 m.[/td]
[td]Weight: 9.3 lbs. / 4.2 kg.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Ability: Pickup[/td]
[td](Pickup allows the player to receive free items.)[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td colspan=2].[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td colspan=2] It is nocturnal in nature. If it spots something shiny, its eyes glitter brightly.[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]

Reading the information provided by the Pokedex, Mai realized the fight would be quick and easy. No real type advantages, the link between her and Mai would be their advantage. Smiling, the competitive spirit taking her, she cried, ?PsyBeam Mai.?

Mai snapped out of her haze and a blast of psychic energy was fired at the Meowth, who dived out of the way. While Mai positioned for another attack, the Meowth dived at her, Biting hard on the Pokemon.

Sarah was struck with sudden realization. Meowth could use Bite and Dark moves were powerful against Mai. Her Pokemon managed to shake off the aggressive Meowth and fired another PsyBeam, this one connecting with its target.

The Meowth flew back, recovering from the blow, landing on its feet. Its eyes glinted with the moonlight. Sarah was on the offensive now. Her commands were quiet but curt, ?Confusion, now.?

More waves emitted from Mai and the Meowth staggered, confused and disoriented. This was her chance. Sarah snatched the Dusk Ball up again and threw it at the Pokemon. It struck her dead on and opened, sending the Meowth into the ball with a burst of energy. It landed on the ground and shook, wavered and clicked. Sarah felt a strange feeling of ecstasy, perhaps this was why trainers did it. For now, she simply remembered a haiku she had heard once.

Cats appeal to our
sense of Higher Grace; when they
fall, they land ? stable.

Grace.

 

[NeoAC]

Jordan looked around the patio of the nearly empty Slippery Seel pub and eatery. He had arrived ahead of when he was scheduled, mostly because he couldn't think of what he wanted to do beforehand. He didn't want to go out training, unable to muster up the kind of energy needed to match that of his Pokemon at the moment. He didn't want to go shopping, since he did a bit of that back in Vermillion. Everyone else in the group had seemingly gone off to do their own thing. As he stared down into the pint glass of Indigo Pale Ale he had purchased, he couldn't help but wonder. What am I doing here? I thought, like, I was going to try and patch things up with Fary. She looked like she was kinda sane again. I hope. But she bolted. Again. She's got a pattern, for sure. I dunno. Why am I here?

"Hey Jordan!"

Right, that's why.

Misty came bounding up the street towards the deck. She didn't look as dressed up as the last time the two hit the town, ditching the jacket for a shirt with sleeves. She did however looked dressed up from the last time Jordan saw her. When she was stomping the seafloor with his Pokemon in the Gym and getting into arguments with his glass-breaking first fling. She slid into the seat next to him, facing out into the trickling Cerulean traffic. "Hey, so, how you holding up? I know that must have been something going through all that on the boat."

"Yeah, kinda sucked. Shipwrecks you know?"

"I do know. Happened when I was on the original S.S. Anne. I think they throw it in with the ticket."

"That sucks. Think they'd like, get it right or something."

"Hoenn craftsmanship for you. They should just start building them right in Vermillion. At least Kanto can get it right."

"For sure."

"Anyway, I'm going to grab a drink. Be right back, OK?" Misty darted inside the building and Jordan took a long drink from his glass. She even asked if I was all right. Twice. I don't think I got that once from anyone else. Not Fary. She was all about her. I dunno, Misty might be the better choice. She hasn't done anything weird.

"Back!" The Gym Leader reappeared with some kind of reddish-pink drink in her hand. There wasn't much of it and it looked expensive. "If you had waited, I could have gotten yours for you. I have a blank tab here."

"Ah, it's totally OK. They gave us a check for going through all that so I got some money now."

"Better than they gave us. We almost got sued for destroying the theme park we washed up on. They ended up calling it even."

"Shitty."

"I'm just glad to hear everyone got out all right. I was worried when I heard about it, Jordan. I knew you didn't have a Water Pokemon, so I hoped you would get out before it went down. That's why I was so relieved when you texted me, even if it was nearly impossible to read."

"Yeah, I'm going to work on that."

Misty almost drained her drink in one swig. "You know, I think you should finish your beer and we can go back to the Gym. Have some cheaper drinks and some better entertainment than just watching random people pass by. You get what I'm saying?"

Jordan chugged the rest of his Deerling's in a matter of seconds. "Yeah-ah," he coughed out as a few drops went down the wrong tube. "I know what you mean."

"Awesome, let's get out of here then." Misty grabbed Jordan's hand and started leading him back to the Gym.

 

[tsatoma]

The sound of the nurse calling out to tell the Trainers that their Pokemon were ready brought Eileen out of her thoughts. 'Dalton is going to be hungry. I should prepare his food now instead of trying to do it while he tries to eat the whole bag.' The small, furry brown Pokemon was certainly a bit of a hassle at times; though Eileen knew that he would get more manageable with time. 'Or I'll just get more used to him,' she thought.

She got up from her seat after pouring some food in a bowl (placing it on the floor and telling her two Pokemon that it wasn't for them), and walked over to go pick up Dalton. Thinking back on it, she couldn't think of a time where Hughes had ever been difficult in any way. She had raised him from a young age though, 'So perhaps he just never got into any bad habits. If I get another young or new born Pokemon I wouldn't mind looking in on that.'

As she picked up Dalton's Pokeball, she noticed that someone else had left their Pokemon to be healed as well. Looking around the lobby, she saw one of the Trainers in the group she had started to travel with sitting down. It took her a moment to place her name, but once she did she called out cheerfully, "Hey Rochelle! Your Pokemon are all good to go."