Luckily they were able to find a ride across without too much trouble. The town they traveled through was rather unique compared to Dawkin's admittedly limited experience and quite interesting to watch. Soon enough they arrived at the Pokémon Center and they both quickly healed their Pokémon, observing Cathia's head start and subsequent avoidance of them. "I see." Dawkin said in response to Martin. "I'll definitely be doing some training as well, with perhaps a bit of exploring of my own." With that they parted ways. Dawkin remained in the Pokémon Center for a bit as he considered what to do next. Currently... He wanted to talk to the locals and find some things out. If there were any famous myths, learn something about the gym, perhaps pick up a trainer trick or two.

Action: Talk.

---

@Joshua Tamashii

Lorette bid her farewell and wandered back to her Gym, and some on the way saw her and greeted her happily. Lorette gave them small waves, as Ledian followed her. From how the people greeted her, seemed like she had a pretty positive reputation. A couple of trainers seemed to take note that she had returned, and started heading for her Gym as well.

In the maket of Highhill Town she bought herself 9 more Pokéballs, coming out at 1800 P. Add an umbrella for 50 P there, and that’s a total of 1850 P for all she was buying in town. Now, moving on.

So, Amelia headed for the Pokémon Center to get her Pokémon cared for.



Then, Amelia went to the map in the Pokémon Center, which did have the routes marked. Route 16 is the ocean route between Raremine Town and Witchpeak City.



That aside. Amelia wandered back to Route 3, now with a new umbrella, and a new intention in mind. She was to seek out the trainers of the route, and battle them for experience.

This had a slight risk, however. With wild Pokémon, one could be pretty sure that you could defeat the Pokémon, and even if you couldn’t, you could always just run away. That did not apply to trainer battles. If the opponent turned out to be stronger than expected, then you’re out of luck. The risk of defeat hung high.

However, Amelia had an innate advantage. Her preference for the Ghost-type meant many of the trainers she’d fight didn’t yet have the means to handle her Pokémon, as most trainers on the route would be new trainers recently embarked from Pureplain City. Mostly. Now then.



Amelia first approached what appeared to be a female trainer heading north to south with a determined expression. Or maybe she didn’t, but either way, she might be startled as the girl pointed her out, first!



‘I travelled through Wet Caverns, through Route 5 and 4 and back around Dragon Lake to here collecting Pokémon but avoiding trainers because I was afraid of losing! But now, I’m ready! You, little girl! Be proud, you’ll be the first trainer ever to be defeated by the future Pokémon Champion!’

Lass Audrey wants to battle!



Next one would be a little boy. He recently came out of Highhill Town on his own, under a little umbrella, and looked a bit uncomfortable in the rain, yet determined to press through. As a Pokémon trainer, he could be targetted for battle.



‘E-eh? Y-you want to battle? … … _{She’s a bit creepy, but…} O-okay! Let’s do it!’

Youngster Kale wants to battle!



Then there was a lady that is… dancing? She’s dancing in the rain, humming, carrying around a parasol. She appeared to be a trainer? So…



‘Oooh, look at that cute little umbrella! Dance with me, we’ll be a perfect parasol pair~! … Oh, right, you want to battle. Sure~!’

Parasol Lady Penny wants to battle!



In this particular case, Amelia would be stopped before having time to back to the Pokémon Center, because…

‘Heeeeeeeeey! You!’ Amelia suddenly heard a the voice of a young girl similar in age to herself approaching. Except, dressing way flashier. It was a…



‘I sense it on you… You’ve been to the fairy paradise! That makes me so mad! You have to tell me where it is! … After I’ve beaten you into the ground, because I’m feeling jealous!’

Fairy Tale Girl Celica wants to battle!



Then, there was a young Bug Catcher training against the wild Pokémon. While he looked busy with that, he was more than eager to get into a Pokémon battle!



‘I’m training to challenge Lorette, the Bug-type Gym Leader, with my own bug Pokémon! I must do my best to impress my senior bug-type lover…!’

Bug Catcher Greg wants to battle!



Finally, there was a lady walking about with a Shroomish on her side, seemingly enjoying having the supposedly toxic spores it releases circling her. Er. Well, Amelia still could challenge her?



‘Ooooh? You want to fight? Tihi… Alright, but I’m warning you. I’m pretty strong~!’

Aroma Lady Everitte wants to battle!



__________________________

@Rune_Alchemist

‘Wa-!’ Anise was somewhat startled by suddenly being swept into a hug, and may have blushed a bit in embarrassment at the kiss on her cheek. ‘Ah- y-yeah, you did!’ She did manage to make a smile, trying to both pat Claire on the shoulder and gently push her off with the other hand.

There were smiles all around as the inhabitants of the Gym congratulated her on her victory while she was cheering with her Pokémon and seeing Del evolve, meanwhile…

‘Oh, geesh, boss. Can we try not destroying the Gym in every battle? Or, like, getting a better Gym?’ A Battle Girl asked overlooking the damages.

‘Ya know we can’t afford a better Gym, we’re always paying to repair this one!’ A Black Belt commented, grinning.

‘Yeah, I know, but maybe we, like… shouldn’t?’ She retorted.

‘Isn’t the destruction part of the charm by now?’ The Black Belt chuckled and went about his business.

‘Yeah, sure, but one day that “charm” is going to come tumbling down on our heads…’ … Yeah, that aside.

‘HAHAHAHA…!’ Hector was still laughing, and was joined by the Machamp and Pangoro on each side of him. Clearly, those two were ACTUALLY his, and they looked pleased with the battle as it was. ‘Sure, Claire! You’re welcome in my Gym at any time!’ He looked happy enough.

Anise, in the meantime, went to get her Froakie and Meditite, telling them that they did a good job. They got experience for that battle, too, so she gained something as well. Returning those to their Pokéballs, it was about here where Claire called her name again, and Anise turned to look.

‘Alright. I’ll call you a bit later, then.’ Anise affirmed, still a little embarrassed, but acknowledging Claire’s words. She may or may not have gotten a couple of stares from others in the Gym. Anyways. Then Claire was off.

She found the Pokémon Center distinctly Yvonne-less. But she could heal her Pokémon.



Now, then. Redcoast City lies open for her once again. Where to now?

Yvonne’s probably somewhere contest-related. … Oh, and there appears to be a group of white-clad individuals moving back to their base right now. Huh.





Connected areas:
Route 11. A semi-populated road east under heavy rainfall, where it quickly reaches a steep climb towards Rainrock. Abandoned buildings on the south side facing Silent Forest.
Route 15. A simple walk down to the beach, where the sea leads on towards the Sacred Grounds.



__________________________

@Pyromaniacwolf

The particular Carvanha on the oar would not give up, even when he started batting it at the water, glaring at him while biting down harder. As for hitting other piranha, they were very hard to hit while underwater. Lucky the flock of Carvanha started investing in jumping out of the water to attack the residents of the boat, then! … Or wait.

Houndour came out and gave a first Growl, lowering the attack of the whole pack, but upon him doing that, the piranha Pokémon seemingly identified him as a threat and started jumping out of the water to jump at him to attack. Now, he doesn’t actually know any physical attacks, but as this is hardly a regular Pokémon battle the logic of biting them off holds. But, there were quite a few of them-

‘D-duuuuck…!’ With the assumption that Lucian hadn’t just left him behind, Ducklett soared forth and delivered a Wing Attack at the incoming piranha, standing at the edge of the boat and waving wings back and forth. Turns out, most the Carvanha were pretty low level, so he could handle it…

‘Lett? … DUUUUUCK…!’ … And this is about the time the ability Rough Skin made itself known, as Ducklett flinched back from the damage done to his wings, and Houndour would also suffer a little damage from those he bit back.

Though, the Carvanha were starting to realize they probably weren’t getting any food from this and were likely going to be beat up. However, notably the one on Lucian’s oar was, like, “ya think I’ll be lettin’ ya go just with this? ya wish!” and stubbornly held on. Huh.

