@Rune_Alchemist @Lasrever @tex

Professor took a deep breath and sighed, lowering her arm to cradle Rue. She adjusted the blanket he was wrapped in before returning to face you three. She didn’t merit Abigail’s words with a response, but from the twitch of her smirk you felt she might be holding back a laugh. Once you three had all agreed to heal your Pokémon, she appeared much more relaxed than before.

“Very good. A trainer is only as strong as their Pokémon.”

She raised her eyebrow to what Lynn said, referring to nerds as some sort of insult or derogatory team. She chuckled as she turned, motioning for them to follow her into the lab.

“Nerds are the only reason you have your Sneasel there. And they can be the ones to take it away, too.”

Professor Ficus had no chill.

You were free to make comments or take action as you approached the glass doorway, sliding open and closed as the last of new trainers approached its entrance. Only the extremely late or unfortunate trainers remained, those who showed a lack of dedication from the start. Ficus stood in front of the doors as they opened to reveal a bumbling Miles, the mucous-infested lab assistant from before.

“Eughughguh! Professor Ficus! I-“

“No.”

Ficus promptly strode past Miles, who was caught mid sentence in some sort of pitch or idea. He remained frozen, one finger left in the air and in a strange, skewed standing position. He continued to bumble nonsense and words you couldn’t understand as you followed Ficus into the lab. She lightly tread on the moss-covered tile and easily weaved herself toward Bruce, who leaned exhausted on the wall by the terminals. He promptly stood tall as Ficus came into view.

“Oh, Professor Ficus. I didn’t know you would be in today,” Bruce said.

“Just for a moment. Can you see to these trainer’s Pokémon?”

“Already? Well, better to start early. Follow me.”

Bruce led the three of you across the room, to a section of the lab blocked off by a dangling, white curtain. It hung stagnant, as there was little to no current in the room, but you could see it was much more brightly lit than the rest of the lab. By dragging the curtain to the side, Bruce revealed a pale room of white, with glass counters filled with equipment of all kinds. You recognized potions, status-condition healing items, even a few revive crystals, something rare outside of high-end shops. He beckoned for each of you to place your Pokémon on a mock operating table, one at a time.

“Don’t worry, they can stand. I just need them to hold still for a second.”

Bruce opened one of the lower swinging doors, withdrawing three potions. They sort of looked like spray bottles, with a more futuristic design and purple tips with horizontal ridges. A purple “F” was printed in bold on the side of the Potion. As long as you complied, Bruce applied the potion spray to each of your Pokémon. It was fast drying, and each Pokémon appeared to be quite soothed by its touches. Any cuts, bruises, or wounds of any mark would seal up naturally where the Potion was applied. When Bruce began treating the Meowth, he realized the Pokémon was poisoned.

“Ouch, looks like a nasty one. I’ll have to get an antidote.”

Reaching into the cabinet once more, Bruce produced a syringe with a strangely thick needle to its edge. The body was red, and there was a large “F” printed in bold yellow on the side of the antidote. He squeezed the pump mechanism of the syringe lightly to make sure it contained the required resin.

“The sterile end of the antidote produces…”

Bruce shook his head, rolling his eyes. He’d caught himself before going on tangents about the technology he studied. He didn't want to bore any of these kids to death.

“It won’t hurt a bit.”

Given Kaz and Tesh were willing, Bruce injected the needle into the Meowth’s shoulder. The antidote would counter any poison remaining in Kaz’s bloodstream, relieving the Pokémon of Nidoran’s potent toxin. Bruce extracted and flicked the empty needle to make sure it had all been applied, before shooting the empty antidote into a nearby hazardous materials container. Like a basketball, it soared before hitting the rim and just barely sliding in.

“Yeah!”

It was a surprising burst of excitement from the normally mild Bruce. Well, when he wasn't dealing with Miles. He looked to the three of you for confirmation, as if he were making sure you had all seen what just happened. He remained hunched and smiling for a moment before adjusting his lab collar and cleaning up any mess he might have made on the table.

“All finished. Your Pokémon are free to go.”

He crossed his arm and waved with a single, gentle hand as you ducked to the side of the unmoving, white curtain. Professor Ficus awaited you on the other side, amber eyes still cutting. Not by intention, but by their nature. Rue rolled in her tiny bundle, trying to find a better position to lay in her mother’s arms. She eventually gave up on this and began reaching for one of Ficus’ long bands of hair, drifting just out of reach. She would squee in excitement nonetheless.

“Take care of your Pokémon, and they’ll take care of you. I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other again.”

Her eyes closed and a toothless smile appeared on her face. Her face appeared much softer when she smiled. She waved with her wrist as she bounced up and down to rock the rambunctious Rue from her restlessness. Rue attempted to mimic her mother, but her arm couldn’t quite perform the motion. Instead, she bat the blanket she slept in toward your direction.

“Bye now!”

And just as you turned to leave, and the doors were about to close, you once again heard that same voice. That gurgling, persistent mucous that refused to escape from the lad’s throat, distorting any sort of speech he might attempt.

“B-but Professor…”

“What did I say before?”

“MILES. THERE ARE PEOPLE OUTSIDE.”

“Eugughuooooo!”



And here it was before you, Route 1! Tall trees bountiful in green leaves and hardy in solid trunks lined either side of the dirt path in front of you. The lines of trees was thick, but from observation you could tell one could easily weave between the girth of trees that comprised Redorchard’s surrounding forest. Climbing the trees was another obstacle entirely, easily towering over the buildings in Redorchard. Reaching the lowest branches would require a significant amount of effort and athleticism. Trainers of all kinds rushed passed you, holding their Poké Balls high and sprinting into the possible unknown. Some had already found Pokémon, battling at the edge of the road in the distance. Others grouped up in different spots, discussing their next course of action on this life-time adventure. How many years had you stayed in Redorchard’s borders? Did you know what was on the other side? Did you care, or was this all just a passing fancy? Whatever the case, you would need to choose what you would try to accomplish on this route.

ROUTE 1

ENCOUNTER(S): 1

EACH TRAINER MAY CHOOSE THEIR OWN ENCOUNTER(S):

[1) CATCH POKéMON (KNOWN POKéMON: N/A)
[2) TRAIN POKéMON
[3) RANDOM EVENT
[4) OTHER (PLEASE SPECIFY. IF ATTEMPTING TO CATCH A RARE POKéMON, STATE EXACTLY WHAT YOU ARE DOING.)

@Xan the G @BlueSky44 @Eklispe @SleepingSilence

“Much obliged, my bros and broettes!”

The red-haired sailor cheered in glee, raising his Poké Ball high into the air as did his other two compatriots. There was a flash of white light before you as each Pokémon was revealed, and lined up, one against each of your Pokémon.

