Byjerlfal City, Commercial district.
@PKMNB0Y

“H-huh? Me? A battle?” Laurel sighed. “Really you think I have time to battle with the likes of you.” Despite the harsh words, the young woman would place the Sprigatito on the ground, who immediately went over and started sniffing the Snivy before batting playfully at the snake pokemons tail. “Be grateful that I am taking time out of my busy day, and try not to cry when I soundly trounce you.”

“Spriii?”

“...oh right, ahah, we probably shouldn’t battle in the pokemon center.” Supposing Richard agreed and moved outside with Verdue and Laurel, the other trainer walked a few paces away, enough to make a decently sized field between the two pokemon. “Ahem, alright. Since I’m being gracious enough to help your Snivy there, I’ll try to go easy on them. Ready, Verdue? This will be out first proper trainer battle.”

“Spriiii!”

“Good. Well, then, Richard? I shall let you determine the flow of battle, here.”





Outside of Camphor’s lab
@Savo@XxFellsingxX

---

Lab

“H-huh? Oh hey Jill…a…a bucket? Uhm, sure?” Frieda replied, a bit confused by the sudden request. Pix was sitting on her shoulders, munching happily on some pastry and gave Jill a friendly, excitable wave. “Should be one in the cleaning closet near the restroom, right over there.”

It wouldn’t be hard to find it, now all she had to do was get back to the battle…

Slakoth had already raised its arm as high as it could go by the time Yuu had finished giving his commands. Riolu barely had time to speed forward, grabbing the monkey pokemon and hefting her. Just as the Riolu lifted her, the Slakoth lowered its arm with surprising speed, the powerful muscles of the sloth hurtling through the air and-

“Slaaa…!”

Just barely missing Riolu's feet as it landed on top of the Slakoth who was now facing the opposite direction that he had been earlier.

“Now Cottonnee!” Remi shouted. Just as Jojo landed, the pokemon would be buffeted by a sparkling, pink wind, slamming into the Riolu and knocking it off balance and causing it to stumble off of the Slakoth and land right on top of the Aipom…just in time for Jill to return with her bucket of water, splashing it over Riolu and Aipom both, and incidentally waking Aipom up.

“H-hey….is that even legal…?” Remi grumbled lightly, but simply shook his head and smiled in return. “Alright, I think its about time we wrapped this battle up pretty soon, don’t ya think?” Remi said. The two of them were clearly at a slight disadvantage here. Slakoth was busy dozing off and had already taken a bit of a beating from having a furious monkey repeatedly scratch it. Cottonne hadn’t taken much damage, but at the same time Riolu and Aipom hadn’t taken much damage either, though that super effective fairy wind had definitely hurt the fighting type.

“Alright.Cottonne, you know what to do girl.”

“Neeeee!”

Whatever that meant. The Cottonne was already flapping its little arms in preparation to move.

@Vertigo

---

Chloe, was late. That much was evident if the two apparent new trainers battling outside was anything to go by but she didn’t have the luxury of time to discuss anything with them unless she wanted to be even more late. Thankfully, too, she had been able to get in when Jill had left the lab, the otherwise locked and secured doors being open just long enough for her to get in and find herself into the lobby.

….only to find it completely empty. Not a sign of any people at all, for the moment. The doors behind the reception desk was open, and seemed to be the only way forward at the moment unless she wanted to hang around the lobby, but if she was already late then perhaps it might be better to go looking around?

Well, what was Chloe going to do, then?

The amount of mixed messages that Richard was getting from Laurel were rapidly growing in number by this point, but the fact that she had agreed to a battle was really the only thing that mattered in the moment.

"Thanks," he responded simply as Luna seemed to briefly jump into the air when the other Trainer's Sprigatito chose to play with her tail. With a smile, Richard patted the Snivy on the head before turning back towards Laurel and, at her (very valid) suggestion, followed her out of the Pokémon Center and onto the street nearby, with Luna following closely at his heels.

Having been given the liberty to act first as per his opponent's grace, though, Richard took a moment to pull out his Pokédex and trained it onto Luna as she hesitantly moved into position in front of him. Other than the requisite data about the Pokémon proper, it seemed the the device also recorded all of the moves she had available to her. The egg move that had been mentioned when he had first scanned his new partner, it seemed, was Glare—a welcome surprise, if anything.

"All right, Luna, let's get this show on the road. Open with Glare and make she that it sticks; after that, run away and Leer whenever you get a chance, okay?" he spoke simply, taking care not to shout and startle her. If there was any fighting style that would take advantage of the Snivy's strengths, Richard believed, it would be something that introduced the least risk or threat of being counterattacked at an inopportune moment.

