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

[CounterAttack]

"Huh. That was rather quick. Must be a short queue this evening," Rochelle commented in answer to Eileen, giving the other Trainer a wave as she got up. Page of labels in hand, she made her way to the counter to collect her Pokémon. Eileen was at the counter herself, presumably picking up one or more of her own.

"Cheers," Rochelle thanked the nurse as she collected her four Poké Balls and unlabelled Great Ball. Attaching the original four to her belt, she kept Kara's Ball on hand for now. Training with the Abra was going to be difficult unless she found some way to help her fight on her own, she thought as she applied the appropriate label to the Ball. With that out of the way, Rochelle stepped away from the counter and waited for Eileen to do the same. Once she did, the redhead spoke up again.

"So, how's your training coming?" she asked to try to start a conversation proper. "I'm fairly certain I'll be able to beat Misty this time around... kinda nervous about going back in though. If she beats me again, I'll be holding everyone else up until I can try a third time. They'll all want to move on to... Celadon, I think is next." Although, Iskra having Thunderbolt will probably win me the match.

 

[tsatoma]

"I don't think battling Misty will be quite as difficult as your match against her the last time. All of your Pokemon are stronger now, and you have experience on how she battles," Eileen explained to Rochelle, trying to reassure the other Trainer as she thought back to how her Cerulean gym battle had gone. "I don't think anyone would be too annoyed if they have to stay an extra day or two. I know I'm ready to move on, but spending a day or two longer wouldn't hurt anyone. More time to train, or to give our Pokemon a little break until we move on. The next few routes should be pretty fun to get through."

Holding out her Pokeball, Eileen let out the fully healed Swinub and directed him to where his food was. Dalton charged over to where Hughes and Cleo were, almost running Cleo over as he got to his food bowl and started shoveling food in his mouth. The Scratch Cat Pokemon glared at the new addition as it sloppily ate, licking her paws to clean off now that she was done with her meal. "I think I might have to buy more food before we go," Eileen muttered to herself, noticing Hughes' intense look and telling him everything was fine, "Rochelle is a friend. Just get back to eating."

Once the fire Pokemon went back to focusing on his bowl, Eileen turned back to Rochelle, "What a fun bunch they are. I think I need to have Hughes socialize with other people and Pokemon though; he is always so defensive. Cleo just likes to be alone, but my new Swinub seems friendly enough. He just has certain priorities. How are your Pokemon faring?"

 

[Lambi]

Aeris lightly giggled when Charlie said he might be halfway to Celadon by now if it hadn't been for the group. "Guess we're a bad influence on you, then." She stuck her tongue out at him and giggled again. "Besides, you don't need to hurry up to become a Champion. We've got plenty of time. And plenty of Pokémon to catch." She made a mental note to keep an eye on any Fire Pokémon she'd notice, along with Gastly, the only Ghost Pokémon she knew of in Kanto aside from its evolutions.

"That seems like a nice goal to try and achieve. I'm not really sure either what I want to do after becoming a Champion. Maybe travel a bit with my Pokémon, possibly see other regions, hopefully have Mika by my side as I do." She wasn't allowing herself to become sad when mentioning Mika. She couldn't break down every time his name was mentioned. It'd just be ridiculous.

Although Charlie's next question didn't really help in that regard, but since Mika's name was really only mentioned quickly once, she didn't think too much about it, rather focusing on answering his question. "Well, we kind of all met in Pallet Town. We went to see Professor Oak, who was senile in every meaning of the word, he gave us Pokédexes and we kind of decided to go in a group from there. It's been going well so far, aside from, well, the occasional drama." She didn't want to think too much on all the drama that had happened so far either, so she didn't make any further mention of it.

"Are you alright?" she asked him when he groaned, then rubbed and flexed his neck. "I could massage it a bit if that'll help." She didn't let him answer before kneeling down, having him turn his back to her before she placed her hands on his shoulders and started to massage the back of his neck with her thumbs before gently massaging the sides of his neck as well with her other fingers.

 

[CounterAttack]

"My team is doing alright, I think. Got a bit of training in before coming back here for the evening," Rochelle answered. "Found myself an Abra that I'm hoping I can train up... speaking of which, I should see how she's doing after all the effort I spent to catch her." She let Kara out of her ball. The Psychic-type looked around for a moment, not recognising her surroundings, before she caught sight of Rochelle.

"Aaa... Rra. Aabra." Kara seemed rather annoyed at the sight of her Trainer. She folded her arms across her chest, turned away from Rochelle and sat down. The Trainer turned to Eileen. "She's probably mad 'cause I spent a good fifteen minutes chasing her around before I could catch her."

"Rra!" Rochelle turned her attention to Kara, crouching down to place herself at eye level. "Hey there, missie. How are you?" Kara didn't respond. "Alright, guess you don't like me much. How about... I know." She rummaged through her pack for a case of food, picked out a piece and held it out to the Abra. "A peace offering, if you will," she noted aloud.

Kara turned her head a little, though Rochelle couldn't tell if she could see what was being offered. Then the Abra reached out and swiped the small brown cube from her, and Rochelle heard something that sounded like 'snorf' as Kara ate it. "Not so bad, is it? Now... you and I are going to work together. I've already picked out a name for you. What do you think of Kara?"

