---

It's a brand new day and a brand new journey is about to begin.


Now let the day begin!

---

Korie couldn’t help a grin as the train came to a stop, the voice over the intercom announcing that they’d arrived at Coraick City. Well, here we are, Korie thought, looking down at her Pokeball. Her Charmander, Dei, was inside the capsule, and the simple press of a button would allow him to be released. Korie’s fingers trembled in anticipation of releasing her Pokemon again, but transportation regulation stated Pokemon must be kept within their capsules at all times.

Stepping off the train, Korie took a deep breath of the cold air, savoring the almost-minty feeling. She’d never been to the Coraick City, but looking around Korie could see why it was called such. Buildings raced against each other to touch the clouds above, and the faint outline of towering grey mountains in the distance spoke of mysteries to be unraveled.

Korie examined her city map on her Pokedex to find out where Professor Mangrove's lab was. Take a left, then pass an intersection, Korie thought, walking quickly away from the train station. It’ll be on the left, right next to a Pokemart.

The grin stayed on Korie’s face as she pressed the white button in the middle of her Pokeball, the red beam that emitted from it coalescing into the familiar form of her Charmander.

”Dei, you ready?”

---

@rockatiel

---

-boop-

Seeing Daigh walk always put Korie in a good mood. Beside the fact that he was her Pokemon — her starter, a gift from her parents — and that he was next to her and trusting of her, the Charmander also had an absolutely adorable little walk that was more of a waddle, if you asked Korie. Her parents had pulled a few strings and asked around, but they’d gotten their daughter the famous orange Pokemon she’d always wanted. Well, that’s if she knew exactly what Pokemon she wanted as a starter, which she didn’t. But, when Korie first saw her Charmander’s fierce eyes and cute, stubby limbs, she knew that he was the one for her.

Earning the proud stub of a Pokemon’s trust was a difficult task, but after a few days of walking around Mossdeep City — Korie’s hometown in Hoenn — and quite a couple monologues over poffins, the stubborn Charmander finally accepted his fate and broodily accepted his trainer. With a final puff of smoke in her face, much to Korie’s pleasure. Seeing that their daughter had successfully befriended her Pokemon, Korie’s parents sent her off, making her promise to call every few days and stay safe.

Kusarno had been Korie’s idea — the region was still relatively new, promising much adventure and mystery. Coriack City had struck her as the ideal place to start due to the abundant sea life. Despite the fact that a Water-type gym was so blatantly opposite to a starting gym when taking into account her Fire-type starter, Korie thought it best to take on the hardest challenge first. No point in dawdling. Best to beat it here and now — consolidate some confidence. Not that Dei needs anymore, but I might.

A boy around her age was walking towards Professor Mangrove’s lab as well, a Swablu situated on his head. The bird had been a big point of study after Mega Evolutions were discovered — Fairy-Dragon dual? Unheard of! Korie grinned, realizing that in front of her was yet another Pokemon she wouldn’t mind catching — not that this was the first. Along her three-day journey to Coriack City that had saw her on both plane and train, she’d seen many a Pokemon she’d made mental notes to catch — Trapinch, Joltik, and Shroomish just to start. The number of mental notes she’d made over the course of her life had taught Korie to take things as they came and treasure them all. And that she couldn’t very well catch all the Pokemon she wanted.

Entering the lab, Korie felt the familiar aura of churning cogs and busy brains wash over her. It’d been a while since she’d been to a lab, having been too preoccupied with her starter and all, but the scene was still a familiar and even welcome one.

”I’m here to see Professor Mangrove,” Korie informed the busy intern nearest to her, shuffling through her backpack for her Pokedex. “Just got here from Hoenn, and am looking to get my Pokedex updated?”

The boy nodded, finishing his scribbling — notes, probably — before leading Korie towards the back. Knocking on the door, he poked his head in and exchanged a few words with the occupants inside before “He’ll be right with you,” he told her, taking the Pokedex from her and walking away. Korie looked down briefly — nothing but a quiet, broody Charmander there — before looking back up as the boy from before walked over, his Swablu still perched on his head. There was a brief, awkward silence before the boy spoke, causing Korie to grin in relief. She hated starting conversations — awkward, messy, and oftentimes punctuated by the odd “So,” or “Well.”

“Good. You?” Korie said, responding and waiting for a response with an amused smile. This set of words she was used to exchanging, but they were no fun. “Say, you’re a new trainer too right? Getting your Pokedex updated and all, I mean. You’re not hiding a Gyarados somewhere, are you?” Korie paused, a grin on her face again as she stuck out a hand. “Korie Meagher, nice to meet you. Hoenn.”

---

@rockatiel

---

-boop-

Korie’s eyes widened as the boy spoke, raising a brow when he claimed to have a Gyarados. Her eyes flicked over him again, reevaluating him. A Gyarados? Really? Sure she wasn’t one to discriminate, but the boy didn’t strike her as the type. Especially with the two strands of hair that seemed to reach for the sky, defying the laws of physics. Huh. I guess appearances really can’t be trusted, Korie thought with a frown.

The boy moved away from her, looking around the lab as she continued studying him with a small frown. Soon enough an aide entered, returning with two Pokedexes in hand. The boy with the Swablu motioned the aide over and whispered something into his ear, and Korie watched curiously as the aide’s eyes flicked to her with surprise and then anger. Her curiosity morphed into surprise when the aide marched over and started talking about courtesy and politeness and the legality of blackmail.

“Excuse me?” Korie asked when the aide finally took a breather during his spiel, eyes wide. “I—What?”

“Threatening the young man over there!” the aide said, pointing a finger at the man. Korie looked at where he was pointing, seeing no one.

“Um?” she asked, thoroughly flummoxed now. What in Arceus’ name was happening?

---

“HEY!” Korie shouted, kicking up dust as she skidded to a half in front of the boy with the hair and the Swablu. “You! What did you tell that aide?” she demanded, crossing her arms. “He gave me a lecture about the consequences of blackmail and then accused me of stealing something! I didn’t even get a chance to talk to Professor Mangrove!”

Korie paused to take a breath, panting as cogs slid into life inside her head, connecting the pieces. “Arceus — you stole the Pokeball, didn’t you?” she asked, eyes wide in realization as she looked at the smug-looking boy. “You used me to distract the aide while you snagged a Pokeball — that’s why you set the aide on me,” Korie surmised, pausing to process it all before whipping her eyes up to glare at the boy. “We’re going back right now. You’re going to return that Pokeball, and I’m going to get my meeting with Mangrove, you hear me?”

---

@rockatiel

---

-boop-

Korie narrowed her eyes in suspicion when the Torchic appeared to cuddle into the boy’s shirt, not entirely convinced. However, the Torchic seemed to have a natural affinity for the boy, which was hard to find considering that it would one day evolve into the fiercely proud Fire-Fighting dual type that was Blaziken.