@Rune_Alchemist

"Snow!" Camila would exclaim as the Pokemon would roll into a nearby puddle. "Are you alright?" She asked as the Vulpix defiantly stood, though visibly weak. She wouldn't be able to go on much longer with this fight, though her little fox had done quite well for itself in a one versus three fight. If only she could have hit them all at the same time, perhaps it wouldn't have mattered too much. For now, she would have to continue with the fight. The one thug mentioned something about her having another Pokemon which, she did technically have but it too was unable to fight at the moment. A frown appeared on her face before she almost calling a move for Snow when something unexpected happened. The very ground started to rumble and a reptile Pokemon burst from the ground, grabbing hold of the weakened Vullaby before using a critical Crunch on it before throwing it down. This... Was on her side, right?

Her thought was confirmed when the woman from much earlier had appeared, freeing those Pokemon from the cage. She called her cutie and asked her to finish up the fight with the Kokorok which.... She assumed were the woman's. "Cutie? Me?" Her frown changed to something akin to a puzzled confusion. "I'm going to just... Ignore that." She mentioned, focusing on the battle once again. "Alright, Snow, lets help out the Kokorok. Let's get that Starley out of the fight with Powder Snow! Kokorok, glad to have you here with us." Camila said, sounding relieved.

---

Location: Route 1
Mentions: N/A

Isla stopped along the path, taking a few steps off to one side as leaves crunched under her shoes. She could hear the whole of the forest, it seemed, the birds in the distance, the wind through the branches, the movement of everything green and moving and just alive in that distance. All the sounds of the city had faded far, far away with only a few noises of people able to be picked away. The squeal of fishing with lines being drawn back in, the whip of rods as lines were cast, chatter of people snuck out between the whistle of wind here and there. It was…nice. It was so different compared to home, the hot wind off the sea wasn't there, but it was nice.

She breathed in and out, nice and deep, before finally looking about. The sign there was interesting; clearly there had been issues in the past with new trainers getting lost deeper in the forest, though whether that was due to them actually getting lost or Pokémon attacks she was unsure. Isla's eyes rested On the bike for a spell, the…newness of it, how many little details screamed out how it hadn’t been bought in its present state. Someone had definitely wanted a bike that went off road and worked to make it work. Interesting.

Crouching down, Isla drew out her sketchbook and quickly set to work. It was rough, true, but then again it was just a sketch. Little things to remind and maybe make into something more, that's all there was to it, though…the bike was a nice little challenge out of the norm. Pencil flew across the page at the movement of it, quick and simple and easy. Closing it and putting the little tome away, Isla considered what she might want to do next.

She could keep on into the Winding Wood, and to that dig site, but…well, there was something just nice about the path and area. It wasn't something Isla wanted to leave so quickly to be put simply. Breathing deep and enjoying the clean air, she fished out that small bag of jerky, kept crouched, and tossed a piece further into the grass. Eyes peeled and ears open for anything new and strange there, Isla waited, stock-still.

---

---

Location: Camphor's Lab Mentions: @Savo @Rune_Alchemist

---

Jill gave a smile to Pix and then a low bow to Frieda. "Thank you very much," she said, before scurrying away to where the restrooms were. She took the bucket from the nearby cleaning closet and began filling it up at the restroom's sink. Once it was full enough, she ran out of restroom, holding the bucket over her head. "Okay, I'll bring this back shortly!" she called over to Frieda before making her way out of the lab and back to the fight.

It seemed that while she had been away, her partner had done his best to make sure Aster didn't sustain too much damage with... mixed results. Both Pokemon were lying on a pile on the floor, meaning when Jill threw the bucket of cold water, both Aster and Jojo would end up being splashed. "Sorry!" she said to Jojo, hoping the Riolu would understand. Once she had emptied the bucket, she placed it on the ground beside her. "Alright, everyone, remind me after the battle that I have to return this... because I sometimes forget to do that."

As she was saying this, Aster was starting to wake up, and she didn't look too happy. She shoved Jojo off of her before getting to her feet, taking a moment to shake herself dry before fixing her eyes once again on the Slakoth. However, before she lunge back into the fight, Jill spoke up, with what was her first command for the entire fight. "Aster, do the screamy-thing!" the ninja called. The Aipom over at her, her expression between frustration and confusion. "Just do it! I think it might help!"

The Aipom looked at her for a moment longer before shrugging. She turned back to the Slakoth and let out an ear-piercing Screech.

Byjerlfal City, Commercial district.
@PKMNB0Y

---

“Glare? Really…Verdue! Tail Whip!” Taking advantage of Verdue being just a smidge faster than Luna, the feline pokemon dashed forward, just in front of the Snivy before it could get off its glare and smacked it right in the face with its tail before leaping back - only for the cat to meet Luna’s glare, the Snivy’s eyes glowing a menacing red as Verdue would be struck with paralysis.