__________________________

@Pikmin Eye

So, the streets of Lakewatch Town are pretty active, there’s somewhat of a tourist center where there’s a bunch of shops and such. Apparently, the town being on-water somewhat sells it, and they need some way of bringing people here because there’s little reason for others to do so, and the main way in would be by boat from Highhill Town if you’re not a Pokémon Trainer. Anyways, moving on, Martin wandered… and wandered… and ended up…

Wait. Hold on. Where did he wander now? Suddenly he may have realized the surroundings wasn’t nearly as bustling with activity, the buildings were way closer throwing huge shadows over the alleys he now ventured inside, and everything lost… a lot of colour. And that’s not just the literal colour, the atmosphere felt like it had lost colour.



__________________________

@Pirouette

Joshua and Ewan were also kind of stunned by this.

‘Woah. That’s a character.’ Joshua smirked, apparently amused.

‘… How did he use an Escape Rope here? It’s a house, Escape Rope should bring you to the exit of a cavern, but he used it to be pulled deeper in? I… hm.’ Ewan considered.

Then Erika announced her intentions to accept the trial.

‘Yeah! Like we’d let an adventure like this pass us by! Let’s see it!’ Joshua smirked with excitement. ‘And if it comes to it, we’ll protect our fair maiden from whatever dangers this trial might pose to her! Right, Ewan!?’

‘… Right.’ Now, he probably WOULD protect her if she was in danger, but Ewan’s reply was kind of not taking Joshua seriously. ‘In any case, it should be interesting to see what this trial contains. Everything’s an experience.’

‘There we have it! Onwards!’ Joshua approved of Ewan’s reply, and onwards.

So, Erika entered the cavern before her…

‘This cave was sculpted out by Pokémon.’ Ewan analyzes, running a hand along the smooth wall. Indeed, it was too perfect to be a natural cavern. That, or someone had smoothed it out. Regardless. The sounds of wind came closer and closer, until they arrived into a larger room.

‘Pidgeooootto…!’ And the absolutely first thing that happens is a bird playfully blowing wind in their faces likely making them have to cover themselves.





The room is a cavern-room, with platforms of rock sticking out of a lake of water a couple meters down. Not lethally far down, but it may still hurt to fall. Also, you’re in a part of the Mt. Chill range, that water can’t be very hot. There are ladders out of the water on the far left and right. Now, those platforms don’t look terribly hard to traverse… But there are Pidgeottos sitting across the room on spires sticking out of the water, occasionally blowing Whirlwinds onto the platforms, turning their heads a bit and looking pleased with themselves.

The Pidgeotto right in front of them, after having blown some wind in their faces, then relaxes its wings and sits smugly, on top of a sign.

“Welcome to the Flying Trial! The birds in here are only allowed to use Whirlwind, use your Pokémon and brave their wild gusts! Oh, and the Pidgeot will make his rounds every two minutes. Gotta go fast!”

On cue.

‘PIDGEOOOOT…!’ Suddenly a powerful force flew through the room, perfectly following the path a hopeful trail-goer would have to go, almost too quickly to follow with the eyes as it soared through, shooting a powerful air around it as it flew that most certainly would throw the unsupported off the platforms. It then settled in the far end of the room, also looking towards the newcomers with a seemingly pleased look.







The three Pidgeottos in the back were not Whirlwinding, they were simply sitting on their spires and looking pleased. They were likely simply waiting for them to get closer.

On the left was a platform with a Pidgeotto sitting on it. On it was… a scroll? It’s purpose was unclear.

In the far end of the room was the door, the exit. And if that was even the slightest unclear, there was a flashing purple neon sign over it saying “EXIT, TRAIL MASTER THROUGH HERE”. Huh.

Okay. … Would Erika attempt the trial? And if so, how?

__________________________

@Eklispe

Soooo. Talking to people. Be it inside or outside the Pokémon Center, the inhabitants of Lakewatch Town are a lively and talkative bunch, not much effort was needed to get their tongues wagging.

‘Lakewatch’s, like, WAAAY out of the way! To get here you need to go through either Wet Caverns, Vast Plains or Stillwood Village! And, like, NOBODY but Pokémon Trainers has reason to do that! … As a result, most people in Lakewatch become Pokémon Trainers ourselves and explore the world, gaining a wealth of knowledge in turn! Wanna make use of it, just head over to the Explorer’s Guide Service!’ … Oh, this guy was actually living advertisement standing in the Pokémon Center.
‘Lakewatch Town’s home to the Lakewatchers, our team of dragon protectors that patrol the Dragon Lake and hunt off those wishing to hunt them! They’re led by our very own Gym Leader, Lesley! Team Amethyst will claim no more dragons while the hunter of dragon hunters is in charge!’
‘… So, Lesley, “Dragon Watcher” of Lakewatch, is a Dragon-type specialist and a Major League Gym Leader. Wouldn’t recommend you to try challenging her unless you’ve already beaten the Minor League. Hey, both Stillwood Village and Raremine Town have Minor Gyms. Why don’t you start there?’
‘Hey, you know how there’s super-old mystical-seeming rocks in Highhill Town everyone’s interested in? Well, Lakewatch Town’s got some too! They’re just underwater, under the Descent Tower. We’re not sure what to make of them. They’re not exactly easy to research down there either. Wonder what they are?’
‘To get to Raremine Town from here you need to cross Route 6, also known as the Vast Plains. Now, the wildlife there is, how should I say? Very wild. You may want to consider hiring an expert from the Explorer’s Guide Service to show you how to get through without being charged by a horde of Tauros. There’s a reason why people generally travel to Worldedge City and then just go south to get to Raremine Town.’
‘You know, the main entrance to Cooldome City’s the eastern Tunnel, but you can go through the Frozen Cavern, too! In fact, Frozen Cavern can be a lot more fun, there’s a bunch of ancient things frozen into the ice in that cave if you start digging! Stones and fossils and the like! … Just make sure you don’t end up frozen by a Glalie! Haha!’
‘Endless Forest… No matter how you try to enter it, from the sky, main entrance, north, south, west, east, from below… You’ll always end up on the same road. It’s impossible not to get lost. That place messes with your mind, and is a great mystery. But, supposedly, someone in Stillwood Village could find the way…’
‘… … … … … … … … … …’

Something’s suddenly pressed onto his chest. The stranger who did it wore a green hood and swiftly slid into out, then ran for a back alley, and out of view. The item pressed into Dawkin’s chest was… an envelope. If Dawkin opened it…



Dawkin is currently in Lakewatch Town.



Connected areas:
Wet Caverns. Water-filled caverns that are located to the east. There’s a small hill to climb to get to the entrance.
Route 5. The main exit of Lakewatch, leading to a grassy incline connecting mountains, forests and plains.
Route 14. The waters of Dragon Lake are also known as Route 14. It connects Lakewatch Town, Highhill Town and Stillwood Village.

Lucian grinned at the stubborn Carvanha still clamping onto his oar as he lifted it and landed it into the canoe, hopefully with the fish still attached. Lucian gestured for houndour to attack the lone Carvanha now the rest of it's gang was beginning to back off "Use ember. Wait. Er, actually don't do that I'm not sure if the inside of this canoe is as resistant as the outside..Ducklett? Would you care to attack this fish instead? Houndour just try to keep any more of them at bay" As Lucian gave the order he reached into his pockets to retrieve a pokeball with one hand (keeping the other firmly held onto the oar, he didn't think the Carvanha would surrender even out of the water) and waited for Ducklett to attack before throwing it. Surely being shook around,being out of the water and attacked will be enough to exhaust him?

@Pyromaniacwolf

The Carvanha blinked a bit in realization as it was placed within the boat, but held tight to the oar, glaring forward. Maybe realizing that perhaps stubbornness wasn’t the best option when it was literally a fish out of water.

Houndour was able to repel the rest of the gang for now, mostly the remnants were targeting him, allowing him to bark and bit them off. Meanwhile, Ducklett got the command to strike.

‘… Leeeeett?’ Ducklett looked back with a look of “do I have to…?” when Lucian gave the suggestion, but regardless jumped forward at the Carvanha which was blinking in realization. The sound of Ducklett’s Wing Attack striking hard at the Carvanha, damaging the low-defense Pokémon considerably.

Though, this caused the Carvanha to let go of the oar and jump at Ducklett.