The blonde and brown-haired sailors were shocked by the red-haired sailor’s Pokémon.

“No way!”

“Bro, is that…?”

The red-haired sailor smirked. “Yeah bro. Yeah it is.”
--

~SAILOR CHUCK, BUCK, AND PUCK WANT TO BATTLE!~

@Xan the G

The blonde-haired sailor, known as Chuck, crossed his arms and smirked as his Pokémon emerged from the flash of light. A Poliwag bounced forth from its container, tap dancing on the hardwood floors. It performed heel clicks, bounced on its head, anything to draw your attention. This Pokémon was full of energy.

“Alright Broseidon!”

So that’s where he got it from. He moved about almost as much as his Pokémon, trying to match its energy. Their performance was silly, but you couldn’t help but wonder if the two made a stronger bond through their movements. Even if it was just a passing thought. Chuck launched a heavy finger directly towards the roof.

“Let’s get this place set up with Water Sport!”

A stream of crystal blue liquid began running down the swirl of Poliwag’s belly. The entirety of its black spiral became the same as sapphire, glinting as it refracted light. Poliwag fell to its back as it spun in circles, unleashing a torrent of water on the surrounding area. The hallway was now entirely damp, even your own and the sailor’s clothes. Though, they didn’t seem to react in any negative way.

“Wow! Good thinking to reduce f-!”

“Bro… don’t reveal my strategy.”

“Oh, you’re right bro, sorry.”

What was he planning?

@BlueSky44

The brown-haired sailor, known as Buck, flexed his arms in a circular fashion, appearing to show off his muscular build and larger frame. His teeth were grit and his eyebrows cocked, so you weren’t quire sure how serious he was being. A flash of bright, white light blinded you momentarily as the shadow of a Pokémon emerged from its container.

“Okay Brohammed Ali! Show her how it’s done!”

A Machop stepped from the shadow, flexing much like his Pokémon trainer, bending and squatting to maximize the size of its muscles. It appeared to be quite bulky for a Machop, from what you knew about them. It might be slowed down, but if it were to land a punch…

“Let’s Focus our Energy! We’ll end this in one hit!”

The Machop put on its war face. Its teeth grinded together, its eyebrows shot downward, and its eyes exuded the fury of a predator before a kill. Brohammed Ali hunched its body forward, pulling its arms inward and holding them in a circular formation. Its body trembled as veins began popping on its arms, and a red aura swirled about his body like heatless flame.

“No way Poochyena can take us on! It’s already over!”

Some water covered the area, as well as everyone’s clothes. Droplets of water came pouring quickly from the ceiling at first, and then dwindled after a few seconds. Slowly, still, they continued to remind you of their presence.

@Eklispe

“Bro, your Budew is beyond bodacious. But I can’t go easy on you with this one. Know I’m not holding back!” Puck declared.

His arms were crossed and his head nodded in a drone-like fashion. His face was serious, grim even. It was quite the contrast to his ecstatic attitude before. His own eyes squinted as the white light flashed from his Pokéball, too bright at first to identify the Pokémon that emerged.

It was none other than Magikarp.

“It can’t be!” Chuck cried.

“Huauehgh!” Buck lacked the words to express his surprise.

Puck was stone-faced, as was his Magikarp, both lacking the ability to express emotion. The Magikarp flopped intermittently on the ground, its thirst for blood refusing to be satiated. It couldn’t wait for the kill.

“Brometheus, give Budew a taste of the ocean. Use Splash!”

“Wait bro, is that safe?”

“Whaaaa-“

With a smashing motion of its tail, a thunderclap echoed as Magikarp took to the air, racing towards Budew in an arc movement. Once it had reached the apex of its treacherous leap, the Magikarp came crashing down, face-first towards your Pokémon. This was not the face of mercy, but of unknown terror.

Some water covered the area, as well as everyone’s clothes. Droplets of water came pouring quickly from the ceiling at first, and then dwindled after a few seconds. Slowly, still, they continued to remind you of their presence.

Puck couldn’t help but chuckling underneath his breath. His rippling muscles appeared to laugh with hm.

“This speed can’t be beat,” he said.

@SleepingSilence

You just managed to catch up to the captain, weaving your way past the small army of white-uniform sailors marching in line behind him. You caught him at the archway just before the main deck. He grunted, turning to address Kristoff formally. His shoulders squared and his feet planted before he began to speak.

“Aye, t’ name’s Palm. Yer’ Kristoff, or suh ‘m told.”

It caught you off-guard that this man knew your name. You pondered how he could possibly have gained this information before images of the pink-haired girl came surfing to your mind. How meticulous were those notes, exactly? Palm nodded, taking an extra second to glance at the Cyndaquil you held dear.

“Take care of t’at Cyndaquil on t’ese waters. Ain't seen t' likes of 'em in ages. See ye' at dinner.”

With that, Professor Palm began sauntering away as he had been before. He would wait a moment if there was anything further you wished to mention. His crew followed suit, steps in unison as they followed their leader past the archway and onto the parts of the boat unknown to you.

Behind you, amateur sailors began peeking out of doorways and interacting with the three people you had saved before. Not long after, they revealed their Poké Balls and it appeared they were challenging them to a battle. It was quick to notice the teams: Budew, Poochyena, and Houndour against Poliwag, Magikarp, and Machop.

Some water covered the area, as well as everyone’s clothes. Droplets of water came pouring quickly from the ceiling at first, and then dwindled after a few seconds. Slowly, still, they continued to remind you of their presence.

@hatakekuro@Morose

Devoting to taking the berry, Espurr was unable to dodge the oncoming web that shadowed above her. The resin entangled the Espurr, its effect to significantly lower her speed. Because of this, green orbs once again emanated form the Oddish’s petals. Still again, they surrounded Espurr and drained more energy from the Pokémon, before returning to his petals.

Jane, the girl swaying to and fro, seemed to speed in pace as if the tick of a metronome were modified. Left, right, left, right, her upper half almost appeared rubber in its ability to bounce back and forth. She only stopped upon hearing Rowan’s words, opening one eye in response. Her face didn’t show for it, but she had to have stopped for a reason.

Kira reached for the berry hidden within the Oddish’s petals, a blue treasure among foliage. Ripping the berry from its possession appeared to physically harm it. Oddish began shaking its head violently, as did Jane.

“ODD. ODD-ODD-ODD!”

Its deep voice rumbled as the leaves enveloped the limbs of Kira. Its eyes still unblinking, the leaves on its head began to grow a much brighter, much louder green. Its feet erupted from the ground, set to regain what was lost. Kira appeared trapped, without control of limb, and no move in her pool to help.