There was a pause as the Abra chewed her snack. Eventually Kara gave a begrudging nod as if to say, I can live with it, but I don't like you. Satisfied, Rochelle stood back up and looked back at Eileen. "That seems to have gone well... I'm not sure how I'm going to train her, though. All she has is Teleport."

 

[tsatoma]

"It seems the way to a Pokemon's heart is food, or at least the way to make them less apprehensive towards things," Eileen commented after watching Rochelle's Abra take the food. It seemed like the Pokemon would be one of the ones that needed time to get used to its new Trainer, Eileen noted after the Abra was given a new name.

Rochelle brought up the training predicament that was plaguing her regarding her latest catch; a common problem when training an Abra. "There are a few methods you can use to train it; some easier than others of course," Eileen told Rochelle, thinking over the options before continuing, "The easiest way would be to simply teach it a move that you, or someone in the group has. That way your Pokemon could actually attack in battle, instead of just running away. Another option would be to send it into battles than switching to a different Pokemon, but that is time consuming and I don't think Pokemon particularly like that. The other option I can think of off the top of my head would be to use teleport to make it win battles, but that would take a lot of out-of-the-box thinking and a lot of trust in your Pokemon."

"I'm not sure you have that last one yet. That might take time, though I wish it didn't," Eileen stated, looking over at her own Pokemon. Cleo had been a problem when she was first caught and, though she was doing better than before, she could still be difficult at times.

 

[Pm0n3y]

Charlie almost immediately tried to retract his question after asking it, it's subject instantly becoming sensitive with an inclusion. He began to mouth a "My bad" to Aeris, but she didn't seem to mind it that much. Then again, she mentioned him first. He nodded and chuckled along with her description of the ancient professor, agreeing with his case of growing senility. He pondered on the how they all decided to take on the Kanto challenge.

"Ah, so it was more of like a spontaneous thing? Huh. I can see the-ugh-sense in that. I mean, you're all going to the same place, where's the-eengghh-t-the harm in traveling to that place with a group of like-minded individuals?" He replied through a couple of groans. It seemed his pains were beginning to hinder him more than he anticipated. "Maybe it's time to head back to the center. I'm getting too old for this shit, I declare..." He began repositioning himself slightly, only for Aeris to take notice of his distraught expressions.

"Are you alright?" She asked, kneeling down to his level. "I could massage it a bit if that'll help." Charlie tried his best to play it off. "Nah, it's okay, no need t-O-oh." She insisted anyway, not really giving the boy another word in as she began pressing herself up against his back, kneading her fingers into his shoulders and neck. "Well, y'know. It's just, that heavy-ass duffel bag is really starting to take its toll on me..." He added. Naturally, such actions sent a bit of a shiver down the boy's spine, as he squirmed some in her grasp. He began to close his eyes some, reveling in the sensations. "Either I-oooh~-I was in more pain than I thought, or you're really good at this." He commented as she worked, letting out a satisfied sigh. And even though her generosity was sincere at best, it still felt slightly wrong to the trainer. "No! Away from me, ye dirty thoughts! She is taken!"

"It's uhhhh, startingtoget dark, dontcha think?" Charlie looked down at his X-transceiver. "We, heh, should start back towards theeeee Pokécenter, right? Yeah, I totally think it's about that time." He hastily spat, almost tossing Nina to the ground as he sprung to his feet.

 

[elementsoul]

When Jordan rushing out like that, Callum figured that it was a good time to go purchase a few things himself. Four Pokéballs and some Pokémon food was the ending purchase that he made before arriving back at the Pokémon center and moved along with the group. Eileen had rushed ahead with an insane looking training method and Callum silently reconciled with himself. She hates me for the way I battle, and then she goes and uses one Pokémon as bait to train the other. Callum just couldn't understand how she called his battling "disrespectful" and then goes around and does this to her Pokémon. What about being disrespectful to your Pokémon Eileen?

[hr]

Callum had forgone letting his Pokémon battle on the route back in an attempt to hopefully return to the Cerulean Gym with enough time to battle that night. Jordan's announcement that there wouldn't be any battles against Misty that night was off putting to Callum so instead of the gym he found a restaurant to eat at instead of eating a Pokémon Center meal.

After eating some Spearow strips with fries, and ordering a plate of poffins for the Pokémon he currently had on his team. The meal itself was nice, and the restaurant atmosphere was quiet and drama free. The mood of the place helped improve Callum's own, and ultimately he decided to take his Pokémon out and let them train for a while.

The light from the city's street lights disappeared from the dimming light of the sunset as Callum walked out to Route Four. There was a small fenced in area there that had a decent sized stretch of tall grass. From the approaching distance Callum could see the Pokémon in that area; Ekans, Sandshrew, Rattata, Hoppip, and an occasional Geodude were visible.

Finally as Callum reached the stretch of tall grass, he released all of the Pokémon in his party. "Paras, Spinarak, Oddish, Kakuna, and Butterfree; all of you can go out there and battle if you want," Callum announced to his team and he took off his backpack, and leaned against the fence post to get lost in thoughts of nothing. The five Pokémon he had brought with him talked amongst themselves for a few seconds, before they made their way into the tall grass and started to gang battle the Local Pokémon.

Butterfree and Oddish used their Sleeping Powder to knock out the Spearows in the air, allowing for the ground Pokémon to quickly swarm them, and take them out. When a Geodude would appear, Oddish would normally take the front and quickly take it out with absorb. Anything else was fair game to the four ground Pokémon, with Butterfree providing emergency air support using Silver Wind and Confusion.