“Shake it off Verdue! Hit the snake with a scratch!” Verdue gave a mildly irritated seeming meow as it started moving towards Snivy, its speed slowed by the paralysis. Luna would take this opportunity to focus on dodging out of the way of the Sprigatito’s paws, deftly avoiding damage but also not being able to attack as Verdue continued its pursuit. Slower than Snivy now and struggling to move. Verdue got close, Luna ran, and eventually they had run in a full circle…and it looked like they were going to do it again -

“Spriii!”

However, just as Verdue went to move, it would find its body freezing, sparks of electricity running across its fur, giving Luna just enough space to turn around and get off a single Leer.

“Hmph…not bad, though just be lucky my failsafe doesn’t work on grass types…” Laurel commented. “Verdue, if it wants to run, then fine. It might not be too effective, but hit it with a leafage! If it gets close, scratch it!” The leaves around Verdues neck glowed green, and were already growing in size.

Route 1
@Thayr
Commercial district

---

So Isla, would attempt finding some pokemon. It shouldn’t be too hard. Above the treeline she could even spot some hoppips floating around, dancing in the wind above the forests and happily getting some sunshine…though getting one down might be a tad bit difficult. Instead, she’d turn her attention towards the ground. A piece of jerky tossed on the ground with her hiding some distance away.

It wouldn’t be long before a pokemon would take some interest in it.



It was a small fox pokemon, with red fur and a somewhat impish expression. It’d quietly run up to the jerky, sniff it, and start eating it. The Nickit hadn’t seen her yet, but it wouldn’t be long until either it did or would run off, so she’d have to act fast.

Supposing that she didn’t want to bother the fox pokemon though, she could keep searching instead and she used the same methodology as earlier…



A teddiursa, this time would come quietly walking along. It’d look curiously around, wide eyed looking around almost as if it was a bit lost, but otherwise it didn’t seem like it was too interested in the jerky itself. It’d sniff it, but it was already going to be quickly moving along.



And lastly if she still continued her search and didn’t want to bother the bear, a Buneary would come hopping along, stomping right over the jerky, apparently not having seen it. As it did so, it’d get spooked and end up tripping over its feet as it’d land its hop awkwardly and turn to inspect the jerky that had accosted it.



Route 1
@Pyromania99

---

“Kokoko…” The Krokorok chuckled at Camila before thumping its tail on the ground and looking towards the two pokemon remaining. Without waiting for instruction from its trainer, the sand reptile ran towards the Shroodle, causing the pokemon to shriek in utter terror.

“Shroodle! D-doge it!”

But it was too late, the Korokorok was faster, stronger, and likely much higher level than the Shroodle. As soon as it was within striking distance, the Krokorok snatched the shroodle up in its jaws, and like it had done with the Vullaby, toss it around like a doll before launching it aside, KO’ing it in a swift few moments.

And without Vullaby to shield the weaker Starly, Snow acted swiftly.

“Starly! Quick attack again!”

But not quite so fast enough to outspeed a quick attack from the opponent. The bird launched itself forward at breakneck speeds, slamming into the Vulpix. Snow would find itself being knocked around again, its paws barely able to keep a grip on the ground and stop itself from getting knocked over. However, what might have previously just Ko’ed the vulpix…instead it would respond with a a powder snow, inhaling and blasting a breath of frigid air towards the starly as flecks of ice would batter its body.

“Star…lllly….” With a tired cry, it would fall to the ground, Ko’ed.



“Tch…When miss Keira hears about this you’ll all be takin a long walk off the pier!” One of the suited men shouted as they all recalled their pokemon. They proceeded to flee before anything else could stop them. The girl, having finished pulling all the pokemon out of the cages, would shoo the last one away and allow them to leave, not seeming concerned with chasing after them.

“...hm…good work. Not half bad.” She’d say. “Forgot to introduce myself earlier. Clara. Redheads Sable.” Sable would walk out from behind Camila giving the trainer a thumbs up as she moved over to Clara. Krokorok would waltz over, folding its arms in a stereotypical cool guy pose across its arms. "And that's Koko. He's something of a tryhard."

---

Location: Route 1
Mentions: N/A

She was frozen, still as can be, watching the fox Pokémon make his quick approach on the jerky to nibble here and there. It wasn’t anything she actually recognized, with a little body and a big head, darker colorations and a great splayed-out tail, but…well something about the little guy was just heartwarming in a strange little way. Maybe it was the white markings about his face? She really wasn’t sure. Swallowing, Isla considered what to do next, altogether wanting to maybe…maybe befriend the little guy? A pang in her stomach came with that thought. Somehow that felt wrong, too. Is that how trainers just were, that they could just pick out a Pokémon and say ‘this is mine’, and that was that? Well, that was the same with Dancing, though, and…well, if things weren’t how this one liked them, then she could set him free and that would be that…or send him back to the lab, for the professor to contemplate and settle, so on and so forth. Besides, it was technically her job, Pokémon studies, and catching them was one of the quicker ways to go about doing that.