And a buzzing was heard.

“Odd?”

The swivel of Oddish’s head was met with 83 pounds of bug Pokémon. Despite the String Shot and paralysis, Yanma’s Speed Boost gave it the edge to save Kira in time. The petals quickly unwound from Espurr’s body as Oddish was sent rolling by the force of Yanma’s tackle. Being uprooted, it made Oddish a much more lightweight target. The grass Pokémon bounced back up after moving some distance, ready to face its two opponents. Leaves began to glow as bright as ever…

~KIRA OBTAINED AN ORAN BERRY~

@PlatinumSkink

Purrloin, with her natural toolkit, made quick work of the webbing surrounding her. Despite her agility, it would still manage to cling to her fur and hold her movements back. Despite this, reaching the heaving Caterpie and landing a final blow was easy enough. A white gleam struck against the bug Pokémon sent the Caterpie rolling back to Wade, eyes spiraling as a Poliwag’s stomach.

“Wiggler! It’s okay buddy.”

Wade cuddled the Caterpie between cheek and palm, enough to soothe the bug Pokémon before it was returned to its Pokéball in a beam of red energy.

"Wow! Your Purrloin sure is strong!"

~CATERPIE IS UNABLE TO BATTLE!~

To your right, a frazzled Mareep struggled to escape the bondage of String Shot. The lass continued to pout as she did before, mumbling about stupid webs and stupider bug Pokémon. You figured this was your chance if you wished to gain the drop, as Patricia continued to appear distracted in getting Fluffy out of her predicament. Farther down the field, you noticed both Lulu and Kira were taking on the Oddish. You could still smell that sweet scent surrounding you, and what seemed to be a treacherous span of web separated Purrloin from the rest of the group. At this point, Purrloin was able to take in the sweet scent as well, but was she distracted by it?

Magikarp? A weak pokemon that barely even knew how to use one move from what little Vuduin knew about it. But what a dedicated trainer Puck must be to be committed to raising a Magikarp, truly admirable of him. Still, in terms of battle strength it shouldn't be able to match his Budew! Especially if all went according to plan. The Magikarp's speed was fearsome, but if Budew could preserve through two attacks he was confident he could finish this in one fell swoop! "You can take it Budew, first Grow, then use Absorb on that Magikarp!" Budew nodded with a fierce look of determination on its face, letting out a tenacious cry of DEW! before focusing its energy. In moments Budew was growing larger, something that Vuduin knew would power up its special attack. Followed up by a devastating super effective attack against the possibly poisoned Magikarp from the effects of Poison Point, it was a perfect strategy! Vuduin barely even noticed the water dripping from the ceiling, so intense was his focus on the three ongoing battles! Machop versus Poochyena, Houndour versus Poliwag, and his own Budew versus a Magikarp. Vuduin couldn't wait to see how these battles turned out!

---

@Whimsley

~Havoc Matsuda~

Seeing the blue, rotund tadpole pokemon appear in front of him, Havoc unconscious puffed out his chest a little more than before. This pokemon had looked the least intimidating of all the ones he had witnessed so far. This had to be a good sign...right? Havoc decided to use the pokedex that Holly gave him. He reached into his backpack with his open hand, pulled out the Dex and pointed it at the dancing, energetic tadpole and flipped it open. He pressed the 'scan' button and almost instantly the pokedex began to whir before pinging. A picture of the tadpole appeared on the screen.

"POLIWAG - POLIWAG HAS A VERY THIN SKIN. IT IS POSSIBLE TO SEE THE POKÉMON'S SPIRAL INNARDS RIGHT THROUGH THE SKIN. DESPITE ITS THINNESS, HOWEVER, THE SKIN IS ALSO VERY FLEXIBLE. EVEN SHARP FANGS BOUNCE RIGHT OFF IT. THE DIRECTION OF THE SPIRAL ON THE BELLY DIFFERS BY AREA. IT IS MORE ADEPT AT SWIMMING THAN WALKING." Havoc narrowed his gaze from a laxed glance to an intense glare. <It can't even walk properly?> mused Havoc, thinking he hit the jackpot. He stopped juggling his pokeball in left hand and arced his left arm about his face, temporarily masking his lower face.

"Rook - Kakatte koi!" commanded Havoc as he threw his pokeball at the ground. While in his head he expected his houndour to appear to him at the ready, battle-born and focused, in actuality, the first thing Rook did was yawn, then shake its body as if waking from a nap and then proceed to hop back and forth simply taking in his surroundings. Havoc had no response at first for how happy-go-lucky his pokemon was behaving, but he soon came to his sense. "Rook!" he called, trying to snap his pokemon's attention. Rook heard the call and instantly turned to Havoc before immediately running to his training, tongue lapping. He leaned up against Havoc's leg with a big smile and excitement. Havoc sniggered instinctively, finding Rook humourous in how oblivious he was to the situation. He stooped down to pat Rook on the head as water drizzled into Havoc's clothes and Rook's fur. Rook simply shook off the excess before going back to enjoying his trainer's hand nuzzle his chin. Havoc looked straight at his houndour to not give away to his challenger that he was mulling over what that technique was and why he shushed his friend. Havoc was a ninja apprentice. Subterfuge were elements of battle he was well versed in. Even if he didn't know what the trap was, at least now he knew he was being set up. Although, he realised that the dampness spread to more than just the area occupied by Rook and the Poliwag. All six pokemon were caught in the area. Havoc remembered the initial stipulation and ultimately understood what his goal should be.

"We'll catch up later. Right now we got a challenge. I say we give'em hell," spoke Havoc.

"Roof!" replied Rook. Havoc was amused at Rook's acceptance. He didn't seem to quite get it but was interested to do it nonetheless, much like Havoc. Havoc put out a fist towards Rook with a nod.

"Okay champ. Let's make each other look good," Havoc wagered. Rook headbutted Havoc's hand gently to imitate a fist bump. With his pokedex in hand, Rook scrolled through to the entry it had specifically on his own Houndour to see what it was capable of. "...Ember...?" spoke Havoc. He was more talking to himself but he was in range of Rook's hearing. Rook took in a large, brief breath and expelled a fireball from his mouth up into the air. It fizzled at a short way. Havoc put two-and-two together. [color=bc8dbf]"Oh - [i]Gōkakyū no Jutsu[i] - Got it. Rook! Go for an ember, and don't hold back!"[/color] commanded Havoc, to which Rook looked to the poliwag that Havoc was pointing at and heaved in the biggest breath that he could before spewing out an ember.

