Dan followed behind at a relatively slow pace. He was silent the whole way down, But at the last step he said

"Hey, Indy... Metapod evolved. She's a Butterfree now."
He said He didn't know why but that was the part of the note that made him happy. Cause it was from his sister? Cause it was a metaphor for the growth of the two's friendship? Not even Dan knew.

A crowd had gathered around Jack and Jill. It was like a miniature paparazzi ambush. "There they are!" "Can we see your starter Pokemon!?" "I can't believe they bent the rules for these kids." "Autograph! Autograph my shirt please!" "Jack is so cute!" "What is she wearing?"

Jill's face was beginning to turn red with anger. She wanted to become a trainer to get away from all this hassle. Why did these idiots care so much about what she wore? A trainer can't be expected to walk around in a pretty dress all day long can they!?

Just before she was about to explode, Jack closed his eyes and held up two fingers in the air. "Quiet!" "He's gonna say something!" In a matter of moments the crowd fell silent.

He had them in the palm of his hand. He opened his eyes and spoke with a soft smile. "We appreciate your excitement, but I think I speak for both of us when I say," He then flashed his pearly white teeth in a wide smile. "You're embarrassing us." The girls in the crowd gasped; the air in general became light and enjoyable. Before anyone could ask a question he continued. "The reason we are here today is to announce the launch of our new blog site, 'Jack & Jill Adventures .com'. There, we will update the world on our adventures and answer all your questions personally!"

The crowd grew excited with this surprise announcement. Even Jill looked a little surprised for a split second, until she realized what her brother was doing. He was lying. There was no website. This wasn't some press meeting. But with an honest smile, he had tricked them all. The redness drained from her face as she realized this. "Jack! You said we were going to wait for the press to get here!" She gave him a playful slap on the shoulder.

The crowd stood entranced as the two improvised some playful banter. But after a few minutes, they gracefully dismissed themselves and returned to the safety of the Trainer Hotel, where the general public could not follow. Once inside Jacks smile faded quick, and Jill's brow furrowed.

Voice full of malice, she said to Jack. "Does this place have a side door? We gotta get the hell out of here."

"I know." He breathed quietly.

Daniel and Indigo were the only other people in the room, besides the front desk clerk.

"Wow, seriously?" Indy said with a laugh. "She evolved! That's awesome to hear. Is she still at the house? Butterfrees are really cool." Now he sort of kinda wanted to get one. They seemed easy to raise and they were cool to boot.

The conversation was interrupted by a cacophony outside. Brows raised in question, Indigo watched as the scene unfolded. Jack? Jill? Who were these kids and why were they famous? Indigo looked at Dan with a questioning look. He was tempted to ask the newcomers but they looked like they had had enough from the crowd.

"Must be exhausting," he said to them, trying to be friendly. If anything, he felt like he could appreciate how laid back his life was a little more.

@TheForgottenArc

"Must be exhausting," he said to them, trying to be friendly. If anything, he felt like he could appreciate how laid back his life was a little more.

At first Jill just stared at Indigo, unsure what to think. Was he pretending not to know them? Or was he actually clueless? But she was too flustered to care. Her eyes rolled. "You have no idea." She then turned to her brother. "Let's go."

Jack shrugged and nodded as he followed his sister right past Daniel and Indigo. "If you'll excuse us..."

Indigo, passive and apathetic, felt miffed by their responses. But he waa too lazy to actually feel anything more, much less come up with some snarky response. So he shrugged and quietly side-stepped them.

But not Hawka. She felt bristled and riled up. She had finally seen some human opponents and she wanted to battle! With a loud squawk she landed directly in front of the twins with a flame in her eyes.

"Uh, oops, sorry that's uh--" Indigo fished for Hawka's pokeball only to realize he had left it in the room! "Sorry she gets excited for no reason sometimes." He scooped up Hawka but she wiggled out of his grasp. The human barely held her with any force. She screeched loudly and planted herself in front of Jack. This was the human she wanted to challenge!

"I mean just ignore her. You're prolly too tired to battle..." Indy said.

Dan hadn't been paying much attention, being too busy with check-out, But when Hawka screeched it got his attention. At first, Dan was embarrassed

Oh jeez why do you have to do this now Hawka... Dan thought to himself. But, the more he thought about it, Hawka had the right idea!