For the “well-behaved young girl” who sat patiently, spinning once every now and then on the blue lab stools, there seemed to be no end of wondrous creatures that passed through her parent’s lab, nor was there a lack of digital files to read on such Pokemon. Korie had passed days flipping through the national Pokedex available through her parents’ tablet, reading entries silently as she waited for them to get off work, and she prided herself on being able to identify Pokemon. While she’d started with learning about the ones that caught her fancy, she’d progressed to simply learning about Pokemon in general. While there were large gaps in her knowledge — mostly of rare, mysterious, or non-native Pokemon — the famous “starting” Pokemon were not one of those gaps.

Still, the boy seemed to be awfully suspicious. For a experienced trainer in possession of a Gyarados, he seemed to have an abundance of inexperienced Pokemon. “I’ll leave if you show me your Gyarados,” she said, jogging to a stop ahead of him again. “That is, if you have one,” Korie said, raising a brow. She waited patiently as the boy came up with an excuse, and just when she was about to drag the boy back to Professor Mangrove’s lab, a bespectacled man wearing a vest, slacks, and hat approached with a notebook under one arm and a briefcase in the other.

“Hello, can I ask what’s going on here?” the man asked, coming to a stop next to Korie.

“Professor Mangrove! It’s such an honor to meet you!” Korie said excitedly. “My name is Korie Meagher, and I read some of your works — that study on Trubbish? Absolutely mind-blowing,” she gushed before composing herself and looking at the funny-haired boy with two bird Pokemon. “Professor, I believe that this boy here stole that Torchic from your lab,” Korie said, glaring at him. “Well, maybe not the Torchic specifically, but he definitely stole a Pokeball.”

The professor looked a bit surprised, adjusting his glasses as he looked at the boy again, this time focusing on the orange-yellow Pokemon in the boy’s arms. “Well I’ll be. That Torchic does seem to be mine but,” the professor paused, leaning in to study the Torchic for a moment before backing up and looking the boy in the eyes. “Young man, I do believe you’ve made a new friend. And I’ll let you have him if you promise me that you’ll take care of him — this Torchic here has been through a lot, and he could really use a loving trainer right now.”

Korie’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped open. The professor was letting the boy keep the Pokemon? After he stole it from the lab? Were criminals getting rewarded for their evil deeds now?

---

@rockatiel

---

-boop-

Korie watched the scene pan out with a small frown, not quite knowing what to make of it. It wasn’t until both the boy and the professor were leaving that Korie whirled into motion, looking both ways as the two figures walked farther and farther away from each other. The boy was clearly a thief — the professor had known that. So why did he entrust the boy with the Torchic? Nothing good would come of leaving a Pokemon with someone who steals and lies on a daily basis.

“Hey!” Korie called, jogging to catch up with the departing black-haired boy. “You better treat that Torchic right,” she told the boy, keeping pace with him as she continued her brief lecture. “Not kidding here — I’ll report you to the Professor if you don’t. You and I both know that he’d trust me over you right now.” Sighing, Korie stopped and jogged in the opposite direction towards the forest. “See you, mysterious, unnamed birdboy with the crazy hair.”


Korie walked along the path quietly, Daigh at her side. Birdsongs and the low hum of cicadas could be heard in the background, reminding Korie that the forest was teeming with life. Having purchased a few Potions and Pokeballs before entering the forest,

“There’s a stream somewhere in this forest — we should find it. Get some practice in battling Water-types before challenging the gym,” she said quietly to the Charmander at her side as she led him into the depths of the forest.

The mossy, trodden path was quickly fading into fresh, untouched forest, and the sunlight filtering through the trees lessened the further they travelled. Soon enough it was clear the path was gone altogether, but the forest around Korie looked the same as it always did: friendly, mysterious, and foreboding in its own way.

“Alright, Dei. I think we’re lost,” Korie said, half-amused. As scary as being lost was, the challenge of having to find her way out kept her on her toes. Korie wasn’t one to back down from a challenge — never was, never will be. “Let’s make a run for it?”

The Charmander’s eyes widened, looking up at his trainer in alarm because he knew full well what came next — Korie taking off in a sprint dead ahead. Only a second or two late, the Charmander kept pace with his trainer only because this kind of thing had happened before. While the Fire-type had been unsure about all-out runs before, his trainer baited him into it with the lure of fresh berries and steaming poffins. Now, he willingly tore through the flora around him, stubby legs beating against the ground as he kept pace with his trainer.

Soon enough, both had come to a stop, panting hard. “Surprised you kept up, Daigh,” Korie sniped in jest. The Charmander responded with a smoky snort before looking around with alert eyes. Korie tensed, looking around as well before relaxing with a grin. “That’s the sound of water.”

---

“Scratch again, Dei!” Korie shouted as her Charmander rushed another Caterpie that emerged from the bushes. Pokedex in hand, Korie was busy reading up on every Pokemon they crossed. Although she’d known almost every one, the occasional pause before she could identify the wild Pokemon kept the device in her hands as it recorded entry after entry.

A single face-off with a surfacing Corphish had told Korie enough to send her and her Pokemon back into the well-forested areas. Her Pokedex had produced the Charmander’s learnset, and the limited number of moves her Fire-type knew had Korie rethinking her training plan. So, here she was, monitoring her Pokemon as he levelled up to ten.

“Good job, Dei,” Korie said, walking over to her Pokemon and scanning his latest sparring partner — a Ledyba. Another Pokemon she didn’t know existed, but that would change here and now. “Alright. Wanna give the river shore another run?” Korie asked with a grin, looking at her Charmander. The orange Pokemon nodded, flicking its flamed tail at the challenge.

A fast-moving blur on the water caught their attention first, whirring across the liquid’s surface and coming to a stop when it spotted the trainer and her Pokemon. “Surskit,” Korie said, recognizing the blue spider-like Pokemon. Pink markings under its eyes and capped by a single yellow antenna, the pond skater Pokemon had been extensively studied as to develop better aquatic technology. The oil the Pokemon produced from its legs that allowed for its ability to seemingly float had been isolated and scrutinized until a good formula had been developed.

“Daigh, Smokescreen and Scratch,” Korie whispered to her Pokemon. “Follow up with a Growl.”

The Charmander followed, executing the attacks with precision as Korie checked her Pokedex on the Surskit. Bug-Water dual, Korie read, eyes wide, That means it gave up its resistance to Fire-type attacks!

“Daigh, throw Ember into the combos,” Korie shouted. The Charmander nodded, letting loose a small spew of flame at the Bug-Water type that immediately attempted to skirt the attack — a little too slow, though, since medium-ranged move had come as a surprise after the Charmander’s previous close-combat Scratches.

The Surskit let out a last spray of pink gas before fainting. “Arceus, that was a Sweet Scent,” Korie said, waving her Charmander towards the shelter of the trees as more water Pokemon surfaced. “Time to retreat for now, Dei. No way am I letting you get double-teamed by a bunch of Water types. Not yet, at least,” Korie said, leading the way back into forested land. Still she knew they had to stay near the river — it was their way back to Coraick City.