‘CARVACARVACARVA-!’ The fish’s teeth-shaped mouth opened and closed with fearsome ferocity as it went after Ducklett.

‘DUUUUUCK…!’ The duck cried out in frank terror and braced for immediate painful chomping.

However, before getting to bite at Ducklett, the piranha Pokémon was struck in mid-air by Lucian’s Pokéball, which then came down bouncing onto the floor of the boat, Ducklett sitting with closed eyes shivering with a wing protecting his face for the bite than never came.

‘… Lett?’ It eventually asked, peeking out.

It rolled once…

Dawkin paused a moment to help digest the information he'd accumulated. He might visit the Gym to see if he could watch a battle to get a feel for the Gym Leader's strength but he wouldn't be fighting her. He'd probably want to aim to visit a town with a minor gym so he could start getting badges, but he would need to work on his team first. Dawkin felt like the ice caverns might have something he wanted but it'd be best to visit the Explorer's Guide Service to check before heading there. Of course the Endless Forest also held potential but- "Huh?" Dawkin was broken out of his thoughts by something being pressed against him which he reflexively grabbed to keep from falling. He looked down at it puzzled before glancing up to see the tail-end of a green hood flitting out of sight. No way he'd be catching that.

Curious, he naturally opened up the letter and read it, a chill going down his spine upon seeing the contents. This... had they actually taken him seriously? Or was this just a threat, if he didn't do this he'd run into trouble? Either way... Even a third of 15,000 P was a bit, as well as getting on the good side of Team Amethyst. Like the first offer, this wasn't anything illegal. Dawkin pressed his fingers lightly against his temple in thought. He would be going alone Route 5 anyway. Well... Time to get some more information. Dawkin decided he would head to the Explorer's Guide Service to see if they could tell him what Pokémon to expect along Route 5, the Ice Caverns, and in the Endless Forest. And maybe if they a thing or two about Pichus.

Action: Get MOAR information.

---

It would not take Amelia very long to find an opponent to battle against. She had just been walking along when another, older girl challenged her, the girl's attitude saying she held herself in high regard. Preparing for a possible challenge, the Lass sent out a Geodude while Amelia sent out Pumpkaboo. Fearing that Geodude might know a Rock-Type move, she had Pumpkaboo use Trick-or-Treat to make the enemy a ghost-type before waiting for an opening to attack. When it became apparent that Geodude didn't know anything that could hit Pumpkaboo it was simply Confuse Ray and Astonish until the Rock was down and out for the count. The next opponent was a Pidgey and Amelia chose Driffloon to make it an aerial battle. It became apparent that Pidgey didn't know anything to harm Driffloon, so Amelia would have Driffloon Constrict the Bird pokemon until it couldn't go any further, more then willing to deal with a little lost accuracy, though she had Driffloon try to fly above the sand that Pidgey swept up. Her finally opponent this round was an Oddish and she sent out Lickwick to deal with this one, using Fire Spin to trap it and Ember to damage it further. She saw the difference in power that the rain caused in concerns to Fire moves and made a mental note of that.

The next trainer she encountered was a young boy, who seemed nervous to face her but still did so, causing her to give him a kind smile as the battle began. The first pokemon out for this boy was a Rattata and she rewarded him fighting his fears by using Phantump, having the shiny little tree spirit tackle the rat to the point that it lost consciousness. The next opponent was an Ekans and Amelia had Shuppet handle this one, battering it with Night Shades from a distance while doing her best to stay out of Poison Stings range, even if it was only half effective. She didn't want to risk that poison. The final opponent was a touch one in the form of a Growlithe, though she sent out Pumpkaboo, once again opening with Trick-or-Treat, then using Scary Face to slow Growlithe down until Pumpkaboo was getting a little weak. that that point, she would call it back and send out Phantump to use Astonish against the now Dual Ghost/Fire type. She would keep this up until it was finished or switch to Litwick and use Astonish and Smog until she won if it looked like Phantump might get knocked out or it got burned.

She would then return to the pokemon center before heading out again. The first trainer she came across this time was a woman who was actually using a parasol like a normal person for the rainy weather and a battle quickly commenced. Her opponent's first pokemon, a Lilpup, didn't worry her and she sent out Litwick to deal with it. When it was revealed that Lilpup her Oder Sleuthe, she was worried a bit but had Litwick stick to using Smog, Fire Spin, and Ember for a long range battle while using Minimize to help with dodging. Her opponent's next pokemon was a tricky Water-Type, so she used Phantump again to try and take it down with a combo of Confuse Ray and Astonish. The final pokemon was her trickiest opponent thus far, a Castform. She would initially send out Driffloon for fight it, but a single powder snow was cause to call back her friend and send out Shuppet to Night Shade the Weather Pokémon to unconsciousness. She would continue to switch out pokemon as needed and if she managed to win without losing anyone, she would use her potion and oran berries to heal up her team just incase before attempting to return to the pokemon center.

She would be interrupted by another girl though, who seemed angry at her for some reason and decided to battle her. having no choice, Amelia sent out Pumpkaboo first, but when it was put to sleep, she would send out Shuppet, if it wasn't knocked out and who could counter Sing with it's Insomnia ability. If it was knocked out though, she would just wait for the sleep to wear off before resuming. The next opponent, a Flabébé, would be met with Litwick, who would use Smog to knock it out while taking half damage from Fairy Wind. Minimize would be used to make dodging easier. When the final pokemon, a Jigglypuff, was sent out, she would use Driffloon and once she confirmed that sleep was more an inconvienence then an actual threat, she would have Driffloon Constrict the Jigglypuff to it's own sleep.

After healing up again, she sent out on the route, this time coming across a boy with a net. Apparently he was a fan of Lorette and Amelia hoped the best for him in his endeavor to impress the gym leader in her head. When the battle started, she would use Pumpkaboo again, having it give Surskit the Ghost-typing through Trick-or-Treat and attempting to confuse it with Confuse Ray while using Astonish for super-effective damage. She was really wishing she had more long ranged moves that could actually deal damage at this point, as it was a major short coming of her team sans Litwick and Shuppet. If she needed to, in order to finish off the Surskit, she would switch Pumpkaboo out for Phantump. When Spinarak was sent out, she switch to Driffloon and used it's ability to fly and stay out of range of Poison Sting while using Minimize to make it even harder to hit. Once Driffloon couldn't shrink any further, she had it use multiple astonishes to finish off the spider. If things went South at any point, she would send out Litwick. It would come down to Ember and Fire Spin again, but she also used Ember to burn away any String Shots heading her way and hopefully things would work out better then they had with Driffloon. The boy's last pokemon, a Ledyba, turned out to be more of a nuisance then a threat, only being a threat due to confusing. This resulted in her switching between Shuppet and Litwick to knock it out with multiple long ranged attacks. If Liwick got poisoned during the fight with Spinarak, she would use Phantump in it's place.

Depending seeing as that was likely a tough battle, she would return to the pokemon center once more before setting out to find one last trainer. It would seem her last opponent for the day was an older woman who seemed to be... enjoying her Shroomish a little too much. Once the battle started and Amelia saw her first opponent was a Bellsprout, so she sent out Phantump to deal with it with Confuse Ray, followed up with Tackles and Astonishes. When the Shroomish was sent into the battle, Amelia sent in Litwick, using Ember to burn away Stun Spore as well as attack the little mushroom, and Fire Spin to trap it and damage it. She would attempt to do the same thing against Roselia, but if Litwick became too weak, she would switch him out for Shuppet, then Pumpkaboo if need be.

@PlatinumSkink@Pirouette

---

Claire kept a brisk, upbeat walk as she moved to the Pokemon center. Absolutely nothing could ruin her mood right now. As the proud owner of a shiny new badge she was feeling fantastic. She was a little sweaty and probably looked like a bit of a mess since she had been going pretty much ever since she left home, but she could freshen up a little bit at Dreamer Studios. Oh right! She should call Erika about her victory! As she handed her pokemon to Nurse joy for healing, she fished her pokedex from her bag and dialed the other girl. If she wasn't too busy and answered, Claire would go on and happily and loudly proclaim her triumph at the Redcoast gym until Erika either hung up or said bye herself.