Isla swallowed, carefully drawing out another piece of jerky to lightly toss closer to her. If the method worked again, tried and true, then…well, maybe that could just be the method. She threw it in an arc, the piece lightly landing in the grass a bit closer to her. The little Pokémon’s head snapped over to it, ears perking up, before it snapped onto her.

Whoops. Stock still again, her eyes unconsciously wide at the stare of the other, she waited to see what the wild Pokémon would do.

---

It was rather fortunate that Luna had enough trust in Richard to follow his orders to the best of her ability; given how meek the grass snake Pokemon had been during their first encounter, it wouldn't have been surprising in the least if she had panicked at the first sign of confrontation (even if she had come out here knowing full well what was to come next). The fact that she had also succeeded was a cherry on top, of course, but as things were now neither side had actually landed any sort of damage on the other.

But as things were, the two of them had the upper hand. All they needed to do now was press the advantage.

"Luna, keep your distance and get one more Leer off! Once you get that in, try to close the distance and Tackle your opponent until they go down; just push ahead and we should be in the clear!" Richard called out. Luna, upon hearing those words, gave a short cry of affirmation as the bell around her neck jingled.

With any luck, that declaration would fill his partner with enough confidence to keep trusting in his calls and bring them both a victory in their first battle together.

@Rune_Alchemist

“Preparin’ for a typhoon is always good, but don’t get complacent!” Tuule shouted. “Aron! Metal Claw!”

A fiercesome move to start with indeed. But the little steel/rock type was at least slower than her own Pokemon, Clarissa figured, and in that vein this seemed to be proven right. The curled up Buneary was sent bouncing back across the floor, and yet as he did so Clarissa didn't immediately shout another command out. She had to see. Wait. Look. Just for a moment. The right moment was coming, and instant retaliation wasn't perhaps the wisest decision in this case she felt. In truth the psychic was trying to follow her grandmother's advice. 'Don't be too aggressive, look for an opening and such, and yet also mind to be decisive', or something along those lines, is how it had sounded to her. But it was some of what little advice she'd gotten before leaving Orre. In that vein-

“Back off, Aron! Being too aggressive will get one sunk faster than an anchor through the deep!”

Ah! Now! It had to be a good window of time, yes? She hoped so.

"Sir Lopsalot! Bounce back now with a Power-Up Punch!"

The bunny uncurled as he bounced back once more time, with his feet coming out in time to catch the landing as he launched himself suddenly forward again with great speed! Against the retreating Aron he aimed his blow, little bunny's arm and fist glowing as the surprise fighting-type move came in swinging to try to land a good decisive first blow on his opponent!

Would it work out, though, and give them some kind of chance? Find out next time on One Punch Bunny Z!

Clarissa hoped the move would go well. It was her first real Pokemon battle, really, even if she was facing a serious opponent indeed. Win or lose, however, they had to give it their all! In that vein Sir Lopsalot also hoped for success, though he was more so focused on his opponent and trying to stay aware in case his opponent tried to make its own sudden moves in retaliation. What little he knew from before....sometimes an enemy or opponent would try to be all sneaky-like! Or something like that. Er, more like 'expect the unexpected', really, even if he couldn't tell his trainer that.

Byjerlfal City, Commercial district.
@PKMNB0Y
Now slower than the Snivy, Sprigatitio would take another leer, now having its defense dropped twice. This however, did not stop Verdue’s own attack. With an irritable cry, the leaves around Sprigatito’s neck would grow in size more before it’d give a flick of its head in Luna’s direction. Numerous leaves launched themselves at the Snivy, the small serpent pokemon taking the brunt of the attack.

However, Luna doing as Richard instructed, pushed through the attack and its admittedly minimal damage, quickly closing the distance between herself and Verdue and slammed her body into the grass cat with everything that she had. Verdue responded with a pained yelp, but even though she had taken quite a lot of damage from that single attack, the Sprigatito didn’t go down immediately as its paws would run across Luna’s face, delivering its own scratch attack to the Snivy sending her stumbling back but still in the fight.

“Verdue-!”

Before she could even get another command out, sparks of electricity flowed along Verdue’s body, the grass cat being fully paralyzed…and easy enough for Luna to pick off with one more tackle.



“Really,” Laurel huffed, recalling her injured pokemon to her pokeball. “You only won because it was a terrible matchup and I wasn’t able to make full use of Verdue’s moveset.” She’d say, glancing down at the small Snivy. “But yes, good job and all that I hope that can be of some use to you, now really I must be-”

“Uhm, excuse me?” Before Laurel could make any more comments about how she must be leaving, Nurse Joy would walk out of the pokemon center. “I thought you’d both like to know that the Munchlax is doing just fine. The Max Revive helped a lot and for the moment he’s doing well…a little…too well-”

“Muuunch?”

As if on cue, the munchlax would walk out behind Nurse Joy, having found some pastry somewhere. It looked towards Laurel.