“Right. Off to the city we go, Dei.” A puff of smoke followed, punctuated by a fiery snort.

---

A rustling in the bushes ahead caused Korie to look up from her Pokedex and instinctively reach for the Pokeball hanging on her belt. Having returned her Charmander a while prior — the broody lizard, despite all his silence, had been tired and worn from his battles. And Korie wanted him to save his strengths for any emergencies, like the one at hand.

“C’mon out, Daigh,” the girl said, her Charmander appearing at her side in a flash of red light. “Bushes, ten o’clock.”

The olive fronds parted to reveal a short stub of a Pokemon, blue and roughly a foot tall capped by a green leaf — a lilypad. Lotad, Korie read from her Pokedex, mentally slapping herself. She should have known this Pokemon — one of the scientists at her parents’ lab had been involved in a project that aimed to understand how Pokemon like Paras, Bulbasaur, and other Pokemon with flora growing on them managed to sustain the plants and live in harmony with them.

“Alright, Dei. Use—”

Korie looked around in alarm, realizing the Lotad was no longer at its ten o’clock position but rather at three and leaving. “Hey!” she shouted, jogging to cut the Pokemon’s path to the water off. “Not cool. We were going to have a battle!”

The Lotad looked up disinterestedly, the green disk on its head emphasizing the movement. Its eyes slid over the girl, then her Charmander, before landing on the stream behind them.

“Hey! I’m talking to you!” Korie said, leaning down to wave her hands in front of the Lotad’s eyes.

A pause ensued as the Lotad slowly whirred into motion, moving around the girl to get to the water. “Alright. Dei, Ember,” Korie said, grabbing a Pokeball. This Pokemon was either extremely dull, dumb, or both. But Korie felt something, offense aside, of the Lotad, and she wouldn’t let the Pokemon just walk away after all that. A grin on her face, Korie scooped up both her Charmander — much to his protest — and her newly-filled Pokeball.

“And to Coraick town we go!” she shouted, breaking into a spring. Daigh held onto his trainer’s arm for dear life.

---

@rockatiel

---

-boop-

“I’m going to call you Laetus,” Korie said, looking the Lotad up and down as it sat with a blank stare. “Not because you are happy, but because you aren’t.”

At her side, Daigh snorted, poking the lotad with a hand. The Lotad looked up with aggravating slowness before lowering its head at at the same, slow speed. Giggling, Korie scooped up the Lotad and made for the gym. “C’mon Daigh. We’re going to go scout out the competition.”

---

The Coraick City Gym was a rather innocuous-looking building that, once you entered, appeared much larger than it’d looked from the outside. Built into the side of one of Coraick’s ports, the gym sprawled from land-level to a floor or two below sea level, making most of the diving facility and the gym itself underwater. The majority of the diving facilities were located on the right side of the main entrance and covered the first and second floors; the basement floor saw a large open area where rubber-covered metal floors vanished opened into the ocean itself. The gym, therefore, consisted of battles staged on — or perhaps in — this opening into the ocean where the gym leader’s Water-type Pokemon could swim without much trouble and the challenger’s Pokemon would be put on a platform that slid into position at the middle of the large pool.

Today, however the leader’s Pokemon were having some trouble keeping. The Gym Leader — Cameron — wore an intense look on his face as the opponent’s Gible — a brief scan with her Pokedex produced the Pokemon’s species — felled the Gym Leader’s Whooper with yet another Dragon Rage. The challenger, from what Korie could make out of him from behind the glass, appeared to be a black-haired boy around or perhaps a little older than herself. He appeared rather apathetic about the entire battle, recalling his Gible without a word after the Ground-Dragon type had single-handedly beaten Cameron’s first two Water-types, by the look of the dashboard.

“You’re strong,” the hawaiian-shirted Gym Leader said, picking up his third and final Pokeball, “but let’s see how you like this.”

A Qwilfish emerged — again, Pokedex — eyes narrowed as it sized up the challenging trainer. The black hair boy threw out his Gible again, silent as ever as it sprang forward into action with the purplish beginnings of a Dragon Rage spewing from its mouth. “Dodge it and hit back with a Hydro Pump!” Cameron shouted, the Qwilfish shooting forth a gushing stream of water half a second later before ducking underwater to dodge the opponent’s Dragon Rage.

“Gible, Sandstorm,” the challenger said tonelessly. With a raspy growl, the trainer’s Gible whipped up a Sandstorm. And by whip, Korie meant produce sand from nowhere and whip it into a fierce, buffeting storm of sediment. The sand clacked against the glass as it flew by, causing most of the people inside the closed area to shriek and flee for cover in the observation area. Within a few seconds, however, the storm cleared to reveal the black-haired challenger receiving his Deep Badge.

“Whoa,” Korie said, eyes wide as she watched the boy walk out of the gym’s battle station, dusting his jacket off for any sand that’d gathered as he stepped into the observation area.

“Whoo! Nice job!”

“Damn, awesome!”

Cheers and clapping rang out, causing the boy to look around him with a slightly surprised look. A faint ghost of a smile graced his face, and he made to leave the gym.

---

@rockatiel

---

-boop-

The black-haired boy paused, looking at Evian with a slightly amused expression. “Nothing you should concern yourself with,” he said, taking his leave. The boy with the Swablu on his hand seemed to have some sort of intricate story, but Altain didn’t really feel like concerning himself with anyone of the sort. He had better things to do, like win the next gym badge.

Korie watched as the winner was approached by someone with a familiar cloud of white and blue on his head — Evian, she realized with a flash of displeasure at the boy’s appearance. Having almost forgotten about him due to the events earlier that day, Korie didn’t appreciate him barging in again. The newly-badged trainer brushed past Evian with a few words, exiting promptly as Korie walked over to the bird-headed boy.

“Hello Evian,” she said, enunciating the syllables in the boy’s name. “Glad to see that you’re all still in one piece. I don’t suppose that a person with a Gyarados such as yourself would have neglected to pick up a Deep Badge?”

---

@rockatiel

---

-boop-

Korie rolled her eyes, unimpressed by the boy's antics. “Of course not,” she said sarcastically when the boy brought up the events earlier that day. “No hard feelings at all, imaginary Gyarados and stolen Pokeball or not.”

So maybe he had stolen the pokeball and he didn't really have a gyarados. At this point, it would have been pointless to keep insisting. So he smiled, eyes glittering."Glad you're not too upset then."

At Korie's side, Daigh looked suspiciously at the Torchic approaching him, eyes narrowing to slits but not moving. The fire bird Pokemon seemed rather harmless -- almost clueless. Although the Charmander usually didn't like coming into contact with other Pokemon, he wasn't one to bully them either, so he turned to stare at the male human that was, presumably, the Torchic's trainer.