Regardless - as soon as her pokemon were healed she walked out of the Pokecenter. Yvonne was probably either at Dreamer Studios or the Contest hall. Her trip was only momentarily interrupted by a group of white clad people marching back to their base. Team Virtue most likely. Wooow, what a buncha nerds, heh. If your gonna wear a uniform, it should at least be fashionable. Not that she paid them much mind. The redhead kept her usual energetic pace as she eventually found her way to Dreamer Studios.

"Whew!" She laughed loudly to herself. "Man, I'm still pumped from that battle." Ralia cried in an affirmative sounding manner from where she was sitting on Claire's shoulder. "OOf, they better have somewhere I can freshen up here. I got the smell of hard work and perseverance all over me. Ya see Yvonne anywhere, Ralia?" The two gave a cursory look over the Studio, seeing if they could spot the other girl.

If they couldn't, they'd move on to the actual contest hall instead.

Martin was shaken out of his thoughts by how dark it got, among a few obvious reasons. He looked around at the scenery, or lack of it. There was a lot of things going on back here, not that he was surprised. Always a back alley full of the shady types. The warehouse stood out as an interesting place. What would be so important that it needed a key card? Even if he wanted to check the place out, he didn't have one, so it wasn't happening, yet. He looked at the other spots and considered if it was a good idea to explore this place. He wasn't ready for a fight in a place like this, so it would be best to forget about this place.

"Ah, how did I get here? Ha ha, time to go back, Nincada." Martin wasn't expecting a reply from Nincada, who stared blankly at the area. Still, it was better to have someone to talk to. He turned around and walked his way out of the alleys. Snaking, turning routes, trying to remember which paths he took to get back out.

Once he got back out of the alley, it was time to get to what he was really looking forward to. Training a bit, and getting Goldeen stronger. Having a solid Water type was his original plan to fighting Fire types. So he went back out to the available boats to head out to where he spotted Pokemon earlier. He called Nincada back, and tossed out Goldeen, who enjoyed the water. Supersonic and Peck was all he needed to train with.

Action: Exit the back alley
Action 2: Go training with Goldeen.

❄Erika Olson❄

---

---

The following room and the corresponding challenge proved to be quite interesting. From the unnatural man-made cavern of the Flying Challenge to the evovled Pidgeotto and the timed Pidgeot, there was a lot to take in. Unfortunately not a lot of time, as a playful gust from the nearby roosting Pidgeotto forced Erika to turn away, reminding her to get her butt moving.

Erika hurried over to the start of the bridge where the three Pidgeottos were now whirlwinding away, creating quite the hazard if Erika tried to cross and not wanting to feel how cold the water was, she didn't try. So trying to think of something else, she thought about Sno, Poli, and Gibs and consider what their strengths were. Maybe Sno could make things cold in this room? No. That wouldn't work as Sno likely had her limit and she probably couldn't drop the temperature of the whole room... Poli didn't have many quirks to help at the moment, besides he was still fairly weak right now... Gibs? Yea, maybe... Wait! That was it!

Calling forth Gibs from his Pokeball, Erika bent down and patted her recent companion on top of his head before pulling back from a sudden playful snap. "Gib, gib." The Gible chattered with satisfaction as he acknowledged Erika before glancing around the room. Erika gave him a moment before returning to her feet and pointing down along the track, having Gibs follow her finger along the elevated stone. "Gibs, I need to you dig a trench on this path so we can crawl along without the wind knocking us off." Erika instructed, going over the plan and reasoning in her head. The idea was similar to the reasoning you would jump in a ditch for a tornado... kind of. The fierce winds should pass over and the walls of the trench would make for great support.

"Dig only as tall as you. You think you can do that, Gibs?" Erika asked, looking down at her Gible. "Gib, gible!" Gible nodded confidently and began working eagerly to dig down before digging along the path in a trench.

With that in process, Erika turned to Joshua and Ewan. "I think we'll be fine if we crawl along in the trench, but what about that scroll? You think we need that or maybe we get a bonus.. I'm just not sure how to get it, unless..." Erika took a moment to consider before coming up with something. "Joshua! You have a Zubat, right? What if I have Gibs throw sand and blind the Pidgeotto that is almost definitely guarding the scroll and you can have Zubat try and retrieve it or at least knock it off into the pedestal?"

Erika's mind was a bit elsewhere at the moment so she didn't notice when her Pokedex went off, indicating a call from her friend, Claire.

@Eklispe

Dawkin could move on from the Pokémon Center, out onto the streets of the partly flooded town that still seemed to be pretty bustling despite this. The main attraction of the town were the tours of Dragon Lake and such, but of course, they had other services. Such as the one he was heading to right now to gather more information.

The Explorer’s Guide Service building itself was but a small dent into a building, a door and windows full of advertisement for the service. Inside was a cozy little store-like room where lots of fliers advertised the accomplishments of several presumably employed individuals while good reviews of their services hung around like newspaper articles, the walls covered by papers, maps of Isson and the likes. By the door stood a sign with some info for a visitor.

“Lakewatch residents live somewhat out of the way, meaning we need to travel to find our callings! On our travels, we have learned a lot! Here we offer our experience for you to use!”

There’s also a map of Lakewatch under the message with a “Our guides live HERE!” showing small arrows pointing at various spots throughout Lakewatch Town. It was vague enough that’d it be somewhat hard to find the person based on it, but with the number of arrows and how spread it was it delivered the message that this was an honest occupation in this town.

And, in the back on a chair behind a desk covered in paperwork and a strange small stone-statue of a Trapinch sat a girl staring at her mobile phone. Though, when Dawkin came in, she lifted her gaze and stared at him, looking at him a little curiously. The girl’s wearing a jacket, hood and a large backpack lies packed on her right. She looks like she’s basically already on a journey.



‘Mmm? Heading somewhere?’ The girl asked in a casual tone, looking over Dawkin as he entered.

Now, a list of the place’s services are listed to the girl’s immediate right.



So. Minor tips about Route 5 and Frozen Cave, as ordered.

‘Ah, you just want to know what you could expect to meet.’ She gave a little smile, putting her phone aside as she leaned forward, her hands grasping together in front of her as she looked at Dawkin. ‘Route 5. There are lots of Oddishes and Deerlings on the route. Look in grass for Scatterbugs and Caterpies. The route hoots with Hoothoots during night, same as Route 4. Look in forests long enough, and you can find small gatherings of forest-dwelling electric Pokémon in both Route 4 and 5, like Pikachu. Careful wandering those forests, though. It’s spring. Sawbucks are more active than in other seasons, and they’re more inclined to attack than Deerlings are.’ She says, smiling a bit. Then…

‘And the Frozen Cave… Dress warmly. That’s a minor tip.’ She giggles a little. ‘Nah, I jest. The most common Pokémon there are Zubats, Swinubs and Delibirds, with the occasional Vanillite. They’re harmless enough, but those slippery caves hold places where you can accidentally slide deeper into the cave without any easy way out. And deep in those caves occasionally prowls Glalies way stronger than the area average, who may sometimes attack without warning. Always enter the cave with Escape Ropes at the ready. But, the cave does hold its own amusing secrets. Like, frozen fossils. Hm, is that still a minor tip? Eh.’ She sighs a little. Then, she regains her smile.

‘That’ll be 100 P. Unless there was anything else?’

@Joshua Tamashii

Audrey gave a little shout of panic when she realized that Amelia was a ghost-type trainer. She tried to improvise by having Geodude grab rocks or sticks to attempt hitting Pumpkaboo. Didn’t work, didn’t know the proper moves. Geodude was swiftly confused and then Astonished over and over until it fainted. With Pidgey, Audrey tried to insist that Sand Attack was an attack that did damage, doing it over and over, but Drifloon could indeed just float over it before Constricting the struggling bird to victory. Then Oddish VS the fire ghost. Wasn’t much the little plant could do, eventually succumbing to the flames after Absorb hadn’t done very much.



‘Gh-ghost types! Lots of ghost-types! That’s chea- not fair!’ Audrey complained, pointing at her angrily before bolting.