“I realize this might be a little presumptuous and sudden, but why don’t one of you take him? He made quite a fuss when we were trying to patch him up.”

“Well don’t look at me, I still haven’t forgiven you for eating my lunch…”

It then looked towards Richard, hopeful and absentmindedly eating the pastry.

---

Route 1
@Thayr
Commercial district

The Nickit’s ears swiveled towards Isla, half of the jerky hanging out of its mouth as it peered at her with a suspicious glare.

“Niii?” The Nickit trotted over to the jerky, quietly observing it and Isla both. A few seconds passed before it’d bring its head down to it, and start eating it, swiftly wolfing it down. It trotted closer to Isla, looking up at the trainer with wide, cute eyes and doing its best attempt at a disarming stare. If she wanted to, it’d let Isla pet her.

What she perhaps, didn’t see but Dancing might hear or see - was the presence of a second Nickit. It was quietly approaching them from behind. Its eyes rested firmly on Isla’s bag, no doubt planning some manner of mischief and tomfoolery.

---

Wailords Rest
@Bartimaeus@Crusader Lord
Urban Exploration

“Ha?!” Tuule seemed a little caught off guard by the sudden use of a fighting type move. Let alone power-up punch of all things. “We’re on borrowed time here! Aron, full steam ahead and Metal Claw! No room for maneuvering!”

“Aaaar!”

The small steel type would dig its claw against the floor, choosing to instead meet the Buneary head on. As Sir Lopsalot sprung forward, his fist struck the Aron right between the eyes, earning a small squeal from the pokemon. It was not enough to deter it, though as soon Buneary would find itself being smacked again with the Aron’s claws. The entirety of Aron’s body tensed as the blow landed, the metallic sheen on its claws growing brighter and sharper!

Its attack had been raised!

“That’s it, Aron! Sharpen those claws! Chase after it!” Aron wasted no time, intending on barreling down Sir Lopsalot before it could raise its attack any further!

---

Outside of Camphor’s lab
@Savo@XxFellsingxX
Lab

“Huh-? Screech?” Before Remi could process what was happening, an ear-splitting screech reverberated through the area, almost shattering the ear drums of everyone present in the process…save for Slakoth, who still seemed mostly oblivious to the loud noise. “Ow-ow we get it you like making noise-ugh!”

As Remi dealt with the noise, Riolu’s quick attacked aimed for the Slakoth sides, leaving Cottonnee mostly completely unimpeded. As Riolu would speed towards the SLakoth, slamming into with a few punches in the form of its Quick Attack, the Slakoth couldn’t take any more damage.

“Slaaa…”



And Riolu would immediately be hit from behind with an explosive seed.

“Atta girl, Cottonnee! How do ya like that TM, huh?” Remi giggled as Riolu took the brunt of the Seed Bomb attack, the small impact explosion causing Jojo to be knocked around as Cottonne was already charging up another one. “I’m about tired of all of this so I’m gonna just end things here, alright? Another Seed Bomb, Cottonne! Take out that Riolu!” If another one hit Riolu, that was going to be it for the fighting type.

Nevine meanwhile had reached down and started petting Slakoth.

“...its okay…you did good…” She’d say, before recalling the Slakoth.

When Luna landed the decisive blow against her opponent, Richard couldn't help but smile and cheer. It was a low-stakes battle, all things considered, but a win was still a win. Luna seemed to be left in a bit of shock over her victory—almost as if she hadn't expected it to come so simply—but the sound of her Trainer's voice seemed to snap her out of her own thoughts. With a smile, the Snivy ran over to Richard and, seeing him kneel down and stretch his hand out to her, returned with a gesture she had scarcely seen with the few glances she had of the other Trainers who had come and gone in the lab—a simple high five, positioned at just the right height for her to reach.

"Good job, Luna; you did great out there," Richard said, moving to pat his partner's head before standing up again. "Thanks for the battle, Laurel. Luna seems pretty comfortable now, so we've at least got the foundation in place."

As the other girl readied to leave, though, the appearance of one Nurse Joy and the ill-fated Munchlax they had brought here moments prior drew everyone's attention. Given what was being said, it seemed like the question of who would become the glutton's caretaker was floating in the air. Laurel's initial refusal caused Richard to become the Munchlax's focus for a moment, but a brief moment of thought (and a glance at his Rotom phone to check his funds) led to the young man shaking his head.

"I mean, all I did was help drag it over here. You're the one who did the most for it in the end, so it'd be best for it to work off it's debt in your care, right?"

Never mind that it would probably accrue a bigger one under her care, of course, but that would probably be better for it than starving on his nearly-nonexistent funds.

"I'll take it in if you really don't want to, but it seemed to gravitate towards you more than it did me, so..."