“Last time I told you my name, I didn't get one back. At least not a real one. So if you'll forgive me for asking for your name first this time,” the girl said curtly in response to the boy's first question. When he brought up the Torchic, the girl looked down at the two fire Pokemon -- her Charmander, who was doing his damned hardest not to mind the Torchic circling the flame on the tip of his tail and pretty much trampling the rest of it, and the Torchic, appearing young and well-cared for. Her gaze softened slightly as she took that into account, looking back up at the boy. “Korie. My name's Korie, and I guess the Torchic really is kind of lucky, all other things aside.”

"Silly, I did tell you. My name's Evian," Evian replied. Instantly, he kind of regretted it, because he could have totally just thrown a random name at her. Too late now. Oh well. "Korie, huh? So charming." Meanwhile, Ammo had finished his inspection of the firey tail tip, and thoroughly satisfied, moved to the front of the other pokemon. He cheeped at the Charmander, boldly asking questions of his own. Evian couldn't help but smile. "Look at them, I can't help but wonder what they're talking about." The bird in question was on the tips of his talons, chirping brightly, ruffling his feathers. He stopped abruptly, then hopped over to Evian, who looked down at him, amused."Whatever is it?" Ammo seemed to motion with one wing at the charmander, and then at himself. He peeped furiously. It took him a few moments to understand. "You want that Charmander to help you?"

Korie looked down at her Charmander who was now completely over the Torchic and solely focused on his trainer with a face that spoke of how utterly unamused he was by the entire situation. “Tell you what,” Korie said, giving the boy a friendly glare, “he'll train your Torchic if you agree to have a battle with me.”

"Train my pokemon? You must be joking." Like hell he needed her overrated lizard training his sweet Torchic. The Charmander line was a set of pokemon he especially disdained, due to his mother being absolutely obsessed with them. To him though, they were annoying. Especially since most dragon tamers started off with them, they just seemed banal and overrated. "A battle though..." He mused thoughtfully. It almost seemed like too much work. Still, he was kind of curious to see how she did handle herself. Sure. It could be a tidy distraction. "Alright, Korie. No thanks on the training, but I'd be happy to grant your wishes." The best part? No prize money wagered, so no skin off his bones.

---

A clearing in the forest was secured for the battle. Trees surrounded them, like gnarled spectators in the crowd. It was quiet. The pokemon that had lived in the forest knew what happened when humans came, especially if they brought foreign species to their grounds. They peered through the bramble and branches; Evian felt the eyes burning into him. He squared his shoulders, thinking. He hadn't even gotten a chance to see his new pokemon, and here he was, standing in the forest, ready to have some battle. Well, whatever. It was a nice distraction and he was willing to do whatever for Ammo to get stronger. The little pokemon in question was constantly jumping up and down in his arms out of excitement. He pecked at his arms and his talons gripped Evian's shirt, trembling. "Wow, you're really excited, aren't you? My, where did all this enthusiam come from?"

On the other side of the clearing, Korie had released her two Pokemon -- Laetus, her Lotad, and Daigh, her Charmander. “Alright guys, we're gonna be battling a trainer for the first time,” Korie was saying to them in low tones as to not be heard by the other trainer across the clearing. “This'll be our practice match for the gym battle, since I figure that we still need some training. After this, we'll drop by the Pokemon Center and get patched up, go for food, and then head towards into Coraick forest again to finish training. What do you two think?”

The Charmander nodded, eyes flashing with determination at the prospect of training. Next to him, the Lotad directed his eyes towards the sky, worrying his trainer.

“Laetus, you hear that?” Korie asked, waving her hands in front of the Water-Grass type's eyes. A Growl snapped the Lotad out of his daze, prompting him to look at the Charmander beside him before slowly turning to his trainer and giving her a slow nod. “Great, we're agreed then,” Korie said with a beam, standing up and turning to see if Evian was ready.

Evian paused, thinking. Why not just bring the new addition to the team out now? Maybe he could get him up to speed with the team and his new companions. On the other hand, it might just go wrong if he brought out Kappa now. There was no telling how it would react. If it ran away in shock or something, he wasn't sure what he'd do. Ammo pecked at his shoes.

"Hm?" He looked down to see the Torchic looking up with a shining look in it's eyes. "You want to battle? Are you sure?" Ammo hopped up and down in affirmation. Evian looked to Aria, who was preening herself dilligently on a nearby branch. "You don't mind, do you?" Aria seemed to giggle in her own birdlike way, tittering and cooing. It was the sign for the go ahead. So he scooted Ammo forwards. "Have fun," he said. Ammo ran forwards, and the battle had officially begun.

Seeing Evian's Torchic enter the battlefield, Korie frowned at the boy's choice. What was he thinking, sending out the poor baby bird Pokemon? But, seeing the Fire-type's enthusiasm, Korie realized it probably wasn't Evian's idea -- she'd have a hard time refusing her own Pokemon too, if any of them ever turned out to be even half as enthusiastic.

“Laetus, you're up then,” Korie said, looking down at the Lotad in question. The Water-type looked up lazily, seemingly understanding, before looking back down and stopping all motion. “Alright, forwards. Towards that Torchic that you're going to hit with a few Bubble's, okay?” Korie asked, manuevering herself behind the Lotad and giving it a gentle push in the right direction.

Laetus walked forwards slowly, mind concentrated on its steps until it realized that there was a bright orange-and-yellow bird Pokemon in the middle of the field. Was this the target his trainer had been going on about?

“Okay Laetus, Growl!” Korie called from her side of the field, watching as the Lotad followed her instruction and waiting until the Torchic neared the Lotad to continue. “Now Bubble!” she shouted.

As shockwaves distorted the air, Ammo was hit by the growl attack, making him somewhat shaky. His instincts were reacting to being in battle though, and he ruffled his feathers threatningly. "Ammo, shoot out an ember attack!" The burst of hot flames managed to collide into some of the bubbles, weakening the attack just enough and creating a cloud of thick steam. Ammo was still hit anyways, and he let out a screech as the water hissed against his body. Yet all at once, he glowed. He was gaining speed. This would make dodging attacks easier. Well.... if he didn't trip... "Use scratch, straight ahead Ammo!" Ammo burst out from the obscuring cloud, talons glowing. Evian observed thoughtfully. Perhaps he'd been babying the pokemon too much. Or maybe the Torchic experiencing a battle as it was, without having Aria to intervene all the time, made his attacks have more punch. Whatever it was, he seemed so in the zone that his normal confidence issues didn't seem to be plaguing him as much.