It wasn't long after this started that Kakuna began to glow, which caught Callum's attention. A yellow winged Pokémon with black stripes flew out of what used to be a Kakuna's shell. Callum quickly returned the Pokémon to its Poké Ball at its appearance. I still need him for my job. It's better if I keep him in his ball just in case. Callum replaced the sticker on the ball with one of a Beedrill and quickly pulled out his Pokédex to scan the Pokémon inside.

015 Beedrill


Poison Bee Pokémon

HT 3' 03"


WT 65 lbs.


Its best attack involves flying around at high speed, striking with poison needles, then flying off.



The four Pokémon that remained out gave an odd look before returning to their group battling. Callum himself returned the Beedrill's ball to his pouch, before going back to his thoughts of nothingness.

Soon enough Callum's Pokémon were exhausted, and with so much drama in the last two days; so was he. It was pitch black out when Callum recalled all of his Pokémon and made his way back to the Pokémon Center. The walk was quiet, with only the crisp newly damp grass beneath his feet making any sound. It was a nice feeling to be had before the lights of the city relit up the night, and Callum returned to the Pokémon Center to get his Pokémon healed, and spend the night himself.

 

[Lambi]

It felt relaxing to massage Charlie, or just to massage someone who liked it and didn't feel too much pain from it. Aeris giggled lightly when he complimented her. "Thanks. I've done this a few times on my parents when they've been working really late and have no energy, so I know a little."

She was surprised when he hurried up on his feet and hastily spat out what he wanted to say. "Well, I guess it is. Okay." She felt a bit bad when she stood up and called her Pokémon back. Did I do something wrong? she thought to herself. She didn't think she'd done anything wrong. Just helping a friend who felt pain in his neck. Once all her Pokémon aside from Jessie, who sat on her head once more, and Blaze, who walked by her, had been returned to their Pokéballs, she started to walk back towards the Pokécenter with Charlie, mostly looking towards the ground because of how bad she felt that she'd done something wrong.

When they returned, Aeris went to the front desk and handed over the five Pokémon that had fought, after returning Jessie back to her own Duskball, and went to sit down while she waited for them to be healed. Blaze looked up towards her, feeling bad for Aeris since she didn't know why Aeris looked a bit down. Perhaps if she were a Psychic Pokémon, she could read her mind, but even then, she probably wouldn't have.

 

[Pm0n3y]

"Phew. Think I might've dodged a bullet with that one." Charlie thought with a bit of relief as Aeris began to collect her pokémon. But, from the day-and-a-half he's spent with this company of trainers, one of the things he realized was that the crimson-haired companion was very easy to read emotionally. And as the two began back towards the pokécenter, Charlie knew that her spirits had sunk. The trek entering the city was as brief as it was exiting, and once upon entering the refuge, Aeris quietly trudged towards the healing counter. As she did so, Charlie decided to retrieve his bag, grimacing as he did so.

"Good job with that one, Charles. Dodge one bullet, fly right into the other." He mumbled-thought, deciding to just drag the bag across the center's clean floors instead of carrying it. He returned Nina to her ball before handing her in for healing. Next in his sights, was the young trainer, sitting all by her lonesome, wearing a downtrodden expression while her Charmeleon tries to assess the situation. Charlie sat beside her, aiming to fixed what he most likely caused.

"Hey, what's up?" The puffy-haired trainer asked, clearly concerned.

"Nothing, really." Aeris knew that he wouldn't just be able to read her mind, so she'd have to tell him. "Did I do anything wrong when I massaged you?" she said to him after a bit while still looking down at the floor, or rather at Blaze since she was in front of her.

"Oh nononono, nahnahnahnah, I, that was...that was all on me." He began, voice fluctuating through several tones and octaves as he waved his hands to and fro. "No, you were fine...real fine-wait, shit, that didn't come out right. I mean, yeah, you were good, but uhhh...dammit..." He seemed to be having some troubles with his explanation, what, with him exasperatedly tumbling over his words and whatnot.

Such a scene of fumbling made her look towards him and smile, then giggle a little when she felt relieved that she hadn't done anything bad. "Well, I'm at least glad to hear I didn't do anything bad. But I'm curious to know why you acted like that. After all, I thought I had done something wrong, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Then what is it?" Blaze looked at the two of them, shaking her head at the boy's fumbling, but also glad to see that Aeris was feeling better. Charlie tried to think of how he was to explain himself. There were a lot of long "Uhhhhh"s as he tried to compile his thoughts, but eventually he managed to get it all together.

"Well, I like the thing you have with Mika. I'm totally all for you and your motivation to wait for him to come back. And i'm not trying to come in between you two. I mean, not that i'm saying you'll let that happen, but, I...I dunno. We've haven't known each other that long, but, I can say that we're friends, right?" He paused there, to let it all sink.

When hearing Mika's name again like that, it had a faint effect on her, but she kept listening to what Charlie had to say. When he paused, she said "You're not coming in between us. I don't think I could let that happen. And yeah, we are friends. I'd say we are." Charlie smirked at her answers. They were words he was expecting to hear.