@Rune_Alchemist

---

Location: Route 1
Mentions: N/A

Well, on one hand Isla’s heart absolutely melted at watching the little Pokémon with its absolutely wide eyes. The lil guy was just adorable, with his…well, the tail looked like a broom, sure, and the way the fox wolfed down the jerky just struck her the wrong way, but then again she’d seen some that’d looked weirder and far, far more hungry Pokémon in how they ate. Isla tried to listen out and away about the forest in general, everything around her, but she very well couldn’t just…turn her head out and about. There was a Pokémon right in front of her, and really looking away struck the young girl as a bad idea. Rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet, she watched the little fox get closer and closer.

Dancing, though, had grown well awake at the new smells and such. He regarded the one right before them for a moment, noting that they were getting the jerky too. Snorting, he made the decision that he’d want something a bit more next time if some random fox got it; there wasn’t much more to be said on that matter, so he got up while on her shoulder, patting feet around to let the great bushy tail smack Isla right in the back of the face as the Eevee looked about.

“Hey, what the-” she giggled, head coming low for a moment as it lightly smacked. Dancing had paused, though, locking eyes with the second one who had been stealthily padding up from behind. He stared, too, giving off something between a cough and a bark at the fox, throaty and roughshorn.

Well, that’s not a normal noise. Isla slowly rose back up just enough to swivel, swaying slight at the weight on her shoulder as she took a look at whatever it was Dancing had spotted, keeping in mind that she still had the one right in front of her to watch. He’d gotten close enough that, in all likelihood, it’d be just a few more steps before she could pet the guy; comfortable, aren’t they? Had others fed them? Was it a natural tendency? Then Isla spotted the other one. Ah. There had been a plan there. Smart little guys.

She tossed a piece of jerky to him as well, a good deal less careful now, turning her head just a little to consider the first. Taking a smaller piece from her bag, since honestly she’d started running out from this one, Isla leaned down, almost offering it to the fox.

---

The battle was over pretty quickly from that point. "Yea, that's right. Go tell her that you failed your job. I'm sure she'll be really happy with you!" Camila yelled after the retreating men. Hmph. She knew the Casino was all sorts of bad, but this was a step beyond. However irritated she was, her attention soon fell on Snow, having taken quite a beating. "Hey there, girl. Good work." She reached into her bag and retrieved one of the potions the Professor had provided her with. She applied the healing item to her Pokemon before pocketing the used up item and grabbing the Vulpix's Pokeball, returning the Pokemon to it's resting spot. "You just get a good rest for now." The woman mentioned with a smile. Vulpix, exhausted, didn't complain much.

With that done, the assistant turned to Clara. "Well, nice to meet you... I suppose. Clara, Sable and our little hero, Koko. Situation nonwithstanding." Camila said with a smile to the small Pokemon. "So, you couldn't have just come and got her in the first place?" She asked Clara, crossing her arms. The assistant supposed that the woman just wanted her as a distraction so she could sneak about and get the Pokemon to safety? Perhaps that's what she would try to convince herself to keep from thinking ill of the woman in front of her. "Well, regardless. All's well that ends well. Though, Snow's a little worse for wear. Nothing a little nap and a little treatment won't fix at least."

The assistant looked like something had just dawned on her. "Oh, but where are my manners. Camila Willow and my Vulpix Snow." The woman said, motioning to the Pokeball the fox Pokemon was resting in. "One of the assistants to Professor Camphor, currently on field work one might say." Camila mentioned, still almost wondering if she was being exiled from the lab for some undiscernible reason. "I just started out not too long ago and I run into such nonsense. Perhaps I'll have to reconsider having quite strong Pokemon." The woman mentioned, seeming disappointed that her journey that should be a bit relaxing ended up seeming like it would not be quite so easy.

Camila shook the thought from her head and turned to Clara and Sable with a smile. "So, what brings you two out here? Shutting down a Pokemon caging group or just here for a ride and you just so happen to run into one?" She asked, not sounding accusatory or anything but with genuine curiosity.

Byjerlfal City, Commercial district.
@PKMNB0Y

“Oh you can’t be serious I can’t just-” Laurel started to reply, the Munchlax turning its head back to her. The ears on top of its head drooped lightly. “-Oh don’t give me that look you…you…” Laurel fidgeted on the spot, frowning and trying to apparently find any excuse to not take the Munchlax with her before sighing and walking over, kneeling down in front of the pokemon with a mildly irritated looking expression. “Ugh, fine, just stop looking so terrible. I guess…I can take you…you ugly cute…pokemon…”

“Muuunch!” The Munchlax’s ears perked up, a wide smile forming as it would proceed to jump up, leaning on Laurel and throwing all of its weight into a low momentum tackle hug.

”Eek-wait be careful I’m not-oof-” This of course, resulted in the much heavier pokemon almost knocking over Laurel before she was able to right herself. ”Tsk, what am I going to do with you…” Despite her somewhat dour and perhaps unfriendly demeanor Laurel would pull a pokeball from her bag and bonk the Munchlax on the head with it.