“Laetus! Dodge and retaliate with an Astonish!” Korie called, knowing that her Lotad would be outsped by the enemy Pokemon. Still, letting the Torchic close the distance between itself and the Lotad could be used to their advantage, allowing Laetus to get a move or two in as a bonus. Evian's Torchic was upon the Lotad within a few seconds, talons gleaming in the sunlight as they raked down on Laetus. The Lotad attempted to dodge the attack, causing the move to clip down on the lilypad on his head before the Water-Grass dual lashed back with an Astonish. “Now, move back and use Bubble!” Korie shouted. Laetus followed, leaping back a foot or two in the clearing before opening his mouth to fire another Bubble.

As the scratch connected and Korie called out for an astonish, Evian called out. "Ammo, you've got some footing, so jump while using ember." As talons firmly squashed down on the lilypad leaf, Ammo was able to push off the makeshift platform, propelling himself even more with the fireballs that spewed from his beak and rained upon the other pokemon. His ember attack had seemed to improve in the heat of battle. He landed farther back. Laetus had jumped back as well and spewed another spray of bubbles. As such, there was more than enough distance between them for Ammo to try to dodge and get a running start.

Or, they could practice a little. "Block with a sand attack," Evian instructed. They were just bubbles, right? Ammo kicked up a blast of sand, able to wall many of the bubbles that came his way, popping some harmlessly while others veered off course. Some of the water element attack did manage to get him. His legs were small and at this stage, they didn't kick up a huge wave of sand. It still wasn't as bad as bearing the full brunt of the attack. Feathers bristling, his body glowed once more. "Circle around it, and shoot your ember!" Ammo ran in rapid circles around his opponent, rapid firing the embers from as many directions and angles as he could towards the Lotad.

“Laetus, aim the Bubble dead ahead!” Korie called, figuring that the Lotad would fare better by ensuring a hit rather than wildly aiming around for the Fire-type. The Lotad did as hisdid as the human called, content with moving as less as possible. The Embers the Torchic fired at him stung a little, but his continuous Bubbling ensured that air around him remained humid enough to soften the long-ranged Fire-type attacks.

Their luck had run out. The battle had been going pretty well, but Ammo tripped over his own feet just as he had earlier. His face ate the dirt, and at that point, he was a perfect target for the bubble attack. They were like little explosions against his fluffy, warm body. He jumped back, weakened and shrill, stumbling. Before he could fall, Evian pressed the return button on Ammo's luxury ball, and the Torchic was recalled where he could rest in the utmost comfort. Though Torchic hadn't come out on top, Evian was more than pleased. He'd been worried before, but this battle had proved this pokemon had it in him to fight. He felt at ease and had a wide smile on his face.
"Aria, would you do me a favor? I know you hate getting dirty but can you deal with that frog of hers?" The blue bird gave herself a quick preen, making sure there wasn't a speck marring her appearance before fluttering over to the grass. "Your move, doll."

Korie felt both relieved and worried when Evian returned his Torchic. On one part, Laetus had successfully won his first battle. On another, he'd just beaten a poor Torchic into the dirt -- quite literally. Korie was just about inquire as to how the Torchic was doing when Evian called his Swablu to the scene, a smirk on his lips as he spoke.

“I don't do nicknames,” Korie said, frowning as she looked at the soft-looking bird Pokemon. It looks sorta weak, she thought, scanning the Pokemon with her Pokedex. The device identified the blue-and-white bird as a Swablu, a Normal-Flying type. Nothing too special. Just a normal Flying-type, Korie thought, snapping the Pokedex shut and tucking it into her pocket. “Alright, Laetus. Why don't we lead with a nice Growl? If the birdy stays up in the sky after that, we'll follow with a round of pretty Bubbles, alright?”

You shouldn't have mentioned it, he thought, grinning wryly to himself. He'd be sure to dote on her with the most sacharrine and ridiculous names he could come up with. Pumkaboo-boo, Litten Kitten, Cutiefly... It'd be ridiculous. He had to focus though. Almost lazily he called out, "Aria, use disarming voice, knock it all away." Though she was hit by the growl attack, Aria opened her beak immediately after to let out a beaming barrage of purple colored soundwaves. The bubbles in the way popped easily when getting hit by the attack. The large, resounding beam of soundwaves headed directly for the Lotad.

“Laetus! Get out of the way and fire more Bubbles!” Korie shouted, wincing as the soundwaves richocheted off her Pokemon. Of course she hadn't expected the bumbling Water-type to have the speed to match Evian's Swablu, but she'd hoped that he might, even against all odds. Korie gave it another few seconds of Bubbling before returning her Lotad with a frown. The Pokemon's speed was his main obstacle, and Korie noted it down under her mental list of points to work on. “Good job, Laetus. Come back,” Korie said, returning her Water-type and hooking his Pokeball back on her belt and unclipping her other Pokeball. “Dei, why don’t you give it a go?”

The Charmander burst forth, eyes narrowed as it took in the fluffy-looking bird Pokemon. “Dei, Smokescreen and then Ember!” Korie called. The Charmander jumped back, snorting up a storm of smoke and vanishing within the heavy smog before a slew of small, succinct bursts of fire shot out from within the smoke and towards the Swablu.

Smokescreen was a tricky move, Evian thought. The scent of acrid smog filled his own nostrils. Aria blinked, her eyes watering from the attack, and she let out a series of coughs, her lungs adjusting to the now suddenly harsh air. She was hit by the ember. Evian gritted his teeth. Think, it's okay, he reminded himself. "Aria, use mist. Clear it out."

So she circled up, inhaling and then exhaling a silvery, thick translucent cloud of mist. It drifted around her, almost forming some kind of protective cloud. Though she could have used it like Charmander used the smokescreen, a means to confuse the opponent and hide from them, there would have been no point. Here now, using it as defensive means meant her keen accuracy could be kept high. "Alright, go for a peck, but keep straight above him!" That Charmander had some stubby arms, it couldn't even reach over it's own head. Perhaps they'd be able to use it to their advantage. So she dove into the smoke, which was much clearer now having dispersed, approaching from directly above the Charmander. Her beak glowed, elongating fiercefully, and she went for a jab at the pokemon's head.

“Dei, above you!” Korie shouted. The Charmander, in a flash of understanding, ducked and threw himself to the side, the Swablu’s beak clipping his shoulder and leaving a visible gash. Blood welled up from within the wound, frightening Korie, but the Charmander quickly doused it with a small Ember before looking to his trainer again for futher instructions.

“K—keep your distance and use Ember!” Korie called, trying to calm her panic. Her Pokemon was fine — he still wanted to fight, and Korie could see that much. But she didn’t want him to get hurt like he did — that wasn’t part of the plan, was never part of the plan. If this is what being a Pokemon trainer entails… she thought, trailing off as she watched her Charmander hurl a throng of succinct Embers at the opposing Swablu, then it’s not just my Pokemon that need training.

"Aria, watch it," Evian said tersely as she was flapping, trying to evade some embers but getting hit by others since she was close range. Well, then... they'd have to try something else. "Aria, use sing!" Swooping around the Charmander called Dei, she opened her beak, a soprano sang for a flurry of multi-colored music notes to come out and float around the Charmander. One touch from a sing attack, and the pokemon would fall prey to a slumber status.