Kale made a little sound of amazement at the shiny Phantump, blinking at her. Realizing quickly that Rattata couldn’t do anything, Kale had him Tail Whip until he fainted by the tackles. Okay, now with decreased defense, Ekans could handle her! … Then Kale was stunned when she simply switched to Shuppet for his Ekans. Oh. Okay. However, despite Amelia’s strategy, Ekans was faster and able to sting Shuppet a couple of times, resulting in Poison. But, Night Shade did more overall damage, and Ekans fainted. However, then came Growlithe, who Kale was visibly excited to get into the game.

Pumpkaboo was able to both Trick-or-Treat and Scary Face, slowing Growlithe down and making him a Ghost-type, but Growlithe Embered right back when it no longer could catch up to Bite. Two Embers would have been it, hadn’t it been for the rain. Amelia switched to Phantump. Getting close to Astonish meant Growlithe could counter with Bite. Growlithe on average did more damage, making it so that Amelia eventually had to switch to Litwick. When Litwick came out, however, Growlithe had taken enough damage that Litwick could finish the job with Smog until Growlithe came too close and then Astonish to finish the job.



‘Ooooh… I lost…’ Kale looked a little sad, he had gotten excited that he could win during the last part with Growlithe. ‘But, well fought! … You need to focus on more than one type, though. What if I had a whole team of Growlithes?’ He chuckled a little. He seemed to have overcome his fears during the battle. Anyways. He could head on, then Amelia could go back to the Pokémon Center.



Then, against Penny’s Lillipup. Despite Minimize, Lillipup managed to get a Critical Hit on Litwick during the battle, but otherwise managed to keep the puppy Pokémon on a distance with Smogs and Embers. By the end of it, by Odor Sleuth, Lillipup did a last-chance charge and managed to hit again before fainting, but Litwick was quite damaged. Phantump VS Tympole became a battle of confusion-shots, as both confused the other. However, Phantump was more fortunate than Tympole, shaking off confusion with only minor damage and could then Astonish the opposing Pokémon that was knocking itself into the fence trying to overcome confusion.

Castform became a different story, though. She’d use Powder Snow against Drifloon first, meaning Drifloon was damaged and had to be switched out, then the empowered Water Gun did more damage in average against Shuppet’s Night Shades. Now, Amelia was at a bit of a disadvantage as all her Pokémon except Shuppet were weak against a move of Castform’s, but Shuppet had done enough damage that she could switch to Phantump and then to Pumpkaboo (in any of those orders) to then finish off the weather Pokémon with one attack each.

_{… … … … Um. Using that, a battle with a certain bug might turn out differently. XD}

‘Oh, my. You’re good even under pressure, huh. So, that over, shall we take a walk and marvel at this wondrous weather together?’ Penny smiled happily. Amelia probably had to excuse herself forcefully to get away from the woman.

Though, before she could get anywhere, there was Celica.

Pumpkaboo came out but was eventually put to sleep by Skitty. Insomnia turned out pretty useful as Shuppet could finish the job with Knock-Off. However, Litwick had been considerably damaged against Penny’s Lillipup earlier when it was time to battle Flabébé. Smog blew through Fairy Wind, the poison somehow dispelling the magical element of the wind. It managed to blow onto Flabébé, and poisoned the fairy. Flabébé did, however, manage to maneuver to Fairy Wind from other directions, and Amelia had to switch Pokémon or Litwick would faint from collective damage from both fights. But, she could switch around a bit between her plant-ghosts or Drifloon and Flabébé eventually fainted on its own by poison. Then Jigglypuff. … Constricted to fainting whenever Drifloon wasn’t asleep from the singing.



‘Aaaaaah…’ The Fairy Tale Girl seemed rather upset with this, and was pouting. ‘Ooouuugh… I want to meet a Ralts, too…’ She complained.



Then, meeting Greg. In Surskit VS Pumpkaboo, despite its superior speed Surskit could only attack the pumpkin ghost with the Not-Very-Effective Bubble. A Trick-or-Treat and a Confuse Ray later, Pumpkaboo simply had to wait until Surskit accidently ran itself into a tree before Astonishing it to its defeat. Still, he took quite a bit of bubbles before that, hadn’t he been grass-type it could have been dangerous. Against Spinarak, Drifloon attempted to minimize to then attack… and it didn’t work as intended, because Spinarak hit with String Shot anyway and Drifloon was caught in the web, and after that Minimize didn’t help much. Spinarak could climb his own web to Poison Sting and Drifloon was poisoned. Drifloon would not be able to win this battle, so Amelia will need to switch strategy. Well, she had just tried to beat a spider by becoming a fly, soooo…

Litwick fared way better against Spinarak, burning the attempts for the bug to get close and setting the spider on fire, managing to Burn his opponent. Spinarak fainted easily after that without much trouble. Ledyba was a cakewalk after, switching between Shuppet and Litwick made Supersonic useless and the ladybug was eventually eliminated by Embers and Night Shades.



‘Ouch. Wow. This proves I have to become stronger before I fight Lorette! Thank you for battling me!’ Greg says, before returning his Pokémon and then turning to get them to the Pokémon Center while Amelia could move on.

Thereafter, against Everitte.

Phantump was able to fairly easily handle Bellsprout, taking the Vine Whips and confusing the target before finishing it with impacts that did a bit more damage than the Vine Whips plus that Bellsprout occasionally hurt itself. Shroomish completely failed to either paralyze or do anything against Litwick, becoming surrounded by fire and fainting quickly, unable to do much damage. Roselia seemed to be a more experienced Pokémon, however, and managed to paralyze Litwick with Stun Spore, get close and Poison Sting continuously after that. But, Litwick wasn’t so helpless that he couldn’t get quite a bit of fire-damage in, if it hadn’t been for the rain he could have won this one on his own. But, Shuppet came out against a heavily damaged Roselia, and was able to finish the job after that.



‘Oooh, okay. You’re pretty strong too. Hey, won’t you take this?’



‘It smells good, and can boost a Grass-Pokémon’s moves when held~!’ She mused, and then kept walking, looking happy with herself.

That done, Amelia had now trained her Pokémon to level 10 collectively, and she was now on Route 3.



Close to Highhill Town.



__________________________

@Rune_Alchemist

The street that houses both the Contest Hall and the Dreamer Studios was a busy market street. If you wanted to buy yourselves a new set of clothes, bags, accessories or anything else you could imagine buying in the midst of a busy street in a city named after its coastline. So, there was the Normal-rank Contest Hall, a spherical building with a bright-colored theme, and the Dreamer Studios…

The Dreamer Studios building is a large, purple building that was being run by a certain Madame Melaina. It was colorful, with flowers and posters and all the manner of things. There was a rush of young “dreamers” seeking to impress the staff of the studios to show them that they in specific was worthy of attention.

The deal of the Dreamer Studios was pretty simple. You wanted to do contests but couldn’t be bothered with all the effort that came with it? Were you talented enough to SKIP all of that? Well, it was possible! If you were sponsored by Dreamer Studios, you could have all the accessories you desire, they could obtain for you the Pokémon you want, and you could get training in doing your appeals to the crowd. In return, all you have to do is PERFORM, become famous, become marketable enough to sell merchandise. Simple enough, hm? So if you’re not winning, Dreamer Studios lose their reason to sponsor you.

However, you don’t find a worthy individual to sponsor without trying out a whole lot of them. A look inside made it clear they were holding classes for people who wanted to make themselves and their Pokémon look good, as well as provided the means with which amateurs could make their own promotional videos to show off if they ever made it to stardom. There was also a stage where people were holding practice contests and the like… Yeah, Claire could see the things they were offering here and decide for herself if this was worthy of her or not.



However, no sign of an Yvonne. Moving on to the actual contests, then?

The Normal-Rank Contest Hall was a big, spherical building that was located on the market street. It didn’t exactly stick out particularly, but regardless here was where the most people on the street flocked to. Within, there were five different smaller stages that were each in their own separate rooms all connected to a central hub in the centre of the sphere where the receptionists were. There were statues of Pokémon standing around, a representative for each Conditions. Machop for Tough. Skitty for Cute. Vulpix for Beautiful. Abra for Clever. Sneasel for Cool. It was all very colorful.