"Wait, Indy... I know this might sound like a bad idea but, Those two are new trainers like us, At least I think, cause they only have one Pokemon apiece."

Dan took a breath, About to suggest something he knew Indy wouldn't like.

"So...Since Hawka wants to battle, how about we grant her wish and battle 'em. You can take the guy, and I'll take the girl. What do you say? I'm sure they'd have no problem with it. Right you two?" Dan asked, Directing the last question towards the Twins.

...The human barely held her with any force. She screeched loudly and planted herself in front of Jack. This was the human she wanted to challenge!

"I mean just ignore her. You're prolly too tired to battle..." Indy said.

"Wait, Indy... I know this might sound like a bad idea but, Those two are new trainers like us, At least I think, cause they only have one Pokemon apiece."

Dan took a breath, About to suggest something he knew Indy wouldn't like.

"So...Since Hawka wants to battle, how about we grant her wish and battle 'em. You can take the guy, and I'll take the girl. What do you say? I'm sure they'd have no problem with it. Right you two?" Dan asked, Directing the last question towards the Twins.

The fiery little bird had bravely stepped in their path, specifically in front of Jack. What was with this Pokemon? Why did it want to battle against him? And who said anything about them only having one Pokemon each?

Jack was just about to deny their battle request when Jill spoke up, "Wait." Her simple word stopped him, and he turned his attention to her to listen. A grin started to creep across her face. "This might be exactly what we need! We've been training non stop. I think it's time for a battle! Plus, this could be our first chance to show those bozos outside what we're really about!"

Jack thought about it. 'It would be nice to establish their own image, instead of riding the curtails of their parents.' With a nonchalant shoulder shrug he said, "Okay. We accept your challenge. Let's go outside shall we?"

Together the four trainers walked outside. Most of the people from the crowd moments ago were still there; they immediately rushed the twins, as well as Daniel and Indigo who were right beside them. With a charming smile and a loud booming voice, he quieted them. "It looks like we've had an interesting turn of events!" With and outstretched hand, he motioned toward Daniel and Indigo. "These two trainers have challenged us to battle!"

The crowd started buzzing with excitement. Jill picked up where he left off. "And we have accepted!" The crowd's excitement continued to build. With an aggressive but graceful move she whipped herself around to face the challengers. "How about we use two Pokemon each? You do have two Pokemon don't you?"

Jill's face was painted with true happiness; this was her chance to prove her strength! Jack on the other hand, turned his back to the crowd, and in doing so, lost some of his showman's smile. A calculating air of confidence replaced it.

Indigo gritted his teeth. He hadn't wanted to battle, and especially not in front of a large group. He hadn't agreed to any of this, but the peer pressure had sunk in and he felt as though he had no choice but to commit to the crowd.
His opponent had sent out a Kricketot, who had been too fast and too experienced for Hero. It had taken both Hero and Hawka to take down the opponent, but his second pokemom, a lame looking seal water type, had only had to shoot a single Water Gun to take the already weakened Hawka out.

"Shoot," Indigo mumbled, returning Hawka. Doubtless, his own hesitation and nervousness just hadn't been easy to overcome, and he'd stumbled more than once during the fight. The commenting from the crowd hadn't helped either. All in all, it had been a loss, but he blamed himself entirely. After all, he wasn't cut out for stuff like this.

Shoving his hands in his pockets after returning Hawka, he couldn't help but be upset. This was so embarrassingly uncool. His eyes met Jack's. He looked so much younger than himself, and that made it even worse. How had this kid managed to beat him?

Whatever, it doesn't matter. I'm just having an off day or something. If I had a water type, I'da been able to beat him too. I mean, not that I care. I don't care about this stuff. Ugh, why didn't I just say no? I'm not a good battler. I'm never gonna do this again.

"Congratulations," he said, trying to put his best face forward. "That was fun."

While though trying their best, Twiggy and Burmy lost, and they lost badly. It only took two hits to take Twiggy down and Burmy was powerless to do anything against Cherubi exept protect and bide time. But even that ended poorly, one hit and he was knocked out.

After the battle ended, Dan put his two fainted Pokemon back into his ball and stood up.

"Sorry, I failed guys, you did your best. We will train more and we'll beat them next time."