---

Location: S.S.Expedition

Current Team:

Rook the Houndour¦Status: N/A¦Level: 5

Inventory: Potion (1), Pokedollars (500), Palm Pokedex, Palm Ball (1)

Rowan Branchers

_____

Dewmeadow, Outside Dogwood's Lab

Rowan barely believed his eyes when he turned back. Purrloin was making short work of the distance between herself and the target, and successfully landed the finishing blow on the enemy. Rowan couldn't resist clutching his fist and fist-bumping in the air.

'Yeah! Great job, Purrloin!' He encouraged, to which the somewhat dirtied Purrloin merely snorted in satisfied disgust with the string shot on her which she really didn't like. She sat there as a majestic winner, too annoyed to do anything else at the moment, giving Wiggler a look of ”know your place”. … Still, to Rowan, there was a slight feeling of that the victory wasn't all that much to be happy about, it was just a Caterpie, after all. Purrloin was a grade above that...

'Purrloin! The battle isn't over!' Rowan called, turning and pointing at the Mareep. 'Yasha and Mara is taking care of the Oddish, we'll-' Rowan froze mid-motion, pointing dramatically at Fluffy the Mareep. Thing was, Purrloin was not looking in the direction Rowan was pointing.

'Purrloin?' He dared ask. … Purrloin was staring straight at the Oddish, taking deep breaths of the Sweet Scent. … It occurred to Rowan that he might just have discovered the ACTUAL use of Sweet Scent in battle.

Purrloin was distracted!

'... Purr!' While Purrloin preferred spicy things to sweet, she couldn't deny the alluring attraction of that sweet scent. She wanted it. The cat-Pokémon sprang off, semi-running towards the source of the scent, completely intending on picking it up with her teeth and running off. She wanted the source of the sweet scent, after all. That just happened to be the Oddish. But, not too quickly. She wanted to grab it in the span of time between the other two Pokémon defeating it and the trainer actually retrieving the Pokémon...

'P-PURRLOIN!?' Rowan asked loudly, and in stunned shock as his Pokémon ran off in an unintended direction with sub-optimal speed for actually being of help...

________


Key Items: Dogwood Pokédex
Items: 1 Potion, 1 Dogwood Ball
482 P

Here he was, another day in seclusion with his Pokemon. This was not a vacation though, it was time for more training. This was his fifth time this week coming up into the mountains for the same regiment. He had a strict schedule to keep, and everyone will keep up, or else. He took out his six Pokeballs, covered in mud and dirt from dropping and setting them on the muddy floors today. It was raining out today, and that wouldn't be stopping him from more training. The fifth day, time to figure out who was the best of his team again.

One by one he called out his team. Normally, they would be happy to be free of their confinement, but they knew why they were called on. As each one came out, they got into position, setting up in a circle. Today was a no rules, no mercy, no sympathy free for all fight. Each one eyed each other, today was their day to show they were the best in the team. A weekly honor of getting special treatment, respect, and praise from The Leader.

As the fifth one was called out, the ground curved downward into a cone, surrounded by mud flowing into the pit. Arena Trap was now in effect, surprising a few of the newer Pokemon. With the last one called out, they all stood there in a circle waiting for The Leader to start this fight.

"As you all know, it's time to figure out which of you is the best in my team. Same with the last fights, you all know who is the reigning top dog here. As always, anything you can think of is allowed, so don't disappoint me. The winner will then have to fight me, just to make sure you didn't win by sheer luck." This speech was well rehearsed by this point, and everyone knew what to do. The air was tense for the next few moments. Maybe his champion would finally be taken down, it wasn't likely though.

"On your mark..." Heads were turned, preparing various moves in advance. Sand was starting to kick up into the air. The ground was cracking from the pressure of an eager Pokemon preparing to hit everything. One was heading up for the height advantage, lazily going with the wind. The air stunk with the aroma of musky odors mixed with rain and heat. The seconds slowed, time stood still. No one dared to act early, they knew the penalty for it.

"Get set.." Local Pokemon in the area picked up the tension in the air and were scattering. For some, it was too late, for others they just wanted a spot to take cover. The plants were battered and crushed from many visits here. When these fights happened, nothing was off limits from the destruction. Lightning flashed, illuminating 6 muscled and bruised Pokemon standing in a circle, various lights dancing off of them. Determination and the will to win showing strongly on their faces. The area fell silent, the calm before the storm. The Leader took a deep breath, it was showtime.

Pokemon:
???

Bag:
???

Mara Scelus

Mara watched with wide eyes, squeezing her hands tight with fear, as Kira was enveloped by the web. Kira struggled a bit, determinedly muttering“es-purr, es-purr!” as he fought against the oddish. A near demonic look overcame the pokemon as Kira snatched the berry, the blue boon seemingly small when compared to the task.

"Kira! Get out of there!” Mara started to scream, only to watch, entirely stunned, as Yanma slammed into the oddish. The petals that had started to trap the espurr quickly went away, and even better, Mara watched as the oddish was thrown backwards. Without the ground to tether it, perhaps they’d have a shot!

Recalling Rowan’s advice on the sweet scent and its aim being to lure pokemon in, Mara glanced at the oran berry. She didn’t know much about what it would do, but clearly, it had to have some sort of tactical effect — after all, the advanced trainer using the advanced moves had it!

“Kira! Eat the berry and use scratch on the oddish!” Mara directed, standing a bit up on her tippy toes as she watched with baited breath.

Hopefully, the berry would have some sort of power up along with it — but at any rate, it was clearly doing something special for the oddish. Maybe it’ll make him really strong~! Mara hoped, closing her hand into a fist with determination.

With Yasha and Rowan’s help, they’d be able to win. She just knew it. A quick glance to the rest of the fight confirmed that — already, the caterpie had been defeated! She looked around, hoping to spot Rowan’s pokemon. Instead, she saw the cat pokemon dashing into the fray, ready to help beat up the poor oddish.

Mara wasn’t sure whether or not to pity the oddish. Of course, that was before she remembered that the mareep was still there—and it could certainly help the oddish at any moment! Still, they had three pokemon left, while their opponents only had two remaining. The odds were in their favor -- for now.

---

Location: Dewmeadow, Outside Dogwood’s Lab
Current Team:

• Kira the Espurr
  
  Status: N/A
  Level: 5

Inventory: Potion (1), Pokedollars (500), Dogwood Pokedex, Dogwood Ball (1)

This is a great way to start off a Pokémon adventure, she thought to herself, and a great way to start training my Poochyena.

The three sailors threw out their Pokeballs, and the one that landed in front of her was a Machop. The other two Pokemon were Polliwag and Magikarp. It looked like only one of the three sailors would have a harder time than the others.