Even then, he let out short sigh before taking a deep breath and continuing. "I'm sorry, I just...I got all weird with that massage. I mean, I know you were only being friendly, but...you're an attractive girl, and, i'm an eligible bachelor on the teetering edge of maturity and immaturity. Like any dude at my age, my hormones are all over, the fucking place. I am, a very horny teenager, and something as simple a friendly massage is borderline sensual in my head. ('S basically first base in some religions.) I just thought to stop it, before I did or said something stupid. You get me...right?" He stuck a query at the end of his rambling.

"I do get you." Aeris answered with a nod, blushing a bit after being called attractive. "I just guess I didn't think it would have that effect on you. I'm sorry it did." As on instinct, she hugged him, then let go after a short while. "And don't you dare let your hormones interpret that hug as anything other than a friendly hug." she said to him accusingly, but only jokingly so as she stuck her tongue out at him and giggled. Charlie chuckled along with her, letting a random hand scratch the back of his head in sheepishness. "Heh. Getting that off my chest, I don't think I will...probably...I dunno, I hate the way my body works." He let out in jest.

 

[Lambi]

"That'll be fixed with time. Like most other things, such as wounds." Aeris said to him in return. Shortly thereafter, Aeris' name was called to come to the front desk, and she did so, retrieving the five Pokéballs she'd given for healing and put them all on her belt, releasing Jessie from hers before putting her Duskball back on her belt. Jessie promptly sat on Aeris' head, comfortable there, looking fresh from the healing.

She returned to where she'd sat and sat back down there with Jessie on her head and Blaze in front of her. She felt better now, though a stray thought crossed towards Mika, but she couldn't let thoughts of him make her sad. They'd had some good moments up until the incident on the S.S. Anne, and that was reason enough to not get sad.

"I wonder how everyone will do against Misty now." she thought out loud to herself. "Everyone who either lost against her or didn't get a chance the first time around, that is. I'm sure that Rochelle will do well with her Flaaffy, at least. If I hadn't won the first time around, I would be going up against her with Jessie. And probably Tristan. I'd rather not risk anything by using Blaze again against a Water type. Once was more than enough." There were always stories about how the flames on Charmanders' tails and their evolutions represented their spirit or something like that, or at least represented their life force or some such. If it was out, they were dead, and Aeris was not about to find out any time soon if that was true or not.

 

[Pm0n3y]

Charlie was called up to the counter soon after Aeris retrieved her pok&#233mon. As he returned to her, she seemed to ponder on how her friends could fare with tomorrow's battles with the Gym Leader, Misty. Charlie thought her worries were understandable, he himself remembering his time with the Cerulean leader, her attacks and strategies were no laughing matter. "She was easy on the eyes though...ummph." He bit down on his bottom lip as he wondered if she ever used her feminine wiles to distract her more vulnerable opponents. It was then, that Charlie decided to comment on girl's fairly audible mumbles.

"How long has it been since you guys last seen her? I mean, i'm sure all the extra experience we've all gotten from the past few days should be more than enough to win against her, right?" He replied. He knew for sure Nina would be able to handle the leader, due to her most recent upgrades. "How'd you do against Misty?" He asked quite spontaneously. "You said you won against her using Blaze right? How'd you avoid getting her tail wet? Heh, I'd brag more about how I won my battle using Quinn, but I'm quite sure I got by with some crazy bullshit luck. Misty was not happy about that result, heh." Charlie added with a bit of a nervous chuckle.

 

[Lambi]

There was a fair amount of questions from Charlie, but not too many for Aeris to answer. "We fought her the day before we met you on the S.S. Anne, so the ones that will rematch her shouldn't have too much of a problem against her. I did well against her, even with having used Blaze against her. And yeah, I did win with Blaze and Tristan. It's thanks to Tristan that I avoided having her tail get wet. He held her in his arms. Surprisingly strong for a Butterfree. Meanwhile, I had Blaze heat up the pool so Misty's Pokémon wouldn't be able to heal up in the water. After that, it was just Blaze's instinct to not have her tail get wet from Staryu's and Starmie's attacks."

She felt that she'd been rather lucky, nevertheless. Blaze had good reflects to avoid water attacks unless they were big water attacks, but Aeris would put her in her Pokéball if that were about to happen, anyway. "What about you? How did you do against Misty, beating her with Quinn?" she asked Charlie back.

 

[NeoAC]

The familiar lights of the Cerulean City Gym remained somewhat dim in the dusk hour, having not fully come to life yet. Jordan still had a good memory of the place, considering it was only yesterday morning he was here. Since he didn't really have to think about where he was going with Misty doing a great job of leading him like a Ponyta to water, he had more time to question the moral implications of what exactly he was consenting to again. At least Misty seems like actually happy to see me. Like even with the whole shipwreck thing, and Fary flipping out last time. She definitely seems more even then Fary, able to go with the flow and all that noise. Like she's able to deal with a bunch of shit and not go crazy or anything. That's always a plus.

"We're home!" Misty announced as she opened the door.

"We? Your imaginary boyfriend managed to make it back with you?"

"Shut up, Violet!" the redhead turned back to Jordan. "You know the drill."

"He does?" Another girl, standing in one of the doorways on the side chimed in. Tall and blonde, she appeared to be another resident who had Misty beat in terms of classical looks. "Like, you have a repeat customer? That totally hasn't happened in years! Good for you!" Jordan didn't really get what she was talking about, but he liked her. The voice sounded familiar, like home.