Dan looked at Jill and smiled and held his hand out for a handshake

"Good match, You wiped the floor with me!" Dan said smiling. It didn't bother him losing this fight, He just thought of it as a learning experience.

Wow, there are a lot of strong trainers out there... If I even want to compete I need to train more.
Dan thought.

The crowd cheered as the twins took down their opponents handily. "They're so cool!" "This is their first battle?" "I impressed that boy could even beat one of Jack's Pokemon." "I got the whole thing on video!" "Me too!" "Yeah, me too!"

"Congratulations," he said, trying to put his best face forward. "That was fun."

Jack smiled politely. "Yes it was, and you did a good job. I look forward to our rematch some day."

Dan looked at Jill and smiled and held his hand out for a handshake

"Good match, You wiped the floor with me!" Dan said smiling. It didn't bother him losing this fight, He just thought of it as a learning experience.

With an honest smile, Jill shook hands. "Yeah, don't worry about it though. I'm no ordinary trainer. You're looking at the future Grand Champion of Septoh. You did well considering..."

The twins then turned their backs to Daniel and Indigo. They stepped toward the crowd to give some after match quotes. The crowd formed a circle around them, blocking Daniel and Indigo out completely.

After answering questions, after Daniel and Indigo had long since left, Jack and Jill finally managed to escape the huddle of fans.

"Hey, what were those two trainer's names?" Jill asked, trying hard to remember.

"Who cares." Jack replied dully.

So Jill shrugged it off, and on they walked.

A rematch... Indigo thought as the frenzied crowd took over and began swarming the twins. He hadn't considered the possibility. Or maybe it was just a polite way of saying 'see you again' when they both knew they probably wouldn't be seeing each other.

unfinished...

That was what it felt like. There was some kind of nagging feeling building up inside Indy. Why do I care? There's nothing unfinished but... It just seemed to feel like such. Losing sucked, and he didn't want to try battling again, but it also felt like he was missing the ending of a series or a movie or a book. It felt unresolved. And he wanted to see the ending, or at least get to the next part.

Whatever this feeling was, Indy strangely found himself hoping to see the kid again. There were a myriad of questions to be answered-- who were those two? Why were they famous? And could he, Indigo, beat the person who had just been his opponent?

For now, he decided to get some breakfast. And treat his pokemon to a well deserved meal as well. They would need their strength to get to Shamba.

"Well, Daniel, breakfast and then we head out?" Indigo asked.

"Yea, let's get going. I'm starving" Dan said.

Dan never really considered how Indy felt about battling, he kinda just forced Indy into it. So as they walked towards the closest restaurant Dan asked

"Hey, Indy. You aren't mad that I forced you into that, right? Cause if so. Sorry."

Indigo was slow in responding, but genuine all the same.

"Nah," he said shrugging. "It wasn't you. It's not like you knew we were going to be in front of a crowd or anything. You just wanted to have fun and you wanted me to have fun too. Next time, I'll just speak up if I'm not feelin' it." He shot a grin. "But what a way to start the morning, huh? We already lost to a couple of kids," he laugh as they grabbed their trays and got food. "Wonder when our Burmy's are actually gonna learn more attack moves..."

"I don't know... I hope soon, Protect isn't very useful on its own." Dan said, as he picked a seat and sat. "But, I hope it's something a little more interesting than just something like a tackle." As he looked as his Pokedex he did note that Twiggy did learn a new move.

Hm. Absorb, at least it's something new.

After Dan's plate was clear, Dan said

"After we get to Shamba town I need to train for a couple days. If those two are that strong I wouldn't stand a chance against a Gym Leader!"

"Yep," Indigo agreed, finishing his food though not entirely agreeing with training for a few days. At the same time he did want to, but, well... I'll figure it out.

After they had packed and healed their pokemon up, they were on Quiet Road, starting their new trip once again. Indigo was looking around for items. What would he find? He thought he saw something-- on the ground or the bush?


@Balthazar007

After they had packed and healed their pokemon up, they were on Quiet Road, starting their new trip once again. Indigo was looking around for items. What would he find? He thought he saw something-- on the ground or the bush?

Together, the two walked for hours. All the while, Indigo kept his eyes peeled for anything that could be of use, but all he saw were a few Cheri Berry bushes, and occasionally a Kee Berry bush. There didn't seem to be anything new to find in the forested half of this route.