She reached down and grabbed her Pokebal, throwing it out in front of her.

"Lets go Poochyena!" she said, as a bright flash of light revealed the Pokémon.

The sailor with the Machop looked at her.

“Let’s Focus our Energy! We’ll end this in one hit!”

The Machop put on its war face. Its teeth grinded together, its eyebrows shot downward, and its eyes exuded the fury of a predator before a kill.

“No way Poochyena can take us on! It’s already over!”

Arren thought for a moment, trying to remember what moves her Poochyena would know at this level. She needed a strategy, and she needed one fast. She started thinking, until she came up with something. It wasn't the best, but it was still better than nothing. She knew that the chances of her beating the Machop were slim, but not impossible. She wasn't going down without a fight.

"Poochyena, keep an eye on its movement, and the use Howl!" she called out to the Pokémon.

She now realized that the entire area was wet, but that shouldn't effect her Pokémon too much.



Location: Gleampier
Team

Bag:
Palm Pokédex
Potion x1
Palm Ball x1
500 P (Pokédollars)

Abigail Lowe

Maybe the professor wasn't that bad after all. At least, once they'd all decided to go with her. Abigail had decided to keep her distance a little bit anyway, just to be safe. She could deal with being around Ficus if it was going to help Waffles out, though, 'cause it was basically her fault that he'd been hit that hard in the first place. Lost in thought, she was actually quite quiet for once in her life.

She flinched away from the strange guy as they walked in. She tried to be nice to everyone all the time and everything, but even she had a limit, okay? The limit was when people couldn't breathe without spraying snot at her. Why was this guy even here? Like, was it a charity thing or something like that? Maybe they were studying him, 'cause this amount of mucus actually didn't seem possible. Must be a scientific mystery or something.

When Bruce took out the potions, Abigail hurried to send out Waffles, and watched in relief as the Deerling's wounds were healed along with the other Pokémon. She had to look away when the Meowth was being given the antidote, though. Even if he said it wasn't sore, needles freaked her out a little bit. Still, everyone's Pokémon looked like they felt better after it, so that was good.

"All finished. Your Pokémon are free to go.”

Waffles trotted over to her feet, head held high with pride from his earlier victory. Abigail smiled, keeling down and handed her Pokemon a small piece of candy, which he took a little apprehensively. It wasn't that he disliked her, but the girl's affection could be a little... smothering, at times. Abigail pushed past the curtain with her Deerling trotting slightly behind.

“Take care of your Pokémon, and they’ll take care of you. I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other again.”

Abigail grinned, preparing to leave the lab, but paused at the door, glancing back at the other two trainers. "Hey, you guys are coming, right? We've all gotta take Route 1 anyway! Come on, time's ticking or whatever!" giving them a moment to decide, she then waved to the professor, yelling an enthusiastic farewell. "Thanks for helping us out, Professor! And you know, not murdering us! It was cool!"

With a spring in her step, Abigail headed down the path out of the lab, humming an upbeat tune as she went. It didn't really matter if the others wanted to go with her or not, to be honest. As far as Abigail was concerned, they were going to travel together, and say what you want about her brains, once the girl had her heart set on something it would take a charging Bouffalant to change her mind.

She glanced back, tapping her feet impatiently as she waited for the other two to exit the lab. Waffles looked thoroughly done, shaking his head with a weary sigh. If you looked closely, you could see that the Deerling was holding back a smile. "Guys, hurry up! Come on! We've not got... Well, I guess we do have all day, but that's not the point! Walk faster!"

---

And so, Abigail found herself walking down Route 1. There were trees. Lots of trees. Abigail couldn't help but feel a little thrilled as she walked down the route. Finally, she got to leave Redorchard! It had been way too long stuck in the town, and now she could finally spread her wings. She got a little lost in thought, speaking out loud to herself.

"Huh, I dunno what to do... Should I, like, climb a tree or something? No, I'm too short- not that I'm really short or anything just that they're super high that's all. I'm sure I'll be tall enough to reach soon..." she pouted, looking around the route. There were a lot of trainers around, like the ones they'd battled earlier. And they were all battling wild Pokemon! Hey, there's an idea! She grabbed the Ficus ball from inside her bag.

"Hey, Waffles, how about we go and find ourselves some wild Pokémon! I sense a brand-new friend in our future!" she said, smiling at the Deerling, who looked excited at the prospect. "Even if we can't catch anything, it'll be good training if you battle one!" Waffles let out an enthusiastic cry in response to his trainer, who continued to speak. "Hey, what's everyone else gonna be doing?"

---

Pokedollars: 700

~Lynn Haywood~

“Nerds are the only reason you have your Sneasel there. And they can be the ones to take it away, too.”

Unfortunately for Ficus, Lynn heard that last quip as she was putting on her headphones. Her mouth curled into a slight frown. She almost wanted this uppity nerd to try and take Quill. She had no qualms about kicking her ass if she even tried something like that. Well, she would of, though chances were some other uppity trainer might have tried to play hero, and she honestly didn't wanna deal with some stupid shit like that. So, instead, she gave her a cool glare.

"Just try it..." She mumbled, just loud enough for the professor to likely hear. Not that she cared so much really, she already had her headphones on and was in her own little world, ignoring the mentally challenged mucous spewing lab rat as she entered. Quill, only spun the pokeball on her uninjured claw again, still waiting to see if Tesh even saw it. When presented with a potion, she hopped off of Lynn's shoulders, dunking the pokeball expertly into her trainers pocket on her descent. She must have decided if Tesh wasn't gonna say anything, then she might as well just keep it.

She landed on the table, giving Bruce a friendly grin. The Sneasel happily let Bruce apply the potion, glad to be receiving a bit of healing. When that was done, she happily re-positioned herself on Lynn's shoulders After that, she waited for the others to finish, turning up the volume on her music player as a loud, rock beat began pouring from her headphones. Thankfully, the other two seemed to finish rather quickly.

Honestly, she didn't know why she was even waiting on them. She should have just left the two chucklefucks there and headed out on her own. Quill and her could handle just about everything themselves, she was certain. If not, she'd just use that pokeball to catch another pokemon. And yet...

“Take care of your Pokémon, and they’ll take care of you. I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other again. Bye now!” A break in the music as the song switched tracks was the only reason she even heard this. Well, whatever. Stuffing her hands in her pockets, she left the lab with the others.

---

Soon, she found herself on Route 1 with Abigail. Lynn had never been particularly fond of trees. Or grass. Or nature in general. She preferred the city, and would love to get back to civilization at some point. She did admit though, there was a certain...peacefulness to it. Well, there would have been if it wasn't for the dozen or so new trainers making a lot of loud noises and likely scaring off the rarer pokemon. Which, she was a bit miffed about. She wanted to see if she could find those Xatu the professor mentioned.