Misty however, was showing clear signs of irritation. "What was that, Daisy?"

"No, I mean it little sis! I'm glad you found someone who's more than a one night stand. I know there was nothing like recently or anything, so I thought you'd given up!"

"Thanks," the Gym Leader said through gritted teeth. "Jordan, let's go." She grabbed Jordan's hand and started dragging him back to the stairs that led down to her room.

"Nice meeting you," he said as the redhead guided him away from the siblings.

Misty quickly pulled him into her room and slammed the door behind her. "Ugh, sorry again about them. They just have to get their shots in at any time."

"I dunno, like, Daisy sounded nice."

"She disguises it very well." Misty sat down on her bed, inviting Jordan next to her. The blonde plunked himself down next to the redhead and she instantly wrapped her hand back around his. "You're great for being able to put up with them though."

"Dude, I can like get along with people, most people, you know? Something I'm good at."

"We could use someone like that around here. My sisters have pretty much retired from battling, and we get so many trainers here, sometimes, I just can't handle all of them."

"Huh, well you know, like, you could probably hire someone for that. Sure someone would take that job."

Misty traced her other hand up along Jordan's arm, "I think the perfect candidate is already in the gym."

Jordan looked over right into the Gym Leader's stare. "Ummmm, you know, like, I'm pretty sure we're going to be heading out tomorrow. You know, like out on the road and stuff."

"But why? When I travelling I was looking for something that I wasn't getting here. What could you want that you can't get right here? I mean, you can't really want to go for all those badges. From what I've seen, you're not a good enough battler to get anywhere in the League."

"Hey! Like, yeah, I haven't been training and junk for long, but like, I beat the army dude in Vermillion!"

"Oh Jordan." Misty moved her other hand and placed it on Jordan's shoulder, turning him towards her. "Surge is an arrogant idiot who can't get it through his 'roid-addled head that any chump with a Ground type can short him out. He's not hard to beat. Even for someone who I stomped in a couple minutes."

Jordan may not be bright, but he knew when he was being insulted. "Like, I got mixed up and sent out Vicky instead of Spike. I'm getting better and stuff."

"I don't think it would have helped you against me. That's another thing too. If you stay here, I can train you and then you might actually stand a chance against me in a match."

"Come on, like I think I can beat you now, and you know, I gotta get back down to Fuschia at some point. I want to get home before the waves start breaking bad. This is primo weather for them."

Misty wasn't appreciating the stubbornness that Jordan was showing in this instance. I thought he was more malleable than this....wonder if that would work again... "I tell you what Jordan. If you really think you're going to beat me tomorrow, how about we make another bet? I've still got plenty of prize money left to give away."

Well, could always use more money, I guess. "Well, if you want to, like hand it over like that, then sure."

"But! But, if I win again, then you stay here with me. No travelling, at least not for badges or anything like that. It'll be just you and me, and my stupid sisters. Deal?"

Jordan stared into those green eyes for a few seconds as he tried to debate what the pros and cons were, but as usual, he was drawing a blank. "Fine. But I'm going to win."

"I'm sure you will," Misty said condescendingly as she patted Jordan on the head. "Now, I know how we can seal this deal." She tossed Jordan down prone on the bed, and dove into the night's scheduled activity.

[HEADING=2]DAY 8[/HEADING]

"Morning!"

Jordan uttered a groan and rolled over away from the light.

"If you get up, I'll give you the present I got you." Free stuff is a good way to get any slacker to do things.

Jordan instantly turned around and sat up right. Misty looked over smiling. "Thought that would get you up. One sec."

She turned away, already dressed and energetic. Jordan couldn't believe it. Dude, I wasn't that good, like what coffee pot she slurp down today? Like she's so different right now. Plunking back down on the bed, she revealed the present she held in her hand. It was a brand new hat, seemed pretty nice. It was mostly red but it had a giant white patch on the front, with a weird looking green logo in the middle. The logo had the look of a stylized boomerang hook, or something like that. Not as nice as my Sharks hat though.

"Put it on."

Jordan jammed the hat on top of his shaggy hair, it was a little tight and the rim of the hat made his hair flair out a bit at the sides.

"Yeah, that looks great on you. Maybe use some mousse get the hair sticking out there better."

"I dunno, I like having my hair down, ya know?"

"I think it looks better on the sides."

"Eh, whatever. Thanks for the hat."

"No problem. Now get outta here. I gotta get ready to whoop ya and some other scrubs again."

"Can I get dressed first?"

"Sure, I want to see that hat on your head when you're in my gym though, OK?"

"Yeah, OK."

Jordan quickly got dressed and then left Misty to her own devices. It was still a short walk back to the Pokemon Center where Jordan figured everyone was staying. She's already telling me what to wear? What's that about. I don't want to be changing or anything. That's just weird. He had more on his mind as he walked through the glass doors of the Pokemon Center.

 

[CounterAttack]

Wandering alone in the dark, the cold and damp. Rock and stone everywhere, making up the walls, floor and ceiling. A handful of torches were scattered about the place, but they were dim. None of them illuminated much of the cavern that Rochelle was trying to escape. it was almost like a maze, the way the place twisted and turned.