Six hours into their hike, they came to the forests edge. That's when they saw someone else. A young man was crawling around on the ground with his back turned to them. What was he doing? One had to wonder...

Indigo cupped his hands around his mouth. "Hey," he called, and the guy before him turned around, looking not much older than Indy himself. "You alright over there?"

"Salutations," The other boy greeted them, not bothering to get up and resuming his search. His voice was soft and quiet, and he seemed to not be the most social of people. "I'm fine, thank you. Just looking for something..."

"Oh," Indigo responded, not wanting to offer help because he didn't feel like putting in the effort at the moment. "What're you looking for?"

"I seemed to have dropped my notebook somewhere here and I need to find it, it has all of today's field research in it," the boy responded.

"Huh, that stinks, should we help you look for it?" They had to offer just to be polite, but Indigo was pretty sure the guy would just say no...

"Would you? I'd be extremely grateful for your assistance. My name's Sydney," Sydney said, looking up at them finally with a face full of shining gratitude.

"...Sure," Indigo replied, trying not to groan. Stupid me... "Indigo, call me Indy."

Daniel didn't say much, just a quick introduction,

"Hey, I'm Dan...I'll also help you look for that notebook too"

He bent over and started searching for Sidney's notebook. It took a while to find it but eventually, Dan found it in a patch of grass behind a small rock, He picked it up and walked towards Sydney.

"Is this the notebook?" Dan asked as he held out it out towards him.

"Ah yes, thank you," Sydney said gratefully, pushing his glasses up his nose. "That has all my notes in it, as I've said before. They're very important."

Indigo was just happy to have had the stupid notebook found and he wanted to be on his way to Shamba Town. "Sounds great, well we better-"

"Might I ask you two to help me find another pokemon? It's one that I've been doing research on. It's called Spewpa. I'm an entomologist, you see." For a 17 year old, he talked like he was 45, Indy thought. "It's a very interesting pokemon," Syndey continued, the faintest wisp of a smile at the corners of his mouth.

"Really?" Indy asked curiously, his interest now shifted. The name sounded stupid but maybe it was rare? Strong? Cool looking? This he had to see-- drat! He remembered his pokedex wouldn't give him info on pokemon he hadn't seen yet. He shoved his hands into his pockets and contemplated.

"Okay... Guess we're going into the tall grass then. You've got my attention. I wanna see what this Spewpa's like," he admitted. I wanna ask what an entomologist is but I don't wanna look stupid... Maybe it had something to do with Spewpa?

They set out to searching in the tall grass. The wild pokemon were plentiful here, and Indy found himself sending out both Hawka and Hero to get some exercise. Ugh, Hero... Gotta get rid of him soon. He's not a good fit for my team... For an hour they searched, not straying too far from Sydney and Dan. Hawka and Hero ended up battling a few wild pokemon that challenged them. Still, after seeing Patrat multiple times and a pokemon called Scatterbug, Indy hadn't seen a Spewpa. Finally a pokemon came out of the bushes, but this one wasn't part of the Patrat family or the Scatterbug family...

---

@Balthazar007

...They set out to searching in the tall grass. The wild pokemon were plentiful here, and Indy found himself sending out both Hawka and Hero to get some exercise. Ugh, Hero... Gotta get rid of him soon. He's not a good fit for my team... For an hour they searched, not straying too far from Sydney and Dan. Hawka and Hero ended up battling a few wild pokemon that challenged them. Still, after seeing Patrat multiple times and a pokemon called Scatterbug, Indy hadn't seen a Spewpa. Finally a pokemon came out of the bushes, but this one wasn't part of the Patrat family or the Scatterbug family...

Indigo had ran into a Hoppip. In fact, he had looked over the little creature multiple times while searching for Spewpa. The only reason Indigo noticed her was because she sneezed. The sneeze sent her flying a couple feet off the ground. With awkward eyes, she stared at Indigo as she floated back down to the ground.

"Oh wow," Said Sydney. "That's a Hoppip. I've ran across a few while researching further down the route. It's rare that they venture this close to the forest though. It's a good Pokemon, for sure, but not what I'm looking for. Go ahead and catch it if you want, I'm going to keep looking for-"

Sydney stopped as he caught a glimpse of a wild Spewpa. It was peaking out from a patch of grass, not realizing that it had been spotted.