This was Normal-rank, meaning anyone who wanted to could potentially get a spot. However, priorities went for those who had been recommended by the Dreamer Studios. But, persist, and a spot would surely be yours. And… well, there wasn’t any Yvonne here, either. Not in the main area, that is. There were, though, a couple of shows going on right now, and she could be in the audience (or elsewhere) in one. Three shows were going on right now. Cool, Cute and Beautiful, leaving Clever and Tough. But, waiting for it to end was easy enough.

So, what would Claire do?



__________________________

@Pikmin Eye

Okay, this was the wrong street. Martin quickly made his way out of it without any opposition. More like, if anyone saw him they were far more likely to simply nod with the mental impression of that this is how it should be.

Outside, back again in regular Lakewatch Town, Martin embarked onto a canoe and sent out his Goldeen to challenge some Pokémon. The available targets were basically Woopers, Poliwags and Tympoles (with the assumption you’re not stupid enough to take on a Quagsire). Now, their collective counters to enemy attacks were Water Gun, Water Gun and Bubble each, so Goldeen had a fairly easy time swimming up to them and Pecking them with h- (you have not recorded your Pokémon’s gender <seeks back numerous pages to page 18>) -her horn. Even if she did get damaged they could just return to the Pokémon Center if she ever got tired. Soon enough!



That was a few levels and a stronger move learned.



Connected areas:
Wet Caverns. Water-filled caverns that are located to the east. There’s a small hill to climb to get to the entrance.
Route 5. The main exit of Lakewatch, leading to a grassy incline connecting mountains, forests and plains.
Route 14. The waters of Dragon Lake are also known as Route 14. It connects Lakewatch Town, Highhill Town and Stillwood Village.



__________________________

@Pirouette

‘Ooooooooooh, digging a trench. Clever!’ Joshua smirked as Gible started digging. As a Ground-Pokémon skilled at the art of digging, it was working! … Not exactly at lightning speed, but it was working! The Pidgeotto right in front of them stared at them with a look that seemed pretty unimpressed. Then there was the matter of that scroll.

‘Oh, right! Yes!’ Joshua called out at the notice about Zubat and the plan that involved, grabbing a Pokéball and getting it going. ‘C’mon, little friend! Let’s do it!’ As the Pokéball opened, the bat-Pokémon took shape in mid-air.



‘Zbat!’ The bat made a short cry as it emerged, and it was time to make instructions. Meanwhile, Ewan looked to the other two’s choice of plan and took out a Pokéball of his own, throwing it into the floor.





‘Psay-ay-ay?’ Psyduck made a confused noise, coming out here.

‘Duessel doesn’t know any Psychic moves yet. However, he can serve to distract the Pidgeotto as well by shooting water, and can retrieve the scroll if it falls into the water.’ Ewan told, looking to Erika as he told how he could contribute.

So, they had a Gible that was going to dig them a trench to get through the Whirlwinds, and they had Gibs (Gible) and Duessel (Psyduck) distract the Pidgeotto on the left while Zubat went to collect the scroll, and if it fell Duessel could dive to retrieve it. Was this the plan, all as considered?

Hm, quite a bit of information and it seemed that it was all probably accurate from the look of the place. Dawkin shook his head, "No I think that'll be all, thank you for your help." He said, paying her the appropriate 100P before stepping out of the building to continue thinking about his course of action. He had no interest in an Oddish or Deerling, though he might catch one of the caterpillars if he got the chance. He'd probably aim to catch a Hoothoot as well. An electric-type Pokémon would help round out his team so he'd definitely want to enter the forest. _{If there happened to be a Pichu there as well...} The Frozen Caves didn't have any Pokémon that jumped out at him, but it could be used for training and perhaps looking into getting lost treasure like fossils. First though he needed to reward both his Pokémon for their battling and do some more training. Dawkin bought a Pokepuff and managed to collect some scrap metal, then made his way outside the city. He released both his Pokémon, feeding them the appropriate treats. "Good job in that battle you two, we won so we did well. Now we're gonna train so we can keep winning." Atlas was busy munching away and barely seemed to notice but Wooper was slightly more enthusiastic, leaning into it somewhat. Now then, onto training.

Actions: Train

---

@PlatinumSkink

---

That was odd...no Yvonne at all. Claire spent at least more than a few minutes at Dreamer studios looking for her friend. She even went so far as to see if she was in the dressing rooms or already had a sponsor and was doing her thing. It was a good learning experience however - seeing how they worked, at least. So she'd need a sponsor herself, then. Pfft. Like she needed something like that. She was far too skilled and fabulous to need actual training in that. Probably. Chances were good. Still though, no sign of Yvonne...so she moved onto the actual Contest hall.

The normal rank contest hall was just as lively as Dreamer Studios. Honestly? She felt a little intimidated. She had never been inside of a contest hall before, and even if she wasn't really planning on participating just yet she could feel a tiny bit apprehensive. Especially, y'know, since she looked like a hot mess after that gym challenge, heh....yeah, so she spent a few minutes freshening up in the contest hall - mostly combing her hair. She'd take a shower later before she got Anise that date she promised, heh.

Still no sign of Yvonne. That was troubling. Where could she be? Claire gave a small frown to Ralia who simply shrugged in response, giving a small cry of disappointment herself. She supposed she could continue to look for Yvonne, but she also had to get moving. She at least wanted to be on her way to meet up with Erika soon at least. Ugh, maybe she should have exchanged numbers with Yvonne.

Well, might as well take a quick look at the accessory shop outside. Might run into Yvonne outside.

"Alright, lets go take a look at some accessories." Claire said. "Might find Yvonne there...if not, I can at least get all of you a cute little ribbon or something after you all took down that Conkeldurr!"

"Rral!~" Seeming to approve of the idea, Claire exited the Contest hall, heading outside to look at the accessories.

Training was a bit of work with Goldeen. Even knowing he could go back to the Pokestop when things got tough, it didn't make it any easier to battle the wild Pokemon here. As he expected, with enough effort and time. Goldeen was getting stronger, and could handle herself better in a fight. On a side note, Martin was getting a workout of his own using a canoe and paddles. He probably could hitch a ride on Goldeen, but didn't want to try it when he had an easier option to use.

Martin looked back to Goldeen, who enjoyed being out in the water when possible. "Nice job Goldeen, you'll be ready for a fight in no time at this rate." Goldeen gave a short jump out of the water and a flourish of a spin. Martin gave a smile, and put his Pokeball back in his pocket. He didn't have to always keep his team in a Pokeball, and they also enjoyed being out in the open. Now then, he should take a look at where a Gym would be in the area. If he remembered right, this town had a Tour Guide area. With another row back across the water, he headed back into town. Goldeen effortlessly swam alongside him, jumping over his boat once. "Show off." The response he got was a splash of water and a swift dive back under. "So that's how you're gonna be? Ha ha, try harder. I already had to come here soaked in my shoes, what's a splash at this point?" Martin laughed the way back to the town, covered in water. Goldeen was a bit too into splashing him, and he payed for it. He recalled Goldeen, smiling about how he won still.

So many places to go from here, and he didn't have a map, or a clue where to go. He avoided this place on the way to Pureplain, and now needed a bit of help. He planned on asking if there was a Gym nearby. Which Route would get him there. If anyone there has spotted a Slowpoke in the area. He doubted they had all of the answers, but asking couldn't hurt.

Action: Head to the Explorer's Guide Service.

Amelia treated each of her opponents kindly after their battles, thanking them for the match and wishing them luck on their journeys. Except for the first one, who ran away right after the battle ended, calling Amelia a cheater. It wasn't her fault the girl had been at such a type disadvantage though. After accepting the gift from her last opponent and waiting for them to leave, Amelia let out a sigh of relief before returning to Highhill Town and visiting the pokemon center one last time, apologizing to the nurse for taking up so much of her time. Once she got her pokemon back, she exited to pokecenter and walked around town.

She had no particular destination in mind, she was just wondering, hoping to find someone familiar or maybe find a nice place to eat. Maybe both. Her brain was utterly exhausted from the constant strategizing from all the battles she had been in. As she walked, her mind wondered to all that had happened since she had started her journey. She wondered how Joshua was doing since her battle with him and how the Professor was doing. Well, she could always call them she guessed. Though, she was hesitant to call Joshua, though she didn't understand why.