The splashing of water soon began to sound throughout the area, closely followed by the crunches of heavy boots. lots of them. She picked up the pace, trying to find the way out. But when she rounded a corner, there was nothing. Just a blank metal wall two feet from the corner. Rochelle spun around, but her shoulder banged into another wall behind her. As if by magic, the light from the torches was gone. The walls closed in, crushing her down into a curled-up ball.

Rochelle tried to resist, pushing against the walls, hitting them with her hands, kicking with bare feet... her efforts had no impact. She was back in the closet... she wanted out. She needed out. She hit the door harder, and then harder still, scared for her life.

CLANG. The door shifted, and then flew wide open with her next strike. Instead of the caverns, Rochelle was on the deck of the S.S. Anne. People were milling about, talking to each other or battling... it was peaceful.

Then BLAM. Gunshots rang out, in perfect rhythm. Trainers began to jerk under the impact of the shots and fall to the floor, the life torn from their bodies in an instant. Blood began to pool around them... and then the cold grip of terror crushed Rochelle's heart. She recognised the fallen as they choked, writhed on the deck and then flopped down, glassy-eyed. First it was Aeris, then Callum, then Fary, Eileen, Jordan, Charlie, Tyler, Simon...

Rochelle screamed as black-clad people stepped over the bodies of her friends and approached her. Once again the red R on their uniforms was prominent... only this time it was painted in human blood. Her friends' blood. Thin streaks of it ran down the fabric as the world turned dark again...

Not for the first time, Rochelle's eyes flew open and she sat upright in her bed, throwing away the sheets to land in a pile near her feet. She buried her head in her hands and started crying, completely distraught by the nightmare, unaware of anyone else in the Pokémon Center accommodation wing that might be awake.

Aeris, who was awake because she didn't really feel tired or wanted to sleep right now without Mika, was surprised to hear crying, but not surprised to see that it was Rochelle doing the crying. She got up from her bed and walked over to Rochelle, sitting down on the bed by her. "I'm sure that you had a nightmare just now, but there's nothing to worry about right now. You're here with us." She placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her.

Placed on a cot somewhere at another end of the room, the moving figures in the darkness caused Charlie to look up from the fiddling he was doing on his Xtransceiver. It was mere minutes after he and Aeris had seemingly concluded their nonstop chattering, and he too, was far from sleepy. The familiar voice caught his attention, and the sounds of Aeris comforting a crying individual caused him to rise from his cot. Using the wrist device's backlight, he made his way closer to the two without causing any sort of accident. Once he neared Aeris, Charlie quickly realized who it was that need consoling. "Rochelle?" He kneeled beside the cot, exchanging looks between one redhead to the other. "Yeah, you'll be alright. What...uh...what happened?" He hesitated to ask.

Rochelle whimpered and tried to shift away from Aeris' hand. She was shivering, and felt a bit sick in her stomach. She wanted it to stop... but the attack in Vermilion had only made things worse. The nightmares were slowly turning her into a wreck; she couldn't speak to the others. Instead she let out another whine and continued to cry.

Charlie looked on, now even more awake than before, entirely alert. Rochelle's state of enhanced distraught made his heart accelerate. He moved from the floor, placing himself at the foot of the small cot. "Rochelle..." He moved in a little closer. As delicately as he could, the big haired trainer managed to wrap his arms around her, embracing her to the best of his ability. He figured she could use the extra shoulder to cry on. "Rochelle... we're here, Rochelle... all of us... we're all here..." He uttered, the words little more than a whisper on his lips. He glanced up to Aeris, and reached out to her, a silent gesture suggesting she join in on the hug.

Aeris nodded to him, and wrapped her arms around Rochelle and Charlie, hugging them both. "And we will be here for you, no matter where or when." She held them both close to her, not hugging too tightly of course.

Rochelle buried her face in Charlie's shoulder, though she didn't return the hug. She was still in considerable shock despite the comforting words of the others. A new series of muffled whimpers emerged from the crying girl as she let herself let go and break down entirely.

[hr]

Rochelle woke the next morning, curled up tightly in a ball underneath the bedsheets. She felt awful. Entirely spent. Slightly sick, with a bit of a headache. There was some of her hair in her mouth, and a damp patch underneath her head. She vaguely remembered something happening last night... another nightmare. Worse this time. She'd woken up, someone had been there... had she cried herself to sleep?

She raised a slightly weak arm to push the bedsheets off of herself, and tried to sit up. The second time, she managed it, but took a moment to rest her head in her hands. Roughly five minutes later, she managed to balance herself on her own feet, and staggered into the bathroom adjacent to the Center's accommodation.

Rochelle remembered she'd looked like a wreck last time she'd had a nightmare. 'Wreck' didn't begin to describe her state that morning. The clothes she'd worn overnight were rumpled and crooked, her hair the result of a hurricane passing through, and her face was marred by more dried-up tear lines. She'd been crying again. She was in no way a pretty sight.

She got in one of the showers, only remembering to remove her clothes at the last second, and lost track of how long she stood under the hot water. Rochelle only felt marginally more awake after she could be bothered to switch the water off. Eventually drying herself off, she redressed and wandered back to her bed for a fresh set of clothing.

"Oohh... Hell's teeth. What happened last night." She soon realised she'd spoken the words aloud instead of just thinking them.