“Dei!” Korie shouted in alarm when the Charmander slumped over upon being hit with the Swablu's lullaby. From what she knew, Pokemon couldn't be roused from a sleeping status condition without certain berries or spray cures. It was an artificially-induced sleep and Pokemon would commonly only wake naturally after the orignial stigma was long gone. Note to self: invest in berries, Korie thought as she waited on the tips of her toes for her Charmander to show any signs of waking up. “C'mon, Dei. You can do it. Wake up,” Korie said quietly, staring intensely at the slumbering Charmander.

They were close, they were close. Evian hadn't really cared too much for the battle at first, because there'd been no prize money wagered, but he found himself being drawn in anyway. "Aria, you know what to do," he said smiling. "Up in the air." She nodded, and then wrapping her talons around the Charmander's shoulders, lifting the fire type. She flapped her wings, higher and higher, soaring. Sleeping pokemon always stayed down for awhile. What would be the chances of Dei waking up?

“C'mon, Dei,” Korie whispered as the Swablu flew up. “C'mon... Come on, Dei!” Just as the Swablu released the Charmander, the fire-type's eyes shot open and it released a spew of Embers that clapped onto the Swablu as the Charmander fell. “Dei!” Korie shouted, grabbing her Pokeball and returning her orange lizard Pokemon before he could hit the ground. She turned to Evian ready to admit her defeat when she realized that he was just as concerned about his Pokemon as she was.

Normally, Evian was pretty good about keeping how he was feeling masked. But his jaw dropped when he saw how quickly the Charmander woke up. How? He wondered. In all the battles he'd been in so far, with wild or trained pokemon, they didn't wake up that quickly. Was it an ability or something? No-- no way. He wasn't a walking encylopedia on pokemon, but he knew for a fact that Charmanders, pokemon that were highly used by dragon tamers, didn't have that kind of skill. For heavens sake, he'd seen Charizards put down by sleep powder attacks that had made them absolutely washed out. He didn't have too much time to gawk, though, because Aria was falling like a rock. "A-Aria!" He sputtered, and recalled her just in the knick of time. As she dissapeared in a flash of red, he held her ball close, looking down. He was tenderly quiet for a moment. She hadn't seemed seriously hurt, but he'd have to get her looked at properly.

His characteristic smile returned. "Close, but no cigar." So... maybe it had just been luck. Maybe that played a part too. He hadn't really given it much thought. Perhaps it was a lesson for him all the same-- would it have been different if he had just ordered her to attack the Charmander? What if she'd dropped him earlier? What if she'd used sing earlier?
It was pointless wondering though. Well, he'd definitely have to keep it in mind for later. Especially if he was going to go up against that gym leader-- maybe they'd need to refine her sing attack or something. So, it was a tie then? Not cool, he thought. But he was already over it all the same.

Guess that's that, then," he said, shoving his hands into his pockets. " Good job, though. I'm so proud of you." Whether he was being serious or sarcastic, it was unclear. His eyes were crinkled up at the sides nonetheless. "It was fun, Litten Kitten, but I've got some important meetings to attend. Gyarados and I-- we're a busy pair. I bid you farewell, 'till we meet again my precious Pumpkaboo-boo." With that, he strolled away cheerfully. Pulling out his pokegear, he made a point to call Grey.

He was going to teach him a little something called style. And... probably mooch some items off him because his pokemon needed it.

---

@rockatiel

-boop-

Fur brushed up, Korie watched Evian leave with satisfaction, relieved that she wouldn’t have to deal with his pompous demeanor. Alright. First to the Pokemon Center to get everyone healed up, she thought, turning and jogging back to the city.

Coriack’s streets seemed a little more lively in the afternoon, the sun shining happily as children ran around the streets and adults talked among one another. The trainer district saw a little more hustle-bustle as well since trainers were now walking about and exchanging words rather than going and arriving in town. Since there was almost never a line at the Pokemon Center, Korie was in and out in around three minutes, picking up some berry pots as she passed the Pokemart inside the center as well as some starter seeds: one each of Cheri, Chesto, Pecha, Rawst, and Sitrus berries. These berries were promptly planted and watered with the help of Korie’s cheerful Lotad before being happily tucked away into her bag.

“Alright. Off we go for some more training,” Korie said to the blue-and-green Pokemon, about to straighten up and be on her way when she felt a pang of hunger in her stomach. “Well, after food,” she amended, leading the way to the nearby convenience store. On the shelves were a range of goods, both local and imported. Helping herself to a to-go turkey sandwich and a small box of granola bars, Korie also picked up some individually packaged poffins for her Pokemon.

“Pretty sure Daigh like spicy poffins. Any preferences for you?” Korie asked, looking down at her Lotad. The Pokemon’s vigorous head-signing of “no” at the thought of a spicy poffin prompted Korie to pick out some sweet poffins for the water-type. After paying and exiting the shop, Korie found a bench in a nearby park and called her Charmander before doling out food.

Yet another expense of being a trainer, she thought with a sigh as she started on her sandwich, watching her Pokemon enjoy their meal. Don’t trainers earn money through battling? Maybe I should give that a try.


After finishing their meal, the sun was now an hour or two from sunset, reminding Korie how close nightfall was. “Let’s give river battling another try,” she said, leading her Pokemon in the direction her Pokedex pointed her. Halfway through the trip Korie figured that she no longer required a map to guide her and put the Pokedex away, keeping her eyes on the road as her Pokemon walked beside her after having finished off their poffins. Pidgey and Pidove sang from the trees with the rare Chatot chiming in for a fanciful chord of birdsong as the trio of trainer and Pokemon passed beneath them.

“I think that’s the stream,” Korie said to her Pokemon when the faint sound of rushing water graced her ears. Laetus grinned and bounced from one side to the other on his legs as Dei sniffed in acknowledgement of their arrival. Before they could pass the final round of bushes, however, a buzzing noise caught Korie’s attention.

“Hold on — is that a Combee nest?” she asked, eyes wide as she spotted a largish golden brown structure on the ground. Walking closer and peering through the bushes, she could see the Combee drones buzzing back and forth with happy smiles on their faces. “Combee honey is said to attract Pokemon… Dei, Laetus, what do you two think about an impromptu hive raid?”

A happy bounce and determined nod later, Korie and her Pokemon sprang out of the bushes towards the hive and the happy Combee. Their smiles faded as the intruders approached their hive, eyes following the trio carefully as they neared.

“Combee aren’t as territorial as Beedrill, but I doubt that they’d give up their honey without a fight,” Korie murmured to her Pokemon.

Taking the hint, Dei leapt forward and launched a gusty Smokescreen that immediately engulfed the clearing. Taking advantage of the smoke, the Charmander rushed forth, shooting succinct Embers at every Combee he came across as to knock them out.