”Laurel caught a Munchlax!”

“Munchlax looked really happy. I’ll heal up both of your pokemon from that battle.” Nurse Joy would say with a friendly smile, ushering the two back inside where their pokemon would be swiftly healed up. As they waited, Laurel would turn towards Richard.

“...Uhm…” She glanced to the side, seeming a little uncertain as she continued. “Thanks. For uh…I know our introduction wasn’t exactly the smoothest. Just thanks for uh…_{puttingupwithme}-” She'd quickly turn to Nurse Joy who had finished with their pokemon. “Anyways, I’ll likely be heading to Giervor. The Dark-Type gym there is typically a good spot for new trainers to start the gym challenge at...erm, so I've heard.”

“Here are your pokemon! Verdue and Luna are all healed up and ready to go!” Nurse joy handed them their pokeballs back. Laurel wasn't saying anything more, though despite apparently being in a hurry she didn't seem like she wanted to be the first to leave.

---

@Thayr
Route 1

Upon the second Nickit being spotted, it would pause in its tracks, tail raised slightly while its ears stood, perked up and attentive. It regarded Dancing and the jerky that was tossed towards it with a small bit of suspicion. For a moment the two looked like they were about to abort their so called master plan of stealing Isla’s jerky and likely pilfering her bag as well, but after a few long seconds the two Nickit would make a noise that sounded like a mix between a high pitched bark and a rough growl.

The first, took the jerky from her hand without too much complaint, but the second would bolt for Isla’s bag, attempting to grab it with its claws in an effort to run off with it. Seemed as though it wasn't intent to give up the spoils it wanted. The first seemed a little more open to this whole exchange, though...perhaps with a little more persuading she could befriend it.

Route 1
@Pyromania99



“Hmm…sorta. Consider it a hobby of hers.” Clara responded with a dismissive tone. “Beating up thugs is Sables favorite pastime.” The red head narrowed her eyes, shaking her head and pointing a finger towards Clara instead. “The amount of times I’ve had to bail her out…” Clara shook her head, ignoring the visible protests from her companion as she’d walk over to Camila. “Having a strong fella like Koko here to help is always a good idea.” A subtle smile as Clara would pull out her phone. “But I understand. You’d rather have someone good looking instead of a rough rugged pokemon look after you, huh?”

Sable rolled her eyes as she’d start packing up a few of Clara’s items.

“...Tch. I’d like to stick around and talk more, but I’ve got places to be.” She’d put her phone back in her pocket. “If you’re ever in Giervor, stop by the gym. I could show you around and keep the big bad gangsters away. Got everything Sable?” A thumbs up from the redhead was all she’d need. “Least I can do is heal up Snow for you and escort you back to the road.”

Assuming she took Clara up on that offer, the trio would head back to the main road. Clara would hop onto her motorcycle, revving up the engine. Sable took a seat on the back, sitting a a bit oddly with her back to Clara’s own, her legs positioned on either side of its body and hands gripping it. She’d wave bye as the duo would speed off down Route 1….

---

Location: Route 1
Mentions: N/A

Just a heartbeat from starting to pet the first little guy and the next thing Isla knew she felt a sharp tug on her bag. It was rough enough that she stumbled to the side, almost falling over with one leg shooting out to stop herself. She shot over her gaze, seeing the second having jumped up onto the bag a little ways. His mouth was sunk into the thicker fabric, almost trying to gnaw into it, with paws outstretched just a tad to get a good grip. A flash of anger through it all as Isla stared at the Pokémon, at this guy who she'd only just been feeding freely and still wanted to claw in, tear through something.

A pause. She took a deep breath, exhaling sharply through the nose. It wasn't good to be angry at Pokémon for following their nature, to judge them fully like people with all the expectations for understanding that people had. It wasn't good to feel betrayal when nothing at all had really been said. It wasn't really anything at all, even as Dancing had begun a deep-throated growl as he perched on his shoulder. His ears were flat back against his head, eyes staring down at the intruder on the bag.

"Hey - no. Get off," she said, as assertive as could be. Well, on the plus side he wasn’t making great progress getting through the bag, which was to be expected given what it was made from. Thick, plastic-like fibers were generally hard to chew through, even with teeth like that. On the minus side, she had a Pokémon on her bag and Dancing clearly wasn't happy with it. A quick thought process about it all and she'd made something approximating a decision. She'd let him deal with it.

He barked a few times, crouched down as though ready to pounce. The statement was pretty clear: get off now and stop.

---

While some part of him did feel a bit bad about pushing the Munchlax onto Laurel, the fact that she seemed to cave in and that the Pokémon itself seemed pleased by the result left Richard with some hope that he hadn't done the wrong thing here. With any luck it'd grow on her... Provided it didn't eat her out of house and home before then.