 

[Pm0n3y]

BDEEPBDEEPBDEEPBDEEP! Charlie's Xtransciever rang and vibrated violently, thrusting Charlie from his state of rest. Not that he got that much rest last night. "Stupid, fucking, wrist phone-watch-computer...thing!" A flustered punch ceased the device's fevered blaring. A loud, cranky sigh escaped Charlie as a hand went down his face. He really wished he had got more sleep. But, considering the way things went last night, maybe him deciding to stay up was some sort of act of Arceus. He began recounting some of the things that went down the night before as he rummaged through his duffel for a fresh pair of undergarments.

[hr]
Last Night...

One of the earlier conversations he and the fiery trainer Aeris were knee deep into, was about their respective victories against the Cerulean gym leader, Misty. "What about you?" She queried. "How did you do against Misty, beating her with Quinn?" This was one of those questions that Charlie had to think on before he could find the right words to answer with. And usually, this answer started off with a prolonged "Uhhhh..."

"Well, uh, I know for a fact that you and I did the same 'heating up the water' tactic...Mixed that with Quinn's smokescreen, and there was nowhere for them to go. And even then, you have to remind yourself that you're going up against water types with your fire type. I got a little cocky towards the end of the battle, and Quinn ended up paying for it. Okay, so, it was Misty's last against Quinn. Both of which, were on their last legs. There was a smokescreen up. Like, just enough to barely see the ground in front of you, but enough for me to see the look of frustration that was playing out on Misty's face. So she and I called out attacks at the same time. And her pokémon...missed! Like, I got hosed down with the water, and Quinn sidestepped it like a fuckin' G...I think (...those last few seconds kinda few by in a blur). Either way, her attack connected, finished off the 'mon, and Misty could've swore I cheated somehow. But hey, all's fair in love and pokémon, amiright?"

The two conversed late into the night, with Charlie eventually taking a gander at his watch for the time. The two eventually made their way towards the accommodations. "...Hehheh, have you actually been back here yet? S'kinda weird for me, all this open space with beds and the bathrooms...eh, it's alien, but i'll manage." He whispered to the girl's back as the two entered the darkened area, the sounds of heavy breathing and snoring filling the area with ambiance. He gave his good night to her before finding a free cot of his own, taking off his shirt, sneakers, and the frilly scrunchie that held his hair in its usual ponytail, before getting into the sheets. He didn't doze off, though. Instead, he played around with his Xtransceiver some, seeing if he could set an alarm for it for some reason. It wasn't long after that, he heard the sounds of distraught tears, and Aeris' consoling whispers...
[hr]

"Rochelle..." He looked to the cot she slept at last night, to see that she had already moved on. He wondered how she was feeling now. "What happened to her?" He sat at the bed in silent thought, before realizing that it was (in fact) morning time, and he needed to take a shower. "Quite sure Nina and Quinn need to be cleaned too, 'specially after yesterday's battles." He mumbled, releasing the two onto the bed. The mannerisms of the two contrasted one another's, Quinn seeming more rested than the (now curling into a ball and trying to go back to sleep) Nidorina.

"Nina. Wake up sleepyhead, it's bathtime." He said in a bothered, sighing tone. "Niiiiiiiii..." She groggily whined in reply. "Nina, this isn't up for discussion. Get up, now." He let out in a sterner (albeit crankier) tone. She replied to that, standing up and letting out a yawn. He scratched behind one of ears as she came to, making sure he had her attention. "C'mon, the water'll wake you up." He said to the two, grabbing for his shirt only to catch a whiff of it. It was only natural that it stunk, seeing as it was the only thing he's been wearing since the week before. "Note to self, find a laundromat or some sort of fresh stream before putting this back on, eugh." He thought, tossing the blue v-neck into his bag. Lastly grabbing for his toiletries, Charlie started for the bathrooms, rustling out his hair as Quinn and Nina followed after him.

 

[Lambi]

Aeris woke up pretty refreshed. After Rochelle had fallen asleep the night before, she'd gone off to her own bed, keeping an eye on her until she herself fell asleep. She grabbed a towel and headed for the showers, taking a little time to clean herself before she put on her usual attire. After the shower, she went to the lobby of the Center to get something to eat, for herself and her Pokémon.

She grabbed a plate with some toast that had butter and cheese on it along with a glass of orange juice and put it on a table before going to grab some treats for her Pokémon. Once that was done, she released all six of them and told them to dig in as she sat down and started to eat herself. All six of them started to eat happily after having done some stretching from the sleeping they'd done. Aeris looked occasionally towards the bedroom to see if Rochelle would come.

 

[socialtangent]

Tyler resisted regaining consciousness for as long as he could, but after a while it was futile. He opened his eyes and let the post-sleep haze clear away before rolling out of his temporary bed. As he went through the routine of showering and changing clothes, he began to regain lucidity. By the time he arrived at the lobby, Tyler was no longer working on auto-pilot. He grabbed a modest breakfast plate of pancakes and sausage and sat down with a glass of milk.

After breakfast, he planned to pick up his Pokemon, having left them with the Nurse overnight. He had no reason to rush, though, so he picked at his breakfast at a leisurely pace.

 

[elementsoul]

?You woke up crying last night and essentially had a break down. Aeris and Charlie tried to comfort you until you fell back to sleep. Even after that you cried in your dreams.? Callum said before yawning as he woke up and swung off the top bunk of the pair of beds beside Rochelle?s. Callum grabbed the shirt he had been wearing the day prior off of the top of his bag and pulled it on over his head and grabbed his bag. He had completely missed that the question was rhetorical.