“Alright, Laetus. I think this is your cue as well. Let’s try some Astonishes with under the cover of the smoke?” Korie whispered to the water-type, keeping her voice at a minimum as to not give away her location. The Lotad nodded at his trainer, flouncing forwards into the smoke. Further thudding of Combee hitting the ground told Korie that both of her Pokemon were doing a good job, and the girl grinned at how well her Pokemon were managing to work together.

Creeping forwards through the smoke, Korie spotted a fainted Combee and walked over, inspecting the honeycomb Pokemon closely. Three hexagons stuck together with a black stripe to designate it as a true bee, Korie thought, gently lifting one of the bug’s wings with a finger. A little more sturdy than it looks, but that’s expected with its weight. Well over a few pounds of honeycomb with… Korie grinned as she righted the Pokemon on the ground. Honey!

Shuffling through the items in her backpack, Korie found an empty plastic container that previously served to hold berries. Holding the Combee over the container, Korie gave a few gentle shakes until gravity pulled the golden ambrosia from the Pokemon’s hexagons in sweet syrupy dollops into the container below. When she’d gathered roughly two cups of honey, Korie set the Combee down again, arranging the resting Pokemon such that its wings. were straight and ready to fly once it awoke before closing the lid of the plastic container and placing it into her bag. Standing, Korie whistled sharply to summon her Pokemon, and the two came bounding over through the now-fading smoke.

“Alright, time to make our quick getaway!” she said with a grin, returning her Lotad and waving her Charmander into a run beside her. Just as they were about to exit the clearing, a deafeningly loud buzzing noise started up behind Korie.

Whirling around, Korie was horrified to discover that the Vespiquen had emerged from the hive, its buzzing wings dispersing the remaining smoke within seconds as its red eyes glared at the trainer and her Pokemon.

“Arceus, run!” Korie shouted, scooping up the Charmander besider her and making a dash for the trees. Every step she took, however, only seemed to serve to bring the hostile Pokemon closer, the buzzing growing louder behind her.

From his place on his trainer’s shoulder, Dei launched what cannonball Embers and fiery new Dragon Rages he could at the approaching Pokemon, but arrival soon became imminent. The Vespiquen — in one final burst of speed — flew up and landed in front of Korie, scattering dust and leaves on the forest floor around it.

In the face of the large Pokemon’s glowing red eyes, Korie froze. Was she about to die? At the very least, not Dei, she thought, returning her Charmander in a hasty but shaky motion just as the Vespiquen whirred forwards into motion, only to be met head-on by a wall of solid blue steel.

“Wha—” Korie said, eyes widening as she looked up to see a hovering bipedal steel Pokemon whose third and final evolution everyone who had the faintest interest in steel-types recognized: Metang.

“Metang, Metal Claw,” a cool voice called from the bushes as the hovering steel-type immediately charged forth, knocking the Vespiquen back. A familiar black-haired boy emerged from the bushes, eyes as unimpressed as they were earlier that day when he’d beaten the gym leader without batting an eye.

It’s the boy from the gym! Korie thought, mouth open as she watched the boy step forwards, his eyes focused on the battle yet relaxed all the same.

“Metal Sound,” he ordered calmly, his Metang immediately rubbing its limbs against itself to produce a sickeningly shrill scratching sound that caused Korie to duck down in alarm, hands going instinctively to cover her ears. Beside her, the male trainer remained composed and calm, eyes focused on the ongoing battle. Another order was issued during the screech, and the Vespiquen finally gave up chase, leading the recovering Combee that had come over to watch back to the nest.

“Th—thank you,” Korie said, straightening up shakily and looking at the black-haired trainer. The boy’s eyes glazed over her, and a curt nod was sent her way before the boy’s back was turned and his feet carrying him back into the depths of the woods.

“W—wait!” Korie shouted, running to catch up to her silent savior. “I didn’t get your name,” she said, panting lightly as she came to a stop in front of him. The boy looked at her for a second cooly, his face inscrutable, before his mouth opened.

“Altain. Altain Reimer,” he said. A smile broke across Korie’s face, but Altain was already taking his leave.

“Nice to meet you, Altain!” the girl shouted after him, waving at his back. “I’m Korie Meagher!”

What a loud girl, Altain thought, sighing as his Metang came to a slow hover beside him, an inquisitive look on its face. “Good job there. We’re making progress,” he told his Pokemon as they continued into the woods.

“Thank you, I will!” Korie called back to the Pokemon Center nurse that had seen her out of the center. A happy smile hung on her face as she walked into the streets, the sun barely managing to break the surface as dusk approached. Well, I guess it’s dinner now, Korie thought, frowning and pulling out her Pokedex to check.

A quick search revealed all the nearest restaurants around, the nearest being a friendly burger bar named after its iconic mascot, a Semisear. To Semisear’ed Burgers we go, Korie thought, creative thoughts about how a Semisear could work a grill filling her head as she walked over.

Entering the bar, Korie was relieved to feel some light air conditioning. No oven-air from the grill here, thank Arceus, she thought as she was seated at the bar. Picking the shop specialty off the menu — Korie always figured that if there was one surefire dish, it was the one the restaurant advertised most — the girl handed her menu to the waiter with a polite “thank you” before looking around the quickly-filling restuarant. Well business as usual around—wait, is that?

A head of familiar gravity-defying was bobbing up and down, seated beside a glum-looking, curly-haired young man who seemd rather glum for a boy with a burger in front of him. I’ll hold off on greetings. Wouldn’t be polite to interrupt a meal, especially considering that he’s not alone, Korie thought, turning back around and waiting for her order, eyes wandering up to the flat screen broadcasting the last region championship battle above the bar.

---

@rockatiel

---

-boop-

Korie froze at the boy’s words. At first she’d pegged him as the adorable and unassuming type that had just so get mixed in with the bad crowd — namely, Evian — but now she could see that such was not the case. I guess bird of a feather really do flock together, she thought, turning and slapping on a smile for Grey, the self-crowned “best trainer” in Coraick.

“Nice to meet you, Grey,” Korie said in greeting. “I’m Korie. Tell me — do you and Evian sit at tables and rehearse crummy lines together or something?” she asked, not bothering to pull any punches. If anything, a little bite would teach “Grey” not to go around ignoring social customs.

"Um..." Grey had to think about this. He and Evian did not normally sit together. They had, however, kind of rehearsed lines, so that part was true. Whether they were crummy or not-- well Evian had said it would be a cool thing to say but now she was saying something different. He was seriously confused, not to mention unsure of what to say. Well, the answer was mostly no, right? "Not really." The answer was sufficient. But now he didn't know what to say.

So he'd been spotted. Damn. Evian's eyes met Grey's; he looked clueless. He debated going over or just leaving. Choices, choices. If he left, he could wander around for awhile and do whatever, but if he stayed, maybe something interesting could come out of it. At the very least, he could troll the fuck out of them. So he hopped up and strolled over a few steps, planting himself in the barstool next to Korie. "Hey Kitten, hey Glum, fancy seeing you all here!" He clasped his hands with exaggerated gusto. "How's everyone doing this evening?"