"Huh, I dunno what to do... Should I, like, climb a tree or something? No, I'm too short- not that I'm really short or anything just that they're super high that's all. I'm sure I'll be tall enough to reach soon..."

Annnd Braids - Abigail, was running her mouth at the speed of light. Was probably the norm for the girl.

"Hey, Waffles, how about we go and find ourselves some wild Pokémon! I sense a brand-new friend in our future! Even if we can't catch anything, it'll be good training if you battle one! Hey, what's everyone else gonna be doing?"

At the question, Lynn simply smirked as though the answer was obvious.

"Well, I dunno about you guys," Lynn said, walking off of the beaten path, past some of the other trainers and into the woods. "I'm gonna see if I can find some of those Xatu those nerds mentioned." Quill was still sitting on top of Lynns shoulders, and held out a claw towards the forest as she smirked, and cried as if to say 'Onwards!' Grass and some fallen branches crunched under her boots as she set out. Well, this should be fairly easy, shouldn't it? How hard could finding one Xatu be?

"Keep an eye out for those markings, Quill. I'm not leaving until I've found one."

---

SUZUKI YASHA

Pokedollars: 500



Team: Lulu the Yanma
Status: Paralyzed


Hell yeah! Lulu smashed that Oddish in just the nick of time! The grass type was uprooted and rolled along the ground from the impact of the attack and Lulu flew high into the air to get out of the Oddish's range. This battle was almost won; the Oddish took a heavy hit, the Mareep was covered in web, and the caterpie was knocked out. There was no way they could possibly screw this up! "Ya doin' great Lulu! Now fly down and tackle that Oddish again!"

Well, it turns out that there were things that would simply bend Yasha down on his knees and screw him over harder than a Nidoking performing A Thousand Years of Death with its Horn. As Lulu begun to dive straight down towards the Oddish with the intention of slamming the pokemon face first into the ground, a burst of electricity ran through her body. "Yan..." Lulu grimaced, her right wings halted to a stop. She fell through the air and hit the ground face first, completely vulnerable to any threat that the opponents posed.

"Lulu! Come on, ya gotta get up!" Yasha cried out to his poor pokemon.

Things weren't looking bright on Rowan's end either; his Purloin had been severely affected by the Sweet Scent. It wasn't going to obey Rowan's orders anymore; the feline was just too captivated by the scent. Instead of taking on the Mareep, the Purloin made with great haste to go to the source of the scent.

Would Mara be fine on her own? What was she going to do in this situation?

@samreaper@Turbine

As you opened your eyes, everything became clear. The sun gave a yellow tinge to your surroundings, and the summer heat caused a drop of sweat to run down the side of your body. Hadn’t it just been pale blue? You must’ve fallen asleep in the middle of the night. The temperature almost lulled you into a second, mid-morning nap. Your eyes fluttered a slideshow of light and dark and began to roll into the back of your head. Almost. Your skin tightened and your chest heaved. You shot up in bed and your eyes widened, adjusting to the light. The adrenaline in your veins returned as your shaking hands gripped whatever might be lying about. You threw whatever coverings that bundled you in the night and your feet hit the ground running, literally soaring out of bed. Was that the smell of pancakes downstairs or in a house across the road? Where’d you fall asleep again? Who cares, today was the day! Your eyes darted about the place and you grabbed whatever you thought might help you in the blink of an eye. Personal belongings, a pack, some snacks, you even found a Potion hidden around the place and stuffed everything into some sort of container. The zipper groaned as you heaved backward with all of your might to get it closed. You nearly sprinted away before turning back. You collected all of the cash you’d been saving and stuffed it into your pockets.



Did you say goodbye to your parents? Were they here? Were you in a home? Out the door you went. Your shoes slammed against the dirt and kicked up grass. With your gear in tow, you took your first steps to becoming a Pokémon master.

You’d arrived on a small barge, the only vessel that was offering transport to the cold valley of Argentglade. When you stepped off the boat, you’d notice the pier was covered in a translucent ice, and the sky was populated with tiny balls of snow. Even though it was summer, the northern town still received regular snow storms, as odd as that seemed. Researchers from all around Huji came to investigate the phenomena. The residents would always tell them it was because they were so far north, but the researchers never had it. They could be seen trotting about in thick, arctic coats and sealed boots. They’d always be walking in and out of a cubic, white building with black satellite tower.

Your heels pressed into the cracking ice as you took your first step. It was thin, but still dangerous. Mounds of aquatic catches were piled in boxes and piles around the pier, unoccupied but someone had to have caught them. Past the pier, random sprout of vegetation peeked past the white prairie. The soft hills seemed to roll on forever. The sun caught them just as the right angle, and from where you stood the town was bathed in a field of silvery diamonds. Small cottages with yellow windows and smoking chimneys stood out against the blue and grey background of sky. Each roof was white, white with snow. They were spread out, far enough to maintain privacy, but close enough to secure the feel of community. Wherever one walked on the cobblestone paths, the smell of baking or hot soup caressed one’s frigid nostrils.

For a cold town, you’d found the residents were surprisingly warm and kind. Any would offer you food and bed for the night if you required it. Asking around, it’d be easy to find out about Professor Evergreen’s research lab. Every year, she would offer residents the chance to assist her in research efforts by equipping them with technology and, to most’s anticipation, a Pokémon. And that’s why you were awake today, and on this morning. Wisps of cool air flowed into your mouth as you hurried toward the lab. The cubic, white building with yellow, square rows of windows and a black satellite tower on top.

Strangely, you hadn’t seen the furcoats (that’s what the residents called the researchers) walking about, as everyone mentioned they did. Once you’d trudged through the morning snow, you’d figured out why. Gathered around the lab was a crowd of people, furcoats and young to-be trainers alike. There was a hubbub of noise as you saw them knocking on the large, steel door. The row of windows at the top of the building were black, no light coming from inside.

“Hey! Evergreen! Did you forget what day it was?!”

You took a step forward, and one of the furcoats in the back row turned in your direction.

“Hey, you look strong, mind giving us a hand? We think Evergreen accidentally left the door locked…”

A few of the burlier furcoats were gathering around the door, stretching their arms and readying themselves in a brute attempt to knock the door down. The group of scientists simply didn’t see any other way this could work. The crowd wasn’t very tightly packed, so you could easily weave your way through and take a crack at the door, if you wished.

“Does anyone have a key?”

“She has the only copy.”