?I?m not someone to get involved in this sort of things and I don?t know what happened to you, but if those two are willing to do that much for you, you should consider talking to them about it. I never used to understand the whole talking to people helps your problems thing before.

I only got it when my mom described it to me like this. ?When you stub your toe or cut yourself you?ll scream, shout, cry, or swear; even though it doesn?t actually do anything, it makes you feel better. Keeping how the pain makes you feel inside just makes it hurt more. Like screaming, shouting, crying, or swearing; talking does the same thing when you?re having problems. It makes you feel better even if it isn?t actually doing anything.?? Callum said as he walked out of the room towards the showers.

He was terrible at helping people with actual problems that he couldn?t bring himself to try and help Rochelle last night. And because he felt ashamed for not being able to do that he could bring himself to even look at her as he tried to help her this morning. It might have seemed stupid, but Callum couldn?t help but hate himself right now. The only thing that he knew that he knew he had to do were shower, eat, beat misty, and keep moving on with his job.

 

[Pm0n3y]

Despite the hassle of washing and maintaining two pokémon along with himself (especially himself, since it usually takes at least fifteen minutes to tend to his copious mane) Charlie surfaced from the center's cleansing facilities quicker than one might've expected. "Aah, needed that. Feels like it's been days since I've took a shower." He mumbled, feeling refreshed and relieved. Then, he stopped and thought. "I-I think it has been days since i've bathed. Surprised no one called me out on it, heh." He began back towards the cot he inhabited, with Nina and Quinn trailing not too far behind. The mousy poison-type seemed to be in a more upbeat mood after the bathing, and the more petite fire-type pitter-pattered along as well, shrouded in one the pokécenter's complimentary towels.

He plopped down onto the thin mattress, with his companions hopping up alongside him. He made sure to completely pat down Quinn with the towel, to make sure her pads wouldn't encounter ignition problems in the near future. Doing so, he noticed Rochelle and Callum not too far ahead of him. As Callum addressed her, the thoughts of last night began plaguing him once more. He wondered if she truly needed help with her dilemmas, and if it was even his place to impede so. "There, all dry." He looked back towards the Cyndaquil, removing her from underneath the towel.

Quinn chirped happily as he did so, possibly showing gratitude for the act. Naturally, the bushy haired trainer smiled back at her, bringing the duffel bag into his lap to rummage through it. "What to wear, what to wear..." He mumbled as his hands traversed the bag's inner contents. He knew he wasn't putting his v-neck back on, and his undershirts (all being small a-shirts with emphasis on "small") didn't leave much to the imagination or elements. "Well, there's always..." He yanked out a sweater, very visibly grimacing as he held it up. "...this..."

He still wondered what gave his mother the idea to purchase the article of clothing. What would've looked more natural on someone's grandfather, the knit sweater was primarily grey, a black, plaid-like design complementing the vibrant, humongous pokéballs wrapping around the sweater's midsection. "I-i'll make it work." He said to no one, pulling the sweater up and over his head. He remarked on how surprisingly un-itchy it was as he rose to his feet, sliding into his tall sneakers and slinging the duffel bag over a shoulder. "Alright girls, breakfast time." He said to his pokémon, pulling up the sweater's sleeves before Quinn took to her usual perch. He took one last look to the two conversing trainers before deciding to head for the main area, not wanting to barge in on whatever they were talking about. He quaintly waved at the two as he left, but he was positive that neither noticed.

It didn't take him long to find Aeris afterward, who seemed to of had a headstart on the whole breakfast ordeal. "Mornin', Red. Room for a few more?" He greeted, finding some chairs to pull up alongside her and her pokémon.

 

[CounterAttack]

Rochelle didn't respond to Callum immediately. Only once she replayed his answer to her question a couple of times did she properly wake up. Rubbing her eyes with one hand, she pulled a fresh set of clothes from her pack with the other and haphazardly changed into them.

"I suppose I do owe them an explanation," she murmured to herself, leaving her bandana in her bag. "Not before breakfast though." Hefting her bag onto one shoulder, she wandered through to the dining area. After collecting a small bowl of cereal for herself and a tray for five Pokémon, she chose the table next to Tyler and released everyone from their Balls for the morning meal. Almost instantly the new recruit was investigated by the first four. Rochelle let them talk, settling down to eat and think.

What was the overall plan? Oh, right, Misty, then moving on to Lavender and Celadon after that. Not going to enjoy the rematch... Eh. Iskra should be able to take care of it, since he has Thunderbolt. Phoenix or Kirsten as a backup. When that's over... Ah, hell. Rock Tunnel. Note to self, stay close to the others. Heck, cling to an arm if you have to. No repeats of the last cave. And ask for lots of light. Need light.

A "Gar!" came from under the table - Eva - followed by the zwoip noise Rochelle had heard Kara make before she teleported. She suddenly felt a large weight on her shoulders, surprising her, and the rather loud sound of a Pokémon chewing its food soon followed. Neither of the two Flying-types on Rochelle's team landed on her head to eat... "Kara, don't eat up there. You'll get crumbs in my hair," she complained. The Abra ignored her entirely; having secured her share of the food, she had taken it upon herself to get away from the others. Rochelle just sighed and tried to finish her breakfast without scraps of Pokémon food falling in the bowl.