Grey wasn't sure why Evian was asking how they all were-- after all, they'd just been speaking moments before. It would make sense to ask Korie, but not himself. He raised his hand anyways. "I'm okay." Just in case they didn't know, he would be sure to tell them.

“Cute, Evian. Acting as if you hadn't just come from the same table Grey just left,” Korie said, feeling the onset of exasperation creeping up. Why had she thought it'd be a good idea to talk to Evian anyway, let alone anyone he hung out with. “Well, I'm basically done with my meal now, so I'll be taking my leave,” she said. The boy who'd introduced himself as Grey seemed rather flummoxed at the entire situation, and Korie felt a little bad for brushing him off, but if he insisted on going along with Evian there was nothing she could do about it.

“Thanks for the meal. I'll leave my bill here,” she said to the bartender, who nodded in response. Pulling out a few paper bills, Korie counted a rough estimate of what her food cost, plus a light tip. It went a little over, but she was willing to pay the extra bit to get away from Evian.

“I'll be heading out then. Coraick forest -- if you two are done being chlldren,” Korie said curtly. As much as she would have liked to walk out on them, the prospect of a training buddy -- especially in the woods at night, when the nocturnal Pokemon came out to play -- was a fairly tempting. Plus, she could see that Grey -- although a little blank and socially awkward -- didn't have the same irritating vibe Evian oozed, so Korie was willing to risk it dealing with the other two trainers for a little longer.

Oh geez, she couldn't take a joke, could she? Obviously he knew that she had seen him come from the table-- he had only been trying to play around. It was kind of entertaining though, seeing her get all pissy for no reason. Still, here he was trying to be friendly, sauntering over to ask how she was doing and she had to get all huffy over it for no reason. Did she think he was out to get her? Puh-lease, as if she were that important. What a drama queen. Almost impressed with her ability to get fired up for no reason, Evian shrugged, a bubble of laughter escaping him. "All I did was ask how you were. So cold. Brrrr, Korie!" He shuddered, rubbing his arms, then held up his hands innocently, a questioning and worried look on his face.

Evian seemed to make Korie upset, Grey was realizing. When it came to reading other people, he was clueless, but there were sharp changes in the other girl's demeanor that definitely pointed to a shift in mood. Or something like that. Right? Gah, people were so confusing. Why was she so different now? All Evian had done was ask how she was doing. And she'd mentioned his line had been crummy-- but why? Had Evian said that Korie didn't like him? He didn't remember. Grey wasn't sure what to do. He considered Evian a friend already made, but even if Korie wasn't his friend yet, he liked her. Had it been him... well, his past exposure cumulated in zero experience to go off of. "...." He struggled for what to say. What was he supposed to do in this situation? "... Are you okay?" He wished he could mimic the way other people spoke, but it came off as flat and uninterested, which probably made it sound abrasive more than anything.

"Yes, are you feeling alright, Korie?" Evian rubbed his chin, observing her thoughtfully.

Pausing, Korie looked over at Grey, giving him a long, blank stare. While Evian said the usual stuff — something about how amazing he was, and something about how Korie was overreacting — Grey seemed to be trying to express genuine concern. At least, that’s what his words seem like, Korie thought, looking into the black-haired boy’s equally blank eyes. But then again, he could just be kidding around. Great poker face, this one.

“I’m fine, Grey. Evian just has a special knack for brushing me the wrong way,” she said, shrugging. “Guess that’s one of his many talents — or only. Thanks for asking, though. Tell me — how did you come to travel with the likes of Evian, of all people?”

Not known to them, Grey's Squirtle had actually popped out of its pokeball a while ago. When it happened or how it happened, it was unclear. While the place they were in was crowded, and the little blue turtle had not gone unnoticed by the patrons, most of them just pointed and laughed, thinking nothing of it. It was a clear night, the food was good, and no one was really bothered by a harmless squirtle going around.

Until the shelled pokemon wandered into the kitchen. There, a myriad of enticing aromas wafted around him, so thick and delicious, he felt himself sticking out his tongue just to try and taste the air. Shuffling shoes and clacking heels passed by him, but he was just deft enough to avoid them. He was a pokemon, and these human feet seemed to be slow moving compared to what he had faced in battle. Right now however, he felt more fired up than he had ever in any combat. Because food! A huge chilled bowl of berries caught his attention; they were on the island that sat in the middle of the large kitchen. Wasting no time, he jumped up and dived in.

At Korie's question to Grey, the two boys eyes flickered to each other and met briefly. Evian only careened his head slightly, a smile on his face, which didn't tell Grey anything. He reached up and started twisting his ashy brown hair, pulling a face. He was feeling a little conflicted and uncomfortable. He was now about sure that Korie was upset, but he also felt sure that Evian did nothing wrong. Yet he also felt like something was missing in this whole equation, so his assumptions were probably still incorrect. This was giving him a headache.

How was he supposed to answer this question anyways? It felt like a trap. Telling Korie his feelings seemed like a terrible idea, not that he wanted to. Nor did he want to bring attention to the fact that he'd spent a good chunk of time shopping just to see her because it was embarrassing to admit so much effort. He wasn't much of a talker in the first place, and not only because he was shy. He could barely muster talking to his parents either, even though he loved them and was comfortable around them. So he came up with the most succint, honest answer he could. "Too much to explain, it's not important." It definitely came off as dismissive. Rude, even.

But before any of that could even be registered, an angry and thunderous shouting was heard. The clashing and clanging of pots and pans, muffled exclamations of surprise from the back, and then the swinging door to the back flung open, a jet of water bursting out from behind it.

What the hell? Evian thought. Luckily there were no customers in the (what appeared to be) water gun's target; it only left a huge, unattractive wet mark on the wall though, narrowly missing some folks and a bewildered waiter who had spilled the food he was trying to deliver on the floor.

"WHOSE SQUIRTLE IS THIS!" A beefy man with a bandana and a gold name tag came out. "THIS IS A NO POKEMON ESTABLISHMENT!" He was running to catch the bright blue little fellow, but Squirtle managed to scramble through and find his trainer. It was easy, considering his trainer was a taller than most people type human. He loomed over practically everyone.

"Squirtle?" Grey blinked, not properly registering what was going on. Squirtle clung to the leg of Grey's jeans, a 'I did something bad' look on his face.

"YOU THREE! Which one of you's responsible for that pokemon?! You know we could get a healthcare violation for this? Cops are on their way, you all stay the hell put!" The manager growled, coming in hot. "That one's already caused property damage!"

"Run," Evian hissed.

But they hadn't paid, Grey thought, yet he was soon whirled out the door, and into the night, Squirtle barely hanging on but a now gleeful look on his face.