Another person to cross her mind was an older gentleman who had been there and talking in whispers to the Professor. She wondered who he had been and his reason for being there. Was he possibly related to her? It was possible but why had they been talking in whispers? Amelia shook her head to get rid of such thoughts. It wasn't any of her business so she had no point wondering about it. Probably best to just find something to eat, then she could get some sleep before continuing her journey.

❄Erika Olson❄

---

---

"Good call, Ewan. Psyduck could retrieve the scroll once it falls. Alright. Wait for my signal.." Erika confirmed the plan as she waited for Gibs dig into position. That position was around the second Pidgeotto who was blowing a whirlwind towards the scroll and there, Erika would try to enact her plan. "Gibs! Sand-Attack and throw sand up into the whirlwind!" The idea was that while Gibs probably couldn't successfully hit the Pidgeotto guarding the scroll from where he was it, his accuracy reducing attack could be carried by the strong whirlwind, causing a small sort of dust storm to hopefully blind the guardian Pidgeotto. Intentionally, too, Erika realized that Zubat's lack of eyes and guidance by sonar would really play into this plan.

Gibs obliged Erika's command, and threw dirt up from the path into the whirlwind, peppering the scroll area. "Get the scroll, quick!"

@Eklispe

‘Good luck, then.’ The girl simply said after having taken the money before giving him a small wave and then returning to her cell-phone as Dawkin left.

It is possible that Dawkin might see Martin as he passed in to enter the Explorer’s Guide Service.

Anyways, Dawkin decided to train in the waters here…

He’d quickly notice that this is very difficult due to type match-ups. The opponents he’d be fighting were Woopers, Poliwags and Tympoles. They were all water-types with distance-attacks that ensured they never needed to leave the water, meaning Atlas could never hit. This was far from the optimal circumstances to train an Aron in, and Wooper had the problem that she only knew a water-move. Yeah, these aren’t effective training grounds. Try again?



Connected areas:
Wet Caverns. Water-filled caverns that are located to the east. There’s a small hill to climb to get to the entrance.
Route 5. The main exit of Lakewatch, leading to a grassy incline connecting mountains, forests and plains.
Route 14. The waters of Dragon Lake are also known as Route 14. It connects Lakewatch Town, Highhill Town and Stillwood Village.



__________________________

@Rune_Alchemist

So, Claire went for the accessory shop. There was a whole lot of things, rows upon rows for the wannabe coordinators. There were ribbons, hats, wings, flowers, all manner of things…

There are too many to list in a proper shop.
All things for Pokémon to potentially equip for one reason or another on stage.
And if there’s something specific one could want that isn’t in the lists from the games, then a request should probably be possible.
There’s also a whole bunch of clothing. Clothes are Basic, Feminine, Sporty, Classic, Elegant or Exotic… Or, you know, you can just consider what you would want to wear. All such things.

Eventually, Claire might wander past a bunch of posters that had a small crowd in front it. The posters were probably inside the Contest Hall as well, but now we’re showing them off. Because unlike the Pokémon League, these people REALLY wanted to sell who their stars are, with fan-clubs and all. That’s not to say there weren’t super-stars in the league, too, but here it was really shoved in your face. In fact, if you watched TV, it wasn’t impossible that at least the first four faces showed up pretty regularly.

‘Aaah, Valerie… Queen of Contests… Will I ever be able to stand as your equal?’ A dreamer stood drooling before one of the posters.
‘If at the very least, I’d like Valerie to notice me…’ A noticeably blushing young man was saying looking at the poster. Hm.
‘Valerie, one of the five monarchs of Contests, specifically the Cute Queen, but she competes in Master class in all categories… Queen of Contests, indeed. Can we match her?’



Then there were two posters that were hanging side by side. In front of them were a crowd of young girls…

‘Ooooh, Jayce’s so… so… dreamy~!’
‘But, but, Marcus is soooooooo cooooooool…!’
‘Jayce’s charming smile… I-I need to become an excellent coordinator so that I may see it in person one day…!’
‘Eh, Marcus is better… His serious, cool persona will take over the world…!’
‘Marcus is cool indeed, but he’s the Tough Boss, while Jayce’s the Ruler of Cool. Both formidable opponents… Can we do it?’



‘That’s Grace, right? The “Conductor of Spirits”, coordinator from Witchpeak City…’ Some looked at a fourth poster with some apprehension.
‘Yeah, I saw her on TV. She’s pretty amazing. Snatched the position as one of the five monarchs like it was nothing.’
‘She’s so… elegant and mysterious…’
‘A prime example of why not to underestimate challengers, she took the Beautiful category by storm not too long ago… Are there any other dark horses we may have missed…?’



‘Hey, did you hear? Apparently, Penelope managed to defeat the Super-Rank Contests all with only Purrqyute!’ Someone said in front of a fifth poster.
‘Heh? Seriously? Is she trying to make an All-Star? Well, no matter how hard Dreamer Studios are pushing her, she’s going to fail when she meets the five monarchs…’ A girl made fun of her right in front of Penelope’s poster.
‘Huh? No poster of the Clever King, Roderick? … Ah, suppose he’s the hardest monarch to market, hah. Still, the five monarchs are precisely why making an All-Star is so difficult. Each monarch has one Pokémon directed to being the champion of only their own category. For a single Pokémon to beat all the Contest champions on their own game… Basically impossible. Better face only one monarch, than all of them… Hm… Which do we want to face…?’



Then, the attention of the crowd turned to the final poster, which featured two people.

‘Huh? Who’s this? Alberto and Lucia?’
‘Ah, yeah, sorry for the confusion, I’m kinda embarrassed…’
‘Yeah, they’re new and sponsored by Dreamer Studios! They haven’t even been in a single contest yet, but they’re supposed to be really good.’
‘Hah, you’re making me blush. But, yeah, that poster shouldn’t be hanging right alongside the likes of the monarchs yet…’
‘So, are they entering the same contest and taking two slots? Together, or with one Pokémon each? Can they do that?’
‘Oh, no, together. Like a duo, one slot. Or, well, I’m the one registered, Lucia’s backing me up. Couldn’t possibly go up there myself…’
‘Well, they look kind of cool. I’ll watch them and wish them the best of luck!’
‘Ah, gee, thanks. It means a lot to hear that.’
‘Wait, huh?’

Then the crowd collectively turned and realized that in the back stood this very same Alberto that was on the poster, smiling a little silly smile looking embarrassed and scratching behind his head, Lucia standing silent beside him with her arms crossed and looking more aloof than anything else. Both were wearing… fairly distinctive clothes that I’m not even going to try to describe, except they’re mostly dark with dark purple hair, both of them, Lucia in a dress that were black with white details and Alberto wearing fairly nice clothes with long pants and special kind of shirt that just screamed “sponsored”.



‘… Hi! We’ll be competing soon. Feel free to come watch?’ He said, a bit awkwardly while waving to them, a bit similarly awkwardly.
‘We’re favourites to win, of course.’ Lucia dropped, that seemingly being of importance to mention for her. There was a moment of silence before the crowd started giving slight shouts of amazement at that he was actually there and gave him questions, Alberto and Lucia being more on their equal level even if they were favourites, and so.

So, that aside. That might not be relevant to Claire at all. If that wasn’t relevant to Claire, Yvonne eventually came out of the Contest Hall after she had been browsing accessories. And this time, Yvonne looked basically sparkling.



‘Teh-heh-heh… If that’s the level I’m going up against, I’ve practically already won…!’ … She had been watching a performance. And not been impressed/been pleased with what she saw, judging by her grin and what she said. She was speaking with herself, though, and hadn’t seen Claire because she was only seeing the sparkles of stardom right now. She’d eventually see Claire (next post) even if she didn’t interact with her (assuming Claire doesn’t hide), but Claire could make use of that Yvonne hadn’t noticed her yet if she wanted to.

__________________________

@Pikmin Eye

As Martin rowed his way through town with Goldeen jumping and stylishly spinning around him, they attracted a few looks from the sidewalks.