“Figures. Classic Evergreen…”

@Xan the G

Chuck smirked as the pup bellowed out an intrepid ball of flame, speeding directly towards the Poliwag. He flicked his blonde bangs with one hand and pointed valiantly forward with the other, shouting one volume too loud.

“Broseidon! Show him the power of the brocean!”

The Poliwag was still spinning upon its back as Chuck declared his order. Using the water to its advantage, Broseidon slipped haphazardly to its feet, sliding on the liquid as if it were a lubricant. The Poliwag appeared much more coordinated now, feet sliding in pattern on the water rather than bouncing sporadically. Continuing the flow of water from its spiral, the Poliwag unleashed a concentrated Water Gun in the direction of the Ember. The two collided, creating a cloud of steam around the two of you and your Pokémon. It made things difficult to see past a few feet, and those on the outside would only be able to see outlines and shadows.

“Whoah, I didn’t expect that to happen…”

Unfortunately for Rook, the Water Gun was not entirely stopped by the ball of flame. A weakened form of the attack reached him, a pressurized stream of water colliding with his brow.

~IT’S SUPER EFFECTIVE!~

The steam cloud continued to haze your vision, but perhaps this could be used to your advantage…

“Broseidon! Keep an eye out!”

“Pooooliwag!”

You heard the sloshing of water on the ground, as you could tell the Poliwag was moving, but to where? How strong were your other senses? Or, more importantly, your Pokémon’s?

@BlueSky44

Buck let out a bellow of a laugh to match the howl of Poochyena. The two were surprisingly in sync, as if they created a melody of wolf and man. You wondered momentarily if his own strength had increased. The sailor continued to flex his muscles in competition with Machop as the Pokémon finished powering up. He stood as fury, uncompromising and shaking. His neck leaned forward and his chin was lowered so that angled eyes stared into the Poochyena’s. His shoulders raised and lowered, Machop huffing in anticipation.

“If Poochyena’s going to power up, then we’ll just have to power it down…”

The Sailor stroked his chin, raising an eyebrow and humming as if he were trying to solve a complex math problem. You could hear the very scruff of his beard being stroked.

“I’ve got it! Use Leer!”

The Machop remained still, but its eyes became a spectacle. A red sheen overtook its cornea as it stared directly at Poochyena. Two stars in supernova, in two far-off galaxies unknown to each other. They would strike fear, or at least restlessness, in an opponent.

“And now that we’re all set up…”

Buck was ready to give another command, but you had time to execute a maneuver.

@Eklispe

The biological death machine descended with aerodynamic proficiency, bound to no other target than the Budew. Its scales swam in the wind. Its fins sliced through the air. Its eyes were void. The Magikarp was nearly upon Budew.

“Hit him with all you’ve got, Brometheus!”

The Magikarp flipped in mid-air just before colliding with the ground, and a wave of water followed it. The mighty splash drenched Budew, soaking its entire body more than it entirely was. Magikarp continued this tactic, splashing more and more liquid onto the growing Budew.

“Karp! Karp! Karp!”

“WHOAH.”

“Alright!”

Puck nodded with grim face in witness of the onslaught. Could Budew possibly maneuver around the Magikarp’s attack and still perform his Absorb without being interrupted?

@Morose

Kira bit into the ripe berry, the thin membrane breaking and the juices exploding. The berry was a mix of every flavor: spicy, dry, sweet, bitter, and sour. It’d be unlike any flavor the Espurr had tasted before. The energy and flavors contained in the Oran berry would heal minor cuts and bruises on her body.

~KIRA’S HP WAS RESTORED SLIGHTLY!~

The Espurr, revitalized, swung at the ungrounded Oddish and made direct contact with its white gleam of claws. The Oddish appeared to be anticipating the attack, but was just too slow to dodge the Espurr’s assault. Whether it was the fact that Espurr had just eaten the berry or Oddish had been taken out of the ground, the plant Pokémon was sent rolling once again in response to an attack. This time, though, it failed to stand back up. Swirling, unfocused eyes suggested it had fainted. Janne, the Pokémon’s trainer, soon followed suit in falling backwards with her arms spread out.

Thud.

~ODDISH IS UNABLE TO BATTLE!~

@hatakekuro@Morose

With Oddish down, that only left one Pokémon. Yanma was having difficulty moving, an electrical current contuining to shock its body. Espurr appeared ready to fight, the berry having revived her strength. And Purrloin…

…

Where was Purrloin? And what was that rumbling sound getting closer?

@PlatinumSkink

Patricia continued to pout, now kicking the thick webbing on the ground and attempting to scrape the sticky stuff from her new shoes. When those efforts failed, she reverted to general huffs, puffs, and glares in the direction of Wade. Wade was much too distracted in tending to his Poké Ball to notice. The lass’ significant distractions were soon interrupted by something much more important.

“A kitty!”

The lass pressed her face together with closed hands, making a high-pitched sound that was more akin to a dog whistle. Her sparkling eyes watched the Purrloin bounce wistfully between the empty spaces of grass, where webbing had failed to cover. Her tiny feet stomped in place, ruffling the grass she stood on.

“Fluffy! Go catch the kitty!”

Mareep was still on its side, tongue sticking out and watching the scenery passively. A huge slick of wool bursted from its side, where Lulu had escaped its hairy emprisonment. The sheep Pokémon wobbled to its feet, and began hopping towards Purrloin. So careless were its movements, though, that it began to accumulate Caterpie’s String Shot at a rapid rate. Soon, Fluffy was an unperceivable blob of wool, web, and klutzy Mareep. It was impossible to tell one part from the other. And like any ball, once it started rolling, it gained momentum. So much so, that Fluffy lost traction as the mass collided with the distracted Purrloin. With more mass, the two continued to gain speed, heading directly towards the remaining Pokémon.

Fluffy used Rollout?

Rowan Branchers

_____

Dewmeadow, Outside Dogwood's Lab

’PURRLOIN! WATCH OUT, THERE’S A-’ A what? Rowan was unsure what it was, but “a rolling Mareep covered in String Shot web” felt too long to properly convey in the remaining amount of time. Fortunately, Purrloin turned her head and looked in the direction in time. Unfortunately, she could only blink a bit in stunned surprise as the white ball collided with her.

‘RRRRLOIN…!’ A panicked cat immediately started flailing as they started rolling together, Rowan staring with an expression of being incredibly unsure of what exactly to do in this particular situation. Alright, uh, that’s going to hurt if they continued.

‘Purrloin, use-!’ … Then it felt really ridiculous of Rowan to tell his Pokémon to attempt to use Scratch to get out, because Purrloin was already flailing her clawing at absolutely everything within her range as they rolled, be it at the web she was stuck in or the air itself. Now, the problem was, since her claws were mostly being clawed out into the air, and she was rolling, it mostly became an effect of quickly flying white claws all around the rolling ball of web…

Rollout used Scratch?

