"Here we go!" Flora called out with a smile on his face, as he threw out the only pokeball he had on him. A red stream of light emerged from it as it opened, before a large Venusaur emerged. The grass type remained stationary, eyeing the opponent with mild interest. It was clear that this Venusaur was an experienced battler, from some of the scars along her large form. Flora carefully recognized that David was an opponent worth acknowledging. He shouldn't underestimate anyone from the Elite Four. They were a dangerous bunch.

"Sludge Bomb!" Flora was quick to make a move. Buster, his loyal Venusaur, summoned a massive wave of vile, purple, sludge, flinging it quickly towards the opposing Politoed. However, the water-type was quick on his feet and able to dodge the terrible attack. In a brazen counter-attack, Politoed was ordered to use Ice Beam--which was an order he quickly carried out.

The damage would be super-effective, Flora realized that. But Buster most likely wouldn't be fast enough to completely dodge. Nonetheless, he called out the command. Buster shuffled quickly, but still caught a fair amount of the wave of ice, causing her to grimace.

"Giga Drain!" Now angered, Buster summoned her energy in several green waves, catching the Politoed off guard with her speed, which was caused by anger. The water-type croaked as the energy was sucked from him in a super-effective attack. In retaliation, he moved to use Hypnosis, but was once more surprised when the attack missed, just shy of hitting the large Venusaur, who glowered at him.

"Sludge Wave again!" It was a series of unfortunate events, Flora realized. The poor Politoed had bad luck for the battle--but was still an immensely quick and powerful pokemon. Luck had swayed in Flora's favor. But as the sickly purple wave only barely grazed Politoed, Flora realized that the water-type was getting tired out.

A quickly-aimed and improvised Psychic attack hit Buster head-on, but it still wasn't enough to end her, especially after the Giga Drain she pulled off earlier. One more full-front attack and Politoed would be done for.

"Giga Drain!" Flora called out right after the Psychic landed. Buster reacted immediately, pulling as much health from the Politoed as she could.

The water-type croaked, tumbling over on his side, clearly KOed.

Flora was silent for a moment, before recalling Buster.

"That was a good battle." He stated to David.

Flora gratefully accepted the winnings, and watched as David left. The Dragon-type Elite Four was certainly someone worth befriending as well as fearing. However, as Ray walked up to him, he jolted back into attention. Of course, he had plans to teach the new group of trainers how to catch new pokemon to add to their team. Ray seemed to be a severely outgoing trainer, which Flora appreciated. Being incredibly eager to learn only helped Flora do his job.

"Of course!" Flora confirmed loudly with a nod. "We'll be moving onto route 1, so I can teach you all how to catch pokemon! I suggest that before catching a pokemon, you all consider how the pokemon will factor into your team. Some people work better with a team of different types--while others have a team consisting of only one type." Flora told the new trainers, withdrawing Buster with relative ease. Flora moved to leave the small clearing. The Route 1 Entrance was nearby.

---

"WAIIIT!"
A loud, feminine voice called out. A short, pale-haired young woman in a large, flouncy coat hurried up to the group. A Treecko clung onto her shoulders. Unfortunately, the two seemed to be almost in tears. The female trainer slumped over--and it was clear that she had hurried to get o the location. "I'm Malia! I'm also a new trainer but I came late!" The girl cried out, sniffling. "I'm sorry! I was so scared when Professor Willow told me you all had left the lab!"

---



Sterling's One Weakness! A Crying Girl!

Immediately, the pale-haired young man seemed distressed at Malia's crying. He never liked seeing girls cry. It hit a deep nerve in him, and he wasn't really sure why. Before Flora even made sense of the situation, Sterling was rushing forward to the young woman, putting his hand hesitantly on her shoulder.

"It's okay! You're not late!" He quipped quickly, causing the brunette girl to peer up at him curiously. "New trainers can come in through the week! So, you're not really late. And you didn't lose us--we're right here! No one's mad at you." Sterling consoled her, and amazingly, her tears seemed to clear up as she looked at him.

Flora approached as well.

"Sterling is most certainly right!" The mentor stated clearly. "It's absolutely fine. We were just about to go to route 1, so you haven't missed much. I'll be sure to fill you in later."

After all that had just happened, Flora thought he could use a cup of coffee and a nice nap. Working with new trainers was turning out to be a handful. But it wasn't their fault. And at least they were all very eager to learn. The young mentor gave a weary grin as he watched the events unfold before him. It seemed like Sterling had done him a favor and taken weight off of his back by comforting Malia. Flora was glad that the new trainers were at least capable of supporting themselves and each other. Ray had approached him and asked him about catching pokemon, causing Flora to jolt back into attention. That's right! He had a goal!

"Alright everyone!" Flora called out, attempting to reign everyone's attention in on him. He had a responsibility, and he couldn't simply forget about it all. He was being paid. "We'll be heading to Route 1. I'll be teaching you how to catch pokemon there, and then you'll be able to start your adventure." After teaching them the necessities, Flora would remain in Anvil Town to welcome trainers who would be arriving throughout the week. Only at the end of the week would he seek out the different trainers and advise them on different topics. Inwardly, he wondered if any of them would choose to travel with each other. He supposed he would find out eventually. The young mentor moved from his standing position and began to head towards Route 1.

"Route 1 is a very mellow route." He told the trainers as they moved towards it. "The pokemon there are on the weaker side, level-wise, so it's a perfect place for new trainers to start out. Pokemon such as Caterpie, Pidgey, Pansage, and many more can be found there. I could tell you all of the pokemon found there--but I feel like it would be better for you all to discover for yourselves." Finally, they arrived at the gates of the town. Flora paused for a moment, before heading through the gates and into the wild world.

----

Malia was reassured about her lateness. Thankfully, she hadn't of broken down sobbing again. The Professor's sarcastic, biting edge hadn't of helped her fears in the slightest. Professor Willow was truthfully a bitter young man. It was odd for such a young man to be such a renowned professor. But he was a prodigy, supposedly. Malia brushed off the thought of the professor, walking alongside the others trainers. She cast curious gazes all around, noting which trainers had chosen which pokemon. So far, she seemed to be the only female of the group. It was mildly discouraging. But they all seemed friendly. Or at least, they all seemed not hostile. Her Treecko clung onto her shoulders, watching the town pass by until they all reached the gates.

"How pretty..." She was in awe of the gentle forest. Malia's voice was audible as she spoke, much to her embarrassment. She flushed a deep red color. She knew no one else's name here, besides the mentor. The young, pale-haired man who had comforted her was Sterling, as she had heard the mentor call his name. But she knew no one else here. They hadn't of introduced themselves, and she in no way was outgoing enough to ask anyone's name. Maybe they didn't like her all that much... The thought caused anxiety to swell within her.