‘Oh, wow, look at that. What beautiful jumps.’
‘Heh, perhaps training to possibly enter a contest?’

… Random comments from people watching aside. Soon enough, would see the signs for the Explorer’s Guide Service, and decide to head there. He may possibly see Dawkin exiting the place, but that aside.

The Explorer’s Guide Service building itself was but a small dent into a building, a door and windows full of advertisement for the service. Inside was a cozy little store-like room where lots of fliers advertised the accomplishments of several presumably employed individuals while good reviews of their services hung around like newspaper articles, the walls covered by papers, maps of Isson and the likes. By the door stood a sign with some info for a visitor.

“Lakewatch residents live somewhat out of the way, meaning we need to travel to find our callings! On our travels, we have learned a lot! Here we offer our experience for you to use!”

There’s also a map of Lakewatch under the message with a “Our guides live HERE!” showing small arrows pointing at various spots throughout Lakewatch Town. It was vague enough that’d it be somewhat hard to find the person based on it, but with the number of arrows and how spread it was it delivered the message that this was an honest occupation in this town.

And, in the back on a chair behind a desk covered in paperwork and a strange small stone-statue of a Trapinch sat a girl staring at her mobile phone. Though, when Martin came in, she blinked a bit in realization. She had barely had time to pick up the phone again, so she looked a little dismayed as she had to place it down again, though then looked up at him curiously. The girl’s wearing a jacket, hood and a large backpack lies packed on her right. She looks like she’s basically already on a journey.



‘Lots of new kids today. Hello. Need something?’ The girl asked in a casual tone, looking to Martin. Though she said “kids”, she didn’t look THAT much older… did she?

Now, a list of the place’s services are listed to the girl’s immediate right.



__________________________

@Joshua Tamashii

First she went to the Pokémon Center.



‘Don’t worry about it! We’re here for your service!’ The nurse simply said to her apology. ‘When I say “we hope to see you again”, I mean it~!’

That aside. So, she wandered town, thinking thoughts. On the way, she passed by a suitable café that just happened to be there. Now, it probably looked entirely alright for dinner or so, but as she was to make a decision if she wanted to or not…

‘I’m very pleased you’ve taken an interest in my services, sir Jacques! I’ve been experimenting with expanding it through different avenues and-’
‘Think nothing of it. You’re a talented Pokémon breeder and trainer, Move Changer. I think if we look into the source of your abilities, we might unlock something greater… Oh?’ The man, turned on a slight angle in the chair, dressed in a fancy suit and top-hat draped with a couple red ribbons and glasses, looked with a smirk at Amelia who stood right outside the café.



‘Oh, um…’ The young man Jacques was sitting with was a lot more plain. With blue hair, wearing a red apron and- the following.



‘S-someone you know, sir Jacques?’ The young man asked slightly apprehensively.
‘The youngest of Kalmia’s trainers. She’ll know me… if she wants to know me. Fu-fu.’ Jacques replied, with a little smirk looking towards Amelia. They were sitting at a table with four spots, leaving two open, but it didn’t seem like they had any further planned company.

__________________________

@Pirouette

Gibs dug them a little tunnel, but it didn’t go all that fast. They’d need to duck to let the Pidgeot pass through like a jet at least once, the wind grabbing at them but the trench holding them in place. That said, they soon arrived at the spot on the middle platform where they could engage in Erika’s plan. The Pidgeotto above them, thinking nothing of what the wind might result in, did as commanded and blew his Whirlwind as Erika passed. That’s when Gibs blasted up his Sand Attack. The sand was caught in the wind and blew straight over into the space of the other Pidgeotto.

… The Pidgeotto glared unimpressed at them through the sand, even as it collected on him.

Pidgeotto’s Keen Eye ability prevents loss of Accuracy!

Duessel’s Water Sport didn’t do much to distract it, either.

Pidgeotto scoffed at them as Zubat came flying, stretching his wings, and then causing a Whirlwind, sending Zubat flying and Joshua to yelp a little as he jumped and grabbed his Pokémon before Zubat flew across the cave and into the wall.

…

Pidgeotto blinked a little.

Had he just done something unfathomably stupid?

Because the scroll he was protecting was just sent flying by his own Whirlwind.

‘Psay-duck!’ Ewan picked up Duessel by his legs, held him up and Duessel could catch the scroll.

‘There we go.’ Ewan collected the scroll from his Pokémon and handed it to Erika. It contained a very simply message.

“The Trail Master is Amazing!”

… Well, they got the scroll. Maybe not entirely how they were planning to get it. The Pidgeotto over there was panicking while getting very blank stares from the other Pidgeottos. So, with that, Erika and crew could think what they wanted about that, and Gibs could continue digging, until…

‘Um.’ Joshua suddenly made an unsure noise calling for their attention while they were continuing northwards towards where the way turned right, looking behind them.

One of the three Pidgeottos that weren’t blowing, that had been inhibiting the deeper parts of the cavern, had just flown over and landed somewhat behind them inside their own trench. He was giving them that pleased smirk the Pidgeottos had when they had first entered. Seemed like those three were permitted to fly wherever they pleased. … It stretched its wings with a bird-smirk. Seemed like it was intending on filling the trench with a Whirlwind.

Actions?

Apparently the saying of speaking the devil's name also applied to thoughts as well. As she was walking through town, her need for food caused her to stop in front of several cafes and similar establishments. When she stopped to examine one, she began to feel like she was being watched and glanced around. Though one of the windows she spotted a man staring at her with a bit of a creepy smirk. She didn't recognize him at first glance and briefly considered running away before she realized it was the man who had been talking to Professor Kalmia.

Curiosity getting the better of her, she entered the establishment and carefully made her way over to the two gentlemen.
"Good evening." she said, giving them a polite bow. She then turned to Jacques and gave him a small frown as she examined him a bit more closely. "You were over at the Professor's Lab yesterday. Can I ask you your name sir?"

@Joshua Tamashii

Jacques looked towards her with a pleased smirk as Amelia approached, and in response he stood up from his chair, took his hat from his head and placed against his chest and returned her bow.

‘Good evening. You certainly may.’ Jacques replied before standing up and placing his hat back. The younger man at the side looked back and forth between Jacques and Amelia with certain surprise. While his mannerism and words were always polite, there was always an underlying self-pleasing amusement to his tone.

‘I am a member of the Elite Four, titled the “Servant of the Mountain”. I go by Jacques. Pleased to make your acquaintance, young hopeful.’ Jacques told, looking at her confidently with his little smirk. The other person at the table looked back and forth in a bit of bewilderment before also speaking.

‘A-and I’m Charl! I’m the Move Changer! I can, uh… change the types of certain moves…’ Charl here looked like the time to usually be pretty energetic, but the mere presence of Jacques was giving him a boatload of doubt with every word, constantly glancing like he was afraid of somehow stepping on Jacques toes. Jacques himself gave no impression that he had even heard him talk.

Jacques sat down again and offered a seat to Amelia while adjusting his glasses.

‘I was at Kalmia’s lab, correct. The reason being, I also had an interest of spreading Pokédexes among the trainers of Isson, so I got into contact with Professor Sycamore of Kalos and had it arranged. It turned out Isson’s own Pokémon Professor Kalmia, who’s fairly new to the scene, intended the same through Professor Oak, but I did not consider that a clash of interest. Simply more young hopefuls that got Pokédexes. So, I was there yesterday to have the young hopefuls of mine and Kalmia’s meet, and have some friendly battles. The one you battled, Joshua, is one of mine.’ Jacques went ahead and explained something he suspected she should know and might be wondering.

While talking they probably got menus, was allowed to order things and potentially eat, but that’s not extremely important and can be left in the background. Unless Amelia had no intentions of staying for that, of course.

...
...
Dawkin stood at the water's edge looking over the lake.
...
...
He really hadn't thought this one through. Good thing he hadn't brought out his Pokémon and started actually trying to train yet or he would've looked as stupid as he felt. Dawkin shook his head and brought out his Pokedex, quickly checking the way to route 5 before putting away and beginning to walk. It would make more sense to train in an area where he could use both his Pokémon and wasn't at a type disadvantage wouldn't it? Oi.

Actions: Train at Route 5.

---