________


Key Items: Dogwood Pokédex
Items: 1 Potion, 1 Dogwood Ball
482 P

Mara Scelus

Kira’s eyes widened somehow, seemingly taking up his entire face.

“Kira…?” Mara asked, practically standing up on her toes. She desperately hoped that she hadn’t given anything poisonous to her espurr—that would be a rather poor omen for her time as a trainer, if she killed her first pokemon by accident.

"Espurr! Espurr!”Kira shouted, and Mara beamed, watching as her espurr looked a little more vibrant. The pain from the Oddish’s attack disappeared, as if nothing had ever happened, and her pokemon was still fresh. Kira slashed with her claws, hitting the Oddish and sending it rolling backwards.

It didn’t move.

“Yes! You did it!” Mara gushed, brimming with happiness. “All right, Kira! Let’s deal with that mareep now!”

Throwing her attention to remaining pokemon left in the battle, watching as the electric sheep started to become ensnared in the string shot. It started to roll, charging at purrloin, and quickly, the two pokemon became an unintelligible mess of claws and string shot.

“Err…. Kira, stay out of their way!” Mara ordered, throwing a desperate glance over at Rowan and Yasha. She had no idea what to do in this situation, or how to even help. She knew she should probably check on Jane—the trainer had collapsed along with her oddish—but she didn’t feel particularly inclined to do so.

Instead, she watched with baited breath, hoping that the purrloin and the mareep would be able to separate from each other. She didn’t want to tell Kira to do anything that would hurt the purrloin—and she could hardly tell the two pokemon apart!

“Rowan, let me know if you… need anything…” Mara stated awkwardly, continuing to watch the frenzy. “I’m sure purrloin will be fine….”

---

Location: Dewmeadow, Outside Dogwood’s Lab
Current Team:

• Kira the Espurr
  
  Status: N/A
  Level: 5

Inventory: Potion (1), Pokedollars (500), Dogwood Pokedex, Dogwood Ball (1)

So much water! The magikarp's display was certainly impressive, but Vuduin was confident his Budew could preserve. But should he tell Budew to keep growing until the magikarp's flailing was ineffective? Or trust that Budew could finish it off now? It was his first battle, he should be cautious until he had more experience with Budew's power. For now... Plants needed water to grow right? So this was perfect anyway. "Budew, I know you can keep going, keep growing, absorb all that water!" A little bit more and then they would finish off that Magikarp and claim their first win! A glance to the side revealed the pup and the machop still staring off. Poliwag meanwhile had vanished in a puff of steam and Houndour was shaking off the effects of a burst of water. How fun!

---

SUZUKI YASHA

Pokedollars: 500



Team: Lulu the Yanma
Status: Paralyzed


"...What in the sam hell?" Yasha stared dumbfounded at what this battle had devolved into. He wasn't sure if he should laugh or feel sorry for the Mareep for turning into a unwilling boulder of web and fluff. To top it all off, that strange mass bound towards the Purloin and in a cruel twist of fate, caught the feline pokemon. So now it was a boulder of web, fluff, and a very unhappy feline scratching at whatever was coming its way.

Mara had been victorious with the clash between the Oddish and her Espurr, but that was the least of their concerns as their pokemon were going to get caught in that massive boulder. Mara had ordered her Espurr to get out of the way of the boulder and Yasha was about to order his Yanma to do the same, but the bug pokemon was unable to. "Lulu!" He called out to the pokemon.

Lulu grimaced and in vain, tried to move its wings just enough to get out of the way. "Yan..." At this point, she wouldn't be able to fly away in time to avoid getting caught in the mass hurdling her way.

Yasha gritted his teeth, seeing not many other options to stop the make shift rollout. He pumped his fist out and yelled, "Lulu, tackle with all ya got!"

"Yan!" As the boulder loomed over her, the Yanma leaped forward and threw her entire body weight at it. At this point she was going to stand her ground and do whatever she can to stop that boulder. Though it was highly likely that she would get caught in it too.

@Whimsley

Kristoff watched as the captain turned himself around, remaining still and getting himself to stand upright properly like he was standing in order, out of a sense of respect. Listening to him introduce himself while ignoring the feeling of his Cyndaquil kicking him surprisingly hard in the stomach accidentally, shifting around inside his shirt. “Quil...” Char chirped peeking out briefly only to quickly bury himself back into the shirt seeing the other individual looking back. The immediate reaction was to greet speaking his name back, however instead giving an inquisitive look and a slight smile once he nonchalantly spoke his name.

“Impressive, I mean I suppose a captain should be aware of whose on his ship, but still rather inspiring, if only I was good with names...or anything.” He pondered inside his head, nodding with a grin, in response to his words. “Thank you.” He added in a cheerful albeit loud tone of voice, not wishing to pry any longer. As Char popped his out curiously hearing the battling starting, as Kristoff gently rubbed the part that was kicked, also observing the three trainers starting the pokemon fights with the sailors.

“You seemed interested, you know we could always battle the winners after...” Kristoff teased Char as Cydnaquil's head ducked right back into the shirt. Kristoff chuckled a little, seeing him behave so predictably was always cute and funny to see. “I was only kidding.” He replied gently, while still watching each trainer, able to pay attention to each of them equally well. Noticing the water getting on some of his clothes, able to casually brush the droplets off water off like dirt, wearing water-proof clothing specifically for the comfort of his Cydnaquil. Who was more often outside his pokeball, and disliked rain and just getting wet in general.

He heard something growling, causing Char to hop out of his shirt and climb on his shoulder shivering a little. It was Kristoff's stomach, he let out a mild laugh. “I suppose we might need to have a snack before dinner.” He commented aloud wondering if vending machines would actually be on the ship. Would he be lucky enough for it to be anywhere nearby? Though hungry, he didn't want to miss the spectacle unfolding in front of him, wanting to see the beginner trainers. It wasn't every day he was able to feel the experience of nostalgia. Reflecting on some happy memories, sneaking out of his foster parent's house and playing with his pokemon in the middle of night. Though diving into his thoughts, looking down to the ground and quickly causing him to tune out his surroundings until they turned to silence, clenching his fists and stuffing them into pockets. Cydnaquil observing still sitting on his shoulder, waiting for a moment before gently prodding his cheek. “Cyd-na-quil?” Char squeaked curiously. Kristoff then glanced at his pokemon.

“Let's go for a walk, we can return shortly.” Kristoff stated before turning away from the trainers and heading for stairs. “Though I hope they can win their first fight, that feeling really is euphoric.”

---