When Nurse Joy offered to heal their partners back up for the journey ahead, Richard was more that willing to oblige; the newfound confidence Luna seemed to have gained had left him feeling equally invigorated, and if he wasn't eager to get on the road to wherever the road took him then what else could he really have been?

The momentary lull in activity as the Pokémon were brought away to recover was promptly broken by Laurel's own offer, though—one that Richard hadn't really expected to hear given how she seemed so eager before now to head out on her own. While he didn't have any particular goal or direction beyond taking the Gyms around the region on until this point, heading out to Giervor didn't seen like too bad of an idea—doubly so if it was at the recommendation of a local.

"Uh... Yeah, sure, I'd be fine traveling with you—if you'll have me, of course," Richard responded as he slipped both hands into his pockets. "I'd appreciate the company, especially with someone who knows this place a lot more than I do."

Once Nurse Joy returned with their now fully healed Pokémon, Richard took Luna's ball back with a 'thanks' before turning back towards Laurel.

"You want to lead the way, or should I?"

If it came down to it, he could always just use his phone's map to send them on their way... But surely Laurel would know best how to get them to where they were headed, right?

@Rune_Alchemist

The small steel type would dig its claw against the floor, choosing to instead meet the Buneary head on. As Sir Lopsalot sprung forward, his fist struck the Aron right between the eyes, earning a small squeal from the pokemon. It was not enough to deter it, though as soon Buneary would find itself being smacked again with the Aron’s claws. The entirety of Aron’s body tensed as the blow landed, the metallic sheen on its claws growing brighter and sharper!

Its attack had been raised!

The Buneary's fist struck the Aaron, but for the enemy to strike back so soon was a surprise! It was enough to send the Buneary backward again, teeth clenching tight in pain as the bunny tucked into a roll, but the raise of the enemy's attack wasn't frankly good news either. But...what could they do? Hmm. There had to be something that could be done to stop the enemy! But should they defend again, and try to raise defense, or should they try to attack the enemy once more?

He didn't know, but perhaps his trainer did! Maybe they stood a chance?

“That’s it, Aron! Sharpen those claws! Chase after it!” Aron wasted no time, intending on barreling down Sir Lopsalot before it could raise its attack any further!

What?! That had been a good blow from the enemy, and while Sir Lopsalot's defense had been raised Clarissa had no idea if they could take another unmitigated attack! The enemy was barreling down on Sir Lopsalot, as fast as those tiny legs could at least, it seemed, so they had little time to think. On the other hand, they'd raised Sir Lopsalot's attack, and the enemy was charging right in at them! At least the Buneary had rolled back some instead of just hitting the ground, giving him a little but not too much distance now, but...she....and they....

...No! She couldn't afford to let the nerves win. Win or lose, they had to see this through to the end. That was their resolve!

"Before that Aron can get to you, Sir Lopsalot, bounce back and counterattack with another Power-Up Punch!

Give it everytthing you've got!"

They had no time to try to tuck in and defend again. With one raise in Sir Lopsalot's defense, and one boost to his attack, there was a chance he could survive this trade of blows! In that vein, the Buneary would come out of his roll and onto his feet, eyes gleaming with determination as his small fist came up and he propelled his body with as much speed as he could back at the Aaron once more. His small hand, clenched into a fist, glowed once more with an awesome power! Its mighty grip told him to defeat the foe before him, no matter what!

His arms were also longer somewhat than the opponent's stubbier legs, perhaps, and he had speed on his side! It was worth a shot! Any little thing, any bit of effort, everything had to go into this! Such was the Buneary's adamant determination, and the resolve he shared with his trainer!

"Buuuuuuuun!"



Win or lose, this was the start of their grand journey!

@Rune_Alchemist@Bartimaeus

"Oh, it should be fine Clara. I already used a potion on her, I'm just letting her rest for the moment." Camila said with a smile. "But I'll head back to the main road with you all. And I'll take you up on that offer if I find myself in Greivor. Hopefully at that point I won't need anyone to defend me from gangsters." Camila said with a small giggle.

After they reached the road again, Clara and Sable mounted up on the bike and started to ride off. Camila was in awe of the second woman's odd and dangerous riding of the bike as she waved back at the woman. The assistant scratched her head after the faded into the distance. She wanted to say something, but her voice would be drowned out by the bike at this distance. "I hope they don't get into an accident or anything of the sort on their way home." She voiced to herself before shaking her head and heading in the direction of Pine's End.

"Let's just get safely to Pine's End for now Camila. Perhaps I'll find another cute Pokemon to catch along the way." She mentioned to herself as she walked down the road. This wouldn't be her first time to Pine's End, but it would be her first time there with no constraints in time getting in her way. No need to be in a rush to get there or when she got there. "I wonder what the rest of my journey will be like if the first day was this eventful..." She mentioned to herself, walking the path. "Guess I'll see."